jjpenguin
<font color=red>A penguin with mouse ears & wooden
- Joined
- Sep 26, 1999
- Messages
- 3,308
The best laid plans of mice and men
.
I think we committed sacrilige last year when, during our trip at WDW, we were not planning our next trip, but emphatically stating that we would not go to WDW in 2008!
Weve been together 11 years now and have been to Disney (WDW or DLP) every year but one, sometimes twice in a year. 
Were DVC owners and WDW is definitely our home away from home, a great place to relax and have fun. We have also been on other vacations but especially the last few years finances and work related stress have just had us wanting to have a nice, chilled out vacation, and where better to do that than at WDW.
So, having said that what happened in 2008
. DH decided would give himself a deadline for his self-employment and if it still wasnt working he would get a job.
in February our house was burgled
. in April I quit my job:It was soooooooo boring that I decided life was too short to spend 90% of my time wishing I was somewhere else
.. in May DH got a job, he was really looking forward to it but up till now it still hasnt turned out to be what he expected and what was promised
Luckily the benefits are excellent with 43 vacation days! 
In July we finally decided to start planning where we were going to go on holiday and decided on New England. I got into super planning mode and really had fun with it. We looked to see if we could do a DVC exchange as I still had some points I needed to use but of course at that late date nothing was possible, which was a pity as NE was pretty expensive.
Because of that we decided to go very late as the high season runs till September up there.
I had everything sorted out, and had sent out mails to B&Bs to get reservations when I found a puddle in the bathroom!
We dont have kids or pets so that meant one thing: a leak in the roof!! 
Turned out the previous owners had just put bin-liner foil in instead of decent weatherproofing, so that would have to be done
and suddenly £1000 of our holiday budget disappeared 
!!
And thats when DH said the famous words: Oh well, we can always go on a cheapo holiday to WDW again this year. O how I love my DH and my DVC!
Cheap does not neccesarily mean frugal .
A week later, NE was cancelled, DVC had been called, flights had been booked and a ticker made. Were in a 1BR at Saratoga Springs, Ive stayed there but DH hasnt.
I still have an AP for next year for the first week, and with great foresight I got 2 park tickets last trip (May 2007) as I knew prices would only go up and we would go back sometime ..
When I booked with DVC I made one ADR at California Grill. Then I started researching what other ADRs we wanted, but made sure I had a long list because of the horror stories that nothing would be available due to free dining.
This is going to be a cheapo trip but I still wanted to do a couple of special things. The Food and Wine Festival events were beginning to be announced, there isnt much in the first couple of weeks but there is an event called Sweet Sundays . DH has a sweet tooth
(as does JJ!) so I thought that would be ideal.
I also was thinking about a Segway tour but decided to do somethng less strenuous instead: Lunch with an Imagineer!
I called on 22nd August when they started taking bookings for F&W events and got both requests, as well as breakfast at Ohana Yay Stitch
! and lunch at Fultons (have to use that DVC discount.... 
) The only ressie I couldnt get was Yak and Yeti on one of the evenings that AK has EMH, but I reckon Y&Y will still be there next time
Cause its a cheapo trip Im trying Garden Grocer for the first time. Im planning to have breakfast in the room every day (except for the one at Ohana), and having a couple of easy meals some evenings. Theyre also delivering drinks, snacks and beer.
So for the last couple of weeks Ive been throwing things into a suitcase, grabbing a couple of pairs of shorts in the sale, sorting through my pins, listening to podcasts non-stop and generally getting all hyped up .
Aruna, your roof leaks, what are you going to do now .. Im going to Disney World!!
I think we committed sacrilige last year when, during our trip at WDW, we were not planning our next trip, but emphatically stating that we would not go to WDW in 2008!
Weve been together 11 years now and have been to Disney (WDW or DLP) every year but one, sometimes twice in a year. Were DVC owners and WDW is definitely our home away from home, a great place to relax and have fun. We have also been on other vacations but especially the last few years finances and work related stress have just had us wanting to have a nice, chilled out vacation, and where better to do that than at WDW.
So, having said that what happened in 2008
. DH decided would give himself a deadline for his self-employment and if it still wasnt working he would get a job.
in February our house was burgled
. in April I quit my job:It was soooooooo boring that I decided life was too short to spend 90% of my time wishing I was somewhere else
.. in May DH got a job, he was really looking forward to it but up till now it still hasnt turned out to be what he expected and what was promised
Luckily the benefits are excellent with 43 vacation days! In July we finally decided to start planning where we were going to go on holiday and decided on New England. I got into super planning mode and really had fun with it. We looked to see if we could do a DVC exchange as I still had some points I needed to use but of course at that late date nothing was possible, which was a pity as NE was pretty expensive.
Because of that we decided to go very late as the high season runs till September up there. I had everything sorted out, and had sent out mails to B&Bs to get reservations when I found a puddle in the bathroom!
We dont have kids or pets so that meant one thing: a leak in the roof!! Turned out the previous owners had just put bin-liner foil in instead of decent weatherproofing, so that would have to be done
and suddenly £1000 of our holiday budget disappeared !!And thats when DH said the famous words: Oh well, we can always go on a cheapo holiday to WDW again this year. O how I love my DH and my DVC!
Cheap does not neccesarily mean frugal .
A week later, NE was cancelled, DVC had been called, flights had been booked and a ticker made. Were in a 1BR at Saratoga Springs, Ive stayed there but DH hasnt.
I still have an AP for next year for the first week, and with great foresight I got 2 park tickets last trip (May 2007) as I knew prices would only go up and we would go back sometime ..
When I booked with DVC I made one ADR at California Grill. Then I started researching what other ADRs we wanted, but made sure I had a long list because of the horror stories that nothing would be available due to free dining.
This is going to be a cheapo trip but I still wanted to do a couple of special things. The Food and Wine Festival events were beginning to be announced, there isnt much in the first couple of weeks but there is an event called Sweet Sundays . DH has a sweet tooth
(as does JJ!) so I thought that would be ideal. I also was thinking about a Segway tour but decided to do somethng less strenuous instead: Lunch with an Imagineer!
I called on 22nd August when they started taking bookings for F&W events and got both requests, as well as breakfast at Ohana Yay Stitch
! and lunch at Fultons (have to use that DVC discount.... ) The only ressie I couldnt get was Yak and Yeti on one of the evenings that AK has EMH, but I reckon Y&Y will still be there next time
Cause its a cheapo trip Im trying Garden Grocer for the first time. Im planning to have breakfast in the room every day (except for the one at Ohana), and having a couple of easy meals some evenings. Theyre also delivering drinks, snacks and beer.
So for the last couple of weeks Ive been throwing things into a suitcase, grabbing a couple of pairs of shorts in the sale, sorting through my pins, listening to podcasts non-stop and generally getting all hyped up .
Aruna, your roof leaks, what are you going to do now .. Im going to Disney World!!
Can't wait to hear all about it when you get back. 
