06/06-06/11 Assault on Disney's Beaches: Update 8/13, Swag Pics on last page

[swwake]

Sounds like a fun-filled couple of days. Based on your screen name, I was gonna ask - you know that you can actually SURF the wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon before the park opens, right? We wanted to do that the last trip, but they closed the device that generates the larger waves for maintenance. We have scheduled to surf this trip, but we have to get up at 5am! But we figure it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so we're very excited about it.

Just didn't know if you knew this was available, or if you'd be interested.

 

[SurfinTX]

Yes I have surfed the mighty gulf "curls". I have to tell you one day about me escaping Rita from Surfside, TX.

Beyond the cost it would be only me and maybe Dianna actually surfing. I know you can bring a few people to watch but to wake up that early and having the kids hungry and cranky just doesn't seem like a good recipe for the rest of the day. I figure some body surfing as well as snorkling with the sharks will be plenty of excitement that the whole family can enjoy.

 

[swwake]

You'll have to give us some tips on surfing the Third Coast. We've talked about Port A but haven't made it down there. I have been kiteboarding south of Galveston (if you could call it that - we never got in the water b/c it was Feb and too cold - but we navigated the kites from the beach). We've been to Padre once, but the water was flat. We always talk about heading to Port A in Oct/Nov during hurricane season when we hear about swells, but never make it.

Not that we're big surfers either. We have surfed at San Diego a couple of times (I never stood up on the board then). We've surfed a TON behind wakeboard boats, and we've surfed for a week on a Flowrider on Liberty of the Seas.

On our last trip, we went to Typhoon Lagoon. Even without the large wave builder, we had quite a good time body surfing on the smaller waves. Now that the large one is working again, I'm sure you and the family will have just as much fun body surfing. Save the TL surfing for a future trip!

(Am I your only reader?)

 

[SurfinTX]

You'll have to give us some tips on surfing the Third Coast. We've talked about Port A but haven't made it down there. I have been kiteboarding south of Galveston (if you could call it that - we never got in the water b/c it was Feb and too cold - but we navigated the kites from the beach). We've been to Padre once, but the water was flat. We always talk about heading to Port A in Oct/Nov during hurricane season when we hear about swells, but never make it.

Not that we're big surfers either. We have surfed at San Diego a couple of times (I never stood up on the board then). We've surfed a TON behind wakeboard boats, and we've surfed for a week on a Flowrider on Liberty of the Seas.

On our last trip, we went to Typhoon Lagoon. Even without the large wave builder, we had quite a good time body surfing on the smaller waves. Now that the large one is working again, I'm sure you and the family will have just as much fun body surfing. Save the TL surfing for a future trip!

(Am I your only reader?)

I have a few people who look at it online including family but none of them are posters. Hopefuly interest will grow as we get closer to the big date. I should be able to do a bit of live reporting while I'm there as well.

As far as tips I go to a website called Third Coast Surf to check on conditions and try to time when decent waves are rolling in. A few of my favorite places are Surfside Jetty and Bob Hall Pier near Corpus. The jetty near S. Padre Island can set up very nicely with a northwesterly wind as well. I'm having less and less time to go no with the family. It's a bit hard to jump up and go on less than ten hours notice.

 

[SurfinTX]

Day 5: Lions and Tigers and Dragons! Oh My!

Rise and shine! It's off to Animal Kingdom this morning to see the wildlife! We should be stirring around 7:30 and out at the park at 8:30.
Catch the intro at Oasis.
Power walk our way out to Kilimanjaro Safari while it's still early and the animals are about.
I will go FP running over at Expedition Everest and join everyone at Maharajah Jungle Trek.
After that we can catch Flights of Wonder at 10:00.
Then we can hop on the train to go out to Conservation Station. We will probably spend only an hour or so here.
Returning back we will either eat or go on Exp Everest. At the time we eat I will do the FP run for Dinosaur.
I will eat at Flame Tree BBQ. Everyone else will make up thier own minds about Pizzafari or Restarauntasarous. Too bad the bread sticks are no longer on the snack list. It was a lifesaver on our 2007 trip.
We move on into Dino Land and ride whatever interests us while the Dinosaur FP come up.
At 3:30 we need to have finished up here and move over to Festival of the Lion King. We might try a few character greets as well.
After 4:00 we leave the park and head back to the room. Get cleaned up so we can (yet again) go back to DHS for our 7:00 pm ADR at 50's Prime Time. Hopefully we can get out of there early enough to then catch the 9:00 pm showing of Fantasmic.
Then back to the room we go at a decent 10:00 pm hour.

Yes, there are a lot of things not on the list such as Nemo and I'ts Tough to be a Bug. When polling the children, though, seeing animals and thrill rides were top on the list. If we are extremely lucky and the non-EMH AK day does work out for us then we may see more.

 

[SurfinTX]

Day 6: It's So Hard to Say Goodbye

Our last day at Disney and now it's time to wrap things up...but it's not too late to see what we missed! Specificaly half of Magic Kingdom.

Eat a quick breakfast again and handle checking out in the morning. Monorail over to Magic Kingdom and make a left turn inside the park this time.
March all the way back to Frontierland and hit BTMRR and then FP it.
Splash Mountain is up next and then Pirates of the Carribean and Jungle Cruise.
Backtrack a bit and tour Tom Sawyer Island. Possibly go for a FP somewhere.
Eat lunch at El Pirata Y Perico or Pinochio's.
Then we start covering what we missed in other parts of the park or if we are lucky we might hop out to ride a few favorites. I won't determine the last few hours until the start of the day.
At 4:30 or so come back to the resort and clean up a bit. Maybe get one last bite of the Ahiahi before really saying goodbye.

Our drive back will consist of stopping in Talahassee that night and then continuing to Pensacola or Mobile during the day. Stopping again in Lafayette overnight and then limping our way back to Dallas sometime Sunday.

Well that's the plan. Now we just need to see if it all works out or not.

 

[jenbear123]

Hello! I didn't realize you had started writing a PTR until I saw it in your signature. Subbing!

You certainly have things planned to a T. That's a good thing. That's so exciting you get to see the new Summer Nightastic (I think that's what it's called) plus SW weekends while you're there. You better write a TR after you get back!

Have you eaten at all the places you have ADRs for before?

Don't worry about missing out on Nemo: The Musical. Not my cup of tea Have you seen it before?

 

[SurfinTX]

Hello! I didn't realize you had started writing a PTR until I saw it in your signature. Subbing!

You certainly have things planned to a T. That's a good thing. That's so exciting you get to see the new Summer Nightastic (I think that's what it's called) plus SW weekends while you're there. You better write a TR after you get back!

I plan to, don't worry! I might have a few live reports as well.

Have you eaten at all the places you have ADRs for before?

On my 2007 trip I ate at Teppan Edo, Coral Sea and 50's Prime Time.

Don't worry about missing out on Nemo: The Musical. Not my cup of tea Have you seen it before?

No. It's new since 2007. We will already be seeing the live stage show Lion King that day so two would be too much I think.

I'm glad you found my thread and hope you have a great trip as well!

 

[swwake]

I can't wait for the live trip report and the TR!

We actually enjoyed the Nemo show. It was also a great way for us to get out of the heat. It is very unique the way they incorporate the puppeteers' costumes into the puppets. A very refreshing show. However, I could also see it being on your "ok to miss" list.

 

[SurfinTX]

Two Months out. Where are we at?

Just a bit of an update after taking a break from work to be with the family over the weekend.

First of all the reservations for our travel days are now handled. Priceline decided to put us in Holiday Inns in orlando, Tallahasse, and Lafayette. At $50 a night at mostly 3 star ratings I'm not going to camplain at all.

Most of the rest of this week was tied up getting the Chrysler T&C in shape. In the last two weeks we have had the water pump as well as all of the shocks and struts replaced, new tires as well as alignment, oil change, and windshield wipers adjusted and replaced. Let me just say that Chrysler created a very nice mini-van as far as utility but need to beef it up a lot on the mechanical side of things. Still, it has over 90,000 miles and has yet to leave us in a lurch. All that is left is the wiper fluid pump that has gone out last month and then it should be tip top.

On the shopping front we are pretty much looking at all new clothes for most of us. I found a pink Star Wars shirt for Madison and a black tropical shirt for Kyler if you can believe it. I'm on the lookout for something tropical for me and Dianna as well as new shoes. Just about all mine are worn and would not do well marching through the parks.

Here is a random picture from my '07 trip for all my loyal readers.

 

[swwake]

That is a bargain on 3-star hotels!! Y'all will have so much fun and be comfortable and clean. Holiday Inn is great!

 

[AlohaAnnie]

Sounds like you have great plans! We will be at WDW the same time, and we will be at DHS for Starwars Weekends at the same time.

 

[SurfinTX]

53 days and boy a lot is happening on the Disney front as we continue to prepare for the assault on Disney's beaches.

First of all I have made some radical changes to the itenerary.

Ever since I posted the "plan" on the Disboards there were a few things nagging at me. The biggest problem I saw was that we travel to DHS on three separate days. The primary reason on Wednesday is to eat at Sci-Fi and then send the kids back to the room. From there me and Dianna can stroll or boat over to the Boardwalk for some alone time. Dianna is not comfortable letting the kids navigate back to the room even though I assured her after we get them to the bus Kyler will have no trouble. Now we have to take them back to the room to get them situated and then head back out indirectly or drive to Jelly Rolls.
Then the next day we go again to eat at 50's Prime Time, not really a must do, and then see Fantasmic, a must do and this after a full day at AK.

So now I'm sitting around thinking this is just not working out. Instead of being worried or freaking out lets turn this into an opportunity!

Pulling all my info out I began to notice a few things. Fantasmic is also showing Sunday during the Star Wars weekend. What if I try to pack a full day at DHS that first day? I will lose some resort time and a visit to MK on the first day of the Electrical Parade and Fireworks Spectacular but gain a lot of time the rest of the week. The other big effect if I do this is now Wed. we only have planned a half day at Typhoon Lagoon. What to do with all the rest??? Well, since we are already doing the waterpark lets add the WP and more option and do Disney Quest as well! So without further ado here is the new improved never to be revised again PLAN!

To free up as much time as possible later in the week there is now a change in the driving plan.

Leave Fri. 7:00 pm from home.
Drive directly to Disney with no stop at Pensacola.
Arrive at Holiday Inn outside Disney around 4:30 pm Sat.
Rest a bit and let the kids hit the pool if they want.
6:00 pm go to Downtown Disney. Shop for mouseears and eat at Planet Hollywood oop with discount that should have arrived by mail.
Head back to hotel and sleep.

Sun 6th

Everything the same until 4:00 pm.
Now we stay in the park and catch Indiana Jones, Muppet Vision 3D and Maybe Little Mermaid.
7:00 pm Hyperspace Hoopla.
7:15 Sci Fi Dining reservation.
9:00 Fantasmic
10:00 unpack and in bed.

Mon 7th

Epcot in a.m. does not change.
Head back to room at 3:30 pm.
Eat at lounge and Capt. Cooks oop.
Magic Kingdom 6:00 pm.
Do a few rides, whatever looks like a reasonable wait.
9:00 Electrical Parade
10:00 Fireworks Spectacular
Haunted Mansion and back to room around 11:00 pm.

Tue 8th

Unchanged. MK early EMH
Epcot late EMH.

Wed 9th

Typhoon Lagoon a.m.
Back to room between noon and 2 p.m.
Over to Downtown Disney at 3:00 pm and Disney Quest.
Eat at DQ or Wolfgang Pucks Express CS.
Leave Downtown Disney if we get tired and head back to room.

Thur 10th

AK early and stay later.
Get to see It's Tough to be a Bug and maybe get second ride on EE.
Head back to room and eat at 'Ohana 8:15 p.m. The lounge should tide us over.
Relax and pack up.

Fri 11th

MK early after checkout.
Stay in park until 5:00.
Go to lounge one last time.
Leave before 6 p.m.
Arrive at Talahassee around 9:00 pm.

Sat 12th

Drive to Pensacola.
Hang at beach until 4:00 pm.
Arrive at Lafayette at 9:00 pm.

Sun 13th

Head home and arrive in the evening.

We have found a few clothing items as well. Here is a pic of some of the Poly themed clothes I'll bring as well as a Star Wars shirt I found for Maddie.

That's it for now. Planning is half the fun right?

 

[swwake]

I like having all the free time at the end of the week. Wow, you're so organized! Love the new clothes!

 

[SurfinTX]

I like having all the free time at the end of the week. Wow, you're so organized! Love the new clothes!

Yeah. This trip is taking on a life of it's own but I'm sure after we are all done it will be interesting to see how much of this plan worked out.

Heck, I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop and Disney will change the schedules all up!

 

[SurfinTX]

Just a quick update. We have hit the 45 day mark and are now...

drum roll please...

PAID IN FULL!!

I think we are just about all set on the plans now and will be watching Disney to see if they make any last minute changes. Now off to find some good shoes!

 

[SurfinTX]

Well we are now exactly one month out from when we expect to leave for Disney. You can believe I'm watching things closely on the Gulf Coast right now. This oil spill is really pissing me off. The Alabama and Florida panhandle beaches are some of the prettiest in the world and to think that oil is washing up all along there is just... We will just wait and see but I have a feeling that we won't be stopping at Pensacola. I have brought it up to Dianna and we have tentatively agreed that maybe New Orleans could be a nice stopover before continuing to Lafayette.

The shopping continues and we have found a few more things to take to the parks .

and something arrived in the mail yesterday as well.

There are a few things I am tweeking as far as the park plans. In May Disney added a lot of second showings for Fantasmic and so I set up a slightly later ADR at Sci-Fi dining. Our 7:00 pm will be at the same time as the Hyperspace Hoopla and after seeing videos of it online I think it would be worth going to a later meal if Fantasmic does have a after 10:00 showing. Well, off to work for now.

 

[michellem1118]

Hmmm.... somehow I got unsubscribed from your thread... hopefully that's fixed now, and I'm all caught up.

I don't think I mentioned it before, but DH & I will be there at the same time as you guys... we're staying at Wilderness Lodge this trip. It doesn't look like any of our plans will overlap, except maybe Monday night at MK - we tend to avoid the EMH parks b/c of the crowds.

Oh, and you mentioned before (like a month ago, but I just read it now ) being concerned that the crowds would close parks early.... we only faced that once on our Christmas trip, which was a much more crowded week than early June will be.... so that shouldn't be a problem. We didn't even have a problem getting into a park (DHS) on NYE to see fireworks at 11:00pm!

 

[SurfinTX]

Hmmm.... somehow I got unsubscribed from your thread... hopefully that's fixed now, and I'm all caught up.

I don't think I mentioned it before, but DH & I will be there at the same time as you guys... we're staying at Wilderness Lodge this trip. It doesn't look like any of our plans will overlap, except maybe Monday night at MK - we tend to avoid the EMH parks b/c of the crowds.

Oh, and you mentioned before (like a month ago, but I just read it now ) being concerned that the crowds would close parks early.... we only faced that once on our Christmas trip, which was a much more crowded week than early June will be.... so that shouldn't be a problem. We didn't even have a problem getting into a park (DHS) on NYE to see fireworks at 11:00pm!

Welcome back! I was a bit worried about MK on Sunday being a madhouse but with our changes we will do the evening on Monday. That leaves us with only a morning EMH at MK on Tuesday and an evening EMH at Epcot. That will be a huge day and we will see if the kids can handle it. Two TS services should help.

At this time in one month we should be checked in at the Holiday Inn and on our way to Downtown Disney.

The Wilderness Lodge would have been my first choice if they slept 5. The only drawback to the Poly is having to go outdoors and walk to the various transportation options. In bad weather it can be a drag. The lack of a hot tub is a downer as well but not a deal breaker. It's going to be hot and the jets near the slide will do the job. Can't beat the view from the pool and beach area as the fireworks go off as well.

 

[michellem1118]

I just sent you a PM...