***OFFICIAL*** October 2011 - Updated 10/08/11

[lmc318]

okay, question for you planning experts!

i am trying to put together my daily itinerary notecards. I like to list out the overall plans for the day- what time to get up, where's breakfast, what time we plan to arrive at the park, take our midday break, etc. I don't go into ride detail or hour by hour, but for the days we are doing RD, i'd like to at least have a plan on ride order for those first few rides.

Our first full day is Saturday, 10/15. We are doing AM EMH at DHS (enough acronyms for you??)

So EMH is at 8am. We will arrive in time for RD for that. We want to hit TSM. I think I'll have DH take my son on it stand by while I get in line for fastpasses (I am okay with just riding once). I figure after that, it will be say 8:30am? I think next we will hit the typical ToT/RnR area and use child swap. My son is over 42" now, so he would qualify for ToT (and is adventurous), but since he is just turning 4, i am afraid ToT might be a bit much for him???? thoughts?

So after doing RnR and ToT via swap (DH might just decide to skip both, and let me ride, he isn't a big thrill guy), I figure it will be say 9:30am or 10?

I'd like to do the Phineas and Ferb M&G. I hear it opens at 10am- anyone know for sure? When is the best time to hit it for minimal lines? Should we do that next right at 10am? I think my old WDWCP roomie works as part of the streetmosphere (the movie director and crew) for the M&G, so i'll try asking her too.

I am thinking if we do that, it will be 11am by the time we are done and then we can go on with our day- does that sound doable? I'd like to hit Star Tours too- but we might save it for another day. We plan to leave DHS by 1pm to take our midday break and we'll come back to finish the park another evening.

I think it's doable except I don't know how long the Phineas and Ferb M&G takes. I think if you give yourself an hour that should be plenty of time. That's usually enough for some of the M&G at the MNSSHP, so I would think that would be enough for P&F. I hope anyway!

As for DS and ToT, has he ever been on the Frog Jumper ride they have at carnivals and does he love it? If so, I think he could handle ToT if he loves thrill rides. If you have doubt, I'd leave him off, though.

I'm school goer also, working on my Electrical Engineering degree. I have an electrical certification through my local junior college and was working as an electricain for a while, but got laid off about a year and a half ago. So now I get to go back and get all the gen ed requirements done for my AS and transfer to a university.

How long did it take you to get your certification? DH is thinking about going back to school as he never finished his degree and engineering has always been an interest. He's a math guy. But he's also an instant gratification guy, so I think a program that has a certificate path before a degree path would be great for him.


Good morning all!!! Another dreary morning in the Mid-Atlantic but I'm hoping it clears off. I'm home with DD today. My stomach is still upset and she's exhausted from a no-nap week, so I kept her home with me since I'm working from home anyway. I'm supposed to go into Philly tonight for a friend's play but with the flooding on all the major roads and my stomach, I'm not sure if that's going to happen. We'll have to see how the day goes.

 

[Zife]

woo hoo- who are you booked with and for how many days?

i prefer to use National or Alamo and the cheapest I can find with them is about $270 so far. I know it will get cheaper as we get closer. Last year, it went down over a $100 the week before!

I'm through National, and for my dates (Sept 29 - Oct 10, 12 days total) I have an EA reservation at $173.37. When I first booked (almost a year ago) it was almost $500. It's come down almost $100 in the last 2 weeks alone.

On the subject of cameras, for those of you who have an SLR camera, do you use any kind of fliter? I'm going to pick up a basic UV filter before we go, just to protect the lens, but I'm curious if there are any other filters people find particularly worthwhile.

 

[lmc318]

On the subject of cameras, for those of you who have an SLR camera, do you use any kind of fliter? I'm going to pick up a basic UV filter before we go, just to protect the lens, but I'm curious if there are any other filters people find particularly worthwhile.

We have just a basic UV filter as well, but no others.

 

[FigmentChick]

You guys are just too cool!!!

Been a long time since I've been on the thread (or on the boards for that matter), but just wanted to throw in my 2 cents on lenses.

I just recently got a Canon 60D, and bundled it with a Sigma 18-200mm OS lens. I'm still not too impressed with the OS (or IS on Canon lenses), but I never was with Canon lenses either (so I got a GorillaPod). However, the lens seems to work great, and has wicked range (not as much as Kathy's Tamron, but still good). And at $499 (Canadian) it's about $250 less than the Canon lens.

The only issue I have is that when I blow the pictures up to full size, they seem a touch out of focus, but I'm not sure if that's the lens, or if that's me not knowing how to use the camera properly... But, I never actually use the pictures at full size, so it's not that big an issue, yet.

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/prod...spx?path=ad28e28e5f686c31547f6f6137c5e153en02

See, this just goes to show you guys how much I don't know....I had no clue that you could use lenses from other manufacturers on a Canon camera. No. Clue. I always thought you had to stay Canon to Canon and Nikon to Nikon, etc. Also, I should mention that I just purchased our first SLR camera in June as hubby's gift for Father's Day. But, wow....now that might help us that much more.

FigmentChick- i just have to say WOW!!! That is such a cool story! Heck, many people change majors so many times in college because they don't even know what they want to do by then! I wanted to be an oceanographer as a kid, then realized I was scared of crabs and fish biting me and that might not work out so well.

But I've always loved reading and writing and now working in marketing, mostly writing press releases, collateral, e-mail campaigns and websites. Math was NOT my strong suit. I admire those that excel at it. My DH does too- finance degree and stock/investment junkie.

LOL The ocean has always called to me, too, but math called more. And I envy your ability at marketing....my brain doesn't work that way. I can write proposals and whatnot, but when it comes to the creative stuff....forget it.

O.K. so not that any of you care, but my family and friends are sooooo tired of hearing about Disney so....

I saved even MORE money on my Rental car today Just b\c I checked the website AGAIN. I am going to check the site daily and by the time we leave my rental car will be free.

First booked price in May - $398
changed in June - $356
changed in July - $287
changed in - August - $267
Mid August - $237
earlier this week - $200
today - $187

Yep, I am going to clear my history and check Budget DAILY for the next 29 days.

Awesome!!!! Now I am going to have to go and check Budget out again. There is a thread for October 2011 car rentals and it seems like everyone on there favors Alamo. I'm partial to Budget; I've rented from them the past two times (Dollar was 2006) and I always get a decent rate. I'm holding out for an SUV or a minivan, though. I think a car might be a bit small for us. We've got fie people, four bags of luggage and the stroller. UGH

aw man! I had posted a reply and it didn't go through and it was a decent sized reply too!!!

I'm going to need a minute.

Ok, what I was saying is that I realized in my last post that I used an apostrophe in the word Masters and thus killed a kitten and I am mortified in doing so. Has anyone seen that DISers siggy? I love it! I shared it with my coworkers because my boss always uses apostrophes where they are not needed and so when we see it we just say "there goes another kitten." He also uses quotes inappropriately. For example, "Let's 'meet up' in Disney at 5:00 for dinner." Quotes aren't needed there if we are actually meeting up, are they?? No. But he does it all the time. "We'll do some 'training' on your people...." Um, we're the training department. We're not going to do some "training," we're going to do some training! Tool. Anyway.

Thanks for the lens info everyone! I would've quoted you both but my last post got eaten. I'm going to have to look more into my options. I'd love to have a lens I don't have to keep swapping out, but they tend to be more expensive, right? So we'll see. We're just bringing our point and shoot and our video camera to Disney now. We were going to bring the SLR but decided we haven't taken a lot of video of Katherine and so we need to start doing it. Especially seeing all of the great videos people put together of their trips around here!!!

Have I mentioned 45 days!!! 6 weeks from Sunday!!!

Can I just say I am glad I wasn't drinking anything when I read this? My assistant even came in to ask me what I was laughing about. Too funny. And I hope I don't kill kittens.....I just can't spell. You know.....spell check was invented just for me. I swear.

FigmentChick.. I bow to you being good at accounting. That has been my least favorite aspect of my MBA. My brain just can not wrap around it. I have no issues READING the reports, but never ask me to put them together. Who knows what you would end up with!?

I understand! I love math but know that most people have a hard time with it. Believe it or not I actually did not like my auditing class for my degree. You have to understand, by the time I took it, I was already performing audits and had been through two IRS audits for clients and multiple State of Delaware audits. So, I thought it would be practical. Nooooooo. It was all theory! YUCK And boring. And law. UGH I was like, "where does it tell you how to do an audit?" And they wonder why college grads can't do anything when they get out (we actually hired an intern from U of MD....he didn't even know what QuickBooks was!!!! How can you not know basic accounting software? Aw, well, it worked out.

 

[FigmentChick]

Good morning all!!! Another dreary morning in the Mid-Atlantic but I'm hoping it clears off. I'm home with DD today. My stomach is still upset and she's exhausted from a no-nap week, so I kept her home with me since I'm working from home anyway. I'm supposed to go into Philly tonight for a friend's play but with the flooding on all the major roads and my stomach, I'm not sure if that's going to happen. We'll have to see how the day goes.

Good Morning! And I understand about not going in to Philly. Hope you feel better.

For those of you who don't know....the police and DOT shut doen our major roads yesterday due to rock and mudslides from all the rain. Think I-4 by Disney SHUT DOWN!!! Yup....that's how bad it was. Oh, and one of the alternates was flooded by a river and another road directly to the city was shut down due to flooding. It's been pretty bad around here lately. From what I understand, there is like one road in to Trenton! LOL


Oh...and my math for the day: 42 days left!! whoot-whoot

 

[Zife]

We have just a basic UV filter as well, but no others.

Cool, I've talked to a few people that have said that's all you really need. A couple of the other ones look cool, but I think we'll hold off on them for now.

See, this just goes to show you guys how much I don't know....I had no clue that you could use lenses from other manufacturers on a Canon camera. No. Clue. I always thought you had to stay Canon to Canon and Nikon to Nikon, etc. Also, I should mention that I just purchased our first SLR camera in June as hubby's gift for Father's Day. But, wow....now that might help us that much more.

I should mention that if you buy a third party lens (Sigma, Tamron, etc) make sure you get the one for your camera brand. The lens I have comes in both a Canon and Nikon version, since they have different connectors. So while third party lenses will work with your camera, a Nikon type lens won't work with a Canon body.

 

[Goofy_Mom]

How long did it take you to get your certification? DH is thinking about going back to school as he never finished his degree and engineering has always been an interest. He's a math guy. But he's also an instant gratification guy, so I think a program that has a certificate path before a degree path would be great for him.

I took me a year taking full time credits. One of my classes was a 5 credit class and lasted most of the morning. It was also hands on, so I learned how to do the work both by reading what to do and actually doing it. The bad thing about a certification is it isn't everlasting like a degree is, they expire after 7 years. My plan was to get a job, then after 7 years had passed I'ld have enough work experiance that a degree wouldn't be needed. Nope, got laid off, and (because I'm a girl in a guys field of work) now its difficult to get a good job without the degree. There are also appreticship programs, they last about 4-5 years and you learn and get paid at the same time, but apprentices don't get paid much ($15-$17/hour). It's okay for a young buck with only himself to look after, but if your trying to raise a family in central CA you'll be struggling.

 

[LilyWDW]

My DME stuff came today! So much closer. I can feeeeeeeel it!

Now to do Econ homework lol... the happiness was fleeting.

 

[Goofy_Mom]

My DME stuff came today! So much closer. I can feeeeeeeel it!

Now to do Econ homework lol... the happiness was fleeting.

Our countdowns have the same dates!! I'm excited, I should be getting mine very soon then!!! Love me some Mickey Mail!!

 

[KBCL]

Yay! Made final payment today!!!!!

Can't wait....not too much longer

 

[lmc318]

My DME stuff came today! So much closer. I can feeeeeeeel it!

Now to do Econ homework lol... the happiness was fleeting.

and

 

[Kathymford]

Cool, I've talked to a few people that have said that's all you really need. A couple of the other ones look cool, but I think we'll hold off on them for now.

I have a UV filter as well; I also have a polarizer, but I really only bought that for a whale watching trip I went on. They said it helped take photos through the water. I was a newbie, I just did what they told me. Ha. I haven't used it since.

I should mention that if you buy a third party lens (Sigma, Tamron, etc) make sure you get the one for your camera brand. The lens I have comes in both a Canon and Nikon version, since they have different connectors. So while third party lenses will work with your camera, a Nikon type lens won't work with a Canon body.

Took the words out of my mouth. If you buy it online it will say "blah blah for Nikon" or "for Canon". If you're at a camera shop, just bring your camera and they will set you up.

 

[figmentswife]

You guys are just too cool!!!


See, this just goes to show you guys how much I don't know....I had no clue that you could use lenses from other manufacturers on a Canon camera. No. Clue. I always thought you had to stay Canon to Canon and Nikon to Nikon, etc. Also, I should mention that I just purchased our first SLR camera in June as hubby's gift for Father's Day. But, wow....now that might help us that much more.


LOL The ocean has always called to me, too, but math called more. And I envy your ability at marketing....my brain doesn't work that way. I can write proposals and whatnot, but when it comes to the creative stuff....forget it.


Awesome!!!! Now I am going to have to go and check Budget out again. There is a thread for October 2011 car rentals and it seems like everyone on there favors Alamo. I'm partial to Budget; I've rented from them the past two times (Dollar was 2006) and I always get a decent rate. I'm holding out for an SUV or a minivan, though. I think a car might be a bit small for us. We've got fie people, four bags of luggage and the stroller. UGH


Can I just say I am glad I wasn't drinking anything when I read this? My assistant even came in to ask me what I was laughing about. Too funny. And I hope I don't kill kittens.....I just can't spell. You know.....spell check was invented just for me. I swear.


I understand! I love math but know that most people have a hard time with it. Believe it or not I actually did not like my auditing class for my degree. You have to understand, by the time I took it, I was already performing audits and had been through two IRS audits for clients and multiple State of Delaware audits. So, I thought it would be practical. Nooooooo. It was all theory! YUCK And boring. And law. UGH I was like, "where does it tell you how to do an audit?" And they wonder why college grads can't do anything when they get out (we actually hired an intern from U of MD....he didn't even know what QuickBooks was!!!! How can you not know basic accounting software? Aw, well, it worked out.

Budget is having a sale on SUV's also - I think they are around $22 per day on the website. There are only 3 of us this trip so no need for the SUV we had 2 years ago.

 

[jesemeca]

I don't post on here often, but I do read this thread daily. I have a question for anyone who has been in October before. We are going the 1st week in October. I am wondering what the weather will be like. I am trying to decided what I need to pack. I am wondering if it is like New Orleans weather. During the fall, once it gets dark outside it cools off alot. Any help would be great. Thanks!

 

[rgumidrop]

We will be at Pop
Oct. 6- 15

 

[lmc318]

I don't post on here often, but I do read this thread daily. I have a question for anyone who has been in October before. We are going the 1st week in October. I am wondering what the weather will be like. I am trying to decided what I need to pack. I am wondering if it is like New Orleans weather. During the fall, once it gets dark outside it cools off alot. Any help would be great. Thanks!

Chances are it will still be fairly hot in October, especially the first week. Having said that, always prepare for the unexpected. Florida weather is unpredictable, so you are going to want to bring at least a pair of jeans and a jacket or sweatshirt with you in case it does cool off at night or even during the day. I'd stick with shorts/capris for the day with tshirts for most of the time, and bring jeans and a jacket with you for the evenings if needed. I think you'll probably get away with the shorts and tees most of the time and maybe bring a jacket with you at night, but the humidity tends to stick around in Florida long after it leaves everywhere else.

 

[rafikifan2911]

Im going in 28 days and Im staying at Kidani Village and its my first trip and and its my honeymoon!! Okay Im not excited at all!!! what do you guys do with your time!!! Im about to drive my husband up the wall haha!!

 

[lmc318]

Im going in 28 days and Im staying at Kidani Village and its my first trip and and its my honeymoon!! Okay Im not excited at all!!! what do you guys do with your time!!! Im about to drive my husband up the wall haha!!

Fantastic!! My DH and I celebrated our honeymoon at AK as well and we absolutely LOVED it! That was in 2006 before Kidani Village was built, but it was magical and it's one of our favorite resorts for sure! Are you going to Boma or Jiko while you're there??? We LOVE Jiko and the fire places around the resort. It has such a wonderful feel to it that you won't get at any of the other resorts, which is why it's so magical I think! The resorts that are unique like that are the best!

I spend all my time on the DIS, as you'll come to find out, and annoying my DH by reminding him how many days we have left. 44!!

 

[DelaneyJ]

O.M.G I just logged on to Disney website and saw that we are at 44 days. WOOHOO. For some reason, I thought I was at 54 days. I obviously don't know my way around a calender

That is so much fun to see!!! We are staying at BWV 10/23 - 10/29

And I just received a $25.00 Disney gift card! And.....I am receiving a check for $150.00 for selling my old blackberry torch online. (who knew you could sell old cell phones online)
This will go for tips etc. This vacation will be soooooooooooooooooooo stress free. I love having meals paid for in advance!!!

Now, I just need some bonus cash to buy new luggage

 

[rafikifan2911]

Fantastic!! My DH and I celebrated our honeymoon at AK as well and we absolutely LOVED it! That was in 2006 before Kidani Village was built, but it was magical and it's one of our favorite resorts for sure! Are you going to Boma or Jiko while you're there??? We LOVE Jiko and the fire places around the resort. It has such a wonderful feel to it that you won't get at any of the other resorts, which is why it's so magical I think! The resorts that are unique like that are the best!

I spend all my time on the DIS, as you'll come to find out, and annoying my DH by reminding him how many days we have left. 44!!

We are actually going to boma for breakfest on our first full day in disney!! Im soo excited to go!!! Awwww I cant wait!!