Don't Mind Me, Just Talking Disney to Myself - #2MORESLEEPS - Airline Issues :/

[disney-inspired]

Sorry it's been awhile since I responded. Catching up in comments now.

I have to say, this is extremely optimistic and almost setting yourselves up for failure. If you are planning on using anything but the east depot I don't see you having any luck with this plan. To get to MK it took us on average at bare minimum of two hours if relying on the bus. Since you will have a car I might plan to use that for MK Rope Drop. I assure you, your chances of arrival in time sans extreme amounts of stress are much better.

I have NO idea as to why it took you almost 2 hours to get to MK from Port Orleans.

For my most recent trip, I stayed at Pop and had nowhere near that long of a wait. Also, when we stayed at POR, we never had that horrendous of wait and we went in peak summer season which is vastly different from a the September crowds.

I feel like an hour is sufficient enough for us to get there. If we don't make rope drop, I'm not stressing out about it. I'm going into this trip with adjusted expectations (bringing an 18 month old). Honestly, MK isn't a huge deal only because we are DLR natives. We are really just interested in seeing the new FL area.

 

[disney-inspired]

Real Life stuff

Some people got to have it
Some people really need it
Listen to me y'all, do things
Do things, do bad things with it
You wanna do things, do things
Do things, DISNEY things with it
Talk about cash money, money
Talk about cash money
Dollar bills, yall
Money, money, money, money, money
​

New things have popped up in our company and this involves a program expanding to a different state. The thing is, they don't have an office...or admin staff, so for the next 1-2 months my coworker and I get the JOY of doing it for them *please note the severity of the sarcasm here*. For this week, since my coworker is on vacation (at Disney World!), I will be working 12 hour days.
Oh and did I mention that the new office is in EST? So I have to be here, ready to receive calls at 5AM PST.

Normally, I value my sleep more than overtime unless I'm completely broke or the OT requires me to stay late (I'm a night owl). I have to leave my house around 4:20 AM to get there in time.

NOW, the good thing about this is that I get OT for 12 hours on my next pay check which is mostly going to go to my Disney fund!

Woo!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

For my most recent trip, I stayed at Pop and had nowhere near that long of a wait. Also, when we stayed at POR, we never had that horrendous of wait and we went in peak summer season which is vastly different from a the September crowds.

It also depends on the depot you use. Here's the thing, when the buses fill up before making it around to all the stops the drivers don't call into dispatch to let them know to send a bus for the rest. So the stops that get skipped just go without a bus. There were MULTIPLE times (practically every time we wanted a MK bus no matter the time of day) that it was an hour or more wait at the south depot. Maybe another depot will have better luck but it's better to go in prepared.

And for the record if a taxi does end up needed the fair to the contemporary is only $12.

I will be working 12 hour days.

Oh and did I mention that the new office is in EST? So I have to be here, ready to receive calls at 5AM PST.

NOW, the good thing about this is that I get OT for 12 hours on my next pay check which is mostly going to go to my Disney fund!

But Yay for extra disney fund!

 

[xlsm]

The waiting with nothing really left to plan is SO FRUSTRATING.

I hate that you'll have those 12 hour days, but maybe it will keep you distracted?? That's my very terrible way of attempting to see the bright side, lol!!

 

[disney-inspired]

It also depends on the depot you use. Here's the thing, when the buses fill up before making it around to all the stops the drivers don't call into dispatch to let them know to send a bus for the rest. So the stops that get skipped just go without a bus. There were MULTIPLE times (practically every time we wanted a MK bus no matter the time of day) that it was an hour or more wait at the south depot. Maybe another depot will have better luck but it's better to go in prepared.

And for the record if a taxi does end up needed the fair to the contemporary is only $12.





But Yay for extra disney fund!

That sucks! Well, we'll play it by ear.

 

[disney-inspired]

TALK ABOUT AN AMAZING AND UNEXPECTED BLESSING!
​

backstory:
I purchased my car earlier this year through the Hertz program. In addition to a great deal on my Toyota Corolla, they gave me a week rental's worth of Gold Member Reward points for purchasing my car.
I had priced out Hertz many times in the previous months for our trip and when it came to the 'check out' page, they would only allow me to cash in up to two days of rental. This really bothered me because it felt like these 'free points' were junk with tons of blackouts and restrictions.

So today I priced it out again with a few places (Avis, budget, Hertz) with the idea that at least I'd get a 'discount' with using the one or two free rental days. When I got to the last page of the process (using my AAA discount as well) it let me use my full week's worth of points for the rental! We are set for the trip and it's gonna cost me less than $40!!!

In the end, I only had to pay the remaining balance + tax:

I'M STOKED
AND SO FREAKING GRATEFUL ​

 

[Gracefulskinny]

In the end, I only had to pay the remaining balance + tax:

 

[disney-inspired]

Continuing the party!!

 

[xlsm]

What a huge relief!!

And might I just add...

 

[disney-inspired]

Oh my goodness! We are getting so close!

This weekend I did some shopping since Kohl's was having sales, with an additional 10% tax relief discount AND my 30% Kohl's Charge mailer coupon.

I got some new shoes for a great steal and they are super comfortable!

And I scooped some up for the little one. I got both because my sister couldn't decide which one she liked best. I'm a fan of the purple with the stars. I'm tired of all the pink that comes with a little girl. I prefer purples, peaches, light blues and greens. They complement her skin tones so nicely! But seeing as how my sister knows what will match her wardrobe, she gets the final say.

And I found her a great water bottle for the trip. She loves drinking out of my Contigo bottle (like a camelbak) so I know she'll love this one

Great shopping day and I also got $20 in Kohls' cash!​

 

[Steppesister]

You sure have some really great news there!! YOWZA, that price is phenomenal for the car! Excellent!

Love all the shoes too. I ended up with blisters last trip; I really hope they hold up for you and are comfy all the way through!

 

[meejay]

I can't believe how close the trip is! Love those new shoes!

 

[disney-inspired]

You sure have some really great news there!! YOWZA, that price is phenomenal for the car! Excellent!

Love all the shoes too. I ended up with blisters last trip; I really hope they hold up for you and are comfy all the way through!

It was such a surprise and a real blessing because that's one less expense that we have to worry about for the trip. I'm so relieved!

In the past two times I've done WDW, I haven't gotten blisters so I hope it stays that way for this trip. I'm going to be wearing them a lot this month to break them in. I also need to get in as much mileage as possible to get me physically ready!

I can't believe how close the trip is! Love those new shoes!

Thanks!
I'm so excited for this vacation!

 

[disney-inspired]

TA - DA! MY PLANNING/ TRIP REPORT NOTEBOOK​

I stole this idea from @Steppesister who posted hers on her own PTR. You should really check out it out HERE. It's such an entertaining read!

I'm a huge fan of Moleskine. I know they're on the pricier side but I think it's worth is because of the quality. I found the smaller reporter style notebook online and thought it would be the perfect size to record all of the need-to-know information (reservation #s, ADR confirmation numbers, FP+, touring plans, etc) and keep on me when we are there without it taking up too much space. I hope to use it as a 'right here, right now' journal. I want to record the funny things, the things we liked/didn't care for and just magical moments we experience on our trip.

BONUS POINTS (like the kind in Whose Line is it Anyway ): If you can tell what show I'm watching in the last photo.

 

[disney-inspired]

Things I'd like to see/do​

* Visit Marketplace Fun Finds in Downtown Disney

"Even the most frugal Disney fans can find lots to like here: items under $10, 5 for $20 or a grab bag of surprises!" They have grab bags for $11.99
I have recently learned that they stopped grab bags just last month but I still want to stop by to see if they will have clearance items or 4/$20 souvenirs. Here's to hoping!​

 

[Steppesister]

Awwww, thanks so much for the sweet shout out! The more the merrier, and I apologize ahead of time to those who pop by... this is the slow boat to China kind of PTR, so to speak. It's a long, long journey, but one worth telling and sharing IMHO. We have some good fun over there, and it's so great to have both long time and new readers alike.

 

[disney-inspired]

Awwww, thanks so much for the sweet shout out! The more the merrier, and I apologize ahead of time to those who pop by... this is the slow boat to China kind of PTR, so to speak. It's a long, long journey, but one worth telling and sharing IMHO. We have some good fun over there, and it's so great to have both long time and new readers alike.

But you keep it going and each new post is an entertaining read. I would say it takes a pretty good writer to keep everyone engaged for a long term PTR.
I know I usually have the attention span of a goldfish so if the first post doesn't really hook me, I move on to look for another PTR/TR to read.

 

[disney-inspired]

Ugh, so mini rant here...
I had adjusted my tax withholding for the past three paychecks so I could get a little more money in July/Aug. I switched it back to zero last week believing it would take affect in the following pay period.

I worked overtime this past week and I got paid today. When I checked my bank account, I thought 'hmm, there should be more than that in there...'
well I checked my pay stub online and the tax withholding took affect on this paycheck.
They taxed the heck out of my check!
I'm just mad a myself because I should have waited to change it back to zero until after I got this check. Hindsight being 20/20 and all.

Oh well, onto bigger and better things, no use crying over spilled milk, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush and all that jazz.

I found the Crocs sandals that my sister wanted for my niece on Shoebuy for less than the Crocs store And they had an additional 20% coupon AND Free shipping!
I knew Crocs was having a 30% sale but in the end I saved $3 more using Shoebuy. Also, I got it shipped directly to my sister for free!

​

I'm still on the hunt for a Crystal Palace breakfast ADR for 9/17 (Thursday). If you see anything, let me know! I do have dining scout but haven't had any luck yet for that one.

Happy Friday everyone!

 

[disney-inspired]

I withdrew two pay day's slotted savings yesterday to add to my fun money fund since next payday excess funds will be pretty sparse since I'm paying a lot of bills at that time.

Now I've saved 90% of my goal amount! Woo!

​

 

[Steppesister]

90% is an awesome amount to be excited about! WOOT!