Moving out of state, Unemployed and going to DISNEY!

[ziggystardust]

HI My name is Eileen. I’m 31 and a Disney world addict. My last trip was for my 30th birthday and it’s been way too long since. That trip, my boyfriend came with me and it was our first real vacation to the world. We both had been a bunch of times before we started dating, with me being the clear winner in visits. He’s not as into it as I am, but he’s definitely along for the ride because it makes me happy.

Now on to this trip and my title…
A few months ago, my boyfriend’s old job approached him about working at another branch in Pennsylvania. While we both absolutely love NY, we were both growing annoyed with the cost of living here. So after much consideration we decided to take the leap. This means leaving family, friends, the beach and my job that I’ve been at for almost 10 years. That’s the moving and the unemployed part (though I’m not technically unemployed yet – more on that later).

Now for the Disney part. My parents, a few months back decided they were going to take a trip to Florida to scope out possible retirement areas. Also, my mom wanted to go see Harry Potter and my dad just likes Epcot. They travel every year around October, so the food and wine festival would be a perfect stop. I had joked around with my mom when they were planning, saying maybe I’d join if I didn’t have a job. But then the reality set in, I wouldn’t have a job and I’d be going on vacation. That’s not financially savvy is it?

I put off the decision, thinking it was a stupid move. My boyfriend moved to PA, I stayed back to tie up loose ends and get a couple of more paychecks in the bank. Our lease was up on our apartment, so I moved in with my parents for 2 weeks, until a new apartment was settled in PA. And then this week my dad says, “you know if you want to go to Florida with us, I’ll buy your ticket”. My eyes lit up. I have southwest points from opening a credit card with them. FREE. I would just stay in my parent’s already paid for hotel room. FREE. My dad would buy my ticket for both Disney world and Harry Potter. FREE. I have a few Disney gift cards that’s I’ve been saving for a rainy day. FREE. Hmm, this might be financially savvy after all…

 

[ziggystardust]

So the details. I'll be going in less than 1 short month. CRAZY. My part of the trip is from Oct 17-21. My flight lands late on the 17 and we'll be meeting up at Coronado Springs for the night. My parents had already made reservations for the rest of the days at the Dolphin.

Cast of characters: Me and my parents

The bare bones of the plan- Epcot for 2 days (food and wine! woohoo!). Harry Potter for 1. I haven't been to Universal since I was 12 and never really saw a reason to go back. My mom really likes the Harry Potter books and I do have to say the pictures of this place look amazing. So that will be one day of our trip. Depending on my work situation, I might extend the whole thing for a day and maybe hit up the halloween party at Magic Kingdom.

I used to plan my Disney trips like crazy. Spent a ton of time on the boards finding out all the secrets and stuff. Lately, life just got in the way. So while I still remember all the old awesome things to do, I wouldn't know where to begin with the new stuff. I'll have to start some research...