2017...Arlene's First Time to Food and Wine...*UPDATES W/ FP+"

[kristenrice]

The Dates: October 14-20, 2017

The Place: Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas, Jambo House

The People...

Me: DVC owner with DH and kids who are "Disneyed-out". I am immune to that disease so I have decided to take a trek to the World to celebrate my birthday (the 16th) and F&W with one of my best friends...

Arlene: Another Disney freak who has only been to WDW one other time...and she barely left the resort! Her DH is active in the Army National Guard so she qualifies for the Military Salute tickets.

The biggest obstacle in planning this trip is going to be overcoming our schedules. We are both long-time paramedics (18+ years each!) and we work totally opposite shifts...opposite days and opposite hours. She works 4:30pm-4:30am and I say "hi" to her when I come in for my 5:00am-5:00pm shift. Fortunately, she doesn't feel the need to "go, go, go" and I've "been there, done that, going back", so we should be able to formulate a plan that works well for both of us.

Here's what I have for us so far...

 

[kristenrice]

Saturday, October 14

I have to work from 5am-11am because I could only get half of the day off. Fortunately, I was able to find a flight from Grand Rapids that leaves at 5pm so we will have plenty of time to make it. DH will drop me off at the airport around 3:45pm. The flight leaves at 5pm, lands in Chicago at 5pm (local time) and then we sit until 7:50pm before departing for Orlando. The flight is scheduled to land at 11:30pm which is going to make for a VERY long day for me. Since I only travel with carry-ons and we live about 10 minutes from the airport, I am hoping to catch a nap after I get out of work. Otherwise, I foresee myself snoozing in the Chicago airport in between flights.

Since we are getting in so late, I decided to book a room at the Hyatt in the airport. I don't know how it happened, but somehow, I was able to get the room for $169. It's a king-bed room, but we can deal with it for the short amount of time we are there. I'm hoping to ask at check in if they happen to have a room with two beds available. If not, oh well. I'd thought about booking a cheaper room at a value resort, but taking DME at that hour would probably put us in the hotel room at 1am or later. Then, we'd still have to move in the morning...plus those value resort beds are so hard. By staying at the Hyatt, I have a chance to be "head on pillow" by midnight.

Up next: Arrival Day at Disney World

 

[kristenrice]

Sunday, October 15

The plan is to be at the Magical Express pick-up by 9am. We are staying in a value studio at AKV-Jambo. Since this will be Arlene's first time at Animal Kingdom Lodge, I booked a "lunch" for us at Sanaa at 11:30am, but since I doubt we will eat breakfast, it will be our first meal of the day. I figured we will drop our bags off at bell services at Jambo and either take the shuttle or walk over to Kidani for lunch. This will be a great way to give Arlene the full impact of the awesomeness that is the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

After lunch, it will be off to the Hollywood Studios. This park is probably my least favorite and there is not a lot to do there. I figure that if I plan my FastPasses appropriately, we should be able to get a lot done in the afternoon. I have us arriving at the park by 2pm. Here's what we are planning to do, placed in order courtesy of TouringPlans.com.

Star Tours *FP+
Beauty and the Beast
Toy Story Midway Mania
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
The Great Movie Ride **DELETE THIS ONE...Closing down for good in August**
For the First Time in Forever *FP+
Fantasmic *FP+

Somewhere in there, we will go to the Tune-in Lounge for a drink and bite to eat. Arlene loves the 50's Prime Time Cafe so I think we will stop in between the Frozen sing-a-long and Fantasmic. I know I should probably FP+ the roller coaster instead of Fantasmic, but my reasoning is that I am not sure how much Arlene will want to do the roller coaster and I can't handle that one at all if I have even the slightest of headaches. I don't want to waste a Tier 1 FastPass on a ride that we might not do anyways. I love the Tower of Terror, but I am willing to forego it this trip if Arlene isn't into it. She has already told me that she is not a big "ride person", which is fine because I never get to see the shows when I go with my family...they ARE "ride people". If she wants to try it, then I will swap out the Frozen sing-a-along FP for the Tower of Terror.

After Fantasmic, I'm tossing around 2 options. The first one, depending on how much energy I have left, is to go over to TOTWL and watch the Hallowishes fireworks which I believe are at 10pm. The second option is just to head back to the room, which should hopefully be ready, and crash for the night. Again, this will be a decision that will be made on the spot.

*UPDATED*

Now that I have my FP+ booked, here is the revised plan...

We still plan to be at the resort between 10:30 and 11:00am. Lunch at Sanaa is at 11:30am and I plan on it taking about an hour, probably a little less. If our room happens to be ready, we may head back to Jambo and put our luggage and stuff in our room. If not, we will hop the bus from Kidani over to the Studios. Our first FP+ is at 2:40pm and that is for Toy Story Midway Mania. Depending on when we actually arrive, we may try and squeeze in something like MuppetVision or The Voyage of the Little Mermaid. The next step on our TouringPlan is the 3:30pm showing of the Frozen sing-a-long, followed by Star Tours. Then it's off to line up for the 5pm Beauty and the Beast show. After that, we'll shoot down the street and use a FP+ for the Tower of Terror before lining up for the Rock n Roller coaster. When that's all done, it will be time for Fantasmic. It is one of my favorite shows and Arlene is in LOVE with Mickey Mouse so I know this show will set the bar high for her expectations for the week. My hope is that we can get a "back" seat at Fantasmic so that we can make a quick escape and find a reasonable spot to view the Star Wars Galactic Spectacular. WHY they put these two shows so close together is beyond me. After all of that, I am fairly certain that we will be exhausted and ready to head back to the resort for a good night of sleep.

Up Next: MY BIRTHDAY!

 

[kristenrice]

Monday, October 16...

Right now, I'm planning that Sunday will be a late night so I have no plans to get up early. Today, I have AK on the agenda. I loved this park even before they opened Pandora so I am really excited to spend a day here. I suffer from significant motion sickness and the VR attractions or anything that spins can really mess me up. I've watched videos of the Flight of Passage and I am so disappointed...it looks AMAZING...but I am 100% sure I would not be able to walk a straight line, if I can even get off the ride vehicle without falling over. I tried Primeval Whirl one year as a favor to my kids, and my husband had to help me walk down the exit ramp because I was literally tipping over. We now refer to it as "Primeval Hurl".

Nevertheless, I have decided to bite the bullet and give it a try! I put my attraction and show choices into TouringPlans, arriving at 10am, and here's what they came up with...

Na'vi River, followed immediately by Flight of Passage...
Festival of the Lion King (nice, air-conditioned way to regain my composure)
Maharajah Jungle Trek
It's Tough to be a Bug
Flights of Wonder
Gorilla Falls Trail
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Finding Nemo the Musical

The plan is to get out of the park by 7 and head back to the resort for dinner. I have a 7:45pm dinner reservation at Jiko. I was tossing around Jiko or Artist Point for my birthday dinner. I like to do a signature, or at least a "nice" dinner, for my birthday. Last year, we were a party of 10 so we opted for O'Hana and loved it. The year before, it was just my mother and I and we decided to try Citrico's...eh...the appetizer was good, but my mom found the ambiance "too fancy" and I didn't think the overall value was there. I'm glad I tried it, but it's not on my list of restaurants I'd like to eat at again. DH and I ate at Artist Point in 2013 and it was delicious. I really liked it and I was seriously considering taking Arlene over to the Wilderness Lodge for dinner. The deciding factor, though, was location. It will be so much more convenient to leave the Animal Kingdom park, head back to the resort, freshen up real quick and head downstairs to dinner. I've perused the menu and there are 2 apps, 3 entrees and 2 desserts I want to try. Arlene is an adventurous eater too so we plan to order several things and share. This will translate into leftovers and it will be super-easy to just carry them upstairs and pop them in the refrigerator.

Up next: Magic Kingdom and Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party

 

[kristenrice]

Tuesday, October 17...Magic Kingdom and MNSSHP!

After numerous trips to the MK, both as a child and as an adult, with and without children, I can honestly say that there is still a lot of things there that I love. We plan to sleep in again (no alarms on this trip) and head over to the MK as soon as we get up. We have a lunch ADR for BOG at 2:15pm and we also have tickets to MNSSHP that night. I want to make sure we do BTMRR, 7DMT, Haunted Mansion, POTC and Jungle Cruise. Other than that, we will check out the lines for things like Buzz, Peter Pan and It's a Small World. I'd also like to see Carousel of Progress (nostalgic...my dad loves it!) and the PeopleMover (also nostalgic as it was the first "ride" I rode at the parks....not counting the tram in the parking lot or the monorail to the gate). I don't want to miss the Halloween parade or the fireworks shows so we will definitely have to plan accordingly.

Up next...Wednesday, October 18...Epcot at last!!

 

[kristenrice]

Wednesday, October 18...EPCOT...

...But first, we start at the Disney Studios! Arlene loved eating at 50's Prime Time Cafe and it was the one restaurant she was set on for this trip. Fortunately, it is also one of my favorites too. We will start the day with our 11am ADR and then take the boat over to Epcot. When we arrive at Epcot, TouringPlans.com has given me the following itinerary...and I like it!

Starting at Living with the Land, followed by Soarin'. Then it's over to Spaceship Earth, followed by Test Track and Frozen Ever After. We'll grab a drink and snack at a booth or two and then watch the Chinese acrobats. By that time, it will be about 5:30pm and we will have about 3 hours to hit up the F&W booths. I know it will be busy at that time, so we may opt to hop the monorail and head over to the MK for evening EMH.

Up Next: The last day....

 

[kristenrice]

Thursday, October 19...Epcot again!

We'll start with a stop at Spaceship Earth, followed by Soarin'. Then it's off to our "Mix it, Make it, Celebrate it" seminar at the Festival Center. After that, we're going to stop at Mission: Space (not Orange!) and then we will start at Mexico and work our way around the Festival booths, capping off the night with Illuminations.

I usually like to spend the last evening of our trip at the TOTWL, viewing the fireworks. Unfortunately, Thursday is a MNSSHP night so there is no way we can get from Illuminations to the TOTWL in time...
....or is there???

I was thinking of getting a FP for Illuminations. I'm not sure where the viewing area is for this though. I'm thinking that if we view Illuminations from the area of the IG, then we could run out to the Beach Club and catch an Uber over to BLT. It would be cutting it really close if the fireworks are at 10pm, but I'm planning on watching them when we are at the party on Tuesday night anyways. It might be worth a try.

 

[kristenrice]

73 more days...but I work 36 of them. For some reason, work days seem to make the time fly by since it means I'm occupied for at least 12 hours of those days.
My vacation budget took a major hit today. I made a mistake and accidentally made a payment to the wrong credit card. I got an alert today that my payment was due and when I went back, I found out that I had paid a different card TWICE. So I had to take $350 out of my vacation account to pay the card that was due tomorrow. Bummer...but hopefully, I can earn it back.

My current budget is calling for $500 in Disney gift cards to cover all of my food and drinks. I also want to bring about $200 in cash to cover things like food at the airport/Hyatt, tips and any "emergencies". As of yesterday, I had $415 in gift cards and $110 in cash available. I *had* an extra $300 that I put into the family vacation account that was going to go toward my October 2018 trip with my kids. I was going to use that to fill my gift card ($85) and cash ($90) shortage, but now, that's gone.

My vacation "cash" is money that I earn from donating plasma. I earn either $20 or $70 a week, depending on whether I make it once or twice a week. Unfortunately, due to a "mishap", I have been deferred until September 12. That means that the MOST cash that I can earn before I leave will be $350. Due to my borderline hemoglobin level, it will be VERY hard for me to get two donations a week for 5 weeks straight. If I only manage one per week, that will still be $100 which I can work with. Right now, I am doing as much as possible with my Swagbucks because every dollar that I can earn in gift cards will save me cash in the end. Fortunately, I tend to give myself a HUGE budget so that when I am on vacation, I don't need to worry about keeping track of every penny. When I went in 2015 with my mother, I had budgeted $100 for the F&W booths. I wanted to make sure that we ate whatever we wanted...and we did. At the end of the week, I added up our receipts and we spent a TOTAL of $130...which we split 50/50 so I still had $35 leftover.

 

[kristenrice]

Even though we are still over one month away, this hurricane business is making me nervous. First and foremost, we are praying for the safety of the people in Florida. Vacations will come and go and it's certainly not worth putting more people in harm's way for selfish pleasure. I saw this morning that Jose may not be a concern, but there is another system forming off the west coast of Africa, and another one behind that. It's way too early to predict anything from that, but watching what is going on right now has put me into a slight panic mode.

I started to put together my "Plan B", which unfortunately, would be a straight-up cancellation. When I looked at it, I'm actually in a pretty good situation. First, the points I used for this trip were current 2017 points. I assume that Disney would extend my banking deadline (Sept 30) if a hurricane warning were issued, but if not, I already have enough points for next year's trip anyways. Yes, losing 45 points would hurt a bit, but it would not effect my pocketbook. Second, my flight was booked on SWA using points. I paid $167 to buy extra points so that I could cover the entire trip on points. Now, I am really glad I did that. If I need to cancel my flight, I get all the points back and I can use them whenever I decide to fly again. We bought MNSSHP tickets, but it looks like Disney is providing compensation for those if the party gets cancelled. I have a military salute ticket which cost me $250 and I would end up losing that in the event of a cancellation since it expires at the end of the year. I also booked a F&W seminar ($50) which I would not count on getting refunded. So all-in-all, if I would have to cancel due to another hurricane issue, I would be out about $300. In the grand scheme of things, that's not a number that I would sweat if the decision to cancel has to be made.

 

[kristenrice]

On a slightly cheerier note, I was able to make a flight change yesterday.

When SWA released their flights, there were 3 options that left in the afternoon, all of which had at least one stop, and all ended up with the final leg being from MDW to GRR, landing at midnight. The first (cheapest) flight departed around 4pm, flies to TEXAS for a stop (no change) and then on to MDW for a stop and plane change, before going on to GRR. We booked that one for about $160.

The next flight departed at 5:50pm, stops in OHIO (no change) and then on to MDW for the stop and change. That one started at over $200, but when it dropped to $165, we grabbed it.

I was keeping my eye on the final flight of the day, which departs at 6pm, but flies directly to MDW. It doesn't change our departure time from WDW or our arrival in GRR, but we only have to stop once. Yes, it is a long layover (almost 3 hours) but at least it is only one additional take-off and landing. The price on that flight has been consistently in the $250+ range since it was released so I had very little faith that we would be making a change. Well, I was bored at work yesterday and decided to check it out. To my surprise, it was down to $150 and there were TWO seats left! I called Arlene (woke her up) and we simultaneously made the change. She was stunned to see that she is getting $16 back (even though she won't use it) and I even got 25 RR points put back.

So...now we have it! The itinerary that we wanted in the first place. I sent an e-mail today to MS to update the DME information but I know that I can update it when we get there so I am in no hurry.

17 more days of work...makes it sound so much closer...

 

[kristenrice]

The Magical Express package came yesterday! Of course, all of the flight information is wrong since it is a "fake" flight for our arrival and I am sure that the updated departure information did not make it to Member Services before the package got sent out. It's all good...no need to worry about the arrival and if the departure information is messed up, I just have to call DME once I get there.

The next big thing is awaiting the arrival of the Magic Bands.

 

[kristenrice]

The Magic Bands are here!

They arrived on Thursday, but I've been a little busy. I realized that I leave in just three weeks and I have not done one, single practice pack. I am so indecisive when it comes to what I want to bring. I put on a bit of weight (Ok, a LOT of weight) since last fall so I am struggling to find appropriate clothing. I've got a few pairs of shorts and a few shirts ready to go, but pants are going to be a struggle. I cannot seem to find any that fit so I have been dealing with the single pair of jeans that I have that fit. At home, I wash them frequently and only wear them when I go out. Otherwise, it's sweatpants and yoga pants.

I have my luggage laid out and I am happy to say that I can fit all of my liquids into my 3-1-1 bag (including my laundry pods!) so I do not have to check any bags. I can fit everything comfortably into my spinner carry-on and my MotherLode backpack. I have all of my gift card money earned...$500 in Disney and $40 in Amazon for my PrimeNow grocery order. I also have my cash contingency money ($200) all set to go.

I have a few days off this week (daughter's birthday and 3 volleyball games!) so I am down to only 9 more days of work before we leave.

 

[kristenrice]

Well, I finally did a "practice pack". I gathered up pretty much all of my non-clothing items and organized all of it. I assembled all of my medications, "toiletries" (toothbrush, razor, hairbrush, etc), electronics (chargers, headphones, etc) and my dishes. We're staying in a studio and I like to use real dishware so I have a microwaveable bowl and plate as well as a microwave egg cooker. I still have a ton of room for my clothing, including 2 extra pairs of shoes. I was prepared to pack my shorts, tanks and tees, except it's still 95 degrees here! The temperatures are supposed to cool off towards the end of the week so I should be able to get packed by early next week.

 

[limace]

Exciting! Jealous of a trip so close-and sounds like a blast with a girlfriend.

 

[kristenrice]

I LEAVE IN 4 DAYS!!!!

(Sorry, just can't contain my excitement!!)

 

[kristenrice]

Getting the final packing and running around done since I work all day tomorrow.

Decided to bring my laptop...Swagbucks is running so good for me right now and I don't want to break my streak simply do to vacation. I will probably wake up in the morning way before Arlene anyways so I can sit out on the balcony and take a few surveys before she gets up. Then, I can try and let the nCraves run while we are in the parks. My backpack will be a bit heavier than I planned (my laptop is a dinosaur but it still does what I need it to do) but I can deal with it.

Today, my agenda is to put all of my vacation clothes through a final wash and get them packed. I'm also going to pack everything else that I won't be using between now and Saturday night. I have to make a final Target run, make (or at least attempt) my plasma donation ($60 if I am successful) and then DD12 has a volleyball game after school.

Tomorrow, I'm up at 3am to head off to work. I'm sure I will get out late because that's the way it works on your last day before vacation...you get a high-priority, physically intensive, mentally straining emergency call about 20 minutes before you are supposed to punch out. Hopefully, that doesn't happen and I can actually get home by 5:30pm. We are going to try and have a "family night" and either watch a movie together or play MarioKart until we fall asleep.

Saturday morning was approved for vacation so I don't have to be up at 3am. I have to get DD12 to a school function by 9am. I have a haircut and pedicure scheduled for noon, but I will probably be moving that earlier. Arlene's husband is a mechanic and my truck needs some work. He has offered to take care of it while we are gone so my plans have to change a bit. I'm hoping to drop DD off at 9, get a mani/pedi/haircut scheduled for about 10 at the spa (which means about 3 hours of ). Instead of having a 10 minute drive to the airport from my house, I will be driving my truck to Arlene's house (about 30 minutes away) so her hubby can have it for the week. We haven't decided how we are going to get to the airport....either her husband will drive us all the way back down to the airport, or my DH will follow me up to her house and take us to the airport on his way back home.

Right now, I just need to get through today and tomorrow without letting my nerves get the best of me. I find that I get very scatterbrained when I have a lot to do and sometimes have trouble getting started when I feel that I have too much on my plate.