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Is Mickey a Captain or a Jedi? Both! - May '15 Land & Sea ~ Updated 6/14: Trip Report Started!

Ahh I love your plans. They sound very similar to what I have in store for Epcot. I can't wait to just soak in the atmosphere. I too am excited to see the amazing flowers and topiaries at Epcot:goodvibes. I think the Kidcot stations would be fun to do with Izzie plus bonus souvenirs:thumbsup2. The cronut is so yummy warm, you have to give it a second chance. I am intrigued by the a la mode option didn't know that existed. BTW we will be at HS on the 15th so our days may overlap, maybe we'll run into one another.
 
First off, I am super excited that we will catch the last weekend of the Flower & Garden Festival! :flower:It's the one big seasonal event that we did not make it to back in our Year of Disney (2010). Back then, the idea of extra flowers was cool, but not THAT exciting. However, they now have food booths and we LOVE Food & Wine! :thumbsup2
Oh, I'd love to go to F&G sometime. And yes, the food booths only make it that much more appealing!

We will be walking distance from Epcot at our resort, so I want to go over there one night after Izzy goes to bed (and Dug stays with her). Extra Magic Hours are until 11pm on both Fridays of our trip, so hoping we can each take one of them.
I love this idea!!! Even though a Disney trip is all about family and having fun together, there is nothing quite like having a few hours to myself to just go to a park and do whatever I feel like doing, whenever I feel like doing it!!!!!

I know that we can meet a lot of them on our cruise, so we'll have to keep that in mind in order to maximize our WDW time.
::yes:: Looks like you've got it well thought out.
 
:rose: The food and drink booths (I mean, "outdoor kitchens")! Full information is not available yet, but the Disney Food Blog just posted a bit of a preview the other day and I think there will be a lot of items we are interested in! Can't wait to make up a list of all the things to try!

I got excited with the details coming out as well!

:rose: The topiaries! I have always wanted to see these in person. Back in 2010, when we considered an extra trip for F&G, this was probably the most interesting aspect for me. And I still want to see these, plus Izzy will probably enjoy them.

Also fun and something else I am looking forward to.
:rose:The kids' play areas will be so much fun for Izzy! I'm not sure if there will be a butterfly garden again? :butterfly And the playgrounds/play areas should be a blast!

I've read that that Butterfly Garden is a confirmed coming back.
 
I think your Epcot plans sound great! :thumbsup2

I'd love to see all the F&G topiaries one day - there's usually a few left by late May, but seeing the whole lot would be great! Also, I'd love to eat at the booths!

You should definitely make up for missing Test Track and Spaceship Earth! I'm sure Izzy will be thrilled to see all of her favorite characters again (and I'm glad you're keeping Akershus! I really think you'll love it!).

Karamell Kuche is at the top of my "must-do" list as well - every time I walk by that shop I'm always too full! This time, I'm going to make sure I get a treat! :goodvibes
 


Your Epcot plans sound great! Being able to walk or boat there will be awesome!

I have you to blame (or thank?) I think for my recent interest in a DCL cruise... I don't think it's because you are doing it but it's been in my head and I know Imagineer just did one, right? Well DH and I looked into it today and I think it's in the works. October 2015 or February 2016. Neither one of us has been on a cruise though so just doing a 3 day to get our feet wet and make sure we don't hate it. I don't think that's going to be a problem though. I definitely cannot wait to hear about your trip now for sure! It's funny when I first read your PTR when you started it (not that long ago) I was like yeah, SOMEDAY a DCL would be nice. Didn't know someday was coming so soon, lol.
 
I am very excited about the Flower and Garden. Especially now with the outdoor kitchens!!!! Epcot is very beautiful during this time!!!

Google fish extenders, pinterest, even disboards has tons of not crafty ideas. Like earbuds for teenagers, arcade game gift cards on the cruise ship, eos with a Mickey head sticker on it for teenagers. Target dollar finds, party city goodie bag items for little ones, Adults can get cups, bags, etc. Look at etsy as well to get ideas! Hope this helps! :-) I have a whole list of ideas (been collecting them for a year for our trip in December! ). Message me if you need help! Be glad to help! My group is very active!
 
Sounds like you have some great Epcot plans! I'm totally excited for your trip. I'm glad you are hanging on to Akershush - we have done it every trip, and will be doing so again this summer. Garden Grille with Farmer Mickey, Pluto, and Chip and Dale we did for the first time on our last trip to WDW in 2013. It turned out to be one of the best character meal experiences we have ever had (and, as you might know, we have done pretty much all of them :laughing:) - we will definitely be doing it again this year. I hope you manage to be able to fit it in. The food is actually very good, and at least when we were there (despite it being the very height of summer), the character interactions were WONDERFUL! So excited to see how much Izzy enjoys all these great character meets!!!!
 


Fish Extender Window Shopping

Okay, quick post from work. Anyone want to help me with Fish Extender gift ideas? I ran over to the company store over break (Target), thinking there may be some fun trinkets there. And people say that things unique to your state are good, so I think Target is a Minnesota thing (to those who know HQ is here, I guess). Anyway, some things were on sale pretty cheap and worth considering. If you are lurking from my Fish Extender group, you may want to skip this, if you like surprises. ::yes::

Let me know what you think of these options. For what it’s worth, I already got Mickey and Minnie 2015 planners (small) for each cabin (clearance from the dollar section at Target, woohoo).

I’m thinking probably not the lanyard, but it was cheap and I don’t know if it’s something pin collectors would use? :confused3

http://s1188.photobucket.com/user/L...and and Sea PTR/IMG_3611_zpsadf6c06a.jpg.htmlhttp://s1188.photobucket.com/user/L...and and Sea PTR/IMG_3611_zpsadf6c06a.jpg.htmlhttp://s1188.photobucket.com/user/L...and and Sea PTR/IMG_3611_zpsadf6c06a.jpg.html
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By the time they make it to the cruise, they probably don’t need a luggage tag, right?

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So, this is cool. It’s a little notebook that comes with a tiny pen on bottom. ALSO, those colorful things inside are post-it notes – which is a Minnesota invention too (3M):
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I feel like it duplicates the planners a bit, but maybe I could give one planner and one notebook to each cabin – like 1 in each adult’s FE pocket.

Would these water tumblers be useful on the ship? They were on sale for only $1/each:

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They would be a lot for us to carry on when you bring like 15 or whatever, though.

There are Target and Bullseye magnetic pins. Could be for a stateroom door, maybe? Kinda pricey for just one tiny thing, though:

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Pens with Target logo:
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Kind-of expensive and only a few, but passport holders:

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And this was really cool. It has 5 tiny colored highlighters tucked into each little case:

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Any thoughts on whether it’s worth getting any of these as gifts? :listen:

There were also a whole bunch of red t-shirts with Target logos for $1-$3, on clearance. I think that would be tricky, though, as I don’t know sizes for anyone.

Feel free to throw any opinions my way! Thanks! :goodvibes
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So I'm still here! I've been reading along and totally forgetting to come back and comment. I'll have an update on my ptr sometime today or tommorrow as to why. ;)

So, your plans for EPCOT look good! How exciting to go to a new event!
I highly recommend Garden Grill! It was one of our standout meals last time and I can not say enough good things about it! In fact I have been thinking about adding it to our line up as well...so much for not having many ADRs! Lol!

For your fish extender gifts...I think target stuff would be fun! I had a friend that worked at target HQ about 8 years ago and she would give us target stuff from time to time and I loved it! I think the water bottles would be a good teen/tween item. They are kind of hard to shop for. You could put a pen and some gum/candy and get a tough age group out of the way. And then you won't have too many of those to carry! But they are too good of a deal not to get a least a few!
I love the high five highlighters! But I am a sucker for office supplies!

Are the luggage tags plain red on the outside? Because if they are you could get some paint and put a Mickey head on each one. It would be very simple you could print out a simple three circle Mickey head trace around it and fill in with black paint. Even though it will be too late to use it for this trip, most likly anyone participating in FE will be going on anther Disney trip at some point.

Just some thoughts!
 
I love the ideas!!! Water tumblers would be perfect for everyone on the cruise!!! Highlighters for the navigators, notebook for writing memories, and if you had Target reusable bag that can be how you package it!
 

I like this notebook thing a lot - plus having the post-it notes makes it really useful

The wate rbottles are nice, but I would thinking carrying 15 of them would be a bit much

not sure about the luggage tag - probably wouldn't need them for that trip but could be something useful for future trips and a reminder of this trip - so kinda torn on that one
 
They have play areas for kids during F&G? Awesome!

Good call on possibly walking over to TT during EMH. I'd do it!

You WILL fit a hot cronut into your schedule. Perhaps on your way to TT???

I know Italy sells single candies for, I thought 15 cents? Maybe a few cents more? But then again, I don't know how many families are participating but that could be an option.

Speaking of FE, love the pad and the water tumbler! I know they would be harder to pack, but if you got smaller items (like candy!) you could stuff it into the tumbler as well?
 
I love your plans for Epcot. Flowers, food , & playgrounds for Izzy = fun for all.

I love the small Mickey &Minnie planners. I buy one each year for myself and it makes me happy when I look at it.

The note pad and sticky notes would work for FE. I like the water tumbler but I can see that being harder to pack.
 
this won't be a helpful reply, but I LOVE all of the Target logo items. The post it notebook and Hi five highlighters are my favorites.
Loved the Boardwalk on our stay this month, walked to Beaches and Cream for dinner, no sundae for me this trip though....
 
Thank you all for the great feedback! Super helpful! :thumbsup2 I will have to go back tomorrow and pick up some things!
 
Love you Epcot plans! And how great will it be to be able to pop over for EMH or Illuminations!!

I think you should do Akerhus for sure - Izzy will love it! I would love to try it too - maybe I'll just overrule all the males and book a princess ADR anyway next trip!

Our next trip will be May 2016 :-)( so far away) so I'm excited to hear about F&G - the topiaries!! And the kids play areas look like so much fun!

Maybe while you are in Japan you can find something small (cheap!) in the big department store for FE gifts? Or you can grab some packs of Disney pencils to put in the water bottles? That's what we got to bring back to Nate's class during our trip.
 
Have you checked Pinterest? There are all kinds of inexpensive but cute Fish Extender ideas on there, even if you aren't very crafty. Just type in Disney Fish Extender. Here a a few of my favorites:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/51509989461418606/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/59039445088266840/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/292804413243423235/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/173599760605898080/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/245868460879258330/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/235735361721218355/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/22869910581571908/

Also, do you have a Dollar Tree near you? Everything there is only $1 & they normally even have some Disney themed stuff.

What about a cheap photo album? You could print the Disney Cruise Line logo on sticker paper & adhere it to the front.
 
So, this is cool. It’s a little notebook that comes with a tiny pen on bottom. ALSO, those colorful things inside are post-it notes – which is a Minnesota invention too (3M):
This, this and this!

I think they'd be a great idea. It's something that is useful for everyone, and kids would probably have fun with them too.

I liked the water bottle idea too, but those would definitely be a pain to pack and haul to the ship with you.
 

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