Chunkymonkey and ChubbyHubby EAT SLEEP SAIL DISNEY May 2015! Completed PTR - TR Links added!

[ursalita]

I'm still following along! I'm a little jealous that you are going during the time that Flower Festival and SWW overlap. We're hitting the Flower Festival but not SWW. That's ok. I don't mind and I won't tell my boys so they'll never know. It would have been cool, though.

Omigosh, Hawaii looks beautiful. How wonderful that you got to spend your birthday there! We will make it there someday...

Your plans look great, it's going to be a fantastic trip!

 

[chunkymonkey]

I'm still following along! I'm a little jealous that you are going during the time that Flower Festival and SWW overlap. We're hitting the Flower Festival but not SWW. That's ok. I don't mind and I won't tell my boys so they'll never know. It would have been cool, though.

Omigosh, Hawaii looks beautiful. How wonderful that you got to spend your birthday there! We will make it there someday...

Your plans look great, it's going to be a fantastic trip!

Thank you for continuing to follow along! Sometimes I feel like I'm only posting this stuff for myself...which is not necessarily a bad thing since it keeps my head straight with all my planning. Yeah we just lucked out with the dates working out for all of us. One day I'm sure you will experience SWW!

Hawaii is amazing...it's my favorite vacation spot aside from Disney. I love that it's so easy to vacation there since it's part of the US, no need for passports, etc, but you definitely feel like you're in a different world...a tropical paradise!

Thanks! Let's hope so!

Finally caught up! Right now we have the Star Wars breakfast the same day as you but ours is at 8:30, so we may see you there. This is one that we are not sure that we are keeping. I really don't want to drop it as it was one that Matt really wanted to do since he is a Star Wars geek. But financially we may need to.

Lynn

I'm really looking forward to the Star Wars breakfast! This year all the "money" we have for spending on events and stuff is going to Star Wars. I really wanted to do the Wishes and Illuminations dessert parties but we'll just have to save those for another trip.

PLans look good!

Thanks! So do yours!

 

[Nhebron]

Following along!

 

[cajunfan]

We have the Wishes Dessert Party booked. This is the one thing I wanted to do this trip. I know it has gotten a lot of poor or just okay reviews, but for some reason I am really excited about it. Have you been to Star Wars weekend before? I have been there once, but not for the Star Wars events, and this year, I will have to go to them...I know I should be excited about it, but I am just not a big fan (waiting for the rotten tomatoes to be thrown at me ...)

Can't wait to hear more about your plans!

Lynn

 

[chunkymonkey]

Following along!

Thank you for visiting!

We have the Wishes Dessert Party booked. This is the one thing I wanted to do this trip. I know it has gotten a lot of poor or just okay reviews, but for some reason I am really excited about it. Have you been to Star Wars weekend before? I have been there once, but not for the Star Wars events, and this year, I will have to go to them...I know I should be excited about it, but I am just not a big fan (waiting for the rotten tomatoes to be thrown at me ...)

Can't wait to hear more about your plans!

Lynn

I think the only reason it's gotten poor reviews is that the viewing location is not that great, but starting in July of this year I heard there will be a brand new location in the new hub which is probably much better!
I have not been to Star Wars weekends before, hence this trip in May. We usually avoid peak season due to the crowds but making an exception this year just to experience SWW once. Maybe we'll love it so much we'll go back every year! I am actually not that interested in meeting the celebrities, I'm mostly interested in some of the other events like the parade, the theater show, and the character meals!

 

[chunkymonkey]

A quick update, Disney just released Feel the Force packages for 2015! Here's what it includes:

• A reserved viewing area with soft drinks and water for the Legends of the Force: Star Wars Celebrity Motorcade.
• Reserved seating for one of the Celebrity Talk Shows in Theater of the Stars at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Show time will be selected at check-in. There are a limited amount of seats per show and times are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
• A reserved viewing location for the nightly Symphony in the Stars fireworks show, paired with…
• A Star Wars-themed dessert party with specialty alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

I was having such a busy day at work, that I was literally cramming my lunch into my face while trying to call Disney at the same time to book. I wanted it for the first Saturday of Star Wars weekends because I figure we'll just have a massive Star Wars day at DHS and do everything at once! I managed to book the Premium package for the 3 of us for May 16th! Yay! I didn't realize but they actually have a deluxe premium package which includes:

• A reserved viewing area with soft drinks and water for Legends of the Force: Star Wars Celebrity Motorcade at the front of the park at the parade start, with the opportunity to follow the motorcade down Hollywood Boulevard!
• Reserved seating for ALL of the Celebrity Talk Shows in Theater of the Stars on the day of the package!
• A reserved viewing location for the Symphony in the Stars fireworks and Star Wars-themed dessert party with specialty alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
• Priority access to Darth’s Mall, the Star Wars merchandise mecca (in a new location across from Studio Catering Co.) throughout the day of the package, plus…
• Your own commemorative lanyard and credential to honor the special day.

The CM on the phone told me the Deluxe pacakge was sold out anyways, oh well. It saves me an extra 30 per person! So here's our new plan for May 16th:

Saturday May 16: DHS for Star Wars Weekends!

9:15am - Star Wars Galactic Dine-In Breakfast
Starting at 10am, check in for Feel the Force at Min and Bill's Dockside Diner (I assume we will check in at around 10:15-10-30am depending on how long breakfast takes) We will also be selecting a time for the Celebrity Talk Show. If I must I will juggle my other FPs on the fly so we can attend one.
11am - Celebrity Motorcade!
12:05-1:05pm - Star Tours
1:15-1:30pm - Frozen Sing-a-long
3-4pm - Toy Story Midway Mania!
After our last FP is up I'm hoping to get FP+ for RnRC!
5:40pm - Jedi Mickey's Star Wars Dine at Hollywood and Vine
8:15pm - check in for Dessert Party
8:45pm - Star-Wars themed dessert party
9:45pm - Symphony in the Stars Fireworks!

Wow, looks like a packed Saturday for us! I hope we can actually do some rides in between! Has anyone else done or is doing FTF?

 

[Nhebron]

Looks like a jam packed Star Wars day! We ended up booking FTF too for 5/24. I had to call twice though. There were "system opportunities" preventing the CM from finishing the reservation the first time I called.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Looks like a jam packed Star Wars day! We ended up booking FTF too for 5/24. I had to call twice though. There were "system opportunities" preventing the CM from finishing the reservation the first time I called.

Yeah, I wonder if I have too many things booked for one day? But I figure we will just focus on the Star Wars stuff, and we can return to do anything we missed during the week (including Fantasmic!) Either way, I can't seem to rebook us on any of the Star Wars meals because they seem to be sold out for the day. Boo.

 

[Nhebron]

Yeah, I wonder if I have too many things booked for one day? But I figure we will just focus on the Star Wars stuff, and we can return to do anything we missed during the week (including Fantasmic!) Either way, I can't seem to rebook us on any of the Star Wars meals because they seem to be sold out for the day. Boo.

Oh your day seems super fun. If we didn't have a little kiddo with us, I would have tried to fit more into my day. I think my husband and I will end up splitting up with me taking kiddo back to the hotel and him staying to do the SW shows.

 

[cajunfan]

Great news for getting the Feel the Force Package! We will probably scale back our dining plans and will probably will drop the Star Wars Galactic Dine Breakfast. But we will decide that next week for sure. But we are still going to Disney!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Oh your day seems super fun. If we didn't have a little kiddo with us, I would have tried to fit more into my day. I think my husband and I will end up splitting up with me taking kiddo back to the hotel and him staying to do the SW shows.

That's a good idea - probably nice to get some downtime during the day. I always tell myself that I am over doing "power" park-hopping, but no matter what, we always end up touring the parks in the same way!

Great news for getting the Feel the Force Package! We will probably scale back our dining plans and will probably will drop the Star Wars Galactic Dine Breakfast. But we will decide that next week for sure. But we are still going to Disney!

I wanted to drop it too, so that we have time to enjoy some of DHS before the parade starts, but I am just not seeing any availability for that breakfast again during our trip for the 3 of us. I guess we will just have to do it!

 

[chunkymonkey]

I wanted to write about some of the activities I've planned on the cruise. I've actually not given the cruise much thought until a few weeks ago. One thing I definitely realized is that cruise activities are expensive!! The spa is $$$, and the port excursions are also really pricey. Regardless, I still booked them because I wanted to reserve the spots, but may cancel some later.

DINING: I've booked a brunch at the adults-only restaurant on the Magic called Palo. It looks really good. 5 of us will be attending brunch but unfortunately Maddie and her parents won't since it's adults-only and not sure how she would fair by herself in the kids area. (I also could only get a reservation for 5 people exactly, not 2, not 4, but it only showed availability for 5...). In addition, I also booked a dinner at Palo for DH and myself. I have scheduled this for our last night. I'm assuming that the last night of the cruise we will be repeating a restaurant we've already dined at, but since we don't find out the rotation of our dining until we're on board, I may have to reschedule this or just cancel altogether.

This is some of the Palo Brunch spread (image from www.FoodieTales.com):

And here's a sample of an entree at dinner (also from FoodieTales):

I'm actually really excited to try both meals, and it's a relatively affordable 25/pp - so probably the cheapest add-on activity on the cruise, but one that I'm looking forward to the most! Only downside is that it's a dress-up restaurant. I don't know about anyone else but we tend to pack pretty light, but since I'll be on this vacay for close to 2 weeks, we'll be packing a little more than usual. DH is almost always in t-shirts, shorts and flip flops on every vacation we take, so to have to pack a dress shirt, pants, and dress shoes just for one or two meals is a bit annoying. I think I should be ok since I'll already be packing dresses and sandals that I hope I can get away with (they are sparkly thong sandals...do you think they will they be ok?). I would hate to waste space on bringing nice shoes that I will only wear to dinner once...

These are the sandals I am bringing! They will lie flat which will save space but are they dressy enough?


SPA: I also booked some spa treatments...a facial for me, and a couples massage for DH and I. Since we're first time cruisers on DCL, our window for booking stuff didn't come until much later than the seasoned cruisers so by the time I went to book, a lot of stuff was already sold out. The at-sea day seems to be the most popular for spa treatments so many of the massages were already taken. I settled for a facial (a La Therapie Hydralift Facial, to be exact) - and we'll do the couples massage the evening of our day at port at Nassau, Bahamas. I may or may not end up cancelling one of these treatments, but I have to cancel before we board the cruise to avoid penalties.

Senses Spa (image from Disney website):

PORT ACTIVITIES: As for shore/port excursions, usually I'm not a fan of "tours" and prefer to walk around myself, however DH's family seem to love tours so we may do a couple. I am thinking of booking something via a third party, and not through DCL. The reason is price! I feel like DCL charges a lot of money, but at least you get the comfort of knowing you are in a trusted tour operator's hands. I've read a lot of reviews about tours which are just scams, but thankfully that is a rare occurrence now, although it can happen once in a while.

Once of the tours I am open to is a food tour! There are a few in Key West and one in the Bahamas that may be fun doing. The thing is, most of these are walking tours and DH's dad (who is recovering from a stroke) will not be able to walk very far or very fast. I think a trolley or car tour would be best of him so we may have to split up. There are a few things I'd like to try in each location. Obviously key lime pie in Key West is key (lol pun not intended). I may just go around and sample some pies from different places. Anyone been to Key West before that has any good recs? I prefer off the beaten path sort of places, and non-touristy restaurants.

Key lime pie in Key West! (image courtesy of Lee Coursey from flickr via Smarter Travel):

DH and I have been to Nassau, Bahamas before, but it was a long time ago (about 9 years ago!). We stayed at the Atlantis and it was fun although it was not as big as it is now. There are all these new water slides and features that really make this a mega-resort/theme park of its own. Despite this, I don't really have a desire to re-experience the Atlantis. It will be crowded and expensive, plus we're already doing Disney and will have access to the waterparks there (not that we've ever taken advantage of them...). What I'd like to do is revisit some of the places we went to on our past trip. One of these places is Potter's Cay, which is an area underneath the bridge from Nassau to Paradise Island. They catch and serve fresh conch here, and the conch salad was one of the best seafood items we've eaten! Nothing beats fresh seafood! Another option would be to do a food tour here. Tru Bahamian gets good reviews, but I looked at the places where they stopped and I feel like I've already eaten many of the items they offer (stew chicken, rice n peas, chocolates from Greycliff Hotel etc) that maybe we can just go off on our own?

A pic of fresh Bahamaian-style conch salad (pic from Tru Bahamian Food Tours):

As for Castaway Cay, I think most of this time will be spent on the beach having fun! Maybe we'll do the stingray feeding as it isn't terribly expensive!

Our vacation is less than a month away! I just have to remember to get a Memory Maker then I think the planning is complete!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Just wanted to share some crafts I've been working on to decorate our stateroom door as well as Maddie's door, and my in-laws. I wanted to decorate some cute picture frames which I will stick magnets to on the back so it can attach to our door. I was initially not going to bother with this as I am an extremely un-crafty person (I leave it to my sister usually), but in the end I thought it would be really nice to have. Here's the result:

I bought the frames (lightweight wood) from Michaels and used craft paint on them. I also just stuck a bunch of stickers on them, including most of the letters and called it a day! The only frame that required more work than that was the S & S frame (this one goes on our door obviously). I bought wooden letters for this and painted them with glitter paint and had to glue each letter on individually. I got glitter paint everywhere! I should have probably bought stickers for this frame too but it was more of a trial run to see what method works. I realized it would have been easier to stick the letters on the frame first and then paint the glitter on them! Oh well, I am pretty happy with how these turned out and I think they will be a nice surprise for DH's family when they arrive at their stateroom (we board about 30 minutes earlier than them). Now to just find pictures to fill the frames with!

I also will probably make some other little magnet decorations with some scrapbook paper that I bought and pictures of us at Disney. Maybe this trip is turning me into being more craft-y!

 

[natebenma]

Hey there!!! I have missed you!

Love your trip reports and pictures and I can't wait to read all about this trip.

I skimmed through the details and I'll come back to read later.

I remember your trip report within a trip report to Hawaii from a few years back- my family made our first trip to Hawaii (and Disneyland) in July.



Anyway... look forward to catching up.

Dee

PS- everything old is new again. I am currently getting ready to go on my second middle school class trip to Disney in June with my son Ben.

 

[ursalita]

Your Star Wars day at HS sounds awesome! You have some great things planned out for the cruise. I have been to Key West but I don't remember where we ate. I think we just did a lot of walking around, visited Hemingway's house, and had drinks at some of those touristy bars. The most memorable thing for me was watching the sunset at Mallory Square and seeing the cat man and other performers. Oh, that conch salad looks so good!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Hey there!!! I have missed you!

Love your trip reports and pictures and I can't wait to read all about this trip.

I skimmed through the details and I'll come back to read later.

I remember your trip report within a trip report to Hawaii from a few years back- my family made our first trip to Hawaii (and Disneyland) in July.



Anyway... look forward to catching up.

Dee

PS- everything old is new again. I am currently getting ready to go on my second middle school class trip to Disney in June with my son Ben.

Hi Dee!! So good to see a familiar face here! I've noticed quite a few of my old DIS-ers have disappeared. But I'm excited to hear from you again! I went and checked your Hawaii Trip report and it made me squeal with excitement! I love Hawaii!! I will read your TR in more detail soon. Your upcoming trip sounds like...a lot of kids! It must be fun though!

Your Star Wars day at HS sounds awesome! You have some great things planned out for the cruise. I have been to Key West but I don't remember where we ate. I think we just did a lot of walking around, visited Hemingway's house, and had drinks at some of those touristy bars. The most memorable thing for me was watching the sunset at Mallory Square and seeing the cat man and other performers. Oh, that conch salad looks so good!

Thanks! Yeah I can't remember what I did on the only cruise I went on back in 2003. I think we just ate a lot ) So I thought activities might be a good thing, especially since there will be family. It's so different to travel with a big group, all of whom are NOT the planning type, so I guess it's left to me. LOL.

 

[Tracy161]

OMG!!!!!! When I saw your name on another PTR I thought I was imagining it! I used to read your TRs waaaaay back when. So happy to "see" you again and am happy to find your PTR here! My trip actually overlaps with yours! I'll be in Disney from May 17-24 We're getting so close, aren't we?!

Gotta go check out your travel blog now

 

[natebenma]

There will be 8 of us on this cruise! No one is a big cruiser so this is a new experience for us. It's great we can all get together again and I'm so happy to finally be going on a Disney Cruise! (I do get seasick but that is another story...)

That sounds fantastic! The great thing about doing a cruise with family is that there are so many different activities for all ages, so everyone can do their own things during the day, and then get together for dinner or nighttime activities. In 2006, we did a family reunion cruise with 42 members of my family (paid for by Auntie Jeanne. We love Auntie Jeanne!!!)



Are there any medications you can take to help you with the queasiness? We have been using Bonine (non-drowsy Dramamine) when we go to simulator-heavy Universal Studios.

but we both agree that only Episodes IV, V, and VI exist.

View of the pool at the MCO Hyatt Regency. Hopefully we can see planes takeoff and land!

Very cool!!!

ADRs for La Hacienda de San Angel.

Mmmmmmmmm!!! We loved our meal at La Hacienda. Every bite was better than the last, and we were moaning like the deli scene in When Harry Met Sally!

I spent my birthday here, in Kauai, Hawaii, and it was warm and fantastic!

Hawaii is amazing...it's my favorite vacation spot aside from Disney. I love that it's so easy to vacation there since it's part of the US, no need for passports, etc, but you definitely feel like you're in a different world...a tropical paradise!

And you can use your phones!!!

managed to snag 2 ADRs! (to BOG)

11am-12pm Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (May swap this for Peter Pan's Flight. I forget which one has the longer lines usually)

I'm pretty sure Peter Pan's line is usually longer, but they just updated the queue and have some interactive features. My DH and I love PP, so I would go with that for FP.

 

[natebenma]

And caught up!



Congrats on the Feel the Force package. You have some really great activities booked.

Cruise:

I have heard so, so many raves about meals at Palo!!!

As far as excursions- I have had very good luck booking private cruise excursions that are recommended highly on places like Trip Advisor and Cruise Critic, although you lose some of the security that comes with booking through the cruise line (like if a Disney-sponsored tour runs late, the ship won't leave without you).

One of the DIS posters did a cruise in October and I think she did the food tour in Nassau. Do you and DH do any snorkeling? I would be all over that, but it sounds like it might not be a great choice for the whole family.

We have had two stays at Atlantis (5 days each). One of the things we did during our last trip was a city tour by van. It was nice hitting the highlights- The Queen's Staircase, Fort Whatever it was, The British Colonial Hilton, drive-by of the Governor's house.

Your door decorations are really nice!

:

 

[chunkymonkey]

OMG!!!!!! When I saw your name on another PTR I thought I was imagining it! I used to read your TRs waaaaay back when. So happy to "see" you again and am happy to find your PTR here! My trip actually overlaps with yours! I'll be in Disney from May 17-24 We're getting so close, aren't we?!

Gotta go check out your travel blog now

OMG thanks for visiting Tracy!!! I can't believe it's been so long since I did a PTR or TR. I would really like to do one for this trip...but it will be a long one since it's so many days! That's great you will be in Disney when we are!! Are you doing any of the Star Wars weekend stuff or pretty much just F&G? I saved the 17th for F&G - unless there is any SWW stuff that we have to go back for, we will be at Epcot too!

Hawaii rocks! Maybe just as much as Disney!!

That sounds fantastic! The great thing about doing a cruise with family is that there are so many different activities for all ages, so everyone can do their own things during the day, and then get together for dinner or nighttime activities. In 2006, we did a family reunion cruise with 42 members of my family (paid for by Auntie Jeanne. We love Auntie Jeanne!!!)

Are there any medications you can take to help you with the queasiness? We have been using Bonine (non-drowsy Dramamine) when we go to simulator-heavy Universal Studios.

Mmmmmmmmm!!! We loved our meal at La Hacienda. Every bite was better than the last, and we were moaning like the deli scene in When Harry Met Sally!


And you can use your phones!!!

I'm pretty sure Peter Pan's line is usually longer, but they just updated the queue and have some interactive features. My DH and I love PP, so I would go with that for FP.

WOW can Auntie Jeanne adopt us? Or at least just me? LOL. That sounds like an AMAZING trip!!

I think I will try Bonine or get some of those sea-band bracelets that help with easing queasiness. Maybe I won't be seasick after all...it's actually been some time since I've been on a boat.

I'm so happy I decided to try Hacienda!! It's always been on our list so your experience just made me look forward to it more.

I love the fact we can use our cell phones in Hawaii. It is the easiest vacation that feels like a world away (especially from NYC).

Gotcha, I had a feeling PP would be crowded. More FP edits on the way!

And caught up!



Congrats on the Feel the Force package. You have some really great activities booked.

Cruise:

I have heard so, so many raves about meals at Palo!!!

As far as excursions- I have had very good luck booking private cruise excursions that are recommended highly on places like Trip Advisor and Cruise Critic, although you lose some of the security that comes with booking through the cruise line (like if a Disney-sponsored tour runs late, the ship won't leave without you).

One of the DIS posters did a cruise in October and I think she did the food tour in Nassau. Do you and DH do any snorkeling? I would be all over that, but it sounds like it might not be a great choice for the whole family.

We have had two stays at Atlantis (5 days each). One of the things we did during our last trip was a city tour by van. It was nice hitting the highlights- The Queen's Staircase, Fort Whatever it was, The British Colonial Hilton, drive-by of the Governor's house.

Your door decorations are really nice!

:

Thanks! Looking forward to an action-packed day. Sometimes I think I've too much planned but then again DHS is not terribly big so I think it's doable. And despite saying I'm going to take it easy, when I hit the parks I immediately go into commando-disney mode.

Palo looks really good! I'm excited!

I am leaving some of the cruise activity booking to my brother-in-law, esp excursions. I am perfectly happy to just walk around ourselves, so it's really up to them. All I want to do is eat!! Yes DH and I do snorkel! We snorkel in Hawaii all the time. We will rent some equipment at CC and snorkel there, it should be fun! The city tour of Nassau sounds like something my father in law will do since he can't walk very well. Will suggest it to them!