Tomi-Rocket

Oh sorry you had such a rough day! That means I'm probably doomed the 17th ha ha! I'll drop Linds off at 8 a.m. at school and head straight out. Have tons to get! One good thing though, i've already done my scouting and know pretty much exactly where to go....so hopefully (keep fingers crossed) the stores I need to go to will still have what I'm looking for!

Passporter - OMG got a newsletter from Mousesavers and they were selling the 2010 one with a percentage discount....but look on amazon for dirt cheap! granted it is the 2010 one BUT who cares! AND you'll have it fast. I usually get stuff from amazon within a week.

just go to amazon.com, type in disney passporter and watch everything that comes up...

Oh, man. They run the house. Especially considering one of them is the size of a small horse, it's a bit tiring, but totally worth it. How do you like having a cat?

I haven't eaten couscous in a long time, but I believe I may have liked it. Or maybe I'm getting confused with Rice-a-roni (a San Francisco treat!).

I hope your headache is feeling better! Tomorrow should be great: find your presents, get your Passporter, and by the time you get home you can plan your dining.

I think I've tried it a few times, but I've just never been a fan of rice. Maybe it's just the size.

My father used to do the same thing with the lists, and it worked. It's not a bad idea, but it may be too late for me. I've always been terrible at getting gifts anyway, so I think I'll definitely start trying that for the next round of birthdays/holidays.

LOL I know what you mean. I guess when going away, it's too costly to not be organized with what you bring/buy/pack before you go. Especially since we have three dogs, there is an eerie calm when the house is totally empty.

Yes seems pretty ridiculous to me however, maybe it will pull more of the obnoxious teen genre' away from disney and leave Disney to us adults LOL we could only hope! Not all teens are obnoxious mind you..but the groups that tend to go down there for competitions and such without alot of parental supervision appear to run rampant if you catch my drift!

More hours are good from the money aspect but bad from the aspect that hey...I don't have any time for myself! LOL I find I do alot of my "stuff" after 9 at night when Linds goes to bed....kind of stinks because then I count on 6 or so hours of sleep but I guess it is what it is! lol

Happy Tuesday! lol

Sounds delicious, even though I'm not so much a rice fan. I could really go for some Mexican food now. How's the Mexican food over in your neck of the woods?

Glad to hear you'll be getting the book soon. Unfortunately, I don't know what to get for anyone in my family, myself included.

ha ha YES you are right! pets destress people...especially cats....that's funny she does that though...so does charles! in my face at 4 in the morning meowing.....telling me to get up and feed him. UHHH don't think so dude....at 530 when the alarm goes off THEN i'll feed you lol we have 4 that do that at different times....ha ha! actually is pretty funny if you think about it.....

sooo by reading the boards i see talk of those huge mega colossal coaster park opening in orlando is true....don't think i'd like it...i like coasters but not a park filled with them - plus it's not disney! lol

Wow, I'm pretty jealous of your Christmas Eve traditions! Ours usually involve heading to church, then going to an Italian food restaurant, then going home and opening one present each. (Speaking of which, I need to do some Christmas shopping...) Christmas Eve tacos sounds really good, actually! Do you have other food alongside that or just tacos?

Now that is very inconvenient. Did they say why they delayed the delivery?

Well my fingers are crossed for the white stuff so we'll see! Would be double cool if it happened!

HUH??? Delayed until February? That is crazy - especially since you can just go OUT and buy it LOL I mean really - nobody wants to wait on something that special they have been waiting for...BUT now you have it so yeah! lol Let the fun begin!

It actually only takes me a couple days to recoop but I wasn't up until the wee hours of the morning like you were...if I were, I'd still be sleeping LMAO!

Glad Minka is working out. We love animals (as evidenced by our 'zoo") - they are so calming and stress relieving...ain't nothing better. I'm guessing she sleeps in your bed?? LOL

It's not as desolate as it looks. There's a street on the other side of the building. The picture is pretty bad because it blows the picture out of proportion, the building is much larger than it looks. It used to be a mess hall from the 1900's until the 70's. Behind that building is a school that was built inside old army buildings, and behind wherever the photographer was standing are abandoned barracks and such. But it's still eerie LOL.

Mmm...dessert. Yours sounds quite delicious! We had about four pies (pumpkin, chocolate cream, etc.) and parfaits, per tradition. I really want to try some cranberry-apple cobbler!

That's terrible! Why is it so delayed? I hope you get yours soon. Are you waiting to book your vacation until you get it?

The two murders were terrible. The area still does look very nice, though. Ah, to live in WDW!

For curiousity's sake, here's a picture of one of the buildings we went in (this isn't my photo).

I've seen a few movies with Leslie. I wasn't a HUGE fan, but he's just always been there, if that makes any sense. I should go watch more of his movies now.

Hmm, I like that idea! It'd be a perfect intro to World Showcase, and if done right, could be a very tasty place. I think I'd order one from every country.

That sounds truly delicious! My plate had turkey, rolls, gravy, cranberry sauce, green beans, corn, &for the first time in a long time, stuffing. Gosh, that stuff is delicious! I'm not a big potato fan, so I didn't have any of that. I'm sure our dinner had more food, but I can't remember it all now. We also had quite an extensive offering of hors de'oevures.

In the NE, we don't get as many snakes. However, since the abandoned buildings don't really have food sources to animals, there's not too many of them, if any at all. However, in one instance we entered through the basement of a building, took a few steps in, heard a rustling and then bolted out of there

I am officially rested! Crowded parks yes! I don't know what yo yo said attendance was flat -he can go stand in those 150 minutes lines LOL I'd say at least 8 out of 10's but manageable! Maybe because they seemed manageable they think they are flat - lol

OH we love kitties here! We have the Boxer (Shiloh) & 4 cats LMAO! Charles, Max, Molly & Boy (don't ask haha!) Plus an odd assortment of outside strays that keeps growing-yikes! Hopefully Minka is a wonderful addition to your family & trust me, they know if they don't have their own stockings...just ask my Charles ha!

YEAH on the passporter! I figured you had it already...obviously not but I think you said it was the 2011 version so may be why it hadn't been mailed yet?

work is swamped! Company is on track for a record qtr! that means awesome bonus in February (we get our bonuses 6 wks after qtr ends...of course Mgrs get theirs 4 wks after - we have to wait LOL)

LOVE this cool weather...bring down the snow!!!

There's an abandoned army fort in my area, and I'm friends with one of the park rangers. I love exploring the abandoned buildings (legally, of course), and thankfully I'm not in the buildings long enough to be affected by anything like that (besides falling straight through the floors, of course!)

Excellent to hear that yours went well! What food did you have out?

I love your Magic Kingdom train station idea! I happen to think the train station is the most beautiful building on Main Street. That's already a quiet area and it'd be a great place to munch on a sandwich and watch Main Street. Also love the FW country idea. Would it be like a buffet?

Sounds like you had an extremely long day Friday! Yikes! And dinner at Biergarten was interesting....very German LOL Loved the inside and how it's decorated. Alot of beer was flowing and I don't really drink so I indulged in tea....Linds had water (well duh Lisa LOL) she had turkey, potatos and salad and several of the desserts...I tried the sauerkraut and sausages....(saurbraten?) it was yummmyyy! and then some of the traditional turkey and giblet gravy - again yummy! It was packed, it was loud and the band did a great job! OH the desserts were to die for (something called bavarian cheesecake...to die for also haha!) Coral Reef was nice - we split a steak. But I felt rushed and it was packed...hell, the whole place was packed the whole time LOL I'm thinking definitely cruise or beach next year. Need a break plus the Fantasy Land Expansion will be done by the time we'd go back end of 2012 ( i think!)

Hey there...got back late last night actually! Came home a day early. Were totally and I mean TOTALLY Disney'ed out LOL it was packed and it was hot...(mid 80's...is usually low 70's!! when we go) and humid as all get go but we had fun! It was a long week, had blisters by day 2 imagine!!! Was wrapping my left foot every morning LOL saw Rapunzel and Flynn Rider from Tangled...cute! Pretty much rode everything we wanted because we worked those fast passes but Linds basically was falling asleep at dinner when we ate at Cali Grill and asked can we go after dinner...($75 worth mind you!!!) soooo didn't get to see the fireworks from the 15th floor viewing area....kinda crushed but she WAS exhausted....then coming home yesterday instead of today....missed CRT brekky in castle.....but all is well. Had fun and hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Our Thanksgiving was great...though smaller than it has been in the past. Regardless, it was delicious as usual. How did your family enjoy your Thanksgiving?

Yikes! That's a terrifying schedule. I hope you're all well-rested now! Suffice to say I haven't gotten much sleep this weekend, and yesterday I woke up early (comparatively) to climb around in asbestos-filled buildings.

I think the Magic Kingdom could use a counter-service restaurant in Adventureland, they used to have the Adventureland Veranda but they closed that. I wouldn't mind a sit-down/counter service restaurant in Future World, maybe in Innoventions. The side of MGM Studios with Tower of Terror could use a counter-service or sit-down eatery, and I think the Animal Kingdom could use an eatery in Camp Minnie-Mickey, if they ever decide to expand that area. What do you think?

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family as well!

How was your frantic Friday today?

That is quite true. Certainly not everything Disney builds is perfect, but even things like timeshares, they theme the heck out of. I think the Monsters Inc coaster is next, but I would love to see the Studios get a water ride.

3:45 AM!? Wow! I hope you don't have to deal with any obnoxious/rude people, but given the season that's a given. (Though isn't it the season to be jolly?) Have you guys started putting up Christmas lights/decorations yet? We're considering doing the lights soon, since it's still not freezing out (yet).

I saw the concept for Hyperion Wharf and I'm honestly very excited about this! I've always been a huge fan of the industrial/seaport theme, and this time with a Disney twist. Hopefully they have a lot of water features.

Sorry for my inconsistent responding lately, things have been crazy for the past few days.

Last time we were in DC, there were a few museums under refurb. I don't forsee us going back soon, but personally I'd love to visit there. There's this one place in front of the Capitol that is in this beautiful courtyard with a fountain in the middle and water features everywhere. I loved it! It's called "Capitol Grotto", I believe.

Our family has been wanting to do a skiing vacation for a long time, too. Personally I'm indifferent, but that would sound like a great family vacation. Let me know how they like golfing! The Disney golf courses always look fun. Have you ever tried mini golf at WDW? But I guess I'd say as long as your family still wants to go to WDW, go!