I've got the Disney bug and I can't stay away. AKL June 2018 TR started 6/25

Glad to see you are heading back! I just booked a last minute trip for March, staying at ASM. I also grabbed a few 10 day tickets at the Canadian discount; I agree that a longer stay is lovely for a more relaxed pace. I enjoy the EMH if they are in the evening as I like to relax at the resort in the mornings. The crowds don't generally bother me as a solo traveller, just gives me more time to people watch. Booking so late I could not get a FP for Flights of Passage though, so I will be lining up for that one. I might have to watch Avatar before I leave, I've never seen it before. Luckily I have some time waiting for my broken arm to heal before I leave!

Hopefully you luck out with Flight of Passage, I have heard the lines can be quite daunting!
 
This morning I bit the bullet and I booked our resort!

After going back and forth between several different resorts I decided to go ahead and book at Animal Kingdom Lodge!


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I love the rooms here, they having the theming and detail that I want out of a Disney hotel room and the layout is good. A room I can really relax in. They also come with a balcony which is a plus.

I booked a standard view rather than shelling out the extra money for a savanna view. I'm hoping that we get lucky and get upgraded or we get one of the standard rooms that have a less desirable savanna view thus placing them in the standard category. So here's hoping we will get to enjoy this outside our room every day.

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I'm also looking forward to lots of time floating in and lounging bedside this wonderful pool.

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Doesn't that just look divine? :cloud9:

We will also have to partake of some of the restaurants here. We had breakfast at Boma on our last stay here so maybe we will do that again? There is also Jiko which I have been wanting to try for years and maybe we will venture over to Sanaa?

Now, all that being said I booked the room at rake rate. I'm still crossing my fingers for a pin or a general public promotion to get even a little bit of a discount. If I get a PIN who knows what will happen? :laughing:
 
I am so with you! I hadn't been to Disney in over 20 years, and then we booked a trip for this past winter break with my husband, 3-year old daughter, and in-laws. I SO got the Disney bug. We stayed off-property for most of the trip, but overnight at the Contemporary one night (and after a room snafu got upgraded to a Bay Lake Tower concierge-level room!). We hit all the parks. I am planning our next trip for 2019, probably Spring Break, and planning on the Animal Kingdom Lodge. To make it less stressful and a little more budget-conscious, I think we're going to make it a shorter trip and just visit the Animal Kingdom for 2-3 days (half days, really) and enjoy the resort alone for 1 full day. My daughter loves Disney and animals, so I thought that this plan would allow us to enjoy an amazing resort and get a great Disney experience without feeling the need to rush around to see everything we want.
 
but overnight at the Contemporary one night (and after a room snafu got upgraded to a Bay Lake Tower concierge-level room!).

Magical pixie dust! :wizard:
I think we're going to make it a shorter trip and just visit the Animal Kingdom for 2-3 days (half days, really) and enjoy the resort alone for 1 full day.

That sounds great! Not every trip needs to be a commando see and do all the things kind of trip.

allow us to enjoy an amazing resort and get a great Disney experience without feeling the need to rush around to see everything we want.

I bet you will have a great time and really get to appreciate your resort. Sounds truly relaxing. :cloud9:
 


Passport photos, the government's sick plan to stick you with the most unflattering photo possible for ten years at a time. :crazy2:

My passport expires next month so I had to go and get a new passport photo to submit with my renewal application. It is not great. I actually had it done twice and will submit the lesser of the two evils. I know it shouldn't matter as who really sees it anyways but I can't stop myself from wanting it to be at least a somewhat passible photo.


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I also lucked out today, or should I say booked properly, and got a FOP fastpass today. Good thing too, I had booked an ADR for the wrong park that day, so have a chance to fix it :)

:woohoo:That's great! I'm excited to try FOP of I get fastpasses and if the ride seat works for me.
 


Well, the opening date for Toy Story Land was released today and it is June 30th. That means we will miss it by 10 days. Not that we would have gone to face the crazy crowds of opening day anyways! :laughing:

It is a little disappointing but that just means we will experience it for the first time with the whole family in 2021. It also means our scheduled Hollywood Studios day will probably be a half day. I do worry about what it will mean for Toy Story Mania though since the entrance is being moved into Toy Story Land. It is one of my favourites so I hope that WDW will still have access to it before TSL officially opens.
 
Well, the opening date for Toy Story Land was released today and it is June 30th. That means we will miss it by 10 days. Not that we would have gone to face the crazy crowds of opening day anyways! :laughing:

It is a little disappointing but that just means we will experience it for the first time with the whole family in 2021. It also means our scheduled Hollywood Studios day will probably be a half day. I do worry about what it will mean for Toy Story Mania though since the entrance is being moved into Toy Story Land. It is one of my favourites so I hope that WDW will still have access to it before TSL officially opens.
I hoping we can still do Toy Story Mania as well and our Hollywoood Studios day will only be 1/2 a day as well.
 
Well, the opening date for Toy Story Land was released today and it is June 30th. That means we will miss it by 10 days. Not that we would have gone to face the crazy crowds of opening day anyways! :laughing:

It is a little disappointing but that just means we will experience it for the first time with the whole family in 2021. It also means our scheduled Hollywood Studios day will probably be a half day. I do worry about what it will mean for Toy Story Mania though since the entrance is being moved into Toy Story Land. It is one of my favourites so I hope that WDW will still have access to it before TSL officially opens.
I wouldn't get too disappointed yet. There will be soft openings! I'll throw some pixie dust your way!
 
I hoping we can still do Toy Story Mania as well and our Hollywoood Studios day will only be 1/2 a day as well.

I hope that Toy Story Mania will be back up and running and at full capacity for the trip. I don't know if I want to even attempt it if there is no fastpass lane or running at only one track. I hear it is a nightmare in that situation. Time will tell!

I wouldn't get too disappointed yet. There will be soft openings! I'll throw some pixie dust your way!

Thanks! You are right, you never know! There are mixed opinions on soft openings. Pandora apparently only had soft openings for DVC and AP holders whereas New Fantasyland it was random and they pulled random park guests in. Who knows what they will do with this new land?
 
After staring at the crowd calendar and park hours for a ridiculous amount of hours I believe I have come up with an itinerary that I am satisfied with for our trip. Nothing is set in stone as you never know what might come up to cause things to get moved around but here is what I have penciled in so far:

Day 1: Arrival Day - Flight is due to land at 1030 so I predict that after grabbing our bags and picking up the rental car we will arrive at AKL around noon. If the room is ready we will get settled in, grab some lunch from Mara and maybe have some pool time. If it is not ready we will head out to complete our other plans for the day which will include a trip to Disney Springs for some shopping, activate our Canadian resident park tickets at guest services and lunch/dinner at one of the counter service locations. We will also make a stop for groceries either at Publix or Target. It will probably be an early night for us since we will have been travelling since unthinkable hours of the morning.

Day 2: Hollywood Studios - What time we hit this park will be determined by what is happening with Toy Story Mania. If we can get fastpasses for it I will plan an afternoon arrival. If not we will have to be there for rope drop and hustle to the standby line, assuming the ride is even open (unsure about the status of this due to the entrance being moved to the new Toy Story Land which won't be open yet.) If it is an afternoon arrival I am thinking a lazy morning. Breakfast at the resort either at Boma or Sanaa and some pool time. In the afternoon we will head to the park to use whatever fastpasses we have. I love Fantasmic but I have never seen the other nighttime shows (Movie Magic and Star Wars) so if timing doesn't work out we will skip Fantasmic in favour of the other night shows.

Day 3: Epcot - The first of two Epcot days. We will probably fastpass the new Frozen ride and head to Soarin at rope drop. We might take a mid-day pool break, will depend on how we are feeling. Dinner plans are for Spice Road. I'm hoping that if we have a late dinner reservation that we can be seated with a good view of the lagoon with a view of Illuminations.

Day 4 - Magic Kingdom - Hoping for a Seven Dwarves fastpass but since this is early on in our trip I know we might not get it. Goal for the day, Tangled lantern magic shot once it is dark out. I would also like to get the lantern shot at the tea cups but it is not priority. For meals maybe Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch or perhaps an afternoon monorail resort break where we can grab lunch and a drink. We probably won't go back to the resort for pool time this day because of the amount of time it takes to travel to and from Magic Kingdom. If the weather is good we will stay to view Happily Ever After which will be a first for us (RIP Wishes :sad:)

Day 5 - Animal Kingdom - I will try for Flight of Passage fastpasses for this day but not holding out hope since it is at the front end of our vacation. I have an AK day planned for the end of our trip for this reason. We will probably arrive at rope drop and take a mid-day pool break and then go back in the evening to see Pandora at night or Rivers of Light.

Day 6 - Free Day - This is our rest day. Maybe Typhoon Lagoon? Disney Springs? One of the parks if we feel like it? Only plan for this day will be dinner at Jiko! I have been dreaming of the Filet and Mac and Cheese for YEARS.

Day 7 - Magic Kingdom - our second day at Magic Kingdom. Get done what we didn't on the first day and repeat favourites if we are able to. I was able to snag a lunch ADR at Be Our Guest which is a miracle since I was not booking at the 180 day mark. We also have Cinderella's Royal Table booked for breakfast but not sure we will keep this ADR as I find it hard to stomach paying $120 for breakfast!!! It is an experience we have never had though so maybe we will keep it for the experience? If we did not manage to see Happily Ever After on our first day we will stay for that this night.

Day 8 - Epcot - Our second Epcot day. This will probably be a relaxing day strolling around World Showcase. No ADR for this day, I was thinking we would just snack our way around the world.

Day 9 - Animal Kingdom - Our second day here. This will be our Pandora morning most likely as I doubt I will be able to get fastpasses for earlier in the trip. Pool break in the afternoon and then in the evening see Pandora or Rivers of Light, whichever we didn't see on the previous night.

Day 10 - Departure Day - Our flight is at 2pm. I don't think I will make any park plans for this day. Just a breakfast ADR at Trattoria Al Forno with Rapunzel and the gang and then hit the road.

The nice thing about this trip is that on most of the days if we want to call it quits in the afternoon/early evening it won't mess up the plans too much. I did not plan any dinner ADRS other than Spice Road and Jiko for that very reason. Dining at the Disney restaurants can be a great experience and really add to the trip but it can also add pressure to make it to all your reservations. Sometimes it is nice to not have to worry about that which is why I went ADR light for this trip. I'm also going to try and not worry about rope drop too much. Usually we are a early bird gets the worm type of family when it comes to the parks. That being said I am planning this in my sleep deprived and overworked state and when I think of time off all I can contemplate is sleeping! :rolleyes1 Once we get down there we will probably be full of energy and raring to go.


Do you see any obvious flaws in the itinerary? Any suggestions for handling the crowds at Pandora? Any snack suggestions for Epcot?
 
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Well you might either get spoiled and really start enjoying relaxing resort mornings like me, or you'll be gnashing your teeth when you see the noon crowds- could go either way! I was able to get FOP FP for myself at 35 days out, just try to book that one first is my suggestion. I've only booked 2 ADR's and am trying for a third at HS; otherwise I am also going to be going with the flow and snacking. My guilty first pleasure is going to be a chili cheese dog from Casey's though! And I also hope that Happily Ever After will be OK in person - I have seen it on YouTube. It's not horrible, its just not Wishes...

Well, we will see how many relaxing mornings we actually have. I think we will probably still get to the parks near rope drop if not exactly at rope drop as mom ALWAYS wakes up EXTREMELY early and I don't tend to sleep in much on vacation either, too much to enjoy! So I think we will still get to enjoy the "light" morning crowds and have our relaxtion time in the afternoon when the day reaches it peak for heat.
 
Time is flying by!! In non-trip news one of my very good friends had her baby today! She and her hubby have been trying for years and had some struggles and now they have a beautiful baby boy that I will be sure to spoil rotten. I won't get to meet him for a few days as there were some issues during delivery and I don't want to be one of those pushy people intruding when they just want to relax, rest and recuperate (when they can) and bond with the new baby while they get used to their new routine. I may have to steer clear of the baby section while in the WDW shops as I am in danger of dropping a bucket load on all the cute things.


And now to talk about the trip!

In the past few weeks I learned about an event called Early Morning Magic which is not to be confused with Morning Extra Magic Hours. Early Morning Magic (EMM) takes place in Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom a few times a month and there happens to be a date set for one of our planned Magic Kingdom days.

EMM allows a small group of people (around 200 is the rumour) into the park at 0745 and you can ride unlimited times on Seven Dwarves Mine Train, Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh. Apparently some of the other Fantasyland attractions open during this time as well but they are not guaranteed. Also included in EMM is a buffet breakfast served at Pinocchio Village Haus until 10am. This event costs $70.

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I am leaning towards booking this for a few reasons.

1) It was be cool to see Fantasyland without the usual hoards of people that depend upon it right at rope drop.

2) It would mean I wouldn't have to worry about booking fastpass for SDMT for that day since I will have been able to ride it, many times, during the event. That would mean I could fastpass another big ride instead as there are so many to choose from!

3) I haven't gone on Peter Pan or Winnie the Pooh in years as they have never been a priority fastpass for our family and while I would like to ride them the standby lines are usually so long that it is prohibitive. This event would eliminate those lines and I could enjoy some classic Disney!

4)Breakfast is included, while I have heard it is not amazing it is supposed to be decent.

5) It will put us in a good position to get to some rides ahead of the crowds at rope drop.


Have any of you done EMM? Opinions pro or con?
 
I have done EMM and it was well worth it for my Peter Pan loving mom and for me to ride SDMT. The only con (for me) was that they didn’t have the Peter Pan standby queue open, which has some really cool uses of technology that I wanted to show my dad (but I politely asked a cast member and got a pixie dust private walkthrough for him). Without running or pushing we easily rode Peter Pan 6 times, SDMT 3 times, and Pooh once (Peter Pan was the priority). Nothing else was open for the first few hours, but the buffet is open during the first hour of the park. Being in fantasyland already you can beat the rush to knock out a handful more things right at park open. For me, $20-$25 was worth the “PPO Breakfast” experience, and $45-$50 is what I paid for time with no lines on those rides. You literally walked out the exit and directly back onto the ride, occasionally they offered to let you stay again.
 
Trip Update:

It is now less than three months to the trip and no room discounts have been released so for the sake of saving some money ($2000!) we decided to downgrade to Coronado Springs Resort. I am sad to not be returning to Animal Kingdom Lodge but the savings is significant and I could use that $2000 towards my Japan trip next year.

We have stayed at Coronado in the past and enjoyed it. The wrinkle this time is that it is undergoing a renovation. All the rooms are being renovated and they are building a new hotel tower. I did a lot of reading before booking here as I was concerned about the construction but from everything I have read guest experience is minimally impacted unlike at Caribbean Beach which is reportedly a disaster zone. My main concern was how the relaxing poolside experience might be impacted by construction noise but recent visitors have assured me that it is minimal. So here's hoping we will get to experience some relaxing afternoons here:

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Or even at one of the three quiet pools

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With the savings from switching resorts maybe we will spend part of a day at my favourite water park Typhoon Lagoon.
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I'm also hoping that we will get lucky and get one of the newly renovated rooms. I actually liked the appearance of the old rooms but I have read reports that they are starting to look a little tired and it is always nice to stay in a fresh room!

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In other trip news I went ahead and booked Early Morning Magic so that will be something new to experience! I'm still keeping an eye open for a Be Our Guest Dinner ADR to open up but I'm not holding my breathe!
 

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Those rooms do look very sleek and clean, I'm sure that you will be very happy at CSR. Definitely a wise choice if you are saving that much money!

I'm sure we will still have a grand time but I can't help but still wishing we were booked at AKL. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that a discount does eventually come out. In the meantime I will be excited about all the things I can do with the saved money!
 

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