A Six Thousand Kilometer Road Trip to Disneyland and Back- TR has started on page 37!

[kaoden39]

Originally Posted by DisneyStitch626

I am hoping so too! I am going to wait until the end of the month before I change anything, just to give them a bit of time to make sure they are 100% in. Then we'll start booking hotels again. I'm not sure if we will stay at quality inn or try for something just a little better. I would like to try for HoJo or something, but it might be a little much unless I can figure out how to get the discounts everyone else gets.

We have AAA, I wonder what kind of discounts we could get with that?

I am guessing a 10% discount.

[DisneyStitch626]

We will probably just stick with the hotel we are at, and keep the costs low. It will be easier just to call and upgrade a room than to cancel and re-book at another hotel.

It sounds like Garrett and Grace are 95% on board. We've been talking about which car would be best to take today. We were going to take Dillon's 2007 Volkswagen Rabbit, cause it has the best fuel mileage and it's the newer out of the 3 options. But we are not sure it will fit all of our luggage in the back.

There is also my 2005 Chev. Cobalt, which isn't as good on gas, but still not bad. The trunk is definitely big enough, but not sure what the back seats will be like for a long drive, as it's a 2-door. Also I need new tires before taking it on a long trip like that.

And then last, there is my brothers Chev. Lumina. I think it's a 2000 or something like that, so it's quite a bit older. It runs good, but I am nervous about taking it on a 5000 mile drive. It's the most comfortable out of the 3 and would definitely fit all of our stuff. If we can make sure it's going to get us there and back, then this one would probably be our best bet.

We thought about renting a car, but once you add insurance and the extra mileage on there, it's way too expensive.

But it's good that we've been talking about this. It means they are serious about going.

[kaoden39]

Don't you have AAA? I believe that your insurance from AAA is like my and will cover the rental car.

[DisneyStitch626]

Originally Posted by kaoden39

Don't you have AAA? I believe that your insurance from AAA is like my and will cover the rental car.

My brother is the one with the AAA card, I don't really know much about it. But if it would cover insurance on a rental, that would be so awesome! It said something like $22 a day for insurance. That is a lot when we need it for almost 2 weeks. Before insurance it is $400 for an average sized car, so I am not sure if it will be worth it to rent one, or give Garrett's car a nice tune up and take his.

[DisneyStitch626]

Or did you mean cover the whole rental?

[DisneyStitch626]

So yesterday I worked out a basic budget for each couple and sent that to my brother, just to give him an idea of how much to save for the trip. He has no idea how much things are going to cost down there, and with all the reading I have been doing, I have a fairly good idea. I also like to over estimate on things, just to be on the safe side.

After hearing how much it is going to cost, I hope they are still on board! Everything for the two of them should be no more than $2000. We are even offering to pay for the more expensive of the 2 hotels. Also I am going to let them use the airmiles my Mom was offering for me, cause now that we are saving money on gas and hotels, we can afford to get our park tickets ourselves.

They both just recently got their jobs back after being laid off 6 months ago. It was strange. They both got laid off right around the same time, and they both got hired back at those jobs within a week of each other. But they are just stating to get caught up, so I want to try my best to make it a little easier for them to go. I would really really like it if they were able to come. I love sharing things that I enjoy with others, and to see that they are just as excited as I am, makes me so happy. And seeing the look on my brothers face when I first suggested they should come, makes me really want to get them on board. I guess I wasn't the only one that was affected by the Disney magic on our last trip!

I think Garrett is getting depressed that he hasn't been able to travel anywhere yet. Both me and my other brother Brandon have been on a couple trips in the last few years, so he is probably feeling a little left out. His girlfriend has also gone to England and Las Vegas since they have been dating, so that probably doesn't help. So heres to hoping that this all works out and they can join us!

[kaoden39]

I hope they can join you.

[DisneyStitch626]

Well, I got a text from my brother the other night...He and Grace won't be able to come on our trip. Being that they just started their jobs again, they can't get the time off, and they have some debts to catch up on. I am a little sad, but I understand. Dillon and I will still have fun, just the two of us. I do feel a little bad that they will have to miss out though.

So now at least we can keep our original hotel reservation and we can still plan to take Dillon's car, as it is definitely suitable for just 2 of us.

I am hoping to be able to book our Las Vegas hotel next week and then at least that will be out of the way. I put it off while waiting for them to make their decision. I also went shopping at Ikea yesterday and ended up spending a little of the hotel money on some things there, so now I need to catch us up! Don't want to get into that habit or we wont be able to go! It's so hard to resist buying anything at that darn Swedish furniture museum though! I don't think I've ever left that place empty handed!

[kaoden39]

Too bad about them not being able to go with you. Maybe they can go another time, that way you can have another trip.

[DisneyStitch626]

Originally Posted by kaoden39

Too bad about them not being able to go with you. Maybe they can go another time, that way you can have another trip.

Good point! I like that idea!

Now there is something new to worry about. Our landlords are thinking about putting the place we are living in up for sale. Which would be fine if our lease wasn't up on October 1st! The last time we talked with them it sounded like they wanted to keep us for as long as they could, and they never mentioned anything about selling. So we assumed we'd be there for at least a couple years.

We love the place, and it's the first place that's felt like a home to me in probably about 10 years. It's also the only place in the last 10 years that I have spent more than a year in. I was hoping to finally be settled for a couple years, but looks like that might not happen.

We have talked with another couple that we've been friends with for a while, and we are going to look into getting a house together. I am a little leary of having friends as roommates, cause I don't want to jeopardize anything. But I think as long as we can find a place that has 2 separate living areas that we can retreat to, we could make it work. Plus the shared rent would help a lot for trying to save more money. We would like to start saving for a down payment so we can buy our own place in a few years.

This could work out for the best in the long run. I just hope we can work out a better time frame, as I don't want to worry about moving when we are supposed to be going to Disneyland!

[DisneyStitch626]

I got my lanyard in the mail today!!! I love it! I definitely think it is worth the $6.
It's so cute!

[kaoden39]

Oh geez having to find a new place to live couldn't happen at a worse time.

[kaoden39]

Originally Posted by DisneyStitch626

I got my lanyard in the mail today!!! I love it! I definitely think it is worth the $6.
It's so cute!

That is adorable.

[DisneyStitch626]

So I have been talking to our landlords, and it sounds like things aren't going to be as bad as we thought. They owe quite a bit more than what they can sell the place for at the moment, so until housing starts going up quite significantly, they won't be selling.

We have also thought that if we can get another couple to move in with us and make an offer to pay a little more a month, then maybe they will change our mind on selling. We will save a lot more money having roommates there, and we like the place so much, we are willing to pay a little bit more a month to stay there longer. This will also help us to save for a down payment for our a house so that soon we could have our own place to call home.

The best part of this news....we don't have to move in October. Disneyland trip is still safe! Also with roommates, we can save more money for the trip!! I am assuming that I am going to see a lot of things I am going to want to buy there!

[DisneyStitch626]

I also just bought a little book of all the Hidden Mickey's in the park. It could be fun to have a little game while we are down there and see how many we can find and get pictures of.