faline
12-18-2011, 05:53 PM
Participants:
Me
Gene
Brother Scott
Sister-In-Law Donna
Nephew – Sam (He’ll be 4 at the time of the trip)
Earlier this year, my brother mentioned that he hoped to return to Disney World with his family this year and, after our trip in December of 2009, had decided that December was his favorite time to visit. I had a December visit in the back of my mind as well and asked if he wanted to go together or if I was inserting myself where I should not be (After all, I could certainly understand if he wanted a trip that was just about his wife and son and did not include his sister!). I was told that I was not. I offered to book a two-bedroom unit at one of the vacation club resorts if they would like to stay together. They accepted. The planning then began.
I had banked points and new points that would be available to me at the beginning of June which would be well inside our seven month booking window. So, at the beginning of June, I set out to book a 2-bedroom accommodation for the five of us. My first choice – Beach Club – was a no-go which was not a surprise to me. My second choice – Boardwalk – was also a no go – which was a little bit of a surprise as I thought we had a better chance with this resort than with Beach Club. We were able to get a 2-bedroom for all of our nights on the third try – Old Key West. This resort is actually our home resort and this would be our first stay in our home resort as a member.
With accommodations booked, I then booked our airfare. I booked with Jet Blue out of Boston. My brother indicated he intended to drive to Florida instead of fly so the plan was that we would fly in and he would arrive the same day via automobile.
Just after booking our accommodations, I was also able to book our dining reservations. My sister-in-law wanted to dine at Le Cellier but that was one reservation I was unable to get. Instead, I booked the Yachtman’s Steak House. I also booked La Hacienda de San Angel (never ate there before); Brown Derby; Plaza Restaurant; California Grill (requested by sister-in-law); 50’s Prime Time; Via Napoli (as an adult night out for brother and sister-in-law); Crystal Palace (character meal requested by sister-in-law); The Wave; and Kona Café.
As we got closer to the trip, I realized my sister-in-law would probably not enjoy the fare offered at La Hacienda so began keeping an eye out for availability at Le Cellier. A few days before we left, I was able to secure a very early dinner (3:55 p.m.) at Le Cellier so I booked it and cancelled La Hacienda. I cashed in my Disney Reward cards and was able to purchase all of one annual pass and part of another with the points. The plan had been to take a towncar from the airport but I was able to find a car rental that was close to the same price a few weeks out so booked a car with Thrifty. A few months in advance, I purchased our Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party tickets. My brother decided to go as well this year so purchased tickets as well. Additionally, my brother found airfare on Southwest which he decided was cheaper than driving so he booked that. He also booked a rental car. The best rates on Southwest put him with an arrival day one day before our flight came in so he booked one night at All Star Sports until I reminded him that Pop Warner would still be in full force for that night. He rebooked at Wilderness Lodge for the evening.
Even though the last few months have been uncertain – Gene has been out of work for much of that time – we decided to go forward with our trip as planned.
Our trip would begin on December 8 (for my brother)/ December 9 (for us) with a return home date of December 16.
We were all looking forward to this!!!
Me
Gene
Brother Scott
Sister-In-Law Donna
Nephew – Sam (He’ll be 4 at the time of the trip)
Earlier this year, my brother mentioned that he hoped to return to Disney World with his family this year and, after our trip in December of 2009, had decided that December was his favorite time to visit. I had a December visit in the back of my mind as well and asked if he wanted to go together or if I was inserting myself where I should not be (After all, I could certainly understand if he wanted a trip that was just about his wife and son and did not include his sister!). I was told that I was not. I offered to book a two-bedroom unit at one of the vacation club resorts if they would like to stay together. They accepted. The planning then began.
I had banked points and new points that would be available to me at the beginning of June which would be well inside our seven month booking window. So, at the beginning of June, I set out to book a 2-bedroom accommodation for the five of us. My first choice – Beach Club – was a no-go which was not a surprise to me. My second choice – Boardwalk – was also a no go – which was a little bit of a surprise as I thought we had a better chance with this resort than with Beach Club. We were able to get a 2-bedroom for all of our nights on the third try – Old Key West. This resort is actually our home resort and this would be our first stay in our home resort as a member.
With accommodations booked, I then booked our airfare. I booked with Jet Blue out of Boston. My brother indicated he intended to drive to Florida instead of fly so the plan was that we would fly in and he would arrive the same day via automobile.
Just after booking our accommodations, I was also able to book our dining reservations. My sister-in-law wanted to dine at Le Cellier but that was one reservation I was unable to get. Instead, I booked the Yachtman’s Steak House. I also booked La Hacienda de San Angel (never ate there before); Brown Derby; Plaza Restaurant; California Grill (requested by sister-in-law); 50’s Prime Time; Via Napoli (as an adult night out for brother and sister-in-law); Crystal Palace (character meal requested by sister-in-law); The Wave; and Kona Café.
As we got closer to the trip, I realized my sister-in-law would probably not enjoy the fare offered at La Hacienda so began keeping an eye out for availability at Le Cellier. A few days before we left, I was able to secure a very early dinner (3:55 p.m.) at Le Cellier so I booked it and cancelled La Hacienda. I cashed in my Disney Reward cards and was able to purchase all of one annual pass and part of another with the points. The plan had been to take a towncar from the airport but I was able to find a car rental that was close to the same price a few weeks out so booked a car with Thrifty. A few months in advance, I purchased our Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party tickets. My brother decided to go as well this year so purchased tickets as well. Additionally, my brother found airfare on Southwest which he decided was cheaper than driving so he booked that. He also booked a rental car. The best rates on Southwest put him with an arrival day one day before our flight came in so he booked one night at All Star Sports until I reminded him that Pop Warner would still be in full force for that night. He rebooked at Wilderness Lodge for the evening.
Even though the last few months have been uncertain – Gene has been out of work for much of that time – we decided to go forward with our trip as planned.
Our trip would begin on December 8 (for my brother)/ December 9 (for us) with a return home date of December 16.
We were all looking forward to this!!!