Katie S. 28

The title might suggest that we’ve decided to throw caution to the wind and go to Disney World next month, but that isn’t the case. (A better title if we had decided to go see Mickey might have been “The Ears Have It”…but I digress) About two days into our vacation planning we incurred yet another not fun, unexpected expense. I finally went to the optometrist after neglecting my eyes for about two years. (I did this by making each 1 month pair of contacts last about 3 or 4 months.) So it should come as no great shock that I was told my optic abuse has caused some damage to the inside of my eyelids.  The method of damage discovery involved a tiny hook-like instrument that the doctor used to turn my eyelids inside out. I know… EWWWWW!

So $580 later (and yes that’s WITH vision insurance) I have a new kind of contact lens, the first pair of glasses I have owned in 12 years and strict instructions to start giving my poor eyes regular breaks lest I do so much damage that I’ll never be able to wear contacts again. (Oops, my bad.)

When we combined the fact that we are hemorrhaging money with the fact that just about every friend and family member we have lovingly told us we’d be crazy to go to Disney in July, the answer became clear.

We are going to wait until the fall when the weather is cooler, the crowds are smaller and the rates are cheaper.  It will involve taking the boys out of preschool for a few days, but with Corbin starting Kindergarten next year it seems like this might be our last year to do something like this. So in the mean time we are looking for a cheap weekend getaway that we can take with my family to break up the oppressive July heat. Any suggestions?

The practical and the impractical sides of my brain are doing battle right now. Our summer beach vacation has been canceled due to the oil spill, so we’ve been scrambling to come up with a plan B. A good friend of ours recommended Disney World. She and her husband took their 2 and 3 year old sons there last year and had an absolute blast.

As crazy as it sounds, we’re seriously considering it.

Because of  our school and work schedules, (and the fact that hurricane season is at its height in the fall) it looks like mid-July would be the best time for us to go.  So that brings me back to the practical vs. impractical fight that is consuming me right now. My list of pros for going goes like this:

1. Our boys are 2 and 4 right now and their world is full of wonder. The joy of hugging Mickey, seeing Cinderella’s castle and sleeping in a pirate ship bed will probably never be more real to them than now. And watching them experience these things for the first time would be a sweet blessing for Chris and I.
2. They are getting along extremely well lately. Their good relationship could make for a much more peaceful trip than we might have in a few years  when the age difference between them starts to cause friction again.
3. If we keep waiting and planning we may never find a perfect time to go. Part of me is saying, “Lets just go for it!” It will be hot, it will be crowded, but we’ll just try to rest during the peak hours and go to the parks in the early morning and night. Regardless of any other factors we’ll be sharing the experience together, and that’s what a family vacation is supposed to be all about.
4. When you go to Disney in the summertime there are certain advantages. For one thing the parks stay open later meaning that if  you rest up, you can enjoy the rides at night without having to endure the blistering sun. And also there are nightly parades, light shows and fireworks displays that I know we all would enjoy.
5. I’ve never been to the Magic Kingdom, and getting to see it for the first time though the eyes of my sweet little guys would be a hard opportunity to pass up.

Now my cons list goes like this:

1. Its more expensive when you to travel to Disney in the summer. We’ve had a series of not fun expenses in the last month (fixing Chris’ car, replacing a broken shower door and the tires need to be replaced on my car) so financially speaking it would make more sense to wait until next year. But by that time my school schedule will be really intense so we probably wouldn’t end up going at all.
2. Its hotter when you travel to Disney in the summer time. And while Chris and Corbin don’t mind a little heat, Bennett and I will be miserable if we don’t get regular opportunities to cool off.
3. Disney is more crowded in the summer time. I’ve heard horror stories of massive foreign tour groups, gaggles of screaming children and hordes of pushy parents. And while I realize that there isn’t a time when we’d have the park to ourselves, waiting and going during the off season might afford us a more leisurely experience.

So there you have it. For every pro, I answer myself with a con, and visa versa. Today my gut is saying just go for. Yesterday my gut was saying wait and go in the fall…or late winter. At this rate I’ll probably be looking into Euro Disney by tomorrow!

Thoughts opinions and personal experiences are greatly appreciated! (However we also reserve the right to ignore all words of wisdom and just do whatever the heck we want to…assuming we figure out what that is.)