~ Aug 2013~ Sew what... We've gotta find a way back! Part I!!

[Luvchefmic]

I love B&H. there store is awesome too. I am able to take the railroad there so it is cool.

I need to go work on a project myself and I know your trip will work out.

where in Queens are you ? were you ok during Hurricane Sandy? My dear 80 y/o Aunt Mary lives in Howard Beach & had 7' water in her basement lost her car & National Guard Bless them had to take her & the dog out in a boat I was heart sick being so far away
Other family in Ozone Park were fine I grew up in Middle Village until 6th grade then was dragged out to Long Island yep just like that TV show Suburgatory

and what pray tell is B & H ? I feel clueless

 

[lovesdumbo]

I love B&H. there store is awesome too. I am able to take the railroad there so it is cool.

I need to go work on a project myself and I know your trip will work out.

How cool! Its probably a good thing I can't easily get to the store

D-I always get my orders from them the day after I order but MA is a bit closer to NY than MN is. I'm sure it won't take too long.

Maybe poor Max misses all the excitement of Christmas. Perhaps he enjoyed everyone at home and all the gifts he got. Glad the Uggs were not damaged on the outside.

Hope you can book a resort you're happy with at a discount. I had originally booked a suite at AoA for May so I could try it out before our family summer trip but I just couldn't keep it. Can't justify the May rate for just the two of us-it is considerably cheaper for the 5 of us this summer. I called and changed to Pop when the discounts came out for my May dates. I was just looking at POR as it wasn't that much more but will stick with Pop so we can easily go check out AoA. I'm hoping to get a good Bounceback rate when I'm there in May for our summer trip and upgrade to BWI. Still haven't decided though if I want to give up 2nd bathroom in suite for a resort closer to the parks. We'll do our 2nd week at BWV but I dont have enough points for our entire trip. Part of me thinks we should do AoA for the extra room and food court but another part of me says I love the Boardwalk It's just so hard to decide. And it doesn't matter that I've stayed at Pop 7 times all it takes is reading one bad review on the Dis to make me question my choice.

 

[sewmess]

Alli is quite the photographer. Those are great pictures!

All of your planning is inspiring me to start a pt for our 2014 October 10 anniversary trip. But I am superstitious and if I put plan somewhere semi permanent something horrible will happen to prevent it from happening. I'm weird like that.

If August is when you go, I would really make sure your girl who has had issues with the heat take some of Ruthie's advice. I had a bad heat incident this summer & now I'm more prone to heat related issues. Gateraid poweraid or coconut milk are all good options for replenishing all that stuff you lose in dehydration.

Hope you get good pictures of you & Josh.

 

[DisneyTeacher01]

B&H is a photography, etc store. They have really good prices!

Thanks D~ I was wondering if you were going to name them

~Jennifer

 

[DMGeurts]

I love B&H. there store is awesome too. I am able to take the railroad there so it is cool.

I need to go work on a project myself and I know your trip will work out.

I hope you are doing well Chiara - you have been in my thoughts these last few days.

Yes you can go through the building. Our room location was excellent. We were directly in the middle of Oak Manor at the front, ground floor right under the "grand" staircase as I call it. You can request oak manor (if you get a royal room) or Parterre Place (I think is the other non mansion royal room that is closest to that bridge but don't quote me) Have you looked at Port Orleans.org I'm certain some where on that site it gives walking estimates.

Bummer - I searched for a good hour yesterday for the walking estimates, and even tried several times on google... Oh well - if you happen to find them, can you pass them along to me?

We used the main bus stop all the time. One time we got off at a diff bus stop at night, big mistake because I got totally lost and we were dropped off the back side of the building and trying to find my way to the front was challenging. but it was late and I was tired and frustrated. The Main stop was just so much more convenient and very easy, get off, walk to the right side of the check IN building, on the path for a minute, across the bridge, turn left and walk infront of the river for 30 seconds and turn right, right into our building. We did have a prime room location however there are rooms that were even closer to the bridge! The distance to the food court I'm sure is going to be a tad bit longer than POFQ since it is just a bigger resort but it really is gorgeous!

Thank you for this info - it did help me out a lot.

Walking to POFQ - hmmm i don't know about that. I've heard it's a hike! you;d be better off going to the front and asking every bus driver if they are going to POFQ and getting on the first one that does!

It's not that bad, really - we did it a couple of times... I certainly wouldn't do it all of the time, but theoretically - we could get up, get ready, walk to FQ for beignets and hop the bus there to our park of the day. The only thing that would somewhat suck is usually I went to get our breakfast before the crowds got there, but doing it this way - we'd be right in the thick of the crowds. Beignets are not as good if they aren't warm though...

I wouldn;t be worried at all about letting the girls go off on their own at the resort. Sure its a bit bigger but same kind of people etc... We encountered a lot of teens by them self.

I am not sure... I guess I would have to get the "feel" once we were there. I know they will be a year older than last time, but I am still way too over protective.

Here is the map http://portorleans.org/maps-and-directions.php look at Oak, the side facing the river, directly in the middle, that little half circle was where our rooms were.

Thanks! YOu did have a nice location.

Overall I'm sure it will take a few minutes more to walk to where you need to be than at POFQ but it is defiitely not like Carribean beach or CSR where i'v heard it takes some people 15 minutes to walk from their room to the food court.

True... OK... I will try to make it work out in my head.

We were in the Parterre section in a Royal Room. The rooms are nice, but having stayed there and at POFQ I would go for French Quarter every time. It's not like walking out of your room and you are right at the food court. The pool is even farther. And it is a pretty good little walk to POFQ from the Royal rooms. I did like both of the Port Orleans resorts better than CBR. Now that was a LONG walk to the food court! Plus, being from Florida, the beach theme doesn't appeal to me that much!

LOL Oh no... This is what I was afraid of... FQ spoiled us for life and nothing will ever compare.

Thanks so much for taking the time to give your review Stephanie.

I can't help on the POR resorts as we've never stayed; we have visited both and if we went back to a moderate and didn't rent DVC points and we couldn't get our CSR, we would pick POR-Riverside...love the food court.

Hope you are having a great weekend...I'm doing my spring cleaning that I never did in the spring.

We haven't even seen the FC at POR - LOL... We were at the resort several times on our last trip... Used the pool, shopped in their gift shop, even had a Dismeet... but never ventured into their food court. LOL I do want to try their pasta bar this time though... that does sound wonderful!

Thanks Kathy - I hope you are having a wonderful weekend, as well.

not having internet at home please bear with me that I just can't do multiple Quotes or copypaste on a cellphone so here come my responses:

No worries Ruthie.

1- don't fall over but I never had a beignet what is it ?

It is a French (?) pastry very commonly found in New Orleans, and the French Quarter is the only place it's available on Disney property... VERY GOOD!

2- never stayed at POR or POFQ I don't think I say that
because some of what I've seen looks vaguely familiar Is this where Dixie Landings was ?

Port Orleans and Dixie Landings merged in 2001... They are now sister resorts... Port Orleans Riverside and Port Orleans French Quarter.

3-D I never really expected to drag your budding photographer to my house you would lose a day at WDW BUT I may have to meet you with my oldest Pointer Fantasia for one quick picture she is 14 after all

LOL I figured that - just wanted to make sure. I would love to find a way to get a photo of you with Fantasia though!

sorry about MM and the Uggs hopefully he will outgrow it out of all my furbabies
ranging in ages 6 -14 sadly I still have 2 sisters btw age 7 that never outgrew it and are part billy goat nothing is safe I have to watch them like a hawk

OK - this had me ROFLing! I wonder if MM is part billy goat too? They said he was pure bred (we have papers), but

where in Queens are you ? were you ok during Hurricane Sandy? My dear 80 y/o Aunt Mary lives in Howard Beach & had 7' water in her basement lost her car & National Guard Bless them had to take her & the dog out in a boat I was heart sick being so far away
Other family in Ozone Park were fine I grew up in Middle Village until 6th grade then was dragged out to Long Island yep just like that TV show Suburgatory

I am so sorry about your Aunt Mary and her belongings. I hope that she is doing better now.

and what pray tell is B & H ? I feel clueless

It is a camera shop that Marianne told me about - her and her dad buy all of their camera gear there - they have very good prices.

How cool! Its probably a good thing I can't easily get to the store

D-I always get my orders from them the day after I order but MA is a bit closer to NY than MN is. I'm sure it won't take too long.

LOL - just a wee bit closer...

Maybe poor Max misses all the excitement of Christmas. Perhaps he enjoyed everyone at home and all the gifts he got. Glad the Uggs were not damaged on the outside.

Maybe????

Hope you can book a resort you're happy with at a discount. I had originally booked a suite at AoA for May so I could try it out before our family summer trip but I just couldn't keep it. Can't justify the May rate for just the two of us-it is considerably cheaper for the 5 of us this summer. I called and changed to Pop when the discounts came out for my May dates. I was just looking at POR as it wasn't that much more but will stick with Pop so we can easily go check out AoA. I'm hoping to get a good Bounceback rate when I'm there in May for our summer trip and upgrade to BWI. Still haven't decided though if I want to give up 2nd bathroom in suite for a resort closer to the parks. We'll do our 2nd week at BWV but I dont have enough points for our entire trip. Part of me thinks we should do AoA for the extra room and food court but another part of me says I love the Boardwalk It's just so hard to decide. And it doesn't matter that I've stayed at Pop 7 times all it takes is reading one bad review on the Dis to make me question my choice.

That would be awesome to get a good bounceback... I am hoping to get one while we are there for our trip next year.

Alli is quite the photographer. Those are great pictures!

Thanks! I will be sure to tell her.

All of your planning is inspiring me to start a pt for our 2014 October 10 anniversary trip. But I am superstitious and if I put plan somewhere semi permanent something horrible will happen to prevent it from happening. I'm weird like that.

It's never too early to plan... FYI... I have been planning an Oct 2014 trip for about 6 years now to be taken with my BFF and her dd - to celebrate our dd's Sweet 16... Won't have any definate dates for at least a year... Don't even know if bff can come with anymore...

If August is when you go, I would really make sure your girl who has had issues with the heat take some of Ruthie's advice. I had a bad heat incident this summer & now I'm more prone to heat related issues. Gateraid poweraid or coconut milk are all good options for replenishing all that stuff you lose in dehydration.

I will... I know that once you suffer from it, you are prone to suffer from it much easier after that.

Hope you get good pictures of you & Josh.

We were wrapped up in City business all day yesterday, so no photos.

B&H is a photography, etc store. They have really good prices!

Thanks D~ I was wondering if you were going to name them

~Jennifer

No problem!

**********************************************************

I finished my bag yesterday morning... It turned out really cute. I also did a coordinating accessory... I still have one more to do for it.

I plan to start my next order today and work on the first one as I can.

Josh and I were sidetracked with some City business yesterday, so nothing was done that I wanted to get done... And it took about a 4 hour chunk out of the middle of our day... Oh well - not much can be done about it.

Today will be a crazy day for sure...

It's a BIG day for V... After 2 years and 3 months, she is scheduled to get her braces off. Now, potentially, it might not happen today - because she was supposed to wear her rubberbands 24/7 since her last appt, but she has not done that... So, they may keep them on. We will see - it is scheduled for this morning, and I have to be there for that appt. I will be sure to share photos if she does get them off.

Then I will come home and start my next bag.

In further trip news... I have no updates for you... Hopefully soon.

I am really looking forward to digging in deep to my trip planning and starting my Mini Planner. Unfortunately, due to my over crowded sewing schedule - I am quite sure that there won't be any customs for us this trip. However, I do plan to use a few of our customs from our last trip (like the Tshirts Chiara & Marianne made for us). I will do my very best, however, to make sure that we all have awesome bags to carry... I am starting to take orders from the girls.

I hope you all have a fantastic day today...

D~

 

[cogero]

where in Queens are you ? were you ok during Hurricane Sandy? My dear 80 y/o Aunt Mary lives in Howard Beach & had 7' water in her basement lost her car & National Guard Bless them had to take her & the dog out in a boat I was heart sick being so far away
Other family in Ozone Park were fine I grew up in Middle Village until 6th grade then was dragged out to Long Island yep just like that TV show Suburgatory

and what pray tell is B & H ? I feel clueless

I am at the other end of Queens on the North Shore right near the Nassau/ Queens Border in Bayside. I grew up in Astoria, though I had several high school friends in Glendale.

B&H is a photo store. I love getting their catalog.

D I am okay just lazy.

 

[Terkina]

I can imagen that V is looking forward to get her braces off
I'm looking forward to hear more about your plans for your next Disney trip. Hopefully you will decide on which resort to choose soon

 

[KatMark]

Keeping fingers crossed V gets her braces off today.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Oh, I do hope V gets her braces off today!!! DD13 only had to wear hers for a little over a year, and it was a BIG day when she got them off. She has always had such a contagious smile, now it is even more beautiful!

Okay, you asked for my insight on POR...

You know how much I that resort. Our only other experience was one of the All Stars before this. We really did fall in love with it. Our only complaint was that it IS pretty spread out for our taste. We have already decided to pay the extra $$$ for a preferred this time. So, you may like the smallness of POFQ as opposed to the sprawl of POR.

I am not familiar with POFQ as we never did make it over there at all last time. But, I just love the tranquility of POR. The entire resort is set up to sort of ooze a serene environment...all exept Yeeha Bob!

We love the pool at POR, the waterslide is DA BOMB! In fact, just last week the kids wanted to make sure one more time that we were going to staying there, because they say it has the "best waterslide ever!"

Don't even get me started on the wonderful food court there. Have you heard Suzi and I talk about the Build Your Own Pasta Bowls??? And where else can you sit and watch a water wheel in motion while you have lunch? We may try Boatwright's this time as we never did get around to it last time.

The other thing I loved was the boat to DTD...such a wonderful experience...and it's FREE!!! Of course, you can enjoy THAT amenity from POFQ as well.

Basically, I think you are in a win-win decision between POFQ and POR. We would probably even choose to try POFQ if they had rooms with accomodations to sleep 5.

 

[Luvchefmic]

night worker who should be Zzzzzzz so did V get braces off ? hope so !

after reading so much about POR & POFQ think breakfast & lunch plans are on the horizon,, all sounds yummy

 

[Iamthequeen]

The only thing that would somewhat suck is usually I went to get our breakfast before the crowds got there, but doing it this way - we'd be right in the thick of the crowds. Beignets are not as good if they aren't warm though...


We haven't even seen the FC at POR - LOL... We were at the resort several times on our last trip... Used the pool, shopped in their gift shop, even had a Dismeet... but never ventured into their food court. LOL I do want to try their pasta bar this time though... that does sound wonderful!


D~

Ok, I think I have the quote thing down The crowds should not be too bad if you go later in August. We never had a problem finding a table when we were there last year. Although it was the first week in Sept.

The FC at POR is awesome! We ate there a couple of times - I love the Make your own pasta bowl. Also, Boatwrights is a pretty good restaurant too. We've eaten there the past 2 times we were at POFQ. If you want to have some more down time, its a good option.

I am at the other end of Queens on the North Shore right near the Nassau/ Queens Border in Bayside. I grew up in Astoria, though I had several high school friends in Glendale

My youngest dd lives in Astoria - she's been there off and on for the last 7 years.

 

[Pixiedust530]

I hope that V was able to get her braces off today...and I can't wait to see pics. It will definitely be time for Alli to get that camera back out and take some toothy pics of V! Like this...

 

[Luvchefmic]

know Bayside & Astoria very well, most of Bklyn & Manhattan miss my relatives & food & Christmas in NY but I love my Green Acres lifestyle now

Sooooo bracess ?????

 

[DMGeurts]

I am at the other end of Queens on the North Shore right near the Nassau/ Queens Border in Bayside. I grew up in Astoria, though I had several high school friends in Glendale.

B&H is a photo store. I love getting their catalog.

D I am okay just lazy.

LOL... Lazy is OK - truly OK... Besides, your "lazy" is like my "super fast energetic"...

I can imagen that V is looking forward to get her braces off
I'm looking forward to hear more about your plans for your next Disney trip. Hopefully you will decide on which resort to choose soon

Me too.... I have a feeling that Disney will be deciding for me. I will elaborate more below.

Keeping fingers crossed V gets her braces off today.

Thanks Kathy... Will update below.

Oh, I do hope V gets her braces off today!!! DD13 only had to wear hers for a little over a year, and it was a BIG day when she got them off. She has always had such a contagious smile, now it is even more beautiful!

Yup... That is why we did V's braces too... She had a gorgeous smile... Then once her adult teeth came in - she stopped smiling so much. She was so self conscious about it. She hates having braces and all the maintenance involved (V is my lazy girl), and is constantly yelling at us for making her get them... Sigh - hopefully one day she will be thankful for them, as they were not cheap.

Okay, you asked for my insight on POR...

You know how much I that resort. Our only other experience was one of the All Stars before this. We really did fall in love with it. Our only complaint was that it IS pretty spread out for our taste. We have already decided to pay the extra $$$ for a preferred this time. So, you may like the smallness of POFQ as opposed to the sprawl of POR.

I am not familiar with POFQ as we never did make it over there at all last time. But, I just love the tranquility of POR. The entire resort is set up to sort of ooze a serene environment...all exept Yeeha Bob!

We love the pool at POR, the waterslide is DA BOMB! In fact, just last week the kids wanted to make sure one more time that we were going to staying there, because they say it has the "best waterslide ever!"

Yes, the sprawl does worry me - especially since we were sooooo spoiled by FQ.

We did wander over to POR to use their pool once, and I admit - it is a great pool and slide! So much so, that when it was time to leave, V went and hid... so she could swim more... So, I have no worries that we will like the resort - I just worry that it will be huge, and we LOVED the smallness of FQ.

Don't even get me started on the wonderful food court there. Have you heard Suzi and I talk about the Build Your Own Pasta Bowls??? And where else can you sit and watch a water wheel in motion while you have lunch? We may try Boatwright's this time as we never did get around to it last time.

It's because of you and Suzi that the POR FC is on our list of "must dos" this trip - I am dying to try that pasta bowl!

The other thing I loved was the boat to DTD...such a wonderful experience...and it's FREE!!! Of course, you can enjoy THAT amenity from POFQ as well.

Yes, we did enjoy that a lot!

Basically, I think you are in a win-win decision between POFQ and POR. We would probably even choose to try POFQ if they had rooms with accomodations to sleep 5.

I think so too... It's just so hard to figure out. I will elaborate more at the bottom though.

night worker who should be Zzzzzzz so did V get braces off ? hope so !

after reading so much about POR & POFQ think breakfast & lunch plans are on the horizon,, all sounds yummy

Yes, I think you should try both... Those beignets (pronounced ben-yays) are to die for!

Ok, I think I have the quote thing down The crowds should not be too bad if you go later in August. We never had a problem finding a table when we were there last year. Although it was the first week in Sept.

Yay for getting the multiquote figured out! It seems that we will be arriving just as the crowds dissipate.

The FC at POR is awesome! We ate there a couple of times - I love the Make your own pasta bowl. Also, Boatwrights is a pretty good restaurant too. We've eaten there the past 2 times we were at POFQ. If you want to have some more down time, its a good option.

I have heard that -and I am anxious to try the pasta bowl. Is it sort of a "pasta buffet?" Or do you order and they build it for you?

I hope that V was able to get her braces off today...and I can't wait to see pics. It will definitely be time for Alli to get that camera back out and take some toothy pics of V! Like this...

I will update on braces below... I agree - V will have to go out and have another photo shoot done.

Sooooo bracess ?????

Update on the braces coming up...

*********************************************************

So... Braces... They are still on. Much to V's disappointment. Her Orthodontist said there is a "bit of room for improvement" on her bite. He left the decision up to me... Well - we paid $6k cash for these darned things, and I refuse to pull them off until the job is done - and it better be done right, because I am not going to pay another $6k to do them again. So, they are on. Hopefully V learned her lesson... I think she did, as she wasn't taking her rubberband wearing very seriously. Had she been wearing her rubberbands the way she was supposed to be all along - the braces probably would have been off last fall. So, now she is wearing her rubberbands - and hopefully she will continue to. We have another appointment scheduled for Feb 6th to take her braces off... We'll see if it happens this time.

Despite the fact that I had appointments scheduled yesterday - I was able to get in my sewing room and I was able to get a good start on my next bag. I have most of it quilted - I hope to finish quilting this morning. That is probably all I will get done today...

I have my couch repair guy coming this morning... Sigh... Now a spring popped in our other couch... It is one thing after another with this set - and I am getting to be not very happy with it. We have only owned it for 11 months, and we have had to have 2 major structural repairs done on it. It doesn't leave me much faith that it will last us the 20-30 years I had hoped it would. It's not as if I have a 3,4,or 5 y/o jumping on it all day long... I have teenagers (who have been taught to be respectful with their belongings) who sit on it... There is no reason that these things should be happening. In case you are all wondering - it is a set by Lane - a reputable furtniture company... In hindsight, I wish we would have gone with a Flexsteel - they are "the best" and made in the USA, where Lane has moved all their manufacturing to China - I should have known better. Next time.

Then this afternoon - I have a hair cut scheduled... I am going to try to make my foil appointments for 2013 - so I can be on the schedule for our trip, and I won't have to worry about that later.

Then, as for our trip...

As of now, there are no discounts available for any of the resorts (or categories with in our resorts)... The girls and I had made some final decisions about where we wanted to stay...

Our first choice, of course, was FQ for the duration of our trip... Aug 19-30. There is no availability for military discounts during this time. Sigh.

Our second choice was a split stay: POR Royal Room, river view for the first part of our trip... Then FQ for as many days as possible at the end of our trip.

Our third choice was also a split stay: POR mansion room, river view for the first part of our trip... Then FQ for as many days as possible at the end of our trip.

Our fourth choice was POR Royal room, river view for the duration.

We are willing to be flexible with our dates, slightly... We are willing to go as early as the 17th and stay as late as the 31st - with an 11 night trip... There is nothing available for that time frame with a military discount either.

However - everything opens up to me, free and clear, if I wanted to pay rack rates... Which I don't. I can't afford to.

So, we can't book yet, but we will keep trying - hopefully something will come available. Until then, my deposit will sit here and wait to be used.

As everything sits right now, it appears I will be making ADRs before we have a trip booked... Which means I will be making ADRs for dates that we may or may not be there - sigh - and making a few extra ADRs because of the rumor that the only FD released this year will be free QSDP - so I will have to make ADRs for our must dos, and a few extra just in case we can upgrade to DDP.

This proves to be an interesting planning extravaganza...

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

D~

 

[Pluto0809]

Bummer that V didn't get her braces off. I can't sypathize with her though because I was one of the few lucky ones that didn't need them.

I can't believe you had another spring come out on your couch! The just don't make stuff the way they used to. I've been thinking about a new couch set for my living room because the pillows are all slightly chewed. I've had four puppies during the time I've had the set. Maybe I'll just try to replace the pillows as the couch is too deep to do without them.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who plans their hair appointments around vacations!

I hope that some good discounts come out so you can book your trip! And as for the ADRs, you can always make them and then cancel. I thought I might have to move our October 2013 trip to April 2013 so I made a bunch. Just cancelled them this weekend. Bonus for someone making a last minute trip! I'm hoping for one of those so I can get into BOG in March.

Have a great day. I am I'm starting to go through new bag pictures withdrawal so I hope you get one done soon!

 

[solana131]

Hi D! Sorry I have been missing lately. I have been reading along with my phone...but its hard to respond without all the smilies. Bradey and I are home sick today, so no smilies again.

But you know I had to put my 2 cents worth in about POFQ/POR. You guys really lucked out with your room location last time, but what if you get stuck in building 7 this time? Then you would still have a really long walk each morning. I totally agree with you that FQ is better...no argument there, but POR is pretty darn nice too. And depending on where they put you this year...you might have a shorter walk at POR.

Both foodcourts are awesome. No matter which one we stay at, we would walk to the other food court a couple times during the stay. The MYO pasta was AMAZING! And they have a MYO omelette bar in the mornings. Yum!

I would choose POFQ everytime if they had rooms with 3 beds. If we stay at POR, we will be in AB so we can have the murphy bed.

You will have an AMAZING time no matter where you stay. And who knows...your girls might just fall in love with POR this time!

 

[DMGeurts]

It's official... A rather unexpected turn of events this morning and...

WE ARE BOOKED!!!!!!!!!!!!

***Now -this is still subject to change, because if our first choice becomes available, we will be switching resorts... But we are very happy to get this.

August 19-30

POR - Royal Room - Water View... With a military discount.

D~

 

[solana131]

Woohoo! That's awesome D!

 

[disneychic2]

I'm finally back from Virginia and getting on the DIS again! I had to read several pages to get caught up, so hope I remember everything I wanted to comment on. (Cause you just can't do without my pearls of wisdom, right?!)

The whole POR and FQ thing: We stayed at POR first, then FQ two years later. We've never been back to Riverside. It's a beautiful resort and we enjoyed it immensely, but once we stayed at FQ, we were in love, just like you and the girls. And even if you stay in building 7 or 1, it is still only about 5 minutes from the food court. That's the beauty of it being so small. At Riverside, we stayed in the Arcadian section and used the north depot. Many times the buses were full by the time they got to our stop. It was a long trek to the food court and gift shop too. It was quite beautiful, though.

As for eating at BOG for lunch vs dinner, I actually was suggesting doing both. They are completely different experiences. At dinner, you get seated in one of three dining areas. All are fabulous, but we loved the main ballroom where you could watch the snowfall and just enjoy being in the magnificence of it all. The food was a bit more fancy in the evening as well. For lunch, you can choose where you want to sit and we chose the West Wing both times. I had the braised pork, which was delicious. So much so that I had it the next time we had lunch there and so did my DH! In the evening, you can get your picture taken with the Beast, which was pretty cool. But if LTT is a must do for you and the girls, I guess lunch would be out at BOG. I just enjoyed it so much...and I also love LTT...that I didn't even consider anywhere else for lunch at MK.

So sorry about the Uggs and MM! He's probably getting stir crazy like so many of us do in January or February. Hope he calms down a bit before really causing damage!

Sounds like you've been busy getting your bags done. Can't wait to see what you've created this time! My DGD loved her Rapunzel dress. She put it on every chance she got, just removing it to eat and sleep. My DGS, however, would not even put the super hero cape I made for him on. I just don't think I'll be sewing for him for a while, since he doesn't wear anything I make. My older DGD (age 5) was a bit disappointed at not getting a Rapunzel dress, so I felt a little guilty about that. But I've made her so many fancy dresses in the past and this was Charlotte's first one.

I'm planning to look for that author you mentioned since I really like historical fiction. I love reading in the winter especially since there isn't as much to do outside when it's so cold. Thanks for the suggestion.

Too bad about the braces, but I would be the same way! That's too much money to have it be less than optimal results! I'll bet V will be pretty diligent about those rubber bands now.

As far as beating the heat in August, I got a couple of the mini misting fans that they sell at WalMart. They are handheld size, but hold quite a bit of water. You can use one of those small carabiners to hook it to your bag strap or belt loop so it's handy, but out of the way. Also, people use those neck things they sell on etsy. You put them in the freezer and wear them around your neck all day. They make fun Disney ones or just regular style fabric and look like you're wearing a scarf. Sorry, don't have a link. You could whip a few of those up in no time with your skills. I honestly think just doing what you're planning; rope drop, afternoon break, a day or two off plus the water parks will go a long way in getting you all through. And the crowd levels will be well worth it. I know there's all kinds of speculation on the disappearing discounts, but I still think the end of August/beginning of September will call for discounts of some kind. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you!

Really didn't mean to get so wordy, but it has been a while. Hope you are continuing to have great sewing days.

 

[disneychic2]

Just saw you booked at Riverside! Good for you! Hope FQ comes available, but that room looks fabulous! And they are situated close to the food court and main bus stop, so that's a huge plus!!