PNO4TE
I used to be the DIS Musician and a Jamborini...
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2001
- Messages
- 31,531
Cast of Characters:
Elin (me) 57 uber-planner and lover of Disney. One day when I grow up I want to work for Disney. Meanwhile I have brainwashed er I mean helped my DDs learn to love Disney!
Bob (DH) 58 tolerator of my Disney obsession, even to the point of being willing to move to Orlando when I am ready
Kathrin (DD) 30 lives in Boston and will join us partway through the trip
Kristin (DD) 22 lives in Virginia and will join us partway through the trip
A not-so-short introduction to this TR: We had originally booked AKL CL for our annual WDW Christmas trip, but the current state of the world economy (and our own personal concerns) had me waking in the middle of the night thinking about the upcoming payments on the packages. We decided that was not a good start to the trip, so I spent time researching how we could save the trip as well as some money. My DH and our DDs dont care where we stay. They always say that I plan the perfect vacations no matter where we are so they have no input to help me at all, usually. (I say they are just too lazy to have an opinion!) I had booked the DDP packages for 2 rooms and had also added the Wanyama Safari as my Christmas present to my DH. So I knew I had my work cut out for me to plan an equally spectacular vacation.
We have been to WDW at Christmas for 11 of the past 12 years. Older DD decided during our trip in 2006 that she was Disney-ed out and would like to take a break from our traditional trip. We honored her request and opted to stay in the area last year. She was still living in Virginia so that was not so difficult. I booked a few nights at the Sofitel Lafayette Square Hotel in Washington, DC instead and we had a delightful time. We took the train up to DC and returned on Christmas Eve to a family holiday celebration. We sat here looking at one another bemoaning the fact that we were not in WDW. I reminded the three of them that I was not the one who didnt want to go.
Fast forward to May 2008. Kathrin had accepted a new job in Boston and made a life-changing move in February. Kristin had just graduated from college as a theatre performance major, not knowing for sure where she would be in the ensuing months. I got an email from Kathrin asking if there was a possibility for me to book some rooms at WDW for Christmas and still get your money back if it doesnt work out. I assured her that it was possible and her reply was, I could be persuaded to go back to WDW this Christmas.
I am sure it comes as no surprise that I was on the phone before I closed out my AOL email account. See, I had already been secretly thinking we could make this work. I knew that unless Kristin was in a show on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day that she would come to Orlando from wherever she was. Bob will go wherever I take him. Kathrin had just offered to entertain the possibility. That was the last tumbler in the lock and I was free to plan!
Bob and I chose AKL because we fell in love with it last October at the tail end of a family reunion we were on. Everyone else had left the BC where we were staying and we stayed an additional few nights at AKL and loved it. I decided on CL because I had heard nothing but good reports and figured we ought to try it. We have stayed CL in Disneyland at the DL Hotel and the Grand Californian, but never at a WDW resort! I booked the rooms and added the DDP to the packages because our Tables in Wonderland (what a TERRIBLE name for DDE) would not work on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The TS credits would pay for the few meals we had planned for those two days. I added the Wanyama Safari to the deal as a surprise for Bob. We always pay for the room and most of the meals for our DDs as their Christmas present, so I had my immediate family Christmas shopping done! All I had to do was to pay for it on November 7.
Jumping a few months back again We convinced Kristin that coming home to live and work might be a good plan for someone with no money in the bank who was planning to audition for a living. We offered her free room and board with the understanding that she would pitch in around the house with cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, etc. After a couple of weeks of agonizing over it and realizing that many of her friends were doing the same thing, she agreed. She got a job as a teller at our bank with perfect hours for an actor. 12-6:15 5 days a week and 4 hours every other Saturday; it is a full time job with total benefits. You cant beat that! She could still audition and be in shows in DC or Richmond. Perfect.
Now she needs to ask for vacation. Finally they have agreed to allow her to have the day after Christmas off
teeth
but they still dont know whether or not she will have to go in on Christmas Eve. They close at noon so I cannot see why she has to go in, but I am deferring to her decision on this. When she knows for certain she will book a OW flight from Richmond or DC to Orlando and will get there sometime on Christmas Eve.
Kathrin has not even been told definitively yet that she can take vacation the day after Christmas, but she said she is going to be really ill if necessary. She is watching plane fares now and will book a RT ticket from Boston when she thinks the Price Is Right! She will also arrive sometime on Christmas Eve.
Bob and I just returned from a 6 day trip to WDW for the F&W Festival celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary. We flew. It was a nightmare. So our DDs have been told to ONLY book a non-stop flight that has a great airline behind it. If at all possible I dont want them to spend Christmas in an airport somewhere because of flight cancellations or delays, etc. The two of us are going to drive because we can and we do enjoy it occasionally. We will leave here either in the evening of Friday, 12/19 or early in the morning of 12/20 and take 2 days or 2 ½ days to make the drive. Kristin will join us on the ride back home which we will do in 2 days. I have booked hotels for us for both parts of the drive.
I made many of our ADRs myself because I completely forgot that AKL IPO would do that for us! There was the GF Tea I couldnt get that they were able to secure for the girls and me. Other than that I was in charge of our dining. Turns out it was a good thing.
While we were in WDW in September/October the financial markets and international governments went into a downward spiral not seen since the Depression. We felt very fortunate that it was not touching us too directly at that point, and discussed the fact that we might have to work a few more years than we thought we would, but that things would be OK. When we got home we were hit with two pieces of troubling news. Bobs company, which is located in various places in the USA had laid off a great number of the workforce, including 17 of the 18 designers in a facility near Orlando. Their business there is mostly residential. Bobs end is mostly commercial so he felt a little better since they are still very busy. Then came the news that the company was closing a number of the facilities in other states completely. That was an eye opener. And then the real problem since the residential end, which fuels bonuses company-wide, was doing so poorly, bonuses would be severely affected. When Bobs first paycheck came we were stunned. It was a huge difference. The second paycheck was no better. He would be bringing home about $1800 less per month. Our day-to-day finances could handle that thank goodness, but we started thinking about tightening our belts.
I returned to my studio to the news that I was losing 7 students due to the financial impact on their parents lives. That is a pretty good hit to my paycheck too, and there is not much I can do about that right now. So I started feeling that pinch in the bottom of my stomach when I talked about our trip or going out to dinner at a favorite place. When I began waking up at night Bob said I needed to find a way to make things work or make a decision because this was not a good thing for my usual happy attitude. I agreed and contemplated canceling the trip outright. Then the girls offered to pay their share of the trip and I realized that canceling was not an option. Having them pay was not an option either! My plan was to switch resorts and look at other ways to save money on the trip.
Second installment next.
Elin (me) 57 uber-planner and lover of Disney. One day when I grow up I want to work for Disney. Meanwhile I have brainwashed er I mean helped my DDs learn to love Disney!
Bob (DH) 58 tolerator of my Disney obsession, even to the point of being willing to move to Orlando when I am ready
Kathrin (DD) 30 lives in Boston and will join us partway through the trip
Kristin (DD) 22 lives in Virginia and will join us partway through the trip
A not-so-short introduction to this TR: We had originally booked AKL CL for our annual WDW Christmas trip, but the current state of the world economy (and our own personal concerns) had me waking in the middle of the night thinking about the upcoming payments on the packages. We decided that was not a good start to the trip, so I spent time researching how we could save the trip as well as some money. My DH and our DDs dont care where we stay. They always say that I plan the perfect vacations no matter where we are so they have no input to help me at all, usually. (I say they are just too lazy to have an opinion!) I had booked the DDP packages for 2 rooms and had also added the Wanyama Safari as my Christmas present to my DH. So I knew I had my work cut out for me to plan an equally spectacular vacation.
We have been to WDW at Christmas for 11 of the past 12 years. Older DD decided during our trip in 2006 that she was Disney-ed out and would like to take a break from our traditional trip. We honored her request and opted to stay in the area last year. She was still living in Virginia so that was not so difficult. I booked a few nights at the Sofitel Lafayette Square Hotel in Washington, DC instead and we had a delightful time. We took the train up to DC and returned on Christmas Eve to a family holiday celebration. We sat here looking at one another bemoaning the fact that we were not in WDW. I reminded the three of them that I was not the one who didnt want to go.
Fast forward to May 2008. Kathrin had accepted a new job in Boston and made a life-changing move in February. Kristin had just graduated from college as a theatre performance major, not knowing for sure where she would be in the ensuing months. I got an email from Kathrin asking if there was a possibility for me to book some rooms at WDW for Christmas and still get your money back if it doesnt work out. I assured her that it was possible and her reply was, I could be persuaded to go back to WDW this Christmas.
I am sure it comes as no surprise that I was on the phone before I closed out my AOL email account. See, I had already been secretly thinking we could make this work. I knew that unless Kristin was in a show on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day that she would come to Orlando from wherever she was. Bob will go wherever I take him. Kathrin had just offered to entertain the possibility. That was the last tumbler in the lock and I was free to plan!
Bob and I chose AKL because we fell in love with it last October at the tail end of a family reunion we were on. Everyone else had left the BC where we were staying and we stayed an additional few nights at AKL and loved it. I decided on CL because I had heard nothing but good reports and figured we ought to try it. We have stayed CL in Disneyland at the DL Hotel and the Grand Californian, but never at a WDW resort! I booked the rooms and added the DDP to the packages because our Tables in Wonderland (what a TERRIBLE name for DDE) would not work on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The TS credits would pay for the few meals we had planned for those two days. I added the Wanyama Safari to the deal as a surprise for Bob. We always pay for the room and most of the meals for our DDs as their Christmas present, so I had my immediate family Christmas shopping done! All I had to do was to pay for it on November 7.
Jumping a few months back again We convinced Kristin that coming home to live and work might be a good plan for someone with no money in the bank who was planning to audition for a living. We offered her free room and board with the understanding that she would pitch in around the house with cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, etc. After a couple of weeks of agonizing over it and realizing that many of her friends were doing the same thing, she agreed. She got a job as a teller at our bank with perfect hours for an actor. 12-6:15 5 days a week and 4 hours every other Saturday; it is a full time job with total benefits. You cant beat that! She could still audition and be in shows in DC or Richmond. Perfect.
Now she needs to ask for vacation. Finally they have agreed to allow her to have the day after Christmas off
teeth but they still dont know whether or not she will have to go in on Christmas Eve. They close at noon so I cannot see why she has to go in, but I am deferring to her decision on this. When she knows for certain she will book a OW flight from Richmond or DC to Orlando and will get there sometime on Christmas Eve.Kathrin has not even been told definitively yet that she can take vacation the day after Christmas, but she said she is going to be really ill if necessary.
She is watching plane fares now and will book a RT ticket from Boston when she thinks the Price Is Right! She will also arrive sometime on Christmas Eve.Bob and I just returned from a 6 day trip to WDW for the F&W Festival celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary. We flew. It was a nightmare. So our DDs have been told to ONLY book a non-stop flight that has a great airline behind it. If at all possible I dont want them to spend Christmas in an airport somewhere because of flight cancellations or delays, etc. The two of us are going to drive because we can and we do enjoy it occasionally. We will leave here either in the evening of Friday, 12/19 or early in the morning of 12/20 and take 2 days or 2 ½ days to make the drive. Kristin will join us on the ride back home which we will do in 2 days. I have booked hotels for us for both parts of the drive.
I made many of our ADRs myself because I completely forgot that AKL IPO would do that for us! There was the GF Tea I couldnt get that they were able to secure for the girls and me. Other than that I was in charge of our dining. Turns out it was a good thing.
While we were in WDW in September/October the financial markets and international governments went into a downward spiral not seen since the Depression. We felt very fortunate that it was not touching us too directly at that point, and discussed the fact that we might have to work a few more years than we thought we would, but that things would be OK. When we got home we were hit with two pieces of troubling news. Bobs company, which is located in various places in the USA had laid off a great number of the workforce, including 17 of the 18 designers in a facility near Orlando. Their business there is mostly residential. Bobs end is mostly commercial so he felt a little better since they are still very busy. Then came the news that the company was closing a number of the facilities in other states completely. That was an eye opener. And then the real problem since the residential end, which fuels bonuses company-wide, was doing so poorly, bonuses would be severely affected. When Bobs first paycheck came we were stunned. It was a huge difference. The second paycheck was no better. He would be bringing home about $1800 less per month. Our day-to-day finances could handle that thank goodness, but we started thinking about tightening our belts.
I returned to my studio to the news that I was losing 7 students due to the financial impact on their parents lives. That is a pretty good hit to my paycheck too, and there is not much I can do about that right now. So I started feeling that pinch in the bottom of my stomach when I talked about our trip or going out to dinner at a favorite place. When I began waking up at night Bob said I needed to find a way to make things work or make a decision because this was not a good thing for my usual happy attitude. I agreed and contemplated canceling the trip outright. Then the girls offered to pay their share of the trip and I realized that canceling was not an option. Having them pay was not an option either! My plan was to switch resorts and look at other ways to save money on the trip.
Second installment next.
Elin,
Just being together with your family at WDW is so special.
I'm sorry to hear that things had to be changed around, but it sounds like your trip will be great nonetheless. I'm sorry, too, to read about your daughter's job loss ... it's so sad to hear more and more of that every day! I hope she finds something even better soon! 
