As much as we love Disney we just can't keep our reservations.

Jimmy Mouse

My other car is the Monorail
Joined
Sep 3, 2017
It was a hard decision but after our April trip got cancelled we booked a May trip and a June trip as a backup. We also had Christmas booked. Now our May trip was cancelled so I made the decision to cancel June and Christmas. If Disney only has 50% capacity it will still be crazy crowded but not so magical if they have to enforce distancing. If they have to load rides with spacing it will be no different than a packed park. Still long lines and how much will even be open? We decided to also not renew our annual passes. The good news is I am using the almost $10k towards a 30 foot swimming pool. I already ordered it and our girls are actually more excited to get a pool than going back to WDW. The company said it will only take 2 weeks to install but I may rent an excavator and dig the hole myself which will save me about $3k on the labor. We will be back to WDW but not till this virus crap is under control. At least we have an October Universal trip to look forward to. Still bummed about WDW though. Safe travels to all my fellow DISers still going this year!
 
I see your point and you get a pool almost paid for with Disney spend savings. Getting off the Disney treadmill is a good thing! Return on your terms though I would can the Universal trip and see what is cooking at Disney at that time.
 
I see your point and you get a pool almost paid for with Disney spend savings. Getting off the Disney treadmill is a good thing! Return on your terms though I would can the Universal trip and see what is cooking at Disney at that time.
For now I am keeping Universal. Our girls and my wife have never been and I haven't been in over 20 years so it will all be new to us. Plus it's a lot cheaper and shorter than any WDW trip we have took and it's not till October. Hopefully the virus will be under control by then.
 
Universal ..well it ain't Disney. Either way, the Disney and Universal we remember is gone for the short term. It does, however, play into the Stars Wars theme as we all walk around looking like Darth Vader and his minions. I understand Shanghi is opening soon so it will be a look at what we might be in for.
 


heck yeah! we are Disney diehards, but would totally trade even three or four years of Disney for a pool in the ground. we aren't even big swimmers and certainly not big sunners. its just good exercise and good to have if you are stuck at home for whatever reason under the sun.
 
Congrats on the pool..
What i have learned is when you take a break you will be more thankful for it later..
So surprise them in a few years with a trip to Central Florida.. they will be reminiscent of their past trips.
 
Well, things didn't go exactly as planned but all in all, we are more than happy with the end result. The pool I purchased is in ground capable and with the rise in our back yard, I figured it would be cake to sink it down four feet. I was wrong. Come to find out, we have a lot of rock in our yard. I knew we had some but had no idea how much. At first they were getting out a few big rocks but then hit granite. The slab was over 20 feet long and we never found out the width so the end result was we only sank it in about 18 inches on the high side of the yard and had to build up the low side with the rock we dug up. I have a little more land scaping to do but we have been enjoying it more than I thought we would. My wife designed the deck with a swim up bar with seating which works well if we just want to watch the kids or just hang out. We did blow our budget of 10k since we did a larger deck so all in I'm right at $15k complete but no regrets here :)

Lots of big rocks!
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A little creativity ...
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Wall is up!
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Liner installed by mid day.
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By the time I got home from work we were filling it up and someone was excited!
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Update: So it's been 7 weeks and we love our pool! Best decision I have made in a long time for sure! Also during the last few weeks we kept talking about Disney and a deal was emailed to us from Disney DVC. Well, we pulled the trigger and purchased a 300 pt. contract at Rivera! So Christmas trip is back on! Here are some updated pics of the pool, complete.

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Nicest looking above ground pool I've ever seen -- you did a great job. The deck design really makes it look nice- not just a pool stuck in the yard with a silly looking ladder over the edge. Congrats.

I also feel your pain on losing trips.... we are supposed to go in November for Thanksgiving. Haven't missed Disney in 20 years..... but I'm trying to rent out the points.
 
For now I am keeping Universal. Our girls and my wife have never been and I haven't been in over 20 years so it will all be new to us. Plus it's a lot cheaper and shorter than any WDW trip we have took and it's not till October. Hopefully the virus will be under control by then.

I hope you keep your Universal reservations. We are big disney fans, but we find that Universal is special too. The biggest glaring difference has been the lack of planning. Disney has "trained" us to start planning months ahead of our visits. It has become natural to do before a disney trip. Universal is relaxing and freeing. We go where we want, when we want, and ride the attractions when we want, even multiple times in a row for our favorites:) When we get hungry we just go to a restaurant of our choice. Also it has a more grown up atmosphere and the attractions sometimes reflect that. We love the Horror Makeup Show! We always stay at RPR and get EP's, so we never have to wait long in lines. The whole experience is alot of fun. But , it is Not disney with the built-in disney nostalgia. We won't give up on disney, but find we like Universal alot more at this time.
So, check it out online or on the Universal threads on here, and decide.
 

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