394 days until..Major Changes Afoot!!! Updated-04/30

[ash-n-brensmom]

Yep, we have 394 days until our vacation for Canadian March Break 2015....good think I am starting this Pre Trip Report now...wouldn't want to procrastinate.

Hi there, my name is Kara aka: ash-n-brensmom. It's been a while since I have been on these boards regularly. As most of you are aware, there has been some somewhat snarky behaviour here as of late, a lot of us have been using Facebook instead of these boards to keep up to date on info and plan our trips. I was a member of a few of these groups over the years, and while they were great to meet folks going at the same time as us, they are not a substitute for these boards. I have missed it here, I guess.

I don't know how many people will follow this PTR, but not too worry, I plan to keep posting no matter how many followers there are or aren't. I just wanna plan and talk all about this trip, you get it, right?

So, this trip is a LONG way off...this gives us plenty of time to plan, change, and plan and change...lol...but it also gives me a chance to share our upcoming interim vacations with the disboards world as well. More on those to follow...

For now I will introduce you all to the gang here:

This is our oldest DD and she is the reason for this trip...well not the reason for the trip itself, but the reason we are traveling during the Canadian March Break.

The Disney name we have been using for her over the years is Stitch..not only her favorite character, but she is crazy just like him! (imagine the moving stitch smilie here...disboards not liking me after that snarky comment and they aren't cooperating..lol)
Anyways, Stitch is starting HIGH SCHOOL in the fall (oh THAT smilie works..lol)
We don't want her to miss any more school, and we have a trip planned this coming fall already, she will miss 5 days for that..and that's already too much. We have always done our trips during the school year because DH and I can't get time off during the school breaks usually...we are counting on some pixie dust for this one!

This is our younger DD...she has chosen to be called Merida because she is brave...okay!

She will be in Grade 5 when we travel...no worries for her to miss school yet...can we leave Stitch home and go during the slower months instead? JK!!

This is me and my wonderful DH He is referred to as Ferb, both British!

Okay, not the best pic of us, but cute, huh?

I am 41 and he is 40, I like 'em young!

A little about our Disney past...

Our first trip was in 2008 and we immediately fell in LOVE
We came back the next year on a bounce back. Then we were totally hooked...we have been to WDW a total of 9 times so far...we have a short WDW trip this fall (like maybe 2 days) followed by a DCL cruise on The Wonder. I didn't think we could handle such a short visit (but of course we couldn't handle NOT going when we are that close)..so I started thinking about when we could do an all WDW trip. Going back to the missing school issue, this was all we could come up with.


So, that's the when...and the who...the Where and How is to follow....

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

A few years ago....well more like 5 maybe? Anyways, we thought about buying a resale contract for DVC. It seemed like a no brainer. We love WDW, our girls were getting older and we would be needing more space, and a resale contract seemed like a great deal! Then I did some more digging and found out about resale contracts for other timeshare companies. Talk about a steal! Some folks were giving away theirs, but most were going for a song. I did lots of research, months and months worth. We ended up buying a Wyndham contract off an ebay seller. For $137 plus closing costs we now own enough Wyndham points to get us to WDW twice a year. Well, that was until we needed to travel during a holiday season. But I digress...my reason for this soliloquy is to let you know WHERE we will be staying in March 2015!

Wyndham Bonnet Creek will be our home for the week! We love WBC...http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2951974

Why we love WBC is because of the location, you can see POP Century, DTD, and Epcot from there. It takes literally 5 minutes to get to Epcot. We can all spread out with a 2 bedroom unit, it has two bathrooms and laundry in the room, with a full kitchen. This can help save money, even if just on breakfast, snacks and drinks. We have really enjoyed the atmosphere and pools here as well. As you can see in the pictures above, there are lazy rivers and lots of pools! We had a great view of the fireworks at MK, Epcot and DHS last Oct! So, we really do love WBC!!!

The only problem with this whole scenario this time is the fact that we are traveling during Prime season. So, we have to pool our points from almost two years to get a unit for March Break. Bummer, but it's what we knew was coming with the girls getting older.

So, there you have the Where of this trip!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Whenever I am trying to read other PTR's and TR's, I try to search for ones that are relevant to my own trip that I am either planning or hope to plan. The problem is that when you search for say "March Break", you get every PTR and TR that has ever used the word "Break" in it...ummm, that's almost all of them?

So, in order to attempt to help others in the their future searching..I will list some words here that will pertain to this particular trip...

Canadian March Break
Offsite
Wyndham Bonnet Creek
Car Rental
Flower and Garden Festival
Undercover Tourist
Canadian Travel in Buffalo, NY

(I will start here and update the list as other topics arise...don't know if this will help anyone, but I sure hope it does!)

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

We live in Southern Ontario, which means if we drove to WDW it would take us approximately 20 hours of non-stop driving. Yeah, THAT's not gonna happen! So, we fly.

The great part about where we live, it's literally minutes to the US/Canada border. In fact, I am from the US originally. Met Ferb in a bar...well that's another story...

So, we have lots of options for flying down to WDW. We could go up to Toronto, which is about 1 1/2 hours with no traffic and pay an exorbitant amt of money..lots of taxes and fees. We could drive up to Hamilton which is about half way to Toronto and also pay exorbitant amts, but have half the schedule to choose from. OR, we could drive about 1/2 hour over to Buffalo, NY and pay WAY less. Hmmmm....let me think on that.... We also have another choice these days with a small regional airport in Niagara Falls, NY. There are two airlines there but only one flies anywhere near WDW, and it's a very limited schedule and they gouge you with fees, so really not THAT great of a deal when you get down to it.

The Buffalo Niagara International Airport is not that big, bigger than a regional airport so big enough. It's great flying in and out of there, easy, not too busy, parking is relatively cheap too. It's very convenient for us! We usually fly with Southwest and sometimes Jetblue, just depends on the schedule.

Once we land at MCO, we have to rent a car because we stay off site usually now. While this comes with a cost, it is far outweighed with the convenience and freedom that we get! Love, love, LOVE having a car down there!

The flights for this trip will probably be significantly higher than what we have had to pay in the past...gotta love traveling over a school break. But, we figured this was gonna happen. That being said, if we book as soon as the flights come out, we will save some. These flights rarely go on a seat sale, and the price just goes up, up, up!

Okay, folks we have hit on all the biggies....
WHO, WHEN, WHERE and HOW!

But, what's a post without some pics?

Some day we might fly like this!

Just another mode of transportation on these trips...gotta love the "Fake Monorail"!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Today marked a new passage for me....hopefully one that I will continue upon. As you can see from my pic, I am Pooh Sized. I have been since puberty hit MANY, MANY moons ago...

But, since I had kids and especially since I started working midnights, I have steadily put on more and more weight. I have tried working out and dieting in the past...I am not a motivated soul on the best of days, and working midnights has taken a lot out of me. Both body, mind and soul. But, I can't keep using that as a crutch.

I have been walking past a work out room that our workplace installed a year ago..yep, that's right a whole year ago, and it's free for us to use. The only real problem I have had with using it is my ego...
They placed the room in THE MOST conspicuous place know to man. EVERYONE has to pass it to get to the lunch room. And we employ over 3000 people, so LOTS of folks walking by. (Not all 3000 are at this location, most, though.. and with shift work, it's only about a 3rd that I would run into, but it would be the 3rd that I know of course). Back to what I was saying...my own embarrassment has been keeping me from using this room. But, really something needs to happen, I can't continue this way and I am worried about my health. So, I got the access card I needed and this morning I stayed an hour past my shift and worked out for the first time in years!

It felt good, it hurt a bit and Yeah, I was embarrassed walking down the hall in my work out clothes...but, I got over it.
The plan is to use this room 4 mornings a week, and I just got signed up for a free Zumba class through work as well. They are on a HUGE health and wellness kick! So, that gives me 5 days of free work outs!

The equipment in the room is really good quality, the selection is a bit limited, but I downloaded an APP on my Ipad mini for AB work outs and with that, the cardio machines and few weight machines, plus Zumba..I think I am on the right track!

I just need to work on my diet as well...when you are tired all the time, the thought of cooking is painful. So, that's my next challenge....how can I fit easy healthy quick meals in to the mix? This is a work in progress for sure.

So, all that said, I am going on record with my weight today.....

245lbs..and I am only 5' 2'...so yeah, Pooh sized.
The plan is to weigh in once a month...I've done the once a week thing and have been very discouraged. I read a book recently that was about a woman in my shoes, and they did a monthly weigh in instead. We shall see...My ultimate goal here isn't to get to a certain weight, I want to feel better, have more energy, I need to get out of this funk that I have sunk into as well. Of course this weather hasn't exactly helped.

So there you have it, a life update that I plan to update monthly.

I have seen some of you lurking around here..no need to say anything, although I would love to say Hi! Just glad to have some people checking this out!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Hey there....I see that more people have been checking in here, I know that this trip is a long way off and as we get closer more people with trips planned for March 2015 will come along...but if you are lurking, don't hesitate to say "Hi"!

It's too early in the game for there to be any real progress on trip planning for 2015. But I can update on my plan for weight loss. As I said, I planned on working out 4 times at the gym at work, and that a Zumba class was starting up this week as well.

I have managed to follow that plan for one whole week!
I stayed after work 4 times this week and I just got home from my first of 8 Zumba classes. The instructor was great, someone from work actually that volunteered for this! Great guy. He was patient with the folks that are new to Zumba and don't know all the different types of dance steps and he has great energy! He kicked my butt, that for sure!!

I am so excited that I have started on this new plan...I have received lots of positive reinforcement from co-workers, family and friends. Especially from Ferb! I didn't realize just how much I needed it from my co-workers, though. I think it goes back to the feeling of having to do the "walk of shame" through the hallways at work. I got over it, though and with everyone's positive vibes it's been a great week!

Something exciting DID happen today in regards to vacation, though! It's not about our 2015 WDW vacation, but it's still pretty great. I mentioned in my first post about our "other" vacations that we have coming this year, and one of those is this May. Ferb and I will be returning to our Honeymoon stomping grounds for the first time in 16 1/2 years. Vegas Baby!!

Ferb has been dying to go back since 1997... So, we finally are heading back without the kids for 3 nights of debauchery! We get to use our timeshare points for this so all we needed to come up with was the money for the flights , and spending money. We managed to get a decent deal, though. It's not a cheap date flying from Buffalo, NY, but at least it's direct and we have good flight times to maximize our short stay. While we are there, Ferb and I will be renewing our Wedding Vows! If any of you have read previous TR's from us, you will know that we have had some rough times in the past 6 years or so. Ferb REALLY wants to do this, so we are going to do it at the Little White Wedding Chapel in their Drive Through Wedding Tunnel!!! I know, kitschy, right? Fun for sure, and a little romantic too...

Today, I booked our stay...I had been waiting til the 90 day mark had passed because we need to "borrow" points from next year for this stay. But, as of this morning, we are booked!

That's all for now...Hope you are all well! The weather has gotten a bit better here today..I even took off my coat! Back to freezing this weekend, though...Can't Wait for SPRING!!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Is anyone else disturbed by how many things are going away at WDW? The available entertainment that they used to have was great! You could walk around the World Showcase and eat and drink and shop and see all kinds of fun entertainment along the way...now they Ziti sisters are gone, Myuki is gone (on her own they say), and now PUSH at MK is gone!

I guess they just want you to walk around eat drink and shop...well I guess that makes sense fiscally.. But still, it bugs me because the cost of our tickets go up every year...and yeah I know that they added stuff to MK and will add to AK and DHS eventually, but they should...and NOT take away in the process. And because of that AK construction (so they say) the parade there is going away too...I'm so mad at myself for not taking the time last year like I planned to hang out and watch it. But, I got tired, the kids and Ferb got whiney...so I said, next year for sure....so much for next year.

We never got a chance to see all the entertainment that they offered, but it was something to look forward to for our next trip, kwim? We are all sad about PUSH here, though...we had awesome interaction with him on our first trip...it was a highlight from a less than magical vacation, so we have a special place for PUSH in our WDW hearts.

 

[BMC423]

Heyyyyy! I logged in today for the first in a looong time and was pleasantly surprised to see your PTR in the "Today's Post" section.
I finished school last May and got a teaching job over the summer so I have been crazy busy!

Glad to hear you are all doing well!
The girls are getting so big! High School already!?!?!

Congrats on the working out and Zumba. I really admire anyone who tries Zumba and sticks with it (I never felt more uncoordinated in my life ) Good job! I think its great that your job is offering its employees all these resources.

I love that you started your March 2015 PTR. Our next trip will probably in July 2015 which is why I came on here tonight. You know to start planning

Thanks for posting about the Ziti Sisters I love them! So sad to hear they won't be there anymore!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Heyyyyy! I logged in today for the first in a looong time and was pleasantly surprised to see your PTR in the "Today's Post" section.
I finished school last May and got a teaching job over the summer so I have been crazy busy!

Glad to hear you are all doing well!
The girls are getting so big! High School already!?!?!

Congrats on the working out and Zumba. I really admire anyone who tries Zumba and sticks with it (I never felt more uncoordinated in my life ) Good job! I think its great that your job is offering its employees all these resources.

I love that you started your March 2015 PTR. Our next trip will probably in July 2015 which is why I came on here tonight. You know to start planning

Thanks for posting about the Ziti Sisters I love them! So sad to hear they won't be there anymore!

OMG!! Welcome!! So happy to see you on here, Bicki!! Thanks for the support with working out, I will take all I can get!!

I am so excited for you and your career! You must be so proud of yourself, I know that you worked hard to get where you are!!

Good to see that you guys are planning for another trip, it's exciting isn't it? Let me know if you get a PTR going!!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

One of the many things I, personally, am looking forward to on this trip is St Patrick's Day! I can't wait to celebrate my favorite holiday in my favorite place!

I saw this post when I was lurking around the disboards last week...
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/events.htm

It has tons of info about what's happening THIS year for St Patrick's Day, and it got me excited for next year!!




Mighty St. Patrick's Festival - March 7-17, 2014

Downtown Disney celebrates St. Patrick's Day with live music, a step-by-step Irish jig workshop, classic Irish food and drinks, Irish storytellers, Irish history and merchandise at Raglan Road's Shop.

Downtown Disney celebrates St. Patrick's Day

Featured musical performances:

Elevation - U2 tribute band: 3/15 and 3/17/14

We Banjo 3 - combination of Irish sounds and old-time American bluegrass: 3/7-3/9 and 3/15-3/17/14

3 Dollar Band - folk music: 3/14-317/14

Goitse - 5-piece band playing Irish melodies: 3/11 - 3/17/14

The Raglan Rebels - Raglan Road house band: daily

The Brayzen Heads - This duo plays traditional Irish and modern music: daily

Creel - Raglan Road house band: daily

West Coast Trio - Trio from Ireland's West Coast, accompanied by accordians, flutes and whistles: daily

Featured Dance Offerings:

Raglan Road Dancers - 15-minute pop-up performances will take place daily all around Downtown Disney

Irish Dance Workshops - Taught by Ronan McCormack and the Raglan Road Dancers: 3/15 - 3/17/14

Featured food and drink offerings:

Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant - Irish, European and American beers, plus modern cuisine from Master Chef Kevin Dundon. Raglan Road pop-up locations will be throughout Downtown Disney.

Paradiso 37 - Irish cocktails, like The Giant Leprechaun

Planet Hollywood - Festive foods and specialty drinks

Bongos - Seasonal food and beverage items

T-Rex - Featured food items and specialty beverages, like the Candy Apple Cotton-Tini

Portobello - Fiddler's Dream (mixed with Jameson honey simple syrup, Fever Tree ginger beer and a splash of lemonade)

Fulton's Crab House - Limey Leprechaun (Cuervo Gold, Midori, pineapple juice, sour mix and ice)

Wolfgang Puck Cafe - Shamrock Martinis (mixed with Midori, green creme de mint, ice cream and a chocolate swirl)

Food trucks - Fisherman's Pie, St. Patrick's-themed cupcakes with shamrock sprinkles

Forty Thirst Street - Irish Coffee

 

[wiigirl]

Following along!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Following along!

I am so excited! I have a follower!!!!

Thanks for joining us on our Loooooonnnnnggggg......wait for the this trip!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

As I mentioned earlier in this report, Ferb and I are hoping for some when it comes to this trip. To explain further, we both work at the same place. We are in different departments and work opposite shifts and have opposite days off. Sounds pretty bleak, but we make it work. But I digress...

We are in travel and tourism and that means we are required to use our vacation time during the off months for the largest bulk of our time. We are allowed to have one week off in the peak months. This would include Xmas and Summer. Ferb's dept blocks out Xmas, mine doesn't but my seniority is such that I can't get it anyways. I am lucky when I get a week in the summer. We are pretty lucky in that we usually can coordinate our time off together, though. That usually means we have a week in January, a week in the spring or June, one week in July and a week in Oct. (We have both been here long enough to have earned the 4 weeks vacation time)

My dept is doing a huge shift bid next week. This will not effect me directly, my seniority is so low, my shift and days off won't change. (not necessarily a good or bad thing just what it is) In the past I have been able to count on who was picking what for vacations when we did our pick in November. This MAY change, though depending on who ends up where next week.

In the mean time, one of my friends at work is taking a once in a lifetime Med Cruise in 2015! So excited for her!! But, guess when she is going? Yep....it's during our March Break. So, I need to get really crafty with my vacation pick for next year, or this vacation is ruined. My friend and I talked about it, and we think we have it all figured out...but if one other person wants that week and books it before me...well...sayonara..

In the mean time, we will keep planning for this week. As I have said, it's the only week we can manage with Stitch not missing any school. What are ya gonna do? Just have to take it as it comes, and hope for that .

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Back for what seems to be my weekly update I am sitting at the computer listening to Disney Parks music on youtube...love this channel:

Mr Theme Parks Audio:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2DJR5HYnejHMwRThNHxahQ

So, it's been a weird week..ups and downs so to speak. Thankfully the downs are only downs because of my interpretation..that is to say, not really downs.

Thurs last week Ferb took the day off of work so we could spend some time together. With our opposite shifts and days off it's important to schedule time together. This was supposed to be our Valentines Day , but between kids home from school due to illness and what not it kept getting re-scheduled. So finally we had a whole day together!

We got the girls off to school and then went out for a late breakfast at one of our fave local spots. Lots of fresh fruit is their specialty and between this weather and my attempt at a more healthy life it was a good choice. We also headed to the bank to pay off his credit card so we could book some stuff online for future vacations. More on that later.

Then we headed to the US to take care of some stuff and watch a movie. Seems extreme to leave the country to watch a movie, we don't have matinees here until summer months. Back story on some of the stuff we took care of, we have a sort of family member that works at MK. He has helped us out tremendously over the past few years....saved us HUNDREDS of dollars! And the only thing the guy ever asked for from us is a couple bottles of some hot sauce that you can only get here locally. So, every couple months we put together a care package of sauce and little bits and pieces to send. This time it was Easter and St Patrick's Day stuff...just little fun things. He's a great guy and has been so wonderful to us even though we aren't technically related. So off to the store for that and then post office to ship. Then we watched, and I am embarrassed to say this, Robocop. It wasn't horrible, but that's all I can say.

That ended our fun for the day and we had to be back home for the girls. But, that night we remembered that we hadn't booked something important for our Vegas trip....THE WEDDING!!
We ended up booking a Pink Cadillac and photo package!
We can't wait, it's gonna be so much fun!!

Here is some info about the chapel:
https://www.alittlewhitechapel.com/our-specials-packages/drive-thru-packages/

I was off to work that night, I have Tue Wed off...oh and BTW, the shift picks were yesterday, and that hasn't changed. I have been pretty good with the work out schedule I set for myself for the first two weeks. This week, not so much, and this was the "down" for my week. See, not that big a deal. Anyways, we had plans to head to the US to visit with my parents and Brother and his wife and DD on Sunday. I work midnights, as you all know, and this poses a problem in the middle of my week trying to make plans like this. When do I sleep? So, I knew going into it my work out would have to be skipped. I went straight home and slept for a few hours, got up and we headed to my parents. Back home and in bed for a couple hours before work. I planned on working out on Monday morning, got to work, forgot my gym bag. Might have been something to do with my lack of sleep, maybe? So, that was two days in a row missed. But, this coming two weeks, I will be making up for those two days because the girls are off this Fri and then it's March Break here so no school next Fri either, and I can't work out on Fri usually because I need to be home in time to get them off to school. So, there I will make it up! Crisis averted!

I have one more exciting thing to talk about, though! On Monday Southwest opened up their fall schedule! We still needed to book our return flight after our Disney Cruise this Oct. We had been waiting for the SW schedule hoping for better times than JB and we had a credit to use from our Las Vegas flight. We ended up booking a 7 pm direct flight, which means we will have a day to hang out at DTD if we choose. One of these days we might hit the Kennedy Space Center, but I don't think it will be this trip. We got a really good price, IMHO, and with the credit we were really happy with the final cost.

That's all for now...I might pop on here tomorrow and update some info on our upcoming vacations. Hope everyone out there (even you hiding lurkers) are doing well and surviving this HORRIFIC winter!!!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Okay, I think I jinxed myself by stating that we had a little drama last week...

Sunday, Ferb's car was stolen right out of our driveway...in broad daylight!! Thankfully, it was found about an hour away in a lot, and it seems the only damage to the car so far is the steering column. So far....

We had a few very tense days thinking that we would be canceling our fall vacation plans, or at least majorly changing them.

Back to Sunday, though. I went to bed at 11 AM after getting home from work and working out, then dealing with stuff here...Ferb woke me up at 4 and I was pissed because I really needed more sleep. But he was freaking out looking for my car keys. I think he was speculating that they had been laying on the driveway and that was how the car got stolen. We had both sets of keys, though. His car was locked, too. My car was sitting right next to it...unlocked , and is a 2010 Honda. They took the locked car...which is a 1998 Honda. Yep, a 1998! But, it's easier to steal and we assumed it was taken for parts as they are interchangeable with many years of Civics. Anyways, the officer that came was really nice. And, he was Irish like the cop in Bridesmaids! I asked and he says he gets that alot. Maybe it was his Irish luck that helped! It being almost St Patrick's Day and it being my fave holiday...

So, now we are dealing with insurance, we have a rental they are covering thankfully. But, we won't really know where we stand with the car until it is towed back here to a garage and assessed. So, for now, plans for the fall are still on....pending any problems with the car.


I have been doing well with the work out routine. My stamina is up, and I feel good. Only problem is, I weighed my self on Tue....and no weight loss!! I don't get it. I have been going strong on this regimen. Stitch thinks it's because muscle weighs more than fat. I can't say what it is...I have a theory that it has to do with my monthly cycle coming soon...my first weigh in was just after and this seems to be just before...although I am late...not to worry, that ship has sailed. No babies here...I think I am all out of whack from the huge change in my activity level. Anyways... we will see. I feel better, this is the mildest PMS I have had in years, Ferb appreciates that!! I apologize if there are any men reading this and I am making you uncomfortable with all this talk.
This is by no means going to stop my progress. I am back in the saddle on Sat morning!

Hope everyone is well and you survived the storm this week. It was a blizzard here yesterday, the girls were mad because they are already off school for March break. Poor things... The weather was much better today and we headed out to the movies. We saw Mr Peabody and Sherman. It was cute, I kept getting on the girls nerves all week calling it "P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Lane Sidney" just cuz it sounds better and I love Disney!! I took tonight off work so I could be home tomorrow for the girls and so I can take Merida to her basketball camp in the morning. I think we may do some shopping.

Oh, and I totally forgot the most important development this week (I say tongue in cheek), we bought Stitch her graduation dress on Tues. She had been agonizing over it, well agonizing me over it! So, we headed over to the States on Tues and found her a really cute dress at Macy's on clearance! It was only $24!!! YAY ME!! Folks are going crazy these days over grade 8 grad...fancy dresses, hair, makeup, high heels...not here! I say, you have completed the bare minimum required of you by the govt of Ontario. Good on you...but I am not spending hundreds of dollars on all that, and no, you are NOT wearing high heels. She was pretty mad at me, but she got over it, now she wants to wear high tops and a bow tie to show her love of Dr Who. Now we're talkin'!!



Not much else to report...but I think that's enough drama for now. I will report when we hear more about Ferb's car, though.

 

[momabaarjo]

Following along as I have about as long to wait and plan! Be back later and catch up!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Following along as I have about as long to wait and plan! Be back later and catch up!

Welcome!

So glad to have you aboard, going to go check out yours now!

 

[Suziannie]

Following along!

I'm from Southern Ontario originally too! I didn't realize Hamilton was doing international flights again, the last time I flew into/out of there it was the mid 90's though and then I switched to flying into Buffalo because really, who wants to go all the way to Toronto.

Sad that crossing an international boarder is easier than driving into the city!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Following along!

I'm from Southern Ontario originally too! I didn't realize Hamilton was doing international flights again, the last time I flew into/out of there it was the mid 90's though and then I switched to flying into Buffalo because really, who wants to go all the way to Toronto.

Sad that crossing an international boarder is easier than driving into the city!

Welcome, eh?


I know that they stopped doing them for awhile...but Westjet flies to Orlando from there. Not sure where else you can fly, though? And I agree that it's pretty sad that you have to leave the country for a decent flight. All those ridiculous taxes and fees.

Whereabouts did you live and did you move far? I am originally from Buffalo and Ferb is from Wales,UK so neither of us are homegrown.

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Well, I have a few minutes before I need to head out and pick up Merida from basketball...

Our first upcoming trip this year will be featuring only two of our players...that being me and Ferb.

We are heading to.....

Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada!!

We will be staying for 3 nights, but we got great flight times to maximize our short stay. We fly in on Wednesday, May 14 at 7 AM and land just before 10 AM their time! We will fly out on Saturday, May 17 at 4 PM and land at 11:30 PM our time...yikes! But, that's okay...we got great prices on these flights with Southwest and even were left with a credit that we used for our flight home in Oct.

We will be staying here:

Wyndham Grand Desert

Love these pools, planning on some down time here for sure!

We booked a one bedroom "suite" for our stay. We are trying to save points for our March Break trip. Below is a floor plan that includes the one bedroom suite and one bedroom deluxe. Ours is the lower portion with kitchenette.

As I said earlier in the PTR, we are going to be renewing our vows on this trip. We will be doing it here:

And yes, we will be doing it in the drive thru tunnel! And yeah, we got the pink cadillac as well!! But, no Elvis...it was a ridonkulous amt of money for him.


We planned the Vow renewal for our second night (Thur) just in case there are any travel issues on Wed. We don't want to feel rushed. So, here's the tentative plan:

Tues night drive the girls to my wonderful parents who are watching them for part of our time away. They will be moving to my amazing brother and sister in law for the rest.
We are debating on whether it makes sense to pay for a hotel stay that night since we are already in Buffalo, or if we should go back home and get up at zero dark thirty to head back over to the airport. On one hand it's cheaper to stay home and just pay for parking at the airport and we would be able to sleep in our own bed that night. On the other, it would be nice to not have to make the drive back and forth and it would also be nice to extend our vacation a little. We'll see...it's roughly double the cost of parking to stay at a hotel and leave our car there.

Wed..up at zero dark thirty (if we are home) or One dark thirty (if we are at a hotel)
Head to the airport and grab a light breakfast there while we wait to take off. If all goes well, we will land just before 10 AM and take a taxi to WGD to check in. We will have to wait for our room most likely, so we plan to leave our stuff with luggage services and head out to explore!!
No distinct plans for this day, we will take it as it comes and do what we want. Wait, we don't have to follow any itinerary, or park touring plan?! Wait, we don't have to confer with the children to see what THEY want to do?!!

Thur..we plan to sleep in LATE!! Have a late breakfast and late lunch while we explore more of the strip. Our vow renewal is not until 7:30 and we will have a late dinner after. As for where, I don't know yet. My cousin lives down there so I will be consulting her for recommendations. Unless any of you have any?

Fri...this day we will probably be sleeping in again...wow, lots of sleeping in...no kids means no getting up early!! Today, we will hopefully get to see a show of some sort. Although, I will need to visit with my cousin at some point as well. I haven't seen her and the kids in almost 2 years...miss the heck out of them!! This will either be on Fri night, or Sat afternoon before we fly out.

Sat...no sleeping in today!!! We have to pack and check out early. But, if we want we can hang out by the pool and have a leisurely day, or like I said, we might be spending some time with my cousin.

Looks like we have no plans other than the Vow renewal. But, like I said, this will be a take it as it comes kind of vacation. I do want to walk around and see all the different hotels and casinos, no gambling for us really and I want to see Freemont Street at night again. But, beyond that it's all up in the air.

So, there you have it...our first vacation for 2014...more to come this year, though. We are lucky ducks for sure!