I'm going through withdrawal...one trip just became two!!

[onelilspark]

Great Pictures!!! It looks like you had a great time on your mini vacation. You should totally do a DR on the restaurant you went to! It will prep you for your upcoming trip!

Okay, now I really want to go to Wine Country!!! My DH probably would think it's boring, so I need to plan a trip with my cousin who lives in San Diego. Does it cost to get into the wineries, like admission?

Most cost for the tasting around $10, 15, or 20. Since there were 4 of us (Mom, Dad, brother, & me) we usually split 2 and that was fine...also helps with pacing yourself!

My Mom kept laughing at me because I was balking at the prices. Here in NY it's like $5 tasting or $5 for tour + tasting. If you wanted tour + tasting at some places it was closer to $40. Ridic. Then again, we don't really have $90 bottles of wine that you get to taste

We did a wine tasting class at Mondavi that I think is a great way to start. I've done them before up here at the New York Wine and Culinary Center in Canandaigua (awesome facility, highly recommend it if you're up in this area!) But I had to laugh at my Dad & brother. We did this the second day and all of a sudden they were swirling their wine, checking the color, etc.

 

[onelilspark]

Alright. I've managed to avoid it long enough, but I'm starting to twitch. It's time to plan.

Magic Kingdom
Aug 1...9-10
Aug 2...9-10+EMH
Aug 3...9-10
Epcot
Aug 1...9-9
Aug 2...EMH+9-9
Aug 3...9-9
Hollywood Studios
Aug 1...9-7
Aug 2...9-9
Aug 3...EMH+9-7
Animal Kingdom
Aug 1...EMH+9-7
Aug 2...9-7
Aug 3...9-7+EMH

I should get to the hotel around 10:30am on the 1st. My original plan was to head right over to AK, then after lunch-ish go to Epcot. On the 2nd get to MK at rope drop, then head back to the hotel for some R&R, then EMH at MK. Last day on the 3rd go to HS, do morning EMH for TSM...

But now looking at it...Aug 1 has morning EMH for AK. So that day may not be the best to get there. AK is my least favorite park, we were doing it so that we could eat at Y&Y CS. I'm afraid that I'll tire myself out if I stay up late at the MK and then immediately get up and try and do HS...grrrr I need some more time!


What do you guys think?

 

[onelilspark]

Ok...because I'm not totally crazy, I think I've come up with a new plan...

Day 1: Flight lands, check bag coming down so all I have is my purse that I'll take into Disney with me...survive on trip down solely on IPod, sleep, and In-Flight TV banana: Jet Blue!!) Think I can manage. If all goes according to plan, my flight gets in at 9:39am. I can hopefully get right on a Magical Express. Since I won't have to wait for my carry-on underneath, I can go right to check-in and beat everyone there (I'm a little sneaky )

After check-in, I'll head to HS. I should hopefully get there around 11am. I'm hoping since the park closes at 7 that night and there's no Fantasmic, it won't be as crowded...so I might have a shot at a TSM fastpass for later. If I don't, no biggie, I can grab a FP for ToT and hop in single rider at RnR. I mean, I wanted to get here early to do TSM, but I've done it before, so it wouldn't be the end of the world if I missed it...and I'm prone to migraines if I don't get enough sleep and to be honest, it's not worth risking a migraine, right? I'll survive. What I really want to see here is some more streetmosphere. We watched some while waiting for the Block Party Bash in February (which I can skip this time ) and it cracked me up. I want more! When I'm tired there, I'll head to Epcot. That's an easy Park Hop too. We spent my Birthday at Epcot and hit all the big rides. So if I miss Soarin', I'll live. Test Track we can hit single rider if we want. But the big thing with Epcot is that my baby brother, my little brother (who YES is now taller than me! ) can now drink in Epcot! I need to show him the ropes. So we definitely want to spend an evening there.

If I'm up for it, we have 3 evening options:
1) Beaches & Cream and get some ice cream...I've never been here and I'm dying to go!!!
2) JellyRolls...I went in February and loved it. The only thing is that I'm not sure I'll make it. My flight leaves at 7am, which means I have a very early wake up call!!
3) Grab a drink at the Coronado lounge. Then I go back and crash while my brother stays behind (Voted most likely to happen by a jury of my peers.)

Day 2: ...yeah yeah, I'm just "starting" to plan... This day is totally earmarked for the Magic Kingdom. I'm convinced!

I really want to hit rope drop. I love the opening ceremony they have! (Otherwise I'd do the smart thing and hit HS this morning and get my ride on TSM!) Spend until lunchtime or so bopping around the MK. Then either head back to the hotel or head over to the Poly to take out one of the Sprites (do they still call them Sprites??) Part of our package includes an extra half hour for water activities, so that might be fun. Or drive over to play Mini Golf, since that's free (I'm all about free! ) Then back to the hotel for a rest. Take a nap. I told my brother that on this night the MK had EMH and he didn't know what that meant! He's a Disney fanatic, so I'm not sure how he let that slide So I told him it meant that it's open to resort guests for 3 hours after it actually "closes" so we can be there until 1am. He was like "Magic Kingdom at 1am!" And got excited. So that's set in stone. That, is not changing.

Day 3: Roll out of bed when we can. Animal Kingdom. Mainly for the Egg rolls at Y&Y! Then my dilemma was that my favorite parade is at the AK. My flight leaves at 6:30. Hmmmm...what to do! Then I realized that on the way back, I could totally carry on my bag! That means I don't have to get to the airport as early. But it does mean that as soon as that parade is done, we need to hustle! And we need to figure out where the beginning of the parade route is

Soooooo those are the plans. What do you all think?

 

[teruterubouzu]

It sounds fun! You have a lot packed into those days, which is exactly how I'd do it.

 

[onelilspark]

It sounds fun! You have a lot packed into those days, which is exactly how I'd do it.

I have three days. Sleep is for the weak. (Which I apparently am because I rearranged my days so I could get more!!)

What I really want to do in each Park:

Hollywood Studios:

• Streetmosphere
• Great Movie Ride (See if I can NOT get the Bank Robber this time! )
• Annimation Class

Epcot:

• Tasty Beverages
• Spaceship Earth in French
• Journey Into Imagination

Magic Kingdom:

• Rope Drop!
• EMH

Animal Kingdom:

• Yak & Yeti CS
• Jammin Jungle Parade

I think I can accomplish that in three days! Totally doable!

 

[onelilspark]

I'm starting to think about dining...

Saturday we'll need 2 meals, lunch and dinner.

Sunday we need 2 or 3...maybe breakfast, but definitely lunch & dinner.

Monday we'll have breakfast and lunch.

Now, I can easily split a meal, but my brother...well, he's a growin' boy. Seriously, he's a bottomless pit. I don't know where he puts it.

The problem is that we have 4 meals total over those 3 days.

At Y&Y we might use 1 CS and 2 snacks.

Saturday will be 2 CS for dinner...somewhere in Epcot.
Sunday will be 4 CS.
So we'll only have 1 CS left. That could be for breakfast on Monday or lunch on Saturday

Sooooo we could do a sit down lunch on Saturday. The fixed menu at Chefs de France is a killer deal. Only $20pp. Or do Biergarten at $20pp. Do a late lunch? One of my brother's favorite places to eat at Epcot is Biergarten. He likes the girls and the food, he's a happy camper. Plus he can order BEER He's also big into France. He studied abroad there, speaks fluent French too. I think we'd be good at either place. I'm tempted to call and see if there's availability at either around 2:30 for lunch and book one, just so we have it!! PLUS...it's a rather full day we're doing, so it might be nice to have a mid-afternoon air conditioning break...

So many choices. I need my brother to get back from his road trip. I need his input!

 

[teruterubouzu]

Making dining reservations must make it feel like it's coming up soon. Fun!

I just found out last night that I may be going to WDW with my brother this August too. I just need to figure out how to arrange to be away from the office for a couple of days.

 

[onelilspark]

Making dining reservations must make it feel like it's coming up soon. Fun!

I just found out last night that I may be going to WDW with my brother this August too. I just need to figure out how to arrange to be away from the office for a couple of days.

How fun!

I did go ahead and make a 2:30 at France. I figure I can always cancel or change it if we need to!!

 

[onelilspark]

Brother's back. He's down with the plans. France is good. We're rockin' and rollin'!

 

[onelilspark]

I don't really have an update, but I feel like this is neglected. My dining is done, my flights are booked, tee-shirts are made...I'm twidling my thumbs here!!

My parents went up to Epcot for Father's Day...well, pre-Father's Day. My brother got his AP...didn't use the discount card I sent him because he forgot it Oh well, he still gets the FL resident discount, and I'm not sure he could have combined them anyway. So they did Epcot Saturday and ate at Tepan Edo with other Eagles Fans Sunday my parents golfed the Magnolia and apprarently their AP's got them a really great discount that made my Dad a happy camper...so they used the money they were planning on spending anyway and bought shirts Way to spport the economy!!

That is all...

 

[shebaxric]

You are just well planned, not neglectful! You can use your PTR as a forum for anything else. We'll keep looking for updates, it doesn't matter if they aren't trip related!

Here's the question of the day: since your brother got his AP, have you decided whether or not you'll get another one???

 

[onelilspark]

Hmmm...question of the day

As much as I want one...it doesn't make sense. Last year I knew I was going in October & February, between the two trips I only needed I think 2 more days to make it worth it. Then I went in August when I got it and December for the day and for my birthday...and now. (I think I have a problem!!!) So it was really worth it. This year I'm pretty much out of vacation days in the fall besides a day or two around the holidays Next year I think my boyfriend and I might take a cruise. So I can't really justify the expense like I did last year...which is why I'm going on this trip! Gotta get my value out of it!!!

My brother goes to school in FL, so he'll go over with his friends (jealous? why yes. yes i am! ) I think my next move might be a 10 day non-expire pass. I can always borrow someone's AP to get free parking I'll probably take a year "off" from Disney and do other stuff. The fun part for me is that since my parents are close if I really start to go through withdrawal again...ahem...I can go for a long weekend and do a tour and dinner. I've always wanted to do Backstage Magic, if I don't have a pass it's a good excuse

Sooooo that's my answer

ETA: I love how my idea of taking a year "off" is going for a long weekend and doing a tour...

 

[shebaxric]

TAKING A YEAR OFF OF DISNEY??? I did that last year and I think I became physically sick more because of it. But honestly, I think your logic makes sense, the passes are very expensive!

 

[onelilspark]

Soooo I'm thinking of going to DisneyLAND next year. I mean, it's not DisneyWORLD...so that's different. Right...right??

 

[teruterubouzu]

Disneyland is great! I rather regret buying an AP at WDW because that means I have a harder time justifying a trip out to California.

p.s. My trip with my brother is booked! We're staying at the Dolphin and I can't wait. I've made a couple of reservations using the online site and keep wanting to make more. The planning is so fun!

 

[shebaxric]

Disneyland is definitely different. There are some fantastic things there that WDW doesn't have. Growing up in Southern CA we were there at least 3 times a year. Let me know if you go and I'll give you some pointers. Sounds like a blast!

 

[onelilspark]

It'll be my first trip to Disneyland. I even somehow got a committal from the bf last night that he'll go with me! So we started looking at some details...I really wanted to stay "onsite" but they don't really have a "moderate" option, so we might go off-site BUT I also might be able to get free rooms since I travel for work and if we're planning this far in advance, I can focus on staying in Marriott properties and rack up points

We're looking at early February or May. Probably May. But as he keeps reminding me...it's months away

That's so exciting you're going down in August too! Apparently sibling trips in August for long weekends are what all the cool kids are doing!! When in August?
I booked Chefs right before they came out with online dining, so besides just playing around with it, I don't get to use it

 

[onelilspark]

Disneyland is definitely different. There are some fantastic things there that WDW doesn't have. Growing up in Southern CA we were there at least 3 times a year. Let me know if you go and I'll give you some pointers. Sounds like a blast!

Point away!

 

[teruterubouzu]

That's so exciting you're going down in August too! Apparently sibling trips in August for long weekends are what all the cool kids are doing!! When in August?

Hooray for convincing the BF to go to Disneyland! That's so great.

You are right about all of the cool kids. LOL. My brother and I will be at WDW for 4 nights starting the 7th of August. It feels like a long ways away right now.

 

[onelilspark]

I'm going only a week before you and it's just over a month. Which scares me because I think to myself "OMG AUGUST IS ONLY A MONTH AWAY!" And then I giggle.

Good story, no?