June comes before August & the APs will still be valid! I think we're done here!

[VroomVroomLightning]

Congrats on the new car!! What kind did you get??

I always buy things and return them too. My Mom keeps telling me the stores are going to stop letting me shop there because all I do is buy and return...LOL

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Congrats on the new car!! What kind did you get??

I always buy things and return them too. My Mom keeps telling me the stores are going to stop letting me shop there because all I do is buy and return...LOL

A 2010 Honda Accord.

I buy and return ALL the time. But I keep the tags on, keep my receipts, and usually keep the bag from the store. I also return things within a few days, even though Macy's says I have 180 days to return!

I think the only way a store would revoke your return privileges is if you had a habit of returning stuff that had been worn. I spent 6 years in retail management, and you wouldn't believe the stuff people return. STOLEN stuff, with ink all over it where they ruptured the ink tag trying to pry it off, stuff that is worn, stained, etc., stuff they bought at a completely different store. That's why so many places have gotten so nasty with return policies.

 

[lovesdumbo]

A 2010 Honda Accord.

WOW!!! Any name yet? What color?

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

WOW!!! Any name yet? What color?

This one doesn't have a name. It is the same color as my Altima - dark metallic gray.

I am hoping the trunk space is similar to the Altima or we may get a nasty shock when we try to put the luggage in the car. I think we will have 4 checked bags, 3 carry-ons, and 3 backpacks. In the past we were able to get 5 checked bags plus the other stuff in the car, PLUS the souvenir duffle on the way home.

This car has definitely solved my question of open or covered parking. Since we have a tendency to get hail in the summer we will do covered. I just need to go online and reserve the spot and print our voucher for the free days.

 

[starann]

I'm pretty sure I'm going ot have my DH read your TR...he thinks I'm obsessive about our trip.....he won't after he reads your TR!!! (That or he will think I'm obsessive and you are just crazy!)


No trip in 2011....where will you go? I hear the East coast/NYC/PA area has it's own STAR!!!!!!!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I'm pretty sure I'm going ot have my DH read your TR...he thinks I'm obsessive about our trip.....he won't after he reads your TR!!! (That or he will think I'm obsessive and you are just crazy!)


No trip in 2011....where will you go? I hear the East coast/NYC/PA area has it's own STAR!!!!!!!

It's a fine line between obsessive and crazy, Star. A VERY fine line.

I was ALL set to skip 2011, then some friends from the UK asked what dates we were looking at next year. So now we are looking. Our APs are expiring so we'll need new ones next year no matter when we go. With DS going to high school it is safe to say we won't be going during the school year, so I would imagine we'll go next summer. I suppose if our UK friends aren't going to go during a month we can go we might consider skipping 2011. Time will tell!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

7 weeks until departure!​

​

Slowly, slowly the ticker is ticking away!

Nothing else to report.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

So, here's the thing.
I neglected to factor in that the bathroom in the value 1 bedroom villa at AKV is completely different than in the studio. This is bad. We are used to having 2 side-by-side sinks that are sectioned off from the tub and toilet by a door. All of the Jambo studios are like that. This year the bathroom is more of an actual bathroom, where everything is together. That is going to make getting ready in the morning a nightmare.

So, I grabbed my point chart and my pencil and went to work. What if we split the nights between a Jambo studio and a Kidani one bedroom? The Kidani units have two bathrooms. I worked out 2 or 3 different ways we could rearrange the ressie. Then I called Member Services and got shot out of the saddle. NO studios, standard or savanna, in either building, for the nights I wanted. Crap. Of course, calling at 7 weeks out what did I expect? We don't have enough points to go to a Kidani one bedroom for the whole trip. We could do 5 nights at Kidani and then move to Jambo for the last 8 nights, but that sounds like a gigantic pain in the tush, not to mention that we'll be at Hard Rock one of those nights so we wouldn't even get to enjoy the second bathroom in the villa. So we're sticking with the value one bedroom.

I told DS yesterday that it would be REALLY REALLY good if he would shower at night. That way it is just DH and me fighting for space in the AM. DS can sleep until the last minute, then just get dressed, brush his teeth, put on sunscreen and head out the door. I also told him if he is combative and hateful when we try to wake him up that we will LEAVE HIM. I would imagine if we leave him once he will be much more cooperative after that!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Getting my document envelope in order. I printed out my Town Car confirmation, and the page that shows we have paid our room at AKL in full for the nights we aren't in a DVC unit.

We went to the Disney liquidation sale yesterday. It comes to town once a year for a month or so. We found 2 WDW T-shirts for DS, but that was it.

After doing a lot of searches and reading through old threads, it seems there MIGHT be a chance that we will have 2 bathroom sinks after all. But the sinks will still be IN the bathroom, which is a bigger issue than only having one sink. I guess we'll deal with that when we get there.

 

[Aristocath]

Where was the liquidation sale and why don't I know anything about it?

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Where was the liquidation sale and why don't I know anything about it?

It's in Lewisville! And it JUST started Friday. It will be there until the end of May. The guy said he will be getting another truck on Friday. Right now the majority of the stuff is from DL, but there is a little bit of WDW stuff mixed in. He said they have a rep from their company meeting with the WDW folks this week but he isn't sure if they will have a shipment from WDW before this location closes. I was hoping to just drive out there once, but then when he said they will continue to get new items... We might just have to take another little field trip in a couple of weeks.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

You know what I find fascinating? At AKL/V there are virtually no concierge villas (5 - 10 depending on how they are reserved) and just a few Value villas (10 one bedrooms). You would THINK that with such a limited number of those units that they would ALL be for POINTS reservations. But NOOOOO.

There was a guy last year who got a concierge villa through CRO. All of us who read his post were FLOORED. We were sure he was confused, but he posted the wording from his confirmation and sure enough, concierge villa. Yesterday I was fooling around on the WDW site and I see they have a Value 1 bedroom through CRO, too. That irritates me. I get that DVC has separate inventory for points vs. CRO reservations. I know that, I understand that. But when we are talking about a SINGLE UNIT making up 20% of the inventory (as is the case with the concierge villas) I DO NOT think they should EVER be available through CRO. If I hadn't been able to reserve our villa on points I would be FURIOUS. There are PLENTY of other units that DVC could designate for CRO use without pulling from concierge and Value.

OK. Rant over.

 

[lovesdumbo]

When I was at AKL CL with Emma in January we met a woman on the sunrise safari who was staying in a villa. She said she had extra points she had to use or would loose. I am pretty sure she lived in Florida. She was by herself in a 1 br unit. She said she had just booked like a week or 2 before her trip. I was shocked that she was able to do that. I can't remember how long she was there but I think it was like a week or something.




I ironed 4 of Joe's shirts yesterday-a start on packing. I think I'll get lots more done this week.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I tried to book a concierge studio at the 11 month mark, but they were all gone. And with DVC, if the first day you want isn't available, you aren't allowed to book any other days. I wasn't interested in booking some other category, waitlisting for concierge, blah blah blah. The one bedroom concierge villas are expensive as points go, but if she had points in holding or she missed the banking deadline I can see how she would just go ahead and book. Maybe January isn't quite as competitive as summer.

Bernadette, good luck with packing!

I washed one of my new Talbots shirts yesterday. The collar (well, it's a scoop neck T so it doesn't have a proper COLLAR, but anyway) is sewn weird. When it came out of the dryer the inside seam across the front of the neck was kind of flipped up. I was SURE I was going to have to iron it to make that seam lay flat, but it turns out when I have the shirt on you can't even tell the seam is weird. But the seam is enough to make me think I will definitely return the white one, and possibly the green one, too. The green one is a v-neck, and I was already concerned about the neck keeping it's shape. If the seam rolls up like in the scoop neck I think it will annoy me.

 

[lovesdumbo]

I have to admit I was a bit jealous of her all alone with all that space!

As far as "regular" CL rooms go I was able to book a room with the 7 for 4 deal as soon as it came out and then was able to switch to an AP pin for 40% off (and not buy tickets) but when I tried to change to the regular AP 45% off I couldn't get that. In January 09 I was not able to book AKL CL with the 7/4 deal and changed to the Poly. It can be hard to get AKL CL with a discount.

I'll get really going on the packing this week. I'm sure it will make me even more excited about the trip!!!

Too bad about the seam on the Talbots shirt. That kind of stuff annoys me too.

I had purchased some polos at Eddie Bauer before my trip last May but wasn't crazy about them-they are the long side-not something I say often. I had put them aside to return them but never did. I tried them on a few weeks ago and I think I like them more than I did last year. One is gathered at the placket so it looks a bit fancier. I think I'll take that one for one of our dinners.

I bought all those J Jill shorts last year so I'm set with those. I just bought some Ecco sandals last week that were a fortune and I'm not 100% sure I love them. I think I'll bring them back. I ordered some new sneakers online-the only brand/style I can find that fits. I used shoebuy.com. I had ordered Joe a waist pack that was HUGE so I had to send it back. They pay for return shipping. I mailed it from my office on Tuesday and had a email that they had credited my CC on Wednesday morning. I figured I would try them with the sneakers rather than drive the 50 miles to the outlet mall.

Now I just need to get all the camera memory sorted out and figure out how to use the tripod.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

In '08 I think I had an AP rate for two out of the 3 nights we were in AKL concierge. Last year we had 10 nights in a concierge studio, but those were all on points.

The seam on the Talbot's shirt is a design flaw. The seam in the BACK is just fine, but for some reason they didn't tack it down across the front. I need to measure it against one I haven't washed yet because I think it drew up quite a bit in length even tough I didn't have the dryer set very hot. I haven't washed the polo yet. I have a Talbot's polo that I really like but it is probably 5 years old so they don't have any more like it!

I don't have any Eddie Bauer polos. Their shirts fit weird. I have 3 T's from there that have some sort of sunscreen built in. I like those, but they are cut like men's undershirts. I have 2 other T's that are more like the ones from Jones NY and Talbot's that are just cut funny. A solid scoop neck that is long and a striped v-neck that is kind of short.

 

[lovesdumbo]

I hate when they make "style" changes that mess up a perfect product! That was what happened to those Ralph Laren shorts I loved. I just didn't love the price so I only had one pair. Then they went and made them too long with too many pockets and weird buttony belt loops. That is how I ended up with the Eddie Bauer polos I didn't like too. The "old" ones worked well for me and then they went and made them a snugger ("more feminine") fit and added about 6" to the length. Does a size 2x person really need a snug fit and lots of extra fabric on the length??? They don't seem as tight this year but I don't believe I lost any weight.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

It's a good thing I have about 20 pairs of the Jones shorts I like so well. I bought some at Sam's last year (different style) and they are too big. I bought some at the Jones outlet the other day and had to go down a size - they are OK, but not as good as my favorite ones. I bought 2 pairs of capris, too, and they seem to fit pretty well.

I was just putzing around on the Talbots site. Found some basic T's for $9.99, then there is a code on Retailmenot for 20% off AND free shipping! So I got 3 basic T's for $26 total! I will DEFINITELY return the white one now. I am conflicted on the green one. Actually, I didn't try on the green one in the store. I might hate it. I should look into that.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

So many shirts, so little time.
When I got home last night I pulled out the Talbots bag. The scoop neck T's are shorter than the v-neck T's to begin with. After the wash, they are even shorter. OK, white scoop neck is going back. Moving on to the blue and the green v-necks. The green one is really NOT very flattering. I'll keep the blue, return the green. I will keep the polo and be VERY careful when I dry it. Now, the gray embellished T. I love that shirt, but what's this? The tag says I paid $45 for it??? Holy cow! How did THAT happen? OK, gray shirt, going back! There is NO WAY I need a gray T-shirt that costs $45. I thought it was around $20 like the others. If I see it on clearance later I will buy it again. Otherwise I can do without!

My left eye was itchy all night, now it is all puffy AND itchy. Guess I will put some drops in there and see what happens.

 

[lovesdumbo]

That is a cute shirt but not sure I could say $45 cute for a T shirt. Hopefully it will go on sale soon.

Good luck with the eye!!!!