McMonsters..........Kelly

This is my Halloween decoration for the Fort, its almost done, a few touch ups and some clear coat.  I've been trying to finish it for two weeks and finally brought it in the house to finish.  I want to do a Stitch one too but I'm not sure I have time.  Mickey may be it and a few pumpkins if these kids don't start behaving for me!

Might be Kelly McMonsters from NC and her 2 children.

Sorry for the confusion, Jason is correct, it's me and my two little ones

No expiration is still an option I have available too. 

Well I learned something new!  I assumed since Disney stopped, everyone did. Interesting!

Actually it is within 14 of first use. You should be able to do it if you haven't used any days yet.

See, thats what I thought.  I think my options are to wait until we go and if I'm still denied than save them go to Shades of Green and purchase our Military AP.  

On a side note, I called AAA in our area and they don't do AP's but they still offer a "no expiration" option for their tickets.  

I called the Disney people this evening to get some info on the APs and specifically ask about our tickets.  Its a no go.  Any tickets to switch over have to be done within 14 days of the purchase, in our case sometime in the early 90's.  

Ok people we need a list for the potluck. I'll start Please post here.

 

Doodle and Mike

Jason

Lorna and Rich

Kelly + the 2

 

I should add not to factor us in for anything ya'll are bringing, with the food allergies we will eat before we come and then I'll bring the Apple Crisp we can all enjoy!

I'm looking at adding a trip in May, my kids are almost 4 and just turned 2.  It's supposed to be one of the better times to go.  We've got one trip under our belt and a few more planed over the next year.  Best advice I can give, take your time!  Don't rush it and plan for days to hang out at the Fort.  Its exhausting for everyone and we found out the hard way.  I think the sit down meals are a little much for the small kids, mine were too occupied to eat much and I felt like it was a waste.

I don't want to get too far off the subject here, but in my view, the sit-down meals are grossly overpriced at WDW.  So, "saving" money eating there doesn't make financial sense to me.  How exactly is paying 20% less for something that costs double what it should saving money?

 

What does one buffet dinner meal at Trail's End cost?

 

Compare that to the cost of a take out chicken dinner.  Or a pizza.

 

Eating at a sit down restaurant in WDW is a rare treat for us.  We don't do it often enough to justify a TIW card.

 

TCD

For just me and the girls, I agree.  We did the dining plan this past August(Me, Hubs and one child) and while it was fun and easier than me cooking, it probably wasn't worth it for us.  

I have a few character meals spread out over our next trip but I'm still not 100% sure on keeping them because its not the best way to spend our money with the girls being so young.  Granted I'm only paying for myself and one child but with our dietary restrictions we don't get the moneys worth, it's mostly for the experience and their joy.

I don't want to get too far off the subject here, but in my view, the sit-down meals are grossly overpriced at WDW.  So, "saving" money eating there doesn't make financial sense to me.  How exactly is paying 20% less for something that costs double what it should saving money?

 

What does one buffet dinner meal at Trail's End cost?

 

Compare that to the cost of a take out chicken dinner.  Or a pizza.

 

Eating at a sit down restaurant in WDW is a rare treat for us.  We don't do it often enough to justify a TIW card.

 

TCD

For just me and the girls, I agree.  We did the dining plan this past August(Me, Hubs and one child) and while it was fun and easier than me cooking, it probably wasn't worth it for us.  

I have a few character meals spread out over our next trip but I'm still not 100% sure on keeping them because its not the best way to spend our money with the girls being so young.  Granted I'm only paying for myself and one child but with our dietary restrictions we don't get the moneys worth, it's mostly for the experience and their joy.

Having an annual pass will forever change how you plan your visits to WDW.  In a good way.

 

Lots of us advocate planning  "Fort Days" during a stay at the Fort- that's a day that you don't visit parks and hang out and enjoy all the Fort has to offer.  We do that, but we will squeeze in a park visit too.  Maybe just to see fireworks, or to get an ice cream cone in Epcot, or to eat a meal at a certain restaurant.  When you have an annual pass, you can throw your spreadsheets out the window and have fun.

 

Since your youngest is young enough to not require a pass, this is a great time for you to give an AP a try,  It's a great thing to have with small kids.  For example, you could bring the kids to the MK with swimsuits under their clothes, and let them have a blast in the Casey Jr. splash zone.  Then leave.  No pressure.  How great would that be?

 

TCD

Thats what intrigues me about the AP, no planning!  We tried that in August and while we did have a great time, we felt pressured and it led to frustration.

The tickets we have are actually old tickets from the 80's that my inlaws gave us and we turned them into cards instead of paper at our last trip in August, they are the non expiring, all inclusive ones that we have yet to use. I'm hoping they will give us a decent face value for them to make it worthwhile.

I've been thinking....scary I know......anyhow, to annual pass or just stick with our military discount tickets.  We can get military annual passes but I'm wondering if I can trade in my 4 day hoppers w/ wp and no expiration for the military like I can with the regular annual pass.  We have two upcoming trips, 8 days and 10 days.  I'm liking the annual pass gig because I think it would help me get over the "we have to stay in the park all day" mentality because we paid a small fortune for them.  I think it would also give us more freedom with less planning.  I'm looking at passes for myself and my daughter, the younger one still gets in for free and my husband is deployed so we just need two.  I'm looking to possibly add a third trip in the Feb/March time frame.  Is the AP worth it for us? 

Halloween-soon to be done

Christmas- won't be there on the actual day but I have seriously though about booking for this year....

Cindys Royal Table- just snagged a ressie at 2:30 this morning! I'm cheap and trying to get it in w/o hubs and while our youngest is still under 3

Marathon-would love for us to do a weekend as a family

All the tours- love that stuff!

Go with just my husband or at least have someone along to let us have a day to ourselves.  

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmYz8kLryF8

The girls informed me that we needed real pumpkins for Halloween, so I obliged. So it looks like we will be doing some carving at our site.  Anyone want to join in?  I'm thinking on the 30th.

Welcome!!We brought our two 75+ plus dogs with us for our first trip this August.  We also have two young children so it was easy to go to the parks, pool, or another resort and come back mid afternoon to take our dogs for a walk.  This time I've found a guy who can train and kennel our dogs.  He does the whole pack training with his dogs.  Our older dog doesn't always do well  with other dogs and the pup needs to learn some manners.  I'll be happy to report back after this trip to let you know the pros and cons of both trips. 

We have just officially cancelled

i hate to hear that!  

Here is some pictures from my first trip when I was 5.  Can anyone tell where the first one was taken?  

 I wanted to recreate this with my girls but it couldn't be done

I found this on craiglist:   2001 Ford F-250 Crew Cab 2WD with the well known Power Stroke diesel engine. This truck has only 62,000 miles and is in near immaculate condition. It's the Lariat package with leather, two-toned paint, all power, running boards, 5th wheel hitch, spray in bedliner and more. My asking price is $13,250 

 

Thoughts??

I think it would be great for what you need.  Personally, we won't have a truck w/o 4WD but that because we like mud and woods.

We just got a 2013 Chevy 2500HD Crew LT, its a base model work truck, but has the engine power we need to pull safely.  We looked for a diesel but it was going to be more than we could afford and the 2500 is my grocery getter.  The diesels we found were older but the same price, hubs wanted the diesel but also didn't want me to deal with maintenance on top of him being deployed constantly.  I love my truck, I feel safe, I know my kids are safer and it tows safely.  I happen to love Chevy/GMC but most heavy duty/HD trucks have a good reputation.  

We have been going through this for the past few years,  we are on our third of each and we finally got it right!  Its really personal and will vary greatly on your family.  We have two small kids as well so feel free to chat me up on anything that you may question.  Beware of the salesman with both truck and trailer.  We were dooped by both which led to some major frustrations.  Do your research, google everything!

Hope DH gets home soon so you can show off your new skill on your next trip to the Fort .

It'll be awhile before, he just left and I don't plan on waiting until he gets back!  If i keep up my current trend I'll be a pro by the time he gets back:)

For those that can't remember which way the trailer goes when you turn the wheel:

 

Put your hand on the bottom of the wheel and move your hand in the direction you want the trailer to go. 

 

Dan

I love this trick!  I pulled the trailer in front of our house and practiced for nearly two hours backing up into different "sites".  Thank goodness for DVD players to keep the little monsters entertained.  They actually wanted to get back in the truck when I was done which is when I decided a trip to the beach was a good idea.

My magic band came today. I didn't like the feel on my wrist. The piece of the band with the holes that ends up on the underside is stiff and pushes the band out of round. I took a box cutter and sliced the end off at the third hole then rounded the corners. I think it is much more comfortable now.

Great idea!  I like the idea of the bands but don't like bulk on my wrist. I may try this tomorrow, I guess if jack it up I can just keep it in my pocket.

Can not wait to get one at the parks!!!

Todd, we are doing the 29th too!  Hoping it won't be so crazy since it is a Tuesday.