A Jan 2016 PTR-Disney is taking over my life edition *Update 12/10-MagicBands!*

[sullymom]

Just booked our Vacation!!! Our times will overlap a little.

 

[taythecray]

Well I finalized our Epcot date night plans yesterday I decided that since I can be a picky eater and we don't want to cut out a large block of time to eat, we have decided to skip the "nice dinner" and snack around the world! This way we can sample delicious food (more than enough to fill me up) and explore the showcase at the same time. So I searched around the boards and the internet to get an idea of what foods are "must trys" in each country and came up with our list. I'm actually looking forward to most of these and it's making me hungry So now our arrival day plan will look something like this:

11am (ish)-Arrive at MCO
1pm (ish)-Check in at AKL; may grab a small snack/lunch to hold us over until we get over to Epcot since we will have been up and moving since 7am
3pm (ish)-Arrive at Epcot; Test Track SR and Soarin with FP (This way I can enjoy the rides twice and help siblings decide which ones they may like to do)
Once that's done start snackin away! We're starting in Canada mainly so we can grab the Fish n Chips for our late lunch/early dinner. I was hoping to find a mixture of "healthy" and dessert type snacks because I don't want to make myself sick but I'm finding that to be a little difficult It also occurred to me that we will finally be 21 and technically could try some drinks as well, but that's still a weird concept to me XD I've tried some drinks before with parents and I just don't like the taste of alcohol so we probably won't do it this time around. Austin may grab a drink or two but I'll probably just have water since it looks like it's going to be expensive as-is. Anyway, here's our list!

Canada-Cronut or Maple Candies
United Kingdom-Fish & Chips
France-Pastry/Dessert from the bakery
Morocco-Baklava
Japan-Shaved Ice
America-Funnel Cake
Italy-Gelato
Germany-Pretzel or Caramel Candies
China-Pot Stickers or the sampler of Pork Buns, Chicken Pocket, Egg Rolls, and Ice Cream with a drink (Yes for dinner if hungry enough, if not skip)
Norway-School Bread or Chocolate Mousse (not big coconut fans)
Mexico-Chips & Guac or Churros

Total cost=$70 Wasn't expecting that in regards to snacks but I guess it's better that I will be able to try more and have a wider variety of things then spending $30 on an entree that I end up hating. Knowing us we may not even be able to eat it all, so I went marked the "must-eats" in green and the "okay to skips" in red. Also....I like to wander so we may not even make it all around the showcase by the time Illumination starts. If this is the case then we will just pick up where we left off when we head back later in the week

 

[taythecray]

Just booked our Vacation!!! Our times will overlap a little.

Yay!! When are you going and where are you staying? Didn't mean to ignore your post, apparently it didn't refresh and show it before I posted

 

[sullymom]

We are going from 29 Dec - 7 Jan. We will be staying at CBR. The first few days we won't be going to the parks, we will be going mini-putting and downtown disney etc. The hubby can't believe I'm planning already but I can't help it. The kids have no idea as the trip is their Christmas gift this year.

 

[taythecray]

Well I actually have some free time to update everyone on my crazy life! (Some things Disney related, some not) Let's just say this past month has been absolutely insane. So let's start from the beginning.

Austin and I took our vacation down to Hilton Head, SC at the beginning of May which was amazing. I haven't gone in 5 years and forgot how much I loved it there. It was beautiful, the weather was perfect, and we had a great "pre-wedding" honeymoon. We even passed by and saw the Disney resort on the island! Maybe one day we will stay there but for now the timeshare we have is working out pretty well ^_^ We also got to drive up the east coast and scout out places to (hopefully) move to after graduation.
1) So we (well, I) don't have to put up with the bipolar weather here in Illinois and freeze to death every winter
2) Anywhere in Virginia is closer to Disney than anywhere up in Illinois!

After our vacation we got back and I started working like a mad woman. I am a peer advisor at the university which requries all day training and working orientation Thurs-Sat on top of my other job which I work all day Mon-Wed. I'M EXHAUSTED! Between work and travelling I've been crashing really early and haven't had time to unpack my stuff let alone get on the computer XD It's been fun though and there are only 3 weeks left until my life gets back to normal. At least all this money is going toward 2 good causes! Which leads to my first expense...

Our wedding is in 78 days!! It's getting down to the wire and I'm freaking out! We sent out invites yesterday and got a bunch of forms in the mail from our officiant, photographer, dj etc to fill out in detail about what we want. It's becoming real! I also recently found out that my brother Carter and his girlfriend Emily are planning on getting engaged soon! (They wanted to wait and let us have our moment, how sweet)

Well that about covers my life this past month but in DISNEY news: I got a free $50 Disney gift card last month! Thanks to Swagbucks I was able to cash in my reward points for a free gift card It's not much yet but as soon as things start to quiet down with work I plan to get back into it and hopefully get a couple more before vacation. I don't think I'll be getting too many souviners so now I just have to figure out if I want to put them toward meals, snacks, or tickets. Decisions decisions....
Last but not least in Disney news, I think park hours for January will finally be released this month! Normally they are released in July but since December hours were released last month...there's a chance right? Even though I have a pretty good idea of how are days will go already, it will be nice to actually have the information in front of me. Then I just have to convince my go-with-the-flow mother that planning some days is needed since we will need to make our ADRs soon. 214 days to go!

 

[taythecray]

Hooray! Hours for January have been released! Now it's time to look back at my plans and....wait...what....NO extra magic hours? Now that's....NOT OKAY! Wait a second here. I hope they update this because I am going to be so bummed if I can't take advantage of these during my first onsite trip. I mean I planned on staying in the parks until 11! My days revolved around EMH! WHAT IS DISNEY WORLD COMING TO?!

I guess on the bright side, the Main Street Electrical Parade is scheduled for every night instead of just Monday and Thursday, so I can play around with that now....wow I have a lot of playing around to do actually. I mean it's not like I have a problem redoing our itinerary (that's the fun part right?) I just didn't expect it to change so drastically. Hmmm.... well it looks like I'm going to play around with what's available now, come up with an alternate plan and then see what easywdw has to say about things. Either way the fact that park hours have FINALLY been released is exciting. Oh, and I'm almost at the 200 day countdown!

If anyone else is curious: http://media.disneywebcontent.com/StaticFiles/ParkHours/WDWTravelAgent_january.pdf

 

[sullymom]

I was also surprised by this. Back to the drawing board to plan. Maybe they will add EMH later. (Which would mean changing plans again)

 

[sullymom]

They have added EMH for January
http://media.disneywebcontent.com/StaticFiles/ParkHours/WDWTravelAgent_january.pdf

 

[taythecray]

They have added EMH for January
http://media.disneywebcontent.com/StaticFiles/ParkHours/WDWTravelAgent_january.pdf

Thank goodness. I was worried there for a second. Somehow I knew they weren't gone for good it just threw me off. Now on to finalizing plans! Trying to plan out Magic Kingdom days is driving me crazy 0_o

 

[taythecray]

It's time for...
The Official Park Order

It's done. It's officially done. Not every park detail, but the overall touring plan and what days we plan on hitting each park. Unless a giant curve-ball is thrown where the Osborne lights stay on an extra night and into the 4th....it's done. I present to you all, the official park day plans for our January trip!

Monday, Jan 4th (Arrival): Date night for Austin and I at Epcot-snacking/a little drinking around the world. Family will settle in at the resort I'm assuming
Tuesday, Jan 5th: Magic Kingdom (planning the MK days are giving me a headache trying to please everyone) Hoping BOG or Whispering Canyon for lunch
Wednesday, Jan 6th: Epcot-dinner at Garden Grill and all day touring future world/showcase
Thursday, Jan 7th: Hollywood Studios-breakfast at Ohana and then a late arrival since there isn't much we wish to catch
Friday, Jan 8th: Magic Kingdom again! I know Austin and I will be taking advantage of those Extra Magic Hours ^_^
Saturday, Jan 9th (Departure ): Animal Kingdom-late arrival, saving the closest park for last? We (Austin & I) may pack up early and take advantage of Extra Magic Hours

That's it. I'm done. It's set in stone. I love it. Now to just figure out how the heck to tour MK!

 

[purplelover88]

Your trip sounds so exciting.I don't blame you one bit for wanting to get everything planned out so soon; it is so hard not to think about it every second of the day. That's great you get to spend your first real big onsite trip with so many members of your family. The plans so far sound great. Good luck figuring out the magic kingdom touring; that can be difficult I know. Getting a 2 bedroom at Animal Kingdom Lodge for that price is amazing; great luck with the point rental!

 

[LanaBear-ox]

Wow your trip sounds awesome! I'm planning mine for September 2017 it is just so far away! But we are coming from the UK! I can't believe you are getting married in a couple of months and planning wdw! I get married next March! Also has it occurred to you he will be your husband when you go on vacation?! Can't wait to follow on more of your details! You are so organised and so lucky you are going to AKL! (We will probably stay at a value but it is the first time we will be going to wdw)

 

[taythecray]

Your trip sounds so exciting.I don't blame you one bit for wanting to get everything planned out so soon; it is so hard not to think about it every second of the day. That's great you get to spend your first real big onsite trip with so many members of your family. The plans so far sound great. Good luck figuring out the magic kingdom touring; that can be difficult I know. Getting a 2 bedroom at Animal Kingdom Lodge for that price is amazing; great luck with the point rental!

Thank you! I am definitely an addict that's for sure The time has actually gone by really fast considering we booked things a couple months ago already. I just know this will most likely be my family's only trip down so I'm trying to plan a lot without overwhelming them too much. Magic Kingdom would be easy if I was just planning for me and my sister, but I don't think my brothers would appreciate all the princess meetings and slow "kiddie" rides XD

Wow your trip sounds awesome! I'm planning mine for September 2017 it is just so far away! But we are coming from the UK! I can't believe you are getting married in a couple of months and planning wdw! I get married next March! Also has it occurred to you he will be your husband when you go on vacation?! Can't wait to follow on more of your details! You are so organised and so lucky you are going to AKL! (We will probably stay at a value but it is the first time we will be going to wdw)

Ah thank you and good luck with your trip! I know how it feels I've been wanting to take my siblings ever since my first trip in 2013 and the time has finally come! There is going to be so much new stuff when you visit though, so that's exciting As far as the wedding planning goes......I'm actually quite calm about it. I think because we planned things really early and there isn't much left to do now, which leaves me time to focus on Disney (Plus I feel like Disney requires more planning since it's a week long and more to do?) The term husband does sound different to me though! It took me forever to get used to calling him fiance instead of boyfriend so should be great XD I was honestly surprised my mom agreed on AKL as well but she just loves animals/zoos and I won her over I feel like anything else on site, even if it was cheaper than AKL, wouldn't have worked because in her eyes offsite is just as good as onsite (AKL is apparently the exception) haha I am SUPER pumped about it

 

[taythecray]

So the 180 day mark is approaching quickly and I'm starting to panic I've never planned out these before and with such a large party I'm thinking of worse-case scenarios. Be Our Guest is on our list but I won't be completely heartbroken if we don't get it because I have a backup (Whispering Canyon) but I'm worried about Garden Grill and CRT...plus I have to prepay for CRT even though I'm going to end up using giftcards to pay for the meal once we're there...I'm just all sorts of nervous. I also hope my family agrees with the park plans I have laid out for us. I even had a dream the other night that my mom scolded me for planning too much and locking us in a schedule Here's hoping things worked out!

 

[taythecray]

And the Hollywood Studios plans keep shrinking...

I can't believe the Animation Academy is closing! Macy would have absolutely LOVED it. In fact I was expecting it to be one of her favorite parts of the trip. There is hardly enough there we want to do now that can even justify spending half a day. Honestly the only reason I want to visit is to ride Toy Story and Tower of Terror and then see Fantasmic. Macy wants to meet a couple characters, and the boys want to see the stunt show but that's about it. It's depressing really....that will definitely be our relax half-day. I planned on breakfast at Ohana which I will still schedule, but now we probably won't head over until late afternoon. Who the heck suggested closing everything at HS?

 

[taythecray]

Well ADR day was today and I got everything I wanted! Website was glitchy as usual (re-directing pages, changing restaurants/number of people, error messages) but everything ended up working out! Only time I wasn't too particularly fond of was Garden Grill but there weren't a lot of options to begin with. I have official plans now guys! Here's what we ended up with...

4th (arrival): Nada. Date night
5th (MK): Whispering Canyon @ 12:25 Decided against BOG to try something new.
6th (EP): Garden Grill @ 7:05 Only other option was 5 and that's too early. Didn't want us rushing through World Showcase to make a reservation.
7th (HS): Ohana (breakfast) @ 10:30
8th (MK): Cinderella's Royal Table @ 12:15 Decided to just make this a date for Macy and I. Sister bonding time
9th (AK/Departure): Nada. We are already limited with time at the park and I didn't want to "waste" more time eating.

I'm so excited!!

 

[taythecray]

Not really a Disney World trip update, but we had our wedding shower this past weekend, AND IT WAS DISNEY THEMED! I actually didn't end up taking too many pictures, but the decorations and cake were themed with Mickey and Minnie stuff, it was adorable The best part I think though was the present Austin's mom got for us. Now I actually planned on buying these when we went down in January, but now I don't have to! She got us the bride and groom ears to wear!! I was so excited when we opened the box I'm actually a pretty shy person and I especially hate being the center of attention, but dangit I wore those ears proudly and showed them off! I wish we could have done a Disney themed wedding but a little late to put that in the plans now (although Austin did tell me he would wear his ears for the wedding if I do ;P ) Only one month to go!

 

[taythecray]

Even though there are A LOT of things going on right now *ahem wedding* I still manage to keep Disney on my mind every day. We (Austin and I) finally saw Inside Out last weekend and it was adorable! I thought it was funny and cute and of course I cried That will definitely be one I have to show mom and Macy when we head home again. Aside from that, I've decided to start a checklist of things I want to do between now and our 60 day mark. So behold....another list!

*GET MARRIED! (wait that's not Disney related)
*Make a list of pressed pennies to collect and their locations
*Keep an eye out (and potentially buy) Disney accessories and outfits to wear (another thing mainly for Macy and I)
*Finalize fastpass plans
*Buy our tickets
*Mess with the itinerary some more (just because it's fun and I'm not sure I'm 100% set on plans yet)
*Come up with questions to ask the characters to make for fun interactions
*Figure out what the heck Devin wants to do in terms of rides/extras

And I think that's it! For now at least. Between this, the wedding and school, I'm sure I'll be busy in the months ahead

 

[taythecray]

Not too much to add this time just some small random updates from family. I asked Devin and Macy this weekend if they would rather spend $10 extra dollars and go to a park on arrival day or hang out at the resort and explore/swim. They opted to stay at the resort. I guess it's a good and bad thing. I'm actually a little conflicted now on what we want to do. There are two different scenarios/thoughts running through my head.
#1-I love the idea of having date night in Epcot and exploring World Showcase at our own pace since I'm not sure everyone else is going to be very interested. I also think it would be great to spend that quality time with Austin and treat it sort of like our getaway. I also looked forward to snacking around the world.
#2-Everyone else is staying back at the resort, and it's Animal Kingdom Lodge! We probably won't ever stay there again so that may be my only day to actually hang back and enjoy the place. I love wandering around the resorts and even though I'm not a swimmer I would still like to hang by the pool and spend time with everyone...Then again even if we don't stay there again we can always visit.

I'm sure we'll still end up having date night, I just wish we had more time to hang at the resort as a whole. Honestly I think Macy's talked more about the resort and swimming than she has the parks XD Do I cut back on some park plans or no? Ohhhh the struggle 0_o

 

[taythecray]

I've been told by family and other Disney people that my current park plans seem to ambitious *sigh* I seriously don't know how to cut back, and I have to make fastpasses soon. I didn't think things were too crazy, but maybe I'm underestimating the energy of a seriously active 10 year old? What do you think?
1/4-Arrive at 11 and bus to resort. Relax day for family, date night for Austin and I
1/5-Magic Kingdom 9am-8pm with a long lunch break at Whispering Canyon
1/6-Epcot either 9am-9pm with super relaxed touring style or 12pm-9pm with long dinner break
1/7-10:30 breakfast at Ohana then a half day (1pm-7pm) at the studios
1/8-Free day for everyone except Macy and I. We have a 12:15 at CRT so will be going back to MK for a half day (8am-2pm or 12pm-6pm). Everyone else can either pick a random park or stay at the hotel.
1/9-Depart at 9:30pm, sleep in and spend the afternoon in Animal Kingdom

That doesn't seem bad to me but maybe I'm wrong XD