Confessions of an obsessive planner... Let the countdown begin!!

[DrMomof3]

Sorry about the teacups. My DH can't ride that ride because it makes him nauseated!
I think you can manage a long day at MK. Especially if you aren't planning a whole bunch of long days in a row.

Amanda

 

[Charlefours]

I should have said something earlier but I assumed TT was on the second day of plans. I'm so glad that it will be opened. I will be sure (as I'm sure you will as well) to take a ton of pictures since it will no longer be there. I think you should be able to handle a longer day. I know you are trying to keep it relaxing too but I think it will be ok. I really like the idea of taking the boat over to another resort for a CS meal. Which are you thinking? My vote would be for WL but that is because I want to see it.

One other note: are you sure you can get in at 4 on your MNSSHP day? Everything I have been reading is mixed opinions. I called and asked, they said yes to me but others were told no early admittance this year.

 

[-Hope-]

Sorry about the teacups. My DH can't ride that ride because it makes him nauseated!
I think you can manage a long day at MK. Especially if you aren't planning a whole bunch of long days in a row.

Amanda

Thanks Amanda- I know some people don't like the teacups so I'll just comfort myself with the thought that at least we won't be sick!

I should have said something earlier but I assumed TT was on the second day of plans. I'm so glad that it will be opened. I will be sure (as I'm sure you will as well) to take a ton of pictures since it will no longer be there. I think you should be able to handle a longer day. I know you are trying to keep it relaxing too but I think it will be ok. I really like the idea of taking the boat over to another resort for a CS meal. Which are you thinking? My vote would be for WL but that is because I want to see it.

One other note: are you sure you can get in at 4 on your MNSSHP day? Everything I have been reading is mixed opinions. I called and asked, they said yes to me but others were told no early admittance this year.

It's okay- it was my own fault for not paying attention! For all my obsessions I really dropped the ball on keeping up with TT! Oh well, it all worked out. I'm leaning toward the Poly for lunch but still haven't ruled out WL.

As for the party- Disney hasn't released anything official about not letting people in at 4 when they always have in the past. Plus I saw a copy of an email on the main board that seemed kind of official. I think the CMs that are telling people no don't know and are just going by official party times- there are lots of cases where CMs don't know as much as some DISers. I also think it would be a nightmare for Disney to try to get all the party goers in and get them their wristbands and candy bags all at the same time. They really make it easier on themselves by giving that window for entry. I'll double check when we're there before heading over that early but I feel pretty confident that the entry time will be 4.

 

[-Hope-]

On to our 2nd day at Epcot.

Did any of you guess that Ellen's Energy Adventure would be our last must do in FW? I know its long but my kids LOVE Ellen and really want to see this so we're making the time for it. I've read through several threads and people either seem to love it or hate it so who knows. I think my kids will like it, especially Jace because he is a sponge and loves absorbing new information. In fact we were watching a 'Friends' rerun a few days ago and he turned to me and said, "You know, everyone laughs or makes funny faces when Ross starts talking about science but I think he's really interesting." He's like that all the time. What other 11yo reads the Yahoo! news every day and discusses it with his parents. You gotta love that he loves learning so much. So, between the Ellen love and the love of learning I think our family will fall into the 'love it' camp on EEA. At least I hope so since it's 45 minutes!

Since we're getting a late start we won't break mid-day but it will be okay since its going to be a leisurely day. We should have about an hour in each country so we can take our time to see all the little details. It's also possible that there will be a soft opening for F&W so we may get some yummy treats as well. When we're finished we'll head over to the Boardwalk for a bit to see the street performers unless we're too tired.

I left the evening open so we could stay and hang out at the resort if we're tired. But I also wanted a few ideas in case the kids don't like the poolside movie or just don't feel like staying at the resort. I figure at this point we'll either be exhausted or trying to squeeze in every bit of fun we can so I planned for both.

 

[-Hope-]

Oh, I haven't posted new plans for MK yet because I'm headed over to Karen's in a few hours and I want her input first.

 

[starann]

I was sitting here thinking, "Wow, a lot of stuff is closed for her trip, IASW, Tea Cup and Star Wars" That stinks.................then I remembered that we are going ot be there there same time and thought "it really stinks!!!!!!!!!!!


LOL Sometimes I wonder where my head is!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Sometimes I wonder if talking to me is worse! I am picturing you at home scribbling out plans and trying to rework things b/c I opened my big mouth...I hope I didn't make it more stressful! If you are anything like me, it's just more fun to try and make the puzzle pieces fit perfectly!

 

[-Hope-]

Yep, almost as soon as I talk myself into leaving it as it is I decide no, I can make this work better!!!

 

[-Hope-]

I was sitting here thinking, "Wow, a lot of stuff is closed for her trip, IASW, Tea Cup and Star Wars" That stinks.................then I remembered that we are going ot be there there same time and thought "it really stinks!!!!!!!!!!!


LOL Sometimes I wonder where my head is!

MTP isn't actually closing until the 26th. We arrive the 25th so I'm looking over my schedule to see if I can squeeze in a couple of hours at the MK to ride the teacups and maybe a few other FL attractions. I haven't figured it all out yet but I'm working on it!

 

[DrMomof3]

We had IASW and TSM closed for our trip. While it was a bit disappointing, it wasn't a big deal. There was plenty to do and we even missed some stuff that I love.
Jessica loved Ellen. I was pretty surprised because I thought she'd be bored!

Amanda

 

[lexmas]

How did I forget about Ellen? I love that ride! And I didn't think about it, but I bet my kids won't be bored because we watch Ellen on TV sometimes, and they love it! (That may be because I never let them watch TV, so they might just be excited about that. Mostly they love the dancing though!)

I love that about Jace and Ross. I think it's interesting when Ross talks about his work too. Sometimes I think, man, I wonder if that's real and I should look it up in an paleontology journal!

I hope you get to hit the soft opening of food and wine!

 

[-Hope-]

We had IASW and TSM closed for our trip. While it was a bit disappointing, it wasn't a big deal. There was plenty to do and we even missed some stuff that I love.
Jessica loved Ellen. I was pretty surprised because I thought she'd be bored!

Amanda

I agree that it's not really a big deal when rides are shut down but for some reason MTP was really disappointing to Kya. Since Disney isn't going to be a regular destination for us I really wanted her to get to do something that was so important- which is why I've reworked my schedule to get us to MK for a couple of hours on the 25th before it closes on the 26th. Even if the line is horrendously long and we don't have time to anything but ride those teacups we are going to do it!!

I'm glad to hear Jessica liked Ellen! I really think my kids will too.

How did I forget about Ellen? I love that ride! And I didn't think about it, but I bet my kids won't be bored because we watch Ellen on TV sometimes, and they love it! (That may be because I never let them watch TV, so they might just be excited about that. Mostly they love the dancing though!)

I love that about Jace and Ross. I think it's interesting when Ross talks about his work too. Sometimes I think, man, I wonder if that's real and I should look it up in an paleontology journal!

I hope you get to hit the soft opening of food and wine!

My kids love Ellen's dancing too. And they think she's hilarious.

Sometimes we do google things Ross says- the stuff we've looked up has been pretty accurate for the time it was written but new discoveries have displaced it. Betcha didn't count on getting a science lesson here on the dis.

 

[-Hope-]

Well, I reworked some things in my schedule so Kya could ride those teacups on the first day!

Baically we'll go to MK on the first night but since there's a party we'll only have until 7. I don't think we'll get over there before about 4:30 or 5 depending on how long DME takes. So, a couple of hours to ride the teacups. We'll have a look at other lines in FL and TT to see what else we can knock out during those first couple of hours. I think so late in the day lines will be long but I'm sure we'll be able to get a few things finished. I'd like to ride Dumbo and avoid the Dumbo dash on our MK day but we'll see what the line looks like.

Since the MK closes at 7 we'll go over to DTD to grab some dinner and let the kids go to their most important stores- Lego for Jace, World of Memories (to make ears) for Kya.

So, the DTD time will be cut short which means I needed to find time to go back. I talked it over with the kids and told them we had to prioritize- teacups, time at DTD or AK in one day which meant something had to go from the itinerary there. (We have a 6:15 ADR at 1900 PF so we have to leave the park by around 3.) We discussed it all and they agreed that the Boneyard and Triceratop Spin are not as important as other things so I reworked the AK intinerary to fit in one day so we can go back to DTD on Friday morning instead of back to AK. It will good to have a nice relaxing morning before the party. We can sleep in, swim, and be really rested.

I'm really happy with the new schedule of things (and am grateful to have Karen helping me figure everything out ). I'm working on the revamped itinerary cards and will post later.

 

[-Hope-]

I have some changes to plans earlier in the week that I want to update before I post our plans for this time next month. I really wanted Kya to get to ride the teacups so I shortened our time at DTD on our arrival day and we'll spend a couple of hours in the MK- MTP closes the 26th and we arrive the 25th so this is our only chance!

Making this change meant I needed to find another time to go to DTD. I included the places the kids most want to go on the first night but we won't have time for the things I really want to do. I decided to condense AK down to one day so we could go back to DTD Friday morning before the party. This meant giving up The Boneyard and Triceratop Spin and a shorter break between the park and our ADR but we are all happy with it. We'll still have plenty of time to rest and neither of those attractions were must do for us.

So, our updated AK day...

I also decided to go ahead and try the long day at MK. It just seemed to make sense that a relaxing boat ride to eat lunch at the Poly would be just as relaxing, if not more than buses all the way back to ASMu just to lay around for an hour. So...

I love this MK day because we'll have plenty of time for PP pics, character greetings, pin trading, etc. without feeling rushed.

 

[-Hope-]

Well, one month from today will actually be October 1! There's one more day in August than Sept. and it's throwing off my 'this time next month' scenario- so I'll just say one month from today.

This is our last day in a park and I can't think of a better way to end our trip that with MNSSHP!

Tomorrow I'll put up our last day plans, which doesn't include much because I'm sure DME will have us leaving earlier than necessary. I'll also start my countdown of the things we're most looking forward to.

 

[Charlefours]

It's okay- it was my own fault for not paying attention! For all my obsessions I really dropped the ball on keeping up with TT! Oh well, it all worked out. I'm leaning toward the Poly for lunch but still haven't ruled out WL.

As for the party- Disney hasn't released anything official about not letting people in at 4 when they always have in the past. Plus I saw a copy of an email on the main board that seemed kind of official. I think the CMs that are telling people no don't know and are just going by official party times- there are lots of cases where CMs don't know as much as some DISers. I also think it would be a nightmare for Disney to try to get all the party goers in and get them their wristbands and candy bags all at the same time. They really make it easier on themselves by giving that window for entry. I'll double check when we're there before heading over that early but I feel pretty confident that the entry time will be 4.

I will let you know about MNSSHP--I get to test it out since I am going to the first party. I will see what happens in person, at the turnstiles if you like.

I think you will enjoy Ellen's.

Your new plans sound great. I'm glad the kids are being reasonable to what is possible and what is not. I think you will be surprised on what you can get done.

Your October 1st plans look great!! Don't forget to try to swing by HM during MNSSHP to see the extra characters.

 

[-Hope-]

I will let you know about MNSSHP--I get to test it out since I am going to the first party. I will see what happens in person, at the turnstiles if you like.

I think you will enjoy Ellen's.

Your new plans sound great. I'm glad the kids are being reasonable to what is possible and what is not. I think you will be surprised on what you can get done.

Your October 1st plans look great!! Don't forget to try to swing by HM during MNSSHP to see the extra characters.

That will be great- I already figured I'd find out about the entry time from the first partygoers- I just didn't realize it would be you!

Thanks for the feedback! And thanks for the reminder about HM. Waaaay back when I first started making plans my kids were more skiddish about things and I wasn't sure they'd like HM during the party (I've heard it's a bit more creepy). But now they're much better about these kinds of things so we may give it a try.

 

[DrMomof3]

Glad that Kya will get to ride teacups! It's funny because that's one of the rides that I always go on even though my DH won't.
Reading your plans reminds of all the things we never got to do!

Amanda

 

[-Hope-]

Glad that Kya will get to ride teacups! It's funny because that's one of the rides that I always go on even though my DH won't.
Reading your plans reminds of all the things we never got to do!

Amanda

I'm sure we won't get to it all either- but we're going to try! Also, it's an entirely different experience traveling with big kids than it is traveling with little kids.

 

[-Hope-]

Well, my last itinerary card. There's nothing exciting to share but I'll put it up anyway... it just would seem right not to!

We'll definately need to sleep in on this day! I'm sure we're going to be exhausted from MNSSHP the night before plus I don't think anyone will be bounding out of bed just to go home.

Since I know DME will have us going to the airport at a ridiculously early time we won't have time to explore outside of the resort on this day. We'll either swim or play on one of the playgrounds depending on time. (I've packed a couple of 2 gallon ziploc bags for our wet suits just in case. ) We'll also get some snacks for traveling. After breakfast and lunch on this day I think we'll still have some snack credits left at this point plus one CS credit each- this will be great because we can just get foods that travel well for our carryons and not have to pay airport prices for food.