It has been a hard year. My mother has cancer, and it hasn't always been easy. She is a fighter, and there is hope, but it's tough. I'm over a thousand miles away, so it is difficult to do more than just be there over the phone. I come when I can, but I can't be there in person for all of the appointments and tough times. The burden has largely fallen on my sister, who lives near my mother, to provide that in-person support.
My sister and I have a tradition that we take a quick trip to Florida in September. I leave the kids at home - this is for us. Well, this year it is needed more than ever.
I'm usually planner-in-chief, but we've always made every final decision together. This year, I said why don't I make the plans and surprise you, and she readily agreed. Well, she is going to be surprised. She doesn't read the boards, thankfully, so I think the surprises are safe. Don't tell ok?
The first surprise is that we will be driving a convertible! I've always wanted to try one, but could never justify it. This time for some reason, Thrify had and amazing price. I wasn't looking for one, it just caught my eye because it was cheaper than a standard! 4 days for $209.32 including taxes. Ok, I've paid less than half of that for 4 days before, but prices were really expensive this year. Regardless, I'm keeping the reservation even if prices drop on regular cars. I can't wait to drop the top and cruise!
My sister lands before me, so I'm going to try to pull a little misdirection so she doesn't expect me right when the plane lands. Maybe I'll tell her I had to catch a slightly later flight. I want to try to sneak over to the rental counter before she knows I've landed. Then I'll call her cell and tell her which door to meet me at, and there I'll be, sitting in the convertible!
Given our limited available time and the fact that I'm flying in from the other side of the continent, we only have 4 nights and 3 full days. This year we decided to do one Disney day, one Universal day (haven't paid homage to 'arry yet), and one day to chill and see one of the things we've never done before - Gatorland! Wish we had more time, but we'll make the most of what we have. It will be a blast, and those arrangements won't be a surprise. The hotels are another matter.
I decided Disney would be our first full day, and Universal would be our last, with chilling at the pool and Gatorland our middle day. Wish I would reverse things, but Disney has extra magic hours at the Studios on our first day, and that is just too good to pass up. We'll park hop until we drop, and then ride Star Tours and Toy Story Mania until midnight!
So, after meeting at the airport, we are off to Disney! Now she doesn't even know we are staying on property. The last few trips, we've stayed at Pop. This time, I decided to explore the possibility of renting DVC points. I didn't hold out a lot of hope, given that I only wanted a studio for 2 days. I talked to a few owners on a different board, but nothing clicked. Finally, I talked to Scott at one of the point rental specialist companies, and he hooked me up! I was planning on trying to get the option for the least points possible, but when I found out that AKV Kidani Savannah view was available, I had to go for it. All told, I paid $336. You can pay less per point working directly with individuals, but the odds of finding a match with someone for 28 points isn't all that great. I was thrilled I was able to get in for such a short stay. The price for booking directly with Disney? $990. I'm feeling pretty good. This is our first time staying at a Deluxe level accommodation much less a DVC property.
Here is the plan. We'll drive away from the airport, but I won't tell her where we are going. It will be close to dinner time, so when we turn on to Disney property, I'll tell her we have a dinner reservation. When we turn to go to the AKL/AKC, I'll tell here we have a reservation at Sanaa (which is true actually). When we get there, I'll tell her we have a bit before our reservation, so let's go out and look at the animals. I'll say, "Wouldn't it be great to stay here some time?". Then I'll say I forgot something in the car, so stay there, I'll be back in few minutes. Then I'll check in. Finally, I'll meet up with her again, hand her a key and say let's go check out our room! Of course, that last surprise at AKC will be when we go out on the balcony and see that we have a savanna view!
The last major surprise will be the third night, which will be at the Royal Pacific at Universal. I had told her before that it was just too expensive and the perks weren't all that valuable in September, so she won't expect it at all.
The last night will be an anti-climactic one at a Fairfield inn, but we'll appreciate the free breakfast before we sadly make our way to the airport.
I am looking forward to our reservations at Sanaa and Via Napoli at Disney and Pastamore, Mythos and churrascaria at Universal. All except Sanaa are new for us.
Thanks for letting me share my pre-trip excitement! Keeping this all secret is hard, so I had to tell someone!
My sister and I have a tradition that we take a quick trip to Florida in September. I leave the kids at home - this is for us. Well, this year it is needed more than ever.
I'm usually planner-in-chief, but we've always made every final decision together. This year, I said why don't I make the plans and surprise you, and she readily agreed. Well, she is going to be surprised. She doesn't read the boards, thankfully, so I think the surprises are safe. Don't tell ok?
The first surprise is that we will be driving a convertible! I've always wanted to try one, but could never justify it. This time for some reason, Thrify had and amazing price. I wasn't looking for one, it just caught my eye because it was cheaper than a standard! 4 days for $209.32 including taxes. Ok, I've paid less than half of that for 4 days before, but prices were really expensive this year. Regardless, I'm keeping the reservation even if prices drop on regular cars. I can't wait to drop the top and cruise!
My sister lands before me, so I'm going to try to pull a little misdirection so she doesn't expect me right when the plane lands. Maybe I'll tell her I had to catch a slightly later flight. I want to try to sneak over to the rental counter before she knows I've landed. Then I'll call her cell and tell her which door to meet me at, and there I'll be, sitting in the convertible!
Given our limited available time and the fact that I'm flying in from the other side of the continent, we only have 4 nights and 3 full days. This year we decided to do one Disney day, one Universal day (haven't paid homage to 'arry yet), and one day to chill and see one of the things we've never done before - Gatorland! Wish we had more time, but we'll make the most of what we have. It will be a blast, and those arrangements won't be a surprise. The hotels are another matter.
I decided Disney would be our first full day, and Universal would be our last, with chilling at the pool and Gatorland our middle day. Wish I would reverse things, but Disney has extra magic hours at the Studios on our first day, and that is just too good to pass up. We'll park hop until we drop, and then ride Star Tours and Toy Story Mania until midnight!
So, after meeting at the airport, we are off to Disney! Now she doesn't even know we are staying on property. The last few trips, we've stayed at Pop. This time, I decided to explore the possibility of renting DVC points. I didn't hold out a lot of hope, given that I only wanted a studio for 2 days. I talked to a few owners on a different board, but nothing clicked. Finally, I talked to Scott at one of the point rental specialist companies, and he hooked me up! I was planning on trying to get the option for the least points possible, but when I found out that AKV Kidani Savannah view was available, I had to go for it. All told, I paid $336. You can pay less per point working directly with individuals, but the odds of finding a match with someone for 28 points isn't all that great. I was thrilled I was able to get in for such a short stay. The price for booking directly with Disney? $990. I'm feeling pretty good. This is our first time staying at a Deluxe level accommodation much less a DVC property.
Here is the plan. We'll drive away from the airport, but I won't tell her where we are going. It will be close to dinner time, so when we turn on to Disney property, I'll tell her we have a dinner reservation. When we turn to go to the AKL/AKC, I'll tell here we have a reservation at Sanaa (which is true actually). When we get there, I'll tell her we have a bit before our reservation, so let's go out and look at the animals. I'll say, "Wouldn't it be great to stay here some time?". Then I'll say I forgot something in the car, so stay there, I'll be back in few minutes. Then I'll check in. Finally, I'll meet up with her again, hand her a key and say let's go check out our room! Of course, that last surprise at AKC will be when we go out on the balcony and see that we have a savanna view!
The last major surprise will be the third night, which will be at the Royal Pacific at Universal. I had told her before that it was just too expensive and the perks weren't all that valuable in September, so she won't expect it at all.
The last night will be an anti-climactic one at a Fairfield inn, but we'll appreciate the free breakfast before we sadly make our way to the airport.
I am looking forward to our reservations at Sanaa and Via Napoli at Disney and Pastamore, Mythos and churrascaria at Universal. All except Sanaa are new for us.
Thanks for letting me share my pre-trip excitement! Keeping this all secret is hard, so I had to tell someone!
