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

[pilferk]

Love the socks and the shirt!!!! Are you going to MVMCP? That shirt would be perfect. I want to get some kind of Christmasy shirt to wear and now I will be on the lookout for socks with bells too.

No MVMCP this time.

We've been in the past, a couple times, and just are not happy with the value of late. Too crowded, too many eliminations (like the show that was out in Tomorrowland) of entertainment offerings, not enough "unique" experiences...and our kids are too young to really push it super-late when things slow down a bit. We're just as happy touring the resorts and tree/decoration peeping...and that's free!

In contrast, We love the Halloween party, though. Go figure.

We WON'T be coming in Oct 2013, though. Maybe Oct 2014 (it's one of a couple of 2014 possibilities right now).

 

[My2Qtz0205]

Went to Walmart at lunch and was devastated to discover that mine does not carry the cute Minnie Mouse cookie dough that someone posted a few days ago. But then I was looking around and found a Grumpy t-shirt that says "I may not always be right, but I am never wrong!" Love it!!

I got it at Harris Teeter. Do you have those where you live? They also had Cars cookies.

 

[grrrlennyl]

October is my favorite time to go, the fall/Halloween atmosphere is awesome!

Fantastic! I'm going to see if there is a bounce back offer when we go. It would be nice to stay at a moderate.

 

[Valgoof]

No MVMCP this time.

We've been in the past, a couple times, and just are not happy with the value of late. Too crowded, too many eliminations (like the show that was out in Tomorrowland) of entertainment offerings, not enough "unique" experiences...and our kids are too young to really push it super-late when things slow down a bit. We're just as happy touring the resorts and tree/decoration peeping...and that's free!

In contrast, We love the Halloween party, though. Go figure.

We WON'T be coming in Oct 2013, though. Maybe Oct 2014 (it's one of a couple of 2014 possibilities right now.

I think most people prefer the Halloween party. I have never been to either so we are doing MVMCP this year and will hopefully do Halloween eventually. I think 2014 is much more realistic for me too. DH says 2016. Hoping Mickey hits him with the happy stick this trip.

 

[Valgoof]

I got it at Harris Teeter. Do you have those where you live? They also had Cars cookies.

I dont know why I thought it was Walmart. Nope, never heard of Harris Teeter.

 

[My2Qtz0205]

wow, cant believe that you go through all that for the kids to miss school. we are 103 days from leaving for our trip, I told the teacher of my youngest DD that we were going out of town to Disney and the day and she didnt have a problem with it....as for the other 3, one is in middle school and the 2 DS in high school, they just have to get an advance makeup slip and they are good to go(wont get that til the week before we leave). we were more worried about the sports and music concerts, we were able to look at the schedule and see that they wont miss any and the varsity wrestling coach made it known that they are not having any practices that week we will be gone and he(DS) will still hold his varsity spot... they too see it as a learning event-we drive so they see the countryside.....Hope it all works out for you, just remember you are giving your kids "the world" and there are many things they learn on a Disney trip!

Our school board changed their policy last year that if your child has 5 unexcused absences, you will be called in for a meeting with the principal, vp, and guidance counselor. It is very obvious that they are more concerned with high schoolers (they say the school resource officer may also attend the meeting. We don't have those in elementary.). I work at the school as a substitute teacher, so I know the principal and vp, and they know me. But you know how some people have to "follow policy!"

 

[tofubeast]

So is it just weird that I was excited when I went to check on an ADR and only had to page forward 3 months instead of 4?????

Not at all because I thought the SAME thing!!!

And yay to Valgoof for double digits!

And welcome to our NEWEST roll callers!

 

[pilferk]

I think most people prefer the Halloween party. I have never been to either so we are doing MVMCP this year and will hopefully do Halloween eventually. I think 2014 is much more realistic for me too. DH says 2016. Hoping Mickey hits him with the happy stick this trip.

If you've never done MVMCP...it's definitely worth doing. We've done it 3 times (twice with the kids)....which effects the decision making process.

We're DVC members and we typically go 2 out of every 3 years. We're skipping 2013 because I have work commitments which make long term, pre-planned travel every 3 years hard to do. That commitment comes up again...next year. We're debating early 2014 (early January) or October. I'm not sure what we'll choose quite yet.

Here's hoping Mickey has his happy stick ready while you guys are down there in December....would a bounce back offer help persuade him for 2013??

 

[pilferk]

Our school board changed their policy last year that if your child has 5 unexcused absences, you will be called in for a meeting with the principal, vp, and guidance counselor. It is very obvious that they are more concerned with high schoolers (they say the school resource officer may also attend the meeting. We don't have those in elementary.). I work at the school as a substitute teacher, so I know the principal and vp, and they know me. But you know how some people have to "follow policy!"

I am thankful, just about every day, that our school system(s) (local elementary and Regional HS) have not done this yet.

But we're a pretty small community/school system in a relatively small suburban/rural town (depending on which part)...and I think that helps. We've never had a complaint (other than the teachers saying they're jealous) about taking our kids out. Usually, we get encouragement, actually.

Good luck in your endeavors!

 

[Mom2Cody06]

Love the socks and the shirt!!!! Are you going to MVMCP? That shirt would be perfect. I want to get some kind of Christmasy shirt to wear and now I will be on the lookout for socks with bells too.

I'm thinking of doing red/green tie dye Mickey head shirts for the party

 

[mom2travel]

I'm thinking of doing red/green tie dye Mickey head shirts for the party

That would be really cool!

 

[Mom2Cody06]

Here is my ideas for our mickey head tie dye shirts. It's our 10th wedding anniversary so I'm thinking about g this on the back of the shirts

Just Married ...
10 years ago

Opinions

 

[bellaally]

Hi everyone

I just caught the major Disney planning bug and have rediscovered my obsession with the DIS

I will be traveling in 101 days! It will be myself (28), my sister (25), and my brother (23). We will be spending 1 night at all-star music before moving to AKV Jambo for 5 more nights.

Welcome, AKV is my dream resort, trying to talk hubby into making it there in January 2014, we can take the kids while their still free. Hope you have a good time.

 

[Valgoof]

I'm thinking of doing red/green tie dye Mickey head shirts for the party

Here is my ideas for our mickey head tie dye shirts. It's our 10th wedding anniversary so I'm thinking about g this on the back of the shirts

Just Married ...
10 years ago

Opinions

Love it!! Much more creative than "Hey it's our anniversary".

 

[sokerfrog]

At this moment three monthe from now, I will be on the second to last day of our trip. Probably playing the Agent P scavenger hunt. Is it bad that two adults will be doing this without kids? LOL

 

[Valgoof]

At this moment three monthe from now, I will be on the second to last day of our trip. Probably playing the Agent P scavenger hunt. Is it bad that two adults will be doing this without kids? LOL

We will be doing it too. We didn't do Kim Possible last year and my brother is still bitter. Who knew a 21 year old would want to do that? Now I know.

 

[moozle]

I hope I get as favorable a reaction as you two have! I am anticipating great discouragement from our principal. I wasn't going to say anything until early November/late October, though.

I would suggest talking to your principal as soon as possible. Our county has a strict attendance policy also. 10 unexcused absences gets you a referral for truancy. 5 unexcused absences triggers a mandatory mediation meeting.

However, I've already spoken with both principals (did it within the first week of school) and explained that we are taking a family vacation, we take school seriously, plan to work with the teacher, make up all work if allowed, etc. Both principals told me that it is within their power to decide on a case by case basis whether to count absences for things like this as excused. They both asked me to write them letters detailing that we were traveling on a family trip, planned to make up work, etc, and as long as I do that, they will count the days as excused.

In case it matters, my girls are in 3rd grade and kindergarten (I know it could be different with older kids) and will be missing the entire last week before Christmas break.

 

[Tltorrez]

I hope I get as favorable a reaction as you two have! I am anticipating great discouragement from our principal. I wasn't going to say anything until early November/late October, though.

We're at a private Montessori school so never had a problem before. No worries about missing lessons when the curriculum is tailored to your child. But I still had a moment of panic when I realized we're going into a new classroom and maybe the new teachers wouldn't think a two-week trip in early December was appropriate for a 4th grader. I phrased it as "because he spent the whole summer in science camp". But I needn't have bothered. The teachers think it's cool.

 

[DisneyGuess]

So my trip has changed a little bit!

My almost 16 year old & my 14 year old have decided to not go with us on this trip. The 14 year old has the opportunity to go on a cruise with grandparents & I can't let him miss 2 weeks of school for vacations. So, I let him decide & he chose cruise.
My 16 year old doesn't want to go & doesn't want to miss school as he has 2 honors/college level classes this year & wants to do well, he's scared that he will get too far behind to catch up as these classes move really, really fast.
So he is staying home, taking care of the pets instead of having to board them, going to school.
But that means only 4 of us going now! So, I can bump down to 1 room at Pop, save a bit of money, though I'd love to switch to a mod, none that I like have any openings for the FD week, lol.

I'm sad but I've made peace with it. They're growing up, Disney isn't that important to them, yet! My DH & I, the 11 year old & 3 year old will still have an awesome time!

 

[Tltorrez]

For those of you decorating for Christmas while at WDW, are you packing your trees or having them shipped? I don't have a compact small tree...i have several that are in pots that won't pack well so I planned on adding that to my Walmart order and have it shipped along with my case of water and a few snacks. When do Christmas items start appearing at Walmart? There isn't much at the site right now. Also, do you bring power strips or extension cords with you and is that okay to do? I was just wondering about the electrical outlets and locations of them in the rooms. We're staying at POR. I'm getting so excited to make our room look festive even though we're leaving WDW on Dec 17th.

Shipping. Amazon has a couple nice ones for $20 and under and I have Amazon Prime. I am planning to bring lights, ornaments, garland and extension cords with me. Possibly a tree skirt.