No Grumpy Guses Allowed! Updated 5/15- We have plane tickets!

[-Hope-]

I think the DP works for some people but I don't like it for our family. We've done it in the past and it was fine but this time I'm trying it without it for exactly the same reason as you stated: flexibility. We often share entrees or get appetizers. We rarely get desserts and if we do we split one among the four of us.

Getting gift cards is a great idea. In the past we've used our Disney Visa reward $$ on food.

That's our thinking as well. Don't have a Disney Visa but that's a great use of the rewards!

 

[Emduc]

I learned all about changing things from the master.

The main reason I was considering gift cards is because I can just go to Walgreens and get one when I have extra money so I'm not tempted to use it for something else. But I kind if forgot about the convenience of the MB so maybe I'll just have to try to be disciplined.

i do know that you can get disney giftcards at Sam's Club for a little cheaper than face value. Maybe save a little more money!

 

[-Hope-]

i do know that you can get disney giftcards at Sam's Club for a little cheaper than face value. Maybe save a little more money!

Oh, that's good to know! I don't have a membership but my mom does.

 

[-Hope-]

Okay, completely off topic but I'm too excited not to share!

I teach an Adult Education class (like GED but our state gives the HiSET instead of GED) a couple of days a week and generally make up my schedule in late April/early May for the upcoming fiscal year. It's just me so no extra days off otherwise people show up to enroll and no one is there which may not seem like a huge deal but for adults mustering up the courage to tackle this challenge it can be a deal breaker. So, no extra days off no matter how much I need a break. EXCEPT when I made the calendar for this year I didn't know that the high school (who allows me use of a classroom) was going to need the room on a day in March when I scheduled class. Soooo... long story short I have an extra Monday off at the end of March.

Now, I'm sure you're wondering what exactly is so exciting about a Monday off.

Weeeellll... (imagine that in David Tenant's voice. Unless you're not a Doctor Who fan in which case just know I said in a very awesome way)

We're doing a mini-trip to Washington DC!

And by we I mean Kya, (possibly) one of her friends, my mom, and me!

You already know Kya and I. I don't have any pics of the friend (possibly) going with us on my photobucket and I'm at work (shhhh!) but here's a shot of my mom enjoying a beer with Barnie at Moe's Tavern on our trip to UO.



We'd actually talked about this trip a couple of months ago and then my mom started looking for another job and wasn't sure she'd be able to go. She loves DC and really wanted to go so we decided to wait until she could go with us. Long story short, she's not switching jobs for now so the trip is back on.

And now I take a break from maddisneyplanning for a little madedcplanning.

Oh, and I'm sure you noticed The Grumpies aren't coming on this trip either. Don't feel too bad for them... I DID offer!

 

[ursalita]

That is exciting! I've never been (I can't believe I never went on a school trip ) and I'm dying to take my boys. I'm just going to wait until they're a little older. I really want them to get something out of it.

And that's a great time to go. Will the trees be in bloom by then?

 

[-Hope-]

That is exciting! I've never been (I can't believe I never went on a school trip ) and I'm dying to take my boys. I'm just going to wait until they're a little older. I really want them to get something out of it. And that's a great time to go. Will the trees be in bloom by then?

Yes!!! That's one of the things I'm sooo excited about- the cherry blossoms should be in full bloom!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Oh yay!!!!! We REALLY need to hang out (I say as I'm going in to a very busy weekend of work including 15 miles of training runs)! I feel like we have no clue what's going on with each other! I don't even think I've told you about what's going on with Rey. Maybe next week???

 

[-Hope-]

Oh yay!!!!! We REALLY need to hang out (I say as I'm going in to a very busy weekend of work including 15 miles of training runs)! I feel like we have no clue what's going on with each other! I don't even think I've told you about what's going on with Rey. Maybe next week???

Yes!! You name it and I'll make it work!! I've got 3 sub days on my calendar next month but I've told them that's it so even though I'm still busy my schedule is a lot more flexible now.

ETA: And I generally find myself wandering aimlessly on Thursday afternoons waiting for Kya....

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Yes!! You name it and I'll make it work!! I've got 3 sub days on my calendar next month but I've told them that's it so even though I'm still busy my schedule is a lot more flexible now.

ETA: And I generally find myself wandering aimlessly on Thursday afternoons waiting for Kya....

Unfortunately I ALWAYS have petsits and classes to get the boys to on Thursday...and might I add it's the ONLY HOUR that all the kids are out of the house every week, so you don't get top priority for that hour, if you catch my drift!

 

[-Hope-]

Unfortunately I ALWAYS have petsits and classes to get the boys to on Thursday...and might I add it's the ONLY HOUR that all the kids are out of the house every week, so you don't get top priority for that hour, if you catch my drift!

Bahahaha!

Well, my Wednesday and Friday afternoons are usually pretty open. And any evening that I don't have class. Just let me know.

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Hi!!! I'm Ann and I'm a LURKER........

 

[Victoriasmom98]

As for your debate on Dining plan vs no plan here's my take ----- you've already done the figures and for you, the dining plan would be more expensive for the way you two do your meals. For my family, we enjoy food ---- by the looks of us a bit too much, but I digress......the Dining Plan works for us as we wouldn't get desserts if they were not included and we LOVE desserts!! Even the little snack cakes they call chocolate cake. Sometimes they have those delicious cupcakes as a dessert choice and who can resist those?? I like having the credits on the band so it becomes something that we really don't have to think about. Peter loves table service meals, so I think if a person wants to do one TS per day, the plan works out to their benefit.

 

[-Hope-]

Hi!!! I'm Ann and I'm a LURKER........

 

[-Hope-]

As for your debate on Dining plan vs no plan here's my take ----- you've already done the figures and for you, the dining plan would be more expensive for the way you two do your meals. For my family, we enjoy food ---- by the looks of us a bit too much, but I digress......the Dining Plan works for us as we wouldn't get desserts if they were not included and we LOVE desserts!! Even the little snack cakes they call chocolate cake. Sometimes they have those delicious cupcakes as a dessert choice and who can resist those?? I like having the credits on the band so it becomes something that we really don't have to think about. Peter loves table service meals, so I think if a person wants to do one TS per day, the plan works out to their benefit.

Yes, I totally agree! I think it's different for everyone.

 

[Steppesister]

I actually tried to respond yesterday, but got busy... I have a bad feeling I"m about to have to give up a LOT more of my DIS time to devote to studying, but ah well....

Anyway, in 2010 I arranged A HUGE DISMeet in DC, and some of the folks on my PTR came out to meet one another and have a wonderful day together touring and eating. My sister lives in the area, so once in a while get to visit there.

You're going to have a GREAT time even without the Grumpys not going. In fact, you may have an even better time!!

 

[-Hope-]

I actually tried to respond yesterday, but got busy... I have a bad feeling I"m about to have to give up a LOT more of my DIS time to devote to studying, but ah well.... Anyway, in 2010 I arranged A HUGE DISMeet in DC, and some of the folks on my PTR came out to meet one another and have a wonderful day together touring and eating. My sister lives in the area, so once in a while get to visit there. You're going to have a GREAT time even without the Grumpys not going. In fact, you may have an even better time!!

Well, I guess your studies are at least as important as DIS time.

A big dis meet sounds like so much fun! We never have extra time when we travel because I'm always skimming days so I can save money for another trip somewhere in a few months.

I'm really excited about this trip.

 

[Steppesister]

Well, I guess your studies are at least as important as DIS time.

A big dis meet sounds like so much fun! We never have extra time when we travel because I'm always skimming days so I can save money for another trip somewhere in a few months.

I'm really excited about this trip.

Then you really should think about Oct. 2016.

Yes, they kinda are, I guess. :goes off reluctantly to study:

 

[-Hope-]

Then you really should think about Oct. 2016.

When I win the lottery I will go to Disney as much as I want. For now I'm trying to talk my brother into letting me kidnap his daughter (and her momma) for a trip before Hazel turns 3. That's fall 2016 so... one of these days I'm gonna take a girls trip though!

 

[-Hope-]

I hope you don't mind indulging my non-Disney chatter a bit more but Disney planning is suspended while I'm ironing out the details for DC.

Here are some gratuitous pics from the Hall of President's in a lame attempt to tie DC and Disney together;








I really do HoP.

Anyway, back to DC chatter. Yesterday I booked our hotels. Plural because we're driving and will stop overnight on the way there and back. Here's what our itinerary looks like:

Friday March 27:

• Stop in St. Louis to pick up a rental car. I still have to book this and figure out where we'll park our car. I *think* if I choose a rental car company away from the airport (which is cheaper anyway) I'll be able to just leave my car there but I have to double check. If I have to pay for parking it may end up cheaper to use a rental company closer to home.
• We'll probably pack a cooler and have a picnic lunch along the way. There's a really cool website called RoadTrippers that helps you find interesting stops along your driving route so we'll look for a cool touristy thing (like the worlds largest golf ball or a tiny train museum or something) and enjoy a picnic when we stop.
• We'll stop in Pitsburgh for the night. That leaves us just over 3 hours from DC so we'll have time to explore a bit when we get into town the next day.

March 28-31:
We'll be at the Residence Inn Capitol View for 3 nights. So, 2 full days and 2 partial days to explore the city. Our must do's include:

• White House Visitor Center
• Capitol
• Washington Monument
• Smithsonian- Native American and American History are our top picks
• Time to walk and explore the National Mall area and see the memorials there

Other things high on our priority list but dependent on how much time we have and how we're feeling about all of the touring:

• Arlington National Cemetary
• Holocaust Memorial Museum
• Ford's Theater
• A science based Smithsonian Museum- either Air and Space or Natural History

March 31:

• Check out of hotel
• If there's anything from the above list we want to make time for before we go, we will
• Drive to Dayton- we decided to split the trip more evenly on the way home because we figure we'll be more tired and won't want to spend as much time in the car.

April 1:

• Mostly we're just headed home this day HOWEVER we're driving through Indianapolis. Which means we're driving through the hometown of John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska, Papertowns, and more. He actually used Indianapolis as the setting for TFIOS and one of the locations that stands out the most is the Funky Bones play sculpture. I promised Kya we'd stop there so she can see it and depending on time and energy we may try for a few other TFIOS landmarks as well.
• After Indianapolis we'll head to St. Louis to drop off the rental car and head home!

So, that's it. I'm still researching restaurants in the areas of DC where we're traveling, trying to figure out if we need appointments/to schedule tours at various places, and looking at RoadTrippers for interesting places where we can stop to stretch our legs on the drive- my mom has back issues and I think we'll need to stop every 2-3 hours so we might as well see the world's largest ball of stamps if we're stopping anyway. If you know the area and have any suggestions let me know!

 

[-Hope-]

WE INTERRUPT THIS PTR TO BRING YOU SOME EXCITING NEWS!!

​

I just realized today that Food and Wine will still be going on during my trip!!

I'm so happy! I don't know how this slid under my radar. I guess I just thought it was an October thing but it goes through the middle of November which means I'm REALLY REALLY sure we won't be needing a TS meal at Epcot.

YOU MAY NOW RETURN TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PTR!!