Our first DVC trip to AKLV: Disney in the rain is better than work

Our trip dates: May 17-21
The characters: Me (aka Janet, 34, the trip planner), Jay (aka the best husband in the world, 38)
Leaving from: Kernersville, NC (between Greensboro and Winston-Salem)
Our destination: Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas- Kidani Village
Parks we visited: Animal Kingdom, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom, Epcot
What were we celebrating: Our ninth wedding anniversary (a few weeks late) and our first stay at our DVC resort.

Pre-trip background:
Jay and I have been going to Disney at least twice a year since 2001, and it has truly become a retreat for us. We both work at a newspaper in North Carolina, and getting away from the daily grind and the “bad” news that happens all over the world is a much needed respite.

So we have considered buying into the Disney Vacation Club community for years, but could never justify spending the money. We took the “tour” at Saratoga several times, but in October of 2008, we happened to be walking by one of the kiosks at Downtown Disney, and the cast member there told us about special incentives. Instead of the minimum 160 points, you could now buy in for 100 points – AND they'd offer special financing and incentives. Hmmm. Intriguing. And wouldn't you know it – before long, we were signing documents for another “mortgage!” and getting a “deed” to our new property in Florida.

As the newest owners at Kidani Village at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas, we would be eligible to stay there as soon as it opened on May 1, 2009. So we booked a studio room for Sunday May 17-Thursday May 21. Jay and I work a weird schedule at the paper – Tuesday through Saturday, on second shift. So it works out great for us that DVC rooms use fewer points on Sunday-Thursday.

Soon after, we bought our tickets on AirTran to fly from Raleigh-Durham to Orlando, and signed up to use Magical Express! Many tickets are cheaper from Raleigh or Charlotte, but the problem is that when we work second shift, we don't get any sleep by the time we're ready to go to the airport. So we both took off Saturday, thinking that we'd do last-minute packing and relax. But would we really end up relaxing that day?