With a Wave of the Wand - the plans have changed again?! A 1/2013 PTR - updated 10/25

[wuzzy6]

So, I was a busy little beaver today!

I've been dealing with ever-increasing anxiety over flying. Doodle and Nuggies have never flown before, and I really don't want to ruin it for them by making them fly with me for their first time! I enjoyed flying a lot at one time, but that was back when I was blissfully unaware of... things.

So, yes, you've probably guessed by now - I've made some changes. Again.

We are DRIVING!!!

It's 1,420 miles from our front door to CSR - or 24 hours on the road! We're going to drive 671 miles on day one - 749 miles on day two. It should work out to about 12 hours of driving each day, according to Google Maps.

So, that means we will need to wake up very early (I'm thinking 3-ish ) in the morning on Saturday, January 26th - DH and I will both shower, brush our teeth, get dressed, and make some coffee for the road. Doodle and Nugs will have to suck it up and throw on some clothes, brush their teeth and get in the UAV.

Speaking of the UAV - I'm sure you're wondering what the heck that is. Well, we have a lovely fuel-efficient 4WD Suburban - the kids named it the UAV, which is short for "Urban Assault Vehicle." This should not be taken as a reflection on how I, or my DH, drive. (We also had a minivan they named "Swagger Wagon" - as they put it, "You have to have mad swag in order to drive that awful thing and still be cool.")

Anyway, I really would like to be on the road no later than 4:00 - our route takes us directly through NYC and Richmond, VA. If we leave by 4, then we will hit NYC around 9:30 in the morning and Richmond around 4 in the afternoon. Traffic will be nuts no matter what, but I really want to try to avoid the worst of it. Plus, getting to our hotel before dinner will allow us to eat, then relax at the pool and/or watch some tv before bed.

On Day 2, I'd like to be on the road early again. I'm not going to lock us in to a time, because it will depend on how DH feels. (I'm no fool - not going to poke the growly bear too often! ) We will have another 12 hours of driving, so I'm really going to push to leave no later than 6 - DH is an early riser, so I'm going to just leave this one to him.

Now, by driving instead of flying, that won't leave us much time to do anything in the evening besides eat dinner and explore the resort a little - maybe take a quick trip to Publix for some bottled water and snacks.

Back the truck up, y'all.... did you hear what I just said?!!!

PUBLIX!!!!!!!!

Ok, I grew up in FL, and I love love love Publix - especially their cakes/cupcakes! OMG how flipping excited am I?! I literally, just at this moment, realized that by having our car with us, we can GO TO PUBLIX and get CAKE!!!

I'm done now - I can't think of anything else I was going to tell you. I've been derailed by cake. I'll be back when I can focus again.

 

[danimaroo]

I'm here!! Your comments in my PTR have been great, and the HOLLA made me laugh so hard... because I say that ALL the time.

I had no idea you guys were going in January, too! But what a bummer, we'll be leaving the day you all arrive.

In terms of January, I think you will get FD or a room discount no problem... I'm part of the January group on Facebook, and people have been talking about the discount codes not being out yet, so don't worry too much! I think they will show up soon. That CM sounds like a total turd though; it's always a bummer when you get a bad one. The good thing is that you can always call back and hope to get a nice one!

I am LOVING your names for your cars, hahahaha. Your family is pretty hilarious!

Mad props for driving down though! We're too far away from Disneyland and Disney World to drive, so it's always flying for us. Wompwomp. Actually, flying to Disneyland isn't so bad since it's only a 2 1/2 hour flight. Disney World, on the other hand, is a loooong flight. Even longer with a layover (now you understand why I prefer that direct flight from Seattle! Haha)..

Anyway, keep your updates coming, I'm caught up and am enjoying your PTR!

 

[wuzzy6]

I'm here!! Your comments in my PTR have been great, and the HOLLA made me laugh so hard... because I say that ALL the time. I'm glad you got a kick out of it! Clearly, all of the cool people say HOLLA!!!

I had no idea you guys were going in January, too! But what a bummer, we'll be leaving the day you all arrive. That's too bad, but I'm stoked we're going around the same time - it's going to be a great time to be there!

In terms of January, I think you will get FD or a room discount no problem... I'm part of the January group on Facebook, and people have been talking about the discount codes not being out yet, so don't worry too much! I think they will show up soon. That CM sounds like a total turd though; it's always a bummer when you get a bad one. The good thing is that you can always call back and hope to get a nice one! Yeah, I didn't let it bother me too much - it was just disappointing. I'm definitely not always super-chipper or anything, but I do always try to be nice to people, especially if they're making an effort to be nice to me. Anyway, thanks very much for the positive juju - I'm definitely wishing for good things for all of us. Every little bit helps!!!

I am LOVING your names for your cars, hahahaha. Your family is pretty hilarious! Hahaha - thank you! There is never a dull moment around here!

Mad props for driving down though! We're too far away from Disneyland and Disney World to drive, so it's always flying for us. Wompwomp. Actually, flying to Disneyland isn't so bad since it's only a 2 1/2 hour flight. Disney World, on the other hand, is a loooong flight. Even longer with a layover (now you understand why I prefer that direct flight from Seattle! Haha).. Yeah, I totally get why you would want a direct flight! I'm really happy you were able to nail down what you were wanting to do!!! As for us driving - I think I probably deserve a straight-jacket more than props.

Anyway, keep your updates coming, I'm caught up and am enjoying your PTR!

Thank you so much! I'm happy you're here!!!

 

[wuzzy6]

Update - 9/11/12​

First and foremost - for as long as I live, I will never forget 09/11/2001.

Second - GUESS WHAT!!!

I'm planning another trip!

One of my dear friends, who lives about 8 hours from me, mentioned that we need to get together one of these days. (We haven't seen one another in 3 years, so it's definitely time!) We started throwing around ideas about a quick get-together sometime this Fall... and then I thought, hmmm... why not wait until Spring and go to DISNEY?!!!

She is all for it, and we are so excited!!!

Right now, I'm thinking about some possible dates - April 19-21, May 3-5, and May 31 - June 2. I'm leaning more toward the April dates, because the weather will be nicer than late May/early June, and it's less expensive. Of course, it depends on her schedule - she's going to check things out when she gets home from work tonight.

We'll probably just stay at Pop or AoA-LM. She's stayed at Pop before - I haven't - but neither of us has stayed at AoA before. Something else to ponder.

I know it's not for very long, but hey - 3 days at WDW is better than 3 days at home, right?!

 

[reyasmommy]

It's hard to believe it's been 11 years! I will NEVER forget either... I was a newly wed. ((Had only been married 3 months)) and I worked at the airport. It was insane when flight after flight were being canceled and I had no idea what was going on. Complete Chaos after we realized what had happened. They cleared the airport of all passengers as quickly as possible. I just remember how erie it was to see the airport empty and then seeing police, millitary, security personel all over the place with bomb sniffing dogs checking every inch of the airport. Was scary thinking maybe something was going to happen to us there at work. Not knowing the magnitude of the situation. I remember coming home to my new husband and running into his arms sobbing and crying uncontrolably. Sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday.

Anyway................ Sorry for the rambling!

That is awesome that you get to plan a second trip with your friend! ~~~SCORE !!!!!

I'm assuming you've read my PTR and know what we're driving too. 1800 miles! But I'll take that over flying any day if I can. If you need any tips on making the drive easier let me know. I think I'm a pro by now. LOL! Thank goodness for GPS's and DVD players. ((You have one, right??))

We've earned $150.00 worth of gas through our rewards points on our credit card so that's going to help too.

Well..... I look forward to reading more!

 

[wuzzy6]

It's hard to believe it's been 11 years! I will NEVER forget either... I was a newly wed. ((Had only been married 3 months)) and I worked at the airport. It was insane when flight after flight were being canceled and I had no idea what was going on. Complete Chaos after we realized what had happened. They cleared the airport of all passengers as quickly as possible. I just remember how erie it was to see the airport empty and then seeing police, millitary, security personel all over the place with bomb sniffing dogs checking every inch of the airport. Was scary thinking maybe something was going to happen to us there at work. Not knowing the magnitude of the situation. I remember coming home to my new husband and running into his arms sobbing and crying uncontrolably. Sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday. That had to have been awfully terrifying to have been working in an airport that day. I was a SAHM at the time, and I was watching the Today Show when the first plane hit. The reports started coming in, and everything was being broadcast live - everyone thought it was just a freak accident. Then we watched the second plane hit on live television. Like you said, it definitely does feel like it was just yesterday - the emotions are still very raw.

Anyway................ Sorry for the rambling! Please don't be sorry! Thank you for sharing your personal experience with me.

That is awesome that you get to plan a second trip with your friend! ~~~SCORE !!!!! I know, right?! I'm so excited! I haven't been to WDW in over 10 years, and now I get to go twice in one year?!!! SCORE is right!!! Thank you!

I'm assuming you've read my PTR and know what we're driving too. 1800 miles! But I'll take that over flying any day if I can. If you need any tips on making the drive easier let me know. I think I'm a pro by now. LOL! Thank goodness for GPS's and DVD players. ((You have one, right??)) I totally read your PTR and saw that you're driving - I have major flight anxiety, so I'm right there with you, sista! We have a navigation system and DVD/TV built in to the UAV, and believe me, I totally know their value!

We've earned $150.00 worth of gas through our rewards points on our credit card so that's going to help too. That is so cool!!! I totally need to start paying attention to those kinds of offers and promotions. I think our Discover card has something - 5% cash back, maybe? I don't know - like I said, I really need to start paying attention.

Well..... I look forward to reading more!

Thank you for reading and sharing!!!

 

[wuzzy6]

PTR and RL Update - 10/09/2012​

I apologize to the handful of readers I have for not being very active in my updates. Sadly, I read the Dis every single day, but with everything going on in my personal life lately, I just haven't had the excitement to want to post anything. I've been dealing with some medical issues - in the diagnostic phase right now, but for someone who's never been sick, it's a little overwhelming.

With that said, I'm happy to report that I have gotten myself out of that slump, and the excitement is BACK! (I don't think it ever really left... it just got stuffed down beneath some unpleasantries. Temporarily, of course.) I figure that whatever is "wrong" with me, it's not going to stop me from sharing my love for Disney with my family. Sooo, onward and upward!

I'm sure this comes as no surprise to you, but we've made some changes.

We're still driving, which I'm totally stoked about... especially after watching that special on Discovery where they crashed the airplane. Um, yeah, let me think about flying for a moment. Ok. NO THANK YOU!!!!! I just can't do it, and although I'm sure I'll fly in the future, it's just not going to be for this trip.

We're playing a trick on the kiddos!!!

First of all, Roo decided to come with us after all. I'm really excited about that! He just celebrated his 18th birthday on Saturday, and I really want him to go with us before he graduates high school and gets his "own" life as an adult! We gave him total control of the decision, as DH and I really believe he has to do what he feels is in his best interest - very happy he decided to come with us! He's really looking forward to it, and he's completely on-board with helping out with playing the trick on the little ones!

Now, about that trick!

We told Nuggies and Doodle that we can't afford to go to WDW in January, as planned, because of all of our bills. (They assumed it was due to all of my recent trips to the doctor, etc.) We told them that the earliest we could make the trip was next Summer - as in 11 months from now! Another year!!! They're 12 and 13 years old, so they were naturally a little skeptical - I had to play it up BIGTIME - with crocodile tears and everything!

I TOTALLY PULLED IT OFF! (I had no idea I could act so well!)

They were both so disappointed, and you could clearly see it written all over their faces - so much so that it was really hard to not tell them I was only kidding! But, they put on their brave faces, stuck out their chins, and they told me they understood. They gave me big hugs and told me that paying those bills were way more important than going to Disney. They even went so far as to say it will give them more time to save even more money for the trip! Bless their sweet little hearts - they're such great kids, and I really cannot wait to surprise them with the truth!

So, really, the dates for the trip have not changed at all. We are still leaving on Saturday 1/26 - arriving in Orlando on Sunday 1/27 - going to WDW 1/28-2/1 - leaving Saturday 2/2 - arriving back home on Sunday 2/3. I'm going to work at home in the afternoon, but take off from work in the morning on Friday before we leave (1/25) so I can focus on getting everything packed and loaded into the UAV without them noticing anything. They'll be at school and won't be home until 2:30 in the afternoon, so I'll have about 7 hours for DH and I to get everything loaded up! When they get home, I'll be working at home, which I do at least one day per week anyway, so it won't be anything unusual to them.

I will have to be really careful, though, because I don't want them to notice anything "missing" - especially from their rooms. I think I am going to have to come up with something so they won't question why their clothes are missing - maybe I'll pretend that the washer isn't working properly the week before the trip and will have to send their clothes out for wash/dry/fold service! Actually, that's not a bad idea to do for real - I won't have to mess with anything besides putting it in the suitcases, as everything will already be clean and folded! I could drop them off Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning, and they would totally be ready for me to pick them up first thing Friday morning! We buy our personal hygeine items in bulk at Sam's Club, so I can pack brand new toothbrushes, deodorants, toothpaste, etc. without the worry of forgetting to pack them in the morning. Hmmmmm...

I'll have to think about this one a little more, because I don't want to mess up and give it away the day before we leave!

Bottom line is that I want to wake them up very early Saturday morning and tell them to get up, get dressed, brush their teeth, grab their pillows, blankets and iPods/chargers, and get in the UAV because we're going to WDW! I really think we can make it happen without them figuring it out - but, they're both pretty astute, which means we really need to be careful to avoid blowing it!

It looks like we're going to end up staying off-site, because Roo is going with us, and it's just too expensive to stay on-site with short notice when we need a room big enough for 5 people. DH's cousin and wife have a bazillion timeshare points, and they have offered to allow us to stay in one of their places very inexpensively. It's an offer we really can't refuse - it would be very foolish to not take it! I admit that I'm a little bummed about not staying at CSR, but if it means Roo can go with us, then I'm totally over it!!!

I think that about sums up everything for the last month! For now!

 

[wuzzy6]

More Changes - like you're totally shocked, I'm sure. ​

Since I last updated, Roo found out that he has a Chamber Singers concert that's been scheduled during the week we're at WDW. He has decided that it's best that he stays home for it, and we're obviously going to honor that decision. While I'm bummed (again) that he's not going with us, I am very proud of him for making the decision for himself.

Of course, now that the Stay/Play/Dine promotion has come out, we can't pass that up - especially since we still had our package reserved for CSR! So, we're back to staying at CSR with 5-day park hoppers... but now we have the DDP!

A word about the S/P/D promotion...

Prior to the promotion: 2 adults and 2 Disney adults - 7d/6n at CSR-standard view - 5-day park hopper tickets - DDP = $4079.16 (with travel insurance)

With the promotion: same information as above = $2857.10 (with TI)

That is a total savings of $1222.06!!!

Tentative Itinerary and booked ADR Information (we're staying 6 nights, so we'll have 6 TS, 6QS, 6 Snacks per person, per day):

Saturday 1/26: Wake up early and surprise the kids - we're going to WDW! Drive to Richmond, VA and spend the night.

Sunday 1/27: Drive to WDW-CSR. Although we will be arriving around dinner time, we are not going to be utilizing the DDP so we can use 2 TS credits for Signature dining. It's too bad we're arriving on Sunday, because we won't be able to hit Chick-Fil-A right away! We don't have them in Maine... and boy do we miss it! (Chicken Sandwich, Chicken Nuggets, Chicken-mini's you're all mine!) I'm sure we'll make a run to Publix for some items and grab dinner somewhere, but aside from that, it will probably be an uneventful and early night for us. Maybe we'll use one of our QS credits at the resort - not sure yet.

Monday 1/28: I'm guessing that the kids will want to do Magic Kingdom first, but I could totally be wrong - they do surprise me every now and then! But, if I were a bettin' gal, I'd put my money on MK for the first day. We have dinner ADR for 8:00 pm at Teppan Edo. We've never eaten there, but I've heard good things.

Tuesday 1/29: Today seems like a good day to go to Animal Kingdom in the morning, and then go to DHS (I still want to call it MGM) after lunchtime. Although we've never been to AK, I just can't imagine spending more than about 4 hours there. (A little side note here: Monday has morning EMH for AK and evening EMH for DHS - I understand the parks with the EMH tend to be a bit more crowded, so I thought it might be best to avoid those. The only question I have, though... does it really matter in late January?) Anyway, we have dinner ADR for 7:00 pm at 50's Prime Time Cafe. I'm not super-excited about the menu items, but I understand it can be quite the experience.

Wednesday 1/30: Today is Jojo's 20th birthday - will be thinking of her a lot today. We'll probably head to Epcot for the day. We have dinner ADR for 7:00 pm at Biergarten. This is DH's favorite place to eat!

Thursday 1/31: I have a feeling we'll be bouncing around a little bit today, and that's fine with me. I seriously do not want to rush or feel pressured to do certain things on specific days - keeping 1 dinner reservation per day is plenty. Speaking of which, we have a dinner ADR for 7:00 pm at Le Cellier.

Friday 2/1: This is our last day, so I'm sure we'll be making the most of it! We have a dinner ADR for 8:00 pm at 'Ohana.

DH and I have been informed by his mother, with whom we do NOT have a good relationship, that she, along with his two brothers, their wives, and our nephews and niece, will be coming to "join us" at the Magic Kingdom for a day. No problem, but it will be understood that we are not changing our plans, including our dinner reservations, to accommodate anyone else's plans. As selfish as it sounds, this is OUR vacation - the first in over 10 years - and we are not going to spend an entire day trying to make 5 other adults and 4 other kids happy. They live an hour away from WDW, and they can make themselves happy there anytime they want. My MIL tends to sort of "take over" if nobody puts their foot down - I wear a size 10. Enough said.

So, I think that's all I've got for right now. I'm super-excited - only 105 days to go!!!

 

[wuzzy6]

One thing I forgot to tell y'all about...

Last night, when I tried to book my ADRs online, it kept throwing up an error that said something like they couldn't access my reservation to link my ADRs - whatever it was, the website just wasn't working properly. So, I ended up calling Disney Dining to make the reservations over the phone.

Well, the CM I spoke with was awesome - super friendly and very helpful. His name was Cisco.

Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but as soon as I heard his name, all I could think of was "Francisco" - which then forced me to think about the movie "Buddy the Elf." All I kept thinking in my head was that scene where Will Farrell's character repeated the word "Francisco" with varying emphasis on the syllables.

FRANcisco. FranCISco. FranCIScoooo.

I honestly do not know how I made it through the call without actually saying it out loud at least once.

Anyway, I'm sure it's not nearly as amusing to anyone else as it is to me.

I hope that you (whomever is reading!) are having a fabulous day!

 

[wuzzy6]

Earthquake 12 miles away - don't care to ever experience that again!

 

[Jonesloonybin]

I just came across your PTR and wanted to say hi! We are going during the same time frame. (1/26-1/28 at Universal and 1/28-2/7 at WDW)

We are staying at POFQ with the s/p/d discount!

Your family looks lovely. What great kids!

We are also surprising our kids. They will find out on Christmas morning that we are going.

I really would like to start a PTR but the kids are always looking over my shoulder so I cannot have a link in my signature.

Wow, I had not heard about the quake! Was it big?? I lived in California during the big one...super scary!!

We actually lived in Maine for awhile (Bath). It was beautiful! We are in NC now, which is much closer to WDW...thank goodness, because I also do not like to fly.

Terri

 

[hulagirl87]

I love how much you changed everything! It cracked me up!!! We are going to be there the same time as you... 1/24 - 2/1! So excited


and I leave you with this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMgiIwS2wSE

 

[wuzzy6]

I just came across your PTR and wanted to say hi! We are going during the same time frame. (1/26-1/28 at Universal and 1/28-2/7 at WDW) That's so exciting! Thank you for coming by to say hi - I'm happy you're here!

We are staying at POFQ with the s/p/d discount! I've never stayed at POFQ, but I've heard really great things about it! I hope you find it to be everything you're hoping it will be!

Your family looks lovely. What great kids! Thank you very much! I'm biased, but they really are great kids!

We are also surprising our kids. They will find out on Christmas morning that we are going. Oh my gosh!!! I hope you will take pictures and share the moment with us! They're going to flip!

I really would like to start a PTR but the kids are always looking over my shoulder so I cannot have a link in my signature.

Wow, I had not heard about the quake! Was it big?? I lived in California during the big one...super scary!! It was a 4.6 originally, but the USGS downgraded it to a 4.0 - not very big compared to what y'all would experience out there. Still, it was very scary to us, because we've never experienced anything like that before!

We actually lived in Maine for awhile (Bath). It was beautiful! We are in NC now, which is much closer to WDW...thank goodness, because I also do not like to fly. We go through Bath all the time when we head up to South Thomaston to visit friends - it's gorgeous up there! Of course, I think NC is beautiful, too. And, as you probably read, I am NOT a fan of flying, either!!!

Terri

Thank you so much for reading - I hope to see you again!!!

 

[wuzzy6]

I love how much you changed everything! It cracked me up!!! We are going to be there the same time as you... 1/24 - 2/1! So excited


and I leave you with this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMgiIwS2wSE

Francisco! That's fun to say!!!

I'm glad you got a kick out of my indecisiveness - I think I've driven DH around the bend with it!

It's so cool that you'll be there the same time - I hope we will have wonderful, gorgeous weather for our stay!

Hope to see you around here again!!!

 

[wuzzy6]

So just a quick little note to say...

Only 99 more days until we leave for WDW!!!
​

 

[wuzzy6]

I'm Not Even Going to Bother...​

... to tell you what's happened recently.

Ok, yes I am. We changed some plans. Again.

So, DH has been very hands-off in this whole planning thing. For the most part, he just wants to know when to notify his staff he'll be on vacation. It's not that he's not interested - just that he's got a lot of stuff going on, and all of my planning stresses him out. I'm patient and understanding, though, because I'm pretty sure he will be grateful for it once we get there.

Well, wouldn't you know... he actually surprised me last night!

I came home from work, and while the kids were getting the table set for dinner, we went into the office to talk about some things. Not only did HE bring up the trip, BUT *HE* actually had done some research on flights!

<-- That was me - for real! I couldn't believe what my ears were hearing, y'all!

He has a membership with one of the airlines (I hate flying, so I can't remember which one it is off-hand now) and he took the time to look up some flights and airfare! Not only did he scout out some of the best fares, BUT he also made a point to try and find as many best-priced direct flights as possible. He told me, "You hate flying, so I figured if we were going to fly, you'd only want to take-off and land once per trip!" I know it doesn't sound like much, but for this non-romantic guy, that is HUGE!

Truth is, he doesn't want to spend 4 days total in the UAV... so whatever it takes to just get us down there quicker, he's willing to do it.

Right now, he's seriously considering driving to Philly on Saturday - it's about an 8-hour drive - spend the night near the airport and fly out early Sunday morning. If we do that, we'll be at MCO before 10AM! That's a major improvement over possibly arriving at CSR around dinner time if we drive!

It does sound kind of silly to drive 8 hours to go to Philly just to catch an inexpensive direct flight to MCO... but I think it would be really cool to do something we've never done before, as crazy as it may be!

Whatever we do, I have a feeling now that we're going to be flying. I'd love to see those fares keep coming down, though, because that's a tough one to swallow!

So that's it for now! See ya real soon!

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Hey Subbing on

Ah... a plan changer... I respect that...

You have a great family....

YOU are going to purposely fly out of Philadelphia after driving 8 hours...to get here... I find that kind of funny because Philly X is my home airport and it is touch and go with take off here.......

but taking a non stop flight is a great thing....

Can't wait to hear more...

 

[wuzzy6]

I'm so happy you're here - thank you for subbing!!!

I know the whole thing is just nuts, but I'm sure we will change things again at least once!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[trvlqueen]

I'm Not Even Going to Bother...​

... to tell you what's happened recently.

Ok, yes I am. We changed some plans. Again.

So, DH has been very hands-off in this whole planning thing. For the most part, he just wants to know when to notify his staff he'll be on vacation. It's not that he's not interested - just that he's got a lot of stuff going on, and all of my planning stresses him out. I'm patient and understanding, though, because I'm pretty sure he will be grateful for it once we get there.

Well, wouldn't you know... he actually surprised me last night!

I came home from work, and while the kids were getting the table set for dinner, we went into the office to talk about some things. Not only did HE bring up the trip, BUT *HE* actually had done some research on flights!

<-- That was me - for real! I couldn't believe what my ears were hearing, y'all!

He has a membership with one of the airlines (I hate flying, so I can't remember which one it is off-hand now) and he took the time to look up some flights and airfare! Not only did he scout out some of the best fares, BUT he also made a point to try and find as many best-priced direct flights as possible. He told me, "You hate flying, so I figured if we were going to fly, you'd only want to take-off and land once per trip!" I know it doesn't sound like much, but for this non-romantic guy, that is HUGE!

Truth is, he doesn't want to spend 4 days total in the UAV... so whatever it takes to just get us down there quicker, he's willing to do it.

Right now, he's seriously considering driving to Philly on Saturday - it's about an 8-hour drive - spend the night near the airport and fly out early Sunday morning. If we do that, we'll be at MCO before 10AM! That's a major improvement over possibly arriving at CSR around dinner time if we drive!

It does sound kind of silly to drive 8 hours to go to Philly just to catch an inexpensive direct flight to MCO... but I think it would be really cool to do something we've never done before, as crazy as it may be!

Whatever we do, I have a feeling now that we're going to be flying. I'd love to see those fares keep coming down, though, because that's a tough one to swallow!

So that's it for now! See ya real soon!

Depending on how devious you want to be, you could now tell the kiddos that you have to make a run to Philly for a work thing or have decided to do a weekend getaway there ... then surprise them when you arrive at the airport!

I'm in the mood to work out surprises, because I just booked WDW arriving on 1/2 (only a short trip - 4 days) as a Christmas surprise for my kiddos. I have one graduating in June, one the following year, and we haven't been down since '06 - and the youngest, who will be 11, barely remembers ... so I'm feelin' your joy here!

I'll be subscribing, too. Merry Christmas to your family - a year late!