"Find a Happy Place! Find a Happy Place!"

That's one of my favorite lines from Finding Nemo. And it's not too hard to guess where our family's "Happy Place" is: Walt Disney World! So, when I discovered that Reagan had 10 days off in October, I began trying to think of ways to get there.

Now, keep in mind that we were just there in late May...less than 5 months from this proposed trip. But had I known that Reagan would have 10 days off in October, I would have certainly voted for waiting until then to go. After all, October is the time of free dining, cheap resort rates, and short lines!

Still, having just been, the Daddy vetoed another Disney trip immediately. No surprise really. We'd be frivolous to go, right? Instead we started planning a smaller vacation to Atlanta. And cheaper...or so we thought. But when I started pricing hotels, tickets to the aquarium, a trip to the American Girl store....well--"cha-ching!"--our smaller, cheaper trip started adding up. When I mentioned this to the Daddy, he jokingly said, "Run the numbers, give me an Excel spreadsheet, and we'll discuss it."

OK, so I didn't actually do a spreadsheet, but I did some " 'cipherin' " as Jethro used to say. And I figured out that we could actually go to Disney World CHEAPER than we could go to Atlanta for the week!!! We'd be crazy not to go, right? That's what we thought!

So...in 3 weeks, we'll be there! Can't wait. I'm going to take lots of pictures for my website (www.affordingthemouse.com), and do some research for that as well. But my primary objective, as always, is having a great time with my family in our "Happy Place." For us, at least at this point in our lives, no other destination compares.