Learning to NOT Photograph Fireworks Behind Trees (Sept/Oct 2012)

[oceanwave]

Woohoo! I'll try and keep an eye out. Once we get closer, we can possibly set something up and meet up for a snack or ride or just a hello



As for GFC, I've never been, so I don't really know. It's usually pretty highly recommended and is quoted as being a quieter, more casual meal. Plus, they have a Boston Creme dessert... and I love me some Boston Creme! (You don't know how much I love the stuff ) I'd say go for it if it'll fit in the new plans. I wouldn't go out of my way for it, but I don't really go out of my way for any of the dining

Sounds like a plan! At that point in the trip it will be just Mike & I, so will be much easier to coordinate!

GFC does get rated highly by many. Think I will put it on the maybe list! It was fun making reservations at the 180 mark but I do get a fuzzy warm feeling stalking the online reservation site waiting for a time to open. Think I have issues?

You know something I don't think I have ever had Boston Creme. I've seen it before, but never tried. It looks and sounds delicious!

 

[oceanwave]

Too many nested "if"s = headache

I think you're describing what I call Disney Fuzzy Maths....which offer provides me with the best discount!

Disney is NOT Fuzzy....the Maths works out. Spend.more.money.

I agree with Princess in Oz. Disney math gives me a huge headache

But I do think the dining plan would overall save us money. Also I just love paying for our meals before our trip and then don't have to worry about it while there or after we get back. This year is the first time doing DxDP

Allan, I thought I loved my excel spreadsheets, but you take it to a whole other level I think that this year I am going to keep track of everything we and the cost and tally it all up at the end.

 

[Cafeen]

Too many nested "if"s = headache

I think you're describing what I call Disney Fuzzy Maths....which offer provides me with the best discount!

Disney is NOT Fuzzy....the Maths works out. Spend.more.money.

Pfft, there's only one nested IF in that formula. You should see some of the others. But yup, it's all to find out which discount is truly better, and to offer a sanity check if you choose to buy a dining plan or not. Of course, since the time I started crafting it (I've been working on it off and on for about 2 1/2 years now), I really don't need it to judge, since I'm good with the general rules, but it's fun to see the numbers.

Sounds like a plan! At that point in the trip it will be just Mike & I, so will be much easier to coordinate!

GFC does get rated highly by many. Think I will put it on the maybe list! It was fun making reservations at the 180 mark but I do get a fuzzy warm feeling stalking the online reservation site waiting for a time to open. Think I have issues?

You know something I don't think I have ever had Boston Creme. I've seen it before, but never tried. It looks and sounds delicious!

Sounds like a plan then. I'd say PM me the info... but you can't right now (I got baited by a troll over in TPAS and kinda let loose). After 11 July, that functionality will be back as part of my account though .

GFC does not seem to be too horribly difficult to get into, so that should help. There will likely even be walk-up space available, so it could be a good backup/spur of the moment type of place (not that I like keeping that to chance, obviously )

Boston Creme is excellent. I get annoyed down here in AL when someone buys doughnuts and they say they are Boston Creme, when they're really just chocolate frosted with icing filling. They simple don't know what it really is! (Of course, I still eat those... as they're tasty and someone else bought them )

I agree with Princess in Oz. Disney math gives me a huge headache

But I do think the dining plan would overall save us money. Also I just love paying for our meals before our trip and then don't have to worry about it while there or after we get back. This year is the first time doing DxDP

Allan, I thought I loved my excel spreadsheets, but you take it to a whole other level I think that this year I am going to keep track of everything we and the cost and tally it all up at the end.

I have a thing for numbers. I used to go through people's threads when they listed out their restaurant choices asking if a dining plan was right for them and do all the math for them. It seemed to help quite a bit. I haven't done that in a while though as fewer and fewer are asking for it. I've also started on a tutorial for DDP math... but it's been sitting partly done on a text file since last weekend...

I do love DxDDP. I wouldn't do this type of trip without it. If I went with a little one, or a group of people who did not visit as much as I do (which, isn't all that much compared to some around these parts), or a much shorter trip, then I'd consider stepping down to DDP, but for my solo trips, or my trips with Mom, DxDDP is the way to go! I've also saved my receipts each year with the intent to add them all up. I usually peter out after day 6 or 7 when I'm around the break-even point. As such, I'm not entirely sure how close I get with my estimations, but I'd estimate that it's pretty darn close

The Excel thing, yeah, it all started out small, then grew and grew and grew. I add to it from time to time, and those little additions (ok, the Free Dining check wasn't that little) add up. It really does need to be made into a web application at this point though, but that's a ton of programming work to convert it over (and boring stuff too, like the layout). It would be easier though as PHP is much more logical and English like than the weird Excel structure... maybe soon.

 

[KatMark]

Still following along, but don't have time to post much (my MIL has Stage 4 lung cancer and we're going through a lot right now). Plans continue to sound great.

 

[Cafeen]

Still following along, but don't have time to post much (my MIL has Stage 4 lung cancer and we're going through a lot right now). Plans continue to sound great.

No worries at all Kathy. You have enough to deal with, this PTR will still be around when things settle.

 

[Cafeen]

Day 4 - New Plans​

So, with the revamp of my plans, my MK day is now on Day 4, which is where we are now... so, that means...

MK for the day

We can get up when we feel like it this day since I no longer have breakfast scheduled. That will probably end up being around 7:30-8am and arriving at MK for RD...

The plan will resemble the original plan of going clockwise. Pirates, BTMRR, HM, HoP, etc. Splash is off my list as always, for no other reason than I don't want to get wet. I hate walking around wet as does my camera, cell phone, and smokes.

Lunch will come at lunchtime, which is 11:30am. I have ADRs for my favorite MK meal, LTT, at 11:35am (ok, so 5 minutes after lunchtime )

I aim for the Cheese, Burger, and Toffee Cake again... here are some pictures that I've used for them already.

I've heard these have been nerfed some and no longer have the fried curds, but I love cheese sticks anyway.

And, of course (which, recent pictures also seem to be nerfed a bit )

So very tasty!​

After lunch, it's up for grabs. We can either hang out or head back to the resort. Some of this will depend on what we're actually planning on doing for the night. Our options are 1) hang out at the resort, 2) do MNSSHP, or 3) do DHS PM EMH.

For option 1, we'll likely stay in MK until dinner time. For options 2 and 3, we'll head back to the resort for a bit.

Fast forwarding to dinner, since food is really all that matters here, I have made ADRs for Grand Floridian Cafe at the Grand Floridian Resort at 5:30pm. Mainly, because it'd be silly to make ADRs for GFC at some other resort. My aim here is the dessert, Boston Creme Pie. MMMMmmmmm. Love that stuff. It is the ultimate great stuff to eat. And I'm NOT talking about the Krispy Kreme down here in Mobile that only thinks they make Boston Creme... they stuff their chocolate covered doughnut with icing... it's just wrong.

So, anyway, dinner here will consist of French Onion Soup, Steak, and the aforementioned Boston Creme Pie. Depending on the plans later on, I may take some pictures of the resort before and after dinner too.

After dinner is there it gets foggy, and I'm not talking about the humidity. I'm not sure if Mom's going to want to do MNSSHP again this year, since I flaked out last year and wasn't feeling well and decided to hang out in one spot waiting for the fireworks, which didn't turn out too well (see below).

So, after dinner option 1 - hang out at the resort.

If we choose this door, I'll spend some time doing photos of GFR and maybe the Poly as well. Trusty Tripod will certainly be coming with me for this. After the photos, we'll head back to POFQ and that'll be that.

Option 2 - MNSSHP

If we decide to do the party, we'll head straight to the party after dinner and Trusty Tripod will be taking the night off. We'll aim for the fireworks from somewhere (off to the left of the platform in front of The Plaza wouldn't be too bad) and the late parade from LTT area. I'll also be sure to drink something during the night, as I don't want to get all dehydrated again, that wasn't good .

Option 3 - PM EMH at DHS
This is the only night of the trip that DHS has PM EMH. I do want to head there, but MNSSHP takes precedence. If we (or just I) decide to do this, the focus will be on photography again (no pun intended there) and Trusty Tripod will be coming along.

The next 2 are HDR images from my DHS night last year

Either way, around 11pm-12am, we'll head back to POFQ for the night.

Day 4 Food Plans

• B - NA
• L - Liberty Tree Tavern (MK) @ 11:35pm
• D - Grand Floridian Cafe (GFR) @ 5:30pm

Day 4 Photography Plans

• Icon photos of me and Mom
• Option 1 - HDR and other pictures of GFR and maybe Poly
• Option 2 - Nothing spectacular
• Option 3
  • HDR images of the theater and ToT
  • Other nighttime pictures of DHS

 

[PrincessInOz]

Sounds like a full day. Can't wait for the trip to see which option you settled on.

 

[Cafeen]

Day 5 - Altered Plans​

Day 5... today is Mom's last day at the World, it's also October 1, 2012 and 30 years ago today, EPCOT center officially opened.

So, what am I doing 30 years later?

​

Yup, we're heading to Epcot (with the masses) today! I'm not planning on getting all that much accomplished, since it WILL be busy, even if Disney is not expecting to do anything. But, it's all about the atmosphere.

I do figure that we'll hit up Soarin' first, and probably grab a FP for it, since that's Mom's favorite ride. After that, we'll see how it goes. If breakfast is required, we'll grab something at Sunshine Seasons. I'm sure many others will as well, but, you know, it's the only place open.


After breakfast, we'll meander through Future World for a bit and see the sights and do the rides.

Living with the Land


Journey into Imagination (sic) with Figment


Spaceship Earth


Mission Space
(no pics)

And Test Track...erm... wait... that's going to be closed
( )​

Edits![/b
Ok, I wasn't too thrilled for Chefs, and I really wanted to try R&C, so common sense would tell me to just swap them right?

Wrong. There wasn't a good dinner time available for R&C (4:30 or naught), so I looked and there was a 12:05pm lunch here, and a 5:00pm dinner at SAI. So, I swapped them around! This also puts the below in reverse order. Deal with it

After R&C for lunch, we'll meander through the World Showcase including hitting the highlights of:

Norway

(Note: This photo has not been reprocessed yet, since it was already posted on the TR)

China (of which I have 0 pics of... )

Germany

(See France's note)

Italy


American Adventure

(See France's note)

Japan

(See France's note)

Morocco


France

Note: I'm hoping it won't be this dark at that time, since we would have missed our Dinner reservations!

Also Note: Yes, I put the above note first and referenced those higher up to it. Normally, a normal person would have put the note on the first one and then done a "See x's note" for the following ones. When have I ever really been considered normal though?

UK


And Canada
​

At 5:00, we have dinner scheduled for San Angel Inn. This is my absolute FAVORITE lunch ADR in Epcot. Last year we tried Marrakesh and it's off my list for this year for sure (and next year, and the year after). It wasn't bad, just not my thing. So, fixing that up with a very yummy SAI dinner this time! (Edit: This doesn't entirely make as much sense now, since we went to Marrakesh for lunch and I've moved the SAI to dinner... oh well)

We'll hop on the Gran Fiesta Tour either before or after dinner, depending on the timing.

This is my plan for SAI







All of which should be delicious!​

A 5pm dinner should get us out of there between 6 and 6:30. So at that time, we'll head back to the entrance to say our goodbyes. (I'll probably have her drive that day so she can leave from Epcot...though maybe I'll have her give me a ride back to the resort first... we shall see.)

MK has PM EMH this night, so it fits beautifully. MSEP is also scheduled at 8pm followed by Wishes at 9pm. I figure that I'll get positioned for both of them up on the Train Station, along with Trusty Tripod. (Don't know if I'll head to the room before MK, or just head there right after dinner).

The primary goal this night is photography, and this is when my photography will really start!

Day 5 Food Plans

• B - TBD (QS @ Sunshine Seasons more than likely if we're hungry, or maybe just some snacks in the room)
• L - Rose & Crown (Epcot/UK) @ 12:05pm
• D - San Angel Inn (Epcot/Mexico) @ 5:00pm

Day 5 Photography Plans

• Generic Icon shots with Mom
• Character shots if someone is out without a line
• MESP and Wishes
• Castle HDR at night
• Other HDRs at night
• Tomorrowland at night (I love the look of Tomorrowland at night)

 

[oceanwave]

Wow, I've missed 2 updates!!

Great pictures as usual And great park choices! Surprise surprise we have MK and Epcot the same days Probably the same plans as everyone else on the dis!

 

[oceanwave]

Sounds like a plan then. I'd say PM me the info... but you can't right now (I got baited by a troll over in TPAS and kinda let loose). After 11 July, that functionality will be back as part of my account though .

Oh dear! You weren't behaving I see Sometimes threads get me so wound up! Mike has to keep reminding me that it is a internet forum, so I just don't post! But you have perked my interest on what you actually did that got your privileges revoked.

GFC does not seem to be too horribly difficult to get into, so that should help. There will likely even be walk-up space available, so it could be a good backup/spur of the moment type of place (not that I like keeping that to chance, obviously )

Yeah GFC doesn't sound overly popular. But with free dining don't want to take any chances. These dining reservations are doing my head in. Way too many decisions to make and of course when it comes to food dining reservations are the most important decision of all

Boston Creme is excellent. I get annoyed down here in AL when someone buys doughnuts and they say they are Boston Creme, when they're really just chocolate frosted with icing filling. They simple don't know what it really is! (Of course, I still eat those... as they're tasty and someone else bought them )

I'm with ya on the whole boston creme doughnut is not the real thing.




The Excel thing, yeah, it all started out small, then grew and grew and grew. I add to it from time to time, and those little additions (ok, the Free Dining check wasn't that little) add up. It really does need to be made into a web application at this point though, but that's a ton of programming work to convert it over (and boring stuff too, like the layout). It would be easier though as PHP is much more logical and English like than the weird Excel structure... maybe soon.

Yup, you know your hardcore Disney when you start talking about making a computer app You and my husband would definitely get along. I on the other start to tune out when I hear the word programming

 

[PrincessInOz]

China (of which I have 0 pics of... )

Day 5 Photography Plans

• Generic Icon shots with Mom
• Character shots if someone is out without a line
• MESP and Wishes
• Castle HDR at night
• Other HDRs at night
• Tomorrowland at night (I love the look of Tomorrowland at night)

I think you might need to add China to your list of photography plans.

 

[Cafeen]

Wow, I've missed 2 updates!!

Great pictures as usual And great park choices! Surprise surprise we have MK and Epcot the same days Probably the same plans as everyone else on the dis!

Strangely enough, my first version of these plans did not have MK and Epcot here... I CHANGED them to those semi randomly. Strange how things work out (of course, we're all probably going by TP or EasyWDW (or a combination of both like I am))

Yup, you know your hardcore Disney when you start talking about making a computer app You and my husband would definitely get along. I on the other start to tune out when I hear the word programming

I actually started a big huge project a couple years ago as a result of being annoyed I couldn't find printable menus ><. That project spiraled into a sizable database and tracking application (of which, is still "in the works" )

I think you might need to add China to your list of photography plans.

Hehe, that comes later

 

[Cafeen]

Day 6 - All Over Again​

So, here we are, the morning of Tuesday 10/02. Epcot's 30th is over, Mom's at home, and I'm waking up bright and early after PM EMH at MK. The room is all to myself and my feet are likely hurting me.

At least I'm not sick this time! (Knock on wood!)

So, what's on tap for today?

Well, at least for this morning it'll be Magic Kingdom. I'll be packing Trusty Tripod today (maybe?) and heading off to the Kingdom some time in the morning. It's likely going to be pretty quiet here as it's a Tuesday, PM EMH was the night before, and... well, it's not the summer (or Christmas, or Easter, or Spring break). My primary goal for today is to fill up any holes that I have in my MK shooting. Since I'm spending less time here than I have in the past, it's kinda needed.

I'll be aiming for some HDR castle shots as well as sets of BTMRR and HM. If I do end up renting that fast lens, I'll attempt some PotC queue shots too, but those may be difficult to impossible to get (at least handheld). Feel free to cut in front of me in line if I'm sitting there staring at a barrel through my viewfinder for several minutes!

Now, all of this will be accomplished before lunch. Seriously. That's a whole 2 (ish) hours! I'm not carrying any improper expectations here.

Ahem.

Lunch will be at The Plaza at 11:20am. Kathy turned me on to this place for my first solo trip back in 2010, and ever since it's been my favorite place other than LTT lunch at MK.

Well, favorite restaurant at least. There are other places in MK that I enjoy more, like the Haunted Mansion, and the Caribbean (even if there are pirates there), and the track of the Peoplemover, and so on.

So what's the plan after lunch? Who the heck knows. It's pretty open at this time. I'll probably finish up whatever photos I missed and such and then head out.

Now, if I brought Trusty Tripod with me to MK, I'll head right over to Epcot. If not, I'll take a break in the room first. Which brings me to the second half of this day. Epcot.

Now, I know what you're thinking. "Haven't you been to Epcot twice already?" Yes. And I have plans for 3 more times after this one. So, in the forthcoming TR, expect to see a lot of Epcot.

I do plan on being here in the mid to late afternoon, which means the light should be coming from roughly the Canada side of the park, so my goal will be to head to Mexico, China and Norway for some photo work. Trusty Tripod will be with me tonight, so HDR will be taken, including a redo of that Mexico interior shot I took last year.

And some other redos and stuff in Norway and China. Well, not redos in China, just plain dos since I managed to skip that country last year.

Dinner plans are for Hacienda. This is year 3 in a row of going there too. It's my one single MUST DO in Epcot every year (well, that, and San Angel Inn). As you all know (unless you've skimmed, in which case you don't, but you will soon. Unless you're skimming again, in that case... um...) I have a thing for Mexican food. I just enjoy it a lot. Sabor-a-Mexico down the street from me enjoys the fact that I enjoy it a lot (I eat there 2-3 times a week on average.)

So, some yummy Queso Fundido, Arrachea, and dessert that is yet to be determined and I'll roll out of there around 7:30-8pm. (Erm the ADR is for 6:30pm).

And of course, a Margarita or two (Classic, all the way)

​

After dinner, I'll set up against the WS lagoon with my back facing the wind. Hopefully this will be at the WS plaza there between Mexico and Canada. This is where Trusty Tripod comes into play. Last year, I only had my little mini tripod, so I setup on the end of the bridge between the IG and France. That didn't work so well...

...as you can see. (If you're reading this on FB, you can't see. So come to the DISBoards and see! If you don't feel like that, well then just imagine very nice fireworks shots....with a large tree in the lower left third of the image).

So, yes, avoiding the trees this time.

After Illuminations, it's time for bed. Now, I will go back to the resort first before that happens. Since tomorrow is a DHS day, it's probably for the best.

Day 6 - Food Plans

• B - N/A (Main St. Bakery maybe?)
• L - The Plaza (MK) @ 11:20am
• D - Hacienda de San Angel (Epcot - Mexico) @ 6:30pm

Day 6 - Photography Plans

• MK
  • Cindy's Castle HDR
  • BTMRR Exterior HDR
  • HM Exterior HDR
  • Possible PotC queue
  • Assorted missed shots from earlier in the week (daytime)
• Epcot
  • Mexico - Interior and Exterior HDR and Night shots
  • Norway HDR
  • China - Normal, HDR, and Night shots

(See Princess, I told you it'd come later in the week )

 

[PrincessInOz]

Yup, I see Epcot and China. Hope you get a great spot for Illuminations.

Looking forward to the SAI food porn.

 

[oceanwave]

Day 6 is looking good! I won't be stalking you today as we will be heading back home (And that's sad to be going home and not sad to not be stalking you )

So you really like the plazza, I keep hearing mixed reviews. Wondering if I should just suck it up and try it

 

[Cafeen]

Yup, I see Epcot and China. Hope you get a great spot for Illuminations.

Looking forward to the SAI food porn.

I'm hoping for a good spot too, if not, well day 7 is also Illuminations night, so I'll get a 2nd shot (though, I'd like to shoot the 2nd night from Tokyo Dining area to have two sets of views).

I'm thinking more about my China situation and lack of pictures, and I know I need to plan some daylight time there too. Since I'm alone during this part of the trip, and have several more Epcot portions planned (I hop a lot while solo, typically start at one park and end up at a different one), I think I should be able to do it. I also have a total of like, 3 American Adventure pics (and none inside! I haven't seen the show in years).

Day 6 is looking good! I won't be stalking you today as we will be heading back home (And that's sad to be going home and not sad to not be stalking you )

So you really like the plazza, I keep hearing mixed reviews. Wondering if I should just suck it up and try it

Return day is always sad, though after 10 days for me, it's kinda nice to head back home. I'm sure my wallet appreciates it too! The biggest problem at that point is the photo processing, which, considering how picky I am now with it (and how much better I am now than I was then... (these pictures are redone recently, they were a bit worse before)) will take quite awhile. I'm looking upwards of 3-4k pictures total, and even with a 30-40% TR level keeper rate (which is about what last year's was) and a 15-20% Smuggy keeper rate, that's going to take weeks to do.

I love the Plaza. It's simple and a bit crowded at times, and a horrible value on the DDP, but it works for me. My penchant for steak tends to keep me in the black on the dining plan value side anyway .

Heading out to lunch, but after lunch I have another intermission post coming up.

 

[Cafeen]

Intermission #2 - Some Photography Plans​

So far, I've done a day by day photography plans thing. This is where I'm going to list them out to have a general idea of what I want to do. If you feel you want me to shoot something specific, now's the time to let me know! (Or later, at least some time before my trip!)

Today would also mark 2 months before the day before I left for my trip, had I been following my original plans. Instead, I have 77 days left.

So, let's break this down by park...

• General
  • Characters (if no line) (Anywhere)
  • Food Porn (Everywhere)
• MK
  • Iconic pictures in front of castle with Mom (Day 4 MK)
  • Wishes from Train Station (Day 5 MK PM EMH)
  • MSEP from Train Station (Day 5 MK PM EMH)
  • HDR Cindy's Castle (Day 5 MK PM EMH, Day 6 MK)
  • Assorted Nighttime HDR (Day 5 MK PM EMH)
  • Tomorrowland "Light Canyon" at night (Day 5 MK PM EMH)
  • BTMRR Exterior HDR (Day 6 MK)
  • BTMRR On-Ride (Do Overs) (Day 6 MK)
  • HM Exterior HDR (Day 6 MK)
  • PotC Exterior HDR (Day 6 MK)
  • Assorted Missed Shots (Day 6 MK)
• Epcot
  • Icon shots with Mom (Day 5 EP)
  • Illuminations from FW side of lagoon (Day 6 EP)
  • Mexico - Assorted Interior and Exterior HDR shots (Day 6 EP)
  • Norway - Exterior HDR (Day 6 EP)
  • China - Evening Exterior HDR and other assorted evening shots (Day 6 EP)
• AK
  • EE "Action" Shots (repeat of 2011) (Day 3 AK)
  • Safari Shots (always...) (Any day of AK)
  • Nemo Show (Day 3 AK)
  • FotLK (Day 3 AK)
• DHS
  • Assorted shows we attend (Day 2 DHS)
  • Fantasmic! (Day 2 DHS)
  • HDR of Theater and TOT (Day 4 PM Option 3)
  • Assorted Night shots of DHS (Day 4 PM Option 3)
• Misc
  • Resorts
    • Assorted late afternoon/evening shots of Boardwalkif time between Flying Fish and Fantasmic! (Or if time between DHS and Flying Fish)(Day 2 Dinner)
    • HDR and other shots of GFR and Poly (Day 4 PM Option 1)
  • Downtown Disney
    • Assorted shots (including HDR) - Can't plan this too much, since I haven't been there in ~20 years

So, that's the list so far. There's more that I'm going to add to it (like the other countries in Epcot, the trails in AK, etc), but we haven't reached those points in the PTR yet . I still have 1 full day at AK, 1 full day at DHS, 2 Mornings to Afternoons at Epcot, 1 MNSSHP, and 1 either MNSSHP or DHS evening.

(Note: I did just say "after lunch", I didn't necessarily mean "right after lunch" )

 

[PrincessInOz]

Nice looking list. I'm happy for you to stop after the second dot point.

 

[Cafeen]

Nice looking list. I'm happy for you to stop after the second dot point.

Heh yep. I had tried to keep going deeper, and instead I've replaced that with "Assorted" and tried to keep it to the MUST DOs and not trying to list out all the shots.

It's not done yet though... I still have 3 1/2 more days!

----
In other news, I've adjusted the post but felt that I should post it here too. If anything, just to the powers that be don't think I don't post on this thing (kinda like my TR...).

I made a slight change to my Day 5 (Epcot Day on 10/01). I wasn't feeling Chefs, and the menu at Rose and Crown has me quite intrigued lately. Unfortunately, the only dinner time at R&C was 4:35pm. I felt with an 11:30am lunch at San Angel, it'd be pushing it.

So with some tweaking, I got a 12:05pm R&C lunch and a 5:00pm SAI dinner. Only a day later did I realize that this was even closer than the 11:30-4:35 timeframe. DOH! And I say I'm good at math . It'll work anyway, and I'll give Mom the option of coming to SAI with me or heading out before that point (she prefers to drive home when it's still light out, so a 6-6:30pm leaving may be a bit late)

I'm also toying with the idea of a short(er) trip in Feb around my birthday. Depending on when I go with family (*gasp* not solo!) next year, it may make sense to get an AP for this trip and use it for Feb and then late summer/fall (depending on when we go). I've been meaning to call my brother about that for the past 2 months though, and keep forgetting!

 

[PrincessInOz]

You're choosing to eat English food over French food? WOW! or should that be Sacre Bleu!

The good news is that you're having English for lunch....and Mexican for dinner. (Whatever the time difference, maths or no maths). At least you'll remember one decent meal when you go to sleep.


Jokes aside (at the expense of English food....don't worry, it's me and at least 21 million others. It's a very Aussie thing to do; poking fun at the English)....you should get decent English pub style meals at the R&C and if it appeals to you more than Chefs, you made the best decision.