The DDA Trouble Free Zone

[julia & nicks mom]

here you go Tammi

 

[rosiejo]

I have a simple solution for you, Clare. Move by me in Utah. We have very few gloomy days. Of course, I'm kidding! It would be cool to have you here, though!

Hmm but isn't it really hot in Utah? I'm not very good with extreme temperatures... not very easy to please am I?

 

[rosiejo]

Wow, you are a planner!!!

I read something Kate wrote yesterday..she mentioned that she doesn't put dates on her shirts since she like to wear them again..I wish I had thought of that before I made all those shirts for oct 05...Now I have to make all new shirts for this years trip. No dates this time!

Me too - they all say November 2005 - and now we might make November 2006 I need new ones... doh!

 

[KristineN]

Yes, we just layered shirts, and it worked perfectly! Then the kids can wear the shirts year round. Some days it was so warm we wore just the t-shirts and shorts, and some days we had on long sleeve t's underneath with jackets. You have to pack for every scenario. BTW, love the new pic!

Denise...Were you comfortable? This may sound kinda weird...but I have never liked layering (for myself) I always feel like fit is just a little "off". I need therapy..

 

[rosiejo]

I figure that since men are supposed to die earlier than women their own age, then perhaps we can just go together and neither one of us will be left on their own. Maybe?

Good point

 

[triplefigs]

Denise...Were you comfortable? This may sound kinda weird...but I have never liked layering (for myself) I always feel like fit is just a little "off". I need therapy..

I got comfy long sleeve thin t's (WalMart) to go underneath. I was very comfy!

 

[bethbuchall]

Hi, all! Since you all love planning trips so much, I have one to WDW that you can help me plan, too! I feel like all of a sudden, I'm behind the 8 ball.

We will be off-site from August 12-19. Then I want to add some time on-site. I am trying for another whole week, but I'm not sure where I stand on that until I do some budgeting.

There are so many things that have changed in the last two years. I have some idea, but I'm hoping that you can clarify a couple of things to start. (I know I should go ask these question on the "proper" board, but you are so knowlegeable).

When can I start making ADR's? Is it 6 months in advance now? Is there a date calculator somewhere for that? I know there used to be, but I don't remember where. I heard a while ago that you could make ADR's for 10 days out starting with the first day you were staying on site without waiting for each day to be the "right" date. Do you know if that is still true? It will only help for the second part of the trip, but better than nothing.

Is there a pass available for more than 10 days (other than an AP)?

For budget reasons, I'm thinking of putting all 5 of us in one room at POR. I know that will be quite a squeeze, especially after having a 2-bedroom. Do you think that's crazy? For just a little bit more, I could get 2 rooms at one of the values, but we've never stayed in the values, so I don't know what to expect there. Contemporary appears sold-out for the majority of that week, and I'd pretty much have to cut that part of the trip in half to go Poly. Any suggestions there? We stayed at POR when it was Dixie Landings (in 1998) and really liked it. That is the kids first choice, too (if we can't go deluxe).

Beth

 

[Glynis]

Hmm but isn't it really hot in Utah? I'm not very good with extreme temperatures... not very easy to please am I?

It all depends on where in Utah you settle. Here in Alpine we are right at the base of a mountain. It keeps us nice and cool in the summer. I only have to use my air conditioner during August. We do get some cold days, but usually they are sunny and cold. No gloomy. We get the occasional rainstorm, but even those are mostly just refreshing!

I know that I could probably never get you to leave England however, and who can blame you! At least we can be long distance friends, right?

 

[julia & nicks mom]

http://pscalculator.net/pscalc.php
this is the PS calculator - you can call 180 days out

he has this calculated - I think if you are staying on property - you can call 180 days from your day of arrival and make them for the entire trip - can anyone confirm this?

there is nothing beyond the 10 day that I am aware of - but anything beyond the 10 day would cost more than an AP anyway

 

[Tinkaroo]

I just sent you a PM. I'd be happy to help you with a plan. You might want to ask Tinkaroo first if I was any help or if I just confused her. I could walk you around both parks blindfolded, but I'm not much help with other things to do.

Glynis, you were great! If you want me to forward along to kare1bear the PM's you sent me so you don't have to reinvent the wheel, let me know!

 

[Tinkaroo]

Meeting you for dinner would be out of this world fun! I've got to pin DH down on a budget, so as soon as I do, I'll start screaming for help! Right now, I'm simply compiling a list of what everyone likes to do and where people like to stay, etc. so I've got something for him to look at. Then we can go from there. The best thing is that it's no kids! Don't get me wrong! I love my kids, but DH and I like to do things alone, too. I don't know, yet, how I'll feel about turning 40, but I think it might be best if the kids aren't around in case I have a melt-down. That's entirely possible, since DH likes to spend my birthday reminding me that I'm 15 months older than he is. Pretty sad, huh? Oh well.

We will all love to help you - let us know once you get a budget!

 

[Tinkaroo]

Tia- thanks so much for that info! Can I pm you when I have more specific questions? In the meantime- I'm gonna go check that Candy Cane Inn you are talking about.

karebear - we were going to stay at the Candy Cane Inn right up to about 2 weeks before our trip last week. Their website if you haven't found it yet is www.candycaneinn.net. My TA highly recommended it as the top off-site option - they have a free continental breakfast, free dedicated shuttle, nice property, etc. We decided at the last minute to take a AAA package with the Disneyland Hotel when one opened up, but I was comfortable with our decision to stay at the CCI beforehand. Being so used to the perks of staying "onsite" at WDW, it's sometimes hard to get your head wrapped around the idea that you can be offsite at DL, and be within walking distance of the parks, too.

CCI doesn't do any promotional terms on any of the travel sites (Expedia, etc.), but they do offer AAA rates, if you're a member.

 

[Tinkaroo]

I'm not Glynis but we went there twice this year(August and December). I don't think there's a really good website for DL like WDW. The DIS has a DL chat area. I found the people there anwer questions fairly quickly and are willing to share their knowledge. There's a miedevil(sp?) dinner show in the area and I think a Pirate's one. We went to all the character meals except the princess one. If you want any reccomendations. I would highly recomend Blue Bayou as it's unique. It is a restaurant inside POTC. You want the 11:30 seating ( first seating) if going for lunch to get a waterside table. Lunch menu has the famous Monte Cristo sandwich. A lot of people rave about it. DH and I split one as it is quite big. LA is nearby. There's some museums and the La Brea Tarpits. For the FW you absolutely need to stake out a spot in the hub to really get the full effect. I teared up during part of it. I actually videotaped the Electrical Parade and FW and Fantasmic this last trip. Be sure to look up at Walt's apt. on main street. Fantasmic is dif. than at WDW : 1. the show is on Rivers of America so no real seating. You'll need to stake out a spot on the ground ahead of time or shell out $56 for the balcony dessert seating. (We did this our August trip if you want any opinions) 2. They use the Mark Twain and Columbia(with Peter Pan & gang). It really is neat. If you have any questions I'd love to help. We plan on going this summer to squeeze one last trip out of our AP's hoping to take the stepsons.

We also just did the Fantasmic desert balcony buffet last Saturday night, and can give an opinion if you want it.

 

[Tinkaroo]

I got twenty pages to catch up on. Hope I can through them before I decide to get to bed.

I found out why I was nauseous, stomach ache, had to pee quite often and my back hurts. Before anyone gets hopeful I am not pregnant. I have a UTI. The only reason this was figured out was because I had a physical and drug test yesterday for my new job. They said I had bacteria in my drug test sample and told me I should go to my doctor. So I go today and that is the verdict.

I probably never would have went had I not had the physical yesterday. I could attribute all of those symptoms to other things. nauseous/stomach ache-had cramps and the stomach bug is going around lots of people have the stomach bug. I have been drinking lots more trying to drink my water hence the need to pee more often. As for the backache- Also one of my normal PMS symptoms and also I have helped move some furniture and started hurting after that. Shows what I know.

Becky

Becky

Hope you're feeling better today, Becky.

 

[bethbuchall]

http://pscalculator.net/pscalc.php
this is the PS calculator - you can call 180 days out

he has this calculated - I think if you are staying on property - you can call 180 days from your day of arrival and make them for the entire trip - can anyone confirm this?

there is nothing beyond the 10 day that I am aware of - but anything beyond the 10 day would cost more than an AP anyway

Thanks, Kate! A 10 day ticket (expiring) with hopping is $242. The problem is that a 4 day ticket (if we want 14 park days altogether) is another $233 (expiring, hopping), but a second 10 day ticket (non-expiring for later use of the extra days) is $377. If we go with AP's that is $415. I know for those kinds of differences (x5), my dh will tell me that 10 days in the parks is plenty. I was hoping maybe there would be something for more than 10 days that didn't add quite so much. 10 days is definitely better than nothing!

Beth

 

[rosiejo]

It all depends on where in Utah you settle. Here in Alpine we are right at the base of a mountain. It keeps us nice and cool in the summer. I only have to use my air conditioner during August. We do get some cold days, but usually they are sunny and cold. No gloomy. We get the occasional rainstorm, but even those are mostly just refreshing!

I know that I could probably never get you to leave England however, and who can blame you! At least we can be long distance friends, right?

I'd love to live in the states - but I do really like England - there are things I miss whenever I'm on holiday and I love coming "home" after the trip

 

[Tinkaroo]

My mom makes AMAZING banana bread..... but not very often! She gets in the mood and then goes to the store specifically for the almost-rotten bananas. I've never made it (and might not ever) becuase, as much as I love banana bread, the fruit itself makes me nauseous just looking at it! Trying to smash it while it was all black and stuff might really put me over the edge.

I second that! I think it's a texture thing, but I can't eat bananas, peaches - anything "squishy". It freaks me out!

 

[Tinkaroo]

ok I'm back on page 141 but I just noticed Kate's new signature announcement about the number of designs she has on the go.

Kate - I am in awe at your generosity that you will spend so much of your time spreading pixie dust for others. It started me thinking that maybe you could ask people to pay it forward by making a small donation to charity? There is a website http://www.justgiving.com/ where you set up a webpage about your chosen charity and then you put the link in your sig and people go and write a note and donate however much they want to. Then you can see how much is being raised - and the money is sent to your charity.

You could choose one close to your heart - or even the make a wish foundation which would be apt. People could of course donate at the foundation site - but using the other kind of site allows you to see how much money has been raised through your efforts.


Just a thought - but since you are being so generous I thought it would be a great way to rasie money for charity at the same time... in fact all of us DDAers who make designs could do the same thing?

What does everyone think?

What a great idea this is! I know I've always wanted to do something for the designers that have helped me out, but after a while, how many postcards, small gifts, etc. do you guys probably need/receive? This would be a great alternative!

 

[rosiejo]

Thanks, Kate! A 10 day ticket (expiring) with hopping is $242. The problem is that a 4 day ticket (if we want 14 park days altogether) is another $233 (expiring, hopping), but a second 10 day ticket (non-expiring for later use of the extra days) is $377. If we go with AP's that is $415. I know for those kinds of differences (x5), my dh will tell me that 10 days in the parks is plenty. I was hoping maybe there would be something for more than 10 days that didn't add quite so much. 10 days is definitely better than nothing!

Beth

Hi Beth - here in the UK we can buy 14day hoppers and 21 day hoppers.

They give you:
Disney’s Ultimate Tickets give unlimited access to:
• Magic Kingdom Park
• Epcot
• Disney-MGM Studios
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park
• Disney’s Blizzard Beach
• Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Parks**
• Downtown Disney Pleasure Island
• Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex†
• DisneyQuest Indoor Interactive Theme Park††

SO you can go in and out of all the above all day everyday for 14 days - but they expire 14 days after first use - you cannot store "unused" days for another trip.

And the price? About £171 for adults and £146 for children aged 3 to 9. That's about $299 and $252 respectively (at an exchange rate of $1.70 to the £)

I'm not sure if you can order them from the states - here's the site I ordered from last year http://www.themepark-tickets.com/florida/index.asp#parks-1

Now I'm not sure if they post to the states - but you could always send them to me and I could send them on if it worked out cheaper for you.

ETA - I hadn't actually finished writing my post and it posted it for me!

 

[Tinkaroo]

How much fun!! I love Jim Brickman too

My husband won tickets and a meet & greet for one his previous tours...best anniversary present...sweetest man and adorable looking also!! (my husbands pretty cute too!! )

Jim has a new cd out of his take on Disney music....most is very VERY good...I only had a problem with one song...not my style.


Theresa

Yes, the Disney CD is fabulous! He actually played a good amount of it last night, since he cut back on the holiday music. He ended on "When You Wish Upon a Star" - can't get much better than that!

He has a DVD of his PBS special filmed at WDW coming out next month. My mom and I actually happened to be in the MK that night last year (also my b-day) and got to observe some of the filming. It is a great show!