I'm Having a Me Party, A Party By Myself- solo Nov 2017 PTR *Updated 10/20*

[MeghanEmily]

I love all your Disney swag!! I also have a problem with buying too much Disney-themed apparel that never gets worn outside of Disney trips...

 

[Raeven]

For Sunday we will be doing F&W and I though these shirts were just too perfect for that.

We finish each other Sandwiches ​

I bought those for Josh and I to wear awhile ago, but his is too big so I can't get him to wear it

For my four parks, one day I got this little beauty

I have that one too! But it was from when they said rope drop to wishes, I didn't like the fit though so I wear it as PJ's.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I love the shirts! I also have a shirt problem. I kind of went crazy with Etsy shirts for our trip!

 

[missangelalexis]

I am the same way with Disney clothes! Always need new shirts for each trip but I rarely wear them outside of Disney!

Those Up shirts are so cute! And I love the Epcot ears!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Hi Ashley! I'm a bad DISer too and didn't realize you had started a PTR. It sounds like a super fun trip! I would not hesitate to go solo! BTW, we're gonna be there from Oct 30-Nov 6th! Steve and I are also celebrating our 9 year anniversary (Nov 1)!! If we get a chance to, I'd love to say hi!

I love your plans so far! I think they are perfect.

2. Attend Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

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Considering I have already purchased the ticket for this one, I think it's safe to say that I will be going. My main goal for the party is to do mainly party things, specifically the parade and fireworks. I will probably not go on many rides, if any and I really just want to enjoy the ambiance and soak it all in.

We did this for the first time last year and loved it! I am usually not a huge Christmas person but this party was really fun and I got some cute pictures. Just be prepared to wait a long time for the rare characters (we waited an hour for the 7 dwarfs) but the rides had little to no lines. It was great!

3. Eat at Food and Wine Booths

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I am having such a hard time right now. The menus came out last week, and OMG I want everything. Of course I am one person and can't possibly eat it all, but I will be having at least two, possible three meals there to sample as much as I can. Stay tuned for details on that.

I just returned from a short trip over Labor Day weekend and I felt that we ate so much at F and W and we still barely made a dent in all their offerings!

4. Watch Once Upon a Time and Happily Ever After.

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This one is going to be quite the struggle for me. I Haven't watched the fireworks in front of the castle in a long time. I have gotten quite spoiled being able to watch them from other places in the Magic Kingdom. However, since this will be my first time to see it I want it to be in front, so I can see the projections. I am just not sure I want to deal with the crowds. So we'll see how this works out.

We had no problem watching it during August and September. We went at around 8:30 for the 9pm fireworks and there was plenty of space around the front of the castle in the hub area. I would recommend being in the center or slightly to the right of the castle (when facing it) but not right up close. When we were on the left of the castle I felt the fireworks looked a bit spaced out so it was harder to capture in pictures because it was so wide!

5. Visit Wilderness Lodge

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While my ultimate bucket list is to stay at all the resorts, for right now I have to settle at least having visited all the deluxe ones. The only two left on that list are Boardwalk (my conference is there so that I will definitely see) and Wilderness Lodge. I have never really had a reason to go here and it will be hard to fit it in, but I am going to try and make it over there for a quick look around.

Haha you and me both. I have not visited WL. I know I will love it too, it's just that we have had no reason to visit before but I'd like to have a meal there on another trip.

6. Have a drink at Abracadabar

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I actually haven't heard anyone talk about this place, so I have no idea if it's good or not, but the concept is really intriguing to me and I would like to give it try. If it is not too crowded I will try to stop by there one day after the conference.

When we stayed at Boardwalk earlier in May we never even went here. I wanted to, but we just never got a chance to. Their drinks sound really interesting though and we took a peak inside the space and I love how it looks like an old-fashioned apothecary.

7. See Rivers of Light

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This is a show that I have been waiting for forever, as I'm sure most of you feel the same. I have been avoiding spoilers on this, because I really want to just experience it myself before I make a judgement. I have listened to the soundtrack though and I love it, so I'm hoping the visuals live up to that.

I think you'll enjoy it!

8. Visit Pandora

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This obviously had to be on my must dos. I have been trying to avoid as much as I can about this land, again so I can experience for myself firsthand and I can't wait to try all the new stuff.

It's amazing! That is cool you have not read any spoilers. It's hard considering everyone who has been there wants to talk about it in their TR (myself included, LOL)

9. Have a Nutella and Fruit Waffle from Sleepy Hallow

haha sorry for the small picture
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This has been on my list of foods to try for awhile and I always seem to forget once I'm there. So it is definitely a must do this time around.

OMG I loved this when I got it last year. I have not had it again yet. I must rectify that at some point!

10. Do a Solo Character meet

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This final one is more about pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I love meeting characters, its fun and let's me be a kid again for a minute. I was super apprehensive doing it on my adults only trip and it ended up being fun, but I think because my husband there, I was more comfortable. The thought of doing it alone feels weird, and I think that might stop me. I hope that once I'm there, the chance to be a kid again takes over and I am brave enough to do it, we'll have to wait and see I guess.

I had the best solo meet with Minnie and Pluto (the Disney Visa Character Spot) in Epcot back in May. They picture came out so cute, it looked like we were best friends!

So DH only has two days, but we are going to jam pack them with as much as possible. We had such a blast on our couple trip May 2015 and I can’t wait for this little get away. We were originally going to go somewhere around here for our anniversary weekend in September, but this is basically taking that place. So we’ll celebrate our 9 year anniversary a month and a half later.

Happy Anniversary!!
That's so great your DH could come out with you for the weekend!

For dinner I am thinking about trying to have dinner at the Brown Derby Lounge. I really want to try that cobb salad.

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Get the dressing on the side, trust me. It is much more enjoyable that way!

Liquid Nitro Chocolate-Almond Truffle with Warm Whiskey-Caramel

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My friend got this about 3 times during food and wine last weekend! She said it was insanely good.

Zesty Cheeseburger and Cheddar Cheese Macaroni Handwich

I got this! It's pretty good, but a lot of carbs! It's mac n cheese inside a bread cone. The bread cone itself isn't that thick though. The mac n cheese inside is yummy, tastes like cheeseburgers!

Warm Irish Cheddar Cheese and Stout Dip with Irish Brown Bread

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We had this too and it was pretty good. The cheese dip had a lot of flavor and the stout added a rich caramel type flavor and color. I still prefer plastic nacho cheese though, LOL/

We will start with morning at HS, but won't waste a FP there and instead use them when we hop to Epcop around 11. Even though TT has single rider and Soarin would be a better use of FP, Joe doesn't really care about riding it and since we only have the two days together and I would prefer to ride together on TT anyway. So we have FPs for TT, Mission Space (going for the new green side), and Spaceship Earth.

I always get an FP for TT and never Soarin'. The waits for TT always exceed Soarin throughout the day so you made a good choice. We rode Soarin last weekend in the middle of the day with a 30 minute wait while TT had a 70 minute wait.

For the portion with Joe, I wanted to do matching shirts. Yes we are that couple/family I am not ashamed. This being our anniversary celebration weekend, I thought, what the heck, let's do all matching. For Saturday when we do AK and MK, I bought...

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Aww so cute. I should totally do this with Steve but he'll probably be like, why are we doing this?!

Obviously just the Carl and Ellie one. UP is my absolute favorite Pixar movie and Ellie and Carl are the ultimate relationship goals in my mind, so I wanted to represent that. I also got matching buttons to go with it.

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LOVE it!! LOVE UP too!!

And a Disney outfit is not complete with out some ears, so I got these...

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I love these! Where are these from?

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And since I had the bag, I needed the pin to go with it. Plus it has one of my favorite lines from Force Awakens.

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I love the BB8 backpack and pin! You are On Point with your outfits!!

 

[ashw100]

I love all of these! So cute!!

Thanks

You can never have enough Disney clothes! The LLR collection has me almost going broke! LOL

I haven't gotten on the LLR trend, probably a good thing for my bank account.

 

[ashw100]

I love all your Disney swag!! I also have a problem with buying too much Disney-themed apparel that never gets worn outside of Disney trips...

It's so good to know I am not alone in my Disney clothes addiction.

I bought those for Josh and I to wear awhile ago, but his is too big so I can't get him to wear it

Oh no, that's too bad. Our actually came last night and DH was really excited about them.

I have that one too! But it was from when they said rope drop to wishes, I didn't like the fit though so I wear it as PJ's.

I wanted that one so bad . I do have a cute Wishes shirt from happily ever tees, that I wear on the last night of my Jan trip though.

I love the shirts! I also have a shirt problem. I kind of went crazy with Etsy shirts for our trip!

\
That darn etsy keeps still all my money

I am the same way with Disney clothes! Always need new shirts for each trip but I rarely wear them outside of Disney!

At least it's not just me

Those Up shirts are so cute! And I love the Epcot ears!

Thanks, I can't wait to actually get the ears and see them in person.

 

[ashw100]

Hi Ashley! I'm a bad DISer too and didn't realize you had started a PTR. It sounds like a super fun trip! I would not hesitate to go solo! BTW, we're gonna be there from Oct 30-Nov 6th! Steve and I are also celebrating our 9 year anniversary (Nov 1)!! If we get a chance to, I'd love to say hi!

Yay!! It's our 9th too, how funny (our is actually in Sept though). I would love to have a DIS meet if possible, we'll have to see if our schedule syncs up

We did this for the first time last year and loved it! I am usually not a huge Christmas person but this party was really fun and I got some cute pictures. Just be prepared to wait a long time for the rare characters (we waited an hour for the 7 dwarfs) but the rides had little to no lines. It was great!

I'm just meh about the characters, while I'd love to meet them, I don't actually want to wait

I just returned from a short trip over Labor Day weekend and I felt that we ate so much at F and W and we still barely made a dent in all their offerings!

I know, while I appreciate the symbolism, 35 booths is just too much.

We had no problem watching it during August and September. We went at around 8:30 for the 9pm fireworks and there was plenty of space around the front of the castle in the hub area. I would recommend being in the center or slightly to the right of the castle (when facing it) but not right up close. When we were on the left of the castle I felt the fireworks looked a bit spaced out so it was harder to capture in pictures because it was so wide!

Great to know, thanks.

Haha you and me both. I have not visited WL. I know I will love it too, it's just that we have had no reason to visit before but I'd like to have a meal there on another trip.

I know I need to just book a meal but I can't be bothered

When we stayed at Boardwalk earlier in May we never even went here. I wanted to, but we just never got a chance to. Their drinks sound really interesting though and we took a peak inside the space and I love how it looks like an old-fashioned apothecary.

I plan to stay in one of the Epcot resorts next, so hopefully if I can't make time this trip I can do it on the next one.

It's amazing! That is cool you have not read any spoilers. It's hard considering everyone who has been there wants to talk about it in their TR (myself included, LOL)

I literally have to skip whole sections of TRs, Facebook posts, etc. I mean of course I've seen pictures of like the floating mountains and things but I have tried to stay away as much as possible.

I had the best solo meet with Minnie and Pluto (the Disney Visa Character Spot) in Epcot back in May. They picture came out so cute, it looked like we were best friends!

Oh good idea, I haven't been there since 2014.

Happy Anniversary!!
That's so great your DH could come out with you for the weekend!

Thanks, you too!

Get the dressing on the side, trust me. It is much more enjoyable that way!

Great tip, thank you.

I always get an FP for TT and never Soarin'. The waits for TT always exceed Soarin throughout the day so you made a good choice. We rode Soarin last weekend in the middle of the day with a 30 minute wait while TT had a 70 minute wait.

I know, with the third theater I think it just makes sense.

Aww so cute. I should totally do this with Steve but he'll probably be like, why are we doing this?!

I love these! Where are these from?

Etsy shop called TheMouseCraftShop

I love the BB8 backpack and pin! You are On Point with your outfits!!

Why thank you, I always love your outfits so that is a big compliment coming from you

 

[momabaarjo]

I am so in love with your outfits! Been working on mine too...a few new things and a few from past trips. I need to make 2 sets of ears to match things...

 

[chunkymonkey]

I would love to have a DIS meet if possible, we'll have to see if our schedule syncs up

Yes!! I will be posting our spreadsheet schedule in a few days. I think it's pretty much done, of course I can't stop tweaking. We're at the GF up until the 4th when we move to the Swan for 2 nights.
Sat the 4th we'll be at AK after we check out then probably Epcot in the evening, and on Sunday we will have the morning at DHS, then we have a lunch at Epcot and a dinner at Yachtsman. We're also attending the Food and wine post race party at Epcot. If you're interested, it's a paid event and anyone can go you just have to buy a ticket from the Run Disney website. All the food booths will be open, some rides, and I think there are characters out too. Monday the 16th is our departure day so I think I've scheduled a morning at DHS before we have to head to the airport. Hope we can squeeze in a meet somewhere!!

I'm just meh about the characters, while I'd love to meet them, I don't actually want to wait

I know, I say this all the time, and then I see those cool characters and I'm like, oooh I'd love a picture!

Etsy shop called TheMouseCraftShop

Thanks!! They are so cute!

Why thank you, I always love your outfits so that is a big compliment coming from you

Aww thank you!!

 

[ashw100]

I am so in love with your outfits! Been working on mine too...a few new things and a few from past trips. I need to make 2 sets of ears to match things...

Thanks. Can't wait to see what you have planned. Very curious to know what's going on Tuesday and Wed, so I can plan what to wear those days too. I wish I could make my own ears, I just don't have the patience, lol.

Yes!! I will be posting our spreadsheet schedule in a few days. I think it's pretty much done, of course I can't stop tweaking. We're at the GF up until the 4th when we move to the Swan for 2 nights.
Sat the 4th we'll be at AK after we check out then probably Epcot in the evening, and on Sunday we will have the morning at DHS, then we have a lunch at Epcot and a dinner at Yachtsman. We're also attending the Food and wine post race party at Epcot. If you're interested, it's a paid event and anyone can go you just have to buy a ticket from the Run Disney website. All the food booths will be open, some rides, and I think there are characters out too. Monday the 16th is our departure day so I think I've scheduled a morning at DHS before we have to head to the airport. Hope we can squeeze in a meet somewhere!!

Sounds like our schedule syncs up quite a bit, so I think a meet should definitely be possible. The post race party is really intrigues me, I am just not sure I can rope drop at DHS for emh and then stay out until 1am. How do you do it, lol? I will have to think on this.

I know, I say this all the time, and then I see those cool characters and I'm like, oooh I'd love a picture!

I would love a picture with Sandy claws and the Seven Dwarfs, but I think seeing the line will deter me.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Sounds like our schedule syncs up quite a bit, so I think a meet should definitely be possible. The post race party is really intrigues me, I am just not sure I can rope drop at DHS for emh and then stay out until 1am. How do you do it, lol? I will have to think on this.

I do have a resort/pool break built into that day, LOL. I don't know if we'll make it to DHS for rope drop either and Yachtsman is mainly to meet up with some friends but I seriously don't think we will be hungry after having a big French lunch, so we'll probably just do drinks and apps. I do want to save some room for the Food and wine party though! I've never been but it sounds like fun, especially if the rides remain open.

I would love a picture with Sandy claws and the Seven Dwarfs, but I think seeing the line will deter me.

It almost deterred me but I persisted. It was the only rare character line we waited on. I think we may do the same this fall. Just wait for one rare character then do rides for the rest of the time and watch Hallowishes and the parade. Still figuring out a costume...

 

[ashw100]

Day 1 Plans

We arrive the night before into MCO around 11, so rope dropping AK for EMH seems like the smart idea here.

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In all seriousness, with Joe’s very limited time at WDW, we have to make as much use of that time as possible. Ideally, I want to get there around 7:30, so we are towards the front of the pack for Flight of Passage. Really my only goal during EMH is to ride this ride, and given on the ground reports of wait times, we’ll be lucky if it only takes us an hour to get through this ride.

After FoP, we will try and get on the safari if the wait isn’t too long. And meet Mickey and Minnie, but I only really care to meet them if they are in their Christmas outfits, I don’t know if Nov. 3rd is too early for that.

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We then have our FPs for Expedition Everest and Dino.

We’ll finish off our AK day with Festival of Lion King and then our FP for Navi River Journey.

If I can, I want to sneak a meet with Russell in there too, since we’ll be wearing our Up shirts.

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I want to leave AK just after 12 so we have enough time to get to Kidani and look at the animals there before our lunch at Sanaa.

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After lunch we are going to head to MK for the evening. We don’t have much of a plan here. It’s mostly what we can get extra FPs for. Joe’s priorities are Big Thunder, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Space, Peoplemover and CoP. We have plenty of time here, so I think it’s doable. My main priority is to see Once Upon a Time and Happily Ever After, since this is my only chance to see it this trip.

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This will be my first time ever going from rope drop to park close without taking a break, so I am a little nervous about having the stamina to last the whole day. Especially given the fact that we won't have had much sleep. Hopefully the plan works out though, because I am pretty happy with it.

 

[missangelalexis]

What a busy first day it will be! I think your adrenaline with keep you going, especially it being your first day and doing so many new things!

 

[MeghanEmily]

In all seriousness, with Joe’s very limited time at WDW, we have to make as much use of that time as possible. Ideally, I want to get there around 7:30, so we are towards the front of the pack for Flight of Passage. Really my only goal during EMH is to ride this ride, and given on the ground reports of wait times, we’ll be lucky if it only takes us an hour to get through this ride.

It's wild how long the line gets so quickly!! Good luck! Hopefully you'll be up near the front and will get in way ahead of the crowd!

If I can, I want to sneak a meet with Russell in there too, since we’ll be wearing our Up shirts.

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Oh my gosh, yes! This would be so cute!

This will be my first time ever going from rope drop to park close without taking a break, so I am a little nervous about having the stamina to last the whole day. Especially given the fact that we won't have had much sleep. Hopefully the plan works out though, because I am pretty happy with it.

I feel you on this one! I don't do very well without a break. But we managed it on very little sleep one of our May-trip days. I paid for it the next day a little bit when I definitely needed a break, but it was doable for a day. I don't know how some people go all day long every day of their trips every single time they travel to Disney, especially with kids!!

 

[chunkymonkey]

If I can, I want to sneak a meet with Russell in there too, since we’ll be wearing our Up shirts.

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Aww that's so cute. I can't wait to see the matching shirts!

In all seriousness, with Joe’s very limited time at WDW, we have to make as much use of that time as possible. Ideally, I want to get there around 7:30, so we are towards the front of the pack for Flight of Passage. Really my only goal during EMH is to ride this ride, and given on the ground reports of wait times, we’ll be lucky if it only takes us an hour to get through this ride.

Good luck with FOP! It really is an amazing ride.

My main priority is to see Once Upon a Time and Happily Ever After, since this is my only chance to see it this trip.

I love HEA and I managed to catch OUaT on our last trip, it is cute too, but HEA is amazing!

This will be my first time ever going from rope drop to park close without taking a break, so I am a little nervous about having the stamina to last the whole day. Especially given the fact that we won't have had much sleep. Hopefully the plan works out though, because I am pretty happy with it.

I think you can do it! Your first day you are usually so excited to be there that I think you kinda run on adrenaline even if you're tired, at least I do!

 

[ashw100]

What a busy first day it will be! I think your adrenaline with keep you going, especially it being your first day and doing so many new things!

That's what I'm hoping for.

It's wild how long the line gets so quickly!! Good luck! Hopefully you'll be up near the front and will get in way ahead of the crowd!

I know, I have been extremely lucky getting FPs for new rides and never had to be part of the crazy rope drop crowd. Hopefully it being emh will help us.

Oh my gosh, yes! This would be so cute!

I know, I just love Russell he is one of my favorite characters

I feel you on this one! I don't do very well without a break. But we managed it on very little sleep one of our May-trip days. I paid for it the next day a little bit when I definitely needed a break, but it was doable for a day. I don't know how some people go all day long every day of their trips every single time they travel to Disney, especially with kids!!

I know it's crazy. The thing is I have three open to close days in a row

Good luck with FOP! It really is an amazing ride.

I cannot wait. At least I have a FP for it later in the week worst case scenario.

I love HEA and I managed to catch OUaT on our last trip, it is cute too, but HEA is amazing!

I am so excited, though I do miss Wishes.

I think you can do it! Your first day you are usually so excited to be there that I think you kinda run on adrenaline even if you're tired, at least I do!

I"m going to need extra adrenaline

 

[momabaarjo]

Looks like not only do we arrive together, but we are both being crazy and trying to Rope Drop AK the next morning! LOL!!! Rope Drop to Wishes...what a great idea! Sadly I must get to bed that night at a decent time. But look at this way, you get an extra hour of sleep Saturday night!

 

[ashw100]

Looks like not only do we arrive together, but we are both being crazy and trying to Rope Drop AK the next morning! LOL!!! Rope Drop to Wishes...what a great idea! Sadly I must get to bed that night at a decent time. But look at this way, you get an extra hour of sleep Saturday night!

Got to take advantage of those extra magic hours. This is brand new info about an extra hour, I'm guessing daylight savings day??? If so you just made my day . They just extended MK's hours for that night too, so now it's open until 11 . I think we might try to sneak in a nap now.

 

[ashw100]

Day 2- HS & Epcot

We’ll start this day with another early morning rope drop for extra magic hours at Hollywood Studios. Thanks to the fact that this park now only has four rides, we should be done here early. Other than the rides. I would like to see BB8, because I just love him.

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Also, I have yet to see the Little Mermaid show or Beauty and the Beast, so hopefully we can see the Little Mermaid one this morning.

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I would like to leave this park by 10:30, to give us enough time to hop over to Epcot via the friendship boats before the crowds get too heavy at Food and Wine. We’ll actually focus most of our attention on the food booths at the front of the world showcase and the ones in future world. I also want to make sure I stop by the festival center to check out the chocolate sculptures they have in there.

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Ride wise We have our FPs for Test Track, Mission Space, and Spaceship Earth. We will try to get on Soarin, but if not no big deal and of course living with the land, one of our favorites. Later in the afternoon we will head back to the world showcase. I would really like to finally see the voices of liberty.

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Finally, we have a dinner reservation at 5 for Chef’s de France. Joe still really wants Ohana, but so far I cannot get a reservation and I am pretty excited to try some place new. Joe’s fight is at 9pm, so he might just take an Uber back to the airport depending on when his Magical Express is scheduled. We think its well worth the money to get every ounce of Disney magic we can together this weekend.

After Joe leaves, I will head back to Hollywood Studios for the nighttime entertainment, Star Wars fireworks and Fantasmic.

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After going non-stop for two days, I will probably make this an early evening after the park closes at 8.