Once again a huge thank you to my editor!!!
You are the best
Episode 7: “The When Is Solved, Now To The Where, How, and What.”
Hi Guys!! Hope you are all having a great week so far! I’m suffering from a terrible head cold that seems to target just half my head at a time LOL!! I was just telling Soleil (BellaSoleil) about the shirt I wore last Friday that gives a very clear warning to my students about how I am feeling. I got my shirt when I visited the Oz Museum back home in Kansas and it states “Don’t make me break out the flying monkeys!” It’s a hoot!! Anyway, the kids love it and say, “Not feeling well today Ms. O?” I just give them a look, blow my nose, use Germ-X and then send them on their way to take their tests LOL!! Don’t worry…I’m on antibiotics so I’ve been cleared to come to work today. Warm wishes to all of you!!
So the last time we talked we discussed dates. I had finally settled on January 15th thru January 21st. Believe it or not I was actually not feeling guilty about leaving my hubby or my students for an extra day!! NDH just sort of shook his head when I told him I was extending my trip by a day, and he gave that look that said, “You know you’re completely insane over this, right?” Well of course I am, it’s Disney, my happy place!!
Once the dates were settled I had to decide where to stay. First of all, I knew from the beginning I would be staying on site. I stayed off site one time when I was little and to me it wasn’t a big deal then, however, on my last two trips we stayed on-site and I truly believe that’s the way to go. Also with this being a solo trip I don’t want to be venturing very far from the World, so Disney World resorts it would be. But which one? I had a good budget to work with, but the question was how much I really wanted to spend on accommodations. I had been to WDW twice before, once as a military wife, therefore we stayed at Shades of Green. The second time we stayed at Pop Century. Being a Florida resident I knew there was a chance I would be able to get a discount, so I went to that part of the Disney site first. I soon found out that codes don’t come out until October for those of us who are going in January. (Let me tell you this waiting for codes is driving me nuts! I want a code!! LOL) I spent the next hour just playing around with room only rates. I saw how much deluxes were…OMGosh…no way I could afford that. Moderates seemed like a lot of fun, but still a bit pricey and I really wanted to do some shopping since I would have the time to actually stop in and see the stores. So, after comparing prices, I decided to go back to a tried-and-true resort, Pop Century. The last time we went I loved the themes, the staff was friendly, and most importantly, I had a clean room and bed for me to lay my head on at night. So it was settled. I called Disney and I booked a standard room at their Pop Century resort. Now I’m just patiently (*ahem*) waiting for that code which I will hopefully be able to apply to a few nights while I’m staying there.
Dates…Check!! Hotel…Check!! How to get there?? Well I could fly, really I could? I could use my airline miles and fly to Orlando? This was the exact thought process in my head and I as calmly as possible tried to convince the rest of me that I could fly to my happy place. I mean Disney is worth the terror of flying…right??? Umm nope!! The sweaty palms, the hyperventilating, and extreme anxiety that comes with flying was just not worth it to me. So I happily closed the browser window on Alaska Airlines and opened another window to Enterprise!! The first rate I got was shocking ($235.00) for an economy for a week. However this was the cheapest I could find even with my teacher’s discount at Alamo and other coupons. So I decided it was worth the expense to my budget, even with the high price of gas, and I booked a rental car. I’m going to pick it up Wednesday evening after church and pack it up and as soon as the bell rings to end school on January 15th I’m hitting the road! It’s only a seven hour drive from Pensacola to Orlando, which is the equivalent of listening to each of my Disney Classics CDs twice… so I’m all good!!!
I was still a bit bummed about my rental car price so I decided to keep checking and then on Wed. October 8, 2008, pixie dust was sprinkled on me. As I was checking email at school I decided to go over to Enterprise and retry my dates. My mother had surprised me on her visit and had purchased me the Entertainment book for Orlando so I knew I would be able to get at least 5% off my car rental. I entered the dates and I entered my coupon and then pressed the continue button…and the BAM!! $186.40!! I literally think my eyes bugged out of my head! I quickly modified my reservation and got the new total I had saved (40.00) and trust me that savings would be used later! We’ll get to that I promise!! I must also say that with the price of gas dropping my projected budget is bound to drop and that can only mean good things for me!!!
The other thing about the rental car that sealed it for me was the freedom to get around the parks. For the most part I plan on relying on WDW transportation, but some mornings when I have an early ADR I’m going to drive myself there and drive myself back home! That is one perk to having a rental car with me.
Dates...Yup Yup!! Hotel...Yup Yup!! Transportation…Yup Yup!! Only one thing left…tickets!! Another perk to being a Florida resident is that I can get Florida rate tickets. When I first bought my tickets I was only going for 4 days…so I bought the 4 day to Play pass!! Now I’m going to have to upgrade a couple of days, but it will be worth it!! I’m so excited!! Of course I had to call twice to make sure I understood the upgrade policy, but now that I’m sure I have it all figured out I’m ready to go...well almost LOL!!
So all the major areas have been covered, now to begin planning the actual trip!! Stayed tunes folks, exciting things are happening, many changes are bound to occur, and I get to pick my restaurants YAY!!!! Solo dining has never been an issue and it certainly won’t stop me at WDW.
Next time: Episode 8: “Making ADRs For Food And An Extra Special Treat!”
Sometimes we also eat Ham! 
One year I think I remember we had roast beef? 
When I first got a hold of my DH he was still in the military and was so proud of the fact that he could eat an entire meal in less than 5 minutes and shower in less than 3! 
It has taken me 9 years but I think I have him reprogrammed to be "normal"again! 
Boy boys boys...
Great installment!!!
You're doing a great job! 
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