WDW Commando Club

[Phoenixrising]

I think it's amazing idea about becoming a TA!! My good news is that I've been cleared for Kiniesology and can resume normal activities (YAHOO!!!). Bad news is that according to my doc that I can only go on one wild ride a day while at the parks, then have to switch to the tamer ones for the rest of the day. So it's really making me think about what rides to go on when, and is making me plan even more for my DL trip.

 

[Twin Dad]

We made a few changes to our October Vacation plan.
14th Fly in
15th MK ADR at BBB 830, CRT 1015
16th HS
17th AK
18th MNSSP
19th Switch Resorts Anniversary dinner
20th Sea World
21st HS ADR at H&V 1:45
22nd Universal Studio IOA
23rd EPCOT
24th Pool Day
25th MK ADR Chef Mickey 715am (Full Commando Mode)
26th Cape Canaveral and Fly home.

 

[happy2go2wdwmom]

Love the name of this thread---must read it! I have a zillion pics of me at WDW of my backside (unfortunately) because I am such a park commando...fav' saying at parks is, "Come on, let's get going...". So much to do so little time!

 

[WDW in Pearls]

So happy to know I'm not alone! My mother was a commando and I always swore I wouldn't be, but I definitely am! I haven't gone to the lengths of printing out paper itineraries yet, but that's just because the iPhone makes it easy for me to transfer my calendar to DBF's iPhone paperlessly

How do you guys choose which parks to do each day? I typically go by EMH, though I know some people use crowd calendars. Problem is, EMH days tend to have higher crowds. How reliable are the crowd calendars anyway? Any sites you do or do not recommend?

 

[AirGoofy]

So happy to know I'm not alone! My mother was a commando and I always swore I wouldn't be, but I definitely am! I haven't gone to the lengths of printing out paper itineraries yet, but that's just because the iPhone makes it easy for me to transfer my calendar to DBF's iPhone paperlessly

How do you guys choose which parks to do each day? I typically go by EMH, though I know some people use crowd calendars. Problem is, EMH days tend to have higher crowds. How reliable are the crowd calendars anyway? Any sites you do or do not recommend?

Welcome". It was nice to move from paper to phone on those plans. As for picking parks, unless it is a big evening EMH, then we pick the park opposite the EMH. When I say big, I mean 3 hours plus. Thus, if there is a 1 or 2 extra hour EMH at Epcot, then i figure I am better going MK or DHS. Yes, I don't get those 2 hours, but I usually get smaller crowds and less wait time. Now, of it is 3 hours evening only EMH, then I am at the park from RD until close.

Other methods of picking parks for me include avoiding Epcot on weekends during F&W and skipping parks on days during special ticket events (MNSSHP).

 

[WDW in Pearls]

Welcome". It was nice to move from paper to phone on those plans. As for picking parks, unless it is a big evening EMH, then we pick the park opposite the EMH. When I say big, I mean 3 hours plus. Thus, if there is a 1 or 2 extra hour EMH at Epcot, then i figure I am better going MK or DHS. Yes, I don't get those 2 hours, but I usually get smaller crowds and less wait time. Now, of it is 3 hours evening only EMH, then I am at the park from RD until close.

Other methods of picking parks for me include avoiding Epcot on weekends during F&W and skipping parks on days during special ticket events (MNSSHP).

Great tips. My birthday falls on an EMH night at MK, so I'm definitely going to stick with it that time. They're open until 12 that night and MK is my favorite park and, in my opinion, the best "birthday" park. I will definitely keep your advice in mind for our other days! Looks like I'm going to have to rewrite our plans...again...lol

 

[AirGoofy]

Great tips. My birthday falls on an EMH night at MK, so I'm definitely going to stick with it that time. They're open until 12 that night and MK is my favorite park and, in my opinion, the best "birthday" park. I will definitely keep your advice in mind for our other days! Looks like I'm going to have to rewrite our plans...again...lol

Absolutely. And happy future birthday. With MK open to midnight, that is definitely the park to be. Have fun planning - that is just part of the magic.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[kmedina]

How do you guys choose which parks to do each day? I typically go by EMH, though I know some people use crowd calendars. Problem is, EMH days tend to have higher crowds.

I never use crowd calendars. We almost always avoid extra Magic Hours, since I do not like to hop parks. If you want to avoid crowds, stay away from EMH unless you hop in right before they start or after they end. It also helps to stay on top of special events. When MK is closing early, it tends to be less packed. When Fantasmic only airs twice a week, HS is busier on those days. When Epcot is hosting F&W or Flower and Garden, it tends to be busier. AK almost never seems too busy to me, because it does not really hold special events and is large. I almost always do AK on Saturdays for that reason.

 

[Disney Commando]

Happy Mothers Day to all the Commando Moms Hope you all got to relax today

Thanks! I AM staying onsite. Pop Century this time. And I have a 15 yo daughter and 12 yo son. We ARE planning an evening at DHS without her but that's just to do RnR and ToT at night. But depending on how she feels there could be a lot more times where she either goes back to the hotel or relaxes at a baby care center, restaurant, shop, etc. But there will be other times where I relax with her while I make kids do things I refuse to do like go on Mission: Space or sit through Captain EO again.

This could really turn out great for you, I wouldn't feel right leaving my wife on a bench while doing the rides, but since your kids are older maybe they can take turns staying with mom so she is not alone, and you can get in some quality Dad/Son or Dad/Daughter time in, since they are getting to that age that it's not cool to hang with the parents, plus next trip the little one will need more attention, so enjoy them as much as you can

I think it's amazing idea about becoming a TA!! My good news is that I've been cleared for Kiniesology and can resume normal activities (YAHOO!!!). Bad news is that according to my doc that I can only go on one wild ride a day while at the parks, then have to switch to the tamer ones for the rest of the day. So it's really making me think about what rides to go on when, and is making me plan even more for my DL trip.

1 is better then none, it's a start on the better side, now you really have to plan carefully

We made a few changes to our October Vacation plan.
14th Fly in
15th MK ADR at BBB 830, CRT 1015
16th HS
17th AK
18th MNSSP
19th Switch Resorts Anniversary dinner
20th Sea World
21st HS ADR at H&V 1:45
22nd Universal Studio IOA
23rd EPCOT
24th Pool Day
25th MK ADR Chef Mickey 715am (Full Commando Mode)
26th Cape Canaveral and Fly home.

Looks good, the only worry I have is the BBB/CRT times being close, I don't know how long BBB takes or if they run on time, I'm sure you will be fine, but after that everything looks good

 

[Xclusive2WDW]

We're BACK!!! I had a blast but I am exhausted. Not a commando trip (I pushed my mom as hard as I could) but we had a great time and I cannot wait to tell you guys all about it!

 

[Disney Commando]

Love the name of this thread---must read it! I have a zillion pics of me at WDW of my backside (unfortunately) because I am such a park commando...fav' saying at parks is, "Come on, let's get going...". So much to do so little time!

You are member #236I see you are going to BG Tampa, 3 of my favorite things that we can't miss are
- Feeding the kangaroos
- The pet show where they are shipwrecked (best pet show in all of the BG parks)
- The ice show with the grandfather and his grandson (not sure what it's called)

This year I tacked on 4 extra days, because of So much to do so little time, it's not that we don't get it all done, it's just because we want to do some things again & again

So happy to know I'm not alone! My mother was a commando and I always swore I wouldn't be, but I definitely am! I haven't gone to the lengths of printing out paper itineraries yet, but that's just because the iPhone makes it easy for me to transfer my calendar to DBF's iPhone paperlessly

How do you guys choose which parks to do each day? I typically go by EMH, though I know some people use crowd calendars. Problem is, EMH days tend to have higher crowds. How reliable are the crowd calendars anyway? Any sites you do or do not recommend?

You are member #237 Either Commando runs in your blood or you found your Mom was right ( over the years I've found myself doing things I said I would never do, but at the time of some of my parents advice I was young and thought they were trying to get me to do things their way, but as I get older I realize that they wern't as crazy as I thought they were

As far as choosing the parks for the day, This will differ with each situation (staying onsite/offsite, One park tickets/PH, ADR's etc), so there is no one answer, you do what works best for you

We always get PH's, if we are staying onsite we go to the park with the A.M EMH (sometimes we will leave around 10am and hit a park that has no EMH that day) then in the P.M we usually go to the park with the EMH, usually we get done more then we planned but the main reason we do EMH's is just to be in the park

If we stay offsite we will do the parks with no EMHs planned for that day

 

[Disney Commando]

We're BACK!!! I had a blast but I am exhausted. Not a commando trip (I pushed my mom as hard as I could) but we had a great time and I cannot wait to tell you guys all about it!

Welcome Back, Glad you had a great time, that's the most important thing, I can't wait to hear all about it

 

[Twin Dad]

Looks good, the only worry I have is the BBB/CRT times being close, I don't know how long BBB takes or if they run on time, I'm sure you will be fine, but after that everything looks good

The CM when we booked said it takes about 45 minutes so we'll miss RD but should have time to hit a M&G in Fantasyland before CRT. I'm figuring this will be the day we do lower popularity items and go full commando the last day. On the plus side the crowd calendar is predicting super light crowds.

 

[Xclusive2WDW]

Welcome Back, Glad you had a great time, that's the most important thing, I can't wait to hear all about it

And we did, we had the greatest time. We got there early Wednesday and went to DTD. I introduced my mom to "Disney World on a State Fair budget" (lookey there, I just found my TR title and I wasn't even meaning to). We went to Earl of Sandwich and walked around. Later took the boat to Olivia's, my mom's new favorite restaurant, she just loved it. Then we went and watched the nighttime water parade and Wishes from the Poly where I drank with my mom. That Lapu Lapu was great tho
They ran out of conference tickets for Universal so we decided not go at all, which at first was a toughie for my mom as she loves Universal, but she agreed it made no sense to go for the added cost.
Thursday we did AK and MK. Now, my mom kept bothering me about if we really had to do AK, because in her mind it was just a big zoo. . . well I showed her. . . and she LOVED IT! It's her new favorite park (she still loves DHS which we still call MGM, but she likes the atmosphere, shade, and rides too at AK). We went to MK where I introduced my mom to Cosmic Ray's, another winner and then surprised her with the Dessert Party
Friday was more DTD and the Boardwalk, we also had dinner at AoA (more points for me on the affordability factor).
Saturday was Epcot and DHS. We had fun and my mom was all too excited that Captain EO is back. I did not get time to explore the Flower and Garden as much as I would have liked, but my mom got to experience more rides she liked (SE, Soarin', Captain EO, LWTL). MGM was spectacular as usual and my mom and I both loved Mama Melrose's and with the Fatasmic! package it was a real bargain IMHO. Overall favorite part of Fatasmic! was Mickey saying "wait a minute, this is MY dream" Goooo MICKEY!!!

All in all it was a great trip and hopefully I will be able to load my pics and have them up by the end of the week.

 

[WDW Fan since 1975]

I think I'm a commando!

I just got back from a 3 day solo trip and even though I was alone, my whole trip was planned, laid out, choreographed and mapped!

I make a schedule of where I'll be, what meals are planned, what meals are "free style", what shows I'll watch, etc. etc. etc.!

Once, a few years ago, I tried to make a list of rides to ride IN ORDER... but that doesn't work - you need to be flexible, but have a purpose and a plan.

This trip was AWESOME - I did 95% of what I wanted to do (and I'm not upset about the 5% I didn't).

I gave my list to my girlfriend, and she had fun texting me to see whether I was indeed where I planned to be... and I was!!

Your time in the parks or on vacation is just too limited - you MUST have a game plan! You MUST be a COMMANDO!

Mike.

 

[Disney Commando]

I think I'm a commando!

I just got back from a 3 day solo trip and even though I was alone, my whole trip was planned, laid out, choreographed and mapped!

I make a schedule of where I'll be, what meals are planned, what meals are "free style", what shows I'll watch, etc. etc. etc.!

Once, a few years ago, I tried to make a list of rides to ride IN ORDER... but that doesn't work - you need to be flexible, but have a purpose and a plan.

This trip was AWESOME - I did 95% of what I wanted to do (and I'm not upset about the 5% I didn't).

I gave my list to my girlfriend, and she had fun texting me to see whether I was indeed where I planned to be... and I was!!

Your time in the parks or on vacation is just too limited - you MUST have a game plan! You MUST be a COMMANDO!

Mike.

Mike, you are member #238 A 95% completion is quite impressive. IMO since Commandos plan more things to do in a day then others do in a few days, if you can get a 75% completion done, then you are doing really good

I'm glad you mentioned the list of rides in order, I totally agree that it does not work, and I'll be the 1st one to tell someone that, the way to go is make a list of what you want to do that day in no order

 

[Disney Commando]

And we did, we had the greatest time. We got there early Wednesday and went to DTD. I introduced my mom to "Disney World on a State Fair budget" (lookey there, I just found my TR title and I wasn't even meaning to). We went to Earl of Sandwich and walked around. Later took the boat to Olivia's, my mom's new favorite restaurant, she just loved it. Then we went and watched the nighttime water parade and Wishes from the Poly where I drank with my mom. That Lapu Lapu was great tho
They ran out of conference tickets for Universal so we decided not go at all, which at first was a toughie for my mom as she loves Universal, but she agreed it made no sense to go for the added cost.
Thursday we did AK and MK. Now, my mom kept bothering me about if we really had to do AK, because in her mind it was just a big zoo. . . well I showed her. . . and she LOVED IT! It's her new favorite park (she still loves DHS which we still call MGM, but she likes the atmosphere, shade, and rides too at AK). We went to MK where I introduced my mom to Cosmic Ray's, another winner and then surprised her with the Dessert Party
Friday was more DTD and the Boardwalk, we also had dinner at AoA (more points for me on the affordability factor).
Saturday was Epcot and DHS. We had fun and my mom was all too excited that Captain EO is back. I did not get time to explore the Flower and Garden as much as I would have liked, but my mom got to experience more rides she liked (SE, Soarin', Captain EO, LWTL). MGM was spectacular as usual and my mom and I both loved Mama Melrose's and with the Fatasmic! package it was a real bargain IMHO. Overall favorite part of Fatasmic! was Mickey saying "wait a minute, this is MY dream" Goooo MICKEY!!!

All in all it was a great trip and hopefully I will be able to load my pics and have them up by the end of the week.

Glad to hear all went well, so what rides did you get Mom on

Last 2 trips I've wanted to head to the food court at AoA, but never made it, I have 4 extra days this trip, and I really want to check out the resort

 

[AirGoofy]

The CM when we booked said it takes about 45 minutes so we'll miss RD but should have time to hit a M&G in Fantasyland before CRT. I'm figuring this will be the day we do lower popularity items and go full commando the last day. On the plus side the crowd calendar is predicting super light crowds.

You should be fine. Getting to BBB that early will prevent them from running late.

And we did, we had the greatest time. We got there early Wednesday and went to DTD. I introduced my mom to "Disney World on a State Fair budget" (lookey there, I just found my TR title and I wasn't even meaning to). We went to Earl of Sandwich and walked around. Later took the boat to Olivia's, my mom's new favorite restaurant, she just loved it. Then we went and watched the nighttime water parade and Wishes from the Poly where I drank with my mom. That Lapu Lapu was great tho
They ran out of conference tickets for Universal so we decided not go at all, which at first was a toughie for my mom as she loves Universal, but she agreed it made no sense to go for the added cost.
Thursday we did AK and MK. Now, my mom kept bothering me about if we really had to do AK, because in her mind it was just a big zoo. . . well I showed her. . . and she LOVED IT! It's her new favorite park (she still loves DHS which we still call MGM, but she likes the atmosphere, shade, and rides too at AK). We went to MK where I introduced my mom to Cosmic Ray's, another winner and then surprised her with the Dessert Party
Friday was more DTD and the Boardwalk, we also had dinner at AoA (more points for me on the affordability factor).
Saturday was Epcot and DHS. We had fun and my mom was all too excited that Captain EO is back. I did not get time to explore the Flower and Garden as much as I would have liked, but my mom got to experience more rides she liked (SE, Soarin', Captain EO, LWTL). MGM was spectacular as usual and my mom and I both loved Mama Melrose's and with the Fatasmic! package it was a real bargain IMHO. Overall favorite part of Fatasmic! was Mickey saying "wait a minute, this is MY dream" Goooo MICKEY!!!

All in all it was a great trip and hopefully I will be able to load my pics and have them up by the end of the week.

Sounds like a lot of fun. Glad you had a great trip.

I think I'm a commando!

I just got back from a 3 day solo trip and even though I was alone, my whole trip was planned, laid out, choreographed and mapped!

I make a schedule of where I'll be, what meals are planned, what meals are "free style", what shows I'll watch, etc. etc. etc.!

Once, a few years ago, I tried to make a list of rides to ride IN ORDER... but that doesn't work - you need to be flexible, but have a purpose and a plan.

This trip was AWESOME - I did 95% of what I wanted to do (and I'm not upset about the 5% I didn't).

I gave my list to my girlfriend, and she had fun texting me to see whether I was indeed where I planned to be... and I was!!

Your time in the parks or on vacation is just too limited - you MUST have a game plan! You MUST be a COMMANDO!

Mike.

Welcome. I agree on the ride order and being flexible. Good get on the % of stuff to do. The other tip may be not to try and schedule too much by trying to get from Splash Mountain to Space Mountain in 2 minutes.

 

[Xclusive2WDW]

Glad to hear all went well, so what rides did you get Mom on

Last 2 trips I've wanted to head to the food court at AoA, but never made it, I have 4 extra days this trip, and I really want to check out the resort

You just have to go to AoA, even if it just to grab a quick bite and look around for a moment. The ride from DHS is rather short of you have time when you are in that area. Perhaps a movie night would give you the opportunity.

I forgot I did not mention the rides. . . I turned her into a true AK lover, we went on the Safari (got some great shots, mom saw that Simba meant Lion and now believes she needs to pay more attention to Disney movies, lol), Tough to be a bug (a hit, especially the end when the bugs "leave"), FOLK (she had me laughing too hard at Simba closing his eyes and grooving to the songs along with the audience), Maharajah Trek, and I tricked her into Kali River RapidsI gave her the poncho and everything, and she STILL got SOAKEDAfter we showered and napped (and she admitted to liking Kali) we went to MK for SM (This is the newer, faster, bigger drop and much longer SM. That refurb a few years back gave those imagineers a chance to put in an accelerator or something), then POTC (for a less than 5 minute wait- score), Under the Sea, and IASW (my mom really enjoyed this I do not know. I guess it's not THAT bad, ONCE!)

AT Epcot we did Soarin, Living with the Land, Figment (mom misses the old version and was happy they still had a piece of it at the end, but wants the old version back), Captain EO (she sang along, she danced in her seat a little, I sat 2 seats away, lol), SE and the Nemo ride. DHS was Muppets, the Great Movie Ride (a few times, we got both the Cowboy and the gangster. The gangster was a women and she was really into it, really good), and Backlot Tour (I am too disappointed for words in Disney for this ride, just give Universal the upper hand why don't ya). We ate sit down meals and watched 2 of the three Fireworks shows, not bad for 2 park days

You should be fine. Getting to BBB that early will prevent them from running late.



Sounds like a lot of fun. Glad you had a great trip.

Thank you, we really did!

 

[AirGoofy]

I forgot I did not mention the rides. . . I turned her into a true AK lover, we went on the Safari (got some great shots, mom saw that Simba meant Lion and now believes she needs to pay more attention to Disney movies, lol), Tough to be a bug (a hit, especially the end when the bugs "leave"), FOLK (she had me laughing too hard at Simba closing his eyes and grooving to the songs along with the audience), Maharajah Trek, and I tricked her into Kali River RapidsI gave her the poncho and everything, and she STILL got SOAKEDAfter we showered and napped (and she admitted to liking Kali) we went to MK for SM (This is the newer, faster, bigger drop and much longer SM. That refurb a few years back gave those imagineers a chance to put in an accelerator or something), then POTC (for a less than 5 minute wait- score), Under the Sea, and IASW (my mom really enjoyed this I do not know. I guess it's not THAT bad, ONCE!)

AT Epcot we did Soarin, Living with the Land, Figment (mom misses the old version and was happy they still had a piece of it at the end, but wants the old version back), Captain EO (she sang along, she danced in her seat a little, I sat 2 seats away, lol), SE and the Nemo ride. DHS was Muppets, the Great Movie Ride (a few times, we got both the Cowboy and the gangster. The gangster was a women and she was really into it, really good), and Backlot Tour (I am too disappointed for words in Disney for this ride, just give Universal the upper hand why don't ya). We ate sit down meals and watched 2 of the three Fireworks shows, not bad for 2 park days

I like IASW and go on it every trip. Yes, the Kilimanjaro Safari ride is my favorite at AK, and may be my favorite ride at all of WDW. Soarin and Space Mountain my other two. I love seeing the animals in that environment - I chose the wrong career path. I did like the backlot tour, but have never been to Universal to compare the two.