Can I Survive another 11 days in WDW w/ Disney-Resistant Husband? *11/25 SURPRISE!!**

:rotfl:That makes me laugh!!! My kids always say the same thing. Last year while at the lake, DS4 (then 3)wanted to know where the castle was:confused3 He couldn't figure out why there were fireworks but no MK castle! This year, we were sitting in the boat watching the fireworks and DH busted out singing "Wishes"! I cracked up laughing! NOT the same!

Heather

I know - do you think our children are spoiled??????:rotfl:
 
I just read your Lasik post. My DH, Denny, had Lasik surgery done at least ten years ago, He wore contacts and glasses all his life. He works around chemicals, so he would have to switch to "coke" bottle glasses whenever he entered the plant. His contacts were always bothering him.

His surgery was a complete success. It really changed his life. He had never gone back to wearing glasses, except he now uses readers for small print, but so do I. He spends 98% of his day with NO glasses. And his eyes were bad - really BAD.

The night after he had the procedure we had to drive in the fog to a Christmas party. He said he could see better that night than he did in all his years of wearing glasses/contacts (which kind of freaked me out since it looked like pea soup to me). :scared1:

I am sure its got to be scary, but I say go for it. I witnessed it really change someone's quality of life.
 
Your Canada pictures are wonderful. Really enjoyed them!
 
Funny you should bring up "your" ophthalmologist who isn't keen on Lasik. I remember chatting with my ophthalmologist about the procedure about 10 years or so ago. She was running through all the pros and cons of the procedure with me, and then it struck me...she was wearing glasses.:rotfl:

I really wish I was like you and could get by throughout my day without glasses or contacts 24/7. I went 24 years with perfect eyes, and then 3 years of law school killed them.:laughing: I DESPISE glasses. I don't even like wearing them in the house when I am all by myself, so even though I don't think I look good in glasses, it really isn't a vanity thing. I just plain and simple hate wearing glasses. You lose your periforal vision (which I hate), and I have yet to find a pair that is comfortable or stays on my face. And I already explained why contacts haven't been working for me so well.

I don't have exceptionally dry eyes, but I have noticed a little less tolerance for contacts in the last few years. I will certainly be sure to research this post-op dry eye side effect a little more carefully. However, as crazy as it sounds (and I know it sounds crazy) I would almost rather be able to see without glasses or contacts even if I ended up with drier eyes and had to use moisture drops going forward (which I don't, by the way, ever use now).

I am really trying to make a rationale decision, but I am so done with glasses and contacts.

That said, your post (and the others above) really has me second thinking this Cynthia. Earlier this morning, I was pretty sure I had reached a decision. I was sitting down with a client preparing for a day-long deposition. Of course, like all other days, I had my contacts in, but I must have gotten a piece of dust in one of them. I kept trying to discretely rub the dust out of my lens without dislodging my contact but every attempt was unsuccessful. I had no lens solution with me, no extra pairs of contacts, and no glasses. And I was just about to start a very long workday, and needed to be "on". There was no time for fooling around with wayward contacts.:sad2:

Fortunately my client had flown in from Toronto, and just happened to have in her purse her airport security bag containing all of her "liquids and gels", including some saline solution. Luckily I was able to borrow some and fix my eye so I could get on with our meeting. But even so, I took it that this little incident was a clear sign (on the last workday before my consultation) that I should take the plunge and have the procedure.

Now, once again, I am rethinking.:crazy2: :scratchin

Great Canada Day pics!!! Looks like a fun day (and makes me miss my grandma, we would always play croquet at her house).

On the Lasik, I would just really make sure you get a full dry eye test before going forward if you haven't had one already (with the dye and strips). That's what would concern me the most. Had I looked into it 10 years ago I would have been a candidate and I can't imagine the nightmare I'd be in now if I'd done it.

I hear you on the glasses...you do get used to it. I always hated wearing them as well. Funny how designer frames has eased the pain. :rotfl: It helps to think of them as an accessory. I can see the alarm clock without them but I can't legally drive. I'll give myself a headache if I try to watch TV or a Movie without them. Going back and forth from presentations to a computer screen...is a nightmare and requires the new progressives.

So I can't get through the day 24/7 without them but you are right, I can get away with not wearing them all the time, from dawn to dusk. What is kind of funny though is that before I had to give up the contact I did have to wear the readers OVER the contacts but if I didn't have the contacts in, didn't have to wear anything. Weird the way the eye changes. Just seeing how rapid that change can be (poor Jeff went from 20/20 to rx level readers in under 2 years) would make me steer away even if it weren't for the dry eyes. I'm paranoid now though. In the past I just never felt my eyes were bad enough to justify the risk and now and just glad I didn't.

But...now you know why I have sunglasses on in most of my disney pictures...they are Rx progressive lens sunglasses. I'll tell you one thing though, I have drops and spare glasses stashed everywhere!

:rotfl:
 

I know - do you think our children are spoiled??????:rotfl:

No doubt!!! When we were booking the cruise, the first thing out of my DS10s mouth was..."Mom, are we going to have a balcony? We have to have one! We can't go to WDW without a balcony!" I quickly explained that it wasn't WDW...it was a ship and I wasn't sure on pricing.... long story short....we booked a balcony. Although the family rooms with the big picture window looked really cool. After the entire conversation, DH gave the oldest son a lecture on "being grateful". So now, Stephen just says,..."we can stay anywhere mom...just as long as it's Disney".

By the way, DH saw that y'all were going on the Fantasy, the 7 dayer, and wanted to know why we were only doing 5:confused3 :laughing: I told him it was too late to switch...the dates are revolving around my sister and her family with work and school. Erin, you'll have to make lots of pictures...and post them;)

Trish....have yall done one of the WDW cruises, yet? I bet your 'Disney-Resistant Husband' would enjoy it!

Heather
 
By the way, DH saw that y'all were going on the Fantasy, the 7 dayer, and wanted to know why we were only doing 5:confused3 :laughing: I told him it was too late to switch...the dates are revolving around my sister and her family with work and school. Erin, you'll have to make lots of pictures...and post them;)

:laughing:yes! Can't wait for 7 nights on the Fantasy! We love cruising! I will make work of doing a cruise report! I still need to scrapbook last Octobers trip!
 
:laughing:yes! Can't wait for 7 nights on the Fantasy! We love cruising! I will make work of doing a cruise report! I still need to scrapbook last Octobers trip!

I'm gonna hold you to it! ;) My pictures from our October trip are still on the computer. I had all intentions of doing a mini TR, but it fell through...oh well. Will certainly do one for the Dream.
 
Looks like you had a lot of fun on Canada day! Everyone looks great in their red clothes! :thumbsup2

Love Kate's maple leaf brooch and her hat! She has such a great sense of style!

I had never seen the picture of William and Harry riding Splash Mountain with Diana! So neat! I duck my head down like that every time I ride, too. :laughing:

Kate does have a great sense of style, doesn't she? She and William have really jazzed up the monarchy, haven't they?:)

That is a funny photo of Princess Diana ducking...unfortunately whether you duck or not, you are still gonna get wet!:rotfl:

Trish - LOVE the picture of the royal visit!!!:thumbsup2 Kate is stunning. LOL on the comparisons!:rotfl2: Also loved your visit to the theme park there, looks beautiful! Sounds like a fun weekend! We are off to the beaches of Lake MI :boat:today for the holiday, fireworks tonight. Last year all 3 of the kids made comments on how the local fireworks just aren't the same since we've been going to Disney!!!::yes:: Oh, I loved it! Have a great day!

I agree...Kate is stunning!:goodvibes

Hope you had a great 4th of July. Too funny about those fireworks comments.:rotfl: My kids know better than to say anything like that because Chris takes his backyard fireworks very seriously.:laughing: However, while not Disney, I have to give him credit...they are always quite impressive!

What great pics from Canada Day!! It looks like you had great weather. Our weather for 4th of July weekend has not been as nice.. :sad1:
One of our trips MUST overlap!

Amanda

Sorry your 4th of July weather wasn't the greatest. Not sure what we did to deserve it, but we have been having excellent weather so far this year.:banana:

Looks like you had a fun Canada Day! Your kids look so cute decked out in red.
I love Kate's hate.

Thanks! We did have a fun Canada Day!:)

It looks like you guys had a great Canada Day! I love how everyone is dressed in red too! My family just stayed in together, but it is always a nice day to just be together doing something! Great report so far!

Thank you!:goodvibes It is always fun to spend time together relaxing...no matter what the activity. Hope you had a relaxing weekend.:)

Happy Canada Day and enjoy the Royal visit.

I still remember when Australia was Prince Charles and Princess Diana's first visit with baby William. Look how he's all "growed up" now!

It is amazing, isn't it? Wills is all grown up now!:laughing:

:rotfl:That makes me laugh!!! My kids always say the same thing. Last year while at the lake, DS4 (then 3)wanted to know where the castle was:confused3 He couldn't figure out why there were fireworks but no MK castle! This year, we were sitting in the boat watching the fireworks and DH busted out singing "Wishes"! I cracked up laughing! NOT the same!

Heather

Too funny!!!:rotfl:
 
Looks like you had a great fun filled holiday weekend! Love all the big smiles on the kids faces :goodvibes

Thanks Michelle!:goodvibes Canada Day was great. Hope you had a good 4th of July!

Your weekend looks just wonderful!! I have friends who have a house on PEI that were able to snap pictures of the beautiful couple in a coach going down the street-- so jealous!
Everyone looks like they had a great time this weekend! Happy belated Canada Day!

Thanks Kylie!:) That is pretty neat that your friends were able to snap photos of Wil and Kate right from their street! Talk about door-to-door service!:laughing:
 
I just read your Lasik post. My DH, Denny, had Lasik surgery done at least ten years ago, He wore contacts and glasses all his life. He works around chemicals, so he would have to switch to "coke" bottle glasses whenever he entered the plant. His contacts were always bothering him.

His surgery was a complete success. It really changed his life. He had never gone back to wearing glasses, except he now uses readers for small print, but so do I. He spends 98% of his day with NO glasses. And his eyes were bad - really BAD.

The night after he had the procedure we had to drive in the fog to a Christmas party. He said he could see better that night than he did in all his years of wearing glasses/contacts (which kind of freaked me out since it looked like pea soup to me). :scared1:

I am sure its got to be scary, but I say go for it. I witnessed it really change someone's quality of life.

Thank you so much for sharing the good side.:hug: The bad side of this still scares me, but all things considered, I have decided that I am still going to take the plunge.

However....I have decided to defer until next year as we have a couple of other big expenditures this year. Hopefully the extra time will allow me to save up the dough and the courage.:laughing:

Great Canada Day pics!!! Looks like a fun day (and makes me miss my grandma, we would always play croquet at her house).

On the Lasik, I would just really make sure you get a full dry eye test before going forward if you haven't had one already (with the dye and strips). That's what would concern me the most. Had I looked into it 10 years ago I would have been a candidate and I can't imagine the nightmare I'd be in now if I'd done it.

I hear you on the glasses...you do get used to it. I always hated wearing them as well. Funny how designer frames has eased the pain. :rotfl: It helps to think of them as an accessory. I can see the alarm clock without them but I can't legally drive. I'll give myself a headache if I try to watch TV or a Movie without them. Going back and forth from presentations to a computer screen...is a nightmare and requires the new progressives.

So I can't get through the day 24/7 without them but you are right, I can get away with not wearing them all the time, from dawn to dusk. What is kind of funny though is that before I had to give up the contact I did have to wear the readers OVER the contacts but if I didn't have the contacts in, didn't have to wear anything. Weird the way the eye changes. Just seeing how rapid that change can be (poor Jeff went from 20/20 to rx level readers in under 2 years) would make me steer away even if it weren't for the dry eyes. I'm paranoid now though. In the past I just never felt my eyes were bad enough to justify the risk and now and just glad I didn't.

But...now you know why I have sunglasses on in most of my disney pictures...they are Rx progressive lens sunglasses. I'll tell you one thing though, I have drops and spare glasses stashed everywhere!

:rotfl:

Hey Cynthia...you know, this really is such a hard decision for me, but I still seem to be leaning toward doing it.

While I am definitely not keen on having dry eyes, I still seem to want to get rid of contacts and glasses more.:rotfl: I hope this doesn't come back to bite me, but at this point I think I would take dry eyes and no glasses or contacts (except for reading) over the status quo.:rolleyes:

I just want to be able to go for a swim without worrying about contacts falling out, and ride a horse without dust from the arena getting in my eyes.

I don't care if I have to wear glasses in future to read...it is more the active, sports stuff that I really want to be free to do without contacts or glasses.

However, I have decided to postpone surgery til next year, so I still have time to think things over....


No doubt!!! When we were booking the cruise, the first thing out of my DS10s mouth was..."Mom, are we going to have a balcony? We have to have one! We can't go to WDW without a balcony!" I quickly explained that it wasn't WDW...it was a ship and I wasn't sure on pricing.... long story short....we booked a balcony. Although the family rooms with the big picture window looked really cool. After the entire conversation, DH gave the oldest son a lecture on "being grateful". So now, Stephen just says,..."we can stay anywhere mom...just as long as it's Disney".

By the way, DH saw that y'all were going on the Fantasy, the 7 dayer, and wanted to know why we were only doing 5:confused3 :laughing: I told him it was too late to switch...the dates are revolving around my sister and her family with work and school. Erin, you'll have to make lots of pictures...and post them;)

Trish....have yall done one of the WDW cruises, yet? I bet your 'Disney-Resistant Husband' would enjoy it!

Heather

Hey Heather...we still haven't done a cruise, but we have one tentatively planned for 2013. And our group has tentatively expanded to 10, with a couple of milestone birthdays, including one 10, two 18's, one 40 and two 65's.:banana: Can't wait!!!

:laughing:yes! Can't wait for 7 nights on the Fantasy! We love cruising! I will make work of doing a cruise report! I still need to scrapbook last Octobers trip!

Yay! Please let me know once you start your report!:banana:

I'm gonna hold you to it! ;) My pictures from our October trip are still on the computer. I had all intentions of doing a mini TR, but it fell through...oh well. Will certainly do one for the Dream.

Heather...it is never too late for a TR! I would love to read about your cruise...didn't even know you did one yet? Was it just you and your DH? Maybe when you finish up your current TR you can tell us all about it?;)
 
Destination D - Part 2

During the lunch break on Day 1, I had some packages to pick up at the Business Centre, which conveniently just happened to be located right outside the Convention Center Hall where our D23 conference was taking place.;) Knowing that this was a quick trip, and that I would have no time to shop, I took advantage of doing some online shopping and shipping packages to the hotel. ;) Oh heck...I'll admit: I do this EVERY trip to the States. The Canadians will understand.:laughing:

Anyway, by the time I picked up the packages, got them up to the room, and grabbed a quick lunch at the Contempo Cafe, it was once again time to head back to our next session.

Over the lunch period others from our group took turns once again holding our spot near the front of the line.

The next session after lunch was hosted by Paul Anderson (who had already presented at the Weird Disney morning session with Becky Kline) and Disney archivist Steven Vagnini, who spoke about the origins of Epcot. Not only was Stephen highly knowledgable, with access to loads of information from the archives which I am sure most of the audience hadn't heard before, but he was also an excellent speaker. I could have sat there listening to him a lot longer. (Fortunately for me, he ended up making a second appearance later on during the conference).

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Of course, they asked the frequent question - "What does Epcot stand for?"

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I had heard of "A" and "B" before, and of course had heard Walt explain the real acronym - "D", but I had never heard of "C".:laughing:

This session on Epcot's origins was fabulous. Lots of information about Walt's original ideas for Epcot (which never quite made it to fruition), and how Epcot as we know it came to be. Once again, we were treated to a sporgasbord of construction photos. Again, this was exactly why I signed up for this conference. I can never seem to see enough photos of the early construction, or hear enough insight as to how these Parks began, so this was right up my alley. The fact that the vast majority of photos and information conveyed during this session was stuff that I had never seen or heard before was icing on the cake.

Another Disney Archivist, Rob Klein conducted the next session, along with Tim O'Day, a past Disney PR exec with large personality and presence, who continues to host and moderate special Disney fan events, such as the Destination D conference.


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Rob and Tim talked us through various Walt Disney World television segments and specials over the years, including hysterical clips from the 70's with Glen Campbell (a rather bizarre and anti-climatic first television broadcast to open the MK), and a dedication ceremony with Bob Hope inside the Contemporary Hotel. It was so funny to see Bob Hope's "double take" when seeing the hotel after stepping off the monorail, and hear his quip to the young pretty CM who welcomed him...something along the lines of "are you busy tonite?":rotfl: My, how times have changed?:laughing:

Up next was a segment hosted by famed Imagineer Tony Baxter entitled "The Walt Disney World That Never Was".

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Photos were strictly prohibited in this session, which outlined in remarkable detail various Resorts (such as the Venetian, the Asian, Persian and Mediterranean) which were never built, as well as several attractions in the Parks which never made it into construction.

I was amazed at the amount of behind-the-scenes intellectual property displayed during this session, and secretly wondered whether any of Disney's legal counsel had vetted this presentation before it ran.:rotfl:

While the behind-the-scenes of the never-built resorts was interesting and fascinating, Baxter's presentation of various shelved attractions was what elicited the most collective gasps throughout the audience. Not only were we treated to never-before seen design and concept drawings of these attractions, but the presentation itself was expertly narrated by Tony Baxter and punctuated by accompanying music and sound effects. It had the effect of making the audience feel as if we had actually seen and experienced a Sleeping-Beauty styled attraction, with a segment over the forest of briars with the Prince battling Malificent the Dragon, the Western River Expedition, an attraction envisioned by Marc Davis, and a very different crystal-based Land Pavillion at Epcot.

This was blow-you-out-of-the-water good. The entire audience was just dumbstruck and glued to our seats, even though we ended up going about 20 minutes into the supper break.

At about 6:10pm we broke for dinner. By 8pm we were back at it, with another session hosted by Tony Baxter and Tim O'Day. Just when we thought it couldn't get any better, we were treated to a special evening watching rare film and television footage from the Disney Archives documenting the history of the Parks.

By the time things wrapped for the night, and Carrie and I bid our farewells to the group, it was almost 11pm. We made our way back to our room, and finally dug into the delicious Lilly Pultizer-themed cake. Yummy!!!

After finishing our cake, Carrie was keen on an early night given that we had been up early that morning, and had another jam-full day starting early the next morning. Being the night owl that I am, I wasn't quite ready to retire, so I picked up my laptop and headed to a comfortable loungechair in the main lobby. About 1/2 hour later, I finally decided I was ready to call it a night and made my way over to the elevator. Imagine my surprise when none other than Tony Baxter made his way over to the elevator with me.:scared1:

There was no one else around but the two of us. I really wish I had the presence of mind to say something memorable, but I didn't. He laughed that I must have been chilly, which I was, as I was dressed in only a light tank-style dress, and the air-conditioning was blasting. I told him that I thoroughly enjoyed his presentation and then bid him a good evening as I got off on the 10th floor. (He was of course heading to the Conceirge Floor as I had watched him use his room key to unlock that floor on the elevator pad).

With a big goofy smile on my face, having just met a Disney Rock Star face to face, I headed back to the room to get some sleep. :goodvibes

I will be back later with a recap of the final day of the conference.

(Once again, all photos in this segment are courtesy of Melanie!:))


 
I would have LOVED to see the Disney that Never Was-- I'm fascinated with the hotels and attractions that never got built!
 
Hey Trish!

We haven't done a cruise, yet. We went to the WL last October for MNSSHP...last minute quick trip...just never did the TR. Our family has a cruise scheduled for next June on the Dream...my sister's family and our parents, too...11 total. I'll certainly do a TR for that one;)

Heather
 
Hey Trish!

We haven't done a cruise, yet. We went to the WL last October for MNSSHP...last minute quick trip...just never did the TR. Our family has a cruise scheduled for next June on the Dream...my sister's family and our parents, too...11 total. I'll certainly do a TR for that one;)

Heather

Gotcha! I definitely knew about the June cruise, and can't wait to read your report!:)
 
Riding the elevator with Tony!!!! WOWOWOWOWOWOW!!!!!:woohoo: That is really so cool, I would have been star struck! I had a little brush with celebrity here in Holland MI last night, I will share it after I upload the pictures!;)

I also love the construction and historical background information, anything I can read and watch is great. The pictures of the building sites are amazing, it is a testimony to the vision of the imagineers!

I'm sure Chris has awesome fireworks, my DH used to do that (when he leased space to the fireworks stand and got them for free!!!:lmao:), now we just go to Disney for the big show - it's much better there -:rotfl:!
 
Riding the elevator with Tony!!!! WOWOWOWOWOWOW!!!!!:woohoo: That is really so cool, I would have been star struck! I had a little brush with celebrity here in Holland MI last night, I will share it after I upload the pictures!;)

I also love the construction and historical background information, anything I can read and watch is great. The pictures of the building sites are amazing, it is a testimony to the vision of the imagineers!

I'm sure Chris has awesome fireworks, my DH used to do that (when he leased space to the fireworks stand and got them for free!!!:lmao:), now we just go to Disney for the big show - it's much better there -:rotfl:!

A brush with celebrity at home....do tell!:banana:

And yes, I will agree with you. Disney's fireworks are better than anyone else's! Even Chris! (But that is our little secret!:laughing:)
 
I would have loved to have been there .... what an amazing presentation that must have been...and then a ride in the elevator too!:worship:
 
Wow! I have to admit to being a bit green with envy right now, what a great experience!
 














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