A vacation in May... the DISNEY way!

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Joining in, we'll be there at the same time.

You are so lucky, getting to open the park looks like such a special experience! One disadvantage of not traveling with kids, I'll probably never get picked for a cool experience like that. I love reading about it though!

As for SWW, I went two years ago, all the days will be busy so it doesn't really matter which day you go on. My advice, stick with Saturday if switching days is going to mess with your ADR's.

 

[ohboyx3]

Joining in, we'll be there at the same time.

You are so lucky, getting to open the park looks like such a special experience! One disadvantage of not traveling with kids, I'll probably never get picked for a cool experience like that. I love reading about it though!

As for SWW, I went two years ago, all the days will be busy so it doesn't really matter which day you go on. My advice, stick with Saturday if switching days is going to mess with your ADR's.

Hey! Thanks for the advice on SWW. I am super excited about it, just a little worried about crowds. Never been in May before. I'm excited. Don't give up on being the park openers! When I went with my Mom and Dad I had just turned 18. There weren't any other kids with us. It could happen! Just get there early! Like.. super early!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Hey! Thanks for the advice on SWW. I am super excited about it, just a little worried about crowds. Never been in May before. I'm excited. Don't give up on being the park openers! When I went with my Mom and Dad I had just turned 18. There weren't any other kids with us. It could happen! Just get there early! Like.. super early!

SWW will be crowded for sure but the rest of the parks shouldn't be too bad so long as you plan wisely and use fastpass.

SWW, make sure to get there early, last time I arrived about an hour before rope drop and that left me at the front of the line once the park opened. Decide which characters are most important and get in line for them first. There will be CM's wandering around who have lists of characters and when and where they can be found. Luke and Leia are usually next to Star Tours right next to the gift shop. Chewie and the Ewoks are usually right across the way where that racer thing is that you can pose on.

Darth Vader is next to the Backlot Tour, his line is usually REALLY long.

Amidala in her fancy Queen outfit is closer to the front of the park, you will pass her if you are walking towards the Star Tours area.

Then of course, there are the Disney characters dressed up in Star Wars gear, they usually rotate through one location. For instance, I got in line when Leia Mickey was out but by the time I got to the front of the line it was Jedi Mickey.

There are also random characters about that you can pose with, usually no lines for them b/c they are not major characters just creatures from the Star Wars world.

If you are interested in celebrity autographs you need to get fastpasses for those too and those are handed out before the park opens, if you want one, get there early!

 

[ohboyx3]

SWW will be crowded for sure but the rest of the parks shouldn't be too bad so long as you plan wisely and use fastpass.

SWW, make sure to get there early, last time I arrived about an hour before rope drop and that left me at the front of the line once the park opened. Decide which characters are most important and get in line for them first. There will be CM's wandering around who have lists of characters and when and where they can be found. Luke and Leia are usually next to Star Tours right next to the gift shop. Chewie and the Ewoks are usually right across the way where that racer thing is that you can pose on.

Darth Vader is next to the Backlot Tour, his line is usually REALLY long.

Amidala in her fancy Queen outfit is closer to the front of the park, you will pass her if you are walking towards the Star Tours area.

Then of course, there are the Disney characters dressed up in Star Wars gear, they usually rotate through one location. For instance, I got in line when Leia Mickey was out but by the time I got to the front of the line it was Jedi Mickey.

There are also random characters about that you can pose with, usually no lines for them b/c they are not major characters just creatures from the Star Wars world.

If you are interested in celebrity autographs you need to get fastpasses for those too and those are handed out before the park opens, if you want one, get there early!

Thanks so much for all the info! I was almost debating skipping it, but I'm glad now that I decided to do it!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Thanks so much for all the info! I was almost debating skipping it, but I'm glad now that I decided to do it!

No problem! SWW is a great event for fans. Also the Jedi Training Academy is full force during SWW! They bring out Vader and Darth Maul to "battle" the young padawans.

 

[AKL LOVER]

Joining in too--told you I was headed over here when I was done on mine!

I've just caught up and have a couple of initial comments:

1) You and your family are going to love Garden Grill. The character interaction was great--each character came to our table multiple times during dinner! My kids really like the attention!

2) May crowds are wonderful--althought we've never done a SWW so I can't comment on that. We like early to mid May for the lower crowds and great weather! This will be our first year pulling DD out of school--I really debated about this for awhile before booking (especially since I'm a teacher--but sssshhhh, don't tell anyone! I can't imagine the flames I would get from some people around here! ) But what it really came down to was that DH just got a promotion at work and he can absolutely have no days off during summer, spring break or winter break! This means that any vacation we did we would have to take a few days off of school...so why not take some days off to go to Disney??? I figure that I'll see how it works out this year and if it doesn't work out well, then we won't do it again. Maybe that is just me making myself feel better about it, but oh well.

Can't wait to see the rest of your plans!

 

[ohboyx3]

Joining in too--told you I was headed over here when I was done on mine!

I've just caught up and have a couple of initial comments:

1) You and your family are going to love Garden Grill. The character interaction was great--each character came to our table multiple times during dinner! My kids really like the attention!

2) May crowds are wonderful--althought we've never done a SWW so I can't comment on that. We like early to mid May for the lower crowds and great weather! This will be our first year pulling DD out of school--I really debated about this for awhile before booking (especially since I'm a teacher--but sssshhhh, don't tell anyone! I can't imagine the flames I would get from some people around here! ) But what it really came down to was that DH just got a promotion at work and he can absolutely have no days off during summer, spring break or winter break! This means that any vacation we did we would have to take a few days off of school...so why not take some days off to go to Disney??? I figure that I'll see how it works out this year and if it doesn't work out well, then we won't do it again. Maybe that is just me making myself feel better about it, but oh well.

Can't wait to see the rest of your plans!

Thanks for joining in! I am pleased to hear about Garden Grill. We ate at Coral Reef last time and it was just okay.... I really wanted another Carachter meal since LLT isn't doing it anymore. We loved that one. I am happy to hear about May crowds also. I wish we could swing it to go earlier, but once they are in middle school it gets hairy. I'm in school also which complicates things even more! We are taking our kids out the last week... I mean what do they do that last week anyways?? Not much! I say pull your daughter out. You won't regret it! Looking forward to getting to know everybody better throughout the planning process!

 

[Nancy F]

You did say three boys?? LOL Have fun.
Nancy

 

[ohboyx3]

You did say three boys?? LOL Have fun.
Nancy

Hmmmm... Good idea! Maybe I should change it! Thanks for the well wishes!

 

[AlternateEgo]

Aww I loved that video!

I stayed at ASMu Family Suite back in '07 and loved it!

 

[ohboyx3]

Aww I loved that video!

I stayed at ASMu Family Suite back in '07 and loved it!

Thank You!!! I am looking forward to trying the suites for sure. It's been really great hearing all the positive reviews!

 

[ohboyx3]

Well... I was hoping that the new codes just released would help out on cost, but it looks like our room only code of 20% was already the best discount. It was actually going to be $80.00 more for the Kids Stay and play free one... Bummer.... Too bad Disney considers 12 year olds adults! Other than that the planning is coming along quite nice. We have about 3/4 of the trip paid for already. I don't know about you, but I am ready for the holidays to be over, so I can start saving for Disney! I am not however excited for classes to start again... Ugh.... I make myself feel better by telling myself that when I am finished with my next semester that it means Disney is only a couple weeks away! Who else wants these next couple of months to go by fast???

 

[ohboyx3]

Does anyone know of a good offsite hotel? We're going to drive in on the 17th and arrive pretty late. I thought about adding a room only reservation, but it was just too much money! I just want a nice, cheap hotel to get us throught the night. You think at that time of year we can just drive and stop at one close and they would have a vacancy?

 

[ohboyx3]

I entered our disney "surprise" video into a contest. Please "like" it to help get us into the finals! Here is the link: http://contests.travel.aol.com/contests/showentry/696377 Thank you!!!

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Does anyone know of a good offsite hotel? We're going to drive in on the 17th and arrive pretty late. I thought about adding a room only reservation, but it was just too much money! I just want a nice, cheap hotel to get us throught the night. You think at that time of year we can just drive and stop at one close and they would have a vacancy?

If you have a copy of the unofficial guide they have a listing of hotels offsite that have been checked out by them, also you could also try expidea or another online hotel finder.

 

[gallmcduck]

I'm joining a bit late Loving the sound of your plans, Look forward to hearing about ASM suites, we too are a family of 5. We have never been in May but from what I have seen and read looks like good time to go, anytime is good in my book right enough

I too would recommend unofficial guide for some tips on off site property. I did love your announcement video :

Oh and wow to not just one park opening but two, MK was def the icing on the cake. We did visit during the year of a million dreams but never seemed to be in the right place and the right time. Family members in the trip did receive all day fast passes which were cool

 

[ohboyx3]

Things are crazy here! I'm almost hanfway through the semester of school. I'm sooooooo stressed! The only thing that is making this "doable" is that about a week after I take my final we are off to DISNEY!!!!!! I've been so busy that I really haven't even had time to think about it much, which makes it go that much faster I guess. Sorry for the few and far between updates. I have a bunch on my plate. Thanks for the comments. I will try and be better about checking in!

 

[ohboyx3]

I am getting so excited!!! Just a few weeks out now!!! The boys still don't know. We're going to pick them up from school and take off. I can hardly take it. Who else is gonig the same time us? I want to hear how you're preparing!

 

[ohboyx3]

Just checking in.... We had some tragedy over the past week when our area was hit hard by the tornados. Our house lost a couple of trees, but we were very lucky. Others around us experienced much worse. The devastation is unreal and it was a very harrowing day/night to go through. I don't want to ever experience anything like it again. My boys were at school when the first storm hit. I am usually there with them as a sub, but the teacher had cancelled and so I had an unusual day off. My oldest son spent the schol day with his class in a janitors closet, the other two were in the hallway for a couple hours until it was clear for them to call school and get everyone home before the next one hit. My husband could not get intouch with his mom after the last storm hit. After trying for hours he finally went off to look for her. Her property is completely devastated and her house has significant damage. Her once wooded property (50 acres) is now almost completely cleared of trees. It is unbelievable. Thankfully my mother in law hid in her pantry under the stairs and survived okay. Her neighbors unfortunately did not. They were both killed. You think this kind of thing doesn't happen where you're at, but it indeed does. What a wake up call. In light of the events... I feel almost guilty to be excited and ancticipating a vacation when there are so many in need. I couldn't even log onto the DIS or anything..... Our trip is just two weeks away and I even thought of postponing it. After much thought, I decided that wouldn't be fair to my boys. There will be many opportunities to help out and I think we shoudl take advatage of today, as we never know what tomorrow may bring. Plus... I just want to get away for awhile. Is that bad? It's oh so depressing... So what are your thoughts? Should I feel bad for going?

 

[ohboyx3]

Wooooooo Hooooooooo! ONE MORE WEEK!