~Snowbird Chat 2~

[MAGGIED]

Andrea... have a wonderful time!!!

I am pretty excited... my DD told me they just released new cast discounts for the time we are there... huge room discount and discounted dining... changed our reservation from POP to Riverside... might change to POLY... not sure yet.... gotta run...just so excited I had to share!!!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Andrea... have a wonderful time!!!

I am pretty excited... my DD told me they just released new cast discounts for the time we are there... huge room discount and discounted dining... changed our reservation from POP to Riverside... might change to POLY... not sure yet.... gotta run...just so excited I had to share!!!

WOO HOO!! That sounds great! I can't wait until my kids get in on that CP!


Here's the scoop on the dining cancellations policy. It's only for select restaurants (Character, signature, popular...)


Walt Disney World has announced that it will require a credit card number to hold and guarantee the reservation, and will charge a $10 per-person fee for no-shows and for cancellations on less than 24 hour notice for restaurants in the Signature Dining category, as well as all locations that host character meals. This policy will go into effect for reservations made on or after October 26, 2011 (and has already been in effect for several restaurants on the list). Reservations policy will remain the same for restaurants and dinner shows that require pre-payment in full. Advanced Dining Reservation (ADR) policies are unchanged at all other establishments. Restaurants covered by the new policy are: Signature Dining: Artist Point, California Grill, Citricos, Flying Fish Caf�, Jiko, Le Cellier, Narcoosee's, Hollywood Brown Derby, and Yachtsman Steakhouse (Victoria & Albert's charges $25 per person). Character Dining (includes non-character meals served at these establishments): 1900 Park Fare, Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, Cape May Caf�, Chef Mickey's, The Crystal Palace, The Garden Grill, Hollywood & Vine, 'Ohana, and Tusker House. (Cinderella's Royal Table and the dinner shows require full pre-payment.) A special dining cancellation phone number has been announced, 407-WDW-CNCL (407-939-2625http://sz0029.ev.mail.comcast.net/zimbra/mail?app=mail#), and reservations can also be made and canceled by calling 407-WDW-DINE or visiting the podium at any table-service restaurant, resort front desk, concierge, or Guest Relations.

 

[Lil'Mermaid75]

Wendy - that's GREAT!!!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Wendy that's awesome!! Way to go!!!

 

[PEANUT1]

Thanks all!!! 12 hours til we leave for the train station I decided to not stay overnight near the train station. It should normally only be a 3 1/2 hr drive so I am planning to leave at like 8 am..we don't have to be there until 230 so that should be plenty of time
I just figured I could spend the 100$ that I would have spent on a hotel for something fun at disney

We are a big ride family so we will def be on Everest and space mountain Congrats Wendy!! I am sure you will love Riverside...or the poly

 

[sarbah77]

After 3+ years of chatting with you amazing women... I am FINALLY FINALLY meeting my first Snowbird tomorrow, for lunch!

That is all!

 

[MAGGIED]

Well we decided to just go ahead and stay at Riverside. The deciding factor... trundle beds. We have two rooms... and three ladies in one... Maggie is only 5 ft and 100 lbs so she will fit on the trundle bed... that way everyone gets their own bed.... the other room is DH, myself and DS so no worries about the bed there. The increased cost from POP to Riverside was only $180 total (for the two rooms) because we are getting a large percentage off than we were at POP... but to go to POLY was going to be an additional $1546.... so we figured it just wasn't worth the extra $1500. I guess if we had small children and spent a lot of time at the resort it would be different... but the boys will be out playing golf 4 of the 7 days we are there, Maggie is actually working a few shifts and mom my, aunt and I will just wander thru the parks... nothing we have to see or do... just taking it easy... so I think it will work out just fine... If I wasn't paying for two rooms then that might have made it a little more difficult to say no to the POLy....

 

[MAGGIED]

Updated my pre-trip report.... finally....

 

[snykymom]

After 3+ years of chatting with you amazing women... I am FINALLY FINALLY meeting my first Snowbird tomorrow, for lunch!

That is all!

And that would be me! Equally excited!

This will probably be my last post before I leave (tomorrow at something insane like 4 AM! ) - Sarah will have to update you on our meeting!

See you in a week or so!

 

[MAGGIED]

And that would be me! Equally excited!

This will probably be my last post before I leave (tomorrow at something insane like 4 AM! ) - Sarah will have to update you on our meeting!

See you in a week or so!

Have fun!!!!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Sarah and Snyky...y'all have a blast!!!! I am excited you are finally doing a Disney meet!! It's quite exciting!! And Peanut!!!! Have fun!!! I know you are alllll so glad it's finally here!! I would love to do a train with my kids across country!!!!

 

[Lil'Mermaid75]

Sarah and Snyky...y'all have a blast!!!! I am excited you are finally doing a Disney meet!! It's quite exciting!! And Peanut!!!! Have fun!!! I know you are alllll so glad it's finally here!! I would love to do a train with my kids across country!!!!

These are my thoughts exactly! Have great trips, everyone! Travel safe. We'll "talk" to you soon!

 

[sarbah77]

And that would be me! Equally excited!

This will probably be my last post before I leave (tomorrow at something insane like 4 AM! ) - Sarah will have to update you on our meeting!

See you in a week or so!

Sarah and Snyky...y'all have a blast!!!! I am excited you are finally doing a Disney meet!! It's quite exciting!! And Peanut!!!! Have fun!!! I know you are alllll so glad it's finally here!! I would love to do a train with my kids across country!!!!

Hi ladies! it was lovely and fun to meet snykymom, finally! We had lunch at a restaurant that was in her building and pretty much in our path for the day. I think we covered every topic, from Legos to Disney to the local museums - ha!!

But things have been a little weird since then, sadly! When the DH and I caught the train home HOURS later, my parents let me know that my bro and wife were taking the little niece to the ER, because of a fever and a swollen spot on her groin. At midnight, my bro called me (woke me up, of course) and let me know that she was being admitted, could I tell the parents and update the extended family... that the birthday party was canceled?

Oof. Eventually, we all (my parents, us) met up with my SIL's mom, dad, and stepmom for a more subdued party at the hospital. The baby is spending another night - she still has a fever and they're not entirely sure what it is. They think it's an abscess in her leg and that she might need surgery to drain it. We're driving from central MA to northeast MA to western MA, tomorrow, so it will be a long day.

It's already kind of a long trip. We have winter break from 12/24-1/1 and my mom was trying to buy tickets to visit us for 12/26-12/31. No. And now we're disagreeing about whether or not I need to treat my asthma or whether I should ignore it and visit more family. All because I forgot my stupid inhaler. Augh!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Sarah....sorry your neice is in the hospital!! poor baby!!! Tend to that asthma girl!!!!! Just don't let it go to far!

 

[Monny2AE]

We're home from our last camping weekend of the season. I'm sad but at the same time it brings me one step closer to Disney in December!!!! Emily was in the garage with DH and he measured her with the tape measure- she's officially 42.5 inches and SOOOO excited that she can ride the big kid rides with us this time around! This will be our first trip with both kids over 40"....no more ride swap!!!!!

Peanut- Hope your trip is magical! Can't wait to hear all about it! My DS would be more excited to take the train than over anything else too. Kids!

Wendy- Congrats on the CM discounts and for upgrading to POR!!

Sarah and Snykymom- Hooray for a Snowbird meet!!!!

Sarah- Hope you and your niece is feeling better soon.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Kim...sorry your camping time is ending...I always enjoyed snuggling up in our camper when the boys were babies!!

Well.....it's finally COOL!!! here!!! We should have a low in the 40s tonight!!! The wind is really blowing, it's very cloudy..a def shift in our weather at last!! Kids were in the pool last week-even tho it was pretty cold- I think this week will be the time to clean it out one more time and cover it!! That also means our Disney trip is closer! I always cover that sucker before we leave--heard too much about people trying to get in while you are gone-no kid in this neighborhood can get our cover off! I love that thing...I can't even get it on by myself!
Are any of y'all still mowing your lawns? I know we will mow this week- if it doesn't rain...then hopefully we will be done-sometimes we mow thru November, but I am hoping this is it!!!
Well...I have tons to do between the kids, at our office and ( which I am ALWAYS finished with by now-haven't bought the 1st thing this year!!! ), and planning for that I am writing lists all over the place this week!! Much, much to do~~~~ I miss all of y'all and our chats! I know everyone is busy--these drive by reports are not enough!! Hope y'all are doing well!!!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Shawna - our HIGHS are in the 40s today and tomorrow!!!!!

We actually have still been mowing here - mostly to mulch and bag the leaves. There's still some trees with leaves on them, but the fall color season is already over. Mostly due to the horrible winds last weekend - they all blew down!

Shawna!! You haven't done any shopping yet????? I'm shocked!!
We have done a little Christmas shopping - mostly stuff I could get from Pampered Chef for free! Now that we've booked our London trip airline tickets, we have to really watch the budget!!
I know Sarah wants some Harry Potter DVDs and Legos (!) and Paige wants some American Girl things that we can select from her list of a thousand items! They also want some dance game for the wii. That will probably be it except for some thing they can use on the trip.
Dave wants to surprise them with it at Christmas. Not sure how. We've been talking about going, but told them nothing's booked, so it's not set in stone. So we may keep that a secret for a couple months.

Looks like I'm going to have to renew the girls' passports. They are only good for 5 years and they will expire in July 2012. I've been told that they don't want you to travel with them within 6 months of expiration. That seems so dumb to me. I have a two week vacation with return tickets bought! Now I have to pay $$ to renew and basically lose 6 months of passport usage? Why make them good for that length of time if you can't use them during the last 6 months? I'm going to have to investigate the reason for that! What if I just wanted to let them expire since I wasn't going to use them for another three years? Now if we want to travel internationally more while they're under 18, I will have to renew them 2x! GRRRRR! Must go find out how much that will cost me.

What are all the kids going to be for Halloween?
Sarah's going as Hermione Granger from HP. Paige is a ladybug - With HUGE sunglasses for eyes! I think she'll be a little cold, and we'll have to do some creative layering with the costume she bought. When she was about 2 she was a ladybug, and it was basically black fleece pants, and a zip up jacket with wings and antennae on the hood. Perfect for MN Halloween where it's usually under 40 degrees for trick or treating.

Okay, I better get back to work.

 

[MAGGIED]

Kim...sorry your camping time is ending...I always enjoyed snuggling up in our camper when the boys were babies!!

Well.....it's finally COOL!!! here!!! We should have a low in the 40s tonight!!! The wind is really blowing, it's very cloudy..a def shift in our weather at last!! Kids were in the pool last week-even tho it was pretty cold- I think this week will be the time to clean it out one more time and cover it!! That also means our Disney trip is closer! I always cover that sucker before we leave--heard too much about people trying to get in while you are gone-no kid in this neighborhood can get our cover off! I love that thing...I can't even get it on by myself!
Are any of y'all still mowing your lawns? I know we will mow this week- if it doesn't rain...then hopefully we will be done-sometimes we mow thru November, but I am hoping this is it!!!
Well...I have tons to do between the kids, at our office and ( which I am ALWAYS finished with by now-haven't bought the 1st thing this year!!! ), and planning for that I am writing lists all over the place this week!! Much, much to do~~~~ I miss all of y'all and our chats! I know everyone is busy--these drive by reports are not enough!! Hope y'all are doing well!!!

We are still mwoing here... The leaves are falling like crazy... I have found that if I mow over them twice then I don't have it rake them.

Shawna - our HIGHS are in the 40s today and tomorrow!!!!!

We actually have still been mowing here - mostly to mulch and bag the leaves. There's still some trees with leaves on them, but the fall color season is already over. Mostly due to the horrible winds last weekend - they all blew down!

Shawna!! You haven't done any shopping yet????? I'm shocked!!
We have done a little Christmas shopping - mostly stuff I could get from Pampered Chef for free! Now that we've booked our London trip airline tickets, we have to really watch the budget!!
I know Sarah wants some Harry Potter DVDs and Legos (!) and Paige wants some American Girl things that we can select from her list of a thousand items! They also want some dance game for the wii. That will probably be it except for some thing they can use on the trip.
Dave wants to surprise them with it at Christmas. Not sure how. We've been talking about going, but told them nothing's booked, so it's not set in stone. So we may keep that a secret for a couple months.

Looks like I'm going to have to renew the girls' passports. They are only good for 5 years and they will expire in July 2012. I've been told that they don't want you to travel with them within 6 months of expiration. That seems so dumb to me. I have a two week vacation with return tickets bought! Now I have to pay $$ to renew and basically lose 6 months of passport usage? Why make them good for that length of time if you can't use them during the last 6 months? I'm going to have to investigate the reason for that! What if I just wanted to let them expire since I wasn't going to use them for another three years? Now if we want to travel internationally more while they're under 18, I will have to renew them 2x! GRRRRR! Must go find out how much that will cost me.

What are all the kids going to be for Halloween?
Sarah's going as Hermione Granger from HP. Paige is a ladybug - With HUGE sunglasses for eyes! I think she'll be a little cold, and we'll have to do some creative layering with the costume she bought. When she was about 2 she was a ladybug, and it was basically black fleece pants, and a zip up jacket with wings and antennae on the hood. Perfect for MN Halloween where it's usually under 40 degrees for trick or treating.

Okay, I better get back to work.

How long does it take to get a passport? Daniel is going to Oxford to study this summer and I have to have him get one... I was hoping to wait until he comes home in May for end of June departure... Maybe I should have him get it over Christmas....

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Wendy, you can have it expidited if you are in a time crunch..but I would just do it now and have it over with..that way if something happens with it you won't be in panic-mode!!! Ours came in I wanna say, within 10-14 days, but if they weren't happy with one of the kids pictures(said the view was iffy) we would have to do it all over.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

I was just looking up passport info yesterday and they say to allow a few weeks after sending it in. I'd do it at Christmas just to be on the safe side. Start digging out the birth certificate now!