We're off to see the wizards! We leave tomorrow!!

[wanttobeinvienna]

I have LOVED reading through your thread! Looks like I will be following your trip just about one month after you! I will be there Nov 21 for a SURPRISE trip for my little family...and I can't wait!

This is a *little* last minute planning for me- I just decided that we were going last week, and put a deposit down today... well- 5 minutes ago

Disboards has provided some of the greatest advice for my Disney planning- I know the kids and I were able to have some of the most UNIQUE and MEMORABLE experiences because of the advice I had received on these boards- and I already can tell the same is happening with this trip!!

Looking forward to continuing to learn more from you...and follow in your footsteps!!

MC

 

[-Hope-]

I have LOVED reading through your thread! Looks like I will be following your trip just about one month after you! I will be there Nov 21 for a SURPRISE trip for my little family...and I can't wait!

This is a *little* last minute planning for me- I just decided that we were going last week, and put a deposit down today... well- 5 minutes ago

Disboards has provided some of the greatest advice for my Disney planning- I know the kids and I were able to have some of the most UNIQUE and MEMORABLE experiences because of the advice I had received on these boards- and I already can tell the same is happening with this trip!!

Looking forward to continuing to learn more from you...and follow in your footsteps!!

MC

If you've made it this far and not run from my rambling craziness then you've done well.

There is so much good info here on the UO boards and everyone is extremely helpful so I'm sure you're going to have loads of fun planning!

EDIT: I took out my questions about your trip when I realized I'm already following your PTR.

 

[Alysa]

LOVE the album! You have a bunch of cuties there. And can't wait to see your photos of Despicable me!

 

[-Hope-]

LOVE the album! You have a bunch of cuties there. And can't wait to see your photos of Despicable me!

Thanks!

 

[-Hope-]

We had a somewhat unexpected day at home today and decided to do a movie day.

One of the areas of UO with theming I think my kids will be least familiar with is Lost Continent. They have some basic understanding of Greek mythology that has been watered down and altered through TV and movies (especially Supernatural and Thor). I have searched and searched for movies that feature Poseidon and even mistakenly got a movie from Netflix that was about the ship instead of the god.

I finally found a fairly recent movie with a decent cast called Immortals.* Poseidon is one of the listed characters and it's all about the gods coming down from Mt. Olympus to intervene in a mortal war. Seemed perfect and was available on Netflix streaming.

I made Greek "nachos" for us to enjoy while watching the movie.


I bought the pita chips back when we had that wrong Poseidon movie and all of the other ingredients were things I had on hand. I'm kind of a lazy cook so I just threw together some things that seemed Greek and hoped for the best.

The base of the nachos consisted of ground beef sauteed with onions, red and yellow bell peppers and celery salt. We had the pita chips and mini bell peppers for dipping as well as flat bread to make wraps. And, of course, my favorite tzatziki sauce. Again, I didn't follow a specific recipe- I love tzatziki though and have made it before so I winged it from memory. I mixed Greek yogurt, pureed cucumber, celery salt and garlic powder. I hate to toot my own horn but these came out GREAT! Kya really liked them too but Jace wouldn't even try it. Which is the main reason we are skipping Mythos even though I really love Greek food.

Once we had our yummy treats we settled in to watch the movie. It didn't have great reviews so I wasn't really expecting much. It actually wasn't half bad though and Jace really enjoyed it. I was a bit disappointed that even though Poseidon was listed by name as a character he was never identified in the film. There was a group of gods that fought together and only two were named, Zeus and Athena; the others were just fighting in the background together. So, I'm not really sure how much this movie prepped us for Poseidon's Fury but it was a fun way to kill a hot afternoon. And we got yummy treats!

We didn't do any other activities. I thought about doing some sort of mock Olympic competition but the kids seemed disinterested. They enjoy puzzle type things and I can usually find some sort of word search or something to go with movies but my printer is out of ink. I ordered some today though so I'll be prepared for our next movie day.

Tomorrow we're headed out to see Despicable Me 2. Just going to the movie and buying popcorn practically requires a small loan so we won't have any other treats or activities to go with this one. I wish the shirts we ordered from jiffyshirts to make our park shirts would have gotten here in time for that since Kya is making a purple minion tank. It would have been a fun activity AND she could have worn it to the movie. Ah well, maybe next time. As an aside, she's also thinking of doing some purple streaks in her hair for our trip in honor of the new purple minions. We'll have to see the movie before she decides for sure but I think she will. She had pink streaks for our trip to WDW and wants to do something equally special for UO.


We have lots more movies we want to see before our trip so lots more movie days to come. Some laid back like this one, others more over the top- our big, special, 50 day countdown party will be next week. I think my mom might even join us for that one, should be fun!

*A bit of a disclaimer- Immortals is VERY violent. My kids are older and we are pretty laid back about this sort of thing but I'd hate for someone to watch this on my recommendation and be upset. For a frame of reference I would say it's as violent and bloody as Tarantino.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Well, I'm glad to see that you had a movie day since we didn't get together! Oh and you ARE wack-a-doodle, no worries there! I'm trying to give you all the crap I can today since I have to be nice to you tomorrow. That's a rule right? Be nice to people on their birthday? It will be hard, but I'll try!

 

[-Hope-]

Well, I'm glad to see that you had a movie day since we didn't get together! Oh and you ARE wack-a-doodle, no worries there! I'm trying to give you all the crap I can today since I have to be nice to you tomorrow. That's a rule right? Be nice to people on their birthday? It will be hard, but I'll try!

That's right, get it out of your system now!

And I had to have a movie day to MAKE UP for not seeing you today.

 

[-Hope-]

We went to see DM2 yesterday and it was SUCH a cute movie! About halfway through Jace leaned over and said it was the funniest movie ever. After the movie he said he liked that it got more serious as the plot developed and it was a good balance of comedy and storytelling. Seriously, what 14 year old evaluates movies like that? I may have the next Roger Ebert on my hands.

So, we didn't know much about the movie going in and just seeing it was enough of a treat but I couldn't help thinking about food and activities for a movie day while we were watching. Yep, every time they'd have a treat I'd make a mental note, lol!

I thought I'd share the ideas so they could benefit the rest of you who enjoy movie nights. And so I could refer back when it comes out on DVD.

Food
-Mexican food, especially salsa and guacamole with tortilla chips
-ice cream sundae bar
-purple koolaid
-cupcakes with purple icing
-jelly (must have)
-green Popsicles on a stick (or Rice Krispie treats dipped in green icing to look like Popsicles)

Decorations
-Cinco de Mayo
-beach
-lots of purple
-drink umbrellas

Activities
-anything with magnets; make refrigerator magnets, see what objects you can pick up, make a race of picking up the most objects, etc.
-make a volcano
-actually watch the movie! So often when Karen and I do movie days with the girls we never get around to watching the movie. But this one is so good that it's a must see.
-minion paper dolls with various outfits including French maid, golfer, hula girl with coconut bra, etc.


Hope that helps some of you!

 

[coastgirl]

Hope I haven't kept up well--we are busily prepping for our own trip in a couple of weeks. Had to say I LOVED those journals/autograph books you made. What a cute idea. How is the texture of the paper for writing, is it regular paper? I got autograph books printed at Staples on card stock a few years ago, and it was fine, but the glossy paper had me worried.

Do you know the movie "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief"? He's a mortal son of Poseidon. The book is waaaay better but the movie is good for what it is. (Kind of like Harry Potter book vs. movie, movies only lack when you've read the book and know what's missing.) Not saying Lightning Thief is as good as Harry, but it's worth watching, with a bit of an intro into some of the Classical characters and creatures.

Anyway, enjoying your PT. I'll be by the time you post your TR though because we'll be done too...

 

[-Hope-]

Hi JoAnne!

Your trip is SO close!! I want to hear all about it when you get back! It is always sad to think about it ending but just think, when you get back you can do a TR, then you can read my TR and will extend the magic at least a little.

The photo books aren't really glossy, at least not like a picture is glossy. It's thicker and not quite like, but similar too a magazine. Or if you've ever looked at a photography book- it's like the pages in those. We had similar, though much smaller, books from Snapfish that we used for Epcot passports on our trip to WDW and they worked well for the CM to sign, stamp, etc. No smudges.

When I was researching Poseidon movies Percy Jackson did pop up a few times. One of Kya's friends loves the books and Kya like the actor who plays Percy so we may have to check those out, thanks for the tip.

 

[rottiemom]

Hi Hope! Popping in at the tail of this thread and will start from the beginning later today...you are a BUSY gal, I'm exhausted just from reading this page .

When I was researching Poseidon movies Percy Jackson did pop up a few times. One of Kya's friends loves the books and Kya like the actor who plays Percy so we may have to check those out, thanks for the tip.

The Percy Jackson movie was very good and I think it'll provide a watchable intro to some basics of Greek mythology. I think that the 2nd one is in the theaters now? But check out the first one...um...first .

More later...

 

[-Hope-]

Hi Hope! Popping in at the tail of this thread and will start from the beginning later today...you are a BUSY gal, I'm exhausted just from reading this page .



The Percy Jackson movie was very good and I think it'll provide a watchable intro to some basics of Greek mythology. I think that the 2nd one is in the theaters now? But check out the first one...um...first .

More later...

We'll definitely check out the first Percy Jackson movie... first.

The second is in theaters because we keep seeing the ads but we have so many "must see" movies on our list that I think this one is going to have to wait until we can get it on DVD. We'll just have to be happy with the first one for now.

And, I'm not really all that busy... just temporarily unemployed with lots of time one my hands.

 

[-Hope-]

Life Update!!​

Forgive me for being but I got a job offer this morning!!

For those who haven't read through the mountains of posts in the PTR I recently lost my job due to budget cuts at the state level. I've been teaching GED for two years and really loved it. The program was funded through a grant that was managed by an independent agency serving four counties. We did not get our grant renewal this year after THIRTY YEARS!

Last night I met with the local school board to ask them if they could keep the class going that was in our small town. (Previously I was teaching a class there two nights a week in addition to the 2 day classes I taught in a neighboring town). This morning I got a call from the Superintendent of schools that the board voted to accept my proposal and hired me to teach the class.

It's far fewer hours than I was working before since they are only funding the evening class for our town BUT I'll also be able to sub in the district a couple of days a week. And our district pays certified teachers a great daily sub rate so if I can just get two days per week I'll be making nearly the same as I was before.

Honestly, it couldn't have come at a better time. Our fridge has been giving us problems off and on and last night it started again... this morning I woke up to a dripping ice maker. At this point none of it jeopardizes our trip because we have non-refundable plane tickets. But it does impact the extras we'll be able to afford not to mention my ability to enjoy myself without feeling guilty. So, the job alleviates a lot of that stress.

Anyway, that was totally OT but I just had to share.

 

[macraven]

congrats on the new job!
it's great news and coming at a good time for you.



are you going to change your trip dates now?

 

[-Hope-]

congrats on the new job!
it's great news and coming at a good time for you.

are you going to change your trip dates now?

No, we have those plane tickets so changing isn't really an option- unless we want to pay penalties that are nearly as much as we paid for the tickets. I only have to miss one night of class because it only meets twice a week. And the subbing I'll be doing is completely flexible so not an issue at all.

Oh, and thanks!!

 

[macraven]

i don't know if it is a state issued thing or county for illinois.

check out the new license for subs.

it has changed for Lake county which started july 1st for substitute teachers.

wait.......why am i thinking you live in illinois?
i believe we had this conversation before.......

 

[-Hope-]

i don't know if it is a state issued thing or county for illinois.

check out the new license for subs.

it has changed for Lake county which started july 1st for substitute teachers.

wait.......why am i thinking you live in illinois?
i believe we had this conversation before.......

Lol, nope not Illinois. I live in Missouri and have a teaching certificate in several areas including subbing. Thanks though.

 

[wanttobeinvienna]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!

The stress of losing a job is so overwhelming- I am thrilled you not only got an offer, but in your field as well!

Clearly, every student who gets you will be very lucky!!!

 

[-Hope-]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!

The stress of losing a job is so overwhelming- I am thrilled you not only got an offer, but in your field as well!

Clearly, every student who gets you will be very lucky!!!

Thank you!

It has been stressful but we're also really lucky that it hasn't been devastating. At any rate, I'm happy to have a job again, even one with reduced hours!

 

[-Hope-]

Okay, so before I share my latest creation I have a quick question. Today I noticed that the hours for US have changed the week of our trip. Previously they were listed as 9-7 but now it's been changed to 9-8.

This is GREAT news for us because I made our reservation at Finnegan's SO early so we'd have plenty of time to stake out a seat for Cinematic Spectacular after we eat. But with the later hours we could eat later, which would not only fit in better with when we normally eat but would also give us more time to have an afternoon break without rushing back to the park. I'd like to change the ressie but am unsure if the hours are likely to change again. So, my question is, are hours likely to change again? Should I change the ressie or wait? So far I don't think the new dining plan has interfered with people getting a reservation but I don't think FREE dining has started yet and am not sure if that's going to change things.

Any feedback here would be appreciated. In the mean time, onto the fun stuff...

I spent yesterday making lists to plan for the 50 day countdown party we're going to have on Friday. I invited my mom over but I don't know if she'll actually come. At any rate we're going to have a big, over the top movie night. I have a menu with main course, sweets and drinks. We'll have decorations and fun activities. And, of course, we'll be watching a movie. Any guesses what we might be watching? Ah, you'll just have to wait and see I suppose.

While I was prepping I was trying to decide if we would do a countdown chain, a calendar, something else or just skip that entirely. I finally settled on the something else...


I made 50 tear off tabs down the sides that the kids can pull off daily. Then I made 50 boxes with various things we want to do before the trip to be crossed off as we go as well. Some have movies to watch, some have things for us to do together, some have things I need to do on my own and some are just blank because we obviously aren't going to do something every day.

I made the countdown separate from the activities because I didn't want us to be tied to doing certain things on certain days; this way is just more flexible. We can even do more than one activity on the same day if we want/need to since activities aren't tied to the countdown.

I know that pic is small and hard to read so I'll list the activities for you. I've already posted a list of the movies we want to watch so I won't share those again.

Things listed for the kids and I to do together...

• pack
• make t-shirts
• cash in change jar for wand money
• make tip envelopes
• shop for trip; snacks, clothes, sunscreen, toiletries, etc.

Things listed for me to do on my own...

• transfer vacation funds needed for trip from savings to debit card
• Photo Connect pre-order
• finalize touring plans and either print or find an app to add them to
• confirm reservations
• pay off trip
• online check-in for flights

Honestly, the list isn't that long- we're nearly ready for our trip!