Book it. Buy it. BELIEVE it! - TR is started! link posted 8/11

[brookelizabeth]

Caught up again! So glad all the plans have worked out!!!!

And YAHOO! for already planning another trip!!! Joe still isn't on the 11 month planning schedule, but getting closer. LOL

 

[MEK]

Love the idea of Poly fireworks. Denny and I did that on our last night and it was really lovely, though not NEARLY as impressive as those NYE fireworks.

As far as your 2013 trip, did you post something about that on FB lately? Denny asked me if I was going to Disney again in December because he was holding my phone for me and reading my FB page.

As far as the 2 treehouses - I think you would love that but you would absolutely have to request two treehouses near the walking path to the grandstand. You can walk to that bus stop in about 8 to 10 minutes. The grandstand stop is great on return from the parks, but that whole bus thing at SSR is awful. It takes 20 minutes to circle the whole resort. uggh!

The other thing is will all your family really appreciate you booking for them with your points? I have taken two different families on my points now and other than a "thank you" I really don't think they have any clue of what their accommodations were valued at. I have decided to be a little less generous in the future. You might regret booking everyone else on your points.

Good luck with all that planning. Yikes!

 

[Chilly]

Phew all caught up. I feel so stressed reading it, don't know how you live it! Glad it all worked out in the end. I loved Alaska by the way!

 

[englishrose47]

All caught up Cynthia , as usual your plans have my head spinningAre you sure the Koolaid wasn;t spiked

 

[Native NYer]

I love the fireworks idea!
Yay for getting your ME booklet and tags.
Great options for your big family trip. Planning for a large group is hard, but you're so organized!

 

[eandesmom]

Caught up again! So glad all the plans have worked out!!!!

Welcome back! I can't wait for your TR, loving the FB pics from the cruise, great photo journal there on Castaway and Nassau!

And YAHOO! for already planning another trip!!! Joe still isn't on the 11 month planning schedule, but getting closer. LOL

Were it not for it being the holidays I think he might balk as that not being needed but he gets the demand for that time of year and does think we should just lock it up. Of course much of this may depend on what we learn on Monday at my dad's angiogram.

Did you rebook on board?

Love the idea of Poly fireworks. Denny and I did that on our last night and it was really lovely, though not NEARLY as impressive as those NYE fireworks.

Yeah, I'm not expecting NYE level but I recall in 2010 when we saw them from the GF we were amazed. it was such a different perspective, lit up the whole sky! We loved it.

As far as your 2013 trip, did you post something about that on FB lately? Denny asked me if I was going to Disney again in December because he was holding my phone for me and reading my FB page.

LOL and nope. At least not that I can recall.

As far as the 2 treehouses - I think you would love that but you would absolutely have to request two treehouses near the walking path to the grandstand. You can walk to that bus stop in about 8 to 10 minutes. The grandstand stop is great on return from the parks, but that whole bus thing at SSR is awful. It takes 20 minutes to circle the whole resort. uggh!

Question, is the bus thing equally bad if you are at SSR versus THV?

The other thing is will all your family really appreciate you booking for them with your points? I have taken two different families on my points now and other than a "thank you" I really don't think they have any clue of what their accommodations were valued at. I have decided to be a little less generous in the future. You might regret booking everyone else on your points.

Good luck with all that planning. Yikes!

I actually will not be booking for everyone on our points. First, we don't have enough to do that. So really the options will be for a rent or transfer to cover a second villa or part of the grand villa. Transfer would be easier but either way it would require people to pony up $$ sooner rather than later which could well be a problem. They'd be ponying up, not me. If I had that kind of $$ that'd be one thing (or points) but we don't. Besides, my family is huge!

Other option will be for me to book that second room on a cash rate. Question is, will I be able to at AP or at DVC cash discount if we are in the points room but it's a linked ressie? I think there is a way to do it but I need to figure it out. That is a better solution for the gang as it would only be the one night to hold it.

If we can though, we do plan to cover my folk's room and have them in our villa. I actually do think they'd all get it, value wise but that doesn't mean they'd offer to pay anything if we just offered to book on points. Human nature and all. The one concern we have is with my brother. Since his divorce, his ex and he have kind of swapped places in terms of being the parent my nephews can count on. He is definitely living more of a single life, wrapped up in work and marathons. Getting him to commit that far out probably will not happen. My exSIL, who is like a sister, however is in so we can plan around that and all the kids. Jeff was so cute, he said my brother could sleep on our floor if that's what it took to make it happen for him to get there. Actually he said couch but I think he was forgetting that couch will most likely convert to a bed and probably already be spoken for.

My dad has his angiogram on Monday, we will know more then. He met with his doc yesterday and while they aren't talking bypass, it does sound probable that 2 of the stents that were at 80% blockage the last time he was in, are now more fully blocked. Problem is they are in spots where they can't add a new one and so may need to treat it medically versus surgically which in this case really isn't ideal. It's horrible but I'm kind of hoping it's entirely new blockage as it'd be easier to fully treat.

We then have a big family party that following Sunday so it's possible it will come up then. Heaven knows we will all want something to plan and look forward to.

Phew all caught up. I feel so stressed reading it, don't know how you live it! Glad it all worked out in the end. I loved Alaska by the way!

Claire! Welcome back. I tried to check out your TR but got confused by the daily reports and couldn't find day 1! LOL. Is there one on the cruise report board too or is it all on the UK board?

All caught up Cynthia , as usual your plans have my head spinningAre you sure the Koolaid wasn;t spiked

My head is always spinning. Today it's about swimming scheduling. LOL!

I love the fireworks idea!
Yay for getting your ME booklet and tags.
Great options for your big family trip. Planning for a large group is hard, but you're so organized!

YAY for ME is right! That always makes it very real. The nice thing, honestly, is that my entire family is pretty darn organized and we have done this kind of thing together before. So really, once we have a plan I do trust most of them to execute on their own with little supervision.

 

[MEK]

Question, is the bus thing equally bad if you are at SSR versus THV?

I don't recall being bothered by the buses the last time I stayed at SSR and used the bus for MK. But this time the whole bus thing was out of control. If I didn't have a car I would have been very unhappy. Maybe I just had bad luck. One morning it took from 850 am to 10:10 to get to MK and that was using the internal bus. Getting home was a little bit better - maybe 50 minutes to an hour.

One afternoon I left AK at noon (Nick was sick so I left to go get him lunch) and I did not step foot in the treehouse until 1:30pm. That includes waits, travel, detour to BB, getting food at Artist palette (no wait) and then having Bell Services take me over to the treehouse on a golf cart. Which - BTW - bell services will run you over to the treehouses and it felt like it took 3 minutes. If I had waited for the internal bus or walked it would obviously have been longer.

The rest of the trip we drove.

My dad has his angiogram on Monday, we will know more then. He met with his doc yesterday and while they aren't talking bypass, it does sound probable that 2 of the stents that were at 80% blockage the last time he was in, are now more fully blocked. Problem is they are in spots where they can't add a new one and so may need to treat it medically versus surgically which in this case really isn't ideal. It's horrible but I'm kind of hoping it's entirely new blockage as it'd be easier to fully treat.

It sounds like they can not restent him or they would have unless they are doing some type of staged procedure.

You need to find out what vessel is blocked. There are minimally invasive surgical procedures for blockages on the front of the heart (LAD - left anterior descending coronary artery). But the minimally invasive procedure can only be done to isolated LAD lesions.

If you can get a copy of his angiogram and mail it to me I am sure that Dr Davis would look at it and gives his opinion in terms of surgical management.

 

[eandesmom]

I don't recall being bothered by the buses the last time I stayed at SSR and used the bus for MK. But this time the whole bus thing was out of control. If I didn't have a car I would have been very unhappy. Maybe I just had bad luck. One morning it took from 850 am to 10:10 to get to MK and that was using the internal bus. Getting home was a little bit better - maybe 50 minutes to an hour.

We had that experience at WL, both for TL and then AK. UGH! No fun. I've had it at least once per trip at any resort though, maybe 2-3x at YC (MK & AK) and I swear, AK always seems to be forever no matter where you stay. It was brutal one year at FW.

One afternoon I left AK at noon (Nick was sick so I left to go get him lunch) and I did not step foot in the treehouse until 1:30pm. That includes waits, travel, detour to BB, getting food at Artist palette (no wait) and then having Bell Services take me over to the treehouse on a golf cart. Which - BTW - bell services will run you over to the treehouses and it felt like it took 3 minutes. If I had waited for the internal bus or walked it would obviously have been longer.

The rest of the trip we drove.

Jeff and I refuse to drive at Disney. The mere idea of it stresses me out, however other members of my family may want one. AK always seems to take forever, as does DTD since they hit a water park as well. Honestly my gut is that OKW is probably the best fit for us point wise, size wise, transportation wise and given my parents health but that would be a 7 month swap. I'd prefer boardwalk or bc but they don't sleep as many and cost more. We will see though, still very far out, heck it's not even till Jan that I could book anything and I have no idea what my folks preference is yet anyway. Good to know about Bell Services and the golf carts! They really should let you rent them there, like they do at FW, I'd be all over that!

As long as Jeff drove it, I hate driving those things. LOL!

My gut is we will book 1 treehouse since chances are decent that a 2 bed at SSR would still be avail at 7m but for sure a treehouse won't. Then we will try to get a 2nd at a cash rate and then switch as needed and available. Sleeping wise, the THV is a much better layout, bus issue aside. I just spoke to the BEST CM at member services who really explained how the cash ressies come available for DVC, pretty cool. However it does mean that in all likelihood, at 11 months, there may not be anything opened up yet and it will take lots of calling so I'll probably book something with the AP if I can and then switch it to DVC if that's a better rate.

The other quandary will be if I try to "walk" the ressie. My ideal dates are Sunday-Sunday, which begins on the 28th and so I'm going to run into folks that are booking the entire Xmas-NYE week. Not so worried about the Jan nights but getting the NYE days could be tricky if I don't walk.

Good thing this isn't till Jan, even thinking about it now makes my head spin!

It sounds like they can not restent him or they would have unless they are doing some type of staged procedure.

You need to find out what vessel is blocked. There are minimally invasive surgical procedures for blockages on the front of the heart (LAD - left anterior descending coronary artery). But the minimally invasive procedure can only be done to isolated LAD lesions.

If you can get a copy of his angiogram and mail it to me I am sure that Dr Davis would look at it and gives his opinion in terms of surgical management.

Yes, they would have resented those 2 when they did the other 2 the last time he went in (maybe a year ago?) he's got 12 total now I think and 10 of them are quite old...10+ years. What he said is that the 2 that weren't done, can't be, due to their location, too dangerous. If that's what is now clogged up, sounds like the medical option is medication, something to thin the arterial wall. Which I do NOT like the sound of at all.

I don't recall where they were although I did see the angiogram at the time. I'll take notes on Monday and email you. I probably won't be able to get a copy though.

 

[mrsksomeday]

For Jeff drinking the koolaid!! It sounds like he is secretly hooked on Disney and not admitting it but like most Disneyaholics once you are hooked you can't stop talking about it .

The October trip sounds like fun!!

As for the other trip I can't imagine being at WDW with that many relatives. I love reading how you weigh all the options, you are very good at working out the best way. Can't wait to read more.

 

[eandesmom]

For Jeff drinking the koolaid!! It sounds like he is secretly hooked on Disney and not admitting it but like most Disneyaholics once you are hooked you can't stop talking about it .

The October trip sounds like fun!!

As for the other trip I can't imagine being at WDW with that many relatives. I love reading how you weigh all the options, you are very good at working out the best way. Can't wait to read more.

I think it's less of a secret than he realizes, it's pretty funny. I mean he has Disney pins on his daypack, that he uses year round.

We've done this trip with the larger group twice, though granted only once for Jeff. 2001 at DLR and then 2004 at WDW. It should be even more fun now that the kids are older...back in 2004 it was 7 kids all under the age of 7! And was still an absolute blast. I have a pretty awesome family, very lucky that way. And they are all pretty much Disney freaks, which makes it easy. In fact the only one that may have issues is the newest member of the clan, my BIL who has never been. He may run away and hide at times but everyone else is pretty much a commando.

It is actually long overdue, I wish it was sooner than 2013 but financially isn't in the cards for anyone before then.

 

[KatMark]

Cynthia, sorry I'm behind yet again (too much going on with Mark's mom), but I read quickly, and all I can say is I AM SO GLAD THAT JEFF IS DRINKING THE KOOL-AID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[englishrose47]

All caught up and once again head spinning with all your variables !!!

 

[MEK]

Yes, they would have resented those 2 when they did the other 2 the last time he went in (maybe a year ago?) he's got 12 total now I think and 10 of them are quite old...10+ years. What he said is that the 2 that weren't done, can't be, due to their location, too dangerous. If that's what is now clogged up, sounds like the medical option is medication, something to thin the arterial wall. Which I do NOT like the sound of at all.

I don't recall where they were although I did see the angiogram at the time. I'll take notes on Monday and email you. I probably won't be able to get a copy though.

That's a lot of stents. Some interventional cardiologists will stent everything. I'm kind-of surprised your dad was never given the option of a surgical consult prior to this, but I don't know enough to understand why that decision was made. Go ahead and email me after Monday.

And, yes, your dad can always request a copy of his cardiac cath/angiogram. It takes literally 5 minutes to copy it on a CD and then its his to keep. If he requests a copy of it make sure it includes the dictated procedure note. It's a good thing to have in his possession if he ever wants a second opinion. Find out what your dad's ejection fraction is. That is an indicator of his heart muscle function.

Good luck tomorrow.

 

[eandesmom]

That's a lot of stents. Some interventional cardiologists will stent everything. I'm kind-of surprised your dad was never given the option of a surgical consult prior to this, but I don't know enough to understand why that decision was made. Go ahead and email me after Monday.

Oh I imagine he was given the option but who knows. He's been seeing the same cardiologist for quite some time. I think the first round he got 4 or so and I know at least 2 are resents but am unclear on the rest. I honestly didn't realize he had quite that many until the last 2 as I was living in IL when he had the 2nd round but in, but I'll be there when they read the angiogram on Monday so will know a lot more then. I do know that overall, and it's probably been 12-14 years since the first, he's done really really well with the stents.

And, yes, your dad can always request a copy of his cardiac cath/angiogram. It takes literally 5 minutes to copy it on a CD and then its his to keep. If he requests a copy of it make sure it includes the dictated procedure note. It's a good thing to have in his possession if he ever wants a second opinion. Find out what your dad's ejection fraction is. That is an indicator of his heart muscle function.

Good luck tomorrow.

Oh I'm sure he can, it was more the issue that I'm not sure he'd want me having a copy and getting another opinion lol! I will tell you this I am VERY unimpressed with the doctors in Germany basically doing nothing.

 

[eandesmom]

Cynthia, sorry I'm behind yet again (too much going on with Mark's mom), but I read quickly, and all I can say is I AM SO GLAD THAT JEFF IS DRINKING THE KOOL-AID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so sorry for all that you and Mark are going through, I can't even imagine.

All caught up and once again head spinning with all your variables !!!

Ah well, it's a good thing we have 18 months to plan this one huh!

 

[Misskitty3]

Just checking in....hope your Dad's appt went well yesterday.

 

[eandesmom]

Just checking in....hope your Dad's appt went well yesterday.

thank you so much for checking in!

It went as well as I guess it could. The long and short of it is that the 2 stents he got in Jan have now closed up and they aren't exactly sure why. What that meant was 100% blockage on the right side. Luckily, as he's had this disease for so long now (first stent/attack in 97 I think?) his heart has done a bang up job of buidling it's own backup bypass system with small ventricles and the provide enough blood to the other side to keep him from having a heart attack, causing any muscle damage and also providing the right warnings to make him slow down so he doesn't do any damage. So that's good and encouraging for chances of further damage/attacks.

They did an angioplasty, opened them back up and added 2 more so now he has an even dozen. They are changing his medication and used a different kind of stent. He'll basically be back to normal activities almost immediately, other than stairs so that part is fabulous. Scary part is waiting and hoping these stay open.

 

[Chilly]

When I finish my TR I'll make an index and put a link over here in the cruise section as well.

 

[eandesmom]

When I finish my TR I'll make an index and put a link over here in the cruise section as well.

YAY! I can't wait to read all about it.

 

[Misskitty3]

He'll basically be back to normal activities almost immediately, other than stairs so that part is fabulous. Scary part is waiting and hoping these stay open.

Glad it turned out okay! Too bad they couldnt have figured it out in Germany but in my experience, you rececieve the best care from your own doctor!