Who/When/Where:

Who: Sue (62), DVC Member
Holli (50’s), friend
Chris (34), son
Amanda (32), daughter-in-law
Ari (5), grandson
Dates: September 2 – 6, 2021
Resort: Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
Experience: Very Experienced – 29th stay at Saratoga

INTRODUCTION:
This was booked as another club level trip at Jambo House, with other studios for Holli and Chris & Amanda. By last Memorial Day weekend (another club level stay that didn’t happen) I accepted the ugly truth that club level wouldn’t be open for this trip either. The concierge lounge would have been our gathering spot, so without that I jumped online to check availability for something big enough for all of us, and Saratoga Springs was the only thing available. It means Holli will have to use my bathroom (and sleep in the living room), but the resort is so pretty now (after the refurb) it was worth it to us. We’ve also been spending more time at Disney Springs since in this heat/humidity I have no interest in the parks, and Saratoga is very convenient to that. I’m looking forward to cooler weather for the later part of the Food & Wine Festival, and will happily go into Epcot to enjoy that (walking in from Beach Club or Boardwalk stays) but beyond that I could care less about going to any other park without fastpass being back. As it turns out, Disney made a liar out of me and a few weeks before the trip announced the concierge lounge would be opening August 26th! I was heartbroken, and of course nothing there was available, so I’ll just need to make the best of it.

For Saratoga I booked standard view since that’s all that was available at the time, and I’ve requested the Paddock. That section has a very nice pool area, with a slide for Ari to enjoy. It’s also fairly convenient to the Carriage House. When going to Disney Springs I’m undecided on Disney transportation vs driving – driving may win out since we don’t have to wear masks in the car, but we’ll see how it goes.

At Disney Springs there are a number of possibilities for Holli & me. We’d like to hit Jock Lindsay Hangar Bar for happy hour one day, which is from noon til 3pm Mon-Fri. It’s possible we’ll share the sliders at the bar at Splitsville some day. Gideon’s is ridiculously fattening, but so good – no doubt we’ll be there early in the trip. Close to 60 days before the trip I made some dining reservations and set our game plan. Arrival day we’ll do the Gideon’s virtual queue and Jock Lindsay Hangar Bar while waiting for the villa to be ready. I booked Splitsville lunch for Friday, but we may just show up and sit at the bar. We’re interested in the sliders, which we can share. Saturday I booked lunch at Terralina, and Sunday we’ll wander over to the Lava Lounge to check that out (somewhere new to me – hoping it’s in air conditioning).

In terms of the parks, my park pass is valid but my willingness to endure the heat, humidity and crowds is lacking. I did book a reservation for Epcot on Friday, figuring since the park is open late I could visit Food & Wine at night with Chris’ family. Holli doesn’t have a park pass, so she’ll be enjoying a resort trip. Chris’ family arrives Friday – they were both able to get out of work early so they’ll pick Ari up at school (he’s in kindergarten now) and hit the road. They have park reservations for Saturday through Monday and included me, but I will have canceled myself from most of them prior to the trip.

A few weeks ago I got an email from DVC about a member preview opportunity for Remy’s Ratatouille attraction in France at Epcot. I joined the queue and secured spots for us (not Holli, since she doesn’t have a park pass) on Sunday. I absolutely did NOT want to be going into the parks on these hot days, but I knew Chris, Amanda & Ari would want to do this and they couldn’t if I wasn’t there. I also did not want to deal with the ridiculous 5 bus stops at Saratoga and then being dumped at the front entrance to Epcot, having to sweat my way back to France – and then repeat the trip getting out of there. Fortunately someone I know is staying at Beach Club Villas, so I’ll drive over there to “visit” them, dash into Epcot/France for the preview, then head back out.

We’re not planning to do the full blown faux concierge lounge each night this trip, since we have proximity to Disney Springs and will be eating more than we did on the previous faux lounge trips. We’ll see. I don’t think Top of the World lounge is open yet, or we’d consider an evening there to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks. I teased Holli I should have my butt parked in the real concierge lounge, where someone else cuts up the cheeses and lays things out, so I’m going to sit in the living room like a prima donna slug while she does all the work <g>.

A couple more developments occurred around a week before the trip. On a personal note (most people already know), my dad passed away. Chris & I flew up to Boston Sunday for the services Monday and flew back to our homes Tuesday – 2 days ago. Thank you for the many messages of support on Facebook. Also this week Disney announced their new annual pass tiers and pricing, which are so ridiculously higher than before we’re not sure what the future will hold for us in terms of Disney trips. I do enjoy the resorts, and I could definitely don’t want to be in the parks when it’s hot, but since I still work doing weekday trips doesn’t work. That will be a great retirement plan, but that would leave out Chris, Amanda & Ari, so I don’t like that. So, time will tell. For now I just renewed my pass, so I am fine until early October 2022. We’ll see what the 2022 Food & Wine trip looks like <g>.

The plans so far are:
Thursday 9/2: Drive to WDW, Disney Springs, Jock Lindsay Hangar Bar
Friday 9/3: Pool, Splitsville, Food & Wine evening
Saturday 9/4: Pool, Terralina, Resort
Sunday 9/5: Pool, Remy’s Ratatouille preview, Lava Lounge
Monday 9/6: Drive to Gainesville

Sue/WDW1972

On 9/1/2021 6:06 PM, Sue/WDW1972 wrote:
>
> A few weeks ago I got an email from DVC about a member preview
> opportunity for Remy’s Ratatouille attraction in France at Epcot. I
> joined the queue and secured spots for us (not Holli, since she
> doesn’t have a park pass) on Sunday. I absolutely did NOT want to be
> going into the parks on these hot days, but I knew Chris, Amanda &
> Ari would want to do this and they couldn’t if I wasn’t there. I
> also did not want to deal with the ridiculous 5 bus stops at Saratoga
> and then being dumped at the front entrance to Epcot, having to sweat
> my way back to France – and then repeat the trip getting out of
> there. Fortunately someone I know is staying at Beach Club Villas,
> so I’ll drive over there to “visit” them, dash into Epcot/France for
> the preview, then head back out.

Yeah, I've "visited a friend" at BW before. I actually DID visit
friends staying there but I just happened to leave my car parked much
longer than our actual "visit". ;-) I did park valet, so at least I
wasn't taking away a parking spot from anyone.

> We’re not planning to do the full blown faux concierge lounge each
> night this trip, since we have proximity to Disney Springs and will
> be eating more than we did on the previous faux lounge trips. We’ll
> see. I don’t think Top of the World lounge is open yet, or we’d
> consider an evening there to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks. I
> teased Holli I should have my butt parked in the real concierge
> lounge, where someone else cuts up the cheeses and lays things out,
> so I’m going to sit in the living room like a prima donna slug while
> she does all the work <g>.

LOL!

> A couple more developments occurred around a week before the trip.
> On a personal note (most people already know), my dad passed away.
> Chris & I flew up to Boston Sunday for the services Monday and flew
> back to our homes Tuesday – 2 days ago. Thank you for the many
> messages of support on Facebook.

I saw that. My condolences.

> Also this week Disney announced
> their new annual pass tiers and pricing, which are so ridiculously
> higher than before we’re not sure what the future will hold for us in
> terms of Disney trips. I do enjoy the resorts, and I could
> definitely don’t want to be in the parks when it’s hot, but since I
> still work doing weekday trips doesn’t work. That will be a great
> retirement plan, but that would leave out Chris, Amanda & Ari, so I
> don’t like that. So, time will tell. For now I just renewed my
> pass, so I am fine until early October 2022. We’ll see what the 2022
> Food & Wine trip looks like <g>.

Yeah, I saw those prices. It does seem high, but if you think about it,
it has about doubled in the last 10 years, which is about on pace with
general ticket prices.

--

- RODNEY

Next WDW Vacation?
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Sorry for the loss of your dad. Just saw it here for the first time.
Great that Chris was able to accompany you to the funeral.

On Thursday, September 9, 2021 at 12:54:59 PM UTC-5, Peppermint Patty wrote:
> Sorry for the loss of your dad. Just saw it here for the first time.
> Great that Chris was able to accompany you to the funeral.

Out of town when a parent is gravely ill?
That's weird to say the least.

Mouse prices have doubled in 10 years but average guests income hasn't.