How in the world am I going to keep this to myself?! PTR May '20 turn Feb '21! -Final update 2/7!

[sheri18]

joining in...wow...that Is a long time planning...I could never kept the secret...we surprised the grands last year...it was hard...this year the oldest sort of figured it out...but the littles were surprised...non Disney people don't realize all the time and planning we go through...never mind all the changes..ugh

 

[acciobrain]

joining in...wow...that Is a long time planning...I could never kept the secret...we surprised the grands last year...it was hard...this year the oldest sort of figured it out...but the littles were surprised...non Disney people don't realize all the time and planning we go through...never mind all the changes..ugh

Yes! Especially the changes! I didn't expect all that.

 

[acciobrain]

Not much of an update today, but I ordered and received my first article of clothing specific to the trip! I also picked up a Baby Yoda tee for DS. He thinks it's just because he likes Baby Yoda a lot. I plan to pick up a couple more themed shirts for him as well. I considered some costuming options but I worry that in May it'll just be too hot for him, especially since we'll be coming from weather that will have barely hit the 50's.

I have a few plans on the horizon! I would like to pick up a few in-room birthday decorations. I decided I couldn't justify the cost of the Disney Floral and Gifts options. I also want to officially set up Memory Maker. We've never done it before but I think that if I have it, we'll make sure to get our money's worth. I'm also preparing to make some final decisions with our Magic Bands. I haven't been wowed by our upgrade options so I think I'll get DS a Toy Story one and then DH and I will get plain ones. I might pick up a skin for mine. Lastly, I'm starting to mentally plan our Fast Passes! I need to measure DS. I think he's on the cusp of a few height requirements. I'm really hoping he's tall enough for Expedition Everest. I think he'd really like it!

Oh! One more thing! Sometimes DS asks to "take a vacation" in the family room where we watch Disney ride videos. We did this last week and I strategically played some videos to gauge his interest. When a video for Jedi Academy came on, he was glued! So I think that will need to be added to our plans!

98 days to go! Officially in the double digits!!!

 

[acciobrain]

Pre-trip swag update!
I'm starting to pick up items to take with us on our trip. Like I said before, I grabbed a tank that's themed based on the 4 parks. Today I ordered 2 more items! After watching the boards here and stalking the Magic Bands order page, I decided to just order a skin for a plain color band. Here is what I ordered! Note that I didn't take this picture. I can't wait to see it in person!


Then I also picked up a custom birthday button for DS! He loves this cartoon style and green is his favorite color so it was a perfect match! Again, I didn't take this picture.


I'm still trying to decide on DS's Magic Band. I'm going to try to pressure DH to get some sort of fun add-on too instead of his normal grey. I have some time still to work on both of those. I'm so excited to be at this stage of the planning!

93 days to go and time is moving pretty fast now!

 

[Eeyore daily]

Love the magic band skin and the buttons. Super cute! It's getting so much closer!

 

[Keikisholiday]

ed to just order a skin for a plain color band

I love that skin. Where did you find it!?

 

[acciobrain]

I love that skin. Where did you find it!?

Etsy! If you search Magic Band skins, there are loadsssss of options!

 

[acciobrain]

I wanted to drop a photo of the finished products I have so far! Here are mine and DH's MB skins. I ordered our MBs last week so they should come any day. I also ordered a Buzz Lightyear skin for DS but it hasn't arrived yet.

I've been considering ordering a tank to wear when I go do a resort fun run. I don't want to invest much since I'll probably be done with the run in 20 minutes or less but I still want to make it a little magical!



83 days to go! FP opens in just about 3 weeks!!

 

[Djjsperry]

I’m following you. We are in WDW May 2-12! Maybe we will cross paths. We love Ohana too!

 

[acciobrain]

I’m following you. We are in WDW May 2-12! Maybe we will cross paths. We love Ohana too!

Oh how fun! It would be funny if we were like hidden in each other's photos!

 

[acciobrain]

Mini update!
I think I've officially purchase the last of my park-related gear: a tank with baby Yoda holding a Mickey balloon! From here on out, I plan to only purchase a few items that a smart for a Disney trip. Things like new shoes for DS since he's going to need them for summer anyways, or insect repellant because I'm allergic to everything, etc. Getting to this point makes it so real!

FP's open for us next week! I'm really hoping to get one for the Runaway Railroad! Fingers crossed!

Also, fun update, a few friends and I are considering booking a short 2-night trip in November for the Wine and Dine 5k! Unfortunately it's blocked out from a bounceback deal but the cost of a room for 2 nights isn't so bad when you're splitting it 4 ways. No pre-trip report on that one if we book it. It'll be a plain-Jane type of scenario.

68 days to go! Wahoooo!

 

[acciobrain]

FP are done!
We did some slight rearranging to our days from my original plan, but here's what we got!
Day 1-Na'vi River Journey and Everest. Will aim for the safari after that.
Day 2-DS's bday! Buzz Lightyear, Haunted Mansion, and Splash
Day 3-Toy Story Mania, Alien Swirling Saucers, and Slinky Dog
Day 4-Test Track and The Seas with Nemo. Will aim for Frozen after that.
Day 5-Star Tours and Millennium Falcon. We will cross our fingers for Minnie and Mickey because we reallllly want to go on that one but don't think DS could handle longer than an hour wait.

And now......we wait! Magic Bands should arrive in about a month! We've started a final shopping list of general travel supplies. I guess maybe we should consider masks for the plane? I feel like there's going to be no helping that situation.

Also, I booked for the Wine and Dine 5K with 3 friends this morning! Woo!

56 days to go! Can you believe it?!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Awesome FPs! Were you not able to get MMRR on day 5 or did you just prioritize Millennium Falcon over it? Our FP day is on the 16th and I'm hoping to get MMRR for our DHS day!

 

[acciobrain]

Awesome FPs! Were you not able to get MMRR on day 5 or did you just prioritize Millennium Falcon over it? Our FP day is on the 16th and I'm hoping to get MMRR for our DHS day!

We weren't able to get it unfortunately. MF is a good alternative so I'm happy we at least got that. I'm hoping that we're able we're to find our way onto it on day 5.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

We weren't able to get it unfortunately. MF is a good alternative so I'm happy we at least got that. I'm hoping that we're able we're to find our way onto it on day 5.

Yikes that's crazy! I have HS on our day 3 and day 5 and didn't think we'd have trouble getting a FP.

 

[KimmyD]

I am going to be going my my DH in May!! I hope you have a blast - I know we always do!!!! Thanks for the fun trip report! I can't wait to read some more!

 

[acciobrain]

Remember how I started planning for this trip in January 2018 for travel in May 2020?

Yupppppp.

It's been a rough couple weeks trying to sort out our lives for this new world we currently live in. I have to say, it was very similar to watching our Disney Cruise get cancelled as a result of Hurricane Matthew.... but in slower motion. I'm so very glad we never told DS about the trip. Instead, we've been able to rearrange our lives to make way for social distancing and DS has been able to grasp it and adjust very well. We're homeschooling while I work from home. We told him last week that he won't get a birthday party (guess I'll be cancelling that Baby Yoda cake I had scheduled!) and he handled it very well.

Our TA called me a few nights ago and informed me of the Free Dining deal that was releasing for guests affected by closures. Today we took advantage of that and moved our trip to mid-August. I wanted to push it out as far as I could so we'll be going the week before DS starts kindergarten. I might add on an extra day because if the world is in a healthier place by then, I think I might want the extra day to loaf around the resort. We've been able to secure nearly the same exact dining reservations. FP will open in about 2 months.

So, adios, May trip. I'm sad but I see the bigger picture and there will be other trips. Most important will be slowing the spread so that we can continue making memories with friends and loved ones.

And now the countdown goes from 36 days to 131 days. But that's okay.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Glad you were able to move your trip and get your dining reservations! It's a scary, uncertain time for sure. Stay safe!

 

[acciobrain]

Annnnnnnnnnnnd we're back!!!

Let's recap this, yes?I started mentally planning this trip in January 2018. I (thankfully!!!) contacted a TA for the first time ever and got it on the books in July 2019. Thennnnn in March 2020, Disney cancelled us for our travel date of May 2020. We rebooked it for August 2020, but then moved that out because we just weren't comfortable. We booked a dummy date of June 2021, with the hope that we could actually push it out to Nov/Dec 2021. Well, Disney wouldn't allow us to push our park tickets that far out. Their reasoning being that was the time near the 50th celebration and they weren't going to allow people to push their reservations out. Understandable, but frustrating. We asked our TA if anyone at her agency could use our tickets and we would sell them at a discount just so we could offload them, recoup some money, and then rebook for Nov/Dec. We knew odds were slim and didn't hear back.

WELP we got covid in December. We gave everything some heavy thought and reviewed the CDC guidelines on immunity post-infection. And before we knew it, we were considering moving our trip to February 2021! We had to wait for DH's employer to create their vacation schedule. The time off was approved yesterday and after a flurry of phone calls and online reservations, we now have a trip booked - LESS THAN A MONTH AWAY!

So now I am re-planning a trip that was carefully planned out over a year ago, but doing so while keeping in mind all the changes that are in place and doing it in 4 weeks! We understand that this trip will be quite different and will need a lot more flexibility. But I am SO excited!

Also, DS still doesn't know.

So let's get planning! 27 days to go!!

 

[Eeyore daily]

I'm glad you recovered from covid! It's exciting that it's less than a month away from your trip now.