Count Down: 9 days

I can't believe that in nine days I will drive a loaded van to Florida! There is so much that needs to get done. Usually just getting ready for Christmas is enough work. But now are preparing for an early Christmas next weekend and getting ready for the Disney trip at the same time!

We are renting a condo this year instead of a villa (house). The property managers have a funny rule: they want us to fill out a form and write our credit card number on it so that if we cause any damage, they can charge us up to $300. Usually, most people would have us pay the $300 and then they refund it if there is no damage. The problem we have with the condo's arrangement is that we don't want our credit card information sitting on some piece of paper at the property management office for an unknown length of time!

To solve that problem, we have requested that they accept a check. If not, we will get an America Express gift card with $300 on it and submit that. In the end, they will not get our credit card!

I have heard the crowds at Disney are very bad, so, I have lowered my expectations. I understand we might not get into the Magic Kingdom if the part closes due to capacity. Therefore, we will hit the Magic Kingdom every day until we can get in! For the first day, we are going to hit in the afternoon with the hope that part of the morning rush might have left allowing us to get in.

Also, setting my expectations correctly, I am not expecting to ride any rides. If we can - great! I would love to ride the Christmas version of the Jungle Cruise! However, I am setting my expectations to just be happy to be at Disney during Christmas and to enjoy the decorations.

Our last several trips to Disney have been long stays to explore what living at Disney might be like. While we are still staying outside of Disney World (staying in the West Gate area of Kissimee), this is going to be a vacation. I'm not setting up an office to do work. We aren't staying for 5 weeks. We are here for one purpose: see the Christmas Decorations at Disney World. Nevertheless, I am interested to see how our family fits into a condo versus a villa. Under a temporary move or vacation home could a villa be an option?

It snowed this week. I am looking forward to leaving the cold weather behind and getting some sunshine!