"If you can dream it, you can do it."

Things have been busy here! I'm sure you can imagine, with ferrying five children around to their various places (and bearing in mind I don't drive!) - oh what I wouldn't give for some pixie dust!

So I was at a toddler group chatting with a friend yesterday and she asked about the cost of Disney.

Friend: So what is it, about three to four thousand?
Me: Uhmm, up
F: Five, Six?
M: Keep going!
F: Seven? More??
M: It's the flights!

Friend concedes that flights are indeed ridiculous, and I get across that The Dream is a very big thing to save for, without actually giving a number.
I wasn't lying. The flights ARE expensive, and to be fair to Disney, while its expensive their end too, it covers EVERYTHING. 

Transport

Mickey's Magical Express - *SWOON*

Accomodation

All Star Music - So magical you wouldn't believe it's a budget resort

Entertainment

*Everything* deserves a parade and a celebration at WDW.  Even opening the gates.  Every day.

 All our food and drinks are covered and paid for


Sunboy wasn't dropping that sausage for any amount of once in a lifetime photos

...and of course access to six parks - each one completely different from the last - and boy do these people look after us! I've never in my life felt better cared for than I did on those two weeks there.
This would explain that while life in a large family can be chaos, and you'd expect that being on holiday (vacation to my American friends!) in another country would be even worse, it's not. Everything ran amazingly smoothly, and I felt that as an adult I was looked after and belonged there as much as my children. Yes we were worn out by the end of it, but it was the best two weeks of family time we've ever spent.

So we've established that for us Walt Disney World is worth it, but how much does being  fed, entertained and looked after cost?
The answer is A. Lot.  We weren't too great with knowing what the deals were and where to find them last time, plus we spent a LOAD of money getting to Universal's World of Adventures (Wizarding World of Harry Potter, baby!) and on souveniers while there.  It was pushing for £10,000  all told, and yes, I will whisper that!  Then hide in a corner, rocking and humming quietly to myself...

So the next step:
To figure out if I was right - do we need to go sooner rather than later?
Do the math - is it even possible to go without 8 years of saving?
The extra hard bit - approach my husband Liam to see what he thinks.

Reasons for sooner (am thinking May 2014)
Frazer will be year 8 (year 9 starts exams usually - not a good holiday time!)
Scarlett will be year 6 (still at primary - much easier to get time off, and with less guilt)
Rowan and Robin will still be considered 'child' (much cheaper)
Jasper will fly for free and be free in the parks (babies under 2 fly for free on a parent's lap, and are considered babies and so free at WDW until they are 3 years old)

Jasper being a baby also means that we can get the family suite again

Any time after 2014:

Frazer doing exams from year 9 onwards - I don't want to intefere with that.
Scarlett at secondary - I don't think her (strict) school will allow time off, and even if they do, I don't want the stress of asking 3 schools.
Rowan will no longer count as a child so will cost more.
Jasper will not fly free.

We would need two seperate rooms (Family suite sleeps 6 plus one infant) which would probably bump the cost.

Soooo... I put my argument to Liam.  What do you think he said?
He said if I think we can do it, then we can do it.  HE'S ON BOARD!!!

And do I think we can do it?  Well, if I can dream it...