DIsney is an obsessive trip planner's DREAM - A Disney Virgin's October 2013 PTR

[April7901]

I tried starting these once before, and then woefully neglected it. Rather than try to revive what is, I'm sure, a VERY dead thread... let's just start over, shall we?

What:

Disney virgins' first ever trip to WDW: The four parks and DTD; MNSSHP and F&W

When:

October 19-26, 2013

Who:

Me - I'm April, 34, from Chicago. Single, no kids. Love to travel, and love to PLAN travel. No, not a travel agent - but I swear I'd plan peoples' trips for free if they'd let me.

My mom - Let's just stick with Mom, and she's ... older than me. No need to get myself into trouble here, eh? She's going because I'm dragging her along

The Lodging

After much maneuvering, we finally landed at Pop Century. By maneuvering, I mean - we initially booked at Pop. Then we decided maybe we wanted a little more room space, and switched to POFQ. Then Free Dining came out - and back to Pop we went! Since we started at Pop, we knew we'd be OK here. Neither of us are hotel snobs - and quite honestly, I'm not planning to spend enough time in the resort to spend more for a moderate, much less a deluxe. Yes, I admit, I lust after AKL rooms, but c'est la vie.

 

[April7901]

Dining / ADR / Quick Service / Snack Plans

Dining Plan

We sort of took advantage of the Free Dining promotion. I say "sort of" because with booking at Pop, it was the QS dining plan that was free. But - since it is our first trip, we both had some interest in at least some sit-down meals. So, we upgraded to the basic Dining plan - 1 QS, 1 TS, 1 snack.

I admit - I did not obsess over OOP vs. Dining Plan, and RO discount vs. Free Dining. At some point, I accepted that Disney was going to cost what Disney was going to cost, and if I got to take advantage of a promotion, great. If not - I had accepted the cost. At least for a first trip - I love the idea of a prepaid meal plan, and one less thing to worry about.

I suspect, when all is said and done and I look at the math, we'd probably be better off paying OOP than purchasing a dining plan in the future. But we shall see!

ADRs

Currently, we have ADRs at Rainforest Cafe (Animal Kingdom), Via Napoli (Epcot - Italy), 50's Prime Time Cafe (Hollywood Studios), The Plaza Restaurant (Magic Kingdom), and 'Ohana (Polynesian). That leaves us with two TS credits unplanned - we'll see what happens with that.


Quick Service Plan

Here's where things get a little bit sketchy. Current plans are Flame Tree BBQ (Animal Kingdom), Sunshine Seasons (Epcot), Be Our Guest (Magic Kingdom), and Earl of Sandwich. Another possibility is Columbia Harbor House (Magic Kingdom). Still have some work to do here, too.

Snacks

We've both been through the snack guides. Adding to the complication is Food & Wine Fest - very daunting. But, on our list of snacks to seek out: Dole Whip, Citrus Swirl, Caramel-somethings from Germany in Epcot, French pastries from France in Epcot, and popcorn.

 

[April7901]

Park Plans

Uh boy. Here's where an obsessive trip planner can find nirvana, I am sure of it. With so many moving parts - i.e. MagicBands, FP+, changing park hours, MNSSHP and F&W fest - it's been tough to keep track of it all. Thank god for Excel!

Process / Strategy

I bought the books: Passporter and the Unofficial Guide. I browsed the websites - allears.net, easywdw.com, touringplans.com, mousesavers.com, wdwinfo.com, the DIS boards - and anything I could Google. I made my mom buy books. I emailed her links. I drove her bananas, I think, when all was said and done - probably because it was February and I was begging her to think about food she'd be eating in October. Ha.

I feel like I've finally gotten enough of a grip to be fairly certain and confident of my choices. So, without further adieu...

The Plan

Saturday, October 19 Arrival, mid-day. DTD. 9:00 Cirque du Soleil show.
Note: Yep, Saturday at DTD is bound to be a disaster. But spending 5-6 hours in a park on Saturday seemed like a worse idea, at least when I made the initial plan (pre-FP+). Magic Kingdom on a Saturday? Eh. Epcot F&W on Saturday? Eh. Hollywood Studios with a mid-day arrival? Eh. Animal Kingdom with a mid-day arrival? Eh. So, DTD won out.

Sunday, October 20 Animal Kingdom. Dinner ADR @ Rainforest Cafe. Post-AK: Optional: Hit up Polynesian to see the Electrical Water Pageant.

Monday, October 21 Epcot. Lunch ADR @ Via Napoli. Hit up F&W.
Optional: Hop to Magic Kingdom for Main Street Electrical Parade, Wishes, and Evening EMH ('til 2 AM!)

Tuesday, October 22 Epcot. 2:00 Wine Seminar. Then MNSSHP.

Wednesday, October 23 Hollywood Studios. Lunch ADR @ 50s Prime Time Cafe.
Optional: Hop to Epcot for EMH OR Magic Kingdom until 11.

Thursday, October 24 Magic Kingdom. Dinner ADR @ 'Ohana (not losing park time - park closes at 7 for MNSSHP anyway!).

Friday, October 25 Magic Kingdom. Then hop to Epcot. 3:00 Culinary Demo. 6:00 Mixology Demo. 8:00 3D Dessert Party.

Saturday, October 26 TBD. Depart around 3 or 4 PM.

 

[April7901]

Magic Bands and Fast Pass+

As a Disney virgin - I'm super stoked about Magic Bands and FP+. Let me explain...

1) I hate having to swipe cards for everything. Tapping something against a receiver and conducting all my business sounds divine. Having that "something" be on my wrist and easily accessible - even better.

2) Neither my mom nor I are big on roller coasters - so a fair chunk of the Fast Pass attractions don't mean much to us. As Disney virgins - we've got a lot we want to accomplish in a short period of time. Multiple trips through on a single ride are probably not in the cards for us. So being able to choose a window of time for a particular attraction - even if that's only three - sounds like a great idea.

I was able to do our initial set up of FP+ choices pretty easily - and did so before we even had official notice that we were part of the testing group. Now, of course, it seems like just about everyone on property is part of the test, but that's another story.

As I worked through our daily plan, I was able to tweak some of our times. Others, not so much. None of them are critical. I think the only two REALLY IMPORTANT rides (relatively speaking) are Soarin and Toy Story Mania - and I have great times for both of those. The rest are mostly fine - there's a few that aren't ideal, and I'll try to change those again before we leave, and again the day of - but fortunately, they're not big ticket rides, so even if I can't - I suspect we'll be fine.

Still hoping the BOG test continues for October.... crossing my fingers!!

My customization window is just a couple more days, so I should have my MBs soon!!