The Quest For 15K & 18 FP+ ~ A Marathon Weekend 2016 PTR - TR Link, Page 18

[SarahDisney]

Wait a minute... 1 CM said 17 was the most she had seen??? I'm sure that has been beat by now. You'd better make it 20 just to be safe. I mean if you're going to break a record go all out!

You're killing me, Andy. 18 isn't enough for you??? I thought 17 was a crazy high number when I heard it, I don't need that number to be any higher!
That said ... I have been thinking about tweeting the WDW cast twitter account and asking them. But I'm afraid of what they might answer.

Ok... if your goal is to destroy 17, I see something that might be able to work to your strategic advantage. Book 3 FP+ starting with park opening. Use the first one... and then I think you can get on the app and move the next one up so you can use it earlier if there is availability. You could burn through those first 3 in an hour and be on your 4th even sooner.

So, most likely 2 of our 3 FP+ will be 7DMT and Peter Pan, neither of which we will be able to move. I'm figuring about 1.5-1.75 hours for CRT, meaning we'll get out between 9:45 and 10, and use our first FP+ in the latter half of the window. We might be okay with a FP+ from 9-10 (park is currently scheduled to open at 9, and I don't see that changing unless they move EMH), but since we've never done CRT before I don't know how long it will take, so I want the extra 15 minute cushion. Hence 9:15 - 10:15.
FP+ 1 & 2 will be the two we can't move, so if we have time in between, we'll do non-FP+ things (like the carousel and/or a character or two). FP+ #3 will depend on what we use our FP+ for on MK Day #1. If it's something that we can move easily, we'll move it (and then be ready for FP+ before 11 ... so that's burning through the first 3 in less than 2 hours). But it's possible that it will be something we can't move and we'll have to wait until our originally scheduled window opens to use the FP+. We'll know a little more about that in a month or so (once FP+ day comes).
But yeah, CRT is a little getting in the way of the quest. But since this may be the only time I have a trip booked this far in advance, I'm not giving up my princesses!

My money is riding on a minimum of 20 FP+. I have faith in you, Sarah!

You people are setting the bar really high here! Remember that I have to eat at some point in time or I get super cranky (ditto for Beth). And I drink a lot of water, so unless I can FP+ the Tangled restrooms, there will be breaks that need to be accounted for too! Oh, and we want to do 7DMT at night, so that'll mean a little bit of time on the standby line (but hopefully not when it's too long).
Last year we did a fastpass every 40 minutes or so. I want to get it closer to every 30 minutes this trip. Let's say we have 9 hours from our first kiosk visit to park close ... maybe we can get in 18. Plus our original 3 makes 21. But that's assuming everything goes well and we plan well and we work on our speed. I think 18 will really be hard enough.

 

[NJlauren]

Before I read the update I thought for sure you picked 18 for luck.....so why not go for 36.... Kidding kidding

I am really excited to hear what your FPs are and then your TR so we can see how successful you are!

 

[SarahDisney]

Before I read the update I thought for sure you picked 18 for luck.....so why not go for 36.... Kidding kidding

That would have been a very different update ... "Why 18? Because it's the most Jewish number ever and it represents life, so it's a really lucky number!"
Plus, if we chose 18 for luck, then if we hit 18 before the day ended, we'd have to change our goal to 36, and that's just too much. This way if we hit 18 before the day ends we can change our goal to 19 or 20.

I am really excited to hear what your FPs are and then your TR so we can see how successful you are!

22 days until FP+ day ... so you'll probably hear about them within the next month or so.
And about 90 days until the TR ... but since the FP+ quest is on day 7, it'll probably be like 6 months or so until I actually get to it...

 

[huggybuff]

). And I drink a lot of water, so unless I can FP+ the Tangled restrooms, there will be breaks that need to be accounted for too!

And about 90 days until the TR ... but since the FP+ quest is on day 7, it'll probably be like 6 months or so until I actually get to it...

Hee. I thought I was slow.



Your plan sounds like an excellent and fun experiment. I wish you luck!!!

 

[SarahDisney]

Hee. I thought I was slow.

Yeah, I have a very interesting relationship with the internet. I could knock out the entire TR in like a week, but I wouldn't sleep. So if I want to sleep, it'll take a while.

Your plan sounds like an excellent and fun experiment. I wish you luck!!!

Thanks! We know that whether or not we reach our goal, we'll definitely have fun trying!

 

[SarahDisney]

75 Days Out … An Update​

We’re officially 75 days out from the trip, so I figured it’s time for an update.

To-Do List:
Let’s start with things from my 4 month to-do list that have been (at least partially) taken care of:

• DVC Sales Pitch – I did it and the gift card has arrived. It made me want to buy DVC, but … it makes no sense for us right now. Of course, to add insult to injury, shortly after I spoke to the DVC sales person and said that we had decided it wasn’t right for us right now … my cousin informed us that his family had just bought DVC. At Bay Lake Tower. I’m happy for them, but it hurt a little to hear that. They’re going for Thanksgiving (doing Thanksgiving at BOG … I’m super jealous). I asked Beth if she though he’d let us borrow their points sometime. She said yes. I wasn’t so sure … I think he wants to use those points for himself … he seemed annoyed enough that his daughter was going down with friends and using their points.
• Magical Express – As previously mentioned, I called up and added it. No problem. But I so wish flight info showed up on My Disney Experience. That’s the one reason I consider using TripIt for Disney trips (but I don’t just because it doesn’t really serve much of a purpose for Disney).
• Dumbo Running Skirt – Okay, so this isn’t actually done, but the fabric is sitting on the chair in my room and I will start cutting it up over the next week or so. From there it’s just 2-3 weeks of intense sewing – I’m hoping to have it done in either late November or early December.
• Yellow MagicBand – Done. See picture below.
• Stay/Play/Dine – I looked at it, it made no sense for us. We really don’t eat much at Disney (and a lot of what we eat we bring). We did get a tiny discount (like less than $100) on our existing reservation using the Spring 2016 offer. I’m not thrilled, but it’s better than nothing.

Really, all that’s left from that to-do list is finishing the Dumbo skirt, ordering Memory Maker, and dealing with the kosher food for the ADRs.

MagicBands:
Since I’ve already mentioned MagicBands, here are the MBs I have:

Green is from October 2013, Purple (originally gray) is from November 2014, and Yellow is from February 2015. I’m still trying to decide what color to get for this trip, but I have time.

FastPass+:
Our FP+ selection date is in just over 2 weeks. We haven’t really started making our wishlist yet, but it’s on our radar. Maybe over the weekend we’ll look at it. I have a few other things on my mind right now, but I know that this is something we need to set aside some time to think about. And since FP+ day is a Friday and Beth doesn’t have school, we’ll stay up until midnight and do them together.

Attractions:
As some of you may be aware, Soarin’ is going down for a long refurb on January 4th. We arrive the 5th and are headed to Epcot on the 10th. We like Soarin’, but not enough that we’re crying over the fact that it’s down. It’s one less thing for us to do, but also one less line (we generally do standby and save our FP+ for Test Track).

Here’s something scary, though … we had a big family thing this past weekend. And two of my cousins (one of whom is the one who just bought into DVC) were trying to convince me that they’re getting rid of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. They had nothing to say about what would be replacing it. I know this can’t be collusion because these are two people who don’t talk to each other outside of major family events. Drunkenness may be a possible explanation depending on when over the course of the weekend this came up (I don’t remember exactly when the conversation happened, but there was plenty of drinking going on). But still … has anyone heard anything to this effect? Or were they having a collective drunken hallucination?

Running:
Beth is very close to 5 miles. Like, she could have made it there last run, but she decided not to. However … she hasn’t run in over a week. She’s got a minor foot injury and is not allowed to run until she’s been pain-free for a week. The plan is for her to start running again next week … which might be too soon, but we’ll see.
As for me … some of you may know that I am planning to run the 2016 Disneyland Half Marathon as my first half marathon (in September 2016 ... so I still have time). For a few reasons, but I won’t really get into them here. The reason I mention it, though, is that now that I’ve passed the 10K mark, I figured it that it would be cool to mark my progress based on how far I’ve gotten along the 2015 course:

At 7 miles, I’ve finished my in-park segment and I’m out on the streets of Anaheim. Only about a mile until I run past the Honda Center, home of the (formerly Disney-owned) Anaheim Ducks! Yay hockey! Plus, the Honda Center was in D2 (it was then known as Arrowhead Pond), so … double score. Something to look forward to in a little over a mile!
Oh, and my knee is fine. I graduated from physical therapy today (and didn't even get a t-shirt because they were out). I would be more excited … except that if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last few weeks, it’s that there was no reason for me to be going to physical therapy in the first place because there was nothing actually wrong with my knee that a little time couldn’t solve. Yeah.

So … that’s my “75 days out” update. Hopefully I’ll have some outfit updates soon, and after FP+ day comes I’ll start posting our general daily plans. So expect to see a little more action on this here PTR coming up soonish!

 

[rteetz]

Great update! I probably should make an update for my PTR as I haven't done much in a while.

Excited for FP day in just about two weeks.

I was bummed about Soarin. I knew it was going down in January but I was hoping I'd get to ride it one last time since I haven't ridden since 2012.

Football is over for me so I'm in full training mode now.

 

[SarahDisney]

Great update! I probably should make an update for my PTR as I haven't done much in a while.

Thanks. I think there's not much to update at this point in the planning ... it's the boring stage of PTR time. I'm sure you'll have plenty to update about in a few weeks!

Excited for FP day in just about two weeks.

Definitely. We're hoping to start figuring out what we want soon. Do you know what you're hoping to get?

I was bummed about Soarin. I knew it was going down in January but I was hoping I'd get to ride it one last time since I haven't ridden since 2012.

I had also heard it would go down in January, but I was hoping it would be later in the month. Oh well, it's sad, but hopefully the new queue will be nice and the projectors will make the video even better!

Football is over for me so I'm in full training mode now.

I did not realize that football season ended so early (the only football I know is NFL, and they're not even halfway through). It's great that you now have more time for training!

 

[rteetz]

Thanks. I think there's not much to update at this point in the planning ... it's the boring stage of PTR time. I'm sure you'll have plenty to update about in a few weeks!



Definitely. We're hoping to start figuring out what we want soon. Do you know what you're hoping to get?



I had also heard it would go down in January, but I was hoping it would be later in the month. Oh well, it's sad, but hopefully the new queue will be nice and the projectors will make the video even better!



I did not realize that football season ended so early (the only football I know is NFL, and they're not even halfway through). It's great that you now have more time for training!

I just posted an update.

I have a good idea of the FPs I want so I am prepared.

I agree and don't forget about the new Soarin' film

Well we play 9 regular season games and we just missed the playoffs by one game so we are finished.

 

[Elevationist]

Collective drunken hallucination. I'm fairly certain that Winnie the Pooh is safe. No amount of googling has brought up so much as a rumor about it for me this morning.

 

[Keels]

I'm pretty sure y'all are missing me taking you to breakfast/brunch to celebrate after the 10k ... just sayin'.

ETA: Also ... if you have breakfast with me, I can drive you to AK - thus, you get a meal AND private transportation in the same time it would likely take you to take a bus! Win win!

 

[NJlauren]

<--- me waiting to see a running skirt! A dumbo one!!

Less then 2 weeks till FP! Can't wait to hear what you get especially for your MK 18+ day!

Did you decide on getting the memory maker? I know you were on the fence but couldn't remember for sure i f you decided to gt it, but from above it seems like you did!

 

[SarahDisney]

Collective drunken hallucination. I'm fairly certain that Winnie the Pooh is safe. No amount of googling has brought up so much as a rumor about it for me this morning.

Okay, good. I thought they were crazy, but it was a scary moment there.
I did a quick Google and didn't find anything, but I wasn't sure if I was just missing something.

I'm pretty sure y'all are missing me taking you to breakfast/brunch to celebrate after the 10k ... just sayin'.

ETA: Also ... if you have breakfast with me, I can drive you to AK - thus, you get a meal AND private transportation in the same time it would likely take you to take a bus! Win win!

You're forgetting that I can't really eat Disney food, so breakfast for us is usually whatever we bring from home.
Also, we have to leave AK by 3ish, so we'll most likely be skipping breakfast that day so that we can get there earlier.

But I definitely want to see you at Epcot on Sunday to celebrate your conquering Dopey!

<--- me waiting to see a running skirt! A dumbo one!!

I haven't started it yet! Hopefully I'll have it done in a month or so. I need to finish one thing on a different skirt before I start it, but hopefully I'll start cutting the material over the next few days. Sewing takes a while because I don't have a sewing machine and I have to do it all by hand, but based on the timing of my last skirt attempt, it should take a few weeks to month.

Did you decide on getting the memory maker? I know you were on the fence but couldn't remember for sure i f you decided to gt it, but from above it seems like you did!

We decided we're probably getting it. We're not 100% sure. We'll make the final decision some time soon.

 

[afwdwfan]

As some of you may be aware, Soarin’ is going down for a long refurb on January 4th. We arrive the 5th and are headed to Epcot on the 10th. We like Soarin’, but not enough that we’re crying over the fact that it’s down. It’s one less thing for us to do, but also one less line (we generally do standby and save our FP+ for Test Track).

I saw that. Kind of a disappointment, but Soarin' has never been my number 1 favorite or anything, and it is overdue for a refurb. I was really hoping that they'd build that third theater without closing the other 2 and then just take one of them out at a time to complete the updates while keeping the ride operational. Oh well.

But still … has anyone heard anything to this effect? Or were they having a collective drunken hallucination?

No. I think they were drunk. I've heard/seen nothing about Winnie the Pooh. And if you just take a step back and look at it, it really makes no sense. They've pumped a ton of money into Fantasyland without touching this attraction, it is still popular and tends to have decent lines. And you really don't hear about it being difficult to maintain. I just don't see any solid evidence that you can even loosely base this rumor on.

Oh, and my knee is fine. I graduated from physical therapy today (and didn't even get a t-shirt because they were out). I would be more excited … except that if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last few weeks, it’s that there was no reason for me to be going to physical therapy in the first place because there was nothing actually wrong with my knee that a little time couldn’t solve. Yeah.

I'm glad your knee is fine!

I'm sorry that you found out after PT that it wasn't something you actually needed PT for though.

 

[SarahDisney]

I saw that. Kind of a disappointment, but Soarin' has never been my number 1 favorite or anything, and it is overdue for a refurb. I was really hoping that they'd build that third theater without closing the other 2 and then just take one of them out at a time to complete the updates while keeping the ride operational. Oh well.

Ditto. I was hoping they wouldn't have to take the two existing theaters offline to get the third one up and running, but it is what it is. I can survive the trip without it (and hopefully you can survive your trip without it too).

No. I think they were drunk. I've heard/seen nothing about Winnie the Pooh. And if you just take a step back and look at it, it really makes no sense. They've pumped a ton of money into Fantasyland without touching this attraction, it is still popular and tends to have decent lines. And you really don't hear about it being difficult to maintain. I just don't see any solid evidence that you can even loosely base this rumor on.

I totally agree about it not making sense. It really seemed wrong to me when they said it, so I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought they were wrong.
The moral of the story is that we should not drink so much at my family events.
That or never listen to the family troublemaker.

I'm glad your knee is fine!

I'm sorry that you found out after PT that it wasn't something you actually needed PT for though.

Thanks!
The PT was actually helpful ... I just could have done without it. It did lead to a minor lifestyle change that should help me, so I guess it'sa good thing I went, even if I didn't really need it.

 

[huggybuff]

The moral of the story is that we should not drink so much at my family events.

Drinking is how some of us get through such family events.

 

[SarahDisney]

Drinking is how some of us get through such family events.

I never said no drinking. Just maybe a little less drinking.

 

[KathyM2]

Great update! I can't wait to see your running skirt and home made at that...so impressive. I haven't heard any rumours about WTP...and isn't that ride like relatively new and they just added the new interactive queue and stuff? That would be pretty crazy of them you would think...and after just adding NFL and all? I guess you never know, but it seems pretty far fetched to me!!

 

[SarahDisney]

Great update! I can't wait to see your running skirt and home made at that...so impressive. I haven't heard any rumours about WTP...and isn't that ride like relatively new and they just added the new interactive queue and stuff? That would be pretty crazy of them you would think...and after just adding NFL and all? I guess you never know, but it seems pretty far fetched to me!!

The running skirt isn't that impressive ... but I'll be posting pictures when I finish the second skirt.

I thought the Winnie the Pooh rumor was crazy ... it made no sense to me. But I had to check with the people who would know.

 

[momabaarjo]

I am still worshiping your fast pass goal! Can't wait to see your skirt!!! 7 miles...you got this! How is Beth's foot?