All the makings of a disaster… I’m bringing two reluctant teens and the in-laws!!

[Dancegrl624]

That squirrel story was hysterical! I can picture it all in my head.

[lurkernj]

Originally Posted by BearcatsFan

It's unfortunate you didn't get to photograph the cupcakes. I have the visual in mind, though, of them all melted. My question is this ... did DS and DH go ahead and eat them? My hubby would have!

It was extremely unfortunate as they were quite beautiful, especially the banana split one that had chocolate sauce and and cherry on top. Yes, everyone at their respective cupcakes and they were delicious. I had a coconut one that got some key lime frosting on it, and OMG that was good.

Squirrels? Seriously? LOL!! Oh. My. I don't even know what to say to that! Was having quite a hard time believing it myself! Felt like a sitcom.

We've decided against online check-in as well. I've been reading reports of absolutely having to put a CC number in, and we didn't want to put one on our KTTW card ... so they'd have to remove it once we got there ... therefore requiring them to redo everything. Not worth it for us.Totally agree

Kids grow up so fast, don't they? We don't have any, but watching our nieces/nephews all grow like weeds over the years ... it's just amazing how fast the time goes by.

I can just picture myself dropping him off at kindergarten

Originally Posted by wuzzy6

I lost it at "squirrels..." Lol, never a dull moment I tell ya

I'm interested to see what you decide to do regarding the park-hoppers. We've always gotten park-hoppers, but I started questioning whether or not we want to add the extra cost onto our trip this time. I think I'll end up keeping the PH if they come out with FD for our travel dates... but if not, then I don't really see any reason to keep them. Then again, I want to be able to go to another park if we feel like it. Ugh- not an easy decision!

I'll keep you posted:smokin:

Originally Posted by shalom

IMHO, kids are like cats -- if you have a bunch of them about the same age, they keep each other entertained. Course, this also means that they tend to get into a lot more trouble when younger... lol, good analogy




I always managed to keep myself entertained before we had kids (mostly wasn't working, and eldest was conceived on our fifth anniversary), and that was without planning Disney trips. Yeah, DH and I were together for 6 years before kids, but I think we had second jobs and went to school. Not planning either of those things if I can help it

Actually I have plans for Disney trips well into the 2020s -- various birthdays and anniversaries in particular. At this rate, by the time I have much fewer kids underfoot, I'll still have to find other stuff to do. Too funny. I also have spreadsheets done in case I have an emergency trip at pretty much any given time of the year. I also have one spreadsheet completed for my 3 trips in one year when I get an AP



My DS17 thinks there's something wrong with all of us on a right regular basis. It's interesting what a conformist streak boys that age have -- they're not conforming to home family standards, but they're definitely worried about conforming!so true, so true





This sounds like the time hubby tried to scare the racoons off the front porch and we ended up with one behind my desk in the living room (how do you scare a racoon into running past you through a narrow doorway? ). Except hubby coped a bit better.

that must've been quite a site!

Originally Posted by Dancegrl624

That squirrel story was hysterical! I can picture it all in my head.

Thanks, we are an entertaining bunch

[lurkernj]

Sorry, no good stories today, except that DS14 missed the bus this morning I believe it was a combined effort, since our kitchen clock is apparent 3 minutes slow, and the bus must have left at exactly 6:40 (his designated time). We got to the bus stop at 6:41 and the bus was no where in sight, there's about 30 kids at this bus stop, so there's no way they all got on in that one minute and I didn't even see a tail light. Since DS17 drives himself and his cousin, we just had him take DS14 with him. He's not supposed to have more than one passenger, but I wasn't planning to go 40 min out of my way when he's going there anyway.

Yesterday I called Airtran to cancel DH's flight. As expected, there was a $75 cancellation fee, but it left a credit of $57. She told me I could use this towards checked baggage fees if I called the day before our flight(I'll pay the extra $3 for the third bag, $20 each). Sounds like a bit of a hassle, but it does make packing easier now. I was originally trying not to have any checked baggage on the way back since I'm cheap and I didn't want to wait for bags.

But, since I will now have to get DHs Disney clothes/stuff home without him being present, I can check his bag back, plus I can now pack my stuff in a big suitcase and check that on the way home too. I will let MIL use the third free bag for her stuff, and FIL and kids can manage with carry-ons. I am pretty excited about this part Now I don't need to budget space so carefully.

I did learn that DH can't do airline checkin for overseas travel at our resort. He will need to lug his UK bag and hisself to the United counter at MCO and do it there. Not a big deal I suppose.

Oh, I was reading wdwinfo, and I see that they are doing another round of the fastpass + testing from 9/18-9/24. I'm planning to be in MK on 9/24, so I'm really really hoping I get picked. Apparently they contact you by mail, so now I have something new to be obsessed with when I check my mail. PICK ME, PICK ME

I've also been busy watching some Disney movies lately. I watched Lady and the Tramp the other night. Tonight I'm going to try to watch Cinderella on VHS. My VHS player is about 20 years old, and seems to have a lot of "snow" when trying to watch something, but I really want to watch this movie since it's been a really long time. I did pre-order it, but don't want to wait til after my trip. I did rent Mulan last week, not sure if I mentioned that already. It was actually pretty good.

When I ordered Lady and the Tramp a couple of weeks ago, it came with a certificate for a free ticket to see Finding Nemo 3D, and DH actually said he's never seen the whole movie and wants to go, so we will try to squeeze that in before I leave. I love that movie I'm not sure if he's just trying to score points or if he really wants to see these things, but I'll take what I can get.

[shalom]

Originally Posted by lurkernj

I can just picture myself dropping him off at kindergarten

We homeschool, but I am going through the same thing with my eldest son. Didn't hit me as hard with eldest daughter, likely because she still shows no inclination to move out or anything. With eldest son, however, I know this is our last year of schooling together -- he is just champing at the bit to get out on his own!

Originally Posted by lurkernj

that must've been quite a site!

I didn't actually see the raccoon come in -- hubby and the kids squealed and fussed but it scuttled so fast behind furniture and all that they lost track of it and then couldn't find it. So I was typing along and hear this weird scrabbling sound and then there's this little half-grown raccoon peering at me from behind my desk, looking rather worried but not particularly scared. My desk is three feet deep and it didn't look likely to panic, so I didn't panic either, and just quietly called hubby over.

He surveyed the situation, then moved furniture to give the raccoon a clear access to the exit, lined that semi circle with curious kids and cats under strict orders to stay put (well, he said they could flee but not advance), then he tracked down his gi belt and a sandal, shooed me off my chair, and starting swinging the sandal back behind the desk and, when that didn't work, trying to drop the sandal (still on the belt) on the raccoon's head.

The raccoon finally bolted for the door, closely followed by a couple of our cats. And that was the end of the raccoons in our house.

Well, unless you count the ones wrestling in our attic, which showed up after that -- and they're WWF wrestlers, I'm telling you, complete with the body slams from the sound of it. One night I was sure they were going to come through the ceiling. But we finally found some guys who could fix the eaves while retaining the historical looks of the place, hopefully without causing the same problems, and that seems to have taken care of those, as well.

[BearcatsFan]

Sorry to see your DS missed the bus this morning. I agree with you on sending him with other DS though - no reason for you to go out of your way. No harm, no foul.

Pity your DH can't do the airline check-in at the hotel. I'd think with all the overseas guests they get that they'd allow that, wouldn't you? At least now you won't have to worry so much about trying to conserve space in your bags - more room for souveniers, right? And since you'll be wearing the ears for MNSSHP, you know they'll be receiving the WDW radio frequency signal "Buy MORE, spend MORE!"

We've been planning to watch some of the Disney movies before our trip and we've managed to see ... exactly none. Maybe this weekend!

[Dancegrl624]

I am still crossing my fingers that we get picked for the new FastPass testing. They have been notifying people via email, so keep your eyes peeled! Two of my fellow travel agents got selected to participate and I feel so left out!

[lurkernj]

Originally Posted by shalom

We homeschool, but I am going through the same thing with my eldest son. Didn't hit me as hard with eldest daughter, likely because she still shows no inclination to move out or anything. With eldest son, however, I know this is our last year of schooling together -- he is just champing at the bit to get out on his own!

Homeschool? I don't know if I could tolerate my kids all day and I only have two, you must be extremely organized and patient. Yea, it's just sad in general when they grow up, means we're getting old


I didn't actually see the raccoon come in -- hubby and the kids squealed and fussed but it scuttled so fast behind furniture and all that they lost track of it and then couldn't find it. So I was typing along and hear this weird scrabbling sound and then there's this little half-grown raccoon peering at me from behind my desk, looking rather worried but not particularly scared. My desk is three feet deep and it didn't look likely to panic, so I didn't panic either, and just quietly called hubby over.

He surveyed the situation, then moved furniture to give the raccoon a clear access to the exit, lined that semi circle with curious kids and cats under strict orders to stay put (well, he said they could flee but not advance), then he tracked down his gi belt and a sandal, shooed me off my chair, and starting swinging the sandal back behind the desk and, when that didn't work, trying to drop the sandal (still on the belt) on the raccoon's head.

The raccoon finally bolted for the door, closely followed by a couple of our cats. And that was the end of the raccoons in our house.

Well, unless you count the ones wrestling in our attic, which showed up after that -- and they're WWF wrestlers, I'm telling you, complete with the body slams from the sound of it. One night I was sure they were going to come through the ceiling. But we finally found some guys who could fix the eaves while retaining the historical looks of the place, hopefully without causing the same problems, and that seems to have taken care of those, as well. OMG, that sounds like quite the sketch, maybe you should put a mini trampoline in your attic for them

Originally Posted by BearcatsFan

Sorry to see your DS missed the bus this morning. I agree with you on sending him with other DS though - no reason for you to go out of your way. No harm, no foul.

And since you'll be wearing the ears for MNSSHP, you know they'll be receiving the WDW radio frequency signal "Buy MORE, spend MORE!" That is too funny, but very true apparently

We've been planning to watch some of the Disney movies before our trip and we've managed to see ... exactly none. Maybe this weekend!Try to squeeze a few in, it just gets you in the mood

Originally Posted by Dancegrl624

I am still crossing my fingers that we get picked for the new FastPass testing. They have been notifying people via email, so keep your eyes peeled! Two of my fellow travel agents got selected to participate and I feel so left out!

Well, now I'm checking my email every 5 minutes. I will be soooooo excited if I get picked for this. Hopefully they are sending out the emails in waves and aren't done asking yet.

[shalom]

Originally Posted by lurkernj

you must be extremely organized and patient.

You only say that because you didn't see the kids' math scores before we found Khan Academy. A couple of kids fortunately inherited their parents' fairly quick understanding of mathematical theory, but unfortunately some of them also inherited my hatred of drill and poor arithmetic skills.

I could not stand doing drills with the kids -- soon as we'd start I'd remember teachers and my father loudly insisting that I couldn't possibly NOT know this stuff yet -- and although there are plenty of fun computer drills, they aren't as much fun as what the kids really want to do, and I'm none too good at making sure they drill without me, either. Plus I think I slide into another place while doing stuff like Quarter Mile Math anyhow -- my fingers know the answer on the keyboard, but my brain is totally somewhere else! Khan Academy not only has the arithmetical drills and connects them into the math -- it keeps track of the kids progress. Love that place for math.

Also, homeschool does not necessarily mean the kids are home all the time -- my high school kids mostly take science classes with a friend of ours, and when I was really tearing my hair over the math thing a couple of them did math for a while with some program Notre Dame set up, then there are art classes, homeschool gym, etc. When they were younger, their dad signed them up for so much stuff I sometimes ended up doing most of "our" school in the summer, because it was such a pain to schedule during the school year!

For the most part, we decide how much time the kids spend out of the house, but then there's ballet. Which at this point is Monday-Thursday nights, plus Saturday. A lot of the students there go straight from school to class; when there are rehearsals going as well (those start in September and go until early December for Nutcracker), some years I've wondered how the public schooled kids manage to do all their homework and enough sleep to function, let alone spend time with their family.

I regularly got only five hours of sleep a night in high school, but it's not something I'd recommend, and not something I want my kids to be doing. I'm pretty sure eldest son stays up all hours of the night (his bedroom's in the basement while we're upstairs), but he also sleeps in -- not always intentionally.

Originally Posted by lurkernj

Well, now I'm checking my email every 5 minutes. I will be soooooo excited if I get picked for this.

Hoping a bit of pixiedust will improve your odds.

[macnodos]

Best of Luck to you lurkernj. We also as a family enjoy going to the world, and my son who is 16 is probably getting to the point of going but not really enjoying it. My eleven year old daughter loves it. We'll see what happens next year when we'll go again. We are DVC owners and go about once a year.

I like you husband just suffered stroke about three weeks ago and my age is 51. It was mild, and tingling /numbing still remain in my right side. My doctor is telling me those feelings should subside in several weeks. We'll see. Then on to planning next trip

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Originally Posted by BearcatsFan

Pity your DH can't do the airline check-in at the hotel. I'd think with all the overseas guests they get that they'd allow that, wouldn't you?

It has to do with security regulations and the TSA apparently. I'm from Canada and coming in if we fly in from an airport that has US pre clearance facilities (US customs in the airport) we actually land in the domestic section of the terminal and don't have to go through customs.

[lurkernj]

Originally Posted by macnodos

Best of Luck to you lurkernj. We also as a family enjoy going to the world, and my son who is 16 is probably getting to the point of going but not really enjoying it. My eleven year old daughter loves it. We'll see what happens next year when we'll go again. We are DVC owners and go about once a year.

I like you husband just suffered stroke about three weeks ago and my age is 51. It was mild, and tingling /numbing still remain in my right side. My doctor is telling me those feelings should subside in several weeks. We'll see. Then on to planning next trip

Welcome

Yes, it makes me miss the young ones. I wish we owned DVC, then I'd have to go frequently to make use of it

I'm terribly sorry to hear about your stroke I hope you are still mobil and no disabilities remain. Honestly, I didn't even know what a stroke was til DH had his. Very scary stuff. His was a pretty bad one, completely paralyzing his right side, his muscles felt like jello, they were just occupying space in his skin. But since he was young, healthy and determined, he has most of it back and counts himself very lucky Best wishes on a speedy recovery to you, and that you will be back to normal by your next trip

[lurkernj]

Just dropping in to report that it happened, it really really happened

I GOT PICKED TO DO THE FASTPASS PLUS

I am so excited, I can't contain myself

My MIL also got picked, and since we are only in MK one day while it's valid, three of us will get 6 fastpasses since DH and kids won't be there.

Since I get 4, I picked Wishes viewing to share with my in laws, plus peter pan, haunted mansion, and the mickey minnie meet/greet. I'll use two peter pan, and two haunted mansion, and give the others to my MIL/FIL. I'll have three extra mickey/minnie meet/greets, so I'll give them away to someone else. I had MIL get splash mountain, and I'll keep those since she won't go on it anyway, plus I got her Jungle cruise, Buzz lightyear, and philharmagic(I know you don't really need one here, but there wasn't much to choose from that she'd do). I really want the parade viewing, but that was only saying "standby available", but I'll keep checking.

It says they will mail them to us.

[JennyWren]

Congratulations!!! I'm very excited for you.

[macraven]

Originally Posted by lurkernj

Just dropping in to report that it happened, it really really happened

I GOT PICKED TO DO THE FASTPASS PLUS

I am so excited, I can't contain myself

My MIL also got picked, and since we are only in MK one day while it's valid, three of us will get 6 fastpasses since DH and kids won't be there.

Since I get 4, I picked Wishes viewing to share with my in laws, plus peter pan, haunted mansion, and the mickey minnie meet/greet. I'll use two peter pan, and two haunted mansion, and give the others to my MIL/FIL. I'll have three extra mickey/minnie meet/greets, so I'll give them away to someone else. I had MIL get splash mountain, and I'll keep those since she won't go on it anyway, plus I got her Jungle cruise, Buzz lightyear, and philharmagic(I know you don't really need one here, but there wasn't much to choose from that she'd do). I really want the parade viewing, but that was only saying "standby available", but I'll keep checking.

It says they will mail them to us.

congrats on getting the email!

i received mine last week.
looks like my fast pass test ones are the same day as yours.

that must mean we are twinkies.......

[shalom]

Originally Posted by lurkernj

I GOT PICKED TO DO THE FASTPASS PLUS

Excellent! I hope you can get a pass for the parade yet (not least because I want to hear your review ), but even without that, you've got a nice line up, there. Congratulations! I'm most interested in hearing how the Wishes one works.