When October comes we shall futterwacken... vigorously.

[Sorsha]

Good morning everyone, and Happy 55th Birthday to Disneyland!

Although my heart will always belong to Walt's East coast parks, there is still a special something about Disneyland. I really love being in the place that started it all, walking the same sidewalks that Walt may have walked, seeing the same sights that he saw. I was fortunate enough to visit Disneyland for the 50th Birthday celebrations in 2005, and one thing I really enjoyed was seeing the "Golden Vehicle" attractions. These were attractions that, apart from a wee bit of tinkering with, were the same as they had been on opening day in 1955. Each attraction had one vehicle either on the rides, or set up as a display next to it, that was golden.

I believe all the Golden Vehicles are gone now, so I am really glad we got to see them. Also, in 2005, Disneyland had what I still believe to be the best fireworks show ever on any Disney property - Remember... Dreams Come True. If you have never been privileged to see it, look for it on YouTube some time. This will be a SORRY substitute, but will give you some idea of the 20 minutes of wonderfullness that it was.

SILive.com had an article with some neat Disneyland trivia. Did you know that:

(At opening in 1955) Each ride required a ticket for admission, with tickets carrying A, B and C designations — A being the mildest; C more elaborate. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride was considered the most "thrilling" attraction in the park; you needed a C ticket, which cost 50 cents, to climb aboard the ride based on "The Wind in the Willows."
Tickets with D (introduced in 1956 with the Skyway ride) and E (first used in 1959 with the opening of Matterhorn Mountain, the monorail and the Submarine Voyage) designations wouldn’t come into Disney lexicon for another few years.

Another unique aspect of Disneyland was the division of the park into themed lands, or "cardinal realms" as Walt often referred to them.
These lands — Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, Frontierland, etc. — aren’t separated by gates or fences, but by paint. When you walk from one land to the next, the concrete beneath your feet is painted a different color.

The Submarine Voyage used to feature "real" mermaids poised on top of rocks. ...

Hard as it may be to believe now, Disneyland used to be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays during the off-season. It became a year-round operation in 1985. ...

In Disneyland’s early days, guests were allowed to fish off Tom Sawyer Island. That practice was halted when too many dead fish ended up on Disneyland’s walkways. Tom Sawyer Island, by the way, was designed by Walt Disney himself.

The Monsanto House of the Future was a big hit when it was introduced in 1957. Among many futuristic ideas featured in the house was a microwave oven. The House of the Future closed in 1967 when it apparently became outdated.

The reinforced concrete foundation of the House of the Future was never removed. The foundation has been painted green and is currently in use as a planter in the Pixie Hollow area. ...

Although the theming is pretty much the same, the area used for the current Big Thunder Mountain ride has seen many changes over the years.
When Disneyland first opened, there were authentic-looking western trails — right down to the tall cactus and dust swirls — used for stage coach and pack mule rides.
In 1956, when it was decided that live animals were too messy and unpredictable, the area was refurbished and the Rainbow Caverns Mine Train came into existence, complete with a colorful finale inside Rainbow Mountain (among the highlights was a spectacular fluorescent waterfall designed by Disney Legend Claude Coats).
Rainbow Caverns was replaced by the Nature’s Wonderland train ride in 1960, which featured scenic vistas and an abundance of 204 lifelike inhabitants. Again, Walt Disney designed the layout of this attraction. ...

Disneyland’s original marquee was purchased by actor John Stamos for $30,700 in 2000 on eBay. (What a STEAL!!)

"To all that come to this happy place: Welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America ... with hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world."

— Walt Disney, at the opening of Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., July 17, 1955

Today is 77 days till WDW! Last night the girls watched the Tinkerbell movie. Bleh. Not one of my favorites, but that's OK, its off the list now. Today I am going to watch my Walt Disney Treasures - Disneyland: Secrets, Stories & Magic DVDs (and looking at that Amazon listing I am going to be REALLY thankful I bought them when they first got released - $150 ACK!! ) in honor of Disneyland's birthday.

Have a great Saturday!

 

[annmarieda]

Thanks so much for posting that trivia. It was definitely a good read! Lots that I didn't know.

 

[Sorsha]

Good morning!

Let's see - what shall we talk about this morning to make this On Topic for a Disney Pre-Trip report... I know, let's hash out the Dining plans!! That's very important, right? Cause this trip not only coincides with Free Dining (yay!) but also the beginning of the Food and Wine Festival (YAY!)

OK, so... I have a 7 night stay, so that gives me 7 Table Service (TS) credits, and 7 Counter Service credits (CS) and 7 Snack credits per person.

The Plan

October 2: We arrive. Depending on how tired we are, we will probably just go down to the food court at POR and grab dinner. If we have lots of energy, we may go over to Downtown Disney and get Earl of Sandwich or Wolfgang Puck Express. Either way, this is (1 CS each). We will also buy our refillable mugs so we have them for drinks.

October 3: This morning, we want to get to Hollywood Studios EARLY to get fastpasses for Toy Story, so we need to be up-and-at-em. I think we will probably just go down to the food court and burn some snack credits on things like fruit and muffins for breakfast. For lunch we plan to go to Starring Rolls for sandwiches and things which will use (1 CS) each. I REALLY want to try some of those sinful looking cupcakes, even if I have to burn another snack credit to get it. In the afternoon, we will leave DHS, and head back to POR to rest and get dressed for MNSSHP. We have an ADR for Crystal Palace in the MK (1 TS each) that evening.

October 4: Animal Kingdom (morning EMH). Again we will just go down to the food court and burn some snack credits on things like fruit and muffins for breakfast. We will have lunch at Flame Tree BBQ (1 CS each), and the we have dinner ADR for Yachtsman Steak House (2 TS each) later that evening after AK closes.

October 5: Epcot (morning EMH). We will eat breakfast at POR this morning OR at Sunshine Seasons in Epcot. We will eat a full counter service (1 CS each) breakfast instead of snacks because we will spend the rest of the day grazing on snacks at Food and Wine Fest and we don't want to get too hungry (HA HA). If I am remembering correctly (someone correct me if I am wrong) you can use your snack credits to buy some of the things at the Food and Wine booths, depending on price, right?
Then, for dinner, we have ADR at The Garden Grill (1 TS each).

October 6: Magic Kingdom. This morning, we have a fairly early ADR for Kona Cafe (1 TS each). We plan to eat lunch at Columbia Harbor House (1 CS each), and we have an ADR for Ohana (1 TS each) later that evening. That seems like a LOT of eating for one day LOL. However the meals are really spaced out (almost 12 hours between breakfast and dinner) so I know we will need something in between, we will just plan to eat light at CHH.

October 7: This is the day we split up. We will all have breakfast together at POR (1 CS each) then most of the party will be off to Universal while Caitlyn and I (and maybe Alyssa) stay at WDW. They will have to pay OOP for anything they eat during the day over there, and we will probbaly just burn some snack credits during the day - we may go back to Epcot for more F&W. Universal closes early that day (6 or 7) so after they get back we will all go eat together somewhere (1 CS each).

October 8: Sea World. We will have breakfast at POR (1 CS each), then have snacks OOP during the day at Sea World. When Sea World closes at 6, we have reservations for the Makahiki Luau dinner show.

October 9: Check out day. We check out of the hotel, and drive over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge, where we use the last of our credits on breakfast at Boma (1 TS each). If we have snack credits left over, we will also use them up before we leave POR and buy food for the road (fruit, muffins, mickey rice krispie treats, etc) or we will go over to DTD and go to Goofy's Candy shop and let the girls get candy to take home to their friends.

So, if I am counting right, that's 7 CS and 7 TS credits each, right? I think I have that figured correctly...

76 days till WDW! Have a great rest of your weekend!

 

[annmarieda]

I REALLY want to try some of those sinful looking cupcakes, even if I have to burn another snack credit to get it.

If you have lunch there using a cs credit, cant you get one as your desert?

October 4: Animal Kingdom (morning EMH). We will have lunch at Flame Tree BBQ (1 CS each)

I was bummed when I found out this was under refurb while we are there. Oh well, just made me rethink where to eat.

So, if I am counting right, that's 7 CS and 7 TS credits each, right? I think I have that figured correctly...

76 days till WDW! Have a great rest of your weekend!

I think your dinning plans look awesome!!!

 

[Sorsha]

each. I REALLY want to try some of those sinful looking cupcakes, even if I have to burn another snack credit to get it.

If you have lunch there using a cs credit, cant you get one as your desert?

You know, I am not sure? They are sort of "specialty" desserts, so I wasn't sure... here's a partial list of the desserts from All Ears:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcake $3.99

White Chocolate Cupcake $3.99

Marble Cupcake $3.99

Chocolate Butterfinger Cupcake $3.99

Fresh Fruit Tart $3.29

Tiramisu $3.99

Praline Cheesecake $3.99

I am seen pictures of them here on the Dis and they look tremendous. Well, we'll see. Does anyone out there know? Can the treats at Starring Rolls be chosen as the dessert part of your Counter Service credit, or do you have to use a seperate snack credit?

Yesterday, James took the girls out huckleberry picking. They didn't have much luck - its still a little early in the season - but they had fun. I didn't go, as I HATE huckleberry picking I'd pretty much rather be beaten with my own arms. I stayed home and finished catching up on laundry and watched the rest of my Disneyland DVDs. I swear, as much trouble as they had getting Disneyland up and running, its amazing that Walt didn't just say OH the HECK with it! and walk away. I am so glad he didn't! Really really interesting to watch that live opening day footage and hear the commentary from the people who were there about all the things that were going wrong. And the construction - did you know they built the whole thing in about a year?? ONE YEAR? They were so hurried and so rushed - so many things went wrong. They dug the Rivers of America and got it all ready, filled it with water, went home, came back the next day, and all the water was gone. Seems no one had done any testing on the soils and the water table in that part of So. Cal. so all the water just leeched back into the dry sandy soil and, overnight, drained away. I just have this hysterical mental picture of Walt and all the developers and engineers and workers standing on the riverbank the next morning scratching their heads looking down into the dry-again riverbed.... hmmm, wasn't there water when we left here last night?? Did someone forget to put the plug in??

Also, from my laundry doings of yesterday, I have finally proved what we all knew for years. As was putting away laundry in the closet, I whacked my finger on the underside of the closet shelf. Now I have a bruised and scraped knuckle. *whine* So there you have it - irrefutable proof - putting away laundry is hazardous to your health.

Allrighty then. Aside from some aimless DisBoard-ing I have nothing Disney-trip-ish planned for today. In fact, I have nothing of consequence planned at all for today. I am caught up on chores (yay!) and I have no errands to run. I have everything I need for dinner, so I don't even have to go to the grocery store. Total lazy day ahead. I am going to make some homemade spaghetti sauce, but that's not till later this afternoon.

Everyone have a good Monday - I know - ICK. 75 days till WDW!

 

[annmarieda]

You know, I am not sure? They are sort of "specialty" desserts, so I wasn't sure...

Does anyone out there know? Can the treats at Starring Rolls be chosen as the dessert part of your Counter Service credit, or do you have to use a seperate snack credit?

I looked through and found a couple threads. I think the answer is yes, they can be the dessert in your cs meal. I think it looks like they sell out of the sandwiches early though..and if that were the case, then you would be back to a snack credit.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2353396&highlight=starring+rolls+and+cs+credit

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2304162&highlight=starring+rolls+and+cs+credit

Yesterday, James took the girls out huckleberry picking. They didn't have much luck - its still a little early in the season - but they had fun. I didn't go, as I HATE huckleberry picking

I miss going huckleberry picking. I used to do it when I was a kid. Over here, there isn't really a lot of options in where to pick. I tried to take my kids last year and all we found were blueberries (well, a few huckleberries...but only a few). The blue berries were good, just not as good as the huckleberries. We get a lot of blackberries over here though so we get the joy of successfully picking them. Even though it is a bit painful....

And the construction - did you know they built the whole thing in about a year?? ONE YEAR? They were so hurried and so rushed - so many things went wrong. They dug the Rivers of America and got it all ready, filled it with water, went home, came back the next day, and all the water was gone. Seems no one had done any testing on the soils and the water table in that part of So. Cal. so all the water just leeched back into the dry sandy soil and, overnight, drained away. I just have this hysterical mental picture of Walt and all the developers and engineers and workers standing on the riverbank the next morning scratching their heads looking down into the dry-again riverbed.... hmmm, wasn't there water when we left here last night?? Did someone forget to put the plug in??

So there you have it - irrefutable proof - putting away laundry is hazardous to your health.

 

[Sorsha]

I looked through and found a couple threads. I think the answer is yes, they can be the dessert in your cs meal. I think it looks like they sell out of the sandwiches early though..and if that were the case, then you would be back to a snack credit.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2353396&highlight=starring+rolls+and+cs+credit

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2304162&highlight=starring+rolls+and+cs+credit

Thanks so much for finding those for me! Yay!! Looks like they are BIG enough that they are too much to eat all at once though - perhaps we will need to be sure to have ziploc bags in one of our bags so we can take any leftovers back to the hotel to eat later. Yeah, they'd be a little smooshed, but oh well.

 

[annmarieda]

Thanks so much for finding those for me! Yay!! Looks like they are BIG enough that they are too much to eat all at once though - perhaps we will need to be sure to have ziploc bags in one of our bags so we can take any leftovers back to the hotel to eat later. Yeah, they'd be a little smooshed, but oh well.

I could be totally totally wrong, but it seems to me I saw someone post a pic of a dessert that they got. (not 100% on it being from staring rolls) and it was placed in a clam shell to go container. It would be cool if that was the case.

 

[Sorsha]

Hello loyal readers/lurkers.

Now, I am not dead. I have not disappeared. I have not been kidnapped by aliens. My house just got all-of-a-sudden very busy last weekend, and then life got in the way of pre-trip planning.

Before we go any further, let me treat you to a little slice of Montana. We spent most of the weekend in Glacier National Park - which is very close to our house. It was a beautiful weekend, and we enjoyed our time there.

Then, I found out that over the weekend, a dear friend of the family (who was also our insurance agent) took his own life. I am brokenhearted over the loss of a man who was so much to me, and to so many. He was a friend, a sweet man, a ray of sunshine every time I saw him. He volunteered on community projects, often showing up to help build with Habitat for Humanity. He was also a trusted businessman - I completely trusted him for 15 years with all of my insurance needs, and knew that if I ever had any questions, he would have the answers. He was loved by many, and his granddaughters are my neighbors, and some of my daughters' best friends. I don't know what was happening, what led him to believe he had no other options, but I wish so much he had talked to someone, reached out to someone, found someone to help him. RIP Glen, we love you, and will always miss you.

So, what with all we have been doing, and the sadness to end the weekend, I feel I have fallen off the trip planning bandwagon. Pretty soon, DD15 goes to marching band camp, then we start on the back-to-school craziness. The fair will be coming up, and DD will be marching in the fair parade - pictures to come! (I can just hear everyone's eyes rolling from here Oh goody!! you all say...)

So, in order to get the trip planning back on track, give me some suggestions, everyone - what shall I plan next? We are at 67 days till WDW. Packing lists? Outfits for the DDs? What-to-take-in-the-carry-on-bags lists? I still have to get going on the Halloween costumes too... its hard to get in a Halloween mood when its 90° and sunny out.

Perhaps I will show you the handy-dandy trusty planning binder!

 

[annmarieda]

The pics are gorgeous!

I am sorry to hear of your loss.

As for what to do next with the planning.... show us the binder, show us the binder!!!

 

[DizzylandDeb]

Scenery looks VERY familiar!

So where's this planning binder you promised to show us?

I have a binder for our trip too . . .nothing fancy, just everything stuck in chronological order so as we get to it, I grab the next reservation. eg; plane ticket, shuttle ressie, hotel ressie, cruise ressie, excursion ressies, etc . . .I just like to know I have everything ready to grab and go.

 

[Sorsha]

Good morning everyone!

Sorry for the delay in posting, life has been very busy! As some of you may know, I have worked for many years, off and on, for the local Joann Fabrics and Crafts. After an absence of a couple of years, I returned to work 2 weeks ago, and it has been very busy. My family is slowly adjusting to me not being home 24/7 (poor DH ) but we are getting there.

We are also in full swing of getting ready for back to school. Ariana will be a sophomore this year, Alyssa will be in 4th grade and Caitlyn will be in 2nd. I think we are almost ready; school supplies for the younger ones are purchased (I can't buy much for Ari yet, they won't tell her what she needs till after the first day of classes, but she has the basics, binder, pencils, paper, etc), backpacks, lunchboxes, coats, gym shoes all shopped for. Ariana still needs a new pair of shoes - we can't find one she likes *rolls eyes*.

Next chore will be to pull the plastic storage tubs of hand-me-down's out of the shed and see what fits and is in good shape in the girls' right sizes for this school year. Yes, I DO do this. Each time my kids outgrow a size, I wash and pack away the clothes that are in good shape and save them for the next child. I buy expensive stuff (mostly Gymboree and Disney store) and there is no reason not to save it. Mind you, by the time it gets to Caitlyn, some of it looks a little worn LOL. I just have to be careful and really picky. But it saves me lots of money, and at 7, she could really care less. I have friends that are absolutely horrified by this idea... "You make your kids wear hand-me-downs... to school?!?!"... ummmm, yep, I do. They look cute too, don't they?

So, anyhow, we're busy.

Anyhow, on to the planning binder.

I use a very plain, flexible, plastic three ring binder, and lots of sheet protectors. I print tons of things out. Here's the binder:

Just inside it, you can see some unfinished Mousekeeping tip envelopes. Neep to get working on those.

OK first, there's a copy of The Plan. This is a basic run-down of what days we are going where, what we are doing, and where we are eating. This was mostly used to plan out my DDP credits, so I could make my ADRs.

Next, a print-out of park hours, and times for shows and parades.

After that, I have stapled two sheet protectors inside of eachother, and made a secure pocket to hold our MNSSHP tickets and receipt.

Next, a copy of our official itinerary from the WDW travel company.

Next, a map of Port Orleans Riverside.

Next I have a section of travel documents. I have all of our e-ticket receipts for our Delta flights (which for security reasons I am not going to show here) our confirmation for our rental car from Alamo which we will pick up to go out to the beach halfway through our trip (ditto), and a handy map print-out of the Orlando airport in case we get lost trying to find Magical Express (highly unlikely, I know).

Next, I have a section for "other" tickets. Here I have all my vouchers for my Sea World tickets, my Sea World parking pass, my voucher for the Sea World luau, and if we decided to purchase Universal tickets ahead of time, they will go here too.

Next, I have a section for random lists. Packing lists, "don't forget to do before you leave" lists, "outfits the kids will wear" lists, "still need to buy" lists, etc. I didn't take pictures of those. I am a compulsive list maker.

Finally, the food section. Here, I have a print-out of the menu of every restaurant I have an ADR for, or plan to visit. I also have a print-out of the Food and Wine booths and their offerings and prices, and a print-out of the confirmed snacks allowed on the DDP. I like to be able to plan ahead, and it gave me something to dream over when my trip was still 6 months away.

So, there it is, the almighty planning binder!! I do also have, and use, a Passporter. I will use it when I am actually ON the trip, for the day to day stuff. But for the planning stages, I find the pass-pockets are just WAY too small for all the STUFF I like to have printed out and saved. Cause I am a little crazy like that.

Have a great day, I am off to Joann's!

 

[annmarieda]

Yay! The binder is great! I am so glad you showed it to us! I love the way that you have the snack credits. The columns are perfect. I have a mac...and documents are a challenge for me. Do you mind me asking what program you used to put that together?

And as the the kids clothing... sheesh... I even make my kids wear clothes from (gasp) second hand stores.

 

[Sorsha]

Yay! The binder is great! I am so glad you showed it to us! I love the way that you have the snack credits. The columns are perfect. I have a mac...and documents are a challenge for me. Do you mind me asking what program you used to put that together?

And as the the kids clothing... sheesh... I even make my kids wear clothes from (gasp) second hand stores.

Actually, I just used plain ol' Word. I copied the snack credit information from a thread on here, then I opened Word and formatted it to use 3 columns. When I pasted the snack credit list into Word, it automatically sorted it into the 3 columns like that. I did a little editing, like bolding restaurant names, changing font sizes, etc. Then I went through and deleted any info I wouldn't use, like available snack credits at resort hotels I know I won't be at.

Nearly everything in there (lists, menus, etc) is either typed in Word, or copied from somewhere on the Web and pasted into Word.

 

[annmarieda]

Actually, I just used plain ol' Word. I copied the snack credit information from a thread on here, then I opened Word and formatted it to use 3 columns. When I pasted the snack credit list into Word, it automatically sorted it into the 3 columns like that. I did a little editing, like bolding restaurant names, changing font sizes, etc. Then I went through and deleted any info I wouldn't use, like available snack credits at resort hotels I know I won't be at.

Nearly everything in there (lists, menus, etc) is either typed in Word, or copied from somewhere on the Web and pasted into Word.

I used to have a pc and I was able to use that and my printer for so much. Now that dh has replaced all the pcs in the house with macs...my documents are not as easy to to put together. I am very impressed with what you have done with it...it inspires me to want to work on putting a document together. Now I just will have to find some time to do so!

 

[DizzylandDeb]

Thanks for posting pictures of your planner. This give me a couple new ideas of pages I should add for myself

And if I happen to see you in Joann Fabric . . .I'll give you a double thumbs up (so you know its me) I practically lived in that store while we were planning DD wedding earlier this year. I still have a few things to get before our cruise/WDW vacation in October too, so might see you at some point

 

[Sorsha]

Good morning friends!

Argh - what a long week.

It started out late last Sunday the 15th, when I was involved in a relatively minor one-car car accident on the way home from work. No major injuries, no one else was in the car, I was well insured, so things could have been soooo much worse. I spent the better part of a week, however, dealing with mechanics, insurance companies, lienholders, etc, and it has been very frustrating. After working through all the details, the upshot of it is that my minivan is totaled - it was 10 years old, so it didn't take too much damage for the insurance to call it "totaled" - but the amount they will give me on it isn't high enough to pay off what I still owe the lienholder. So for a while, I will be making car payments on a car I no longer own. I am also still in quite a bit of pain from some pretty severely bruised ribs - they took the brunt of the airbag deployment - sleeping has been NO fun at all. Getting better though...

On some more cheerful, and Disney like news, I booked, and paid for, the condo we will be staying in when we spend time out at the beach at the end of our vacation. We did quite a bit of searching to find a place we liked that fit all of our criteria; on the beach or the intracoastal waterway, kitchen and laundry facilities, a pool, room to sleep all 5 of us, in the right location (near family we will be visiting) and at the right price! We ended up paying about $275 for 2 nights, and $75 of that is refundable deposit provided we don't trash the place and steal the linens.

Here are a few pictures of the inside that I borrowed from the condo's website:

Here's the pool, and the view from the balcony:

And its just about a block away from this causeway that goes over the intracoastal waterway (Indiatlantic) to the beaches and A1A. I have been over this causeway many times, and I am very familiar with this area, so I am so glad to have found a place in such a perfect location!

The booking of the condo was the last big "Planning" thing I had left to do. Now I just have to get DD10 to decide if she is going to Universal with DH and DD16 or staying in WDW with DD7 and I, so I can buy those tickets, then everything will be done and prepaid, except the car rental, which, of course, I cannot pre-pay. I think I will try to get her to sit down with me today and watch some ride videos on YouTube, if I can find some, and tell her she needs to make up her mind.

I am now 38 days from vacation!! YAY! I am thinking I should be receiving my travel documents pretty soon; does anyone remember how long before departure they are supposed to show up?

Have a good day, everyone, I think I will use today to catch up on some laundry . I won't be driving anywhere - no car! Sigh.

 

[annmarieda]

Good morning friends!

Argh - what a long week.

It started out late last Sunday the 15th, when I was involved in a relatively minor one-car car accident on the way home from work. No major injuries, no one else was in the car, I was well insured, so things could have been soooo much worse. I spent the better part of a week, however, dealing with mechanics, insurance companies, lienholders, etc, and it has been very frustrating. After working through all the details, the upshot of it is that my minivan is totaled - it was 10 years old, so it didn't take too much damage for the insurance to call it "totaled" - but the amount they will give me on it isn't high enough to pay off what I still owe the lienholder. So for a while, I will be making car payments on a car I no longer own. I am also still in quite a bit of pain from some pretty severely bruised ribs - they took the brunt of the airbag deployment - sleeping has been NO fun at all. Getting better though...

On some more cheerful, and Disney like news, I booked, and paid for, the condo we will be staying in when we spend time out at the beach at the end of our vacation. We did quite a bit of searching to find a place we liked that fit all of our criteria; on the beach or the intracoastal waterway, kitchen and laundry facilities, a pool, room to sleep all 5 of us, in the right location (near family we will be visiting) and at the right price! We ended up paying about $275 for 2 nights, and $75 of that is refundable deposit provided we don't trash the place and steal the linens.

Here are a few pictures of the inside that I borrowed from the condo's website:

Here's the pool, and the view from the balcony:

And its just about a block away from this causeway that goes over the intracoastal waterway (Indiatlantic) to the beaches and A1A. I have been over this causeway many times, and I am very familiar with this area, so I am so glad to have found a place in such a perfect location!

The booking of the condo was the last big "Planning" thing I had left to do. Now I just have to get DD10 to decide if she is going to Universal with DH and DD16 or staying in WDW with DD7 and I, so I can buy those tickets, then everything will be done and prepaid, except the car rental, which, of course, I cannot pre-pay. I think I will try to get her to sit down with me today and watch some ride videos on YouTube, if I can find some, and tell her she needs to make up her mind.

I am now 38 days from vacation!! YAY! I am thinking I should be receiving my travel documents pretty soon; does anyone remember how long before departure they are supposed to show up?

Have a good day, everyone, I think I will use today to catch up on some laundry . I won't be driving anywhere - no car! Sigh.

Looks like the condo will be a great place! Love the pictures

As for when you get your travel docs...I am not sure. I want to say I got it at about 4 wks out.

 

[DizzylandDeb]

Good morning friends!

Argh - what a long week.

It started out late last Sunday the 15th, when I was involved in a relatively minor one-car car accident on the way home from work. No major injuries, no one else was in the car, I was well insured, so things could have been soooo much worse. I spent the better part of a week, however, dealing with mechanics, insurance companies, lienholders, etc, and it has been very frustrating. After working through all the details, the upshot of it is that my minivan is totaled - it was 10 years old, so it didn't take too much damage for the insurance to call it "totaled" - but the amount they will give me on it isn't high enough to pay off what I still owe the lienholder. So for a while, I will be making car payments on a car I no longer own. I am also still in quite a bit of pain from some pretty severely bruised ribs - they took the brunt of the airbag deployment - sleeping has been NO fun at all. Getting better though...

OH NO.
Sorry to hear about your accident . . .hope you are ding MUCH better by now. Not a fun experience at all. At least you have something fun to look forward to in a few weeks.

The condo looks really nice. I'm sure you will enjoy your time there

 

[Sorsha]

Good morning everyone!

Happy 1st of September! Happy Back to School Day in our house! And Happy "Only one more month till WDW - exactly 30 more days!!" day!!

DD15 has been back to school for a week now, so she is settling back into routine. DD7 and DD10 started back this morning, and we are all (especially me) very happy to be back to school, and back to our routine. Here's the kiddos, heading off to their first day.

I am recovered from the car accident - still a wee bit of soreness in the ribs if I lift something very heavy or turn over wrong in my sleep, but all better other than that. Of course, I am still arguing with the insurance company and the bank over getting the insurance payoff sent to the bank and the paperwork the insurance company needs sent from the bank to the insurance company... they refuse to cooperate with eachother, and each side calls and complains to me. I am NOT the mediator here, people. I just want it done and settled before I go on vacation, please??!?

In vacation news, I received my Magical Express booklet and stickers two days ago. YAY - Disney mail!! Am I correct in assuming there should still be some other travel documents coming, or is that it?? Do they still send out WDW luggage tags for my suitcases?

Also, Alyssa and I sat down and looked at Universal ride videos on YouTube. After seeing them, she has decided that she wants to go to Universal with Dad and Ariana and the grandparents, so I was able to order Universal tickets. They also came in the mail yesterday. Yay!! Now everything is done! The only things not pre-paid are the luggage fees to Delta and the rental car. I am so ready to go!!

Ok, I am not quite ready to go. There is still a small matter of Halloween costumes for MNSSHP. We are doing a Peter Pan and Pirates theme. Grandma is being Peter Pan, Grandpa is being Captain Hook, Alyssa is being Wendy, Caitie is being Tinker Bell, Ariana is being Princess Tiger Lily, and James and I are being random pirates. Grandma is sewing her costume, and Grandpa's, and Ariana's. I have purchased James' and Caitlyn's, and I am sewing mine and Alyssa's. I really need to get going on that.

I will try to take costume pics soon and post them.

Have a fun day everyone, I guess I will go start sewing!