January 2009. . . Calling all Snowbirds ~ Part IV !!!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

JANUARY Snowbird Meets

Jan 18 - 12:00-midnight at the Haunted Mansion

Jan 20 - 3:00 Parade at MK - Meet at 2:00 at Sleepy Hollow in Liberty Square

Jan 22 - 3:00 Parade at DHS - Meet at 2:30 across from Sounds Dangerous

Jan 25 - DTD OR Boardwalk. . . to be decided. . .

CBR Meet - To be decided. . .

All Star Meet - To be decided. . .

 

[Seewhatimesdone]

I will PM you her info. I'm sure she would be glad to answer any questions you might have!

Thanks so much! I have to admit that i'm a bit nervous. But it's a good, excited kind of nervous.

Your last post just reminded me that I need to start making my ADRs!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Thanks so much! I have to admit that i'm a bit nervous. But it's a good, excited kind of nervous.

Your last post just reminded me that I need to start making my ADRs!

You haven't made your ADR's yet???

 

[Seewhatimesdone]

You haven't made your ADR's yet???

I know I know this trip was kind of a last minute thing. I'm going to try and figure out everything we're doing today on what day so I know when to book. Fortunately, i've heard that the crowds will be really low so let's hope that helps! I'm exctied to try new restaurants this time.

Thanks for the PM!

 

[mari360]

Hey all.... Our trips are right around the corner..... I'm getting more excited as the days go by....

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Hey Mari! Yep, we are getting closer. . . my money is due this week!

 

[danceintherain]

I always loved that movie growing up.... not sure why... flying monkeys, houses falling from the sky, witches melting, falling asleep in the field, little people jumping out of houses, people on fire........ really when you think about it the movie its almost a horror film....lol... just kidding....

I'm pretty sure it gave me nightmares when I was younger.... wait... maybe the nightmares were when I was a teenager and moved to Georgia, and the Wizard of Oz references NEVER stopped

Right now I am listening to the this podcast:
http://www.magicaldefinition.com/disney-podcast/mdp-disney-radio.aspx

I don't know how accurate their information is but they do make some interesting points. I think they stated that usually in January the Disney Resorts are at an over 80% even up to a 90% occupancy rate. They are stating it is currently at a 35% occupancy rate. Like I said I don't know how trustworthy they are but you can go to that site and listen if you wish.

If it is true then we should be looking at pretty low crowds for January. I truly don't mind that as I don't like crowds. They also talk about maybe moving people to different resorts and shutting down complete resorts to save money. That does seem a bit drastic. We can see Disney cutting corners by cutting down Fantasmic and other things.

I have to go and run up to the school to get the kids. Hopefully today, school pictures will be sent home. I can't wait to see them.

Have a great day.

Remmy

That WOULD be interesting. I'm pretty sure that the occupancy at AKL will be pretty high for at least part of our trip (why oh why did I choose to go over marathon weekend?) However, maybe they're anticipating low occupancy so they reduced the availability or something. Who knows?
I wouldn't be upset with an upgrade, but I find it highly unlikely as every time I check availability for my dates online, nothing shows up anywhere. When I shorten them to leave out marathon weekend a TON of stuff shows up though. However, I took some good DIS advice and booked the room category I would be happy with. I would LOVE to stay in a higher category room, but I just cannot justify the cost.

Hello there everyone! I hope that everyone has had a good day!

QOTD- I'd love to go to Hawaii and Italy someday. I think that a Mediteranean (sp?) cruise would suit me to a t! I'd love to see Greece as well. I haven't been on any amazing vacations (besides WDW!). I love amusement parks (Cedar Point, Busch Gardens in Virginia)!

!

My sister went on a Mediterranean cruise last year. I was soo jealous, but I left and spent 4 months in Prague only about a week later, so I got over it fast. They started in Spain, then made stops in Italy, Greece, and Istanbul! Her husband's family has taken trips every time one of his siblings has graduated from High School, and it was his younger sister's turn.

Hey all! HELP! I am in a planning panic. We'll be there for 4 full days and 2 half days. 2 of the full days are planned for MK and I realized I have also planned both half days there. I realize that's a little bit crazy now. We LOVE MK and our kids are 4, so it's the perfect park for them. We don't currently have a day planned at AK. I know, some people love it and some people don't. My sister loves it and thinks I'm crazy, but my friends here say they can take it or leave it. I live a mile from an unbelievable zoo (I know, I know - nahtazoo and all that), and my kids are a little jaded about animals.

I am tempted to switch my last day's breakfast reservations to before the park opens at Tusker House (just called - there are plenty of available tables), and spend a half day there trying to see Lion King and Nemo, but I'll be sad to miss the boat from MK as our last thing...

Am I insane? Should I just switch and be done with it?

The animals at AK are not my favorite thing. I love AK, because of the theming. It just seems to be a more laid back park than the others too, because everything is soo spread out.
You could wait and see what happens, and if you see everything you wish to see at MK during your two days there, then you could check availability at Tusker House, and change your ADR.

 

[mari360]

Shelly - Oh i hate when the final payment day comes around but it just makes it that more concrete... off to make dinner....

 

[jenjolt]

Becca...I feel your pain!! The minute someone finds out you're from Kansas the Wizard of Oz quotes start and they don't seem to end. My favorite was our first time in Alaska we still had our Kansas License plates on the car...someone yelled out their window...Hey Lady...guess you're not in Kansas anymore...LOL! I wanted to yell back..what gave you that idea..the mountains or the ocean?? LOL

 

[Monny2AE]

January OPERATIONAL UPDATES

Dumbo The Flying Elephant: Closed for Refurbishment [January 7, 2009]
Mickey's PhilharMagic : Closed for Refurbishment [January 18, 2009 to January 31, 2009]
Splash Mountain®: Closed for Refurbishment [January 4, 2009 to January 17, 2009]
The Hall Of Presidents: Closed for Refurbishment [January 1, 2009 to January 31, 2009]
Disney's Typhoon Lagoon: Closed for Refurbishment [January 1, 2009 to January 31, 2009]
Ellen's Energy Adventure: Closed for Refurbishment [January 5, 2009 to January 31, 2009]
Studio Backlot Tour: Closed for Refurbishment [January 4, 2009 to January 31, 2009]
Voyage of The Little Mermaid: Closed for Refurbishment [January 27, 2009 to January 29, 2009]

That list sure is getting long.

I know I know this trip was kind of a last minute thing. I'm going to try and figure out everything we're doing today on what day so I know when to book. Fortunately, i've heard that the crowds will be really low so let's hope that helps! I'm exctied to try new restaurants this time.

Thanks for the PM!

Good luck on getting your ADR's!


I just finished ordering my Christmas cards from Walgreens and can pick them up tonight. Tomorrow I'll work on getting them addressed and stamped. That's one thing off my ever-growing To Do List!!! Boy the holidays seem busier than usual- I'm dying to start packing for Disney but I'm holding myself back until I get Christmas stuff done first. I know it sounds terrible but I just want the pre-Christmas "unfun" stuff to be done with already so I can enjoy Christmas day and prep for Disney!

 

[danceintherain]

Becca...I feel your pain!! The minute someone finds out you're from Kansas the Wizard of Oz quotes start and they don't seem to end. My favorite was our first time in Alaska we still had our Kansas License plates on the car...someone yelled out their window...Hey Lady...guess you're not in Kansas anymore...LOL! I wanted to yell back..what gave you that idea..the mountains or the ocean?? LOL

I'm pretty sure that a lot of our friends in Georgia still call my brother Toto.

 

[Seewhatimesdone]

That list sure is getting long.
Good luck on getting your ADR's!

Thanks! I wish you could make them online

 

[Remmy]

Hey all! HELP! I am in a planning panic. We'll be there for 4 full days and 2 half days. 2 of the full days are planned for MK and I realized I have also planned both half days there. I realize that's a little bit crazy now. We LOVE MK and our kids are 4, so it's the perfect park for them. We don't currently have a day planned at AK. I know, some people love it and some people don't. My sister loves it and thinks I'm crazy, but my friends here say they can take it or leave it. I live a mile from an unbelievable zoo (I know, I know - nahtazoo and all that), and my kids are a little jaded about animals.

I am tempted to switch my last day's breakfast reservations to before the park opens at Tusker House (just called - there are plenty of available tables), and spend a half day there trying to see Lion King and Nemo, but I'll be sad to miss the boat from MK as our last thing...

Am I insane? Should I just switch and be done with it?

Our family loves AK. With our family it is because of the special time we had there the last time we went. We didn't even go see all the animals! All I can say is do what your heart tells you to do. We are carrying on with some of the traditions we started on our first trip as a family. There will always be new things to do and see but we are a big on traditions.

I hope I have helped you out and not caused you any confusion.

Remmy

 

[danceintherain]

Our family loves AK. With our family it is because of the special time we had there the last time we went. We didn't even go see all the animals! All I can say is do what your heart tells you to do. We are carrying on with some of the traditions we started on our first trip as a family. There will always be new things to do and see but we are a big on traditions.

I hope I have helped you out and not caused you any confusion.

Remmy

One of my favorite memories from our last trip was singing "I Wanna Be Like You" and dancing with King Louie.

 

[Remmy]

Good Evening Snowbirds,

I just want to all the new Snowbirds. It seems every time Momma Snowbird posts the list, it keeps on growing!

I would like to clarify what I have written before. I was just posting what they stated in that one podcast. Never once do they give out their sources so I guess we will only know if they are correct once we start arriving down there and can confirm.

I am hoping that the Canadian $ doesn't tank before we go. I don't know if anyone has been following our politics as of recently (exciting I know ) but last week we had one Prime Minister, now the opposition parties wish to over throw him and come together and rule the country. I am finding this all very frustrating as through all this, because in my opinion, even though they are stating they are all doing this for the best of our country, it doesn't look that way to me. I am sorry for bringing in politics but I would like the Canadian $ to go up a bit or else we have to add an extra 25% or even more to the price of everything. That makes vacationing more expensive than what we have planned for. It just worries me that our family didn't save enough for our trip.

Thanks for listening to my raving. I hopefully will be better tomorrow.

Remmy

PS Remmy is only my DIS name. DD was watching Ratatouille too and she wanted this name.

 

[danceintherain]

Good Evening Snowbirds,

I just want to all the new Snowbirds. It seems every time Momma Snowbird posts the list, it keeps on growing!

I would like to clarify what I have written before. I was just posting what they stated in that one podcast. Never once do they give out their sources so I guess we will only know if they are correct once we start arriving down there and can confirm.

I am hoping that the Canadian $ doesn't tank before we go. I don't know if anyone has been following our politics as of recently (exciting I know ) but last week we had one Prime Minister, now the opposition parties wish to over throw him and come together and rule the country. I am finding this all very frustrating as through all this, because in my opinion, even though they are stating they are all doing this for the best of our country, it doesn't look that way to me. I am sorry for bringing in politics but I would like the Canadian $ to go up a bit or else we have to add an extra 25% or even more to the price of everything. That makes vacationing more expensive than what we have planned for. It just worries me that our family didn't save enough for our trip.

Thanks for listening to my raving. I hopefully will be better tomorrow.

Remmy

PS Remmy is only my DIS name. DD was watching Ratatouille too and she wanted this name.

I hope your dollar doesn't tank too! Is there any way you can pay for part of your trip now so that if the price goes "up" you don't have to stomach all of the difference?

 

[MAGGIED]

Well we are back from dinner.... we ended up going to Smokey Bones (DS loves it there) and I ended up getting a burger and not a steak.... I could only eat about 1/2 of it and no fries... so I guess my nervous belly would have been wasted on a steak. Now I am going to get in my PJ's and watch NCIS... they are so cute.... have a good night friends!!!!!

 

[EPCOT is a verb]

Great QOTD! I love to travel. I enjoy the annual Caribbean cruises that my DH and I take in the winter. I enjoy traveling to Maine to visit my brother and his family. And I enjoy traveling to Central America to do mission/service work. Did I mention that I love to travel?

 

[Momto2PrncChrmgs]

I'm having a stroller issue. We are flying and DH doesn't want to bother with a stroller. My concern is that DS, although he is 4, is very slow and tires easily. He is also on the small side. I think it would be better to be safe and have it than sorry and have to rent an uncomfortable, expensive stroller.

Do strollers count toward your checked bags?

I am a huge fan of having a stroller there. We did a trip with a 2 1/2 yr old without one, then we did a trip with a 9 month old and 4 1/2 yr old, then took a double when they were 21 months and 5 1/2. Was SO glad I had the double (and it was one of those insanely huge double joggers). But it was so nice having it in the airport-especially when we got home and it was late! It was fantastic to have in the parks-the oldest was in it the most. And it was great to have one when you get off the bus at the hotel. We did the carrying of tired or sleeping kids for that long trek back to your room! Not happening again! I know this is a controversial issue, but I will even take the double in January and the kids are 6 and 2 1/2. It's just easier!

Not that I ever had to worry I had 6:45am classes and the parking lot was never full..EVER!! So I had my pick of spots and once I had a spot I stayed there until it was time to leave, parking at KSU is hazard to ones health!!

WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU HAVE 645 CLASSES??? That's just wrong! When Andy and I were in college at SMSU we had SO many tickets our grades were always being held for non-payment. Why can't they make those meters last 5 minutes PAST class time?!?

 

[jenjolt]

I am a huge fan of having a stroller there. We did a trip with a 2 1/2 yr old without one, then we did a trip with a 9 month old and 4 1/2 yr old, then took a double when they were 21 months and 5 1/2. Was SO glad I had the double (and it was one of those insanely huge double joggers). But it was so nice having it in the airport-especially when we got home and it was late! It was fantastic to have in the parks-the oldest was in it the most. And it was great to have one when you get off the bus at the hotel. We did the carrying of tired or sleeping kids for that long trek back to your room! Not happening again! I know this is a controversial issue, but I will even take the double in January and the kids are 6 and 2 1/2. It's just easier!



WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU HAVE 645 CLASSES??? That's just wrong! When Andy and I were in college at SMSU we had SO many tickets our grades were always being held for non-payment. Why can't they make those meters last 5 minutes PAST class time?!?

I'm a huge morning person and it was just easier for me to get my classes over and done with. It also allowed me more flexibility in my schedule to take the classes I really wanted..man the 9am classes were always the hardest to get into LOL!!!