A Photo Safari Halloween Solo Trip for Oct'13: Trip Report Started!

[teekathepony]

Oh yay! Awesome that you got your MB! I can't wait to hear what you think of it!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Very excited to hear about your magic band experience! If I don't pop back in before you leave, have a fantastic trip!! I cannot wait to travel vicariously through your beautiful pictures!

Thank you! Hoping to bring back lots of pictures to share with you!

I'm glad you were able to sort that all out!

I have to ask though, my big concern about this whole system has been what rides would still have FP available as the time frame draws near (you know, kind of like an ADR at a popular restaurant). Did you notice pretty much everything being available for whenever you might want to do it, or were some of the more popular attractions more restricted on availability?

For the most part I was able to find time slots I was looking for. The system's workflow is a bit clunky right now trying to nail the time windows you're specifically looking for because you don't get to pick the times at the beginning of the process when you select which three attractions you want. They provide you with 3-4 package options where the website randomly assigns the FP hour windows for each attraction. Once you choose it, then you can go back and change the time window one attraction at a time. But it won't give you the option of any time windows for one attraction that overlaps with the existing window for another option. It just becomes a pain when you're trying to stack the windows close to each other and takes up a bit of time. I did notice for things like Space Mountain there were blocks of time that were just not available to start with so I'm guessing those were already allotted for.

Oh yay! Awesome that you got your MB! I can't wait to hear what you think of it!

I'll post a pic of it when I receive it in the mail. I think this will be a good trial run for our family trip in January and hopefully by then I will have gotten the hang of scheduling the FP+s and trying to figure out which attractions are worth the FP+ vs. those I should aim to ride at rope drop.

 

[momabbate]

doing a single digit dance for you today!! A little cheering your way for the MB. I am slowly starting to like the idea of the FP+. I am also starting to think you might need some help. Any room in your suitcase??

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

doing a single digit dance for you today!! A little cheering your way for the MB. I am slowly starting to like the idea of the FP+. I am also starting to think you might need some help. Any room in your suitcase??

Thanks for the cheer and dance!! Yes, 9 days to go and single digits!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I'm at work now. This is in my email inbox. Guess where my mind will be this morning?


Untitled by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Thought I'd share pictures of the Disney gear I got over the past few weeks! You've heard me talk about them but I never showed them to you - so here they are!

Here's the t-shirt I finally settled on for MNSSHP on the 27th.

Untitled by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

Here's the iphone case I got. Really like how this one feels. And I don't have to worry about coffee stains anymore as the makers ditched the fabric format.

Untitled by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

And finally, here's what arrived in the mail today! Of course I had to try it on before safely tucking it away. So excited to try it out at WDW!

Untitled by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

 

[emmysmommy]

Joining in on the Disney euphoria!!! Yay for getting your MB - that was quick. Glad that CM was helpful and could get you the reservation # so you could link your band.

I do believe that tee shirt was my first choice as well!

Hopefully you are able to focus on work for a little - it's only going to get worse as your trip draws closer.

I hope you are having a great week!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Joining in on the Disney euphoria!!! Yay for getting your MB - that was quick. Glad that CM was helpful and could get you the reservation # so you could link your band.

I do believe that tee shirt was my first choice as well!

Hopefully you are able to focus on work for a little - it's only going to get worse as your trip draws closer.

I hope you are having a great week!

Disney decided to send it overnight UPS/delivery by 10:30am! And I didn't have to pay any extra shipping fees! I showed it to DW who took a half of second of interest in it. I was trying to show her that we we would be wearing these for our trip in January. Oh well - I keep trying.

I knew how difficult it usually is for me to focus on my work during the last week leading into a Disney vacation which is why I cleared next week of any direct patient-care and bundled it all up during the past three weeks. So now I just have paperwork and meetings to go to during the last few days. Oh and I also took a vacation day for next Friday (the day before I leave) because I'm attending an all day photography seminar at the DC convention center.

 

[khertz]

I like the shirt you got! After you posted about the site, DH and I ended up getting some shirts too. I got a Tower of Terror & MK shirt and DH got the Sci-Fi and one of the BTMR shirts.

Good choice on the iPhone case too.

I'm glad you get to try out the MB! I'm a little relieved we are not eligible since we are offsite because I am looking forward to having one more trip on the old system. I'm sure it will all be fully in place and legacy FP will be long gone by the time we make it back.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I like the shirt you got! After you posted about the site, DH and I ended up getting some shirts too. I got a Tower of Terror & MK shirt and DH got the Sci-Fi and one of the BTMR shirts.

Good choice on the iPhone case too.

I'm glad you get to try out the MB! I'm a little relieved we are not eligible since we are offsite because I am looking forward to having one more trip on the old system. I'm sure it will all be fully in place and legacy FP will be long gone by the time we make it back.

Hope I can catch a look at those shirts next week! They do have some good ones and was very hard for me to just pick one.

Not sure if you've been following some of the threads on the Oct FB page, but it appears that for some of the very popular rides that paper FPs have been running out a lot earlier than usual during the past couple of days. I was actually watching the FP return times on my phone this morning and things like Soarin and TSMM was going tons faster than before even accounting for crowded days. I can't believe that this is just from higher crowds but we shall see how this trends. My personal theory is that the continued expanded roll out of the FP+/MBs are now beginning to have effects on the paper FP availability. Hope this won't be a continuing trend.

 

[mecllap]

Wow -- so glad I found your thread! I'm doing my first MNSSHP on the 29th, also solo -- am sorry I won't get to see your pics before I go. I have totally swiped your Touring Plan -- same top priorities (except I HAVE to do my utmost to get a photo with Maleficent).

Do they hand out candy to us grown folks too? (Not that I really need any, but might be fun to get some to bring home to DGS).

Sounds like you're in for a marvelous time -- while going with family is the best, a solo trip also has lots of advantages. Be careful when you get to that "dead center" for photos. Don't lose your head!


Oh -- forgot to ask about adding Hidden Mickeys to your photo ideas, or do you have plenty? Are there any that are just at MNSSHP? )Check the carpet, etc. at Beach Club).

 

[teekathepony]

LOVE the t-shirt and the phone case! Especially the phone case, so awesome.
Holy cow your Magic Band got there fast! Wow!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Wow -- so glad I found your thread! I'm doing my first MNSSHP on the 29th, also solo -- am sorry I won't get to see your pics before I go. I have totally swiped your Touring Plan -- same top priorities (except I HAVE to do my utmost to get a photo with Maleficent).

Do they hand out candy to us grown folks too? (Not that I really need any, but might be fun to get some to bring home to DGS).

Sounds like you're in for a marvelous time -- while going with family is the best, a solo trip also has lots of advantages. Be careful when you get to that "dead center" for photos. Don't lose your head!


Oh -- forgot to ask about adding Hidden Mickeys to your photo ideas, or do you have plenty? Are there any that are just at MNSSHP? )Check the carpet, etc. at Beach Club).

Welcome!! Thanks for joining in!

They better hand out candy to grown ups or I'm going to be one sugarless grump after the party I heard that if you swing by trick or treat stations near the end of the party, the CMs will practically shovel out the sweets because they usually have too much left over.

I'll definitely be on the look out for some Hidden Mickeys!

LOVE the t-shirt and the phone case! Especially the phone case, so awesome.
Holy cow your Magic Band got there fast! Wow!

I really love my iphone case too! Can't go wrong with Crush!

I was really surprised how fast they sent it. When I customized the MBs, I was a bit nervous about whether it would get to me in time before I leave.

 

[NDQuietman]

Nice thread, first time thread visitor here What site do you use for the iPhone cases? Just curious.

Will be at WDW tomorrow morning ! MNSSHP Tuesday night.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Nice thread, first time thread visitor here What site do you use for the iPhone cases? Just curious.

Will be at WDW tomorrow morning ! MNSSHP Tuesday night.

Welcome!! Hope you have a great time at WDW especially MNSSHP! I'm 7 days away

I've been shopping at Zazzle.com for my last three Disney iphone cases. Here's the link. Give yourself plenty of time to browse as they have over 650 to choose from!

http://www.zazzle.com/disney+iphone+cases

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

So what does being under 10 days to go usually mean? It means that I find myself checking the 10 day weather forecast multiple times a day. So far so good but you can never trust these forecasts until 3-4 days out. Which begs the question why I even check.

 

[khertz]

So what does being under 10 days to go usually mean? It means that I find myself checking the 10 day weather forecast multiple times a day. So far so good but you can never trust these forecasts until 3-4 days out. Which begs the question why I even check.

So true, especially for Florida, but I still do it several times a day too!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

So true, especially for Florida, but I still do it several times a day too!

Forecast is still looking good - hope it holds!

 

[NDQuietman]

All the rain in the forecast today, nothing but a sprinkle. At one point I was in AK Asia and could see it was sprinkling on the lake, sunny and dry where I was standing. Florida !?!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

All the rain in the forecast today, nothing but a sprinkle. At one point I was in AK Asia and could see it was sprinkling on the lake, sunny and dry where I was standing. Florida !?!

Good to hear the rain literally missed you! Hope you're having a good trip!