Now a Trip Report!!! Will We Stay or Will We Go? A Thanksgiving Pre-Trip/Trip Report

[mousescrapper]

can't wait to see the countdown...and I know that feeeling of numb fingers from crafting.... yesterday I was hole punching this little Disney ABC book I am making for Naomi-Ruth punching through laminated carstock...ouch!

and hey speaking of b-days...my Dad's b-day is the 28th...mine is the 30th

I'm always fearful I'll miss count those credits...I double check many times...almost like Santas checking his list....

there is a cool dining credit punch card thread out there if you think something like that might help you keep check while you are in the parks...

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1723996

not sure if she is still making custom one's but I made my own on the computer too....

J~

 

[jillyb]

I figured that would be the review on The Revenge of Kitty Galore. I think we will pass on it until we can get it at the Redbox.

Do we get to see pictures of the countdown when it is finished???

Definitely get it from Redbox! This is one movie that should have just gone straight to DVD.

Pictures coming right up! (Unless my boss walks in, in which case you'll just have to wait! )

Looking forward to seeing the finished product!

Coming right up!

can't wait to see the countdown...and I know that feeeling of numb fingers from crafting.... yesterday I was hole punching this little Disney ABC book I am making for Naomi-Ruth punching through laminated carstock...ouch!

and hey speaking of b-days...my Dad's b-day is the 28th...mine is the 30th

I'm always fearful I'll miss count those credits...I double check many times...almost like Santas checking his list....

there is a cool dining credit punch card thread out there if you think something like that might help you keep check while you are in the parks...

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1723996

not sure if she is still making custom one's but I made my own on the computer too....

J~

Ouch is right on hole punching laminated cardstock! I've enjoyed seeing all the neat things you're making for your trip.

Sounds like there will be lots of celebrating coming up for your family!

Thanks for the link for the dining punch cards. I put in a request last night.

Update coming up!

 

[jillyb]

First I just want to say 100 days today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tomorrow I get to start the double digit dance!!!!

Hannah is spending the next two nights at MILs so I had her go ahead and take off two days on the countdown calendar this morning. So as not to prolong the suspense, here is the calendar:

It was alot of work, and I'm sure if I'd given myself enough time I could have figured out a much easier way to do it. Even though it was labor intensive I still enjoyed making it and I'm pleased with how it turned out. Alison helped me out on Saturday by trimming down the numbers I had printed out. She also helped cut some out. She couldn't take much of that!

And I just have to show ya'll this picture!

Doesn't she look thrilled to death??!! I was a bad Mommy and was interrupting her viewing of "Good Luck Charlie".

Sunday I made t-shirts for the girls and me and one for Clay.

Surprisingly, Clay really liked his shirt! He did say he thought the design needed to be bigger and he got on the computer and resized the image. He also said even though he liked the design I picked he'd like to see if there was something different. He wants me to make a few more shirts. Who knew he'd be into that???!!! Alison said she'd like for me to make a few more for her too. Looks like I'm going to have to find some more DISigns!

It was another busy weekend at our house. It was tax free weekend and I had some coupons so it was a perfect time to do some shopping! Clay and Alison went to his parent's house to see what was wrong with his Dad's car. Hannah, Madison and I headed to Staples where I bought Madison's school supplies. I'd already gotten everything I needed for Hannah so it was off to find t-shirts and iron-on transfer paper. But before that we made a stop at Brusters for ice cream. We then went to Hobby Lobby but I didn't like their t-shirts. I did, however, buy a book for Hannah and a coloring book for Madison.

I called Clay as we were leaving Hobby Lobby and he and Alison were just leaving Staples. The "she only needs 3-three ring binders" turned in to 3-three ring binders, an 8gb flash drive, 4 composition notebooks and a TI34 calculator. It's not a problem helping with the school supplies, it's just ridiculous that the Ex thinks she's got to hook him before telling him what's really needed. Since we still needed to get Alison some shirts for school I told him I'd drop Hannah and Madison off with him and then Alison and I would finish up the shopping.

Our first stop was A.C. Moore, where I found some really nice Hanes t-shirts and got the iron-on transfer paper I needed. With that taken care of it was off to Kohl's to find some shirts for Alison. A co-worker had given me a coupon on Friday that she wasn't going to use. It was for 15% off any one item or 20% any purchase of $100 or more. Kohl's had a really awesome sale going! They had alot of their summer clothes on clearance or at least marked down. I found a rack with MUDD brand jeans on clearance rack for 70% off. I wasn't sure what size Alison wore so I got a couple of sizes for her to try on. After we figured out what size she needed I went back to the rack to see if they had more in that size. There were two pairs left in her size and I snagged those bad boys! These jeans are normally $29.99 and they were marked down to $8.99. Score!!!!! She ended up with 4 shirts, 3 pairs of jeans and 2 bras. It was under $100 so I got 15% off on top of the sale price plus no tax. I saved $140.00. Not bad if I do say so! The jeans are staying at our house but the shirts and bras went home with her on Monday.

On Sunday afternoon, Alison, MIL, SIL and I went to the Tot Trade consignment sale. This was the last day so I really wasn't expecting to find a whole lot. If you have a baby or toddler this is the sale you need to hit. I did manage to find a couple pairs of jeans for Hannah and a really nice winter coat ($10.00!!!) and another pair of jeans for Alison. My SIL got lots of stuff for her two girls. In my search I'd found a pink and white fleece jacket with Scooby-Doo on it. My SIL is a big Scooby-Doo fan and the girls like him too. It was the right size so I snagged it. She was very happy when I gave it to her.

(continued in next post)

 

[jillyb]

From there we went to Kohl's because SIL needed to buy uniforms for the girls. I bought a shirt for Clay and found a cute pair of PJs for Hannah. Here's the pjs:

Here's some pjs I bought for Alison a while back:

After we'd spent all we could we headed back to the house. Some of the things SIL had bought for her oldest were too big so I ended up with a pair of pants and a lightweight jacket for Hannah. I had some jackets that Hannah had outgrown so I gave those to SIL. I also had a ton of Hannah's winter clothes from last year so SIL and I, along with the girls, went upstairs to see what I had that her oldest could wear. Even with all the stuff Hannah had outgrown there was still quite a bit that she can still wear (keeping fingers crossed she doesn't go through a growth spurt before cooler weather!) so it was a good clothes day for SIL and I.

My niece and nephew were staying with my Mom for a few days and she asked if Hannah could stay with her for a couple of days. So, she spent the night their Sunday and Monday. Monday night Clay and I talked about the trip. I told him about the DxDP and asked him what he thought about changing from the DDP to the DxDP. He definitely liked it better than the DDP since you get three meals a day, two snacks and the refillable mugs. To him, getting the refillable mugs was worth the added expense alone! Plus, it's a bit more straight forward than the DDP since they don't differentiate between a TS and a CS. He is one of those people that has to have three meals a day. Also, I found out that he really wasn't a fan of any of the CS meals we had on our first trip. He told me to check and see how much more it would be.

Yesterday I called WDW Travel and 1) had them take off the extra ticket so we are now back to 8 day MYW base tickets and 2) price out changing from the DDP to DxDP. Yeah...that'll be an extra $752.00 thank you very much. I tell her "I'll get back to you on that!" I e-mail Clay and give him the rundown on the numbers. I'm thinking he'll say that's too much. Nope...he tells me "You're the one handling all this and you know what your budget is." Thanks honey. He did say that when you compare it to what we spent on food for our first trip that we brought with us that the money is probably about the same. Alrighty then!

I knew there was no way we'd be able to change to the DxDP staying at POR. I'm already pretty tight on the finances and this would just push us over the edge. But it would really be nice not to worry (too much!) about how many TS credits we have and how many CS credits we have. I knew what I was going to have to do....change our resort. So, I called up WDW Travel and had them check for availability at Pop for our dates and for availability using the 30% off pin code. Yep...they've got the rooms and I can use the 30% pin code. We are now booked at Pop from 11/19 - 11/27 with 8 day MYW base tickets and the DxDP. I did splurge just a bit and got a preferred room.

Last night I came "clean" with Clay. I told him of my original plan for us to stay at POR but I had to change to Pop. I also told him I "fired" the TA and was handling everything myself. He just laughed at me and told me he never understood why I wasn't handling it myself to begin with. He really liked Pop and I think he's happy that we're staying there instead of POR. I know the girls will be happy because they really loved the Hippy Dippy pool. I'm sad that we won't be staying at POR but I'm happy with Pop too. After all, we'll be at Disney World!!!

 

[jillyb]

Here's our dining punch card DISigned by M I C K E Y (Amy):

Love it! I'm a visual person so this is a tremendous help. Thanks for the tip Poolrat and mousescrapper!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Hurray for 100 days!!!

Even though Hannah looks less than thrilled to be posing, the countdown calendar(s) turned out super cute!!! Good job!!!

He he he! Too funny that Clay is all into the shirt designs! Who would have thought? Maybe I should try that with Charles!

You'll have a great time at Pop! Their food court is the best on property in my opinion!

 

[jillyb]

Hurray for 100 days!!!

Even though Hannah looks less than thrilled to be posing, the countdown calendar(s) turned out super cute!!! Good job!!!

He he he! Too funny that Clay is all into the shirt designs! Who would have thought? Maybe I should try that with Charles!

You'll have a great time at Pop! Their food court is the best on property in my opinion!

Thanks Jackie!

I could not believe about the t-shirts. Definitely give that a try with Charles! Of course, last night I tried to get him to help me with some planning details and he was back to his usual grumpy self.

The Pop food court is very good! We ordered a pizza one night and it was delicious!

 

[jillyb]

99 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Double Digit Dancing!!!

 

[jillyb]

I've been working on our park itinerary tonight. Here's the details where we'll be each day and the ADRs for each day:

November 19: get the girls out of school early and, hopefully, on the road by 1:15...1:30 at the latest. Stop somewhere in Georgia for dinner and arrive at Pop between 11:30 p.m. and midnight.

November 20 - EPCOT: Sleep in; late breakfast at Pop; World Showcase; Rose & Crown dinner ADR @ 5:30; World Showcase somemore; Illuminations

November 21 - AK: RD; Tusker House breakfast ADR @ 10:20; will use GAD FPs for the big attractions; Yak & Yeti dinner ADR @ 5:30 (changed from 5:15); back to Pop for an early evening.

November 22 - EPCOT: RD; hang out in Innoventions and do whatever we want there; use GAD FPs for TT, M:S and Soarin'; Le Cellier lunch ADR @ 11:35; go back to Future World and do whatever we want there; dinner @ Kingla Bakeri Og Cafe in Norway (maybe)

November 23 - MK: Kona breakfast ADR @ 8:00; RD for Toontown to see the Fairies and tour; hit Tomorrowland, Frontierland, Adventureland and Liberty Square; will use GAD FPs for the big attractions; Whispering Canyon Cafe dinner ADR @ 5:45. We will either 1) take an afternoon break and return after dinner; 2) stay until about 5:00 then leave for dinner and not come back or 3) take a break and not go back. Tried to get Clay's thoughs on these options and he said "Let's just wait and see how we feel." If we do go back to the park that night we'll see the MSEP.

November 24 - DHS: may sleep in this morning...depends on if we have a late night the night before; will be using GAD FPs for the big attractions (how many times will we ride TSM???!!!!); Sci-Fi lunch ADR @ 1:35; Osborne Lights; Hollywood Brown Derby Dinner ADR @ 7:15; early night

November 25 - AK: sleeping in; Boma breakfast ADR @ 10:15; do filler-type stuff (i.e., Oasis exhibits, Rafiki's, Pangani Forest, Maharajah Jungle Trek, Flights of Wonder, closer look at the Tree of Life); may do the safari and do whatever attractions we can do; Ohana dinner ADR @ 6:45; watch Electric Water Parade from the Poly beach; TGM meet on the beach to watch Wishes

November 26 - MK: RD; will use GAD FPs; hit Fantasyland, Frontierland, Liberty Square and Adventureland; meet and greet w/Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen; Ariel and Prince Eric and Rapunzel and Flynn (?); The Plaza lunch ADR @ 1:20; LIberty Tree Tavern dinner ADR @ 6:45; will see MSEP if we didn't see them on our first MK day and may see Wishes again. We'll definitely be taking a break after lunch.

November 27 - EP/our last day : sleep in; Coral Reef lunch ADR @ 11:30; see as many Storytellers as we can before we have to leave.

 

[MeMom]

Yay for double digits!

The countdown calendar is great. I love the picture of the giraffes in the background!

The shirts are awesome. Good job! You can really spend hours just looking at all the cool things on the DISigns Board.

 

[jillyb]

Yay for double digits!

The countdown calendar is great. I love the picture of the giraffes in the background!

The shirts are awesome. Good job! You can really spend hours just looking at all the cool things on the DISigns Board.

Thanks MeMom! The giraffes are more of Hannah's artwork. That's her board for her artwork. The other one is Alison's board. Alison took everything off her board last weekend for some reason. I think she was thinking of putting the countdown calendar on it.

It really is easy to spend hours looking at the DISigns board. Such talented people and so generous to share their talent!

 

[Poolrat]

Great countdown calendar!!!

About changing things around again.
I think you will like the ease of the DxDP.
I heard a big announcement is being released Mon Morning about discounts from Oct through 2011. just sayin'

I know you are going through a blackout / holiday time but be sure to check it out to se if you can save even more money.


I loved POP too ! All the buildings have been pretty close to the main building. The first time I was in the 50's all the way near the lake, about as far away as you can get, yet a 5 min walk. Last time I was in the 60's and steps away from the Play Doh can and pool.

for Double Digits.

I will be in the teens Mon.

 

[jillyb]

Great countdown calendar!!!

About changing things around again.
I think you will like the ease of the DxDP.
I heard a big announcement is being released Mon Morning about discounts from Oct through 2011. just sayin'

I know you are going through a blackout / holiday time but be sure to check it out to se if you can save even more money.


I loved POP too ! All the buildings have been pretty close to the main building. The first time I was in the 50's all the way near the lake, about as far away as you can get, yet a 5 min walk. Last time I was in the 60's and steps away from the Play Doh can and pool.

for Double Digits.

I will be in the teens Mon.

Thanks! I'm loving watching the numbers come off! LOL

I saw that about an announcement coming out on Monday. Can't remember where though...maybe my Mousesavers e-mail this morning? At any rate I'll defintely be looking for it bright and early Monday morning!

We were in Building 4 (60's building with the Play Doh can) on our first trip. It was super close to the food court and the pool. I'm hoping we're in that same area on this trip.

Woohoo for hitting the teens tomorrow!!!!

I was thinking we need to get together for lunch. How about a back-to-school lunch on the 25th?

We've had a quiet weekend, which is nice. A friend of mine is having a Tastefully Simple party today at 2:00 so I'll be going to that. I love that stuff! I haven't eaten anything this morning in anticipation of all the yummy stuff I'll be eating soon!

 

[mousescrapper]

Hi Jill,


wanted to say I just love how your calendar turned out...the numbers look great you can tell how hard you worked on it...and too fun you can use it again

We are now booked at Pop from 11/19 - 11/27 with 8 day MYW base tickets and the DxDP. I did splurge just a bit and got a preferred room.

good for you on the switch and upgrade...if you all love the TS...then this is the way to go, glad you can swing it...be nice too, since half of "our" trips the prices are inflated due to the Holiday...

Here's our dining punch card DISigned by M I C K E Y (Amy):

Love it! I'm a visual person so this is a tremendous help. Thanks for the tip Poolrat and mousescrapper!

you are welcome! it's a pretty neat tool....

and too bad you will be arriving so late at Pop on the 19th...it would have been the perfect day for our Dismeet...but we'll be sleeping and then off to BLT/MK bright and early on the 20th...bummer

but we have 5 somewhat matching park days...so in between all the yummy TS dining you'll be doing...we should be able to come up w/ at least two options of meeting


J~

 

[jillyb]

Hi Jill,


wanted to say I just love how your calendar turned out...the numbers look great you can tell how hard you worked on it...and too fun you can use it again



good for you on the switch and upgrade...if you all love the TS...then this is the way to go, glad you can swing it...be nice too, since half of "our" trips the prices are inflated due to the Holiday...



you are welcome! it's a pretty neat tool....

and too bad you will be arriving so late at Pop on the 19th...it would have been the perfect day for our Dismeet...but we'll be sleeping and then off to BLT/MK bright and early on the 20th...bummer

but we have 5 somewhat matching park days...so in between all the yummy TS dining you'll be doing...we should be able to come up w/ at least two options of meeting


J~

Thanks Julie!

With that surcharge during our stay it will definitely be nice to take advantage of some good eatin'!

That stinks we'll miss seeing you at Pop. Trust me...if I could get there earlier I would!

I need to go check your PTR and look at your itinerary again to see when we can meet up.

 

[jillyb]

OK...so at first I was excited when I heard that new discounts were coming out this morning. So, I go onto Mousesavers and see the discounts. Hmmm...not so excited now. Then, of course, I get to thinking how nice that $200.00 gift card would be. Wonder what the difference would be between what we've got now with the room discount and dropping the discount and getting the $200.00 gift card?

Ya'll know what I did right? First I checked online to see what it would be for a preferred room, 8 day base tickets and DxDP. Ouch! That's not going to work. Hmmm...let's change to a standard room, 8 day base tickets and upgrade to the DxDP. Hey! That looks pretty good! OK...how much am I paying now? Wow! I'd only be paying $4.48 more if I drop the 30% off our room and go with the $200.00 gift card! Hello? Walt Disney World Travel? It's me again! I'd like to make a change to my reservation!

It took me a while to get through...there was some technical problems...but I finally got through and spoke to a very nice CM. At first she was trying to tell me that we couldn't get the $200 gift card because our trip fell within the blackout dates. Uhhhh...so did my room discount but I still got it. She checked again and told me that we did qualify so we will now be receiving a $200 gift card when we check-in!

Now I just have to decide if we're going to spend that on souvenirs or on adult beverages!

 

[Poolrat]

I saw that about an announcement coming out on Monday. Can't remember where though...maybe my Mousesavers e-mail this morning? At any rate I'll defintely be looking for it bright and early Monday morning!

I was thinking we need to get together for lunch. How about a back-to-school lunch on the 25th?

Check into the gift card discount. You have 5 days from the 19-23 and will get a $200 gift card. The ticket thing may be a problem with a split stay or maybe they can work it out without really changing the reservation.


Lunch will work on the 25th That is my late day so I need to walk in at 1pm. Can you do 11:30 Epicenter again?

 

[jillyb]

Check into the gift card discount. You have 5 days from the 19-23 and will get a $300 gift card. The ticket thing may be a problem with a split stay or maybe they can work it out without really changing the reservation.


Lunch will work on the 25th That is my late day so I need to walk in at 1pm. Can you do 11:30 Epicenter again?

We're staying at Pop only...no split stay...so it's only a $200 gift card but it's $200 that I didn't have to spend before!

11:30 at the Epicenter works for me? Same place or somewhere different?

 

[Poolrat]

We're staying at Pop only...no split stay...so it's only a $200 gift card but it's $200 that I didn't have to spend before!

11:30 at the Epicenter works for me? Same place or somewhere different?

LOL I was just writing down everything so I would not have to look it up everytime I have a "what if" moment and I realized my mistake and edited before I realized you already replied.

By Split stay I mean have one reservation at POP for the 19th - 23 and then another at POP for the 24th - 27th. Since those are blackout days.
But since it is a gift card and not free dining or a room discount you might be able to keep the whole reservation and get the card. I saved another almost $20 bucks for Oct.

Still thinking though- if you have 30% off and the new promotion will have you paying rack rate so you are saving more than $200 already. NUTS .

Sorry, I am no help.

We could do Jason's again - I may try their salad bar.