Details and Options – Revision 1, Part 1 of 4

The vast majority of the trip is already planned, but anything or everything could change in the next 5 years. I'm going to make several bite-sized postings outlining my initial draft of the trip in detail. Comments, questions, and concerns are welcome and encouraged; this is everybody's vacation, and I'm not here to dictate what has to be done. All of my choices have a purpose, and I'll do my best to explain them, but I'm always open to ideas and suggestions. Y'all can contact me any way you'd like, including the question box on the sidebar. Important note: All prices listed are in Canadian currency unless otherwise noted.

General

First, the reason for choosing this vacation. Mary and I enjoyed our trip in January 2007 so much that most of the trip, or at least the "skeleton" of it, is based on it. The destination, resort, and cruise are the same. Of course, not everything is the same, due to their being more people and kids on the trip, but our resort, for example, is ideal for either a couple or a large, multi-generational group. Our days at the parks will be different, as will our activities on the ship. One challenge for me is going to be how to either keep things balanced so that everyone will enjoy them, or provide separate options tailored to different types of people; input is especially welcome in this regard.

Dates

The length of the full trip (11 nights, 12 days) was determined by the Disney parks and cruise. Disney's 4 theme parks ideally require 6 full days to best experience them, and we found Disney's 4-night cruise to be of a good length (although it would be longer if we weren't staying at Disney for a week). Here's an outline of the full trip:

• Day 1: Travel, settle in, dinner, relax
  
• Days 2-7: These 6 days will be dedicated to visiting the parks
  
• Day 8: Leaving Disney World Resort and embarking on the cruise
  
• Days 9-11: 3 full days on the cruise (one day at sea; one day it Nassau, Bahamas; and one day at Disney's private island, Castaway Cay)
  
• Day 12: Disembark the ship and return home
  

The exact date of the trip was determined by researching several important factors: budgeting, crowd levels, weather (particularly hurricane season), temperatures, resort pricing, airfare pricing, cruise pricing, and cruise dates. The result: December 2-13, 2012.

Getting There and Back

Driving sucks for several reasons: time, energy expense, gas expense, meal expense, vehicle wear-and-tear, lodging expense, and possibly lost income for those who don't receive vacation pay. Compared to flying, driving can easily be more expensive.

We'll be flying out of Buffalo International Airport (BUF), likely with JetBlue and/or Southwest. They're both low-cost airlines, but you wouldn't know it. Mary and I enjoyed flying with both of them, but JetBlue came out on top due to their in-flight satellite TV at every individual seat (which make the time fly as well). We had layovers with both airlines, but they weren't a hassle at all, and were worth the lower price. Mary and I paid around $350 total (for both of us, round-trip, including all taxes and fees).

The best option for getting to the airport and back will be for us to drive there separately. This comes at a cost of about $80 for two weeks per vehicle, but is the least-expensive option.

Part 2 of 4 will be posted tomorrow!