UPDATE 7/16 TR Link Posted! The "I-Must-Be-Crazy" PTR - July 2012

[Simba22]

Well, we're not exactly down to the wire but we are inching our way closer to our trip and I am having mild panic attacks every few days.

If you recall, since I booked our forms at OKW through, a DVC member, I had to pay up front.

Both my brother and my sister owe me money for their rooms.
We still have not purchased our park tickets.
We still have not purchased airfare.

When Lumar and I go to WDW, this stuff is done before March and we don't normally go to until October. So approximately 7 months out. Which means that for July, we should have it all done in January (which is now).

I'm hoping that income tax season is beneficial to my siblings...

In other news, I finally got my 2012 Passporter! And as a special gift to myself, The Complete WDW 2012 I love that book and it may seem silly but I buy it every year and read it cover to cover at work!

Which, BTW, I only have 27 more working days! I know it seems strange to be excited about getting laid off, but since we're all but done with everything it's really just boring. And I feel like this is my opportunity to do something I love, instead of just finding "another job", you know? I'm really just ready for this chapter to end and a new one to begin.

Oh and in 167 days, we'll be winding our way through EMH at DHS!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Yay for getting your Passporter!!! It's always fun to read about everything (again and again ) and get excited!!

 

[KatMark]

Have you asked when they will pay you? I'd be a little psycho too. Glad you got your Passporter. 2 days and I'll be at OKW. I will take lots of pictures for you.

 

[Simba22]

Yay for getting your Passporter!!! It's always fun to read about everything (again and again ) and get excited!!

I mean, it really is the same information every year (with the exception of when attractions change, etc) but it is so much fun to read and it really helps to pass the time until our trip!

Have you asked when they will pay you? I'd be a little psycho too. Glad you got your Passporter. 2 days and I'll be at OKW. I will take lots of pictures for you.

My brother has at least given me a little bit...he claims to be able to give me more this week but we'll see. My sister and her BF are waiting for their income tax checks but my sister didn't really work last year and her BF has only been working since November. So I don't really know how that is going to pan out. To be honest, I can wait for the money for the rooms...I already paid for it so it's a just matter of them paying me back. But I can't buy our park tickets and our airfare without being paid up front so I'm really just getting anxious about the situation.

And yes, please take lots of pics! I can't wait for our trip but I'm having trouble getting excited about OKW The OKW Lover's Thread is just seriously lacking in pics...it's not like the amazing CSR thread!

 

[Simba22]

I don't know why I was obsessing about this, but ever since I booked our ADRs originally on Jan 11, I was internally fretting about our dinner ADR at Rose & Crown.

Lumar and I ate there for lunch in 2010 and LOVED it, and for some reason I was anxious about doing dinner this year instead of lunch.

So I called WDW Dining today and changed it to a 1:20pm lunch ADR, and cancelled our dinner reservation.

I was kind of justifying my crazy by telling myself "it will be July, it will be hot, and people will want a break." In reality, that's just a bonus I just feel so much better about going there for lunch.

So we have a 164 days to go and I think I'm finally OK with all of our ADRs and our park schedule!

Now if I could just start packing.... What do you think? Too soon?

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

I've only been to Rose & Crown for lunch, actually. It's a great mid-day break, I really enjoy stopping at the World Showcase restaurants for lunch.

 

[Nermel9]

Oooh, the complete WDW 2012 is out? I might have to take a trip to Barnes and Noble today...I got a Kindle Touch for Christmas, but I have to have the actual book of the Complete WDW, I need to see all the pictures!

Haha, I've eaten at Rose and Crown for dinner twice and it's fine! But I agree, taking a break in the middle of July is probably a good idea!

 

[Simba22]

I've only been to Rose & Crown for lunch, actually. It's a great mid-day break, I really enjoy stopping at the World Showcase restaurants for lunch.

We ate there for lunch in 2010 and it just didn't seem right to NOT do lunch again this year... I know it sounds weird but, it's just one of those weird OCD Disney people things!

Oooh, the complete WDW 2012 is out? I might have to take a trip to Barnes and Noble today...I got a Kindle Touch for Christmas, but I have to have the actual book of the Complete WDW, I need to see all the pictures!

Haha, I've eaten at Rose and Crown for dinner twice and it's fine! But I agree, taking a break in the middle of July is probably a good idea!

I totally know what you mean! We have a nook, but the Complete WDW just has to be a physical copy! I LOVE reading through it and looking at the pictures. The cover this year is so pretty!

Yeah, I keep using the mid-day break thing as my justification for being obsessive about eating there for lunch instead of dinner! I'm sure dinner is wonderful, but lunch just seems "right." I know, weird

 

[Simba22]

Well, they say that all good things must come to an end....

And today, Lumar got laid off from his job AGAIN!

We both worked for the same place and he got laid off in February 2011.
He finally found a new job in November 2011, and they laid him off this morning.

To be honest, he wasn't thrilled with the place...he liked the work but the company was kind of hard to work for...and the hours were killing him (12 hours days most of the time!) so he was planning to look for another job anyway. But he wanted to have another job lined up before he left this one. It just didn't work out that way...

What's scaring me is that I'm getting laid off in ONE MONTH. March 2nd will be my last day and we can't afford for both of us to be on unemployment.

So right now, I'm really kind of nervous about things. I really don't want to go back to a call center because I despise the job I have now....but I'll have to do what it takes to pay the bills I guess.


In lighter news....my cousin Toni texted me last night and we were discussing airfare. She and her fiance Josh will be flying to Orlando from Boston and she told me that there are two flights on July 9 and she didn't know which one to take. I told her to pick the one that arrives in Orlando at noon, because it will take at least an hour to get to OKW (not including the time it takes to get OFF the plane, then down to the B side, etc), and we have dinner reservations at 6 so I'm sure they will want to shower and everything.

I said that our flight (when I get around to booking it) lands at about 1pm so she can either just wait at the airport for us, or just head to OKW and wait for us there.

She said she would wait at the airport so we can all ride to OKW together, as it will be cheaper to share a shuttle or a town car....



I told her we get free transportation on DME and she replied with "WE DO??? WOW THAT'S AWESOME!!"

No one reads anything I send them!

I can't wait to show everyone how to do Disney World the RIGHT way!

 

[KatMark]

Ali, I'm so sorry to hear about Lumar's job. I wish he could have found something before the layoff. I will be sending lots of that he finds something quickly.

As for Rose & Crown, you would have been fine at dinner; we've done both, and both meals have always been very good.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Oh no! I'm sorry to hear about Lumar's job! I'll be sending good vibes your way that something works out quickly for him!!

 

[Simba22]

Ali, I'm so sorry to hear about Lumar's job. I wish he could have found something before the layoff. I will be sending lots of that he finds something quickly.

As for Rose & Crown, you would have been fine at dinner; we've done both, and both meals have always been very good.

Oh no! I'm sorry to hear about Lumar's job! I'll be sending good vibes your way that something works out quickly for him!!

Thanks, guys! It sucks but there's nothing we can do about it except stay positive. I have 4 weeks left of work myself so hopefully one of us can find something in that time.

I went to an interview on Tuesday at a Doggy Daycare and I was really excited for it...but it would have been a pay cut down to half of what I'm making now and the place was awful...it was like a Doggy Detention Center! There were no toys, no playing....just a lot of people yelling at the dogs whenever they even so much as barked. Not my kind of Doggy Daycare, and if I'm going to take a pay cut like that, I at least want to be having fun!

 

[Nermel9]

Ugh, I'm so sorry about Lumar's job, that's obnoxious! There is seriously like, nothing in CT right now! I hope you guys can find jobs soon! I wish I had a lot of money set aside so we could go into business together and start our own doggy daycare!

 

[Simba22]

Ugh, I'm so sorry about Lumar's job, that's obnoxious! There is seriously like, nothing in CT right now! I hope you guys can find jobs soon! I wish I had a lot of money set aside so we could go into business together and start our own doggy daycare!

Me too! I have a floor plan drawn out and everything for what I would want the place to look like! I was just so disappointed with that other place! And I found yesterday that my dad boards his dogs there!!

Lumar does have 3 leads so hopefully one of them will pan out. The problem is that he no longer has a company vehicle and we only have one car...so I'm not entirely sure how this is going to work out.... Maybe he'll find something that starts the first week of March and then I can drop him off in the mornings and pick him up in the afternoon....

 

[Simba22]

For the last several weeks, round-trip airfare from Hartford to Orlando was holding steady at $230 a person (about $240 after taxes, etc).

I've been checking the web faithfully every day to check for price drops and today when I logged in, I saw...

That the cost INCREASED about $280 per person!

I've never booked airfare for a summer trip, so I assumed that rates would drop as they always do when we book for an October trip...Not so much this time around!

I feel bad because now my brother, Mike, and my cousin Tommy, have to suffer with the increased rate as well, since they left it all up to me to handle...

But I decided to just go ahead and book it! I figure that if the rate goes down, Travelocity will credit me the price difference. But if it goes up anymore, we're stuck paying it. So after taxes and fees, it came up to $295 a person It's awful price when you compare it to the $200 Lumar and I usually spend to go in October...but it had to be booked and I'd rather do it now before it goes up any more.

So now I just need to book Magical Express and we're DONE!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Ugh, how annoying! Maybe the price will drop between now and your trip. Airfare does tend to fluctuate. Also remember that with the new TSA rules, the airfare prices look higher, but that's because all of the fees are included upfront, instead of added in later.

 

[Nermel9]

Airfare is terrible right now. I just bought our tickets for our May trip and they were about $265 each, which is insane, I hate spending more than $500 for plane tickets.

 

[Simba22]

Ugh, how annoying! Maybe the price will drop between now and your trip. Airfare does tend to fluctuate. Also remember that with the new TSA rules, the airfare prices look higher, but that's because all of the fees are included upfront, instead of added in later.

I feel like there are MORE fees now than there were back in 2010...like I just feel like in general the total rate is more expensive. But we also normally travel in October and not the Monday after 4th of July... so I'm sure that makes a big difference.

Airfare is terrible right now. I just bought our tickets for our May trip and they were about $265 each, which is insane, I hate spending more than $500 for plane tickets.

It's horrible...I am still suffering from Sticker Shock and it's been 24 hours lol
Lumar and I had enough rewards miles to get one ticket for free, but my poor brother and cousin get stuck paying $300 each. I feel terrible since I knew a week ago I should have booked it at $240 and I was being cheap by trying to wait for a better rate!

 

[KatMark]

I hear you on the airfare...it always goes down but doesn't seem to be. I'm not surprised since I just read that gas could be $5 a gallon by the end of the summer.

When I first started looking for our September trip, it was at about $236 a person; it is now up to $266 a person. I told Mark he had until the end of the week to tell me what time he wants to fly because I am BOOKING it before it goes up anymore.

 

[Simba22]

So I finally got my income tax refund last week and I was able to pay off what I owed for our room reservation, plus my airfare, AND I was able to buy my park tickets! I was going to wait and buy everyone's park tickets together, but they ship for free and there is no discount for buying them at all one time so I figured why wait? I got the email that they were shipped out today so I should be getting those in a few days!

My brother has also FINALLY paid me for his half of the room payment so now he just owes me for his airfare and his park tickets.

I'm still waiting for money from my sister and her boyfriend but that brings me to another bit of slightly unsettling news. My sister is scheduled to take the bar exam next week...and if she doesn't pass the retake is, of course, in July. She's been studying her behind off, 10-12 hours a day, EVERY DAY since before Christmas...but the percentage of people that actually pass the bar on their first attempt is something pathetic. So she's really nervous about that, and needless to say, doesn't want me to buy their park tickets until she gets the results of the exam...which won't be until

In other news, I applied for a job on Thursday, they called me on Friday and set up an interview for yesterday (Monday). I went to the interview yesterday, they called me back yesterday afternoon and asked me to come in today for a 2nd interview. I thought that it went really well and the supervisor that interviewed me actually used to be a supervisor at my current company so we have a common background! They did call me and made me a contingency offer (I'm basically wait listed so if someone doesn't show up for the first day of training, they'll call me and I'll start on March 5), but they offered me a really low salary so I had to counter-offer. I'm just waiting now for them to get back to me to let me know what they decide. I'm really nervous about NOT getting the job but I know that if it doesn't work out, it's for the better.

Wish me luck! I'll keep you posted!

138 days to go!!!!!!!