The Chit Chat Chit Chat Thread

Rista1313

Rista1313

Well-Known Member
Songbird76 said:
Well, I was never supposed to be doing all the planning myself. C's daughter is involved in tumbling, and she qualified for nationals last year that were held in Florida. I think she posted something on Facebook about going to Universal Studios, and I responded, or maybe she saw me respond to someone else's post about Universal....anyway, she commented on it and said they might be going while L was at nationals. Then I said we were planning to go this year in combination with Disney, and she messaged me and said they were also planning to go to Disney to celebrate her dad and step-mom quitting smoking, and we should try to coordinate our trips so we could see each other. And then since we were coordinating, we thought we should invite my brother, too. We had 3 days together in South Dakota in 2016, and had a great time, but we only did Mount Rushmore, Keystone, and Spearfish Canyon together, and a few meals. It wasn't like....the whole vacation together. But her brothers didn't go on that trip....it was her, her daughter, her dad, and her step-mom. And my brother, his husband and their daughter. This time, it's C AND her brothers' families and their dad and step-mom, and it's my brother's family and his husband's family. So twice the people, and I'm the only one with current Disney knowledge, so no one is working with me because they think they can just show up and get everything done in 4 days that they want to do without planning. But they are all supposed to be doing the planning for their groups and we are supposed to coordinate so we can do some things together. It's just turning into me doing everything because they don't realize you actually need to plan anything. Their idea of planning seems to be limited to the general dates of the trip and where they are staying. It does not include things like fastpasses, ADRs, or even having a list of "must do" attractions/shows, or even knowing what attractions and shows are available. They seem to think they will get there and just see what looks fun and do it. I tried to explain fastpass and ADRs to them, etc...but I can't do much beyond that. I have the stuff for my group planned. If they don't do their planning, then I guess we won't be doing much together.

That being said, I have to say I'm glad my brother's group is only there for the first week of our trip so that we have the 2nd week where we don't have to consider anyone else's feelings, we can just do what we want to do. Everyone else will be gone, and we won't be relegated to doing things that we're not interested in just because the others haven't experienced it. I'm excited to get to introduce my neice to all the fun stuff (if they don't end up canceling on us) But, I am glad we have a week without them, plus our universal segment and the time in between the two...so we still have more than 2 weeks of vacation without the rest of the family. I couldn't do more than a week with the big group.
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Lots of people don't realize Disney is so different now... and that you can't just go and do without plans anymore.
 
Songbird76

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
MouseDreaming said:
Wow, that is a lot. I do not have this kind of patience. Glad you got Biergarten to work. I think I would have been saying something like sounds great, but how about we all meet up at Pecos Bill? Make sure everyone knows if they can't make it, they need to let you know 24 hours ahead of time, so you don't get charged for no shows.

And, I am sorry to hear about your bil's job. I hope something comes up. It sounds like this might not be the best time for them to go. Is your brother waiting for you to say that, and "release"him from this obligation, at a time when things sound tight?

Whatever happens, I hope things all work out in the end, with minimal stress for you.
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Well, he said his husband started back at the funeral home yesterday, but only on an on-call basis, so he doesn't know how much work he'll be getting. But it's at least something.
If I hadn't had an ADR for that night, I would have done exactly that...I'd have said "Let's meet in Disney Springs and go to Polite Pig" or something, but I already had the ADR and I was not willing to change it, because we have every meal accounted for and I don't want to be left with Table Service credits because I have no other time to do that meal, and I also don't want to miss out on Biergarten to do something less fun. Basically, I refuse to let their lack of planning ruin my good planning. I'm not going to punish my group because theirs can't get it together.

No, I don't think that's what my brother is waiting for....I think what he's waiting for is "Oh, I'll take care of that, because I really want you guys to come." When my mom died and I moved here, it was her wish that neither of us be alone the first Christmas after her death. I ended up paying for my brother's flight here because he "couldn't afford a ticket" and it was cheaper to pay for him to come here than it was for both of us to fly there, plus he had lodging here and we'd have had to pay for a hotel there because he didn't have guest accommodations. Then when I was pregnant with my DD, my dad was wanting to come visit, but didn't want to travel alone. My brother "generously" offered to accompany him, if he would pay for the trip. That fell through. Then he was sent to Berlin to speak at some conference, and we tried to get together and suggested meeting somewhere in the middle, because it's an 8-10 hour drive from here to Berlin, but he refused, saying he "wasn't allowed to leave the conference." Sorry, but you're an adult...they can't require you to stay in a particular place without your permission....that's part of the negotiations. So I know that was bunk...he just didn't want to have to spend the money on a train ticket and food, etc. And when I went to check on my dad in 2013, he told me he had to head up that way on the weekend I arrived, so he could take me up there (I was coming alone and don't have a valid drivers license anymore). Then when I got there, he gave me a sob story about how the automatic withdrawl he had set up for his car insurance was a few days late in withdrawing the funds and so he thought he had more money than he did, and he now didn't have the money to put gas in his vehicle or to buy groceries while I was staying there, so if I wanted to drive up there, I had to pay for the gas and meals for the next few days. I know that's bunk because automatic withdrawls are....automatic....they happen at the time requested unless there's some technical difficulty, in which they will contact you to apologize for the inconvenience. Also, the reason he was headed up was for a big festival with his husband's family that they were all organizing, and his husband had already gone up with their daughter using one of his family's vehicles, and my brother was supposed to pick them up to come home, so he had to go get them anyway. He knew I was in a difficult position and he was the only person who could give me a ride, so if I wanted that ride, he was going to make me pay for his food for the next few days, and the gas to get to the festival and back. That's what he does. He acts like he's doing you a favor, but then makes you pay bigtime for that favor. Sure, I'll give you a ride, since I'm going anyway....but you are going to pay all my expenses for a trip I was always going to make. If you are familiar with friends, you know how Emily's parents tried to bill Ross's parents for things like a gazebo, and a wine cellar, and Ross's dad says "I'm paying to renovate this guy's house!" That's my brother....he's the guy who is trying to manipulate someone into paying for the renovations on his house. He tries to make you feel like you owe it to him, and he makes up lies to explain why he can't do it unless you pay him.
 
Songbird76

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
Janir said:
WOW, talk about planning headaches! I salute you! I'd have given up much earlier and just made some plans for everybody and said, this is it, deal with it as you're not getting back to me in a timely manner.
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That's essentially what I did with my brother as I made his reservations and everything. I made all my ADRs to include his group and he can go or not. But I can't do that with C's group because they are not staying on property and I wasn't sure what dates they were even going to be there, or who was coming. So I gave them OUR plans and told them to make their own according to what they wanted to do with us.
 
Songbird76

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
Janir said:
... and now for something completely different.

Would anyone pay/go to see a DHS where they take the Toy Story Green Army men soldiers facing off against the first order Storm troopers in some sort of crowd level fun park show?
I think it would be awesome! At some point the stormtroopers could be marched off as prisoners of the Green Army Men, or vice versa. Green Army men could be co-opted as new Resistance fighters. Just some sort of silly fun. Storm Troopers in TSL acting like toys. Stiff armed and legs like a old Kenner toys.

Just some odd musings out of my head today...
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I wouldn't be opposed. It might be amusing.
 
Cesar R M

Cesar R M

Well-Known Member
dryerlintfan said:
I also loved Rogue One.

In general, the States could use smaller portion sizes for all of our things. Especially at Outback. I feel like every time I go there I leave so full it hurts to walk.
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Pretty sure its an American thing, particularly in Texas. The plate sizes are insane compared to Mexico.
You pretty much get 3x times the pasta you get in the mexican equivalent.
 
Songbird76

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
MySmallWorldof4 said:
Sorry about your bil losing his job. I hope he will find one soon, but if he does he probably would not get vacation time with a new job. Don't stress yourself about it though. Just focus on you and your direct family enjoying a vacation that you have been planning for about 2 years. Remember, if your brother wants, it is easy for him to take a trip to WDW when finances improve, but it is not easy for you. Make sure you plan so that you and your family have a time to remember. You don't know when you will be back.

By the way, are you going to use Touring Plans to make up a plan for Uni. I am trying to figure that one out right now. We don't know the park at all and will be there for 4 days, so I am think that if we at least have a plan, we will be less stressed. I can already hear the arguing especially if it is hot.
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You're so right. I just really wanted to be there for my niece's first trip....it's so magical in the eyes of a kid her age. And if it's not with us, I don't think they WILL go. I so want her to have this experience, and I'm afraid she won't get it without me. I'd offer to take her with us, but she wouldn't be able to get there without an adult, and we aren't going to go all the way to Wyoming to pick her up. But, we do have to think about our own family first and make sure it's fun for US, since it's so much more expensive and time consuming for our family. Thanks for that perspective.

I bought the Unofficial guide to Universal Orlando for the planning. I also have touring plans, but what it looks like to me is that there is a lot less planning involved in Universal than there is with Disney. You can't make ADRs until something like a month out, and you can't book fastpasses or anything. Our resort comes with the Unlimited Express pass, and of course early entry into Wizarding World, so we'll be able to skip lines for most attractions anyway. And it sounds like food is not a "thing" there like it is at Disney. So we'll probably leave the park for most of our dinners while we're at Universal. But I kind of find it difficult to plan just because there's so much you can't plan in advance there. In some ways, that's better for most people because everyone has the same chances as everyone else, but it's also difficult for someone like me who likes to have a general plan, at least to the extent of which park we'll be in when. But with Wizarding World being in BOTH parks, and the train between them is an attraction in itself, it's hard to know where to start, how long it will take and when to expect to travel to the other part, etc. Are you having that issue as well? And how are you tackling food? I want to have a plan, but how??
 
Songbird76

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
Rista1313 said:
Lots of people don't realize Disney is so different now... and that you can't just go and do without plans anymore.
Click to expand...
Exactly. I told them that....that it's not the same as it was when we were kids, and if you don't plan ahead, you won't be able to do all the things you want to do. You can still have a good time, I'm sure, but you're going to be disappointed when you get all excited about seven dwarfs mine train and then arrive and find a 3 hour wait time for it because you didn't think you needed to make fastpasses, or didn't know how. But I must not have made my point clear, because no one seems motivated to even look into fastpasses. I guess they'll have to learn the hard way when we get there and we wave goodbye as we go for our fastpasses and they turn around to go do something else that DOESN'T have a huge wait for standby.
 
Songbird76

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
Cesar R M said:
Pretty sure its an American thing, particularly in Texas. The plate sizes are insane compared to Mexico.
You pretty much get 3x times the pasta you get in the mexican equivalent.
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Here, too....you get so much less here, and pay twice what you do in the States. It's so cheap to eat in a restaurant in the US, even with the added tip. (not in Disney of course) That's one of the things people here always mention if they have been to the states...why do they give you so much food??
It's also one of the things that took some getting used to here. We don't get to go out often because it's so expensive, but when we DO go out, service is soooooo poor compared to the US. Servers in the US rely on tips as they don't get a decent hourly wage, so they have to really make an effort to provide good service so they will get those tips. Over here, servers are paid at least minimum wage anyway, so they don't rely on the tips and therefore don't have to be really good at their job. They get paid either way.
 
Figgy1

Figgy1

Well-Known Member
MySmallWorldof4 said:
Sorry about your bil losing his job. I hope he will find one soon, but if he does he probably would not get vacation time with a new job. Don't stress yourself about it though. Just focus on you and your direct family enjoying a vacation that you have been planning for about 2 years. Remember, if your brother wants, it is easy for him to take a trip to WDW when finances improve, but it is not easy for you. Make sure you plan so that you and your family have a time to remember. You don't know when you will be back.

By the way, are you going to use Touring Plans to make up a plan for Uni. I am trying to figure that one out right now. We don't know the park at all and will be there for 4 days, so I am think that if we at least have a plan, we will be less stressed. I can already hear the arguing especially if it is hot.
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UNI plan EMH rope drop and by that I mean first ones in, ADR for Mythos, relax and have fun. Seriously with 4 days you can do everything on your must do list if you do that. Minnions at park open or close
 
Figgy1

Figgy1

Well-Known Member
Songbird76 said:
He has no access to my credit card, no. I made the reservations in his name, and I DID pay the initial fee to make the reservation. But he can't use my credit card.
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If he doesn't pay up the day before any penalties for cancelling set in cancel if you are going to be hit with fees!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Frying pan time
 
Cesar R M

Cesar R M

Well-Known Member
StarWarsGirl said:
For those that complain about getting old, just know that today one of my monitors has been making a high pitched noise driving my young ears crazy but my older coworkers are completely oblivious.
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With my older implant I used to hear these noises by a lot. Including the coil whine of my video card (much noisier than the inverters inside LCD monitors). Then I upgraded and no longer hear anything like that (the implant has "intelligent" noise removal to boost voices). Helps a lot since my AC, my PC and my Fan are VERY NOISY.
 
Go.Nijntje

Go.Nijntje

Well-Known Member
Songbird76 said:
Nope....I detest fruit in combination with meat. :hungover: Give me broccoli, spinach, give me brussel sprouts, but don't try to combine fruit and meat. They just don't go together!
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I guess we just have different tastes and please never give me brussel sprouts.:depressed:
I'm sorry your brother is being so difficult, as an aunt who lives far away I understand how much you want to share WDW with your niece but it might not happen on this trip. If not, in a few years she will be old enough to fly on her own so perhaps on your next trip to WDW you'll get to share it with her.
 

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