Nine weeks later...we just need a REDO! A January 2013 PTR

[DMGeurts]

Originally Posted by kittylady1972

Yes I did run the math and found some good deals...but I still hate to part with the money, especially right now when I've got Christmas bills to pay AND pay off our November trip! So we will probably just drive...it's good to dream though!

I know how you feel - I am not ready to part with the $$ yet either... I still have several months to go before I can even do ADRs. I think I will start getting anxious to book once I get close to 180... So, I will just keep squirreling $$ away until then. And to be quite honest - if Disney doesn't do a nice discount for our intended trip - I will have no qualms about pushing it back to a later/different date, because we just cannot spend oodles of $$ on a vacation.

I hope you are able to get your waitlisted resort.

D~

[kittylady1972]

Originally Posted by DMGeurts

I know how you feel - I am not ready to part with the $$ yet either... I still have several months to go before I can even do ADRs. I think I will start getting anxious to book once I get close to 180... So, I will just keep squirreling $$ away until then. And to be quite honest - if Disney doesn't do a nice discount for our intended trip - I will have no qualms about pushing it back to a later/different date, because we just cannot spend oodles of $$ on a vacation.

I hope you are able to get your waitlisted resort.

D~

I know what you mean. We are still spending beyond Christmas. I don't even want to look at our budget for January right now after our last trip AND Christmas. UGH!

And thanks for the best wishes on our waitlist. I really hope we get it too but if not...I still may change our resort.

[kittylady1972]

TWENTY-FOUR 24 DAYS!!

So another check this morning on my resorts and still no availability at other resorts that I'd like and I'm still on the waitlist for Boardwalk. I really think as it gets closer to my dates I may switch from Old Key West to Saratoga Springs Resort...but we'll see. I'm sure we'll be fine with either resort.

Over the weekend it was revealed to our friends that we are going BACK to Disney. Of course, they all think we are nuts...and they are probably right! Still hard to pass up a trip when we have so little out of pocket to spend this time around. Kids still have no clue we are going and the plan is to keep it that way!

I'm doing my best to avoid booking dining or anything else right now. We still are just hoping to play it by ear with meals. I think we'll be fine that way but I do have two dining reservations I think. I'll have to double check on them.

Really looking forward to this trip and even my husband seems like he is excited about it.

[DMGeurts]

This should be a really fun trip for you all! I can't wait to see how it plays out - and how awesome that there is very little OOp spending - those are the best trips.

D~

[kittylady1972]

TWENTY-TWO 22 DAYS
I cannot even believe that in just over THREE weeks we'll be on our way back to Disney! Still not telling the kids about it though I know my daughter will probably catch on eventually. I have been doing my best NOT to talk about it in front of anyone especially her and so far so good.

Last night I even looked over a preliminary spreadsheet of the days while my youngest son was on the couch next to me. I told him it was just a plan I was looking at and it had no particular dates. He accepted that one.

And so, this is what I think our trip will look like for right now:

THURSDAY: Kids are out of school around 1pm. We'll have the car packed and ready to go so that when they get home we'll just hit the road for the long drive. This should put us through the terrible DC Area/Northern VA area well ahead of traffic. Our hope is to keep trucking along for a good 8-10 hours plus. Goal is to make it at least to Georgia and then find a hotel overnight.

FRIDAY:With any luck, we'll be within a 3-4 hour drive of Walt Disney World from our hotel. We will get up and packed and cleaned up and head somewhere for a nice sit-down breakfast. Then it's back in the car for the drive! Hoping to arrive in Walt Disney World close to noon. We will head to our resort and see about checkin. If the room is ready, we may unpack but if not...then we have some decisions to make. Originally I was thinking we wouldn't have to do a park this day, but now I am thinking we have those annual passes....so why not? I'm thinking maybe EPCOT and letting the kids to the Phineas and Ferb game since they have been wanting to try that. If not, maybe Magic Kingdom.

SATURDAY:One of the goals for the kids this trip I know is to ride Toy Story Mania since we missed it in November. I think this time we just might try to get that done. So we will wake up and have breakfast in our room. It is an early entry day for Hollywood Studios so I'm thinking we aim to be there close to the 8am opening. We'll ride Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror, Rock N' Roller Coaster and Star Tours and maybe also do a drawing at Art of Animation as well. This should put us into the afternoon timeframe. We'll either grab lunch at the park or head to our resort and maybe have some food. The afternoon/evening is going to be for EPCOT. Hoping we can get a fastpass for Soarin' for an evening ride there sometime. We will just spend the rest of the day exploring EPCOT.

SUNDAY:This is all about the Magic Kingdom day. Breakfast in our room and then hit Magic Kingdom for a full day. We *MIGHT* take a break in the afternoon for dinner outside of the park...not sure.

MONDAY:This is our full day at EPCOT. Breakfast in our room and then hit the park for a full day there. We might try to have a sitdown meal for dinner at one of the restaurants if we can find one that will seat us with NO ADR! Maybe we'll finish up the park early and then hit the miniature golf course for the evening after we are packed up for the next day.

TUESDAY:Time to leave! We'll have a nice sit-down breakfast somewhere before hitting the road. Hoping to be on the road no later than 8am and we'll be driving all the way home with very few stops. Arrival back home should be between 10pm and 11pm. Next day the kids have school and we are back at work!

So that's the general plan for now. Originally I was thinking we'd do NO park hopping but now I do think we'll need to squeeze in some park time at Hollywood Studios. We have annual passes but my in-laws do not so I think they may have to spring for the park hoppers after all. I priced out 4-day hoppers for them and might have them purchase them before we leave through Undercover Tourist since it will save them a little bit of money.

[kittylady1972]

TWENTY-ONE 21 DAYS!!
I still can't believe we are three weeks away from ANOTHER Disney trip. That makes FOUR trips within a year for us...that's a record! I just wonder how long we can keep it a suprise from the kids. I really don't want to tell them anything, but my concern is that Nicolas (my 7th grader) will have something major at school that Friday and if we dont' find out ahead of time he can't make it up. He's really struggling just to maintain a "C" average in most of his classes. That SHOULD prevent me from pulling him out of class but it is just a DAY and even then it's not even a full day of class. The marking period actually ends on the 23rd of January, so even if there is stuff o the 25th he has the entire marking period to make it up. That's my justification anyway. Nothing beats time with family in my opinion.

So still no luck on any of our resort waitlists. I think at this point we just may stick with Old Key West and that's not a bad thing. It's the least amount of points for a 2BR unit and it's not like we plan to spend a lot of time there. Sure I'd love for a Boardwalk Resort room to become available but I won't hold out hope for that to happen.

The new Disney website still hasn't allowed me to add my resort reservation. I did get my dining reservations to "stick" there though. Yes I said reservations. Despite my plan to make NO plans...I have some ADRs in the hopper just in case. The include a lunch at 50s Prime Time, an early dinner at The Plaza and a late dinner at Rose & Crown Pub. My reasons for those are as follows: Pot Roast, Yummy sandwiches, Sticky Toffee Pudding for my husband! They are pretty inexpensive if we split some of the food or just get dessert so I figured I'd keep them. They fit in well with my current touring plan.

Yes there's that "plan" word again. I know this is supposed to be a spontaneous trip but there has to be some kind of planning so there it is for you. I still think for the most part it will be a laid back trip but one where we can do many of the things we just missed out on in November due to lack...of a plan! And the crowds in November didn't do us any favors either.

Guess I should return soon to update my November trip report. I got a few more updates done this week but would love to do some more before the end of the week! Goal is to have that TR COMPLETED before we start the next trip!

[DMGeurts]

Can't believe you are down to 20 days! WOW!

LOL... I was betting myself that you'd make at least one ADR for this trip.

Loved your update on your other thread!

D~

[kittylady1972]

Originally Posted by DMGeurts

Can't believe you are down to 20 days! WOW!

LOL... I was betting myself that you'd make at least one ADR for this trip.

Loved your update on your other thread!

D~

I KNOW...it is crazy that soon I'll be doing SINGLE DIGIT DANCING!!

Well you just know me way too well. I haven't told anybody else about those ADRs...it's my own dirty little secret!

[kittylady1972]

TWENTY 20 DAYS
I still can't believe this trip is so close. I'm really looking forward to the craziness that January has in store for us.

Last night I got an email from my FIL...ok a response to my email about the trip really. He is asking me how much advance notice they will need to rent a scooter for my MIL. I'll admit, I've been concerned about that myself. She seems like she's in pain lately from walking and I think it all stems from a hip replacement she had a few years ago...that did NOT go well. His email was basically saying he wasn't ready to book anything now just in case...but my point is this...in case what? I think he seems to think she'll get better but I don't know that she's taking any steps to get better. I don't know the details but seems to me...we will be renting her a scooter. I have used some off-site place in the past and liked them so I'll probably wait until a few days before we leave and reserve one. I think it will be okay. I don't really want to deal with the scooter thing but I also don't want them to feel like they have to slow down because she doesn't have it.

Anyway I refused to even do any checking on DVC reservation openings today. I don't have high hopes that we'll be staying anywhere else and that's okay because we just MIGHT be using our points for TWO more trips...in 2013. Yes...I said it.

One will most likely be a short adults-only trip during the Food and Wine Festival for DH and I to celebrate our 15-year anniversary.

And the other trip?

Well that just might end up being a trip to DISNEYLAND! I got the idea in my head yesterday about moving our planned trip to Disneyland from January of 2014...to August of 2013. I think we will just need a lot of time there and I don't want to take the kids out of school next January for so long. It would just be easier to plan an August trip. This way we could go as long as we wanted to go (about 10 days) and see all the sights we want to see there which includes SEVERAL other non-Disney parks. Oh and we will take some time to visit some of DH's family that is out there too.

I'm already very excited about planning out THIS next adventure....but no PTR started quite yet. I have enough to keep me busy right now with this PTR and finishing up my other TR!

[kittylady1972]

SIXTEEN 16 DAYS
So I had an update yesterday...don't know what happened to it. No biggie since it really wasn't much of an update.

We are still slated to stay at Old Key West for our trip and I think I've decided that is fine with me. It's nice to have the points since I know we'll want to book a few days for the Food and Wine Festival in October and then we may even try to use some of our points for a trip out to California!

Really looking forward to this upcoming trip and can't believe it is so close. Even though we were just there less than 2 months ago, there are still things we really want to do that we haven't done yet.

I think trying to have lunch at Be Our Guest is at the top of my list now. Despite the reports of arriving at 10:30pm and waiting 30-45 minutes for a lunch seating, I still think it would be cool to see the inside of that restaurant. So that's part of the plan.

I also want to see Storytime with Belle since we missed it last time too. It's on my short list.

Spending more time at EPCOT this time is a must. We totally missed the World Showcase during our November trip. Didn't even step one foot beyond Future World. A few visits to La Cava de Tequila are in order this time around.

Plus we want to make time for the kids to do some of the adventure games that they haven't done yet. Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom is one and the newly-themed Phineas and Ferb is the other one. We did one while it was Kim Possible but that was years ago. I think we may split up and do a few adventures this time around.

Those are my must-dos for this trip so we'll see if I can accomplish them. I have done nothing to plan these out. Basically my last week has been spent doing some research and preliminary bookings for AUGUST IN DISNEYLAND!! We had a plan to go to California next January but when I considered all of the extra time we would need there to see all of the things we want to see there, I've changed my mind and decided August would be better. Mostly because the kids have a 2-week break between when their summer camp ends and when school starts, so we might as well do something during that time. It's an expensive trip so I need to start stalking airfares NOW to see if I can get a good deal. We have some frequent flier miles to use but I'd also like to see if we can purchase some of the tickets at a lower price. It might mean splitting up our family for the flights out, but I'm okay with that if it saves us some money.

And before I go, just one more personal post and a big mommy brag here. Over the weekend we attended the middle school science fair for my DS12. Last year as a 6th grader he won 1st place overall in his category...which earned him a Kindle Fire and it was awesome. So of course this year he was hoping to win something again, in a new category with a new project and as a 7th grader. When they announced the winners in his category...his name was not one of those people. He was a bit deflated and disappointed of course. However at the end of the category announcements, they also had THREE overall winners (6th, 7th and 8th grade) for the whole science fair. He ended up taking SECOND PLACE OVERALL...winning him an Ipad Mini this year!

It was really exciting and we are so proud of him, but also nervous for next year. After all, he really has to set the bar high next year because he can only win one higher now...1st place overall. That's a tough one.

[kittylady1972]

FOURTEEN 14 DAYS!!!
We leave for our trip in TWO WEEKS! Wow! I still can't fathom that!

I have done nothing in terms of planning for it lately, unless you count checking the DVC website AGAIN to see the availability of the other resorts. Still nothing. The only hope MIGHT be a 2BR Standard room at Kidani which is open for 2 of our four nights...but not the other two. We definitely won't be doing any resort changing for such a short trip so we'll just wait. I remain SLIGHTLY hopeful that some pixie dust will happen and we'll get a reservation at Boardwalk...but honestly don't know how realistic it is to think that.

A week from today my waitlist expires. That gives me a chance to check EVERY SINGLE DAY until my trip beginning next week for ANY availability at the other resorts. I'm just crazy enough to try that. I'd love to get a last minute opening somewhere!

The trip should be fun and the weather looks like it might be pretty mild. I think with the way our weather is here in Maryland right now, there's a good chance it could be swimming weather in Florida! My kids would love some pool time in January, so we'll definitely make sure their swimsuits are packed for that!

[kittylady1972]

TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY...I'll be in DISNEY!
Still no change on the room reservation...shocking I know!

Yesterday I tried to come up with a preliminary budget for the trip. If I'm lucky, we can stay under it. We did pretty well with our November trip staying below the budget so I think it can be done. It really needs to since we have so many other expenses right now.

It's not the best time to go to Disney, but really it's the only time we can do it and take advantage of the annual passes for everybody. Yesterday I learned how much it is going to cost to have our gas fireplace repaired...and EEEK!

The fireplace is not a NECESSITY since we have gas heat...but it's a nice thing to have and the fact that it's got a small gas leak is not good. The gas has been turned off for about a week or so since the kids discovered the smell and pointed it out. So it's not danger right now as long as we don't use it.

We were also getting an estimate on replacing our kitchen floor. The vinyl has been coming up for quite some time and I'm ready to be done with it and just put in ceramic tile. I thought it might not be too bad...but yesterday I got the quote and I was way off on my cost estimates there. So that will NOT be done for now, but it's not really a MUST do item. We have many other things that need to be done around the house this spring so we'll probably just save our money for those instead. My floor will have to wait.

We are going to have some carpet done, but it's just one set of steps. That's pretty inexpensive and just would make a difference for us. The steps lead to our basement and right now they are painted and we have had some carpet step pieces glued there. However it really doesn't look that great and we are using our basement a little more these days. So I'm going to have the carpet done but before I do that it means some work on my part. I have some staining and painting to do on the steps. Guess I know what I'll be doing pretty soon!

So with paying off Christmas AND our November trip money is quite tight. I'm trying to make some changes in our spending we have been pretty good lately...eating out a LOT less makes a big difference! I think if we can spend the next few months really tightening the reigns on our spending we'll be in better shape. I am very anxious to start our tax returns and get an idea of what to expect there.

Anyway that's about it for now. Tune in this time NEXT week when I learn about my expired wait list and go crazy trying to see if I can switch our resort at the last minute!

[DMGeurts]

I am surprised that nothing has changed... I think I would have caved by now, if I were you. LOL

I know about the house repairs.. We have a few that need to be done this year too.

Glad your gas is off for the fireplace... bad news there. Hopefully you can get it fixed soon.

D~

[kittylady1972]

Originally Posted by DMGeurts

I am surprised that nothing has changed... I think I would have caved by now, if I were you. LOL

I know about the house repairs.. We have a few that need to be done this year too.

Glad your gas is off for the fireplace... bad news there. Hopefully you can get it fixed soon.

D~

Yes I know...but really how much can I change? I'm trying to really allow us to be as spontaneous as possible for this trip and not stick us with ADRs that we MUST make! The few that I have are just placeholders in CASE we stick to the plan to be in that park and want to sit down but I may not even MENTION them to anybody else!

Yes I'm hoping the fireplace can get done at least sooner rather than later, but it's been so mild this winter that it's not even an issue. If it was snowing outside...I might be a bit more upset about not having it because it's just nice to warm up next to it on those bitter cold days. I do think the cats miss curling up on their warm beds in front of it though.

I did just find out this morning that DH got a bonus from work and he's going to use some of that to cover the fireplace repair and a few other big expenses we've had this month. The rest of it he can't decide what to do and though he's said he would apply it towards vacation, I know he'd like to start saving up some money for himself to buy something. What? He really wants to buy a Mustang Convertible someday! This wouldn't even put a dent in that cost but it would be a start.

Of course, I am trying not to mention to him that it would be nice to have that money to apply towards some airline tickets to Los Angeles that I'd like to try to buy next month!

[kittylady1972]

TEN 10 MORE DAYS!!!
Have I mentioned lately how I can't believe how fast this time is going leading up to our trip?

Work this week will be crazy busy and I'll be out of the office almost two full days so that should help things go by fast...and get on with our 3-day weekend. And the weekend will be busy as we plan to host ANOTHER football playoffs party and hope that our BALTIMORE RAVENS can pull off another win. I just hope it won't be as stressful as the game this past Saturday. We had a group over for that one as well.

So this weekend brought a few more close calls to blowing our surprise trip for the kids. Two different people mentioned, in front of the kids, about our upcoming trip. I am pretty sure my daughter is VERY suspicious now that we might still be going to Disney even though I told her the trip was cancelled.

The only thing is she does not really know the dates of the trip. In fact, over the weekend she even asked me what were the dates going to be before we cancelled and I played it off and ended up avoiding the question.

I still don't think she's buying it.

NOW the big thing will be trying to get everybody packed...without their knowledge! That's something I have to do this weekend or at least start. It should be easy, as it's not like my kids really keep track of their clothes that well so they won't miss a few outfits. I have to pack clothing for 5 days and right now it looks like the weather in Florida will be on the chilly side. We will still pack swimsuits just in case...but I doubt we'll need them. So mostly it will be long pants, short sleeve shirts and layers of sweatshirts for what looks like will be temps in the high 60s for the most part.

Plus I need to rent a scooter for my MIL who appears to have a bum knee. I am VERY concerned about how well she will be able to keep up with us and really enjoy herself. After all, leaving that scooter outside the rides you still have to walk through some long queues (I'm thinking specifically of that walk through Space Mountain...and Star Tours) but hopefully she will be okay. I'm hoping the low crowds will make it easier to navigate through the parks and we'll have our own car so transporting to and from the parks won't be an issue.

So stay tuned as I try to slowly but surely put away bits of clothing for my kids for the next few days. I figure I'll get some bags out and hide them in my closet and I'll stuff the clothing in there for each of them. That way when I'm ready to pack, I'll just transfer everything into suitcases the morning of our trip!

Oh and did I mention I plan to work for a few hours the morning that we leave? So the kids won't suspect when they realize I'm at work and they get on the bus to go to school.

I can't wait to see how they react when we put them right in the car right off the bus and start our journey!!!