5 do Florida for the 1st time - October 2018 - Day 23 - Travel home, Highs, lows and future plans

[Milpston]

Originally Posted by Eccle

A good smooth journey back for you, though a shame Emma wouldn't sleep, I think I've been lucky that mine have always slept most of the way on the flight home. I got the impression reading through that you'd be back, impressed you have already booked up again! 5 and 3 will be great ages for it all, though I feel the pain on having a 3 year old, everything for our trip this year seems a lot more expensive with one child a Disney adult (at the grand old age of 10!) and all of them now being over 3.

I know you listed Beach Club as one of your highs, do you think it was worth it over any other Disney hotels?

Thank you for the report, I've really enjoyed it

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It's a ridiculously long count down but will give us motivation to get the saving done!

[Milpston]

Originally Posted by DisneyDaffodil

Successful travel day to end your wonderful trip. Shame you couldn’t stop to buy the boat though 😂

I imagine your next trip will be fabulous too, especially with a 3 and 5 year old with you. Possibly the best ages to go (although I think any age is the best, even as old as me 😂 ) I can’t wait to see how they will have grown by then.

I agree for a larger family a villa is definitely a good idea, nice to have space to spread out and the pool to relax by. We love onsite for the transport and dining but the villas you stayed in did sway me a little, and you have definitely tempted me to try a few days at a beach when we return (possibly 2021/22)

Thanks for taking the time to write your report. Ours will be completed, you have inspired us to get back onto it this weekend now 😀

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I now have visions of me walking through Fort Lauderdale with my inflated rubber dinghy over my shoulder!
Emma talks about the holiday non stop and we can't even tell her we have booked again as she will just not grasp he concept of such a long wait The beach break in the middle worked brilliantly for us. I'm hoping we can do something similar next time although I didn't think I will stretch to 3 nights at Opal Sands I am going to keep a grip on the budget this time.

I'm actually looking forward t going back to reading trip reports rather than writing it! I will definitely be cheeking back in with yours!

[Milpston]

Originally Posted by Hel22

Thank you so much for doing this report, I've loved following it and it has made me laugh many times. Happy planning for the next adventure!

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Thank you for following along. I'd be really grateful if we could swap countdowns! Have a fantastic trip.

[Eccle]

Originally Posted by Milpston

It was a smooth enough day and I would have no issues with flying from FLL or MIA again. We fully expected both the kids to sleep all the way home. Schoolboy error on my part to pick the wrong kid
I have to say I have had it in the back of my mind just to pretend he's not 3 yet but really can't be done with the grief.

The Beach Club is a lovely hotel and the location really is superb being able to walk to two parks so easily. It's impossible or me to say if it is worth the money over other Disney options as I haven't stayed anywhere else. We also go the free upgrade from Saratoga Springs to BC. For me, it was worth what we paid I'm not sure I would justify too much more. If I had got a room with no view or no balcony then I think I would have been a bit underwhelmed even though we barely went on our balcony. Stormalong Bay was really lovely and I think if we had more than 7 nights on site we would have been able to make more of it.
For next years trip we considered other on site Disney options and nothing really grabbed me. My problem with holidays has always been that I have champagne tastes and a lemonade budget! As such none of the Value or moderate hotels have really grabbed my attention having read lots of trip reports over the last couple of years. I think I would like AKL but only if I could stretch to a savannah view and by that time you are at BC/YC money. I want to try some of the other Deluxes at some stage to compare but 5 us in a room for 3 weeks knowing the space we could have at a villa is difficult. The prices o 1 and two bedroom suites etc is just extortionate on site.

I like the idea of trying to get a night at a couple of different deluxe resorts during our next trip just to see what they are like and have a different experience. I have had a brief look and to rent a 1 bedroom villa at AKL with Savannah view by renting DVC points will cost not far off what our 5 bedroom villa will cost or a week so I will only do that if I find some bargains.

How's that for a rambling answer? You can tell I have no trip report left to write

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Good thorough response! The reason behind my question was debating in my own mind if it was worth it for us, or whether I should look at switching to Caribbean Beach or Port Orleans and saving money. Which is the same debate I had with myself when we booked in the first place! But I do like the look of BC more, and my conclusion when booking was if we were going to stay on site then I wanted somewhere we really got the benefit of the location. The pool was a factor too, so I will have to make sure we actually use it!

[Milpston]

Originally Posted by Eccle

Good thorough response! The reason behind my question was debating in my own mind if it was worth it for us, or whether I should look at switching to Caribbean Beach or Port Orleans and saving money. Which is the same debate I had with myself when we booked in the first place! But I do like the look of BC more, and my conclusion when booking was if we were going to stay on site then I wanted somewhere we really got the benefit of the location. The pool was a factor too, so I will have to make sure we actually use it!

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That would be my feeling too. I am a complete newbie to WDW as you know and I know there will be lots ready to shout me down. However, my feeling is that the on site hotels are only lightly Disney themed (All starts excluded) so other than the dining plan the only real reason to stay there is for the convenience. My view is that if you have to get busses etc to every single one of the Disney parks then I don't see how that is much more convenient than driving off site to stay (unless of course not having a drink would be a big negative). The caveat to that is obviously just how big the cost saving would be. Although Stormalong Bay is very nice it isn't a patch on BB or TL which you would still have. It's a tough one. I have paid the deposit on our villa for next time and I still have the odd day where I wonder if I'll regret not doing a split stay again. Having said that we all said at the time villa was the best for us at the moment and it was a family decision to do villa only next time. I'm fairly sure I'll try and do a night at a Disney hotel or two at some point in the stay

[Tetrarch]

We have both absolutely loved reading your trip report. I know we had an added incentive to read about the part of your holiday you stayed in our villa, but once we started reading, we were hooked on the whole report, so thank you for putting in the time and effort both before and after your holiday.

One thing though - I can't believe you actually broke your ankle in two places and just carried on! You Essex men, you're such a hero

Debra

[Milpston]

Originally Posted by Tetrarch

We have both absolutely loved reading your trip report. I know we had an added incentive to read about the part of your holiday you stayed in our villa, but once we started reading, we were hooked on the whole report, so thank you for putting in the time and effort both before and after your holiday.

One thing though - I can't believe you actually broke your ankle in two places and just carried on! You Essex men, you're such a hero

Debra

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Debra. Thank you so much. I just hope that that my rubbish photography and rapidly typed error strewn typing did your villa justice!
The fact that I have rebooked already should speak volumes to anyone reading as I NEVER go back to any accommodation I have ever stayed at in the past. Thank you for all of your help.

I'm sure #HERO is now trending worldwide. I would check on twitter if I knew how! Can't believe I was silly to miss out on a month off work when I got home but you can't win them all.

I'll be back to stalking your every post for another 18 months

[Eccle]

Originally Posted by Milpston

That would be my feeling too. I am a complete newbie to WDW as you know and I know there will be lots ready to shout me down. However, my feeling is that the on site hotels are only lightly Disney themed (All starts excluded) so other than the dining plan the only real reason to stay there is for the convenience. My view is that if you have to get busses etc to every single one of the Disney parks then I don't see how that is much more convenient than driving off site to stay (unless of course not having a drink would be a big negative). The caveat to that is obviously just how big the cost saving would be. Although Stormalong Bay is very nice it isn't a patch on BB or TL which you would still have. It's a tough one. I have paid the deposit on our villa for next time and I still have the odd day where I wonder if I'll regret not doing a split stay again. Having said that we all said at the time villa was the best for us at the moment and it was a family decision to do villa only next time. I'm fairly sure I'll try and do a night at a Disney hotel or two at some point in the stay

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Yes I agree, the only one that might swing it is the All Star family suites with the theming, but they are so expensive given they don't give you the free dining plan. Another factor is the deluxe resorts having bigger rooms, which is significant with there being 5 of us. I think I will end up sticking as this might be the only time we stay on site so I'd like to be somewhere I really want to stay instead of compromising. With one littler one my thoughts were that if we needed a rest or an earlier night, one of us could stay with him and one take the other two into Epcot or Hollywood Studios, or to the pool, which we'd be less likely to do if it involves buses or driving. We'll see, I may become a complete onsite convert!

[Goldia]

Brilliant, you have a new countdown. The villa seems like a great idea for all 5 of you and allows you to have some laid back chill time together. I've really enjoyed reading your trip report and I hope you do decide to do another one in 2020, it will be great to see the kids growing up!

[lovedisney]

Glad to see you decided on Hibiscus Ridge again for your next holiday, it's a fab villa we loved it. I definately think that the discovery cove non swim is still worth it esp if you can get it at a good price which you normally can if you add it on to your seaworld/Busch tickets. Would also recommend Wild florida we have done this and added on the Sloath encounter and the second time Lemur encounter.