Cruising, Wining, and Disney Dining - Two 2012 PTRs in One! **TR LINK UP**

[amandaluvsgoofy]

Epcot is definitely a 2 day park if you ask me! We really enjoy going there, although this coming trip it is going to get cheated. I just love being able to explore all the countries, eat some food, drink some drinks, see some shows. And then of course seeing FW!

I can't wait to hear about your F&W trip! I'm sure it's going to be a blast with so many choices!!

Your trip is soooooo close!! AHHH!! It'll be here before ya know it!

 

[khertz]

For the Visa M&G you get one photo voucher per account per day. So I would do it both days if you can for the free pictures! We did it twice in WDW and twice in DL. I believe in WDW they only let you choose from the photos from the character meet, but in DL they let you choose from any of your Photopass pictures.

 

[princess_momma]

Your Epcot day sounds so magical!! It will be so great to fill up on F&W goodies!!

Oh Sugar Ray!! You always end up seeing the best people. I'm so jealous!

 

[Dancegrl624]

Looks good! Epcot is our favorite park and we have lots of time there on this upcoming trip. On our later arrival day, we plan on just doing WS (unless Soarin' has an incredibley short line!). We love wandering the countries and taking lots of pics.

I'm really hoping to snag some special 30th anniversary stuff while we're there. I love being the same age as Epcot!!!

 

[jenny105]

Epcot is definitely a 2 day park if you ask me! We really enjoy going there, although this coming trip it is going to get cheated. I just love being able to explore all the countries, eat some food, drink some drinks, see some shows. And then of course seeing FW!

I can't wait to hear about your F&W trip! I'm sure it's going to be a blast with so many choices!!

Your trip is soooooo close!! AHHH!! It'll be here before ya know it!

Epcot is definitely a two day park. I always spend most of my time in FW and don't really go around WS much unless it's to eat. I'm looking forward to spending an entire day in the WS.

48 days to go!!!

For the Visa M&G you get one photo voucher per account per day. So I would do it both days if you can for the free pictures! We did it twice in WDW and twice in DL. I believe in WDW they only let you choose from the photos from the character meet, but in DL they let you choose from any of your Photopass pictures.

Thanks! I will definitely be stopping by there twice in that case. I want all the pictures with the characters we can get. I need some new framed photos around the house of me & Kris.

Your Epcot day sounds so magical!! It will be so great to fill up on F&W goodies!!

Oh Sugar Ray!! You always end up seeing the best people. I'm so jealous!

I love Sugar Ray. They were there during our 2010 trip and I missed them! Although with the many drinks I plan to sample at F&W seeing them & singing along loudly may not be the BEST idea.

Looks good! Epcot is our favorite park and we have lots of time there on this upcoming trip. On our later arrival day, we plan on just doing WS (unless Soarin' has an incredibley short line!). We love wandering the countries and taking lots of pics.

I'm really hoping to snag some special 30th anniversary stuff while we're there. I love being the same age as Epcot!!!

I think we're going to concentrate on WS this day and get there early on our second day & hit FW before our ADR. Sounds like a plan to me

My 30th birthday is 4 days after Epcot's

Us too! But we're gonna head over to MK later that night after our 'Ohana reservation since MK is open until Midnight because of EMH!

Maybe I'll see you guys there!! Say hi if you see me!

 

[jenny105]

Hi everyone! I posted this in the FB group and I might as well post it here too. I found an incredible rate on a midsize car through Advantage for our trip. $114 including tax & fee. Upon reading about Advantage, they don't get the best reviews. Has anyone had any experience renting from them? I know Hertz is a parent company so are they really THAT bad? For that price they can be as rude to me as they want I just don't want them tacking on hidden fees or anything shady. Any feedback would be appreciated!

 

[silverhaze269]

I think we have rented with Alamo, Budget, and National in the past, so can't really help you out on that front.

I also agree that Epcot is a multi-day park. I think there's just so much to do it would be hard to do it all in one go. Do you guys have a favourite pavilion/country? (mine's Japan)

 

[smile4stamps]

I don't know anything about advantage!!

I do know I am frustrated with rental cars! I had looked 6 weeks ago for my hubby to do one way rentals as it would be cheaper than paying for parking. I guess I should of just booked them then but I didn't. Now the rate for getting him to the airport is the same but coming back is $120!! That is more than the parking!! So aggravated! Really hope the price comes back down!!

 

[PixieMama]

"Lunching" our way around the F&W booths is our plan, too. Though I have a feeling I'm going to need a QS meal, LOL! I am not the most adventurous eater... I've looked over all the booth menus and honestly, there isn't a lot that I want to try. I have a feeling I'm going to be hungry!

Do you know how much the F&W passport is?

 

[Imagineer5]

Haven't used advantage! What an awesome rate tho! IDK if i'd be swayed by negative reviews - do they have a kiosk you can walk up to? If so you wouldn't even need to deal with a person! haha

 

[jenny105]

I think we have rented with Alamo, Budget, and National in the past, so can't really help you out on that front.

I also agree that Epcot is a multi-day park. I think there's just so much to do it would be hard to do it all in one go. Do you guys have a favourite pavilion/country? (mine's Japan)

I really like the UK pavilion. Based on last trip, I think Kris's favorite is Germany. He bought beer steins there and loved Biergarten so I'm going with that one.

I don't know anything about advantage!!

I do know I am frustrated with rental cars! I had looked 6 weeks ago for my hubby to do one way rentals as it would be cheaper than paying for parking. I guess I should of just booked them then but I didn't. Now the rate for getting him to the airport is the same but coming back is $120!! That is more than the parking!! So aggravated! Really hope the price comes back down!!

Car rental prices are always fluctuating! When I first booked a car rental it was closer to $200 and I keep checking and got that great rate. I don't think I'm going to beat that but I'll keep looking til we leave! Keep trying.

"Lunching" our way around the F&W booths is our plan, too. Though I have a feeling I'm going to need a QS meal, LOL! I am not the most adventurous eater... I've looked over all the booth menus and honestly, there isn't a lot that I want to try. I have a feeling I'm going to be hungry!

Do you know how much the F&W passport is?

I think the F&W menus look great! I'm willing to try almost anything though so if you're a picky eater, it may be tough. Give things a try! You might surprise yourself.

I'm not sure. I think I read somewhere it was free?

Haven't used advantage! What an awesome rate tho! IDK if i'd be swayed by negative reviews - do they have a kiosk you can walk up to? If so you wouldn't even need to deal with a person! haha

I don't know about kiosks but I can check-in online and avoid doing all the license/credit card stuff at the counter. I plan on doing that closer to our trip. I basically just want them to hand me the keys so I can be on my way.

 

[oboedm]

Great plans for day 1! I love that you purposely planned it so you would have munchies for the rest of your trip!

Epcot days are so much fun! I think you will be able to make it there by 11 a.m., for sure! Can't wait to see the Sugar Ray pics! Talk about a flashback!

 

[jenny105]

Great plans for day 1! I love that you purposely planned it so you would have munchies for the rest of your trip!

Epcot days are so much fun! I think you will be able to make it there by 11 a.m., for sure! Can't wait to see the Sugar Ray pics! Talk about a flashback!

The funny thing is I just saw Sugar Ray about a month ago and they were also there during my 2010 trip. Can't wait to see them again!

 

[jenny105]

Hi everyone! I'm sitting at work counting the minutes until 1:30. I'm leaving early today because my sister and I are going to the Summer MixTape festival in Hershey. The Wanted, 98 Degrees, LL Cool J, NKOTBSB. Yeah, we are excited!

43 days til our trip aka 6 weeks from TOMORROW! I can't believe it's so close. Time for a daily update!

10/2 - Day 3

Today is DHS day so you know what that means. Rope drop! In 2009, I was lucky enough to be picked to open the park and participate in the show. They drove me off to my choice of RnRC or ToT. TSM had just opened not too long ago and that's where I planned to head first so the CM ran over to get me a fastpass for later. I ended up choosing ToT and got to ride it with no one else around. I invited the CM to ride with me since she was so nice! I hope Kris and I get a little bit of that magic for our trip.

So you think I'm better of taking the bus or driving ourselves for rope drop? I don't think I've ever driven to DHS to I'm not sure if I'm going to have a hike from the lot. What do you guys think?

After our power walk to TSM, we'll take our time seeing the park. I know Kris will want to go on the Backlot tour (zzzzz) and possibly see the Indy Stunt show again. I'd like to see LMA since they added Lightning McQueen. The other must-dos are Tot, RnRC (it was down during our 2010 trip), and Star Tours (refurb during our 2010 trip). Lunch will probably be at Pizza Planet. I love it there!

We have an ADR at 50's Primetime Cafe for 5:50. I figure that will give us enough time to eat and head over to Fantasmic to snag a seat. I haven't seen Fantasmic in years and Kris has never seen it so that will be a new experience for him. I'm not a huge fan of it. I like the one in Disneyland better and I think that's because it's on the Rivers of America. It gets crowded but once the show is over everyone moves off in different directions. At DHS, everyone heads toward the exit and I get run into by strollers. So I think that tarnishes the show for me a bit. Plus I hate having to get there so early to get a seat.

After Fantasmic we'll head back to AKL and get some rest for day 4!

 

[smile4stamps]

Have a fun time at your concert!!

I have no input on the driving vs bus as we are bus all the way.

Your touring plan for DHS sounds pretty similar to mine! Different meals though!

 

[princess_momma]

I thought they didn't really do rope drop at DHS anymore? I have been reading all over the place they do "soft openings" around a half an hour before the park opens. I think it helps eliminate the mad dash to TSM. Lots of people get there before the rope drop time or so they thought and find it's already open! So keep that in mind or check around too when you get closer to see if that is still happening.

 

[khertz]

Personally, I'd say with the new opening procedure at DHS, you are probably better off driving. I think they open the gates 15-30 minutes early and there is no rope holding you anymore so you are free to go wherever inside the parks now. If you drive and get there early enough to park up front, it is not a bad walk at all to the gates. If you were going by bus I'd think you'd have to be up and moving super early to make sure you got to the park in enough time.

I'm not crazy about Fantasmic either, and I think it is because like you said, you have to get there SO early to get a seat. By the time the show starts, I'm already a little annoyed that I've been sitting there so long waiting that I can't enjoy it as much. A little time away from it seemed to do me better...we skipped it for a few trips so when we went in December a few years ago it was more enjoyable than I had remembered. And we decided to go last minute and still found a decent seat without having to wait so long, so that was nice!

 

[jenny105]

Personally, I'd say with the new opening procedure at DHS, you are probably better off driving. I think they open the gates 15-30 minutes early and there is no rope holding you anymore so you are free to go wherever inside the parks now. If you drive and get there early enough to park up front, it is not a bad walk at all to the gates. If you were going by bus I'd think you'd have to be up and moving super early to make sure you got to the park in enough time.

I'm not crazy about Fantasmic either, and I think it is because like you said, you have to get there SO early to get a seat. By the time the show starts, I'm already a little annoyed that I've been sitting there so long waiting that I can't enjoy it as much. A little time away from it seemed to do me better...we skipped it for a few trips so when we went in December a few years ago it was more enjoyable than I had remembered. And we decided to go last minute and still found a decent seat without having to wait so long, so that was nice!

I had no idea they had a new opening procedure so thanks for the heads up! We will probably drive. The buses take too long that early in the morning. At least we'll give ourselves a little more time if we drive.

I can't do the whole waiting around for a show to start. I get bored quickly.

I thought they didn't really do rope drop at DHS anymore? I have been reading all over the place they do "soft openings" around a half an hour before the park opens. I think it helps eliminate the mad dash to TSM. Lots of people get there before the rope drop time or so they thought and find it's already open! So keep that in mind or check around too when you get closer to see if that is still happening.

Apparently they don't! I'm just finding this out now!

I hate to tell you Kimmy but I went to a NKOTB vs BSB softball game on Sunday and BSB got their butts kicked!

Have a fun time at your concert!!

I have no input on the driving vs bus as we are bus all the way.

Your touring plan for DHS sounds pretty similar to mine! Different meals though!

Thanks! The concert was a blast!

 

[klacey1]

Hope the Hershey concert was fun!
I've driven to DHS a few times and the parking lot is very close to the entrance-- nothing like the MK. I'd definitely drive-- and like others said, aim to get there in order to ride TSMM during early opening.

 

[silverhaze269]

In 2009, I was lucky enough to be picked to open the park and participate in the show. They drove me off to my choice of RnRC or ToT. TSM had just opened not too long ago and that's where I planned to head first so the CM ran over to get me a fastpass for later. I ended up choosing ToT and got to ride it with no one else around. I invited the CM to ride with me since she was so nice! I hope Kris and I get a little bit of that magic for our trip.

That would have been awesome!!! Hopefully they are still doing this

I'm in the non-fan club for Fantasmic! too...well, like you guys said, it's the waiting that gets to me. I hate sitting around for so long for the show and then getting trampled on when trying to exit the theatre. I think the show itself is nice, but it's one of those ones that I don't feel I have to see every time.