September/October 2013 check in

[L-Harper]

Hey Everyone! I'm new to this thread and would love to join in. We don't have exact dates yet, but we're looking at October some time. I *really* want to be at WDW for the F&W Festival!

[PrincessInOz]

Originally Posted by L-Harper

Hey Everyone! I'm new to this thread and would love to join in. We don't have exact dates yet, but we're looking at October some time. I *really* want to be at WDW for the F&W Festival!

Welcome to this thread L-Harper.....



(You DO know that you're on the Australia/New Zealand board? But hey......no one notices that 7000 miles on the Dis).

[Minniemum]

Welcome L-Harper!

[australiankaren]

so my quick little trip in sept/oct is now growing exponentially...since DH wants to now do universal, then I'll have to add on 2 more days after the cruise @ OKW.......

so heres how we are playing this:
7 sept syd-lax (lax hotel)
8 sept lax-mco..check in BWV 7 nights (AP WDW)
15-29 sept ..B2B cruises on FOS
29-4 oct OKW...(2 days universal, 3 days MYWHP @ WDW F&W)
4 oct mco-lax (LAX hotel & shopping)
5 oct lax-syd
6 oct...........in transit
7 oct arr syd
8 oct back to work

stay tuned, he may change his mind....again!

[alicia1506]

karen -- and others out there planning a trip -- do you always go back to work right after getting home?

our last trip, we left lax on monday, arrived wed morning and didn't return to work til the following monday.

our 2013 trip, we will be leaving lax on monday, arriving wednesday, carlo's brother goes back to work on the friday & we all don't return to work til the following monday.

for our 2014 trip, i am trying to maximise the experience we have... should i add a few extra days and we not leave until wed, arrive home friday & go back to work monday?

do you find it works out better to go back to work asap, or to take those extra few vacation days to ease back into regular life??

[PrincessInOz]

Alicia - I normally go back to work within a day or two of arrival. I used to factor in 3 - 4 days; but it is 3 or 4 days extra holiday time that I could be spending somewhere else. I know which one I'd rather do.

[Caroline NZ]

Alicia, we have always arrived back in NZ on the Sunday morning, and gone back to work/school the next day. Because we only get 4 weeks annual leave per year I want to maximise the away time as much as possible.

[australiankaren]

Originally Posted by Caroline NZ

Alicia, we have always arrived back in NZ on the Sunday morning, and gone back to work/school the next day. Because we only get 4 weeks annual leave per year I want to maximise the away time as much as possible.

thats us as well.....my DH buys an extra 2 weeks AL a year....so every day is precious, and when you are paying as much as we all do to get there, i want max bang for my buck!

ok, so i'm a tad dopey when i go back to work, but hey.....and in feb i'm hopping off my flight monday at 8 am then catching a train to work....shower, change and be at my desk by around 11 ish...napping by 11.02

[WanderlustNZ]

Originally Posted by alicia1506

for our 2014 trip, i am trying to maximise the experience we have... should i add a few extra days and we not leave until wed, arrive home friday & go back to work monday?

This is what we are doing. We arrive home about 6am Friday and go back to work on Monday, so essentially have 3 full days to readjust. The absolute latest I would want to return home is a Saturday morning. I get a serious case of Post Holiday blues at the end of a great trip, and if I knew on the plane home that I was going to work the next day, I would be seriously depressed.

I always factor in at least one day to do the unpacking, laundry, grocery shopping and jet lag adjusting. Then I need at least one more day to update my TR, sort through some holiday photos, reminisce about what a great time I've had and just relax and unwind so I don't feel like I need a holiday to recover from my holiday.

I agree with PP's however, that getting home too many days early might feel like a waste of precious holiday time.

[WanderlustNZ]

Originally Posted by australiankaren

....and in feb i'm hopping off my flight monday at 8 am then catching a train to work....shower, change and be at my desk by around 11 ish...napping by 11.02

Wow, I'm impressed. I don't know how you find the energy after those long flights.

[WAMUMOF4]

We have done both and DH says he prefers to go straight back to work he says it makes it easier to get back into routine where as for me and the kids it takes us a lot longer as we all end up in bed by 6pm for the first week home.

[alicia1506]

well for the 2013 trip, we get 21 days from start to finish, and that has to allow for carlo's brother to travel interstate to get back to work, so i figure 17 days in country, 2 days lost for the idl & arriving home + 1 day for him to travel back home and then it's back to work the next day...

for our 2014 trip, i think i will try and make the most of it and have us leave on a friday and get back on a friday, then return to work on the monday

[australiankaren]

Originally Posted by alicia1506

well for the 2013 trip, we get 21 days from start to finish, and that has to allow for carlo's brother to travel interstate to get back to work, so i figure 17 days in country, 2 days lost for the idl & arriving home + 1 day for him to travel back home and then it's back to work the next day...

for our 2014 trip, i think i will try and make the most of it and have us leave on a friday and get back on a friday, then return to work on the monday

yep...i will try to leave on a friday night if possible, after work or at least after lunch, then thats one less AL i have to use......

prpoblem is all the good flights leave about 1 pm, so thats not going to work this time the QF we are getting in feb dep 3 pm, but there is now a schedule change for sept and it leaves at 1pm????that would have been perfect for us....

[aussie shaz]

I usually take an extra week off AFTER the holiday. Hubby always takes a week off BEFORE the holiday! I hate the thought of going back to work, so push it back as far as I can. Hubby needs the week prior to relax and get into holiday mode. I'd be chomping at the bit to leave!! If I was planning a long holiday though (ie 4 weeks), I'd use it all for away time, and maybe get back a day before I had to start again. Our holidays are usually up to about 3 weeks, so I can afford the extra time.

[Minniemum]

Originally Posted by PrincessInOz

Alicia - I normally go back to work within a day or two of arrival. I used to factor in 3 - 4 days; but it is 3 or 4 days extra holiday time that I could be spending somewhere else. I know which one I'd rather do.

Like PIO we prefer to use them for our trip not at home.

Originally Posted by australiankaren

thats us as well.....my DH buys an extra 2 weeks AL a year....so every day is precious, and when you are paying as much as we all do to get there, i want max bang for my buck!

ok, so i'm a tad dopey when i go back to work, but hey.....and in feb i'm hopping off my flight monday at 8 am then catching a train to work....shower, change and be at my desk by around 11 ish...napping by 11.02

Good luck with that! I've done it twice and was delirious by 6pm but I don't sleep on planes. Would I do it again? Absolutely!