A "Hopefully" Not So Scary WDW Sibling Reunion - MNSSHP 2011 (Update 9/11 with pics)

[ZFamily5]

After reading the "funny things you hear people say at disney" thread. I can't hardly wait to ask a CM while holding park maps "which park is that Harry Potter ride in?" or maybe riding on the monorail I can call the contemporary resort space mountain At the last room in small world I can say "ooohhhhh this must be iceland". Maybe I can ask for that submarine ride or Mr. Toads Wild Ride? Heck if I can make one person snicker it will be well worth it.

Last week I joked with my DW that I wanted to get "the pocket chair" for disney. Thay way when we have a long not moving line, like for a show or something we can sit down. Well she was at a store the other day and found one for 10 bucks with buy one get one free so she got 2 for $10. I suppose I will bring them and put them at the bottom of our stroller. I never felt the need to sit on something before at disney but who knows. I guess a grown man sitting on a chair which looks like it was made for a tiny tiny director could still be cool right?

 

[Savanah'sMom]

I guess a grown man sitting on a chair which looks like it was made for a tiny tiny director could still be cool right?

Look at it as being DBIL's size!!!

 

[ZFamily5]

I really don't do a lot of scrapbooking. The only thing I scapbook is our Disney trips. I'm really not that talented or creative with that type of stuff and my scrapbooks are usually pretty simple. I'm more of a print out last year's photos and put them in a photo album kind of girl but Disney is "special." So, I try to do something special with some of those pics. It's more fun for the kids to look at a scrapbook than a regular photo album anyway. Do you scrapbook? You obviously must have plenty of resources.

I don't scrapbook at all. I tried, but I don't have the patience for all the details and sitting still that long!

 

[DisneyMom14]

It's been 12 days since I've posted an update! We've just been really busy.


The night of July 14th was the premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2. I'm a BIG HP fan and even if I had to go by myself, I was going to be at that midnight show. DH and I had planned to go together but my DMIL had knee surgery to clean up some torn cartiledge that day. She was our planned babysitter. DH also didn't want to be too far away in case she needed something. We live next door to her and that has helped in the last month with her knee injury. We can be close by but not have to be at her house "babysitting" her. She doesn't like when we try to do that. I ended up going with my cousin and it was a GREAT movie! I have to say that after reading the books...multiple times and seeing all the movies, I have NEVER been disappointed with the movie interpretations. I can't say the same for some other movies based on novels...cough..Twilight..cough.


A couple days later, we celebrated DD's 10th birthday! I don't know how I feel about her journey into double-digits. She's no longer my baby. To top that, she is also going to middle school this school year. Thankfully its the same one I work at so the transition should be ok for both of us. I just know the change kids go through during middle school and its scary Speaking of scary...the weather has been incredibly rainy here and my mom was on her way to my house when she hydroplaned on the interstate landing backwards in a ditch. She spun out of control skidding over 3 huge culverts and knocking down several small trees and bushes on her way into the ditch. You couldn't even see her car from the road. Thanks to God, she walked away with only a bruised shoulder from the seatbelt. She insisted that we not cancel the party as she was ok but she and my dad took some time at home to relax after all the excitement. We missed them but because we knew she was ok, we did have a great day at DD's party. It was the first time we rented a water slide. Since we've been having such rainy weather, I was stressing over it. We were blessed with cloudy but not so much rainy weather and NO THUNDERSTORMS! We had such a blast...yes, even the big kids got in on the action and I regret that I don't have the pictures to prove it!


School is right around the corner so the Monday after the party, I started working at school attempting to be ahead of the game when our "official" days begin. There is always so much to do to open and end a school year that the days they give you is never enough. We have also started having dance team practices again. (I'm the sponsor.) I'm pretty much at school every week day and school doesn't even start until Aug. 3. We've also done the majority of our school shopping. Still a few things left on the list.


My husband started 2 weeks of band camp the Tuesday after DD's party. This has meant that its me and the kids all day. They come with me to work at school and dance practices. They are B-O-R-E-D or as my sister used to say "I'm boring."


Also on the same Tuesday after bandcamp, DD and I had a "girls night" to celebrate her actual birthday. We shopped for her scrapbook, ate out, and had dessert. It was really nice.


At night, I've been reading the Peter and the Starcatchers series which I guess has been taking up my dis time but I really wanted to read it before school started up again. It's basically the prequel to Peter Pan and written by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson who also write the Kingdom Keepers books. I'm really enjoying both series.



Other than all of that, its really just been work, practice, housework, taking care of the kids, repeat. We are at 73 days out people!!! I guess that means I should finalize some more Disney plans!!!!

 

[ZFamily5]

Happy belated birthday to your DD! How scary for your mother!! We didn't see HP, but we went and saw Winnie the Pooh!! I read the first book in the Peter and the Starcatchers series. Are the other books as good as the first?

 

[DisneyMom14]

Happy belated birthday to your DD! How scary for your mother!! We didn't see HP, but we went and saw Winnie the Pooh!! I read the first book in the Peter and the Starcatchers series. Are the other books as good as the first?

I want to see Winnie the Pooh but no one wants to go with me!!! Unlike Harry Potter, I'm not going see that one by myself.

I'm on the second book. So far, its good. I'll let you know how I like it.

 

[*dreamit*doit*]

Wow, you weren't kidding...REALLY busy!!

Well, Happy Birthday to your daughter! And, so glad your mom is okay.

Can't believe you already start August 3rd! You must get out early in May, then??

Miren just started reading Peter and the Starcatchers this summer, because I wanted her to read the Kingdom Keepers and in conversation with my BFF she said her daughter had the first Peter book and could lend it to us. Miren read two chapters and said "um, I didn't really understand any of that." Well, she's 7 but a very advanced reader, so I knew she'd have no problem reading it, but did kind of think she may have some issues with vocab, so Ramon then started reading it with her.

73 days!!! I agree, some Disney planning is definitely in order!

 

[raider97]

I'm a little late, but I'm in! So jealous of your fall break. Those pesky schools down here in Texas don't feel the need to give us one of those. I guess we will make it down for a fall trip when all the kids go to college.

I'm excited to hear about all your planning!!

Stephanie

 

[DisneyMom14]

I'm a little late, but I'm in! So jealous of your fall break. Those pesky schools down here in Texas don't feel the need to give us one of those. I guess we will make it down for a fall trip when all the kids go to college.

I'm excited to hear about all your planning!!

Stephanie

Glad you made it over!

I'd trade my fall break for Christmas at the Poly!!!

 

[DisneyMom14]

Unlike my brother and sister, my reservations are not totally made. I do have a room only reservation with a small room discount for some of the nights of my stay but I've been holding out for a possible Free Dining offer to upgrade to a package. Rumor has it on the boards that this could be a possibility on Aug. 3!!!! The banana is for my sister who called me with the news today. I really hope it's true as it would make this trip soooo much easier right now. I have prepared for this day. Disney Visa is paid off so that I can put this vacation on it at 6 months interest free, get the points and not stress over paying it off. I also need to purchase our MNSSHP tickets with our Disney Visa points. I guess I've just been waiting for everything else to fall in place first.

Also, thanks to some other Disers, I found the menus for the Food & Wine Festival!!! This means I will be planning what are the not-to-be-missed foods. So hopefully, I'll be posting some really good news soon!!!!

 

[Nermel9]

Hey!! I'm here, I have to catch up, I kept forgetting to subscribe to your PTR, but I'm finally here!

 

[DisneyMom14]

Hey!! I'm here, I have to catch up, I kept forgetting to subscribe to your PTR, but I'm finally here!

Thanks for coming over!

 

[DisneyMom14]

It’s time to start thinking about all the delicious dishes featured at this year’s Food & Wine Festival!!! This is a hard time of the year for us to get down to Disney so I’m going to try to taste as many things as I can. Who knows when we’ll be able to come back for F & W??? Hopefully, I can get my other family members to help taste so thatwe can taste all of these and still be able to walk/roll out of Epcot. I have no plans for us to eat any meals other than these in Epcot and maybe we can pass back for lunch before we leave for home on our last day. Here is a list of what we plan to try. I borrowed pictures from the Disney Food Blog when available. If you’d like to see what else is available here is the link.

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2011-epcot-food-and-wine-festival-marketplace-booths-and-menus/


Argentina

• Beef Empanada
• Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce and Boniato Purée (potato)

Australia

• Shrimp on the Barbie with Pepper Berry Citrus Glaze

• Grilled Lamb Chop with Potato-Goat Cheese Salad and Shiraz Reduction

• Lamington (chocolate and coconut covered Yellow Cake)

Belgium

• Freshly Baked Waffles with Berry Compote and Whipped Cream

• Godiva Chocolate Iced Coffee

Canada

• Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup (without the wine)

• Chicken Chipotle Sausage with Sweet Corn Polenta

Caribbean Islands

• Ropa Vieja (Braised shredded Beef) with White Rice
• Jerk spiced Chicken Drumstick with Mango Salsa

Both above are shown in picture

• Frozen Dragon Berry Colada
• Frozen Rock Coconut Mojito



China

• Black Pepper Shrimp with Sichuan Noodles

• Pork Pot Stickers (dumplings)

• Xinjiang Barbecue Chicken Stick

France

• Coq au Vin sur gratin de macaroni (Red Wine braised Chicken, Mushrooms, Pearl Onions, and Macaroni Gratin)
• Crème Brulée au Chocolate au Lait

Germany

• Goulash Suppe (soup)
• Nürnberger Sausage in a Pretzel Roll

• Apfel Strudel featuring Werther’s Original Karamell Sauce and Vanilla Sauce



Hawaii

• Kalua Pork Slider with Sweet and Sour Dole Pineapple Chutney and Spicy Mayonnaise

Ireland

• Warm Chocolate Lava Cake with Baileys Irish Cream Ganache



Italy

• Ravioli Di Formaggio All’Emiliana (Baked Cheese Ravioli with Creamy Beef Bolognese Sauce, Parmesan Cheese, Melted Mozzarella)

Japan

• Spicy Tuna Roll
• California Sushi Roll



Mexico

• Rib Eye Tacos
• Flan



Morocco

• Kefta Pocket (Beef in a Pita Pocket)
• Baklava

New Zealand

• Lamb Slider with Tomato Chutney

Poland

• Kielbasa and Potato Pierogies with Caramelized Onions and Sour Cream

• Golabki (Pork Stuffed Cabbage)

Scandinavia

• Swedish Meatballs with Lingon Berries

Singapore

• Shrimp Cake on a sugar cane skewer with Singapore Noodle Salad

• Coconut-Braised, Beef Rendang with Jasmine Rice

South Africa
• Bunny Chow (Vegetable Curry served in a Bread Loaf)
• Seared Filet of Beef with Smashed Sweet Potatoes and Braai Sauce



South Korea
• Boolgogi BBQ Beef with steamed Rice and Kimchi


I know this is a REALLY ambitious list and I'm sure we'll have to leave some out. Hopefully with all of us, going together I'll get a taste of most of these.

 

[DisneyMom14]

Well the Dis is a buzz with this free dining rumor. Supposedly, a free dining offer is set to come out tomorrow! I've been following the thread and I'm ready to give it a try very early tomorrow morning. Of course, tomorrow is also my first day back at school/work. Hopefully I'm not on hold too long. Here's the link to the thread I'm talking about. It's quite large but most of the info is in the first post and additional info in post #666.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2768442

 

[*dreamit*doit*]

Hey Melanie! Good luck tomorrow with the free dining!!!

All that food looks soooo good! I hope you do get to try most of it. Last year on our Halloween trip we were able to do F&W for the first time, but only for a few hours, I'd LOVE to be able to go again this year...we'll see... We did have the plate pictured from Argentina and it was reallyyy good. (Boniato is like potato but sweeter and denser; the mash is just delish!) I also had the drink in the France picture: Cosmo slushie...need I say more??!

 

[Savanah'sMom]

heheheheh!!!! I beat Melanie here

We got Free Dining!!!!


She's an awesome sis. We were both on the phone by 6 am and she got through before me. They let her take care of both reservations. I'm so excited!! 65 days left!!

 

[DisneyMom14]

Hey Melanie! Good luck tomorrow with the free dining!!!

All that food looks soooo good! I hope you do get to try most of it. Last year on our Halloween trip we were able to do F&W for the first time, but only for a few hours, I'd LOVE to be able to go again this year...we'll see... We did have the plate pictured from Argentina and it was reallyyy good. (Boniato is like potato but sweeter and denser; the mash is just delish!) I also had the drink in the France picture: Cosmo slushie...need I say more??!

Thanks for the tip! Yum!!!

 

[DisneyMom14]

Yep Sis, you beat me!

There has been CRAZINESS here on the Dis. It all started with a Diser giving everyone the heads up that Free Dining would be offered starting today and it would cover through the rest of this year with black out dates of course. There was a lot of debate if this would or wouldn't happen, if the dates were correct, if Visa reward card members would get a heads up first, etc. So I have been following the VERY FAST moving thread. I decided I would not take any chances on missing out on saving $$$. This is how the last 24 hours went.

I will admit that I didn't sleep well last night. First, I hated to get off the Disboards. I eventually fell asleep thinking about codes, date change possibilities, and our first day back at work/school today and waking up too late to do any of it! I had nightmares during the night and then woke up BEFORE my alarm went off at 5:00 CST. Checked Disboards, Mousesavers, Disney Visa Rewards, and WDW website several times while getting ready for work. Sat at the computer at about 5:45 CST and read up on this thread. Started calling at 5:59 CST. Five minutes into my wait, the Disboards CRASH!!! OMG! We crashed the Disboards!!! So now I'm blind. I have no idea what's going on and to make me more nervous, there is no wait music AND I keep hearing clicking that I keep thinking is me getting disconnected. The wait time SAID less than 7 minutes but actually got answered in about 35 minutes. I had to cancel our room only and make a package reservation. Since my sister was still on hold, I took care of her reservation so she could hang up. Then I took care of my brother's as well. The CM was excellent and very helpful, but toward the end of our call I was realizing that I was going to be late on my first day back at work. Luckily, I was not the only person walking in a few minutes late as the parking and the line to sign in was LONG. Calling early was important because I had NO computer access at all today. By the time I got home today, the free dining thread had 40+ new pages!!! So I just got caught up. There were reports of people holding for 3 hours!!!! Wow! Some reported that cast members were stating that there were 300, 400, up to 1000 callers on hold in the queue. Holy Smokes! Others had their calls drop or couldn't even get on hold (all circuits were busy). I feel fortunate that I only waited the 35 minutes.

The excitement has been fun but I'm glad its over. I will sleep WELL tonight! Just for our family, I saved $534 at my resort and room of choice for the dates I wanted. I could not be happier. I even tried to help others take advantage by spreading the good news today.

Here's the breakdown:

2 adults, 2 children (1 considered an adult on dining)
Pop Century
5 nights, 5 day park hoppers (over the Columbus Day weekend)
trip insurance
Free Quick Service Dining Plan

$1981.20 Can't complain about that!

Happy Dance:

 

[*dreamit*doit*]

Soooo happy for you guys!

That's awesome that you got a good CM on the phone, Melanie, and that you were able to take care of everyone's reservations! A crazy 24 hours, but definitely worth it!!

 

[DisneyMom14]

Sooooo not sure if we have many readers anymore. Even my family has abandoned me Where are you guys????

I'm celebrating tonight! We are exactly 2 months away!

So my family decended upon my dwelling yesterday...
I've recouperated by sleeping in and cleaning my house. Afterwards, I finally sat down to make a touring plan for the parks.

I'll post a day at a time and I'd like to hear any comments (family or otherwise). This is the best plan I can come up with thus far.

Oct. 7 - Arrival day
MNSSHP (waiting for the first party to happen to make plans)

Oct. 8 - Day 1 - Animal Kingdom

Be there for rope drop.

Expedition Everest - Ride and send any non-riders to get FP’s for Safari
Primeval Whirl
Triceratops Spin
Dinosaur
Finding Nemo, the musical
Lunch @ Flame Tree BBQ
Camp Minnie Mickey
Festival of the Lion King
Ride Kilimanjaro Safari - Use fastpasses
Pangani Forest Exploration Trail
Discovery Island/Tree of Life
Maharajah Jungle Trek
Kali River Rapids - I heard its the least crowded late in the day & I don't want to tour all day wet.
Dinner @ Yak & Yeti counter service (1st time - tell me what's good)

Park Hop to Magic Kingdom to see Main Street Electrical Parade and Wishes

We're planning to skip Conservation Station (done it before) and Tough to be a Bug (done that one too).