Makin' Memories... A PTR for a 2022 Thanksgiving Trip. (hopefully)

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

So, I am done with work for the day! Unfortunately I don't get Monday off. the girls and Andy are off, so that will be fun with working from home! Sigh...

But I am ready to dive into figuring out this 50th Birthday Challenge!

Things I am thinking about and wondering:

• What should we do?
• What order should we do parks in?
• Do we need to do all 4 parks? Is 3 enough?
• Is it too much to try and do 1 ride, 1 picture and 1 snack per park?
• I also think I want us to end in Disney Springs for dinner at Homecomin' so, again, is 4 parks too much for one day?
• We could do a Fancy Ride for one, to help with the challenge. We will have genie + this day as well, I feel like we can do 1 ride for each park. The hardest part, really is that we can't hop till 2....

Crowd Levels as of now for the day:
Magic Kingdom - Crowd Level 4/10
Hollywood Studio - Crowd Level 6/10
Animal Kingdom - Crowd Level 4/10
EPCOT - Crowd Level 8/10
Andy's birthday is a Saturday after Easter. So, EPCOT logically will be busy with Flower and Garden.

Possible Favorite Rides for each Parks
Magic Kingdom - Big Thunder Mountain or Haunted Mansion
Hollywood Studio - Rise of Resistance or Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway or even Star Tours...
Animal Kingdom - Everest
EPCOT - Remy's or Spaceship Earth

Places to get 50th Photo in each park:
Magic Kingdom - Out front at the Cake
Hollywood Studio -
Animal Kingdom -
EPCOT -

Snack in each Park:
Magic Kingdom - Candied Bacon / Citrus Swirl
Hollywood Studios - Ronto Wrap / Beer Pretzel from Baseline Tap House / Wookie Cookie
Animal Kingdom - Mr. Kamal's Fries
EPCOT - Poutine? Flower and Garden Snack?

End in Disney Springs for Dinner @ Homecomin' and Moonshine!

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

know we should do the 1st option, the day may be stressful flying for the first time and we could use a super relaxing afternoon / evening. BUT I also want to squeeze Morimoto Asia into the dinning plans. And it makes sense here...

Do you read easywdw at all? I find it very useful for honest reviews, really good strategies to for how to RD, etc. It was a huge part of my 2019 planning. Which is all to say, he's made Morimoto Asia a running joke as to how terrible it is right now. It could just be a joke (he's very sarcastic and there are running jokes) but I think he genuinely feels the quality has plummeted and they're just coasting on their old reputation. Might be worth trying to find some 2021 reviews if you're building your arrival day around this restaurant.

. They are saying mid-April.... we will be smack dab the middle of April, so hopefully it will open back up at least some point during the trip.

I think they want it back up before Easter crowds. But, with the current state of labor, who knows if they'll get what they want.

• Do we need to do all 4 parks? Is 3 enough?
• Is it too much to try and do 1 ride, 1 picture and 1 snack per park?

I love, love, love the celebrating 50 at the 50th plan. I'm just a little worried about making it all work with the park hop not starting until 2. How late are the various parks open that day? From a transport perspective, it's easiest to put AK at the start or finish. Then, it's only one bus from AK to either HS or MK and then you can use Skyliner and monorail between the other 3. If you did AK - HS - EP - MK, you could end your day in MK, maybe even do dessert party and fireworks.

And, since you have G+ on your account, you can use that to build out good rides for the later parks.

RD AK, do what you need to do, have a good lunch, be right at HS at 2. Use your G+ to only book things you want to do in the later 3 parks, starting with your top HS priority.

After HS, skyliner to EP, grab the snacks or rides you want as you walk from the back to the front of the park, then monorail to MK.

I think you can do it, even with the 2pm limit on hopping, if you plan it out and kind of make it a fun game of keeping up with your schedule. But, if Andy is going to be annoyed at being rushed instead of having fun getting a little competitive about it, then that plan sucks. *I* think it sounds like tons of fun, but I also like the challenge of trying to pack in more than the average gal.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Do you read easywdw at all? I find it very useful for honest reviews, really good strategies to for how to RD, etc. It was a huge part of my 2019 planning. Which is all to say, he's made Morimoto Asia a running joke as to how terrible it is right now. It could just be a joke (he's very sarcastic and there are running jokes) but I think he genuinely feels the quality has plummeted and they're just coasting on their old reputation. Might be worth trying to find some 2021 reviews if you're building your arrival day around this restaurant.

I don't really but I will have to check it out. I will also have to see if @KariStone ate there on either of there recent trips. I mostly wanted to go to Morimoto so we could get the ribs and the girls could have ramen.

I think they want it back up before Easter crowds. But, with the current state of labor, who knows if they'll get what they want.

I was thinking that. But like you said, who knows these days. It is one nice thing of waiting for our trip. At least we have a chance of riding Everest. Feb it was just going to be down.

'm just a little worried about making it all work with the park hop not starting until 2. How late are the various parks open that day?

I am really worried about the stupid 2:00 PM rule. Disney hasn't released park hours for these days yet. I should see what touring plans is guessing.

From a transport perspective, it's easiest to put AK at the start or finish. Then, it's only one bus from AK to either HS or MK and then you can use Skyliner and monorail between the other 3. If you did AK - HS - EP - MK, you could end your day in MK, maybe even do dessert party and fireworks.

I was thinking the same thing... But I was actually thinking of starting in Hollywood Studios, that probably has the most rides we would want to do. Or EPCOT to do some food booths for lunch.

But that made me just think... Maybe we could leave one park for after dinner a night time? Maybe AK for a nighttime ride on Everest? Hmmmm...

I do think Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom are a must. EPCOT and Animal Kingdom are expendable.

I think you can do it, even with the 2pm limit on hopping, if you plan it out and kind of make it a fun game of keeping up with your schedule. But, if Andy is going to be annoyed at being rushed instead of having fun getting a little competitive about it, then that plan sucks. *I* think it sounds like tons of fun, but I also like the challenge of trying to pack in more than the average gal.

I am worried that it would feel like we were just rushing. I was thinking of either planning out all 4 parks but put the park we want to go to the least last so that if we decide not to hit all 4, it won't be a big deal. I do want to end in Disney Springs. Homecomin' is one of Andy's favorite restaurants. So I think that makes sense.

I personally would love to end in MK with a dessert party but Andy doesn't love them. He doesn't have them but it's not his favorite. It you know what I mean.

That or I was starting to think about a way to craft it more about doing certain things and not based on the # of parks we do. I am just not sure how that would be.

We did 40 rides for my 40th a few years back, but we used the whole trip to complete that. So, maybe something like that....

Ok, I am just babbling now... Ha! So, many thoughts and combos

 

[kastoney]

Untitled by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr
I got these for Gwen... the mask is reversable with the purple wall design on the inside. She will def like these.

These are great. Casey would love them so I know Gwen will

Untitled by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr
And our magic bands that came. I will see if there are any other cool options closer to the trip with this new reservation. But I do really like these options for all of us.

What is Morgan's band? Hadn't seen one with the 2 different colors.

i finally booked something for us for November. I booked Caribean Beach for us for the whole stay.

Hope work is getting better. You'll have to let me know what your November dates are just in case someone felt like stalking you

So, here is where things get hairy... The crowd calendar has today as one of the busiest days all around. So, from that perspective, I was thinking this could be a non park day.

That is odd that the crowd calendar is so high for a random Tuesday. I often wonder what makes them think one day will be such an outlier when the days before and after aren't. Anyway it does seem a bit early for a non-park day. Maybe just go to whatever park is predicted to be the least crowded and do your non-park day later in the trip

Option 2: Swim in the AM / early PM. Head to Disney Springs for dinner and see Cirqu Du Soliel? This was on my list to do for the staycation trip.

Have you heard anything about the Cirque show? I don't think I've heard a single thing about it. Though we've seen several Cirque shows and have yet to see a bad one.

None - This would be our only day to rope drop EPCOT, Do we need to Rope Drop Remy these days? I need to see how the standby line is going these days. We could suck it up and buy ILLS for it if we wanted....

I'll be curios to see how this is working without the virtual queue. We did the queue and FP (can't learn the new name just yet) and both worked well. We ended up using Genie and the individual FP's much more than I would like to admit

I was thinking another Disney Springs dinner, either Frontera Cocina or Wine Bar George. Wine Bar George has been on my list to try for awhile and Andy has been wanting to try Frontera.

Why not try both? Grab an app at Frontera at their bar and then go to Homecoming. Frontera is rarely crowded. Though if you had to pick one hands down WBG. It is one of our absolute favorites. We've eaten at Frontera once and were a bit disappointed with the exception of their delicious guac and queso

I just talked to Andy about it again this morning. he came up with a fun idea... Hitting a few parks to get pictures of him with 50th signs for his 50th! I will have to do some research on where there are actual 50th signs on property! Anybody know if there are 50th signs at each park?

What a great idea!!!! Only MK has really big signs but there are 50th things in all the parks.

• I also think I want us to end in Disney Springs for dinner at Homecomin' so, again, is 4 parks too much for one day?
• We could do a Fancy Ride for one, to help with the challenge. We will have genie + this day as well, I feel like we can do 1 ride for each park. The hardest part, really is that we can't hop till 2....

4 parks with the 2 pm park hopping time is definitely an issue. Maybe just try for 3. I love me some AK but getting there is just an issue compared to the other parks. Have you thought about heading to DS for lunch instead of dinner? Go to a park in the morning (maybe MK) then go to DS for lunch by then park hoping is open so do MGM then Epcot?

I will also have to see if @KariStone ate there on either of there recent trips. I mostly wanted to go to Morimoto so we could get the ribs and the girls could have ramen.

Hey that's me! Lucky I saw my name when I was scrolling since that isn't my user name We at at Morimoto in June and really enjoyed it. I do think its gone down hill in general since it first opened, but how can you not have ribs

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Hope work is getting better. You'll have to let me know what your November dates are just in case someone felt like stalking you

Right now I have us booked to fly in on Thanksgiving and staying through the following Sunday. So a full week and change!

What is Morgan's band? Hadn't seen one with the 2 different colors.

Morgan's is Princess Lei.
Untitled by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr
You can see if better on the back.

Have you heard anything about the Cirque show? I don't think I've heard a single thing about it. Though we've seen several Cirque shows and have yet to see a bad one.

I know Lesley saw it and loved it. We have never seen a Cirque show. But I know Gwen will love it. She loves that kind of stuff. It is pricey! And was def something we wanted to do on the staycation. But not married to it now that this is a park trip.

We ended up using Genie and the individual FP's much more than I would like to admit

Yeah, I have a feeling we will too! I already just bit the bullet and bought Genie+ for the entire stay when I purchase tickets. I do want to try and avoid the ILLs as much as possible, but we will see.

We've eaten at Frontera once and were a bit disappointed with the exception of their delicious guac and queso

Hmmm. Maybe I can convince Andy to just do apps. I personally am not dyeing to try it. It's also pretty $$$ for mexican! And now that I am saying it, Wine Bar George might win just for the fact that it has that nice outdoor seating upstairs. It would be a nice outdoor seating. And now I am wondering if that should be our first meal of the trip. Wean ourselves into eating inside. We haven't done much of that. We have done some ...

Maybe just try for 3. I love me some AK but getting there is just an issue compared to the other parks.

I am leaning towards just 3 parks. And AK is def on the chopping block for it's distance away from everything. I was thinking of leaving it for the evening and kind of a bonus if we still felt up to it. Kind of a nice to have but not a MUST do!

Have you thought about heading to DS for lunch instead of dinner? Go to a park in the morning (maybe MK) then go to DS for lunch by then park hoping is open so do MGM then Epcot?

I haven't thought of that! But that is a good option! I do think I kind of want to do Epcot in the morning as it is a Saturday and I am sure it will be busy in the PM with Flower and Garden going on. And if we did EPCOT first, we would be eating food booths then going to Disney Springs to eat more food. We would be in food coma and just want to go back to the hotel! ha.

Hey that's me! Lucky I saw my name when I was scrolling since that isn't my user name

Stupid not populating tags anymore... I can't remember anyones actual board names. I was going to text you anyway! Ha.

That is odd that the crowd calendar is so high for a random Tuesday. I often wonder what makes them think one day will be such an outlier when the days before and after aren't. Anyway it does seem a bit early for a non-park day. Maybe just go to whatever park is predicted to be the least crowded and do your non-park day later in the trip

I am tempted to add 1 more park day to our tickets and just have 2 light days. Days we don't get up and the crack of dawn to rope drop. That was my other thought... I hate baseing so much on the crowd calenders but at the same time they have tons and tons of data, so they have something to base it on. Althougth I find it intresting that in general the crowl levels are so low in general. Which makes me wonder if they are correct.

I do have us going pretty hard those first 2 days. So a rest wouldn't be horrible. And then hopefully we would be rested for AK day. Which is usually an all day event for us since we only do it once.

 

[SEAGULL59]

I love the idea for Andy’s 50th! I agree it may be hard to hit all 4 parks. I think going to DS for one of his favorite restaurants is a must. I can’t wait to see what you all decide to do! Fun stuff!!

 

[kastoney]

Right now I have us booked to fly in on Thanksgiving and staying through the following Sunday. So a full week and change!

That is awesome. We don't have Casey's school calendar for next year yet so waiting to see what days she has off and when we can maybe work around them for Disney.

We have never seen a Cirque show. But I know Gwen will love it. She loves that kind of stuff. It is pricey! And was def something we wanted to do on the staycation. But not married to it now that this is a park trip.

Definitely something that doesn't have to be done this trip. Though I'm sure Casey would love it too. When/if we go to DL pretty sure we area going to stop in Vegas on the way so we'll be able to indoctrinate Casey into all that is cirque. We've seen several of them and love them all.

Wine Bar George might win just for the fact that it has that nice outdoor seating upstairs. It would be a nice outdoor seating. And now I am wondering if that should be our first meal of the trip. Wean ourselves into eating inside. We haven't done much of that. We have done some ...

That outdoor seating is great. We've sat out there several times and its so nice to watch the people go by. We ate indoors on both our disney trips but haven't done much of it otherwise. We certainly got lucky that our trips were right before the Delta surge and then again right before Omicron. Not sure I'd be eating inside right now.

And if we did EPCOT first, we would be eating food booths then going to Disney Springs to eat more food. We would be in food coma and just want to go back to the hotel! ha.

I can see how that would go down

I am tempted to add 1 more park day to our tickets and just have 2 light days. Days we don't get up and the crack of dawn to rope drop. That was my other thought... I hate baseing so much on the crowd calenders but at the same time they have tons and tons of data, so they have something to base it on.

Light days really are nice. Stop reading now if I told you this already but on our first day last month we stacked up FP's in MGM so when we arrived we had 4 of them waiting for us. We got 1 (and bought one) at 7, then another at 11 and another at 1. This worked out really well. Only trick was getting the times to align which was a bit of a gamble with slinky dog and rise. We only did this the one day but have already said when we go again we will do it again so we can sleep in more.

 

[CTDisneygal]

We are in the same boat as you are, except a bunch of mine tested positive over the last few weeks. My husband, who is just out of chemotherapy and radiation treatment for cancer, ended up with COVID pneumonia despite being fully vaccinated and receiving a full third dose (as opposed to a booster). Anyhow, he missed our August trip last year and we rescheduled for end of January/beginning of February 2022.

i decided a few weeks ago to switch to April. We will be at Grand Destino the same time as you are. We move to Boardwalk on 4/22. At first, I was bummed, but I am excited now, since my youngest really wants to do the water parks.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

i decided a few weeks ago to switch to April. We will be at Grand Destino the same time as you are. We move to Boardwalk on 4/22. At first, I was bummed, but I am excited now, since my youngest really wants to do the water parks.

Here is to April being better for both of us!!!!

Boardwalk is really nice as well! Great location for EPCOT and Hollywood Studios.

 

[CTDisneygal]

Here is to April being better for both of us!!!!

Boardwalk is really nice as well! Great location for EPCOT and Hollywood Studios.

Yes ma'am! looking forward to it. Also looking forward to the rest of your pre trip report.

 

[amazingact21]

I love the idea of celebrating a 50th birthday that way, but I do see it being a bit tricky with a 2 p.m. limitation. I did like what @TheOneWithTheTriplets suggested in terms of transportation. I feel like to make it successful you'll have to utilize that time getting from park to park wisely.

 

[Disney102015]

Following! I’m sorry you had to push back your trip but enjoying reading about your re-planning. Your 50th ideas sound so fun!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Happy Sunday Everyone!

I seem to be in a planning funk these days! I have sat down a few times to look for Tinkerbell gifts and I feel lost in what to get! I think it's been too long since I have done this! Eek!

83 Days!!!

But these are the things that I need to do:

• Find Tinkerbell gifts
• Figure out Birthday Challenge
• Finalize Restaurant Days

So, Tinkerbell Gifts... Well, I need to find some new shirts. All of my go to Disney shirts have been worn so much. That I need to retire most of them. And i have a little complaint... I hate shop Disney!! I can't seem to find anything!

I did order some ears off of Etsy this weekend.
I ordered a pair that have elastic instead of a headband for Morgan. She doesn't like wearing headbands with her glasses, so i am hopefully she will like these better...
Screen Shot 2022-01-23 at 4.56.27 PM

And then Gwen has been wanting these for awhile. I have had them in and out of my shopping cart forever. So, I just went ahead and ordered them.
Screen Shot 2022-01-23 at 4.55.52 PM

And then I ordered this for me.
Screen Shot 2022-01-23 at 4.55.24 PM
It's ears on a visor. I also don't love actually wearing ears.. I start to get a headache. So, I am hoping I can wear these a little more.

I have a few shirt options I am checking out from tee public but haven't bought yet. And I need to find something catchy for Andy's Birthday for sure.

I just added a day to our tickets. So, now we have 10 park days! Woo Hoo! So, now our "rest" day. I am thinking we will go to Magic Kingdom and Disney Springs. But still keep it low key for the day.

I tried to add a day again for Yacht Club so we could get to use MK for the Extra Evening Hours. But no luck. So, I am going to have to accept we won't get to do that. But it's a long trip, so we should be fine.

Speaking of tickets, I don't know if I actually said here. But I did go ahead and just buy Genie+ for everyday we have tickets. What can I say, I am a sucker. And I want this trip to be amazing. I don't know if we will do it every trip, but we will see how this trip goes.

I have to go make dinner, but I do want to update on my thoughts / ideas for Andy's day. But adult things need to be done. ;(

 

[Paulaparm]

I also don't love actually wearing ears.. I start to get a headache.

Me too! That visor certainly seems like the way to go!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

So, my thoughts on the 50th Birthday day...

So, I def think we need to stick with 2 parks. Unless Andy wants to go full on 4 park challenge, which I don't think he will. Which will lead us probably to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios for the day. With us ending at Disney Springs for dinner.

If I am being REAL honest, Andy will be super happy ending the day with dinner at homecoming and smuggling a freshly filled squeeze bottle of moonshine back to the hotel and then going to one of the hot tubs. As much as I would love to go to a 3rd park after dinner. I know that a hot tub at the end of they day is def how he would like to spend the evening. SO...

All that def leads me to just a 2 park day. And making me think of other things to add to the "challenge" since it won't be based on the # of parks...

For each park we go to:

• 50th Picture
• Favorite ride or maybe 3 rides in each park?
• Favorite food/drink/snack
• Favorite Character or character in 50th gear? I know Mickey is in 50th but is there anyone in HS in special outfit?
• Buy something at each park?

Anyone have ideas for other things? Or better things?


I am thinking maybe over the course of the trip (2) seperate challenges...
We did 40 rides for turning 40. So, maybe we could do 50 rides for turning 50. I am thinking MAYBE we could do it with Genie+ and the fact that we are going to be there longer than the 40 trip.

And then I was thinking of a 50th Photo challenge at each park over the course of the trip... Maybe each park gets

• a golden statue photo
• a 50th banner photo
• a photo with the park icon

The 2 think is kind of a bummer! I get it, but also, seems a little strange. I will have to bring up my ideas at some point to Andy but it will have to be closer to the trip. It's all about timing.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

What if, instead of making it just a one day birthday thing, you spread it out over the trip? Try to have him stop for pictures with tons of statues, 50th snacks, 50th banners, etc. Maybe it's just 50 pics for his 50th? (Not that all of the pictures have to be specific 50th merch, just that he's got 50 different pictures). It might be nice to then have more pictures with him actually in them! At least in our crew, I end up with tons of kids photos and not nearly as may adult.

 

[suse66]

So, I def think we need to stick with 2 parks. Unless Andy wants to go full on 4 park challenge, which I don't think he will. Which will lead us probably to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios for the day. With us ending at Disney Springs for dinner.

If I am being REAL honest, Andy will be super happy ending the day with dinner at homecoming and smuggling a freshly filled squeeze bottle of moonshine back to the hotel and then going to one of the hot tubs. As much as I would love to go to a 3rd park after dinner. I know that a hot tub at the end of they day is def how he would like to spend the evening. SO...

That sounds perfect to me!

or each park we go to:

• 50th Picture
• Favorite ride or maybe 3 rides in each park?
• Favorite food/drink/snack
• Favorite Character or character in 50th gear? I know Mickey is in 50th but is there anyone in HS in special outfit?
• Buy something at each park?

Anyone have ideas for other things? Or better things?

I think it would be fun to a fave food/drink/snack and ride.

I am thinking maybe over the course of the trip (2) seperate challenges...
We did 40 rides for turning 40. So, maybe we could do 50 rides for turning 50. I am thinking MAYBE we could do it with Genie+ and the fact that we are going to be there longer than the 40 trip.

50 rides for 50 years would be very fun!

 

[DL1WDW2]

I am on page 5 … this trip prep and planning report is going on for nilesandnilesandniles….lovin the journey …

 

[CTDisneygal]

Our last trip was a "turning 50" trip, but it was very difficult to get in many of the things we'd planned thanks to the crazy crowds, the 2 pm park hopping, and the heat. So this April trip is a do over of sorts. Over the weekend, I added a day to the trip and turned it into a challenge day of sorts. That's exactly what we are doing: 2 parks followed by DS. I would have really enjoyed trying to incorporate the 4 parks into one day, but it just seems like a ton of work with the way things work right now; too much work to be any fun.

Utilizing Genie + and the amt of time y'all have, I don't think its a stretch to think you can get on 50 rides.

 

[becauseimnew]

So, my thoughts on the 50th Birthday day...

So, I def think we need to stick with 2 parks. Unless Andy wants to go full on 4 park challenge, which I don't think he will. Which will lead us probably to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios for the day. With us ending at Disney Springs for dinner.

If I am being REAL honest, Andy will be super happy ending the day with dinner at homecoming and smuggling a freshly filled squeeze bottle of moonshine back to the hotel and then going to one of the hot tubs. As much as I would love to go to a 3rd park after dinner. I know that a hot tub at the end of they day is def how he would like to spend the evening. SO...

All that def leads me to just a 2 park day. And making me think of other things to add to the "challenge" since it won't be based on the # of parks...

For each park we go to:

• 50th Picture
• Favorite ride or maybe 3 rides in each park?
• Favorite food/drink/snack
• Favorite Character or character in 50th gear? I know Mickey is in 50th but is there anyone in HS in special outfit?
• Buy something at each park?

Anyone have ideas for other things? Or better things?


I am thinking maybe over the course of the trip (2) seperate challenges...
We did 40 rides for turning 40. So, maybe we could do 50 rides for turning 50. I am thinking MAYBE we could do it with Genie+ and the fact that we are going to be there longer than the 40 trip.

And then I was thinking of a 50th Photo challenge at each park over the course of the trip... Maybe each park gets

• a golden statue photo
• a 50th banner photo
• a photo with the park icon

The 2 think is kind of a bummer! I get it, but also, seems a little strange. I will have to bring up my ideas at some point to Andy but it will have to be closer to the trip. It's all about timing.

Woohoo for more park days… are you going to upgrade to APs for everyone since you have another trip in Nov?
We weren’t planning on going to Disney this year, since Hawaii is out big vacation, but we can’t stay away. I was planning a short trip, just for the Christmas party but DH would love to go for longer so instead of a short weekend trip in early November we are looking at Thanksgiving break.