20 years is way too long and I am clueless PTR- help-i've got transporation confusion

[lbuzz52]

I'm loving your report so far. Your daughter's reaction to the news is priceless. But she will be giddy when she sees it for herself! BTW, how do I find crowd levels?

WELCOME!!!!

I am learning as i go, and greatful for you all to help me along. I am currently in the i'm so excited i want to cry everytime i think about it stage.
i was so angry when she said that. i just had high hopes for a big reaction. but she's definetely into it now. she tells everyone she sees that she's going to Disney World- people in target, people walking down the street, etc, etc, etc, etc. she is definetely getting more excited by the day. and don't tell anyone, but my dh even admitted that he's starting to get a bit excited!!! Yes, that's the first step!

 

[lbuzz52]

Today has not been very efficient in the trip planning. Stupid work! And I babysat my nephew tonight. But I did get a new pair of crocs ordered.

 

[onelilspark]

The reason why your parks are considered the "worst" on those days are because they are the EMH parks. Generally speaking, those parks are the ones that are the most crowded because people do take advantage of them. That being said, I still use EMH when I can because during those hours, you can really hit a lot of rides! Especially morning EMH!

If you listen to any Podcasts, I highly recommend WDWToday. The one guy on there is the co-author of the Unofficial Guide and every now and then he goes into detail as to why each park is recommended when. All of a sudden your eyes are opened!! Most of their Podcasts are only about 20 minutes long too, so it's very easy to listen to. (I listen to others because I'm constantly in the car for work, but this one is short.)

To give you an idea, on Sunday of my trip MK had evening EMH and it was listed as the "worst" park. I did it anyway because I a) wanted to see the opening show and my schedule was limited: Sunday was my only full day at the parks! and b) I was with my college-aged brother, staying at the MK until 1 or 2am was "neat." I had an AP at the time, so I could have park hopped, but didn't because of what I wanted to do. I didn't have a problem with crowds at all, this is how we did it and it worked wonderfully! We got there right at rope drop, which I highly recommend anyway, it's a great show! And bopped around for a few hours. By noon the park was getting full and we were getting hot. We ate lunch and headed back to swim. We then didn't go back to the MK until 7. And once we got there we staked out a spot for Spectro and Wishes. Once the park closed to guests not staying on property, we were able to walk on most rides. It was really great. I'm sure if we were there between 1-4pm that day, I'd be saying the park was so crowded! But because we avoided the parks during the "peak" time, we didn't have to worry about that. Plus we were able to rest for our fun night!

 

[lbuzz52]

If you listen to any Podcasts, I highly recommend WDWToday. The one guy on there is the co-author of the Unofficial Guide and every now and then he goes into detail as to why each park is recommended when. All of a sudden your eyes are opened!! Most of their Podcasts are only about 20 minutes long too, so it's very easy to listen to. (I listen to others because I'm constantly in the car for work, but this one is short.)

do you have any links to ones you feel are specifically helpful?


and what is your favorite sight that lists all the rides, attractions, ans shows in one nice list?

 

[lbuzz52]

okay, here is what i think will be on my animal kingdom list- in no particular order

just a recap,
our group includes 5 adults, a 4 year old, a 3 year old, and an infant.
we have TS lunch ressies at Yak and Yeti, and my plan is a CS dinner at Flame Tree


definite:
Festival of the Lion King
Kilimanjaro Safaris (baby swap)
Kali River Rapids (baby swap)
Finding Nemo musical
Expedition Everest ((btw- my dad isn't much of a roller coaster fan- i could see him volunteering to watch the kids while everyone else rides this.)

probable-
Jungle Parade
Triceratop spin
Dinosaur - how scary is this for kids? (baby swap)
Its tough to be a bug- is this really super loud?
boneyard - time permitting


so- my questions-
what should the kids do while the adults ride ee?
what am i missing? i don't seem to have many animal related activities on here?
is this doable in one day with evening emh? what about in one regular day?

 

[lbuzz52]

If we decided, on one of our - go back to the hotel and rest for a while days- to stop off at DTD to eat at WPE, how much extra travel time would this add the schedule? (with SSR being the hotel)

 

[onelilspark]

Do you have an adult that won't ride EE? They can take the kids over to the Boneyard Dig Site.

And Dinosaur is pretty scary for kids. I mean, I scream sometimes And I hate It's Tough to Be a Bug. That one I refuse to do, you might want to consider skipping it for some of the kids. (Send an adult through first.)

I don't have a list of my favorite ones, if you're on their website or on ITunes, they have a brief disciption of each, so you can see what you're listening to. A lot of times the Listener Emails are helpful for bits of information.

 

[onelilspark]

And since you just posted SSR is right next to DTD, like I think you can walk to the Marketplace if I'm not mistaken. So it might add some travel time, but nothing bad. They might even have a boat. Perhaps someone who's been to Saratoga Springs (the fun one, not the real one!) can give you a better idea!

 

[shordiebecka]

hey! AK is my favorite park ever. While on EE, I think you should go check out the trails around the Tree of Life- they have lots of animals- or go on the Marahja Jungle Trek- this is a short walking trail with tigers, bats and lots of cool animals! There is also a trail next to Killimanjaro Safari that has really cool animals also. Not too long for a walk either!

Dinosaur scares me, and I'm 24. I wouldn't recommend it

 

[that's nice]

okay, here is what i think will be on my animal kingdom list- in no particular order

just a recap,
our group includes 5 adults, a 4 year old, a 3 year old, and an infant.
we have TS lunch ressies at Yak and Yeti, and my plan is a CS dinner at Flame Tree


definite:
Festival of the Lion King
Kilimanjaro Safaris (baby swap) It is a little bumpy but you might be able to bring the baby on this.
Kali River Rapids (baby swap)
Finding Nemo musical The show is long.. about 45 minutes. But it is really cool!
Expedition Everest ((btw- my dad isn't much of a roller coaster fan- i could see him volunteering to watch the kids while everyone else rides this.)

probable-
Jungle Parade
Triceratop spin
Dinosaur - how scary is this for kids? (baby swap) I wouldn't have the kids ride this.. Maybe the 4 year old? You can goto the boneyard while other people are riding this ride.
Its tough to be a bug- is this really super loud? It is loud and my DW took my screaming DD2 (at the time) out. If the kids have seen bugs life then they might be OK in here.
boneyard - time permitting Fun for the kids to blow off some steam!


so- my questions-
what should the kids do while the adults ride ee? You can have them do the Jungle Trek in Asia. I'm not sure if we have done this but there are animals to see here
what am i missing? i don't seem to have many animal related activities on here?
is this doable in one day with evening emh? what about in one regular day? I think what you have is doable as long as you are here for RD. If you are going to see TFOTLK you might want to stop by camp Mini Mickey. There are usually very short lines to see some characters here.

Answers in ReD

 

[lbuzz52]

thanks guys!
one more ak ? for you-
are lion king and nemo generally showing for late emh?

 

[lbuzz52]

I'll have to wait until tomorrow to look further at my ak plans. I'm just too tired for it tonight. But thanks for the suggestions.
I did have a bit of a Disney related evening though.
We went to the Disney store to look at costumes. Dd decided long ago she wanted to be Ariel. I decided ds could be Sebastian or flounder. But after finding out those are only available for premium prices on eBay we settled for a generic lobster. We've tried on all the local mermaid and Ariel costumes other then Disney store with no luck. Size 3-4 won't fit over her head. Size 5-6 drag on the ground. Others are poorly made and already have rips at the store. So tonight we tried on Ariel at the ds. The 5-6 is a relatively nice fit. It is a spandex blend though through the body and I wasn't sure what dh would think about that. it spretty shapely. So even though she loved it AND it was 25% off we didn't purchase it.
But I didn't leave empty handed. I bought a couple of the trick or treat bags (they are reusable). And a clearance Ariel backpack and lunchbox (dd actually needs new ones soon) AND the plush are b1g1, regular price 14.50 (I figure I will hide those and bring them out when she starts begging for them at the park). I asked dd what her favorite would be and she picked daisy so while she was watching tv in the back I grabbed that for her and the softest pooh ever for ds. She also begged for all the figurine sets but I told her that she can wait and get those with her Disney dollars. I figure its a pretty small thing to pack for the trip home and she plays with her tinkerbell set every single day.

Then when dh got home we started talking about the fl update and I was telling him we would have to go back for that. He said we aren't going back that soon. I was like what- that's four years. We will go back before then. He was like all I see are dollar signs.
So. I have to stay on top of things and keep my eye out for the discounts etc etc. this is one battle I dont want to lose!!!!

 

[lbuzz52]

I was going over my costume dilema with my sister. Well a little while later she called me back and said that she "ordered" the Ariel costume and crown. Apparently her best friends mom works at Disney store where she lives. Well her best friend practically lives at my parents house so my sis decided to call in a favor. So the costume is coming at me with an additional discount of 35%- that's cheaper then the other local ones. I'm so excited because the detail on this one is amazing!

 

[onelilspark]

yay!

 

[MK2010]

Great report so far! I can't believe it so close! Your'e kids are adorable! I would've reached across the table and throttled my sister on the spot for giving it away! Congrats on the great deal on the Ariel costume. And if you book it they will come! (What's he going to do if you book it and then just pay it down without telling him? Refuse to go? Oh darn!) Whew! Did I get it all in? Oh- I subscribed to TourGuide Mike's. Some people say it isn't worth the $20. I can see their point, but it made me feel better. He even customizes a ride list for you and tells you which rides to d in which order so as to cut down on your wait times. Just a thought. Might be too much for this trip 'cause You're almost there!

 

[lbuzz52]

Okay, now for my interests at epcot.

there is a high possibility that this will be an early EMH. however, there is probably only a 50/50 shot that we will make it there realistically.

We have lunch reservations at Coral Reef.
Dinner will be counter service at ?????

My must dos:
Nemo ride and tanks
Turtle Talk
Soaring (baby swap)
Test Track (baby swap)
Maelstrom (baby swap?)
tour the countries (a little or a lot depending on time)

I really really want to see illuminations but that will depend on the level of exhaustion as this will be towards the end of the trip.

My want to dos
spaceship earth
circle of life
living with the land
journey into imagination
honey i shrunk the audience
club cool


seems like a lot to fit into one day.
so what are your thoughts? anything else that you consider a must do or anything i should just leave out? have i missed anything?

funny, for some reason, a lot of my memories from 20 years ago are of epcot. i remember really hating it. not only was i bored, but i was scared to death of maelstrom. not sure why, nothing else scared me there back then at 9 except space mountain. but my parents would make me ride this thing everytime and i would just sit there in panic mode anticipating that drop.
but at home i would ride the local amusement park's version of splash.

 

[lbuzz52]

for some reason, my dd is trying to develop a fear of loud noises. i pick my kiddos up from mother's day out once a week and then either i'm off early that day or bring them back to work, depending on what's going on. i work in private aviation, and we get back to my work right at the time there is a major airline push- meaning about every two minutes there is an airplane taxing past my office in preparation for takeoff. this hasn't changed in years, but all of a sudden, we pull up to my office and she sits in her seat with her hands over her ears and refuses to move until i carry her in.
i'm guessing a fear of noises could cause a bit of a disruption to the fireworks plans... so i've picked up some squishy earplugs on strings and hope that will help. any other suggestions?

 

[lbuzz52]

Great report so far! I can't believe it so close! Your'e kids are adorable! I would've reached across the table and throttled my sister on the spot for giving it away! Congrats on the great deal on the Ariel costume. And if you book it they will come! (What's he going to do if you book it and then just pay it down without telling him? Refuse to go? Oh darn!) Whew! Did I get it all in? Oh- I subscribed to TourGuide Mike's. Some people say it isn't worth the $20. I can see their point, but it made me feel better. He even customizes a ride list for you and tells you which rides to d in which order so as to cut down on your wait times. Just a thought. Might be too much for this trip 'cause You're almost there!

hey, good to see you over here!
i think you may be on to something... my dh did tell me well, just go without me when we had that conversation. i don't think he thinks i would, but you never know!!!
how do you like tourguide mike? i've heard good and bad things on it.
i've been playing around on the unofficial guide site- some good info, but i'm haven't found the spot to customize a ride list, if there is one.
i'm just trying to go with a good game plan, because i'm not sure the rest of my party is really up for the schedule thing, but i want to at least have a good enough idea to not spend my whole day in line hopefully.
its definitely a lot to learn, huh.

 

[carps09]

I think your young ones will really enjoy Journey Into Imagination. And, you may want to build some time in to explore all of the cool hands-on activities in Innoventions - I always see tons of kids running around with big grins on their faces in there!

 

[that's nice]

Okay, now for my interests at epcot.

there is a high possibility that this will be an early EMH. however, there is probably only a 50/50 shot that we will make it there realistically.

We have lunch reservations at Coral Reef.
Dinner will be counter service at ????? If you are in Future World, Sunshine Seasons has so many choices. This should keep every one happy!

My must dos:
Nemo ride and tanks
Turtle Talk
Soaring (baby swap)
Test Track (baby swap)
Maelstrom (baby swap?)
tour the countries (a little or a lot depending on time)
All your must do's are right on!

I really really want to see illuminations but that will depend on the level of exhaustion as this will be towards the end of the trip.

My want to dos
spaceship earth My DD3 just asked today if we were doing this.. she loved it!
circle of life
living with the land Don't know your exact dates but this is closed until 11/1
journey into imagination
honey i shrunk the audience
club cool


seems like a lot to fit into one day.
so what are your thoughts? anything else that you consider a must do or anything i should just leave out? have i missed anything?
In Mexico, there is the Grand Fiesta Tour which the kids might like.

funny, for some reason, a lot of my memories from 20 years ago are of epcot. i remember really hating it. not only was i bored, but i was scared to death of maelstrom. not sure why, nothing else scared me there back then at 9 except space mountain. but my parents would make me ride this thing everytime and i would just sit there in panic mode anticipating that drop.
but at home i would ride the local amusement park's version of splash.

Epcot is a nice break towards the middle of the trip. The adults can have an Adult beverage and tour some countries. Keep in mind around the World Showcase there are character spots which usually have very short lines. We saw so many characters here and actually had some time with them!