Our Disneymoon PTR + Wedding TR w/ pics - I'm back! (TR link and POP review 9/7)

[DisneyKira]

Originally Posted by ronnmel

Is anybody else excited about the updated plans for the new Fantasyland? I am beyond happy about the Dwarf mine ride. I don't care if it turns out to be not a big "thrill", but I'm sure it will be lots of fun. Because of that, Snow White Scary Adventure has moved from our "maybe" list to our "must-dos".

Yes! I can't wait to go on the little mermaid ride

Originally Posted by ronnmel

On another note, I started thinking about what parks we will want to visit when. The park hours for August are not out yet, but I was able to look at the schedule for the week before by looking at July 31st and onward on the Disney calendar. I tried to come up with a plan for our week based on that previous week (as things don't seem to change much), but I can't find one that I'm truly satisfied with. Your opinion, again, would be appreciated.

I would wait to decide on your parks until the hours come out for August. here is a website that I found really helpful:http://www.easywdw.com/category/calendar/july11/. He explains what days are best to visit which park, and why. I would always double check his calendar with Disney's, though. The August 2011 crowd calendar isn't out yet.

Originally Posted by ronnmel

We won't have park hopper, so I think our main goal will be to avoid all parks with EMH. We want to visit both water parks, Epcot and MK at least twice each, and AK and HS at least once each. We want to spend some time in DTD shopping and at DisneyQuest. We plan on making rope drops most days, but do plan on getting up later a few times. A rest day, or slower day (as I'm sure we won't be able to "rest" for one full day ) would be nice somewhere in the middle.

We won't be getting park hoppers, either. I don't like spending a large portion of the day bopping around from park to park. We are avoiding most of the EMH days, except for one where MK is open until 2am. I couldn't resist

Originally Posted by ronnmel

Things I'm not sure about are :
- Do we want more time at AK or HS?
- Do we want to try more evening EMH, like after the other water park?
- Will we be okay touring MK after a late night, if we get up late?
- Do we have scheduled enough down time?
- Enough time at DTD and DisneyQuest (for Ron, he loves it there)?
- Is one rope drop enough at MK?
- We started with AK last time as our first park, I don't know why but I feel like I should start with a different park this time. Silly, I know.

What do you think?

I want to start our trip with MK because I think it will help me get into the Disney spirit. I also like to have at least a day and a half for AK. In the past, I have only toured HS in one day, but I have had to skip a lot. This time, we are devoting a day and a half to HS. As for the down time and late night touring concerns, that is up to you. Are you used to going to the parks all day, nonstop? I get a lot of energy at Disney, so I don't really need a lot in the way of downtime. One or two mornings to sleep in (and by "sleeping in" I mean missing rope drop ) and a couple well-placed snack breaks are enough for me. I think it also depends on how you're feeling that day.

Originally Posted by ronnmel

As an aside, no news for my mom. Still waiting on the results. She seems to be holding up ok, or at least doing a good job at pretending to. On a more positive note, she looks awesome with a shaved head.

I am so sorry about your mom! I hope she gets better!

[MelMel11]

Enjoyed reading your post and congrats on your upcoming marriage.. Cant wait to read more..

[ronnmel]

I included some of my comments inside the quotes, in purple.

Originally Posted by NikkiLovesWDW!

Hey Mel! I think your plans look really great! You are definitely going to have a fun World Showcase day! I am really excited about the new Mine Cart ride too. I'm definitely a Disney purist but I'm cool with them shutting Snow White's Scary Adventures. Wonder if it'll still be open for one last ride when I got in Sept/Oct? Oh well! The new ride sounds really fun.

I think Snow White would still be opened next Sept/Oct. At least I sure hope it is open for both you and I to enjoy it one last time.

Oh and so happy you registered!! It's fun, right? We ended up with over $1000 on a disney gift card from that registry! Make sure you register for big stuff AND for $10 stuff, just in case some people want to just give a small amount. It's so much fun when you get the email that something has been purchased!!

Thanks for the tip. I did signed up for small things (like snacks for 5$, quick service food or souvenirs for 10$), as well as bigger things (including a grand couple's massage for 4x100$, which I doubt I'll get. But hey, doesn't cost anything to dream about it. ).

Originally Posted by DisneyKira

Yes! I can't wait to go on the little mermaid ride

I'm looking forward to that ride as well, but more to the mine ride. Both look great though!

I would wait to decide on your parks until the hours come out for August. here is a website that I found really helpful:http://www.easywdw.com/category/calendar/july11/. He explains what days are best to visit which park, and why. I would always double check his calendar with Disney's, though. The August 2011 crowd calendar isn't out yet.

Thanks for that calendar. It will be very useful. I already took a look at it, and though August is not out yet, hours seem to be very similar for both July and August. There seems to be a trend of the same park always being green/red on the same days, and for the most part I always choose the best or second best park.

We won't be getting park hoppers, either. I don't like spending a large portion of the day bopping around from park to park. We are avoiding most of the EMH days, except for one where MK is open until 2am. I couldn't resist

I too would love to stay at MK once until 2am. However, if I do that I will only be going to MK in the evening, after spending a day at the water park or DTD. That way I don't need a park hopper, and don't have to suffer the crowds the entire day. I'm not sure it's going to fit our schedule though, but it'll be something we decide last minute. I don't care as much about Epcot EMH, as we did it last time and it was just ok. HS being such a small park, we want to avoid both EMH and Fantasmic days at all cost.

I was very much looking forward to being at Animal Kingdom at night, but they seem to have stopped doing evening EMH there.

I want to start our trip with MK because I think it will help me get into the Disney spirit. I also like to have at least a day and a half for AK. In the past, I have only toured HS in one day, but I have had to skip a lot. This time, we are devoting a day and a half to HS. As for the down time and late night touring concerns, that is up to you. Are you used to going to the parks all day, nonstop? I get a lot of energy at Disney, so I don't really need a lot in the way of downtime. One or two mornings to sleep in (and by "sleeping in" I mean missing rope drop ) and a couple well-placed snack breaks are enough for me. I think it also depends on how you're feeling that day.

I am so sorry about your mom! I hope she gets better!

I have a feeling most of our sleeping in days will also just end up basically missing rope drop. Hard to sleep when you are at Disney and know you could be having fun in a park!

Last time we went we took a break every day, were almost always there for rope drop, and stayed until closing. Those breaks were not always at the resort though, one was basically taking the friendship boat between HS and Epcot, and the other was visiting DTD for a few afternoon hours. We were only there for 6 days, and we wanted to see as much as possible. This we have almost double the days, so we can take our time, both in and out of the parks. Also, we had a 10 yo with us, and this time it will be just us, so I'm sure that'll change things too.

Originally Posted by MelMel11

Enjoyed reading your post and congrats on your upcoming marriage.. Cant wait to read more..

Thanks, and welcome! Hope to see you posting again.

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Originally Posted by ronnmel

Thanks for the tip. I did signed up for small things (like snacks for 5$, quick service food or souvenirs for 10$), as well as bigger things (including a grand couple's massage for 4x100$, which I doubt I'll get. But hey, doesn't cost anything to dream about it. ).

You do know that you don't actually get the items, you just get a lump sum on a gift card, right? Aside from the restaurants that we had reservations to on the registry, I don't think we bought any of the actual items we registered for! We used it to buy souvies and drinks, of course!!

[ronnmel]

Originally Posted by NikkiLovesWDW!

You do know that you don't actually get the items, you just get a lump sum on a gift card, right? Aside from the restaurants that we had reservations to on the registry, I don't think we bought any of the actual items we registered for! We used it to buy souvies and drinks, of course!!

Yes, I know. Not at first, but I learned it when I signed up and read their FAQ. I was concerned about signing up for the massage for example, only getting 100$, and then either having to pay the difference or lose the 100$ Glad it doesn't work like that!

I signed up for a lot of things to give people the illusion of choice. I'll also try to follow whatever people give me as "guidelines". For example, if people "buy" me a ride picture, I'll probably buy one, otherwise maybe not. I did not sign up for anything I would not want or don't plan to buy anyway. I'd love to get the massage, but it's so expensive. However, if some people are crazy (err, I mean nice) enough to give me 400$ for that, we'll get one then.

But yeah, in the end a lot of it will probably cover our drinks around the world.

[ronnmel]

My mom finally got her appointment for receiving her biopsy results. It will be this Tuesday. I'm so nervous. As much as I want to know, it was kinda "nice" to live in this bubble for two weeks, pretending nothing's happening.

On a brighter note, I think it's about time I start posting about our last day in the parks!

[mickeystoontown]

Originally Posted by ronnmel

My mom finally got her appointment for receiving her biopsy results. It will be this Tuesday. I'm so nervous. As much as I want to know, it was kinda "nice" to live in this bubble for two weeks, pretending nothing's happening.

On a brighter note, I think it's about time I start posting about our last day in the parks!

I know what you mean about living in the bubble. We were like that when my mother was waiting on her test results. You want to know exactly what is wrong (or not wrong) but you are afraid to know too.

[ronnmel]

Mega Waves, Date Night, and FastPass Baby!

Day 7 - If I were a toy...

After a wonderful couple's day and date night, it was time for our last full day in the parks. And what a packed day!

We got up before 7am, got ready very quickly and made our way to the bus one last time.

Our room (notice the fog in the camera lense, it was already hot)


This little guy hung out at the bus stop quite often:




We arrived at Hollywood Studio by 7:30am. There were EHM that morning.
I don't quite understand the clouds and people with ponchos in that picture, as it was a sunny day. Maybe I took it a previous day.




We headed straight to Toy Story Mania. We waited around 10-15 minutes.



If I were a toy, I'd be a Crayola Crayon. Not sure which color though, too many to choose from.


If he were a toy DH would be a little green army man. None were in the queue decoration though, so he's stuck being a monkey.




Love the talking Mr. Potato Head


DD scored 68,000
I scored 91,200
and DH won with 138,200

We went to get FP for Rock'n'Roller Coaster. Then we went to see Muppet Vision in 3D. Not so much my thing, but DH loved it.


We wanted to ride The Great Movie Ride, but it only opened at 9am so we went to get breakfast at Starring Rolls first. I don't remember what we got (oops, did not take pictures), but it was good and too much food yet again.

By the time we finished it was past 9am and there were already a 15-20 minutes wait for The Great Movie Ride. We rode it and... what a big disappointment it was. Of all the attractions we saw/did during our week at Disney, this was the only one we truly did not enjoy and never want to do again. Even the Tiki Room entertained us much more. It was just so boring, and looked so dated. Doesn't help that I'm not a fan of classics, but even DH, who loves those old movies, didn't like it. It was all I could do to stay awake. Probably shouldn't have fought it so much and just used the time to take a nap.

It was finally time to use our FP for RNR, so we headed that way.

The launch sure woke me up! It ended up being our favorite roller coaster of the trip.

It was now around 11:30am and we left Hollywood Studios. On our way out we got ourselves a frozen lemonade. Refreshing!


We took the Friendship Boat to Epcot. We were lucky and didn't have to wait too long. We got off at the Beach Club Resort and walked the rest of the way.

Up next, Kim Possible missions.

[ronnmel]

Originally Posted by mickeystoontown

I know what you mean about living in the bubble. We were like that when my mother was waiting on her test results. You want to know exactly what is wrong (or not wrong) but you are afraid to know too.

Exactly.

I almost missed your post, as I was writing my update!

[ronnmel]

Mega Waves, Date Night, and FastPass Baby!

Day 7 continued - Let's go save the World Showcase from all those baddies

*I want to apologize for not having many pictures this time. We had forgotten to charge the batteries the night before, so we were trying to make them last the whole day.

We left Hollywood Studios around 11:30am, took the Friendship Boat towards Epcot, got off at Beach Club, and walked the rest of the way. We got in Epcot using the International Gateway and headed straight to Soarin to get a FP. It was for 7pm tonight, which was perfect as we had an ADR for 7:25pm (or so I thought... keep this in mind).

We went to watch Honey I shrunk the Audience with no wait at all. It was ok, but not more than that. Then we rode Journey Into Imagination with Figment, again no wait at all. I actually thought this ride was very cute. DD had fun experimenting in the "What If" lab. She liked making music by just moving her arms. A few stations looked interesting, but we didn't feel like waiting for the people using it to be done. So we left.

We stopped by Club Cool to trick DD into drinking Beverly, which DH ahd tried the day before. I was ready with her disposable camera while DH was prepared to film her using our camera. We told her it was the Kinley from Israel. I know, what bad parents we are, lying to a child to trick her and filming her reaction. And what a reaction we got! She really made a face. I don't have the actual picture since it was taken with a disposable camera, but here is the scrapbook page I made.


After this little stop we went to Innoventions West. A "What's your Problem" show was about to start, and DD was interested so in we went. It's set up sort of like a game show, with 3 different "games" where "contestants" compete. The whole point is to demonstrate the many utilities of Velcro. The first one needed two teams of kids (boys against girls this time) to build a tower of velcro blocs as high as possible. DD was chosen to participate. The trick is, the tower has to actually stay up once the kids take their hands off it at the end. I don't remember who won, but I know DD got a sticker saying she was a "Big Winner". Next they had two dads racing against each other, trying to put a diaper to a baby doll and then stick them (using the velcro) to their apron. very funny. I don't remember what the last one was.
After that we stepped into a little space where we made velcro frogs.


Almost two hours had passed since we got our Soarin FP, so Dh set off to get some Test Track FP while DD and I got in line to play the "Piggy Bank Saving game". You first answer a little questionnaire about yourself and what you would love to do with money. DD chose a bedroom makeover. Then you get a little piggy bank, which you carry around to several games. All those games play like video games and are about saving (or losing) money. At the end you put your piggy bank in one last "computer" and it tells you if you have reached your goal. We had! So DD got a virtual room makeover.

DH was back by the time we finished. We signed up for a Kim Possible Mission. Here we are with our both sets of FP, as well as our Kim Possible ticket:


We then walked back to the front of the park to get the free photopass picture that comes with our package. (The one we had taken in the Typhoon Lagoon wave pool). By then it had started to POUR rain, so we rode nearby Spaceship Earth with no wait again! We were lucky that day! This ride was slowly becoming a favorite for DH and I. It was also this time that we finally figured out that we could send our little end video to ourselves by email for FREE. Why, oh why, didn't we figure this out before? I don't know how to show the video here though.

We finally made our way to World Showcase and went out in search of a (very) late lunch. I chose Mexico (Cheese Quesadillas, Nachos and a churros)


while DD and DH went to China. This was the only time in the whole trip that we separated. They eventually found their way back to me and we walked to Norway to pick up our Kimmunicator. It is sort of like a mini cell phone that sends you clues for the Kim Possible Mission. We also used this opportunity to pick up more FPs, this time for Maelstrom.

Off we were to China for our first Kim Possible mission. It was so much fun! It had us walking all around Mexico, looking at several details, activating special effects using our Kimmunicators, and exploring a whole lot more than we would have done on our own.

We loved it so much that at the end, when they gave us a choice to stop or continue, we chose to go do a second mission in China, and then Japan. Here is the scrapbook page I made:


I don't want to reveal secrets for those who would want to try it, but here is a sneak peak: We heard a parrot speak, a little green monkey emerged from a pond, and we activated a secret waterfall.

We would have loved to do more, but we had too many other things planned for the day. First up, using our Maelstrom FP. We skipped on the movie at the end...
Then an ice cream break for me at FountainView (my lunch wasn't that filling, though it was good).
It was now pass 6pm and we could use our TT FPs, so that's where we went. As we were going very fast on the outside portion, it was sprinkling rain. It was refreshing. We got lucky that it wasn't so hard that they had to shut it down.

We walked over to the land, and rested a bit at the Sunshine Season food court waiting for our FP window to open up. Even though we had fastpass, it ended up being the longest wait we had all week for a ride: 25 minutes. I was starting to worry that we would be late for our ADR. By the time we got out it was already past the time I thought our ADR was for (7:25pm), so we walked fast towards Italy. Unfortunately, I chose the wrong way and long way. We finally made it to Tutto Italia for almost 8pm.


I go up to the counter to check in, give my name and time, and apologize for being late. They can't find my name! I start to worry a bit, but I had my confirmation number. They finally find me, but I had made a mistake. My ADR was for 7pm!!!!! In my head I had confused the time with our Crystal Palace ADR from a few days before, which was indeed at 7:25pm. I was about ready to cry, as that meant we were 1 full hour late and they had of course given up our table by then. They didn't know if they could find us a table. I knew very well, from being on the DIS, that you couldn't just walk-up to a table.
We waited impatiently, worrying.


and... They got us a table 15 minutes later! Woohoo!!!
The only problem was, we had already missed Illumination earlier in the week and we didn't want to miss it again. Especially since it was our last night! We ate very quickly and skipped dessert.
I had Penne Caprese (the cheese on it was awesome)


DD and DH both had steak.


We were out just in time! We watched Illuminations from the little bridge in Italy.


And with that, our time in the park was officially over.

We were back at the resort by 10pm. We packed our bags and went to bed.
We woke up at 3am and were out of our room in 30 minutes.


Here I am waiting for the resort shuttle. Not happy to leave.


Magical Express picked us up at 4am.


Boring ME bus:


Our flights were leaving around 8am.


From the air I got one last look at Spaceship Earth, Tower of Terror, Swan & Dolphin, Seven Seas Lagoon. The Contemporary Resort was the last thing I saw.

The End.

[mickeystoontown]

I am always afraid that I will show up for an ADR at the wrong time. I hated to read that you were late. But, happy to hear that they were able to get you a table with not too long of a wait. The food looks delicious!

Oh, you poor thing, you are soooo not happy to be leaving Disney! And I can't blame you one little bit!

[ronnmel]

Finally got my mom's biopsy results back. It's not good news. Basically all they can do is manage the tumor through chemo and radio. Most people don't live more than 15 months...

Chances of her coming to our wedding in Cuba are slim to none. Even if she feels ok and her doctors giver her the ok, she might not be able to get any travel insurance. I was thinking of maybe doing a small photoshoot of just her and I in my wedding dress a couple of weeks before the wedding.

We entertained the thought of canceling Disney, but really there is no reason to go ahead and stop living for the next 15 months. My mom wouldn't want me to do that anyway. What we will do is change up our reservation so that everything is booked separate and not as a package. I've heard that this way you can cancel up to 48 hours before check-in. That would give us more leeway in case something happens last minute.

[ronnmel]

Originally Posted by mickeystoontown

I am always afraid that I will show up for an ADR at the wrong time. I hated to read that you were late. But, happy to hear that they were able to get you a table with not too long of a wait. The food looks delicious!

Oh, you poor thing, you are soooo not happy to be leaving Disney! And I can't blame you one little bit!

I made that "frown face" just for the picture, but no, I was not happy to be leaving.

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

So sorry to hear about your mom's not-so-good results. How is she taking the news? Must be so scary. I agree that you can't stop living for the next 15 months. Plus, just because most people don't live past 15 months doesn't mean that's what will happen. Could be sooner, could be years from now! Hang in there, Mel!

[mickeystoontown]

Originally Posted by ronnmel

Finally got my mom's biopsy results back. It's not good news. Basically all they can do is manage the tumor through chemo and radio. Most people don't live more than 15 months...

Chances of her coming to our wedding in Cuba are slim to none. Even if she feels ok and her doctors giver her the ok, she might not be able to get any travel insurance. I was thinking of maybe doing a small photoshoot of just her and I in my wedding dress a couple of weeks before the wedding.

We entertained the thought of canceling Disney, but really there is no reason to go ahead and stop living for the next 15 months. My mom wouldn't want me to do that anyway. What we will do is change up our reservation so that everything is booked separate and not as a package. I've heard that this way you can cancel up to 48 hours before check-in. That would give us more leeway in case something happens last minute.

Oh I am so very sorry to hear this news. I have said prayers for her every day and will continue to do so.

If I were you, I'd savor every moment you have with her. I would definitely do a photoshoot of the two os you in your wedding dress. I think that would would be great.

I would not cancel the trip to Disney either. You are right, your mother would not want you to do that. She would want you to go and have fun.

As I said, I'll continue to pray for your mother and for your family. Many hugs coming your way!