Mouse Extra

Yesterday, my wife and I finalized the early plans to head to the Mouse in May.  Considering how difficult and complicated some make planning a Disney World vacation appear to be, I thought potential travelers may appreciate a journal of the initial planning through to the flight home.

First, we decided this would only be a three night trip.  Due to scheduling, we decided to go Sunday through Wednesday.  This allowed for cheaper accommodations and even flights.  Also, during slower times of the year, it has been my experience that crowds drop off during the week.  Since the tri is a short one, we need to be able to do as much as possible and slightly lower crowds helps.

I normally book my trips much earlier than this, but due to a variety of work and home related stuff, we needed to wait.  The whole time I waited, I tortured myself by watching airline prices go up and down like a corporate yo-yo.  Finally, we decided on May and I spent the next 24 hours waiting for the prices to change yet again, which they consistently but inexplicably do.  This part of the process is always the most aggravating.  Once you get past this stage, you deal with Disney.  They are at least pleasant, which is more than can be said for your everyday airline contact.

I am a DVC member, so I knew in advance that booking only a few weeks out may be difficult.  I also knew none of the higher end resorts, Boardwalk, Beach Club, or Wilderness Lodge, would be available.  But I wasn’t prepared for nearly being shut out.  In order to get the days I wanted, I almost needed to switch resorts in mid-trip from Old Key West to the Saratoga Springs.  But persistence won the day, and now I only need to switch rooms within Saratoga Springs.  We’ll spend part of our trip in a one-bedroom and part in a studio.  It is more points than I wanted to part with, but once you get the bug in your head you’ll do nearly anything to make it work.

So we have our flights, and our dates.  The next trick is to book whatever meals we can, or just decide to eat somewhere that doesn’t need an advanced dining reservation.  To be continued…