A February 2016 PTR: 1,000,000 Nos = 1 Yes (NEW 1/26)

[MidnightParade]

Joining in! Congrats on getting booked. It's one of best feelings, it's booked, it's real, this is happening!!!

Tip for Mine Train ask for the back, it's faster and more fun. We rode front, middle and back and Preferred the back.

Ohana is awesome. We tried it for the first time last trip and the DFi said it's a must do. All that meat got him pretty excited. Save room for dessert though!

I totally agree with you on DHS quick service it's just totally uninspiring... Although Pizza Planet is kinda cool it's kind of lacking something for me.

No idea what will happen at that park. I have heard D23 will have announcements on it and others say they will annouce changes but no details!

Love your pictures! So pretty and serene!!!

 

[BillBrasky]

Greetings from vacation! Getting a fire going down by the riverside and listening to country music! You'd never guess I'm voting for Bernie! What a week it's been. So much nature, mountains, swimming, beer, and FOOD!

Center of North Conway. Can't believe vacation is running out. So sad.

In Disney news, we're 225 days out. 45 days to dining reservations. Let's go, you guys, ask me anything.

 

[BillBrasky]

I'm back. You think you got rid of me? Think again. I'm harder to get rid of than the hiccups.

So back from New Hampshire and back to work. Blah. Still, plenty to look forward to. Going to see the USA tool on Haiti in the Gold Cup tomorrow. Having a family cookout on Saturday. Maybe visiting some of my side of the family down Cape Cod on Sunday. And not to spoil the secrets of any future posts, but we are a mere 23 days away from another vacation that should allow for some interesting pictures.

Obligatory Disney photo

Today's random Disney topic of conversation. Random actor cameos in attractions! Does anyone else go crazy for these? I love seeing some of my favorite actors in Disney ride videos. It seems like many of them recorded them before or after their primes, or in career lulls. Not Ellen obviously, but that's more of a leading role, I'm thinking of the more subdued appearances. I also love Martin Short in Oh Canada but he's playing himself in that, so...

Original Test Track: John Michael Higgins. A favorite actor of mine from all of the Christopher Guest movies, and he played the guy running the tests from the control room in the original Test Track.
Rock n Roller Coaster: Ken Marino. Maybe my favorite comedic actor, mostly for David Wain movies and recently the short lived but excellent sit com Marry Me. He has a non speaking role as the tech in the preshow for Rock n Roller coaster where you're supposed to be watching a recording session. He just kind of sits in front of everyone, shrugs at the things they say, and pretends to fiddle with knobs.
Dinosaur: Phylicia Rashad. Obvious one here. Too bad no Cosby with her. He could have tranquilized that dino real quick.
Mission Space: Gary Sinise. This was just a few years post Apollo 13. Gary Sinise was apparently typecast as an astronaut for a while in the 80s.

So... 219 days out! We're almost there!

 

[huggybuff]

. Random actor cameos in attractions!

I always have a laugh at Puddy from Seinfeld as the Pilot during the Soarin' pre-show at DCA. Not sure if it's the same at Epcot.

Solid Cosby joke, BTW.

 

[MidnightParade]

Ack!! I didn't know Ken Marino was in the RnR intro!!! Love him! He is pretty fantastic!!

 

[BillBrasky]

Here we are, a mere 206 days out from WDW!

So park hours were released for February, and making use of those, along with touringplans.com, I've come up with a preliminary plan of action in terms of which parks to hit on which day. Very much tentative. I feel like the hours that have come out are very conservative, i.e. MK never open past 11, whereas the same week of 2015 it was open until 1:00 AM two nights in a row. But let's see...

Saturday, February 13: We land in MCO around 11:30 and hop on the Magical Express to Pop Century. Immediately we'll get on a bus to Disney Springs and ease into our vacation. Plan is to walk around, get some lunch, maybe the Boathouse? Then hop on a bus to the Polynesian to check out Trader Sam's Grog Grotto when it opens at 4:00. After a couple drinks there it'll be off to spend the night at Magic Kingdom.

Sunday, February 14: This is the first of two days in a row that are massively busy. Our whole trip is a peak time, but Sunday and Monday may be phased closure busy. As of now, all the parks are rated at a 10/10 for this day. It's the day before Presidents Day, AND it's Valentine's Day. For me, if all the parks are going to be jam packed, Epcot seems like the best bet because it's biggest. So Epcot it is. Hoping to snag a Valentine's Day lunch or dinner reservation at Le Cellier, but if not, I'll go for one later in the week.

Monday, February 15: Back to the Magic Kingdom! We'll only be there for less than half the day Saturday, so we'll make a full day of it at MK on Monday. Another busy day, MK the only park that isn't at a 10 as of now. Early plan is to get to the park for rope drop, enjoy a few attractions, and then head to Kona at the Poly for a late breakfast, and then back to the MK.

Tuesday, February 16: We'll go to Hollywood Studios for rope drop. This has usually been a half day park for us anyway, and in the state it's in now, more than ever. We'll spend the morning and early afternoon there then either take a break or head right over to Epcot, which has extra magic hours that night. Dinner somewhere in World Showcase... we've done a few of the table service restaurants there but haven't done Tutto Italia since its renovation, so we may go for that.

Wednesday, February 17: Animal Kingdom during the morning and early afternoon. Once we wrap or when the park closes, over to the Magic Kingdom for extra magic hours. Thinking about a dinner reservation for Ohana.

Thursday, February 18: We fly out later in the day, I believe our flight is around 6:00 PM, so we'll have the morning and early afternoon. Gotta go with Epcot again. It's always been the last park we visit before leaving and it's our favorite park anyway, so why not.



In other news, we're going to see Taylor Swift this Saturday. Maybe I'll make the news... if you see video of a guy trying to pull her off the stage using a butterfly net, that'll be me. I have her new performance space all set up in my basement. I think she's going to love it here. And then a week from Saturday it's off on another vacation...

 

[BillBrasky]

201 days! Taking a quick break from the finale of The Bachelorette to post this. Go Shawn!

So 201 means only 3 weeks until dining reservation booking. Get hungry! We were out with some friends the other night and were trying to talk my business school friend and his girlfriend into coming to Disney with us. There may be some interest there.

In my life news, I've been up to lots. Saturday night, of course was Taylor Swift at Gillette Stadium. The highlight was the tailgate, which went from 3:00 until 9:00, because I had no interest in openers such as Vance "Australian Dave Matthews" Joy. Laddergolf, cornhole, friends, food, and lots of beer. Lots of younguns at T-Swift so not a heavy tailgating scene... we definitely closed down the parking lot.

Then inside to see the goddess herself. We had floor seats, which sound great, but pretty much the back row. No rise = no view. Best pics are from the video boards.

So hot. She's chained up in my basement now. Do Taylor Swift's need food?

So here's the big news on my end. I've been touting this secret vacation that starts Saturday. I've just go to make it through this hellishly slow week of work and then it's off to...

Atlantis! A romantic getaway with DW32, DM68, DB46, DB42, DB40, DSIL33, DSIL44, DSIL42, DNi15, DNi13, DNi3, DNe13, DNe7, DNe5, and DNe1. Catch all that? Looking forward to waterslides, rivers, the beach, pools, food, drinks, etc. Anybody ever been? Any advice? God and wifi willing I may have some cool pictures to post while there.

 

[huggybuff]

The Bahamas, eh? Not too shabby.

I like your tentative itinerary! You guys are kicking things off RIGHT with Trader Sam's lemme tell ya, and ADRs are quickly approaching, that's for sure. I hope you get your Le Cellier wish on Valentine's.

 

[BillBrasky]

Tough returning from this and heading back to work, but being under 200 days away from Disney has kept me going. Atlantis was fun. Lots of family time, lots of waterslides and rides, pools, and the beach. Lots of ridiculously expensive food and subpar service. It's the kind of place that is worth going to... once.

In Disney news, yesterday was our 180 mark! So I was up at 6:00 AM trying to book reservations online. It didn't work. It kept saying they were unable to check availability at this time, and then sometimes I would get some times to pop up but if I clicked on one, the screen would just refresh. So when 7:00 hit I called the number and was on hold for a person by 7:03, held for about 20 minutes and got through a little after 7:20. Just before booking reservations, we had shuffled our predicted schedule around based partly on the easywdw calendar. Happy to say we got all the reservations we wanted! Here's the breakdown.

Saturday, February 13th: Same plan as before. Get into Orlando a little after 11:00 AM, hop on the Magical Express and check into Pop Century, then head to Disney Springs to check out Jock Lindsey's, maybe The Boathouse, walk around... take a bus to the Poly to check out Trader Sam's Grog Grotto at 4:00, then spend the night at the Magic Kingdom. No reservations today.

Sunday, February 14th: Spend the morning and early afternoon at Animal Kingdom. Do all our favorite attractions, and try out the new Harambe Market. That evening head over to Epcot for our first reservation, a 7:35 Valentine's Day dinner at Le Cellier! Our first time going there. Was very excited to get Le Cellier reservations, and to get them for Valentine's Day night.

Monday, February 15th: All day at Epcot, from open to close. Try to hit the headliners in the morning, and then head over to World Showcase by early afternoon to start drinking around the world! We made 5:45 dinner reservations for Tutto Italia, but are unsure if we'll keep them. It'll be a long day of slowly meandering and drinking and eating our way through each country, so we may not really be hungry enough for a sit down dinner in the middle of it all.

Tuesday, February 16th: The day will be spent at Magic Kingdom, and then we'll park hop over to Epcot later in the evening as they'll be having EMH until 11 PM as of now. We have noon reservations to have lunch at Be Our Guest. Our first time going to Be Our Guest. That night we have 8:45 dinner reservations in Epcot at La Hacienda. Another first for us. Hoping for a view of Illuminations?

Wednesday, February 17th: The morning and early afternoon at Hollywood Studios. Then an early 5:40 dinner reservation at Ohana. Yet another first for us. After gorging on meat, we'll hop on the monorail for evening EMH at Magic Kingdom.

Thursday, February 18th: Departure Day. Our flight isn't until 7:40 PM though so we'll have the morning and into the mid afternoon to spend at Magic Kingdom. No reservations for this day.




179 DAYS

 

[disney-inspired]

Hope your vacation was relaxing and fun.
Woo for getting all your ADRs!
We are planning to check out Trader Sam's on our first night since we have a dinner ADR at Ohana. It looks so cool!

 

[ANforever1030]

I've learned that being up early for ADRs really isn't all it's cracked up to be. Since we're in Mountain Time we're already talking 4 AM our time versus 6 AM, and on top of that the online system usually isn't great that early in the morning. However, those look like great reservations. I've never eaten at Le Cellier, but I do love a good steak and I hope it makes for a good Valentine's Day dinner.

Btw, how's Taylor doing in her performance space?

 

[huggybuff]

Your plans look great! I'm glad you got your ADRs even with the glitchy computer system that Disney uses. Hey, our trips overlap for a day on the 18th.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Great plans. I'll be there about 2 weeks after you. Did you hear all the D23expo news? We may have the Star Wars fireworks at DHS by then. Oh and the new Jungle Cruise Skipper Canteen in MK. I'm so excited about the new restaurants (Jock Lindsey, Skipper Canteen, Boathouse) that I'm having trouble deciding which ADRs to make (My 180 day mark is Aug 31st...a MONDAY sigh). You will love Ohana...dessert is my fave. If you like tropical drinks head to Trader Sams right before (or after, if you have room, which I am betting you won't). Cheers!

 

[BillBrasky]

Great plans. I'll be there about 2 weeks after you. Did you hear all the D23expo news? We may have the Star Wars fireworks at DHS by then. Oh and the new Jungle Cruise Skipper Canteen in MK. I'm so excited about the new restaurants (Jock Lindsey, Skipper Canteen, Boathouse) that I'm having trouble deciding which ADRs to make (My 180 day mark is Aug 31st...a MONDAY sigh). You will love Ohana...dessert is my fave. If you like tropical drinks head to Trader Sams right before (or after, if you have room, which I am betting you won't). Cheers!

Very excited about all the D23 Expo news. None of it will be ready for 02/16 of course, but we're talking about the possibility of a F&W trip in 2017. I'm curious/anxious about what changes will be ready to go by the time we get there. I know none of the big stuff, but maybe...
1- Completed hub... this seems like a lock to be done, so that's nice.
2- Skipper Canteen... maybe 50/50. Would love to stop in if it's done.
3- Disney Springs... hopefully looking like a fully fleshed out concept by the time we get there.
4- Star Wars filler... could Seasons of the Force be taking place in mid February?

I've learned that being up early for ADRs really isn't all it's cracked up to be. Since we're in Mountain Time we're already talking 4 AM our time versus 6 AM, and on top of that the online system usually isn't great that early in the morning. However, those look like great reservations. I've never eaten at Le Cellier, but I do love a good steak and I hope it makes for a good Valentine's Day dinner.

Btw, how's Taylor doing in her performance space?

Actually just got a dehumidifier going in the basement last night, so I'm hoping that's making things a bit more comfortable for her. The spiders seem to have taken her in as one of their own.

Your plans look great! I'm glad you got your ADRs even with the glitchy computer system that Disney uses. Hey, our trips overlap for a day on the 18th.

Nice! Try to spot me and take a covert photo National Greographic style if you can. Very much up in the air on whether that day will be MK or Epcot... MK makes sense, but I'm sure I'd like to have a few drinks before traveling home, so it'll be something we play by ear I guess.

Hope your vacation was relaxing and fun.
Woo for getting all your ADRs!
We are planning to check out Trader Sam's on our first night since we have a dinner ADR at Ohana. It looks so cool!

Super pumped about Trader Sam's. The plan is to be there before they open at 4:00... I know it can get crazy so I don't want to chance it. I'm a huge craft beer fan, so that's what I drink pretty much everywhere, but I think at Trader Sam's I'll have to try one of the outrageous cocktails from their menu. Preferably something with a souvenir cup, or that is on fire.

 

[huggybuff]

Nice! Try to spot me and take a covert photo National Geographic style if you can. Very much up in the air on whether that day will be MK or Epcot... MK makes sense, but I'm sure I'd like to have a few drinks before traveling home, so it'll be something we play by ear I guess.

Alas, I won't be able to stalk you as I'll be hitting the Expo that day for Princess, then Disney Springs for some eating and shopping.

You might do MK in the morning and then start an abbreviated monorail crawl on your departure day. The Wave Lounge at CR opens at noon and they advertise organic beers as their main feature. Just a thought!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Very excited about all the D23 Expo news. None of it will be ready for 02/16 of course, but we're talking about the possibility of a F&W trip in 2017. I'm curious/anxious about what changes will be ready to go by the time we get there. I know none of the big stuff, but maybe...
1- Completed hub... this seems like a lock to be done, so that's nice.
2- Skipper Canteen... maybe 50/50. Would love to stop in if it's done.
3- Disney Springs... hopefully looking like a fully fleshed out concept by the time we get there.
4- Star Wars filler... could Seasons of the Force be taking place in mid February?

1) Most of the hub is completed. Just those turret things by the castle. They were under construction in May this year.
2) Skipper Canteen - it's supposed to be open by the end of 2015. Let's hope this doesn't change! I won't hold my breath until we get solid news on when we can start making ADRs though!
3) This should be pretty much almost complete. I didn't venture here much in 2015.
4) The Season of the Force fireworks and Launch pad is set to come "Early 2016"...with The Force Awakens opening Dec 18th, I would think they will do everything to prolong the Star Wars fever sweeping the nation and start the fireworks soon after the movie is released...I mean, that's what I'd do! LOL.

 

[BillBrasky]

I'm back! Little 4 month hiatus. Just gets to be tough to anticipate Disney constantly when it's so many days away. But now it's a mere 61 days! First set of fastpasses will be booked tonight hopefully!

The last few months have been full of school, work, and recouping from a sprained ankle. Really done screwed up my ankle good jogging on a sidewalk with heavy leaf cover and not seeing a big drop. 5 weeks out and I can finally walk normally, but still have soreness and have to be careful going down stairs, etc. Really hope it's 100% for Disney. Have had some highlights in the last few months. Did a weekend at a school friend's place on Lake Winnipesauke in New Hampshire. Had a couple of great weddings. And after Thanksgiving, spent a long weekend with friends in one of my favorite places, Vermont.

This is what Vermont is all about.

With Fastpass+ window opening up tonight, here's our preliminary plans:

Saturday, 2/13: Not planning on getting to MK until probably around 6:00 PM. Going for Big Thunder, Haunted Mansion, and Space Mountain.
Sunday, 2/14: At Animal Kingdom for the first half of the day. Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, and Kilimanjaro Safaris. Hopefully get a 4th for somewhere at Epcot at night.
Monday, 2/15: Test Track, Spaceship Earth, and The Seas.
Tuesday, 2/ 16: Splash Mountain, Peter Pan, Jungle Cruise
Wednesday, 2/17: Tower of Terror, Rock n Roller Coaster, Toy Story Midway Mania
Thursday, 2/18: Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Buzz Lightyear... could end up switching this day to Epcot depending on how we're feeling, but we'll see.

Am also thinking about trying to book an ADR for the Skipper Canteen when they open up on Wednesday (or whenever they do)... but not sure when/if we can fit it in our plans.

Also, our Christmas tree, featuring almost exclusively Disney ornaments, has been up for a couple weeks.

 

[BillBrasky]

Thing I haven't mentioned. We might have visitors in Disney? My brother and his wife and daughter live in the West Palm Beach area, near my mom, and make semi-frequent trips to Disney. My SIL had spoken about maybe meeting up with us for a day. I think it would be fun. I asked DW last night how she was feeling about it. She said good and bad. I see it from both sides too. We're such kids when we're down there... we just want to do what we want to do, and it might be tough to have to coordinate with anyone else. Still, it would be fun to be in my favorite place with more of my favorite people I guess. One of my friends from business school and his fiance have also mentioned maybe doing the trip with us if she isn't too busy with work (she's a very successful lawyer and direct descendant of one of our great presidents... not Jenna Bush). We love them and would be thrilled to have them there but at the same time there's the issue of not wanting to muddle things? We're going to their wedding in London next August (money willing), and just spent a weekend with them at her family's place in NH, so we certainly wouldn't tell them to not come with us. Anyone have experience/advice when it comes to visiting Disney with others when you're used to being on your own?
57 days y'all.

It's easy to make time pass this time of year though.

One week until Christmas: I'll be busy finishing up shopping, going to 3 Christmas parties this Saturday, cooking, wrapping, etc. Christmas will be 50 days out.

3 days after Christmas, head to West Palm Beach to visit my mom. Visit breweries. Take in the beach. Spend NYE with my brother. The day we get back will be 42 days out.

Watch college football bowl games/playoffs and host our annual post holiday Yankee Swap with our group of friends on 1/16. That will be 28 days out.

At this point I'll be going crazy. Magic Bands will arrive in the mail. Will I wear mine for a solid month beforehand?

I'll be back in my next semester of business school at this point, Wednesday and Thursday evenings... that will make time fly.

February 7th we'll probably host a small gathering for the Super Bowl, I'll get really drunk, and the Patriots will win? It will be 6 days out and I won't have control of my bodily functions.

 

[BillBrasky]

We're a mere 18 days out!

We're so close that we've ordered our meals at Be Our Guest! They're already at the table waiting for us. I'm sure they'll be fine. I got a croque monseuir, which translates to "fancy name for ham and cheese".

We aren't going to have visitors in Disney, as both possible groups of visitors ended up having commitments. Kind of a relief for us, as we'll be able to geek out without any social responsibility.

The time has been passing fast. I've actually had some other future trips on my mind at times so that's helped. We like to take a weekend with friends to go camping in the summer, and I booked that last week. Also will be booking a flight to London for August in the next few days.

These came! Although we won't be using them. I have an Orange Bird magic band, and Liz has a Figment one. I also got a couple Star Wars shirts to wear at the parks. I've seen Star Wars 3 times, which is the most times I've ever seen a single film in the theater. Just so great. Don't think I need to see it again, but once I can watch at home I'll be all over that of course.

Hoping to meet Kylo Ren. Hopefully his meet starts by mid February!

 

[chunkymonkey]

18 Days! How exciting! I hope Kylo Ren gets there by then too. I'm really looking forward to SW Launch Bay.
We've seen SW:TFA 3 times in theaters too. It was so good. I'm looking forward to seeing it again (possibly multiple times) on our Disney Fantasy cruise. We have Star Wars day at sea so really excited about that.

Have a great time!