ª"˜˜ª¤.¸Official Team August 2013 Thread!¸.¤ª˜˜"ª&#9733

[momto3gr8boys]

QOTD??? In The News...

What's the craziest thing YOU ever brought to Disney??

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — A Walt Disney World patron on a ride with her grandson found a loaded gun on her seat.
Officials said Wednesday that the woman found the pistol on the Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom. The woman gave the loaded weapon to a park attendant, who then contacted her manager and authorities.
The owner of the gun, Angelo Lista, told authorities that he discovered his firearm was missing several minutes after leaving the ride. He has a concealed weapons permit.
Lista told authorities he didn't know Disney World patrons weren't allowed to bring guns. He said he thought the security checkpoint at the entrance to the central Florida park was only so guards could check bags for bombs or explosives.
Disney World prohibits patrons from bringing weapons of any kind on its property.

Ugh!!! Ok, I admit to totally burying my head in the sand on this one - I can't even read the news articles about it. It feels like such a violation to have something as pure as Disney (ok, I know, I'm naive) should be tainted with this and that dry ice bomb at DL. There's too much of this in the real world - I want it out of my happy place!

Ok, but as for the actual question....not sure. I tend not to overpack (I'm a I can buy it if I forget it kind of person), maybe lugging all our pin books is a bit over the top? I don't think we've done that in a while though.

 

[momto3gr8boys]

I'm the worst about guilt with the kids! DD went to daycare for 3 years and I ended up getting a second job at her "school" just to snoop out exactly what kind of place it was.... I have left DS exactly 3 times since he was born. I was okay the two times DH watched him, but we let the in laws watch the kids one night to go to a movie and I couldn't enjoy myself - and the kids were asleep the whole time! I couldn't imagine going on vacation without them, I'd just feel horrible for leaving them out. I kind of hope my conscious will clear when they're older - I need some mama time eventually!

I was like that when they were babies - don't worry, it will ease up and you'll get your time away. It just may not be at Disney

 

[momto3gr8boys]

This thread is moving fast! I had an unexpected visit to the hospital yesterday for excruciating abdominal pain. It felt like something was about to rupture, and it turned out be a kidney stone. One day away, and I come back to five pages?!? Has anyone had a kidney stone before? I hope I never get one again!

Oh my gosh...hugs! I never had one, but I hear they are excruciating. I'm sorry you had to go through that.

 

[momto3gr8boys]

I think I speak for all of us when I say

THANK YOU!!!!!!!

for all the hard work you put into managing the lists on this thread.

You rock!

Ditto!

 

[momto3gr8boys]

Has anyone done the Family Magic Tour or whatever it's called at MK? Trying to decide if it'd be a good addition to our plans or not...DS6 and DD2...

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We did it and had a great time! We had enough people in our group that it was just us, and the kids' ages at the time were 13, 12, 11, 8 and 8 (and a bunch of us big kids!). Our guide was awesome, and would make us do all these silly things like skip along and sing Disney songs, act like our favorite characters, etc.

And I don't know if this is typical, but we had such a pixie dusting at the end! He gave us a yellow piece of paper that acted as a FP for the rest of the day (and alternate access when there was no FP)! It was awesome!

 

[jdd]

Wow - I've really gotten behind - this thread moves fast!

I'm so sorry to hear about those of you battling heath issues, and dealing with loss. My thoughts and prayers are with each of you as you go through these difficult times. Hoping for happier days ahead for everyone

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Oh my gosh...hugs! I never had one, but I hear they are excruciating. I'm sorry you had to go through that.

Thanks, I'm feeling better. Hoping for a speedy recovery for you as well! Let us know how your tests and therapies progress.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Oh my gosh, that must have been so scary! Do you have to have regular follow-ups for that? At 24 I am sure that was the last thing on your mind as well!

I was treated for 11 years at a hospital in Toronto that has an entire wing dedicated to the neurosciences. Initially, I had an awake craniotomy to remove the tumour by the most amazing neurosurgeon EVER....I owe my life to him and his amazing team. After 10 years, they stopped my seizure medication and thankfully, I have had no recurrent issues (despite some residual scar tissue that remains). After 11 years, the doc wished me a good life and send me on my way .... after, with a shaking head and a smile, the declaration of "I just don't know what to do with you! You are not supposed to be this healthy!" . (in 1998, I was given a 50% change of living 5 years)

I am lucky. Jake was just two when I was diagnosed. I bought him the book "Love You Forever" that Christmas, and wrote to him in it in case I wasn't there to tell him my feelings later in life. There isn't a day that goes by that I'm not grateful for the privilege of living. I attended a support group for many years here in my hometown for brain tumor patients and survivors, and so many of my friends lost their battle.

I am so happy to hear that your arm is resuming its normal function! Woohoo!

 

[amomma23]

We did it years ago and it was a blast! We waddled like penguins, had the opportunity to sit with PP at Mickey's Philharmagic, and had a private M&G to name just a few of the fun things we did.

We did it and had a great time! We had enough people in our group that it was just us, and the kids' ages at the time were 13, 12, 11, 8 and 8 (and a bunch of us big kids!). Our guide was awesome, and would make us do all these silly things like skip along and sing Disney songs, act like our favorite characters, etc.

And I don't know if this is typical, but we had such a pixie dusting at the end! He gave us a yellow piece of paper that acted as a FP for the rest of the day (and alternate access when there was no FP)! It was awesome!

I just booked this! We're going August 18. We were thinking about doing the dessert party again, but I think 10:00pm is going to be too late for the kids. I just read your posts and checked it out. I was surprised the cost wasn't . We got the Disney Visa discount, too! Looks like fun. Thanks for posting OP!

 

[cinnderly]

I am lucky. Jake was just two when I was diagnosed. I bought him the book "Love You Forever" that Christmas, and wrote to him in it in case I wasn't there to tell him my feelings later in life. There isn't a day that goes by that I'm not grateful for the privilege of living. I attended a support group for many years here in my hometown for brain tumor patients and survivors, and so many of my friends lost their battle.

Oh jeeze, that book makes me cry anyway, and now your story... That must have been a very scary time. I'm so glad to hear it made you look at life with gratitude, a lesson we all need -- and often. (My son is Jake too, btw.)

Speaking of gratitude -- I'm a massage therapist and yesterday I worked on people for the Wounded Warriors Project. They are an amazing non-profit and doing really great work -- much better than the VA, from what I hear. The first person I worked on was wheelchair bound, almost totally non-verbal, and with very limited command over his body. He must have had a serious brain injury, but I'm not privy to the details. He will turn 21 in November. I'll never forget him and his mom. It shouldn't be so easy to forget that we're in a war still, and that peoples lives are being drastically altered every minute as a result. Sometimes I worry and complain about stupid things. What a waste of time, right?

I wish all of you who are having health issues and losses in your life much love and light.

 

[JavArmy]

Just wanted to brag that our trip is paid off!! Wahoo!! I'm so excited, only 64 more days to go. I wish I was doing online check in so I had something to look forward to, but oh well!

 

[Loreli]

Oh, man...ok, well we are missing MV3D no matter what. But we are arriving on the 18th. I wasn't planning on us going to the MK, but they do have EMH that night and are open to 1 am.

Hmmm....ok, here's the current plan. Let me know what you would do (and of course this will be subject to the exhaustion level/mood of the group!).

We currently have an early flight out of JFK (7:20 am) on the 18th. This means we need to leave for the airport at 5:30ish, which means waking up in the 4 am range (ugh, what was I thinking ). We will land around 10, probably get to the BC at 11:30 and check-in.

I have a 12:45 Captain's Grill ADR which I made only because I didn't want to be left with no plan and hungry kids. There is a ton of availability there, so I also figured we could head over there earlier if needed, or just cancel it altogether and grab something at the MP.

We then have the afternoon to either walk over to HS for a bit (the recommended park of the day), and then head to Epcot for dinner and then bed.

Or, we could go straight to Epcot for the day.

Or we could swim/hang out/settle in and then go to Epcot around 5.
We have a 7:25 dinner ADR at Le Cellier, which short of our plane being delayed by 12 hours, I am not giving up. We may or may not make it out in time for Illuminations - not a big deal.

But now knowing that the JC will be closing, do we head over to the MK after dinner just to ride it? Does it even run at night? - I can't remember ever riding it in the dark now that I think about it. And of course just hitting the MK for a bit would be nice since it's not really Disney until you are there. I'm just concerned about really pushing too hard that first day. The next day we will be at Epcot all day, with no ADRs and a break whenever we want, so we don't have to be up at the crack of dawn.

I can just go with the flow and see how we are after dinner, but if we really want to try to go, then I think it would be smarter to insist on some down time at the pool before dinner.

So, what would you do?

JC at MK!!! Call and find out if they do it at night. We will be in MK that day. As a good Dis Buddy I could always ride JC for you, take pics and tell you all about how great it was

 

[KSL]

Hi everyone! Gosh, it's been forever since I've posted, but I have been trying to keep up. There are 20-30 pages or so I somewhere in the mid-hundreds that think I missed but it moves so fast I gave up and am just keeping current at this point (or trying to)!

Seneca, I'm sorry to read of your loss. For everyone struggling with health issues for themselves or loved ones, wishing you strength and healing! Prayers out to all.

I have missed SO MANY QOTDs! Here are a few recent ones that I thought I could respond to (sorry, I haven't mastered the multi-quote thing):

How long is too long?
My family of 5 took my mother in 2011 for 12 nights and by about night 10 we were feeling like we'd seen most of what we wanted and were feeling OK about going home. We were pretty go-go-go and I think just exhausted by that point. This year we are trying another trip for 12 nights (just the 5 of us), and are planning a much more relaxed pace. If we still feel like 10 nights was enough we will know for next time and save our points!

Trip without the kids?
YES!! DH and I both love Disney, so we celebrated our 10th anniversary with a quick 3 days at WDW and our 15th anniversary with 5 days at DL, both trips without our kids. They were fine with it, but they were conditioned because we took each of our girls for their first visit by themselves the August before they started 1st grade. So they were each left behind twice for those trips as well, and they know how much fun it is to be at their grandparents' while we are away!

Craziest thing you've brought?
I can't think of anything too crazy that I've brought up to now, but this year is the first time we are planning to drive and I am actually thinking of bringing my drying rack!! That's crazy, right!? I know it is. We swim a LOT and no one wants to put on a wet suit, so we bring several apiece and it will be so much easier to dry them this way versus trying to get them all on the line in the shower and then what if someone wants a shower, etc. We'll see whether it makes it into the van or not....!!

I will try to stay more up to date and post more often.

-KSL

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Oh jeeze, that book makes me cry anyway, and now your story... That must have been a very scary time. I'm so glad to hear it made you look at life with gratitude, a lesson we all need -- and often. (My son is Jake too, btw.)

lol, mine was supposed to be a Luke. I am not sure what happened at the hospital, but lo and behold.......I ended up with a Jake . DH must have caught me in a weak moment.....can't even blame it on the drugs 'cause I didn't get to the hospital in time for any .

Just wanted to brag that our trip is paid off!! Wahoo!! I'm so excited, only 64 more days to go. I wish I was doing online check in so I had something to look forward to, but oh well!

Woo hoo!!! Way to go!

 

[Koh1977]

Currently booked at AKL pool view. Thinking about switching to AoA finding nemo suite...would be $200 more I believe...thoughts? Am I crazy?

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[Mrs. M. Mouse]

Currently booked at AKL pool view. Thinking about switching to AoA finding nemo suite...would be $200 more I believe...thoughts? Am I crazy?

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I live AKL son personally i wouldnt switch but i think you get more space in the nemo suite...

 

[pigletto]

Howdy Dis friends!!!
Just doing a quick check in today. I am finding it hard to keep up and feel badly that I don't comment on all the posts. Please know if I pick out one or two to respond to it's because I feel like I have something useful to share or say, but I do read every post from all of you and stay updated with you guys when I can! I just love this thread and planning with you guys!! Lurkers and newbies, please jump right in.. we want to hear your plans too!!!

I am getting some gardening done this weekend and going to the drive-in tonight. I was trying to plan a quick long weekend trip to Lake George for when school ends. I don't know that I can make it work.
3 nights in a decent clean hotel or motel, plus food, gas and attractions for the 4 of us for 3 nights is looking to be around $1200 -$1500

When I think that's a third of my trip budget for August I don't think it's a good idea right now. And my summer trip is 10 nights, Disney tickets, a dining plan, flights from Canada to Florida and spending money! We'll see but it's probably a better idea to pay off the Disney trip balance and spend the summer doing local activities.. I just can't believe it's $200 a night for a motel room in the mountains!

 

[sahmoffour]

Wow, this thread moves so fast! I've spent the past few days trying to catch up on reading about 30 pages and have missed so much! Going to try to make an honest effort to keep up with this thread as whenever I'm having a bad day, just coming here cheers me up and gets me excited for our upcoming trip.

Seneca, I'm so sorry for your loss of your mother.

As for all the QOTD that I've missed, I'm going to try to catch up a bit like KSL did above:

How long is too long?
*Whatever trip length we can afford is perfect! Our last 2 trips were 10 days, this trip will be 7 since it's kid-free, and next year we're hoping to go around 11-12 days, possibly 14 if we can swing the price. Honestly I could spend a month at Disney at it wouldn't be too long!

Kid free trip?
*Definitely! We still have young kids, and I do feel a bit guilty not taking them, but dh and I need some time to ourselves too and we deserve it. We've gone the last 2 years in a row with the kids for 10 days each trip, and we're going next year for even longer as a whole family again. DH and I were going to go on an alone trip this year no matter what, we just so happened to pick WDW as our destination. I feel a bit guilty as I know the kids would love to go, but they understand that we need time together alone as well. It's important to us to maintain our relationship too, and with four kids we give a huge part of our time and attention to them. So even though I know the kids would love to go with us, I don't feel too bad as we deserve to treat ourselves once in awhile too.

Other family holidays planned for this summer?
We're heading on a camping trip at the end of this month for a few days, and hitting up the zoo and a park while we're gone. The rides will be pitiful compared to Disney but kids will still enjoy it! We're also going to Banff for a camping/hiking trip for a week too.

 

[Loreli]

Just called WDW to request a specific building at Coronado Springs. Cabana 8a. It's by the big pool and the bus stop. Hopefully we will get it. I thought about the really pretty Casitas... But they are too far from the big pool. There are no known conventions the week we are there... I hope and pray the info is accurate.

Hot here today, 96 deg when we went to Lowes to get that spongy insulation you put around the a/c units. Hope my brother will come Sunday for dinner and help me put the units in the windows. Old house, so hot ya can't even go up stairs. DD7 is in the sprinkler in last years swimsuit. Lets just say its not fitting as well as last year. Swim suits already almost gone from our local WalMart. Ok now I am just chattering on.

 

[cinnderly]

A friend of mine stayed in 8a last year, at her request, and we were in Casitas 4, per my request. They were good about meeting requests. There was a convention, but it was barely noticeable, I only saw the signs for it. We were there the last week of August. What week are you going?