It's August, time to go to Disney! A 2018 PTR. updated with final plans/changes 08/15!

[suse66]

Hi everyone!!! I'm Susan; Disney fanatic, kindergarten teacher, mom to three teenage boys and aunt to my amazing niece. My first Disney trip was in 2009 when I agreed to take our boys ONE time but in true Disney fashion, I fell head over heels in love with it all and this summer will be my 7th trip in 9 years. My family and I have done 4 trips together; here is my fave pic from the boys' first trip......

We were fortunate enough to return to Disney in 2010, then five long years went by before our trip in 2015. We got to return in 2016 again and on that trip my lovely husband gave the best gift ever, a 5 day/4 night solo trip staying at BWI. I adored doing Disney on my own terms and after returning home from my 2016 solo trip, I quickly started planning for a 8 day/7 night adventure at AKL in 2017. Here are a couple of favourite pics from my solo trips;


This summer brings a new adventure; a trip with my only niece who is one of the most special people in my life. She has been to Disney twice before, in 2009 and 2010, but has never stayed on site. I am so excited to have 1:1 time with my sweet girl, she is turning 15 this year, so is growing up quickly.

We are traveling August 21-28 so have 115 days left to plan ALL the fun! Stayed tuned to see where we are staying, our ADRs, special plans and much, much more. We look forward to sharing our plans with you!

 

[ariane37]

I am here and FIRST, yay! Excited to hear your plans and how awesome to be taking your niece. It's going to be a much different experience than travelling with boys for sure

 

[suse66]

We have had a bit of a bumpy ride on our search for the perfect resort. My niece is very outdoorsy so I thought Wilderness Lodge would be the perfect pick (and it would knock another resort off my list). Availability looked good with a "magical" deal and I thought I had a bit of time to play with. However, by the time I was ready to book, it was completely sold out! Back to the drawing board and I considered AKL, Yacht Club and the Poly. After weighing all the options, I decided to splurge a little and booked the Polynesian!!! We first stayed there as a family in 2010 for our 10 day/9 night trip and simply adored it. My niece has never stayed onsite so I am sure she will love the tropical Hawaiian theme, the beach, monorail, launch and all the great amenities. I almost pulled the plug on it last week when free dining came out as I thought it might be worthwhile to lock in free dining at CSR. However, when I consider that we would have to upgrade to DDP from QSDP and that said DDP is a LOT of food in the Florida August heat, I decided to stay put. So, we will be making memories at the beautiful Poly and really couldn't be happier! 114 days to go!

 

[emilyhuff]

So awesome! Following along on your pre-trip report! I hope to one day get the opportunity to bring my niece along on a trip!

 

[suse66]

I am here and FIRST, yay! Excited to hear your plans and how awesome to be taking your niece. It's going to be a much different experience than travelling with boys for sure

Happy to have you along, Ariane! As a fellow mom of boys you know all to well what travelling with teen boys is like! It will be a nice change of pace to hang out with my girl.

So awesome! Following along on your pre-trip report! I hope to one day get the opportunity to bring my niece along on a trip!

Thank you! We are so excited about this trip! I hope you get to bring your sweet niece to Disney one day too.

 

[suse66]

It's ADR time!!!!!!​

Of course , you know I have booked, cancelled, modified and booked again many times already and probably will do so again...... But I THINK this is how it is going to look.......

1. Arrival night dinner at Via Napoli (artichoke pizza anyone???)
2. Lunch at Yak and Yeti
3. Early dinner at Sci-Fi (I am predicting this to be one of my niece's faves)
4. Dinner at the Plaza
5. Breakfast at Kona Cafe
6. Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern (Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake!!!!)

Plus we plan on checking out the Oasis Pool Bar and Grill, Captain Cooks, Tambu Lounge, Blaze Pizza, DLuxe Burger and more! As well as possibly ordering in the Twilight Feast for room service after our waterpark day. I am sure there will be many delicious snacks and bevvies tucked in there too!

 

[disneyAndi14]

I just found this, it sounds like a wonderful trip for you and your niece. We loved the Poly last August, minus the screeching frogs! I think it was because of all the rain so hopefully no noisy frogs for you. The ADR line-up includes many of my favorites.

I am looking forward to hearing more about your trip.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Following along! We are traveling around the same time in August! Your ADRs include some of our favorites especially Yak and Yeti!

 

[suse66]

I just found this, it sounds like a wonderful trip for you and your niece. We loved the Poly last August, minus the screeching frogs! I think it was because of all the rain so hopefully no noisy frogs for you. The ADR line-up includes many of my favorites.

I am looking forward to hearing more about your trip.

So glad to have you along, Caroline! Which longhouse did you and Andi stay in? We are booked for standard view and I'm thinking I may request the beach side of Fiji. Did I hear a little whisper that you might be renewing your APs? A pre-university trip might be just the thing!

Following along! We are traveling around the same time in August! Your ADRs include some of our favorites especially Yak and Yeti!

So nice! Where are you staying? I love this planning stage, so fun! I am going to pop over and check out your PTR now.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

So nice! Where are you staying? I love this planning stage, so fun! I am going to pop over and check out your PTR now.

We’re staying at Boardwalk! I know i love the planning stage but I’m starting to get anxiety about fastpasses lol!

 

[quandrea]

Happy to follow along. I’m going with my three kids, dd 14, DS 8 and dd 8 in August too! Can hardly wait.

You’ve picked some of our favourite restaurants.

 

[suse66]

We’re staying at Boardwalk! I know i love the planning stage but I’m starting to get anxiety about fastpasses lol!

The Boardwalk is so fun! I stayed there on my first solo trip to celebrate my 50th birthday and really enjoyed it. We will all be stressing about FPs for Toy Story Land and FoP!

Happy to follow along. I’m going with my three kids, dd 14, DS 8 and dd 8 in August too! Can hardly wait.

You’ve picked some of our favourite restaurants.

Happy planning to you! Glad that you joined in! I notice you have twins too, mine just turned 16 (identical boys). There is nothing quite like being a twin mama!

 

[quandrea]

That’s for sure about being a twin mama! Only another twin mama truly gets it. It’s quite a ride!

 

[disneyAndi14]

So glad to have you along, Caroline! Which longhouse did you and Andi stay in? We are booked for standard view and I'm thinking I may request the beach side of Fiji. Did I hear a little whisper that you might be renewing your APs? A pre-university trip might be just the thing!

We stayed in Rarotonga, it was so close to the CH so that was a plus and also very close to TTC. I did renew our AP’s yay!! We will be there 8/15-8/20 at WL. We are using the same deal as you, we were able to book at WL maybe because of our dates? I read you tried for there but it was sold out. We will just miss you, bummer! I love the planning as well it is so much Part of the trips!

 

[suse66]

Day 1 plans!​

My niece will fly in the day before and we are planning on staying at one of the airport hotels the night before as our flight from Toronto to Orlando leaves at 7:45 am. She is flying on her own for the first time which is a little nerve racking for her Dad although her Mom (my sister) and I know she will handle it just fine. So I will meet her at the airport and we will head over to our hotel, grab a bite to eat and get a good sleep in preparation for our 4 am alarm! Flying out of Toronto can be crazy as security and clearing US customs can take a while. So we will be sure to be there three hours before our flight and hope that everything goes smoothly.

The advantage of an early departure is an early arrival at MCO! Our flight lands at 10:33 am and we will be happily making our way to the Magical Express and on our way to the beautiful Polynesian!!!! I have requested early check in but will be happy to hang by the pool and explore the resort. We will probably check out the Oasis Pool Bar for a light lunch and soak in the wonderful atmosphere. Epcot has EMH until 11 pm this day so we plan on taking full advantage of this. Our dinner reservation at Via Napoli isn't until 6 pm so we will probably head over around 4:00 to give ourselves a little time to explore before dinner. Here are our must do's for the evening;

1. Spaceship Earth
2. Mission Space (green team)
3. Soarin'
4. Illuminations
5. British Revolution show
6. Meet Joy and Sadness
7. Meet Baymax
8. Ice cream at Les Artisans de Glacee
9. Explore World Showcase

We are getting SO excited! Only 108 days to go.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Joining! First day plans sound great!

 

[suse66]

That’s for sure about being a twin mama! Only another twin mama truly gets it. It’s quite a ride!

I know, right? My favourite (not) was one people would say "oh, my kids are less than 2 years apart. It's just like having twins!" and I would just smile and think that they had absolutely no clue! Unless you have carried, birthed and nurtured two babies at once, you can't possibly understand. That being said, I love being a mom of twins, even with it's unique challenges. BTW, it does get easier as they get older.

We stayed in Rarotonga, it was so close to the CH so that was a plus and also very close to TTC. I did renew our AP’s yay!! We will be there 8/15-8/20 at WL. We are using the same deal as you, we were able to book at WL maybe because of our dates? I read you tried for there but it was sold out. We will just miss you, bummer! I love the planning as well it is so much Part of the trips!

So sad to miss you by only one day!! I am also jealous that you were able to get the WL! Even when my dates were the 19-26 there was no availability. We will get there one day! Is this your first time staying there? It is my husband's dream resort.

Joining! First day plans sound great!

Thanks for following along!

 

[Tracy161]

I'm here! I hadn't realized you started a PTR!

This picture is SO precious

This summer brings a new adventure; a trip with my only niece who is one of the most special people in my life.

Yay!!! That is so amazing that you are your niece are so close. I'd love to do this someday with my nephew and niece - they are 3 and almost 5 now, so I'm going to wait a few years for that

I decided to splurge a little and booked the Polynesian!!!

Awesome! The Poly is one of my dream resorts.

(artichoke pizza anyone???)

Yes, please!

Early dinner at Sci-Fi

Breakfast at Kona Cafe

I'm doing these two on my trip next week, too!

 

[suse66]

This picture is SO precious

Thanks, it's one of my favourites too!

Yay!!! That is so amazing that you are your niece are so close. I'd love to do this someday with my nephew and niece - they are 3 and almost 5 now, so I'm going to wait a few years for that

She has held a very special place in my heart since the day she was born. She was nine weeks early and spent over two months in the hospital before she came home so is doubly precious to all of us. Plus she is fun, smart, quirky and fearless. I just love her to bits!

Awesome! The Poly is one of my dream resorts.

We did a 10 day/9 night stay here back in 2010 on a family trip and LOVED it! I am really looking forward to staying here again.

I'm doing these two on my trip next week, too!

Love both! I know my niece will love Sci-Fi! I can't wait for Tonga Toast.....mmmm!

 

[disneyAndi14]

So sad to miss you by only one day!! I am also jealous that you were able to get the WL! Even when my dates were the 19-26 there was no availability. We will get there one day! Is this your first time staying there? It is my husband's dream resort.


This is our first stay at WL, I am really excited to stay there!

Sorry I screwed up the quoting, lol!