2011? No way! DD and I hit WDW solo PTR - 10/30-Live fromWDW

[kdzbear]

Here you go: This is a revised version of one I made for a special needs family!

First, your party tickets get you into the park at 4:00 PM even though the party does not start until 7:00 PM.

There are special characters out that are not always out so I will start with those. In Toon Town go to the County Fair store. It is the store diagonally across from Goofy’s Barnstormer Rollercoaster. The Fairies are in here as are the princesses with their princes. When we were there it was Prince Charming and Cinderella with Aurora and Prince Phillip. The princes do not arrive until 7 PM so I would plan to be in line right at 7 PM before the line starts to grow.

Then there is a candy line that takes you from Toon Town to Tomorrowland. If it is not raining, you can take this and end up at Stitch’s dance party. I have read in other reports that they are handing out Star Wars toothbrushes by the DJ booth, but we missed this. Stitch is out in his 4 arms costume. Chip and Dale were also out too.

The Villain’s Mix and Mingles are on the castle stage at 7:45, 9:00, 10:05 and 11:15. I would try to hit one of the later shows.

Hallowishes the fireworks show is at 9:30 and you want to be in front of the castle as they put lots of cool shapes via special lights on the castle that match the music selections.

There is one parade at 8:15 and one at 10:30. Be at least 15 minutes early or you will miss the headless horseman. Take lots of pictures of the pirate on the pirates float at the top. Often times it is the real Johnny Deep and only the manager at the pirates of the Caribbean would be able to tell you for sure.

You can do lots of your trick or treating towards the end of the party when it is less crowded and you will get tons of candy. The adults can trick or treat too!

You should be able to meet Abu and Genie over in Adventureland. There are several other characters there too. They sometimes include Baloo, Rafiki, and Timon.

There are special picture ops in front of the Haunted Mansion and diagonally from It’s a Small World is a Cinderella’s carriage photo op.

Pooh and Eeyore alternate with Tigger and Piglet by Pooh’s Playground. Leave that area and walk back towards Toon Town and you will see the 7 Dwarves.

There is another dance party with the Fab 5 over in Ariel’s Grotto area. The characters are really good about mingling with all of the kids and stopping for photo ops.

There are special stores that carry merchandise such as pins and t-shirts that are only available at the party.

Have fun and take lots of pictures of all of the decorations. I wish I had taken more! My Sept. 2009 trip report has lots of pictures from the party. There is also a map of the party at: http://www.wdwinfo.com/holidays/halloween.htm


Go into the Pirates of the Caribbean store and you will be greeted by a cast member with a cauldron. She will allow your kids to dig in a bucket of fake plasticy bugs to look for a gem. Your daughter will get to keep a bug and a gem. It is a large plastic gem. My kids are still playing with their bugs! Then there is also a trick or treat station inside the Pirate League area where you can pay to be transformed into a pirate. These two stations were neat to see.

Then ride rides between walking from one area to another. Let me know if I provided too much information or if I can answer any additional questions.

 

[jenb1023]

Good decisions so far. Now you should be packing, eh? and more questions?? How can we help??

Packing! I still have to make the clothes first! I think I am going to hit you all with more questions before I work on finalizing park plans (well at least as much as they are going to get finalized for this trip).

Your plans all sound great!

I think you guys are going to have an awesome time!



Oh that is so funny!

I have to say my last few sets have been MUCH better. I have 3 more sets to make tonight...so I hope I have the hang of it now!


I think it totally depends on how you guys hit the ME. If you catch the bus as it is about to pull out and it goes straight to AKL - you are looking at closer to 30 minutes.

** Make sure you have your paperwork for the ME - because I heard you can bypass check in if you have your papers and go straight to the podium during certain times of the day. **

But it was closer to 1.5 hours for me...I waited 20 minutes on the bus before it left and it had THREE stops before mine in September. There were only 9 of us on the bus.

Then you have to check in...maybe get to your room and change. Unless you plan to go straight to the park, I think it will be closer to 5? But hopefully you will get there earlier!


I am so glad I have permission to hijack! And I will keep my popcorn to myself. I just could not resist! Shame on me!

Beauty and the Beast show perfectly matches Jordan. She is so sweet and thoughtful and smart. Does not surprise me at all!

I saw you were listed for family wish shirts so I was hoping they were working better for you.

ME - thanks for the input. That leads to one of my questions.

Thanks for the sweet comments about Jordan! I like the Beauty and the Beast show but after three times I could skip it. Not her - that is one of the top priorities of the whole trip for her.


kdzbear - thanks for the MNSSHP recap! I knew a lot of the info but some I did not know. I am sure when I get to planning that day in more detail I will have more questions.

 

[jenb1023]

So while I am still pondering final park plans after all of the excellent advice and suggestions that I received, I thought I would hit you all with Round 2 of help save Jen's sanity! (though it already may be too late as I simultaneously am taking care of my sick kid, DISing, working on Daisy details for Camporee this Saturday and following Kristine's trip updates on FB - and I thought taking a 1/2 day off work was a good idea!)

Some round 2 questions may be more geared towards those who have taken a trip recently or those who spend hours on the DIS and are up to speed on things.

1) DME
We are planning to take DME because it is free, a fun way to get to WDW and I as the only adult/luggage carrier don't have to worry about luggage. I have a few concerns however about DME. Concern 1 is time. We have had a good experience and a bad experience with times getting from MCO to the hotel. Do I want to waste valuable park time on an already short trip? Concern 2 - checking bags at the hotel on the way home is great but last time we did that there was quite a line and again that wastes valuable park time Concern 3 - DME will pick us at Pop more than 3 hours (most likely before our 2:50pm flight which wastes more valuable park time

My other thought is a car service. Cons are it is not free and I will have to handle luggage some myself (though the driver should help a lot). My other concern, and I know I am being paranoid, is riding alone with just me and DD and a complete stranger where I have no control over where the car goes. Pluses are more park time, more park time and well, more park time. Plus I don't have to worry about bag check in at the hotel and paying the dumbe fees ahead of time etc.

Thoughts??? Recent experiences with DME and wait times, hotel check of bags, etc?

2) Hotel check in online
I know you can do this now. Has anyone done it, does it save time, any other thoughts from personal experience or from stuff you have read?

3) Central FP dist at AK?
Are they still testing the central FP location at AK? This would be helpful as DH is usually a FP runner and I won't have that option this trip.

4) CS credits on the DDP
Are they still all lumped together or are they separated now into adult and child allocations like TS credits?

Okay, TTFN! I am off to hopefully start sewing soon!

 

[kdzbear]

So while I am still pondering final park plans after all of the excellent advice and suggestions that I received, I thought I would hit you all with Round 2 of help save Jen's sanity! (though it already may be too late as I simultaneously am taking care of my sick kid, DISing, working on Daisy details for Camporee this Saturday and following Kristine's trip updates on FB - and I thought taking a 1/2 day off work was a good idea!)

Some round 2 questions may be more geared towards those who have taken a trip recently or those who spend hours on the DIS and are up to speed on things.

1) DME
We are planning to take DME because it is free, a fun way to get to WDW and I as the only adult/luggage carrier don't have to worry about luggage. I have a few concerns however about DME. Concern 1 is time. We have had a good experience and a bad experience with times getting from MCO to the hotel. Do I want to waste valuable park time on an already short trip? Concern 2 - checking bags at the hotel on the way home is great but last time we did that there was quite a line and again that wastes valuable park time Concern 3 - DME will pick us at Pop more than 3 hours (most likely before our 2:50pm flight which wastes more valuable park time

We used ME in Sept. Instead of standing at the lines with the counters you showed your tickets at a podium and were directed to the correct resort line. We landed at 11:35 am. Including bathroom breaks at the airport, taking ME to the resort and checking in to our room, we were in our room by 1 pm. On leaving my husband left the room to check our one checked bag and returned within 30 mintues at about 7 or 7:30 am. We then took all of our carry-on bags to the luggage services and we were in and out of there in less than five minutes. We were at the MK at 9:05 am since we had a few more items to pack back at the room before checking the carry-on bags.

My other thought is a car service. Cons are it is not free and I will have to handle luggage some myself (though the driver should help a lot). My other concern, and I know I am being paranoid, is riding alone with just me and DD and a complete stranger where I have no control over where the car goes. Pluses are more park time, more park time and well, more park time. Plus I don't have to worry about bag check in at the hotel and paying the dumbe fees ahead of time etc. I have no experience here.

Thoughts??? Recent experiences with DME and wait times, hotel check of bags, etc?

2) Hotel check in online
I know you can do this now. Has anyone done it, does it save time, any other thoughts from personal experience or from stuff you have read? I did the on-line check-in. I did not request a section and I received a 70's room with a lake view. It was a short walk to the dining hall/buses. There is a separate line for those who checked in on-line and those that did not. The on-line check-in line was shorter. We needed bed rails and a pack and play and still were through the line quickly.

3) Central FP dist at AK?
Are they still testing the central FP location at AK? This would be helpful as DH is usually a FP runner and I won't have that option this trip. I did not see these, but I was not looking for them either.

4) CS credits on the DDP
Are they still all lumped together or are they separated now into adult and child allocations like TS credits? They are all lumped together so if the two of you stay for 5 nights it will show 10 CS credits. However, if you take your daughter in line with you and she looks under 10 they will make you order a child's meal for her. Now I know I will get raked across the coals for this, but say you were at Cosmic Rays and you wanted chicken and she wanted a burger, then you would have to order separate and could get 2 adults meals. I know it is not what Disney intended, but I am just stating how it works.

Okay, TTFN! I am off to hopefully start sewing soon!

Good Luck with your sewing. I need to figure out how to make my machines work. My serger only makes weighted therapy blankets and I am sure it could do so much more if I could just figure it out. I am so bad at using it that when it comes unthreaded, my husband has to sit there and re-thread it for me and he doesn't sew at all!

 

[lovesdumbo]

1) DME
I have had good service with DME several times but had to wait over an hour for a bus one trip to Pop-it might have been a Sunday but I'm not 100% sure. A bus had just left so we had to wait for the next one and then we didn't fit on that bus so we had to wait for another. Last May I tried a towncar service for the first time in years and LOVED the convenience of it. It was just me & my DS(8). They even had a booster seat for DS both ways as requested. We used them in August with the entire family and again the service was great-waiting for us at the bottom of the escalators and again at the resort when they said they would be there. Helped with luggage on arrival. I did use the resort check in for my luggage and would always do this as MCO can get crazy and I don't want to luggage there if I don't have to. I try to get to the check in before 8am and haven't ever had to wait too long. I can pm you the town car I used if you want.

2) Hotel check in online
I haven't tried this yet. Would love to hear your experience if you do it.

3) Central FP dist at AK?
Didn't do this either.

4) CS credits on the DDP
Last May they were all together.



Good luck with sewing!

 

[HeatherSue]

1) DME
We are planning to take DME because it is free, a fun way to get to WDW and I as the only adult/luggage carrier don't have to worry about luggage. I have a few concerns however about DME. Concern 1 is time. We have had a good experience and a bad experience with times getting from MCO to the hotel. Do I want to waste valuable park time on an already short trip? Concern 2 - checking bags at the hotel on the way home is great but last time we did that there was quite a line and again that wastes valuable park time Concern 3 - DME will pick us at Pop more than 3 hours (most likely before our 2:50pm flight which wastes more valuable park time

My other thought is a car service. Cons are it is not free and I will have to handle luggage some myself (though the driver should help a lot). My other concern, and I know I am being paranoid, is riding alone with just me and DD and a complete stranger where I have no control over where the car goes. Pluses are more park time, more park time and well, more park time. Plus I don't have to worry about bag check in at the hotel and paying the dumbe fees ahead of time etc.

Thoughts??? Recent experiences with DME and wait times, hotel check of bags, etc?

2) Hotel check in online
I know you can do this now. Has anyone done it, does it save time, any other thoughts from personal experience or from stuff you have read?

3) Central FP dist at AK?
Are they still testing the central FP location at AK? This would be helpful as DH is usually a FP runner and I won't have that option this trip.

4) CS credits on the DDP
Are they still all lumped together or are they separated now into adult and child allocations like TS credits?

Okay, TTFN! I am off to hopefully start sewing soon!

1)Here's my experience with DME- I love it! If it weren't for DME I wouldn't have considered taking both kids by myself. It was so nice not having to worry about our luggage at all! I would much rather wait in line at POP to check our bags than at the airport where it would be much easier for the kids to wander off and get lost. I did think it was a little silly to leave 3 hours before our flight time. But, it really didn't seem like we had much time at the airport once we got through security. The lines at security in Orlando are usually REALLY long. This time around, they were completely unorganized and it took almost an hour just to get through them. Then, we got some lunch, used the bathroom, walked to the gate, and it was time to board! So, leaving 3 hours before your flight is actually a pretty good idea and you might not get much extra park time by taking a town car.

BTW, Sawyer was in total meltdown mode by the time we got to the front of the security line. UGH! Then, Tessa was in total meltdown mode by the time we boarded he airplane. It was hot in the airport, and it was SO crowded! That was the worst part of the whole trip!

2) I did online check in and it went very smoothly. I think it saved about 15 minutes from standard checkin. Plus, the line for online checkin was shorter than the other lines. I requested a fridge for my medication and it was in my room when I got there.

3)??? I had no idea they did this!

4)All of the dining credits were separated into child and adult, besides the snacks.

 

[maroo]

So while I am still pondering final park plans after all of the excellent advice and suggestions that I received, I thought I would hit you all with Round 2 of help save Jen's sanity! (though it already may be too late as I simultaneously am taking care of my sick kid, DISing, working on Daisy details for Camporee this Saturday and following Kristine's trip updates on FB - and I thought taking a 1/2 day off work was a good idea!)

Wow. Is Jordan still sick? Did she get the flu anyway? I hope she feels better! Please tell her that Mary and Muffin said hello! Muffin sends kisses to make her feel better!

Some round 2 questions may be more geared towards those who have taken a trip recently or those who spend hours on the DIS and are up to speed on things.

1) DME
We are planning to take DME because it is free, a fun way to get to WDW and I as the only adult/luggage carrier don't have to worry about luggage. I have a few concerns however about DME. Concern 1 is time. We have had a good experience and a bad experience with times getting from MCO to the hotel. Do I want to waste valuable park time on an already short trip? Concern 2 - checking bags at the hotel on the way home is great but last time we did that there was quite a line and again that wastes valuable park time Concern 3 - DME will pick us at Pop more than 3 hours (most likely before our 2:50pm flight which wastes more valuable park time

I have only had one experience with DME - and it happened to be a long ride - at about 1:00 AM - and we had to get our own luggage.

I guess the question is...how much is that extra time actually worth to you in cash. ? And I agree...if you arrive during the daylight, I would see how ME could be an experience all its own.

My other thought is a car service. Cons are it is not free and I will have to handle luggage some myself (though the driver should help a lot). My other concern, and I know I am being paranoid, is riding alone with just me and DD and a complete stranger where I have no control over where the car goes. Pluses are more park time, more park time and well, more park time. Plus I don't have to worry about bag check in at the hotel and paying the dumbe fees ahead of time etc.

Hmmm. I would not really be worried. Have your cell phone out, maybe even call a friend while you are riding. I think you will be plenty safe.

I don't know much about the fees.

Thoughts??? Recent experiences with DME and wait times, hotel check of bags, etc?

2) Hotel check in online
I know you can do this now. Has anyone done it, does it save time, any other thoughts from personal experience or from stuff you have read?

I did it. My experience was great. They had all of my paperwork already done, my room key made and I just checked in. It was very late when I got there...after 1:30 AM - and I was very grateful that it was a smooth experience for me.

3) Central FP dist at AK?
Are they still testing the central FP location at AK? This would be helpful as DH is usually a FP runner and I won't have that option this trip.

No - last I checked it was not there. But the crowds were so low, we did not need the FP - so that may be why they had it down.

4) CS credits on the DDP
Are they still all lumped together or are they separated now into adult and child allocations like TS credits?

Hmm... no idea. All of ours were adults.

Okay, TTFN! I am off to hopefully start sewing soon!

woo hoo on the sewing!

 

[jenb1023]

Hi everyone!

Five more days!

Here are my feelings on that: and !

Plans are coming along thanks to you guys and the boards and the sewing is slowly coming along. One dress and one skirt are done. T-shirts are washed and ready and material for another dress is ironed and ready for pieces to be cut.

This is a drive-by post as I have work to do here at the house before we head out for Hersheypark's Halloween today. I apologize for lumping everything together and for not quoting and commenting on everyone's individual posts. I did read and truly appreciate every single comment and opinion!

For now, I have checked in online at POP and have decided to stick with DME for the time being. If time seems to be wasting with them, then I will make a decision to try to grab a towncar company or cab at that point. AK does not have the central FP location anymore - it was just a test run.

Park plans are as follows for now:

Fri 10/30 - AK as planned. I don't think we will have time to hop anywhere else. Probably back to the hotel to swim or do a little shopping at everything POP. Early bedtime for DHS EMH the next day.

Sat 10/31 - DHS bright and early. This is the day I am going to leave a little loose and up in the air. Although we love DHS and have a few favorite things there, on a short trip we don't have as many priorities at this park as we do at MK or Epcot. The plan is to do our favorites and have lunch at SciFi. Then we will either stay at DHS if we have more to do or we will possibly parkhop. I originally thought about hopping to Epcot but with F&W I don't think it is a good idea to go there on a Saturday. So we may hop to the MK or we may stay at DHS. We can only be at the MK until 7pm as it is a party night. Then we will do something Halloween - right now I am leaning toward the Fort or Pop. I have read several comments and reports about DTD being really crowded Halloween night and I don't know if I feel like dealing with that.

Sun 11/1 - MK in the AM, lunch at CRT, probably a short break at Pop and then back for MNSSHP. Dinner will be CS at Pop or at MK.

Mon 11/2 - for right now, I am thinking hit MK and then hop to Epcot some time and have dinner at Garden Grill.

Tues 11/3 - Epcot for AM EMH and then home .

Mon and Tues plan could change depending on what we do and how much we get done earlier in the trip.

I hope to post some trip outfits later today and maybe have you guys help me on more detailed park plans later this week.

Thanks again for all of your help!

 

[All7OfUs]

5 days!!! You're almost there!

Great to hear the sewing projects are coming along!! Hope they can all get done with minimum stress.

I like your plans so far. I've vote for the fort; it's a great place to meet some super friendly people, and see some cooooool decorations. The sidewalks make it safe and easy. Also, the boat over is fun, and they may give out freebies at Trail's End or the Mercantile.

 

[maroo]

Woo Hoo!!!! 4 more sleeps!!!

 

[jenb1023]

Glad you two are still with me!

I feel better about my plans and choices. Though these plans are a little more loosey goosey than I usually like, a short trip just needs to be a little more free-flowing I think to fit things in. I don't have touring plans per se but have been there enough times to know what to do. Plus, we are rope drop/AM EMH people so that makes getting those busy rides in pretty easy typically. Plus, DD does not seem as interested in character meets this trip which helps a lot too since that is very time-consuming and takes a lot of planning. I think she has met just about everyone and is getting older so that is not as much of a focus. She started pin trading last trip so we should have fun with that this trip too.

A new potential issue for this trip - daylight savings time! My first thought was woo-hoo, spring ahead, fall back, we get an extra hour at WDW! Then I remembered that DD usually gets goofed up at time change time. As she gets older it is not as bad but when she was little - - it would take her a week to get straightened out and back on track.

Hopefully, I can post some clothing photos tonight and can work on some more detailed plans of what we want to do each day. I also want to try figure out how to update from the parks via twitter or facebook before we leave.

 

[kdzbear]

Good luck with your continued sewing and packing! I know you will have a wonderful trip with your daughter!

 

[All7OfUs]

Look out World, here comes Jen and Jordan!! Only 2 more sleeps until off you go!!!

Would love to see what you've sewn...

 

[maroo]

Two more sleeps!!!!!!!

Gosh, I am getting so excited for you guys!

I think to have looser plans is going to be great for you. I hope you will be a lot more relaxed.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Two more sleeps!!!! Yippee

I'm warning everyone...it's SUPER hot down there. Pack accordingly. I ran out and bought leggings to match Aisling's customs and she didn't need a single one!

 

[jenb1023]

I'm here!

One more day!

I finished the sewing last night!

I had hoped to make matching bows but that just isn't happening.

I was hoping to run some things by any of you that are still with me but we shall see what the day brings. I am at work until 4:30pm est. Then, tonight is trick or treat from 6-8. After that, I hope to get Jordan to bed and then make an autograph book, pack and finalize plans. I will have a little time in the AM if need be. I don't know if I am going to figure out how to update on fb or tweet - we will see. I think I may pony up and pay to have internet when we are down there - I need something to do after Jordan goes to bed and my iPhone is just too little of a screen to do much DISing for me.

I also want to apologize for not responding to everyone individually - I promise to do better if I decide to write a TR and if any of you are still sticking with me.

I have photos of the outfits on photobucket so I hope to back in a few minutes posting photos. First I have to help my office figure out how they are going to live without me for three days - they seem to be struggling with that one - LOL!

 

[maroo]

I'm here!

One more day!

I finished the sewing last night!

I had hoped to make matching bows but that just isn't happening.

I was hoping to run some things by any of you that are still with me but we shall see what the day brings. I am at work until 4:30pm est. Then, tonight is trick or treat from 6-8. After that, I hope to get Jordan to bed and then make an autograph book, pack and finalize plans. I will have a little time in the AM if need be. I don't know if I am going to figure out how to update on fb or tweet - we will see. I think I may pony up and pay to have internet when we are down there - I need something to do after Jordan goes to bed and my iPhone is just too little of a screen to do much DISing for me.

I also want to apologize for not responding to everyone individually - I promise to do better if I decide to write a TR and if any of you are still sticking with me.

I have photos of the outfits on photobucket so I hope to back in a few minutes posting photos. First I have to help my office figure out how they are going to live without me for three days - they seem to be struggling with that one - LOL!

I am still here!

Woo Hoo on finishing the sewing!

Yeah...I would definitely spring for the internet...You just pay by the day anyway...so you can sorta decide if you "really" want it that day or not.

I usually just lurk when I am on my iPhone - which can get me into trouble.


If you want to Tweet...You can download an App that should help you.

I have Twitterrific. It is really easy to tweet and answer tweets with that App. And it is free.

If you want to tweet a picture you will just email it to your twitter account and type your "tweet" in the subject line of the email.

Mostly I just took pictures and tweeted those. People like pictures! Here is how it works...

TwitPic.com

You can just log on there to get your twitpic email address.

Call me if you have any questions and I can walk you through it. If you want to tweet from the parks. It would probably help your TR, too. You would get times off of your own tweets and know what you did and when you did it.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Your town is having trick or treat tonight??????

 

[jenb1023]

So here are my shirts/outfits. Please keep in mind that I just started sewing over the summer thanks to the Disboutiquers. Before that I had not touched a sewing machine since 7th grade home ec and didn't know a bobbin from a needle. I also had a little over a week to get them done. So I am warning you that they are pretty basic but I am very happy with them considering my skill level and the amount of time I had. No model as my model was sleeping when I was sewing.

Now that the disclaimers are over, sit back, grab a dole whip (except Maroo you can have a Mickey bar) and enjoy the show!


This is a really basic princess pillowcase dress for lunch at CRT. The fabric has silver glitter on it and the ribbon ties are princess ribbon.

This is the one I am most proud of. Before you get too impressed, the Minnie was pre-made I just had to sew it on.

I knew we were going to Disney before Jordan's AG birthday tea party so I thought ahead and made her and her AG dolls matching red and white polka dot dresses. Then I just added the black buttons to make a mickey head so now it is a WDW dress.

Here is her Animal Kingdom outfit. I was hoping to make her a patchwork twirl with different animal prints but due to lack of time and never having made one before I went much simpler and found this cool fabric.

Here are our matching shirts designed by Tebi73 for DHS day.

Here's my shirt for MNSSHP day.

 

[jenb1023]

Sorry the pictures are so huge!!!

I spent 20 minutes resizing them in photobucket and they reverted back to original size!!!