2012? No Problem...but when?

[NiniMorris]

Got the notice that our Income tax refund is in. So, we need to make the final determination as to which time we are going. Are we going to hold out for the free dining (so if FD isn't offered at Nov/Dec than we will go in Sept/Oct) or go with the dates we want.


After MUCH discussion ...hubby decided the $2000 was just too much to leave on the table. So, we still don't know for sure which dates we are going. I have this terrible feeling it will be the Sept/Oct dates.

So, I guess I need to seriously look at the actual dates and make some dining plans. I really want to add another day at the end of the trip. I like having the extra day's worth of dining options. I really want a full day of resort time. Of course, since we probably won't be doing the Halloween Party the cost wil be about the same.


On my agenda for this afternoon is to check out the days in Sept/Oct and actually work a bit harder on getting the dining plan figured out...I only have 6 weeks until I make my ADRs!




------


Also, it looks like the Grand Princess will be having her surgery on her foot/leg much sooner than anticipated. (which actually works out better for their Disney trip) She will be in a cast for a total of 12 weeks, six of which will be in a cast to her bum, and in a wheel chair. The last 6 weeks she will have a walking boot.

Since we want to take her with us to Tybee Island in late June, we are hoping they go ahead and get it scheduled so we can still take her.

Her mommy is getting her a new AG doll with a cast, and I am making her a matching set of PJs or gown for the two of them.



Nini

 

[DMGeurts]

Got the notice that our Income tax refund is in. So, we need to make the final determination as to which time we are going. Are we going to hold out for the free dining (so if FD isn't offered at Nov/Dec than we will go in Sept/Oct) or go with the dates we want.


After MUCH discussion ...hubby decided the $2000 was just too much to leave on the table. So, we still don't know for sure which dates we are going. I have this terrible feeling it will be the Sept/Oct dates.

So, I guess I need to seriously look at the actual dates and make some dining plans. I really want to add another day at the end of the trip. I like having the extra day's worth of dining options. I really want a full day of resort time. Of course, since we probably won't be doing the Halloween Party the cost wil be about the same.


On my agenda for this afternoon is to check out the days in Sept/Oct and actually work a bit harder on getting the dining plan figured out...I only have 6 weeks until I make my ADRs!

Oooh, only 6 weeks... I'll be home and crying and you'll be planning, planning, planning - now I'll know how Cheryl feels.

So, where are you thinking of dining this time?




------

Also, it looks like the Grand Princess will be having her surgery on her foot/leg much sooner than anticipated. (which actually works out better for their Disney trip) She will be in a cast for a total of 12 weeks, six of which will be in a cast to her bum, and in a wheel chair. The last 6 weeks she will have a walking boot.

Since we want to take her with us to Tybee Island in late June, we are hoping they go ahead and get it scheduled so we can still take her.

Her mommy is getting her a new AG doll with a cast, and I am making her a matching set of PJs or gown for the two of them.



Nini

Awww... I hope the Grand Princess's surgery goes well - poor girl - I can't imagine being in a cast for so long. HOepfully they will get everything scheduled soon, so she does't miss out on the trip.

Can't wait to see pics of her new AG doll and her entire wardrobe.

D~

 

[NiniMorris]

In just 46 short days I will be making my ADRs for our Sept/Oct trip. My husband is convinced that Free Dining will be offered for late November, but from all I have been reading, I seriously doubt it!

Since this plans for us sticking with the original yucky TA, we will be staying at POFQ.

We have been playing around with a couple of different scenarios in the last few hours, and this is the one we have finally decided on. Of course all this comes from using last year's information. Once the new hours, etc, are released, this is subject to change.


-September 27, Thursday – leave at 3am; eat breakfast in Ocala @Cracker Barrel; arrive at Disney at noonish. Unpack, eat lunch, and hit Animal Kingdom with Coral Reef for dinner; watching Illuminations after dinner.
-September 28, Friday- Epcot with Garden Grill for dinner
-September 29, Saturday- Animal Kingdom with Boma for dinner
-September 30, Sunday- Church at 9 am, then Magic Kingdom with Crystal Palace for dinner
-October 1, Monday- Hollywood Studios with Sci Fi for dinner
-October 2, Tuesday- Break day with Chef Mickey’s for dinner
-October 3, Wednesday-Hollywood Studios with Akershus for dinner
-October 4, Thursday-Epcot with Biergarten for dinner
-October 5, Friday- Magic Kingdom with Tony’s for dinner
-October 6, Saturday- Travel day

I am hoping for the new Be Our Guest to be open, if so we will switch it out for wither Crystal Palace or Tony's.

I also made a preliminary decision as to what shirts/customs we will be wearing, but I will save that for when they are actually done!



Amazing, I feel like it is a real PTR now!

Nini

 

[DMGeurts]

SOunds awesome!!

It's amazing... You have 23 pages of PTR material before you feel it's a "real PTR"... LOL

Love your dining choices - and I really think your dates are perfect - I LOVE Disney in the fall - it's the best time to go IMO.

D~

 

[babynala]

Got the notice that our Income tax refund is in. So, we need to make the final determination as to which time we are going. Are we going to hold out for the free dining (so if FD isn't offered at Nov/Dec than we will go in Sept/Oct) or go with the dates we want.


After MUCH discussion ...hubby decided the $2000 was just too much to leave on the table. So, we still don't know for sure which dates we are going. I have this terrible feeling it will be the Sept/Oct dates.

So, I guess I need to seriously look at the actual dates and make some dining plans. I really want to add another day at the end of the trip. I like having the extra day's worth of dining options. I really want a full day of resort time. Of course, since we probably won't be doing the Halloween Party the cost wil be about the same.


On my agenda for this afternoon is to check out the days in Sept/Oct and actually work a bit harder on getting the dining plan figured out...I only have 6 weeks until I make my ADRs!




------


Also, it looks like the Grand Princess will be having her surgery on her foot/leg much sooner than anticipated. (which actually works out better for their Disney trip) She will be in a cast for a total of 12 weeks, six of which will be in a cast to her bum, and in a wheel chair. The last 6 weeks she will have a walking boot.

Since we want to take her with us to Tybee Island in late June, we are hoping they go ahead and get it scheduled so we can still take her.

Her mommy is getting her a new AG doll with a cast, and I am making her a matching set of PJs or gown for the two of them.



Nini

Sounds like you have a great plan for your Sept/Oct dates. I have a feeling you might be right about the free dining not being offerred this year. I think the new Fantasyland openning will be bringing lots of guests and they just won't need to offer it this year. I really hope I am wrong!! Both my brother and sister are thinking about booking their first trips to WDW with their young families soon so I am curious to know if Disney will continue their free dining and other promotions or not.

Didn't your DGD have to have a cast when she was younger too? From what I remember she was not one to sit still and rest. I hope her surgery gets done as schedule so she can go to the beach with your family. That sounds like fun.

 

[NiniMorris]

Sounds like you have a great plan for your Sept/Oct dates. I have a feeling you might be right about the free dining not being offerred this year. I think the new Fantasyland openning will be bringing lots of guests and they just won't need to offer it this year. I really hope I am wrong!! Both my brother and sister are thinking about booking their first trips to WDW with their young families soon so I am curious to know if Disney will continue their free dining and other promotions or not.

Didn't your DGD have to have a cast when she was younger too? From what I remember she was not one to sit still and rest. I hope her surgery gets done as schedule so she can go to the beach with your family. That sounds like fun.

Yes...this will be the princess' fifth surgery in 4 and a half years. The first surgery was to reconstruct her heel when she was 6 weeks old, the rest were to lengthen the tendons to help with the club foot. There is too much scar tissue to redo that one, so they are reconstructing her ankle, doing something to the foot and breaking her femur and lengthening it.

The last 2 surgeries she was walking on the cast within a few days! (even though she wasn't supposed to be mobile at ALL!) It is really going to be fun to try and keep her still. Last surgery she wasn't potty trained, this one means I get to carry her to and from the potty...should be fun! LOL!

I am thinking of making her some easy fits with only one leg...just not sure how that would look.

Nini

 

[Lidian]

SOunds awesome!!

It's amazing... You have 23 pages of PTR material before you feel it's a "real PTR"... LOL

Love your dining choices - and I really think your dates are perfect - I LOVE Disney in the fall - it's the best time to go IMO.

D~

I pressed the "like" button a million times, but it never showed up.

Nini, love your plans!

 

[NiniMorris]

I am so not happy with the TA who shall remain nameless right now! I am working on a plan to try and get my friend and her family a trip at the same time we are there. I won't go into a ton of detail, but one of their 4 kids has Mito. She did get a MAW trip years ago, but she ended up sick the whole time. (even a few days in the hospital) While Miss Noni is doing tons better, we all know that she is living on borrowed time. If I thought I could deal with all her tubes and 'stuff', I'd take her with us on our trip.

Being a military family, I have used the military discounts from Disney almost every year since they started doing them. I know how they work, and I know what changes happen each year. I also know there is a good chance they will not be continued after October with the draw down in forces happening in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The TA from heck cannot seem to understand that all I want is a quote on the room. I know how to find the total amount, and I know the best way to book it is through my MWR office and not her. I was going through her just to keep everything together.

First she tries to tell me I can't use the discounts for non family members. Which I know isn't true. Then she tells me I can't get the dining plan using the discount. Which I know isn't true...you can't get FREE dining, but you can add the dining plan. Then she tells me the room discounts have to be at the same resort I am staying in. Which again, we know not to be true.

Then she tries to tell me I would come out better booking a Deluxe resort so they could have more room. While we all know the Family Suites will have more room for 6 people than a deluxe room for 4!

So upset at this point!

The good news is, if my friend can swing the biggest part of the $2500 then she and her family might be able to join us for Disney! Of course, then I have to work overtime to make sure Miss Noni has a couple of Princess dresses for her do over trip!

I've already started going through all my patterns and fabrics t see what I need to get to make her a 'few' outfits! LOL!


And we have the surgery date for the Grand Princess...March 16. Oddly enough, my oldest daughter will be having surgery on her wrist the day before. (wonder if we can get a family discount? LOL!) Hers is minor, they are removing a cyst between the bones in her wrist. It grew and broke the bone. So, they are thinking that just removing the cyst will stop it from doing it again...yup. it has happened twice so far.

Nini

 

[cogero]

WOW that TA sounds like she is really misinformed. I am so so sorry you are having a hard time with her.

I hope your friend and family are able to work out the details and expenses because it seriously sounds like they could use the trip.

 

[GrammytoMany]

Nini,
It sounds like you have a lot on your plate today. My daughter has been looking for deals for our fall trip to WDW. She even mentioned me using our military account depending on which deal she could or couldn't find. So it's all still up in the air right now.

Hope all goes well with the "family" surgeries.

Guess I should get off the computer and go through a bag of odd fabric I found in the side cabinet of the sewing table I'm giving to my daughter because I haven't used it in years. As I was dumping it in the bag I noticed it was mostly left-over scrapes/pieces or left over curtain fabric. My dear son who was helping me put the sewing table in the car said "Mom, Don't be a hoarder just get rid of it!"

Sheila

 

[aboveH20]

Never a dull moment for you, is there? Too bad about the TA. Planning trips to Disney should be a fun diversion for you from the other stuff.

Hope things settle down -- eventually -- preferrably soon!

 

[DMGeurts]

Sorry about the sucky TA... I hope that you are able to get it all figured out to your advantage...

Let me know if you need help making any of those dresses... I'd love to donate some time to a worthy Princess cause - and as far as I know - my schedule is wide open after July.

D~

 

[NiniMorris]

So Excited!​

As soon as the new travel agent gets back to me with the final quote...I will be putting down the deposit for my friend and her family to go to Disney! I am so excited! My daughter will not let me go with full blown customs for her any more, and my DIL does not like them on my Grand Princess...so I now have a petite 10 year old that LOVES all things Disney!

My mind is churning out ideas faster than I can type them down! Since she is also autistic with sensory issues I have to be a bit less over the top than I want to be...but Princess Noni will be going to Disney in September/October. (of course, my husband thinks I'm crazy for thinking of taking a 12 and a 13 year old girl to Disney!) But hey, the 13 year old's parents will be there too...




sorry...carry on with your day....


Nini

 

[aboveH20]

So Excited!​

As soon as the new travel agent gets back to me with the final quote...I will be putting down the deposit for my friend and her family to go to Disney! I am so excited! My daughter will not let me go with full blown customs for her any more, and my DIL does not like them on my Grand Princess...so I now have a petite 10 year old that LOVES all things Disney!

My mind is churning out ideas faster than I can type them down! Since she is also autistic with sensory issues I have to be a bit less over the top than I want to be...but Princess Noni will be going to Disney in September/October. (of course, my husband thinks I'm crazy for thinking of taking a 12 and a 13 year old girl to Disney!) But hey, the 13 year old's parents will be there too...




sorry...carry on with your day....


Nini

Glad you have good news to share!

 

[NiniMorris]

Glad you have good news to share!

Sorry about the sucky TA... I hope that you are able to get it all figured out to your advantage...

Let me know if you need help making any of those dresses... I'd love to donate some time to a worthy Princess cause - and as far as I know - my schedule is wide open after July.

D~

Never a dull moment for you, is there? Too bad about the TA. Planning trips to Disney should be a fun diversion for you from the other stuff.

Hope things settle down -- eventually -- preferrably soon!

Nini,
It sounds like you have a lot on your plate today. My daughter has been looking for deals for our fall trip to WDW. She even mentioned me using our military account depending on which deal she could or couldn't find. So it's all still up in the air right now.

Hope all goes well with the "family" surgeries.

Guess I should get off the computer and go through a bag of odd fabric I found in the side cabinet of the sewing table I'm giving to my daughter because I haven't used it in years. As I was dumping it in the bag I noticed it was mostly left-over scrapes/pieces or left over curtain fabric. My dear son who was helping me put the sewing table in the car said "Mom, Don't be a hoarder just get rid of it!"

Sheila

WOW that TA sounds like she is really misinformed. I am so so sorry you are having a hard time with her.

I hope your friend and family are able to work out the details and expenses because it seriously sounds like they could use the trip.

I pressed the "like" button a million times, but it never showed up.

Nini, love your plans!

Thanks a bunch for all the good thoughts. In order to m...ake this work, we had to change our dates. Now there is some question as to where they are staying... there is someone who may give them their condo...they might be able to stay at GKTW, or we might go with a family suites...

So, now I get to go change our plans for our new dates. I am 99% sure they will be going .... still a ton of details to work out!

Nini

 

[NiniMorris]

I really think this trip should be called "Ch-Ch-Ch Changes"!

In the past week it has changed so many time, and had so much drama, I don't even want to go there!

After much fiddling with the dates...we have a semi-winner. I liked the Sept/Oct dates we had at first much , much better than some of the variations. The one we have now is the best of the variations...but not perfect.

We 'might' add a day on at the end, not to actually go to the parks, but just to make the traveling easier on us. We currently call for us to head home on Sunday. The problem with that, is we go to church on Sunday morning, and by the time that is over, it will be too late to check out. So...that means the kids get to wear their church clothes on the long drive home. And, since we wouldn't get to be on the road home until 1pm ish...it means we get home really late...and I know my kids well enough to know they will miss school on Monday (well Miss b will...Mr D will still be home schooled). So, by adding another day on at the end, we can wait and leave Monday morning and the kids will miss the same number of days as the original plan called for.

Since we are not 100% sure on the dates my friends will actually arrive (although we have a good idea) and we aren't 100% sure where they are staying (although, again we have a pretty good idea), AND we aren't sure if they will be staying with us on our touring the parks ...I had to come up with a plan that took all that into consideration.

So, without further ado (whatever that is) here is our most-recent-revised-and-better-not-get-revised-again touring plan!


-September 21, Friday—leave at 3am; eat breakfast in Ocala@ Cracker Barrel; arrive at Disney at noonish. Unpack, eat lunch and hit Animal Kingdom with dinner at Boma
-September 22, Saturday—Epcot with Garden Grill for dinner
-September 23, Sunday— Church then Magic Kingdom with Crystal Palace for dinner
-September 24, Monday—Hollywood Studios with Sci Fi Drive In for dinner
-September 25, Tuesday—Break day. Carter’s arrive. Chef Mickey’s for dinner
-September 26, Wednesday—Animal Kingdom with Coral Reef for dinner. EMH at Epcot
-September 27, Thursday—Hollywood Studios with Akershus for dinner
-September 28, Friday—Epcot with Biergarten for dinner
-September 29, Saturday—Magic Kingdom with Tony’s for dinner.
-September 30, Sunday—Church then travel day


Some things I know for sure. The Carter's will not have the dining plan. Reason? Two of the kids are special needs and neither of them eat. Seriously. One is on feeding tubes and central lines and one is such a picky eater with so many allergies that Disney would never be able to keep up! And the oldest is about the pickiest eater I have ever seen in a pre-teen! (in fact, Mom is a little concerned that she may be developing an eating disorder) So that only leaves the two adults! They are hoping for either a family suite, GKTW, or a condo from a friend...so they will have access to a semi kitchen for their meals.

The Carter's will also be on a very strict budget that will not allow for souvenirs or any types of extras. I was dreaming of BBB for Princess Noni but that isn't going to happen.

And, third, only the Dad and the pre teen have actually been to Disney before. Mom and Princess Noni only got a brief stay at the actual park (accompanied by oxygen tanks and IVs). Like only a few hours.

My above plans call for a chance for them to stay with us and still be able to see each park. Some of the days are not ideal, but with one child in each party having a GAC, I think we should be OK.

So, what do you think of these plans? Think they will work...sort of?



So over the drama.


Now...since I have only a little over 6 months to get all those shirts finished, I better gt cracking! (and I better post this while the Dis is still behaving. When I tried to post last night...well, you see all the errors in the typing... it loaded so slowly I was afraid to go back and correct it! LOL)

Nini

 

[aboveH20]

Sounds like some fun planning coming up. It's going to be exciting with the ones who have limited Disney experience. I've been thinking it would be neat to share Disney with a first timer.

What fun you'll have making Ts.

 

[miprender]

That is great that your friends will be able to go with you.

As of Friday she's now joined Tigger and Tiny in kitty heaven.

Sorry to hear about your cat

Since it appears that I'm on the verge of threadjacking, I'll ask a question:

Has anyone ever done the mini golf? Every year I get the free coupon for golf and since it's just me I wouldn't have to buy any additional tickets. (Remember, I'm cheap.) I don't really like mini golf, but I DO like doing things I haven't done before, and I've never done the mini golf at WDW. (Let's review, I HATE sports.) It seems like a bit of a time consuming effort, but I'm curious if people ever play golf and if they like it. Anyone?

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my first ever PTR

​

Dh and I played a long time ago and it was really fun. We keep saying we are going to take the kids but so far we haven't

 

[aboveH20]

Sorry to hear about your cat

Thanks. She was a good kitty. When my son was younger he could call from upstairs, "Come on Missy, bedtime" and she'd get up off the family room sofa and trot upstairs.

Dh and I played a long time ago and it was really fun. We keep saying we are going to take the kids but so far we haven't

I just checked the weather forecast. Rain or showers 6 out of 8 days. Last year I had rain and cold. This year looks like rain and warm. I'm tempted to call and see if I can change my reservation, but I doubt I actually will.

 

[NiniMorris]

Thanks. She was a good kitty. When my son was younger he could call from upstairs, "Come on Missy, bedtime" and she'd get up off the family room sofa and trot upstairs.




I just checked the weather forecast. Rain or showers 6 out of 8 days. Last year I had rain and cold. This year looks like rain and warm. I'm tempted to call and see if I can change my reservation, but I doubt I actually will.

But remember...even rain at Disney is better than no rain at home!


I've only been once during this time of year ( and we froze) but in the fall...we generally have rain in the forecast every single day... but it usually only becomes sprinkles...and generally nothing to worry about. I think we have only had serious rain once each trip...and it was either at night or on a non park day! I guess we have been pretty lucky!


Nini