13 Adults + 20th Food & Wine Festival = My 40th Birthday Celebration! - Sep. 2015 PTR (updated 9/22)

[dreamseeker9]

13 Adults + 20th Food & Wine Festival =
My 40th Birthday Celebration!
Pre-Trip Report for our Sept. 25 - Oct. 2, 2015 vacation

​

Welcome to my PTR, long overdue since I've been planning this trip for the past year! Yes, I'm going to be 40 years old on September 27th... I'm still working to accept this reality, but what better way to do it than at my most favorite place on Earth with my beloved family and friends!

We are a mere 44 days away from this trip (woohoo!), so lots to fill you in on what I already have planned, what I'm going to wear, what I want to eat and drink, who all is joining me for the festivities... so let's get going!

The Basics
Dates: Friday, Sept. 25th - Friday, Oct. 2nd - 2015
Resorts: 3 rooms at the Yacht Club, and 2 Little Mermaid rooms at Art of Animation
Partygoers: 13 of us total, from 5 states, ranging in age from mid-30's to late 60's

Meet the Cast of Characters!

The Birthday Girl

Yes I know... it's hard to believe that I will be 40 years old. It's true, I swear! I am an engineer by day, amateur Disney trip planner and scrapbooker by night. I went to WDW in November 2014 on a solo trip, partly to check out some restaurants and resorts and help plan for this trip (I'm still finishing that TR).

The Brother

1
My baby brother, B - he and his boyfriend live in California. We visited Disneyland in 2013 and again this past June for the 60th Anniversary - so fun! B shares my love for Disney and the parks. He enjoys the thrill rides and is looking forward to the Food & Wine Festival (F&WF).

The First-Timer
F, my brother's boyfriend, has never been to WDW. When we took him to Disneyland in 2013, that was his first ever Disney park. F enjoys most attractions and good eats and drinks. He is originally from Germany, so I'm excited to show him that pavilion in EPCOT!

The Parents
Yes, my mom and dad are joining us - yay! They haven't been to WDW since 1997! They recently moved to Southwest Florida and are quite excited to use their Florida resident discounts. Mom likes the tamer rides and the classic attractions. Dad likes the thrill rides.

The Repeaters
If you read my November 2012 TR, then you may remember two of my friends from that trip - J and G.

It wouldn't be the same without them there with me! J lives in northern New Jersey, and G hails from Brooklyn. Both are avid Disney lovers and grew up vacationing at WDW. J loves Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. G loves the Main Street Electrical Parade.

The Other Parents
J's parents live in Miami, and G's parents live in Sarasota, so they are all coming to join us for the festivities! They are all seasoned WDW veterans.

The College Friend
We've known each other for 22 years, and I love her so much! My friend L will be flying from Indiana to join us. I cannot freaking wait!!! She is an early riser like me, so she'll be my rope drop buddy. Her only requests just happened to be to ride my two favorite attractions, Splash Mountain and Tower of Terror ... are we in sync or what!

The Comedienne
My friend D, who also happens to be my hairdresser, is absolutely hilarious. She had one child and then planned to go to her beloved WDW, but then had another child. So she's thrilled to come to WDW and leave the kids home with their dad while she takes some well-deserved time off and enjoys the parks. She is most looking forward to pool time at Stormalong Bay while sipping some cool adult beverages. Count me in!

So that is our crew... so far! Believe it or not, even at this late date, there may be 1 or 2 additions. This causes my heart to beat faster, the planner that I am, so I'm only focusing on the 13 of us who are 100% going at this point. Still, the more the merrier - we will figure out a way to make it work!

 

[dreamseeker9]

PRE-TRIP REPORT UPDATES

Travel and Resort Details

Park Tickets

A Note on Planning

Advance Dining Reservations and Special Dining Events

Itinerary and FastPass+ Reservations - Days 1-2

Itinerary and FastPass+ Reservations - Day 3 - My 40th Birthday!

Itinerary and FastPass+ Reservations - Days 4 & 5

Itinerary and FastPass+ Reservations - Days 6, 7 & 8

MagicBands, Pre-Trip Purchases, and a Special Event!

The Waiting Game

My Food & Wine Festival Wish List

Change that 13 Adults to 14!

My Resorts Wish List

My Planning List for Any WDW Vacation

AK Day Changes

My Parks Wish List

Weather Forecast, Schedule Changes, and Last-Minute Wishes (updated 9/16)

Surprises for My Family & Friends (updated 9/20)


(coming soon...)

What I'm Wearing

 

[dreamseeker9]

Travel and Resort Details

We have 5 rooms reserved at two resorts for our party of 13. Here’s how it all came together. (If you’d like to skip my long explanation, no hard feelings - there’s a summary table at the bottom of this post.)

My brother’s friend is a Disney CM and graciously offered to help us out with a Friends & Family room discount (that’s 40% off the rack rate)! So back in March, we booked 3 garden view rooms at the Yacht Club.

I have never stayed at a WDW deluxe resort, and the Yacht Club seemed like the best choice for us for several reasons:

1. We are a boating family and love the water.

2. Stormalong Bay looks AH-MAZING!!!

3. It’s within walking distance to F&WF and my favorite pavilion, France!

4. We like the boat option to go to EPCOT or DHS, especially for the 6 seniors who may not want to walk as much.

5. Yacht Club seems a bit more ‘adult’ than the Beach Club, but we can still enjoy all the Beach Club has to offer.

6. Easy walk or boat ride to the Boardwalk for any late-night festivities after the parks close.

The original plan was for me to be in one room with friends, B and F in a second room, and my parents in a third room. My parents were going to stay for 3 nights; B, F and I were going to stay 7 nights. Of course, all original plans change, and this one was no exception. ;-)

Let’s start with my parents. After a year of trying to sell their house, they succeeded and moved to southwest Florida in June! So now they are happy Florida residents and are excited to use those WDW Florida resident discounts! Since they now live only about 3 hours from WDW, they will be driving up on Friday, September 25th, and they will now stay 4 nights, leaving on Tuesday, September 29th.

Next up is J. He can only take 2 days off work, so he’s flying from Newark for a long weekend – Friday to Monday (Sept. 25-28). Once J confirmed, J’s parents decided to drive up from Miami to see us all and to partake in F&WF – they’re joining us Friday-Sunday. They decided to stay at AoA in a Little Mermaid room.

Following J’s lead, G went back and forth on dates he could come, before work dictated his availability. He’s only able to come for 48 hours, Friday to Sunday, but we will make the most of it! G and I are flying together from NYC’s JFK airport on a 6:00 AM Friday morning flight. I am a morning person, but G is not, so I promised to let him sleep on the plane. J G’s parents will drive from Sarasota and are staying Friday-Monday, also staying at AoA in a Little Mermaid room.

My college buddy L has a family back home to care for, so she will fly from Indianapolis on Saturday afternoon and will leave early Tuesday morning.

My NYC friend D also has a hubby and 2 little ones at home, so she is flying from JFK Saturday morning and is staying until Tuesday afternoon.

That brings us to B&F, who are flying from Los Angeles. They either have to fly a red-eye and be exhausted when they arrive in the morning (and probably unable to check into their room that early), or they have to spend just about an entire day flying, since they will lose 3 hours with the time difference. They also realized that they won’t be able to take as much time off work as they had originally thought. So they’ve decided to fly on Saturday, arriving Saturday evening. Then, they will leave on Wednesday evening.

So if you add all that up, that’s 9 people at the YC, including my parents, who will have their own room. So that leaves 7 of us between 2 rooms. B and I discussed this and decided that L and D would stay with me (the ladies’ room), and G and J would stay with B&F (the guys’ room). However, J and G arrive with me on Friday morning, but B&F don’t arrive until Saturday evening. Here’s where it gets interesting. When I called to add names to our reservations, the CM told me to have L, D, J and G all listed on my room reservation. J and G will stay in my room on Friday night. Then on Saturday when B&F check in, we will have to go down to the front desk and switch G and J to B&F’s room, including changes to their MagicBands. D and L arrive on Saturday and will stay in my room. This means that since I am the ‘head’ of that room, everyone’s Disney Magical Express luggage tags and vouchers are shipped to me, along with their MagicBands. I can see J, G and D to hand them their DME stuff and MBs, but I will need to ship L her stuff before the trip.

So here’s the final tally, the cheat sheet, the snapshot view, of who’s coming when and where they are staying!

 

[SarahDisney]

I'm here and excited to read all about the planning!

That room & dates planning sounds insane ... I'm glad it all worked out, but it really must have been crazy while you were still working on it.

 

[dreamseeker9]

I'm here and excited to read all about the planning!

That room & dates planning sounds insane ... I'm glad it all worked out, but it really must have been crazy while you were still working on it.

Hi! I'm glad you found my PTR! Yes, it was kinda crazy. I even skipped over the part about how I had a TA who booked us rooms at Port Orleans Riverside before my brother's friend offered to help us out with his discount, and then I couldn't pass up that opportunity to stay in a deluxe resort.

 

[hokieinpa]

Joining in! Oh, I would love to stay at Yacht Club! Stormalong Bay looks amazing and I love that you can walk to the International Gateway.

That chart is certainly helpful. My head was spinning just reading over your summary!

It sounds like a really amazing trip!

 

[dreamseeker9]

Joining in! Oh, I would love to stay at Yacht Club! Stormalong Bay looks amazing and I love that you can walk to the International Gateway.

That chart is certainly helpful. My head was spinning just reading over your summary!

It sounds like a really amazing trip!

Hi, thanks for joining in! Yes, I'm so excited to stay at the YC and to experience SAB, and to be able to walk to World Showcase and even DHS if I want to!

Sorry for the long summary, I'm glad the chart helped!

 

[dreamseeker9]

41 days and counting...

Park Tickets

Now that we know how we’re all getting to WDW and where we are staying, we have to get into the parks!

I have always wanted an Annual Pass – the question was always, when would it make the most sense to purchase it? Back in April, I decided to splurge and purchase it. I figured that I’m going for 8 days/7 nights this trip, and I’ll go back to WDW at least once more in the next year. I also want to buy the Tables in Wonderland card for $100, which gives me and up to 9 others (as long as they are all on my bill) 20% off food and beverages (including alcohol) at most WDW restaurants. That $100 card will definitely pay for itself, probably after the first couple of days with this group!

Once my parents moved to Florida, they decided to purchase the Seasonal Pass for Florida residents. There are certain blackout dates, but none when we are going for this trip. They won’t be able to go right around Christmas because of the blackout dates, but they are considering a trip for just the two of them in early December to see all the decorations. We’ve tentatively discussed meeting up at WDW next May during Flower & Garden Festival - I think they’d really like that, and it would be good timing with my work schedule.

With the AP and the Seasonal Passes, the 3 of us are good to go for all our days, and we can park hop.

Just about everyone else is buying Park Hopper tickets, though some people aren’t buying tickets for the days they arrive and/or depart.

I told J and G that they are in charge of coordinating with their parents. J’s parents arrive Friday evening and depart Sunday afternoon, so they decided to only buy one-park tickets for Saturday, and they’ve requested to go to EPCOT since it’s F&WF. That will the first Saturday of F&WF, and it will no doubt be quite crowded… I’ll get to my plans for that shortly in another post. I don’t yet know what G’s parents are planning to buy, and I’m doing my best to turn off my planner brain and let G work it out with them (AHHH!!!).

If you’re a planner like me, it’s probably occurred to you that we are well into our 60-day window to make FastPass+ reservations. Trust me, I pushed people to purchase tickets before the 60-day window, but there is only so much I can do! But by the 60-day mark, the only people with passes or tickets were me, Mom, Dad, B and F. So I did what any good planner would do – I went ahead and made strategic FP+ reservations for the 5 of us… more on those in a post soon. L just bought her 2-day PH tickets and linked them to her account, and I was able to reserve all FP+ attractions we have for Sunday and Monday for her as well. Yay!

Here is a snapshot summary of the tickets!

 

[dreamseeker9]

A Note on Planning...

Apparently, I'm freaking out my friends and family a bit with my planning efforts, because they've started to tell me that I don't have to plan every moment. J emailed me that he wants me to allow time for spontaneity, and he doesn't want me stressed out if we don't make every FP+ reservation. Awww. My parents told me that I don't need to play tour guide to everyone. I assured them all that I'm not planning every single detail, and I will let spontaneous events happen. My brother told me that he read that expectations for vacation are always so high that the actual vacation can't meet them. He was essentially warning me not to set my expectations too high. I told him that I expect something to go wrong - hopefully, it's not a hurricane coming through WDW when we're there, but maybe a flight gets delayed or canceled, luggage gets lost, someone gets sick - who knows.

I don't think they understand the joy that planning the trip gives me. I play my WDW music as I settle in and update my spreadsheet and sip my iced coffee on a Sunday morning - that is pure joy. Right now, I'm on a temporary assignment for work, away from home most of the time and feeling rather isolated. Looking forward to this trip means so much to me. At the end of the day, I don't think I will care if we were all able to ride BTMRR together. I will care about us all being together and experiencing the day together, creating memories together, celebrating my birthday together. That's what this is about for me.

Last night, I was reading some threads on the DISboards about how F&WF, especially on weekends, has become an excuse for people to get wasted. I also read threads about how people in general don't care anymore about others, are rude in various ways, run and put others in danger with their behavior - you get the idea. I don't doubt that there is truth to all of these. At first, I started to worry, because J's parents want to go to EPCOT on the first Saturday of F&WF. But there's a simple solution to this - we can walk or take the boat back to the YC if we find World Showcase overrun with drunk and disorderly people. Or we can park hop! Or we can check out another resort! I will not let a few people out of the tens of thousands in the parks on that particular day ruin our time together.

There will always be some rude or obnoxious or entitled people. I choose to believe that overall, people are not like this. Sure, there have been some situations that have made me quite angry at WDW, of people just being selfish - a woman texting next to me all the way through PoTC (why ride it then?!?), a man answering a call during Tiki Room (ugh), people refusing to move all the way down in a theater show like Mickey's PhilharMagic and sitting in the middle so others have to climb over them to fill up the theater (seriously?!?). Living in NYC, I give up my seat on the subway or bus for an elderly person or little children. It baffles me when people on the buses don't offer to stand for a parent carrying a baby or small child, or for an elderly person. But overall, I do see several people offering to give up seats. And some of the most fun conversations with strangers have happened on those crowded buses, especially when initiated by a child asking adults funny questions that lead to awkwardness and laughter. I can't plan those moments, and I don't want to - they happen organically, naturally. They speak to us all being connected, in our love for Disney, but more than that, we are all connected in this crazy world full of uncertainties. We all want to be safe and happy and healthy. That's what connects us all.

Oh my, I went off on a tangent! Anyway, thanks for reading, and now back to my PTR.

 

[dreamseeker9]

40 days and counting...

Advance Dining Reservations and Special Dining Events

Now on to our ADRs! I made a few ADRs at the 180-day mark, but that was before we knew how many people were coming for sure. I was luckily able to make some adjustments, so here’s how it looks.

Friday, Sept. 25th - no ADRs

Saturday, Sept. 26th
My parents and I are going to a very special breakfast - the Parisian breakfast, one of the special events for F&WF!

I am so excited for this - breakfast is probably my favorite meal, and I absolutely adore the France pavilion. I’ve never dined at Les Chefs de France. My mom and I are both excited for unlimited mimosas, and all the delectable pastries!

For Saturday dinner, I made an ADR for our entire party at...

When I made the ADR back in March, I didn’t know that B, F and L would be flying in on Saturday evening, or that our group would grow to 13 people - I only made the reservation for 10. When I called to change the ADR, I was told that I had to call the restaurant directly. After 3 calls where they took down my info and said they’d call me back, I finally talked to someone who said no problem, they could move my ADR an hour later and add 3 more people. Then the next day, another CM from Captain’s Grille called me and said if our group is over 12 people, we have to be split into 2 separate tables due to fire code regulations. I talked it over with J and G, and since G has to leave Sunday morning now, they may not join us for dinner, so I’m leaving the ADR at 10 people for 8:05 PM. Since the CG is at the YC, the timing should work out for B, F and L taking the Disney Magical Express to the YC - they all land around 5:45 PM. This was the toughest ADR to finalize for sure!

Sunday, Sept. 27th - My 40th Birthday!
I debated long and hard about what I wanted to do to celebrate my birthday. Everyone is already spending a lot of money to come to WDW, and the signature dining restaurants are quite expensive. As I mentioned earlier, my favorite meal is breakfast. I love a nice leisurely weekend brunch! So I decided on...

I’ve never dined at the Poly, and most importantly, I’ve never had this beauty!

Tonga Toast - I cannot wait to taste you!!!

My dad appreciates good French pressed coffee, so he will get that at both the Parisian breakfast and at Kona Cafe. Our ADR is for 11:00 AM for 12 of us (sadly, G has to leave early that morning and will miss out). Kona serves breakfast until 11:15 AM and doesn’t start serving lunch until 12:00 PM, so I anticipate that we will be among the last of the breakfast crowd. Works for me!

Monday, Sept. 28th
I first made an ADR for the Biergarten for lunch, mostly to have F experience it since he’s from Germany, but also because it’s a great restaurant for large groups. However, since it’s F&WF and we will be eating and drinking in EPCOT all day, I decided a big lunch isn't the best choice.

By dinnertime, we will be down to just 7 of us. My family are all seafood lovers. My mom read about the Cape May Cafe clam bake buffet dinner and asked if we’d be interested - everyone was all for it, and my parents graciously offered to pay for it! So we are booked for a 7:20 PM ADR at Cape May Cafe - another first for me, I am very excited!

Seriously good eats!


Tuesday, Sept. 29th
I thought J would be able to stay longer, but unfortunately he has to leave on Monday. I had originally made two ADRs for Tuesday evening to choose from - an earlier dinner ADR at WL’s Artist Point (WL is J’s favorite resort), and a later dinner ADR at Be Our Guest. J has always wanted to have dinner there (we had lunch there in November 2012), and B&F have never been to BOG. As it turned out, everyone but me, B and F will be gone by Tuesday evening. I canceled the ADR for Artist Point. B is not a planner like me, he wants to just wait and see what we feel like doing that night. My parents are not adventurous eaters, but I really want to eat at either Jiko or Boma - I ate at Sanaa and absolutely loved it. So the 3 of us may try to get a last-minute ADR at Jiko or Boma, or we may still go to BOG, or we may hit a resort lounge. I’m trying to be spontaneous. Our BOG ADR is for 8:25 PM. Wishes is at 9:00 PM, so we would likely miss it, but the good part is that we’d have a mostly empty park after Wishes when we exit BOG. MK closes at 9:00 PM that night, so really right after Wishes ends.

Wednesday, Sept. 30th - no ADRs

Thursday, Oct. 1st
By Thursday, everyone will be gone, so I’ll be going solo.

This is my birthday present to myself (besides this trip): Culinary Adventures in Signature Dining at Flying Fish Cafe!

I debated if I wanted to do this solo, but it actually sounds perfect for solo dining - it’s a small group of people, I think it’s limited to 32 people, and we all are seated together. A different wine is paired with each course. Here is the description from DisneyFoodBlog:

Signature Dining/Flying Fish Cafe, “Guarachi Winery”
featuring Alex Guarachi, Owner and Vintner, Guarachi Family of Wines from Sonoma and Napa Valleys, Chef Timothy Keating, 6PM

I am SO EXCITED for this dining event! to me!

Friday, Oct. 2nd - no ADRs, and my departure day

 

[hokieinpa]

So glad you have an AP! I'm getting one before our trip this November and I'll get 3 trips out of it! And the TIW card is such a huge perk!

I think you're doing a great job planning the outline of the trip - resort, what parks for each day, FP+, ADRs.

I don't think they understand the joy that planning the trip gives me. I play my WDW music as I settle in and update my spreadsheet and sip my iced coffee on a Sunday morning - that is pure joy.

This is me, 100%! Disney planning just makes me so happy! I turn on a Disney movie or music and just have a blast going over all of the details!

Your ADR list is making me hungry! I'm dying to try Kona for breakfast. Tonga Toast is on my Disney "must eat" list! And I think you should be able to get into Boma walk up. I've never been to Jiko so I don't have any advice there. But Boma always seems to have room, especially for a small party. And the signature dining experience at Flying Fish sounds like the perfect birthday present!

 

[dreamseeker9]

So glad you have an AP! I'm getting one before our trip this November and I'll get 3 trips out of it! And the TIW card is such a huge perk!

That's excellent! I'm excited to have at least one more trip to plan after this one, and I'm excited for my parents to have the FL seasonal passes since they haven't been to WDW since 1997. Do you already have your other 2 trips planned?

I think you should be able to get into Boma walk up. I've never been to Jiko so I don't have any advice there. But Boma always seems to have room, especially for a small party. And the signature dining experience at Flying Fish sounds like the perfect birthday present!

That's great news. Boma appeals to me more than Jiko, I think, especially if I'm with others - I always feel a little leery of going to a buffet solo, leaving my purse at the table when I go to get food. I don't want to think of anything like that happening at a WDW restaurant, but it could. So if I can go to the buffet restaurants with others, that would be perfect.

I am SO EXCITED for the Flying Fish dinner! Even though I'm a planner, it's fun not knowing what they will make for us to eat and what wines they will pair with the courses! I will have to take notes and do a detailed review!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Happy 40th! I'll be celebrating my 40th too next February! I'm also from New York...well technically NJ now that we've moved but I grew up and lived in NYC for a long time.
Love the plans! I too am a planner but only when it comes to Disney! As long as I get all the ADRs and FP+ I want, then I'm happy to be spontaneous at all other times.
Great plans so far! I love how all your friends are celebrating with you. I understand having friends who aren't the Disney planner type. Most don't understand how I have to make ADRs 180 days out...most of them book vacations 2 days before they leave. #oppositesattract

You have some great F&W events too! I've never done them before but always wanted to! I'm also deciding on whether to get an annual pass or not. I'm just not sure how many trips I can make to WDW next year.
Looking forward to more!

 

[SarahDisney]

Some people just don't get how fun the planning is...
Does the vacation always turn out exactly as planned? No (in fact, in my experience, it never turns out exactly as planned). But that doesn't make planning any less fun. Why do people not get that?

I love Kona Cafe as your birthday breakfast! It's something that isn't necessarily what people expect as a birthday meal, but will hopefully be a great meal!

I did a "right before closing" ADR at BOG in November - it was so nice to walk through the empty park after dinner. They do try to make sure you're moving at a normal pace towards the exit, but you can still spend some time looking around and appreciating the beauty of an empty MK all lit up!

 

[dreamseeker9]

Happy 40th! I'll be celebrating my 40th too next February! I'm also from New York...well technically NJ now that we've moved but I grew up and lived in NYC for a long time.
Love the plans! I too am a planner but only when it comes to Disney! As long as I get all the ADRs and FP+ I want, then I'm happy to be spontaneous at all other times.
Great plans so far! I love how all your friends are celebrating with you. I understand having friends who aren't the Disney planner type. Most don't understand how I have to make ADRs 180 days out...most of them book vacations 2 days before they leave. #oppositesattract

You have some great F&W events too! I've never done them before but always wanted to! I'm also deciding on whether to get an annual pass or not. I'm just not sure how many trips I can make to WDW next year.
Looking forward to more!

Thank you for the birthday wishes! Happy early 40th to you, too! Yay for another New Yorker!

Oh yes, some of my friends are not Disney planners at all. J is probably the most like me in planning, but the others... not so much! But we are working it out, and it's going to be great!

You should totally go for the AP and then go to F&W next year!

Some people just don't get how fun the planning is...
Does the vacation always turn out exactly as planned? No (in fact, in my experience, it never turns out exactly as planned). But that doesn't make planning any less fun. Why do people not get that?

I love Kona Cafe as your birthday breakfast! It's something that isn't necessarily what people expect as a birthday meal, but will hopefully be a great meal!

I did a "right before closing" ADR at BOG in November - it was so nice to walk through the empty park after dinner. They do try to make sure you're moving at a normal pace towards the exit, but you can still spend some time looking around and appreciating the beauty of an empty MK all lit up!

Totally agree that planning is so much fun!

I think Kona will be interesting because I'm guessing that you're right - the staff there probably doesn't see many birthday brunch celebrations there. I'm envisioning the restaurant being somewhat empty since we must be one of the last breakfast ADRs before they switch over to lunch starting at 12:00 PM. I hope we have a fun server, because we will be a jolly group, no doubt!

I think I remember reading in one of your TRs about your ADR at BOG, so nice to enjoy the park when it's empty at night! Especially new Fantasyland, so beautiful at night! So I'll be happy if we keep that ADR, but I'll also be happy if we decide instead to eat at a restaurant at AKL for something different.

 

[dreamseeker9]

38 days and counting...

First, a quick ticket update - J and his parents linked their park tickets, so now all but D, G, and G's parents have park tickets linked. J and his parents were able to get the same FP+ reservations as the rest of us, perfect!

And now, on to the next update!

Itinerary and FastPass+ Reservations – Days 1-2

ARRIVAL DAY – Friday, September 25th – Day 1

When I go to WDW, my preference is to arrive early on Day 1, so I can fit in some park time. This trip is no exception! G and I are taking a 6:00 AM flight out of JFK, which means I probably have to wake up around 3:45 AM since I live about 45 minutes from JFK. Yikes! But I will rally. J is also taking an early flight, but out of Newark since he lives in NJ, so we will all 3 arrive at the Orlando airport at the same time, barring any delays (fingers crossed!). We are all booked on the Magical Express to YC, yay!!! I am planning to take a carry-on bag, which I will store at the YC. I think we will arrive at the YC by 10:30 AM, and we didn’t do online check-in. I’ll be willing to wait until later if I can get a room on a higher floor with a great view, but I also know we won’t be in the room that much, so it probably doesn’t matter much in the grand scheme of things.

My parents are driving up and plan to arrive at the YC before noon. I want to get at the front desk birthday buttons for both me and my dad – his birthday is the day before we arrive, Sept. 24th, so I want to celebrate his birthday as well, at least on that Friday. He’s a little resistant to it, saying it’s my birthday trip, but I think he will wear his birthday button at least for Friday.

I selected the MK for Friday to make some FP+ reservations there, but really we are open to any parks. There are still some unknowns about Friday – we’re not sure when G’s parents are arriving that day and if they will have park tickets. So for now, my plan is for me, my parents, J and G to go to the MK, where I will redeem my voucher for my Annual Pass (woohoo!), and my parents will do the same for their Florida resident seasonal passes. I also want to purchase the Tables in Wonderland card at Guest Services.

Lunch is TBD, probably a counter service option like Cosmic Ray’s or Columbia Harbor House.

I made 3 FP+ reservations:

I selected these 3 for a few reasons. My mom will want to ride them all (she's not a thrill rider, but she will perhaps have some company with J's mom and G's mom later on when they all sit out the thrill rides). This way, she doesn't have to be alone, though she's told me she will be fine on her own. I also thought I’d select rides that have the potential for decent wait times, to avoid as much waiting as possible – my parents have made it clear that they will not wait in long lines. I was quite surprised the first time I rode Winnie the Pooh to wait 40 minutes to ride it! We walked right on to the Pooh ride at Disneyland - go figure. I also thought that when B&F join us in the MK, they won’t be sad to miss Winnie the Pooh, but I could be wrong. Winnie the Pooh is a childhood favorite of mine, so the little kid in me is really looking forward to experiencing that attraction with my parents in our own hunny pot.

I’m sure we will probably get a snack at some point at the MK (like a Dole Whip, one of my favorites!).

Since it will be such an early morning for me, G and J, I imagine we will be ready to crash early. Plus, if we haven’t checked in already, I will be anxious to see our room and unpack. J’s parents aren’t planning to arrive until around 7:30 PM, and J’s mom asked if we could wait to eat dinner with them. However, my parents are used to eating dinner around 6:00-6:30 PM. Since J’s parents and G’s parents are both staying at AOA, I’m not sure how everyone will meet up – they will have cars, so they could drive over to the YC and meet us. My parents will be my priority, though, so if they are hungry before J’s parents arrive, then we will split off and grab some food, maybe at the Boardwalk or at the YC’s Crew’s Cup Lounge. My parents will also have a car, so we could drive somewhere off-property – I just don’t want to leave once I'm at WDW. Then we will all retire at a reasonable time, because Saturday is a big day!

DAY 2 – Saturday, September 26th

Ah, Day 2 – I love the second day of vacation! There’s no traveling (at least not for me), and I still have most of the vacation ahead of me to look forward to!

As I mentioned in the ADR and Special Events post, Mom, Dad and I will be meeting up around 8:30 AM to take a boat over to the International Gateway for our 9:00 AM Parisian breakfast. I’ve been assured that we will be able to enter EPCOT early to head over to the France pavilion, but really I’m not going to worry about it. The breakfast goes until 10:30 AM, it’s reserved seating, and they’re not going to run out of pastries, sandwiches, coffee and mimosas if we are seated at 9:10 AM instead of 9:00 AM. I read that nearly 200 people attend this breakfast, so it takes some time to seat everyone because most people arrive at the same time. So I’ll be extra-patient that morning.

G is not a morning person at all, and since he has the early flight with me on Friday morning, he may sleep in on Saturday. J’s parents only have Saturday to go to a park, so they bought tickets for EPCOT to enjoy F&W. So J and his parents will be in EPCOT.

Saturday is a big arrival day for the remainder of our party, starting with my friend, D, who flies from JFK Saturday morning and should arrive to the YC by noon. My plan is to linger in the France pavilion after our Parisian breakfast and wait until 11:00 AM, then go see my favorite World Showcase movie, Impressions de France, with a full belly of French goodness and mimosas! Heavenly! Then I’m planning to walk back to the YC to meet D. My parents may decide to chill at the YC or continue exploring the WS, depending on how crowded it is – they will shy away from really crowded areas, which I think WS will be on the first Saturday of F&W.

D decided not to buy a park ticket for Saturday. She is very much looking forward to pool time, as am I – Stormalong Bay looks incredible! I can’t wait to enjoy it. I’m planning to join D at SAB for a couple hours, then see how I’m feeling. If I want to keep relaxing, I’ll stay at the pool. If I’m ready for more park time, then I’ll meet Mom & Dad back in EPCOT, where I made the following FP+ reservations:

I struggle with that third FP+ option in EPCOT. Ideally, it would be for Test Track, but because Test Track and Soarin’ are both Tier 1 attractions, I had to choose one or the other. Besides these two attractions, I’m planning for us to explore The Seas pavilion and ride The Seas with Nemo and Friends attraction - I love that pavilion so much. That attraction never seems to have much of a wait because it loads so quickly. Plus, I love the queue and all its details, so I didn’t want to get a FP+ for it. We will also ride Living with the Land, either before or after our Soarin’ FP+. My parents have both been on Spaceship Earth before, but neither has been on Soarin’. I think my dad will love it. My mom is actually afraid of heights, so I’m going to let her see how it’s set up, and then if she wants to bail out, no problem.

Since we are staying at the YC and need to go through to the International Gateway to get the boat back to the YC, we will have to walk through Canada and the UK. If they aren’t too crowded, we will stop and enjoy some of the F&W offerings. However, I’m estimating that it will be about 4:30 PM by this point, so I expect all of WS to be very crowded and the F&W booths to have long lines. I’ll be content going back to the YC, meeting up with D, and freshening up for dinner. I imagine that my parents will also want to get back and freshen up, because B, F, and L all arrive this evening! B and F have a long flight from LAX. L is flying from Indianapolis. Coincidentally, their flights land less than 10 minutes apart, so I’m hoping they can meet up at the DME counter and ride the DME to YC together. I anticipate that they will arrive by 7:30 PM at the YC – this is why it was important for me to move the Captain’s Grille ADR from 7:05 PM to 8:05 PM. When I asked J what he thought he and his parents would do for dinner, he said it’s too early to tell and to just leave the ADR for 10 people instead of 13. He said if they decide to eat with us, they can snag a nearby table. So that’s the plan – it will be me, Mom, Dad, B, F, L, D, G, and G’s parents for dinner – though I won’t be surprised if G ends up going to the MK because it is his last night in the parks before he has to leave early Sunday morning. L But I also know that G will want to spend time with B&F, and Saturday night is their only time to do that. I envision the younger crowd going to the Boardwalk, or to a YC lounge after dinner to catch up and have a few more drinks – probably me, J, G, B, F, D and L. My parents have already told me that they will likely be ready for bed each night after dinner, which I completely understand.

I know that once everyone has made it to WDW safe and sound, I will feel relieved. I am hoping for no travel issues!

Those are the plans for the first two days! More to come soon! Thanks for reading.

 

[hokieinpa]

Love the plans so far!

MK is a great way to start any trip! I love arriving early so you can start your trip as soon as possible. Winnie the Pooh was one of our favorites so I'm happy to see that on your list! And Peter Pan always has such long waits so that's a smart choice.

I agree that Day 2 is the best day! No traveling, lots of your trip left to enjoy, and you're not exhausted yet! The Parisian breakfast sounds like a really special experience for you and your parents! And it sounds like a fun morning exploring WS. Hoping everything goes smoothly that afternoon with all of the arrivals!

 

[dreamseeker9]

Love the plans so far!

MK is a great way to start any trip! I love arriving early so you can start your trip as soon as possible. Winnie the Pooh was one of our favorites so I'm happy to see that on your list! And Peter Pan always has such long waits so that's a smart choice.

I agree that Day 2 is the best day! No traveling, lots of your trip left to enjoy, and you're not exhausted yet! The Parisian breakfast sounds like a really special experience for you and your parents! And it sounds like a fun morning exploring WS. Hoping everything goes smoothly that afternoon with all of the arrivals!

I always want to start and end a trip with the MK if at all possible. The first time I rode Winnie the Pooh, I felt like I was 4 years old again - I swear, the goofiest smile came over my face, and I felt pure joy. It was AWESOME. It will be really fun to ride it with my parents and see their reactions!

Yay for Day 2! Yes, I think the Parisian breakfast is going to be a great way to start Day 2. I'm really going to try hard to go with the flow and not feel pressured to cram in a lot at the parks. So I may end up at SAB after the breakfast once my friend arrives, snoozing off the mimosas and enjoying some sun and water! Sounds great to me!

Yes, I will feel so much better once everyone has arrived!

 

[dreamseeker9]

Itinerary and FastPass+ Reservations – Day 3

Sunday, September 27th – My 40th Birthday!

The big 4-0. I can’t think of a better way to spend it than surrounded by my family and friends at one of my favorite places on Earth. It’s going to be such a magical day!

Sadly, G has to catch an early morning flight back to NYC because of work (boo, work!). He told me that he will be sure to give me a birthday hug before he boards the Magical Express back to the airport.

Since our brunch ADR isn’t until 11:00 AM, I plan to get an iced coffee (I loved a good iced coffee!) and a light breakfast snack at YC’s Ale & Compass on our way out to the bus to the MK. I selected the MK for our first park because our 11:00 AM ADR is at the Poly’s Kona Café, so we can either take the monorail or the boat to the Poly. But first, Rope Drop at the MK, including the Welcome Show!

I first saw the Welcome Show last year on my solo trip, and I loved it.

I know a few people will be sleeping in, like B&F, who will be adjusting to East Coast time from the West Coast. L is an early riser like me, and I imagine D will join us since she only has 2 days of park tickets and will want to soak up as much park time as possible. My parents will also probably join us for Rope Drop. I think J will join us. J’s parents don’t have park tickets on Sunday, so they will meet us at brunch. I’m not sure yet if G’s parents are still staying through Monday, since now G is leaving earlier than expected – they may go off on their own, or they may join us. We shall see!

MK Rope Drop is at 9:00 AM. I’m estimating that we need to leave the MK by 10:15 AM to arrive at Kona Café by 10:45 AM – I like to arrive 15 minutes before an ADR to check in and make sure everything is all set, especially since there are 12 of us! So we really won’t have much time in the MK to ride much. I’m thinking this will be a great time to ride POTC, as it’s closed for refurbishment until Sept. 26th or 27th, and my mom really wants to ride it. We could also try to get in standby for the 7DMT, but I worry about only having 75 minutes to walk back there, wait in line, then walk back to the front of the MK. Plus, my mom won’t want to ride 7DMT, and we will already be leaving her to ride the other ‘thrill’ rides in the MK later that day, so it would be nice to ride something that we can all enjoy. Maybe the Jungle Cruise!

Hopefully, everyone will arrive by 11:00 AM to the Poly, and we will enjoy a beautiful birthday brunch at the Kona Café! I plan to have Tonga toast (first time!), French pressed coffee, the Liliko’I juice I’ve heard so much about, and probably also have a celebratory adult beverage… I mean, it is my birthday after all!

It’s probably a good thing that Trader Sam’s doesn’t open until 4:00 PM, or I’d be tempted to just stay at the Poly all day! What could be better than one of my favorite attractions turned into a bar!!!

My brother and I went to Trader Sam’s in June at the Disneyland Hotel – I loved it, though it wasn’t super lively or crowded when we were there. But they were open for lunch! What gives, WDW? Open earlier! I will have to make my way there at some point on this trip to check it out and sample a drink or two.

With our brunch ADR starting at 11:00 AM for our party of 12, I’m thinking we might be there until 12:30 PM at least. Plus, I don’t think my parents have been to the Poly before, so we may walk around after brunch and take it in.

I’m estimating we will be back at the MK by 1:30 PM at the latest. So here is where having a big group like this will get interesting. Nine of us have park hopper tickets for Sunday. Everyone but D are linked on MDE and have made FP+ reservations. J made FP+ reservations for PoTC, Peter Pan, and Under the Sea. I made FP+ reservations for me, my parents, and B&F for the 3 mountains – Big Thunder, Space, and Splash (my favorite!).

I know my mom won’t ride any of these, but she’s assured me that she will be content off on her own, maybe going to Country Bear Jamboree. I may see if she wants to make other FP+ reservations or join J for his. At least with the FP+ reservations, we hopefully won’t have long waits and won’t leave her alone for too long. My brother doesn’t like to get wet, so I know he won’t ride Splash, so he can be with Mom while we ride Splash. I scheduled the Splash FP+ last, so we can go back to YC after that and take a break, change clothes, whatever we feel like doing.

But I’m not done with the parks on my birthday, at least I hope not! L only has Sunday and Monday in the parks, and she’s asked that we ride Tower of Terror. No problem… besides Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror is my other all-time favorite attraction!

My tentative plan is to go to DHS on Sunday early in the evening and try to get FP+’s from the kiosks there for Tower of Terror and RnRC, and also go to Muppets 3D. I enjoy Toy Story Mania, but honestly I can skip it if we don’t have enough time. B, F and I rode it at DCA a couple years ago, so F has experienced it. My dad would like it, but he is a big ToT fan as well – so that’s the #1 priority. My mom won’t ride ToT or RnRC, but she will enjoy the Muppets with us. She may go check out the Great Movie Ride or something else while we do the two thrill rides, or she may decide to stay at the YC and relax.

I don’t have anything planned for dinner on Sunday. I have a few options in mind, depending on how everyone is feeling – we could find a counter service restaurant in DHS or see if Hollywood Brown Derby has a table. We could go to the F&W booths in EPCOT. Or if we are feeling really ambitious, we could go to a lounge at one of the MK resorts, and maybe catch the Electrical Water Pageant and a view of HalloWishes from a resort! Honestly, I doubt if we will make it to this, since it’s already a packed day, but at some point I would love to do the monorail bar crawl of Mizner’s at the GF, Tambu at the Poly, and Outer Rim at the Contemporary. I think my parents would especially enjoy exploring the GF and going to Mizner’s. So maybe we will squeeze that in!

And that is the plan for my 40th birthday!

 

[SarahDisney]

Plans sound great so far! The birthday plans really do sound fantastic - who wouldn't want to start their birthday at MK???

The one comment I have is about DHS - I don't think it's very likely that you'll get RnRC FP+ at the kiosk. We've tried twice and never seen it. However, September is considered a slower time of year, so it's possible it'll be available.
ToT is hit or miss - sometimes it's available, sometimes it isn't.