I am new poster to mouseplanet although I have been a “lurker” for a few years now and found the information on this site extremely useful when planning our vacations to WDW. I have grown fond of several regular column writers and look forward daily to the updates and new postings. I think I have read every single trip report posted for WDW, too! :geek:

I want to thank all of you trip report writers for the trip reports you have written and posted. I have enjoyed them immensely. I always suspected how much work went into each report but now I know first-hand just how much time and effort goes into it! I do get so excited when I see a new trip report is posted (it’s like opening a present!) and relish sitting down to read it. Although we are not frequent WDW vacationers, we do enjoy going to WDW (but I especially enjoying reading the trip reports of those who get to WDW a few/several times a year as they always have something new or exciting to report, despite their numerous prior trips).

I regret now not having written a trip report for our prior four WDW vacations, so I would strongly encourage all of you out there to take notes during your WDW vacation (I penned mine every time we returned to our hotel) and take the time to write a trip report. It will be a wonderful resource of memories in the future for your family.

I am still writing this rather long trip report of our 13 day WDW vacation, so I decided I would first post a pre-trip planning report. I’m not sure when I will finish the trip report but plan to post it only when it is completed. (Aside - I am not a fan of the sporadic posting of a trip report and prefer when they are posted in their entirety, but that’s just me.) :cool:

Well, for now, I hope you enjoy reading the pre-trip planning report and will continue working on the actual trip report and will post it as soon as it is finished.

So, without further delay . . . here goes:

Who:

Mom - 45 y/o, author of trip report (loves vacationing at WDW but falls short of loving all things Disney)

Dad - 47 y/o (reluctant WDW vacationer but enjoys being there with our family)

Son - 15 (known in report as S-15) (loves all thrill rides)
Son - 12 (S-12) (still doesn’t like the “dark rides” - Pirates)
Son - 10 (S-10) (our thrill-rider - rode Splash Mountain when he was 4!)
Son - 6 (S-6) (warming up to the rides)

Prior WDW vacations (2002, AKL; 2003, 2004 and 2007, off-site at Caribe Royale Resort)

Pre-Trip Planning:

General

Will fly direct from Newark, New Jersey to MCO on Continental Airlines, rent mini-van from Dollar Rental and stay off-site at the Caribe Cove Resort in Kissimmee

Park Tickets - Premium Annual Passes

After taking 2 years off from WDW, we decided to return in 2007 because the boys were older (and taller) and there were several new rides/attractions at the parks we wanted to experience. We bought Premium Annual Passes and stayed from August 11-23, 2007 and planned to return in early August, 2008. I highly suggest that families consider doing this because of the savings by having the park tickets already paid for by the second vacation to WDW. The flexibility provided with APs is also another benefit (can park hop all you want, don’t have to worry about how many days/entrances you have left on your park tickets). Finally, the APs provide FREE parking at any WDW park, including the two waterparks and discounts at certain restaurants and stores.

Accommodations

I just assumed that we would return to the Caribe Royale Resort where we stayed in 2003, 2004 and 2007 because we always had a wonderful stay there and the Resort is conveniently located less than a mile from the WDW entrance. Over our three stays there, I think we have paid anywhere between $185 and $219 per night for the deluxe 2BR/2BA villa with full kitchen, and washer/dryer {almost 1250 square feet) and the Resort has a wonderful huge pool with big slide. The service and housekeeping were always very good, too.

However, I searched the Internet to see what other options were available. I first found a Marriott Residence Inn (our hotel of choice when we travel due to their accommodations for 6 with kitchen, free daily hot buffet breakfast and free afternoon snack/light dinner during the week and laundry facilities) in Lake Buena Vista which had rave reviews on tripadvisor.com (a very reliable resource of reviews posted by the public) and was only $169 per night (the Caribe Royale Resort was $239 per night), a savings of $70 per night over a 12 night stay which translated into $840! Add in the free daily hot breakfast buffet and afternoon snack/light dinner - I figured we would save about $1,000. The only potential drawback was that the Residence Inn was further away form the parks and didn’t have in-room washer/dryer like the Caribe Royale Resort but, heck, I thought for $1,000 I could send our dirty laundry out daily and have it delivered and still save several hundred dollars (I wasn’t serious about doing this of course but it made me feel good to find the Residence Inn option).

So sorry, but it was goodbye to the Caribe Royale Resort - you were good for us in the past.

However, being the compulsive vacation planner (and value-seeker) that I am, I continued to scour the Internet for other options and came upon the Caribe Cove Resort (CCR) (similar name, I know, but totally unrelated). The reviews on tripadvisor were generally positive, although I had a few concerns - no daily housekeeping (they charge a one-time $65 cleaning fee, no matter your length of stay), it was farther from the parks than the Caribe Royale Resort and the Residence Inn and was described as being in a rather remote, new and mostly undeveloped area, completely unknown to us. At least both Caribe Royal Resort and the Residence Inn were known commodities to our family. Hmm . . . quite the dilemma. :confused:

The reviews did rave about the super size of the villas and that everything was so new and clean. CCR only opened in August, 2007 so the resort was virtually still brand new and would only be a year old when we would be there. Enough time for the resort to work out the “kinks” and be fully operational, right? Keeping fingers crossed . . . :rolleyes:

During May and June, the rates for CCR were $149 for a 2BR/2BA or $169 for a 3BR/2BA to $99 for 2BR and $109 for 3BR and I knew that the Residence Inn was destined to join the Caribe Royal Resort in the “discarded” pile of hotels for us. Aside from the savings and convenience of the daily breakfast with the Residence Inn and our prior good experience at other Residence Inns, the CCR was so new and much larger (the 3BR unit was nearly 1,600 square feet and included a third bedroom, which we have never had before). It wasn’t looking good for the Residence Inn anymore.

One of the reviews that I read about the CCR mentioned that they got a great price by booking their reservation for CCR through bookit.com, a website which I had never heard of or used before. After then reading reviews of this website, I checked out their rate for CCR, which had reduced rates at $109 for 2BR and $129 for 3BR. Could I justify the extra $240 for a third bedroom? That could buy a lot of Mickey ice cream bars and Dole Whips! :D

I continued to check bookit.com daily just to see if the rates would go down (along with our economy and presumably the tourist industry in Florida) as we were getting closer to August and soon bookit.com was advertising a special for CCR - the same price for the 3BR as the 2BR. Looking better . . . a 3BR villa for only $109 a night!

A couple of weeks later, bookit.com was offering the 3BR villa for an absolutely unbelievable rate of only $99 per night (while the price for the 2BR was still at $109 - still can’t figure that one out)! I waited several days as my skepticism over both CC R and bookit.com kept me from jumping on this deal (you know, the old adage - if it’s too good to be true . . . ). :confused:

Finally, after calling bookit and CCR directly (although I am a huge fan of the Internet and do plenty of shopping and other business on-line I still like talking with the people I am dealing with), I was convinced that there were no gimmicks or hidden charges with either business and that it would be safe to make the reservation. After all, as I explained to my DH, if we hated it or they tried to add on additional fees, we would cancel through our credit card to get a full refund and move to the Residence Inn (they still had plenty of available rooms during our vacation period). As you’ll see in the actual trip report, we happily stayed at CCR and did not have to change hotels. :)

So, with the mighty click clack at the keyboard, I made our 12 night reservation through bookit.com at the CCR for our deluxe 3BR/2BA 1,600 square foot villa for $99 per night (plus tax and the $65 cleaning fee) and said a silent prayer that I wasn’t risking ruining our big annual family vacation in hopes of saving some money. (If you’re keeping track, what should have been about $2,900 to stay at the Caribe Royale Resort was now drastically reduced to $1188 for our stay at the CCR, a real savings of over $1700!!) :D

Rental Car

After staying at AKL for our first trip to WDW in 2002 and using Disney transportation (buses and monorail, ferry), we decided that with the size of our brood, it was more convenient for us to rent a minivan. We like being able to come and go as we please; we have visited other Orlando area attractions during our WDW vacations; we like having off-site dining options; we always stock up at the Super Wal-Mart for our stays (water bottles, snacks, breakfast food items, a few quick lunch/dinner items, etc.). As AP holders, we still utilize the Disney transportation (monorail and ferry) as part of the Disney experience though.

We have always rented through Dollar Rental right at MCO. I have scoured the other car rental companies and consistently Dollar has the best prices/value. Also, I have always used a discount code from Mary Waring’s site (mousesavers.com)(am I allowed to mention another Disney website on here?) to get the absolute lowest price. Last year, we paid $199 per week but the best price I could get this time was $245 per week so I booked that (and continued to check in daily but the price never went lower and no new discount codes came out either). You’ll see later what an absolute bargain this rate was for us. :)

Airline

We always try to travel on Continental Airlines (their main hub is in Newark, New Jersey where we fly out of) as they have great service, competitive prices and lots of flights to choose from. We had enough points on our VISA card to get three of our tickets free and paid $249 per person R/T. In the past, we were able to get $99 O/W fares but with the increasing price of fuel, I thought $249 RT was good enough and purchased our tickets.

We were scheduled to fly out on Friday, August 1st at 10:10 AM and arrive in Orlando at 12:55 PM, with our return on Wednesday, August 13th at 12:27 PM and arriving in New Jersey at 3:15 PM. (Aside: I would highly recommend flying out on a Friday, instead of Saturday, like we usually do. There was a noticeable decrease in the amount of travelers/passengers at the airport on Friday, which meant checking in our luggage and getting through security and to our gate so much easier and faster. The same was true for returning on a weekday, Wednesday. We will always fly on a Friday from now on.)

Miscellaneous - Orlando Kids Eat Free Tickets

I read somewhere about the Orlando Kids Eat Free Tickets which would provide a free kid’s meal for kids ages 3-11 with the purchase of a regular adult meal at many participating restaurants. The cost was $19.95 per ticket (we would need two for our S-10 and S-6) and found that Orlando Fun Tickets (would highly recommend using them for purchasing tickets to any Orlando attraction - you’ll see in the actual trip report that we made a stop there to pick up these Kids Eat Free tickets as well as tickets to SeaWorld and Kennedy Space Center) had them for only $13.95 each.

As a veteran of many restaurants with a Kids Menu, I know that a kid’s meal can cost anywhere from $4.95 up to $7.95 each. So, I figured that we would only need two meals to pay for the actual cost of this ticket, and every meal after that would be FREE. With being on vacation for 13 days (that’s 26 meals), it had to pay to get them, right? Well, not exactly and you’ll see why in the trip report. :(

Other Orlando attractions

To break up our WDW trip a little bit, we decided to also go to Sea World and Kennedy Space Center (which we included in our 2004 WDW vacation). We found that while we love the “fantasy world” of WDW, we also like the mix of “reality” of the sea animals in Sea World and the history of Kennedy Space Center. (Aside: Plus, going to Kennedy gave Dad something to really look forward to on this vacation.)

Meals

We did not make any ADRs for this vacation as I could not foresee that far ahead. We knew that we wanted to eat at the Prime Time Café in DHS, Boma at AKL (which we tried to but missed last year) and were 50/50 about doing any character meals (although we did love the Chip and Dale character meal at the Garden Grill in the Land at Epcot last year, which we stumbled upon by accident). We have not found the food at WDW particularly unusual and unlike most, do not go to WDW for the eating experience and were fine with eating off-site if that suited our needs better.

New rides/attractions

We were really looking forward to riding Expedition Everest at AK and trying Toy Story Mania at DHS, after reading so much about them. Also, we were hoping to get S-6 to ride Big Thunder Mountain this year (he got all the way to the loading area and refused to ride). Only half of us got to see the Finding Nemo show at AK and I wanted to see it again with the entire family, so that was on our "must do" list. Also, we wanted to see Fantasmic as we missed that last year, too.

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Well, that’s all for the pre-trip planning report. I am excited about the actual trip report (even writing this planning report has allowed me to re-live our WDW vacation!) and hope to finish and post it for you soon. Thanks for reading.

I do get so excited when I see a new trip report is posted (it’s like opening a present!) and relish sitting down to read it.
My thoughts/feelings exactly!!!! :)

That's awesome that you were able to save so much on the hotel. I do that too- budget then i'm like well we're saving this much by staying here, this much by staying here but...

my family demands we stay on site so we don't save that much! :(

Thanks for the pre-trip report and can't wait for the report! And yes, posting at once is awesome since so many reports don't get finished unfortunately... (tear :()

... now back to that report! :p

WOW! You are the QUEEN of getting the good deal! That hotel price is AMAZING! Might even entice me to go (shhhh---dare I say it??) off-site??

Tina and Naomi - Finding the CCR at such a great rate allowed us more freedom with spending during the vacation, and stretched out vacation time from a week to almost two weeks. We are willing to do that because our time together is limited as we both work full-time and with APs, it makes sense to spend as many days at WDW as possible when we make the trek down there. I know many die-hard Disney lovers would never consider staying off-site but for our family, it really works for many reasons.

Yes, I can see how a 2-week rather than 1 is a draw. That's how I keep ending up at values or moderates instead of deluxes. It's nice to have a few options off-site that someone like you has really enjoyed. Otherwise, it seems overwhelming to pick something out.

Oh yea I definitely understand that... and I think the fam is starting to come around... Our next trip was going to be 2 weeks (combining Disney & Orlando) but again they demanded we stay onsite for DisneyWorld so we're going for 10 days- 9 days really :crying:

The good news is that we've all been looking at the All Star Vacation Homes and we're thinking that after this next trip (Aug 2009), we might rent a vacation home and take a Christmas trip! The vacation home will be much cheaper than staying onsite and hopefully when that trip comes around, they will still be offering the free rental car! :D

Naomi - I think that if me and DH ever did a trip to WDW without our boys, I would want to stay on-site. I don't know much about the All Star Vacation Homes. Check out the Caribe Cove Resort where we just stayed - I just did a quick price check and if you were to go THIS Christmas (arriving 12/19 and checking out on 12/28), they are charging $129/night for the 2BR and $139 for the 3BR, and for a couple of nights for either only $99/night!. I know I have raved a lot about this resort (and, NO, I do not work for them or receive any commission from them or anything :) ) and if you are even considering staying off-site, check them out.

You would definitely need to rent a car. Good luck!

Thanks for the advice. Those prices did catch my attention so I went to the website and checked it out...
and may I say "WOW!"

The villas look so nice and luxurious inside!

I don't know if we'll be able to make it this Christmas but now I'm thinking maybe next Christmas. ;)

Those are really good prices though...

How is the trip report coming, by the way?

Wow!! I just checked out the site and it is beautiful!!

I have finished a first draft of the trip report (except for the summary list of "firsts" for us, and the summary "high" and "low" points). I am editing and adding prices as I'm going through the receipts that I saved (which is also adding events to the report where my notes left certain things out).

I'm hoping to get it posted this week (keeping my fingers crossed!). I think I will do a single new thread for my trip report, but using the "Reply" function for each new day. This should make it a little bit easier for people to keep track of which day they read up to when they come back to read some more of the report.

I hope you all like it (I feel a lot of pressure since this is my first report :eek:) as much as I've enjoyed reading all of your reports. (Tina - it's a little tempting to consider staying off-site, isn't it when you see the accomodations and the pricing? Ssshh, it would be our secret if you "defected" to the other side ;) )

I think I will do a single new thread for my trip report, but using the "Reply" function for each new day. This should make it a little bit easier for people to keep track of which day they read up to when they come back to read some more of the report.


I really like this idea!^^^^^^:)

I have confessed a few times to loving off-site, the bang for your buck is way better, and, sometimes a little break from the 'magic' is needed to keep it special. Looking forward to reading your report!

With 6 of us in our family, the larger accommodations available off-site are key to keeping peace and harmony after a long and tiring day in the parks! It doesn't hurt for everyone to have some "private space" and the choice of 3 TVs during downtime either - LOL! I've finally posted my trip report (in two parts) and boy, is it long!