For the First Time in Forever...We're finally going back - October 2018!!

[Renee1061]

I can't believe I'm finally planning another WDW trip... after a long drought of seven years! My daughter and I began our Disney adventures in the spring of 2006 (we had been a couple of times before that, but 2006 was our first fully immersive Disney trip. From then until August 2011, we went at least once a year, usually just the two of us. We also went once with her high school marching band and once with my sister and her family (both of those trips were the same year).

So much has changed!! Back then, I could plan a trip with my eyes closed. Now I'm stressing out about it just a little! But I've made my way back to the Disboards, and I know all will be well.

Our cast of characters for this trip is:

Me, Renee
Daughter, Lindsay
Daughters GF, Amanda (her first trip)
Sister, Rogena
Niece, Michaela
Sister's 2-yr-old grandson, JuJu (a nickname for Junior) (also his first trip)

We're all adults except for JuJu, and it's probably a good thing, because it will probably take all of us to keep up with him!

We are staying off-site, which I have mixed feelings about, but it makes the most sense, size-wise and cost-wise. We are renting a 4-bedroom pool house in Reunion Resort.

Our current dilemma is how to get there. My sister has a Chevy Traverse with third-row seating, but we're not sure how comfortable the third row would be for a 14+ hour trip. Second option is to take two cars and the third option is to rent a vehicle.

I plan to buy the tickets through Undercover Tourist. Since there are several Harry Potter fans in the group, we are planning on 4 days at WDW and 2 days at US. I'm getting an extra day free on both tickets, so we can adjust those plans if we need to. I may have them drop me off at Epcot on one of the US days...lol!

Anyway, those are the preliminary plans. More to come!

 

[Renee1061]

This is the house we have booked. It's a shame that we will be spending so little time there! At least if we need to take a break during the day, we will have lots of space to relax.

 

[oceanmarina]

Hi Renee,

Joining in! Your rental house looks amazing - can you also post a picture of the pool?

Looking forward to reading more, Marina

 

[Renee1061]

Hi Marina, thanks for reading!

Here is a picture that best shows the size of the pool. I booked online through Magical Vacation Homes. This house is part of Reunion Resort and they have several similar homes. As much as I love staying on-site, I'm getting pretty excited about staying here!

 

[Renee1061]

We are almost 180 days out, so we will be able to make ADRs soon! So far, the only ones we are planning on are Le Cellier on October 11 - my birthday, and Chef Mickey's at lunch on our MK day - probably Sunday, the 7th. The rest of the time, we will do Quick Service or eat at the house. And, this will be my first time to experience the Food & Wine Festival! Oh, come on, October!

 

[Renee1061]

Tomorrow is the magical day! Making reservations for Chef Mickeys for October 7. Since we aren't staying onsite, I'll have to make reservations day by day, but we may not do any more ADRs. I think I've decided instead of Le Cellier on my birthday, I want to "eat around the world" at the F&W Festival. I can still get the cheddar cheese soup and pretzel bread from Canada, which is my main reason for going to Le Cellier anyway!

Our transportation issue has been solved. My sister just bought a new minivan because she now has two grandchildren. We will all fit easily!

 

[Renee1061]

Well, our trip is still a little over 5 months away, and it seems like our plans change a little each day! I had a basic plan mapped out for each day, and then the hours for our week in October were released. Since we aren't staying onsite, I am avoiding parks that have morning EMH, so I switched things around a little. I'm still not entirely happy with the plan, so I'm sure it will be tweaked several more times.

One exciting change that was made is that we have decided to begin our trip on Friday night instead of Saturday morning. We'll all take turns driving and sleeping, and my nephew should sleep most of the night, which will make for a more pleasant trip for everyone. And the best part...we'll get there early enough Saturday to go to a park (probably Epcot...my favorite)!

I did get an ADR for Chef Mickey's at 1:00 on Oct 7. Only 4-1/2 months until I can make FP+ reservations!

 

[Renee1061]

Our tickets arrived today! I've already gotten them linked in MDE. Everyone is ordering their own Magic Band. Mine should be here next Wednesday. I'm getting this one.


154 days and counting!

 

[reyasmommy]

The vacation home looks amazing!!!! Have a wonderful birthday trip!

 

[Renee1061]

We leave 4 months from today (122 days)! I am making the final payment on the house today, then we will be set to go. I hate to wish my life away, but....

 

[Renee1061]

So...I've had too much time on my hands and I think I've talked myself into upgrading my ticket to an AP, and taking a solo trip sometime early next year (probably February)! A solo trip has always been on my bucket list, but Disney trips have always been something my daughter and I did together, and leaving her behind just wasn't something I could do. But since we are all going in October, and my daughter is now 26 (she was 19 the last time we went), I think the time is right. I'll save money on parking for the October trip (since we are staying offsite) and Memory Maker is included, so that, along with the AP discounts (food and merch) makes it a no-brainer, right? I'll probably stay at CBR in Feb. Oh my...a whole other trip to plan...I love being retired!

 

[Renee1061]

We are officially doing the double digit dance!!! We leave in 99 days! I've done a little more planning. Mostly, we're just watching YouTube videos and getting more excited by the day! I hope I never have to wait seven years between trips again. Although, it does make the anticipation of returning that much sweeter. Now that I have decided to upgrade to an AP and return in February, I'm thinking I may as well get one more trip out of it in late September (2019). I've read on here that getting an AP is dangerous and now I believe it! But I've got a lot of lost time to make up for!

 

[lorilclevelandrn]

Our tickets arrived today! I've already gotten them linked in MDE. Everyone is ordering their own Magic Band. Mine should be here next Wednesday. I'm getting this one.
View attachment 320584

154 days and counting!

I just ordered this band for my daughter’s bday trip, love it!

 

[Renee1061]

Made my reservation today for CBR in February! Probably won't start a pre-trip report for that until we're done with the October trip.

 

[Renee1061]

So....I haven't posted in a while. But here we are, just three weeks away from our trip!! I've been busy making FP+ reservations this past week. Since we had to do it at 30 days, we didn't get the big ones, but I'm hoping lines won't be TOO long. I know the first few days of the trip will be busy, because it's a holiday weekend, but Tuesday-Friday hopefully won't be too bad. Here is our itinerary:

Friday, October 5: Leave Texas around 7:00 PM and drive through the night. My daughter and I plan to try to sleep all day so we can do the nighttime driving.

Saturday, October 6: Arrive at Epcot sometime that afternoon (depends on how many stops we have to make on the way with a 2-year-old...lol). The only FP+ we have for that day is Frozen at 5:00. We'll be busy eating our way around the World!

Sunday, October 7, Magic Kingdom. FP+ for Haunted Mansion at 9:40, Space Mountain at 4:10, and Peter Pan's Flight for 5:20. And an ADR for Chef Mickey's at 1:00.

Monday, October 8, Hollywood Studios. FP+ for Tower of Terror at 10:10, RnR at 4:15, and Toy Story Mania at 6:00. We may take a break during the day, or hop to another park for a while. If we do, we'll have to scrap some of the FastPasses. But we'll definitely come back that night for Fantasmic!

Tuesday, October 9, Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure. We are a group full of Harry Potter fanatics, so we couldn't pass this up!

Wednesday, October 10, Animal Kingdom AM, Magic Kingdom PM. FP+ for EE at 11:50, Meet Disney Pals also at 11:50 (this one's for my sister and her grandson), and Na'vi River Journey at 1:10. Couldn't make a third one for all of us because we're hopping to MK, and all the available fast passes were for the afternoon.

Thursday, October 11, Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure. Also...my birthday! I really wanted to do Epcot for my birthday, but I also wanted Epcot to be our last day, so I compromised.

Friday, October 12, Epcot. FP+ for Figment at 9:55, Test Track at 11:10, and Turtle Talk at 1:30. I really wish they would do away with the Tier system at Epcot. The Tier 2 rides usually don't have a long line, anyway. And, of course, we'll end our night, and our trip, with IllumiNations. With rumors that it will be replaced soon, this could possibly be the last time I see it. Hoping it's still around in February. Since they are changing it anyway, I kind of hope the change occurs DURING my February trip. Then, I would get to see both!

And we won't talk about Saturday's plans.

Of course, since we're traveling with a 2-year-old, all of these plans could change...lol! We are really hoping that if we find a quiet spot in the parks, he will nap in the stroller.

So...If I don't post again before the trip, I hope you'll hop over to my trip report. I'll post a link when I get it started. Thanks for reading, everyone!!

 

[Renee1061]

Well, here we are, just three days away, and things are in a bit of a turmoil. At this point, it looks like my great-nephew won't be going with us. It's a LONG story, and I'm not going to go into it here, but we should hopefully find out definitively this afternoon. We were all excited about seeing everything through his eyes and seeing his excitement. We are determined to have a good time anyway, and if he doesn't get to go this time, we'll take him another time!