EPRV We love Disney
I had a Golden Ticket!
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2007
I know. I know. I did this before. I started off with a pre-trip report.
Full of good intentions.
And then I didnt come back and write the report.
Bad Dobby. Bad.
Second times the charm, right?
Well well see..
Im not making any promises this time around.
Cause you just never know. Ya know?
So, heres the scoop. Im a 40-something, married mother of 2. My college roommate, also 40-something, single. And, were going to Universal. Together. Without my family.
And .
I
Dont
Feel
Guilty.
(most of the time . )
I thought of this trip over a year ago. After driving three 11-year old girls to the mall. To shop. While I tried to not to poke my own eyes out with a stick while following them around the mall. So, yanked out the phone and called up C as Ill name her here. I had been thinking of some way to get us together. Cause she lives in Denver and Im in NJ. And we never see each other anymore. And shes a big Potter fan. And I love Universal. And RPR. And caramel apples. But lets not get into that yet .
I convinced her to think it over. We had a whole year to work out the details . And save the money.. and look for airfare and book RPR . And get park tickets ..
And now now we have 3.5 weeks till we arrive. How in the love of Pete did it arrive so fast?
First was airfare.
Let me tell you now. Im a major nag. Like a pitbull on crack. Last summer I wanted to book my tickets. Cause I was using points to purchase and those tickets go as fast as lightning. So I call up C. Who doesnt know exactly when she can go cause she has to figure it out with work and since she cant take off more than 3 work days (she accumulates vacation), we want to arrive crack of dawn in Orlando on the first day. So we get the whole day there. So, I oh so patiently wait 24 hours to call her again. At which point she probably begins to get an inkling of how it will be with me planning this trip. So I wait until she knows and check my airfare and she checks hers. Cause we need to arrive into the airport close to the same time or else it kind of defeats the purpose of going on vacation together. And being that shes coming from Denver, and there is a 2 hour time difference, in order to arrive bright and early in Orlando, she needs a red-eye. And there arent any listed. Yet. Did I mention Im impatient?
Then, finally, she knows. She books a red-eye. I grab my flight from Newark and were arriving in Orlando on Feb. 8th. C arrives at 7 am. After leaving Denver at 10pm. The day before. And changing planes apparently in Abu Dhabi. Im arriving in the Orlando airport at 9 am. I dont change planes but will have to arrive in Newark at 4:30 am. Which is a disgusting hour. But its for a good cause.
We leave Orlando (sob) on the 12th. Both our flights leave around 6pm.
About this time I have to inform the company I work for that Im taking vacation. This I do in writing cause they like to forget these little things Like vacations. And paying me. But thats another story
So, airfare booked, I give C a couple of weeks breather. Cause although now shes stuck with me, I dont want to scare her too much.
While Im waiting I book RPR, standard 2 queens. At rack rate cause thats all there was. And although I know the room rate will go down, I start to ponder how to tell C that the room will cost close to $200 per night. Cause its worth it. Which I know. But I also know money is tight. Both for C and for me. So, I book it anyway. Cause in the end we only live once.. and we cant take it with us and really, do the kids need to go to college anyway ..
And then park tickets.
Around this time I hear that Universal might be raising prices. So I go on Undercover Tourist, copy the pricing page and e-mail to C. I want to get the 4-day tickets. Which I suggest to her. Gently.
Shes up for it, so we order them and they arrive 4 days later. Locked safely in the fire box, they await the trip. The other day C mentions how shes had nightmares that she forgets to pack the tickets. Which I hadnt been worrying about. Yet. But now I am. Love that girl.
I keep calling RPR to see if room rates have gone down. They must have my reservation taped to a wall. Where they throw darts at it. No really, they are very kind and dont seem to mind me calling them every third day to ask the same exact question.
And then eureka! SMSM rates! They switch my rates and then I start to ponder APH rates. Greedy I know
Finally, on my 900th call, APH rates are out. They are lower, which is good. But the AP purchase rate has gone up. Which is bad. But I book the APH rate anyway. I just cant help myself. And I figure maybe Ill come back this year ..or maybe Ill never go back home and will live in Universal forever and that annual pass will come in very handy
Around Christmas time I think to myself how in the heck are we getting to the hotel?. Which I had forgotten about. So I booked Murray Transportation. Which weve used and liked previously. Which youd know all about. If I wrote my last trip report. (See first paragraph). Im very happy with the grocery stop with this service. Even though in 2009 it was a 30 minute stop. And now its 20 minutes. Thats inflation for ya.
At the beginning of February I begin e-mailing a Universal Photo of the Day to C. To whet her appetite. And to get me ready to broach the subject of the room cost. Cause its still a bit pricey. But I really want to do it.. I send her images of the RPR pools (look! Close to the parks!). The RPR fountain (look, pretty flowers!), the RPR bedrooms (look! Beds!). I finally screw up my courage and tell her the price and shes totally fine with it. Whew.
So, now all the pieces are in place. Airfare, Tickets, Hotel, Transpo to Hotel.
And then I read about Mardi Gras .
Free concerts
No.
Way.
I wait and wait and wait for the concert line up well be there on the 11th .. (impatient, remember )
And its the B-52s! Awesome!! Rock Lobster! Love Shack! Cosmic Thing! And C is super excited too. Yes, you can tell we graduated college in the late 80s ..
More to follow I hope
Full of good intentions.
And then I didnt come back and write the report.
Bad Dobby. Bad.
Second times the charm, right?
Well well see..
Im not making any promises this time around.
Cause you just never know. Ya know?
So, heres the scoop. Im a 40-something, married mother of 2. My college roommate, also 40-something, single. And, were going to Universal. Together. Without my family.
And .
I
Dont
Feel
Guilty.
(most of the time . )
I thought of this trip over a year ago. After driving three 11-year old girls to the mall. To shop. While I tried to not to poke my own eyes out with a stick while following them around the mall. So, yanked out the phone and called up C as Ill name her here. I had been thinking of some way to get us together. Cause she lives in Denver and Im in NJ. And we never see each other anymore. And shes a big Potter fan. And I love Universal. And RPR. And caramel apples. But lets not get into that yet .
I convinced her to think it over. We had a whole year to work out the details . And save the money.. and look for airfare and book RPR . And get park tickets ..
And now now we have 3.5 weeks till we arrive. How in the love of Pete did it arrive so fast?
First was airfare.
Let me tell you now. Im a major nag. Like a pitbull on crack. Last summer I wanted to book my tickets. Cause I was using points to purchase and those tickets go as fast as lightning. So I call up C. Who doesnt know exactly when she can go cause she has to figure it out with work and since she cant take off more than 3 work days (she accumulates vacation), we want to arrive crack of dawn in Orlando on the first day. So we get the whole day there. So, I oh so patiently wait 24 hours to call her again. At which point she probably begins to get an inkling of how it will be with me planning this trip. So I wait until she knows and check my airfare and she checks hers. Cause we need to arrive into the airport close to the same time or else it kind of defeats the purpose of going on vacation together. And being that shes coming from Denver, and there is a 2 hour time difference, in order to arrive bright and early in Orlando, she needs a red-eye. And there arent any listed. Yet. Did I mention Im impatient?
Then, finally, she knows. She books a red-eye. I grab my flight from Newark and were arriving in Orlando on Feb. 8th. C arrives at 7 am. After leaving Denver at 10pm. The day before. And changing planes apparently in Abu Dhabi. Im arriving in the Orlando airport at 9 am. I dont change planes but will have to arrive in Newark at 4:30 am. Which is a disgusting hour. But its for a good cause.
We leave Orlando (sob) on the 12th. Both our flights leave around 6pm.
About this time I have to inform the company I work for that Im taking vacation. This I do in writing cause they like to forget these little things Like vacations. And paying me. But thats another story
So, airfare booked, I give C a couple of weeks breather. Cause although now shes stuck with me, I dont want to scare her too much.
While Im waiting I book RPR, standard 2 queens. At rack rate cause thats all there was. And although I know the room rate will go down, I start to ponder how to tell C that the room will cost close to $200 per night. Cause its worth it. Which I know. But I also know money is tight. Both for C and for me. So, I book it anyway. Cause in the end we only live once.. and we cant take it with us and really, do the kids need to go to college anyway ..
And then park tickets.
Around this time I hear that Universal might be raising prices. So I go on Undercover Tourist, copy the pricing page and e-mail to C. I want to get the 4-day tickets. Which I suggest to her. Gently.
Shes up for it, so we order them and they arrive 4 days later. Locked safely in the fire box, they await the trip. The other day C mentions how shes had nightmares that she forgets to pack the tickets. Which I hadnt been worrying about. Yet. But now I am. Love that girl.
I keep calling RPR to see if room rates have gone down. They must have my reservation taped to a wall. Where they throw darts at it. No really, they are very kind and dont seem to mind me calling them every third day to ask the same exact question.
And then eureka! SMSM rates! They switch my rates and then I start to ponder APH rates. Greedy I know
Finally, on my 900th call, APH rates are out. They are lower, which is good. But the AP purchase rate has gone up. Which is bad. But I book the APH rate anyway. I just cant help myself. And I figure maybe Ill come back this year ..or maybe Ill never go back home and will live in Universal forever and that annual pass will come in very handy
Around Christmas time I think to myself how in the heck are we getting to the hotel?. Which I had forgotten about. So I booked Murray Transportation. Which weve used and liked previously. Which youd know all about. If I wrote my last trip report. (See first paragraph). Im very happy with the grocery stop with this service. Even though in 2009 it was a 30 minute stop. And now its 20 minutes. Thats inflation for ya.
At the beginning of February I begin e-mailing a Universal Photo of the Day to C. To whet her appetite. And to get me ready to broach the subject of the room cost. Cause its still a bit pricey. But I really want to do it.. I send her images of the RPR pools (look! Close to the parks!). The RPR fountain (look, pretty flowers!), the RPR bedrooms (look! Beds!). I finally screw up my courage and tell her the price and shes totally fine with it. Whew.
So, now all the pieces are in place. Airfare, Tickets, Hotel, Transpo to Hotel.
And then I read about Mardi Gras .
Free concerts
No.
Way.
I wait and wait and wait for the concert line up well be there on the 11th .. (impatient, remember )
And its the B-52s! Awesome!! Rock Lobster! Love Shack! Cosmic Thing! And C is super excited too. Yes, you can tell we graduated college in the late 80s ..
More to follow I hope
Oh man, that is hilarious! I can totally picture that scenario too. I love your sense of humor. Looking forward to the the actual trip report!!
Thanks for reading!
