Another year, another Disney trip (of course!)-An April/May 2019 PTR

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Hello everyone! We are finally in the double digits of our countdown to this year's fantastic Disney trip. 98 days and we will be home again. That means it's time to get started on the PTR. I can't believe I haven't gotten started before now. If you followed my TR last year, you would have enjoyed a whirlwind girls trip with myself, my two year old daughter, and my mom. This year the cast of characters is a little bit different.….

First, there's me, Amber. I am 28 years old and this will be my 17th trip to WDW. It is my absolute favorite place to go on vacation! My favorite resort is Wilderness Lodge but Old Key West comes in a very close second. My favorite park is Animal Kingdom. My favorite ride is Kilimanjaro Safari and my favorite character is Tinkerbell. I don't really have a favorite Disney restaurant because they are always changing and I enjoy trying new places. Since having my daughter, a new light has been shed on Disney trips as I love seeing her reaction to things. She has fallen in love with the Disney life!

Next, my DD will be 3 years old on this trip. Yes, this will be the first trip where she is no longer free to enter the parks. This will be her 3rd trip. She went for the first time when she was 15 months old in 2017 and again when she was 2 in 2018. Her favorite park is Magic Kingdom. Her favorite ride is a toss-up between Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan. Her favorite Disney character is Moana but there honestly isn't a character that she doesn't like. As far as Disney restaurants she has really enjoyed Chef Mickey's, The Plaza, Crystal Palace, and Tony's Town Square.

Then comes my mom. This will be somewhere in the neighborhood of her 25th-30th trip. She has lost count over the years. The last time we talked about it, her favorite park was Magic Kingdom. Her favorite ride is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Like me, she doesn't have a favorite restaurant because we always eat at so many different places and things change all the time. She has enjoyed transitioning from the role of parent to grandparent on our Disney trips and likes a more laid-back trip.

Then we have the Disney-planner extraordinaire, my dad. He is the mastermind behind all of our Disney trips. He starts planning trips at least a year in advance and does all of the research to make sure we get the best deals, most important fast-passes, and best dining reservations. He really enjoys Epcot, most specifically the World Showcase but I'm not sure exactly what his favorite park is. He has been to WDW close to 30 times and is definitely an expert when it comes to planning. He too has enjoyed transitioning into the role of grandpa on Disney trips.

Next comes my brother Ryne. He is a twin; however, his twin brother will not be joining us on this trip due to some work obligations. Ryne is 25 years old and this will be his 14th trip. He says its hard to pick favorites because it seems that as he ages, his favorites change. He just enjoys being older and having a bit more freedom when it comes to the parks. We stayed at Old Key West on his last trip and he has dubbed it as his favorite resort. He is looking forward to taking his girlfriend on the trip with us this time.

Last, but definitely not least, is my brother's girlfriend, Sam. She has been to Disney only a couple times as a younger child and is probably just as excited for this trip as I am. She has some fond memories of the trip but since it has been so long she doesn't really have any favorites. She is just looking forward to warm weather, sunshine, and having tons of fun. She blends well with my family and my DD just adores her.


Well, that's our crew! Here are the details for the trip:
- When: April 26th-May 4th, 2019
- Mode of Transportation: Dad, mom, DD, and I will be driving from central Illinois. We leave on Friday April 26th and arrive on Saturday April 27th. Ryne and Sam will fly out of Indianapolis and arrive on Saturday April 27th, taking Magical Express to the resort.
- Where: The first night we will stay in a Lion King Suite at Art of Animation (This will be a new resort for me). Then on Sunday we will move to a two-bedroom villa at Old Key West for the remainder of the trip.
- My mom is an annual passholder while the rest of us will have five day park hopper tickets.
- We do have a non-park day planned with golfing for the men and shopping at Disney Springs for the women. There is potential that my dad, Ryne, and Sam will spend some time at a Water Park but this is still up for discussion I believe.

Stay tuned for preliminary itinerary postings and more PTR info!

 

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Sounds like a great trip! Enjoy and look forward to hearing the plans!

 

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We are 91 days away from this trip and have most of our plans figured out! Of course we haven't booked fastpasses yet so everything is subject to change based on that. Here is what we are looking at:

Friday April 26th: Mom, Dad, DD, and I will leave central Illinois sometime before 5 am. We will be driving down and plan to make it the majority of the way today. We are looking at around 12 hours of driving time which of course will be prolonged by various stops. My dad will likely do all of the driving (he always does) but I will be on standby if needed. My mom tends spend any travel time in the car sleeping or reading so she isn't much help in that department. I believe our goal location is Valdosta! Sometimes we make hotel reservations because that gives us a firm place to stop but other times we just like to wing it and see where we end up. I don't think the decision has been made as to which way we are doing it on this trip. Because there is only four of us and we will be in the hotel for such a short amount of time, we can share a room easily.

Saturday April 27th: We should only have about 4-5 hours left to drive on this morning putting us on Disney property around lunch time. We are hopeful that we will be able to check in to our first resort, Art of Animation when we arrive but if we can't, there is plenty of exploring to be done as DD and I have never stayed there before. We will either eat lunch somewhere around Orlando or at AoA. We may even sneak in some pool time at AoA that afternoon. While at AoA, we will pick up DD's stroller that I rented through Kingdom Strollers. We have never rented a stroller before but multiple factors led us to do that on this trip. 1. The price really wasn't that bad 2. We had used umbrella strollers on our past two trips and missed the storage that the bigger strollers had 3. Bigger strollers are more conducive to sleeping/resting for DD as they recline and have better sun coverage 4. We wouldn't have to worry about shoving a stroller in our trunk 5. We really don't need a stroller until we get on Disney property anyways 6. The bigger strollers have a one step folding process as opposed to the 2-3 steps required by the umbrella strollers. We are looking forward to the easier bus boarding process this will allow

That afternoon Ryne and Sam will fly in from Indianapolis and take DME to AoA. We will be there to greet them and get them to the right room. We are sharing one of the Lion King Family Suites for this night. Then we will all change and head to Disney Springs for our 6:45pm reservation at The Boathouse for dinner. We ate there on our last big family trip in 2016 and absolutely loved it! I can't wait to go back again. The evening will be spent relaxing around Disney Springs and AoA

Sunday April 28th: When we wake up this morning we will pack all of our things up and put them in the car in preparation for our move to Old Key West. We have a 10:10 am reservation at Chef Mickey's for breakfast so we will likely take a bus from AoA to Magic Kingdom then walk over to the Contemporary from there. After we fill up our bellies and enjoy watching Natalia interact with the characters, the men will take a bus back to AoA where they will pick up the car and head out for a day of golfing. I'm not sure if they've chosen which golf course they are going to go to this time but this has become a tradition for them. The girls will hop a bus to Disney Springs for a day of shopping. Once the men are done golfing they will check in to OKW and we will eventually head there to rest a bit and unpack. We kind of left the evening wide open but expect to spend it at Disney Springs. There is just so much for us to do there and so many dining choices. At some point that day we may do a grocery run unless I settle on a grocery ordering service between now and then.

Monday April 29th: We finally reached our first park day and it will be an early one. Animal Kingdom has early morning extra magic hours. Dad, Ryne, Sam, and I may take a Minnie Van to the park so we can hit up FOP at the very beginning of EMH. Mom and Natalia will take a bus over later. We recently read a trip report where this was a successful approach to riding FOP without needing a fastpass. Other things we intend to do at Animal Kingdom either with or without a fastpass are Kilimanjaro Safari, Festival of the Lion King, Finding Nemo the Musical, The Kingdom Takes Flight, Primeval Whirl, and UP! The Great Bird Adventure . I'm sure Ryne and Sam will do Expedition Everest and Kali River Rapids. My dad has not done Navi River Journey so maybe Ryne and Sam will do that with him. Mom, DD, and I did it on our last trip and weren't too thrilled about it. At 12:15pm we have a lunch reservation at the Rain Forest Café. Natalia really enjoyed the atmosphere here on our 2016 trip. Those of us that require an afternoon rest period will return to the resort in the late afternoon. Eventually, everyone will end up there to change and get ready for our 8:05pm dinner reservation at California Grill. I have not eaten here since like 2014. This will be a new one for DD, Ryne, and Sam. I can't wait for them all to see HEA from the viewing decks there.

Tuesday April 30th: Mom, DD, and I will be up early and Disney Springs bound for our 8:30 am appointment at Bibbidy bobbity boutique. I have been waiting all of DD's life (a whole 3 years, I know) for her to be old enough to do BBB. Now she finally is and she will be Cinderella. We are taking her Cinderella dress that we bought from Disney for her last Halloween. We have our own tiara and shoes too so this shouldn't break the bank. We will meet everyone else at MK later on in the morning. We have lots of plans for MK. Some things we will do together and some we will split up into multiple different groups for. We will likely all have different fastpasses too. I can't wait to see how this works out as on our past trips we all had the same fastpasses. We have a 12:05pm lunch reservation at The Plaza. This has become a tradition for us on every trip because we like it so much. There are a lot of things there that DD will eat that will keep her from just eating chicken nuggets for every meal. After lunch we will spend some more time around MK and eventually those of us that require an afternoon rest period will head back to OKW to do just that. For the evening we are splitting into three groups, Ryne and Sam are on their own and think they are going to spend some time at the World Showcase in Epcot. They didn't want dinner reservations and kind of want to wing it. Mom and Dad will be headed to Ohana for an 8:05pm dinner reservation while Natalia and I will have a great mommy-daughter date at Be Our Guest with a 7:40pm reservation. Honestly speaking, Natalia and I will likely try to snag a spot to watch HEA again. I really enjoyed it on our last trip!

Wednesday May 1st: We kind of left this as an open morning for people to do as the choose. There is possibility of dad, ryne, and Sam hitting up a water park. We could also do any of the parks or even spend more time at Disney Springs. We will just see what our schedules look like after booking fastpasses. The only thing we know for sure is that we are spending the afternoon and evening at DHS. We have a 6:30pm dinner Ressie at Sci-Fi which will be a first for DD, Ryne, Sam, and I.

Thursday May 2nd: It's Epcot day! They have early morning EMH starting at 8 am so we will likely hit that up. At some point in the afternoon, those of us that require a rest period from the park will head back to OKW. We will be back in time for our 7:50pm dinner reservation at Rose and Crown. We are interested to see how this will work out because we booked this prior to the new special dining package offered for Illuminations viewing. Those of you that have read my reports before know that Illuminations is my favorite thing in all of Disney. You can bet that I immediately started grieving as soon as I found out that it will end this year. I'm sure what will replace it will be bigger and better but I am still sad to see it go. This will definitely be bittersweet! We always watch it on the last night of our trip and we wanted to make sure that we had a good spot for it. That was our intention when booking Rose and Crown. We will see what happens!

Friday May 3rd:Unfortunately we have to wake up and pack up this morning to check out of OKW. After that saddening process is over, we will head to Magic Kingdom for our last round of fun. They have morning EMH that day so we will likely take advantage of that. We have a 12:20pm lunch reservation at Tony's Town Square. After that we may spend a little more time at MK but eventually Ryne and Sam will have to head back to OKW to board DME back to the airport and the rest of us will have to hit the road. We won't arrive home until Saturday.

 

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We are down to 69 days! Time is just flying by and as we approach our fastpass selection window we have already made some major alterations to the itinerary that I discussed in my last post (I'm sure we will change things around at least 2 more times before we hit the road). So here is our new and improved itinerary:

Friday April 26th: Mom, Dad, DD, and I will depart central Illinois around 5 am making a pit stop a couple hours down the road for a quick McDonald's breakfast and bathroom break. We will aim to be in Dalton, GA by lunch time. They have a Chick-Fil-A there. We love Chick-Fil-A's but sadly don't have many in Illinois right now. Dalton, GA is about 8 hours or so from home. Of course that is depending on traffic, potty breaks, etc. From there we will drive to Valdosta, GA which is our stop for the night. We have reservations at Drury Inn. Dinner will be at Olive Garden that is nearby. Valdosta, GA is a little over 4 hours from Dalton, GA which makes it a little over 12 hours from home.

Saturday April 27th: The driving crew will wake up and eat breakfast at Drury while the flying crew is making their way to the Indy airport. After breakfast, the driving crew will drive the remaining 3 1/2 hours to Orlando. We will spend some time shopping at Disney springs until either our room is ready or Ryne and Sam are headed to the resort whichever comes first. Ryne and Sam fly out of Indy at 1:50pm and land at MCO at 4:05pm. They will then take the DME to our first resort, Art of Animation. Once we are all safely there and checked into our Lion King Suite we will change for dinner and head out to Disney Springs for our 6:45pm dinner reservation at The Boathouse. Then the rest of the evening will be spent either around Disney Springs or relaxing at the resort.

Sunday April 28th: We get to sleep in a little on this day. After everyone is up and ready my dad will head out to move the car and our luggage over to Old Key West. We know our villa will not be ready yet but he will let them know we are on property and double check that we are set up to receive a text once our room is ready. We have had success doing it this way in the past and been able to get into our room by lunch time. We will then all meet up at the Contemporary for our 10:10am breakfast reservation at Chef Mickey's. From there the men will head to their 12:30pm tee time at the Palm Golf Course while the women will head to Disney Springs for some shopping. At some point in the afternoon we will meet back up at Old Key West, get into our villa, and change before heading back to Disney Springs for our 7:30pm dinner ADR at Raglan Road. We added this reservation because we think DD and Sam will enjoy the entertainment here. The rest of us have been there before and already know we love it.

Monday April 29th: Our first park day! We will get up early and take a Minnie Van to AK for early morning EMH. Some of us will ride FOP while the rest take their time getting back to that area to meet us. We are not sure where our fastpasses will have us but attractions we plan to do are Kilimanjaro Safari, FOTLK, Finding Nemo the Musical, the UP! bird show, Everest, Kali River Rapids, and the Triceratop Spin. Some of us have done Navi before and weren't big fans of it but those who haven't done it will likely do it at some point on this day. We have a 12:15pm lunch reservation at Rainforest Café in Animal Kingdom. From there we will head back to the resort for pool time/rest time. Originally we had a Cali Grill Ressie on this night but after looking through the menu, there are three people in our party that would have difficulty finding something to eat there so we cancelled it. We have this night wide open for now which gives us a chance to move some things around if we don't get the fastpasses that we want.

Tuesday April 30th: Magic Kingdom day! Myself, my mom, and DD will head out bright and early for our 8:30am appointment at BBB in Disney Springs. From there we will meet everyone else who will likely already be at MK. We have a 12:05 lunch reservation for the Plaza. Then most of us will head back to the resort to get the princess some beauty rest. We will head back to MK in the afternoon for some park time before we head our separate ways for dinner. DD and I have a 7:40pm reservation at Be Our Guest. My parents have an 8:05 pm reservation at Ohana. Ryne and Sam have yet to figure out what they will be doing for dinner on that night but are leaning towards heading into Epcot.

Wednesday May 1st: This morning is kind of open so we can sleep in if we want. My dad, Ryne, and Sam may head to a water park while I am thinking my mom, DD, and I may head out early for DHS. There are a lot of shows that we want to see here that are kind of time consuming and we don't want to waste fastpasses on them. Dinner is at 6:30pm at Sci Fi so the rest of the crew was planning on spending the afternoon/evening at DHS.

Thursday May 2nd: Epcot has early morning EMH so we will likely take advantage of those. For lunch we will do QS around the world. I have my eye on several things at the Flower and Garden Festival booths so this will be my time to try them. Afternoon will be break time at least for DD and I. Dinner will be at 7:50pm at Rose and Crown with Illuminations to follow. It will be my last chance to see my favorite Disney show of all time

Friday May 3rd: Unfortunately we have to pack up and check out of OKW when we wake up today. We will spend time at whatever park we decide (likely MK) but we will need to end up at MK by 12:20pm for our lunch reservation at Tony's Town Square. We will leave in the late afternoon/early evening once we make sure that Ryne and Sam are understanding of their DME time to return to the airport. They don't fly out until 8:35pm. They will arrive back in Indy around 10:50pm. They are just planning to stay in Indy that night. We will be driving just 3 and a half hours to Cordele, GA where we will stay at Comfort Suites.

Saturday May 4th: Wake up and drive the remaining 11 hours home. .