A Disney-addicted mom: 2nd annual August trip and Marathon Weekend *Update 10/7*

[Kat in GA]

We arrive that same weekend - we should do a meet up!

I was looking at my spread sheet - and I actually don't have specific park plans for most of the days - figuring we'll hop around and we end up at Epcot most nights for our ADRS. But. I don't have that DHS has am emh that day - just that MK has pm emh. Ack. Back to look at the calendars!!

 

[DrMomof3]

We arrive that same weekend - we should do a meet up!

I was looking at my spread sheet - and I actually don't have specific park plans for most of the days - figuring we'll hop around and we end up at Epcot most nights for our ADRS. But. I don't have that DHS has am emh that day - just that MK has pm emh. Ack. Back to look at the calendars!!

That's because I'm wrong! The AM EMH are on Saturday - our arrival day. Oops!!! Sorry! And Touringplans has it as a park to Avoid. Ugh. Now I have to re-think my schedule!

Amanda

 

[natebenma]

Our trip is happening in less than 5 weeks!!!
I thought I might do a quick summary of our plans so far. I desperately NEED a vacation and this might help get me psyched.

Saturday, August 27th:
JetBlue has changed our flight times a million times but I think we're leaving White Plains airport at 11:17am and arriving in Orlando at 1:54pm.
We're picking up a rental car (minivan) from Budget and then stopping at Publix. (Note to self: need driving directions and location of Publix).
We'll check into BLT (one bedroom - Bay Lake view). We then need to activate our APs/renew Jessica and Nathaniel's APs and buy a new TIW card.
If there's time we'll go to the pool. Otherwise we have an ADR for dinner at Chef Mickey's at 5:20pm.
Planning an early bedtime for everyone!

Sunday, August 28th:
I was originally planning to go to MK this day. After listening to WDWToday and reviewing Touring Plans, I have come to understand that Sundays are the busiest day at MK.
It looks like DHS is having EMH in the AM so I think we'll go there instead.
I don't have lunch ADRs - yet - but I'm guessing we'll eat at Hollywood and Vine.
Some must-do's:
Toy Story Mania! (a favorite for all of us)
Star Tours (Nathaniel and Jessica loved the old one so I'm sure they'll love this one more. Not sure if Zachary is tall enough.)
Playhouse Disney (Zachary loves Jake and the Neverland Pirates so I'm sure it'll be a hit)
Disney Channel Rocks! (Jessica's #1 choice of what to do at Disney)
Animation Academy (for Nathaniel)
Tower of Terror (for me but hopefully the kids will go on it this time)

Maybe's:
Great Movie Ride (I like this but kids are so-so)
Muppets (I've never seen it!)
Honey I Shrunk the Kids (A big hit in our family but it'll depend on weather and time)
Beauty and the Beast (We've never seen this)
Fantasmic! (Probably too late at night but we can come back another night)

We'll probably skip Rock n Roller Coaster since none of the kids is tall enough. I'm dying to ride this but I can certainly wait.

What am I missing?

Amanda

Looks like a fun day at HS, totallly do-able! I have only seen Beauty and the Beast once- great if you know and love the songs.

Have you seen Voyage of the Little Mermaid? What is your take on that? Again, I have seen this once- while the guys were at Indiana Jones. Again, it is a best of the songs from Little Mermaid. The show (both the theatre and the storyline) are darker than the Beauty & the Beast presentation.

Oh, I hope you get to see the Muppets!!! Do your kids know them at all?

 

[klacey1]

Looks like you've covered everything! Definitely don't miss Beauty and the Beast-- it's wonderful!

 

[DrMomof3]

Looks like a fun day at HS, totallly do-able! I have only seen Beauty and the Beast once- great if you know and love the songs.

Have you seen Voyage of the Little Mermaid? What is your take on that? Again, I have seen this once- while the guys were at Indiana Jones. Again, it is a best of the songs from Little Mermaid. The show (both the theatre and the storyline) are darker than the Beauty & the Beast presentation.

Oh, I hope you get to see the Muppets!!! Do your kids know them at all?

I need to double-check but I think Little Mermaid may be closed for refurb during our trip. We saw it once and liked it a lot.
My kids don't really know the Muppets but with the new movie coming out, they may know some by the time of our trip!

Looks like you've covered everything! Definitely don't miss Beauty and the Beast-- it's wonderful!

Good to know!

Amanda

 

[-Hope-]

Glad you enjoyed the new Winnie the Pooh. We saw the previews when we went to see Cars 2 and Kya and I were both wishing we'd saved our movie budget (although I may have to break the rules to see the Smurfs anyway, lol).

Your plans look great. I can't believe you haven't seen Muppets, I would make that a must do for sure! It is so funny and cute, my kids loved it. And Robbie and I got a kick out of the nostalgia factor since we both watched it as kids. The theater itself is also really cool and well themed.

I'll be anxiously waiting to read about the new Star Tours!

 

[DrMomof3]

Glad you enjoyed the new Winnie the Pooh. We saw the previews when we went to see Cars 2 and Kya and I were both wishing we'd saved our movie budget (although I may have to break the rules to see the Smurfs anyway, lol).

Your plans look great. I can't believe you haven't seen Muppets, I would make that a must do for sure! It is so funny and cute, my kids loved it. And Robbie and I got a kick out of the nostalgia factor since we both watched it as kids. The theater itself is also really cool and well themed.

I'll be anxiously waiting to read about the new Star Tours!

Tom took Zachary to see Muppets last year while I rode Star Tours with the big kids. I think I would enjoy it!
Winnie the Pooh was cute but there wasn't a lot for adults in it. I think Cars 2 was probably better.

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

Monday, August 29th

I'm still debating Epcot (recommended park by touring plans) vs. AK (am EMH). We currently have a lunch ADR in Epcot but I can easily change that. For sake of argument, let's say we go to AK.

Drive to AK (Hooray! No endless waiting for buses!) and try to arrive around 8am for EMH. That probably means we'll arrive at 8:30am.

Must-do's:
Safari (we enjoy this even though we have similar types of rides at the Bronx Zoo)
Kali River Rapids (Zachary is definitely tall enough for this one!)
FOTLK

Maybe's:
Triceratop Spin (or whatever the Dumbo-esque ride is called. If we make it to Dino-Land, I'm sure we'll take a twirl)
Expedition Everst (I've never ridden this. Last summer I didn't realize Nathaniel was tall enough. This year both Nathaniel and Jessica can ride but I don't know if it's too much for them. Opinions?)
Rafiki's (we enjoyed this when we did it - maybe 2 years ago? We'll see how everyone's feeling and how HOT it is)
Nemo (I've heard mixed reviews and I'm not sure it's for us)
Bird show (can't even remember the name but I've heard it's good. We'll see if we feel up to it)
Dinosaur (likely skip. I've never ridden it and Tom and the big kids did not enjoy this last year)
Walking trails (+/- for us. We have the Bronx Zoo so it doesn't have the same "wow" factor for us)

Skips:
Primeval Whirl (kids not tall enough)
It's Tough to be a Bug (no interest. will likely freak out kids.)

We usually eat lunch at Rainforest Cafe. Last year we made our ADR the same day and the restaurant was empty. I can get a $25 gift card from mypoints.

AK is usually a half-day park for us. Weather-dependent we'll spend the afternoon at the pool and then change into dinner clothes and head over to Epcot. Depending on whether or not we want to drink at dinner, we'll either drive to Epcot or take the monorail.

6:10pm Dinner ADR at Teppan Edo.

I need an opinion: I had originally figured we'd just drive to the grocery store on the way to BLT from MCO. Now I'm thinking it'll be easier for us to just order from Garden Grocer and not take the time to go to the store. I know Garden Grocer will cost a little more but it seems like it might be worth it to save us an hour. We've used Garden Grocer many, many times with great success. What do you think???

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

DME documents arrived yesterday! Still not sure if we'll use them...

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

Assuming we go to AK on Monday for EMH, we'd then go to Epcot on Tuesday for EMH. I tried talking to Tom about this yesterday and he had the "let's see when we wake up, we're on vacation" attitude. Which kills me because I'd like to have lunch at Via Napoli, if possible. If we can't eat there, it won't "ruin my trip" or anything but I like eating there!

Must-do's:
Soarin' (my favorite ride and Zachary will probably be tall enough!)
Test Track (another favorite and another ride that Zachary will likely get to ride)
Mission:Space (ugh. Nathaniel loves the orange side - his favorite ride - so I'll have to take him. Tom gets mildly motion sick so he'll take Jessica on the green side. Zachary isn't tall enough)
Spaceship Earth (who doesn't love this!)
Nemo
Kim Possible

Maybe's:
Turtle Talk with Crush (my kids have done this several times and are starting to lose interest. I still think Zachary will like it)
Ellen's Universe of Energy (not a must-so but still a nice ride. I don't think Nathaniel has ever been on it!)
Imagination (we rarely go to this pavilion.)
Maelstrom (a nice ride but not something I'd go out of my way for)
3 cabelleros (see Maelstrom!)
Innoventions (fun to play around, especially when it's hot)
Club Cool (not a must-do for my family but still fun)
Living with the Land (a nice ride if we have time)

Skips:
I can't think of any specific skips at Epcot. There's stuff that I don't mind missing but nothing that I would go out of my way to avoid.

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

ONE MONTH from today I'm heading to Disney!!!



Amanda

 

[klacey1]

YAY!! It's exactly 4 weeks for us today!!

 

[Native NYer]

Yay!!!!

 

[DrMomof3]

YAY!! It's exactly 4 weeks for us today!!

Awesome!!!

Yay!!!!

You're going sooner!

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

I'm going to re-post some opinion questions from the previous page:

1) We're renting a car. Grocery stop on the way from the airport to BLT or save time and order Garden Grocer?
2) Should we try to wake up in time for am EMH or let everyone sleep until they get up and then head to the parks?

Amanda

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

I'm going to re-post some opinion questions from the previous page:

1) We're renting a car. Grocery stop on the way from the airport to BLT or save time and order Garden Grocer?
2) Should we try to wake up in time for am EMH or let everyone sleep until they get up and then head to the parks?

Amanda

1) grocery stop...it won't take too long if you have a list ahead of time and YOU go grab groceries...maybe dh can take them to snack isle or something. (I love Garden Grocer, but selection is less than store and it costs for them to deliver - charge is more if you bill isn't at the min amount...)

2) We always do EMH/ rope drop, but we are all early risers...you are going at a less crowded time though...how miserable would everyone be?

 

[starann]

I took the kids to the Bronx Zoo yesterday and went to the WDW area. I was talking with the reps there and they felt the same way about me...it killed them that we don't own DVC! She gave mem more info, but I told her the same thing, we will NOT finance it, so unless I come into a lot of money one day we will not be buying into it. It did give me a small dinsey 'fix' and they gave me a WDW/DVC reusable shopping bag!!!!

 

[DrMomof3]

1) grocery stop...it won't take too long if you have a list ahead of time and YOU go grab groceries...maybe dh can take them to snack isle or something. (I love Garden Grocer, but selection is less than store and it costs for them to deliver - charge is more if you bill isn't at the min amount...)

2) We always do EMH/ rope drop, but we are all early risers...you are going at a less crowded time though...how miserable would everyone be?

I'm still not 100% on the grocery issue. It might stress out Tom too much to make the stop. I'd love to just wait and see how we're doing with time but I know we have to decide in advance.
We usually are early risers. I get up at 5:30 most days and my kids get up early, too. During the summer I've found that they are sleeping a bit later. Hmm...

I took the kids to the Bronx Zoo yesterday and went to the WDW area. I was talking with the reps there and they felt the same way about me...it killed them that we don't own DVC! She gave mem more info, but I told her the same thing, we will NOT finance it, so unless I come into a lot of money one day we will not be buying into it. It did give me a small dinsey 'fix' and they gave me a WDW/DVC reusable shopping bag!!!!

I didn't get a shopping bag!!! Jealous!
Tom's really not sure that DVC is for us anyway. And I'd probably buy on the resale market instead of buying direct from Disney. Unless, of course, we decide to buy at GF....

Amanda

 

[natebenma]

I'm going to re-post some opinion questions from the previous page:

1) We're renting a car. Grocery stop on the way from the airport to BLT or save time and order Garden Grocer?
2) Should we try to wake up in time for am EMH or let everyone sleep until they get up and then head to the parks?

Amanda

1) I don't know- we don't do groceries at Disney. But would it work for Tom to let each kid pick out one special treat in the store while you are doing the serious shopping?

2) I am all EMH! You get so much done in those first couple of hours before people show up, and you can get quite a collection of FP gathered in a short period of time.

Especially AK, which is a half-day park for you (us, too!), going early and getting out before it gets too hot and crowded is key.

Plus you will potentially have afternoon thunder showers to deal with, so if you start early, perhaps you can be back at your resort for some swim time before that happens, or to ride out any storms in your room.

for the one month mark!

 

[DrMomof3]

1) I don't know- we don't do groceries at Disney. But would it work for Tom to let each kid pick out one special treat in the store while you are doing the serious shopping?

2) I am all EMH! You get so much done in those first couple of hours before people show up, and you can get quite a collection of FP gathered in a short period of time.

Especially AK, which is a half-day park for you (us, too!), going early and getting out before it gets too hot and crowded is key.

Plus you will potentially have afternoon thunder showers to deal with, so if you start early, perhaps you can be back at your resort for some swim time before that happens, or to ride out any storms in your room.

for the one month mark!

I think the concern for me is that our flight is landing around 2-ish and we need to redeem our AP vouchers and buy a new TIW card before our 5:20pm ADR. I'm not even sure where we need to go to get our APs and TIW. I still need to figure that out! If we can do it at the resort, we won't be in a rush. Otherwise we might have to go to the TTC. Right?

I like EMH, too. Tom is on this "I need a vacation and Disney with kids isn't really relaxing for me" kick. Yeah, whatever. The kids say they want to get up early and get going. I even offered to take the kids to the park myself in the morning, especially since we'll have a rental car!

Amanda