DH Lost His Job, We're Going Anyway! A Feb '14 TR Full of Prayers, Wishes, & Dreams

[StefaniLyn]

Our trip could not have come at either a better or a worse time in our lives. We’re a family of 5. Mom (me), Dad (DH), at three not so little princesses, DD15 AJ, DD12 Kennedy, and DD9 Bella. Our girls have been genetically programmed to love anything and everything Disney.



This would be our 6th trip to Disney with our girls. DH and I went occasionally as children, but I never really felt the Magic as a child. Sure, I enjoyed the rides, but to me it was another amusement park. Maybe it was because I was ‘too cool’ to hang out with my family and spent most of my childhood Disney days rushing from ride to ride without taking time out to notice the surroundings or appreciate the detail and design of WDW. But the first time we took our girls, WOAH!…stop the presses! – Disneymania hit our family like a hurricane. It may have had something to do with the fact that our first trip was a Grandparents-sponsored Deluxe Concierge Level 10 day stay at the beautiful Polynesian complete with deluxe dining and entertainment package – yeah, that will convince even the biggest skeptic that Disney is amazing, but nonetheless, we were hooked. Our trips have averaged about 18 months in between each with our most recent being after DBIL’s wedding in October 2012.



At the end of 2013, DH received an unanticipated bonus which allowed us to comfortably make reservations for our next Disney vacation. We gave the children the option of sooner (Feb or Mar) or later (December) as we prefer not to go during peak times like Spring Break or in the smolderingly hot months of June thru September. Naturally, they chose February and after looking at dates, it was decided that February 20th through March 2 would be as close to perfect as we could get for dates. Once we settled on our dates and made our first official reservation for this trip, we had only about 40 days of planning. This was not good for my OCD.

This trip was filled with many highs and lows, but to entice you to continue reading, here are some of the most interesting aspects of our trip:

DH found out his employer would be closing, permanently, less than a week before our trip!
Driving from Wisconsin to Disney in a rental vehicle – that’s 1300 miles EACH WAY!
4 Days of Disney Parks
DD9 @ Bibbidi Boppidi Boutique
DD12 @ Richard Petty Race Car Ride Along
DD15 @ ESPN Wide World of Sports Pro Soccer Classic
ALL DDs enrolled in the YES (Youth Education Series), sort of!
1 night stay at All Star Sports and 4 nights off property
A side trip to Brevard County Zoo
Volunteering as a returning WISH family at Give Kids the World Village
Meet-ups with family, FA-mily (explained later), and friends
Pin Trading
GAC experience and Fast Pass Fun combined
Hair Hacking at Main Street Barber Shop
and of course…..a few instances of Pixie Dust Sprinkling Upon Us

Interested yet? Join in the fun!

 

[StefaniLyn]

saving this one for later!

 

[rpk1951]

Good luck on the job hunt and prayers as well.

 

[momof2disprincesses]

I can't wait to hear more.

We also drive from WI regularly.

In addition, we've taken up volunteering at GKTW Village on our trips. What a truly amazing & wonderful place!

 

[Vernie822]

Thoughts and prayers coming your way. My dad just lost his job too- it's brutal and I feel your pain!

On the upside.. Subscribing! Your girls are too cute. Can't wait to read more!!

 

[StefaniLyn]

Thanks to those of you who hopped on board our Trip Report Train. I'm still working on streamlining the photo adding process. I can only handle frustration in small doses.

So where were we? Ah yes, let's get to some introductions. Here's a quick glimpse at the Cast of Characters:

DH & Me – both in our mid-30s but still kids at heart. We are high school sweethearts and have been married for 15 years. He’s a manager at a large retail furniture and appliance store and I’m a stay at home mom by choice. We enjoy grossing our kids out with sappiness and mushiness. As in: I keep telling these girls we’ll never meet Prince Charming at Disney because I already met him and married him many years ago so we can life happily ever after. We also enjoy tormenting the children with exceptionally loud renditions of moment specific songs during our 22 hour car ride. Parents of the Year here! We are Legen…..wait for it….Dary!



DD15 – Adrianna Jadyn, AJ is smart, sporty, and a high school freshman. Working a Disney trip around her academics and athletics was a feat in itself. We managed to squeeze it in between her gymnastics season and outdoor soccer while missing just 2 indoor soccer games. She doesn’t have a favorite character per-se, but loves pretty much everything about Disney and still believes in the Magic.


DD12 – Kennedy – couldn’t be more opposite of her sister. She’s goofy and a bit clumsy and enjoys….get this…..motor sports! WHAT? Yea, that’s what I said last year as I was signing a permission slip for her to drive a Supermileage car she built from scratch with her team around a real racetrack. Her favorite character? Lighting McQueen you might think, but you’d be wrong. It’s actually Tinkerbell as is evidenced by her Tink-inspired bedroom.



DD9 – Bella – Boo, Princess, Cinderbella – she’s pretty certain that she decends from royalty. Bella is a walking, talking miracle. A preemie with a laundry list of medical complications, she’s had many surgeries and other medical issues. At 6, she was diagnosed with Fanconi Anemia which is a terminal disease causing bone marrow failure. She doesn’t really care though because she enjoys life more than anyone I know. She’s a Wish Kid/GKTW Graduate of the Class of 2009. Bella loves EVERY princess, is obsessed with Frozen, and also happens to be a thrill seeker.



There's a handful of other characters who joined us on this trip, but I'll save those introductions for later so we can get to the real reason you're here, the Trip Report! Up next, let the journey begin......finally!

 

[StefaniLyn]

Good luck on the job hunt and prayers as well.

Welcome! And thank you so much. The job hunting has some promising leads, but prayers are certainly appreciated!

I can't wait to hear more.

We also drive from WI regularly.

In addition, we've taken up volunteering at GKTW Village on our trips. What a truly amazing & wonderful place!

Great to meet a fellow GKTW Volunteer! Our volunteer day was amazing. Are you a former Wish Tripper too, or just a generous Angel Family?

My brother lives in your neck of the woods, and one of DH's job leads may take us up to the Littlest Apple!

Thoughts and prayers coming your way. My dad just lost his job too- it's brutal and I feel your pain!

On the upside.. Subscribing! Your girls are too cute. Can't wait to read more!!

Thank you! And welcome - it's great to have you here

 

[DVCmom4]

Joining in! Pray the job hunt is going well!

 

[kimbo0569]

Looking forward to reading more...

 

[minmate]

 

[PrincessCaitlin]

I'm in!

I am so sorry to hear about your husband's job! Lots of pixie dust and prayers for you all!

Can't wait to hear about your trip!

 

[kdzbear]

I made it to follow along!

 

[disneyshea]

Subbing. Just read the intro but sounds exciting already!

 

[hockeygirl14]

Following along!

 

[Nairnyn]

Joining in!

Is it bad that my thought process went:

Oh, losing your job sucks....but dang, what better way to get over it than Disney! I wish I got to go to WDW after losing my job!

 

[momof2disprincesses]

Great to meet a fellow GKTW Volunteer! Our volunteer day was amazing. Are you a former Wish Tripper too, or just a generous Angel Family?

My brother lives in your neck of the woods, and one of DH's job leads may take us up to the Littlest Apple!



We discovered GKTW by watching a TV special about it while at WDW one year and said "next vacation, we're volunteering!" I am a volunteer services manager for a living and love to explore other volunteer organizations and see how they work. We LOVE GKTW and I especially love how they call volunteers "angels". As a family, we've done 3 volunteer shifts there.

Appleton is a great city. If that works out, I'm sure you'd be happy in this area! Our goal is actually to move to Orlando in the next 5 years.

 

[StefaniLyn]

Joining in! Pray the job hunt is going well!

Thanks so much! He has 2 very good prospective job leads right now and we're hoping to secure something before the end of April. His last day is actually tomorrow. Thankfully, we still have some of his bonus, a small severance, and savings to carry us through the next few months if he doesn't find something right away.

Looking forward to reading more...

Thanks, and welcome!

Welcome!

I'm in!

I am so sorry to hear about your husband's job! Lots of pixie dust and prayers for you all!

Can't wait to hear about your trip!

Thanks so much! Reliving the trip will be a great stress relief for me!

I made it to follow along!

Hello! So glad you made it here!

Subbing. Just read the intro but sounds exciting already!

Thanks!! It was a fabulous trip, I only hope I can describe it with enough detail to help readers enjoy it too!

Joining in!

Is it bad that my thought process went:

Oh, losing your job sucks....but dang, what better way to get over it than Disney! I wish I got to go to WDW after losing my job!

LOL.....exactly. We contemplated cancelling for about 2.3 seconds, but then said "eh, let's just do it!" Our plans did change slightly but in all honestly, I think we had more fun with the changed plans anyway!

 

[StefaniLyn]

We discovered GKTW by watching a TV special about it while at WDW one year and said "next vacation, we're volunteering!" I am a volunteer services manager for a living and love to explore other volunteer organizations and see how they work. We LOVE GKTW and I especially love how they call volunteers "angels". As a family, we've done 3 volunteer shifts there.

Appleton is a great city. If that works out, I'm sure you'd be happy in this area! Our goal is actually to move to Orlando in the next 5 years.

What a fabulous story, and bless you and your family for being Angels! DH and I volunteered for our first time last May when we went to Cocoa Beach for our anniversary. We worked 2 shifts, one in the Castle helping kids with their stars and pillows, and one in food services. It was amazing! And when we found out Wish Kids can volunteer starting at age 9, we were thrilled to return there with our family! Our volunteer day was on day 6 or 7 of the trip I think, so stay tuned!

 

[StefaniLyn]

Our countdown had begun around 40 days. AJ even helped the other girls make a pretty awesome countdown calendar. We customized our Magic Bands and squealed with glee when they arrived in the mail several days later.

We were excited, ecstatic really! Not only were we eagerly anticipating this trip, but things seemed to be looking up for our family. Our awesome Disney Travel Agent, Kristen, worked with us to find the best deal at a Disney property resort for one night and even helped us obtain a bigger discount when a pin code arrived days before our trip. We were all set. And then the world as we knew it came crashing down around us.

Ok, so I may be overexaggerating a litttle bit, but I don't handle change very well, especially when it's forced upon me. A week to the day before we left, some news nearly derailed our entire trip. DH has worked for a retail TV and appliance company for the past 9 years. He manages his own store, and does a pretty darn good job of it. Despite all of our children being in school, I am still a Stay at Home mom because Bella has many, many medical appointments and hospitalizations which would make a ‘regular’ job very challenging. So we have chosen to be a single income family and it’s worked out pretty well for us. But on Thursday, Feb 13, we heard this horrible rumor. One of the managers at another store informed Ben that he’d heard through the grapevine that something ‘big’ would be announced the next day. We thought maybe the company was being sold. Unfortunately, it was worse. The next day it was announced that the company would be closing all 11 of their stores in 60 days and that nearly 1000 employees, including DH, would be out of a job. Ouch.
This is how Valentine's Day 2014 started

and this is how it ended:

Ok, that isn't really me. But that's pretty much how I felt.

For a few hours, we hemmed and hawed over what to do. Our tickets, purchased through the YES program, were already paid for and nonrefundable. We had reservations which were cancel-able (is that a word?) without any penalty for one hotel, but our off-property hotel was already paid for too. If we cancelled, not only would we lose about $2000, but the girls, DH, and I would be devastated. If we went anyway, we knew it would cost some additional money that we may or may not need in the upcoming months, but we would return home with a lifetime of memories, relaxed, and ready to face whatever challenges life wanted to throw in our way, including the possibility of unemployment. The decision was easy. We were going – no looking back, no changing our minds. We were going to run away from the cold weather, the snow and slush, the unemployment, the medical madness, and everything else and enjoy our family time without the weight of the world on our minds. I will never regret that decision.

We needed to get out of Wisconsin and we needed to do it fast. One week to go, just one more week. This is what we do for fun in Wisconin during winter. We make ice balls. Seriously. I was so sick of the cold by February that I nearly chucked these ice balls (which remained frozen solid for well over 2 months) at the TV every time the weatherman came on to tell us it was going to be freezing and snowing again.

Did I mention that we were DRIVING from Wisconsin to Orlando? Yep, we’re crazy like that. We looked at airline ticket prices and discovered (well before the whole job thing happened) that we would be able to save almost $700 by driving, even with the cost of a rental car figured in. So driving it was.


Finally, the day of departure had arrived. I spent the majority of Thursday, February 20th, finishing laundry, packing the van, and cleaning the house. I have this thing about going on vacation – I much prefer to return home to a house completely clean, even if we’re just going to pile our dirty laundry and a weeks worth of vacation stuff into it the minute we step back in the door. At 2:20, I was out the door, double checking the lock, and ready to hit the road.

In our school district, a child can be picked up after 2:30 on any given school day and it will not be counted as an absence. So at 2:30 on the dot, I was waiting at Bella’s school. Then it was over get AJ at the High School, followed by Kennedy at the Middle School. We were 20 minutes out when….oops! I realized I forgot the bag with Bella’s medications on the kitchen counter! Doh! U Turn! Good thing we weren’t rushing to make a flight!

Back on track, we met DH near the airport in Milwaukee to pick up our rental car. DH had worked a half day at work to minimize the amount of vacation days he was using. It took about 30 minutes to get the luggage and kids switched from the regular car to the rental and by 4:00, we were officially on our way to Orlando! Bye bye Wisconsin, hello warmth and sun and Disney fun!

Just 21 more hours and 1250 miles left to go!

 

[ElenaJane]

Following along! Sounds epic!