Yo ho, yo ho, a bounceback life for me LEAVING TOMORROW 9/12!!!!!!!!!!!

[ILuvCrush]

So Sorry about all the bad news Sophia
I'll be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.

PP was right, there's tons of things they can do for cancer now, and you live close to some really great hospitals/centers.

Tkae Care
Paula

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

So Sorry about all the bad news Sophia
I'll be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.

PP was right, there's tons of things they can do for cancer now, and you live close to some really great hospitals/centers.

Tkae Care
Paula

Hi Paula,

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. The funeral is today and it seems like everything that can go wrong, is going wrong.

We got so angry with the funeral director that we moved everything to the chapel at the cemetery. Then last night we went to get out of our car and the door wouldn't shut. We got it closed and then all sorts of lights lit on the dashboard. That said, we went to the dealership this morning and they said that they could not help us, even after we told them our dilemma and circumstances. We then went to get Joe a suit jacket since we ran out of the house with nothing. Got that done, got back into the car (you should have seen Joe climbing over everything to get in), the lights went off AND the door worked! I think his mom is messing with us or something.

Anyway, I am hoping that everything else goes smoothly. After we get home I will then begin to deal with my dad's diagnosis.

I need a Disney fix..........

 

[JPFamilyMom]

subbing... just got done reading your TR from Sept 08
Loved it, excited to see how things unfold for your next trip

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

subbing... just got done reading your TR from Sept 08
Loved it, excited to see how things unfold for your next trip

Hi, thanks for reading! I have not been very good about updating my PTR, but I have been thinking a lot about the planning. 2009 will the the first year in some time that we are only making one trip to Disney, so I am trying to get as much in my planning as I can.

I hope to have an update soon and also hope to get back to my TR. I am scrapbooking the trip and as I finish pages, I am adding a few to my TR.

Thanks again for reading!

 

[Dr_Finkelstein]

Hi Sophia,

Sorry for not posting for a while - things have been a bit hectic round here with Christmas!

How's things with you? How's your Dad doing? Hopefully things are on the up with you now.

That's a pity about the postcard - I would have sent her one no problem!

Di x

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Hi Sophia,

Sorry for not posting for a while - things have been a bit hectic round here with Christmas!

How's things with you? How's your Dad doing? Hopefully things are on the up with you now.

That's a pity about the postcard - I would have sent her one no problem!

Di x

Di,

We're ok I guess. I am waiting to hear from my dad on the news that he got from the specialist. He was to have two surgeries but he went to another doctor that has treated this condition with medication so they are trying that first. The specialist that he is seeing next week is for the cancer. I am not sure what way they are going to go with that yet. All in all, they were talking three surgeries but I think that the the first two are on hold, at least for now.

Christmas was nice, but quiet. We had dinner here but it you could tell that Joe was missing his mom. I think it is just going to take some time.

I hope to get back to the Dis more often now that the holidays are over. I have to get back to scrapbooking my last trip and then dive into planning head first!

Sophia

 

[JPFamilyMom]

just read through your ptr, so sorry about your mil and your Dad. Prayers for you and yours.

Looking forward to your scrapbooking pictures. I use to scrapbook but I have a 3 yo and 10 mo so haven't in a LONG time, now I do the shutterly book making thing. Less mess for my kiddos to get into

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

just read through your ptr, so sorry about your mil and your Dad. Prayers for you and yours.

Looking forward to your scrapbooking pictures. I use to scrapbook but I have a 3 yo and 10 mo so haven't in a LONG time, now I do the shutterly book making thing. Less mess for my kiddos to get into

Thanks for the prayers. Things seem to be getting a bit better and hopefully with time even better still.

I've not heard about the shutterly book making thing. What is it?

I was going to take my tree down tomorrow but I think I may scrap instead.

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Ok so I have been sitting here thinking about our trip in September. We did make one decision. We are not going to do Deluxe dining. I went to the doctor today and it's official, I MUST go on a diet. My test numbers are showing signs that if I don't, I am going to be in trouble. So, DH and I started dieting today and are going to keep going for however long it takes. I am a member of weight watchers on line so I am going to take advantage of the menu planning, etc. and see where that takes us. DH has also decided not to renew his handicapped parking pass but I am not sure that this is a good idea. His pain is intense most times and I think he will regret not doing so. I at least want him to consult with his doctor. Darn Desert Storm war. Funny thing is though if they would have let him re-enlist, he would have. Now he is listed as permanently 60% disabled.

Back to the planning.....

Since we are not doing deluxe dining, I am going to go over all of the places that we really want to eat and then take a peek at the menus to see what choices would be best for us. We have until March to think about our ADR's. I'm one that has to make them at the earliest date that I possibly can.

I keep hoping that my mom and sister will change their minds. So far they have not cancelled their ressie so that's a good sign.

There are so many things that I just don't want to miss this trip. I've got my little spiral notebook out and am jotting things down so that I can eventually put together my itinerary book. DH laughs at it all the time, but I'm going to do it anyway.

I am also checking out designing some shirts for this trip. Last year we did just one and I think this year I am going to try and do a few more. Hopefully he will be a good sport and wear them. I am going to check out the Disign boards and see if I can actually do it myself or if I am going to need to go to one of the fabulous designers on this board for help. They are just awesome. I can get lost on that part of the DIS just looking at all the fab stuff out there!

We're tossing the tour back and forth again. I keep saying we are taking one, then changing my mind, then changing it again. I just don't know what to do but I am thinking about either one at the DAK or the Keys to the Kingdom Tour. Hopefully I will make up my mind soon. DH is a go with the flow guy so let's see how this turns out. I'm up for any ideas that anyone wants to share. So far we have taken the Backstage Magic Tour 2 or 3 times, the Family Magic Tour once and the Behind the Seeds Tour once as well.

We have not booked our airline tickets yet. Normally we book them quite far in advance. I am hoping that the prices will come down and if they don't we will most likely use miles or something since I have them from all of work trips.

Off to do now and will pick up on the planning again tomorrow.

 

[ILuvCrush]

Hi Sophia!!

Glad that the holidays went well for you. I'm sure this was a tough one esp for your DH

I don't remember...did you do DxDPP before?? I can't imagine all the food you get with that I LOVE to eat... but I thnk that the regular plan gives you plenty. If you decide on an extra bfst or 2 it will be a lot cheaper just paying OOP for them anyway.

Good luck with the diet... I decided that I'm trying something different this year... little month by month goals, so hopefully by 2010..I'll be healthier than I am today January's goal...not fast food. I eat WAY too much of it

I'm looking forward to hearing you ADR plans... i'm starting to contemplate mine for July... eek!

BTW.. I have my own DISign thread... I'll be happy to help you come up with shirt ideas!!!

Paula's DISigns...stop by and say Hi!!!



Paula

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Hi Sophia!!

Glad that the holidays went well for you. I'm sure this was a tough one esp for your DH

I don't remember...did you do DxDPP before?? I can't imagine all the food you get with that I LOVE to eat... but I thnk that the regular plan gives you plenty. If you decide on an extra bfst or 2 it will be a lot cheaper just paying OOP for them anyway.

Good luck with the diet... I decided that I'm trying something different this year... little month by month goals, so hopefully by 2010..I'll be healthier than I am today January's goal...not fast food. I eat WAY too much of it

I'm looking forward to hearing you ADR plans... i'm starting to contemplate mine for July... eek!

BTW.. I have my own DISign thread... I'll be happy to help you come up with shirt ideas!!!

Paula's DISigns...stop by and say Hi!!!



Paula

Hi Paula,

I like the month by month goals. That is an excellent idea. I need to get healthy and have to start now!

We were thinking about the deluxe plan because our friends are going at the same time (inkedupmomma) and they are going to do it. After the doctor's chat yesterday, I just think it's a good idea for us. We had a hard time using all of our credits last year on the regular plan.

I can't wait to check out your DISign thread! I am going there right after I finish this post!

Today I am going through menus on line to see how much my choices change from earlier when I started this PTR. Should be interesting!

Sophia

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

So I have spent the better part of the last 2 hours reading menus and looking at dining options. I'm tackling this in steps. Step 1: Figure out where we'd like to eat. Step 2: Decide what park to visit on which days and plug in dining options from there. It all sounds so easy, but it's not!. I am trying really hard to try new experiences because it seems that we go back to the same places a lot.

Here are the narrowed down selections:

Breakfast
1900 Park Fare - never been here before

Kona - can't resist the Tonga Toast

Boma - it's juist too incredible to miss

Lunch
Fresh Med. Market at the Dolphin - never been before but it looks interesting

Beaches and Cream - sad to say, never been here either

Flame Tree - I really like it here

Columbia Harbour House - never been here either

Dinner
Biergarten - my husband just loves it here and I can't say no.

Mamma Melrose - want to get the Fantasmic package and don't want to use 2 credits for Brown Derby

The Wave - looks interesting

Maya Grille - we're staying at CS so why not?

T-Rex - gotta try the new place

Akershus - never been here for dinner

Yachtsman - want to go there for our anniversary but only if we can talk inkedupmomma into it

We will DEFINITELY take several trips over to the AKL so that we can get zebra domes from the Mara. Since we'll have a car we can go A LOT!!

I am also looking at tours again. We are between two now: KTTK and Mickey's Magical Milestone Tour. Not sure which one we're going to try. We like to do at least one tour a year.

Next I will sit down and try and put together a rough outline of where we want to go when. DH wants to take breaks this year. We did not last September and he suffered big time. He's decided that he is not going to talk to the doctor about renewing his handicap parking pass. I am not sure that this is such a good idea, given the amount of pain that he has been in lately.

So, let's see what the rest of the day brings with respect to my planning. We're snowed in here so I may as well................

 

[ILuvCrush]

i added a few comments in red

So I have spent the better part of the last 2 hours reading menus and looking at dining options. I'm tackling this in steps. Step 1: Figure out where we'd like to eat. Step 2: Decide what park to visit on which days and plug in dining options from there. It all sounds so easy, but it's not!. I am trying really hard to try new experiences because it seems that we go back to the same places a lot.

Here are the narrowed down selections:

Breakfast
1900 Park Fare - never been here before The best Bfst we've had on property...AND theres characters too

Kona - can't resist the Tonga Toast

Boma - it's juist too incredible to miss It is awesome

Lunch
Fresh Med. Market at the Dolphin - never been before but it looks interesting

Beaches and Cream - sad to say, never been here either me neither..on my to do list too!

Flame Tree - I really like it here

Columbia Harbour House - never been here either for CS..definately can't be beat! Love Love Loved the BLT salad! If you do KTTK tour, this is where you have your included lunch...yum!Dinner


Biergarten - my husband just loves it here and I can't say no.

Mamma Melrose - want to get the Fantasmic package and don't want to use 2 credits for Brown Derby

The Wave - looks interesting

Maya Grille - we're staying at CS so why not? I want to try here too!

T-Rex - gotta try the new place it looks very cool doesn't it??

Akershus - never been here for dinner

Yachtsman - want to go there for our anniversary but only if we can talk inkedupmomma into it

We will DEFINITELY take several trips over to the AKL so that we can get zebra domes from the Mara. Since we'll have a car we can go A LOT!!

I am also looking at tours again. We are between two now: KTTK and Mickey's Magical Milestone Tour. Not sure which one we're going to try. We like to do at least one tour a year.

Next I will sit down and try and put together a rough outline of where we want to go when. DH wants to take breaks this year. We did not last September and he suffered big time. He's decided that he is not going to talk to the doctor about renewing his handicap parking pass. I am not sure that this is such a good idea, given the amount of pain that he has been in lately.

So, let's see what the rest of the day brings with respect to my planning. We're snowed in here so I may as well................

I'll be interested to see how it all plays out, once you have an itinerary!! Love thinking about food and ADRs at WDW!!

Paula

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Hi Paula,

Thanks for your comments. I didn't get much further over the weekend in my planning. I dug out my planning guides and books from 2008 though. I get them every year but they really don't seem to change much so I didn't get them for 2009.

I am having a hard time navigating the new Disney site. I finally gave up. I hate how it takes them months to post the schedule for things like parades, Fantasmic, etc. Makes planning difficult.

I plan to get a draft itinerary done this weekend.

Sophia

 

[Dr_Finkelstein]

Hi Sophia,

Have all caught up now - hope you are all OK

How's the diet going? Don't be too hard on yourself - if it's too strict it's really hard to stick to! Good luck with it!!

Have looked over your dining plans - they all seem good! Akershus is really nice, and we loved Columbia Harbour House - especially the tuna sandwich! 1900 Park faire is lovely, but we preferred the dinner, mainly because the Step Sisters were there and they were hysterical!

Have you thought about The Coral Reef? It was lovely looking at all the fish swimming by, and the food was good too!

I was reading another TR and it mentioned the Grand Floridian Cafe - the menu there looked really nice and it looked a lovely setting! We also fancy Beaches and Cream, DH wants us to get The Kitchen Sink!!!

Can't wait to hear the rest of your plans - I think they're slow with the park times now as they've cut the ADR window back to 90 days, so I think they've done the same with the park hours, they release them 90 before!

Di x

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Hi Sophia,

Have all caught up now - hope you are all OK

How's the diet going? Don't be too hard on yourself - if it's too strict it's really hard to stick to! Good luck with it!!

Have looked over your dining plans - they all seem good! Akershus is really nice, and we loved Columbia Harbour House - especially the tuna sandwich! 1900 Park faire is lovely, but we preferred the dinner, mainly because the Step Sisters were there and they were hysterical!

Have you thought about The Coral Reef? It was lovely looking at all the fish swimming by, and the food was good too!

I was reading another TR and it mentioned the Grand Floridian Cafe - the menu there looked really nice and it looked a lovely setting! We also fancy Beaches and Cream, DH wants us to get The Kitchen Sink!!!

Can't wait to hear the rest of your plans - I think they're slow with the park times now as they've cut the ADR window back to 90 days, so I think they've done the same with the park hours, they release them 90 before!

Di x

Hi Di,

Diet is going well...thanks for asking.

We went to the Coral Reef two years ago for our anniversary and didn't have a positive experience. Joe is really funny about not wanting to give places a second chance .

I am going to check out the Grand Floridian Cafe. Thanks for letting me know. I really want to try Beaches and Cream although the Kitchen Sink looks way over the top for me.

I wonder when they are going to go back to 180 days in advance? I read somewhere that this 90 day stuff was temporary. It's making it so darn hard to plan this way.

I am fretting a bit about not being able to see Fantasmic this time. I hope that it works out.

This morning we were talking about extending our trip by a day. I suggested that we stay our last night at the Poly . Not sure that Joe will go for that one. We have not made our plane reservations yet and given the recent crash in the US, I was giving some thought to a train. Joe just laughs at me when I say that. There is no way that we will because it's way too far. The problem with extending by one day is that it doesn't get us much. Meaning the flights back home are early. There are no flights after 12 noon so we don't really get an extra day.

So as of right now, we're doing a lot of this and not much of anything else.

I'm still planning away..............

Sophia

 

[inkedupmomma]

Hi Hi HI I'm a bit out of my depression so I had to post here before even looking at my own Tr that I never even finished I'm down for Yachtmans, if my mom comes it could be a super adult night out!! Bringing the kids is just was not terribly enjoyable!

Ok, texting about plans starts tomorrow..say 10 am??

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Hi Hi HI I'm a bit out of my depression so I had to post here before even looking at my own Tr that I never even finished I'm down for Yachtmans, if my mom comes it could be a super adult night out!! Bringing the kids is just was not terribly enjoyable!

Ok, texting about plans starts tomorrow..say 10 am??

Yay, you're back!

I talked to Joe about extending out stay a day to celebrate John's birthday. We're looking at it since we don't have airline reservations yet. Not sure where we will spend the last night but I am thinking about the Poly .... if it's in the budget. There is only one issue I can see right now and that is with the airline schedule. The flights home are crap and the last non-stiop on the airline we fly is at noon. So, that doesn't give us any additional time that day. I am gonna check other airlines and maybe the real answer is to stay 2 extra nights! I'm gonna need to do a lot of this to get Joe to agree though. That would be 10 nights and 7 days off of work. If we do it that way, the last two nights probably won't be at the Poly though. So I guess the bottom line is that we are yapping about it.

 

[ILuvCrush]

Yay, you're back!

I talked to Joe about extending out stay a day to celebrate John's birthday. We're looking at it since we don't have airline reservations yet. Not sure where we will spend the last night but I am thinking about the Poly .... if it's in the budget. There is only one issue I can see right now and that is with the airline schedule. The flights home are crap and the last non-stiop on the airline we fly is at noon. So, that doesn't give us any additional time that day. I am gonna check other airlines and maybe the real answer is to stay 2 extra nights! I'm gonna need to do a lot of this to get Joe to agree though. That would be 10 nights and 7 days off of work. If we do it that way, the last two nights probably won't be at the Poly though. So I guess the bottom line is that we are yapping about it.

hmmmm now that is some fuzzy disney math But staying anywhere would be worth it to add 2 whole extra days onto your trip!!!

Paula

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

hmmmm now that is some fuzzy disney math But staying anywhere would be worth it to add 2 whole extra days onto your trip!!!

Paula

You like that huh?!?!?! Not sure how much luck I'm going to have getting two extra days out of him. He tends to go batty after 8 nights and is ready to go home. I keep trying to get him to get a scooter. Sometimes I wonder if he realizes that he has a disability. He gets crabby with all the walking, etc. He is a disabled veteran, has a handicap parking pass, which he is telling me that he doesn't want to renew and has a hard time staying on his feet for a long perid of time. Duh, that's all you do when you are at Disney! SO if he'd just get a scooter he'd probably be a much happier camper. He keeps telling me that he doesn't want people to think he's "the fat guy" on the scooter. I keep telling him who cares what they say and frankly if they persist, whip out the big ol scar!

I am going to start looking to see what makes the most sense for us.