Celebrate Good Times Come On! An Oct 2013 PTR - Link to TR 10/29!!

[Disney9.9.10]

Great plans for DHS and DTD. DHS looks like a busy, but fun day. As a real ride wimp, I can understand your husbands hesitation to ride a couple of those rides lol Your DTD day should balance out the busy DHS day nicely. We've been taking non-park days on our last few trips, and it has been nice. You get to spend time doing other awesome Disney things and it usually helps us to feel more relaxed.

 

[Skycat]

I just read your report - it was so fun to see you recreate your trip from receipts and maps and other things.

We have two very spoiled dogs too. I know my DF is going to miss them terribly (so will I but he will be REALLY bad). Just going away for a weekend is tough, so 10 days is going to be hard.

 

[Luvchefmic]

WONDERFUL to talk to you yesterday Ariana Check out the NEW ticker !!

 

[Pluto0809]

Sounds like a great day, shopping for you and video games for DH- so both of you are happy! Dinner at Hoop De Do Revue sounds like a fun choice for your anniversary dinner!

I do think it's going to be a fun day! I think the only problem I'm going to have is dragging Jim away from DQ to go to HDDR!

I'm sorry I missed your previous update.

But your Studios day plans sound great (curious why FP+ for the show and not another thrill ride?).

And your DTD day sounds wonderful. I mean how can it not? It includes shopping which is one of my favorite things to do. I wouldn't last in DQ for 30 minutes let alone an hour. More power to you my friend.

We've never done Cali Grill or the HDDR.

I went with Fantasmic because I'm not too sure if we will ride Star Tours. As for TOT, I know I will ride but I don't know about Jim. I think if we hit that up right at the start of the day, the line won't be too long. And I can only ride it once with my stomach issues. I hated to waste a FP+ on a ride I'm not sure if we will actually go on. Plus I'm curious to see how the FP+ works for the night shows.

We'll see how long I last at DQ! I know it's not my thing but I had to plan some stuff for Jim. And since it's now free with our package, I thought why not?

I've been to HDDR many times although not since 2010. I love it and am hoping that Jim will too!

okay TROUBLE on the horizon with the shopping NEW Pluto merchandise coming this fall to WDW...adorable bank, if I see it before you get here I presume I should pick one up for you ? I think they will go fast

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2013/09/new-novelty-toys-coming-to-disney-parks-for-fall-2013/

this is a big weekend on my end with the Oct Dismeets and MNSSHP tomorrow been adding updates to my report too ( see you there when you can catch up )

So glad to see you are back I missed you and to answer your question re-Pluto things for magic band nothing yet..we can hope

Oh my, I NEED that bank! Definitely grab me one if you see them.

I'm just about caught up here at work so I will head over to your PTR sometime today. I'm supposed to be working on building my revenue and cash forcasts for 2014 since we just started a new fiscal year on 10/1. But it's Monday and I'd rather get caught up with my DIS treads instead!

They better come out with some Pluto Magic Band accessories soon!

Great update! Your DTD day sounds great!

I think Jim will love his "80s arcade heaven" Hahahha...

And I've always wanted to do HDDR - I totally agree - that is more our style than California Grill.

D~

Oh I know Jim is going to love DQ!

You should definitely try to fit HDDR into a future trip. It's a lot of fun, good food and all the beer or sangria you can drink!

Great plans for DHS and DTD. DHS looks like a busy, but fun day. As a real ride wimp, I can understand your husbands hesitation to ride a couple of those rides lol Your DTD day should balance out the busy DHS day nicely. We've been taking non-park days on our last few trips, and it has been nice. You get to spend time doing other awesome Disney things and it usually helps us to feel more relaxed.

Yeah, I've got us a pretty full day at DHS. I've never been able to understand the people that say that park is a 1/2 day park. I always stay a full day and usually leave wishing I had more time!

I'm looking forward to a day off from the parks to relax a bit. I can't remember the last time I did that.

I just read your report - it was so fun to see you recreate your trip from receipts and maps and other things.

We have two very spoiled dogs too. I know my DF is going to miss them terribly (so will I but he will be REALLY bad). Just going away for a weekend is tough, so 10 days is going to be hard.

Welcome, glad you joined in and enjoyed reading.

It is so hard to leave the babies behind! Jim is already whining about it a little. I always buy them a new toy to take to the boarders and he was sad when I got the toy yesterday. I do miss them but also know that the place we board them takes really good care of them.

WONDERFUL to talk to you yesterday Ariana Check out the NEW ticker !!

What a pleasant surprise when my phone rang last night and I got to talk to you! Love the new ticker and I can't wait to meet you in a few weeks. I hope you had some fun with the rest of your MNSSHP last night!

 

[Pluto0809]

On Wednesday, October 23rd, we will be spending all day at my happy place, Magic Kingdom!



I plan on being at the park early enough to catch the welcome show.



My normal routine at MK is to head straight back through the castle, grab a FP for Peter Pan, and then ride some of the other Fantasyland rides while waiting for the PP FP to come due. Well, PP is closed for the entire month of October to put in the new interactive line so I decided to change things up a bit this trip. I also struggled the most with the FP+ selections for this day and I’m still not sure if what I did is the best option. Here’s what I have right now:

Jungle Cruise - 10 am – 11 am
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad 11 am – 12 pm
Dumbo 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm

There are just way too many options for FP+ at MK! I have switched those around several times in the last few weeks.

So, instead of heading straight to Fantasyland, we are going to turn left and do Adventureland first.



I want to hit up Pirates, Tiki Room and maybe the Swiss Family Robison Tree before the Jungle Cruise FP+ comes due.







After Adventureland, we will head to Fronterland where we will visit my favorite bears:



Use the FP+ for BTMR:



And if it’s warm enough and the line’s not too long, we will ride Splash Mountain. This is the only place I’m considering double dipping with the FPs. I know they have been giving people RFD cards as backup to the Magic Bands so if we get those, we will be able to get regular FPs along with the FP+ I already scheduled. I’m really trying not to do that because I know it’s only temporary and I need to learn to work within the new system. But I also want to ride Splash since I haven’t gotten on that one since 2011. It’s got to be in the 80s for me to ride though because I get cold way too easily. That’s the reason I didn’t want to use one of my three FP+ for Splash incase it’s too chilly that day. Ah well, I guess I could have worse problems!

Around noon, we will have to make our way towards Liberty Square for lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern. I went back and forth for a long time (don’t know why this day was so complicated!) between lunch at LTT or dinner at the Plaza. In the end I decided on LTT because I haven’t eaten there since 2010 and that was for the family style dinner.

After lunch, we will head to the Hall of Presidents which is one of Jim’s favorite attractions at WDW. I haven’t seen it myself for a few years so it will be nice to visit the show again.

Next, we will finish up anything we missed in Fronterland and then head towards Fantasyland. I don’t know if we will ride the Haunted Mansion on the way because I kind of want to save it for the Halloween Party. But if the line is short, I might be tempted.

In Fantasyland, I definitely want to ride Small World.



See Mickey’s Philharmagic



Ride Winnie the Pooh and of course one of my favorites, Dumbo:



Dumbo is a must do for me so that’s why I chose it as the third FP+. I debated on Winnie the Pooh for that last FP+ because it sometimes has long lines, but I decided that I would regret missing Dumbo more than WTP.

Since we already visited New Fantasyland on our first night, we will probably skip over that area and head towards Tomorrowland to finish up anything we missed the first day. Carousel of Progress, Monsters Laugh Floor and TTA are all options and if Buzz doesn’t have a long line I have a feeling that Jim will want to ride it again to see if he can beat me.





I don’t have any concrete plans for dinner on this night. I may just give Jim the option of picking. I have a feeling he may pick Peco Bills because he loves burgers. I’m also pretty sure it won’t be my favorite, Columbia Harbor House since he's not too big on seafood restaurants.

You will notice I didn’t mention anything about the 3 o’clock parade, MSEP or Wishes. I don’t plan for us to catch any of those during this day. We will have already seen Wishes and since Jim doesn’t like parades, I won’t make him watch them. I saw both parades on my last trip so I’m fine missing them this time.

Magic Kingdom is open till 11 pm but I don’t know if we will make it that late. Thursday is going to be a very, very long day and I may just call it a night and head back to the room for some sleep. Totally against my usually touring style but Jim tends to get grumpy when he’s tired and I certainly don’t want that to happen!

Up Next: Day 6 Epcot & MNSSHP

 

[KatMark]

I like the plans for your MK day. Personally, I'd get the FP+ for Pooh and not Dumbo. With "two" Dumbos now, we have not watied more than 5 - 10 minutes to get on the ride.

Cosmic Rays is an option too if he likes Burgers as they have plenty of other things for you to choose from.

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Great plans for MK! This new FP thing really has a way of making things confusing, doesn't it? And I always seem to have trouble with MK because there are so many things that I want to see and do and so many restaurant choices.

 

[Luvchefmic]

Oh my, I NEED that bank! Definitely grab me one if you see them.

I'm just about caught up here at work so I will head over to your PTR sometime today. I'm supposed to be working on building my revenue and cash forcasts for 2014 since we just started a new fiscal year on 10/1. But it's Monday and I'd rather get caught up with my DIS treads instead!

They better come out with some Pluto Magic Band accessories soon!

What a pleasant surprise when my phone rang last night and I got to talk to you! Love the new ticker and I can't wait to meet you in a few weeks. I hope you had some fun with the rest of your MNSSHP last night!

No worries I NEED that bank too...it's not in yet but I will keep checking It was wonderful to talk to you too and to plan Yes the MNSSHP ended up AMAZING...many great things ...talking to you must have brought me luck

I am still working on the Sept report ( will finish it Thurs when I'm off again) and then the Oct reports Have a terrific day everybody

 

[smile4stamps]

Hey there! I'm getting caught up after going to Disneyland last week!

We are going to HDDR on the 22nd as well! However we are doing the 8:30pm show. We love HDDR and we love Category 3! Our seats have been great up in the balcony!

 

[Pluto0809]

I like the plans for your MK day. Personally, I'd get the FP+ for Pooh and not Dumbo. With "two" Dumbos now, we have not watied more than 5 - 10 minutes to get on the ride.

Cosmic Rays is an option too if he likes Burgers as they have plenty of other things for you to choose from.

I am still going back and forth about which FP+ to book that afternoon! Now I'm wondering if I should get it for ETWB because I think Jim may like that. I need to try to ask him but I need to catch him in the right mood so he'll listen. Otherwise he'll just say, whatever you want. Right now my mind is on other stuff for the trip that you'll see here in a minute!

I've thought about Cosmic Rays too. I think the huge fixings bar at Peco Bills might win though. I've eaten at Cosmic Rays but not at Peco Bills so it might be fun to try something new.

Great plans for MK! This new FP thing really has a way of making things confusing, doesn't it? And I always seem to have trouble with MK because there are so many things that I want to see and do and so many restaurant choices.

Thanks! The new FP does make things more confusing and complicated especially at MK. Epcot on the other hand is easy because there's really only two rides you need FP+ for.

No worries I NEED that bank too...it's not in yet but I will keep checking It was wonderful to talk to you too and to plan Yes the MNSSHP ended up AMAZING...many great things ...talking to you must have brought me luck

I am still working on the Sept report ( will finish it Thurs when I'm off again) and then the Oct reports Have a terrific day everybody

Thank for keeping an eye out for me! Glad you had fun at MNSSHP.

Hey there! I'm getting caught up after going to Disneyland last week!

We are going to HDDR on the 22nd as well! However we are doing the 8:30pm show. We love HDDR and we love Category 3! Our seats have been great up in the balcony!

Hope you had fun at Disneyland! I am going to make it out there someday.

Too funny that you guys are at HDDR the same night as us. Maybe we will cross paths as Jim and I are leaving. Glad you liked Category 3. Did you get a lot of interaction with the players? I always like how the come around to the tables and couldn't remember if they went up to the balcony much.

 

[smile4stamps]

I am still going back and forth about which FP+ to book that afternoon! Now I'm wondering if I should get it for ETWB because I think Jim may like that. I need to try to ask him but I need to catch him in the right mood so he'll listen. Otherwise he'll just say, whatever you want. Right now my mind is on other stuff for the trip that you'll see here in a minute!

I've thought about Cosmic Rays too. I think the huge fixings bar at Peco Bills might win though. I've eaten at Cosmic Rays but not at Peco Bills so it might be fun to try something new.



Thanks! The new FP does make things more confusing and complicated especially at MK. Epcot on the other hand is easy because there's really only two rides you need FP+ for.



Thank for keeping an eye out for me! Glad you had fun at MNSSHP.



Hope you had fun at Disneyland! I am going to make it out there someday.

Too funny that you guys are at HDDR the same night as us. Maybe we will cross paths as Jim and I are leaving. Glad you liked Category 3. Did you get a lot of interaction with the players? I always like how the come around to the tables and couldn't remember if they went up to the balcony much.

They do come up to the balcony but not as much. We are fine with that though!

 

[Pluto0809]

I need everyone's idea's today because I have to change some plans around. My Mom booked us a Wilderness Back Trail Adventure tour as an anniversary present for the day I was planning to do DTD. The tour sounds like a lot of fun and I am excited about it. The tour is basically a Segway tour of Fort Wilderness and lasts 2 hours. But the problem is the only time that was available was 11:30 am. I called today and tried to change it to the 8:30 am tour but it was fully booked. I also looked to see if I could move our HDDR dinner to the later show but it's fully booked for that day as well.

So, my whole DTD/HDDR day is now going to have to change. It's looking like DQ may be completely out. I've come up with a few options, let me know what you think or if there is something else you can suggest.

Option #1

Head to DTD first thing in the morning and get about 2 hours of shopping in. Maybe have breakfast there somewhere. Leave about 10 am to go to Fort Wilderness. Do the tour, go back to DTD till 4:30 pm then back to Fort Wilderness for the 6:15 HDDR show.

Problems with #1:
1. Are there any places to get a CS breakfast at DTD? I swear I remember reading a TR where someone had breakfast at WPE but I can't find a web site that says they are open for breakfast. Since we will be on the tour from 11:30 to 1:30, we need to eat a big breakfast. Jim's going to love that one as he rarely eats much for breakfast.
2. Way too much time on the bus that day. Back and forth from DTD to Fort Wilderness is going to eat up a lot of the day.

Option #2

Skip DTD all together on this day and try to fit it in elsewhere. Have a slow morning and big breakfast at CSR then head to Fort Wilderness around 10 am. Do the tour then ??? in between the tour & HDDR.

Problems with #2
1. No DTD time during the day when it's less crowded. I'm thinking we could head there after our DHS day, I'm even thinking of skipping Fantasmic at this point but it's going to be a lot more crowded.
2. What to do during the afternoon? Anyone have any suggestions? I'm kind of leaning towards Mini Golf but I'll have to do some research as I have never thought about mini golf at WDW before. Swimming is probably not an option since Jim doesn't even own a swimsuit. I have one but it hasn't been out of my closet since 2011.

Option #3

???? Anyone have another suggestion for me for a third option? I'm stressing a bit over this today. Great idea by my Mom but I wish she would have booked the 8:30 am tour.

 

[Luvchefmic]

Counter service breakfast at Earl of Sandwich DTD I do this all the time OR full on breakfast buffet AT Ft Wilderness Trails End Restaurant OR counter service Trails to go at Ft Wilderness ...MANY options ..no worries

http://allears.net/menu/menu_teb.htm Ft Wilderness




http://allears.net/menu/menu_eofs.htm EOS


NICE gift way to go Mom

 

[Pluto0809]

They do come up to the balcony but not as much. We are fine with that though!

Thanks! Hopefully we will get to see some of the performers.

Counter service breakfast at Earl of Sandwich DTD I do this all the time OR full on breakfast buffet AT Ft Wilderness Trails End Restaurant OR counter service Trails to go at Ft Wilderness ...MANY options ..no worries

http://allears.net/menu/menu_teb.htm Ft Wilderness

http://allears.net/menu/menu_eofs.htm EOS


NICE gift way to go Mom

Mom did do good, just threw me for a bit of a loop!

I didn't even think of EOS, thanks! That might be perfect because when Jim does eat breakfast, he likes a sandwich. Maybe because it's sort of like lunch then? Still don't know if DTD is the best option at this point but now I know that it is possible.

 

[KatMark]

Wolfgang Puck Express has breakfast. Des took us there last December for breakfast as a thank you for taking us on the trip (if you go back to my December TR you can find pictures of the food...it was pretty good).

 

[Pluto0809]

Wolfgang Puck Express has breakfast. Des took us there last December for breakfast as a thank you for taking us on the trip (if you go back to my December TR you can find pictures of the food...it was pretty good).

I knew I wasn't going crazy and had seen WPE breakfast in someones TR! Thanks for letting me know about that. I think though that I've decided to just skip DTD on this day and have breakfast at CSR. DTD time is just going to be too rushed so I moved it to another day as you'll see on the next update.

 

[Pluto0809]

Sorry this is flying along so fast this week, hope you can keep up! But I want to finish most of it off by Friday because next week is going to be busy.

As for our off day, I’ve decided to go with Option #2 above. We will skip DTD all together that day, have a later, big breakfast at CSR, go on the tour, do something in the afternoon then head back to Fort Wilderness for dinner at HDDR. Right now I’m leaning towards Mini Golf for the afternoon but that will depend on the weather. As for DTD, I changed some plans around for Friday, Oct 25th so we could have some time there. I’ll talk more about that when I get to that day.

So moving on with Thursday, October 24th, we will be heading to Epcot for the morning. I plan on being there for rope drop and getting as much done in Future World as possible before our lunch ADR.

FP+ for the day:
Test Track - 9:05 am – 10:05 am
Soarin’ – 10:05 am – 11:05 am
Spaceship Earth 11:05 am – 12:05 pm

We will head straight to Test Track at rope drop. I really don’t know if we will need the FP+ first thing but I scheduled it just in case. I really don’t see the need for FPs at Epcot except for Soarin’ and Test Track but I wanted to use all three just because I can.



After Test Track, we’ll head over towards the Seas building for a ride with Nemo and also Turtle Talk. Since Jim is not a big “look at animals” kind of guy, we probably won’t spend a lot of time looking at the sea life.



After the Seas, we will head to the Land for our FP+ for Soarin’. I’m really wondering how Jim will do with this ride, don’t know if the heights will scare him or not? Then of course, we will have to visit Jim’s chickens on Living with the Land.





When we finish with Living with the Land, if it’s time for our Space Ship Earth FP+, we’ll head there or if there’s still time, over to the Imagination Building for Captain EO and Figment. Yep, I’m going to see Captain EO again! Jim said it sounded interesting and I’m very curious to see what his reaction is to the film.







If we get all of that done and there is still time, I wouldn’t mind visiting the Food & Wine Welcome Center. We will not be riding Mission Space because Jim can’t do enclosed spaces and I only ride it to see Gary Sinise. As for Ellen’s Energy Adventure, well I don’t mind it but it’s such a long ride that I find it takes too much time out of your day. Maybe we will hit it up when we come back to Epcot the next day.

Our lunch ADR is at 12:45 pm and is at a favorite of mine Rose & Crown. We both love English Pubs so this lunch was a must do. I’m not sure what I will order for my meal but I know that both of us will be getting a Scotch Egg appetizer.



After lunch, we will head out of Epcot and back to our resort to get ready for MNSSHP! I have never done the Halloween Party before and I am very excited. I’m hoping that Jim will take one of his 20 minute power naps, that boy can fall asleep anywhere at any time. I, on the other hand, cannot fall asleep during the day so I’ll probably just rest and freshen up for the party.

Jim picked our costumes for the night. If you remember, his favorite Disney movie is Ratatouille so we are dressing as Collette and Alfredo. The costumes were fairly easy to put together. I ordered chef jackets for us and bought a black wig for myself. My Cousin was down at Disney in August to plan her wedding and she found Jim this awesome hat he will be wearing.



Isn’t that cute? It is a kid’s hat but luckily Jim has very little hair so it just fits him. We were going to do a red wig for him but it wouldn’t fit under the hat. Besides, I could not find a red curly wig that didn’t look like Ronald McDonald.

I’d like to be at MK by 4 pm but it will depend on how long Jim naps. He’s supposed to be Alfredo, not Grumpy. Once we get there, we will be meeting up with Ruthie (Luvchefmic on the DIS) who will be joining us for the party! I don’t know if she is dressing up at all.

My priorities for the
1. Hallowishes
2. Boo To You Parade
3. Trick or Treat stations/trails
4. Party specific merchandise
5. Ride on Haunted Mansion
6. Special Photopass opportunities



As you can see, I have not listed character meet and greets. I have no desire and I know Jim will not tolerate standing in line for hours for a character meet and greet. That being said, if we do luck into a short line for Captain Jack Sparrow, I wouldn’t mind meeting him. Possibly Minnie, Mickey and Donald in their Halloween costumes also. But the meet and greets will be very low priority for the night.

Somewhere along the line, I’m sure we will stop for dinner at one of the CS restaurants.

After a very long day, we will head back to our room to get some sleep before our last full day at Disney.

Up Next: Day 7, DTD and Epcot

 

[Luvchefmic]

Love the sound of your costumes some questions for the 2 of you to consider You want to go to the party at 4 that's when you can get wristbands BUT party specific merchandise ( shirts, pins ) not sold until 7 when day guests have to leave

Meet & Greet not priority for you , I get that, but I can give you hints for Jack Sparrow and Jack & Sally I LOVE meeting the characters but never waited over 20 minutes for anyone Got pictures with Lotso ( was first on line) Sparrow ( maybe waited 20 minutes) and Jack & Sally (10 minutes)

Basically what I am saying is characters or not you need a plan Want to see last parade ? First parade or both ? Hallowishes of course & that's in between the 2 parades Priority for pictures you want to take ? After 10 years I FINALLY figured out where to be for the money shot..closeups of the headless horseman and will definitely be doing that again They turned out awesome but I was so excited I know I can get better shots

Rides besides HM or no ?

Magic shots for Photopass..I could be wrong I think there are only 2 during the party and that's near HM anyway..will find out for sure

Are you planning to be there 4 pm to close ? which is officially midnight BUT no one throws you out, you can kind of slowly wander out

Want to see Villains show near the castle ? or not important ?

Not saying I approach MNSSHP commando style, am saying I do zig-zag across the park a bit to be at a certain place at a certain time, come along for the wild ride or meet up here & there You two decide

I do know I never got anywhere near Fantasyland last Sunday OR Mickey Minnie & Princesses and my goal is to continue to load up the Photopass same price 10 pictures or 1000 KWIM ?

First ever MNSSHP ?? !! Wonderful ! I can advise as much as you want OR back off as much as you want. whatever the touring style or what your plan ends up being I KNOW you will have a great time

 

[sweetpeaandevie]

wow, a week and a half!!! YAY!

the wedding looked great. My youngest asked if I could buy her that dress (the flowergirls'). she is obsessed with anything floral hahahaha

I'm so glad that you get to spend time with Ruthie. You guys are gonna have such a good time

 

[Pluto0809]

Love the sound of your costumes some questions for the 2 of you to consider You want to go to the party at 4 that's when you can get wristbands BUT party specific merchandise ( shirts, pins ) not sold until 7 when day guests have to leave

Yep, I know. I'm thinking if we get there a little before the party starts, we can catch any attractions that we missed on our full MK day. I think 4 pm is pretty optimistic anyway. We probably won't get back to our room till 2:30 pm so I'm thinking it will be closer to 5 pm before we get to the party.

Meet & Greet not priority for you , I get that, but I can give you hints for Jack Sparrow and Jack & Sally I LOVE meeting the characters but never waited over 20 minutes for anyone Got pictures with Lotso ( was first on line) Sparrow ( maybe waited 20 minutes) and Jack & Sally (10 minutes)

Wow on the 10 minutes for Jack & Sally, every thing I have read has said that the line has been at least 2 hours. I'm probably going to be disowned but I don't really have a desire to meet them because I've never seen the movie. Own it but have never gotten around to watching it. If I find a line that short though, it might happen. Captain Jack is really the only one I definitely want to meet if the line cooperates. I've just never really liked doing meet and greets because I feel very awkward during them for some reason.

Basically what I am saying is characters or not you need a plan Want to see last parade ? First parade or both ? Hallowishes of course & that's in between the 2 parades Priority for pictures you want to take ? After 10 years I FINALLY figured out where to be for the money shot..closeups of the headless horseman and will definitely be doing that again They turned out awesome but I was so excited I know I can get better shots

My tentative plan for the night is Hallowishes at 9:30, 2nd parade at 10:30 and definitely the Villians show, maybe the last one at 11:15? I totally forgot to mention that show in my priorities but I want to see it. Hoping to get some of the trick or treat stations & trails, shopping and PP shots done before Hallowishes. 7 pm to 12 am is just not enough time to get everything done, it it? I will follow your lead for where to stand for the Parade especially if you have an ideal location! As for pictures, I don't really have any plans for specific shots.

Rides besides HM or no ?

Nothing really planned unless there was something we missed the previous MK day. Like I said above that would be before the party anyway.

Magic shots for Photopass..I could be wrong I think there are only 2 during the party and that's near HM anyway..will find out for sure

There are three special Magic shots for the party. At HM with the carriage and in Liberty Square somewhere (I've read a description of the location and it just confused me but somewhere near the exit to Hall of Presidents) with the hitch hiking ghosts. The third location is somewhere in Adventureland and is a Pirates shot. I need to look up the exact location of that one because I forget where it is.

Are you planning to be there 4 pm to close ? which is officially midnight BUT no one throws you out, you can kind of slowly wander out

Definitely planning on staying till the end unless Jim gets grumpy. As for getting there at 4 pm, well we'll see if that happens.

Want to see Villains show near the castle ? or not important ?

Yep, answered that one above.

Not saying I approach MNSSHP commando style, am saying I do zig-zag across the park a bit to be at a certain place at a certain time, come along for the wild ride or meet up here & there You two decide

I definitely will take any advise you have! Since I've never done a party before, it's a little overwelming. If it was just me, I'd be running all over the park like a mad women but I do have to keep Jim in mind! But as long as he gets a nap in and we feed him occasionally, he should be fine.

I do know I never got anywhere near Fantasyland last Sunday OR Mickey Minnie & Princesses and my goal is to continue to load up the Photopass same price 10 pictures or 1000 KWIM ?

Oh, I already paid for the PP+ so the more shots I get the better! I want to get my monies worth out of that CD!

First ever MNSSHP ?? !! Wonderful ! I can advise as much as you want OR back off as much as you want. whatever the touring style or what your plan ends up being I KNOW you will have a great time

I think I answered all your questions above in green! I am a little overwhelmed with the party just because there is so much to do. I almost thought about doing two but I think one is all that Jim will be OK with.