A Trip full of Wonder and Magic and Wonderfulness! Sep '11 PTR!

[PrincessInOz]

That's a very cute souvenier you got from Disney. And how lovely it matches your name! You'll definitely have to put aside some extra money to get Alice In Wonderland related items...


ESTA isn't hard. Aside from the standard items, you need your passport, flight details and a US address (usually the hotel where you are going to stay). You follow the instructions and cough up the $ at the end; so have your credit card ready.

I normally have a word document opened at the same time and when the system issues the ESTA number, I cut and paste it into the word document; and then save it. This way, I can't stuff up the number!

Your number is valid for a few years; so for your NEXT trip, you just need to go back in with the number and update the flight and hotel details.

 

[QuirkyButterfly]

Even with the lurkers and admirers....we're just lucky to have our little "community" of Disney Freaks that we amass on our PTRs and TRs. It's funny how we get a strange little community and everyone's is different even if we have a little bit of overlap between all our little communitiesl

That's whats great about the DIS. Keep it up more will join in and many will follow if you move on to a TR. I've found the longer you hang around the more followers you get as they will follow you from PTR to TR to PTR....

Thanks for your words of encouragement! I also like that we have a little "community" that I see around on various threads I follow. As I plan on sticking this out until the TR has finished, I should have amassed quite a size-able following by then (fingers crossed )

That's a very cute souvenier you got from Disney. And how lovely it matches your name! You'll definitely have to put aside some extra money to get Alice In Wonderland related items...


ESTA isn't hard. Aside from the standard items, you need your passport, flight details and a US address (usually the hotel where you are going to stay). You follow the instructions and cough up the $ at the end; so have your credit card ready.

I normally have a word document opened at the same time and when the system issues the ESTA number, I cut and paste it into the word document; and then save it. This way, I can't stuff up the number!

Your number is valid for a few years; so for your NEXT trip, you just need to go back in with the number and update the flight and hotel details.

Thanks for the info, I don't know about you but I hate filling out application forms, the passport was bad enough!

On a positive note Adam started filling out his passport so that makes me happy .

 

[shushh]

QB!!! So many updates whilst I've been gone! So sorry I haven't checked back in since my return. I'm finally caught up.

So sorry to hear about the accident. It always feels awful to be in one, no matter how little or how much damage was involved. I'm glad that you are ok thought and that your car is back! Congratulations on booking your accomodation, and what great rates too! I loved our stay at the POR. I didn't notice any refurbishments going on! Great movie reviews by the way! You did a MUCH better job than my boring 3 lines in my TR! I share your feelings about both movies. Disappointed with Tron but loved Tangled.

Ok so now the question is...will you have time for a cruise at the end of your trip?

 

[QuirkyButterfly]

QB!!! So many updates whilst I've been gone! So sorry I haven't checked back in since my return. I'm finally caught up.

So sorry to hear about the accident. It always feels awful to be in one, no matter how little or how much damage was involved. I'm glad that you are ok thought and that your car is back! Congratulations on booking your accomodation, and what great rates too! I loved our stay at the POR. I didn't notice any refurbishments going on! Great movie reviews by the way! You did a MUCH better job than my boring 3 lines in my TR! I share your feelings about both movies. Disappointed with Tron but loved Tangled.

Ok so now the question is...will you have time for a cruise at the end of your trip?

Welcome back

Yes accidents are no fun, but I am extremely glad to be back on the road now, having a car is so much easier than public transport.

I am very very very happy about the rates that I got for the accommodation. I hope that all the refurbishments are done by the time we are there. It will be nice to stay in a "fresh" room.

I am glad that you liked my reviews, I can't wait to get Tangled on Blu-ray, I really want to watch it again.

And finally, we will not be going on a cruise I would love to but it just isn't going to happen this time around. I am left living vicariously through yours! I should really put up a semi-finalised itinerary, it will have to go on my loooonnnnggg to do list .

 

[QuirkyButterfly]

I have booked a few more things.

On Sat 3rd Sept to Wed 7th Sept we will be staying at Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Studios .

It looks like a beautiful resort, and even though we only have a standard room it still looks really nice. We are only going to be going to Universal/IOA 2 days. I had planned to stay offsite to save money but when I weighed up the perks I just decided to stay onsite. I was going to pay for FOL passes anyway and for both of us for two days that really adds up. The thing I am looking forward to the most is Harry Potter and if I can get into there earlier than other guest it will make it easier to tour that area if it is still as popular to visit as it is at the moment.

I decided to go with the park to park ticket at Universal, because there are so many trill rides that Adam isn't keen to go on I thought it would be a good idea to be able to go between parks if there are things he really enjoys so we can go do them again.

I have also purchased the Discovery Cove tickets.

I can't wait to go and see this it is one of the things I am looking forward to the most in this trip. Tickets also give us entry to Sea World.

So our little holiday is starting to come together. We just need to work out where we will be staying in LA and San Francisco.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Coming together very nicely indeed!

Where were you thinking about staying in LA and SF?

 

[franandaj]

The standard rooms at the Royal Pacific are nice. We stayed in one a couple years back. I'm sure you'll them. Don't mind the clutter.

Let me know if you need any help securing a room in LA. I can give you an idea of what neighbors are like and how you might be able to get transportation. LA can be difficult to navigate without a car.

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

I made it over! (Four day weekends allow for more Disney time!!)

Sorry about your accident! Glad no one was hurt!

I am all caught up, and I see you are on-site! So, to answer the park hoppers... what kind of dining plan are you going with? If it is the regular one counter and one table, then I think park hopping to Epcot many nights is a great dinner option!

The Universal stay looks nice-- I just heard on a podcast that (I don't know Universal speak) your advantage over nonresort guests is a one time per ride situation. Also, I don't know if it applies to one of the HP rides. Apparently, they scan your card. I thought this was useful information in case we ever try Universal...I thought it would give you a topic to research to be prepared for your trip.

I can't wait to hear about Discovery Cove. If we don't need to renew our AP's before this summer's trip, I want to go over to Sea World...I'll have to look into the option to go to both Discovery Cove and Sea World. I don't know much about either.

We went to San Fran a couple of years ago, and my SIL and I visited LA about 12 years ago. We have relatives who live in San Jose (including SIL), about 45 min outside of San Fran. I can ask those relatives about any hotels that you are looking into; I don't know how much they know, but it's worth a shot! Also, I will find out what they think is a must see! I know we did Fisherman's Wharf.

I love UOG and Passporters. I also love listening to Podcasts sponsored by the same folks who write for those books! UOG now has a lovely color companion that I highly recommend!!!!

 

[QuirkyButterfly]

The standard rooms at the Royal Pacific are nice. We stayed in one a couple years back. I'm sure you'll them. Don't mind the clutter.

Let me know if you need any help securing a room in LA. I can give you an idea of what neighbors are like and how you might be able to get transportation. LA can be difficult to navigate without a car.

Thanks for posting the pictures for me. You are right they are nice rooms. In the future I might pick your brain about LA hotels. First I want to sort out our airfare. Then save up more money to do the next thing

I made it over! (Four day weekends allow for more Disney time!!)

Sorry about your accident! Glad no one was hurt!

I am all caught up, and I see you are on-site! So, to answer the park hoppers... what kind of dining plan are you going with? If it is the regular one counter and one table, then I think park hopping to Epcot many nights is a great dinner option!

The Universal stay looks nice-- I just heard on a podcast that (I don't know Universal speak) your advantage over nonresort guests is a one time per ride situation. Also, I don't know if it applies to one of the HP rides. Apparently, they scan your card. I thought this was useful information in case we ever try Universal...I thought it would give you a topic to research to be prepared for your trip.

I can't wait to hear about Discovery Cove. If we don't need to renew our AP's before this summer's trip, I want to go over to Sea World...I'll have to look into the option to go to both Discovery Cove and Sea World. I don't know much about either.

We went to San Fran a couple of years ago, and my SIL and I visited LA about 12 years ago. We have relatives who live in San Jose (including SIL), about 45 min outside of San Fran. I can ask those relatives about any hotels that you are looking into; I don't know how much they know, but it's worth a shot! Also, I will find out what they think is a must see! I know we did Fisherman's Wharf.

I love UOG and Passporters. I also love listening to Podcasts sponsored by the same folks who write for those books! UOG now has a lovely color companion that I highly recommend!!!!

We have the regular dining plan. There are so many EPOCOT restaurants that I want to eat at, so Park hopping might be the way to get through some of them. I am really worried about park hopping taking up too much time. We will be on Disney buses and I have read that you should allow 1 hour to get to where you want to go. I just keep thinking that if we are at one park go back to the resort to rest and swim and then go to another park that is 2 hours traveling time inbetween parks instead of being in parks

With Universal Studios front of line pass, I thought I had read that if you are a resort guest you can use it as many times as you like is there anyone that can clarify this.

I am glad that I am not the only one that listens to Podcasts I listen to a lot in a week: Be our guest WDW podcast, The DisUnplugged, Mouse Guest Weekly, Passporter, The WDW News Today Podcast, The WDW Radio Show and WDW Today. That keeps me pretty busy on my drive to work

 

[franandaj]

We will be on Disney buses and I have read that you should allow 1 hour to get to where you want to go. I just keep thinking that if we are at one park go back to the resort to rest and swim and then go to another park that is 2 hours traveling time inbetween parks instead of being in parks

Actually from park to resort it's not quite that bad, you might wait 20 minutes for a bus, but for POR the bus rides won't be that long because it is very centrally located. Now from the AKL to the MK that would be a different story. It could take an hour becuase the ride alone is about 30 minutes.

 

[QuirkyButterfly]

Actually from park to resort it's not quite that bad, you might wait 20 minutes for a bus, but for POR the bus rides won't be that long because it is very centrally located. Now from the AKL to the MK that would be a different story. It could take an hour becuase the ride alone is about 30 minutes.

So maybe a better plan would be to park hop while staying at POR but have full days while at AKL? It is so difficult to decide

 

[QuirkyButterfly]

Seeing as though it is being discussed... How does everyone spread out their days? I have added park hopping so we can move around, but now questioning if we should. Do most people stay in the one park for the whole day? We will be in WDW for 11 full days so we will have enough time to take it easy. But I still want to see as much as possible.

Just curious what everyone suggests, comments and thoughts are appreciated.

 

[ZFamily5]

I haven't been here in soo long! Sorry about that!

We usually do one park in the morning until mid-afternoon...then we either go relax at the pool or Downtown Disney OR we head to a different park for dinner, hopefully the park with evening EMHs! On the other hand, we always do one full day of Animal Kingdom, because that's about all we need...just my thoughts on things!

 

[franandaj]

Seeing as though it is being discussed... How does everyone spread out their days? I have added park hopping so we can move around, but now questioning if we should. Do most people stay in the one park for the whole day? We will be in WDW for 11 full days so we will have enough time to take it easy. But I still want to see as much as possible.

Just curious what everyone suggests, comments and thoughts are appreciated.

If it were me going at the time of year you are going, I would get up very early and hit park A, get in as many rides/attractions as possible. Plan for an early lunch (11:30-12:00) and head back to the room. I'd either take a nap, go online and update the Live TR or go swimming. I'd plan a dinner ADR somewhere around 7:30 or 8 and about 4PM get ready to head back out to probably a different park and close it down, if it were still early head to DTD for shopping and maybe a drink. That would be the general plan for each day although one or two of the days we would just sleep in and cook breakfast in the Villa and hang around. Probably one or two nights we would also cook dinner and get a movie from the Community Hall and watch it on our DVD player (DVC rooms all have DVD players and you can get free movies to watch from the Community Hall although at Kidani it's in the giftstore).

If I were you I would not plan on resort hopping once you get to Kidani, the busses take a very long time and you would have to go to a park or DTD to switch. If you plan to have dinner in a resort. Go to a park first so that you can catch the resort bus from the park. When you go back to POR plan to go via a park or DTD because that is the only way to do it. Sometimes we've taken a cab just because it takes so bloody long to go from resort to resort by bus.

For my May trip we have a pretty set itinerary and it doesn't involve a lot of hopping, but we know we'll be back in October. For that trip until I have my accomodations finalized, I can't really set the pace of what we'll be doing.

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

I am glad that I am not the only one that listens to Podcasts I listen to a lot in a week: Be our guest WDW podcast, The DisUnplugged, Mouse Guest Weekly, Passporter, The WDW News Today Podcast, The WDW Radio Show and WDW Today. That keeps me pretty busy on my drive to work


[/QUOTE]

I listen to the same ones! I recently added WDW Fanboys - not sure if I like it yet...

To speak to your transportation concerns... I looked at my photos for times...

We left MK at 12:15 and walked 3-5 min to buses. My next picture is at 1:28... We rode the bus, went to our room, my girls changed into swimsuits. I went to Mara and bought lunch (at least 10 minutes there), went to the pool, dh and I ate lunch. So, I would say the bus from MK to AKL Jambo(stopping at Kidani first) took 30 minutes at most.

If you are going to a resort to eat, yes, plan for an hour. However, for us, the buses were never a problem. I think that the last poster's ideas about going to the park at opening, leaving for a nap or live trip report , then going back to park is a great plan.

I don't know if you want to go back to Epcot every night...it depends. If you do that, you could explore each country at a leisurely pace. If you want to hit more attractions, though, every night at EPCOT isn't going to be your speed.

 

[amandaluvsgoofy]

Hi there! Joining in! So glad you got your room at such great rates! And sorry about your accident, but glad no one was hurt and you got your car back!
We're park hoppers simply because, as PP mentioned, we get up early to hit one park, take a mid-day break, then go back to another park for dinner/EMHE. It worked out really well, especially since the middle of the day is really hot! Also, if the first park you're at is too crowded, you can go on somewhere else!
Looking forward to reading more!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Hey QB. Park Hopping adds about $50 to each ticket for the entire duration. I always park hop - but that's me. I think you've followed my TRs to know that my family has loads of energy and we pretty much go commando for the entire time.

As Alison said, go early. For me, that's the key to WDW. By the time lunchtime comes round, you then have the option to head back to a resort or to chill at the park (shopping in air conditioned comfort comes to mind for the hottest part of the day). You can then decide to hit another park later in the day....or not.

Even if you were at AKL, depending on whether you get tired or not, getting from one park to another is pretty simple. There are buses that go direct from park to park. You don't necessarily have to head back to your resort to catch a bus to another park. Of course if you're heading back to rest up and swim; that's another story.

 

[QuirkyButterfly]

I haven't been here in soo long! Sorry about that!

We usually do one park in the morning until mid-afternoon...then we either go relax at the pool or Downtown Disney OR we head to a different park for dinner, hopefully the park with evening EMHs! On the other hand, we always do one full day of Animal Kingdom, because that's about all we need...just my thoughts on things!

I think that most people agree that you should do Animal Kingdom in the one day, and now that evening EMH are gone there will be even less reason to park hop on AK day. Thanks for your input.

If it were me going at the time of year you are going, I would get up very early and hit park A, get in as many rides/attractions as possible. Plan for an early lunch (11:30-12:00) and head back to the room. I'd either take a nap, go online and update the Live TR or go swimming. I'd plan a dinner ADR somewhere around 7:30 or 8 and about 4PM get ready to head back out to probably a different park and close it down, if it were still early head to DTD for shopping and maybe a drink. That would be the general plan for each day although one or two of the days we would just sleep in and cook breakfast in the Villa and hang around. Probably one or two nights we would also cook dinner and get a movie from the Community Hall and watch it on our DVD player (DVC rooms all have DVD players and you can get free movies to watch from the Community Hall although at Kidani it's in the giftstore).

If I were you I would not plan on resort hopping once you get to Kidani, the busses take a very long time and you would have to go to a park or DTD to switch. If you plan to have dinner in a resort. Go to a park first so that you can catch the resort bus from the park. When you go back to POR plan to go via a park or DTD because that is the only way to do it. Sometimes we've taken a cab just because it takes so bloody long to go from resort to resort by bus.

For my May trip we have a pretty set itinerary and it doesn't involve a lot of hopping, but we know we'll be back in October. For that trip until I have my accomodations finalized, I can't really set the pace of what we'll be doing.

Thanks for your suggestions. Updating my TR live huh Sorry to everyone but this doesn't seem likely to happen. If I get the chance I might say hi, but I am planning on disconnecting from life while I am there, the internet is way to much of a distraction for me.

I think you are right about not park hopping at Kidani, that is at the end of our stay anyway so I think we will be tired enough that we just want to relax and take it easy.

You are lucky you are going back, I think it is easier for people who know that they are going back soon, because if they miss something they can say they will just see it next time. I have no idea when we will get back, even if we will at all, so I am really planning this as my once in a life time trip. I think that is why I am stressing over the details.

I listen to the same ones! I recently added WDW Fanboys - not sure if I like it yet...

To speak to your transportation concerns... I looked at my photos for times...

We left MK at 12:15 and walked 3-5 min to buses. My next picture is at 1:28... We rode the bus, went to our room, my girls changed into swimsuits. I went to Mara and bought lunch (at least 10 minutes there), went to the pool, dh and I ate lunch. So, I would say the bus from MK to AKL Jambo(stopping at Kidani first) took 30 minutes at most.

If you are going to a resort to eat, yes, plan for an hour. However, for us, the buses were never a problem. I think that the last poster's ideas about going to the park at opening, leaving for a nap or live trip report , then going back to park is a great plan.

I don't know if you want to go back to Epcot every night...it depends. If you do that, you could explore each country at a leisurely pace. If you want to hit more attractions, though, every night at EPCOT isn't going to be your speed.

I guess when I look at your times it doesn't seem so bad. Maybe if I spend half the time park hopping and half the time staying at one place I will get the best of both worlds.

Hi there! Joining in! So glad you got your room at such great rates! And sorry about your accident, but glad no one was hurt and you got your car back!
We're park hoppers simply because, as PP mentioned, we get up early to hit one park, take a mid-day break, then go back to another park for dinner/EMHE. It worked out really well, especially since the middle of the day is really hot! Also, if the first park you're at is too crowded, you can go on somewhere else!
Looking forward to reading more!

I am glad you are joining in. Yes I was really happy with the room rates I got, it meant that I could upgrade to a moderate and that was really great. I think the general consensus seems to be for taking that midday break to escape the florida heat. I do really like the idea of lazing by a pool thanks for your advice.

Hey QB. Park Hopping adds about $50 to each ticket for the entire duration. I always park hop - but that's me. I think you've followed my TRs to know that my family has loads of energy and we pretty much go commando for the entire time.

As Alison said, go early. For me, that's the key to WDW. By the time lunchtime comes round, you then have the option to head back to a resort or to chill at the park (shopping in air conditioned comfort comes to mind for the hottest part of the day). You can then decide to hit another park later in the day....or not.

Even if you were at AKL, depending on whether you get tired or not, getting from one park to another is pretty simple. There are buses that go direct from park to park. You don't necessarily have to head back to your resort to catch a bus to another park. Of course if you're heading back to rest up and swim; that's another story.

I see that you go commando, and I think I would be the same, but Adam is a little bit more laid back than me, I don't want to tire him out . I think that everyone here has given the same advice, that should tell me something . I like hearing from people who have already been, it is good to get that advice. Because no matter how much research I do I don't think anything is going to prepare me for just how big the place is. And who am I kidding I hope that my expectations are not only met but blown away.


Thanks to everyone who responded, if you are new to reading this PTR feel free to leave your advice as well, I would love to hear from as many people as possible.

 

[franandaj]

I guess the live TRs is a DVC thing. Since we own DVC we know we'll be back often, so there's more time spent lounging around the resort andgoing online. I leave most of the world at home, but I like mu DIS friends! :

 

[shaz105]

Hi

I have just joined the discussion i was at the World last year and we only had 8 day to enjoy Orlando this was clearly not enough time plus we went to KSC. We didn't get to go to the water parks

We will be going back next year and we will be staying longer this time. We did park hopping we find it pretty good.

Plus this time around I will be getting the dining plan.

It comes down to what you would like to do at the time you get there I was worried my husband wont go from park to park but he was really keen.

In regards to doing your trip report while on the holiday it actually works my husband use to write point note each night in a word document then when we got home it just reminded us of what we did each night.

Hope this helps