SDV Orlando August 27 -30 2009

[joyah]

Buffy so sorry to hear about the school fires, GRRRRRRR I hope you drowned them not just put them out. and sorry to hear about the camera I'd be ugly too, I still haven't figured out our new camera and I've had it since june.
If you need someone to tell them off when your done I'm sure Nancy will be happy to. I would be but I've done enough fighting with the healthclub today and I'm tired I still have quilting class tonight and I'd rather go to bed.
I'm looking forward to coming home from class and hearing more stories.

Rebecca your doing a great report. i'd be like you up way early, i never sleep well away from home, even in our camper it's tough for me.

Abnoxious scrappers how dare they! Somebody should have slapped them with more than a few dirty looks. Probably a good thing i wasn't there I tend to open my mouth.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

I totally forgot then when we arrived back to the tables after dinner on Friday night we had a specail treat at each of our places- either from Scott or Emily we are sure but we are not sure which.

Buffy- sorry about the obnoxious scrappers on the other side of you and that yopu camera got screwed up- I am glad that when i switch back to automatic anything I have done in manual cancels itself out until I return to manual.

Sorry about the school fires too- the post it note holders looked very cute.

Rebecca

the goodies turned out the be from Diana Lyn, that sneaky girl! BTW, the kids just polished of the bag Diana and they said to say thank you!

Buffy so sorry to hear about the school fires, GRRRRRRR I hope you drowned them not just put them out. and sorry to hear about the camera I'd be ugly too, I still haven't figured out our new camera and I've had it since june.
If you need someone to tell them off when your done I'm sure Nancy will be happy to. I would be but I've done enough fighting with the healthclub today and I'm tired I still have quilting class tonight and I'd rather go to bed.
I'm looking forward to coming home from class and hearing more stories.

Rebecca your doing a great report. i'd be like you up way early, i never sleep well away from home, even in our camper it's tough for me.

Abnoxious scrappers how dare they! Somebody should have slapped them with more than a few dirty looks. Probably a good thing i wasn't there I tend to open my mouth.

Oh just you wait! LOL I'm writing up day 2 of our trip and I haven't even gotten to the good stuff yet.
Honestly I would love to have as many DIS'ers there next year as possible so it will be even more fun, and wholesome, and not so rude and nasty.

Remember 1 dollar a day will pay for your room(quad) and 3 meals!!

 

[PrincessNancy96]

I'm looking at dates...and talking to DH..and saving a little at a time! Here's fingers crossed...

Obnoxious scrappers, seriously..how very sad... I'm sorry that you had to experience such non-sense..

OH no, what happened to your camera?

School fires, s**ck! Hopefully, you have those straightened out or only embers left..

 

[party of 3]

nice job rebecca. i'm so loving the report! keep it coming!

 

[rlovew]

As people arrived back from the stores, we all continued working- sometime in the mornign when I was at a breaking place Lisa, Mom E, Minnie Ann, Pam, and Jennifer headed out to the hall and some coffee tables surrounded by chairs to make the flap albums- they are fairly easy if you go through them step by step and have something to look at.

At about 12:30 Buffy and I headed up to the room to sort the ABC swap- I am so glad Buffy helped, it would have taken all day without a photographer.

We were also going to cut out a few titles and such on the cricut while we were there. I had forgotten the mat again but remebered after the first escalator- so Buffy waited for me in the chairs and I returned to pick up the mat.

We worked our way through the packages dividing up the pages as Buffy photographed. We took a couple of photos from the room- but I don't think we got any of both queen size beds covered in piles of swaps.

We rebagged everyones things and refilled my crate (the whole reason I used bell services). The pages are more amazing in rel life than on the computer. We finished up about 1:30 and I quickly cut a few things out on the cricut before turning it over to Buffy for her use. About 1:40 I headed back down to finish a few pages that I needed titles for before my camera class. At 2pm I headed to class (Renee was the only diser with me in class since Buffy, lisa, Mom E, and Mom K thought yesterday's class sucked and had asked to be taken out and for there money back). I headed into class hoping for the best but sitting with an easy exit expecting the worst.

The class was on taking good photos in lowlight. As the class started a lady on the front row looked very confused about the subject and mentioned she thought she had already taken the class- she finally realized she was supposed to take the 4pm class instead of the 2pm class but went on to add that he had taught her to take great firework photos.

Renee arrived and sat in the row with me- we have basically the same camera and that helped out in class alot. The instructor went through some photo basic before getting to his 5 tips for lowlight. Tip 1- turn on the lights, I know it was so amazing- I never would have thought of that one- but he said many people try to use the flash for light and that is a no-no. Tip 2- move the subject into the light- easy with an adult but my puppy won't do ti (along with most children) so within 30 minutes we moved onto the real meat of the class.

If you can't follow tip 1 or 2 you have to change the camera setting (duh- we guessed that one)- first change- increase the Lens opening- this will increase the light in the camera- of course you also have to keep the camera steady or it will be blurry- he suggested using a flat wall, stand, or ledge iof you don't have a tripod. Try as we might Renee and I couldn't find this feature on our menus as he talked- Renee however did have her book with her.

The 2nd change you can make is to the apature (the shutter speed)- as he talked about this we were able to find the measure of it on our cameras but not the place to change it.

The final change is the iso speed but he said as this gets higher you get grainier photos. As he talked about this and began discussing specific things for sunrise/sunset/firework photos- Renee found out how to make the changes in the camera book. We began playing with it taking photos of the back of the head of the lady sitting in front of us- we really saw the difference each of these made to our photos.

After he gave us specifics for the sunrises and such he was going to work hands on with our cameras but I could not focus anymore so I headed back into the table. I was very glad that I had learned a lot in the class- although I had not expected it after the report from others.

I returned to the scrap room and finished up one other page before going to a swim with Mom E- we do the waterslide together each year- it is our tradition. We enjoyed a dip in the pool, went down the slide, and tried sitting in the jacuzzi, the jets were practically off so it wasn't working so well. I headed back up to the room, showered, changed and went back down to the crop room to work until dinner.

Rebecca

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

BAMB and MomK’s trip report:

Day 1: This was a weird day. I actually had until 1pm to get ready to leave which is just strange to me, we usually leave first thing in the morning so I headed to the Chiropractor and boy am I glad I did!! I would have been in so much pain by the time we got back if I hadn’t gone to see Dr. T.

MomK - first day of school today so she had to go in to work at 6:30am to get things together for the kids. Her poor boss was not happy to see her go.

Dad took us to the airport and we zipped right through security, easy peasy. So we wait, and wait, and wait. Our plane was about 20 minutes late getting there but the one good thing about Southwest is that they can turn over planes very quickly. We boarded a little late but the plane was about 3/4 full (whole rows were empty) so we loaded and pulled back quickly. The flight was uneventful even with the storms in Georgia and Hurricane Danny, we even made up some time in the air and landed about 10 minutes late. Found our driver (whom I really didn’t care for) and off we went to the Polynesian.
We called and called Lisa and MomE but apparently they were having too much fun in the pool so it took some time for Lisa to get back to us. We arrived tired and very hungry.

My first attempt at procuring food for my mommy was an absolute bust, apparently the lady at the sushi bar didn’t think I was important enough to be waited on, guests at Kona were. So we trekked downstairs, again, to get food. I got sushi, a salad, and a bottle of wine (much to the amazement of Lisa LOL) and mom got a a caesar salad and water.
I have never stayed at the Poly before so I was really excited about it but I was not crazy about it. It was just ok, but it was a place to lay my sleepy head so I was happy, hey I was at Disneyworld why wouldn’t I be happy!!

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Day 2: We woke up and I have no idea what time it is! LOL We headed down stairs to to check out and have our luggage shipped over the the Contemporary and got some food. Quick service again because Ohana was packed!! The line wrapped 1/2 way around the balcony. Mom and I both got Tonga toast and it was everything people had raved about and more!!! But holy cow was it huge! I could only eat 1/2 of it. This is definitely a must do for December.

Lisa, the mom’s and I head over to MK for the day via the monorail. We noticed that they are no longer allowing guests to ride up front and I also noticed that the Monorail drivers and CM’s were a bit rude and not personable, not sure if they are turning inward after Austin’s accident or if this is the new style of CM, we ran into more rude CM’s on this trip then ever before (more on that later).
MK was fun! We headed right to Fantasyland and walked right on It’s a Small World. DH was texting me the whole time which was funny, he wanted to know if we were having a good time.

After IASW we took a potty break which apparently I am not allowed to say out loud so Lisa taught us how to sign for potty. That became our secret handshake for the weekend. We hit the Halloween/kitchen shop in Liberty square and headed over to Hall of Presidents. I had never been before but I had read about the changes and wanted to see it, it was soooo moving!! I would highly recommend for everyone go see it if you get the chance. I think at this point we split up for a bit, mom and I walked around Frontierland and Adventureland but I was getting a raging headache (my personal theme for the weekend) so we headed back up to the first aid station near Crystal Palace and we were able to catch the Celebrations Parade which runs down Main Street several times a day. It was super cute and I got some of my favorite shots of the weekend here. I had changed one setting to vivid mode and I would recommend everyone do this, the pictures really pop.

My phone beeped at me which meant that it was time to head up to Cinderella’s for lunch. I was really looking forward to this, I think CRT has some of the best lunch on Property, hands down. We met back up with Lisa and MomE and checked in. Got to meet Cindy and have our picture taken and she was as pleasant as always, a true Princess. MomE took a quick power nap on a bench tucked in a nook near the elevator while MomK took pics of the architecture of the castle. Lisa chatted with a lady and her family near by while I sat there and soaked it all in. We were seated near the end of the wave of people and got a nice table up on the upper left level of the restaurant. Lisa, MomK, and I got the salmon and MomE got the pork tenderloin, all were absolutely amazing!!
The princesses were starting to make rounds and Belle was up first. She is always so sweet and quiet, and spent several minutes chatting about our girls day out and asked where out Prince’s were. We said at home and she said she liked to get out sometimes without Beast as well. The second one out was Snow White, who was not very princess like(this is the later part). She was quite rude when we asked if she could write DD a little note about using the royal throne before her trip in December. Even when we asked if she would just sign her name at the bottom she signed it across the page. Next up was Jasmine and was she ever sassy, we loved it! She had a great attitude and was so cute. John came out about that time with food, everything was delicious! Perfect as usual. Food was quickly followed by Sleeping Beauty and she was delightful, she signed her name at the bottom of the page for DD and posed for pics. Then came dessert and Oh My Goodness was it amazing! They don’t have the blueberry buckle anymore, it’s now chocolate cream cheese buckle. Light chocolate cake (not dense or too rich) stuffed with Cream cheese and topped with cream chantilly. Oh, I could have eaten that every day!

We went back downstairs after lunch and Cinderella was alone so we took a few pics of her and talked to the photographer for a bit. She was very nice and we traded camera tips and some Walt Disney trivia, did you know the crest over the fireplace is the Disney crest? I had no idea. MomK told the photographer that the Disney family tree is on Ancestry.com and she didn’t know that.
We headed out and decided to try Philharmagic, mom can’t do flying rides like Soarin’ and we weren’t sure how she would do here but Lisa just tapped her when the Aladdin was flying so she could close her eyes. Mom also found a Hidden Mickey while we were waiting for the show to start. Way to go mom!!!

Lisa, MomE, and I took off to Big Thunder and Lisa and MomE then rode Splash and after that we all headed to the train to go over to Toontown to see Pixie Hollow. the wait was an hour but I really wanted to see Tink so we decided to stay and bet the greatest little girl in line. Her name was Katelyn and she was with her Grandma. She was sooo excited she was going to burst but was super well behaved and waited so patiently. Right as we go to the line the CM asked how many and Lisa and I said 6 instead of 4. We wanted to be with Katelyn when she saw the fairies and we wanted her to go first even though they were originally behind us. She was shocked! So we kind of hung back so Katelyn could have her moment with the fairies. While we were waiting Fawn, the animal fairy, came over and talked to us about talent. MomE had not seen the movie yet so she was asking about the talents. Tink came over and asked what we were talking about and Fawn said Talent, to which Tink replied that she had the best talent. Silvermist came over and asked what we were chatting about and Tink said talent and Silvermist said Water of course. MomE asked Silvermist what her talent was so she explained about making dew drops and what not. We snapped some pics and then got ready to leave and Katelyn wanted to wait for us to say thank you. I wish I had gotten a pic with her, she was just adorable!

Next we decided to head to Tomorrowland to ride TTA but it was closed. It looked like it was going to rain so we headed out of MK including a detour through the rose garden and we headed to the Contemporary to check in to the first of 2 rooms.......

 

[Lisa]

Was buffy trying to pick up that man? BUFFY!!!! I told you to behave!!!!!!!!

That was our very own secret service agent. Nah, that is Scott who works at the Contemporary and has been following our thread. Guess he had been forwarned about our group. He knew all about us, including which days we were going to wear what color shirt. One of the first things he asked was who needed the pink duct tape. Um, yeah, that would be me! Scott, hope you, your wife, and daughter have a great cruise! Don't forget to have that Konk Kooler for me.

Ya know Christy I said to Jennifer the other day, i don't know if i could scrap while i was at WDW! i'd be thinking i need to be taking pics at the castle and stuff. and i'd be afraid i'd miss the parks too much??

I thought it would be hard too but last year with Hurricane Fay it was easy. MomE and I do go down early so we have a few days to hit the parks before going scrapping. Some scrappers do the parks in the morning then scrap in the afternoon.

At the airport in Orlando now.
Should be boarding soon, plane was a little late coming in.
We are tired but had a blast!

We have some *ahem* interesting stories to tell. Be home soon!

I was soo tired, I promptly fell asleep on the plane, don't even remember take off. Miss the beverage service.

I can't even mention the "ahem" interesting stories here, this is a family site. We will just leave it that it was naughty, but hey next time you see me in person, ask me about it. I'll tell ya all about it.

okay so most of you have landed and slept how long do we have to wait for the stories? Some of us are dying here to hear all about it.

I had to go to work, darn it. I wish I could have DIS played today. Had to wait all the way until now.

Wow! Keep it coming Rebecca!!!
Now, if the rest of your gang could stop sleeping and fill us in too! LOL

Great trip report, Rebecca. Thanks for doing all the make and takes. I don't know how you ladies got it all together to do before the crop. It was all I could do to pack the new pretty CM Black and White paper.

I'm here but I've been putting out school fires all day. I will start posting as soon as I can get my thoughts together. I'm tired and I'm a bit angry with school stuff and some SDV stuff (not our girls though, I love our girls and they are model scrappy citizens). And that darn camera class messed up the settings on my camera so a lot of my pics are crappy, another thing I'm angry about.


I am going to give a shout out to Scott and Em, both of which made SDV an awesome and entertaining weekend!

so.


HI SCOTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My wonderful secret service guy! pssst, I know your user name, I know your user name........


and
HI EMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You rock the snack shop!!!!!!!! Thanks for having all the awesome munchies there for us.

I need to get the info from one of you to write to WDW about the snack shop and how some little tweaks and changes will make it a much more profitable place.

My camera was messed up to. Once I woke from my plane nap I spent about an hour re adjusting my settings.

Hope everything got straightened out at school. Our first day of school is under our belt.

Emily, thank you soooo much for meeting my request for grapefruit at your lemonade stand.

An update on MomE's glasses, they have been found so the apb has been lifted.

Looking at the pictures, I really like seeing the group wearing the same shirts. That looks nice. No wonder we were getting dirty looks from the naughty girls next to us. We LOOKED maaaarrrvelous!

Buffy, MomK, MomE, and I did have a problem with our room, When we checked in we noticed the hallway smelled badly. Our room too. Buffy up'd the A\C but the smell got worse. MomE started coughing, her COPD aggravated, the rest of us could feel our throats tightening up. It was decided I would be room spokesman to the front desk. I explained the problem, they offered to clean the room but had a hard time understanding that it wasn't a dirt issue but a heavy humidity and mold issue. After requesting another room, the front desk told me to come to the front desk to get a key so we could move. I suggested that they send someone to our room with a key so we could look at another room before we move. This brought us through a maze of hallways to another room. We asked for a room a wee bit closer to the main building, no they told us, there was nothing. I went big and requested something in the towers No, there wasn't any other room in the WHOLE resort. Thus I was surprised when Rebecca stated she received an upgrade to tower room. So this is how we got the furthest outer reach room in the south garden. We were closer to Wilderness Lodge than to the towers. Unfortunately the hour spent in the moldy, nasty room really did MomE asthma in. Thank goodness she has an appt with her pulminary dr. Wednesday.

There is more news but it is Pixiedustforever's news to tell. Pixiedustforever, where are you?

 

[joyah]

yay reports to read!!! I've scanned them but need to reread when I'm awake. My head could hit the computer and so I'm headed for bed.

I'm so glad you all had a good time, bad resort making one of us sick how dare they I hope you beat them up Lisa

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Night Christy!!!

We're going to go eat dinner, then I'll try to write more but I'm beat. The phone woke me up early this morning.

 

[New England Eeyore]

Loving the updates!!!

 

[YodasMom]

Great updates and photos!!! Wish I could have been there!!

 

[pixiedustforever]

There is more news but it is Pixiedustforever's news to tell. Pixiedustforever, where are you?

Here I am!
Here's the news Lisa was talking about. There was a drawing on Saturday night for a SDV weekend. I suppose there were hundreds who entered to win. And I won!

I just made a slide show in Photobucket, but the link doesn't want to load .

Will try to load some pix the old fashioned way.

Marylee

 

[pixiedustforever]

get some

there's more ....

 

[pixiedustforever]

get more

 

[pixiedustforever]

that's it for now!
Marylee

 

[morgansmom2000]

OMG, I wanna go!

Great reports ladies, sorry for the "issues" but it still was better than being at home

 

[vanyel]

Here I am!
Here's the news Lisa was talking about. There was a drawing on Saturday night for a SDV weekend. I suppose there were hundreds who entered to win. And I won!

I just made a slide show in Photobucket, but the link doesn't want to load .

Will try to load some pix the old fashioned way.

Marylee

What did you win? It sounds like you all had a great time!

 

[PrincessNancy96]

Can't wait to see more photos and what was won!!!

 

[morgansmom2000]

There was a drawing on Saturday night for a SDV weekend. I suppose there were hundreds who entered to win. And I won!

I think this is what she won! Woooooohoooo! Lucky ducky!