Leaving my Fantasy behind for WDW, Atlantis and a little Magic.

[plannermom]

Good for you, getting so close! And Alaska too...woo boo!

 

[tweis]

Good for you, getting so close! And Alaska too...woo boo!

Getting so close and I haven't even started getting things packed!

Yeah, we decided to go ahead and book Alaska with DCL. If RCI offers kids sail free next year like they did this year, we may drop DCL but for now we are booking it. I'm not going to get too excited about it because we have GOT to find pretty decent airfare from ATL to Vancouver. I'm trying not to even think about it because I want to just have fun on this trip and not already be planning my next like I usually am.

I swear I don't know how it got this close! I have GOT to start getting things done. Well, I did buy 2 new dresses and a new pair of shoes, so I guess that should count for something, right?

 

[jedijill]

Getting so close and I haven't even started getting things packed!

Yeah, we decided to go ahead and book Alaska with DCL. If RCI offers kids sail free next year like they did this year, we may drop DCL but for now we are booking it. I'm not going to get too excited about it because we have GOT to find pretty decent airfare from ATL to Vancouver. I'm trying not to even think about it because I want to just have fun on this trip and not already be planning my next like I usually am.

I swear I don't know how it got this close! I have GOT to start getting things done. Well, I did buy 2 new dresses and a new pair of shoes, so I guess that should count for something, right?

Hey..that's a start on packing!

I've heard of people getting good airfare to Seattle and then taking the train to Vancouver. I may look into that when I eventually make it to Alaska.

Jill in CO

 

[tweis]

Hey..that's a start on packing!

I've heard of people getting good airfare to Seattle and then taking the train to Vancouver. I may look into that when I eventually make it to Alaska.

Jill in CO

Jill, I had not even considered that. Definitely something to look into. I checked prices for this June, and they are around $500 per person but I don't know what a "good" price should be.

 

[tweis]

4 more "sleeps" until POR and 6 more until the Magic!!

I can't believe that its almost here!! I have been very busy but it feels as though I have gotten nothing accomplished. Passports, cruise docs, prepaid parking receipt, online check-in printout for POR, car rental receipt, luggage tags, camera, BOG ressie page and flight info are all packed. If I forget anything else, it can be purchased when we get there but the important things are packed. Assuming I don't forget the kids or DH.

Well our plans have changed a little since the last time that I updated. We are now upgrading our tix to hoppers. This is ambitious, I know, but I really want to visit Epcot. We changed all our FP+ times back to morning since we can't upgrade our ticket until we get there and all FP+ have to be used in the same park and we bought MK tickets so we are keeping FP+ MK. I would prefer to hit MK early morning and not use FP+ but to save it until Epcot but if I delete all of our options and wait until we upgrade, there may not be times available for the rides we want. We are going to hit the rides we want in MK and have lunch at BOG and hopefully head to Epcot early afternoon. We plan to ride what we can and be happy with that.

 

[phinz]

Jill, I had not even considered that. Definitely something to look into. I checked prices for this June, and they are around $500 per person but I don't know what a "good" price should be.

I fly from Knoxville to ATL to Seattle when I go to visit my parents and siblings. $500 for coach isn't a great price but it's not a high price either. Seems about normal. Sometimes it's cheaper for me to fly from TYS (Knoxville) to ATL to SEA than it is to fly from ATL to SEA on the same flight, which is crazy. They're basically paying me for not driving to ATL to fly. The same thing happens when I fly TYS/CLT/EYW. It's oftentimes $100+ cheaper to fly with the layover than it would be if we drove to Charlotte (CLT) and flew to EYW.

 

[tweis]

I fly from Knoxville to ATL to Seattle when I go to visit my parents and siblings. $500 for coach isn't a great price but it's not a high price either. Seems about normal. Sometimes it's cheaper for me to fly from TYS (Knoxville) to ATL to SEA than it is to fly from ATL to SEA on the same flight, which is crazy. They're basically paying me for not driving to ATL to fly. The same thing happens when I fly TYS/CLT/EYW. It's oftentimes $100+ cheaper to fly with the layover than it would be if we drove to Charlotte (CLT) and flew to EYW.

Thank you for this information. I didn't think $500 seemed overly expensive but I really wasn't sure. DH and I are paying $375 pp for ATL to Vegas and it just made sense that flights to Vancouver or Seattle would be a little more. I'm sure I will research the heck out of flights between now and then.

 

[tweis]

2 more "sleeps" until POR and 4 more until we set sail!!!

Packing has started in earnest now and I'm sad to say that I am severely over packing. I'm taking 3 cover-ups!! Oh well, you never know what you will need and I really like my cover-ups. I thought I had narrowed down the number of shoes I was taking but now I'm back up to 5. I'm sure I'm packing way more clothes than I need but I can never decide what I want to wear ahead of time unless it is something that I bought for a specific occasion.

I am so conflicted as to what I want to book onboard. I really want to do Alaska but that is an expensive cruise with flights and I had not even realized how expensive the excursions were. Wow!! I would hate to go on the cruise and not be able to do some of the awesome excursions that are offered. I was browsing the DCL site yesterday and I keep going back to the April cruise that we had booked on the Wonder. Of course then we would have to take the kids out of school again. I don't know. I think I will book Alaska and if it looks as though that is not going to work out then I may move it to April 2015 IF the kids do okay when they come back from this cruise. If not, then we may just either sail another line or do something totally different for vacation. My DH says I'm stressing over it entirely too much and that I should enjoy this cruise instead of worrying about next year. He's right. I will book something and just see what happens. DCL or no DCL, we will still have a great vacation in 2015!

I remembered to pick up some colored sharpies to have my plate from the Disney store signed. This will be the first time that we've had something signed. I hope I don't forget to drop it off. I hope I remember to pack them.

 

[plannermom]

You must be so excited to be going so soon!

Rumor is that if you use your FPP up then you can get more, even in another park. Not sure if this has all become reality yet, but at this point, if it happens it will just be a happy bonus, right?!

I understand feeling like you need to know what you are booking for the future before you get on board, I am the same way. But your DH is probably right, just go and enjoy yourself. You can always change it later.

Have a great time and keep us "posted" on your trip!

 

[tweis]

You must be so excited to be going so soon!

Rumor is that if you use your FPP up then you can get more, even in another park. Not sure if this has all become reality yet, but at this point, if it happens it will just be a happy bonus, right?!

I understand feeling like you need to know what you are booking for the future before you get on board, I am the same way. But your DH is probably right, just go and enjoy yourself. You can always change it later.

Have a great time and keep us "posted" on your trip!

Wow! That would be great if we got additional FPP! That would definitely be a great bonus.

I've decided to just book Alaska because that deposit is about the same as anything else and I would love to take it but if it doesn't work out then it doesn't work out. Not the end of the world. I'm trying to get into a more relaxed frame of mind and stop being so anal about everything but it just doesn't seem to come naturally to me. I had always considered myself to have a "go with the flow" attitude but I'm realizing that's not the case. I am going to work on this though.

I will definitely try to post updates while we are at POR and the parks. DH mentioned yesterday that maybe we could just spend the week at WDW next year. I told him that he might want to wait and see how this weekend went first.

Thanks for all of your great info about the parks. I feel a lot more informed now.

ETA: It looks as though guests begin receiving extra FPP on April 28th which is the day AFTER we are in the parks. lol

 

[lareina89]

I'm new to this and not sure how to post. I want to inquire about joining a fish extenders group for July 19 sailing of Fantasy from FL. Help.

 

[jedijill]

I'm new to this and not sure how to post. I want to inquire about joining a fish extenders group for July 19 sailing of Fantasy from FL. Help.

I would go over to the meets board and find the thread for your cruise. There should be information about a FE exchange for your cruise.

Jill in CO

 

[plannermom]

That stinks about the timing on the FPP! Maybe you can manage a "soft opening" on the FPP! Have a great time! (Feeling very jealous right now!)

 

[tweis]

We are back!! I will be starting my trip report very soon! I took tons of pics but have to get them all together.

I will post a link here once I start the report on the report boards.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=51358837#post51358837