Re Nexus
I applied in June, we just went for our interviews this past weekend so now we have our known travelers number and can use the fast pass security line at the airport!
Gina. You know, we spend taking care of our kids, getting them ready to be independent and upstanding adults 18 years later, and yet, time flies so fast, it's a sad time when they do become 18 and fly away. But, the best thing is, you are always their mom. And a proud one too.
Not much on our winter vacation. Planned another meal in MK for October. The night time parade is leaving MK, so I decided I should see it, as the only time I will be able to see it, is the day after I arrive. I was going to go to another park, but that parade is so iconic, I should see it before it leaves the day after I leave the mouse. Slowly stock piling money, as I just bought a new car, and well, the way the Universal hotels go, you pay when leaving, so while my mouse one will be paid off shortly, October still will be pricey. But same with my winter one, pay at end. So, at least the bill will be the last day of the year! LOL
Hang in there, I'm at 48 today. Tic, Tic, Tic, Toc.
You are really an amazing trip planner Gina! You have two trips going and you just keep chipping away at them. Love it! I like planning but I tend to lose steam and say whatever at a certain point lol.
That's so great that Jake is getting his own place. I know you will miss him but you must be so proud and happy for him. Lots of big feelings as we call them around here
Lots of Big Feelings indeed ( I really like that!)!! (((Gina)))
It's bittersweet stuff isn't it? To know that you did what you were supposed to do and raised a thriving young adult is awesome. But the changes just hurt. No two ways about it.
73 days to go for us! Summer is flying by, and once school starts I think this trip will sneak right up on us. I plan to call and pay off the balance with AirTransat vacations this morning. They don't release the travel documents until you pay the balance in full , and I want to see if they can tell me what kind of family suite we will be in at Cabana Bay. It didn't specify courtyard or tower for the booking, and I am curious, though not concerned, either is fine.
Sending a for you, Gina. I can't even begin to imagine how bittersweet it is with Jake getting his own apartment. I can't remember if you said or not, but will he be close by?
Way to go getting your October trip paid off! It sounds like you are making great progress on December's as well!
I purchased our annual travel insurance policy this morning, so that's an item crossed off the to-list for both our October and December excursions (as well as any others that we can squeeze in prior to October 13th, 2017). While I hate paying out $136 for insurance that we will hopefully never have to use, we'll be darn glad we have it should any illness or injury befall us on our travels.
I envy your neighbourhood with full size trees ... until Fall comes and I don't have to rake. We have some in our neighbourhood but not my section because it's only 10 years old. Our trees are coming along, but nothing compared to how beautiful the big old ones are. I miss the shade and ambiance.. but not the leaves. So I can certainly see both sides!
Do you use a specific company for your travel insurance? Although we don't fly, it might not be a bad idea to have some insurance given our history of medical bumps in the road.
Congratulations to Jake for getting his own apartment. I know your mama bear heart is breaking, but I have no doubt that he will do great. And if he is like any other just recently graduated cThisollege student, as soon as the laundry piles up too high and all the dishes are dirty, he will be back home in a flash!
Hi Gina and all! Had to cancel our trip that was supposed to happen this week and next (it was a 10-day-er)
We all got sick with a terrible summer cold and I got the worst of it, with a really bad ear infection. Doctor said we could still go but that I shouldn't fly, and the thought of all of that driving with a cold wasn't appealing. And we weren't sure if we would even be able to tour the parks the way we like to. So cancellation it was. Good news is, we didn't lose any money, so grateful for that. JetBlue banked our airfare and the hotels were understanding as well. Of course, now I have ten-day WDW tickets that I can't return but I'm sure we will use those next year.
Anyway, just wanted to pop in and let you know. I'm going to take a break from the DIS for a while since I don't have any upcoming trips and I'm kind of bummed about how this one turned out to say the least. I'm sure I will be back in soon enough and will check back in to see how your trip planning is going! I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the summer
Not sure what day you will be at the Gaylord but they have a nice bar/ lounge type area with a huge wall of tv's. We went there last year on a Saturday night and watched college football. The first couple of rows are recliners. It's a two story area with the second story wrapping around the first story. Just an FYIToday marks another noteworthy day on the October countdown specifically: we've crossed into
We now sit at 59 days until our October trip , and
123 days until our Christmas vacation .
I purchased our annual travel insurance policy this morning, so that's an item crossed off the to-list for both our October and December excursions (as well as any others that we can squeeze in prior to October 13th, 2017). While I hate paying out $136 for insurance that we will hopefully never have to use, we'll be darn glad we have it should any illness or injury befall us on our travels.
The travel insurance was literally the very last expense we had to cover for our October vacation (dining and spending cash are all fully accounted for and safely passing the time in our US account at the bank), so our resources can now be fully directed to the remaining costs of our December trip. Considering its only August, we are making some spectacular progress on those expenditures as well: flights, villa accommodations, travel insurance, our park-and-fly package, our Christmas Eve hotel, and even some of our tickets and dining are all paid in full. Steve should have a nicer-than-normal paycheque this Thursday (thanks to some OT he put in last week) so I hope to cover another item or two once those funds are received. Depending on how much the extra amounts to after the tax man scoops his share we will probably either purchase our ICE! and snow tubing tickets for our Gaylord Palms day, or cover one (or both) of our Universal APs.
Speaking of Gaylord Palms, we have secured ourselves reservations for Breakfast with Charlie Brown and Friends at Villa de Flora on the day we visit ICE! and the other Gaylord holiday events! If it wasn't cool enough that ICE! was themed to one of our childhood favourite Christmas shows, we also will be dining with the characters from the Charles Schultz cartoon series. The meal here is simply outstanding (quite possibly the best and most extensive breakfast buffet we've ever eaten at) and the restaurant itself, located in their amazing atrium, is absolutely stunning.
So, not many things happening but the wheels are sill slowly turning and small progress continues to be made. I will be very happy when all of our tickets are crossed off the list so we can focus solely on saving for dining and souvenirs.
On the home front, we are inching ever closer to our nest being empty: Jake gets the keys to his apartment on September 1st. We've been busy shopping for all the little things he will need for his new home, and helping him arrange everything from his furniture delivery to his internet service installation. It's definitely a time of strong emotions as Big Day draws closer.
Not sure what day you will be at the Gaylord but they have a nice bar/ lounge type area with a huge wall of tv's. We went there last year on a Saturday night and watched college football. The first couple of rows are recliners. It's a two story area with the second story wrapping around the first story. Just an FYI
I didn't you were a GP vet. We went over to watch college football on a Saturday night when a lot of big games were on. They do hockey and basketball too. We checked out ICE too. I had my kids with me so we didn't hang around ICE long. Marriot owns Gaylord and my uncle runs Marriot Village so he hooked us up. That property is huge! Anyway, I know you and Steve will have a blast. I still laugh when I scroll through my pics and see this big guy...We are scheduled to be there on Friday, December 23rd, for the morning and early part of the afternoon. We have reservations for breakfast with Charlie Brown & Friends (the special character meal which is part of their holiday events), then we will visit ICE!, go snow tubing, and tour the resort.
That lounge sounds fantastic! (we're not big football fans per se, but if there was a basketball or hockey game on the big screens, we'd be totally there!) Every time we visit Gaylord Palms, I reaffirm my pledge to stay there someday for one of our trips. I love everything about that property. The atrium is stunning, especially during the Christmas season.
@dancin Disney style should be back from her Cuba trip sometime this weekend, if my calculations are correct. Unless his plans changed, @bankr63 is swatting mosquitoes somewhere in the Canadian north. Let's just say that our Saturday and Sunday plans pale in comparison . What's everyone else up to this weekend?
Oh, my friend ... big hugs to you. That royally stinks . What a terribly tough decision that must have been for you guys to make. I am so thankful to hear there's no financial loss as a result of the deferral.
Fingers crossed that you will be able to rebook sooner than you think, and you'll be back to the enjoyment of the planning process once again. I totally understand your need for some distance from the boards: when vacations get cancelled, they can be like salt in the wound. Whenever you are feeling ready to read along again, we'll all be here waiting.
In the meantime, try and get you and your crew all feeling better and back to normal. We will be thinking of you all.
So sorry to hear about your trip . If it makes you feel better at all we had to take dd to the walk in clinic once while at Disney for strep. The waiting room was packed full of screaming toddlers. The DR said that when the kids fly with bad colds they get bad ear infections. He said it was a large percentage of the patients he sees. So it could have gotten worse had you gone. Still a disappointment though .Thanks Gina Yes, losing money would have been the worst! At least we can use the tickets (plane and park) at some point soon hopefully.