Turkey Day Gang 2009

[sherreis]

Lisa --

Hope you feel better real soon!

 

[ICEMANPAD]

Congratulations Mason! I bet he was super excited. Joey was 10 when he lost his first tooth.

Unfortunately, for Joey, he had SEVEN teeth pulled on Monday to get him ready for braces. He was such a trooper. He'll go through Phase I for about a year and a half they say.

Wow, 7 teeth pulled!! What an experience!! Luckily braces today are very cool--color choices, etc. I wish Joey a lot of luck!! I know Mason will need braces in a few years as well.

Lisa

 

[sherreis]

Wow, 7 teeth pulled!! What an experience!! Luckily braces today are very cool--color choices, etc. I wish Joey a lot of luck!! I know Mason will need braces in a few years as well.

Lisa

It's definitely changed a lot since I had my mouth full of metal. You all will be able to see is color choices next November.

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

Hi all,

Phew...we're finally home and are SICK TO DEATH of RAIN!!!!! I think that my feet will squish for a week or more and I know it will take a while for the blisters (from rain soaked sandals and shoes) to go away. Unfortunately for us, Fay arrived on Monday evening and stayed through until we left (about 1/2 the trip). We did have about 5 hours of dry yesterday (Saturday) and then....it poured and poured and poured!

All in all, we had a wonderful trip returning to many favorites and trying some new things. This time, Steve and Andrew both tried Expedition Everest and while Steve won't be doing it again, Andrew will!

As we were leaving the resort today, it was amazing....it seemed like the entire state of Florida was checking in to the resort. Unfortunately, our room charge was messed up and I had to go to the check in/out area...but fortunately, I found a manager while I was standing in line and he fixed things for me (to the irate overtones of a man who sounded like he was from Boston who wanted to know LOUDLY why I was getting "preferential treatment.") Ah well....

Here are our observations: Disney, IMHO, is definitely making cutbacks. We noticed that the parks were not as clean and the food services were adjusted as well. For example, my favorite salad at Crystal Palace was the Romaine with flank steak and blue cheese crumbles...well, now it's just romaine with blue cheese crumbles. Also, the chicken tenders at Columbia Harbor House are now chicken nuggets.

Crystal Palace which used to be our favorite has slipped down to a "maybe book again." The characters are still wonderful, but the cleanliness of Crystal Palace was simply not there (and this was during a "slower" season). We also noticed that they didn't restock things as quickly as they used to. For example, the plates of cookies (with Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal and Sugar Cookies) were not restocked until all the oatmeal and sugar cookies were gone (to the chagrin of Steve).

One brighter spot was Tony's Town Square. With the arm twisting of Steve, we went back to Tony's Town Square last night. He and Andrew both had Chicken Parmesan which was pretty good. I got spaghetti and meatballs and the meatballs were terrible! I was, however, impressed as the service had improved drastically and the spaghetti sauce was good. Also, the bread with the olive oil dipping sauce was really good and the desserts that Andrew and his friend had looked really good too. I'd definitely recommend the Minestrone -- it was delicious!

We did try a few new places...we really enjoyed 50s Prime Time and Trails End (at Ft. Wilderness). We also enjoyed the Biergarten in Germany (a first for us).

One + (at least for DH) is that the Electric Umbrella at EPCOT now has "self-serve" soda with refills. Steve was able to get his Coke fix with his bacon double cheese burger (aka heart attack on a bun) at lunch!

I remain frustrated with the lack of food choices at Animal Kingdom...it's either burgers, pizza or BBQ for quick serve (though I did find a ceasar salad that was unfortunately pre-soaked in dressing!).

I will say that Pin Trading was MUCH better than normal....we found tons of cast lanyard series pins and actually now have all 12 monorails!

Well, now it's time for laundry. Post again soon!

Karen






Sherri, got your cards and will mail them tomorrow.

 

[Mickeyhugger]

Karen, thanks for the report!

A couple of questions...how were the crowds? I guess a better question..what was the 'average' wait time for rides such as Expedition Everest and Test-track? We've never done WDW in the summer (well, except on our honeymoon in early June, MANY years before fast-pass.) I've heard it's HOT, and I could probably handle the heat (being from Dallas) but only for so long. We used to take Rachel out of school (up until 4th grade)to visit WDW in November when the resorts had off-season rates. Were the lines significantly less at nighttime?

Thanks!
Priscilla

 

[sherreis]

karen,

Thanks for getting the cards.

I was thinking of you all week when I was reading some threads of people who had just gotten back. I saw some pics posted yesterday that showed the rain yesterday. It was horrible. If you're still sloshing, I guess throw yourself into the laundry and run an extra "spin" cycle. It can be a new WDW attraction.

Coming home and doing the laundry is always the worst part of a vacation.

Andrew - good job on EE - something I know I will never do.

Sorry to hear about the restaurants. We're doing CP for breakfast on our October trip as well as Prime Time and Biergarten - these both are new to us as well.

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

Hi Rob and Priscilla (and everyone),

Wait times were strange! Sometimes, we'd go by Peter Pan and the wait was 90 minutes...but then the wait at Haunted Mansion would only be 10 minutes! On Saturday the Magic Kingdom seemed VERY busy...but we were picking up fast pass after fast pass and the wait between getting the pass and the ride was about 60 minute. Definitely had us scratching our heads!

Earlier (pre-rain) the waits were running about 50 minutes on Expedition Everest, 70 minutes on Test Track, 60 minutes on Soarin', 50 minutes on Space Mountain and Splash Mountain, etc. But the fast passes were readily available.

One thing we noticed was that there were a lot of folks there from other parts of the world. Thursday evening when I went to do laundy (we were out of dry clothes), I had a man from China, one from Korea, one from Spain and another from Venezuela all trying to figure out how to work the washing machines, make change, what was detergent vs. bleach, etc. The man from China just handed me his wallet (after he was trying to cram $100 bills into the coin slots) and shook his head! Trust me ladies, if you think its funny watching your hubby do laundry, try having relatively helpless men from around the world looking at you as their saviour! Unfortunately for all of them, I speak one language (American...not English as I'm told from friends in the UK) and some days I don't even speak that very well! I guess I looked like a kind and trustworthy person...or at least I looked like someone with experience doing laundry!

Anyway, I share this as I think a lot of the visitors were from outside the US and may not have understood the fast pass system. As far as things being "slow"...well, they're not like Thanksgiving, Spring Break and Christmas...but I can't say it was slow!

Now, in the rain...we could walk (dripping wet) onto nearly any ride that was open! Oh yeah...and the ponchos, I never want to smell wet, moldy, cheap plastic again in my life! We left every poncho behind (even the ones we've had for years!)

Hope this helps.

karen

 

[Mickeyhugger]

Thanks Karen!

Awwww, that poor man from China! Doesn't it give you a 'warm, fuzzy' when you're able to help like that?

We're playing around with the idea (AGAIN!) of visiting WDW in January during MLK weekend. We booked this past January, and canceled at the last minute. Weren't too sure about taking Rachel out of school. We'll have to see how this year goes. (Only this time, we'll be sure to purchase REFUNDABLE airline tickets.)

Priscilla

 

[pillow]

If you go to touring plans dot com, there is a "crowd meter" for each park on each day of the year, so you can check out your dates and see how crowded each park will be. It also tells you which parks to avoid on which days. If you don't have their book, it will only give you the next few months. If anyone wants more dates, let me know, and I'll pull it for you. We have used this website as a resource numerous times. We go during spring break every year and never wait more than 30 minutes for anything.

Jodie

 

[Mickeyhugger]

If you go to touring plans dot com, there is a "crowd meter" for each park on each day of the year, so you can check out your dates and see how crowded each park will be. It also tells you which parks to avoid on which days. If you don't have their book, it will only give you the next few months. If anyone wants more dates, let me know, and I'll pull it for you. We have used this website as a resource numerous times. We go during spring break every year and never wait more than 30 minutes for anything.

Jodie

Thank you! Great site!

 

[Tinkerbell 99 Mom]

Karen:

Glad you made it back safe and sound. I am glad that you shared my observations about the Disney cut backs. We felt that way in June with the Ship and the Resort. A little in the parks.

Lindsey is going to try to post this evening. She wants to Andrew about the pin trading.

Wendy

 

[ICEMANPAD]

Thanks Karen!

Awwww, that poor man from China! Doesn't it give you a 'warm, fuzzy' when you're able to help like that?

We're playing around with the idea (AGAIN!) of visiting WDW in January during MLK weekend. We booked this past January, and canceled at the last minute. Weren't too sure about taking Rachel out of school. We'll have to see how this year goes. (Only this time, we'll be sure to purchase REFUNDABLE airline tickets.)

Priscilla

Priscilla-

MLK weekend is a great time to visit WDW!! We have been a few times. The lines are short and the weather is cool!! However you may run into quite a few Florida families b/c it's a very long weekend down here--thurs, fri and monday.

Lisa

 

[Tinkerbell 99 Mom]

Hope everyone has a nice holiday weekend. I hope someone is going to Disney for the long weekend.

Wendy

 

[Mickeyhugger]

Hope everyone has a nice holiday weekend. I hope someone is going to Disney for the long weekend.

Wendy

I wish our family was!

 

[ICEMANPAD]

Hope everyone has a nice holiday weekend. I hope someone is going to Disney for the long weekend.

Wendy

We hope that everyone is enjoying the long weekend as well!! Typically, we would be at WDW this weekend. However, my soon to be 85 year old dad had a heart valve replaced and double bypass surgery earlier this month. He has gone back and forth between hospitals and rehab centers. As a result, we are spending the weekend at home and spending some quality time w/ him!!

Lisa

 

[sherreis]

Lisa,

Hope your father continues to recuperate! Staying with family is a great way to spend a holiday weekend. We did the same thing. My 90 yr old father came out of rehab on Friday evening.

 

[CBJHockeyNut]

Hello All,

Adding to the thread. Just got back from the EB repo and booked the 2009 Thanksgiving cruise while on board. Still struggling to get over not being on-board after being on for so long. Absolutely great trip but now looking forward to the next one!!

We have two kids, DS, who will be 14 at the time, and DD, who will be 11 at the time.

Looking forward to a great cruise. Since it seems like a number of you have cruised at this time before, do you know if the ship will be decorated for the holidays yet? We have cruised in December before when it was decorated but I am not sure when the ship gets its holiday decorations.

Nicholas.

 

[Mickeyhugger]

Hello All,

Adding to the thread. Just got back from the EB repo and booked the 2009 Thanksgiving cruise while on board. Still struggling to get over not being on-board after being on for so long. Absolutely great trip but now looking forward to the next one!!

We have two kids, DS, who will be 14 at the time, and DD, who will be 11 at the time.

Looking forward to a great cruise. Since it seems like a number of you have cruised at this time before, do you know if the ship will be decorated for the holidays yet? We have cruised in December before when it was decorated but I am not sure when the ship gets its holiday decorations.

Nicholas.

Welcome aboard the Turkey cruise.
Yes the ship will be decorated and so will CC

Rob

 

[sherreis]

Nicholas -

Welcome to the Turkey Gang! Glad to hear you had a great cruise on the EB repo. It must've been awesome to be onboard that long and to go thru the canal.

We're going to be 1st time cruisers on this trip. Our DS will have turned 14 that September (makes me depressed every time I type that - makes him sound so old - he'll be 13 in 2 weeks) and our other DS will be 9.

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

Hi Nicholas,

Welcome aboard! You have just joined the best group out there. My family joined in '07 and we had such a marvelous time...in part because of the cruise, but mostly because of the company of the Turkeys! I think most of us have late dining (at least we did in '07) and Chuck (Icemanpad) got us all linked in '07 (and I'm hoping he will do so again in '09) so that our tables were right next to one another.

Another thing that made the cruise special (in addition to the fact that we are all Disney nuts) is that we had t-shirts we had made and all wore on the day of embarkation so we could all find one another (especially nice after chatting for so long on the boards).

A lot of us also did "Fish Extenders" and it was a lot of fun seeing what little trinkets and pieces of candy, etc. were left for us at the end of the day.

Again, welcome aboard!

Karen