Well, I'm back to square one. Cancelled BI :(

[mariza]

Update:
Thanks to Billysmommy, JT'sMom and everyone who replied to my accommodations dilemma!
To recap, traveling will be me, DH, DS, and DD. My brother who lives in FL will be driving to Disney to hang out for a few days and now my mom is talking about maybe coming with us too (I am not counting on it, but it could happen) so potentially 6 people all together.
I waited a while to post this since I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to change my mind again. (ok, I can't promise that wont happen, but I've been relaxed since I booked this one, so I'm hoping!) Even though we technically could afford the BI and BC (Ken Price quoted me $180/night for BC) I just felt sick over the money on a place to sleep for a few nights. I am a BBB bargain hunter at heart you know :wavey: DH and I had a long talk and we made some compromises. He really wanted the dining plan and to stay on property so we wouldn't need a car. I wanted something with 2 rooms with a kitchen and would like a car. I gave up the kitchen and will settle for a fridge and we are getting a full size car and I gave in to the dining plan, soooooo we are staying at......................Pop Century (weren't expecting that were ya? neither was I).
I booked 2 connecting rooms, so that gives us 4 double beds and 2 bathrooms. I spoke to Disney CM about DDs sensory issues, explained she would need a quiet room to relax at the end of the day without us being on top of her etc., and he claims connecting rooms "for families like ours" are guaranteed. I'm not 100% confident, but if they don't connect I will raise hell :32:
If you remember, I thought we didn't need a package because I thought my dad was going to buy the kids tickets, come to find out he meant PLANE tickets :boogie::yay: so we booked a package. We got 2 rooms for 6 nights with base tickets (kids stay and play free promo) and dining plus for a total of $2660, a price that doesn't make me lose sleep at night. So, thanks for all the advice, next post will be to help me with itenerary & ADR's :)
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But, I might rebook it as room only if I get a good deal. My dad offered to buy the kids tickets, but knowing him he will buy all 4 of ours :boogie: and I really don't think the meal plan is a good choice for us at this stage of the game. DD eats mostly bagels, pasta and fruit and DS eats 4 chicken nuggets in a sitting. No more, no less. Must.be.four. Disney planning is turning into a full time job, which sucks cuz I already have one of those. I think tomorrow I will call AAA and turn the planning over to them!

[TwinFoxes]

Have you considered Boardwalk Villas instead? You'd be able to cook in there, and it has the great location. You can buy points from DVC members directly. Although the pin codes people have gotten are good at DVCs (I can't remember if you have a pin code or not) if you wanted to do that instead.

Is Bonnet Creek out?

I was not thrilled with my experience going through AAA. Normally I plan everything myself, but didn't last time, and I think I do a better job. There were a few key things the agent didn't tell me about. If you book with them, ask them about special AAA viewing areas for the parades and fireworks. Our agent didn't mention that to me and I was really annoyed. You can reserve them 180 days out, so when I learned about it when we got our packets about 14 days out, we were pretty much out of luck.

[JTsMom]

Talk to us girl! Don't let it frustrate you- it's supposed to be a vacation! Did your rate require the DDP? I don't think it did, did it? It's still a decent rate without the package, right? Room only bookings are good b/c they are so much easier to cancel, and b/c you don't have to pay the balance until the trip comes. You could buy your tix through UT or AAA.

I don't think booking the trip through AAA is going to be the answer you're hoping for. Typically, they don't know Disney very well, and if a code does come out, you want to use it quickly, and if AAA isn't open, you're out of luck. You basically give up all control, and you still have to figure out what you want them to book for you anyway.

Use the BBB travel agency. :D Seriously, we'll sit hear and analyze with you all day long. We're junkies. Or, if anything, call Small World Vacations, or something similar.

[MSWR0319]

We haven't been to Bonnet Creek yet, but we paid $625 for six nights. It's a full kitchen and given your DC's appetite may be a good choice? Thats one of the reasons we chose it. I know you said you'd still have to rent a car with all the extra insurance, etc. But maybe run a calculation again?

[veronica]

We went last year. We booked right around this time in Feb. for an April trip (two weeks after Easter). I booked it through Disney myself and had a pin code for 45% off villas. We stayed at the boardwalk villas and could not have been happier. it was a fantastic location. Ds was just under 3, so he was free (i was pleasantly surprised at that). We got the deluxe meal plan for the dh, myself and DD so that it would allow for enough snacks for DS as well. We also booked mostly table service at the fine dining places to ensure we got a great value for the plan. We found some of those restaurants even voluntarily let DS order his own meal!

don't give up, it will work out.

[mariza]

Seriously, what would I do without you guys :) Bonnet Creek is not totally out (at least IMO, but DH is not sold on the idea - I'll work on him). I really like the idea of the cabins and since we are not buying the Park tickets ( my dad is) I don't mind paying extra but it's not available on my dates. May 28 -June 4, but I can play around with maybe May 29 till June 5.
So I want a room that has the ability to comfortably sleep up to 5 for a couple of nights, has at least a kitchenette if not a full kitchen. Has fun stuff for the kids and is easily accessible to HS and Epcot. Star Wars weekend is going to be a must do for us. We are skipping the water parks and since DD is not into princesses at all I think a half day at MK will be enough. Both kids love animals so AK is in, they love Toy Story, Nemo, Star Wars and DS likes Pooh. I think DS would like the princesses more than DD, particularly Ariel, he seems to have a thing for redheads cuz he LOVES Jessie from TS too :)
Budget is $2000 but I would love to get under it. I saw the Boardwalk Villas on BJs.com travel page for just about that, maybe a bit more but that ok. I just wasn't sure how sneaking my brother in for 2 nights would work there. I know at BI they said I could pay $25 extra a night to the front desk, is this allowed at the Villas?
Also, I'm a Fed Govt employee so I can probably get a discount at Swan or Dolphin but haven't researched how they fit my needs yet, maybe you guys will know.
DH has a cousin in Orlando so if we have to stay one night with him at the beginning or end of the trip I'm ok with that, I just don't want to be at his house the whole week. That would be a thread for the Bitching Post! TIA, who is better than you guys!
P.s, I prefer to not have to pay it all upfront but I will if it's a deal too good to pass up and there is no other option.

[JTsMom]

We've got to talk about this MK thing- you can NOT do 1/2 day!!!! Seriously, I wouldn't rec doing less than 2 days, but you can not do 1/2!!!! (Was that emphatic enough?) There is so much to see and do that has nothing to do with princesses. Most kids go nuts for Fantasyland and can spend 1/2 day there alone. We do a min. of 3 days, but prefer 4.

The cabins would probably be a great bet. Your alternate dates do work. Total is $2004. One thing I've heard though is that it's really nice if you get the golf cart there. You could boat over to MK which would be fun. FW has playgrounds, Hoop Dee Doo, campfire singalong- lots of good stuff. Someone here stayed there and loved it, but I can't remember who it was.

An alternative would be AS Music's suites, but I don't see where to search for that specifically. I tried putting in 3 adults 2 kids, but that was giving me a vague unavailable message, so it could be booked solid, or I could be doing it wrong.

Did you check out that DVC rental guy? I wonder if renting points would work. He does last minute specials. He does require upfront payment though. If you book room only through Disney, you pay one night up front, then the rest when you get there.

Jason totally has a thing for Ariel and Jessie too. We visited Jessie so many times I lost count-lol.

[billysmommy]

We've got to talk about this MK thing- you can NOT do 1/2 day!!!! Seriously, I wouldn't rec doing less than 2 days, but you can not do 1/2!!!! (Was that emphatic enough?) There is so much to see and do that has nothing to do with princesses. Most kids go nuts for Fantasyland and can spend 1/2 day there alone. We do a min. of 3 days, but prefer 4.



I totally agree with Lori!!! We were there in Jan and spent just about 4 days at MK (from rope drop to 2-3:00ish and went back one night for parade/fireworks) and were able to do everything we wanted and our favorite rides multiple times. On past trips we've done 2-2.5 days at Magic Kingdom and it just wasn't enough.
We do breakfast in the castle since DH and I really like that one but that's the only Princess thing we do there.

[mariza]

I guess I'll concentrate on hotel first, then itinerary! The good thing about having booked the 1st package is that it forced me to book a whole bunch of character dinners, I did NOT cancel those reservations. I'll have to post them later and have you guys tell me which ones to keep (looking at one for sure, maybe 2).
Billysmommy, what do you think about getting a 5th person in the BV for a night or 2?

[JTsMom]

Well, according to this, max occupancy is 4.
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/board-walk-villas/rates-rooms/

Officially, they are extremely strict about that stuff b/c of fire codes, but could you get away with it? I'm sure you could. It's not like they are doing room checks. ;)

When DS was 3, I tried to book a king room, and they absolutely would not allow us to b/c he was 3, not 2, and I couldn't get around it b/c we booked a package, so they had his age already.

Could your brother just get his own room? The values are pretty cheap. It seems like his 2 nights are the source of a lot of the challenge, and it kind of stinks that you are limited b/c of that, kwim?

[billysmommy]

I guess I'll concentrate on hotel first, then itinerary! The good thing about having booked the 1st package is that it forced me to book a whole bunch of character dinners, I did NOT cancel those reservations. I'll have to post them later and have you guys tell me which ones to keep (looking at one for sure, maybe 2).
Billysmommy, what do you think about getting a 5th person in the BV for a night or 2?


The studios would be a very tight fit for 3 adults/2 children. They have a queen bed and a pull-out sofa bed. Once the bed is pulled out there is not much room left to put a rollaway cot. If you had a one bedroom there would be more room to put the rollaway.

They are pretty strict with how many in the rooms for fire code reasons though. I had a co-worker who had 2 extra people stay in the room with them (they decided last minute to join them and couldn't get another room). There was a problem with something in the room that required maintenance and they did end up getting caught and asked to leave.

[TwinFoxes]

I know you said itinerary later, but you really, REALLY can't do just 1/2 day at MK. My DDs don't know who the princesses are, but loved MK. It's the park with the most rides for little kids. It's the WDW version of Disneyland.

Anyway, back to lodging. Have you thought about renting DVC points from a member? You'd probably have to act pretty fast since your dates are approaching, but you should look into it. Do you know what I'm referring to? (I didn't get it at first either.) It's much cheaper than booking through Disney.

I wouldn't try to put that many people in a BW studio, I honestly don't think you'd be able to walk around. And maybe it's because I'm related to several firefighters, but those codes are there for a reason, hotels do have fires, or other emergencies where you'll have to evacuate.

To throw something completely different out there, I think it was LarsMal who stayed at a place called the Liki Tiki (or something like that) and she really liked it. It was very reasonably priced from what I recall. You might want to look at her trip report.

I'm think own room for Bro might not be a bad idea. In fact, since you get a gov't discount at Swan, you could get a room for him there, and it's pretty close to BW. He might like not having his own place to crash.

[JTsMom]

studio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R9BlICADVM
one bedroom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jaNKOLu2gU

ASM suite
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7giPXDB5b34

Cabins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XezXUImhJoU&feature=related

[JTsMom]

Budget busting option- Poly for 2900. What about doing a split stay?

[JTsMom]

nak
Looking at David's DVC rentals, An Kingdom villas 1 bed sleeps 5=2171. you could check for availability there.
oooooooooooo- contemp 5 ppl=2441! no kitchen-just fridge and coffee

[mariza]

You guys rock :jammin: I would have never thought to look at the you tube videos. And I think I picked my choice as a result and after talking it out with DH. I did find a weekly rate a the Boardwalk Inn for $2400 but after comparing the videos we decided that the Wilderness Cabins are a better fit for our life at this point in time. We are looking at the cabin for $2004 as suggested by a PP. I am kinda mourning the idea of staying at a deluxe as all of my last trips have been at values or off site. Unless you count the trip to Dixie Landings I won from a radio station in my early 20s to see "No Doubt" at the Hard Rock Univsal. Sadly I dont remember a whole lot from that trip :8:
My kids have a lot of energy (don't they all) and I know if they were jumping around at BI I'd be worried about how the noise or jumping might negatively affect someone elses vacation. So far I'm feeling pretty good about the cabin so let me hear your opinions. Kids are 6 and 4. I swear next trip after this I'm going Delux :bathbaby:
At the cabins we can take the boat to the MK that you guys are so insisting upon ;). I'm happy I'll have a kitchen even though I'm not a super cook, I just like not eating restaurant food all week. I don't talk about it often here, but I'm a lap band patient and if I'm not careful I can get in trouble (read, violently ill) eating out. Eating things I know how I react to means a lot to me hence the kitchen issue. Thanks for all our insight keep it coming!!!

[JTsMom]

:bighand:Woohoo! Glald the videos helped. I just recently found them when I was checking out BLT. I think you're going to have a great time. :) Fivi2 was the poster who I was thinking of who stayed there a while back- here's her review:
http://www.windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=359458

It really is a great place to stay with kids imo, and it really does sound like an ideal match for your family. I also like how it seems like it's own little retreat there accross the lake. It's nice to get away from the madness, kwim?

As for mourning for the deluxe, egoldber always says that to her, it's not really that big of a deal for the price difference. I really was hoping to BLT for our upcoming trip, but the price was giving me hives, and we ended up booking Pop instead.

Now, we have to get on that itinerary in case you need to change around your meals! You want to have as many options as you can there!

[klwa]

I know you said you've kind of decided on the cabins, but I will throw in a plug for the value suites at All Star Music, anyway. :) DH and I slept on the pull outs & put the kids in the big bed so we could go in & out after the little ones were in bed. Not the most comfy bed on the planet, but about as comfy as I ever am in a hotel. DH slept on the pull out chair a couple of nights, & there was enough room for me to walk around the PO couch & not hit his chair when I needed to go check on the kids during the night. So, basically, I think you'd have plenty of room for the 5 of you. (Plus 2 bathrooms rather than the 1 in the cabins....)

[mariza]

Update in OP

[TwinFoxes]

It sounds like a good fit. :)

One thing though, when you do go deluxe, don't worry about the kids disturbing people. If there's one place for kids to be kids, it's WDW! Plus, we stayed at BWV, and the rooms are nicely soundproofed. :)

[JTsMom]

:rotflmao: I didn't see that one coming! It is hard to beat the price on the values though! I felt the same way that you described. I just kept thinking about how much money we could keep in our pockets to use on other things, and I couldn't get away from that. We spend very little time at the resort, so it's really hard to justify spending $1K+ extra.

DS1 has sensory issues too, and we stayed waaaaaay in the back, lakeside, top floor, and it was very quiet. It was a haul to get to the food court, but other than that, a really good spot. We could even see some of Illuminations. You do NOT want to be near a pool. Double check that your request says something about special needs too, and if the rooms they give you don't work, ask to be moved. Disney is usually very good about this stuff. Do you know about the GAC?

[writermama]

Staying at Pop Century? Use the online check-in. DH stood in line for almost an hour at check-in and wished he had known that checking in online up to just a few hours before would have saved him all that time in line.

[mariza]

DS1 has sensory issues too, and we stayed waaaaaay in the back, lakeside, top floor, and it was very quiet. It was a haul to get to the food court, but other than that, a really good spot. We could even see some of Illuminations. You do NOT want to be near a pool. Double check that your request says something about special needs too, and if the rooms they give you don't work, ask to be moved. Disney is usually very good about this stuff. Do you know about the GAC?

Did you stay in the 50's building? I've read on Disboards the 50's lakeside were good rooms to ask for. I did read about the GAC in the Unofficial Guide, but I'm not sure what exactly it does. Her issues are not as pronounced as some (we did not qualify for services through school, but have been approved for private OT) I'm not sure how this would work. Feel free to PM me if you have more details. I'm mainly concerned about her stamina for walking and dealing with noises (she complains that its too loud when we go to Olive Garden). having the stroller will help with those 2 issues, but I'd appreciate any input you might have.
Writermama, thanks for the tip regarding online check-in. How was the rest of your experience at Pop?

[JTsMom]

We were actually waaaay on the other end in the 80's. I requested the 70's but got that instead.

I'll PM you about the GAC.

BTW, we were really happy with Pop in general. DS1 loved it so much, the food court was great, and it was a really fun place to stay. :) Also, you probably saw this, but they just remodeled, which is always nice.

[egoldber]

We've stayed at Pop several times and always enjoy it. :)