A Grand way to Graduate! May 2016 PTR - Updated 5/14

[NJlauren]

A pin code! Lucky ducks!

I have never stayed at either AKL or Boardwalk, but if it was me I would go Boardwalk, I love being able to walk to parks so being able to walk to Epcot and Hollywood studios would be the selling point for me....

 

[kadrachb]

I'm here! You definitely snuck in under the radar. Oh No, you got rid of the Grand Floridian. That is one of my new favorite resorts. However, I completely understand that money works out better elsewhere. Yay for pin codes! Given the choice I would pick Boardwalk especially for only $200 more. Walking to parks just can't be beat; it's also exciting to check out new places. I may be partial though because the boardwalk was my first deluxe resort and the first trip I planned myself. I've never stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge though (until next weekend though!) but if you know you love it. I will still go with Boardwalk though.

Hi there! I think one thing that is keeping me from the Boardwalk is that there are no more water views/boardwalk views available. I absolutely love the look of the resort though.

I have never stayed at either AKL or Boardwalk, but if it was me I would go Boardwalk, I love being able to walk to parks so being able to walk to Epcot and Hollywood studios would be the selling point for me....

Walking to Epcot WOULD be nice... but like I said above, all boardwalk/water views are sold out, so this is for a standard view. I also don't personally mind the buses, but when we stayed at CR it was nice to walk to MK at night since we had park hoppers.

 

[NJlauren]

Walking to Epcot WOULD be nice... but like I said above, all boardwalk/water views are sold out, so this is for a standard view. I also don't personally mind the buses, but when we stayed at CR it was nice to walk to MK at night since we had park hoppers.

I don't mind the buses either except at park close... And we end about 70% of our nights at Epcot so I think that's why I would do Boardwalk, however if your debating stick with what you've got, it's what you really want

 

[kadrachb]

I don't mind the buses either except at park close... And we end about 70% of our nights at Epcot so I think that's why I would do Boardwalk, however if your debating stick with what you've got, it's what you really want

Well, I just went to go look and see if rooms were still available - and they aren't! So I guess that makes my decision easy!

Thankfully we only ever had one really bad night with park close at AKL - and that was from MK. But Kenny and I don't have to deal with a little one or strollers, so we don't mind standing.

 

[kadrachb]

Day 2 Tentative Plans – 5/18 (Magic Kingdom)​

Our first park day! Magic Kingdom has EMH from 10pm – 12pm, but normally by mid-May we’ve always seen MK open until 11pm anyways, so maybe EMH will end up being 11pm – 1am.

(This is one of my favorite pictures from last year!)​

But our first goal is to catch the opening show, and I don’t think we’ll have a problem doing this because it was easy to do last year from AKL.

Our plan of attack would be to do most of Tomorrowland by 11:30am, but this will probably include some Character meet and greets (such as Merida, and maybe Gaston), and then before lunch to do some of Fantasyland.

For before lunch, our FP+ will most likely be Space Mountain and 7DMT.

We have lunch at 12:15 at BOG. Man, do I love those Master’s Cupcakes… After lunch, we will end up doing the rest of Fantasyland, and hopefully be able to catch the parade.


Now, is the FP for Festival of Fantasy worth it? Has anyone used one?
We didn’t get to see FoF last year, and if we don’t do a FoF FP today, we’ll probably use it for the meet and greet for Cinderella and Rapunzel.

After FoF, most likely I’ll be ready for a break, and we’ll head back to AKL. We have an ADR for 1900 Park Fare at 7:30pm, but we’ll use Uber or a taxi to get to it and not a bus.

(Dinner at 1900 PF from last year - so glad we went! We almost didn't.)​

After dinner, it’ll be back to the park! Probably for not both hours of EMH, but since we don’t have to wake up early the next day, we could possibly do both. But we definitely will watch Celebrate the Magic / Wishes this night.


Are there any must dos for you guys in Tomorrowland or Fantasyland? What about seeing FoF?

 

[NJlauren]

I love the people mover! Especially at night!!

I really liked FoF saw it in May and my trip last week, but I didn't use a FP for it so I can't comment on that!

1900 park fare always looks so fun!

 

[kadrachb]

I love the people mover! Especially at night!!

I really liked FoF saw it in May and my trip last week, but I didn't use a FP for it so I can't comment on that!

1900 park fare always looks so fun!

People mover is definitely on our to-do list! We've never been on it, so now I'm putting it down for morning and night! We did get to see FoF two years ago, and we really liked it... I'm not sure if its worth a FP for us, even though it would mean I would definitely stick around to see it.

Love 1900 PF! If you've never been, you need to go!

Also... I'll be heading over to your Holiday TR tonight!

 

[kadrachb]

Day 3 – Tentative Plans – 5/19​

Todays Park: Hollywood Studios
Hours: 9:00am – 8:30pm

For the past two years, Kenny and I can never find enough to fill a day at DHS, we’re done by 3pm, and even parts of the day are us people watching (which is a lot of fun).

So my plan is to get to the park around 1pm-ish. Since we’ll probably be out late the night before, it’ll give us a chance to sleep in, swim, and just hang around the resort. I'm thinking we might be okay until our dinner if we just eat breakfast at the lounge and snacks before we leave. But if not, I think we may just stick to snacks at HS anyways, instead of getting a full meal.

Once we get to the park though, we’ll be there until close.
Our FP+s will include Rock n’ Rollercoaster and Star Tours. I’m not a huge fan of TSMM, so if the wait isn’t terrible at one point, maybe we’ll ride it. I’m thinking about ToT, too, but I'm a pretty big baby and may back out. Our 3rd FP in that case will either be the little Mermaid show or the frozen show (I also don't care for the muppets... so thats a skip for us).

Other than those rides, before dinner we may also plan to see Beauty and the Beast, which I loved two years ago, and The Little Mermaid show, and maybe a second go around on Star Tours.


We have a reservation at 5:00pm at Hollywood and Vine for Minnie’s Seasonal Dine (Our ‘season’ will be Springtime), and we booked the Fantasmic! Package, since we have never seen the show before. After dinner, since we’ll have some time before F! since it starts at 9, and I’ve heard I don’t need to be there until 8:30pm, I think we’ll do Launch Bay depending on what wait times are like before we go. I think since our dinner is early-ish, we it'll be better to go after than before, unless Vader and Chewy won't be meeting after dinner.

Afterwards we’ll take our time leaving, and just head back to the resort.

Not a jam packed day, but are there any must-dos you guys have at DHS? We’ve seen the Indiana Jones show, and Lights! Motor! Action! may be something we’ll do, not really sure yet till we make our FPs for this park in March!

 

[kadrachb]

Resort Update​

So today I got a letter from AKL about refurbishments going on during our stay. I knew the club level lounge was supposed to be refurbished in January, but then was moved to later in the year, along with a soft refurb for the DVC villas. Hopefully, by the time we go the lounge will be done, along with the 5th floor villas. I don't really know when they're starting, next to that someone else going in April also got the letter. So if anyone hears anything, let me know! I do have it in the back of my mind to switch to the Poly club level, but I'm hoping AKL isn't too bad.

 

[kadrachb]

Another Resort change?!​

Thats right! We got some news like I mentioned previously about AKL soft refurb on the lounge and the DVC villa units at Jambo. Well, the lounge will be under refurbishment most of May which I found out through the IPO, so we decided to change over to club level at the Poly! Now, *hopefully* this will be our last resort change. I'm excited to stay at the Poly though! I really did want to be somewhere new, but was torn with already loving AKL. Thankfully, the lounge refurbishment gave us the push we needed to change! Even though the GF is 30% off now with a room-only reservation, I'm definitely still sticking to the Poly. So, if anyone has any reviews of the Poly (good or bad, doesn't matter! I'd prefer good, but if a bad experience happened and there is a way to avoid it - share please!).

​

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Catching up. Boy have there been some resort changes. I'm surprised that you aren't going back to the GF but the poly should be a nice choice as well.

 

[kadrachb]

Catching up. Boy have there been some resort changes. I'm surprised that you aren't going back to the GF but the poly should be a nice choice as well.

I was -really- considering when I saw the 30% off this morning. But I think when we finally decided on the Poly there was a sense of "this is the right place" haha. But who knows! Knowing me, it could change before the offer runs out!

Plus, we'll be right by the GF, it's only one monorail stop or a short walk away!

 

[brb1006]

What characters did you meet at the Magic Kingdom? You did mention you two are returning to WDW next May right?

 

[kadrachb]

What characters did you meet at the Magic Kingdom? You did mention you two are returning to WDW next May right?

Last May (in 2015) we met a bunch of characters at MK. Merida, Tiana, Alice and the White Rabbit, Gaston, Daisy/Minnie in their circus outfits, Donald/Goofy in their circus outfits, Anna and Elsa, Cinderella and Rapunzel. Then we also had dinner at the Crystal Palace, so there was Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, and Tigger.

Sadly, we didn't get to meet Marie. She was on my list, but we were never able to catch her!

We are returning next May, and this is the PTR for it!

 

[brb1006]

If you return to the Magic Kingdom later this May. Try visiting the Magic Kingdom earlier around 9:00 or 10:00am. Because Marie usually comes out around 10:30am to start doing meet and greets at Town Square and only comes out on non-rainy days. You do bring an autograph book for meeting certain characters right? Because Marie's signature is my favorite.

 

[kadrachb]

If you return to the Magic Kingdom later this May. Try visiting the Magic Kingdom earlier around 9:00 or 10:00am. Because Marie usually comes out around 10:30am to start doing meet and greets at Town Square and only comes out on non-rainy days. You do bring an autograph book for meeting certain characters right? Because Marie's signature is my favorite.

Thats good to know! Thanks.

 

[brb1006]

Your welcome, looking forward to the future Trip Report.

 

[kadrachb]

Hey everyone! I hope you had a great Holiday and a New Year!
​

I just wanted to update on something I got for our Disney trip!

First off, as a Christmas present… I got a new bag for Disney. My old hipster was getting REALLY worn out. Plus, I found last year I put too much stuff in it I don’t really need and it makes it heavy…

So I got a new (smaller) hipster from Vera Bradley! Originally, I was going to get it in a Disney theme… but the price was just too good before Christmas on their website.

Then, while checking my email… I saw they had a second 20% off all sale items on their website. So, I thought, I might as well check it out….
Well, I did. And, thankfully, for like almost ¼ of their price (plus free shipping) I got a new carry on bag! I had wanted the bag since last May, and since the price was again, just so good (I mean… $40 for a $120 bag?) I bought it!

That’s all for now!

 

[Saphire5742]

Joining in.
What a wonderful way to celebrate a graduation.

 

[kadrachb]

Day 4 Tentative Plans – 5/20
​

Park: Epcot
Hours: 9:00am – 9:00pm

I hope everyone’s January as gone off with a good start!

Our plans for Friday (5/20), are in Epcot. So excited Flower and Garden is back on!
Anyways, we may do a small amount of sleeping in, because we have a pre-park breakfast on our other Epcot day.


But for this day, our plans include Future World East, so The Seas with Nemo and Friends, Character Spot (which we will likely FP), Journey into Imagination, and Spaceship Earth.

If the new Frozen ride is open, that will most likely end up being our Tier 1 FP.

Our World Showcase portion will be from Mexico – American Adventure, and we have lunch at Biergarten at 1:20. After lunch, we’ll probably be ready for a break. With no dinner ADR, our plan is to snack at the food booths for F&G before Illuminations when we return.


I really want more information on F&G to be released soon! We had such good food and drinks (well, one REALLY bad drink – a margarita at the F&G booth in Mexico – it tasted like cough syrup, and after one sip I was done, but Kenny drank all of it )

What are your favorite places to watch Illuminations? We’ve never actually stood and watched it before. Our first year we saw small parts of it while leaving (we were absolutely exhausted), and last year we saw a little bit of it from Akershus, but by the time we got out it was almost over.