"I can't think of a snazzy title for this PTR" PTR - 7/19 Update

[MrsSkellington]

I literally just booked our trip, so naturally I am here to post my very first PTR. Eeeeeek!!!

Let's see, here are some details.

We're staying at Wilderness Lodge from 10/29/15 - 11/2/15. I debated between this and the Contemporary, but ultimately decided that I love the look and feel of Wilderness better. The price helped, too!

Traveling to the Happiest Place on Earth will be me, my husband, and our son. I've been to WDW twice; once with my friend's family when I was 16, and again with my husband back in 2006, I believe. I had a conference in Orlando, so we couldn't pass it up! My husband was born in FL and lived there for a few years, so he went fairly often as a kid. Our son, who I'll call Calvin (you'll see why) will be almost 2 1/2 when we go. I have no idea what to expect out of him!

Here we are, Mr and Mrs Skellington. We were married on Halloween back in 2004, and love all things Halloween. It would have been nice to be in Disney for our 10th wedding anniversary, but 11 is just as good. The little big man in the middle is our son. He is a tiny tornado, super sweet and funny, but just a mischievous little devil, hence the nickname Calvin. When is hair is done up you can surely see a resemblance.

And here's another pic of Calvin doing what he does best:

We'll be flying into Florida a few days prior to WDW to visit family, and I'm still waiting for SW to come out with their October/Nov schedule. I also have to wait for the dates and tickets for MNSSHP, so there is a lot of waiting here, which I am not always good at.

I think that's enough for now. Next up will be figuring out which days we'll go where, and more importantly, where we will eat!

 

[MrsSkellington]

And now I have booked our first leg of the flight! Southwest announced their rates for October, so I was on it at 6am! $100pp one way to Tampa. It was marginally cheaper than flying into Orlando, and the time was better for us.

Next up, rental car options! I think this will keep me busy enough until October, right?

Oh, and I totally forgot to mention that the resort choice is a SURPRISE for my husband! I let him decide if he wants to know where we were staying and he said "no". Yay!

 

[MrsSkellington]

Well I have now been sick or kind of sick for two months straight; my son as well. Somehow the husband has escaped the plague circulating through daycare and our house. Grrr. I'm a native New Englander, but this winter has been the WORST! Surfing the DIS to see sunshine and happiness has been my escape lately.

I'm trying not to plan too much now, since we're still 8 months out. When it's time for ADRs, I know we HAVE to book Tusker House for breakfast one day, and San Angel in Mexico another. Other than that, it's sort of up in the air.

Thinking about checking out DTD one day, but all of this construction talk is scaring me.

 

[MrsSkellington]

We're starting to see sunshine up in the Northeast, so I'm getting more excited about our trip.

Here's my rough schedule, even though I wish I didn't have to plan. Obviously this could change, depending on park hours.

Thursday, 10/29 (Arrival day): Epcot!

• Breakfast at relative's house or on the road to Disney
• Lunch - San Angel Inn (DH's request, although we'll probably keep it light. See below!)
  
• Dinner - Food & Wine fest!

Friday, 10/30: Animal Kingdom

• Breakfast - Tusker House
• Lunch - Flame Tree?
• Dinner - Boma/Sanaa? (Thought it might be fun to keep with the animal theme and take a trip over to AKL. Good idea?)

Saturday, 10/31: DHS/MK?
I'm thinking that we can squeeze in a little time at DHS using our park ticket, and then go to MK using our MNSSHP ticket after 4pm.

• Breakfast - Roaring Forks
• Lunch - SciFi at DHS
• Dinner - Undecided. Not impressed with TS restaurant choices in MK. Any suggestions?

Sunday, 11/1: MK again

• Breakfast - quick service at the park?
• Lunch - quick service at the park?
• Dinner - WCC or Trails End?

Monday, 11/2 (Departure Day ): Undecided

This really depends on what flight we get back home. I have a 5 day pass, so I wouldn't mind going back to Epcot for a while before leaving. We'll have to see.

So that's that, for now. Any tips/hints/suggestions?

 

[collcass]

Based on October hours, I would swap your AK/DHS days unless you plan to get there for EMH. I would also skip the AKL trip

 

[MrsSkellington]

Gah! How did I miss the October hours being posted? Thank you! I'm going to have a look.

 

[MrsSkellington]

Based on October hours, I would swap your AK/DHS days unless you plan to get there for EMH. I would also skip the AKL trip

Actually, this should work perfectly! We'll definitely be there early. Our son is up by 7 at the absolute LATEST, no matter what. Usually it's 6:30am. I hate Sundays at home, since by the time everything opens, we've been up for hours!

Just curious, why skip the AKL trip? Too far/too much of a hassle? The food is tempting, but not a necessity.

 

[collcass]

i believe the link for hours is at the end of the "official oct 2015" thread.

AM EMH has it's pros & cons. if you are at the park at least 30 min early, you can accomplish some good morning touring, BUT, WDW does a very good job at advertising EMH so those parks are especially crowded on those days. For an 8am opening at AK, you would need to be on the bus by 7.

The AKL is both too far & too much of a hassle. yes, you will already be at AK, but you would have to
AK --bus--> AKL --bus--->AK--bus---->WL or AK--bus-->AKL-bus-->MK--boat-->WL

not only is it time consuming, but with a toddler, it will definitely be trying. (just my opinion though)

SciFi is very dark inside. The last time we did it, my (then)youngest was 4. He hated it. The seating is also a pain for booster seats, but it is a experience. If it was me, I would probably make the most of the DHS EMH and schedule H&V for latest bkfst seating, go back to WL for a rest then head to MK. I would probably just grab quick service at MK

wdwprep has a great article about touring with toddlers

 

[MrsSkellington]

How in the world do people stay sane when waiting for a Disney trip?? Every day there is something new I discover I want to do or see!

Now I'm trying to time our Animal Kingdom breakfast and rides. Help please!
Planning on going to AK on Friday, 10/30. AK has AM EMH that day, so that kind of throws out my plan to eat at Tusker House and head right into the safari when the park opens. How should we handle breakfast, safari, and EE? Make an ADR for park opening, and then safari, and schedule FP for EE for later?

And how much time should we allow for breakfast, so I know when to schedule FPs?

For someone who did NOT want to plan at all, I'm doing a hell of a lot of planning!

 

[jchurch0409]

Following along!

 

[MrsSkellington]

I added another day to our stay! When I asked my husband he said "Why are you even asking? Of course I would like to stay another day!" So I'm even more excited. This means we can go to another park again, or go to DTD, and more importantly, eat at more restaurants!

I love that I was able to do this online through MDE. Someone here pointed out that they were able to modify their information online, so I had to check it out.

Time for a little

 

[MrsSkellington]

Argh! So much for not going crazy with planning.

I had a schedule roughly mapped out (see above), but the more I read and look at crowd calendars and such, the more I'm thinking I need to re-vamp my whole itinerary!

The parks that I wanted to go to on Thursday and Friday are marked everywhere as "Danger, Will Robinson!" Do not go!

How concerned should I be about these warnings?

 

[MrsSkellington]

MNSSHP tickets are bought! Happy Halloweeniversary to us!

Costumes are up next. I'm thinking pirate family, since DH has the best Capt.Jack Sparrow hat that he bought at Disney last time we were there.

I think we'll try to do something simple like this:

or

I need sensible footwear, since I tend to suffer from shin splints and plantar fasciitis. (I would have made a horrible pirate!)

 

[Glittercat]

Following along, and can't wait to see your Pirate family.

 

[MrsSkellington]

So this week has been eventful. The night before FD was rumored to be released, I had a dream about it! You had to go on the website and find different icons or codes to collect before you could even try to get a FD offer. Ridiculous! It turned out to be pretty close though, didn't it?

So, long story short: No. No free dining for us. There was an option of a bunk bed room for $300+ more, but I didn't want to chance having the tiny terror climbing onto the top bunk in the middle of the night and jumping off. I probably could have switched, but I have my heart set on staying at WL now, and don't want to change resorts. Guess we'll just hope for a RO discount to come out later this spring.

On a positive note, guess what I found at our transfer station's swap shack?

http://www.amazon.com/Walt-Disney-American-Original-Editions/dp/0786860278


The one I found is an older version with a different cover, but I thought it was a great find.

 

[MrsSkellington]

Today is ADR planning day for tomorrow. I have already told the husband not to bother me tomorrow morning until I come out of the bedroom.

I have reduced the number of TS meals from what I originally wanted. I think it allows us to be more relaxed in our days with the toddler. Here is what I have planned so far.

Thursday, 10/29 (Arrival day, late morning? Epcot):
L - San Angel
D - Food & Wine Fest

Friday, 10/30 (Animal Kingdom):
B - QS or snacks
L - Tusker House (early lunch?)
D - Whispering Canyon Cafe

Saturday, 10/31 (HS in the morning, MNSSHP late afternoon):
B - QS or snacks
L - 50s Prime Time
D - QS and snacks at MK during the party

Sunday, 11/1 (Epcot):
B - Trail's End
L - Food & Wine Fest
D - Coral Reef

Monday, 11/2 (MK):
B - Crystal Palace
L - QS
D - O'hana

Tuesday, 11/3 (Departure day, no flight time yet):
All depends on flight time and DME time.

 

[MrsSkellington]

Wow! I thought ADRs were going to be really hard, based on every other interaction with the website. I had to refresh a few times when it gave me trouble, but I got times for everything on my list. Not necessarily the exact times I was looking for, but at least I'm in, right?

I still don't know whattime we're leaving on Tuesday, 11/3, but I scored an 8:10 reservation at Crystal Palace! I already made one for Monday (8:40 on AM EMH day), but thought I'd try anyway. Yes!

Still hoping for an earlier time at Ohana (6:50 right now), based on the waits everyone posts about. I'll keep checking though.EDIT - Somehow I scored a 5:15! Just keep trying different ways, either use 'dinner' or a specific time and see what you get!

Phew! Done, and before everyone woke up. Thanks, Disney!

 

[Glittercat]

Bravo @MrsSkellington those ressies sound great, and glad they went smoothly for you!

 

[MrsSkellington]

Given the ever-changing personality of my soon-to-be 2 year old, I thought we should start doing test runs at fairs, amusements parks, etc. This Sunday we're going to a great little amusement park nearby to try out some kiddie rides and see how he does with crowds, strollers, etc. Maybe later this summer we'll work up to Six Flags! Not sure if there are any characters at this park, but that would be a good trial too!

 

[Glittercat]

Given the ever-changing personality of my soon-to-be 2 year old, I thought we should start doing test runs at fairs, amusements parks, etc. This Sunday we're going to a great little amusement park nearby to try out some kiddie rides and see how he does with crowds, strollers, etc. Maybe later this summer we'll work up to Six Flags! Not sure if there are any characters at this park, but that would be a good trial too!

Fun and fantastic plans! Time for endurance training! lol. At least that is what I said to my family a few months before our last trip to WDW, and it helped. I know it did because we did not do a bit of it for DL and regretted it. I hope you have a great time this Sunday! Also Happy Mother's Day!