Here's to a DRAMA-FREE vacation! A Sept. 2013 PTR, FINAL UPDATE, 9/1!!

[lvcourtneyy]

It's one of those things that's really annoying now, but I know I'll be sooo glad I did it when it's all over!

I think I'm also leaning toward no. Now, if they did a Wishes appetizer party?! I'd be all over that. We're not dessert people either.

That might be the most amazing idea ever! I could totally go for that. A lot of the time, I enjoy appetizers more than the meal!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

I enjoy flying on the way to a vacation but on the way home I find the airport depressing.

You and I are taking the same flight, just a week apart! We leave from JFK at 7:15! Wow your dad going back to Ireland must be super exciting for him! That does make getting to the airport more complicated though. Getting to JFK isn't too fun for us either but luckily, leaving that early in the morning, meant there was no traffic at all. By the time we cleared security and got a snack last time, my dad and sister had texted me that they made it back home.

Do you subscribe to any of those deal-of-the-day type sites? I'm signed up for way too many of them but I notice there's deals on them pretty frequently for towncar service to/from the airport! I would say in particular I've noticed them on Livingsocial or KGBdeals.

We love Jetblue also and I never want to fly another airline again!

Ugh that Delta mishap sounds terrible! Fingers crossed that everything will go much smoother this time.

I agree, the new bus design does strike me as industrial. But I love getting on the ME so I won't let it bother me either.

Ohh intrigue. Can't wait to hear what happened at work and about the park day changes!

 

[RachelNinja]

Haha, it's funny how you said that your parents picked your brother to get braces! Hope the discomfort subsides quickly so that you can enjoy food again!

I totally understand the draw of having reserved seating for Wishes, but I personally don't enjoy desserts THAT much to ever want to pay for it. I know that I might eat a few things, but the money for it would mainly be for the seating and not the dessert part of it. I think I'd much rather go buy other MK treats to have while waiting like Casey's corn dog nuggets and then something sweet afterwards! But at the same time, I'm not as attached to Wishes as some people are. This past trip, we watched it from Adventureland so we couldn't actually see the castle itself, but the fireworks were still awesome! And they were SO loud because we were closer to them!

Oh how I WISH I enjoyed flying like you do! I get super nervous about it! I don't like the claustrophobic feeling I get on the plane even for such a short flight to Orlando! I'm always worried that I won't feel well on the plane too. I actually sometimes prefer the drive over flying to Disney! I guess the drive doesn't bother me as much now as it did when I was kid because I'm SO tired due to work that I sleep way more, haha. Plus, Howard drives part of the way too, so I have to force myself to stay awake during those hours and then I can sleep when it's back to my dad driving. Good thing you enjoy it so much though especially since you had to go on that trip for work!

 

[JessicaKnits]

I know I'm late, but I'm joining in! You are not alone in your love for the Magical Express! I love it so much, that when I go in February, we are renting a car, but waiting to pick it up until we get on Disney property because I want my friend to be able to experience the Magical Express for her first trip!

 

[jenny105]

I'm not liking those buses...

 

[klacey1]

I don't like flying. I think it's being trapped with so many other people (says the girl who's going to WDW, what?)

The new buses are kind of ugly! Grey isn't the best choice. Guess they don't have to wash them as often now?

We were torn between Delta and Southwest this time, but decided to go with Southwest because then our bags are paid for up front, and they had slightly better times. But we're still leaving at 8am both ways Better than 6 I guess!

Ooh, foreshadowing! Can't wait to hear what happened at work...

I don't think most people enjoy flying the way I do! Admittedly, I am weird!
I've never flown Southwest but I've heard great things!
I think I'll do that update either later today or tomorrow, just to keep the suspense up a little longer.

That might be the most amazing idea ever! I could totally go for that. A lot of the time, I enjoy appetizers more than the meal!

I enjoy flying on the way to a vacation but on the way home I find the airport depressing.

You and I are taking the same flight, just a week apart! We leave from JFK at 7:15! Wow your dad going back to Ireland must be super exciting for him! That does make getting to the airport more complicated though. Getting to JFK isn't too fun for us either but luckily, leaving that early in the morning, meant there was no traffic at all. By the time we cleared security and got a snack last time, my dad and sister had texted me that they made it back home.

Do you subscribe to any of those deal-of-the-day type sites? I'm signed up for way too many of them but I notice there's deals on them pretty frequently for towncar service to/from the airport! I would say in particular I've noticed them on Livingsocial or KGBdeals.

We love Jetblue also and I never want to fly another airline again!

Ugh that Delta mishap sounds terrible! Fingers crossed that everything will go much smoother this time.

I agree, the new bus design does strike me as industrial. But I love getting on the ME so I won't let it bother me either.

Ohh intrigue. Can't wait to hear what happened at work and about the park day changes!

Same! I usually prefer ordering two appetizers instead of an entree at a restaurant.
That's SO funny that we're on the same flight but only a week apart! It would have been nice to share in some Disney excitement together!
Thanks for the tip on LivingSocial & KGBDeals. I used to subscribe to Groupon but never bought anything, so I unsubscribed. But I definitely will try those that you recommended out. Thank you!

Haha, it's funny how you said that your parents picked your brother to get braces! Hope the discomfort subsides quickly so that you can enjoy food again!

I totally understand the draw of having reserved seating for Wishes, but I personally don't enjoy desserts THAT much to ever want to pay for it. I know that I might eat a few things, but the money for it would mainly be for the seating and not the dessert part of it. I think I'd much rather go buy other MK treats to have while waiting like Casey's corn dog nuggets and then something sweet afterwards! But at the same time, I'm not as attached to Wishes as some people are. This past trip, we watched it from Adventureland so we couldn't actually see the castle itself, but the fireworks were still awesome! And they were SO loud because we were closer to them!

Oh how I WISH I enjoyed flying like you do! I get super nervous about it! I don't like the claustrophobic feeling I get on the plane even for such a short flight to Orlando! I'm always worried that I won't feel well on the plane too. I actually sometimes prefer the drive over flying to Disney! I guess the drive doesn't bother me as much now as it did when I was kid because I'm SO tired due to work that I sleep way more, haha. Plus, Howard drives part of the way too, so I have to force myself to stay awake during those hours and then I can sleep when it's back to my dad driving. Good thing you enjoy it so much though especially since you had to go on that trip for work!

Every day it's getting easier to chew, thanks!

I really, really love Wishes, but it's really not practical for us either. We're not dessert people and I didn't even really like the desserts last time. I don't even really know why I considered it at all for this trip. Ooo, Adventureland sounds like a neat perspective!

I know I'm late, but I'm joining in! You are not alone in your love for the Magical Express! I love it so much, that when I go in February, we are renting a car, but waiting to pick it up until we get on Disney property because I want my friend to be able to experience the Magical Express for her first trip!

Welcome! If I ever rented a car, I would totally do the same so I could ride ME!

 

[waltsgrl]

Joining in!! The photo of that lobster baked potato... I need that thing!!!

We will also be there in September staying @ POR. Good choice on the upgrade to WL! If I could do it I would in an instant

 

[klacey1]

I'm not liking those buses...

Me neither!

Joining in!! The photo of that lobster baked potato... I need that thing!!!

We will also be there in September staying @ POR. Good choice on the upgrade to WL! If I could do it I would in an instant

It was sooo good! Huge chunks of lobster-- I am drooling thinking about it!

 

[klacey1]

So the other day at work I was producing a live web seminar. During most of the event, I don’t have much to do, so I was playing around on my phone. I was in the Disney Experience app, just browsing different dining reservation options (something I do way too often!), when I spotted a Be Our Guest opening for our preferred date during our trip!! However, it said you needed to call in the reservation (is that for all restaurants that need a CC guarantee?). Of course, since I was ehem, supposed to be working, I couldn’t call right away. The next twenty minutes as I waited for the event to be over were the longest of my life! Finally, I was able to log off and call in for the reservation!! I moved some other things around and THEN emailed my travel agent to let her know what I did. (My travel agent is the best-- super responsive and fast acting, but I just couldn’t risk emailing her, then waiting to see if she could grab the reservation. Not with such a hot reservation at stake!)

So that fantastic moment totally changed the plans that I had set! After doing some tweaking, what follows are our final, general park days! There are a few spots of flexibility, but for the most part, I’m much happier when I know what we’re doing each day. I’ll discuss more in detail what rides, etc. we plan to do each day as the trip gets closer, but here’s the general plan:

Monday, September 2: Yay day one! What’s better than waking up and going to Disney?! We land around 10, so with waiting for ME, traveling to our resort, and hopefully getting our room, I suspect we’ll be park-ready around 1:00 p.m. Our first stop will be Downtown Disney, for shopping and lunch! Then we’ll go to Epcot for the evening-- and dinner at Rose and Crown!


Tuesday, September 3: This day we’ll hit up the Magic Kingdom in the morning for that wonderful opening show, break (we NEED our afternoon breaks to relax/cool down/freshen up) back at the hotel, and head to Epcot at night for dinner at La Hacienda. I am sooo looking forward to this day!


Wednesday, September 4: Today we’ll go to Hollywood Studios (can’t wait to ride TSMM again!) for the morning. Here’s where a bit of flexibility is mixed in. Our reservation for Yachtsman is now this night. Since we’ll be right by Epcot, we could stop in for a spin on Test Track. OR, we could head straight to the Magic Kingdom, which is definitely where we’ll be ending the night as there are PM extra magic hours until midnight! I’m thinking we’ll decide how we feel in the moment.



Thursday, September 5: Animal Kingdom in the morning! We usually only stop here once a trip as there’s not a ton we like to do. We’ll head back to the Magic Kingdom at night.


Friday, September 6: This is our Universal day! We’ll park hop between both the Studios and Islands of Adventure all day. Last time, we only lasted until about 3 (the tiredness of the trip as a whole and lack of early afternoon break did not agree with us!). This year, I’d like to stay as long as possible (not too late-- Islands closes at 7!).


Saturday, September 7: We’ll be back at Hollywood Studios for AM extra magic hours! I’m thinking we’ll really just hop in, get one ride on TSMM, maybe one on Star Tours, and then hop back out again. The plan is to then take the boat to Epcot and spend the rest of the morning/early afternoon there. (Sidenote-- I have no idea where the boat to Epcot is! I should find that out before our trip!). That night, we’ll go back to Downtown Disney for a late dinner at Raglan Road.



Sunday, September 8: Our last full day :-( This day will never change. Morning at Epcot, evening at the Magic Kingdom. We’re blessed with PM extra magic hours until midnight this night, too!!


So in general, what do you think?! Overall, I’m quite pleased. I do wish we had more than one morning at Magic Kingdom, as I do love that opening show! However, we usually only get to ride TSMM once a trip and I’d like to change that! I am hoping the low crowds make it okay for us to only be there at one Epcot rope drop, as well. We need to ride Test Track multiple times a trip!!

 

[JessicaKnits]

I think all of your plans sound great! Kudos to you for being able to do the PM extra Magic Hours! I always plan to do at least one during my trip, and have never done it yet...

This time though, for sure!!

 

[Disneyluvr81]

Congrats on snagging the BOG reservation - I would have been a nervous wreck having to wait to make it. So weird that they can't just set it up to put in the CC number online!

We'll be at Epcot's and MK's night time EMH too. Not sure how late we will be able to last though haha!

We debated doing Universal again this trip. I wanted to but B wasn't too keen on it. Eventually the draw to just stay on property won out and we'll be doing Blizzard Beach instead. I hope you have a great time at Universal - I got kind of bummed when all of the pics/info came out about the new Simpson's area!

 

[blabbermouth]

You're super parkhoppers, nice!

We're just doing the Studios at Universal, we debated a park hopper, but the guys really just wanted to see the new Simpsons land, so we decided to keep it simple. I'm sad to miss HP, but not THAT sad.

 

[Mrs T 2009]

Yay on getting BOG reservations!!!!!

Your daily plans sound great!!!

 

[cdhale]

Hi Kylie!

Enjoying your planning, as me and my DDs will be in Disney at the same time as you! Are you sure about MK pm EMH on Wed? I don't see that on the schedule, just AK am EMH... Tell me I'm missing something, because that would be fantastic!

Thanks,
Cheryl

 

[DrMomof3]

Getting caught up!
We're going to just miss each other at Disney.
We usually park at Avistar (now called the Parking Spot) when we fly out of JFK. It's cheaper than a car service and super easy...

Amanda

 

[klacey1]

I think all of your plans sound great! Kudos to you for being able to do the PM extra Magic Hours! I always plan to do at least one during my trip, and have never done it yet...

This time though, for sure!!

Honestly, I plan to do the PM EMH and then usually we go on one ride and then head back to our resort . We get so much done during the day that it's not a big deal.

Congrats on snagging the BOG reservation - I would have been a nervous wreck having to wait to make it. So weird that they can't just set it up to put in the CC number online!

We'll be at Epcot's and MK's night time EMH too. Not sure how late we will be able to last though haha!

We debated doing Universal again this trip. I wanted to but B wasn't too keen on it. Eventually the draw to just stay on property won out and we'll be doing Blizzard Beach instead. I hope you have a great time at Universal - I got kind of bummed when all of the pics/info came out about the new Simpson's area!

It was sooo nerve wracking! I would have been so upset if work had interfered with my chance to get a BOG reservation
Zach surprisingly loved Universal last trip! I'd honestly be willing to skip it, since I've gone a lot in the past two years, but he hasn't been in awhile. Compromise!

You're super parkhoppers, nice!

We're just doing the Studios at Universal, we debated a park hopper, but the guys really just wanted to see the new Simpsons land, so we decided to keep it simple. I'm sad to miss HP, but not THAT sad.

We HAVE to get park hoppers. I love the freedom, plus we like to spend our nights in Epcot and MK.

Yay on getting BOG reservations!!!!!

Your daily plans sound great!!!

Thanks!

Hi Kylie!

Enjoying your planning, as me and my DDs will be in Disney at the same time as you! Are you sure about MK pm EMH on Wed? I don't see that on the schedule, just AK am EMH... Tell me I'm missing something, because that would be fantastic!

Thanks,
Cheryl

Hi and welcome! Augh, I was going by the Disboards' September park hours, but I just checked the official WDW website and you're totally right. That's so frustrating! I was really hoping we could get some good park time in that night! Thanks for letting me know, though, I really appreciate it.

Getting caught up!
We're going to just miss each other at Disney.
We usually park at Avistar (now called the Parking Spot) when we fly out of JFK. It's cheaper than a car service and super easy...

Amanda

Hi Amanda! Aww, too bad! We usually go in August too, but this week just ended up working better for both of us.
Thanks for the tip about the Parking Spot-- I'll definitely check it out!

 

[klacey1]

So much for final plans! I was looking at our days and something kept nagging me, letting me know that some part of our plan wasnt quite right. I finally realized that we have only two nights at Epcot! Its our favorite park and with seven nights, I like to have one night at DTD, one relaxing night after Universal, and then two nights/three nights at either Epcot or the Magic Kingdom. I was okay with two nights at Epcot and three at MK (especially because we only have one rope drop at MK), but I wasnt okay with the order. My previous plans had us going to Epcot our first and second nights! That just would not do! I decided to spread it out and swapped our Raglan Road ADR with La Hacienda. I am excited that our Epcot nighttime visits are now spread out AND that La Hacienda will be our second to last night! This is the restaurant I am probably most excited for, so Ill be able to look forward to it our entire trip.

This does mean our trip is now front loaded with DTD AND food type. We always go to DTD right after we arrive, and now well be going our second night, too. I think Im okay with that. I love DTD but I think well be okay doing everything we want to do there our first two nights. Plus, I visited about four times during my June work trip, so I think Im a little DTDd out! Zach could take it or leave it.

We will be visiting similar restaurants our first two nights-- Rose and Crown and then Raglan Road. Again, though, Im fine with this. Zach and I LOVE hearty pub grub and definitely wont mind eating it two nights in a row. Im excited to try something different at Raglan Road from my work trip. The salad was okay, but I have my eye on some other things. Im sure Ill be repeating my exact meal from 2011 at Rose and Crown, though! The Sunday Roast is too delicious to turn town!

In light of this new news about no PM EMH on Wednesday, I have decided that our second DHS morning (Saturday) will now be a "flex day." If we feel like we haven't gotten enough MK, we'll go there. If we'd rather do DHS and then head to Epcot for most of the day, we'll do that. No matter what, we'll end up in Epcot for dinner. Can I note that this is why I love the Disboards?! The community and sharing is SO great! I never would have checked the official website if one of my kind readers hadn't pointed out the error. Thanks again!

Braces report: Today marks one week since Ive had my Six Month Smile put on. Im not going to lie-- its been rough! The first two days I couldnt chew at all. It was so incredibly painful and (Im not proud of this!) I was crying to Zach, afraid I wouldnt be able to enjoy any of my favorite foods in Disney. Fortunately, that soreness has gone down! I can chew pretty much anything thats not on the avoid list. Whew! I do, however, have some awful canker sores all along my bottom lip that hurt like a.... I am hoping these go away soon!

I know this post is all over the place, but I also wanted to discuss some Disney technology! I used the Disney Parks app a ton during my June trip for ride wait times and making ADRs. I thought it was well designed and served those purposes well. The My Disney Experience app, however-- augh! I dont know about everyone elses experiences with it is, but I think its just awful! Half my ADRs dont show up and its soooo slow. I definitely cant rely on it in September for keeping track of ADRs and other confirmation numbers.

I do have a huge Google Drive spreadsheet and a word doc (if anyone wants to see these, I can take screenshots!), but thats not really practical on the go. I do index cards with our parks of the day and ADR confirmation numbers, but its always nice to have a back up! I recently downloaded the Mouse Memo app and have started to pop my info in.
Heres the home screen:


If you click on Dining, you can enter in all of your ADR times and confirmation numbers:

(I blurred out my confirmation number)

Flight Info is where you can store your flight times and confirmation numbers (you need to click on the individual boxes to see the confirmation number):


Restaurants has info on all of the CS and TS restaurants. As you can see below, theres an easy click button for the All Ears menus. I imagine that this will be very useful if we are unsure where to eat lunch in the parks.


Overall, I think itll be great for some things, but I wish there was a section to add park days or other info. The Entertainment and and Ground Transportation tabs are useless to me (GT is all about rental cars, which we wont have). Does anyone have a different app suggestion??

 

[DrMomof3]

That looks like an interesting app!
I've done ok with My Disney Experience and Touring Plans apps. But I think I've become a little less Type A about planning since we've been going fairly often.

Amanda

 

[littlelovebug]

I just found your PTR and read through all seven pages! I have to first point out our first thing in common - disliking meat on a bone! I always feel funny saying that, but the older I get, the more people I find who feel that way!

That's great that you were able to upgrade to WL! We stayed there for our honeymoon (almost ten years ago) and it was super nice. I don't know that I would go back again, as we really enjoyed the amenities at POR on our last trip, but I'm so glad we had the opportunity. I loved watching the geyser and relaxing in the grand lobby! I would love to stay at Poly someday, but with a family, POR is just so much more practical...

I can't wait to read more details!!

 

[blabbermouth]

That app looks good! I don't mind the MDE one, but I haven't actually used it on a trip yet and also I haven't made any ADRs so I don't have to worry about linking those.

It's hard planning so many days and trying to space them all out nicely! I'm sure our plans won't be 100% accurate, but it's nice to have an idea.

I like DTD, we're definitely going there on our arrival night, and then I'd think probably one to two other nights. Maybe the night we go to Universal if we don't end up staying late at City Walk. The parks close early in September, but I think DTD stays open a bit later, so if we're still energetic it's a nice place to end the night.

I'm glad your braces are getting better