"Can We Un-Birthday Yet?" A He, SMEE, & They Sept. 2020 Trip Report *Update 11/21 COMPLETE!*

[CruellaNY]

Such a fun trip. We always spend are last day at MK, it is now a tradition for us and we usually say good bye to MIckey.

When people say they want to do MK first and only are doing 1 day there I sometimes think they should do MK last! But it's the park they "know" the most if they've never been there so makes sense they all want to do it first

I want the toys from McD’s so bad and I can’t get them here, boo! The managers here won’t sell them separately such A bummer.

Yeah that stinks! If I get any extras I'll let you know for sure!

We ate our Thanksgiving meal at Yak in 2017. It was a perfect day at AK and not even real crazy busy! I hope it is like that for you!

Thanks! I know it'll be different but still hoping the crowd is manageable

Thanks Ariane, we are doing fine.
Oldest DD has been doing university from home and it's been working out so far. Youngest DD has been attending school and so far there are no cases in their school, so hopefully that continues.
I've gone through two furloughs (2 months May/June then 1 month in October) but I am still employed and back working now, keeping my fingers crossed.
I hope next year brings better things for everybody.

That's great about the girls and school going well, especially younger DD being able to stay in school! We are just hoping Chris goes back after Thanksgiving as we hear rumors they won't and he's only been back 6 days I remember you telling me about the 1st or 2nd furlough so happy you're still working and hope that continues.
We have to think positive thoughts for 2021 for sure!

And I tend to avoid McD's as much as possible.

Steve and I don't eat it often at all (especially Steve) but Ricky does and I am not above getting some Happy Meals for Disney toys!

meh. Not nearly as fierce looking.

That's for sure

That's actually on my bucket list.
Did you fold it? I understand this is the proper way to eat a NY pizza?

NO! You do NOT fold pizza!!!! Whoever told you that is WRONG and is not from NY!!!
But yeah you need to try NY pizza

And thank you for writing! Not too much of that going on around these parts, so I appreciate it even more.

Thank you for reading! When Disney and the rest of the world was totally shut down it helped me to come here and read. I honestly hope we don't get to that point again Either way I'm sure I'll do a TR for our Thanksgiving trip since I rarely get to write one that includes the boys.

We had an annual "event" every year where all the cousins decorated my Grandpa's Christmas tree--"Tree Trimming." Now, we all get together at my parents' house to decorate their tree together It's one of my favorite traditions!

That's great Do it as long as you can! And please say hello to your parents for me!

 

[pkondz]

Steve and I don't eat it often at all (especially Steve) but Ricky does and I am not above getting some Happy Meals for Disney toys!

Always an exception.

NO! You do NOT fold pizza!!!! Whoever told you that is WRONG and is not from NY!!!
But yeah you need to try NY pizza

No folding? Where is that done, then? Not Chicago with their deep-dish.
Either way, I wanna NY pizza!
(And for the record... folding is weird.)

Thank you for reading! When Disney and the rest of the world was totally shut down it helped me to come here and read. I honestly hope we don't get to that point again Either way I'm sure I'll do a TR for our Thanksgiving trip since I rarely get to write one that includes the boys.

Yay!

 

[suse66]

Wednesday 11/25: land around 10am and Lyft to BLT. Drop stuff and go to Epcot. Grab a QS lunch, hopefully see the cavalcades, ride Test Track so Chris feels the day is worthwhile and have dinner at Tutto Italia. I don't know that we'll need to stay to close since we should be there at noon but at least we should be there when it's dark which is my favorite time to be in the parks.

Did you do a 1 or 2 bedroom at BLT? I'd love to stay there at some point.

Friday 11/27: MK day! Again we'll get there before opening but this time we can walk! I want to see ALL the cavalcades. Not sure what we'll do for lunch since my previous reservation was messed up in the glitch but we'll go to dinner at the Wave. Easy to get there and easy to get back to the park afterwards if we want.

The Wave is getting great reviews for dinner.

Knowing that when we return I'll be busy getting into Christmas shopping along with taking on another responsibility of sorts at work, I started decorating this past weekend. I still need to do our big tree and my village but I did the rest of the house and had a helper to hang ornaments with me on our smaller tree! It did tire her out though so she took a cat (or maybe mouse?) nap right in the middle:

Such a little cutie! What are you going to be doing at work next? It sounds like you've done well through all of this which is awesome. I know some people who's work has dried up completely.

Melinda @pepperandchips and I looking FIERCE with attitude:

Love this!

Oh! Did I mention? I get to go back to Disney again in December! Yup, we'll return on Sunday Nov. 29th and then on Sunday Dec. 6th, Steve and I will fly down for 3 nights! Well only 1 night at Disney staying at BWV followed by 2 "work" nights at Universal, staying here:

Lucky duck!

As always thank you again for following along! I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with whatever friends or family you can see. I may or may not do a TR for our Thanksgiving trip so keep your eyes open! Be well my friends!

TR please......will be keeping my eyes peeled on FB as well.

Thanks Ariane, we are doing fine.
Oldest DD has been doing university from home and it's been working out so far. Youngest DD has been attending school and so far there are no cases in their school, so hopefully that continues.
I've gone through two furloughs (2 months May/June then 1 month in October) but I am still employed and back working now, keeping my fingers crossed.
I hope next year brings better things for everybody.

Glad to hear you and the fam are doing well, Jeff! I saw that NL and PEI have pulled back from the bubble. Things are not looking good in NS and NB right now. Not that Ontario is good at all.....things are exploding like crazy in the city. Luckily we are ok in our area but I am not taking any risks.

 

[missjackiemcg]

That's great Do it as long as you can! And please say hello to your parents for me!

That's the plan!!

My Mom and I were just talking about you yesterday. She mentioned that she had gotten a check from her company that let her go in September to pay out all her unused vacation time, which she promptly put in the bank and decided to possibly join us for Christmas 2021!! She's like, "we only need $200, right? When you call, just tell her to do what she does--book us together but separate." LOL We'll talk when you get back from your trip!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

I do need to try it! We have lunch and dinner reservations that day but Steve and I can always grab a drink there - and send you a pic

Yes! Send me pics.

Steve recently gave me a little talking to because the drinks I had in Disney in Sept and lots I've ordered up here since getting back have gin and he was warning me not to mix gin with basically anything lol.

LMAO! Yep, gin is a bad choice and I try to avoid it at all costs...

 

[Terra Nova guy]

Glad to hear you and the fam are doing well, Jeff! I saw that NL and PEI have pulled back from the bubble. Things are not looking good in NS and NB right now. Not that Ontario is good at all.....things are exploding like crazy in the city. Luckily we are ok in our area but I am not taking any risks.

Nice to hear from you Susan. Yes, the bubble popped yesterday. Not surprising. There hasn't been any community spread in NL since March and they are trying to keep it that way - the only cases have been travel related. I'm hoping things can be contained enough to avoid a complete shut down again. Local businesses have already suffered, and I did not enjoy home schooling. Travel would be nice, but for now I am content to stay fairly close to home. Hopefully next year things are better.

 

[zoey141]

Yea, homeschooling has been a challenge this year. Never realized it would be such a task. Thankfully, my children are pretty amenable to learning online, and I've had tremendous help from the teachers and school resources online.

 

[KathyM2]

Yup, we'll return on Sunday Nov. 29th and then on Sunday Dec. 6th, Steve and I will fly down for 3 nights! Well only 1 night at Disney staying at BWV followed by 2 "work" nights at Universal, staying here:

Wow!! that's amazing to have trips so close together!! Just seems surreal to me lol!! Your Thanksgiving trip sounds fantastic and I look forward to hearing more about what that is like!!

 

[kittylady1972]

I hope you are having a fantastic time at Disney this week. Can't wait to read all about it!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

I fell waaayyy behind but I'm all caught up now. Just wanted to say have a fabulous trip

 

[eliseisawkward]

I fell waaaay behind on trip reports this month... it’s been one of those months.

Glad to hear Chris can hear again! I would have been so scared if I was him. Sad that Ricky had to leave school early, but glad he was responsible and safe. I’m so frustrated by the sheer number of people who just won’t wear a mask or avoid unnecessary large gatherings. We would all be able to have small family get together safely if only people stopped going to (currently illegal) 500 person parties!! /rant

You and Jenny always have such a good time together! And The Wave is one I like!! Not too fancy, just good food.

The character cavalcade are too cute! I hope that’s something they consider keeping, even if they are less frequent.

Also love love love Frontera!

Hope your Thanksgiving trip has gone well!! I’ll keep an eye out for the report. Interested to see how the boys handled the changes and lack of FP!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I literally keep starting to read your posts and then never get a round to adding comments. But I have been following along!

 

[CruellaNY]

Hi, we're back from our Thanksgiving trip as of last night! I now have 5 whole days before Steve and I are off again - work calls and who am I to not answer Thank you again for following along, I so enjoy sharing our trips! I do think I'll do a TR for this trip and will post the link here whenever that's started. In the meantime I'll be finishing up my dining report; everyone please stay well and healthy!

No folding? Where is that done, then? Not Chicago with their deep-dish.
Either way, I wanna NY pizza!
(And for the record... folding is weird.)

Well it's done in NY by tourists from Canada

Did you do a 1 or 2 bedroom at BLT? I'd love to stay there at some point.

We did a 1 bedroom and while of course a 2 bedroom would have been lovely, we loved the 1 bedroom and it was plenty of room! And FYI I preferred BLT to the Contemporary but not sure why lol

The Wave is getting great reviews for dinner.

Yes it is, lots of people who normally wouldn't book it are eating there since there are less options but that's not a bad thing. Had another great dinner there on Friday!

What are you going to be doing at work next? It sounds like you've done well through all of this which is awesome. I know some people who's work has dried up completely.

I am super super lucky and I know it; there are lots of agencies that didn't make it through this. It was rough, surprisingly tougher in like August through October but now has picked up again heavily! We have a "team" whereby you take on more responsibilities including more clients and there are deadlines as far as when certain things need to be done; less "on your own" kind of. I've done it before; then stopped; and now am getting back on it which may not be the best choice during the holidays lol but in the long run it will most likely pay off! It'll for sure take up more time daily though.

TR please......will be keeping my eyes peeled on FB as well.

I think I decided I'm doing one

That's the plan!!

My Mom and I were just talking about you yesterday. She mentioned that she had gotten a check from her company that let her go in September to pay out all her unused vacation time, which she promptly put in the bank and decided to possibly join us for Christmas 2021!! She's like, "we only need $200, right? When you call, just tell her to do what she does--book us together but separate." LOL We'll talk when you get back from your trip!

I actually meant to respond to this before we left because as weird as it sounds it really touched me Your mom is so sweet; I'm also glad she got that check! My mom was let go a couple years ago from Girl Scouts after 30 years - unexpected - and while it's worked out for the best and she's really happy it stunk when it happened and had me worrying of course. I hope they join you and I will happily be part of the planning again!

Yea, homeschooling has been a challenge this year. Never realized it would be such a task. Thankfully, my children are pretty amenable to learning online, and I've had tremendous help from the teachers and school resources online.

Ugh did any of us that aren't teachers lol? Luckily Chris 15 is dealing with it well and his teachers have been great; I will say it's much better now than it was in the spring but I realize teachers as well as kids and parents were all thrown into it unexpectedly. Ricky much preferred his in person college classes and pretty much hated the remote ones and spring semester will be the same; crossing fingers fall 2021 is all in person! I think it depends not only on the school district and teachers but the child's individual personality and abilities-and parents patience levels!

Wow!! that's amazing to have trips so close together!! Just seems surreal to me lol!! Your Thanksgiving trip sounds fantastic and I look forward to hearing more about what that is like!!

HAHA I've gone 2 months in a row but never 2 weeks in a row! Our Thanksgiving trip was already set when the work opportunity came up and I really couldn't turn it down. And then the airline messing with flights and FORCING me to add a night Had to be done!

I hope you are having a fantastic time at Disney this week. Can't wait to read all about it!

Thank you we did! I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving as well and I think I'll definitely be doing a TR!

I fell waaayyy behind but I'm all caught up now. Just wanted to say have a fabulous trip

Hey that's ok - life And thank you we did! I hope you and the family are hanging in over there!

I fell waaaay behind on trip reports this month... it’s been one of those months.

That's ok it happens, to me as well! I know it'll take me linger to get this next TR going with the holidays and work too. But I'm glad you're back to finish reading!

ad that Ricky had to leave school early, but glad he was responsible and safe. I’m so frustrated by the sheer number of people who just won’t wear a mask or avoid unnecessary large gatherings. We would all be able to have small family get together safely if only people stopped going to (currently illegal) 500 person parties!! /rant

Yes yes yes; extremely frustrating Quinnipiac was able to go back down to "orange" status for their last few days before the kids left for Thanksgiving and one of Ricky's suitemates had stayed so at least they got their #'s down again by instituting the "red" level but it shouldn't have had to get to that point if everyone paid attention. I want Ricky to be able to have tons of fun and do what college kids are supposed to do; when the time is right. I sincerely am proud of his and his roommates' good decision making this semester.

You and Jenny always have such a good time together!

We do! And we always miss each other when we're apart so either they need to move to NY, we move to Chicago or we all move to Florida lol, right @Jenny Sanders ? What's our countdown now?

The character cavalcade are too cute! I hope that’s something they consider keeping, even if they are less frequent.

I do too! I still prefer this to regular meets and feel stronger about it after each trip!

Hope your Thanksgiving trip has gone well!! I’ll keep an eye out for the report. Interested to see how the boys handled the changes and lack of FP!

We did have a good trip and it was good having the boys with us even though there were a few sticky moments lol. They did well with the changes! Glad we moved from AOA to BLT though because I don't think they would have been as happy at AOA.

I literally keep starting to read your posts and then never get a round to adding comments. But I have been following along!

Hey Ariella I hope you guys had a nice Thanksgiving and I'm glad you've been reading! I'll get over to your new report and hope to see you when I start our Thanksgiving TR!

 

[pkondz]

Hi, we're back from our Thanksgiving trip as of last night!

Welcome back...

I now have 5 whole days before Steve and I are off again - work calls and who am I to not answer

...and.... have a good trip!

Well it's done in NY by tourists from Canada

 

[missjackiemcg]

Welcome home!!!

I actually meant to respond to this before we left because as weird as it sounds it really touched me

I hope they join you and I will happily be part of the planning again!

I hope they join us, too! Jimmy loves dragging them around WDW, LOL, and I would never say no to a built in babysitter right next door! Sounds like even my Dad is onboard. The last few years he kept saying he wouldn't go back to WDW until we did a cruise, so my Mom keeps reminding him of that now...

 

[Wood Nymph]

Ricky much preferred his in person college classes and pretty much hated the remote ones and spring semester will be the same; crossing fingers fall 2021 is all in person! I think it depends not only on the school district and teachers but the child's individual personality and abilities-and parents patience levels!

I have to believe that all schools will be back to normal by the fall of 2021. The thought that the students will have to suffer with more than a year of remote learning and the loss of the normal school experiences is almost too painful to think about. As it looks now, our two oldest grandchildren, a high school freshman and junior, will have been stuck in their bedrooms, isolated from their peer group, for almost a year, since their school district has been totally unable to make a decision on getting back to normal. I love that Ricky has a college experience that is better than most, and gives me hope that other schools can get there, too.

 

[CruellaNY]

Welcome back...

..and.... have a good trip!

LOL thank you! Trying to get some holiday shopping done between now and then!

Welcome home!!!

Thank you!

he last few years he kept saying he wouldn't go back to WDW until we did a cruise, so my Mom keeps reminding him of that now...

Ha! These men need to be careful what they say because their words WILL come back to haunt them

I have to believe that all schools will be back to normal by the fall of 2021. The thought that the students will have to suffer with more than a year of remote learning and the loss of the normal school experiences is almost too painful to think about. As it looks now, our two oldest grandchildren, a high school freshman and junior, will have been stuck in their bedrooms, isolated from their peer group, for almost a year, since their school district has been totally unable to make a decision on getting back to normal. I love that Ricky has a college experience that is better than most, and gives me hope that other schools can get there, too.

Yes I am extremely thankful that Ricky got to go away and hopeful that he'll return in January which at this point is still the plan. I am also glad Chris is back - albeit 2 HALF days a week which is ridiculous - so while I am not at all happy with our district I know it could be worse. I feel horribly for all these kids! I hope for all of them and have to think nothing else but that they WILL be normal by next fall.

 

[pkondz]

LOL thank you! Trying to get some holiday shopping done between now and then!

Hope your sled is jet-propelled.

 

[Tracy161]

OMG I've been wondering where you were, Ariane! I guess I missed the name change--whoops! I'll blame it on 2020, like I blame everything else these days... Here now, and happy to play catch up!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Finally caught up and you've had a whole trip and almost another one! Lol I can't wait to hear about both of them!