Book it. Buy it. BELIEVE it! - TR is started! link posted 8/11

[DisMomAmy]

Yay!! I'm so glad everything worked out with Kendall's mom!!

What a mess with the Concordia! But I think it's pretty funny that Jeff opened the conversation with that & got such a great reaction from Kendall.

 

[KatMark]

Cynthia, so glad that Kendall was excited about the Bahamas/cruise. I'm glad to see Jeff's ex gave in so quickly; I hope she doesn't throw any obstacles in the way once the flights are made, etc.

What Jeff did sounds like something almost any man would do.

 

[Flossbolna]

I had to smile about how excited Kendall was! And what a bonus that her excitement did make things smoother on the planning side...

I guess the Es will be equally happy with the summer trip plans since they loved the Alaska cruise so much!

 

[Chilly]

Glad to hear Kendall was so excited.

 

[eandesmom]

I watched a documentary on the Concordia. What a major screw up!

It's an ongoing saga for sure, the stories just seem to get uglier and uglier

So great that Kendall was totally psyched about the cruise. Now the question is - How will her mother take it?

And the E's? ARe they totally excited? I hope so.

So far so good with her mom but you know that it's so far away, any real issues will come up much closer. Right now she's too busy immersing herself in soccer drama to think about our vacation.

I remember you saying that Jeff mentioned the Costa Concordia and then brought up the idea of a cruise. What an icebreaker!

How anyone could think that was a great way to start talking about cruising is still beyond me.

I'm glad that Kendall was so excited. You are going to have a great time!

Love that snowmageddon picture.

I'm grateful it didn't floor her at all, she is excited which is very nice! that picture cracks me up.

I love the plan of attack.
How can men put a disaster of a cruise ship and a trip on a criuse ship together?

Good thing Kendall wasn't listening.

It is absolutely beyond me! She was listening and looking at the pictures but it didn't seem to faze her an iota.

I hope you have no more surprises with Kendall's mom.

Me too, I try not to think too hard. If it happens, we will deal with it. It is safe to say the chance it will happen at some point, probably June if I had to put money on it, is relatively high.

Wow...those Concordia pictures are scary. But I can see how a trip to the Bahamas could overrule all that. Glad that it went so smoothly.

The word bahamas wiped out all else apparently. Gotta love it!

 

[eandesmom]

The photo of the Concordia is scary. Amazing that something like that could happen.

The more that comes out, the more I am just sickened by the parent company.

So glad you didn't have too much drama with Kendall's mother.

At least not yet!

Yay!! I'm so glad everything worked out with Kendall's mom!!

So far so good, we don't actually relax until we on our way to the airport but it's a better start than usual.

What a mess with the Concordia! But I think it's pretty funny that Jeff opened the conversation with that & got such a great reaction from Kendall.

What was he thinking???

Cynthia, so glad that Kendall was excited about the Bahamas/cruise. I'm glad to see Jeff's ex gave in so quickly; I hope she doesn't throw any obstacles in the way once the flights are made, etc.

Honestly she won't focus on it till May or June, it's just how she works, she is not a long range planner at ALL. Her approval now doesn't really mean anything to be blunt. Anything else can supersede. If it does we will roll with it when the time comes.

What Jeff did sounds like something almost any man would do.

Really? I would think some would have more sense but maybe not. I could not believe it.

I had to smile about how excited Kendall was! And what a bonus that her excitement did make things smoother on the planning side...

It definitely made our day, week, month! And it does help get the early agreement. Which doesn't mean we won't have issues but at least she's not fighting it from day 1, better than usual for sure.

Glad to hear Kendall was so excited.

Thanks! So were we. We expected her to approve of the idea but the excitement definitely exceeded our expectations.

 

[Moira222]

I

I pulled the trigger on January 11th with the deposit.

“I’ll call back with your member numbers; do you want me to put a hold on anything for you in the meantime?”

That’s how easy buying direct is.

And fast.

I....
And guess what? Buying and booking DVC made me feel just as much better as did those post surgery painkillers! I don't think I had any after that. Coincidence? I think not!

No one makes it easy to spend money like Disney but YAY for the fast and easy DVC purchase. Vero Beach looks just beautiful. Definitely high on the relaxation part.

had to chuckle a bit with the post surgery pain killer title....nice that you didn't have to pass any on to Jeff to get him to agree

I can just imagine the look on your face when you heard Jeff's segway from a sinking ship to a cruise to the Bahamas! LOL But YAY that his tactic worked and Kendall sounds very very excited. Hopefully her excitement will prevent her mom from throwing any side balls your way over the next few months. It sounds like a great trip!

 

[eandesmom]

No one makes it easy to spend money like Disney but YAY for the fast and easy DVC purchase. Vero Beach looks just beautiful. Definitely high on the relaxation part.

It does look high on the relaxation part...I wish it was sooner!!

had to chuckle a bit with the post surgery pain killer title....nice that you didn't have to pass any on to Jeff to get him to agree

I figured out his angle this weekend...he's busy prepping me for his eventual seaplane upgrade to a four seater. Mind you this one isn't built yet!

He also had a really intriguing idea that completely threw me, didn't see that one coming at all.

I can just imagine the look on your face when you heard Jeff's segway from a sinking ship to a cruise to the Bahamas! LOL But YAY that his tactic worked and Kendall sounds very very excited. Hopefully her excitement will prevent her mom from throwing any side balls your way over the next few months. It sounds like a great trip!

I can't see how it was a tactic, or imagine it was one he thought through any deeper than "hey, here's a story about a cruise ship" and "hey, how would you like to go on one?"

 

[dizneeat]

Okay, I am late .....


about 20 pages late , but PLEASE, let me come along for the ride as well.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Ahhhh.... "sell it" as in convince her... now I get it! When I read the title I thought, "what in the world? they're already selling their points??"

Glad it wasn't a tough sell and that you got the green light from her mom so quickly!

Nothing like dreaming of a sandy beach and frozen concoctions to get you through a snow storm!

 

[eandesmom]

Okay, I am late .....


about 20 pages late , but PLEASE, let me come along for the ride as well.

It's never too late! Karin!

I'd love to have you along for the ride!

Ahhhh.... "sell it" as in convince her... now I get it! When I read the title I thought, "what in the world? they're already selling their points??"

Sad that we think that way but...at some point I do think all parent feel that way with their teens as they start to pull away anyway. We just have the added complications that come with blended families and differing agendas.

Glad it wasn't a tough sell and that you got the green light from her mom so quickly!

Me too! Hopefully it sticks. I don't think we will hear a peep till May or June and that's only if there is something soccer related. Currently we are in the midst of college camp/showcase planning but so far have been able to easily work around our dates.

Nothing like dreaming of a sandy beach and frozen concoctions to get you through a snow storm!

I'm doing that right now! It's snowing and...it's the first day of baseball practice for Evan. BRRR!

 

[dizneeat]

It's snowing and...it's the first day of baseball practice for Evan. BRRR!

Yikes! Try to stay warm! Think some Disney thoughts .. especially ones of CC! It should do the trick!

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Men, I don't get them! My father-in-law is notorious for doing things like that. So glad that Kendall was excited about the Bahamas and wanted to go!

Glad everything worked out okay with the ex, too!

Love your picture of the space needle! Too cute.

This has been the mildest winter for us. We probably got 1-2 inches total the whole season. I have missed going sleigh riding with Jeremy.

 

[eandesmom]

Yikes! Try to stay warm! Think some Disney thoughts .. especially ones of CC! It should do the trick!

And today it's supposed to hit 60! Gotta love Spring (well, almost spring) in the NW!

Men, I don't get them! My father-in-law is notorious for doing things like that. So glad that Kendall was excited about the Bahamas and wanted to go!

Very different thought processes to be sure.

Glad everything worked out okay with the ex, too!

so far!

Love your picture of the space needle! Too cute.

This has been the mildest winter for us. We probably got 1-2 inches total the whole season. I have missed going sleigh riding with Jeremy.

Wow, we would never have enough for that here although I imagine you could drive about 2 hours and it might be something you could do. That would be fun.

 

[Charleston Princess]

I was strangely obsessed with the Concordia disaster -- I read everything I could find about it when it happened. It was just mind-boggling that something like that could happen in this day and age, and the evacuation was just so mismanaged.

Having said that, I cannot imagine bringing that up and then mentioning the Disney cruise. Oh my!

Glad Kendall is so excited about it! It is a pretty fun trip for a teenager. Hurray for her mom giving the okay so quickly!

 

[mousescrapper]

You had me confused at first w/ the play on words...here I'm thinking what are you seeking the DVC before you used it

But as I read on I got it...duh?

So glad K was excited and wanting to go! And better that her Mom said yes too

 

[eandesmom]

I was strangely obsessed with the Concordia disaster -- I read everything I could find about it when it happened. It was just mind-boggling that something like that could happen in this day and age, and the evacuation was just so mismanaged.

the more I read, the more I am just sickened by the whole thing and appalled that the kind of things apparently going on, on that ship and in that company, exist.

Having said that, I cannot imagine bringing that up and then mentioning the Disney cruise. Oh my!

It still boggles my mind that he did that. Interestingly enough he's never mentioned Concordia to the E's.

Glad Kendall is so excited about it! It is a pretty fun trip for a teenager. Hurray for her mom giving the okay so quickly!

Yes, now we just hope that okay sticks! I would have been beside myself at that age with the thought of that trip. Although...now that I think about it, I had an amazing summer trip at that age myself (band trip to Europe) that included my first cruise!

You had me confused at first w/ the play on words...here I'm thinking what are you seeking the DVC before you used it

LOL

But as I read on I got it...duh?

So glad K was excited and wanting to go! And better that her Mom said yes too

She is excited, it's going to be a ton of fun to plan.

 

[eandesmom]

Unlike someone I know I figured I’d get an update up today, even though it will not be at the top of the page.

After telling Kendall and surviving the ensuing fallout from her mom. Oh wait, there wasn’t any this time, we decided it was time to start looking at flights in earnest. To be safe, we gave her mom a window so that we’d have wiggle room once it came time to book. We also discussed when, and how, to tell the E’s. I suggested that it might be kind of fun to tell them on Valentine’s Day. Jeff didn’t get the connection and really there wasn’t one other than it being kind of fun and an excuse to make the day a little more special. However, we’d told Kendall in mid Jan. Given her excitement level it was probable that it would come up on the next weekend that we had her and we thought it would be better for them to hear it from us, than her but didn’t really make any official plans and I thought we were just going to wait until Valentines.

Why wait? Well, one word. Eric. Eric is one of the most single minded people I’ve ever met in my life. He obsesses. To an unhealthy degree at times. At least it’s unhealthy for Jeff as he can drive him over the edge with months long obsessions of things. Eric was already obsessed with the idea of another cruise. Spoke about it all the time, wishing, dreaming and fantasizing and asking asking asking if we were making any plans. We knew that once we told him, we’d be in for months of questions and non stop talk about it. Which, in some ways is a cool thing. But in some ways, we really need him to focus on the here and now. The task at hand. Not what is coming next. Given that, I figured Jeff wasn’t in any rush to spill the beans. Imagine my surprise then, the next weekend we had K while we are all having lunch when out of the blue Jeff is like “should we tell them?” this said in front of them mind you. Apparently he was having a hard time keeping it to himself lol! They were not really surprised about the cruise (or at least said they weren’t but they’d have been devastated if we didn’t do one) but were very surprised about which cruise and were VERY surprised about the beach part. Very excited about the beach part. I think Evan is more excited about the beach and the possibility of sea turtles, than the cruise itself! They were assuming it would be a 5-7 day something on the Magic and much as we’d all like to be on the Fantasy are pretty pleased that the 4 night cruise comes with 5 beach days as well. What they don’t know (all 3 of them) is that we bought DVC. It will be enough for them to find out in July when we are welcomed home. In fact, they may not “get” it, until we get on the ship and they see a welcome home magnet on our stateroom door. The E’s know what DVC is. The minute they realize we bought, we will be peppered with questions, wishes, dreams and fantasies. I can wait until then to hear about all the plans they will make for our points! It was pretty funny though. Eric saw our document box arrive (in the fed ex box) and was like YOU GOT SOMETHING FROM DVC? To which I responded, “well yes, I get stuff form them all the time honey, I’m on their mailing list”. You could see him deflate.
The kids spent the rest of that weekend watching the DVD and reading up on the Dream and asking a bazillion questions, many of which I didn’t have answers to.

Over the next 2 weeks a couple of fun things happened.

First, we closed! On my birthday no less! That was pretty darn cool.

Next, I gave the boys a little valentines present to tide them over. A little anticlimactic but they still loved it.

Evan has been wearing his Disney pins to school on a fairly regular basis, as if they are brooches. He’s got them all on his dresser top and he will pick one and wear it on his tee. Who knew he loved Crush that much? Not me.
Then, Jeff taped some florida ultimate beaches show. He’d taped it hoping that Vero would be on there. It wasn’t, but the dream was and we spent a lovely Sunday afternoon watching it as a family.

During this time we were watching watching watching airfare. It was going up. In the past, we’ve bought as late as 6 weeks out and as early as 5 months. This was earlier than that. Oil and gas prices were scary and with Jeff in the aerospace industry if he starts saying “we should buy now” I listen. I tracked flights on Yapta and watched them start to climb. Flying from Seattle to Orlando is not exactly the easiest thing to do. There is ONE airline that offers a direct option. The rest, require a stop somewhere and often long layovers. Due to the time difference, even direct, you lose an entire day. As a result, we like the red eye. It’s not for everyone but works well for us. It does limit the options even more though. To add insult to injury, the one airline that does fly direct, went down to only 2 red eye offerings a week, only Fri/Sat nights which are pricier anyway…which meant the prices for them promptly went out of our range. I’ve been really lucky with Orlando flights. Over the past 4 trips we’ve used miles or have gotten an amazing deal, all on the direct flights, never paying more than $228 per ticket. I helped my best friend plan a trip for this Presidents day. With tracking, the best we could do for her was $358 and that was with horrid times. Prices had cone up considerably since then, the lowest coming in almost $100 more than that. Still, we wanted to wait for the 5 month mark, it had served me well twice. Right at 5 months I’ve gotten killer prices, the magic $208 rate. At 6 months out, I couldn't even get ONE leg for that price! Guess what. We are now under 5 months (139 days, not that I’m counting or anything) and the price hasn’t dropped a penny. It has gone up, and down, and up but never below the rates I saw a month ago.

This morning it’s $60 higher pp. Times 5, that adds up quickly.

What the Yapta? ! I'm not sure what it is but that name cracks me up.

Which is a good thing.

Because I bought our tickets at that price we saw 5 weeks ago.

I have NEVER paid that much to get to Florida. New York maybe but that’s about it. I’ve never bought tickets to anywhere this early. I was able to get a semi decent red eye, with one stop on the way down and our coveted direct on the way back. The only real bummer is that about 3 weeks after we bought, Alaska announced a direct to Ft. Lauderdale and it has a nightly red eye. That I could have done for our outbound flight instead. it wouldn't have saved any $$ but it would have saved a couple of hours of travel...well maybe 1.5. Not a huge difference but we'd have gotten in a lot earlier. This will be a very different red eye for us, typcially we've gotten one that leaves at 10:30 pm Seattle time and gets to Orlando at 7:15 in the morning. This one doesn't leave until almot 1am! Which might be far better for people falling right asleep with it that late. We have 2 legs, each about 3 hours long so only 30 min extra of flight time plus a 50 minute layover. Only bummer is we won't land till 11:30 as a result. I figure by the time we land, get the car, grab lunch, drive to Vero we probably won't be there till close to check in time anyway. Which I guess is ok but it will be a long day.

IF prices drop at all, I’ll get refund vouchers on one of our legs. If they drop by the change fee (highly unlikely) I will get a refund on the other leg. However I think that’s within 90 of purchase days on both, not sure. So..I’m still tracking them! YAY Yapta!

Flights for October actually look worse at the moment so I’m hoping that changes or that I can use miles for the girls trip.

Now that we have flights…I believe! Something about plane tickets makes it so much more real. However, to get the flights we wanted it, at the lowest possible price and the best times, it would mean a few changes to the trip.

Up next. Free Beer.

 

[glennbo123]

Unlike someone I know I figured I’d get an update up today, even though it will not be at the top of the page.

Um, check again! Now back to read.

 

[glennbo123]

Imagine my surprise then, the next weekend we had K while we are all having lunch when out of the blue Jeff is like “should we tell them?” this said in front of them mind you. Apparently he was having a hard time keeping it to himself lol!

Jeff is so funny! That pretty much sealed the deal, right?

The E’s know what DVC is. The minute they realize we bought, we will be peppered with questions, wishes, dreams and fantasies. I can wait until then to hear about all the plans they will make for our points!

Oh yeah, they'll help you make plans for your points! And suggest an add-on.

Bummer that you weren't able to get as good a deal on flights as in the past, but what're you going to do? I think you were wise to book when you did.