Having a GRAND time - the NEW Official GF Chat Thread PART 4

[princessesrule4]

Vanessa - glad you are having fun!

Amy - you only have a little over 3 weeks! I wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything else either!

BSkies - We had dinner on the Empress Lily in the 70's. Wasn't DTD just called the Walt Disney World Shopping Village? The had a toy store where I got Madame Alexander dolls. I have the original Snow White from there!
Wow - I feel old.....

I want to hear all about breakfast Illinois Gals!

 

[mandymommy4]

Can you believe we have NEVER been to IOA? We went to UO fro a special thing and hated it...... We are Disney snobs but I think we might try it again to try IOA, we love coasters so that would be fun but i doubt the kids will love it like they do WDW.

 

[BlueSkies]

Hi Mare! I forgot you were away...I thought the gift card would be a good idea too...as far as saving in advance...such a nice thought... too bad I never do... didnt make the risotto yet...I think I will be tonight though...I'll let you know how it turns out...I think Lisa did make it and said it was yummy...thanks for the link too

Amy Your honeymoon plans sound great! How nice to have a cruise in between...CR is our second favorite resort!! I was just there I think you'll like it there too...very different from the GF but a WDW classic as I like to think of it...the rooms are modern elegance...the 4th floor has nice shops...a viewing area for Wishes... also Cali Grill for dinner...very nice...It will all be so nice And its all right around the bend...

 

[BlueSkies]

Princesses You're right DTD was the WDW Shopping Village...it was a nice place to get away from it all and do a little shopping...I remember the toy store too ...how nice that you still have the doll... Madame ALexanders are beautiful..DD has a few...I'm feeling pretty old too...

Mandy I'm with you on being a Disney snob...I dont even like to leave the property but the teens do like IOA...DH will usually take them(gives me a mom down day!!)...last year stayed at Hard Rock for a few days and I really liked it....it was a nice surprise...would definitely stay there again...

 

[goofygal531]

Okay, all caught up. The kids trashed the living room, but Mommy read all eight pages

Mandy: OMG A bath bomb! My DS4 wants to use them in his bath. He keeps telling me he wants his bath water to turn colors! Next time buy the barrel of bombs, the barrel tapes shut and the lid is not so easy to open

Deb: DH has decided we're going to do the DxDDP. He really wants nothing more than to have Narcoossee's Room Service So I'm planning one full day at the water park. Then I'm off for an evening massage at the spa while he grabs the boys dinner and give them baths. Hopefully by the time I'm done at the spa, boys will be sleeping and Narcoossee's Surf and Turf will be on it's way! We loved dining in the restaurant but this way, we can really relax Oh and I've never gotten sick at Narcoossee's, but I didn't have the pear salad. I LOVE their seafood soup!

I also have more time to plan our meals than I did in Nov. I added the DxDDP at the last minute, the last month before our trip. And getting ADRs for T-giving week was a nightmare. We ate at really crappy times - like 4pm dinners This time we have all the Character breakfasts around the monorail resorts then we can have a late dinners (7pm is late for us ). Looking back at our photos, the boys really loved dining with the characters, it was really part of the whole experience for them. So the DxDDP it is for this trip


Deb, The Whispering Canyon is getting really bad reviews - keep watching the restaurant threads. How about an Epcot restaurant to your list? Tutto Italia is supposed to be good, Biergarten, I like the Rose & Crown, Chefs de France has been getting great reviews.... I haven't been to the Captain's Grille - but we did enjoy the Clam Bake at the BC. We also liked Cali Grille and the Brown Derby.

Funny Girl fan here! My DS4 actually says "Hello, Gorgeous"

Lisa: Glad you liked the Risotto. Did you alter the recipe at all? How did you roast the mushrooms? I've never made risotto and it has such a bad wrap as taking forever and being difficult. So I'm a little nervous....

Amy: Getting your marriage license is so exciting!! The ring for your mom is going to be so special, what a great idea!

Chan: Movie hopping! You crack me up! I seriously doubt anyone in the theater would ever expect you and Lucy to crash a movie!

Annette: The 90 day ADR booking is permanent. Do you remember if the Cabanas were 90 days or 30 days to book? I believe I heard that now all recreation is 90 days as well. If you find out, let me know.

Kristen: Sorry your little one is sick. Mine have endless runny noses. January 5th cannot come soon enough!!! This winter break is way too long for me. Next year I think I'm going to sign DS4 up for a winter camp for this week. Every day he asks me if there's school today. I say no. Then is Santa coming? No. Are we going to Disney World today? No!!!! Just play with your brother and stop asking me questions!!!!

I cannot remember anything else from the past 8 pages.

TTYL,
Mare

 

[goofygal531]

Can you believe we have NEVER been to IOA? We went to UO fro a special thing and hated it...... We are Disney snobs but I think we might try it again to try IOA, we love coasters so that would be fun but i doubt the kids will love it like they do WDW.

I'm not a fan either. We went to US back in 97 and all the rides were different then. Since I was an employee, I had front of the line access and apparently missed a lot of the themeing by entering in a different section. We returned in 01 and still weren't fans. I again had free tickets and a drastically reduced employee rate at HRH so we stayed two nights after our Disney cruise. We enjoyed the hotel, just not IOA. I did like the Spiderman ride! I honestly have no desire to return.

Mandy I'm with you on being a Disney snob...I dont even like to leave the property but the teens do like IOA...DH will usually take them(gives me a mom down day!!)...last year stayed at Hard Rock for a few days and I really liked it....it was a nice surprise...would definitely stay there again...

Me too. I like to stay put on WDW property! I did like the HRH pool and cabana - although the fruit basket was rotten!

I forgot who asked about the weather in June? Yes it rains sometimes several times a day. I actually like it because it scares people away from the parks. Every time we hit MK in June it was a lite drizzle and it was empty!! The crowds just vanish with rain. We never had a whole rained out day, just drizzle here and there or a 15 minute storm. DH did get rained out during his Richard Petty driving thing. He called and said it was storming on the track while I was at the GF pool in the cabana enjoying the sun! No rain. He said it was raining on ONE SIDE OF THE TRACK!!

I brought a mini totes umbrella and was fine with it. I'm not really into the ponchos. Although I did recently find a Kate Spade poncho I had gotten from work like 10 years ago. It says "Absolute Kate Spade" with the Absolute bottle on it! (Do you remember those Absolute Vodka ads?) It's clear with really pretty pink flowers on the trim. I might wear that one, at least it's a designer poncho

Shel: I love pink and green together!! That sounds lovely. Like a garden theme.

Okay, I must get off this computer and feed the kids lunch!!

TTYL,
Mare

 

[mandymommy4]

I forgot who asked about the weather in June? Yes it rains sometimes several times a day. I actually like it because it scares people away from the parks. Every time we hit MK in June it was a lite drizzle and it was empty!! The crowds just vanish with rain. We never had a whole rained out day, just drizzle here and there or a 15 minute storm. DH did get rained out during his Richard Petty driving thing. He called and said it was storming on the track while I was at the GF pool in the cabana enjoying the sun! No rain. He said it was raining on ONE SIDE OF THE TRACK!!


TTYL,
Mare

Happens all the time in FL ! LOL! I have actually stood in my yard dry and 10 feet away it is pouring in the neighbors! It is actually odd cause you can watch the rain move.

When we went to Universal it was for Rock the Universe and it was probably 98' or 99'. We have never been and looked froward to it. We rode King Kong, it broke, Did earthquake, it was lame, did the Twister thing and it was lame too. Then they shut down all the rides and all you could do was go to the concerts ???? We wen to see the one band we liked and the way they had the stage set up it was a narrow street and we were in the back. We got tired of the crowds and left and vowed to never waste our money again. I am sure in 10 years things have changed but i just don't keep up with any theme parks besides WDW and Busch Gardens

IOA seems much better to me!

 

[BlueSkies]

Mare I was the one who asked about the June weather...I know its pretty hot...wasnt sure about the rain though...

I'll wear a poncho...the new ones are clear and not so bad except if your are a teenage boy!!! my DSs refused to wear them...you know not cool... I dont care about cool...I care about dry

A little rain each day is not so bad...I like the idea of that scaring the crowds away ...

 

[goofygal531]

Happens all the time in FL ! LOL! I have actually stood in my yard dry and 10 feet away it is pouring in the neighbors! It is actually odd cause you can watch the rain move.

When we went to Universal it was for Rock the Universe and it was probably 98' or 99'. We have never been and looked froward to it. We rode King Kong, it broke, Did earthquake, it was lame, did the Twister thing and it was lame too. Then they shut down all the rides and all you could do was go to the concerts ???? We wen to see the one band we liked and the way they had the stage set up it was a narrow street and we were in the back. We got tired of the crowds and left and vowed to never waste our money again. I am sure in 10 years things have changed but i just don't keep up with any theme parks besides WDW and Busch Gardens

IOA seems much better to me!

That is so funny about the weather!! I think that's just a FL thing.

We did the same rides and thought they were lame too!! I also remember Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" and ET. Nothing really stood out to us. They did have the Psycho house back then. We have a cool pic in front of it. I believe they tore it down when they redesigned everything. Oh and Back to the Future and Jaws! Both Lame!!

I liked Busch Gardens but I'm not rushing to go back there either.

WDW makes it so easy to trap us on property I'm not complaining or trying to escape anytime soon!

 

[goofygal531]

Mare I was the one who asked about the June weather...I know its pretty hot...wasnt sure about the rain though...

I'll wear a poncho...the new ones are clear and not so bad except if your are a teenage boy!!! my DSs refused to wear them...you know not cool... I dont care about cool...I care about dry

A little rain each day is not so bad...I like the idea of that scaring the crowds away ...

The June rain wasn't that bad that you really needed a poncho. It was a lite drizzle. DH and DS4 didn't want anything. I used my umbrella but at times just got wet. It was such a lite drizzle it actually felt refreshing from the heat.

You also have to remember how HOT June is and those ponchos are plastic. Not a good combo! You might be hotter with the poncho on.

I'm all for packing a very small umbrella just in case....

 

[goofygal531]

Annette: I just called WDW and they said it's 90 days for everything! I wonder now if the 90 + 10 applies when booking a cabana?? I hope it does for you, that way you can book your whole week at once.

All tours, cabanas, dining and all recreation (golf, parasailing) are 90 days. Everything except Cirque tickets. I can't believe even the HDDR is 90 days now. At one time, wasn't it 2 years for that??

 

[irisbud]

I also remember Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" ...

If you want to see "The Birds" you can have a mini remake right at the GF:

Just eat outside at Gaspies...

we had BFast there on our last trip and an evil bird stole my sausgage . We had to cover our plates with our bodies to keep them away. When we were done, DF had half a biscuit left. I TOLD him NO in no uncertain terms, but he put it on the sidewalk "for the birds" (despite the signs that adamently say do not feed them! )

OMG! They came from everywhere for that stupid piece of biscuit. I am not kidding, people were screaming and ducking for cover under the tables! It was like that little piece of food gave them license to attack! The picked it up and were screeching and tearing it apart in mid air while everyone around was cowering under the furniture!

After it was all over, DF said "I didn't know they'ed do that"

What does he think those signs are for

 

[hobbester]

Amy - my mother feed the ducks while we were eating lunch a few weeks ago at the Flame Tree at AK. They went crazy and my DH almost lost his temper, like it was my fault that my mother didn't read the sign that was right in front of her.

Mare - I was worried about fixing the risotto, but it was not bad. It does take a lot of pots though. I had seen it done a few times on the Food Network (love that station) so I felt a little better. I did go by the recipe, I had to go to a special store to get the rice, my cheap little local hometown store didn't sell it. I baked the mushrooms for 20 minutes on a cookie sheet, that was the only kind of roasting I knew how to do. My DH wants me to make it again this weekend. Now if I could look like Giada on Everyday Italian - that would be cool, he would like that also.

My DH came and picked me up from work for a long lunch - he really wanted me to go with him to the mall to get something, but it was nice of him to take me. The mall was crazy, they had a Disney store which I had not been in a long time (this mall is not close to our house). I kept walking around going look honey, if we start now, we could be buying some of this baby stuff next year at this time. He said - it will mess up our Disney trips, I looked at him and said, what do you think all of those strollers have in them each time we go. I'll keep working on him - he is just scared of change. Okay, I'll quit rambling, and get back to work. - Lisa.

 

[BlueSkies]

Lisa Disney is always a great trip..and just incredible when seeing thru the eyes of your child...We started taking our kids when they were toddlers...a a matter of fact DDs first trip was before she was even one!!! Its not onley possible...its great!! Good luck with DH...make him more risotto!!

Mare Lite showers are ok with me...hope its not as hot as mid July& August (hurricane season!!)though... Dh will not be happy...I told him he could stay home...

Hey Illinois gals Where are you...you cant still be out to breakfast... Hope you had a fun morning...fill us in...inquiring minds and all

TTYL

 

[BlueSkies]

oops double post!!

 

[tinklvr64]

Hi all....

well we are back from a 3 1/2 hr breakfast....we should have ordered lunch too!!!!
it was nice to meet Deb and see Chan and Kristin again We got in lots of blah blah blah, even me with no voice!

Vanessa....HI!!! Glad you are having a good time...I was wondering how it was going! Give us the 411 when you get time!

Amy...I so know what you mean about the homework. I was driving home today from breakfast and thought...I dont have any to do anymore! Its hard to get out of that mind frame after 5 1/2 years! Plus you have your wedding on the brain!
LOL on The Birds!!!! Its so true!

Wendy..I remember when DTD was called Disney World Shopping Market!!! WE are getting old


Off to Best Buy....My monitor was on the fritz before xmas and I still had the extended warranty til the end of the month (whew that was lucky) and they cant fix it so we get a new one!!!! Well that was worth it then!

ttyl...dawn

 

[goofygal531]

Amy: I know that spot all too well!! A bird stole my bagel outside Captain Cooke's at the Poly. My mom told me I really didn't need it anyway! I also hate the turkey spot in Frontierland, there are birds everywhere - that area really scares me!!

Lisa: Okay, I'll try the risotto. If you say it's simple, I can do it. I thought the roasting was that simple, I just wasn't sure. Oh yeah, I'd love to look like Giada in the kitchen too with her view of Malibu beach, hunky husband, and family money!! She has great recipes!

Dawn: Glad to hear you all had a wonderful breakfast! Have fun at Best Buy!

 

[Lives4Disney]

HI!! We had a fun time!! As Dawn said ....it was 3 1/2 hours of chatting! LIVE! PLUS I did forget my camera.....oops. I was ahead of the game and then fell behind.

WOW! You guys carried the day well without us here!!! LOTS of chat to catch up on.

I just got back....on my way home LUcy called and said she needed me to do a Target run....then to the PO to mail bday invites, bank, and my Diet Coke addiction....and I pulled into the driveway to find all my Hefty's full of donations STILL SITTING HERE!!! The Salvation Army BLEW ME OFF TWICE!!!! The Vets did last week!!!

I have been trying all December to donate stuff.....they say they will come and don't show. I was out there last week in -4 degree temps...putting it out....then bringing it in. Today I was STEAMING MAD!!! I called....kept getting on hold and then disconnected...over and over....then got somebody named "Bill" who asked me if he could take my number and call me back...didn't have any option & I was happy to talk to a live person so I gave it...NO CALL. STILL. DH and I just drove it all over to the next town to a drop site....I am glad I now know that exists.

LUcy is going to an odd thing tonight...an ALL NIGHT eek: ....they shuffle the kids from rock climbing (just what anybody would want to do at 2 am) to swimming, to lazer tag, to bowling and arcades.....all night from 10pm to 6 am!! I had issues with it...and so her friend's dad is going with the girls....POOR GUY ....but NICE GUY ....he is gonna take them to her friend's house at 3 am and just let them pass out there. That seriously sounds like torture to me. THey couldn't pay me to goof off all night like that.

SOrry I wrote a ton...missed ya today,
Chan

 

[traci]

Hi all I hope everyone had a great Christmas! I am going to catch up on the threads. My mom came to visit from Oklahoma for the last 10 days - it was wonderful. I took her back to the airport today in St. Louis (it's the closest one to our home - 2 hours away). Anyway I know there are lots of trips coming up! I can't wait to catch up.

 

[Maxie86]

Wow you all were chatty today.

Amy: I'm tired just reading about your honeymoon. It sounds wonderful. Don't worry about the other stuff. Like Chan said it will still be there next week or next month. Focus on your wedding and honeymoon and everything else will fall into place.

We have never been to US or IOA either. Never had any interest in it. I do not do coasters, so not much that would interest me. We do like Sea World and Busch Gardens. The Empress Lilly was where DS went to his first character breakfast. That would have been 1987, there weren't many character breakfasts back then. You didn't need a reservation either, just walked in.

It rained a lot both times we went in June. One year it rained all the time. We never went anywhere without our poncho's. That was when they were yellow and everywhere you looked all you could see was yellow.

Glad you Il gals had a good breakfast.

Marvel and Vanessa: Thanks for checking in. Glad you are enjoying your trips.

OK this is all I can remember. I worked today and my brain is tired of thinking.

80 days until spring.