Mommy and Jack's 2nd Fall Adventure is canceled!

[photographymom517]

I just wrote an entire response to your updates & my stupid new laptop erased it all! Grrr...I'm sooo frustrated with this thing! It has something to do with the factory settings & the touchpad but I haven't had a chance to fix it yet. I seriously need to because I'm already far enough behind on all my DIS subs! I don't need my laptop erasing all my posts too!

I was only 3 updates behind, not that bad, right?

I LOOOOOVE reading about your Disney movie nights!!! I thought the bugles were very creative for Sword in the Stone & Jack's idea for using the light sticks to make a hat was great!!!!

You always come up with the most creative ideas for food for the movie nights! Maybe I should enlist your help if I ever start having them! (Remember when I said I was going to have weekly movie nights? Yep, never happened! )

Luke actually watches a Disney movie at least once a day -- so I should just start making lunch to coorespond with that particular movie! We watched a Ratatouille marathon yesterday (I think we watched it 3 times on tv and then twice on his DVD player). We also watched Toy Story 1, 2 and 3 the day before and Toy Story 2 again this afternoon! He really loves Buzz & Woody! He wasn't interested in TS until recently and now I can't get him to stop watching it & talking about the characters!!! LOL

(My laptop is crazy -- it just played music for no reason? Hmmm, it says my battery life is only an hour, maybe that's why!)

Your cruise updates were great!!! It really makes me excited for my first cruise! I cannot wait!!! I'll be going as a guest and also trying to take pics & think of things from a TA perspective! I think it makes it more exciting!!! But I definitely want to spend tons & tons of time relaxing!!!

Your food choices so far for Food & Wine sound amazing!!! But no "dessert & champagne" ???? I live for Disney desserts!!!! I would choose the closest option to chocolate, coffee, or dessert at every location! So its probably a good thing that we aren't going during F&W!

It's so weird too -- I'm not a heavy drinker, but now that I can't have it at all, I read all these DIS reports & just want to try a Grey Goose Slushie!!! Ironically, I had my next PTR post already written a few months ago and never posted it -- it was a bunch of questions as to which beverages to choose! I've only had 1 alcoholic beverage at Disney since I turned 21 so I'm pretty clueless about the options! Oh well, I'll just save it for next trip!

The snorkling looked lots of fun -- but I'm terrified of going underwater so I guess that isn't for me. The pictures of the reefs were really pretty! I know what you mean about buying an underwater camera for just one event -- my mom really wants to take a camera to the water parks. They usually go at least 3-4 days -- but she doesn't want to buy another camera just for that. I told her to just buy a few waterproof disposables & its better than nothing if she really, really wants pics from the water parks.

My grandma has COPD and asthma and she can't be outside AT ALL in this weather. I feel so bad for her. She can't/doesn't drive either -- so we have to call & check on her to make sure she's ok if no one is visiting her that day. She lives alone but there are relatives close by so that helps. I've been worrying alot about her since our temps have been in the mid 90's to low 100's this past week. I'm really, really glad to hear that your grandma is ok & will be released from the hospital!!! That was quite a scare you got! Please update us & let us know she's home ok!!!

I know that I had fifty other things to say but now that my laptop lost my entire post, I can't remember! I'm going to go back & read and then I'll post again!

 

[tammz]

I am going to read this from the begining I am a single mom planing a trip in april 2012 so I am sure I can get some ideas from your trip alone with your son! thanks for sharing!

 

[stephielela]

I was REALLY bummed because I even had the next day off! I'm still pouting about it

What about the Twilight series? I would totally see those at a midnight showing as well. I'm a dork, I know, lol.

I like them, but not as much.

I hope your grandmother stays okay in this heat! That's not a good thing, and I'm glad her nurse came by!

Anyway, the movie nights look really cute!

Thanks Dana! Yeah, she was super lucky. I will post an update about her momentarily.

I just wrote an entire response to your updates & my stupid new laptop erased it all! Grrr...I'm sooo frustrated with this thing! It has something to do with the factory settings & the touchpad but I haven't had a chance to fix it yet. I seriously need to because I'm already far enough behind on all my DIS subs! I don't need my laptop erasing all my posts too!

I was only 3 updates behind, not that bad, right?

I am so behind on everything... That's why I post so many things at once
I LOOOOOVE reading about your Disney movie nights!!! I thought the bugles were very creative for Sword in the Stone & Jack's idea for using the light sticks to make a hat was great!!!!

You always come up with the most creative ideas for food for the movie nights! Maybe I should enlist your help if I ever start having them! (Remember when I said I was going to have weekly movie nights? Yep, never happened! )

Luke actually watches a Disney movie at least once a day -- so I should just start making lunch to coorespond with that particular movie! We watched a Ratatouille marathon yesterday (I think we watched it 3 times on tv and then twice on his DVD player). We also watched Toy Story 1, 2 and 3 the day before and Toy Story 2 again this afternoon! He really loves Buzz & Woody! He wasn't interested in TS until recently and now I can't get him to stop watching it & talking about the characters!!! LOL

Disney Movie Lunches are cool too! Jack was that way about TS for a looooong time. He still loves it, but right now is more hooked on Cars. We saw Cars 2 again last night, this time in 3D.
(My laptop is crazy -- it just played music for no reason? Hmmm, it says my battery life is only an hour, maybe that's why!)

Your cruise updates were great!!! It really makes me excited for my first cruise! I cannot wait!!! I'll be going as a guest and also trying to take pics & think of things from a TA perspective! I think it makes it more exciting!!! But I definitely want to spend tons & tons of time relaxing!!!

I really enjoy cruising. I can't wait to try out the Dream, but I think I will probably not be able to afford Disney cruises very often. Other cruiselines definitely don't have the Disney *touch* but they are more reasonable price wise. We will do the Dream in 2013, but probably longer cruises will have to be on different lines.
Your food choices so far for Food & Wine sound amazing!!! But no "dessert & champagne" ???? I live for Disney desserts!!!! I would choose the closest option to chocolate, coffee, or dessert at every location! So its probably a good thing that we aren't going during F&W!

It's so weird too -- I'm not a heavy drinker, but now that I can't have it at all, I read all these DIS reports & just want to try a Grey Goose Slushie!!! Ironically, I had my next PTR post already written a few months ago and never posted it -- it was a bunch of questions as to which beverages to choose! I've only had 1 alcoholic beverage at Disney since I turned 21 so I'm pretty clueless about the options! Oh well, I'll just save it for next trip!

The Grey Goose slushie is awesome. I am not a heavy drinker generally, but I can be, lol. I figure most of my drinks will be sweet, so I leaned towards savory food.
The snorkling looked lots of fun -- but I'm terrified of going underwater so I guess that isn't for me. The pictures of the reefs were really pretty! I know what you mean about buying an underwater camera for just one event -- my mom really wants to take a camera to the water parks. They usually go at least 3-4 days -- but she doesn't want to buy another camera just for that. I told her to just buy a few waterproof disposables & its better than nothing if she really, really wants pics from the water parks.

That's what I would do, the picture quality isn't fantastic, but that's ok.

My grandma has COPD and asthma and she can't be outside AT ALL in this weather. I feel so bad for her. She can't/doesn't drive either -- so we have to call & check on her to make sure she's ok if no one is visiting her that day. She lives alone but there are relatives close by so that helps. I've been worrying alot about her since our temps have been in the mid 90's to low 100's this past week. I'm really, really glad to hear that your grandma is ok & will be released from the hospital!!! That was quite a scare you got! Please update us & let us know she's home ok!!!

I will post an update about her in a minute. That would be awful, not being able to go outside! This weather is so dangerous for older people. I hope it cools down a bit soon.
I know that I had fifty other things to say but now that my laptop lost my entire post, I can't remember! I'm going to go back & read and then I'll post again!

I am going to read this from the begining I am a single mom planing a trip in april 2012 so I am sure I can get some ideas from your trip alone with your son! thanks for sharing!

Welcome
Traveling with a toddler is interesting, but fun! Do you have a DD or a DS? How old? Down below you will see a link for my fall TR for 2010, that was just me and DS as well, so you can check that out if you like!!

 

[stephielela]

So, my grandmother isn't doing as well as we originally thought. She is still in the hospital and will be there until Monday at least. They can't get her fever to come down and she is pretty lethargic. I haven't seen her yet, but my mom went by yesterday and my dad was there for a while last night. It takes her a really long time to get over things, probably because she's in her 80's, older people don't bounce back as fast. I don't think it's super serious yet, but it is a bit worrisome. It of course complicates things, since she is currently in an independent living situation, and we are considering the possibility she will need to move to assisted living, but I am sure she will not want to, so it will be difficult regardless. Thanks for all the kind wishes, I will keep you updated!

 

[DisneyFirefly]

So, my grandmother isn't doing as well as we originally thought. She is still in the hospital and will be there until Monday at least. They can't get her fever to come down and she is pretty lethargic. I haven't seen her yet, but my mom went by yesterday and my dad was there for a while last night. It takes her a really long time to get over things, probably because she's in her 80's, older people don't bounce back as fast. I don't think it's super serious yet, but it is a bit worrisome. It of course complicates things, since she is currently in an independent living situation, and we are considering the possibility she will need to move to assisted living, but I am sure she will not want to, so it will be difficult regardless. Thanks for all the kind wishes, I will keep you updated!

Oh no I really hope that she gets better soon. If she does go into assisted living, make sure you guys do your research. Do you know if there's a supportive living program where you guys live? It's basically the same thing, except that SLFs accept state aid, whereas most ALFs don't. In all honesty, an assisted living situation might be the best for her, especially considering the heat. I used to work at an SLF, so if you have any questions, let me know.

 

[stephielela]

Oh no I really hope that she gets better soon. If she does go into assisted living, make sure you guys do your research. Do you know if there's a supportive living program where you guys live? It's basically the same thing, except that SLFs accept state aid, whereas most ALFs don't. In all honesty, an assisted living situation might be the best for her, especially considering the heat. I used to work at an SLF, so if you have any questions, let me know.

Thanks Dana!!

 

[stephielela]

My grandmother got released on Monday, she made a pretty speedy recovery, and for now, she is staying where she is at. My dad will probably start talking to her this weekend about at least getting a medic alert bracelet, and perhaps we will try to ease her into the idea of assisted living. She is pretty mobile and self sufficient, it's just when she is sick or something goes wrong that things get tricky. But for now, all is well...

Except for my dog. I took her to the groomers Monday to get her hair cut and everything and they found a tumor. She is having it removed this coming Monday. I swear, I just want one year when I don't have someone having something removed. Last year, Jack had his lymph node surgery. Now Zsa Zsa, and in January Jack is having his tonsils out. It never ends!!! Ok, rant over.

I've started doing some trip shopping and will post pics soon!!

 

[DisneyFirefly]

She is pretty mobile and self sufficient, it's just when she is sick or something goes wrong that things get tricky. But for now, all is well...

We had some residents like that at my facility. Honestly, they appreciated the services they received at the facility. Some residents needed more services than others (housekeeping, laundry, etc), but others were only there in case something happened. They didn't need much in the way of assistance, but were still there because of the chance of something happening, like falling in the shower or what have you. We checked on everyone several times a day (usually just at meal times, to make sure they were coming or not), but we also didn't push for providing more care or services than they needed. One woman in particular only needed occasional help with housekeeping, arranging transportation, and cooking. She was almost entirely only there because of the emergency factor, and was extremely self-sufficient beyond that. It's not an easy decision, but it can definitely help you guys feel more comfortable about her safety and well-being.

 

[stephielela]

We had some residents like that at my facility. Honestly, they appreciated the services they received at the facility. Some residents needed more services than others (housekeeping, laundry, etc), but others were only there in case something happened. They didn't need much in the way of assistance, but were still there because of the chance of something happening, like falling in the shower or what have you. We checked on everyone several times a day (usually just at meal times, to make sure they were coming or not), but we also didn't push for providing more care or services than they needed. One woman in particular only needed occasional help with housekeeping, arranging transportation, and cooking. She was almost entirely only there because of the emergency factor, and was extremely self-sufficient beyond that. It's not an easy decision, but it can definitely help you guys feel more comfortable about her safety and well-being.

That's really good to know! I hope they can talk her into it. I think it would bring down the stress level for everyone.

 

[tlenzendorf]

I hope you guys can figure something out that makes everyone happy, too.

Guess what! I FINALLY get to see Harry Potter tomorrow night! So excited, even though it's 2 weeks late!

 

[stephielela]

It's already started... the need to purchase items for my trip. I tried to hold off as long as possible, but it's the one thing I can't seem to procrastinate about!

I "needed" a new carry on bag. Need is a strong word, what I needed was a bag that I could pack my clothes for our first day (since ME won't deliver our luggage until the next morning), PJ's, toothbrush etc, plus our park stuff for the first day (Epcot). Jack has a backpack that is big enough for his stuff, on the plane, and then I think we will use his little rolling suitcase as well. I have my Vera Bradley duffel, which I love, but it's so big. I need something smaller since I will have to wrestle Jack and his backpack and mini suitcase, and I will probably take my backpack on as well. I have a LOT of luggage. I have many carry on type bags, but none were just right. Mostly they were either too big, or didn't close. I started searching on Ebags for one, since I have a coupon for them, but nothing "tripped my trigger". I had almost decided to make do with what I have until I found the perfect bag at Target (where else?!) So here it is:

It is perfect, just the right size, several pockets, and both hand and shoulder straps. It's super light too. I love it, and it was only $20.

Next came the realzation that I may not end up on the QSDP or any DP for that matter. I haven't given up hope, but I am already signed up for a fridge swap, so I thought I should start planning for the contigency that we would not be on a plan...

They had a cute pirate water bottle and sandwich container for Jack in the dollar section, and those bowls and cups were both only $.59 (for 4) on clearance. I figure I can leave them with the fridge when I am done.

I couldn't resist these Kleenex packets, and they were like $.39 so I bought 2 of each design. Last year we got the Toy Story ones and I was kicking myself when we ran out.

The hanging organizer I though would come in handy for organizing our clothes/park stuff for the next day. When I have to get up early, I want to be able to roll out of bed and have everything ready for me. This way I can lay out our clothes and everything in advance.

Ok, I am a huge fan of back-to-school time. I LOVE school supplies, so I have spent an unnatural amount of time at Target in their back to school section.

I got the pencil box for days when I carry my backpack into the parks. I can throw my cards, cell phone, and KTTW into it (I tested it to make sure my cell phone fit) and it's relatively waterproof. I will still take a ziploc for Kali River Rapids, but for everything else, it should be fine. The index card holder is for the touring plan cards I will make (and not follow). The fans are self explanatory, and relatively cheap! The Toy Story bucket and Cars socks are two of Jack's surprise items (I will give him those on our DHS day). The Bed Head products were my treat for referring two people to my hair dresser. They are travel sized and perfect for vacation!

I know I have more stuff, but I have it all down in the basement, so I need to start digging it out and organizing. I am hoping to start reorganizing my whole basement next week, so that should help

 

[tlenzendorf]

Looking at your purchases makes me want a new park bag, too! I want something smaller than I had last time. I was an idiot and carried our purchases around forgetting we could get them sent back to the front of the park or our resort Also reminds me we need some fans. I LOVE the pencil case holder idea for carrying cards and stuff around! A good place to stick fast passes, also!

 

[stephielela]

Looking at your purchases makes me want a new park bag, too! I want something smaller than I had last time. I was an idiot and carried our purchases around forgetting we could get them sent back to the front of the park or our resort Also reminds me we need some fans. I LOVE the pencil case holder idea for carrying cards and stuff around! A good place to stick fast passes, also!

For the parks, I think I am mostly just going to use my Vera Bradley mini hipster and my backpack. I would prefer to not bring the backpack at all, and some days I might not, since Jack is potty trained so I don't have to haul as much anymore, but days that we are going to be at the parks with no break, I will want to bring more stuff, and probably an extra shirt for Jack. I always worry about losing fastpasses, so I am glad I have a safe place for them!

 

[tlenzendorf]

For the parks, I think I am mostly just going to use my Vera Bradley mini hipster and my backpack. I would prefer to not bring the backpack at all, and some days I might not, since Jack is potty trained so I don't have to haul as much anymore, but days that we are going to be at the parks with no break, I will want to bring more stuff, and probably an extra shirt for Jack. I always worry about losing fastpasses, so I am glad I have a safe place for them!

I used my backpack and it's just so BIG... This trip I don't think we are doing autograph books which helps, but everyone wants their own cameras. Ends up being 5 cameras! And guess who carries them when the kids aren't taking photos I'm really trying to pare down what we carry in the park, but it's hard!

 

[jenseib]

I love all the purchases. I'm not buying anything for this trip for the most part..Ok, I bought shorts and made those t-shirts, but I am wearing the shorts all summer, so they weren't for just the trip, it was because I am fat! LOL!
I miss buying the goodies, but for just me, I really can use what we have left from last trip....and I hope to buy a few goodies for myself down there!

 

[stephielela]

So, I have some bittersweet news... This trip is canceled!

I know, you are thinking WHAT????? Here's why...

We are doing a 7 night Mexican Riviera cruise on the Wonder and 2 days at Disneyland instead!!!!!!

Through my agency, I managed to get a super sweet Travel Agent Appreciation Offer, so the cruise cost me $671 for me and Jack. All gratuity is already included, so technically, I could get on the boat, and as long as I didn't add shore excursions, buy anything, or have any alcohol, I wouldn't pay another dime. Of course, we all know that's not happening, but still, it's an awesome deal that I could not pass up. We added 2 days at DLR since we will be so close.

I am a little sad that I won't get to go to F&W or MNSSHP, but our cruise sails over Halloween, so I am hoping they will have some sort of party on the ship. I know we will have an awesome time, and since the total cost of this trip will barely be more than what I was going to pay for our 5 day WDW trip, and is twice is long, I know it's the right decision. I will start a new PTR soon, and I will post the link here!

 

[DisneyFirefly]

Canceled?! At least it's for a wonderful reason! That's awesome!

 

[jenseib]

I was waiting for this to be announced! Wooohoo!

 

[stephielela]

Here is the link to my new PTR! I will still finish my May cruise mini TR here... eventually

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Boo to having to cancel but YAY for the new trip instead!!!! Wow!