A Pandemic surprise

[java]

So we originally had a huge trip planned with the whole family in early July. Over $6000.
we canceled when all the “restrictions” were announced and did a much cheaper trip to a cabin in the Smoky Mountains. Perfect and beautiful.

Then in the car ride home (on Saturday)I got a little email about a discount on dedicated reservations at Disney. They had a 5 day studio at AKL Savanah view (a bucket list one) for $1000! Starting Tuesday. That’s $200 a night.
I couldn’t believe it. So I sent in my request figuring if it was meant to be it would happen.
Well it was booked darn.

BUT they had another starting Wednesday for 5 nights. Booked.

woohoo! Yes corona concerned but thought this would a resort centered trip. Only my daughter wanted to go. Everyone else was bummed about maybe only one theme park.

ok works for me. So on Tuesday at 3 Am we pile back in the car and head to Disney! Day one would be 14 hours of driving. Would rest stops be open? We brought TP just in case. Part 2 coming!

 

[java]

So we made it to Kingsland GA. A little about day 1 drive.
We found plenty of open rest stops. All had mask requirements. Got in one fight with someone asking if they can’t read. Yeah he went and got a mask......
I also packed a small get gas kit that included rubber gloves, extra masks, hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes, and baby wipes.
I felt safe.

day 2 Drive was only a couple hours. Thankfully the check point entering Florida had closed(part of the stars aligning for this trip)As we entered into the AKL parking I was sobbing. I couldn’t believe we were there.

check in at Kidani was a piece of cake. Room wasn’t ready yet( it was around 10:30) so we wandered around checking out the resort. It was empty. There was hand sanitizer everywhere. We washed our hands

Then got the room ready text around 11. So we drove over to Zazu. Entered our studio. Ran to the window and saw


party!

we drove over to Publix to get some microwaveable food and hurried back to sit on our balcony and just enjoyed the view.

Tuesday- Disney Springs! Did we eat inside?

 

[wendypooh22]

How exciting!! Last minute trips are the best. I hope that you enjoy your vacation

We once did a bonus vacation.. We were on a houseboat on Lake Powell (7 days) and the parents decided that a trip to Vancouver BC was needed since the World's Fair was going on.. On the last day we drove home to Southern California, dropped off the boat, did laundry and the next morning we all loaded back up in the RV and drove to Canada. We still laugh at our parents for their crazy and fun ideas.

 

[andy_dangg]

Looking forward to more! AKL Savannah view is one of my dream places to stay as well...I would love just to sit on the balcony and watch animals. The idea just sounds so surreal that I know I just have to experience it myself!

Also nice on the confirmed reservation! I literally just booked into a confirmed reservation at Boulder Ridge for about $140 a night.

 

[java]

Up bright and early and just sat outside enjoying the view! Today we saw a bunch of the herding animals. We also met our noisy bird that was looking for love the entire trip.

We decided to do a disney Springs trip. I was on the app looking for lunch and we found the boathouse. (They has outside seating so boathouse it was)
We arrived at DS and it was pretty empty. We had temp check. Quick and easy. Walked around a bit. Started to get a bit hot and crowded. We checked in early and decided that inside was very socially distant. Felt very safe. Everyone wearing a mask. So we ate INSIDE!
It was delicious. I had a lobster roll that was delicious!
After lunch we headed back to the hotel. Hung out with animals.
Then wanted to snoop around a bit at the boardwalk. We had read they weren’t letting anyone park without a dining reservation but we were still full from lunch.

BUT there is always room for a milkshake so Beaches and Cream it is! We were able to park about 2 hours prior to our reservation.

entering that lobby we were hit with that amazing smell. (Note to self buy the beach club candle) hit the boardwalk walked around. It was a bit depressing honestly with the pool being closed and no yacht club.

we still had time to kill so we jumped on the skyline!!!! First for us! Headed to Riviera. Gorgeous but not really our kind of place.
glad we saw it but ready to drink our milkshakes.

B&C sat us at the counter. Great fun waiter. A Prince fan. Nice break from the heat. Best $20 I spent.

then back to our view!

 

[variclay]

that's amazing! love Disney magic : ) sounds like you are having a great time. ENJOY!

 

[mdsouth]

So we originally had a huge trip planned with the whole family in early July. Over $6000.
we canceled when all the “restrictions” were announced and did a much cheaper trip to a cabin in the Smoky Mountains. Perfect and beautiful.

Then in the car ride home (on Saturday)I got a little email about a discount on dedicated reservations at Disney. They had a 5 day studio at AKL Savanah view (a bucket list one) for $1000! Starting Tuesday. That’s $200 a night.
I couldn’t believe it. So I sent in my request figuring if it was meant to be it would happen.
Well it was booked darn.

BUT they had another starting Wednesday for 5 nights. Booked.

woohoo! Yes corona concerned but thought this would a resort centered trip. Only my daughter wanted to go. Everyone else was bummed about maybe only one theme park.

ok works for me. So on Tuesday at 3 Am we pile back in the car and head to Disney! Day one would be 14 hours of driving. Would rest stops be open? We brought TP just in case. Part 2 coming!

Looking forward to more! AKL Savannah view is one of my dream places to stay as well...I would love just to sit on the balcony and watch animals. The idea just sounds so surreal that I know I just have to experience it myself!

Also nice on the confirmed reservation! I literally just booked into a confirmed reservation at Boulder Ridge for about $140 a night.

I am confused on what the two of you are referring to as a confirmed reservation discount. Is this offer being sent to people that have reservations already or ones that you had but were cancelled? I had an original trip scheduled for June 28 - July 3. I ended up rescheduling it for November. I would love to get one of these bonus offers.

 

[andy_dangg]

I am confused on what the two of you are referring to as a confirmed reservation discount. Is this offer being sent to people that have reservations already or ones that you had but were cancelled? I had an original trip scheduled for June 28 - July 3. I ended up rescheduling it for November. I would love to get one of these bonus offers.

So basically on the DVC rental sites (David’s and DVC Rental Store are the big two) they have a list of reservations that are already confirmed. Normally, if you want to rent DVC points, you have to submit a request so they can check for availability, then a DVC owner will book your reservation for you. Usually the DVC rental sites will charge $19ish a point for these reservations, which places most studios in the $250-350 range.

But the confirmed reservations are reservations that are already made by the DVC owner, so the dates, room type, and resort can’t be changed. For whatever reason the owner can’t go on the trip they booked so they publish it on these sites. These are usually more last minute but offer great deals. The reservation I found was $9 a point, bringing the total cost to under $600 total for four nights.

 

[mdsouth]

So basically on the DVC rental sites (David’s and DVC Rental Store are the big two) they have a list of reservations that are already confirmed. Normally, if you want to rent DVC points, you have to submit a request so they can check for availability, then a DVC owner will book your reservation for you. Usually the DVC rental sites will charge $19ish a point for these reservations, which places most studios in the $250-350 range.

But the confirmed reservations are reservations that are already made by the DVC owner, so the dates, room type, and resort can’t be changed. For whatever reason the owner can’t go on the trip they booked so they publish it on these sites. These are usually more last minute but offer great deals. The reservation I found was $9 a point, bringing the total cost to under $600 total for four nights.

Thanks for the detailed response! I appreciate it.