2011/2012 Reunion Cruise?

[Pooh_Girl]

Just wanted to check in and see how you guys are doing. A little less than 2 months before we go to WDW. If you guys get a wild hair and go down there, let us know!!!
Brack-How is JoJo doing?? I hope he is doing okay.

Beth-How are things with the twins?? I'll bet the house is really interesting now a days!!

Wendy-How is everything going with being back home in the states??

Jen-How is everything with the kids being back in school?? Are they happy to be back in school??

 

[BethC1952]

I didn't realize how long it had been since I checked here! We're very busy these days--it's time to start baby-proofing things. Keegan is crawling and Brigid will soon be joining him. He said his first word over the weekend. He watched our big, white, hairy dog for a long time, he petted him, he shared a cookie with him. OK, they didn't share after the dog took a bite! Then, he pointed at this big white polar-bear like dog, and said "Cat"! After we stopped laughing, we tried to get him to say "dog", but that big, white furry dog will now be known as the cat.

Shannan is still being home-schooled, but plans to go back to "real school" next year.

We just finished our plans for our February vacation. We will be taking our cruise on Feb. 20, and then returning to WDW for four days of rest and relaxation. We're going to stay in a Wilderness Cabin and just relax. We're planning on skipping the parks and eating most of our meals in the cabin and just enjoying a few last days of "alone time" before we return to the chaos here!

Beth

 

[Pooh_Girl]

Beth-That is too funny!!! That poor dog!! I'll bet you guys laughed about that for forever. Kids really do the most amazing things and say the darndest things!!

 

[brack]

JoJo is doing much better and is about as normal as any 16 year old poodle can be! He has developed a cough but we have been fighting it with an inhaler (imagine dosing a dog with this!), a nebulizer (like in the hospital) and medicine. It is getting better though. He just came to get a treat .... something he hasn't wanted in a couple of weeks.

 

[brack]

Just wanted to check in and see how you guys are doing. A little less than 2 months before we go to WDW. If you guys get a wild hair and go down there, let us know!!!

What dates are you there? Let us know and we'll see if we can sneek up for a visit.

 

[Pooh_Girl]

What dates are you there? Let us know and we'll see if we can sneek up for a visit.

We will be there November 6-13. Maybe we can have dinner or something!!! Just let us know. We would love to see you guys again!!!

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Jen-How is everything with the kids being back in school?? Are they happy to be back in school??

Hi Tina!

We are settling into a Back to School routine. Will (Grade 4) is attending the same Charter School as Emily (Grade 1) this year. So, no more homeschooling this year. I think I was more nervous about him going back to "regular" school than he was. He has adjusted better than expected. Cole will be with me one more year and then my "baby" starts Kindergarten next August (2010). Where does the time go?

Bill is off in Seattle this week. He flies home tonight. My Mom has kept me company with the kids this week. Having her here has been nice. She is staying with us until the third week of November. Hopefully, her house will be completed by then. I just realized today's date, September 11th. I don't know if Bill knew that when he made his flight plans for today.

I thought of you Tina when I saw a thread on the WDW Moms Panel (you don't have to be a Mom to submit). Last year, Disney asked for regular WDW experts to partner with them to answer questions for newbies on their WDW site. If anyone is interested, they started taking submissions yesterday and will accept the first 20,000 to be considered for the Moms Panel. If chosen, you win a free trip to WDW the second week of December!!!! I applied yesterday.

Moms Panel Website

Jennifer

 

[Pooh_Girl]

Hi Tina!

We are settling into a Back to School routine. Will (Grade 4) is attending the same Charter School as Emily (Grade 1) this year. So, no more homeschooling this year. I think I was more nervous about him going back to "regular" school than he was. He has adjusted better than expected. Cole will be with me one more year and then my "baby" starts Kindergarten next August (2010). Where does the time go?

Bill is off in Seattle this week. He flies home tonight. My Mom has kept me company with the kids this week. Having her here has been nice. She is staying with us until the third week of November. Hopefully, her house will be completed by then. I just realized today's date, September 11th. I don't know if Bill knew that when he made his flight plans for today.

I thought of you Tina when I saw a thread on the WDW Moms Panel (you don't have to be a Mom to submit). Last year, Disney asked for regular WDW experts to partner with them to answer questions for newbies on their WDW site. If anyone is interested, they started taking submissions yesterday and will accept the first 20,000 to be considered for the Moms Panel. If chosen, you win a free trip to WDW the second week of December!!!! I applied yesterday.

Moms Panel Website

Jennifer

I'm glad the kids are enjoying school. It sounds like they go to a really good school. Cherish every moment while Cole is at home. It won't last long at all.
I wish my phone was cooporating today. I will sign up for that ASAP when I get home!!! That sounds awesome!!!

 

[JoiseyMom]

So, any one else interested in Alaska with us? We are hoping for the end of August, the 23??

 

[brack]

So, any one else interested in Alaska with us? We are hoping for the end of August, the 23??

We are definitely interested in the Alaska cruise and are looking at dates. For us though the 23rd of August will conflict with a long standing, annual trip to Lake Junaluska, NC.

 

[JoiseyMom]

We are definitely interested in the Alaska cruise and are looking at dates. For us though the 23rd of August will conflict with a long standing, annual trip to Lake Junaluska, NC.

Well with school and camp that might be the only one that works for us. I am never sure when the kids get out of school, it is usually the last week of June, but with DD in HS then, I have no idea when they have finals and that stuff.... so it weould be either take them outta camp or that week . I just we can get it...I am a silver level .

 

[JsMom2]

According to the new Castaway Club tiers, we're gold. So I'm going to book an Alaska cruise on September 21st when the bookings open. My only problem is I don't know exactly when I'll be leaving PA that summer. It'll probably be early July that we leave, so I'm going to probably do a late May cruise in case we move overseas from here.

We're at Kidani Village right now. My friend and her kids are with us, and they just became DVC members today! We toured the BLT models, and I really loved the 1BR. I ended up adding on 100 pts at Grand Californian because they had a better incentive there. But now that we have more pts I'm going to try to get into BLT for our Feb stay!!

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

So, any one else interested in Alaska with us? We are hoping for the end of August, the 23??

August 23rd is Cole's birthday. I know for us, that date won't work. The kids start school on August 23rd in 2010. However, we would LOVE to do an Alaskan cruise in the future.

Jennifer

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

According to the new Castaway Club tiers, we're gold. So I'm going to book an Alaska cruise on September 21st when the bookings open. My only problem is I don't know exactly when I'll be leaving PA that summer. It'll probably be early July that we leave, so I'm going to probably do a late May cruise in case we move overseas from here.

We're at Kidani Village right now. My friend and her kids are with us, and they just became DVC members today! We toured the BLT models, and I really loved the 1BR. I ended up adding on 100 pts at Grand Californian because they had a better incentive there. But now that we have more pts I'm going to try to get into BLT for our Feb stay!!

What is the new CC tiers system? I haven't heard about that.

How is Kidani Village?!?!?!?! We stay there the first week of December. I can't wait! I have plenty of mid-day breaks scheduled for that trip. So, the kids can play in the water play area. We had fun there this past May just looking around. Somehow, the kids endind up playing and we drove back to POR with three drenched kids.

Congrats for adding on at GCV!!!!

Bill and I will be in CA in April (no kids!!!!). We ran out of time on our last CA trip to check out the new DVC villas at the Grand Californian. I want to make sure to check them out this trip. We may start alternating our Disney trips to east coast and then west coast the next year for some different scenery. Also, Will wants to visit DLR during the holidays to see the modified Haunted Mansion. There is still so much in CA we never got to experience last time. Presently, we have a Disney cruise booked for next November out of Port Canaveral. However, I am 99% sure that cruise will be moved to another date. I really want to sail on one of the new ships in 2011. We'll see ...

Jennifer

 

[JsMom2]

What is the new CC tiers system? I haven't heard about that.

Someone mentioned it on the boards, and I checked the DCL website. If you log in with your Castaway Club number then you'll see a new area for CC members. They now have a tier system like the other cruise lines. If you've taken 5 or more cruises you are Gold, I think it's 10 for Platinum. One of the benefits is you can book the new cruises a week before the public!

How is Kidani Village?!?!?!?! We stay there the first week of December. I can't wait! I have plenty of mid-day breaks scheduled for that trip. So, the kids can play in the water play area. We had fun there this past May just looking around. Somehow, the kids endind up playing and we drove back to POR with three drenched kids.

The 1 BR is awesome! I love the master bath. I had to change my dates from Labor Day, so we weren't able to get a Savannah view. There are lots of places you can go to view the animals but I definitely want a Savannah vew next time.

Congrats for adding on at GCV!!!!

Jennifer

I just realized that the Alaska cruises have a Tuesday start/end date because the ABD Alaska trips have a Wednesday start/end date. I wish it were the other way around, as I'd definitely rather do the cruise second. After looking at the dates, and guessing at my schedule I'm going to book the cruise for June 21st, and plan on booking an ABD trip the week after. Those won't even be announced until August of next year though, so we'll have to see how that shakes out.

We were able to get into BLT in Feb by changing our dates! Btw I heard the quality of the MK view depends upon which floor you're on. Unless you're above the 8th floor you only see treetops. But the guide said that all of the Lake views are beautiful. So we've got a Lakeview Studio.

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Bill finally arrived home early Saturday morning around 1:30 am from his business trip to Seattle. He was suppose to land around 9:35 pm on Friday. However, his plane had to return to Seattle after being airborne for about 35 minutes. His plane had to do an emergency landing due to a malfunction with the plane. He is fine, but was a little hesitant to board the replacement plane.

Here's a news story on his flight ...

By KOMO Staff

SEA-TAC AIRPORT -- A Dallas-bound flight turned around shortly after taking off from Sea-Tac Airport on Friday afternoon.

American Airlines flight 1832 turned around some 35 minutes after taking off around 3:45 p.m. due to what officials described as a warning light with a symptom.

The nature of the emergency was not immediately known, but the plane landed safely. There were no reports of injuries.

Jennifer

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

In case y'all haven't heard, there are going to be some exciting changes to Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom over the next few years ...

Here's the Disney press release on the MK expansion:
WALT DISNEY PARKS AND RESORTS CHAIRMAN JAY RASULO UNVEILS NEW ATTRACTIONS AND EXPERIENCES AT FIRST D23 EXPO

Here's a link to the Orlando Sentinel with an artist's rendering and blueprint of the "new" Fantasyland. It looks amazing!!!!:
Fantasyland Expansion (from Orlando Sentinel)

Check out the links and let me know what you think.

Personally, I think the new princess cottages and castles are trying to compete with the new Harry Potter section at Universal? They look kind of similar. To me, the new section looks like a "Princess World Showcase". I thought Disney was hard up for cash and their earnings were down. What's with all this spending lately? I assume we can see the ticket prices going up and up and up for many years to come.

Jennifer

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

I have to tell you about a funny thing that happened this past weekend ...
It has been raining here in the Dallas area for about four days now. I'm looking out my home-office window and it is still raining! Yesterday, I took a drive out with my Mom to her new house to see the progress. Smartly, I stayed in the car while she hopped out wanting to take some pictures. She carefully walked into the house stepping in mud puddles along the way. When she came out, she wanted to wash off her sneakers. So, she looked for a big semi-clean puddle to rinse off her sneakers. Okay, this is the point where I wish I had my video camera (AFV would have loved this!). My Mom slowly put her foot into the puddle and instead of dipping her foot in and rinsing her shoe and taking it out, she stepped into the puddle to the bottom with all the mud and guck. It was the funniest thing I had every seen. She was knee-deep in this puddle. It was a sight!

Jennifer

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Toy Story Mania comes out on Wii today!!!!!!

Anyone else going to be playing tonight? Bill pre-ordered it months ago. He picks it up at Toys R Us on his way home. Tonight, I am making a quick dinner and we are going to gather around the tv as a family and pretend we are at DHS.

Anyone else?!?!?!?!?!

Jennifer

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Anyone out there ...

Jennifer