DIS Dads The DIS Dad's Club VI - Man's Room

[Disney Commando]

It's pretty hard to beat that deal right now. Although, a friend of mine who has APs said the room-only discounts during that same time period are pretty nice. He's going to WDW in October and is getting 35% off at Wilderness Lodge.

One day we'll get those APs, and when all I have to worry about is lodging, that will be fun.

IMO no matter what the offer the price comes out the same, let's take my last few trips, in 09 we stayed 8 days, 7nights under the free dining plan at a reg room at All Star Movies $1893, in Dec we did 7days, 6 nights no discount at All Star Movies reg room $1968. For 11 we are doing 7 days, 6 nights in a preferred room with the Kids Free Deal it comes to $2014 so it's pretty much the same except times of year, but since they allow 2 kids to stay free the savings would be another $400-500 bucks and if you booked through AAA before the end of Jan, they will give you a $25 Gift Card + a piece of kids luggage ($139 value) plus the other perks like Storytime, & Parade viewing form the balcony at the Main Street Train Station

 

[Whaler54]

So all you guys that get alot of snow, is there a trick to keep the gutters from icing up

After it snows I use a broom (I think they sell roof rakes to do this too) to remove the snow from the roof. Usually a foot or so beyond the gutter works good. When it keeps melting and the refreezing, any snow up against the gutter forms an ice dam. There's nowhere for the melting snow to go so the water starts seeping into the roof.

Learned this the hard way a few years ago, Christmas Eve with water pouring in everywhere.

 

[Disney Commando]

After it snows I use a broom (I think they sell roof rakes to do this too) to remove the snow from the roof. Usually a foot or so beyond the gutter works good. When it keeps melting and the refreezing, any snow up against the gutter forms an ice dam. There's nowhere for the melting snow to go so the water starts seeping into the roof.

Learned this the hard way a few years ago, Christmas Eve with water pouring in everywhere.

Oh yes I know that feeling ( If I wasn't sick and sleeping on the couch for a couple days I would have had a REAL MESS Thanks for the tip, the main problem that created the problem was that we got 34inches in 16 hours It was almost impossible to set up a ladder to do anything in that so it iced up, at on point the ice was almost 2 feet thick I guess I'm just luckey that it took so long to back up (of course the rain was probably the main cause) The Big storm was Dec 26th and the snow seems like it will be around till May

 

[MiJo]

Hi everybody! I'm new on here and would love to join the group. My family has a Disney World vacation planned for Mar 25-Apr 1, But found out today I get to transfer to Orlando and will be working 11 miles from the world! Any one from around Orlando or know what areas to avoid and what areas are good??

Welcome! And, nice transfer!!

Our son called last night......he passed his written test for his Blues "crest"! All that he should have left now is another Review Board on Tuesday or Wednesday. After that, he should be a fully certified member of the Blue Angels! We can't wait for Millville in May! Hooyah!

Oh yeah, it's snowing.......AGAIN!

 

[dvczerfs]

Hey dads....been a while (again), sorry, I'm a slacker. Figured it was time for an update. Been really busy around here trying to sell our house but it looks as if we finally have some serious negotiations taking place with the bank and hopefully in the next few days we'll have a signed contract. It's a short sale so it's all up to the bank to approve it or not but all parties are in the same ball park right now.

Secondly, the wife's job in Indianapolis is still conducting its back ground investigation, we are about 3 weeks into it and are told that it could take anywhere between 6 weeks to 6 months. We haven't heard anything other than our credit having been pulled (thankfully was done before the bank reported us).

Most currently, I've been researching neighborhoods and schools in and around Indianapolis, for those familiar with the area, I think we've settle on Avon and have started looking into rental properties, but without a solid start date, or even a final offer for the job, we can't really do anything but wait.

Unfortunately, this means that this last Thanksgiving would have been our final Disney trip for at least a year. Right now, we're thinking maybe June 2012 (hopefully all the construction will be done by then). No more Christmas trips, not until we get tired of 'white christmases', which, being native south floridians, probably won't be for a while.

Reading through the posts, seems like everybody is relatively ok and up to the same old antics.

This concludes your randomly scheduled update, carry on....

hey oxar!!! good to hear from you again. glad it sounds like everything is working out for you guys. ill give till feb. till you had enough of the cold and snow!!! it dont take long to break the strongest man!! as we speak, im waiting for the flippin snow plow to come buy to do the final plowing. they come buy and only take one swipe. you dig out and they come back and push it all back in!!! (youll see) good luck on your home and school search. good ti hear from you!!!

 

[dvczerfs]

Hi everybody! I'm new on here and would love to join the group. My family has a Disney World vacation planned for Mar 25-Apr 1, But found out today I get to transfer to Orlando and will be working 11 miles from the world! Any one from around Orlando or know what areas to avoid and what areas are good??

welcome to the club!!!

 

[dvczerfs]

Someone might know a trick for this, yesterday I spent 3 hrs hammering ice out of the gutters, was about 8inches thick and was leaking in my window in the living room, after getting all the ice out I found it was not blocked up with leaves or anything, and I can say talking with my friends I was not the only one with this problem. I never had this happen in the 18 1/2 years I lived in the house, but we never really got blasted with that much snow at one time in awhile

So all you guys that get alot of snow, is there a trick to keep the gutters from icing up

hey ron, whaler54 is right!! if you go to one of the home centers, they sell a "heat tape". we sell it also, its a long piece of wire that you run in a zig zag pattern on your roof from the gutter up about 12 inches. plug the heat tape in and it heats up only when it freezes. the insolation on the wire, at 32 degrees,breaks down and the two wires inside the casing, conduct heat. realy cool stuff. but that will keep the ice from damming up at your eaves. the product we have is fron heatway but theres alot of them out there. call your homeowners insurance, alot of polocies cover the damage.

 

[porknbeans]

Someone might know a trick for this, yesterday I spent 3 hrs hammering ice out of the gutters, was about 8inches thick and was leaking in my window in the living room, after getting all the ice out I found it was not blocked up with leaves or anything, and I can say talking with my friends I was not the only one with this problem. I never had this happen in the 18 1/2 years I lived in the house, but we never really got blasted with that much snow at one time in awhile

So all you guys that get alot of snow, is there a trick to keep the gutters from icing up

My guess is that the snow acted as an insulation layer on top of the roof. A good portion of the heat in a home escapes through the walls up into the attic space (heat rising). If you don't have enough insulation where the wall meets your roof, the heat that is escaping into your attic space melted the bottom portion of the snow and caused the ice dam in your gutters. There isn't much you can do about it now except broom/shovel off the first 6' of snow at the edge of your roof. You might want to check on adding some insulation to your attic when Spring rolls around.

 

[porknbeans]

Both are options. It will depend a little bit on the kids (age, temperament, ect…) and a little bit on the duration of the cruise, your dinning rotation and the priorities you have for this trip. Let me toss out a couple of possibilities based on my family.

My son is in his teens and is fairly responsible, so I’m pretty comfortable letting him navigate the ship by himself from time to time. We have allowed him to just kick-back in the cabin and order up room service. We have also let him pick up some early dinner at either the cafeteria or from one of the QS counters scattered around the main deck. From there he could either pull up a chair on the deck or take it back to the cabin (the steward will pick up the dishes latter). If he were to eat early, he could then order up a desert from room service latter on.

Now all that said, there are actually times when you might just want to go on to your normal dinning rotation, let the kids eat and you just have a cup of coffee (especially on shorter cruses where you don’t go to each restaurant multiple times). Once you know what your rotation is, you will know which dining room you’ll be skipping. If its one that you really were looking forward to experiencing, it might still be worth the trip just to take in the atmosphere and experience the little details that Disney is famous for. I especially wouldn’t want to miss “Animator’s Pallet” (the whole room is a show all by its self). Depending on the size of you family, you may be sharing a table with a similar sized group. If y’all were to hit it off with those folks, the dinner conversation might be worth the trip as well.

Just some thoughts. Rule one on a cruise ship: relax.

Super insight. I've got 2 kids (DS-14 and DD-11). They both are pretty responsible but the idea of seeing all of the dining options on our short (3-night) cruise is a great thought. I think that's the route that we will go but I'll remain as flexible as I can.

 

[porknbeans]

Ok, I'm not sure if I asked this before or not but what about excursions? I'm signed up for the snorkeling trip in Nassau (non-Atlantis version). Any experience? What about stuff at CC?

 

[porknbeans]

Someone might know a trick for this, yesterday I spent 3 hrs hammering ice out of the gutters, was about 8inches thick and was leaking in my window in the living room, after getting all the ice out I found it was not blocked up with leaves or anything, and I can say talking with my friends I was not the only one with this problem. I never had this happen in the 18 1/2 years I lived in the house, but we never really got blasted with that much snow at one time in awhile

So all you guys that get alot of snow, is there a trick to keep the gutters from icing up

I would also suggest that the next time you have your roof re-done to have them put "ice and water shield" at your roof edge and in the valleys. This is a rubber product that has an adhesive on one side. Have them put enough at the roof edge to go past the point where your wall meets your roof and a minimum of a single layer in the valleys. This stuff is "self healing" (so any nails going through it will seal closed). It is cheap insurance for protection from roof leaks as well as a fairly inexpensive product that will add life to your roof. I'm an architect and put it on all of my projects (including my house).

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Ok, I'm not sure if I asked this before or not but what about excursions? I'm signed up for the snorkeling trip in Nassau (non-Atlantis version). Any experience? What about stuff at CC?

I rented snorkel gear there and did it on my own (can't remember if there was a separate group excursion for it or not). The snorkeling is pretty cool, and they've hidden some stuff underwater that you can find, which is a lot of fun (a treasure chest, a shipwreck, Mickey, etc.). The only downside is that it's a lot of work to get out to where all that stuff is. I felt like I was trying to swim the English Channel. So, just be ready for a workout.

My kids and I also rented bikes and rode the bike trail. They LOVED doing this. There's an observation tower on the north side of the island that you can reach via the bike trail. You also get to explore the old runway on the island. It was fairly inexpensive (for Disney) as well.

 

[afwdwfan]

ill give till feb. till you had enough of the cold and snow!!! it dont take long to break the strongest man!!

See, that's how Indiana is different. Our weather seems to change by the day (or hour). Today, we're one of the coldest places in the country. A few days ago, it was raining and I was wearing just a light jacket. We go from piles of snow to mud, back to snow on a weekly basis during the winter.

 

[dvczerfs]

See, that's how Indiana is different. Our weather seems to change by the day (or hour). Today, we're one of the coldest places in the country. A few days ago, it was raining and I was wearing just a light jacket. We go from piles of snow to mud, back to snow on a weekly basis during the winter.

it must be coming this way. we are going down to 9 tonight, high of 19 sat., down to 0 sat. night sunday high of 20. and we wont see 30 till thursday with another storm coming in on tuesday night.

 

[porknbeans]

See, that's how Indiana is different. Our weather seems to change by the day (or hour). Today, we're one of the coldest places in the country. A few days ago, it was raining and I was wearing just a light jacket. We go from piles of snow to mud, back to snow on a weekly basis during the winter.

-11 at my house this morning and a high of 3 expected. I've got so many layers on I look like the Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man. Come oooon Summer!

 

[dvczerfs]

I would also suggest that the next time you have your roof re-done to have them put "ice and water shield" at your roof edge and in the valleys. This is a rubber product that has an adhesive on one side. Have them put enough at the roof edge to go past the point where your wall meets your roof and a minimum of a single layer in the valleys. This stuff is "self healing" (so any nails going through it will seal closed). It is cheap insurance for protection from roof leaks as well as a fairly inexpensive product that will add life to your roof. I'm an architect and put it on all of my projects (including my house).

i had that stuff put down on my roof last year when i had the roof done. my roof is a 12/12 pitch so not much sticks to it. most of the problems in our area is the atticks are well insolated but the eaves are not for ventalation. the snow melts hits that eave which is not and it freezes and it all pushes back up onto the headers and down the walls. it mostly happens with older,slate or asbestos roofs. were in a big slate area so there are still alot of slate roofs. most of them are installed on wooden slats, not even a solid surface. which the slate guys tell me the slate needs to breath. which is all good but oil was 19 cents a gallon when that roof was put on. now, its 3.11 and its a heat loss nightmare.

 

[dvczerfs]

-11 at my house this morning and a high of 3 expected. I've got so many layers on I look like the Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man. Come oooon Summer!

you guys get alot of wind???

 

[porknbeans]

you guys get alot of wind???

Not like they do on the plains, but enough to make you take notice! It really doesn't matter because If I get blown over I have so much padding I'll just bounce off of whatever I hit and not feel it!!

 

[oXar]

Good luck on getting things wrapped up with the house. Avon is a pretty good area, I'm sure you'll be happy there. The Hendricks county area has really been growing the past few years, and with all the road construction they've been doing on the west side, they should just about have it done in time to give your wife a clear drive into Indy for the next few years.

We settled on Avon mianly because of its proximity to downtown Indianapolis, where my wife will be working. I hear that it's growing, so as an architect, it might be a good place to find work. It was hard for us to decide between Avon, Brownsburg, Carmel & Fishers, but Avon just seemed like a better fit for us. We are hoping to find something in the north west side of town, but the rental house we like is actually south east. Not that it matters, it will probably be gone by the time my wife gets her final offer.

hey oxar!!! good to hear from you again. glad it sounds like everything is working out for you guys. ill give till feb. till you had enough of the cold and snow!!! it dont take long to break the strongest man!! as we speak, im waiting for the flippin snow plow to come buy to do the final plowing. they come buy and only take one swipe. you dig out and they come back and push it all back in!!! (youll see) good luck on your home and school search. good ti hear from you!!!

Feb.? that's wishful thinking, I'm saying October I'll be over it. Remember, where I'm at it's like 77 right now and doesn't usually drop below 80 until December. We will be the butt of all the jokes, wearing heavy sweaters in September, but hey, it's a new adventure, all good adventures come with some pain. There is an old Cuban comedian who would tell a long joke about moving to PA, how he was tired of the sweltering Miami heat, and all the garbage associated with living down here and he finally ups and moves to PA. He keeps a journal, and every day he writes about how happy he was to have moved, then the first snow hits. Still in awe by this event he speaks highly of it, then the second, and the third. Eventually he begins to curse out the plows, and everything associated with snow, or as he called it "White $#!+". Finally, his last journal entry read: "I moved back to Miami!"

It's funny, because I really can't speak of this move in public yet, so my Facebook updates have been very cryptic. Here there is a little more anonymity so when I'm about to burst with excitement or anticipation or something huge happens, I tend to come here so I can get it out before I explode.

I will admit that I am going to miss being so close to WDW, especially with my girls being at such a perfect age, but this way, they won't be saturated with the parks and when we do go it will be a big deal. Growing up, I always loved going, even when it was only MK, but by the time I was 12 or so, we stopped going as often and the magic was no longer there. But I'm really glad that we where able to take that trip in Xmas of '09, it was an awesome trip that was made perfect by much of the advice I recieved on this board. Thanks guys....

 

[DisneyFed]

Someone might know a trick for this, yesterday I spent 3 hrs hammering ice out of the gutters, was about 8inches thick and was leaking in my window in the living room, after getting all the ice out I found it was not blocked up with leaves or anything, and I can say talking with my friends I was not the only one with this problem. I never had this happen in the 18 1/2 years I lived in the house, but we never really got blasted with that much snow at one time in awhile

So all you guys that get alot of snow, is there a trick to keep the gutters from icing up

Sorry man, I got nothin'