[BB_TX]

Not a veteran. Rejected me due to a heart murmur. Surprising since the murmur was minor, and the year was 1969 with Viet Nam at its hottest.

We have been 5 times since 2003 beginning with us, our son, his wife, her parents and 2 very young grandkids. Now it is us, son, his wife, her mother (father passed away), our daughter, and 4 grandkids ranging from 10 to 19. And all but one are charged as adults now. So our goals have changed. Character dinners are no longer important. Rides are the main attraction for them now. And we still enjoy the various shows, and of course the fireworks. We took our kids, when they were kids, way back in the 1980's. This will probably be the last time for this whole group together.

Two trips we stayed at Disney resorts. And both times our timing was right to get the free full dining plan which helped tremendously on total costs. But still expensive for the rooms. And most of the kids were still charged as kids. Next year it does not appear the free dining will be offered at the time we normally go. So the cost of Disney food plus the cost of Disney Resorts is pushing us back to a house. The cost of a house for 10 is about the same as one Disney resort room. And we would need at least 4 rooms. Maybe 5 if our son's brother in law and wife join us for a few days. Of course, we will have rental car fees.

Planning for next year, I began watching rental house availability back thru last summer. Surprisingly, there were a lot of large nice 6+ bedroom 5+ bathroom houses still available for the Thanksgiving time frame even into September for the $250-350 price range. So that is the route we will go. We will be making reservations well before summer.

We got pretty good at maximizing the old fast pass system. I don't like the new system that allows you to reserve 3 daily fast passes 30 days in advance (60 if resort stay). You can get additional passes at the park after you use the first 3, but by noon after we had used the 1st three, there were no fast passes left for the day for most of the rides we cared about. If there is a secret to maximizing the new system I would like to hear it.

And again, we are limited to school holidays. Although we have fudged a little by leaving on Thursday before Thanksgiving, a day before the kids were officially out for for the holiday, to get in an extra day before the main crowds hit. AND, that was the last day of the free dining plan window. But by arriving on the last day of the free dining plan window, we got the free dining for our full stay 5 days past the last day.