Disney...by Land and Sea...Morris Style!

[DMGeurts]

Good mornng Nini...

I was laying in bed this morning, thinking I haven't seen you post in a few days... Of course, I log on and it was ME who was missing, not you.

Glad Mr. Max didn't have any ill effects from the glass. Thankfully, my MM doesn't get into the garbage often... but I have really strangely shaped garbage cans - so it's a bit difficult and not really worth his hassle.

UGH!!! That band director - that should not be allowed under any circumstances. I am glad this is your last year of dealing with her.

Glad to hear you are making progress on your dresses... Are you going to show us pictures?

Miss Mia just sounds so adorable - she is so precious anyways, and she is getting to be such a fun age!

I agree about FP+... I think I am in your boat, as well... I think we will try for FPs in the afternoon. I know that throws a wrench in the ability to get 4 or more, but meh... I want this to be EASY...

Have a great day!

D~

 

[NiniMorris]

Wasn't sure this would work! Finally got something to work right with this new computer!

The Grand Princess graduated last night and is First Grade Bound!

I also finished their beach dresses, and need to get a quick picture since I am giving them to their mommies today. This time next week I will be throwing last minute things in the car... because in just an hour and a half we would be hitting the road for the beach!


And......in trip news...PIN code has saved the day!

More details after it is booked!



Nini

 

[blessedmom4]

CONGRATULATIONS to your Grand Princess!!

 

[NiniMorris]

OK...I have a PIN code for free dining. I do not have to change my dates. So why have I not changed the booking yet?

Well, because the package I currently have is for only 4 days and not 6, the park tickets are for only 1 day and not 4, only for park hopper and not for Water Park.... so, when you add all that in, the free dining saves ups a whopping $300 over what we currently have! Oh yeah...don't for get there has been a ticket increase since we booked this last year!

Free Dining will still save us over $1800 over what it would cost without FD...but still more than what we wanted to spend. The difference between a moderate and a Savanna room view is over a thousand dollars...and the difference between standard room and Savanna room view is over 500 dollars.

So the cheap in me wants to change it to a moderate...while the part of me that wants to have a 'bucket list' birthday is saying stay with the AKL. Husband says stay with AKL...but he is not the one paying for it! LOL!

I got the PIN on Friday and STILL have not booked it! I really need to get this taken care of so I can focus on packing for the beach trip! We leave in less than 5 days and I have only gone as far as moving the luggage into the dining room...my kids ask if I need to go to the doctor, since I have NEVER waited this long to pack for any trip. Shoot, I still have to buy the kids more shorts!

I had a nice, peaceful, relaxing Mother's Day. Saturday, Miss Mia and her mommy and daddy invited us to their house where they made us a dinner to rival Biergarten! Schnitzel, red cabbage, warm German Potato Salad and Black Forest Cake and Pretzel Bread rolls. Everything made from scratch with Organic foods! Yummy!

Then yesterday morning, when I got up, there was a dozen roses and some great coffee cookies waiting for me. I don't do breakfast in bed since I am a morning person and am always up at least an hour before anyone else.

After church services, we went to Ruby Tuesday for lunch (not my favorite, but the kids thought I would enjoy it!). After we left, I was presented with a new charm for my bracelet! It was a dangly Mickey Mouse! I had bought some cheap glass beads to put on the bracelet to keep all the nice ones from clanging too much. It made for a cute bunch of spacers. I may have to remove some of them now.

Anyway, we then came home where the kids were under strict orders from dad to leave me alone. I went out to the pool and sat and read! It was amazing! Unfortunately I forgot to put some sunscreen on so I got a tad bit burnt, but nothing too bad. When I cam back in, I discovered that husband had taken the kids on to evening church services and left me completely alone! They brought dinner back with them...from Taco Bell!

I can't remember the last time I had a relaxing Mother's Day!

I do have to say it was not my most memorable one though. That came in 2005. Mr D was still in the hospital and had just come out of the coma. I was forced to go home from the hospital Saturday night. (only the second night I did not stay at the hospital during the 3 months) When I got back to the hospital on Sunday after lunch, I was greeted with Mr D TALKING! My older daughter had stayed with him and had worked with the speech therapist all day to get him to say "I love you, Mommy"! I was the first time I got to hear his voice after the accident! It was not his 'normal' voice and sounded a bit like a monotone robot, but it was the sweetest sound I ever heard!

Hope you all had a great Mother's Day!


Nini

 

[NiniMorris]

Conpletely not Disney related, but I had to share.

On Saturday morning, Mr D had a baseball game. Afterwards we always go out for lunch. While we were waiting on everyone to get their errand run so we could eat lunch, we drove around town a bit.

Our little town is old.. The center of town is all from the early 1800's Which those from up north will say is a middle aged place wile those in Europe will say it is still a new town!

I have always wanted to own a historical house. Or at least an old one. I think I was formerly from the 1800's. As we were driving, one of the houses I have always loved had a for sale sign out front. While I knew we could not afford it...I mean it had an ingound pool and SIX bathrooms ...not to mention those beautiful columns and floor to ceiling windows that opened like doors!

But I pulled the info up on my phone anyway. It was a staggering $600,000!! As I said I knew I could not afford it...but it made me wonder. It wasn't as expensive as I had thought. While I was looking at it, I pulled up the one next door. It was ...only $250,000!!! We can afford it!It is a corner lot with lots of old trees...and was built in the 1880's

We talked about it a lot over the weekend. If it were not for the fact that we are upside down on our house, we would definitely be trying for it. It has been on the market for a year or more...and I spoke with an agent at church yesterday. She said they had an offer of 200,000 about 6 months ago and had turned it down. They were now starting to get desperate, and had approached the people again that had made that offer...but they were no longer interested.

I sooo want to make an offer on that house! It has 6 bedrooms and 3 baths...and is a little over 3400 square feet. Of course, no basement and no sewing studio. My husband laughed at me...because I have always wanted to restore an old house...and this one is completely remodeled...except for the kitchen.....


Nini

 

[NiniMorris]

Ten phone calls later (with one hour and 55 minutes on hold) I have Free Dining booked for my October trip using a PIN.

We changed from Animal Kingdom Lodge to Port Orleans Riverside Royal Room (which I am not 100% crazy about...but we did get the free dining...and are saving about $2000.

Now to get the kids in bed!


Nini

 

[DMGeurts]

So glad to hear you had a great Mother's Day! I loved hearing about Mother's Day 2005... What a wonderful memory!

Yay for rebooking and getting Free Dining... I am with you - I think it would be so hard to give up AKL for POR - even if it is for the Royal Rooms. But I think you will enjoy it just the same. So, did you change the length of your trip or anything?

And... Did you put an offer in on that house? We have the same problem... We will probably be upside down on our house for another 20 years. I look at it as "renting from the bank" - sigh.

D~

 

[NiniMorris]

So glad to hear you had a great Mother's Day! I loved hearing about Mother's Day 2005... What a wonderful memory!

Yay for rebooking and getting Free Dining... I am with you - I think it would be so hard to give up AKL for POR - even if it is for the Royal Rooms. But I think you will enjoy it just the same. So, did you change the length of your trip or anything?

And... Did you put an offer in on that house? We have the same problem... We will probably be upside down on our house for another 20 years. I look at it as "renting from the bank" - sigh.

D~

The prospect of the Royal Room doesn't really appeal to me at all. I guess I shouldn't complain, as a lot of the savings was due to the room change.

We did add on a day from our last reservation, but we had already planned on doing that. Of course, add the water park and more to the tickets didn't help the bottom line, and the over all ticket increase that happened after we booked didn't help either. So, over all the amount saved didn't end up being as much as we had originally had hoped.

Next time I plan on just making a reservation and sticking to it! It is usually the ADRs that I change a million times... LOL.

I am working on a plan to get back to Disney the first week of December. I will use the TA discount and only go for a quick over night trip. This will make it possible for my husband to stay home with the kids...and for me to afford the AKL savannah room view I want. I am determined to be able to meet Wendy while she is there on her special trip. The hardest part is coordinating it with my husband's schedule and not having the kids want to go. Not sure I can get husband to agree to them missing school...and that would make the expense to go up! LOL!

We leave Saturday morning for the beach. Umm...I normally have everything packed about 6 weeks out from a big trip. So far most of my clothes are packed. But the other three people in my family have not
even told me what new clothes I need to buy! Since this will be the official beginning of summer for us, I am pretty sure that they will need some shorts and some tops. I believe I am just about out of time to shop for them...not to mention I am out of money!

I also realized I for got to make something for Mr D's fantastic teacher and Para-pro ....and tomorrow is the last day of school. They may have to settle for ...gasp...store bought gifts! I had tons of ideas, but have completely ran out of time. Add in the grand Princess is here today...and husband is off (meaning he tends to come up with things to do and places to go that eat up my time) and I am seriously in trouble!

On a good note...my daughter let me know last night she is completely packed! Meaning I won't have to watch Miss Mia today or tomorrow so she can get her packing done! This will be the first trip she has taken in a YEAR that this has happened! (They travel to Alabama once a month to see his parents)

Hmm, the school bus comes in 20 minutes and Miss B is still in bed. I guess I should go see what her hold up is...she has two finals today...and two more tomorrow.

Nini

 

[DMGeurts]

I sure hope you get to go in December - I agree - I would be so wonderful to be able to meet Wendy. Even if you just get to go for a night/weekend - I really hope you are able to make it work.

I don't think the Royal Rooms will be too bad... I know I freak out every time I don't have FQ, LOL... So, I *kind of* know how you feel. Did you book a certain view? Just curious, because I know when we were booked with a RR and Pool View - there were only a handful of rooms in that category, so I knew about where we would be located, which was kind of nice.

I hope you are able to get everything done and packed in time - I am sure you will. And you will have a marvelous WARM time.

D~

 

[NiniMorris]

I think this is day 5 at the beach...not sure and don't want to count...but I have been ready to go home since the day after we arrived. I won't post the whys...because I tend to sound like I am whining when I do, but let's just say too much family time is getting to me!

The 4 bedroom 3 bath condo is great. We are just a few yards form the beach, and the pool is really close. Last night I finally got out of the condo and husband and I had a 'date night'. Which added a ton of stress on me!

Tonight is date night for the other two ... and a ton more stress will go with that! I have thought, very seriously, about packing up and going home. If I could find a way to make sure the husband and kids could make it back if I took the car I would...

Oh well...I am sure that I will look back on this trip and remember the good times and not the not so great times...but right now I am not seeing it!

LOL!

Nini

 

[NiniMorris]

I made it! It is here! Today is Friday, our last full day at the beach and I have survived!

I have never been so glad to go home from a vacation!

Last night we brought up that we will be going right by my dad's house on the way back. It started more drama. I did not say they had to go by and visit their grand father...only that I was and they were welcome to.

I swear, when my olders were younger they used to get all kinds of compliments on their manners. Words like 'kind' and 'thoughtful' were always used to describe them. I have no clue where those kids went...because they do not seem to be the adults standing in front of me this past week!

Husband and Son In Law will go golfing again today, and I have plans for a long stay at the beach...which is good since I will be the only adult without a vehicle this morning!

The weather has been perfect the whole week. Not a drop of rain and warm, warm temps. The waves were a bit rough yesterday, but not too bad.

A couple days ago we were in Panama City Beach just driving around. That place seemed dead. The construction has stopped, but it seemed like there were tons more empty buildings. Anyway, we drove over to where our friend had his condo. And to our surprise, there is a ground floor unit for sale, over looking the lagoon with a boat dock. And...someone that lives in our county is selling it! Small world. And th best news is they are asking only 120,000 for it! Condo fees are very small, less than a hundred a month... Very hard to resist going to look at it! The building is older, but the area is perfect...about a block to the beach; and the pool is across the parking lot. It is a small complex with only about 20 units... Since we had planned on purchasing one of the units before the accident, it was really hard to not think this was God's way of telling us to go for it!

It is really hard to think about going back to the other coast of Florida or Georgia again. The Gulf water is so pretty and the sand is so white. However the Atlantic coast is so much more convenient to get to for us. Even though we are closer to the Gulf Coast, it took longer to get here than it did to Disney. Too many back roads as we go through Alabama.

I am so looking forward to getting back to Disney planning! And wishing a little that I was at Disney tonight...the 24 hour thing... oh well, I guess I am a bot too old to be staying up all night. LOL!

Nini

 

[NiniMorris]

Finally home. Oddly enough no one got a bad sunburn. I did not burn a bit...since I am about as pasty white as they come that is saying a LOT!

The trip home was long....so I ended up reading the whole way home. Nothing much had changed when we got home. It seems that every time we go away there is a tornado, flood, ice storm...something! While their weather wasn't as nice as ours....noting major happened on the weather front...so of course, that meant the pump went off during the week. Son was supposed to keep checking on it... but he didn't. He insisted it was working this morning...but my nice crystal blue water is now green! The pump had to have been off since the middle of the week for it to look this way.

And judging from the aroma in the house, he had not made it on a daily basis to feed, water, and let the dogs out. (Luckily Mr Max was visiting the kennel this week on his own little doggie vacation!) The two small minis we have here could go a whole month in the house unattended (except for the letting outside part...) But we did notice the water bowl, while not empty, had not been refilled the whole week.

We talked again about leaving these two in a kennel for the cruise/Disney trip in October. But truthfully they are both over 15...they are small dogs and do not handle change very well. I doubt they would either survive a stay in the kennel.

We never went back to look at the condo...so it is now out of the question. But we did decide the older house in town is off the list. We have been in our house close to 15 years. We don't have that long to pay on it. Not really sure I want to be making mortgage payments when I am in my 90's! LOL!

So, I might be trying to convince husband that we need to get a condo in Orlando to vacation in. I know it is a subject that will take a couple attempts to get him thinking in that direction... but I am sure I can eventually get him to at least consider it!

So, now the bags are unpacked, the pool is on its way to being clean again, the house is fresh smelling, and the dogs are both sleeping peacefully with a kid, and husband has gone to get dinner! The day is almost over and I am ready for a long nap! It will be so nice to sleep in my own bed tonight. That bed felt like sleeping on a box spring. And yes, I did look to see if there was a mattress on there! The rest of the condo was almost perfect. Although we threw out way too much food!!!!


Now, back to Disney planning!

Nini

 

[NiniMorris]

A little over 20 weeks!

We are getting closer and closer!

We have worked out a chore chart for the kids. They have a job for 2 weeks and then they switch. They get to decide how to use their money...knowing that when we leave to go to Disney I will match all money they have saved for the trip. I expect Miss B to save most of hers and Mr D will only save the money he gets the last week before we go! LOL! If he surprises me and saves it all I... well this could be an expensive lesson in savings!

This should free up about 10 to 15 minutes a day for me.. and I have tons of stuff to do. My middle son is getting married in less than 2 weeks. I was supposed to be doing the ring bearers pillows (yes plural) today, but she wants me to wait. She is not sure how many ring bearers she will have ...one of them seems to have backed out?

I'm sure she thinks it only takes a minute to 'whip' them up, so I have a feeling I will be spending the night before the wedding making them. Why don't I just go ahead and make enough for both boys and have an extra? Good question. Primarily because if she has 2 ring bearers she will have one say Mrs Morris and the other Mr Morris...but if she only has one she will have the split ampersand sign with Morris in the middle and Mr and Mrs written subway art style on it...and I don't have enough of the satin to make 3 pillows!

We leave in about 144 days...so I still have some time before I have to make my FP+ selections. For some reason they are driving me crazy! I desperately need someone to go before my 60 day mark so I can tell how the new system is working. Multiple FP+ is a great idea, but my theory of making selections late in the day and just using stand by and rope drop to score rides early seems a bot wasteful...which I'm sure is EXACTLY why Disney did it this way...so that more big ticket items will be available for those who do not plan ahead.

So, the uber planner in me is panicking, trying to figure out a good strategy!

I have really gotten excited about staying in the Royal rooms! I can't believe how excited I got! Knowing that I asked for ground floor and parking lot proximity (and made sure they understood it was for handicapped accessibility) and seeing that I have a preferred room...well it seriously narrows down the rooms we are likely to get. That makes the room just about perfect!

Now the only thing to decide is which water park...and that may be decided for us, since the preliminary refurb list shows one of the water parks to go down the middle of October. I am not sure which one yet (of the two lists I have seen they both show a different one) Although I am seriously thinking about not including the water park...even if husband thinks we really should! Water parks are not my thing, and I am sure that I will spend 99% of the time sitting, waiting on them... I am sure they will have loads of fun.

Had a brief dip in the pool today...it felt really great to start back to a regular schedule. Tomorrow we start having the Grand Princess in the afternoons. I will probably have her for dinner most nights as well, since my daughter in law thinks she should work late every single day! Actually her boss thinks she should work late...after all he did PAY her while she was on vacation! And THAT is the main reason I hate to work on salary instead of by the hour!

Later this week I plan on making tentative lists for each day of the trip. I am thinking a general outline for now and then make changes once I make the FP+ selections. While I don't do anything as fancy as one, I do keep it in a program/app on both my computer and phone. It is called Evernote and I LOVE it!

The program allows me to work on either the computer or phone and they sync to each other I can change things around and keep notes handy. It also allows me to grab stuff from the internet and keep them in a note so that when I want to look at something, say the floor plan of POR, I can pull it up on my phone in a moment. I keep the maps of the parks there, as well as all our dining information, FP+ selections, emergency info...you name it- it is there!

While I also have a couple of apps that also can pull up the same info on the web (like My Disney Experience) there are times when the internet is a little spotty in the parks. This program allows me to save the info to my phone (while still being able to update it) so I never have to wait for the internet to be up and running.

OK...that was my geeky moment for the day! LOL!

Hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day!

Nini

 

[NiniMorris]

With all the construction going on at the Poly, we have decided not to try 'OHana for dinner on our break/water park night. Well, that plus they changed the menu and my picky daughter will not eat pork! Chicken is almost the only meat she will touch.

When I checked on Monday, they had bunches of stuff available for that day. Now that I am ready to make a change, it is all gone! Lesson for the day, if you want it and see it, grab it!

The only thing I see not in a park, that looks like we might enjoy is 1900 Park Fare...and Miss B REFUSES to go there. I guess they embarrassed her more than I thought!

Now I have to find a place for dinner on that night...sheesh. Guess I had better get to stalking the site!


Nini

 

[NiniMorris]

Was able to make a few changes in our ADRs yesterday. We dumped 'OHana in favor of Chef Mickey's. Unfortunately, the only thing they had available that night was 845...which is a bit too late for us. I guess we will be either stalking the MDE to look for an earlier time, or we will be falling asleep at dinner!

Anyway... I just wanted to say, please don't make people feel guilty because they were able to snag a Be Our Guest reservation. We have been to Disney 4 times since it opened, and we have managed to snag a reservation for all 4 of those as well as the one coming up. It can be done, but you have to stay persistent. I check several times a day until I find the ONE that will work for me. It is WORK. I understand some people don't want to do that, and that is fine. But don't suggest that I give up MY reservation so that someone who doesn't want to put much effort into it and get it.

It is like CRT used to be. Hard to get and greatly cherished. So don't tell me that I should give up mine just so you can take your daughter there... (sorry, the comment about that hit me the wrong way!)

Now that December's hours have been released for Magic Kingdom, I can get started planning my friend Wendy's trip! I am so hoping to be able to go as well. I have a couple irons in the fire and a few tricks up my sleeve to hopefully make that happen.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Nini

 

[NiniMorris]

Today was a day filled with Disney

Unfortunately, none of it was really mine...but it was fun!

A group of friends are getting together to send a friend to Disney. She is a very giving and kind person who always thinks of others, and has helped head up our Big Gives for WISH kids going to Disney. A medical emergency has changed her life. In our effort to speed up her healing we are sending her and her husband on a trip to Disney during her favorite time of year...early December!

Today was her ADR day. I spent all morning on the phone working on her plans....and the middle part of the day working on refinements in her plans, and this evening back on the phone making the necessary changes.

I can't remember when I have had so much fun helping someone plan their trip! I was able to get all the reservations they wanted. At the time they wanted.

I also managed to make a few tweaks to our October plans. Nothing major, just made the decision to take Boma off and keep the Tusker House lunch.

And we managed to spend some time in the pool. Not an exciting day, but a very fun one!

Nini

 

[NiniMorris]

Today is Therapy Day! Otherwise known as Tuesday. I will be spending the entire day out and about, It will be an exhausting day, but hopefully we can add some fun into it. Strawberry season is just about over, so we will try and squeeze a trip to the strawberry farm in this morning.

Out PT therapist is out of town this morning so it gives us an extra hour...we will see. They were closed yesterday, so we may have lost out.

On the wedding front, the bride to be has FINALLY decided on what dress she wants for the Flower Girls...after insisting she didn't care, and making several different choices in the past 2 years and changing her mind.

She found a cute dress online at David's Bridal. Unfortunately, there was only one in the size both girls needed. So after calling around to every store in GA, Alabama, and North Carolina, she finally found one in Orlando!

I did offer to drive to Disney...errr I mean Orlando to pick it up, but they were finally able to convince the store to deliver at an almost reasonable price and it will be here on Friday...the wedding is on Saturday. Cutting it a bit close!

And on the trip planning front...I snagged a few Disney Gift cards through Disney Movie Rewards.... Last time I did that I forgot where I put them and we ended up at Disney without them! LOL...Now I put them in my folder as soon as they get here!


Have a Magical Day!

Nini

 

[NiniMorris]

134 Days, 16 Hours, 26 minutes, and 37 seconds.


Thought that would make my migraine go away....nope

 

[NiniMorris]

Today is wedding day.

Yay.


I forgot to wash Mr D's baseball uniform for his end of the year team party. Then I realized I still have to hem a pair of dress pants for him...I HATE to hem pants. I am really dreading it...Husband said I could use a stapler... LOL...

At least I am happy with the dress Miss B picked out. She has her bio dad's shape. I keep hoping as she gets older she will round out a bit more, but she is basically a block. Completely square... from shoulders to her behind. It makes cute clothes look odd on her. So we found a black dress with spaghetti straps and a lace flounce on the bodice, with an elasticy waist and a cute tie. It is higher in the front and longer in the back...it gives her a nice shape.

Then she found some cool shoes (at least she thinks so). Then she is wearing a cute red necklace and bracelet. Just enough color to keep it from looking like a funeral dress...


This wedding is going to have lots of drama...but husband decided to add to it. He tried to break his ankle at work Thursday night/Friday morning. At the ER they said it was questionable but they were pretty sure it was just a bad sprain. I do not trust this ER. I have been there twice when they said it was just a bad sprain and after the swelling goes down find out it was a break after all. Since he is in a bit more pain than a bad sprain should be causing, and it is really swollen...and looks a bit 'off' I am guessing it is a break.

Of course, he refuses to believe the doctors could be wrong, and refuses to take anything other than Tylenol for the pain!

The wedding is outside, in GA, in June...with no seating! Of course, right now the weather man is calling for Thunder Storms! The bride and groom have made no plans for what to do in case of rain.

Should be interesting to say the least!


Disney planning...nothing much new on this. I am waiting to decide on what FP+ we might want to do...and have been reading everything I can get my hands on as to scheduling them early in hopes of getting more later...to scheduling them later because what you really want won't be available.... All the 'experts' disagree! Although I have yet to see anyone who has also had access to the DAS. So we really aren't sure how this is going to work...but I can say that we have now gone 2 times since the use of the DAS has started... and three times since the beginning of FP+. I can say it has been a gradual change, so Mr D has had time to get used to the changes a bit. Two of our last 4 trips have been short ones. The short ones give him a different expectation so I think we may be weaning him a bit...or at least that is the hope I have! We will find out in October, which we consider to be a short trip since we are only doing one day in each park!

Enough stalling...got to go make some strawberry jam and hem some pants!


Nini

 

[NiniMorris]