DIS Dads DDC XV - We put the "FUN" in dysfunctional! Christopher's thread...

[afwdwfan]

Interesting. The Prez's visit to MK is off limits to park guests. Only those individuals invited by the white house will be able to see it. Main Street is blocked off for the duration. How loverly. A man of the people.

Hey, be careful making statements like this... you wouldn't want to get in trouble.

 

[IamTrike]

ever wonder how they do it???????

http://www.disneyresearch.com/resea...g_Conversations_drp.htm?v=y&rnd=1317086862533

Wow that's really interesting. If that's the technology being used inside the new Mickey head it means all the rumors of a fully interactive Mickey at D23 were false. The interactions were only pre-programmed. A tongue joystick seems like it would be really tiring to operate.

 

[Swissdog2010]

Hey, be careful making statements like this... you wouldn't want to get in trouble.

Hey, i was born to cause trouble *flashes his temporary Grumpy tattoo*

 

[dvczerfs]

This is my exact thinking on DVC for our family as well. I love BLT for its proximity to what is important for us right now - MK.

But, down the road when we're empty nesters, I would imagine that Boardwalk would be our perfect location for just the DW and I.

But, alas, DVC isn't in the budget for us right now.

ive been a dvc member since 1999 and have yet to stay at my home resort. when we bought in, eveyone was fighting to get into boardwalk. i couldnt get in, it was booked. so, we stayed at okw and havnt looked back. it seems everytime dvc builds a new resort, everyone fights to get in there. as soon as they build another, you can get in at your 7th month window at the "old" "resort to be at"

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Tonight I meet with a couple who received my magazine about a cruise for their 20th anniversary. They were thinking Italy last week when she called to set up a time... we'll see what she says tonight.

I guess you do have a very cost-effective option for them. Oh, and could you sign these waivers?

DVC normally wouldn't be in the cards for us either. Usually when we have a little bit of money there are more pressing things that we need to do with it. It just happens that it looks like we might have a little bit of money in the near future and that money will be arriving at the same time that we are planning a trip to take my SIL and her family to disney. Everything happening at the same time is what makes DVC attractive for us. I remember listening to the Disdads DVC podcast while DW and I painted our bedroom (Beachclub blue) and thinking that'd never be something that'd make sense for us.

I actually like having the flexibility of not being tied into DVC. Still, I have to admit there are days when I look at it and think, "Man, that would be nice..."

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Well… I did jinx myself by mentioning that it was quiet around the office. I quickly got un-quiet, but the current storm seems to have subsided. We’ll see how the rest of the day pans out.


I envy all y’all DVC folks. Would really like to be able to do that, but with collage tuition looming, the buy in for DVC is beyond our reach for the foreseeable future.

 

[baseballmickey]

DS is taking a nap... for once. That little guy is a handful. His newest trick is climbing the stairs. He discovered this at the end of last week. We have two short sets of stairs (6 steps each); one from the main level to the 2nd floor and one to the basement. We also have a 3 step entrance out the back of the basement to the playroom. He has climbed up them all on his own (with a spotter). The problem is that I only have one baby gate. I just put a request out on our local freecycle network, and hopefully I'll find a few extra to help keep him off the stairs.

 

[IamTrike]

This is my exact thinking on DVC for our family as well. I love BLT for its proximity to what is important for us right now - MK.

But, down the road when we're empty nesters, I would imagine that Boardwalk would be our perfect location for just the DW and I.

But, alas, DVC isn't in the budget for us right now.

For us most of our "ride" time is spent in MK but most of our in Park ADR's are in Epcot. As we get older I think we will appreciate just walking around Epcot more.

I guess you do have a very cost-effective option for them. Oh, and could you sign these waivers?



I actually like having the flexibility of not being tied into DVC. Still, I have to admit there are days when I look at it and think, "Man, that would be nice..."

I like the idea of knowing that for the next 30 years when were thinking about what to do for vacation, I'll have something that helps me win my "we should go to Disneyworld" arguement.

Well… I did jinx myself by mentioning that it was quiet around the office. I quickly got un-quiet, but the current storm seems to have subsided. We’ll see how the rest of the day pans out.

I envy all y’all DVC folks. Would really like to be able to do that, but with collage tuition looming, the buy in for DVC is beyond our reach for the foreseeable future.

College isn't quite looming for us yet. We still have plenty of time to let the kids compete in our own personal "america's got talent" competition to see which child gets college paid for.

 

[afwdwfan]

I actually like having the flexibility of not being tied into DVC. Still, I have to admit there are days when I look at it and think, "Man, that would be nice..."

On a completely different topic... I don't care how anybody feels about this SOPA thing that they're talking about, I really wish they'd ban Twitter.

Or at least block anyone named Irsay or their known associates from access to Twitter.

 

[RodBelding]

I like the idea of knowing that for the next 30 years when were thinking about what to do for vacation, I'll have something that helps me win my "we should go to Disneyworld" arguement.

You'll also love the first time you check into the hotel and they say "Ok, so you're staying on points", and realize you don't have a massive hotel bill coming at the end of the week! More money for Dole Whips!!!

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

College isn't quite looming for us yet. We still have plenty of time to let the kids compete in our own personal "america's got talent" competition to see which child gets college paid for.

Good plan… what’s you backup?
(although I suspect that you’ll do just fine)

We’ve had a few things go right… but a lot of others went wrong.
It’s going to be lean around here for a while I suspect.

 

[Emma's Dad]

ever wonder how they do it???????

http://www.disneyresearch.com/resea...g_Conversations_drp.htm?v=y&rnd=1317086862533

Very cool. But did you notice the mess of wires coming out the back? Guess the costume would need to fit some sort of processing unit... would get hot in that costume with all the electronics I would think.

 

[IamTrike]

Good plan… what’s you backup?
(although I suspect that you’ll do just fine)

We’ve had a few things go right… but a lot of others went wrong.
It’s going to be lean around here for a while I suspect.

Yeah I'm pretty used to ups and downs professionally. In the past 12 years I've had 3 internal promotions that resulted in me making less money each time, been through a company selling my division to a competitor who explicitly wanted to shut us down, been part of starting a company twice, gone through 2 major successful acquisitions, the last of which was to Microsoft and then was part of MSFT's first mass layoffs after being picked as 1 of Microsoft's up and coming leaders.

 

[IamTrike]

Very cool. But did you notice the mess of wires coming out the back? Guess the costume would need to fit some sort of processing unit... would get hot in that costume with all the electronics I would think.

I was impressed with the amount of things the costume could say given that there were only 4 buttons. I'm guessing the buttons just navigate you through certain pre-programmed conversational trees.

 

[dvczerfs]

For us most of our "ride" time is spent in MK but most of our in Park ADR's are in Epcot. As we get older I think we will appreciate just walking around Epcot more.



I like the idea of knowing that for the next 30 years when were thinking about what to do for vacation, I'll have something that helps me win my "we should go to Disneyworld" arguement.


College isn't quite looming for us yet. We still have plenty of time to let the kids compete in our own personal "america's got talent" competition to see which child gets college paid for.

not that im old ryan but, briana was 7 when we bought in, now that she is grown and tammy and i take 12 nights just her and i at okw, we find ourselfs sitting on the benches more and watching the world go by. we spend 99 percent of our time at the mk and epcot. we do take a mornig and go to studios but its just seems to be a slower pace without kids. also, you will find when its just the two of you, you get at a park for an am emh and the two of you will ride 6 rides in an hour and just look at each other after and say, ok, now what? you will get alot more done in a faster time. not that the kids hold you back but you will get alot more done faster. enjoy the kids being little, they grow up way to fast. (briana will be 19 in a few weeks and still talks about things that just dad and her have to do because of tradition. we even rode the speedway together last june. she still cant drive those cars.
as far as flexability, i have 400 points per year to use which total investment, with fees and taxs, cost me $2600. per year. and being an ap holder, i get some nice discounts on the inflated room prices that disney is pushing to the public. so the way i see it, i have the best of both worlds. also being a dvc member, with the dvc member discount on aps, i pay $780 per year for two adult ap pass'. i can go to the 365 days per year. between tammy and i, we each use our pass, 20 days per year, thats 40 total parks days and divide that into $800 and thats $20 per day for park tickets.
we drive and i use 100 gallons of gas total for each trip. thats about $350 travel cost.
i also have a full kitchen and laundry in my room. i dont have to buy a dining plan. i can eat breakfast and lunch in my resort and have a nice dinner in epcot etcc everynight. i dont have to buy a refillable mug, stand in line with 600 kids at the soda machine at the food court, i simply, walk to my full size frig and grab a coke.
theres alot of way dvc saves money that you dont realize you save till you join.

 

[dvczerfs]

Very cool. But did you notice the mess of wires coming out the back? Guess the costume would need to fit some sort of processing unit... would get hot in that costume with all the electronics I would think.

im not sure if this is the exact system but i thought it was cool and for the life of me just couldnt figure how they would do it. on one of my keys to the kingdom tours, i always hear people say that they have cool suites on under there costumes, i seen it for myself first hand in june, those cast members wear shorts and t shirts and head bands. there are no cool suites the sweat it out!!!! the hotter it is the more often they change out and take brakes.

 

[AirGoofy]

I envy all y’all DVC folks. Would really like to be able to do that, but with collage tuition looming, the buy in for DVC is beyond our reach for the foreseeable future.

i don't have as many points as Dave, and the resale market has small contracts. And, once a dvc member, you have to resist addons. You can get a studio stay for a week at OKW for around 60 points. If you find one of those at $60 a point, then you're looking at $3600. Now, that doesn't include tickets or food, which is why you look at the future savings. But, knowing i can do a theme park every other day and still have lots of fun has been worth it.

Or at least block anyone named Irsay or their known associates from access to Twitter.

Somebody is not happy about the Colts.

This is my exact thinking on DVC for our family as well. I love BLT for its proximity to what is important for us right now - MK.

But, down the road when we're empty nesters, I would imagine that Boardwalk would be our perfect location for just the DW and I.

But, alas, DVC isn't in the budget for us right now.

To me, MK represents WDW, so seeing the castle Everyday sold me. We found that we spent more time at the monorail resorts than Boardwalk. Don't get me wrong, the Boardwalk area is great with the night entertainment and all the people.

?
I actually like having the flexibility of not being tied into DVC. Still, I have to admit there are days when I look at it and think, "Man, that would be nice..."

We actually sold a DVC contract for this reason. My initial plans were to go to SSR for Spring Break and BLT for fall break. But, we decided to try other things. So, I had enough on the other SSR contract to get Hilton Head DVC this Spring Break and a cruise in 2013 for Fall break. We'll get our 1 trip per year to WDW for sure and the other to be determined.

 

[Wherem I Now]

Ahhhh... only 30 minutes to catch up on the thread today Hopefully the admins can figure out why it's been slow lately.
Looking forward to Saturday... DD has been invited to a birthday party. It's being held at the Hilton at the oceanfront. Pool party from 4-8 followed by a sleepover at the hotel. So... DW and I figured it would be the right thing to do to rent a room, too. Been a long time since we hung out at the resort side of the beach. Should be a fun time!

Hotel room for you and DW... Alone? Just don't start any fights with her ahead of time.

 

[that's nice]

Good morning fellas. I'm getting old, I know I have some early meeting this morning but didn't write it down. Someone will be calling soon asking me where the heck I am. Good thing I'm not a brain or heart surgeon, what ever it is can wait.

One time I got booked to DJ for a school that I do a number of dances for a year. They needed me from 7-9. Morning of the dance comes and I get a call asking me where I was. I was laughing telling my contact to stop messing with me. Come to find out they needed me from 7am-9am. I never thought they meant am when they booked. Needless to say, I apologized profusely and I still DJ for that school. (I've had that contract for 8 years)

Hay Doc!
I can really help you out with this problem. Regardless of the topic of discussion, your presentation has already been written up. Just show them this little video…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rHFNJnDPYY

I'm so glad I don't work for a corporation.

Tonight I meet with a couple who received my magazine about a cruise for their 20th anniversary. They were thinking Italy last week when she called to set up a time... we'll see what she says tonight.

Be ready for the question... 'Can you guarantee that Francesco Schettino won't be piloting the ship?'

I'll be camping outside in the woods of Connecticut this weekend! DS's first outside winter campout! Wish us luck!

Stay warm out there!!!! It should be fun with the snow coming tomorrow!

 

[Swissdog2010]

DVC is something we really love but whenever we talk to people about it one of the first things we say is you have to determine if you can afford it. We were able to do it because we had money left to us by our parents, both the wife and I, so it was sort of like their last present to us. Since we both work at an Army post, whenever someone asks us here, we point them to Shades of Green first.