13 Days of Disney – Shh-it’s a Surprise! - June 2016 PTR - Update 6/4

[ArielSRL]

Speaking of white noise machines, I finally brought ours on our last 2 trips to Disney. What a difference! Not only did it drown out all noise from the hallways/outside, it lets me sleep through the stupid clicks and weird noises from the A/C and my youngest's murmuring he does all night

Both my kids sleep with white noise machines and we hear it through their monitors...you can guarantee we are bringing ours.

I don't work (don't hate me) well, not outside the house but we ALL work IN our houses, but I have to get my oldest up at 6:30 for school. It's painful for me lol. I've never been a good sleeper and also much prefer to be up at night and can sleep better after say, 2am. It would be ideal if I could sleep until 10 every morning but with kids it just doesn't really work! Next year my oldest has to be outside to get the bus AT 6:30 I'm exhausted just thinking about that!

No hate...just envy. Not that you don't work, like you said, you just get to work for your family.
Fortunately I don't do much with my boys in the AM during the week except take my youngest to my parents' house 3x a week and give some goodbye kisses to them both. No getting ready or breakfast, etc. And that will continue next school year, as DH just got a promotion and doesn't have to be at work til 11am, so he gets to start doing all the weekday mornings!

 

[Jfsag123]

Speaking of white noise machines, I finally brought ours on our last 2 trips to Disney. What a difference! Not only did it drown out all noise from the hallways/outside, it lets me sleep through the stupid clicks and weird noises from the A/C and my youngest's murmuring he does all night

I don't work (don't hate me) well, not outside the house but we ALL work IN our houses, but I have to get my oldest up at 6:30 for school. It's painful for me lol. I've never been a good sleeper and also much prefer to be up at night and can sleep better after say, 2am. It would be ideal if I could sleep until 10 every morning but with kids it just doesn't really work! Next year my oldest has to be outside to get the bus AT 6:30 I'm exhausted just thinking about that!

We seem to have similar sleep schedules/desires. It is currently after 1am and here I am on The DIS. I have to be up in about 7 hours. Woohoo! And yes, the white noise machines have saved my life in hotels with my kids!

 

[Jfsag123]

Tomorrow is the last day for us to customize our MagicBands for the first resort day! I can't believe it's already that time. The first set is going to be purple for everyone in the family - yes, we are jumping on that bandwagon! The second set is red for me, orange for DH, green for DS, and blue for DD. I am going to be crazy about looking out for the packages, as it would totally spoil the surprise if the kids found it on the porch!

Day 8: Sunday, June 12 – Epcot/Resort Change

Resort change day! I expect this day to be bittersweet. We will be saying goodbye to BCV and the Epcot resorts area, but we will get to head to what I think of as home – BLT and the MK area.

The beginning of our day will depend on what is open at Epcot at this time. The scheduling of Anna & Elsa fastpasses in MK through 6/11 seems to suggest that they may be planning for Frozen stuff to open on 6/12. We will have already seen A&E in MK, but if the ride does not open until this day, this will be our only chance to see it. I snagged an 8:00am Akershus here just in case. If they end up scheduling Frozen Ever After to open this day, we will drop our 6/8 Akershus reservation and do it here instead. If the ride is not open, or if it was open earlier in the week, we will sleep in here, as we will be able to hit everything we want with a combo of FP+ and our previous rope drop day.

Option 1:

-Up early and at the International Gateway entrance by 7:40 for Akershus reservation
-Have a quick breakfast at Akershus and try to be out to beat rope drop crowds to Frozen Ever After -should be doable since we’ll already be just steps from the ride
- Back out through IG
-Pack up the car and check out of BCV
-Re-enter Epcot through IG by 11:00

Option 2:

-Sleep until 9:00am or so
-Pack up and check out
-Enter Epcot through IG by 11:00

So obviously option 2 is more desirable in terms of stress/sleep, but I’m willing to get my butt up and ready for the new attraction if it’s open and it’s the only way we can fit it in. The things we do for our kids. ..

Once we get into Epcot at 11:00 we plan to Meet Mary Poppins, then Daisy. We’ll then head over to the Mexico pavilion and ride the Gran Fiesta Tour. I know a lot of people don’t like this ride, but we enjoy it. DH is a Donald fan.

A BIG Donald fan.

At this point we’ll use our Tier 1 FP+, though who knows which attraction it will be for. Right now it’s Test Track. We also have FP+ booked for Figment and Mission: Space. After we use those we’ll do whatever we want in Epcot – maybe Ellen’s Energy Adventure, maybe spend some more time in WS. We’ll kill time until we get a text saying our room is ready at Bay Lake Tower, then we’ll head out through the IG, hop in our car at BC and drive over to BLT. I love this area so so much. These are pics I took from the skybridge.

We’re in a lake view studio. Last time we stayed at BLT I was hoping for a room on a high floor on the north side on the outside of the C. We ended up on the 5th floor on the south side on the inside of the C. I was not happy when I first got our room number text. We ended up loving the location. We were right next to the skybridge and on the same floor, so moving back and forth between the Contemporary and BLT was a breeze. Also I was able to sit out on the balcony and watch DH and the kids at the pool while I enjoyed the fresh air and a book. Of course, looking straight ahead all I saw were the other rooms across from me, but if I angled my chair, this was my view.

I was more than fine with it. Because of this experience we have decided that we don’t have a preferred location for a room request at BLT. I would like a high floor, but other than that I don’t really care where we end up and am looking forward to the surprise.

After we get settled in to our new home, we’ll head out to our dinner reservation for the evening at…

We have never eaten here before, and I’m honestly not super excited to try it after reading reviews about it, but the kids are desperate to have a meal here. It’s hard to miss when you’re catching the monorail every day, so they definitely noticed it last time. I’m expecting it to be loud, messy, and chaotic, but knowing what we’re getting into I think we can have a great time.

We will turn in early this evening to get ready for rope drop the next morning at the Magic Kingdom!

 

[ArielSRL]

I'm so envious of both your BC and BLT stays! Oh and your extra days at WDW! I hope you guys get to experience FEA. Well, I hope we do, too, but it's looking a lot better for you. In some ways, I'll be glad if it doesn't open because then I could leave my plans as is and we will have next June to experience it....but after we get home and we'll have missed it by a day or so, then I'll probably have different thoughts. And since we now have that extra FP, it would be a lot easier to fit it in. Oh well, it's out of my hands so I might as well not even spend any time thinking about it...or Soarin, or ROL.....haha.

We are also doing Chef Mickey's for dinner. I've only done breakfast which was a fine meal. Like you, I've heard really meh reviews about dinner but also like you, it's for the kids. As a matter of fact, most of our meals are for the kids. It will be nice when mine are a little older and I can pick some nicer restaurants...lol...whenever that may be.

I noticed yesterday that June 1st arrivals had their MBs shipped...so hopefully in the next few days for us. KMFX you get to the package before the kids see it!

Oh my goodness...it is getting so close!! I can hardly stand it!

 

[Jfsag123]

I'm so envious of both your BC and BLT stays! Oh and your extra days at WDW! I hope you guys get to experience FEA. Well, I hope we do, too, but it's looking a lot better for you. In some ways, I'll be glad if it doesn't open because then I could leave my plans as is and we will have next June to experience it....but after we get home and we'll have missed it by a day or so, then I'll probably have different thoughts. And since we now have that extra FP, it would be a lot easier to fit it in. Oh well, it's out of my hands so I might as well not even spend any time thinking about it...or Soarin, or ROL.....haha.

We are also doing Chef Mickey's for dinner. I've only done breakfast which was a fine meal. Like you, I've heard really meh reviews about dinner but also like you, it's for the kids. As a matter of fact, most of our meals are for the kids. It will be nice when mine are a little older and I can pick some nicer restaurants...lol...whenever that may be.

I noticed yesterday that June 1st arrivals had their MBs shipped...so hopefully in the next few days for us. KMFX you get to the package before the kids see it!

Oh my goodness...it is getting so close!! I can hardly stand it!

I understand what you mean about just being glad something isn't open because it makes the plans easier. On the other hand, it's also so frustrating to miss just be a couple of days! If they open FEA after 6/12 we will likely be in that position as well since we only have one additional day back at Epcot after that and our FP+ will be used on the new Soarin'. I can see myself going nuts if it's actually open while we're there and we still miss it.

I've gone back and forth on meals for the kids vs. meals we actually want to enjoy and I always end up on the side of recognizing that their love for characters will only last so long and I'll probably miss it desperately when it's gone. I've got these few years for character meals and then the rest of my life for everywhere else. At least that's what I have to tell myself as I book H&V over Sanaa.

 

[ariane37]

The first set is going to be purple for everyone in the family -

I plan on getting purple in Nov. and I know Christopher will want it, too! I keep worrying they're going to run out of purple MB's and stop making them lol

I am going to be crazy about looking out for the packages, as it would totally spoil the surprise if the kids found it on the porch!

You know the package comes totally devoid of any indication it's from Disney? I hope you snag it but even if they see it, as long as you come up with an excuse not to open it in front of them they won't know where it's from

So obviously option 2 is more desirable in terms of stress/sleep, but I’m willing to get my butt up and ready for the new attraction if it’s open and it’s the only way we can fit it in. The things we do for our kids. ..

We have never eaten here before, and I’m honestly not super excited to try it after reading reviews about it, but the kids are desperate to have a meal here. It’s hard to miss when you’re catching the monorail every day, so they definitely noticed it last time. I’m expecting it to be loud, messy, and chaotic, but knowing what we’re getting into I think we can have a great time.

We've done dinner at CM twice, but not since 2010. Neither time was horrendous but no desire to go back. Kids LOVED it though, and I do remember the character interaction being very good. I agree though it would be hard not to go when they're seeing it everyday, and I think all kids should go at least once. We have to suck it up lol!

I've gone back and forth on meals for the kids vs. meals we actually want to enjoy and I always end up on the side of recognizing that their love for characters will only last so long and I'll probably miss it desperately when it's gone. I've got these few years for character meals and then the rest of my life for everywhere else. At least that's what I have to tell myself as I book H&V over Sanaa.

I completely agree with this, too. I'm at the point now where the majority of our meals are booked for all of us, but I can book some that Steve and I want and the kids are mostly fine with them. And while Chris still normally requests one character meal per trip (except for one very sad trip in 2013) and will meet a couple characters per trip, I seriously miss the days of the boys getting excited for character meets/meals And he's only 10! The downside of having an older brother I think. I try getting him excited when new characters begin meets but it rarely matters. So as long as yours want to do the meals and meets, look past the mess and not so great food at some places and enjoy the family time and looks of happiness on their faces (hey, I rhymed!) Plenty of time to eat at better restaurants in a few years!

 

[disny_luvr]

I'm getting a purple band, too, for our June trip and I can't wait!

I think option #2 sounds great because the extra sleep will be nice BUT it would be awesome if the Frozen ride was open. We ride the Gran Fiesta Tour several times each trip; my boys love it!

We've eaten at Chef Mickey's for dinner on our last two trips and we thought the food was great! I know this restaurant gets bed reviews but we've never had a problem. We do tend to eat here earlier so maybe that's why. We are eating here again on our June trip and are looking forward to it.

 

[Jfsag123]

I plan on getting purple in Nov. and I know Christopher will want it, too! I keep worrying they're going to run out of purple MB's and stop making them lol

You know the package comes totally devoid of any indication it's from Disney? I hope you snag it but even if they see it, as long as you come up with an excuse not to open it in front of them they won't know where it's from

I had forgotten that the package was unmarked. Still my kids are pretty annoying when they see packages - they get all excited and start begging to open it. I can make an excuse though, like maybe an early birthday shipment for DS (his BD is in July), as long as the packaging doesn't spoil it. Ideally they just won't see it. I actually have two orders worth to snag since we have two reservations.

We've done dinner at CM twice, but not since 2010. Neither time was horrendous but no desire to go back. Kids LOVED it though, and I do remember the character interaction being very good. I agree though it would be hard not to go when they're seeing it everyday, and I think all kids should go at least once. We have to suck it up lol!

I will be satisfied if we end up with good character interaction, so it's relieving to hear that. If we have icky food and minimal interaction I will not be a happy camper.

I completely agree with this, too. I'm at the point now where the majority of our meals are booked for all of us, but I can book some that Steve and I want and the kids are mostly fine with them. And while Chris still normally requests one character meal per trip (except for one very sad trip in 2013) and will meet a couple characters per trip, I seriously miss the days of the boys getting excited for character meets/meals And he's only 10! The downside of having an older brother I think. I try getting him excited when new characters begin meets but it rarely matters. So as long as yours want to do the meals and meets, look past the mess and not so great food at some places and enjoy the family time and looks of happiness on their faces (hey, I rhymed!) Plenty of time to eat at better restaurants in a few years!

That's what I'm trying to do! The looks on their faces make it so worth it. And bonus points for rhyming.

I'm getting a purple band, too, for our June trip and I can't wait!

I think option #2 sounds great because the extra sleep will be nice BUT it would be awesome if the Frozen ride was open. We ride the Gran Fiesta Tour several times each trip; my boys love it!

We've eaten at Chef Mickey's for dinner on our last two trips and we thought the food was great! I know this restaurant gets bed reviews but we've never had a problem. We do tend to eat here earlier so maybe that's why. We are eating here again on our June trip and are looking forward to it.

Hooray for fellow Gran Fiesta lovers! That ride gets no love around these parts.

So encouraging to hear a positive review of food at Chef Mickey's! Fingers crossed we end up with a good night. I know H&V also regularly gets skewered and, although we didn't love it, we all found decent things to eat there.

 

[Jfsag123]

Princesspalooza!

We have a little tradition. Ok, this is only the second time we’ve done it, but we’ve decided to make it a tradition. In the weeks leading up to a Disney trip, we watch all the princess movies, one a week, in chronological order, ending with the most recent one right before our trip. While the kids, of course, don’t know that our trip is in less than a month (our trip is in less than a month!!!!!!!), they were happy with the idea of doing Princesspalooza counting down to being one year out from our trip, as it gave them an excuse to get to watch princess movies with the entire family, which they love.

I try to plan a meal that fits with the theme of the movie if I can. This weekend is Mulan, so I’m making Chinese stir-fry. Next week will be gumbo for Princess and the Frog. We also often try to play a game or two as a part of our Disney nights, as we have a bunch of Disney specific games. It’s a lot of fun and helps build the excitement leading up to a trip.

Day 9: Monday, June 13 – Magic Kingdom

It’s our first easy rope drop Magic Kingdom day! We will want to be at the gates by about 8:20, so will set out walking from BLT by 8:10. It will be even less crucial for us to be at the front of the RD crowd on this day than it will be the prior Thursday because of our planned rides after RD. While everyone else rushes to Fantasyland, we will hang a left toward Adventureland.

Our goal for the first hour is to hit Jungle Cruise, Pirates, and Big Thunder in that order. If we have time left over, we may go for a second spin on Big Thunder. After that, it’s time for a character meet – we’ll see Woody for a second time! We have to stop by here though because it’s the only way we get Jessie too.

Next we head to our first FP+ of the day at Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

The level of terror on the children’s faces is so not appropriate for the fear factor of this ride. I mean, DS is about to pull DH’s shirt off. Of course they actually loved it. After the Mine Train we will head to our lunch reservation at Be Our Guest. We had dinner here before (and spoiler alert: we will again), but haven’t tried lunch. Now for a very very important question: should we preorder our food? I’m pretty sure I’m getting the Croque Monsieur. Mouth watering just thinking about it…

After lunch we will probably see Philharmagic again because, let’s face it, I love that attraction. We all do. In fact, I’m pretty sure I can trace the moment we became full on WDW addicts right back to our first viewing of Philharmagic. Major pixie dust high. Next up is our second FP+ of the day at DD’s favorite MK attraction. Can you guess what it is? Have I already said previously in the PTR and just forgotten? Here’s a (really big) hint.

Yep, that’s right. It’s Haunted Mansion. We will probably end up riding this at least three times over the course of the trip. Maybe more. After Haunted Mansion, we will use our last pre-booked FP at Splash Mountain. I figure we will welcome the potential for getting wet by this point of the day. I am determined for us to do two things in MK that we have always missed in the past: ride the train and visit Tom Sawyer Island. We will do at least one of those things at this point and may do the other depending on time. We will be time-limited because we are planning to see the parade this day. You know what that means – more Dole Whips! We will again watch from Frontierland. It’s so much easier to find a spot and we like to be right up on the rope.

After the parade, we will use whatever 4th FP+ we managed to schedule after using the SM one. We’ll pretty much just do whatever for a little bit here, as the only thing we want to do that requires specific timing is meeting Tiana and Naveen. We saw Tiana last time as a part of Characterpalooza, but missed Naveen.
I didn’t schedule a mid-day break on this day because we will be making it an early night. We will head out of the MK in the early evening, shower and change back at BLT, then hop on the monorail to head to our dinner reservation at…

They’re being lions here. Don’t ask me what that has to do with ‘Ohana. We had breakfast here on our last trip, but have yet to try dinner. I am excited about this food, especially the dessert! I know we will miss out on characters here, but it seems like it has a fun atmosphere and my family loves to eat! After dinner we will, I’m sure, fall into bed, bellies full and feet exhausted to get ready for yet another RD day.

 

[disny_luvr]

I love your Princesspalozza idea! We've never really done anything to countdown to our trips. One trip, when my boys were younger, we made a paper chain and they enjoyed cutting off a link each day. It was a nice visual since they didn't have a good concept of time.

Your MK day sounds great! It must be awesome to walk to the MK from BLT! We've never been to Tom Sawyers Island either and vowed to do it this trip.

We love, love, love 'Ohanas! Enjoy!

 

[ArielSRL]

I had forgotten that the package was unmarked. Still my kids are pretty annoying when they see packages - they get all excited and start begging to open it. I can make an excuse though, like maybe an early birthday shipment for DS (his BD is in July), as long as the packaging doesn't spoil it. Ideally they just won't see it. I actually have two orders worth to snag since we have two reservations.

I can so relate. My 4.5 yr old has to open every package we get. So I have to send stuff I don't want him opening to work! Or, in the summer, to my mom's house!

I will be satisfied if we end up with good character interaction, so it's relieving to hear that. If we have icky food and minimal interaction I will not be a happy camper.

I agree. I just want the boys to enjoy themselves. And as long as the food is edible, I'm pretty much ok with it.

Hooray for fellow Gran Fiesta lovers! That ride gets no love around these parts.

I'm thinking my 2 yr old will love it as he's a big Donald fan.

So encouraging to hear a positive review of food at Chef Mickey's! Fingers crossed we end up with a good night. I know H&V also regularly gets skewered and, although we didn't love it, we all found decent things to eat there.

I'm on the same page as far as the food. We are fairly easy to satisfy. I love food but I'm not a food snob I should say. We can usually find something to satisfy us.

 

[ArielSRL]

When my boys get a little older, we'll do a version of Princesspalooza....without being princess specific, as my boys have no interest! I'll try to sneak some in (Little Mermaid and Tangled are probably my favorites, with Mulan as a close 3rd) but we'll have to add in Cars, Toy Story, Monsters Inc, etc. This year, I'll be off work for one week before we leave so I'll push a few during the day that week but we won't get too extensive until maybe a few years (or next year??). I love the idea though, especially with the meal....my boys are just too picky at this stage.

Our first RD MK day is an Adventureland one, too. Our second is Tomorrowland, so no FL RD day at all for us...with two boys under 5...lol. How did it work out that way? No clue. But believe me, we will be spending plenty of time in FL...

I definite suggest pre-ordering BOG lunch, after all the research I've done. However, you can pre-order pretty much all the way up to the morning of your ADR! We'll either pre-order the night before or on the way over in the AM.

Haven't done O'hana but I plan to remedy that June 2017. Probably breakfast but we'll see.

Plans look great! Looking forward to more.

 

[soniam]

I recommend pre-ordering BOG as well. It seems to save a lot of time. We have only done the pre-ordering. I have never read of anyone regretting pre-ordering; however, I have read of people regretting not doing it. Sounds like a great plan.

 

[ariane37]

The level of terror on the children’s faces is so not appropriate for the fear factor of this ride

I love this sentence. And the picture, of course!

Now for a very very important question: should we preorder our food?

I agree with everyone else, definitely pre-order. We did so for our lunch and breakfast and it saved us from a VERY long line of non-pre-orderers.

I am determined for us to do two things in MK that we have always missed in the past: ride the train and visit Tom Sawyer Island.

This is on my list for November! Not that we haven't been before, but Chris was 11 months the last time we went out there. I have some adorable pictures but he doesn't remember it at all.

 

[Jfsag123]

Looks like we will be pre-ordering! It opens up on May 14th. One more tiny exciting step.

 

[ArielSRL]

I saw an article on Facebook about some characters moving locations, starting today, I think. I know you guys are very big on the character meets, so I thought you might be interested.

 

[Jfsag123]

I saw an article on Facebook about some characters moving locations, starting today, I think. I know you guys are very big on the character meets, so I thought you might be interested.

Thank you! I went and looked into it and it actually does affect our plans. We were planning to meet Daisy in her current meeting spot near World Showcase on 6/12, but it says she'll be switching spots with Pluto, who meets way up at the front of the park. I think we'll be ok, as I'm pretty sure Daisy is featured at Tusker House, but we definitely don't need another Pluto meet, as he'll be at two of our character meals! We won't have time to trek up to the front, so we'll just cut that meet out. Appreciate the heads up.

 

[ArielSRL]

Thank you! I went and looked into it and it actually does affect our plans. We were planning to meet Daisy in her current meeting spot near World Showcase on 6/12, but it says she'll be switching spots with Pluto, who meets way up at the front of the park. I think we'll be ok, as I'm pretty sure Daisy is featured at Tusker House, but we definitely don't need another Pluto meet, as he'll be at two of our character meals! We won't have time to trek up to the front, so we'll just cut that meet out. Appreciate the heads up.

I thought I read that Woody and Jessie are moving in MK, too. Does that affect you? Also Kenny the Pirate has the Jungle Book times posted on the paid part of his site. And I don't know if it's Touring Plans or Disney but somebody keeps taking away Nemo show times. Twice its messed up my AK plans so now we are just scrapping it. My mom thinks it's boring anyway and I'm a little worried about Will sitting still that long. But still, I barely slept last night because all this new info kept buzzing through my head!

 

[Jfsag123]

I thought I read that Woody and Jessie are moving in MK, too. Does that affect you? Also Kenny the Pirate has the Jungle Book times posted on the paid part of his site. And I don't know if it's Touring Plans or Disney but somebody keeps taking away Nemo show times. Twice its messed up my AK plans so now we are just scrapping it. My mom thinks it's boring anyway and I'm a little worried about Will sitting still that long. But still, I barely slept last night because all this new info kept buzzing through my head!

Ok, I went and searched that too, as KTP doesn't have that one. Looks like they may be swapping locations with Chip & Dale. It's a little less convenient, but still in Frontierland, so it doesn't really mess things up thankfully. I am so struggling to keep up with all the new info. It seems like something changes every day! I keep trying to tell DH about it and he just walks away shaking his head - he has no empathy for my pain!

 

[ArielSRL]

Ok, I went and searched that too, as KTP doesn't have that one. Looks like they may be swapping locations with Chip & Dale. It's a little less convenient, but still in Frontierland, so it doesn't really mess things up thankfully. I am so struggling to keep up with all the new info. It seems like something changes every day! I keep trying to tell DH about it and he just walks away shaking his head - he has no empathy for my pain!

I need time to wrap my head around changes so when I found out a bunch of new stuff (about the characters moving, JB show times, and no 6pm Nemo) right before I turned out the light, my sleepy time was all messed up!

One of these days it will eventually all..well, mostly all...settle down for our trip. Maybe??