The End is... NOWHERE in sight! - Sept/Oct 2016 PTR *Update 9/14*

[jandlinz]

Your plans look like they are coming together nicely. I hope too much doesn't change. Do you have any idea when the hours will be released? We're going in November, but I haven't even thought of where we'll be on what day. On a side note, I had a friend and her family drive down to Florida. They decided to go to Disney (Magic Kingdom and Epcot) on three one day passes. They ended up doing BBB for one of their DD's in DTD around lunch time. When they finished they headed to Magic on a Halloween Party night, unknowingly. They had lunch/dinner. Then they had 3 hours of park time until they were ushered out. I remember her texting me on her drive down. They decided to go on a whim. She was shocked that she had to drive to TTC, take a tram, and then take the boat or monorail. Needless to say they hated Disney. I told her she didn't do it right and needed to plan more. She said she doesn't like to plan. I doubt they'll ever go back. I applaud your spreadsheets, even if they'll change!

 

[afwdwfan]

He keeps telling me that I need to take into consideration where other people want to eat and what they want to do. Well, I've been asking people for MONTHS for their suggestions and I've gotten nothing. So, no, I dont need to take into consideration what they want to do if they come to me the day before ADR day with their wants.

I agree... I mean, you definitely have to take their wants into consideration, but they need to get with you and tell you what they want if you're the one in charge of ADRs! I think the key is to just set a date that they have to have requests in to you and after that, they're on their own.

In other news, my husband has this new thing about getting our "Disney bods" on.

I've got my Disney bod... just returned from the parks. Walked 20 - 30k steps each day and still gained about 50 pounds.

I'm really hoping for about 35lbs down by September. I'd be ecstatic with 25lbs, but hey, go big or go home!

Good luck!

So, as I said, my sister came over and worked on a plan with me. This is what we came up with, based on last years hours, EMH, and party days. So, of course, this will all go to hell when the actual hours, EMH and party days are released

So true... it always happens. You have to plan so far out that they'll most definitely change something that will screw it all up.

My husband is still debating if he wants to add a few more TS meals, and pay OOP for them.

If you do, I'd recommend paying OOP for Via Napoli if everyone just wants pizza. It's actually a very inexpensive meal for Disney if you just get a few pizzas and share them.

I'm not thrilled about Sci-Fi Diner, but it was a request from another one of our travelers so I made sure to include it.

I like Sci Fi. I think it gets a bad rap. It certainly isn't a top meal at Disney World, but I've enjoyed our meals there in the past. It's a simple menu, but they seem to do it well.

 

[vrajewski10513]

Your plans look like they are coming together nicely. I hope too much doesn't change. Do you have any idea when the hours will be released? We're going in November, but I haven't even thought of where we'll be on what day.

I think hours for Sept/Oct are released aroudn the end of March. Atleast I hope they are, my ADR day is April 1st!

On a side note, I had a friend and her family drive down to Florida. They decided to go to Disney (Magic Kingdom and Epcot) on three one day passes. They ended up doing BBB for one of their DD's in DTD around lunch time. When they finished they headed to Magic on a Halloween Party night, unknowingly. They had lunch/dinner. Then they had 3 hours of park time until they were ushered out. I remember her texting me on her drive down. They decided to go on a whim. She was shocked that she had to drive to TTC, take a tram, and then take the boat or monorail. Needless to say they hated Disney. I told her she didn't do it right and needed to plan more. She said she doesn't like to plan. I doubt they'll ever go back.

As much as we love it, the amount of planning that goes into a great Disney trip just isnt for everyone

I applaud your spreadsheets, even if they'll change!

Thank you!

I agree... I mean, you definitely have to take their wants into consideration, but they need to get with you and tell you what they want if you're the one in charge of ADRs! I think the key is to just set a date that they have to have requests in to you and after that, they're on their own.

I'm going to have to, just this morning my husband asked his brother what they thought of the restaurants I picked out (didnt even throw the schedule at them yet, just the restaurant ideas) and he said theres still plenty of time and they havent even looked at it. I have no problem changing things around if people have ideas, but please don't come at me with them on March 31st and expect me to re-arrange everything for them. I have to have our complete schedule done before I can book our ADR's, which takes alot more time than I think people realize.

I've got my Disney bod... just returned from the parks. Walked 20 - 30k steps each day and still gained about 50 pounds.

Lol its impossible to lose weight while on vacation at WDW! Any exercise you may get is immediately counter acted by all the delicious food!!

So true... it always happens. You have to plan so far out that they'll most definitely change something that will screw it all up.

Even if I make a schedule based on this years hours when they're release I'm sure Disney will change things around later anyway

If you do, I'd recommend paying OOP for Via Napoli if everyone just wants pizza. It's actually a very inexpensive meal for Disney if you just get a few pizzas and share them.

Actually, before we added the breakfasts that was our plan. But I do believe that if we add another meal on Via Napoli will be the first we choose to pay OOP for. My sister and I are already planning on sharing a Prosciutto e Melone pizza!

I like Sci Fi. I think it gets a bad rap. It certainly isn't a top meal at Disney World, but I've enjoyed our meals there in the past. It's a simple menu, but they seem to do it well.

I think thats my main problem with Sci-Fi, it that the menu is very basic. But, as long as it tastes good, then I'll deal lol

 

[vrajewski10513]

So, just a short update.
Not so much Disney, more of the behind the scenes of planning so, I'll forewarn you to stop reading now if Disneys what youre looking for lol
Got a call yesterday from my mom, her and my dad decided that fixing/updating up their leaky bathroom is more of a priority this year than going to Disney.

What this DOES mean is I GOT MY DOG SITTERS BACK! But, only for a few days as of right now. My parents have an older Maltese named Baxter. He's about 10 years old. While my dogs love him, he is just too old to be bothered with my pups who are spastic and just always want to play. Plus, he's frail, and my Fat Head Fred outweighs Baxter by 10lbs and tends to get a little too rough when he plays. So, my mom didnt want to take them for the whole 10 days. So she decided, she can take them for 2-3 days and see how it goes. If they can all co-exist without hurting one another my mom has agreed to keep them longer, but if not, then we need a back up plan.

You would not believe how much stressing I've been doing over choosing a boarding facility. I even tried to talk DH into taking them on the plane with us and checking them into Disney's pet care facility so we could go see them everyday. I mean come on, how could you leave these faces at a kennel?!

I narrowed the kennels down to ONLY the ones that had cameras so I could check up on them 2,461,234,781,652 times a day. The only one that I found suitable (my standards were probably higher than some people have when choosing a day care for their kids) was Camp Bow Wow, which happened to only be 10 minutes from our home. Downfall? Even though my two dogs combined weigh less than a Rottweiler's head, it still costs $69/night for both my dogs to share one kennel. But, to be able to check up on them with the cameras, having the day care included so I know they will get exercise and to play with other dogs is worth it to me. Unfortunatley, if my DM only watches them for 3 nights, that means 7 nights at the kennel, and almost $500 added to our vacation debt.

Oh, the things we do for our fur children ​

 

[pkondz]

Not so much Disney, more of the behind the scenes of planning so, I'll forewarn you to stop reading now if Disneys what youre looking for lol

Still reading...

What this DOES mean is I GOT MY DOG SITTERS BACK!

Yay!

my pups who are spastic and just always want to play.

I think you just described every pup in the world.

You would not believe how much stressing I've been doing over choosing a boarding facility.

Oh, yes I would.

I mean come on, how could you leave these faces at a kennel?!

Cute lil' guys!

I narrowed the kennels down to ONLY the ones that had cameras so I could check up on them 2,461,234,781,652 times a day.

The only one that I found suitable (my standards were probably higher than some people have when choosing a day care for their kids)

I believe you.
"So... what kind of facility do you run here for my little Johnny?"
"Oh, we let the kids do pretty much what they want. We do draw the line at setting other kids on fire, though."
"Great! Sign me up!"

it still costs $69/night for both my dogs to share one kennel.

Ouch!

 

[winnie_516]

​

Hey there, neighbor! Bills fans, unite! Love these decals! Joining in on your PTR, sounds like everything is well planned out to be a magical time!

 

[vrajewski10513]

So, I just got ANOTHER pin code. I'm pretty sure I've gotten codes in every wave for the last year and a half. Anyone wanna bet that I WON'T get one for this fall!? ​

 

[afwdwfan]

So, I just got ANOTHER pin code. I'm pretty sure I've gotten codes in every wave for the last year and a half. Anyone wanna bet that I WON'T get one for this fall!? ​

Oh, don't worry, even if you do get one, it won't work for the resort or room classification that you want anyway! I know you just want to re-arrange plans and shuffle things around on everyone at the last minute, right????

 

[lilpixiebabe101]

I have to laugh! Judging by your colorful chart we found each other on Facebook! I was the other girl who posted their chart with the Univeral in grey in the October 2016 planners! Small world!

You planning for your fur babies is like me cringing over paying 21$ per hour for someone to possibly keep my kids for an adults night out. Cause while we could get away with probably two hours at dinner, I got spoiled on my 2013 ladies only trip and would like to take him to MK after for some adult park time. Or even to Epcot for F&W. So im looking at paying for a sitter than a signature meal!

 

[vrajewski10513]

Cute lil' guys!

Thank you!

I believe you.
"So... what kind of facility do you run here for my little Johnny?"
"Oh, we let the kids do pretty much what they want. We do draw the line at setting other kids on fire, though."
"Great! Sign me up!"

Hey there, neighbor! Bills fans, unite! Love these decals! Joining in on your PTR, sounds like everything is well planned out to be a magical time!

Thanks for joining!! Stay warm!!

Oh, don't worry, even if you do get one, it won't work for the resort or room classification that you want anyway! I know you just want to re-arrange plans and shuffle things around on everyone at the last minute, right????

EXACTLY! I'm extremely close to throwing eveything out the window and suprising everyone at the airport... "Sooooo, we're ACTUALLY going to Disney LAND!"

I have to laugh! Judging by your colorful chart we found each other on Facebook! I was the other girl who posted their chart with the Univeral in grey in the October 2016 planners! Small world!

You planning for your fur babies is like me cringing over paying 21$ per hour for someone to possibly keep my kids for an adults night out. Cause while we could get away with probably two hours at dinner, I got spoiled on my 2013 ladies only trip and would like to take him to MK after for some adult park time. Or even to Epcot for F&W. So im looking at paying for a sitter than a signature meal!

haha too funny, I joined all the Sept/Oct groups I could find on Facebook lol

Its insane how much babysitters charge to essentially just make sure the kids are fed and dry and the house doesn't catch fire

 

[lilpixiebabe101]

haha too funny, I joined all the Sept/Oct groups I could find on Facebook lol

Its insane how much babysitters charge to essentially just make sure the kids are fed and dry and the house doesn't catch fire

I did too 'cept October and November. And the Disney Foodie one. That one is nice to drool over.

And yes precisely. My oldest will literally draw and watch movies till the cows come home. The youngest. Well as long as you'll let her "EAT!!!!" and pick her up and put her down when she wants and just let her run from one end of the room to the other she doesn't care!

 

[FantasiaMagic]

YAY! I love planning dining at WDW! It is so much fun. It can also be pretty stressful, since like you were saying, taking other people into consideration can be a challenge! Especially for your big group lol.

 

[sahm2two]

Joining in! We just pushed up our trip (yay!) So we will be there at the same time as you! September 30- Oct. 8th at CBR (probably). I'm thinking I'll bite the bullet and do a ptr because it helps just talking through all your plans. Things have changed a lot since the last time we went so I've been relearning everything the last couple months.
I love disboards because my husband (and everyone else I know) thinks I'm crazy for planning so far ahead lol. But here I'm behind

 

[vrajewski10513]

YAY! I love planning dining at WDW! It is so much fun. It can also be pretty stressful, since like you were saying, taking other people into consideration can be a challenge! Especially for your big group lol.

It definitely will be a challenge! My plan is to try and make the reservations online first thing in the morning, but if it seems to be too difficult for my large group I may try calling that phone number they give you on the main MDE page and make the reservations by phone.

 

[vrajewski10513]

Joining in! We just pushed up our trip (yay!) So we will be there at the same time as you! September 30- Oct. 8th at CBR (probably

Yay! Maybe we will run into each other!

I'm thinking I'll bite the bullet and do a ptr because it helps just talking through all your plans. Things have changed a lot since the last time we went so I've been relearning everything the last couple months.
I love disboards because my husband (and everyone else I know) thinks I'm crazy for planning so far ahead lol. But here I'm behind

Doing a PTR definitely helps to think through your plans and see different perspectives and ideas from other people.
I wouldn't say youre behind. I think now is a great time to get started. Start getting all your ideas laid out, park hours should be release in a month or so, so you can get a schedule and ADRs you want sorted out and before you know it you'll be at your 180 day mark!
If you start too early you'll end up changing your schedule 71,848 times like I did anyway

 

[FantasiaMagic]

When I was booking dining for my upcoming trip in July, it looked like you could book big groups online... Like up to 20 something people. But I understand it might be easier to call up and book some dining for such a big group.
If you don't mind me asking, are you and your husband planning on booking some dining on your own?

 

[vrajewski10513]

When I was booking dining for my upcoming trip in July, it looked like you could book big groups online... Like up to 20 something people. But I understand it might be easier to call up and book some dining for such a big group.
If you don't mind me asking, are you and your husband planning on booking some dining on your own?

I would totally prefer to do it myself, so if I can get it done online that would be fantastic! Me and DH were planning on having one dinner on our own because we will actually be down there for our 3rd anniversary on October 5th, but we're really excited about everyone trying all the different restaurants so we probably won't end up doing any dinners alone lol

 

[FantasiaMagic]

Me and DH were planning on having one dinner on our own because we will actually be down there for our 3rd anniversary on October 5th,

Aw! Being in Disney seems like a perfect way to spend your anniversary!

 

[vrajewski10513]

So hopefully I haven't lost ALL my readers considering I haven't had anything even remotely interesting to write about

We're coming into the home stretch, and I PROMISE the report will pick up!

We have an appointment at AAA on Thursday which should be interesting...
A little back story on that. My FiL has been with his company for 25 years, and for that they gave him a $3,000 AAA travel voucher as a gift. Now, he could use that to book his Disney trip through AAA, but with us trying to get free dining, and my BiL wanting to use his Chase Disney card for the trip for the points (FiL, his wife, BiL, SiL, and nephew are sharing a room), they ultimately decided against having AAA book the entire trip for them. SO, the plan we came up with is the have my FiL use his voucher to pay for the airfare for all of us (and we would pay him back obviously) and use whatevers left over to buy tickets for Universal Studios for their group.

So back to our appointment on Thursday... We were actually ready to go book flights last week. We were hell bent on flying Jet Blue. Its our favorite airline (Until Jet Blue stopped allowing one bag to fly free) Jet Blue released flights for our dates on Super Bowl Sunday. I hopped on to check how much flights were... for 2 people to fly, BUF to MCO, with the Blue Plus tickets (includes one checked bag) it was going to cost upwards of $630 HECK NO! Although I LOATHE Southwest's boarding process, We're probably going to end up flying SW due to the fact that their prices are generally lower, baggage flies free, and the early flight down and late flight back really appeal to us. SO Southwest flights come out on Thursday, hence, our Thursday appointment with AAA.

Hopefully I'll have some good news to report back with that.

REALLY hope they release September/October park hours at the end of this month. I'd love to have a little bit of time to tweak my plan based on ACTUAL hours before we need to book dining!​

 

[FantasiaMagic]

So hopefully I haven't lost ALL my readers considering I haven't had anything even remotely interesting to write about

Don't worry, I'm still here!

So back to our appointment on Thursday... We were actually ready to go book flights last week. We were hell bent on flying Jet Blue. Its our favorite airline (Until Jet Blue stopped allowing one bag to fly free)

Oh I feel! I was very angry when that happened. Having a free checked bag was one of the best things about JetBlue. When comparing the regular non checked bag price, with the Blue Plus price, it usually isn't too bad, making the checked bag pretty worth it IMO.

Although I LOATHE Southwest's boarding process, We're probably going to end up flying SW due to the fact that their prices are generally lower, baggage flies free, and the early flight down and late flight back really appeal to us.

I have never flown SW before, but for future reference and out of curiosity - what happens during SW's boarding process?

Hopefully I'll have some good news to report back with that.

I hope you do too!

REALLY hope they release September/October park hours at the end of this month. I'd love to have a little bit of time to tweak my plan based on ACTUAL hours before we need to book dining!

I hope they come out for you soon as well. The problem with the park hours is that they will come out but then when it gets closer to the date, Disney will sometimes change them, especially making the park open an hour earlier. I believe this usually happens during more busy times, and they know there are going to be high volumes of crowds, like Spring Break (that happened for my trip), but since you are going in the fall you should probably be ok.