PAID IN FULL!

After all the planning and all the worry about canceling...

Today, our trip is PAID IN FULL!!!!!!!

YAY!!!!!!

48 days to go!
(which means we have that long to get our Christmas shopping done as well!)

I am SOOOOOOOOO happy!

I had made $385 out of the $490 we needed. So we only had to add $105 extra to make the payoff. That was easy since I am working this weekend and will easily make up for it! I am so grateful to my friend, Laura, who told me about the job at The Pumpkin Patch, and for my mother-in-law who has kept the kids on the weekday mornings so that I could take the job. What an incredibly timed blessing!
In 48 days, Corey and I will be celebrating 10 years of being together at the Happiest Place on Earth! And, Katie and Noah will be enjoying "Christmas Camp at Meme and Grandpa's House!" ha ha...that's what I have decided to call it anyway!

October Excitement

With only 63 days until our trip, I am very excited and nervous! I started my job at the Pumpkin Patch Farm last week. It put a nice little dent in the payoff amount we need, but I will be so relieved when the day has come and gone and we know FOR SURE we are going!
(after that point it would cost us money to cancel, so wouldn't be worth it since the overall cost of the trip isn't that much to begin with.)

Friday, October 23rd is the day that we have to pay off the balance of our trip. At that time we will be 47 days from going on our trip. Counting down for this trip is fun, one of the best parts. It is also a countdown, of sorts, until Christmas! When we get HOME from our trip it will be only 10 days until Christmas.

Anyway, I just wanted to post something on here because I am truly excited and anticipating THE payoff day! Only $380 to go!

Dining Day!

I was up bright and early this morning to get our Advance Dining Reservations for our December Anniversary Trip!
I was disappointed at first because I couldn't get exactly what I wanted on the days I wanted, but I decided to switch around a couple of days so it is going to work out for the best!

So, here is the final itinerary!

Day One: Arrive and Check-In at Pop Century Resort


Evening: Dinner at The Crystal Palace.
This is a character meal with Pooh and Friends, but I have been told you do not have to interact if you don't want! lol. We chose it more for the food because the MENU looks delicious! And since it is a buffet, we can store up lots of energy for...

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party!

Day Two:
This is where I made adjustments. We were going to spend all day at Epcot with extra magic hours in the evening (open till 12:30am!) but I could not get the dining reservation I wanted for Epcot on this day. SO, I decided to just switch it around and instead we are going to do Disney's Hollywood Studios this day. I think it will work out great because all the advice says to avoid the parks with extra magic hours anyway...

Our lunch this day will be at Captain's Grille at the Yacht Club Resort. It is a short boat ride away from Hollywood Studios, so that will be something fun to do! The MENU here looks great also! Seafood and more!

I also made an end of the night reservation at the Sci-Fi Dine in Theater.
Doesn't it look FUN?!
We will probably just grab a snack/appetizer here.
We wanted to experience it more than anything!

Day Three:
We will spend this entire day experiencing Christmas at
Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure!
They have a "mini" Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
(with actual balloons from the parade!) and a Christmas Grinch Show. I can't wait!

Both of those parks close relatively early, so we will head over for a late dinner at Boma.
This was at the top of my list! I loved it last time we went and can't wait to do it again!
The MENU is exotic and delicious!

Last Day:
Our last day we will spend at Epcot.
I worked our day at Epcot around the availability of dining at Le Cellier (in the Canada area). It is boasted as THE best place to dine at Disney World, so I hope it does not disappoint! The MENU definitely sounds great!
I actually ate at this restaurant MANY years ago when I went to Epcot with my family, but that was a long time ago and before the Disney Dining Plan and making reservations!
Instead of posting a photo of the restaurant, I found this photo of a dessert offered there.
Doesn't it look yummy?! (and cute!)

Besides these reserved meals, we also have a Counter Service meal and a snack each day included with our FREE dining plan! From looking at the menus, it seems we will spend about $60 in tips out of pocket. Oh, plus whatever we spend on our out of pocket late night snack at Sci-Fi Dine In. NOT BAD for FOUR days worth of food at Disney World for two people!

Mickey Moms

Today was the first day that Disney was accepting applications for the 2010 Mickey Mom's Panel. I submitted an application last year but did not make it through the first cut. Oh well. They sent me a magnet for my fridge and it was fun to do!

This year one of the questions was different...and way more interesting in my opinion. First they asked for me to tell a little about my family. Then they asked why I consider myself a "disney expert" and what my best tip for first time visitors would be. The last question was the one that was new. They asked what special talents I have (ie. blogging, foreign travel, speaking another language, etc) that I might find to be useful if I were on the panel. OF COURSE I mentioned that I love blogging and that I have a blog set up just for our Disney trips! I now wish that I had mentioned my degree in Early Childhood Education. Oh well.

I am excited. The next round won't be announced till next month and they do phone interviews at that point. If you are chosen you get to answer questions that are submitted to the Mom's Panel online and you get a FREE trip to Disney for the training, but your entire family gets to go! (the best part!). It is usually a trip in December.... hmmmm....

On another note: TOMORROW is ADR day! I spent last night making a chart of our days for our trip and finally nailing down where we will be and where we want to eat each day. I will share it tomorrow when I get my ADRs finalized. I hope it goes as smoothly as last time!

95 Days...

5 days away from "ADR" day!

47 days until payoff day!

26 days until I start my part-time job at the Pumpkin Patch!

I would have never thought of looking for a part-time seasonal job at the Pumpkin Patch, but my friend, Laura, got a job and suggested it to me! How perfect!? I will get to work 2 mornings a week and then Saturdays and Sunday afternoons. This will give us enough cushion with our other expenses that we will most likely be guaranteed to be able to have our payoff money in time and if everything else cooperates we will definitely be going on our anniversary trip to "The World" in December!
Yay!

Now, just counting down to this Friday, when I get to wake up at 6am and start searching for those perfect dining reservations to enjoy with our FREE dining plan! Everything has worked out so perfectly! I am so happy and excited!

Excited!

Just a post to say that I am excited!
It is a little over a month until our Advanced Dining Reservation Day!
(the second one I get to do! ha!)
Just 116 more days!
Everything has worked out exactly like we planned, now just to save those dollars between now and payoff day. Payoff day is the week before Katie's birthday, so I am anxious to get the money saved BEFORE then if possible so we don't have to worry about it at that time.

Anyway, just had to post my excitement.
Yay!

More Pixie Dust!

I got an email from Disney Tuesday that gave me a pin for Free Dining!!!! Well...we already had free dining, right?! Well...not exactly. As I explained in my last post, it cost us a little extra to get the basic dining because only the quick service was included in that promotion and if we got the pin I had been expecting then it would only save us a little bit....

Well....THIS PIN was for FREE BASIC dining! So, we got to take about $100 off our package price and get that plan for FREE! Yay! Every little bit counts, and now our payoff is $100 less... which may make a world of difference to us right now!

Our trip payoff is now $490. Still wishing and hoping that it will happen and feeling optimistic!