[5SOXFNZ]

Oh Southwest! You are my greatest joy and my worst nightmare rolled into one!!

Shortly after I booked the Package part of our trip with Disney Vacations I started to stake out the Southwest website to see when I would be able to buy airfare! Southwest has great schedules, fares and non-stop flights out of Manchester…really, no one can beat them so they have the game covered up here!! LOL!!

Ok…according to the site flights would be released the first week of December for travel through June 28th…PERFECT!! On December 9th (I believe it was, may have been the 2nd!) I stake out the SWA site first thing in the morning. No Flights… Then I remember they are on a different time zone so I wait a couple of hours. My persistence pays off as I see the date change….You are now free to travel through….WHAT??? June 26th???? Are you KIDDING ME??? I need to fly home on the 27th!!!!!!!! ARGH!!!

Well, thanks to my new found happy place, the Passporter boards, I know I can book the flight down and flight back separately. I think okay…let’s check out the fares!! The morning Non-stop is listed at $134 each. Uph! A little more than I anticipated (We usually go in early December, so I have been spoiled by the $89 fares!) I decide to sit on it for a while and see what happens once they release the next block of flights…a whole MONTH Later!!

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait….you get the idea.

Fast forward to January…again I am staking out the SWA website…flights get released….I pull up the dates and flights we want and ARGH!!! Flights have now jumped to $170 each way…..that’s $1806 for 5 of us with taxes. WAAAAYYY more than I budgeted! Now what do I do???? Kevin, who is much, much more patient than I am says ”Wait it out, they will drop, I bet in May they’ll be down to rock bottom”

MAY??? I start to hyperventilate!!! I am a planer, not just “a planner” like some people say…I am a PLANNER…I am actually an event planner by trade…my motto is get it done, cross it off the list as soon as you can!! There is NO WAY I can wait until MAY!!!!

So, I quietly, and most obsessively, sign onto the SWA site daily to check the flights!

This past Monday I see an e-mail from SWA about a rate sale….”Travel dates through June 24th “ …Really, is there some Southwest employee somewhere stalking me and trying to make my life miserable??? Really????

I go to check out the flights anyway….turns out the earliest flight we had our hearts set on went down a bit…to $134 but the flight after that, still non-stop, gets us into MCO at 2pm has dropped to $98!!

I called Kevin and we both agreed for the price we can’t beat it. He also points out that this way we can get the kids to eat a good breakfast before traveling and chances are, the baby would fall asleep on this flight! …Good thinking Kev!! We buy the tickets down…$543 for all of us. YEAH!! I feel a sense of accomplishment…at least I know we are getting there…who cares if we can’t get back!! LOL!!

So now my attention focuses to the flight back. I decide to check out the Sunday morning flight, still non-stop. It’s listed at $134, not really ‘that’ much less than the Saturday night flight. BUT, still, we could get a $100 room at the airport and still come out on top! I start my internet searching and get an idea of the hotel rates and how this would work.

Today, I present my findings to Kevin who says “Absolutely, book a hotel room and the Sunday morning flights! That will give us another full day in the parks!” Ummmm, who is this “Disney fan” who has replaced my husband??? Wait, I don’t want to know, I just want to keep him around!!

One last ditch search for a lower rate hotel room…a picture of the Hyatt in the airport pops up…I giggle and say to Kevin, “That’d be cool!”
He looks at the rate and says “It’s only $50 more than the other one?”
“Well yeah but that’s $50” I answer
“Book it, $50 is so worth me not having to lug the luggage to the airport to a hotel then back to the airport, plus, this trip is all about the kids and they would think it’s the coolest thing ever!!”
AHHHHH!!! Really who IS this Man????? Hehehehe!!

I am happy to report we have flights both ways booked and get a bonus night at the super cool Hyatt RIGHT IN the Orlando airport!!!
All and all, we saved about $600 by NOT booking those flights the minute they came out…and that includes the hotel room for the extra night!!

It feels real!!! It really, feels for real!!!!!!!

P.S. Sorry, i was playng with the smilys today!! I think they are really funny!!