June, July, August PLANNING thread

[tripplanner2]

Hi Everyone:

Candi: Welcome back! Can't wait to see the pictures.

Tomar: Welcome to the Princess!

EE22: I hope that news is true of free dining, even with 40% room code and getting 2 rooms, we would still save like $30 per day. That adds up quick.

MKY: Glad you got to see the green river. I can just imagine how crazy it was with college kids. I have no patience anymore either.

Well, the shower was a hit. She was surprised which made me happy. All her bridesmaids were wonderful, helping in every way. Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time and the CAKE was unbelievable. Everyone went nuts for it. We took home the extras for the groom. Overall, it was a great day and I am relieved it is over. A lot of stress leading up to it, I was shot yesterday.

Anyone else getting nervous with this crazy economy? Seems worse than anything we have seen before in our lifetime, Bear Sterns going under????

 

[mkymouse4ever]

Hiya all!

Goofy22, I know that is good news for alot of people, but it has really filled up the nice quietier time in august. With 2 people > it is cheaper to take the room discounts and pay for eating, but I know with alot of kids it makes sense. Last year you could definately tell when free dining was going on.

TP2, Great news about the shower. What kind of cake? Your right about the economy. Seems like things are just getting worse, and not better. How much is gas by you? We are up to 3.28.

Tomar, TOMMORROW is the big day!

EE22, Good going for the bus driver. That could of been bad. Should we send coal? Well, good news its almost spring.

Candi, back in work mode?

Happy Tuesday, I still need to work on airfare. mky

 

[candizfan]

Hi everyone.

Work was tough the last two days. I have come down with a bug and I am in a great deal of pain....this is weird. Every joint in my body is imflamed and killing me. I would think it is the flu but no cough no fever no runny nose.

I spent 2 hours waiting to see the doctor and they want to draw some blood to make sure it isn't anything else, but he figured it is a virus. Even my thumbs hurt. My knees and ankles and wrists are really painful. I guess if this is all I get with the other symptoms it won't be too bad.

The kids are starting to feel better and we are going to plan a do over trip for January.

I would love to post some pictures on a site, but I am not sure how to do that...

Got to go - typing hurts.

 

[tripplanner2]

MKY: The cake was chocolate with raspberry filling and chocolate fondant icing. The icing was like fudge and it was really one of the best cakes I have ever had. I need to call the bakery to tell them.

Gas here is about the same. They are saying $4 per gallon over the summer. We are thinking of going to Williamsburg, VA instead of WDW this year to save some money but I don't know if it will work out cheaper. It all depends on flights. If we pay what we have in the past for flights, it will be the same to drive to VA as it would be to fly to FL.

Tomar: I bet your princess is there! So happy for you, I am sure you are enjoying yourself and we won't hear from you.

Candi: Sorry you are sick. Fifths Disease is going around here. I had it once a couple of years back and I thought I was getting arthritis or something. Much worse than what I expected. Hopefully it is just a virus and nothing to worry about.

 

[mkymouse4ever]

Hiya everyone!

TP2, Sounds yummy! I am sure whatever your family decides for vacation it will be great.

Candi, hope you feel better soon. Drink plenty of fluids and some chicken soup.

Happy wednesday, mky

 

[BabyFu18]

Hi everyone, I just noticed this thread, my family and I have booked for July so we only have about 3 months to go, which is great! I'm already really excited for the trip, even though it's still months away.

I was just wondering where do you guys get the countdown feeds, with the days, hours, minutes, etc. on them?

 

[mkymouse4ever]

BabyFu18, hiya & We are always excited about a trip too. Time flies while we wait. The countdown timers for the days are:
http://v50.net/cdgenerator.php Hope this works for you.

TP2, love your new countdown, great picture.

Happy Planning, mky

 

[candizfan]

Hi Everyone - I feel less painful today - more swollen and stiff but less pain so I thought I would give you a bit more about the trip.

But first -

TP2 - we Canadians are already paying the equivalent of $4.40 per gallon today - we priced it from Detroit to Orlando the last time my DH drove down and it was about even if we got a ticket for less than $300. But I am sure you will have fun no mater where you go.

That cake sounds incredible!!

My DD now 9 caught fifth disease in grade one. I don't have a rash, so we ruled out that. My first thought was West Nile to tell you the truth. They are going to do some blood work to rule out some things.

Tomar - I hope the you and the princess have a great visit and everyone is well for it.

MKY - how is the planning going for your trip with Max? We did buy the Disney Dinning Experience card and we have already gotten our money back.

Okay - buckle up - here is a bit about our bumpy, but still good trip. Keep in mind that I can usually take a lot of things in stride and none of this "spoiled" the trip for us; just dampened it.

Friday - had to work a part day - left DH at home to do some of the things that needed to be done. First mistake - I did not leave him a list. He is usually very good if I do that. He dropped the kids at school at 8:45 am and managed to strip the bed and remake it for the housesitter and put on a load of laundry - THAT's IT.

I had to clean the cat boxes, sweep and clean out the fridge, do the dishes and clean the fish tanks when I got home - LATE by the way. I wanted to be on the road to Michigan by 2 pm before the schools let out.

At 2pm I am cleaning DD9's fish tank and killed the poor thing

Yep you got it. The water was too warm and the poor thing did a few laps and died. I actually called the father of the housesitter (the babysitters family) and asked if he would conduct a covert - switch the fish - mission for me while we were gone. One fish has already given it's life in this house before Christmas. Then the guilt factor kicked in and I decided I had to tell her. She is way too smart and she would have known and I would have been branded at that point.

So we had to make time for a quick funeral which involved digging a hole in the 8 inches of snow and using a bucket and heavy weight to hold it in place until the ground thaws enough.

I finish up around the house and we manage to hit the road at the exact moment everyone else is.

We finally make it to the hotel in Detroit and we end up with a free meal from Bob Evans since it took an hour to get our pasta delivered to our table. Six families ate before us that came after us.

We have a bit of a swim and lights out.....Not for me though...as I am drifting off to sleep at a decent time... I left my entire planning calendar at home. All my dinner reservations and which parks we plan to go to. The hotel information..everything is at home.

So I am in the bathroom on my cell phone trying to get the house sitter to find the file (I can never remember what directory things are in) and print it off. Now I am trying to teach her how to fax to me so that she can hang up and fax the pages to the hotel for. I hang up I try calling home the line is busy maybe we have success. I try again. Still busy - how many pages was this thing.... Okay - she says it looks like it went through. My colour coding will be gone but I should be able to pick it up at the front desk in the morning. I place a quick call to the front desk and they confirm they received it.

In the morning - they have trouble finding it but sure enough the kid did a great job.

Stay tuned. My wrists are killing me so I will give you the airport antics tomorrow.

 

[mkymouse4ever]

Candi, you are too funny! Even when your in pain. Are they drawing an Epstein -Barr level? Good luck with all your test. Hope your feeling better soon. Emergency fish funeral in the snow.
I will probably break down and buy the dining card again. Will at least be able to use it for 2 trips? How did the new rules work out?
Planning tip: I write out a huge board with everying on it (calander form), fold in half and place in middle of suitcase. I back that up with: a small note pad has daily adr's, or plans written in and can pull out each day in am and have all numbers needed for the day. I know me, I would of drove back to Canada for my info.

Mky

 

[mkymouse4ever]

Hiya everyone, Well finally got around to doing our airfare, ouch. Our rental car is nailed down too. Wow, they are high this year. You would think that with the gas, and magic express it would be better, but no higher.

Happy Easter!

mky

 

[candizfan]

Morning everyone! We got hammered with snow again yesterday. There is six inches on the ground and it didn't start till late afternoon.

So here is a little more trip fun for you.

Saturday morning rolls around and everyone is up and we get to the airport in pretty good time. I have my faxed copy of my calendar in hand and I am ready to go.

Our 7am flight should have no trouble getting out of town because the snow has not started yet. They called for volunteers to give up there seats DH and I look at each other and I head to the counter. We each received a $300 voucher and they put us on the 9:20 flight.
I give DD9 some pain medicine, some decongestants and get her all ready for the flight.

Well we were only an hour late leaving since the snow had now started to come down and they had to deice the plane. DD9 only had a few moments of true pain on the flights and the nasal spray really works if you ever have to fly with a cold. Within 3 minutes of giving it to her, she was pain free again.

The good thing about taking a later flight is that your bags get to the room much quicker. We landed - headed to the Magic Express and checked into Old Key Wes. We were only in our rooms about 10 minutes when our bags arrived.

Okay - off to Hollywood Studios - quickly so that I can try to catch the last Stars in Motor Cars parade.

By the time we picked up our annual passes - we just missed it.

We managed to see some street performers and the Belle show before DD9 started to go down hill. By dinner she had her head in my lap and was sleeping. She never even touched her food. Our friends from Denver arrived at the park and met up with us at the 50's Prime Time. They said hi and headed off to do something while we ate. With DD9 not feeling well, I headed back to the hotel with her so she could get some rest.

By 2am she is throwing up . No princess breakfast for us on Sunday morning. But the dinning group was very helpful and I did not loose my payment (you have to prepaid that meal). They could not rebook since it was full for the week. We will just have to go another time.

So Sunday - the guys went golfing, DD12 went with my friend to the Magic Kingdom and I stayed with DD9 in the hotel room... Once the guys came back from golf - I tried to head out with DD12 and our friends but by Sunday night DD12 was not feeling well either but not as bad as DD9.

So Monday I headed off to Epcot with our friends and DH stayed with the two sick kids. They did try to come and join us but it was short lived - they needed to go back to the room - but DD12 only decided she needed to go after DH left with DD9 - so off we went.

Tuesday brought better weather and better kids and we had to take it slow, but we started to have more fun.

Our friend lost her brother on Thursday and got the call in China at Epcot. Not fun. She is a trooper and said she wanted to stay and there was no sense rushing home so off to Germany for a beer and the worst hot dog I have ever had. There was not enought mustard in Germany to give that thing some taste.

Friday - our last real day brought a late start because the guys were playing 9. I let our friend have a quiet morning until the guys came home after lunch. Then we hit Hollywood Studios just in time for the cold wind and rain to arrive We headed out before we got to see Fantasmic this time.

Saturday we just hung out around the pool while the kids swam again and we made plans to do it all again in 2010! I switched our Magic Express pick up so that we could ride the bus back to the airport together instead of 30 minutes apart. We will miss them until 2010 since we probably won't make it to Denver before then.

So - not the best trip ever but we did have a good time. But consider this....we have free airfare, we have annual passes and we have DVC points available....what should we do Let's go back in January!

My boss was kidding saying that they are going to send me a cheque for coming at some point... Mind you he did not say I could have more time off in December to go if I want to. That is why we have to wait for the new year - so I will have more vacation time.

Talk to you soon.

 

[mkymouse4ever]

Hiya everyone

Candi! You poor thing. That was a castrophe of problems. Hope the girls are feeling better. At least you did get to visit with your friends. Thanks for the headsup on hotdogs in germany. We have never eaten there.

Happy EASTER!

mky

 

[candizfan]

Hi MKY - not to worry. Like I had said, we did not let it ruin our trip. We still had some good times and it is always good to see our friends. The kids are feeling better and I feel like I am on the mend today as well.

Did I send you the link to the photo pass?

Happy Easter.

 

[mkymouse4ever]

Hey candi, no haven't gotten it yet. Glad ev1 is feeling better (u2).

 

[candizfan]

MKY - I will sign on and send it to you.

The turkey is in the oven...the eggs have all been found and I will have time for a little nap.... life is good.

Candi

 

[mkymouse4ever]

Candi, great pictures! Thanks, what nice looking girls & DH too
What did you think of the "new" spaceship earth? Any favorite meals?

Tomar, hope the princess is having a great visit!

EE22, did you miss the snow we got?

TP2, hope the girls had a great easter!

Happy planning, mky

 

[tripplanner2]

Candi: You poor thing. Your trip sounds similar to mine last year. There is nothing fun about being sick on vacation. Hopefully your July trip will go much smoother.

What ever happened with your blood tests? Hope it is not some of the things you were worried about.

MKY: Thanks for the Easter wishes. Everything went smooth but it was a long day. We had company coming and going so no one was here at the same time but we had a constant flow for 9 hours. Hope your Easter was wonderful besides that snow you got.

Tomar: How is your princess? I bet she got big. I hope you are still enjoying her company.

EE22: Back to reality I am sure. At least you did not get too much snow. Hopefully it will feel like spring soon.

 

[candizfan]

MKY - I really liked 50s Prime Time but DD9 says she never wants to go back there again - because she was sick. She would have loved the pot roast if she had been feeling better. We will wait a couple of years, then try again.

I also really enjoyed the Garden Grill. The food was good and the service was wonderful. The restaurant is not well designed for taking pictures with the characters and it was hard to get good pictures.

The coral reef was good but I think once was enough for that restaurant. It was pretty pricey.

TP2 - I think you had it a lot harder than I did. The kids were only down and out for about a day and a half and they we just went slower than normal. It was not the best trip but it was not ruined since we still had some good days. It was great to have friends with us and they did things with DD12 when DD9 was down and out and I was grateful for that.

Tomar how is the visit with the princess?

 

[EEyorelover22]

HI All...Happy Belated Easter. MKY, we had snow flurries all day on Sunday. My family was hit last night in Michigan by 5-6 inches...ick.

Candi...read a bit of your trip...sorry you had sick kids. Sounds like there were some good points though.

TP2...hope the plans are coming along. I'm still pulling for WDW for you and the family

Tomar...I'm sure you had a fab time with PP.

My heater is broken still...55 when I go in each morning. I'm not pleased. However, they did finally put in a paper towel dispenser since the hand dryer broke in the bathroom next to my room. We had a coat hanger till today for the dispenser. Ain't life grand

 

[mom2ike]

I called and made August reservations yesterday. Did not have free dining but did get a discount on my room reservation. We did the dp and I think we will like it. I made ADRs yesterday also and am calling to change a few today.

Just ordered to custom duffle bags for ds and myself. Also ordered my son 6 Disney shirts, one for each day of the trip. Then a girl has to have some Disney items, so I bought pooh, minnie and tink tees for me along with minnie and tink capris.

In a few weeks I am going to pick up some crocs for myself and my son. DH thinks crocs are ugly so none for him.

I think I might explode before August 17 gets here.