"Having a GRAND time - The Official GF Chat Thread"

[Lives4Disney]

sheli...uh oh..looks like I better get on it with the ADRs!!! I swear I have ALWAYS got the ADRs I want I don't do the DDP though EVER...I hate that hassle of that much advanced planning. I don't enjoy that - counting credits etc! STRESS. I don't get the fussing that goes on over there re ADRs.... I've been flexible wth my times etc. and we eat late at home here, so it's not a problem for us to eat late in FL. I think I will start looking at the calendar and booking a few things tomorrow.

um....from what I am reading here, I think we all better take a look at the WDW on a dime show! Maybe there are lessons to be learned?!? Did you guys know there's a show about the "Royal Treatment" coming up on the TC, too, about WDW? Sounds like a fun one.

Princess P - I LOVE Artist Point! I am not a foodie, but I even tried the buffalo steak and it was delicious. That's adventurous for me.

Mandy, great job on the AK today!!! It's not my favorite park by a long shot, but it would have been neat to hear JR speak. That's cool you got to go and be there. Sorry you're in pain!!! Good luck at your step class tonight. It will only get better! I lost 3lbs this past week!!!!! I am on a roll!!!!!!!! OMG...that is just so terrible about that little girl you saw. We see stuff like that almost every trip. It makes me sick to my stomach. My DH once heard a small child basically being beat up in the bathroom at WL. We told security & by the time they came the incident was over & the people split. It really put a sick damper on our fun. I've seen kids get SLAPPED hard in the face, heard parents say awful things to their kids. It's sick. All at the "Happiest Place on Earth"....sad

American Idol night!!

 

[Tinker*Shell*Bell]

Channing, I am so hiding the remote so DH can NOT see the Disney on a Dime show...I don't need him getting any ideas!!!
He's the one that said GF or no trip at all...gee twist my arm!!!

And I think you'll be fine to make your ADR's whenever you're ready. Flexibility is the key. That and not wanting to eat at any of the over hyped places (LeCellier was good but not good enough to get me out of bed at 7am to call for ressies!) I only make mine 180 days early because with lap-band surgery I have to research menus to make sure they have food I can and will eat (majorly picky eater here!) And my autistic son likes to eat at 6pm...on the dot...which means I plan ahead...not just at WDW, but everywhere. Makes life interesting on vacations!!

 

[vbarry]

Good heavens...do not even tell me when the Disney Royalty show is!! Who knows what more I can find out about how to blow my money while on vacation.

I did decide to contact Peggy about a tree and she emailed me back today. Even though I would love the Disney Florist one...I better try to save a little cash.

Don't worry Channing...I have a friend who is going in July with her family of six. She has not even thought about making an ADR. I told her tonight she better get on it!

Can anyone tell me if I should get a form to fill out to send back to advanced planning people at the GF or do you just email them a few weeks before ADR time with what you want? Not really sure how this works. Thanks!

 

[praline3001]

Channing, I am so hiding the remote so DH can NOT see the Disney on a Dime show...I don't need him getting any ideas!!!
He's the one that said GF or no trip at all...gee twist my arm!!!

And I think you'll be fine to make your ADR's whenever you're ready. Flexibility is the key. That and not wanting to eat at any of the over hyped places (LeCellier was good but not good enough to get me out of bed at 7am to call for ressies!) I only make mine 180 days early because with lap-band surgery I have to research menus to make sure they have food I can and will eat (majorly picky eater here!) And my autistic son likes to eat at 6pm...on the dot...which means I plan ahead...not just at WDW, but everywhere. Makes life interesting on vacations!!

Hiya There Shel!!! I am a gastric bypass gal myself so I soooo know what your talking about when it comes to menus!!!! I feel like I have to research them as if there will be a final The last thing I need is to be sick at rat world!!!! I am 2 years out and down 140 pounds but it does make dinner time a bit tricker at Disney...


That is so sad about that poor little girl!!! I mean I joke with my boys all the time ... they are older and I say things like "I am going to rip your arms off and feed them to the gators" or I will tell them "I didn't beat them enough when they were younger" I can't imagine any adult wanting to completely humilate their child like that. Of course my boys are wise crackers themselves. Just today I ran into my end table and said the "S.O.B." rather loudly (I am not one to curse on any regular basis but sometimes a good curse does make the boo boo feel better ) my wise mouthed teenager ran in the room and said, "You called me?" It took me a minute to get what he meant (remember I was in great pain...) but when I figured out what he meant.... well he is just lucky I couldn't chase him

I guess I use a lot of humor to get my kids' attention. They know their arms aren't going anywhere.... I can't imagine how humilated they would feel if someone treated them like that.

 

[praline3001]

Good heavens...do not even tell me when the Disney Royalty show is!! Who knows what more I can find out about how to blow my money while on vacation.

I did decide to contact Peggy about a tree and she emailed me back today. Even though I would love the Disney Florist one...I better try to save a little cash.

Don't worry Channing...I have a friend who is going in July with her family of six. She has not even thought about making an ADR. I told her tonight she better get on it!

Can anyone tell me if I should get a form to fill out to send back to advanced planning people at the GF or do you just email them a few weeks before ADR time with what you want? Not really sure how this works. Thanks!

Did you see her room decorating themes? We are doing the Cinderella one... Peggy has been so great in emails. I haven't ever used her before but so far she has been way on top of things. She emailed me pics of everything that will be in Savannah's gift box for her birthday just to make sure I approved.
Its really sweet as daddy won't be there for her special party soooo daddy himself wrote the message that will go on the basket!!! ITS SOOOO SWEET...I will have to see if I can find it on my saved messages but it went something like "To my little princess. I hope you have the most magical birthday ever. I am sorry I am not there to share it with you but I will meet you in my dreams so save me a piece of your cake..."

Something like that but the way he said it was cute.. the way I just wrote it ..well it sounds creepy

 

[tinklvr64]

Evening GF Gals...just back from a baseball game, and it was a beautiful night!!!! I am loving these warmer days..Channing Kristen and Vanessa dont ya agree??

We eat at Yachtsmans Steakhouse every time we go..it is our one splurge of the trip. I feel gross when I leave there though cause I eat way too much!

Has anyone done the Segway Tour? How much?? How old do you have to be??

Clinton has just won in Penn...She my gal, even though Barack is from Illinois

Mandy, it breaks my heart to hear about parents doing that to their kids...I have heard alot in my 10yrs working in a school

Congrats to all that lost weight this week Nope not me, I am having some ice cream right now

Dawn

 

[Tinker*Shell*Bell]

Hiya There Shel!!! I am a gastric bypass gal myself so I soooo know what your talking about when it comes to menus!!!! I feel like I have to research them as if there will be a final The last thing I need is to be sick at rat world!!!! I am 2 years out and down 140 pounds but it does make dinner time a bit tricker at Disney...
...
Just today I ran into my end table and said the "S.O.B." rather loudly (I am not one to curse on any regular basis but sometimes a good curse does make the boo boo feel better ) my wise mouthed teenager ran in the room and said, "You called me?"

140 lbs..that is so great!!! WOW!!! Do you feel like a whole new person? I never expected to feel as good as I do now. It makes all the necessary planning worth every second of it. I am 9 months and 90 lbs out...hoping to lose another 11 lbs by August, but my band is loose right now so the scale is going slowly in the wrong direction..2 more weeks until a refill. (2 more weeks is my mantra to keep me away from the kitchen.)

On the teen son...I screamed "cr@p" 2 days ago and mine comes bounding up the stairs with a goofy grin and says "You called me?" (yes, same exact words as your son!!!) So I sneered and called him a cr@p and made him unload the dishwasher.... he just laughed...gotta love teenage boys. (or maybe not, but since you can't kill them at least only threaten death at home, public humiliation is not funny...I 100% agree!)

 

[Tinker*Shell*Bell]

Has anyone done the Segway Tour? How much?? How old do you have to be??
...
Dawn

Hi Dawn, I am booked for the segway tour in August. $90 (maybe + tax) and you have to be 16 to do it...my 15 yo is green with envy that I am going and he is not.
You can get a AAA discount on this one if you have AAA (they actually ask for the member #...had to run to the car and dig for it!)
HTH Sheli

 

[tinklvr64]

Hi Dawn, I am booked for the segway tour in August. $90 (maybe + tax) and you have to be 16 to do it...my 15 yo is green with envy that I am going and he is not.
You can get a AAA discount on this one if you have AAA (they actually ask for the member #...had to run to the car and dig for it!)
HTH Sheli

Thanks Sheli, my sons are 16 and 14 so I guess we wont be able to do it as a fam in Nov....I will be curious to hear how your experience was on the Segway Tour and what you thought
Plus I do have AAA...good to know

 

[Tinkaroo]

Lindsay, good luck with the cake.....my cakes have been about $70 and they've had some dimension but I know what you mean....they weren't even as spectacular as they could have been....I would have paid a bit more, but they did what they did and charged whtat they charged....they didn't offer a whole lot of room for ideas or suggestions from me. I think a lot of it is who you talk to to place the order.

I looked on that thread for a cute springy Eastery cake and found what I liked but the new rate for a cute 3D cake was too much for my taste. It was going to be almost $250 for an 8 - 10 inch round cake! We usually wind up tossing & or sharing 3/4 of the cake, so I figured we could live without it. They have the creativity - those pastry chefs are fabulously talented, I think they are overwhelmed with this sudden upsurge of orders and people are just accepting and thrilled to get a "custom" Disney cake so they take these crank them off the assembly line regular old cakes.

Jojo had an adorable 3D puppy cake (two of them - they were sister puppies) a couple years ago. She had a puppy themed party and it was sooo fun. The bakery here in this podunk town makes beautful things so I expected more out of Disney...and for their prices.

Puppy sister cakes.....I LOVED these & want the girls to choose them every year, haha....they always want different stuff.... OK, my boredom is showing...lol...need to do my housework. See ya all later!

Look at those CUTE puppy cakes! Just adorable.

Yes, there doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to the GF cake thing. I haven't read that whole thread yet (I'm reading backwards), but it seems completely random as to what kind of treatment people get - some don't specifiy much of anything and get amazing cakes, some are told they can't do something simple, etc. I still haven't heard back from Linda, either, although this would be par for the course for my experience with her setting up our intimate dinner last year.

If I don't hear from her, I may do a white chocolate Minnie (do they have those? I'm assumign here!) with either some cookies or strawberries. I would have loved to do the strawberries with chocolate fondue like you did, but I can't picture them doing that w/ white chocolate, and regular chocolate sets off my mom's headaches. I just thought a cake would be fun - her favorite Disney film is Mary Poppins, so I thought something whimsical like that and "GF-y" would be fun and not that out there. Guess we'll see! I may try calling tomorrow.

Cute cakes!

That guy is off the B&B!! He used to date Taylor! I knew he looked familiar. I used to watch this show all the time.

Well-called the private tour line. They were super nice! $150 an hour over the week of Christmas YIKES! I talked to the friends we are going with. He is a single dad (recently divorced) and this is a special trip for him and his boys. He thought the tickets for a week were $700 a piece or $2100 dollars for all of them...so when I told him they were only $700 he said well then let's book the private guide! This has taken a lot of pressure off of me. I have decided to give up the Grand 1 and book the pontoon fireworks cruise which we will split and possibly give up my tree and order one from Peggy's Sweet Treats.

I know I have plenty of time to change my mind...which I will but I will sleep better knowing that this trip is not all on my shoulders!

Have a nice day! Off to walk!

Yikes! I hadn't even thought of the pricing being more for Xmas week - bummer. I bet you guys will still enjoy the pontoon boat, and Peggy is great to work with - she's done 2 custom baskets for me in the past, and I'm glad to see she's back in business!

I have to agree with you on this. I think it is assinine that Disney charges higher prices at this time of year anyway. If the food is the same, then the price should remain the same. Raising the price because of increased demand makes little sense to me. If the restaurants are full to capacity, they will be making tons of money anyway.

If I have to pay a premium for the SAME PRODUCT that I can get for a lower price just a few weeks earlier or later, then I expect the service to be, at a minimum, the same. IMHO, it should be better. Why pay more to get the same or to get even less?

Sometimes I think people get sucked in by Disney and believe that the company can do no wrong. I am guilty of this as well. I think everyone here has, from time to time, justified something rediculous for our love of Disney, something that we would NEVER justify in the "real world". This is one of those things that Disney does that I simply cannot justify, however. To me, it is simply greed. There is no way that anyone should have to pay more and expect less just because it's busy. They KNOW it is busy, so take care of it. Do your job.

Okay, off of my soapbox now.

Amen!!!!!

I'm not going to say any more, because I would still be on my soapbox until the morning if I did!

It took me about 10 minutes & lots of trying different dates to book October trip. Luckily the CM was really nice and kept trying for me....she could have hung up. She told me I could modify it if I needed to because i didn't have the kids' school calendar with me or anything, so I booked it just to have something to work with. That's too bad they couldn't find you something.

Kristin, if they don't have your exact dates, maybe just book anything so when you get home you can keep trying for what you DO want?? The CM told me I could modify/change it from home. That way you'd at least have a shot at the 30%....??? Or is that just crazy annoying?? haha...I don't know.....

This is good to know - will they let you change dates/resorts, just as long as you booked something while on property?

I'm really hoping to keep my Wonder cruise (along with a couple days post-cruise at WDW) for Labor Day, but DH is lobbying to cancel and save $$. He's no fun. I'd like to book a few days for that post-cruise time, just in case, when I'm down there next week.

 

[goofygal531]

Has anyone done the Segway Tour? How much?? How old do you have to be??

I just booked the Wilderness Segway tour for DH for this June trip. It was $85 20% off if you have a Disney Visa card.

Channing (lives4disney) can tell you all about the Segway tours. Her guys do them every trip and have done all of them

I just booked DH and DS4 a fishing excursion. I need to STOP BOOKING THINGS Seriously I'm done! While they're fishing, I made an ADR for tea in the GF tea room. Praying that DS1 will be napping so I can go and just park his stroller with me at the table. Otherwise, we'll be monorail shopping (thanks for giving me that idea Channing! - Your good at showing me how to spend more money in WDW!)

This might be a no go, since they can go fishing any time since we have a boat at the country house. But DS4 asked me today to go fishing with Daddy and I thought oh wouldn't that be nice (really more mommy alone time! ) So, we'll have to see if DH is really into this idea. Thankfully they have 24 hours to cancel!

I really really cannot watch the WDW special in two weeks on the travel channel, it's something like Luxury Disney World. I have so much in extras it's about well over the $1,600 budget vacation alone!

I'll watch the Disney on a Dime, for a laugh!

Have a good evening everyone.
Mare

 

[Lives4Disney]

Evening GF Gals...just back from a baseball game, and it was a beautiful night!!!! I am loving these warmer days..Channing Kristen and Vanessa dont ya agree??

We eat at Yachtsmans Steakhouse every time we go..it is our one splurge of the trip. I feel gross when I leave there though cause I eat way too much!

Has anyone done the Segway Tour? How much?? How old do you have to be??

Clinton has just won in Penn...She my gal, even though Barack is from Illinois

Mandy, it breaks my heart to hear about parents doing that to their kids...I have heard alot in my 10yrs working in a school

Congrats to all that lost weight this week Nope not me, I am having some ice cream right now

Dawn

YAY for Clinton!!!! I am happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I heard it here first!!!!!

Well, my washing machine just bit the dust today. It made a horrid noise and kind of crapped out. It's done. DH can fix anything and he's fixed it a couple times before but now it's a goner. It's almost 10 yrs old. Just spent a fortune on new frontloaders......I feel ill. I hate spending money on that kind of junk. All evening we just did online shopping for washers and driers....I wound up with Kenmore Elite blah blah....nice super size ones with tons of buttons and options but still....NOT what I wanted to spend money on, haha (So happy Mother's Day to me...there goes my hopeful getaway ). I haven't had Kenmore since our last house, but they were good to me then. I have had GE Profile here and I HATE our appliances. The fridge died last year so they are slowly fading out. It's pretty pathetic though because in my mind I am going ka - ching....ka - ching....there's my YC stay ....there's my October GF stay ..... DH says NO it's not, but I feel it.

Anyway...I missed most of AI, but I did see the guy at the end and I think he did an awesome job with that song...I LOVE Andrew Lloyd Webber's music. What happened with Brooke?? I caught the judge's comments but not her performance.

 

[Tinkaroo]

we are getting the deluxe dining plan and we are eating at the following

yachtsmen steakhouse x2
jiko
flying fish
Artist point
narcoosse
tutto italia
coral reef
Liberty tree tavern

we still have like 20 meals after all of that
I am gonna look like the girl the umpa lompas roll outta the factory for eating the gum that turns into a blueberry

I am glad I did not see this before dinner.

Can't wait to hear about your experiences - I hope everything is fabulous! Yachtsman, Narcoossee's and LTT are some of my very favorites!

Ladies I am in so much PAIN! I have to get up and be at my step class at 9 and I can hardly move!

I know this is not helping me make friends , but, here I go: We just got back from the Animal Kingdom's 10th anniversary celebration. I decided about midnight to go and we got up at 7 and left by 8am (have I mentioned how much I LOVE the freedom we have Homeschooling). I went alone with my four kids. Actually, I meet my parents over there but I had to get all four kids from the parking lot to the front gate and it's not safe for me to load 4 kids, a stroller, and a huge diaper bag onto the tram so I walked to the front gate. My butt and legs hurt soooo bad this morning and now I can hardly move........ Ouch!

It was VERY crowded but we went to the Joe Rohde special and heard him talk about AK and the development and design of the park, it made my year hearing him speak. We also tried to find the guys from the podcast but no such luck! AK holds a special place in my heart since I was part of the opening ceremonies so I could not stand the thought of not being there today, so all the pain is worth it!


By the way, we saw a woman grab her little girl by the hair and jerk her head back and curse at her and tell her she was a stupid idiot. I got nauseated it made me so mad and tried to find a CM but guess what? Disney security also saw the whole thing and escorted her and her family back stage! I hope she gets charged with abuse b/c she was a horrible person and does not deserve anything less! It makes me sad that the little girl will forever more have a terrible memory attached to her trip to Disney and for her this place holds not magic!

I am not at all jealous.

How wonderful to see JR! My DH would have flipped - I like AK fine, but it is his 2nd fave park next to the MK. He could spend hours in the gorilla habitat taking pics if I let him. Hope the soreness goes away soon! That is so sad to hear about that little girl. How is it that people like this can become parents, and there are plenty of people in the world PRAYING for children of their own?!

Good heavens...do not even tell me when the Disney Royalty show is!! Who knows what more I can find out about how to blow my money while on vacation.

I did decide to contact Peggy about a tree and she emailed me back today. Even though I would love the Disney Florist one...I better try to save a little cash.

Don't worry Channing...I have a friend who is going in July with her family of six. She has not even thought about making an ADR. I told her tonight she better get on it!

Can anyone tell me if I should get a form to fill out to send back to advanced planning people at the GF or do you just email them a few weeks before ADR time with what you want? Not really sure how this works. Thanks!

IPO should send you a form that will get a bit more of your details on file for them, but I know I had to ask for it from them. (If you book through a TA, I think it delays or cancels all together this process.) You can just e-mail them, introduce yourself, and ask for the pre-planning form.

ADR's are a bit crazy! I should probably make some for Sept. on the assumption that I'm going to win this battle. I tried to change around some dates/times for my upcoming trip last week and there was NO doing. If I show up with extra people, then they're just going to have to deal.

 

[Tinkaroo]

I think we all might need a "Disney Extras Intervention."

Shelli - very cute gift baskets! I, too, have seen the Disney Florist's work, and while it's not cheap, it's top notch (that old "you get what you pay for"). Now, holster that wallet for another day!

The Segway tour - hoping to do that in December. Was supposed to do it on my May trip, but that was when DH was coming with me, and we were going to do it together. I thought it would be so pretty with the F&GF. There is NO way my mom would do it, though, so that and my nice signature dinners (my mom is not a foodie either!) bit the dust. Oh, well - still going to WDW and staying at the GF!!!!

Channing - bummer about your washer. You're the 3rd DISer in as many weeks as I've heard have their washing machine give out on them. Must be the season. I hate having to spend $$ on stuff like that. I do the same thing, too - "that could buy this vacation; that could be used for this; that could be saved for this, etc." Sometimes it stinks to own a home.

 

[tinklvr64]

YAY for Clinton!!!! I am happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I heard it here first!!!!!

Well, my washing machine just bit the dust today. It made a horrid noise and kind of crapped out. It's done. DH can fix anything and he's fixed it a couple times before but now it's a goner. It's almost 10 yrs old. Just spent a fortune on new frontloaders......I feel ill. I hate spending money on that kind of junk. All evening we just did online shopping for washers and driers....I wound up with Kenmore Elite blah blah....nice super size ones with tons of buttons and options but still....NOT what I wanted to spend money on, haha (So happy Mother's Day to me...there goes my hopeful getaway ). I haven't had Kenmore since our last house, but they were good to me then. I have had GE Profile here and I HATE our appliances. The fridge died last year so they are slowly fading out. It's pretty pathetic though because in my mind I am going ka - ching....ka - ching....there's my YC stay ....there's my October GF stay ..... DH says NO it's not, but I feel it.

Anyway...I missed most of AI, but I did see the guy at the end and I think he did an awesome job with that song...I LOVE Andrew Lloyd Webber's music. What happened with Brooke?? I caught the judge's comments but not her performance.

I hear ya about those appliances...we have Kenmore washer & dryer and have them for about 10 yrs no problems (uh oh i hope i didn't jinx myself ~although I wouldn't mind having new frontloaders they are SWEET) I HATE GE appliances~the worst! Had them in our other house..pieces of JUNK!

 

[Lives4Disney]

This is good to know - will they let you change dates/resorts, just as long as you booked something while on property?

.

Lindsay, that is what the CM told me....well what happened was I was trying so many weeks and finally hit on the winner week of October 19-26 and I asked her what if I need to change this once I get home and look at the kids' schedules, etc. and she said that would be fine and I could do that. So I am counting on that possibility if needed.

They have many different white chocolate characters & I think they add more all the time.

I just booked the Wilderness Segway tour for DH for this June trip. It was $85 20% off if you have a Disney Visa card.

Channing (lives4disney) can tell you all about the Segway tours. Her guys do them every trip and have done all of them

I just booked DH and DS4 a fishing excursion. I need to STOP BOOKING THINGS Seriously I'm done! While they're fishing, I made an ADR for tea in the GF tea room. Praying that DS1 will be napping so I can go and just park his stroller with me at the table. Otherwise, we'll be monorail shopping (thanks for giving me that idea Channing! - Your good at showing me how to spend more money in WDW!)

This might be a no go, since they can go fishing any time since we have a boat at the country house. But DS4 asked me today to go fishing with Daddy and I thought oh wouldn't that be nice (really more mommy alone time! ) So, we'll have to see if DH is really into this idea. Thankfully they have 24 hours to cancel!

I really really cannot watch the WDW special in two weeks on the travel channel, it's something like Luxury Disney World. I have so much in extras it's about well over the $1,600 budget vacation alone!

I'll watch the Disney on a Dime, for a laugh!

Have a good evening everyone.
Mare

Mare, you are so funny! YOu have great things booked. Sounds like a lot of fun!! Good thing your trip is coming up soon.

 

[Lives4Disney]

I hear ya about those appliances...we have Kenmore washer & dryer and have them for about 10 yrs no problems (uh oh i hope i didn't jinx myself ~although I wouldn't mind having new frontloaders they are SWEET) I HATE GE appliances~the worst! Had them in our other house..pieces of JUNK!

OK, good....DH heard LG was junk and I heard Maytag is NOT what it used to be....absolutely steered clear of GE this time around, and we were thinking maybe Whirlpool, but the Kenmore had a good history with us so we went that way. We were reading the reviews of the different brands/models and they go from one star (terrible) to five even within the past few months!! ugh.... it seems like a real gamble on which to purchase.

Well, I am off to bed....talk to ya all later.

 

[triplefigs]

Hi, everyone! Just popping in to say we'll be at Disney on FRIDAY! I'm doing a live trip report (link is in my signature). Wish me luck for booking the bounceback for the GF for the fall!

 

[tinklvr64]

Hi, everyone! Just popping in to say we'll be at Disney on FRIDAY! I'm doing a live trip report (link is in my signature). Wish me luck for booking the bounceback for the GF for the fall!

Another lucky duck off to the Best Place on Earth! Have fun Denise!

 

[tinklvr64]

Morning everyone...the stupid birds woke me up~jeez its 4:45 am I'll be falling asleep at my desk by noon!
I just broke through on my ticker to the halfway point!!! Have a good day all