I love credit cards so much! v2.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[Lain]

Also a fan of straws!!! I may be hoarding a stock of them given the bad press they are getting lately. I also bring my own to WDW now

I do too! I keep them in my park bag in a toothbrush holder.

Thank you, that is such a good idea! I leave mine in a Ziploc, but they get a little crushed sometimes. Definitely doing this on my next trip!

I've not found straws hard to come by in wdw (yes to in DLR). Why carry them in the parks when they are plentiful there? Or have I missed something!?!?!

I have metal, glass and reusable polycarbonate straws. Metal are my fav for retaining the temp of the drink and you can boil to clean. Glass can be boiled but doesn't retain heat/coolness of drink. Poly ones cannot be boiled but are usually the cutest. I even bought Disney ones with mickey heads all over them years ago at wdw.

This is great to know! I have not really tried other alternatives. Metal would probably be my preferred material for sterilization purposes with boiling. Something to consider!

Ok, this straw conversation has piqued my interest. A plastics waste ordinance recently went into effect here in SF, which bans among other things restaurants from giving out plastic straws. I’m all for the new law because my kiddo plays at the beach, I’ve volunteered at beach cleanups, and we see firsthand that single use plastics are a real problem for the environment. Together with stories of plastics breaking down to microplastics in our oceans and landfills, making their way into birds’ and sea animals’ digestive systems and even our food chain, and China and other countries no longer accepting our plastic recyclables forcing the whole recycling industry here into a scramble, we’ve been trying to reduce our use of plastic and recycle what we can. We’ve already switched over to metal straws at home and even started taking them on trips. (I think @calypso726 mentioned she brings along metal straws too.) But I haven’t figured out how to take a metal straw with me on my day-to-day in a non-intrusive way, as in not having a metal stick sticking out of my pockets, and then cleaning it after using it at a restaurant so that it doesn’t make a mess of my pants. (“Excuse me while I go to the restroom to wash my straw.”) I guess wiping it down and putting it into a toothbrush container could work until I can clean it at a more convenient time. Almost all the restaurants, cafes and bars I’ve been to in the city this month have switched over to paper straws. I like the idea of paper straws, but they get mushy fast. So if I can figure out a way to bring my own straw with me without looking like a total goofball, I’d do it.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

they're still canceling???

Yesterday’s cancellations were due to weather

 

[disfanforlife]

Glad you finally made it! Hope the rest of your trip goes smoothly and that you have a great time!

As for me, after my 1st flight was canceled, and after my 2nd flight was canceled, and after my 3rd flight had the possibility of us missing the connection in SJC and ending up spending the night at the SJC airport...we decided to bail on the Vegas trip. We came back home, and I've filed a claim with Chase for our prepaid hotel nights (what is with the 72 hour hotel cancelation policies?!?), and I'm hoping that having paid for the taxes and fees on the SW flights with the CSR that I can be reimbursed for the hotel nights of ~$500. Ugh, what a joyless day.

Oh no, sorry to hear that! I hope you are able to be reimbursed and go another time soon.

 

[speedyfishy]

Ok, this straw conversation has piqued my interest. A plastics waste ordinance recently went into effect here in SF, which bans among other things restaurants from giving out plastic straws. I’m all for the new law because my kiddo plays at the beach, I’ve volunteered at beach cleanups, and we see firsthand that single use plastics are a real problem for the environment. Together with stories of plastics breaking down to microplastics in our oceans and landfills, making their way into birds’ and sea animals’ digestive systems and even our food chain, and China and other countries no longer accepting our plastic recyclables forcing the whole recycling industry here into a scramble, we’ve been trying to reduce our use of plastic and recycle what we can. We’ve already switched over to metal straws at home and even started taking them on trips. (I think @calypso726 mentioned she brings along metal straws too.) But I haven’t figured out how to take a metal straw with me on my day-to-day in a non-intrusive way, as in not having a metal stick sticking out of my pockets, and then cleaning it after using it at a restaurant so that it doesn’t make a mess of my pants. (“Excuse me while I go to the restroom to wash my straw.”) I guess wiping it down and putting it into a toothbrush container could work until I can clean it at a more convenient time. Almost all the restaurants, cafes and bars I’ve been to in the city this month have switched over to paper straws. I like the idea of paper straws, but they get mushy fast. So if I can figure out a way to bring my own straw with me without looking like a total goofball, I’d do it.

I agree. I’m glad Disney stopped using plastic straws. I don’t mind the paper. At other restaurants I will also just drink without a straw. Even my germaphobe SO does that so it’s not that bad lol

 

[wendow]

Please report back when you complete your stay. Did you use bonvoy points for your stay?

No, we booked swan with AA miles!

 

[Alexle2007]

Ok, this straw conversation has piqued my interest. A plastics waste ordinance recently went into effect here in SF, which bans among other things restaurants from giving out plastic straws. I’m all for the new law because my kiddo plays at the beach, I’ve volunteered at beach cleanups, and we see firsthand that single use plastics are a real problem for the environment. Together with stories of plastics breaking down to microplastics in our oceans and landfills, making their way into birds’ and sea animals’ digestive systems and even our food chain, and China and other countries no longer accepting our plastic recyclables forcing the whole recycling industry here into a scramble, we’ve been trying to reduce our use of plastic and recycle what we can. We’ve already switched over to metal straws at home and even started taking them on trips. (I think @calypso726 mentioned she brings along metal straws too.) But I haven’t figured out how to take a metal straw with me on my day-to-day in a non-intrusive way, as in not having a metal stick sticking out of my pockets, and then cleaning it after using it at a restaurant so that it doesn’t make a mess of my pants. (“Excuse me while I go to the restroom to wash my straw.”) I guess wiping it down and putting it into a toothbrush container could work until I can clean it at a more convenient time. Almost all the restaurants, cafes and bars I’ve been to in the city this month have switched over to paper straws. I like the idea of paper straws, but they get mushy fast. So if I can figure out a way to bring my own straw with me without looking like a total goofball, I’d do it.

Ha, totally read pockets first as purse and thought why is he carrying a purse? And then thought maybe he’s been a gentleman and carrying it for his wife since he shops for her also. Clearly, I woke up too early or need to improve my reading skills

 

[hsmamato2]

Is there a way to check back on amex accts to see if we did a self refer?

 

[Lain]

Is there a way to check back on amex accts to see if we did a self refer?

No.

 

[Alexle2007]

Last Chicago questions since I fly out tomorrow but will the low 70-80s that are showing for the weather feel cool since it is on the lake? Trying to make sure I bring appropriate clothing without overpacking since I need business casual also for the seminar and I am trying to avoid checking my bag.

 

[havaneselover]

Letting dd 15 drive from Richmond to Blacksburg for a swim meet. 3 hour drive. Pray for me!

 

[Alexle2007]

Letting dd 15 drive from Richmond to Blacksburg for a swim meet. 3 hour drive. Pray for me!

Definitely not looking forward to that with DS12. I thought I was going to have a heart attack with him cutting the grass on riding mower this week. He said his video games helped him with the steering but he was all over the place, no rhyme or reason with his cutting pattern. Good luck!

 

[DisneyMandC]

Letting dd 15 drive from Richmond to Blacksburg for a swim meet. 3 hour drive. Pray for me!

Good for you!! I maintain that the best thing my parents did as far as my driving goes was to make me drive everywhere we went when I had my learners. After I passed my test, my mom had me drive out of the DMV on Route 10 and made me go 95 to 895 to go over the bridge

 

[MKTokyo]

Also a fan of straws!!! I may be hoarding a stock of them given the bad press they are getting lately. I also bring my own to WDW now

We do this too. I'm all for the health of the planet & I can deal with the paper ones in a water or soda, but they just don't work in milkshakes. DF tried so valiantly to use the one they gave him at Sci-Fi, I thought he was going to suck up the glass itself. It still didn't work. And, I don't want to drink my milkshake with a spoon...

 

[GlamMistress]

I'm just now reading the Amex clawback thread on churning (worked two really long days back to back and wasn't home much) - holy cow, what a boondoggle.

 

[chattadisser]

I feel like maybe this was talked about a couple weeks back or I am just dreaming it up...have you guys tried the metal straws yet? I have seen them in places and with the diminishing of plastic straws not only in WDW, but in general, I was curious how they were.

Love our metal straws! We usually carry them with us all the time, my older DD is very against plastic straws.

 

[Lain]

We do this too. I'm all for the health of the planet & I can deal with the paper ones in a water or soda, but they just don't work in milkshakes. DF tried so valiantly to use the one they gave him at Sci-Fi, I thought he was going to suck up the glass itself. It still didn't work. And, I don't want to drink my milkshake with a spoon...

Yeah, I think paper straws aren’t slick enough for something as thick as milkshake to get carried up.

 

[Haley R]

I feel like we, as a larger fam, keep getting more and more priced out of Disney resorts. Ten years ago, I would have said that we'd never stay offsite. But today, the reality is that we are staying offsite for our next trip and I'm more than okay with it. I thought I'd feel this great sense of loss but I'm not sure I'm really feeling that. I feel more relief that the financial part is taken care of. I do believe if Swolphin falls off AA miles, my next stop will be the DS resorts.

As APs there is really no reason we should be paying such high prices for a hotel. I get that most Disney resorts have an atmosphere to them but in the end we really just need somewhere to sleep. I can book a lot of the DS hotels with URs

 

[Ngwira]

Fraud found on my Amex BBP. Someone at a homeless shelter in Montana made a $1.98 charge to “test” the card to see if it was live. Immediately contacted Amex and they are overnighting a new card.

Looking at the new Amex interface I see all of my Amex offers on the old card are gone. Hoping they reappear so I can use the Bonvoy one to pay off our stay at the Swan.

 

[Limes96]

Yeah I’d be willing to do that at Kroger but they don’t have it going right now lol.

Kroger will have 4x fuel points on gift cards next weekend, July 19-21. This time on the ad it actually has a pic of a $25 vgc.

 

[Haley R]

My DD loves watching full house ( repeats) so much I bought her the entire series on DVD.

I have some of the seasons because I asked for them for my birthdays as a kid.