The Only Thing Certain Is Uncertainty. A PTR for September 2012.

[TandLMommy28]

There are serious negatives to beginning to plan a trip 18 months in advance. Now that I am sitting here at 13 months to go, I am laughing at how much our plans have changed in the past five months. And I am guessing 13 months from now, when we are actually experiencing this endeavor, I will laugh even more about how many changes are still to come.

In review, here are all the changes we have so far experienced:

1. We invited my parents to join us. The plan was a Cars studio at the new AoA.

2. The prices for AoA came out and I nearly fainted at the crazy, crazy prices they want for a "value" resort. So we said "No way!" to that and decided to return to our first love, Port Orleans. A royal room for us, a regular room for my parents.

3. I decided "bigger is better" and that 10 days at Pop would be better than 6 days at POR.

4. I was tempted by the idea of renting points and staying at BLT in a studio. Loved the idea of being that close to the action and having a studio rather than a hotel room.

5. Parents came to visit and Dad's alcoholism was at its worst, ever. Decided he could NOT come along on this trip and ruin everything with his horrifying behavior.

6. Just for fun I looked up prices for a Disney cruise and was pleasantly surprised at the prices. Invited my aunt and uncle to come along as well.

7. Decided to cruise and then surprise the kids with a few days at WDW post-cruise.

8. Discovered landsickness and decided to switch our WDW trip to pre-cruise.

9. Disney jacked up the price of our cruise before I could book it so we decided to switch and try Carnival instead. Savings on comparable stateroom: $1500 for 4 of us, plus about $500 for my parents and $500 for my aunt and uncle. Heard that you gotta book DCL the DAY the new cruise dates are released. So we are playing with the idea of 2013.

10. Where are we now? Hahahaha.

Looking at Sunday to Thursday at WDW at Pop. Hoping for free dining, as it will be September.

Cruising to Nassau and Half Moon Cay with Carnival. Parents and aunt and uncle joining us for this part. Dad is seeing a doctor about his drinking problem. Hoping that helps. 4 night cruise.

Two nights post-cruise at WDW to avoid feeling landsickness on the drive home (I get severe motion sickness AFTER a long car ride, not during it, so landsickness seems probable for me).

For the two nights post-cruise, I have crunched the numbers every way possible and *IF* I can get a 40% off code for those dates, our most affordable option will be to stay Club Level at Wilderness Lodge in a suite that sleeps six, splitting the cost with my parents. It seems crazy that CL would be the most affordable route in any scenario but by my calculations, with 40% we could stay two nights at WL in a CL suite for $850. Splitting that between us is $425 for our share. Because we'll have done 5 days of DDP and then a 4 night cruise with tons of food, I have a feeling by this leg of the trip we will be light eaters and the offerings at CL will be more than enough for our overly full bellies. We might grab a quick bite here or there but not much. So we won't have very much OOP for that part of the trip. And of course, we'll buy two extra days on the tickets from pre-cruise so we can use them post-cruise, saving even more money. On the two days post-crusie, we are sticking to MK and also doing MNSSHP (assuming it's offered on Tuesday again in 2012).

So as it stands now:
9/16-9/20 at Pop Century (fingers crossed for free dining!)
9/20-9/24 on Carnival Ecstasy with extended family
9/24-9/26 at Wilderness Lodge, Club Level (fingers crossed for 40% off, otherwise we will go back to Pop... the goal of this part of the trip is to be CHEAP!). AUnt and Uncle going home. Parents staying and sharing a suite with us if that is an option.

Of course, I will probably laugh greatly at THIS plan in another month or so. Sigh. I can't wait for late 2012 discounts to start rolling out because once I start booking, we won't change things so stinking much!!!!

 

[Melora]

My trip is in a year so I know how it is to plan so far in advnce!
Keep the updates coming!

 

[TandLMommy28]

My trip is in a year so I know how it is to plan so far in advnce!
Keep the updates coming!

I'm glad I'm not the only one.

I think I have to give up the surprise aspect. My little guy asked me tonight when we are going on the "Andy's Bedroom Boat" (Disney Dream, in three year old language!). I had to tell him that we were going to go on "just a regular boat". His eyes filled up with tears. Not spoiled brat tears. Just tears of a 3 year old boy who was so sure he was going to be playing in Andy's bedroom. Shame on me for telling him this far ahead.

Anyway, I had to tell him that the regular boat costs a lot less dollars. He's pretty into how much things cost so that made sense to him. I told him that we'll have so many dollars leftover from going on the regular boat that we can go to Disney World! His face brightened and he said "A regular boat AND Disney World? I like that!"

So I'm thinking surprising the kids is shot. Oh well. It's way too hard to not talk about it in front of them!!!

 

[TandLMommy28]

Well there is one other certainty about this trip: I need to get in shape for it.

The ONLY downside to last year's trip was how much my feet ached at the end of each day. And my lower back, too. I've had issues with my lower back since my daughter was born and all that walking is killer!

So I decided that because it is now September and I am one year out, it would be a very good time to start getting in shape for Disney. I came up with a walking plan for myself that has me gradually moving from doing 1 mile at 3mph to doing 5 miles at 5mph. I know I'll never need to walk at a 5mph pace at WDW but I read that at 5mph, you burn just as many calories as you would jogging at 9mph. Jogging is out for me. I have tried and tried but my knees do not cooperate.

So, there you go. A steady 5mph pace for one hour is my goal. That should get my feet, legs, and lower back into fantastic pre-Disney shape.

My plan is a very slow one. After the first two months, I only plan to either increase my distance or speed but not both. I am only 30 (ugh, I have never said that before) but I know my body and I push it, I'll end up having an injury and having to quit.

Today was day 1. I just walked a mile at 3mph average but during lap 3 I slowly increased from 3mph to 4mph and back down to 3mph. By the end of September I will walk 1.75 miles at 3.5mph. Baby steps to keep my poor knees and back in the game!

I probably sound like an old lady or incredibly overweight but I am neither. I weigh about 155 pounds and am 5'5" so I'm a little chubby but not obese. I've just gotten really out of shape lately!!!!

 

[TandLMommy28]

Yesterday I couldn't take it anymore. I broke down a little.

I am trying to come up with a plan for this perfect vacation and it just got too big and too complicated and it was starting to edge towards too expensive, as well.

So I made a decision. And the decision was that I was NOT making any more decisions. I keep changing my mind, anyway and I'm making everyone crazy.

Instead, I made a list of all the possible options of things we could do when we head down to the Orlando area next fall. And I listed the approximate prices and I gave it to my husband. Some of them weren't exact but were for comparison sake (the cost of 10 nights at Pop vs. 5 nights at POR, for example). I told him we could do any one or any combination as long as the total for what he picked fell within my budget.

Here's a list of the options I gave him (longer WDW stays were for not doing a cruise, shorter stays were to group with a cruise):

• 1. 4 Night Carnival Cruise
  
• 2. 4 Night Disney Cruise
  
• 3. 3 Night Disney Cruise
  
• 4. 2 Nights at Cocoa Beach/Visit Kennedy Space Center
  
• 5. 1 Night in Atlanta/Visit World of Coke
  
• 6. 10 Nights at Pop (Hope for free dining)
  
• 7. 5 Nights at Pop (Hope for free dining)
  
• 8. 2 Nights at Wilderness Lodge (hope for 40% off and use this only as a post-cruise option)
  
• 9. 5 Nights at POR for Home school days (Hope for a % off)
  
• 10. 10 Nights at POR for HOme School days (hope for a % off)

His choices were actually not AT ALL what I expected!!!

 

[TandLMommy28]

So what did he pick? I can't believe it but he said he wants to put off cruising for one more year. We've heard that you can get a better price on Disney Cruises if you book the day new sailings are announced. Neither of us wants to pay more for something than we have to, so we're going to shoot for a 2013 cruise. Yea! When we sat down and really talked, we both admitted that we just couldn't get excited about a non-Disney cruise.


So, he decided he wants to stop in Atlanta and visit World of Coke. I am so excited. Do you know how many times I've been to Atlanta? COUNTLESS TIMES. Do you know how many times I've been to World of Coke? ZERO. It's a lifelong dream. Maybe that's dumb. But I love Coca-cola. So excited to finally be going there. Looking into staying at the hotel that overlooks Centennial Park.

Next, he picked an option that was actually intended for post-cruise, so we wouldn't have to drive straight home. He chose 2 nights at Cocoa Beach and visiting Kennedy Space Center. I was a little surprised but he is SO EXCITED about this. I've never been and I'm always up for something new. Plus, I love the idea of actually spending a few days at the beach in Florida. I actually think 2 nights isn't enough and may ask if he'd rather do three nights. I think I'd like to have one whole beach day and one day for the space center. We'll see.

ANd finally, he decided he wants 8 days at Port Orleans Riverside. We debated back and forth between French Quarter and Riverside but when we are honest with ourselves, as much as we loved POFQ, we always went to POR to eat so we might as well just stay there!

He said he chose 8 nights even though that wasn't one of the choices because 5 days isn't long enough but he thought that 10 days was excessive. You have to understand that this a man who didn't even WANT to go to Disney World last year. The fact that he is choosing to go back at all, and wants to go more than 5 nights is a miracle. Eight nights of willing participation in all things Disney is fabulous. I can accept that ten nights is exceesive to him. And I'm pretty psyched about swapping those two nights for two nights at the beach, anyway.

He also said he wants to go during Home School Days. He thinks it would be a great experience for the kids. This means that we are likely looking for a a good room discount at Port Orleans Riverside rather than free dining, since we will be buying tickets through YES.

He also said that whether we do a regular room or a Royal Room is up to me. I think we will do it. It's just too cool to pass up.

I feel pretty good about this plan. And I feel really, really good that he is the one who made the final decision. That means I don't have to worry about the cost or if he really wants to be doing any of the stuff I plan. He works crazy hard so that I can stay home and home school the kids. This needs to be a vacation that he enjoys as much as I do. Now I can just do what I'm good at--researching, working out the details, and getting the best price.