DIS Dads DDC XXXIV: The Original Home Of The DISDads!!!

[dvczerfs]

For the record...
I'd like to say the following:


Holly Crap that $#&@IN' HURT!!!!


Now having said that, let me also say that's it's really nice to be able to actually feel my hands again.
Yes, it's gonn'a take another month to recover from the cure to the problem, but having corrected the problem, I can live with that.
Sitting in front of a computer screen for long periods of time is still challenging so I'll continue to be AWOL for a while yet, but I wanted to at least check in.

Thanks for all the well wishes y'all sent out and I'll try to get back over here some time in the near.

I'm a little late but hope you feel better soon Rob.

 

[dvczerfs]

Ha!! I lived in Chicago for a couple years and was happy to join my friends in rooting for the Black Hawks. Not so much with the Cubs though

Chicago Black? Black? Eyes? Hawks? Who? What? Lol

 

[Cinderella's Fella]

Hello gang. Long time, no type.

I'm helping my father-in-law book a cruise for the whole family and want the help of a pro. Anyone know if Stopher has a website?

Great to see you're still alive Chris!

 

[Cinderella's Fella]

Hey guys! Another newbie here… well, not so new to the DIS but new to this sub-forum. Not sure why I've never chimed in before, but I figured that I might as well now

My real name is Matt. I live in the western suburbs of St. Louis. I manage an IT team by day… and in my spare time, I love gardening, skateboarding, and of course Disney!!!

We live about 2.5 hours from Marceline, MO. (Walt's boyhood hometown. Amazing place, all Disney fans should make a pilgrimage someday!!!!) We're about 15 hours from WDW (we normally drive.) And 26 hours from Disneyland (yeah, we actually made that drive last summer. Fun!!!)

Luckily, DW is just as big of a Disney fan as I am (if not even more.) We had both been as kids, but our first trip to WDW together was on our honeymoon in 1998.

We've been going back fairly steadily ever since. As far as being a DIS Dad, I've got three kids (DD 16, DS 13, DD 8) They are all pretty stoked on the parks and Walt Disney too himself too.

My oldest DD:

My DS:

My youngest DD:

I guess that's enough of a intro/background. What's next for us?

My in-laws are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary by taking us all to Hawaii in June. We've never been before, so we are super stoked on that. None of DW's family are into Disney enough to want to visit Aulani, so we decided to rent DVC points and tack on a few extra nights on our own. So that was going to be our only Disney property experience this year.

And now, we have a somewhat unusual trip planned for May. The background:

Last summer, I read Lee Cockerell's book, "Creating Magic: 10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies from a Life at Disney." If you aren't familiar with Lee, he was Executive Vice President of Operations at WDW throughout the 90's and into the mid-2000's. Pretty much in charge of all 4 parks, all 20 resorts, waterparks, shopping, etc. He built a tremendous reputation within the company and is responsible for so many of the programs that we as guests love today. The book is pretty much about what you'd expect from the title. But it's awesome. Seriously awesome, and worth a read even if you aren't currently in a position of influence where you work. I've since drank the kool-aid and also read his time management book and listen to his weekly podcast too. Really. Good. Stuff!!!



Anyway, while he was at Disney, he had a huge influence on the "Disney Institute", which aims to teach Disney's leadership strategies to people like you and me...


https://disneyinstitute.com/

They have courses that teach many of the same principles (as well as others) in classroom environments.

After reading the book, I thought, how cool would it be to actually attend onsite leadership training?!?!? I shared the book with my boss last year, and he loved it too. We've since shared it with a few others at our office... and they liked it too. Anyway, I floated the idea of attending the leadership course last fall, and we penciled it into the budget. (Just me as the guinea pig this year.) I recently found out that our training budget was approved and I have the green light to move forward!!!!

So yeah, I'll be staying at the Boardwalk Inn for the first time. Sweet!!! So then, I thought, why not see if DW wants to tag along and join me? We will be depleting our vacation budget in Hawaii, so we didn't really consider bringing the kids along. And the original plan for DW was to not purchase park tickets and just explore and visit the resorts all week. Which is something that we've both always thought would be cool to do…

Except for once I was registered, I found out that two day park hopper tickets were included in my course. Hmm… I can't pass up some free time in the parks can I? I'm cool going by myself in the evenings after training, but it would be more fun to go with wifey. And then I found out that I can purchase additional tickets for my party at a steep discount. We might as well have DW get tickets too. Oh wait, 50% off rack rate for the room?!?! And it can be extended before or after the conference? It would be irresponsible not to at least add another night right? And it gets better... I can upgrade my two day hopper to a three day hopper for like $70 more? Sure!!

So we tell the kids…. We're going to WDW in May. "Dad has some work related training and mom will be tagging along and exploring by herself during the days." Of course, they were pretty jealous. Sorry, there isn't enough money in the budget to get you guys WDW tickets too. But remember, we're going to Hawaii in June!!!! So yeah, they think they'll be spending the week at their grandparents while we are off having fun.

But as many of you other DIS Dads might do in my shoes… I start to feel guilty about not taking the kids. You know what? Boardwalk Inn does sleep 5, we "could" bring the kids and it wouldn't cost any extra for lodging. Also, DD 8 turns 9 in June and will start counting as an adult… this is our last chance to get her in on kids prices. Oh, and DD16 and DS13 have been to WDW a lot more than DD8, that's not really fair. And those discounted tickets are just too good of a deal to pass up on, right?!?!? When you add all this up, we'd be bad parents if we didn't just bite the bullet and bring them with us, right? Well, right or wrong, we convinced ourselves it was right. So we raided some rainy day money that we've had set aside.

The fun part is, the kids still don't know they'll be coming with us. Tickets are purchased. FP+'s locked in on MDI. Magic Bands are all set for delivery. Etc. We surprised them in the middle of the night for a trip once before (woke them up and headed to the airport immediately) and it was fun! I think this time, we'll let them sweat it out for a while and probably tell them a couple days before we leave so that at least the older two can get all their clothes and gear in order on their own. But it will still be a surprise.

So yeah, super excited about this for several reasons: #1. I'm really looking forward to taking this Disney Institute course and then coming back and sharing what I learned at the office. From everything I gather, these courses are spectacular. #2. I get to visit WDW world this year after all, even if park time is only for one full day and a couple evenings. #3. The rest of the family gets a bonus trip! Yahoo!!!

If you are still reading along, I guess thanks… and Hello again!!! I really didn't intend to write such a long intro, but oh well.

Cheers!

Welcome Matt! (Love saying that). I am on vacation right now, as soon as I can get to my computer and wi-fi I will get you all officialed up.

 

[Cinderella's Fella]

Yeah it's been a while, busy as heck with work and trying to scrape up the funds for this years trip. Stupid Canadian Dollar.

Norm, I could never get lost in there, I am there more then home some weeks, although Last week I got some laughs by pretending to be lost in the opposite side of the store.

Hi Brent!

 

[declansdad]

Welcome to the club Matt! Nice pictures!


Good to hear from the guys that have been missing for awhile.

Happy April Fools Day everyone. Been having a bit of fun over on Facebook this morning. Managed to catch my SIL but once she realized what was up she deleted the very nice comments she left for me.

 

[RMColosimo]

April fools, ugh. Morning everyone.

 

[pkondz]

Morning all. 2nd day off in a row! SWMBO took the day off too and I'm taking her out for brekkie.

Happy April Fools Day everyone. Been having a bit of fun over on Facebook this morning. Managed to catch my SIL but once she realized what was up she deleted the very nice comments she left for me.

 

[mm1971]

Happy Friday All! Looking more and more like I'll be able to swing a short trip in either August or October. Still waiting on an answer from the salary demands, but was able to pay some big work bills on the cc (with permission), adding almost $500 to the points balance. DD hoops begins this weekend. DS finds out tomorrow if on Varsity of JV after a round robin tournament. Pulling for the JV squad to allow for more reps and a consistent pitching schedule.

Morning Gents,

"Cold" Front went through last night and the weather has changed with it. Lots of fireworks in the sky but little rain. Temps broke and it is a balmy 77 with little or no humidity. Overcast but at least it feels like March. Got a lot of stuff done this morning and am now working around the house. Waiting to talk to the Bursar at the kid's school to get a hold on her records lifted. She is in line right now but might not make it to the front before she has to head to class. They screwed up getting reimbursed from her Florida Pre-Paid Tuition program and haven't gotten paid yet. Plus they slapped on a $250 late fee on her bill. She needs the hold taken off so she can apply to Grad schools and there is no way in he11 I am paying $250 while they work out there petty problems.

Once that is over, I am up on the ladder to change the smoke detector. If you don't hear from me in the next few days, you know what happened.

Hope he pitched well. You are probably right, better to be an ace in the minors than riding the bench in the show.

Good luck on getting the financial information settled. Glad to see we didn't need to send in a medical team.

DS pitched the first 2 innings. First inning was 1-2-3 and he struck out the top hitter on the other team. Second he hung a 4 seam fastball that was crushed to the fence for a double. The kid ended up scoring on an error. Other than that a solid line. 2IP, 1K, 0BB, OER and only threw 23 pitches.

No, I'm old, but not that old.

Ummm, Ahhhhh........Ok, it's Friday, I'll be nice.

 

[mm1971]

Mornin' all.
I GOT A DAY OFF!!!!
I don't know what to do with it.

Now that's a silly question around here. The obvious answer is to plan your next trip, set up ADR's and FP+.

Hey guys! Another newbie here…

Welcome to the group Matt!

Yeah it's been a while, busy as heck with work and trying to scrape up the funds for this years trip. Stupid Canadian Dollar.

Norm, I could never get lost in there, I am there more then home some weeks, although Last week I got some laughs by pretending to be lost in the opposite side of the store.

Hey Brent! Keep working towards those Dole Whips and Mickey Bars. August will be here before you know it.

Yes, we can offset it my not filling vacant positions, which really makes one ask where all that money is going.

Well, clearly it goes to the BOD and the endowment for the kids of the top 1%. Starting the old college search now with DD getting late in his sophomore year. So far we have a state school option for only $28K a year to more private at around $57K. We are planning a few visits this summer to get onto the admissions list. The good thing is DS scored impressively high on his PSAT's so I must have done something right.

 

[mm1971]

Happy April Fools Day everyone. Been having a bit of fun over on Facebook this morning. Managed to catch my SIL but once she realized what was up she deleted the very nice comments she left for me.

Good Morning Darcy. Hope things are well. Congrats to Declan on all of his sporting accomplishments I have been reading about! He certainly seems to be growing fast.

Morning all. 2nd day off in a row! SWMBO took the day off too and I'm taking her out for brekkie.

Enjoy the day and really long weekend. Don't forget the bacon.

 

[AirGoofy]

Morning all. 1 more day to vacation. I'm so ready.

Morning all. 2nd day off in a row! SWMBO took the day off too and I'm taking her out for brekkie.
:

Is brekkie a breakfast or some new slang for quickie?

Happy Friday All! Looking more and more like I'll be able to swing a short trip in either August or October. Still waiting on an answer from the salary demands, but was able to pay some big work bills on the cc (with permission), adding almost $500 to the points balance.
.

Good luck on the trip booking and to the children on sports programs.

Well, clearly it goes to the BOD and the endowment for the kids of the top 1%. Starting the old college search now with DD getting late in his sophomore year. So far we have a state school option for only $28K a year to more private at around $57K. We are planning a few visits this summer to get onto the admissions list. The good thing is DS scored impressively high on his PSAT's so I must have done something right.

And building more buildings. State universities are our only option. Both dds are smart enough and test well enough without putting much effort into it.

 

[budamacdvcr]

Top O the Mornin Dads!

Happy Friday All! Looking more and more like I'll be able to swing a short trip in either August or October. Still waiting on an answer from the salary demands, but was able to pay some big work bills on the cc (with permission), adding almost $500 to the points balance. DD hoops begins this weekend. DS finds out tomorrow if on Varsity of JV after a round robin tournament. Pulling for the JV squad to allow for more reps and a consistent pitching schedule.

Nice on the trip status and best of luck to DS to get what he wants.

 

[Terra Nova guy]

Hello Dads, I've been busy the last few days painting my bedroom. We bought a new house 6 years ago and DW didn't like the paint in the bedroom, but at the time I had committed to re-painting both the girls bedrooms, so I told her to live with it for a little while and we could change it later. So it turns out "a little while" and "later" are roughly the same time, which is about 6 years. Oh well, at least she likes the colour now. (yes, the Canadian u's are back )

Hey guys! Another newbie here… well, not so new to the DIS but new to this sub-forum. Not sure why I've never chimed in before, but I figured that I might as well now

Welcome! I joined DIS Dads not long ago myself. The guys are a great group to chat with, as long as you throw a pack of bacon their way once in a while

trying to scrape up the funds for this years trip. Stupid Canadian Dollar.

I hear you on our stupid dollar. It the main reason I don't have any trips planned for the foreseeable future.

Morning all. 1 more day to vacation. I'm so ready.

Awesome. Enjoy it!

 

[pkondz]

Now that's a silly question around here. The obvious answer is to plan your next trip, set up ADR's and FP+.

And yet... no one suggested it until now.

Is brekkie a breakfast or some new slang for quickie?

I wish. At my age, I'm lucky to get a "slowie".

So it turns out "a little while" and "later" are roughly the same time, which is about 6 years.

You too? Ask me about my deck.
On second thought... don't.

(yes, the Canadian u's are back )

Never apologize for spelling things correctly.

 

[AirGoofy]

Hello Dads, I've been busy the last few days painting my bedroom. We bought a new house 6 years ago and DW didn't like the paint in the bedroom, but at the time I had committed to re-painting both the girls bedrooms, so I told her to live with it for a little while and we could change it later. So it turns out "a little while" and "later" are roughly the same time, which is about 6 years. Oh well, at least she likes the colour now. (yes, the Canadian u's are back )
!

Well, if you can by with 6 years in between honey-do chore lists, then bravo.

I wish. At my age, I'm lucky to get a "slowie".
.

Unfortunately, I get it. And by get it, I mean not get it.

 

[budamacdvcr]

Chris - nice of ya to stop by, visit more often and trust the family is doing well.

Start planning a WDW trip

Done a couple of sessions at Disney institute myself, they are real good.

And yet... no one suggested it until now.

See above, I was all over that........

 

[Goofy + 3]

Do my eyes deceive me, or is that Chris? Welcome back!

Nice to see you Chris.

Stopher's is "I can show you the World" Cruise planners. We has website, you tube, etc. Aaron has also opened his own travel business.

Chris - nice of ya to stop by, visit more often and trust the family is doing well.

Great to see you're still alive Chris!

Hello, gentlemen. Nice to see some familiar avatars. Speaking of avatars, where's mine? The family is well and all things considered, I am too. I'll explain my long absence in a few days. I should be able to carve out some time to tell the story on Tuesday. It's a doozie (and no, it doesn't involve jail time).

 

[RMColosimo]

Happy Saturday morning!

 

[DH-2-mamaduck]

Morning guys.


Woke up to a little snow on the ground (a foot of it would have been fun - fire the sleds back up!). 27 degrees and Sunny, very windy. A few weeks ago, all the plants started coming up and trees were budding - oak's are opening up. I sure hope we don't get nailed by one of these late season frosts like we have in the past that stunts the trees and kills shrubs.