**UPDATE** Having to cancel- DD is having surgery sooner than expected

[bettyann29]

Let me start by addressing the title of this post.. Why do I say Third time is the charm? Well this is the 3rd time I've tried to start a pre trip report and it ends up fizzling out.. Things get busy and hectic and then I forget to come back and update it.. but I am bound and determined to see this one thru..

We just got back from our family of 10, WDW trip of 7 days.. and I've been doing that trip report.. and while looking thru my pictures and doing my trip report, I have decided that I AM doing my solo trip this coming year.. I have been dreaming of doing a solo trip for several years and I have finally gotten up the nerve to actually do it.. Im actually getting excited just thinking about it..

I have now been to Disneyworld 10 times total.. one of those times was just a one day trip to Epcot last year when me and DH were in the area visiting my MIL and we decided to go for the day.. but the other 9 times have been either with DH, with one of my children or just me and my 3 children, or most recently with our entire family.. but the one thing I havent done is go by myself.. I love love love taking pictures while at Disney and decided that by going solo I can stop and smell the roses I guess you could say.. I can do what I want, when I want and the way I want..

I am at the start of my trip planning right now.. I dont even have my dates yet but wanted to start my PTR so I can start from the very beginning.... I dont have my hotel reservations yet either

Currently Im thinking of either staying at PopCentury or Allstar Music.. definitely preferred room.. and looking at January or February.. How does this sound??

Im thinking of arriving on a Friday evening and having Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday in the parks and then come back early Wednesday evening..

Does anyone want to help me plan this trip?? Im up for all suggestions..

 

[bettyann29]

well Im back today.. so thats a good sign right? It means I have thought to come back and post to my PTR Thats always a good thing..

Well I keep thinking more and more and more and more about going back to Disney.. What is it that makes you want to go back as soon as you return from a trip to WDW? Even though you are exhausted, feet hurt, have to unpack and deal with everyday life again.. I usually have my disney fix for about a day after I get back and then I go into my missing disney mode again and then I have to hear one of my friends/coworkers say "OH MY GOD.. DISNEY AGAIN?? DONT YOU EVER JUST WANT TO DO SOMETHING ELSE??" I dont get her either.. she went to Disneyland earlier this year and came back and said "never again!"..

Well to introduce myself..

I am 38 ((((shutters)))).. will be 39 in March and absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE Disney... I am married with 3 children, ages 10 (almost 11), 14 (almost 15 in less than 2 weeks) and age 16 (will be 17 two weeks from tomorrow).. I have 2 stepchildren ages 18 and almost 21.. 2 grandbabies ages 3 months and 2 years.. 2 furdoggies, 1 furkitty, and 1 furbunny Lets just say my cup runneth over! Me and DH love to cruise and do it quite frequently and also I love Disney.. Have I said that enough times yet?

We just got back from a 7 day trip with 10 of us about 2 weeks ago and like I said I was feeling pretty good from my trip and was thinking of waiting a year before going back and then a few days later it kicked in and I was already talking about a solo trip and also me and DH going in December next year.. There is a new Carnival ship that will be sailing out of Port Canaveral starting next December, so we are thinking of going to WDW for a few days before we go on the cruise..

I have been dreaming of doing a solo trip for several years and the only fear I have at this point is that DH is going to try to hone in on MY solo trip and come along I tried to do a solo trip this past May and guess who ended up going with me? Yep you guessed right.. DH! I think thats quite funny since in the past DH did not particularly like WDW.. I think Ive converted him..

Well here is a picture of me taken recently about to enjoy a YUMMY YUMMY Dole Whip..This ones for you Bawb!

Im still debating on where to stay.. when to go.. etc..

IF DH tried to crash my solo trip it will have to be Allstar Movies as thats the only value he hasnt been to or Port Orleans French Qtr.. as he wants to try there too..

Foodwise I guess it'll mainly be counter service meals.. I had lapband surgery in March and can only eat a small amount of food now.. so the buffets are pretty much out since I can barely eat anything, it just doesnt make sense moneywise to do those anymore.. Maybe Rainforest Cafe would be a good choice or one of the sit downs in Epcot.. I guess I'll just have to see..

 

[mickeysgirl17]

Well, your reading my PTR, so I'll read yours! It's a great start so far.

I would love to do a solo trip but my DD5 and I are so attached, I think as soon as I get to WDW, I'll miss her so much that I'll head straight back home, plus she loves it as much as I do and I doubt she would ever forgive me for leaving her back home anyway.

Can't wait for more.

 

[bettyann29]

Im back to post again today.. woohoo.. Im so excited that I made it back..

Well things have taken a turn for the worse!! Im thinking DH wants to come with me.. I think its pretty much confirmed.. so it probably wont be a solo trip but just me and him.. Im gonna wait to change my title til I know for sure positively..

But even if DH goes all will be well.

I have been thinking more and more how I can do this trip on a budget.. is that possible? I am bound and determined that it is!

I keep looking on the bright side.. if DH goes we will be driving.. I went into one of those sites that you can put in the address, where you are located, year- make and model of your car and it gives you how many miles and approx $$ for gas.. I know gas prices will be a little different when we go in the beginning of the year, but its nice to get a ballpark figure.. It looks like roundtrip around $425-- so I'll figure on $600 just to be safe.. The only downside is that its about a 16 hour drive but with it just being me and him we can split that time up and be there before we know it..

Another good thing is that since we'll be driving, I will bring our small refrigerator so that we can have that in the room.. We also have one of those coolers that keeps ice frozen in 110 degree weather for days.. We just bought this new cooler.. We had one just like it and went camping a few years ago.. it was sawwwweet how the ice stays frozen like that for days.. so we can do a little grocery shopping before we get there and I can buy some donuts the day we arrive and we can nibble on that and fruit, yogurt and stuff for breakfast.. we can bring his beer and some water and snacks also and be able to keep them cold..

I have some things to list on ebay this coming weekend so I've been doing my research so far this week on how Im going to word my listings and figuring on $$ and all that so I can be ready to go this weekend to list them.. I'll use any money I make off that to go towards the trip..

I already do mypoints, memolink, SSR..
From Mypoints, I already have a $25 giftcard to Rainforest Cafe and have enough points on my account right now for another $25 RFC giftcard and enough to get another $25 giftcard somewhere.. Im thinking I might use those points for gas for the trip..

I recently had lapband surgery so I cant eat alot .. so Im thinking the $50 in RFC giftcards will be enough.. We will most likely get an appetizer and share a meal anyways.. so that would take care of one meal for us.. I might even start working on more points so that I can get enough for a giftcard to Yak & Yeti's.. I remember hearing that its owned by Landrys which is the same restaurant chain as RFC and if I can get another $50 giftcard before the trip we can use it for a meal there (yikes another thing to check into).. DH would love this as he's been wanting to try Yak & Yeti..

I need to check into how many points I have with Memolink and SSR and see what I can start earning towards there..

We already have our park tickets as when we went earlier this year I bought 8 day non expiration tickets and we only used 3 days off them.. so we still have 5 days on each of our tickets.. so there wont be any expense as far as our tickets go..

The other things Im still needing to look into is the hotel.. I know we definitely want to go with a Disney hotel.. Earlier I mentioned if DH went that we would either do Allstar Movies or Port Orleans French Qtr.. Ive been to both, he's been to neither of them.. Personally Id go with POFQ, but since I am trying to make this a budget trip Im thinking I'll be going with Movies.. another reason is that he and I will be heading back next December.. I would rather at that time stay at POFQ when the christmas decorations will be up.. He wont want to stay at the same one twice in a row, so I think the best choice for this trip is Movies..

Im excited we'll have our car.. I dread the buses everytime we go to WDW.. This will be the first time we'll have our own transportation, so Im looking forward to trying that out and seeing if I like it better..

Since we'll have our own car, we might even venture out one evening for dinner at a local restaurant that I hear about on the DIS podcast..

Next is our food budget.. I think that will be somewhat minimal.. As I mentioned I had surgery earlier this year and my appetite isnt what it used to be.. when DH and I went to WDW earlier this year we shared most meals as I cant eat much.. I'll have to check around on Debs site and look at the menus with prices and figure on some meals and get some prices figured out..

Last but not least is our souvenir budget.. That is easily blown! I am getting better though on not having to spend much anymore.. This past trip I only bought a refrig magnet, a backpack (with 3 jibbitz) and a christmas ornament.. I actually bought NO tshirts.. which is a huge accomplishment for me because I usually blow a good $75- $100 just on tshirts..

There is one thing I REALLY want in one of the stores in Epcot.. Its a huge Mickey and Minnie statue dressed in white winter outfits and they are kissing under mistletoe.. Its around $175 I believe.. It is sooooo heavy and I would be afraid to find out how much to ship it.. I certainly cant carry it on the plane due to the size and weight of it.. but since we will have our car, I can talk DH into it!! It would look wonderful in my bay window that I have in my living room at Christmas time with some white lights..

Well thats all for now.. I am still undecided on when to go.. I know Presidents day is in January.. and our anniversary is Valentines Day.. Maybe we can work this around our anniversary and spend our anniversary at WDW.. I would so love that!!

What do you think??

 

[bettyann29]

Well, your reading my PTR, so I'll read yours! It's a great start so far.

I would love to do a solo trip but my DD5 and I are so attached, I think as soon as I get to WDW, I'll miss her so much that I'll head straight back home, plus she loves it as much as I do and I doubt she would ever forgive me for leaving her back home anyway.

Can't wait for more.

Welcome to my first reader!

 

[bettyann29]

Today is Thursday whew...

Almost thru another week.. Thank goodness is all I can say..

I have been thinking of ways to make some extra money for our trip.. I've been thinking of Avon for awhile now and decided to go on the website earlier this week and clicked on the spot about becoming a rep.. I got a phone call Tuesday night and she is coming over tomorrow afternoon.. only $10 to start up.. I dont expect to make bukkos of money but anything will be nice.. I dont wear makeup so I dont think I'll be spending any money I make back into it..

I mentioned to a coworker a few days ago about Avon and she said that I need to hurry because she has an order for me already She usually buys from someone else but she will give me her business so I already have my first customer! I have others that I will hit up.. ummm I mean ask if they want to order.. My sister, neices, other coworkers, neighbors and a few other friends.. This just might work out..

No new plans as of yet.. but I sure havent been able to get my mind off this whole trip thing.. I was lurking on another board on the dis a few days ago and it was mentioned about the Pirates and Princess Party and how the dates havent been announced yet for next year but that there was one in February last year.. Someone was saying that there just might be one on Feb 20th since MK closes at 7 pm supposedly.. This would be saaaaweet if there is one that night because our wedding anniversary is Feb 14th, Valentines Day (I know cheesy huh??) and this would be great if there is a P&PP party on the 20th because I could look into us arriving to be there on the 14th and stay thru the P&PP date..

Im still cleaning thru papers and stuff from our last trip today and that just makes me even more ansy to get the plans for this one started..

Well nothing really new to post today but wanted to check in so I dont forget anything..

Any readers?? Help.. Im sinking..

 

[bettyann29]

Yeah its Saturday!

Another week down.. and closer to the trip.. I still dont have a definite date, but its gotta be getting closer right??

Well I changed the title of my post.. Im begging here for readers, but whatever I have to do well, short of anything illegal..

DH does want to come with me, which is fine.. I had hoped for my first solo trip, but that will come.. just not this trip.. Thats ok though because as I listed in a previous post there are so many pros to him coming and besides.. I love spending time with him

So many things are possibly going on while Im hoping to be at WDW.. I recently read about the Space Mountain refurb.. so it looks like that will be down around the time we would be going.. I read about Tinkerbell and the Fairies in Toontown Im so excited about this... Im a HUGE Tinkerbell freak!! I will wait in line with everyone else to meet them, no matter how long that line is.. DH is prepared! I have forewarned him..

and last but not least is the "possible" Pirate & Princess Party.. Im so hoping that there will be one on Feb 20th.. If so, I've already figured out that we can leave on the 13th which is a Friday, immediately after work and would arrive Saturday morning.. we could take it easy that day and maybe go to World Showcase that evening since it will be our Anniversary and do dinner there.. if there is a P&PP on the 20th we could stay and check out on the 21st in the morning and then head home and be home sometime on Sunday..

Im thinking once they announce the P&PP dates thats when I'll know for sure on our dates.. Once I know that, then I can start planning.. For some it may sound silly to plan our dates around this party, but Ive been wanting to do it for some time and we always seem to miss the hard ticket parties and this would be the perfect time to do it.. so thats how Im basing my decision..

On to my budget.. I met with the Avon rep yesterday and I am now officially an Avon representative and Im stoked! I will make 50% profit on my first 4 campaigns and then the % is based on order size.. I have all my books and Ive been reading all the literature I recvd and this certainly looks doable.. I am working on my list today of who I will give my books out to and then figure out how best to expand.. Im hoping this opportunity will help me bring in some extra money..

I did a little research and did find out that the points I have with Mypoints can be used for the Rainforest Cafe giftcards and on the card it covers the Landry restaurants.. Im excited to find out that TRex which is the new restaurant they are building in Downtown Disney is a Landry restaurant and is listed on the gc that I already have.. and I went online and Yak & Yeti is another.. so I will be redeeming the points I have for $50 worth of RFC giftcards and that will go with the $25 I already have.. I figure if I earn another $25 before the trip that will be a total of $100 to use on 3 meals which should be plenty, again I can only eat a small portion, so me and DH will probably just each buy an appetizer and share a meal.. I also am already a member of the Safari club with RFC or whatever its called so when we go to RFC I can either get 10% off the bill not incl alcohol or a free appetizer.. I usually get the appetizer because it ends up being a better deal, so one of our appetizers will be on the house From what I've read I cant use that membership with TRex or Yak & Yeti, but thats ok.. Im also hoping for a coupon for RFC before we go as I do get them from time to time.. That would be cool to get that too..

Once I earn that last $25 in giftcards for RFC than I will start working on some gas station places so that I can put whatever I can towards gas for the trip.. every little bit will help..

Well thats all for now.. Hoping to hear from any lurkers..

Have a great weekend!

 

[julezdisney]

Subbing! Cuz a solo-trip would be awesome. DH wants to do Hawaii next year, in which case, the World would be out.... unless I could stash money away secretly.

So I'll live vicariously through you as I read through your plans!

 

[bettyann29]

Subbing! Cuz a solo-trip would be awesome. DH wants to do Hawaii next year, in which case, the World would be out.... unless I could stash money away secretly.

So I'll live vicariously through you as I read through your plans!

Hello.. Thanks for reading..

It was originally planned as a solo, but it looks like DH might be homing in on "my solo trip" and it looks as though it may now be me and him.. But you never know, he might change his mind..

 

[julezdisney]

Hello.. Thanks for reading..

It was originally planned as a solo, but it looks like DH might be homing in on "my solo trip" and it looks as though it may now be me and him.. But you never know, he might change his mind..

How did I miss that last post? I bet I started a reply and than came back to it much later in the day...... you don't know how much I do that.

Well, whatever-- I'll still plan along with you so you don't ditch this report, how's that? Some TR accountability if you will....

 

[bettyann29]

How did I miss that last post? I bet I started a reply and than came back to it much later in the day...... you don't know how much I do that.

Well, whatever-- I'll still plan along with you so you don't ditch this report, how's that? Some TR accountability if you will....

No problem..

Believe me I need TR accountability.. Big time! Thank you for sticking with me and hope to keep hearing from you and all readers..

I actually woke up some time in the night last night thinking about this trip.. I guess I have it on the brain..

Yesterday I went on the Disney website to get approx prices on rooms.. if we go Feb 14-21st like Im thinking than the value resorts are looking to be running around $150 a night for the preferred rooms Yikes! Ive never spent that much for a room that I can remember at WDW.. then I looked at prices for POFQ and although they were higher, that is for a moderate resort..

Then I started thinking .. hmm.. since we will have our car this trip, why not look into staying offsite?? I know!! The horror!!!! I've never stayed offsite in all my trips.. But what if we can get a nice room at a good price... Believe me DH is a cheapskate and he will go for anything "cheaper"

I listen to the dis podcast every week and I hear Pete and the gang talk about Sheraton Vistana and so I looked it up.. its only about 4 miles from the gate.. has a kitchen/kitchenette area and looks VERY nice.. I havent mentioned it to DH but this is a possibility.. The pool area looks beautiful!

Honestly what do we really do special at a Disney hotel that we couldnt do elsewhere? The answer is nothing! I just cant see spending that much money on a room that we will literally only lay our heads down at night in.. I know there are perks to staying onsite, but I already decided that if me and DH go together we will be driving and I after the bus fiasco on this past trip earlier this month I already decided that in future we will not be taking the disney transportation and will use our own car if we ever drive or will get a rental car and drive ourselves to the parks.. so this wont change what we would do anyways.. So the only other perk is the EMH.. This will suck no matter what.. as we always take advantage of it.. but we have been so many times to Disney do we really need to go commando style this time? The answer is no.. if its just me and DH than we take it easy.. which will actually be nice..

Im already planning on us doing a Behind the scenes tour at the parks one day.. I need to do a little research as I cant remember the name of the tour but its a 7 hour tour and takes you behind the scenes in the different parks.. This would be so cool and we are really wanting to do it, so I think this trip will be the trip to make it happen..

Am I crazy for thinking of staying offsite? I need some validation I think

 

[mickeysgirl17]

I'm still here.

 

[addictedtothemouse]

I was thinking of doing a solo trip also. When I approached DH about it he said well I might not mind going to Disney. So we're going in Dec this year to see if he'll "mind" it.
We're also going to stay off site. It was about a $500 savings over a comperable Disney resort.

 

[julezdisney]

We're staying offsite for this, our first visit. I def. want to try onsite next visit, which I hope will be in May for DD's birthday. We have our car this time though, and will not next time, so that is a BIG consideration. I looked into quite a bit of hotels and Orbitz also has some great results when you plug in the areas you want. My friend stayed at the Regal Sun (formerly Grovsner) a couple years ago and said it was wonderful. I'm glad we're offsite this trip because it allows for an off-park day to be easier. Who wants to leave the resort when they're staying on-property? But since I'd never been to Orlando, I want to see what other things there are to do....

just some thoughts....

 

[bettyann29]

I'm still here.

Thanks for sticking with me..

 

[bettyann29]

I was thinking of doing a solo trip also. When I approached DH about it he said well I might not mind going to Disney. So we're going in Dec this year to see if he'll "mind" it.
We're also going to stay off site. It was about a $500 savings over a comperable Disney resort.

Welcome! and thanks for reading..

Thats funny.. Your DH and my DH must be related It sounds just like him..

$500 is a wonderful savings.. I sooo enjoy staying onsite, but to save $500.. hmm.. I think Id have to try offsite too..

 

[bettyann29]

We're staying offsite for this, our first visit. I def. want to try onsite next visit, which I hope will be in May for DD's birthday. We have our car this time though, and will not next time, so that is a BIG consideration. I looked into quite a bit of hotels and Orbitz also has some great results when you plug in the areas you want. My friend stayed at the Regal Sun (formerly Grovsner) a couple years ago and said it was wonderful. I'm glad we're offsite this trip because it allows for an off-park day to be easier. Who wants to leave the resort when they're staying on-property? But since I'd never been to Orlando, I want to see what other things there are to do....

just some thoughts....

Welcome Julia!

We have been many times and only stayed onsite.. I love love love staying at the WDW resorts but they are getting quite pricey it seems.. This would be the first time we will have our car.. it is easier to stay onsite when you dont have a car because of the Disney transportation..

I'll have to check into the Regal Sun.. Thanks.. I agree with wanting to see what other things there are to do.. If we stay offsite we will definitely need to check out some things around Orlando.. espec since we wont be doing the EMH.. we'll have a chance to go to some places to eat around there too and then there is the outlet mall... ohhhhhh.. uh oh.. I think Im gonna be in trouble.. Well at least we will have our own car to carry all the "must haves" back home I may have to make DH sorry he ever said he wanted to go..

 

[bettyann29]

Woohoo.. Its almost Thursday..

I havent been feeling too well lately.. I mentioned earlier on that I had lapband surgery earlier this year and the last few days whenever I eat something I just get sick.. Hoping this will pass.. otherwise I will need to call my dr and see if there is something going on..

Well I mentioned also that I am now an Avon rep.. Hoping to make some extra money for our trip.. I have been handing out my books all week and I already had a coworker hand me her order.. I have to recheck my profit on it but I think its around $20.. woohoo.. I have to reread my book on how the profits work because different items have different %'s.. I have others who are currently getting their orders together.. Im not turning orders in until one week from next Tuesday so I have plenty of time.. Im just excited to be doing this.. I LOVE Avon.. The only downside I can see with this is that I am finding some great things for Christmas gifts.. I dont wear makeup, so I dont see myself spending my profits that way, but with my current discount I think I will budget so much each order so that I can get some Christmas gifts out of the way.. I wont make any profit on those things but I'll at least get my discount which is currently 50% on most items.. I dont want to use my profits to pay for it though as I want to keep this separate..

I've been toying with the idea of going to my local mall and applying for holiday help at Bath and Bodyworks.. I figure I could put that money towards this trip too.. I guess we'll have to see though.. I dont want to stretch myself too thin..

Im still waiting to hear more about the date for the P&PP so I can decide on the dates I want to go.. I sure wish they would hurry up.. This is absolutely killing me by not knowing..

 

[bettyann29]

Just wanted to pop in because I woke up in the middle of the night to get a drink and realized that I had not introduced my DH I almost came in here and posted right then but decided to wait til I woke up..

Here he is..

and last but not least..

I love to torture him and make him put the different hats on when we go..

 

[AngVT]

Subbing...

You know... I'd never have that prob. with my DH wanting to go to Disney with me.... he dislikes lines, crowds and basically all things Disney... I know, How can I live with it.. I'm a Disney fanatic...and both of my kids are too!

DS and I are going later this month... Next year I wanna go by myself! (for my **cough**40th birthday**cough**)... It might be fun to do the Dis without having to rush people along, to browse in stores without having to keep one eye on the kids... and to go on whatever ride I want to go on, as many times as I want to go on it! LOL!

I can't wait to hear more of your plans! Congrats on being the "Avon Lady"! My good friend just started her own bus. too!