OFFICIAL JULY 2009 THREAD!!! (Part 2) It's here!!

[NJBILL]

Hey all - New to this thread - we leave a week from tomorrow morning. I am soo excited!!
Just wondering if anyone else there has any young adults going along with them, My DS (20) is afraid he will be bored and it's driving me crazy. He thinks the whole trip will be just about his little sister (8) and that is soo not true. (It's all about me, ha ha!) We left him home for the last two trips but all we heard after was that we didn't want him with us. That is not true, we always ask him to join us but he didn't want to go. This time we are also bringing my parents so we are making him join us. Grrr, he is a wonderful kid seriously, great values and very smart, He's a junior in college now and I was hoping that he would just enjoy a family trip together before school starts next month. We even invited his girlfriend but she can't join us so now he's thinking he will be bored. I don't want him to ruin our trip but I think it's important that he come with us. I know it would break Grandma and Grandpa's hearts if he doesn't go. Does anyone have any tips for me?? I have already informed him that he doesn't have to hang out with us the whole time and we will give him plenty of free-time but he doesn't seem to care about that.

We had a similar experience a few years back with my 19yr old... The fact that he has a "girl friend" at home makes the situation harder. Our son was a bit mopey, but generally speaking, once he got there..things fell into place, and we all had a good time..I would just let things happen, and not keep trying to convince him before the trip how much fun he will have..just let it happen and try to keep him involved in the process..good luck..

 

[disneydaycare]

I leave on Friday and I haven't even started packing! But most of the laundry is done...

I have so much to do!

I started laundy last night and informed my family that they were not allowed to wear anything they were taking to Disney for the next two days. We also made the obligatory trips to my mom's and grandparents to say goodbye. We have to go back to the grandparents before we leave so they can give the kids spending money. Mom gave hers last night. They always do this. It's very sweet. I can remember my grandparents doing this for me and my sisters on family vacation.
Back to laundry, I have piles of folded clothes in every room with express instructions NOT to touch them.

 

[Born 2B a Princess]

I started laundy last night and informed my family that they were not allowed to wear anything they were taking to Disney for the next two days. We also made the obligatory trips to my mom's and grandparents to say goodbye. We have to go back to the grandparents before we leave so they can give the kids spending money. Mom gave hers last night. They always do this. It's very sweet. I can remember my grandparents doing this for me and my sisters on family vacation.
Back to laundry, I have piles of folded clothes in every room with express instructions NOT to touch them.

I've had such great intentions for the last several nights...but with this mini-cold I haven't had any energy at all. But I'd rather have no energy at home than be at WDW with no energy. Unfortunately, I'll be doing a last minute scramble to get my stuff packed. The girls are under strict instructions to get their laundry finished and their stuff packed today.

I did get my park planner all put together last night so on the way home from work today I'll stop at Office Depot and get it bound. Yea! At least that will be done. I'm still trying to figure out what to do about touring plans for Saturday, since Dad and DH decided they want to do more rides on Saturday which means they won't be in EPCOT with me and Mom the entire day like I had planned. But I don't put my printed out touring plans in my park planner book anyway, so as long as I get those all printed by Friday it will be fine. Still have to do some grocery shopping for the housesitter, but I may end up just leaving cash for her to buy her own groceries. It would be easier.

 

[awaldo]

Anyone recently back with crowd reports? We leave tomorrow on our drive down. I had heard rumors that the summer crowds aren't as big as normal, but wanted a first-hand DISer's POV!

 

[Itinkso]

Anyone recently back with crowd reports? We leave tomorrow on our drive down. I had heard rumors that the summer crowds aren't as big as normal, but wanted a first-hand DISer's POV!

Hey Everyone!
We just got back last night and DDs and I had a great time. The three of us agreed that it was less crowded than we expected! The wait time for Test Track was 90 minutes; Haunted Mansion hovered around a 20 minute wait time and oftentimes, we were able to walk right onto rides: Pirates, Peter Pan during EMH a.m., Splash during EMH late hours. Overall, it didn't seem too crowded!

The weather was quite muggy for us California girls but we were saved by our Misty Mate/O2Cool and our two cases of Costco water. The last two days were very hot/humid with very little rain.

We loved the EMH and stayed until 2 a.m. at MK on Friday! We were in MK until 1 a.m. on Sunday night and DDs were able to ride Splash 3 consecutive times without having to get off! I should have ridden as I served as a table service "meal" for the mosquitoes! And, have discovered I am very allergic to WDW mosquitoes!

We had a great time: loved POFQ, had a great meal at HBD w/Fantasmic, and totally loved the Keys to the Kingdom tour @ MK. We had a great guide who loves Disneyland as much as we do so he made sure to reference DL throughout the tour. We were able to go backstage to watch dancers rehearsing for the parade and then later saw all of them in the parade and then after the parade. Truly magical to see the "backstage" workings of MK.

We were at the parks at either rope drop or EMH morning hours and enjoyed the morning EMH as we were able to ride 3 or more rides within that hour. Only did AK for one day as we were able to accomplish everything we planned there and chose to spend more time at MK/Epcot/DHS. Loved Parkhopping as we were sometimes in 3 parks in one day (we had a rental car)

We looked for LGMH but didn't see any except for the Logo on the black eco bag which can be purchased throughout the parks for only 9.95 w/a purchase of $40.

I'll be happy to answer any questions; we are in San Diego right now and hope to head home to the hot Central Valley this evening. We truly were sad to leave the World!!

 

[disneydaycare]

Still have to do some grocery shopping for the housesitter, but I may end up just leaving cash for her to buy her own groceries. It would be easier.

I run a daycare out of my home. Hence the dis name. I still need to plan the menu and buy groceries for the lady that's going to watch the kids for me. I usually just make sure I have enough of everything and make it as I go. I don't want to do that to her.
I can't believe we only have 2 more days!!!

 

[NJBILL]

For those of us going in a few days..the temps don't look too bad next week according to the ten day outlook

10 Day Forecast - F° View the Detailed Extended Forecast »

Wed
jul 15
Scattered Thunderstorms 90° 76°
Thu
jul 16
PM Thunderstorms 92° 76°
Fri
jul 17
Scattered Thunderstorms 91° 76°
Sat
jul 18
Scattered Thunderstorms 86° 76°
Sun
jul 19
Scattered Thunderstorms 87° 75°
Mon
jul 20
Scattered Thunderstorms 87° 75°
Tue
jul 21
Scattered Thunderstorms 88° 76°
Wed
jul 22
Scattered Thunderstorms 89° 75°
Thu
jul 23
Scattered Thunderstorms 90° 76°
Fri
jul 24
Scattered Thunderstorms 90° 76°

 

[awaldo]

We' will be there same time as you NJBILL! It looks like the forecast is a little cooler than expected. That makes me a Happy Hoosier! We leave on our drive down tomorrow after work (4PM) and plan to drive straight through. Hopefully in time to see the Magic around 2-3 PM Friday!!!!

 

[NJBILL]

We' will be there same time as you NJBILL! It looks like the forecast is a little cooler than expected. That makes me a Happy Hoosier! We leave on our drive down tomorrow after work (4PM) and plan to drive straight through. Hopefully in time to see the Magic around 2-3 PM Friday!!!!

Have a great trip..see you there.. we will be taking the auto-train..

 

[Born 2B a Princess]

Hey Everyone!
We just got back last night and DDs and I had a great time. The three of us agreed that it was less crowded than we expected! The wait time for Test Track was 90 minutes; Haunted Mansion hovered around a 20 minute wait time and oftentimes, we were able to walk right onto rides: Pirates, Peter Pan during EMH a.m., Splash during EMH late hours. Overall, it didn't seem too crowded!

We were at the parks at either rope drop or EMH morning hours and enjoyed the morning EMH as we were able to ride 3 or more rides within that hour. Only did AK for one day as we were able to accomplish everything we planned there and chose to spend more time at MK/Epcot/DHS. Loved Parkhopping as we were sometimes in 3 parks in one day (we had a rental car)

Sounds like you had a great trip! How much rain did you have overall? I'm worry a bit about that for our trip...

About EMH -- UOG and TGM both recommend avoiding the parks that have EMH because of the crowds during the day due to EMH. What are your thoughts?

Did you use your car instead of Disney transportation? I'm still debating a little about that, too. Since we're driving down, we'll have our car and I'm wondering if it would be a better choice to just drive to all of the parks (other than MK) and waterparks ourselves so that we can leave faster at the end of the day or when we want to hop....?

 

[awaldo]

Have a great trip..see you there.. we will be taking the auto-train..

The Autotrain always sounded like a really cool option for your East Coasters. No such option exists for us Midwesterners. So, we drive....

 

[Born 2B a Princess]

For those of us going in a few days..the temps don't look too bad next week according to the ten day outlook

Those aren't bad temps...but I'm worried about the rain. We only had one miserable rain event on our last trip, but it seems like this summer has been much, much more wet! I don't mind scattered afternoon rain...it clears out the parks a bit, LOL. But I would really rather not have tons and tons of continuous rain on a daily basis!

 

[Born 2B a Princess]

Have a great trip..see you there.. we will be taking the auto-train..

That sounds so neat...I've never been on a train (other than the ones at WDW and Disney Land).

 

[NJBILL]

That sounds so neat...I've never been on a train (other than the ones at WDW and Disney Land).

This will be our first Auto-train, but we have done coach Amtrak from Philly 4 times..Kids like it and it is relaxing...

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Temps look great!! I was expecting more like 100 degrees!

 

[Itinkso]

Sounds like you had a great trip! How much rain did you have overall? I'm worry a bit about that for our trip...
It rained on a daily basis until Sunday - Tuesday. Was pouring on Thursday the ninth, my birthday, but then MK wasn't crowded at all! We used ponchos and an umbrella and were fine. I had been concerned about lightning but our KTTK guide pointed out all of the lightning rods throughout MK! Also, there was a downpour around 3:00 on Friday but we were at the GF for our tea and missed having to walk around in it. The best part though was that the rain helped to cool the weather and made the evenings quite comfortable.

About EMH -- UOG and TGM both recommend avoiding the parks that have EMH because of the crowds during the day due to EMH. What are your thoughts?
We also had a current UOG but we used EMH a.m. and stayed until we were either too hot or wanted to eat at a resort. For AK, we were able to quickly get on EE, KRR, Safari and the Nemo show. Also, very worth it at MK. Just plan on doing all that you can in that hour and then leave to go to rest at your hotel or hop to another park. I am not sure of the best plan if you do not have hoppers. For late night EMH, the lines are very long at the start of the EMH because of the regulars who get into line before park closing. But, if you can stick it out until the end of EMH you will be walking onto rides.
Did you use your car instead of Disney transportation? I'm still debating a little about that, too. Since we're driving down, we'll have our car and I'm wondering if it would be a better choice to just drive to all of the parks (other than MK) and waterparks ourselves so that we can leave faster at the end of the day or when we want to hop....?

We used Disney transportation for MK but drove to all the others. We did use the boat from POFQ to DTD on our first night as we didn't check-in until after 7 p.m. We also used the bus to AK, then to AKL, then back to AK to transfer to a Dolphin bus to pick-up the car. Whenever we went to a park later in the day or for late EMH, we were always able to get close parking and were always quickly picked up by the tram. I liked having the car as we could make spontaneous decisions as to where to eat or get a snack. We were on the QSDP so we weren't tied into many TS meals.

This was our 3rd WDW trip and we have always used a rental car though with the great location of POFQ, we would have been okay without the rental but I mainly rented the car because older DD gets severe motion sickness on buses and the monorail also bothers her. We did do Epcot/GF/Epcot on the monorail but she really did prefer the car. We were able to quickly find parking at DTD Westside and Marketplace for meals at EOS and WPE. We also did some resort hopping because older DD wasn't with us when we had stayed at ASMO so we went there for the photo ops. We also parked at Boardwalk to either boat over or walk into Epcot through the International Gateway.

It was amazing how empty the Boardwalk area was; also sad at the same time. We felt very fortunate to be able to travel and enjoy WDW as both DH and I are educators, but, we will be looking at cuts in the future.

**I am not sure why my post is half quote and half not?!**

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

I'll be happy to answer any questions; we are in San Diego right now and hope to head home to the hot Central Valley this evening. We truly were sad to leave the World!!

Come on home. It's only gonna be 106 today, 107 tomorrow...but it's a dry heat.

 

[Itinkso]

Come on home. It's only gonna be 106 today, 107 tomorrow...but it's a dry heat.

I think I actually prefer hot/dry versus hot/humid! DDs are now San Diegans so it was definitely weather-shock for them! Our misting fan and searching out "cool" spots saved us!

Hope your packing and trip planning are going well for you! Not too many more days left!! And, just stay in your pool until your red-eye! I am much too old for a red-eye so we didn't get in until the evening on our first day. Fortunately, we had plenty of time to do everything we had planned! And, if you need a place to stay before your flight out, the Hacienda Hotel has a stay/park/fly rate of only $149 and you can park for up to two weeks! They have a great shuttle service to /from LAX.

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

I think I actually prefer hot/dry versus hot/humid! DDs are now San Diegans so it was definitely weather-shock for them! Our misting fan and searching out "cool" spots saved us!

Hope your packing and trip planning are going well for you! Not too many more days left!! And, just stay in your pool until your red-eye! I am much too old for a red-eye so we didn't get in until the evening on our first day. Fortunately, we had plenty of time to do everything we had planned! And, if you need a place to stay before your flight out, the Hacienda Hotel has a stay/park/fly rate of only $149 and you can park for up to two weeks! They have a great shuttle service to /from LAX.

Actually, my flight is out of Long Beach, leaving at 9:30pm. So instead of being in the pool afternoon, I'll be in my air conditioned car all afternoon.

11 MORE DAYS!! (Actually 10 til my trip begins!!)

 

[Itinkso]

Actually, my flight is out of Long Beach, leaving at 9:30pm. So instead of being in the pool afternoon, I'll be in my air conditioned car all afternoon.

11 MORE DAYS!! (Actually 10 til my trip begins!!)

I didn't realize you could fly out of Long Beach to Orlando!! Which airline? We flew Delta and got a great rate of $250 round-trip.