Anything could happen but I am going to Disney! An August 2023 PTR (new TR link 09/22)

[suse66]

Hi friends!

I'm Susan, lover of all things Disney, DVC owner, Early Years educator and mom to three young men. Summer is coming and as I work for a large public school board, I have two glorious months off. What to do with that time? Well, go to Disney of course!

Originally this trip was meant to include my twin boys to celebrate their recent 21st birthday. However one boy just landed a summer job with his university and only gets 5 days off all summer. So he is out for now. I am not sure if the other one will travel without his twin or not so he is tentatively on the reservation. I on the other hand am literally counting down the days until I am back in the bubble so no hesitation on my part!

This was supposed to be an one week trip but Saturday flights were super expensive. Then I noticed if I booked a late Saturday evening flight and flew back on a Tuesday, the price was significantly better. So I went ahead and booked with West Jet for $410 return rather that the previous $736 I was looking at. I didn't want to use any more points than I had allocated already so I had to finagle my reservation a bit. I took Saturday off the reservation, made one reservation for 5 nights and one for 4 nights. So now I have nine nights, 10 days in my happiest of happy places!

I am still looking for a hotel Saturday evening after I land which might be at the MCO Hyatt or maybe at one of WDW value hotels. My first reservation is at my beloved home resort of Boulder Ridge Villas in a newly refurbished deluxe studio. After 5 glorious nights there, I am moving to the lovely and tranquil Old Key West for the next 4 nights. I am so excited to plan this awesome extended trip and to connect with any Disfriends who might be travelling at the same time.

More details coming soon!​

 

[pkondz]

oooohhh.... look at me! All first and everything.

 

[suse66]

oooohhh.... look at me! All first and everything.

#1 and ready to roll! Any Disney plans for this summer?

 

[Marrila]

Looking forward to reading as you plan your adventure.

 

[pkondz]

#1 and ready to roll! Any Disney plans for this summer?

You never know. Always "plans", but not necessarily ones that will actually happen!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I love your choice of resorts for your August trip. We stayed in a 2br villa at OKW and it was a really enjoyable trip. And the newly refurbished BR looks really nice. You can't go wrong with BR and WL.

 

[Heatherhy01]

So exciting! I can't wait to hear more about your plans

 

[vamassey1]

I'm following along too!

 

[Paulaparm]

Retired teacher here, following along

 

[suse66]

Looking forward to reading as you plan your adventure.

Thank you for joining in! Do you have any Disney plans this year?

You never know. Always "plans", but not necessarily ones that will actually happen!

Well hopefully your latest plans will materialize.

I love your choice of resorts for your August trip. We stayed in a 2br villa at OKW and it was a really enjoyable trip. And the newly refurbished BR looks really nice. You can't go wrong with BR and WL.

Thanks so much Sue! I hope your latest trip was lovely. Bill and I spent 4 nights at OKW last March and we really fell in love with the resort. I am so excited for the new room at BR. And of course time at Geyser Point!

So exciting! I can't wait to hear more about your plans

Thank you so much! I am so looking forward to this trip.

I'm following along too!

Hi Vanessa! So happy you are hre!

Retired teacher here, following along

Thanks for joining in! Only three more years until retirement for me.....where did the time go?

 

[DLo]

Following along . Looking forward to reading more .

 

[suse66]

Following along . Looking forward to reading more .

Thanks for joiining in! Any Disney plans in the works for you?

 

[moonshadow]

Following too!!!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Hi Susan,
I’m here following along! I’m sorry to hear the twins may not make the trip, however, solo Disney is wonderful!
I think my trip won’t start until early September this year so we can also attend the Horror Nights at US.
If things change I will definitely plan to solo when you are there because we have so much fun touring together!
I’m hoping it works out for Andi to join me this fall!

 

[suse66]

Following too!!!

So glad you are following along!

Hi Susan,
I’m here following along! I’m sorry to hear the twins may not make the trip, however, solo Disney is wonderful!
I think my trip won’t start until early September this year so we can also attend the Horror Nights at US.
If things change I will definitely plan to solo when you are there because we have so much fun touring together!
I’m hoping it works out for Andi to join me this fall!

Hi Caroline!! So happy you are here! I am holding out hope Stuart might be able to come but I'm not 100% sure. Jamie had to choose between coming to Disney and going to PEI and he chose PEI so he could see his grandparents. So that was pretty sweet. Our young adult children are developing their own lives which is awesome but then we have to wotk around that for travel. Hopefully Andi will be able to go with you! Of course if your plans change I am more than happy to hang out! We would have lots of fun!

 

[suse66]

Travel day/first night

I have been looking for flights for about a month and have been so, so discouraged! The prices have been bananas and the flight times not the best. I have been checking in with Hopper then going on Air Canada and West Jet to see if anything popped up. I lucked out on Sunday and found a great price on West Jet with a Saturday evening flight. I had Saturday night booked at Boulder Ridge but with such a late flight I decided not to use the points and modified it to Sunday through Friday.

I also added two days to my trip as it was very inexpensive to fly back on Tuesday. And let's be real, who doesn't want more Disney time?

So instead of the $765 to $800 price tags I had been looking at, I got my ticket for $410!! I was pretty pleased with that.

So now I needed somewhere to stay. With such a late arrival I didn't want to spend a ton of money. The airport Hyatt was pricy with rates starting at $265. Next I looked at the Disney Springs hotels which were better with rates between $195-$225 but then yucky resort fees added on which jacked up the price by aother $30-$40. Ugh!

Then the Disney gods smiled upon me and released a 25% discount for summer (and 30% off August 20th through September 14th but I digress). I debated between Pop and the All Stars but All Stars won with a standard room rate of $164. Done! I settled on All Star Movies and am really looking forward to checking out all the cute theming, especially in the Toy Story section. Plus with the recent refurb, the rooms are so nice. I think I'll be very happy there.

So clean and fresh looking!

Hoping for a room in the Toy Story section because how cute is that????
Although the broomsticks are adorbs too.....

I love the theming here too with Sorcerer Mickey but might not want to be by the pool with noise. And I guess I probably wouldn't be with a standard room. I mean it's only for one night but I do want to be able to sleep after a long travel day so I am fresh for the parks the next day.

And that brings me to my next question.....what park should I go to first???
Back soon to discuss options!​

 

[DLo]

Thanks for joiining in! Any Disney plans in the works for you?

Thanks for asking. May solo trip for F and G. Can’t get here son enough. GofG opened after my trip last year so looking forward to that and Tron .

 

[disneyAndi14]

Andi and I stayed at AS Movies for 1 night and we really loved it. Our room was in the Toy Story section and relatively quiet! Great price for Disney these days!
I always hear of people getting flights for like $29.00. I’m happy with $400.00 flights as well!
Yay to extra nights at Disney!
I would start with AK as my first park day!

 

[pkondz]

I have been checking in with Hopper

What is this?

found a great price on West Jet with a Saturday evening flight. I had Saturday night booked at Boulder Ridge but with such a late flight I decided not to use the points and modified it to Sunday through Friday.

Great you found a good price... are you okay with modifying the dates?

I also added two days to my trip as it was very inexpensive to fly back on Tuesday. And let's be real, who doesn't want more Disney time?

Who doesn't like fuzzy Disney math??

So instead of the $765 to $800 pirce tags I had been looking at, I got my ticket for $410!! I was pretty pleased with that.

Score!

So clean and fresh looking!

Looks really nice.

And that brings me to my next question.....what park should I go to first???

MK
MK to start and end a trip would always be my first choice.

 

[suse66]

Thanks for asking. May solo trip for F and G. Can’t get here son enough. GofG opened after my trip last year so looking forward to that and Tron .

That is so exciting! I hope you have an amazing trip! Flower and Garden is my favourite time of year with everything looking so beautiful. It looks like there are lots of good food options at the F&G booths this year too. Do you think you may get a refurbed room at BWI? It will be so nice to be walking distance to two parks! I absolutely adore GotG and am really looking forward to Tron as well.

Andi and I stayed at AS Movies for 1 night and we really loved it. Our room was in the Toy Story section and relatively quiet! Great price for Disney these days!

I was really happy to see the discounts come out yesterday for the summer. I guess room occupancy is down or they wouldn't be offering those deals.

I always hear of people getting flights for like $29.00. I’m happy with $400.00 flights as well!

$29 flights would be a pipe dream from Canada! I am always happy with under $500.

Yay to extra nights at Disney!

The best!
I do love AK so much.

What is this?

It's a travel app for your phone. It searches for and books hotels, cars, flights etc. I like the price calendar they show you so you can pick flights on the least expensive days. Did you see the hotel discounts Disney just dropped for the summer? Just saying....it may make tentative plans into solid plans!

Great you found a good price... are you okay with modifying the dates?

Yes, I had no problem modifying. With DVC you can modify until 31 days before arrival with no penalty as long as there is availability. I had allocated 134 points to this trip (originally 8 nights). By taking the Saturday off the reservation and switching to OKW for the next weekend I was able to extend the trip by two nights without using any additional points. Friday and Saturday nights are always more points so going to OKW which has the lowest point chart of all DVC resorts made it all work.

Who doesn't like fuzzy Disney math??

I love Disney math! See above, lol!

MK
MK to start and end a trip would always be my first choice.

My first park day will be a Sunday so I know it will be a MNSSHP night. I am not planning on doing the party this year as I want to try some new things. Although if I get hoppers, it might be worth it to do MK in the morning with lower crowds on a party day and then hop to Epcot that evening. My last day will definitely be MK followed by a bevvie at Tambu Lounge before heading to the airport. Traditions!