Ok, I got super far behind, but I think I just about caught up on everything!!!
That’s right, we’re going back to DHS! Likely the main thought at this moment is “where is MK on this schedule???” I promise there is a method to my madness. We decided to visit parks based on location, since we’ll be at BCV for the first half of our trip and BLT for the last half. That means that we’re planning to hit Epcot, AK, and DHS only during the first week, and have heavily loaded MK into the back half. I honestly don’t know how I will cope with this. DH and the kids all say they would be fine with this set-up, and actually prefer it. I don’t know how I will stand being in WDW for a week and not even seeing MK in that time. Then after not seeing it for the entire first week, we will spend 4 out of 5 park days there during the second week. I’m not so much worried about burning out on MK, as we can always find things to do there, but it just feels a little weird.
We are doing this as well....trying to visit parks based on our location (doing split stay as well, CBR/POR/CR). Except we are doing MK for our first park day because we just have to! But then we won't be back to it for 6 days. I LOVE MK and that whole area as well, so it will be hard to be away from it for that long, but then we'll be right next door while we're at CR.
And of course as I kept reading, I saw you changed your plans and you will get to do MK earlier on after all!
1. Does 7:45 seem like a decent time to be at the bus stop if we’re wanting to get to the gate by 8:20 or so?
I would try for 7:30-7:45, so if you're out there waiting no later than 7:45 you should be ok.
RESORT BREAK! Not sure how much time to budget, as this will be the first time that we try a break using bus transportation back and forth, but I’m thinking we will probably head out by 12:30 or so and try to be back in the park by 5:30ish. Does that seem reasonable?
I think that's perfectly reasonable, it's just about the timeframe we use for our mid-day breaks.
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.
It's our tradition to eat at Chef Mickey's on every trip, we really enjoy it. (See my avatar!) It is more about the characters than the food, but I think the food is just fine. It's a really fun atmosphere.
Hooray for fellow Gran Fiesta lovers! That ride gets no love around these parts.
We love Gran Fiesta as well and ride it on every trip at least once!!
Got the email this morning that our first set of MagicBands have shipped! Woohoo! In other news, my toe surgery is finally upon me - scheduled for early Thursday morning. I am terrified, but have been assured by multiple doctors that, barring complications, I should be fully recovered in time for our trip. Any pixie dust/happy thoughts you want to send my way would be much appreciated!
Yay for MB's!!! We just got one set on Saturday and the other set on Monday (declined the 3rd set). Good luck tomorrow, I'm sure the surgery will go smoothly!
3. We will plan to see The Jungle Book show, probably with the rumored Flame Tree Dining package.
Us too....we already love Flame Tree and I had it in my plans for dinner on our AK evening, so it just makes sense. I hope it pans out!!
I have heard such wonderful things about the Tonga Toast that I am desperate to try it.
I hate to bring bad news, but apparently the Tonga Toast changed. I've read that they switched bread suppliers. They used to use sour dough bread and now they're using french bread I think. Though if you've never had it to begin with, you won't know what you're missing anyways.
Whether we end up eating at Kona or not, one thing we will plan on doing this day is riding the Epcot monorail over there and back. We’ve never ridden the Epcot one before, as we’ve just figured it would be easier to drive rather than have to change trains, but I’m looking forward to trying this. It also gives us a chance to get a glimpse inside of a park during our non-park day.
We love to just ride the monorail, too! Sounds like a great plan!!!
I think Woody and Jessie make more sense over by Splash/BTMRR than where Chip and Dale meet/met, even though it's still Frontierland. It's just more "western-y" over by the rides. But whatever 
I agree with you on the Woody & Jessie location - they fit well back by Splash and Big Thunder. The article referred to this as a "test", so we'll see what happens. They may be back in their usual spots before our trip even begins...or somewhere else completely new. I can't keep up anymore.
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