We love rack rate! Aug 1-17 More NEW pics 9/1!

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I called this morning and was able to get an AP rate for our first 2 nights of AKL concierge!

Now we only have one night out of 16 at rack rate. My PTR title is in jeopardy!

 

[tinknme]

That is wonderful Elizabeth

I really did not have plans for the 13th, but beings we will be so close we will probably go to the MK

I called this morning and was able to get an AP rate for our first 2 nights of AKL concierge!

Now we only have one night out of 16 at rack rate. My PTR title is in jeopardy!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I had been thinking about taking the night of 8/13 off of the DVC waitlist. If it came through we would only be at the Poly for 2 nights, which hardly seems worth it. But when I checked this morning our waitlist had cleared. So now the line-up goes:

3 nts. AKL concierge
7 nts. SSR studio
2 nts. Poly
4 nts. AKV studio

Our Magical Express packet arrived yesterday!

I went to visit my mom last Thursday. On Monday she was very ill and ended up back in the hospital Monday night, so I had to cancel my flight and stay until last night. She is out of the hospital now, but she is definitely not 100%.

As our ticker counts down closer and closer I get more and more stressed out. Mom is likely to start chemo the week before we are scheduled to leave, and the complications she experienced post-op have made me VERY skittish. It seems like there are plenty of people OFFERING to help, but it turns out that they are all quite unreliable when Mom asks for any sort of assistance. Someone was supposed to bring dinner to her last night after I went to the airport, but when I phoned to let her know I was home she said nobody ever came. I am thinking all of this WDW trip planning may turn out to be pointless, because I may not be going on a trip!

 

[bethbuchall]

Since the restaurants are side by side we probably stand a decent chance of bumping into each other! What park are you doing that day? We're going to MK. I think Tammi is, too.

Are you going to be at MK that evening, too? We are arriving on the afternoon of the 13th and heading to MK.

I am so sorry that you have so much to deal with right now. that your mother reacts well to the chemo!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Are you going to be at MK that evening, too? We are arriving on the afternoon of the 13th and heading to MK.

I am so sorry that you have so much to deal with right now. that your mother reacts well to the chemo!

Yep. We have a dinner ADR for CP, so we'll go to MK after breakfast, go move resorts midday, then go back to MK.

 

[tinknme]

Elizabeth glad your wait listed day came through I do hope all goes well with your mother

 

[bethbuchall]

Yep. We have a dinner ADR for CP, so we'll go to MK after breakfast, go move resorts midday, then go back to MK.

Maybe we'll bump into you at some point! We have a dinner ADR at LTT at7:50 pm. Our flight arrives at 2:47, so I'm hoping to get checked in and head to MK as soon as I can. I'm actually starting to get really excited again!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Maybe we'll bump into you at some point! We have a dinner ADR at LTT at7:50 pm. Our flight arrives at 2:47, so I'm hoping to get checked in and head to MK as soon as I can. I'm actually starting to get really excited again!

You are going to have a terrific time!!
We would love to meet you guys at MK! I am going to make sure we all have each others' cell #s so we can find each other in the parks or pull together last minute group stuff.

My excitement waxes and wanes. I think I am still too strung out about Mom to be REALLY excited right now. I just need to have every possible angle covered so I can change my plans on short notice without giving myself a coronary.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Today is our 5 weeks mark!

We got our ME tags the other day.

I ordered the camera bag that DH has been pestering me about. Got the confirmation e-mail today that the bag has shipped. He still wants to buy a tripod, but he still hasn't figured out WHICH ONE, so I can't really do anything about that!

There is still so much that can go wrong over the next 5 weeks that I am having a hard time being excited about the trip. All of the trip planning has pretty much come to an end. We aren't going to mess with the hotel ressies anymore, the dining stuff is finished, we really aren't waiting on anything else.

I do need to book a resort photo session and decide what we are doing about a rental car. Of course if my price for a car stays double what everyone else is paying then I am NOT going to rent one!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Despite not knowing what is going to happen with Mom, I have decided to forge ahead like I really AM going to WDW for 16 nights. Which means I must get started on Wardrobe Planning.

The first thing to note is that I am a notorious overpacker. I LOVE luggage. And my luggage LOVES to go to WDW! If I left any of my glorious luggage behind it would be sad! So, my goal is to take all of it! Well, most of it. 5 checked bags, 3 carry-ons, 2 backpacks and a laptop case. Coming home we will check one of the carry-ons and carry the souvenir duffle. It is a darn good thing we bought those plane tickets before the luggage rules changed. Next year perhaps it would be cheaper to simply buy a seat for my luggage. Anyway...

I hate to do laundry. Laundry on vacation is particularly offensive. So I will attempt to pack 32 separate outfits. 2 for each of the 16 days. I don't think DS12 has quite that many pairs of shorts (He did, but the darn kid grew.) DH hasn't bothered to do a wardrobe inventory so no telling what he has. His typical plan is to wait until the day before we leave to announce that he has no underwear, or shorts or whatever. He does that purposely to see if he can make my head explode. He should be careful, because my stress level these days is much higher than in previous years.

Looking over my shirts yesterday I decided the selection was woefully lacking. I went to Macy's, where the shirts were 1) skin tight, tissue thin, and knee length OR 2) empire waist maternity tunics. No, no, no. I went to Eddie Bauer. They were having a sale. I bought 5 shirts. That should help. I need to get those laundered and then count to see how many shirts I have all together. Then the closet will be sectioned off by "Disney" and "non-Disney" apparel so I can avoid wearing my designated Disney shirts too many times before the trip. I don't want them to get stained, faded, etc.

DS's closet is already sectioned off. His new shorts still have the tags on them in case he grows out of them before I pack. The receipts are clipped to the hangers so I can return them. He knows he will face a slow and painful death if he messes with the tagged shorts. He has a lovely selection of shorts on the other side of the closet. He also has more shirts that you can shake a stick at. He prefers to wear the same ones all the time. Which works well for me.

I will continue to ask DH what he needs for the trip. If he continues to procrastinate he will be doing LOTS of laundry at WDW. Because I am a good wife I will pack some detergent. I will put it in the Shoe Bag. (That's the bag designated for shoes, large liquids, pool towels, and other crap forbidden in carry-ons or too big to fit.) Sometimes there are umbrellas in there, but I might not bring those this time.

 

[cjhinch]

I wish I was as organized in my packing as you! I am a last minute, get all the laundry done, and start putting everything in piles, kind of girl! Maybe I will try to learn from you and start sooner this time.........that would be nice.....a miracle.....but nice!!

Keep it coming!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Well, it's July! We're going to WDW NEXT MONTH!
I really do want to be excited. DH and DS are excited.
My mom is feeling a little bit better, so hopefully by the time she has her first chemo infusion she will be able to tolerate it!

 

[tinknme]

Well, it's July! We're going to WDW NEXT MONTH!
I really do want to be excited. DH and DS are excited.
My mom is feeling a little bit better, so hopefully by the time she has her first chemo infusion she will be able to tolerate it!

Elizabeth I hope your mother continues to feel better, for the chemo treatments!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Elizabeth I hope your mother continues to feel better, for the chemo treatments!

Thanks! I wish she was scheduled to start sooner so I would know how she was going to react, but I guess it's good that she isn't scheduled to start sooner since she still isn't over the surgical complications.

I am still beating my head against the rental car wall. I called Sam's Club to get the contract ID for them. It's no better than any other ID. AAA, American Airlines, SW Airlines, WalMart, all of those are the exact same thing in terms of the discount.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Wow. 4 weeks 'til departure. 28 days. Gettin' closer.

I think I might do our tip envelopes this weekend. We won't need as many as I thought since DVC rooms don't have daily service. Which gives me stress from a towel standpoint. We'll be ordering extra towels. I am the same way about towels that I am about luggage. Never enough clean towels!

I have been prodding DH to start Wardrobe Planning. I bought him 6 new T-shirts, 2 pairs of shorts, and new sneakers. Well, technically the sneakers are for work because his old ones were falling apart. But he can bring the sneakers to WDW if he wants to. IF there is any room in the Shoe Bag.

His new camera bag arrived. So far it is over in the corner with all the other camera bags. He better like it, because it is officially his personal item for the plane. Still no decision on the tripod. I offered him a brand-spanking-new Crocs backpack, but noooo, he didn't want that! I planned to use the backpack myself, but then I bought the laptop. Actually, I bought a Baggallini laptop case, THEN I bought a laptop to go in it. I like to buy things.

I heard a rumor that Citrico's might be open on my birthday. They are typically closed Monday & Tuesday. I called Dining, but they don't show that it will be open. I will call back! I REALLY want to go to Citrico's for my birthday!

My mom is going to the oncologist July 9. She had been telling me July 18 for the past month, but somehow she was confused and her appointment is July 9. That MIGHT mean her first chemo will be sooner than the end of July, so MAYBE if she does well I will be able to breathe on this WDW trip. She continues to improve a little each time I talk to her, so I am hoping for the best!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

We FINALLY bought a tripod. Sort of.

DH could NOT decide between a traditional tripod and a GorillaPod. After much hemming and hawing he chose the GorillaPod SLR Zoom. I sincerely hope this is the last thing we have to buy for the trip that is camera related!

Still no luck moving that Citrico's ADR.

I'll call next weekend to see about a photo session at SSR.

I can't decide what to do about the rental car. DH agrees that it might be easier to just TRY to use the buses and when push comes to shove we'll call a cab. I will keep monitoring bus reports and make a final decision in a few weeks.

 

[ConcKahuna]

How's your Citrico's rezzie?

 

[mommykds]

Reading along!!!!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

How's your Citrico's rezzie?

My Citrico's ADR is FAB-U-LOUS, thank you very much!!
I was THRILLED when I called this morning and the CM said she could book us for dinner on Tuesday, August 5, aka My 38th Birthday! She was very sweet. She made a note that we are celebrating my birthday, and she offered to give me the cake hotline number so I could order a cake. Theoretically my cake will be the night before at Flying Fish, although I have heard amazing things about the GF bakery. Hmm. No, we do NOT need cakes on 2 consecutive nights! I guess I need to follow up with AKL IPO and make SURE they are taking care of my cake.

Reading along!!!!

Hi, Anne Marie!!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I decided DS needs some new shoes. He has 2 pairs of Crocs, but the blue ones are getting small and the black ones are, well, black. That could get pretty hot in WDW in August!

I found some Croclings on clearance awhile back but they are still too big. I know. Who has ever heard of Croclings that are TOO BIG for a 12 year old? Doesn't matter. They are too big.

We found some great Ecco sandals at Nordstrom, but their Crocs weren't what we wanted. Bought the Eccos. Macy's had the Crocs he wanted, so I bought those, too. I told him I better not see ANY other shoes on his feet for the next 24 days. We have to get these broken in! Of course he left the store in his black Crocs, which are already broken in, but whatever.

Afte we left the mall DH called, so I asked him to check the size on the blue Crocs DS already has. The same darn size as the new Crocs! If the blue ones are too small we DO NOT need another pair in the same size! Now I am trying to decide what to do about that. I can look for another pair at the mall or I can order them from ShoeBuy. Hmm. DS really needs to try on that next size. Or maybe he should try the Croclings on again!

In the meantime I ran across some cool Crocs sport sandals online for DH. I showed him, but he didn't like them. I saw some Keen sandals for DH at Marshall's, but didn't buy them. Showed him the same ones online, he liked them. Of course. Back to Marshall's to buy the Keens. Which were $75 online but $25 at Marshall's. I hope they fit!

I was also finally able to find my coveted Band Aid Blister Block sticks, so hopefully this trip will be blister free!

In 2006 I had to wear my flip-flops on the plane going home because I had blisters on my big toe (from my Birkenstocks), my little toe (from my Tevas), and the middle of my foot where that black disc holds the strap on the Crocs. I don't like to wear flip-flops on the plane because in the event of a crash I won't be able to run from the wreckage very effectively in flip-flops. I am always thinking.

Last year I made the mistake of wearing my Easy Spirit sneakers one day. They rubbed a hot spot on the bottom of my foot that left me wearing Crocs with socks the rest of the trip. At least they were low cut socks.