The Great DO OVER

[kelmac284]

Well if you read my Christmas trip report you know that it was absolutely miserable. Probably one of the worst trips weatherwise we have ever been on. Ironically we have been to Disney World 4 times where it is FAMOUS for rain and yet it rained WORSE here at DL this past December then we EVER had at DW!

Soooo.... this is the Great Do Over!

Technically we were planning on going anyway but now we are on a mission!!

For a little background I have had an AP since 06 and for a few years all of our family had one but then it started becomming cost prohibitive and so then I just started renewing only mine so we could get the food discounts. We usually try to take at least 1 trip a year as a family and then my mom and I have also gone on the diva trips the last two years so it was worth it for me to have the AP besides the food discounts.

Anyway last June my mom and I took the girls for our annual summer trip and since I wanted to try and go back in the fall we decided to upgrade their passes to AP's. The plan was to get in another trip in the fall and then one more this summer before their passes expired.

In the meantime mom and I had planned a BIG vacation and ended up going to Disney WORLD in November and so we weren't sure if a fall trip was going to happen but since my dh wasn't able to go with us he wanted to go to DL at Christmas even if only for a few days. So we set out and ended up driving down to save cash and spent 4 days getting absolutely soaked!

I was pretty dissapointed because the main reason I wanted to go was to see all the special Christmas events that I hadn't seen in about 4 years and of course much of that was cancelled.

Soooo we came home and although we had planned a trip for summer anyway now we were on a mission to do over our last trip. Now granted we go to DL a lot so it is not really about the rides and such and to be honest what I REALLY want to do over is the Christmas festivities but that is not going to happen anytime soon so hopefully we can at least do some of the other things that were cancelled do to the rain like WOC and some of our meals that were outdoors that were cancelled.

So before I begin with our itinerary here is a little background about "us" for those that haven't read my other report.

My name is Kelly and by the time I go on this trip I will be 44 dh will be 38 and we have 1 daughter named Katy that will be 11 1/2 and another daughter Shelby who will be 10.

We are AVID Disney fans and have been to DL more times than I can count and to DW 4 times.

Anyway the following is our sched:

Orig my mom was going to go and we were going to fly but we decided to save money and drive and that put mom out. She has NO desire to do that and so we are planning our own trip for later in the summer.

So the day after the girls get out of school we are going to drive down and the first few days we are going to be visiting with various family and friends.

My old college roommate contacted me and we have not seen eachother in about 20 years so I am really anxious to meet up with her. Then we are planning to spend a day with my aunt and uncle and 1 day with some other dear friends of ours who used to live in Oregon but who have since relocated to Socal and we have go to DL once before with them but we have yet to go to their new place.

Then on the 14th we will be heading to DL and staying at the Fairfield Inn.

We have stayed here in 06 and I am hoping it is still decent. We stayed at the Hojo in December and enjoyed it but the Fairfield was actually cheaper and we are getting a King bed!!!

Anyway our plan is when we get there on the 14th to go into the parks (prob DL) and just do what we can do since it will be later in the day and just wing it for lunch/dinner that day.

But then on Wed the 15th we will be going back to DCA and doing AG and WOC. Mom and I did this last June but got terrible viewing and then we had it booked for Dec but had to cancel because of the weather so we are hoping we have better luck this time. We are also VERY anxious to see whatever is new by that time.

Then on Thursday we are going to DL and plan to do the BBQ which we also had to cancel and eating dinner that night at Steakhouse 55.

Friday is back to DL with lunch at carnation cafe and dinner at PCH grill to try the famous kitchen sink

Then on Saturday before we head home we are going to have breakfast at Mickey and Friends.

We may also do Minnie's on one of the other days. Perhaps a MM day.

So that is our tentative plans at this point.

I am REALLY excited to see our friends and family and then to get back to DL and enjoy it with hopefully good weather and get to do all the things we missed last time.

So until June....

 

[DizNee Luver]

Woo Hoo another trip!!! I'm so glad you're getting an opportunity to get back there soon!!! Your Christmas trip was unbelievable with the weather!! I felt so bad for you & everyone else that had saved up & planned for months to go at Christmas time.....only to be drenched & disappointed with cancellations & such.

Yea for Ariel's Grotto & WoC!!! Love it & hopefully you'll be able to see better this time. If you don't get on the railing.....you can always stay back in that section & stand on the stairs......hopefully this will keep someone tall from blocking your view.

The BBQ.......YUMMO!!! In fact reading your preliminary meal plans has made me hungry!!

Sounds great & can't wait to see more as time gets closer!!! If you get bored, you can always check out my PTR (link below)......you know me....I'll be posting tons of pics again!!

 

[kelmac284]

Oh yeah I love your trip reports. You always do such a great job and have so many pictures!! I love to read yours!!! I am so excited for you that you get to not only go on the ladies trip but also get some extra time with the hubby!! I don't know if mom and I will be able to go next year either if we are able to go on our cruise next Feb but I AM going to go on another diva trip eventually. I am really bummed that I am going to miss you on this one but maybe we can somehow meet this summer.

We are driving up 97 through OR because we are going to Crater Lake First and then on to Timberline/Mt. Hood and then out at Hood River then we are going up 84 to see the falls and then in at Portland. I know that kind of bypasses you guys but how far is Portland from you all? We are planning 1 1/2 to 2 days in Portland and I KNOW we are planning on taking the girls to the zoo. I don't know how far or if it would be too hard for you guys to get there but if it would work we would LOVE to spend the day at the zoo with you guys or even just meet for lunch or dinner or something. Otherwise then we are heading up to Seattle and then going the coast all the way home. I don't know if there is anywhere on the coast on our way back that is close to you that we could meet but you would know better than I. I am sorry that we won't be going through Salem but that is just how it is working out. But hopefully maybe we can work something out and maybe some of the other OR divas that maybe live nearby could meet up with us as well if we do a portland day??? I am not sure where Carol or some of the others live. Are they in northern or southern OR??

Anyway I am going to start a TR for that trip too so you can check out our itinerary.

 

[purplecrush]

Hi! Sorry a little off topic, but I didnt realize how many people on here lived in Oregon lol..I live in Portland myself Sorry...now OT....

Im SOOO sorry you had a horrible time at DL at Christmas time!! Its supposed to be a magical time for all :/ As living in Oregon, and it raining 90% of the time, I STILL hate being wet!! Oregonians ARE waterproof, but NOT me!!! So, I would be miserable too!!


Im so glad that you get another Do-Over. Even though the Christmas stuff is gone, You'll be at DISNEYLAND!!! Here's to a good time!!

 

[kelmac284]

Thanks!! Yeah I used to live in Vancouver myself. I actually loved it up there and had to come back to CA where I was born and raised after a nasty divorce (my family is here). I then got remarried and had my girls and have been pretty much stuck here ever since.

When I first moved up north I lived in Arlington and then Marysville WA and that first year it was pretty miserable. That constant grey and in the winter getting dark at 4 and not getting light till 9 a.m. and it never really getting lighter than dusk all day. BLECH. I will never forget my first 4th of July and it being 40 degrees and raining LOL.

But then the next year we moved down to Vancouver and I worked in Portland (Koin Tower) and then a bldg next to the Trade Center. I loved it and sure it rained but not as bad as Seattle and there were sun breaks. So I didn't mind it as much.

Thanks for the good luck on the do-over!! We are really excited!

 

[DizNee Luver]

We will meet you at the zoo for sure!!!! Just let me know the day & I'll make sure Mike takes that day off. We're about 45 mins from Portland depending on traffic........easy for us to come up there & the kids would love going to the zoo!!!!

 

[kaoden39]

Yay for the new trip Kelly!! And I am glad to see you on here!!

 

[kelmac284]

Ok this is REALLY weird I typed out this WHOLE trip report in the CA and the west section about our other trip and it is not there????? That really ticks me off cuz now I have to redo it! GRRRRR anyway Laurie that is really exciting! I am so glad that you will be able to meet us!!! I was hoping you would and it will be so fun!

I am going to go try and reinvent my other report but just to give you an idea we are leaving on July 17th and staying that night at Crater Lake and then the 18th at Hood River so we should be to Portland on the 19th. But we will be leaving Hood River that morning so prob won't be to Portland till that afternoon. So we will prob do the zoo on the 20th. It is all still tentative but I am not sure if we are planning to start heading towards Seattle that night or going to stay in Vancouver again that night but I think it really depends on how much we get done on the 19th and 20th. But that is our tentative sched for now.

I don't know if there are any other divas that live in that area that we could see if they wanted to join us. Do you know off hand? Where does Carol live? Is she in the south? I wasn't sure. I know there are some other newer gals like Cathy and a few others but since we have never actually met I wasn't sure if they would feel comfortable meeting us or not but you may know better than I.

But even if it's just us that would be so fun!!!

Hi michelle!!! That is awesome about your trip as well! You will have a blast! Too bad you won't be able to hook up with Laurie but I am sure we will all meet up again one of these days!

Anyway I guess I will go redo my other thread LOL

 

[kelmac284]

Well my dh keeps getting laid off and to be honest had I not already booked and paid for this trip and had it not been non-ref I probably would be cancelling but honestly I am kind of glad it IS non-refundable because as much as I KNOW we prob shouldn't be going right now I feel like this is the ONLY positive thing I have to look forward to and the only good thing that is keeping me going when everything else is looking so bleak right now.

I am really torn too because the sensible side of me says we have NO business going on a trip when we are really struggling right now but I am hoping by then things will be better and I KNOW I will need to get away by then. Right now things are so tight we pretty much can't go anywhere or do anything! We just celebrated our 12th anniversary and were unable to do anything and we NEVER go anywhere anymore. We used to go out to eat a few times a week and now IF we go out at all it is once a week for a cheapie burger ONLY because my kids have soccer on Friday nights and we get out so late it is WAY too late to go home and cook so we grab a gut bomb on the way home.

I can't even remember the last movie we went to and it is really getting depressing. We even had to scale back our cable because when we got it a year ago we were lied to and it nearly doubled in price and we can't afford that so now we are still paying a lot more than we can afford and now we just have basically network tv. (we are stuck with it though till next december ) So although we probably should NOT still be doing this I am not cancelling this trip because A I would lose our money and B I know that by June I am going to NEED this trip!

We are not going to be doing any of the meals though except prob the WOC and I am debating about now maybe just doing the picnics to get the fp's since it's cheaper. I don't want to have to mess with trying to get the reg fp's so since we have until April to make our ressie I will wait and see what our finances are like and we will make our final decision at that point but all the rest of the meals are out. We will be sticking to counter service and eating outside the park.

It sucks because I was really hoping to have a nice experience to make up for Dec but just being able to go is worth it and I know we will still have a good time. And luckily my mom is paying for our trip later in the summer so I still have THAT to look forward to at least so I am grateful for that too!

Anyway so that is my update and hopefully next time I update I will have better news.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Hang in there Kelly....... you've had a rough go of it, but things will turn around......just have to continue to be patient. I only give you that advise, because we've been there.....we went thru an entire year of it. The year prior to that, Mike lost a $23/hr job & went to unemployment for 3 months & ended up taking a minimum wage job. Wasn't sure we'd make it.....but we did & things did eventually turn around.

Don't feel bad about the trip.......it's something that will keep all of you going. Something to look forward to, makes getting up out of bed, even on the worse days, worthwhile.

Love ya & keeping your family in my prayers!!

 

[kelmac284]

Thanks Laurie. Honestly at this point I would tell him to take a lesser job that was more steady if we wouldn't lose our health ins but with all my medical issues I can't afford to not have it and lately as you know Katy has seemed to have quite a few issues so we really needed it. We would REALLY have been in a world of hurt had we not had any so if for nothing else we have to stick with this crappy job for that. And the ONLY other good thing is he has a company truck so when he DOES work at least he is not paying for gas on top of everything else but it is tough cuz my parents are giving us sub par rent and paying for part of our utilities to help us out cuz the house we are renting from them is REALLY bad on wasting power and has super big bills so we can't afford them on our own. Thank GOD for my parents is all I can say or we literally would have been on the streets!

And you are right even though I feel guilty as hell for even GOING on this trip when we should be stocking away every penny right now I NEED to get away. We are driving down and our room and tickets are paid for already so we just will have to keep the food costs down and we will still have fun and we really NEED something to look forward to. I feel so bad right now cuz we were going to let shelby have a birthday party but I think that is out now. We were going to buy her a new bike as she deserpartely need ones (still has a little kids bike) but I think that is going to have to wait too But things have to be done. When our cable contract is up in Dec I think I am going to go back to comcast and just get the bare minimum 15 a month for just basically an antennae to watch the local channels. That is all we watch anyway and we don't have a house phone just our cells. Can't do much about that bill as we just switched and our locked into a 2 year contract BUT we got it down from what it was with Verizon a bit.

I really wanted to get a better car but mine is paid for so won't be doing that any time soon. Stuff like that.

And I am SO thankful that mom is taking us on the trip in July!!! I am SO looking forward to getting away and seeing the beautiful OR and WA coast and esp getting to see you guys!!! I hate to say it but I am almost looking more forward to that then to Disney

We WERE planning on doing a cruise and then switched to going to their timeshare next Feb but I have a feeling that is prob out even if mom DOES pay for most of it so who knows maybe I WILL be able to go on the ladies trip next year now. That is def a lot cheaper then going anywhere else. Heck maybe we can be roommates next year!

Anyway thanks for being my friend and understanding and I am so happy for you getting to go and you are going to have a GREAT time! Can't wait to see all your pics and you SO deserve it! That AND your time with Mike for your anniv!!!

Talk soon and so excited for you!!

 

[kelmac284]

Well I kept telling myself thing HAD to get better but my dh got laid off YET again and things are getting REALLY ugly. We have had to majorly dig into our VERY meager savings to pay our bills and a few more weeks of this and there will be nothing left! My dh literally has to be off work 5 days straight with NO unemployment before he can FILE for more and that means NO money coming in on top of the fact that we have had none coming in anyway so we are just not doing well and I think I am going to have to bite the bullet and cancel this trip.

When I said it was non-refundable I meant I would lose over half of what I paid so to me that is basically non-refundable cuz that was not really an option to lose almost 1000 bucks. But now it is better to GAIN the other 1000 and not have to spend any MORE that we DON'T have sooo I think tomorrow I will be cancelling this trip.

You have NO idea how upset this makes me. Not only am I missing the diva trip which I am so bummed about but now I don't even have THIS to look forward to.

I KNOW there are worse things in life and at least (for now) we have a roof over our head and my kids are still healthy so I am thankful for that but things are looking pretty grim when soon I am going to have to think about getting assistance to buy food!

I can't even believe it has come to this and I am so bummed right now I can't even breathe. Thanks to those that have looked in on this report but unfortunately it won't be happening.

 

[kaoden39]

Kathy I have been there. I am so sorry.

 

[kelmac284]

Thanks michelle!

 

[daisy_77]

Kelly I am really sorry your plans are going to have to change. I've been a rough few years for me as well. Stay faithful and have trust that things will get better. You and your husband are strong people and have gotten through a lot together, you'll get through this as well. Your family will be in my prayers.

Miss you!

 

[kelmac284]

Thanks January!! I miss you too and I hope that I get to see you on a future Diva trip! Love ya!!

 

[kelmac284]

Well I am soo excited and happy to say that I am able to revive this thread!!!

I certainly didn't think this was even possible but since I last wrote dh finally got all his UE sorted out and he is back to work and the best news is we had some other financial stuff work out for us and we got some money that we had been expecting for a LONG time but didn't think we would EVER get so between ALL those things and then ironically I got an email from Disney advertising big discounts on the Disney properties and all that together I decided we need to go!

I was SO depressed about not being able to go and eventhough mom wasn't going to budge on our trip in July it was just NOT the same. I kept hearing about others going and I SO wanted to go! I know it is not like I haven't been a million times but I just NEEDED to get away and I love it there so much and it truly is my happy place where I can go and forget about all the stresses of life and just be a kid and have a great time!

So I was so happy when everything fell into place and we were able to rebook the trip!

We are now driving down on the Sunday after the girls get out and skipping the whole first part of our trip and going straight to DL. We are staying at PP and not going to be doing nearly as many fancy meals and such to save money. The only ones we are going to do is lunch at CC, the bbq and perhaps a character breakfast. Otherwise it is going to be fairly budget but we are REALLY excited. And we are going to take half of one day and go visit some friends that are closer to the parks and I am hoping to see some Dis friends as well.

I can make my priority seatings in another week or so so I really have to sit and think about what I want to do because I forgot about Grad night and such but I think that is prob the day we will go see our friends.

Anyway just wanted to share because I am so happy to re-open this thread!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Woo Hoo......so Happy for you Kelly!!!

 

[kelmac284]

Thanks Laurie!! Gosh you don't realize how bummed you get when you have to cancel something! Sheesh! I don't even think it was so much "Disney" persay but it was just the fact that because our December trip was such a wash out and then that everything was SO flippin grim with Shane being out of work and us not even being able to rent a stupid movie for so long. You just feel so dang trapped in your own home when you are strapped for money (and I KNOW you know what I am talking about ) I just so needed to just get AWAY and forget about everything and there is just something about going there that makes me SO happy and forget about all the BS ya know!

Anyway now I just have to finagle what we can actually DO and work around the stupid grad night! BOO! I hate that the close the parks so dang early!! But I am hoping that we can use THAT day to go see our friends!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Cancelling Disney trips are the worse. There's something about escaping reality & going to a very happy place that gives us hope during the ruts & bumps of everyday living. I hope we don't have to cancel our holiday trip. Just not sure where we're going to come up with any extra money to put towards it. I've been trimming everything I could think of & we still just don't have a lot of extra money afterwards.......but I'm not giving up!!!

I'm glad you're going again....even with a more budgeted trip......it's still a Disney trip!!!!