Bunnies, Blooms, & the Boardwalk...NEW TR LINK ADDED p. 14

[wdwgirl03]

Sounds like a great day!

I tear up at the end of Fantasmic too! Awww.

23 days!!!!!! WOW!

18 days now! YEAH!

Add me to the list of people who get a little weepy at the end of Fantasmic!

I knew I couldn't be the only one.

The storybook circus area looks so cute, I loved barnstormer, and the improvements look great. Dumbo is pretty nice too, but only without a wait. I hope the soft opening continues, or will it really be open by the time you are there?

I think you have some great plans for DHS, my favorite park, although I am not a fan of Lights Motor Action. Beauty and the Beast is great though. I haven't read much about the enforcement of FP, are the cm's watching the window of time and turning people away if they show up late? Interesting, and a definite change for many of the disers who used the long time period to their advantage. You'll have to report your experiences back to all of us. Animation Academy is so much fun, I really like it too.

Can't wait to see the Brewers, 1st game vs LAA on Saturday in Tempe. Your dad and sister saw a good game, Go Marquette. They head to Phoenix next, hope to see them there. We'll be there for the week. Enjoy the warmth here, it has been great.

I am pretty sure the official opening is supposed to be March 31 so it should be open when we are there.

Yeah, it sounds like you can show up a few minutes early and a few minutes late. It will be different because while I wouldn't say we saved up fastpasses, we didn't always stick to the time on them.

Hope you are enjoying Arizona-one of the games is on TV right now. Are you going to try to go to the Marquette game? Sweet 16!!

Happy belated birthday Sarah! Hope you had a great day!

Woohoo on it being 22 days! Great DHS plans

Thank you!

Only 18 days now. I can't believe how close it's getting!

Where did you get that amazing DHS picture??? AHHH I love it! I made it the background on my computer!

Your DHS plans sound great! I am fully intending to do the TSM mad dash this year, I'm just gonna take Brandon's AP, tell him to grab a bench, and brave it alone!

haha, I found it on one a tumblr page with a bunch of Disney pictures.

You mean Brandon won't want to join in the craziness that is the TSM dash?!

It's been way too long since I've seen Fantasmic. The ending is amazing! DHS day sounds fun.

I agree, the ending is the best part.

 

[Caretames1]

I'm hoping to catch Fantasmic again this trip. I really enjoyed it!

It's getting sooo close!

 

[wisblue]

As Sarah's travelling companion, I am going to add my two cents worth to her trip plans now that I'm back from Louisville (where we enjoyed not just the basketball games, but visits to Churchill Downs and the Louisville Slugger museum and factory).

With some recent changes to the park hours for the week of our visit (they weren't yet posted on the WDW site the last time I looked), we are going to have the opportunity to attend some REALLY early openings at the parks. For most of the week MK will have EMH beginning at 7 AM, and AK will also have 7 AM EMH on Wednesday.

We have been talking about whether we should try to hit as many of the morning EMH as possible, or if we should avoid them because that park may be more crowded. We will almost certainly be at the MK at 7 AM on our first full day (Easter Sunday), and will play it by ear after that. But, because we are generally early risers anyway, and we know from experience that getting there early is the best way to get a lot of attractions in during busy periods, we will probably be hitting the parks very early and then doing other things in the afternoon and evenings, except for the nights when we attend the night shows.

 

[wisblue]

While Sarah has been describing a lot of the things she wants to do ( I see she hasn't gotten to DAK or non-park activities yet) I have been thinking about which days may be best to do certain things based on park hours and our one ADR and the KTTK tour.

One of the nice things about a full week trip is that we can have a general idea of what we want to do and then adjust based on weather, how we feel, etc. without giving anything up.

I'll start describing the general outline I've developed in my head.

For our arrival day (Saturday) our flight isn't scheduled to arrive until 3 PM so (after a quick stop at Chick-Fil-A) we probably won't be to the resort and checked in until about 5 PM. Because we are both probably going to get annual passes (with DVC discount) we might still make a quick visit to a park. There is always something fun about going into a park knowing you have your whole trip in front of you.

We could go to DHS for something like the Animation Academy or the AIE finale. Or we could stroll into EPCOT to check out a few things there. Or maybe we could hit Fantasia Gardens or Downtown Disney. That will be a game time decision.

More later.

 

[wdwgirl03]

I'm hoping to catch Fantasmic again this trip. I really enjoyed it!

It's getting sooo close!

It is getting VERY close! Just a few more days and we'll be in single digits!

And YAY for your two upcoming trips too.

As Sarah's travelling companion, I am going to add my two cents worth to her trip plans now that I'm back from Louisville (where we enjoyed not just the basketball games, but visits to Churchill Downs and the Louisville Slugger museum and factory).

With some recent changes to the park hours for the week of our visit (they weren't yet posted on the WDW site the last time I looked), we are going to have the opportunity to attend some REALLY early openings at the parks. For most of the week MK will have EMH beginning at 7 AM, and AK will also have 7 AM EMH on Wednesday.

We have been talking about whether we should try to hit as many of the morning EMH as possible, or if we should avoid them because that park may be more crowded. We will almost certainly be at the MK at 7 AM on our first full day (Easter Sunday), and will play it by ear after that. But, because we are generally early risers anyway, and we know from experience that getting there early is the best way to get a lot of attractions in during busy periods, we will probably be hitting the parks very early and then doing other things in the afternoon and evenings, except for the nights when we attend the night shows.

Yes, I will definitely be wanting to go to the MK on Easter for early opening. It's always fun going to the MK on our first park day. Like you said we can decide when we get there but I do think it would be fun to go to the Animal Kingdom for 7 am opening too. I don't think we've ever been there that early and it would be interesting to see if the animals are active.

While Sarah has been describing a lot of the things she wants to do ( I see she hasn't gotten to DAK or non-park activities yet) I have been thinking about which days may be best to do certain things based on park hours and our one ADR and the KTTK tour.

One of the nice things about a full week trip is that we can have a general idea of what we want to do and then adjust based on weather, how we feel, etc. without giving anything up.

I'll start describing the general outline I've developed in my head.

For our arrival day (Saturday) our flight isn't scheduled to arrive until 3 PM so (after a quick stop at Chick-Fil-A) we probably won't be to the resort and checked in until about 5 PM. Because we are both probably going to get annual passes (with DVC discount) we might still make a quick visit to a park. There is always something fun about going into a park knowing you have your whole trip in front of you.

We could go to DHS for something like the Animation Academy or the AIE finale. Or we could stroll into EPCOT to check out a few things there. Or maybe we could hit Fantasia Gardens or Downtown Disney. That will be a game time decision.

More later.

If I do get an AP I would like to go to a park right away. Maybe Epcot to see some of the F&GF stuff. But mini golfing would be fun too.

I will post DAK plans next!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Hello everyone! The countdown today reaches 17 days! I think that's close enough to say only 2 weeks. haha Which means I better get going because I've still got more plans to share. As my dad mentioned in one of his posts it seems that the park hours are changing and there are going to be more very EARLY openings. I know some people don't like it but we do! I am actually kind of excited that the MK is now going to be opening at 7 am on Easter. Hopefully we can get a lot done that first morning. But I already talked about the things I want to do at the Magic Kingdom so now it's time for the last park, which also happens to be my second favorite park, the Animal Kingdom!

First, to get you in the Animal Kingdom mood, here's some more park music! This song just takes me right to DAK since you hear it on the buses when you arrive at the park and of course on the safari!

Safari Radio Music

Disney's Animal Kingdom Plans!!!

(Does anyone remember the old commercials they had with this slogan? Love it!)

So like I said, I love the Animal Kingdom. I think it's sad that some people think it's boring or just a half-day park. Sure, there aren't as many rides as the others but sometimes it's fun to slow down and take in the atmosphere and watch the animals. I am sure we'll be visiting the park more than once. A lot of times we'll go to DAK in the afternoon. Because it closes earlier, the park really starts to clear out after the parade and you can usually do the three big attractions pretty quickly. I'd also like to do the early opening on Wednesday since it opens at 7 am (they always say the animals are more active earlier in the day). Regardless of when we do go, here are the must-dos at the Animal Kingdom. (in no particular order)

Of course we will have to do the headliners: Kilimanjaro Safaris, Expedition Everest, and Dinosaur. If you read my TR from last March/April, you know my sister and I were spoiled on the safari, getting great view of the lions on both safaris. I'm hoping for the same this time! *fingers crossed* Just because I'm still in awe of these pictures, here's what we got to see last year:

Pretty awesome, huh?

Since it's been closed on our last couple trips, I sort of want to do Primeval Whirl too. I might be one of the few who actually likes that ride.

As I said, Dad and I always like to spend some time on the trails. We'll have to check out the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail to visit Baby Lily and the other gorillas, and also the Maharajah Jungle Trek. Maybe the tigers will be awake-it sure seems like they're always asleep when we're there.

Dad also said something about seeing the Flights of Wonder show, which I wouldn't mind seeing again either. The birds are actually pretty cool and it's also got a little bit of humor. And since we're talking about shows, Festival of the Lion King is always great too. Though we haven't seen Finding Nemo the Musical in a while so maybe we could do that. We'll see, I have to admit I like the movie a lot more.

Other things that aren't necessarily must-dos but things I'd be up for doing include It's Tough to be a Bug (or World Through the Eyes of a Bug as one of my uncles once said ) and Rafiki's Planet Watch.

Feel free to share your favorite things to do at DAK!

Up next: Downtown Disney/Miscellaneous plans!

 

[jenbear123]

I love that you post those music links. Have I mentioned that?

I should really give AK more love. I mean, I'm an animal gal after all. Maybe it'll happen when I stay at AKL in October

I love your plans. I hope you have good luck with seeing the tigers on maharajah jungle trek. When I was there in November, they were up and about ...maybe a little too much. One of the tigers was just staring at a little girl standing by the glass. Thank goodness that glass is thick! It made for some beautiful pictures though. If I had one handy, I'd post it.

Those early openings sound.....well, early. I hope you get ahead of the crowds doing that.

 

[Angies1274]

Hi Sarah!!

Joining in...really late! But, I'm here!!! I can't believe you only have 17 days left!! That's so exciting!

Your plans look really good! How fun to be able to do the Keys to the Kingdom tour! Oh and I love that you are including music in your PTR!! Loved listening to Fantasmic this evening!! I can't wait to see it again!!

 

[MHTeacher]

Wow-you got some great pics of the lions during your last safari ride! It seems the best I ever get is just a glimpse of them up on top of the rock!

I think your uncle's name of "World through the eyes of a bug" is hysterical!

 

[wisblue]

Sarah's plans for DAK are a good lead in to my thoughts about what we can do on Easter Sunday (our first full day).

If the reports that the MK will have EMH beginning at 7 AM are accurate (that isn't shown on the WDW website yet) we will be there at 7 and do as many things as possible from Sarah's MK list before the crowds build up. Our past experience with those real early openings is that we can cover all of the major attractions, and a few minor ones, by 10-11 AM. When we get up that early we are usually ready for lunch early, so I'm hoping they will be giving out coupons like they did on our '10 trip with big discounts on lunch if you eat before 11AM. At both the MK and DHS you could get a free entree at several of the counter service restaurants if you bought one, and we took advantage of that.

If we are at the park at 7 AM we will probably be leaving by noon as the huge crowds pour in. Depending on how we feel we could take a monorail to EPCOT (maybe get our free VISA photo if they do that on Sunday) or take a bus to the Boardwalk for a rest. Sunday might be a good day for that late afternoon visit to DAK to get in a few rides and stroll the park as it thins out. I also wouldn't mind a dinner at the Flame Tree Barbecue. The park is open until 8 PM, but the crowd should be pretty light by 6. So, we can do some touring there and still get back to the Boardawlk early to rest up for Monday's rope drop. At my age, I am willing and able to get up early, but if I do that I can't stay out too late too often unless I want to ruin the trip by wearing myself out. One of the many good things about staying at the Boardwalk is that you can finish the day by watching some of the sidewalk entertainment.

 

[OhMari]

Hi Sarah,
You made me realize how I am missing out by not planning, as any good Disser knows "planning" is just about as much fun as actually taking the trip.

On our way back from the Keys we will be coming up on I95 instead of the Florida Turnpike, because we have to drop everyone off at Fort Lauderdale airport, and we have to stop on a few hours by my dh's boss that lives a few miles away in Jupitor. What is that saying, Girls are from Mars to be movie stars and boys are from Jupitor to be more stupidor. Sorry cracks me up when my dh told me we have to do a short stop, to say hello. Since my dh is making me visit with his boss, we are going to stop at the new welcome center the Dis owners opened at Cocoa Beach. We are doing this on Tuesday. I still have not made a hotel ressie for that evening. I want to stay at one of the Universal hotels, but I am thinking it is not worth the money.

I agree with your dad and you, EMH are the best, especially when you can get their by 7 a.m. It will seem to be a lot of people in the morning, but once you scatter, everything will be a walk on, till 10 or 11. I have been to the MK on Easter Sunday twice and we did EMH, left at noon and came back at 6 and couldn't believe it was the same park. We did the relaxing rides like the train, People Mover, Haunted Mansion, etc.

You should make a Ressie to eat somewhere for supper, for some reason restaurants are packed, even the C.S. Are packed.

 

[wisblue]

If I do get an AP I would like to go to a park right away. Maybe Epcot to see some of the F&GF stuff.

Going to Epcot makes sense. It's the closest to the Boardwalk and, in addition to getting a first look at some of the FGF exhibits, maybe some of the minor attractions in Future World (Seas, Imagination, Living With the Land, Spaceship Earth) will have manageable lines.

Then we can go back to the resort and get our breakfast and snack supplies from The General Store.

 

[Nermel9]

Your AK plans look great! I love the Safari radio station music! Those lion pictures are amazing!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Great AK plans! Woohoo on it being 15 days!!

 

[Pinkocto]

Great plans! We found there are some fabulous animal viewing on the trails at the front of AK. The spoonbills are so fun to watch, and we discovered new animals that we'd never seen before. Like we've talked about before, at AK you have to relax and take in the scenery and it's definitely a full day, and more sometimes.

 

[Caretames1]

I say it's close enough to 2 weeks! Go ahead!


I can't wait until we go, we are going to see the tigers for the first time and I'm hoping to talk Kadence in EE!

Again, thanks for the music, it sure soothes the soul!

 

[wdwgirl03]

I love that you post those music links. Have I mentioned that?

I should really give AK more love. I mean, I'm an animal gal after all. Maybe it'll happen when I stay at AKL in October

I love your plans. I hope you have good luck with seeing the tigers on maharajah jungle trek. When I was there in November, they were up and about ...maybe a little too much. One of the tigers was just staring at a little girl standing by the glass. Thank goodness that glass is thick! It made for some beautiful pictures though. If I had one handy, I'd post it.

Those early openings sound.....well, early. I hope you get ahead of the crowds doing that.

haha, you might've mentioned that.

AK and AKL are awesome. You will love staying at the lodge...it's so great being able to watch those animals whenever you want.

Ooh, that would be cool to see the tigers up close like that. I bet it would make for some great pictures.

Yes, it is early but as I've said before, it's worth getting up early. I'd rather be up early and not have to deal with the massive crowds in the middle of the day.

Hi Sarah!!

Joining in...really late! But, I'm here!!! I can't believe you only have 17 days left!! That's so exciting!

Your plans look really good! How fun to be able to do the Keys to the Kingdom tour! Oh and I love that you are including music in your PTR!! Loved listening to Fantasmic this evening!! I can't wait to see it again!!

Hey Angie! Welcome!

I am really looking forward to the tour (only bad thing is that it's near the end of our trip...)-it should be great. Glad you like the park music!

Wow-you got some great pics of the lions during your last safari ride! It seems the best I ever get is just a glimpse of them up on top of the rock!

I think your uncle's name of "World through the eyes of a bug" is hysterical!

haha, that's usually what it was like for us too. I couldn't believe how lucky we were last year. Crazy.

I know, I thought it was hilarious too.

Sarah's plans for DAK are a good lead in to my thoughts about what we can do on Easter Sunday (our first full day).

If the reports that the MK will have EMH beginning at 7 AM are accurate (that isn't shown on the WDW website yet) we will be there at 7 and do as many things as possible from Sarah's MK list before the crowds build up. Our past experience with those real early openings is that we can cover all of the major attractions, and a few minor ones, by 10-11 AM. When we get up that early we are usually ready for lunch early, so I'm hoping they will be giving out coupons like they did on our '10 trip with big discounts on lunch if you eat before 11AM. At both the MK and DHS you could get a free entree at several of the counter service restaurants if you bought one, and we took advantage of that.

If we are at the park at 7 AM we will probably be leaving by noon as the huge crowds pour in. Depending on how we feel we could take a monorail to EPCOT (maybe get our free VISA photo if they do that on Sunday) or take a bus to the Boardwalk for a rest. Sunday might be a good day for that late afternoon visit to DAK to get in a few rides and stroll the park as it thins out. I also wouldn't mind a dinner at the Flame Tree Barbecue. The park is open until 8 PM, but the crowd should be pretty light by 6. So, we can do some touring there and still get back to the Boardawlk early to rest up for Monday's rope drop. At my age, I am willing and able to get up early, but if I do that I can't stay out too late too often unless I want to ruin the trip by wearing myself out. One of the many good things about staying at the Boardwalk is that you can finish the day by watching some of the sidewalk entertainment.

If we end up going to Epcot the day we get there AK would be good for Easter.

Hi Sarah,
You made me realize how I am missing out by not planning, as any good Disser knows "planning" is just about as much fun as actually taking the trip.

On our way back from the Keys we will be coming up on I95 instead of the Florida Turnpike, because we have to drop everyone off at Fort Lauderdale airport, and we have to stop on a few hours by my dh's boss that lives a few miles away in Jupitor. What is that saying, Girls are from Mars to be movie stars and boys are from Jupitor to be more stupidor. Sorry cracks me up when my dh told me we have to do a short stop, to say hello. Since my dh is making me visit with his boss, we are going to stop at the new welcome center the Dis owners opened at Cocoa Beach. We are doing this on Tuesday. I still have not made a hotel ressie for that evening. I want to stay at one of the Universal hotels, but I am thinking it is not worth the money.

I agree with your dad and you, EMH are the best, especially when you can get their by 7 a.m. It will seem to be a lot of people in the morning, but once you scatter, everything will be a walk on, till 10 or 11. I have been to the MK on Easter Sunday twice and we did EMH, left at noon and came back at 6 and couldn't believe it was the same park. We did the relaxing rides like the train, People Mover, Haunted Mansion, etc.

You should make a Ressie to eat somewhere for supper, for some reason restaurants are packed, even the C.S. Are packed.

Yeah, even though we are not really OCD planners it is fun to think about what we're going to do when we get there.

I heard about the DIS center. That should be interesting. Is it sort of like a rest spot or what exactly is there? I guess it would be a good place to meet other DISers though.

That's what it was like a couple years ago when we went. I don't think we waited more than 5 minutes for anything and by the time we left (when the massive crowds were coming) we had done pretty much all of the major attractions.

As of right now we only have one ADR planned. Maybe because we get up so early and end up eating so early we avoid the crowds because we haven't really had too many issues with the CS places.

Going to Epcot makes sense. It's the closest to the Boardwalk and, in addition to getting a first look at some of the FGF exhibits, maybe some of the minor attractions in Future World (Seas, Imagination, Living With the Land, Spaceship Earth) will have manageable lines.

Then we can go back to the resort and get our breakfast and snack supplies from The General Store.

That would be good. I'd even like just walking around the resort loop and stopping at the Yacht and Beach Clubs (or Swan and Dolphin).

Your AK plans look great! I love the Safari radio station music! Those lion pictures are amazing!

haha, I love it too-maybe because that's one of my favorite attractions and it just reminds me of riding.

Great AK plans! Woohoo on it being 15 days!!

14 days now!

Great plans! We found there are some fabulous animal viewing on the trails at the front of AK. The spoonbills are so fun to watch, and we discovered new animals that we'd never seen before. Like we've talked about before, at AK you have to relax and take in the scenery and it's definitely a full day, and more sometimes.

Are you talking about the ones in the Oasis or around the Tree of Life? We've walked around the Tree of Life before but don't normally stop too long in the oasis. I do love that area though, it's so calming and really gets me excited for the park!

I say it's close enough to 2 weeks! Go ahead!


I can't wait until we go, we are going to see the tigers for the first time and I'm hoping to talk Kadence in EE!

Again, thanks for the music, it sure soothes the soul!

Well now I can OFFICIALLY say two weeks!

Glad you are enjoying the music. I just love those park songs!

 

[Pinkocto]

The exhibits around the Oasis is where we take a lot of time watching, but we always have to say hi to the Galapagos tortoise that's next to the tree of life. We just really enjoy watching the animals and there never seems to be many crowds in either place which is nice.

 

[OhMari]

I packed today.

Tomorrow I am going to print off important numbers for reservations.

In a few days, the Weather Channel will be predicting the forecast for Florida.

What airline are you flying home with?

 

[wisblue]

Here is my tentative plan for the second and third full days of our trip.

There are AM EMH at DHS on Monday, so we will probably go there first. Although I expect DHS to be very crowded that day, the extra hour gives us a chance to hit the big headliners in the first 90 minutes or so before moving on to the other things Sarah wants to do at DHS. We can stay at DHS as long as there are things we want to do and the crowds are manageable.

Monday evening may be a good time to try to see Magic, Memories, and You and Wishes. We often seem to see Wishes on the night before departure, and it might be nice to see it earlier in the trip. Part of my thinking on this is that we will probably start the day at EPCOT on Tuesday, so we will not have to get up that early on Tuesday morning. Because MK will probably be hopelessly jammed on Monday afternoon and evening there would be no reason to get there too early. So, we could spend Monday afternoon at the pool or Fantasia Gardens. We could also get something to eat around the Boardwalk area (Beaches and Cream?) or Downtown Disney. If we go to MK, we might be able to catch a few of the lesser attractions or shows that have no more than a cycle wait (Philharmagic, Monsters, Carousel of Progress, Tiki Room) before getting in position to see the castle. I don't think we would try to get a curbside spot for the MSEP because we have seen that a few times.

On Tuesday morning we can start the day at EPCOT to do the major attractions, and spend more time seeing the Flower and Garden Festival displays and maybe trying a few Kim Possible missions when World Showcase opens. We can stay at the park as long as we want before walking back to the Boardwalk.

Sarah has said something about eating at T-Rex, and Tuesday might be a good day to try that. There are no reservations available, but if we went over there around 4 PM or so, I would think we could get seated within an hour or two because they seem to accept more walkups than reservations there. If not, we can always find another place to eat, like Earl of Sandwich or Wolfgang Puck Express.

Sarah and I have also talked about taking a boat ride over to Port Orleans because we have never visited there. We could do that after dinner and get back to the Boardwalk early to rest up for an early morning on Wednesday.