What am I forgetting? PTR for a trip delayed....4 years!

[LaughingSphinx]

I feel like a zombie, resuscitating this PTR so long after the last update.

I've gotten my marching orders from DH: We're looking at a mid-April visit, so now it's gonna be a flurry of researching, gnashing teeth over the lost and now extinct fastpasses, and trying to convince DH that yes, we most certainly will need a stroller!

More updates to come as I figure more things out.

(But if anyone knows what to do for getting 2 kids ages 3 and 6 from the airport to a resort that's not renting a car, let me know. I'm gutted about the closure of DME and am internally fixated/anxious about that)

 

[YYCmom]

I was just looking at the pre-trip reports and saw yours. Good luck with April! We're going in March.
If you're still looking for transportation from the airport, checkout the Sunshine Flyer or Mears Connect.

 

[ZeeWP]

I feel like a zombie, resuscitating this PTR so long after the last update.

I've gotten my marching orders from DH: We're looking at a mid-April visit, so now it's gonna be a flurry of researching, gnashing teeth over the lost and now extinct fastpasses, and trying to convince DH that yes, we most certainly will need a stroller!

More updates to come as I figure more things out.

(But if anyone knows what to do for getting 2 kids ages 3 and 6 from the airport to a resort that's not renting a car, let me know. I'm gutted about the closure of DME and am internally fixated/anxious about that)

Isn't it weird how much time has passed since the Pandemic started? My kids were 3 and 5, and now they are both in elementary school. It's crazy cause the vacation planning wait feels so much longer when the kids changed so much in this time?

 

[LaughingSphinx]

Chapter 7: We're baaaaack
After almost 4 years...Planning is back on!

The downside, is that this time around it's much more last-minute than the last times I've tried to plan this?

All I know is that for the February vacation, we're headed to Orlando!

There has been a LOT occurring between then and now, not just in our family but also big changes at Disney since I last tried to plan anything. So I'm calling our friends & family who have more recent experience, and especially experience with kids, to make sure I can lean on the wisdom of my village.

What do I know so far?
-It'll just be the 4 of us. MIL, dear soul though she is, is not likely to want to tag along this trip. Which, silver lining, gives us a little more options for rooms, and also will allow us to convert her ticket to a child's ticket for my DD2. (I think, when I spoke with a very helpful Cast Member on the phone today, I broke their brain for a moment when I said I'd originally purchased tickets for 2020, but hadn't used them and how do I go about redeeming them when I book?) That'll help reduce the cost we'll owe for the change in price from when we originally bought the tickets to what they are now, especially since we originally booked, DD2 didn't even need that ticket!
-This will be a VERY different vibe: Instead of DH and I trying to max out everything, we'll be focusing on what will make the best trip for the kiddos. I'm super-thankful that I can ask some friends who've done Disney recently with small kids, so I can pick their brain.

Specific dates are TBD, but for now - Let the planning begin! (again)

 

[zanzibar138]

Just saw this pop up in the PTRs and have read from start to finish. We certainly did get thrown a massive curveball for a couple of years there! So glad to hear you're finally going to be able to make this trip happen

 

[LaughingSphinx]

Chapter 7.1: We're still back, just with breathing room!

So originally, we'd been tossing around the idea of going during the February vacation. That has been scrapped, partially because ye gods, that left us NO planning time, and also because flights would have been prohibitively expensive.

So updated plan: Go in August!
(Yes, it'll be hot, humid, and instead of mosquitoes, I'll have my sanity and life-force drained by the inevitable tantrums from children who are also hot, tired, and cranky.) But crowds are likely to be a little lighter, and this also fits in best to some of our childcare Tetris, wherein our youngest will be in daycare through the end of August, but we still have to pay for her spot when we travel. If we go in mid/late August, then we could just cancel her coverage early, and either she can hang out at home or we could pop her into a summer camp for that last little stretch of time, which is still cheaper than daycare tuition.

Nothing is booked yet, as my better half is looking into flight options to see which ones are less painfully expensive. And I was able to get a virtual meeting with a former colleague of his, to pick her brain: Because she's a big Disney fan, and she's done something we have never done before; Disney with small children!

She was an absolute wealth of information and I'll be implementing so many of her suggestions. One of the biggest things that she did was convince DH that yes, even though the kids will be 9 and 5, we will want a stroller. Originally he'd dismissed that idea outright, but I think she's convinced him. So now it's a debate of whether we bring our BOB jogging stroller (that we haven't used in ages) or rent one. I lean towards renting: he leans towards bringing ours. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to convince him.

Because so much is still up in the air, as pixie dust shimmering while it drifts down, it'll be a little bit before I can start planning out much else. For now, I'm putting together a spreadsheet for each park with the rides that the kids will likely be interested in, which QS locations will have food they'll likely eat, plus which ones DH and I will want, but also which ones accept mobile orders. I'm a little conflicted on how much I'm likely to be on my phone this time around compared to last time, to manage mobile ordering, and ride queues, etc, but at least this gives me a chance to better understand the whole Genie+ and lightning lane systems.