HalloweenNut
Rapidly becoming obsessive about all things Disney
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2011
Pirates, Jedi & Characters, Oh My! (aka... an excess of planning pays off!)
Here is my very first trip report. After reading through so many others wonderful and informative reports myself while planning (some would say obsessing over) this trip I felt I would try and write my own and perhaps contribute back in some small way to say thanks for all the great help I received. I hope you like it.
Introductions...
First off, by way of introduction here we are…
Me (Hector): This will be my third real trip to WDW. I first went at the age of 6 in 1973 when the park was only open a few years and we camped at the Fort Wilderness campground. My next trip was in college in 1986. I'm a graphic designer/art director by trade and yes, I am a HalloweenNut. My main hobby (which had been put aside while I was planning this trip) is building props and decorations for our elaborate halloween display we put up in the front yard every year. The Haunted Mansion must have been an early influence on me as I've loved Halloween ever since. If you're interested I have a website with photos from our Halloween display over the years.
My Wife (Sandy): Other than a quick one day visit to Epcot with me in 1995 this is her first visit as she never went with her family as a kid. Actually she almost didn't make it as her agency was in contract negotiations up until the last minute and it was looking like she'd have to follow us later in the week or not at all. Luckily, they reached a settlement and a strike was averted so she was able to travel with us as planned. Woo Hoo!
Our Daughter (Maggie): Maggie is 6, almost 7 and was over the moon with excitement for this trip! She LOVES rides and meeting characters. We involved her in the planning to a degree and leading up to the trip we would watch YouTube videos of Disney and the rides to give her an idea on what to expect and get a sense of what she would want to do. High on her list after watching the Disney planning DVD was both Pirate's League and Jedi Training Academy so those would be must-dos. She also loves Cars and so seeing Lightning McQueen in the Lights. Motors, Action stunt show was also a priority. She isn't really interested in any of the princesses with the exception of Mulan so we wouldn't have to worry about trying to get a seat at Cinderella's Castle or lining up to see Rapunzel.
My Mother (Joan): This trip was a present from my parents to Maggie (all of us actually) and Mum was so looking forward to it. I think she was more excited than Maggie! My mother accompanied us on our trip to China 6 years ago so this was a bit of deja-vu for all of us. She is very active and a good walker but tends to ignore how hot she can get so we would have to be constantly after her to drink more or stop and take rests. Like all of us she was so looking forward to the trip and seeing the wonder and excitement of Disney through Maggie's eyes.
My Father (Hector Sr.): Although Dad had initially planned on coming with us sadly he had to back out due to the fact he has cancer (in remission) and the pre-existing condition made him ineligible for any sort of travel health insurance so he just couldn't risk it. It actually worked out for the best since although in relatively good health he doesn't walk much and tires easily. He's also too proud and stubborn to rent a ECV scooter so he wouldn't have been able to handle the walking and would have had to spend the majority of his time alone at the resort which would have been no fun for anyone. We did keep in communication with him while we were away via email and he enjoyed the nightly updates & photos.
Planning...
As for the planning that was for the most part left up to me to organize. My Mum & Dad, having taken both myself and brother when we were kids now wanted to take their granddaughter so this trip was their present to her but really to all of us. We were thrilled to go and they were more than happy to have me plan it all. We had decided on the Polynesian Resort early on when we first thought my Dad would be coming with us as being on the Monorail line would help with his mobility issues and allow us to get back to the resort easily to rest. When it turned out he wouldn't be able to come we didn't have the heart to change our reservation at that point. The allure of the Poly had taken hold!
I quickly discovered that Disney World and grown and changed so much since the last time we had gone I went into heavy-duty planning mode to prepare. I scoured the internet reading anything I could and soon familiarized myself with everything from crowd calendar predictions, various touring plans, ride descriptions to hidden Mickeys and the ins-and-outs of the dining plan. Forums like this one were invaluable in terms of reading other trip reports, asking questions and finding out all about the complexity that is a Disney vacation. I first narrowed down which days we do which parks based on several website's (sometimes conflicting) predictions and then worked out where we would have our ADRs and what counter service restaurants we could possibly take in. With all that set it was a case of waiting until our 180 day mark to make the reservations. We had gone with a travel agency (Fairytale Dreams and Destinations) to book our trip and make our initial dining reservations however later when it came time to make some adjustments to our ADRs I knew more by that time and made the changes myself. I was very pleased with our travel agency though and would certainly recommend going that route for a first time planner as it can really be overwhelming at first the amount of information to take in.
With the date getting closer I started focussing more on in-park touring plans and researching all the various bonuses and little extras to keep an eye out for. I planned each day so that we would be up early, eat a quick breakfast in the room while getting dressed (we ordered a grocery deliver for the first day through wegoshop.com which worked out great!), get to the parks early for rope drop, see and do as much as we can in the mornings and then shortly after lunch head back to the resort for a rest/pool. For the most part that plan worked well although the challenge every day was to actually leave the parks as the was always so much to do and see. Maggie was great though and we didn't have one melt-down the whole week which was mostly due to the daily naps (or at least some down-time if she didn't actually nap) and also that I had made arrangements to rent a stroller for the week from Kingdom Strollers. At almost 7 years old she hasn't been in a stroller for at least 2 years but there is so much walking and she has a tendency to burn herself out we didn't want her to get so tired she was miserable or even worse be constantly begging for "UPPIES!!". She's a big kid and I knew we'd be dead ourselves if we had to carry her far so a stroller it was. Best decision we made. Some people would look at you funny rolling her around but in the end who cares? It worked for us.
The last couple weeks were really hard as most of the planning was done, we were starting to pack and all we could do was wait. Coupled to the fact that we were all stressed that my wife Sandy might not be able to travel with us or even miss out on the trip altogether was something we didn't really need. Thankfully it all worked out and she was able to come. I think after her stressful time in contract negotiations leading she needed the relative peace and quiet of a vacation more than any of us. Maggie had a countdown calendar I had printed off for her and every day in April she'd put another sticker counting down the days to our departure. She also watched some great family WDW trip videos on YouTube religiously and at bedtime for her story she'd ask me to describe all the things we were going to do. As for me I went through the last minute panic and second-guessing my plans. I successfully resisted the urge to tinker with our ADRs or change things around too much. With everything in place it was just a matter now or waiting until April 22 when we'd board a plane for the trip of our dreams!
Next up... Arrival & Hollywood Studios (with lots of photos)
Table of Contents:
• Introductions & Planning (you're here)
• Sunday, April 22: Arrival & Hollywood Studios "Wake up! We're going to Disney World!"
• Monday, April 23: Magic Kingdom "Rope drop, Dumbo & pixie dust!"
• Tuesday, April 24: Magic Kingdom "Beware of pirates! (or will this makeup ever come off?)"
• Tuesday, April 24 (Evening): Magic Kingdom "Wishes really do come true!"
• Wednesday, April 25: Hollywood Studios "May the Force be with you and a solo Tower of Terror"
• Thursday, April 26: Animal Kingdom "I don't think we're in Florida anymore Toto"
• Friday, April 27: Animal Kingdom "From Africa to Asia and back again with all stops in between"
• Saturday, April 28: Epcot "It's like 3-D without the glasses!"
• Sunday, April 29 "We're leaving on a jet plane. "
[EDIT... additional planning info and files]
Here is some additional planning info I found helpful as well as some of the planning files I made up and used for our trip, especially for a first time visitor like myself. First of all I want to recommend as strongly as possible the use of any and all planning sites. Although the information or advice would sometimes contradict each other I found every site to have something to offer and learn from. Secondly, study maps and photos as much as you can. read trip reports and cross reference the reports to the maps so you get a firm understanding of the general layout of the parks beforehand.
Here is the main planning chart I used which outlined each day's parks, meals, activities, even crowd levels and other info. I saw the chart on another site and then modified it to include even more info, colour coding for park days, ADRs and special events, etc. I'm including it here for reference. There's no point in suppling the actual file as I did it up in Adobe Illustrator so unless you have that program you can't edit it however it would be easy enough to replicate in Excel or another program. I just used what I'm familiar with.
To see a larger size click here.
For interest here also is my main itinerary which I would reference as well throughout the day to keep track of ADRs and other important info.
Sunday, April 22: Arrival & Hollywood Studios
(Crowd Level: Green - 4.9)
- Depart Toronto 6:30am, Arrive Orlando 9:35am
- Magic Express to Poly, check in
- lunch at Captain Cooks CS (take out in room?)
- pick up stroller from Bell Services
- arrange delivery of groceries from wegoshop.com
- rest at Poly
- late afternoon at DHS (3:30pm arrival)
- Great Movie Ride, Star Tours, Muppets 3D, Lightning McQueen & Mater
- Fantasmic Dinner at Mama Melrose (5:15pm ADR #412981217956)
- Fantasmic! (8:30pm showtime)
Monday, April 23: Magic Kingdom (Crowd Level: Yellow - 6.5)
- breakfast in room
- MK for rope drop (8:20am for 9:00am opening)
- lunch at Crystal Palace (12:05pm ADR #413511417524)
- after lunch back to Poly for rest/swim
- rent a SeaRaycer for 1/2 hour tour?
- dinner at Kona Cafe (5:30pm ADR #420521571481)
- early to bed!
Tuesday, April 24: Magic Kingdom
(Crowd Level: Green - 3.8 - Best Park)
- breakfast in room
- MK for rope drop (8:20am for 9:00am opening)
- Pirate League (10:55am reservation #413481285636)
- Pirate Tutorial (12:25am or 2:15pm showtime)
- lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern (12:55pm ADR #413521455219)
- back to Poly for rest/swim
- return to MK for evening
- dinner at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Cafe CS
- MK evening for MSEP (9:00pm) and Wishes (10:00pm)
Wednesday, April 25: Hollywood Studios (Crowd Level: Green - 4.6)
- breakfast in room
- DHS for rope drop (8:20am for 9:00am opening)
- sign up for Jedi Training (ask for 9:20am or 10:10am show)
- Indian Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular (11:30am showtime)
- lunch at Starring Rolls CS
- Lights, Motors, Action Extreme Stunt Show (1:20pm showtime)
- early afternoon back to Poly for rest/swim
- Spirit of Aloha dinner show (8:00pm ADR #412981222996)
Thursday, April 26: Animal Kingdom (Crowd Level: Green - 6.2)
- breakfast in room
- AK rope drop (8:20am for 9:00am opening)
- Kilimanjaro Safari
- Festival of the Lion King (10:30am showtime)
- lunch at Flame Tree BBQ CS
- Finding Nemo the Musical (1:00pm showtime)
- early afternoon back to Poly to rest/clean up
- early dinner from Captain Cooks CS in room while we get ready for DTD
- 6:00pm Cirque du Soleil in DTD
- shopping in DTD?
- take cab back to Poly
Friday, April 27: Animal Kingdom
(Crowd Level: Green - 5.7 - Best Park)
- breakfast at 'Ohana (7:30am ADR #413541530155)
- morning arrival AK (approx. 9:30-10:00am)
- lunch at Yak & Yeti CS
- mid-afternoon back to Poly for dinner
- Grandma and Maggie Chef Mickey for dinner (5:45pm ADR #412981229617)
- Hector and Sandy dinner out at Narcooses (7:00pm ADR #412981233616)
Saturday, April 28: Epcot (Crowd Level: Yellow - 3.5 - Best Park)
- breakfast in room
- Epcot for rope drop (8:20am for 9:00am opening)
- lunch at Cantina de San Angel CS
- after lunch back to Poly for rest/swim/pack
- Joan to stay to take in Flower & Garden Festival?
- dinner in Epcot at Les Chefs de France (4:50pm ADR #413531495501)
- Illuminations (9:00pm)
- finish packing
Sunday, April 29
- breakfast in room
- check out
- Magic Express to airport 6:30am
- depart Orlando 10:25am, Arrive Toronto 1:15pm
Here is my very first trip report. After reading through so many others wonderful and informative reports myself while planning (some would say obsessing over) this trip I felt I would try and write my own and perhaps contribute back in some small way to say thanks for all the great help I received. I hope you like it.
Introductions...
First off, by way of introduction here we are…
Me (Hector): This will be my third real trip to WDW. I first went at the age of 6 in 1973 when the park was only open a few years and we camped at the Fort Wilderness campground. My next trip was in college in 1986. I'm a graphic designer/art director by trade and yes, I am a HalloweenNut. My main hobby (which had been put aside while I was planning this trip) is building props and decorations for our elaborate halloween display we put up in the front yard every year. The Haunted Mansion must have been an early influence on me as I've loved Halloween ever since. If you're interested I have a website with photos from our Halloween display over the years.
My Wife (Sandy): Other than a quick one day visit to Epcot with me in 1995 this is her first visit as she never went with her family as a kid. Actually she almost didn't make it as her agency was in contract negotiations up until the last minute and it was looking like she'd have to follow us later in the week or not at all. Luckily, they reached a settlement and a strike was averted so she was able to travel with us as planned. Woo Hoo!
Our Daughter (Maggie): Maggie is 6, almost 7 and was over the moon with excitement for this trip! She LOVES rides and meeting characters. We involved her in the planning to a degree and leading up to the trip we would watch YouTube videos of Disney and the rides to give her an idea on what to expect and get a sense of what she would want to do. High on her list after watching the Disney planning DVD was both Pirate's League and Jedi Training Academy so those would be must-dos. She also loves Cars and so seeing Lightning McQueen in the Lights. Motors, Action stunt show was also a priority. She isn't really interested in any of the princesses with the exception of Mulan so we wouldn't have to worry about trying to get a seat at Cinderella's Castle or lining up to see Rapunzel.
My Mother (Joan): This trip was a present from my parents to Maggie (all of us actually) and Mum was so looking forward to it. I think she was more excited than Maggie! My mother accompanied us on our trip to China 6 years ago so this was a bit of deja-vu for all of us. She is very active and a good walker but tends to ignore how hot she can get so we would have to be constantly after her to drink more or stop and take rests. Like all of us she was so looking forward to the trip and seeing the wonder and excitement of Disney through Maggie's eyes.
My Father (Hector Sr.): Although Dad had initially planned on coming with us sadly he had to back out due to the fact he has cancer (in remission) and the pre-existing condition made him ineligible for any sort of travel health insurance so he just couldn't risk it. It actually worked out for the best since although in relatively good health he doesn't walk much and tires easily. He's also too proud and stubborn to rent a ECV scooter so he wouldn't have been able to handle the walking and would have had to spend the majority of his time alone at the resort which would have been no fun for anyone. We did keep in communication with him while we were away via email and he enjoyed the nightly updates & photos.
Planning...
As for the planning that was for the most part left up to me to organize. My Mum & Dad, having taken both myself and brother when we were kids now wanted to take their granddaughter so this trip was their present to her but really to all of us. We were thrilled to go and they were more than happy to have me plan it all. We had decided on the Polynesian Resort early on when we first thought my Dad would be coming with us as being on the Monorail line would help with his mobility issues and allow us to get back to the resort easily to rest. When it turned out he wouldn't be able to come we didn't have the heart to change our reservation at that point. The allure of the Poly had taken hold!
I quickly discovered that Disney World and grown and changed so much since the last time we had gone I went into heavy-duty planning mode to prepare. I scoured the internet reading anything I could and soon familiarized myself with everything from crowd calendar predictions, various touring plans, ride descriptions to hidden Mickeys and the ins-and-outs of the dining plan. Forums like this one were invaluable in terms of reading other trip reports, asking questions and finding out all about the complexity that is a Disney vacation. I first narrowed down which days we do which parks based on several website's (sometimes conflicting) predictions and then worked out where we would have our ADRs and what counter service restaurants we could possibly take in. With all that set it was a case of waiting until our 180 day mark to make the reservations. We had gone with a travel agency (Fairytale Dreams and Destinations) to book our trip and make our initial dining reservations however later when it came time to make some adjustments to our ADRs I knew more by that time and made the changes myself. I was very pleased with our travel agency though and would certainly recommend going that route for a first time planner as it can really be overwhelming at first the amount of information to take in.
With the date getting closer I started focussing more on in-park touring plans and researching all the various bonuses and little extras to keep an eye out for. I planned each day so that we would be up early, eat a quick breakfast in the room while getting dressed (we ordered a grocery deliver for the first day through wegoshop.com which worked out great!), get to the parks early for rope drop, see and do as much as we can in the mornings and then shortly after lunch head back to the resort for a rest/pool. For the most part that plan worked well although the challenge every day was to actually leave the parks as the was always so much to do and see. Maggie was great though and we didn't have one melt-down the whole week which was mostly due to the daily naps (or at least some down-time if she didn't actually nap) and also that I had made arrangements to rent a stroller for the week from Kingdom Strollers. At almost 7 years old she hasn't been in a stroller for at least 2 years but there is so much walking and she has a tendency to burn herself out we didn't want her to get so tired she was miserable or even worse be constantly begging for "UPPIES!!". She's a big kid and I knew we'd be dead ourselves if we had to carry her far so a stroller it was. Best decision we made. Some people would look at you funny rolling her around but in the end who cares? It worked for us.
The last couple weeks were really hard as most of the planning was done, we were starting to pack and all we could do was wait. Coupled to the fact that we were all stressed that my wife Sandy might not be able to travel with us or even miss out on the trip altogether was something we didn't really need. Thankfully it all worked out and she was able to come. I think after her stressful time in contract negotiations leading she needed the relative peace and quiet of a vacation more than any of us. Maggie had a countdown calendar I had printed off for her and every day in April she'd put another sticker counting down the days to our departure. She also watched some great family WDW trip videos on YouTube religiously and at bedtime for her story she'd ask me to describe all the things we were going to do. As for me I went through the last minute panic and second-guessing my plans. I successfully resisted the urge to tinker with our ADRs or change things around too much. With everything in place it was just a matter now or waiting until April 22 when we'd board a plane for the trip of our dreams!
Next up... Arrival & Hollywood Studios (with lots of photos)
Table of Contents:
• Introductions & Planning (you're here)
• Sunday, April 22: Arrival & Hollywood Studios "Wake up! We're going to Disney World!"
• Monday, April 23: Magic Kingdom "Rope drop, Dumbo & pixie dust!"
• Tuesday, April 24: Magic Kingdom "Beware of pirates! (or will this makeup ever come off?)"
• Tuesday, April 24 (Evening): Magic Kingdom "Wishes really do come true!"
• Wednesday, April 25: Hollywood Studios "May the Force be with you and a solo Tower of Terror"
• Thursday, April 26: Animal Kingdom "I don't think we're in Florida anymore Toto"
• Friday, April 27: Animal Kingdom "From Africa to Asia and back again with all stops in between"
• Saturday, April 28: Epcot "It's like 3-D without the glasses!"
• Sunday, April 29 "We're leaving on a jet plane. "
[EDIT... additional planning info and files]
Here is some additional planning info I found helpful as well as some of the planning files I made up and used for our trip, especially for a first time visitor like myself. First of all I want to recommend as strongly as possible the use of any and all planning sites. Although the information or advice would sometimes contradict each other I found every site to have something to offer and learn from. Secondly, study maps and photos as much as you can. read trip reports and cross reference the reports to the maps so you get a firm understanding of the general layout of the parks beforehand.
Here is the main planning chart I used which outlined each day's parks, meals, activities, even crowd levels and other info. I saw the chart on another site and then modified it to include even more info, colour coding for park days, ADRs and special events, etc. I'm including it here for reference. There's no point in suppling the actual file as I did it up in Adobe Illustrator so unless you have that program you can't edit it however it would be easy enough to replicate in Excel or another program. I just used what I'm familiar with.
To see a larger size click here.
For interest here also is my main itinerary which I would reference as well throughout the day to keep track of ADRs and other important info.
Sunday, April 22: Arrival & Hollywood Studios
(Crowd Level: Green - 4.9)
- Depart Toronto 6:30am, Arrive Orlando 9:35am
- Magic Express to Poly, check in
- lunch at Captain Cooks CS (take out in room?)
- pick up stroller from Bell Services
- arrange delivery of groceries from wegoshop.com
- rest at Poly
- late afternoon at DHS (3:30pm arrival)
- Great Movie Ride, Star Tours, Muppets 3D, Lightning McQueen & Mater
- Fantasmic Dinner at Mama Melrose (5:15pm ADR #412981217956)
- Fantasmic! (8:30pm showtime)
Monday, April 23: Magic Kingdom (Crowd Level: Yellow - 6.5)
- breakfast in room
- MK for rope drop (8:20am for 9:00am opening)
- lunch at Crystal Palace (12:05pm ADR #413511417524)
- after lunch back to Poly for rest/swim
- rent a SeaRaycer for 1/2 hour tour?
- dinner at Kona Cafe (5:30pm ADR #420521571481)
- early to bed!
Tuesday, April 24: Magic Kingdom
(Crowd Level: Green - 3.8 - Best Park)
- breakfast in room
- MK for rope drop (8:20am for 9:00am opening)
- Pirate League (10:55am reservation #413481285636)
- Pirate Tutorial (12:25am or 2:15pm showtime)
- lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern (12:55pm ADR #413521455219)
- back to Poly for rest/swim
- return to MK for evening
- dinner at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Cafe CS
- MK evening for MSEP (9:00pm) and Wishes (10:00pm)
Wednesday, April 25: Hollywood Studios (Crowd Level: Green - 4.6)
- breakfast in room
- DHS for rope drop (8:20am for 9:00am opening)
- sign up for Jedi Training (ask for 9:20am or 10:10am show)
- Indian Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular (11:30am showtime)
- lunch at Starring Rolls CS
- Lights, Motors, Action Extreme Stunt Show (1:20pm showtime)
- early afternoon back to Poly for rest/swim
- Spirit of Aloha dinner show (8:00pm ADR #412981222996)
Thursday, April 26: Animal Kingdom (Crowd Level: Green - 6.2)
- breakfast in room
- AK rope drop (8:20am for 9:00am opening)
- Kilimanjaro Safari
- Festival of the Lion King (10:30am showtime)
- lunch at Flame Tree BBQ CS
- Finding Nemo the Musical (1:00pm showtime)
- early afternoon back to Poly to rest/clean up
- early dinner from Captain Cooks CS in room while we get ready for DTD
- 6:00pm Cirque du Soleil in DTD
- shopping in DTD?
- take cab back to Poly
Friday, April 27: Animal Kingdom
(Crowd Level: Green - 5.7 - Best Park)
- breakfast at 'Ohana (7:30am ADR #413541530155)
- morning arrival AK (approx. 9:30-10:00am)
- lunch at Yak & Yeti CS
- mid-afternoon back to Poly for dinner
- Grandma and Maggie Chef Mickey for dinner (5:45pm ADR #412981229617)
- Hector and Sandy dinner out at Narcooses (7:00pm ADR #412981233616)
Saturday, April 28: Epcot (Crowd Level: Yellow - 3.5 - Best Park)
- breakfast in room
- Epcot for rope drop (8:20am for 9:00am opening)
- lunch at Cantina de San Angel CS
- after lunch back to Poly for rest/swim/pack
- Joan to stay to take in Flower & Garden Festival?
- dinner in Epcot at Les Chefs de France (4:50pm ADR #413531495501)
- Illuminations (9:00pm)
- finish packing
Sunday, April 29
- breakfast in room
- check out
- Magic Express to airport 6:30am
- depart Orlando 10:25am, Arrive Toronto 1:15pm