A Mom's View: A Priceless Vacation

Well I just returned from our annual trek to Florida. We spent eight days there... and it took me about eight weeks to plan it.

So a few months ago, my family decided that we should go to Florida for Christmas, and of course they went to the closest travel agent—ME! They wanted to go to Orlando and visit some theme parks and then down to visit my parents' house in Boca Raton. So I put on my travel agent hat and started to plan.

First things first: a place to stay. I priced out different packages with hotels and tickets and flights, but none of those deals jumped out and said "buy me." So I started searching on Ebay and Craigslist. After many inquiries, I found a great deal on Ebay at a beautiful resort with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and a screened porch overlooking a beautiful lake.

One down, many things to go. Next were the flights to get us there and back—not as difficult as the hotel—one stop each way back and forth with a plane change, which is doable with our kids, who are ages 12 and 13.

Next we had to decide which parks we were going to and for how long. Well, the prices of the tickets helped us decide that. Two-day Parkhopper passes for four was $950; one day at Universal Studios (after the discounted time-share 90 minute tour/sales pitch) was $300. OUCH! Not exactly priceless, like the ads say!

So the Orlando part of the trip went great. The hotel was fantastic. We did four Disney parks in two days (needless to say, we all slept well) and then Universal Studios (our first time there, and a big WOW for the architecture!). I had a great time waiting on various benches at ride exits and hearing my family's comments and ratings of each ride. I braved a few, but my all-time favorite was "It's a Small World" at Disney. It was under construction the last time we were there about 7 years ago, but this time it was the same as I remembered, just with some fresh paint and a new waiting area. My kids and husband, of course, could not wait to get off and get back to the roller coasters and ride simulators!

Then it was off to Boca Raton for some much-needed rest. After a three-hour ride south in our oversized rental vehicle (a shiny white eight passenger SUV that was almost as big as the plane on our first leg to Florida!), we arrived at my parents' house. We had great weather the whole time we were there, so we enjoyed swimming and the boys golfed while my mom and I shopped. For the most part my boys behaved. We did have to split them up in restaurants and the car a few times, but it wasn't too bad.

One night, though, I did think I was going to have to split my parents up. We were returning from a nice night out looking at holiday lights on the Intercoastal and we got off the highway. My parents started giving my husband directions. My dad was in the front seat, my mom was in the back with me. They started telling my husband which way to go, but both were saying different things. As we kept driving and "discussing," they realized they were both wrong, which was SCARY! We did make it back to their house eventually and in one piece, though.

All in all, it was a fun trip, even after the hours of planning, waiting and paying. A great way to end the the year and bring in the new!