Is 304 Days Too Soon to Start Planning??? (with chapter links!!!)

[mariacj]

WOW!!! Your checking in the same day we are at CBR but we're leaving two days earlier...but will have been at ASMo for six days before...so I don't have to be too jealous!

I noticed your signature says it is a graduation trip....what are you graduating from? That's a great way to celebrate that's for sure!!!

I am finishing my Masters this year... need to stop procrastinating and write my proposal... need to get off Disboards. *Sigh*

I know I am jealous you get to be there a whole 6 days before me! My sister did three weeks at OKW for her High School Grad Trip. I went for 10 days for my honeymoon. One day... I will get to do more days, but for now I am happy I get to go!

Husband said for my Master's I could choose to go anywhere in the world. He placed and emphasis on WORLD... like Italy, Spain, Peru... I was all like... disneyWORLD!! That is my ultimate happy place.

 

[mariacj]

Isn't it funny what we can do when we really want to?

I always said I would never do summer...too hot, too crowded, etc...but next year Tyler (who I have not gotten to introduce yet because my computer is being a pain!) will be entering junior high next year. Normally, I have no problem pulling the kids out of school for a week or two since they are both awesome students but we really don't know what to expect with junior high. And all of our friends who have kids at the junior high say it is much more difficult than grade schools around here (which I can believe because our grade schools leave a lot to be desired!). So I did not want to plan on pulling him out. Then January thru April is Arena Football. February thru June is baseball. Dance competitions and recitals are April thru July. And then Football and Cheerleading start mid-July. So I had to decide what would be the best time based on other factors. So, I initially went for mid-July thru the end of July. My thinking was that most everyting would be at a stand still for a minute...but it is the first two weeks of Football and Cheer...but I figured we'd deal with it. But then when the free dining was announced I got to checking and thought I was crazy to spend almost twice as much for a room in July than in August and that was not even taking into account the free dining that was offered!!! And I figured it would be better to not miss the first two weeks for Football and Cheer...we'll miss some in the middle. So it turns out we upgraded our hotel for part of the trip...got free dining upgraded to deluxe dining for part of the trip...and upgraded our four day base passes to hoppers with water parks and more for free...all for less than one part of our trip in July was going to be!!! And hopefully we will see a decline in crowds as the trip progresses.

We have thought about camping too but like you said, disneyplanningdad, we would have to drive to do that...and we don't want to! We like to camp but we like to do it comfortably so flying and camping would not work for us...

Have you planned out your dining yet? I am going around and around with mine...I'll get to that sooner or later...

Part of the reason I started this early was because, like you, I don't really have anything else I can plan or do for the trip yet becasue it is so far away...I am hoping this will help pass the time and help me put all of my thoughts in order...

Oh, and by the way, just in case anyone lost track, today is 297 more days!!!

April was HOT for the first week of our honeymoon and then the next week... we brought out the gloves jackets and scarves. Husband is going to die next year... he sleeps with the window open during the winter! I sleep with 5 blankets.

I am thinking fans with personal misters...but I read some threads about rogue misting on near by guests. I might get small ones.

I was in the same boat as you. I could go in September or October next year, but my littler brother and younger sister are joining us. Sister has no school, she is working, but my brother is still in high school, so August Free Dining it is. I too hope that the crowds go down a little, but free dining has become so popular.

If I survived April during spring break... I could do Aug in the heat!

Dining... yeah we have our favs picked out and have our must do for the first day. Ohana's... its tradition (even if we have only done it once!) Its never too early to start pouring over menus and seeing new things. It is like actually being there, trying the food and not having to pay if you don't like it!

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Ooohh I'm doing YC in January and I am SOOOO excited!!!! But CBR is great! You're going to have such a fun time!

 

[disneyplanningdad]

Husband said for my Master's I could choose to go anywhere in the world. He placed and emphasis on WORLD... like Italy, Spain, Peru... I was all like... disneyWORLD!! That is my ultimate happy place.

LOL My DW's best friend from high school has lived in Paris, Paugue, Tuscany and other beautiful places. We never went to visit. She got a job in orlando and we booked a trip the next week. My college roomate lived in London for 8 years. Never made it. He moved to Tampa and i was calling saying "Great! we'll meet you at Disney"

 

[disneyplanningdad]

Have you planned out your dining yet? I am going around and around with mine...I'll get to that sooner or later...

See what you did to me. I sat with "The Unofficial Guide" last night checking off all our dining options so I'm ready for any family discussion that comes up. WDW is sort of on the back burner though. We are getting a puppy sometime in the next week. We have the puppy picked out. We are just waiting to here from the breeder about arrangements to pick him up. It's like waaiting for my wife to go into labor. (Sorry ladies. I know that it's different for you) the waiting is excruciating right now. we just want to bring the little fella home. Anyway... It was nice reading restaurant descriptions and thinking about being away from it all down in Disney.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

My family has a few requests for dining that I will have to work into the crowd calendar. Tey insist on LeCellier so I will try to get late lunch ADR's since dinner is up to two credits on the dining plan. They love Biergarten but that is easy we can do that anytime. Sometime between now and february We'll sit and discuss other restaurants. My boys LOVE food. My 15 y/o is addicted to the food network on TV so he has definite opinions and high standards. Some of the restaurants just don't cut it.

Tyler loves all those food network shows too and both of them love to cook...but eating, not so much! They are getting better though. Tyler has recently fallen in love with white fish (meaning not salmon and tuna like things yet) and steak. But given the opportunity, he's a pizza and hot dog kinda guy!

But they love dining out. For them, it is more than just the food, so they enjoy it and that is why Deluxe Dining is perfect for us.

I am finishing my Masters this year... need to stop procrastinating and write my proposal... need to get off Disboards. *Sigh*

I know I am jealous you get to be there a whole 6 days before me! My sister did three weeks at OKW for her High School Grad Trip. I went for 10 days for my honeymoon. One day... I will get to do more days, but for now I am happy I get to go!

Husband said for my Master's I could choose to go anywhere in the world. He placed and emphasis on WORLD... like Italy, Spain, Peru... I was all like... disneyWORLD!! That is my ultimate happy place.

Congrats! I wish I had the time and money to go back to finish my bachelor degree...actually, I did start. I had given up on another baby and had almost given away all of the baby stuff I had saved knowing I was having another, decided what I wanted to be when I grew up, gone back to college (I have an associates degree plus a lot of classes on my way to bachelor), and half way through started getting sick and not feeling well...and then came Skye...and it just wasn't the right time for me anymore!

I think I'd have said Disney World too...in fact, Lou has a cousin who married a Japanese girl and they lived in Japan for about five years...and that was as close as I would have gotten...but that would have been becasue Disney is near there too!!!

April was HOT for the first week of our honeymoon and then the next week... we brought out the gloves jackets and scarves. Husband is going to die next year... he sleeps with the window open during the winter! I sleep with 5 blankets.

We were there in the end of April and it was pretty hot the whole time until our last day (after the massive storm that came through that clearred out Magic Kingdom wonderfully) whrn it cooled down a little. You guys are the opposite of us...I sleep wioth the window cracked and Lou is always freezing...in fact, it is going down to the 40's around here at night and he wants the heat on...I'm like "are you crazy!!!"

I am thinking fans with personal misters...but I read some threads about rogue misting on near by guests. I might get small ones.

Make sure you buy one at home if you are doing it becasue they are expensive in the World! Problem is that then you have to carry it...and I don't know about you but I have enough stuff to carry...but I am really considering bringing the stroller this time (but we'll get to that delema) mostly so I have somewhere to put my stuff!

I was in the same boat as you. I could go in September or October next year, but my littler brother and younger sister are joining us. Sister has no school, she is working, but my brother is still in high school, so August Free Dining it is. I too hope that the crowds go down a little, but free dining has become so popular.

I was thinking about that too but why is Disney offering it so soon? Maybe they know something we don't? Or maybe they will cut off bookig and not offer it again? I am expecting/hoping crowds to decline from when we arrive to when we actually depart...lets all keep our fingers crossed!

If I survived April during spring break... I could do Aug in the heat!

Dining... yeah we have our favs picked out and have our must do for the first day. Ohana's... its tradition (even if we have only done it once!) Its never too early to start pouring over menus and seeing new things. It is like actually being there, trying the food and not having to pay if you don't like it!

That's what I say too. People do it all the time...why can't we. We might have to change the way we do the World but we will still be doing the World! And that is part of where the Deluxe Dining sounds good too...I mean, we will be inside three times a day in air conditioning relaxing. It's forced down time. I think it will work for us.

See what you did to me. I sat with "The Unofficial Guide" last night checking off all our dining options so I'm ready for any family discussion that comes up. WDW is sort of on the back burner though. We are getting a puppy sometime in the next week. We have the puppy picked out. We are just waiting to here from the breeder about arrangements to pick him up. It's like waaiting for my wife to go into labor. (Sorry ladies. I know that it's different for you) the waiting is excruciating right now. we just want to bring the little fella home. Anyway... It was nice reading restaurant descriptions and thinking about being away from it all down in Disney.

Sorry....no I'm not...planning is fun! Nothing like being prepared, changing your mind, and doing it all over again...

What kind of puppy are you getting? I can see how that would be a hard wait! Our shepard mix's birthday is tomorrow. She will be 13. She is definately showing her age lately...sometimes she looks great but other times, I just don't know. She was our first baby and I am scared to think about what's to come. And we have had a bad bout with fleas this year...she usually is fine but this year she is itchy, itchy, itchy!!! Don't know what it was different this year. I know we could not go long without a dog in the house but I don't know if I could do young "puppy" again. My parents got a pug/lasso mix not too long ago. She is caged...and at our house right now. She does not want to potty train...she chews...she is just crazy and never stops! So we might be looking towards a shepard rescue or sdomething like that. I know we won't get another until there is none...I don't think Cody would be happy feeling like she was getting replaced.

So, my parents got put in the 90s at Pop Century...which is my worst choice of building but they apparently don't mind. I want to be in the middle of everything not way, way, way on the outside. And I don't consider the ability to walk across a parking lot being close to busses. I want to walk through the resort looking at all the theming. Otherwise I may as well stay ina cheap hotel off sight! They did Epcot on Tuesday. Ate at Seasons. They said it wasn't too crowded. I don't know what they did yesterday though...I have not talked to them.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Ooohh I'm doing YC in January and I am SOOOO excited!!!! But CBR is great! You're going to have such a fun time!

Ooohhhh, you're getting close! We love the Yacht Club/Beach Club area but so far have not stayed there. We had Boardwalk booked once...and changed it.

We were at Caribbean Beach once...it was our October trip the year I was pregnant with Skye. In fact, my mom had the picture out from MNSSHP that year (Ty was a knight (people kept callin ghim Prince Phillip), Lou was a wizard, and I was a fairy princess) and SKye brought it over and told me she knew where she was in that picture...in my belly! I'll have to scan that picture and post it here...it's cute...if I ever get a working computer at home!

The main thing Tyler remembers (he would have been 4) is that we had two windows (a corner room) and that it rained one night and when we went out to the food court afterwards there were snails EVERYWHERE!!!! We had never before and never since seen even one snail in the World...but that night it was like The Birds but with snails!!!!

 

[disneyplanningdad]

The puppy is a Shih Tzu/Bichon Frise mix. They cal them Teddy Bear puppies because.. well that's what they look like. We are hoping for Monday pick up. On the food thing... Be patient. Since watching the food network my sons have expanded their diet exponentially. They are much more willing to try things. Buffets are great for that. I think Biergarten alone added half a dozen foods to my younger guys list.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Surprize!

Our department and the rest of the departments on our floor have a lot of people from the Phillipines.

We got out of a meeting and walk into our Oasis (ie: lunch room) transformed into a Philippines Pavillion...music, maps, diaramas, toys, clothes and food!!!!

I felt like I was in a Mini-Epcot!

 

[disneyplanningdad]

Sounds like a fun place to work. I ate at my desk today.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

The puppy is a Shih Tzu/Bichon Frise mix. They cal them Teddy Bear puppies because.. well that's what they look like. We are hoping for Monday pick up.

Oh, I know them...how cute!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Sounds like a fun place to work. I ate at my desk today.

I DID NOT SAY THAT!!!!

Every once in a while they feed us figuring that makes up for all the crap they give us all the other times!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

So, Sunday is our first competition. Our team is made up of 30 kindergardners, first graders and second graders. We have a good mix of ages but only nine of them have cheered before. We started practicing the third week in July. Well, lets just say they were scary!!!

I mean like one day they are ok. The next half of them are ok. The next they just stink all together! BUT...last night we practiced in the high school. We used their cheer mat. Only the level who had mat time was allowed in the gym for their 30 minutes and the other three levels were outside practicing. Towards the end of out time frame the Pee-Wees (we are the Super Pee-Wees, they are third and forth graders) came in so the girls did their competition routine for them. THEY LOOKED AWESOME!!!! Like I mean stunts went up and down together, they clapped together (you cannot imagine the headache of trying to teach 30 five, six, and seven year olds how to clap together!!!), their arms went up and down together, they jumped together...no one got kicked in the head doing cartwheels, no one fell on their jumps, no one forgot where they were walking to for the next formation...Skye's basket toss has high and well formed and she did her flip flop all by herself (although I have to run out on the mat and hold my hand where she thinks it is helping her )...and the Pee-Wees all clapped and yelled for them and we talking about how the Supers are doing some of the same stunts they are and that they don't have anyone who can do a flip flop...

...and then we went outside to keep practicing...and they sucked again!!!!

I mean they were soooooooooo AWESOME on the mat...you would not have believed it was the same team!

So they have tonight in a gym with half a mat. They have tomorrow outside without a mat. And they have a football game to cheer for and do their competition routine at half time on Saturday...but then Sunday comes...

So keep your fingers crossed for us on Sunday...we need a 72 to earn a bid for State Competition in December....and it would be really nice if they did it at this competition and not have to worry about the next one in November...

 

[disneyplanningdad]

Fingers crossed.

 

[mariacj]

LOL My DW's best friend from high school has lived in Paris, Paugue, Tuscany and other beautiful places. We never went to visit. She got a job in orlando and we booked a trip the next week. My college roomate lived in London for 8 years. Never made it. He moved to Tampa and i was calling saying "Great! we'll meet you at Disney"

That is so funny! I know we have family in Peru, Italy, Texas... but the only family we visit is in CA *cough* Disneyland *cough*... and our family in WDW (mickey goofy and donald!)

 

[mariacj]

Good Luck!!! I saw a bunch of cute little ones on the bus today. Sigh...makes me want children, but I need to finish or my mother is threatening with my Grandmother...don't get me wrong I love my grandmother but my husband is convinced she hates him. I say that it is a language barrier and he says... its all about body language. Anywho...

I printed out all the menus from all ears to send to my baby brother...I say baby but he is taller than me and 16 in Oct!!!!! I love him so. Besides here... he is my Disney talking fix!

Hope you Fridays are great!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Hi guys! Today is 295 more days!!! I know it's a long way away but the fact that we have a countdown is better than not having a countdown, right?

So I get a call as we are getting to Cheer practice last night. It is my parents sitting and waiting for Fantasmic to start!!!! Nice! They had gone to Magic Kingdom the day before and hopped (they decided to add them) to Epcot in the evening becasue it was open till midnight. They grabbed fish & chips in the UK but could not sit by the water for Illuminations because there was a private party back there. They were heading to Animal Kingdom today for their last full day. They said it has not been too crowded in general...certain spots were more crowded than others but in general not too bad. We pick them up at the airport tomorrow night at 8:30pm...after a long day of dance practice, cheerleading, and football.

I still do not have a computer at home. It is driving me crazy! I'd like to get on with this trip report...and I want, no need to include pictures...because reports with pictures are the ones I love to read so I want to write them too!

SO here we are at an impasse...reading other people's trip reports and dining reviews...because it holds me over...waiting until I can get on with this one...

 

[disneyplanningdad]

Have a good weekend. I hope the girls do well cheering and even more important, i hope they have fun.

 

[mariacj]

I know having a computer has become like an addiction or increasing my addiction to Disney. Have a fun Cheer Weekend!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

WOW 291 More Days...now we're getting somewhere!!!


So much going on...first off Cheer Competition

Well, I much prefer to be one of the first teams to compete than the last. I much prefer large venues. Skye woke up with the bug everyone else had been passing around...throwing up!!! About every hour or two. So she walked around with a bag to her face a lot. She made it through the 2 minute or so routine...and then went off to wait in the hot hallway and threw up again. Poor thing...but she was a trooper and flew great. Then our head coach, who is an air head most of the time, did not write down the walk in order and up until the mat they were trying to figure out who went where...so kaos!!! But then the girls looked ok...we thought, maybe not earning their bid good but not bad (all considering!). Well we needed a 72 to bid and got a 59.5...lowest of the day!!!!! We were completely floored!!! They scored hashly. We knew they did not perform their best but wow, 59.5!!! But all the comments were things I had been telling them we needed to stop and fix but was told they'd be alright when they got out there and we just needed to keep running through it...they did not want to stop and nit pic...and I did...and we should have. I think we may have scored so low becasue of the late performance too because the judges had already watched the big girls so compared to them, well, there is no comparison! The good news is that we have three weeks, 11 practices, until the next one. We had a coaches meeting last night to figure out how to fix things and I think we may be on the right track...provided we can get the girls on it too! And our Juniors and Widgets earned their bid...so two of the four of us did good!

Then yesterday Skye and I stayed home. We slept in, cleaned a little, Skye ate after not having anything all day on Sunday, and we went to the doctor. We got out antibiotics and we should be good soon!

And we decided we like going to the airport better when we are not coming right home. We went to pick up my parents on Saturday night. And while we love any excuse to go to the airport, it just wasn't the same. Skye and I went to the bathroom while we were waiting and she said to me " I wish we could go potty!" and I laughed...she's like "why are you laughing"...I just told her "we are" and then she got it! She's so silly!!!! What she meant to say was "I wish we could go to Mickey's House!"...guess you had to be there...it was funny! So they had fun. Said it was not too crowded or hot...except in the ice cave at T-Rex where they ate Saturday afternoon (anyone else see the irony here?!?! ) They said a lot of places did not have air conditioning on. They did not like being on the 90's section at Pop. They had a bus driver telling them all about the Marvel park that Disney is building with all thrill rides bought from Universal...I told them how notorious bus drivers are for giving fun but rather inaccurate info but they did not seem to believe me. They said the "other" section of Pop was being worked on while there were there and that it looks like they knocked down the old structures to re-build completely for the new hotel.

Now I have a friend planning a vacation. They have not been since 2005, maybe. They have an 11 (boy), 7 (girl), and will have just turned 4 (boy) year old. So I get to help them plan!!! They are looking at February 2011 and are pretty inexperienced Disney travelers. So it should be fun!

We have updated one of out countdowns and started another. But I cannot really tell you about them without pictures and my computer at home is working on getting fixed and I have no camera so I need to get one of my parent's cameras and possibly use their computer to get some good updates in here. SO as soon as I have time I will work on that!!!!