A Pre-Trip Report from a OCD Trip Plannner (First "plannned" Disney World Trip)

[Sacha_L]

Hello All,
I am hoping to do 2 things with this report...1) Take any and all advice from the experts (ie.. all of you) 2) Get all the plans in 1 place so I can sleep at night without lists running endlessly through my head!
I apologize in advance for the following:
I can't spell, or capitalize and I am the QUEEN of run on sentances I am not uneducated just dsylexic

The Cast:

Me! 32 years old
OCD trip planner of the family, I work part-time, love to travel, garden and scrapbook (hate to clean house) I also spend wayyy to much time online

DH 35 years old
Sport Fanatic, goes along with pretty much whatever I plan as long as there is a view, good food involved, and its not too hot! He also like to travel and is a bit of a worrier.

Ds Erik 6 almost 7
This kid goes NON STOP, hmmm wonder where he got that trait?
He currently plays soccer & baseball in the Spring, tennis & swimming in the Summer, Soccer & Baseball in the Fall and we ski almost every weekend in the Winter (skiied his first Black at 5!!! Yes proud mommy!) Now before you guys think I over schedule this kid he specifically asked to do all (ok most) of this and keeps asking for MORE!

Ds Luke 3 1/2
The baby of our family he is a clone of his daddy and still getting out of his Ivan the Terrible 2 stage....He has perfected the I am an angel would you punish me? big blue eyes look. He wants to do anything his older brother does.


MIL 60 divorced for 30+ years lives behind us and is the disney Fanatic in our lives , she accompanies us on quite a few of our trips which allows Dh and I to continue on when its naptime for the boys and indulge in our LOVE of roller-coasters.

Our Last Disney Trip:

We took our first Disney Family Vacation last year to Disney Land (3 days) as a part of a larger 3 state 2 week trip. I booked our hotel (Disneyland Hotel) , bought our tickets and asked a few questions on here. I thought I had planned our trip, after all I knew about Fast Passes! I soon learned the error of my ways as we fried in the sun (July 4th weekend) and fought the crowds. .I did not really get a Touring plan or making Character mealreservations in advance! It also did not help that I left $3K+ worth of my camera's in the planes overhead bin which took a ride across the country without us (they were returned 48 hours later I LOVE Southwest!!! )

DH and I now have a marriage agreement NEVER to EVER go to Disney in the summer or on a holiday weekend again! We did have a good time in spite of all the above and knew we wanted to go back.

Fast Forward to this year and I am determined that we should go to the world instead (Dh and I have both been before but it was for a work conference where we only got about 8 hours in the park) I am so excited! the Disney bug has gotten me good! So I have been reading on here non-stop and getting my daily fixes reading trip reports. Dh is telling me I am obsessed who me??

The Plan (At least for Now):
We are going Oct 3rd-7th and I think staying at the Port orleans riverside because there are 5 of us. I'd really like to stay at the poly or AK but I'd need a good discount code to make that happen. I have ordered the DVD and am hoping for a code so I can upgrade.

We are not planning on doing the Waterparks or Park Hoppers because Luke is really not big enough for most of the Water Park. And becasue we will only have 3 full days and 2 partials. (Plus its a reason to come back next year ) It looks like there is only 1 day while we are there with EMH so I will plan around that. Luke will celebrate his 4th Birthday while we are there so I will be planning some special stuff for that day too!

Whew I think that's it for now I am hoping to start planning my ADR's over the next few days since its almost time to book them!

 

[stagemomx3]

I'm in.

 

[Sacha_L]

Announcement # 1
first off its time for a happy dance!!!
Dh just said I could extend our stay by 1 more day! So our new dates are Oct 3rd-Oct 8th give me a few more weeks and maybe I can get him to "my" actual plan of 6 nights

Announcement #2
I have already changed my mind and deceided we will buy Park Hoppers. This change was made due to the fact that the park hours are shorter in the Fall, Duh Sacha

Now on to the Planning! Finally the Park hours for Oct are listed! So I am going to take it 1 day at a time.


Day 1:
Arrival in the late afternoon/evening so Dh can work at least 1/2 a day and not annoy his PITA boss, and so he can save a vacation day. I am not sure yet on exact times because the Airlines are not selling tickets that far in advance yet. I am hoping to get in the $213 round trip tickets from Southwest. From New Mexico this is an awesome deal!

Oct 3rd
MK: 9am-7pm
Epcot:
Future World 9am-7pm
World Showcase 11am-9pm
Extra Magic Hours
Animal Kingdom: 9am-5pm
Hollywood Studios: 9am-7:30pm

Based on this I am planning on us being in Epcot Friday Night...I am reallly hoping the Extra Magic Hours will be in the evening because I know we will all be Raring to GO!!! So for now I am off to see exactly what in Epcot we want to do and where we want to eat dinner that night. Iam looking for as many character meals as possible so if you have a favoriteplease share

 

[stagemomx3]

I think the only character meal in Epcot is Garden Grill. We didn't like it very much, but lots of other people have enjoyed.

 

[joelp]

You can check out the following site to find the "best" parks to visit - or avoid - for each day of your trip:

http://www.*****************/tp2/UG2_index.php?PageID=0

It only works a month ahead of time - unless you buy the "Unofficial Guide" and find the "secret codes" ...

Eh - did it to me again when I tried to list that site ...

Just find **************** ... (stupid compters!! )

OK - it's touingplans.com (and add an "r" after the "tou ..."

You may want to rethink the hoppers -with only a limited amount of time in da world, you don't want to spend too much of it travelling from park to park ... And with the DS-3.5, make sure you bring a stroller and plan on an afternoon nap break (the older ones could stay at the park or come back for a swim ...)

And it may be hot at WDW in October, too ... We had some friends who were there last Oct and they said it was steaming!! (But then - the 2 times me and the DW were at WDW it was cool and pleasant, with a touch of rain, and no crowds ...)

And be careful of Epcot on the weekends if the Food and Wine Festival is going on - I heard it gets VERY crowded ... ... (finally got to use the "drinking" smilie ... )

I'll be lurking ...

 

[Sacha_L]

I think the only character meal in Epcot is Garden Grill. We didn't like it very much, but lots of other people have enjoyed.

Hi! may I ask why ou did not like Garden Grill? After spending hours yesterday on Disney's site I thought we would eat dinner here....but I don't want to eat yucky food just for the characters TIA!

 

[Sacha_L]

You can check out the following site to find the "best" parks to visit - or avoid - for each day of your trip:

Thanks for the site!

OK - it's touingplans.com (and add an "r" after the "tou ..."



You may want to rethink the hoppers -with only a limited amount of time in da world, you don't want to spend too much of it travelling from park to park ... And with the DS-3.5, make sure you bring a stroller and plan on an afternoon nap break (the older ones could stay at the park or come back for a swim ...)

I was only thinking park hoppers because some of the parks seem to close rather early and was thinking that if we were still still feeling the "need" we'd head over to whatever park was still open....because we are all about the mid day nap/pool time.

And it may be hot at WDW in October, too ... We had some friends who were there last Oct and they said it was steaming!! (But then - the 2 times me and the DW were at WDW it was cool and pleasant, with a touch of rain, and no crowds ...)

I am hoping for cool and no crowdsmyself but not holding my breath!

And be careful of Epcot on the weekends if the Food and Wine Festival is going on - I heard it gets VERY crowded ... ... (finally got to use the "drinking" smilie ... )



Thanks for all the tips!

 

[Sacha_L]

Alright! Here is what yesterday's reading found:

Epcot® The Garden Grill Restaurant

IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth

Maelstrom

Norway

Mission: SPACE

Soarin'™

Spaceship Earth

Test Track

The Seas with Nemo & Friends

Turtle Talk with Crush

The "Big Kid Rides" ie... (Dh & I) will probably be left off until DH and I can come back on our own. Is all this possible in a evening at Epcot?

 

[Sacha_L]

OK starting on Saturday Oct 4th:

Looks like Hollywood Studio's has Extra Magic Hours today To be honest I did not see a whole lot that interested us...So depending on when the Extra Magic Hours are this might be a half day park for us. Please let me know if there is anything else you guys think would be good for little boys


Disney's Hollywood Studios™ Al's Toy Barn

Indiana Jones ™ Epic Stunt Spectacular!

Lights, Motors, Action!™ Extreme Stunt Show Remove Attraction

Playhouse Disney - Live on Stage!

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster® Starring Aerosmith

Star Tours - the ultimate Star Wars™ thrill ride

Toy Story Mania

I was thinking of Playhouse Disney's Play and Dine if the extra magic hours are in the morning (later breakfast)

OR
I was thinking of the Sci fi in dine if we are there for lunch or dinner....


I REALLY wish they would post WHEN the xtra magic hours are for OCT!!! Ok, sorry about all the shouting but I had to get tha out

 

[joelp]

Alright! Here is what yesterday's reading found:

Epcot® The Garden Grill Restaurant

IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth

Maelstrom

Norway

Mission: SPACE

Soarin'™

Spaceship Earth

Test Track

The Seas with Nemo & Friends

Turtle Talk with Crush

The "Big Kid Rides" ie... (Dh & I) will probably be left off until DH and I can come back on our own. Is all this possible in a evening at Epcot?

In a single evening? - No way!!

You really need 2 whole days to do Epcot ...

Dinner at the Garden Grill will take at least 1.5 hours (maybe longer if it's crowded ...)

You probably won't be able to use Fastpass (they all will have been issued for the day already ... )

So - let's plan this out ...

5:00 pm dinner
6:30-8:00 hit attractions
8:00 find a spot for Illuminations (at 8:30?)

So - you only have 1.5 hours for attractions ...

So - you need to prioritize - or spend a whole day at Epcot ... or bag dinner at the Garden Grill. So - how about this - (with approximate times ...)

5:00 pm Spaceship Earth (if the line is small - if not go directly to ...

The Seas/Turtle Talk

6:00 pm Soarin' (do a kid switch - the "Unofficial Guide" tells how to do this ... and/or grab a Fastpass if available)

6:30 dinner at Sunshine Seasons in The Land

7:00 Honey, I Shrunk the Audience ... or just scoot over to
Mission:Space or Test Track (again - grab a Fastpass, pull a "kid switch" and/or use the "singles line" ...)

7:30 Norway - Maelstrom

8:00 - grab a snack and find a spot for Illuminations

OK - I actually managed to fit most of your choices in

- but you'll have to bag dinner at the Garden Grill and run into a lot of short lines ... and do a lot of "running" from one place to the next ... and I really don't think you'll even fit all that in ...

So - give it some more thought and prioritize ...

And remember - you're on vacation - and even though WDW is not a "relaxing" vacation - you don't need to make it a "stressful" one by trying to see as much as possible. Take some time just to relax and take in the the sights, sounds, and atmosphere of the parks ...

 

[Sacha_L]

Thanks for the "revised" itenerary (sp?) I do have an awful habit of trying to be a "Park Commando" when the rest of my family is not

Question # 1 IF there are Extra Magic Hours in the evening could we do all I origionally planned?

Can you tell its hard for me to pare down

Question # 2 If there are not EMH and we dropped all the grown-up stuff could we still fit in the below

Dinner on the run if we see it and smells good we grab it!

IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth

The Seas with Nemo & Friends

Turtle Talk with Crush

Spaceship Earth

Norway - Maelstrom

whatcha think?

 

[joelp]

I just remembered -the FW closes earlier than WS - at 7:00 pm ...

Here are the Oct park hours:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/oct08.cfm?requesttimeout=1000

... that will squeeze you some more ...

But I think you will be able to get in the "short list - last May when we went to Epcot, I took the DD back to POFQ for a nap (which she didn't take !! ) and rejoined my DW & Co. around 5:30 ... As I recall, there was only a very short line for Spaceship Earth (which I walked past ...) - and then I walked right onto The Living Seas with Nemo - and our timing was perfect to walk right into Turtle Talk with only a 5 minute wait ...

So - it can be done!!

Since Turtle Talk runs only every 1/2 hour or so - head there first ... if there will be a "longish" wait, do The Living Seas and hang out in that pavilion until the show will start ... (keep close and monitor the line ...otherwise, just get in the Turtle Talk line) then hit Spaceship Earth ... [OK my daughter just woke up and jumped on my lap
and wants to say "hello" - ... ... ]

Then have dinner - I'd recommend walking over to The Land Pavilion - if there's no line, jump on Soarin' (or grab a Fastpass, if available ... if you haven't noticed, I'm REALLY trying to get you on Soarin"!! ) ...

Your next goal will be to get on Maelstrom about 1 hour before Illuminations (which will probably go off at 8:30 ...) - that will give you time to relax a little and take in some of the WS while you grab a good spot to see Illuminations.

So no Garden Grill ...

But if you get the chance - check out the "exhibits" at Norway (there's a small "museum" in the Stave Church which has some Viking history stuff that the guys will like ... takes 5-10 minues) and the Mexico pavillion has some cool exhibits, too (another 10-20 minutes).

Uh-oh - the DD wants the "Tickle Monster" to make an appearance - so I'll take a look at your DHS plans later ...

 

[joelp]

I stand corrected! - I just double-checked the web site with the park hours - and (if I'm readin' it right ...) with EMH, FW will be open until 10:00 pm ...

So with that - you'll have an extra hour or so after Illuminations to do a few things ... (includin' Soarin'!! )

BTW - I suggested The Land pavillion for dinner at Sunshine Seasons (and Soarin' !!
) If the timing is right and the line short, you may also want to try Honey, I Shrunk the Audience ...


Another dinner alternative is to start walking around the WS towards Norway, grazing along the way ... and maybe run into some Characters, too ...

And - finally - don't forget the Character Connection located behind Innoventions. We stumbled upon it and saw Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Chip n Dale - and then Lady Belle ... all in about 20 minutes!!

Since you're planning on hitting DHS on Saturday - I assume it's AK on Sunday and MK on Monday? Or are you going to the MSSSHP on Sunday?

 

[Sacha_L]

BTW I too LOVE Soarin, it was one of my favorite rides at Disney Land so I am all for fitting it in I just informed Ds3 that he has to grow 2 in by Oct so he can go on more rides This kid is not scared of anything. DS6 is more likely to be afraid of stuff than he is.

Norway is def on our plan...DH is 1/2 Norwegian and 1/2 French (a lover & a fighter LOL)

Thanks again for allthe suggestions, they are really making me "plan" better I am WAYYY to optimistic whenmaking plans and then get disappointed when we don't get to do it all.....I did order the unofficial guide last night...ahh this way I can read at "work" too

 

[Sacha_L]

I just have to say Disney is BRILLIANT! I got the DVD and the whole family sat down to watch it last night. It was so cute watching the kids watch it!

Dh was especially interested in the "resort" section....he now says no way to the values and not really to the mods and wants to go to the POLY!! ooh I never thought he would agree to the cash for that due to some ski trips planned for later in the fall. It will have to be a Garden View Room but hey it still looks fantastic! I can't wait till Friday so I can book before he changes his mind!

However DH now says we should each pick what park we want to go to most and spend at least a day there and he wants a Waterpark....So I said fine then we need one more day! He said maybe we could fly in late thursday night who am I to complain? So now I am off to look at the interpolated EMH that robo has put up a, rethink my plans completly! Stay tuned to the its all changing again pre-trip report....

 

[joelp]

I just informed Ds3 that he has to grow 2 in by Oct so he can go on more rides This kid is not scared of anything.

What a great way to get a kid to eat his vegetables and drink his milk!!!

And hold the "Star Tours" possibility over his head - I'm sure riding that will be a big "carrot" for him to ... uh - eat his carrots ...

 

[joelp]

We stayed at POFQ last May - and it was very nice.

This December the original plan was to spend 4 nights at All Star Movies and then move over to AKL (basically the same cost as 7 nights at a moderate ...)

BUT - when I started adding up food costs and using/not using the DDP - we're now staying all 7 nights at AKL!! with the the DDP ...

[and the best part - DW doesn't know it!! ] There's this thing called "Disney Math" which does not obey any rules of logic or conform to the known laws of physics ...


MY PTR is at http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1689094

You may get some ideas from that, too (although - by December - we will have a DD-5 who is very much into princesses!! ... )

I'll hold off on making any more recommendations then until you have a better idea what you want to do ... I'm sure will give you some more ideas (and you have to visit my PTR to find out who [what?] is ...



Glad to hear that the DH wants to get involved with the planning now ...

PS. If you just happened to get something stuck in your eye and needed some Kleenex while watching the DVD - happens to my DW all the time, too!! And she seems to have that "problem" a lot in WDW (it starts on the ME bus ...)

I'll be lurking and waiting for more news ...

 

[Sacha_L]

Ok I am booking tomorrow! Since I really want to stay at the Poly & do the Dining Plan we are not checking in until the 3rd...However I will be booking the earliest flight out of ABQ as I can and hope to get us to the world by 12 or 1pm. (saves me almost $600!! versus flying in late thur night)

Soooo here is a tenative schedule
Oct 3rd
arrival day
afternoon & evening at Epcot PM EMH Open till 10pm

Oct 4th
sleep in
Breakfast at the Resort
Blizzard Beach 10am-5pm
Dinner at resort
Watch MK fireworks from the Beach

Oct 5th
Hollywood Studio's 9am-7:30 pm PM EMH (how late is that?)


Oct 6th
MK 9am-9pm PM EMH

Oct 7th
AK 9am-6pm

Now to figure out ADR's by tomorrow morning! It'sgonna be a longgggg night!

Here is a pic of all of us with Pluto last year at DisneyLand to keep me motivated! This was our last night and we were all fried to a crisp!

 

[stagemomx3]

Cute pictures. I think your itinerary looks good!

 

[joelp]

One thing you may want to consider when making your ADRs - book your TS meals for breakfast and lunch ... with young kids and a pretty full schedule, they will be tired AND overstimulated - so you never know what kinda mood they will be in later in the day ... (not to mention that you and the DH may be in "zombie" mode, too ...)

Also - in an earlier post when you listed what you wanted to do at DHS, you didn't list Fantasmic!! - you may want to rethink that with the EMH ...

Time to take for a run ...