How one late night DisBoard visit turned into a DISNEY vacation! LAH LAH's pre-trippy

[LAH LAH]

*THIS PRE-TRIPPY WAS STARTED ONE YEAR AND 2 WEEKS AGO AND ALTHOUGH THIS TRIP DID NOT HAPPEN IF YOU KEEP READING WE'LL DIVE INTO THE NEXT TRIP TOGETHER!*

Hello! I am Melissa (LAH LAH) and it's nice to meet you...

So, it all started a week ago. I couldn't sleep. When I can't sleep I come here and bum around. Somehow dreaming about going back to the World helps. Helps what you ask? It helps all sorts of things. I find stuff on the budget board on sale I didn't need but still purchase, I read about others and their extravagant vacations and wonder where I would stay if I was that rich, and look for all sorts of deals and tips.

Well, that night I went to the transportation board (I never go there) and stumbled across $25 coupons for Airtran...so that sent me straight to Airtran to price out some dates for December and they were only $62. Hmmmmm...that seemed like such a good deal. I have wanted to visit the World in all it's Christmas glory but just wasn't sure if it was a possibility for us.

"Us" is the three of us. Me (34), Michael (12), and Elsa (10)

Reading the first post from my January trip report might help you to get to know us better.

So was this the start of us going back to our happy place? I hardly need an excuse to plan a Disney vacation, but to execute it is something entirely different. I knew we had the airfare on our side. How could we possibly pass up $47 tickets? Could you? Would you? Wouldn't you want to bless others with this deal? Even if they weren't thinking about a Disney vacation anytime soon? Especially because you kinda pressured them to go last time? (Do you see where this is going? I am talking about Meems and Peeps...had you read the first post of my January trip report you would know this )

So I fashioned a very informative email to them and hoped for the best. I must admit the response was not what I was expecting. It wasn't exactly a yes...and hardly a no!!!!!

Look at these two. Wouldn't you want them to join you on a trip? Well I know I do!

I promised my father today that if they give me a straight "no" that I won't badger them. I promised I would let it go. He chuckled and said "somehow I don't believe you". The nerve!!!! Well...I can't blame him too much. Sometimes when I get my heart set on something I can't help myself. I guess being pressured into Disney isn't the worst thing to happen. But a promise is a promise. I won't pressure. Really...I won't!



Next Up: Waiting for Visa Free Dining...and to book or not to book.

 

[cuppycake]

OMG. You gave me a great laugh just now. So, what is the verdict? When will you know??? Your countdown is there....is it official????

 

[LAH LAH]

Hi Cuppy! I suppose I should post again so you will know what transpired! Welcome to my pre-trippy and yay for your free dining!

 

[KGH]

I'm in! I have to laugh at your "if you say no, I promise not to badger you." I've tried that line a few times, but DBF knows better than to believe me.

 

[LAH LAH]

Hello KGH!

I really mean it...this time I won't...I won't badger!

Welcome to my pre-trippy!

 

[LAH LAH]

Soooooooooooo...where was I?

Not badgering...if my parents say no then I will let it go. I hope I don't have to keep from pressuring them. I really hope they decide to go! Then I don't have to prove how much self control I have

Ok, so the plane tickets are a steal and this has prompted me to work out a vacation around those plane tickets! I found myself in the codes and rates thread searching for any information under December 2009. The rumor was free dining would most likely be extended in some fashion. We have never done the dining plan and this would be very exciting for us! So I followed all the rumors and didn't know how accurate these rumors were...I was eagerly optimistic but worried it was all a pipe dream.

But tho and behold free dining was released to the AP's. I don't have one of those so this did me no good. But the rumor was next to be released would be free dining for Disney Visa holders. AND I HAVE ONE OF THOSE!!!! Could they be right twice in a row?! I surely hope so. I felt foolish when I stayed up with a handful of others till 12 am on Thursday only to find no new codes. I was starting to give up all hope on a FD code.

I needed this code...this would seal the deal for booking. This would make it affordable for us. I was first hoping for a PIN for free dining. You can add me to the long list of people still trying to figure out how Disney decides who gets those PINs. I did everything I could think of...logged in to Disney.com and priced vacations, "booked" them only to back out at the last step, ordered the DVD, personalized maps, registered all my email address, updated my profile etc. I longed for a pop-up survey on the site so I could tell them my reason for not booking...I WANTED A DEAL!

Did I get a PIN? No, no I did not. So my best recourse was a Visa Disney FD code and my hopes were shattered in the wee hours of Thursday morning. I had bought into the hype and there was no code. Boo diddly! I went to work Friday morning and didn't head on over to the DisBoards until around 10am. I surely didn't have any expectations. So I was tickled to see that today was the day!!!! They released Free Dining for DISNEY VISA HOLDERS


NEXT UP: Will I book? Will my parents book? Are we really heading back to our happy place?

 

[Mickey_Dust]

I am in! You and your kids are beautiful. I wished my kids could take no for an answer and stop badgering me about it... (whatever "it" happens to be at the moment.) cheap Airfare and free dining you can't pass that up, regardless of whether your meems and peeps go too. LOL Cant wait to hear more.

 

[LAH LAH]

Hello Mickey Dust!

I checked out your Pre-Trippy and your kids are adorable!!!

I am excited to read your trip report...and your binder is so fancy

Welcome to my pre-trippy!

 

[LAH LAH]

When I read that they released FD to the Disney Visa holders I did a little happy dance! My insides were shaking...could we possibly be so lucky as to be able to afford going back to our happiest of happy places? We don't do Disney big, but we happily don't even know what we are missing. If we can't pay cash we don't go, so the deals are our best avenue for returning...and FD and the airfare are a huge help!

I called my mom with the news and she said "call your dad". If my mom and I had our way we would be at Disney more often. My dad is the voice of reason...and the big budgeter. I say who needs Dave Ramsey when you have my dad! He has helped all three of his children understand the reality of financial freedom so it is hard to get too irritated when he doesn't blindly jump on my bandwagon.

I called AAA and decided I would book two rooms...one for me and the kids, and one for my parents. If they choose to come we would be guarenteed rooms with great free dining. If they decided not to go I would only be out the $25 AAA cancelling fee. In the end Disney wanted two deposits because it is two rooms. That seemed silly to me. I really didn't want to fork out the extra cash right now so I only booked ours. And any Disney booking deserves a visit from the happy dancers!!!!

AAA said my parents could add their package onto mine with their own deposit. My biggest concern is that all the rooms will be taken now that FD has been released to the general public. I passed the information on to Meems and Peeps but they decided to wait until things settle down before making a decision on whether or not to join us. I suppose I can understand my dad's position. My sister is getting married at Hilton Head Island in South Carolina in less than 2 weeks. Waiting until the final wedding numbers are in is probably in their best interest.

Apparently Disney in December is in our best interest because we are booked for the 10th-16th!!! Michael and Elsa don't know it yet. This won't be a "Surprise! We are leaving for a week at Disney in an hour" kind of surprise like last time...I am now just looking for a fun way to share the good news with my two favorite people in this world!


Up Next: How will I surprise the kids...and do the Meems and Peeps finally book?