August 2012 and a Double Dose of Disney

[Milner]

Nice to see your photos Amanda. We have a couple fo things in common I am also 40 something and work in local government!

[pudge]

some fab pics there amanda...well done on the weight loss...i started off with the bikini babes but tablets got changed and i was struggling so have not done much no excuse i know! DH is also loves fishing

[WileyCoyote]

Nice to see your photos Amanda. We have a couple fo things in common I am also 40 something and work in local government!

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Carole, Its a Small World ! ( there is a song about that I think , LOL) . Yes I am lucky to have a good job and some great people to work with

some fab pics there amanda...well done on the weight loss...i started off with the bikini babes but tablets got changed and i was struggling so have not done much no excuse i know! DH is also loves fishing

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Paula, thank you - I am really pleased - I have managed to get back into some clothes that I hadnt been able to wear since 2008 which is such a nice feeling. I still have another 14lbs or so to go to hit my "ideal" weight but even another 7lbs would make me the lightest I have been for years. The group has been really good for keeping me going - left to my own devices, I would definitely have given up by now. I just wonder if I can keep it all off for a year till we go on hols
I hope the tablets are working out for you now ?

[WileyCoyote]

Its still a bit up in the air so instead of doing it all by day , I will just chunk it up in the next post - No doubt it will change a bit in the coming weeks although we need to decide on the flights pretty soon

The rambly background bit

Having come back in April 2010 from , shall we say , a mixed first trip to Florida, opinions in the family varied wildly from "lets never, ever go away again "{me} to "lets go back asap"{kids}. Some really great bits and some really crappy bits. By the summer of 2010 , we decided to take a cheapy break for two weeks in Turkey with the 3 boys - this was a real treat courtesy of Andy who had given up smoking ( and still has , after almost 30 years of habit!) and had saved up for us to go away. We had a lovely relaxing time - holiday karma had been restored

I dont think Andy is the greatest WDW fan in the world and Florida wouldnt be top of his places to re-visit so I really didnt think another trip would be on the cards even though I was desperate to go back. I had the worst case of post holiday blues and major Disney planning bug addiction. Life just was missing something !

Fast forward to Xmas and the brochures start arriving ( once on a mailing list , always on a mailing list). We start to look at a break for maybe the 4 of us , but that doesnt seem fair on Nick as its such an amazing experience to miss out on. Danielle would not be coming - she has her own interests - mainly revolving around the BF, so its just the 5 of us.

Forward again to January and the thought of no hols to look forward to begins to get me down- what with the bad weather and a whole year stretching ahead, I am just itching to book. We look at all sorts - renting an RV around Lake Ontario ( still fancy this), going back to Turkey , Visiting relatives in South Africa - but nothing quite fits either the price or school holiday requirements I look at DL in California , seems reasonable, but Andy not so keen on doing Disney again ...

And then amazingly, I stumble on the Dibb in February and hear about places I had never heard of - like Complete Orlando, Pillinger and Charter Travel and before you can say Pixie Dust, I am writing off for quotes. We had by now decided that 2011 was not an option , having ahd to just replace both our cars - My Landrover was starting to cost many pennies in repairs and Andy's car was looking worse for wear.

So two replacement cars and a big hole in the finances - BUT both cars are considerably cheaper to run and , touch wood, pass their MOTs without needing any work done so the hole in finances is getting filled over the course of the year with what we are saving in running costs. If only the boiler, oven and dishwasher were so obliging as well

Back to the plan, so we agreed that a big holiday in 2012 would be doable - pause for brief debate about whether missing the Olympics in London is an issue - kids are not in the slightest bit bothered but we have that " we should be there" feeling - then we see the ticket prices and think, perhaps not !

I get a great quote from Charter - flights, villa for 2 weeks, car hire and a week at OKW with free dining ( still TBC at this time). Dither a bit and then say , what the heck, lets book. Andy also says " this is DEFINITELY the last trip to WDW". This was around the beginning of March

Almost immediately its booked, I begin to change my mind - lets do OKW first rather than the Villa, lets come back after Labor Day so Connor can have his birthday there , lets swop for a villa that has wifi, lets have a few more days at OKW ,actually should we do SSR or OKW ( I follow lots of Dibb debates on this one ) etc etc . Shelley , at Charter, is the model of patience and makes all the changes. We reach the point where the OKW and free dining is finally announced and we need to go firm on our dates there .

OKW it is then from 9-20 August in a 2 bed villa ( we have requested a top floor room near Turtle Pond pool) , moving on to a Villa in the Shires at WestHaven until 3 September

Phew. All done, deposit paid ( £750), paperwork arrives, RELAX.

Except, Andy, suddenly throws in a big curve ball along the lines of " as this is probably the last time we will take the 3 boys on such a big holiday, so lets go for it and add on a week on the West Coast"

After a double take, I am straight into Waterstones, getting the cityguides for SF and LA and a map of California. Major mugging up on the West Coast Forum on here , greedily reading the trippies. We form a plan that tacks a straight week onto the front of the holiday - now going to San Francisco, driving down the Pacific Coast Highway to Los Angeles, seeing Hollywood and then flying on to Orlando. Job Done - but no Disney. The only theme park is to be Six Flags - as the kids have seen the rides on You Tube and are bursting to try them.
No problem, simple week , easily sorted.

But of course not, as soon as we form the plan, helpful peeps say things like , ah , but you must do Alcatraz, Universal, Anaheim, Venice Beach etc etc. The week just isnt looking long enough ... I read more of other people's trippies, hmm, visit the Queen Mary, see the Reagan Musuem, I price up Disney, hmm, not that unreasonable but cant fit it into the week. Shall we add on another day or two, or three or four ?

And that brings us rigt up to last night - so far the West Coast Week has reached 10 days and still rising. I cant have any more time off work ( I still need some holiday time for Xmas after all) and we need to sit back down and look at the costs. All these odd extra days all mean another night in a hotel and adding DL on has put a big hike in the price with the extra tickets. I am thinking maybe the day at Universal is the thing to get dropped as we will be doing that in Orlando and I would much rather have Disney for two or three days - so tonight, the incredible spreadsheet needs to come out so we can make some firmer decisions. I am not fussed about sorting out all the details within the week (ish) but we do need to agree when we are starting this holiday so the outward bound flight can be booked and as they are getting released now , we have , I reckon about 28 days to make that decision, if we are to be an early bird. Poor Shelley is waiting for us to decide if its the 28/29/30/31 July or 1 August for the leg to SF.

At least the homeward bound bit is still fixed - or is it ?
Damn those school holidays , why cant they be the same in all the local authorities? - will Bucks, Northants and Leics help our planning, or will they plant a major dent in our desires ?

I have to close now , hopefully the next installment will see the incredible plan having a definite start and end

[CC71]

Hi Amanda, loving your plans so far! We will be at OKW too, from August 10th 2012, for a week with free DDP and then moving to BLT & Vero Beach using our DVC points for another two weeks. There will be just three of us this time, myself, DH and DD who will have just turned 15 when we go. Your West coast plans sound wonderful, we hope to try a similar trip in a few years. Looking forward to hearing more.

[Flower2603]

Amanda, I am loving reading your pre-trippie. Its getting me in the mood! We have a year to go too and it seems too long sometimes but looking through your pics brings back the excitement. You have a lovely family, thanks for sharing.

I too am 40 something and have 3 technology mad boys, laptops, PS3's, Wii's, DS's, etc., still we love them don't we!

Will be avidly reading from now on!

[SammyScotland]

Amanda, your pre-trippie is great so far!

[Milner]

WOW Amanda your trip sounds amazing. We are hoping to fly on 26 July but just for 2 weeks just waiting patiently for flights to be released.

[Nicksgirl]

Absolutely loving it. What a gorgeous family. Lovely to see you and all your family and hear about your plans. Keep it up hun. xxxx

[Smithkfs]

Hi Amanda

Loving the Pre-trippie... can't wait for the next installment