Geeks On A Plane - 1/11 PTR * Postponed :( 7/2

[DisneyFirefly]

pixiedust: Hi there! pixiedust:

I'm mostly a lurker of the Dis, but I do sometimes post. I post a lot on the games board, but my main area for lurking is the DFTW board. If I ever get married, I want it to be at WDW :bride:

Table of Contents
Planned Restaurants (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=35328133&postcount=9)
Possibly nixing the Universal day (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=35373854&postcount=17)
Definitely nixing the Universal day (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=35540866&postcount=18)
The One Armed Man appears (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=35761740&postcount=28)
MK Must-Do's (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=35780998&postcount=31)
Changing from Contemporary to POR (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=35971255&postcount=39)
DHS Must-Do's (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36012225&postcount=40)
And we go from 3 geeks on a plane to 4! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36023399&postcount=48)
Shopping and airport transportation details. (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36070184&postcount=53)
Wishes cruise instead of Cirque (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36163810&postcount=54)
Picture post 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36204107&postcount=57)
Picture post 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36204114&postcount=58)
Epcot Must-Do's (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36278280&postcount=61)
DAK Must-Do's (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36469066&postcount=64)
More changes (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36768250&postcount=77)
Mother's Day pics (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36832286&postcount=85)
Six Flags mini-TR (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36832317&postcount=86)
More shopping ideas (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36961080&postcount=98)
Random updates (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=37056538&postcount=103)
DBF and I broke up :( (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=37143670&postcount=110)
Possible postponement :( (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=37207501&postcount=122)
Postponed until November 2011, but I'm going in October 2010! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=37231588&postcount=127)
New PTR for Halloween trip! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2500576)

Starring Roles

Me
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v591/126/20/184102196/n184102196_31300913_7924.jpg
I'm Dana. I'm 25, born and bred in Chicago, but I feel like I belong in Orlando. I'm a former CM. I did the College Program twice and absolutely loved it. My first CP was in 2004, when I worked in housekeeping at the Boardwalk. My second was technically an alumni program, followed by seasonal employment, in MK custodial. I'm currently working in health care, and planning on applying to nursing school in the fall of 2011 for admission in fall of 2012 (stupid waiting period :headache:). Hopefully I'll be able to move back down to Orlando and get a job as an RN down there, possibly even in the parks. If all goes according to plan, I should be done with nursing school in 2014, right around the time I turn 30 :woohoo:

Jacquie and Ian
http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v287/63/121/1217320362/n1217320362_30090096_2469.jpg
Jacquie and Ian live out in Dekalb, IL, which is about an hour or so away from me. Jacquie and I were roommates freshman year of college. We hit it off the first time we spoke, actually. Our school sent contact information for roommates prior to semester start and we talked for probably about two hours on the phone the first time. Our third roommate hated us and moved out not long after Halloween that year. Ian's her husband. She's 25, he's 24. I've known Jacquie for almost eight years now, and Ian for just a few months less. They've been married for three years this May, after being together since Jacquie was a senior in high school. I actually remember when he proposed to her, because I was across the room! He did it on the phone (we were in school in Wisconsin) and she just started crying and I asked her if she was okay, and she just says, "Yes, he proposed!" Anyway, she's one class shy of a Bachelor's in chemistry, and he's half done with a degree in history. She works in customer service, and he works for campus security.

On Location

We're currently planning on staying at the Contemporary in a Tower room, but if we don't have the money, it'll be Caribbean Beach. I've only ever stayed at Pop, and they've never been at all. I worked at Boardwalk and have resort hopped to see almost all of them, and I particularly love the Yacht & Beach Club and Wilderness Lodge. We'd probably stay at Yacht Club, but we're leaning toward Contemporary because we want to be on the monorail. Plus, the view just really can't be beat :cloud9:

Shooting Dates

We're planning on January 5-12, 2011. We'll be flying on Southwest out of Midway in Chicago. Jacquie and Ian are spending the holidays in Texas with his family, and are coming back (I think) January 2, so we decided on Jan 5-12 so that they'd have a couple days to take care of things at home, do laundry, re-pack, and have a couple days to themselves. I'm hoping that Ian's spring term that year won't start until after the 13th, for obvious reasons, but he may be done by then anyway. My school usually starts around MLK Day, so mine's not a problem.

Build-Up

This is likely going to be the only time we ever get to do this, unless I ever do get married at Disney or they have a vow renewal down there. It's something we've been planning for about six months because they have financial issues (Ian's job sucks, and Jacquie was unemployed for half of last year due to the economy), just as I do (also unemployed for half of last year, partly due to the economy, partly because I lost my job at Disney :headache:).

Originally, we were planning on it being a celebratory trip for their respective graduations and my admission into nursing school, but that's changed. There's no way I'll be ready to apply for nursing school by the time the next cycle rolls around (the next round of applications start October 1, 2010), so that's out. I'm not sure if Jacquie will be able to graduate by then, but Ian will almost definitely not. We're hoping Jacquie will be done by then, since she's only got the one class left.

The reason for the title is that we're a bunch of geeks. We're all Browncoats, Jacquie and I are Gleeks and Hufflepuffs, and Ian's a gamer (both board and video). If you understand any of that first bit, you rock. We tend to talk in movie and TV quotes. We love to cook and eat. Whenever we get together, at least part of the day (because it's rarely less than a day) is spent either cooking something or talking about recipes we want to try. Part of what we're looking forward to most about this trip is the food :cloud9:

Script

Jacquie and I have decided that our ethos for this trip is "Go big or stay at home". So, we're going big popcorn::

I have an in-depth spreadsheet with each of our days planned out with what restaurants we're going to try and get ADR's at. :surfweb: The only one I'm really concerned about is Le Cellier. We're booking as early as we can so we can take advantage of the 180+10 for ADR's. We're doing the DDxP because, this way, we can afford to eat at places like Coral Reef and CRT. If we weren't doing the dining plan, we'd be eating QS and in our room all week. We think it'll work out for us because we're going in low season and, honestly, with a former CM, we'll have a pretty good idea of what to hit first and what can wait. Also, we're planning on going to four different Signature restaurants and a dinner show, so that's half of our credits right there (30 out of 63). On our park days, we only have two restaurants each, so we will have the time to properly wander the parks. The other days are resort/DD hopping days, along with a Universal day.

We're going to spend one day at Universal IOA because of the new Harry Potter park. As I said above, we're a bunch of geeks, so it's honestly the only reason we're going to Universal. When I was living in Orlando, I never once made it into either of the Universal parks, despite living right near them. I made it to City Walk a few times, but that was it.

If we have to cut something, it'll likely be the Universal day, because it'll be a minimum of $240 just to get into the parks (3 adult tickets plus taxes). We're not sure yet, though. We want to go, but it's not that important. If we really want to spend another day at a park, we'll probably just pay the extra couple bucks to get another day at Epcot or MK and pay OOP for QS or something.

They don't know it, but I'm going to be surprising them with tickets to Cirque Du Soleil :rolleyes1 I sort of never got them a wedding present, due to financial difficulties (Jacquie knew what was going on and insisted that I not), so I'm getting them tickets for that. I'm planning on going to the AMC theater or something while they see the show.

Jacquie and I are planning on getting a custom cake at the Grand Floridian. On my spreadsheet, I have us there for breakfast on our first full day, so I'm assuming we'll be able to get it then. We're leaning toward that awesome Haunted Mansion cake I've seen in the cake threads, but I'm not sure if we can get it there or if we'd have to get it at the Contemporary. If that's the case, I might look into having it delivered from private dining or something. If we can't get it at either place, then we'll figure something out, as long as it's awesome. Ian, of course, has no idea.

Actually, Ian has no idea about most of this. He's actually told Jacquie that he'll just let us plan it, and he'll show up and pay his share. :yay:

We're going to be renting a car, since we're going to be there for eight days and only four of those days will be in-park :drive: We don't want to spend several hours a day sitting on Disney buses and the monorail trying to get from resort to resort, and then the Universal day and everything... It's just easier. It'll be a little expensive, but it'll be worth it.

The One-Armed Man

There's a very slight possibility that there will be four of us instead of just three. It depends on if I happen to meet someone (i.e., a guy, so I'm not a third wheel all week :lovestruc) who happens to want to come with. Because it's not likely to happen, we're planning for three adults, but we have discussed a contingency plan. We've decided that if there are going to be four of us, we'll likely just get connecting rooms at CBR, because there we can get a two room package for the price of our package at CR.

Again, this isn't a very likely outcome, because it's less than a year away and even though I'm a romantic, I'm also a realist and I know that there's very little possibility that anyone I meet would want to come with on the trip after dating for less than a year. Still, because there is that slight possibility, we've got the contingency plan in place. At any rate, if I don't meet someone by the time we book in the summer, we're just going to go ahead with CR.

And Now For Something Completely Different...

Less than 11 months until we step foot on Disney property! Yay!

:dance3::dance3:

[disneylovin24]

popcorn::

[DisneyFirefly]

popcorn::

I love that smiley :goodvibes

[jenniferkeala808]

i'm here! sorry to hear about your jobs! my boyfriend has been unemployed for 2 years!! He's in the construction industry and it's been really slow. really can't help the economy!!

Well, can't wait to hear more!!

*keala*

[DisneyFirefly]

my boyfriend has been unemployed for 2 years!! He's in the construction industry and it's been really slow. really can't help the economy!!

Oh god, tell me about it. My father's a union carpenter who works in residential and commercial construction and hasn't had a steady job in almost four years. He can find day work here and there, but that's only when he manages to get on a set-up or tear-down crew for a convention at McCormick Place or Navy Pier. I hope your boyfriend finds something steady soon :( It really sucks in the construction industry right now. I'm so grateful that I'm working and that, even if I lose my job, I should be able to find a new one pretty quickly. I'm a CNA, and there's a relatively high turnover rate for that position at most facilities.

Anyway, thanks for following along! :cutie: I'll probably be posting our list of restaurants later. I literally just got home from work (yay third shift), so am about to crash.

[jenniferkeala808]

Oh god, tell me about it. My father's a union carpenter who works in residential and commercial construction and hasn't had a steady job in almost four years. He can find day work here and there, but that's only when he manages to get on a set-up or tear-down crew for a convention at McCormick Place or Navy Pier. I hope your boyfriend finds something steady soon :( It really sucks in the construction industry right now. I'm so grateful that I'm working and that, even if I lose my job, I should be able to find a new one pretty quickly. I'm a CNA, and there's a relatively high turnover rate for that position at most facilities.

Anyway, thanks for following along! :cutie: I'll probably be posting our list of restaurants later. I literally just got home from work (yay third shift), so am about to crash.

looks like we got a lot in common...i'm getting off third shift in about 2 hours! and i'm about to do the same thing!! go home and crash!! talk to you later!

[DisneyFirefly]

looks like we got a lot in common...i'm getting off third shift in about 2 hours! and i'm about to do the same thing!! go home and crash!! talk to you later!

:laughing: That's kinda funny :) What do you do, if you don't mind my asking?

[jenniferkeala808]

:laughing: That's kinda funny :) What do you do, if you don't mind my asking?

lol! i work at a hotel...front desk!!

[DisneyFirefly]

So, I want to post the restaurants that we're going to try and get ADR's at. This is the main reason we're doing the DxDP. If we didn't, we'd never be able to afford to eat at all of these restaurants, and would likely only be able to do one or two and then QS for the rest of the trip.

We have two picky eaters (me and Ian, but Ian's worse than me), so it was kind of difficult picking restaurants. Thank god for AllEars and their menu pages.

Turf Club (Saratoga Springs)
We're going to have a 6:30am flight out of Chicago, and this restaurant seems like it'd be a good place to catch a decent lunch at. We may change it if we find someplace else that has good food, though.
Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue (Fort Wilderness)
We're hoping to do the 9:30 show for this one. It'll be an extremely long day, but that also gives us time to get settled at the hotel and take a nap and everything.
1900 Park Fare (Grand Floridian)
This is a breakfast. We're hoping to be able to get a custom cake here. I've heard that it's really good, so we're really looking forward to it.
Cap'n Jack's (Downtown Disney)
Jacquie really likes seafood, and this is also one of the few TS restaurants at Downtown Disney that takes the dining plan for dinner that we want to try. The other's Raglan Road, which is going to be the last one we go to before we leave for Chicago.
Artist Point (Wilderness Lodge)
It looked interesting when I wandered around WL, so we're checking it out :)
Coral Reef (Epcot)
Again, Jacquie loves seafood. This one should be fun, though, because she was originally a marine biology major, so we're hoping to be able to get a tank table.
Le Cellier (Epcot)
:woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo: I've wanted to go to Le Cellier since the very first time I walked past it. Never had the opportunity. I almost did when I left my first program, but then my dad looked at the prices and was like "Let's go to the fast food place."
Tusker House (DAK)
I've never been, but it looks like they have an interesting mix of food. Plus, it's character dining. Should be fun :)
Yachtsman Steakhouse (Yacht & Beach Club)
We're planning on spending the day at DAK, but you can do that park in a day, so we've got a dinner planned outside of it, at Yachtsman Steakhouse. It looks interesting to us :)
Cinderella's Royal Table (MK)
We're going to try and get a pre-open ADR here. I want Jacquie and Ian to see Main Street when it's mostly empty, and not just at the end of the night. My favorite picture I've ever taken of MK was when I had my orientation tour and was able to get a picture of the Castle from Town Square with maybe four people in the picture, all CM's. I'll post it at the bottom. I love it :cloud9: But we're also eating there because I've heard that breakfast is the best meal to have there, and I think they'd really like being able to eat in the Castle.
Crystal Palace (MK)
I loooove Crystal Palace. I love the Pooh characters. This is, so far, my favorite TS at MK.
Sci-Fi Dine-In (DHS)
Geeks + bad 50s sci-fi trailers + food = :cheer2: I've eaten here before, and I really liked it. I think Jacquie and Ian will get a kick out of it. They have FearNet as part of their cable package, and Jacquie and I have this habit of putting on awful horror movies and then making fun of them. We're planning on doing a lunch there.
Cape May Cafe (Yacht & Beach Club)
This is going to be dinner on our DHS day. None of the restaurants at DHS aside from Sci-Fi appealed to us (50s Prime Time sounded good as far as food goes, but Ian would NOT want to play along and it would actually ruin his day, so we're not going there), so we're leaving the park for dinner and then going back for Fantasmic, provided it's showing that night. If it's not, we'll head over to Cape May for dinner and then go back to hit a few rides one or two more times, then go back to the resort.
Narcoossee's (Grand Floridian)
This is going to be the dinner on our Universal/open day. The night before I left Orlando last January, my old manager (whom I adore and really hope I get to see when I go down) maingated me and my dad into MK. The day before that, though, my dad and I spent the afternoon and evening resort hopping. He absolutely loved the Wilderness Lodge. As I mentioned above, he's a carpenter, so he was just enthralled by all the details in the architecture. But at the end of the night, we'd found ourselves on the boat from the WL to the Grand, and the moment we stepped off the boat onto the dock, he just stopped and stood there for a second, sniffing. And then he goes, "I smell steak". :laughing: I'd never even seen Narcoossee's before, so I didn't know that it was the tiny little building just off the dock. He wanted to stop and get dinner, but then he saw the prices :rotfl: We wound up stopping at McDonald's on the way back to my apartment. I told Jacquie about it, how it's this little building right out on the water and you can see Wishes from it, and she was intrigued, so we're going there.
Captain's Grille (Yacht & Beach Club)
Breakfast on our last day. The main reason we decided to go with this one is because they have the option of doing buffet or a la carte.
Raglan Road (Downtown Disney)
I've wanted to go to Raglan Road since I found out they existed, but I never had anyone to go with. Now I do. We're going to check out of the hotel, head over to Downtown Disney for some last minute shopping, get lunch there, and then leave for the airport. :sad1:

Anyway, this is the picture I was talking about above. It's my favorite picture of Main Street :love:

http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v287/63/121/1217320362/n1217320362_30090070_2427.jpg

[DisneyFirefly]

lol! i work at a hotel...front desk!!

Oddly enough, that's one of Jacquie's jobs! She has two jobs, one at a store and one working weekend third shift at a hotel right near their apartment :)

[jenniferkeala808]

wow!! we ALL have something in common! so cool! by the way, i love your restaurant choices. i haven't eaten at any but reading the DIS and seeing the food pictures...sounds like some good choices. I want to eat at Le Cellier also but I just can't get an ADR that works with our schedule...looks like we just have to go back again!! :rotfl:

[DisneyFirefly]

Yeah, Le Cellier is probably the hardest restaurant on property to get a reservation at. That's why I'm so concerned about not being able to get the reservation, although I'm sure we'll get it :) I mean, we're going in January, so I'm sure we'll get something.

I hope you guys can get one next time you go!

[stephielela]

your trip sounds really exciting! i went to disney with my college bff for spring break our senior year, and it was TONS of fun! your dining choices look great, and believe it or not, i work third shift too (night audit/front desk at a hotel too!) who knew there were so many of us! lol

[disneylovin24]

Turf Club--best discovery of our trip last year, the food and prices were cheap enough where it was always a nice, quiet place to grab lunch or dinner

Yachtsman Steakhouse--great steak (not as good as Shula's) but the second best steak house on disney property in my opinion

Cinderella's Royal Table---i haven't eaten here since 2002, all I remember was the dessert menu being very limited, maybe they've changed it by now

Crystal Palace--i love this one too:lovestruc the atmosphere and food are fantastic

Cape May Cafe--great place, the food is all of the normal things, but my family always agrees that this just does better at making these foods (that probably sounds crazy:lmao:_

[MainStMandy]

I'm in!! Former CM and DIsney bride here :) I did my first CP in 99 and my second in 01...I'm a bit older than you are ;)

Your trip sounds like a lot of fun...and my DF is a gamer so I understand, lol.

[DisneyFirefly]

your trip sounds really exciting! i went to disney with my college bff for spring break our senior year, and it was TONS of fun! your dining choices look great, and believe it or not, i work third shift too (night audit/front desk at a hotel too!) who knew there were so many of us! lol

We were only roommates for one year, and she spent spring break at home with Ian and I spent it in New Jersey with a friend from school. We're really looking forward to it :goodvibes We're really looking forward to our dining choices, too :woohoo: And yay for more third shift people! That's too funny!

Turf Club--best discovery of our trip last year, the food and prices were cheap enough where it was always a nice, quiet place to grab lunch or dinner

Yachtsman Steakhouse--great steak (not as good as Shula's) but the second best steak house on disney property in my opinion

Cinderella's Royal Table---i haven't eaten here since 2002, all I remember was the dessert menu being very limited, maybe they've changed it by now

Crystal Palace--i love this one too:lovestruc the atmosphere and food are fantastic

Cape May Cafe--great place, the food is all of the normal things, but my family always agrees that this just does better at making these foods (that probably sounds crazy:lmao:_

Glad to hear that Turf Club is good! It's the only restaurant we picked that I hadn't heard anything about, so yeah, glad to hear that it's a good place to eat at :) We're going to CRT for breakfast, so we don't really have to worry about dessert.

I'm in!! Former CM and DIsney bride here :) I did my first CP in 99 and my second in 01...I'm a bit older than you are ;)

Your trip sounds like a lot of fun...and my DF is a gamer so I understand, lol.

Hi Mandy! I actually read your wedding PJ a long while ago :rotfl: It should be fun, at the very least :) We started talking about it about eight months or so ago, but then really started looking into planning and such about six months ago. I'm an obsessive planner and I love Disney, so... Yeah :cheer2:

Thanks for reading! :cutie:

[DisneyFirefly]

So, uh, we had an earthquake this morning!

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=7268309

Yeah, I was sitting at the reception desk at work and my mom texted me and said that there was an earthquake out in Dekalb, where Jacquie and Ian live and was Jacquie okay. Like I said, she's another daughter to her :rotfl: Anyway, I called her (feeling bad about doing so, since it was about 5:50am at the time) and got her voice mail. She called me back a minute later, said she was fine.

Then I said, "Well, since I have you on the phone, I have a question about the Disney trip..."

We were talking about possibly cutting the Universal day the last time I talked to her because it'll be somewhere in the area of $300 when you add in park tickets, food, and parking. I mentioned it to her again this morning, since I'd actually laid out our projected expenses on my spreadsheet, and we agreed that it would probably be best to just skip Universal. We really want to go, but not for that kind of money.

So, instead, we're going to get five-day WDW tickets and just grab counter service at whatever park we wind up at and pay OOP. It's likely to be either Epcot or MK, since we can easily do both DAK and DHS in a day each. If we do MK, we'll probably going to get lunch at Columbia Harbour House, as it is my favorite QS at MK. If we do Epcot... I have no clue, LMAO. Normally when I'd get QS at Epcot, it'd be at the Electric Umbrella, but I think we could probably try and do QS at one of the World Showcase locations.

Also, even though I got home about an hour ago, I'm slightly wired. Probably from trudging through the snow we got last night. So I made myself a bank out of a shoe box that I've been meaning to throw out. I'm going to run to the store later today (after I get some sleep) and pick up some cheap Disney wrapping paper and wrap it up and then, whenever I have cash or loose change, it's going in there. It's all sealed up, so I can't open it without ruining the box. I'll take a picture of it and post it later, once I get it wrapped up. It's a nice, thick cardboard, so it should hold up pretty well.

[DisneyFirefly]

So I forgot to post the picture of my shoebox-turned-bank. Here it is :)

http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/1567/p1050430i.jpg

I picked up the wrapping paper at Walgreen's. And no, that's not an iPhone in the background, unfortunately. It's just an iTouch, but I love it anyway :teeth: My whole family's on a T-Mobile family plan (all five of us), and I'm not about to get a jailbroken iPhone when Apple's allegedly able to install things that will shut down your phone if it's jailbroken. I got it last week, directly from Apple, so it's engraved on the back with a quote from Walt Disney.

So anyway :)

I also bought a Wii when I got my tax return last week, and a copy of the EA Active game. It's basically a cardio version of Wii Fit, and you don't need a balance board to do it. It was recommended by a friend of mine who tried both and preferred that one. It's currently kicking my butt with the 30 day challenge, so I'm actually doing a custom workout. I have problems with rolling my ankles and, because of that, can't do a big portion of the workouts in the 30 day challenge. I got a couple other games, too, including the Toy Story Mania one :teeth:

I do need to lose weight. I've known that for a long time, but I've never really wanted to. I don't want to be a size 2, not that I think I ever could be. I just want to get down to a size 16/18. I'm currently a 26/28, but I fluctuate between that and a 22/24. I can fit into 22 jeans, but with the fact that most of my weight is centered in my midsection, I have a major muffintop when I wear those.

As far as plans for the trip go, Jacquie and I are still thinking about whether the Universal day is a good idea or not. Right now, the plan is to wait and see what the reviews of the HP park are like and go from there. It'll be more economical to just do another day at Disney, but we really want to do the HP park. So we're going to wait until it opens, see what people say about it, and then decide based on the reviews. We're mainly going for the theming, honestly.

If we don't go there, the day will either be at MK or Epcot. We've also decided that if that's what we do, we're going to cut our breakfast on our last day and use that batch of credits for lunch on the extra park day. If we do MK, we'll likely hit up Liberty Tree. The Plaza is a lot like restaurants here at home, and I've read too many mixed reviews about Tony's to want to use a credit there. At Epcot, we're leaning toward Rose and Crown. We're doing Narcoossee's that night.

Um... I think that's about everything for the moment. The only other stuff going on is that I'm heading out to Dekalb on Wednesday to see Jacquie and Ian, so it'll be fun to see them :3dglasses Also, I may have possibly met someone on eHarmony. Well, I did technically meet him, I just don't know if it's going to go anywhere. He's nice, though. I'll just see where it goes :)

[MainStMandy]

Yay for Wii and Wii Active...we love it!! We bought the additional games for it too which are great...I actually like them better!

[DisneyFirefly]

I'm gonna get the add-on next month :) I really like the Wii Active, though; a lot more than I thought I would. It's more fun to do than the tape videos my mom still uses from time to time. She does the Active, too, which is utterly HILARIOUS to watch :teeth:

[DisneyFirefly]

*flail*

So it turns out that I have SIX days of paid vacation to use before the end of 2010. I have no clue what to use them for, since I've never actually been able to take a vacation. They don't roll over (according to the paperwork, I'll have ten days in 2011, so I don't have to worry about that; my company's awesome with vacation time), so I have to use them this year. I'm thinking about using three to go to either a Stargate convention in August or a Supernatural convention in November.

However, I'm thinking about using the other three around my birthday to go somewhere. My birthday's in June, and I'm off the day before and the day of, then the Monday and Tuesday after, so I'd just need the weekend off. I'm thinking about heading down to WDW, but I was also thinking about going to DL, since I've never been, and then I started thinking about a cruise and then maybe Hawaii or getting a passport and going to London or Germany or something and just... *FLAIL*

What do you guys suggest? I'd likely be going alone, which I have no problem with. I just want to actually have a vacation this year. I've never had a proper vacation as an adult. The solo trip mentioned in my sig was a whirlwind trip, and the main purpose of it was an interview at Casting. Every other time I've been "away", it's been for a job opportunity, like when I spent four months in Alaska. I just... I have no idea what I want to do. I just want to go, you know?

So, yeah, what do you guys suggest? I'm keeping my options open to just about anything.

[DisneyFirefly]

So, er... I guess this is now a DOUBLE PTR? *flail* Should I make a separate PTR for this one?

It's official :hyper::hyper: My friend Elle and I are going to WDW for my 26th birthday in June!! She lives in Kansas, so she'll be coming up here, probably on May 31 or early June 1, and then we're flying down together on June 2. We found a good deal on MegaBus from Kansas City to Chicago ($60!), so that combined with the Southwest fare is much better than the fare she'd be paying to fly direct from Wichita. We're going to be staying either at Pop or one of the mods (not sure yet) and will be doing the gift card deal. We're getting the regular DDP.

I'm booking our package when I get paid next Friday, and I've already made all but one of our ADR's. She's never been, so I get to be in charge of planning again :lmao:

Our itinerary:

June 2
Arrive at MCO around 9:30am.
Check in at resort.
MK.
Dinner at Crystal Palace at 6:45pm - reservation marked with birthday for me and first visit for Elle. This will be paid OOP with the gift card due to one of our other reservations needing two credits.

:cake: June 3 - My birthday! :cake:
MK
Dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table - time unknown, as I have to wait until I have my package booked before I can book this. This is the double credit one, obviously :)

June 4
Epcot
Lunch at Le Cellier - 1:40pm

June 5
Epcot
Dinner at Rose and Crown - 5:05pm

June 6
DHS
Dinner at Sci-Fi - 6:45pm. Once again, a couple of geeks :teeth:

June 7
Depart for Chicago :guilty:

June 8
Elle leaves Chicago for Wichita :guilty::guilty:

She has a couple of severe food allergies, so I have to note those on the reservations, but the Disney website won't let me log in for some reason :confused3

Anyway, the reason we're not sure about where we're staying is just that I kind of want to upgrade us to a mod, but I'm not sure how much time we'll be spending in the rooms. So... I'll just wait and see what's available, I guess. I just can't wait to go :yay: :yay: :yay:

I get to spend another* birthday in Disney World! YAY!

*In 2004, I spent my 20th birthday at MK. In 2008, I spent my 24th birthday at MK. And now, in 2010, I'll spend my 26th birthday at MK.

:goodvibes

[jenniferkeala808]

so sorry i've been MIA a little bit! Sorry! Been so busy at work! Anyway, glad to hear you're going for your birthday!!!! That's be sooo magical! :wizard: I'm so jealous you're going twice this year! Your plans for your birthday trip sound great! Can't wait to hear more!!

[DisneyFirefly]

so sorry i've been MIA a little bit! Sorry! Been so busy at work! Anyway, glad to hear you're going for your birthday!!!! That's be sooo magical! :wizard: I'm so jealous you're going twice this year! Your plans for your birthday trip sound great! Can't wait to hear more!!

:lmao: I think we posted on each other at the same time :)

It actually just occurred to me looking at that ticker I just put up that the trip is in less than three months :scared1: I know we'll be able to afford it, it's just one of those omg moments. She's never been, so when I was telling her about Le Cellier, she was like "Wait, are we going to Florida or Canada?"

I really love spending my birthday at MK, seriously :cloud9: I've never had the chance to eat at CRT, so this is the perfect opportunity (and she cracked up when I told her we were gonna eat in the Castle :rotfl:)

[jenniferkeala808]

:lmao: I think we posted on each other at the same time :)

It actually just occurred to me looking at that ticker I just put up that the trip is in less than three months :scared1: I know we'll be able to afford it, it's just one of those omg moments. She's never been, so when I was telling her about Le Cellier, she was like "Wait, are we going to Florida or Canada?"

I really love spending my birthday at MK, seriously :cloud9: I've never had the chance to eat at CRT, so this is the perfect opportunity (and she cracked up when I told her we were gonna eat in the Castle :rotfl:)

less than 3 months?!?!?! that's crazy!! And in no time it'll say 1 month!! haha...that's hilarious what your friend said abou Le Cellier!!

I don't think DBF would like eating in the castle. I think he'll think it's TOO MUCH. It's his first visit...so i think i'll ease him into things! We ARE doing the breakfast at Akershus on my birthday...it's my birthday and I don't CARE what he says!! I want to eat with the princesses!! :rotfl: I really wanted to spend my bday at MK too!! But my birthday is a grad night!! :confused3 It's alright...next time right?!?! Can't wait to hear more of your plans!!

[DisneyFirefly]

less than 3 months?!?!?! that's crazy!! And in no time it'll say 1 month!! haha...that's hilarious what your friend said abou Le Cellier!!

I don't think DBF would like eating in the castle. I think he'll think it's TOO MUCH. It's his first visit...so i think i'll ease him into things! We ARE doing the breakfast at Akershus on my birthday...it's my birthday and I don't CARE what he says!! I want to eat with the princesses!! :rotfl: I really wanted to spend my bday at MK too!! But my birthday is a grad night!! :confused3 It's alright...next time right?!?! Can't wait to hear more of your plans!!

Oh god, I know :scared1: I still haven't told my dad I'm going. I told my mom, but not him. He'll spaz out.

When I was explaining Le Cellier to Elle, I said "It's this steakhouse in Canada at Epcot" and apparently she had no idea what I meant :lmao: I totally understand about wanting to eat with the princesses, though. I've never done it, although I've eaten with Pooh and Eeyore :) I don't think my birthday's grad night... I hope not. It's a Thursday, so I don't think it is. But yes, always next time! :laughing:

Hah, I just looked it up. They're just in April :)

[irishdancer86]

hey, joining the pre trip report!!! which now sounds doubly good!!! really enjoyed reading because you convey your excitment so well!

i'm also a Harry Potter/Lord of the Rings/Phillip Pullman/Narnia geek and DBF is physics teacher and is insisting upon kennedy space centre...so we're going to sci-fi for exactly the same reasons!!! can't wait!!!

I'm also a picky eater, so agree that allears.net is a uselful tool!!! bf has tried to put a ban in place for not eating french fries every day but i've assured him it will be a one man plan!!!:rotfl:

The bank is a great idea!!! If i get any tax rebate I am using it for the segway tour...

and also trying to lose weight before our trip in july...boring but has to be done i suppose :sad2:

not sure if read here or on another trip report about your date...so is a fourth wheel looking likely...first dates cn be so nerve wracking!!!

[DisneyFirefly]

hey, joining the pre trip report!!! which now sounds doubly good!!! really enjoyed reading because you convey your excitment so well!

i'm also a Harry Potter/Lord of the Rings/Phillip Pullman/Narnia geek and DBF is physics teacher and is insisting upon kennedy space centre...so we're going to sci-fi for exactly the same reasons!!! can't wait!!!

I'm also a picky eater, so agree that allears.net is a uselful tool!!! bf has tried to put a ban in place for not eating french fries every day but i've assured him it will be a one man plan!!!:rotfl:

The bank is a great idea!!! If i get any tax rebate I am using it for the segway tour...

and also trying to lose weight before our trip in july...boring but has to be done i suppose :sad2:

not sure if read here or on another trip report about your date...so is a fourth wheel looking likely...first dates cn be so nerve wracking!!!

LOL, thanks :) I've been blogging for years, so I'm kinda used to writing in an internet format :goodvibes

Yay for more geeks! It's fun being a geek :) Most of the time, anyway, unless you're around people who just don't get it, but most of my friends get it and my parents have just gotten used to it :rolleyes1

Yeah, allears.net is definitely a good resource for groups with picky eaters. Provided the restaurants don't change their menus before my trip, anyway :rotfl: I had to promise my best friend that I wouldn't get a cheeseburger every day on our January trip, but with the restaurants we're going to, there's no way I would :woohoo:

I actually had to break into my bank not too long ago :guilty: I re-taped it, but it's not as pretty anymore. Oh well. Such is life. When I got my tax return (I do it early), I wound up buying a Wii and some other things, like an iTouch.

I did mention the date on Jennifer's PTR :cloud9: He's just as big a geek as I am, which is nice. As of right now, it looks like there might not only be a fourth wheel for January, but a third wheel for June! :scared1: It really just depends on how things go, obviously. It cracked me up, but the age difference between us is the same as between you and your DBF :rotfl: I'm 25, he's 33. I'm hoping to be able to see him next weekend, but we're not sure yet. But yes, first dates can be VERY nerve-wracking. He was more nervous than I was, though, which was kind of cute :lovestruc We got on really well, though, and it was just a really nice time. We were texting last night, but I was trying not to bug him too much. Not because I'm worried he'll decide he doesn't want to see me again, but just because he's a commercial driver and it was insanely foggy here last night and I didn't want to distract him. So we'll see what happens :)

Anyway :teeth: Glad to have you around!

[irishdancer86]

I did mention the date on Jennifer's PTR :cloud9: He's just as big a geek as I am, which is nice. As of right now, it looks like there might not only be a fourth wheel for January, but a third wheel for June! :scared1: It really just depends on how things go, obviously. It cracked me up, but the age difference between us is the same as between you and your DBF :rotfl: I'm 25, he's 33. I'm hoping to be able to see him next weekend, but we're not sure yet. But yes, first dates can be VERY nerve-wracking. He was more nervous than I was, though, which was kind of cute :lovestruc We got on really well, though, and it was just a really nice time. We were texting last night, but I was trying not to bug him too much. Not because I'm worried he'll decide he doesn't want to see me again, but just because he's a commercial driver and it was insanely foggy here last night and I didn't want to distract him. So we'll see what happens :)

Anyway :teeth: Glad to have you around!

ooooh, another cool coincidence!!! i thought at the start 8 years was a lot but now realise that as dbf has the mental age of a teenager we're about even!!! sometimes he asks me about things from childhood like favourite tv shows and i tease him by saying...'o you forgot your from an older generation than me ray...'...WARNING This does not go down well!!! :rolleyes1

so looking forward to hearing more about both trips, and the possible extra wheel on both!!!:yay:

[DisneyFirefly]

ooooh, another cool coincidence!!! i thought at the start 8 years was a lot but now realise that as dbf has the mental age of a teenager we're about even!!! sometimes he asks me about things from childhood like favourite tv shows and i tease him by saying...'o you forgot your from an older generation than me ray...'...WARNING This does not go down well!!! :rolleyes1

so looking forward to hearing more about both trips, and the possible extra wheel on both!!!:yay:

Yeah, he's about the same mental age as me, but he's a lot more responsible and respectful than most of the guys my age that I know. But yeah, I found out about the not teasing about him being older thing... He took it well, but we've both got a very sarcastic sense of humor, and can be self-deprecating, so I think that's why. We've been texting the last couple of nights. I think we gave each other a cold :sick: Still, I'm hoping to talk to him this weekend and figure out when we're going to see each other again :)

[DisneyFirefly]

So, I've got nothing to do right now, so I'm going to post the rides that Elle and I are going to try and hit at MK. We're spending two days at MK, so whatever we don't hit on the first day, we can hit on the second. We're going to utilize the FP system for the big rides and also try and hit as many popular rides as we can early in the day. This will probably also be the same list of rides for the January trip, too :) The only reason that HOP is a must-do is just because I know how cold it gets in that building, and I figure it'll be a good break in the middle of the day.

Must Do's
Jungle Cruise
Pirates of the Caribbean
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain
Hall of Presidents
Haunted Mansion
Snow White
Pooh
Railroad
Space Mountain
TTA
Monster's Inc
3:00 parade
Spectro
Fireworks

Maybe's
It's A Small World
PhilHar (it gives me a headache because of the 3D)
Cinderella's Carousel
Carousel of Progress
Dream Along With Mickey
Aladdin
Tiki Room
Stitch
Buzz Lightyear
Riverboat

[DisneyFirefly]

:sad::sad:

So, unfortunately, my birthday trip is canceled. :guilty: I went over my budget again and there's just no way I can afford it. Some other things have come to my attention that I have to take care of ASAP (long story that I don't particularly care to get into in a public forum). So, because of this, I'm just going to Six Flags for my birthday instead :crazy2: Better than nothing, right? And it's still early in the season (and a weekday), so it shouldn't be too busy. Hopefully. So my vacation time I was going to use for the trip is going to be used later in the month of June, while my parents are on vacation, so that I can just have a little mini-vacation of my own.

As of right now, we're still on for January 2011. If Elle wants to come with us then, she's more than welcome to, but if she doesn't want to and things go well with this guy I'm seeing, he might maybe come with. He seemed amenable to the idea, anyway. We're going out again next Saturday :bitelip:

So that's all that's going on right now. It just really sucks that I can't go for my birthday. Oh well. Maybe next year :)

[jenniferkeala808]

hey dana! Sorry I"ve been MIA...i'm so sad your birthday trip was cancelled but you're right...Six Flags is better than nothing!! You better update me after your date on Saturday!! Have fun!!

[DisneyFirefly]

hey dana! Sorry I"ve been MIA...i'm so sad your birthday trip was cancelled but you're right...Six Flags is better than nothing!! You better update me after your date on Saturday!! Have fun!!

It's cool :) Life happens :rotfl: But yeah, Six Flags isn't exactly where I wanted to spend it, but it's better than sitting around my house doing nothing. Their prices are just crazy. They gouge you on everything. It's changed a lot since the last time I went (which was at least eight years ago, since the last time I went, Shockwave was still there and they dismantled it in 2002), but I think this'll be the last season I go. I got a season pass because they were so damn cheap. They have a Fast Pass-like thing and they charge a minimum of $35 for it. Which I think is outrageous and wrong, but people pay it, so they do it. Oh well. At least I can use it for Fright Fest (I love Halloween).

I definitely will :goodvibes So far, the plan for the date is to either go out for dinner and back to his place for a movie, order take out and watch a movie, or cook and watch a movie. We're waiting to see how we both feel. It'll be fun, though :cutie:

[DisneyFirefly]

*FLAIL*

THE BOY IS MEETING MY PARENTS.

:scared1::scared1::scared1:

Because of the way our schedules work out, we've been seeing each other every other weekend. He has every weekend off, but I only have every other weekend off. My next weekend off is April 2-4. So we made plans to see each other then.

Then today, my mom comes home from work and asks if I want to go to my (crazy) aunt's house for Easter. I find out that Easter is April 4. I hate my aunt, so I'm not going, and neither's my brother, but my parents are. So instead, my mom's having a barbecue on April 3. So... Now James is coming to the barbecue and will be meeting my parents and my brother and his girlfriend and my uncle. And I'm TERRIFIED.

When I asked him if he wanted to go, he said, "Well, I'd be meeting them sooner or later, right? May as well go." I'm just... seriously flailing right now.

The other day, he pulled me into the Disney Store at the mall (as I tried to walk past it) and then commented on how we should take a trip down there together at some point. Inside, I was going :scared1: and outside I was like "Well, I'm going with my friends in January..." and he said something about having to see how much it would be.

I'm just... OMG I'm freakin FLAILING right now. I just had to tell someone about this and my friend I normally flail to about him isn't online right now and I think if I tell my coworker anything else, she'll throw her Chinese food at me.

[irishdancer86]

flail is such a good word to describe those panic-ed but with a happy edge crazy emotions!!!

but at least it's flailing in a good way!!! imagine if he's said how much he hated the disney shop:eek:...relationship over!!!

awaiting developments with interest!!!:cutie:

[MainStMandy]

Aww that sucks about the trip...but yay about the boy!!! Good for you!!! Keep us updated!!

[DisneyFirefly]

flail is such a good word to describe those panic-ed but with a happy edge crazy emotions!!!

but at least it's flailing in a good way!!! imagine if he's said how much he hated the disney shop:eek:...relationship over!!!

awaiting developments with interest!!!:cutie:

It was really the best word I could think of to describe how I was feeling, you know? But yes, it's in a very good way :goodvibes If he'd said he hated the Disney Store, it wouldn't have been "relationship over", it would've just sucked more than a little. I'm used to people not "getting it", but he seems to at least be okay with my obsession :rotfl: My ex was of the "You mention it, I kick you" type, which was really aggravating, since I was with him while I was still working there!

But yeah, I'm still nervous, but my dad promised my mom that he'd behave, which is good. We don't have the easiest relationship, but he's still my dad. I just... I was telling a friend of mine about it, and she said that considering that he's willing to meet them already and also what he said about meeting them (the "sooner or later" comment), it sounds like he's really serious about me, which makes me all kinds of happy :lovestruc

Aww that sucks about the trip...but yay about the boy!!! Good for you!!! Keep us updated!!

Yeah, it does suck, but we're going to Six Flags instead, so that's better than nothing :) Plus, if things are still going well with the boy, he'll be coming with :teeth: I'll definitely keep you guys updated, since I really need a place to flail about him and, with my schedule, it's hard to get a hold of other people :lmao:

Also, I saw your preview wedding pics and OMG YOU LOOKED BEAUTIFUL! I don't remember if I posted on your TR or not, but you and your DH looked like you had a wonderful day :lovestruc

[DisneyFirefly]

So our contingency plan has changed. If James comes, which looks likely provided that we're still together, there'll be four of us, which we feel is too many for one room, even at the Contemporary. Originally, we were looking at staying at Caribbean Beach if there was a fourth, but now that it's looking like a real possibility to not only have a fourth, but someone I'm dating, we're looking to stay at Port Orleans - Riverside. I forgot that they have the carriage rides until I read about it on Keala's PTR, so I think that'll be fun :)

We might wind up staying there anyway, since I emailed Jacquie links to pics and she loved it, so we might skip CR and go with POR either way :)

[DisneyFirefly]

Soooo... I'm bored. In continuing with the list of 'must-do's' for MK, here's our list for DHS :)

Must Do's
The Great Movie Ride - One of my favorites at DHS :)
Star Tours - We're geeks. Duh. Plus, if James comes, he's a HUGE Star Wars geek :teeth:
Muppet Vision 3-D - Ian is apparently a pretty big Muppets fan.
Studio Backlot Tour - I really like this ride. It's a nice chance to sit down.
Toy Story Midway Mania! - Gamers and geeks, of course we're going to hit this one :teeth:
Voyage of the Little Mermaid - Jacquie used to be a marine biology major, and The Little Mermaid is her favorite Disney movie.
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster - But of course :teeth:
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror - LOVE this ride :)
Fantasmic! - It's not my favorite, but it's still pretty cool.

Shows, aka, if we have time
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! - Again, a bunch of geeks.
Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show - You know, I've never seen this one?
Beauty and the Beast - Live on Stage - Jacquie also loves Beauty and the Beast, so this would be fun to go to :)

[jenniferkeala808]

hey girl!! Sorry I've been MIA...so busy! Anyway, POR sounds good!! I'm soooo excited for the carriage rides!! So romantic :love:! Your must-do's for DHS look good! Muppet Vision is going to be in refurbishment when we go :sad2:!! So bummed. Well, I'll talk to you later! Any updates with the "boy"???? ;)

[DisneyFirefly]

hey girl!! Sorry I've been MIA...so busy! Anyway, POR sounds good!! I'm soooo excited for the carriage rides!! So romantic :love:! Your must-do's for DHS look good! Muppet Vision is going to be in refurbishment when we go :sad2:!! So bummed. Well, I'll talk to you later! Any updates with the "boy"???? ;)

LOL, it's perfectly okay :teeth: I haven't had much to post, to be honest :) I'm really hoping nothing we really want to do will be down, since we're going in a pretty common refurb time.

Weeeell... We're going out tomorrow before I have to go to work. We're going to see Repo Men and probably get dinner or something. And he, um... He's having a set of keys for his apartment made for me. I'm torn between :scared1: and :lovestruc, since I've never (and I mean never) had keys to someone's apartment. So... Yeah. :teeth:

[jenniferkeala808]

LOL, it's perfectly okay :teeth: I haven't had much to post, to be honest :) I'm really hoping nothing we really want to do will be down, since we're going in a pretty common refurb time.

Weeeell... We're going out tomorrow before I have to go to work. We're going to see Repo Men and probably get dinner or something. And he, um... He's having a set of keys for his apartment made for me. I'm torn between :scared1: and :lovestruc, since I've never (and I mean never) had keys to someone's apartment. So... Yeah. :teeth:

YAY FOR DATE NIGHT!! Wow...getting his apartment keys?!?! That's a huge step!! Good luck with everything!! Are you at work also?!?!

[DisneyFirefly]

Well, Date Afternoon, really :) Neither of us wanted to wait until this weekend to see the other :rotfl: I know the keys are a huge step, which is why I'm all ":eek: OMG". There's this song that really describes the way I feel about him (I tend to identify a LOT with music). And I forgot the stupid link. Crossfade - Invincible (http://www.elyrics.net/read/c/crossfade-lyrics/invincible-lyrics.html)

But yeah, I'm at work, too :teeth: Another hour and a half and then I have to go home and go right to bed, since he's picking me up at 3, which is normally about the time I get up :rotfl: How's your night?

[jenniferkeala808]

Well, Date Afternoon, really :) Neither of us wanted to wait until this weekend to see the other :rotfl: I know the keys are a huge step, which is why I'm all ":eek: OMG". There's this song that really describes the way I feel about him (I tend to identify a LOT with music). And I forgot the stupid link. Crossfade - Invincible (http://www.elyrics.net/read/c/crossfade-lyrics/invincible-lyrics.html)

But yeah, I'm at work, too :teeth: Another hour and a half and then I have to go home and go right to bed, since he's picking me up at 3, which is normally about the time I get up :rotfl: How's your night?

aww how cute!! Awww so lucky you get off in a little bit. I have 6 more hours to go :scared1: At least my boyfriend dropped me off today so he's going to pick me up!! Night is okay...a lot of irritating people tonight. It's okay though. I have the DIS to keep me up and keep my happy!! lol!!

[DisneyFirefly]

aww how cute!! Awww so lucky you get off in a little bit. I have 6 more hours to go :scared1: At least my boyfriend dropped me off today so he's going to pick me up!! Night is okay...a lot of irritating people tonight. It's okay though. I have the DIS to keep me up and keep my happy!! lol!!

Hey, I've been here for just over 11 hours now :flower3: He's going to drop me off at work tonight after the movie, but he unfortunately can't pick me up on Monday morning. My night was all right, just long and quiet and I feel like I'm about to fall asleep at the desk. So, yeah, yay for the Dis :cutie:

[jenniferkeala808]

Hey, I've been here for just over 11 hours now :flower3: He's going to drop me off at work tonight after the movie, but he unfortunately can't pick me up on Monday morning. My night was all right, just long and quiet and I feel like I'm about to fall asleep at the desk. So, yeah, yay for the Dis :cutie:

Alright...you win! LOL!! Aww how nice he's going to drop you off! LOL! Seriously...thank goodness for the DIS...what would i do?!?! :confused3

[DisneyFirefly]

Alright...you win! LOL!! Aww how nice he's going to drop you off! LOL! Seriously...thank goodness for the DIS...what would i do?!?! :confused3

So we went to see Green Zone and then got a quick dinner before I had to be at work. And he gave me keys to his apartment, and we had a moment of clarification in which I found out that yes, we are a couple :love:

And it also looks like it's a definite that as long as we're still dating, he'll be coming to Disney with us! Yay! :dance3:

[jenniferkeala808]

WOOOOHOOOO!! congrats on everything!! Can't wait to hear more!!

[irishdancer86]

:banana: for being a couple!!! looking forward to reading more amended plans!!!:love:

[MainStMandy]

I was peaking on another thread and saw something you posted that made me run over here! I don't know where I have been!!!

Yeah, it does suck, but we're going to Six Flags instead, so that's better than nothing :) Plus, if things are still going well with the boy, he'll be coming with :teeth: I'll definitely keep you guys updated, since I really need a place to flail about him and, with my schedule, it's hard to get a hold of other people :lmao:

Also, I saw your preview wedding pics and OMG YOU LOOKED BEAUTIFUL! I don't remember if I posted on your TR or not, but you and your DH looked like you had a wonderful day :lovestruc
Thank you so much!!! I missed this thoughtful comment.

LOL, it's perfectly okay :teeth: I haven't had much to post, to be honest :) I'm really hoping nothing we really want to do will be down, since we're going in a pretty common refurb time.

Weeeell... We're going out tomorrow before I have to go to work. We're going to see Repo Men and probably get dinner or something. And he, um... He's having a set of keys for his apartment made for me. I'm torn between :scared1: and :lovestruc, since I've never (and I mean never) had keys to someone's apartment. So... Yeah. :teeth:

:lovestruc This is so exciting!! Enjoy every second of it!!!!:cool1:

[DisneyFirefly]

WOOOOHOOOO!! congrats on everything!! Can't wait to hear more!!

Thanks :goodvibes We saw each other today, since he was having an awful night last night and I decided to surprise him by going to his place :rolleyes: We'll be seeing each other again this weekend, when he comes over to my family's house for a barbecue :teeth:

:banana: for being a couple!!! looking forward to reading more amended plans!!!:love:

Well, right now, the only other plan that's changing is our last day. We're almost definitely skipping Universal in favor of another day at either MK or Epcot. At whichever park we go to, we have an open slot for lunch, so Jacquie and Ian will be going off for lunch on their own, and so will we :cutie: Jacquie and I talked about it and we think it'd be nice to do that. We looked at different menus for restaurants around the MK area and then the restaurants at Epcot, so we have a general idea of what we're doing. If we do MK, they're doing Kona over at the Poly and he and I are gonna do the GF Cafe. If we do Epcot, they'll likely do Tokyo Dining and I think we'll do Rose & Crown. :cloud9:

I was peaking on another thread and saw something you posted that made me run over here! I don't know where I have been!!!

Thank you so much!!! I missed this thoughtful comment.

:lovestruc This is so exciting!! Enjoy every second of it!!!!:cool1:

You're very welcome! :goodvibes There isn't really much going on aside from flailing over the boy :lovestruc Our trip plans have changed just a little, but not really by much. I so can't wait, though :yay: I just... Things with James sort of seem too good to be true, but he said he's feeling the same way, so it's not just me. I just feel like I may have met the man I'm going to spend the rest of my life with, you know? It kinda scares me a little, but it also makes me all :cloud9:

[DisneyFirefly]

Gaaaah, bored at work again :bored: So you guys get to see some of the things I've either bought or plan to buy before the trip :hyper:

I bought this shirt from a website called ThinkGeek (I adore them omg). It's tight, but I figure I'll have lost a little weight by then. And if I haven't, I'll wear a hoodie over it :o I just think it's hilarious, and plan on wearing it on our MK day ::yes::

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/643/c3d2selfrescuingprinces.jpg

I love The Literacy Site and their sister sites, so I bought this bag from them to use as a carry-on (and an overnight bag for when I go to James' place :rolleyes1). The best part about that is that because of who I bought it through, the purchase also donated a children's book, which makes me feel a little better about buying a bag I technically didn't need :rolleyes1

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/6424/35401gif.jpg

I plan on getting at least two of these water bottles. I heard about them here on the Dis, and since I always have a water bottle with me at WDW anyway, I think this would definitely make me more likely to fill it back up. When I was a CM, I could just go backstage and utilize the water cooler, but... Yeah. Not so much anymore. Tap water in Florida is nasty, so I won't drink it unfiltered and these have filters built into the cap. I plan on getting at least two since I'm sure James and I could share one and Jacquie and Ian could share one. Or we could just get one and all have regular plastic bottles to split it into :scratchin What do you guys think? The filters treat up to 80 gallons of water, so we don't have to worry about wearing it out on one trip. The bottles are also biodegradable and BPA free.

http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/9029/ecobottles.jpg

I made a reservation with Alamo this morning, since their rates appeared to have dropped, so we'll be getting an SUV. Southwest seems to have changed around their early flights to Orlando, so we'll likely be getting in around noon. We decided to skip Turf Club this time around and instead go to Raglan Road that day. On our last day, we'll get breakfast at Captain's Grille and then head for the airport, since we'll be returning the car at noon.

Also, Jacquie and I spent about two and a half hours on the phone last night going over ideas for how the heck we're getting to the airport. They live in Dekalb (an hour west), James lives in Round Lake (an hour north), and I live in the city (20-30 minutes from the airport, depending on route and traffic). As of right now, since our flight is going to be leaving around 7:30am-7:45am (the earliest one isn't non-stop and we don't want layovers), we're planning on everyone getting to my house in Chicago and napping on the couch until about 3:30am, having breakfast (I'll likely make pancakes or something), and then leaving around 4:30am.

We were originally going to get a ride from my mom, but then they sold the van and now we don't really have a car with enough seats and space for luggage. We might all be able to squeeze into my mom's Alero, but I think it'd be a little difficult. Plus, she'd have to clean out the trunk. So, unless that works out, we're planning on hiring transportation to the airport because taking the El to Midway from my house is NOT a good idea that early in the morning. Plus, it takes forever and dealing with luggage on the El isn't really good. I also don't think my section of the El is even RUNNING at that time, but we don't want to go that route anyway, so it doesn't matter.

At first, we were just looking at a cab, but then we figured that for about $20 extra, we could just get a limo. As of this moment, that's what we're doing. Jacquie and Ian are either going to leave their car with Ian's brother for the week or park it in my neighborhood and leave the keys with my mom so she can go start it up so the engine doesn't die. I have no idea what James will do with his truck, but he just decided to come (obviously) and we haven't really discussed details yet aside from me giving him a ballpark price estimate and going on about rides and the restaurants. The options I see for his truck are leaving it in my neighborhood and giving the keys with my mom, or leaving his truck with his parents, getting a ride to Metra (suburban commuter rail), and then us picking him up at the station.

So, yeah. Some details still need to be worked out, but we shall figure them out before we leave (obviously) :upsidedow

[DisneyFirefly]

So, I wound up telling Jacquie about the surprise Cirque tickets. I told her about it because I was reading the Dis earlier and was reminded of the Wishes fireworks cruises. I wanted her opinion on which would be more fun, considering us and our preferences. So...

We're gonna do the Wishes cruise (hopefully) the night we get there! pixiedust:

We're aiming to do it the night of our arrival, but it obviously depends on availability. I can't really see it being sold out in the first week of January, but you never know. As of right now, our plan for our arrival day is to get the rental car, head over to Downtown Disney for lunch and some shopping, and then go to POR to take a nap. Then we'll do the cruise and then head over to Ft Wilderness for the 9:30 HDDR dinner show. We're thinking about ordering something from private dining for the cruise (dessert type things), but it obviously depends on what's available to us and how much it would be. If there's nothing of interest to us available, then we'll just wait until dinner :goodvibes Anyone have any idea what would be available?

[irishdancer86]

t-shirt...:cool1:

Bag...very chic whilst not being too girly!

Water Bottles...:idea: might be trying to get us one of those!!!

wishes cruise...::cloud9: what a brilliant start to the holiday!

would love to do a wishes cruise but think our plan is packed to bursting! how is the romance shaping up? :lovestruc

DBF said one reason he is looking forward to orlando is because it means us getting to spend 14 quality days together, bit cheesy but made me happy! ::cutie:

[DisneyFirefly]

That shirt just cracks me up :teeth: I love the bag. It's actually bigger than I expected, so I could definitely use it as my carry-on for the flight down. I hate using a rolling carry-on and a rolling bag for my checked baggage, since it turns out to be a pain in the neck. Those water bottles have some great reviews, and they apparently sell them at some Hallmark stores, so if you have Hallmark stores in your area (I have no idea if that's just an American thing, though), I'd check there first :goodvibes

Well, first we were going to do Cirque, and then I was reading somewhere on here about someone planning a Wishes cruise, which reminded me of them. We decided that the cruise would be better because A) it wouldn't be overly crowded, B) no one would be kicking the back of our seats, and C) we wouldn't have to worry too much about hurrying out of DTD to get to FW for our ADR. Plus, we're more of a fireworks group than a stage show group. And the boys have no idea about it :upsidedow Also, those are something you can only get at Disney, you know? And it's actually cheaper than Cirque :rotfl:

The romance seems to be shaping up nicely :lovestruc He met my family (parents, uncle, brother and his girlfriend) last weekend, and it went pretty well. My mom really seems to like him, and my dad doesn't, but I think that's just because I'm the last one at home. We might go to a Cubs game later this month, but we're not sure yet. It depends on ticket options and all that fun stuff.

But yeah, he'd asked how much time I'm taking off for my birthday (the four of us are going to Six Flags the day before my birthday), so I've no clue what he's planning.

Aaaanyway. :cheer2:

[DisneyFirefly]

I'm bored at work again... This is a common trend. So I'm going to post some pics from when I was a CM at MK :goodvibes They're probably out of order, since I'm grabbing them from my old Flickr account as well as my Facebook.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3008/2736223564_d6153ac3b5.jpg
Daisy in the Family Fun Day Parade.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3242/2736223100_fed3397cb2.jpg
Chip in the same parade.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3004/2735388553_cf5a3e8648.jpg
Clarabelle in the parade.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3279/2736221524_7c1188f6d6.jpg
Pluto in the parade.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3289/2735386371_5e9de0dee5.jpg
Me and some old co-workers with Eeyore at Crystal Palace.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3004/2736230248_da913a6b4e.jpg
One of the ONLY good pics I've ever managed to get on the Kilimanjaro Safaris.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3156/3097593002_1fc47cb9a0.jpg
Two of my old roommates, Kelma and Christy, on Small World. We called it Small Boat after this because we're all obviously big women and the loader stuck us in the SAME ROW. It was so friggin tight.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3003/3097638810_365e555e4f.jpg
Ever wondered how the staff at MK gets rid of the trash? Say hello to Laura, modeling with the AVAC. Basically, those black liners go inside the metal cans that guests see and then we pull the liner, replace it with an empty one, and dump the trash down the yellow chute. We then rinse the liner clean and repeat the process with another full can. This AVAC is behind Pinnochio's Village Haus. The only things that can't go in them are bags, drink trays, and anything overly large, because that'll cause a clog.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3061/3096782689_7de6a51deb.jpg
Wishes :lovestruc

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3211/3096836067_ca507583d0.jpg
China and Spaceship Earth in Epcot.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3097/3096848983_daff5e10e2.jpg
Heather, me, and Christy at Epcot around Christmas time. Yes, those are Harry Potter scarves.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v373/63/121/1217320362/n1217320362_30244022_3680.jpg
The beginning of the Boo To You Parade, which is my FAVORITE parade at all of WDW :cloud9:

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v373/63/121/1217320362/n1217320362_30244046_9400.jpg
My mom, waiting for the ferry to MK. We'd bought those ears for my niece, who'd just turned 2 at the time.

[DisneyFirefly]

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v1719/126/20/184102196/n184102196_31330620_1694.jpg
It was COLD that night. With the snowman by the Christmas shop at DHS.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v351/11/39/728501570/n728501570_1374338_7664.jpg
Me and Laura backstage on a MNSSHP night :) They let us get our faces painted :teeth:

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v342/219/67/12320941/n12320941_38858115_9982.jpg
With Elizabeth and the villains at MNSSHP.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v342/219/67/12320941/n12320941_38858117_548.jpg
Elizabeth, me, and Cinderella's carriage :)

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v342/219/67/12320941/n12320941_38858100_7151.jpg
Laura, Daniel, and me during the Boo to You Parade.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v330/11/39/728501570/n728501570_1222283_2360.jpg
Getting my face painted for one of the parties :)

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v299/63/121/1217320362/n1217320362_30139423_2119.jpg
Me with Kelma and Christy in front of Pirates.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v217/126/20/184102196/n184102196_31160070_9892.jpg
More Pirates :teeth:

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v217/126/20/184102196/n184102196_31160041_9631.jpg
Me and Kelma on Winnie the Pooh :)

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v208/219/67/12320941/n12320941_37969631_4219.jpg
The group of us with Piglet. It wasn't really all our birthdays, we just got the pins for fun. I also totally wasn't paying attention, since Eeyore had just come out and I LOVE Eeyore.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v287/63/121/1217320362/n1217320362_30090081_5638.jpg
Christy and me with the Giant _____ of Morocco. Use your imagination to fill in the blank.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v347/63/121/1217320362/n1217320362_30210799_8180.jpg
Halloween decorations at MK.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v287/63/121/1217320362/n1217320362_30090066_1344.jpg
One of my other roommates passed out on the couch in her costume after getting home from work.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v287/63/121/1217320362/n1217320362_30090073_3271.jpg
I love this picture :)

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v287/63/121/1217320362/n1217320362_30090074_3548.jpg
Minnie during Spectro.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v287/63/121/1217320362/n1217320362_30098369_3103.jpg
View of the Castle from the path down to Liberty Square from Fantasyland.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v299/63/121/1217320362/n1217320362_30134823_5899.jpg
And a bonus photo, me with Jared Padalecki from Supernatural and Friday the 13th :hyper:

[jenniferkeala808]

Hey Dana! Sorry I've been so MIA!! Thanks for sharing your wonderful pics!! I love the "behind the scenes" ones! LOL! How's everything going with you and DBF? Good I hope!!

[DisneyFirefly]

It happens :teeth: I remember you saying your computer was on the fritz, so it's okay :) Everything with DBF is great :) I was at his place last night, actually, and am out by Jacquie's tonight :rotfl: I'm gonna try and hijack her camera to take a couple pictures of the two of us to post, since I don't have any recent pics of us. Aaanyway :teeth:

Yay!

[DisneyFirefly]

Since I did MK and DHS "must-do's", here's our list for Epcot :)

Must Do
Spaceship Earth - Of course we have to go in the park icon! Besides, it'll be a nice break.
Test Track - James LOVES cars and is a commercial driver, so I think he'd get a kick out of it.
Nemo - Again with Jacquie and the under-the-sea thing.
Soarin' - You know, I've never been on this?
Gran Fiesta Tour (the boat in Mexico) - I told Jacquie about this and she was all "OMG OMG WE HAVE TO" because she loves the Three Caballeros (sp?).
Maelstrom (the boat in Norway) - Why not, right? :)
Explore the World Showcase - This is probably how we'll spend most of the day.
Illuminations - Us + fireworks = :cheer2:

Maybe
Everything else

Mission Space isn't included on either list because I have trouble with spinny things and Jacquie has claustrophobia, so neither of us will be going on it. If the guys want to, they can, but that's up to them.

[irishdancer86]

those photos were so cool!!!:cool1: interesting to see some behind the scenes photos!

loved the harry potter scarves!!! can't wait to see what the forbidden journey's ride format is going to be like!:goodvibes

I'm definitely getting some face painting done at Disney, know they do it in animal kingdom, do you know anywhere else that does it?

[DisneyFirefly]

those photos were so cool!!!:cool1: interesting to see some behind the scenes photos!

loved the harry potter scarves!!! can't wait to see what the forbidden journey's ride format is going to be like!:goodvibes

I'm definitely getting some face painting done at Disney, know they do it in animal kingdom, do you know anywhere else that does it?

I love those pics :) The one of Laura with the AVAC always makes me laugh.

I want to see the Harry Potter park, but we've cut it from our trip and can always go another time, you know? We're either doing another day at MK or Epcot, but we're not sure which yet. We're going to wait and see what we decide we want to do when we get there.

Um... They USED to have face painting in Toontown at MK, but I'm not sure if they still do because of the teardown and everything, since I'm not sure when that starts. :confused3 They may have a kiosk in Adventureland, but that may have just been a hair wrap station. The best thing I can suggest is just looking at a map or asking a CM. Custodial CM's are the best people to ask, since they're basically walking information desks (seriously).

[DisneyFirefly]

Sooooo booooooooored. Sometimes I hate my job and tonight's one of those times. I'm very tired for some reason and want to go home (or to DBF's place).

So instead I'm posting our must-do's for DAK. We'll be done with this park pretty quickly, since we're only doing a few of the rides and shows and can quickly get through the animal viewing areas.

Must Do
Festival of the Lion King - We MIGHT be going to see the Lion King musical here in Chicago in October, but it depends on if we can get tickets. Either way, I've never been able to catch this and want to see it.
Kilimanjaro Safaris - I love this ride :)
Expedition Everest - Jacquie might not go on this because of the backwards part, but I still think the rest of us will like it.
Finding Nemo - Again, Jacquie and her love of the ocean. She LOVES Finding Nemo because of the animation, though, and when I explained this to her, she was all "OMGOMGOMG I WANNA SEE IT".
Animal viewing areas - We're not going up to the Conservation areas, even though I think they're cute, and will likely just stick to the main viewing areas in the larger part of the park.

Maybe
Kali River Rapids - This really depends on the weather, since we're going in January.
Dinosaur - This gave me a headache the first time I went on it, but if the others want to go, I will, too.
Everything else

Like I said, we'll be done with it fairly quickly :)

[stephielela]

I had been reading your PTR, but just realized I hadn't actually subbed! I have been enjoying reading about your new relationship! You are giving me hope for eharmony... I haven't tried any internet sites yet, but it's good to know they work sometimes!

I am planning on being back at the world solo (as long as I get my butt in gear and get trained for the marathon) in January as well, so I will keep my eye out for you and your crew!

[DisneyFirefly]

I had been reading your PTR, but just realized I hadn't actually subbed! I have been enjoying reading about your new relationship! You are giving me hope for eharmony... I haven't tried any internet sites yet, but it's good to know they work sometimes!

I am planning on being back at the world solo (as long as I get my butt in gear and get trained for the marathon) in January as well, so I will keep my eye out for you and your crew!

:rotfl: Oddly enough, I'd signed up on eHarmony out of a combination of boredom and seeing that some of the girls on the wedding forum had met their husbands there :) My sister's godfather met his wife on eHarmony, too. I have some issues with the company, but it apparently worked anyway :lmao: Just a note, but I had bad luck with match.com and chemistry.com. YMMV, though.

Awesome! If you're at the same place at the same time we are, we'll have to get together for ice cream or something! :goodvibes Good luck getting trained for the marathon! :cheer2::cheer2::cheer2:

[irishdancer86]

hey girl! has DBF showed much interest in planning the trip? My DBF Is not showing as much interest as I would like but hopefully once we get there he'll see what all the fuss is about!

[DisneyFirefly]

hey girl! has DBF showed much interest in planning the trip? My DBF Is not showing as much interest as I would like but hopefully once we get there he'll see what all the fuss is about!

Not really, to be honest. Most of the trip is planned already, though, since Jacquie and I have been talking about this for almost a year now :rotfl: There are some other issues going on right now that I don't really want to talk about yet, since I don't know for sure what's happening with them. But, yeah, he hasn't really shown any interest in the planning :)

[therussells08]

Hi! I'm late, but I'm here! I found my way to your PTR after you posted on mine! :) I am loving it so far! I am going to go back and read everything right now, I just wanted to say a quick hello first! :woohoo:

[DisneyFirefly]

Hi! I'm late, but I'm here! I found my way to your PTR after you posted on mine! :) I am loving it so far! I am going to go back and read everything right now, I just wanted to say a quick hello first! :woohoo:

Yay! :welcome: :) I'm glad you're enjoying it, lol. I like to write (for a while, I thought about doing what you do for a living), so I like to try and make this as entertaining as possible :rotfl:

[therussells08]

Okay, I'm all caught up! This is a great PTR! Here are my comments so far:

That is so cool that you were a CM! I have always wanted to work at WDW! I wanted to do the college program but it just didn't work out with the classes I needed for teaching at the time. I would love to hear all about what it's like to work there! :goodvibes

I'm so sorry you had to cancel your birthday trip. :sad2: I have had a few hopeful trips fall through and that always stinks. But you will be there in just over 7 months having the time of your life! :hug:

Congrats on the DBF!! That is so exciting! It's awesome that you guys are getting along so well and things are progressing so nicely. ;) We need some pics now! :laughing:

OMG! I almost fell out of my chair when I saw that picture of you and Jared Padalecki. He is SOOO CUTE!! :love: I'm jealous!!

I am loving all of your "must-dos"! Can't wait to read more! :thumbsup2

[DisneyFirefly]

Okay, I'm all caught up! This is a great PTR! Here are my comments so far:

That is so cool that you were a CM! I have always wanted to work at WDW! I wanted to do the college program but it just didn't work out with the classes I needed for teaching at the time. I would love to hear all about what it's like to work there! :goodvibes

I'm so sorry you had to cancel your birthday trip. :sad2: I have had a few hopeful trips fall through and that always stinks. But you will be there in just over 7 months having the time of your life! :hug:

Congrats on the DBF!! That is so exciting! It's awesome that you guys are getting along so well and things are progressing so nicely. ;) We need some pics now! :laughing:

OMG! I almost fell out of my chair when I saw that picture of you and Jared Padalecki. He is SOOO CUTE!! :love: I'm jealous!!

I am loving all of your "must-dos"! Can't wait to read more! :thumbsup2

LMAO, I absolutely loved being a CM. I mean, where else do you get paid to watch fireworks and parades and blow bubbles at kids? Of course, I was in custodial, not all roles are like that, but I'd still love to move back and be a GSM in the parks. That depends on some other things that are going on in my life right now. I'm definitely not staying in the health care field, though. I'm weird... I bounce around.

I'm hoping to be able to get down for my birthday next year, since this year didn't work out. I so can't wait for this trip. It's all I've been looking forward to for months now.

The DBF... Well. In all honesty, I'm not sure if things will continue going the way they are. It's a long story, but it has to do with the possibility of him being transferred by his company to another location. Said location being in Tennessee :sad2: But, yeah. Long story :( I'm hoping that he'll still be around at least for my birthday (two weeks from yesterday), since he and Jacquie and Ian and I are supposed to go to Six Flags.

:lmao: I've met Jensen Ackles, too :teeth: And most of the rest of the cast of Supernatural, which is one of my favorite shows ever. Jared gives good hugs, though :goodvibes I go to conventions every once in a while and may be going to a Stargate one here in August, and I might go to the Supernatural con in October, but that depends on who all's going to be a guest there.

Glad you like our list of must-do's :goodvibes As I keep telling Jacquie, it helps that I'm a former CM :lmao: On the CP, I didn't have much money, so if I wanted something to do, I just went to the parks.

[therussells08]

LMAO, I absolutely loved being a CM. I mean, where else do you get paid to watch fireworks and parades and blow bubbles at kids? Of course, I was in custodial, not all roles are like that, but I'd still love to move back and be a GSM in the parks. That depends on some other things that are going on in my life right now. I'm definitely not staying in the health care field, though. I'm weird... I bounce around.

I'm hoping to be able to get down for my birthday next year, since this year didn't work out. I so can't wait for this trip. It's all I've been looking forward to for months now.

The DBF... Well. In all honesty, I'm not sure if things will continue going the way they are. It's a long story, but it has to do with the possibility of him being transferred by his company to another location. Said location being in Tennessee :sad2: But, yeah. Long story :( I'm hoping that he'll still be around at least for my birthday (two weeks from yesterday), since he and Jacquie and Ian and I are supposed to go to Six Flags.

:lmao: I've met Jensen Ackles, too :teeth: And most of the rest of the cast of Supernatural, which is one of my favorite shows ever. Jared gives good hugs, though :goodvibes I go to conventions every once in a while and may be going to a Stargate one here in August, and I might go to the Supernatural con in October, but that depends on who all's going to be a guest there.

Glad you like our list of must-do's :goodvibes As I keep telling Jacquie, it helps that I'm a former CM :lmao: On the CP, I didn't have much money, so if I wanted something to do, I just went to the parks.

I'm so glad that you liked being a CM! Hopefully you can work there again someday! :)

I've got my fingers crossed for your birthday!

I'm sorry to hear about DBF. :worried: I hope everything works out for you!

I'd like to try one of those Jared hugs on for size! :lmao:

It would be so awesome to go to Disney with a former CM! You know all of the best spots! Tell your friend Jacquie that you're the boss! ;)

[DisneyFirefly]

I'm so glad that you liked being a CM! Hopefully you can work there again someday! :)

I've got my fingers crossed for your birthday!

I'm sorry to hear about DBF. :worried: I hope everything works out for you!

I'd like to try one of those Jared hugs on for size! :lmao:

It would be so awesome to go to Disney with a former CM! You know all of the best spots! Tell your friend Jacquie that you're the boss! ;)

Well, depending on what happens with DBF's job, it might be in the cards again. :)

We've discussed it and, honestly, if he's offered it, I think he should take it. If he doesn't, he'll regret it. I know he's worried about just picking up and moving, but I've done it before. It's scary at first, but it's not that bad. I've decided that if he does take it and move, I'm not going to date for a while and just focus on saving and then move back to Florida in a couple years. I don't want to stay in Chicago, but I was willing to do it for him. However, I am NOT willing to move to Tennessee, and have absolutely no desire to do so. Such is life, though. Whatever's going to happen is going to happen :)

:lmao: Not all the best spots, just most of them :goodvibes

[PrincessInOz]

Hey Firefly...thought it was time I returned the compliment and check out your PTR.

Your ADR plans are gastronomic and I'm hoping that you will enjoy your birthday at 6Flags in a couple of weeks.

Nice to be able to put a face to the name :)

[DisneyFirefly]

Hey Firefly...thought it was time I returned the compliment and check out your PTR.

Your ADR plans are gastronomic and I'm hoping that you will enjoy your birthday at 6Flags in a couple of weeks.

Nice to be able to put a face to the name :)

:lmao: Thanks for looking! :)

Yeeeaaah, one of the main reasons we're looking forward to it so much is the food. We all love to cook and eat, so naturally, we're looking forward to enjoying the food while we're there :goodvibes I'm hoping my birthday will be good, too. My parents may now be joining us, but I'm not sure on that one yet. My dad hasn't heard about it yet, since we're actually going the day before my birthday.

Nice to hear from you over here! :)

[DisneyFirefly]

Last night, Jacquie and I spent about two hours on the phone talking about the trip. Since it looks like James more than likely won't be coming now (it actually looks more and more like we'll be splitting up :( ), we've changed a couple things around. We also changed some of the restaurants we want to get ADR's at.

We've decided that we're going to skip the Wishes cruise (since it's just going to be the three of us) and, instead, probably watch Wishes from the beach at Fort Wilderness before we have dinner at the Hoop Dee Doo Revue.

We've also decided that on our last day, we're going to go to Magic Kingdom for a second day :) We were originally going to wait and see where we wanted to spend another day between Epcot and MK, but Jacquie and I decided on MK :rotfl:

The restaurants that have changed are the following:

Nixing Turf Club in favor of Raglan Road. We wanted to do Raglan Road anyway, but this is just moving it to our first day instead of on our last.

Nixing Artist Point in favor of Planet Hollywood on the same night and another reservation later in the week. I looked at the menu again and realized that there's nothing on there that Ian or I would like, so we're skipping Artist Point. If we spend the whole evening at Downtown Disney, we don't have to worry about driving anywhere, since we can just take the boat back to POR. We are still having breakfast at the GF that morning, but after that, we'll just park at the resort and head over to Downtown Disney on the boat.

On our second MK day, we're doing lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern. We were originally thinking about going out of the park for lunch, but instead we're going to try and get an ADR for around 2:30 or so, so that we can possibly see the 3pm parade from our table.

The other reservation we nixed Artist Point for is Kona. Jacquie had wanted to try it, and when it looked like James was coming, we had decided that on our last day, we'd split up for lunch (her and Ian, me and James) and they were going to go to Kona if we spent the day at MK. Now we're just doing it as a late lunch before leaving for the airport :) Jacquie was happy when we decided this :lmao:

I will hopefully have some current pictures to post after this weekend. Jacquie, Ian and I are going to Six Flags on Sunday. She has to process her season pass (I did mine today), so we're all going up for the day. Then next Wednesday, it'll be the three of us and my parents heading up there for the day. James isn't coming due to work, which is fine. Such is life, you know? :)

Jacquie and I are also thinking about going down again next July for a few days. My birthday's in June and hers is in August, so we're considering doing a combined birthday trip for just the two of us next year. We haven't decided yet, obviously, but it is something we're thinking about.

[irishdancer86]

hey hey!

your change of plans mean we have a couple of adr's the same now/...

we have Liberty tree tavern booked for our MK day at 2.30, I saw a photo of their tavern friend cheese in another trip report and man, that cinched it for me, its also on the disney food blog as one of their fav appetizers/snacks in the whole of disney!:worship:

we are also going to Planet Hollywood, I like a lot of stuff on their menu, the chicken crunch has been my fav sice I went to the planet hollywood in Toronto 12 years ago!

hope things work out for the best with you and James...:hug:

[DisneyFirefly]

hey hey!

your change of plans mean we have a couple of adr's the same now/...

we have Liberty tree tavern booked for our MK day at 2.30, I saw a photo of their tavern friend cheese in another trip report and man, that cinched it for me, its also on the disney food blog as one of their fav appetizers/snacks in the whole of disney!:worship:

we are also going to Planet Hollywood, I like a lot of stuff on their menu, the chicken crunch has been my fav sice I went to the planet hollywood in Toronto 12 years ago!

hope things work out for the best with you and James...:hug:

LOL, yay for similar ADRs :teeth: We were originally thinking about doing Liberty Tree on our first MK day as a lunch, but we didn't want to do three meals, so we cut it. Now it's back on :) I love that restaurant, though, omg. It's such a pretty building, and Liberty Square is one of my favorite parts of MK. :woohoo:

:rotfl: We also originally had Planet Hollywood on the list and then nixed it for Artist Point, but now we've decided to undo that :) We like a lot of the things on the menu, too, and we think it'd be good to spend the evening in one place, so we're not stressed out about running around to make an ADR. Plus, it gives us an excuse to use the boat from POR to DD :yay:

Honestly, I'm thinking that it's just about over. I've barely talked to him over the last few weeks. We tend to text instead of call because of how our jobs are, and unless I text him, he doesn't really text me. And I haven't heard from him at all over the last few days. We'll see, but such is life. It was fun while it lasted :) Thanks for the :hug: though :) :hug::hug::hug:

[therussells08]

I hope you have a good time at six flags!! I can't wait to see pictures! :)

I think that you made some good changes to your ADRs! Planet Hollywood is delicious. I've never had Raglan Road but I've heard good things! And Kona...YUMMY! :love:

[DisneyFirefly]

I'm sure we will :) It's Memorial Day weekend (obviously), so it'll probably be pretty crowded tomorrow, but we're also planning on hitting up the water park, since it'll be open. We figure that if it's too crowded in the main part of the park, we can just go to the water park and get in the wave pool or the lazy river for a while :)

I've heard excellent things about Raglan Road, and Jacquie and I are actually almost more excited about that than Le Cellier or CRT :lmao: But yeah, I've also heard good things about Kona, and she was really excited about it when she saw the menu on AllEars, so she's really happy that it's back on the plan :) We may wind up cutting Captain's Grille on our last day and just grabbing breakfast at the POR food court. We'll definitely have covered the cost of the DxDP by then, so I think it'll be okay if we just grab counter service for our last breakfast :rotfl:

[therussells08]

I'm sure we will :) It's Memorial Day weekend (obviously), so it'll probably be pretty crowded tomorrow, but we're also planning on hitting up the water park, since it'll be open. We figure that if it's too crowded in the main part of the park, we can just go to the water park and get in the wave pool or the lazy river for a while :)

I've heard excellent things about Raglan Road, and Jacquie and I are actually almost more excited about that than Le Cellier or CRT :lmao: But yeah, I've also heard good things about Kona, and she was really excited about it when she saw the menu on AllEars, so she's really happy that it's back on the plan :) We may wind up cutting Captain's Grille on our last day and just grabbing breakfast at the POR food court. We'll definitely have covered the cost of the DxDP by then, so I think it'll be okay if we just grab counter service for our last breakfast :rotfl:

Yeah I think you will be fine if you just go with a counter service for breakfast. Plus by that time you will probably be so full you'll be ready to explode! :laughing: I would love to try the DxDP someday but knowing me I would probably eat until I made myself sick!

[DisneyFirefly]

Yeah I think you will be fine if you just go with a counter service for breakfast. Plus by that time you will probably be so full you'll be ready to explode! :laughing: I would love to try the DxDP someday but knowing me I would probably eat until I made myself sick!

One of the main reasons we're doing the DxDP is because we have quite a few 2-credit restaurants that we plan to go to. It also gives us more freedom in what we can do. If Jacquie and I do make it down there again next year, we're just gonna do the basic DDP :rotfl: We're also trying to schedule the meals so that we won't make ourselves sick, you know? :)

[DisneyFirefly]

:rolleyes1

So Jacquie and I have decided that in October of 2011, we want to go down for a second trip so that we can hit up MNSSHP. It'd be a 3 day/4 night trip. It shouldn't be too expensive, since the plan is to do the basic dining plan and stay at Pop. It's a plan to go, but the dates are tentative because, obviously, we don't know the 2011 party dates yet, so we'll likely be booking in about a year. We'd also just be doing ME and the Disney bus services instead of renting a car, since it'd be a whirlwind trip :) Is it bad that I already have a spreadsheet for it? :laughing:

I also MAY be going in July or August of 2011 with my friend Elle. Remember the one I was supposed to go with for my birthday? Yeah, her :rotfl: So... Yeah. There may be three trips in the span of ten months for me in 2011.

:wizard:

[DisneyFirefly]

So when I was transferring pictures from yesterday's Six Flags trip from my camera to my computer, I found these old photos from our Mother's Day barbecue.

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050456.jpg
This is our dog, Delilah. She's a boxer-mastiff mutt.

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050458.jpg
My brother, Josh.

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050459.jpg
The dinner table, with most of the food. Keep in mind, this was just my parents, my brother, and me.

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050460.jpg
Fried chicken.

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050462.jpg
Shrimp skewers with some sort of garlic sauce. I dunno, my brother made them.

[DisneyFirefly]

The following are from yesterday :)

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050485.jpg
I just love this pic of Delilah :teeth:

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050487.jpg
Jacquie, just after arriving at my house.

They finally got to our house around 9, and then we had breakfast and got directions before leaving around 10. We arrived at the gates around 11:15 or so, but then had to sit in a gridlock for about half an hour. By the time we got inside, it was almost noon. The first thing we did was hit the bathroom :rotfl: and then we wandered around for a little bit. We tried to go on Viper (a wooden roller coaster), but the attendant yelled at me about my purse and told me to put it in a locker. We walked away and then wound up going out to the car to get our water park stuff and went there instead. Great America includes admission to Hurricane Harbor, but I have no pics of that because my camera was locked in a locker that we got because we didn't want to leave our stuff just laying out.

The water park was nice, but crowded. Not only was it Memorial Day weekend, it was in the high 80s and very sunny. I'm somewhat sunburned, but Jacquie's worse. I also found out I need a new bathing suit. We managed to get on the lazy river and go around it once before they made us get out. They apparently don't let you continue around. We went in the wave pool, and then all tried to go on this family raft thing. We got all the way up to the load deck (up a three-story staircase) and then the attendant looked at me and said I couldn't go because I was over the weight limit. I asked if I could ride alone, and she said no. So I walked back down by myself. I've had issues with Six Flags and my size before. When I was about sixteen, I went on their Batman ride and the attendant literally JUMPED on the harness to get it to close on me and then yelled at me about how I was too fat for the ride and not to come back instead of just politely telling me that my size would be an issue and please wait for my party at the exit. It's the main reason I hadn't been back until this year. They claim to be all about guest service, but they're really not.

We left the water park and went out to the car to have lunch (since Six Flags doesn't allow outside food or drinks except for medical reasons). No pictures of that, again, because my camera was in Jacquie's fanny pack. Unlike Disney, Six Flags doesn't allow you to bring ANYTHING on rides unless it's in a zipped/snapped pocket or something like a fanny pack. So when I get paid on Friday, I'm not only ordering a new bathing suit, but a fanny pack from the Disney Store *eyedart*

After lunch, we went back into the park and made our way onto the first non-water park ride.

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050488.jpg

Great America has this two-story carousel, so we went on that. We were all feeling a little heavy from lunch and the heat.

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050489.jpg

Ian was too big for his horse.

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050493.jpg

It was really quiet on that ride, and the breeze was nice and cool, so when they offered to let people ride again, we stayed on. We switched to the benches, though.

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050494.jpg

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050495.jpg

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050496.jpg

Jacquie found this statue. She loves Tweety, so she needed to get a picture with it.

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050497.jpg

It was pretty hot and sunny, so we kept ducking into stores to cool down.

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050498.jpg

Which led to Jacquie trying on crazy hats.

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050499.jpg

And squeezing various plush products.

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050500.jpg

We didn't go on this, but I took this for my parents. Long story short, this ride used to be at a park here in the Chicago area called Kiddieland, which was built to be a place that young kids could enjoy. As such, this was the first roller coaster that MILLIONS of Chicago area kids ever rode. My parents, my siblings, and Jacquie and Ian went there as kids, and recently, we took my niece there when they were visiting last summer. At the end of last September, Kiddieland closed for good. A lot of the rides were auctioned off, and Great America bought the Little Dipper and installed it in time for this season. My mom was absolutely thrilled when she found out. The smaller blue sign in front of the coaster just tells about the history of the ride.

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050502.jpg

We wound up in another shop, and I found this amongst the Batman merchandise. I'm a huge Jeffrey Dean Morgan fan, so I saw Watchmen because of him (and read the graphic novel before I saw the movie), so I had to take a picture of this.

In another part of that store, there was a display of hats.

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050503.jpg

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050504.jpg

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050505.jpg

At this point, we were tired and waiting a little bit before we went to the Memorial Day picnic we'd bought tickets for, so we got on the train and took it around the park. It's not as nice as the WDW train.

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050506.jpg

After getting off the train and on the way to the picnic, Jacquie met her idol:

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050507.jpg

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050508.jpg

And after dinner, we wound up in another shop. The blue bear was actually hers, as she'd won it in a game.

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050509.jpg

We sat down along a walkway for a while and just people watched.

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050510.jpg

And then eventually left the park.

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad219/disneyfirefly/2010/P1050511.jpg

We got back to my house around 8 or 8:30 and sat on the couch watching Finding Nemo for a little while. They left around 9, since Ian had to be at work, and I went upstairs, laid down, and passed the heck out. I woke up around midnight and then went back to bed around 4am.

All in all, I MUCH prefer Disney and think this will be the last season I go to Six Flags. Between how rude their employees are, the fact that they're not accessible when you're overweight, how they gouge you on all of their prices (parking is $15 and that's to park in the FAR lot; the "preferred", closer, parking lot is $25!), and other things, I just would rather save the money and go to Disney. They don't even let you bring in water bottles. They're also claiming that Great America is the "cleanest theme park in the world", and I literally burst out laughing when I heard that. They also claim it's the "roller coaster capital of the world" and that their water park is the "best in the nation". Whoever designed their marketing campaign must have never visited a Disney park, Cedar Point, or any of the water parks up in the Wisconsin Dells.

There's very little theming. They play pop music throughout the entire park and have various advertisements throughout the entire park (mostly for Discover Card). Their photo staff is VERY pushy. We got one photo taken while at the water park and then went to pick it up, but when we were on our way out of the park at the end of the day, they had a photo guy standing there going "DID YOU BUY YOUR PHOTOS OMG NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW" and was being INCREDIBLY rude to the guests who were leaving. He tried doing that to us and Jacquie just held up our photo folder and he was all "YAY HIGH FIVE". I know he's just trying to get commission, but there's absolutely no reason to be that pushy about it.

Regardless, we are going again on Wednesday and probably a couple more times before the end of the season. My brother and I are planning on going to Fright Fest, which is right around his birthday.

So... Yeah. We had a good time, but I still like Disney better. I know I keep comparing the two, but I just like it much better at Disney.

I dunno, maybe it's the abundance of pixie dust.

[Luvchefmic]

:scared1: That's horrible Dana with the weight issue and how you were treated my weight has been all over the place in the past 20 yrs from 110 to 220 ( I have no idea now & that's a subject I'm not worrying about now) but the ONLY places in the world that I have not experienced such rudeness and disrespect is WDW and when I went to Discovery Cove. Six Flags & Hershey Park was a nightmare so :hug: I empathize :sad1:

I guess you hit the nail on the head once you experience Disney the others can't compare at all !

[DisneyFirefly]

:scared1: That's horrible Dana with the weight issue and how you were treated my weight has been all over the place in the past 20 yrs from 110 to 220 ( I have no idea now & that's a subject I'm not worrying about now) but the ONLY places in the world that I have not experienced such rudeness and disrespect is WDW and when I went to Discovery Cove. Six Flags & Hershey Park was a nightmare so :hug: I empathize :sad1:

I guess you hit the nail on the head once you experience Disney the others can't compare at all !

I've been big my whole life, and have actually put on a few pounds lately because of my choice of birth control method. I want to say 'such is life', but when I've been able to go on every. single. ride. At WDW, I know that it's just the way the rides are engineered. They built them that way, and Disney built theirs to be accessible. So, like I said, this is the last season I'm going to be visiting Six Flags. Jacquie and I were talking about maybe just going up there to walk, since our season passes were cheaper than a gym membership, but then Ian pointed out that we both love funnel cake and it's all over the place there :rotfl: But yeah, when I can fit on every single ride at Disney and then get treated like that at Six Flags, I'd just rather go to Disney. I think we'll likely just use the passes for the water park and then Fright Fest.

I really think part of it is just the abundance of pixie dust at Disney and the abundance of price gouging at Six Flags, but even the theming was ruined for me because of the constant pop music and advertising. Their PA would constantly announce things about upgrading to a season pass, or where lost children go, or talk about the water park. It was just hilarious, because I kept comparing to WDW and Ian kept comparing to Cedar Point :rotfl:

[Luvchefmic]

and no comparison with the WDW Photopass and the 6 Flags that try to mug you on the way out ! Well friend I'm enjoying your TR & WDW PTR so I'll be checking in often...see you around the Dis !

[klacey1]

Joining in-- I have to go back and catch up, but I wanted to subscribe!!

[DisneyFirefly]

Joining in-- I have to go back and catch up, but I wanted to subscribe!!

:welcome:

Nice to have you here! :flower3: Hope you enjoy reading it :goodvibes

[therussells08]

Ugh that makes me so mad that the employees at Six Flags were rude to you! :mad: I'm sorry they treated you like that. They are probably just mad because they wish they worked at Disney! :laughing: This is why Disney makes more money than all of those other theme parks put together!

[irishdancer86]

Geez, I can't believe the people at 6 flags were so cheeky, at the end of the day you paid money to go in and enjoy the park, they are paid to work there and assist the guests....not be downright rude! grrr :mad: stuff like that makes me so cross, manners don't cost a thing!

so I can understand how you kept making Disney comparisons, I did that opn our holiday last year to Spain, the theme park there was terrible, the wooden rollercoaster made me and DBF think we'd ruptured our spleens, there was some sort of gliding spinny ride that put all of our bodyweight onto our shoulder for ages thought i was going to die!I got off so shocked and sid to DBF 'Rides at Disney would never hurt you or try to kill you like that! :eek::rotfl:

but at least it won't be long till we're back in the real best theme park!

[DisneyFirefly]

Ugh that makes me so mad that the employees at Six Flags were rude to you! :mad: I'm sorry they treated you like that. They are probably just mad because they wish they worked at Disney! :laughing: This is why Disney makes more money than all of those other theme parks put together!

Geez, I can't believe the people at 6 flags were so cheeky, at the end of the day you paid money to go in and enjoy the park, they are paid to work there and assist the guests....not be downright rude! grrr :mad: stuff like that makes me so cross, manners don't cost a thing!

so I can understand how you kept making Disney comparisons, I did that opn our holiday last year to Spain, the theme park there was terrible, the wooden rollercoaster made me and DBF think we'd ruptured our spleens, there was some sort of gliding spinny ride that put all of our bodyweight onto our shoulder for ages thought i was going to die!I got off so shocked and sid to DBF 'Rides at Disney would never hurt you or try to kill you like that! :eek::rotfl:

but at least it won't be long till we're back in the real best theme park!

I think I'm just really spoiled by Disney and the way their CM's treat guests. Especially after going through their training, you know? I know what quality guest service is, and their staff certainly doesn't provide it, even aside from the weight issues. When I bought my lunch (I forgot to bring something from home), the girl at the counter was very dismissive. I really think that the service and the pixiedust: makes a huge difference, especially once you're used to it.

Those rides sound like they had poor maintenance, though... A properly maintained wooden roller coaster shouldn't make you feel that way. Not sure about the spinny thing, since I can't do spinny things :rotfl:

[PrincessInOz]

Hi Firefly...Had to search for your thread! So I thought I'd post and bump it up a little bit.

Have you considered booking the Wishes cruise for the 3 of you anyway and posting on the DisBoard cruise thread? You might find that there are other people who want to do the cruise and want to share the cost of doing so with you.....?? You can always cancel if there isn't anyone else interested....

[klacey1]

Caught up! As much as I love 6 flags for the coasters (the one we go to in NJ has some fabulous ones!), the guest service is completely lacking. They just don't care. DBF says he's been spoiled by Disney and has no desire to go to another park, because he knows they'll pale in comparison. He's not even that excited to go to US/IOA!

[DisneyFirefly]

Hi Firefly...Had to search for your thread! So I thought I'd post and bump it up a little bit.

Have you considered booking the Wishes cruise for the 3 of you anyway and posting on the DisBoard cruise thread? You might find that there are other people who want to do the cruise and want to share the cost of doing so with you.....?? You can always cancel if there isn't anyone else interested....

We'd talked about that before we decided to nix the idea and decided that we'd rather have the boat to ourselves if we did it at all. We'll likely park over at FW, get our HDDR tickets, and then take the boat to the Poly to watch the fireworks, then go back to FW for dinner :)

Caught up! As much as I love 6 flags for the coasters (the one we go to in NJ has some fabulous ones!), the guest service is completely lacking. They just don't care. DBF says he's been spoiled by Disney and has no desire to go to another park, because he knows they'll pale in comparison. He's not even that excited to go to US/IOA!

The guest service there is really really bad. I know I'm seriously spoiled by Disney (especially having gone through their cast training), but come on. How hard is it to say hello and smile at a guest who's BUYING SOMETHING from you? You know? Anyway, glad you're caught up! Having fun? :lmao:

[DisneyFirefly]

While I was browsing on the Dis earlier, I found a better (and cheaper!) option for our filtered water bottles that we want to get for the trip.

http://images.containerstore.com/images/catalog/121616/Bobble_Bottles_l.jpg
These are only $10 and I can (hopefully) get them at the Container Store and not have to pay shipping. Same general idea behind them, too, so this will hopefully work out better. I'm just one of those crazy people who likes having a water bottle as often as possible (I actually have a Camelbak bottle sitting right in front of me as I type this), mainly because I get dry mouth really easily. Plus, with being overweight, I'm able to dehydrate much easier than, say, my little sister.

http://media.redcatsusa.com/is/image/avenue/mm/0309_13999_mm.jpg
I also got my new bathing suit in the mail either yesterday or the day before :) It's actually really pretty and EXTREMELY comfortable on me. Obviously, the girl in the picture is NOT me.

And I have a bunch of other shirts that I want to buy before the trip :)

http://usa.izzardmerchandise.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/TSH_CAKE.png
I am a HUGE Eddie Izzard fan. Right before I moved down to Orlando the last time, I found out he was doing a gig here in Chicago. I managed to get a ticket and it was the best $85 I've ever spent on a non-Disney thing in my whole life. This refers to one of my favorite of his jokes.

http://usa.izzardmerchandise.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/TSH_STRIPBEES.png
Another Eddie Izzard shirt :teeth:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/zoom/browncoat.jpg
Firefly fans will get the reference. Oddly enough, when my dad and I were resort hopping, we were at the WL and I went into the bathroom and ran into a girl wearing this shirt.

http://www.topatoco.com/graphics/00000001/qc-worry.gif
These next three shirts are from the artist behind one of my favorite webcomics, Questionable Content (http://www.questionablecontent.net). The character pictured on this shirt is Hanners, who has a severe case of OCD and is my favorite character in the whole comic.

http://www.topatoco.com/graphics/00000001/qc-decisions.gif
This one doesn't have anything directly to do with the comic, but I love it anyway. It definitely suits me.

http://www.topatoco.com/graphics/00000001/qc-fullofmusic.jpg
This is his newest shirt. The little iPod looking thing on it is Winslow, which is Hanners' "AnthroPC". Basically, in the QC world, there are these types of computers that literally walk and talk and interact with you. Winslow is a Mac version, and then there's Pintsize, who's different and I can't remember if he's Windows or something else.

The QC artist is coming out with a new shirt soon about baking, so I'll definitely be getting that once it goes up for sale, as I love baking.

I'm actually hoping to make beignets this weekend. I bought a candy thermometer for the express purpose of it, actually. So we'll see how that goes :)

[stephielela]

Catching up!

I love those shirts, and that bathing suit looks really pretty. It's unfortunate how they never look as good on me as they do in the ads :lmao:

As far as the service at six flags, that is ridiculous. I most definitely would have complained to management. I know what you mean about service not being as good as Disney, Disney does seem to excel, but I notice it in my line of work too. I work at a hotel front desk, so whenever I am staying at a hotel, I really pay attention to the people working there. It's always irritating to me when I get bad service, because I know that the job isn;t that hard, there's really no excuse for it!

I'm sorry things are rocky with DBF!

[PrincessInOz]

Bathing suit looks fantastic!! And I love your Tshirts. I guess we may see photos of you in them at some stage???

[irishdancer86]

suit looks great! and will be looking forward to seeing some of those shirts in your trip report! although i think my favourite is still the self rescuing princess!:lmao:

[DisneyFirefly]

Catching up!

I love those shirts, and that bathing suit looks really pretty. It's unfortunate how they never look as good on me as they do in the ads :lmao:

As far as the service at six flags, that is ridiculous. I most definitely would have complained to management. I know what you mean about service not being as good as Disney, Disney does seem to excel, but I notice it in my line of work too. I work at a hotel front desk, so whenever I am staying at a hotel, I really pay attention to the people working there. It's always irritating to me when I get bad service, because I know that the job isn;t that hard, there's really no excuse for it!

I'm sorry things are rocky with DBF!

I love those shirts :teeth: I have been expanding my closet outside of jeans and t-shirts, but I still have a love for geeky shirts. The bathing suit was a complete surprise, since I wasn't expecting it to fit so well :cutie:

I just didn't want to deal with it, especially since the poor service was so widespread throughout the park. I think we encountered maybe one person who was polite and provided quality service on both days we were at the park. It's really irritating, though, when you're used to providing and receiving excellent service and you're at a place that just doesn't care.

Eh, it happens. It's part of life, you know? If we break up, we break up. I don't think he'll be coming on the trip either way, though.

Bathing suit looks fantastic!! And I love your Tshirts. I guess we may see photos of you in them at some stage???

Once I order the shirts, yes :goodvibes I've been a little broke lately (long story involving some legal issues I don't want to get into), so once some issues get taken care of, I'll be doing a little more shopping for the trip, including those shirts up above :woohoo:

suit looks great! and will be looking forward to seeing some of those shirts in your trip report! although i think my favourite is still the self rescuing princess!:lmao:

:rotfl: Those shirts will definitely be in the TR at one point or another :) I do love my self-rescuing princess shirt, but I'm almost positive that I'm going to have to wear an unzipped hoodie over it because I don't think I'll have lost any weight by that time. I've actually put some weight on since I changed my BC method, but such is life.

[DisneyFirefly]

So some random updates...

I'm 90% sure that it will be 3 geeks instead of 4. Unfortunately, it looks like James and I are going to be breaking up sometime soon. Long story, don't really want to get into it. Even if we don't, I'm almost positive that he won't be coming on the trip.

Following in that vein, there's a strong possibility that it will be 2 geeks instead of 3! Jacquie and I were on the phone earlier today and we were discussing the possibility of us having the money for the trip, but Ian (her husband) not. We've discussed the fniancial side of this trip and have decided who's paying for what and how we're paying for the trip (example: I'm paying for the rental car and gas, but she's paying for airport transportation and our custom cake). He hasn't had any input for any of those conversations, and hasn't even started saving for the trip, which is now 201 days away. We decided that we're going to have a conversation with him and tell him that if he doesn't have his entire portion of the money by the time all money for the trip is due (mid-November), then he won't be coming and it will be just me and Jacquie. We just have this feeling that it'll be more fun if it's just the two of us than if Ian comes, too. It's a long story.

If it turns out that way, then we'll be staying at Pop instead of POR. We'll still go with the DxDP and our ticket options, and we'll have a rental car, but we'll downgrade to an economy, since the whole reason of wanting to get the more expensive, larger car is because Ian is 6'4" and would pitch a fit if he had to ride in a smaller car (even though they own a midsize sedan). I don't think we'll get the custom cake, though, since a big cake for two people is kind of excessive, especially since we'll have desserts with all of our meals. If we really want cake, I'm sure we can go over to the Boardwalk and get something from their bakery :)

We can make our ADR's three weeks from today, unless that 190 day glitch thing is still going on. I'll check that morning, since I'm working, but I'm not sure if we'll be able to book them that day or not. I'm also working the morning of the 180 days, so I'll definitely be able to book them on one day or the other :)

I think that's about all that's going on right now in terms of the trip. Jacquie and I have decided, though, that the two of us are definitely going, one way or another. We're also still planning on a shorter trip in September or October of next year, so that we can go to the MNSSHP :teeth:

Jacquie's coming by on Tuesday after she gets off of work, and then we're heading up to Six Flags again on Wednesday. We want to spend the day at the water park :beach: So that'll be fun :)

[irishdancer86]

Your dealing very well with all the uncertainty, I.m so impatient I always need to know what exactlys happening there and then but I think your calm cool approach is definitely superior!:cool1:

althoughh it might just be the two girls the trip still sounds great! know what you mean about losing weight before hols mine is not going to plan either :confused: but I'm also too short on funds to buy any more stuff so going to have to wear what i've got whether its pretty or not!:eek:

[DisneyFirefly]

Your dealing very well with all the uncertainty, I.m so impatient I always need to know what exactlys happening there and then but I think your calm cool approach is definitely superior!:cool1:

althoughh it might just be the two girls the trip still sounds great! know what you mean about losing weight before hols mine is not going to plan either :confused: but I'm also too short on funds to buy any more stuff so going to have to wear what i've got whether its pretty or not!:eek:

Well, I'm actually pretty used to uncertainty. I like to know what's happening, but I'm also used to not knowing what's going on :cutie: Besides, I'm the researcher between me and Jacquie, which means I'm always looking SOMETHING up :rotfl: Looking at various Disney packages actually helps me keep calm when it comes to the uncertainty about the trip. Also, I know that Jacquie and I are going, one way or another, so that helps, too. :yay:

If it turns out to be just the two of us, I'm sure we'll have even more fun than we would with either of the guys coming. Ian can be kind of a wet blanket, and James doesn't seem to have any interest in anything Disney.

:lmao: Your trip is two weeks away! Don't worry about weight right now!

[stephielela]

I know what you mean about the uncertainty. I am planning on my BFF going with me and DS in September, but if she bails, I have the secondary plan all set up, including ADRs and touring plans! A girls trip would be fun for you guys though!

[DisneyFirefly]

I know what you mean about the uncertainty. I am planning on my BFF going with me and DS in September, but if she bails, I have the secondary plan all set up, including ADRs and touring plans! A girls trip would be fun for you guys though!

Well, we're also planning on going down next fall (not this year, next year) just the two of us so we can hit up MNSSHP :teeth: So, one way or another, at some point, we're going to Disney and it's just going to be the two of us :) I hope your BFF gets it figured out so you can know what plans you have in place :hug:

[PrincessInOz]

I know what you mean about the uncertainty. I am planning on my BFF going with me and DS in September, but if she bails, I have the secondary plan all set up, including ADRs and touring plans! A girls trip would be fun for you guys though!

Well, we're also planning on going down next fall (not this year, next year) just the two of us so we can hit up MNSSHP :teeth: So, one way or another, at some point, we're going to Disney and it's just going to be the two of us :) I hope your BFF gets it figured out so you can know what plans you have in place :hug:

Anytime either of you need company, let me know ... I figure I'll need about 12 months notice in order to save up the pennies for another trip! :rolleyes1

[DisneyFirefly]

Anytime either of you need company, let me know ... I figure I'll need about 12 months notice in order to save up the pennies for another trip! :rolleyes1

:rotfl2: I'll definitely keep you posted if I need company :goodvibes:goodvibes

[DisneyFirefly]

So, just for anyone keeping track, DBF and I split up this morning. It just wasn't working out. It was a mutual decision, and I honestly think he may be a little more upset about it than I am. But yeah. I'm all right with it, since I pretty much knew it was coming.

How are you guys?

[stephielela]

Well, I am sorry it didn't work out, though it seems liek it might have been for the best... I'm sure you will find someone much better for you, someone who LOVES Disney! :rotfl2:

[DisneyFirefly]

I hope so, too :) I'm planning on moving back to Florida at some point anyway, so it really is for the best, because he didn't want to. I also may be going down to WDW in October now on a solo trip :cheer2: I haven't completely decided yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll be able to afford both trips :teeth:

[therussells08]

I'm sorry to hear about you and your boyfriend! :hug: We're here for you!

[DisneyFirefly]

I'm sorry to hear about you and your boyfriend! :hug: We're here for you!

I'm actually really okay with it. There were a lot of issues going on and I thought it was time for us to break up anyway. It happens. I appreciate it, though :hug: :)

[therussells08]

I'm actually really okay with it. There were a lot of issues going on and I thought it was time for us to break up anyway. It happens. I appreciate it, though :hug: :)

Sometimes these things are for the best! I'm glad you're okay! :)

[PrincessInOz]

:hug:

[DisneyFirefly]

:hug: :)

[irishdancer86]

breakups definitely aren't fun but hope your one definite and one potential trip will keep your mind off it!:hug:

[DisneyFirefly]

breakups definitely aren't fun but hope your one definite and one potential trip will keep your mind off it!:hug:

Yeah, they aren't, but I knew this one was coming. He seemed a little more upset by it than I was, but such is life. But the October 2011 trip is a definite, it's just the dates that are tentative. I may possibly go down for a few days this October, but I'm not sure about it yet. I need to see if I'll have the money for both trips. It's looking slightly possible, but I'm not sure.

But yeah :) I'm okay. A little lonely right now, but that's mostly because I've been home alone for about two weeks except for when I go to work. :confused3

[PrincessInOz]

Yeah, they aren't, but I knew this one was coming. He seemed a little more upset by it than I was, but such is life. But the October 2011 trip is a definite, it's just the dates that are tentative. I may possibly go down for a few days this October, but I'm not sure about it yet. I need to see if I'll have the money for both trips. It's looking slightly possible, but I'm not sure.

But yeah :) I'm okay. A little lonely right now, but that's mostly because I've been home alone for about two weeks except for when I go to work. :confused3

Well, you know where we are if you need company....on the DisBoard! :rolleyes1

[DisneyFirefly]

Well, you know where we are if you need company....on the DisBoard! :rolleyes1

I know :lmao: Thanks :hug:

[DisneyFirefly]

So, I just got off the phone with Jacquie and, well... We're more than likely going to have to push the trip back anywhere from six months to a year. :(

She injured her knee in her sophomore year of high school and tore her ACL, but has had consistent problems with it for the last eleven years. She's blown her knee out three times in the last few months and finally took my advice this week to go to the doctor. She went to her regular doctor yesterday, who referred her to an orthopedic surgeon, who had her get an MRI today and will be seeing her again on Friday for a prognosis. She's going to need some kind of knee surgery, though.

Depending on how much the surgery will cost, when she has it, and what the recovery time is like, she'll only have the money for one or the other. Her insurance will cover 80% of the costs of the surgery, but she's still responsible for that other 20%. I looked it up and the average cost for an arthroscopic knee surgery is about $5000, but I'm not sure if that's what she'll need or not. So, basically, we're most likely going to have to postpone the trip for about six months to a year. We're not entirely sure yet, but she's going to get in touch with me after she talks to the orthopedic surgeon and we're going to decide then.

I've been thinking about going down to WDW to meet PrincessInOz in October, so if we do have to postpone the trip, I'll be heading down in October.

I'll keep you guys updated, though. It helps to have the boards because you guys get how disappointing it is :(

[PrincessInOz]

So, I just got off the phone with Jacquie and, well... We're more than likely going to have to push the trip back anywhere from six months to a year. :(

She injured her knee in her sophomore year of high school and tore her ACL, but has had consistent problems with it for the last eleven years. She's blown her knee out three times in the last few months and finally took my advice this week to go to the doctor. She went to her regular doctor yesterday, who referred her to an orthopedic surgeon, who had her get an MRI today and will be seeing her again on Friday for a prognosis. She's going to need some kind of knee surgery, though.

Depending on how much the surgery will cost, when she has it, and what the recovery time is like, she'll only have the money for one or the other. Her insurance will cover 80% of the costs of the surgery, but she's still responsible for that other 20%. I looked it up and the average cost for an arthroscopic knee surgery is about $5000, but I'm not sure if that's what she'll need or not. So, basically, we're most likely going to have to postpone the trip for about six months to a year. We're not entirely sure yet, but she's going to get in touch with me after she talks to the orthopedic surgeon and we're going to decide then.

I've been thinking about going down to WDW to meet PrincessInOz in October, so if we do have to postpone the trip, I'll be heading down in October.

I'll keep you guys updated, though. It helps to have the boards because you guys get how disappointing it is :(

Fantastic!! But I don't want to celebrate too much about you and me meeting up in October because it comes with a cost.

So sorry to hear about Jacquie's knee. I hope the surgery goes well and that she make a full recovery.
:goodvibes

[therussells08]

Oh no! I'm so sorry! :sad1: Please keep us updated and I hope that everything works out for you!

[Nermel9]

Hi, I'm here! I'm sorry you might have to postpone your trip! :sad1: But I hope you can go in October, that would be fun! :)

[DisneyFirefly]

Fantastic!! But I don't want to celebrate too much about you and me meeting up in October because it comes with a cost.

So sorry to hear about Jacquie's knee. I hope the surgery goes well and that she make a full recovery.
:goodvibes

I know, right? We talked about it last night, though, and she gets it. Life happens, and, in her case, the surgery is more important than the trip. So we'll see what happens, but it looks very likely that I'm going to be down there in October instead of in January :)

Oh no! I'm so sorry! :sad1: Please keep us updated and I hope that everything works out for you!

I will :goodvibes Honestly, I'm sad about it because that was going to be an awesome trip, but her health is more important than a vacation, you know? Plus, I can go in October and meet up with some Dis friends :)

Hi, I'm here! I'm sorry you might have to postpone your trip! :sad1: But I hope you can go in October, that would be fun! :)

Well, it happens. Honestly, it's for the best, because her knee getting fixed is more important than a trip to Disney, you know? It sounds weird, but it's true :lmao: I'm 90% sure that I'll be going in October, but not 100% yet. She's supposed to call me tomorrow and let me know what the surgeon says after looking at her MRI.

[DisneyFirefly]

So I just spoke to Jacquie. She went to see the orthopedic surgeon this morning about her options for surgery. She has three options, but she's already excluded one because it wouldn't really fix the problem, it would just make it less painful. She doesn't see the point in paying for a surgery that's not going to really fix it and leave it liable to injury again in the future anyway. The other two are forms of ACL reconstruction. One would be with donor tissue and the other would be with her own. She's debating between the two right now.

Either way, her doctor told her that she'll have the surgery within the next three to six months, and then there's the recovery time. I was joking with her about how if she did the surgery with the donor tissue and we didn't cancel the trip, that we'd have the trip all booked and paid for, we'd be sitting at Midway Airport, waiting to leave, and then she'd get a call, "Your donor tissue's here, we need you at the hospital!" That would be just our luck. So we've decided to postpone the trip.

Right now, we're thinking about November 2011, since that would be when the Christmas parties start and the decorations go up and everything. I think they'd like it down there at that time. So we'll see what happens.

Buuuuuuuut... I've decided that I am going to go in October. It's going to be a solo trip, but I'll be meeting up with some Disers and I'm sure I can meet up with old coworkers, since a few of them still work there. I booked the trip last night just in case and I've already made ADR's, so I'm going to start a PTR for that trip when I get to work tonight. Hopefully you guys will join me on that one :) I'll post the link over here once I get it started.

So, :guilty: about the January trip being postponed, but :cheer2: about going in October!

[PrincessInOz]

:cool1::cool1::cool1:

Now it's my turn to put my pieces into play for October!

[DisneyFirefly]

:cool1::cool1::cool1:

Now it's my turn to put my pieces into play for October!

:rotfl: Yeah, you'd better change that ticker :goodvibes

[klacey1]

Ouch, sorry about the postponed trip, but your solo trip sounds fun, too!!

[DisneyFirefly]

Ouch, sorry about the postponed trip, but your solo trip sounds fun, too!!

Such is life, you know? Sometimes things get in the way of going to Disney :laughing: I'm just glad that we can postpone it and not have to outright cancel (or have it already paid and then have something happen within that last 45 days and be unable to get a refund). I'm also glad to be going at all :rotfl:

[stephielela]

Hey! Sorry to hear about postponing, but at least you will get to go even sooner!! Let me know once you start your new PTR!

[DisneyFirefly]

Hey! Sorry to hear about postponing, but at least you will get to go even sooner!! Let me know once you start your new PTR!

I just started it, actually :)

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2500576

[franandaj]

OK, I finally caught up on the drama of this one! Glad you've moved on (which is where I caught up with you anyways!)

Maybe someday, I'll get to have a PTR!

[DisneyFirefly]

Yeah, there's been a small amount of drama in the last couple months. There's been some other stuff involving Jacquie and her workplace, but such is life. We're just trying to figure everything out so that she doesn't lose her job or anything because of her knee surgery. She's worried about it.

[franandaj]

That's so awful that someone has to be worried about losing their job because of a physical condition. Espeically if it's something that can be fixed, and they are still young.

I have a friend with Vertigo who has finally applied for permanent disability after being laid off, but that's not the same, he's older, and the condition gets worse. She can get better once the surgery is complete, she is still young. It's too bad that so many companies are only concerned about the short term. In our business we have taken back good employees after they needed an LOA, (I think however, in this case the gal I let back had to do time (either in jail or in rehab) on a DUI, but she was discreet about it and I didn't ask, she did total her car on the freeway on a Saturday night so... :rolleyes1). But she was a good employee and when she came back I was happy to welcome her back with open arms. It's too bad that so many employers don't value the people that work for them and just want to fill the position.

[DisneyFirefly]

Her boss suspended her for being late one day, but has been trying to fire her for months. She's been looking for another job, but hasn't been able to find anything and now with the surgery coming up, she's afraid that if she tells them she needs accomodations for a temporary disability or something, even with documentation, that they'll fire her. I think that's illegal, but she thinks that they'll say that she had some other reason for being fired. Unfortunately, her insurance is through that job and her husband has two part-time jobs, even though he works full-time hours at both. Neither job offers insurance for part-timers, so if she loses the job that suspended her, she'll lose her insurance and be liable for the entire cost of the surgery, which may mean she'll have to put it off even further. I told her to ask her doctor about temporary disability benefits, so she's going to call him tomorrow. She lives out in the far suburbs in a college town, so there aren't very many jobs out there that are available anyway, let alone to someone who needs insurance immediately and can't currently stand up, and the ones that are available are part-time and usually in food service.

So... Yeah. Hopefully things will work out for her.

That's good that your company takes people back :) I think if I needed an LOA or something, my company would take me back. My boss loves me, so I'm assuming they would :lmao: Was your employee okay after she totaled her car?

[franandaj]

Was your employee okay after she totaled her car?

She was fine, as far as can tell, and knowing her propensity for "clubbin" and that she used to take a flask to avoid paying for drinks, I have a feeling that she had been drinking. Normally the one who has been drinking is OK and the sober people get hurt. I think they struck the center divider, but she didn't give a lot of details, for obvious reasons.

She told me that she had a "great opportunity that she couldn't pass up and had to take some time off" which made me think she was either going into rehab or voluntary jail time. I didn't ask questions, but when she came back three months later, she needed an official letter that stated she had employment sent to a government agency. I did it for her, because she had always been a good employee, she just screwed up one night out with some friends.

She's still working for me years later and even though she has flaky moments for the most part, she takes care of what I need, and that's all I can ask!

[DisneyFirefly]

Well, it's good that she was physically okay :) If she was in rehab, then I'm glad she got sober :)

[DisneyFirefly]

I don't remember if I posted this, but here's a link to my new PTR for my trip in October :)

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2500576

[stephielela]

Her boss suspended her for being late one day, but has been trying to fire her for months. She's been looking for another job, but hasn't been able to find anything and now with the surgery coming up, she's afraid that if she tells them she needs accomodations for a temporary disability or something, even with documentation, that they'll fire her. I think that's illegal, but she thinks that they'll say that she had some other reason for being fired. Unfortunately, her insurance is through that job and her husband has two part-time jobs, even though he works full-time hours at both. Neither job offers insurance for part-timers, so if she loses the job that suspended her, she'll lose her insurance and be liable for the entire cost of the surgery, which may mean she'll have to put it off even further. I told her to ask her doctor about temporary disability benefits, so she's going to call him tomorrow. She lives out in the far suburbs in a college town, so there aren't very many jobs out there that are available anyway, let alone to someone who needs insurance immediately and can't currently stand up, and the ones that are available are part-time and usually in food service.

So... Yeah. Hopefully things will work out for her.

That's good that your company takes people back :) I think if I needed an LOA or something, my company would take me back. My boss loves me, so I'm assuming they would :lmao: Was your employee okay after she totaled her car?

That's ridiculous! I'm pretty sure that would be illegal, unless she lives in an "at will" state, which means anyone can be fired at any time. that's pretty crappy though, and it's a bad time to be without a job, especially if it interferes with disney vacations!

[DisneyFirefly]

That's ridiculous! I'm pretty sure that would be illegal, unless she lives in an "at will" state, which means anyone can be fired at any time. that's pretty crappy though, and it's a bad time to be without a job, especially if it interferes with disney vacations!

Well, she did get fired, but according to her boss, it wasn't for the medical reasons. It's a long story :hug: But yeah, we just postponed it to next November :)