disneygurlz2s

I don't know anything about Epcot on the 5th, but I do know that they are having a similar event the day before, May 4th, at MGM for a press preview of the new stunt show. My friend and her husband are annual passholders and they got an email inviting them to submit an essay for a contest where 50 passholders and their guests will get trips to WDW and passes for the media event on 5/4. Sounds like they are doing something similar at EPCOT. Shari "I am writing my friend's essay for her-and if she wins, I am the guest" Shoufler

^Well, my personal theory used to be "Never name your child anything where they can't go to (insert theme park name here) and buy a license plate/key chain/coffee mug with their name on it". However, since the computer age, you can pretty much get any name on anything so that theory's pretty much out the window. Shari "How often did you ever see the name 'Shari' on anything?" Shoufler

Alton Alvey.... I guess that has a nice ring to it! Shari "I named my daughter after a gorilla" Shoufler (only-half-kidding about that)

First of all.... kudos to Robb for having this posted on here even before I read it in the newspaper that's been sitting here next me all day (so much for my "Oh, I will have to get onto TPR and post this little tidbit from today's paper" feeling of superiority) Second, to Elissa's comment... as with the past several "major attractions" at the park, IJ is not set to open until the weekend before Memorial Day weekend. Not sure why they do this, I guess it gives them more "warm weather" time to finish the ride, however it also doesn't give them time to work out the kinks (and there's always something!!) before the crowds start pouring in! Shari "bowing to the Alvey's for reading the Cincy Enquirer before I did" Shoufler

OOH... tough vote. I love "Unwrapped"... It is always fascinating. That said, however, I worship Rachel Ray and love all three of her shows! Shari "If it takes me longer than 30 minutes to make a meal, screw it" Shoufler

I believed the sign too... Like I said after last weekend's trip reports (and FlyingScooter said the same above) if that was how things were at the seasonal parks out here in Ohio they would have closed a long time ago.... Hard to believe, when Cedar Point has always been so awesome, that the same company owns them. Shari "And to think, I used to want to go to CA to see KBF and SFMM" Shoufler

I thought for sure I posted to this.... anyway, PKI-5 minutes away! Shari "on a clear night we can hear the fireworks" Shoufler

They are children, not a vacation rental home. Sorry.... not trying to sound like a b- here, but, I married someone with two children from his first marriage and so the whole "non custodial parent" thing is a touchy subject for me anyhow.... So, while I don't know what Robb and Elissa's situation is, and have no place in speaking for them, the terminology for what you are asking would be "have joint custody" or "visitation rights" or something other than what would be a better description for a beach house. Shari "not a wicked stepmother" Shoufler

Yes... I got off the couch midway through my second viewing (tonight) of "Turner and Hooch" to come in here and do this...... Have you visited any of the new "indoor waterpark resorts"? Shari "The laziness question was perfect for me" Shoufler

I worked in the PKI during the 95, 96, 97 and 98 seasons. Let me tell you, there were times when you laughed your butt off, and times when you wanted to scream at the ignorant questions we got asked. Here's a sample: "Are you on an Island?" (We're in Southern Ohio, what do you think?) "I make films featuring dogs in human situations. Can I come and film some of my dogs ON THE VORTEX?" (WTF??? Yeah, come on ahead. Meanwhile, let me contact PETA) "Can I just come into the park and look for my daughter/son/mother/best friend" (There are 40,000 people in the park today... sure, come on in, I am sure you'll have no trouble spotting them") "My wife is a rather large woman. Will she be able to ride the rides?" (Boy, I bet she appreciated him making that call) "Is it going to rain today?" "What time is it going to rain?" (Dude, if I could answer these questions do you honestly think I would be spending my summer weekends sitting inside a office talking to you for $6 an hour?) "What kind of rain will it be?" (um, wet? Acid? Cats and dogs?) "Should I still come if it's raining?" (do you mind walking around all day in wet shoes and clothes?) And this doesn't even begin to cover the crank calls, complaint calls (especially after "gay day"-those were in a league of their own) and obscene calls we got!!! Shari "But, hey, at least I got to eat a lot of funnel cakes at the employee discount" Shoufler

You know, I am a HUGE Survivor fan, and hadn't gotten into AR, even though I had heard it was as entertaining as Survivor. Well, because of Rob and Amber, and the fact that the mother/son team is from here in the Greater Cincy area (Hamilton, Ohio) I decided to watch. I LOVE it, and so did my six year old. I can see I am going to have another "must see" show to watch! Shari "The gay guys are hillarious" Shoufler PS We have met Rob and Amber and they are actually quite nice!

I am 38-older than you Robb- First coaster was the Teddy Bear at Old Coney Island. Shari "old enough to be half of these guys' mother" Shoufler

It's too hard to only name 3!!! Tower Of Terror MGM Haunted Mansion Rock N Roller Coaster Shari "Only been to Florida parks" Shoufler

This is being posted on behalf of the six year old: "The one with the dogs" (We stayed at All Star Movies in June of 01 we were in the Dalmation building. Everytime we went to the Food Court, pool, whatever, we had to stop and pet the little dalmations. A few months later we went back to Orlando, but stayed at a hotel out by the airport because my husband was there for a training class for work. At about 4 a.m. the first night she started shaking me saying "Mommy, mommy, where are the dogs?") Shari "next time I plan to stay at Pop Century" Shoufler

^ No, the most obnoxious commercial is the new Delta Simplifares commercial with that dreadful 1960's sounding song "Happiness goes in a circular motion". WTF??? Ok. I get the circular motion part because near as I can tell, to get a Simplifares flight out of their hub here at CVG you must travel in a circular motion around half the airports in the southern US for layovers/connections in order to get to Orlando Shari "Bring back Florida Express Airlines" Shoufler

Wow... I think I am glad we don't have year 'round parks... I am blown away at how many rides aren't up and running! Shari "if that happened here there would be bloodshed" Shoufler

Whew! This is a deep subject for a theme park forum, but hey! I love to express my opinions, so here goes.... I was born and raised Catholic, and will always consider myself a Catholic, even though I don't really don't follow what they believe and practice. That said, I can't see myself ever "switching" religious affiliations because I think organized religion on the whole is messed up. What's permissible in one church is forbidden in another. Catholics can drink and gamble, but they can't have premartial sex. Now, isn't that naturally going to happen after a night of drinking and gambling??? Seriously, though, I got frustrated 10-11 years ago when I couldn't get married in the Catholic church because my husband (who, btw is NOT Catholic) was divorced-having been married in a Christian Church. He was not the one who asked for the divorce, his ex did, and yet to the Church he was still "married". Total BS. That's when I really started to see the ridiculousness of it all. I believe in God and while I can wait to meet Him, I do look forward to finding out for myself what he really thinks about a lot of the hot button issues. I am basically a liberal, so obviously I have my person views on gays, abortion, lots of things.... Shari "I attend Sunday services at Our Lady of the Eiffel Tower in Mason, Ohio-at least from April-October" Shoufler

But seriously..... My daughter went to Kings Island at exactly one month... rode her first rides that evening: The HB Carousel, Antique Autos (which explains my sentimental attachment to them) and maybe the big carousel, I can't remember. We have since taken her to Dollywood, Cedar Point, and WDW. I have been singin' the praises of Cedar Point for the past few years because their extremely easy and well executed "child swap" program allowed both my husband and I plenty of rides on their coasters and large thrill rides. Our little one didn't have to wait in line with us and we didn't have to split up the whole family (he has two teenage daughters as well) to insure we all got to do things we wanted. If your child is introduced to the whole "theme park" environment from the time they are a baby, they will be just fine! Shari "the only problem we had was when she got mad she was too small to ride something" Shoufler

When we were in Florida during the summer of 2001, my husband's relatives took us to CiCi's. We are just now getting them here in the Cincinnati area and I have to say, they are pretty awesome. Perfect for you hungry guys (and girls) on a budget. All you can eat pizza, pasta and salad (buffet style) for $3.99. Drinks are unlimited refills for about $1.50, so it's basically all you can eat for about $6... The usually have about 20 different kinds of pizza out at once, including dessert pizza, brownies and sticky buns. Shari "A pizza buffet is my husband's idea of heaven" Shoufler

Don't feel bad... I am an avid watcher.... I think for the girls, the favorite is Carrie Underwood. I saw an MSNBC poll the other day and the people who voted for her accounted for 51% of the vote. My personal favorite is the girl Michaela... she just reminds me of a cross between Fran Dresher and Barbara Striesand, which is probably why she won't win. Of the guys, I like Travis... wow! what a handsome guy and great smile, I also like the chubby not to attractive guy Scott, but I think the two "rockers" are favored, along with the guy with the dreadlocks. Shari "I make no apologies for loving reality tv" Shoufler

It's supposed to snow during the night (winter sucks). Tomorrow I have to take my mother's evil kitten to the vet (lap cat, yeah right... the lady that placed that ad was a big fat liar). Please pray I still have 10 fingers and both eyes by the time I am done. Shari "Oh mom, adopt from a rescue group, there's lots of sweet kittens that need a good home" Shoufler

And Quiznos broccoli cheese soup rocks! Shari "order me a bowl" Shoufler

This is the best way I can explain it..... LASIK and other refractive surgeries correct the shape of the eye, most specifically the cornea. It is the shape of the eye (cornea) that most often effects how well we see close up (farsighted) or (more often) at a distance (nearsighted). However, the natural aging of your eye can also effect your vision. This tends to effect a person's ability to see things that are close up. That's why you see so many people over 40/50 having to buy those little magnifying eyeglasses at Walgreens. The current procedures out there don't correct this type of condition. However, some people who have been told they need to wear bifocals to correct both problems will opt to have LASIK so that they aren't 100% dependent on glasses/contacts. My coworker had LASIK 3 years ago because she didn't want to have to wear glasses all the time and she couldn't stand the bifocal contact lenses. Of course, there are several new technological advances and some new procedures are just waiting, pending FDA approval. I know there are two new procedures we will begin doing in 2005. Shari

As a little girl growing up in the Old Country, er, Cincinnati (sorry, after reading the posts of all these 16/18 year olds I am starting to feel like someone's grandmother ) my family went several times a summer to Old Coney, and then Kings Island. I love coasters, but my real passion is just the whole amusement park experience. I love rides in general, plus all the other stuff-shows, fireworks, food, games, costumed characters. I have either had a season pass for or been an employee at PKI every year since 1981. I have been to Cedar Point, Geauga Lake and BGW. I have also been a huge Disney fanatic my whole life, and when I made my first visit to WDW in 1985 it elevated my Disney fanaticism like you would not believe. I am one of those people who, if you said "You can go anywhere you want in the world on a free vacation..." I would pick Disney. I have been blessed that my husband and older stepdaughters love amusement parks and our daughter is a fanatic too. I am hoping to take her to Holiday World this summer. Shari "Give me a funnel cake" Shoufler

Thank God for Kristi, otherwise, I would be too ashamed to even post because A) I don't know who most of these bands are and B) I feel really, really old. (Disclaimer: I am a 38 year old midwestern mother of a first-grader) Bowling for Soup "1985"... that is as close to my autobiography as you can get Avril Lavigne-my daughter loves her Kelly Clarkson, JoJo and just about anything on Radio Disney and the Go-Go's who will always and forever be my favorite band. Shari "there was U2 and Blondie and music still on MTV" Shoufler