Disney & My Family

JMarsden92 March 3, 2009
[2] comments

My parents have been taking me to Disney World since I was just a toddler.  We stayed at the Grand Floridian majority of the time, and we were on the Gold Key Plan.  Eventually Disney stopped offering that plan.

 

My parents eventually bought into Disney Vacation Club.  We still vacationed on money for quite some time.  After they took me, wife, and daughter to Disney World, and we stayed in a DVC villa I saw what a savings this could be.

 

We toured some of the other Florida timeshare properties.  We were not happy.  We took one final journey into the DVC sales office.  After speaking with Kelly Jo we decided that we needed to think a bit more.  To our astonishment Kelly Jo didn’t pressure us one bit.  As a matter of fact she told us that she would give us some paperwork to look over, and if we were interested we could call, and do everything through the mail.

 

The other timeshare presentations were high pressured, and just as a note… the FREE food is absolutelly the worst.  (Hot Dogs, and soda are what we were given at the last timeshare presentation we went to prior to purchasing Disney Vacation Club (DVC).

 

We went home, and I did a lot of number crunching.  The wife, and I decided that this was definitelly an opportunity for us to take advantage of.  We initially purchased 150 points.  Later on we added 50 more.

 

Since we became DVC owners we have gone on more trips to Disney World.  We also used the points to go on Disney Cruise once, and also stayed at Vero Beach once.  All together we have hit the savings already.

 

We go to Old Key West majority of the time, and stay in a 1 bedroom villa.  On occassion we will stay at either the Boardwalk, or Saratoga Springs.  Granted we almost always vacation in Disney at Value times.

 

My daughter of 9 absolutelly loves going to Disney, as we don’t work on a schedule, or cram a lot into a day.  We have actually started a ritual of going to Disney during Easter.  My daughter loves the activities that the DVC resorts have, plus that is one of the only times that she has numerous days out of school.

 

The reason that the season means a lot is that Disney has structured the points values based on the time of year.  Major holidays are “Peak.”

 

By going as much as we do, we have found that purchasing an Annual Pass works best if you are going to vacation in Disney at least 2 times within the 364 days.  DVC members get a discount on their Annual passes.

 

We successfully get to see each of the parks during each trip.  Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, MGM Studios (Hollywood Studios).

 

Do your research if you are going to purchase a timeshare.  You may think that it looks good at first, but won’t really know until you have used it a few times.  You can see our unbiased reviews at either of our sites.

 

You can view more about Disney , Disney Cruising, and more at:

http://www.DisneyContestBlog.Com, or http://www.MyBlogs4U.Com.

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Starting to Prepare for Vacation

JMarsden92 February 22, 2009
[6] comments

constrctbarguys

Well, we recently made major changes to our upcoming vacation to Disney World.  Originally we were going to drive down with our camper, and stay in Fort Wilderness.  After we realized the cost we were going to incur we changed everything… Well, almost.

We are now driving down, and staying in a “Suite” just outside the main gates of Disney World.  Then we will be moving over to our timeshare in Disney.  Starting to prepare now is essential, as I have to make sure everything is ready.  Between getting the car luggage carrier out, and washed to making sure the car is running absolutelly perfect, there is a lot to do.  I know it seems a bit early, but it really isn’t, as work can get in the way, and I tend to forget to do things.  Some of the stuff is in my schedule to do by certain dates, so it may not be done yet.
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Vacationing & The Economy

JMarsden92 February 8, 2009
[4] comments

We decided last year that we would have to cut our vacationing down to once a year because money just isn’t what it used to be.  I was looking over my reservations for this year, and realized that I was going to be paying @$400 for a campsite at Ft. Wilderness.  Can you believe that?  @$400 for 3 nights on a site, and I supply my camper.  Thinking about the money we would be spending just in transporting the camper, and time I would have to add onto the travel was all it took.  I called Disney, and asked them for a price for a room at the All Stars, and they told me that it was @400.  I thought about it, and being that it is only for a few days prior to staying at Old Key West we decided that we would look around to see what the outside was charging.

We checked with one of our favorite locations.  The Palms Hotel & Villas told me that they were @$250 for the same days.  Now, I realize that they aren’t on grounds, and for most that may be important, but for us we are driving, and The Palms is actually closer to Disney than most would believe.

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Has anyone else had to modify their vacation plans because of the economy?

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Disney & DVC Vacation Planning

JMarsden92 February 3, 2009
[1] comment

I am making a list of sites that have tools to help in planning Disney DVC vacations.  While there are many out there, I don’t have the resources to find all of them.  If you have one, then comment here, and I will make sure it gets into my listing.  Here are a few that I have.

http://web.nalu.net/~wneth/

http://www.mousemanager.com/index.html

http://www.tagrel.com/

http://www.dvcmember.com

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Disney Trip 12/2008

JMarsden92 December 22, 2008
[0] comments

My parents just returned from a short trip to Disney World.  They were only there for @3 days.

They stayed at the Boardwalk.  My mom told me that the parks were extremelly dead, and that restaurants were actually hawking people.  The weather was superb from what she described.

I only wish I could have gone down for the holidays this year.  I usually do, but with the money situation, and the work situation my family couldn’t afford to take it.  We are going in April for Easter vacation.  My daughter is out for 10 days, so we are going to enjoy that time.

We will probably get Annual Passes, as Easter 2009 is falling within the 364 days that the Annual Passes are good for.

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