In Loving Memory... We’re Going Deluxe! - A Jan 2013 PTR (TR Link 01/28)

[ronnmel]

Mel, I had to pop in and do the SINGLE DIGIT



So exciting...it will be here soon.

With Christmas dinners, seeing friends, last minute shopping, and a doctor appointment for the baby, the trip will be here before we know it!!!

We were there opening weekend this year and there very definately was only one way to enter and one direction for flow of traffic. It was insanely busy and we were sandwiched walking. Maybe they only enforce those rules during busy times?

That makes sense that they would have a line for super busy times, but otherwise let people walk freely. I'll be prepared for a line thanks to you, but be happy if there isn't.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Ok, I checked the sunset times and our sunset will be about 10 minutes later than yours, which means the lighting ceremony might be around 6:15pm. Our ADR at KONA is as 6:25pm so we have to change that. If I make the ADR for 6:45, would we have enough time to get there or should I make it for 7pm? I just hope they are not running late so we can be back at MK for 8:30pm, in time to make our way to the hub and find a place to watch Celebrate the Magic. Can we watch the lighting ceremony from Town Square, or do we have to be close like for MMY?

Yay! I'm glad to hear you thought it was that good.

The lighting ceremony itself takes 10-15 minutes, so 7pm might be better to make sure you have enough time to get there after the ceremony, in case transportation doesn't cooperate!

You really need to be close, like MMY

 

[ronnmel]

The lighting ceremony itself takes 10-15 minutes, so 7pm might be better to make sure you have enough time to get there after the ceremony, in case transportation doesn't cooperate!

You really need to be close, like MMY

Thanks. I'll try to change my ADR to 7pm. I think it will work better with lunch anyway, since the first haircut is at lunch time and we'll eat after. I just hope they seat us on time, though my exxperience at Kona has been good, especially since it's not one of the most popular restaurants.

I'll make sure to stand at the hub then.

 

[ronnmel]

I've written several updates this weekend, check out the index to make sure you read them all. Also, sorry for the lack of pictures in the updates, but it's the only way to have all the updates posted in time for my trip.

Magic Kingdom MUST DOs​

I planned two full days at Magic Kingdom. I hope it's enough to do everything we want to do!

Dumbo : Can you believe I've never been on Dumbo (at least not since I was 2)? We HAVE to do this with Peanut. The only question is, who will get to ride with her? Will I be a nice adult and let Otaku get this honor (she said wants to) or will I be a selfish mom and keep it for me?
Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid : The area around this new attraction is spectacular!
Peter Pan's Flight : A cute ride that Peanut can go on!
Winnie the Pooh : Same reason as above.
Mickey's Phillarmagic : My favorite 3D movie!
It's a Small World : Yes, it's a must-do for me. Plus, it's written in my baby book that it was my favorite as a child, and I'm sure Claudia will be fascinated by all the colors and the music.
Jungle Cruise : I love the corny jokes.
Pirates of the Caribbean : It's going to be fun to see the new addition of mermaids to that ride.
Haunted Mansion : Otaku has not experienced the new interactive queue. I'm sure she'll love it!
People Mover : Best place to rest our feet while catching a glimpse of everything going on.
Carousel of Progress : One of Ron's favorite. I jsut hope Peanut doesn't decide to scream during it. Sometimes the only way to quiet her down is to stand up, which I'm sure they would frown upon...
Monsters', Inc. Laugh Floor : We discovered this little gem during our Disneymoon and look forward to showing it to Otaku. Let's just hope she appreciates the humor!
Buzz Lightyear : We suck at this ride, but Otaku likes it and I doubt she'll let us skip it. PhoenixStrength jsut gave a great tip for a high score on her TR. Anybody else have tips (with pictures would be even more awesome)?

Can I just take a moment to say that I LOVE the fact that ALL the attractions I've mentioned have no height restriction so Claudia can do them all? Amazing! Here are some more Must-Do, this time with a height requirement.
Splash Mountain : A lovely story full of details, catchy music, and a big thrilling drop. What more can I ask for?
Big Thunder Mountain : Such a fun coaster!
Space Mountain : I don't love this coaster as much as I used to as a kid, but I still like it.

And now our "other" Must-Dos:
Characters : I already mentioned wanting to meet Aladdin and Jasmine. Other priorities for meet & greets are Tiana (and hopefully Naveen), Rapunzel, Ariel in her new grotto, and 4 of the Fab 5 in their new Circus tent. Oh, and I think Tinkerbell might be on Otaku's list. Plus I'd love to meet Periwinkle!
Wishes : Hopefully we'll get to see both Holiday Wishes (on the 31st) and the regular version. Will it make me tear up again? Probably!
Celebrate the Magic : I think that's the name of the castle projection show replacing Magic Memories and You. If it's as magical as MMY, we'll hopefully be able to catch it twice!

Wow, that's a long list of MUST-DOs!!! Maybe it's a good idea to hit those morning EMH after all!

These following things would be nice to do, but it's okay if we skip.
Aladdin's Carpet ride : It rarely has a line, so we'll probably do it.
Tom Sawyer's Island : If we do it it's either to escape the crowds, or because Otaku insists.
Swiss Family Tree House : I've never done this, but I'm kinda curious. Plus, ti's a good time killer while Claudia and I wait on big sister and daddy.
Enchanted Tiki Room : Again, we would only do it to escape the crowds, take a break somewhere dark, or because Otaku wants to see the new "old" version.
Liberty Bell Riverboat : A great place to take a break, why not?
Enchanted Tales with Belle : You've read that right. This is totally not a priority for us. Though it sounds like a great experience, I don't think any of us would enjoy it enough to warrant the long lines and we have better places to go first thing in the morning.
Country Bear Jamboree : I seriously never had any interest in this, but after reading Lisa's (Mickeystoontown) TRs it's now on my radar.
Day time parade : Not something I would get out of my way to see, but it is a beautiful parade.
Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom : We love Kim Possible and were looking forward to this, but I’ve read not so great reviews, so I don’t think it will be high on our list. :shrug:
Carousel : Can I do this with Claudia? I don't remember if there are only horses or not?

I know I haven't mentioned Main Street Electrical Parade. Not only will we NOT see this, we will probably make it a point to AVOID it. The music just gets on my nerves!

 

[ronnmel]

According to a website (wdw entertainment) the castle lighting ceremony ends on January 1st. I guess all my worries about scheduling Kona are for nothing, and we won't get to see this beautiful show.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Love your Must Dos, they are almost everything in the park! But I have that same kind of Must Do list for MK.

I say do Dumbo twice, once each side, so Otaku can have Claudia once and you can have her the other!

Make sure you look closely at everything in the que for Voyage of the Little Mermaid, ground, walls, etc. It is amazing the amount of theming involved.

To be honest I was very disappointed with Enchanted Tales with Belle. The cottage was nicely done in the que and the effects with the wardrobe and Lumiere were very cool, but the "show" itself was bleh to me. Maybe if Otaku wanted to have a part in it, then it might be more interesting but I won't rush to do it again, especially since it always has a long line.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

According to a website (wdw entertainment) the castle lighting ceremony ends on January 1st. I guess all my worries about scheduling Kona are for nothing, and we won't get to see this beautiful show.

Oh no, that's no fair! I'm sorry you'll miss it. I'll be sure to post all of the pictures I took during it on my TR so you can feel like you saw it.

 

[ronnmel]

Love your Must Dos, they are almost everything in the park! But I have that same kind of Must Do list for MK.

I say do Dumbo twice, once each side, so Otaku can have Claudia once and you can have her the other!

Make sure you look closely at everything in the que for Voyage of the Little Mermaid, ground, walls, etc. It is amazing the amount of theming involved.

To be honest I was very disappointed with Enchanted Tales with Belle. The cottage was nicely done in the que and the effects with the wardrobe and Lumiere were very cool, but the "show" itself was bleh to me. Maybe if Otaku wanted to have a part in it, then it might be more interesting but I won't rush to do it again, especially since it always has a long line.

Yeah, guess I'm not very good at trimming down our list of Must-Dos.

That's a good idea about doing both Dumbos. Plus I want to do it during the day and during the evening, so we can each get a turn.

I have to ride the Under the Sea Little Mermaid ride at least once in the standby queue to see everything!

That's exactly what I think about Enchanted Tales with Belle. I'm pretty sure Otaku is too old (and not enough of a Disney fan) to care about it, so we'll do it once Claudia wants to do it.

 

[ronnmel]

Oh no, that's no fair! I'm sorry you'll miss it. I'll be sure to post all of the pictures I took during it on my TR so you can feel like you saw it.

I know! It's sad. At least it solves my Kona dilemma. I'll look at your photos instead.

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Hey Mel!! I haven't been posting a lot but I've been following along.

Question about your AK list - I noticed Flights of Wonder if missing from you lists completely! Why is that? That one is always must-do for us!

 

[ronnmel]

Hey Mel!! I haven't been posting a lot but I've been following along.

Question about your AK list - I noticed Flights of Wonder if missing from you lists completely! Why is that? That one is always must-do for us!

Because I'm afraid of birds flying overhead.

I may see it one day, if I find the courage.

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Because I'm afraid of birds flying overhead.

I may see it one day, if I find the courage.

Oh my gosh, that is so funny! Rest assured, these birds are well-trained and rarely fly off course! Haha!

 

[ronnmel]

Oh my gosh, that is so funny! Rest assured, these birds are well-trained and rarely fly off course! Haha!

I'll consider it if we decide to visit AK a second time, since I doubt we would have to time to watch that, plus FOTLK, plus Finding Nemo in one afternoon.

 

[photographymom517]

I've written several updates this weekend, check out the index to make sure you read them all. Also, sorry for the lack of pictures in the updates, but it's the only way to have all the updates posted in time for my trip.

Magic Kingdom MUST DOs​

I planned two full days at Magic Kingdom. I hope it's enough to do everything we want to do!

Dumbo : Can you believe I've never been on Dumbo (at least not since I was 2)? We HAVE to do this with Peanut. The only question is, who will get to ride with her? Will I be a nice adult and let Otaku get this honor (she said wants to) or will I be a selfish mom and keep it for me?

I haven't had the chance to ride Dumbo since 1998!! So I really understand! It was a "MUST DO" for me this trip & I was able to ride during MVMCP with Luke. The wait time was basically 0 minutes which was amazing to me! I stood in line for 45 minutes last year during MNSSHP & got out of line after 35 minutes because I had only moved maybe a foot in the line...I still had at least 50 people in front of me & didn't feel like wasting party time on one ride, so I left the line. I was soooo happy to be able to ride it this year! We actually rode with a bunch of CM's because no one was in line!!

Check out the play area...we didn't go inside it but it looks really neat! (I told Luke they were having a private birthday party & we weren't allowed inside, just like I do when I need to go to the drive-thru at McDonald's instead of going in to eat! LOL!!!)

Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid : The area around this new attraction is spectacular!

We had FastPasses because during all of our MK days, the wait time was over 100 minutes. We also had a ADR at Be Our Guest & ended up being inside the castle from 5:45-7:10pm...we missed our FastPass return time by 10 minutes so we just left. I never did get to ride it, but I've watched videos on YouTube. I'm anxious to hear what you guys think of it!!!

Peter Pan's Flight : A cute ride that Peanut can go on!

I definitely advise you to ride Peter Pan this year...I wish we had on Luke's first trip back in 2009. He is terrified of the dark now & won't ride things that are remotely scary and/or dark. I probably could've gone alone or with Tyler this year but never did because every time we passed PP, we were on our way somewhere else.

Winnie the Pooh : Same reason as above.

I love the Pooh ride, queue, and the meet & greet!!!

Mickey's Phillarmagic : My favorite 3D movie!

I haven't seen this since 2010 and I miss it! It is a great show!!!!

It's a Small World : Yes, it's a must-do for me. Plus, it's written in my baby book that it was my favorite as a child, and I'm sure Claudia will be fascinated by all the colors and the music.

I was heartbroken on the ME bus when the driver was making jokes & made fun of IASW!!! It is a MUST DO for me every single trip! It was my favorite as a child as well & I make sure to ride every trip! Luke was hesitant at first because it was a "boat ride" but after he rode it once, he said he would ride it every single day! LOL! It was cute to hear him say it!

They also have some cute IASW merchandise at the art store at DTD if you go there this trip!

Haunted Mansion : Otaku has not experienced the new interactive queue. I'm sure she'll love it!

The new queue is awesome!!! She will definitely love it!!! Make sure she takes some extra time to just walk thru & play with all the different panels! I was like a little kid when I walked thru alone!! It's really really neat!!

And now our "other" Must-Dos:
Characters : I already mentioned wanting to meet Aladdin and Jasmine. Other priorities for meet & greets are Tiana (and hopefully Naveen), Rapunzel, Ariel in her new grotto, and 4 of the Fab 5 in their new Circus tent. Oh, and I think Tinkerbell might be on Otaku's list. Plus I'd love to meet Periwinkle!

I always have a better chance of meeting Aladdin and Jasmine at Epcot, so if you miss them at MK, make sure to check in Morocco!

The new Circus Tent is really neat! There are two separate lines & usually the same wait time for both. You meet with Donald/Goofy or Minnie/Daisy...then you can move onto the other line. The CM's there are really particular about how you move thru the queue. They'll direct you -- once you see it in person, you'll know what I mean. I think they are so picky about it because people probably try to just run from one side to the other & then they cut in front of people in the main line. Luke & I met all four of them & were only in the tent for a total of maybe 20 minutes!

Wishes : Hopefully we'll get to see both Holiday Wishes (on the 31st) and the regular version. Will it make me tear up again? Probably!

I hope you can see both shows!

Celebrate the Magic : I think that's the name of the castle projection show replacing Magic Memories and You. If it's as magical as MMY, we'll hopefully be able to catch it twice!

I LOVED the new castle show!!! It was really neat!! I don't want to say anymore about it because I want it to be a surprise for you!!!

My responses above in Red!

According to a website (wdw entertainment) the castle lighting ceremony ends on January 1st. I guess all my worries about scheduling Kona are for nothing, and we won't get to see this beautiful show.

Boo!!! I'm so sad that you won't see it! During our trip, it was at 6:30pm on all of our MK nights.

Because I'm afraid of birds flying overhead.

I may see it one day, if I find the courage.

I agree with Nikki! I think you should see Flights of Wonder too! I had never watched it until this year & it was a really good show. It was also really nice to sit in the shade & take a break! I didn't think Tyler would care about it at all, but he smiled & clapped a lot during the show! Luke seemed very interested in it too & he is usually really bored with most shows.

If you are afraid of a bird flying directly over your head, I can tell you where to sit! A bird flew RIGHT over my head & it freaked me out, so I made sure to watch EXACTLY where they flew (to remember for next time! lol!) If you sit in the front section over towards the left side, you should be fine. One will fly near you but not RIGHT over your head.

 

[photographymom517]

Soon, you will be flying over this!

Then you will land & see this!

Then you will board this

Don't forget to get Claudia & Otaku's picture taken beside this!

Then you will board this! This is the part of the vacation that makes it feel "real" for me!!! (Too bad we got a yellow Mears but this year...)

I'm having so much fun posting on your PTR!!!

Wish I had been here the past two weeks to post, but I'm glad I could email you so much! (I actually just emailed you again...lol...)

 

[disneykiwi]

Hi Mel

Loved the Santa pic with Claudia - the first one is always a treasured memory.

Just wanted to stop by and say Happy Xmas and have a great time in the world for New Year.

I cant wait to read how it goes.

its late Xmas eve here and I am off to share the next few days with my family at my parents place so wont get on before you head off.

Have a wonderful trip.

Take care

 

[ronnmel]

Merry Christmas everyone!!!​

 

[monica23535]

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Merry Christmas Mel, Ron, Otaku and Claudia!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

MERRY CHRISTMAS MEL, AND FAMILY!!!

​

 

[mickeystoontown]

How the heck did I miss that you had this pre-trip report going? Going back to read all the details.