Waited forever to go --- arriving August 2013!!!

[matkensgirl2000]

My DD9 decided she was ready to retire from ballet (retire was her word). Today was her last day, after 3 1/2 years. She liked the class but there is just too much drama amongst the girls. She is going to stay with her Adv. Tap and maybe go back to Hip Hop and Jazz and tumbling next school year. Another reason she said she wanted to quit was so that I could save money for the trip. So, she will be going from 6 hours of dance a week to 1 hour. I don't know what I will do with all of that time on my hands. More time to devote to Disney I suppose. So, I am a little sad that I won't see her do ballet for the rest of the year, but I am also a lot relieved.

Hello from the Skisney thread! Oh my goodness, I am right there with you on the dancing. If we took all the money we spent on dancing and put it to Disney, we could go every year Deluxe-style and probably fly down instead of drive. But it's hard to get do when they're good at it. I know I would miss it. So funny about her retiring!!

 

[Alysa]

My DD9 decided she was ready to retire from ballet (retire was her word). Today was her last day, after 3 1/2 years. She liked the class but there is just too much drama amongst the girls. She is going to stay with her Adv. Tap and maybe go back to Hip Hop and Jazz and tumbling next school year. Another reason she said she wanted to quit was so that I could save money for the trip. So, she will be going from 6 hours of dance a week to 1 hour. I don't know what I will do with all of that time on my hands. More time to devote to Disney I suppose. So, I am a little sad that I won't see her do ballet for the rest of the year, but I am also a lot relieved.

Hello from the Skisney thread! Oh my goodness, I am right there with you on the dancing. If we took all the money we spent on dancing and put it to Disney, we could go every year Deluxe-style and probably fly down instead of drive. But it's hard to get do when they're good at it. I know I would miss it. So funny about her retiring!!

The things we do for our girls - mine is the same but figure skating. It sounds like jazz, tap, hip hop, and tumbling will still keep you very busy!

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

I have been looking at too many food pictures. I have been obsessing for weeks about the food. With ADR time 17 days away, I think I have the ten restaurants finalized. I hope I get an ADR for all of them. Now, that has me going on to snacks. What are the must have snacks (to use snack credits on)? I have looked through and I have the ones I want to try.

MK
Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich (they have a place where you can custom order it, but I can't seem to find that right now).
Dole Whip Float - probably pineapple
Cinnamon roll from Gaston's. If the new Starbucks sells the original one, then I would try that one. I love maple, but 2 of the kids hate maple, so an original one would be the better choice for sharing.
Lefou's Brew- the kids might want to try it.
Funnel Cake from Sleepy Hollow. I would like to try the waffle sandwich also, but not 100% because not a snack credit and one kid loves nutella but not the berries. The other two don't like nutella (the same two that don't like maple or cheesecake or pie...pretty much any dessert that I do like).
Sweet Cream Cheese Pretzel from Lunching Pad.
Chelsea and I love cream cheese, the other two...yup, they hate cream cheese, but I must have one.

Epcot
Karamel Kuche- I don't know what I want, but I am sure something will break down my resistance.
Sugar Crepes from Crepes des Chefs de France - this is Marissa's must have. She hates that all the restaurants around here don't sell plain sugar crepes. They are all filled, and she hates all things will filling. She wants just plain sugar crepes, so she will get them.

Animal Kingdom - No idea. Nothing really stands out. Any must haves? Suggestions would be kindly accepted.

DHS
Anything from Starring Rolls!!!

We will probably hit Goofy's Candy Company at DTD too.

Chelsea would like a Mickey pretzel, but I assume most of her snack credits will be used for candy or cotton candy or Mickey bars. Maybe some rice krispy treats too. The ones that you can custom order look like something they all would do.

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

Nothing new to report regarding trip planning. My ADR date is this Saturday and I have decided to skip the online and call in at 4am. I get to sleep in an hour that way. I so hope I an coherent enough at 4am. No telling what I will get. I have my list from pscalculator.net, so hopefully with it in front of me, I will be able to make the ressies while being half asleep. I am a bit jealous of seeing everyone else having their ADR's out of the way. Hopefully, the ones I want are still left.

I have been super busy with physical therapy and hoping the back is all better in 6 months. I was down to once a week, but when I went yesterday, she wants me to keep with the twice a week appointments.

I need to get so much done in the next couple of weeks. I need to do taxes, fill out the FAFSA, sign up DD16 for the ACT, sign up DS17 for his college placement exams, fill out the financial aid for his college, and just survive this last semester of high school for him. Plus, I really should start the SSI process for him. Everyone is saying I should. I don't really want that for him, but I really don't know if he can survive the college thing, and I can't even see him being able to do the work thing. I guess that is one reason I decided the vacation should be this year. I have really struggled to get him to the point of graduating. I think I deserve a celebration too. And who knows what next year will bring to our lives.

All of this planning has led me to realize, I really need to do the Disney thing more often. I am already planning a Disneyland 2014 trip. Disneyland is much easier to plan for me. We may even stay for more than 3 days. Then I am thinking back to Florida and the World in 2015. Although, I was also looking at the cruises and I wouldn't mind doing one of those either.

Three more days until ADR day. Wish me luck.

 

[pas130]

Stopping by...from the US thread. We will be at US when you are at WDW. Loving your plans and excited to hear about your ADRs

You and your DS deserve this graduation trip

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

Stopping by...from the US thread. We will be at US when you are at WDW. Loving your plans and excited to hear about your ADRs

You and your DS deserve this graduation trip

Thanks for stopping by. I am equally excited about going to WDW and US. We have wanted to go to Harry Potter Land since we heard they were first building it.

 

[DMGeurts]

With the release of August 2013 Park hours, I have been busy going over my days and dining options. With 180 ressie day a month away, I think I have it narrowed down. I even looked at the restaurants at the airport terminal we have our layover to figure out where to get food. So, this is what I have:

Thursday, 22nd - Airport day! Flight leaves Portland at 6:15 AM. Arrive San Francisco at 8AM. Eat breakfast. Go to Subway and order sandwiches for lunch. Back on plane at 9:52 AM. We arrive at 6:18 PM. Dinner will most likely be at resort or DTD (if Magical Express doesn't take too long).

Friday, 23rd - Animal Kingdom day. I was thinking this would be a half day at AK, but after consideration and the news that they are adding a Wilderness Explorer program for kids where they can earn badges, we will be spending most of the day there. It closes at 5, so there will still be time to do other stuff later. Breakfast will be at resort (either food court or food we bring). Lunch is Rainforest Cafe. Dinner will be Ohana. Then we will head to MK and try to stay til close. Not sure if we will manage that or not.

Saturday, 24th - Hollywood Studios. We will take advantage of the 8am opening. Again, we will eat breakfast at resort or whatever we happen to bring. Around lunch time we will go to Art of Animation and eat there and take pictures. Then back to HS for dinner at Sci-Fi.

Sunday, 25th - Going to Harry Potter land. Blondies and Mythos are our likely food choices, with Butterbeer once or twice. Nothing at Three Broomsticks really interested me foodwise.

Monday, 26th - Epcot. Late breakfast at Princess Storybook @ Akershus. Dinner at Biergarten. We looked at Rose&Crown and we weren't blown away with the food options. We will have 2 Irish restaurants to get our bangers and mash, so we can skip this. DD16 is still determined to spend time in UK, but I think she will have fun without having to go to Rose&Crown. DS17 loves sausage. So, Biergarten it is!

Tuesday, 27th - Magic Kingdom all day. I was going to try to do Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace, but I have decided to skip those. So, it is a eat at resort breakfast day. Lunch will be whatever quick service sounds good at the time and off to 1900 Park Fare for dinner for our 2nd character meal.

Wednesday, 28th - Magic Kingdom again. Breakfast and lunch is the same as the day before. Dinner is at Beach Club for the Cape May Cafe Clam bake. This is the one that I am excited about. Not sure why, just want to really try it. We live near the ocean and we do go crabbing and clamming but I prefer to eat it without all the work.

Thursday, 29th - Universal Studios Florida. Lunch will be at Mel's Diner and Dinner at Finnegan's (1st Irish place this trip).

Friday, 30th - Water parks and maybe mini golf and definitely DTD and DisneyQuest. Only food that is a must is Raglan Road for dinner. The Great Irish Hooley begins on Friday and goes through Monday.

Saturday, 31st - Departure day. The plane doesn't leave until 5:47 PM. So, that should give us time to have a later breakfast at OHANA. Not sure what to do for the rest of the time. Maybe see if there are any rides or things the kids want to do or hang out at DTD. I just don't know. Maybe we will just hang out at the resort. Hopefully, I can get a later check out. I am sure we will be pretty beat by now, so don't want to plan anything this day.

So, the places we won't be eating that I thought we would be are:
Crystal Palace
Chef Mickey's
Rose&Crown
50's Prime Time
Kona
Be Our Guest - We went over the menu again and my girls were grossed out by the pictures. They didn't see anything they would really want to eat. So, we may go in late afternoon and see if I can get only a cupcake so that at least we can see the place.

I really wish there were more time, but these will go on our list for next trip. I do plan on going again.

It looks like we may have to do a Dismeet... We will be in some of the same parks on the same days...

Sat 24th - we will both be in DHS
Mon - 26th - we will be in Epcot
Wed 28th - we will be in MK

I have been looking at too many food pictures. I have been obsessing for weeks about the food. With ADR time 17 days away, I think I have the ten restaurants finalized. I hope I get an ADR for all of them. Now, that has me going on to snacks. What are the must have snacks (to use snack credits on)? I have looked through and I have the ones I want to try.

MK
Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich (they have a place where you can custom order it, but I can't seem to find that right now).
Dole Whip Float - probably pineapple
Cinnamon roll from Gaston's. If the new Starbucks sells the original one, then I would try that one. I love maple, but 2 of the kids hate maple, so an original one would be the better choice for sharing.
Lefou's Brew- the kids might want to try it.
Funnel Cake from Sleepy Hollow. I would like to try the waffle sandwich also, but not 100% because not a snack credit and one kid loves nutella but not the berries. The other two don't like nutella (the same two that don't like maple or cheesecake or pie...pretty much any dessert that I do like).
Sweet Cream Cheese Pretzel from Lunching Pad.
Chelsea and I love cream cheese, the other two...yup, they hate cream cheese, but I must have one.

Epcot
Karamel Kuche- I don't know what I want, but I am sure something will break down my resistance.
Sugar Crepes from Crepes des Chefs de France - this is Marissa's must have. She hates that all the restaurants around here don't sell plain sugar crepes. They are all filled, and she hates all things will filling. She wants just plain sugar crepes, so she will get them.

Animal Kingdom - No idea. Nothing really stands out. Any must haves? Suggestions would be kindly accepted.

DHS
Anything from Starring Rolls!!!

We will probably hit Goofy's Candy Company at DTD too.

Chelsea would like a Mickey pretzel, but I assume most of her snack credits will be used for candy or cotton candy or Mickey bars. Maybe some rice krispy treats too. The ones that you can custom order look like something they all would do.

OK - two things for you... Both Epcot (France) and DHS (Starring Rolls) have Napoleons... NUMMY!

Then - in AK - if you love the sweet cream cheese pretzel at the Lunching Pad - you have to try the jalepeno cream cheese pretzel in AK... It's a little cart beween going into the Dino area and the bridge going over to Aisia... I'ts on the right had side of the path... TDF!!!

Love all of your plans so far! And love all of you dining ideas too!

D~

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

It looks like we may have to do a Dismeet... We will be in some of the same parks on the same days...

Sat 24th - we will both be in DHS
Mon - 26th - we will be in Epcot
Wed 28th - we will be in MK



I would totally love to do a Dismeet. I didn't realize we would both be in Epcot the same day. How did I miss that? I knew we were the same for DHS and MK. I had thought of changing my Sci-Fi Dine-in from dinner to lunch, but didn't want to appear too stalkerish (I guess that implies I think some stalking is ok). I had already hoped to do the CP before park opening on the same day as you, so I have my fingers crossed that tomorrow will work in my favor for ADRs.

OK - two things for you... Both Epcot (France) and DHS (Starring Rolls) have Napoleons... NUMMY!

Then - in AK - if you love the sweet cream cheese pretzel at the Lunching Pad - you have to try the jalepeno cream cheese pretzel in AK... It's a little cart beween going into the Dino area and the bridge going over to Aisia... I'ts on the right had side of the path... TDF!!!

Love all of your plans so far! And love all of you dining ideas too!

D~

I have never had a Napoleon but they look so good. I also have never had a sweet cream pretzel, but I love pretzels and cream and cream cheese, so I am assuming I would like it. My son loves jalepeno but hates cream cheese, so I don't think he would be a happy camper if I ate one in front of him. If they have a pretzel with just jalepenos and cheese, he would eat that.

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

Yay! I have my official ADRs. I woke up this morning at 3AM and went to the computer. I didn't expect it to work and it lived up to that expectation. So, after waiting an hour, I finally was on hold with Dining Reservations. 4AM is too early to be subjected to the scratchy song, the photpass+ advertisement and the Attention Everyone train bit...for 35 minutes. I was so thankful to get someone to talk to. I made all my ADRs and there was only 1 day that I had to get times that were earlier than I wanted. That was for Ohana dinner. I wanted around 6:30 but they had 5:10 and 8:30 available. Since we are planning to head to MK after dinner, I chose the earlier one. Which meant lunch would be at 11:45. Not exactly how I wanted, but it will do.

So here are the reservations:
8/23 - Rainforest Cafe 11:45 AM
8/23 - Ohana - 5:10 PM
8/24 - Sci-Fi Dine-In - 5:30 PM
8/26 - Akershus - 8:20 AM
8/26 - Biergarten - 7 PM
8/27 - 1900 Park Fare - 5 pm
8/28 - Crystal Palace - 8:10 AM
8/28 - Cape May Cafe - 7 PM
8/30 - Raglan Road - 7 PM
8/31 - Ohana - 9AM

I am glad that is out of the way. I may try to change the Ohana Dinner. Keep checking to see if a 6ish becomes available. I don't really want to leave Animal Kingdom early, but we may have to. Well, need to get back to my weekend.

 

[pas130]

Thanks for stopping by. I am equally excited about going to WDW and US. We have wanted to go to Harry Potter Land since we heard they were first building it.

They did a great job with it!!

4am for ADRs But you did it!!!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Hi, Shannon! It looks like we have a lot in common! My son is a video game addict like your son and my daughter is the creative type like your daughters! Oh, and I have a sister named Marissa! I finally decided that my kids and are staying at POR for our Disney portion of the trip, so we have that in common, too!

That was funny that you told your DBF that you could take a trip with him any weekend but the weekend of the 23rd! I’m glad that you were able to get your ADRs done and that you got what you wanted. They look great! My kids and I loved Cape May Café, so I hope you guys enjoy having dinner there too. Good luck on switching that ‘Ohana ADR for something a bit later

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

Hi, Shannon! It looks like we have a lot in common! My son is a video game addict like your son and my daughter is the creative type like your daughters! Oh, and I have a sister named Marissa! I finally decided that my kids and are staying at POR for our Disney portion of the trip, so we have that in common, too!

That was funny that you told your DBF that you could take a trip with him any weekend but the weekend of the 23rd! I’m glad that you were able to get your ADRs done and that you got what you wanted. They look great! My kids and I loved Cape May Café, so I hope you guys enjoy having dinner there too. Good luck on switching that ‘Ohana ADR for something a bit later

I think we have a couple of ADRs in common too. I had done the Sci-Fi one to maybe run into Anne too, but then I didn't know if I would be intruding on your two families Dismeet, so I didn't say anything. I also have the before opening Akershus the same day you were planning...so we could perhaps run into each other there too. My youngest daughter's middle name is Erin, so I think that makes us practically related.

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

The more the merrier, I say! It’ll be great to meet you! Especially since you have such great taste in names!

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

Nothing new trip wise. We are toying with the idea of making the IoA and USF part of the trip to only one day. I am not sure though. I could go either way. I think we will spend the full day at IoA and then on the USF day, if we get done early, then head back to the resort and rest and then go to one of the 3 Disney parks that will be open. Most likely wanting to spend more time at Epcot.

Now for real life. I am trying to get Jacob eligible again with Developmental Services. That will smooth the road in getting him on SSD. I am really not sure how he is going to handle college, so having this here will help if college ends up a bust. There are so few jobs out there for people with ASD that don't require college. They do very well with research, but most of those take Masters or PhD and I can't really see that happening. I still hope and pray that it does, but I am burnt out on school.

All of us had a dentist appointment this week. The good news is that they decided not to put a cap on the tooth that Marissa had to have the two rootcanals on last year (they did it from the regular way and then cut in to the gums and did it from the root). The dentist said the tooth looks pretty strong now, so they are going to leave it alone. Yah!! But, the celebrating was short lived. Jacob has to have his wisdom teeth surgically removed. Boo hoo!!! So, while I was expecting to pay for a cap, it has been replaced by a much more expensive procedure.

Marissa leaves for Ireland in 2 weeks. I am getting excited for her. I don't know what to do about a camera. She doesn't have a smart phone or iTouch. I am thinking about getting a tablet with a camera for her that I can have when she gets back. Or I could try to send my camera with her, but I don't want her to have to deal with rechargable batteries. She isn't the greatest and keeping track of small things. There is always the disposable camera possibility.

Chelsea is plugging along with swim lessons. She is addicted to the DisneyStore site and has a long list of costumes that she just has to have. I don't even want to tell her the costumes went on sale today for 25% off. She will be begging. I may get her one more, but she already has more than anyone princess should have.

Me. Well, the physical therapy on the back is really paying off. I am doing much better. Now we are going to start on the left shoulder. I am having a hard time believing Jacob will graduate in 3 months and having a harder time wondering if I have all the resources in place that he needs. We have Jurassic Park 3 ready to watch this weekend. The kids and I are really wanting to see Oz, but it will have to wait until it makes it to the $1.75 movie theater. It was so easier to say the $1.50 theater. Why do they have to change the price? Oh well, we usually call it the cheap theater. We watched Toy Story 3 last weekend, and even though I have watched it several times, it still made me cry. I think it is because Jacob is getting closer to graduating or it may have been hormones.

I might be addicted to the Disney Store too. I went on and bought my son two t-shirts, me a t-shirt, Chelsea a nightgown (she loved her rapunzel one I got at Christmas), and I bought 4 water bottles for $5each. I also got Jacob a Stitch pin (he loves Stitch) and I got a Mickey and Minnie for me. Next thing I need to get is lanyards. Marissa's is a childs, so she needs an upgrade. Jacob lost his (and it was a childs too). Chelsea found one at the thrift store that will work. I need something too.

I really need to figure out how to do pictures, so I can get pictures on here as to what we look like.

That is all for now. Got to get back to work.

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

I see you might be changing your plans a little too, huh? I keep wondering if I should do UO in the daytime and head to WDW at night. I am such a Disney-holic that I am really having a hard time picturing going to other parks besides Disney parks – especially now that our trip is shorter. I know we are going to have fun at UO, though. I hope everything goes well with getting Jacob eligible I’m sorry to hear about his wisdom teeth, though! That is so exciting that Marissa leaves for Ireland soon! I hope she has a fantastic time. It was hard for me to resist the temptation of the Disney costume sale that day, too, and my daughter can’t even fit into them anymore So, did you end up getting one for Chelsea? It sounds like you got some really great deals for the stuff that you did buy. My kids and I want to see Oz too. I am in love with James Franco and it looks like a really cool movie. You are lucky that you have a cheap theater like that! As far as I know, we don’t have anything like that in Northern Virginia. My mom’s side of the family is from Ohio, so we used to go to the dollar theater there in the summers when we would visit our grandma. Isn’t Toy Story 3 a tear jerker? It gets me every time, too. I can only imagine how relevant it must have been to you since your son is graduating soon! As far as the pictures, I think there is a tutorial on the “Welcome to the DIS” section of the boards. I use Flickr because you can upload 200 pictures on a free account…and I may or may not have created a few free accounts over the years I’ve never used Photobucket, but it seems like a lot of people use it on the boards.

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

I see you might be changing your plans a little too, huh? I keep wondering if I should do UO in the daytime and head to WDW at night. I am such a Disney-holic that I am really having a hard time picturing going to other parks besides Disney parks – especially now that our trip is shorter. I know we are going to have fun at UO, though. I hope everything goes well with getting Jacob eligible I’m sorry to hear about his wisdom teeth, though! That is so exciting that Marissa leaves for Ireland soon! I hope she has a fantastic time. It was hard for me to resist the temptation of the Disney costume sale that day, too, and my daughter can’t even fit into them anymore So, did you end up getting one for Chelsea? It sounds like you got some really great deals for the stuff that you did buy. My kids and I want to see Oz too. I am in love with James Franco and it looks like a really cool movie. You are lucky that you have a cheap theater like that! As far as I know, we don’t have anything like that in Northern Virginia. My mom’s side of the family is from Ohio, so we used to go to the dollar theater there in the summers when we would visit our grandma. Isn’t Toy Story 3 a tear jerker? It gets me every time, too. I can only imagine how relevant it must have been to you since your son is graduating soon! As far as the pictures, I think there is a tutorial on the “Welcome to the DIS” section of the boards. I use Flickr because you can upload 200 pictures on a free account…and I may or may not have created a few free accounts over the years I’ve never used Photobucket, but it seems like a lot of people use it on the boards.

Touring plans just changed the closing time for UO for the days we will be there. I am hoping they are wrong. I haven't seen official times yet, but touring plans has IoA closing at 6pm and USF closing at 7pm. That has me worried a bit. So, will plan to keep the two days at Universal and add more park days at WDW. That way, we can go to a park once we get back.

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

Jacob had his wisdom teeth consult yesterday. They are coming out on the 27th! Marissa gets to go to Ireland and Jacob gets wisdom teeth out. Doesn't seem fair, but that is life.

Marissa leaves for Ireland tomorrow. I can't believe it is tomorrow. I am excited and nervous for her. Having her so far away is kind of nerve wracking. We have packed and repacked. Tonight, we are going to move her stuff from the smaller suitcase to the larger one.

I didn't get Chelsea another costume. She did love the nightgown. They came yesterday, so that box was fun to open. Someday, we will get to the Disney outlet in Woodburn.

*******************

Disney planning is going good. I changed my Ohana breakfast ADR, but just by 35 minutes later. It is our last day, so I figure we can sleep in just a little more, or use the extra time to pack.

I have also decided to go from a 6 day hopper pass to a 10. I probably won't need that many days, but I figure for the small amount extra, I want that option available. Like when we arrive, if we have time, I would like to head to MK and get the photopass+ out of the way and just walk around and maybe see Wishes. On the Universal days, we can head to a park once we get back or not. But I really want to have that option, just in case.

My co-worker decided to take her family to WDW this Spring break. She made plans for it like 2 months ago. That seems so foreign to me. The hours are going to be 7 am - 1 am daily. She is excited that they will be open that late. She is going to keep her kids on Pacific time, so they will be hitting the parks later and staying later. They have no ADRs. They aren't planning on eating table service. No plans except to get there. They don't have any unrealistic expectations of being able to ride tons of rides. They are just going to relax and enjoy being in Disney. So, at first, I thought it wouldn't work for them, but after talking to her, I think they will be able to enjoy themselves. I did tell them about Garden Grocer. She hadn't known about them, and was trying to figure out how to get to a store, but they aren't renting a car and are taking ME. So she was happy to learn about that option. They leave in a week. I am a tad jealous that they get to go so soon, but I wouldn't go there for Spring break ever.

I should get some of my work done today. I have a PT appointment for my shoulder today, so I am leaving early.

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

Marissa comes home tomorrow, so yesterday was the first message I received. It was short and sweet, but it made me laugh. Here it is:

Hey mummy. Don't know what time it is for you, but I just got hold of WiFi. Having fun. Taking lots of pictures. Trying to find souvenirs and failing to be honest. My card doesn't tell me how much I have, so its guess and hope to God that I'm still in possession of money. Everything is pricey and I am trying hard to conserve money. Still fun. Lots of Irish people and sheep. I also totally got drunk and partied it up every night. Just kidding. I really am. At night, I mostly just watch crap Irish television. Starting to get sick of Irish music. Love you and miss you so much. Hang in there .
Ps: I really want to dye my hair
There are a crap ton of gingers here and I want to be like em.

I am not sure what she means by having a hard time being honest. She loves to tell "stories" about herself that aren't true. So, who knows what she has told the others on the tour. Sometimes, she worries me. I was glad to hear she was taking lots of pictures, until I saw some of the pictures another tourmate had posted on facebook. That girl had about 20 pictures of a dirty chicken! I am hoping for more interesting pictures at least. I didn't spend $200 on a camera for her to get pictures of chickens. Although, by her comment, there is probably a few of the sheep.

**********************

I wasn't really happy with my Ohana reservation for so early on my AK day. AK is already scheduled to close at 5 and I didn't want to feel rushed out of there. So, looking over my schedule, I decided on a few changes.

8/23 - Rainforest Cafe got moved from 11:45am to 1:45pm.
8/23 - We are now doing 1900 Park Fare at 6:55pm. I would love to explore GF a bit.
8/27 - We are doing Ohana this night instead. It is late, about 8:20, but MK is scheduled to close at 9, so maybe we can still see the fireworks. Maybe catch the water electical parade or something. I don't know. It is our second full MK day, so leaving a bit early, shouldn't upset anyone too much. I hope.

I was a little bummed to hear that Disney is cancelling the Friday night EMH at MK for the summer. We were planning on going to it after 1900 Park Fare. They did extend the hours to 11 pm, so we will still go, but it won't be quite the same.

**************

Non-Disney related topic. My sister and her family are coming to visit my parents for Spring break. She lives in Washington and my parents live about 1-1/2 from me. In fact, they will have to come through my town to get to theirs. Now, a few months ago, I got tired of always being the one that calls and leaves messages or keeps calling until she finally would answer. So, I figured I would stop calling and see if it ever crossed her mind to call me. I think I last talked to her in January. No emails. Nothing. So, my mom wants me to drive over there on Sunday (I can't stay for the entire weekend, because I have to pick up Marissa Saturday evening from the airport). I told my mom that I didn't think my sister wanted to see me. She said that she does know that my sister feels that she doesn't get to see my parents as often as I do and it should be her and her family's time with the parents. My mom still wants me to come and have all the cousins together. Our kids aren't close. I think my niece commented on Marissa's facebook page the other day and Marissa was shocked. I am really dreading going. I thought we used to get along, so I am not sure what is going on, but I have some hurt feelings about it. I guess I will still go. Just needed to vent for a bit.

 

[Alysa]

Marissa comes home tomorrow, so yesterday was the first message I received. It was short and sweet, but it made me laugh. Here it is:
Trying to find souvenirs and failing to be honest.

I am not sure what she means by having a hard time being honest.

I read this not as: Failing to be honest. Instead I read it as rather: Failing to find souvenirs. To be honest.
Nice letter. She sounds like a sweetheart.

I thought we used to get along, so I am not sure what is going on, but I have some hurt feelings about it. I guess I will still go. Just needed to vent for a bit.

Sisters. They can drive you bonkers. My advice, you have not seen her in a while, go for a short visit, take some flowers, enjoy your time with her and let the other stuff go - just forget about it, she's probably just really busy.

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

I read this not as: Failing to be honest. Instead I read it as rather: Failing to find souvenirs. To be honest.
Nice letter. She sounds like a sweetheart.

I think your interpretation is probably more correct and makes much more sense. Thanks.