Is Mickey a Captain or a Jedi? Both! - May '15 Land & Sea ~ Updated 6/14: Trip Report Started!

[Dugette]

So -- question about your evening swapping... have you tried letting her just fall asleep in the stroller and both staying for Wishes? Do you think Izzy would be into Wishes or Illuminations, or has she seen fireworks before? We have a fourth of july between now and December, so maybe I can desensitize her, but maybe its not the best idea to make a potentially sleeping, fussy baby stay to see a very loud Wishes show. We'll be there with my in-laws, so we'll have a few additional options... but its going to feel so different to not both be in the parks in the evening (especially Epcot, as that is where we usually hang out). Anyway, your descriptions of plans are setting my expectations a bit! So I appreciate that.

I know that we have done some late nights with her sleeping in the stroller. There's one in particular that I remember from Dec. 2013 where we put her in jammies at Epcot and stayed late and she fell asleep. So that is certainly an option and we'll keep it in mind. And I think it could work for you. I think we're leaning more towards the split evenings because the freedom of being solo when you are usually responsible for a child is a sweet treat. I mean, time together pushing a stroller with a sleeping child isn't bad either. But the idea of going to MK myself feels very freeing and exciting - and I won't have to worry about her waking up or something.

However, that said, she likes fireworks. In June, Lauren and I stayed for Wishes and Izzy chilled in the stroller and watched the show without issue. Same with the Frozen fireworks in August. Lauren's daughter Aria used her special earmuffs to block out the sound (I've seen them in a few TRs with little ones). So, yeah, use 4th of July to see how tolerated they are.

Just know your options and be flexible in your plans and I think you'll have a great time.

I'm super excited about the Disney Junior show. We don't watch a lot of TV, but we've watched enough Doc McStuffins and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse that she starts to cry when I stop singing the theme songs!! (I've used the intros to both shows to cut her nails). I would guess that by the time she's 18 months, she'll be really into it. I agree about a playground... it would be so fun!

Smart to distract her for nail cutting! I'm excited to see how she likes this show now. Back at 14 months, she just hadn't been exposed to much Disney Junior, so was not into the show at all. Now she demands to watch "Mimmie" and sees plenty of promos for the other shows, so I think she'll get a kick out of it. I so wish they had a MMCH playground, though. How awesome would that up-slide be?!

My daughter also loves Winnie the Pooh (also cries when the song stops!!) so that will be a fun one!

Oh, fun! You're going to have a great time seeing her light up at some of these things!

All caught up after a little DIS-break. Your plans sound so great! You guys are going to have a blast!

Thanks! And welcome back!

I didn't even know until a few weeks ago about all of the booths at Epcot for F&G Festival. I was reading on easywdw.com and decided that my lunch idea of Sunshine Seasons might need to be changed for snacking at the booths. So many of the items sound so good! I really want to try the Frushi. I'll have to check out the DFB reviews, as well!

Yeah, there are too many good food choices at Epcot. Sunshine Seasons is great, but there are so many tempting things at the booths that it's hard to justify going to SS when they're there.

Off to catch up on your other reports...

WOW you packed in a lot!! I am surprised at the small amount of MK time but I guess the reason you got Dug to go WAS for SWW...lol.

I know, we made up the schedule and I was like, "Wait?! When are we going to ride all the Fantasyland stuff?!" I mean, we can do the mountains and such on our nights, but Izzy needs MK time too. I hope we've squeezed in enough. And once we have more SWW info, maybe that will help figure out more. Dug did say tonight that he doesn't need reasons to go to WDW (we were talking about the special events in general, not just SWW), but since we are going during SWW, he really wants to make the most of it.

Those late nights make me tired just thinking about it, phew!!

You morning person, you!

Love all the ADR's you have, and CRT will be so much fun with Izzy.

I'm pretty excited to finally set foot inside the castle!

That is cute she is excited for it, and excited for Goofy's Barnstormer as well!

She is really excited for the trip. The main things she tells people are that she's going to ride Mickey's boat and Pluto will be there too, then she's going to eat in the castle, and she wants to ride Goofy's roller coaster. I ran into her daycare provider at Target the other day and she told me Izzy's been telling her all of that frequently.

I am SO SO SO excited you are trying out Garden Grove! I really hope you love it as much as we did. I think I would vote it best meal of the trip but not just because of the food. We have it booked for July but not sure if we'll be able to make it Friday night or not (I might be ADR hoarding...)

That is quite the endorsement! We're excited to try it!

I loved all the random smilies! Your updates are always so fun. I'll admit I was backtracking for part two haha.

Haha, sorry to send you on a wild goose chase for an update that doesn't yet exist.

 

[afwdwfan]

Yeah, at least it's during the WDW part of our trip. If it were right before the cruise, I'd be worried about being too tired to fully enjoy the cruise, though - those things aren't cheap, so I want to squeeze every moment of fun out of it that I can.

I guess that makes sense. I was kind of thinking it'd be nice before the cruise because you have more opportunities to just sit back and relax on the ship. But if you're planning to do a lot on the cruise, I guess that it doesn't really matter.

 

[KathyM2]

Hi there!! Checking out your PTR...Looking forward to following along!

 

[RGirl]

(she loves music – side note, she was watching Madonna perform on the Grammys and, at the end, said, “I LOVE her!”)

That is sooo cute! I don't know if you know Willow's great love of all Michael Jackson music - you can obviously tell her mother's era.

“Come to the dark side…we have bacon”

I love this!!!

she plays with all sorts of Star Wars figurines (some were Dug’s from childhood)

Awww - this is so cute. And makes me wonder where all of MY star wars figurines are - I'm guessing my parents put them in my brothers' childhood boxes. Grrrrr.......

but this picture seems to indicate we should do the Animation Academy (not really):

Okay, I actually drew Mickey and Minnie at her request. And I used her shirt as a model to copy

I was all, "OMG - that child is an artistic GENIUS!!!!!"

These are for each cabin:

I think you made great choices - these are perfect.

In case we can’t get brunch, I figured it was a good back-up option. But now I kind-of like it: it’s Pirate Night so we don’t miss a Main Dining Room in our rotation, it’s right between the Pirate Night show and fireworks, so we could see the regular show, the Pirate Night show, eat, then fireworks. And I have the nursery reserved too. I’d kind-of love to keep it, if we could swing it. I mean, chocolate soufflé! We’ll see…

I love adult dining on DCL - and Pirates Night is a good night to do it as the menu in the MDRs kind of sucks. I haven't been able to manage it because I think Willow would feel like she was missing out, but I'm thinking if I could time it just right this time, it could work - if she was in the kids' club, she'd be amped and more likely to stay awake for the fireworks. Perhaps a perfect Remy night for Mommy????

All we have here are some "maybe"s. With a name like Kale Salad, neither of us was too excited. However, it does look really tasty and the DFB was surprised how much they liked it:

This looked FANTASTIC!!!

I think we will need at least one of these to share between the three of us:



Mmmmm, Macaron Guimauve a la Fraise! (Strawberry Macaroon) I think Izzy might enjoy this.

So pretty and delicious at the same time!

This one seems so odd that we can't commit, so we are both a "maybe" out of curiosity. It's the Piggylicious Bacon Cupcake:

Reminds me of the pancake muffins I make for Willow and freeze for school breakfasts (sans frosting, of course ).

I will also be enjoying a Peach Bellini, as that is a big weakness for me.

Oh, one of my faves!

Oh my gosh, you guys! I don't think I could have possibly picked a better week to do a Disney cruise with weekends before and after at WDW!

Weekend 1: Last weekend of Flower & Garden AND first weekend of Star Wars Weekends.

Weekend 2: Second weekend of Star Wars Weekends AND 24-Hour Magic Kingdom Day!!!!

I am just SOOOOOO excited!!!!

This is AMAZING!!!!

We may now be eating in 3 castles within two days.

I love it!!!

And all of your FP+ and other plans sound amazing! I'm a bit overwhelmed by everything!

Oh and speaking of making images - not to add more things to your list but you could make some star wars shirts if you don't find anything you like. I had made this one for Olivia a few trips ago:

And then last year I had made this one for myself:

These are absolutely wonderful!

 

[cindianne320]

I know I'm forgetting something, since I read so much at once (can you tell I'm home on maternity leave) but here goes!

We got DD a Star Wars shirt at Old Navy a couple of years ago for my son's b-day party.

But a quick google search shows me they only have boys there, too.

I can't wait to hear all about your Dream plans! We loved our cruise in 2013, and are looking forward to our next!

We loved Mama Melrose when we went- had wonderful service, and great food.

I love all your plans for Flower and Garden- I will be taking notes for next year!

 

[Dugette]

I guess that makes sense. I was kind of thinking it'd be nice before the cruise because you have more opportunities to just sit back and relax on the ship. But if you're planning to do a lot on the cruise, I guess that it doesn't really matter.

Yeah, I don't know what to think of the cruise. Everyone says it's so relaxing, but I feel like there's so much we'll want to do and it's only 4 nights (both prior non-Disney cruises were a week), so it feels so short. I guess we'll see if we relax once we get there.

Hi there!! Checking out your PTR...Looking forward to following along!

and thanks for being here!

That is sooo cute! I don't know if you know Willow's great love of all Michael Jackson music - you can obviously tell her mother's era.

Same reason I like the Beatles, Beach Boys, etc. It's a parent's job to make sure their kids enjoy the appropriate music. But it freaked me out awhile back when I discovered that our "oldies" station no longer plays music from my parents' childhoods - it's now from MY childhood.

I love this!!!

Can't get more perfect than a Vader shirt involving bacon while attending a breakfast with Vader.

Awww - this is so cute. And makes me wonder where all of MY star wars figurines are - I'm guessing my parents put them in my brothers' childhood boxes. Grrrrr.......

Grrrr! At least they didn't sell them in a garage sale like most of my childhood possessions, I guess.

I was all, "OMG - that child is an artistic GENIUS!!!!!"

And then you quickly realized, "Oh, that Mommy is NOT much of an artist!" I had to draw a bunny for her tonight and she got mad because it looked too much like Mickey.

I think you made great choices - these are perfect.

Thanks! I hope they like them!

I love adult dining on DCL - and Pirates Night is a good night to do it as the menu in the MDRs kind of sucks. I haven't been able to manage it because I think Willow would feel like she was missing out, but I'm thinking if I could time it just right this time, it could work - if she was in the kids' club, she'd be amped and more likely to stay awake for the fireworks. Perhaps a perfect Remy night for Mommy????

There you go! I'm debating whether or not we keep the dinner at Palo - might come down to budget. When I booked it, I thought it was between events - there's a pirate party before it and fireworks after. Turns out the big pirate show would be during it, though. And our best chance to see fireworks is from right outside the restaurant, so Izzy would probably still be in the kids' club - but she likes fireworks. So, I don't know. We've got 6 weeks to figure it out, I guess.

This looked FANTASTIC!!!

Pretty appealing for a salad.

So pretty and delicious at the same time!

I know!

Reminds me of the pancake muffins I make for Willow and freeze for school breakfasts (sans frosting, of course ).

That sounds like a good breakfast idea!

Oh, one of my faves!

I'm kinda bummed that I read another review saying the Peach Bellini isn't very good. I think I'll need to start checking out other DIS-er reviews soon to refine our list.

This is AMAZING!!!!

I know - there are so many things going on during our trip - F&G, SWW, & 24 hour day!

I love it!!!

And all of your FP+ and other plans sound amazing! I'm a bit overwhelmed by everything!

You think you're overwhelmed NOW? Just wait to see how things changed today (not that much, actually, since we planned well - but the SWW show FP+ and celebrity list came out).

These are absolutely wonderful!

Phil did a nice job! We'll see if I find enough motivation to do any.

I know I'm forgetting something, since I read so much at once (can you tell I'm home on maternity leave) but here goes!

Congrats on your new addition!

We got DD a Star Wars shirt at Old Navy a couple of years ago for my son's b-day party.

Oh, cute! I like that you all have SW shirts!

But a quick google search shows me they only have boys there, too.

I wish there was more stuff for girls. Oh, well. She wore a shirt with space/planets on it today (a boys' shirt, actually) and told me tonight, "Darth Vader likes this."

I can't wait to hear all about your Dream plans! We loved our cruise in 2013, and are looking forward to our next!

I'm excited that the SWW info finally came out, so with that settled, maybe I can actually think about the cruise. Glad to hear you loved it!

We loved Mama Melrose when we went- had wonderful service, and great food.

That's great to hear too! I'm hoping for the best.

I love all your plans for Flower and Garden- I will be taking notes for next year!

I'm so excited to see one of the big Disney seasonal events that we haven't yet gotten to.

 

[Dugette]

The Force is With Us!

Well, today ended up being a big day on the massive SWW thread I follow (which, incidentally, I’d consider the best thread not on the TR board – it’s been SO helpful ). All day yesterday, they were expecting big news from Disney. Even Dug got on the DIS to stalk this thread. And….nothing. But then today, despite the fact that nobody seemed to expect much, Disney busted out the celebrity list, the show schedule, AND released the FP+ for the shows (which was not anticipated – the expectation was that it would be at 30 days so local AP-holders could get them too). This all went down while I was at work on a very busy month-end day. Over lunch, I checked the SWW thread and saw the pages had multiplied rapidly. A quick skim told me that we needed to get on it. I texted Dug and he managed to do all of our FP+ juggling. Thank goodness I had a nice Excel sheet for him to work from! I was frantically trying to do my actual work while texting with him, but it all worked out okay.

So, here’s the details, as of today (copied celebrity list & show schedule from SWW thread):

Weekend I: May 15-17

James Arnold Taylor (voice of Obi Wan on Clone Wars)

Ian McDiarmid: Senator/Emperor Palpatine (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace; Star Wars: Attack of the Clones; Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi)

Amy Allen: Aayla Secura (Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith)

Tiya Sircar: Sabine Wren (Star Wars Rebels)

Ashley Eckstein (Voice of Ahsoka Tano – Star Wars: The Clone Wars)


Showtimes:

Legends of the Force celebrity motorcade and welcome 11am


Behind the Force 1:45pm

Stormtrooper Pre Show SotS 3:15pm

Stars of the Saga 3:30pm

Obi Wan and Beyond 7pm


Summon the Force Pre Show and Symphony in the Stars 9:45pm

So, how has all of this changed our first weekend plans? Well, first of all, Dug is probably not interested in going early for any of these autographs. The first two celebrities are not going to be doing autographs. If he changes his mind, he can always walk over early to meet one of the actresses, but for now it’s not in the plan.

Friday, May 15th

The parade is at 11am instead of the anticipated 11:30am, but I think that will be fine. If we want to find a spot really early we might miss RnRC, but we have that FP+ other days, so wouldn’t be the end of the world.

We changed Dug’s placeholder RnRC FP+ to the Stars of the Saga show, return window of 2:50-3:05pm. Izzy and I will be over at Epcot while he sees that one. Dug will make his way over to join us at Epcot after the show lets out (about 4pm).

The rest of that day is the same.

Saturday, May 16th

No changes to this day.

Sunday, May 17th

No more Toy Story Mania for either of us this day. Don’t worry, we still both have it the previous day. Our Tier 1 FP+ are now both for Star Wars shows for Dug. He will use one of my spare Magic Bands for the one that is my FP+. That one is the Star Wars Rebels show (AKA Behind the Force) with a return window of 1:20-1:35pm. His FP+ is for later in the day, 6:35-6:50pm, for the Obi Wan and Beyond show with James Arnord Taylor. During the first show, Dug’s FP+ is for Disney Junior, which Izzy and I can go to using his extra Magic Band. These tiers really make things difficult, huh?

Nothing else has changed this day.

Weekend II: May 22-24

James Arnold Taylor

Warwick Davis: Wald, Wicket W. Warrick (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace; Star Wars: Return of the Jedi)

Silas Carson: Ki-Adi-Mundi, Nute Gunray (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace; Star Wars: Attack of the Clones;Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith)

Vanessa Marshall: Hera Syndulla (Star Wars Rebels)

Ashley Eckstein (Voice of Ahsoka Tano – Star Wars: The Clone Wars)


Legends of the Force celebrity motorcade and welcome 11am


Behind the Force 1:45pm

Stormtrooper Pre Show SotS 3:15pm

Stars of the Saga 3:30pm

Ewok Tale My Short Story 5:15pm

Obi Wan and Beyond 7pm


Summon the Force Pre Show and Symphony in the Stars 9:30pm

Friday, May 22nd

We switched Dug’s throwaway Great Movie Ride FP+ to the Star Wars Rebels show, window 1:20-1:35pm. After that, we just have the semi-throw-away Star Tours and Disney Junior FP+ that afternoon. No more shows. So, we’ll have the rest of this afternoon to do whatever. That may involved visiting the new Trader Sam’s at the Poly and the MK on the 24-hour afternoon.

Saturday, May 23rd

So, if Dug does want to meet Warwick Davis (the one he’s the most interested in), this is his only possible morning to go over early to line up (5:30am recommendation). Friday morning we’ll still be on the Dream and Sunday morning is our Akershus ADR. This is the morning after the 24-hour day in the MK. I’m taking the first late-night shift and we had talked about Dug going over in the middle of the night (and me staying with Izzy in the room). If he does that, he could go straight from the MK to line up at DHS. Not sure if he will do any of this or just get a good night’s sleep, but it’s an option.

We swapped both of our RnRC FP+ for this day for shows for Dug. The one on Dug’s band is Stars of the Saga, window of 2:50-3:05pm. The one on my band is for An Ewok’s Tale: My Short Story, Starring Warwick Davis, window of 4:50-5:05pm.

The problem with this day is that our Jedi Mickey dinner at Hollywood & Vine is at 4:45pm and conflicts with the second show. The rest of our evening is open, though. I just need to be at MK for Wishes, but we don’t have strong plans between dinner and that – maybe just wandering the boardwalk. So, I’m stalking the dining ADRs for a later Jedi Mickey’s time on that same day. Anything 6pm or later should work. I suspect I’ll find one, as I know lots of people hoarded the Star Wars meal ADRs until they knew their schedules. There should be drops. If nothing else, I do still have two of our other ADRs (other nights) – they really don’t work for us, but a safety net, I guess.

Sunday, May 24th

No real changes here. No SWW shows for Dug.

So, you got all that?

In other pre-trip notes:

Guess who is going to be in Nassau right after our cruise? Jon Bon Jovi!!! He’s there during our second SWW. I wish it was a few days earlier. I guess he’s doing a little destination concert package thing there. Just thought it was cool. Maybe he’ll show up a few days early and I’ll see him from the ship.

The other timing issue is going to seem familiar for those of you who followed my Aulani PTR last year. Dug’s job said this May trip was A-OK when we booked it. There was a conference in LA that he was interested in, but he was going to skip it and save his training budget for another conference instead. Well, sometime after this trip was pretty set in stone, his company decided to offer to pay all expenses for anyone interested in attending the conference without taking it out of their training budget. He was already kicking himself. And THEN, they announced they’d be cancelling the planned August retreat for Dug’s team and combining the retreat with this conference that most everyone (except Dug) would be attending. They said it was totally fine he’d miss it and that he should take the vacation without worries, but he’s sad to miss out. Especially because, if we’d known then what we know now, we probably would have saved the Land & Sea for some other time and done a Disneyland trip in May instead. Ugh. But it’s all good and we’ll have an amazing trip.

Izzy is excited for the trip. Her daycare provider told me that Izzy is always telling her about how she’s going to ride on Mickey’s boat and then eat in the castle. It’s fun that Izzy is actually looking forward to the trip and understanding the plans.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

glad that the schedule didn't negatively impact too many things - hopefully you will get that one Mickey and Friends ADR moved to a time that works.

Obviously would make for a tiring time but the thought of being in MK in the middle of the night/wee hours of the morning and then heading straight to MGM to get on line to meet Warwick Davis sounds pretty cool

I had heard that Frank Oz was going to be appearing which sounded neat, but I guess not when you guys are there - at least you are there when Warwick Davis is ... from past TRs it sounds like his show is really good

 

[Tracy161]

So happy that you were so well prepared that Dug tackled FP duty like a champ!

That's SO cool that Jon Bon Jovi will be in Nassau shortly after you! Here's hoping he arrives a little early and you can have a spotting!

So happy to hear that Izzy is so excited for the trip, too! That makes it so much more exciting for you and Dug as well, I'm sure!!!

 

[cindianne320]

How exciting that Izzy is so interested! I love it!

Explain to me how the multiple magic bands work. All of your bands from past trips are all still linked to the new trip? Right now, DH and I each have 2 magic bands, but I didn't know we could use both on a new trip...

Glad all the Star Wars weekend plans worked out!

 

[dtr_angel]

I'm glad everything with SWW worked out!

That's so cute how excited Izzy is. Gavin loves to talk about Disney planning. He will say " let's talk about disney mommy!" "Where do you want to stay when we go to disney mommy?" It's so fun.

 

[princessbelle2015]

I am happy that your SWW worked out.

That's so cute that Izzy telling her plans for being on mickey's boat and eating in the castle.

 

[kroseycorn]

Ugh... I hate it when work and other things get in the way of Disney! We decided we'd go for Christmas last Thanksgiving... And just a few weeks ago my stepniece decided to schedule her wedding the second day of our trip. We might not have gone anyway, as it meant traveling over the holidays and we aren't close with her... But we're renting DVC and you can't cancel it! Sadly my inlaws feel obligated and will be leaving in the morning on the 17th and coming back the same night! Lame.

So many fun SWW plans... Bummer that you'll miss JBJ in Nassau!

 

[schmass]

To be honest, I don't really understand most of the SWW stuff (not a big fan - don't tell DH!), but I'm glad that you have your information now and can solidify your plans a bit more!

That is too bad for Dug about the training/retreat. Bummer! But, you guys are going to have so much fun!!

 

[Imagineer5]

The updated schedule looks great- and awesome to grab the FP's and know a bit more. That has to be such a pain waiting until what? 6 weeks out? to get the details. Ugh! Sounds like a great plan though.

That is really too bad about Dug's work thing, because you had mentioned a couple times hoping for a DL trip around his next conference - but your May trip really will be awesome and hopefully he won't be disappointed by then.

Love how excited Izzy is! I love how our kids KNOW the rides, and are already excited for them. They are going to know these parks like the back of their hands as they grow up visiting them. So cool!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

Oh finally they released that info for you! I found it so annoying how long it was taking!

Looks like you left enough flexablity to make everyone happy on this trip and let Dug get to his SWW events!

What a pain about Dugs work changing the work trips. I hated that when that sort of thing happens! Oh well, it all works out for a reason right?
So cute Izzy is getting excited! It just gets more fun from here, with the kiddos understanding the magic and fun!

 

[afwdwfan]

I texted Dug and he managed to do all of our FP+ juggling. Thank goodness I had a nice Excel sheet for him to work from! I was frantically trying to do my actual work while texting with him, but it all worked out okay.

Wow! I'm glad that you were prepared and it worked out. But that's just how it always seems to happen. They drop something on you by surprise when you're too busy to deal with it.

These tiers really make things difficult, huh?

I would hate to see your MDE account right about now.

So, you got all that?

No. But I do have a headache now. Seriously though, impressive planning. You really are maximizing Dug's experience at SWW.

Guess who is going to be in Nassau right after our cruise? Jon Bon Jovi!!! He’s there during our second SWW. I wish it was a few days earlier. I guess he’s doing a little destination concert package thing there. Just thought it was cool. Maybe he’ll show up a few days early and I’ll see him from the ship.

Good luck with that...

The other timing issue is going to seem familiar for those of you who followed my Aulani PTR last year. Dug’s job said this May trip was A-OK when we booked it. There was a conference in LA that he was interested in, but he was going to skip it and save his training budget for another conference instead. Well, sometime after this trip was pretty set in stone, his company decided to offer to pay all expenses for anyone interested in attending the conference without taking it out of their training budget. He was already kicking himself. And THEN, they announced they’d be cancelling the planned August retreat for Dug’s team and combining the retreat with this conference that most everyone (except Dug) would be attending. They said it was totally fine he’d miss it and that he should take the vacation without worries, but he’s sad to miss out. Especially because, if we’d known then what we know now, we probably would have saved the Land & Sea for some other time and done a Disneyland trip in May instead.

Ah... that stinks! I'm sure you'll all have a great time and he'll love SWW, but that's a shame that he is going to miss out on some work events.

Izzy is excited for the trip. Her daycare provider told me that Izzy is always telling her about how she’s going to ride on Mickey’s boat and then eat in the castle. It’s fun that Izzy is actually looking forward to the trip and understanding the plans.

I love that!!!! DS was the same way before our last trip. I love seeing the excitement build now that he gets it and understands what we're going to do!


And on an unrelated side note... I'm at work, but we have a TV on. It is on ESPN and they just did the starting line ups for the Yankees game to Star Wars music. It really set the perfect tone for reading this update.

 

[Gracefulskinny]

The one on my band is for An Ewok’s Tale: My Short Story, Starring Warwick Davis, window of 4:50-5:05pm.

This is the one show I would have liked to see. Ah well maybe another year. Not sure I would have given up my mother's day in the parks for it anyways!

So, I’m stalking the dining ADRs for a later Jedi Mickey’s time on that same day.

Good luck!

It does get exciting when the littles start to really understand things doesn't it?

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Hooray that you were able to finalize your SWW plans! I'm impressed (although not surprised!) that you had a spreadsheet ready to go for the moment the schedule was released!

As a SWW veteran, how early would you recommend grabbing a spot for the parade? We'll be there on Sunday May 31st, and although the SWW festivities are not our top priority, it may be fun to see the parade. Do you know a particular viewing spot that's better than others, or will anywhere along the parade route work?

I'm thrilled that Dug will be able to immerse himself in the SWW festivities! It's a bummer about his work trip, but at least he gets to enjoy a great trip with his family. I think meeting Warwick Davis would be fun (although I know him more from Harry Potter than Star Wars! ). I hope that works out if Dug decides to go for the meet!

 

[Dugette]

glad that the schedule didn't negatively impact too many things - hopefully you will get that one Mickey and Friends ADR moved to a time that works.

Yes, hoping I can find a good option for Jedi Mickey's (especially after you read the next update...)

Obviously would make for a tiring time but the thought of being in MK in the middle of the night/wee hours of the morning and then heading straight to MGM to get on line to meet Warwick Davis sounds pretty cool

I know, doesn't that sound cool?! How often can you do something that crazy, really?

I had heard that Frank Oz was going to be appearing which sounded neat, but I guess not when you guys are there - at least you are there when Warwick Davis is ... from past TRs it sounds like his show is really good

Yeah, Frank Oz is there on one of the later weekends - Dug would have loved to see him. But he's still super excited about Warwick Davis and Ian McDiarmid. Izzy and I might even see Warwick's show now (again, next update ) - I think that is the one we'd most enjoy. Though, I have to admit, I don't know a lot about it.

So happy that you were so well prepared that Dug tackled FP duty like a champ!

I am so glad too! Thank goodness he works from home now and is between big projects, so was able to spare the time. Disney keeps dropping big things on us in the middle of busy work-days.

That's SO cool that Jon Bon Jovi will be in Nassau shortly after you! Here's hoping he arrives a little early and you can have a spotting!

I know, isn't that cool!? I wish I could go see him perform, but besides the timing being off, I guess you also need to buy a whole travel package for it. Kinda strange. But fun, I bet. I have seen him in concert a few times, but it's been awhile. I'd love to sit on the balcony and see him out there.

So happy to hear that Izzy is so excited for the trip, too! That makes it so much more exciting for you and Dug as well, I'm sure!!!

It does! It's just mind-boggling to me that it seems like she was just a cute baby and now she's a full-fledged person that knows what's going on and has opinions and all.

How exciting that Izzy is so interested! I love it!

Thanks! It's so cute to hear her talk about it. I know she doesn't have a good sense of time and just knows that the trip is "not yet". But she keeps telling people things like, "Pluto is on Mickey's boat." You can tell she was watching those youtube videos of the Dream with us, I guess.

Explain to me how the multiple magic bands work. All of your bands from past trips are all still linked to the new trip? Right now, DH and I each have 2 magic bands, but I didn't know we could use both on a new trip...

Yes, all Magic Bands that are linked to your MDE profile are clones of each other. So, if you go into your My Disney Experience account and look at your bands/KTTW, it will show "active" or "inactive" - I think they all stay active unless you shut them down. Some people try to have multiple colors, so they can pick one to match their outfit each day. But they all will do the same thing and are interchangeable. I did read recently that batteries may run down after a couple years, but most functions would still work. I'm not clear on those details, though.

Glad all the Star Wars weekend plans worked out!

I'm glad everything with SWW worked out!

Thanks, me too! Changes coming up, though...

That's so cute how excited Izzy is. Gavin loves to talk about Disney planning. He will say " let's talk about disney mommy!" "Where do you want to stay when we go to disney mommy?" It's so fun.

Aw, that is so cute! We should have like a Junior DIS-ers board. I'm sure these kids could all figure out how to post anytime now. (That would be like the cutest thing ever! All the toddlers planning their trips together! )

I am happy that your SWW worked out.

Thanks! But stay tuned!

That's so cute that Izzy telling her plans for being on mickey's boat and eating in the castle.

She loves to tell people about those two things in particular. And sometimes she starts naming characters that might be on Mickey's boat.

Ugh... I hate it when work and other things get in the way of Disney! We decided we'd go for Christmas last Thanksgiving... And just a few weeks ago my stepniece decided to schedule her wedding the second day of our trip. We might not have gone anyway, as it meant traveling over the holidays and we aren't close with her... But we're renting DVC and you can't cancel it! Sadly my inlaws feel obligated and will be leaving in the morning on the 17th and coming back the same night! Lame.

Ugh, that's super annoying! And DVC rental makes it really hard to change your mind. Sorry you have to deal with that.

So many fun SWW plans... Bummer that you'll miss JBJ in Nassau!

Thanks. I wish I wasn't just missing JBJ!