The DDA Trouble Free Zone Part 4

[triplefigs]

That's too cute so I'm going to borrow it to say

Have a Wonderful Birthday party today, Alyssa, and a great birthday on Monday!!!!

 

[triplefigs]

That's adorable! And thanks to ALL OF MY DDA friends for the Anniversary wishes! Y'all are wonderful!!!!!!!

 

[triplefigs]

I got some sleep last night and don't feel as nasty as I did yesterday. Bethie also got some good sleep and she is ready to totake on the weekend.

I think I might need to do some shopping by myself and let it be a Daddy daughters day.

Feel better and enjoy the shopping!

 

[bethbuchall]

I spoke with Rees specialist today who is very well known in Atlanta. She said she'd be happy to write a letter "excusing" the kids from school to go on the trip and cite all of Rees' issues, why low crowds are necessary, and treat it like a MAW trip (BTW, which he actually qualifies for but we turned down so a more needy family could go).

So, it looks like we're going in September. concierge is putting all my ADR requests in tomorrow. I'm psyched!

Yeah, Denise!!! And thanks again for bringing this deal to my attention.

Beth

 

[triplefigs]

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY DENISE AND JOHN!!​

Thanks. That's sweet of you!

 

[triplefigs]

I haven't had time to catch up yet, but

THANK YOU, DENISE!!!!!

Your post about the free dining was the first thing that I saw this morning. I now have free dining for the second week of our vacation (we're off-site the first week), and an extra day to spend in the parks (since we had to get a one day ticket with the package). If my math is correct, it basically works out that we are eating for $14.78 each/day over the cost of my room only AAA discount reservation that I had previously (and the cost of the extra day is figured in there). I was able to move my LeCellier lunch from the first week to the second, too!

Yippee!!!!

Beth

Glad to help! And I told 2 people at the B'day party today (they are Disney freaks too), and they were going home to book the free dining. Just spreading the magic!

 

[triplefigs]

Looks good! I'll post ours later. I have a surprise CRT dinner for dd's 13th birthday, so even at 2 TS credits, we're saving a lot! We also have CM, Biergarten, and CP.

Beth

I plan on paying for CRT out of pocket and saving those credits. We'll pay for the kids OOP on some stuff and use their credits for me and John. We did it in December and saved almost $800!!!!!

 

[triplefigs]

Maybe I'll mention to Bill that I would like another baby...after he picks himself off the floor he would probably try talking me into going to WDW instead!!

Smart woman!

 

[triplefigs]

Denise - you are in quite a quandry....my worries for you are the heat (how will the kids do with that) and how will Rees do with Halloween? Do you think it will frighten him? I'm sure that Disney does it very tame though. I am just thinking of the people that go to the park dressed up. Do you think your kids will be able to keep quiet about the trip when they are in school? What would happen if they go back to school talking all about their trip and you sent a note excusing them because of the flu? I don't mean to be a downer but I don't want to see you get in a bad position either. Whatever you decide I am behind you 100% and wish the best for you. Good luck.

I don't want to lie to the school as it sets a bad example for my kids, and they would NEVER be able to keep quiet. Rees' specialist is writing a letter to have it excused. If they still have a problem, so be it.

As far as heat, that doesn't bother us as we are used to it. We'll drink lots of water, take breaks in the pm, and go swimming. We'll go to the first night of MNSSHP. I think he'll be ok as he is so different now on the anxiety meds. May have to skip the parade, but I think otherwise he'll be fine. I need to read up on MNNSHP and see exactly what we might need to avoid.

Appreciate the support and HONESTY! Real friends tell it like it is and help you evaluate all sides equally.

 

[triplefigs]

Denise..

Are you leaning towards September?

Most definitely. But if I hadn't gone in December last year, I'd want to try Christmas. It is really wonderful, especially the Osbourne Lights and the Candlelight Processional.

 

[triplefigs]

Yeah, Denise!!! And thanks again for bringing this deal to my attention.

Beth

Glad to help!

 

[bethbuchall]

This is what I have planned for our 7 TS credits. All of these were planned before free dining, but I did have to move Le Cellier from the first week into the second week.

CM dinner
Sci-Fi lunch
CP breakfast (dd's b-day)
CRT dinner (dd's b-day, but she doesn't know it yet)
LeCellier lunch
Biergarten lunch (may switch to dinner)

I know that we could probably get even more, but this is where we already planned to eat. Even without trying to maximize it, we are saving plenty! I am thinking of splitting meals at Sci-Fi and adding another TS where we could also split meals. I really can't imagine us all doing appetizer, sandwich, and dessert at that lunch. Two of my three "kids" are adults at Disney. Ds (15) will be able to eat alot, but dd (12-13) won't.

Beth

 

[lovesdumbo]

Denise-I don't remember too much scary about the party. Emma wasn't 3 yet and at a "I'm scared" age. My kids loved trick or treating at MK. The party was one of the only things Joe asked to do before we went on the trip. He really loved it in 2004. We had dinner at CP, we skipped the parade (we did it in 2004-getting a spot just after dinner and by the time the parade was over we had little time left to do anything before the kids got too tired), saw lots of great characters, rode a few rides and watch the fireworks.

Another thing I did in 2005 different was that in 2004 I took the day of the party as a rest day but the kids were so tired the next day that we could only spend a few hours in the park the day after the party. I sort of felt like we "used" 1 1/2 park days just to do the party. In 2005 we went to parks the morning of the party, made an earlier dinner reservation(5:00) and were done before the party started, and let the kids sleep as late as they would the day after the party. That worked much better for us.

Here's a satisfied Joe at the party. My friend had Joe on her back for the fireworks and she noticed he felt heavy when the fireworks were over. He had fallen asleep. He really enjoyed the party so that is why I am hoping I can find reasonable airfare and bring him for a one on one trip in Oct.

 

[itdjbw]

Our school district is very strict with regards ot "unexcused absences". They do not allow for any. The child is given a zero on anything he/she misses while away. Even the principal gives you a lovely call to tell you what a bad parent you are..so last year I called them in sick for 3 days and nothing was said. Do what you feel is best for your family..it's only kindergarten, don't worry yourself about it like I did last year..I think I gained 1000 grey hairs over that trip & my kids (4th grade, 1st grade, & pre K) jumped right back into the swing of things when we returned.

Our school district is very strict, there funding is affected if the kids miss 5 days, we got a call from the social worker wanting to know why the kids missed!!!

 

[itdjbw]

Court?! How completely insane...frankly I find it almost borderline unconstitutional.

Our school district also can take you to court and fine you after the 5 days and each additional day is a seperate case/fine. We have to sign a form at the beginning of the school years which of course I refused to do!!! There was a mother in Gwinnett county who was jailed last year.

 

[triplefigs]

Our school district also can take you to court and fine you after the 5 days and each additional day is a seperate case/fine. We have to sign a form at the beginning of the school years which of course I refused to do!!! There was a mother in Gwinnett county who was jailed last year.

I'm hoping that they will count it as excused with a Doctor's letter from the Marcus Institute. If not, maybe I shouldn't sign the letter at the beginning of the year either. I am planning on being upfront with their teahers from day one, and if the school system has a problem with it even with a letter, than I am not going to worry about it.

 

[itdjbw]

Just like GA. Guess that's what is going to be the "norm" in the South since we're at the bottom of all test scores.

A child missing 5 days is not going to lower scores, if they have had another 180 days of school, it is all BS!!!

 

[triplefigs]

Denise-I don't remember too much scary about the party. Emma wasn't 3 yet and at a "I'm scared" age. My kids loved trick or treating at MK. The party was one of the only things Joe asked to do before we went on the trip. He really loved it in 2004. We had dinner at CP, we skipped the parade (we did it in 2004-getting a spot just after dinner and by the time the parade was over we had little time left to do anything before the kids got too tired), saw lots of great characters, rode a few rides and watch the fireworks.

Another thing I did in 2005 different was that in 2004 I took the day of the party as a rest day but the kids were so tired the next day that we could only spend a few hours in the park the day after the party. I sort of felt like we "used" 1 1/2 park days just to do the party. In 2005 we went to parks the morning of the party, made an earlier dinner reservation(5:00) and were done before the party started, and let the kids sleep as late as they would the day after the party. That worked much better for us.

Here's a satisfied Joe at the party. My friend had Joe on her back for the fireworks and she noticed he felt heavy when the fireworks were over. He had fallen asleep. He really enjoyed the party so that is why I am hoping I can find reasonable airfare and bring him for a one on one trip in Oct.

Cute picture. Thanks for the info. we'll be doing MNSSHP on our last night and flying out the next day. So I plan on going to the MK that day (like we did for the Christmas party), leave at lunch and go take a nap at the hotel/pack for the next day, and then go the the party that night.

 

[Tinkaroo]

I don't want to lie to the school as it sets a bad example for my kids, and they would NEVER be able to keep quiet. Rees' specialist is writing a letter to have it excused. If they still have a problem, so be it.

As far as heat, that doesn't bother us as we are used to it. We'll drink lots of water, take breaks in the pm, and go swimming. We'll go to the first night of MNSSHP. I think he'll be ok as he is so different now on the anxiety meds. May have to skip the parade, but I think otherwise he'll be fine. I need to read up on MNNSHP and see exactly what we might need to avoid.

Appreciate the support and HONESTY! Real friends tell it like it is and help you evaluate all sides equally.

Congrats on the trip, and I hope the letter helps in getting the school to excuse their absence.

I'm not a parent, but DH and I did the 2nd night of the MNSSHP last year for the first time. IMO, you'd likely want to avoid the parade all-together, or at least some select parts. I'll have to go back through my pictures to refresh my memory, but I would think the Villians float, the skeleton band, and the dancing HM gravediggers would probably scare him, just off hand. There are some sweet parts at the beginning and then again at the end that I wouldn't think would be scary for him. I'll try to post some pics later, or you can pm me your e-mail, and I'll send them that way.

If memory serves, he doesn't like fireworks, right? I would say that those might also be a bit over-the-top for him - the intensity of the fireworks is more, and then there's the scary music to boot.

As far as all of the other stuff goes, I didn't remember anything else "scary", except the CMs at the HM had their faces painted ghoulishly. I don't remember seeing any guests dressed scarily.

HTH - it's a totally different experience than Xmas, but also fun!

 

[Tammi67]

Tammi...

What did you decide about the AP...where are you getting the voucher or whatever is needed for the May trip?

I'm going to order it ahead of time online through DVC, so then I'll have the voucher. I'll try to check in with just the voucher. If they won't let me then I will have to head to either the park or DTD when I get in.