January 2009. . . Calling all Snowbirds ~ Part II !!!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Shelly..thanks for the input. My husband asked me last night "do you think your mom would have left you and your sibs when you were young on mothers day?" My answer was no...which pretty much mgave me my answer.

Well, like I said it would be a tough decision. . . . Sometimes it's hard being a mommy!

 

[PEANUT1]

Well, like I said it would be a tough decision. . . . Sometimes it's hard being a mommy!

Yup....but if I look on the bright side, if I skip the wedding I will save over $700 between flight, hotel and other expenses. This will help me justify the disney trip in January. We have to buy our annual passes which will be about 1K for the family. Abby is still free thank goodness.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I'm also toying with the idea of giving the older 3 kids their own fanny pack that will contain their own personal junk. And a disposable camera for each of them, so they can snap some shots of the world at their leisure. I figure they could even carry a small autograph book in it. I refuse to become the packmule on this trip! I want to get a sling style backpack that we can keep basic supplies in. And we'll have a stroller too, so we can keep raincoats under the stroller.

I don't want to go back to the hotel during the day. I know...I know...it goes against all advice, but our days are almost all short. We have dinner reservations at 4:30 or 4:45pm and then we go back to our hotel. So, Id on't want to forget anything we might need. But I don't want to take too much either.

I love planning. But sometimes I overthink everything!

I've got an Arabic lesson today. Hope you all have a lovely day!

My kids have their own Disney fanny packs for all their "stuff"! Camera, autograph book, etc. It works out good, it's attached to them so they can't lose it!

We don't go back to the hotel mid-day. We tried it on the first trip. By the time you exit the park, wait on the bus, ride back to the resort, and get to your room, it just seems like a lot of time wasted to me. Because then after your "rest time" you have to do it all over again - go to your bus stop, ride back to the park, re-enter the park, too much time wasted. Plus once we get back to the resort the kids don't want to go back out. They want to play with their new souvenirs or go swimming, or just explore the resort. I'm sure the mid-day break works well for some, just not us! We just do the parks in half-days instead. We either go at opening and stay until after supper. Or go at lunch and stay until close. Works good for us!

 

[sarbah77]

We have contacted our camera company due to more memory cards coming out with higher GBs and they suggest the camera can only handle a 1GB card. We have tried 2GB, it works well, but the 1GB cards are much cheaper at my store and I receive a staff discount.

Does any Snowbirds have any suggestions on how many cards I should purchase, example, one for each day of stay, or should I save $$ and only purchase 5 cards and that should do a 13 day stay?
:

A lot of people swear that anything bigger than 1GB for memory is asking for trouble - they seem to think that the 2GB have a higher rate of failure. This has not been my experience but I thought I'd let you know. And if the camera company thinks all you can use is 1GB, that's that!

Also, how many pictures do you take? What size/resolution do you use? When I went to Alaska, I set my camera to take SUPER HUGE SUPER HIGH RESOLUTION photos because it was Alaska and I wanted the ability to get some huge prints out of them. I also had my laptop where I was able to empty the SD memory to it nightly and I took over 3000 photos. These will factor in to how many you memory cards you need!

(My boss went to Alaska two months after I did and only took 800 pictures, so as you can see, it varies by person!!)

Happy Saturday, all! Probably another lazy day for me, as my body is misbehaving... on the plus side, just about 48 hours until I see the surgeon again and less than 3 weeks until surgery. So looking forward to getting this all resolved.

There's also a late afternoon home game - Michigan v. Michigan State. The late games are the WORST, since all the tailgaters arrive at their usual time (early) but leave later, so getting around is a nightmare all day. The early games only inconvenience us until mid-afternoon! Double reason to bunker down with the cats!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Yup....but if I look on the bright side, if I skip the wedding I will save over $700 between flight, hotel and other expenses. This will help me justify the disney trip in January. We have to buy our annual passes which will be about 1K for the family. Abby is still free thank goodness.

Oh yes, that's a lot of money saved! Now you can stop all this crazy talk about not going in January!!!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Yeah, weather is one of our biggest concerns too. With DH and DD5 driving and me and DD7 flying, we will be worrying about weather for almost a week!! Ugh. Even if it's cool or rainy in FL, it's always better than in MN.

Kimberly - so glad to hear kitty came back. Unfortunately, our fish did not! We had a brief goodbye ceremony and sent him on to heaven. DD7 wanted to go get another one tonight. Uh, NO! We're taking a break from fish. I told her she needed to spend more time with the dog.

Ha!! What did she think about that?

Okay, my new Disney Snowbird friends. I need some prayers....

A bit of background....My mom had three heart attacks in March (she's 74). My younger sister and I flew out there at that time to be with her when she went into surgery for stints (my mom is in southern California, my younger sister and I in Indiana). We knew someone should be "with" her while she was in surgyer...See, she's remarried, but her husband is a royal jerk. He was not in the hospital during her surgery. If I can recall, he came in around 3 hours after she was out, and then only stayed with her about 15 minutes. That's a completely different story...

Fast forward to today. At the time mom's stints were put in, the doctors discovered and aortic aneurysm located in her abdomen. Since that time, it's grown. She has been cleared for surgery by her cardiologist, and had an appointment scheduled for next Friday to meet with her PCP and schedule the surgery to remove the aneurysm. I received a call a few hours ago from her - her doctor called her and the surgery has now been scheduled for Tuesday! I'm working through some things to try to figure out a way to be out there with her. It doesn't appear that any of my other siblings (there are 5 of us) will be able to make the trip (we're scattered all over the US). So, I just need prayers directed her way that this surgery is a success and that she recovers quickly. We know the recovery will be long - her doctor has warned her 6 months minimum with a home-health care nurse (he wanted her to go into assisted living). I hate that she's so far away from any family...I've tried to talk her into moving back here, and she's agreed, just is in no hurry to do so.

Thanks, my snowbird friends!!

Dawn

We'll be praying for you and your mother! Keep us posted with her prognosis!!

Thanks guys for your input about the wedding. I talked to my husband and he told me to do whatever I want to do. I am going to really have to think about it. My gut is telling me not to go. I haven't RSVP'd yet..the invitations are not even out yet.

I do feel bad for my mom though. She will be going to the wedding but my dad can't go bc of work (he is a photographer and has a prom). I know my sister now will not be going because of mothers day.

I am not judging these people for having their wedding on mothers day weekend. Some people don't care as much about it...it was always really big in my family.

If your gut says no---DON'T DO IT!! I have learned to go with that gut reaction!!!!

WooHoo! I passed through 500 posts and didn't even notice! PARTY!

Hip Hip Hooray!!!!!

 

[PEANUT1]

We don't usually go back to the hotel mid day either. I just kind of go by how the kids are.Last trip I think we did the nap thing at the hotel one time. If my 2 year old will nap in the stroller then we are golden.

 

[PEANUT1]

Oh yes, that's a lot of money saved! Now you can stop all this crazy talk about not going in January!!!

very true

 

[snykymom]

I know! That's my biggest fear. We are leaving from Milwaukee at 6:30am or some ridiculous time like that. It can snow all it wants, AFTER our flight leaves! Trust me, I would not be a happy camper if the flight got delayed...

We're flying from Boston. I checked the historical weather and there's only about a 15% chance of a snowstorm the day we leave, but knowing MY luck . . .

BTW, our kitty seems to be all right! She is tired an d was very hungry when she first came in but other than, she is okay! We plan to schedule an appt with a vet to get her checked out really soon! She is curled up sound asleep on my bed right now!

So glad to hear that! Guess she just wanted some fresh air! Let us know what the vet says!

Shelly..thanks for the input. My husband asked me last night "do you think your mom would have left you and your sibs when you were young on mothers day?" My answer was no...which pretty much mgave me my answer.

It's interesting how different holidays affect different people. Maybe because my parents were from Europe, Mother's Day (and Father's Day) were never big things around our house. I wouldn't give a second thought to leaving on Mother's Day and celebrating either on Monday or on the Sunday after. SInce there's no big "event" (not like Christmas or Easter) that occurred on that day, it's just an arbitrary Sunday and the celebration can be any other one. If it's a big deal to you, though, that's what's important.

The other thing to think about (if you wish) is that you will have many, many more Mother's Days, but this will be this couple's only wedding. How will you feel if you miss that?

Good luck in whatever you decide; it's a tough decision based on your own family traditions!

 

[snykymom]

Oh, and now we really CAN have my 70 day (10 weeks) to Disney party!!!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Well Snowbirds, it looks like it is going to rain here all day - and hard. We have went trick or treating in the cold rain the past several years. but it looks like an all out downpour is in store for us all day today. The kids are bummed. It isn't until 4-6 tonight, so the weather could change, but I doubt it.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Mindy~ Girl, the Lord is looking out for you!!! How crazy!!!! At least you are safe!!! I would be freaked out living there if the crime is growing--maybe those were just 2 freak things and will never happen again!!! My husband tells everybody we live in Mayberry! Usually just teens getting into trouble!

Remmy~ My kids love every place you listed for the MK, for Epcot we usually do TS, so I don't know about that. DHS is hard for us as well. We have stopped at a place (can't remember the name-Sunset Market or something like that, maybe?) has tables outside and little covers over some of the tables. Right next to it they sell pretzels and snack stuff. This place that I am talking about does the hamburgers and lunch stuff. It's okay-the line kinda backs up, but, it's pretty good-and it's right in the middle of the action! Is it Sunset Boul that ToT, RnR and all that is on? Well, that's the street this little place is, and the 'streetmosphere' people come out and entertain here a lot, so you can watch while you eat! They are sooooo funny.


Peach3es~ we went back to nap a couple of time when dd was littler, but not every day. It just seems to waste so much time-then the kids wanted to swim, or just watch Disney channel What's up with that? You are AT Disney, why do you want to watch Zack and Cody? YIKES!! Save that for bedtime!! Anyway, we usually take an afternoon closer to the end of our trip to just do laundry, let the kids swim if it's warm enough and relax. During our days we just want to do it all!!!!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Shelly~ Your poor kids!! I know here it's just usually soooooo hot!! They are tired just from the heat welling up inside their little costumes!! One year we were so excited because it was kinda cloudy and the wind was blowing, well, after about 3 houses the bottom fell out. It was not a happy time Hopefully it will dry up and they can have a good time!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Sci-Fi Dine-In

Dinner

Non-Alcoholic Specialty Drinks

Pirate's Punch - Minute Maid light raspberry lemonade served in a souvenir Pirate Cup with a glowing Tinker Bell or Captain Hook clip-on light $6.49

Milk Shakes - Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry or oreo cookie ice cream $4.29

Flavored Sodas - Coke blended with vanilla or cherry flavors. Unlimited refills $3.09


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Appetizers

Crispy Onion Rings - A generous portion of battered onion rings $6.99

Spinach and Artichoke Dip - A blend of Monterey Jack, swiss, and asiago with spinach, artichokes, and corn tortilla chips $6.99

Mixed Greens - With diced tomatoes and onion tossed with ranch dressing $5.49

7 Bean Beef Chili - with shredded cheddar, pico de gallo, and tortilla strips $6.49

BLT Soup - A creamy tomato basil soup, topped with an herb crouton, shredded lettuce and bacon $6.49


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Entrees

Butcher Steak - with a red wine glaze, seasonal vegetables and potato $20.99

Smoked Baby Back Ribs - Basted with barbecue sauce served with cole slaw and a choice of cucumber-melon salad or french fries $18.99

Beef and Blue Salad -- Sliced butcher-tender steak with a Wedge of Iceberg Lettuce with Blue Cheese Dressing, Tomatoes and Bacon 14.99

Italian Grilled Chicken Sandwich - With bruschetta topping served on a Kaiser Roll with cucumber-melon salad or fries $13.99

Shrimp Pasta - Bow tie pasta and sauteed shrimp tossed with artichoke hearts, Kalamata olives, baby spinach and feta cheese $18.99

Seared Marinated Tofu - With mango glaze, fresh vegetables and white rice $14.99

Pastrami on Rye - served with a pickle spear and a choice of cucumber-melon salad or french fries $11.99




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Desserts

Fresh Fruit Salad - $4.99

Apple Crisp Tart $5.49

Hot Fudge Sundae - vanilla ice cream with hot fudge, whipped cream and a cherry $4.99

Chocolate Tart with a mix of chocolate mousse, fudge and ganache $5.99

Cheesecake with caramel sauce and treats $5.49



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Beverages
Bottled Beer
Budweiser, Budweiser Select, Coors Light or O'Douls $4.25
Amstel Light, Corona, Heineken, Michelob Ultra, Yuengling Lager $5.25

Draft Beer
Coors Light, Bud Light, Miller Lite $5.00
Fosters $5.50

Coca Cola® Products $ 2.19

Minute Maid Juices--Grapefruit, Apple and Pink Lemonade $2.79

Nestea Iced Tea $ 2.19

100% Colombian Coffee, Regular or decaffeinated $ 2.19



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Cosmic Concoctions
Served with a souvenir Glow Cube
Blue "Glow-tini" - Inspired by The Year of a Million Dreams - skyy citrus vodka, peach schnapps, blue curacao, sweet-and-sour and pineapple juice with sugared rim $9.75

Lunar Landing - amaretto, peach schnapps and orange juice $9.50

The Comet - rum, vodka, gin and tequila topped off with sour mix and cranberry juice $9.50

Space Invaders - A premium blue margarita $9.50

Marsha's Martian - chocolate and vanilla shakes mixed with Bailey's Irish Cream and Kahlua $9.50

Space Monkey - chocolate shake, Malibu rum, and banana liqueur $9.50

Orbiting Oreos - Oreo shake mixed with Godiva chocolate liqueur $9.50

Solar Eclipse - strawberry shake blended with banana liqueur $9.50




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Wine List

Miles of Magic Syrah, Central Coast - exclusive Disney bottling profiling dark violet color with flavors of black plums, dark cherry and hints of chocolate and pepper Glass $8.00 Bottle $37.00

Parker Station Pinot Noir, Central Coast - Nicely structured, exhibiting flavors of cherry, cranberries and spice leading to a lingering soft and elegant finish Glass $9.00 Bottle $39.00

Pinot Grigio, Sartori delle Venezie - delicate aromas of white peach, fresh pear and apples, dry, medium-bodied crisp and refreshing Glass $7.00 Bottle $29.00

Fess Parker Chardonnay, Santa Barbara- dry,full-bodied, notes of apples and pears elegantly balanced with flavors of vanilla and spice in a long rich finish Glass $9.00 Bottle $39.00

Red Diamond Merlot, Washington - dry, black currants and juicy plum notes, balanced with a round and velvety texture Glass $8.50 Bottle $37.00

J. Lohr 7 Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles - dry, full-bodied flavors of cassis and dark cherries, elegant and smooth texture provide for a supple finish Glass $9.00 Bottle $39.00


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Kids Menu


All kids' meals are for guests 9 and under

All meals served with choice of 1% milk, bottled water, or juice


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Kids' Complete Meals

These menus include one serving from each of the five food groups

Pizza with mozzarella and diced chicken (optional) served with veggies and brown sugar apples $7.59

Beef and Macaroni with marinara sauce and topped with mozzarella served with veggies and fruit salad $7.59


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Kids' Picks

Choice of 1 appetizer, 1 entree and 1 dessert - $7.59

Appetizers

Tomato Soup

OR

Garden Salad

Entrees


Macaroni and Cheese

Hamburger

Hot Dog

French fries and Soft Drinks Available Upon Request

Dessert

Ice Cream Sundae

Fruit Salad

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

To all of those that wish to see what that fried chocolate bar looks like, I will attempt to post the links here. Some you may have to scroll down to see. One person said it was a friend Snickers bar.

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=14467179&postcount=4359

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=14804377&postcount=4620

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=17632919&postcount=5960

I hope these work and you can now see a picture of the fried chocolate bar. If you cannot see it from these links, my apologies, I am not the tech person in our household. Me with a computer, .

Remmy

Thanks for the links. Those food pictures of Cooke's look great!

 

[peach3es]

Would you all do me a favor? Would you respond to this pos t with your real name? I don't always get the funky screen names correct, and I don't know all of your real names! I'd love to be able to refer to you all by name when I respond to posts. Some of you have it posted in your signature, but sometimes my eyes just naturally skip the signatures.

In any event, I'll go first.

Hello, my name is Carrie and I am addicted to Disney!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Okie Dokie!! good idea Carrie!!!
Hello fellow Snowbird-fanatics I am Shawna and I too, am a Disney-addict!!

 

[Dancegrl624]

Would you all do me a favor? Would you respond to this pos t with your real name? I don't always get the funky screen names correct, and I don't know all of your real names! I'd love to be able to refer to you all by name when I respond to posts. Some of you have it posted in your signature, but sometimes my eyes just naturally skip the signatures.

In any event, I'll go first.

Hello, my name is Carrie and I am addicted to Disney!

This is Meghan (yes, it's with an "h". I still have a hard time finding pencils or stickers with my name spelled correctly!). I too am addicted to Disney!!!

It is pouring rain here today too. My DH's flag football game got cancelled this morning, but it was nice having him around. We all slept in a bit which was wonderful. Now, I have to go get beautiful for my dance team tryouts!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Would you all do me a favor? Would you respond to this pos t with your real name? I don't always get the funky screen names correct, and I don't know all of your real names! I'd love to be able to refer to you all by name when I respond to posts. Some of you have it posted in your signature, but sometimes my eyes just naturally skip the signatures.

In any event, I'll go first.

Hello, my name is Carrie and I am addicted to Disney!

Hello, my name is Kimberly and I am also addicted to Disney! It's a huge problem because I am several days behind in my

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Hey Friends! Just wanted to pop in and say a quick HELLO before I head out for the day! I am going shopping with my MOM! It is raining here today too! Our temp is sitting at 7C/45F. Cool and rainy - great day to go shopping! Hope everyone has an awesome day! hugs to all!