Trying to sneak in a few posts between WOs, showers, and today's plan. (Indiana Jones here I come!)
Julie: I think early January is a good time to get that monorail seat, especially if you get there early in the day. Of course, it's more attractive if you have kids or first-timers with you, which is why it was exciting for us last year. It's too bad the kidlets won't be with you, but that just means you'll have more time to do ToT with me, with no excuses! ('Cause there's always time for ToT, just like there's always room for jello.)
Mel: Thanks for the info on AP and AAA discounts!
Jeanne: That Marathon Tours and Travel sounds like a better and better deal for us on the years where we have to defer decisions. I'd love to stay at the Poly again (or try the CR), but I'm unsure of price at this point.

Good think we, too, have APs. (It about killed us, as when we lived in Fargo we went to DL and we got used to their AP prices.)
As for the IL stories, yeah, they have a lifetime ban on seeing me run, at least for now. (Can you hear me waffle there.) I'm pretty serious about it. It's a long story, not very interesting--maybe I should say that it's a series of small things that built up over time. Lots of it the specific ban is centered around their general lack of support, and specifically in my running. The final moment, the clincher, is that I asked them repeatedly NOT to watch me at the Disney 1/2 because
- I wanted to concentrate on just me for my first race and didn't want to have additional pressure (watching out for them, making time goals), and
- I didn't want any pictures taken of me on the course. (You know I don't like having my picture taken at all, hence all my attractive from-from-the-back pictures or my annoyingly obscure portraits--see avatar.
My ILs are a big picture-taking family and it's a sticking point with us. I'd compromised with them by letting them take all the pictures of me they wanted, no hassles, in the days before the race.)
Anyway, we'd had discussions of my race-day needs several times and I reiterated these needs during our week together before the race. I'd elicited promises from them not to watch, promises didn't seem to me to be a big deal because they only were at Disney to see DOOD run. (Which, btw, I'm glad they do as DOOD likes the support.) But then my FIL shows up on the course, camera in hand (although he didn't take a picture that I recall), as I'm entering Epcot. To her credit, my MIL tried to warn him away. He apologized afterward, said he got caught up in the moment, and I accepted the apology. But the ban holds--if you're not going to support me in the training, and in my inaugural event the one thing I needed was to be left alone, then I don't really need to see you on the course. (FWIW, I'd issue the same ban for my parents, for similar reasons. Of course, they don't even care enough to travel to DOOD's or my races, so it's a non-issue.)
See? I told you it wasn't very interesting. It probably sounds like a pretty hard line to draw in the sand, too; meet my dark side. But it's really not all the harsh--after all, my ILs aren't really interested in seeing me run, or really in my running at all. (And, strangely enough, they aren't interested in Disney either. Do you think it's me?

) They just don't like being told they can't do something. Anyway, we're going to compromise with the race involvement by having us volunteer together at the Disney 1/2, so it's all good.
As for me: See above, my response to Jeanne. I'm a bitter, bitter woman.
