Disney World iPhotography Challenge... UPDATED: 10/21 - Magic Kingdom Scavenger Hunt!

[Cari2109]

NOTE: Originally I had planned to do an in depth trip report covering all aspects of the Magic Band and planning. Then there was an explosion of Magic Band and FP+ threads popping all over the boards. I figured that by the time we left for our trip, most of the major points would be covered and my report would become redundant. As a result, I let this PTR take a backseat. So, why am I back? I really want to write a report. I just needed to come up with a central theme to hold it together.

This is my third trip to the world. Clint and I will be hitting rope drop and staying until they kick us out. With this in mind, I want to pack light for our days in the park. So light, that I won’t be taking a camera with me… gasp! Losing the camera is one way to cut down on the bulk in my bag. Besides, I always worry about banging my camera around when I take it with me to theme parks. So, for the first time ever, I will be traveling to Disney World with nothing more than the camera on my iPhone. For better or for worse, all the pictures featured in this PTR/TR will be taken with my phone. I think this will be a fun challenge and if I end up regretting taking a trip without a camera, I’ll just have to plan another to make up for it. ☺

For the remainder of this report, I will continue to post my experience with the NextGen technology but I will be shifting my focus a bit to this new challenge. After all, the more information available about NextGen tech, the better.


***What follows is the original intro. The information still applies, so I decided to leave it here:

Yes. It’s that thing that has been on everyone’s minds. How to plan a trip with FP+? For my upcoming trip, my DBF and I will have the opportunity to test out the technology and see what all the hype is about. I’ll be updating the planning process along the way and letting you guys know what happens. After the trip, I’ll come back and give a detailed report of how I felt the program worked, what I think could be improved, and what mistakes I made that could have been avoided.

I know that my plans are not perfect for everyone and I know that everyone has a different touring style. But as more and more people are able to use FP+ and MDE we will have a better idea of what to expect. So, disclaimer aside, here we go.

Who: Cari (Me, Disney lover) and Clint (DBF, Disney enabler). We have been together for 11 years, one trip to Disneyland, and one Disney Cruise. This will be our first trip to Disney World together and the first time either of us has stayed onsite.

When: October 22nd to the 27th

Why: Does one really need a reason to go to Disney World? Anyway, I received the email with a PIN for free dining back in June that had dates that corresponded with a week that Clint had off from school. I showed Clint, told him that I had just about enough miles for two roundtrip flights, and half jokingly asked him if he wanted to go to Disney. He responded with something along the lines of, “Sure, why not?” I wasn’t expecting him to say yes. Once I got over the shock and confirmed that he wasn’t pulling some evil prank, we started looking into actually planning.

Schedule: I’ve never really written out a schedule before. Usually I just have it all in my head but I figured I’d put it down on paper so that people planning future trips can get an idea of what a trip looks with FP+.

Wednesday, October 22, 2013

Morning
--Fly from Houston to Orlando!

Afternoon
--Check-in to Hotel
--Downtown Disney: Disney Quest

Evening
--Dinner: WP Express
--Shopping

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Morning
--Rope Drop: Hollywood Studios
--Do rides and things standby

Afternoon
--Lunch: Pizza Planet (Clint’s request ☺)
--Toy Story Midway Mania! – 2:05 PM to 3:05 PM
--The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™ – 3:05 PM to 4:05 PM
--Rock 'n' Roller Coaster® Starring Aerosmith – 4:05 PM to 5:05 PM

Evening
--Hop to: Epcot
--Dinner: Somewhere in World Showcase
--Tour World Showcase (Food and Wine)
--Illuminations?

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Morning
--Rope Drop: Epcot
--Do rides and things standby
--Tour Future World

Afternoon
--Lunch: World Showcase
--Tour World Showcase (Food and Wine)

Evening
--Soarin'® – 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
--Dinner: Sunshine Seasons
--Test Track® Presented by Chevrolet® – 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
--Mission: SPACE® – 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM
--Illuminations?

Friday, October 25, 2013

Morning
--Rope Drop: Magic Kingdom
--Do rides and things standby

Afternoon
--Lunch: Be Our Guest
--Space Mountain® – 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM
--Splash Mountain® – 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM

Evening
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad® – 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
--Park closes at 7:00 for MNNSHP
--Dinner: Somewhere

Saturday, October 26, 2013
Morning
--Rope Drop: Animal Kingdom
--Do rides and things standby

Afternoon
--Lunch: Somewhere

Evening
--Hop to: Magic Kingdom
--Meet Mickey Mouse at Town Square Theater – 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM
--Dinner: Somewhere
--Big Thunder Mountain Railroad® – 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
--Space Mountain® – 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
--Wishes
--Hide in the gift shop and hope no one notices

One of the biggest complaints that comes up when people are debating the merits of FP+ is that all spontaneity of the trip is now gone and that there is too much planning. I don’t really feel this is the case. Yes, I had to pick what parks I would be going to in advance, but since we only go to Disney every few years (and usually for less than a week) we usually know what days we will be spending in each park months in advance. When I look at the schedule, I don’t feel like it is super cramped or constricting. Granted, we don’t have any ADR’s to account for. But I still feel that there is plenty of downtime to go with the flow and let magic happen.

Setting up the FP+ probably took about 45 minutes. I found the system to be a little tedious, but relatively east to figure out. I didn’t have any options for shows, but maybe that will change in the future.

If you have any questions about the process, feel free to ask. I’ll try to give you information, but I can’t guarantee that it will be 100% accurate.

 

[Cari2109]

If you are staying at a participating resort, you should be able to access the Magic Band portal through the My Disney Experience website. If you haven’t already created an account, go ahead and do that.

Right now, reports very as to when you will be able to access the Magic Band customization. I think that eventually you will be able to customize your band 60 days out. The Magic Band link will change from “Manage Magic Bands” to “Customize Magic Bands.” For me, the link only went live after I went back and edited my online check it. I think this was a glitch at the time, but if you are in the 60 day mark and don’t have access to the bands, try messing with the online check in and see if that makes the link go live. Once the link is live, clicking on it will bring you to this page:

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There should be a Magic Band associated with everyone on the reservation.

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Click “Update” to customize the bands. You can choose a color and give each band a name. The names on your band do not have to be your actual names. It can be a nickname or something along those lines.

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When the bands ship, you will receive tracking information when the bands are on their way. A few days after customizing the bands, a package arrived on our door. Clint told me I didn’t have to wait for him to get home to open the box.

So… yeah… I didn’t.

Super Exciting!!! I tried on the band immediately. It felt a little stiff at first. I also seemed to have an awkward wrist size. I’m right between the adult and child sizes. It was a little uncomfortable with all the excess band crimped against my wrist so I decided to take a pair of scissors to it. Much more comfortable now.

I decided to wear the band while I took Savannah for a walk. I figured the Texas heat would give me a good idea of what it would feel like to wear the band while in the parks. As other’s have complained, yes, the band does get a little sweaty. But this is Texas and all of me was sweaty so it didn’t really bother me. It wasn’t enough to make me really notice the band. Over all comfort 8/10.

 

[Cari2109]

One week to go! Time to finalize the all-important packing list. I often get made fun of for making such detailed lists, but there is a method to my madness. I’ve gone to visit family in Spain for three months at a time taking only a carry on suitcase and purse. Lists help me gather my thoughts so that I can pack light and not forget something important.

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Anyway, this is the list I will be using to pack my Disney suitcase. I wear lots of darker colors and the majority of my clothes are either gray, white, or black. While my closet could use a little boost of color, it also means that most of what I own can mix and match with pretty much everything else I own. I’ve already gone ahead and pulled everything I’m taking with me and moving it to the front of the closet. If I didn't have to take one more trip before leaving for Disney, they would already be on their way to my suitcase.

On close inspection of the packing list, one thing might stand out. If I’m not bringing a camera, why do I have lenses on my packing list? Allow me to answer that: Magnetic camera phone lenses!!!

I found this set on the Photojojo website. They have a ton of cool photography gadgets. Including lenses that attach to phones and tablets. I had been researching these lenses for a few weeks back in September. I considered buying them a few times, but the $50 price tag would cut a bit of a dent into my Disney spending fund. A few days later, I happened to check the site again. By pure coincidence, I stumbled on a Facebook promotion they were having. For every “like” they received that day, they were going to subtract a penny from the cost of the lens set. By the time I found the promotion, the lens set had dropped to $17. So, yeah, I jumped on that.

So far, I really like them. They are small:

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And can produce some pretty cool effects like these fish eye photos:

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I’ve played around with the lenses a bit, but I really plan to put them through their paces at the parks. I’ll let you guys know what I think about them once I’ve had more time to use.

It's getting late and I've got to head out of here pretty early tomorrow so I'm going to wrap this up. I've got one more big update planned before I leave... and maybe a little surprise. Until next time.

 

[Cari2109]

This is it. We have one more full day before we get on a plane and fly to Disney. My suitcase is packed, I’ve got our magic bands and paperwork in my bag, and am far too excited to sleep. Clint has officially been excited since he got done with his last test this past week, but he probably won’t pack around 10:00 pm tomorrow. On the other hand, he doesn’t have to worry about keeping track of any of the important stuff so as long as he has enough shirts, he’s fine. I’ve made a few tweaks to our schedule. Mostly I just added in the times for some of the shows we want to catch while we are at the parks and made notes of the restaurants we want to eat at.

This brings me to a little tip. I see lots of people asking how to keep track of all their FP+ return times and such. I understand how some people don’t want to bring their phones into the parks. It’s vacation, I get that. But if you are like me and your phone has become part of your everyday life, why not put it to work for you? I created events in my calendar for each of our FP+ reservations. I also made notes park hours and show times. I even color-coded each park to further appease my organization addiction.

Here is a look at our arrival day.

Here is another in depth look at the schedule. This time with FP+ reservations and show times.

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This last picture shows the entire week at once.
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This puts our whole schedule at my fingertips. I figure that by keeping everything in one place on my phone I won’t have to constantly check the times guide, MDE, and my own schedule to keep track of the things we plan to do.

In other news, I’ve been working on a big Disney project over the last few weeks. I will have it up on the boards tomorrow with my final PTR post. Until tomorrow☺

 

[Cari2109]

This is it. From this point on my PTR will officially become a TR. As promised, here is the Disney project I have been working on:

The high quality printer version is available for download on my website.

I created a Food and Wine scavenger hunt a couple weeks ago and have been working on this new hunt ever since then.

That's it for now. I'm out of here in 6 hours!