Beauty and the Beach ~ Deluxe Edition [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

Mndisneygirl

04-19-2010, 08:56 PM

Here we are!! I FINALLY figured out a title (thanks to DizneyDawn!) and got this PTR going!!
If you followed my TR from Dec. 2009, you know who we are.

But for those who don't,
I am Sheree, the uber planner in the family. I used to think I was organized, but then I had kids. I had only been to Disneyland twice as a kid (once at 2 and once at 15) until after I married DH. He brought me to WDW with his family in 1999 and I've been back 6 times since!! Little did he know on that first trip how hooked I'd be!! By day I work as a judicial law clerk (attorney for a judge) and by night, I'm super mom! Okay, just kidding. I am a mom to two beautiful girls and a cute dog. I enjoy scrapbooking, reading, watching sports (Hockey, Baseball and Figure Skating) and all things Disney!!

My DH is, however, super dad!! He spent part of his childhood living in FL, so he was there more often. He works two jobs, and
makes fun of my Disney obsession, but is usually the driving force behind our trips! He loves cars, football and his wife and daughters!! ;)

DD9 ~ Sarah ~ she is my mini-me. She looks just like I did as a kid. She is in 3rd grade, smart as a whip, loves gymnastics, dancing, and she plays softball. She is growing up so fast, I have to keep taking her to WDW to keep her young!! I think her favorite character is Tinkerbell.

DD7 ~ Paige ~ A little spitfire!! She is in 1st grade and loves reading! She's in her third year of dance, also does gymnastics and always has a funny response. Sometimes she doesn't even realize she's so funny! She has always loved Belle (which I think is cool because Belle is a big reader!).

So that's us! This trip came to be last December. We were at the Bay Lake Tower from December 6 - 10 before going on a 3 day Disney Cruise with DH's family. We decided to take the bounceback offer in our room for 40% off Deluxe!!! :cheer2:
We had been invited by my SIL to join them for a week at their timeshare at Cocoa Beach in August 2010. We have a hard time going to FL and not adding a stop at Mickey's place, so we booked for a few days before our scheduled beach trip.
For more details, you can check out my TR in my siggie.

I felt the need to start this PTR TODAY because we are at 100 days out!! We can double digit dance tomorrow!!!

Here's the basics:
The four of us (no extended family with us at WDW!)
4 nights at the Beach Club (Std. room)
July 28 - August 1
Right now we have DDP and 3 day park hopper tickets. But of course, we're planning some changes to that!
I've got my ADRs and will share them with you all soon.
Flights are booked (YAY! No Driving!)

We're planning to rent a car at WDW and drive to the beach after our stay at the Beach Club.

Details will be coming...stay tuned!!!

cmp1111

04-19-2010, 09:02 PM

Sounds like a wonderful bounce-back! :goodvibes Thanks for sharing.

Northern Disney Girl

04-19-2010, 09:17 PM

I'm HERE!!!!!!! :cool1:

Can't wait to hear ALL the juicy details! ;)

Great Title! :thumbsup2

100 DAYS!!!!! :cool1: :banana: :woohoo: :cheer2:

wigdoutdismom

04-19-2010, 09:27 PM

I'm here and on the first page!

wigdoutdismom

04-19-2010, 09:31 PM

And I love the title:beach:

Mndisneygirl

04-19-2010, 09:37 PM

Sounds like a wonderful bounce-back! :goodvibes Thanks for sharing.

It's a good deal! Thanks for stopping by!
I'm HERE!!!!!!! :cool1:

Can't wait to hear ALL the juicy details! ;)

Great Title! :thumbsup2

100 DAYS!!!!! :cool1: :banana: :woohoo: :cheer2:

YAY! Hi Kim!!:wave2: Glad you're here!

I'm here and on the first page!

And I love the title:beach:
Woo hoo!! Wigd is here too!
You started me on the right track with the title!

Wannabinnc

04-19-2010, 09:46 PM

Yippee! you are going to Disney in 100 days!!!! Loving your PTR and hearing all about your family. You will have a wonderful time and I will enjoy reading about it!!

Disney Mommy 3

04-19-2010, 09:49 PM

yay!!! LOVE the title!!! I made the first page!! I am so excited you are at 100 days!!!!! Glad you are flying! Can't wait to read all the plans!!!

Charleston Princess

04-20-2010, 04:41 AM

I am here for all the fun, Sheree, and I love the title! :banana:

Monny2AE

04-20-2010, 06:23 AM

Hi Sheree!!! Can't wait to hear all about this trip! Glad to hear the "no driving" part!

stace208

04-20-2010, 06:32 AM

I'm here Sheree! Looking forward to more!

Dancegrl624

04-20-2010, 08:48 AM

I'm here!!! And while I'm at it......hooray for double digits!!! :cool1::banana::woohoo::dance3::yay::cheer2:

Dizneydawn

04-20-2010, 09:25 AM

I am here ...I thought you might pick that one! :goodvibes

Mndisneygirl

04-20-2010, 09:32 AM

I am here ...I thought you might pick that one! :goodvibes
All of them were so funny - I let DH have a vote! Thanks again for your help!

I'm here!!! And while I'm at it......hooray for double digits!!! :cool1::banana::woohoo::dance3::yay::cheer2:
Oh yeah, we're going to be dancing today!

Hi Sheree!!! Can't wait to hear all about this trip! Glad to hear the "no driving" part!
Hi Kim!! I'm so excited to fly - but now I have to learn how to pack!

I am here for all the fun, Sheree, and I love the title! :banana:
Dawn is responsible for the title! Let the fun begin!

yay!!! LOVE the title!!! I made the first page!! I am so excited you are at 100 days!!!!! Glad you are flying! Can't wait to read all the plans!!!

Oh boy - Shawna you HAD to be on first page buddy!
We should get into some details today.

Yippee! you are going to Disney in 100 days!!!! Loving your PTR and hearing all about your family. You will have a wonderful time and I will enjoy reading about it!!

Thanks for joining in - you'll hear more about the family - you may not WANT to, but you will!!!

Okay everyone it's time to do the double digit dance!!!

99 days!!!!!
:banana::banana:party:
party::jumping1::mickeyjum

manntra

04-20-2010, 09:55 AM

:hyper::jumping1::hyper::jumping1::hyper:
Woo hoo for double digits!!
Great title!! :thumbsup2
Waiting on those ADR's ;) :rotfl2:

Tracy

Mndisneygirl

04-20-2010, 10:31 AM

:hyper::jumping1::hyper::jumping1::hyper:

Woo hoo for double digits!!
Great title!! :thumbsup2
Waiting on those ADR's ;) :rotfl2:

Tracy

:welcome:to the party!

You know, patience is a virtue. (not that I have that particular virtue either!)

Working on an update for you.

Mndisneygirl

04-20-2010, 10:56 AM

Was 2/3 done with the update and hit something and it disappeared!! Grrr.

Okay let's try that again!

We are flying! Yay! We've booked our flights with Delta and are leaving the Twin Cities on Wednesay 7/28 at 10:20 a.m. (at least for now, we all know how flight times can change!). We should arrive at MCO at about 2:30 p.m. We'll enjoy a lovely Magical Express bus ride to the Beach Club where we will hopefully meet Teena the greeter, and check in.
We are planning to enjoy the resort, and just hang out until dinner at 6:15 at Captain's Grill.

Park Plans:
Thursday 7/29 - MK
Hours - 9 - 10 and AM EMH

Friday 7/30 - Epcot
Hours - 9 - 9

Saturday 7/31 - DHS/AK
DHS Hours - 9 - 7
AK Hours - 9 - 6 and PM EMH

Sunday 8/1 - ???
No park plans for certain as we only have 3 days of tickets. That is also subject to change. I'll explain why later.

ADRS:

Wed - 6:15 dinner Captain's Grill

Thurs - 10:15 breakfast CRT (Shh! it's a surprise for the girls!)
5:15 - Spirit of Aloha dinner show at Poly

Fri - 11:55 lunch Coral Reef
6:00 dinner Chefs de France
we also have a 6:15 dinner at LeCellier that I got just in case CdF was not on DDP this year. I WILL be canceling that.

Sat - 11:40 lunch - Hollywood Brown Derby
4:30 dinner - Boma
This is intentionally early so we can go to AK and enjoy PM EMH. We don't plan on doing EE, mostly trying to get FOTLK and see some animals, maybe get to Kali RR (then we can be wet AFTER dinner!)

Sun - 9:15 breakfast Cape May Cafe

Originally I thought we'd check out and leave, but we may spend more time before heading to the beach.

Our "real" beach trip is the reason this WDW trip happened. My SIL's got a timeshare, and because they didn't use it last year, they have two weeks this year. They offered it to us to join them. They usually go in summer. I'm not one to leave MN to go to FL in summer (not a big fan of humidity) but when DH said we could fly and tack on some WDW time, I said "I'm in!"
So after the Beach Club, we're going to rent a car (have yet to book that) probably from Alamo at the Swan/Dolphin. We'll drive to Port Canaveral where the resort is. It's called Cape Caribe and it was started by Ron Jon's.

Back in 2003, when we first took the kids to WDW, we stayed at a Comfort Inn at Cocoa Beach. When we were shopping at Ron Jon's, DH found out about this new timeshare resort they were building. We went to investigate, and it was so cool, we got a one night stay there! We moved from Comfort Inn and were so glad we did. Later, DH tells his sister about it. They go there and end up buying!!! So they've been going there every summer and their kids surf etc.
It's a really cool resort with a small waterpark, lazy river, activities etc. You can see it from a Disney Cruise ship as it leaves port and you can watch the ships from the resort.

I will find some pictures. I don't think they're in photobucket, but I'll check.

Disney Mommy 3

04-20-2010, 11:35 AM

DOUBLE DIGITS!!! WOOO HOOO!!!!:banana::woohoo::yay:

I am sooo happy you are at double digits!!!! That is sooo exciting....I wish you could have met Art the Greeter before he retired..he was sooo sweet...but I am looking forward to meeting the Teena lady....I have read some of her posts and she seems really nice and helpful. If I was a CM I would have a post on every page of everything!! ha!!!!I just love it-people would be sooooo sick of me!!!!! Well...I am gonna have to get the DizneyDawn girl to help me pick a title if I do a PTR or a TR when I get back...
And I don't know how many times I have had a whole page typed up here and just thought I hit ENTER and the whole thing was gone!!!!! I never can figure out what happened...very strange!

Mndisneygirl

04-20-2010, 02:40 PM

Well, just for fun I was looking to see if our airfare went up or down. I put in our date and the flight we are on actually has changed!!! The price went up (Whew) but it showed it leaving here at 1 pm!! No, that's not going to work for me.
So then I logged into Delta's website and checked our itinerary. They have moved us to a 9 am flight! New flight # too. I guess I won't complain, it's not too early and we get to WDW sooner, but when do you suppose they were going to TELL ME THIS???? Right on the listing it says "we will send updates to the contact information on file" That would be my email address. Nope, no emails yet.
They're just lucky the change was okay with me! I do now have to deal with rush hour traffic and getting the kids up super early to get there on time. I guess it's not as bad as last year when I had to get Sarah up at 4:30 a.m.!
Nice customer service. I may have to write a letter.

Disney Mommy 3

04-20-2010, 03:26 PM

Not good...and what if they change it again before then? WEIRD!!!! I don't know why they haven't contacted you yet.....yep...write the letter!

Mndisneygirl

04-20-2010, 03:42 PM

You can bet I'll be checking that itinerary frequently!!
I just think, what if I didn't know until that day (miss the flight!) or shortly before and it would be too late or hard to change? Ooh, my blood is boiling!

Disney Mommy 3

04-20-2010, 03:52 PM

That kind of stuff gets me all stirred up too.....not Mike. He is sooooo laid back, he would say, "Why are you upset? You found out in plenty of time..quit griping and adjust your plans"....needless to say we don't agree on that front!!!! Causes quite a bit of uproar on my end!!! I am such an over-planner that I get riled up!! this is why I do all the planning around here!!!!

Mndisneygirl

04-20-2010, 04:03 PM

This is the view of the resort at Port Canaveral from the Disney Wonder. (I think they are zoomed in). There are a couple buildings, one is right at the beach and the other is more the "main" building where the pools, lazy river etc. are.
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp159/Mndisneygirl/DSCN1321.jpg

http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp159/Mndisneygirl/DSCN1320.jpg

Dancegrl624

04-20-2010, 04:23 PM

That resort looks so nice!!! Can't beat a hotel at the beach! My parents are at their "home" resort this week in Fort Lauderdale (so jealous). It's literally across the street from the beach (the hotel is on A-IA...the song that is mentioned in "Ice Ice Baby"!!! :laughing: ). I've been there twice and it's lovely. It's actually on top of a 3 story open-air mall!!! Of course, I enjoy Marriott's Orlando properties a bit more. :goodvibes

Disney Mommy 3

04-20-2010, 05:56 PM

Whats the new ticker? The 5# one...are you on a new eating plan? That's what i like to call it!!:rotfl:

wigdoutdismom

04-20-2010, 06:09 PM

Sheree, you all are going to love meeting Teena!
That lady is wonderful and truly makes staying at Beach Club a memorable experience. :goodvibes

Mndisneygirl

04-20-2010, 06:36 PM

Yes Shawna i'm in a group on the boards and it's great. Just slowly working toward a 15-20 lb loss. We have a thread over on W.I.S.H. I think there's a link in dizneydawn's sig. When you have a 5 lb loss she sends the palm tree.
Wigd - really hoping to meet Teena! I've read a lot from and about her on the yc/bc threads.

Disney Mommy 3

04-20-2010, 09:03 PM

Mndisneygirl

04-21-2010, 10:23 AM

Well good for you!! That first 5 is soooo hard!!! I tell you what helps me sometimes...if I take out Dr. Pepper and do water ...add lemon also...it's a metabolism raiser! I am not a work out girl, but if I walk about 3 miles a day I really start to see a loss...I feel better too..keep us posted..you know we will cheer you on!!!

Thanks Shawna! I have been drinking a lot more water. I don't drink much soda anyway. But just adding water and watching food intake, trying to eat healthier. It's going okay so far. I have pretty low expectations and am not trying to change everything at once. I'll keep you updated. My boss told me the other day to go buy new pants because mine looked too big! I was thrilled!!!

Disney Mommy 3

04-21-2010, 11:43 AM

Thanks Shawna! I have been drinking a lot more water. I don't drink much soda anyway. But just adding water and watching food intake, trying to eat healthier. It's going okay so far. I have pretty low expectations and am not trying to change everything at once. I'll keep you updated. My boss told me the other day to go buy new pants because mine looked too big! I was thrilled!!!

How exciting!!!! That is wonderful!! Are the girls ready for summer....when do your schools let out?

Mndisneygirl

04-21-2010, 11:52 AM

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How exciting!!!! That is wonderful!! Are the girls ready for summer....when do your schools let out?

We're a long way from summer despite the gorgeous weather! Our school ends on June 10. Paige is already in summer wardrobe mode. She hates socks and would go barefoot everywhere if I let her!
We have gymnastics and dance until about that time too.

Disney Mommy 3

04-21-2010, 12:06 PM

I am sure after the long winter you had this year they are so glad it's spring! That's only about a week and half longer than Texas schools...our latest day out locally has been June 1...it's usually just a couple of days before that. It has been getting pretty warm here already...nights have been cool still---but poor Gracie...every restaurant you go to freezes you to death! I have just started making her leave a sweater in the car...she gets so cold she can't eat. I know they don't want customers cold, but man....if it's so cold that I am complaining, I feel bad for everyone else!
We are waiting for the days when they can go swimming!! That water is stil CHIIIIILLLLLY!!!

Wannabinnc

04-21-2010, 07:44 PM

Mndisneygirl

04-21-2010, 09:28 PM

Nothing big - but I did call Disney today! I wanted to add Magical Express for our arrival. Had to be on hold for a few minutes - which I really didn't mind! They play Disney music! Got to hear a song from Monsters Inc!
So I managed to do add ME and while I was on the line I made them update the girls' ages since they've had their birthdays since we made the reservations.

I asked a bit about upgrading the DDP to DxDP. She said she could do it today, but I declined. I might wait until after I pay the package. I hear that normally if you make changes after the 45 day mark they will charge you, but if you're adding/upgrading, they usually don't. We'll wait and see. If I recall, I did the math and it would add about $250 to our total.

She also said that we could add a rental car through them - they use Alamo on site and we were planning to use Alamo - but I'm not sure if I can score a discount or something, so I'm going to wait on that.
After she wished me a magical day, I hung up smiling and told my office mates - I just love talking to Disney - they wish me a magical day!! They just shook their heads. Clearly not Disneyaholics.

Came home early and went to meet DH to go to Lowes. We are remodeling our downstairs bathroom. We had our neighbor/handyman do the tile floor, we changed the counter/sink, painted, got new faucet and towel bar and needed a new light fixture and mirror. So we found a light fixture and bought that today. Didn't find a mirror yet, so we're going to do without for a bit until I find one I like.
Because we have a Disney Visa - I saved $10 at Lowes! If I spent over $50 and used my Visa - I got $10 off!! They had sent coupons a while ago. The other was if you spent $250 you saved $75 I think. I also just got some coupons for NY &Co. If you spend $75 you save $30!!! I should go there - it's a good deal!

I also did some "gardening" today! We are getting our hot tub next week, and I had to move some Hostas to prepare the site. So I dug them up (with a little help from DH) and divided them and replanted them up on our hill. DH dug the holes for me. My legs are tired! Then DH took the railing off the deck and leveled the spot a bit.
Got the kids to bed and kicking back watching Idol. They went like 25 minutes long!!!
I'm working from home tomorrow, and hoping to get some stuff done at home. Going to clean up the clutter, go through some kids' clothes, mark garage sale stuff and bake some bars/cookies. (Luckily, I don't have much work stuff to do! just check email and voicemail mostly!) I'm going on a girls' getaway weekend up to Duluth Friday afternoon and bringing some treats along. The rest will go to my parents' church as they are providing lunch on Sunday. Then the girls have dance pictures tomorrow night and Sarah has softball practice too.
So that's my news for today. I am pooped. Probably will be tomorrow too!!

MousekaMaddi

04-21-2010, 09:35 PM

looking for the best deal on flights to MCO from SWF Newburgh NY or White Plains NY airport, dates..July 8 to 20, we are flexible a few days each way for the best deals,myself and DD7, so two tickets, thx!! I have been searching but cant find better than $600 for both of us, maybe u frinds can do better!! I m counting on it!! :thumbsup2

wigdoutdismom

04-21-2010, 09:39 PM

I agree, Disney calls are cheerful calls!

You had a very productive day, I don't blame you for being tired!
My day with 2nd grade leaves me drained.
Summer can't get here soon enough!

Mndisneygirl

04-21-2010, 10:15 PM

I agree, Disney calls are cheerful calls!

You had a very productive day, I don't blame you for being tired!
My day with 2nd grade leaves me drained.
Summer can't get here soon enough!

Having recently had a second grader I can feel your pain. It must be that much worse with 25 or 30 of them!!!
I hope I'll have another productive day tomorrow. I've been wasting time tonight looking at VB Hipsters and mini hipsters on ebay! Thanks to all the VB talk on your thread! I am leaning toward the hipster since I have a small bag that I can bring. The hipster seems to be a good size for me.

Disney Mommy 3

04-22-2010, 04:03 AM

Wow girl! You did get a lot done~ way to go!! I got the NY&C coupon today..yeah....go get some pants that fit!!!Ha!! Maybe even get a size smaller and make them your goal!

JoBird

04-23-2010, 09:12 AM

photographymom517

04-23-2010, 09:44 AM

Hi! Just found your PTR from another report. Have to go catch up now!!!

Mndisneygirl

04-23-2010, 10:26 AM

A bit late, sorry--- but i'm here!

Yay for that timeshare- it sounds like a fun time, and you know what? ANytime in WDW is wonderful- humidity and all. just pack sunscreen. Lots n lots of sunscreen.

:goodvibes

Love the title btw.:cool1:

Hi Jo!! Sunscreen - Check!

Hi! Just found your PTR from another report. Have to go catch up now!!!

Welcome! Thanks for joining in!

Momof2Disneyboys

04-23-2010, 12:20 PM

I'm here!! :yay: Better late than never, right?! :goodvibes Dang work is always getting in the way of my DIS time!! :rotfl:

Great PTR, can't wait for more. . . popcorn::

Mndisneygirl

04-23-2010, 02:13 PM

I'm here!! :yay: Better late than never, right?! :goodvibes Dang work is always getting in the way of my DIS time!! :rotfl:

Great PTR, can't wait for more. . . popcorn::

Hi Shelly!!! :wave2:
Glad you made it!!! Don't worry you didn't miss much. I won't be doing much posting this weekend as I'm leaving in about an hour and a half for my girls' getaway. Won't have my computer, just my iPhone, and it's hard to post from there.
Those dang jobs - don't you hate how they interfere with DISing?? :laughing:

Northern Disney Girl

04-25-2010, 08:12 PM

Mndisneygirl

04-25-2010, 08:28 PM

Love the plans Sheree!!! :thumbsup2

Did you try calling Delta about the change in your flights?? When I called Sun Country about our changes they gave us vouchers because I caught the change before they could notify me!! Now we have $400 to put toward another flight! We are thinking MAYBE end of January/beginning of February again! The vouchers are good until February 11th!

How was your girls getaway weekend?? We LOVE Duluth! Where did y'all stay?? What did you do?? Did you get ice cream from the cold Stone?? Hope you had a great time!!! :goodvibes

Hi Kim!!! My weekend was great - I'll do a mini update about it! I have not called Delta. I think I'll do that tomorrow and give them some grief and see what happens. It is an okay change, but still have not heard from them via email. I hope you can use them for another Disney trip!!!

Mndisneygirl

04-25-2010, 08:55 PM

I'm back from my weekend away! We had so much fun. So I'm going to tell you all about it!!
Three of my friends and I met at my house around 4 on Friday afternoon. Packed up an SUV and said goodbye to the girls and DH. By 6:30/7 we arrived at the Canal Park Lodge in Duluth - right on Lake Superior. It's a newer hotel, very outdoorsy/rustic themed, kind of like Wilderness Lodge. We checked in, dumped our stuff and walked to a restaurant called Little Angie's Mexican Cantina. It was super crowded, so we waited about 15-20 minutes at the bar. The reason everything was crowded was because the MN Democratic party convention was going on in Duluth this weekend along with a couple smaller conventions. So there were a gazillion Democrats roaming the area! Had a wonderful meal there, headed back to our room and had some drinks and a lot of laughs! Just hanging out.
Saturday morning we leisurely got up - two of the girls hit the gym (not me!). Then went shopping. It was pretty cold and windy, so it wasn't the best for walking around outside, but we're from MN and we're a hardy lot! It was really fun! I didn't buy much, just a Christmas ornament each for the girls with their names on them. They have really neat shops there, unique, some are art, clothes, kids, toys, candy, antiques, kitchen.
So then we went to lunch at Grandma's. Not any of OUR grandma's...It's the name of the restaurant. The same company owns the three restaurants we ate at! They also started Grandma's Marathon that is run every June in Duluth (or they sponsor it whatever!). Since it was so cold, we were all in the mood for soup. They are known for chicken wild rice soup, so I had a cup of that, and shared a steak sandwich with one of the girls. I almost felt like I should take pictures of the food - but I didn't. My friends were already laughing about my Disney obsession! I had two bags with me - both were Disney bags!

We headed back to the hotel, spent a little more time in the room, relaxing, drinking wine and then we video called our friend who had recently moved to London. We talked with her for about an hour. We had dinner reservations at Bellisio, an Italian restaurant. DH and I had been there before and it's wonderful!!! Big wine selection and great food! We recognized one of our senators, Al Franken at a table near us. You may have heard of him - he ran against Norm Coleman and they had to recount and it went to court and took about a year to resolve. Blah, blah.
After dinner - it was really raining and windy. We had to practically run with our umbrellas going inside out! After we ran three blocks or so back to the hotel - I headed to the hot tub!! It felt so good!! Back in the room, we had more laughs and talks. It really was great fun!
My one friend had been divorced a couple of years and just before Easter, she and her kids and BF went to Mexico. Without telling anyone ahead of time, they got married while they were there! So we wanted to celebrate and we toasted to her and her new husband. We all just had a blast.
Then this morning - our check out time wasn't until noon. So we went to breakfast, and decided to brave the winds and go for a power walk. OH MY GOSH was it windy!!! We walked along the lakeshore on the boardwalk. My one friend and I turned back early and came back to the pool and hot tub. Much better! Then we packed up, said goodbye to the democrats (they were leaving too) and Duluth and headed home. We got home around 1:45. DH and the girls were just going to go get lunch, so we headed out and did a few little errands. We needed some lighter colored Twins shirts. It was too hot in the sun with dark blue shirts! So we found some pink ones! The girls got pink visors too.
While I was gone, DH put up the new light fixture in the bathroom that we remodeled and the girls went through their books to get rid of some that they have "outgrown". It was a great weekend, and now I'm catching up on my DISing and marking garage sale stuff. Back to reality.

Oh - and Kim - I did not get ice cream from Cold Stone. It was just TOO COLD. We do have them here by us, so it's okay.

wigdoutdismom

04-25-2010, 10:39 PM

Sounds like a fun weekend despite the cold weather.
I hope the democrats were behaving themselves....:laughing:

Disney Mommy 3

04-25-2010, 10:56 PM

glad you had a good weekend! I need to have a garage sale...just hate to think about doing it!

MindyLuvsMickey

04-26-2010, 07:33 AM

I made it! Better late than never, right?

Dancegrl624

04-26-2010, 07:55 AM

Sounds like you had a great weekend Sheree. I'd love to be able to hang out with my friends for weekend like that. Some of my teammates are planning a trip to Cedar Point for Memorial Day weekend, but I can't join them. :sad1: I have a bridal shower that Saturday and then my students have a mini performance on that Sunday. What a bummer! I LOVE Cedar Point!

Northern Disney Girl

04-26-2010, 08:00 AM

WHAT AN AWESOME WEEKEND!!!!! :cool1: I :love: Canal Park!! My mom has run Grandma's Marathon about a bazillion times so I know that area well!!! Canal park is the finish point of the MArathon! Ken ran it 3x as well!!! I love Grandma's Restaurant - they have THE BEST burgers there!! :) I haven't had the pleasure of a COLD STONE yet but I must have one this summer!!!

So glad you had a great time! We LOVE Duluth!!! :thumbsup2

Mndisneygirl

04-27-2010, 09:29 AM

Sounds like a fun weekend despite the cold weather.
I hope the democrats were behaving themselves....:laughing:
Well, actually, it was pretty quiet at the hotel despite the democrats! We were probably the loud ones!

glad you had a good weekend! I need to have a garage sale...just hate to think about doing it!
It was so fun! I'm purging my house with this sale! Every night while DISing or watching TV I mark more stuff. I hope it goes. If I don't sell it, most of it will be donated.

I made it! Better late than never, right?
YAY! Hi Mindy!! Glad you're here too!

Sounds like you had a great weekend Sheree. I'd love to be able to hang out with my friends for weekend like that. Some of my teammates are planning a trip to Cedar Point for Memorial Day weekend, but I can't join them. :sad1: I have a bridal shower that Saturday and then my students have a mini performance on that Sunday. What a bummer! I LOVE Cedar Point!
I'm sad for you that you will miss a fun weekend with friends, but it sounds like you have other fun stuff too! I really enjoy my girls' weekends. It sort of rejuvenates me and makes me miss my family just enough! I've never gone for more than 3 nights.

WHAT AN AWESOME WEEKEND!!!!! :cool1: I :love: Canal Park!! My mom has run Grandma's Marathon about a bazillion times so I know that area well!!! Canal park is the finish point of the MArathon! Ken ran it 3x as well!!! I love Grandma's Restaurant - they have THE BEST burgers there!! :) I haven't had the pleasure of a COLD STONE yet but I must have one this summer!!!

So glad you had a great time! We LOVE Duluth!!! :thumbsup2

Canal Park is just so cool. I love the shops and restaurants. Our plan was to only eat at places we don't have at home and that was pretty easy. Except Caribou coffee. One of my friends that I was with has run Grandma's too. We watched her! How cool that both your mom and Ken have done it! I don't think I could BIKE 26.2 miles!!! :laughing:

Mndisneygirl

04-27-2010, 09:37 AM

I have still been kind of annoyed about Delta changing my flight and not telling me. So yesterday I called. The lady I spoke with was really nice and she went through the history and discovered that the flight was changed THE DAY I LOOKED!! Since I confirmed the flight online right away, they did not call or email me. Had I not done so, they would have called me. She verified my contact info and told me that if they make any changes, they will call. I think I'm still going to check periodically just for my own piece of mind.

Last night Sarah had a concert at school. They sang some really cute songs and she had a part where she had to read a couple sentences about the Constitution requiring us to take a census and how our families started out in different countries, but we're all here in the USA! She did great and it was cool that she had that part because my dad actually did come here from another country. He and my mom came to the concert. Most of the time Sarah just stood there, singing and biting her lip, acting bored. At the very beginning, she smiled and posed for a picture though. Once I download, I'll post one.

Today is HOT TUB day!!! It's being brought over to our house this morning as I type! Don't know if we will get it hooked up with the electric etc. right away. I hope by the weekend!

Have any of you ever rented a car onsite at Disney? I remember my parents did when they came with us in 2004. I wonder if I can use coupons/discounts if I go through Alamo at the Swan/Dolphin?

Disney Mommy 3

04-27-2010, 10:09 AM

Mndisneygirl

04-27-2010, 10:21 AM

We haven't rented a car, but you know what I was wondering? If I should just fork out $40 bucks each way and get a taxi to and from MCO.....I am soooo sick of standing in that Magical Express line after the flight...then waiting on the other resort drop offs...what do you think? I am gonna put it on our other thread too...

I have heard the DIS unplugged podcast crew say to never take a taxi, the people are really nasty, bad drivers and may not be very nice if you KWIM. On a recent podcast they talked about transporation and I can't remember who they recommended besides ME. Apparently most of the companies for town cars etc. are owned by Mears. DIS has one that is a sponsor of the boards, so I assume they would be recommended. We've had good luck with ME so far. Usually it's not a very busy time though. I'm too cheap anyway. If it's free, I'll take it!

Disney Mommy 3

04-27-2010, 10:26 AM

We've done Mears and taxi cabs...you can tell it ain't the Disney magic with those cabbies...but...also, the ME takes you back to the airport soooo early! We just sit there for over 2 hours each time...I am all for getting there early, but geez!!! We are ready to scream by then!! ha!! I am cheap about stuff like that too...but I have till Nov to save for it...Disney and Passporter people recommend that one shuttle company...can't remember their name, but they are the ones who do the limos...I think that would be sooooo fun!!!!

Mndisneygirl

04-27-2010, 10:30 AM

I posted a link to FLTours on the snowbirds page. That's the one recommended by DIS.

Disney Mommy 3

04-27-2010, 10:34 AM

Thank ya honey!!! (in exaggerated texas slang accent!! Ha!)

Monny2AE

04-27-2010, 11:59 AM

Hooray for hot tub day!!!!!! What time should I be by? :rotfl:

Sorry to hear your work friends aren't Disney addicts. I can't wait to call and make ressies for next year and be told to have a magical day! :goodvibes

Sounds like your weekend was lots of fun!

Mndisneygirl

04-27-2010, 12:04 PM

The hot tub is in!!! :banana::cool1::woohoo::yay:
DH just needs to figure out the wiring hookups and run some cable to the shed etc. Should be up and running by the weekend!! COME ON OVER!!
He texted me a picture of it and when I called he said that he cleaned it out. Actually our neighbor cleaned it. She is also our cleaning lady! She knows what she's doing!
I wish I didn't have to work today! But I can't exactly use it yet, so I guess it doesn't matter.

I suppose one of these days I should talk about our plans some more, eh? (that was for you NDG!)

Dancegrl624

04-27-2010, 03:01 PM

Have any of you ever rented a car onsite at Disney? I remember my parents did when they came with us in 2004. I wonder if I can use coupons/discounts if I go through Alamo at the Swan/Dolphin?

I've never rented a car onsite, but in June, we rented a car with Hertz. It was cheapest to get it from an offsite location, but they picked us up for free! I must say, it was an itty bitty Hertz location, but the woman that worked there was super nice. I don't remember the exact location, but it was only a few minutes off Disney property (maybe Kissimmee?). I think I got a better discount using my AAA card that using a coupon.

Lovemy3babes

04-29-2010, 10:40 AM

I'm here Sheree! Late but definitely here...along for the ride. :goodvibes The plans look great so far! Duluth sounds like it was super fun.

Mndisneygirl

04-29-2010, 10:44 AM

I'm here Sheree! Late but definitely here...along for the ride. :goodvibes The plans look great so far! Duluth sounds like it was super fun.

Glad you made it Kelli!! I know you've had a lot going on.
You haven't missed too much. Duluth is great! Now I want to go back with just DH and also take the kids. (we've taken them before)

Mndisneygirl

04-29-2010, 11:18 AM

Well, I may have to start making changes to my plans/ADRs already. It looks like on July 31 they have changed AK EMH from PM to AM!!! That screws up my ADR for Boma. I made it early so we could go to AK for the pm EMH. Might have to figure out something else. I really didn't want to be at AK in the heat of the afternoon. We thought we would eat first, go to AK, see FOTLK and maybe do Kali and be wet AFTER dinner rather than before.

So I should start going through my plans with a finer toothed comb and keep checking on the park hours I guess. Grrr..

Mndisneygirl

04-29-2010, 11:39 AM

Let's discuss our first day:
Wednesday July 28, 2010
We will have to leave our house by 6:30 or 7 am to get to the airport. That's assuming Delta doesn't change our flight again! :laughing: Right now it's scheduled to leave MSP at 9 and arrive at MCO at 1:30 (I think).
We'll take ME and hopefully be at BC by around 3 p.m. and be able to check in and go right to our room!! Have to think positive! I think I'll try online check in this trip.

The plan is to hang around and explore the resort, maybe hit the pool (must remember to put our suits in carry on bags). Our dinner reservation isn't until 6:15 at Captain's Grille, so we'll have plenty of time.
We'll enjoy a nice leisurely dinner - I'm thinking Crab Legs!! and maybe wander over to Boardwalk and see some entertainment. I had thought about Downtown Disney, but think we'll have time before we leave on Sunday for the beach to go there.

We'll probably go to bed at a reasonable time since it will have been a long day and we're planning on hitting am EMH at MK the next day.

Another small update - we may upgrade and add days to our tickets. Probably not until we need to. Here's why. DH's sis said they may want to come back to WDW for a day from the beach. Especially if it's cloudy or something. So we may come back over and hit a park again!!! It costs next to nothing to add a day or two. IF we add two days, we could hit a park on Sunday before we leave since we don't check in at the beach until late afternoon. And then we could do another day in the next week!! YIPPEE!
Of course SIL may just want to come to DTD to shop. That would be okay with me too! I had thought we would hit DTD before we left on Sunday since we didn't have a park ticket for that day. I guess we will leave it unplanned for now!
We can add the days on anytime up to 14 days after even if we've used up all the days.

Northern Disney Girl

04-29-2010, 11:48 AM

Mndisneygirl

04-29-2010, 11:53 AM

Plans for Day 1 look great Sheree! :thumbsup2

Hey did you see that Captain EO is returning to Epcot for a short time starting July 2?? That is SO cool!!! I believe it is going in the HISTA auditorium cause that is where it was before!! :cool1:

Did you call Delta yet??

I don't know much about Captain EO. Might have to check it out. It's got to be better than HISTA.

Called Delta - they checked and they had changed the flight the same day, and since I already clicked to confirm the change, there was no need to call me. She was really nice and said if there is any other change they will call.

Dancegrl624

04-29-2010, 12:37 PM

Captain EO is awesome! It's WAY better than HISTA. It's pretty much a 17 minute mini movie/music video. You can watch the whole thing (in 2 parts) on youtube, but it will be in 3D at the park. I remember seeing it when I was really little.

Disney Mommy 3

04-29-2010, 04:00 PM

Mndisneygirl

04-29-2010, 04:14 PM

On line check in for the resort, or the airport? And how close are you to the airport anyway? Just curious how early every one gets to theirs....we are usually there the customary 2 hours early...and wait for an hour and a half!!! I would much rather be 1 hour early,...but afraid I will miss something important!!! We have to be gone around 5:30, and then drive almost 2 hours to get to Houston!! I am tired before we take off the runway....it's all I can do to stay awake long enough to tell them what I want to drink!!!!:)

On line check in for both actually. I think it's now expected that we check in online and print our boarding passes at home! The airport is only about 20 minutes from our house without traffic. Around 7 - 7:30 we would have to add at least 10-15 more minutes for rush hour. Not too bad. That's why I liked the time we had before the change (10:20). I could wait until rush hour was practically over before going to the airport! Most days I get up by 6:30, so an hour earlier won't be too bad for me. I don't want to be there more than an hour and a half early. Our airport's typically not that busy like Orlando with the crazy long security lines. Less than an hour early would be cutting it too close for me.

Dancegrl624

04-29-2010, 05:24 PM

We used resort online check-in back in June and it was great! There was only one other family in front of us! All of our requests had been met, but our room wasn't ready yet (maybe it's because we got to Pop around 10am!). I think all I had to do was show my license and they handed me the packet with all the info, we got our KTTW cards and off we went! They made sure they had my cell phone # so they could text me when the room was ready.

We get to the airport 2 hours early and we only live 20 minutes away. I do feel like we just sit in the airport for an eternity before it's time to board. I'm usually so excited that I can't sit still! For our next trip, our flight leaves at 6:25am!! :scared1: I'm thinking that we don't need to be there at 4:30 in the morning. We've flown on an early Wed morning before and the line for security was non-existent. Besides, our airport security operates like MCO....they have a line for business travelers, families and one other one I can't remember.

Monny2AE

05-03-2010, 01:05 PM

Lovemy3babes

05-03-2010, 03:03 PM

Day one looks great! July 28th is Dimitri's 7th birthday! Wave to us if you fly over, ok? :) (Though I suppose you aren't going that direction, bummer!) LOL!

Mndisneygirl

05-03-2010, 08:27 PM

Your Day One plans look great! Hope you don't have to change much more due to Disney changing park hours on you again.

P.S. Your Day One is my 9th wedding anniversary. Maybe I can convince DH we need to go back to celebrate and relive our honeymoon. :laughing:
Thanks - I hope your anniversary is as fun for you as it will be for me!!! I'd mention it to your DH - you never know!!

Day one looks great! July 28th is Dimitri's 7th birthday! Wave to us if you fly over, ok? :) (Though I suppose you aren't going that direction, bummer!) LOL!

Looks like I will have to celebrate a lot on my first day! I think you should all join us to celebrate! I probably will be flying the opposite direction, but I'll wave anyway and wish Dimitri a happy birthday! 7 is a fun age!

Pluto_fan

05-04-2010, 05:50 AM

Sheree--I'm here, finally! :yay:
Your plans sound great. :thumbsup2 After a trip to WDW, I always feel like I need another vacation to recover from the one I just took, and you'll have that built right in with the beach trip! :beach:
How's the hot tub?

My parents are at their "home" resort this week in Fort Lauderdale (so jealous). It's literally across the street from the beach (the hotel is on A-IA...the song that is mentioned in "Ice Ice Baby"!!! :laughing: ).

Meghan--that road is also mentioned in a Jimmy Buffett song, "Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season"..."strollin' down the avenue that's known as A-1A"...now I've got that stuck in my head. I'll have to start singing "it's a small world" to replace it :upsidedow

Mndisneygirl

05-08-2010, 07:19 PM

Sheree--I'm here, finally! :yay:
Your plans sound great. :thumbsup2 After a trip to WDW, I always feel like I need another vacation to recover from the one I just took, and you'll have that built right in with the beach trip! :beach:
How's the hot tub?

Hey Plutofan!! Glad you're here! I'm hoping this trip is all relaxing, but I know I'll be doing much more at WDW. It will be great to hang at the beach again afterwards!
The hot tub is still not quite operational. DH wants to rotate it 90 degrees, strip the stain and restain the wood sides, then hook up the electrical, fill it and I'm hoping in another week or two I'll be in it with a drink in hand!! I could really use it tonight however! Had a garage sale at my house Thurs - Sat and the weather STUNK! It was unseasonably cold, after it had been unseasonably warm the last month! Windy, yesterday it rained all day so we closed up early. Got rid of a lot of things, but still quite a bit left. It's going to charity. Funny - while we were packing it up, the phone rang - CHARITY PICKUP - Yup, I answered that one!! LOL. They're coming Thursday morning.

On a PTR note - I did decide to move my Boma ADR. They apparently are not having evening EMH at AK, but rather have it listed now as AM EMH. The DIS still shows pm, but the official Disney site says AM. So, I thought we might want to go to AK in the afternoon (HOT, HOT, HOT!) and eat at Boma a little later. So I moved it from 4:30 to 6. Not sure if we'll do anything that night after dinner or not. It depends what's open later and if we're too tired.
I also officially canceled my LeCellier ADR. If you remember, I wasn't sure Les Chefs de France was going to be on the DDP. It is. So I canceled my "backup" I was nice and posted on the cancellation thread, so I hope someone is able to "get lucky"!
I'm super tired tonight (and still cold), so I don't have much else to say. I think I feel a list coming on, so maybe in my next update I'll have to start listmaking!!

To all of you moms and moms-to-be:

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!! :flower3:

Charleston Princess

05-09-2010, 07:29 AM

Happy Mother's Day, Sheree!

Disney Mommy 3

05-09-2010, 07:20 PM

yes!! A List!! I am a List-lover!!! Bring it on!!

Mndisneygirl

05-10-2010, 08:02 PM

Well my friends, DD9's softball game got rained out tonight (Whew - it's cold out too!) So we went and got a bit of dinner at a chinese restaurant. That was our big anniversary celebration! HA! I'm still feeling the effects of my weekend in the garage in the cold. SO tired! Plus this rain is making my sinuses really uncomfortable.
Anywho, I am home tonight, relaxing with Dancing with the Stars.
So I said I felt like a list. Where to start????
Should I talk about packing, eating, rides/attractions, a to-do list?
Let's talk packing a bit:

Ponchos- I still have ponchos left from last trip that we didn't use. I might pick up another set at the dollar store.

Shoes/Sandals - I got DD9 a cool pair that are enclosed toe, like Keens, but cheap. I'd like to get DD7 a pair too. I have some similar ones. I'm sure they'll bring flip flops too. I'd like to get up to the Crocs outlet and see if they have any more for them. I got a good deal on them last time. I don't wear flip flops. I will bring sneakers, even though I think my feet will be hot if the weather is typical of July!

Clothes - I have been losing a bit of weight and I might need to buy a new pair of shorts or too. I bought a t-shirt that has that duo-dry fabric, and I'm going to test it out on a hot, humid day. Might want more of those. The girls are big into tank tops and they have TONS, so they probably won't need much. I MIGHT look for a new swimsuit. I'd like to have two since we're going to the beach too.

Park bags - My girlfriend is loaning me her small bag that I used once before. It's lightweight, nylon type fabric and I wear it cross body. It's big enough for my essentials. DH will probably have the bigger camera so we'll also bring our backpack. We'll carry the ponchos, ziplocs, camera (maybe also the video cam) and probably some water in that. I really don't like to carry much in the parks. I've done it once with just stuff in my pockets, but that was pre kids and not when it was hot and humid. I've considered the mini or the hipster in Vera Bradley, but decided I don't want to spend money on it. If anything, I'd get the hipster and carry a bit more than in my small bag. If the patterns that I like go on sale and I can actually get them, I might do it. Trying to save money everywhere, so I have been hesitant.

I always pack a small first aid type kit - a few bandaids, blister block, neosporin - that I carry in my bag. I will also bring a bunch of OTC meds - I will have a HUMONGOUS package of Sudafed for my sinuses, some mucinex, pain killers and kids' motrin. Plus I'll need SUNBLOCK too!

I will pack my guidebooks (for sure the Passporter) but I usually don't bring it into the parks. This trip I'll bring some reading material for the plane and the beach - some nice light novels to read.
Obviously, undies, and toiletries (I wear contacts, so I have to bring my glasses etc.)
I have a master packing list that I use for most trips and just adjust for the season. Obviously this trip I will not be bringing sweatshirts and gloves!
What else am I missing??

Disney Mommy 3

05-11-2010, 01:00 AM

Charleston Princess

05-11-2010, 04:46 AM

Packing list looks good! I saw your question over on my PTR about the Guide to the Magic. I just bought one for Chelsea and Connor to share -- they did fine with that at the time! :thumbsup2

Mndisneygirl

05-11-2010, 08:52 AM

chargers/batteries! Make sure you have all that electronic stuff!! Kipp picked the local Chinese place for his bday dinner tonight too!! Ha!!!!! How funny!! It is sooo windy here too...what is the deal? I haven't watched the news,but Meghan said it was so windy in Buffalo she thought the house was gonna blow over!!!!! WOW....
you may want to bring some chapstick too---and those sunblock sticks for the girls' faces....pony tail holders...that hair gets sticky in the summer with all the humidity..... I know you said you don't really like flip flops, but have you tried the Crocs flip flops? Remember I had those pink and green ones like Sarah had? I wore those 3 times to Disney!!! They really do support your feet well---I am a tennis shoe girl for extreme walking, but my feet got so hot and tired I just bailed out and stuck with the Crocs...this last trip I got a pair that were less 'bright'! I had the brown with light pink...you are gonna hate those tennis shoes by the time the weeks over....bathing suits..I am looking at Lands End...some are reeeaaaally cute!!!ok....nighty night!!

Oh yes! DH is usually in charge of the electronics, but I put it on the list anyway so I can double check! I never go anywhere without chapstick with SPF! I have one pair of sandals that I like for walking and will most likely switch off with sneakers. Unless I find another pair between now and July! I just can't stand that thing between the toes!!! Maybe another type would work for me. Ponys and headbands are a must! They use them most days even when it's cool, so I know those will come with us!

Packing list looks good! I saw your question over on my PTR about the Guide to the Magic. I just bought one for Chelsea and Connor to share -- they did fine with that at the time! :thumbsup2

Excellent!! Thanks! I'll put that book on my shopping list! Oh, another list to make!! Yipee!

jenjolt

05-12-2010, 05:55 PM

Disney Mommy 3

05-12-2010, 10:07 PM

Lovemy3babes

05-13-2010, 12:42 PM

Have you ever went to Disney in the summer Sheree? I have not so not sure exactly how "hot" hot really is. Maybe some of those misting fans? Can you pre-order a case of water to keep in our room? We did that in December from Costco and got a really great deal!

Disney Mommy 3

05-13-2010, 12:48 PM

I have been in the summer --June and the end of July...plus where I live isn't too much cooler! Hot really means HOT!! Add in the humidity and it's a tiring day! Stay out of the heat in the middle of the day...and drink tons of water...the early part of the day and later in the evening are better...but from right before noon til after 3 is really killer...especially if you have no cloud coverage...

Mndisneygirl

05-13-2010, 03:29 PM

WOOOT! Finally found my way over here Sheree!!! YAY!!!!!!

Got to love a good packing list!!!

WOOT...yay for losing weight that is fantastic! I'm finally back into the swing of things and have been working out and watching what I eat! It's not easy so WTG!!!
HI Jen!!! glad you made it! There will be plenty more lists to come in this PTR!!
Hope all your crazy moving stuff is going well.

Jen!!! How have you been?!!!! Have you made any decisions about the move? How did the interviews go?I have missed hearing from you..all us Snowbirdies are still hangin' around the Community board if you want to come visit sometime!!!!....Now, back to "The Beautyand the Beach"....:happytv:
Yeah, Jen - keep us posted!

Have you ever went to Disney in the summer Sheree? I have not so not sure exactly how "hot" hot really is. Maybe some of those misting fans? Can you pre-order a case of water to keep in our room? We did that in December from Costco and got a really great deal!
I was there once in summer - June - my first trip to WDW. I thought everyone was crazy to go in summer. I still kind of think that! I know for sure I'm going to get my hair cut short before we go! Otherwise it will be all wild with the humidity.
I will definitely think about ordering water. Even if we're on DxDP, I hate to use all my snack credits for water.
I have been in the summer --June and the end of July...plus where I live isn't too much cooler! Hot really means HOT!! Add in the humidity and it's a tiring day! Stay out of the heat in the middle of the day...and drink tons of water...the early part of the day and later in the evening are better...but from right before noon til after 3 is really killer...especially if you have no cloud coverage...
Oh I totally plan on melting!!! LOL I only think there is one day we are not going back to the hotel during afternoon hours and we will definitely find indoor things to do! I hope to enjoy the later hours in the parks too.

gellybean

05-13-2010, 04:37 PM

I'm here!!

Your plans look great!!

I'm so bummed though! We're gonna miss each other by 2 days looks like. If y'all end up going back for a day the next week you'll have to let me know and maybe we'll still be there!! :goodvibes

It'll be here before we know it!

Mndisneygirl

05-13-2010, 05:18 PM

praisehisname

05-21-2010, 07:29 AM

Finally here and caught up!

Mndisneygirl

05-21-2010, 08:31 AM

Finally here and caught up!

Oh good, now I can post some more lists!!! Hopefully today, since I ended up with the day off. Lots of errands to do first though. I'll be back!!

Pluto_fan

05-21-2010, 04:18 PM

I hope one of your "errands" involves relaxing in the new hot tub! ;)

Mndisneygirl

05-21-2010, 08:11 PM

Well, I didn't get in the hot tub today (yet). It's been rainy on and off today. I did get almost all the stuff done I had planned. Went shopping, got the dog's flea/tick meds, got DH's b-day presents, groceries and got a cute doormat for the back door (by the hot tub - it is shaped like flip flops!). I just ironed on a bunch of Sarah's Brownie badges (I've been a little lax with that). Then I found two more! Next I have to prepare her sash for Juniors since she's bridging tomorrow morning! But I have to wait until she goes to bed, since the sash is a surprise.
We're watching Monsters v. Aliens now. Might get in the hot tub later.
The first night, Wednesday, we all were in it at various times. DH and I went back in after the kids went to bed and it was dark outside. SO COOL!!!

The next list - things I need to do before the trip:
1. Add the DxDP

2. Book rental car - I've been watching for deals and coupons. We want to use Alamo since we can pick up a car at the Dolphon and then take it to the beach and drop it back off at the airport.

3. Buy the kids Guide to the Magic

4. Maybe make a room request for the Beach Club. We have a standard room booked, so we probably won't have much of a view. But I think I may request a room with a full balcony anyway.

5. Still thinking about doing a Garden Grocer order. I think a case of water is a bit pricey, but not sure whether I should get that and some other things. Not much food, but things like sunblock etc. just so I don't have to pack them. DH says we don't need the water, but I respectfully disagree. I know we'll have 8 snack credits a day with DxDP, but I don't want to use them on water! And I know we will NEED water! We certainly won't need food items!

6. Call Delta about possibly changing our return flight. They did just notify me of a change, it was only 5 minutes earlier. But the flight leaves MCO at 7:55 AM!!!!! I'm NOT excited about that! We booked it knowing that, but I'm thinking now that it will really suck to have to leave Cocoa Beach at 5 a.m.! There is a flight at 11, so I'm going to check and see how much they would charge to switch to that one.

7. Go through kids clothes and see what fits, what to pack. I saw some cute stuff at Old Navy today - loose fitting tanks that looked like they'd be cool and comfy.

8. Go through my clothes and see what fits, what to pack!! HA! I have bought a few tanks. I think I'd like another swim suit. Saw some cute ones at the Lands End Inlet - not very cheap though!

9. Make sure to have some books for the beach part of the vacation. Paperbacks. Don't want to take library books in case I lose them, so I'll have to hit some garage sales or book sales. My kids' school has a fundraiser at Borders right before school gets out and we get 15% off. I have to support my school right?
I put together a list of books about Disney, Walt and the company that I'm going to see if I can find. There was a thread about them, and I'd like to read more.

So that's what I've got so far. I'm sure it will get longer and more detailed as we get closer.
I've also got to tell you all about my plans for the rest of our days. I think I only posted about our arrival day.

Charleston Princess

05-22-2010, 08:21 AM

Oh, I would like to know which Disney books you end up with -- maybe some of those titles will make their way into my beach bag! :goodvibes

Mndisneygirl

05-22-2010, 09:54 AM

Oh, I would like to know which Disney books you end up with -- maybe some of those titles will make their way into my beach bag! :goodvibes

I will be sure to let you know. Right now I'm reading The Man Behind the Magic by Kathryn and Richard Greene. It's okay. I found it at the library.
Here are the other ones I'm going to look for that have been mentioned on the boards:
Walt Disney by Neal Gabler (lots of people recommended)
Spinning Disney's World by Charles Ridgeway
Designing Disney by ??
Disney War: Building a Company Roy O. DIsney and the Xcreation of an Entertainment Empire by Bob Thomas
Disney's World by Leonard Mosley
WD Imagineering by the Imagineers

Older ones that were mentioned:
Disney A to Z by Dave Smith
Realityland by David Koenig
Someone also mentioned The Mystery at Disney World by Carole Marsh, but I haven't been able to get that at my library.

So I'm going to start looking for some of these. If I get any and get them read I will do a little review for you here! Then you can decide if you want them! I'm also thinking I might read the Kingdom Keepers.

Lady Lallie

05-22-2010, 12:21 PM

I'm here and caught up! Sounds like a great trip. :goodvibes

praisehisname

05-22-2010, 12:38 PM

I don't blame you for not wanting to use snack credits for water. Order the water and pay for it with your grocery money (not vacation money). :thumbsup2 If you end up having leftover credits, you can get stuff to bring home!

jenjolt

05-22-2010, 04:58 PM

Hey Sheree!! Sorry I'm so late to the party!!!! Love your lists!!!! I can't wait to see your Beach Club pictures...that is where I want to buy DVC resale some day!!!!!

LuvEeyore

05-22-2010, 05:05 PM

I'm on board!!

Mndisneygirl

05-22-2010, 05:59 PM

I'm here and caught up! Sounds like a great trip. :goodvibes
Yay! I'm certainly not going too fast these days!!

I don't blame you for not wanting to use snack credits for water. Order the water and pay for it with your grocery money (not vacation money). :thumbsup2 If you end up having leftover credits, you can get stuff to bring home!
I figured that would work out! We might stick around longer on our last Sunday just because we can! We can't check into the condo at the beach until late afternoon. So we might use up those snack credits. If not, we'll get treats to take to the condo. Even if we have extra water we will take it with us to the beach.
Hey Sheree!! Sorry I'm so late to the party!!!! Love your lists!!!! I can't wait to see your Beach Club pictures...that is where I want to buy DVC resale some day!!!!!
Glad you made it over Jen!! You didn't miss too much!
I'd like to have DVC at BC too!!! I will probably want it even more after this trip! HA!
I'm on board!!
:welcome: I'm happy you're here!

Well, I did a little more shopping today. Found some shorts for Sarah and a cute ruffle tank for each of the girls at ON. There weren't hardly any flip flops left by the time we got there. Saw a pair randomly laying near the clothes and they almost fit Sarah - but they're a size 5! She usually wears about a 1! Close enough! For a dollar, she can grow into them! We found $2 flips at walmart. I really can't stand shopping there, but I've been on a mission to find these Keen lookalike sandals for Paige. Sarah got some at Payless and they don't ever have Paige's size. I may order on line. Anyway, we were right by Walmart, so I thought, ok, I'll suck it up and go in there. On a Saturday afternoon no less! OMG! ICK!!! Now I remember why I don't shop there. Paige even said it smelled bad!! :laughing:
Then we went to Target. No shoes there either. But got Sarah one more pair of shorts, a nice lighter weight denim. They are longer, which is what they want them to wear to school.

We had a late start to our shopping today because Sarah's Brownie troop was bridging to Junior Girl Scout. They had a cute ceremony with about 5 other troops in the area. We got to the church where it was scheduled at around 10:15. No one from the church was there to let us in! We waited around and decided we'd set up outside. It was chilly and cloudy, looking like it might rain! We even called the pastoral emergency number and left a message for the priest! It's really for when people die or need last rites! Finally we noticed a lady walk in the other door to the church. We had tried all the doors earlier and they were locked. So one of the dad's chased her down to let us in! We finally got going, about a half hour later than planned. And we heard thunder!!! It was DOWNPOURING outside! I'm so glad and thankful (God was watching us I'm sure!) we got inside! After the ceremony, I had to race to the car in the rain, drive up to the door, get out with the umbrella (that had been in the car the whole time) and get the girls. Then we came home, changed clothes and had lunch before shopping.
My poor dog was so shook up! He hates the thunder and he was home alone! Poor baby! He scratches at all the doors when it's storming or there are fireworks.

So now I'm making Gobs for DH's birthday treat. In case you don't know what they are, (I didn't either until I met him), it's a cake sandwich thing. Chocolate cake "cookies" and white/vanilla icing in the middle. All made from scratch. The last of the cakes are coming out of the oven now. Then I've got to make the icing. And oh, it's 6:00. Dinner?? Haven't given it a thought! LOL! Luckily no one has come in saying "I'm hungry!"

Lovemy3babes

05-22-2010, 08:53 PM

Great list Sheree!! Not too much longer now. Woo hoo!! 7:55am is awfully early. If you can change for no fee, why not? Good luck! The list of books looks great too! Congrats to Sarah on bridging!

praisehisname

05-23-2010, 05:59 AM

Yum! We call them Whoopie Pies and at the holidays you can get them in pumpkin flavor. Mmmm...

Could you share your recipe?

Dancegrl624

05-23-2010, 11:41 AM

Great lists!!! I can't believe you braved ON yesterday!!! :scared1: I'm so thankful I don't work weekends. $1 flip flop day is always a bit scary. My store usually opens at 9:30am on Saturdays, but yesterday, they opened at 7am!!!

Mndisneygirl

05-23-2010, 12:52 PM

Great list Sheree!! Not too much longer now. Woo hoo!! 7:55am is awfully early. If you can change for no fee, why not? Good luck! The list of books looks great too! Congrats to Sarah on bridging!

Yeah, I'm definitely going to call and at least check. I'm sure that's why the ticket was such a good price to start with.
Sarah was pretty excited.

Yum! We call them Whoopie Pies and at the holidays you can get them in pumpkin flavor. Mmmm...

Could you share your recipe?

I certainly will. I'll post it after the replies.

Great lists!!! I can't believe you braved ON yesterday!!! :scared1: I'm so thankful I don't work weekends. $1 flip flop day is always a bit scary. My store usually opens at 9:30am on Saturdays, but yesterday, they opened at 7am!!!

I'm guessing ours was open early. If I'd checked, I could have gone then instead of waiting until after noon. Oh well. It wasn't nearly that bad when we went! We just didn't get the good deal on flips!

GOBS
1 egg
2 egg yolks (save the white for the filling)
1/2 cup crisco
2 cups sugar
1 cup sour milk *
1 cup boiling water
1 tsp. vanilla
4 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder

* sour milk can be made by putting 2 Tbsp vinegar in measuring cup and fillto the 1 cup line with milk

Mix all together. Drop onto baking sheet and bake for 7 minutes at 450 degrees. They do spread. You can make them big or small. My first batch is always a little gooey and I think it's because I bake on stone pans and when they're warmed up they do bake better.

FILLING
3 cups powdered sugar
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp flour (I usually add more)
3 sticks of margarine and 1/2 cup crisco (I might try all crisco sometime because I think it's sort of oily with all that margarine. The original recipe had OLEO listed!)

Beat all together and spread between two gobs to make a sandwich.
I keep them in the refrigerator and package with wax paper as they do stick together.

Enjoy!!

BippityBoo

05-23-2010, 01:24 PM

HI!!! SO happy I found your PTR! I can not wait to read about your magical/tropical vacation popcorn::

Join my Christmastime PTR if you want! I would love to get your advice :santa:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2468950

praisehisname

05-23-2010, 01:50 PM

GOBS

Thanks! I'm looking forward to making them!

Disney Mommy 3

05-23-2010, 07:02 PM

Well,,,you have been a busy girl!! I have the Disney AtoZ book...its a tome!!!But, I love it! Everyone you can imagine is in there...stuff you never even heard of!!!! I have another one that is pretty good too..i will go look thru the Disney books I have later and let you know what it's called...I think someone from the Disboards actually wrote it!! Did I already tell you about that one?

Mndisneygirl

05-23-2010, 07:19 PM

Hey Shawna girl! Any books you can recomend would be greatly appreciated!
I have been busy and am going to post my Day 2 plans next.
I'm just hanging out watching LOST (I'm also recording it!) Just saw an ad for WDW free dining.

Day 2 - Thursday 7/29
MK - 9 am - 10 pm with AM EMH
We are planning to go to EMH and hit as much as we can. We might grab a bite at the BC Marketplace, but I think we'll be eager to get to MK and hit the Mainstreet Bakery for a GINORMOUS cinnamon roll!
We also have a breakfast ADR at 10:15 at Cindy's. This is a surprise for the girls.
Each of them picked out a thing they wanted to do
POTC - Sarah
IASW - Paige (we just heard this will be closed for refurb on 8/1 until October)
BTMRR - ME and hopefully the whole family will go too (we've never done it)
They also both want to go to Philharmagic too. That will be a nice break in the A/C!
We usually hit Pooh and Peter Pan and Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise. Might try to get on Buzz too.
We're really going to let the kids dictate. DH says he doesn't care if he even goes into the parks, but we know that won't be happening! LOL!
I'd like to explore Tom Sawyer's Island - that's another thing we've never done.
I'm sure there will be a dole whip and/or mickey ice cream bar along the way too.
We will probably stay at MK until around 4 and then mosey over to the Poly and wander around a bit instead of going back to BC. We're going to the Spirit of Aloha dinner show at 5:15, and then we're going back to MK to see the Main Street Electrical Parade (!) and the new Summer Nightastic fireworks! I sure hope they are good. I LOVE WISHES!!! I'm curious as to how it will compare to that and the Holiday Wishes that I just LOVED! By the time all that is done, we'll be exhausted and we'll hop a bus back to BC and beddie bye!!

Lady Lallie

05-23-2010, 07:55 PM

I love your Day 2 plans. They are so great!

Sounds like it will be a low key day at MK. I like those kinds of days when you don't have a bazillion things to do on your list. :thumbsup2

Mndisneygirl

05-23-2010, 10:09 PM

I love your Day 2 plans. They are so great!

Sounds like it will be a low key day at MK. I like those kinds of days when you don't have a bazillion things to do on your list. :thumbsup2

Thanks! I figure we've done so much so many times, and it will be so blasted hot and humid, we'll have to be low key.

I just saw an ad for a new Disney movie this summer with Nicolas Cage called The Sorcerer's Apprentice. I haven't seen that one before. It had some funny lines in it. Could be interesting. Disney's doing a lot of advertising during Lost. Must be since they own ABC! HA!

Disney Mommy 3

05-23-2010, 10:36 PM

praisehisname

05-24-2010, 06:23 AM

Sounds like some good plans for Day 2. :thumbsup2 I really hope you get to ride BTMR!!!

Lovemy3babes

05-24-2010, 01:28 PM

So Sheree, what did you think of Lost? I have it dvr'ed and am sad that it's all over now. :( This was my all-time favorite tv show!!

Your plan looks great! Anywhere you can fit in some AC sounds like a good idea to me!! :)

Northern Disney Girl

05-24-2010, 01:57 PM

Mndisneygirl

05-24-2010, 08:39 PM

Hey~ that book is called The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World...by Susan Veness..(I think she's a Dis-er)!Lots of hidden tips and magic to be discovered!!! I just wanted to say that when we went in Dec, we took the kids to Tom Sawyers Island.---HOT!!!!! I don't know what the deal is...but it was burning up over there...kinda like how the AK is really hot....so is TSI...you may really want to check it out..just make sure it isn't during the hottest part of the day!! I will be trying to think of any other good Disney books I have read....
Ya'll are going to love BTMRR!!!! Just be careful if you are in the last car...me and Gracie were in it last year and when we took off it is kinda jerky and she was just the right height for the back of her head to hit the top of the seat...she cried for 1/2 the ride...the next time we farther up and she leaned forward more as we started and it was better....Just a little FYI!!;)

Thanks for the book title. I'll check it out! I am thinking we'll just go when we feel like it to TSI. I haven't even talked to the girls about it much. I'll be sure to be careful on BTMRR. I'm just hoping we will all go on it together! I think it will be so fun!

Sounds like some good plans for Day 2. :thumbsup2 I really hope you get to ride BTMR!!!

Thanks! I hope so too! I might even go by myself if I have to. Both girls tell me they will do it but will be holding on tight to a parent!

So Sheree, what did you think of Lost? I have it dvr'ed and am sad that it's all over now. :( This was my all-time favorite tv show!!

Your plan looks great! Anywhere you can fit in some AC sounds like a good idea to me!! :)

LOST - I'm still a little confused, but I've been reading some blogs and a thread on the DIS unplugged boards and think I'm understanding it more. I DVR'd it too and will have to watch it again. I hope they put out a DVD with more explanation on it! Otherwise I really liked it. So deep and thoughtful, I really was moved. I'm sad it's over too - I watched every episode. Thank goodness we got a DVR at some point. Since they moved nights, I'd end up missing it!

Hey Sheree!! :goodvibes

Day 2 looks GREAT!!! :cool1: Just make sure you all drink water - lotsandlotsandlotsandlotsandlotsandlotsandlotsandl ots of water!!! :lmao:

Books - I just bought (and finished ) the hidden magic of WDW - it was AWESOME!!! I highly recommend it!!! A GREAT read!! It is also a park companion - the way she writes it - she makes it sound as if you could read it while wandering through the park! :)

You and Shawna both with the same book! LOL! I better get it then! I am all about keeping hydrated. Just spent two hours out at Sarah's softball game in the 94 degree heat and humidity. Just thought of it as practice for WDW in July! HA! Had my hat, my water, and thankfully, a lovely wind to help keep us cool!

Disney Mommy 3

05-24-2010, 09:22 PM

Hey Sheree!! :goodvibes

Day 2 looks GREAT!!! :cool1: Just make sure you all drink water - lotsandlotsandlotsandlotsandlotsandlotsandlotsandl ots of water!!! :lmao:

Books - I just bought (and finished ) the hidden magic of WDW - it was AWESOME!!! I highly recommend it!!! A GREAT read!! It is also a park companion - the way she writes it - she makes it sound as if you could read it while wandering through the park! :)

I thought the same thing! Ha! We are such booknerds! I think I am gonna let my oldest one read it over summer for a fun read...he loves hunting all that stuff at Disney...well all three of them do..maybe I will make them all read it! Ha!!!!

Mndisneygirl

05-28-2010, 06:56 PM

So I reserved a couple of the books you guys suggested from my library.

I also tried out a pair of sandals today to see if they would work for WDW. I wore them all morning at the school game day. Then I wore them around the house, to Target shopping. Now I have spent a lot of time on my feet today, but my feet are sore on the botom. Not thinking these will be good touring shoes. MAYBE for a half day. I'm going to my local sporting goods store to check out some TEVAs this weekend. And I think we're going up to the outlet stores this weekend so I'll check out the Crocs outlet.

Funny thing DH said the other day. "it's going to be so weird leaving WDW and not having another trip planned" Don't you think that cries out for booking a bounceback?? :laughing: I really doubt we will. We're still planning on London and Paris (and DLP) for next summer and we've been tossing around the idea of going to Disney's Hilton Head resort for our spring break in March. DH also wants to try to include the 3 day Wonder cruise on 3/10/11. It's the cheapest cruise in March. He thinks you guys should all come too! Wouldn't that be fun!!!! We'll have to see how much that will be though. We'd have to drive for sure.

I'm planning to post Day 3 plans soon. Not sure if tonight or tomorrow. We're just kicking back tonight. Maybe have a bonfire.

Dancegrl624

05-28-2010, 07:24 PM

I'm down with going on a cruise with some DIS buddies!:goodvibes Now, my other half on the other hand.....I'm not so sure. After this Sept trip, he says it will be awhile before another vacation. Not if I have anything to do with it! :laughing:

I'm another fan of the Hidden Magic book. It was awesome! I plan on reading it again towards the end of the summer. I really need some good books to read this summer. I've always loved reading but I don't know of a good series/author to start reading. I used to love Patricia Cornwell, James Patterson and Mary Higgins Clark books. I also read everything in the "Left Behind" series (amazing books!). I need help with a good author to discover.

Mndisneygirl

05-28-2010, 09:21 PM

For light fun reading I've been enjoying Sophie Kinsella. She writes the Shopaholic books. I also like Jodi Piccoult (not so light, but good stuff). Somewhere I have a list of books I want to read. I should dig that out. I have to find some paperbacks to take on vacation.
I also got a portable hard drive today, so I'm going to figure it out and copy all my pictures on it from all computers. I have to have my neighbor (he's an IT guy) help get them off the hard drive of our old crashed PC. I will feel so much better once that's done. My goal is to have it done before we go on vacation. So I've got two months!!!

TWO MONTHS!!!! In two months we will be at WDW!! Woohoo!!!

Charleston Princess

05-29-2010, 06:32 AM

Yeay for two months!!! :banana: I do think you may need to book a bounceback before you leave, so DH feels better! ;)

Dugette

05-29-2010, 09:39 AM

Hey, Sheree. I just had to add that we also have the Hidden Magic book (got it as a gift last Christmas) and it was great! I think I'll have to skim it again before our upcoming trip.

For Tom Sawyer Island, I would guess it might be cooler if you can go early in the morning. A bonus of that would be that you might find one of the paintbrushes they hide on the island in the morning, which wins you some free Fast Passes (the ones we got were for BTMRR).

I definitely hope you ride BTMRR...one of my all-time favorites!

Disney Mommy 3

05-29-2010, 03:06 PM

yes...do the cruise and I will tell Mike we need to meet you!!! haa
Ok...authors for you and Meghan...the Mitford Series by Jan Karon is wonderful!!!! I love anything she writes....also, anything by Francine Rivers..her one book Redeeming Love has been a bestseller for a loooong time...that one book is one of the best things I have ever read!!! These are both Christian authors...also Karen Kingsley is wonderful, but I cry over every story!! Nancy Moser is great.....Ted Dekker is a Christian author too, but he is a writer of darker stories...like serial killers...really good stuff!!!!

Momof2Disneyboys

05-29-2010, 03:20 PM

TWO MONTHS!!!! In two months we will be at WDW!! Woohoo!!!

YAY for 2 months!!! :banana::banana:

Mndisneygirl

05-29-2010, 09:06 PM

Day 3 - Friday 7/30
Today is EPCOT day!!! Yay! I just love WS and hope to get lots of time there in this quick trip! Staying at BC should help!

Epcot's open 9-9
We plan on just getting some breakfast at the BC Marketplace (yogurt parfait for me, probably Mickey waffles or French toast for the kids, DH will probably like an egg sandwich or something like that)
We'll enter through the International Gateway and make our way to Future World.
Things to do:
Soarin'
Journey Into Imagination
Test Track - maybe
Living with the Land - especially if it's hot!
the Nemo ride

We have a lunch ADR at Coral Reef at 11:55. I'm hoping for a table by the aquarium glass. I figure I'll order some kind of seafood even though it might seem weird to eat fish while we're looking at them!!

After lunch we might go back to BC for a break and swim. I'd love to spend the whole rest of the day at WS, but it might just be too hot. We have to venture into more of the pavillions. I want to go to The American Adventure. I'm pretty sure the kids have not seen it yet. We've seen the movies in Canada and I know DH and I have seen China but I'm not sure about the kids. I want to see the France movie (since we're hoping to go there next summer. One thing that's a MUST DO is Japan. We are surprising the girls with Pick a Pearl! I got the little carraige necklaces for me and the girls from eBay. Thanks RinkyTinky!! I just have to remember to pack them!
If the girls want to , we may do a Kim Possible mission too. Hopefully we'll see some of the performers - like Off Kilter or the drummers in Japan.
We'll probably ride the boat ride in Mexico - it's nice and cool in there.
And for dinner...
Les Chefs de France!!! at 6:00 p.m. I'm really looking forward to this one! I think I'll try the lobster bisque (I've heard great things) and probably a seafood dish for my entree. I know, lots of seafood today. But somehow it seems more summery.
Of course, I'll have to have creme brulee' for dessert! Yummy!
The only bummer is that I understand Remy is only there earlier in the day and his last "appearance" time is at 5:20. I've considered moving the ADR earlier, but so far I haven't done it. Not sure if I should. If I have a 5:15 ADR, would we still see him? What if we're made to wait? We might miss him anyway. Oh, I wish they'd let him come back around at 6:30!!! Are you listening France?
After dinner, we'll probably roam a bit more and get a spot to watch Illuminations. I really like this show! The best thing is we'll be able to leave the park by the "private" entrance/exit and be back at BC in mere minutes!

I'm not sure I'll have a lot of room for snacks - but I'm sure there will be something yummy I have to have at WS.
The girls like Churros, I'm thinking of something from the french bakery, maybe a cold slushie drink! Any other suggestions? I know there's more things I've heard or thought about, but of course, I didn't write them down. I need to start an official list of all this stuff in my binder!!! I'm going to get serious about that this week!

60 DAYS!!!! WoooHooo!!!

Yikes! I better get organized! I'm still in search of the perfect summer park shoes!

2_Eagle_Mom

05-30-2010, 12:17 AM

Lady Lallie

05-30-2010, 06:07 AM

Day 3 sounds great!

I've been to Coral Reef and it wasn't weird eating seafood in front of the fish. ;)

The lobster bisque is delicious at Les Chefs, I highly recommend it. I think I like it better than the one at Coral Reef. You can never have too much seafood in my opinion. Then again, I'm a New England girl. :rotfl:

I like your plans, stick to the cool things and you'll be fine. When I went in July that is what we did, from one AC place to another. Quite honestly, it's hot but not crazy unmanageable. :thumbsup2

Mndisneygirl

05-30-2010, 06:47 PM

Hi Sheree,

I don't know how I missed seeing the link to your PTR! I'm caught up now. I'm enjoying reading all about your trip. Your plans sound really relaxing and although I don't think I could handle the heat and humidity of the summer its fun reading about your plans and getting some suggestions for our trip. Great book suggestions!
I'm glad you're here! The IG is the private entrance. ;)
If you search for carraige necklace on eBay you should find them pretty easy. If I can find the link or the seller I will PM you.

Day 3 sounds great!

I've been to Coral Reef and it wasn't weird eating seafood in front of the fish. ;)

The lobster bisque is delicious at Les Chefs, I highly recommend it. I think I like it better than the one at Coral Reef. You can never have too much seafood in my opinion. Then again, I'm a New England girl. :rotfl:

I like your plans, stick to the cool things and you'll be fine. When I went in July that is what we did, from one AC place to another. Quite honestly, it's hot but not crazy unmanageable. :thumbsup2

I'm relieved! I just thought it might feel odd. I really love seafood, and when we're near the ocean, I try to eat a lot!! We don't get a lot of really fresh stuff here with no ocean. Lots of walleye though. (all those lakes are full!) :laughing:

Yeah, I think we'll be taking it easy, just doing whatever we feel like. The girls have requested a few things and that's cool. It's easy when they've been there a lot and know what they like. We're hoping to try at least one new thing every time we go (ride or attraction). We also love to try new restaurants. We've never eaten at any of the places we have ADRs for this trip!

I keep checking resort or restaurant availability to gauge how crowded it will be. But I really don't care. As long as I'm at WDW and not at home/work, I'll be happy!

Oh - I forgot! Went shopping today and bought a pair of Teva Mush flip flops! Got a deal with a discount from Famous Footwear - $17! They only had black and they had the ones with multiple straps in blue, but I thought they would irritate my pinky toe, so I went basic. I'm wearing them around the house and so far, so good. We'll see! I wore my other Tevas yesterday and today and I think they will make the trip as well. They are closed toe and heel sandals.

Lady Lallie

05-30-2010, 09:54 PM

I'm glad you're here! The IG is the private entrance. ;)
If you search for carraige necklace on eBay you should find them pretty easy. If I can find the link or the seller I will PM you.

I'm relieved! I just thought it might feel odd. I really love seafood, and when we're near the ocean, I try to eat a lot!! We don't get a lot of really fresh stuff here with no ocean. Lots of walleye though. (all those lakes are full!) :laughing:

Yeah, I think we'll be taking it easy, just doing whatever we feel like. The girls have requested a few things and that's cool. It's easy when they've been there a lot and know what they like. We're hoping to try at least one new thing every time we go (ride or attraction). We also love to try new restaurants. We've never eaten at any of the places we have ADRs for this trip!

I keep checking resort or restaurant availability to gauge how crowded it will be. But I really don't care. As long as I'm at WDW and not at home/work, I'll be happy!

Oh - I forgot! Went shopping today and bought a pair of Teva Mush flip flops! Got a deal with a discount from Famous Footwear - $17! They only had black and they had the ones with multiple straps in blue, but I thought they would irritate my pinky toe, so I went basic. I'm wearing them around the house and so far, so good. We'll see! I wore my other Tevas yesterday and today and I think they will make the trip as well. They are closed toe and heel sandals.

You are going to have a great trip, no matter the crowds or heat. :goodvibes

$17 is a great deal! I have the gardenia red ones which I love but I like having a basic pair of black flip flops. Shoebuy doesn't have the black ones in my size though so I have to go searching online to find them.

Mndisneygirl

05-30-2010, 10:17 PM

DH and I were chatting tonight about how we're going to have to pay the balance of our trip in a couple weeks etc. We ended up deciding to forego park hoppers (saving $200) and change the tickets from 3 day hoppers to either 4, 5 or 6 day base tickets. Not 100% sure which one. But I understand that we can add days to the tickets even after they are used. The 3 day hoppers cost about $162 more than a 6 day base! So we will use the difference to help pay for upgrading to DXDP.
Really the only thing that has changed is our plan for Sat. 7/31, which I haven't told you all about yet. :laughing: That was our only day we "had" to hop and we have decided to change that around. I'll give details in a separate update.
By getting extra days, we will have the option of going to a park on Wednesday night or Sunday before we leave. I doubt we'll go Wed after dinner just because it would only be for a couple hours at most. I am hoping we could stay at BC and watch a movie on the beach. The other day/days we might add would be used if we come back to spend a day at WDW after we have gone to the beach. DH is not sure he can spend 6 days at the beach without something to do!!

So I will call in about a week and switch our tickets, add DXDP, make a room request and pay the balance. Yippee!!

Still shopping for the rental car...
So far, the Teva Mush seem to be okay. If they work out, I think I have figured out my shoes! Plus I'll be able to order them wherever I can find a deal in the future!
I did get both girls a pair of Mickey crocs today. They are turquoise blue and lined in yellow!!! Kind of loud, but they were $10 at the outlet. They can wear them in the fall. Plus I saved 15% by texting something to Crocs and getting a coupon. DD7 also got a pair of flips there, but they didn't have any in DD9's size.

So there's my mini update. Maybe tomorrow I will tell you all about the plans for 7/31!

Lady Lallie

05-30-2010, 10:19 PM

We're not park hopping in September either. I only used my park hopper ONCE in January. I feel like I wasted that money, you know?

Shoebuy.com has awesome deals on the Teva Mush and I can usually find at least 15% coupon code in case you want another pair for your trip.

I've been wearing mine all over the place and I'm liking them a lot. :thumbsup2

BippityBoo

05-30-2010, 11:56 PM

WOW! That did save a lot of money :thumbsup2 Way to go!

Charleston Princess

05-31-2010, 06:29 AM

We rarely park hop these days, and it does save a bundle of money. Woo hoo for adding the deluxe plan -- more food is always a good idea in my book!

Now you have to tell us about the 7/31 plans! No fair holding out on us! :laughing:

Mndisneygirl

05-31-2010, 02:19 PM

Saturday 7/31
Okay - I won't keep you waiting any longer. It's been so nice out today that I just didn't want to be inside. Now I'm taking a break!

Our original plan called for us to go to DHS at rope drop - 9 a.m.
We'd hit TSMM and then do whatever we felt like. Maybe get some treats for breakfast at Starring Rolls (LOVE the chocolate croissant and the HUGE muffins!). I like the Great Movie Ride, and might want to try the animation studios drawing class. We did not do that last time, but we saw the little show.

We have a lunch ADR at Hollywood Brown Derby. A Cobb salad sounds like the perfect lunch on a hot summer day doesn't it? Are there any recommendations for special drinks I might want to try at HBD or at DHS in general?

This is where the original plan will be changing. We were going to head to AKL for an early dinner at Boma and then go to AK for pm EMH. BUT, I checked the DIsney park hours and the EMH is in the AM now. So I decided to move Boma to a later time, 6:oo. Okay, so the plan is to hop to AK in the afternoon right?
No, we gave up that plan too. After talking about it, it appeared that this was the only time we'd use the hoppers. Totally not worth $200!!! Plus AK in the afternoon hot sun? Not really thinking that sounds so good.

We don't ride EE or Dinosaur. Really we go to AK to see the animals and shows and the safari. We saw Finding Nemo last time in Jan 2009. In Dec. 2009 we did not go to AK at all. We've seen FOTLK before. The only thing we have never done is Kali River Rapids. It would be fun in summer (not in winter for us!), but it would also be very busy on a Saturday afternoon and we probably wouldn't get FPs by the time we got there. We haven't told the kids yet, but we have decided once again to skip AK. For now.

So the new plan is to go to DHS as planned and either go back to BC in the afternoon, or not (we probably will) and then make our way over to AKL for dinner at Boma at 6. We loved staying at AKL for our one night in December and would love to wander around again and maybe see some animals. Maybe stop down at The Mara and grab some Zebra Domes to go!!! I will make sure to put them in the refrigerator as soon as we get back to the room!

With our extra days of tickets, we could opt to come back to WDW the week we're at the real beach and go to AK, but I'm not sure that's where the kids would vote to go. As cool as the animals are, I don't think that we'd feel bad skipping it again! Although this means I won't get to try Lost in (on?) Safari this trip! :laughing:

So after our dinner at Boma and exploring AKL again, we will need to find our way back to BC. I'm thinking we'll catch the first bus to a park or TTC and transfer. As long as it's not going to a park that's about to close!

Depending on the time, we might enjoy some evening time at BC - maybe swim, maybe a movie on the beach (or both!) This is our last night sleeping at BC!!! :sad1: I guess I'll have to pack a bit as well. Or maybe that will wait til morning! I'm not planning on checking out one minute sooner than I have to!

There's still more to tell you about - one more partial day. Has anyone figured out what I haven't done yet?

2_Eagle_Mom

05-31-2010, 05:27 PM

Charleston Princess

05-31-2010, 07:35 PM

Try the Hollywood at the Brown Derby! It was a super, yummy drink!

I think your new plans are great -- with the summer heat, you may decide that laying by the pool in the afternoon is the best thing to do! :thumbsup2

Mndisneygirl

05-31-2010, 07:51 PM

Darn, I was hoping that you knew of a super secret entrance.

I think the idea of getting more days instead of park hoppers. We have that same discussion each trip. Since this time we are staying at the BCV and during F&W we will probably be hitting Epcot every single day at some point in the day.

I think skipping AK in the middle of summer is a good idea. It's amazing how hot that park can be in the spring and winter, I can't imagine how hot/humid it would be in the middle of summer.

I've heard about Teva's I'll have to check them out. I'm always on the lookout for comfortable shoes.

Yeah, I wish I had my own entrance! But I'm excited about using the IG!
I would love to go to Epcot every day (I'd hit all the WS food!) but my crazy family thinks there are other places to go! :laughing: I am sure that none of us will really miss AK. Didn't bother us in December that we didn't go. I keep telling DH - some day we're going to have to go for 8 or 9 days so we can go everywhere and still have some down time at the resort. Ideally the Poly or someplace wonderful! I'd need a pretty dang good discount for that to happen!
The Tevas are doing okay so far. I wore them around today while I was putzing around the house and doing a couple errands. So far, so good. The thingy between the toes is still a bit weird to me, but it doesn't hurt or cause blisters.

Try the Hollywood at the Brown Derby! It was a super, yummy drink!

I think your new plans are great -- with the summer heat, you may decide that laying by the pool in the afternoon is the best thing to do! :thumbsup2

OOH, what's in the Hollywood??? It might be just what I need after a DHS morning of TSM crazies!!
I know we want to enjoy that pool that everyone claims is best on property. That's partly why we picked that resort. Even though this trip is short, we do want to enjoy the resort as much as we can.

Northern Disney Girl

05-31-2010, 07:52 PM

Charleston Princess

05-31-2010, 07:59 PM

OOH, what's in the Hollywood??? It might be just what I need after a DHS morning of TSM crazies!!

I couldn't remember, so I had to go look it up -- vodka, chambord, and pineapple juice. It was a lovely pink color and very light and fruity!

Mndisneygirl

05-31-2010, 08:04 PM

Hey Sheree!!

I think it is a solid plan to ditch the PH's and skip AK - Waaayyyy tooo hot!! :sunny:

The movie in France was meh for us but definitely a great way to get out of the heat!! :)

Glad you finally found some shoes! I really hope they work for you!! :goodvibes

My favourite drink at DHS was definitely the Frozen Lemonade!! So cold and so very yummy!!! :drinking:

Hi Kimmy!!!! How are you? I cannot remember the movie in France - I think I saw it many years ago (pre -kids maybe?)
I know I will be enjoying frozen lemonades! It will be cool and refreshing!

I couldn't remember, so I had to go look it up -- vodka, chambord, and pineapple juice. It was a lovely pink color and very light and fruity!

Okay, That sounds like something I would like. I don't even know what chambord is! LOL! :laughing:

Charleston Princess

05-31-2010, 08:12 PM

Okay, That sounds like something I would like. I don't even know what chambord is! LOL! :laughing:

I don't either, but it was tasty! :lmao:

Lady Lallie

05-31-2010, 08:18 PM

I think those are good plans! The park hoppers are not worth being used only once.

You know, I've never had an adult beverage at Brown Derby but Jackie's suggestion sounds pretty darn good. :rotfl2:

Mndisneygirl

05-31-2010, 10:03 PM

Disney Mommy 3

05-31-2010, 10:23 PM

Charleston Princess

06-01-2010, 07:03 AM

I just googled Chambord. It is a French black raspberry liquer.

Yup, I will definitely like the Hollywood!!!

Chambord is also in the Pretoria Punch at Boma: Inspired by the capital of South Africa, we off a refreshing blend of Malibu coconut rum, Chambord, and a luscious blend of fruit juices. - $8.00

You could make that day a Chambord day all around -- have the Hollywood at the Brown Derby, and the Pretoria Punch at Boma. :thumbsup2:laughing:

Pluto_fan

06-02-2010, 04:00 AM

The movie in France was meh for us but definitely a great way to get out of the heat!! :)

It's a great place for a little nap! :thumbsup2 I don't really remember the movie! :laughing:

You could make that day a Chambord day all around -- have the Hollywood at the Brown Derby, and the Pretoria Punch at Boma. :thumbsup2:laughing:

WOW, those both sound good! :drinking1
It's 11am here...but it's 5 o'clock somewhere right? ;)

Native NYer

06-03-2010, 04:32 PM

Just read your PTR and am loving it!
Chambord caught my eye :rotfl:
I LOVE it. Try a little in your champagne :goodvibes

praisehisname

06-03-2010, 06:50 PM

Sounds like your plans are really coming together! :goodvibes I'm with you on skipping the hoppers--much better to use the money for upgrading dining! :thumbsup2

MEK

06-05-2010, 01:57 PM

Just found your TR. It was all that talk about alcohol that sucked me in - pineapple juice, chambord, and vodka - yum! I want that now!

I think it is smart to give up the park hoppers. I have an AP, but when I didn't I really made good use of the base ticket. Its a great money saver and I think its funs to do one park a day. It makes the planning a little tricky, but it also has great rewards!

Mndisneygirl

06-05-2010, 09:10 PM

Hey Sheree...glad you found some neat shoes! That always makes you feel better!!!! I ain't really keen on the AK either...wouldn't hurt me to skip it from now on....why or why does that park have to be so hot and hard to navigate?!! I only started taking the kids the last few trips...Mike and ds14 like the EE...ds11 and dd like the boneyard....hello.....we can just skp all that right? by the time you get over there and they do that I am ready to eat lunch and beat it to the bus!! That park just wears me out. We do 8 or 9 day trips and I STILL have a hard time squeezing it in for a half day!!!!! Geez!!! It's just a hassle for me!!!

I'm liking the new Tevas. Hard to drive in them for me though! I definitely need an extra couple days to make sure I have enough for AK and everything else! Guess it won't be on this trip!

You could make that day a Chambord day all around -- have the Hollywood at the Brown Derby, and the Pretoria Punch at Boma. :thumbsup2:laughing:

That works for me!! :laughing::thumbsup2

It's a great place for a little nap! :thumbsup2 I don't really remember the movie! :laughing:

WOW, those both sound good! :drinking1
It's 11am here...but it's 5 o'clock somewhere right? ;)

Yea, I bet when it's 11 am here, it's 5 where you are! That's how I'm going to justify having a drink with my lunch! I'll toast to you in Europe! (am I right that you're in Europe? Sometimes I mix people up!)

Just read your PTR and am loving it!
Chambord caught my eye :rotfl:
I LOVE it. Try a little in your champagne :goodvibes

:welcome: Oh, yeah, that sounds good!! I'm so glad I'm attracting readers by talking about alcoholic drinks!

Sounds like your plans are really coming together! :goodvibes I'm with you on skipping the hoppers--much better to use the money for upgrading dining! :thumbsup2

My Disney trips are turning into being all about the food! LOL

Just found your TR. It was all that talk about alcohol that sucked me in - pineapple juice, chambord, and vodka - yum! I want that now!

I think it is smart to give up the park hoppers. I have an AP, but when I didn't I really made good use of the base ticket. Its a great money saver and I think its funs to do one park a day. It makes the planning a little tricky, but it also has great rewards!

As I said, drawing in readers via booze! :welcome:

Yeah, since it's a short trip, I would rather skip a whole park than just spend two hours in each of two parks. Seems like we'd be wasting a lot of time running around. We really want to take it easy.

Mndisneygirl

06-05-2010, 10:17 PM

Sunday 8/1 :( Our last day at Beach Club!

Well, I'm counting on getting at least one other day back at WDW while we're at the beach, so I won't be too depressed on this day.
We have breakfast at Cape May Cafe at 9:15. We'll have to load up the rental car. I'd love it if we had a chance to enjoy the pool one more time before we leave, but we'll have to play that by ear.
Has anyone figured out where I need to go??
Shopping of course!
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp159/Mndisneygirl/Disney%20in%20December%202009/DSCN0826.jpg

http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp159/Mndisneygirl/Disney%20in%20December%202009/DSCN0818.jpg

I still haven't gotten over to downtown Disney! Since we most likely won't go on arrival day, we'll have to hit it before we leave. I must go back to Basin!
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp159/Mndisneygirl/Disney%20in%20December%202009/DSCN0818.jpg
Last trip we bought a lot of gifts (it was December) of soaps. We bought one bath bomb (only one!) and we made it last by breaking it into pieces. Must have more!!! I will probably go to the Christmas shop and get a 2010 ornament. Or maybe we'll just hit World of Disney. If I use my Disney Visa I get an added discount!
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp159/Mndisneygirl/Disney%20in%20December%202009/DSCN0814.jpg

If we have any snack credits left, we'll get some things to go. We still have a dining credit to use, and I suppose we'll go to Wolfgang Puck Express. Last trip we went to Earl of Sandwich and really liked that.
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp159/Mndisneygirl/Disney%20in%20December%202009/DSCN0825.jpg
Maybe we'll take a vote! Or if we're still at BC and get hungry, we could try Beaches and Cream.

I think we should get something yummy from Ghiradelli too! Don't you?

At some point in the afternoon, we'll hit the highway and head toward Port Canaveral. I'll just pretend I'm getting on a Disney cruise ship! HA! We'll have to turn just a bit south from the port and go to Cocoa Beach to Cape Caribe, our resort for the next week!
Once we're there, checked in and meet up with the SIL's family, we'll probably head to a grocery store and stock up on some goodies. Drinks, stuff to make for meals in the room. It will be a 2 BR condo, so I think we'll probably eat quite a bit in the room.
Does anyone have any recommendations for restaurants in Cocoa Beach are??

We're planning on going to the Kennedy Space Center one day and hopefully back to WDW for one or two!!

I will be making the phone call to Disney this week to change our tickets and dining plan! And make the final payment! YIKES!
I'll keep you all posted and will be making many more lists too!!

Charleston Princess

06-05-2010, 10:38 PM

praisehisname

06-06-2010, 07:53 PM

Shopping in DtD sounds like fun! I hope you can squeeze in a visit to Ghiradelli!

Lady Lallie

06-06-2010, 08:12 PM

You must try a treat from Ghiradellhi. I recommend the berry sundae, CHOCOLATE COVERED BLUEBERRIES! Yum. :cloud9:

Pluto_fan

06-07-2010, 04:30 AM

Yea, I bet when it's 11 am here, it's 5 where you are! That's how I'm going to justify having a drink with my lunch! I'll toast to you in Europe! (am I right that you're in Europe? Sometimes I mix people up!)

Yep! We're six hours ahead of WDW. Cheers! :drinking1

We often seem to end up at DTD on our last day. It's a good way to ease yourself away. :sad1: But it's nice to know you'll be back soon! :woohoo:

Lovemy3babes

06-07-2010, 07:15 PM

Isn't making the final payment such a great feeling Sheree?! Love that!! DTD has so many neat things. WPE was good but we all liked EoS just a little bit better. Definitely get some yummy ice cream before you leave though!!

Disney Mommy 3

06-07-2010, 08:14 PM

Sounds like fun!! I think you will like Beaches and Cream if you are staying to swim one more time!! Only thing is, last time we couldnt make ressies...just had to wait your turn...maybe they have changed it by now....you will get an ice cream there during the week at some point while at the pool I know....it's just impossible not to!!!!! By the time your kids get all their school done, dance finished and lined up for summer classes, it'll be time to go!! I hope you get at least a week or two between now & then to rest!!!!:rotfl:

Mndisneygirl

06-07-2010, 09:04 PM

Yep, we made our final payment this week. :eek:

Shopping is a great way to end your last day (kind of) at Disney. My vote is definitely for a treat at Ghiradelli's. I always drool a little when I see pictures of all those yummy sundaes there. :laughing:
Woohoo for making your final payment!
I'm really hoping Ghiradelli's works out. Problem is - it's a Sunday and will probably be crowded!

Shopping in DtD sounds like fun! I hope you can squeeze in a visit to Ghiradelli!

Me too!

You must try a treat from Ghiradellhi. I recommend the berry sundae, CHOCOLATE COVERED BLUEBERRIES! Yum. :cloud9:

OOH, that sounds good. We were at a Harry & David store recently and they were sampling chocolate covered blueberries. SO yummy!

Yep! We're six hours ahead of WDW. Cheers! :drinking1

We often seem to end up at DTD on our last day. It's a good way to ease yourself away. :sad1: But it's nice to know you'll be back soon! :woohoo:

I'll remember that so I can toast at the appropriate time! I figure DTD helps to make the trip last because I can buy souvenirs!
I'm really happy that we get to come back for at least one day. It's looking like it will be Wednesday, especially if we want to go to MK. That way we can see the parade and fireworks again. No EMH for us and no PH, so we have to choose wisely!

Isn't making the final payment such a great feeling Sheree?! Love that!! DTD has so many neat things. WPE was good but we all liked EoS just a little bit better. Definitely get some yummy ice cream before you leave though!!

I like the idea of just "winging it" at DTD. Whatever floats our boat!

Sounds like fun!! I think you will like Beaches and Cream if you are staying to swim one more time!! Only thing is, last time we couldnt make ressies...just had to wait your turn...maybe they have changed it by now....you will get an ice cream there during the week at some point while at the pool I know....it's just impossible not to!!!!! By the time your kids get all their school done, dance finished and lined up for summer classes, it'll be time to go!! I hope you get at least a week or two between now & then to rest!!!!:rotfl:

You still can't make ADRs for Beaches and Cream, so we'll just pop over and see what it's like. Maybe just get some ice cream from the takeout window.

The girls' dance dress rehearsals went well - they were so cute! During Sarah's rehearsal, the competition lines were also scheduled, so we watched a few numbers. Really impressive. Sarah was thrilled! After a particularly cool tap number (11 year olds), Sarah says, "How do they DO that!". I said, they practice a lot!! She says, "I want to be on competition line!". I know they have to take summer classes to be on comp line. So I called the dance studio today to check on summer classes for Sarah. To do that, she must take a special class, as well as a ballet class this summer. Then they have try outs in August. There is a third class she "could" take. She'd need that to be on one of the two lines that is for her age. That one has some conflict with a couple softball games. She would rather do dance, but I don't like that she is willing to bail on softball after making a commitment, so we have to figure that out.
It would cost around $200 for the 6 weeks.
Paige has no interest in competition lines, but she might take just a basic ballet in the summer. She is signed up for NOTHING this summer, so I hope she does it.
I'll find out more on Thursday, our last dance class. Then Saturday and Sunday are recitals! Should be a fun weekend. I will take some pictures of the girls in costume and post next week.

I listened to an old DIS Unplugged podcast (August 2008) that had a dining review of Captain's Grill. It was HORRIBLE! The food was cold and the service really bad, including a manager! Please, someone tell me that it's better now! I'm going to send an email to the podcast to find out if maybe they had a management change since then and hope it's better!

Disney Mommy 3

06-07-2010, 09:24 PM

Mndisneygirl

06-07-2010, 09:33 PM

Oh crap! I have heard it was wonderful!!Are you talking about that Kevin guy? If so, I read stuff about him before--he tends to be very hard on all the restaurants....regular people like us all give it thumbs up!:thumbsup2.... I hope it is great because that is where we have dinner if we do the MVMCP in Nov.....I wanted to eat kinda early and we didn't want to do Tonys again...hence, all the reading i did and got a wonderful impression...even on Passporter and TGM.....

Yup, it was Kevin. The stuff he was complaining about was pretty bad. I'm hoping that since then it has improved. I've read some other reviews that were positive and the menu looks really good, so I'm going to do it any way. He does always say to go and judge for yourself too. I will certainly report back!

Disney Mommy 3

06-07-2010, 10:05 PM

Honestly, I haven't really read anything bad about any of the food places at the BC/YC areas....just Kevin!!!!! Yeah..let me know how it is...and we aren't going to be getting anything exotic...just regular food...well, ds14 might try something different, but the other 2 sure won't!!:rotfl:

Mndisneygirl

06-08-2010, 10:02 PM

Well, we are at T - 50 days today!!!
I wish I had something exciting to mark the day with, but I don't. I was going to call Disney today to make my changes and final payment, but got distracted tonight. Dave's nephew and wife came over for a while and it got kind of late before they left. We did spend plenty of time chatting about Disney though! That was fun.
This nephew is SIL Sharon's son and they went to WDW often when he was young. His wife has been, but not in years, so she doesn't remember much. Hopefully they will get to go soon. I told them I'm happy to share my guide books and planning tips!! Maybe they'll go when I don't have a trip planned so I can live vicariously through them by helping them plan!

In other planning news, I ordered a pair of sandals for Paige on line at Payless today. A friend gave me a 20% off coupon good through today. If you have it delivered to a local store the shipping is free! Hope they fit! If so, I think we are set for shoes!

So tomorrow will have to be pay in full day! It will be 7 weeks out tomorrow!
DH is perusing the Disney secrets app on the iphone right now. Of course, half the stuff he mentions, I already knew! (I may have checked out that app before...)

Charleston Princess

06-08-2010, 10:05 PM

Happy 50 days!!! party:

2_Eagle_Mom

06-08-2010, 10:07 PM

Yup, it was Kevin. The stuff he was complaining about was pretty bad. I'm hoping that since then it has improved. I've read some other reviews that were positive and the menu looks really good, so I'm going to do it any way. He does always say to go and judge for yourself too. I will certainly report back!

I agree I'd go and judge for yourself. It's always hard taking someone else's opinion about food. If you don't have exactly the same tastes how can you know wether you'd like it? For me its the same with movie/book reviews. I need to know what other movies/books you've read to know if we have the same taste to know whether your thumbs up/thumbs down will sway me.

Disney Mommy 3

06-08-2010, 11:37 PM

ooh girl!! I didn't realize it was 50 days!!! Happy 50 and counting!!! which means I am at 150 something..that just doesnt sound as good as yours!!!

praisehisname

06-09-2010, 09:27 AM

These 50 days are gonna fly by! So excited for you! :banana:

manntra

06-09-2010, 12:09 PM

Happy 50 days Sheree!!! :woohoo: And happy final payment day too! :rotfl2:
Your "last" Disney day sounds like a great plan to be spent at DTD.....love EOS. Sounds like a perfect lunch and then a little bit later a nice treat from Ghiradelli :cloud9:
When I bought my stock of bath bombs from Basin a few weeks ago I told the cashier that I hit them with a hammer to break them up (thank you for the idea ;)) and she looked at me as if I had 3 heads :rotfl2: Hey!!! It makes them last a lot longer!! :rotfl:

Tracy

Momof2Disneyboys

06-09-2010, 12:40 PM

UGH!! I am so far behind!! Sorry Sheree! I will do better once school is out and I am off for the summer!

Congrats on 50 DAYS!! :cool1: I am at 150 today.

Disney Mommy 3

06-09-2010, 04:25 PM

Which makes today 49 ....OR 7 weeks...so, now we are counting down in weeks instead of months!!!!!:banana: How wonderful!!!

2_Eagle_Mom

06-09-2010, 11:22 PM

Sheree – Congratulations on 49 days!!! They will pass before you know it.

I agree those bath bombs are very cool and one is WAY too big for one bath. I also love the body butter. I bought some at DL when my feet were really dry and it was AMAZING.

What Disney Secrets app are you talking about?

Mndisneygirl

06-10-2010, 08:25 PM

Happy 50 days!!! party:

Why thank you for coming to my party!

I agree I'd go and judge for yourself. It's always hard taking someone else's opinion about food. If you don't have exactly the same tastes how can you know wether you'd like it? For me its the same with movie/book reviews. I need to know what other movies/books you've read to know if we have the same taste to know whether your thumbs up/thumbs down will sway me.
You're right! I will do my own review! I think his problem was service, so hopefully they will be better by now.
Happy 50 days Sheree!!! :woohoo: And happy final payment day too! :rotfl2:
Your "last" Disney day sounds like a great plan to be spent at DTD.....love EOS. Sounds like a perfect lunch and then a little bit later a nice treat from Ghiradelli :cloud9:
When I bought my stock of bath bombs from Basin a few weeks ago I told the cashier that I hit them with a hammer to break them up (thank you for the idea ;)) and she looked at me as if I had 3 heads :rotfl2: Hey!!! It makes them last a lot longer!! :rotfl:

Tracy
Thank you - I'll fill you in on my final payment in a minute.
I love DTD! I'm totally doing that with the bath bombs! I have a little bit left of one to last me until I go back! I don't get to soak in the tub much, but I'm using that myself. I'm hiding it from the kids!

UGH!! I am so far behind!! Sorry Sheree! I will do better once school is out and I am off for the summer!

Congrats on 50 DAYS!! :cool1: I am at 150 today.
Is school out yet?? Today was my kids' last day! Come hang out with me this summer.

Which makes today 49 ....OR 7 weeks...so, now we are counting down in weeks instead of months!!!!!:banana: How wonderful!!!
Oh yeah, Dave is all about counting down the weeks! He has an Epcot hat, like a fishing hat style and he started wearing it when we were 10 weeks away. Every Wednesday he wears it. at 9 weeks, 8 weeks and now he wore it yesterday for 7 weeks.

Sheree – Congratulations on 49 days!!! They will pass before you know it.

I agree those bath bombs are very cool and one is WAY too big for one bath. I also love the body butter. I bought some at DL when my feet were really dry and it was AMAZING.

What Disney Secrets app are you talking about?

OOH, body butter sounds good too! I always have dry feet. I'll have to add that to the list.
The app is actually called Walt Disney World Secrets and it's by Notecast. I found it by searching Disney on iTunes once. It's got stuff about all the parks, hidden mickeys and just fun facts. It might have even been free or pretty cheap, because I don't like to pay much for apps.

So in planning news today...
we are paid in full!!!!
I called this afternoon and switched our tickets from 3 day park hoppers to 5 day non-hoppers and added the Deluxe Dining Plan! I actually saved about $50!! I put a room request in for a second floor room with full balcony. I understand that some of the rooms at Beach Club only have a standing balcony. We have a standard room, so it probably won't be much of a view anyway, but I'd like to be able to go out there and sit down. I asked Teena the greeter on the Yacht and Beach Club thread what to request, I'm sure she knows best, so hopefully we will get it.

I had a little weird adventure with my first attempt to call WDW today. Somehow I got connected to the dining reservations. She tried to tell me that I made my reservation with a travel agent. Ah, no, that would have been me doing that. Then she told me she had to transfer me to "Travel Trade", whatever that is. Eventually she came back and apologized about 10 times for the wait. It was so bad that she was holding for them on my behalf while she put me on hold. :confused3 Eventually she came back and said, could you continue to hold? I had to say no because the kids were about to get off the bus and I like to take a picture on the last day. Soooo... After we did the end of the school year rituals, checked report cards (:thumbsup2), consoled Sarah (she was crying because she was going to miss her friends, two kids were moving), then I called back to the 407 W Disney number. I answered all the automated questions, tried to spell my last name twice and they were nowhere near close (maybe if it was Jones they'd get it right!) and asked for an operator.

Got a nice CM and he took care of it all in maybe 10 minutes. Not a very chatty guy, in fact it was so quiet, I thought that maybe he wasn't there for a bit! :laughing: Got my confirmation email within about an hour or two and we are good to go!!!

Now I just have to hope for a good car rental rate! I have some coupon codes and discounts, but the rates are ridiculous! DH says they will go down as we get closer. I sure hope so.

Today was the last dance class for the girls. Recitals this weekend. I just love watching the kids dance (not just my own).

Lady Lallie

06-10-2010, 08:39 PM

for the last day of school!

What a whacked out Disney phone call. That would have annoyed me. I'm glad you got everything taken care of though.

The reservation system can never spell my last name right nor can they spell it right on my reservation EVER. Oh and for some reason with my confirmation number it always errors out and sends me to a CM. It's weird. :confused3

Charleston Princess

06-10-2010, 08:50 PM

Happy Last Day of School!!! :banana:

What a bizarre phone call! Glad you got it all squared away the second time! :yay:

Mndisneygirl

06-10-2010, 09:26 PM

I just noticed my last update had a different color font. For some reason I can't seem to remember which purple I used! Duh! Should have used red. I know it doesn't matter, but those dumb little things pester me.

2_Eagle_Mom

06-11-2010, 12:11 AM

OOH, body butter sounds good too! I always have dry feet. I'll have to add that to the list.
The app is actually called Walt Disney World Secrets and it's by Notecast. I found it by searching Disney on iTunes once. It's got stuff about all the parks, hidden mickeys and just fun facts. It might have even been free or pretty cheap, because I don't like to pay much for apps.

Oops accidentally erased too much of the quote...

I'm pretty sure it was called body butter. Its in a round canister. It is really creamy and I would put it on before going to bed and then put on some socks so it wouldn't get all over the sheets. Smelled fantastic and really helped my feet.

I'll check out the apps the next time I'm on iTunes. I wish I was better adept at using it. I have three iPods and all of them have different things on them and I'm terrified that I'll accidentally wipe every thing off of it.

I'm glad you were finally able to talk to a cast member that was able to get you all settled.

Pluto_fan

06-11-2010, 02:12 AM

:banana: Yea for the last day of school! :banana:

:cheer2: Yea for making the final payment! :cheer2:

Now for some dance recitals :dance3: and then you're ready to hit WDW!

praisehisname

06-11-2010, 05:34 AM

That's awesome you were able to get more park days and more food for less money! :cool1:

praisehisname

06-11-2010, 06:00 AM

Double post...

Dancegrl624

06-11-2010, 07:39 AM

Hooray for paid in full! :cool1::dance3::woohoo::yay::banana: Tony doesn't want me to pay our balance until our 45 day mark. We put this trip on our Disney Visa (to get the 6 months no financing). Recently, he started letting me use that card again for gas and groceries (gotta earn those points!). He wants to make sure he pays off any other balance before we pay off our trip. I can't wait to be paid in full!!!

Disney Mommy 3

06-11-2010, 10:01 AM

girl...that is soooo strange!!! But, at least they got it taken care of!! Sorry Sarah was so sad!! It's hard to see them be hurt-even if it's minor...in their world it is sooooo big!!!! I know they are glad to get out of school for a while!! I have a LONG way to go until my 45 day mark..I think it's Sept 29!!! WOW...I have had both balconies at the BC....nope...view doesn't change much!! And I really always want a full balconey...then I only use it for such a short time. The only one I really use it at the Cont where we watch Wishes!Isn't that crazy?

Mndisneygirl

06-11-2010, 11:05 AM

That's awesome you were able to get more park days and more food for less money! :cool1:
Love the bargains!! more money for souvenirs!

Hooray for paid in full! :cool1::dance3::woohoo::yay::banana: Tony doesn't want me to pay our balance until our 45 day mark. We put this trip on our Disney Visa (to get the 6 months no financing). Recently, he started letting me use that card again for gas and groceries (gotta earn those points!). He wants to make sure he pays off any other balance before we pay off our trip. I can't wait to be paid in full!!!
We are just shy of the 45 day mark. We did the same thing, used our Disney Visa. I plan on using the rewards to pay tips.
girl...that is soooo strange!!! But, at least they got it taken care of!! Sorry Sarah was so sad!! It's hard to see them be hurt-even if it's minor...in their world it is sooooo big!!!! I know they are glad to get out of school for a while!! I have a LONG way to go until my 45 day mark..I think it's Sept 29!!! WOW...I have had both balconies at the BC....nope...view doesn't change much!! And I really always want a full balconey...then I only use it for such a short time. The only one I really use it at the Cont where we watch Wishes!Isn't that crazy?

Yeah, it was a weird day. Sarah is pretty emotional and it was a rough time having to say goodbye, even to some who she will see again in September.
I figured I could request the balcony and if I got it great, if not no big deal. I did not pay extra for a special view, so we get what we get. I do know some rooms look toward Epcot and you can see the top of the Spaceship Earth ball! That would be okay.

Momof2Disneyboys

06-11-2010, 11:16 AM

[COLOR=magenta]Is school out yet?? Today was my kids' last day! Come hang out with me this summer.

School is letting out as we speak!! Early dismissal today. I didn't work much this week. Guess no one wants to call off work during the last week when all the fun stuff is going on! :rotfl:

I will definitely be here to hang out with you this summer and hear all about your trip! :goodvibes

[FONT=Century Gothic][COLOR=#ff00ff]I had a little weird adventure with my first attempt to call WDW today. Somehow I got connected to the dining reservations. She tried to tell me that I made my reservation with a travel agent. Ah, no, that would have been me doing that. Then she told me she had to transfer me to "Travel Trade", whatever that is. Eventually she came back and apologized about 10 times for the wait. It was so bad that she was holding for them on my behalf while she put me on hold. :confused3 Eventually she came back and said, could you continue to hold? I had to say no because the kids were about to get off the bus and I like to take a picture on the last day. Soooo... After we did the end of the school year rituals, checked report cards (:thumbsup2), consoled Sarah (she was crying because she was going to miss her friends, two kids were moving), then I called back to the 407 W Disney number. I answered all the automated questions, tried to spell my last name twice and they were nowhere near close (maybe if it was Jones they'd get it right!) and asked for an operator.
[SIZE=3][COLOR=#ff00ff]
Got a nice CM and he took care of it all in maybe 10 minutes. Not a very chatty guy, in fact it was so quiet, I thought that maybe he wasn't there for a bit! :laughing: Got my confirmation email within about an hour or two and we are good to go!!!

OMG :eek: Unfortunately that's the way most of my WDW calls go. :sad2: I hate calling Disney!!! :headache: I love going to Disney, but hate calling!! :rotfl: I had to call the other day to give my new flight numbers for ME (the airlines changed the #'s), and what an ordeal that was. :faint: I sure wish you could use PIN codes online and there was somewhere to enter flights for ME, then I would never have to call!!!

Lovemy3babes

06-11-2010, 10:46 PM

I don't really like calling Disney either. I'd rather do it all online! I'm sorry Sarah had such a tough last day. :( Our schools let out on Wednesday and I was really emotional with the memory books and things that came home. I'm a sap.

Mndisneygirl

06-13-2010, 10:04 PM

We survived dance recital weekend!! I'm exhausted and I didn't even dance!
I'll try to post pictures in the next day or two. I really didn't take too many since we couldn't take them during the dance, but I got one backstage and took some at dress rehearsal. I was so rushed for time to get there today, I didn't think to take any of the girls at home! :(
But they were TERRIFIC!! Sarah's musical theater class danced to Seize the Day from the movie Newsies (a Disney movie even!). She danced in three shows, Saturday night, Sunday afternoon and Sunday night. The 5:00 shows were rough, since we had to be there at 4:30 and didn't have a lot of options for food and it didn't end until about 7:30. I was a dressing room mom for the two evening shows. Today at 1:00 the girls both danced, so DH and I and my parents went to watch. It was so fun! They both did really well!! They had fun too. Then for the 5:00 show, Paige wanted to watch so she and DH went to the show while I did the room mom thing again.
Back to work tomorrow and the kids will be in daycare all day - no more school! Then Sarah has a ball game (if it doesn't rain!)

Gotta go to bed!!

Mndisneygirl

06-13-2010, 10:08 PM

Oh - I almost forgot! My SIL Donna and her family, the ones who went with us in December and whose timeshare at the beach we're going to, is coming again!! She told DH they booked Beach Club yesterday!!!! This was a surprise to me! They are going to arrive the day after us and plan to go to MK, then Epcot so we will not be in the same parks as them. I told DH my plans are set. Not changing. Too close now. 45 days baby!

They are bringing my nephew's fiance' who's never been to WDW before!
Should be interesting...

2_Eagle_Mom

06-13-2010, 11:12 PM

Charleston Princess

06-14-2010, 06:52 AM

Th dance recitals sound fabulous -- looking forward to the pictures you were able to get!

Your SIL does have a lot of planning to do -- are they going to the beach with you as well?

Dancegrl624

06-14-2010, 07:45 AM

Glad to hear the recitals went well. I can't wait to see some pics!

Disney Mommy 3

06-14-2010, 09:09 AM

Glad recitals were great...but I know you are glad it's over for a bit!!! How funny that the inlaws decided this close to go!! I would have said the same thing...it's waaaay to close for you to change your stuff--especially since it's not a super slow time...

Lovemy3babes

06-15-2010, 03:39 PM

Bring on the dance pictures Sheree. :)

Mndisneygirl

06-16-2010, 02:04 PM

Sheree - glad to hear the recitals went well. Can't wait to see the pictures.

Your SIL sure has a lot of planning to do in such a short period of time. How exciting! I agree I wouldn't change your plans at this late date either.

I don't think she's going to plan too much. I know they are going to spend the first day at MK, and the second at Epcot. Don't think they're on the DDP, so they'll just eat whatever. I'm pretty sure they are only planning the two park days. We will be at Epcot when they are at MK and at DHS when they are at Epcot. Oh well.

Th dance recitals sound fabulous -- looking forward to the pictures you were able to get!

Your SIL does have a lot of planning to do -- are they going to the beach with you as well?

Yup, they are the reason we're going to the beach at all. They are the ones who invited is to use their extra week at the timeshare.

Glad to hear the recitals went well. I can't wait to see some pics!

Glad recitals were great...but I know you are glad it's over for a bit!!! How funny that the inlaws decided this close to go!! I would have said the same thing...it's waaaay to close for you to change your stuff--especially since it's not a super slow time...

Bring on the dance pictures Sheree. :)

Hopefully I'll get the dance pictures uploaded tonight. (It's on my to do list!) I took some at dress rehearsal too. We're not allowed to take pictures during the actual recital, but I have at least one cute one from backstage. Usually I take more at home, but I was so rushed and busy, I forgot!!

Disney Mommy 3

06-16-2010, 10:17 PM

According to your ticker.....

6 WEEKS!!!!:cool1:

Mndisneygirl

06-17-2010, 08:31 AM

Yes DH wore his traditional countdown hat yesterday to mark 6 weeks! (Did I tell you about his hat before?)

I had to go buy a new printer ink cartridge so I can print the countdown calendars. The girls thought it would be fun to color them. Then Paige says, why don't we just write the numbers on this calendar? She's pointing to a Betty Crocker one I have hanging in the kitchen. I said, because it's not a DISNEY calendar! Does she not get it??? I thought I had them trained so well!

We were at JoAnn's last night and saw they had these cute Disney T-shirts for $7.99. They're white and have outline pictures of characters that you can then color with fabric markers/paint. There's one of the Fab Five, princess, cars, toy store and Pooh that I remember. We didn't buy, (I know, amazing restraint) only because my girls have drawers of t-shirts that are spilling out!! Maybe if I can get rid of some, I'll let them have one.

I uploaded pictures of dance to photobucket, so I should be able to post them today if I can get my work done quickly!

Disney Mommy 3

06-17-2010, 09:13 AM

Yes, you told us of Dave's hat!! and yes,...you need to do more work with Paige!! Ha!!! How dare she want a NON disney item for a WDW trip I need to go to JoAnns and look for those shirts.Hey, we were at Target last night and in the stationery section they had the cutest Vintage Mickey Journal! It was red and has old, old, funny papers all over the cover--front and back. I almost bought it, but I thought the kids would argue over who got it...they only had one! I think it was $8...can't wait to see the others when they get more in...it's either gonna be my travel journal, or I can use it for dd as an autograph book!

Charleston Princess

06-17-2010, 09:19 AM

Hurray for six weeks!!! :banana:

Those t-shirts from Joanne's sound very cute!

Dancegrl624

06-17-2010, 09:46 AM

A non-Disney calendar for a Disney trip....that's ridiculous! :rotfl: I guess she just needs more brainwashing, I mean training. :goodvibes

Mndisneygirl

06-17-2010, 07:56 PM

Some of these (the ones on stage) are from dress rehearsal.
Paige's ballet number was to Music Box Dancer
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp159/Mndisneygirl/Spring%202010/DSCN1838.jpg

http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp159/Mndisneygirl/Spring%202010/DSCN1835.jpg
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp159/Mndisneygirl/Spring%202010/DSCN1840.jpg

Paige's tap number was to Hey Mickey!
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp159/Mndisneygirl/Spring%202010/DSCN1857.jpg
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp159/Mndisneygirl/Spring%202010/DSCN1858.jpg
We got to keep the pom poms. Oh boy!

Sarah's dance was to Seize the Day from the Newsies soundtrack. They were playing newsboy characters. It is a musical theater class, so a little different style.
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp159/Mndisneygirl/Spring%202010/DSCN1861.jpg
Sarah is seated third from the right. This is the very beginning.
Sadly I don't have any pictures of her actually dancing. She has a "solo" where she does a one-handed cartwheel across the front of the stage. She nailed it every time! I hope it is on the video that we are buying.
Here is a picture of it. She's the only kid upside down!
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp159/Mndisneygirl/Spring%202010/DSCN1863.jpg

This was taken backstage in the dressing room (high school cafeteria!) before the recital.
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp159/Mndisneygirl/Spring%202010/DSCN1934.jpg

Grandma and Grampa gave them each flowers. This was after the show, they had changed clothes already.
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp159/Mndisneygirl/Spring%202010/DSCN1935.jpg

MEK

06-17-2010, 07:57 PM

:thumbsup2 for 6 weeks! It will be here before you know it!

Really cute dance recital pics!

Mndisneygirl

06-17-2010, 08:01 PM

Sorry about the huge sideways picture. I tried to resize and rotate on photobucket, but for some reason it doesn't want to do it here.
Never mind, now it appears to be fixed.

Mndisneygirl

06-17-2010, 08:27 PM

In case any of you are watching the weather channel and see that we are having a tornado outbreak here in MN, don't worry about us. We live just east of St. Paul near the WI border and so far we have had about 5 minutes of raindrops and wind, and it got dark for a bit, but no real storms. Most so far have passed to the NW or the SW of the Twin Cities, but there are more heading this way still.
Hope all of my fellow MN DISers are safe and sound!

Charleston Princess

06-17-2010, 09:58 PM

Stay safe tonight!!! Tornado outbreaks are very scary!!!

Adorable pictures from the recital!!!

Mndisneygirl

06-17-2010, 10:11 PM

As of 10 p.m. it looks like our area is clear of storms. Still some up to the north into WI and some down in SE MN.
Sadly, a couple in a small town died from the tornado that destroyed their house. That was a few hours away from where I live.

I guess it's time to hit the hay. I'm working tomorrow (Yikes, a Friday and I'm working!) Normally I work M- Th, but have a few special Fridays this month when I'm needed. Come Fall, when school starts, I'll be working 5 days like most of the rest of the world.

Dancegrl624

06-17-2010, 10:41 PM

Disney Mommy 3

06-17-2010, 11:53 PM

They are sooo cute!!! I love dance pics!!
That is weird about your weather cuz I was telling the kids today ya'll do not have to worry about hurricanes or tornadoes...I didn't realize ya'll really got any where you are. don't know where I got that, but apparently it was wrong. But,...I know you don't get hurricanes...we are definitely in the red zone there!!! I hate hearing about storms coming...since Hurricane Rita hit here people start panicking and acting crzy before we even know if it's coming or not!! It really gets nuts...people buying up all the water and bread if they even mention the gulf!!!

2_Eagle_Mom

06-18-2010, 12:15 AM

Fantastic pictures! I LOVE Music Box Dancer!

I'm glad you are safe from storms for tonight. Reason #1 on why I'm happy I live in CA. I'd much rather deal with the earthquakes. You don't get any warning and you just have to deal with everything afterwards.

Stay safe and hopefully your work tomorrow will pass quickly.

Lady Lallie

06-18-2010, 07:47 AM

Great pictures from the dance recital!

I used to use 4 days a week and I loved it, I want to do that again someday!

Mndisneygirl

06-18-2010, 10:08 AM

Great recital pictures! Did Paige only have 2 other girls in her classes? We won't hold a class unless there are at least 5 kids signed up. Anyways....last year, we had a jazz class that danced to "King of New York" from Newsies. They made their own costumes and looked just like Sarah's class! Lots of argyle (sp?) socks, ties, suspenders, and newsboy caps. Very cute! Our "dressing room" (holding area as I call it) is a HS cafeteria too. The changing room is the art room!
Yeah, it was iffy that they would get to keep the class with only three. At the start it was only 2! They wanted 4 at a minimum, and one girl was going to switch into the class and for some reason didn't. We kind of protested that it was too late to make us switch (we had conflicts on different nights) and they let us go ahead with 3. They were all really good and definitely could manage. There was a younger group of kids with Sarah's class that did Kings of New York in the middle of their dance.

They are sooo cute!!! I love dance pics!!
That is weird about your weather cuz I was telling the kids today ya'll do not have to worry about hurricanes or tornadoes...I didn't realize ya'll really got any where you are. don't know where I got that, but apparently it was wrong. But,...I know you don't get hurricanes...we are definitely in the red zone there!!! I hate hearing about storms coming...since Hurricane Rita hit here people start panicking and acting crzy before we even know if it's coming or not!! It really gets nuts...people buying up all the water and bread if they even mention the gulf!!!

Yeah, this is a tornado state. Summer time is tornadoes and severe thunderstorms and winter time is blizzards and bone chilling cold! Gotta love it!

Fantastic pictures! I LOVE Music Box Dancer!

I'm glad you are safe from storms for tonight. Reason #1 on why I'm happy I live in CA. I'd much rather deal with the earthquakes. You don't get any warning and you just have to deal with everything afterwards.

Stay safe and hopefully your work tomorrow will pass quickly.
Thanks! I love that song too! At the beginning of the dance, the girls were bent over and older ballerinas came up with a wind-up key and wound them up to dance. Then they danced behind them too. It was really cute!

The morning seems to be crawling by. Partly because I'm spending a lot of time sitting and waiting for things. Grrr. At least it's not difficult or stressful and I can DIS!

Great pictures from the dance recital!

I used to use 4 days a week and I loved it, I want to do that again someday!

Thanks! We were a little far away to get good pictures - I was too lazy to move up closer.

I am feeling this 5 day week today. I so wanted to just stay in my jammies. I better get used to it because I'm going back to 5 days in fall.

Lovemy3babes

06-18-2010, 10:19 AM

Dancegrl624

06-18-2010, 10:36 AM

Yeah, it was iffy that they would get to keep the class with only three. At the start it was only 2! They wanted 4 at a minimum, and one girl was going to switch into the class and for some reason didn't. We kind of protested that it was too late to make us switch (we had conflicts on different nights) and they let us go ahead with 3. They were all really good and definitely could manage. There was a younger group of kids with Sarah's class that did Kings of New York in the middle of their dance.
[FONT=Century Gothic]

That would have been horrible to make you switch days. At that age, kids are still good about coming to class. I had a class of 4 (was 5 until a girl dropped out...I took her place) for my advanced ballet last year and it was horrible! I was lucky if I had 2 girls show up each week. It's very hard to teach a dance when no one is there.

BippityBoo

06-19-2010, 07:21 PM

Pretty costumes!!! I love the pink ballet one! Newsies was one of my faves when I was younger :goodvibes

praisehisname

06-20-2010, 10:33 AM

Great dance pics; looks like it was a lot of fun!

Glad to hear you are safe after the storm; I was thinking about you!

Mndisneygirl

06-20-2010, 09:15 PM

Hello cuteness!! :) Look at those gorgeous girls of yours Sheree!

We had lots of warnings yesterday but thankfully, everything passed up by. We were prepped and the sun never left! We were definitely lucky! Some of MN got hit really hard. :(

Thank you! I'm glad you guys are okay too! That stuff can be pretty scary.

Pretty costumes!!! I love the pink ballet one! Newsies was one of my faves when I was younger :goodvibes
I have to get a copy of that movie! I understand Christian Bale is in it.

Great dance pics; looks like it was a lot of fun!

Glad to hear you are safe after the storm; I was thinking about you!

Thanks! It was fun for all of us.
That storm had nasty stuff to the south west and the north west of us but we were lucky. Thank you for thinking of me!

Mndisneygirl

06-20-2010, 09:21 PM

Well, last weekend was dance, this weekend was softball! Sarah was in a tournament and had two games on Friday night. They won both!! So then we played Saturday at 1 p.m. and won that game to get to the championship game at 3:30. Unfortunately, the lost their lead in the last inning and couldn't come back. So they ended up in second place. Not too bad, but she was less than happy for a while. She was a little mad at the coach (who is our neighbor and friend) for putting her in right field or right center a lot! But she also got a little lecture from him between games for not taking any swings. We'll see if she swings in tomorrow night's game!! She felt better later because we went to a grad party and she wore her jersey and medal!

I hope all the dads out there had a great father's day!! We had my parents and brother over, cooked out and sat in the hot tub a bit. It was a beautiful day!!
Have a great week everyone! I'll be back to talk more planning soon! I'm working on more lists! I keep updating them.

Mndisneygirl

06-21-2010, 08:46 PM

Guess what I got in the mail today????

Magical Express luggage tags!!!!! :yay: I'm so excited! I have so much going on but once July hits I'm going to be frantically checking lists etc.!

Sarah had another ball game tonight. I came home early since DH had to work tonight. She and I held some batting practice in the back yard for about a half an hour and she was smacking them all over the place. So we go to the game and I told her to take some swings. She struck out. And struck out again. But then in the last inning, she cracked one!!! She got a single! She was so excited! I was so proud. They won the game too. I think she is starting to see how practice can actually pay off!

Okay, I've got a bunch of stuff to do tonight, so that's it for an update!

Charleston Princess

06-21-2010, 09:18 PM

Hurray for ME tags!!! I think I am going to be the same way once we turn the calendar to July!

Yeay for Sarah getting a single tonight! That's awesome!

Momof2Disneyboys

06-22-2010, 11:34 AM

YAY for ME luggage tags!! :cool1: That's such an awesome feeling when that stuff starts to come. :goodvibes

And congrats to Sarah! :cheer2:

Dancegrl624

06-22-2010, 04:12 PM

Hooray for ME tags!!! I cherish every single piece of Disney mail I get. It's so exciting!

Lady Lallie

06-22-2010, 04:30 PM

Yayayayaya for ME tags! :banana:

Mndisneygirl

06-23-2010, 03:02 PM

5 WEEKS FROM TODAY I WILL BE AT THE BEACH CLUB!!!!

:yay: :yay: :yay: :yay: :yay:

Yup, that's five happy guys!

Lady Lallie

06-23-2010, 03:09 PM

5 WEEKS FROM TODAY I WILL BE AT THE BEACH CLUB!!!!

:yay: :yay: :yay: :yay: :yay:

Yup, that's five happy guys!

Woo Hoo!!!

:woohoo::yay::banana::yay::woohoo:

Disney Mommy 3

06-23-2010, 05:45 PM

and here I am just under 5 months!!! ha!!! Did Dave wear his hat today!?

Mndisneygirl

06-23-2010, 10:05 PM

and here I am just under 5 months!!! ha!!! Did Dave wear his hat today!?

It will fly by!

You bet Dave wore his hat!!! He's also wearing a t-shirt from Caribbean Beach!

Charleston Princess

06-23-2010, 10:08 PM

Woo hoo for five weeks!!!

party: party: party:

Mndisneygirl

06-25-2010, 01:32 PM

Hey guys! I'm going a little nuts here. I spent this morning clearing out Sarah's room - Dave is going to paint it starting today and while we're camping. But I've been reading a bunch of TRs - some with Beach Club and Cruise!! (Wigd!!) I'm getting SO EXCITED I can't stand it! It's still over a month away!
The worst part is this - I had fully intended that this would be our last WDW trip for a couple years. SInce we're going to London/Paris next summer, I need to save $$ for that. I thought we'd either stay home this winter (:eek:) or go somewhere REALLY inexpensive - i.e. NOT Disney. Then DH is always looking at cruises and sees a short one when our kids are on spring break at the beginning of March (SO glad it's earlier this year!). But it's still not cheap. So today I see Wigd's cruise pictures and I SO want to do it again. (Sshhh - don't tell Dave, he'll book it and I'll really be broke!)

Am I just crazy?? :crazy::crazy2:
I think so.

Disney Mommy 3

06-25-2010, 01:57 PM

WOW!!! I wouldnt say crazy!!! No way!:sad2: A little Disney obsessed--maybe!! but jeez, we all are!!!

Mndisneygirl

06-25-2010, 02:39 PM

WOW!!! I wouldnt say crazy!!! No way!:sad2: A little Disney obsessed--maybe!! but jeez, we all are!!!

I guess I knew this would be the wrong place to ask that. I would probably get a different answer elsewhere. ;)

Disney Mommy 3

06-25-2010, 02:55 PM

True...but do you reaaally trust those other people?:rotfl:

Mndisneygirl

06-25-2010, 03:06 PM

Good point! Who would I trust more than you guys?

So I better really sit down and figure out a way to be able to do this! HA! We may be eating Ramen for the next 8 months (except when we're at WDW on DXDP!!).

I have already decided that after this trip, I'm going to get some guide books for London and Paris, and DLP. The biggest problem, i.e. expense is the airfare. Right now it's looking like at least $1000 per person!!! Man, I hope that changes!

Okay. One trip at a time, right?

Q: Does anyone who goes in summer use those mister fans? I really DON'T want to lug them around. I'm thinking if I just go into A/C regularly, and drink water, I won't need it. I know there are a bunch of places in the parks you can get wet anyway and wouldn't a fan just blow HOT air on me?

So it's raining right now. This is the time we were supposed to be loading up the car to go camping. HA! I guess I'm glad we canceled tonight! Who wants to put up a tent in the rain, sit in the tent while it's raining, and try to start a fire after it's been raining? No thanks. I'll stay in and watch a Disney movie tonight!!

2_Eagle_Mom

06-26-2010, 12:12 AM

So...inquiring minds want to know, what did you end up watching???

I've done the set-up camp in the rain - no fun. Good idea staying home.

MEK

06-26-2010, 06:41 AM

Congrats on your ME tags!

Congrats on less than 5 weeks!
:woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo:

Regarding the mister fans. I have found that my kids may use them the first day, a little less the second day, and then not at all. Then I end up carrying them! :rolleyes1

Charleston Princess

06-26-2010, 07:19 AM

A cruise would be a lot of fun, wouldn't it? ;)

I am curious about the mister fans, too. I am wondering if it would be worth it to lug them around.

Mndisneygirl

06-28-2010, 10:21 PM

I'm back from my quasi camping trip! More on that later...

So...inquiring minds want to know, what did you end up watching???

I've done the set-up camp in the rain - no fun. Good idea staying home.

We watched A Bug's Life. Hadn't seen it in a while. Think we will pick a more classic one next time. Plus I want to watch TS 1 and 2 before we get to the theater for TS3.

Congrats on your ME tags!

Congrats on less than 5 weeks!
:woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo:

Regarding the mister fans. I have found that my kids may use them the first day, a little less the second day, and then not at all. Then I end up carrying them! :rolleyes1
Thanks! Good to know about the misters fans. I have heard about some mini fans that might be okay. They wouldn't be too heavy to carry around maybe. If I find them, I might get them. If not, we'll live without it. Maybe we'll just share two.

A cruise would be a lot of fun, wouldn't it? ;)

I am curious about the mister fans, too. I am wondering if it would be worth it to lug them around.
Oh - cruises are great. It's like having the deluxe dining plan and then some. You can order MORE than one of everything!! And there's so much to see and do...Man I've got to do it again!

So today we are at 30 DAYS!!!
And to celebrate, we have made a countdown chain!
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp159/Mndisneygirl/DSCN1954.jpg
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp159/Mndisneygirl/DSCN1955.jpg
I have hung it up in the kitchen from an unused bracket from our old vertical blinds.

In other PTR news, we finally saw a decent rate for a rental car today!! We booked with Alamo so we could pick it up at the Dolphin and return at MCO. I had a code for using a VISA to save 20% and a coupon from an Entertainment book (thanks to my neighbor) to get a free day. After adding all the ridiculous fees and taxes, it's $239!!! We'd been seeing $499 lately for a week! Scary! So I crossed that off my list!

While we were "camping" Dave painted Sarah's bedroom. We had bought her a comforter recently and she picked out two paint colors - bright darker pink and bright lime green (DIS!). So he painted two walls pink and two green. He put some random circles on the opposite color walls. Just for fun he threw in a couple of MICKEYS!! He texted me a picture and I wasn't sure he was serious. First he did 4 of them and labeled them Mom, Dad, Sarah and Paige! He did paint over those and then did two for real! It's pretty cute and Sarah loves it, so those two will stay. One is behind her door. I'll post pictures later.

I went to Target and bought a few new tank tops yesterday. I don't want to overpack, but I think I will bring about 6 tanks with me. I really only need 5 days worth of clothes for WDW and then at the condo I can do laundry. I have to check my shorts situtation too. I've lost about 10 lbs and a lot of my stuff is too big! (YAY!)
Now I have to check the girls' clothes and see what they have.
I also bought some Clinical Strenght Secret Deoderant. Then I looked at the label and compared it to the regular Secret that I use. It has 1% more of the active ingredient and it says to apply morning and night or something. Is it really better??? We shall see. I had a $2 off coupon, so it wasn't too bad, but it normally costs 2x as much!
Have to get to the dollar store soon to look for more stuff! Need to get shopping.

So - camping - here's what happened:
Friday night we had cancelled. Left Saturday at 8:30 a.m. Set up camp, tents and bags etc. Hung out all day - really humid. Had a fire and cooked hot dogs for lunch. Kind of too hot! Kids went swimming and we all just had a good time. One of the kids (not mine, for once) was having a tough time (she's 4) and needed a nap, but couldn't do it with all of us being around. Anyway, we had our dinner, made another fire and had smores. Then I'd been checking my iphone for weather and we called my friend's parents, who lived nearby. It was going to storm again that night after 10! GRRR! So we decided to pack it in. The sleeping bags and pillows were already damp from humidity! Gross.
We got out of there and went to her parents' house and set up our bags in their living room. Then us grown ups made a run to the liquor store! We sat around drinking mudslides and eating popcorn and lighting sparklers. We finally got the kids to bed and the storns came. It was pretty heavy rain and thunder and lightining, so we were glad we chose to pack it up. The next morning, the 4 yr old was still pretty snarky, so they stayed at their grandma's house and the rest of us left. We stopped for a great breakfast and were home around 10 or so. It was fun, even though it was limited! I've got another camping trip in two weeks with Sarah's girl scout troop and if it storms again, I'm done! That will be 4 out of 4 trips with a storm!
I had a bridal shower in the afternoon and now I've got a busy week at work too. I can't wait for the holiday weekend!
Plus - I have an added bonus! Friday night I will get to have another DISmeet with Northern Disney Girl - Kim and her family at the Mall of America!!! I'm so glad they decided to come to the Twin Cities for their summer vacation! And she timed it well - not when we're going to be in FL!
So that's the update for now. I don't know how much I'll be around this week, but you know I can't stay away long! ;)

Dugette

06-28-2010, 10:35 PM

For what it's worth, on the misting fans, we got a couple of the mini ones before our last trip. This is the only picture I have of one, not the best pic:

http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/yearofdisney2010/MistingFan.jpg

I used it a lot in the 90-degree humidity and it was nice to have. They also have a small carabiner on them, so you can clip to a bag or something. The only place I could find them was Walmart. I think they were about $3/each.

Dancegrl624

06-28-2010, 10:42 PM

I just bought an inexpensive fan at Walmart to bring with us in Sept. I think it was around $4 and it looks like the above picture. It's actually quite powerful and it works really well! I was going to buy a misting fan, but who wants to carry that around?! I think if you avoid the parks during the hottest time of day and dress in cool/loose clothing, you should be fine.

2_Eagle_Mom

06-28-2010, 11:10 PM

Our Disney Store had some fans that were on strings that you could hang around your neck. I don't know if they still carry them, but they took 2 AA batteries so they were much easier to have the kids carry their own. I agree the mister fans are just WAY too bulky to carry around.

Don't give up on camping! You just need to come out to CA where we don't have afternoon/evening storms in the summer. Yosemite is lovely this time of year....Just saying...

Charleston Princess

06-29-2010, 06:21 AM

Hurray for being under 30 days! Love the countdown chain!

Sarah's room sounds very pretty -- can't wait to see pictures!

That's too bad that the weather wasn't cooperating with the camping trip -- hopefully the next one will be more of a success!

Lady Lallie

06-29-2010, 06:53 AM

I can't wait to see the pictures of the new bedroom!

What a bummer about your camping trip. I had an ill fated girl scout camping trip one year. I woke up and my bed roll was literally floating in water. :rotfl2: It was awful. I don't think I went camping again after that, at least not in a tent. ;)

Momof2Disneyboys

06-29-2010, 11:21 AM

YAY for 30 DAYS!!! :cool1:

Can't wait to see pics of the new room!

Disney Mommy 3

06-30-2010, 09:45 AM

Pictures! Pictures!! I know she was excited to get back to her finished room! I like your chain...did you stamp the mickeys or just draw them on?

Disney Mommy 3

06-30-2010, 09:46 AM

4 WEEKS TODAY!!
:cool1::yay::woohoo::banana:

Mndisneygirl

06-30-2010, 01:21 PM

Pictures! Pictures!! I know she was excited to get back to her finished room! I like your chain...did you stamp the mickeys or just draw them on?

I just drew them on. I made them on day 31, so I was a bit pressed for time!
4 WEEKS TODAY!!
:cool1::yay::woohoo::banana:
Dave was planning to wear his hat again today!

I can't wait to see the pictures of the new bedroom!

What a bummer about your camping trip. I had an ill fated girl scout camping trip one year. I woke up and my bed roll was literally floating in water. :rotfl2: It was awful. I don't think I went camping again after that, at least not in a tent. ;)
OH MY! I don't think I'd go camping again either! Reminds me of the new version of the Parent Trap where Meredith wakes up floating in the lake with a bird pecking on her!
Hurray for being under 30 days! Love the countdown chain!

Sarah's room sounds very pretty -- can't wait to see pictures!

That's too bad that the weather wasn't cooperating with the camping trip -- hopefully the next one will be more of a success!
Yeah, we had fun anyway, but if the next one is stormy, I may have to give up camping.

Our Disney Store had some fans that were on strings that you could hang around your neck. I don't know if they still carry them, but they took 2 AA batteries so they were much easier to have the kids carry their own. I agree the mister fans are just WAY too bulky to carry around.

Don't give up on camping! You just need to come out to CA where we don't have afternoon/evening storms in the summer. Yosemite is lovely this time of year....Just saying...
I would like to try out west still. We haven't ventured too far west with the kids and it is our goal to have them set foot in all 50 states before they leave the nest. (Of course, some don't leave for a loooong while!)
Thanks for the fan tips. Stay tuned.

I just bought an inexpensive fan at Walmart to bring with us in Sept. I think it was around $4 and it looks like the above picture. It's actually quite powerful and it works really well! I was going to buy a misting fan, but who wants to carry that around?! I think if you avoid the parks during the hottest time of day and dress in cool/loose clothing, you should be fine.
Thanks Meghan! See below to see what I found.

For what it's worth, on the misting fans, we got a couple of the mini ones before our last trip. This is the only picture I have of one, not the best pic:

http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/yearofdisney2010/MistingFan.jpg

I used it a lot in the 90-degree humidity and it was nice to have. They also have a small carabiner on them, so you can clip to a bag or something. The only place I could find them was Walmart. I think they were about $3/each.
Does it hold any water? Again, see below.

YAY for 30 DAYS!!! :cool1:

Can't wait to see pics of the new room!

WOOHOO! I'm getting so excited!
Pictures will be soon. I have yet to take them!

So, I will take pictures of Sarah's room hopefully tonight (when I'm actually going to be home!!) before it gets too messy.
Today on my lunch I went and walked to Walmart, which is across the parking lot. I never ever shop there, but since I've been told by all of you nice people I could find things there, I did it.
I found two types of mini fans. One you can add water to and the other is just a fan. They all have the carbiner clips. The good news is they come in LIME GREEN!! I bought two of each type and figure we will test them out and see how it goes. One kind takes 2 AA batteries and the other takes 1 AA. So I will have to stock up on those if I don't have any.
I also found some cotton skinny strap sports bras in white/grey/black - 3 for $10!! I wasn't sure what I was going to wear under tank tops. Some would be okay with a regular bra. But these are cotton, and should breathe! I'm not too top heavy, so I don't need to worry about a lot of support. (that's good with me!)
I found some water shoes for the girls to wear at the beach but didn't know for sure the size, so we will have to go together for that.
SO - all in all a good trip to Wally world!

I'm hoping tonight to work on my binder and gather all the info I've printed up. I've printed a bunch of menus today and will stick those in there. I need to find some plastic sleeves (maybe that seal) to put documents in.
And the list goes on...

Lady Lallie

06-30-2010, 01:36 PM

You can always add in more things to do before a Disney trip.

All this talk of mini fans is making me want to go out and buy some! :rotfl2:

Lovemy3babes

06-30-2010, 02:27 PM

I need to see this gorgeous new bedroom Sheree! :) Mickey heads?! Soooo cute. Good finds for your trip. I love vacation shopping!

praisehisname

06-30-2010, 02:51 PM

Great find on the fans! :thumbsup2 I'm really looking forward to seeing Sarah's room! :woohoo:

Oh, and thanks to you, I'm now craving smores... :rolleyes1 :rotfl:

Charleston Princess

06-30-2010, 02:53 PM

Hurray for finding some fans! Now, I am really debating whether or not I should look for some the next time I head to Walmart...

Dugette

06-30-2010, 06:21 PM

Does it hold any water? Again, see below.

Yes, it holds water and lasts for quite awhile. We didn't need to refill often, but when we did, it can be done in a second at any drinking fountain. I think ours just takes one battery and lasted just fine through our trip.

Today on my lunch I went and walked to Walmart, which is across the parking lot. I never ever shop there, but since I've been told by all of you nice people I could find things there, I did it.

I don't ever shop there either. The only reason I did was because I'd seen another thread on the Dis saying that these little fans were good and WM was the place to find them. And I could not find them anywhere else I looked.

Sounds like the one you have that fills with water is the same as the type we got. We have one lime green and one blue one. They were handy on those hot afternoons!

So exciting that you'll be in Disney so soon! :cool1:

Mndisneygirl

06-30-2010, 09:41 PM

I need to see this gorgeous new bedroom Sheree! :) Mickey heads?! Soooo cute. Good finds for your trip. I love vacation shopping!
Coming right up! I love vacation shopping too. Drives DH nuts I think. Have to buy a bunch of stuff to travel = spend more $$!

Great find on the fans! :thumbsup2 I'm really looking forward to seeing Sarah's room! :woohoo:

Oh, and thanks to you, I'm now craving smores... :rolleyes1 :rotfl:
I'm psyched. Pictures are uploaded now. Smores...yumm. You can always improvise and make them in the microwave. (I consider that cheating, but would do it in a pinch!)

Hurray for finding some fans! Now, I am really debating whether or not I should look for some the next time I head to Walmart...
Well, it is going to be HOT in July...

Yes, it holds water and lasts for quite awhile. We didn't need to refill often, but when we did, it can be done in a second at any drinking fountain. I think ours just takes one battery and lasted just fine through our trip.

I don't ever shop there either. The only reason I did was because I'd seen another thread on the Dis saying that these little fans were good and WM was the place to find them. And I could not find them anywhere else I looked.

Sounds like the one you have that fills with water is the same as the type we got. We have one lime green and one blue one. They were handy on those hot afternoons!

So exciting that you'll be in Disney so soon! :cool1:
I got the exact same ones - one green and one blue! The kids are very excited about them. The mister ones came with the battery, so we tried them out. Haven't put the batteries in the other kind yet.
I can't wait to be in WDW! I will suffer the heat and humidity for Mickey any day!

Pictures are uploading right now...