The DIS Dad's Club XII: Oh... There You Are Perry!

[Emma's Dad]

Hi Everyone,
I wanted to thank everyone that read and commented on my ordeal this weekend (there were just too many to multiquote!). And yes, at the time it was pretty scary. Watching her bike start going down is a vision I'll probably never forget. But looking back now that everyone is OK, we all laugh about it. In fact, a common phrase heard around my house now is "Did you fall off a cliff or something?" As in : "Look at how dirty your shirt is! Did you fall off a cliff or something?"

I wonder who started THAT phrase

 

[FreezinRafiki]

Saturday night we went to a local minor league football game. As the teams were heading back on the field after the 2 minute warning, Evan starts yelling "Look! A Mickey on his shirt!" Sure enough, the sweat stains on the back of their 42 year old quarterback's jersey formed a hidden Mickey. I tried to get a picture with my cell phone. The picture is small, but if you look at the back of #1, you can make it out:

 

[FreezinRafiki]

I wonder who started THAT phrase

Yeah, she was the one that started replying "No, I rode my bike off it."

 

[AJRitz]

I think TouringPlans.com may be struggling a bit to figure out how to deal with the every-night Fantasmic! schedule. They just don't have a large enough pool of data yet to give them reliable results. When Fantasmic! was only running twice/week, they knew that Fantasmic! = Park to Avoid, because the show was a crowd magnet. With the show running every night, I think that rush is somewhat mitigated, but at the same time I think that the DHS crowd level is increasing overall somewhat, because having Fantasmic! running every night makes it more of an all-day park. Some people who would otherwise see DHS as a half-day park, and therefore not worth their time, now include DHS in their park plans again.

It's frustrating, but that's the downside of a truly data-driven system. You need reliable data, and I'm not sure they have it for DHS with every-night Fantasmic! yet.

 

[Turkey Lurkey]

Saturday night we went to a local minor league football game. As the teams were heading back on the field after the 2 minute warning, Evan starts yelling "Look! A Mickey on his shirt!" Sure enough, the sweat stains on the back of their 42 year old quarterback's jersey formed a hidden Mickey. I tried to get a picture with my cell phone. The picture is small, but if you look at the back of #1, you can make it out:

I'm glad you specified that he was 42 years old, cuz I was thinking there was NO WAY a younger person could sweat that much.


TL

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

OK so it's not just me I kept looking for her, I thought I just missed her or something

We just got back a couple hours ago

Welcome back Ron! Sorry the vacation had to come to an end...

I know... I think the re-scheduling of Fantasmic is probably what did it. The morning we were planning to hit DHS for rope drop, they made the studios the Park to Avoid. None of the rest of the changes were a real big deal that would have a negative impact on our plans, but it did kind of catch my attention as to how much the crowd levels have increased. I know they say free dining doesn't really draw a bigger crowd to the parks, but touringplans must disagree with that.

I agree with Aaron's response--they just don't have enough data yet. It used to be pretty easy--just avoid DHS on Fantasmic days. Now it's more

In fact, a common phrase heard around my house now is "Did you fall off a cliff or something?" As in : "Look at how dirty your shirt is! Did you fall off a cliff or something?"

I'm waiting for, "Do you do everything somebody tells you to do? If someone told you to jump off a cliff, would you do it?!"

"Not again."

Saturday night we went to a local minor league football game. As the teams were heading back on the field after the 2 minute warning, Evan starts yelling "Look! A Mickey on his shirt!" Sure enough, the sweat stains on the back of their 42 year old quarterback's jersey formed a hidden Mickey. I tried to get a picture with my cell phone. The picture is small, but if you look at the back of #1, you can make it out:

Nice! You're training the young Padawan well.

 

[scott2997]

Anybody in need of a Laptop?

I had "lent" my wife's laptop to her sister since theirs had croaked. Well they finally got a new one and I have this one back. After not having it for a while, we realized we really don't need it.

It's a Windows 7 machine with a fresh install.

I'd be happy to help out someone in need!

PM me for the specs.

 

[Bo Duke]

Saw this and had to post it.
Bacon Chocolate chip cookies
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Bacon-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies

 

[katoot]

Gah!

Now the interview's been pushed back to Thursday, which kind of sucks for my current job, because we start a new semester that day. It's going to be crazy hectic there. Especially since our current head teacher's last day is Wednesday, making me the new head teacher. Fortunately, I'm able to get that day off.


I've had enough stress this week...

Okay, I've relaxed a little bit since that post. I feel really bad for my school since I won't be there on Thursday, especially since the teacher that's supposed to be leaving on Wednesday will be filling in for most of my classes on Thursday (he flies out of Korea on Friday, so he needs to do his last minute stuff Thursday night).
An amusing thing: right after I told my boss I needed the ever-busy first day of the semester Thursday off, that was when she finally told me that I am the new head teacher, which comes with tons of responsibilities, etc. Nothing like making me feel worse about asking for that day than I already did.

Ideally, I would have wanted Wednesday off for the interview, seeing as how we have an extra teacher that day and it wouldn't have messed any schedules up. I'm just happy that I didn't ask my boss for Wednesday off right when I got to work like I was originally planning.

Anyway, my interview is officially set for 2pm on Thursday. The wife and I will be taking the KTX rapid train to get there and back.

 

[afwdwfan]

I think TouringPlans.com may be struggling a bit to figure out how to deal with the every-night Fantasmic! schedule. They just don't have a large enough pool of data yet to give them reliable results. When Fantasmic! was only running twice/week, they knew that Fantasmic! = Park to Avoid, because the show was a crowd magnet. With the show running every night, I think that rush is somewhat mitigated, but at the same time I think that the DHS crowd level is increasing overall somewhat, because having Fantasmic! running every night makes it more of an all-day park. Some people who would otherwise see DHS as a half-day park, and therefore not worth their time, now include DHS in their park plans again.

It's frustrating, but that's the downside of a truly data-driven system. You need reliable data, and I'm not sure they have it for DHS with every-night Fantasmic! yet.

I agree with Aaron's response--they just don't have enough data yet. It used to be pretty easy--just avoid DHS on Fantasmic days. Now it's more

Yeah, I kind of expected this type of thing with DHS as they add Fantasmic days. It still doesn't look like it will be every night when we're there, but they have added it a few nights.

I think the biggest thing that caught my attention was that it seems that the general crowd level is higher for all parks. I think the last increase was just after Free Dining was announced for that week, but it was also an increase in the crowd levels basically across the board for that week. It seems like people always say that Free Dining doesn't affect the park crowds, it just adds to the resort occupancy, but that doesn't seem to be the message I get from TP data. Trying to decide whether it is worth the hassle to brave EPCOT on a 7+ night for EMH. (BTW, no other parks even come close to EPCOT's level for that night for the whole week we're there)

I do like the touringplans data and I'm glad it is available for research purposes. It doesn't mean I like seeing their numbers get bigger though.

 

[DisneyFed]

Put one finger in each ear, close your eyes, and go "LA LA LA LA LA... I can't SEEEEE you!"

I find myself doing this more and more with work email....

We're down to 11 days. We'll probably drive down on Friday and stay at the Lake Buena Vista Embassy suites for the night and hit Sea World or something Friday.

I know one thing..it's gonna' be hooooooooooooooot.....

 

[dvczerfs]

good morning!!! today is my fav. day of the year, back to school for the local area schools. (not really!!!) today is the day when people that have to make a living on the road just love. your driving along and all of a sudden you see a school bus, he puts his lights on and stops. opens the door. at which one of two thing should happen, 1, a young person gets on the bus and sits down or 2, the driver closes the door, someone is not going to school today. but unlike when i was a lad, today is the day when not only is the young person waiting but so is mom,dad,gramma and pop-pop, aunts,uncles, god parent,the dog,cat,gold fish and hamsters!!(in some areas live stock as well) so, the bus door opens and hugs and kisses for all!!! pictures with eveyone, a lick from the dog and 20 min. later the kid gets on the bus. the bus drives 200 yards and yes, theres another group of people, hugs,kisses,licks and 20 min. later, that kid gets on the bus. 200 more yards and it starts all over again!!! in 30 years it went from mom taking your picture with that special smile, giving you lunch money and walk a 1/2 to the bus stop. to the mess we call the first day of school anymore!! ill have to remember to take this day off next year. what normaly takes me an hour to do in the summer, takes an hour and 20 min. during the school year and three hours the first day of school.

 

[AJRitz]

Trying to decide whether it is worth the hassle to brave EPCOT on a 7+ night for EMH. (BTW, no other parks even come close to EPCOT's level for that night for the whole week we're there)

Speaking from experience (because that's almost EXACTLY what I did on our last trip), no. It's not worth it. Expecially not for evening EMH. World Showcase gets so crowded that it is difficult to maneuver through, and it raises everyone's stress levels. And evening EMH in World Showcase during Food and Wine brings out the "drink around the world" folks. You'd be much better off going to Epcot the morning after evening EMH at Epcot. The crowds will be much more manageable. And while the park won't be open as late, you'll get to do more, because you won't be wasting time and energy fighting the crowd.

 

[scott2997]

Trying to decide whether it is worth the hassle to brave EPCOT on a 7+ night for EMH.

Well, unfortunately, during the week we're going - all the parks are over 9's each day!

It's pretty bad when you're looking at the "tenths" on numbers to determine the best park!

 

[twokids0204]

Morning all! Hope everyone's off to a great day.

Got some good sleep last night, which I'm no longer taking for granted with a 6 day old at home. Happy about that!

Sleep when you have a 6 day old is a precious commodity. Embrace it, and take full advantage of it.

Nope...we were dragging that morning and missed it. When we went to Akershus Thursday, we ran into the AAA folks and they offered to get us in after our breakfast, but the rain started and we never caught up with them.

Glad to hear everything was good at home, even if it took forever to get there

We did the AAA (CAA) Storytime in 2009.

The kids really enjoyed it.

It was a little more intimate then your average character meet and greet.

We saw Snow White.

 

[Emma's Dad]

I find myself doing this more and more with work email....

We're down to 11 days. We'll probably drive down on Friday and stay at the Lake Buena Vista Embassy suites for the night and hit Sea World or something Friday.

I know one thing..it's gonna' be hooooooooooooooot.....

What work email? LALALALALA!

Make sure you ride Manta!! That coaster is SWEET!

good morning!!! today is my fav. day of the year, back to school for the local area schools. (not really!!!) today is the day when people that have to make a living on the road just love. your driving along and all of a sudden you see a school bus, he puts his lights on and stops. opens the door. at which one of two thing should happen, 1, a young person gets on the bus and sits down or 2, the driver closes the door, someone is not going to school today. but unlike when i was a lad, today is the day when not only is the young person waiting but so is mom,dad,gramma and pop-pop, aunts,uncles, god parent,the dog,cat,gold fish and hamsters!!(in some areas live stock as well) so, the bus door opens and hugs and kisses for all!!! pictures with eveyone, a lick from the dog and 20 min. later the kid gets on the bus. the bus drives 200 yards and yes, theres another group of people, hugs,kisses,licks and 20 min. later, that kid gets on the bus. 200 more yards and it starts all over again!!! in 30 years it went from mom taking your picture with that special smile, giving you lunch money and walk a 1/2 to the bus stop. to the mess we call the first day of school anymore!! ill have to remember to take this day off next year. what normaly takes me an hour to do in the summer, takes an hour and 20 min. during the school year and three hours the first day of school.

That reminds me of my last speeding ticket. It wasn't the first day of school, but was the first week of school. After FINALLY getting past 5 different school buses and open road, I punched it. Totally didn't see the unmarked police car sitting at the light! He got me doing 58 in a 45. Good thing I didn't hit third gear!

 

[afwdwfan]

Well, unfortunately, during the week we're going - all the parks are over 9's each day!

It's pretty bad when you're looking at the "tenths" on numbers to determine the best park!

Yuck... I'm sorry. This will be my first time going when it isn't July and crowded, so I'm not too worried about the crowds as a whole compared to what I'm used to. I'm guessing that one night EPCOT is over 7 is probably close to one of the lighter evenings that I might be used to in EPCOT.

Speaking from experience (because that's almost EXACTLY what I did on our last trip), no. It's not worth it. Expecially not for evening EMH. World Showcase gets so crowded that it is difficult to maneuver through, and it raises everyone's stress levels. And evening EMH in World Showcase during Food and Wine brings out the "drink around the world" folks. You'd be much better off going to Epcot the morning after evening EMH at Epcot. The crowds will be much more manageable. And while the park won't be open as late, you'll get to do more, because you won't be wasting time and energy fighting the crowd.

The night that has evening EMH will be our last night there. We'll be going to DHS and EPCOT the following day for a few hours each, but I was thinking about using evening EMH to hit a few attractions in Future World during and just after Illuminations. We'll be spending plenty of time in WS earlier in the week and the following afternoon with a lunch ADR at LeCellier. It will probably be one of those spur of the moment decisions... if we feel like trying it, we will. If not, we won't.

 

[BigTikiDaddy]

I think TouringPlans.com may be struggling a bit to figure out how to deal with the every-night Fantasmic! schedule. They just don't have a large enough pool of data yet to give them reliable results. When Fantasmic! was only running twice/week, they knew that Fantasmic! = Park to Avoid, because the show was a crowd magnet. With the show running every night, I think that rush is somewhat mitigated, but at the same time I think that the DHS crowd level is increasing overall somewhat, because having Fantasmic! running every night makes it more of an all-day park. Some people who would otherwise see DHS as a half-day park, and therefore not worth their time, now include DHS in their park plans again.

It's frustrating, but that's the downside of a truly data-driven system. You need reliable data, and I'm not sure they have it for DHS with every-night Fantasmic! yet.

Oddly, I found the second day we were at the studios more crowded, which was the original Fantasmic night. Either way, we left before Fantasmic both nights, couldn't believe the crowds still going in, for what I assumed to see the show. Even the Friday, which was rainy and miserable

Sleep when you have a 6 day old is a precious commodity. Embrace it, and take full advantage of it.



We did the AAA (CAA) Storytime in 2009.

The kids really enjoyed it.

It was a little more intimate then your average character meet and greet.

We saw Snow White.

They told us to come out after breakfast and they'd get us in, even though we wern't booked, but we came out to a downpour, and our stroller cover had blown off, so scrambled to save it instead. I am 100% sure we will book next year through CAA so the opportunity will be there

 

[dvczerfs]

did anyone see the new test track cars?
http://yfrog.com/hs3d4pqj
i have a feeling they are going to break down more with that bow tie on the front bumper.

 

[tutter99]

did anyone see the new test track cars?
http://yfrog.com/hs3d4pqj
i have a feeling they are going to break down more with that bow tie on the front bumper.

Hey Fed!
They look like little convertible mini vans!