What do you mean, I have to wait until AUGUST ?? A 2012 Pretrippie :)

[marivaid]

It's crazy, it's madness !! The 2012 rates won't be released until August 2011 ! How the heck am I supposed to plan ?? And more importantly, what am I supposed to do for the next four months if I can't plan another Disney trip ????



Some of you may remember my Dear Sister from this TR so you may wonder why on Earth I'd choose to do a sister-only trip. Well, DearSister has changed a lot since 2008 and has become energetic, and fun to be around ! She's become quite the outdoorsy type, which is something my usual travel companion, Grumpy, is really NOT.

I'm looking forward to a Totally Different Disney Trip.

One night I was DISing and somehow ended up on this thread :
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2404255

A premium package with UNLIMITED tours, recreation, and 3 TS dining ? That sounds great for a Totally Different Disney Trip!


When ? late February 2012, at the earliest.

I need to lose the weight I gained since I quit my job back in June. We need to save money. And if/when I get a new job, it will most likely be in retail, which means October, November, December and a good part of January & early February (sales) are out. Jesse works in a school and she has winter vacation from February 25th 'til March 11th.

Where ? Disney, and IDrive to be close to shopping outlets and Seaworld.

How much ? We have to keep it under €2000/person. The flight alone costs about €800 which leaves €1200 (about $1700) for lodging, tickets, transportation and food.

How long ? As long as we can get within our budget !!

 

[GrammyJudy]

I am planning for Feb 2012 also. Can't wait for rates and specials to be announced. We are thinking it will be just me, DD and her 2 boys this year. I want to stay at POR as wehave done values the last 4 trips and I want a little more things to do etc. We like DTD so POR has the boat. I will follow your PTR and maybe get up the ambition to do one of my iown. Have fun planning

 

[Tribilín]

Well, DearSister has changed a lot since 2008 and has become energetic, and fun to be around ! She's become quite the outdoorsy type...

That alone sounds like a great trip already... I wish I could find my perfect trip companion

I'm in!

 

[3princesses+aprince]

I'm planning a 2012 trip too. We started out with planning for this december then for a few different reasons pushed it back to April 2012. #1 we really want warmer weather, #2 2 of our kids are getting older and really do not want to miss a week of school. So we are going over our April school vacation week. I'm also waiting for this August to hit for the rates to be out and our package to get booked. It'll come, It'll come!!!!

 

[eyor44]

I'm in. Looks like I have lots of catching up to do. I missed your last one.

 

[marivaid]

So glad to see I'm not the only one already stressing over 2012 rates... I wish they'd get them out already. Most hotels and airlines allow you to book (or at least see prices) a year in advance. If the prices go up too much we may not even be able to go at all and that really bites.

 

[bumbershoot]

It sounds terrific so far!

 

[407-W-DISNEY]

I hope you go, so we (your fans) can hear all about it in your TR!!

 

[WalkingintheFog]

It's crazy, it's madness !! The 2012 rates won't be released until August 2011 ! How the heck am I supposed to plan ?? And more importantly, what am I supposed to do for the next four months if I can't plan another Disney trip ????
...
I'm looking forward to a Totally Different Disney Trip.
...
One night I was DISing and somehow ended up on this thread :
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2404255
...
A premium package with UNLIMITED tours, recreation, and 3 TS dining ? That sounds great for a Totally Different Disney Trip!
...
When ? late February 2012, at the earliest.!!

Woo hoo! Looking forward to another series by one of my favourite authors/authoresses!

I'm planning a 2012 trip too. We started out with planning for this december then for a few different reasons pushed it back to April 2012. #1 we really want warmer weather, #2 2 of our kids are getting older and really do not want to miss a week of school. So we are going over our April school vacation week. I'm also waiting for this August to hit for the rates to be out and our package to get booked. It'll come, It'll come!!!!

I just gotta ask..... only 2 of the kids are getting older?

 

[marivaid]

It's becoming increasingly difficult and frustrating for me to plan this trip. There are circumstances beyond our control, and there are things we COULD control if only some people would make up their minds already.

I am fairly certain I will start a new job in June, which will last until mid-October. Jesse wants to wait until February to go, but I can't wait over four months to look for/start another job (if I get another job before our trip, they will not let me take time off), so I suggested October.

My dad may have to go through surgery to remove one of his kidneys. He's been on dialysis since January, he is on the transplant list, but his kidney is so big due to the cysts that at this point if he was "lucky" enough to get matched, they couldn't even transplant the kidney into him. There's no space to put it in. They can't do both surgeries (taking one out & putting one in) at the same time because it's too dangerous due to his age and overall health.
Obviously, if my dad had to go through that, there's no way I'd be having fun at Disneyworld at that time. Grumpy doesn't seem to understand that though. Her reasoning is, we're not going to be the ones cutting into him. What does that have to do with anything ?!
So anyway the main problem here is that his surgeon will not give him even an approximate date for that surgery. That's the same doctor who told him he would start dialysis on the first week of January, my dad was 99.9% ready to go to Disney after New Year's but the doctor would not take him on the phone or reply to his emails. He started on the very last week of January, which means we'd have had plenty of time to go if that man had just picked up the darn phone. And now he's doing it again.

Continuing the health series... Jesse got her gastric sleeve surgery done without telling anyone but Alex, a couple weeks ago. It's obviously going to change a lot of things. While I respect her decision to go through that surgery, and I also understand why she had to do it that way, it would have been nice to know that before starting to plan a trip. She needs to eat very small quantities at a very slow pace, or risk getting sick, so obviously grabbing a meal on the go between activities and tours is not going to work. She's also extremely tired (btw while on that subject - unless I become so fat that I can not leave my home, I will never EVER put myself through this) and I don't think she could keep up with even one of our usual plans.
We had originally planned a very fast-paced, physically tiring and challenging trip and that's just not going to work.

Jesse wants to go to Seaworld, of course. And the tours at the aquarium at Epcot. And Discovery Cove. And Busch Gardens. At least twice! And the safari tour at AK. Now, I love animals too, but at some point I'd like to do something else. Doesn't seem to enter her mind. I was looking at our plans tonight, well, what we have so far, and it occured to me that except for parasailing (which Jesse won't do since she's afraid of heights) there is nothing on this itinerary that I picked for myself.

Last but not least is Grumpy. Grumpy who, of course, got hurt and nasty when Jesse & I mentionned going by ourselves. She wants to go. Oh but she doesn't. February is too far away. December, too expensive. October, she may go to NYC with her friend instead. She wants to stay at the Poly but expects it to be less than $2000 for 3 adults for a week. Yeah, right... She wants to do the Platinum package with us, but none of the tours, and doesn't feel like seeing La Nouba again, wants go to V&A but then says it's too stuffy and she doesn't want to dress up.

How am I supposed to plan a trip like this??????

 

[WalkingintheFog]

Marina,
have you ever thought about going solo? Just you and the mouse?

Set the date, make your plans, and let the world know.
You can do the parks commando or not, change your mind when you feel like it, eat when/where you want (if you have the elusive ADRs)...
And you know there's always Dissers around if you want company for a day/park/land/meal!

So many of your TR show things being arranged and re-arranged for the family, and that's great and all (makes for great TRs from my perspective...I hope that's not toooooo selfish of me); why not try a totally diff Disney Vac-ay?

Granted it might mean you need to choose a value over a mod (but hey, Grumpy & Marina might decide to make up their minds seeing as you're going anyway!)

Hoping all goes well with your father! This waiting game is always hard: you don't know if you can make plans or not. I think you should proceed as you want, just be sure to have a good trip cancellation insurance!

 

[407-W-DISNEY]

Hi Marina,
I'm really sorry about your dad's health....I hope everything works out ok.

Jessie took such a big step having that surgery! I think it's wonderful and wish her the best....hopefully her energy will return?? so you can tour the fast-paced way you planned....

Sorry your mom is not helping the situation...I can see how you are frustrated...please feel free to vent to your Dis-friends anytime!!

Judging by your trip reports your a great planner! Everything will work out!!

 

[marivaid]

WalkingintheFog (btw I read "walking in the frog" ) I did a short (3 days) solo trip once and I wasn't thrilled. It's weird not having anyone to talk to.
I'm sure we can work it out so that everyone gets to do what they want and at a pace they find comfortable, it just takes a lot of planning and I don't have a whole lot of help in that department.

I'm worried about my dad, and I'm also worried about the fact that I seem to be the only one to worry. Does that make sense

Thanks for listening to me vent

 

[407-W-DISNEY]

Just saying hi! I hope your dad is doing ok....

 

[marivaid]

Just saying hi! I hope your dad is doing ok....

you're sweet !
My father's doing okay, still going on dialysis 3 times a week but he's gotten into a routine and he's handling it well. No news about the operation yet. We're hoping it can be in November, because we never do anything for Christmas anyway so it won't make any difference.

We may be moving this trip to October, it's looking good so far and I've even booked part of our package.

 

[Ellie_N_Carl]

you're sweet !
My father's doing okay, still going on dialysis 3 times a week but he's gotten into a routine and he's handling it well. No news about the operation yet. We're hoping it can be in November, because we never do anything for Christmas anyway so it won't make any difference.

We may be moving this trip to October, it's looking good so far and I've even booked part of our package.

First of all HI!
and I really hope your father health gets better. I understand how stressful parent illness' can be. I have had to deal a little with my dad's heart and diabetes... nothing like being on dialysis. I have also seen my mom deal with her parents which is a lot worse then my dad, closer to your situation. Their attitudes dont help anything. I wish you all the best and I hope he feels well soon.

TO HAPPIER THOUGHTS!

So I read your first post about doing a premium package for one day of your stay. That is freakin so smart! its crazy how smart that is. Although I have to admit I am not sure how it works. Do get 3 meals a day for all of the days of your stay?

I am planning my Wedding and Honeymoon in WDW for next October... so hey if you have to move your plans your welcome to stop by the ceremony at the WP! ;-)

Love the picture you have as your icon. I wish we could see the icon pictures bigger though! I want to see what all my cool DIS friends look like! LOL

 

[marivaid]

Hi Ellie

Thanks for the well wishes for my dad.

The Platinum plan for one day - I can't take credit for the smart idea LOL. I actually ended up on this thread a few months back :
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2404255
It explains everything. Like for all WDW packages your credits are good until midnight on the day you check out - so if you start your package early, you actually get 2 days' worth of activities. You also get 3 dining credits per night but you can use them over 2 days. Also unlike the other Dining plans, your credits can be used anywhere and for example you don't need two credits for Signature dining. It also includes Victoria & Albert's, a fireworks cruise, and tickets to La Nouba !

We are doing this (so far, I will probably tweak this thing as we get closer to the trip)


Day 1
Breakfast at CRT
Parasailing
Seas Aqua Tour
Dinner at Fulton's
Illuminations Cruise

Day 2
Around the World Segway tour
Boat Rental
Spa treatments
Dinner at Victoria & Albert's
La Nouba

So all in all we have about $2800 worth of dining, activities and tours, and we're paying $690 for the three of us. Sweet deal !!

You're going to find all the information you need on the DIS to plan a fabulous wedding, so if you're having raspberry cake and have a spare husband for me, careful, I might just drop by for real !! (Just kidding!!)

Oh yeah and trust me, it's a good thing the avatars are small