~Snowbird Chat~

[Northern Disney Girl]

Here Shawna - Check this out!

Town Car Info

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Thanks ladies!! I will check those out...Shelly I will have to remember to take Exc. before I go too...or at least in flight! I was wondering how ME experience was since all of disney was slower that week.... I am hoping that since we changed to November maybe that would resolve some of the issue. I mean, the last 2 times (Jan of 09 and Dec 09) the kids were STARVING, had to use the bathroom, sweating(feels like they have no air on down there with all those people)...just not good set up down there. What was really weird, was how they changed the line! Before you know you did the weaving line up to the counter, then they let you get your family from the seating area and queue up in the correct bus line...well, in December, they had ONE tremendous line and at the front of it someone had a handheld scanner which they ran over your ME vouchers. Then they put you in the bus line. I am not kidding you...that line went the entire length of that downstairs area!! We came down that escalator and were just stunned!!! I could not believe that did that!! people were talking to each other and commenting on how busy it was, and was Disney world gonna be this jam-packed...I could tell it was some of their first trips and they were freakin out! If I wasn't so aggravated, it would have been funny! At one point, Mike moved the kids to some seats where we could see them and came up and said "I just thought I would come stand with you for a while since it's gonna be so long"....by the time I got to the front and was directed to my bus line, they were sooooo far back I couldn't even find them...I had to text ds14 to tell them where i was....Hopefully they changed all that back. OH!!! AND we were in line for our bus with.... yep...the Pop Warner girls!!! And yes, they laughed and yelled and cheered/chanted the entire time. the moms never said a word..they just talked louder to each other over the chanting...I have to say that was the worst ME experience ever. Okay...didn't mean to rant and sound like a shrew....just reliving that crazy afternoon!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Shawna - you are NOT a crazy shrew!

I think the reason it is (was) so crowded is because you tend to travel on the weekends! Weekends are TOTALLY NUTSO at airports! Even our little airport here in our city is CRAZY on saturdays!! Both times we went to WDW (09 & 10) we traveled during the week. My experiences are similar to that Shelly's! We were off the plane, on the bus and to our resort within 70-90 mins!! I don't think it matters what time of year you go - weekends will always be busier at MCO which in turn makes for longer waits for DME!!!

I think a Town Car would be a great option for you! They meet you right at the luggage place, help you with your bags, take you to a grocery store for a 30 min shopping trip and drive you right to the front door of your resort!!

 

[Monny2AE]

Well I have been doing some thinking about this room situation for our Nov trip... tell me what you think... I want to stay at a deluxe resort and get the dining plan with Maggies discount (pretty sure it will be available). DH wants to stay at SOG because the PGA Childrens Miracle Network tournament is that week... he said that practice rounds will be Wednesday (and maybe Tuesday)... so I am thinking since we check in on Friday night... lets stay at the Boardwalk or Beach club Friday thru Tuesday and then transfer over to SOG.... then we can get the dining plan for a few nights and do the majority of our table service those nights.... I was able to get the reservation at the SOG... I made it for the whole week incase Maggie can't get us a great discount....

I think that sounds like a reasonable compromise.... what do you think? (of course that is because I would be getting my way...lol)

Sounds reasonable to me

Looks good!! Was missing you!! How's your FIL?

Thanks for asking. My FIL is doing pretty well. He's on round 2 out of 3 of his chemo treatments. With his first one he got terribly dehydrated and had to be taken to the hospital. They gave him different meds to help alleviate some of the nausea and he's doing better this time around- still weak, but not as bad as the first round.

Your ME story scared me!!!!! I won't dare tell DH about it. He's already fighting me about flying vs. driving for our next trip in May 2011 and we haven't even booked anything yet. Have you thought about renting a car? It would cost more than the limo but you could make grocery runs and drive to DTD and some of the parks. I think that's going to be our compromise. DH loves having a vehicle while we are there. He hates the buses, especially with 2 younger kids and a stroller in tow.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Good point about the travel during the week. I'm hoping that works because we arrive on a Wednesday!

Shawna - you are not a shrew. Nor crazy (as far as I can tell, but then I'm not the best judge of crazy - )

 

[sarbah77]

Good morning everyone!!!! Today is my 8 year wedding anniversary!

Happy anniversary!

So my husband ran the Boston Marathon last Monday, beat his previous personal best by 4 seconds, and qualified to run next year's!

(I'd still like him to run Disney's again... but in 2005, it was 90 degrees and this year it snowed. I think he'd rather take his chances with April in Boston!)

My friend and I are trying to figure out if we can plan a trip again this fall, but we might just end up at DL in January, instead. I've never been, so it wouldn't be that bad at all!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Oh no Shawna, we didn't experience anything like that. Actually them eliminating the need to stop at the ME counter made it go even faster. They scanned our voucher (after no wait at all), we got in the POR line, and were then directed to a bus within about 5 minutes. I'm hoping for a similar experience this November!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Good morning everyone!!!! Today is my 8 year wedding anniversary! Of course, because we're always so busy, I won't even get to see Tony until sometime after 9pm tonight. We were going to try to get lunch today, but he has a ton of meetings and other things going on. So, we went out to lunch yesterday! We went to Bravo and it was SO yummy! We then went over to the Cheesecake Factory and got a slice of cheesecake to take home (we were so stuffed after lunch). That cheesecake was super yummy too...it was brownie sundae. We still have some of it left, so we're going to let Madison have it for dessert tonight.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!

We have our 12th coming up in a few weeks!

Here's a pic of what's been keeping me from the DIS lately!

Almost done!!! We just need to finish the ceiling, install the floor, kitchen cabinets for the kitchenette and then trim and final details!

It's looking good!

Well I have been doing some thinking about this room situation for our Nov trip... tell me what you think... I want to stay at a deluxe resort and get the dining plan with Maggies discount (pretty sure it will be available). DH wants to stay at SOG because the PGA Childrens Miracle Network tournament is that week... he said that practice rounds will be Wednesday (and maybe Tuesday)... so I am thinking since we check in on Friday night... lets stay at the Boardwalk or Beach club Friday thru Tuesday and then transfer over to SOG.... then we can get the dining plan for a few nights and do the majority of our table service those nights.... I was able to get the reservation at the SOG... I made it for the whole week incase Maggie can't get us a great discount....

I think that sounds like a reasonable compromise.... what do you think? (of course that is because I would be getting my way...lol)

Sounds like a great plan! I remember the PGA thing going on last year when we were there. We drove by it leaving MK one day.

We will be at the BWI that week! .

 

[Dancegrl624]

Happy Anniversary Meghan!

Happy Anniversary Meghan and Tony!!!

Happy Anniversary!!!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!! How fun!! Don't you just love anniversaries!!!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!

We have our 12th coming up in a few weeks!

Thank you all so very, very much!

Shawna-We've only done ME once and it was this past June. We arrived on a Wednesday, so it was probably less busy than a weekend. We only had a line of about 2 other families in front of us and we waited about 10 minutes to get onto our bus. POP was the first hotel, so we had a wonderful experience with it. So sorry to hear about all of your bad luck with ME.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

See...I knew ya'll wouldn't think I was crazy!!! Course, we are all such Disney fanatics everyone probably thinks we are...so where does that put us on the normal scale anyway!!! I have used ME on a Sat and a Sun...I think Sat are worse...DH will just probably be cheap and wanna use it anyway!! He will NOT rent a car...he drives so much he doesn't want to do it there....he doesn't even want to stay at the All Stars because it is a bus every trip...he likes the mono, walking, bus or boat options...so renting a car will never be an option...course,,, I would LOVE to come up in a limo!! ha!!!! I would just be cracked up the whole time!
Well...I worked on my closet today...got rid of some stuff that I just kept hanging onto...for what reason I do not know! my half is done....now I gotta do dh's....I gotta wait till he gets here...he is such a packrat.....but I do need to move all his winter stuff to the far reaches of the rack! did the kids a couple of weeks ago..been putting my off. Was gonna do it last week and was sick, then this week my neck/back have been killing me! Ithink I strained something with all that coughing! So....I go get a massage tomorrow and hopefully that'll ease it up. I can't turn my head and the kids are rolling...everytime they say 'Hey', I have to turn my whole torso to look at them...yeah, very funny! But, sinus wise, I do feel better...don't see as much pollen now. Maybe we are finished with it for the season.
Kim(monny) you should just call WDW and ask a random question just to hear them say Have a Magical Day!

 

[MAGGIED]

Shawna... since we sometimes stay at SOG we have to use town car service... we have done the limo thing and the town car... actually one trip we did limo one way and town car back... we have used fl tours, selective limo, tiffany towncar... and a few others... we have never had a problem with any of them... I just look for the best deal... we too have waited a long period of time with ME... so its not my first choice of transportation... but it is free... so we use it...

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

yeah...I need to talk to Mike and tell him what the prices are...let him decide what he wants to do.I hate waiting, so you know what my choice is gonna be!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

How to know you have a Disney obsession:

I saw a review in today's paper for a movie titled "Exit through the gift shop" and thought immediately of Disney rides.



It was a thriller/documentary about street artists.



Still - I think it would make a good Disney documentary.

 

[MindyLuvsMickey]

That's funny, Sheree! Would most definitely be fitting for a Disney documentary.

I need to get my laptop out and catch up on the last few days.

Got Disney Rewards email about free dining. Wish I could talk DH into taking advantage

I can't remember if I mentioned that the baby has been sick since mid February. Went back and forth with his thn doctor for weeks about it. He hasn't had a fever at all, so the doc said it was nothing. My mothers intuition has been telling me otherwise. Had had him to a different doctor last night who thinks he has whooping cough. Poor baby. Waiting for the test results so that we can start antibiotics.

We had such great plans for the weekend that we had to scrap because of it. We were going to go to HersheyPark with some friends but my friend's son isn't vaccinated. I couldn't chance exposing him or anyone else. Who knows who we've put at risk in the last 3 months.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

OH Mindy!! Poor little guy!! Yep, we know when something just isn't quite right!!Hopefully he is on the mend!!! Well,...it's a very pretty weekend here...didn't get any of the needed rain tho'....we still have some clinging pollen and dust that we really need to lose before the full blown summer heat shows up....which it will quickly...mon is suppose to be 89, Tues 90...Kids swam for the first time today! It was cold they said, but got better as they moved around I wait till it's a bit warmer!! Still feeling a bit of sinus..not sick, just remnants, I guess. the crick in my neck last week is now on the other side Pathetic I know,... I told Mike he was going to have to trade me in!!!! I have been fighting a nap all afternoon....by now it would be pointless,,,but you know you are just tired on Sunday afternoons!!!! Maybe we can hit the hay early...hope you are all having a good weekend--Mike said today we REALLY need to squeeze in a trip before the kids all over the world get outta school...but dd has ballet recital on the 22nd...so, that only means we could go on the 23rd and stay about 4 or 5 days...but hey...i would do it!!!!!Wanna see how fast I can plan a trip? I am sure he can't really take off another week so soon...but it was nice to hear him wishing for it! Maybe I can get him to extend our Nov trip by a day or so at the beginning......

 

[MindyLuvsMickey]

Happy Monday everyone!

Shawna! What an amazing husband you have. I wish mine was as enthusiastic about Disney. Get to planning!

My husband called from work yesterday to tell me that he is able to go along on our little trip to Florida next month. I am SOOOO relieved! The thought of flying alone with an infant and a 5 year old is scary. The best part about that whole thing is since he is along, we'll rent a car and be able to take a trip to Downtown Disney Rylan really wants to visit the Lego Store. He's been saving his allowance for the last sevaral weeks.

We are supposed to be getting new doors today but I've yet to see any sign of the contractor. Hope he gets here soon. It's supposed to rain cats and dogs this afternoon. I'd rather have a door ON before that happens.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

yeah,,,he is enthusiastic at this point!! it's when I talk about it daily for 6 months straight I think that he wants to strangle me with it!! Ha!!! He likes for me to do the majority of the planning, I ask him and the kids for a few ADR suggestions, or what is something they can't wait to do and then I dont really keep talking about it...With the kids its a general question....they never really know exactly when we are going back...just sometime in the future!
Shelly~ Got your park days ready? Just curious what days you are doing what..why don't you put up mini-itinerary!!! I might want to compare with you for the next week!!
Mindy...my middle kids LOVES the Lego store too...he looks forward to it every trip!! Glad your hubby is tripping with you!!!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Hey birdies!
Shawna - that would be so cool if you could squeeze in another trip! You should have gotten APs!! I bet you could plan a trip in a day if you had to!

I see that free dining has been released for public. Anyone get to use it?? I know Meghan got it with the Visa deal.

Busy week coming up - having a garage sale Thur- Sat. We cleaned out the garage attic - oh my!!!!
Hope I can get rid of this stuff.

 

[Dancegrl624]

Hi everyone! Like Sheree mentioned, we got FREE DINING on Thursday! I'm beyond excited and I can't wait to eat all that delicious Disney food. The values only get free QSDP, so we upgraded to the DDP for only $154 for the week. How awesome is that?! So, free dining saved us over $500. Saving money makes Disney trips even more spectacular. We didn't have to switch resorts or to a preferred room which was great. I don't want to wish the summer away, but I want Sept to be here!!

 

[danceintherain]

I got an e-mail about Free Dining being released, and noticed that you have to buy at least a 2-day ticket now. I'm guessing that some people (AP holders and military salute eligible) are not too thrilled with that, but I suppose its just Disney protecting their bottom line.

We now officially live in Missouri. I know...huge move from Kansas to Missouri, but Logan is actually having a difficult time adjusting. He says it is more humid here than it was in Kansas, which is affecting his running. He has his first PT (they time his running, sit ups, and push ups) test this week and he's worried that he's not going to do very well.

I really wish I could be planning a trip to Disney right now. Logan did mention how much fun it will be to take our little boy there when we get back from South Korea. He said that two years old is the perfect age to take a kid to Disney. He's very excited about taking him on Dumbo, and asked if we should worry about him being scared of heights and not liking it. He's projecting his own fears onto his son, which is adorable.