DIS Meet Dec 8 07

[JsMom2]

Anyone else headed to WDW for Labor Day? I just booked a Savannah View Studio at AKV!

I really need to get crackin' on the house to get ready for the movers. They're coming in 6 weeks!!

 

[BethC1952]

I'm toying with the idea of WDW over Labor Day. Jim actually will have three days off (Sat., Sun. and Mon.) that weekend. We live in a neighborhood of mostly summer residents, and that's the last big weekend for them, and it's always VERY noisy and unpleasant, so we try to get away if we can.

I haven't decided yet, however. We had a bit of an upset last week (a small electrical fire in our bedroom). While there was extremely minimal damage (just a small hole in one wall) it lead us to the idea of remodeling the entire closet which was involved, and we ended up spending a bit of money we hadn't planned on spending just yet. Once the electrician finishes re-wiring a few things for us, though, we'll have a spectacular new closet! I also have new curtains, curtain rods and blinds. They weren't damaged by the fire, but the firemen were none to careful about removing them to ventilate the room! Of course, I'm glad they were there, even though by the time they arrived (four minutes from the time I hung up from 911) the fire was out, we were all out of the house and everything was fine. Once I figure out how much we spent I'll know better if we can sneak away for a grown-up weekend. It might be nice to get away from all the hustle and bustle of the babies for a while!

Beth

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Anyone else headed to WDW for Labor Day? I just booked a Savannah View Studio at AKV!

I really need to get crackin' on the house to get ready for the movers. They're coming in 6 weeks!!

The kids will be back to school by then. We don't want to take them out so early in the school year. We did that last year with Emily for the DVC Member Cruise. It seemed like she was just getting settled into the new school year and then was out for a week. We're waiting until the week after Thanksgiving to pull them out for a week.

Have you been to WDW during early September? I assume it will be hot! hot! hot! You were there the latter part of September last year while we were there. It was still pretty bad IMO. Drink a lot of water and take breaks mid-day. Have fun!

We won't be "home" at AKV until November. I'm excited for our first stay at Kidani Village. Bill was able to get a two bedroom savannah-view room in KV. What's great about the AKV, there are a lot of savannah-view rooms. I'm curious how the covered parking is going to work. Does each villa have a separate marked spot? Every WDW trip, we drive over to AKV to see the progress. It will be neat to see the completed resort in June.

Good luck with the packing. These next six weeks will fly by. I am sure you are excited for a new adventure and surroundings. I believe you mentioned you'd be a recruiter (or head of recruiting). My nephew graduates from High School in June 2010. He's thinking about joining the military. Maybe, I should send him your way next Spring. Does he have to sign-up in his home state? My sister was actually sworn into the Air Force in Belgium, then again at the airport and then again in the states (TX). Why do they do that? She made the mistake of being at Basic Training during the summer in Texas.

Jennifer

 

[JsMom2]

I'm toying with the idea of WDW over Labor Day. Jim actually will have three days off (Sat., Sun. and Mon.) that weekend. We live in a neighborhood of mostly summer residents, and that's the last big weekend for them, and it's always VERY noisy and unpleasant, so we try to get away if we can.

I haven't decided yet, however. We had a bit of an upset last week (a small electrical fire in our bedroom). While there was extremely minimal damage (just a small hole in one wall) it lead us to the idea of remodeling the entire closet which was involved, and we ended up spending a bit of money we hadn't planned on spending just yet. Once the electrician finishes re-wiring a few things for us, though, we'll have a spectacular new closet! I also have new curtains, curtain rods and blinds. They weren't damaged by the fire, but the firemen were none to careful about removing them to ventilate the room! Of course, I'm glad they were there, even though by the time they arrived (four minutes from the time I hung up from 911) the fire was out, we were all out of the house and everything was fine. Once I figure out how much we spent I'll know better if we can sneak away for a grown-up weekend. It might be nice to get away from all the hustle and bustle of the babies for a while!

Beth

Wow Beth, I'm sorry to hear about the fire. But thank goodness there wasn't any more damage and that no one was hurt. It sounds like the rewiring may have saved you from something more tragic!

The kids will be back to school by then. We don't want to take them out so early in the school year.

She actually starts school before Labor Day also, but we'll leave after school on Friday and come back on Monday.

Have you been to WDW during early September? I assume it will be hot! hot! hot!

One of the reasons I picked AKV rather than trying to get into BLT was that we can just chill at the new pool area in Kidani. We probably won't even go to the parks, although we'll probably hit one of the water parks since we haven't done that yet.

My nephew graduates from High School in June 2010. He's thinking about joining the military. Maybe, I should send him your way next Spring. Does he have to sign-up in his home state?
If he moves to PA, OH, WV, or MD I can sign him up!

My sister was actually sworn into the Air Force in Belgium, then again at the airport and then again in the states (TX). Why do they do that? She made the mistake of being at Basic Training during the summer in Texas.

That's weird about the triple swearing in, sounds like maybe the paperwork wasn't done correctly? I started officers training school on August 4 in San Antonio, it was NOT fun!
Jennifer

And totally OT, I just got an email from Princess saying they have 10 night Panama Canal cruises from $599 on March 23rd and April 2nd. Balconies start at $899pp. What a deal....spread the word!

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

We had a bit of an upset last week (a small electrical fire in our bedroom). While there was extremely minimal damage (just a small hole in one wall) it lead us to the idea of remodeling the entire closet which was involved, and we ended up spending a bit of money we hadn't planned on spending just yet.
Beth

Sorry to hear about your fire scare. I am glad everyone is safe and the fire was contained to just your bedroom and closet. Like Wendy mentioned, it could have been worse. Hey, you got a new closet out of the deal. Great way to think positively!

How are those babies??????? Any new pictures? I assume their little faces have filled in more and they are little characters now. Are they giving y'all any peace at night? Please give your DDIL and DS our best.

You have to take Jim away to WDW in September. Poor guy. He probably needs a vacation (from home and work). Go and have a magical time!

Jennifer

 

[BethC1952]

Sorry to hear about your fire scare. I am glad everyone is safe and the fire was contained to just your bedroom and closet. Like Wendy mentioned, it could have been worse. Hey, you got a new closet out of the deal. Great way to think positively!

How are those babies??????? Any new pictures? I assume their little faces have filled in more and they are little characters now. Are they giving y'all any peace at night? Please give your DDIL and DS our best.

You have to take Jim away to WDW in September. Poor guy. He probably needs a vacation (from home and work). Go and have a magical time!

Jennifer

We were very lucky with the fire. The house is quite old, and, until we moved in, was very badly maintained. We were lucky, too, because my son is a 911 dispatcher and our number is "flagged" so that I didn't have to spend a lot of time giving them information. We had no smoke damage or anything else, so cleanup really involved airing the room out for days. We finally had to close the windows on Sunday because the snow was coming in!

More baby pictures will be coming in a day or two. We took pictures of them in the snow on Monday (my first snow day at work in more than six years!). We dressed them up in their heaviest blankets and put them in the snow. They seemed a bit confused, but it was fun. They both have definite personalities now. Brigid is very happy and easy-going, and she's an observer. She loves to watch everything that goes on around her. Keegan can be a bit cranky, but he's very interactive. He wants you to play with him all the time. He can already imitate faces that we make, and he's starting to smile and laugh a bit. Fortunately, we can't hear them when we're upstairs in our "suite", but I understand that they aren't exactly sleeping through the night. My DDIL says something about being up every three hours!

Jim got his five-year bonus on 3/1--they gave him three extra vacation days, and increased the number of hours he earns each month. Now we have to see if he'll have enough days to get away in September AND December. Otherwise, we'll just stick with our tentative plans to cruise in December.

Beth

 

[plutojudy]

I'm looking forward to seeing the snowbabies.

 

[JsMom2]

I just remembered WDW is offering free tickets to military members for the rest of the year! Maybe we'll go shopping or dining at EPCOT one night!

Once I'm back in the States I can pop down there for long weekends without taking leave, so we'll probably be doing that for awhile. So I'm glad they lowered the weekend points for 2010! And for a short stay a studio is fine, so our points will last longer!

 

[JsMom2]

Okay I just went online to checkout the details of the free tickets. And I realized we'll have PLENTY to do without going to the parks. I think just watching the animals and enjoying the resort will keep us busy. But some things we've never done before (in addition to the water parks) are the Wanyama Safari, Gospel Brunch at House of Blues, the Ft Wilderness Wagon Ride and the Electrical Water Pageant.

I also noticed they have the Quick Service Dining plan now. I think that's a great idea, because when I'm in the parks I usually don't want to spend a lot of time in the restaurants. I don't think we'll need it for this trip though.

So glad I have DVC!! Btw, I just used points for my portion of our ABD trip in June. I've now gotten over $21K in value from my membership (since Oct 07)!!

Have a great day everyone!
Wendy

 

[BethC1952]

....

Once I'm back in the States I can pop down there for long weekends without taking leave, so we'll probably be doing that for awhile.

Jim and I have often talked about taking long weekends instead of a big vacation. We live less than an hour from Newark Airport (by train) and it would be so easy to do. We just never seem to find the right weekends. There's always some event that I have to go to or some project of his that needs finishing. The up side of this is that, when we do get away, we can be away for longer periods of time. I have the kind of job where people stop me anywhere, anytime when I'm in town and want to tell me what's wrong with the city. Sometimes it's nice to know that, for a week or two or three, that won't happen. I have to admit, though, that somebody stopped me once on Castaway Cay! She recognized me, but at least she wanted to compliment one of the events that my office had sponsored, and not complain about something!

Beth

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

AmericanItGirl posted these images on another thread. Maybe, the cat's out of the bag on the "Are You 23?" promo ...

March 10th is the shareholders meeting. The same date for the "official" announcement. Coincidence, I think not!

Jennifer

 

[JsMom2]

AmericanItGirl posted these images on another thread. Maybe, the cat's out of the bag on the "Are You 23?" promo ...

March 10th is the shareholders meeting. The same date for the "official" announcement. Coincidence, I think not!

Jennifer

Ooh, I hadn't heard of this before! I went to the site and put in my email address though. I sold my individual stocks awhile back to simplify my life, but I do miss getting the Disney Shareholder reports!

 

[RBennett]

AmericanItGirl posted these images on another thread. Maybe, the cat's out of the bag on the "Are You 23?" promo ...

March 10th is the shareholders meeting. The same date for the "official" announcement. Coincidence, I think not!

Jennifer

What IS this??? It looks big, but I can't tell what's going on. Or have they even let any rumors out?

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

"Rumor" is ...

They are starting an "official" Disney Fan Club of sorts. Where you pay a fee ($74.99 annually) and have the opportunity to purchase new exclusive merchandise. Also, they would set-up fan club only events at the parks (on both coasts). Kind of like Mousefest, but Disney operated. Sounds fun if this is true.

The promo is called "Are you 23?" The announcement is scheduled for March 10th (date of the shareholders meeting). Many believe the "23" is because The Walt Disney Company was founded in 1923.

At this time, this is just a rumor and should treated as such until an official announcement comes directly from Disney.

Jennifer

In case you wanted it: D23 website

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Reminder: Daylight Savings this weekend. Set your clock ahead an hour at 2 am Sunday morning.

 

[RBennett]

"Rumor" is ...

They are starting an "official" Disney Fan Club of sorts. Where you pay a fee ($100 annually) and have the opportunity to purchase new exclusive merchandise. Also, they would set-up fan club only events at the parks (on both coasts). Kind of like Mousefest, but Disney operated. Sounds fun if this is true.

The promo is called "Are you 23?" The announcement is scheduled for March 10th (date of the shareholders meeting). Many believe the "23" is because The Walt Disney Company was founded in 1923.

At this time, this is just a rumor and should treated as such until an official announcement comes directly from Disney.

Jennifer

In case you wanted it: D23 website

That's pretty cool! You'll have to forgive me but Tina has given up the DIS for Lent, so I'm kind of passing along info as we find stuff out.

Speaking of, REALLY sorry to hear about your fire Beth. BUT.... at least you're getting a new tricked out closet out of it.

 

[BethC1952]

...

Speaking of, REALLY sorry to hear about your fire Beth. BUT.... at least you're getting a new tricked out closet out of it.

Thanks! It's pretty sad that I can be SO excited about a closet, isn't it? I guess it's a sign of old age.

Wow, Tina is a much braver woman than I am! I can't imagine surviving Lent without the DIS!

Beth

 

[plutojudy]

That's pretty cool! You'll have to forgive me but Tina has given up the DIS for Lent, so I'm kind of passing along info as we find stuff out.

Yikes, she should have just given up candy, not the DIS. That's like giving up oxygen.

 

[RBennett]

Yeah, it's been pretty tough for her but as far as I know she's been good. Like I said, I have kept her up to date on one or two things here but she hasn't been ON the DIS.

 

[plutojudy]

How's the puppy?