9+ months with the Mouse -1 year on the road update

[OhioDVC]

In just under a year, Sep 2010, I'll be retiring after 33 years in the military. My wife and I agreed on taking a year off to reconnect. We plan on starting our vacation the beginning of Jan 2011 with the WDW marathon weekend. I need to figure the whole year out and start making DVC reservations Feb 2010. I have points spread out over all of the DVC resorts so the 7/11 month window really doesn't matter.

Need advice on how long you can stay in a studio before the walls start coming in on you. I was thinking about staying 12 nights in a 1 - bedroom (Check-in Sunday check-out 12 days later on Friday) then 9 nights in a studio to cover two weekends to reduce the points. I'll have about 6,500 points (another 1,500 if I need them) for the year so I don't think I can do the whole time in a one bedroom

We plan on 5 cruises(cash-no points) (Transatlantic in May 2011) followed by Adventures by Disney to Italy(cash, no points). Plus the Alaska cruise and a couple of 3/4 day cruises around the Bahamas.

Come back for the month of June at Hilton Head then July and August at Club Intrawest in Sandestion, Fl - yes I cheated and bought points at Club Intrawest too.

Labor Day weekend at VGC in California for the Disneyland half marathon, Alaska cruise either before or after and then back to WDW for the fall endurance races

Jan - May at WDW and Sept - Dec back at WDW

Any ideas on how to best save points?

Do you think 9 months in a studio is crazy?

Maybe take 2-3 three day cruises over the weekends

Only two weeks in a two bedroom for the (college aged) kids to come visit.

Which studios do you find are the best?

Has anyone stayed for 2-3 months at WDW? Did you get bored? Was it too much at once?

The year off will be fun but the thought of planning it all out is almost overwhelming with all of the details. I have a headache already.

Since this is a once in a life time trip, plus payback to my wife for all of the separation (military induced), I would appreciate any advice to maximize wife's enjoyment. (yes, besides the spa treatments, long walks in the rain, and being more sensitive)

 

[El&Asmom]

Can't help with the planning, just wanted to say I'm jealous. Have fun, and congrats and thank you for your service to our country.

 

[dallastxcpa]

WOW! All I can say is fabulous. I personally could see myself in a small space for extended periods of time. My DH and I have often talked about purchasing a sail boat when he retires.

Have you thought about how you will handle things that you pick up along the way. The little mementos that may need to be shipped back to someone back home. The one thing I can't stand is clutter so I would have to have a plan in place to keep things in order.

 

[DeeCee735]

that sounds awesome! good for you and congrats on your upcoming retirement.
when we first joined i asked a cm how long a member could stay and i was told no more than 2 months, i'm guessing that's 2 consecutive months in the same room?

no matter...have a great time!

 

[starbox]

Since this is a once in a life time trip, plus payback to my wife for all of the separation (military induced), I would appreciate any advice to maximize wife's enjoyment. (yes, besides the spa treatments, long walks in the rain, and being more sensitive)

First of all - WHAT AN AWESOME IDEA!!

As for logistics - every wife is different, but for most women, I think clutter and organization are the BIGGIES. We're like to "nest". We *need* space for our stuff - shoes, clothes (9 months will be different seasons even in Florida) - for me BOOKS! I'd love an extended getaway - but I don't think I could handle living out of a suitcase for a long period of time.

What I'd recommend is actually a variation of what we are doing this summer - which is renting a house or condo in a nearby area to act as a "home base". We're renting a house in Vero for all of June - including stops on the way there and back, we'll do four 3-4 night DVC trips in that time (all in studios). The house will give me some consistency - a place to do laundry, store "stuff" and stock groceries. The DVC times will be "resort-time".

Due to the economy - there are TONS of furnished homes/condos for extended rentals in Florida - and extended seasonal rentals are affordable.

I'd look into using some of the cash you intend to spend on the multiple cruises/Adventures by Disney to just rent a one-bedroom condo/house for all 9 months. Use points to do NUMEROUS 3-4 night midweek DVC stays all over the place, but have a "home base" where you can return and store living stuff. Use all the saved points to do the cruises/ABD.

 

[OhioDVC]

Starbox
Dallastxcpa
DeeCee


All good ideas. My wife an I just can back from WDW this past weekend, we ran the Race for the Taste. We went over to Celebration and looked at buying a 3br/3bath condo for the year vacation. The prices and interest rates are great right now. While Celebration had a great feel, it didn't compare to WDW and staying on property at a DVC. I think we would lose too much of the magic staying off property

We enjoy reading but I think we will need stick to using the library as to not accumulate too many books. I hadn't thought of this before...thanks for bringing it up.

I think trinkets will need to be mailed back to the kids to keep for us until the year is over and we go back to work...oh no...that nasty four letter word.

 

[Pixieflip]

Congratulations on your retirement and thank you for your service to our country.

It would be my dream to stay at WDW for months during our harsh winters up north. I would love it, studio or not. Given all there is to do at any DVC resort, I would try to take advantage of it every day, and hopefully that would alleviate the walls closing in. Personally, I would hope to be thankful no matter what! Some day, when my turn comes.

-Which resorts does your wife enjoy? Bonus points just for asking her.
-OKW seems to have the largest rooms, so maybe strategically use that to your advantage...like after a week or so in a smaller studio somewhere else. It also has more of a home feel than some of the other resorts, even if it does have the 2 beds.
-Another way to look at the whole project is to book at the harder to get resorts when it is more of a value time or when you can at 11 months. Leave the peak times for SSR or OKW, knowing you can probably get in there anytime. That way you can plan out the whole year without stressing about difficult to get reservations and the possibility of having to rebook and rearrange.
-Try to stay as long as possible in each place. Moving is work, especially with groceries, plus the packing and unpacking. I know they have bell services, but to me, it would be easier to keep the fridge and pantry suppied for you if I didn't have to plan for a move every week. Will they really keep the eggs cold in transit? Who knows?! That would stress me out.

Maybe you've already thought about those suggestions, but that's what comes to my mind. My goodness, what a trip. Maybe some people would think it is too much, but we would love it.

Enjoy it. Enjoy the planning and enjoy the whole trip! Can't wait to hear how it all plays out for you!

 

[OhioDVC]

The wife didn't like the home base idea. She likes the idea of no cooking or cleaning for a year

Our DVC guide said we could stay for as long as we had points, but could not establish DVC as our legal residence...maybe a post office box downtown for the year

 

[MinnieGi]

WOW!!! Congrats to you on your retirement and what a way to celebrate and enjoy time with your wife!!!

Is she on board with the studio stays for great lengths of time? If so I think you'll be okay. I personally would need more space for such a length of time plus I'd want full access to a kitchen. Even though she says no cooking - I get tired of eating out on a weeks vacation, I could not imagine eating out only for 9 months???? That won't be a problem for both of you? Even when we go to WDW for a week or 10 days I like a full fridge of drinks and snack type foods even if we're not "cooking" the whole time. But thats me...

Have fun planning it all out, you'll have to keep the boards informed and maybe write a blog while you are there for such an extended timeframe!!!

Oh I like the cruise breaks you'll be taking too, very cool.

 

[ToddyLu]

Gosh, I thought DVC Mike was the luckiest guy in the whole world with his points.....you win ....that is just awesome!!

 

[ua1992]

Wow -- how amazing ! Congratulations on your well deserved retirement. You are going to have a fabulous time. Have you thought of venturing up to the Hilton Head resort ? You could visit Savannah on the way.

 

[Sandy321]

Thank you for your service, and dedication - and absolutely a HUGE thank you to the wives and families!

As far as books go - have you thought of the Kindle? I think that would be a great way to store books without having the clutter of books!! ALso Land's End has some great storage ideas - the ones that hang on the towel bars...

The container store also has some awesome ideas for travel
http://www.containerstore.com/shop/travel

and of course I really enjoy Rick Steeves...
http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=catalog&parent_id=8
for travel bags
and accessories
http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=catalog&parent_id=7

and good luck in the marathons!! Dont forget flowers every now and then!!

 

[jekjones1558]

Holy cow! What a dream to plan.
I am one woman who would NOT want to live in a studio for too long. Maybe a weekend here or there to save points, but really I would rather cut down on the amount of time or adjust cruises or something. Since this is your life for quite a while, I would want my DVC room to seem like an apartment and studios feel like hotel rooms to me.
Enjoy the planning and, of course, the year. You and your wife both deserve it!

 

[kikiq]

Congratulations on your retirement. AND thank you for all you have done in your service to our country.

Personally, I could spend at least a week in an OKW studio overlooking the golf course. But I prefer the spread out landscaped grounds of SSR and OKW for an extended stay.

 

[Crystal_27]

Oh, your trip is the stuff dreams are made of. Congratulations - - I'm sure that it's going to be as amazing as you are envisioning it to be.

 

[DiznyDi]

First and foremost, for your service to our country; for helping to keep us safe in this uncertain world.

And second, Congratulations on your retirement and your plans to reconnect with your wife.

You've received some excellent suggestions. Please keep us posted as your plans progress. What an exciting time!

 

[dvcdisney]

Congratulations!

Personally, I would have absolutely no problem staying at any resort for a month. My husband and I would find activities to do, and make it a true retirement.

If I was to plan this, I would do a month each for the following resorts in order:

AKV
BWV
VGC (definitely take the time to go to Disneyland)
BLT
OKW
VB (and do a cruise or two)
VWL
SSR
HAWAII (it looks absolutely beautiful)
HH
BCV (end with my fav resort)

Thanks for letting me dream...

By the way, good luck on your plans.

 

[DenLo]

In just under a year, Sep 2010, I'll be retiring after 33 years in the military. My wife and I agreed on taking a year off to reconnect. We plan on starting our vacation the beginning of Jan 2011 with the WDW marathon weekend. I need to figure the whole year out and start making DVC reservations Feb 2010. I have points spread out over all of the DVC resorts so the 7/11 month window really doesn't matter.

Need advice on how long you can stay in a studio before the walls start coming in on you. I was thinking about staying 12 nights in a 1 - bedroom (Check-in Sunday check-out 12 days later on Friday) then 9 nights in a studio to cover two weekends to reduce the points. I'll have about 6,500 points (another 1,500 if I need them) for the year so I don't think I can do the whole time in a one bedroom

Nine nights in a studio might be pushing it. Especially if you do it more than once. It might work out okay from the second honeymoon aspect. However, I'd do the studio first and then move to a 1 BR. That would give you something to look forward to versus noticing how cramped you are after checking out of a 1 BR.

We plan on 5 cruises(cash-no points) (Transatlantic in May 2011) followed by Adventures by Disney to Italy(cash, no points). Plus the Alaska cruise and a couple of 3/4 day cruises around the Bahamas.

Come back for the month of June at Hilton Head then July and August at Club Intrawest in Sandestion, Fl - yes I cheated and bought points at Club Intrawest too.

Labor Day weekend at VGC in California for the Disneyland half marathon, Alaska cruise either before or after and then back to WDW for the fall endurance races

Jan - May at WDW and Sept - Dec back at WDW

Any ideas on how to best save points?

Do you think 9 months in a studio is crazy? Yes and no. Will the nine months be broken up with cruises and the kids visit? Then it might work out.

Maybe take 2-3 three day cruises over the weekends

Only two weeks in a two bedroom for the (college aged) kids to come visit.

Which studios do you find are the best?

I'd go for variety and then switch to the largest studios (at OKW) towards the end. That way it might keep the walls from kicking in.

Has anyone stayed for 2-3 months at WDW? Did you get bored? Was it too much at once?

The year off will be fun but the thought of planning it all out is almost overwhelming with all of the details. I have a headache already.

Since this is a once in a life time trip, plus payback to my wife for all of the separation (military induced), I would appreciate any advice to maximize wife's enjoyment. (yes, besides the spa treatments, long walks in the rain, and being more sensitive)

I'd work in time for each of you to have your own time alone. You have been frequently apart and both in charge of your own time and lives. Some "me" time might be appreciated by both of you. Definitely talk to you DW about this factor. Or at least say if either feels the need then it's okay.

Congratulations on your retirement and thanks for serving your country. Good luck to you and you DW.

My DH (wdrl) just told me to add: Stay at every DVC property you can get reservations at--variety is the spice of life. And remember when staying in a studio, laundry is done out of the villa in the laundry room. This could get old. So if you intermingle 1 BR stays with studio stays the laundry could be done when staying at a 1 BR.

 

[Dizny Dad]

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE ! ! ! !

 

[tinkerfan1]

Thank you for your service! What an awesome celebration of your retirement and way to reconnect with your wife. My husband and I would do that in a heartbeat, if we could ever afford to! We have talked about how neat that would be in the past. Never knew anybody who actually did it. Congratulations and enjoy. Perhaps we will run into you sometime while we are there.