Me and the ‘Rents! - A Sept 2016 PTR - TR Link up!

[DexLabDeeDee]

Hello and welcome to my pre-trip report where me and my parents will attempt the IMPOSSIBLE...

Relax and go with the flow!!

….at least that’s the plan. Which is probably a little bit of an oxymoron – PLAN to be spontaneous! PLAN to take it easy! That’s me, though, a mass of contradictions. And I think it might be the only way to trick my brain into taking it down a notch. Make it think it’s a PLAN when it’s actually not – SURRRPRIIIISE!



We’ll see how it works.


So come along with me on our journey. It’ll be fun! Full disclosure, though: I am TERRIBLE at following through with a trip report. Not because I’m lazy. Because I get the Disney blues so bad that I can barely look at our trip pictures when we get back, much less write a trip report. However, I have decided that I am just going to go to Disney every year so there is no reason to feel blue because I will be back. Even if that doesn’t happen, I’m telling myself that, though it totally is the plan (see that word again, gotta keep tricking my brain!) to go every year. That’s why there is a very good chance that I will actually be writing a trip report.


So please join me, what can it hurt?


This is not just a pre-trip about getting ready for Disney. It will also include a trip report of my sister’s one day at MK, a report of my trip to NOLA, daily life, and more! And just because we are going with the flow doesn’t mean that we won’t be seriously preparing in the months to come. Plenty of Disney details here!



Okay, the deets.



My name is Jenna – DexLabDeeDee. Because I work in a lab and I think it’s hilarious that Dexter has a really stupid sister (contradictions!) and sometimes I feel really stupid. “DeeDee you are stoooopid!!” And I’m always concerned with doing the right thing. All the time. Which is exhausting. One of the reasons why I’m trying to take it easy this time around. I just drive myself crazy trying to think of the best/most efficient/useful way to do/go/see/experience xyz. ALL the time. So – none of that! The best things that happen are often NOT in the plan. I can’t completely not have a plan but it’ll be a framework instead of a schedule.

Here I am:





I’m 34, almost 35, btw. Married. No children. A cat. Named Sirius Black. He’s black. We love Harry Potter. So…yeah, Sirius Black.


My travel companions will be my parents, Paul and Sue. My DH doesn’t want to go and my sisters will be busy. My dad is recently retired and my mom works in education. They are always up for a Disney vacation. (Who isn’t???...well, my husband, apparently. I married a crazy person. He doesn’t count.)


Here they are!









My parents have been to Disney several times, as well as myself. Both together and separately.


In 2014, I went to Disney with my parents and my two sisters. It was a jam packed vacation and there were some confused expectations. Namely, I thought that everyone would just do what I wanted them to do and they, confusingly, thought that since it was their vacation, they could do what they wanted. Silly family.




We had a great time but I think I stretched us to our limits. Which is another reason for the “go with the flow” approach. We’ll be focusing on half days and really using our FP+ wisely.




But for how many days??? Stay tuned……




(In real life, I’m writing this while watching the Golden Globes and sitting in my Animal Kingdom Lodge sweatshirt!)

 

[Sarahh1027]

Joining in! I'm excited to read more!

A cat. Named Sirius Black. He’s black. We love Harry Potter. So…yeah, Sirius Black.

This cracks me up! I'm a HUGE Harry fan! So great name And one of my cats is black (with a little white, like a tux.) He's my baby

Namely, I thought that everyone would just do what I wanted them to do and they, confusingly, thought that since it was their vacation, they could do what they wanted. Silly family.

THIS IS SO ME! Last May I planned a trip for my parents, sister, and her boyfriend. I wanted everything MY way, and I expected everyone to keep up with my pace. Naturally everyone else got run down, and 3 out of us 5 got sick! My mom and I were the only ones who weren't sick for a month after haha oops. But everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves, but I guess not everyone is built for my type of Disney vacation

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

Welcome, Sarahh1027!

I'm glad you could join me!

This cracks me up! I'm a HUGE Harry fan! So great name And one of my cats is black (with a little white, like a tux.) He's my baby

Sirius is our baby too! We used to have a tuxedo and she was so great. HUGE personality. What's your cat's name?

THIS IS SO ME! Last May I planned a trip for my parents, sister, and her boyfriend. I wanted everything MY way, and I expected everyone to keep up with my pace. Naturally everyone else got run down, and 3 out of us 5 got sick! My mom and I were the only ones who weren't sick for a month after haha oops. But everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves, but I guess not everyone is built for my type of Disney vacation

YES! It's just too much but I can't help myself either! Rope drop to close, I don't care if I pass out! I'm so sorry everyone got sick after your vacation. It can be really grueling.

On our last trip, it ended up being me vs my dad. We communicate so well in some areas but in other areas, we are completely off the mark. Both of us think that we are being clear to the other person but nope. You know what they say about assume.... Let's just say that both my dad and I looked like donkeys that week. So, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right?

 

[Sarahh1027]

We used to have a tuxedo and she was so great. HUGE personality.

My baby's name is Romeo!! He's the best. With a huge personality also!!!

Rope drop to close, I don't care if I pass out!

Right on!!! I'm the same way!!!!

You know what they say about assume.... Let's just say that both my dad and I looked like donkeys that week. So, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right?

Oh yes, I know what they say about assuming!

Can't wait to find out more about your trip!

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

....Drumroll please.....

We are going for.....duh duh duh daaahhh.....12 days!!

WOW!!!!

I can't believe it. It's been my dream to spend 10 days at Disney and we're going to do 12!

We may also extend it out to a full 14!! GASP!! Someone catch me while I faint - or cry!

The other two days depend on what we can get for flights. We decided to let the airlines tell us what we're going to do along with my mom's handbell schedule. She plays handbells for a few different groups. There is usually some sort of performance on a Sunday. Shes NUTS about handbells and plays really well so she's in demand.


We are going from Labor Day (Sept 5th) through Fri, Sept 16th! We would go until the 17th but we have to be back for something going on that weekend. We could potentially add a couple of days on the beginning and leave Sat, Sept 3rd since that wouldn't be any extra vacation days for me. But it means more spending on vacation.

My parents own a timeshare in Hawaii through Starwood hotels so for the first part of the vacation we'll be at the Swan Dolphin hotel using their points. Then the next half we want to go back to Animal Kingdom Lodge, where we were in 2014.

This time, we're checking out renting DVC points from Dave's DVC Point Rental. It's a lot cheaper than going through Disney for the same room. However, it isn't refundable once you book. We would like a 1 bedroom, Savannah view location, Kidani. We LOVED Kidani last time. So quiet and intimate. We love Jambo House too but Kidani grabbed our hearts.





Isn't that gorgeous??? Love Love Love!!

We won't be booking the AKL stay until the end of the month due to some personal family things. Because it's not refundable, we have to be very sure plus we also have to have all the money ready to go in order to secure our reservation.

Cross your fingers that someone has points we can use and AKL Kidani is available!

Tonight Dad is going to book our Swan Dolphin stay....

 

[Sarahh1027]

It's been my dream to spend 10 days at Disney and we're going to do 12!

THAT'S AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, nothing could beat that!

We may also extend it out to a full 14!!

Oh wait...14 days definitely beats 12 YES PLEASE!

Then the next half we want to go back to Animal Kingdom Lodge

This is my dream hotel. AKL and the Poly! Of course I've only stayed at Pop, Shades of Green, and soon to be AoA...but someday. It'll happen!

Cross your fingers

Fingers are crossed!!

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

We are booked for the first half of our stay!! …..and technically the second half….buuut we still have to wait until the end of the month to really book the second half.



My dad is an owner in the Starwood Hotels program (timeshare) so we are going to be staying at the Swolphin (Swan Dolphin) or the Swan and Fish if you’re going by the statues on the tops of the hotels. I have heard the explanation about why they call the Fish Statue a dolphin but it doesn’t make sense to me. Something about mermaids….though why wouldn’t they call it the Swan and Mermaid instead, then? It’s bizarre.


Yes....Swan.....makes sense


Fish.....no sense


Okay, now I have to look it up…...................... are you still with me?..................................patience….................................almost done........................................

Okay, so there is a lot of good information on yesterland.com. Basically, the Dolphin hotel fish statues are DOLPHIN FISH not dolphin the mammal.



Dolphin fish is also known as Mahi-Mahi. I learned something new! I also learned that there are no rooms past the top of the black square. And that the black square was never an intended monorail route. (Not that I even knew that that was a thing that people thought but now I know it’s not true!)


Fake rooms for the top 80 feet!

Good stuff. Disney fascinates me.




Anyway, (wow I got REALLY ! Though it was probably longer for me than for you!) my dad got us a room at the Swan (you know, the one with the statue that actually LOOKS like a swan ) from Sept 3th to Sept 9th. It’s a Queen room – did you also know that the Swan has Queen beds and the Dolphin has Double beds?? – on a high floor facing the lake with a balcony! WOW!! It’s gonna be great! It pays to call. That wasn’t even available on the points website when he looked but then he called and got a good deal!

Here is a pick from their website of the room:


Lovely. Though I suspect that the image outside the room is fake.

It blows my mind that we will be so close to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Makes me seriously consider park hoppers. It isn’t something that we normally do because it’s expensive when you add up everyone and we don’t like to take the time to hop. But if we are RIGHT THERE, it might be worth it. Plus we are there for a longer time and if AK is open for their nighttime show, I might pop over there from AKL for an evening stroll. Boom! Mind blown!

I love that we are going to be there for SO LONG! And it still probably won’t be enough! Haha. We talked about flights the other night and when we should leave to go down to WDW and Mom said that we should leave on Sun the 4th because “it really is a long time to be down there”. HA! And here I was thinking about all the stuff that I’m STILL wanting to cram into the vacation that already seems to be too short and is SUPPOSED to be relaxing. I’m just BURSTING with ideas!

I need to calm down.

I think it’s the weather. Cold and snowy here in Minnesota (surprise!) and thinking about this vacation and my one to New Orleans is what is getting me through my days. I just want to curl up into a ball until spring. Or just not go into work, actually see the sun, and surf the DISBoards all day! Wouldn’t THAT be great!

Sadly, I didn’t buy a Powerball ticket so I must still work. Disney vacation monster needs food (money). Nom! Nom! Nom!

I also booked a couple of back-up options for the 9th – 16th. I did it online because I was concerned that a phone CM wouldn’t let me have multiple reservations. But online doesn’t care. You just have to do two separate transactions otherwise the one reservation does rule out the other one in the cart.

Anyway, I booked a standard room at Port Orleans Riverside. It is a favorite. If we can’t go deluxe, there isn’t anywhere else I’d rather be. I just love the whole feel of the resort and especially at night walking through the lighted pathways. So peaceful. It somehow feels like home even though I’m from Minnesota. AKL feels great and I love it but it doesn’t feel like home. It’s peaceful and exotic but not homey. But that’s okay because I still LOVE it.

Which brings me to my next reservation – AKL Kidani 1 bedroom savanna view. Eeee! But whew! Expensive! I’m really really really hoping that we can get this with points. It’s just so expensive otherwise. If we can’t do it, we’ll probably go to POR. Which would be fine. Really. I do like it. It just doesn’t have a savanna with giraffes….

Worries for another time!

Right now everything is GREAT! I looked into airline flights and MAN were those hard not to book. It’s $297 per person non-stop, which is about as low as we’ll probably be able to go. But – say it with me now – we have to wait until the end of the month. Blech. “You’re killing me, smalls!"





I should probably stop torturing myself by looking at stuff I can’t book anyway. But let’s honest, I won’t be able help myself. And I won’t stop. And yes, I do have a problem. And no, I do not care.





234 Days to go!!

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

This is my dream hotel. AKL and the Poly! Of course I've only stayed at Pop, Shades of Green, and soon to be AoA...but someday. It'll happen!

For sure it'll happen! I never though 10 would even be possible until I just decided to make it work. Well, it took me several years and a promotion or two but once I could swing it, I just decided to go for it. I would also love to check into staying at the Poly.

Fingers are crossed!!

Thank you! It's killing me to wait!

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

Now a moment of silence for the passing of Alan Rickman aka Severus Snape aka Dr. Lazarus aka Colonel Brandon

 

[Sarahh1027]

Hearing about his death shocked me also. I am a huge Harry Potter fan! And I love love love Professor Snape. RIP Alan Rickman

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

Hearing about his death shocked me also. I am a huge Harry Potter fan! And I love love love Professor Snape. RIP Alan Rickman

It just feels so wrong that he would not be here anymore!

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

Hello!



How was your weekend? Mine was FREEZING!! It’s was very cold in MN this weekend, though I don’t think It got as cold as they were predicting.

My parents and I visited my sister in Duluth (2 hours north of the Cities) this weekend. Normally, we do outdoor stuff but not this weekend! We visited a couple of breweries and a mansion. We had two kinda strange tours at the mansion and one of the breweries. The woman at the mansion was either flustered or didn’t know her stuff because she kept saying things like “And this is the place where his wife would keep all of her plants, sort of like a….place where you keep plants.” (Conservatory, Greenhouse??) Or she said “This woman servant came from Europe to be….the head person….you know, the one who would go over the food for the day with the mistress and help run the house.” (Housekeeper??) And at one point, when we were on the 3rd floor which hadn’t been restored and was pretty open, she told us that we could wander about looking at the different displays. When we started to do that she said, “Please, I need you to stay together and come this way! We are going down the back stairs.” We joked about that the rest of the weekend. “Please, feel free to wander about the apartment. No! I need you to stay together!” It was ridiculous.

But that’s not all…

The guy at the brewery was most likely a bit intoxicated (12pm on Sunday!). He was very easily distracted and kept making jokes that didn’t make sense and then he would pause for us to laugh and when no one did, he would repeat the joke and laugh himself. Half the problem was that we couldn’t hear him. At 12:45pm (the tour started at noon), he said, “I hope that no one has to be anywhere by 1pm because we’re not very far on the tour. I am famous for my two hour tours.” WHAAAA??? Bear in mind that the average brewery tour is 15-30min TOPS. Oh, but don’t you worry because we lucked out and got out of there at 1:45pm, 15min earlier than advertised. Yeah….we were lucky…...



You might want to skip the Bent Paddle tour when you’re in Duluth.


Okay, now that you made it through all of that, I do have a Disney update! I was sitting in my sister’s living room when I opened my email and went….



Yeah, the flight that I was tracking dropped. $97. But wait! That’s not all. I opened another email and it had dropped. AGAIN! We were at $186. $186!!!!! That is insane, people! INNNNSAAANNNNNE! I’m ecstatic when it’s sub $300, much less SUB $200. I can’t even tell you what I felt. I still go bonkers thinking about it. I about peed my pants. And died. While peeing my pants. Which is actually what happens…when you...ew…sorry…nevermind!

We’re talking Delta. Non-stop. Round trip. Great times. Not one of those get down there at 11pm on arrival day and then have a 6am flight back. Good, solid, middle of the day times.

Sounds too good to be true, right? Aaaannnd it sort of is. But not. It is the newest thing from Delta – economy fare. Not the usual economy-sit-in-the-main-cabin fare but rock bottom economy. So there are a few stipulations. The biggest one for us is that you can’t pick your seats. At all. You get assigned seats when you check in to your flight up to 24 hours in advance. You also cannot upgrade your seat even if you want to pay extra for one of those select comfort seats. The way I figure it, you are pretty much guaranteed a crappy middle seat.

Next, you cannot make changes to your tickets. At any time for any amount of money. They are locked in. FOREVER.

Next – you are in the last zone to board. So if you want bin space, forget it. Disney flights are always full so there will be no chance for you to get bin space.

The next fare class (main cabin) price was $226 which is still a super awesome deal. So we went ahead and booked the $186 price.

Whaaat??? Yes, you heard me – we booked. our flight. last night. WHOOO HOOO!!!! And with the stupid economy fare, too!!

But, DexLabDeeDee, I thought you were going to wait for the end of the month because of some personal family things. Plus, you know, money??

Welll…..we decided that it was such a good price that we were just going to cross our fingers and hope it worked out! Eeeek! Yes, it’s a bit of a gamble with the family thing and with the money thing, it was just too insane a price. We'll make the money work. Ramen, anyone?

But what about all those crazy stipulations? Right. Well, being locked into my Disney flight FOREVER is a problem I am definitely willing to have. Plus we have trip insurance and I don’t know when I’ve ever changed an airline ticket due to a scheduling thing and not an emergency. As for the seats, that’s a bit of a kicker, but for a 3 hour flight middle seats are no problem (we could even have an aisle or a window but we’re assuming the worst). And if we want to pick our own seats it would “cost” us another $40 a person (the $226 main cabin fare). As my dad said to my mom last night when she had some hesitation over sitting apart, “We are all adults here, right?” Which made us laugh because my mom acts like a child on airplanes. She doesn’t like it when they close the cabin door and she is trapped for the rest of the flight. God help her seat mates. Haha. It’s okay, really. She’s fine for 3 hours. Not so fine for a Hawaii flight which makes it really crazy that my parents bought a timeshare there but go fig. And lastly, the bags are no big deal because we check luggage anyway and our carry-ons fit under the seats. If we happen to have an overhead bin bag, we are fine with checking it at the gate if necessary.


AHHHHHHHHH!!!! The trip finally feels real! We’re going to Disney!




Oh, and, I forgot - You know how we were going back and forth about leaving on either Sat or Sun? Well, the $186 flight leaves on Sat so we’re there ANOTHER DAY!!! For those of you keeping track, that is 13 DAYS AT DISNEY!! (Well, 14 but I don’t count the day we leave) THIRTEEN, PEOPLE!!!


Now we just have to figure out lodging for the second week! (Well, there are loads more things to do than that but first things first!)


229 Days to Go!

 

[Sarahh1027]

How was your weekend? Mine was FREEZING!!

Same same same!!! It's so cold where I am!! It's currently 22 degrees but feels like 9 with the windchill according to my weather app! Can we just be in Florida already??!

“And this is the place where his wife would keep all of her plants, sort of like a….place where you keep plants.” (Conservatory, Greenhouse??)

Oh boy!!

“I hope that no one has to be anywhere by 1pm because we’re not very far on the tour. I am famous for my two hour tours.” WHAAAA??? Bear in mind that the average brewery tour is 15-30min TOPS. Oh, but don’t you worry because we lucked out and got out of there at 1:45pm, 15min earlier than advertised. Yeah….we were lucky…...

This is hilarious but must've been torture!

Yeah, the flight that I was tracking dropped. $97. But wait! That’s not all. I opened another email and it had dropped. AGAIN!

YAAAY!!!!!!

We’re talking Delta. Non-stop. Round trip. Great times. Not one of those get down there at 11pm on arrival day and then have a 6am flight back. Good, solid, middle of the day times.

I got lucky like this too!! Out of nowhere the flights I was watching dropped in price, and they're amazing times and direct routes. Ahhh so lucky

Whaaat??? Yes, you heard me – we booked. our flight. last night. WHOOO HOOO!!!!

This is sooo exciting!!!!!!!

Well, being locked into my Disney flight FOREVER is a problem I am definitely willing to have

Agreed!!!!!!

AHHHHHHHHH!!!! The trip finally feels real! We’re going to Disney!

THIRTEEN, PEOPLE!!!

13 Disney Days...this is a dream come true!!! So exciting!

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

I got lucky like this too!! Out of nowhere the flights I was watching dropped in price, and they're amazing times and direct routes. Ahhh so lucky

So did you book your great flight price? I don't remember reading it in your PTR but I might've missed it - if I did, sorry!

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.....just 8min away from making my sister's FP+ reservations for next month!!

It's a really really busy day so crossed fingers for 7DMT!

I don't care that it's not for a trip I'm going on, this is still exciting for me

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

VICTORY IS MINE!!!!!!!!!

I got 7DMT!! (And HM and PoTC but that's not what's important....I got 7DMT!!)

30 days out on a projected 8 crowd level day. The morning FP+ for 7DMT were all gone but the afternoon and evening were still available.

Not bad!

 

[Sarahh1027]

YAY! Congrats!!! You know you're a true born Disney vacation planner when you get excited to help out for somebody else's trip!!!

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

This is terrible – I’ve been away so long. Sorry!! Loads have been going on (ups and downs and ughs) and I haven’t gotten a chance to breathe in the last few weeks. Today is my first chance in a long time and so, of course, I’m here instead of doing the dishes like I should. Hooray for Disney procrastination.



I barely know where to start. Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start…..(Sound of Music? Anyone?)



Okay.



I think where we left off I had gotten plane tickets for our Sept trip at a ridiculously good price. And FP+s for my sister and her new husband for their honeymoon in Feb. We also had reservations at the Swan hotel for the first half of our vacation.



Right. All of that is still true.



For the second half of our vacation, we wanted to go back to Animal Kingdom Lodge. Either in a 1-bedroom Savannah view (okay, side note, Disney spells “Savanna” with no “h”. It drives me crazy for some reason. I can’t bring myself to spell it Disney’s way anymore. So you are just all going to have to deal with “Savannah” with an “h”!) (Side note, side note: Grammerist says: “For the noun referring to a flat grassland in a tropical or subtropical region, savanna is the usual spelling in American English, while savannah is preferred in all the other main varieties of English.” Apparently in the case of the Savannah, I am un-American. Oh well.)



Back on track. We wanted to go back to Animal Kingdom Lodge either in a 1-bedroom Savannah View or a Studio Savannah View. I would prefer the 1-bedroom because then it gives a little bit of room between me and my parents after sharing a room at the Swan.



If Animal Kingdom didn’t work out, we were planning on going to Port Orleans Riverside again. Which is also a favorite.



The only way Animal Kingdom Lodge would work out would be if we could rent points through a DVC broker. It’s just way to expensive otherwise. Like the plane tickets, I was thinking about waiting until mid-Feb because once we commit and secure a reservation there is NO going back. Cancellations with money back are not possible. So, in this case, travel insurance would be a must.



All this you know but since it’s been so long, I thought I’d catch you up.



So, I’m supposed to wait until mid-Feb. Right. Those of you who know me should know that I went ahead and contacted Dave’s DVC rental to get the process going. Who knows how long it would take to get a reservation??? Suspense! It kills me! Aaahhh.

And how does this all work anyway? I had looked into it before and read multiple brokerage sites but now that it was coming down to me actually doing something, I felt uncomfortable and uninformed.



So I hit the interwebs again. And again. And researched and looked at reviews. Pluses and minuses, etc, etc, etc.! (The King and I. It’s a musical themed pre-trip post.)



I decided on Dave’s DVC rental. For two reasons: one, the price seemed decent and two, several people said that they had a great experience and no matter how stupid the question, Dave’s people responded promptly and respectfully.



Awesome.



So, I filled out the paperwork and specified that we were ONLY looking for a 1-bedroom or studio savannah view at AKL – Kidani. We were not interested in Jambo House at all. We prefer the quiet atmosphere at Kidani. Though we do really like Jambo House, it is just a bit noisy and echo-y. Kidani is definitely not as grand and sweeping when you first enter, like Jambo House but it’s warm and cozy and welcoming.



After I filled out the paperwork, I hit send and felt a little panicky. What had I done? What if something goes wrong? Then we’re stuck. And we’re going through this sort of gray-area getting a room from some random people we didn’t know. And the broker helps and there is a bit of security there but really, you are renting from people and this requires a lot of trust with both parties.

Would this even feel like a Disney vacation since we weren’t going through official channels??



I also had to watch my email like a hawk because if we were notified that a reservation had been secured for us, we had 48 hours to provide full payment. That made me nervous too.





Then I got an email with the subject “A Message About Your DVC Reservation.”



Oh boy.



My palms were sweaty. I started to read….”Unfortunately due to the continual high demand for points we do not have…” Oh no.



There was nothing available. Which, honestly, wasn’t surprising since we were so locked into a specific room and place and we were 8 months out. That means that we can only use points from members who have AKL as their home resort. After the beginning of Feb (7 mos out) all the other DVC members at other resorts can make reservations outside those resorts for our Sept dates.



I’m finding DVC rather complicated. Use year, future points, windows, etc.



And I was getting a bit of cold feet. Maybe this was a sign that we should just do Port Orleans Riverside. Or somehow scrape the money together to go through Disney for AKL. Can we really trust these people??



I emailed the agent back and thanked her for trying and asked her to just keep it a little longer and then forget about it a week or so after the 7 month window opened.



She emailed me back saying that they keep it active until we tell them to pull it. I thanked her again and put a note on my calendar to call back in Feb.



In the meantime, my husband and I went to his uncle’s birthday party.



His cousin was there and mentioned that it was going to be her husband’s 40th birthday this year. I got excited and asked about the big party. Her family does parties very very well and the food is to die for. They own a restaurant, so. Yeah.



She said that her husband isn’t the big party type, like she is. (This is true.) “Honestly,” she said. “What he would really like to do is celebrate by going to Disney World.”



If you thought that I had lit up about the mention of a big party, this was nothing compared to the Christmas tree I must have resembled at the mention of Disney World.



“Except I’m really busy and I don’t have time to figure everything out and book it.” Cue the pointed look at me. “Where would we stay? How do I even figure that out? And isn’t there something about a dining plan and fast passes since we were there several years ago?”



I had already whipped out my phone by the time she said “really busy” and was looking at availability for his birthday. Except, wait, he’s a teacher and would have to go on Spring Break or in June. So I pulled up two browser windows for both April and June and I also started to search for flight prices on Kayak.




She said more stuff and I said more stuff but the basics of it was, I was going to plan their Disney vacation.



Sooooo happy.



So we interrupt this pre-trip report to give you a pre-trip report within a pre-trip report.



Let’s call it: “Two dreams come true: A guy gets a 40th birthday at Disney and a girl gets to be a Disney travel planner.”



I have a dream….of a fairy tale…. (Mama Mia!)



Coming up: When to go and where to stay? And where is the line??



Stay tuned…..

 

[Sarahh1027]

This is terrible – I’ve been away so long. Sorry!! Loads have been going on (ups and downs and ughs) and I haven’t gotten a chance to breathe in the last few weeks. Today is my first chance in a long time and so, of course, I’m here instead of doing the dishes like I should. Hooray for Disney procrastination.

Hooray! You've returned! Disney procrastination is my life right now!

I barely know where to start. Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start…..(Sound of Music? Anyone?)

YES

Apparently in the case of the Savannah, I am un-American. Oh well.)

As am I! SavannaH all the way! It bothers me when people spell my name without the H in Sarah. I don't want to hurt Savannah's feelings either.

My palms were sweaty. I started to read….”Unfortunately due to the continual high demand for points we do not have…” Oh no.

And I was getting a bit of cold feet. Maybe this was a sign that we should just do Port Orleans Riverside. Or somehow scrape the money together to go through Disney for AKL. Can we really trust these people??

Hmmm I think Port Orleans Riverside is the winner since you already love it already

She said that her husband isn’t the big party type, like she is. (This is true.) “Honestly,” she said. “What he would really like to do is celebrate by going to Disney World.”

She said more stuff and I said more stuff but the basics of it was, I was going to plan their Disney vacation.

That's so awesome!!!

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

As am I! SavannaH all the way! It bothers me when people spell my name without the H in Sarah. I don't want to hurt Savannah's feelings either.

Good to know I'm not the only one!

Hmmm I think Port Orleans Riverside is the winner since you already love it already

It's definitely cheaper...but animals outside your bedroom window!! It's been a roller coaster!

That's so awesome!!!

I have been enjoing it sooo much. An update to follow soon!