(Christmas) Lights, Decorations, Action ..A Post-Christmas PTR (update 12/22-page 42)

[marvali]

Oh no!! I hope they will have a different makeup day!! (I guess makeup day does not involve everyone wearing mascara and lipstick at school???)

Nope! If only it was that simple!!!

I hope you stay safe in those horrible weather conditions! We already had a lot more winter here than we usually have in December...

It has been unusually cold here for this time of year! I am hanging out at home until the temps get up enough to head safely in to work. Unfortunately so far it is hanging right around freezing, and there is just a light amount of precipitation falling (can't tell if rain or sleet) so not the heavier rainfall yet to help wash the ice away! Possibly freezing rain adding to the mess!!!

That bites! You would think since the Christmas holiday is nearly upon us that they would choose a different makeup day since most families have made travel arrangements and holiday plans.

As if having to come home a day early isn't bad enough, I was able to score that elusive dinner ADR for Sunday night before heading home at LeCellier!!!

Not to sound cruel but I am laughing over this! Closing schools over icey conditions is that right or did you have snow as well? But then again I see you are from S.C. where I'm sure you don't get near the weather we get here in Wisconsin. I think this must be still part of the storm system that came through here last week.

I understand your confusion, and actually I got up with one person who made it to work and said the roads weren't that bad (although they have been reporting accidents all over this morning due to ice). The problem is, we are in the very corner of SC and if you check a really good map that shows such things, we are in the very edge of the Blue Ridge Mountain chain, so the problem isn't just the ice (which is mostly black ice and worse at bridges) it is the fact that the buses would have to try and navigate the higher elevations and mountain roads. Since they couldn't be sure when the roads would be clear enough to try and run the buses, they just cancelled the whole day.

I was very careful when I went out early this morning to check before getting in the car. I was holding onto the wall of the house and put my foot down gingerly on the first step, and you really couldn't tell if it was frozen or just wet, and my foot slipped off the step so fast I still almost busted it, and it wouldn't have been pretty at all the way I would have landed. We live on a hill, so our driveway has a fairly steep slope at one point down to the road. I'm pretty sure I would be sliding all the way to the bottom and into the street if I were to try it yet!

Light snow this morning, but no accumulation of anything but the freezing rain and ice. This is actually a storm that just came through the mid and southern part of the country. It is strange because it came at us from the south, coming through Atlanta then moving through us and now moving north through North Carolina. Completely opposite from our normal weather pattern, which means it is getting moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and bringing it in on us!

 

[Flossbolna]

Light snow this morning, but no accumulation of anything but the freezing rain and ice. This is actually a storm that just came through the mid and southern part of the country. It is strange because it came at us from the south, coming through Atlanta then moving through us and now moving north through North Carolina. Completely opposite from our normal weather pattern, which means it is getting moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and bringing it in on us!

Wrong weather patters here as well. We are supposed to get air that comes directly westwards from the Atlantic ocean. So it normally is still rain. But this year, the air comes from the north-west, i.e. from Greenland. So it still has lots of moisture, but is cold. We had more snow already than we normally get in an average December and the first two weeks have been up to 5 degrees Celsius colder than usual.

I have seen that Orlando also had really cold weather during the past two weeks...

And I agree, don't take any risk with sliding down your drive way in a car!!

 

[marvali]

I have seen that Orlando also had really cold weather during the past two weeks...

And I agree, don't take any risk with sliding down your drive way in a car!!

Keeping a close eye on the weather as our trip gets closer. Need to know how to pack, but also if it is going to continue to be this cold (low to mid teens at night) then I need to make sure we leave the house in the proper condition. Don't want to come back to busted pipes and water everywhere!

And you're right about sliding on the driveway. Since we are on a hill, the lower part of our property for that part of the driveway is wooded, so plenty of trees on both sides. Last year I actually tried to go to work one morning after a fairly heavy snow and got to the steepest part of the driveway and just started sliding downhill.......right straight into the trees!!! Fortunately it was a slow enough slide, with plenty of snow banking up under the tires, that there was no damage.

 

[lovealldisney]

I understand your confusion, and actually I got up with one person who made it to work and said the roads weren't that bad (although they have been reporting accidents all over this morning due to ice). The problem is, we are in the very corner of SC and if you check a really good map that shows such things, we are in the very edge of the Blue Ridge Mountain chain, so the problem isn't just the ice (which is mostly black ice and worse at bridges) it is the fact that the buses would have to try and navigate the higher elevations and mountain roads. Since they couldn't be sure when the roads would be clear enough to try and run the buses, they just cancelled the whole day.

So then I'm wondering if your state has snow equipment like our city has here. When we know in advance of bad weather they are out salting the streets beforehand and are ready with the plows. It was so bad last year some of the suburbs around us ran out of salt before the end of January!

 

[marvali]

So then I'm wondering if your state has snow equipment like our city has here. When we know in advance of bad weather they are out salting the streets beforehand and are ready with the plows. It was so bad last year some of the suburbs around us ran out of salt before the end of January!

The upper part of SC where we live has snow equipment, but not as much in the rural areas like where we live. More of it in the bigger cities, and along the interstate where there are lots of overpasses, etc. We have a few, but they normally just do bridges in the area. Most of the state is flatter than us. Not sure how much they have. The weather forecast here last night was very iffy, and we are typically just along the edge of what will and won't have problems in a lot of cases. It was late into the night before the moisture moved in with the front going through to match up with the colder temps to cause the problem this time!

 

[glennbo123]

Oh man! I know what it's like to be watching the weather, wondering how it's going to affect your Disney trip. You'd think that living where you are, you wouldn't have to worry about that too much.

Glad you didn't bust your butt, and I hope everything works out for the trip.

 

[marvali]

Oh man! I know what it's like to be watching the weather, wondering how it's going to affect your Disney trip. You'd think that living where you are, you wouldn't have to worry about that too much.

Glad you didn't bust your butt, and I hope everything works out for the trip.

Thanks but doesn't look like we will be that lucky! DW just checked her phone and had an email update from the school superintendent......makeup day will be Monday, January 3rd!!!

 

[glennbo123]

Thanks but doesn't look like we will be that lucky! DW just checked her phone and had an email update from the school superintendent......makeup day will be Monday, January 3rd!!!

Carp.

Sorry dude.

 

[marvali]

Carp.

Sorry dude.

Carp, Cod AND Catfish!!!!

There is still a little hope in that when parents find out when the day will have to be made up (teachers received emails, don't know if parents will hear before school tomorrow), they may start flooding the District Office with complaints due to scheduled trips not returning until that Monday. There are other days available in the schedule, so maybe enough will call that they change to one of those instead. DW said that even if she is back, she bets she won't have 1/3 of her students there.

The other option I know won't be very popular, but we will probably drive two cars so DW and DS13 COULD head home Sunday so they are back for school, while the two oldest and myself stay the extra night and spend some time together. They don't have to be back until the following weekend for spring semesters and that Monday is our New Years holiday at work. I'm hoping for option A with a change of makeup days, but if you hear a loud boom and the earth shakes at your house, the quake may have originated in SC!!!

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

use it as a sick day.



they would never try and pull that around here, usually they build in an extra day or two around spring break, so if there are snow days they use them then instead of the end of the year.

or other winter breaks in feb. and such.

 

[KatMark]

Can't your son use it as a sick day? I mean, it's not like it is a week or so, it's just one day.

More importantly, I'm glad you are okay. You scared me the minute you said you opened the door, etc.

 

[marvali]

Day 2 - We Arrive at Kidani

The next morning it will be time to load up the little we took into our off-site hotel and check-out for our ultimate destination! After partaking of the handsomely priced (complimentary), exquisitely prepared and ultra delicious continental buffet breakfast at the hotel we will make the 5 minute drive (if we get caught by all the traffic lights, and get behind a few cars at the gate) to our final destination here........

I can't wait to walk through the doors and be greeted by this site. (with added Christmas tree to enhance my view)

After checking in we get to take advantage of one of my favorite benefits of staying at this resort, the underground parking (which is much more of a benefit in the hot Florida summer months). Of course, the way things have been going so far this winter, it may just be useful to keep snow off the car!!!

So which area of the resort will we be staying this trip??? (Got to remember to and take care of that online checkin) Will we get to use this elevator

to whisk us to the appropriate floor, or will it be one of the others???

Any guesses which room we will be assigned? I know it won't be this one where we stayed on our last trip, since this is a 1-bedroom and we will have two studios this time around.

Regardless, I know when we walk in we will be greeted by

or something similar! I'm going to miss having the kitchen and private bedroom with the king bed, but that is exactly the reason we are going with the DDP for the first time, and trying so many wonderful, new Restaurants!!!

After quickly dropping our stuff in the room, we will head out to the

and catch a bus to

Unfortunately, we can no longer arrive in my favorite way

after the tragic accident that happened during our last trip.

On the way in, we will quickly check the wait times for Soarin', Test Track and Mission Space, possibly taking a quick ride if the lines are short, or grabbing some fast passes for later in the day! The ultimate goal this day is to get into WS and see how the different countries are decorated for Christmas, and see how many of the storytellers we can catch as we tour the "World!"

Along the way, we very well may experience some of these sights:

A potential pole for dancing in the Rosie world of England???
Is it time for something delicious from the bakery here?

Can you hear your heart pounding???

Something for our German friends!!!

The excitement of a treacherous ride on the Maelstrom ........

It is really tough being the youngest brother!!!

After touring all of the countries it will be time for our first dinner ADR at Tutto Italia! After that we will head to the American Pavilion area to catch one of the showings of the Candlelight Processional!!! Sorry for not having pictures, but these will be two completely new experiences on this trip, so I plan to have plenty to share when I do my TR!!!

Coming up - Day 3! (MK and our WCC dinner ADR at WL)

 

[KatMark]

Sure, I respond to you and THEN you put an update up.

Sounds like a great day! I love the photos of your older sons "attacking" their younger brother...brings back such fond memories.


I LOVE the pole...where is Rosie when we need her?

Can't wait to hear about Day 3 and the MK (I can do without the WCC).

 

[All7OfUs]

Aww, man, that sucks, Marv~!!! Glad you are safe and didn't actually bust your butt. But to have to rearrange plans at the last minute really does stink. I"m so sorry!!!

 

[mom3sonstt]

I'm with Dan - our school has the make-up days scheduled at the end of the year....they only get Friday and Monday off at Easter for "Spring Break" so there isn't much there for them to work with there. But if we don't have many snow days, our kids are done in the middle of May - if they have a lot of snow days they will run in to the end of May, if they have an extreme amount of snow days they don't have to make them all up. They would never even consider going back early from Christmas break - there have been a few times in the nearly 20 years that I've been sending kids to school that the first day back has been canceled due to weather.


Keeping my finger's crossed for you that more logical minds will prevail and they will give you back your last day of vacation. Surely they have to realize people make plans based on the calendar they provided - if you were flying back that day, it wouldn't be so easy to re-arrange.

 

[mom3sonstt]

I replied before realizing there was a whole other page of responses - and an update!

Your Epcot day sounds great...you don't know how jealous I am that you will get to go hunt down the Storytellers. I am still kicking myself that I didn't go see more of them when we were there last year. I did see most, so I guess that's something.

 

[marvali]

use it as a sick day.

they would never try and pull that around here, usually they build in an extra day or two around spring break, so if there are snow days they use them then instead of the end of the year.

or other winter breaks in feb. and such.

DS13 isn't the problem. With DW being a teacher, and budget cuts, not wise to play games with her employment!!! They have other days built in for inclement weather later on, but we typically don't need any here quite so soon. As cold as it has been, I think they are scared this may just be one of many more than we normally get!

Can't your son use it as a sick day? I mean, it's not like it is a week or so, it's just one day.

More importantly, I'm glad you are okay. You scared me the minute you said you opened the door, etc.

Not so worried about DS13. He could stay regardless. He hasn't missed any days yet this year. DW has to be back too. She has already had to make arrangements a few times this year for various things, and with DS21's graduation in the spring, she knows she will have to be off then too. They frown on too much reliance on getting substitutes, much less when it is for the same person very often.

I am normally very good with my balance. When I was being very cautious and still almost took the tumble, I knew it wasn't safe to be trying to get down our driveway in a vehicle!

Sure, I respond to you and THEN you put an update up.

Sounds like a great day! I love the photos of your older sons "attacking" their younger brother...brings back such fond memories.


I LOVE the pole...where is Rosie when we need her?

Can't wait to hear about Day 3 and the MK (I can do without the WCC).

Unfortunately it looks like while I was trying to get that update out, I missed another episode of "Find a Judy" on Glenn's thread!!!

Aww, man, that sucks, Marv~!!! Glad you are safe and didn't actually bust your butt. But to have to rearrange plans at the last minute really does stink. I"m so sorry!!!

I would probably have been okay, but this wire thing kept jabbing me and........

Changing plans isn't good any time, but especially so close to the trip! Still crossing fingers (and toes) that they might change the decision and we won't have to alter our plans!

I'm with Dan - our school has the make-up days scheduled at the end of the year....they only get Friday and Monday off at Easter for "Spring Break" so there isn't much there for them to work with there. But if we don't have many snow days, our kids are done in the middle of May - if they have a lot of snow days they will run in to the end of May, if they have an extreme amount of snow days they don't have to make them all up. They would never even consider going back early from Christmas break - there have been a few times in the nearly 20 years that I've been sending kids to school that the first day back has been canceled due to weather.


Keeping my finger's crossed for you that more logical minds will prevail and they will give you back your last day of vacation. Surely they have to realize people make plans based on the calendar they provided - if you were flying back that day, it wouldn't be so easy to re-arrange.

Still hoping it will all work out! We normally don't have to worry about such things around here, so the number of days they allot are usually more than enough! I would think some of the random days here and there would be easier for people to give up than the end of a long time off when people probably tried to take advantage and make plans!

I replied before realizing there was a whole other page of responses - and an update!

Your Epcot day sounds great...you don't know how jealous I am that you will get to go hunt down the Storytellers. I am still kicking myself that I didn't go see more of them when we were there last year. I did see most, so I guess that's something.

I didn't even realize they had the storytellers until reading it on the DIS! We learn so much here. I know you really enjoyed it. Not sure I will catch them all, but if I miss a few, I guess it will be time to start planning the next trip when we can see the rest of them!

 

[onescgirl]

I was so upset when they canceled the whole day.

You had a planned vacation, can DW just call in a sub for that Monday?

I love your past pictures! Cute ones of your boys in the Norway shop.

How did you get a picture of the boy/girl at the Germany clock? I waited & waited for the top of the hour to see them & they never came out.

 

[englishrose47]

Snow days are usually figured into the school year here in WNY!!Only if there are more than scheduled does it call for a make up day and that is usually tagged on in June !!I have afeeling this is gonna be a BAD winter !!!We have already been hit with a storm although nowhere near as bad as Buffalo!!By March I am sooo sick of winter and we usually don't see the end till April!! Although after March it isn't so constant !!

 

[englishrose47]

Great Update Marv !!!I thought you wanted me to Pole Dance the Eiffel TowerThat first "pole" looks doable !!!