A Pre-Trip Report from a OCD Trip Plannner (First "plannned" Disney World Trip) [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

Sacha_L

04-06-2008, 01:05 PM

Hello All,
I am hoping to do 2 things with this report...1) Take any and all advice from the experts (ie.. all of you) 2) Get all the plans in 1 place so I can sleep at night without lists running endlessly through my head! :lmao:
I apologize in advance for the following:
I can't spell, or capitalize and I am the QUEEN of run on sentances :) I am not uneducated just dsylexic ;)

The Cast:

Me! 32 years old
OCD trip planner of the family, I work part-time, love to travel, garden and scrapbook (hate to clean house) I also spend wayyy to much time :surfweb: online

DH 35 years old
Sport Fanatic, goes along with pretty much whatever I plan as long as there is a view, good food involved, and its not too hot! He also like to travel and is a bit of a worrier.

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk201/SachaPhotos/P8209797.jpg

Ds Erik 6 almost 7
This kid goes NON STOP, hmmm wonder where he got that trait? :lmao:
He currently plays soccer & baseball in the Spring, tennis & swimming in the Summer, Soccer & Baseball in the Fall and we ski almost every weekend in the Winter (skiied his first Black at 5!!! Yes proud mommy!) Now before you guys think I over schedule this kid he specifically asked to do all (ok most) of this and keeps asking for MORE!

Ds Luke 3 1/2
The baby of our family he is a clone of his daddy and still getting out of his Ivan the Terrible 2 stage....He has perfected the I am an angel would you punish me? big blue eyes look. He wants to do anything his older brother does.

MIL 60 divorced for 30+ years lives behind us and is the disney Fanatic in our lives , she accompanies us on quite a few of our trips which allows Dh and I to continue on when its naptime for the boys and indulge in our LOVE of roller-coasters.

Our Last Disney Trip:

We took our first Disney Family Vacation last year to Disney Land (3 days) as a part of a larger 3 state 2 week trip. I booked our hotel (Disneyland Hotel) , bought our tickets and asked a few questions on here. I thought I had planned our trip, after all I knew about Fast Passes! I soon learned the error of my ways as we fried in the sun :headache: (July 4th weekend) and fought the crowds. :scared1: .I did not really get a Touring plan or making Character mealreservations in advance! It also did not help that I left $3K+ worth of my camera's in the planes overhead bin which took a ride across the country without us :scared: (they were returned 48 hours later I LOVE Southwest!!! :lovestruc )

DH and I now have a marriage agreement NEVER to EVER go to Disney in the summer or on a holiday weekend again! We did have a good time in spite of all the above and knew we wanted to go back.

Fast Forward to this year and I am determined that we should go to the world instead (Dh and I have both been before but it was for a work conference where we only got about 8 hours in the park) I am so excited! :banana: the Disney bug has gotten me good! So I have been reading on here non-stop and getting my daily fixes reading trip reports. Dh is telling me I am obsessed :confused3 who me??

The Plan (At least for Now):
We are going Oct 3rd-7th and I think staying at the Port orleans riverside because there are 5 of us. I'd really like to stay at the poly or AK but I'd need a good discount code to make that happen. I have ordered the DVD and am hoping for a code so I can upgrade.

We are not planning on doing the Waterparks or Park Hoppers because Luke is really not big enough for most of the Water Park. And becasue we will only have 3 full days and 2 partials. (Plus its a reason to come back next year :woohoo: ) It looks like there is only 1 day while we are there with EMH so I will plan around that. Luke will celebrate his 4th Birthday while we are there so I will be planning some special stuff for that day too!

Whew I think that's it for now I am hoping to start planning my ADR's over the next few days since its almost time to book them!

stagemomx3

04-06-2008, 03:13 PM

:thumbsup2 I'm in.

Sacha_L

04-07-2008, 10:16 AM

Announcement # 1
first off its time for a happy dance!!! :banana: :banana: :banana:
Dh just said I could extend our stay by 1 more day! So our new dates are Oct 3rd-Oct 8th :yay: give me a few more weeks and maybe I can get him to "my" actual plan of 6 nights ::yes::

Announcement #2
I have already changed my mind and deceided we will buy Park Hoppers. This change was made due to the fact that the park hours are shorter in the Fall, Duh Sacha :rolleyes1

Now on to the Planning! Finally the Park hours for Oct are listed! So I am going to take it 1 day at a time.

Day 1:
Arrival in the late afternoon/evening so Dh can work at least 1/2 a day and not annoy his PITA boss, and so he can save a vacation day. I am not sure yet on exact times because the Airlines are not selling tickets that far in advance yet. I am hoping to get in the $213 round trip tickets from Southwest. ::yes:: From New Mexico this is an awesome deal!

Oct 3rd
MK: 9am-7pm
Epcot:
Future World 9am-7pm
World Showcase 11am-9pm
Extra Magic Hours
Animal Kingdom: 9am-5pm
Hollywood Studios: 9am-7:30pm

Based on this I am planning on us being in Epcot Friday Night...I am reallly hoping the Extra Magic Hours will be in the evening because I know we will all be Raring to GO!!! So for now I am off to see exactly what in Epcot we want to do and where we want to eat dinner that night. Iam looking for as many character meals as possible so if you have a favoriteplease share :)

stagemomx3

04-07-2008, 06:18 PM

I think the only character meal in Epcot is Garden Grill. We didn't like it very much, but lots of other people have enjoyed.

joelp

04-07-2008, 09:12 PM

You can check out the following site to find the "best" parks to visit - or avoid - for each day of your trip:

http://www.*****************/tp2/UG2_index.php?PageID=0

It only works a month ahead of time - unless you buy the "Unofficial Guide" and find the "secret codes" ...:)

Eh - did it to me again when I tried to list that site ... :headache:

Just find **************** ... (stupid compters!! :badpc: )

OK - it's touingplans.com (and add an "r" after the "tou ..." :badpc: :badpc: :badpc:

You may want to rethink the hoppers -with only a limited amount of time in da world, you don't want to spend too much of it travelling from park to park ... And with the DS-3.5, make sure you bring a stroller and plan on an afternoon nap break (the older ones could stay at the park or come back for a swim ...)

And it may be hot at WDW in October, too ... We had some friends who were there last Oct and they said it was steaming!! (But then - the 2 times me and the DW were at WDW it was cool and pleasant, with a touch of rain, and no crowds ...)

And be careful of Epcot on the weekends if the Food and Wine Festival is going on - I heard it gets VERY crowded ... :drinking1 popcorn:: ... :jumping1: (finally got to use the "drinking" smilie ... :laughing: )

I'll be lurking ... :lmao:

Sacha_L

04-08-2008, 09:23 AM

I think the only character meal in Epcot is Garden Grill. We didn't like it very much, but lots of other people have enjoyed.

Hi! :wave2: may I ask why ou did not like Garden Grill? After spending hours yesterday on Disney's site I thought we would eat dinner here....but I don't want to eat yucky food just for the characters TIA!

Sacha_L

04-08-2008, 09:32 AM

[QUOTE=joelp;24318612]You can check out the following site to find the "best" parks to visit - or avoid - for each day of your trip:

:goodvibes Thanks for the site!

OK - it's touingplans.com (and add an "r" after the "tou ..." :badpc: :badpc: :badpc:

You may want to rethink the hoppers -with only a limited amount of time in da world, you don't want to spend too much of it travelling from park to park ... And with the DS-3.5, make sure you bring a stroller and plan on an afternoon nap break (the older ones could stay at the park or come back for a swim ...)

I was only thinking park hoppers because some of the parks seem to close rather early and was thinking that if we were still still feeling the "need" we'd head over to whatever park was still open....because we are all about the mid day nap/pool time.

And it may be hot at WDW in October, too ... We had some friends who were there last Oct and they said it was steaming!! (But then - the 2 times me and the DW were at WDW it was cool and pleasant, with a touch of rain, and no crowds ...)

I am hoping for cool and no crowdsmyself :rotfl: but not holding my breath!

And be careful of Epcot on the weekends if the Food and Wine Festival is going on - I heard it gets VERY crowded ... :drinking1 popcorn:: ... :jumping1: (finally got to use the "drinking" smilie ... :laughing: )

Thanks for all the tips! :worship:

Sacha_L

04-08-2008, 09:49 AM

Sacha_L

04-08-2008, 12:05 PM

OK starting on Saturday Oct 4th:

Looks like Hollywood Studio's has Extra Magic Hours today :) To be honest I did not see a whole lot that interested us...So depending on when the Extra Magic Hours are this might be a half day park for us. Please let me know if there is anything else you guys think would be good for little boys

Disney's Hollywood Studios™ Al's Toy Barn

Indiana Jones ™ Epic Stunt Spectacular!

Lights, Motors, Action!™ Extreme Stunt Show Remove Attraction

Playhouse Disney - Live on Stage!

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster® Starring Aerosmith

Star Tours - the ultimate Star Wars™ thrill ride

Toy Story Mania

I was thinking of Playhouse Disney's Play and Dine if the extra magic hours are in the morning (later breakfast)

OR
I was thinking of the Sci fi in dine if we are there for lunch or dinner....

:mad: I REALLY wish they would post WHEN the xtra magic hours are for OCT!!! Ok, sorry about all the shouting but I had to get tha out :crazy2:

joelp

04-08-2008, 03:42 PM

Alright! Here is what yesterday's reading found:

Epcot® The Garden Grill Restaurant

IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth

Maelstrom

Norway

Mission: SPACE

Soarin'™

Spaceship Earth

Test Track

The Seas with Nemo & Friends

Turtle Talk with Crush

The "Big Kid Rides" ie... (Dh & I) will probably be left off until DH and I can come back on our own. Is all this possible in a evening at Epcot? :confused3

In a single evening? - No way!!

You really need 2 whole days to do Epcot ...

Dinner at the Garden Grill will take at least 1.5 hours (maybe longer if it's crowded ...)

You probably won't be able to use Fastpass (they all will have been issued for the day already ... )

So - let's plan this out ...

5:00 pm dinner
6:30-8:00 hit attractions
8:00 find a spot for Illuminations (at 8:30?)

So - you only have 1.5 hours for attractions ... :sad2:

So - you need to prioritize - or spend a whole day at Epcot ... or bag dinner at the Garden Grill. So - how about this - (with approximate times ...)

5:00 pm Spaceship Earth (if the line is small - if not go directly to ...

The Seas/Turtle Talk

6:00 pm Soarin' (do a kid switch - the "Unofficial Guide" tells how to do this ... and/or grab a Fastpass if available)

6:30 dinner at Sunshine Seasons in The Land

7:00 Honey, I Shrunk the Audience ... or just scoot over to
Mission:Space or Test Track (again - grab a Fastpass, pull a "kid switch" and/or use the "singles line" ...)

7:30 Norway - Maelstrom

8:00 - grab a snack and find a spot for Illuminations

OK - I actually managed to fit most of your choices in :wizard:

- but you'll have to bag dinner at the Garden Grill and run into a lot of short lines ... and do a lot of "running" from one place to the next ... and I really don't think you'll even fit all that in ... :upsidedow

So - give it some more thought and prioritize ...

And remember - you're on vacation - and even though WDW is not a "relaxing" vacation - you don't need to make it a "stressful" one by trying to see as much as possible. Take some time just to relax and take in the the sights, sounds, and atmosphere of the parks ... :)

Sacha_L

04-08-2008, 05:33 PM

:goodvibes Thanks for the "revised" itenerary (sp?) I do have an awful habit of trying to be a "Park Commando" when the rest of my family is not :laughing:

Question # 1 IF there are Extra Magic Hours in the evening could we do all I origionally planned?

Can you tell its hard for me to pare down :rotfl2:

Question # 2 If there are not EMH and we dropped all the grown-up stuff could we still fit in the below

Dinner on the run if we see it and smells good we grab it!

IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth

The Seas with Nemo & Friends

Turtle Talk with Crush

Spaceship Earth

Norway - Maelstrom

:confused: whatcha think?

joelp

04-09-2008, 05:12 AM

I just remembered -the FW closes earlier than WS - at 7:00 pm ...

Here are the Oct park hours:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/oct08.cfm?requesttimeout=1000

... that will squeeze you some more ... :sad1:

But I think you will be able to get in the "short list - last May when we went to Epcot, I took the DD back to POFQ for a nap (which she didn't take !! :sad2: ) and rejoined my DW & Co. around 5:30 ... As I recall, there was only a very short line for Spaceship Earth (which I walked past ...) - and then I walked right onto The Living Seas with Nemo - and our timing was perfect to walk right into Turtle Talk with only a 5 minute wait ...

So - it can be done!! :woohoo:

Since Turtle Talk runs only every 1/2 hour or so - head there first ... if there will be a "longish" wait, do The Living Seas and hang out in that pavilion until the show will start ... :fish:(keep close and monitor the line ...otherwise, just get in the Turtle Talk line) then hit Spaceship Earth ... [OK my daughter just woke up and jumped on my lap
and wants to say "hello" - :hippie: ... :bride: ... :butterfly ]

Then have dinner - I'd recommend walking over to The Land Pavilion - if there's no line, jump on Soarin' (or grab a Fastpass, if available ... if you haven't noticed, I'm REALLY trying to get you on Soarin"!! :lmao:) ...

Your next goal will be to get on Maelstrom about 1 hour before Illuminations (which will probably go off at 8:30 ...) - that will give you time to relax a little and take in some of the WS while you grab a good spot to see Illuminations.

So no Garden Grill ...

But if you get the chance - check out the "exhibits" at Norway (there's a small "museum" in the Stave Church which has some Viking history stuff that the guys will like ... takes 5-10 minues) and the Mexico pavillion has some cool exhibits, too (another 10-20 minutes).

Uh-oh - the DD wants the "Tickle Monster" to make an appearance :scared1: - so I'll take a look at your DHS plans later ... :3dglasses

joelp

04-09-2008, 06:47 AM

I stand corrected! - I just double-checked the web site with the park hours - and (if I'm readin' it right ...) with EMH, FW will be open until 10:00 pm ... :banana:

So with that - you'll have an extra hour or so after Illuminations to do a few things ... (includin' Soarin'!! :lmao:)

BTW - I suggested The Land pavillion for dinner at Sunshine Seasons (and Soarin' !!
:rotfl2: ) If the timing is right and the line short, you may also want to try Honey, I Shrunk the Audience ...

Another dinner alternative is to start walking around the WS towards Norway, grazing along the way popcorn:: ... and maybe run into some Characters, too ...

And - finally - don't forget the Character Connection located behind Innoventions. We stumbled upon it and saw Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Chip n Dale - and then Lady Belle ... all in about 20 minutes!!

Since you're planning on hitting DHS on Saturday - I assume it's AK on Sunday and MK on Monday? Or are you going to the MSSSHP on Sunday?

Sacha_L

04-09-2008, 08:33 AM

BTW I too LOVE Soarin, it was one of my favorite rides at Disney Land so I am all for fitting it in :yay: I just informed Ds3 that he has to grow 2 in by Oct so he can go on more rides :rotfl2: This kid is not scared of anything. DS6 is more likely to be afraid of stuff than he is.

Norway is def on our plan...DH is 1/2 Norwegian and 1/2 French (a lover & a fighter LOL) :rotfl:

Thanks again for allthe suggestions, they are really making me "plan" better :thumbsup2 I am WAYYY to optimistic whenmaking plans and then get disappointed when we don't get to do it all.....I did order the unofficial guide last night...ahh this way I can read at "work" too :rolleyes:

Sacha_L

04-09-2008, 08:27 PM

I just have to say Disney is BRILLIANT! :dance3: I got the DVD and the whole family sat down to watch it last night. popcorn:: It was so cute watching the kids watch it!

Dh was especially interested in the "resort" section....he now says no way to the values and not really to the mods and wants to go to the POLY!! ooh I never thought he would agree to the cash for that due to some ski trips planned for later in the fall. It will have to be a Garden View Room but hey it still looks fantastic! I can't wait till Friday so I can book before he changes his mind! :yay:

However DH now says we should each pick what park we want to go to most and spend at least a day there :rolleyes: and he wants a Waterpark....So I said fine then we need one more day! He said maybe we could fly in late thursday night :idea: who am I to complain? So now I am off to look at the interpolated EMH that robo :worship: has put up a, rethink my plans completly! Stay tuned to the its all changing again pre-trip report....

joelp

04-10-2008, 05:05 AM

I just informed Ds3 that he has to grow 2 in by Oct so he can go on more rides :rotfl2: This kid is not scared of anything.

What a great way to get a kid to eat his vegetables and drink his milk!!! :banana:

And hold the "Star Tours" possibility over his head - I'm sure riding that will be a big "carrot" for him to ... uh - eat his carrots ... :lmao:

joelp

04-10-2008, 05:21 AM

We stayed at POFQ last May - and it was very nice.

This December the original plan was to spend 4 nights at All Star Movies and then move over to AKL (basically the same cost as 7 nights at a moderate ...)

BUT - when I started adding up food costs and using/not using the DDP - we're now staying all 7 nights at AKL!! :woohoo:with the the DDP ... popcorn::

[and the best part - DW doesn't know it!! :love: ] There's this thing called "Disney Math" which does not obey any rules of logic or conform to the known laws of physics ... :teacher:

MY PTR is at http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1689094

You may get some ideas from that, too (although - by December - we will have a DD-5 who is very much into princesses!! ... )

I'll hold off on making any more recommendations then until you have a better idea what you want to do ... I'm sure :jumping2: will give you some more ideas (and you have to visit my PTR to find out who [what?] :jumping2: is ...

:lmao:

Glad to hear that the DH wants to get involved with the planning now ...

PS. If you just happened to get something stuck in your eye and needed some Kleenex while watching the DVD - happens to my DW all the time, too!! And she seems to have that "problem" a lot in WDW (it starts on the ME bus ...) :rotfl2:

I'll be lurking and waiting for more news ...

Sacha_L

04-10-2008, 11:20 PM

Ok I am booking tomorrow! :hourglass Since I really want to stay at the Poly & do the Dining Plan we are not checking in until the 3rd...However I will be booking the earliest flight out of ABQ as I can and hope to get us to the world by 12 or 1pm. (saves me almost $600!! versus flying in late thur night)

Soooo here is a tenative schedule
Oct 3rd
arrival day
afternoon & evening at Epcot PM EMH Open till 10pm

Oct 4th
sleep in
Breakfast at the Resort
Blizzard Beach 10am-5pm
Dinner at resort
Watch MK fireworks from the Beach

Oct 5th
Hollywood Studio's 9am-7:30 pm PM EMH (how late is that?)

Oct 6th
MK 9am-9pm PM EMH

Oct 7th
AK 9am-6pm

Now to figure out ADR's by tomorrow morning! :scared1: It'sgonna be a longgggg :coffee: night!

Here is a pic of all of us with Pluto last year at DisneyLand to keep me motivated! This was our last night and we were all fried to a crisp!
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk201/SachaPhotos/P7079582.jpg

stagemomx3

04-10-2008, 11:25 PM

Cute pictures. I think your itinerary looks good!

joelp

04-11-2008, 05:18 AM

:banana:

One thing you may want to consider when making your ADRs - book your TS meals for breakfast and lunch ... with young kids and a pretty full schedule, they will be tired AND overstimulated - so you never know what kinda mood they will be in later in the day ... :scared1: (not to mention that you and the DH may be in "zombie" mode, too ...)

Also - in an earlier post when you listed what you wanted to do at DHS, you didn't list Fantasmic!! - you may want to rethink that with the EMH ...

Time to take pluto: for a run ...

Sacha_L

04-11-2008, 01:44 PM

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk201/SachaPhotos/P7049424.jpg

This is how I feel right now! because I just got off the phone with DISNEY! :cool1: We are booked at the Poly! :banana: no going back now :goodvibes

Here's the PLAN

Oct 3rd
Earliest flight out of ABQ
Arrive at resort around 12, check in and RUN to Epcot :)
Ok, so maybe not run, I'll find us a bus or monorail or something :rotfl2: (see all the stuff I still need to plan!
ADR 5:50 at the Coral Reef
PM EMH

Oct 4th
Luke's 4th Birthday!
ADR 8am Lilo'& Stitch's Breakfast the the resort (I think I might move this to 9am)

All Day at Blizzard Beach

Spirit of Aloha Dinner ADR 8pm

Oct 5th
sleep in a little

Off to Hollywood Studio's

Breakfast ADR at 10am Hollywood & Vine

No lunch plans because we have a 3:30 ADR at Mama Melroses which comes with prefered seating for the 7:30 Fantasmic! Thanks Joel for reminding me :)

Oct 6th
no breakfast plans yet probably sleep in a little
its MK day!
lunch ADR at Crystal Palace at 11:30am

AND drum roll please!!! :wizard: I got an ADR at Cindarella's Royal table! :wizard: This is a surprise for MIL :) Its kind of early 5:25pm but I was shocked I could get one at all!

Oct 7th
Off to AK
Donald's Safari breakfast ADr at 9:25am

no lunch plans yet

Dinner ADR 7:15 at Hoop de Doo

Oct 8th
No plans at all, we have to leave :( I am hoping to get a late flight out so we can hit at least 1 park for 1/2 a day....
whew what a relief! Now I just need a code for Oct..:guilty:

here's one more pic to end the post :)

Don'tthe boys just look thrilled, hey momma needed a pic in front of California Adventure darnit..
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk201/SachaPhotos/P7069464.jpg

Sacha_L

04-12-2008, 07:27 PM

Dh went shooting so I had a whole afternoon just to read DIS :ssst: So I just spent the last 4 hours reading through 11 pages of the attractions and park strategies boards :rolleyes1
I also started looking at Southwest's flight arrival times to get a general idea how early we could hypothetically be at Disney :rotfl: looks like a choice of leaving at 6am and arriving at 2:20pm (with 2 stops) or leaving around 9am and arriving at 2:45pm.... :scratchin guess which one I want :confused3 :lmao:

Soo I am thinking if we land at 2:45 to plan on it taking us an hour to get our bags and get on the Magical Express, is this about right?

And then add in another 1 1/2 hours to get to the resort and checked in....:confused3

Which would put us getting into Epcot at around 5:15-5:30?

I originally had 5:50 ADR's at Coral reef but I just changed to 7pm because I was worried we would not make it. :eek:
Thankfully Epcot has evening EMH (I think open till midnight! :banana: ) We should make it till closing no problem because to us it will only be 10pm.

So here is yet another new PLAN

5:15 RUN to the monorail we will be one excited family :cheer2:
Epcot

On our way towards Coral Reef attempt to either ride or get FP for Soarin

If we can't ride Soarin we head to:
Turtle Talk with Crush
The Sea's with Nemo & Friends
Try to do 1 or both before Dinner ADR at 7pm

After Dinner head to Soarin hopefully with FP's in our hot little hands

Then Head over to Test Track and hope we can grab a FP for later

On to Norway to once again Hope :wizard: for a FP for Maelstom

Explore Norway until Illuminations (and actually if I can convince the rest of our party I'd rather ride rides than watch the fireworks) :scared1: shocking I know!
Actually I was thinking of leaving MIL and Ds4 to watch this while we took Ds7 to try and ride Spacehip Earth and Maelstrom... other than that I don't care what else we accomplish :) maybe Honey I shrunk the audience?

I know we are barely scratching the surface of Epcot with this but hey I plan on making this a yearly trip :rolleyes1 :hyper: :ssst: just don't tell Dh on me ok :rotfl:

and one more pic to end the post here is DS Erik showing off his pins last year at DL (this turned into quite an obsession!)

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk201/SachaPhotos/P7069451.jpg

joelp

04-13-2008, 05:59 AM

Yes - it is Sunday morning and I'm up before 7 am ... again ... :headache:

I figure it takes about 3 hours from the time your plane lands at MCO until you can get to a park ... If you're going to use ME and have Disney take care of your bags, just head straight to the buses ... If you are going to wait and get your bags yourselves, add another 0.5-1 hour ... [That time includes 15 min for you to "rest" at the Resort before you head out for your first night at WDW ... :banana: ... ]

I would also check what time Illuminations is set to go off (and I'm not sure if it runs twice with EMH ... :confused: ) With a 7:00 pm ADR, you'll probably miss it if the fireworks start at 8:00. [Remember - ADRs are not like "normal" reservations - they're just a "placeholder" for the next available table ...]

And "Illuminations" is a lot more than just "fireworks" - there's laser lights, "videos" - and all kinds of other cool stuff ...

Realistically, you probably won't be able to make it over to the "left" side of Epcot until after "Illuminations" ... and you may just get "stuck" in The Living Seas pavilion for awhile ...

Universe of Energy sounds pretty cool from the description ...

And you could just stroll around the WS - my DD loved the Kidcot Stations ... :hippie:

stagemomx3

04-13-2008, 08:54 AM

Actually I was thinking of leaving MIL and Ds4 to watch this while we took Ds7 to try and ride Spacehip Earth and Maelstrom...

These two rides are very, very far apart!

Traveling is very tiring. I would take the time to rest after checking in before heading to the park. Here's what I would do-

6pm- head into Epcot
Ride Spaceship Earth
Walk over to Soarin see if any Fast Passes left? Probably not.
Perhaps time for Turtle Talk with Crush before Dinner
Coral Reef ADR- plan on dinner taking 2 hours.
So you probably won't make Illuminations. It's a long walk from Coral Reef over to World Showcase.
I'd plan on exiting the park after dinner, perhaps doing some shopping on your way out.

Sacha_L

04-13-2008, 09:41 AM

ok that's it,we are going to fly in Thur night instead! I am off to find us a place to stay!

joelp

04-13-2008, 11:36 AM

ok that's it,we are going to fly in Thur night instead! I am off to find us a place to stay!

:rotfl:

Before you go ... :crazy:

If you fly in the night before and stay off-site, you won't be able to use ME (not "me" - I won't be anywhere WDW in October ... :rotfl2:) ... which means renting a car or other transportation from MCO to WDW, then transferring all your luggage to the Poly the next day, checking in-checking out, etc. ... :sad2: ... (it might end up not costing all that much less in $$ and time than an additional night at the Poly ...)

Back in high school, a fellow student had a favorite saying: "When in doubt - simplify!" [Which was usually shortly followed by "Ohh - s**t!!" ... kidding ... :) ]

The simplest thing you can do to make that first evening at Epcot easier is to bag the Coral Reef ADR ... that way (1) you won't have a "fixed" schedule and ADR that you have to meet , (2) it will free up 1.5-2 hours that you would be having dinner (vs a CS restuarant - maybe 0.5 hour ...), and (3) you won't have all the potential hassles of flying in the night before (late - with kids ... :scared1: ), switching hotels, etc ...

And frankly - do you really want to be sitting in a restaurant your first night at WDW instead of walking around and doing "stuff"? - Even though I have heard the Coral Reef is a cool restaurant (and it's on our itinerary for December) - do you think the two boys (and your "big" boy) will sit quietly through a 1.5-2 hour meal while all that "stuff" awaits them?? :jumping3: :jumping3::jumping3:

BTW - looking at all the TS meals you have planned - are you doing the DDP? (with two kids - it will save you $$$ ...) And actually, the Deluxe DDP may save you $$, too ... :teacher: ...

So - save the Coral Reef for next time ... :fish:

stagemomx3

04-13-2008, 03:21 PM

And frankly - do you really want to be sitting in a restaurant your first night at WDW instead of walking around and doing "stuff"? -

We loved sitting in Coral Reef for dinner our first night! We were to tired to do much "stuff" and it was a fun atmosphere to sit and relax in. I much prefer a relaxing start to a vacation to trying to do to much stuff when I'm tired.

Sacha_L

04-13-2008, 04:45 PM

yup I am going crazy! :rotfl:
I thought about the whole ME thing and priced out 1 night at POR instead,its cheaper and easier than 1 night offsite + rental car+hassle (cause in my mind hassle costs money! its a special math I do!) :teacher: $204 for room only vs $600+ for the POLY (because we are doing the Deluxe meal plan) even if we were not arriving till 11:25 pm(our time it would only be 9:25pm) they would still charge us for the deluxe meal plan x 5 people and the room rate at poly. :scared1: :sad2:
It ended up being around $600 difference, which is why I switched from arriving on Thur night to arriving Friday day....looks like I was right the first time! :rolleyes:
Maybe I need to replan this :lmao:

I really appreciate all the input though becasue I would have been sorely disappointed friday night.

joelp

04-13-2008, 05:44 PM

If you know you're going :crazy: are you going :crazy:??

I think what you need to do is sit down and REALLY prioritize what you want to do ... (and don't worry - you have 5+ months to do it; and you have ADRs - if you want to change some of them, no big deal ... )

With 2 kids - anything after hitting your priorities is icing on the cake ... (or extra chocolate on the Mickey Bar!! :mickeybar )

First start with the parks - then which attractions at the parks ... run through the DVD again with the family (including the MIL - and remember, she may be the first one to fade each day ...)

I looked over your "general plan" from a couple posts back - and I gotta tell ya, I got tired just reading it!! :laughing:

You have a lot of TS meals - including some later dinners - and I'm not sure you'll be in any kind of mental or physical condition to really enjoy them ...

I'm thinking of last May when we spent all day at the AK - when we got back to POFQ around 6:00, the DD was raring to go, (she had a 20 minute nap on the bus ...) but the DW and I were walking zombies ...literally, our brains just shut down ... :lmao: Fortunately, the POFQ staff came to our rescue with a coloring book and crayons [obviously, they've seen parents in our condition before: "We have a Code 14 in the Lobby! A Code 14 in the Lobby!" ... :rotfl:] - and Fay the security guard chased the DD around the POFQ lobby for about 10 minutes!! (some of that WDW magic at work ... :tinker:... ) And we had 4 adults and only one kid!! :rotfl2: (well - I'm using "adult" liberally ...)

I think you'll be fine at Epcot (but tired) on Oct 3 if you don't do a TS meal - just plan on seeing a few things, and when the kids (or you!!) get tired - back to the Poly ...

On Oct 4, after spending the day at Blizzard Beach - do you really think you're gonna want to drag your tired butts to the Spirit of Aloha Dinner at 8:00 pm?
On October 5, it looks like you're not gonna have an afternoon break: :scared1:

You should be OK on Oct 6 ... if you take an afternoon break ... and on Oct 7 ... if you don't try to close the AK ...

Oct 8 - maybe head back to Epcot: it's a short monorail ride away, and that will take the pressure off trying to do a lot on Oct 3 ...

Finally - check out stagemonx3's TR (I started reading it ... ): she has some good suggestions in the first few posts ... :worship:

And now - I need to take my own advice and give my plan an "insanity" check ... :crazy:

stagemomx3

04-13-2008, 08:49 PM

Finally - check out stagemonx3's TR (I started reading it ... ): she has some good suggestions in the first few posts ... :worship:

And now - I need to take my own advice and give my plan an "insanity" check ... :crazy:

Hey a shout out, thanks! :goodvibes

Sacha_L

04-13-2008, 09:54 PM

First off let me apologize for my melt down earlier today :furious: I've since had a Margarita and feel muchhhhh betttterrrrrr ::yes::

After spending the entire day building an "easy to assemble" dog run with DH (and not once mentioning Disney!)
I approched Dh very carefully (this poor man cowers when I mention Disney lately) :scared: and ran through my whole spiel, his response "why don't you talk to my mom" (in DH language this translates too "I don't care,you know when I can get off work just don't make it too painful) So i did, :rolleyes1

Its decided, :lmao: we are flying out Thur night! There is simply too much we want to do at Epcot I refuse to cut back :laughing:

So thanks to Joel, and Chel (I'm enjoying your planning too!) I am being much more reasonable ;)
(yeah right)

Arrive Thur night
ME to POR
Sleep in (we will probably be up by 9am)
have breakfast & check out
I am actually pretty glad we are going to stay 1 night there because we were originally going to stay here. This way I'll see if we would like it in case I need to plan a less expensive trip next year.

Head to the POLY and check in, I know our room won't be ready but at least we can leave our bags and get our park tickets/meal plan stuff. (I'll handle all this while DH and the kids explore the resort)

I'm not planning lunch (aren't you guys proud of me!)

I am hoping to hit the parks 12-1 pm-ish

Now off to re-plan the same day for the millionthtime.......:faint:

here's another pic for anyone who is still reading my raving madness :)

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk201/SachaPhotos/P7069468.jpg

mh1973

04-13-2008, 09:57 PM

OMG!!!! Your boys are SUPER cute!!!!!!!!!

stagemomx3

04-13-2008, 10:07 PM

:thumbsup2 An extra night at Disney, how sweet is that! It will certainly help with being able to get more accomplished at Epcot. :)

Sacha_L

04-14-2008, 06:52 AM

OMG!!!! Your boys are SUPER cute!!!!!!!!!

why thanks! Your kiddos are pretty cute too! I love the face painting, my boys usually end up smearing it right away...next time I need to snap pics as soon as they get it done!

Sacha_L

04-14-2008, 12:43 PM

alllrighty then...I am calm...I will not overschedule our day...repeat I am calm...LOL

I did almost have to kill DH today though, I could not find my spiral DISNEY notebook :scared: this has all my written plans (cause you know I need a backup) as well as our ADR confirmation #'s times, places ect...just consider this book my "wooby" :lovestruc
Once several years ago when I was even crazier than I am now I had a "PLANNER" I wrote down everything I was going to do everyday...if it was not in the planner it did not happen...:confused3 I would even go back in and add things to my "to do" list just so I could cross them off. :eek: I know I know...:sick:
when we had been married about a month this thing disappeared while on a trip out of town...I was heartbroken but figured it had been left somewhere and I would replace it when i got home....an amazing thing happened :goodvibes I RELAXED...I actually enjoyed what we were doing because I was not worrying about what we would do next! when we returned home I did not replace it!
6 months later I found out DH had hidden the thing! After going :crazy2: and considering hurting him where it hurt I decided that actually he did me a favor!

I do not own a planner anymore and for the most part I have mellowed...smelling the roses is nice! :flower3: However when planning VACATIONS I do tend to revert....So this morning I was not Amused! I know I have been driving him kinda nuts but overall he seemed to be taking it well...then I found my "wooby" under a pile of the kids artwork and my blood pressure lowered :hippie: DH was off the hook :lmao:

So here's a pic to end this post and my next one willbe a revised, SANE plan for Oct 3rd :upsidedow
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk201/SachaPhotos/P7079644.jpg

Sacha_L

04-14-2008, 01:59 PM

Oct 3rd

After the transfer from the POR to the POLY I am hoping to be in the park between 12-1pm

I will resist the urge to plan lunch! whatever happens....happens :drinking1

Here is what we want to do with the kids and MIL, we plan on grabbing FP for the "big kid rides" during the day and saving them for after Illuminations when MIL takes the kids back to the resort.

Monorail to Epcot

On our way to the "lands" grab a FP for Mission Space and Test track

Our main destination is Norway (if that's the only land we see we are ok with that) while we are there grab FP for maelstrom)

Head over to Honey I shrunk the audience

Grab FP or ride Soarin

Head to Living Seas pavillion

We have a NEW ADR at 6:20pm at Coral Reef (obviously I refuse to let this one go!)

We also want to ride
The sea's with Nemo & friends
and see turtle talk with crush

I have been overruled by the family and we will be watching Illuminations

After Illuminations MIL is taking the kids back to the POLY and DH and I are gonna go play on the rollercoasters....:hyper2:

whatcha think guys?

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk201/SachaPhotos/P7069473.jpg