45 Days to Disney - A Summer Surprise PTR: 12 days and Counting!

[Colleen27]

Can you keep a secret?

After much wrangling of schedules and dollars, a decision has been made – We’re going to Disney World!

But, shhh…. It’s a secret.

It didn’t start out as a surprise trip. We just didn’t want to mention it to my youngest until we knew for sure that the trip was going to happen.

It has been up in the air for a while.

My 13 year old has taken a couple of YES classes over the years, and there was another that she’s really interested in but wasn’t old enough for on our last trip: Exploring Careers in the Marine Sciences. So we were planning on a fall trip during individual enrollment for her to take the class.

One problem. The class isn’t being offered during individual enrollment this year. It is still listed on the main page but isn’t on the schedule.

It is, however, being offered during the Girls Unite event for Girl Scouts, open to troops and to individuals. And my daughter is a scout, though she is no longer part of a troop.

I didn’t discover this until last month, though. And May is a crazy month in my house, both schedule-wise and money-wise. There was no way I could pull off a trip on such short notice so I figured we’d plan for the Girl Scout event next year and hope the class would still be offered.

Then my mom got involved.

My mother is as big a Disney fan as I am, and she didn’t like the idea of waiting until next year. She’s had a rough year and decided she wants a vacation. And she’s willing to pay for it, for all of us. We’ve traveled together before – sometimes she treats, sometimes I do, sometimes we both pay our own way – and it is a nice solution because my husband and 17yo son aren’t in the least bit interested in another Disney trip.

So that’s how it came to pass that I would start planning a trip on less than two months’ notice.

And after keeping it hush-hush for this long, I’m thinking it might be fun to keep it that way a little longer and let Katie figure out for herself where we’re going when she sees the WDW gates.

 

[Colleen27]

I've already covered what and why, so here's the rest of the five Ws.

When:

June 13-20. We're driving, so the first and last day will be on the road, leaving June 14 to 19 for our Disney fun.

Where:

We've stayed all over the place, at all resort levels, and this time we settled on All Star Music. I'm rather partial to the value resorts when it is just us girls because we don't spend enough time at our resort to justify spending for extra amenities, and I expect this will be especially true with the long summer hours on this trip.

Who:

Me, Colleen.

Thirty-something planner extraordinaire. I'm not just a Disney addict, I'm addicted to all sorts of travel. I'm currently a full time college student, which has put a bit of a damper on my travel style over the past year since my schedule and my kids' seldom line up. We've been to Disney World a bunch, though it has been over a year since the last trip, and I'm really looking forward to getting back.

I'm also a bit of a photography nut and the keeper of the camera, so finding a picture that I'm in isn't the easiest thing in the world. This one is from my April 2014 solo trip.


My older daughter, Shanna.

She's one of a kind, a very focused student who already has a dream college in mind though she won't start high school until fall, with a minor obsession with manatees and all things Japanese. She's also a very busy kid - 4H, softball, archery, track, volleyball, volunteering at an urban garden program, a farm for the developmentally disabled, and the community garden at our school/church. Planning around her schedule, even in the summer, was a bit of a challenge! She plans on majoring in marine biology when she gets to college, hence her interest in this class. (Her hair isn't always blue, by the way. She goes to a private school - they'd never allow that!)

My younger daughter, Katie.

She's the biggest Disney fan in the family and a real pro traveler. She'd been on more flights by her 3rd birthday than I was on in the first 21 years of my life! My last Disney trip was just the two of us in December of 2013 and we had a wonderful time. We met so many characters! She's obsessed with Figment and, of course, Frozen. She's going to be so excited for the Frozen Summer Fun stuff!

And my mother, who I may as well just call Grandma. I don't have a picture of her on my computer.

My parents divorced when I was quite young and she couldn't afford to take my brother and I to Disney World when we were small, so she really enjoys being able to take the grandkids. This will be the 5th time we've gone to Disney together. DH & I invited her to join us on our first family Disney trip in '05, and when he can't travel with me she's my go-to "extra adult". She doesn't do big rides, which works well because Katie doesn't either and is still to small for some things.

 

[Colleen27]

I just got our ticket information from the student education programs people so I suppose it is time to get going on daily plans.

Day one:

Since we're driving, day one is drudgery - the first leg of the trip. With two drivers we really could go straight through but I don't think my mom wants to spend that many uninterrupted hours in the car. Besides, half the fun of a road trip is the things you see along the way... and I have a few things in mind to break up the drive a bit.

The last time we made the drive, this was the weather we were dealing with on the road.

I'm thinking we can count on a bit better this trip!

Since it should be nice we're packing snacks and sandwiches for the ride and planning on eating most of our road meals at parks or rest areas along the way rather than restaurants. Stopping for a meal, whether fast food or table service, is just trading sitting in the car for sitting somewhere else, and with Katie along for this ride I'm thinking we need breaks with a little more opportunity to move.

Besides, on our last trip Shanna and her friend Kaylee made stopping at every state's welcome center a must-do and Katie, being her big sister's shadow, has declared her intention to do the same "if" we ever drive to Florida with her.

I'd like to leave home early. I arranged the trip to be doing most of the driving on the weekends so we shouldn't have to worry too much about traffic. If we can get out the door by 7, which might be a bit optimistic, we should make it to our first stop around 2.

That stop just might be the world's most interesting rest area.

The Berea Welcome Center, which is part rest stop, part craft show, part restaurant.

My mom has been to Berea a few times, many years ago, and is really looking forward to going back. Shanna and I stopped at the welcome center on our 2013 Florida road trip, but on the way home rather than the way down, and she's also looking forward to a return visit... this time before she's totally blown her spending money budget!

I'm not sure if we'll just visit the welcome center or head into town to explore Berea for a while. I vaguely remember it being a very cute, artsy place when I was there last as a kid, and I wouldn't mind spending a bit of time there. If we can make it there by lunchtime I would love to stop at the Boone Tavern Hotel for lunch. My mom has talked about that place my whole life and even for lunch the menu looks really yummy.

I do want to push on before dark, though, because from there we have 11 hours of drive time still ahead and I'd like to get somewhere closer to halfway before stopping for the night. Ideally we'll like to make it to Chattanooga before we stop for the night, or Knoxville at the very least.

 

[Colleen27]

Day two:

The total drive time from our hometown north of Detroit to Disney World is 17.5 hours. I'm hoping to have at least 9 of those hours out of the way on day one, leaving a lot of driving still ahead on day two. Again I'd like to be on the road early and with it being a Sunday I don't expect we should have too much trouble with traffic.

I have only the roughest idea of how we'll handle breaks on the second day on the road. Shanna would very much like to stop in Senoia, GA to check out some of the sites that have been used in The Walking Dead. It is just south of Atlanta and not too far out of the way, 2-3 hours south of where we'll likely be starting out on day two, and since both Shanna and I are huge fans it is worth the minor delay.

From there its another 6 hours to Disney World and I'd like to make as good time as possible. Around dinner time we should see this welcoming sight on our way to our room.

Katie and I stayed at All Star Music in December of 2013 when I took her on a just the two of us trip and I'm looking forward to going back. It took me a long time to be willing to try a value resort but now that's our first choice for most trips and I've enjoyed all three that I've tried.

On our last stay at Music it was a bit on the cold side for swimming, but Katie didn't let that stop her. The kiddie pool was so warm in the sun that she called it the hot tub.

I never really plan our arrival evening, no matter how we're traveling, and this trip is no exception. Depending on what time we get in we might head out to grab dinner somewhere - probably at Maya Grill or Olivia's, since we have a car, because I've been wanting to try them - but I think it is more likely that we'll just get counter service and enjoy the resort. One of the things that tipped the scales in favor of Music over Pop was having all three resorts and therefore our choice of three different movies by the pool, and if something is playing that catches the kids' interest we'll probably make it a quick-service picnic dinner under the stars.

 

[Colleen27]

Day three:

Finally, we hit the parks!

Animal Kingdom is probably my least favorite park, at least in the summer when all that landscaping blocks any breeze and makes it feel so much warmer and more humid. But we do have a few must-dos here so we're going to spend a half day.

First up, the safari. I'm hoping by going right at rope drop it will still be relatively cool so the animals will be a bit more active than in the heat of day.

Next up, the first showing of the Festival of the Lion King. I've been meaning to make time to see it for a while now but we never seem to get around to it, so it is a priority this trip.

After the show we're going to wander Asia for a bit. At some point Shanna and I will head off to do her favorite ride, Expedition Everest. My mom doesn't do thrill rides and Katie isn't tall enough, so it'll just be the two of us and if the line is long we'll just do single rider.

When I took Shanna and her best friend to WDW in 2013, they rode Everest 13 times in a row. That was late in the evening, when the park has all but emptied out, and we just went around and around getting in line again as soon as the ride was over. I had to drop out after the 5th or 6th ride. They kept going until the park was ready to close! This time, though, we're only riding once.

By now, it should be time for lunch. We have an 11:30 ADR for Yak & Yeti to use my Landry's birthday reward. I've eaten there a couple of times and absolutely love their lettuce wraps. They may not look like much, but the portion is enough for a meal and the meat is really tasty.

After lunch we'll head out of the park. There's really not much else we feel the need to do or see here. If Katie is in the mood we might detour to ride Kali. The last time she was on it she loved the ride but hated sitting around wet afterwards so I'm leaving it up to her.

And if the wait time isn't too long we might stop to see Russell and Dug. Katie used to be super into characters and collecting autographs, but last trip she decided she'd rather spend more time on rides and less in character lines so I'm not expecting to do more than the few we've never met. Russell and Dug, Anna and Elsa, and Baymax if he's still out are probably the only meet and greets we'll make time for on this trip.

After spending the morning in my least favorite park, it is off to my favorite for the afternoon.

Making a Epcot a half-day park isn't ideal, but FP+ makes it possible and since this is a short trip with a lot of priorities something had to give.

Our first FP is for Spaceship Earth. I think I've timed it about right for us to be able to ride on our way into the park. After that we'll head for Katie's new favorite ride.

Katie is tiny for her age and a little nervous about rides, so she just discovered Soarin' on our last trip. But she loved it enough that we waited in the standby line for a second ride after using our FastPass. Arriving in the middle of the day that's not going to be possible this time, but I do have a second set of Soarin' FastPasses for her and my mother on the morning of our class.

While we're in The Land pavilion we're also going to ride one of my favorites - Living With the Land. I'm a gardener and I adore Disney's greenhouses, so much so that I've taken the Behind the Seeds tour twice.

Our final FastPass reservation is for Journey into Imagination. I don't expect we'll really need it and I'm sure we'll ride more than once. This has been Katie's favorite ride since her very first trip when she was 16 months old and that hasn't changed at all. She even sleeps with a stuffed Figment at night.

When the girls are done playing in the Figment post-show we'll venture into the World Showcase. I'd like to catch the British Revolution because I'm sure Shanna would enjoy them, and there's a U2 tribute band playing as part of the Sounds Like Summer series that night that I wouldn't mind seeing.

We'll also do a little shopping, I'm sure. Every time I travel without my son Sebastian I pick him up a little souvenir, usually something Doctor Who related from the UK. And Shanna always spends most of her spending money at みつこし (Mitsukoshi) in Japan. She's a little obsessed with all things Japanese and has started teaching herself a bit of the language ahead of starting high school Japanese classes in the fall, so we always spend the most time there of all the countries.

There is also one more must-do ride on the list - El Rio del Tiempo (aka the boat ride in Mexico - I can never remember the post-rehab name). Another of Katie's long time favorites, we never miss it. And while we're there I have to stop in at La Cava del Tequila for a passion fruit margarita. I discovered it on my 2013 solo trip and have yet to find anywhere else that does them nearly as well.

I don't have any firm plans for dinner. We might get counter service - we like the fish stand in the UK, Tangerine Cafe in Morocco, and Katsura Grill in Japan (although one of my favorites has been removed from the menu there), and grazing around the World is always nice when we share a single meal in each of several countries. Or I might hop on my phone and see what ADRs are available. La Hacienda in Mexico is a particular favorite, and I'd love to try the new tapas place in Morocco.

We will probably stay through Illuminations, even though we have an early morning planned the next day, because it has been a few trips since we've stayed for the show. But there's always the chance that we'll skip it if we're tired or just too hot.

 

[Colleen27]

Day four

I had this day all planned out and then Disney went and through a wrench in the works by changing the park opening time! So this is all sort of tentative right now because I haven't really decided if we're going to keep our Be Our Guest ADR or not. On one hand, I really do want to eat there. On the other, I'm not sure it is worth giving up part of the low-crowd early morning hours to do it. And of course there are no later ADRs available at this point for me to be able to have both the rope drop time in the park and the breakfast I had planned!

So this is what I have right now, and I'd appreciate any thoughts on making it better.

Rope drop is a must. Between the heat and the crowds there's just no way around it. So I'd like to be at the Magic Kingdom by 7:30, but I don't think we'll be hanging back to watch the welcome show this time.

Our ADR for Be Our Guest is at 8:15. I've heard mixed things about whether we'll be allowed a bit of a head start to get to the restaurant on time or will have to wait with the rope drop throngs. What we encounter when we get there will determine where we go first.

If we're allowed in even a few minutes ahead of rope drop we'll head straight to the restaurant and get checked in. With our food already pre-ordered, breakfast shouldn't take long and will hopefully allow us to hit one or two of our early morning priorities before the lines get too long. According to Touring Plans the lines build more slowly on days with an 8am opening, so I'm leaning towards keeping the ADR and losing that bit of touring time to try a restaurant we've all been looking forward to.

If we aren't allowed in early, we'll join the rope drop crowds in heading toward Fantasyland to get one attraction in before checking in for breakfast. I don't think we'll have time for what we'd really like to do first - meeting Anna and Elsa - because even very early they have a long, long wait time. Unless we can get to Fairy Tale Hall near the front of the rope drop crowd we won't have time to fit it in first thing.

Anna and Elsa are my big sticking point in planning our MK day. When our breakfast was before rope drop it was easy - breakfast, then straight to Fairy Tale Hall. But looking over the data Touring Plans and Easy WDW have, it looks like the back of the rope drop pack (which is where we're likely to be, even if we're at the front when the rope drops - my mom just doesn't move that fast) is the worst place to be for people who want to meet the Frozen princesses. So I'm thinking we'll do things a bit differently and leave them for last. The meet & greet is open until a half-hour before park close and the wait times after 10pm drop off quite a bit. I know my girls love the late nights in the Magic Kingdom - we've stayed as late as 3am in the past - so I think that's our best time to meet them.

But back to the morning...

When the park hours changed I changed our lousy evening FP+ time for the Mine Train to a newly-available slot in the added park hour, so regardless of whether it is before or after breakfast that'll be our first ride of the day. This is our first trip since the ride opened so of course it is a must do.

After that, Peter Pan is the next stop. I haven't seen the interactive queue so I want to ride standby, but I'd like to do it while the wait times are still reasonable!

By the time we're done there, it should be time for our second FP+ - Enchanted Tales with Belle.

From there, we'll be touring more according to geography than any wait time strategy. One of the biggest pros of FP+ is not having to backtrack, and with my mom that's especially nice because she does have some knee and back problems that slow her down and make reducing unnecessary walking somewhat important.

So that means our next stop will probably be Its a Small World. One of Katie's favorites, it is a must do once - and only once! - each trip.

We'll continue on through Liberty Square, with a stop at the Haunted Mansion, and into Frontierland.

Katie is big enough for Big Thunder Railroad and Splash Mountain but has never been brave enough to ride either one. We'll see if it is any different this trip. If not, Thunder really isn't a must do and we probably won't wait in line for it. But Shanna and I will take the time to ride Splash once while my mom takes Katie off to see the Country Bears or to Tom Sawyer's Island.

From there it is on to Adventureland. I'm disappointed that Pirates will be closed when we're there, but since it broke down while we were in line on two of our more recent trips I am sure it could use the TLC. I have a FP+ for Jungle Cruise, and we'll probably stop in and see the Tiki Birds as well since we haven't done that since our very first trip.

By this time it should be mid-day, pretty crowded, and blazing hot. That's our cue to leave. We'll probably head back to the room so my mom and Katie can rest while I take Shanna swimming or to a waterpark.

I figure we'll probably have dinner before returning to the park for the evening. I'm leaning towards Territory Lounge at the Wilderness Lounge. I had a fabulous meal there on my solo trip and it would be even better with a group because we could order several things to share around - nachos, wings, charcuterie, and of course the incredible cobbler from Artist Point.

Since we'll have the car, I'll drive to dinner and leave it at Wilderness Lodge until we're done for the night. We can take the boat over to the Magic Kingdom for the evening and back to get the car, then drive home to our resort.

I haven't really worked out detailed plans for the evening. It'll depend in part on what sort of 4th FP+ I was able to get before leaving the park - ideally I'd like to get Space, so we can start in Tomorrowland, but failing that we'll take the train around to Fantasyland and focus on the high-capacity attractions there until it gets a bit later and the crowds start to thin a little.

Dumbo remains one of Katie's favorites, even more so now that it comes with a playground, and my mom hasn't seen the new big-top queue so that's one that we'll probably ride a couple of times.

I don't really plan to watch Wishes. We've seen it so many times, and during the fireworks ride lines practically evaporate so we'll probably take advantage of that instead.

The only must-do for the evening is meeting Anna and Elsa. Other than that, we'll go where the mood takes us. The park is only open until midnight but we'll be there to enjoy every minute of it. Fortunately we don't have anywhere to be the next morning!

 

[Colleen27]

Day five:

A day with no plan!

Since I plan on closing down the Magic Kingdom the night before and because the water parks upgrade costs next to nothing through the YES program, I decided to leave this day free for waterparks, Disney Quest, mini golf, or whatever else might catch our eye. The last couple times we did a waterpark it was on winter trips when Typhoon Lagoon was closed, so we'll probably try to get over there at some point.

Katie adored Fantasia Gardens on our last trip so I wouldn't mind doing that again either.

If the weather doesn't cooperate, there's always Disney Quest - not my favorite place in the World but my kids enjoy it.

Dinner is entirely up in the air. Either we'll head to Downtown Disney or to one of the off-the-beaten-path resort restaurants. T-Rex is a family favorite if we find ourselves at Downtown Disney, as is Raglan Road. And there are a few resort restaurants I'd like to try that I haven't had a chance to get to, but which would be much more manageable with a car than they are via Disney transportation.

Day six:

We're doing something a little strange on this trip - planning a full day at Studios. I don't love the park, honestly, and there's not much there that makes our must do list, just Toy Story Mania for my mom and Katie and Tower of Terror and Rock N Roller Coaster for me and Shanna. But the timing of this trip worked out so that we'll be there for the second day of the Frozen Summer Fun event and my mother decided to splurge on the premium package.

Katie, like every 6yo girl we know, is crazy for Frozen and the package includes a FP for the sing along as well as reserved viewing for the parade and fireworks, so it was kind of a no-brainer.

I've also booked FP+ times for a couple highlights, so we'll hit Toy Story at least once (maybe more if we're there at rope drop) as well as Tower of Terror and The Muppets. Shanna is particularly crazy for The Muppets so it is a must-see even though the show is the same as it's always been.

We also have to stop for one picture that has become tradition, Shanna with the Singing in the Rain umbrella. I have these pics going back to when she was so small she had to stand on the light post to reach the handle.

I have absolutely no meal plans for this day. Planning fail, I know, but I just don't want to be tied to a reservation.

The problem is, I don't know if we'll spend the whole day in the park or if we'll take a break. The parade is at 11 and all our FP+ times are done by 3. Check-in for the dessert party doesn't start until 8:30. And Studios has been a half-day park for us for many years, even in cooler weather where just walking around has more appeal. So right now my feeling is that with the package providing snacks (ice cream!) during the parade and our ride times all clustered early in the day, we'll want a late lunch/early dinner. The question is, will we want it in the park or elsewhere?

If Sci-Fi was available I might book that, and I'm still checking every now and then to see if something opens up. Nothing else at Studios excites me. If I was on my own I'd book Brown Derby just for the Cobb salad but the kids' menu there is dismal. 50s Prime Time is awesome but too heavy for a hot day. We've never tried Mama Melrose, so that's a possibility just because it would be something new and sharing flatbreads/appetizers would keep it from being too heavy. But I just don't know that any of them are worth risking a cancellation fee if we decide we're too hot to eat and would rather go for a swim to cool off so we'll probably just play it by ear and see what's available at the last minute.

 

[Colleen27]

I'm not even finished with the plans and already they're changing!

After much waffling I decided to cancel our Be Our Guest ADR for the 16th. I just can't see spending the coolest, lowest crowd time of day in a restaurant, no matter how much I'd like to try it. So the new plan is to try for Anna & Elsa at rope drop and then continue on with the rest of our plans. If the standby for A&E is too long even at 8am we'll stick to the original plan, with everything just pushed up a bit earlier.

Since we now have no meals planned at all for the day, I'm thinking we might time our return to the park after our mid-day break to line up with opening time at Trader Sam's at the Poly. While the waits in the evenings are still insane, I've read that getting there 20-30min before opening is enough to be among the first group seated for the day. And both the menu and the decor look amazing, so I figure it is worth a try. If it turns out the wait is too long we'll just pop over to Tambu Lounge. The menu there looks good too, so it would be a perfectly fine dinner option if Trader Sam's doesn't work out.

 

[Colleen27]

Day seven:

Our last day in the parks, and not even a full day at that.

Shanna and I will be up bright and early to head to my favorite park.

Epcot, again! We won't have much actual park time, though - this morning is all about the Careers in Marine Science class in the Seas pavilion. Shanna has wanted to take this one for years and it is the whole reason for the trip, so expectations are high.

Originally we'd planned for Katie to take a class as well, but the only offering for her age group was cancelled for lack of enrollment, so my mom and Katie have the morning free. They might just hang out at the resort and enjoy the pool, or they might come to Epcot as well. I've made FP+ reservations for them for a few of Katie's favorites in case they do decide to come to the park.

Shanna's class runs until noon, after which I do have some FP+ reservations even though we're going to have to head out before too long. The only one I expect we'll use is Test Track because I doubt we'll get there on our first visit to Epcot. The others are just filler to pacify a computer system that doesn't like the idea of choosing just one.

After the ride it'll be time to head back to the resort and say goodbye to Walt Disney World. I don't really have a target time in mind for getting on the road, but I would like to put at least a decent chunk of road behind us before stopping for the night. I'm not sure what to expect as far as traffic goes on a Friday night but I assume we'll encounter at least some, so we're going to play most of the drive by ear.

The plan for the drive down is going to have to change a bit, though, so one or both of our stops might get shifted to the back end of the trip. I just got Shanna's softball schedule and she has a game the morning of the 13th, so instead of leaving at dawn and making Berea by lunch we'll be leaving home around lunchtime. That'll probably mean making Berea the last stop on our travels because we would like to eat at the Boone Tavern Hotel but don't want to get dressed up to meet the dinnertime dress code and because we'd like to have some time to explore and most of the shops in town close relatively early.

So right now I'm thinking the goal should be Knoxville before stopping for the night, which would put Senoia about 3.5 hours into our second day on the road and WDW another 7 hours on from there. If we leave our hotel early, as planned, we should get to Senoia around 10 and back on the road by 12 or 1 depending how long we take looking around. That'll get us to Disney property a little later than I'd have liked but still not too late to get checked in, enjoy a swim, and get to bed at a decent hour.

 

[Colleen27]

More changes to our MK plans! I scored a 9:45 Be Our Guest ADR so breakfast is back on. I'm hoping we can get Anna & Elsa, the mine train (w/FP), and Peter Pan in before breakfast. After breakfast we'll be in the window for our Enchanted Tales with Belle FP, and from there we'll pick up the plan of taking on Frontierland and Adventureland before our afternoon break.

 

[Colleen27]

I can't believe it - we leave a week from Saturday and the secret is still in tact!

Planning a surprise trip has made my usual crafting a little more difficult than usual since I can only work on projects when Katie is at school or after she goes to bed, which is the same time I usually reserve for my schoolwork, but I'm starting to get a few small projects done. I have two of four magic bands painted so far. I almost got caught today putting the finishing touches on mine while Katie was at baseball with DH, but I am rather happy with how it came out.

This one is Shanna's:

And mine. The photo doesn't really do it justice; the colors sort of fade into one another in a tye-die like effect, and the light blue of the border glows in the dark. I couldn't get a glow photo of it at all with my phone, since it hadn't been in the light long enough to be at full brightness. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow with my actual camera.