PART FOUR!! *December 2012 Roll Call* Holidays, FLE & MVMCP!! A very, merry thread!

[taaren]

I have to cancel on or before the Wed, the 28th. He sees the doctor on the 27th.

Wow, that's cutting it pretty close!

DH is getting excited too. We went over my spreadsheet the other night and he was saying things he did and didn't want to do. I'm so flipping excited. I feel horrible not taking the kids but I know they'll love their week with Mom-Mom and they only know we are going to Fla. They don't put two and two together and realize that WDW is in Fla. Otherwise we'd be in trouble at least with DS6

Its so fun to do a trip without the kids, and I'm sure they love being the center of attention and being spoiled by your folks. When my DS6 started to figure out that we were *gasp* going to Disneyland without him, we started to take him for a few days at the beginning of the trip then the in-laws would pick him up and the adults would stay (we've even gotten our friends' parents in on this, so all the kids leave after the first few days). Fortunately, as long as he's moving forward in the trip he likes going someplace new, he just doesn't want to be left behind and have us go somewhere without him.

Its kind of the best of both worlds having a kid half the time. This will be my first trip having my child at Disney for the full trip and I'm not sure how its going to go after his playmates, our travelling companions go home. Especially since DH and I both work and we're not used to being with him 24/7 (at least not since he was an infant) ... at least I'll get a bit of a break on the cruise ship.

When is your cruise? Are you going on the Dream?

We'll be on the Dec 6th Dream cruise, after a 5 park days/6 nights @ BLT. Were you cruising too? I get so mixed up ...

I need to vent a bit as I'm very unhappy with Small World Vacations right now.
So the update: I received it yesterday, but it was only the luggage tags and coupons you get with a package. I emailed her again last night that I didn't get the DME packet and DME luggage tags. She called me this morning and told me she screwed up. When she ordered the new paperwork she didn't ask for new DME info, and tossed the old stuff. So I won't get the tags or packet since I leave in 5 days and there is no time. Now, I do know I can just go to the desk and still take DME, and I was planning on getting my luggage myself anyway, but I'm still not happy about this. I was planning on using the packet and tags in my scrapbooking for the trip, and now I can't. Not to mention how much stress it's added to an already stressful week right before my trip.
Yes, SMV is free, but that doesn't make it okay to screw up. If anything it's worse since I have no recourse and they have no real incentive to not make mistakes like this. While I certainly won't let it ruin my vacation, I will also certainly never use SMV again, even if it did save me money since they had an exclusive discount. I do plan on saying something to them about the mistakes and my displeasure about them, as well as telling them the good things too since that's only fair.
Anyway, thanks for letting me rant. Here's hoping nothing else goes wrong before I leave!!!

Oh dear, that's a really annoying situation. I use Small World Vacations for my cruises, and they've been nothing but outstanding for me ... though I do get the impression over on the cruise boards that it varies by agent (Mary is mine). Your story is why I would have a hard time giving up control of a parks vacation plan ... with the cruise its simply book it, pick a stateroom, but with a park vacation there's so many more details ...
We still don't have our ME tags for our second reservation, when my last party member is coming in (we're doing one night in studios with 7 people, then the 8th arrives when we check into the 2 bedroom the next night), so we're kind of in the same boat. You're going to have a great trip, despite the minor bumps in the road ...

Terri - I'm sorry to hear your FIL might not be up to the trip.

Sean - I love hearing about your wedding! It's wonderful how excited you are, and I like hearing this from a guys perspective.

Taaren - I'm so sorry to hear about your grandfather, but I'm happy that he seems to be doing better.

I think we may go see Rise of the Guardians today or maybe Wreck-it-Ralph.

I didn't do any shopping on BF. We don't really need anything. I do need a new long winter coat but I'm waiting to buy that until after we get back from Disney.

Thanks. Let me know if you like Rise of the Guardians if you go see that. I kind of want to take DS6 sometime this weekend but will probably run out of time. Today is supposed to be my packing/cleaning/printing stuff day, then tomorrow we need to move a bunch of stuff out of storage from my grandparents' house to my parents' house since my cousin is getting married and his new wife will be moving in the week after we get back. They gave us a month's notice but really it just worked out that with the trip its a bit more rushed than that.

Well, interesting morning at my house. I wanted to finish some more of my decorating and asked DH to get some things from the attic. All of a sudden I hear a crash and some load cursing. DH stepped in the wrong spot and partially crashed through the roof of our front porch. Thankfully he wasn't injured but now we have an unexpected repair bill three weeks before Disney and a month before Christmas. I left a message for my bil, who is a contractor, hoping it will be easier to repair than it looks.

Oh no! Unexpected bills always suck.

Me too!!! I'm going to pack tomorrow... I swear!!

I finally dragged out the suitcases today ... which was good since in packing I realized what I'm missing. Now I must go look for a replacement light jacket to wear in the mornings in the parks before the day warms up. I own several, but they all look kind of sad and a few have holes because they're pretty much the only thing I wear at home.
I have my mid-weight and windbreaking jackets for the evenings, but I'd like something light that's easy to shed and carry as the day warms up.

Oh dear, that's worse than my tale of woe with Priceline this week. I swore off travel agents long ago, so you'd think I'd have learned my lesson. But what you said in bold is so, so true. When dealing with a third party one has no recourse, no leverage whatsoever, people just pass the buck. In my case it was priceline saying oh, "We didn't change the flight time- or the gate- or deny online check in- or (insert problem here)........." But we had to go through them for everything because they sold me the ticket, and I was extra nervous as my daughter is only 18, had a connections in Denver and had not flown by herself before. I will never again go through a third party for travel arrangements, unless it's something where I have no clue- like a safari or trip to Antarctica. I managed to plan a three-week trip to Europe last year and it turned out superfantastic.

My mom works for Delta, has for 20 years, and for the airlines for 30 years, so I've grown up listening to people's travel nightmares and how to avoid them. One of the big things over the last ten years has been third-party ticket sellers, because when things go wrong, Delta (or United, or any of the carriers) doesn't really "own" the ticket, so there's nothing they can do to your reservation. We only buy directly from the airlines themselves, even if this means we have to transfer our bags ourselves from airline to airline ...

Let's ramp up the excitement...

Gorgeous, as always ...

Talked to DH and he wants to do a birthday cake for his sis at our Coral Reef Lunch ADR. So I want to call the Boardwalk Bakery and have it delivered... Now, I am trying to think of a theme for her cake... We haven't seen her in ages and she's not into Disney (not that she doesn't like Disney either) This is her first trip there as well... Any ideas? Do you think I should just ask for pretty flowers or what?

DH - gives me idea and doesn't not really have any idea what needs to happen... "Can't we just ask them for a nice birthday cake when we get there?"

Hmm ... surely Disney has a generic adult female birthday cake? Something with universal appeal? I'm sure your SIL will just be happy to be getting a cake!
OTOH ... there's always surfing the food porn threads for cake ideas ...


Okay, back to packing ...

 

[taaren]

SAT887, there are definitely some nice generic girly birthday cakes featured on this thread!

 

[summerw]

Thanks everyone for the kind words. The tea has licorice root, basil leaf, eucalyptus leaf, ginger root, cinnamon bark, thyme leaf, elecampane root, peppermint leaf, caramom seed, mullein leaf. Honestly though, I usually hate licorice root too and I didn't notice it. It's possible I just wasn't tasting much that day though.


So I have a question for the moms. We're going for 12 days. My son is 3 and we moved 5 months ago. He had a really hard time with the move. He got better after a few months and a visit to the old house. Since the dog died, he seems to be having a rough time again with transitions and said he missed the old house (which he hasn't said in at least 2 months) and then asked if the neighbor girl from the old house was dead too. :-( We assured him not and I'm going to try to stop by this week to at least see the house and see if Ariel (yes, her name is Ariel) is around. I'm getting more worried he'll have a hard time being gone from home so long. Any suggestions? We're bringing all the favorite stuffed animals etc and a blanket. Anything else that might help? Poor sweetie, big move, big boy bed and first death all in a few months. My husband says if he can handle being gone that long anywhere, it's Disney.

Off to print Mousekeeping envelopes!

 

[SAT887]

from anything being discussed now:

Victoria and Albert's still has openings almost every day 12/16-12/20. Has anyone eaten there before?

I have not - but this is a must do one day. Hopefully sooner than later, I hear it is wonderful....

Does she like aquatic life (fish, turtles, dolphins)? Maybe do that since you'll be at Coral Reef?

I was thinking that - I am just feeling very foggy and can't think!

SAT887, there are definitely some nice generic girly birthday cakes featured on this thread!

Taaren - I am surprised your suitcase isn't pre packed for all the traveling you have been doing to Cali!

Oh and I have been looking through the cake chatter thread... It's making it even harder to decide!!!

Thanks everyone for the kind words. The tea has licorice root, basil leaf, eucalyptus leaf, ginger root, cinnamon bark, thyme leaf, elecampane root, peppermint leaf, caramom seed, mullein leaf. Honestly though, I usually hate licorice root too and I didn't notice it. It's possible I just wasn't tasting much that day though.


So I have a question for the moms. We're going for 12 days. My son is 3 and we moved 5 months ago. He had a really hard time with the move. He got better after a few months and a visit to the old house. Since the dog died, he seems to be having a rough time again with transitions and said he missed the old house (which he hasn't said in at least 2 months) and then asked if the neighbor girl from the old house was dead too. :-( We assured him not and I'm going to try to stop by this week to at least see the house and see if Ariel (yes, her name is Ariel) is around. I'm getting more worried he'll have a hard time being gone from home so long. Any suggestions? We're bringing all the favorite stuffed animals etc and a blanket. Anything else that might help? Poor sweetie, big move, big boy bed and first death all in a few months. My husband says if he can handle being gone that long anywhere, it's Disney.

Off to print Mousekeeping envelopes!

Well I will still try the tea I guess I can deal if it makes me feel better!!!

Ok, so my experience with munchkins in WDW... By the end of the day they are exhuasted and don't notice where they are sleeping. However, I do bring things that will remind them of thier bed at home like you already said. I bring the favorite books to read at night, DVD's if they need to chill out and be distracted by something familar, and I do try to keep to thier routine or
at least something for them to expect and feel comfort in. My kids need naps, if we don't stop in the middle of the day to decompress I get night terrors with DD1. Also I think trying to feed them as normal food as possible helps a lot too, so much in WDW can be overload for them with all the sugars and fats. Ok I feel like I just rambled a lot, but in the end, you relax, they relax, go with thier flow and you should be golden!

 

[summerw]

Ok, so my experience with munchkins in WDW... By the end of the day they are exhuasted and don't notice where they are sleeping. However, I do bring things that will remind them of thier bed at home like you already said. I bring the favorite books to read at night, DVD's if they need to chill out and be distracted by something familar, and I do try to keep to thier routine or
at least something for them to expect and feel comfort in. My kids need naps, if we don't stop in the middle of the day to decompress I get night terrors with DD1. Also I think trying to feed them as normal food as possible helps a lot too, so much in WDW can be overload for them with all the sugars and fats. Ok I feel like I just rambled a lot, but in the end, you relax, they relax, go with thier flow and you should be golden!

Not rambling at all. Thanks, all good ideas. I definitely agree on the food. I need to go make our order at Garden Grocer so we can at least have some normal things for breakfast. We're going to play it by ear on the naps since he's about 50/50 on taking naps anyway. I'm definitely leaving things open to going back for breaks if he seems into that. I've been showing him pics of the room and we told him he gets to sleep on the table bed at AoA, so he keeps asking when he gets to sleep in "his" Nemo bed. I'm hoping his calling it that will mean he feels comfortable once we are there.

 

[ksromack]

Talked to DH and he wants to do a birthday cake for his sis at our Coral Reef Lunch ADR. So I want to call the Boardwalk Bakery and have it delivered... Now, I am trying to think of a theme for her cake... We haven't seen her in ages and she's not into Disney (not that she doesn't like Disney either) This is her first trip there as well... Any ideas? Do you think I should just ask for pretty flowers or what?

DH - gives me idea and doesn't not really have any idea what needs to happen... "Can't we just ask them for a nice birthday cake when we get there?"

Hehe...I mean seriously?

This thread has been very informative. Much info is in the first 2 posts on the first page: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=46778881#post46778881

There are also many pictures to help you decide!

 

[ksromack]

from anything being discussed now:

Victoria and Albert's still has openings almost every day 12/16-12/20. Has anyone eaten there before?

I would love to but it's probably too fancy for us plain folk. Besides, they don't take the dining plan and I know I could never get hubby to wear a jacket for dinner. I'm going to be lucky enough to get him to leave the baseball cap back at the room!

 

[SAT887]

Not rambling at all. Thanks, all good ideas. I definitely agree on the food. I need to go make our order at Garden Grocer so we can at least have some normal things for breakfast. We're going to play it by ear on the naps since he's about 50/50 on taking naps anyway. I'm definitely leaving things open to going back for breaks if he seems into that. I've been showing him pics of the room and we told him he gets to sleep on the table bed at AoA, so he keeps asking when he gets to sleep in "his" Nemo bed. I'm hoping his calling it that will mean he feels comfortable once we are there.

It might be a good idea to head back and go swimming - the parks are so stimulating even if he doesn't nap he can have one on one time with you guys. Or you guys can all put your feet up, have a snack and relax while watching a DVD. Also it might help to give him a Tshirt that you or your DH has worn - the smell of you close might help him feel comfortable. It tends to be easier than you would think. This is my 3rd trip with little kids and I'm still freaking out

 

[ksromack]

Thanks everyone for the kind words. The tea has licorice root, basil leaf, eucalyptus leaf, ginger root, cinnamon bark, thyme leaf, elecampane root, peppermint leaf, caramom seed, mullein leaf. Honestly though, I usually hate licorice root too and I didn't notice it. It's possible I just wasn't tasting much that day though.


So I have a question for the moms. We're going for 12 days. My son is 3 and we moved 5 months ago. He had a really hard time with the move. He got better after a few months and a visit to the old house. Since the dog died, he seems to be having a rough time again with transitions and said he missed the old house (which he hasn't said in at least 2 months) and then asked if the neighbor girl from the old house was dead too. :-( We assured him not and I'm going to try to stop by this week to at least see the house and see if Ariel (yes, her name is Ariel) is around. I'm getting more worried he'll have a hard time being gone from home so long. Any suggestions? We're bringing all the favorite stuffed animals etc and a blanket. Anything else that might help? Poor sweetie, big move, big boy bed and first death all in a few months. My husband says if he can handle being gone that long anywhere, it's Disney.

Off to print Mousekeeping envelopes!

Aw, poor little guy. I think you are doing the right things....bringing some of his toys, etc. It sounds like he's very astute and uses his words well....that's a good thing! I would encourage him to talk about it all. I agree with your hubby too.....being at Disney will definitely keep his mind occupied!

 

[SAT887]

This thread has been very informative. Much info is in the first 2 posts on the first page: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=46778881#post46778881

There are also many pictures to help you decide!

Oh the pictures made it worse! I have ordered a 6" simple aquarium themed cake for $51. I called DH at work and he was not helpful. So I gave him 3 option, plain basic cake, floral or aquarium He chose aquarium, we did chocolate with vanilla buttercream (I figured it would be easier to manipulate into an aquarium theme than chocolate!) I will post pictures of this cake too some point on vacation!

 

[mrstomrice]

Are any of you forgoing putting up your Christmas tree this year? We are at Disney for the week if Christmas and we will not be putting up our large tree at all. We have a ceramic tree on the mantle and we'll bring a small one for the hotel room. Our boys are 8 and 6 and they say that they don't mind since we will see so many trees there.

 

[ksromack]

Are any of you forgoing putting up your Christmas tree this year? We are at Disney for the week if Christmas and we will not be putting up our large tree at all. We have a ceramic tree on the mantle and we'll bring a small one for the hotel room. Our boys are 8 and 6 and they say that they don't mind since we will see so many trees there.

I'm a Christmas freak......we have a ceramic tree in our bedroom, a 1' tree in the hallway bathroom, a 42" lighted tree in the kitchen, a 3' Mary Engelbreit tree on my dining room table, our big tree in the living room and a few 3' trees in a few other spots in the house. However, if we were going to be at WDW on Christmas day I don't know that I would put my big tree up at all. That's a tough call......

 

[Tltorrez]

Wow, that's cutting it pretty close!
.

That's why I called Disney to find out the exact cancellation date. I didn't want to take any chances.

 

[Tltorrez]

Are any of you forgoing putting up your Christmas tree this year? We are at Disney for the week if Christmas and we will not be putting up our large tree at all. We have a ceramic tree on the mantle and we'll bring a small one for the hotel room. Our boys are 8 and 6 and they say that they don't mind since we will see so many trees there.

We'll be home in the 15 th but we're still not putting up a tree. We'll have one in the hotel. That's enough for this year.

 

[taaren]

Oh the pictures made it worse! I have ordered a 6" simple aquarium themed cake for $51. I called DH at work and he was not helpful. So I gave him 3 option, plain basic cake, floral or aquarium He chose aquarium, we did chocolate with vanilla buttercream (I figured it would be easier to manipulate into an aquarium theme than chocolate!) I will post pictures of this cake too some point on vacation!

Sounds delicious! Definitely want to see the pics! Whenever I start reading those cake threads I feel like I start putting on pounds just from looking at the pictures ...

 

[tmbowers]

Thanks everyone for the kind words. The tea has licorice root, basil leaf, eucalyptus leaf, ginger root, cinnamon bark, thyme leaf, elecampane root, peppermint leaf, caramom seed, mullein leaf. Honestly though, I usually hate licorice root too and I didn't notice it. It's possible I just wasn't tasting much that day though.


So I have a question for the moms. We're going for 12 days. My son is 3 and we moved 5 months ago. He had a really hard time with the move. He got better after a few months and a visit to the old house. Since the dog died, he seems to be having a rough time again with transitions and said he missed the old house (which he hasn't said in at least 2 months) and then asked if the neighbor girl from the old house was dead too. :-( We assured him not and I'm going to try to stop by this week to at least see the house and see if Ariel (yes, her name is Ariel) is around. I'm getting more worried he'll have a hard time being gone from home so long. Any suggestions? We're bringing all the favorite stuffed animals etc and a blanket. Anything else that might help? Poor sweetie, big move, big boy bed and first death all in a few months. My husband says if he can handle being gone that long anywhere, it's Disney.

Off to print Mousekeeping envelopes!

Poor guy. That is a lot to handle at his age. I think it is a great idea to bring some of his favorite things from home. Like others have said, hopefully being at Disney will keep his mind occupied and all the activities will make him ready to fall asleep easily at bed time. I have a 4 yr old dd that doesn't fall asleep easily (even at home with our nightly routine) but when we were at Disney last year, she fell asleep before I could even cover her up because we had been going all day long. Hopefully this will be the case for your soon too.

Oh the pictures made it worse! I have ordered a 6" simple aquarium themed cake for $51. I called DH at work and he was not helpful. So I gave him 3 option, plain basic cake, floral or aquarium He chose aquarium, we did chocolate with vanilla buttercream (I figured it would be easier to manipulate into an aquarium theme than chocolate!) I will post pictures of this cake too some point on vacation!

I bet she will love it. Very thoughtful of you to handle, especially when your DH offered very little guidancec!

Well, my bil was in the deer woods all day and probably won't be able to check out the damage until Monday. Based on my DH's description, bil thinks it will be am easy fix and something he can take care of. Now I need an emoticon with crossed fingers.

I feel like I'm trying to come down with something. I've been sneezing all day, have a runny nose, itchy throat, and i have been chilled all day. If I still feel this way tomorrow, I will have to get Zycam or something. I have no time to be sick. Work is going to be insane this week, and I have a Breakfast with Santa fundraiser for our local pediatric hospital on Saturday, which requires me to help set up for all day Frfiday, be at all Saturday morning, and help clean up on Saturday afternoon. I will not get sick, I will not get sick, I will not get sick...

 

[tofubeast]

tofubeast--thanks for an amazing thread!! Anytime there could be a new list, you're so all over it. I wish you could whip the rest of my life into shape like that.

Thanks so much!!

I am very sorry to hear about your dog. Hoping your fond memories of your pooch help you through this time.

Are any of you forgoing putting up your Christmas tree this year? We are at Disney for the week if Christmas and we will not be putting up our large tree at all. We have a ceramic tree on the mantle and we'll bring a small one for the hotel room. Our boys are 8 and 6 and they say that they don't mind since we will see so many trees there.

We do a fake tree, so I am still putting it up. In fact, I am putting it up tomorrow. I probably will not do my Dept 56 Village this year.

 

[ksromack]

So this is the canvas I painted at our painting party today. We all painted the same thing so it wasn't like I came up with the idea or anything.....but the teacher kept calling it a Dr Suess tree......we were supposed to but some red "ornaments" on in addition to the purple...so I made my red ornaments Mickey heads

 

[BDL]

Are any of you forgoing putting up your Christmas tree this year? We are at Disney for the week if Christmas and we will not be putting up our large tree at all. We have a ceramic tree on the mantle and we'll bring a small one for the hotel room. Our boys are 8 and 6 and they say that they don't mind since we will see so many trees there.

We're actually gonna look for our's this week. We were worried up until today that our usual tree seller wouldn't open up shop this year. But I drove by his corner and there they were. All green and fat. Can't wait to get that tree smell in my place.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

So this is the canvas I painted at our painting party today. We all painted the same thing so it wasn't like I came up with the idea or anything.....but the teacher kept calling it a Dr Suess tree......we were supposed to but some red "ornaments" on in addition to the purple...so I made my red ornaments Mickey heads

That is great!!! I love that you added the Mickey Heads