joules12
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2016
Sooo, that "just in case" room that I booked in Summer 2018, referenced in the intro to my November 2018 PTR below...
well, of course, it stuck and we'll be visiting WDW less than 100 days from now.
In solid Disney-lover fashion, I'm also about to book "just in case" rooms for spring 2020 (= adults-only trip) and fall 2020 (= family trip);
however, that fall 2020 booking REALLY will be a "just in case" room, as we're hoping to buy a used travel trailer next year and that will mean at least one year off from family WDW trips.
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November 2019 Trip Overview
Our Trip Dates: Saturday, November 16, 2019 – Saturday, November 23, 2019
Our Resort: Coronado Springs
This will be our first time staying here; however, I did spend a solo afternoon at its pool and QS area way back in July 2000 while my cast member friend was working at Animal Kingdom
Our Transportation: When Southwest released their November airfare in May, the prices were much higher than we had hoped (although not all that surprising given their MAX 8 situation). The more we crunched air travel numbers -- airfare, TSA precheck for at least one of us adults, long term airport parking, a rental car (a must in my husband's book when visiting WDW with our kids and also much pricier than prior visits) -- the more we leaned towards our transportation of choice from last November's WDW visit. We eventually decided to get something on the books and once again opted to reserve spots on Amtrak's Auto Train. We had wonderful experiences both ways on the AT last year, so we're psyched to ride it again...particularly since we've upgraded this year from coach class to sleeping accommodations (still fairly tight, but it should feel great to fully recline and to have less ambient light while doing so).
Our Crew (much of this is copied from last year's details below):
ME = My first trip to WDW was with my parents and younger brother in November 1982 – a month after Epcot opened (I was back in Epcot 11/2017, almost precisely 35 years to the day of my first visit!). My mom was a public high school teacher and we lived in New Jersey; therefore, the majority of our childhood WDW trips were during the infamous “Jersey Week.”
MY HUSBAND = My husband, on the other hand, didn’t make it to WDW until he was in his late 20’s. [DH’s siblings are considerably older than him and he remains slightly bitter about a WDW family vacation in the early 1980’s that he wasn’t part of – he was a young tot and left home with his grandparents instead. He says that he grew up hearing mythic stories about Space Mountain from his brother and friends.] DH has slowly started making up for lost time on the WDW trips since meeting me!
DD1 & DD2 = Our twin daughters turn 6 in early October and this will be their third trip to WDW. Their favorite ride from last year's visit is Tower of Terror, followed closely by Soarin' and Slinky Dog Dash. This year, they're hoping to pass the 44-inch mark (one of them is already past it), as they're itching to get on Expedition Everest, "the big kid Pandora ride" and Space Mountain. We *think* that Twin B will be tall enough by our trip, but Twin A has already decided to skip EE, FoP and SM it doesn't look like B will be (let me tell ya', that is a rare showing of sister solidarity on her part).
POTENTIAL ADDITIONS = Overlapping some of the days of our visit, my Disney-loving mom and aunt might fly down for a visit with our family in nearby New Smyrna Beach. If they do, they'll stay at WDW for 1-2 days and surprise our girls. I'm not getting my hopes up, but this would be such a lovely surprise for our girls, as they're already bemoaning the idea of a WDW visit without Nana (she's absolutely their most favorite person on earth).
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November 2018 Trip Introduction
Greetings and salutations! I’ve spent a few years happily lurking and searching around the various DIS forums, but I’ve never posted all that much (yup, still earning my famed ears). Well, I think I need to finally change that – or else my brain could truly explode from all the planning thoughts swirling inside it and, even more importantly (since brains may be expendable), my husband might kick me out of the house if I don’t find a more WDW-fascinated audience. He really does love Disney World (he even chose a trip to WDW as our kid-free vacation in November 2017)…but he just doesn’t have remotely equivalent stamina for discussing practically all things Disney or evaluating the minutiae of daily park touring plans.
I’ve had our resort booked for this trip since early October 2017 and I've already booked a “just in case” (HA!) room for November 2019 a couple months ago. To many, that all seems crazy – to you folks, I'm sure it’s absolutely normal! My people!!!
I’m also hoping that this amazing hive of Disney knowledge might provide some feedback as I plan our family’s upcoming trip. And, who knows, I may actually have some useful experience that can help someone else as they plan their trip.
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November 2018 Trip Overview
Our Trip Dates: Saturday, November 10, 2018 – Saturday, November 17, 2018November 2018 Trip Introduction
Greetings and salutations! I’ve spent a few years happily lurking and searching around the various DIS forums, but I’ve never posted all that much (yup, still earning my famed ears). Well, I think I need to finally change that – or else my brain could truly explode from all the planning thoughts swirling inside it and, even more importantly (since brains may be expendable), my husband might kick me out of the house if I don’t find a more WDW-fascinated audience. He really does love Disney World (he even chose a trip to WDW as our kid-free vacation in November 2017)…but he just doesn’t have remotely equivalent stamina for discussing practically all things Disney or evaluating the minutiae of daily park touring plans.
I’ve had our resort booked for this trip since early October 2017 and I've already booked a “just in case” (HA!) room for November 2019 a couple months ago. To many, that all seems crazy – to you folks, I'm sure it’s absolutely normal! My people!!!
I’m also hoping that this amazing hive of Disney knowledge might provide some feedback as I plan our family’s upcoming trip. And, who knows, I may actually have some useful experience that can help someone else as they plan their trip.
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November 2018 Trip Overview
Our Resort: Art of Animation – Lion King Suite
This will be our first time staying at or visiting AoA and we’re really looking forward to it
Our Transportation: Along with our car, we will be travelling to and from Florida aboard Amtrak’s Auto Train. We’ll get on the train the afternoon of Friday, 11/9 in Lorton, VA (about 3 hours from our home) and off the morning of Saturday, 11/10 in Sanford, FL (about 1 hour from AoA). For the return trip, we will board the train the afternoon of Saturday, 11/17. This is another first for us and one that I hope we don't regret! My husband prefers to have a car while at WDW, particularly during trips with our daughters. Although we're taking the train during a pricier time -- right before a holiday and the start of "snowbird" season -- the average per person cost ends up considerably less than the cost of airfare, car rental + long term airport parking (and we don't have to fly with car seats...BTDT!). The train's schedule also allows us to have most of our first day (11/10) free at WDW, instead of tied up with travel. We undoubtedly could have saved more money by driving to FL but, in spite of taking multiple road trips every year that range from 6-9 hours each way, we just can't stomach the thought of a 15-hour drive (especially the return trip).
Our Crew:
ME = My first trip to WDW was with my parents and younger brother in November 1982 – a month after Epcot opened (I was back in Epcot last November, almost precisely 35 years to the day of my first visit!). My mom was a public high school teacher and we lived in New Jersey; therefore, the majority of our childhood WDW trips were during the infamous “Jersey Week.”
MY HUSBAND = My husband, on the other hand, didn’t make it to WDW until he was in his late 20’s. [DH’s siblings are considerably older than him and he remains slightly bitter about a WDW family vacation in the early 1980’s that he wasn’t part of – he was a young tot and left home with his grandparents instead. He says that he grew up hearing mythic stories about Space Mountain from his brother and friends.] DH has slowly started making up for lost time on the WDW trips since meeting me!
DD1 & DD2 = Our twin daughters will turn 5 in early October and this will be their second trip to WDW. HOLY COW, are they excited about this trip! They had a wonderful time when we visited the World in 11/2016, but they really had no idea what they were embarking on and were (of course!) equally excited about flying on an airplane. Their Disney love has continued to exponentially grow ever since that trip – which, in turn, feeds my Disney obsession. They also love thrill rides, so we’re all super excited for them to be able to go on more rides this trip. Sadly, they will not make it to 44” before our trip, but all other height-restricted attractions are on the table this year. Ironically, Twin B is even more of a thrill seeker than her sister but she’s also considerably smaller (she’s already gushing over Space Mountain and Expedition Everest POV videos…someday, baby girl!).
MY MOM = My Disney-loving mom will also be joining us for this trip. She was with us for the girls’ first WDW trip in 2016 (I don’t think we could have kept her away from that even if we had wanted to!), along with my dad, three of my aunts and my uncle. We had quite the crew last trip, so my mom should be able to get some more “WDW quality time” with our girls this trip. In addition to our childhood trips, for many years my mom chaperoned the senior class trip from the high school where she taught. Since retirement, she continues to routinely visit the World with her friends. Having my mom there, DH and I may go out for a date night one evening – or my mom and I may instead! Since DH and I got to have an adults-only WDW fix last November, a date night isn’t as tempting to me as it was during our 2016 trip.
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other than possibly picking up a couple of our favorite beers from last year
