That is fascinating about the decorations being on a lottery - what an amazing amount of work that is for them. We are thinking of driving to/from Cocoa Beach for lunch the last day since we fly out at dinner time and have nothing else to do all day. If the weather is drizzly (as is predicted), maybe we will spend time at the Grand Floridian instead. Also, I am exploring the Disney website more thoroughly. I've been relying on the app, and the app doesn't have wish list or nearly as much info as the website. So, I am reading about transportation. Lots of maps, times, etc.

Congratulations! And, have fun on your trip!!

I think I had seen on an old TA forum that the resort (FQ) didn't decorate until 15th of Nov, but I'll head to that resort even it it isn't. So glad to hear MK is decorated!! And, yeah, sounds like a pain to navigate the people on the bikes. Our trip is short and afternoon/evening time to explore with DH will be last minute each time, so maybe not bother to go all the way there. When you said you watched from 'the boat', did you rent one? Was that at Fort Wilderness? Or, a boat at Disney Springs?

Ok, you were all so helpful and got us really excited! We go one afternoon/evening to Magic Kingdom. I have my our Fast Passes loaded for Magic Kingdom, complete with reminders for street entertainment we hope to cross paths with - Dapper Dans, Flag Retreat, Happily Ever After, to name a few. (fast pass = Peter Pan's Flight, Mickey's PhilharMagic, and Jungle Cruise...may also do Small World, Hall of Presidents, Pooh, People Mover, Speedway, Tom Sawyer's Island, etc, etc ) But, I have questions about the out of the park items I am thinking about. DH will be busy in a conference sometimes, but when he is free, we want to just run and experience something. So, these are a few of the things I am considering: (I know there are tons more, but these really appeal) Surrey Bike Rental If you have done this, where and did you enjoy it? Chip 'N' Dale's Campfire Sing-Along I think this sounds like a really cute, completely different for us thing to do, but is it too much of a pain to get all the way to the back of Fort Wilderness for this? A boat rental, just something simple like kayaks. Is this easy to come by and not a time sink? Port Orleans French Quarter Resort A few of you mentioned it was free to travel to by boat ferry. Tell me about the boat ferry at Disney Springs? Because I am lost about how this works, can we walk to ferry from our hotel (Hilton Lake Buena Vista), then take the ferry? A general question about transportation (see above)...so, again, can we just walk to the Disney Springs area and then just hop on a ferry? We will have a car. I am making no headway figuring out how we will explore and do not want to waste time there figuring it out - your help is golden! What are the gondolas? One MK question: 9pm is the time stated for Happily Every After fireworks. How early should we plant ourselves in front of the castle? Any fav vantage points? (and, sadly, it seems that by going next week, we will just miss the Christmas decorations by a few days!) Thank you!!

I sometimes freeze the disks, but I regularly freeze in the pie plate for an hour or days. No thawing before baking. This creates a crust that is so flaky it will shatter all over when you take a bite, mesmerizing you with the razor thin separated layers - a real pie crust dream. This works if you use bits of butter/lard/shortening, that are mixed in rather than an oil crust or the fat too melted that it 'melts' in. If I freeze in disks, and have to thaw the crust a little to bend it into the plate, I refreeze for at least 15 minutes before filling. The science behind this, improved flakiness if baked directly from frozen, is that the sharp increase in temperature from frozen to HOT makes the water molecules in the fat product turn quickly to steam, creating flaky layers. (shortening doesn't have water, like lard or butter do, so you get best flakiness with butter or lard or a combo...butter, of course, giving the best flavor)

Prayers.

...finally settled on HULU free trial - wouldn’t you know it would pause in streaming during that home run. But, it was great on replay!

Once I allowed the site to access my location, it began streaming. Tells me I have an hour of watching...maybe I can refresh it after that. This is a miracle that I have gotten this far - Go Nats!

Thanks. It is asking me for my provider - which I do not have. I also do not have local reception (not that FOX is local) b/c we live too far out. I will listen instead. Enjoy the game!

Embarrassing to admit, I do not know how to watch it! As I said early in the thread, I am not a sports fan, but I watch this game, so exciting! DH, the lucky ducky, is out of town and has great viewing choices. I have Fox Sports pulled up on my iPad...there is a "Countdown to Watch" screen happening. Will I be able to stream for free? (apologizing for my antiquated knowledge of watching anything)

All of you are in my prayers!

Is this what you are referring to? I don't even need this anymore, and I am in love with what I see. You have to keep me out of car dealerships, though, because I am a sucker for shine!

Just adorable! I saw one like that in our garage last evening. Given that the cat was playing with it, it did not have such a good end. It was so cute, like yours=(

Just my 2 cents with the 'refusing to do things' bit - Looking back, the worst way I dealt with this was yelling/the best was giving choices within the choice. My DH and I realized that teens, especially male teens, were just like big preschoolers. So, we used the same approach, and it almost always worked. We call it: "Do you want to walk to the car or be carried to the car?" technique. They (teens and tots) feel empowered when given options. So, just brainstorming here (for my own nostalgia mostly=)...for the 'every day they're going to exercise' discussion: I would be sitting with my master notebook out and ask them, "We're going to do an exercise time every morning, what do you think...(here'd I probably thrown in option I know they'd hate, namely, doing an aerobics video with me, or the like)...and let them name exercises they might like. Brainstorming together for good and bad weather. Then, for the 'consequence for snarky behavior', etc, I may ask ahead of time to give me some good options, telling everyone that I was not liking the conflicts lately, and say that I bet they'd rather do what the military does to handle discipline: pushups! This at least sounded fun ahead of time=) Then, when the moment came, I would, again, give a choice. "Want to drop and give me 50 or scrub the front porch?" Ah, the good 'ol days, I miss them!

Always enjoy our Airbnb experiences. I always limit my search to 'super hosts' and read each review very, very carefully. Have fun - NYC is just wonderful!