Originally Posted By joeysmommy Hi Atinkfan- I know you are getting excited for your trip- Me Too! I will keep an eye out for you and your loud family with the matching T-shirts! Bummer about the monorail being down.
Originally Posted By atinkfan Hey joeysmommy! I am getting excited! Although I'm starting to have that "oh crap" feeling.....we're leaving a week from today and there's a ton of stuff I still need to do! Yikes!!! I shopped around and got some cute Tinekrbell gifts for my 2 boys and my niece and nephew while we're there. I haven't done it yet but am going to call and get milk & cookies sent to the room one night while we are there. I'm thinking I will have that happen on either Mon or Tues since the park closes early those days. It will give us something to do if we happen to get back to the hotel early. We will have a big group with us.....8 adults and 4 kids. And yes, sadly, all matching shirts! Although I don't think we have matching shirts to wear for every day (thank goodness). I remember as a kid, my mom and her best friend were real big into that and I just hated it! I felt like such a dork! And here I am, doing it to my kids! They're still young enough to think that it's fun though. I wonder how many more years of that I'll get! lol I saw on another post that your husband is a crane operator. Strangely enough, my husband used to run a crane at his uncle's scrap yard. He always says he could get a job running a crane in the bay area making big $$ because crane operators are hard to come by. In fact, there is a company in Castro Valley (I think....) that has offered him a job a couple times now! He just doesn't want to commute and be that far from his lovely family. We will be there before you so I will leave you a message at the front desk. Maybe we could hook-up and say a quick hi!
Originally Posted By joeysmommy Hi I am getting so excited! My kids and I made a paper chain to count down the days. The first thing they do when they wake up is tear off a link! It's been great for my 2 year old. He counts the days left over and over again. I have that "oh crap" feeling too. We have to go to a wedding the day before we leave. I feel like calling and saying, "Sorry, I have to pack for DL, can't make it!" But he was the best man in our wedding so I don't think that I can get out of it. Are you going to leave your kids' gifts out in the morning or for when you get back to your room? Where did you get their gifts? I've had the best luck on ebay. Our Disney store isn't very good. I'm thinking I might leave them out for the morning, they'll be more excited. The 2 yr old might fall asleep while daddy carries him back to the room. I ordered milk & cookies, rice krispie treats and choc covered strawberries for the first 3 nights we are there. I might only do 2 nights, that's going to be expensive. DL closes at 8 pm during the week we are there, right? I noticed DCA closes at 6pm, bummer. By the way, what do your matching shirts look like? I'll keep an eye out for you. What dates are you there? We're there 9/25-9/29. Since crane operators have to be certified now my hubby is more in demand lately. Which company offered him a job? I think he knows every company in the Bay Area. At one of his jobs many of the guys lived up north and went home for the weekends to see their kids. I felt so bad for their wives, it's like being a single mom. But most of the jobs were around here so they had to go where the work was. Definitely leave me a note and we'll find each other some how.
Originally Posted By atinkfan I've been putting notes in my son's lunch every day with the countdown til we go. He loves it! When we talk about going to DL with the 4 yr old, he thinks we're going right then, and then I have to explain it's still days away. We are driving down Fri. 9/22 afternoon. We're staying at an off-site hotel that night since our park hopper starts on Sat. We want to spend all of Sat in the park! Then we will move over to DLH on 9/23 and check out on 9/27. That is a bummer you have to go to a wedding the day before you leave! But I don't see you getting out of it, since he was in your wedding! I am a little worried myself because my son's school is just finishing up a fundraiser on Monday and we need to count the orders, money, etc. I'm the PTO treasurer so I kinda HAVE to be there. I'm just hoping they don't decide to have count night the night before we leave!! Fortunately, I am a stay-at-home mom, so I do have the daytime to get stuff done around here. Our Tinkerbell gifts, I am still not sure when I'll give them out. Maybe in the morning? That way it will look like she came during the night and dropped them off.....like the tooth fairy (which btw, I told my oldest that the tooth fairy and Tinkerbell were cousins!). We've got 3 boys in our group, I got all of them a POTC keychain from Kmart ($3.99 ea. My niece is getting a Little Mermaid keychain as well. And the funny thing is, the kids don't even have keys! Why the fascination with keychains, I'll never know!! A few years back, we went into SF and saw the Lion King at the Orpheum (AWESOME show!!!!!!) and I let my oldest pick something out at the souvenir thing. He picked a keychain! lol (on a side note, we went and saw Peter Pan at the Orpheum back in May of this year.....another fabulous show!!!!!) Ok so back to Tinkerbell....the kids are also getting some character figurines....my boys are getting a Peter Pan and Mr. Smee figurine, nephew is getting a Woody one, and niece is getting a small baby Cinderella doll. Most of all those came from Kmart (which is about the only shopping in my small town). I did go to our closest Disney store and didn't find anything that was a must-have bargain buy. We're also getting our kids those glow-in-the-dark necklaces and bracelets for night-time. Since Halloween is coming, you can find them just about anywhere. It gives them something to play with while waiting for the fireworks (which are only happening on the Sat that we are there...bummer!) Let's see....I think we have 2 sets of matching shirts. One is a Hawaiian Disney print button down shirt from DisneyShopping.com. They are a pale blue color with some yellow, orange, and sage green. We'll probably wear them open, over a t-shirt. The other one is the 4th of July Old Navy t-shirt from this year. It's a navy blue one with the flag on the front. My husband and kids all got some bright lime green (easy to pick out in a crowd!!) shirts from DisneyShopping too. They have 4 characters in a shape of a ball on the front. The 4 of us may wear those one day. I think the name of the place in the Bay Area that offered my husband a job is Alco? I believe they are a scrap yard as well. They wanted someone to drum up business for them here in the central valley, which he would have been perfect for since he knows all the farmers/businesses around here. But it's alot of driving every day. Now that I think about it, I don't think that particular job was operating a crane for them. He's totally out of that business now and works for Dole. Well, looks like I've typed a novel here! lol Gotta get ready for a soccer game this morning.......talk to ya later!
Originally Posted By joeysmommy atinkfan- putting notes in the lunch box is a great idea! I think I'll do that this week since it's the last 5 school days til we go. That's so cute, "Tinkerbell and the Tooth fairy are cousins". I might have to borrow that one. I wanted to surprise them with the autograph books I made them but my oldest caught me late at night when he got up to use the bathroom. So that's something I'll just put in their backpacks. Sounds like you found some great deals on Disney stuff! It becomes addicting doesn't it? btw my kids love key chains too, I think it's the jingly sound they like..who knows. Your shirts sound very nice, I almost bought the lime green ones with the round Disney characters too, for the very same reason. I also won a bid on some Halloween flashlight necklaces, but they may not get here in time so I might have to go to Target and get something else. I saw Darkbeer's photos, and with Halloween all around my sons will definitely be bugging me to buy them some Halloween stuff. Their Birthday party with my family is Monday night so I already told my Aunts to get them Disney Dollars. I did buy them Lightning McQueen costumes at Target last week that they wanted. Last year I spent hours trying to track down a Mr.Incredibles costume in my 4 year olds size. Never again! I figured with every little boy in America loving Lightning McQueen I could always return it, since they change their mind about what they want to be daily. Also, I figured World of Disney would have a Lightning McQueen costume for twice as much. I paid $29.99 at Target. That's one less thing they will bug me to buy while we're there. I do LOVE Halloween, so it will be difficult for me not buy lots of Halloween stuff too. I've been checking the disneyshopping.com site for Halloween stuff to compare prices. If possible I'd rather wait and order it there if it's cheaper with a 20% discount. They had awesome Haunted Mansion gravestones that light up! Alco sounds very familiar, I don't think my hubby worked for them, but I'm sure he knows the owner. It's funny how all the crane companies around here all know each other, it's like a little community. Looks like I'll be doing my packing during the week too when the kids are in school. They go from 8:20-11:40, so before I know it I'm driving back to get them. Do you pack early? I think i will this time. Last month I was packing until midnight the day before our Lake Tahoe trip. And we only went for 5 days! It was the laundry factor...this time, they can't wear any of their favorite things until we get to DL!
Originally Posted By atinkfan Me again.....we've been talking (my mom and my MIL) about our upcoming trip! We made a loose itinerary of what we want to do, where we want to eat, on which days. I think we're going to try to get into Rainforest Cafe on Monday for dinner and do Goofy's Kitchen for late breakfast on the day we check out (Wed). Last year we ate in DTD at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen and we may try to get in there again. My mom nixed going into ESPN Zone....too noisy, couldn't handle it. She's old & crabby, what can I say!! lol I don't know if anyone has mentioned this or not to you, but with the ages of your boys, they will LOVE Turtle Talk with Crush! It's really cute. It's in the Disney Animation building, in the Backlot area of DCA. I told my oldest and my niece today about the $5.00 a day idea. Someone on here posted it and I thought it was a great idea. You give the child $5.00 per day to spend on whatever they want. They can spend that money each day or save it up to buy something that is more expensive. They thought it was a good idea. My son thinks he will save up his money to buy something really good. My niece will spend $5.00 each day on candy!!!! lol Speaking of Halloween costumes, we were in DL last year in Oct. Of course there were tons of princess costumes for girls. I saw some really cool ones of Peter Pan and Capt. Hook too. I bet with Cars being the latest film they should have something. It's kinda pricey, but I get a catalog called Costume Express. It's got some really cool costumes on it. Although I don't specifically recall if there were Disney costumes in it. Packing.....ugh, not looking forward to that! Mostly because of the laundry factor. I am not what you call an early packer, but as I come across things that I want to take throughout the week, I may put them in a designated spot. I will probably start packing on Thursday. Besides packing clothes, I need to get our food ready too. We're taking 2 cases of water between all of us, stuff for PB&J's, turkey sandwich stuff, individual Pringles, chewy granola bars, and some other snacky type stuff. Not too much though, because then you take so much junk with you and then don't eat it all. Luckily we are taking 2 strollers for the little guys (4 yr olds) so we've got somewhere to stash all that stuff!
Originally Posted By joeysmommy Atinkfan- I really like the $5 per day idea. Tomorrow night is our Birthday party with my family, so they will probably get lots of Disney Dollars. I might not need to give them any $ at all. I did get 5 $10 Disney Dollars to dole out if my nieces babysit. If they don't babysit, I'll give them to my kids or me : ) Our dining itinerary is similar. Monday- 2:00 princess lunch at Ariel's Ralph Brennan's dinner Tuesday-Blue bayou at 12:00 Plaza Inn Bday at 2:00 Rainforest Cafe at 8:15 Wednesday-8:40 Goofy's Kitchen ESPN Zone 8:00 Thusday-Carnation cafe breakfast 11:00 Friday-Lilo & Stitch Breakfast bday party Is ESPN Zone really that loud? Maybe we should rethink that one. I did apply a few weeks ago for the membership (discounts). What time are you doing Goofy's Kitchen Wednesday? Maybe we'll be there at the same time. I have never eaten at any of the restaurants we booked at, is the food pretty good? Downtown Disney and DCA will be all new to me-it's been 7 years since I was last there. I also read on the DL calendar that George Thoroughgood will be playing at House of Blues Tuesday Night. My husband and I went to see him 2 years ago at the Concord Pavilion, so maybe we can sneak in 1 show. I read something about Turtle Talk w/Crush. Is it ongoing or at scheduled times? He interacts with you? You have a 4 yr old and how old is your other son? That's great that you can bring your food with you. We're flying so I placed a Safeway.com order and scheduled the delivery for our first day after check-in. I called the bell desk to make sure they will accept it. I ordered basically the same things you are bringing. My BIl, his girlfriend and her 3 daughters(I call them my nieces) will be staying at the DLH also. Should I ask for connecting rooms just in case they babysit for me? I told them if they get an upgrade to go for it, becuz I am if I get one. We booked a standard view hoping for an upgrade. Or will I be sick of them and want to get away and be alone when we come back to the hotel? My BIL gets on my nerves on a regular basis so that may be in order. I am looking forward to my FREE stroller rental with my Disney Visa!! I also need to do all the laundry before packing so I can pack everyone's favorite shirts etc. Looks like this week they will have to go without. My 5 yr old wears a uniform to school so shouldn't be too hard. I went to Target today and they had a ton of Disney stuff in the dollar section. I got the boys Winnie the Pooh journal books to scribble and practice those lower case and upper case letters. : ) And disney stickers. Also Joann's had sticker activity books for $1. Lots of good "boy" sticker books. I got a bunch of them to be doled out only at restaurants. That's how we get thru a meal in a restaurant.
Originally Posted By atinkfan To my knowledge, my mom has not been in the ESPN zone. My guess is it is probably loud like an arcade and she's just imagining it's going to be the worst of the worst. I just figured since it was the closest thing to our hotel, we might want to give it a shot. We'll see!!! None of us in our group are huge sports fans anyway, so it might not even appeal to anyone. My mom was going to call today to get all of our Priority Seating. I need to check with her and see what she was able to get. I don't think we will be at Goofy's that early on Wed. We will probably check out of the room, put our stuff in the car and then head over to eat? Or who knows, maybe we'll eat first, then check out later. So far, our plans for this trip are real loosey-goosey. I think we're just gonna go with the flow and roll with the punches! Since we were there just last year, I don't think we're feeling like we have to see it all and do it all. Wow, George Thoroughgood at House of Blues....that's cool! Last year when we were there, Foreigner was playing! My husband went to see if he could get tickets that day and they were sold out. I think they pre-sell them. So it's possible you might not get into see Mr. Bad to the Bone! I don't know if Turtle Talk w/Crush is on a schedule. I just went and looked at our maps & show times from last year and didn't see it on there. So maybe it's just one of those things where it happens every half hour or hour or just whenever they get enough people. We found it by accident last year. It started pouring down rain (in Oct) and we ducked into the closest building, which was the Animation bldg. My son, niece and MIL also went to the Animation Academy. That was cool too. It's about 1/2 hour long at the most and they teach you how to draw a Disney character. But back to Crush, he is swimming in the water (on a TV screen) but it's set up to look like it's an aquarium. So he comes swimming up and starts talking to the audience. It's very personalized. There is a host who goes around with a mike and lets people ask Crush questions. They let all the kids come sit on the floor up front too. My MIL thought it was so clever and couldn't figure out how they made a cartoon interact with people. (she did not see that on either side of the screen was a black screen where the animators were and could see in to the audience and hear what was being said) lol Adjoining rooms are great provided you like the people in the room connected to you! lol I think we will have connecting rooms with my MIL & SIL. But if you BIL gets on your nerves, you may want to scrap that idea. Otherwise the only time you will get to escape him is when you're in the bathroom! lol I think I might have to go check out our Target and see if they have any Disney stuff in the dollar section. I've never seen any there before! And Target is near JoAnn's, so I'll see if I can find those sticker books too! Don't feel bad, I don't think any parent can get through a meal without using what I like to call "The Art of Distraction". BTW-my boys are ages 7 and 4 and my niece and nephew are the same age as well. (they are really more like brothers and sister then cousins!) I have not eaten at all of the restaurants you are booked at. But I do like Rainforest Cafe. Their portions are HUGE so I usually order a dinner off the appetizer menu or split with someone. Ariels: I haven't been there since 2002, and back then the food was good. Jazz Kitchen: went last year and had a nice dinner upstairs Plaza Inn: If I recall, that is a buffet style restaurant. It seems like I remember eating "comfort food" there.....mashed potatoes and gravy!! Goofy's: good food but we didn't get much character interaction last year Carnation Cafe: have never eaten there but so many people recommend it here. We may give it a try this trip. Lilo & Stitch: haven't been there either but would like to try based on all the good reviews. I have eaten at the French Market. It's a buffet style too. We sat on the patio and listened to a live band. Oh and we've eaten at the Pizza Port in Tomorrowland. Kids usually get pizza there and we get some kind of pasta.
Originally Posted By joeysmommy Atinkfan- Thanks for the restaurant reviews, appreciate it! I will call HOB today and see if they have any tix available. That would have been a bummer for my husband. Turtle Talk sounds great, we'll have to check that one out. I just asked my husband if he wants connecting rooms and he said "no." and it's HIS brother. That's great the cousins are the same age groups. Our niece is 19, my BIL's girlfriends girls are 8, 11 and 14. So have you been forcing Disney movies on your kids like I have? Since it's their 1st time I wanted them to be able to recognize characters and rides. They liked a "Bug's Life", "roger Rabbit" not so much, "Alice in Wonderland" they think is strange, which it is. "peter Pan" just doesn't hold their interest. They do like the basics/classics, like Cinderella, Snow White, Aristocats, lady and the Tramp, Lion King, Toy Story, Aladdin, Nemo, Incredibles, Winnie the Pooh. I rented some old school Mickey, Donald and Pluto videos from the library and I didn't realize how politically incorrect those cartoons were. Mickey uses a lot of "naughty" words like "stupid" "bonehead" "dummy". My kids were watching and saying "That's not a nice word, Mickey gets a timeout!" So we returned those videos pretty fast. BTW- I gave Charlies kindergarten teacher the absence note for our trip today. She just said "ok", but didn't look too happy about it. I explained about my husband not being able to take vacations in the Summer and that with our big group it was the only week that everyone could go. I asked her if Independent Study was available since he will miss 5 days. She said that she would set up the contract for me to sign. Uh-oh, I should have kept my mouth shut. And somehow I ended up being the room mother. She's pretty smart.
Originally Posted By atinkfan It turns out we sort of need 1 extra room for our trip. So my mom called to see if she could get one. They said they are booked solid!!!! I am wondering if it's because the 50th is ending and this mad rush will happen for everyone to see it one last time. It wouldn't surprise me....that's the only reason we're going!! Mom is going to keep calling and see if one room opens up. Even if it doesn't, we'll be okay, it was just more for convenience/privacy reasons. (our teenage babysitter is going with us and I think it would be nicer for her if she had her own adjoining room) I was thinking that we need to be watching some of the Disney movies that my kids are not familiar with. They still haven't seen Roger Rabbit and I remember that being a so-so movie anyway. They do like Peter Pan, Mary Poppins, Toy Story, Lion King, Lilo & Stitch, Lady & the Tramp, and Snow White. We may need to get some more "princess" type movies to get them to warm up to the ladies! I just posted a thread about my dessert delivery. I'm excited!
Originally Posted By joeysmommy bummer about the hotel being booked! I hope something opens up for you. I guess I can kiss an upgrade goodbye! It was a pipe dream to be upgraded to a suite or concierge. I will cancel my milk too, I read your post. : ) I called and asked if I had to pay more to add a person onto my room and they said "no". And even if my SIL buys her park hopper elsewhere she can still take advantage of early entry since she will be an official guest of the hotel. : ) Actually Roger Rabbit was alittle too violent anyway. I fast forwarded thru some parts where the language wasn't so nice. The "dipping" of the toons was scary for my almost 3 yr old.
Originally Posted By joeysmommy atinkfan- Happy packing! 2 more days til your trip! We have 5 to go! I'm packing tomorrow! Woo! Hoo! I will try not to bring the whole house with me. I do bring too many medicine type things, only becuz with kids you never know and I don't want to pay $10 for Tylenol. I'm booking the George Thoroughgood tix tomorrow. See you there!
Originally Posted By atinkfan We're all getting excited here too!! Tomorrow I will officially pack....up til now, I've just been putting things in designated areas. I have the same problem too....about bringing the whole house!! I'm finding the more in advance of our trip, the more I think about to bring. I almost do better packing right before we go! You crack me up about the medicine...today I bought some kids medicine for runny noses and coughs, for the just in case and I don't want to pay $10 either! See you there.....in the Happiest Place on Earth!
Originally Posted By atinkfan How's the packing going, Joeysmommy? I thought we'd be able to get by with 2 suitcases between the 4 of us.....ha!!! Wishful thinking!!!! I'm up to 3 now, with some additional zippered up bags. When I got our vacation cash at the bank, I stocked up on some $1's and $5's. I'm gonna need them when I have to tip the bell-hop who brings up all these bags!!!! I had a hard time deciding for myself if I should stay with capri pants or bring shorts. The 2 weather websites say slightly different forecasts. I'm just gonna plan on it being 80 degrees....anything more or less will be a pleasant surprise!! If I can survive the laundry, the packing, and cleaning the house before we leave, I think I may actually enjoy this vacation! lol
Originally Posted By joeysmommy Atinkfan- I'm where you were a few days ago, just making piles of stuff to bring. Still doing laundry! I also will try to bring 2 large suitcases, but most likely it will be 3. If I didn't have to bring another pair of shoes for everybody I could definitely get by with 2 suitcases. Well, if I run out of anything I'll come find you! : ) But we also have to bring 2 carseats. Thank God my FIL is dropping us at the airport so we don't have to lug car seats and luggage on the airport parking shuttle! I think I will just bring capri pants, my spider veins are getting worse. Nobody wants to see all that! I know, it's not like we're going to be gone for 2 weeks, it's only 5 days. And there are stores down the street, but I don't want to waste precious ride time with an errand. See you there. if not, have a good time!
Originally Posted By atinkfan Should be leaving here in about 45 minutes. I don't think I am forgetting anything?? Remember how I said we had 3 suitcases? Well.....up to 4 now! Plus several zippered bags. Oh well, whatta ya do?? This will be my last email for now. See you in DL!!!!!!!!
