November 2012 Code Watch!!

[mommyof3princess27]

There are several ways that we are paying for our trip. I have a huge piggy bank that I am saving change and paper money up to $20s in. All of our change goes into it. Then at the end of the week I go through DH's wallet and take every other $1 and $5 bills and put it in the pig. Then every week when my DH gets paid, I put a $20 into it. It's a green pig with pink Mickey heads on it. Then my DSs painted blue squiggles and swirlies on it and in the same blue on the Mickey heads we put the year of each WDW trip we've taken. Also in blue on each leg, it has one of our names and bdays. Any birthday or Christmas money goes into the pig as well. Then we use our tax returns. Lastly, and I know I shouldn't do this part, but we are going to use school money for this next trip. I'm going to take a few less hours than I get financial aid for, but I'm still going to max out my funds, so that I get a refund. I know that when you do this your supposed to use it for living expenses, but if I don't get to WDW I'm going to go .

I save for our trips several ways too. All of our spare change goes into a pink princess crown bank that we painted

then on fridays when DH and I get paid, I try to put $50 into our vacation account. Any extra money that I get from his side job goes into our spending money(like for our December trip) then when we come back whatever is left will be paid on our November 2012 trip. I use our tax refund to pay for the flights.

 

[letthewookiewin]

I save for our trips several ways too. All of our spare change goes into a pink princess crown bank that we painted

then on fridays when DH and I get paid, I try to put $50 into our vacation account. Any extra money that I get from his side job goes into our spending money(like for our December trip) then when we come back whatever is left will be paid on our November 2012 trip. I use our tax refund to pay for the flights.

That crown is too cute!!
I have an app on my iPhone that I use to keep track of how much is in the pig. The DSs say that we're "feeding the pig" when we put money into it. At one time I had just over $1,000 stuffed into that little piggy, but we had to use it when I had to get another car.

 

[mommyof3princess27]

That crown is too cute!!
I have an app on my iPhone that I use to keep track of how much is in the pig. The DSs say that we're "feeding the pig" when we put money into it. At one time I had just over $1,000 stuffed into that little piggy, but we had to use it when I had to get another car.

Thanks! I got it on clearance at Michaels for $1 and I brought it home and stuck it in the closet and said this was a waste of a buck....til the next month when we started planning for DISNEY!

Anyway, I just emptied it for the second time since July. First time we got $95 this time was only $65 but every little bit helps! This is just the change. Any bills go right in the vacation acount. So we cant spend them

 

[ThreeAngels]

Good Morning everyone! Smileybug where are you? You make me laugh and I miss u! lol Hope everyone is having a good day so far! I actually am bored. I suppose I could or but the Dis is sooo much more fun! Anyway, I have not made any progress paying on our trip lol.

If you dont mind me asking, how does everyone pay for their trip? Savings, taxes, regular budgetting? I know Im nosey I cant help it its just a little over 2 months til I am at this years MVMCP and I am excited. Even though its a very short trip(we get there friday evening and come back monday evening) its a get away Besides I have to do research for nxt years trip while I am there atleast thats what I told DH

DH is a police officer and while that doesn't yield a very good income, he works a lot of off-duty jobs and that's how we pay for it. Unfortunately, no taxes are taken out of those checks, so at tax time, we get no refund and, in fact, owe, so that takes our funds down, but he's really good at socking the money away for that. We also have a big change container, but it's just a tall plastic container. We should get something cute.

There are several ways that we are paying for our trip. I have a huge piggy bank that I am saving change and paper money up to $20s in. All of our change goes into it. Then at the end of the week I go through DH's wallet and take every other $1 and $5 bills and put it in the pig. Then every week when my DH gets paid, I put a $20 into it. It's a green pig with pink Mickey heads on it. Then my DSs painted blue squiggles and swirlies on it and in the same blue on the Mickey heads we put the year of each WDW trip we've taken. Also in blue on each leg, it has one of our names and bdays. Any birthday or Christmas money goes into the pig as well. Then we use our tax returns. Lastly, and I know I shouldn't do this part, but we are going to use school money for this next trip. I'm going to take a few less hours than I get financial aid for, but I'm still going to max out my funds, so that I get a refund. I know that when you do this your supposed to use it for living expenses, but if I don't get to WDW I'm going to go .

Aww, I'd love to see a picture of your pig!

I save for our trips several ways too. All of our spare change goes into a pink princess crown bank that we painted

then on fridays when DH and I get paid, I try to put $50 into our vacation account. Any extra money that I get from his side job goes into our spending money(like for our December trip) then when we come back whatever is left will be paid on our November 2012 trip. I use our tax refund to pay for the flights.

That crown is adorable!

Good night all!

 

[letthewookiewin]

Aww, I'd love to see a picture of your pig!
Good night all!

I'll take one tomorrow after I'm done with school.
Good night!!

 

[mommyof3princess27]

Good Morning all! I have deemed this day a Disney planning day! I am STILL trying to get everyones planning binders figured out. I have the schedule down and the parks down but what concerns me are the ADR's. I have the ones I want written down and approved by everyone, I just hope they work out that way! I guess I could do a wierd time like early dinner/late lunch. With such a HUGE party, I hope it wont be a problem and you better believe I will be on the computer at 6am! I will be on the phone with BBB and T-Rex too! I am hoping to be done with the binders soon so I can post some pics!

 

[mommyof3princess27]

Another question only cuz Im nosey hehehe
How much spending money do you take( just an estimate)?
Last year for our 6 day trip, I took $600 cash and $400 left in our vacation account. That was for luggage fees, parking, gas, food at airport, tips, food at WDW and souviners. I brought back $300. Not too bad for our first trip with a family of 5 lol. For our couples trip this year, DH and my brother said $200-$300 will be plenty. My goal is $1000 again lol I figured whatever I dont spend, I can put on our next years trip. Do I think I will need that much? No but better safe than sorry! And then DH will be proud cuz Iv squirraled money away without him noticing

 

[letthewookiewin]

Another question only cuz Im nosey hehehe
How much spending money do you take( just an estimate)?
Last year for our 6 day trip, I took $600 cash and $400 left in our vacation account. That was for luggage fees, parking, gas, food at airport, tips, food at WDW and souviners. I brought back $300. Not too bad for our first trip with a family of 5 lol. For our couples trip this year, DH and my brother said $200-$300 will be plenty. My goal is $1000 again lol I figured whatever I dont spend, I can put on our next years trip. Do I think I will need that much? No but better safe than sorry! And then DH will be proud cuz Iv squirraled money away without him noticing

My goal is $2,500 minimum. That is to cover gas and hotels to and from as well as stuff at WDW. We're getting the DlxDDP, so we don't have to worry about food cost, only tips. I'm hoping that we save more so we can do more after WDW and maybe go to Uni.

 

[Smileybug]

Good morning ya'll.

Sounds like we have similar ways of saving for Disney.

I really haven't given any thought to spending money........I consider gas and any out of pocket food cost as part of the trip. We just don't do much actual shopping at Disney.

 

[Happy Mom2]

@ sharpie89 - Welcome! We are surprising our kids with this trip also, but we are going to tell the day before the leave. Last trip I started packing a month in advance so it's going to be interesting.

@ BeckyR0282 - Welcome! I've heard Thanksgiving week is one of the most crowded weeks of the year. Last year we were there the week after Thanksgiving, and it was low crowds. I mean, I guess it was low crowds - it was my first time to go so I have nothing to compare it to.

@ mommyof3princess27 - I have set amount of each paycheck go into a designated savings account for vacations. That is our vacation fund - no matter where we go.

I think any day is a good day for Disney planning!! Good luck and have fun!

Last year we spent $300 on souvenirs. Most of it was on Christmas tree ornaments. We purchased something small from each country in Epcot to use as an ornament, plus I purchased about 15 glass ornaments. We lost the one from England. I'll have to replace it when we go back! We do the deluxe plan, and I budget gas, hotel along the way (we drive), tips, etc. Spending money is strictly for souvenirs.

Hope everyone is having a great day!

 

[Happy Mom2]

So... my MIL has decided to come with us again. I'm totally cool with that. She went with us last time, and is very easy to get along with. I'm the planner, and she is more than willing to let me plan. She was over the moon happy with everything last time so I have no worries.

Anyway, I've compared all of this years expected crowd levels and the previous years, and tried to come up with a plan. Problem is I've come up with 3 plans, and can't decide. I'm not thrilled with any of them, and I'd love some opinions, suggestions, etc.

Some factors are... my kids will still be young - 7 and 4 (almost 5). I'm trying to get two days at MK, but the MVMCP will probably be offered 3 days that week so it cuts my days short, and I'd like two days at EP. Unless otherwise notated, we would go back to the room at 6 or 7 and so the kids can go to bed. My kids NEED their sleep or they get really fussy. They get 10 hours of sleep a night. We will do early morning (before the park opens) ADRs most mornings, unless we are out late the night before, in which case, we will let the kids sleep late.

Option 1
Day 1 - DTD
Day 2 - MK
Day 3 - EP (Illuminations)
Day 4 - AK (kids to bed early, me & DH date night)
Day 5 - MK (MVMCP)
Day 6 - EP
Day 7 - HS (Christmas lights)

Option 2
Day 1 - DTD
Day 2 - MK
Day 3 - HS
Day 4 - MK (MVMCP)
Day 5 - EP
Day 6 - EP (Illuminations)
Day 7 - AK, then HS (Christmas lights)

Option 3
Day 1 - DTD
Day 2 - MK
Day 3 - HS (Christmas lights)
Day 4 - AK (kids early to bed, me & DH date night)
Day 5 - EP (Illuminations)
Day 6 - EP
Day 7 - MK (MVMCP)

So, there is it... hit me! Give me all your thoughts, opinions, suggestions, etc!!

Thanks a bunch! Gotta clock back in from my lunch so I'll check back later this evening.

 

[Smileybug]

So... my MIL has decided to come with us again. I'm totally cool with that. She went with us last time, and is very easy to get along with. I'm the planner, and she is more than willing to let me plan. She was over the moon happy with everything last time so I have no worries.

Anyway, I've compared all of this years expected crowd levels and the previous years, and tried to come up with a plan. Problem is I've come up with 3 plans, and can't decide. I'm not thrilled with any of them, and I'd love some opinions, suggestions, etc.

Some factors are... my kids will still be young - 7 and 4 (almost 5). I'm trying to get two days at MK, but the MVMCP will probably be offered 3 days that week so it cuts my days short, and I'd like two days at EP. Unless otherwise notated, we would go back to the room at 6 or 7 and so the kids can go to bed. My kids NEED their sleep or they get really fussy. They get 10 hours of sleep a night. We will do early morning (before the park opens) ADRs most mornings, unless we are out late the night before, in which case, we will let the kids sleep late.

Option 1
Day 1 - DTD
Day 2 - MK
Day 3 - EP (Illuminations)
Day 4 - AK (kids to bed early, me & DH date night)
Day 5 - MK (MVMCP)
Day 6 - EP
Day 7 - HS (Christmas lights)

Option 2
Day 1 - DTD
Day 2 - MK
Day 3 - HS
Day 4 - MK (MVMCP)
Day 5 - EP
Day 6 - EP (Illuminations)
Day 7 - AK, then HS (Christmas lights)

Option 3
Day 1 - DTD
Day 2 - MK
Day 3 - HS (Christmas lights)
Day 4 - AK (kids early to bed, me & DH date night)
Day 5 - EP (Illuminations)
Day 6 - EP
Day 7 - MK (MVMCP)

So, there is it... hit me! Give me all your thoughts, opinions, suggestions, etc!!

Thanks a bunch! Gotta clock back in from my lunch so I'll check back later this evening.

Okay.....According to the front page of this thread you are arriving on the 24th and that is a Saturday. (That is when we are arriving. ) I think option 1 appeals to me the most. I think I would stay away from doing MVMCP on a Friday night since you have the choice to do so. But hopefully because of the Friday night MVMCP. The Osborne Family Lights would be a good alternative. If your children are young I don't know that I would try to do 2 parks in one day. It might be to overwhelming for them. If you haven't seem the lights before.....They are awesome.

 

[mommyof3princess27]

I like the first option!

I do have a question for all of you:
Last time we went to DIsney, it was my Dbro and DSil, me and Dh. We had the kids too. We were al on the DDP. Each TS meal we did, we had to pay $20 in tips (about that cuz some nights were $19) is that normal? Or is it because we were a party of 7 some nights and 10 other nights? I was just wondering because if its not that much, D and I might upgrade to DlxDp for our trip or I might see if its worth it for our GG. If FD is offered, that alone would save tons but just having to pay the upgrade fee would be wonderful!

 

[Happy Mom2]

Thanks! I've been leaning towards option 1 also. DH didn't like option 2 so that one is out. I really didn't want to go to the MVMCP on Friday (we did that last year), but for some reason I like to end a trip to Disney at MK. I guess the Christmas lights will have to do. Granted, all this is riding on the fact that MVMCP will be on the nights (days of the week) next year.

@ mommyof3princess27 - last year our tips were between $15 and $30 a meal for 5 (3 adults, 2 kids). We were on the DDxDP. I went on allears.net and reviewed the menus and prices. I was able to estimate the tip for each meal. I made up envelopes (printed Donatalie's from this site), and put the tip in it, wrote the restaurant, and date of our ADR on it. Each morning I would just grab the envelopes I needed for the day. It worked out great. Most meals I was a little over, and kept the extra for spending money.

 

[Smileybug]

Good morning ya'll.

 

[Smileybug]

I like the first option!

I do have a question for all of you:
Last time we went to DIsney, it was my Dbro and DSil, me and Dh. We had the kids too. We were al on the DDP. Each TS meal we did, we had to pay $20 in tips (about that cuz some nights were $19) is that normal? Or is it because we were a party of 7 some nights and 10 other nights? I was just wondering because if its not that much, D and I might upgrade to DlxDp for our trip or I might see if its worth it for our GG. If FD is offered, that alone would save tons but just having to pay the upgrade fee would be wonderful!

You know, don't remember how much our tips were last trip.

Thanks! I've been leaning towards option 1 also. DH didn't like option 2 so that one is out. I really didn't want to go to the MVMCP on Friday (we did that last year), but for some reason I like to end a trip to Disney at MK. I guess the Christmas lights will have to do. Granted, all this is riding on the fact that MVMCP will be on the nights (days of the week) next year.

@ mommyof3princess27 - last year our tips were between $15 and $30 a meal for 5 (3 adults, 2 kids). We were on the DDxDP. I went on allears.net and reviewed the menus and prices. I was able to estimate the tip for each meal. I made up envelopes (printed Donatalie's from this site), and put the tip in it, wrote the restaurant, and date of our ADR on it. Each morning I would just grab the envelopes I needed for the day. It worked out great. Most meals I was a little over, and kept the extra for spending money.

Don't you just love making all of those envelopes? I do the same thing and you can't forget about the mousekeeping ones. I think they are all so cute.

 

[mommyof3princess27]

Thanks! I've been leaning towards option 1 also. DH didn't like option 2 so that one is out. I really didn't want to go to the MVMCP on Friday (we did that last year), but for some reason I like to end a trip to Disney at MK. I guess the Christmas lights will have to do. Granted, all this is riding on the fact that MVMCP will be on the nights (days of the week) next year.

@ mommyof3princess27 - last year our tips were between $15 and $30 a meal for 5 (3 adults, 2 kids). We were on the DDxDP. I went on allears.net and reviewed the menus and prices. I was able to estimate the tip for each meal. I made up envelopes (printed Donatalie's from this site), and put the tip in it, wrote the restaurant, and date of our ADR on it. Each morning I would just grab the envelopes I needed for the day. It worked out great. Most meals I was a little over, and kept the extra for spending money.

Im gonna try that! Sounds fun! Thats the one thing I didnt do last year is figure out tips, I did estimate $20 per meal which was spot on but who knows now with so many ppl. I will have to check out the envelopes! Thnks!

 

[mommyof3princess27]

Good Morning!!!!! I FINALLY broke through my weight loss plateau! On to goal #2! I still have 2 months before I go....have 10 pounds to lose. I think its do-able. Hope everyone has a good Thursday! YAY! Almost the weekend!

 

[Smileybug]

Good Morning!!!!! I FINALLY broke through my weight loss plateau! On to goal #2! I still have 2 months before I go....have 10 pounds to lose. I think its do-able. Hope everyone has a good Thursday! YAY! Almost the weekend!

I am so proud of you!!

Got any tips on this weight loss of yours that you can share?

 

[letthewookiewin]

I finally got the pics of the pig taken. The allergies have been driving me nuts lately. John Michael (our youngest DS) dropped the pig on one of his ears and that is why there is so much tape on one of them. I didn't have any super glue, so JM suggested the tape.
The front of the pig...

One of the sides....

The pig's bum....