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Post by MinnieMom on Oct 15, 2023 17:51:27 GMT -5
Soon, it will be the Most Wonderful Time of the Year! The recent DVC surprise announcement of Moonlight Madness in the Animal Kingdom was the spark I needed to decide on a holiday themed Orlando trip. DH and DD are clear they do not want to go. While I would love to have them join me, solo trips are also fun. Plus, it seems likely a few of my close friends will be able to arrange schedules to join me at different times during the week. So, here is the tentative plan for a fun holiday themed visit to Orlando on a budget.    The budget part matters because of our big bet as a family last year to leave a good career to build a campground. As those who follow the Standing Pines story know, it is taking far long and costing far more than I planned. That means that part of the challenge I will enjoy this trip is keeping the total cash cost at $500 or less. I booked what looks like a nice three bedroom, first floor condo at Windsor Hills for $934 for 7 nights. Booking through VRBO should code as travel, meaning I can use credit card points to cover this cost. This property has free cancellation until Nov 25, just in case. AKL is on DVC points, so no out of pocket costs for the one night there. DVC MM means no cost for the park. I still have an active UP annual pass, so no extra cost for using it for a couple of days. So none of those count against my budget for this trip. ( I know, creative bookkeeping - but these are sunk costs, so might as well maximize!! Also, this is partly why I hired a professional accountant for Standing Pines - to avoid my own creative bookkeeping.) Keeping the rental condo cost down gave me some flexibility to cover the $142 one day ticket to Discovery Cove, which also gives up to 14 days of access to SeaWorld and Aquatica, on credit card points as well. For those keeping score at home, that's still $0 cash cost for lodging and park tickets. In fact, I can likely squeeze the $55 for Wicked Wind Down at TOTWL out of credit card points as well. So that's all good! Based on past trips, fuel costs should be around $125 total. I've got some left on my toll pass, so I'll ignore those costs for the budget this trip using the same logic of sunk costs. That gives me about $375 for meals and miscellaneous for a week in Orlando. That's fairly reasonable for me for a solo trip, especially looking at this as combination work trip ( benchmarking Fort Wilderness at Christmas), adventure ( can I stay on budget?) and holiday gift ( Merry Christmas to me!!). DH just checked to make sure I'd decided to go and book this. He seems thrilled he does not need to think about a Christmas gift for me this year. It's not even Halloween yet and now I suddenly can't wait for Christmas!! |
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Post by reblzmom on Oct 15, 2023 18:43:57 GMT -5
That sounds like a good plan! I must say I have only done one solo trip and it was only two nights, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!
I, too, am strangely looking ahead to Christmas....
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Post by jedimom3 on Oct 15, 2023 18:52:23 GMT -5
Sounds like such a fun getaway. I love Universal at the holidays!! I totally get staying on a budget nowadays. hope you have a wonderful time!!
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Post by Brian5581 on Oct 15, 2023 21:08:31 GMT -5
The most wonderful time of the year, indeed! Far and away my favorite.
I’m sure I’d blow past your budget dining and drinking, but otherwise would choose similar activities this time around.
Enjoy!
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Post by tomandrobin on Oct 16, 2023 8:20:59 GMT -5
Seriously.....I am super impressed with the trip planning presentation.
Christmas at WDW is by far our favorite time to visit. The Parks and Resorts are at their stunning best! The weather ain't too bad either.
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Post by kzrooster on Oct 16, 2023 12:03:30 GMT -5
I love the spreadsheet!
We too are hoping for tickets to the party!
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Post by MinnieMom on Oct 16, 2023 19:45:17 GMT -5
Aww - thanks! My BFFs asked for links and details, so I took the spreadsheet and made a private webpage with all the links and everything. BFFs can now book tickets for UO, Discovery Cove and click away to check out all the details for all the stuff. This may become my future vacation planning default. I'll plan exactly what I want, build it out with all the links, including the links to book tickets, on a private page and invite friends to join for any portion that makes them happy. If this works, that's all the benefits of being the trip planner with none of the responsibilities of actually getting and keeping up with others reservations/tickets.
I'm so over the top happy about this trip. Like, I don't remember the last time I was this excited about going to FL. It will be even better if friends join, but solo has its advantages. Either way is a win!
Edited to add: One friend used the site last night to get her Discovery Cove ticket. I'm liking this approach a lot!
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Post by MinnieMom on Oct 19, 2023 21:02:31 GMT -5
Couple updates - one friend says she is 100% in for the whole week & has already got her day ticket for Discovery Cove. I'm hoping she can pull of the whole week. We could share most of the road trip, which would be a total blast. That would adjust the plan a bit. She does not want to add UO cost to her trip, so maybe we'd switch out Sunday to get the 14 day admission to SeaWorld started. I enjoy their animal shows a lot. We go do those together, then she could visit SW on Monday/Tuesday while I go to UO. She loves coasters; I don't. So that's a good solid possibility. There's plenty of room to flex the plan. Two friends want to go to Camp Margaritaville this trip, so we may work that in on Thursday. One other change - I called DVC MS to book TOTWL on Thursday Dec 14. No dice; no availability. I'll do as CM suggested and try calling back a time or two. Maybe. Sigh. I miss the "good old" days of TOTWL, where 90% of the nights of the year it was just a walk up to enjoy a few drinks and the 7 layer desert cake.
After getting to a good stopping point this evening, I switched from working on Standing Pines to exploring videos of Discovery Cove. This December will be my first trip. After seeing this video especially, I'm really excited to spend time on the lazy river!
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Post by MinnieMom on Nov 28, 2023 9:57:05 GMT -5
Good morning MO friends! In just over an hour, I'll try for tickets to the Dec 13 DVC party at Animal Kingdom that inspired this trip. Fingers crossed for sure!
So, it looks like this trip is going to be a very good mix. The first couple of days will be solo, so I can spend that time at UO as I'm the only one with a pass there. Then one friend arrives Monday night, so we may wind up spending Tuesday at Seaworld since she's never been and that's included with the Discovery Cove ticket. Wednesday & Thursday will remain Disney days. Friday is set as Discovery Cove with those tickets already purchased.
I'm really excited to check out UO for Christmas. We've been before, several years back on a trip the week after Thanksgiving. But I don't really remember much other than the giant Christmas tree and some hotel decoration. Since checking out the holiday decorations and shows will be the focus, I'm excited to try it. Mammoth Club did a video on UO Christmas that I enjoyed. It made me think about doing the tour, but not this year. Instead, I'll do the different attractions at my own speed and preferred order.
It would cost very little to go down a day early with a hotel room very close to the park. I'm tempted, as then I could do UO Friday night and Saturday before heading over to check into the rental condo for the week. Maybe - I can always find another holiday themed adventure to fit into an extra day or two in Orlando! Plus I realized I have a few more credit card points stacked up, so I could pull off the extra night for no cash cost. Sounds like I'm slowly talking myself into this.
All right, back to working on Standing Pines for an hour, then try for AK party tickets!
Good luck to any other MO who's trying for tickets this morning! Here's hoping everyone who wants to go gets their ticket today.
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Post by MinnieMom on Nov 28, 2023 11:14:53 GMT -5
Success! I have acquired 4 tickets to the event. I know we will use 2 of them. 3 and 4 are still up in the air as those two local friends won't know for sure until a day or two before the event. If anyone here wants or needs those, please let me know. We can meet up at the entrance if I wind up with 1-2 extra tickets. But if my friends can't go and these tickets cannot help other MOs, I'll use the link to cancel 2 days before the event on December 11 in hopes someone else who wants to go can use them.
I followed the suggestion to have the webpage up on multiple devices, as anyone who had the page up before the virtual queue began was assigned a random number at 11am for a place in line. I was #209 on my tablet, #284 on my phone and #2847 on my computer. Going with the tablet, I finished and had the confirmation email by 11:04. The phone auto exited before I could get to it, then I left the webpage on my computer. It was already down to #1054 in line when I closed that page at 11:04, leading me to think that most members with onsite reservations who were standing by to book before 11am likely got tickets.
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Post by PirateLinda on Nov 28, 2023 12:27:38 GMT -5
Success! I have acquired 4 tickets to the event. I know we will use 2 of them. 3 and 4 are still up in the air as those two local friends won't know for sure until a day or two before the event. If anyone here wants or needs those, please let me know. We can meet up at the entrance if I wind up with 1-2 extra tickets. But if my friends can't go and these tickets cannot help other MOs, I'll use the link to cancel 2 days before the event on December 11 in hopes someone else who wants to go can use them. I followed the suggestion to have the webpage up on multiple devices, as anyone who had the page up before the virtual queue began was assigned a random number at 11am for a place in line. I was #209 on my tablet, #284 on my phone and #2847 on my computer. Going with the tablet, I finished and had the confirmation email by 11:04. The phone auto exited before I could get to it, then I left the webpage on my computer. It was already down to #1054 in line when I closed that page at 11:04, leading me to think that most members with onsite reservations who were standing by to book before 11am likely got tickets. Congrats! I got ours too! I started at 128 and was making my reservation in 2 minutes. Yay!! |
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Post by MinnieMom on Nov 28, 2023 13:45:42 GMT -5
PirateLinda - mutual congrats! That whole process was easier than I anticipated, which feels like something I don't say about Disney IT very often.
I love meeting MO in person. Any interest in trying to get together to say hello? I'm thinking we will get to the park around 5ish just in case they open it up earlier than stated. Might be a good time to visit while waiting in line, if you happen to be thinking anything similar.
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Post by PirateLinda on Nov 29, 2023 18:02:46 GMT -5
PirateLinda - mutual congrats! That whole process was easier than I anticipated, which feels like something I don't say about Disney IT very often. I love meeting MO in person. Any interest in trying to get together to say hello? I'm thinking we will get to the park around 5ish just in case they open it up earlier than stated. Might be a good time to visit while waiting in line, if you happen to be thinking anything similar. Sure! Let's try to get together. I have park reservations for AK that day, but now that we have this booked, I don't think we want to spend the whole day there. So, I will probably be changing that park reservation and go to the AK later. If meeting while waiting to get in doesn't work, maybe we could catch up sometime during the evening. |
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Post by helenabear on Nov 29, 2023 18:26:09 GMT -5
This looks like a fun trip! Enjoy it and congrats on MM!
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Post by MinnieMom on Dec 1, 2023 13:08:42 GMT -5
Thanks! One week to go before heading out and I'm really looking forward to this trip!
DD and DH got into the Christmas decorations last night. Once I wrap up work for the day, we'll put up the tree. It's going to be extra fun this year, as last year's tiny RV tree was perhaps more in spirit than tradition. This weekend will be our holiday prep time at home, which should make it even more fun to come home than usual after this trip to Florida.
One quick funny - when I confirmed we were going to put up decorations, DD asked if we could have cheesy Christmas music. Yep, we are raising that girl right!
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