Around We Go and Back Again - A May 2016 Pre-Trip Report - Last Update!

I have to say "Eeeeww" to how your breakfast looks lol, but I believe you when you say it was delicious! I'm pretty much always hungry but I don't know if I'd want to eat breakfast every morning that early, either.

Yay on the FP's! I almost always tweak mine after initially making them and don't have trouble, except sometimes if I'm trying to change around one for 7DMT. I'm actually usually moving them around up till a week before we go!
I 100% agree my breakfast looks 'Ewwww'. Next time I won't use the Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder. I think it would have been a nice coffee color if I just used regular cocoa.

You know what? I didn't even try to get a 7DMT FP. I just noticed that! It didn't really fit with our plan. We will try to RD it on an EMH morning, but in case we don't get it I have a whole leisurely MK day for our last day. We can brave the line.
 


36 DAYS!!!

OK, it's been a minute since my last update - but with all the RoL will-they-or-won't-they over the last few weeks, I needed a break from looking at my plans so much. At this point, I am resigned that the big highlight of my trip will be Flower & Garden and anything else that happens will be an awesome bonus!

Since my last update, we have been crazy Disney crafting (well, Melissa has been and I am providing moral support). And, since the last update, now we have...

FASTPASSES!!!!

Wthout further ado, the plans thus far:

Arrival Day: Our flight has been changed. We're arriving much earlier now and should be dropped off at the resort by 11:00am. I am not optimistic that our rooms will be ready, but I always travel prepared. We'll change for the afternoon/evening and ask them to hold our carry-on bags for us. Then we will be heading over to the Boardwalk for lunch at the Boardwalk Bakery. After that, it's off to DHS for the following FPs:

4:40p Toy Story Midway Mania
6:15p Star Tours
8:00p Tower of Terror

I imagine we will have dinner at a QS that night in the parks, likely Backlot Express so we can partake in some Star Wars goodies before we head back to the resort.


*Now, rumor has it that the current Star Wars fireworks show will still be going through May (and our trip). All I can say is - WON'T THAT BE AWESOME IF IT HAPPENS?

Sunday: Back at DHS for EMH am. Still making a beeline to ride ToT and RnRC while it's not crowded. FPs:

9:20a Star Tours
10:20a TSMM
11:30a Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular

Lunch at Mama Melrose. Mid-day break at the resort, head to Disney Springs for shopping and Raglan Road Dinner.

Monday: Few changes here. AK (EMH am). Ride EE as many times in a row as possible. Do the DinoLand side (Dinosaur, Primeval Whirl) and Finding Nemo show. Lunch at Flame Tree Barbecue. Mid-day break at the resort. Head to MK. Due to our FP selections (to follow) and that we were heavy on TS restaurants, we cancelled our ADR at The Plaza.

6:00p Monster's Inc Laugh Floor. We love this attraction and know it doesn't really need an FP, but we also like to see it multiple times.
7:00p Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
8:00p Space Mountain

We're going to sneak in dinner at Tomorrowland Terrace. We also plan on doing the People Mover for the nighttime viewing. It also should be our first viewing of Celebrate the Magic and I am already tearing up...


Tuesday: Epcot Day!! The Spice Road Table ADR has been cancelled and it's going to be all Outdoor Kitchens, all day. I did make FPs, just in case Frozen Ever After opens. Otherwise, we're only using the last one.

5:00p Turtle Talk with Crush
6:45p Spaceship Earth
8:30p IllumiNations (I haven't seen it before. It was rained out on our last trip)

It's EMH late that night, so we may do some rides on the way out. It will all depend on how much we end up eating and drinking.


Wednesday: Breakfast at Boma, then heading over to DAK. FPs:

11:30a Festival of the Lion King
12:35p Kali River Rapids
1:35p Kiliminjaro Safaris

On the way out, we'll hit It's Tough to Be a Bug, then back to the resort for a break. After that is EMH night time at MK, where we will play in Frontierland and Adventureland all night. I imagine we will find our way to another QS at some point as well.

Thursday: EMH at Future World. Shock of all shocks, Derrick wants to do a character meet that is not Star Wars related! He want to meet Baymax! I am so excited!!! I can't decide if we should just rush over to get in line to see him or go with our original run and do Test Track ASAP. Here are our FPs:

9:20a Mission: SPACE
10:35a The Seas with Nemo & Friends (because, tiering.)
11:40a Turtle Talk with Crush

Biergarten for lunch, then the rest of the day is WIDE OPEN. Who knows what the day will bring? It's a mystery!


Friday: MK (EMH am), where we'll do as much of Fantasyland as we can before the hordes arrive. Late breakfast at Kona Cafe, then a break at the resort. FPs:

3:10p Star Tours
6:40p TSMM
8:30p ToT

Our Hollywood Brown Derby Fantasmic dinner is at 4:25p, then Fantasmic is at 9p, This evening is a little more criss-crossing the park than I usually want to do, but we'll see how it goes. We can always miss our Star Tours FP since it's EMH that night and we can probably fit a ton of runs on that after the show. Same with ToT.


Saturday: As of right now, this whole day is at MK. HOWEVER, now that they have the Early Morning Magic party, we may go back to our original plan of EMH am at AK. I don't know. I keep waffling on it. Here's our FPs:

11:25a Jungle Cruise
12:50p Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
1:50p Splash Mountain

Dinner at Be Our Guest. We are planning on staying all the way through the Kiss Goodnight (if they do it) so we can just power through until we have to leave at 3am for the airport. Last night... :sad:
 
Last edited:
First, they added Seasons of The Force. Then they changed the name of Seasons of the Force to Star Wars Awakens at DHS. We've been anxiously awaiting if the Star Wars: Symphony in the Stars fireworks show would remain at DHS while we were there. Our fingers and toes have been crossed that we would get to taste Star Wars treats in May. Now, there are even more questions?? Will the stage show beginning April 4th still be there when we go? Will Captain Phasma and the Stormtroopers still be on the occasional march? DOES 'THIS SUMMER' MEAN MAY OR DOES IT MEAN JUNE?

Ohhh, the emotions!![/QUOTE]






I echo your sentiment! DOES "THIS SUMMER" MEAN MAY OR DOES IT MEAN JUNE? We are going to be there May 21 - 25 and so much of Star Wars seems up in the air and just when you think you know something it changes. And will I meet Chewbacca??? I am enjoying your pre-trip thoughts. You sound a lot like me. I've had my Mickey & Minnie nails picture on my phone and my manicure appointment set for months. We are going with my whole family, I fondly refer to the group as the Sixteen Man Circus. I think my Mom and I may be driving everyone nuts with our tips and suggestions. I can't wait to keep reading!
 
First, they added Seasons of The Force. Then they changed the name of Seasons of the Force to Star Wars Awakens at DHS. We've been anxiously awaiting if the Star Wars: Symphony in the Stars fireworks show would remain at DHS while we were there. Our fingers and toes have been crossed that we would get to taste Star Wars treats in May. Now, there are even more questions?? Will the stage show beginning April 4th still be there when we go? Will Captain Phasma and the Stormtroopers still be on the occasional march? DOES 'THIS SUMMER' MEAN MAY OR DOES IT MEAN JUNE?

Ohhh, the emotions!!






I echo your sentiment! DOES "THIS SUMMER" MEAN MAY OR DOES IT MEAN JUNE? We are going to be there May 21 - 25 and so much of Star Wars seems up in the air and just when you think you know something it changes. And will I meet Chewbacca??? I am enjoying your pre-trip thoughts. You sound a lot like me. I've had my Mickey & Minnie nails picture on my phone and my manicure appointment set for months. We are going with my whole family, I fondly refer to the group as the Sixteen Man Circus. I think my Mom and I may be driving everyone nuts with our tips and suggestions. I can't wait to keep reading![/QUOTE]
:welcome:

Thanks for joining in! I keep seeing the current Disney 'This Summer' ad with its Rivers of Light promos - and I try not to let it feel like a knife twisting in my side. 16 people! Whoa! We're planning a big family trip in 2019 to Disneyland, but the most there would be is 11 people, but it will likely be 8 of us.

I am starting my beauty prep process, too! I need to get my nails done this weekend, but I am for sure getting my hair colored this Friday. I am SUPER EXCITED about my colorist and our color choices. The woman who cuts my hair doesn't do color, but she got a bunch of new colorists in the salon. I've been stalking their work on Instagram and Facebook for months and feel confident in my choice. I'm pretty zen about my hair, so giving it a month before the trip gives me time to touch it up if I love it or let it tone down if I don't.
 

25 DAYS UNTIL WE ARE IN THE PARKS!!!!

Our purple Magic Bands and luggage tags arrived yesterday. I ordered our Frogg Togg towel (which we will be cutting in half), some breakfast bars for Derrick (he likes the Orchard Bars in Concord Grape because it tastes just like peanut butter and jelly and that man eats PB&J every day for breakfast), more slip shorts for me because I am LOVING them. He got some new Star Wars swim trunks and we ordered the last of our Disney Gift Cards that we earned through SwagBucks ($400! I am so proud of us!)

That SHOULD do it for our pre-trip shopping needs. Except that Urban Decay is releasing an Alice Through the Looking Glass makeup kit on May 2nd. I don't wear much makeup in the parks because I sweat so much, but this kit is SO CUTE and it comes with 5 lipsticks! We'll see. I am trying to be good.

Melissa did the first test version of a Mickey Tie Dye shirt, so that's our project this weekend.

In planning news, we are a GO for Symphony in the Stars during our trip! Whew! I am a little bummed that they aren't every night so we won't be able to see them on our first night as I'd hoped, but I am just happy to get to see them at all! We may switch our Disney Springs night from Sunday to Thursday so we can do the fireworks twice during the trip. I added another Raglan Road ADR just in case.

I got my hair colored this past Friday and I am SO THRILLED how it turned out! It's definitely going to fade by the time we leave, so I would like to plan a touch up between now and then. I was going to do it the morning before we leave to kill time, but I can't wash it for a couple of days after coloring and that is a NO GO in FL. I will probably do it the week before we go and get a manicure the morning we leave to kill time. image.jpegimage.jpeg
 
9 DAYS!!!

I can't believe we are in the single digits!

Happy Birthday to my other half! May the Fourth be with him (and also with you!)

Right now, I feel like I am in this weird limbo. It's too early to pack, but I don't have any more planning to do. There was a moment when we thought about doing our Fantasmic! dinner at HBD as an OOP meal, which would free up two TS credits each, but when I started figuring out where we could put these meals (and at which restaurants), it started a cascading effect over the rest of the plans. I am just leaving well enough alone (although my SIL did add a Tusker House breakfast on our last day, since MK will have EMM that day).

Hurry up and get here, May 13!!!
 
It's all happening!!!!

We leave tomorrow night! I'm getting my nails (hands and feet) done tomorrow morning. We've been making our packing piles and have one final store run to restock toiletries and other last-minute items. (I ordered a Frogg Toggs Chilly Pad and when my SIL opened it yesterday, it was covered in mold. Gross.)

Thanks for coming along on my first ever pre-trip journal! I promise to report when we get back!
 












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