Disney on a whim! PTR May 2019

[Madeleinebelle]

Hello all!

My name is Hannah and this is my first pre-trip report! I'm from Pennsylvania. I have been lurking on the site since the end of December and love reading the trip reports so I thought I'd make one of my own. I haven't commented enough to get an avatar yet so that just means I need to be more active on here.



Why disney and why now?
I have been to disney twice and my husband has never been! Gasp! I initally had a trip planned with my mom in the summer to go to a beach for a few days but she ended up backing out before we booked it. My best friend who is also the biggest disney expert I know, was a big influence on booking this trip. We had lunch after Christmas and she was telling me about her travel plans for the fall to disney and boom it was fate. The past few years we've desperately wanted to go to disney but we bought a house in 2016 and got married in 2018 so there were a few more pressing things to tend to

The plans so far..
We are going in May for 4 days and 4 nights which is an extremely short whirlwind trip but oh well. I work in a school and have a slim availability to take any trips. I sadly do not have any vacation time so I've been hoarding my personal time to make it work. I do have some time off in the summer but it's the middle of summer and there's no way I'm dealing with the heat.

We are staying at Port Orleans Riverside. We booked during the "Sun and Fun" promotion. While the discount wasn't great for POR it was better than nothing. I am still trying to decide if I want to switch to POFQ since it's not too much more or maybe to a royal room but we are only going for a short time so there's no point in switching.

I have one ADR booked so far which is Teppen Edo which I could leave without my husband will enjoy it.

I will probably use this a rambling planning diary for myself to get organized! I will try to keep up with this.

 

[rosegoldmonorail]

Hi Hannah!! I'm so excited for you! May is a great time to go because of the Flower & Garden Festival! I'll be there in March for that! Do you know what you're thinking of doing for fastpasses?

 

[Madeleinebelle]

Hi Hannah!! I'm so excited for you! May is a great time to go because of the Flower & Garden Festival! I'll be there in March for that! Do you know what you're thinking of doing for fastpasses?

I didn't even realize that the Flower and Garden Festival was going on! March will be here before you know it! I'm so excited! Yes on fastpass ideas lol. I will post them.

 

[Madeleinebelle]

Fast Ideas! Thanks Rosegoldmonorail for the suggestion. I knew I had lots more to say lol.

I have about a month until FP day and I have a list going that would probably look crazy to anyone who is not Disney obsessed. My husband has been so surprised on how much time and research is going into this trip. Well don't tell him but alot of it is me looking for cute outfits but that's a whole another story.

This is my rough game
Thursday-Arrival date and Epcot
Friday- Mk all day!
Saturday- AK until the early afternoon then back to Epcot
Sunday-DHS then Disney Springs and maybe pool time
Monday- Travel day super early

My ultimate goal for FPs are

MK-Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Peter Pan
AK-FOP, Safari, Navi River
Epcot- Frozen and not sure what else yet
DHS- Alien Saucers, SDD, Toy Story Mania


I really don't enjoy DHS at all. I may end up skipping the park completely but I do love Toy Story and am curious to see it but have no interest other than that. I'm not a fan of TOT. My last Disney trip was with my parents and brother 4 years ago and I was bored to tears at DHS.

 

[jhoannam]

I love May, if you go early May it's not going to be too crowded, but make sure you bring rain gear. I would suggest Keen or other water shoes and a tennis shoes. When we were there last May it would poured rain around 4/5PM and the parks would empty because of the downpour. On our MK evening, I was able to get us FPs right after we scanned our MB for a few minutes later. Our HS night we would run between ToT & RnR, would ride with no wait.

MK-Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Peter Pan

I would suggest Seven Drawf Mine train, it should be pretty easy to get a FP for Splash mountain after you use your first 3.

AK-FOP, Safari, Navi River

You can't do FOP & Navi because of the tier, I would suggest Everest if you like roller coaster instead of Navi. Since you are going on a Saturday I would highly suggest you take advantage of EMH and ride Navi.

Epcot- Frozen and not sure what else yet

That's about it there.

DHS- Alien Saucers, SDD, Toy Story Mania

HS has tier too, you'll only be able to pick one of these. I would suggest getting there for EMH and riding Alien Saucer and Toy Story. For FP: SDD, Beauty and the beast show and rocket' roller coaster.

If you have park hoppers I would go to MK on Sunday evening.

 

[reyasmommy]

POR is my favorite moderate resort! You'll love it!

Have fun and happy planning!

 

[Madeleinebelle]

Today was fastpass day! I'm terrible at keeping up with this..I'm also a full time grad student so my time is very limited. . Also think it was cruel to have my FP day on daylight savings time. Lol. I'm dragging.

I'm pretty happy overall with the rides and ride times. I decided to pass on FOP and 7DMT because of the time. The earliest FOP pass I could get was 3:00 which isn't terrible but I'm worried my H will get sick on it. 7DMT was around 3-4pm for a pass and as much as I want to ride it I didn't want a mid afternoon FP. I may change my mind soon but still weighing my options. My H gets motion sickness and not a big fan of rollercoasters and I'm not either so our rides are probably dull. Lol.

I'm still playing with not doing HS at all. My H really wants to see the Indiana Jones show and I want to see TSL but I'm also torn about going back to Epcot or MK? I was so bored last time I went to HS and yes TSL is great but I can live without it. Or doing a quiet day with pool and Disney Springs? I have 3 days of hopper passes and not sure what if I want to buy a pass for Sunday. We need to be on the ME by around 6:00am Monday to come home.

Day 1: Epcot
Travel Day
The Seas
Frozen
Teppen Edo
???? Only booked 2 passes so far.
Watching Illuminations

I've been playing around with switching Epcot to day 4 but not sure.

Day 2: MK
Haunted Mansion
Peter Pan
Splash Mountain
QS meals maybe add Crystal Palace or The Plaza for breakfast?

Day 3: AK
Safari
Navi
Kali Rapids
Possible Via Napoli dinner in Epcot?

Day 4: HS?? Short Day**** based on the FPs that are available now, not booked
Alien Saucers
Star Tours
Indiana Jones
Pool
Epcot?
MK?
Disney Springs?

 

[Madeleinebelle]

I love May, if you go early May it's not going to be too crowded, but make sure you bring rain gear. I would suggest Keen or other water shoes and a tennis shoes. When we were there last May it would poured rain around 4/5PM and the parks would empty because of the downpour. On our MK evening, I was able to get us FPs right after we scanned our MB for a few minutes later. Our HS night we would run between ToT & RnR, would ride with no wait.


I would suggest Seven Drawf Mine train, it should be pretty easy to get a FP for Splash mountain after you use your first 3.


You can't do FOP & Navi because of the tier, I would suggest Everest if you like roller coaster instead of Navi. Since you are going on a Saturday I would highly suggest you take advantage of EMH and ride Navi.


That's about it there.


HS has tier too, you'll only be able to pick one of these. I would suggest getting there for EMH and riding Alien Saucer and Toy Story. For FP: SDD, Beauty and the beast show and rocket' roller coaster.

If you have park hoppers I would go to MK on Sunday evening.

Thank you! I was very confused about the tier system. I haven't been since 2015 but it makes sense. I'll look into the Keens. I need to get shoes ASAP.

 

[Madeleinebelle]

POR is my favorite moderate resort! You'll love it!

Have fun and happy planning!

I'm excited about POR! The pictures look beautiful and for a short stay it'll be nice.

 

[mdsouth]

Hi Hannah,

It sounds like your plans are coming together. I have stayed at PORFQ and we went over POR for a swim. The grounds are really nice, I think you will enjoy your stay there. Try taking the boat to Disney Springs when you go instead of the bus. It is a nice pleasant ride.

Like you, I do not care much for HS. If you decide you don't want to go to HS, you may enjoy more time at MK or EPCOT instead. I, too get motion sickness, so that leaves out the simulator rides. I can tolerate Big Thunder Roller Coaster in MK but not Space Mountain. I have not tried Rock N Roll coaster.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Hello! I am following along.

If you aren't super keen on HS, I would maybe suggest going there first thing in the morning, do the few things that you want to do, see the Indiana Jones Stunt show (which I think is worth seeing at least once) and Toy Story Land then head out. You can take the boat from Hollywood Studios over to EPCOT. It's a really nice ride. And I would bet that you can find more things to check out in EPCOT. It will be Flower and Garden still in May, and there are lots of booths to try out. But what is kind of nice you guys can decide that day, at that point in the trip, you will have been to all of the parks and know what you want to get a little more of by then.

 

[Madeleinebelle]

Hi Hannah,

It sounds like your plans are coming together. I have stayed at PORFQ and we went over POR for a swim. The grounds are really nice, I think you will enjoy your stay there. Try taking the boat to Disney Springs when you go instead of the bus. It is a nice pleasant ride.

Like you, I do not care much for HS. If you decide you don't want to go to HS, you may enjoy more time at MK or EPCOT instead. I, too get motion sickness, so that leaves out the simulator rides. I can tolerate Big Thunder Roller Coaster in MK but not Space Mountain. I have not tried Rock N Roll coaster.

I've really been considering cutting HS completely but still unsure. Yes TSL would be great to see but with such a short trip it doesn't make much sense.

 

[Madeleinebelle]

Hello! I am following along.

If you aren't super keen on HS, I would maybe suggest going there first thing in the morning, do the few things that you want to do, see the Indiana Jones Stunt show (which I think is worth seeing at least once) and Toy Story Land then head out. You can take the boat from Hollywood Studios over to EPCOT. It's a really nice ride. And I would bet that you can find more things to check out in EPCOT. It will be Flower and Garden still in May, and there are lots of booths to try out. But what is kind of nice you guys can decide that day, at that point in the trip, you will have been to all of the parks and know what you want to get a little more of by then.

That might be a good idea since I have moved everything around a bit! I keep forgetting about the Flower and Garden show! I've seen Indiana Jones but wasn't impressed but my husband is dying to see it. Lol.

 

[Madeleinebelle]

Well that didn't last long.........I've changed our plans a bit because I can't make decisions lol. Also using this time to slack on my homework.

My changes...

Day 1: MK
FP for Pirates - may be a waste of a pass but want DH's first ride to be something mild. Lol
FP for 7DMT- I found a time that works perfectly!
FP for Splash Mountain

Day 2: MK- this has not changed from the first time
FP-Haunted Mansion
FP- PPF
FP- Splash Mountain

Possibly PH to DHS for Indiana Jones for Jason or Epcot?

Day 3: AK- this has not changed either
FP-Navi
FP-Safari
FP-Kali River

Possibly going to Epcot at night for dinner at Via Napoli- still undecided or doing Yak and Yeti at AK in the afternoon?

Day 4: Mystery Day?!?!
Still completely undecided.
Right now considering 1/2 day at Epcot or
1/2 at HS or
Disney Springs and Pool Time

I've recently bought some tees from Target. I bought Jason a retro mickey shirt and a lion king shirt and a lion king shirt for myself. They were $10 a few weeks ago online. I really want to buy a cute top from Etsy there are two that I love but not sure if it's worth it. Like $20 a pop. One of my close friends has a Cricut so may I'll see if she can make something.

My next big plans are to buy new shoes and break them in ASAP. Start buying travel supplies so I'm not running around last minute. Buying a Disney giftcard at Sam's Club for the small discount.

Also is it better to buy minnie ears before the trip or while I'm there?

I spend my Sundays usually watching DFB videos off and on all day.