"Do You Mind?" - Disney Adventures with Teens August Trip Report

[irene_dsc]

I'm still here, too!

(I, too, have felt the need for a better way to offer condolences, fwiw. Hugs are good...)

 

[swwake]

Yay! Everyone's still here! I don't know what happened to Jen. We haven't even been able to lure her back with Lapu Lapus.

I have to make a planning note here to follow up on later.

I think I am going to make an ADR for 50's Prime Time Cafe for our DHS day lunch. We have been before and didn't really get the full "experience", but Katie was younger and may not even remember. I think Katie and Caitlin would get a kick out of the place.

 

[swwake]

I just couldn't help myself. I made a lunch reservation for PTC. I think the girls will get a kick out of this. I hope we get a good server. We are doing Brown Derby on the Fantasmic package on the same day, and it is a REALLY early dinner, so I did an early lunch. And for the girls, this may be breakfast, since they may just be rolling out of bed at that time.

 

[dreamer17555]

We loved PTC. We had an 11:30 lunch and it was yummy and our server was great. I hope you get one that plays along.

-Becca-

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

I've been here from the beginning. I am guilty of lurking. This has become my favorite board. I like the fact that the whole family is involved. You all have had a rough time, and I didn't want you to feel pressured to entertain me.

About PTC, My DH loves this place. He totally gets into the fun. Unties the aprons as the "brothers and sisters" walk by. Call them fun names. Always wants to see "Mama". My DD2 is very dramatic, and we have the greatest picture of her being fed her collard greens by "Brother Bob". If I could remember how to post a picture, I would.


We went for an early lunch and the place was practically empty. We had so much attention and fun. We were also in a very good mood because we had won Magical FastPasses earlier that day.

Thanks for letting my join in on the fun for a little while.

5 days of school left.

 

[Grandma Bonnie]

Yes, we are still here, just a tad busy.
I feel a little guilty after all the wondering where our Disfriends went and then neither Susan nor I writing for days. Please forgive us.
I am here in Austin with my other daughter and her family visiting Susan and her family. We have been filling the days and nights doing typical vacation/family type stuff. All the while Susan and Chris have been working at their jobs and practicing for the BIG dance expo tonight. We are returning to Memphis Tuesday. Maybe things here at "the boards" will return to "normal" after we leave the "hacienda."

 

[swwake]

Today is June 9th. That means it is exactly 2 months until we will be touching down at MCO!!!!

 

[swwake]

Time for a quick post to say: this is starting to stress me out. We went to dinner tonight and talked about all the events and travel that we have coming up.

59 days means less than two months any way you look at it - unless both months were Februaries!!

The family just went home yesterday after a week with us. We each took two days off work and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Our dance showcase was awesome and an intense rush. We are ready to go again!

As mentioned earlier in this PTR, we have so much going on this summer. I feel like I am getting behind on planning the vacation.

Tomorrow I have a day trip to Dallas. That seems easy, but it is still stressful. Air travel can be.

Next week we go to Vegas for a long weekend.

The following week I am in DC for the last half of the week.

We're currently here for the 4th, but that could change. DH is looking at track dates for his motorcycle ride. I bought him a gift certificate for Christmas, and the 4th weekend is one of the options. If not, we will in all likelihood host a small get-together here at the house.

The 9th-11th I am in Chicago and we are trying to decide whether Chris should join me and we should extend the stay through the weekend.

Then we have a couple weeks "off". But I have an in-town conference July 28-29th (late) and off to SF early on the 30th. I return Monday the 4th in time to do laundry and pack for 3 days before we leave for vacation!!!

I was telling DH at dinner that I don't feel like I have time to organize for this trip. He offered to "organize" (whatever that means) in my absence, but I can't tell him what I need done. Because I am not organized enough to know!

At minimum, I need to make sure I have all the reservations and itineraries in a central, easily accessible location.

Beyond that, I need to check in with my cousin Kellye and see if she is REALLY planning to join us for part of the trip (another long story there) and also somehow asking my step mom if she is interested in joining us.

Either of these decisions/commitments will cause a cascade of additional planning needing to be done (ADR additions/changes, possible additional room reservations, package changes, etc.)

Whew...can you tell I'm overwhelmed?

I would like to post next about Caitlin's visit yesterday and the photo album Mom brought me. I have to hook up my scanner and see if I have the software to make it work. I would love to share some of these pics with all of my friends...

 

[irene_dsc]

Busy, busy, busy. I just realized, we are hoping to go *somewhere* just about the same time you will be at WDW, and we haven't booked *anything*! Well, mainly because I don't want to commit to spending the money - dh had an itinerary all planned out, and I nixed it to be frugal. I'm going to be annoyed if I have to let our American Airlines vouchers expire, due to not wanting to spend the rest of the money, but at least we have until January to use them.

(At least we have a tentative camping trip planned for late July, and my nieces and SIL/BIL are coming into town in early July, plus pool passes, so don't feel too sorry for us!)

 

[swwake]

It seems to never slow down around here. Now the family's gone and we've made it through our dance showcase and Fathers' Day weekend. Still quite busy at work, with many month-end deadlines. But this week we are taking a long weekend to go to WDW for Adults - VEGAS, Baby! That's right, we're celebrating my DSis's 40th birthday in style, with Dad and Sierra, DBIL and DH. If you've been reading along, you know that Mom has graciously accepted the challenge of staying home with the grandkids. Hopefully she and I will do our "ladies trip" to Vegas later this Fall.

I can't get my ancient scanner to hook up to my snazzy new computer. I got it to scan one picture, then it started behaving like it had no idea what a scanner is supposed to do. Useless.

So, here's the pic I uploaded from the album Mom brought me. Actually, it's one of the better pics.

That's DSis (Joann), me, and our cousin Amy (who you met earlier in this PTR when we did our practice trip to Six Flags in April). My guess, by seeing my snaggle tooth, is that I was 6 or 7 years old, making this the summer of 1975 or 1976. I can't really tell where we are sitting.

Needless to say, I'm looking into some scanners. I thought maybe there would be a nice little machine for around $59 that does nothing but do decent scans of old pics, but all I can find are $100 and up do-it-all machines that print, scan, copy, and fax. I sure don't need all that. So it may be awhile, unfortunately, before we can share more of these nostalgic pics with you.

 

[stagemomx3]

I like the matching outfits!

 

[dreamer17555]

I love the old photo. Sorry about your scanner. They tend to be fickel creatures. He (DH) is a Tech guy at the local university. Nothing he hates more than fickle scanners.

-Becca-

 

[Charleston Princess]

Love the old pic! Scanners and other assorted technology:

Your WDW trip will be here before you know it!

Can't wait to hear about Vegas!

 

[dddisrunner]

Susan, that pic. of you ,your sister and cousin is ADORABLE!! I am sorry you have felt so stressed! Hopefully you can find some time to finish up your planning! You are getting closer and closer. I remember when you were in the 100's! Hang in there!

 

[brewzoo5]

That's DSis (Joann), me, and our cousin Amy (who you met earlier in this PTR when we did our practice trip to Six Flags in April). My guess, by seeing my snaggle tooth, is that I was 6 or 7 years old, making this the summer of 1975 or 1976. I can't really tell where we are sitting.

oh my goodness!!! We are wearing OVERALLS!!! What was mom thinking? That had to be a hassle going to the bathroom and stuff. There is no independence with overalls when you can't unhook the buttons. Maybe she was thinking it would be good to have all the extra pockets. But, geez.... I am glad we grew out of that matching stage.

By the way, what are you wearing in Vegas? Do you want to wear matching overalls one day? We can replay the scene grown up style 35 years later. Whataya say?

Sis Jo

 

[Donald is #1]

Needless to say, I'm looking into some scanners. I thought maybe there would be a nice little machine for around $59 that does nothing but do decent scans of old pics, but all I can find are $100 and up do-it-all machines that print, scan, copy, and fax. I sure don't need all that. So it may be awhile, unfortunately, before we can share more of these nostalgic pics with you.

Don't turn away from the multi-function printers too soon. When I needed a new printer last year, I ended up buying one that it printer, scanner and fax. I can't image how I survived without a copier at home. It is so much easier to make copies here than to take my personal stuff into work to make copies.

 

[Grandma Bonnie]

Ok, so maybe the memories are not as good for my daughters as for me, but I LOVED dressing the girls in matching outfits. And the overalls were cute and really not that hard to manage in the bathroom (which, by the way, you didn't seem to need to go as often when you were that young.)

My daughters were very close in age and size but very different in appearance and personalities. So I dressed them alike so everyone would know they were sisters. They have told me many times in their adulthood how much they DID NOT like matching outfits. Too bad, girls, those were the days when Mama was boss!

Susan can tell you that there are many pictures of them in matching outfits in the albums I showed her recently. Maybe she'll share some with y'all later.

 

[swwake]

Busy, busy, busy. I just realized, we are hoping to go *somewhere* just about the same time you will be at WDW, and we haven't booked *anything*! Well, mainly because I don't want to commit to spending the money - dh had an itinerary all planned out, and I nixed it to be frugal. I'm going to be annoyed if I have to let our American Airlines vouchers expire, due to not wanting to spend the rest of the money, but at least we have until January to use them.

(At least we have a tentative camping trip planned for late July, and my nieces and SIL/BIL are coming into town in early July, plus pool passes, so don't feel too sorry for us!)

Hey Irene - so have you made your decision yet? I can't wait to hear what you decide. I love surprises!

 

[swwake]

I like the matching outfits!

I know - cheesy, huh?

I love the old photo. Sorry about your scanner. They tend to be fickel creatures. He (DH) is a Tech guy at the local university. Nothing he hates more than fickle scanners.

-Becca-

Yeah, I am going to have to decide what to do about the scanner thing...

Love the old pic! Scanners and other assorted technology:

Your WDW trip will be here before you know it!

Can't wait to hear about Vegas!

I can't believe how close we are. 48 days now!
Vegas was an absolute blast. I should so a mini-TR.

Susan, that pic. of you ,your sister and cousin is ADORABLE!! I am sorry you have felt so stressed! Hopefully you can find some time to finish up your planning! You are getting closer and closer. I remember when you were in the 100's! Hang in there!

I know - the time has flown by these past couple of months. Now that we're back from Vegas, the wheels are turning in my head again about Disney. Watch for my next dilemma below.

oh my goodness!!! We are wearing OVERALLS!!! What was mom thinking? That had to be a hassle going to the bathroom and stuff. There is no independence with overalls when you can't unhook the buttons. Maybe she was thinking it would be good to have all the extra pockets. But, geez.... I am glad we grew out of that matching stage.

By the way, what are you wearing in Vegas? Do you want to wear matching overalls one day? We can replay the scene grown up style 35 years later. Whataya say?

Sis Jo

I am so glad we wore our matching swimsuits in Vegas. That was an awesome idea! An homage to Mom...

Don't turn away from the multi-function printers too soon. When I needed a new printer last year, I ended up buying one that it printer, scanner and fax. I can't image how I survived without a copier at home. It is so much easier to make copies here than to take my personal stuff into work to make copies.

Well, my aversion has been that I still have a full-size copier, a laser printer, the scanner, and a fax machine from when I ran my own business. They are all about 9 years old though now, but the printer and fax still work fine. The copier sits in the corner and gets very little use at the moment. And you read the scanner story. I think maybe I'll ebay the copier, keep the printer and fax, and get a new multi-use copier/scanner.

Ok, so maybe the memories are not as good for my daughters as for me, but I LOVED dressing the girls in matching outfits. And the overalls were cute and really not that hard to manage in the bathroom (which, by the way, you didn't seem to need to go as often when you were that young.)

My daughters were very close in age and size but very different in appearance and personalities. So I dressed them alike so everyone would know they were sisters. They have told me many times in their adulthood how much they DID NOT like matching outfits. Too bad, girls, those were the days when Mama was boss!

Susan can tell you that there are many pictures of them in matching outfits in the albums I showed her recently. Maybe she'll share some with y'all later.

We were so opposite we didn't understand why you wanted to dress us like twins. When we got to junior high was when we started getting our independence and choosing our clothes. Not sure which was worse, though. I seem to remember Jo getting some velvet knickers.

 

[swwake]

So here's today's dilemma. Our full payment is due this Wednesday. Back in February, I joined AAA to see what kind of discount it would help with on the Disney trip, but I haven't gotten around to checking into it and doing the comparison. With the final payment due to Disney in 3 days, now is the time (cue music - "now is the best time...now is the best time of our lives... can you picture the fluffy dog? do you know where this comes from?).

Anyway, I digress.

So the first thing I did was search the forums here for AAA. I found lots of posts from '04 and '05, which I am not sure are relevant any longer. I did see that Diane had posted some questions about AAA during her planning, so maybe, Diane, you will be able to help me.

I made the full MYW reservation for 1 room for all of us, 8 days, 7 nights, park hopper water fun and more through the WDW website. If what I read holds true, I think I can call AAA Travel and give them my reservation number and they can take it from there and handle the reservation. I hope this is the case.

It looks like I might be able to get 10-35% off, depending on the "season", on the room rate only. AAA does have discounts for the park tickets, but I am not sure they transfer into a full vacation package booked through AAA.

So does anyone know any information other than the above? Am I way off track? If I just book a whole new reservation through AAA and cancel the Disney-booked one, do I lose my deposit?