The Split Personality Pre Trip Report (May 2015) - Back Home with a Quick Update (5/18)

[AMCB1022]

Joining in! So happy to know I'm not the only one that does spreadsheets for vacations!

 

[irene_dsc]

Maybe reading about your spreadsheets is what made me realize I needed to update mine...

 

[cajunfan]

Looks like we will be in MK at the same time that evening. Always a great start to a trip.

We need to compare park days and see if we can meet up. I am starving now after reading your report! LOL!

Joining in! So happy to know I'm not the only one that does spreadsheets for vacations!

Maybe reading about your spreadsheets is what made me realize I needed to update mine...

Spreadsheets are my friends. And glad to know there are others out there like me. They learn to appreciate my spreadsheets once they have traveled with me.

 

[cajunfan]

Day 2 Plans
Our plans for day two start with rope drop at AK.

Yes, I am trying to kill us.

I know we had a late night, and this is an early morning, but I am really trying to make sure Matt gets to do his “Must dos”. We will eat breakfast in the room. Our FP+ for this day will be for our second park of the day. The only firm thing we want to do here is Kilimanjaro Safaris. Matt has a new camera and I think he will enjoy taking pictures here. He also wants to do Rafiki’s Planet Watch/Train. I think he might be a little disappointed in this, but I don’t mind it, so we will do this after the Safari since it is right there. We may venture over to the animal trails…it depends on heat and if he has had enough fill of animals yet. We will check out the fit for the Expedition Everest cars…I’ve gained a bit of weight since the last visit…if we fit, we will go on the single rider or standby line depending on time. The only other thing we might do here today is Kali River Rapids. I want to get out of this park by noon/1pm.
Here is my dilemma for this day. We will be spending the evening part of the day at Epcot before joining some local friends for dinner at Narcoossee’s at 8:55pm.
What do we do about lunch and food before the late dinner?

I currently have an ADR at Beaches and Cream (A first for me and the others) at 4:00pm. I figured we could a light snack (and ice cream) here so that we are not hungry while waiting for dinner. Then another option would be to make this ADR for about 1:30-2 and go straight from AK to the ADR, then go back to the room and rest before heading to Epcot. If we get a little hungry then, we can try one of the food booths that will be there for the Flower and Garden Festival. This option is looking more appealing to me at the moment.

Either way, we have the following FP+ for Epcot this evening:

• Soarin 5:20-6:20
• Mission Space 5:30-7:30

We will see if we can fit Test Track in here this night too. I need to flesh out these plans.

Then we will end the night with a late dinner at Narcoossee's with some friends that I have not seen since the last time I was in WDW.

Lynn

 

[DMGeurts]

YOur AK day sounds great!

For lunch - how about doing FTBBQ before leaving AK? I haven't eaten there for a recent trip, but we have eaten there and enjoyed it very much. Then you don't have to do so much "traveling" around and you'll have more time to rest in between parks. Just an idea.

Love your FPs... We always do Soarin'... It's our favorite!

D~

 

[cajunfan]

YOur AK day sounds great!

For lunch - how about doing FTBBQ before leaving AK? I haven't eaten there for a recent trip, but we have eaten there and enjoyed it very much. Then you don't have to do so much "traveling" around and you'll have more time to rest in between parks. Just an idea.

Love your FPs... We always do Soarin'... It's our favorite!

D~

We are considering that D~. I just need to figure out where to squeeze in Beaches and Cream. I have never been there and {close your eyes and ears D~} I NEED a No Way Jose. LOL!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

I personally would keep the 4pm adr and rest before. traveling from ak to beaches to art of animation and back to epcot is A LOT of traveling in your day.

 

[cajunfan]

I personally would keep the 4pm adr and rest before. traveling from ak to beaches to art of animation and back to epcot is A LOT of traveling in your day.

I am going to keep it right now. I have also picked up an ADR for around 1pm on our last Saturday there. Right now that is scheduled as a Star Wars Day. So, I thought that would be an easy place to get to, and I am not real fond of the counter service places in HS, so this may work. A lot of "ifs" in the air right now. But at least I have it so I can get that No Way Jose....

 

[chunkymonkey]

Hi Lynn! My name is Su-Lynn so needless to say, I love your name!

I'll be in WDW with my hubby and sister close to when you are going: May 15-22. We're also staying at AoA! We're in a Cars Family Suite. I loved the AoA the last time I stayed there in a Nemo suite!
You all will have an amazing time at the resort!
Our FP+ just opened up a few days ago. I definitely got the Anna and Elsa too so I'm happy!

Looking forward to following along!

 

[cajunfan]

Hi Lynn! My name is Su-Lynn so needless to say, I love your name!

I'll be in WDW with my hubby and sister close to when you are going: May 15-22. We're also staying at AoA! We're in a Cars Family Suite. I loved the AoA the last time I stayed there in a Nemo suite!
You all will have an amazing time at the resort!
Our FP+ just opened up a few days ago. I definitely got the Anna and Elsa too so I'm happy!

Looking forward to following along!

Su-Lynn!

I have started reading your PTR...but it was late, so I need to definitely go back and finish it. We will have to check and see if our paths will cross in the two days that our trips overlap! It looks like right now we will be at the Star Wars Breakfast near the same time. (this is an ADR in question though...I want to hold onto it as long as I can, but finances may force us to drop it)

 

[cajunfan]

Possible plan changes for Saturday...Well I think we may skip Beaches & Cream on that first Saturday and grab lunch before we leave AK for the day…it will probably be Flame Tree BBQ as I have never eaten there and everyone seems to like it. If we get hungry for a snack while we are in Epcot before dinner we can try one of the food booths at the Flower and Garden show or Sunshine Seasons. I have booked Beaches & Cream for the second Saturday we are there, so I will have my No Way Jose.

So onto plans for

Day 3

It’s Mother’s Day today.

Our plans today lead us to Hollywood Studios.

Our FP+ for the day are:

· Toy Story Midway Mania 9:20-10:20
· Star Tours 10:25-11:25
· Tower of Terror 11:30-12:30

We also have a Fantasmic! Dinner Package booked for Mama Melrose for 3:45

So today I could let them sleep in since our first FP+ is not until 9:20, but I won’t. We will be at rope drop here too. We will try to ride Toy Story through the stand by line then turn around and ride with our FP+. I think both Matt and Sabrina will like this one. I know it is one of my favorites! (although it will be bittersweet since I normally ride it with my son (who will not be joining us this trip)). Of course once we finish this one, we will hike over to Star Tours. This should be interesting. I am looking forward to seeing the new version (since it has been re-vamped since the last time I was there). Sabrina said that she was so small the last time she went on this, they did not tighten her seatbelt enough and she flew out of it. She is a little nervous about going on it. Matt on the other hand, will just be giggly about this one. He is a Star Wars nerd. I am sure we will get a gazzilion pictures from here. He will of course have to have a picture of himself on the racers outside the bathroom. And we may have to drag him out of the dump shop…I think the only thing that may get him to leave is, knowing that we are coming back for Star Wars weekend later in the trip. We then will head over to Tower of Terror. I think we will all enjoy this one. We will try to then either get a FP+ or ride Rockin Roller Coaster in the stand by line…just depends on FP+ availability and the wait for the line. The only other things anyone has expressed any interest in here is to see The Little Mermaid Show and/or the Beauty & the Beast Show. I had heard this one was closing but have never heard any details on it. Anyone know if/when it will close? I also think that both Sabrina and Matt would enjoy One Man’s Dream, so if they are up to it we will do that too.

Fantasmic! is my favorite nighttime show. So I definitely want to see it. I am just unsure if I want to fork the money over for the reserved seating. It is a slow time of the year, and it is such a big theatre, I am not a big Italian Food fan (we had the Star Wars Dinner at H &V but could not add Sabrina onto this one so switched it to Mama Melrose), so I am seriously considering canceling this ADR. We may also wait to see Fantasmic! on Thursday when the rest of the gang is here. It all depends on if everyone thinks Zoe will be okay with it.

And this evening, PRINCESS ZOE arrives! They will have been on the road 8-10 hours, so they are not planning on a park on this day. They will have the opportunity to explore the resort and swim. We may be joining them!

That’s it for now! Will continue tomorrow or later in the week.

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Looks like some good Plans. I haven't heard Many good things about Mama Melrose. Last review I read was downright awful! My Vote is to keep trying for A Star wars H&V. The closer we get the better the chance. Also you may Want to try getting an adr w/o the F! package you May have better luck.

 

[irene_dsc]

Sounds good. I can't remember if we did Flame Tree BBQ on our other trip - if we did, it wasn't very memorable. I also wasn't brave enough to do ToT, lol. And since we aren't planning on going to HS this time, I guess I still won't! Maybe someday I'll do Fantasmic.

 

[cajunfan]

Looks like some good Plans. I haven't heard Many good things about Mama Melrose. Last review I read was downright awful! My Vote is to keep trying for A Star wars H&V. The closer we get the better the chance. Also you may Want to try getting an adr w/o the F! package you May have better luck.

I have heard it is okay. I think we are just going to do counter service here and call it a day. We are also in the process of re-thinking our ADRs. Matt is currently unemployed which not only impacts his income but mine too. And since we are pretty much footing the bill for this trip, we are re-thinking some things. We were trying to hold off as long as we could to see if anything came for him, but it hasn't so we will see what we can do. Also, I think my sister and niece think that Zoe will be okay with Fantasmic! we will see it when they are here instead of this Sunday.

Sounds good. I can't remember if we did Flame Tree BBQ on our other trip - if we did, it wasn't very memorable. I also wasn't brave enough to do ToT, lol. And since we aren't planning on going to HS this time, I guess I still won't! Maybe someday I'll do Fantasmic.

You need to do Fantasmic! It is AWESOME!

 

[cajunfan]

So I am finally getting the countdown kit into the mail this week.

Here is what is included:



Paper strips and lots of stickers to decorate them with.



Glue sticks, crayons, princess straws, princess bubbles and princess tissues.



Princess scissors



Frozen duck tape...cause Matt thought she needed some!



Foam tiaras and decorations...cause everyone needs to look like a princess while they are making their countdown chain.



A Princess bank to save her money in for her souvies from the trip



Princess stationary set.



Jasmine shoes because they were out of her size at Christmas time.




Folders of Maps for each person to do some planning.



And the maps included in each folder.

Hopefully, they will have fin putting the chain together and taking it apart as the days go by!

That's it for tonight folks. I may have some more changes coming tomorrow. We will see how the day goes.

 

[irene_dsc]

Maybe some day we'll come back and see Fantasmic...not wanting to add hoppers or another day of tickets...and I'd rather have the full day at each of the other parks.

Also, unemployment sucks. Good luck to Matt with the job hunt. Cutting dinner ADR's is probably a smart move. We only have breakfast and lunch ts planned, partly due to how much dining costs have gone up.

 

[mdsouth]

Your first day plans look great! Glad you got the Pirates ADR and will have a chance to ride it before it closes for rehab. Ohana's is an ideal first meal at Disney! It is by far my family's favorite restaurant experience!

Wow! I wish I had the Countdown Kit to play with! That would be so fun to receive in the mail! I saw the Frozen duct tape at the store the other day and thought about getting it for my daughter, so I think Matt's addition will be a hit.

The princess bank is such a neat idea to help her save her money for the trip.

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Well done! Very cute!

 

[cajunfan]

Maybe some day we'll come back and see Fantasmic...not wanting to add hoppers or another day of tickets...and I'd rather have the full day at each of the other parks.

Also, unemployment sucks. Good luck to Matt with the job hunt. Cutting dinner ADR's is probably a smart move. We only have breakfast and lunch ts planned, partly due to how much dining costs have gone up.

I understand about not wanting to add the expense of park hoppers. We are fortunate that our tickets are park hoppers, and we intend to use them a lot LOL!

Your first day plans look great! Glad you got the Pirates ADR and will have a chance to ride it before it closes for rehab. Ohana's is an ideal first meal at Disney! It is by far my family's favorite restaurant experience!

Wow! I wish I had the Countdown Kit to play with! That would be so fun to receive in the mail! I saw the Frozen duct tape at the store the other day and thought about getting it for my daughter, so I think Matt's addition will be a hit.

The princess bank is such a neat idea to help her save her money for the trip.

Like I said, I LOVE Ohana's, and I feel the others will really enjoy it too. Glad to hear you thought the duck tape was a good idea. Her Aunt Kim will have fun with it (my sister who is coming with us), but Zoe is I think a little too young to deal with it, but I may be wrong! I kinda wanted to make a paper chain for me too. I gave a mini version of it to Sabrina for her house (and one to make a chain for her mom while she is gone...they are very close and momma is going to miss her). The bank was a bargain at the local Disney Store Outlet.

Well done! Very cute!

Thanks!

 

[cajunfan]

So, lot's of changes today.

First I got some Mickey Mail!



The updated room reservation with Sabrina added to the room.

Only one problem with it.

We changed resorts today.

Yes you read that...we changed resorts today. You see, I had a really great discount rate for All Star Music Family Suites that saved us $600. Considering our finances at this point, we really needed to do it. Funny thing is, I think I am the most disappointed about not being at Art of Animation. Everyone else was like, it's just a room, and we will still have a great time. That is why I am bringing these people with me. I like them! A lot! LOL!

So it looks like we will be getting more Mickey Mail soon.

In other news, we have decided to drop the Fantasmic! Dinner Package and probably Narcoossee's with my friends. They will understand, and hopefully they will come walk around Epcot with us and we can all try the food booths at Flower and Garden...or we may see if they want to go to Downtown Disney. Either one, we just know that at this point we can not afford to do Narcoossee's. We will have to save it for another trip.

That is it right now.

Talk to you all tomorrow night hopefully.

I have a meeting with a seamstress for some trip shirts. I can't wait!

Lynn