Beignets with a side of Butterbeer: An April 2013 PTR (Trip Report Link - 4/25)

[mommytothreeboys]

Great updates! LOTS of planning going on!

Star Tours would make me sick as well. I sit that one out!

So cool that you can take your sister to Harry Potter! Sister points are always good to have!

You will love your resort day. I was nervous at first too, but it's so nice to have nowhere to go and just explore and relax! I hope G likes the water and enjoys the pool time.

 

[danceintherain]

I was a little like that with Harry Potter for a while too. It got really popular when I was in college, but at least on our campus there was very much a Lord of the Rings vs. Harry Potter thing going on - you were either on one side or the other! All of my friends were major LotR fans, so we shunned HP for years. I never read the books, but did finally end up watching several of the movies, years later. Now I'm hoping at some point that I can get DD into the books, because she tends to like that genre. And then maybe we'll go to Universal I've actually said for a long time I want to stay at Universal for a few days sometime, but probably when the kids are a little older.

We did spend a couple of days at Universal and IoA many years ago (right after IoA opened I think), and it was a blast! The Suess land was really neat. If you ahve a chance to go back at night for your date I would do it! We thought about going over there for dinner when we were in Orlando last December, the only thing that stopped us was that we would have to pay for parking just to be there a couple of hours. The City Walk area is really cool at night though, unless it's changed in the last decade

I think I was in middle school when the books came out, but high school by the time they were popular enough for the movies. I think some of my younger siblings read them in school, and that's how my Mom was introduced to them.

I considered doing a night at one of the Universal hotels this time around, but we're really trying to stick with just the one day, so we wouldn't get to take full advantage of the benefits. Also, it shouldn't be too terribly crowded, so I think it will be easy to get everything done that we want to do. I'm sure at some point we'll split time between Disney and Universal, or even do a full trip to Orlando when we don't go to Disney at all. Right now, it just doesn't make that much sense though. My parents probably should have taken us to Universal when we were younger though, because one of my brothers is entirely opposed to Orlando now, because "all we ever do is Disney."

Great updates! LOTS of planning going on!

Star Tours would make me sick as well. I sit that one out!

So cool that you can take your sister to Harry Potter! Sister points are always good to have!

You will love your resort day. I was nervous at first too, but it's so nice to have nowhere to go and just explore and relax! I hope G likes the water and enjoys the pool time.

I think it will end up being ok. It's just hard to wrap my mind around!

I am hoping that maybe if we relax enough on our break day, I may be able to convince DH to take a shorter break or skip it altogether on our park hopping day.

 

[danceintherain]

Magic Kingdom​

(sorry about the giant photos...photobucket isn't cooperating today)

I know a lot of people don’t feel as if their vacation has begun until they get to the Magic Kingdom and see the castle, but I’m not like that. I still get VERY excited on Magic Kingdom day, but I love all the parks, so it doesn’t really matter to me if I don’t make it to a particular one until the end. I’m what you’d classify as a “whatever park I’m in is my favorite” Disney lover.

We are tentatively planning at least a day and a half at the Magic Kingdom. It simply has the highest number of attractions we can all do together. This is where my planning gets complicated though. I made the mistake, a few weeks ago, of watching one of the Tinker Bell movies on Netflix with G. I was getting a bit tired of his usual movies (Cars…over….and over) so I thought it would be fun to watch Tinker Bell (I still get very child like amusement from little girl movies and I LOVED Tinker Bell before she was the “in” thing).
Well…it kind of sort of backfired. He LOVED it…. And now I think I’ve fostered a crush on Tinker Bell.

This throws my Magic Kingdom plans in a loop. Since he’s two, he’s going to love everything we do, so I probably can get away with skipping whatever I want. However, my own fondness for my little boy really wants to see his little crush in action. So off to Neverland we go.

If Tinker Bell was the only thing that we needed to do first thing in the morning, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but I also want to see Enchanted Tales with Belle. Herein lies my dilemma.

MUST DO Attractions for the Magic Kingdom (things we've never done before are bolded):
Enchanted Tales with Belle
Tinker Bell’s Magical Nook
Peter Pan’s Flight
Journey of the Little Mermaid
Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
The Haunted Mansion
WDW Railroad
Dumbo the Flying Elephant

Pete’s Silly Sideshow
The Great Goofini’s Barnstormer
Pirates of the Caribbean
It’s a Small World
Mickey’s Philharmagic
Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It Street Party
Carousel of Progress
Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin

MAYBE Attractions
The Enchanted Tiki Room
Prince Charming’s Regal Carousel
Tom Sawyer Island
Space Mountain
Splash Mountain
Country Bear Jamboree
Tomorrowland Transit Authority
Jungle Cruise

Probably NOT
Astro Orbiter
Flying Carpets of Aladdin
Stitch’s Great Escape
Tomorrowland Indy Speedway
Swiss Family Treehouse
Mad Tea Party (it will be closed)
Hall of Presidents

See…our DEFINITELY list for the Magic Kingdom is very long, and the probably NOT list is very short.
I really think we’re going to need 2 Rope Drops here to be successful, but it really depends on what I’m most willing to skip.

For this day, I have an ADR at Be Our Guest for around 9pm. I think if, at this point, we decide to keep G out through the fireworks for some later night touring, we may be able to skip a second Rope Drop, and allot it to either Epcot or the Animal Kingdom.

New Fantasyland is really messing with my touring!

In addition to all the usual plans, I have big hopes for this day. Since DH is in the military, he qualifies to help with the Flag Retreat. As per usual at Disney, this isn't exactly something you can "plan" but I've read up on it on Disney Military Tips, so I'm planning on going the extra mile to secure it for him.

From what I've read, the key is to make it clear that your are affiliated with the military. Our Armed Forces Salute tickets will help make it apparent, but I'm also planning on making us matching tie dyed t-shirts with camo colors.
I'm hoping that will be enough, but I also plan on being a little more chatty with the CMs. At least G is usually a good conversation starter...
I really hope DH gets selected, because he would LOVE it!

I also think it might light a fire under him during our break that day to actually get back to the park at a reasonable time....

 

[gtpoohbear]

You know, I AM one of those people that doesn't feel like I'm at Disney until I get to MK, but I have to say, it really isn't my favorite park, if that makes sense. It feels much more stressful and chaotic than the others.

But we do usually spend the most time here, just because, like you said, there is SO much that everyone can do! It's hard to narrow down the list, especially with the new Fantasyland. I think we are going to skip Enchanted Tales this time, since DD is a little too old to be interested, and DS doesn't really know Belle anyway. Maybe next time though, when the crazy waits have subsided a bit!

I think that is SOOOOO cute about G's crush on Tinkerbell, you absolutely have to get a picture of that!!! It would make great tease-material when he gets older too, lol!

 

[danceintherain]

You know, I AM one of those people that doesn't feel like I'm at Disney until I get to MK, but I have to say, it really isn't my favorite park, if that makes sense. It feels much more stressful and chaotic than the others.

But we do usually spend the most time here, just because, like you said, there is SO much that everyone can do! It's hard to narrow down the list, especially with the new Fantasyland. I think we are going to skip Enchanted Tales this time, since DD is a little too old to be interested, and DS doesn't really know Belle anyway. Maybe next time though, when the crazy waits have subsided a bit!

I think that is SOOOOO cute about G's crush on Tinkerbell, you absolutely have to get a picture of that!!! It would make great tease-material when he gets older too, lol!

I probably should skip Enchanted Tales this time around, but I really want to do it! I'm going to be the weirdo who jumps up to participate before her kid.

DHS is my chaotic park, which is why it's so frustrating that it's DH's favorite. It's just so frustrating that you really need 2 days OR a full day with no break to get in all the shows. Everything just takes so much time!

This is part of my frustration with Enchanted Tales with Belle. There's the line (hopefully we can get into the first show) and then you spend 10 minutes in prep and another 10 minutes "performing" for Belle. If you wait at all, you've already sucked up most of the whole first hour.
Trying to do Tinker Bell on the same day is like Disney suicide. That's the WHOLE first hour and then some. By the time we're done with those 2 things, the lines everywhere else will likely be pushing 20 minutes already.
I just can't convince myself to skip either thing!

 

[danceintherain]

Our two park day has been, by far, the most difficult for me to plan. As a rule, we don’t really “plan” on hopping. We’ve done it in the past, but honestly in our past few trips, the hours have been so short that we often end up staying in for the night. Since we only have 4 days in the parks this time, we’re pretty much forced to hop.

Choosing which parks to share a day between wasn’t necessarily hard. I knew we had more than enough planned for the Magic Kingdom for a full day, and Hollywood Studios has the combination of being DH’s favorite park, and I’ve always found it the most difficult to schedule in general.
We can definitely fill a whole day with each of the other two parks, but they’re also the easiest for us to make cuts to, so that’s what I went with.

Originally, I planned on doing Animal Kingdom in the morning and Epcot in the evening, but it eventually occurred to me that Soarin would be nearly impossible for us to do with a later arrival. When I “overbooked” Rope Drop for the Magic Kingdom, I took away the possibility of hitting Epcot in the morning of our last day to make up for anything we may miss by being there in the evening.
The only solution I could come up with is to swap them, and do Animal Kingdom in the evening instead. I may end up switching to a day when the Animal Kingdom is open until 8pm instead to give us that extra hour, but we’ll see.

Anyways here are our lists:

MUST DO Epcot:
Soarin’
The Seas with Nemo & Friends
Turtle Talk with Crush
Test Track

Sum of All Thrills
Spaceship Earth
Flower & Garden Topiaries & play areas

MAYBE:
Three Caballeros ride
Maelstrom
Living with the Land
Some character M&G

Captain EO
Journey into Imagination with Figment
Some of the Country Pavilions and entertainment


Probably NOT:
Mission:Space
Circle of Life
Ellen’s Energy Adventure​

I think we can reasonably expect to get all our must dos done by Noon at the latest, which should get us back for our break early. I’m going to enforce our going back time much more firmly this day, because we need to make sure we have plenty of time for AK in the evening.
Originally, I had Restaurant Marrakesh planned for dinner, but the belly dance show doesn’t start until around 1:30, which is too late for us to stay for lunch, and DH ALWAYS has to get Fish & Chips from the UK anyways. I’m not sure what the rest of us will end up eating.
It’s kind of a bummer that we’re not getting a meal at Epcot this time around, but I don’t think it’s manageable with the time crunch.

MUST DO Animal Kingdom
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Expedition Everest
Rafiki’s Planet Watch

hey look! it's one with Kami
Festival of the Lion King
The Boneyard
Some of the trails
Baloo & King Louie M&G (I ALWAYS do this one)

Maybe
Some of the other attractions in Dinoland
Flights of Wonder
Greeting Trails

Probably NOT
It’s Tough to Be a Bug (I LOATHE this attraction)
Finding Nemo (DS hasn’t really taken to the movie, and I prefer FOTLK)
Kali River Rapids
DINOSAUR

I’m debating about possibly getting a Boma ADR for after AK closes. If we keep it on Thursday, this is more practical, but if we switch it to Sunday (for later hours) I don’t think I’ll be able to convince anyone to hold off on eating dinner that long.
We’ll probably end up eating at Flame Tree BBQ whenever we get hungry.

I’m a bit bummed that we’re basically losing out on our TS this day, but I can’t figure out a way to fix it.

 

[gtpoohbear]

LOVE all the character pictures

I would like to do AK in the evening sometime, we just never seem to. Especially since it looks like it will be open until 7 or 8 a lot during April.

We were initially thinking about doing Marrakesh too, it just got pushed out by other stuff. Maybe next time!

I had dinner at Boma on our last trip - it is soooooo good! But if you aren't already at AK in the evening, getting over there is a pain. I am actually motivated to stay at AKL sometime just so we can easily eat at Boma! Loved the breakfast there too.

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Enchanted Tales with Belle is messing with my touring as well! I want to see it, but I know my boys will not want to wait in line for an hour. I think we are going to skip it at rope drop and check it late in the day. The hope is that the little ones will have tuckered out for the day and we can catch a shorter line. We'll see..... I have resigned myself to missing it if that plan does not work out.

 

[danceintherain]

LOVE all the character pictures

I would like to do AK in the evening sometime, we just never seem to. Especially since it looks like it will be open until 7 or 8 a lot during April.

We were initially thinking about doing Marrakesh too, it just got pushed out by other stuff. Maybe next time!

I had dinner at Boma on our last trip - it is soooooo good! But if you aren't already at AK in the evening, getting over there is a pain. I am actually motivated to stay at AKL sometime just so we can easily eat at Boma! Loved the breakfast there too.

We had Boma scheduled for our last morning on our honeymoon, but we were on the dining plan and planning to pay out of pocket for it. We had some counter service credits left, so we cancelled it. If we didn't already have Ohana scheduled for our break day, I might put it in there. I suppose we could do it on our Universal day....

Enchanted Tales with Belle is messing with my touring as well! I want to see it, but I know my boys will not want to wait in line for an hour. I think we are going to skip it at rope drop and check it late in the day. The hope is that the little ones will have tuckered out for the day and we can catch a shorter line. We'll see..... I have resigned myself to missing it if that plan does not work out.

You should try to go after the fireworks one evening. Not really an option with a 2 year old, but I'm sure your boys can stay up that late!

 

[danceintherain]

I FINALLY got a rental car for Universal booked! I've been holding off, because nothing seemed good enough. I was starting to get a bit worried that I'd be stuck paying full price. I'm very happy with what I ended up with.

$69.36 for 3 days with AVIS.
The AVIS location near WDW is at the Hilton at Downtown Disney, so while I was hoping to book Alamo through Shades of Green, which would have made it super convenient to get to our Ohana ADR, this is good too. The Hilton is literally right across the street from the DTD bus stop, so it will be super easy for us to get back to our hotel.
Regardless, we'll be picking it up on our arrival day, and dropping it off on our break day, so I don't have to worry about sucking up park or break time on one of our park days!

I'll probably keep looking, but I had budgeted $80 for a rental car, so this is already better.

 

[gtpoohbear]

I FINALLY got a rental car for Universal booked! I've been holding off, because nothing seemed good enough. I was starting to get a bit worried that I'd be stuck paying full price. I'm very happy with what I ended up with.

$69.36 for 3 days with AVIS.
The AVIS location near WDW is at the Hilton at Downtown Disney, so while I was hoping to book Alamo through Shades of Green, which would have made it super convenient to get to our Ohana ADR, this is good too. The Hilton is literally right across the street from the DTD bus stop, so it will be super easy for us to get back to our hotel.
Regardless, we'll be picking it up on our arrival day, and dropping it off on our break day, so I don't have to worry about sucking up park or break time on one of our park days!

I'll probably keep looking, but I had budgeted $80 for a rental car, so this is already better.

Wow, that IS a good deal, especially to be able to pick it up at Disney. A couple of times on mini-trips, I've thought we were going to need to rent a car, and even had one booked, but we always end up working something out to where we don't need it. I know the one I booked (and then canceled) was a LOT more than that though! But it was that or have to take ME back to the airport and rent there. As much as I love not having to drive when we are there, it would make it so much easier to get to other resorts for ADRs if we had one!

 

[danceintherain]

Wow, that IS a good deal, especially to be able to pick it up at Disney. A couple of times on mini-trips, I've thought we were going to need to rent a car, and even had one booked, but we always end up working something out to where we don't need it. I know the one I booked (and then canceled) was a LOT more than that though! But it was that or have to take ME back to the airport and rent there. As much as I love not having to drive when we are there, it would make it so much easier to get to other resorts for ADRs if we had one!

Unfortunately, I found out today that the code was a mistake on the part of the company, so they went through and cancelled all the reservations booked with it. Soo....back to square one for me. The best I've been able to find with what I have available now is right around $100 for 2 days.
Hopefully, something new will be released in the next week or so that will get me a better deal. I wish there was an alternative to the rental car for us, but since we're going to Universal there just isn't. Unless we want to take a shuttle, which will cost about as much, and we'd be stuck with their schedule OR take the city bus, which would end up taking us probably 2 hours.

 

[gtpoohbear]

Unfortunately, I found out today that the code was a mistake on the part of the company, so they went through and cancelled all the reservations booked with it. Soo....back to square one for me. The best I've been able to find with what I have available now is right around $100 for 2 days.
Hopefully, something new will be released in the next week or so that will get me a better deal. I wish there was an alternative to the rental car for us, but since we're going to Universal there just isn't. Unless we want to take a shuttle, which will cost about as much, and we'd be stuck with their schedule OR take the city bus, which would end up taking us probably 2 hours.

Oh that stinks! If they let you book it they should have honored it. Now that I think about it, it was Avis that we used in December (at MCO, but not going to Disney), and had a really awful experience with their customer service. I'm thinking I won't be renting from them again soon!

Hope you find something else reasonable though!

 

[danceintherain]

Oh that stinks! If they let you book it they should have honored it. Now that I think about it, it was Avis that we used in December (at MCO, but not going to Disney), and had a really awful experience with their customer service. I'm thinking I won't be renting from them again soon!

Hope you find something else reasonable though!

I kind of feel the same way, but I know there were some people who went through and booked "free" rentals for every weekend between now and June 30th just because they could. I can understand that it's bad for business if everyone between now and then who has a weekend rental through Avis pays hardly anything for it. Still annoying...but I'm glad they didn't fail to cancel it just to have me turned away at the counter when we got there, or stuck paying full price.
I think I've decided that I either want to book through Avis, because the location is right across the street from DTD, or Alamo, because I can either do the Car Care Center, which will come pick us up and drop us off, or at Shades of Green, which is across the street from the Poly, where we'll be eating on the day we drop off the car.
There are a couple other DTD locations we could rent from, but they're a bit of a jaunt away from where the bus from POFQ would drop us off. Not that Shades of Green would be much more convenient, but we could ride the monorail instead of a bus.

 

[Iamthequeen]

I believe that Budget rental is also located at the car care center. I believe we rented from them once. They also have a shuttle that will pick you up at your resort.

 

[danceintherain]

I believe that Budget rental is also located at the car care center. I believe we rented from them once. They also have a shuttle that will pick you up at your resort.

I was under the impression that only National and Alamo are at the Car Care Center. You could be correct though!
Right now we have a rental with Avis for about $100 for two days. I'm hoping some better deals will surface this week, but we'll be fine with that.

 

[danceintherain]

I know it's been a while since I updated last, but I've gotten all the way to our departure day, and I can't bring myself to post about it.

This week I've been working on getting all our ducks in a row. I began work on DS's Peter Pan costume, picked out all my and DS's outfits for during our trip, and tie dyed our matching t-shirts. I'll probably post the other things this week sometime, but here's a bit about the tie dying.

First of all, you would think that all those "directions" quizzes they made me take growing up would have sunk in, but they kind of didn't. I read through the directions for Mickey Head Tie Dye shirts in a few different places before I decided on the project. I thought I had it covered, so I didn't go back and carefully read the instructions again before starting, so I missed ONE key part of it.

The rubber band should be wrapped around an inch BELOW the dental floss!!!

When I found myself a little confused at this part, I should have immediately checked my directions.

I didn't.

They still look fine, and you can definitely tell what they are (I expect it will be even more obvious when we're AT Disney) but they could be a little more defined.

I decided to go a little funky and did mine and my sister's mickey heads to the side.​

Other than the following directions problem, I have a few other suggestions/tips that came clear to me as I was working.

1) The Camo Tulip Tie Dye Kit SAYS it's good for up to 8 shirts (or some such nonsense) when in reality there was barely enough ink in there to make 4 shirts (1 Men's Medium - 2 Women's Mediums - 1 4T) passably. They look fine, but I would have liked a little less white, because the "camo" effect doesn't translate so well. I'm starting to think that it may be a better choice for the Animal Kingdom, instead of the Magic Kingdom for the flag retreat.
Next time I'll either buy 2 kits, or use a different kind of dye. (although the Tulip was easy, because it didn't require pre-soaking in soda ash)

2) In a Google search for "tie dye with toddlers" (or something to that effect) I found a tip to do the tie dying in a disposable roasting pan. This helps to keep the dye contained, and it also saved the dye, when it dripped. I almost used EVERY drop of the dye, because I could dip the shirt into the puddles. When I first started, I was thinking "man, it's a beautiful day, we should be doing this outside," which probably would have caused me to abandon the roasting pan, and I would have lost all the drippings.

3) Camo was a great choice for a first attempt, because I didn't have to worry about "muddy" colors, since the whole thing was "muddy" anyways.

I did buy a bleach pen, so I may use that to help with the definition a bit.

If you remember my post for the Magic Kingdom, the whole idea behind the camo shirts is so hopefully we stand out a bit and DH gets picked to assist with the Flag Retreat at the Magic Kingdom.

In my inability to keep surprises, I told him about it, and he's pretty excited, even if he doesn't get to participate. We've never seen the retreat before...I actually don't know if he's ever been at the Magic Kingdom at 5pm.

My To Do List for This Week (7 days and counting)
1) Finish DS's Peter Pan costume
2) Wash all clothes and pack
3) Make a final shopping trip
4) Finalize rental car (I may end up "stealing" some coupons from my Mom's Entertainment book)
5) Print driving directions
6) Create and Print Highlights list for each park

 

[gtpoohbear]

Oh I hope your DH gets picked - I love the shirts! I am so bad at anything even remotely crafty that I'm pretty sure I'd never pull that off, lol!

(I was so proud of myself for doing an iron-on shirt that DD needed for school a couple years ago, I very carefully followed the directions, and it didn't even have any wrinkles or bubbles! Well, my pride was short lived - she took one look and said "MOM! It's upside down!!!" Whoops, lol!)

I know what you mean about the last day. It's hard no matter how you slice it. The threat of Post-Disney-Depression looms large!

 

[danceintherain]

Oh I hope your DH gets picked - I love the shirts! I am so bad at anything even remotely crafty that I'm pretty sure I'd never pull that off, lol!

(I was so proud of myself for doing an iron-on shirt that DD needed for school a couple years ago, I very carefully followed the directions, and it didn't even have any wrinkles or bubbles! Well, my pride was short lived - she took one look and said "MOM! It's upside down!!!" Whoops, lol!)

I know what you mean about the last day. It's hard no matter how you slice it. The threat of Post-Disney-Depression looms large!

They really weren't that difficult....if you follow the instructions. G got a kick out of it, and now if anyone thinks they look bad, I can just tell them that a 2 year old did them.

 

[danceintherain]

My To Do List for This Week (7 days and counting)
1) Finish DS's Peter Pan costume
2) Wash all clothes and pack
3) Make a final shopping trip
4) Finalize rental car (I may end up "stealing" some coupons from my Mom's Entertainment book)
5) Print driving directions
6) Create and Print Highlights list for each park

I've made some progress on my list.

- I finally found a decent deal on a rental car. $87 for two days. I still have the Avis one for around $100, and I told DH I'd let him pick (since he's the one that has a credit card in his name - we've been meaning to order a duplicate for me, but it just hasn't happened). The cheaper one has us picking up the car on our arrival day and dropping it off after Universal at 5pm.
The other has us picking it up on our first park day, and dropping it off on our break day.
I'm not sure which one I like better. I'm worried that we may end up wanting to go back to Universal in the evening, which wouldn't be possible if we drop off the rental car. We probably won't, and it would keep our break day free.
I probably should stop worrying about it, because I can almost guarantee that DH is going to pick the cheaper one!

I'm starting to think that I should book the Seas Aqua Tour for our "date" as a surprise for DH. It's a bit pricey, but I'm not sure how often we'll have a babysitting available when we're at Disney.
If I don't do that, we'll probably grab dinner on the Boardwalk and head into Jellyrolls after we drop off the rental car.

- I'm almost through washing the laundry, but most of it needs folded.

- My Highlights lists are mostly done, I'm just waiting for my sister's approval before I print them off.
Here are a couple examples:

The attractions are listed in the order I'm expecting to do them for the most part. The show and character times are all the ones I think we may end up wanting to see.

DH didn't realize that he has Friday off, until I was talking to my Mom on the phone about it a few days ago, so now he's saying that we might drive to her house on Thursday night, which kind of gives me one less day for all the preparations. She's considering taking a half day on Friday now. I figure, since she's watching our cat for us now, we probably should afford her some grandboy time in repayment.