AllAboutPluto
They think I'm nuts, but that's okay.
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2006
- Messages
- 1,191
Table of Contents (with links)
Chapter 1 - Scroll down
Chapter 2 - Details, Details - Page 2 #26
Chapter 3 - I'm insane... - Page 3 #34
Chapter 4 - Here we go! - Page 4 #52
Chapter 5 - Here we are!!! Page 4 #58
I cant say for sure when exactly I was bitten or by what, for that matter... Perhaps when my daughter was born, or shortly after. But bitten I was, and the itch was becoming more annoying with each passing year of DDs life! I decided that 2005 was THE year. DD would be 4, soon to turn 5. DS would be in 8th grade. We would go do WDW, price be damned. Credit card debt be damned. Spousal hesitance be damned!
But it didnt happen.
The more I talked about a trip to The World, the more he talked about The Mountains. And money. And since I was starting to think Id be lucky to get a vacation out of him at all, Id see what I could do with The Mountains. And in June of 2005, we went to The Mountains, stayed free in a condo courtesy of a friends timeshare build-up, drove through Rocky Mountain National Park, and a fine time was had by all. There was even talk of returning.
But I was still itchy. And it was getting worse! I was practically breaking out in hives!
In late Feb and early March, I started looking again... with the same attitude as before price/debt/hesitance be damned! But this time I had some additional selling points on that hesitance thing I knew there was a DINING PLAN this time, and I knew that having everything all in one big price tag would win him over! Tell him he can go on vacation and NOT have to budget the meals and that is total relaxation for my man! So a-pricing, I did go.
WHAT?!?!?
$2500?!? And then another Grand for airfare?! Thats $3500. Even *I* know theres no way thats gonna happen! And so The Depression 
starts to sneak in. I still show him all the info, remind him that the meals are included, tell him I can monitor the airfares and likely get us down around $800 for that
but my attempts were half-hearted, because I knew that we just couldnt swing it this year. Well, we could, but whats the point of going to The World for the very first time if you cant drop way too much money on stuff you dont really need but REALLY, REALLY, REALLY WANT to bring back with you? You understand, I'm sure.
And then on Friday, March 31, 2006, my Angel called.
My Angel is Carolyn. Shes not a real angel; shes a living breathing human being. But shes my angel, in that shes been to The World at least three times more than I had at that point and she is an internet junkie (as am I), and since she was planning a trip to The World herself, she spent a great deal of her (and her employers) time lurking on the DISboards and at various other fabulous Disney related websites. Now, Carolyn lives in Cincinnati and I live in the middle of NOWHERE, so our main form of communication is email. We email daily. Constantly. So, when I say that she called, I dont mean that she emailed. I mean she picked up her phone and used it to call me with VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION! Specifically this
Beginning April 4, Disney is offering the Dining Plan for FREE for stays between Aug 13 and Sept 30!!!
And she threw this little tidbit on as the cherry-on-top
Theyre also running an AirTran $129 round trip special starting the same day.
Do you now see why she is my Angel?!?!?!?!?!
I RAN down the stairs to tell DH! I was giddy.
I was giggling. I was bouncing. I was about to freakin pee my pants! FREE dining and CHEAP flights?!?!? OH MY HECK!!! And April 4 was TUESDAY!! Would I LIVE until Tuesday???
I spent a very goodly portion of my weekend making sure I had a good idea of what kind of price I could expect to get. I wanted 3 adults and one child for 7 nights at POP with FREE FOOD!, 7 day Park Hoppers and a dirt-cheap flight! And I wanted it for around $2300.
DH wasnt sure what to do with me. I think he knew that there was no way he could pull out some lame But its still a lot of money excuse without shattering my heart into tiny, yet very sharp and bitter, shards. So, when I said to him, way too early in the morning on April 4, If the price is what I think it is, Im going to go ahead and book it and youre going to not be surprised when I tell you I booked it, right??? his loving, and very correct response was something along the lines of, And we can cancel up to how far ahead? No, no it was I guess. Had you going, didnt I?
As I mentioned, I was up way too early in the morning on April 4. I believe it was 5am. Possibly 4:45. You see, I live in the Central time zone, but CRO lives in the Eastern time zone. So when they open at 7am, its 6am where I am. And since I expected my call to take a little time, and since I usually have to be out the door by 6:45ish to make it to work by 7:30, I got up early and got ready me ready for work and got DD ready for daycare before I got on the phone with CRO.
They answered impressively quickly.
I got my 7 nights (9/23-9-30) at POP for 3 adults and one child with 7-day Park Hoppers and FREE CHOW! for exactly the price Id anticipated! BOOKED! But what of my airfare deal? Ahhh, so early in the morning, on the first day of the offer, not everyone is up and running with the airfare specials. She could confirm that there was a special, and it was thru AirTran and that the rates started at $129 round-trip. But that was all she could tell me at that time. I should call back later in the day. No problem! I was so thrilled to have the vacation booked that flights were secondary! I knew that wed get there somehow!
I used my lunch break to call back about the flights and this time met with success. Yes, there was a special, and yes, I could get a special price out of Moline, but not quite the $129 RT. In fact, I was never specifically told what the base ticket price was. I was told that all four of us would fly round-trip for $749 and some pocket change, and since that was pleasantly under my $800 hopes, I took it! Wed fly non-stop out, arriving at MCO at 2:30pm (plenty of daylight left! HA!) and wed fly hmmm what would we fly back there were two choices
Leave MCO at 8:01am or 5-something pm? The 8:01 gets us home around noon, after changing planes in Atlanta. And, while the 5pm gives us most of another day, it also doesnt get us home until 10pm, after changing in ATL. HHHMMMM . What should I do?? I know Ill get input from my husband! What a great idea!
I give him a call on his cell detail the flight options and get the obvious opinion from Mr Likes-to-sleep take the 8am flight. Well get home sooner and have more time to rest up for going back to work. Plus, were not putting anyone out by asking them to meet us at the airport at 10pm. Plus, if something happens, and the flight is delayed, theres still plenty of day left.
Sounds intelligent, huh? Hes a pretty smart guy, my husband. Ill curse myself for listening to this logic many times over the next few installments of my report. Look forward to it!
And now, with my trip booked and my plane tickets purchased, I think it only fair to introduce the Cast of Characters. And boy, are there some characters here.
DD, 5 Jill, Jillie, Precious Wonder, PW, Ms. Demanding. Shes our Secondary Infertility gift, earned after 4-and-one-half years after trying to create her in the first place. I often kid that I got pregnant on a Monday morning in January with a gal named Nurse Wendy. Jillie can be the girliest-girl and the biggest Tomboy all at once. She has an older brother and four male cousins and shes the first female born to her fathers side of the family in 3 generations. She is one seriously spoiled-rotten brat.
DS, 14 Matt, aka P-man. The brooding adolescent is hard at work in this one, Obiwan. Hes 14, but hes 61 already, plays football, basketball, runs hurdles in track and hed give it all up for a decent bowling game. Hes just becoming acquainted with the idea of girls and girlfriends. He has a girlfriend, but he didnt bring her a gift home from his trip, so its not all THAT serious yet.
DH, 42 Jack, aka Vettehead, Mr Logical. This man has put up with me for twenty-five years. How, you ask? By hiding in the garage and working on cars. Like this one
And yes, 25 years of us together does indeed make us high-school sweethearts. Pause now for the collective Awwwww. Hes remarkably quick-witted and equally shy. He also is not a fan of crowds. Why he married some loud, hyper, talkative, outgoing, attention-hoarding, sarcastic gal like me is a mystery.
And finally theres me, 41 Chris aka Chrispy. Part Uber-mom, part computer-geek. I work all day and run to various kids activities at night. Society says that in between those things, I should have a clean house. I dont. Get over it. What I have is addictions to the DISboards, my daughters playgroup forum and occasionally, pogo.com. I also love Pluto with a fiery passion. And sadly, PoppinFresh is right up there on my list too.
Our next installment will include more of the excitement and danger leading up to the impending First-Ever Trip to The World for our daring family of adventurers! Including why I regretted listening to Mr Logical. Stay tuned!
Chapter 1 - Scroll down
Chapter 2 - Details, Details - Page 2 #26
Chapter 3 - I'm insane... - Page 3 #34
Chapter 4 - Here we go! - Page 4 #52
Chapter 5 - Here we are!!! Page 4 #58
I cant say for sure when exactly I was bitten or by what, for that matter... Perhaps when my daughter was born, or shortly after. But bitten I was, and the itch was becoming more annoying with each passing year of DDs life! I decided that 2005 was THE year. DD would be 4, soon to turn 5. DS would be in 8th grade. We would go do WDW, price be damned. Credit card debt be damned. Spousal hesitance be damned!
But it didnt happen.
The more I talked about a trip to The World, the more he talked about The Mountains. And money. And since I was starting to think Id be lucky to get a vacation out of him at all, Id see what I could do with The Mountains. And in June of 2005, we went to The Mountains, stayed free in a condo courtesy of a friends timeshare build-up, drove through Rocky Mountain National Park, and a fine time was had by all. There was even talk of returning.
But I was still itchy. And it was getting worse! I was practically breaking out in hives!
In late Feb and early March, I started looking again... with the same attitude as before price/debt/hesitance be damned! But this time I had some additional selling points on that hesitance thing I knew there was a DINING PLAN this time, and I knew that having everything all in one big price tag would win him over! Tell him he can go on vacation and NOT have to budget the meals and that is total relaxation for my man! So a-pricing, I did go.
WHAT?!?!?
$2500?!? And then another Grand for airfare?! Thats $3500. Even *I* know theres no way thats gonna happen! And so The Depression starts to sneak in. I still show him all the info, remind him that the meals are included, tell him I can monitor the airfares and likely get us down around $800 for that
but my attempts were half-hearted, because I knew that we just couldnt swing it this year. Well, we could, but whats the point of going to The World for the very first time if you cant drop way too much money on stuff you dont really need but REALLY, REALLY, REALLY WANT to bring back with you? You understand, I'm sure.And then on Friday, March 31, 2006, my Angel called.
My Angel is Carolyn. Shes not a real angel; shes a living breathing human being. But shes my angel, in that shes been to The World at least three times more than I had at that point and she is an internet junkie (as am I), and since she was planning a trip to The World herself, she spent a great deal of her (and her employers) time lurking on the DISboards and at various other fabulous Disney related websites. Now, Carolyn lives in Cincinnati and I live in the middle of NOWHERE, so our main form of communication is email. We email daily. Constantly. So, when I say that she called, I dont mean that she emailed. I mean she picked up her phone and used it to call me with VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION! Specifically this
Beginning April 4, Disney is offering the Dining Plan for FREE for stays between Aug 13 and Sept 30!!!
And she threw this little tidbit on as the cherry-on-top
Theyre also running an AirTran $129 round trip special starting the same day.
Do you now see why she is my Angel?!?!?!?!?!
I RAN down the stairs to tell DH! I was giddy.
I was giggling. I was bouncing. I was about to freakin pee my pants! FREE dining and CHEAP flights?!?!? OH MY HECK!!! And April 4 was TUESDAY!! Would I LIVE until Tuesday???I spent a very goodly portion of my weekend making sure I had a good idea of what kind of price I could expect to get. I wanted 3 adults and one child for 7 nights at POP with FREE FOOD!, 7 day Park Hoppers and a dirt-cheap flight! And I wanted it for around $2300.
DH wasnt sure what to do with me. I think he knew that there was no way he could pull out some lame But its still a lot of money excuse without shattering my heart into tiny, yet very sharp and bitter, shards. So, when I said to him, way too early in the morning on April 4, If the price is what I think it is, Im going to go ahead and book it and youre going to not be surprised when I tell you I booked it, right??? his loving, and very correct response was something along the lines of, And we can cancel up to how far ahead? No, no it was I guess. Had you going, didnt I?
As I mentioned, I was up way too early in the morning on April 4. I believe it was 5am. Possibly 4:45. You see, I live in the Central time zone, but CRO lives in the Eastern time zone. So when they open at 7am, its 6am where I am. And since I expected my call to take a little time, and since I usually have to be out the door by 6:45ish to make it to work by 7:30, I got up early and got ready me ready for work and got DD ready for daycare before I got on the phone with CRO.
They answered impressively quickly.
I got my 7 nights (9/23-9-30) at POP for 3 adults and one child with 7-day Park Hoppers and FREE CHOW! for exactly the price Id anticipated! BOOKED! But what of my airfare deal? Ahhh, so early in the morning, on the first day of the offer, not everyone is up and running with the airfare specials. She could confirm that there was a special, and it was thru AirTran and that the rates started at $129 round-trip. But that was all she could tell me at that time. I should call back later in the day. No problem! I was so thrilled to have the vacation booked that flights were secondary! I knew that wed get there somehow!
I used my lunch break to call back about the flights and this time met with success. Yes, there was a special, and yes, I could get a special price out of Moline, but not quite the $129 RT. In fact, I was never specifically told what the base ticket price was. I was told that all four of us would fly round-trip for $749 and some pocket change, and since that was pleasantly under my $800 hopes, I took it! Wed fly non-stop out, arriving at MCO at 2:30pm (plenty of daylight left! HA!) and wed fly hmmm what would we fly back there were two choices
Leave MCO at 8:01am or 5-something pm? The 8:01 gets us home around noon, after changing planes in Atlanta. And, while the 5pm gives us most of another day, it also doesnt get us home until 10pm, after changing in ATL. HHHMMMM . What should I do?? I know Ill get input from my husband! What a great idea!
I give him a call on his cell detail the flight options and get the obvious opinion from Mr Likes-to-sleep take the 8am flight. Well get home sooner and have more time to rest up for going back to work. Plus, were not putting anyone out by asking them to meet us at the airport at 10pm. Plus, if something happens, and the flight is delayed, theres still plenty of day left.
Sounds intelligent, huh? Hes a pretty smart guy, my husband. Ill curse myself for listening to this logic many times over the next few installments of my report. Look forward to it!
And now, with my trip booked and my plane tickets purchased, I think it only fair to introduce the Cast of Characters. And boy, are there some characters here.
DD, 5 Jill, Jillie, Precious Wonder, PW, Ms. Demanding. Shes our Secondary Infertility gift, earned after 4-and-one-half years after trying to create her in the first place. I often kid that I got pregnant on a Monday morning in January with a gal named Nurse Wendy. Jillie can be the girliest-girl and the biggest Tomboy all at once. She has an older brother and four male cousins and shes the first female born to her fathers side of the family in 3 generations. She is one seriously spoiled-rotten brat.
DS, 14 Matt, aka P-man. The brooding adolescent is hard at work in this one, Obiwan. Hes 14, but hes 61 already, plays football, basketball, runs hurdles in track and hed give it all up for a decent bowling game. Hes just becoming acquainted with the idea of girls and girlfriends. He has a girlfriend, but he didnt bring her a gift home from his trip, so its not all THAT serious yet.
DH, 42 Jack, aka Vettehead, Mr Logical. This man has put up with me for twenty-five years. How, you ask? By hiding in the garage and working on cars. Like this one
And yes, 25 years of us together does indeed make us high-school sweethearts. Pause now for the collective Awwwww. Hes remarkably quick-witted and equally shy. He also is not a fan of crowds. Why he married some loud, hyper, talkative, outgoing, attention-hoarding, sarcastic gal like me is a mystery.
And finally theres me, 41 Chris aka Chrispy. Part Uber-mom, part computer-geek. I work all day and run to various kids activities at night. Society says that in between those things, I should have a clean house. I dont. Get over it. What I have is addictions to the DISboards, my daughters playgroup forum and occasionally, pogo.com. I also love Pluto with a fiery passion. And sadly, PoppinFresh is right up there on my list too.
Our next installment will include more of the excitement and danger leading up to the impending First-Ever Trip to The World for our daring family of adventurers! Including why I regretted listening to Mr Logical. Stay tuned!
Ok, so I'm not Fab, but I'm anxious to read it too. Now get back to writing. Go on. We're waiting. . . 
Yes, even you Fabs.
