Mr. & Mrs. Smith's Pre-Trip Reporting Thread

[Granite State Heidi]

In this trip report you will find that the names of the people involved have been changed or omitted, in order to protect their identify. There are far too many crazy people out there. Not that I think that any of you wonderful DIS board members are crazy, but one can never be too careful. KWIM?

That being said, we are going to be known as “The Smith Family”. We are incognito. Actually, we use the name “Smith” a lot. We have a “v” in our last name, and it is constantly confused with “b”, and our surname is always butchered. So, we just use Smith whenever we order a pizza or whatever.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith's Trip to Walt Disney World 2007
Pre-Trip Report

The Cast:
ME, age 36
DH, age 43
Step-DD, age 13
DD, age 5​

PART I: January 29, 2007 I booked the package!


During the last week or two of January 2007, we decided to look into a trip to Disney. Actually, it was I who decided to look into a trip to Disney. DH had nothing to do with it. I went to the WDW website to get quotes on a Magic-Your-Way Package. Hmmm, when should we go? Definitely not in the summer months--Florida is too dang hot in the summertime. Definitely not during February or April school vacation weeks--too dang crowded.

Let’s see…using some of our income tax refund and some of DH’s bonus, plus a little bit of cash we received at Christmas, a couple of months of saving extra pennies, divided by 8, plus 112, carry the 2…and we can afford to go in October for DD’s 6th birthday!

Ok, I know when I want to go. Step One is complete. Now it’s time to decide where l want to stay. We are a family of 4, I am a stay-at-home mom and we aren’t independently wealthy. Therefore, we will be staying at a value resort. I was interested in the Pop Century Resort, but I decided that the All-Star Movies Resort (ASMo) would be the most enchanting for DD. Step Two is complete.

My little fingers were flying across the keyboard. It was just like in the WDW commercial—as I was tappin’ on the keyboard I swear that I could hear the sounds of horses’ hooves pounding on the pavement. (You know the commercial…. Mom is on the computer looking up vacation packages. As she taps on the keys, the scene switches to the sight and sound of galloping horses. And back again to the mom at the computer. The computer screen shows a quote of $1600 for a family of 4 for 7days/6 nights. Mom and Dad decide that they can afford it. And then Cinderella’s coach shows up outside their house). Truly a magical commercial.

Anyway, as I was saying, my fingers were typing. The galloping sound was getting louder. And my computer screen was showing me some favorable numbers. And then my fingers stopped in their tracks. The horses came to a screeching halt. Whoooaa! Wait! Hold on a minute! The commercial didn’t say that $1600 for a week for a family of four is for accommodations and park tickets ONLY. Yeah, you gotta get to WDW, and most people fly. Add airfare for 4 people to the price tag. Oh, and by the way, do you wanna eat while you are there? Yeah, you’d better add a dining plan, too. So, take your base price; add air and meals, change the package to 6 days/5 nights and the price is now $XX00. (At least double the $1600)

GOTCHA! I was just being dramatic. I knew about the airfare and meals when I was doing my math a couple of paragraphs ago. I was an accountant in my former (AKA pre-parenthood) life, so I know that you can’t make projections and budgets without all of the facts. But seriously, the price tag of $XX00 is the actual number for this family of 4.

Facts and figures in hand, I approach DH. We have talked about a Disney trip off and on. In the past, his biggest argument was always that DD was too young. My counter-attack was always that step-DD was getting older. This time, we were able to meet in the middle and agree that this was a good time to go.

I had the Magic-Your-Way quote saved on the WDW website. All I had to do was press the “Book Now” button. I hesitated. (Dramatic pause) My mouse was hovering over the “Book Now” button. My thoughts were straying to something big and shiny. A piece of bling? Nope. A new car? Nope. Washer, dryer, stove, refrigerator, dishwasher? No. No. No. No and no.

Wait for it :::::



wait for it:::::





wait for it::::::



You see, I have wanted a new kitchen floor for a couple of years. The linoleum has been in rough shape for several years. At this point in time, it is almost an embarrassment to have people over. I want a nice, new hardwood floor. DH and I have talked about it off and on. Some other “more necessary” home improvement project has always won our hard-earned dollars. (Ok, Ok, I’m a SAHM, so technically, it’s DH’s hard-earned dollars). (inserted for DH’s benefit, in case he happens to read this).

So, the “more necessary” home improvement projects have all been accomplished, and I now have a $XX00 dollar vacation sitting in my Disney shopping cart. Book the package or get the floor? I’m listening to all of the voices in my head, and it sounds like I’m on The Price is Right. Someone is screaming “Book the package”! And someone else is yelling, “Get the floor”!

I thought about how my DD would never, ever, ever forget her 6th birthday if we celebrated it at Disney. And then it was decided. I clicked the “Book Now” button. To Disney we go! Frig the floor. (can I say “frig”?)

Up next…. expensive things I have to buy in order to properly execute this trip. DH wants to know, “exactly how much is this vacation going to cost me?”


I like to think that I am a creative tale-spinner. If I get enough positive responses to this posting, I’ll keep ‘em comin’. It takes a lot of time to write these things. And while I am keeping a “journal” of sorts for posterity, the version you see here was created specifically for you. If you don’t like ‘em, I won’t write ‘em. I will not be offended if you don’t want to read about the trials and tribulations of life in our little world.