Three weeks and counting!

Three weeks and counting, and today is another good day for a blog.

I’ve been reasonably productive on the vacation front this week. The hotel we had booked for Friday May 1^st in Valdosta (the magical realm between Atlanta and Orlando) has been cancelled, and instead I booked a cheaper (read that as much shabbier) hotel for Wednesday April 29^th. We’ll now be staying at the slightly less luxurious “Western Motel”.

It’s not the ‘Bates Motel’ quite yet, though, as a self respecting horror author,  I totally would have booked a room in a place called ‘Bates Motel’. It’s also a third of the price of the other place we booked, and now we can afford a few extra days holiday, which we prefer anyway. We’ll have plenty of luxury in the Port Orleans French Quarter. The contrast will make us appreciate it more *chuckles*

We’ve also got 2 nights in some cheap hotel in Orlando. All we need now is to keep our fingers crossed we actually get to go with the plane we want to take, and not have to leave a day later. You never know with standby flying. If I’m ever rich, I’ll never fly standby again… that’s for sure.

Another thing I’ve booked are the tickets for the Universal Studios. Yes, they are ridonkulously expensive, but it’s worth it. We get ours through an English site called Tickets direct, so we actually pay less for 2 weeks of entrance, than you would pay for 2 days at the gate. It works like this, the first time you use the ticket your 2 weeks start. You can go to the two Universal theme parks as much as you want during those two weeks, so that works well for us.

I’m really looking forward to Universal this year. Elora is a bit older, and she’s looking forward to going into some of the roller coasters. FINALLY!!! That means I’ll ride more roller coasters too! Not that they’re my favourite thing, but it’s nice to be able to.

Also… it looks like she’ll be joining me in the Harry Potter ride, so I’m pretty psyched about that. WOOT. *silly dance*

I love sharing this with my daughter.

I sent out a request for an Esta, which is getting more annoying every year. They wanted the names of my parents and my former employer… what the hell??? I swear soon these people will ask me to send them a blood sample and a finger print. It’s annoying that we have to pay for it now too. $42 is a bit of a rip off if you ask me.

The car has also been booked. I think that part is one of Daan’s favourite moments in the trip. He loves picking it up. Though we don’t always get to chose. One year in Miami, we got stuck with some ridiculous vehicle that reminded me of a white banana. I was embarrassed to be seen in it. It was kind of hilarious.

Lots of things to check of my list. The dining reservations are also made. We have a few days where we will venture outside of Disney and visit such classy establishments as ‘Wendy’s’ and ‘Chili’s’ (hey, to us these are super special, we don’t have those here! Don’t judge). We’ll definitely be going back to Joe’s Crab Shack, because that was just insanely good. Mostly we’ll stay on Disney grounds for food, since we’re on the dining plan. That’s nice because that means most of our meals are paid for already, and we’ll have more pocket money to spend on stuff we don’t need.

Elora is getting her own cash this year. We’re trying to teach her the value of money. I really hope I don’t cave. You see, I truly am a strict mom, but my weakness is that I am a big kid who loves toys, so I easily spend money on crap. And in the US, where everything is so much cheaper than here, and where there’s stuff we can’t buy here, I’m easily persuaded. Elora knows this… *paranoid eyes* she knows my weakness!!! Thank god Daan will be there too, he’s stronger than I am. *makes a melodramatic gesture and whispers ‘save yourself’*

Anyway, 21 more days to go, if the gods of luck are with us. I honestly can’t wait. I’m counting the days.