To Go or Not to Go, That is the Question... updated 1/15

[allison8033]

Hi everyone, this is my first PTR! I've planned to do them in the past but never got around to it. I'm mostly a lurker on the boards, but I've learned so much here that I decided to make the time to do the report for this trip!

We're headed to the World in 92 days!

Our Backstory:

Who we are- I’m (Allison) 41 and a high school teacher. DH (Ian) is 40. Two kids, DS Alex is 9, and DD Jane will turn 7 just before we leave. My sister and brother are also coming with us. My sister N is 36, and brother B is 34. Both are single, so traveling with kids is always fun for them.... N is a big Disney fan, and B hates heat, crowds and theme parks, but he loves his niece and nephew! We've gone twice with the kids in '14 and '16, my sister went on both trips with us, but B's first trip since childhood was in '16.

Here's my trip history in case anyone is curious:

1981- off site
1989-‘91 two off site family trips
1997- All Star Music-college spring break trip with friends
1999- Millennium Cruise, Magic (Poly & Contemporary)
2000- starter marriage honeymoon - Boardwalk
2007- honeymoon & grad school celebration, Poly (AKL res cancelled due to renovations )
2014- first trip with kids! Off site at Windsor Hills
2016- Off site at Indian Creek
April 2018- off site at Emerald Island

Alex and Jane have serious and life threatening food allergies. No one in my family or DH's has ever had a food allergy, but here we are.

We are (contact too) ana to egg, peanut, and tree nuts. We used to strictly avoid anyone in the party having unsafe food, but now that the kids are older we've relaxed a bit. We always make sure one parent has safe food, but the other adults have more flexibility. This is why we've always stayed off-site with the kids; we like having a full kitchen! It makes things easier with the allergies and the fact that Alex is a picky eater. Having done the DDP in the past I found that I just get sick of restaurants so having the kitchen is a big deal, and getting one on Disney property is just not in our budget.

I've also learned that having the extra space just suits the way our family interacts and travels. I'm sure that we'll stay on property in future trips, but renting a house works for us right now. I also have severe psoriasis, so I'm that person you see sweating through the parks in August in long sleeves and jeans... so I really like having the private pool. I've braved my fears and gone to hotel pools and the water parks in the past, but people always stare and there's always comments, so I appreciate the privacy of having a pool at the rental.

To go or not to go, part 1:

We live in New England, and it's a life goal for me to get to Disney every two years. We had very tentatively planned on April 2018, but as we got closer to when we should be making actual plans we just....didn't. Lots going on in the lives of the adults, finances, you know. Meh.

At Christmas N finally said "Are we going or not? If we're going I need to book vacation time." We browsed airfare and found nothing good. We usually fly out of Albany NY to Tampa. I kind of like the drive from Tampa, and I REALLY like the less crowded airport, but we weren't finding anything affordable. We like to stick with Southwest because we feel safe with them, but nada, unless we wanted a 3 hour flight to morph into 20 hours with layovers in random places not on the reasonable flight path from New England, like Chicago. I was feeling discouraged.

I'm kind of limited as to what days I can take out of work. I have 2 personal days and that's it. As a teacher, the rest of the time needs to come on a school vacation. And it's first-come, first-serve in my district for days off next to a school vacation. AND they limit the number of teachers who can take one of those days. People get around it by calling in "sick" but I feel like that's just asking the Universe to make you sick for real, you know? I'm absolutely ok with taking my kids out school, because family comes first, but I also need a paycheck...

We debated flights for a couple of days. I hate to fly so I want to get there and back as quickly as possible. It was all complicated by Friday the 13th, which is the start of school vacation for us. I'm one of THOSE people. I try not to leave the house on Friday the 13th. Flying was out of the question. But then I thought, what if I am too afraid to book on the 13th and the plane crashes on the 14th? What if I decide to tough it out and we crash on the 13th. It would be totally my fault.

Irrational, I know, but that's how my brain works. I could feel N rolling her eyes at me via text. I could see Ian rolling his eyes at me from across the room. I had to make some choices...

 

[BriLovesDisney]

Following! I love PTR and Trip reports. Can't wait for more

 

[allison8033]

Is the Trip for Real Yet??

So, we have decided we want to go, but we need to get to Florida. I’d rather drive, but we just don’t have that much time, unless we wanted to drive straight through without stopping. And that’s just not going to happen.

Just after Christmas we were stuck inside due to the sub zero wind chill, so N and I spent a LOT of time looking for flights. The prices, combined with multiple stops and looong layovers were just not looking good. We even started looking as Boston and other airports a much longer drive from home.

Finally N managed to find a flight out of Albany for 4/16. I’m not going all that way for less than a week, so that would have us flying home after vacation was over. Missing days after a school vacation is more of a challenge for work. I’d rather miss the days before, and come back on Saturday so I have a day to re-adjust to reality before heading black to work, but it’s clear I’m not going to find that this trip. So we decided on final dates, Albany to Tampa on 4/16, and home again on 4/23. We haven’t bought the tickets yet- waiting for Southwest rewards points to clear, but that purchase will be made soon.

Now, where are we going to stay?

I checked prices on property, as I always do, but that math just does not support my budget, so back to HomeAway I went.

Most places were booked, so I expanded my search. I sent an inquiry to the Indian Creek main website, which worked out really well in ‘16, but I didn’t get any responses. I finally found a rental in Emerald Island that had a lot of good reviews, and an owner that responded to my many emails within minutes. I booked it! Money has now been spent. We are going for real!!

Next I ordered 7 day park hoppers thru Undercover Tourist. Then back to all the Disney sites I follow leading up to trips. I’d kind of been avoiding them because they make me a little too sad when I don’t have a trip planned! I got my password reset where I needed to , and got the newest Unofficial Guide for my Kindle. I updated MDE on my phone, then got a countdown app. It said 105 days.

Woah. That’s by far the closest I’ve ever booked a trip. Will we be eating sandwiches in the parking lot?? Next update will be all about the ADRs, and the next big question: will we tell the kids?

 

[allison8033]

More plans....

I had all sorts of good intentions to keep updating this PTR, but you know, life. My daughter had the flu, my husband had kidney stones, and we lost my dear sweet kitty at the age of 17. Disney got put to the back burner for a bit, but I'm getting back into planning mode.

As of today we've got 59 days!

On Tuesday night we finally booked our airfare. We're flying into Tampa instead of MCO because from our home airport its a bit cheaper and easier to find non-stop flights. I hate to fly so non-stop is always a plus for me. We have been watching the prices and they were going down a but, but in the end I think we waited a bit too long, and in the end I only had enough SW miles for two tickets and not the 3 I expected, but it could be worse.

Our ADRs currently:

Whispering Canyon dinner on arrival day, 4/16
Sanaa anniversary dinner (our 14th wedding anniversary!) on 4/17
50s Primetime Dinner 4/19
BOG lunch 4/21
Chef Mickey's Dinner 4/22 (probably dropping this one)

We don't like doing too many TS meals because of food allergies, getting sick of restaurants, and the time spent, so I'm pretty happy with what we've got. I'm hoping to check out Satuli and am consdering trying an ADR for Skipper Canteen too.

I ordered Magic Bands from the Shop the Parks app, totally splurged on the Figment Limited Edition one for myself. As the trip planner, I'm totally entitled, right?!

All the tickets have arrived and are linked to our bands. Now I'm just waiting to hit 30 days for our FP! Next update will hopefully be next week, with some talk about luggage and packing. Stay tuned!

 

[mdsouth]

Hi, I am joining in to follow your planning.
I, too am a teacher. I teach eighth grade Social Studies, so I totally understand your dilemma on when to go and for how long.

 

[PirateFish989]

Just started reading but I’m a high school teacher, too, so I get the vacation thing. I’m currently planning my wedding and our honeymoon to Disney World and I’ve always wanted to get married in the fall but there is no way I could take so much time off of work, so June it is!

Can’t wait to read more!