Following from the FB group Love your custom bags! They are incredible!
Welcome Clare! Very happy to have your here! Thanks for the compliments.
Hi D! Getting caught up on everything. Glad to hear that things with your dad are going well. All of that can be so overwhelming, even more so during the holidays. The photo board the girls made for his room was so cute. I wish they would have had something like that at the place my grandmother was!
Hi Natalie! Glad to have you back! Thanks you very much... It was kind of a crazy and chaotic holiday for us this year. Thankfully, we hope it will slow down soon.
It was nice to hear about your holidays! Ours went well, until the day after Christmas I dropped my phone in the toilet at best buy. There went the Christmas money I was going to use to buy a new sewing machine. I worked New Years day so I am going to put my holiday pay towards it now.
THanks... I am glad you enjoyed my ramblings. LOL Oh no!!! I cannot believe you dropped your phone in the toilet - that's awful!! Such a bummer that it back-slid your sewing machine purchase. I hope you are able to save enough again soon.
But Aiyana really enjoyed her Christmas! She got her first AG doll from her one Grandmother. She got Kaya. (they are 100% native, so I understand why). Only problem is that she is so afraid to mess it up she wont take it out of the box. Hopefully DH keeps working this Overtime job and we can either get her the new doll of the year (shes a dancer like dd but a blond, unlike dd) or one of the "vaguely looks like me" dolls. She also got a talking minion robot thing and a very annoying furby from the other grandmother. I suggested to my dh that we lock them in a closet and tell them that both go in but only one comes out.... Spartan style..... dd heard me and was not pleased!
Yay for entering the world of AG love! It's such a fun time in a girl's life. It truly is! I enjoyed every moment with my girls. I think that getting another doll for her to actually "play" with is a good thing... But I was also very careful with my girls that these were something special and expensive, so they must be played with accordingly. It taught them how to care for their things and have a greater respect for other's items.
We started making our ADR's for the Birthday trip in June. I am getting more and more excited each day!
Post some of your AG dolls in their cute outfits!!!
Hahaha... I will try... It's kind of a mess right now.
Hope you have a wonderful and fast day at target!
Thanks! I did!
Sending up a prayer that your PF does not give you problems today!!! I hope your day goes really well...and fast! Sorry you didn't make it to the movies, but glad it's on the agenda for Saturday.
Thanks! It wasn't too bad, thankfully.
I got an email about customizing my magic bands and they gave me a date I could begin. It was only about two months prior to my trip, but then I kept changing things so that may have delayed everything.
OK - this is great to know. We have our colors picked out.
Yeh, I TOTALLY get how you feel, the whole looking in the mirror or seeing photos of yourself. That's where I am all the time. It's okay to feel that way, just don't camp out there. I need to listen to my own advise!
I know - it's so hard. One step at a time...
Prayers for your Dad, Tess and family, Sandy and her delivery, and anyone who needs them. Have a great da
Thanks! I hope you had a great day too!
D I received something in the mail on Tuesday I will check it when I get home it said about MB, Dining and FP+ but I don't remember.
Thanks Chiara - no rush, I still have a while, I am sure.
Ok, first of all Memory Maker, I've been doing some research and actually just pre-purchased the package. I also just got this article from Disney Dining that has helped me figure things out.
http://www.disneydining.com/walt-disney-world-memory-maker-101/?utm_source=DisDining+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=1c47349564-DD+Daily+Email&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_585957dd1b-1c47349564-304979841
Here is an except from the article about the dining locations:
Dining Locations included in the Memory Maker package are: 1900 Park Fare(Grand Floridian Resort), Ohana(Polynesian Resort), Princess Storybook Dining(at Norways Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot), Chef Mickeys(Contemporary Resort), Cinderellas Royal Table(Magic Kingdom), Tusker House(Animal Kingdom), Hoop-de-doo Review(Fort Wilderness), and the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show(Polynesian resort).
I will definitely give you a full report on how it works when I get back from my February trip.
Now your other questions about MBs. You cannot make FP+ selections until 60 days out. I'm not sure if there is an exact date when you can customize your MBs but for my latest trip it was about a week before my 60 day mark. I have till January 9th to make any changes to the customization and then they will ship out soon after for our trip which starts on February 8th.
Thanks Ariana! This was very helpful. I am very interested in your review from your next trip, to see how it all goes together.
Hi D - Wanted to give you an update on our experience with the MBs. We were there 2x in the Fall when it was still in testing. IMO the bands are fine, take some getting use to as you wear it on your wrist like a watch, but all in all they worked out great. We also got to test out the FP+ and when we were there had no problems switching times around if our "booked" times didn't work out. I expect that will be a little harder now that MBs and FP+ have been rolled out to all of the resorts. Currently, I believe off-site guests can only book FP+ at AK and then on the day that they arrive. FP- (the old system) still functions at all the parks except AK, though I expect by the time you go this summer that all the parks will have done away with FP-.
To do the MBs you have to have a disney resort reservation booked. You then go into the
MDE site and link all the people in your party so that you can do the booking for them (this is easiest if you all want to have the same FP+ times). You can customize your MBs up to 30 days before your trip at which time they ship them to you. On the MDE site you go to the drop down menu for MBs and select the colors for each member of your party.
The FP+ is a little more complicated. You have to have tickets linked to each persons reservation in order to book the FP+ reservations. I am not sure how you are booking your trip but make sure that you can link the tickets in MDE or you won't be able to book your FP+ 60 days in advance. Once the 60 day mark happens you again log onto the MDE site and go to FastPass Plus and select the day and the park and then your rides. Currently there is tiering at several parks. For example at Epcot there are 2 tiers. Tier one is TT, Soarin and Malestrom. You can only pick one for that day. The other rides are all tier 2 and you can select 2 more rides. At HS, TSMM and RnR are Tier 1 (there might be others) and ToT and the other rides are Tier 2. Again, you only get 1 tier 1 ride and 2 of the others. Many people are very upset with this system and I can say I am not a big fan either but for now that is how it works. Again, if you have your daughters and your BFFs reservations linked in your MDE account you can do all the FP+ rides for everyone. Also, I think about 2 weeks out you can also get FP+ for parades and special fireworks viewing spots. These are Tier 1 bookings for Epcot and HS so not sure if it is really worth it. Some people have reported getting a 4th FP+ for parades but I think this is a glitch in the system as not everyone has been successful.
Anyway, it is a big change but not something that can be handled. Also, not sure if you are aware but when booking dining reservations they now require a credit card for all TS restaurants. They charge $10 pp if you cancel in less than 24 hours. There have been reports that people are being charged. I only say this for your arrival day reservation. Might make it a little later to make sure you will get there in time. I am not exactly sure what happens if you have the dining plan, but I think you still need to put the cc down when you book.
Hope this helps explain a little bit about the changes. I expect more things will change between now and this summer...
Heather
Thanks so much, Heather, for writing this out for me. I really appreciate it. Well, we have a package, so our tickets are already linked.
I did know about the $10 deposit... It kind of sucks, but I do understand. I might have to talk to bff about switching around our arrival night dinner - especially since all of the ADRs will be on my card.
We didn't get to go see Saving Mr. Banks either...thanks to Mother Nature!
I'm glad you are getting some answers on your dad's financial stuff (it confuses me to no end).
Hope you have a great day.
Oh, we got our MB's about 6 weeks before our trip.
Bummer about mother nature canceling your movie day... We are supposed to go tomorrow, but mother nature may be cancelling ours too. I just called Josh and "advised" him to get off work early today if possible, as the highway to our house is starting to drift closed.
It may just be a netflix weekend for us.
It seems to be one step forward, two steps back with my dad's stuff... but I just have to keep muddling through it.
I hope you have wonderful day too!
Sorry you didn't get to see MR. Banks yet- the dinner and company sounds well worth it though. I have a hard time staying up late and functioning the next day too. Bad habit over school vacation is staying up too late- hard to recover when it's back to the grind!
Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards
Yes, dinner and company was worth it - we are so lucky to have such fun/great/trustworthy neighbors.
I just never get a chance to stay up late - my body refuses... It's a common joke in our house, once I have dinner, I am done usually. LOL
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!
I wrote an entire reply and lost.
I have been reading along when I can. It gives me a break from my insanity from work.
So glad that that your dad is doing and adjusting well. It is such a relief when they are happy.
Woohoo on the ADR's.
Thoughts and prayers to all!
Hi Lynee! Happy New Year to you too! I hate it when that happens - Since I've started copying my posts before I hit the post button, it rarely happens to me now.
Thanks - I am happy my dad is adjusting too... He seems so much happier.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend - thanks for taking the time to check in, I really appreciate it.
WOW!
I take a little break from reading and you go along without me! LOL!
Hopefully I can get back on and read the last 10 pages or so...I have been following on FB, so I am not completely lost...just mostly! LOL
Nini
Sorry... I knew you'd be back eventually. LOL I"ve missed seeing you around these parts, but thankfully I see you in other places too - so I know all is well.
I wish it would have made me go into labor. I'm so ready for this baby to be here but I know he'll be here when he's good and ready. The play doh experience went ok. I only opened the really small set she got today but now she wants me to open the bigger sets and I told her we'd see, maybe tomorrow I'll open more.
Hope your foot didn't act up too much today.
I was able to customize our bands around the 180 mark. But I have until May (I don't remember the exact day) to make any changes.
I know you are ready... Alli was 2 weeks late - and boy was I READY. LOL She was just too comfy in there to want to come out. LOL
Yay that you survived the Play Doh... HOpefully today goes just as well with it.
Foot is OK - thanfully. As the day goes on, it's getting better and better.
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As you all see, I am late responding today, and I've only quoted who posted before I started this post this morning. I had to take a break and run V to an appointment in town.
After that, it's been non-stop phone calls about my dad, trying to get things straightened out. It's such a mess, I just don't even know where to go from here?
The good thing, is that he is getting healthier and healthier by the day... Predict he'll be running circles around me soon enough - and that is no exaggeration. He is just doing THAT well! It makes me so happy to hear and see him being so happy. It sounds like the nursing home is planning his discharge meeting for early next week! How fabulous is that?
The attached assisted living apartments have an opening that they are holding for him, so he can go directly from the nursing home to the assisted living apartment. This is so HUGE! They are just waiting on a few pieces of paperwork from us - which unfortunately are "somewhere' in my dad's current apartment. We are hoping we find that info when we are cleaning it out next week.
As for the messy part... Well... It's just a financial nightmare for him. As it turns out - he was renting his apartment under a suppliment from the government. As soon as they found out he was in a nursing home, they yanked his suppliment. Since we were not able to move him out that week, in the office lady's exact words "we
DON'T pay for
storage!!!"
Sigh... I get that, but geez... No need to be rude about it or anything. I was bawling my eyes out in Target this morning because she was just that awful to me... I was very nice to her until she hung up, and then I used a few choice words that I don't often use to describe people. I hope she heard me though. Long story short... My dad has to pay the full month of rent for January, with out any subsidy... Which he has the $$ for, thankfully... but then he won't have $$ to move into his assisted living apartment. So, I am trying to work that issue and see if we can't figure something out for him. If worse comes to worse, Josh and I can pull it out of savings.
Josh is supposed to go up to my Dad's apartment on Monday to start packing and moving him, however, the Governor just shut down the entire school system in the state for Monday, because it is supposed to be dangerously cold. I plan to urge Josh to either stay home and wait until Tuesday... Or travel on Sunday. It's just a really horrible week to have this happen... It needs to be done sooner, rather than later... The sooner we have his apartment packed and cleaned, the sooner they management company can get in there and do what they need to do to flip it and get it rented asap.
Prayers for a smooth transition here would be great - as there is NO WAY my dad could pay the full month's rent for 2 months... It's bad enough he has to do it for one.
So, that's my morning... It's been so crazy and so disheartening.
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I do have one teeny-tiny trip update...
Josh was in a very good mood last night, and unbeknownst to me that V was going to do this... She blurted out at dinner last night "Can we go back to Disney?" Of course, Josh said "No"... but he did say it with a smile on his face... So there's still hope...
I wish all of you a fantastic rest of your day... My thoughts and prayers are with all of you who need them.
D~
I'm so ready for this baby to be here but I know he'll be here when he's good and ready. The play doh experience went ok. I only opened the really small set she got today but now she wants me to open the bigger sets and I told her we'd see, maybe tomorrow I'll open more.
BTW~ Saving Mr. Banks is SO GOOD!!! You are going to LOVE IT! 
I will definitely own it when it comes out on DVD! 
But hey, I am here. 
So good to see you running in the same Dis circle I am again, Lidian! I have missed your....ahem...sense of humor 
