He SAID no, but I FOUND a way to GO! ~ a Dec AKL/WWoHP PTR (Updated: 11/30)

[DisneyLifer87]

I went on an adventure to Target last night aiming to spend only $70. Admittedly, I went over by $20, however I was able to snag a lot of deals and knock down our $150 worth of items to only $91 plus a $5 gift card for later. I have to say, I was pretty proud of myself. Especially since we have enough toilet paper and toothpaste to last a few months now

 

[ladytink75]

I'm just dying to do a big haul but lately I have not seen any good buys at our Target I guess that's the price I pay for living in such a small city. I just may have to go visit my husband who lives in Phoenix if I want to do a good shopping trip.

 

[DisneyLifer87]

After leaving my former job and starting a new career in Teaching, I have been constantly debating what to do with my pitiful 401k that I built in 3 years of retail. (so, not much in there you can imagine... )

For those who do not know, being a Minnesota teacher puts me into a retirement fund that I can't exactly roll a 401k into. DH and I debated for months if we should just let the money sit or if we should pull it out and close the account regardless of penalties. Today we decided to close her up and use the money to get out of our debt hole from his previous unemployment. I'm still a bit unsure and haven't actually DONE it yet, but really we are talking about a small amount that isn't going to matter much come 40 years from now when I decide to retire. I shouldn't have said that because it was depressing to think how far away it is.

It was an interesting twist in our savings plan though since we can now actually start saving money we earn rather than paying interest on bills. DH said he would be open to a November/December trip to celebrate my graduation with a Master's degree in Teaching... but then quickly added "MAYBE!" with a strong emphasis at the end. Oh boy. time to crunch those figures.

 

[ladytink75]

Sending you some pixie dust your way hopefully the numbers will come out in the positive for you that you can make the trip happen..

I just canceled my DW trip for March so instead of going to FL looks like I'm going to DL. My daughters boyfriend has never been to Disneyland so it will be awesome to take him there so my daughter can spoil him rotten with all the Disney excitement.. What did I get myself into my daughter is 17 and her boyfriend is 16.. hopefully I can make it work out I LOVE seeing people's expression when they walk into any Disney theme park for the very first time..

 

[DisneyLifer87]

Things have been a little crazy around here! We had a nasty bit of sickness that plagued me with fatigue this past week and then an unfortunate car accident to our brand new vehicle

Fortunately the accident was just a minor fender bender that was not my fault and will not cost financially. It's just sad so see damage to a once shiny, new car that we've only had 6 months.

DH and I were discussing and looking into potentially making November-December a possible trip time frame, though he's still skeptical about doing another trip to Disney. He wants a cruise. A Disney cruise!?! We will keep plugging away and see what we can make of it.

 

[twinsouvenirs]

total bummer about the car!!!! Sounds like you are making progress re: the hubby

 

[DisneyLifer87]

After quite the hectic last few days with work, DH and I have come to an agreement. We will be traveling to Disney World!!!!!!

We are still working out the details and waiting on some deals to pop up before we commit to a date range, however we are looking after Thanksgiving and around the first two weeks of December. We would be doing a 6-night stay (Friday afternoon to a Thursday afternoon) ideally with both of our jobs.

Any tips of the best time to go? Should we fly out on Black Friday?!? Or should we wait until later in December for some crowd control?

 

[DisneyLifer87]

Hello! After much debate and persuasion, my ticker below is finally up!

We are set on traveling December 1st - 8th (Monday to Monday). I have not yet booked and am code watching for the time being. DH and I are also debating if we want to do POP again, or try POR. Thoughts?

So, how did this come to be, you might ask? Well, a little bit of pixie dust!
Or... volunteering to work summer school with my school and being offered a contract renewal for teaching next year. The job security plus my added QComp and summer school bonuses made this a possibility. I'll work any day for Disney!

 

[DisneyLifer87]

Hello DISers!

I'm still glowing over the acceptance on DH's part to a new Disney vacation.We had a minor financial hiccup occur this week, however, in that our car is getting repaired from being rear ended a month ago. We were not at fault, but unfortunately the other driver's insurance company is not being cooperative. My insurance will front my repairs, but I will need to wait for my $500 deductible to be reimbursed.

Surprisingly, DH is not letting this sway him on the vacation (probably because it will be reimbursed).

On the Disney side of things, DH and I have been watching Disney Week on Destination America this week. We are still conflicted over which resort to stay at this time around. I believe a lot of our choice will come with what discounts we are offered.

Until next time!

 

[DisneyLifer87]

Since I'm officially planning a new Disney Vacation, it's time for a little word vomiting of ideas until I can start booking some items. Enjoy my ramblings...

-Attractions we MUST do -
--> I'm trying Tower of Terror this time. I'm DOING THIS!

- ADR Ideas -
Le Cellier Steakhouse (DH demand)
Coral Reef - potentially a dinner plan with Candlelight Processional?


Those are my ideas for the day

 

[m2zjj]

Following along.

 

[Suziannie]

Yay for tickers going up!

We went last year the first week of Dec and it was fantastic!

Can't wait to see how your plans come together!

 

[DisneyLifer87]

Following along.

Welcome aboard!

Yay for tickers going up!

We went last year the first week of Dec and it was fantastic!

Can't wait to see how your plans come together!

That makes me feel great hearing that it was a pleasant experience. I've found mixed reviews here on the boards when stumbling on some trip reports!


A big question I have for those following along is when to book. Typically in my previous trips we have either gone during "slow" times and I booked when a good discount came out. OR for our wedding which was more peak, we booked everything far in advance simply because it was a wedding! I'm curious if I should book my room now at least and then add a package as deals become available, or just wait around? Thoughts?

 

[ZehnJahren]

I'm joining in too because I love a good budget trip.

You HAVE to ride ToT! You can do it! Commit at least to walking through the line and seeing all the theming; it's amazing!

 

[DisneyLifer87]

I'm joining in too because I love a good budget trip.

You HAVE to ride ToT! You can do it! Commit at least to walking through the line and seeing all the theming; it's amazing!

I think the best way to commit is to have a reward afterwards. Maybe DH will have to hold a Mickey Bar hostage until I ride it!

DH and I have decided to try and book a room only sometime tomorrow when we can sit down together and make the final call on what resort and room type we'd like. It looks like we are leaning towards Pop Century. I might book us an entire package with the dining plan and simply edit it as the deals come out, which is usually what we do. Aside from some real life struggles with the body shop repairing my car, I'm very happy. For more info on that, keep reading.

.... ok, you have been warned that this is

So a little over a month ago I had experienced a minor fender bender with a 16 year old who hit my brand new 2013 Nissan Sentra. I wasn't really angry except for they drove away! .... and then came back 15 minutes later after I had called the cops. Regardless, they were at fault and my car was scheduled to be repaired on March 3rd (a huge delay due to some poor winter weather here in MN and because my car was still working).

I took the car in on March 3rd and was put into a rental Dodge Charger (world of difference and quite fun). The repairs were supposed to take 16 hours, or two days. On Wednesday I began to wonder why I hadn't been contacted so I called the shop 2 hours before they closed asking for an update. My estimator told me that had found additional damage and it would take until Friday to complete. Totally understandable, but I was maybe a little that no one had bothered to call me to tell me this.

Friday came and I received a call from my insurance saying they had verified with the shop that my car would be done that afternoon. An hour later I got a call from the shop saying they were shipped the wrong part and needed to reorder it - the car would need to wait until Monday when they opened again. Ok, I understand human error and he did call me this time, so while I was a little mad, I was accepting of it.

Monday comes... insurance calls and confirms it will be ready.... 2 hours before the shop closes and I have nothing. So, I call them. Turns out they "were shipped the right part for the wrong side of the car". And no one called me. It was about this time that I became extremely irate because I realized this dealership was likely not shipping them incorrect parts, but they were being ordered incorrectly. I mean, come on, the estimator had problems even communicating to me. So, I wrote a formal complaint to the manager and grumbled to myself, but waited for Tuesday.

Tuesday comes, and I'm sure you're like me thinking (this has to be the end of this tale)! I wish. Tuesday I went to the shop, returned my rental, and picked the car up right before they closed because it took that long for the part to deliver. I drove my shiny car home, then stopped as I got out of the car because a molding piece looked a little funny. Further inspection showed it was coming off of the car and was not aligned correctly. FURTHER inspection showed there was a 2-inch scratch where it had hastily been reapplied to the car. I called them and made an appointment for Wednesday to return.

Yesterday I stopped by and they buffed out the scratch, but the molding was missing an anchoring clip hence why it was flapping around. They'd order it and have it in Thursday (today). The manager came to speak to me at this point and gave me $50 in restaurant gift cards, apologized profusely, and said that he would personally come pick up my vehicle from my home today, take it to the shop to have the molding fixed, and then drop it off at my home tonight when everything has been completed. He also informed me that my estimator was being severely reprimanded because the molding was hastily installed as I thought.. by him.. not the mechanic. I guess this estimator "thought he knew what he was doing".

So, here I sit waiting for them to pick up my car. This has been such a nightmare, I'll be happy when it's finally done. At least I used some of that gift card last night for a large margarita!

Thanks for listening! End of being off topic!

 

[m2zjj]

Oh my what a nightmare with your car. I would have been

 

[DisneyLifer87]

Oh my what a nightmare with your car. I would have been

Oh I certainly was, but it is all taken care of now (Finally!) so life goes on. Hopefully no one has to deal with that experience again!

On the Disney note, I researched when the cheerleading competition was (starts the 8th) and then we did finally book for December 1-8th at Pop Century! Now it is a matter of hoping for discounts! Maybe free dining?

 

[DisneyLifer87]

8 months is a very long way to go and DH is less than thrilled or willing to talk about ADR options quite yet. I did get him to select his magic band color with me though (he picked blue and I took green). So, I stick to reading the boards and hoping the time passes a bit faster. This week is our end of term for classes, so my grading and stress levels are likely to keep me busy.

On the plus side, we did get a nice $115 reimbursement on a car rental from the poor body shop service we received. DH thinks this means a date night, but I'm more of a "save it for a rainy day" type of person.

As it continues to snow outside my window in the frigid arctic, I'm starting to wonder if Spring will ever come... or summer... or next winter. I'm actually sort of excited for that!

 

[DisneyLifer87]

Hello DIS family! Haven't had much to update and been busy with the school year wrapping up. However, for any Midwesterner who has been struggling with this insanely bipolar weather, I wanted to share a little image of how I'm feeling watching the snow fall this morning:

Will be ever see Spring!?

 

[CaseFace5]

Subbing in!

I can't wait to see how you make this trip work on a budget. I am going next weekend for a VERY short and VERY last minute trip. I want to go for longer and was thinking of going during the same time frame. Mine is a little different though because I am a cheerleading coach. It's so tough because I wont know until late November if my team makes it through but I would like to just book that week and be all paid if they make it and if they don't, then I'd still be able to go and see the castle all decorated!!

I can tell you though.. once you see it all done up with the lights, it never looks the same again and you'll always want to go back for more!!