Having a GRAND time - The Official GF Chat Thread PART 2

[vbarry]

DS9 starts school on Sept 3
I already have all the notebooks and supplies. I have to get a backpack and sneakers and stuff like that.

I bought school supplies this week also. I still need the backpack and shoes etc but otherwise I got the supplies. Last year I waited until the last minute and the shelves were empty. We start Aug 22.

 

[lovemy2boys]

We are going to be one for 2-3 days during Christmas. I called a few weeks ago and they start taking reservations in late August. I just feel this is the best way to enjoy the parks during the holidays and I have never had one person say they did not like it.

It is a lot of $$ but I am sure it will be worth every penny.

If you'd like, I can PM you the name of our tour guide. He was absolutely fantastic. We keep in touch now and we'll be using him again next month.

 

[vbarry]

If you'd like, I can PM you the name of our tour guide. He was absolutely fantastic. We keep in touch now and we'll be using him again next month.

That would be great. I was going to ask for a female but then my friend that is going has two young boys. I think they may like a male better and I doubt my girls will care.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

I am especially looking forward to January! Although with all of the weather reports I've heard, I need to bring shorts and t-shirts, BUT ALSO long sleeve shirts, jeans, and jackets! So basically everything! (you hear that one-suitcase-per-family KELLY???? ) It really does sound nice though, I imagine bundling up and sitting outside drinking hot chocolate while watching the animals from our balcony at AKL. Heavenly!
I guess since we've only been in the dead heat of summer, January will be a very nice change. And with a new newborn, it will be absolutely perfect! I can't wait!

I love going when its cooler. I am person who rather be cold than hot.
I love going at around Xmas and at night doing a jeans and sweatshirt.
As for the suitcases I am not a big packer, I am no Chan thats for sure.
I can go our 1 large and 1 medium suitcase and thats it. I will have a washer and dryer as well.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

That would be great. I was going to ask for a female but then my friend that is going has two young boys. I think they may like a male better and I doubt my girls will care.

Thats a good idea V and very nice of you.

 

[Lives4Disney]

Channing - I found the Wella Shampoo and I LOVE it! It takes me back to before I colored my hair and could use the volume shampoos. I found a great new Beauty Express near the house that just opened and they had it.

Also I reserved a Cabana at GF. This chat group has really rubbed off on me. And get this - I even dreamed about GF last night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good Morning Everyone

Fee Fee...AWESOME! I know it's great shampoo...it gives me tons of volume and it does save the color. I have been really happy with it. I saw I can get it at some place online for cheaper than the salon and no shipping/tax...I ned to find that website again!

You will enjoy the cabanas. They are really nice...i think what makes them even seem nice is the great service you receive.

Morning gals!

I think I am going to stick with the Cove. It sounds like it will be nice for just a weekend. My girls love to swim and we may take a boat tour and walk over to the beach. Any other good restaurants other than Popeyes??

Channing~ I would go for the Branson thing. You can drive and it is something different. Everyone I have ever talked to says it is fun. Are you planning on going this summer??

We sign up for school next week. Can you believe that??? CRAZY. I am definately not ready.

Hope everyone has a good day!!

Vanessa, I think you'll be happy at The Cove. I don't know anything about the rooms/pool etc. but the location cannot be beat. I saw it and wondered what it was....I didn't know if it was condos etc.... It's within walking to everything fun in Lake Geneva. There are a lot of cute little mom/pop restaurants to walk to in the little downtown area. Popeyes is a classic but the food was just so so eh. We just ate their for the old days. We used to go up in high school and eat there so it was just for the memories. There is a Culvers...and a BK? I saw that stuff when i was leaving town. Mostly mom/pop small places & I can't name them.

I am especially looking forward to January! Although with all of the weather reports I've heard, I need to bring shorts and t-shirts, BUT ALSO long sleeve shirts, jeans, and jackets! So basically everything! (you hear that one-suitcase-per-family KELLY???? ) It really does sound nice though, I imagine bundling up and sitting outside drinking hot chocolate while watching the animals from our balcony at AKL. Heavenly!
I guess since we've only been in the dead heat of summer, January will be a very nice change. And with a new newborn, it will be absolutely perfect! I can't wait!

You will LOVE January. The weather and the crowds. The daytime is in the 60s to 70s and the nights might get a bit cool but just be prepared and bundle up. No worries. Hot chocolate in WDW sounds good to me!! I went 2 weeks w/out coffee or tea due to the hot weather! I prefer to be there when it's on the cooler side!

Ya..no way can you do teh Kelly packing. You will want to bring something for any type of weather. You will have that CHAN look in the airport. Junk everywhere and kids and luggage runnign into stuff and luggage tumbling off the cart.....oh well. I figure I will never see those peeps again.

I love going when its cooler. I am person who rather be cold than hot.
I love going at around Xmas and at night doing a jeans and sweatshirt.
As for the suitcases I am not a big packer, I am no Chan thats for sure.
I can go our 1 large and 1 medium suitcase and thats it. I will have a washer and dryer as well.

Me too. I'd rather layer up than be unbearably HOT and sticky...yuck for wDW in summer. Ya...if I had a W/D maybe I wouldn't feel the need to pack so much crap. But then again...I probably would becuase I can't part with anything!!!

CHan

 

[Cinderumbrella]

Good Morning All!!!

I am on the hourly countdown until I can unload my children ( & ) for the night for my grown up evening!! DS is seeing Space Chimps with the IL's and spending the night, Doggie is going to my parents for a sleep over, and Mommy and Daddy are going to drink wine and catch up with some friends at a foo-foo restaurant!!! (I don't know the last time I went to a resturant without balloons for kids!! )

Speaking of restaurants, we went to Hooters last night. I though of V and Chan while I was there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We go so often now that they all know us and something always ends up "missing" from our bill

OK, I forgot to multi quote, so here is what I remember:

V- stick with the Cove. The Grand Geneva/Timberridge is fun, but more so in the cooler weather when they do Christmas in the Country. As for restaurants, if you want chain found, there is a Houlihans and a Gino's East (REAL Chicago style pizza). When we went in Nov, we stuck with the Grand Geneva restaurants (WOW! They were expensive though )

Chan- I am SHOCKED about Popeyes!! My parents drive there all the time just for the chicken and love it! I can't believe they charged for multiple Diet Cokes Can you imagine if Cheesecake Factory would have done that to us that day????? They would have made a fortune!!

Les- I have never been in January, but I have early February and it gets darn right chilly at night!!!!!!!!! Make sure you bring a heavy blankey for the baby!! I remember going to watch the Tapestry of Nations Parade and Illuminations (dating myself here!!) wearing a sweater and a coat!!

One of the reasons we like the idea of December (outside of the Christmas decs of course! ) is for cooler weather. Of course in 2006, the weather did NOT co-operate with me and I brought home 1 29" suitcase FILLED with warm clothes we never wore!!! It was in the mid 80's the whole week But the week before they had lows in the 50's!! I am hoping for a bit cooler weather this year! And I pack just like Chan (no 2 suitcases for the 3 of us!!! It will easily be 5-6 plus carry-ons!!! Gotta love Southwest!!!!!!!!!)

Have a great weekend everyone!!!!!!!!!

PS: Who do we know at WDW right now??? Aren't there a few who should be home soon?? I want more trip reports!!!!!!!!!

 

[Lives4Disney]

Have fun Kristin.

Well...Popeyes is cute and all but the food...eh. It was our highschool and college break hang out. Ya...come on...get real with the DIet Coke refill thingy. It was $5 for our 4 drinks. It was ok and i would go there again for old time sake but nothing I crave.

Houlihans is part of THe Cove. YES...I saw Ginos East there somewhere....but I hate that pizza. It's a slab of the most greasy nasty sausage on cornbread icky dusted crust. TOtally makes me ill. MY pizza is the best anyway.

I think LG would be a nice weekend getaway. Unfortunately it's too close for me to bother packing up and going there. I wouldn't do that unless it was at least a 5 hr trip.

Oh...Evie is there now. I can't wait to hear how her dining went. haha!!

Have a great day, all....I am off to spend it by the pool!!! Althugh...I am mobile now..haha...maybe I will see ya later!!

CHan

 

[tinklvr64]

Morning Gals....i have been AWOL for a while due to many issues and one of them is GETTING A NEW BLACKBERRY!! Even the guy at Verizon was calling it a "Crackberry" OMG i am going to be addicted to this thing, I can tell already and i havent even had it 24HRS! Siobhan and Sheli thats what i ended up getting!

Chan...i dont know anything about Branson except that my grandparents used to go every year...its like a Southern flavor Las Vegas (no gambling) with lots of shows...thats all i know!

Hi V~we stay at LG at Grand Geneva and Timberridge (except i think they need a remodel of GG old like the poly still in the 70's) How about the Abbey? OMG beautiful and spa like much to do there....we stayed there and Lake Lawn Lodge before too!

K~its going to be a bumpy night

Ok about going in Jan....we went one year over MLK weekend and stayed WL...omg the first day we got there it was 70...then overnight it went down to the 50's with this gusting wind that made it feel like the 30's. We FROZE at the parks!!!! I drank soooo much coffee just to warm up! What was funny was that the TV had all these warnings,etc... cause it might go down to 35 deg that night! be prepared! Stay in! ....OMG come to Chicago! That is a warm spell here in Jan! And some peeps were swimming in the pools that night...the CM's said "oh they are prob from IL" I was LMAO! So True! The bad thing now is that MLK weekend is getting really popular as a short getaway

Hey Fee Fee...thats funny!

Kel~hi ho hi ho its off to work you go.........



Evie and Annette hope you are having a blast...give us all the details!!!


Off to be with DH (he worked a double shift at the firehouse and was up all night on calls ) so he will be a real peach today! I slept in til 10:30! and im taking it slow today..no pool even!


TTFN Friends

 

[princessesrule4]

Morning Gals....i have been AWOL for a while due to many issues and one of them is GETTING A NEW BLACKBERRY!! Even the guy at Verizon was calling it a "Crackberry" OMG i am going to be addicted to this thing, I can tell already and i havent even had it 24HRS! Siobhan and Sheli thats what i ended up getting!

Chan...i dont know anything about Branson except that my grandparents used to go every year...its like a Southern flavor Las Vegas (no gambling) with lots of shows...thats all i know!

Hi V~we stay at LG at Grand Geneva and Timberridge (except i think they need a remodel of GG old like the poly still in the 70's) How about the Abbey? OMG beautiful and spa like much to do there....we stayed there and Lake Lawn Lodge before too!

K~its going to be a bumpy night

Ok about going in Jan....we went one year over MLK weekend and stayed WL...omg the first day we got there it was 70...then overnight it went down to the 50's with this gusting wind that made it feel like the 30's. We FROZE at the parks!!!! I drank soooo much coffee just to warm up! What was funny was that the TV had all these warnings,etc... cause it might go down to 35 deg that night! be prepared! Stay in! ....OMG come to Chicago! That is a warm spell here in Jan! And some peeps were swimming in the pools that night...the CM's said "oh they are prob from IL" I was LMAO! So True! The bad thing now is that MLK weekend is getting really popular as a short getaway

Hey Fee Fee...thats funny!

Kel~hi ho hi ho its off to work you go.........



Evie and Annette hope you are having a blast...give us all the details!!!


Off to be with DH (he worked a double shift at the firehouse and was up all night on calls ) so he will be a real peach today! I slept in til 10:30! and im taking it slow today..no pool even!


TTFN Friends

Glad you love your new Blackberry!

 

[lovemy2boys]

MLK weekend falls towards the end of our trip I think. We will be there Jan 11th - 21st.... I am pretty sure MLK is the 19th. Well anyway, I figure we'll be there for 11 days anyway so we can skip the parks that weekend. I'm sure I'll have had my fill!

I am lucky, this baby will be born at the same time as Alex (my 2 year old) so I have all the nice, warm winter baby clothes for him. I think I have one of those super soft fleece buntings. That will be perfect to bundle him in!!!

 

[tinklvr64]

Also we used to go in Feb just my mom and me....and it could be touch and go with the weather....sometimes it was in the 60's the whole time and one time it got really cold!
With global warming nowadays, you just never know.....it maybe 90 in jan Nahhhhh i doubt it...........

 

[vbarry]

OK guys- The Abbey looks very nice. What to do?? We would not be right in town but the resort looks very nice and has a kids club. HELP IL people!! What should I do??? It looks like it is about a 10 minute ride into town and is still right on the lake with lake views, nice pool, restaurants etc. It is also a little cheaper.

We love going to WDW in Feb. Love the weather. It is cool at night but it beats the heck out of the time we went in June. It was HOT and I had an 18 month old at the time.

Next July I plan on going just for a relaxation trip. Maybe a few parks at night and the waterparks and that is it. I do not think I could do long days in the parks during the heat. I remember coming back to my room and I would be soaked through my clothes and undies .

 

[Lives4Disney]

OK guys- The Abbey looks very nice. What to do?? We would not be right in town but the resort looks very nice and has a kids club. HELP IL people!! What should I do??? It looks like it is about a 10 minute ride into town and is still right on the lake with lake views, nice pool, restaurants etc. It is also a little cheaper.

We love going to WDW in Feb. Love the weather. It is cool at night but it beats the heck out of the time we went in June. It was HOT and I had an 18 month old at the time.

Next July I plan on going just for a relaxation trip. Maybe a few parks at night and the waterparks and that is it. I do not think I could do long days in the parks during the heat. I remember coming back to my room and I would be soaked through my clothes and undies .

Well...not to bring up a dead horse subject on the senior crowd but that is how I think of the Abby. It's for the middle agers. JMO. We haven't been there in years - we used to live about 20 min drive away....my parents used to go for dinner there often years ago before they moved to AZ. Isn't it the golf club middle ager hang out? With kids I htink The Cove has the best location. THe Grand Geneva is boring really. Not much to do. The Cove is situated w/in the "action" of LG,.

CHan

 

[vbarry]

Thanks Chan. I think I am sticking with the Cove. Since we are only going for 2 nights it is probably the best choice. I would like to walk around and see the sites. I love to sit outdoors and have dinner so I am going to be looking for that type of restaurant.

I doubt I would have any time to visit the spa even though I would love to. I don't want to take dh and the kids away for the weekend and then say "see ya later...I am going for a spa treatment!"

I need to get busy around here. Dh leaves tomorrow for four days and then we are gone all weekend and we leave again for my conference next week. I need to get it in gear and get something done!

Have a good day!

 

[hobbester]

We are going to be one for 2-3 days during Christmas. I called a few weeks ago and they start taking reservations in late August. I just feel this is the best way to enjoy the parks during the holidays and I have never had one person say they did not like it.

It is a lot of $$ but I am sure it will be worth every penny.

It's funny that you are talking about. I just convinced my DH that this would be a good thing for us to do on our December trip (he likes to be pampered, so it didn't take very long), then we had to decide which park to do. He loves MK the best, so that's the one we will try to get. My parents will be going with us, so it will be a special treat for them also. Now I have to wait for the 90 day mark to get here. Good luck with yours, we'll have to share lots of pictures and stories. - Lisa

 

[Cinderumbrella]

OK guys- The Abbey looks very nice. What to do?? We would not be right in town but the resort looks very nice and has a kids club. HELP IL people!! What should I do??? It looks like it is about a 10 minute ride into town and is still right on the lake with lake views, nice pool, restaurants etc. It is also a little cheaper.

Unless it has been remodeled since I stayed there a few years ago- NO WAY JOSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Stick with the Cove. It is more in the thick of things. The Abbey is a great ski resprt- but that is it!

 

[lovemy2boys]

It's funny that you are talking about. I just convinced my DH that this would be a good thing for us to do on our December trip (he likes to be pampered, so it didn't take very long), then we had to decide which park to do. He loves MK the best, so that's the one we will try to get. My parents will be going with us, so it will be a special treat for them also. Now I have to wait for the 90 day mark to get here. Good luck with yours, we'll have to share lots of pictures and stories. - Lisa

We had one for all of the parks and I would have to say that having him at the MK was the most invaluable. MK has a million rides and when you have someone running ahead to get fastpasses for you for everything, there is barely any waiting in lines (and psst.... sometime we DID go to the front of the lines or get to ride the same ride a few times if we loved it!) The VIP Tour Guide was a fantastic resource. Expensive yes, but worth it to us, especially with a 3 year old and 2 year old and me being pregnant.

 

[FeeFeeWhite]

I am especially looking forward to January! Although with all of the weather reports I've heard, I need to bring shorts and t-shirts, BUT ALSO long sleeve shirts, jeans, and jackets! So basically everything! (you hear that one-suitcase-per-family KELLY???? ) It really does sound nice though, I imagine bundling up and sitting outside drinking hot chocolate while watching the animals from our balcony at AKL. Heavenly!
I guess since we've only been in the dead heat of summer, January will be a very nice change. And with a new newborn, it will be absolutely perfect! I can't wait!

It is lots of fun with a newborn (really). My yougest really grew up at Disney. They were just 4 months old the first time they went. I fell in love with those special baby stations in each park. You could just holler and someone would throw you a wipe!


TINKLVR64 - I just got a new Blackberry Pearl too this week. One day I was on it the entire time I "watched" the kids in our pool. I am now a true "crackberry". Just admit it Tink.

 

[lovemy2boys]

It is lots of fun with a newborn (really). My yougest really grew up at Disney. They were just 4 months old the first time they went. I fell in love with those special baby stations in each park. You could just holler and someone would throw you a wipe!


TINKLVR64 - I just got a new Blackberry Pearl too this week. One day I was on it the entire time I "watched" the kids in our pool. I am now a true "crackberry". Just admit it Tink.

I am so glad to hear this! I was getting tired of people laughing at me or wishing me luck with a newborn at Disney! I am very excited, we have traveled with each of the boys when they were newborns and I have always found it to be the easiest age to travel with! I've heard good things about the Baby Stations and I'm sure by the end of our trip I'll be VERY familiar with them all.