9/24/09 3 Day Wonder - Cruise Meets, and FEs, and Goombays oh my!

[jenny105]

That's right. We are not staying there. I was thinking of telling him we have an ADR there so maybe that could be my excuse as to why we're going there. But once we go in, walk right up to the check-in desk. I know I have to tell the person at the security gate why we're there; I don't have to tell him we're checking in do I? I don't want to ruin the surprise!

 

[karentan]

thats a good place for greg to find out! if you're driving in you will need to tell security as they give out the parking passes. i told gary about AKL as we were driving into the hotel, the look on his face was priceless! he had a huge grin on his face, he didnt know what kilimanjaro club was until we got escorted up to the club level, wish i could do that again, but just cant afford it this time

 

[jenny105]

It's Joe, not Greg. You got me and Lainey confused! I'm hoping he dozes off in the car since it'll be on the early side so he won't even realize what happened until we're there.

 

[disney honeymooners]

I like the one i got and i like both of yalls they all look really cute. Karen what is your email i will send you the picture of the FE i am hoping to get.
It finally stopped raining here
I just sent my taxes off i can't wait til i get the money back alittle over $700 that is state and federal together i have never gotten that much back so it looks like as soon as it goes in i will be getting gregs and my passports ordered and by then the MNSSHP tickets will be available so i will be using my money on those and my FE gifts.

 

[m_kasch]

Jen, you could always just make a breakfast ressie at Whispering Canyon, and just say that is what you are there for. They will print you another pass for your car the front desk. You could even eat there (if you don't eat on the ship) and then sneak out to the restroom or something and check in...they you could really surprise him.

I'm trying to finish my BIL's taxes right now, I did mine and Tim's back in January. Everything is really slow right now though, must be a lot of people sending in their stuff last minute!! He always does everything last minute, LOL.

So did you all decide when you are going to MNSSHP? I haven't decided when to take my DSis yet. I think she will like it!

 

[disney honeymooners]

greg and i are doing MNSSHP on Sept. 22 and i think jen said that the tickets go on sale May 1st.
Well its official i have ordered my FE she said that i should get it mid to late next week since it is still "Under Construction".
But since she is only one state away it shouldn't take as long to get here well at least i hope so. Mary i hope you enjoyed the cubs game the other day and that it wasn't too terribly cold. It was nice here yesterday but today looked like it was gonna be nice and warm (WRONG!!!) it was sunny but really windy when greg and i finished riding the 4wheeler i couldn't feel my hands!

 

[karentan]

we havent decided when to go to MNSSHP yet, i'm thinking of trying to do it earlier in the holiday as it'll give us time to eat our candy rather than having to pack it in the suitcase and/or throwing it away, plus i'll probably wait til closer to may 1st, as i want to see what nights the annual pass discounts are.
lainey, my email addy is karenangelatan@googlemail.com also let me know if no-one comes back to you on the cruise design thread as i can put some writing on that wedding graphic for you if you want.
and yay!!! i'm officially booked into saratoga springs, my renter is going to send me the confirmation when she gets it, yay!

 

[m_kasch]

Karen, good point about the AP rates!! I totally forgot about that.

Jen, are you ready to be SUPER excited for me?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! I am so EXCITED!!!!!!!!! I got tickets to see NKOTB!!!!!!!!!!! YEA!!!!!!!!! LOL, I'm excited!! In case you can't tell... They are playing by my house, and the tickets were....get this....$4!! I dont' know if it was some kind of mistake or what, but they are lawn seats, which isn't bad, and for $4 you can't beat that!! Now I have to listen to my NKOTB on my IPod to get in the groove!!

So I think I have my FE all figured out. I emailed the lady back this morning with which fabric I want and everything, I will add a picture when I get it. Yea!!

 

[karentan]

$4? thats an amazing deal!! cant argue with that!!

 

[m_kasch]

I know, right??? $4 is awesome. With all of the lovely service fees it comes out to $15.10 each, but still, that is so cool!! I have wanted to see NKOTB FOREVER (well, since I was 8, but that is close to forever!!)

So Karen, you inspired me to try and rent points for one night as a surprise for my DSis. I think I will tell her we are staying at the all-star or something. Let's just hope she doesn't get savvy and come look on here!! I sent a couple of people messages, we'll see. I am hoping for BLT (just to try it), BCV (Beach Club is my FAVORITE resort. I love the quiet pool. It is one of my favorite places at the World), or BWV. Wish me luck!!

 

[jenny105]

Mary, that's awesome! You're going to have so much fun!! They put on a great show. The tickets for my show go on sale tonight at 7pm. They're VIP packages. You get a gift and seats within the first 20 rows. I figured since it'll probably be the last NKOTB concert I go to on this tour that I'd go all out.

I don't know if I can pull off saying we have a breakfast ADR at WCC. We're probably going to eat on the ship that day so it would look a little suspect, you know? I actually thought today to blindfold him when we get closer to the resort. I wonder what the security person would think of that.

I showed him pictures of the skillets at WCC last night and he remembers eating there a long time ago. He never stayed at WL but he said 'It looks freakin awesome there' so I think I made a good choice!

We're definitely going to MNSSHP 9/22. That's really the only date that's good for us during our vacation. I think they may have the AP dates listed on wdwinfo.com That's where I saw the announcement and the sale date.

Karen, congrats on getting SSR booked!

 

[jenny105]

They don't have the AP discounts listed yet for 2009 but you can get an idea from the 2008 dates. http://www.wdwinfo.com/holidays/halloween.htm

 

[karentan]

i think the 2009 prices will get released closer to the time, i think they came out quite late last year, maybe a day or two before they were for sale, if that.
$15 is still great for a concert, i really wish they'd include the taxes and charges in stuff like this, one of our cheap airlines now charges for luggage, charges to check in, charges if you want to be one of the first to board, charges to take duty free on board. they were even thinking at one point of charging people to use the toilet on board. gets stupid when you add it all up.
mary, what date were you thinking of renting points for? i wish i had more choice in resorts, but all the DVC resorts are pretty much fully booked as the expedition everest 5k is on the weekend we get off the cruise. i think thats why i could only get saratoga or animal kingom lodge.
hope you have more luck than i did, most people weren't interested in renting me so few points. but i'm keeping my fingers crossed for you
lainey, your FE is really cute! either you or jen will have to let me know what they're like when you get them, i got mine and i'm worried the pockets are too small. i'm not sure how big they normally are.

 

[jenny105]

That was what made me not want to fly to Florida. It's so much cheaper for me to drive (unless gas shoots up again) even though it takes a lot more time. The airfare wasn't bad but when I thought about having to pay to check my bags, having to pay extra if they were overweight, then adding in the cost of cruise transfers, and then if I wanted to go to Universal pay for a cab....just wasn't worth it! I will love having my car there!!

 

[m_kasch]

My airfare for the whole trip is $5!! LOL. Mine is covered by work because of the conference the week before vacation, and I had a free flight from southwest. I also like flying on SW because you don't have to pay to check your bags, and if you have to change your trip around it is free also.

Are any of you planning on eating at Palo? I think we will, but i'm not sure what night. Suggestions?

 

[karentan]

how long will it take you to drive down?

we were thinking of hiring a car when we were there, but i'm not sure if its worth it this time, we're staying on site so that'll mean we'll get buses a lot more, yeah we'll have to pay for the cruise transfers and cab if we go to seaworld, but its about $390 to hire the car, then we've got gas on top of that, and parking at the port. its all adding up.

mary, totally jealous of being able to get airfare for $5!!! i cant even get to glasgow (where gary's parents live) for that!!
we're not going to palo, i think if we go for a longer cruise sometime we might try it, but i like the normal restaurants and dont want to miss any of them out!

 

[disney honeymooners]

Greg and i decided that if we go on one of the longer cruises we will eat at Palo but since he has never been on the DCL he wants to see the regular dining rooms. I will lat you know Karen when it gets here she said that i should get it middle of next week at the latest.
Greg and i are flying b/c our family is paying for our plane tickets b/c they don't want us to have to ride in a car for 8hrs on our honeymoon.

 

[karentan]

thats a fair comment!! its your honeymoon, you dont want to be stuck in a car!!

 

[m_kasch]

I think I will try to get an early Palo ressie and then still go to the main dining for extra dessert or something, because I really don't want to miss one of the main 3.

So, I emailed a guy about renting points, and he already emailed me back and is checking availability for me! He is wanting $10 per point, which is not bad at all! I will let you know what he says, but I am hoping to have good luck with availability because it is before the F&WF starts (i'm looking for the 20th only). Crossing my fingers!!

 

[disney honeymooners]

I will keep my fingers crossed for you Mary!
I was already prepared to drive to disney so was greg but they offered to pay for plane tickets and i wasn't gonna refuse a chance to save time and gas money. The only problem is that we are gonna be checking 3 bags so not only will we be charged for having the extra bag but now they are charging for your one checked bag per person (they use to be FREE!) but greg isn't the best with directions so i will deal with the extra charges to prevent an argument or us getting lost.