DIS Dads The Dis Dad's Club III

[Captain_Oblivious]

Thanks for all the pictures of WL. We are headed there in October and have not stayed there before. It looks great!!!

You'll love it! Still my favorite resort on property, with AKL a close second.

 

[stopher1]

You'll love it! Still my favorite resort on property, with AKL a close second.

Mine too - although AKL is tied for a very close 2nd along with the Treehouses.

 

[chillcoupons]

Alright - so I found this little number way back on page 150 - #2247 - posted on March 9th - or just 10 days and 35 pages ago...




So if we examine our record since that was posted we've gained 35 pages in 10 days. While our total page count has increased the size of the thread, our actual average per day has dropped somewhat from an average of 3.61 pages per day last time to 3.5 pages currently.

Since v 3.0's beginning, our overall daily average is now at 2.46 pages per day.

If we remain at this slightly decreased rate, and if this thread gets locked down at 250 pages, we've only got 65 pages to go, or less than 25 days to fill it up (about April 12th). Or if we're lucky and survive as long as we did with v2.0 - (281 pages) - we've got about 37 days left, or until about April 24th.

AND, if we stay at about this pace, now obviously our pace can and will change, but if we stayed at the same per page count we are currently at through the spring we'll go through v3.0 by about late June, v4.0 by about late September or early October and finish up v5.0 by early-to-mid January 2011.

So there you go. More trivia for you. BUT - I believe (though I could be off a bit) that it also puts us right into the heart of Don's trip.... (you know, the one he needs to not take until his first trip's TR is finished or get cracking and finish up that TR so he can better enjoy his trip guilt free ) so we'll either need to have a new version ready to roll before he leaves, or someone else will need to be ready to pinch-hit and get 4.0 up and rolling while he's gone.

Well Stopher, I am going to jump back in and try to push up the daily average. I just booked the first week of June at WDW, (we canceled our plans to go to DL in early May). We are going to try something completely different this time and have reserved a cabin at Disney's fort Wilderness! We are taking DD Virginia who was born on DIS Dad's I (I was online in DW's delivery room while we were waiting) DD will be 2 years old by the time we go. We picked FW because the cabin is like a suite and we will be able to put DD to sleep and not have to sit in near silence. It is also much less expensive than a one bedroom at a DVC and there is a water taxi Magic Kingdom. We are also excited for her to see the horses which DD loves, and the petting zoo. I did not realize they had so many activities at FW and as we are "city folk" (well at least DW is, I am a western PA hillbilly at heart)this will be as close to ruffing it as we will ever get.
This is just another example of why we love Disney so much because every trip can be a very different experience.

 

[GoHerd1028]

Well Stopher, I am going to jump back in and try to push up the daily average. I just booked the first week of June at WDW, (we canceled our plans to go to DL in early May). We are going to try something completely different this time and have reserved a cabin at Disney's fort Wilderness! We are taking DD Virginia who was born on DIS Dad's I (I was online in DW's delivery room while we were waiting) DD will be 2 years old by the time we go. We picked FW because the cabin is like a suite and we will be able to put DD to sleep and not have to sit in near silence. It is also much less expensive than a one bedroom at a DVC and there is a water taxi Magic Kingdom. We are also excited for her to see the horses which DD loves, and the petting zoo. I did not realize they had so many activities at FW and as we are "city folk" (well at least DW is, I am a western PA hillbilly at heart)this will be as close to ruffing it as we will ever get.
This is just another example of why we love Disney so much because every trip can be a very different experience.

Good to see you on here Christian!!!

 

[chillcoupons]

Good to see you on here Christian!!!

Good to be back Steve. I hope you have fully recovered from your bout with the flu.

 

[stopher1]

Well Stopher, I am going to jump back in and try to push up the daily average. I just booked the first week of June at WDW, (we canceled our plans to go to DL in early May).

Welcome back!

Bummer about cancelling DL - I bet you would have really enjoyed it.

This is just another example of why we love Disney so much because every trip can be a very different experience.

Amen to that! I love how diverse it can all be. We had such a great time staying in the Treehouses in January. We didn't even feel like we were at WDW. It was awesome. We always wanted to try the cabins at the Fort, but never got around to it. Perhaps someday just for fun, though I don't want to pay cash for accomodations any more now ever since we first joined DVC...but perhaps someday.

Good to see you on here Christian!!!

Here here!! We've missed ya buddy.

 

[Disney Commando]

Well Stopher, I am going to jump back in and try to push up the daily average. I just booked the first week of June at WDW, (we canceled our plans to go to DL in early May). We are going to try something completely different this time and have reserved a cabin at Disney's fort Wilderness! We are taking DD Virginia who was born on DIS Dad's I (I was online in DW's delivery room while we were waiting) DD will be 2 years old by the time we go. We picked FW because the cabin is like a suite and we will be able to put DD to sleep and not have to sit in near silence. It is also much less expensive than a one bedroom at a DVC and there is a water taxi Magic Kingdom. We are also excited for her to see the horses which DD loves, and the petting zoo. I did not realize they had so many activities at FW and as we are "city folk" (well at least DW is, I am a western PA hillbilly at heart)this will be as close to ruffing it as we will ever get.
This is just another example of why we love Disney so much because every trip can be a very different experience.

Glad to see you back Did you finish your Man Room with all the cool stuff you won

 

[Disney Commando]

LOL Did you sculpt little gophers out of clay too????

PICS or it didn't happen!!!!

This is sooo funny!!!! LOLOLOL

No pics or vid at 1:37 am had no idea what I was in for, knowing what I know now if I had the VC rolling I might have won the 100G on America's Funniest Home Video's

 

[chillcoupons]

Glad to see you back Did you finish your Man Room with all the cool stuff you won

Never made it to the man room but my wife and daughter have been enjoying it. Oh well. lol

 

[Emma's Dad]

Well Stopher, I am going to jump back in and try to push up the daily average. I just booked the first week of June at WDW, (we canceled our plans to go to DL in early May). We are going to try something completely different this time and have reserved a cabin at Disney's fort Wilderness! We are taking DD Virginia who was born on DIS Dad's I (I was online in DW's delivery room while we were waiting) DD will be 2 years old by the time we go. We picked FW because the cabin is like a suite and we will be able to put DD to sleep and not have to sit in near silence. It is also much less expensive than a one bedroom at a DVC and there is a water taxi Magic Kingdom. We are also excited for her to see the horses which DD loves, and the petting zoo. I did not realize they had so many activities at FW and as we are "city folk" (well at least DW is, I am a western PA hillbilly at heart)this will be as close to ruffing it as we will ever get.
This is just another example of why we love Disney so much because every trip can be a very different experience.

CHRISTIAN!! Welcome back! Sorry to hear about the canceled DL trip... but wow! You'll be staying at FW now! It's going to take me a long time to get DW to try out FW... she is NOT an outdoors person at all. Me... I'm from back woods Ohio... so it's right up my alley.

Glad to see you back Did you finish your Man Room with all the cool stuff you won

Oh yeah! Is the Man Room at least finished out?? Pics?

 

[Emma's Dad]

As promised, here are some photos from our adventure at Busch Gardens Europe yesterday. Yes... I'm pulling a Stopher and doing a mini-TR in the thread

It was "Pass Member Preview Day" at BGW, which means only those people with passes could get in. Now... what EXACTLY constitutes a "pass" is still unclear to me. Not sure if you could purchase a Fun Day Pass and still get in. But, we purchased the Platinum pass this year which also entitles us to free parking in the Preferred parking lot... which is great for us because we don't like waiting for the trams.

The hours for the day was 10am-7pm. We left the house around 9:15am... stopped at 7-11 for slurpees and hot dogs... and was on the road at about 9:30ish. From our house in VA Beach it normally takes us about 45-60 minutes... and fortunately traffic was awesome... we made it in just under 45 minutes. The ticket booths were backed up about 1/4 mile by the time we arrived! This NEVER happens. We were wondering what we got ourselves into. After waiting 25 minutes to get through the booth, we were issued our preferred parking tickets and off to the park we go.

Crowds were pretty light considering how many people were flowing in. The first ride on the list was Lochness Monster. There was MUCH debate on what would be first since DD was checked out at home to be tall enough to try out Apollo's Chariot for the first time. She needed to be 52"... more on this later. Here we are at the Monster:







As you can see in the last pic, the lines were non-existent at this time. We rode on it twice in a row but deciding to head over to Apollo's Chariot. On our way there we stop for a ride on the Battering Ram in Italy. Quick photo op here:









Well... we get to AC and have the lady at the entrance check DD's height to be sure she can ride. Something's not right... because now, according to their measuring device, DD is 1/2" too short! I couldn't believe it! I've measured her MANY times at home... with shoes off... and has been more than 52". Oh well... DD didn't mind. I think she was still too scared to ride it at this point. Being the good dad that I am... I also refuse to go on the ride (even though I was chomping at the bits! HAHA!).

After a few more rides, we decide it was time to eat and head back to England for burgers. We also try to re-measure DD with the devices they have at the front of the park. Alas... still too short... but interestingly enough she was only short by 1/4" this time. We talked about doing the old "napkins in the shoes" trick... but decided against it... I mean... what is that going to teach DD if we cheat like that? Here she is getting measured:



Anywho... on with the pics:

Escape From Pompeii:






Have to say this here... this was an ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS day to be at a theme park. I heard someone say it got up to around 82! Clear blue skies! Still... wasn't hot enough for me to brave the menacing Escape From Pompeii.

Curse of DarKastle:


For those who may not know, the coaster "Big Bad Wolf" has been shut down and hauled away! I knew last season was the last one for it, but I wasn't expecting the ride to be completely going by this season. Here is what's left of it:

Train station here... the rails would be coming out of this side of the building:


Ok... gotta wrap this up. In all we had a good day. We met up with a few friends unexpectedly along the way... enjoyed several more rides... and left the park around 5:00. We were pretty much worn out by this time and really did not want to spend more money on park food. The trip back home was uneventful and little traffic. Score another successful BGW run for us!!

Here is a parting gift... DD flying through the air on the swings! (p.s... don't mind the commentary )

Video:

 

[dvczerfs]

nice pics don!! emma looks like she got taller. glad you had nice weather. we had a spag. diner that we vol. for every year for a 24 year old dance teacher at my dd dance studio that was killed by a drunk driver in 06. im the dishwasher. she was killed on her 24th birthday. her heart and lungs were donated and the guy who got her heart comes to this and there recital every year. were trying to keep it together because she teaches the "older kids" and my dd grad. year is the last year students she had. the drunk driver got 12 years in jail. there was over 125 kids showed up for the court hearing, they would take turns going in and they all acted like adults. people dont relize that these girls spend 35-40 hours a week in a dance studio with these teachers and they become a big part of there lives.

 

[AirGoofy]

Thanks for all the inspiration. I completed by 1st ever trip report (link below), albeit 5 months late. Remember, it was my first time, so be gentle.

 

[tutter99]

Thanks guys!

Steve, it's a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5. It's actually a 5 MP point-and-shoot. These were on full automatic, just using the various settings like "Portrait" or "Scenery". Good camera, as long as there is plenty of light. It breaks down pretty quickly in low light.

We actually just upgraded to a DSLR--a Canon Rebel XSi. My wife and I are both trying to learn more about photography and we're looking forward to fooling around with the settings! She tends to have a better eye for portraits and people, and I do the landscapes and scenery. Maybe I'll put up a couple good ones she took of the kids later.

I'm pretty sure Stopher is and has always been the Information Officer--that title has to go to the guy who actually worked at DL!

Come to think of it, I don't think I ever got assigned a title. Do we still need a Village Idiot?

Has anyone called Bartender?

I have a Nikkon D40X that I got about 3 years ago. It takes good pictures...I have not set down to read the instruction book yet so I have not realized what it's full potential is. I guess I need to do that so I can take pictures as nice as everyone elses!

For all those with Canon Rebels and Nikons, I was at Walmart this week and they had the vertical grips that cover most of the models of those two marked down to $18 from $99. Basically it is a grip that screws onto the bottom of the camera using the tripod mark. It has room to attach two batteries in it so you can shoot longer, and a separate adapter that lets you operate off AA's in an emergency. The neat thing is it moves the shutter button and a bunch of the other controls onto the grip so they are still right where they would normally be when you're holding the camera the "normal" way.

Another cool think to look into if you don't have a separate flash is a flash diffuser since the built in flash on Digital SLRs is pretty harsh. The one I picked up is a Puffer, if you do a search on "Gary Fong puffer" you'll find it. Gary's website has some videos where he shows you the same picture taken with and without the diffuser and the difference is pretty amazing.

As promised, here are some photos from our adventure at Busch Gardens Europe yesterday. Yes... I'm pulling a Stopher and doing a mini-TR in the thread

Great pics!

 

[stopher1]

As promised, here are some photos from our adventure at Busch Gardens Europe yesterday. Yes... I'm pulling a Stopher and doing a mini-TR in the thread

I believe I've taught you well!

It was "Pass Member Preview Day" at BGW, which means only those people with passes could get in. Now... what EXACTLY constitutes a "pass" is still unclear to me. Not sure if you could purchase a Fun Day Pass and still get in. But, we purchased the Platinum pass this year which also entitles us to free parking in the Preferred parking lot... which is great for us because we don't like waiting for the trams.

Sounds like you qualify then...

Crowds were pretty light considering how many people were flowing in.

As you can see in the last pic, the lines were non-existent at this time.

Always love that!

Escape From Pompeii:

This one, at least the pics, reminds me so much of the Journey to (or is it from) Atlantis ride at Sea World

Ok... gotta wrap this up. In all we had a good day. We met up with a few friends unexpectedly along the way... enjoyed several more rides... and left the park around 5:00. We were pretty much worn out by this time and really did not want to spend more money on park food. The trip back home was uneventful and little traffic. Score another successful BGW run for us!!

All in all sounds like a great day! Thanks for sharing it right here in our main thread!! I LOVE IT!!!

 

[billybobblockhead]

Question. We have annual passes because we planned 2 sort of long trips to Disney within a years time and the savings from an 8 day park hopper/4 day park hopper to an annual pass were HUGE. We were wanting to purchase 1 day at a water park for our June trip online so that we can get the discounted price (just a couple of bucks, but hey, it's a discount). Will we have to pick a day during our June trip when we do the purchase online or will we be able to purchase then use the ticket any day that we want to during our trip??

 

[AJRitz]

Inspired by Emma's Dad's effort, I went ahead and got the PTR for our October trip started. It's linked in my sig below.

 

[cj9200]

As promised, here are some photos from our adventure at Busch Gardens Europe yesterday. Yes... I'm pulling a Stopher and doing a mini-TR in the thread

Thanks for the pics and mini report. When I lived in NY, DD and I would head to Williamsburg and Busch Gardens for a week. Beautiful park. Tell your DD to eat her vegs so she is tall enough to ride next time. She is adorable. Better get your baseball bat ready for when she is older. I have an extra if you need to borrow it. Nothing like a crazed look and a baseball bat in your hand to keep the boys in line.

 

[dvczerfs]

Question. We have annual passes because we planned 2 sort of long trips to Disney within a years time and the savings from an 8 day park hopper/4 day park hopper to an annual pass were HUGE. We were wanting to purchase 1 day at a water park for our June trip online so that we can get the discounted price (just a couple of bucks, but hey, it's a discount). Will we have to pick a day during our June trip when we do the purchase online or will we be able to purchase then use the ticket any day that we want to during our trip??

billy, not sure were on line and what kind of discount your getting but generaly tickets to parks arent for a partic. date. we have anns and every so often dd and dw want to go a water park and just get the tickets at the cons. desk when we check in. if your a dvc member theres a 10 percent discount for a one day ticket into a water park.

 

[billybobblockhead]

billy, not sure were on line and what kind of discount your getting but generaly tickets to parks arent for a partic. date. we have anns and every so often dd and dw want to go a water park and just get the tickets at the cons. desk when we check in. if your a dvc member theres a 10 percent discount for a one day ticket into a water park.

Ahhhhhh. Many thanks. And the DVC discount is larger than what we would have gotten online as we are also members.