Hey Stephanie!!! I'm all caught up now!!!
I completely understand why you changed your dates again! I am dreading going back to work because it is already hard enough planning a vacation around my husband's work schedule. I can't imagine having to plan around his work & my work...and eventually Luke's school too! At my last job, I had to give them my "final vacation schedule" almost 18 months in advance! Its going to be hard if I need to do something similar to that because my husband never knows until maybe 4-6 months ahead of time.
That's crazy!! I love to plan in advance, and even I wouldn't commit to something a year and a half out!!
I think it will definitely take the pressure off of you moving it back to October. Its always nice with a toddler to have a few extra vacation days saved up...you never know when something will come up.
This week has definitely taught me that a few days of wiggle room is essetial! I haven't had to call in sick, but I did have to leave work after only an hour yesterday so I could get Jack to the doctor!
That's so exciting that you have so many fun trips coming up!!! Are you going to post mini-TR's of your cousin's wedding & your cruise???
I will have to!! Otherwise how will I keep all my loyal readers occupied for the next 7 months!!??
Soooo awesome that you will be able to go to F&W and
MNSSHP!!! F&W is my dream!!! I'm actually trying to convince my parents that they need to go to F&W since their trip is mid-October. They're basing their entire trip off the opening of LegoLand so they aren't sure of their dates yet, but they'll definitely be there during F&W! I have the tendency to make them "test out" things I want to do at Disney! I doubt they'll listen to me this year though because they weren't overly fond of Tusker House or MNSSHP when I "forced them" to go last year!
They didn't like Tusker House?? I can't believe it! The awesome thing about F&W is it gives you an opportunity to try things you wouldn't normally try. I am determined to push my boundaries!
Make sure to take lots of pictures of F&W while you're there!!! Did the menu come out yet for this year? Just wondered, even though I won't be there, I like to drool over the dessert pics! I always look at them on allears.net!!!
The info for this year isn't out yet, but I checked out the menus from last year and it seems likely that a lot of things will be carried over.
What is a fridge swap? You wrote something about being able to get one for October but not September.
A fridge swap is where one person buys a mini fridge and uses it for their trip (rather than paying to rent one at the values). When they are done, they pass it on to the next person. It's way more organized than that, with people exchanging phone numbers etc, but you get the idea. Some of them even have toasters and coffee makers too!! There are only a handful of swaps still out there, a lot of them end up losing the fridge when it goes to bell services. I know they have stroller swaps too.
About free dining...all I can say is CHECK BACK a million times!!!! Just keep calling Disney about once a month to double check to see if you have any PIN codes available. My mom got a card in the mail that she has a free dining pin (expires sometime at the beginning of August so she can't use it either). So I called Disney & asked...and what do you know? My husband has a free dining PIN! Unfortunately it expires May 1st. I asked the CM that I spoke to on the phone about other PIN codes & she said unfortunately they are completely random & done by marketing...but she hinted to me that new ones are being released for fall beginning in April. Just a heads-up...not sure about the reliability of the info, but it never hurts to call & ask!
I do plan on checking back repeatedly, possibly even becoming an irritation until they give me pin just to shut me up! I am confident that SOME discount will be released. I just wish it would happen so I can stop worrying. I will add the QSDP regardless, but it would be nice to save some money...
Congrats on being one of the final 2 applicants for the job that you applied for!!! I know its hard going up against a friend to get a promotion, but its awesome that you will be happy for each other no matter who gets it!
Thanks! Everything here takes FOREVER, so I still don't even know when the next(and last) interview is...
Awesome choice for Pirates League!!! I've always wanted to try that! If I can't decide on a costume for Luke & I for MNSSHP, we'll definitely be doing this! I'm not sure if he'll sit & let them do the make-up, but I've seen pictures where kids only had a little make-up on & they were cute too!
I think it will be fun for both of us. I think I will convice Jack to do minimal makeup, since I know I will be the one scrubbing it off at the end of the night!
No sense in switching resorts if you love Pop!!! I'll be asking you for some tips regarding Pop for my parents too! They're staying there for the first time in October!
I do love Pop. I wish it was in the budget to stay Deluxe, but not this time...
Your spring cruise sounds fabulous!!!! Plane tickets are so expensive! I'm really hoping to find a good deal for September because its completely ruining my budget for our trip! I think right now the best "deal" I can get is $1100 and thats basically paying full price. If fuel prices go up this summer, I'm afraid to know what it will cost. That's awesome that you only have to pay for the plane tickets & bar! It will allow you to save up some money for souvenirs & of course for your fall Disney trip!!!
Those tickets still ran us $800 for the two of us, but it's 3 flights, and we have already gotten a bunch of SW credits ($230 between the 5 of us). Not to mention I need the points for my free flight to Orlando!!
I know what you mean about vacation freezes! People look at me as if I'm half nuts when I mention Luke isn't even 3 yet & he's already been to Disney twice & we are planning our third trip! Everytime a commercial comes on tv, Luke says "mommy can we go there?" I'm definitely thinking that we need to cut back after this trip. Maybe go every other year or something? I'm not sure yet.
I just think maybe it's time to save for the future... even if it's only fro a future trip!! I want to have one trip where we do everything we want to do and have plenty of time to do it!
Definitely keep trying to call Disney every few weeks & check on another PIN code. Did you go to the Disney site & save a bunch of vacations under your account? I'm not sure if thats what alerts Marketing to send a PIN, but I've heard that it does. Never hurts to try, right? Even though we've already booked for September, I even went in my account & saved vacations for October & December...figured it might give me an opportunity to get a Fall PIN code! I'll let you know how my theory works out!
I have a couple saved, but I haven't tried that hard yet. I need to start saving them under all my email addresses!
Can't wait to hear more about your plans!!!! I love looking at your list...it just looks like such a fun-filled yet relaxing vacation! I'm actually quite jealous!
I have just found that unless we are there fro 2 weeks, we won't get everything done so there is no reason to stress ourselves out trying to!
Last year my 4 year old was finally able to ride all those you mentioned...and she loved all of them. Big Thunder, Splash mountain were two of her favorites and she even loved TOT, rode it over and over 
I love that September thread, it is pretty lively... Unfortunately when I change my dates to October I will have to stop posting over there I suppose 
