We're home :( highs and lows from our trip

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RobynPrincess's picture
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We're home :( highs and lows from our trip

Returned yesterday from yet another wonderful trip and already counting down to September when we go back!

I'll start with the lows as tbh there weren't many and they were more niggles than big lows.

Housekeeping bothering us on our last day. This probably wouldn't annoy most people but I don't do mornings, especially when I have been up most of the night not too well. House keeping knocked 3 times at 8:50am the day we were checking out to find out what time we were leaving. I had deliberately packed the night before so we could sleep in as check out isn't until 11. I wasn't impressed and made sure the manager knew Wink to his credit he did offer us a free late check out but we were already packed and as we were awake then we just wanted to go.

The hard sell at Alamo. I'm getting really cheesed off with it. I even told the guy it was my 12th trip so knew the size I wanted, he went on to tell me we would be intimidated in the car we had as it was too small :nonono: and then tried to flog me a satnav. When dropping the car back the lady asked if they could change anything or make it better what would it be so I told her to drop the hard sell.

It rained for 4 days which was a bit of a pain wearing the ponchos but it wasn't about to ruin our holiday!

Not seeing wishes in the park, we just didn't get round to it but we saw it from the poly beach, the top of the world lounge and a theme park view room at BLT.

The new test track, I'm afraid I'm not a fan but I do think it fits better within Epcot now.

Now onto the highs.

The biggest high has got to be meeting so many wonderful disney friends! Sadly this trip they were all friends from the UK forum and no wdwfgu'ers Sad but fun nonetheless Laughing out loud

We had planned to meet Hayley&Gareth one evening but ended up seeing them everyday once they got there! (It was arranged once we were out there, we didn't just stalk them haha). We had met once before here in the UK though and email on Facebook every day Smile

The Clarion inn lake buena vista. It was a great budget hotel for the money we paid. I probably wouldn't stay there again but not cause its not a nice hotel but more because...

We decided to buy DVC! With AKL as our home resort. We really missed being onsite and once Hayley&Gareth got there we spent some time popping back to their room in BLT it was just so easy and more restful, we were dipping in and out of the parks and generally taking it easy. Such a different holiday to what we usually do, which is get to a park and spend all day there till the end. And with my dodgy health it was really beneficial.

Buying the tables in wonderland card. We more than broke even on this trip and as we are going back in September it will be all savings then! Laughing out loud

Tipping the guy who shows you to the car at Alamo Sanford. Got a 3 size upgrade for $20 Wink will try that one again next time Wink

Steak 'n Shake, thanks to Hayley and Gareth for showing us the light Wink it will be a must visit on every trip now.

Crowne plaza Gatwick. It was gorgeous! And I am totally sold on staying the night before, it was so much more relaxing being checked in and not having to worry.

The flower and garden festival food stands lol I mean the flowers were great and everything but it was all about the food stands Wink

We ate at some great places but Kobe has got to be one of the best offsite places we ate. Think Teppan Edo but cheaper Wink

Riding dumbo for the first time ever! It's brilliant, how have I never been on it before?

Seeing Olly Murs at DTD, wow he puts on a great show :thumbs-up

Well that sums it all up I think. Now on with the full trip report... Wink

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Our Very Merry 24 nighter Nov/Dec 15
Watson's go West May 15
The one with all the birthdays Oct 14 4 Big Birthdays and a Vow Renewal thrown in
The OMG trip June 14 30th Birthday present from the hubs
Girly trip March 14 A last min cheapy week
September 13 our first all DVC stay
TR May 2013 the last min bargain trip offsite
Oct 2012 TR with a cruise!big family trip featuring the beach club, AKL, the dream and a villa offsite
TR on a budget May - June 2011offsite condo
TR Sept - Oct 2010 big family trip in an offsite villa

Kris1971's picture
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Welcome back! So glad you had another wonderful trip. Can't wait to hear all about it and see some pics!

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RobynPrincess wrote:
The hard sell at Alamo. I'm getting really cheesed off with it. I even told the guy it was my 12th trip so knew the size I wanted, he went on to tell me we would be intimidated in the car we had as it was too small :nonono: and then tried to flog me a satnav. When dropping the car back the lady asked if they could change anything or make it better what would it be so I told her to drop the hard sell.

Ugh, that annoys me no end with rental car agents! If it's not a bigger car, it's the insurance. Whenever we make a rental car reservation, we always use our Amex. We pay some very small extra fee ($20ish) every year so that we have insurance coverage on rental cars. One extremely pushy guy I had to look him right in the eye and say "No. Insurance. Are we clear?"

Congrats new DVC owners! So exciting!

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congrats congrats congrats on buying dvc

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So glad you had a great time. It didn't seem like you were gone that long. Can't wait for your newsy TR.

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Welcome Home to the both of you. You will absolutely Love muchlove Love DVC congrats .

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Welcome back Robyn. I looked for you while we were there, but probably wouldn't have recognized my own mother in the sea of ponchos for the first few days. I can't wait to read your trip report and see your pictures.

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Congrats on buying DVC!! Did you do a tour? I'm thinking of doing a DVC tour when I go in Oct, so if you have any tips, please share!!

And I'm with you on the Steak and Shake!! YUM. I wish we had one closer!!

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We love national car rental "emerald club". You pass the rental desk and just go pick a car. No upsell

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Looking forward to hearing more about your trip. congratulations on buying DVC mickey

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So happy to hear you enjoyed your trip and decided to join DVC. It really does make a huge difference staying onsite and being able to go from park to resort with no hassle. Looking forward to your TR! clapping

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Congrats on buying DVC. This was our first trip as owners and what an amazing difference for us. We got caught in the rain as well the first couple of days but had a blast jumping in puddles and getting soaked. When you go back in the fall make sure you go to Welcome home Wednesdays at the boardwalk dancehall. We went and had a fantastic time.

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Welcome back!!

You bought DVC!!! WHoo hooo!! Congrats girl! DVC has so changed our lives for the better, you won't be sorry one second. I can't wait to hear the details of your trip.

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Sounds awesome! Congrats on the DVC!

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DVC - how exciting! Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

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Congrats on DVC!! I'm thankful for DVC, it keeps me going back to Disney which I love! I'm glad you had a good trip and can't wait to hear more!

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CONGRATS ON DVC!! And I am glad that you had such a good trip.

DVC is addicting, I want more points! DH is more level headed and reins me in. wink

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Welcome back!! Love hearing all your highlights--the whole trip sounds fantastic, and CONGRATULATIONS on your DVC Purchase!! clapping clapping

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Fall 2015: Master's Degree Graduation Trip, Details TBD! Can't wait to be back in the World!
Nov. 2014: Baby's First 1/2 Day at the Magic Kingdom; our date day at Hollywood studios
Jan. 2014: Our princess was born!
May 2013: Our POR & DCL honeymoon (& my husband's first Disney trip of hopefully many!)
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Welcome Back Robyn!! Congratulations on your DVC purchase.

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Congrats & welcome home!

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Wohoo for the big DVC purchase! Can't wait for the details of your trip!

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Welcome back to rainy old England! Glad you had a good time and how exciting buying DVC awesome

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Fiona

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Welcome back! Now start packing for September!! Haha.

Congrats on the DVC purchase!!

Dumbo is still on my list of things I have yet to ride - sounds like maybe I should give it a whirl!

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JeffC wrote:
Dumbo is still on my list of things I have yet to ride - sounds like maybe I should give it a whirl!

OMG, I've never ridden it either. I swear I'm going to do it one of these times!

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Congrats and Welcome Home! DVC has changed my Disney experience - you are gonna love it. And I want more points too...very addictive, I must agree.

mickey

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Thanks everyone! I feel bad, I should have worded the DVC bit a little better, we haven't got the points yet, we are buying resale (we have already made an offer though!). Sorry if I wasn't clear Smile looking at a 250ish point contract as that will give us 3 weeks per year in a studio in September or October. 2 weeks in a standard and enough for 1 week in BLT or club level.

We actually did 2 tours while we were there, one with a guy called Tim and then another with our friends guide, Nick. They both fed us a lot of bull and put the hard sell on which is why we decided to buy resale. I wasn't giving my money to someone who out and out lied to me! Shock

already counting down to September Smile we are also planning for a big family trip next year for my 30th, it was going to be Hawaii but we decided to buy DVC instead as it isn't going to cost much more and we get years of pleasure from them Laughing out loud

We went to dumbo late in the day one evening and it was dead, it's def the time for adults to ride with no queue Wink

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Our Very Merry 24 nighter Nov/Dec 15
Watson's go West May 15
The one with all the birthdays Oct 14 4 Big Birthdays and a Vow Renewal thrown in
The OMG trip June 14 30th Birthday present from the hubs
Girly trip March 14 A last min cheapy week
September 13 our first all DVC stay
TR May 2013 the last min bargain trip offsite
Oct 2012 TR with a cruise!big family trip featuring the beach club, AKL, the dream and a villa offsite
TR on a budget May - June 2011offsite condo
TR Sept - Oct 2010 big family trip in an offsite villa

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Welcome back!...can't wait for the full trip report!...Congrats on DVC!!...as WDWFanatic stated buying points is definitely addictive...just closed on SSR and can't wait to add on somewhere else already Smile

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RobynPrincess wrote:
They both fed us a lot of bull and put the hard sell on which is why we decided to buy resale. I wasn't giving my money to someone who out and out lied to me!

eek I'd really like to know a little more about this because I have never seen or heard of a DVC CM doing this.

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mrhub wrote:
RobynPrincess wrote:
They both fed us a lot of bull and put the hard sell on which is why we decided to buy resale. I wasn't giving my money to someone who out and out lied to me!

eek I'd really like to know a little more about this because I have never seen or heard of a DVC CM doing this.

Have a look at mouse owners or the DVC forum on the dis then Wink its rife with tales the same as ours sadly.

The one guide told us that as they know our names Disney wouldn't allow us to buy resale now, they would buy back the contracts to make it hard for us. That Disney are buying up all resale at the min, I have seen this online and told him so but thought they weren't buying AKL and he said no, they are buying up ALL. I have looked at how many AKL contracts they have bought back this year and its zero! We told him of the offers our friends got when they bought and he said they didn't get what they did, so we went away to check their paperwork and said yep he was right. Well when we saw our friends after they got their paperwork out and showed us their deals and he was lying, they got exactly what we told him that he denied. He then went on to say that if we buy resale Disney is going to change the rules so only direct can use other resorts and resale will only be able to use at their home resort. Also Disney is going to reduce the perks for resale like removing the $100 off the annual passes.

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Our Very Merry 24 nighter Nov/Dec 15
Watson's go West May 15
The one with all the birthdays Oct 14 4 Big Birthdays and a Vow Renewal thrown in
The OMG trip June 14 30th Birthday present from the hubs
Girly trip March 14 A last min cheapy week
September 13 our first all DVC stay
TR May 2013 the last min bargain trip offsite
Oct 2012 TR with a cruise!big family trip featuring the beach club, AKL, the dream and a villa offsite
TR on a budget May - June 2011offsite condo
TR Sept - Oct 2010 big family trip in an offsite villa

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I have read rumors of this recently. The removal of the AP discount and only home resort usage.

There are so many variables to this rumor. So many reason that it could be true, and so many reasons that it would never be true. I just close my eyes and hope for the best.

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Tammi

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Well like WDWFanatic said, I've heard about the rules changing for resale purchases, but yes so for they are rumors. The annual pass discount, I could see that happening. And i have heard Disney is buying up a lot of resale. You don't see it all on the web sites. Did you go in telling them you were not going to buy direct, only resale? If you did, I could see the CM's not being so anxious to even take you on a tour. Sorry about the rest of the stuff, unfortunate things happen sometimes. You may have gotten some one new and they got off track and needs to be reigned in. I would have contacted DVC afterwards if it was that bad.

We bought direct from DVC, got some great incentive deals, we are happy and got everything we were told and enjoy every point we have. Our sales agent is wonderful and never did a hard sell. Calls and sends e-mails, asking if we need anything or have any concerns.

And regarding the other sites, the only comment I will make about them is NO COMMENT!