Trip Report englanddg's Real Life or is this just Fantasy?

OSUgirl77 · Jun 15, 2015

englanddg said:
Cool! Any other suggestions in that general area? I don't mind a short hop on the Metro if we have to...

I'd like to find a really nice place for dinner...just so we don't get stuck doing something I "know" like the food court at Pentagon City.

Oh no, please don't do the Pentagon City food court lol. You will definitely need to leave the Mall area if you want to eat anywhere that isn't a museum cafe. If you both like salad, there's a Sweet Green on Penn Ave, not too far from the Library of Congress. That's a great light option on a hot August day in DC. There's a great bookstore/cafe in DuPont Circle called Kramerbooks & Afterwords. I'm not sure how child-friendly the menu is, but the place has a very cool vibe. Lots of choices at the Gallery Place/Chinatown metro stop, although most are chains. I would recommend Clyde's if you head up that way. Georgetown has a ton of options, but it doesn't have a metro stop. You would have to walk from Foggy Bottom, which is not fun in the heat. You would probably want to cab/Uber it.

I'm sure there are places I'm forgetting. I'll let you know if I think of any better options. If you have any other DC questions, feel free to PM me.

guitaristemily · Jun 16, 2015

if your doing uni - go to the harry potter bit, and if your doing the simpsons bit there share the pink donut.

englanddg · Jun 20, 2015

Minor update.

The first leg of the Disney trip is now paid off.

In addition, I picked up some 3M command velcro with a weight rating of 16 lbs to hold my dropcam (which weighs about 1 lb).

These things are great! Though, I hope it's enough to hold the webcam! I think so though, because I use them to hold routers at work to the wall that weigh about 4 - 5 lbs each, and they work great for that.

My plan is to use this adhesive to mount my webcam to either the sliding door or somewhere on my balcony.

Webcam, you may ask?

It's a Dropcam Pro. Excellent brand. Owned (through Nest) by Google now. It will give a 130 degree angle, 8x zoom, great low light / night cam and even audio. Someone had done this before, and I thought it was a neat idea as we have a Savannah View room at AKL.

Also, it will record (I'll pay for the 7 day recording feature...that costs $10) so I will have a wonderful 24/7 set of videos of the vista at Arusha to play with later!

So, end result, you guys can poke around watching the animals while we are out at the parks. I'll post the link in this report when we get to that.

Also, as the mount is velcro, I can take the camera down if weather gets bad or for other reasons.

Anyhow, won't cost me anything, and it should be a fun little addition to the trip report!

catmom46 · Jun 20, 2015

englanddg said:
Sourin 3:20p - 4:20p

Hee-hee. Was this a typo or subconscious message?

englanddg · Jun 20, 2015

catmom46 said:
Hee-hee. Was this a typo or subconscious message?

Typo. One I make all the time though...hahaha

So, yeah, could be sub-conscious!

catmom46 · Jun 20, 2015

englanddg said:
Typo. One I make all the time though...hahaha

So, yeah, could be sub-conscious!

By the way, so jealous of your horseback riding plans. Our daughter is only 7 (although she's a big girl!) and would LOVE to do this. Pony ride would be too tame for her, plus I think she'd be too big anyway. :cat:

DisSplash · Jun 20, 2015

You've some great plans lined up! Does your daughter know yet? If not, she is probably hoping really hard for something akin to a repeat of her last Disney surprise!!

I like your magic band labels! Splash and Epcot were my favorites.

I also think it's awesome that your daughter will get to reconnect with some family in the middle of this amazing vacation. Very cool. How very exciting for her and for them!

Are those Drop-Cams very expensive?

englanddg · Jun 20, 2015

DisSplash said:
You've some great plans lined up! Does your daughter know yet? If not, she is probably hoping really hard for something akin to a repeat of her last Disney surprise!!

I like your magic band labels! Splash and Epcot were my favorites.

I also think it's awesome that your daughter will get to reconnect with some family in the middle of this amazing vacation. Very cool. How very exciting for her and for them!

Are those Drop-Cams very expensive?

She doesn't know. She won't find out until she figures it out on her own (probably sometime at the airport, cause...she knows what's in "Orlando" and can probably connect why we'd be flying there).

Dropcams are fairly affordable, for what they are capable of. They are extremely easy to set up and are high quality units.

The standard Dropcam runs $159, and the Dropcam Pro (the model I have) runs $199.

You connect them up to a wifi (so the only cable is the power cable), so I'm going to connect it up to the Disney Guest wifi. They require a computer for initial setup to get them online, but after that they are stand alone units as long as they have power. Access to view them is free (so if you only want real time access, you don't pay any monthly fees). But, if you want to record, that costs money. They keep the recording for 7 days on the cheapest plan ($10 a month) and 30 days on the more expensive plan (I don't recall the cost...maybe $30 a month?). Your recorded video is downloadable within those time windows. However, you can start and cancel the plans whenever you wish. No long committment.

I dont keep recording on my personal one (I do for the 30 some odd ones I have at work), but Ill turn it on for the month of the trip just so I can capture the stream for my own personal video collection of our trip.

They've got some rather unique features like alarm zones that can send an email or text message to your phone, etc. They make great home monitoring and/or small business camera solutions.

DisSplash · Jun 20, 2015

Thanks for that great info! I am actually looking for a home monitoring type of camera - mostly to make sure that the middle-schooler is doing his homework for the hour that he is home before I get there next year ... I heard that Verizon has a similar camera that you can access via an app so I was going to look into that as well.

But this one seems like it may be more portable? I am wondering if we could use it while on our Disney cruise next January .... hmmm.

englanddg · Jun 20, 2015

DisSplash said:
Thanks for that great info! I am actually looking for a home monitoring type of camera - mostly to make sure that the middle-schooler is doing his homework for the hour that he is home before I get there next year ... I heard that Verizon has a similar camera that you can access via an app so I was going to look into that as well.

But this one seems like it may be more portable? I am wondering if we could use it while on our Disney cruise next January .... hmmm.

I'm not sure, but you may want to check on the state of the Verizon offering. I think they sold off their Home Monitoring services (which would include their cams) to Nexia. In fact, as I recall, Verizon is dropping that service at the end of this month.

I love the dropcams. I can't share the work ones (well I can, but I won't...you have the option to make public share links for your dropcam if you choose, but by default they are private and encrypted).

Here's a pretty solid review. One thing I'll add before you watch it is that since this guy did his review in 2014, the "recognition" features have been dramatically improved. But, I poked through a few reviews looking for a balanced one, and found his is professional and thorough enough without being a 20 minute long detailed experience/unboxing video.

Through the app or the website, you can view it from everywhere.

Every camera you set up and link to your account is visible through the app or the website. My personal setup has only one, my parents have six (foyer entry, deck, living room looking towards kitchen, kitchen looking towards living room, garage, and they have a dropcam standard pointed at the cat's dishes, which they use when they are out of town to make sure the person who is house sitting actually is feeding the cat. My sister has three. Front door, the dog kennel (the has two mini greyhounds), and the dog dishes. My company has around 30.

My point is, the system is easy to set up and customize for your requirements.

A feature he glosses over is that you can two way talk through the app on your phone/tablet or through a computer. A rather neat feature for you...cause, if you see the kid doing something and you need to nudge him, you could actually come down like the Voice of G-d and through the webcam say "Do your HOMEWORK!", and it plays, rather legibly in my experience!

My Dad, for example, actually uses it when he and I take road trips to conference with my Mom through the one in their Living Room. It's...creepy, but cool once you get used to it

Also, notifications can be configured to send you a text or email if the cam loses wifi or power. Just in case your kid (or someone else) unplugs it, you'll know within a few seconds.

Another example, wait till the end of the video he does the app demo briefly towards the end, but he never covers that particular feature in detail. The app is free and extremely easy to use. Pretty much every feature of the camera is available through the app.

He also glosses over one of the neatest features, "timeline alerts", which is the SMS Message / Email notifications feature. That can be set up to send you screenshots. So, for example, my parents have a few dropcams we set up in their house, and the one at my house I do the same.

You can freeform draw "activity zones" for the dropcam to monitor. For me, It's my front door and back door. I live in an apartment with only two points of access, my deck door (if you climb a 3 story ladder!) or my front door. My dropcam is mounted just outside my kitchen, where it can see both doors and my whole livingroom. I have an activity zone set up around each door, and if there is any activity, it sends me a text message with a picture of said activity.

So, as an example, a workman from my landlord entered my house a few weeks ago, and I got a text message when he came in with a screenshot. I pulled up the app and kept a loose eye on him while he did his stuff and left.

It's got some ways to work around keeping pets from not tripping these notifications, and it also has the ability (if you have the app installed on your cel phone) to turn off the notifications when you or anyone else with the app installed on their phone AND registered/shared with your camera are "on premises".

So, if you are comfortable with that level, you don't really NEED the CVR, unless you really want it. That said, I don't think $10 a month for a 7 day rolling log of recordings is that bad a deal. Yeah, it would be nice if there were local recording options, but, for my entry price for the unit combined with the fact I don't have to configure and maintain any local storage setup for it, I think it's a fair trade off.

Plus, you only pay full price for the first camera. Every additional Camera under the same account that you add CVR to is half price. As a note, you do get 14 days free on a new camera, so you can play with it and see of it is a value to you. As a result, if you get one, DO NOT sign up for CVR when you buy or setup the camera. Rather, let the free period run out, and then upgrade later. That also allows you to set up notifications and let it run a few days to see if that functionality is enough for you. In the case of my family (me, parents, sister), we decided the free functions were enough.

The first camera you set up for paid CVR will create your annual billing date (assuming you get the 12 month discounted plan), and any camera you add later will be prorated down based off this date. So, that first year if you add more cameras and get the annual plans, you actually pay less. It also means that, administratively, it is much easier to manage as you dont have a bunch of autopays going through all the time.

My whole company with 30 some odd cameras and 7 day CVR costs us around 1520 a year. Divided among all the locations, thats $5 a month to record and live monitor all of our retail operations which are spread all over the state. Not too shabby!

And again, CVR is something you can turn on and off at any time (monthly intervals if you get the monthly plan, annually if you get the discounted annual plan, or you can convert to month to month at the end of your twelve months, etc). So, you may decide you dont need it for day to day, but you are taking a trip, and want it while you are out of town. You pay $10 bucks, and then when you get back, remove the feature.

The 30 days plan I dont think is that great a deal. Especially as you can download all your CVR recordings if you really want to keep them (or you can isolate clips easily and do the same, and they are easy to share as well if you wanted to send a certain clip by email to someone else, you can easily do that through the site, and you can also save clips long term...theres a limit on how many, but I dont recall exactly what it is. However, ALL data and clips can be downloaded as well, if you have the CVR. The save clip feature is better used as a short term storage for something you want to easily find again later).

The camera itself is VERY small. It's hard to tell in my picture, because it's clipped in the mount, but the actual camera is about about 2.5"x2.5"x1.5".

It is frankly small enough that, as long as you had Wifi connectivity, and a power source for the USB to plug into (which, I think he was a bit unfair about that, because the fact it IS USB, that actually grants you some interesting flexability!

For example, I could, if I wanted, use my external power pack from Energizer, made to charge cel phones through its USB ports, so I could use it to power the cam, and actually use this camera to livestream from Disney...as in, as I am walking around the parks. I could remove the unit from the mount and easily make a pocket mount using a chest pocket t-shirt or modifying a cell phone pouch on the strap of a daypack, etc, then plug it in).

Connect up to the guest wifi (which is the same all over Disney) or my cellular wifi hotspot (though, it would eat data, so I wouldnt recommend that, but you "could"). And viola, livestream walkaround 1080p video!

I actually did consider doing this, and still
may decide to livestream something like Wishes or a Parade, but I am not sure.

For the cruise, as it is constantly streaming, you COULD use it, I suspect, but the internet charges from DCL would be through the roof!

That said, I was going to play around with connecting it to my LTE hotspot and set it up on our veranda during sailing away. We would be able to go to the deck party and just leave it streaming, and when my hotspot loses its cellular data as we sail away from shore, it would just cut off on its own. But, I wasnt sure how well that would work...but Ill play with it in August!

This gives an idea of the actual size.

Back to the review, he made a point about it not being weatherproof. For sheltered outdoor use (like off a screen porch) I think it would be fine. But, if you really wanted it outdoors and exposed, there are third party companies that make weatherproof enclosures (think like the waterproof case for a GoPro).

Also, it's worth noting that I think his "USB power" complaint is a bit unwarranted. The cable is long (15 feet) and I had no trouble mounting it in 20+ retail locations that have all sorts of configurations, banners, displays, desks....and, unlike other systems around this pricepoint I've looked at, with the 130 degree angle, in most of our locations I was able to get both the workstations as well as the main waiting area and the front door with only a single camera. Only a few of our locations required more than one.

I've played with both models, and for the price difference, I think its worth paying the extra for the pro. Better night visiom, double the zoom capacity, wider viewing angle, and more makes that $50 extra worth spending, imho.

That, and the fact this is now a Nest / Google company, I am confident they have staying power and features will continue to improve. Also, I know firsthand, the support line is 24/7 and they are very friendly and helpful (note, Ive never had to call them for a setup or functionality issue, rather I needed to know more about their system at a programming level because I was programming a custom screen for our Operations Director. She has a 60" TV in her office that I created a dashboard that shows all our stores live on.)

Oh, one last topic, the zoom. It uses a digital zoom. This has one huge benefit over physical PTZ cameras that actually move the camera and zoom in. It continues to record the ENTIRE screen. Additionally, if two people are watching a cam at the same time, and one zooms, the other one wont even notice it, because physically, the camera hasn't changed any position or lens settings.

For example, when I post the public stream at AKL, you all will be able to zoom and pan as you see fit without effecting someone else watching the cam at the same time.

Anyhow, sorry so long but I tried to cover any questions you may have!

Here's their site.

https://nest.com/camera/meet-nest-cam/?dropcam=true

Tom · Jun 21, 2015

englanddg said:
As it's come up...

Disneyland Hotel room review.

And....packing vid...from years ago.

Dan, I literally just opened up my packing spreadsheet and added POWER STRIP(S). I've thought about it a million times, but only once we're there and in the room. Old rooms are awful, especially at Moderates or lower. Heck, even the Studio Villas lack outlets, if they were built 15-20 years ago when nobody needed to plug in a pile of electronics overnight.

englanddg · Jun 21, 2015

Tom said:
Dan, I literally just opened up my packing spreadsheet and added POWER STRIP(S). I've thought about it a million times, but only once we're there and in the room. Old rooms are awful, especially at Moderates or lower. Heck, even the Studio Villas lack outlets, if they were built 15-20 years ago when nobody needed to plug in a pile of electronics overnight.

Last trip I actually made a mistake and brought something similar to this instead of a strip.

It worked fine at the Disney Hotels (and I may still pack it), but for the Cruise Line it didn't work at all as they have the international multifunction outlets.

So, the strip is going back on my list this year!

My detailed packing list will be posted here in a few weeks...or I may make a new packing video, as that one I have posted there is a bit old now (it's from 2012).

englanddg · Jun 21, 2015

catmom46 said:
By the way, so jealous of your horseback riding plans. Our daughter is only 7 (although she's a big girl!) and would LOVE to do this. Pony ride would be too tame for her, plus I think she'd be too big anyway.

9 years old, that's the age for Horseback riding! (as I found out the hard way!)

I suspect my kid will enjoy it. She at the age where she's asking (well, has for the past few years) if she could get a horse. She's been obsessed ever since a Girl Scout excursion she did where they rode ponys a few years back.

I'm like...er...well...they sort of need a lot of care and space. "She could stay with you!"...

"Honey, I live in an apartment. I doubt a horse, unless it's Mr. Ed, would feel very comfortable in my house."

Which...then I had to explain Mr. Ed.

DVCPluto · Jun 21, 2015

Awesome trip planned!! And the webcam idea is genius!

Looking forward to following along. We'll be there for part of the same time, but you'll be headed to sea when we arrive.

Happy Father's Day to the best dad WDW planner!!

Tom · Jun 21, 2015

englanddg said:
Last trip I actually made a mistake and brought something similar to this instead of a strip.

It worked fine at the Disney Hotels (and I may still pack it), but for the Cruise Line it didn't work at all as they have the international multifunction outlets.

So, the strip is going back on my list this year!

My detailed packing list will be posted here in a few weeks...or I may make a new packing video, as that one I have posted there is a bit old now (it's from 2012).

We actually found the Dream and Fantasy staterooms to have plenty of outlets for our devices, but that's probably because the cell phones were turned off during the cruise and didn't need to charge....now that I think about it.

englanddg · Jun 21, 2015

Tom said:
We actually found the Dream and Fantasy staterooms to have plenty of outlets for our devices, but that's probably because the cell phones were turned off during the cruise and didn't need to charge....now that I think about it.

I didn't have an issue either. In fact, the only gripe I had was that they don't have an "always on" outlet (at least that I was aware of) that I could use to charge my laptop, and while I used the trick of putting a different card into the power slot, my Steward would lift it out when he cleaned my room. I needed to charge my iPad and Laptop, and my two cameras.

However, now that the Navigators are "app driven", I may have my cel (with data/voice turned off) with me more than last cruise.

DisSplash · Jun 22, 2015

englanddg said:
I'm not sure, but you may want to check on the state of the Verizon offering. I think they sold off their Home Monitoring services (which would include their cams) to Nexia. In fact, as I recall, Verizon is dropping that service at the end of this month.

I love the dropcams. I can't share the work ones (well I can, but I won't...you have the option to make public share links for your dropcam if you choose, but by default they are private and encrypted).

Here's a pretty solid review. One thing I'll add before you watch it is that since this guy did his review in 2014, the "recognition" features have been dramatically improved. But, I poked through a few reviews looking for a balanced one, and found his is professional and thorough enough without being a 20 minute long detailed experience/unboxing video.

Through the app or the website, you can view it from everywhere.

Every camera you set up and link to your account is visible through the app or the website. My personal setup has only one, my parents have six (foyer entry, deck, living room looking towards kitchen, kitchen looking towards living room, garage, and they have a dropcam standard pointed at the cat's dishes, which they use when they are out of town to make sure the person who is house sitting actually is feeding the cat. My sister has three. Front door, the dog kennel (the has two mini greyhounds), and the dog dishes. My company has around 30.

My point is, the system is easy to set up and customize for your requirements.

A feature he glosses over is that you can two way talk through the app on your phone/tablet or through a computer. A rather neat feature for you...cause, if you see the kid doing something and you need to nudge him, you could actually come down like the Voice of G-d and through the webcam say "Do your HOMEWORK!", and it plays, rather legibly in my experience!

My Dad, for example, actually uses it when he and I take road trips to conference with my Mom through the one in their Living Room. It's...creepy, but cool once you get used to it

Also, notifications can be configured to send you a text or email if the cam loses wifi or power. Just in case your kid (or someone else) unplugs it, you'll know within a few seconds.

Another example, wait till the end of the video he does the app demo briefly towards the end, but he never covers that particular feature in detail. The app is free and extremely easy to use. Pretty much every feature of the camera is available through the app.

He also glosses over one of the neatest features, "timeline alerts", which is the SMS Message / Email notifications feature. That can be set up to send you screenshots. So, for example, my parents have a few dropcams we set up in their house, and the one at my house I do the same.

You can freeform draw "activity zones" for the dropcam to monitor. For me, It's my front door and back door. I live in an apartment with only two points of access, my deck door (if you climb a 3 story ladder!) or my front door. My dropcam is mounted just outside my kitchen, where it can see both doors and my whole livingroom. I have an activity zone set up around each door, and if there is any activity, it sends me a text message with a picture of said activity.

So, as an example, a workman from my landlord entered my house a few weeks ago, and I got a text message when he came in with a screenshot. I pulled up the app and kept a loose eye on him while he did his stuff and left.

It's got some ways to work around keeping pets from not tripping these notifications, and it also has the ability (if you have the app installed on your cel phone) to turn off the notifications when you or anyone else with the app installed on their phone AND registered/shared with your camera are "on premises".

So, if you are comfortable with that level, you don't really NEED the CVR, unless you really want it. That said, I don't think $10 a month for a 7 day rolling log of recordings is that bad a deal. Yeah, it would be nice if there were local recording options, but, for my entry price for the unit combined with the fact I don't have to configure and maintain any local storage setup for it, I think it's a fair trade off.

Plus, you only pay full price for the first camera. Every additional Camera under the same account that you add CVR to is half price. As a note, you do get 14 days free on a new camera, so you can play with it and see of it is a value to you. As a result, if you get one, DO NOT sign up for CVR when you buy or setup the camera. Rather, let the free period run out, and then upgrade later. That also allows you to set up notifications and let it run a few days to see if that functionality is enough for you. In the case of my family (me, parents, sister), we decided the free functions were enough.

The first camera you set up for paid CVR will create your annual billing date (assuming you get the 12 month discounted plan), and any camera you add later will be prorated down based off this date. So, that first year if you add more cameras and get the annual plans, you actually pay less. It also means that, administratively, it is much easier to manage as you dont have a bunch of autopays going through all the time.

My whole company with 30 some odd cameras and 7 day CVR costs us around 1520 a year. Divided among all the locations, thats $5 a month to record and live monitor all of our retail operations which are spread all over the state. Not too shabby!

And again, CVR is something you can turn on and off at any time (monthly intervals if you get the monthly plan, annually if you get the discounted annual plan, or you can convert to month to month at the end of your twelve months, etc). So, you may decide you dont need it for day to day, but you are taking a trip, and want it while you are out of town. You pay $10 bucks, and then when you get back, remove the feature.

The 30 days plan I dont think is that great a deal. Especially as you can download all your CVR recordings if you really want to keep them (or you can isolate clips easily and do the same, and they are easy to share as well if you wanted to send a certain clip by email to someone else, you can easily do that through the site, and you can also save clips long term...theres a limit on how many, but I dont recall exactly what it is. However, ALL data and clips can be downloaded as well, if you have the CVR. The save clip feature is better used as a short term storage for something you want to easily find again later).

The camera itself is VERY small. It's hard to tell in my picture, because it's clipped in the mount, but the actual camera is about about 2.5"x2.5"x1.5".

It is frankly small enough that, as long as you had Wifi connectivity, and a power source for the USB to plug into (which, I think he was a bit unfair about that, because the fact it IS USB, that actually grants you some interesting flexability!

For example, I could, if I wanted, use my external power pack from Energizer, made to charge cel phones through its USB ports, so I could use it to power the cam, and actually use this camera to livestream from Disney...as in, as I am walking around the parks. I could remove the unit from the mount and easily make a pocket mount using a chest pocket t-shirt or modifying a cell phone pouch on the strap of a daypack, etc, then plug it in).

Connect up to the guest wifi (which is the same all over Disney) or my cellular wifi hotspot (though, it would eat data, so I wouldnt recommend that, but you "could"). And viola, livestream walkaround 1080p video!

I actually did consider doing this, and still
may decide to livestream something like Wishes or a Parade, but I am not sure.

For the cruise, as it is constantly streaming, you COULD use it, I suspect, but the internet charges from DCL would be through the roof!

That said, I was going to play around with connecting it to my LTE hotspot and set it up on our veranda during sailing away. We would be able to go to the deck party and just leave it streaming, and when my hotspot loses its cellular data as we sail away from shore, it would just cut off on its own. But, I wasnt sure how well that would work...but Ill play with it in August!

This gives an idea of the actual size.

Back to the review, he made a point about it not being weatherproof. For sheltered outdoor use (like off a screen porch) I think it would be fine. But, if you really wanted it outdoors and exposed, there are third party companies that make weatherproof enclosures (think like the waterproof case for a GoPro).

Also, it's worth noting that I think his "USB power" complaint is a bit unwarranted. The cable is long (15 feet) and I had no trouble mounting it in 20+ retail locations that have all sorts of configurations, banners, displays, desks....and, unlike other systems around this pricepoint I've looked at, with the 130 degree angle, in most of our locations I was able to get both the workstations as well as the main waiting area and the front door with only a single camera. Only a few of our locations required more than one.

I've played with both models, and for the price difference, I think its worth paying the extra for the pro. Better night visiom, double the zoom capacity, wider viewing angle, and more makes that $50 extra worth spending, imho.

That, and the fact this is now a Nest / Google company, I am confident they have staying power and features will continue to improve. Also, I know firsthand, the support line is 24/7 and they are very friendly and helpful (note, Ive never had to call them for a setup or functionality issue, rather I needed to know more about their system at a programming level because I was programming a custom screen for our Operations Director. She has a 60" TV in her office that I created a dashboard that shows all our stores live on.)

Oh, one last topic, the zoom. It uses a digital zoom. This has one huge benefit over physical PTZ cameras that actually move the camera and zoom in. It continues to record the ENTIRE screen. Additionally, if two people are watching a cam at the same time, and one zooms, the other one wont even notice it, because physically, the camera hasn't changed any position or lens settings.

For example, when I post the public stream at AKL, you all will be able to zoom and pan as you see fit without effecting someone else watching the cam at the same time.

Anyhow, sorry so long but I tried to cover any questions you may have!

Here's their site.

https://nest.com/camera/meet-nest-cam/?dropcam=true

No worries on the length as I am very happy with the details you shared! This saves me so much time scouring the internet for the best option! Hopefully you won't mind another question or two if I run into any trouble when I try to set this all up this summer ...

I will definitely be looking forward to whatever you are able to capture on yours while at AK!

englanddg · Jun 22, 2015

DisSplash said:
No worries on the length as I am very happy with the details you shared! This saves me so much time scouring the internet for the best option! Hopefully you won't mind another question or two if I run into any trouble when I try to set this all up this summer ...

I will definitely be looking forward to whatever you are able to capture on yours while at AK!

Sure, always glad to help!

california_screamer · Jun 22, 2015

Very fun report so far! Your daughter is adorable and I am sure she will love the surprises you have in store for her. Who wouldn't?! I'm looking forward to living vicariously through you as your vacation planning ends and you execute on heck of a trip!

englanddg · Jun 23, 2015

FastPass+ Update

Ok, my final FP+ window opened up tonight about an hour ago, and since I'm pulling an all nighter, I decided to go ahead and reserve them.

So, this is a good point to discuss my experience (mostly positive) with FP+ and MDX.

I actually meant to do this for the last FP+ window, but I lost all my screenshots overnight because I hadn't saved them in Paint.NET (where I was keeping them for editing after using CTRL-PRINTSCREEN) and Microsoft Windows Update decided while I was slumbering that I HAD to do a reboot, and it did it overnight. So, I lost all the pictures. Partially my fault for not saving them, but thanks Microsoft... <dripping with sarcasm>

(and, before anyone comments, I know I can turn that feature off, but I prefer not to manage it. As frustrating as updates can be sometimes, leaving it on auto-update and auto-install is just easier)

So, now I have new screenshots of a fresh experience, so here we go!

Step one, New Fastpasses! I really like this screen. It's clean and easy to use.

Next screen, you get to pick who you are making reservations for. Pretty easy for a group my size (only 2), but this is also a neat feature.

Ok, so, this next screen. Looks nice. I wish it skipped ahead to your vacation dates (so, yeah, be aware of that, you'll need to use the toggle buttons to get to the right dates instead of it auto-centering on them, but...that's forgivable and a minor gripe).

But, after this, I do have a GUI (graphical user interface) gripe.

So, you can select your day and your park. Great! Very intuitive!

Oh, and what's this? You can select more than one day!

Ok, that's neat. But, here's what I discovered that isn't so neat...

So, lets say you select more than one day. Well, not to many people go to Hollywood Studios 3 days in a row, so lets say I change my park to Epcot on the menu.

Well, it changes ALL the selected days to Epcot!

No notifications, it just does it. The first time I discovered this, I actually found out after I moved onto the next step. It's really a bad UI design that there isn't even a warning. Either they should limit you to select ONE day only, or they should allow the system to multi-day select with multiple parks.

And, again, if I've already selected my parks in the My Itinerary section, why don't those carry through as at least a note here? They should. Again, minor gripe, but that would dramatically improve the experience.

So, just a suggestion should someone from Disney read this. That needs to happen in the future.

Also, if you do mess up and select multiple days, you are sort of stuck at that point. The system (I don't have screenshots, but I did experience this) will walk you through all the days, but only for the ONE park you chose. The only way to "fix" your issue is to cancel your process and start all over again.

If there is a way to "unselect" a day once you've clicked on it, I haven't found it. Clicking on it again doesn't "uncheck" the day, which is what you'd expect. So...cancel and start over again it is!

So, repeating the process again, let's move on.

The ride selection screen is pretty well done, and I like the way they have popups (instead of redirects) when you click on details.

And the next stage you get to choose some "options" for times.

Now, here I have a few suggestions for Disney. It is really awkward, especially for someone not used to the parks, that a few different things are not listed here.

For example, conflicts with ADRs should be listed here (or at least the ADRs if they have been made). Another example are common events that people may wish to see, such as parades and shows.

It would really stink if you make your FP+ reservations, but they conflict with your ADRs and/or a parade or show you are also interested in. Especially if your ADRs are off park like at a resort or a different park.

There is no easy way (that I could find) to access this information during this process, so I grabbed my phone and pulled up the MDX app on it to check my ADRs and other time sensitive things just to think through the conflicts. But, as all that information is ALREADY in the system, it would be much simpler to have it displayed here by default (even if it is just a note sort of thing).

Anyhow, that would be a very nice addition.

One other thing I noted is that the options sometimes (happened to me twice) change your ride selections for you.

So, don't just breeze through looking to the right on time alone. I had, for example, ToT replaced with Great Movie Ride as one of my options...GMR doesn't need a Fastpass...ever...and that's rather sneaky of the system to do it that way.

Though I do understand why Disney might see it as "neat"...I do not...

I said I wanted these 3 things, don't go giving me other things as options on the sly...with a notification, sure, but an automatic replacement? No thanks!

Ok, the last section is where you can modify your selected times, and really streamline everything. This is a great section. I have two complaints / observations, though.

One is strictly UI design based. When you first get to it, you see this...

Very clean, very easy to figure out. So, you can "modify" this FP+. Got it. And that brings you to a nice "modification screen", which again is very user friendly, and I think well done.

It's the last step AFTER you modify (or cancel) that the UI goes a bit bonkers.

Ok, as a side note, the key to a good UI is that users can find the same things in the same places using the same terms. In this case, and this is a minor slight, Disney failed. As, it doesn't take you back to the first screen, as it should logically. Rather, it takes you to a third screen that is a blend of the two. The Modify button doesn't reappear, and stays "stuck" as the "change experience button". If you want to further tweak times, you need to use the "edit time" link off to the right. And, to compound the issue, it does this to ALL of the FP+ reservations, not just the one you edited to cause this screen to appear.

Is it awful? No. But, it could be better, and something that should be cleaned up.

I know it sounds like I'm griping, it's because I am. I do this work for a living, so I look at it a tad differently (with a professional eye), so please keep that in mind and take my critiques with a grain of salt.

So, there you have it, my experience with FP+.

Overall?

Well, it's improved a HECK of a lot since the first time I used it in 2013 when I was in a testing group. It's better than last year when I was trying to plan out that trip which had to be cancelled.

I'm very pleased with where MDX is going. I still am iffy about the uber planning aspects involved with a WDW trip as opposed to Disneyland (where basically all I did was book hotel and tickets), but considering the attendance and crowd considerations, I can see why Disney felt this was a good addition to the WDW experience.

Also, as I saw in 2013, the app has performed flawlessly. It updates nearly instantly with my changes to plans, and I have nothing but good things to say about it. The website...well, it's still got some work to be done.

Here's to hoping it keeps getting better!

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