A Jan 2016 PTR-Disney is taking over my life edition *Update 12/10-MagicBands!*

[sullymom]

I've been told by family and other Disney people that my current park plans seem to ambitious *sigh* I seriously don't know how to cut back, and I have to make fastpasses soon. I didn't think things were too crazy, but maybe I'm underestimating the energy of a seriously active 10 year old? What do you think?
1/4-Arrive at 11 and bus to resort. Relax day for family, date night for Austin and I
1/5-Magic Kingdom 9am-8pm with a long lunch break at Whispering Canyon
1/6-Epcot either 9am-9pm with super relaxed touring style or 12pm-9pm with long dinner break
1/7-10:30 breakfast at Ohana then a half day (1pm-7pm) at the studios
1/8-Free day for everyone except Macy and I. We have a 12:15 at CRT so will be going back to MK for a half day (8am-2pm or 12pm-6pm). Everyone else can either pick a random park or stay at the hotel.
1/9-Depart at 9:30pm, sleep in and spend the afternoon in Animal Kingdom

That doesn't seem bad to me but maybe I'm wrong XD

I agree that it doesn't sound too bad. You have built in down time. You know your family better than anyone else. Also if you notice that its not working while there you can tweak it as you go.

 

[taythecray]

Good to hear! I think my mom is just in that "It's a vacation I don't want to be on a plan at all" mode so even just having that is "too much" for her She just doesn't understand the fastpass situation and how desperate I am to try and fit things in

 

[taythecray]

I finally have a few trip updates! First and foremost:

WE ARE IN THE DOUBLE DIGITS! Wowee. Looking at my little signature countdown, we only have a little over two months left. Cannot BELIEVE how fast time has flown. Technically we reached the double digits a couple weeks ago and I'm just really bad at updating, but I've been busy with school and my new internship (gotta make money for Disney somehow)

The SECOND amazing update can pretty much be summed up with this picture:

We bought our tickets!! Well okay technically only some of us bought tickets....the important people bought our tickets XD Austin and I bought our 6 day passes, and then we surprised my little sister and brother by buying their 5-day tickets. Devin will be paying us back (because he's rollin in dough for a 14 year old) but Macy is going to be excited. I figured my mom was going to end up buying her ticket and I know how much the trip is costing her as-is, so I figured buying Macy's ticket was the least I could do to help out. I also wanted to make sure at least ours were bought, shipped and linked before our fastpass day got here because we are going to be the attraction-focused people (parents and brothers could care less). Now my older brothers on the other hand....they are worrying me. I told them about buying tickets, and they asked me what else there was to do around Orlando and then asked if they could buy 3 day tickets....I'm sorry WHAT?! I mean..I understand they aren't as into Disney as us but...but...I had meals planned and that means they will have to skip a park! Plus how the heck do I plan their fastpasses if I have no idea what days they will be at the parks? Ughh...just buy 5 day tickets like everyone else and make my job easier I guess we'll see what ends up happening. I'm hoping to have all tickets bought my next weekend.

Aside from the ticket excitement/crisis, I did notice they extended some January hours! This is awesome because the days and parks they extended match up perfectly with our schedule. We get an extra hour in MK on Tuesday and Friday, and a hole extra half hour in AK on Saturday <3 I'm super pumped about all of them actually. More time in parks is always a bonus, and I'm glad our park days matched up.

The final update (while not very exciting) is that our flight times changed just a tad and we will now be landing in Orlando at 11:30 instead of 11 on Monday. It could be worse, but I was still a little bummed when I got the email.

Well, that's it for now! I will keep this updated on what we end up doing with tickets, and I will also be finalizing my awesome spreadsheet and fastpass options this weekend (which I will then probably upload) Disney here we come!!

 

[taythecray]

My mother just informed me they want to take a day or two and rent a car to check out the Kennedy Space Center and the beach -_- I literally think she's doing everything she can to ruin my plans. If we were staying a few extra days sure but now I have to look into possibly rearranging some reservations so they have the option to visit the center in the morning and then come back to the parks at night. She just doesn't understand how busy Disney keeps you as is

 

[hollybearsmom]

We hated our extended family not going with the plan, so I know how aggravating it can all be. Honestly, our best part of the vacation was when our little group of 4 just did the plan and let the rest of them do their own thing.

 

[taythecray]

We hated our extended family not going with the plan, so I know how aggravating it can all be. Honestly, our best part of the vacation was when our little group of 4 just did the plan and let the rest of them do their own thing.

That's what I'm trying to focus on. I have now decided to just ignore my older brothers plans and focus on what I want my younger siblings to experience. Unfortunately they will be dragged to the space station and the beach which will knock out almost an entire park day. I've basically made the park plans as if they were with us for the whole time, and then rearranged Thursday to allow a free day for everyone (except Austin and I because we are park junkies and will be going to Hollywood Studios) Thankfully out of all the parks, HS is the one that no one has real interest in so they can have the day for the beach while we stay behind and actually take our time at the park since we rushed through it last time.

 

[taythecray]

I can finally introduce to you all my crazy spreadsheet of planning! After tinkering numerous times with touring plans, editing the park days and reservations, and picking out hopeful fastpass times, I'm finally set with my plans. Obviously things will change a little once the fastpass times are actually released and picked, but this is my general plan to shoot for. This is also my plan and my plan only, meaning when I give everyone a handout it will only list the fastpass times and any shows/parades so others can just have a general outline of what is going on. Really it's just a guideline for myself as well just so I can see what rides are possible to hit and how much time to budget for, and I can't say I'll stick to it exactly, it's just to have a general plan in my head so if we need to pick something to do I can suggest things to try. To be honest....it was just fun to plan this out and tinker with touring plans

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I think the most random thing on here are the two Ohana reservations. This is the new open day (I put Austin and I's Hollywood Studios plans on there) but basically I'm going to run the day by my mom and ask if they would rather have the 8:10 reservation so they can leave from there to the space station and have the day then possibly make it back in time for Fantasmic and a couple rides. I have no idea how long they will take at the space station so I figured I would give them the earlier option. Austin and I will also be taking advantage of the EMH on Friday and Saturday, but they will be totally free reign and just us two so I didn't plan anything for those hours. I can't be the only one that plans this much can I?

 

[taythecray]

I'm home for the weekend! Haven't been home since our wedding, so it's time to finalize Disney plans with my mom I have a few more random updates to add to our trip.

1) We've decided to buy memory maker (man my mom is going all out on this trip) I will be bringing my own camera but mom wants to be sure to get pictures if the group splits up. She also thinks it would be fun to get some ride photos when the boys don't realize it so this should be fun. It will probably be one of the last things we buy before our trip so we have a while to save up.

2) I caved and bought a set of pins to start pin trading. This picture describes my life perfectly right now.

Seriously though....I'm finishing up my last year of college, I can't afford to keep supporting this Thankfully the pins weren't too bad, and the four of us (Austin, Devin, Macy and I) are starting it together and splitting the cost. We found an awesome family starter set on ebay for $40. I've read up on scrappers/authentic pins and looked at seller reviews before purchasing so I feel pretty good about it and I'm really excited Between these and the pressed pennies I want to pick up, I think I already have my souvenirs picked out.

3) I'm sitting down with Devin tonight to have him pick something out he wants to do that's special. I feel bad spoiling Macy with lunch in the castle, a day full of characters and pick-a-pearl and I haven't planned anything for Devin I'm thinking maybe a nice activity at the lodge or desert at a restaurant of his choosing. Really I'm up for anything as long as it's reasonably priced, so if anyone has ANY ideas on what a 14yr old boy would like...please help XD

4) The rest of our party will be buying their tickets tonight! I linked most of them to our account already. Tony and I got Mickey cards, Devin and Austin got Donald, and Macy and my mom got Goofy. Fastpass day is approaching quickly!

 

[taythecray]

Awesome post of pictures alert The family pin set came in the mail today! Probably the fastest thing I've ever had shipped to me in my life. Came with 50 pins, all different, and if any are scrappers I certainly can't tell. Austin and I each picked our 6 to keep (okay I picked 7 because I could not decide between 2) and we will give the rest to Macy and Devin where they will each pick 6 to keep. The rest will be traders! Here is the awesome set we got

And here are the pins we both picked. My set on the left, Austin's on the right. The gold Mickey pin on the bottom right side of his is from Hongkong Disneyland! It was actually pretty hard to narrow down our favorites, but I'm looking forward to trading for others Adults can pin trade right? It's not just for kids....

This second set of pictures are just random shots of my current Disney collection. I'm obsessed with Kingdom Hearts as you can see, along with Aladdin. Really I'm not picky when it comes to anything Disney XD The keyblade was a Christmas present from Austin last year and it's probably one of my favorite things I own.

That's all. Just wanted to share some pictures

 

[taythecray]

Today marks the official 60 day countdown!!
Even better? I made our fastpasses last night at 11pm (central time) and got absolutely everything on my list at the exact times I was looking for!
It actually ended up being a funny experience. I'm not used to having so many days to look at and plan for all at once so when I first got on I tried the website (everyone told me it was easier) but the website was being slow so I quickly switched to the app and ended up picking the wrong day for our first set because I was just all over the place When I finally realized it I had to go back and cancel the first set before making the actual set because my brothers were at their limit. While I was messing with that, Austin was also on the app making fastpasses for the end part of our trip (he went for Anna and Elsa while I went for mine train) BUT in the end I got everything on my list and was able to switch all the times to fit our schedule I'm still going back and forth on whether I want to do online check-in, so until then, here are are finalized touring plans with fastpasses!

1/4-Epcot snacking around the world (3-9)
Meet Characters at Epcot Spot 12:40-1:40 (throwaway pass since we didn't have the mission space option)
Spaceship Earth 2:45-3:45
Test Track 3:55-4:55
On to World Showcase for snacks and exploring!

1/5-Magic Kingdom (9-9)
Mine Train 9:30-10:30 (the one I was most worried about because it is for our first day in the morning but it was one of the original options!)
Tour Tomorrowland before leaving for lunch at Whispering Canyon. Arrive back at MK around 2:30 and tour Adventureland
Pirates of the Caribbean 3:15-4:15
Big Thunder Mountain 4:20-5:20

1/6-Epcot (9-9)
Turtle Talk with Crush 9:55-10:55 (lol)
Spaceship Earth 10:55-11:55 (for those who don't want to spend time in Innoventions and Sum of All Thrills)
Test Track 1:15-2:15
Tour World Showcase before dinner at Garden Grill

1/7-Hollywood Studios (12-7) After Ohana breakfast; this is also the day where people will be going to Kennedy Center so it will just be Austin and I
Star Tours 12:15-1:15
Toy Story 1:40-2:40
Tower of Terror 5:50-6:50
Fantasmic at 7. Hoping my mom and younger siblings make it back for Tower of Terror and Fantasmic so I booked them the same passes

1/8-Magic Kingdom (8am EMH-9 for Austin and I, siblings will arrive by 11 and it may be a half day for them)
Peter Pan's Flight 11:15-12:15
Lunch at CRT!
Meet Anna & Elsa 1:10-2:10
Under the Sea 3-4 (Still not sure if I want to even keep this one but it's there for now)

1/9-Animal Kingdom (11-5)
Kilimanjaro Safari 12:10-1:10
Expedition Everest 3:05-4:05
Dinosaur 4:10-5:10

 

[taythecray]

I have another ADR to add to the list! When I was talking with Devin a couple weeks ago I showed him options on stuff to do that I could treat since I'm treating CRT for Macy. He picked either T-Rex or Cosmic Rays. Funny story is that I already planned on Austin taking him to Cosmic Rays while Macy and I were at CRT, but when he mentioned T-Rex I was like "Great, another hard-to-get reservation" Sure enough I've been checking online a few days at a time for available dining times and nothing. That and we don't have a lot of wiggle-room on when we could go. The best option would be a late night dinner on our Hollywood Studios day since we'll be done at 7:30 and everyone else will be returning from the space center. So, I looked again today and asked on the January facebook group about the experience as well as if I should just grab lunch. One awesome lady told me that since it's not Disney owned, they don't necessarily have all their reservations available online and she told me to call. Sure enough, I called right away and they had openings! I scored a 9pm reservation for 3 on January 7th! So if anyone is looking for T-Rex reservations, call. Hopefully he enjoys it, now he just has to come up with his end of the bargain: keeping his grades up

 

[taythecray]

Well this PTR just got a little more interesting. My dad called me the other day and told me that he has leftover RCI points from last year that we could use as a graduation gift. Normally we head down to Hilton Head, SC every year, but he told us his points were good anywhere so if we wanted to look around at different places we could. Well.....after hours of searching the website and calculating travel costs, we decided on an awesome lodge in Big Bear Lake, CA. So do you all know what that means??

WE'RE GOING TO DISNEYLAND!!!!

I seriously can't believe it. California has been on my bucket list for a while but I figured that would be one of those trips I took "eventually" or "when I could afford it" but it's happening! We are booked at the Snow Lake Lodge in Big Bear Lake, about 2 hours from Disneyland! So now, this PTR for one trip has turned into two! The idea is still sinking in, we're going to Disneyland! We will be in the area from May 11-May 18, a nice week-long trip. Now we won't be in Disney everyday since that would be quite a drive, but we are thinking between 2-3 days at the parks. And as an added bonus? Our friend from college works there in the costuming department, so guess who's getting complimentary CM tickets We will have our own little personal tour guide to show us around and help give us the best DL experience. Between the comp tickets, the "free" (my dad's graduation gift to us) lodging, and the amazing airfare I found ($106 round trip from Chicago to Los Angeles) the opportunity was impossible to pass up. The only negative is the outrageous price for a rental car since we are under 25 and they take on the crazy "young drivers" fee. But that's okay because we will be in California and going to Disney!! Makes it all worth it I know there isn't nearly as much planning that goes into a Disneyland vacation, and I can't plan too much since our friend will be taking us around, but I will definitely add our plans to this PTR. And if anyone has any tips or recommendations, throw them my way!

 

[taythecray]

They're here they're here!

Magicbands have arrived! I think we are going to head out shopping today to pick out some stuff to decorate. Actually I think Macy and I are the only ones who will be decorating them....I want mine to be Tinkerbell themed and she's obsessed with Stitch which is why we have the colors we do. Austin may decorate his later but everyone else doesn't seem as excited about them
In regards to our Disneyland planning, I've looked into a few places to eat and started checking out the rides, but we are going back and forth on if we want to just do one day for free with our awesome CM friend, or if we want to do one day with her and buy a one day ticket to hit more stuff. The problem is we are 2 hours away, and we also want to hit up Universal Studios since they just announced Harry Potter world will be open! So...it's just a lot of driving. Pretty sure I will be debating this for the next few months, so we'll see what happens. OH! I've also decided that the universe does not want me to ride Soarin because it is closed in Disneyland when we go as well That's cool...I heard it's not THAT great anyway lmao:)

On a real-life crappy note.....the reason I am home is unfortunately not a happy one. My grandma has been battling cancer for a while, and was recently diagnosed with it in her brain. Within the past month things have just spiraled out of control, and she passed away early yesterday morning. Everything happened so fast that I just had to pick up and take the first train home from college, missing....well a lot. It's been a really rough month and now week. I actually feel bad that our trip is approaching now because my mom now has all of those payments to take care of on top of the trip...I just feel bad. I'm still BEYOND excited, but at the same time it's going to be rough. Money aside however, I think it will be a nice vacation and time away for all of us, especially my mom who has basically been sole caregiver for grandma the past 2-ish months.

 

[taythecray]

7 days (and 19 hours but who's counting) until we leave!!!!

I cannot believe the time has finally come. It's been a year since the topic of this trip was brought up, and 10 months since we officially booked plane tickets. I still can't believe we're going! I asked Macy what she's most excited for and this was her response:

"Everest. And Animal Kingdom. Wait actually Tower of Terror. All of those"

Devin's was the food Austin is actually really excited about getting magic bands, I'm really excited about Epcot and my lunch with Macy in the castle. With all the real-life stuff going on my mom hasn't officially decided on the whole "car rental/space station" situation so that may or may not happen. I'm honestly hoping it doesn't so we can all enjoy Hollywood Studios. I'm still trying to figure out a way to see the new fireworks at 8 and make our T-Rex reservation at 9 but I'm not so sure that will happen.

In regards to our magicbands, Macy is not getting her wish to decorate hers stitch-themed. I can't find anything our there stitch related. Stickers, tattoos, anything! I did find really cute princess emoji stickers and tinkerbell ones for me but Macy just may have to wait and buy a skin or something if she wants while we're there. I printed out the transportation map and schedules for everyone, and actually ended up switching our first day Pirates of the Caribbean fastpass to Jungle Cruise because with all the reports of people being soaked....I'm not sure everyone will want to ride. I still want to, but I figured this way we can all use a pass for something we will all ride. I also noticed they added more showings of the electrical parade so we're hoping to catch the second one. I'm not bringing my laptop with me on the trip, so my trip report will have to wait until we get back, but other than that I don't really have anything else to add! I may update once or twice more before we get there but for now, thanks to those who followed along

 

[taythecray]

Posting from my phone since we are on the way to our hotel near the airport, but I've just heard that the Osborne Lights have been extended until the 3rd!!
On a sad note: this means austin and I do not get our date night in Epcot tomorrow like we planned
On a happy note: it's because we are seeing the Osborne lights instead!!! I can't believe how lucky we just got! I get to see them after all <3 now I'm just working on convincing the rest of the family to add on the extra day to see them with me. I could not be more excited!!!