Should I just cancel this Sept. B-day trip?

BLaird

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jan 15, 2017
I've so enjoyed reading the various trip reports as I, not so patiently, count down the days to my own Disney adventure, that I decided to try my hand at writing a pre-trip report. Hopefully in the days leading up to my vacation I will also get some great tips and make a few disney friends along the way.

First let me introduce myself. My name is Bobbi and I have been a disney fan for as long as I can remember. I managed to turn my 2 daughters (and an ex-husband) into disney fans as well. None quite as excitable as me....but then who is? Brytney is my oldest DD23 and Allexis is my youngest DD19. I'm a school psychologist for a non-traditional high school and we are year round so I can plan my trips whenever. Very different from when the kids were younger and I worked in a traditional school setting. Back then it was summer only and we usually went in August. Over the years we lived in Florida, New York, Maryland, and Massachusetts. While in FL we were passholders. For the last 5 years I've been living in CA with my younger DD. And we've been passholders here for 3 years and we love it!

So the planning for this trip started in October of 2016. A mere 11 months before I was looking to go. Why a September trip you ask? Well, it all started in California Adventure when our visit coincided with the DCA F+WF. It's pretty small but as lovers of food, my DD and I were hooked! As my birthday came and went with zero fanfare it became clear that my next birthday needed a celebration (40 came right after my move) and what better way to celebrate 45 than Disney Style? With our new found love for the F+WF, the opportunity to attend MHHP, and a (kind-of) milestone birthday to celebrate - September seemed perfect! Add in the special MK 45th celebration perks and it's a no-brainer.

So, now that I knew when, the next question was where. We've stayed at: GF, Poly, WL, OKW, CS, CB, POR, POF, ASMo, and ASMu. I decided if my purpose is F+W then an Epcot resort hotel was required. So my obvious choice was Yacht Club. With SAB it really was either YC or BC. I decide onthe former because I thought the rooms were so cute. But then.....dun-dun-dun.......refurb started.....but I'm getting ahead of myself.

The next question....who am I bringing? I decided an all girls trip would be amazing and thus invited my sister and DD23 who both live in NY, and then my younger DD19 who still lives with me. Everyone was super excited! My DD23 loves Halloween and so MHHP along with Club Villain were a must. That lead to costume planning as well! I printed menus for them, ride lists, etc. so I would be sure everyone would have fun. Time marched on and plans began to come together. And then........in January everything changed!!!! Now what?
 
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PTR Cont:

By the way, that is me and my DD19 in my profile pic. We were at DCA and as you can tell it was cold enough for coats, scarves, and gloves. It was also December hence the holiday lights in my scarf.

Anyway, back to trip planning. By January I had already completed a rough itinerary. This is a running joke in my family, anytime there is a trip regardless of where, I make an itinerary. So, obviously there would be one for WDW. It included everyone's arrival dates, likely parks to visit, and ideas for meals. While myself and DD19 would be staying for 8 days because our schedules allowed it, my sister and DD23 would be there for 5 because of work and school schedules.

Not long after the rough itinerary went out I get a call from my sister who is super excited about finding a backer for her business. She'd been planning for years and it was finally going to come to fruition. Her estimated opening would be August/September......Thus, no Disney Trip for her. My sister was ditching on my birthday party! No! What kind of sister are you? Seriously though I was so happy for her. She's going to do great and while the last few months have been so stressful, she is now all set to open in August. And given the nature of the business, taking time off right at the start won't work that soon after opening. We'll send her pictures!

So that change in attendees did not make a huge difference in overall plans except DD23 wasn't thrilled about flying alone. I adjusted our reservation and edited the itinerary. Now that it was February, I really needed to nail down dining plans as my 180 window was quickly approaching. I made a call to my DD23 to get her final input. She sounds very somber on the phone and I ask her what's up? She says she had some news that I might not like.......uh, ok???? I have no idea where this is going so I'm a little nervous.......

DD23 "Mom, I'm pregnant." I'm speechless for a moment because I thought it was going to be something terrible. Now I'm not over the moon about this, she's 23 and still in college, but it was going to happen eventually. She and her fiance both love kids so I wasn't too surprised, just disappointed that they didn't wait until after they were both college graduates. With that being said, they've already secured childcare at the university (DD23 also works there) and there is plenty of family nearby to help. So congratulations! Wait, that means I'm going to be a grandmother. No way, never mind, take it back....I'm not ready!

Now that the shock is over, what does this mean for my birthday celebration? Well, she is due July 11th. Our trip is planned for September 20-28. I guess DD23 is now off the guest list as well. Several times since the announcement she has indicated she is still coming. Her fiance can take care of the baby she says. I just keep laughing at her as I know she will not want to leave that sweet little bundle of joy when she is only 2 months old.

So, revision of the plans again.......should I just cancel? This started out as a fun birthday celebration with my favorite 3 girls and now I'm down to just 1. (insert sad face). Ho-Hum.
 
So sorry to hear about all the setbacks. :sad:
As I was just commenting on another thread, that's the problem with having to plan some things (ADRs) so far in advance. Things change, life happens, etc..

I, DW and possibly DD (still don't know if she will be able) are going for a weekend in Sep 22nd - 25th although two of those are travel days. :sad2: It stinks because I don't want to buy plane tickets until I know for sure. I've made ADRs for 3, although that might have to change to 2.
 
So sorry to hear about all the setbacks. :sad:
As I was just commenting on another thread, that's the problem with having to plan some things (ADRs) so far in advance. Things change, life happens, etc..

I, DW and possibly DD (still don't know if she will be able) are going for a weekend in Sep 22nd - 25th although two of those are travel days. :sad2: It stinks because I don't want to buy plane tickets until I know for sure. I've made ADRs for 3, although that might have to change to 2.

Yes - the challenges of having to plan so far in advance. Luckily I knew about the changes before I needed to buy airline tickets. I went ahead and bought mine as well as DD19 since I knew we would be definite. And because I have family in FL if we decided to ditch Disney all together I could just rent a car and visit family for the week instead. Luckily the ADR is easier to take someone away then add someone. I hope it all works out the way to want!
 


PTR Con't. (#3):

So for most of February I was a little bummed out and trying to decide if I should cancel the Disney trip and do something else all together. I decided to look to the various forums for information, pictures, and to get my WDW fix. It was then that I noticed all the discussions about the referb happening at the Yacht Club. I chose that hotel mostly for the location and the pool but I thought the old rooms were so cute with their nautical theme and the rumor mill indicated that they would be changing them over to something similar to the new beach club rooms which were more "classy" and less Disney. At this point I really was felling pretty dejected and had decided to cancel the trip all together. But, because I never make impulsive decisions I chose to "sit" on that thought for at least 2 weeks before making a final move.

In the meantime we went to AP days at Disneyland for the return of the Main Street Electrical Parade in February and then March came around which meant the Disney's California Adventure park F&WF was on my radar. After 4 different DL visits I was back on the WDW bandwagon and we decided that this was a great year to return! So, I decided NOT to cancel my trip but I did change it to a room only reservation as with only the two of us, there was no way that free dining was going to be good deal for us. I booked our flights and that is when the planning got into full swing. Well, the first day anyway. :D

We are taking the red eye into Orlando with an arrival time of 6:30 AM. On a previous trip a few year ago in January we did something similar and got to POR at 7:00 AM, expecting our room to be ready fairly early (estimated 10:00 AM) because it was a non busy time of year. It did not end up being ready until 1:00 PM and we were cranky and tired. I think it was because we had booked a royal room for my DD 16th birthday. So this time, I decided we would do it right! I am guessing we will arrive at YC by 8:00 AM and that our room will NOT be ready. So we have an ADR for Kona for breakfast followed by massages & pedicures at Ship Shape Spa after which we will nap by the pool until our room is ready. The plan for that evening will be to head over to Epcot to start our exploration of the F&WF. It will be a relaxing first day.

The rest of the schedule was just a rough outline at this point. We were patiently awaiting the announcements for MHHP dates and I really wanted to do a dessert party. So back to the boards I went to read reviews and determine which one would it be......
 
PTR continued #4:

Ok. So airline tickets are purchased....and there is no turning back now! PlusI think we have a pretty good plan for day #1. Reservations are already made for our massages and pedicures. A littler pampering is always welcome on vacation. :cloud9: Now to figure out where we want to eat so I can prepare for that 180 day ADR window. March 24 was right around the corner and after our recent visits to DCA’s version of F&W we knew we would want at least 4 visits to Epcot WS specifically for exploring food. Also, the last time we were at Disney, either BOG wasn’t yet open or we were clueless because that restaurant was not even on our radar. I’m thinking the latter is probably the case, LOL.

When the kids were little we always did Chef Mickey’s on our first day for dinner & 1900 Park Fare on our last day for breakfast. The last time we were at Chef Mickey’s it didn’t seem as good. Maybe because we were all adult eaters by this point? Anyway, since it was just DD19 and I and neither of us are picky eaters we decided we wanted to try a few new things.

When we travel we do need to be careful about what we eat as we have both been known to end up with stomach issues. Our last trip was ruined for both of us after dinner at Cape May Café. We both ended up not being able to keep any real food down for the two days following. We felt fine as long as we didn’t eat….that’s hard to do with all the yummy foods calling out your name at Disney.

So, we were thinking……BOG since it’s the “must do” reservation, and then some others we’ve been considering are: Whispering Canyon, Kona, Rose & Crown, Yak & Yeti, Sci-Fi, California Grill, Cinderella’s Royal Table, and Yachtsman.

I remember Whispering Canyon being great and I think we only ate there once and DD19 was too young to remember. I think we did Kona once several years ago as well but I can’t even remember. DD is excited about the press pot and I’m excited for Tonga Toast. DD was also wondering about their Sushi….is it any good? Maybe lunch or dinner there, or Kona Island….any feedback? Yak & Yeti is a place I have never been and I know there is a QS version but I think we want to have greater menu options. Sci-Fi will be for appetizers and a late lunch since we will be doing the SW Galactic Dessert Party – that’s the one I decided I want to do – for dinner (yes, I can have dessert for dinner for my birthday)! California Grill for brunch is our goal since this is a place we have never been. My research indicates that Sunday will be our Halloween Party date and thus brunch to start that day will be fabulous. Plus bottomless mimosa’s? It’s kind of a no-brainer. We have also never been to Yachtsman and we are specifically wanting to go there for some red meat! We tried Le Cellier several years ago and while it was good, I did not think it was worth the price. We did CRT when the girls were little (for breakfast) and we were NOT impressed. The food was cold and pretty average but the girls loved the princess interactions. I see the menu has changed and it appears to be getting better reviews..so maybe? And of course, BOG just because. Their dinner menu looks better than their lunch menu to me, but I think we will take what we can get just for the experience. Worst case we order 1 meal and share right?

We ruled out buffet’s given our last trip, plus if one of us isn’t feeling great we can always share a meal. Sooo many decisions…….thus, any suggestions are greatly appreciated. :thanks: It's starting to feel a bit more real! :hyper2:
 
Sorry I have been away for so long, but.......I now have a tiny, sweet, perfect little grandbaby! After 36 hours of labor our little Josephine entered the world at 6.3 lbs, and 19 inches long. Mom and baby are doing great! Ok, back to the PTR....

PTR con't #5:

ADR day came and went….and was mostly a success. Looking back I realize my strategy was off. I made the rookie mistake of making the reservations in order from start of trip to end, rather than starting with the hardest to get reservations and then returning to my day by day strategy.

After mapping out our park days I then planned our meals thus organizing our ADR’s based on the park plans. A few of the days were pretty flexible and thus I could easily reorganize our park plans if needed, plus some days we have plans to visit more than 1 park. However, a few were set in stone due to planned events (i.e., Halloween Party, Dessert Party).

With that being said, I did not get the BOG dinner reservation I wanted on the day I wanted but was able to get a lunch reservation for that day and a dinner reservation for later in the week. I really don’t need two but I am thinking the lunch ADR will get us out of the heat for a bit. Everything else worked perfectly including being able to get CRT for breakfast which we decided not to do at the very last minute.

We ended up with:

Day 1 - Arrival: Kona for Breakfast

Day 2 – MK: BOG for Lunch

Day 3 – AK: Yak & Yeti for Dinner

Day 4 – HS: Sci-Fi for Lunch; SW Galactic DP for Dinner (LOL)

Day 5 – MHHP: California Grill for Brunch

Day 6 – Epcot: Yachtsman for Dinner

Day 7 - ??: Flex Day

Day 8 - ??: BOG for Dinner

Day 9 – Depart:


As you can see we left plenty of room for visits to Epcot for F&W. I do wonder if I have left enough visits so I figure once the menus are released DD and I can go through and highlight all the things we want to try. If it doesn’t appear that we can do that in 4-days-worth of visits, then I can always cancel an ADR.

Next up is to start planning what FP we want…….and the countdown continues…….
 


PTR #6:

As I am slowly counting down the days to our trip I had a little dance party when we passed the 100 day mark and found ourselves down to double digits. :yay: WOOHOO! I was also super excited that we had managed to get the Enchanted Escape offer applied to our room only reservation. Who doesn’t love saving money?

So now I really need to be thinking about our tickets. I found that Undercover Tourist has some decent savings on multi-day PH tickets. But I have also been contemplating an annual pass. As a DL AP holder I can upgrade my current pass to a Premiere and since it includes photopass/memory maker I will break even. Not to mention all the extra discounts at WDW through September 30, 2017. And of course the chance to make a return trip!

I thought most of my research was done after I nailed down our ADR’s; however, the ticket decision process has taken me more than 30 days…..I started writing this specific installment of the PTR around the 98 days left mark – I am now at 63 days and I think I have made a decision BUT it’s wreaking havoc on my Disney stress levels, LOL. :headache:

So….here is the dilemma. My current DL AP expires on 9/11/17 and my trip starts on the 20th of September. The earliest I can renew is August 2nd. Once that has been processed I can physically visit the DL resort and upgrade that DL AP to the premier AP and just pay the difference. [Which, by the way, is about the same cost as purchasing 8 day PH tickets.] However, given my work schedule I won’t be able to get to the park until the 4th. That is going to put me at making my FP+ at 48 days rather than 60. I am wondering how badly this is going to impact us? :scared:

In reality we can’t do most of the super popular E-ticket rides as both DD19 and I get severe motion sickness. At Epcot we’d like to do Frozen since we have not done that one. At MK we would have chosen SM but that will be closed while we are there. We probably want 7DMT but everything else is pretty flexible. At HS I want to see Beauty & the Beast, and probably Toy Story so we can compare to DL version. I know they are both “A” group attractions but looking at Touring Plans it seems like I could even get these on the day of. Does that sound right? And at AK we definitely want to do Na’vi River Journey but I know we would NOT be able to handle FoP. Our “B” group interests are KS and Lion King. I am not too concerned about those 2 but I have a feeling being only 50 days out on our planned AK day we aren’t likely to get any Pandora rides…. With that being said, our last 2 days are pretty flexible so we could head over just for missed attractions?

Advice – Thoughts – Suggestions – Experience…..are all welcome! :thanks:
 
PTR#7:

Ok, so right now I can’t do anything but wait until the 4th so I can renew and upgrade my AP. The problem……I am soooo not good at waiting, LOL.

So instead of wallowing in the injustice of it all – I figure I will re-look at my day-by-day plans and share them with all of you.

As I am planning to write this I notice a flight notice email indicating a change in our schedule. I’m feeling a little twinge of stress as I open the email – fearing the worst of course. Maybe a “hey, guess what, you can’t fly with us” or something. :sad2: But no, just a change in departure time for both legs of our flight. The problem is we are leaving LAX earlier than originally planned which means we get in earlier. Normally I might be ecstatic about this but we are taking the red eye. And on the other end we are leaving Disney earlier than originally planned…

Arrival Day – 9/20/2017

We will have taken the red eye from LAX into MCO thus getting us in at 5:45AM (ouch!). But that’s ok because I have a great day planned. At that time I figure we will be one of few on the Magical Express thus getting us to our destination rather speedily. I am guessing we will arrive at the Yacht Club by 7:30 AM at the very latest.

This will give us time to freshen up in the pool bathrooms, check our carry-ons with bell services and still have plenty of time to get to Poly for our 9:20 ADR at Kona. I am looking forward to Tonga toast and DD is looking forward to the fresh pressed coffee. :lovestruc

After a leisurely breakfast and stroll around the Poly grounds and shops (haven’t’ been there since reno of lobby and addition of over water villas) we can head back to the YC for our 12:00 PM massages followed by our pedicures at 1:30 PM. If our room is still not ready I figure we can nap by the pool. At some point we will be hungry again so that means a stroll over to Epcot for F&W. We are currently scouring the menus to decide where to start. I need to have a plan of attack since this will be our first Epcot F&W experience. I am beyond excited…..it’s just food I know….but for some reason it’s one of the things I am most excited about.

At this point I am still debating how the night will end. I think we will be pretty tired so my guess is an early night back in the room. But, if we manage to nap and feel refreshed we might either try a few rides at Epcot (expanding our FP opportunities) or since it will be EMH at MK we might head in that direction. :idea:

Perhaps we will just fly by the seat of our pants…..either way I think this will really get us into the vacation mode!
 
PTR#8:

I am having a grand time perusing the F&W menus but I am not sure how I am going to squeeze in all the things I want to try, LOL. Right now I have about 34-50 food items of interest as well as about 12 drink items. Because there will be two of us and we can share the food items that will help but I still think we are going to need to work on shrinking the list a bit. Either that or I am going to need to do A LOT of laps around the running trail.

DAY 2 – 09/21/2017

The plan for today is the Magic Kingdom! Both DD and I like our sleep so I am trying hard not to push for early morning stuff – even though I know it can be great for those hard to get rides. It all depends on where we end up with FP’s. With that being said this is what I am thinking at the moment:

Since our prior night likely ended early I am shooting for 8:00 AM departure from our hotel thus getting us to MK before 9:00 AM opening time. The goal is to head to Fantasyland and jump in line for PP before heading to Liberty Square. We are hitting up Sleepy Hollow for breakfast – with our eyes on the Fresh Fruit Waffle Sandwich. Warm waffle, Nutella, strawberries, bananas, blueberries…..YUM-YUM-YUM!

I am thinking for FP+ we might try for 7DMT, HM, and Pirates. I think other than 7DMT we will likely be able to get FP on the day of but this ensures we do some of the things we know we like. Debating maybe doing Enchanted Tales w/Belle? We have not seen this at DL either but not sure if we will like it as 2 adults. Anyway, hoping to do all the FP in the morning so we have the rest of the day to see how many more rides we can squeeze in! There’s a total of about 10 we’d like to do.

At the moment I have an ADR for BOG at 2:20; however, I am 90% certain I will cancel that. Not hearing great things about lunch and since we have a dinner ADR later in the week for this restaurant we can grab a QS on the go to hold us over until dinner.

OR…. if we have great success with the rides in the morning we can head over to Epcot in the afternoon and hit up F&W again. This way we would be close to our hotel if we decide we need a mid-day nap or dip in the pool. At 6:00 we would head back to MK for our 6:55 ADR at Tony’s and then roll on out the door (because we will be stuffed) for the Fireworks at 9:00.

Then it will be back to the hotel for some rest and relaxation.


*****CHANGES ALREADY*****

PTR#8.5:

Last week I wrote up my day 2 plan; however, it has already changed. LOL. This really is the ever changing trip. Beside the changes to my own travel party and the reasons for them, Disney also makes regular changes. AND…after fully reviewing the F&W menus with my DD we have decided to cancel several of our ADR’s and adjust our schedules to maximize our time at Epcot. CH-CH-CH-Changes….. Ultimately, DD loves the World Showcase and we plan on really exploring each of the countries this time around – so this will be great!

Our morning plan on the 21st is still pretty much the same. We will arrive early to MK and hopefully do stand-by for some of the rides in between our FP’s or try to get additional ones after ours are used. We did cancel our lunch ADR at BoG as well as our dinner ADR at Tony’s. We figure we will head out of MK around 2:30 PM – basically right after the parade. Depending on our hunger and heat levels we will either head back to our hotel for an afternoon swim & a bite to eat (maybe Beaches & Cream or Hurricane Hannas) or we will head straight into Epcot for F&W. I kind of like the idea of having some flexible time in each of our days. Plus a dear cousin I have not seen in ages may join us for the afternoon and she and her DH love Epcot as well. Win-Win!
 
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PTR#9:

Day 3 – 09/22/2017

Today is our Animal Kingdom day. I am so excited – love this park! :love1:

We are likely starting our day with breakfast at our hotel with an 8:00 AM ADR for Captain’s Grille (which will actually be in Ariel’s Grotto during our visit). Then on to AK for the day. Originally, there was no Rivers of Light planned for this evening; however, now there is. I am very excited about this as it minimizes our park hopping on another day.

I am thinking for FP+ we will start in Africa and then work our way counter clockwise around the park. Thus hoping for morning FP+ for both KS, followed by Navi a little later. Our 3rd FP will now be for RoL. I keep reading that getting FP for the shows is not necessary as long as you show up in advance to hop in line. So while we are in Africa we will also squeeze in the Lion King before heading off to Pandora. After that I am hoping we can do Dinosaur & Nemo. Eventually circling our way around to Asia where we have a dinner ADR at 5:30 for Yak & Yeti.

I really love to explore all the trails, corners, and wild life at AK so I think the 4 or 5 rides/shows we want mixed in with all the animal exploration should keep us pretty busy during the daylight hours. After dinner we can head back over to see Pandora in the evening before finding a seat for RoL. It’s a long day in the park but as long as we move leisurely and try to avoid crossing the park multiple times we should be good. Then back to hotel by 9pm I am guessing. Another early evening for us…..so boring we are!

Now I have to admit that as I am planning out our days and FP choices, etc. in the back of my mind I am also ruminating about our next trip the the world. Our AP's will be good until October 11, 2018 so it only seems right for us to visit a 2nd (maybe even 3rd) time. I have already looked up prices for mid-December :santa: and my oldest DD who just had her baby will be ready for late August trip :sunny: (right before she goes back to college).

I know there are experts out there that are planning multiple trips at once, but my head is spinning a bit so I will just focus on this one for now....
 
PTR#10:

Day 4 – 09/23/2017

Today is our Hollywood Studios day! I am hoping my dad will drive up from south Florida for the weekend – but we will have to see about that. With dad in tow we can have a slow start to the morning and maybe explore the boardwalk for breakfast at the bakery. (We need to keep it light to save room for our lunch and dinner ADR’s.) After our morning stroll we might take a quick morning trip to the pool before it gets too busy.

Then later in the morning we are off to HS. Our “A” group FP pick is Toy Story. Love that ride and want to compare the HS version to our version here in DCA. I also really want to see the B&B stage show so hopefully we can get that via standby later in the afternoon. After TSM we will probably want to do voyage and then Indiana. Our lunch ADR is at 1:45 at Sci-Fi. After that we will explore some of the changes to HS since our last visit and maybe squeeze in a show if I can convince my dad to go along with that. I wish I could do some of the big girl rides but alas they make me sick so ToT, RnR, and ST our out for us. I guess we could try to get some character time though I always feel a little weird since we have no little ones with us.

Then our evening ADR is for the GALACTIC SPECTACULAR DESSERT PARTY. My DD and I get way too excited about dessert, LOL. After that we will be calling it a night. I am guessing we will be stuffed (and potentially hyped up on sugar) so we will probably want to walk back to the YC from HS.
 
We are 46 days out and today (08/04/17) we made a quick trip to Disneyland to upgrade our AP renewals. Boy did we luck out too. Not only did we get 13 months for the price of 12 when we renewed, but because of some misinformation I was previously given, they activated our renewal (and upgrade) 30 days early! So, not only was I able to make my FP+ reservations for our September trip but we also got to try out the new Disneyland MaxPass option - which is included in our Premier passport. For those who do not know, Disneyland still has the old paper version of fastpass, but now added a pay-for option to use in the phone app similar to FP+ @ WDW. The difference is you have to be in the park, as they are still day-of passes, and the FP is on your phone. But the scanning machines at the rides look similar to the MB scanners at WDW. FYI - it's $10 per day per person and includes photopass. AP holders can add it their accounts for $75/person for the year. Signature plus & premier AP holders get it included in the price of the AP. I did not take pictures as DL today but should have. As usual we saw some interesting outfits for a family park where you walk everywhere, and a LOT of service animals. We also got the "red card" when we hopped into the FP line for TSM!

That was a little off topic, but the good news is that even though we were late on the 60 day window, we managed to get all the FP we wanted. Luckily I had purchased our MNSSHP tickets a while ago and I was able to make FP+ picks at 60 days with those, otherwise we might not have gotten 7DMT which I thought was odd. I mean I know it's popular but was surprised the FP were already gone for our MK day. So, I think I left off on day 4 plans above, so next up is Day 5....
 
#12:

Day 5 – 09/24/2017

Today will be a pretty chill day. My dad will probably want to head out early to get back home, so we can see him off before heading to our Brunch at CG. Looking forward to bottomless mimosas and some yummy food with a great view.

After brunch the plan is to head back to our hotel and spend some time enjoying SAB. If we are not feeling the whole swimsuit thing (after eating all that food, LOL) we can walk it off at DS or maybe grab a round of mini golf. Honestly, we are just going to do whatever feels good - this is a vacation after all!

I originally had dinner plans at the Poly but I cancelled those so that we can hop on over to WS and grab some more F&W grub from our wish list. We likely won’t be that hungry so some small snack sized options will be perfect before we don our costumes for MNSSHP at the MK. We need to save room for all the fun spooky treats! We can head over to MK at any time but will likely go around 4:00-ish. This way we can use our FP options to do a few rides we might have missed on our first visit to MK. Once the crowds start to thin out for the 7:00 start time we can make our way through the trick or treat trails and eventually find prime viewing for the evening shows. I am hoping since it’s a Sunday night and kids have school the next morning it will be one of the lighter attended parties. I am sure that is just wishful thinking but I can dare to dream…..as this strategy did not work out so well for us when we did the Disneyland party last year.

Here we are in our costumes (me=Mickey; DD=Jasmine) with Aladdin & Genie.
DL Halloween2_2016.jpg

Anyway, originally when both of my DD’s were on the itinerary we had decided to go as the Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus. We all love that movie and since they are part of the stage show, we thought that would be so fun. But since it is now only myself and my younger DD we have decided on simple and are going as Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum. Simple, and since our plan is red shorts in place of the pants we will also be nice and cool! We were a bit hot in our costumes at DL last year, so I think this year’s plan is brilliant!

This party goes until midnight so hopefully we can actually stay awake that long. Both DD and I tend to go to bed pretty early, if you couldn’t already tell that by my daily plans…..even when we don’t have to. We are definitely not night owls.
 
PTR #13:

The countdown continues……It really can’t come soon enough. I am so in need of a break. My DD is so busy with her schooling right now that she is showing no signs of excitement. This is a huge letdown because I have no one else to discuss my plans with, LOL. Thus this PTR is a nice outlet for my excitement.

Our magical express information came last month so we are clearly all set there. It took three tries to get hooked up with ME. The first two were through Disney with the CM putting in the information; however, when I did not see it MDE account I finally make a phone call directly to ME and they had no record of our information. So I took care of that and a week later we had our envelope.

And since we upgraded our DL passes to Premier, we are also receiving AP magicbands. Now we will have 2 sets for this trip? It’s all good, I figure one is a backup. BUT, I realized yesterday that when I input my DD name my phone auto-corrected said name to something that is NOT her name. Oh Well!

So…..

Day 6 – 09/25/2017

Today is our planned Epcot day. However, we left our evening open for whatever evening activity we might have missed at another park. Because we partied hard the night prior (Mickey style), it is unlikely we will want to be up early today. So I made a 9:40 AM breakfast ADR for Captain’s Grille again. Depending on how the food was on our first visit will determine if I keep this ADR or if we opt for a QS breakfast somewhere.

After breakfast we will stroll on over to Epcot. We did some FP for Land (which somehow we have never done??? Did I mention I have been to WDW about 10 times….) and SE. We also managed to get a Frozen FP for later in the day so we will head to WS after we finish exploring FW. I don’t think there is too much that is new in FW at this time so I am guessing we will be ready to head back towards WS by early afternoon which will work perfectly in terms of finding some lunch. This will give us another chance to work through our wish list of foods and drinks to try at F&W.

As I was doing some research and reading other TR’s I realized there are a few experiences in WS that we have never done. So, as we eat and drink our way around the festival we will also more thoroughly experience each of the countries. HOWEVER, we cannot be piggies because we have a 6:10 PM ADR at Yachtsman and I am really looking forward to a nice steak dinner. Worst case we can share an entrée (instead of ordering 2) but I am definitely looking forward to eating here.
 
PTR #14:

Our passholder MagicBands have arrived! This is very exciting because we are down to TWENTY-EIGHT DAYS.....work is getting crazy and I keep getting distracted by my Disney plans. I would rather be thinking about Disney! Onward with the PTR -

Day 7 – 09/26/2017

By this point in our trip we have experienced all the major parks at least once and have likely been to F&W multiple times. But I tried to plan extra room for revisits and the like given that it will likely be very hot, and possibly very rainy. It is also possible that a major storm could come through during our trip. And as I saw with the pre-planning, things can change quickly.

Additionally, we now have some family from FL who are making time to visit us at Disney while we are on the east coast. So, trying to coordinate with other groups might mess with our plans and/or stress me out a bit. So the extra flexibility might come in handy. (i.e., more changes to the ever changing trip.....)

Look out - another change ahead!: I was able to add my dad into our plans for Day 4 (now that he has confirmed to driving up), finally snagging an extra spot for the Star Wars dessert party; however, I have had issues adding him to my other ADR's that weekend. Both Yak & Yeti and Sci-Fi are showing full. Seems like I should be able to add a single person but that puts us at an odd number and probably messes with seating. Not so concerned with Yak & Yeti only because he wouldn't eat anything from there anyway so I will probably just cancel that one. I will keep checking back for Sci-Fi in hopes something opens up so we can add him. Suggestions welcome!!!!

Now back to our regularly scheduled program......Where was I, oh right, today is lazy morning kind of day – should we choose to accept the challenge, LOL. We have a breakfast ADR for Whispering Canyon at 10:00 AM but after that the sky is the limit. We could choose to start our day early at MK (but I am guessing we will choose the lazy option)....or.....we could head over after breakfast. Or...... we can hang in the MK area and resort hop....or.....visit DS......or go back to hang by the pool. It really depends on what we feel we have missed.

I feel like I have never left this much flexibility in our schedules, at least not since the kids were little tots and I had to plan in breaks. Let's see how many actual breaks we really take. I am thinking of trying a semi-live trip report, so we shall see. But I digress.

Our evening plans are to head back to Epcot. We have FP for test track, the seas, and the short film festival. This is in case we weren’t able to get onto these rides on our planned Epcot day. Dinner will be at F&W, of course! I think it’s Sugar Ray for the ETB series – though I haven’t heard any of his music in forever!!! Who is he again? I also believe today is EMH for Epcot so we can stay later too.

Once we have had enough of walking and eating and drinking, we are off to bed!
 
PTR #15:

I know I literally just posted day 7 but given how long I have been away from this PTR I am posting Day 8 now as well. I wrote the above PTR about 2 weeks ago and it took me forever to finish it and get it posted, LOL. Work is really keeping me busy and I just haven't had much time to think about this trip. And I realized today that suddenly we are only 15 Days AWAY!!!!! I still have so much to do so I am a little panicky but the big stuff is done so I should be fine. More than anything I am happy to report no major changes and as long as the weather holds we should be good.

So our resort stay MagicBands arrived about 1 week ago, and as I said previously we now have 2 sets since we also received AP MagicBands. So I decided to decorate my red one but probably will end up using the lanyard accessory instead. This way I can wear my fitbit and track my steps since we will be doing a LOT of walking.



Day 8 – 09/27/2017

This is it. Our last day at the world…… We will likely spend the morning packing up and generally getting organized. While we don’t actually depart until the 28th, being ready will allow us to enjoy the rest of the day without worry about these last minute details.

Breakfast plans are totally up in the air and depend on whether we are heading straight to a park, or taking our time in the morning. Either way today is a planned MK day. We have FP for later in the afternoon and early evening which are all centered around our farewell dinner at BoG @ 5:10 PM. We booked BTMR, Tales w/Belle, and JC. Plus we love MK at night! We figured meeting the beast, enjoying MK at night, and finishing it off with HEA would be a great way to end our vacation! MK also has EMH this night until 10:00 PM so if we are up for it we can extend our fun just a little bit longer before heading back to our room for the night.

Sadly, I am guessing the Tragical Express will be whisking us off to the airport around 7:00 AM….

The good thing about leaving so early is that we will be back home in California by noon, LOL – thanks to the 3 hour time difference.

Luckily I do not go back to work until Monday so that gives me a 3 day weekend to get out of vacation mode, and maybe finish that trip report as a form of closure! Then I will likely start planning for the next trip!!!!!!!
 
Work is about to kill me! BUT......FOUR more sleeps and then I am on a plane home to Walt Disney World. :worship: Yacht Club here we come! :sail: I am so excited for our first stay at this resort, and to be so close to the Food & Wine Festival :hungry:. Honestly I haven't eaten in a week - I'm starved. JK - but we have been trying to clean out the fridge and the pickings are gettin' pretty slim.

All right Mickey - See Ya Real Soon! :hourglass
 

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