All you need is to believe....~Our Sizzling Summer Getaway! July 2012~~ TR started!:)

[Angies1274]

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. It's been crazy around here with the boys on spring break. We usually go away this week every year whether it be Disney or someplace else. However, this year we decided to stay home and redo our bedrooms instead. So, I have spent the last few days painting, moving things around and reorganizing. Now that the dust has settled (literally) I'm anxious to get back into planning mode.

Before I share our plans for the second day of our trip. I thought I would share the shirts that I plan to get from the Disney store. (just waiting for a discount before I order so that I can at least off set the shipping costs.) I think they are adorable and are perfect for our summer trip!

Day 2 Plans—July 11, 2012

**Edit** Change of Plans-- We have decided not to go to SeaWorld after all on this trip. We will be going to AK instead on this day.​

Today is our SeaWorld day! I have wanted to do this on every trip but have never been able to justify the costs. Honestly, it seemed like a hassle and it took time away from our favorite place. But, the more I thought about it the more I realized it was something that we really wanted to try. We love marine animals which we discovered when we took a trip to Marineland in Canada many, many years ago. I think the boys were 3 and 5. If you have ever visited that park you would know how spread out it is and on the day we went the boys were just too small and it was so unbearably hot. We accomplished very little. Anyways, on every trip since we have started going to Disney we have added Sea World and then after figuring costs we have always cut it out. This time though I am determined to make it work.

The Plan…

Sea World tickets with all day dining

Since we won’t have a car while we are down there, we have two options to get to Sea World. We can—
A. Take our resort bus to the Magic Kingdom, then take monorail to the TTC and get on the Lynx bus to take us to Sea World. Bus fare is about $ 2.00 a person and it would take approximately 1 to 1 ½ to get to Sea World from the time we leave our resort. (or at least this is what I have read) Anyone have any experience with the Lynx bus?

B. Get a taxi. Cost approximately $25-$35 Not sure how long but I’m assuming less than a half hour.

Although, it would save us some money to go with option A, for the convenience I think we are leaning with option B. Obviously, it would be much quicker and less of a hassle plus we can ensure that we will be there for opening.

Since I’ve had read this is a more go with the flow kind of park, I really don’t have a set plan more of a list of things that we would like to do while we are there that include:

Feed the dolphins
Ride Journey to Atlantis
Wild Arctic (Polar Bears and Beluga Whales)
Blue Horizons?
One Ocean
Pets Ahoy
Shark Encounter
Visit Sea Lions
See Sting rays
Turtle Trek (Brand New)
Any other aquariums, exhibits that we come across.

You may have noticed that Manta and Kraken are missing from our list and while I would be more than willing to try. The boys and DH are definitely not interested. Too much of thrill for them!

So, ultimately, our goal for this day is just to take it slow and enjoy seeing the different animals and the sights.

We will also have the all day dining plan which I know will be nice as it includes- - 1 wristband valid for 1 entrée, 1 side OR 1 dessert, 1 regular size non-alcoholic beverage each time through the line until 30 minutes before the published restaurant closing time. We will utilize this for lunch and dinner on this day. What I really like about this plan is that it doesn’t limit the amount of food you can get. From what I understand if we want a snack at any point during the day such as some fruit, water, dessert or whatever as long as we go to any of the participating restaurants we can get all we want. There is no limit to the amount of times you go through the line. In July, the fact that we won’t have to buy water will be a huge savings for us.

After we have explored Sea World for the day. We have decided to use the Lynx transportation on the way back since it stops at DTD and we wanted to do a little shopping that night.

In Downtown Disney we plan to visit--

*Lego Store
*World of Disney
*Basin
*Goofy’s Candy Company

Then back to the resort to get to bed early as it’s our first official day in the parks and we will be visiting Magic Kingdom bright and early for EMH! I can’t wait!!

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[archdandy]

I don't know very much about SeaWorld because I haven't done much research on it but it sounds like it would be fun! The all day dining plan seems like it would be a really good deal as well. Hopefully the food isn't terrible! I'm hoping you get to go for sure this trip! Also those shirts ARE super cute! You're right, they are perfect for summer! The red one is my favorite. Where do you look for deals? I always want to get stuff from the Disney store but it's so expensive.

 

[Angies1274]

I don't know very much about SeaWorld because I haven't done much research on it but it sounds like it would be fun! The all day dining plan seems like it would be a really good deal as well. Hopefully the food isn't terrible! I'm hoping you get to go for sure this trip! Also those shirts ARE super cute! You're right, they are perfect for summer! The red one is my favorite. Where do you look for deals? I always want to get stuff from the Disney store but it's so expensive.

I'm really hoping we go as well. As of right now, all signs point to yes!! I actually think I may get the tickets this week so I don't change my mind! I've read really good things about the dining plan but the restaurants not so many great reviews. There are a couple though that people have recommended so we will be on the lookout for those.

I love the red shirt too!! I can't wait to wear it! The blue one will be for DH and the green one will be for the boys. Well...if I can get them to wear matching. I really wish they would come out with an additional style. The Disney store stuff can be so expensive!! But, a lot of times they offer 25% off sales or free shipping discounts. I really wish we had a closer Disney store! It would make things much easier!!

 

[Angies1274]

Day 3--Magic Kingdom Plans

I think I’m most excited to share our plans for this day because in all honestly it’s the day that I have had to do the most planning!! On this day we have decided to go to the Magic Kingdom. Ahh…just saying it makes me happy. I am absolutely, positively in love with this park. Obviously, there are so many wonderful things about each park but with this one when I walk in I can’t help but smile and feel like our vacation has truly began. Unfortunately, it’s also the park that is hardest to leave. Now, I have been on the Disboards for a few years so I have read all the advice about avoiding EMH because the park will be too busy. But, we have always utilized them with success so we will continue to do so. I think using them for this trip is so important because I know it’s going to be so hot and getting to the parks as early as we can is a must.

So on this morning, we will start our day by heading down to the Food Court to grab something to eat. Since we have a big dinner planned for this evening, we will probably just grab a muffin and some fruit before heading out to grab a bus for Magic Kingdom. Since we want to be there before 8, I’m assuming we will be heading to the bus stop around 7:00am.

I’m hoping that we will be able to see this...

If not then we will catch it on our second MK morning. The last time we went to MK for morning EMH it was a condensed version. Anyone know if that is still the case?

I will admit that because I love MK so much, it’s always the hardest park for me to plan. I struggle with wanting to get all the attractions that we want to see in but also wanting to take time to smell the roses and notice all the little things. This is why I have scheduled two whole park days for MK so hopefully we can do just that.

When we arrive of course we will do this...

During EMH, our plan is to try and do
--Space Mountain (one of the boys favorites)
--Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin
Then we will probably head back up through here….

So we can ride one of my favorite rides before it gets too busy….
Who doesn’t love this??

The plan is to check out Winnie the Pooh after Peter Pan's Flight. Can’t wait to see the new interactive queue!!
-Next stop will probably be the new Storybook Circus and we’ll try to ride Dumbo, Goofy or both. I might want to wait and try to ride Dumbo after dark….but we’ll see.
We’ll check out the new train station and hop aboard to head over to Frontier land--

Ride BTMRR (if it’s opened and the refurbishment doesn’t get delayed—fingers crossed!!!!!!)
We’ll probably grab a fast pass for Splash at this point
Then the plan is to finally check out Tom Sawyer Island. Now I say finally because we have wanted to check out TSI since our first trip way back in 2008 and we always run out of time or don’t make it a priority. Since we have more than one day in MK, I thought this would be the perfect time to give it a try.
After TSI I think we may use our FP to do this—

And this-

We may head to the Haunted Mansionnext. (Can’t wait to check out the new queue) I’m so excited for DH and Nick to ride as it will be their first time!!
We’ll probably have lunch at Columbia Harbour House. I love their Tuna sandwiches!
Then we’ll head back down Main Street, maybe do some shopping and return to Pop for a break in the afternoon.

MK Evening

We have a 5:00 reservation for ‘Ohana so the plan is to leave a little early so that we can take the ferry across to the Poly. We have never had dinner here before and I’m so excited! We had breakfast here on our first trip and really enjoyed the food and the atmosphere so I’m hoping we will enjoy dinner just as much. After dinner, I’m hoping to head out to the Poly beach for a bit before we head back to MK for the evening.

Depending if BTMRR is opened we’ll probably check out the FP time and then head back over to Tomorrow land to do the rides that probably won’t have long wait times like the TTA and Carousel of Progress. (Both will be new to us!!)

The goal is to make our way around to Fantasyland checking the wait time for-
-Mad Tea Party (for the boys)
-Carousel
-Mickey’s Philharmagic
Love this part!!

-IASW

Depending on the time we may try to catch some of the parade in Frontierland or just head over to BTMRR to ride.

After that we will probably head out for the night as we plan to watch Wishes on our second MK evening.

Basically, the plan for this trip is to do all our must-do attractions the first morning in the park. Then that night we will come back and do the attractions that usually have short stand-by times in the evening.

On our second MK day we will start with a more leisurely approach in Adventure land and take things much slower on this day and concentrate on seeing Wishes on our last evening. (Which I will expand more on our next MK update.)

So, that’s our MK plans! I know I probably over think everything but going in the summer is new to us (or relatively new since our last summer visit was the end of August and supposedly not as busy as June/July or the beginning of August) Anyway, we want to make the most of our visit but still have time in the afternoons to enjoy our resort which we never seem to take time to do. Obviously, what we don't fit in on this day we can try to do our second MK day.

Thoughts or suggestions??


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[ColtGurl]

I too love MK. I could just hang around Main Street and be happy BTM has to be my favorites ride, but it will be closed while we are there Ride it once or twice or fourtimes for me.

We went in July in 2007 and it was HOT! The breaks in the afternoon will really be helpful.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I was two updates behind because I'm not getting email notifications from the Dis while they are doing their upgrade. Have you registered on the Sea World website yet? They sometimes have specials on their tickets so it's worth signing up for. I know that when we thought about going this year (before I booked our cruise), I received an email from them that would have allowed us to get tickets at a discount if I bought them online.

As far as your Magic Kingdom plans go, I think you're right on track with the plans. I am like you and it's hard not to cram in a lot in one day but I just wanna see and do it all!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Hey Angie! I had no idea you had a PTR going! I'm here now-time to catch up!

 

[Angies1274]

I too love MK. I could just hang around Main Street and be happy BTM has to be my favorites ride, but it will be closed while we are there Ride it once or twice or fourtimes for me.

We went in July in 2007 and it was HOT! The breaks in the afternoon will really be helpful.

I agree!!! I love Main Street and never spend as much time there as I would like. Hopefully this trip Aww...BTMRR is a definitely a favorite for us as well, especially at night!!!

I was two updates behind because I'm not getting email notifications from the Dis while they are doing their upgrade. Have you registered on the Sea World website yet? They sometimes have specials on their tickets so it's worth signing up for. I know that when we thought about going this year (before I booked our cruise), I received an email from them that would have allowed us to get tickets at a discount if I bought them online.

As far as your Magic Kingdom plans go, I think you're right on track with the plans. I am like you and it's hard not to cram in a lot in one day but I just wanna see and do it all!

I know...I'm not getting email notifications either. It also keeps logging me out. I don't know if it's my computer or because of the maintenance.

I have registered on the Sea World site or at least I think I did. Our choices for tickets include either buying them online for about 71.00 (I think) and getting the 2nd day free or paying 81.00? and getting the free dining plan. We opted for the free dining plan for the day since we don't have any plans to return a second day. Although we are technically paying the extra $10 a person to get it. It will cover the cost of lunch and then we will get dinner and snacks through out the day for free.

 

[Angies1274]

Hey Angie! I had no idea you had a PTR going! I'm here now-time to catch up!

Hi Sarah!! I'm so glad you're here!!!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Hi Angie!!! I came over, too, and got all caught up now! I can't wait to hear more!!!!

 

[Angies1274]

Hi Angie!!! I came over, too, and got all caught up now! I can't wait to hear more!!!!

Hi Ann!! I'm so glad you joined in!! We just did another one of our movie nights on Sunday. So, I'm hoping to get another update posted later this week.

 

[Angies1274]

On Sunday, we decided it was time to do another movie night! It was the last day of the boys Spring Break and I wanted to do something special for them. We chose....

The Lion King to watch! We haven't watched this movie in such a long time so it was nice to see it again. Since the movie night was kind of thrown together at the last minute, I didn't really have time to plan a menu.

I had already gotten the stuff earlier in the week to make egg rolls for dinner so we worked with what we had.
Our menu ended up as:
Egg Rolls (we thought that they looked like logs so that would work)

Broccoli (to represent the trees of course!)

I didn't take pictures of the rest but we also ended up with what we called

Rafiki Rice
Nala Noodles
Simba's Sweet and Sour Sauce

It didn't have anything to do with the movie...really. But, we made it work!!
Dessert was pudding cups with crushed oreos and gummy worms

We also munched on worms and sticks (pretzels and gummy worms) during the movie.

Since it was last minute, the boys made a crown and a lion mask

We also had a find Simba scavenger hunt--

Nick found him hiding in our suitcase!!

Then we settled down to watch the movie. Overall, it was a really fun night! Now, it's time to think about next month's movie. Hmm...

Countdowns and Shopping!!

While we were upstairs searching for Simba. I decided to take a picture of our current countdown to Disney that's hanging at the top of the stairs.

Usually at about a month before the trip we make a countdown chain to hang in the kitchen. The boys love seeing it get smaller and smaller as we countdown our trip!!

Although, I haven't got too much for our trip yet I decided to pull out what we've got so far and share. I've picked up a couple shirts for all of us-

Some Disney shirts too!

Noah loves his Mickey, Goofy, Donald and Pluto shirt! He thought it would be the perfect shirt to wear in July. Although, he did say that he wished we were going a few days before (on the 4th of July) so it would be even more perfect. I also found this shirt on ebay for me. I thought it was really cute and I plan to wear it on the day we go to Ohana.

So, that's what we have been up to lately. Hopefully, I can get our Epcot plans up soon.​

 

[Angies1274]

80 days left!!​

It's hard to believe that 100 days ago, I was waking up bright and early to make our ADR's! Wow!!

Oh..and I updated our introductions with more pictures. I was finally able to get my pictures organized from past trips!! Yay! So I will probably do a few looking back posts from our 2008,2009,and 2010 trips soon.​

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[mommytothreeboys]

Just caught up with your report. Yay for a discount...even 5% helps!

Jeff and I went to Sea World for a day on our Disney honeymoon and we LOVED it! I think it's a good choice! The hassle of the transportation is the only downside I see....being onsite and not having a car can be so convenient, but makes add-ons tough. You'll figure it all out!

**sigh** MK! Love it! The opening show gives me goosebumps, Wishes makes me cry...and everything in between is magical!

Love the countdown...I am doing a little dance for you since I missed your double digit dance!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Wow, your son looks so grown up! Sounds like a fun movie night.

YAY for 80 days!

 

[archdandy]

Cute t-shirts! I love the one you got to wear to your Ohana ADR. It looks like your boys had a great time with the Lion King movie night even if it was last minute. The worms and sticks part was my favorite!

 

[Angies1274]

Just caught up with your report. Yay for a discount...even 5% helps!

Jeff and I went to Sea World for a day on our Disney honeymoon and we LOVED it! I think it's a good choice! The hassle of the transportation is the only downside I see....being onsite and not having a car can be so convenient, but makes add-ons tough. You'll figure it all out!

**sigh** MK! Love it! The opening show gives me goosebumps, Wishes makes me cry...and everything in between is magical!

Love the countdown...I am doing a little dance for you since I missed your double digit dance!

Thanks Missy! I'm happy that we got at least some kind of discount. You're right..every little bit helps!!

I'm so glad to hear that you loved Sea World. I can't wait to see it! I think we have pretty much decided to take the taxi route. It just seems so much easier than taking the bus. Ugh..I still wish it wasn't such a hassle though. I'm sure once we get there it will be all worth it!

Aww...you described MK perfectly!! I feel the exact same way!

Wow, your son looks so grown up! Sounds like a fun movie night.

YAY for 80 days!

Thanks Sarah!! We love our movie nights! Any excuse to be able to watch a Disney movie....I'll take it!

 

[Angies1274]

Cute t-shirts! I love the one you got to wear to your Ohana ADR. It looks like your boys had a great time with the Lion King movie night even if it was last minute. The worms and sticks part was my favorite!

Thanks!! I knew the minute I saw the one with Minnie and Daisy on it that it would be perfect to wear at Ohana's. It was just so cute I couldn't resist!

I think the worms and sticks were my favorite as well!!

 

[newtexan]

New reader here. Going in early July. Celebrating a Kinder grad and 17 years too.
Congrats on your college degree.
Great movie nights - very creative.
Love, love your park bag.
Sea World is very hot, plan your day around the shows not the rides if you want to see them all it eats up a lot of time. Manta (I think is its name) is a very cool coaster ride, we thought it was worth the wait.
Enjoying your daily plans, I think we could follow your MK plan! It is us to a "t".

 

[BrerMama]

Just wanted to say hi! I just read your whole report while my dh is working out... I so love lazy Saturday mornings. Looks like you have a great trip planned!