jackskellingtonsgirl
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2004
- Messages
- 25,898
I stand by my assertion that nobody really reads these things. I can ramble at length or keep it brief, and really, my buddies from other threads might pop in just for kicks, but it basically just serves as a way for me to pass the next 50 days.
So there you have it.
We are going to WDW in August. So are millions of other people. We aren't special. We aren't particularly engaging or exciting, either. "We" are DH 40, Me 37, and DS12. This is our 8th trip since 2005.
I like to plan Disney trips. I started planning this one last October. Or somewhere in there. The timeline so far has been like this:
October 2007 - Found out I would have the second week of August off in 2008. We were already planning WDW for the first or second week. Thought it might be nice to do a week with all 3 of us, and a week with just DS & me before our APs expire. Started planning a week at AKL and a week at Pop.
November 2007 - Booked airfare on miles for 2 of us. Figured we could buy DH's tickets once we knew which week he was planning to join us. DH's vacation bid day rolled around, both weeks were available, so he took both weeks. Now all 3 of us are going to WDW for 16 nights. August 1 - 17. That's a long time. Hmm. Okey dokey, then! Nix the week at Pop because the 3 of us plus 16 nights worth of luggage won't fit in a room at Pop. But hey! We'll be there for my birthday, so might as well plan BIG! I booked 3 nights of concierge at AKL so we can do the Sunrise Safari. No AAA rate. No Disney Visa rate. It's rack rate. That's not good. DH bought a dSLR camera. Must do the Sunrise Safari.
December 2007 - We went to WDW for a few days. I had all 16 August nights booked at AKL, but decided to do the last 7 nights at Beach Club on a bounce back deal. Our first split stay! No bounce back rates for AKL concierge. It's still rack rate.
January 2008 - I spent copious amounts of time getting ready to call for ADRs. I figured we wouldn't do DDP, but that DxDDP keeps pulling me back in. The numbers do not support doing DxDDP, but I keep looking at it anyway. E-mailed IPO with my safari request. Spoke to Don at AKL IPO to confirm everything - he is very nice.
February 2008 - Called at precisely 7 AM EST for my first 10 nights of ADRs. Got everything I wanted. Good. It's all coming together. Booked a flight to Orlando for DH because the prices weren't coming down and I was getting fidgety. Kept calling for ADRs until I had all 16 nights finished.
March 2008 - My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. This was not good. In fact, this was catastrophic.
I felt guilty planning a trip to WDW. I booked 2 trips to see her, bringing DS both times. Luckily airfare wasn't THAT high yet. I started researching breast cancer. I decided not to stay at Beach Club for the second week. I modified the ressie to AKL. No bounce back and no AAA for a NON-concierge room. Booked it at rack rate.
April 2008 - DS and I went to see Mom. She was doing OK. She was on medication to shrink the tumor. They were supposed to schedule her surgery towards the end of May. I kept feeling guilty about the trip. My boss said I shouldn't feel guilty because they are 2 separate issues. If there is an emergency I can leave from WDW. If things are fine then things are fine. That made me feel a little better. Bit the bullet and booked DH on the same flight home that DS and I are booked on, even though it was expensive. In the event that I DO have to leave WDW I can't have the 2 of them going home on separate flights.
May 2008 - I bought a laptop so we can load the photos from the memory cards to the laptop on our trip. AP rates came out for the first 2 nights of our trip, but NO discounts for AKL concierge. Rack rate. DH said we should look at DVC again. Hmm. OK. So I called and bought 160 points at AKV. Booked 4 nights at OKW, 3 nights at AKV (but not concierge). Thought about it for a day, called back and switched to 6 nights at SSR, 3 nights at AKV. Got on the waitlist for another night at AKV. Thought about it some more. Switched over to WL for 4 nights between DVC ressies. No discounts for WL, room is at rack rate. WHAT IS IT with all these rack rate rooms? Booked a fishing excursion out of WL. Added DxDDP to the SSR nights. Changed most of our ADRs. Went to visit Mom over Memorial Day. Not only had they not scheduled her surgery, she hadn't even had the surgical consult yet! WHY is it taking so LONG?
I don't like to wait. To kill time I researched airline baggage policies. I love luggage. Luckily we are grandfathered in so we'll each get to check 2 bags for free. As it should be. I couldn't possibly pack for 16 nights in one paltry bag! 
June 2008 - Mom's surgery is scheduled for June 17. That is NOT the end of May! In fact, that is only 6 weeks prior to our trip.
I booked flights to go up. Mom told me for the 784th time that I don't need to come up for the surgery, but I do. My sister, Diva Girl, has made it very clear that Mom's cancer is not going to interfere with her scheduled activities. Diva Girl is 16 and easily the most selfish person on earth. Mom is a single parent. Diva Girl has no job and no responsibilities. She also has a whomping entitlement complex. I HAVE to go for Mom's post-op days so Diva Girl doesn't have Mom out driving 2 hours after her mastectomy. 
It's bad enough that Diva Girl has stated that Band Camp absolutely trumps anything petty that Mom might have scheduled this summer, like chemo. That is why I am worried about emergencies in the middle of the trip. Mom will do things against her doctors' orders just to pacify Diva Girl.
In many ways this trip has morphed into something WAY different than what I had envisioned. I wasn't planning on 7 nights at rack rate. Or a split stay. Or DVC. I wasn't planning for my mom to be sick. Now I'm not sure what the trip will be like. It's not like the trips we have taken before. We've never been for more than 9 nights. We've never done a split stay. We've never had an ill relative in another state that could require my immediate departure from WDW. I've never felt guilty about a WDW trip, or questioned whether going was the "right" thing to do. I guess this trip will be a learning experience from multiple angles.
I don't really love rack rate, but nobody reads these things anyway.
So there you have it.
We are going to WDW in August. So are millions of other people. We aren't special. We aren't particularly engaging or exciting, either. "We" are DH 40, Me 37, and DS12. This is our 8th trip since 2005.
I like to plan Disney trips. I started planning this one last October. Or somewhere in there. The timeline so far has been like this:
October 2007 - Found out I would have the second week of August off in 2008. We were already planning WDW for the first or second week. Thought it might be nice to do a week with all 3 of us, and a week with just DS & me before our APs expire. Started planning a week at AKL and a week at Pop.
November 2007 - Booked airfare on miles for 2 of us. Figured we could buy DH's tickets once we knew which week he was planning to join us. DH's vacation bid day rolled around, both weeks were available, so he took both weeks. Now all 3 of us are going to WDW for 16 nights. August 1 - 17. That's a long time. Hmm. Okey dokey, then! Nix the week at Pop because the 3 of us plus 16 nights worth of luggage won't fit in a room at Pop. But hey! We'll be there for my birthday, so might as well plan BIG! I booked 3 nights of concierge at AKL so we can do the Sunrise Safari. No AAA rate. No Disney Visa rate. It's rack rate. That's not good. DH bought a dSLR camera. Must do the Sunrise Safari.
December 2007 - We went to WDW for a few days. I had all 16 August nights booked at AKL, but decided to do the last 7 nights at Beach Club on a bounce back deal. Our first split stay! No bounce back rates for AKL concierge. It's still rack rate.
January 2008 - I spent copious amounts of time getting ready to call for ADRs. I figured we wouldn't do DDP, but that DxDDP keeps pulling me back in. The numbers do not support doing DxDDP, but I keep looking at it anyway. E-mailed IPO with my safari request. Spoke to Don at AKL IPO to confirm everything - he is very nice.
February 2008 - Called at precisely 7 AM EST for my first 10 nights of ADRs. Got everything I wanted. Good. It's all coming together. Booked a flight to Orlando for DH because the prices weren't coming down and I was getting fidgety. Kept calling for ADRs until I had all 16 nights finished.
March 2008 - My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. This was not good. In fact, this was catastrophic.
I felt guilty planning a trip to WDW. I booked 2 trips to see her, bringing DS both times. Luckily airfare wasn't THAT high yet. I started researching breast cancer. I decided not to stay at Beach Club for the second week. I modified the ressie to AKL. No bounce back and no AAA for a NON-concierge room. Booked it at rack rate.April 2008 - DS and I went to see Mom. She was doing OK. She was on medication to shrink the tumor. They were supposed to schedule her surgery towards the end of May. I kept feeling guilty about the trip. My boss said I shouldn't feel guilty because they are 2 separate issues. If there is an emergency I can leave from WDW. If things are fine then things are fine. That made me feel a little better. Bit the bullet and booked DH on the same flight home that DS and I are booked on, even though it was expensive. In the event that I DO have to leave WDW I can't have the 2 of them going home on separate flights.
May 2008 - I bought a laptop so we can load the photos from the memory cards to the laptop on our trip. AP rates came out for the first 2 nights of our trip, but NO discounts for AKL concierge. Rack rate. DH said we should look at DVC again. Hmm. OK. So I called and bought 160 points at AKV. Booked 4 nights at OKW, 3 nights at AKV (but not concierge). Thought about it for a day, called back and switched to 6 nights at SSR, 3 nights at AKV. Got on the waitlist for another night at AKV. Thought about it some more. Switched over to WL for 4 nights between DVC ressies. No discounts for WL, room is at rack rate. WHAT IS IT with all these rack rate rooms? Booked a fishing excursion out of WL. Added DxDDP to the SSR nights. Changed most of our ADRs. Went to visit Mom over Memorial Day. Not only had they not scheduled her surgery, she hadn't even had the surgical consult yet! WHY is it taking so LONG?
I don't like to wait. To kill time I researched airline baggage policies. I love luggage. Luckily we are grandfathered in so we'll each get to check 2 bags for free. As it should be. I couldn't possibly pack for 16 nights in one paltry bag! June 2008 - Mom's surgery is scheduled for June 17. That is NOT the end of May! In fact, that is only 6 weeks prior to our trip.
I booked flights to go up. Mom told me for the 784th time that I don't need to come up for the surgery, but I do. My sister, Diva Girl, has made it very clear that Mom's cancer is not going to interfere with her scheduled activities. Diva Girl is 16 and easily the most selfish person on earth. Mom is a single parent. Diva Girl has no job and no responsibilities. She also has a whomping entitlement complex. I HAVE to go for Mom's post-op days so Diva Girl doesn't have Mom out driving 2 hours after her mastectomy. It's bad enough that Diva Girl has stated that Band Camp absolutely trumps anything petty that Mom might have scheduled this summer, like chemo. That is why I am worried about emergencies in the middle of the trip. Mom will do things against her doctors' orders just to pacify Diva Girl.In many ways this trip has morphed into something WAY different than what I had envisioned. I wasn't planning on 7 nights at rack rate. Or a split stay. Or DVC. I wasn't planning for my mom to be sick. Now I'm not sure what the trip will be like. It's not like the trips we have taken before. We've never been for more than 9 nights. We've never done a split stay. We've never had an ill relative in another state that could require my immediate departure from WDW. I've never felt guilty about a WDW trip, or questioned whether going was the "right" thing to do. I guess this trip will be a learning experience from multiple angles.
I don't really love rack rate, but nobody reads these things anyway.
I'm here, and reading, and very confused! I'm not sure where you are staying, and when, but I will keep reading so I can find out!
Today it is AKL concierge, SSR, WL, and AKV. Subject to change without notice.
They haven't put a stage to my mom's because they don't know if her lymph nodes are involved. Her tumor was 3 cm, now it is down to 2 cm. All of her other scans and tests have been fine, so they THINK it is confined to the breast and possibly the lymph nodes. If the nodes are clear I don't think she will have to have chemo, but I do think she will have to have radiation. Freaky that we have such similar situations! I hope things turn out OK for all of us!! 
Thanks for stopping by!
Not that DH and I aren't good company or anything...
DH called his friend and asked for the camera. He took it in to have it refurbed. The camera shop guy thought DH was a nut job. WHY did he want to sink money into a FILM camera? But whatever. 
But I don't count that.
If we actually do rent it we can move our luggage from resort to resort and not even have to make 2 trips!
