1 week till our 2 days in MK...plans and ideas!

[dara00]

Hello! This is my first time doing any of the ptr / tr stuff and I'm excited! I am a bit last minute because this trip was scheduled just a few weeks ago. My husband has to work down in Tampa and we decided we'd go along, hit the Magic Kingdom on MLK day, hang out in Tampa, and then meet dh's parents and sister (and her dh and kids) the following weekend. (we won't be doing the parks while we're with them). We may follow up with Sunday the 22nd at DHS.

As far as who we are...my name is Dara, I'm 33 yrs old, and looove Disney, though I have not been there nearly enough times in my life as of yet! My husband and I went together to Disney when we were in college (spring break!) and did such things as wander into Chef Mickey's not even knowing it was a character meal and riding in the front of the monorail and receiving Mickey Mouse licenses...totally unplanned, unappreciated at the time Disney Magic.

This is me in 3/07 with my then almost 2 yr old dd (now 6) and my now 4 yr old ds in my belly!

My husband is Dave, not as much into Disney as I am, but enough into it that he fits in small trips for us here and there.

Here we are with Chip and Dale in 12/07 with our then 2.5 yr old dd and our then 6 mos old ds - who came down with bronchiolitis while we were there and did not quite enjoy the magic!

My 6 yr old is Gabbie. She's in 1st grade and loves the princesses, Jessie from Toy Story, Minnie, Mary Poppins, etc. etc. She is very excited to go back and this time collect signatures from characters. Though she thinks if she doesn't meet a character she will just write his/her name for him/her!

Here she is at age 4 with her then almost 2 yr old brother meeting Cinderella. She had made pictures for the princesses (and pooh) and passed them out as we met them.

My 4 yr old is Zachary. He's very into Toy Story and watches all 3 movies over and over. He loves Cars as well and sleeps with a stuffed Mickey Sorcerer (and now a stuffed Woody as well). He may just be tall enough to ride Splash Mountain and thinks he wants to try it!

Here he is when he was 2, meeting Tigger. He just loved the characters even when he was 6 mos and sick, and I think this trip should be awesome for him character wise!

Finally, we have Simon, who is going to be 17 months old - the same age my dd was on her first trip to DLR! He's most likely going to be dragged along and made to go along with everything we do, but as long as he is not scared of the characters, hopefully he'll get some time with them as well! Simon loves animals, books, balls, cars and trains, and his big brother and sister!

Here is the little guy!

Next up - the plans!

 

[dara00]

ooh, my pics are a bit large. Sorry about that. Onto the plans!

With some help from the easywdw boards, I fleshed out what we definitely want to do while there and came up with this. Some notes - we want to meet characters and we want to do rides. But only dh wants to ride Space Mt., BTMR will be closed, and we only have the one day so...keep that in mind!

Get to Mk for Rope Drop - 9 AM
DH will head to the Buzz ride for FP's, and ride SM.
The rest of us will line up for Rapunzel.
As soon as we can, we will get FP's for Peter Pan, then we plan to meet:
Fairies
Ariel/Eric
Woody/Jessie
Jasmine/Aladdin
Grab FP's for Pooh ride and make it by 11 AM to the Parade and Dance Party at the Hub. Is it possible??
After that we will meet Pooh and Mary Poppins on Main Street and get our FP's for Mickey and the Princesses.
Then it's the 11:40 show of Dream Along with Mickey, and on to the rides!
- Haunted Mansion, followed by lunch at CHH
- Small World (should this be later??)
(Grab FP for Splash Mt - or ride it - this part is unsure)
-POTC
2:15 Pirate Tutorial Show
3 PM Parade
- Mickey's Philharmonic
- Peter Pan (w FPs)
- Pooh ride (w FPs)
- Tea Cups (I don't do the tea cups, so aside from getting pics...I hope to head over to Tomorrowland to line up to meet Buzz)
4 PM meet Buzz
- Buzz ride with FPs
Use FPs for Princesses and Mickey
~~ other rides if time
6:20 find spot for MSEP and eat dinner
7 PM parade
Magic and Memories Show
Wishes.

Thoughts??

 

[mom2rtk]

Hey there! You guys are adorable. I'm so glad you posted so I can see who I'm talking to.

I think I mentioned the Kenny the Pirate site. You seem to want to meet a lot of characters so you need to start here. Print this and bring it along. I think it's pretty accurate.

Do pay close attention to the times, as many of the characters you want to see appear in "sets" where they are out for a bit, take a break then come back.

http://kennythepirate.com/disney-world-magic-kingdom-character-schedule-list/

I do think your list of characters in the time allotted is a little ambitious. It really all depends on how busy the parks are and how long the lines are. I don't think they will be bad, but do take a look over your list and prioritize and be prepared for changes on the fly.

If you're serious about seeing Rapunzel, then someone needs to HOOF it back very quickly to get in that line at rope drop. And they need to be at the front of the pack at rope drop. That probably means someone without kids in tow. If I were you, I'd send your husband, then you follow at a slower pace with the kids, then once you get there, he can leave to go get the fp's he wants to get.

Lots of others will have the same plan and the first set fills up quickly. Miss that first set and you're stuck with a long wait all the way through her first break.

I don't want to be negative, but it's doubtful you'll watch the Move It Shake It parade in the hub at 11, meet Mary Poppins and Pooh and make it to the 11:40 castle stage show. Once again, you can try, but be prepared for changes on the fly. Know going into it what's most important to you.

Do you have a spot in mind to watch the MSEP? You mention finding a spot at 6:20, and that might be very doable that time of year, but it might depend on where you want to be. The easiest place to find a last minute spot is over in Frontierland. But if you want a curbside spot on Main Street, you need to keep an eye on the area and be prepared to stake out a spot sooner. Maybe one of you wants to stake out a spot earlier, and put your things down next to the stroller to save room, while the other grabs dinner to bring back for everyone. Or maybe takes the older ones on one last ride of some sort.

Glad to see the Magic Memories and You is on your list. It is spectacular. Do keep in mind you will probably need to move closer to the castle to see this show if you want to see the detail, like the photos they project on the castle. You might want to take this into account when choosing your parade spots so maybe you don't have to move as far.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

Also, keep in mind you'd probably get more responses if you posted something similar to this in the theme parks board asking for feedback.

It's not long now!

 

[dara00]

Hey there! You guys are adorable. I'm so glad you posted so I can see who I'm talking to.

aw, thanks!

I think I mentioned the Kenny the Pirate site. You seem to want to meet a lot of characters so you need to start here. Print this and bring it along. I think it's pretty accurate.

Yes, I checked it out and wrote down most of the info I want from it. I'm keeping a little notebook.

Do pay close attention to the times, as many of the characters you want to see appear in "sets" where they are out for a bit, take a break then come back.

http://kennythepirate.com/disney-world-magic-kingdom-character-schedule-list/

I do think your list of characters in the time allotted is a little ambitious. It really all depends on how busy the parks are and how long the lines are. I don't think they will be bad, but do take a look over your list and prioritize and be prepared for changes on the fly.

If you're serious about seeing Rapunzel, then someone needs to HOOF it back very quickly to get in that line at rope drop. And they need to be at the front of the pack at rope drop. That probably means someone without kids in tow. If I were you, I'd send your husband, then you follow at a slower pace with the kids, then once you get there, he can leave to go get the fp's he wants to get.

Ok, thanks for the advice on that. We can probably have him run ahead.

Lots of others will have the same plan and the first set fills up quickly. Miss that first set and you're stuck with a long wait all the way through her first break.

I don't want to be negative, but it's doubtful you'll watch the Move It Shake It parade in the hub at 11, meet Mary Poppins and Pooh and make it to the 11:40 castle stage show. Once again, you can try, but be prepared for changes on the fly. Know going into it what's most important to you.

ok, we'll try to rearrange that part somehow! do you know how long we should assume we'll be at the Move It Shake It parade? Maybe we'll just stay there for the 11:40 show? I'd say Mary Poppins is more of a priority for us, and I do see that she is back at 1:15 so we could get her later. I think we also want to meet Snow White...sigh.

Do you have a spot in mind to watch the MSEP? You mention finding a spot at 6:20, and that might be very doable that time of year, but it might depend on where you want to be. The easiest place to find a last minute spot is over in Frontierland. But if you want a curbside spot on Main Street, you need to keep an eye on the area and be prepared to stake out a spot sooner. Maybe one of you wants to stake out a spot earlier, and put your things down next to the stroller to save room, while the other grabs dinner to bring back for everyone. Or maybe takes the older ones on one last ride of some sort.

yes we are planning to watch both parades outside country bears. I did plan to have one of us grab our dinner and eat it there while waiting.

Glad to see the Magic Memories and You is on your list. It is spectacular. Do keep in mind you will probably need to move closer to the castle to see this show if you want to see the detail, like the photos they project on the castle. You might want to take this into account when choosing your parade spots so maybe you don't have to move as far.

the plan is to move into the hub to watch the castle show, and then back up down main street for wishes.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

Also, keep in mind you'd probably get more responses if you posted something similar to this in the theme parks board asking for feedback.

It's not long now!

ok, did I post in the wrong place? Should I repost or just post a link to come check over here? Not sure what the protocol is, lol!

 

[mom2rtk]

ok, did I post in the wrong place? Should I repost or just post a link to come check over here? Not sure what the protocol is, lol!

You posted in the pre-trip report section, which could easily be the correct place for it. But if you want a LOT more feedback from others, I'd post something similar in the theme parks strategy forum here:

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=2

They get a LOT more traffic over there and you'll get more responses. And since your questions are about theme park planning, it certainly fits there as well.

I'd just post it over there. I'd cut back the number of photos since that's more like a pre-trip report. But put your gameplan out there and let everyone give you suggestions. Then pick and choose which advice to take and which to ignore. They're all pretty opinionated over there (myself included), but a wealth of information.

 

[mom2rtk]

Hey there! You guys are adorable. I'm so glad you posted so I can see who I'm talking to.

aw, thanks!

I think I mentioned the Kenny the Pirate site. You seem to want to meet a lot of characters so you need to start here. Print this and bring it along. I think it's pretty accurate.

Yes, I checked it out and wrote down most of the info I want from it. I'm keeping a little notebook.

Do pay close attention to the times, as many of the characters you want to see appear in "sets" where they are out for a bit, take a break then come back.

http://kennythepirate.com/disney-world-magic-kingdom-character-schedule-list/

I do think your list of characters in the time allotted is a little ambitious. It really all depends on how busy the parks are and how long the lines are. I don't think they will be bad, but do take a look over your list and prioritize and be prepared for changes on the fly.

If you're serious about seeing Rapunzel, then someone needs to HOOF it back very quickly to get in that line at rope drop. And they need to be at the front of the pack at rope drop. That probably means someone without kids in tow. If I were you, I'd send your husband, then you follow at a slower pace with the kids, then once you get there, he can leave to go get the fp's he wants to get.

Ok, thanks for the advice on that. We can probably have him run ahead.

Lots of others will have the same plan and the first set fills up quickly. Miss that first set and you're stuck with a long wait all the way through her first break.

I don't want to be negative, but it's doubtful you'll watch the Move It Shake It parade in the hub at 11, meet Mary Poppins and Pooh and make it to the 11:40 castle stage show. Once again, you can try, but be prepared for changes on the fly. Know going into it what's most important to you.

ok, we'll try to rearrange that part somehow! do you know how long we should assume we'll be at the Move It Shake It parade? Maybe we'll just stay there for the 11:40 show? I'd say Mary Poppins is more of a priority for us, and I do see that she is back at 1:15 so we could get her later. I think we also want to meet Snow White...sigh.

Do you have a spot in mind to watch the MSEP? You mention finding a spot at 6:20, and that might be very doable that time of year, but it might depend on where you want to be. The easiest place to find a last minute spot is over in Frontierland. But if you want a curbside spot on Main Street, you need to keep an eye on the area and be prepared to stake out a spot sooner. Maybe one of you wants to stake out a spot earlier, and put your things down next to the stroller to save room, while the other grabs dinner to bring back for everyone. Or maybe takes the older ones on one last ride of some sort.

yes we are planning to watch both parades outside country bears. I did plan to have one of us grab our dinner and eat it there while waiting.

Glad to see the Magic Memories and You is on your list. It is spectacular. Do keep in mind you will probably need to move closer to the castle to see this show if you want to see the detail, like the photos they project on the castle. You might want to take this into account when choosing your parade spots so maybe you don't have to move as far.

the plan is to move into the hub to watch the castle show, and then back up down main street for wishes.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

Also, keep in mind you'd probably get more responses if you posted something similar to this in the theme parks board asking for feedback.

It's not long now!

ok, did I post in the wrong place? Should I repost or just post a link to come check over here? Not sure what the protocol is, lol!

I missed your other purple replies!

I think the Move It Shake It parade is probably around 15 minutes???? You could certainly stay put. Usually you don't have to get a spot too early for the castle show. But I'm not sure there's enough time to do much else in between.

Outside Country Bears could be a great spot for MSEP. I have no idea how crowded the hub will be for MMY and Wishes at that point. I'm guessing most holiday crowds will be headed out of town by then and it won't be an issue to move over after MSEP.

Let me know if I missed anything.

 

[dara00]

well I posted over in trip planning and no one replied so either everyone things I'm crazy or they think I've got it covered, lol!

I bought myself a Mickey tshirt today at Walmart, ooh fancy. I really wanted to get a toy story t since that's what my kids are wearing but I didn't like the only one I found at the disney store. IF we go to DHS I'm going to wear my kermit shirt! The boys will wear cars and Gabbie will wear "Minnie." So I won't match them that day either, hmm.

If we go to DHS, here are some things I'd like to get done:
Toy Story Mania - I know it's crazy. But we love that ride.
Pixar Place, meet Buzz and Woody together, Pizza Planet
Disney Jr. show
ride rockin rollercoaster - single rider line.
meet Sorcerer Mickey
Muppetvision
Little Mermaid
picture with Lightning McQueen
Pixar parade

 

[Corrine 1973]

I just found your TR and it is just amazing to me on how much we seem to have in common. I also have a 6 year of DD, a 4 year old DS, and my youngest son just turned 22 months (though if he was born when he was supposed to be born he would be closer to 19 mo). I also have a 9 year old son.

Your plans look amazing though just be prepared know what things you are willing to cut out when things don't go as planned (for when do they ever with kids).

I love Toy Story Mania. Are you going to be there for rope drop if you go to DHS? If you are have your husband run there as soon as the park opens to grab those fast passes. If you are not going to be there for rope drop make sure to go there first thing because FP's are usually gone by noon even on low traffic days.

 

[dara00]

I just found your TR and it is just amazing to me on how much we seem to have in common. I also have a 6 year of DD, a 4 year old DS, and my youngest son just turned 22 months (though if he was born when he was supposed to be born he would be closer to 19 mo). I also have a 9 year old son.

Your plans look amazing though just be prepared know what things you are willing to cut out when things don't go as planned (for when do they ever with kids).

I love Toy Story Mania. Are you going to be there for rope drop if you go to DHS? If you are have your husband run there as soon as the park opens to grab those fast passes. If you are not going to be there for rope drop make sure to go there first thing because FP's are usually gone by noon even on low traffic days.

hi and thanks for commenting! That is cool that we have kids the same ages!

I know we have to be prepared to cut things out - I try to tell the kids that the things we're doing are "maybes" not definites!

would you say tsm is similar to the buzz ride? we have not done that one yet and if we do that at mk, maybe we can skip tsm. yeah we will try to be there at rope drop, since we don't have the full day there. we'll have to leave after the parade to catch our flight home.

 

[Corrine 1973]

While they are both based on Toy Story and are games that you shout things to get points that is about all thier simulataties. In buzz you can turn the car yourself, you are aiming at props during the ride, and you press a button to shoot at the targets. It only deals with Buzz and Zurg so no other Toy Story Character are in it.

Toy Story Mania is based on the idea that Andy just got a set of carnival games and while he is out the toys are going play with them. It a 3-D experiance and the gun has a pull rope that you pull to shoot you amo. The amo changes per the scene. Balls, rings, exc.

If I were to choose I would go onTSM. I have been on both and while both are fun TSM is sooooo much better. IMHO.

 

[dara00]

ok well we're for sure going on buzz, I just wondered if we could skip tsm because we'll have already done buzz!

 

[dara00]

ok, who thinks it's a good idea to do a day in either MK or Epcot on my own with 3 kids??

I was whining today about wanting to go back in June and spending more than one day and he was all why not just stay and go back the next day? so now I'm considering it...I'd like to maybe to MK again so that we can cover anything we missed, take it at a slower pace, etc.

am I crazy??

 

[dara00]

it's official - we're having one more disney day! I will return to MK with the kids on Tuesday the 17th. I think I'm keeping my plans for the first day the same, but if we miss things or just want to do them again, we will on the 2nd day. we probably will miss rope drop on day 1 as well, so we'll have to do that and rapunzel on day 2.

as well, we're definitely doing dhs on sunday the 22nd, so I need to make up a plan for that!

 

[Corrine 1973]

Congrats on your extra day at MK. I am sure that you will all have a blast.

I would definatly recomend an double stroller if you have one so that they two younger ones have somewhere to go when they are tierd. Plus I have heard that kids who are in stollers are less likely to wander away and get lost.

And talking about getting lost (hopefully you will not need these tips) it is always a good idea to put your phone number on your kids if you they can't tell an adult your phone #. (I have seen people write on there kids arms with sharpies, put it on labels that they stick on there shirts, or laminate cards that they attach to thier shoes/clothing). I also take a picture of my kids at the bigging of the day which shows their full outfits (including shoes), therefore if one of them do wander off you can show the picture to the CM's who are trying to help you.

 

[Moodyzblu]

Joining in !! Cute family

Looking forward to hearing more !

 

[dara00]

The kids are excited to bring some props along for character greetings. Zachary has Buzz, Woody, Sorcerer Mickey, and a few Lightning McQueens.

Gabbie has Jessie, her Sleeping Beauty dress, Mary Poppins, and Minnie Mouse. But we can't find Minnie Mouse anywhere! We bought Minnie for Gabbie at her first trip the Disneyland when she was 17 mos old:

Then, Minnie returned to the land on our most recent trip in 2009:

Don't ask me what Zachary's holding, it was some bear he had!

So, I'm guessing we'll be getting Gabbie a new Minnie Mouse.

 

[dara00]

we might go to dhs friday the 20th instead of sunday the 22nd.

we leave tomorrow!

 

[Corrine 1973]

we might go to dhs friday the 20th instead of sunday the 22nd.

we leave tomorrow!

Ahh, already!!! Have a good trip! Can't wait to hear all about it when you come home.

 

[dara00]

Ahh, already!!! Have a good trip! Can't wait to hear all about it when you come home.

I know! I just started this ptr 2 weeks ago, so that's why it isn't very long! I will link here when I start my tr though! thanks for being here!

 

[Moodyzblu]

So excited for you !!