One trip? Witch, please! Make it two! MNSSHP and NYE with Mickey! updated 12/26x3

[chunkymonkey]

So raise your hand if you've seen the new IT movie! DH and I have gone twice now. We saw it opening day, and the the theater lights never went all the way down, and the other people there just would not shut up and quit talking. It was very distracting. We decided to go back for round two on Saturday and it was a much better experience. I am so weirdly obsessed with Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise. I don't know how often horror movies are nominated for awards, but the makeup and lighting team on this movie deserve it! It's so worth seeing!!

I'm not a horror movie person so I'm sad to say I have not seen it. I will be watching it with closed eyes if anything, LOL. Maybe when it comes to HBO or something...LOL

For lunch, I think we'll head back into the World Showcase before using a FP for Spaceship Earth on the way out of the park for an afternoon break. Throughout the day, I'd like to do some more character meets, and I might go check out the new green side of Mission Space.

I really enjoyed the green side! It think it's rather relaxing and scenic!!

A couple of things could happen here...I'd like to stop in at Trader Sam's for sure, but I also have a 7pm reservation at California Grill. This is also one of the only chances for us to see Happily Ever After because of all the Halloween parties, and it's a major priority for this particular night. I may end up cancelling Cali Grill and just do apps at Trader Sam's and then pick up QS later somewhere else.

Oooh I just love HEA so I vote for HEA especially if that's the only chance you will get to see it. We only have one opportunity to see it in the park due to all the halloween parties too.

So cute! I love the ears with the dress! Can't wait to see pictures!

As for the party part, I plan for us to enter as close to 4 as we can...I have an AP and my mom's ticket has enough days for us to come in any time, so I might edge that up to 3:00. I want to get the Sorcerer's of the MK party card, and I want to go through the bypass to see the character statues and get some candy bags, and I realllly want to go get in line for Jack and Sally

My 12 year old might hate me afterward, he LOVES Jack!!

We have a FP for 7DMT from 4 - 5, so I am going to try to change that to as late as I can, or just cancel. My mom might not want to meet them, so I will *consider* skipping them and just riding 7D, and then lining up for the Dwarfs if she wants to meet them instead...One group I will NOT consider skipping is Winnie the Pooh and Friends!! They are my number one priority of the night! We will be lining up no later than 6:30

I think my mom will want to meet Lotso, and I know I want to try and meet Minnie and the Ducks.

Other things I want to do:

- Get as many special Magic Shots from PP photographers as we can, hang around the Haunted Mansion for awhile and watch the characters on the lawn (saw the Tightrope Girl out in a recent video, which was very exciting!! Have you researched her at all?? She is a woman of many names - so what's official?? I think she goes by Daisy de la Cruz - from an HM comic book - when out in the parks, but I always thought she was Sally Slater? And then apparently people also refer to her as Miss Lilly??)

- Watch the Cadaver Dans

- See if we can spy the Br'er characters over near Splash - I've seen a few reports of this lately!!

- go visit the Monsters Inc dance party for some photo ops

- pick up a few treats as we wander (both via trick or treating and buying party exclusive stuff!)

- Buy an Oogie Boogie popcorn bucket

- maybe catch some rides

- Watch fireworks, second parade, and either the second to last or last Hocus Pocus show.

As I discovered last December, party nights are like the only time I can handle closing down the parks!! In December we were STARVING by the end of the night, so we stopped by Casey's Corner and let the crowds disperse while we ate. I'm fully onboard with repeating that during MNSSHP!

Oh wow, you actually have a plan! I have zero plans for MNSSHP. I was just going to wing it. It's our anniversary that day. I may try to get the princesses with their princes...or Jack and Sally, but I don't know if I want to wait. I closed out the park during MVMCP by eating at Casey's corner too! Yum!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Anyway, that's what I'll be wearing to the party...now, what will we be DOING??

Um...I have no idea!!

Haha, this was me!!

Except you actually have real plans. I kinda flopped around like a fish out of water for a lot of it.

I realllly want to go get in line for Jack and Sally

My 12 year old might hate me afterward, he LOVES Jack!!

Omg yay! Making all the kids jealous!!

One group I will NOT consider skipping is Winnie the Pooh and Friends!! They are my number one priority of the night! We will be lining up no later than 6:30

This was also my priority!! And they were SO worth it. I forget when we got in line. I wanna say just after 6:30? Maybe closer to 6:40? Definitely before 7 because they were still out in their non-Halloween-costumed-looks when we got in line, then went back for a break and to change. The CM said it would be about an hour's wait in line at that point, but I timed it and it was 36 minutes. I'd absolutely do it again.

This will be a long night, so I plan for a later start the next day...two non-rope drop mornings in a row?? How will I even function?? I live for rope drop!!

I feel like I wrote this! Haha What's Disney without rope drop!??

 

[Raeven]

So close!

We will begin with a later breakfast reservation at Grand Floridian Cafe. What will I eat?? Will I go with my favorite from there, the lobster eggs benedict, or will I switch it up?? (I really wish this was the most difficult decision I had to make over the next two weeks!!)

Oh yum, I can't wait to eat there someday. The vanilla dipped french toast looks really good and I recently saw on someone's Instagram that you can get trays of multiple toppings for the pancakes which looked amazing.

Get as many special Magic Shots from PP photographers as we can, hang around the Haunted Mansion for awhile and watch the characters on the lawn

I'm mostly okay with missing MNSSHP, but I wish we weren't missing the Haunted Mansion stuff!

 

[coloredimage]

Yay! So close! You have so much more than me figured out lol. I'm not even a little bit close to figuring myself out. I guess that's what this week's for!

 

[xlsm]

Yes, I'm behind again...but you know what today is??

Thursday.



It's DOUBLE DIGIT DAY

Yep, only 9 more days until this trip happens!! I am so unprepared to leave!!
As I've mentioned previously, I am in charge of our school's Fall Fun Night carnival thing. I am coordinating donations, volunteers, vendors, games, prizes, signs, concessions...It's overwhelming and I am incredibly stressed out. On top of that, I am president of the school PTO and the district governing PTO board. I have stacks of papers and binders all over the house. And the house! Oy! It's a mess! I still don't have all of my fall decorations out, which is a big deal around here - they usually go all up on September 1st.

But enough about my personal all-my-own-fault problems...let's get moving on these trip updates!!

After a long night out at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, we're not going to worry about being up so early the next morning.

It's our Animal Kingdom day!

We have a late breakfast reservation at Tusker House for 10:10am, and my only goal for the morning is to make it to that ADR on time. No worrying about rope drop or anything like that - just food!



This may be the morning we use the Minnie Van.
We will eat and visit with the safari gang before heading off on a safari of our own! We have a Kilamanjaro Safari FP for 11-12. We'll do the Pangani Forest Trail if mom wants to, and I'd like to catch the 1:00 Festival of the Lion King. Timing will be everything here, so we'll see how it works out!

Up next will be a visit to Pandora...I am prepared to be amazed and mesmerized!



I am still bitter about having to miss my AP preview in May

We have a Fast Pass for Flight of Passage from 1:30 - 2:30. Originally, I had one for later in the afternoon because it was the earliest I could get, but a couple of weeks ago, more were released and I was able to get the time I wanted in the first place so we would could just stick around the area and lessen the back and forth walking!

Right now I am not planning to do the River Journey, unless some kind of miracle occurs (In December, DH and I will FP the River Journey and wait standby for Flights of Passage to see the ride queue - we'll be joining the rope drop racers that day.) We'll take all the pictures and have all the fun and then move along!



I also made a fast pass for Kali River Rapids...I think for around 3:00?? I'll be honest, I just made one for the heck of it. I haven't been on Kali river since 2014, I think?? The line is always too long and the ride is too short! But...it's something my mom won't hate, so why not?

More of a priority for me will be catching Flights of Wonder and hopping in the single rider line for Expedition Everest! I would also like to take the Majarajah Jungle Trek trails to see the tigers.



I have a feeling we'll also do It's Tough to be a Bug, and I want to catch all the character meets we can! Character meets will probably be the only thing we do over in Dinoland USA (I guess I'm the only person who actually likes the way this area looks?? I understand it doesn't fit the rest of the theme of the park, but the kitsch is part of the fun for me!! I love the roadside attraction feel. But I love all things kooky and off the wall!) because I know my mom would think Dinosaur is too rough. We want to avoid shaking ourselves to death.

How late we stay will just depend on what we're feeling. If we decide to stay for the evening stuff, I think we'll head back toward Pandora for a meal at Satuli Canteen, enjoy the evening lights over there and then watch the Tree of Life Awakenings and head on back to the Polynesian. I have no interest in Rivers of Light...my mom will never know what she's (not really) missing anyway!


Next day's plans coming up in just a little while (for real this time!)

 

[missangelalexis]

Omg 9 days thats ridiculously soon!!! Your AK plans sound great, and smart to not plan a super early morning after MNSSHP!

 

[coloredimage]

Yep, only 9 more days until this trip happens!! I am so unprepared to leave!!

hahahahahahahahaha omg I leave in 8 days and I feel like I'm having an identity crisis I'm so unprepared! lol

 

[xlsm]

Omg 9 days thats ridiculously soon!!! Your AK plans sound great, and smart to not plan a super early morning after MNSSHP!

It's going to be so weird skipping rope drops a couple of times on this trip!! I have to train myself to relax - I'm terrible at it, LOL!

hahahahahahahahaha omg I leave in 8 days and I feel like I'm having an identity crisis I'm so unprepared! lol

I'm glad I'm not alone!! I have already envisioned panic-packing the morning we leave. Next Friday night is the event at school and the day my mom is arriving, and we fly out the next day around 2:30ish from an airport an hour away that I've never been to before. I am so consumed with everything else I have to do that this trip is bringing me so much anxiety!! To write these updates I have to keep checking MDE and the google sheet I've made with daily plans...and I keep discovering I haven't been updating the google sheet with FP and ADR times. Usually I have things committed pretty much to memory, so I feel like everything we do is going to be as much of a surprise for me as it is for my mom

 

[xlsm]

Hello again!

So, after sharing my plans for a mom-modified AK day, it's time to move on to the next day of the trip!

We're heading to Hollywood!!



Who better exemplifies Hollywood than The Muppets?? No one, that's who!!

Originally I had planned a short morning here followed by an Epcot evening with fast passes. That has changed! I started worrying about Toy Story and our lunch reservation, combined with all of the other things I wanted to cram in.

To start, we will...drumroll...ROPE DROP!!



Finally back in my element!!

I want to maximize the two hours of morning touring before our 11am lunch.

My mom will not want to ride Tower of Terror, which is where I'd normally start the day. There's a chance I will go ride it while she waits, but I did make FPs for it later in the afternoon. There's also a small chance I'll go do RnR, which I haven't done in a couple of years.

Our first fast pass begins at 10am for Toy Story, so the first hour might end up being when we go check out the Launch Bay and watch Voyage of the Little Mermaid, or go meet Buzz and Woody.

We'll hit the Toy Story FP at the beginning of the window, and then move along to One Man's Dream and seeing if we can meet Mickey and Minnie before our 11am lunch at Sci Fi Dine In for some kitschy sci-fi fun!



After lunch it will be time for the Muppets



Maybe a meet and greet with Olaf, and fast passes for Star Tours. This might be one I do alone or skip. We'll have to see how Flights of Passage and Soarin' have gone on earlier days.

We'll finish up with whatever show my mom wants to see: Frozen Sing Along, Indiana Jones, or Beauty and the Beast.

Hollywood Studios still has so many things to do, even with closures. I have no idea how we're going to do everything on the list. I never feel like I spend enough time here.

I have ToT FPs for 2ish, with plans to hit it on the way out...for me at least.

Here's my only real problem with FP+...I hate that I can't make passes in multiple parks. The only thing I want a pass for here is Toy Story. There's a real chance I'm going to cancel them, rope drop Toy Story, and switch my FPs back to Epcot for Test Track. Actually, yes, after typing all this out, as soon as I hit "Post Reply", I'm going to go check FP availability.



We'll head back to the Poly for some afternoon downtime, and the plan is to head to Epcot for the evening to wander the World Showcase in search of food! (and maybe do Test Track if I switch the passes!)

Ok, I've only got two days of plans left to share with you...and they're not structured plans at all!!

Talk to you all again soon!! Enjoy your weekend if I don't get back here before then!

 

[missangelalexis]

So many great Muppets gifs! Your plans sound good! I agree that there is still a lot to do/see at DHS!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Yep, only 9 more days until this trip happens!! I am so unprepared to leave!!

Woooh!! I'm so excited for you and your mom! More often than not I feel like I'm unprepared to leave...

We have a late breakfast reservation at Tusker House for 10:10am, and my only goal for the morning is to make it to that ADR on time. No worrying about rope drop or anything like that - just food!

Priorities here!!

I think this is a good plan. After the party, you'll want a slower start to the day.

Up next will be a visit to Pandora...I am prepared to be amazed and mesmerized!

I am still bitter about having to miss my AP preview in May

I hope you love Pandora! We really liked what we saw of it in August. I remember how bummed you were to miss the preview (and I was bummed to not have registered for it and then end up having a short-notice WDW trip that weekend anyway and miss it also!)

I haven't been on Kali river since 2014, I think?? The line is always too long and the ride is too short! But...it's something my mom won't hate, so why not?

Bahaha if it's "something your mom won't hate" then I guess you'd better take advantage of that!!

To start, we will...drumroll...ROPE DROP!!

OMG YAS!! Rope drop, as it should be!!

My mom will not want to ride Tower of Terror, which is where I'd normally start the day.

I'm with your mom on this one. I'm pretty sure I'd be terrified...I've never been able to bring myself to do it...

Here's my only real problem with FP+...I hate that I can't make passes in multiple parks. The only thing I want a pass for here is Toy Story. There's a real chance I'm going to cancel them, rope drop Toy Story, and switch my FPs back to Epcot for Test Track. Actually, yes, after typing all this out, as soon as I hit "Post Reply", I'm going to go check FP availability.

I so agree with you on the no mixing FP issue...and I LOL'd following your decision mid-writing to change them.

 

[amalone1013]

I love all of your Muppet gifs. I love the Muppets! I can't wait to hear how your trip goes. I'm ready to go back already...

 

[Raeven]

Yep, only 9 more days until this trip happens!! I am so unprepared to leave!!

We have a late breakfast reservation at Tusker House for 10:10am, and my only goal for the morning is to make it to that ADR on time.

Ooo are you going to try to do breakfast and lunch? If you stay till 11 the lunch food will come out I think.

because I know my mom would think Dinosaur is too rough. We want to avoid shaking ourselves to death.

Good idea, Dinosaur is too rough

Maybe a meet and greet with Olaf,

I always want to do that and forget to! You should meet Groot too!

Hollywood Studios still has so many things to do, even with closures. I have no idea how we're going to do everything on the list. I never feel like I spend enough time here.

Yes! There aren't a lot of rides, but there are a lot of other things. We've actually never seen any of the shows except the Frozen Sing Along.

Here's my only real problem with FP+...I hate that I can't make passes in multiple parks. The only thing I want a pass for here is Toy Story. There's a real chance I'm going to cancel them, rope drop Toy Story, and switch my FPs back to Epcot for Test Track.

Yes! I know certain rides would be super busy then and it probably wouldn't work but with HS we always want a TSMM one, but I'd rather pick my others in a different park.

 

[xlsm]

I know I haven't quoted and I'm sorry!!

Four more days!!

I need to cram in the plans for the remaining days, don't I?? I'm not sure if I'll be back with another update before I leave!!

Tomorrow through Friday I will be at school all day long. My mom arrives Friday, and I have just realized I don't know how I'm going deal with that since I won't be at the house...I guess I will have to give her the garage code or leave a key! We fly out Saturday afternoon...there is nothing that feels real about any of this!

I think I have two more days to tell you about?? Let's see...

I covered AK and the DHS/Epcot split, so it looks like it's already time for our LAST FULL PARK DAY!!

We'll be starting things off at the Magic Kingdom. It's a party night, so we will make the most of our time there early!



I really don't know where we'll go first! We might start over in Tomorrowland or Fantasyland and go for Buzz Lightyear or Winnie the Pooh. Or, I could even drag us over to Peter Pan. I do have a Fast Pass for 7 Dwarfs for 10am, so we have a lot of options. The next FP we have is for Jungle Cruise around noonish. I haven't made a 3rd pass yet!! Depending on what we want to do I might make one for Haunted Mansion or Pirates.

Part of my struggle is just not knowing what my mom is going to like!



Maybe I'll just make a Fast Pass for Big Thunder and make my mom wait...or force her to ride with me (Um...she won't, LOL!)

I think I'll also have us do all of the shows and things we haven't done yet like Carousel of Progress, Philharmagic, Country Bears, etc...
Since it is a party night, we'll probably try to stick it out as long as possible and leave around 2 or 3. We have a very exciting dinner reservation for...

OHANA!!



Ohana is special to me for a few reasons. On my first ever trip in 2001, it was one of the meals that stood out the most - I knew when I planned our first family visit in 2014 that it was a must do! It quickly became a favorite of DH and the kids as well. I want my mom to have the same first trip dinner experience that I did.

Plus...bread pudding! Come on!!

The reservation is for 5:30. I have never been seated on time there, so I expect we'll have a wait.

There is nothing planned for the evening!



I know, right?? How is nothing planned??

Well, I blame the whole "I don't know what she'll like" thing.

Maybe we'll head over to DHS to see the nighttime shows or go to Disney Springs. Maybe we'll just hang out at the resort and watch Hallowishes from the beach!

That's all I've got for our last full park day!!

Up next...Departure day!

I will just put it all in this post too, since it's another pretty skimpy day as far as plans!

Our very last day already?? How did that get here so quickly?



Our flight is later in the afternoon, around 5:30ish, so we have some bonus time that day!

We'll get our bags checked in for our flight, stash our carry ons with bell services and then see where the day takes us. Right now I have a 10am breakfast booked for The Wave. We may or may not keep that. Because of my handy dandy AP, and the fact that my mom has a 7 day ticket, we could visit a park that morning if we want to!

I need a crystal ball to give me a hint, because I truly have not thought this day through at all!



Help me Leota, you're my only hope!! (wait, wrong franchise...)

We'll make sure we're back to the resort about an hour before it's time to board the Tragical Depress so we can charge our phones and make sure we're all ready to go.

Flight one takes us from MCO to Dallas, flight two is Dallas to home...well, an hour from home. I'll drive us back to my house, where we'll be attacked by excited dogs, and the next morning my mom will make the drive back to her home.

And I will heave a huge sigh of relief that it's all over!!

Just to do it all again in December!!



That's it for daily plans!! I will come back for another little update or two if I have time. This was not the best PTR I've ever done (that's an understatement!!) but hopefully the rest of it leading up to the New Year's Eve will be more exciting!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Part of my struggle is just not knowing what my mom is going to like!

Best GIF! That's a tough one having to kind of wait and see.

Ohana is special to me for a few reasons. On my first ever trip in 2001, it was one of the meals that stood out the most - I knew when I planned our first family visit in 2014 that it was a must do! It quickly became a favorite of DH and the kids as well. I want my mom to have the same first trip dinner experience that I did.

I love this! That's so sweet! I'm sure your mom will enjo Ohana—it's hard not to.

Our very last day already?? How did that get here so quickly?

SO SAD!

Just to do it all again in December!!

Omg yay!!

 

[missangelalexis]

MK + Ohana = a great day! It's nice that your evening is open for whatever you guys feel like doing!

I hope you're able to squeeze in some more park time on your last day!

I am sure this is a stressful trip for you not knowing how it will be with your mom and what she will like, but I am sure it will all work out!

 

[fallonkendra]

Joining in! I'll come back and read everything later, but I just had to jump in when I saw that our dates overlap (I'll be at WDW for NYE too!)

 

[ariane37]

Hey Samantha, I'm so sorry I've been MIA on here-actually on everyone's PTR's. For whatever reason when I have a little DIS time and I'm not updating my reports, I go right to either the TR's or dining reports I've actually been reading along and then sometimes quoting, I just fall short of posting!

All your plans look great, even the ones that are up in the air-for us those usually end up being the best days! I'm so jealous of your MNSSHP plans (and your costume/dress is just gorgeous). I keep going on and on about being mad that we missed it again and Steve said we'll definitely do it next year even if the kids stay home alone

Good luck with your Fall Festival Friday, I'll be at ours! And since there's a very good chance I won't get back here before you leave, safe travels and have a marvelous "showing it all to mom" trip

 

[Raeven]

You're so close! (I still have to watch Riverdale btw)

Plus...bread pudding! Come on!!

Well of course!

Our very last day already?? How did that get here so quickly?

Aw so sad, and such a cute Pua gif

 

[xlsm]

Best GIF! That's a tough one having to kind of wait and see.

I love this! That's so sweet! I'm sure your mom will enjo Ohana—it's hard not to.

SO SAD!

Omg yay!!

The waiting and seeing is the part I am TERRIBLE at!!

If my mom doesn't like Ohana, she's going in the lagoon. I"m just dumping her right in, lol!!

The good part about October's trip ending, is that I can REALLY start to get excited for NYE. Although, I keep seeing threads that talk about two hour bathroom waits at Epcot, which has me a *little* nervous!

MK + Ohana = a great day! It's nice that your evening is open for whatever you guys feel like doing!

I hope you're able to squeeze in some more park time on your last day!

I am sure this is a stressful trip for you not knowing how it will be with your mom and what she will like, but I am sure it will all work out!

Yes, I tried to save the best for last! You can't lose with an MK/Ohana combo! My mom is the type that I know will enjoy lots of different things, but then when we're done, she'll ask, "Well why didn't we do..." instead of speaking up in the moment. I am going to try and not worry too much about whether or not she's having fun, and just go with the flow. We'll see how good of a job I do, haha!
I was obviously not paying good attention to your ticker - It looks like you're arriving just as I'm leaving...I'm sad we won't cross paths, but I will take very good care of WDW for you!!

Joining in! I'll come back and read everything later, but I just had to jump in when I saw that our dates overlap (I'll be at WDW for NYE too!)

Welcome aboard!! This is not my most entertaining report to date, and the October trip part was pretty rushed, but once I"m back I'm hoping things will perk up when I start focusing on Dec/Jan! I'm excited you'll be there for NYE too!! We did the week before Christmas last year, so missed out on the actual holiday craziness, so I'm a little nervous about being there for the official New Year's Eve stuff...but also so, so ready to experience it!!

Hey Samantha, I'm so sorry I've been MIA on here-actually on everyone's PTR's. For whatever reason when I have a little DIS time and I'm not updating my reports, I go right to either the TR's or dining reports I've actually been reading along and then sometimes quoting, I just fall short of posting!

All your plans look great, even the ones that are up in the air-for us those usually end up being the best days! I'm so jealous of your MNSSHP plans (and your costume/dress is just gorgeous). I keep going on and on about being mad that we missed it again and Steve said we'll definitely do it next year even if the kids stay home alone

Good luck with your Fall Festival Friday, I'll be at ours! And since there's a very good chance I won't get back here before you leave, safe travels and have a marvelous "showing it all to mom" trip

I've been MIA from my OWN report, LOL!!

I've been doing the same thing and reading other TRs!

Thank you for the good luck, and right back at ya! Ours is right after school so the kids don't have to leave and come back, so I'm REALLLLY looking forward to about 6:05pm tomorrow when it's all over. I hope yours is fun and successful. I've been working on it since August and I'm so over it. It always ends up being fun and totally worth it, but it's always so. much. work.

I'm still not packed. I haven't even brought my suitcase downstairs...it doesn't feel real at all, so I'm hoping that just translates into some special Disney magic once I'm there.

You're so close! (I still have to watch Riverdale btw)


Well of course!


Aw so sad, and such a cute Pua gif

Two days!! I don't even understand how it snuck up on me!! I haven't watched it yet either, I probably won't get to until I'm back from my trip. I'm behind on everything in my life I finally feel like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now though!

Alllllll the bread pudding I can eat. Hmm...maybe I should just tell them to skip everything else and just bring me potstickers and bread pudding. I'll get my money's worth that way, LOL!!