The Nightmare Before Christmas - Move over Jack, WALDO'S BACK!~A Dec PTR~ NEW 12/10!!

[1Princess1Prince2006]

I've only read through the first part and can't wait to read more! Hope you guys have a great time and I'm taking notes since I'm hoping to make it there next year at the same time with the kids.

 

[momabaarjo]

Now that the important parts of the trip were booked, I layed off any planning (except for the plans that roll around in my head 24/7) for a while and concentrated on my kid’s school activities and sports. One afternoon, I happened to be volunteering in Maddie’s class and I asked her current teacher what she thought about me taking my kids out of school for the 3 days before Winter Break. She didn’t think it was a big deal, but asked if I had seen the 2011-2012 calendar year changes?

WTH?????

Coming up…..

What smarty pants changed the calendar? Pick a car, any car….whoa….is that dollars or pesos?

Us too...what was in the water with the school districts with next year and making calendar changes?!

 

[DisneyJo]

I'm finally here

But not pleased you're having yet another trip without me

Oh and I'm with Janet next August sounds good

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

Love the Pre-TR. Your kids are so cute.

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

Whaaaa??? Outgrow Disney?

Listen, J's 15 and my BIL is 48. They like Disney more than UncleR and I do. There is no. such. thing. as outgrowing Disney. Take it back!

Ok, ok.... I take it back. What I meant was eventually we'll all want to vacay somewhere else.... like Hawaii or Hilton Head.....

Excuse me, not everyone was there.

I was so jealous! And I can't wait for the day when I get to meet many of you in person!

You're right... not everyone! We missed not having you and several others.

I so know what you are talking about.... this happened to us, as well. And I will post you our solution after you spill the beans. I won't steal yo' thunder!

You'll get your Disney wedding one way or another, right?

That's right, sister! But with my luck, it'll be Evan financee that choses a Disney wedding.

You have extra people in there.

They were cut outs.

I'm so excited!! And dates are etched...you just keep managing to lengthen our stay. And I wouldn't have any other way

Uhhhh... como say MORE DAYS???!!! PM me those dates!

Fay Schmay! Now, the Biergarten may never be the same, but there ain't no stinking tropical storm that can stop us

Ick.... Biergarten....never again.

I've only read through the first part and can't wait to read more! Hope you guys have a great time and I'm taking notes since I'm hoping to make it there next year at the same time with the kids.

Hi Lori! Thanks for reading. I have high hopes of a super magical trip, so hopefully I'll have great stuff for you.

Us too...what was in the water with the school districts with next year and making calendar changes?!

I don't know, but it really had me

But not pleased you're having yet another trip without me

I'll be David's happy. I doubt we'll do August again.

Love the Pre-TR. Your kids are so cute.

Awww, thank you and welcome to craziness!

 

[HomeschoolMama]

Your light's on. Are you writing another update?

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

Your kids are adorable!! I, too am from Southern California.

 

[jcc0621]

]

Oh and I'm with Janet next August sounds good

 

[PrincessV]

Know what? I was driving back to our home-away-from-home tonight and there were fireworks in my rearview mirror. And I flashed back to last July 4th, right there in my car. And I cried a few tears. 'Cause I MISS you guys, my sisters-in-arms, my amazing friends! I may or may not be intentionally pushing a move north until after Dec. LY/MI and I can't wait to do it again!!!!

 

[HomeschoolMama]

I may or may not be intentionally pushing a move north until after Dec.

Moving north, V?

 

[dlwharp]

So glad I found your new PTR! I'm subbed and waiting for more...

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

So sorry I've neglected my PTR and my friends!! My life has been crazy with baseball/softball games/practices! We've either had practice or a game everyday for the past 2 weeks, except for Sundays. I'm over it.

Ok, here we go.....


The one thing I hadn’t thought of was school calendar changes. We’ve been at the same school for 4 years and they haven’t made any major changes, except for 2 years ago when they decided to give the kids the entire week of Thanksgiving, instead of just Thursday and Friday. No big deal, right?

Apparently some smarty pants in the District Office decided to scr…. mess things up again and royally fu…errr... screwed up my vacation plans. Now NORMALLY, we’d end classes the Friday (which should have been 12/16) before Christmas Day and come back the Tuesday after NYD. NORMALLY. As per usual, the last few days were filled with parties and holiday festivities and missing Wednesday through Friday wouldn’t be a big deal, right?

Well, (now don’t ask me what they were thinking…) they’re now ending school on Wednesday, December 21 and not returning until January 10th!!! WTH??? That’s almost 3 weeks of Winter Break. That is sooo stupid! So now, what should have been 3 days out, is now 6, yes 6 days out of school. I freaked out! My Maddie has been able to keep perfect attendance for the past 2 years and it was hard enough getting her to agree to miss 3 days for Disney.

I came home that day totally confused and angry. What was I going to do?? My kids can’t miss that much school! I had never taken them out of school for anything other than legit stuff. Ok, well maybe I pulled them an hour early a few times on a Friday to hit Disneyland… but nothing like this.

I consulted friends and teachers who all assured me everything would be fine. Some suggested letting the teacher know ASAP, others said wait until the new school year. It wasn't enough, so I finally decided to call the district office to get some answers on what I would need to do and how or if it would interfere with our district permits. I was connected with this super nice lady in student services and she gave me the BEST information ever. Our district policy is if a child misses over 5 consecutive days of school (medical or non-medical) the parents can request them placed on “Independent Study”, which means my kids will not only receive work packets, but their days out won’t be counted as absences! Whoo hoo!! I freakin’ hit the jackpot! And frankly so did they. I mean they’re getting like 29 days off!

So that bullet dodged, I felt like such a weight was taken off my shoulders and I could move on with the planning…..

The next course of business was securing transportation while in Florida. Last year we rented a car for the first time, and let me tell you it was the BEST $300 ever spent! We were there during the blazing hot, ever crowded July 4th holiday and not once did we have to wait for a bus or worry about missing rope drop or the kids having to stand in a crowded bus after a long day in a park. It was bliss and we were sold on never using a Disney bus AGAIN!

I decided we should book a minivan or full sized SUV so that I could chauffer everyone around. Andy hates to drive in WDW and Waldo, well… we thought we should keep the public safe and not really let him drive.

I did my homework on Mousesavers, got my coupon codes and went to work. I figured I should book something early and then as we got closer to departure, start looking for a better deal, right? Everywhere I looked 6 passenger vehicles were running $1000 for the roughly 12 days. Holy cow. That’s a lot of cheddar.

I tried moving things around a little bit, I tried different rental companies and nothing for less than 1000 clams. Grr... Momma wasn’t happy. I figured we really only need the larger vehicle for the week that my parents would be there, so I played with those dates and found a minivan for 500 puhtaytuhs. I grabbed that one up and gave it a rest until just recently.

I read on some Disney newsletter that Dollar had some great deals, so I hit them up and did find a great deal on 2 vehicles. One for just a week coming in around 170 lollies and the other for 270 for 12 days. Those combined were cheaper than the van for only a week. So as much as I preferred being the lone driver, it looks like Waldo’s going to be set free on Disney property. Hug your loved ones, people.

So that’s where I am right about now… sort of. We all know that will changed a least 14 times before December.

Now for the F-U-N…. Restaurant choices and ADR’s!!!!

For my family, the next best thing to seeing our dear friends, is grindage. We love us some dining around WDW. (NO DDP) We love to stop at some point during our day and enjoy a family meal together. I have always had family dinner nightly with my kids and parents and in Disney, it’s no different……

UP NEXT:
Why I hate the DDP and why I hate choosing ADR’s.

So sorry for the lack of pictures this time… but here’s some we took at Disneyland last week of the new Soundsational Parade, which we L-O-V-E-D!!!I left the good camera at home, so these are with my iPhone, sorry.

Even if it's small, I still adore our castle....

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

Your light's on. Are you writing another update?

Yeah, about 12 days later.....

Know what? I was driving back to our home-away-from-home tonight and there were fireworks in my rearview mirror. And I flashed back to last July 4th, right there in my car. And I cried a few tears. 'Cause I MISS you guys, my sisters-in-arms, my amazing friends! I may or may not be intentionally pushing a move north until after Dec. LY/MI and I can't wait to do it again!!!!

So glad I found your new PTR! I'm subbed and waiting for more...

Hi Denise! Welcome!

Moving north, V?

Yeah, she's giving us no choice but to experience Buffalo.

 

[Goofyluver]

What will the report be titled that the kidlets will be writing on their "Independent Study" trip to Disney World?

"The Things I Learned At Disney"...

1. Percents: 18% of a $100 bill at Tony's Town Square is $18.00.
2. Addition: 2 BTMRR fast passes + 3 BRMRR fast passes = 5 fast passes
3. Time/Word Problems: If your fast pass is for 1:15 at Splash Mountain, but you're eligible to retrieve another fast pass at 12:45, how long do you have to get back to Splash Mountain before you're scheduled to ride?
4. Budget Planning: Is it cost efficient to get an extra bun with a double cheeseburger and split the burger in two, knowing that you'll also have to get side items in order to properly fill your stomachs?
5. Weather/Meteorology: What is the perfect 'shorts weather' cut-off temperature for December? And how do you pack for a vacation where daytime temps can be in the 80's and nighttime temperatures leave you looking for snow?

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Glad everything worked out with the school schedules!

Welcome to the anti-bus club. WDW is heaven with your own vehicle.

 

[PrincessV]

Moving north, V?

Hoping to!

 

[PrincessV]

We've either had practice or a game everyday for the past 2 weeks, except for Sundays.

OMG, that's nuts!

Ok, well maybe I pulled them an hour early a few times on a Friday to hit Disneyland…

Our district policy is if a child misses over 5 consecutive days of school (medical or non-medical) the parents can request them placed on “Independent Study”, which means my kids will not only receive work packets, but their days out won’t be counted as absences!

Awesome! I'm totally filing this information away for future reference, in case I have to find a way to pull Leo for that week...

It was bliss and we were sold on never using a Disney bus AGAIN!

Much as I hate to gloat (yeah, right)... told ya so!

So as much as I preferred being the lone driver, it looks like Waldo’s going to be set free on Disney property.

EEK!

Why I hate the DDP and why I hate choosing ADR’s

.
I rather suspect I could write this part...

 

[jcc0621]

I mean they’re getting like 29 days off!

That's nuts!

So as much as I preferred being the lone driver, it looks like Waldo’s going to be set free on Disney property. Hug your loved ones, people.

I'm sure Walso will do just fine.....as long has he follows the signs, or has someone who knows where they are going with him

Why I hate the DDP and why I hate choosing ADR’s.[/COLOR]

 

[jcc0621]

Yeah, she's giving us no choice but to experience Buffalo.

Guess I need to plan a trip to see a Sabre/Flyers game

 

[OhMari]

We vacationed for the first time as a Family over Christmas vacation last year. You will love it, and it is hard to remember it is the Holiday Season. You are probably used to warm weather-but we were all laughing when we would see a Santa surrounding by Palm Trees and green grass. My dd was working in Phoenix for 4 months and we did Phoenix, Sedona, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas and circled back to Phoenix. It was so unreal eating at a resturant Christmas Eve-outside!!