A Very Merry unBirthday! We're taking a stroll on the Boardwalk_A Sept 2018 PTR_link to TR

[kclark9830]

I'm a total newbie at this but I've been doing alot of researching about FPs (42 more days! eek!!). Is there a reason you want your MK FP so late on Sat? It seems if you can get earlier FP times, then you have the opportunity to pick up more FPs in the afternoon, especially considering that it will be Labor Day weekend. Just a thought!

So glad that your finances worked out and you don't have to go to WDW without park tickets!

Oh, right! Saturday will be arrival day. We won't actually get into the parks until probably at least 3PM. We considered not even doing parks that day, but the difference in dropping our 7-day tickets to 6-day tickets worked out to saving something like $12. So we decided it was worth it!

 

[KingdomBound]

Oh, right! Saturday will be arrival day. We won't actually get into the parks until probably at least 3PM. We considered not even doing parks that day, but the difference in dropping our 7-day tickets to 6-day tickets worked out to saving something like $12. So we decided it was worth it!

Well that makes sense!!

 

[Araminta18]

- Beaches & Cream 3:20PM on Sunday for a Kitchen Sink (yummo!) (this will happen durnig a planned resort break)

how fun!! can't wait to hear how it is (and hopefully pictures) I've always wanted to try it, but no way DH and I would be able to get through it!

Monday morning, MK, Splash around 10:30AM, BTMRR 11:30AM, Jungle Cruise around 1:30PM (this is a party day, so I'm hoping for lowish crowds in spite of it being Labor Day. Any predictions on that? We hope to fit in all of Adventureland and Frontierland, and maybe Liberty Square). [We also have a 9:40AM rez for Harmony Barber Shop, and a 1PM rez for Pirates League] We plan to *maybe* hop to HS that night, if we can pick up any good 4th FP's.

I think you'll be ok with the crowds--Labor Day crowds + party day will cancel each other out. And both Touring Plans/Kenny the Pirate have it as their best park of the day to visit. And you've got good plans, which in my opinion help you deal with the crowds.

Also, yay!!! for being able to get park tickets. Not that doing a resort only trip wouldn't be fun, but....

 

[kclark9830]

Tickets Are Done!

Our 7-day park hoppers are officially linked to MDE! Fast pass day is t-12!!!

I'm super excited about this. I've realized that my plans need to be more fluid than I thought. I'll really be focusing on whichever days I can get fP's for Fop and SDD, but I'll keep you updated.

In the meantime, I've been doing plenty of walking in prep for our trip. Here are a couple of pics of my view...





I'm also whittling down different aspects like exactly what groceries I want to order, and which clothes I want to take. I've even started my packing list. But mostly, everything is still not fully decided. I'm worried about how Miles is going to do in the heat. I'm worried about crowd sizes.

I've been secretly excited over what I suspected were going to be low crowds. My reasoning has been that even this late in the game I've been able to find lots of ADR's for 8 people. Now, however, Disney has released this new fall package for our exact week (and only that week). It includes exclusive Toy Story Land access on our main HS day . I'm a little bummed about that, I'm not going to lie. I feel like this confirms my suspicions about low crowds, but now yes, I'm worried about crowd sizes.

Overall, I know I'm still going to Disney. I just have to let it ride and keep my fingers crossed!

 

[Araminta18]

Yay tickets! And fastpass day is so soon!

You have GORGEOUS views there....absolute gorgeous. I am jealous!

I've been secretly excited over what I suspected were going to be low crowds. My reasoning has been that even this late in the game I've been able to find lots of ADR's for 8 people. Now, however, Disney has released this new fall package for our exact week (and only that week). It includes exclusive Toy Story Land access on our main HS day . I'm a little bummed about that, I'm not going to lie. I feel like this confirms my suspicions about low crowds, but now yes, I'm worried about crowd sizes.

Oooh, I didn't realize they'd released that for your exact week! Bummer indeed! And I bet you're right--low crowds that they're trying to bump up. They'll probably still stay pretty low though. And I think I read somewhere that the TSL night is from 10 pm to midnight, so hopefully that won't affect your HS day too much? hopefully?

 

[kclark9830]

Yay tickets! And fastpass day is so soon!

You have GORGEOUS views there....absolute gorgeous. I am jealous!



Oooh, I didn't realize they'd released that for your exact week! Bummer indeed! And I bet you're right--low crowds that they're trying to bump up. They'll probably still stay pretty low though. And I think I read somewhere that the TSL night is from 10 pm to midnight, so hopefully that won't affect your HS day too much? hopefully?

Oh, 10-midnight does sound better! I was seriously afraid of what it would mean for us. I do wonder how many people actually have the means to plan a trip just for these few perks, other than those who were already thinking of it, you know? So hopefully it won't affect things too much.

 

[ariane37]

Hi there! I want to say don't worry too much about the package they released yesterday. As @Araminta18 said, the TSL access is at night so shouldn't affect you. And like you said, tons and tons of people won't flock there with this promotion. It's still the very beginning of the school year for many areas and parents won't want to take their kids out that soon, think of people who need to request vacation time far in advance........this is really for those with very flexible schedules and that leaves out the majority of people with kids and/or jobs lol! The extremely specific dates for the promotion will work in your favor so really I wouldn't worry Keep on planning and being excited!!!

 

[kclark9830]

Hi there! I want to say don't worry too much about the package they released yesterday. As @Araminta18 said, the TSL access is at night so shouldn't affect you. And like you said, tons and tons of people won't flock there with this promotion. It's still the very beginning of the school year for many areas and parents won't want to take their kids out that soon, think of people who need to request vacation time far in advance........this is really for those with very flexible schedules and that leaves out the majority of people with kids and/or jobs lol! The extremely specific dates for the promotion will work in your favor so really I wouldn't worry Keep on planning and being excited!!!

Thank you! This really does make me feel much better!

 

[kclark9830]

This Or That
Disney Edition
​

I have always wanted to try one of the scavenger-type activities offered at WDW parks. Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom, Agent P's World Showcase Adventure, or Wilderness Explorers at Animal Kingdom? Anyone ever done these and have any input as to which we should choose? We'll likely only do one because, well, it's hard to fit in extra stuff when there are SO MANY other options screaming for your attention.

​

I think Ashlyn would really enjoy this, but I also think Micheal (hubby) would really like doing it with her. It is way more his "thing" than riding rides. So, anyone do any of these? Pros or cons? (thanks!!!)

One thing we definitely want to do on this trip is get more pressed pennies. We had a few saved from our 2014 trip (The Land Pavillion), and on our 2016 trip Ashlyn got a few more (Caribbean Beach Resort, and...somewhere else, I can't remember now) along with a book to keep them organized. So, this trip we want to find more. Any ideas for unique pressed pennies and where they're found? I could probably Google this, but, ya know... ...I thought I'd ask y'all first.



Today we were also talking about glow toys. I need to head to the Dollar Tree and pick up lots of these in different designs. I'm hoping to find them on clearance after July 4th.

 

[EdnaModesguest]

Hi! Reading along. My husband enjoyed doing sorcerors cards with our kids. Haven’t done the badges so I can’t comment there.
Also if you have Michaels or Hobby Lobby nearby, their glow things will also go on clearance after the holiday. Not as great a price as $1 tree, but pretty cool selection.

 

[reyasmommy]

We did the agent P thing many years ago before we had kids and actually loved it. ( It looks like you can use your own cell phones now which is nice.) My son is really wanting to do it and has been watching some youtube videos. We also like SOMK, but we've never done it during a super busy time so we might skip it on our upcoming trip. The wilderness one at Animal kingdom is very educational, but my kids were a little bored with it. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. It adds a little extra magic to your trip.

 

[kclark9830]

Hi! Reading along. My husband enjoyed doing sorcerors cards with our kids. Haven’t done the badges so I can’t comment there.
Also if you have Michaels or Hobby Lobby nearby, their glow things will also go on clearance after the holiday. Not as great a price as $1 tree, but pretty cool selection.

Thanks for the vote! And I didn't even think of Hobby Lobby or Mochael's! We have both here. I'll have to check there!

We did the agent P thing many years ago before we had kids and actually loved it. ( It looks like you can use your own cell phones now which is nice.) My son is really wanting to do it and has been watching some youtube videos. We also like SOMK, but we've never done it during a super busy time so we might skip it on our upcoming trip. The wilderness one at Animal kingdom is very educational, but my kids were a little bored with it. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. It adds a little extra magic to your trip.

Thanks! I'm worried the WE at AK would be boring for us too. Maybe I'll cross that one off my list.

 

[Araminta18]

I haven't done the other two, but I *love* Sorcerers. It's super fun for little kids to see the windows spring to life, and the cards themselves are cute little souvenirs--you can get a free pack of cards every day, one per person. So you can rack up quite a bit by the end of the trip! There's a whole little community and so the kids can trade cards around to try and complete the set. Sometimes it does get a bit crowded, but it's still entertaining to watch other people play, 'cause the game is a little bit different for each person.

 

[kclark9830]

I haven't done the other two, but I *love* Sorcerers. It's super fun for little kids to see the windows spring to life, and the cards themselves are cute little souvenirs--you can get a free pack of cards every day, one per person. So you can rack up quite a bit by the end of the trip! There's a whole little community and so the kids can trade cards around to try and complete the set. Sometimes it does get a bit crowded, but it's still entertaining to watch other people play, 'cause the game is a little bit different for each person.

Thanks! I'm leaning heavily toward Sorcerers. I would like to do Agent P's and maybe we still will and just do both. If we just pick 1 though, I think it'll be this one.

 

[Araminta18]

Thanks! I'm leaning heavily toward Sorcerers. I would like to do Agent P's and maybe we still will and just do both. If we just pick 1 though, I think it'll be this one.

Even if you don't play, you can still get the free pack of cards for each person from the fire station in MK, which is a fun (and that rarest of unicorns at Disney: free!) souvenir.

And apparently you can do Agent P's on your own phone now, with Disney's new "play" app, so that's nice!

 

[kclark9830]

TOMORROW IS FASTPASS DAY!!!​

Y'all, you'd think tomorrow is Christmas and I'm a six year old. I cannot wait for 5:55AM central, when I will climb out of bed, power up my computer and phone both, and await 6AM.
I have variations of what we'll be doing each day based on different FP's I end up with. So, here's a list of what I'm hoping for:

Saturday (arriving at the parks hopefully around 3PM)
Buzz Lightyear 3PM
Space Mountain 4PM
7DMT 5PM
*we will hope to pick up subsequent FP's at this point, for whatever we can get around Fantasyland and Tomorrowland*
Sunday (Epcot)
9:30 Soarin'
10:30 LwtL (we have Garden Grill at 11:30)
12:30 Mission Space
*we hope to pick up a Test Track FP, but we'll see*
Monday (Magic Kingdom)
9:30 BTMRR/Splash Mountain (these will be split between our party because some of us *not me* don't like water rides)
11:00 Jungle Cruise
12:00 PotC
*We have Pirates League appointments at 1PM, and will hope to score more FP's as soon as we're done at PotC*
*As an aside, we're doing date nights this year, and this will be my sister's date night with her hubby. They're doing MNSSHP! I'm so excited for them!*
Tuesday (Animal Kingdom)
10:30 Dinoasaur
11:30 KRR
2:30 FOP
*We're hopping to Epcot for this evening (mine and hubby's date night!), so we'll try to get extra FP's for there, but honestly I'm still pretty torn on the schedule for this day...I may change it around before tomorrow*
Wednesday (Magic Kingdom/Hollywood Studios)
*we will start at MK, probably doing Sorcerers of the MK, then hop to HS*
1PM ToT/Rockin' RC (split between us, depending on likes)
2:30 Star Tours
3:30 SDD
*We may stay in HS, or we may hop to AK, depending on whether we can get TSMM extra FP's, or Navi. If we can't get either, we will see what we do, but I hope to do nighttime at AK, so hopefully we go there!*
Thursday (Animal Kingdom/Hollywood Studios)
*If we end the night at AK the night before, we will likely just sleep in this day*
3:30 Frozen Sing A Long
4:30 Indiana Jones
7PM TSMM
*This is the only FP I'm terribly interested in for this day. We will end the day at HS, and we have a dinner rez for Sci-Fi Dine In*
Friday (resort day)
Saturday (Hollywood Studios)
9AM ASwS
10 Star Tours
11 ToT

I'm really hoping to be able to pick up an extra FP for Frozen Ever After, because Ashlyn really likes it (and to be honest, so do I), but she wanted to do ASwS more. I'll check back in tomorrow!!!

 

[Araminta18]

FASTPASSES! Can't believe it's that close!

Your plans look great--hope you can get everything you want at the times you want!

 

[kclark9830]

TOMORROW IS FASTPASS DAY!!!​

Y'all, you'd think tomorrow is Christmas and I'm a six year old. I cannot wait for 5:55AM central, when I will climb out of bed, power up my computer and phone both, and await 6AM.
I have variations of what we'll be doing each day based on different FP's I end up with. So, here's a list of what I'm hoping for:

Saturday (arriving at the parks hopefully around 3PM)
Buzz Lightyear 3PM
Space Mountain 4PM
7DMT 5PM
*we will hope to pick up subsequent FP's at this point, for whatever we can get around Fantasyland and Tomorrowland*
Sunday (Epcot)
9:30 Soarin'
10:30 LwtL (we have Garden Grill at 11:30)
12:30 Mission Space
*we hope to pick up a Test Track FP, but we'll see*
Monday (Magic Kingdom)
9:30 BTMRR/Splash Mountain (these will be split between our party because some of us *not me* don't like water rides)
11:00 Jungle Cruise
12:00 PotC
*We have Pirates League appointments at 1PM, and will hope to score more FP's as soon as we're done at PotC*
*As an aside, we're doing date nights this year, and this will be my sister's date night with her hubby. They're doing MNSSHP! I'm so excited for them!*
Tuesday (Animal Kingdom)
10:30 Dinoasaur
11:30 KRR
2:30 FOP
*We're hopping to Epcot for this evening (mine and hubby's date night!), so we'll try to get extra FP's for there, but honestly I'm still pretty torn on the schedule for this day...I may change it around before tomorrow*
Wednesday (Magic Kingdom/Hollywood Studios)
*we will start at MK, probably doing Sorcerers of the MK, then hop to HS*
1PM ToT/Rockin' RC (split between us, depending on likes)
2:30 Star Tours
3:30 SDD
*We may stay in HS, or we may hop to AK, depending on whether we can get TSMM extra FP's, or Navi. If we can't get either, we will see what we do, but I hope to do nighttime at AK, so hopefully we go there!*
Thursday (Animal Kingdom/Hollywood Studios)
*If we end the night at AK the night before, we will likely just sleep in this day*
3:30 Frozen Sing A Long
4:30 Indiana Jones
7PM TSMM
*This is the only FP I'm terribly interested in for this day. We will end the day at HS, and we have a dinner rez for Sci-Fi Dine In*
Friday (resort day)
Saturday (Hollywood Studios)
9AM ASwS
10 Star Tours
11 ToT

I'm really hoping to be able to pick up an extra FP for Frozen Ever After, because Ashlyn really likes it (and to be honest, so do I), but she wanted to do ASwS more. I'll check back in tomorrow!!!

Guys! This morning was nuts in all the worst ways. Miles woke up 5:15AM, which is about 30 min. earlier than normal. I got him back to sleep just as it was time to get up for FP's!!!

But once online, the site was crashed. I managed to make my 5 most important fp's over a 30-min period, then nothing for hours! It all worked out in the end, though, and I got everything I listed above very close to my desired times. Hooray!

 

[Araminta18]

Guys! This morning was nuts in all the worst ways. Miles woke up 5:15AM, which is about 30 min. earlier than normal. I got him back to sleep just as it was time to get up for FP's!!!

But once online, the site was crashed. I managed to make my 5 most important fp's over a 30-min period, then nothing for hours! It all worked out in the end, though, and I got everything I listed above very close to my desired times. Hooray!

Oh no!!! Of course the site would be crashing. But glad you were able to get everything, close to the times you wanted--at least it worked out in the end. But what stress. Come on Disney, get your IT together.

 

[kclark9830]

Oh no!!! Of course the site would be crashing. But glad you were able to get everything, close to the times you wanted--at least it worked out in the end. But what stress. Come on Disney, get your IT together.

I actually emailed a complaint to Disney. Then, low and behold Disney gave me a call! I could tell the lady was fully prepared to offer me some type of compensation to ease my gripe, but by then I had all my FP's, and I felt bad for complaining. The poor lady sounded so weary, I told her I understood and not to worry about it. She told me she loved me. Made me wonder what she had endured throughout the calls she'd made that day.

So, I didnt take any magical extras. Nice guys finish last, I guess.