ª"˜˜ª¤.¸Team August 2013 Thread! (Part 2)¸.¤ª˜˜"ª&#9733

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Have a great weekend Gina!

Thanks, pigletto .

Had a wonderful day yesterday at the Falls. We're on the top floor in a beautiful loft room with a gorgeous view from our balcony:



And we even had a little "Disney-like" touch waiting for us. Yep, a towel animal......first time in all of our stays at the lodge!



Today, more waterparking and Clifton Hill!

I have a QOTD, providing it hasn't been asked yet in the posts I may have missed in these 39 pages -- ARE YOUR SUITCASES OUT YET??

Suitcases are out and in use as we speak, but not for our Florida trip. We usually only break them out a week or so before we leave (otherwise, our cat gets pretty stressed and silly as it sounds, we don't like to upset the old girl). I do have a tote in our closet where we're accumulating some of our travel stuff, so its all in one spot when packing time comes.

Gina, We were so annoyed that JetBlue ended the 6AM direct SYR to MCO. That plus the $600 savings for a party of 4 means a trip to BUF for us. Save a bit more time for security at SYR than you are used to- the renovations are finished, security has been consolidated, and it is a bit bottlenecked at times. They may work out some glitches before August, but I understand it's been a bit longer wait than it used to be.

We were a little disappointed too. But this still works out okay for us (and our teen DS is thrilled....the less early he has to get up, the better, in his opinion ). We did check Buffalo rates for our travel dates and they were higher than SYR (though the opposite was true for our Christmas vacation..........funny how it really just depends). We enjoy flying from both airports so either option is viable for us! Both are much, much easier (and wayyyy more affordable) than flying from Toronto.

 

[joshsmom]

Good morning all!! I posted this on the August DIS Facebook page, but wanted to post here too:

I'm going to post here and on the DIS Cancellation thread. I am going to cancel the Wishes Dessert Party for the night of 8/7 for 3 people. I reserved the party for two nights, not knowing which one would fit better with our schedule. I'm keeping 8/1 and giving up 8/7. If anyone is interested in trying to coordinate this, I will cancel today, 6/30, at 3pm Central time. I hope one of my DIS friends can get this reservation. According to several people who have called, the Dessert Party is sold out for this date.

 

[squirrel4569]

Just reading about Frog Toggs......are they a must have? What are your experiences?

What kind of bag do you take in the parks and what do you pack in it each day (we have a preschooler and a toddler)?

What do you do with your stuff when you ride on rides?

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If the bag can't go on the ride and all of our party is riding (DH hates rides and my dad is unable to ride a few) then I'll chance leaving it in the stroller. I live on the edge.

We pack a drawstring type bag that can hang on the stroller or be carried easily if needed. The ones we have are nylon so if they get wet they are usually ok. Most of the time we live on the edge too and just park the stroller with our stuff in it. We've never had a problem even with leaving our cameras, some shopping bags, etc. The only challenge is when the Disney Stroller Parking Staff wants to move your stroller you have that brief moment of panic when it isn't where you left it.

We'll pack wipes, sanitizer, dry snacks, water bottles, iPods for the kids (for the lines), band aids, charging cords for our phones, battery backup, change of clothes depending on the time of year, ponchos, hairbrush, etc. There's more but I can't recall what off the top of my head.

Here is another bunch of questions!!!!

Ok experienced drivers....What is your arrival plan? Do you stop and get groceries/must haves before entering the resort or do you check in first and then head out.....or do you bypass and use Garden Grocer? What do you pack from your home grocer? What are the other advantages of having your own car besides free parking/no Dis transportation to deal with? What size milk can we fit in the Pop refrigerator?

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We hit the store before we leave the house. Advantages to having your own car really is the ability to go off property if you'd like, getting to DTD is WAY easier and bypassing the busses if they aren't your thing. I also think we spent less on things from the gift shop because we weren't passing through it on our way to and from everywhere. Another fun advantage to having your own car is that you can bring whatever you'd like without dealing with weight limits on your luggage, bag fees, etc. We brought our Keurig and a bottle of Irish Cream on our last trip. (the Irish Cream is great with the hot chocolate at the resorts too) Same goes for coming home. You shouldn't have to leave something behind because you can't take it on the plane.

 

[cinnderly]

Woohoo, finally got a decent rate for a car rental! I like Alamo, but their rates were still too high for me. So I searched around, and Enterprise gave me $176 for the 9 days. Since it's me and my son I just get an economy, but economy with Alamo was $336! Anyone looking for a rental, just FYI.

49 days today. Is the summer already going by too fast?

 

[maddiebee]

Can you wear the frog togs tied around your neck like a bandana or do you just drape them around your shoulders?

 

[CerysG]

Just reading about Frog Toggs......are they a must have? What are your experiences?

What kind of bag do you take in the parks and what do you pack in it each day (we have a preschooler and a toddler)?

What do you do with your stuff when you ride on rides?

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

I'm thinking of getting some bandana type ones to try before we go. There are some other brands that have ones I like better as they are just a band you tie around your neck but I don't know if they are as good. I will get that brand and Frogg Toggs to try out before we go and see if which are better. Any edge over the heat would be good.

 

[CerysG]

Had a rough day at work on Friday so I needed a pick me up and so I broke down and did online check in! I'd been debating if it was a good idea or not as we want connecting rooms but as I left that as our only special request I think we should be ok. DH and I looked at a resort map and figured it really didn't matter where they put us since you either would be walking over the island or around the lake and it didn't look like there was to much difference. I told him that a big reason people don't like CBR is it's big and they might have to walk 10 minutes to get to the pool and main building...he rolled his eyes...we are walkers so we should be ok no matter where they put us. I can see people who have little kids or older family members might want to be closer to the main build or pool but for us we would be good any place. So fingers crossed for the connecting rooms and the only other thing that would be nice is not having to look over a parking lot but it's not the end of the world if we do.

 

[thetorit]

Has anyone looked into Kenny the Pirate's Character Locator app? My friend swears by him so I'll be trying out his app when we're in the World. I even check it now when I need a Disney pick me up

 

[jdd]

I told him that a big reason people don't like CBR is it's big and they might have to walk 10 minutes to get to the pool and main building...he rolled his eyes...we are walkers so we should be ok no matter where they put us. I can see people who have little kids or older family members might want to be closer to the main build or pool but for us we would be good any place. So fingers crossed for the connecting rooms and the only other thing that would be nice is not having to look over a parking lot but it's not the end of the world if we do.

That always made me laugh about the resort being "too big". We actually love a bigger resort in that it gives us a place to take a morning walk while the kids are sleeping in. I also think having a nice, spread out resort makes things much more peaceful. CBR is a fantastic resort - have a wonderful trip!!

 

[Koh1977]

Has anyone looked into Kenny the Pirate's Character Locator app? My friend swears by him so I'll be trying out his app when we're in the World. I even check it now when I need a Disney pick me up

I didn't know he had an app!

 

[poohlover4life]

That always made me laugh about the resort being "too big". We actually love a bigger resort in that it gives us a place to take a morning walk while the kids are sleeping in. I also think having a nice, spread out resort makes things much more peaceful. CBR is a fantastic resort - have a wonderful trip!!

I must agree with you there. DH and I have stayed at the CSR twice and I thought it was lovely! I didn't mind the size at all. If anything it made me feel less cramped lol! But this year we went for a smaller resort just for the fun of trying something different. I'm posotive there are benifits for being at a smaller resort but I also think there are benifits for the larger ones too!

 

[Loreli]

Has anyone looked into Kenny the Pirate's Character Locator app? My friend swears by him so I'll be trying out his app when we're in the World. I even check it now when I need a Disney pick me up

I am trying to remember if its only for IPhone. Or only for android.... It was on Beta testing last I knew.

 

[thetorit]

I didn't know he had an app!

I am trying to remember if its only for IPhone. Or only for android.... It was on Beta testing last I knew.

I have it on my android. I purchased the pro version... I can't remember why, I think for no ads? Love the lay out, and at least here at home with my wonderful Wi-Fi it loads super quickly. Characters are a big part of this trip - we're doing a character meal every day! It's what DD is looking forward to most.

Kenny also posted that Sofia is more likely to first appear in August now (August 11), instead of July. I was worried she'd be a limited time character, but now even if she is, she should be there for our trip! Yay! We're going to get Character Wasted!

 

[joshsmom]

I didn't know he had an app!

I have the app. I haven't used it at WDW yet because I just bought it. But its fun to play with and dream. I have an android.

 

[thetorit]

Just found a tip on the KtP app that anyone can go into Tony's Town Square Restaurant and request Lady and the Tramps autograph at the check - in desk. You don't meet them, but it's stamped for you. Cute!

 

[cinnderly]

Just adding our reservations since I didn't before.

Via Napoli Lunch 8/19
12:45 PM

50's Prime Time Dinner 8/19
7:40 PM

Bistro de Paris Dinner 8/20
7:30 PM

Boatwright's Dinner 8/21
7:30 PM

Ohana's Breakfast 8/22
8:50 AM

Sanaa Dinner 8/22
7:05 PM

Sci-Fi Lunch 8/23
12:50 PM

Chef Mickey's Breakfast 8/24
7:25 AM

Restaurant Marrakesh Dinner 8/24
6:00 PM

Most of these are on free dining, but 3 will be out of pocket. Free Dining only covers us the 18th-23rd -- would Sci-Fi lunch be the cheapest? The reservations on the 24th I will have to pay for.

 

[Koh1977]

I have it on my android. I purchased the pro version... I can't remember why, I think for no ads? Love the lay out, and at least here at home with my wonderful Wi-Fi it loads super quickly. Characters are a big part of this trip - we're doing a character meal every day! It's what DD is looking forward to most.

Kenny also posted that Sofia is more likely to first appear in August now (August 11), instead of July. I was worried she'd be a limited time character, but now even if she is, she should be there for our trip! Yay! We're going to get Character Wasted!

I was hoping she'd be there by the time we went! :-/

 

[Koh1977]

Just found a tip on the KtP app that anyone can go into Tony's Town Square Restaurant and request Lady and the Tramps autograph at the check - in desk. You don't meet them, but it's stamped for you. Cute!

Will have to do that!! Thanks for the tip!

 

[lovingeire]

Just found a tip on the KtP app that anyone can go into Tony's Town Square Restaurant and request Lady and the Tramps autograph at the check - in desk. You don't meet them, but it's stamped for you. Cute!

That's a cool tip! I didn't know that! We are eating there so now I just have to remember to ask!

 

[thetorit]

I was hoping she'd be there by the time we went! :-/

I'm sorry! Maybe he's a big fat liar?