I Can't, I'm Not Wearing a Princess Dress! - New TR link!!!!

[MissMaryQC]

I'm glad things went well. Hope he has a speedy and successful recovery as well!

 

[amazingact21]

I'm very glad to hear the surgery went well. Here's hoping the recovery goes quick and the little guy is back up to 100% in no time.

 

[glennbo123]

Looks like I missed an update a while back. Sorry that your CRT meal wasn't the best. Sometimes those things can be hit or miss, depending on how everyone is feeling by that point of the trip. Plus, you had some other things stacked against you (table location, hurried princesses, etc.)

I asked if she was ready to go back to the room after we saw the show. She told me she wanted to do 5 more rides and then we can leave.


Ok…


She made a list of rides she wanted to do:

IASW

Barnstormer

Dumbo

Tea Cups

Carousel

Wow, I'm impressed she had an answer, and such a detailed, thought-out one! Then, she powered through. Nice!

Glad to hear your son's surgery went well.

 

[pkondz]

It doesn't get much rougher that being happy and playing then waking up 4 hours later wondering what the hell happened. That's exactly how this little guy's day went.

My turn to apologize for not being around. You know why.
Rough day... and that's 2 weeks ago now!
How is he doing now??

 

[afwdwfan]

Finally caught up on your report. I had put in some guesses for your upcoming trip, but now having read your update, I'm scratching them.

Ok!

Your complaint about no photopass photographer at the Anna meet is totally valid!

It seems like a petty complaint, but it really doesn't seem like that's too much to ask either.

Adorable meet with Tink and really cute family pictures on Main Street.

Thank you

That is fantastic that your daughter had some extra time with Cinderella but I am sorry to hear that the meal was disappointing, especially given the cost. Looks like the princess interactions were ok, but what is up with Aurora's eye makeup? Maybe that was asked and answered, I haven't read replies.

She did enjoy chatting with Cinderella, but the meal was certainly a letdown. I'm not sure what was up with Aurora's make up. I didn't really notice it at the time, so I don't know if it was something with the lighting that just let us catch it in pictures or what?

I'm so glad you both rode on Big Thunder!

I am too!

Cracking up at "Just 5 more rides"- you came close!

She's ambitious.

That's nice that you were able to connect with your wife's CP friend.

It was. It was fun to see all their excited anticipation for the adventure they were beginning.

Thanks for the extra hints, but it was like one of those logic problems from school.

"Scott has one sister and is standing next to the pig in the purple shirt, but is taller than the fire hydrant. What is Kim eating?"

1- T-Rex, Auskerhaus/Biergarten, Via Napoli, Be Our Guest, Tusker House
2- T-Rex
3- POFQ
4- Bonus ADR: Beaches & Cream

Hey, you know, I wanted to give some vague hints. There's a lot there if you want to pay close attention and recall some of our past TR's but trying not to just give it all away.

Great rainy day !!! To top it off it actually got sunny in the end.

::Yes:: It ended up being a very nice day.

Sorry about no PP for Anna- that seems strange and it shouldn't be that way.
Extra time with Cindy is great but I agree if that is the highlight then I would be disappointed too.

Both were good character interactions, yet the overall experience left something to be desired.

Summer trip

Guessing Boatwrights Crystal Palace, Be our guest,Hollywood and Vine, Akershaus /Via Napoli, Sci Fi
Hollywood and Vine was hard to get
Staying at POFQ
Bonus ARD for Beaches and Cream

Got em!

Looks like I missed an update a while back. Sorry that your CRT meal wasn't the best. Sometimes those things can be hit or miss, depending on how everyone is feeling by that point of the trip. Plus, you had some other things stacked against you (table location, hurried princesses, etc.)

Yeah... it wasn't just an absolutely horrible meal or anything, but it just didn't quite live up to what we wanted it to be. I guess that would be a fair way of saying it.

Wow, I'm impressed she had an answer, and such a detailed, thought-out one! Then, she powered through. Nice!

She is ambitious and stubborn if anything.

My turn to apologize for not being around. You know why.
Rough day... and that's 2 weeks ago now!
How is he doing now??

He's doing great!

 

[afwdwfan]

Our summer plans!

In my last TR update, I offered 10 points per restaurant to guess our ADRs, 25 points to guess the restaurant that gave us unexpected scheduling difficulty, 25 points to guess our resort and 20 points to guess the extra ADR I've made for just my small family that could very well end up getting canceled... so with that, here's a small, teeny tiny PTR:

This trip has been a long time in the making. Last summer we were planning to visit the Smoky Mountains and then drive to a beach somewhere for a couple of days. Our oldest son had been asking to go to the beach for a couple of years. Plans were getting put into place and our reservations in the Smokies had already been made when we received the news about our coming addition's health issues. Needless to say vacation plans were canceled and last summer the kids didn't get to do anything fun.

Well, ok, they did get to hang out with aunts, uncles and grandparents all summer while mom and dad were hanging out at the hospital with their baby brother. And each set of grandparents did take them on a couple of short overnight trips. But we didn't get a big, fun family vacation together. We decided while still in the hospital that we were going to find a way to have a big vacation this summer.

Disney World wasn't exactly the top of our planning... we were actually looking more into a do-over of our 2016 plans, but my Mom and sister were talking about going and taking my niece on her first Disney trip. As plans tend to do, things evolved and Mom started talking about doing a whole family trip to Disney World as we hadn't all been together since 2012. We started talking about it last summer, even while we were still in the hospital, but we were having a hard time coming to an agreement on the dates. Mom and Sis really wanted to go around Christmas time for the decorations. We really didn't want to pull DS out of school for an early Dec trip, and with all the work I had missed already in 2016, I just didn't see how that could be feasible for me. On top of that, we didn't know what our youngest's limitations would be (or at that time, even when he'd be home). So we pretty much said that was a no go... not even on the table for us.

As dates were discussed they kept coming back to the week between Christmas and New Years. Despite our other concerns at the time, I kept telling Mom that I didn't want to go that week anyway, being that it is the busiest week of the year at Disney World. We were inside 6 months so ADRs would be impossible. And I might have finally broken through to them when I was sitting in her kitchen the day after Christmas. Mom mentioned that we could be at Disney World right now. I'm never one to shy away from a "told you so" moment so I proved my point by showing her waits over an hour for rides like the Magic Carpets as well as much longer waits on better rides on the MDE app. That's the last I heard any mention about us being resistant to going that week.

Either way, we finally found a week that would work for everyone. Our traveling group has 3 reservations for this trip. One room is my family of 5, one room is my parents and youngest sister (by less than a minute - my sisters are twins), and the other is my other Sis, BiL and Niece. In case you don't want to count that is a group of 11. 7 adults, 2 children 2 "infants" under the age of 3.

We're going in mid-July. We'll leave the evening of Fri 7/8 and drive through the night to arrive at Port Orleans French Quarter on Saturday afternoon. While I know we'll be wiped out from driving, it usually serves us best to just push on rather than take a nap right away. We won't have a busy day planned (nor will we enter a park) but we'll allow for some time to unpack and settle in at the resort with a dinner at a family favorite: Chef Mickey. Our niece and the baby will get to meet some characters and catch a glimpse of the castle for the first time ever. Our ADR should allow us time to eat and get back to the room to get to bed early so we can get a full night of sleep.

Our Sunday plans have us at MK. We'll be eating lunch at Be Our Guest. Most of us have already experienced this restaurant. I don't know if you remember, but on our last family trip, Sis ended up very sick during the trip. She has a gluten allergy and somehow ate some contaminated food at some point and ended up missing a full day in the parks. Because of this, she and BiL missed out on BoG with the rest of us and this was her number 1 priority ADR for this trip. We'll probably plan a full day at MK. We'll take a break if needed and try to return to see Wishes. Oh wait. Wishes will be gone.

[rant]Ok, I'm not anti-change. I get it. Things need updated. To me, Wishes was the best night time show on Disney property. Hands down. It has withstood the test of time. There are other things that probably needed attention sooner (ie: Illuminations).

My theory is that they have decided to do this so that when they get flooded with complaints about there not being a night time parade, they can point at the shiny new fireworks show which is really just a replacement for an old show. So this new show, in my screwed up twisted mind, is facing a huge uphill battle. While I wasn't exactly a huge MSEP fan, I'm still going to be comparing the new show to the combined draw of MSEP, the castle projection show, and Wishes. Because frankly, I feel like they're trying to replace all of them with this one new show.

And if you think I'm not crazy about this change, DW's absolute 2 favorite things at Disney World were MSEP and Wishes. You should hear her opinion about these changes...

Alright, alright... I'm sure the show will be good and we'll love it. In fact have no doubt. I'm still not loving the idea right now though. [/rant]

On Monday we plan to head over to EPCOT. This was the ADR that gave us some difficulty. DW and I didn't eat at Via Napoli on our last trip. Skipping it once is bad. Skipping it twice is unforgivable. We told everyone we planned to eat there. They could join us or do something else. Well, everyone chose to join us. We wanted to get a lunch ADR there. I've never had a problem getting an ADR there in the past... even making tweaks and changes there after 180 days. But this time... Nothing was available for lunch at 182 days out. We managed to get 2 dinner ADRs here at around 5 pm splitting us into a group of 5 and a group of 6. It actually probably works better. We'll spend the morning in Future World, take a break mid day and return for dinner, explore the WS and see Illuminations.

Tuesday has us visiting AK. Right now... this is totally in flux. We're waiting to see what happens once Pandora opens to see how we need to adjust plans. They haven't yet opened the Rivers of Light dining package for July, but I think we'll likely try to grab an ADR for that once it is open and then we'll see if we need to keep it or drop it once we find out more specifics about the changes in AK.

Wednesday is our DHS day. We all wanted to do a Fantasmic package, but we didn't set a specific plan on what we wanted to get. I ended up giving half credit for the ADR that was difficult if you picked H&V. Because technically, it was. But we knew that Fantasmic packages are limited and we weren't dead set on anything specific so we were planning to just plug in the date and see what we could get. We originally ended up booking at Mama Melrose. We had a group of 5 and a group of 6. There was nothing available for H&V. Since then, we ended up finding an ADR for 11 at H&V and have re-booked this ADR since the buffet will likely be a bit quicker and the kids will like the characters. As of the time that the question was presented though, our ADR was for Mama Melrose so that's the one that gets credit.

Thursday will be a park hopping day. We have no ADRs planned, but will likely return to EPCOT to possibly use FP+ or hit RD to get some rides in since it will be tough to get the big 3 on our first morning there since we can only FP+ one of them. That evening will be flexible, but I'm anticipating returning to DHS to see the Star Wars fireworks if we can't do them the same evening as F! or going to AK to spend some more time in Pandora after dark since we'll probably plan for Rivers of Light our first day there.

Friday is going to be the last day for Sis, BiL and my niece. We're going to MK in the morning and have split plans for lunch. The ladies (and the baby) will all be going to the castle for lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table. The guys have an ADR for Skipper's Canteen at the same time. I'm not sure if we'll keep this or choose to just do counter service, but we decided to get an ADR anyway and we can decide later. I'd like to see Skipper's Canteen, but I'm just not sure the menu will work for all of us. Meaning I think BiL and I might be the only 2 interested... We can again, use this afternoon/evening to catch any of the evening entertainment we have missed out on up to this point

On Saturday we check out of POFQ and it will be our last park day. Mom, Dad and youngest Sis will still be there with us. We'll probably spend most if not all of the day in MK. Its just everyone's favorite park for a lot of reasons and we like to begin and end our trips there when we can. Mom, Dad and Sis will leave at some point to head home. Not sure what time they plan to take off yet. Our group of 5 plans to be there all day.

And here's where things get interesting...

We have a hotel reserved in Panama City Beach to spend 3 nights there. It is a room we got for free on points, but I have us checking in Sunday night. Which means we still have a night to fill in somewhere. We're not sure what we want to do yet. We'll either drive part way and stay some place cheaper. Or we're considering splurging. As in one night in a room we wouldn't ordinarily pay for. I really want to splurge and do a night in the Contemporary with a theme park view or a night at Beach Club so we can use Stormalong Bay for a few hours Sunday morning before we head out. But it's a lot of money and we're trying to be budget minded on this trip and we're just having a hard time pulling the trigger.

We do have our main trip package already paid for. I had a substantial balance on my Disney Visa Rewards to cash in, and I also received a cash bonus last fall. I decided to just pay that package off at the time so that we wouldn't have to worry about keeping the money set aside. It wasn't going to draw that much interest in a few months anyway.

Now, If I could get the points built back up on our Disney Visa to pay for our one night splurge, I'm pretty sure that's what we'll do. But since you have to pay for the room when you book a room only stay and we're still short on rewards funds, we're holding off. I did, however, grab an ADR for lunch on Sunday at Beaches & Cream to use if we would end up staying at Beach Club.

As for the non-Disney portion of the trip... we'll be leaving Sunday to check in at Panama City Beach. We're staying at a place we've stayed before and really like. It is a Holiday Inn resort that is directly on the beach. The rooms are all Gulf view and they have an awesome pool and splash pad and they provide some evening poolside entertainment. It really is well done and reminiscent to some of the things Disney does.

It's a great place to stay, especially if we don't have to pay for the room. They also have a decent pool side bar with a "kids eat free" deal so we will likely just relax by the pool and on the beach and eat on the cheap at the pool bar. The kids will have Sunday evening, all day Monday and all day Tuesday to swim and play on the beach. We'll check out Wednesday to start driving home. I'm not sure if we'll drive all the way or if we'll break it up and stop somewhere along the way.


Thanks for bearing with me on this impossibly long TR. I'll post points later and I'll keep this alive as kind of a running PTR in case new developments arise or I need to seek input and wisdom for our upcoming trip.

 

[MeghanEmily]

Enjoyed this TR and went back to read your East/West Coast one, too! I felt like I watched little DD grow up between the two trips! Looking forward to your summer trip, too. I'm a little unsure and sad about the end of Wishes, too, though. I feel you. We're going in August for our wedding/Disneymoon and I'm sure the new show will be wonderful, but I'm a nostalgic Wishes kind of girl and will definitely miss it.

Oooh, PS! I thought I remembered reading in one of your reports that you hadn't seen the Nemo show? If I didn't make that up and if it's still true, you should definitely give it a shot sometime you have time on a trip. It's my absolute favorite non-nighttime-spectacular show. Really high quality performance value in my opinion. And the puppetry is awesome.

 

[MissMaryQC]

Wow! The sounds like a dream! I'm glad that the plans came together pretty seamlessly. Seems like planning for 11 people isn't actually that bad! Which totally makes me more comfortable planning for our 11 people in September.

You know how I feel about the Wishes changes. I can only imagine if you're this upset how your DW must feel! I know is, this new show better be good.

I hope you guys are able to cover a night at the Beach Club! We've eaten at Beaches and Cream once and just walking by Storm Along Bay makes me want to stay in the hotel, exclusively for the pool!

Panama City plans sound awesome as well! What's the name of the hotel if you don't mind me asking? My sister living in Orlando means that we will likely be taking more trips down there, but possibly not all Disney related, much to my chagrin.

Glad to see you'll be keeping this TR alive! Can't wait to see how plans come together for July and for the rest of the year.

 

[vamassey1]

I'm having a hard time staying up to date on the DIS too. Life has just been too busy.

Your little one is just precious, he has the best smile. I've been praying for him and I hope he's healing.

I have really enjoyed getting caught up on your report. The pictures of your DD with the characters are heat warming. She is very photogenic. I'm sorry your dinner at CRT wasn't Magical. Hopefully the visit this summer will be better. I loved the pictures of your family on Main Street. Please tell your wife I LOVE her necklace! Your DD choices for her late night at MK are spot on. My youngest is 17 and IASW is still a favorite for her (DH cringes).

I'm so happy you have a trip planned for this summer. I can't wait to read that report too and see Ryder enjoying Disney for the first time. We love POR, it our favorite but enjoyed POFQ too. Danielle loved the slide. Don't know what we're going to do without Wishes. We're going right after Danielle graduates. She doesn't know yet, trying to surprise her. She doesn't know a trip to Disney without Wishes. It's great you have a beach trip planned as you recuperate from the parks.

 

[SarahDisney]

I'm with you on Wishes ... my preference is to have both MSEP & Wishes, but if I can't have both, I'd like to have at least one of the two. I don't need a shiny new fireworks show. I want either my parade back, or the fireworks I know I like.
That said ... I'm trying to keep an open mind and I hope the new fireworks show is good. I just really want MSEP back.

I never would have guessed that Via Napoli would be a hard reservation to get. Weird. I wonder if they just don't have many big tables ... at least you were able to get something!

I like the idea of a 1-night splurge room ... Contemporary and Beach Club are both excellent choices. I hope you can get the points!

 

[afwdwfan]

Enjoyed this TR and went back to read your East/West Coast one, too! I felt like I watched little DD grow up between the two trips! Looking forward to your summer trip, too.

Thanks! I'm a little hesitant to commit to a TR yet because this one kind of got bogged down. But I'm sure I'll probably do one. Thanks for following along!

I'm a little unsure and sad about the end of Wishes, too, though. I feel you. We're going in August for our wedding/Disneymoon and I'm sure the new show will be wonderful, but I'm a nostalgic Wishes kind of girl and will definitely miss it.

I'm sorry there won't be the traditional Wishes show, but like I said, I'm sure the new one will be good. You'll get to make new memories and maybe gain a new sentimental favorite being the first time you'll see it will be when you're starting a new chapter in life.

Congratulations!!!

Oooh, PS! I thought I remembered reading in one of your reports that you hadn't seen the Nemo show? If I didn't make that up and if it's still true, you should definitely give it a shot sometime you have time on a trip. It's my absolute favorite non-nighttime-spectacular show. Really high quality performance value in my opinion. And the puppetry is awesome.

I haven't. And a big reason is that we just never stay in AK more than a few hours. I think we'll probably make at least a full day of it this time so this is something that we'll certainly try to do. I know my mom really wants to watch the Lion King again. I could go either way, and honestly, I'd probably prefer to see Nemo for a first time if we had to choose between the 2. We'll see how it goes!

Wow! The sounds like a dream! I'm glad that the plans came together pretty seamlessly. Seems like planning for 11 people isn't actually that bad! Which totally makes me more comfortable planning for our 11 people in September.

It really isn't too bad. But like you mentioned, you do have to get some feedback to find out what people want to do. I'll admit, I went ahead and just made the call on a few of the ADR's myself. We can always cancel/change later if someone decides they don't want to do something. And if we didn't get something that someone wants... well they had their chance to give their input so that's not on me!

You know how I feel about the Wishes changes. I can only imagine if you're this upset how your DW must feel! I know is, this new show better be good.

She certainly isn't happy at all...

I hope you guys are able to cover a night at the Beach Club! We've eaten at Beaches and Cream once and just walking by Storm Along Bay makes me want to stay in the hotel, exclusively for the pool!

I've walked around the resort and I like it. It would definitely be worth it for Stormalong Bay. I am leaning towards going elsewhere this trip though, just for the simple fact that I kind of think it would be better doing this in a few years when the kids are older and can make better use of the pool. I kind of have this goal that I want to stay in all the resorts at least once, so it might be a better opportunity to do a monorail loop room in this case since we'll be in MK the day before anyway. Then again, monorail loop means a more expensive room too!

Panama City plans sound awesome as well! What's the name of the hotel if you don't mind me asking? My sister living in Orlando means that we will likely be taking more trips down there, but possibly not all Disney related, much to my chagrin.

We can't do Disney all the time, unfortunately!

Here's a link to the hotel's website: http://www.hipcbeach.com/

It is a nice place... we stayed the first time on our honeymoon... again for free on points. I used to travel a lot for work and stayed at a lot of Holiday Inn Expresses. They've done a lot of work upgrading the pool area over the last several years. Always something new when we go back, but all rooms face the gulf, the pool area is incredible and the splash pad is great for kids. They also (used to at least) during the summer do an evening torch lighting ceremony/luau show followed by poolside movies. It really is a great family environment. The rooms aren't cheap, but I love the fact that we can literally park and just hang out at the hotel or walk down the beach to other resorts/restaurants if we want to do something else. The pool bar is a favorite though since kids eat free. The food isn't anything special, but the sandwiches are good and the whole family can eat for less than 20 bucks.

Glad to see you'll be keeping this TR alive! Can't wait to see how plans come together for July and for the rest of the year.

Thanks! I've been trying to decide whether or not to do a TR for this upcoming trip... I'm sure I'll give in and do one though.

I'm having a hard time staying up to date on the DIS too. Life has just been too busy.

I feel ya. I love hanging out at the DIS, but it can be very time consuming!

Your little one is just precious, he has the best smile. I've been praying for him and I hope he's healing.

Thank you!

I have really enjoyed getting caught up on your report. The pictures of your DD with the characters are heat warming. She is very photogenic. I'm sorry your dinner at CRT wasn't Magical. Hopefully the visit this summer will be better. I loved the pictures of your family on Main Street. Please tell your wife I LOVE her necklace! Your DD choices for her late night at MK are spot on. My youngest is 17 and IASW is still a favorite for her (DH cringes).

You know, that song certainly is an earworm. I talk bad about it sometimes, but truthfully, I don't think a trip would be complete without a ride on IASW.

I'm so happy you have a trip planned for this summer. I can't wait to read that report too and see Ryder enjoying Disney for the first time. We love POR, it our favorite but enjoyed POFQ too. Danielle loved the slide. Don't know what we're going to do without Wishes. We're going right after Danielle graduates. She doesn't know yet, trying to surprise her. She doesn't know a trip to Disney without Wishes. It's great you have a beach trip planned as you recuperate from the parks.

That should be an awesome surprise graduation trip! That's too bad that you'll miss Wishes, but I'm sure the new show will be good. It just won't be Wishes...

I'm with you on Wishes ... my preference is to have both MSEP & Wishes, but if I can't have both, I'd like to have at least one of the two. I don't need a shiny new fireworks show. I want either my parade back, or the fireworks I know I like.
That said ... I'm trying to keep an open mind and I hope the new fireworks show is good. I just really want MSEP back.

That's kind of where I am... I am positive the new show will be awesome. It just won't be Wishes...

I never would have guessed that Via Napoli would be a hard reservation to get. Weird. I wonder if they just don't have many big tables ... at least you were able to get something!

They do have quite a few big tables there. We've done a large ADR there before without any problems. It kind of makes me wonder what's going on at EPCOT that I've not figured out yet!

I like the idea of a 1-night splurge room ... Contemporary and Beach Club are both excellent choices. I hope you can get the points!

Thanks!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Last summer we were planning to visit the Smoky Mountains and then drive to a beach somewhere for a couple of days. Our oldest son had been asking to go to the beach for a couple of years. Plans were getting put into place and our reservations in the Smokies had already been made when we received the news about our coming addition's health issues. Needless to say vacation plans were canceled and last summer the kids didn't get to do anything fun.

And the people were so upset you didn't visit they burned the place down.

And I might have finally broken through to them when I was sitting in her kitchen the day after Christmas. Mom mentioned that we could be at Disney World right now. I'm never one to shy away from a "told you so" moment so I proved my point by showing her waits over an hour for rides like the Magic Carpets as well as much longer waits on better rides on the MDE app.

The lengths you have to go to in order to prove a point!

Ok, I'm not anti-change. I get it. Things need updated. To me, Wishes was the best night time show on Disney property. Hands down. It has withstood the test of time. There are other things that probably needed attention sooner (ie: Illuminations).

Illuminations does need work. Really, it would be a lot better if they just cut down on the amount of spinning globe time. And added more fire barge.

While I wasn't exactly a huge MSEP fan, I'm still going to be comparing the new show to the combined draw of MSEP, the castle projection show, and Wishes. Because frankly, I feel like they're trying to replace all of them with this one new show.

I think a new parade is probably in the works. It seems like too much of a Disney tradition for them to just axe it. Unless the bean-counters really are in charge of everything.

Anyway, I hope the new show is cool. I like Wishes, but I can't say I ever thought it was irreplaceable. A cynic would say this and every other night-time show (World of Color, Fantasmic) are really just fireworks combined with Disney clip shows.

DW and I didn't eat at Via Napoli on our last trip. Skipping it once is bad. Skipping it twice is unforgivable.

Have to agree there.

We all wanted to do a Fantasmic package, but we didn't set a specific plan on what we wanted to get. I ended up giving half credit for the ADR that was difficult if you picked H&V. Because technically, it was. But we knew that Fantasmic packages are limited and we weren't dead set on anything specific so we were planning to just plug in the date and see what we could get. We originally ended up booking at Mama Melrose. We had a group of 5 and a group of 6. There was nothing available for H&V. Since then, we ended up finding an ADR for 11 at H&V and have re-booked this ADR since the buffet will likely be a bit quicker and the kids will like the characters. As of the time that the question was presented though, our ADR was for Mama Melrose so that's the one that gets credit.

I read this three times and still have no idea what you said, other than I think it means I get no points.

Which means we still have a night to fill in somewhere. We're not sure what we want to do yet. We'll either drive part way and stay some place cheaper.

Well, that sounds boring.

Or we're considering splurging. As in one night in a room we wouldn't ordinarily pay for.

Much better! Do this! I have no problem spending your money for you.

Now, If I could get the points built back up on our Disney Visa to pay for our one night splurge, I'm pretty sure that's what we'll do.

Spend spend spend!!!

Thanks for bearing with me on this impossibly long TR.

Well, hey, you read mine. Seems like you might have had a distraction or two along the way this year.

 

[glennbo123]

Nice to read about your summer plans Andy. Yes, I remember your sister missing a whole park day last time, I hope she has a better experience this time around.

You'll get to experience new stuff at AK especially, like Pandora and Rivers of Light -- nice!

Ooo, good call on the Skipper's Canteen vs. CRT for the guys. Especially after your last experience with CRT!

Hmm, not sure what to tell you with Via Napoli. I know you love it. Although we weren't blown away and wouldn't hesitate to look at other World Showcase options.

Interesting idea to splurge one night, I hope you can do it. I'd like to experience Stormalong Bay. Beach Club may be James' pick for his graduation trip. Time will tell.

Sounds like a great ending to the trip, spending a few days at the beach and taking a leisurely pace home.

 

[MrsPMcD]

I've jsut joined DIS and found a link to your report from somewhere else on the site but really enjoyed it - thanks for sharing.

Despite the rain and the feeling of being pelted by BB’s we still enjoyed our ride

This made me laugh, we had the exact same experience and have the same ride photo of everyone looking slightly in pain! that was our first 7DMT experience but luckily we got to do it again in sunshine!

Ok, I'm not anti-change. I get it. Things need updated. To me, Wishes was the best night time show on Disney property.

I'm disappointed that Wishes is going too. Sigh. Don't know if this one will have the same magic!

 

[Steppesister]

Needless to say vacation plans were canceled and last summer the kids didn't get to do anything fun.

Excuses, excuses...

We decided while still in the hospital that we were going to find a way to have a big vacation this summer.

Nothing makes a hard situation easier than planning a Disney vacation.

Our traveling group has 3 reservations for this trip.

Well, there's a logistical nightmare!

We're going in mid-July.

So, do we get to hear your "It was hot!" rants?

Our ADR should allow us time to eat and get back to the room to get to bed early so we can get a full night of sleep.

Good plan! Sucks starting out tired!

Oh wait. Wishes will be gone.

[rant]Ok, I'm not anti-change. I get it. Things need updated. To me, Wishes was the best night time show on Disney property. Hands down. It has withstood the test of time. There are other things that probably needed attention sooner (ie: Illuminations).

AMEN!! Please! Replace Illuminations.

Because frankly, I feel like they're trying to replace all of them with this one new show.

Agreed! Things were perfectly great! Just... why...?!

This was the ADR that gave us some difficulty. DW and I didn't eat at Via Napoli

Ok, this really surprised me. Didn't see that one coming.

They haven't yet opened the Rivers of Light dining package for July,

They have now... did you get one?

I really want to splurge and do a night in the Contemporary with a theme park view or a night at Beach Club so we can use Stormalong Bay for a few hours Sunday morning before we head out.

DO IT!!

They also have a decent pool side bar with a "kids eat free" deal so we will likely just relax by the pool and on the beach and eat on the cheap at the pool bar.

A

See? With planning like that, you can splurge too!

 

[franandaj]

Well I'm just making my rounds to catch up on everyone else's TRs before I start my next one. Glad you have all your plans in place (well most of them). I hope your luck continues and everything goes smoothly on the next trip. It will be here before you know it.

 

[pkondz]

Needless to say vacation plans were canceled and last summer the kids didn't get to do anything fun.

Yup. Fairly familiar with that story.

We decided while still in the hospital that we were going to find a way to have a big vacation this summer.

Good!

As plans tend to do, things evolved and Mom started talking about doing a whole family trip to Disney World as we hadn't all been together since 2012.

Nice!

Mom and Sis really wanted to go around Christmas time for the decorations.

Good Lord! Can you say.... CROWDS!!!!!

As dates were discussed they kept coming back to the week between Christmas and New Years.

nonononononononoooooooo!

I proved my point by showing her waits over an hour for rides like the Magic Carpets

Holy crap.

I don't know if you remember, but on our last family trip, Sis ended up very sick during the trip. She has a gluten allergy and somehow ate some contaminated food at some point and ended up missing a full day in the parks.

Wow. That totally sucks.

[rant]Ok, I'm not anti-change. I get it. Things need updated. To me, Wishes was the best night time show on Disney property. Hands down. It has withstood the test of time. There are other things that probably needed attention sooner (ie: Illuminations).

My theory is that they have decided to do this so that when they get flooded with complaints about there not being a night time parade, they can point at the shiny new fireworks show which is really just a replacement for an old show. So this new show, in my screwed up twisted mind, is facing a huge uphill battle. While I wasn't exactly a huge MSEP fan, I'm still going to be comparing the new show to the combined draw of MSEP, the castle projection show, and Wishes. Because frankly, I feel like they're trying to replace all of them with this one new show.

And if you think I'm not crazy about this change, DW's absolute 2 favorite things at Disney World were MSEP and Wishes. You should hear her opinion about these changes...

Alright, alright... I'm sure the show will be good and we'll love it. In fact have no doubt. I'm still not loving the idea right now though. [/rant]

So... not sure if I've got this.

You're not happy?

So, do we get to hear your "It was hot!" rants?

No. That's my rant.

 

[Dugette]

Finally starting to catch up around here, since I had a bit of a hiatus. So glad you have a trip coming up this summer - I definitely hope you will do a TR - you've got to document baby's first trip, after all. Interested to see what you end up doing with your extra night. Hope your family is all doing well.

 

[amazingact21]

While I wasn't exactly a huge MSEP fan, I'm still going to be comparing the new show to the combined draw of MSEP, the castle projection show, and Wishes. Because frankly, I feel like they're trying to replace all of them with this one new show.

I haven't thought of it this way before, but you're absolutely right. I also think they are trying to cut costs by relying on projections more than fireworks, which if that's the case will frustrate me. I fully expected them to replace Wishes when the 50th Anniversary rolled around; I really don't understand why they are doing it now. Especially when IllumiNations could really use a facelift.

DW and I didn't eat at Via Napoli on our last trip. Skipping it once is bad. Skipping it twice is unforgivable.

Unacceptable! You definitely have to eat there this summer.

Nothing was available for lunch at 182 days out.

I think more and more people are realizing how delicious this restaurant is. I've seen the availability drop drastically in the last few years.

We have a hotel reserved in Panama City Beach to spend 3 nights there.

Nice.

I really want to splurge and do a night in the Contemporary with a theme park view or a night at Beach Club so we can use Stormalong Bay for a few hours Sunday morning before we head out. But it's a lot of money and we're trying to be budget minded on this trip and we're just having a hard time pulling the trigger.

I think you should totally splurge for a deluxe for a night. The Contemporary is big enough for your family of 5 to fit easily, but the kids would probably love Stormalong Bay at the Beach Club. You guys have had a lot going on in the past few years and haven't been back to Disney in awhile, you deserve to treat yourself for a night. So I say if you can build up the reward points in time, do it.


Your PCB portion of the trip sounds very relaxing and easy. My home is along the Gulf about 2 hours west of Panama City, so I know how amazing those beaches are. I vaguely remember you being bored by your last beach vacation, but hopefully since it's only for a few days and you'll be recovering from many busy Disney park days, it won't be so bad this time around.

 

[afwdwfan]

And the people were so upset you didn't visit they burned the place down.

I guess that explains it. I also haven't been to Oklahoma and Kansas in a few years either. I probably ought to get back out to Delaware soon before it starts burning too!

The lengths you have to go to in order to prove a point!

It's blood. They're every bit as stubborn as I am.

Illuminations does need work. Really, it would be a lot better if they just cut down on the amount of spinning globe time. And added more fire barge.

I think a new parade is probably in the works. It seems like too much of a Disney tradition for them to just axe it. Unless the bean-counters really are in charge of everything.

But Wishes at least had a cool soundtrack. I get goosebumps whenever I hear it.

Anyway, I hope the new show is cool. I like Wishes, but I can't say I ever thought it was irreplaceable. A cynic would say this and every other night-time show (World of Color, Fantasmic) are really just fireworks combined with Disney clip shows.

I think the bean counters are really getting more control all the time. I mean the past 2 - 3 years we've been seeing plenty of evidence of that with the price increases and abundance of new upgraded experiences for a fee.

Have to agree there.

I read this three times and still have no idea what you said, other than I think it means I get no points.

Yeah, I don't remember. But you probably did get points on this one. You kicked some serious butt on this last update. I probably ought to get that cleaned up and posted sometime...

Well, that sounds boring.

Yeah, probably.

Much better! Do this! I have no problem spending your money for you.

Neither does my wife.

Spend spend spend!!!

You really are good at that. Actually, I've been running some farm expenses through that credit card just to build up points. Just paid for 500 gallons of fuel with it yesterday. Hopefully we can get there!

Well, hey, you read mine. Seems like you might have had a distraction or two along the way this year.

Yeah, maybe.

Nice to read about your summer plans Andy. Yes, I remember your sister missing a whole park day last time, I hope she has a better experience this time around.

It can't be much worse! As good as Disney is about catering to allergies, it was shocking and disappointing that it happened to her there.

You'll get to experience new stuff at AK especially, like Pandora and Rivers of Light -- nice!

Ooo, good call on the Skipper's Canteen vs. CRT for the guys. Especially after your last experience with CRT!

I'm not sure if we'll stick with it... but we won't be going to CRT.

Hmm, not sure what to tell you with Via Napoli. I know you love it. Although we weren't blown away and wouldn't hesitate to look at other World Showcase options.

Fair enough... there are places that others rave about that I think are kind of meh... if we all liked the same places we'd never be able to get an ADR.

Interesting idea to splurge one night, I hope you can do it. I'd like to experience Stormalong Bay. Beach Club may be James' pick for his graduation trip. Time will tell.

I was leaning towards that at first, but DW and I have talked about it. We might save that one for a split stay when the kids are older and we can all enjoy it more. We're thinking monorail loop might be the most convenient this time... also most expensive.

Sounds like a great ending to the trip, spending a few days at the beach and taking a leisurely pace home.

I've jsut joined DIS and found a link to your report from somewhere else on the site but really enjoyed it - thanks for sharing.

Well thanks for reading and welcome to the DIS!

This made me laugh, we had the exact same experience and have the same ride photo of everyone looking slightly in pain! that was our first 7DMT experience but luckily we got to do it again in sunshine!

I'm glad you got a do-over. That really would stink if you had that FP+ and that was your one experience with the ride!

I'm disappointed that Wishes is going too. Sigh. Don't know if this one will have the same magic!

I hope that they recognize what Wishes was to so many people and try to replicate some of that magic. Like I said, I'm sure it will be an awesome show and we'll love it, but Wishes has just always been something extra special.

Excuses, excuses...

yeah, yeah... I know.

Nothing makes a hard situation easier than planning a Disney vacation.

That's the truth.

Well, there's a logistical nightmare!

Oh... only slightly. I mean 1 or 2 of us can actually figure out how to log into DME and use it.

And I'm praying nobody accidentally cancels all of our FP+ or something.

So, do we get to hear your "It was hot!" rants?

Yes. I'm going to have to get creative with the hyperbolic statements of how hot it was.

Good plan! Sucks starting out tired!

But it will only take the first day to get me tired anyway so what's the difference?

AMEN!! Please! Replace Illuminations.

Agreed! Things were perfectly great! Just... why...?!

Because we have to screw with things... I don't know?

Ok, this really surprised me. Didn't see that one coming.

Yeah, me neither!

They have now... did you get one?

Um... guess I missed that one.

DO IT!!

Everybody wants to spend my money.

See? With planning like that, you can splurge too!

We're just trying not to go broke here...