~~~~ Sew, help me... A bittersweet "Epic Girls Trip"... January 2018! ~~~~ UPDATE 1/7!!~~

I'm so excited for you!:cool1::cool1: I always follow along on your reports, but I don't post. I will also be there in January. I am running the Dopey challenge! I'll PM you my dates and maybe we can work in a Dismeet.

Just did some searching and it appears that the Military discount has been extended for 2018. There are 4 and 5 day park hoppers available as well as 30-40% off hotels. Plus, something that I did not know was offered is a discount for Memory maker. Check out militarydisneytips dot com.
 
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I'm here. I just renewed our annual passes, but we are going in November and again in April or May... I have April booked, but I'm thinking of moving it a week or so later. Charlie is going to be away for work in Feb and Mar, so I doubt I could talk him into going in January. Besides, the last time we went in January, we had to cut our trip short to beat the blizzard home....
 
Did you see that they announced the 2018 military prices today? I'm so happy they did because it helps be budget in Disneyland before Hawaii if we can next October. My youngest should start college in January down in Winter Haven and he already asked if we could do Disney for his 21st birthday weekend because if those tickets.
 


Southwest was running a California special, I checked last night, and the prices were quite special. We are now going to Disneyland in March. My girls share a common weekend for their Spring Breaks, so we will be spending some time together at Disneyland. Our oldest will be coming from Massachusettes while our youngest will be returning to Pennsylvania. Some interesting logistics, but I have some time to figure it out. Glad you get to go back to your happy place.
 
I've only done ONE girls trip with my daughter...a very last minute trip...and it was by far one of my favorites. I love to tell people about it. I'm so excited to read about yours!
 
So wonderful that you are getting in some more girl time!!! Can't wait to read more about your trip

Thank you! We are so excited! We just never thought we would get to go any time soon. And we have NEVER planned a full trip this close to the actual trip date, so that's exciting too... We are typically planning a year in advance. ::yes:: So, when I booked airfare - the first thought I had was that everyone has already done their ADRs. :lmao:

Following along! A trip with your girls sounds lovely. Can't wait to hear more.

We are so excited! We cannot wait to spend this time together, and plan. :lovestruc

How awesome is this! I am so happy for you and the girls! I know what it is like to not know when you are going back home. And the good feelings you get when you are actually able to book your next trip.

I've had those good feelings for the last couple of months. Right now DH and I are getting ready to do the single digit dance shortly! We are so excited for this special birthday trip with so many new things we have never done before. We only have a few ADRs, but all of them are places we've never eaten at before. I think I am most excited for CRT that DH somehow scored! Even better, it is on my actual birthday! We are also doing MNSSHP that night, so excited for that too! That reminds me, I have to finish my costume this weekend and get the final pieces for it. We also can't wait to eat around the world at F&W a couple of days. DH has been watching every YouTube video from this year that he can find and planning what he is going to eat. In addition to finishing my costume, I need to work on a couple of shirts for us and a new bag for me this weekend. I better get busy!

Again, so happy for you and the girls! Can't wait to hear your plans!

Thank you!!! We are beyond excited! As most of you know - though I love going other places... For the 3 of us, our hearts are in WDW... We cannot wait to be there together, just like so many other times, and just enjoy.

So excited for you and DH - what an awesome birthday surprise! And that DH got it, even better! Enjoy that final anticipation - it's the BEST time! And I hope you are able to complete your costume. ::yes::

Thank you! :lovestruc

Joining in and excited to hear your plans. I love, and am in awe of, your amazing sewing skills!

Welcome!!! I can't wait to share out plans with all of you! Thank you so much! :lovestruc

Joining in.. I will come back to read!
PROMISE.

Love you!!! Thanks for stopping by! :lovestruc

I'm IN! Commented on your other PTR. So exciting! Looking forward to seeing how you piece things together going backwards

Welcome back!!! It's great to see you following along with another of my PTRs. :lovestruc I am interested in the SAME thing! :lmao:

I came to work today hoping to find a new PTR after the fb post. So excited for you! Pandora is pretty amazing. We were able to ride FoP twice. Once with a FP and once without. They aren't kidding when they tell you to get to AK early if you don't have a FP. We arrived about an hour before park opening. We didn't bring bags that day, because we didn't want to deal with bag check and we were still near middle of the lines when they let us in 30 minutes early. Then we were held near Tiffins. Some woman asked me to save her spot because she had to go to the bathroom. I told her that if they let us into Pandora early, she would be out of luck. She decided to risk it. The line moved 2 minutes after she left. The kids and I got separated. We were all pushed in different directions. So, I latched onto Chelsea and Jacob and Marissa stuck together. We all made it on, but at different times and we were off the ride by 5 minutes after park opening.

We finally tried Tusker House. It was one of our favorites of the trip.

It is nicer to plan a trip when your kids can finally help pay. Jacob pays for his share. Marissa paid a little, but not her full share. I am trying to be debt free next time we go (even though I never let our Disney trips add to our debt.)

Are you sure you want to skip the water parks in January? Ha ha. We skipped them this year and it was hot and there was grumbling before we got there about skipping it, but once we were there, we didn't miss them.

Yikes... I am seriously nervous about Pandora and I think we will be lucky to even ride it this trip - sadly. We kind of have a strict "routine" when we go to AK... Early PPO ADR at TH... Then ride KS at park opening... Then go to EE with FPs and ride a bazillion times... I am not sure we will want to deviate from that in order to ride FoP??? Considering I get sick from VR rides... :scratchin I guess, the bonus to this, is that no one will be on KS or EE. ::yes:: So, we should have the park to ourselves. :woohoo:

We love Tusker House... Just the atmosphere and the "start to our day"... Since AK is one of our favorite parks - it just wouldn't be right to not start off at TH. ::yes:: I am glad you enjoyed eating there. :lovestruc

It's SOOOO nice that the girls can pay their own way! It sure has made planning for this trip easier. And by the time we actually go, I think the girls will have a renewed appreciation of all the years where Josh and I worked so hard to make our other trips happen. They are VERY lucky kids. ::yes:: I agree - our Disney trips never added to our debt either... but we carried other debt - so maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part? :scratchin

LOL - yah - I am thinking we will be OK without the water parks in Jan. ::yes::

It's great to see you here Shannon! :lovestruc

following along! We'll be there in January as well

Welcome!!! It's great to have a few fellow January-ers following along! :woohoo: Hopefully it's a warmer year this year? LOL

Ahhhhhh!!!!! How exciting. I'll be at universal with my sister for a few days in January!! I'll message you! Hopefully it'll be at the same time and I can pop over for a quick meeting!! How awesome. I can't imagine such a sudden trip. Although we are going to Disney in 2 weeks for 4 days and we really only decided 4 'months ago.

Yay!!!! I am so excited about this! It's about time! We've been FB friends for years, yet we have never met! :lovestruc

Sounds like fun! I'm in and following along!

Yay!!! Welcome! I am so excited to have you here! Thanks for following along! :lovestruc

I’m so excited for you!

I’m getting ready to figure out our tickets for our December trip. We need to have them purchased before our fast pass date. Im leaning towards an annual pass to get memory maker, plus I’m hopefully going to have exciting news to share that would make it very easy to use the ap.

Thanks! We are beyond excited... And quite honestly - January is a nice time to leave MN... No matter how cold it is in FL - it's almost guaranteed that it's colder in MN. ::yes::

Believe me, the thought of and AP has sure crosssed my mind... That was the best purchase I had ever made - I just don't know that I can justify it for this trip... I am not sure when my next trip will be after this? I kind of have soft dates in the back of my head, but I am not sure it can be done within the 1 year window??? So, it's likely I will just do a regular pass. ::yes:: Those AP discounts are sure tempting though. ::yes::

Eeeep!!! I can't wait to hear your exciting news too! :lovestruc

Joining the January fun. I love the Donald purse.

Welcome!!! Super excited to have you here and following along! Thanks... I am almost to the point where I think I need to "retire" my Donald bag... He has been with me for several trips now... We'll see... He's kind of an "old pal" too... :lovestruc Which means I'd need to make another one for my trip, if I did that... :lmao:

I am SO excited for you!!!!! I'm barely starting to work on out Disneyland plan for next year...trying to figure out dates....

Thank you!!! Sooo excited ourselves! I know that you KNOW just how much this means to me... Thank you, my friend, for following along. :lovestruc

So exciting! You are a bad influence! I just checked flights around the same time as your trip and I could get round trip tickets for less than $70 per person! How is that possible? I've never seen prices that good either. Can I convince everyone to go? Can I get time off work? So many questions! Not sure I'll be there, but it sure is tempting!

Hahahah!!!! So, did you book????? Right???? Those airfares are NUTSO right now!!!! Seriously! I hope you come!!!! I would love to meet up with you!!!! :lovestruc

I have the hardest time not booking airfare the moment I see the low price. I always have a fear that it will go away before I make the purchase. And with Southwest, sometimes it does disappear. I've seen a low price that was gone in a few hours.

We did our 4th of July trip somewhat backwards, too. I was messing around on the SWA website and found really cheap airfare for the 4th of July weekend. I checked with the TA to see if they had discounted rooms, then talked to DH, then booked the airfare first. :) The airfare never dropped, either.

The non stop flights are worth it, right?

I vividly remember that. For what its worth, we have done many trips to WDW in January and some of them have been warm. The warmest trips have been early in the month. At least this time you are prepared.

I know that Victoria likes POFQ but they never have discounts. Have you tried a travel agent who has exclusives?. They can give you cheap prices. We use them when we can't get a good bounceback or annual passholder discount.

The Military discounts for 2018 were released today. You have good timing.

I know!!! I was seriously shaking when I was typing in our info!!! This prices were insane!!! We paid as much for 3 tickets as we normally pay for ONE!!! :eek:

Hahaha!!! OK, so other people do it backwards too? The thing is, I always feel like the trip is "real" once I have the airfare purchased... So, now I know we are going... Ahhh but where are we going to sleep? LOL

Hahahah!!! You should see my outfit planning right now... Jackets, scarves, mittens... I bet I will get there and it will be 90°, and I'll be dying! :lmao: I hope I have enough room to throw in a few pairs of shorts. :scratchin

No, I haven't... I have a good friend who is a TA, and she has always been so good to us... So, I tried her the other day - but the rates were TERRIBLE... SoG is half the price of a Disney resort and that's when they are full price. ::yes:: We could do a value - but quite honestly, trying to squish into FQ a few years ago was tough - I don't think, now that the girls are adults, trying to squish into a value is even an option for us? :scratchin

Yes - I saw that... Sadly, nothing appealed to me... With the exception to the discount on Memory Maker - we will be doing that! :woohoo:

I'm so excited for you!I always follow along on your reports, but I don't post. I will also be there in January. I am running the Dopey challenge! I'll PM you my dates and maybe we can work in a Dismeet.

Just did some searching and it appears that the Military discount has been extended for 2018. There are 4 and 5 day park hoppers available as well as 30-40% off hotels. Plus, something that I did not know was offered is a discount for Memory maker. Check out militarydisneytips dot com.

Welcome back!!! Thanks for following along. :lovestruc

Congrats on running the Dopey challenge - that is AWESOME!!!! :lovestruc

I saw that! It's super helpful to our trip to have the military discounts! :woohoo: I am so thankful that they continue to do them, year after year. :lovestruc

I'm so excited for you. I can't wait to read all the details.
Liz

Welcome back Liz!!! It's great to see you! :lovestruc

I'm here. I just renewed our annual passes, but we are going in November and again in April or May... I have April booked, but I'm thinking of moving it a week or so later. Charlie is going to be away for work in Feb and Mar, so I doubt I could talk him into going in January. Besides, the last time we went in January, we had to cut our trip short to beat the blizzard home....

HI Tess! I was there for that January trip... Let me know if you are able to make January work... I'd love to meet up again - although I totally understand... At least you will get good use out of your AP! ::yes::

Did you see that they announced the 2018 military prices today? I'm so happy they did because it helps be budget in Disneyland before Hawaii if we can next October. My youngest should start college in January down in Winter Haven and he already asked if we could do Disney for his 21st birthday weekend because if those tickets.

Welcome! I did! Thank you! :lovestruc Sounds like you have some awesome trips coming up this year! ::yes:: Congrats! :woohoo:

Southwest was running a California special, I checked last night, and the prices were quite special. We are now going to Disneyland in March. My girls share a common weekend for their Spring Breaks, so we will be spending some time together at Disneyland. Our oldest will be coming from Massachusettes while our youngest will be returning to Pennsylvania. Some interesting logistics, but I have some time to figure it out. Glad you get to go back to your happy place.

Wahoo!!! Sounds like many people were able to grab some fantastic airfare prices! :woohoo: And how awesome that you were able to have coordinating spring breaks with your girls! :lovestruc That is fantastic! Very interesting logistics though - I agree - and long flights for them! It will be wonderful to have them with you though! :lovestruc

Thank you - we are very excited! :woohoo:

**********************************************************************************************************

Soooo...

The girls and I pretty much have this trip planned... Except for where we are staying. :scratchin

Outfit planning/rambling (a big part of my trip planning...) ::yes::

I took the opportunity yesterday morning to dig out all of my Disney bags and accessories... I went through them and tried to decide what I want to bring with on this trip... What I want to make... And what I need to purchase. Trying hard to keep all purchases to a minimum. ::yes:: I am very fortunate that I can make things. :woohoo:

So, according to my list, I will be bringing with my Red Mickey/Pluto UPB, my Donald bag, Goofy UPB, and Steam Boat Willie UPB... I also have plans to make myself 1 new bag. :scratchin (and V has plans for me to make her one new UPB as well...) ::yes:: Allison wants nothing - which shouldn't surprise you all. :lmao:

I am trying hard to make my outfits layered, just on the optimistic side that it *could* be warm while we are there.... So, lots of layering. ::yes::

I was thinking of doing a tee shirt + flannel shirt + vest combo... And a long sleeved tee shirt/jacket combo. That way - if it gets hot during the day, I can shed my jacket/vest and even my flannel shirt if necessary. I won't be wearing things like this every day - but I do have a few outfits like this planned. Definitely layers though. ::yes:: And if it happens to get really cold - I could always layer a vest over my jacket? Or do I bring my light down jacket just in case??? Help!!!

I will also be bringing my flip flops, though I don't think I will wear those into the parks... I found I was warmer, the last time we went in January, when I had shoes on my feet, so I will have my flip flops for at the resort and Vans for in the parks... I have 3 different pairs I am planning to bring.

Those of you going in January - what are you planning to wear?

So, for purchasing this trip... I would like to find a red/black flannel shirt to go with my Mickey/Pluto stuff. I also need to find 2 different long sleeved teal colored shirts - preferably long sleeved tee shirts. Those will likely be the hardest to find, as the color I need is more of a "spring" hue and not fall. :scratchin

Eeeep!!! I am just so excited! I love planning my Disney outfits! :lovestruc

OK - that's all for today! I gotta run! I hope you all have a fantastic day! Thanks for following along. :lovestruc

Prayers and Pixie Dust to all! :hug:

D~
 


How exciting! Of course it's the one year we aren't going. :( We have shifted our times we go a little. Now we go in Feb. and March. We used to always go in Jan. We wore jeans and zippered sweat shirts if it was cool. We rarely wore jackets at all. We always wear shoes because I can't handle flip flops for long walks. I always loved the Jan. weather though, but there were days we didn't swim if it was too cool. That's the one advantage of being able to stay longer, we get a lot more swimming in our private pool. When we stayed at resorts we didn't like walking back to the room if it was too cool. Now we can just run in the house and take a quick shower. But we always loved the cooler temps of Jan. no matter where we stayed.

We should have our windows paid off by Dec. and I keep looking/wishing we could go next year. But then I tell myself we still have to do the back windows next year. Hopefully it will be quite a bit cheaper as there are only 4 and they're smaller than the front windows we did this year. But I told my husband in 2019 we are going for 4 weeks instead of 3. We will probably get annual passes and then the next year we will go a little earlier to take advantage of them. They really are the best thing since we go so long and it makes the parking free which is a huge bonus.

How great that the girls can pay their own way. That makes it so much easier for you and shouldn't mess too much with your debt payoff. I think you should be able to get fast passes for Pandora. I'm sure it will be neat to see even if you just explore the area. It looks pretty amazing from what I've seen.

Great job on losing more weight. Just think how much easier it will be to just walk around. I've lost a little, but hope to get better at exercising. I started out slow, but I'm slowly adding more time to my work out. I can only hope to do as well as you have.
 
Following! I enjoyed reading your other TR, but I've always been a lurker ;)
I'm leaving for WDW next month and I still haven't outfit planned! I guess it will be easier for me since I know it's just going to be HOT.

I went in January a few years ago, and I remember being FREEZING, especially my legs and feet even though I was wearing jeans and (probably) Nikes. I live in the south so I'm cold weather-phobic.
 
I've never gone in January. I did early February once and wore tees with jeans, tees with capris, and probably had a light jacket. I'm usually always cold. DH was in shorts most days and my son went back and forth with shorts and pants. We only did the parks in the mornings and 1 time at night.

A flannel will be cute. I don't do any special Disney outfits but it sounds like fun. I do dress my daughter so I guess I focus on her and then I just wear whatever looks okay that day. I'm a horrible packer and I like to have a couple of choices each day and then it's whatever I feel like wearing. I would like to do some disneybounding outfits but never seem to get myself together enough to plan ahead for it.
 
I'm finally here, D! I so hope we can meet up. I wasn't kidding when I said we had room at the Treehouse. :tongue:

I haven't quite figured out wardrobes for January, yet. We've done pretty much every other time of year, but never January. I'm thinking leggings and tunics with maybe a light jacket, but we'll see.

Looking forward to following along!
 
YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY ANOTHER GIRLS TRIP!!! Did you hear me screaming from Texas Dorine? I am so excited for you and your girls. This is amazing news. Following along anxiously.

Yes, we are going to Universal next weekend. Kind of have mixed emotions about it all; DH is already grumbling about the crowds; crowd indicators are off the charts for Saturday; the trip was way more expensive than I planned; this is what I had to pay for; cheapest Universal hotel (Cabana Bay) 3 nights (they do not include Express Pass like the other ones, I thought I wasn't going to use Express Pass, more on that later); Park to Park tix for 2 days, 5 people; Halloween Horror Nights Saturday night tix (most expensive) 5 people; Express Passes for Halloween Horror Nights due to the anticipated 1-3 hour wait times; and air fare. Holy Moly. Then, the crowd indicators kept going up; and all of the Universal Hotels are sold out; I was thinking of booking at a another Universal Hotel to get unlimited express pass; nope, no can do; the cheapest Express Passes are for a specific park for 1 day, so I added that on for Saturday only; which actually cost a lot. We will see how all this turns out!!!! On a side note, my crazy son and daughter in law had always wanted to experience WDW together just as a married couple. Since they will be in Orlando for that weekend, they were looking into how much tix for one day at the Magic Kingdom cost if they came back Monday night, just to say they went to Disney together as husband and wife. Tix were too much though for their budget. I looked at my hardly ever used Disney Rewards Visa; and gathered up 3 old Disney GC's never used, and I had just enough to purchase 2 tix for them for a day at the Magic Kindgom; I think I had $1.62 leftover:) So, they are going to the Magic Kingdom Monday!

Glad to hear your Dad is doing better Dorine. I am always covering him (and you!) in prayer.

I cannot wait to hear all of your plans; I can see your excitement; this is so great.

Sending a huge hug!!
 
YAY! Another trip is exciting and it’s great the three of you get to go together again. I look forward to reading more.
 
Wasn't sure if I could quote comments from the other report, but looks like I can!
I hope it went well... Any updates?
After 2.5 hours in court, the Judge ruled that she had no standing for any of her claims! Woot! We are so happy that is over. I'm sure she's got something else up her sleeve, but this is a huge victory! party::cheer2:

- this is one of those sweatshirts that doesn't stretch - so you can't wear it if you can't get it on. :lmao: I was so excited to be able to wear this yesterday too! :woohoo: (don't mind the wet hair) ::yes::
You look fantastic! :yay:

WE'RE GOIN' TO DISNEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I didn't book tickets, but it sure was tempting. Doesn't mean I'm not still thinking about it, though! I've got an AP that I will activate in November, so I think that I need as many trips as possible to get the most out of it! :rolleyes1
 
I've only done ONE girls trip with my daughter...a very last minute trip...and it was by far one of my favorites. I love to tell people about it. I'm so excited to read about yours!

I sure hope you get to do another one, one day... We have had so much fun over the years - as you know. :lovestruc

How exciting! Of course it's the one year we aren't going. We have shifted our times we go a little. Now we go in Feb. and March. We used to always go in Jan. We wore jeans and zippered sweat shirts if it was cool. We rarely wore jackets at all. We always wear shoes because I can't handle flip flops for long walks. I always loved the Jan. weather though, but there were days we didn't swim if it was too cool. That's the one advantage of being able to stay longer, we get a lot more swimming in our private pool. When we stayed at resorts we didn't like walking back to the room if it was too cool. Now we can just run in the house and take a quick shower. But we always loved the cooler temps of Jan. no matter where we stayed.

We should have our windows paid off by Dec. and I keep looking/wishing we could go next year. But then I tell myself we still have to do the back windows next year. Hopefully it will be quite a bit cheaper as there are only 4 and they're smaller than the front windows we did this year. But I told my husband in 2019 we are going for 4 weeks instead of 3. We will probably get annual passes and then the next year we will go a little earlier to take advantage of them. They really are the best thing since we go so long and it makes the parking free which is a huge bonus.

How great that the girls can pay their own way. That makes it so much easier for you and shouldn't mess too much with your debt payoff. I think you should be able to get fast passes for Pandora. I'm sure it will be neat to see even if you just explore the area. It looks pretty amazing from what I've seen.

Great job on losing more weight. Just think how much easier it will be to just walk around. I've lost a little, but hope to get better at exercising. I started out slow, but I'm slowly adding more time to my work out. I can only hope to do as well as you have.

We must have had freak cold weather when we were there in 2016? It was so cold, I was bundled up in multiple layers and jackets over jackets. LOL Now I am terrified that we will freeze. :scratchin

Congrats on getting the windows paid off... And for a plan to finish the rest next year... I've never regretted replacing our windows - it's helped so much!

I agree on the AP - I sure miss mine... One day, I am sure I will have one again. I am just happy I get to go back for one last girls trip. :woohoo:

Yes - it helps a lot that the girls can pay their own way... Just the other day, they were talking about how expensive the trips are, and I think they had their "a-hah" moment, because one of them said (can't remember which one)... "and Mom has been paying for all of our trips for all of these years..." Yup... LOL ::yes:: It really makes it so much easier that I only have to pay for myself.

Thank you - congrats on your loss and added movement -it sure feels great doesn't it? I feel like I am making truly great progress in that aspect of my life... And now I have a Disney trip for added motivation - so that should keep me honest through the holidays. LOL

Following! I enjoyed reading your other TR, but I've always been a lurker
I'm leaving for WDW next month and I still haven't outfit planned! I guess it will be easier for me since I know it's just going to be HOT.

I went in January a few years ago, and I remember being FREEZING, especially my legs and feet even though I was wearing jeans and (probably) Nikes. I live in the south so I'm cold weather-phobic.

Welcome! And thank you! :lovestruc I hope you'll continue to follow along and comment - I love getting to know new friends here on The Dis.

Oooh - exciting!!! I love Disney in Oct/Nov - I don't think that weather could be any more perfect, it's so nice!!! I love outfit planning - almost as much as the trips themselves. LOL

I dunno - when we were there... I mean, we LIVE in MN - we are "hearty" and deal with sub-zero temps and death inducing wind chills for 4 months of the year - there is NO reason why we shouldn't have been able to handle "Florida winter"... :lmao: But we were babies... and it sucked. LOL I guess, in MN - we expect it? And in Florida, you don't? :scratchin Who knows... I just know I don't want to freeze again - so I am taking no extra chances. LOL

I've never gone in January. I did early February once and wore tees with jeans, tees with capris, and probably had a light jacket. I'm usually always cold. DH was in shorts most days and my son went back and forth with shorts and pants. We only did the parks in the mornings and 1 time at night.

A flannel will be cute. I don't do any special Disney outfits but it sounds like fun. I do dress my daughter so I guess I focus on her and then I just wear whatever looks okay that day. I'm a horrible packer and I like to have a couple of choices each day and then it's whatever I feel like wearing. I would like to do some disneybounding outfits but never seem to get myself together enough to plan ahead for it.

I sure hope it's warm enough to wear tees... I am going to have to bring my biggest suitcase, I think and just pack a lot of layers - and I can adjust accordingly... :scratchin I plan to bring a whole gammit of jeans/capris/leggings/shorts... Tanks/tees/flannels/vests/jackets... ::yes:: :lmao: Hopefully I'll be covered (literally...) LOL

I remember the days of dressing my girls... Ahhh, I miss those days so much!!! Once they got an opinion of their own - then I was done and had to dress myself. LOL I can tell you now, it's not nearly as fun. One day you'll get to spend some time planning your own outfits and then you'll be as addicted to it as I am. ::yes::

I'm finally here, D! I so hope we can meet up. I wasn't kidding when I said we had room at the Treehouse.

I haven't quite figured out wardrobes for January, yet. We've done pretty much every other time of year, but never January. I'm thinking leggings and tunics with maybe a light jacket, but we'll see.

Looking forward to following along!

We will make it work!!! The girls are so used to my Dismeets and they actually enjoy meeting every one... So we will find time. We need to compare plans and see which dates work out best for us. ::yes::

I do have a couple of legging/tunic outfits planned... For the most part, I think they should be fine? I just think that the weeks we were there in 2016 were freekishly cold... Feel free to go re-read my old Jan 2016 TR, if you want to hear all about my cold-weather complaining. :lmao:

Thanks!!! So excited to plan! :lovestruc

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY ANOTHER GIRLS TRIP!!! Did you hear me screaming from Texas Dorine? I am so excited for you and your girls. This is amazing news. Following along anxiously.

Yes, we are going to Universal next weekend. Kind of have mixed emotions about it all; DH is already grumbling about the crowds; crowd indicators are off the charts for Saturday; the trip was way more expensive than I planned; this is what I had to pay for; cheapest Universal hotel (Cabana Bay) 3 nights (they do not include Express Pass like the other ones, I thought I wasn't going to use Express Pass, more on that later); Park to Park tix for 2 days, 5 people; Halloween Horror Nights Saturday night tix (most expensive) 5 people; Express Passes for Halloween Horror Nights due to the anticipated 1-3 hour wait times; and air fare. Holy Moly. Then, the crowd indicators kept going up; and all of the Universal Hotels are sold out; I was thinking of booking at a another Universal Hotel to get unlimited express pass; nope, no can do; the cheapest Express Passes are for a specific park for 1 day, so I added that on for Saturday only; which actually cost a lot. We will see how all this turns out!!!! On a side note, my crazy son and daughter in law had always wanted to experience WDW together just as a married couple. Since they will be in Orlando for that weekend, they were looking into how much tix for one day at the Magic Kingdom cost if they came back Monday night, just to say they went to Disney together as husband and wife. Tix were too much though for their budget. I looked at my hardly ever used Disney Rewards Visa; and gathered up 3 old Disney GC's never used, and I had just enough to purchase 2 tix for them for a day at the Magic Kindgom; I think I had $1.62 leftover:) So, they are going to the Magic Kingdom Monday!

Glad to hear your Dad is doing better Dorine. I am always covering him (and you!) in prayer.

I cannot wait to hear all of your plans; I can see your excitement; this is so great.

Sending a huge hug!!

Thank you Carol - I knew you would be so excited... As I know, you know, exactly how much this trip means to me. And a total shocker right? LOL I never once imagined that we would be going back so soon... I thought for sure it would be another year!

Oh my gosh Carol!!! That is insane!!! I know, every Universal trip I have planned - I cringe at the amount I pay for ONE day there... It's like $500 for ONE day... It's ridiculous! And on top of that, the only part we TRULY enjoy is the HP areas, the rest is meh... So, the $500 price tag for one day and literally 4 rides - it is the true definition of insanity. I know I complain that Disney is expensive - and it truly is... but at least, the longer you stay, the "less" you pay... It doesn't seem like it's that way with Universal??? It seems like it's just as expensive by day as it is by multiple days?

Regardless - I KNOW how much this trip means to you and I know how much you will enjoy having your whole family there! :lovestruc And how wonderful that you were able to gift Tyler and Aerice (did I spell her name right?) tickets to MK - that will certainly mean a lot to them. You are such a great mom! :lovestruc

Thank you for your prayers and good thoughts on Dad... He is adjusting, and even though he is still annoyed with his apartment size, I think he is sort-of adjusting to it. I honestly don't understand why he feels he *needs* a bigger apartment... He uses all the space he currently has, but in his old apartment - he never used all of the space... :scratchin Who knows? At this point - I just let him complain, when he feels the need to, and try to redirect as best as I can... As a whole, he enjoys every other aspect of the building - the people - the food - the activities, so I feel like it's a great fit for him, and I am consistently happy with our decision. :lovestruc

Enjoy your trip, my friend... Safe travels!!! Please connect with me when you get home, I want to hear all about it!!! :hug:

YAY! Another trip is exciting and it’s great the three of you get to go together again. I look forward to reading more.

Thank you - we are SO excited!!! :woohoo: I cannot even express into words how excited all 3 of us are... We really never thought we would be going back together. Thanks for following along, I cannot wait to share more details! :lovestruc

Wasn't sure if I could quote comments from the other report, but looks like I can!

After 2.5 hours in court, the Judge ruled that she had no standing for any of her claims! Woot! We are so happy that is over. I'm sure she's got something else up her sleeve, but this is a huge victory!


You look fantastic!


I didn't book tickets, but it sure was tempting. Doesn't mean I'm not still thinking about it, though! I've got an AP that I will activate in November, so I think that I need as many trips as possible to get the most out of it!

What a relief!! This is good news, for the moment anyways... I sure hope she backs off and goes on with life. How terrible for all of you - you have been on my mind often with this situation, and I am glad the outcome is good for the moment. :hug:

Thank you... My determination is even more focused now that we have a trip on the horizon! A January trip should keep me right on track through the holidays. ::yes::

Please let me know if you do!! And with the AP - you definitely want to get your use out of it. ::yes:: Hahahaha... I am no help. ;)

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Hmmmm... What do I have to update? :scratchin

Well, I booked our room this morning - so that's exciting. :woohoo: We are staying at SoG for now, and if anything better comes along, we will address it then. We are super excited to be staying at SoG again - especially with all 3 of us there, the largest rooms on property will be a God-send!

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So, if you are keeping track... We now have Airfare - so we are *definitely* going to Florida. ::yes:: We now have a resort booked and the deposit paid... So we *definitely* have a bed to sleep in. ::yes:: Next on our list is park tickets... :scratchin We have a bit of time before we need those in hand to make FPs... So there won't be much trip planning going on here for a while... However - I will work on sharing the dining reservations we are planning.

To be honest... If you really want to know what our trip is going to look like - you can just go back and re-read all of my other PTRs. LOL We just seem to do the same trips and same dining over and over again... We are creatures of habit and we know what we like. ::yes:: Likely, the only variable this trip is what we plan to do on our days off... We haven't even talked about that yet. ::yes:: And we will have 2 non-park days this trip, which is always nice. :lovestruc

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In real life... It's been a crazy few days here...

So, a little background - some of you may know this, or heard me talk about it over the years - and to some of you this may be new... I'll try to keep it short.

I have one brother, who is 2 years younger than I am... He was born handicapped and has always lived in a foster home... It's pretty common knowledge here that I grew up living with relatives and in foster-homes myself, due to my parent's health. Well, for the same reasons, they (obviously) couldn't take care of my brother either. So, in all of my life, I have never actually lived with my brother. My brother and I always visited my parents on the same weekends while we were growing up... "every-other-weekend" was our schedule... Anyways - once I moved out on my own, I occasionally took Jonathan for a weekend too... And then I had the girls and life was crazy - so while I lived close to my dad and saw Jonathan often, I had to step back from having him stay with me... Finally - when we moved so far away, we became even more disconnected from Jonathan and from my dad (as you all know, I think?)...

Anyways... All these years of Dad living so far away, and when initially moving him in to his first assisted living apartment... My odd and trying family dynamics played a HUGE part in my decision making process, and it's something that I truly struggle with - always trying to do the right thing for everyone involved is just a huge stressful burden on me. As Dad's health began to fail more and more, and his ability to even be left alone with Jonathan became a huge concern (as they both have balance issues)... Jonathan's visits became less and less - to almost non-existent this last spring... It became apparent that we needed to make changes. We were all unhappy with the situation - and Jonathan's foster-parents (who he has lived with for 32 years, so they are like family to us) needed a break too...

After Dad's big hospital stay this last spring - as you all walked this journey with me - I decided to move him closer to me... I couldn't do the long trips anymore, and I definitely couldn't do the long extended hospital stays with him, while my own family fended for themselves... I was feeling stretched too thin. So, we began the hunt to find a place for Dad near us... It would move him from everything he knew - though, I do live very near to where Dad grew up - so it's not as if this place is totally foreign to him - he just hasn't lived here in 40 years. ::yes::

So, with all of this moving... I was still left with what to do about Jonathan's situation. I also have to do right by him (obviously)... He can't stay with Dad at all, and for both of their safety, they can't be left alone together... In the end, I've chosen to start taking Jonathan for weekends again... It's been 20 years since I have had him... So, it will be an adjustment. But it's really the only solution available to us. I am meeting him and his foster-mom in a town that is half-way for both of us, and then bringing him home with me. Allison will pick grandpa up after she gets off of work and bring him to our house... He will stay for dinner and as long after as he can stand us (LOL)... And then we will bring him home. Tomorrow, I will bring Jonathan to Grandpa's again to visit for a few hours before I bring him back home. We are going to try this out for the rest of the year to see how it goes, and if we need to modify anything... I don't foresee any issues - other than, it will be a bit stressful to me to have both of them in my house and tending to their medical needs at the same time. But it was my decision to separate them, so I need to do something for both of them, as they are very attached to each other. :lovestruc

I sometimes laugh at myself in recent weeks... I look at my family situation as an oncoming train... Through the years - I am sure that EVERYONE saw this coming, except for me. I was likely the only one blindsided by the decisions and the responsibilities I am ultimately responsible for... It's sorta comical in a way. How naive I was that I assumed that Dad would always be there to take care of Jonathan, making decisions for his care and well being, and the same for Dad and his own care... It just never even occurred to me, that eventually the responsibility of both of them would fall to me... There is no emoticon for this... It is what it is, and in the end - I have to do right by them, regardless of anything else. So, here I am. :lovestruc

So, this is the last piece of the puzzle falling into place for Dad's move... It will be good - I know it. It's been 6 weeks since Dad's move and I do think this is the longest (by far) he has ever gone without seeing Jonathan, I know they miss each other very much. Wish me luck as we all embark on this new adventure - after all, it's not something I can do alone... Josh and the girls have a huge part in this too - every one of us is taking on a little something extra to make this happen. I am so thankful to each of them. :lovestruc

Anyways... I hope you all have a nice weekend. Sending prayers and pixie dust out to all of you! :grouphug:

D~
 
Sending you positive thoughts and hugs as I feel a little of your pain. My mum has Alzheimer's and lives with my sister and her family but I take her 3 days a week to let them have some time to themselves to help cope and at times it's tough for everyone though it has taught my kids so much as they help keep Granny happy. Take good care of yourself as you need to look after you too! Your trip away will be even more special as you will certainly value time with just your girls :)
 
SoG is wonderful--those rooms are great for 3 people--everyone can have their own bed if desired (although they will have to fight over the sofabed!). I may just book some rooms "just in case". :) I really need to discuss with the family. My oldest may have other plans for a week off in January, but we shall see.

There is no emoticon for this... It is what it is, and in the end - I have to do right by them, regardless of anything else. So, here I am. :lovestruc
I was thinking about your brother, but knew you would find a solution. Family is so important, and after seeing the evil that some people can inflict on the people they say they love, It does my heart good to know that most people will do everything they can to be with family! :lovestruc
 
Sending you positive thoughts and hugs as I feel a little of your pain. My mum has Alzheimer's and lives with my sister and her family but I take her 3 days a week to let them have some time to themselves to help cope and at times it's tough for everyone though it has taught my kids so much as they help keep Granny happy. Take good care of yourself as you need to look after you too! Your trip away will be even more special as you will certainly value time with just your girls :)

Thank you. :lovestruc

It's so hard isn't it - just trying to do the best for everyone involved... Sending you hugs too! :hug:

Prayers for wisdom and health for your family.

Thank you! :lovestruc

SoG is wonderful--those rooms are great for 3 people--everyone can have their own bed if desired (although they will have to fight over the sofabed!). I may just book some rooms "just in case". :) I really need to discuss with the family. My oldest may have other plans for a week off in January, but we shall see.


I was thinking about your brother, but knew you would find a solution. Family is so important, and after seeing the evil that some people can inflict on the people they say they love, It does my heart good to know that most people will do everything they can to be with family! :lovestruc

I hope you do... They just released a room only offer at SoG... So that may sway you? :scratchin

Thank you... It's been hard to find the right fit for everyone involved... Essentially, we all had to compromise with something - hopefully it all works out. :lovestruc

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We had a nice weekend! It was very busy with my brother here, but it went well... Considering I haven't had him for 20 years. ::yes:: He seemed to enjoy himself and it sure was nice to have him here. Dad enjoyed seeing him and spending time with him - so overall, it's good. Our next weekend with him will be the end of October. We are doing once a month for now, until we all adjust and figure out some of the logistics better... And then we will adjust accordingly. :lovestruc

In my off time - I've been working on trip stuff... Budgeting... Dining... Dreaming... :lovestruc

I hope to start some daily planning updates this week.

I will update my post on the first page with the plans we have so far, I have time to do that shortly. ::yes::

I hope you all have a marvelous day!!! Sending prayers and pixie dust out to all! :hug:

D~
 
Glad to read your update on your brother. I was wondering about that quite honestly, and thought perhaps I missed something because I knew that I had seen photos of him with your dad on your previous updates. I didn't know what his living situation was though, thought maybe he lived with your dad or in the same place. I'm very glad to read that his stay went well and everybody had a good time. Sounds like you have a pretty good plan in place!

YAY for having SOG booked! There's where we will be in a few weeks and looking forward to introducing some of our friends to it while there.
 

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