"I think I'm in love, and her name is Polynesia..." an Aug/Sept '15 TR (NEW TR link @ end!)

[jandlinz]

Great wrap up! I'm really looking forward to the FoF parade for my princess loving daughter. I really enjoyed reading your report. I'm so glad you feel like your DVC purchase was a good investment for you. We'll be staying in November using our recently purchased points and can't wait for our first DVC stay. We've only rented in the past, so this is very exciting for us. We bought 160 points as well and can only go every other year, considering we need a 2 bedroom for our family. Can't wait to read about DLR.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Thanks for another great TR, Pete.

I always enjoy riding along with you and this one was no exception. I hope there are many more to come.

 

[skier_pete]

Great wrap up! Can't wait for our Poly DVC stay in a few weeks!!

Oh - you will no doubt love it!!

Great wrap up! I'm really looking forward to the FoF parade for my princess loving daughter. I really enjoyed reading your report. I'm so glad you feel like your DVC purchase was a good investment for you. We'll be staying in November using our recently purchased points and can't wait for our first DVC stay. We've only rented in the past, so this is very exciting for us. We bought 160 points as well and can only go every other year, considering we need a 2 bedroom for our family. Can't wait to read about DLR.

It is very exciting when you buy points and waiting for your first stay. While DW and I did do a quick SSR getaway last fall, this was really our first family vacation with the DVC points - and we had to wait almost 18 months! Fortunately the next two will be fairly quick, after that it might be a while.

Thanks for another great TR, Pete.

I always enjoy riding along with you and this one was no exception. I hope there are many more to come.

Thanks so much PIO - I'm happy that you are along for the ride. Hopefully the next report will be cranking up in late-February.

 

[Samantha1]

Great trip report. I really enjoyed reading it. I am hoping to stay at the Beach Club our next trip.

 

[Saphire5742]

So I just "binge-read" your TR. Thanks for taking us along. I enjoyed it a lot. You have a lovely family and got some great photos.
Looking forward to your next TR.

 

[Mainemama]

Read and enjoyed your report! As a Poly lover and recent convert to the Beach Club resorts, your setting hooked me right in. We have never stayed DVC, so I appreciated this glimpse into what it is like. I definitely wished on our recent trip for laundry in the room and the kitchenette options! I have 3 kids, though, so am having a hard time considering the Poly studios over the regular rooms we know we love. Thanks for the great story!

 

[skier_pete]

Great trip report. I really enjoyed reading it. I am hoping to stay at the Beach Club our next trip.

Thank you very much. I am sure you won't be disappointed. The newly refurbed rooms are very nice. The DVC side will be getting the refurb this year, so both sides should be in great shape.

So I just "binge-read" your TR. Thanks for taking us along. I enjoyed it a lot. You have a lovely family and got some great photos.
Looking forward to your next TR.

I am flattered you would read the whole thing in one sitting! I'm not sure we're that interesting! But thank you so much for your kind words.

I am pretty good about getting right into a new trip report. The next one will be a bit unique as we will probably talk a little about the rest of our trip along with Disneyland. Hopefully you will still find DLR as interesting!

Read and enjoyed your report! As a Poly lover and recent convert to the Beach Club resorts, your setting hooked me right in. We have never stayed DVC, so I appreciated this glimpse into what it is like. I definitely wished on our recent trip for laundry in the room and the kitchenette options! I have 3 kids, though, so am having a hard time considering the Poly studios over the regular rooms we know we love. Thanks for the great story!

Thank you so much! I couldn't imagine paying full price for the Poly and Beach Club. We couldn't afford it. The reason we bought into DVC was Disney was starting to price us out of moderates, and at least we could see a point where we would no longer be able to afford to stay on property. DVC allows us to pay more now, and save later when we are retired. The fact that we get to stay Deluxe is also pretty great.

The rooms are actually the same size, though I suspect the sleeping area is smaller in the DVC rooms. Being a family of 3 it wasn't too bad. One thing you should look into though - renting points to stay in a 1-bedroom DVC room is about the same cost as a standard hotel room at say BCV. You have to be sure they sleep 5 - some resorts don't, but the 1-bedroom gives you a LOT more space than the hotel rooms - really twice as much space. We'll be staying in a 1-bedroom in our upcoming grand Californian stay. We can only afford it because (a) it's only three nights and (b) it's the lowest season of the year so the point total isn't too bad. Just suggesting you look into it. There's a timeshare rental place called "David's" that you can look up easy enough - they have a price calculator for DVC rentals, you can compare that with what you would pay through Disney.

 

[Mainemama]

I toy with renting points. I definitely want to try a DVC villa at some point. Our challenge is we tend to plan trips about 3 months out. Our December trip was planned 10 months out, but only because we found excellent airfare. Another appeal of DVC for me... It would make what is clearly a pattern of travel predictable! My DH is less Disney obsessed than me, but he has been the initiator on all our trips! (Secret admirer.) enjoy the grand Californian. It looks amazing!

 

[franandaj]

Thanks for the pictures from the parade. I was too tired to care when it came by although we were impressed by the Steampunk Maleficent.

DVC definitely changes up your thinking on how you "do Disney". I'm glad that it's working out for you and even better that your daughter still enjoyed herself with her uncool parents. So how will she feel next week?

 

[mlegerto]

Great wrap up! Thanks for taking me along on your adventure!!

 

[skier_pete]

I toy with renting points. I definitely want to try a DVC villa at some point. Our challenge is we tend to plan trips about 3 months out. Our December trip was planned 10 months out, but only because we found excellent airfare. Another appeal of DVC for me... It would make what is clearly a pattern of travel predictable! My DH is less Disney obsessed than me, but he has been the initiator on all our trips! (Secret admirer.) enjoy the grand Californian. It looks amazing!

It's definitely something you should try before you even consider buying. It's a different experience. The studio rooms are the same size as hotel rooms, but configured differently with a kitchenette and only one bed with a pull-out sofa. There's much less maid service (DW's least favorite part), but there are a bunch of perks to it as well, most of them fairly minor but a few nice ones. Neither of us are "secret" admirers though - I do all the planning, but DW probably loves it there more than I do.

We got to stay at the Grand Californian as part of our Backstage Magic trip 2 years ago. It's of course a beautiful hotel, but we were on the go so much we barely had time to enjoy it. I am hoping we can have a little more downtime to enjoy the resort a bit. I'm planning mid-day breaks to allow for a few hours there each day. (While I am perfectly fine with NOT staying there - if we were staying across the road, I wouldn't be so eager to return to the resort.)

Thanks for the pictures from the parade. I was too tired to care when it came by although we were impressed by the Steampunk Maleficent.

DVC definitely changes up your thinking on how you "do Disney". I'm glad that it's working out for you and even better that your daughter still enjoyed herself with her uncool parents. So how will she feel next week?

Steampunk Maleficent is right!

I think the main thing that has changed how we "Do Disney" was the frequency of the trips. Once you been going for a while, it changes how important "seeing it all" is. And of course the proximity to the parks is something we never experienced before. I am worried enough that it would spoil us that I probably wouldn't book at the Poly every time even if I could! It's definitely a big plus for these hot times of year.

I think she will be OK next week. She even seems mildly excited about the trip. I was talking with her about it in the car, and asking her how much she remembers from 2012. It wasn't that long ago, but for her it was a 1/3 of her life, so I think she's forgotten a lot. She remembers getting SOAKED on Splash Mountain, and how she won't ever ride it again out there! And she remembers she wouldn't ride HM. And she remembers she HATED Indiana Jones. Hopefully she'll have better memories of this trip.

Great wrap up! Thanks for taking me along on your adventure!!

Thanks for joining in! Sorry we hadn't "met" before the trip. A Disney trip isn't a Disney trip without some DISmeets!

 

[ALEXandFAB]

I very much enjoyed your report and an excellent wrap-up too! Looking forward to hearing about your Disneyland experience - it's my home park so definitely near and dear to my heart. And what a wonderful time you'll have visiting the other SoCal places on your list! A tour of the WB Studio is definitely on my bucket list.

 

[khertz]

What i found (I think @khertz might have turned me onto the solution - but I could have the wrong person) is that another way to solve the issue is in the message window here - you right click and select "Paste as Plain Text". This disrupts those links coming from WORD as well. I can't be bothered to go back and fix the problem, but it should be eliminated from now on!

Yep yep! I was so happy when I made that discovery. lol

Just had a chance to sit down and finish up reading your TR! I really enjoyed this one, yet again. I've also enjoyed seeing the pics you are posting from DL right now, so I can't wait to read about that trip too!!

 

[skier_pete]

Hey eveybody! We are back from our Disneyland trip. It was exciting and fun and not nearly enough time spent at Disneyland - but if you enjoyed reading THIS trip report - you might want to follow along on the next one - there's some excitement to be found, that's for sure!


“This place better not burn down before I get my entrée!" – A DLR Feb 2016 TR

 

[UKDisneyJoe]

Found your TR a couple of days ago and really enjoyed reading through it and seeing some of your pics. DW and I love our WDW trips and are there again next year (Nov/Dec). Coming from the UK, DLR is probably beyond our budget so looking forward to clicking your link to read that one too now

 

[skier_pete]

Found your TR a couple of days ago and really enjoyed reading through it and seeing some of your pics. DW and I love our WDW trips and are there again next year (Nov/Dec). Coming from the UK, DLR is probably beyond our budget so looking forward to clicking your link to read that one too now

Hey @UKDisneyJoe - thank you for reading along and glad to hear you enjoyed it. I can imagine DLR would be a hard trip from the UK! It might still be worth a go someday - it's definitely a different experience if you ever want to change up from WDW.