Confessions of an Over-Planner - A Sept 2017 PTR*Update 9/24-TR link up

[Lesley Wake]

Day 3 – MNSSHP

Costume updates: So we are definitely going as Belle + Belle! My dress is completed, as mentioned in a previous post. I had gotten the fancy purse on etsy, but then saw this baby at The Disney Vault and had to get it! It also has a drawstring top, so more secure than the stained glass one I had gotten which is just a flap closure. My sister is trying to convince me to let her use it…we’ll see about that!

Then for hair, I got this headband from the bridal section of Michaels, 40% off! I think it looks gold-Belle like!

For shoes, I checked Sanuk and found a version of the yoga slings in metallic gold-really just cream fabric with some hits of gold shimmer thread. We’ll probably attach a ribbon of some sorts that matches the dress. But I’ve worn those same shoe designs on a Disneyland day (I’ve been wearing various shoes/clothes I plan to wear in Florida to test them out) and my feet weren’t hurting at the end, so that’s a good sign!

My sister ordered this costume online and it should get here next week. She and my mom looked at the various patterns at the fabric store, but they didn’t have a specific Belle version, so she would have needed to get a couple different ones. Once they purchased all the patterns, fabric, and whatnot, it would have been more expensive than just ordering the dress, not to mention the annoyance of sewing it! But the dress should be here with plenty of time that if it doesn’t work, they have time to make an alternative.

Morning

No plans this morning, besides sleeping! Probably will hit up the pool, maybe Disney Springs? The afternoon will depend on how we feel. I have a 2pm ADR at Kona Café, because the photos and reviews look good! And that’d give us an opportunity to explain the Poly and Grand Floridian. But maybe instead we will just stick to the POFQ food court. I would like to try the Ohana bread pudding at Tambu Lounge though, but my sister is allergic to pineapple so I don't know how excited she'll be about that! We will see how tired we are!

Afternoon/Evening: MNSSHP.

Plan to arrive before 4pm, so we can get in when they start letting party guests in.
1. Peter Pan Flight – FP for 3:30-4:30. We’ll need to get up to this one, but I think 30 minutes (plus 15 grace period) will be enough time.
2. Enchanted Tales with Belle – FP for 4:30-5:30. Hoping to get a photo of Belle in gold dress while I’m in the gold dress!

*Another fuzzy schedule. We’ll see what wait times are like, but we’ll probably stick to Fantasyland due to our next FP.

3. 7DMT – FP for 5:30-6:30. This is complicated. Originally I had both of us with FPs; then I had to remove my sister due to all the issues with Halloween party ticket FPs. Once the dust settled with that, I got it back the first 2 FPs, but not 7DMT. The hope is I will be able to go to Guest Services at POFQ or MK and get another pass for her (I've also emailed guest communications to see if they can help before we even get there). Or the CMs at the ride will take pity on her (or me, if I let her use my band). But again, we’ll see how that goes.

Dinner: grab and go. Maybe Pinnochio, maybe Columbia Harbor House. The idea is to eat while waiting in line for the character meet. Anyone have good suggestions in that area?

Party priorities:
4. Character Meet with Belle and Gaston – this is a must due to the costumes! I’ve heard they can get long lines and take a while, so we will get in line early.

5. Haunted Mansion

*Another fuzzy moment. Actual rides will depend on wait times.

6. Boo to you Parade – 9:15pm; will plan to watch from Frontierland, as I’ve heard that is spooky! It doesn’t matter if we miss Headless Horseman as we will be seeing him at Disneyland on Friday October 13th! Originally I thought we'd do Parade 2, but it seems the end of the night would then be pretty rushed.

7. HalloWishes Fireworks – 10:15pm. Plan to watch parade and then follow it in front of the castle to find a spot for fireworks.

8. Hocus Pocus Villain Spectacular – 10:45pm. At least this is the plan now. Maybe instead we’ll do the midnight showing. But we are absolutely making this a priority. My sister and I have been talking about this for over a year-since the first announcement! We’ve always wanted to be the sisters for Halloween (along with our mom), but haven’t gotten around to it…maybe next year?

9. Character Meet with Seven Dwarves – This is the only other one I really want to do! I think Winnie the Pooh and friends are adorable, but think they also meet in California, so I can save it for then (unless of course we walk by and there is no line).

*Other rides will depend on wait times.

 

[Lesley Wake]

Good, Annoying, and Bad News

In good news, I heard back from Guest Communications regarding my sister's 7DMT fastpass before the Halloween party. They gave a multi-experience pass to both me and my sister! So we will use those on 7DMT. I cancelled my previous 7DMT FP and got us both FP's to meet Rapunzel and Tiana. I know Rapunzel is one of my sister's favorite princesses and I really like Tiana after finally seeing Princess and the Frog. I figure we'll already be dressed as princesses, might as well take more photos with them! Maybe we'll even get to take a photo with every Disney princess since we will be eating at Cinderella's Royal Table? And this coming from someone who didn't care about character meets, I now have a bunch planned!

In good/annoying news, they released more MK hours for our trip:
-Monday: closing changed from 9pm-10pm. Annoying for us, as we have CRT at 8:25. It was the hope that we would be leaving the park after it closed so avoided the masses. Now we will probably be leaving right as it closes. Maybe we'll be able to get one last ride in, but I'm not expecting it.
-Wednesday: no hour change (still 9pm). Really annoying. Fireworks are still at 9pm with Once Upon a Time at 8:30. This is our dessert party night, so I don't expect we will have a good view of the castle projections from the upper terrace. It's also evening EMH from 9-11, but that means the first 30 minutes or so are going to be taken up with fireworks, and then we will still have to deal with crowds hanging around. I was really hoping for a 10pm close, so OUAT would be after fireworks and we could hang in the plaza.
-Saturday: closing changed from 9pm-11pm. At least OUAT will be after fireworks. We have BOG dinner, so will need to get from back of Fantasyland to the Hub, which I hope will be possible. It's also projected a higher crowd level than any other day of our visit, so that will suck! And because everyone can still go on rides, I don't know what we'll actually be able to accomplish.

In bad news, well really crappy news, just found out they are suspending the Express Transport option. So this means we won't be able to use it to easily hop between parks. Instead we'll have to do regular transport. I was really looking forward to the express transport for a couple reasons: 1) no need to go out through security, so quicker, 2) set schedule with a bus leaving every 30 minutes on the dot, rather than gambling on just missing a bus, 3) not having to go all the way to the park entrance-my touring plans were based on the locations of pickup/dropoff, now that is gone. The whole reason we decided to do park hoppers vs base ticket was because of the express transport, so scheduled FPs and ADRs accordingly. Now it is too late to change that, so we're going to have to deal and will make sure we leave plenty of time to get from one park to the other.

I also had these glorious ideas about checking constantly for FPs and being able to easily hop to other parks when we are done with the current park, in addition to our already scheduled morning/evening park.

Here are my ideas (will get more into it as I finish up itinerary posts):
Day 1 - Hop from MK to Epcot. Assume we will need to take the monorail. I just hope we don't get caught up with all MNSSHP people entering at TTC. We don't have anything scheduled at Epcot until 7, but I was hoping to get a late afternoon FP for Test Track. We will have to see what time that is good for.
Day 2 - Hop from AK to MK. Regular bus, at least we don't have anything scheduled at MK until 8:25, but we will want to get there in time to take a photo with Winnie the pooh.
Day 3 - no hopping (MNSSHP)
Day 4 - Hop from Epcot to MK. Assume monorail again
Day 5 - no hopping (Universal)
Day 6 - Hop from DHS to AK. Bus. At least now we have a longer gap between final attraction in DHS and ADR in AK, but I was hoping to be able to fit other stuff in there on the fly.
Day 7 - Was supposed to be our 7-park day. I'm not sure if that's going to happen anymore. We'll at least hit 3/4 parks, but I'm not sure if DHS is going to be a go or not.
Day 8 - no hopping, and wasn't going to be able to use the express bus anyways as that would have been past the 7-day pass.
Day 9 - no hopping

 

[Lesley Wake]

Day 4 – Epcot & MK

Morning:

Plan to arrive at Epcot around 10am, maybe slightly earlier because I’ve heard that’s when the bag lines start to back up. But at least we don’t have to do Rope Drop after the late MK night.
1. Spaceship Earth – FP for 9:15-10:15am.
*If we get there early enough, and we didn’t hit all attractions in Future World the evening of Day 1, maybe get the leftovers. But that will depend on timing.

2. Mission Space: Orange – FP for 10:15-11:15am – Need to remember my motion sickness pills!

3. Frozen Ever After – FP for 11:15-12:15am
4. Meet Anna and Elsa at Royal Sommerhus – We will be wearing “I’m her Anna/Elsa” shirts, so need to meet the sisters! It would have been cool if we could get to DHS for a photo with Olaf as well, but with the Express Transport, I don't want to bother.

Afternoon attractions:
*Make our way clockwise around the World Showcase. Stop as needed to explore, grab lunch/snacks from Food & Wine Festival booths.

Things I’m looking forward to trying (remember, I’m super picky, so probably will skip anything too adventurous or even a hint spicy):
· Lamington cake (Australia)
· Beer-braised beef with smoked gouda mashed potatoes (Belgium)
· Belgian waffle with chocolate sauce (Belgium)
· Pao de Queijo-Brazilian Cheese Bread (Brazil)-though may skip this one as I have a good recipe based on Fogo de Chao’s version
· Canadian Cheddar cheese soup (Canada)-maybe, also not a priority
· Braised Beef Stroganoff (Cheese Studio)
· Beijing Roasted Duck Bao Bun (China)
· Chicken Potstickers (China)
· Baked shrimp scampi dip (Coastal Eats)-may wait until I see photos of this
· Boef Bourguigon (France)
· Crème Brulee (France)-may skip
· Apple strudel with vanilla sauce (Germany)
· Bougatsa (Greece)-also want to check exactly what is in this
· Croissant Doughnut (Refreshment Port)-though I think this is available year round?
· Mmmhops Pale Ale (Block & Hans) – Hanson beer!
I definitely drink, but lately I've started to feel sick whenever I do. I'm also not a big wine fan, but I'm sure my sister will be enjoying some tastings!

I also may want to stop in at these places maybe for snacks (I’ll see how much I can actually eat!)
· Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe (Norway) – I always hear great things about the School Bread.
· Karamell-Kuche (Germany)
· Crepes des Chefs de France (France)
· Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie (France)

Along the way hit these:
5. Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros
6. Reflections of China
7. Voices of Liberty
8. The American Adventure
9. Impressions de France
10. O Canada!
*We may push China, France or Canada to another day, if we are feeling like too many movies all at once!

11. Test Track? – If we can get a 4th FP for this one for after exploring world showcase, that’d be ideal!
*At this point, we’ll see what time it is and what we feel like doing or if we want to head to MK.

Full map:

Evening: Hop to MK
*We’re planning to skip a formal dinner by eating at extra F&W booths.

12. Space Mountain – (bonus) FP for 6-7pm. I’m curious to see what this one is like, considering the set up at DLR is so much different. I’ve heard this can be jerky and rough, and right now Matterhorn isn’t my favorite but these ride vehicles look pretty similar to that. But I think we will also try for it MNSSHP or in EMH, so maybe we won’t end up riding it with the FP.

*Other attractions will depend on time, but we'll maybe stick to Tomorrowland?

13. 7DMT – (bonus) FP from 7-8pm. This is another questionable one. During the FP snafu, one of these FPs was lost. I was able to get another one for 7:55-8:55, so it overlapped and that would have worked for the original dinner at CRT plans. But now, that won’t fit in the schedule (unless we show up late to the dessert party), so I’m hoping either we can get an earlier FP for 1 person, or CMs will take pity on me!

HEA Dessert Party w/ Garden Plaza Viewing – 7:45pm. Looking forward to this and was happy an opening came up for this evening! I think my sister will get her fill with chocolate covered strawberries. I also hope to “sneak” one of the kids plates, because those look fun and Mickey Straw!

And then Happily Ever After! I've seen a bunch of photos for this, but have avoided any music/video.

*One thing that is annoying me is how Once Upon a Time will be before the fireworks this evening. I don’t expect we will have a good view from the upper terrace and also don’t want to have to leave 30 minutes early to get to the plaza. I guess we’ll have to resolve to see it on Saturday.

Evening EMH:

No specific plan. We will see what/if we are missing any attractions after doing a morning, evening, and MNSSHP.

 

[Lesley Wake]

Day 5 – Universal

At least not much planning required for this one. We will be prioritizing Harry Potter; I’m really bummed though that Dragon Challenge is going away before we get there, because that means only one HP ride in each park (I’m not even considering Hippogriff as it’s so short). But I guess we will be able to maximize time at each of those!

Also, the park hours are 9am-7pm, so we will only have 10 hrs total! Pretty annoyed about that, but at this point can’t switch schedules anymore. We just will accept that we probably won’t go on all non-HP things we have on our possible list. I just hope the dragon continues to breath fire after park close, because sunset is at 7:15, so it won’t even be dark when park closes!

I’m thinking our plan will be:

1. Enter USO and head direct to Diagon Alley. First stop-Gringotts ride

2. After escaping the dragon, we will take the Hogwarts Express over to IOA

3. Enter Hogsmeade and ride Forbidden Journey. Maybe twice, once via single rider?

Depending on the time, we may grab an early lunch at the Three Broomsticks.

4. Explore the rest of IOA. The rides we are possibly interested in are: Incredible Hulk Coaster, Doctor Doom’s Fearfall, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, and Skull Island: Reign of Kong. But none of those are must-dos, and if the line is too long we are ok skipping them. We aren’t interested in any of the shows.

5. Head back into Hogsmeade and take the Hogwarts Express back to USO.
6. Explore the areas of USO we are interested in. Those rides are: Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, Transformers, Revenge of the Mummy, & Men In Black. Again, none are required, and we will skip shows.

7. Grab dinner at The Leaky Cauldron.

8. Go on Gringotts one more time, maybe entering right before park closing. Hopefully by the time we exit, the dragon will still be breathing fire and it will be dark.

Somewhere in this day we will try to meet up with Raeven!

Because of the early park closure, I think we will make a point of heading over the City walk and stop at Toothsome Emporium for dessert!

Maybe also appetizers, but we’ll see how long ago we had dinner and how hungry we are. Currently trying to decide between:
· Chocolate x5 Milkshake
· Triple Chocolate Bread Pudding
· Chocolate crème brulee
· Chocolate Brownie bark sundae
· Brookies, Cookies and Cream Sundae

Right now I’m leaning towards brownie bark sundae, but I could be persuaded otherwise.

Then it’s back to POFQ for a relatively early night in, which I think we’ll be appreciating!

 

[Raeven]

So sad about the Express buses we never got to try them because we don't typically go from park to park, but if we were that would be great.

Beer-braised beef with smoked gouda mashed potatoes (Belgium)

Yum, my favorite!

Looking forward to this and was happy an opening came up for this evening! I think my sister will get her fill with chocolate covered strawberries. I also hope to “sneak” one of the kids plates, because those look fun and Mickey Straw!

So when we went things weren't pre-plated like in that picture. But they also didn't have those kebobs. I think you'll be able to grab whatever you want.

Somewhere in this day we will try to meet up with Raeven!

Triple Chocolate Bread Pudding

Rule this one out! I had it on our first visit there and it was so disappointing. It sounds like it's chocolate bread pudding with chocolate chips and chocolate ice cream by the name. But it's regular bread pudding with a few chocolate chips and white chocolate ice cream that tastes flavorless.

 

[LilTinkFan]

I just started reading and was like, oh-oh does she know there's no more express bus?!?!? But I got through to see that you do. Your plans look awesome! I can't wait for pictures with your characters and shirts.

 

[Lesley Wake]

So sad about the Express buses we never got to try them because we don't typically go from park to park, but if we were that would be great.

Yeah, it is really annoying! Still haven't gotten an actual responses from Disney. I'm sort of hoping they agree to give extra FPs! But if not, I'll just continue to be annoyed!

Rule this one out! I had it on our first visit there and it was so disappointing. It sounds like it's chocolate bread pudding with chocolate chips and chocolate ice cream by the name. But it's regular bread pudding with a few chocolate chips and white chocolate ice cream that tastes flavorless.

Good to know! I heard another weird review of the ice cream too. The shake looks yum, but those tend to mess up my stomach, so I'll probably do one of the sundaes.

I just started reading and was like, oh-oh does she know there's no more express bus?!?!? But I got through to see that you do. Your plans look awesome! I can't wait for pictures with your characters and shirts.

Glad to hear you're reading! I never know if I'm just writing to myself or anyone else!

Yup, I've been following the express bus thread, so knew about the rumors since they were first mentioned. Lots of angry texts going back and forth with my sister have ensued!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Day 6 – HS & AK

Another day we don’t need to get to the park super early. I originally thought it’d be a later night before (after finishing at Universal and getting back to POFQ), but now it looks earlier, so I modified some FPs and the touring plans and have us arriving by 10am.

Morning (I actually have a throw-away Tier 2 FP earlier than we plan to arrive, to give the opportunity to get another Tier 1 or ToT later):
1. Rock n Roller Coaster – FP for 10-11
2. Voyage of the Little Mermaid
3. Muppet Vision 3D

Lunch/Snack: Backlot Express; we may just share a meal, depending on how much and what we did for breakfast. But it’ll be an early meal because dinner is also early that day. We’ll probably grab it to go and eat at Indiana Jones show.

Afternoon attractions:
4. Indiana Jones– 12:00pm show
5. Tower of Terror – FP for 12:50-1:50
6. Beauty and the Beast – 1pm show

7. One Man’s Dream – This may actually switch over to Walt Disney Presents before we get there. I just hope it’s just a name change, not an actual refurb that shuts it down.
8. Meet Starlord and Groot – going to try and take a photo with adult Groot at DCA this weekend; then I can complete the collection with baby Groot!

And that’s it for DHS that day! Pretty short, but there’s not a whole lot to do there anyways. All SW is being saved for Sunday!

Full Map:

Late Afternoon: Hop to AK.
*depending on time and FP availability we’ll decide if we can go on any other DHS rides or AK rides before dinner

Dinner: Tusker House Buffet with ROL viewing, 4:20pm.

Evening:
I don’t have anything set and it will be based on what we can get same-day FPs for through the app. Maybe also do some of the animal trails? But that will depend on how full we are from dinner and how hot it is!

It’s more of a priority to hit the after-dark things:
· Pandora bioluminescence – Really hoping they add an AK pm EMH at least one day a week, so we can get in to see it then. If not, then we’ll rely on doing it between sunset and ROL
· Tree of Life Awakenings
· Rivers of Light.

 

[Lesley Wake]

Day 7 - 4-park (?) day

(not any photos in this post, as it is mostly repeats)

So we had originally decided to do a 4-park day today, definitely taking advantage of the express bus. Well, that will be gone, so now I don't know how feasible it will be. We will definitely be hitting AK, Epcot, and MK, I just don't know if we will also do HS in between. It will depend on how much of an early start we get and how tired we feel.

Early morning: Animal Kingdom

Option 1: early arrival
1. We arrive for am EMH. Go directly to Pandora but instead of doing FoP, we veer off and go to NRJ with the few people who do that. Maybe we can even ride multiple times?
2. After having our fill of NRJ, head over to Expedition Everest, ride that a couple times. Depending on time, maybe even try to hit Kilimanjaro Safari.
3. Back to Pandora to use our FP for FoP from 9-10.
4. Cancel Everest FP from 10-11 and try to get some others in HS and Epcot.

Option 2: later arrival
1. We arrive within the first hour of park open. Ride FoP with our 9-10 FP.
2. Head over and ride Everest with FP from 10-11.

Mid-morning: Hollywood Studios

Option 1:
1. We try to get a FP for RnRC or ToT after scanning in at FoP. If not, we cross our fingers for a short line.
2. We head to Epcot via boat.

Option 2:
We skip it altogether.

Afternoon: Epcot

1. World Showcase, seeing anything we missed the previous visit. Also eat lunch at food & wine booths.
2. Frozen Ever After - (bonus) FP from 2-3
3. Spaceship Earth - (bonus) FP from 3-4 - maybe skip if we actually rode it the previous time. we'll see.
4. Test Track/Mission Space? Maybe try to get a FP for one of these too.

Evening: Magic Kingdom

No particular rides scheduled. The park is open until 11pm that night, so we'll see how late we stay and if there's anything else we really wanted to ride.

Dinner: Be Our Guest, 7pm
Happily Ever After fireworks, 9pm - hoping we will be able to finish dinner and find some sort of spot in front of the castle.
Once Upon A Time, 9:45pm

 

[Raeven]

Good to know! I heard another weird review of the ice cream too. The shake looks yum, but those tend to mess up my stomach, so I'll probably do one of the sundaes.

Shakes sometimes mess up my stomach too, but the one I had there was kind of thinner I guess than a regular one? I guess that sounds gross, but it was really good. I usually find milkshakes too thick. But I'm not sure if all the milkshakes are like that.

 

[CatNipRules]

Misc Updates

Some updates on the trip:

• Finally got the AP discount for POFQ! The ones on the website only showed a package, with dining plan, and didn't even have a discount. I emailed guest services a couple weeks ago and on Monday got a call from them. The representative was able to book a new room with 25% discount, which was slightly better than my 20% discount. So I saved around $100, which isn't too bad (and already makes the AP cost worth it, without even considering free photos and food/merch discounts). Of course, I had already given up on the AP discount so decided to just stick with the existing reservation and went ahead and paid it off in full on Sunday! I had paid the balance (~$1580) with Disney gift cards I had gotten from Target, using the 5% red card savings. I had purchased over $2000 in gift cards over the previous month (Target also just upped my credit limit to $4,000 once they saw me spending a lot and paying off the balance each month):

View attachment 252156 (This photo doesn't even show the previous $1500 I had already used to buy my AP!)

Because I wasn't interested in keeping track of over 20 GCs I used the Disney gift card website to combine them onto a few, but the maximum amount you are allowed is $1,000. So that Sunday I had loaded up GC1 with $1000 and applied that to the balance, and set that card aside just in case even though it had a $0 balance. Then I loaded some additional money onto GC2 (which already had around $200 leftover from the AP and various DLR trips) until it had around $700 to pay off the remaining $580. Then I loaded the rest of the cards onto GC2 with it ending up with around $750.

So, once the package was cancelled, all of that had to be refunded. The $1000 went just fine. But the $580 had issues because it would have resulted in GC2 having over $1000 balance. Yesterday morning I had to transfer the existing $750 onto GC3, call Disney, again, who were able to release the hold on the remaining $580 and refund the money. Then, while I was on the phone, I went ahead and used GC1 and GC3 to pay off the new balance. And finally transferred the remaining money on GC3 back onto GC2. So now, everything is on GC2 and I have it locked in the safe ! Phew! Just glad that was all taken care of!
​

• Outfits: We are going with Disneybounding for 3 days - Inside Out, Winnie the Pooh, and Droids! Originally considered the Ugly Stepsisters, but that got cancelled because I was already having a hard enough time finding clothes that fit. Right now all the shirts are ordered. So far most have come in, and while they officially fit, they are definitely on the tighter side. I'm going to soak them in a conditioner bath to help them stretch out.

I also convinced my sister to not do Fantastic Beasts for our Halloween outfits. We threw around a lot of ideas (Alice/Queen of Hearts, Ariel/Ursula, etc), but the problem was finding something that fit me and I would be comfortable in. I finally checked the hot topic website and found the Belle dress available in plus size:
View attachment 252158
So the plan was for me to be Ball Gown Belle and my sister would be Provincial Belle. And of course we would need to take a photo with Belle and Gaston! The dress arrived yesterday and I was a bit disheartened because it didn't fit right. Well, actually it fit just fine in most areas, including waist and bust, but the mid-chest just wouldn't zip (the bottom of the zipper connects, the top of the zipper with the eyelet connects and isn't tight, its just the part between waist and breasts that doesn't work)! It's like they cut it so it curves in at that point, not exactly the best for a plus size girl! And if you look at the above photo, you can see there's some funny business in the triangle between her straight arm and the dress, so it was either photoshopped or not actually zipped and they clipped it up behind her. And of course they no longer have it in a larger size, but to be honest, that probably wouldn't have worked well either as everywhere else would have been too large.

But at least my mom is a pretty capable seamstress so she said we'll go to the fabric store this weekend, find a matching one, and she can add panels to the side. We just have to be careful to not interfere with the skirt, sleeves or chest fit! ARGH!
​

Everything else is pretty much done! I'd like to switch the CRT ADR and HEA dessert party so we do dinner Monday and fireworks Wednesday before the PM EMH, but don't know if a reservation will open up. And if not, it's not the end of the world!

I'm a huge Red Card Fan. I bought my gift cards at Target. LOL!! I think I bought too many this time though. Went a little crazy on them, but oh well.

Following along also.

 

[Tom Cottone]

Tusker House was fun. The staff was excellent. There was a problem with my son's reservation at another restaurant (long story). He had called me and I told him to join us. I spoke with the manager, he set up the table and arranged for a private M&G for my granddaughter who was in tears at the other restaurant. A truly magical experience.

 

[Lesley Wake]

8/17 - Random updates, some Disney, some Real Life!

• Heard back from Disney regarding my express transport complaint email. Had an awesome CM who really related with my story about how my sister and I always fought before we grew up and found a common interest in Disney. So she gave us extra FPs on a bunch of days-we actually went through my schedule and added in day by day! Can't be used for Pandora or Frozen, but I've already got those covered!

• Anyone else watching the Ducktales reboot? I loved the premiere and can't wait for the rest of the episodes.

• My sister's Belle dress came in yesterday and it looks pretty good! Some alterations are needed-the size charts weren't clear on the website she ordered from, so she got one size larger than needed. But rather then sending back (paying shipping both ways), my mom said she can fix it. She ended up getting stuck wearing it for an hour around the house because she waited until both my mom and myself were back from store/work. Pretty excited!

• My bedroom because a mini shoe store this weekend. I ordered bunches of (comfy) shoes from amazon to see if I could find more alternatives. Ended up going with the 2 blue options on the bottom right, though the sandal I returned and ordered in a different color. The light blue/white just looked super dorky, like the type of sandals hospitals give to patients! The rest are all going back-I love Amazon free returns! One of the anti-blister advice is to not wear the same shoes two days in a row, so I think with these, plus other comfy sandals I already have, I should be good!

• For sandals, I'll obviously need to do my nails ! Googled various options of Disney pedicures and I'm trying to figure out what I can accomplish. Number 1 is pretty good, and simple enough I can maybe do it. Number 2 is too simple for me, but an option if nothing else works! Number 3 also is an option I think I could do. Number 4 I love, but probably too hard to get those details on my toes!

• Added another person to the souvenir list-my co-worker! Now, it's not like we are especially close (we're friendly but don't go out of our way to hang out), but I owe him for some Disney related things. See...my company is a specialty engineering firm. And, as I've mentioned, we have an office very close to Disneyland and have a lot of connections (and employee overlap) between us and Imagineering, and they actually hire us to help out with projects. Well this particular employee is almost an expert in a specific type of design that is required for large buildings, including those housing theme park attractions. Well...what new huge buildings are they doing at Disneyland? Yup-Star Wars Galaxy's Edge! So he's had floorplans, computer walkthroughs, etc and has also visited the construction site and saw the huge model about 6 months before it was unveiled to the public. And he knows I'm a huge fan, so whenever we are in the same office, he'll let me come and take a look! Let me just say, the Battle ride queue is going to put Flight of Passage's queue to shame! It is going to be AMAZING! So many different elements, some of which are actually moving, so you will be in line, do pre-show, board something, get off, another queue, another pre-show, move to another space, another pre-show, then finally ride! The ride itself is also so different and crazy how many things they are putting in! So, anyways, I promised him a souvenir!

• Made another Disney friend this weekend. Backstory: I'm a football fan and a season ticket holder for the Los Angeles Rams. The first preseason game was this past weekend (we won!) and I ended up going alone (I have 8 tickets and typically use 2-4, while selling the rest, but this weekend my dad decided he didn't want to come, so I sold 7 seats). While I was eating dinner in the food truck area I ended up sitting next to a woman and her 20-something daughter. What started as asking if my curly fries were good, turned into sharing those, me commenting on her Harry Potter tattoos and talking all about Wizarding World of Harry Potter, then talking about Rams, and then lesbian wedding etiquette (she was wondering if she and her partner should have a joint bridal shower...the consensus was yes to bridal shower but separate bachelorette parties). So the three of us ended up wandering over to get gelatto, which the daughter and I shared a bit (I ended up getting her second choice of flavor so gave her some to try). Then we got on the topic of Disney and turns out she also has an AP and actually works in Downtown Disney. So we became facebook friends and they may end up coming to other football games or meeting together at Disney! Hilarious how connections are formed!

• I'm headed back to Disneyland this weekend. Have another Fantasmic dining package which I'm looking forward to! It's at River Belle Terrace, so different meal options and atmosphere. I may try to see the second run of MSEP, but am worried about the crowds as it'll be the last weekend!

That's all for now. I'll try to post the rest of detailed itineraries tomorrow because I have a dr appt this afternoon.

 

[Lesley Wake]

Tusker House was fun. The staff was excellent. There was a problem with my son's reservation at another restaurant (long story). He had called me and I told him to join us. I spoke with the manager, he set up the table and arranged for a private M&G for my granddaughter who was in tears at the other restaurant. A truly magical experience.
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Awesome! I am looking forward to it and glad we decided to do it!

 

[Raeven]

Number 1 is pretty good, and simple enough I can maybe do it.

That would look good! I would make a total mess out of it if I tried anything fancy so I just paint mine all one color

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Since you gave me such great tips on my PTR for Disneyland, I thought I'd return the favor for you over here. I am working all day so this is just me saying I'm here and joining in! I'll have more detailed commentary later

 

[PlutosRHM55]

So you pretty much have airtight plans so I don't really have any recs, especially since you're skipping out on HHN which I highly recommend (even over MNSSHP), but if you're very jumpy, I'd stay away, although it is a very tame haunt compared to most.

Anyways, for your iffy lunch QS at DAK, I HIGHLY recommend Flame Tree BBQ. It's a pretty quiet QS and the food is good. The seating is also wonderful. It's outside in the woods and there are a few areas that overlook the river where Rivers of Light is out towards Everest. It is GORGEOUS. I loved eating there on my DAK days.

I'm not sure if you talked about this, but get to Festival of the Lion King at least 20 minutes to a half hour before show time if you're not going to get an FP. It never fills up on an off-season, but the good seats go quick. I also LOVE that show and it's pretty well beloved by WDW frequenters.

If you're going to meet the Seven Dwarfs for MNSSHP, their line forms really really quickly, like right after they start giving out wristbands before the party starts, they are about ready to put the stanchions out in the Big Top tent. And you can never know when they are going to close it because they will close it before the party is over so the Dwarfs can end their final sets on time. I'd recommend doing that first thing since you could easily meet them before the party starts if you do it right. And the Pooh friends line is the absolute worst because they have such short sets so you will not be able to meet them unless you set aside the time to meet them, but the interaction will generally be better (meeting the Dwarfs is really a photo unless you think up a way to interact with them).

Also, so glad to see you have the Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular as your priority because it is INCREDIBLE. Honestly the best castle show at MK. Chances are you're going to want to see the show more than once (I was lucky to see it THREE out of FOUR times at my first Not So Scary) so set aside that midnight showing, especially since it ends, what I assure you will be, a FAB evening with a bang.

I'm so excited to see your double Belle costume and all your disneybounds. Honestly this overplanning is both overwhelming and so exciting! I'm so excited to hear about all your first impressions. You are going at what is IMO the best time of year to be at Disney so I know it's going to be a blast.

 

[Lesley Wake]

Thanks for checking it out and providing feedback!

So you pretty much have airtight plans so I don't really have any recs, especially since you're skipping out on HHN which I highly recommend (even over MNSSHP), but if you're very jumpy, I'd stay away, although it is a very tame haunt compared to most.

Yeah, I've never been into haunted houses, so it probably wouldn't be best! Maybe one day, if we travel again at this time of year, but I'll wait to see.

Anyways, for your iffy lunch QS at DAK, I HIGHLY recommend Flame Tree BBQ. It's a pretty quiet QS and the food is good. The seating is also wonderful. It's outside in the woods and there are a few areas that overlook the river where Rivers of Light is out towards Everest. It is GORGEOUS. I loved eating there on my DAK days.

Cool! I think we will have 2 lunches at DAK, so I'm thinking Flame Tree for one and Satuli for the other. Just don't know which day for each-will depend on where we are and what we feel like!

I'm not sure if you talked about this, but get to Festival of the Lion King at least 20 minutes to a half hour before show time if you're not going to get an FP. It never fills up on an off-season, but the good seats go quick. I also LOVE that show and it's pretty well beloved by WDW frequenters.

Good to know! We have a "bonus" FP for it one day, but may just show up early anyways to take full advantage of A/C!

If you're going to meet the Seven Dwarfs for MNSSHP, their line forms really really quickly, like right after they start giving out wristbands before the party starts, they are about ready to put the stanchions out in the Big Top tent. And you can never know when they are going to close it because they will close it before the party is over so the Dwarfs can end their final sets on time. I'd recommend doing that first thing since you could easily meet them before the party starts if you do it right. And the Pooh friends line is the absolute worst because they have such short sets so you will not be able to meet them unless you set aside the time to meet them, but the interaction will generally be better (meeting the Dwarfs is really a photo unless you think up a way to interact with them).

Hmm, ok. We'll have to play it by ear if we even meet with them. I mean it is pretty cool with all dwarfs, but don't know if we want to spend a huge amount of time in line! We'll probably save Winnie the pooh and friends for Disneyland Halloween Party, as we won't be concerned with doing anything besides party stuff!

Also, so glad to see you have the Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular as your priority because it is INCREDIBLE. Honestly the best castle show at MK. Chances are you're going to want to see the show more than once (I was lucky to see it THREE out of FOUR times at my first Not So Scary) so set aside that midnight showing, especially since it ends, what I assure you will be, a FAB evening with a bang.

Haha! Yeah, maybe we will need to go to it twice!

I'm so excited to see your double Belle costume and all your disneybounds. Honestly this overplanning is both overwhelming and so exciting! I'm so excited to hear about all your first impressions. You are going at what is IMO the best time of year to be at Disney so I know it's going to be a blast.

I am a little worried about the heat, but figure I'd rather it be hotter with low crowds!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Sometimes it pays to be a squeaky wheel!

So, I'm not really a complainer in real life, at least when it comes to service issues. I really tend to go along with the flow and just deal with things. But as I've shown with their PTR, when it comes to my vacation-I am willing to do whatever to get stuff for free! That has gotten me the extra Disney multi-experience passes, which are very well appreciated.

And I decided to try my luck with Universal, sending an email about the change in park hours and how annoying that is. Well, I just heard back from them, and they are giving me and my sister 2-park Unlimited Express Passes for our day there!!!! For FREE!!!! Holy crap!!!! I honestly didn't expect anything, and maybe just an individual front-of-line pass for 1 ride (don't even know if they have those at USO; we did get one from a TM at USH). I'm just-wow!

This trip is going to be awesome!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Day 8 - Hollywood Studios

So, didn't post final itineraries over the weekend, because it's harder to do a longer version via mobile or tablet, and I really didn't feel like pulling my work laptop out of my bag! Anyways, it actually worked out better because this day's schedule keeps getting adjusted, even last night. I have an hour commute each way (sucks, but it's LA, so I just deal with it), and end up thinking about our trip most of the time I'm stuck in gridlock. So of course once I got home I was changing ADRs and FPs!

(My thoughts are in italics, while actual plans are in plain text)

Morning:
Originally this was totally unplanned. Maybe we would just hang at resort or make our way into Disney Springs, or even go to another park that morning. But then I got to thinking, maybe I should schedule a brunch. But we were doing Boma the next morning...wait, why don't we move Boma to Sunday instead of Monday! We could still do a later Boma so sleep in somewhat, but that means Monday wouldn't be as hectic, with trying to get bags checked in, then get over to AKL, then spend time at AK before leaving!
So, Boma at 10am, with time to wander around and explore AKL afterwards. Also, can pick up some Zebra Domes at The Mara!


After that, it's again up for grabs. Figuring we spend about an hour, we still won't plan to be at DHS until 2ish, so we would still have time to go anywhere else we wanted to, or just back to POFQ, pack, and rest!

Afternoon (Star Wars!):
Originally, we were going to show up at DHS for a late lunch at 50s Prime Time at 2pm. But once I considered the Boma reservation, I thought that wouldn't give us enough time in between and we could still be full from a breakfast buffet. But I also didn't want to push it too late, because we had the dessert party that evening and didn't want to be full for that. So I made some adjustments to schedule:

1) Rock n Roller Coaster, FP 1:05-2:05pm. Maybe end up using the grace period for this one. All that means is we need to get to the ride before 2:20 (but I would prefer closer to 2).
2) Tower of Terror, FP 2:10-3:10.


3) March of the First Order, 3pm.
4) Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away, 3:30pm


Early dinner/Late lunch: 50's Prime Time Cafe, 4pm


5) Star Tours, FP 4:30-5:30


*At this point we should have lots of empty time until it's time for the dessert party. Maybe we'll try to get more FPs, but we'll see what's available.

6) Meet BB-8 (Remember, we will be dressed as C3PO and R2D2). Actual timing of this is questionable. If there is a long line we'll probably wait until during the dessert party.


Star Wars A Galactic Spectacular Dessert Party, 7:15pm
Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular, 8:30pm (We're not planning on seeing the Movie Magic show)