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

[IamTrike]

The one thing that is fustrating, is that for most of the year, my son is in school on my day off, so whenever my son or my wife is off on the same day as me we are all off, it's my unwritten rule The next day we have a shot at is Presidents Day, they are both off, I can work that day at double time and a half (over $55 +hr) but this is a small sacrifice to spend quality time with the family, depending on the weather, I'm hoping to hit the Philly Zoo. If not we will be doing some other outing

I guess this is how a lot of my Commando tactics come into play, If wanting to spend time with your family doing something fun is wrong, I will be the 1st to say I am guilty as charged

When something is in short supply we tend to value it more, and figure out how to get the most out of it. There are probably a lot of people that have all their weekends free that don't get as much out of them as you get out of yours. I travel a lot for work which means I try and spend as much time with my kids as possible when I'm home.

 

[IamTrike]

Don't play that just disc golf

What's wrong with disk golf? Nothing says relaxing like spending 2 hours throwing disks through a pine forest trying to not hit any trees. It's about the only kind of golf I can afford. Don't have time to play it either though.

 

[Emma's Dad]

The water bottle debacle has finally come to an end.

In case you missed any of my prior updates about it, I had ordered a re-usable water bottle through Photopass for DW's birthday. It was supposed to have the 2011 graphics on one side with this picture on the other:

Instead, it looked like this:

I called customer service the day after I received it and explained the problem. The person I spoke with sounded very helpful and told me she viewed the order on her end and it looked fine. She told me she'd resubmit the order to be reprinted and have it express shipped to me. She told me that there was a label to return the one I had and asked that I do that. Ok, great.

I got off the phone and looked in the box and I couldn't find a return label or any information on it. I looked online and still didn't find the procedure to return an item, and I wasn't about to pay the cost to ship it, so I thought I'd just wait and see if there was a label in the box with the new bottle.

Move forward to a week after I first called, and I still haven't seen or heard from them. I called and spoke to someone else. I explained the first call I made a week earlier and he put me on hold to check on it. He came back and told me they resubmitted the order and the printer canceled it, saying that if it didn't print correctly the first time, it would come out the same if they tried it again.

I remained calm on the phone, but I was thinking, How long ago did this happen and why the beverly didn't someone call or e-mail me about this????

Anyway, he told me that I could submit a new order. My Photopass access had expired, but he repopulated my account for 10 days and gave me a promotion code to enter that would give me a free water bottle and free shipping. All I had to do was create one using a different picture. My solution for this was that I used the same picture, but I went into the edit screen and just resaved it.

Anyway, about a week and a half later, I finally got the new bottle and it looks like it is supposed to look. The code that I was given didn't allow me to use the express shipping that I originally paid for, so I'm basically out the extra $2 I paid for that, and I didn't finally get the thing till about 3 weeks after DW's birthday. At least I did finally get what I ordered, so I can't complain too much.

The second guy I talked to never said anything about sending the other bottle back and they never did give me the return shipping information, so I guess I still have the defective bottle that I can use for myself. That should make up for the extra shipping cost and the fact that I had to wait a few weeks.

OK... that was the worst "fix" from Disney that I've heard yet. Sheesh. Glad you got 2 bottles out of it, but that's just not right.

That's not a round - that's the first hole.

I can always count on Barry for a good LOL!

 

[Disneyferris]

I'm back, I figured I would give things a rest after last Thursday.
My DW is getting anxious and we still have six months till we leave. Might b looking for new wheels for the trip. The crv is a tad tight for the four of us although we used it this summer for our trip out west it did prove to be a drain on all of us to be so crammed.

 

[Disneyferris]

What's wrong with disk golf? Nothing says relaxing like spending 2 hours throwing disks through a pine forest trying to not hit any trees. It's about the only kind of golf I can afford. Don't have time to play it either though.

I really enjoy it when I can get out there. But u are right I don't seem to be able to find the time

 

[Disneyferris]

I have a disc golf course two minutes from me that is actually really good. It is at a collage so it is kept up really well and is even used for competitions one 18 and one 21 but do u think that I could find the time to go there even once last summer? I even had tank and squirt going for a while but the lost interest when our state bird(mosquito) took their attention from the fun we were having.

 

[AJRitz]

I enjoy playing golf, but I think I've played all of four times since we started having kids, and maybe once since we've had two.

 

[Disneyferris]

Anyone able to see the northern lights tonight? The solar flair is supposed to make them visible to those of us in the far northern states.

 

[hoyce]

On our last trip to the world we hit the Disney Outlet at the Premium Outlets and scored some good deals on some Dis stuff. I am wondering if anybody has been to the other Dis Outlets to compare which is better, bigger, selection, etc.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Disneyferris]

A little slow here tonight I have never had this many posts on one page. Well atleast I can keep up for a change.

 

[Disneyferris]

Well good night, im done talking to myself for one night. Oh if you haven't already check out the star tours add on the Disney site. Tank and squirt just busted up laughing. It's great.
Ownage

 

[IamTrike]

On our last trip to the world we hit the Disney Outlet at the Premium Outlets and scored some good deals on some Dis stuff. I am wondering if anybody has been to the other Dis Outlets to compare which is better, bigger, selection, etc.

Thanks in advance!

We go to that one and the outlet in Jacksonville. I think that one is called Disney Character premier. I think they both tend to have different stuff than our local Disney outlet although frankly I don't get to any of the frequently enough to do a good comparison. I believe the outlet in Orlandomit be slightly larger, buti think the one in st Augustine had a better selection of Disney technical tees. I think the outlet in Orlando had more pins.

If you are gonnadrivethrough St.Augustine you should check out Robs trip report he did some pretty cool things there.

 

[IamTrike]

The water bottle debacle has finally come to an end.

In case you missed any of my prior updates about it, I had ordered a re-usable water bottle through Photopass for DW's birthday. It was supposed to have the 2011 graphics on one side with this picture on the other:

Instead, it looked like this:

I called customer service the day after I received it and explained the problem. The person I spoke with sounded very helpful and told me she viewed the order on her end and it looked fine. She told me she'd resubmit the order to be reprinted and have it express shipped to me. She told me that there was a label to return the one I had and asked that I do that. Ok, great.

I got off the phone and looked in the box and I couldn't find a return label or any information on it. I looked online and still didn't find the procedure to return an item, and I wasn't about to pay the cost to ship it, so I thought I'd just wait and see if there was a label in the box with the new bottle.

Move forward to a week after I first called, and I still haven't seen or heard from them. I called and spoke to someone else. I explained the first call I made a week earlier and he put me on hold to check on it. He came back and told me they resubmitted the order and the printer canceled it, saying that if it didn't print correctly the first time, it would come out the same if they tried it again.

I remained calm on the phone, but I was thinking, How long ago did this happen and why the beverly didn't someone call or e-mail me about this????

Anyway, he told me that I could submit a new order. My Photopass access had expired, but he repopulated my account for 10 days and gave me a promotion code to enter that would give me a free water bottle and free shipping. All I had to do was create one using a different picture. My solution for this was that I used the same picture, but I went into the edit screen and just resaved it.

Anyway, about a week and a half later, I finally got the new bottle and it looks like it is supposed to look. The code that I was given didn't allow me to use the express shipping that I originally paid for, so I'm basically out the extra $2 I paid for that, and I didn't finally get the thing till about 3 weeks after DW's birthday. At least I did finally get what I ordered, so I can't complain too much.

The second guy I talked to never said anything about sending the other bottle back and they never did give me the return shipping information, so I guess I still have the defective bottle that I can use for myself. That should make up for the extra shipping cost and the fact that I had to wait a few weeks.

DW has bee following the water bottle saga over my shoulder. She wanted to know if you ever posted a pic of the good water bottle? I'm glad they got it fixed but it seems like ther would have been more pixie dust given all the issues were directly caused by them.

 

[BigTikiDaddy]

I'm truly amazed at Northern Ohio weather. Yesterday we got all the way up to 57 degrees only to be 37 degrees by 6pm!

Now we're having a heat wave at all of 32 degrees. What's sad is that this is what our average high is supposed to be for this time of year.

OK Brian and all the rest of the Canadian Dads....let's hear about your even colder weather! Make me feel better!

The wind is really making it chilly here. Today I feel like it's colder then it really is for some reason

The water bottle debacle has finally come to an end.

Not quite the ending I expected, but at least you won in the end.

Once he wins the lottery he will be.


Sure is taking his own sweet time about it though....


TL

It ain't for lack of trying!

Same problem here, I do my part, the problem is that the OLG people aren't matching my numbers. I really want to go this year, but without their help, it ain't happening.

TGIT Ok so I only have off Weds, That's right only one day off in the middle of the week, Don't steal my Thunder, Very jealous of you guys that have 2 days off, especially if they are together Right off the bat you have 52 days less of work then me

I downright refuse to work Sundays. I don't want the money that badly, and the only ones who do work want to slack for big-bucks, so I'd have to run my butt off. No thanks. I do want some time with the kids after all.

I enjoy playing golf, but I think I've played all of four times since we started having kids, and maybe once since we've had two.

I last golfed around a month before Audrey was born, so May '08. Mind you, everyone I golfed with barely picks up a club either.

 

[baseballmickey]

Good evening... getting caught up on today's posts...

Up early today but not by choice. Only thing on the agenda is to get her off to school and present a check with the Half Marathon running, Pirate Princess later today. Still don't know the final total but it is around $300 for the charity.

Just got home from seeing Journey 2: The Mysterious Island in 3D.

Quite enjoyable. Luis Guzman was hilarious in his role. The character of Sean was kind of annoying at times. I think they tried to force the whole "step-son/step-father" dynamic. It wasn't really needed. The 3D effects were well done. In fact, DW and I both agree that it would be very fun in 4D. I know that are a few theaters that do 4D movies, and if it's available, I would recommend it.

Overall, it would be a very fun movie to see with the family. There are a few jump-out spots, as well as a few scenes with some creepy crawlies, but not too many to bother the younger ones, I imagine. I give it two thumbs.

thanks for the review! This will probably be a "wait til it comes to cable" movie for me.

I meant to share this yesterday....

As most of you know, my next trip to WDW is in 67 days. And we are keeping it a secret from our girls and surprising them once we land at MCO and get on Magical Express...

But now I don't know whether to keep on keeping her out of the loop and still try to surprise her or what!

Darn intuitive 4 year old Daughter!

gotta love those darn kids. Not sure if we'll ever be able to pull off a surprise trip... unless i surprise DW too... she's the one who can't keep a secret!

The number one thousand.

Congrats on 1K!

Still not able to shake off these damn headaches, but can't call in work again, so off we go. Have a good one guys

sorry to hear. hope the head feels better sooner rather than later!

Woohoo making a reservation to eat at Chick-Fil-A, time to break out the "Fancy" Ketchup.

fancy ketchup... nice!

Anybody have one of these:

Joovy Caboose - "sit n stand"

The DW and I opted to go this route for our girls on our WDW trip.

We decided this would be the best option in case DD4 decided she was tired of walking.

That being said - we now have 4 freakin' strollers at home!

Craigslist here I come!

Looks smaller than our sit and stand. Ours does not handle well. Can't turn the darn thing. We thought it would be great for WDW, but now we're looking at other options.

The D was turned on its head today when the Billionaire owner of the Tigers went behind his GM's back and agreed to pay Prince Fielder $214,000,000.00 over the next nine years. He is getting old and still hasn't figured out a way to take it with him when he dies so he is going to blow as much as he can to get a championship. Now he needs to target a good lefty.

TigerTown must be having a field day!

Wow, missed that news!

I guess this is how a lot of my Commando tactics come into play, If wanting to spend time with your family doing something fun is wrong, I will be the 1st to say I am guilty as charged

Loving that I am home with the kids all day. DW took off today to renew her license, and it was good to have a family day. With the new night job, I won't see DW that much anymore until school is out.

 

[baseballmickey]

I am happy to report that I did finally get in touch with the man in charge at the new job, and got the location and started work tonight! This gig is perfect for my schedule, and all indications are that it is very low stress, which is a plus!

I am now working for CCTV America. CCTV is a big Chinese Broadcasting company and they are launching a network here. I'm the Director/Technical Director for the NY studio component of an hour-long financial news show which originates mostly from Washington, DC. Our segments are shot inside the Nasdaq Marketsite studio in Times Square (CNBC's Fast Money uses this same studio).

Another plus is that my new boss didn't seem at all concerned when I told him I wouldn't be available for 2 whole weeks over the summer because of our planned WDW vacation.

Thank you all again for your good wishes and prayers and putting up with my ranting over the past few months. It's been tough and I am very relieved to have found this job (even if I have to work for China).

 

[alanapapa]

What has been with the DIS the last couple of days??
I could not get on except but once or twice and could not post.

I won't take the time to go back and check through the posts so please fill me in if I missed anything of great importance.

I used the new DVC online reservation system today and booked the XMAS 2012 trip. Right now we are checking in on 24 Dec and checking out 30 Dec and staying at AKL Kidani in a Savanna View. This is all predicated on getting a job somewhere, preferably with Boeing. I did get an email from USPS asking me to schedule interviews for two different job postings. I called and have not been able to schedule either yet.

 

[cj9200]

I am happy to report that I did finally get in touch with the man in charge at the new job, and got the location and started work tonight! This gig is perfect for my schedule, and all indications are that it is very low stress, which is a plus!

I am now working for CCTV America. CCTV is a big Chinese Broadcasting company and they are launching a network here. I'm the Director/Technical Director for the NY studio component of an hour-long financial news show which originates mostly from Washington, DC. Our segments are shot inside the Nasdaq Marketsite studio in Times Square (CNBC's Fast Money uses this same studio).

Another plus is that my new boss didn't seem at all concerned when I told him I wouldn't be available for 2 whole weeks over the summer because of our planned WDW vacation.

Thank you all again for your good wishes and prayers and putting up with my ranting over the past few months. It's been tough and I am very relieved to have found this job (even if I have to work for China).

Congrats.

What has been with the DIS the last couple of days??
I could not get on except but once or twice and could not post.

I won't take the time to go back and check through the posts so please fill me in if I missed anything of great importance.

I used the new DVC online reservation system today and booked the XMAS 2012 trip. Right now we are checking in on 24 Dec and checking out 30 Dec and staying at AKL Kidani in a Savanna View. This is all predicated on getting a job somewhere, preferably with Boeing. I did get an email from USPS asking me to schedule interviews for two different job postings. I called and have not been able to schedule either yet.

Good luck with the job possibilities and congrats on snagging a Christmas vacation. I guess your power is back on?

 

[AJRitz]

I am happy to report that I did finally get in touch with the man in charge at the new job, and got the location and started work tonight! This gig is perfect for my schedule, and all indications are that it is very low stress, which is a plus!

I am now working for CCTV America. CCTV is a big Chinese Broadcasting company and they are launching a network here. I'm the Director/Technical Director for the NY studio component of an hour-long financial news show which originates mostly from Washington, DC. Our segments are shot inside the Nasdaq Marketsite studio in Times Square (CNBC's Fast Money uses this same studio).

Another plus is that my new boss didn't seem at all concerned when I told him I wouldn't be available for 2 whole weeks over the summer because of our planned WDW vacation.

Thank you all again for your good wishes and prayers and putting up with my ranting over the past few months. It's been tough and I am very relieved to have found this job (even if I have to work for China).

Congrats! Sounds like a perfect fit for you!

What has been with the DIS the last couple of days??
I could not get on except but once or twice and could not post.

I won't take the time to go back and check through the posts so please fill me in if I missed anything of great importance.

I used the new DVC online reservation system today and booked the XMAS 2012 trip. Right now we are checking in on 24 Dec and checking out 30 Dec and staying at AKL Kidani in a Savanna View. This is all predicated on getting a job somewhere, preferably with Boeing. I did get an email from USPS asking me to schedule interviews for two different job postings. I called and have not been able to schedule either yet.

Good luck - I'm confident you'll find something good soon.

 

[stopher1]

Greetings gents from Aulani! Aloha!



It was a long bit of traveling, but I made it safely this afternoon. When I first was making the arrangements for this trip, I was planning on flying out of Indy on the first o'dark thirty flight Tuesday morning, and then quickly change planes in LA for the Hawaii flight - since I am staying in LA after the Hawaii part, an originating flight out of Indy with a return wasn't in the cards. I needed to fly SWA to LA, and then whichever provider had the best deal to/from Hawaii. But as it got closer, and winter started to set in, I thought better of it since it is a) winter, and b) winter is upon us, and c) you never quite know what winter will do to flight schedules. I did not want to have any mishaps in getting here, so I chose to fly out Monday evening instead, stay overnight in LA, and then fly out Tuesday morning as scheduled. That also helped with the inevitable sore-butt syndrome that 9 1/2 hours of flying will do to you (let alone more). I was thankful that that night of sleep in between flights.

So we landed in HI around 3:30 this afternoon, and by the time I finally got to the resort, it was about 4:45. The baggage claim took quite a while, and then of course it was rush hour by the time I got on the freeway. Aulani is only about 35 min (no traffic) from the airport.

Well - I am downloading pics from my camera now, and will share a few, but not a ton as I am actually planning on doing a small trip report. I've kind of given up on those (both writing and reading) but since this is a new resort, and I've received numerous questions about the resort already, as well as requests for information, I figured I might do one.

But without much further ado - I will say just these few things about Aulani....

• In regards to the theming and overall feel of this resort - Disney not only hit a homerun, but sent the ball way out of the ballpark, into the next city's ballpark, sent it soaring through that one, and then on past the next one. WOW. This place is simply gorgeous. The rooms, the public spaces, the recreational spaces, the landscaping - everything. It just simply fabulous.
• In regards to food offerings - oh my goodness. The food (that I've had so far) is very good, very local/ethnic Hawaiian... so be prepared for that as well. I'm looking forward to the buffet tomorrow and Saturday (one dinner, one breakfast) to see what they have to offer. But at the counter service - if you have picky kids who'll only eat Mac-n-Cheese or Chicken Nuggets/Fingers - forget it! Don't even waste your time. The only "traditional mainland American" offering they had was a cheese burger. Everything else was local fare - for both the adults & the kids.
• In regards to the value of what you'll get - be prepared. I believe it is possible to have a wonderful vacation here - but just be prepared to PAY, PAY, PAY. Through the nose even. EVERYTHING is more expensive than the mainland parks & resorts. Yes, transportation to the island is part of it, but it's just very, very expensive. The same kind of refillable mug that is $14 or $15 at WDW - is $18 here. And there are still NO loyalty discounts of any kind - except for CM, which is brand-new in 2012 according to numerous CM's I spoke with. No DVC, no AP, no AAA, no Senior discounts, nothing. Multiple CM's all said that "it's being worked on" - but NONE of them had any idea when such discounts might be made available. Oh and that basic cheeseburger? For an adult is $14, for the kids is $9. I'd read reports from others that the restaurants are expensive here, but seeing it first hand is something else!
• In regards to the question so many have raised on other parts of the DIS... "what is there to do?" - OR - "will I be bored staying there?". Brief quick answer - NO. First off, just like other Disney resorts - both DVC and not - there are activities galore here. Plus a number of very interesting & exciting sounding excursions. I'm off to Pearl Harbor tomorrow to explore - very close by! But the island itself has a lot to see and do too. I've gathered all kinds of brochures to read up and be able to better market and sell Aulani myself.

SO - with that, I'm going to upload a few pics to photobucket now to share with you all.

I'll write more later, but wanted to pop in and say hi. You've been busy since I left for the airport yesterday afternoon...