thanks to everyone for joining in the fun!
for everyone who asked about staying off site, i'll go ahead and answer here. the pros are obviously the cost, what you get for the money, the fact that you have a full kitchen, more room and a lot more privacy. this guy also had all kinds of baby stuff for his renters to use (2 strollers, a highchair, a pack and play, etc.). the biggest con is that you have to drive to disney world, no internal transportation. i'm not a big fan of the buses at disney anyway. but our condo was about 5 miles away from the entrance to disney. that doesn't seem far but when those 5 miles are on highway 192 there's a lot of traffic and a lot of red lights. so it takes about 20 minutes to and from most of the parks. so it's REALLY hard to take a break in the middle of the day, especially when you have limited time like we did this trip. another con is that it's lacking that disney "magic." don't get me wrong - i loved this place! but one reason i really love disney world is the customer service. obviously you don't get that here. but it's not like we had BAD customer service - the owners were wonderful. it's just that you don't get ANY customer service while you're there. it was nice not to have to wait in a line for breakfast or to check in though!
and of course there's the other obvious cons: no DDP, no EMH. but those really didn't matter to us this trip because i had the DDE card (which expires in may ) and i've learned to avoid EMH parks like the plague unless i'm just there for EMH only.
ray and i talked on the way home about if we'd do the condo thing again. i think for longer stays it really makes sense because it saves TONS of money and you have more time to take breaks instead of staying at the parks from open to close like we did this trip. for shorter stays (i'd say 7 days or less) we're gonna stay on site again. it's just easier to get around and kind of take breaks and not feel so obligated to stay in the parks ALL DAY.
please feel free to ask any questions about anything i didn't address!
I cannot believe I am first... just a lucky moment to DIS!
Cannot wait to see what this trip entails. I am sad you are taking an 09 break... I need to live through your trips Dawn, but starting a family is the best reason. BTW... did you get any Jim Shore collectables... I want the ornament set for Christmas, but I think I am not getting that, but getting another piece!
i need to live through my trips too!
yes, i got a jim shore piece but you'll have to wait to see what it is.
That looks like a very nice place! Looks like Luke could have had lots of buddies over to spend the night with him with all those beds.
I'm interested to hear what you thought of staying off-site overall - the pros and cons. I'm thinking if we ever do a full two weeks sometime, we will try one of the house rentals, because moneywise it makes sense. It would be cheaper than staying on property, and we'd have plenty of time to do the driving back and forth that we'd need to do. It's just a thought, of course - both the staying off property and the staying two whole weeks.
Trent would have been dying away without ESPN.
You should be completely immersed in the Christmas spirit now, huh? Jill will be here tomorrow night, so we'll be doing our Christmas stuff this weekend. Then it's pretty much two weeks of just chilling out and being happy to not be at school!
erica offered to keep him company in one of those beds!
see above about the pros and cons of staying off site.
i could've called the owner about the cable problem because he did advertise that they had cable and he's a really nice guy - i'm sure he would have made an effort to fix the problem. but honestly we didn't have a lot of time to watch TV - 4 days isn't a lot in disney time! we were so busy that it really wasn't worth the phone call.
is today your last day of school this year? if so, hope it's a good one! and yes, we are definitely in the christmas spirit! i leave for nashville next tuesday, although ray has to stay home.
he couldn't get enough time off work because he had to take a day off when my computer crashed to help me fix it. it's the first time we won't be together at christmas since we've been married. i'm bummed but i'm coming home on saturday and i think we're gonna go out on a date that night to make up for it.
You do get a prize. It's a year's worth of Mickey heads in assorted colors. You know Dawn and her countdown calendars. Since she's taking a break, you should have the honor of taking them in her place.
i'm officially hanging up my countdown calendar-maker hat, at least for a little while anyway. but i will be happy to help anyone else make one!
I'm here, I made first page! I beat
Vandyfan...
yeah, where are you, erica????
Yay, I'm so glad you started! I've been studying all day for my music final tomorrow so it was a nice little distraction. Were you on I95 driving down? It gets crazy on I95 whenever it rains on our drive down to Orlando - the trucks FLY by and send water shooting everywhere, and then they weave in and out of the different lanes. It's SCARY! I'm glad you guys made it down despite the rain, and the house looks really pretty! I love how they had a Christmas tree set up. I've never been down to Orlando in December; we always go in the summer so Disney always means the summer and heat to me, but having that tree there would definitely help gets things in the Christmas spirit. I'm interested to see how you liked staying offsite. We rent a house/condo every year and LOVE having the extra bedrooms and bathrooms, full kitchen, washer/dryer, and just general extra space. Can't wait for more!
glad i could give you a break from studying! no, we don't take I-95. that goes down the east coast. we're in central georgia so we take I-75 through the middle (down through macon and valdosta). but I-95 sounds the same with the truckers splashing water all over you and weaving in and out of lanes. it's very scary!
Yay! You started!!! The condo looks amazing.......that's cool that you had a Christmas tree too! Can't wait to hear more!
thanks! yeah, it was nice. i was happy!
Your place looks great, very decorative and tropical. I love all the details. I like it alot.
You got a tree!
Luke looked so happy.
Hope he was able to get back to sleep after his nap in the car.
Silly boys there are other things in life than ESPN...
I'm sure they could say the same about us and Disney.
I hope it isn't Luke who gets the nosebleed, I know I have to wait and see.
luke went to sleep pretty easily every night we were there. he was exhausted by the end of the day....as we all were! you will have to wait and see about the busted nose!
hi! glad you're here!
I am also interested on your opinion of off site verses on site. I have only stayed on site and I must say that after looking at the condo you had might reconsider. You can really save a bundle especially when you go with another couple.
see above about on site versus off site.
Hi Dawn! You must go back to Disney in 2009 I love your trip reports!
i'd love to go back but i must get some other priorities straight first! no worries - ray's already said he'll go back in 2010.
Hey Dawn!!!!!
I'mmmmmm heeerrrrreeeeeee!!!
I am so ready to hear all about it!!
glad you're here, heather!
How cool that they decorated for Christmas for you!
i thought so too!
The condo looks so nice, and very well decorated for the holidays. What an amazing price too. Can't wait to hear all about your trip.
BTW love the mickey head print
we thought so too! and the mickey head print was a nice touch.