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

[Mom2Cody06]

I am jealous of those of you there on Dec 6th. Look at all the merch available on that day. I want that EAR HAT!!! They will LONG be sold out by the time I get there the next week.

Oooh, an iPhone 5 cover has my name on it!!!!

 

[cybrkitn]

Yea, totally read that wrong. Doesn't surprise me - my brain is already in vacation mode. Sadly we still have 4 days of work left - I hope my senses come back soon...

So am I! My mind is already at DTD on Thursday

Don't sweat the 4 days. It'll be here before you know it! And who knows we may even see each other on Sunday at DHS!

 

[tmbowers]

Can your three year old chew gum? When my kids started crying about their ears, I had gum coming at me in every direction! For the baby, a sippy cup/bottle or pacifier.

That reminds me. I need to buy gum.

A trick that works for me is to give my dd's the large tootsie pops to suck on during take off. It always works for us.

I have no idea what to buy DBF for xmas. Anything he wants he buys himself. I did promise him 2 new shirts while we are at Disney. He loves the Hawaiian shirts at the Poly.

I'm considering an external battery pack for when we are out and his battery is going low.

But I'm really at a loss. He does so much for me..

Does he have any hobbies like golf or a fave sports team you could get tickets for? Also, not a wow gift, but I bought DH a Mophie Juice Air pack - it's a phone cover with a built in charger.

Haha, I did survive. Although you might not have known that if you saw me yesterday morning.


It was an awesome day. We went and played paintball in the morning, and hit a few bars along the way to a really spectacular craft beer dinner up in the mountains.

After we got back into the Philly area, we spent the night at Barcade, an awesome bar that has a ridiculous amount of vintage arcade games.

Needless to say, I may have been a tttaaadddd intoxicated by the end of the night.

Totally worth it though.

FOUR days until the wedding, and we are officially in panic mode.

Haha, I'll keep everyone posted.

Sounds like a great time! I know you must be excited for the next four days to pass!

Dis Buddies, I present to you our newest fur baby, DOBBY (the House Corgi)!

We picked him up on Black Friday (7 hours round trip in a car, one dog going down there and two coming back, hope to NEVER have to repeat that!), and he has been terrorizing the house ever since.

4 grown adults over the age of 30 sat down to decide on a name and we picked one from Harry Potter Mom and I being English teachers wanted something out of British literature seeing as how the breed originated in Wales, and Dad said we should name him Dobby after the House Elf because of his big ears.

He's pretty much the reason I haven't been posting much the past week. I'd rather forgotten how big a PITA baby puppies are. After getting up 4 times in the middle of the night last night to take the little dude outside for potties (in the freezing weather) he ceased being quite so cute

Cutest.Puppy.Ever.

Today has been insane and the rest of the week promises to be too. At this rate, I'll be worn out by the time we land at MCO.

 

[Mom2Cody06]

I think I might end up buying some things for him while we are there. I also found a tungsten ring on Amazon that I think he'll like.

I think I found a "craft" store not far from me that does paper crafts. Maybe they sell card stock in singles!

What about a stationary store?

 

[Mom2Cody06]

Haircuts ... Done
Let bank know we are traveling next week ..Done
DH pick up new glasses .... Done

Just need to do a few notes (school & pediatrician), get some supplies from the store for us and stock up the house for my kiddos and Mom. Eeeek!!!

 

[taaren]

Haha, I did survive. Although you might not have known that if you saw me yesterday morning.


It was an awesome day. We went and played paintball in the morning, and hit a few bars along the way to a really spectacular craft beer dinner up in the mountains.

After we got back into the Philly area, we spent the night at Barcade, an awesome bar that has a ridiculous amount of vintage arcade games.

Needless to say, I may have been a tttaaadddd intoxicated by the end of the night.

Sounds like you had a great time! Barcade sounds awesome ... kind of like a Dave n' Busters concept.

THREE WEEKS from today we'll be on the ME bus heading to WL! Just over two weeks until I'm done with my first semester of grad school-then only seven more semesters to go.

Grad school goes by sooo quickly though .... it seems long when you're in the middle of it, but once you're done it has that "what happened to those years?" kind of feel.

It really is a possibility. My BIL has said he is coming with us for a month or two now. He is a commando/schedule-keeper/rope-dropper. His wife and daughter are more of the "Sleep till 10 and then swim and eat lunch and get to the park at 1, and wonder why the lines are really long. " So he had a very frustrating trip in June (their third, so you would think he would know by now, but anyway). He has had several interviews lately and is hoping for a new job offer this week, so if he could time his start date right, he just might go with us. The nephew is 12 and also loves Disney. I would take him in a heartbeat without BIL and my SIL said she didnt have an issue with him missing school. In fact, we were talking about it so much, DH said, wait a minute, I am still going if at all possible.

That sounds like that would be a lot of fun! Plan B is sounding better and better!

My partner and I were actually talking about a possible Disneyland trip next year. It looks pretty affordable for 4 days/3 nights staying at one of the good neighbor hotels across the stress. We might have a Disney trip next year after all.

Fantastic! I feel pretty out of my depth when trying to figure the Disneyland stuff out. Do you have any hints on where to find deals/promotions or sites/blogs to follow?

There's not a lot of deals/promotions at DLR that you can't put together yourself more cheaply. My favorite across-the-street place to stay is the Marriott Fairfield Inn ... I hear the HoJo is similar in quality. The Best Western/Castle Inn/Desert Inn are all closer but ... well, I guess I'm a bit of a hotel snob so I always preferred to walk a few more minutes and stay someplace a bit "nicer". Make sure on the DLR board to read HydroGuy's advice compilations in the stickies, especially the DLR for WDW Vets.

Dis Buddies, I present to you our newest fur baby, DOBBY (the House Corgi)!

So freakin' cute!!

 

[Mom2Cody06]

M&Mgirl1 your pup is adorable!!

 

[Tltorrez]

A very cool analysis of Disney fences.

http://passport2dreams.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-awkward-transitions-of-disneyland.html

Just some light reading if you're trying to pass the time.

 

[M&MGirl1]

Speaking of animals, my dear old Newfoundland/Golden Retriever mutt dog (she's a tad bit bigger than that cutie Corgi of M&MGirl1's) has a torn ACL. We are supposed to leave exactly two weeks after her surgery day. The vet says we can put it off, but I just can't see that, she's limping around so pitifully. We have a house/pet sitter who stays here, but I'm pretty worried something will happen while we're gone. Sigh. It's always something around here.

My half sister has a Newfie so I know just how much a "tad bit" bigger is!!! . They are great dogs! I am sorry your guy is hurting, it's scary to have to leave an injured pet, but I'm sure your dog sitter will have things well under control!

 

[QueenElinor]

I'm sorry about your dog!!! Whenever I've gone away (and I still had pets) I'd let my vet know that I would be gone and would settle any bills that occurred during my absence. Thankfully I never needed to, but it made me feel better knowing they would still be taken care of.

That's a good idea. I always leave my housesitter with our contact info but I wouldn't want her to have to pay a bunch of bills in my absence, and then have to pay her back.

Haircuts ... Done
Let bank know we are traveling next week ..Done
DH pick up new glasses .... Done

Just need to do a few notes (school & pediatrician), get some supplies from the store for us and stock up the house for my kiddos and Mom. Eeeek!!!

You probably are thinking of your CC company, too, but in case others don't know that, they also need to be contacted- most of them have online forms to indicate one's travel plans. Although that did not stop Capital One from putting a hold on my charge card in Paris. Although it was kind of a big charge at a designer shop- I guess it just looked fishy to them. I was pretty ticked off at them but I called them up on the spot anyway (instead of switching to another card) because they don't charge an exchange fee.

Oh, and I meant to add to WedgieSock's list of things to bring-

*glasses kit and/or spares for those of us who wear glasses.*

 

[tofubeast]

A very cool analysis of Disney fences.

http://passport2dreams.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-awkward-transitions-of-disneyland.html

Just some light reading if you're trying to pass the time.

I read that over the weekend. It was a great article and a nice comparison of WDW to DLR in a very unique way.

 

[PrincessAurora27]

That's a good idea. I always leave my housesitter with our contact info but I wouldn't want her to have to pay a bunch of bills in my absence, and then have to pay her back.



You probably are thinking of your CC company, too, but in case others don't know that, they also need to be contacted- most of them have online forms to indicate one's travel plans. Although that did not stop Capital One from putting a hold on my charge card in Paris. Although it was kind of a big charge at a designer shop- I guess it just looked fishy to them. I was pretty ticked off at them but I called them up on the spot anyway (instead of switching to another card) because they don't charge an exchange fee.

Oh, and I meant to add to WedgieSock's list of things to bring-

*glasses kit and/or spares for those of us who wear glasses.*

I also left the vets contact info with the pet sitter.

I need to call my bank. Both my debit card and my CC are through the same bank.

I did pack a glasses kit already! I had that issue once before with my sunglasses.

 

[Tltorrez]

We are staying offsite but was thinking of doing "one more disney day" at an onsite hotel. Regretably I cant make preplan this and wont be able to purchase the room till a day or to before (looking to stay the night if the 9th) so I have a couple of questions.

Is it possible to get a discount for a last minute room? Trial runs show I would have to pay regular rack rate.

It is, but only if there is a current deal running. I think the ones for Dec all expired.

 

[SAT887]

Haha all this bank talk... I think my bank and cc see enough charges from Disney to know better... I can see it now "She's finally gone to the motherland..." I've never had an issue with my CC I purposefully don't use my debit because I worry about scams and its a lot easier to get home and transfer the $$ and a lot less worry... I just see dishonest people making easy targets out of tourists...

 

[SAT887]

Oh and a friend of mine is in FL (not WDW) visiting family... She says the weather is beautiful!!!!!

 

[Tltorrez]

That's a good idea. I always leave my housesitter with our contact info but I wouldn't want her to have to pay a bunch of bills in my absence, and then have to pay her back.

You probably are thinking of your CC company, too, but in case others don't know that, they also need to be contacted- most of them have online forms to indicate one's travel plans. Although that did not stop Capital One from putting a hold on my charge card in Paris. Although it was kind of a big charge at a designer shop- I guess it just looked fishy to them. I was pretty ticked off at them but I called them up on the spot anyway (instead of switching to another card) because they don't charge an exchange fee.

Oh, and I meant to add to WedgieSock's list of things to bring-

*glasses kit and/or spares for those of us who wear glasses.*

I'd be pretty pissed at CapOne if they shut off my card - considering they failed to notice $450 worth of debit charges to a Chinese-based gaming company. On the plus side, I went to the branch today and they were able to give me a temporary card. Honestly though, I've never had my cards shut off when I travel -only when I make large electronics purchases from home.

 

[Tltorrez]

Go to bank. Check.

Fill Mousekeeping envelopes. Check.

Make Plan B Touring Plans. Check.

Order air bed and Christmas tree. Check.

Today was quite productive. And I'm really loving the laid back park plans.

Tomorrow is Cancellation day.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

That's a good idea. I always leave my housesitter with our contact info but I wouldn't want her to have to pay a bunch of bills in my absence, and then have to pay her back.

As a professional pet sitter and the manager of the pet sitting company, definitely let your vet know, give them the sitters name, etc!! We once had a vet almost turn us away with a dog who was dying and refused to help him without us paying the $700 fee they wanted up front! The owners were not answering their cell phones to give their okay and my sitter was in hysterics thinking this 14 year old dog was going to die because she didn't have $700 to pay them. After myself and my boss talking to them for 2 hours they finally agreed to save him for $100 down. He was in very bad shape by then (he had cancer, hadn't eaten for 2 days and they found a tumor had burst inside him and he was bleeding badly internally) but they did save him. The owner actually called them during the night and chewed them out, as they had called and told them that we had permission and had given a credit card number to bill, but the girl who took their call never put that info in their file. I think they wound up suing the vet even over it, and gave my sitter a $100 tip (on top of paying the $100 she put down) for the hassle and stress she went thru. So, I would go in person to the vet and make sure they put the info in the system. But I'm sure your dog will be okay. I've seen many dogs have ACL surgery and they have all healed so well.

 

[tmbowers]

So, here is a random question for you guys. What type of shoes do you prefer to wear for all day walking through the parks. Last year, I think I wore tennis shoes everyday but one and that one day I wore a pair of Toms. I distinctly remember my feet hurting more that night, too. I'm going to take my Nikes and a more dressy-looking athletic shoe, too. I'm trying to decide whether to order a pair of the Sanuk yoga mat flip flops. DH has a pair and they are extremely comfortable, just don't know how they would be all the walking I will be doing in the parks.

 

[WedgieSock]

We are staying offsite but was thinking of doing "one more disney day" at an onsite hotel. Regretably I cant make preplan this and wont be able to purchase the room till a day or to before (looking to stay the night if the 9th) so I have a couple of questions.

Is it possible to get a discount for a last minute room? Trial runs show I would have to pay regular rack rate.

All special offers at the moment are for stays from Jan 2 - March 7 so if you book through Disney you'll be paying rack rate. Are you a member of AAA? If so, they might be offering a discount