PTR: Planning an awesome trip, after the worst trip ever!

[mythreeboys]

Thanks for reading! This is going to be a bit of going down memory lane from our latest trip, and end up with the planning of our next trip! Let me begin by giving some details about us, our trip partners on our trip from hell, and our basic plans for our next trip.

First off, the major Disney fanatic of the bunch would have to be me! My name is Samantha and I am 30 years old. I only went to WDW once with my family as a child, but went a few other times for twirling competitions and band parades as a teenager. I really had not thought of going to WDW after I got out of high school, even though I loved everything Disney. I guess I just took on the assumption that it was incredibly expensive and there was no way I was getting there on my own. It only crossed my mind while I was trying to plan my honeymoon (seems like centuries ago) and saw a show on the Travel channel about the holidays at Disney. I was in love and approached my soon to be DH about a late honeymoon at WDW. He was all for it, being that he had never been there.

Next up is DH, his name is Matt and he is 34. He's a bit of an oddity, he complains when I start planning a trip to WDW, but then begs to go back as soon as we get home! I've kept him going by informing him that our kids will probably not like going to WDW in a few years and we can start travelling elsewhere (secretly hoping this doesn't happen!)

We have 3 boys, ages 5, 4, and soon to be 2! They are handful, but I love every second of it. Ryan, our 5 year old, is Autistic (PDD-NOS, to be exact) and he is starting Kindergarten in just a few days! He's very excited, but I'm a bit nervous....sure this will come up later! Zachary, is 4 and is very energetic and a bit odd at times...I guess a typical 4 year old. My baby, Aidan, is such a little ham! He's into everything, and loves to just drive me up a wall! His latest has been deciding he doesn't want to potty train, but isn't into wearing diapers any longer! Means lots of fun and cleaning supplies for me! They love Disney and love visiting WDW! Found out after our last trip that only problem they have is how far away we live!

Well, that is the group for our upcoming trip that we are planning. Planning is starting early this time around, I think because of all the craziness that went on during our last trip. Our last trip was in January 2011, and I started planning the next trip as soon we got home! We aren't going till sometime in early 2014, but in my mind you can't start early enough! Next up, the start of the recap from the trip from hell!

 

[mythreeboys]

All of the above were along for the trip, and we had 15 others along for the ride! The idea started back in 2007 while we are at WDW with our then 21 month old and 6 month old. We thought of how great it would be to have their grandparents along to enjoy the fun! That snowballed, quickly, and turned into a monster where we wanted our brothers and sister along too with their families! So when we got back we started telling everyone of our plans. We saw only one issue, DH's family is not very well off, extras like vacations usually don't happen for any of them. So we decided we would save up to pay their way....very generous, and looking back it was probably not the best idea! Let me give you a little background on the crew!

Donna-DH's mother, she is absolutely awesome! Love her to death, and wouldn't trade her for anything! She has a seizure disorder, so it was touch and go if she was even making the trip. She's never been to Disney, but has always wanted to go. We wanted to make her dreams come true!

Dee-Donna's sister and DH's godmother. Again awesome woman! She helped score some extras for our vacation, and we couldn't see going without her.

Tom-Dee's husband. He has parkinson's disease, and again has always wanted to see WDW. We had to make his dreams come true!

Milan-DH's younger brother. He is a firefighter and fights for just about everything in life. He has a disease called Barrett's disease, and has been through a few surgeries. After his latest one in May, they said this was it, they can't do anymore for him.

Kim-Milan's wife. She is the first to tell you that she has a mouth on her and isn't afraid to use it. She loves the kiddo's dearly, and Milan and her are my oldest son's godparents.

Dennis-DH's youngest brother. Honestly, there were many times when I didn't want to take him, but kinda had to! He can definitely be a pain and has a major attitude. Loves to think he knows everything about absolutely everything!

Marie-Dennis's wife, and used to be a good friend back in high school. She tends to go with whatever her DH says/does, so many times we butt heads!

Lacey-Dennis and Marie's oldest, and my goddaughter. She is 7 and was my little princess for the trip.

Michael-He's only 4, but is exactly like his dad. He is Dennis and Marie's youngest. He has to get his own way, and can act very spoiled.

Linda-My mom, she loves my kids to death and there is nothing I wouldn't do for her. Only issue I have with her is that she tends to baby my older brother and sister a lot.

Perry-The platypus...just kidding....actually my dad, but we tease him about that all the time! He tends to keep to himself, and is quite content as long as there is beer in the fridge...LOL!

Angel-My sister, love her to death, but she is insistent on taking over and making things difficult.

Mike-My brother-in-law. All I can say is PITA.

Joey-1 of Angel and Mike's twins, he is 10 years old, but tends to act like my 4 year old. Recently we found out he has juvenile diabetes, and his attitude has changed a bit.

Nick-the other twin. I love poking fun at Nick. He is very easy going, and will just give you a smile if you poke fun at him. He's a great kid.

Wow, I think that is it for the introductions!

I planned the trip around a certain date for a reason, I was turning 30! So the trip was planned for my birthday week, which was Jan 15-Jan 22. Our original plans were to get 6 rooms at Pop!, but that quickly changed. We had definite plans not to fly, or at least most of us weren't flying. It was going to be almost an additional $3K to fly the people I was paying for, and that just wasn't an option for me. I should also mention that no one in my family knows we paid for DH's family to go. I realize now that I should have paid for everyone or no one, but I saw this as the only way the trip would happen soon and with not knowing how much longer DH's mom and uncle would be around I didn't want to wait.

Next up, the headaches that came about while just planning for this trip! I should have seen the disaster that was about to take place!

 

[mythreeboys]

All of our previous trips had been in December, except for one last minute trip that was planned during February. So I had no idea that you couldn't book exactly a year in advance at all times. I had planned on starting planning our trip on January 1st. I found out quickly that room rates were not out yet, and would not be out for sometime. That left me flustered and disappointed! I needed to get rooms, I knew I would feel better if I just had the rooms booked! So I started looking into booking "room only" and then converting to packages later. In the meantime, I came across something that interested me greatly. I even started contemplating renting a house, that went over like a lead balloon! Mike absolutely refused to share a house with everyone (surprise!) Then he decided that he didn't want to stay at Pop! because they stayed there on their last trip, and wanted somewhere different.....where, of course All Star Movies, the same place we stay at everytime we go! It got to the point that I told my sister to stay where they wanted, and to make their own arrangements if they weren't going along with the plan. Just wasn't worth my aggrevation anymore.

I found out that RCI could trade into DVC. I already knew that both Donna and Dee held timeshares with RCI. So I started to look into it, and then brought it up to DH's attention. He just happened to have Dee's information for her account, so he logged me in so I could view what was available. Turns out she is on the point system, and had been banking points so she had just about enough points to book all the rooms we needed! We were going to be seeing her for a family party later that week, so we waited to ask her.

She perked up as soon as I mentioned the deal. She had been laid off recently, and needed to have her timeshare fee's paid, but didn't know where she would get the money. We presented her an offer of paying her fee's for the year for the use of the points, and she agreed. She called the company and found out the details, not the greatest info. It was basically a crap shoot. I had to give her the money to pay her fees, but there was no saying if we would actually end up with the units we needed. I reluctently took the gamble. The guy she talked to told us we couldn't book till March. I put that date in my cell phone, and set up my reminder for midnight. The next couple of months were complete agony for me as I pondered if I was just going to lose the money I gave her! This was also coupled with the question from Kim...."Why exactly are you doing this anyway?" Sorry for wanting to do something nice for my family, won't happen again, I promise!

Ding, Ding, Ding! My phone went off at midnight and I immediately logged into her account, 2 Disney properties!!! 2BR at BCV and SSR! Awesome, not our first choices, but either would do! I picked BCV, as DH and I love Epcot. I was on cloud 9, however wasn't sure if I should jump on the SSR b/c it was in a different resort. After talking to everyone they were fine staying in a different resort (that is except for my family). I went back to try and get the SSR the next day and it was gone

2 months later though I was back in business and found the SSR unit again! So I quickly booked it! Awesome, now we just needed one more 2BR unit or 2 studios! Only problem was my mom was refusing to stay anywhere but BCV. She was insisting that this was supposed to be a family vacation and if she was somewhere else, we would never see her. I even tried to put them at BW and she refused! For weeks I tortured myself with figuring out where to put them. Finally, I decided to start looking at the rent/trade board on disBoards! By the luck of the draw one morning I found someone offering points for $9.50/pt. Awesome, called my mom up and got her information and booked 2 studios at BCV for them. Finally everyone was happy, right? Oh yeah right, it is impossible to keep everyone happy!

So life was good, and I went on trying to find tickets. I knew exactly where I was getting them, Undercover Tourist, can't beat it! So I ordered everyone's tickets and informed my mom and sister what they owed. Seriously took them months to pay me back. Now to know why this angered me, you would need to really know the background of my family. Basically the same story of why you shouldn't loan cash to family.

So that was it right! Now just had to wait for the 180 day mark and start making dining arrangements! I was on cloud 9, and couldn't believe my dream trip was happening! Now let the real drama begin!

 

[Lilacs chosen]

I feel for you. Waiting to read more.

 

[Kat in GA]

I am so in!

I can totally relate to family issues - but here it's on my DH's side. We just basically don't have anything to do with them anymore. But...I can't wait to hear about this trip and if you are still speaking to your family

 

[PrincessMomofTwo]

It's like a real live soap opera...I can't wait to hear more!

 

[goofytiggerfan]

Hello!! I am subbing cannot wait to hear more and I feel you on the family drama. I have it all too!

 

[mythreeboys]

Yay readers! Welcome everyone! This definitely could have been a soap opera, or at least a dramatic made for TV movie on Lifetime! I swear everytime I thought things were turning around and going great somebody had to rain on my parade!

 

[mythreeboys]

So our 180 day mark came, and of course I was online beginning to make ressie's. Just a few major glitches though. First off, we were planning to get the dining plan. For one, since most of DH's family tends to not be good with money we figured if we at least had their food paid up front, we didn't need to worry about them surviving, and we also wanted to do a lot of table service restaurants in Epcot. Only problem, everyone was supposed to have money to me for the dining plans by June and I had nothing! All I heard was how everyone was waiting for their tax refund, which apparently went in their checkbook and was immediately spent!

So, without knowing what was going on I decided that we were no longer doing the dining plan and they could all starve for all I cared. After all I had informed them of this trip 2 years ago, if they couldn't save up some money for food it wasn't my problem! So I went back to my ressies. I knew we wanted to do a character breakfast, our first choice was the Good Morning Gathering. So I brought it up to the crew. My sister very quickly backed out, she would love to see her nephews enjoy it, but her kids wouldn't and it is a lot of money to spend on breakfast. Otherwise known as Mike didn't want to go. Everyone else was in and suprisingly gave me money (actually Donna paid for all of DH's family...she doesn't know we know this, but it was very evident!), so I called to book. Well, they were booked and they actually couldn't find a breakfast to accomodate our large party! I was crushed! Turns out they were having a technical difficulty and found room at Cape May! Finally, something is going right!

On our prior trips DH and I really didn't do many sit down restaurants. Our trip before last we had eaten (or should I say tried to eat in China), but I was pregnant at the time with Aidan and he threw my thyroid out of whack. Basically, I would go from starving one minute to feeling like I was going to throw up anything I ate, looked at, or thought about for the past week. So it didn't go so well. We knew we definitely wanted to go back! I also decided to try San Angel Inn and Teppan Edo (my birthday dinner!) I felt good, I had all of our reservations! I tried to press the others to make ressies, but they were insistent that they would handle everything when they got there.....fine don't take my advice!

I felt good, now just to sit around and wait for the holidays to be over! The trip was coming faster than I ever could have imagined, and I was getting more excited by the second. Up next, how this trip gave me a split personality disorder!

 

[mythreeboys]

Sorry y'all! Haven't been in a while, my oldest (Ryan) started Kindergarten this week and it has been interesting! I'll explain the details of that later, I still have a whole trip to recap!

 

[mythreeboys]

2 of our units were reserved through RCI, well I hadn’t been told that WDW wouldn’t allow you to have the same name on 2 rooms. I called to find out our Disney confirmation numbers for the units and was explained that I needed to get a guest certificate and put one room in someone else’s name very quickly or one of our reservations would be cancelled! This is how I started to have a bit of a personality disorder. I was first calling RCI and Disney pretending to be Dee since everything was in her name. I was going to need my husband to call and pretend to be Dennis (because my voice isn’t deep enough to pull that off!), but something interesting happened!

Even though, we had our reservations I still looked at the RCI site every once in a while. It just so happened that one day another 2BR unit at BCV popped up! So I called Matt to see if I should cancel our SSR unit and get the BCV unit, he was all for it. Looking back, I probably should have not done this because the others would have been further away!!!

I was smart this time though, I decided to put the unit in Marie’s name. So now I could call and pretend to be Marie to get the reservation number and make requests. Problem with this was there were times I forgot who I was pretending to be! Luckily I managed to get everything done, but it was very interesting sometimes!

We did run into a glitch with the RCI system though. They had a problem transferring the information to Disney. I called 2 weeks after I got the reservation and they couldn’t find it. They told me to call back in a week. I did and they still couldn’t find it. Enter panic attack! All I could think of was everything was taken care of when we had the SSR unit, now I switched and lost them both! Eventually they found it, apparently the guest certificate just didn’t come through, so it was still in Dee’s name. They fixed it and all was fine!

Enter, sister drama! Angel wanted to fly, because of course her kids were incapable of sleeping in a car and her husband was in no way driving 17 hours. Fine, don’t join our road trip, but at least book your flights! I kept texting her information, but the flights weren’t cheap enough for her. Next thing I know she had me looking into how much it would cost to rent a car to drive down there! Seriously, our father (a tour bus driver) is driving a huge van down with just him and our mother and you want to waste money and gas renting a car! Well, of course Mike couldn’t survive in a van with my parents for that long! This man was really starting to annoy me! So after approaching him with quotes on rental cars and gas he was all for the idea since it was $400 cheaper than flying. After a few weeks we finally convinced him to save his $400 and just ride down with my parents.

So sleeping arrangements are final, dining arrangements are complete, and everyone finally has a ride! My life is complete, it was around November and this trip was about to happen. I couldn’t believe we had gotten this far without killing someone! Granted I mentioned doing so often, but I managed to contain myself by taking my frustrations out with a new work out routine in the morning!

Up next, It’s December, you are insistent on taking your van, and you have no tread on your tires!

 

[mythreeboys]

When this all began we had just gotten a “new” minivan, it was a couple years old, but it has a 3 year extended warranty. Has all the bells and whistles; xm radio, leather seats, dvd player, gps, etc. We offered to take it, but Dennis insisted that we take his van. Ok, whatever less miles on my car. Of course this meant having to scrounge around for our portable DVD players for the kids to watch in the car. Our major issue though was the fact that his tires were practically bald! No worries though, he had plans to get them right after Christmas.

Well, Christmas came and went, New Years came and went. We were now 2 weeks away from the trip and still no tires! We kept telling them no tires, no van. We spent some time making sure my van was ready to go, just in case.
Now into the meat of the trip!

All the fun drama really started on the day we left! Plans were to leave Jan 14th at 6pm, then I started thinking everyone is telling me they took the day off why are we leaving at 6pm? So I conned them into leaving by 4:30 or 5:00 because we had to wait for 2 kids to get home from school. I arrived at Donna’s at 8am. Dee was watching my kids while I took Donna to get our hair done. She never gets her hair done, and she came home a completely different woman! Need to remind myself to do this with her more often!

We got back around 11 and found out Dennis’s van still had bald tires! You are joking right! Marie was there (by the way they live with Donna) and said that she was letting Dennis sleep in till noon then they were going to Wal-Mart for the tires! I was hostile! They weren’t packed yet, she was letting him sleep in and they were going to spend 3 hours at Wal-Mart getting tires! What happened to be at the house by 4:00, to leave by 4:30! Apparently, I was the only one paying attention to that conversation the week prior!

I went off to blow off some steam and to take Tom to get some blood work done. When I got back Matt was there with our packed car and we were all ready to go at 3, Dennis and Marie were still at Wal-Mart. Ryan got home from school, now just waiting for Lacey. An hour later she got home from school, and then around 4:30 Marie and Dennis finally got there and started packing! We were all fuming! All they kept saying was that I told them 6 and they would be ready at 6. Oh well, so much for leaving early!

They did get ready by 5:45 and we started to pull out, but of course Dennis had to stop us. Everyone was supposed to have full tanks, guess who didn’t! So we told him we would meet him at the turnpike. Nothing like leaving right on time…..hit the PA turnpike at 6pm. At this point I actually did calm down, I could have cared less. I was on my way to my happy place, bye bye snow and hello warm weather!

Up next 23, yes 23 hours from hell! I thought this only took 17 hours last time!