All our ghosts have been dying to meet you Pre-Trip: Update & costume tweaks 9/20

[teekathepony]

All caught up!
Love the to-do list, I admit I could never get through it though, with all the DIY items! I do tend to go overboard with my own to-do list too though, so I can understand!

 

[blabbermouth]

No comment on the last day because if I don't comment it might not happen... going to buy more stuff *fingersinearslalalala*

Ok, you have quite the to-do list! Mine isn't too bad really... but there are likely things I haven't even thought of yet, and packing is a big job for me!

I'm crocheting a baby blanket right now, but it's a fairly simple pattern and I can do it while watching tv!

I feel like you needed this emoticon in your list

 

[abbybeth]

That's a fair bit of to-do's. Hope you get it all done. Even though it seems like a lot of work, at least it is FUN work!

It is fun work and I love it! It would be pretty terrible otherwise. Most of it will get done - I'll be pretty pleased if ALL of it gets done. Especially since I'll probably add a few things to the list as well.

All caught up!
Love the to-do list, I admit I could never get through it though, with all the DIY items! I do tend to go overboard with my own to-do list too though, so I can understand!

I am a list maker in general - even if it makes it more overwhelming to see it all in one place, its necessary to keep me organized and focused! We'll see how much I manage to accomplish!

No comment on the last day because if I don't comment it might not happen... going to buy more stuff *fingersinearslalalala*

Ok, you have quite the to-do list! Mine isn't too bad really... but there are likely things I haven't even thought of yet, and packing is a big job for me!

I'm crocheting a baby blanket right now, but it's a fairly simple pattern and I can do it while watching tv!

I feel like you needed this emoticon in your list

I usually can't watch TV without having something to work on - I like to stay busy. I've tried learning how to knit and crochet a couple of times and just accept that the yarn arts are not my thing and to focus on sewing!

thanks for the hourglass - I didn't see the emoticon for it, it's easy to forget all of the ones they have! time is definitely ticking away!

 

[abbybeth]

Well, while poking around on teh interwebz today, I decided to log in to my MDE account.


I like to look at our reservations and make sure everything is still there and MDE hasn't eaten anything. No, I'm not paranoid. Why do you ask?





Anyways, before I could even make sure my precious ADRs were still indeed intact and un-messed-around-with, I was prompted to customize my Magic Bands.

The devil has come a knockin'!

I'm honestly not sure where I'm at with the whole MB/FP+ situation. Although the technology and eventual capabilites are exciting, I was hoping we would bypass it this trip and be able to jump on board the next time when most/all of the kinks were worked out.

I texted Ryan to have him choose his color and personalization ...



Unfortunately, his first name choice was just a couple letters over the 9 character limit

He has chosen green and resigned himself to only have "Ryan" on his band.
I have chosen blue and will have "Abby" on it, though I may switch it to "Abbybeth" since that'll fit.

I have also been able to book some FP+ selections for our first day, the 28th, but nothing past that. The first day FPs will probably go unused as they're for Future World and we plan on being in World Showcase, but it was interesting to play with the system at least.

So we shall see how this all unfolds. If I can use it to make a FP+ ressie for BoG lunch, that would be a nice side benefit.

In other news, if you're a Grumpy Cat fan, like I am, and have an iPhone, you should go download the Grumpy Bomb app. You can have GC photobomb and caption any picture you like!





Needless to say, I'm pretty amused by it!

 

[PrincessInOz]

I've given up on the whole MyDisneyExperience right now. It's such a pain and I really don't want to mess around with my ADRs and the like.

Plus I'm not sure I want to have to figure out which rides I want to do on which days and the time. Too much planning for my liking!

 

[teekathepony]

Have to admit I didn't like my Fastpass+ trial last year, it really didn't work out for us. The only day we could use it was our last day and by that time things had changed and we wanted to change our FP times and couldn't... I hope that if I have to use the MB/FP+ this year (assuming yes) it will work out a little more smoothly.
So far, nothing but good luck for me with MDE though!
It does seem pretty neat that you can customize your MB ahead of time. I do like that.
Hehe love Grumpy Cat!

 

[happybelle]

Sorry about the FP+, that just sounds like a nightmare, not a perk. I don't understand most of what I have read about it and have no idea how I would know what to pick and when. I hope it goes smoothly for you.

 

[Alysa]

Loving reading along! I know what you mean about the long to-do list! A month and a week for you!!!
And I have NO idea about a male character having a beard but never meeting the female character. Hmmmm.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Hope the MyMagic+ experience works out well for you especially the FP+ system and that Disney eventually irons out the glitches.

Too bad there's a 9 character limit - Ryan's first choice would have been awesome on a Magic Band!

 

[abbybeth]

I've given up on the whole MyDisneyExperience right now. It's such a pain and I really don't want to mess around with my ADRs and the like.

Plus I'm not sure I want to have to figure out which rides I want to do on which days and the time. Too much planning for my liking!

I'm all for planning, but as far as what rides to get on when, that's more of a day-of type of decision. Weather, preferences of the group, what else has gotten done, crowd levels, etc all factor in. Scheduling that months ahead isn't practical.

Have to admit I didn't like my Fastpass+ trial last year, it really didn't work out for us. The only day we could use it was our last day and by that time things had changed and we wanted to change our FP times and couldn't... I hope that if I have to use the MB/FP+ this year (assuming yes) it will work out a little more smoothly.
So far, nothing but good luck for me with MDE though!
It does seem pretty neat that you can customize your MB ahead of time. I do like that.
Hehe love Grumpy Cat!

Grumpy Cat is my soul animal. I love her, she just gets me!

Sorry about the FP+, that just sounds like a nightmare, not a perk. I don't understand most of what I have read about it and have no idea how I would know what to pick and when. I hope it goes smoothly for you.

I'm thinking we'll enjoy the benefits of the RFID for room and park entry, but the FP+ won't be an emphasis for us. Seems like a headache and a hassle. It's usually a low crowd time anyways, so hopefully wait times will be pretty low as well.

Loving reading along! I know what you mean about the long to-do list! A month and a week for you!!!
And I have NO idea about a male character having a beard but never meeting the female character. Hmmmm.

It's getting SO close! I finally started work on our costumes this weekend. I'll post a couple pics in the next update. It might help you start narrowing it down!

Hope the MyMagic+ experience works out well for you especially the FP+ system and that Disney eventually irons out the glitches.

Too bad there's a 9 character limit - Ryan's first choice would have been awesome on a Magic Band!

I think that eventually, this is going to be a really fantastic system and there is so much potenial as far as personalizing a guests experience. It's just this hiccup-ridden trial part I wish I could avoid!

I told Ryan we could always write it in with a fine tipped Sharpie. He was pretty bummed.

 

[abbybeth]

40 days to go.

or 39 days and 20 hours if you'd like to get a little more specific!

That means it is now costume go time.

Let's see if a couple sneak peeks start putting the puzzle pieces together for those of you who haven't figured out who we're going to be yet. PM with your guesses - so far Dave is the only one who's gotten in. Once a few more people piece it together, I'll announce it.

I got lucky a while back and fished a remnant out of the discount bin at Joann Fabrics that was an exact match for part of Ryan's costume. I thought the remnant was big enough for the item, but ended up needing to get creative to get enough to finish the garment. I think the fabric was from their halloween costume selection last year, so I was out of luck when I went searching for more.



I ended up piecing together scraps, matching the stripes, to get the last panel I needed. It's on the back of the shorts and should be covered by another costume piece, so I'm hoping it's not too noticible!



And Ryan's excited that he can also use these to dress up as a Harlem Globetrotter!

As far as my cosume goes, I started working on one of my accessories ....
Zoe was a bit concerned by the gator and spent about 20 minutes staring it down before I got to work.



Surgery time! Scalpel!




and then we had fun making the floppy headed gator dance




Costume Hint #4 (or 5?): The pictures above!

I also got to work on a baby quilt for a shower that will take place before we leave.



It was a pretty productive weekend 'round these parts!

In Magic Bands news, we were prompted to create a second set. We will now apparently have bands for our one-night stay and a second set of bands for our package stay. Guess we'll see how that goes. I left Ryan's as green, but chose different colors for mine to help make it easier to keep them straight. I still can't make any FP+ reservations for any time after the 28th, which is the bulk of our trip. I think what I'm most interested in is being able to FP the BOG lunch line. I know we have a dinner ADR, but I also want to do lunch so I can really look at all of the rooms without feeling like some creep stalking on peoples' dinners.

How was everyone else's weekend?

 

[happybelle]

You can FP the BOG lunch line? Is that just for those with the RFID or can anyone do that? That would be wonderful.

 

[Miss Potts]

It's totally bugging me too about not being able to make FP+ reservations past 9/28!!!! Ugh!!!

Just like you, I'm hoping to get a BOG FP....

I just did online checkin today to customize our magic bands! DH isn't home so I can't order b/c I'm not sure which color he'll want! I'm def going with pink!

I feel like a dumdum... I can't figure out the costumes!!

 

[abbybeth]

You can FP the BOG lunch line? Is that just for those with the RFID or can anyone do that? That would be wonderful.

Apparently, yes. There are doing some fast pass slots for the BOG lunch line. It's on a trial basis too but is incorporated with the magic band testing so not rolled out to the general populace quite yet.

It's totally bugging me too about not being able to make FP+ reservations past 9/28!!!! Ugh!!!

Just like you, I'm hoping to get a BOG FP....

I just did online checkin today to customize our magic bands! DH isn't home so I can't order b/c I'm not sure which color he'll want! I'm def going with pink!

I feel like a dumdum... I can't figure out the costumes!!

I chose pink for our set for the one-day reservation and blue for the rest of our trip. It seems silly that they can't figure out that the reservations are consecutive and should all be on one set of bands. I left Ryan's color the same for both, but figured that having different colors for me will help keep them separate and be more fun!

Keep thinking! I'll continue to post updates as things come together. When you figure it out, it'll all make SO much sense!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I'm loving the sneak peaks at the costumes in progress. And the gator vs. cat stare down picture is just too funny!

 

[abbybeth]

I'm loving the sneak peaks at the costumes in progress. And the gator vs. cat stare down picture is just too funny!

the sneak peeks should be coming fairly regularly now (at least they will if I have any notion that these are getting done in time!)

Funny story about Zoe & the Gator. She was sitting in that chair and I was teasing her with the gator and playing with her. I hid the gator behind the chair back so she suddenly couldn't see it and started sliding it up the back (while humming the Jaws theme) and then popped its head over the chair back. She JUMPED! I left the gator on the chair and that's when she decided to sit there staring at it for so long. I think she was waiting to see if it'd attack again.

 

[kayemgi]

Caught up and following along! Loving your PTR, I can't wait to find out what your costumes are!

 

[abbybeth]

Caught up and following along! Loving your PTR, I can't wait to find out what your costumes are!

Hi! & thanks for joining in! Glad to have you here!
I'm having fun revealing bits of the costumes as I go - with prior trips, I've just come out with it from the get go. Suspense for the win!

 

[PrincessInOz]

I have a calico cat like you do.

 

[khertz]

I think I have your costumes figured out, and now I'm excited to see the finished product, because they will surely be AWESOME!!! Once I saw the striped shorts I had an idea, but the alligator put me over the edge into "99% sure."