We’re going to Disney next year on our own dime.

Did you hear what I just said? We’re on our way out of the red.  By this time next year we’ll be, at the very least, comfortable.  Probably still in debt because two people who started having babies at sixteen build up a lot of debt.  But we’re already paying it off and climbing out.  And we’re saving up for a trip to Disney on our own dime.

I’m so excited I spent almost the entire day yesterday looking at pictures and pricing out vacation packages and trying to decide if we have to stay in the resort we were in last time or if we can afford to pay a couple hundred dollars extra and stay somewhere a little more grown up.  Like, say, Port Orleans – Riverside or Port Orleans – French Quarter.  I’d love to stay at the Polynesian Resort or the Animal Kingdom Lodge or the Wilderness Lodge, but I haven’t even had the balls to price them out.  They’re almost definitely beyond the scope of what we can afford, and I’ll either work on M until I can convince Him it’s worth the extra price, making Him feel obligated to give in, or get really disappointed.

Can I just tell you, for those who haven’t been or haven’t stayed in a resort, that everything about how they handle their vacation booking and their guests is incredible? Disney has this shit down to a science.  If you need it, they’ve thought of it.  The only thing you really have to bring is clothes and souvenir money.  And the clothes are almost optional because you could build a whole new wardrobe in Downtown Disney.  That’s not including the stuff you can buy in the parks.  It’s freaking amazing!

So it starts on their website.  You book your room, pick which park tickets you want, choose your dining plan, book your flight and decide what ground transportation you want from the airport to your resort.

That’s right.  You can book your flight, room, food and park tickets all on one website from the privacy of your own home.  No hassle, or dealing with a pushy travel agent.  Once you pay, you have two choices: Sit around and do nothing till it’s time to pack or call the 1-800 number they give you and make reservations for all of your “fine dining” dinners. 

My parents made reservations when we went a couple years ago.  It made things go so much smoother.  We knew where we were eating and we always had a table.  We were early to a couple places and they fit us in.  Eating was completely hassle-free which made having fun the only thing we had to focus on.

They have a vast array of dining options that are not required but save you so much money! Granted, that’s partly because the food is expensive, but the food is always expensive in amusement parks.  Why should Disney be any different?

The plan we’re using gives you a Disney mug that you can refill for free at any cafeteria, one snack (which can be a snack-sized portion of some meals or a bag of chips or some candy or… you get the idea), one quick-service (fast food – usually a cafeteria and much tastier than McDonalds or Burger King) meal and one fine dining meal (an appetizer, a main course, two veggies, dessert and a drink) per night of stay.  Last time we went, we ended up having to “spend” the last of our dining plan points on candy and stuff before we left to use them all.  It was too much food.

You don’t have to bring a stitch of cash except to tip your maid, which is both dangerous and convenient.  If you stay in one of Disney’s resorts, you can register your ATM or credit card at the desk, leave your wallet in the wall mounted safe and just carry your room key around the parks with you.  Bank account empty while you wait on money via direct deposit? That’s fine, too, cause they don’t actually bill your card until you’re ready to leave.  So know how much you can spend and stick to it! They don’t stop charging your room when you run out of money.

The biggest hassle of the whole trip is checking in and security at the airport.  Once you check your luggage, you don’t have to worry about it again until you check out.  They pick it up and deliver it to your room a few hours after you land.  However, if you’re planning on changing clothes for dinner, be sure to pack what you want to wear in your carry on.  Occasionally, the luggage is late.  Ours didn’t show up until around 8pm.

When you get off the plane in Orlando, you just follow the Mickeys to a tour bus that plays Disney movies and will carry you to the resort you’re staying at.  Check in once you arrive and, within ten to fifteen minutes, you’re on your way.  Just outside your resort’s gift shop, you can grab a brightly colored, refurbished city bus to Downtown Disney for some serious shopping and awesome picture opportunities or to one of the various parks.

Wanna make sure you see as much as possible with as little fuss necessary? Make up an itinerary on the website and print it out before you head to the airport.  Got a little one still sleeping in a crib? Don’t pay for the extra weight of bringing the pack-and-play.  You need only request one when you check in at the resort.

Staying at the resort gives you access to late night “parties” held in the parks! Just find the “cast members” (they call all their park employees “cast members”) holding the colored wristbands and get in line.  And your room key doubles as your park pass.  Which also gives you access to a fast pass for all the rides in all the parks.  Slip your room key into the slot to get as many fast passes as you need and just return at your designated time to scoot to the front of the line.  Get to the big rides early! Otherwise, they’ll run out of passes and you’ll be SOL (shit outta luck).

Sit at the bar by the pool or in a lounge chair as the sun goes down and sip on a special Disney style beverage as you rest up for the mad dash that is your life until you head home.  And when you’re ready to check out, drop off your luggage before you get on the bus back to the airport and don’t worry about it again until you land back home.

And for all this, including the flight and staying in one of the resorts I want to stay in, as opposed to the one we probably should resign ourselves to staying in so we’ll have more spending money? For the ability to only have to worry about paying for souvenirs once we get there? For having the most magical vacation a person can have with no hassle, no bad-attitude-having employees (That’s no joke.  Everyone’s smiling at Disney.) and next to no screaming, complaining children? For being treated like fairytale royalty for eight days and seven nights, we’ll pay $2900.

I swear this isn’t an advertisement.  I just really am amazed.  I didn’t realize it would be this cheap or this easy to plan a Disney vacation.  Especially after experiencing it.  I can’t wait to go back.

So I open my email this morning and take a look at My Daily Moment for the first time in forever and find that my stars think I’m putting too much stock in the future and not enough into the things I need to take care of right now.

Aries
Today can be a relaxing day, provided you make the necessary effort to deal with material constraints, dear Aries. You would like nothing better than to spend much of the day planning fun activities for the future. But, alas, demands from your partner, children, or boss force you instead to concentrate on the here and now. Still, don’t abandon your wonderfully pleasing ambitions.

I’ve got two sponsored reviews left to do and two articles that I should probably get busy on.  I’m kind of kicking myself for offering to do one because, though I used to spout off about it all the time, I’m not sure what to say.  I think it’s sort of a “I’ve said it all before and I don’t want to step on any toes.” kind of situation.  But I’ve never guest written for this place before so I haven’t said it all before.

In the wise words of CarrieAnn, “You worry too much, Rayne.”

We had a pretty big scare with Zedd.  Unfortunately, I can’t get him/her to the vet till, probably, Friday.  And even then, it’s iffy.  He can’t ride on a bus.  I’m not sure about taxis yet.  I have to call and ask.  And it’s way too cold to walk him.  He’d freeze to death by the time I got there.

He flew into the window and we think he cracked his cere (the fleshy spot just above his beak that houses his nostrils).  Fortunately, it scabbed over pretty quickly and doesn’t seem to be impeding his breathing.  He was a little dazed but seems to be pretty much back to normal.  He’s not raising quite as much hell as he usually does, but I’m betting it won’t be long.

Unfortunately, even with M’s raise, we’re broke till He gets paid.  Between paying bills, buying food and paying for His weekend birthday bash, we left ourselves with just enough money to get Him back and forth to work till payday.  Which, normally, would be fine.  Of course, Zedd had to throw a wrench in our plans.  M’s trying to find some side work for the $70 ($50 for the visit, $20 for the cab) we’ll need to take Zedd to the vet so that maybe we can get there sooner than Friday.  But you know how that goes.  Feast or famine.  Right now, with the recession, it’s mostly famine.

But he really seems fine.  A little more touchy than usual, but that’s to be expected.  He’s an injured bird with two giants he doesn’t fully trust in the first place.

So… I had intended to write some juicy BDSM piece, or maybe some new erotica.  This Disney thing has me too giddy, I think.  I’ll get there.  Soon, I’m sure. <3