LIVE: Our nearly-two week Disney extravaganza! UPDATE 5/10

[donaldsgal]

We're here now at Disney, so I'm attempting a live report. I've included links to the various entries so you don't have to scroll through to find the latest update.

The PTR section:
Backstory for this trip
Our Itinerary
An introduction to our itinerary format this trip
More iCards
My trip pledge to myself
The plans, they are a-changin'
The last of the iCards

The TR:
We made it! Arrival Day, Monday May 4
Day Two: Magic Kingdom, here we come!
Day Two Continued
Day Two Continued... sort of
Pictures Galore! Epcot's Flower & Garden Festival
Pictures Galore! Part 2
Pictures Galore! Part 3
They Don't Call it the Soak Zone for Nothin'
Arrivals, Expeditions, and Festivals - Oh My!
I've Always Know God Laughs at the Plans of Men
Happy Mother's Day!

There are some pretty great writers on the DIS boards, you know? People like girlbomb, timandlesley, MomofCKJ, and Timon write great trip reports. They all bring something different to the metaphorical Disney TR table, and I'm anxious to partake!

I've written TRs before, and I've always hoped I'd get a following. I don't need hundreds of readers, but I always hope to find that group of people who are as invested in my trips as I am (at least emotionally.... though if someone offered to send me a check, you won't hear me say no ).

I haven't found the secret to a great TR. I believe these things contribute a great TR experience, and thankfully, I have them:
- a positive attitude (check)
- pictures (check check)
- an adorable child in tow (check check check)

This time around, I am just going to write this for me. I want to start enjoying this trip NOW, so I'm going to start writing about it NOW! This seems wise in my estimation. Many of my plans are already in place, but I can regale you with detailed descriptions to keep you entertained. And considering I tend to mull over Disney decisions for quite some time, that should provide some suitable PTR material.

Creativity escapes me tonight, so I've chosen the name above as my TR name. It seems fitting, given that we are spending nearly two weeks at Disney, and for me, that's entirely extravaganza-esque. What do you think? Too boring? not catchy enough? Oh, wait. I'm writing this for me, right?

Ahem.

Well, I like it, so I think I'll keep it. If something brilliant strikes me at 3 AM, I may change it. Doubt that'll happen, though, so I think I've found my PTR name.

Oh, do you want to meet me? We'll be spending some time together over the next few months, and if you're anything like me, you like a face with the words on the page.

So, meet.... me!

Here's the basics. I'm Jenny - most assuredly NOT Jennifer. That's just not how I roll! I'm (almost) 29 - a month from now, in fact. I like to think I don't look it. In fact, I'm often thought of as being younger than I am. This can be good and bad, considering I work at a university. Oh, and my job is a big part of who I am. I'm a counselor at a Christian university in southern Ohio. LOVE. MY. JOB!!! I get to combine my faith, my favorite population to work with (college students), and my love of helping others. I also teach a class in child and development psychology at the university as well. I love me bad some Disney World; this will be trip #9 since our maiden voyage to the House of Mouse in 2001. My sister (who you'll meet in a moment) and I took a trip there as an early graduation present for me from college and an early graduation present for her from (finally) getting her Ph.D. We fell in love and keep going back for me!

As mentioned, here's my sister:

Her name is Melissa, and she'll be 36 scared1: ) on April 15. Yup - tax day, the day Lincoln died, and the day the Titanic sank. Fortunately, she joined the world that day, so it's not all bad! She's a very smart person - she's a research scientist who tests the effects of new drugs/chemicals that companies develop and need to test before getting FDA/EPA approval. She also loves Disney with a passion and makes a terrific traveling partner! We laugh a LOT, we genuinely like each other, and she's such a supportive sister! Love her!

A brief cameo will be made by my mom (the one on the right):

Her name is Carlene, but I doubt I'll be referring to her as such. She's a cook at the high school my sister and I attended. She's got the biggest heart of anyone I know. She always attracts those kids that are throw-a-ways by others, and I often tell people I got my counselor's heart from her. She's generous and accommodating and easy-to-please. She's the best mom ever! Oh, and she's going to be 59 this year but I don't think she looks it! She came to her love of Disney later in life. We dragged her on our trip in 2004 - for her "one and only trip to Disney - and she's been back 5 times since! Ha! More on why she'll make only a brief appearance in a future installment.

Last, but certainly not least, is this little gem:

I know you already saw her picture above, but dang it, she's so cute, she deserves more than one picture! This is Hannah - she's 3, and she's the light of our lives. She's my gorgeous, strong-willed, inquisitive, fanciful, dramatic, empathic, humorous, expressive niece. Clearly there's no family resemblance - she's adopted from Guatemala. She joined our family by the phone call referral from the adoption agency on December 9, 2005, and she joined our family in the flesh on April 15, 2006. Remember whose birthday that is? Yup, my sister met her daughter on her birthday, which was also Easter weekend that year. What a fabulous blessing! Anyway, Hannah is full of life. She is emerging as a true Disney fan. Her favorite character is one Ariel, mermaid of the sea. This is her 5th trip, too, with many more to come!

Now that you've met us, it's time to tell you about our upcoming trip. The food! The resort! The activities! The plans, oh the glorious plans!

But it's after midnight, and bed is calling. Please enjoy the PTR. I'll be back (and soon) with more.

 

[donaldsgal]

Okay, so here's some back story for this trip.

Let me roll back the clock about 8 months ago. I had given myself permission to start job hunting this spring, and I began the search in March and April. I found the job I'm currently at in June, and I found out in the beginning of July that I got it. What a praise! My dream job! A new start! Professional satisfaction, nay, exhilaration!

Except for the fact that I'm moving away and leaving my friends, family, church, and everything comfortable.

I had been living with my sister for about 5 years. I moved in during graduate school, when she, very graciously, allowed me to live with her while I got my master's degree. This kept me from having to work full-time, so I was able to get through in 2 years and 2 months! Thanks again, Miss!

Anyway, I just kept on living with her. It was a growing process for both of us. Strangely enough, our relationship mirrored a marriage. We had to learn how to communicate through conflict, think of each other's needs and feelings before our own, how to decorate in a way we both liked, and much more! Keep in mind she's 7 years older than me, so we had last lived together for more than summer breaks and Christmas vacations in 1991 - when I was 11! Fastforward 12 years, and we'd both changed. Her generosity will forever be something I can't express my gratitude for, but more than her just letting me live there, it was so nice to have someone to hang out with after a good OR bad day at work.

During that time, Hannah came into her life (and mine, too). I loved being in a live-in aunt. Oh, and Hannah calls me "Tia" - this is the Spanish word for aunt. I'm sure that will matter later. It was so much fun living there, seeing her daily, being one of the 4 people in her life who understand her gibberish, and on and on and on....

Moving to this dream job meant moving away - two hours and 12 minutes, to be exact. Okay, for some of you, this is no big deal. You lived that far when you went away to college! But me? Well, I went to college 20 minutes from home. My parents encouraged me to live on campus, so I did live there. What wisdom my parents had! That was such a character-building (and may I add F-U-N) time for me. So moving 141 miles from home - from my beloved Hannah - was not easy.

Since the move, we have maximized our time together. I go home about once a month, and some combination of my sister, mom, and Hannah come down. (For the record, I DO have a father. He's alive and well and is still married to my mom. He's a terrific man; he's just not much of a talker or emailer, so I tend to talk more to my mom and sister. I love him dearly, he's just a farmer at heart, so he's not as apt to discuss his feelings, plans trips to Disney, or watch a chick flick. I'm clarifying because friends in high school would work up the courage to ask after a while if my dad was dead or if my parents were married because I talk about him a lot less. Thankfully no! Anyways, he's a homebody and doesn't leave the farm except for work at a local factory.)

Simultaneously, we had been tentatively planning a trip to Disney with our extended friends. Well, with this new job, I have the great blessing of summers off! Booyah, baby! But that means I don't have vacation time during the year (aside from the many breaks I get given I work with college students, so whenever they're on break, I get to be, too). We had been planning on October of this year, but now we had to shift our dates. I called each set of friends last fall and explained that we needed to go in March or May. That meant they had 5 to 7 months less to save. Suffice it to say, that wasn't going to work. So 2011, we hit Disney as a group!

Well, guess what? That meant we could go this year alone. Bummed without our friends, of course, but sweet in its own way. And since we knew we'd need enough points for a grand villa with our friends, we had already mentally prepared for a points-expensive trip. What better time, then, to take a long trip to Disney? Missy had always been anxious about being gone from work so long, but in recent years others at work had been taking two week vacations, so she gave me the go-ahead. They are her DVC points, but I am the quintessential Disney planner, so I get to have all the fun!

We decided on Old Key West. We stayed there in June of 2007 for 9 days. We loved how big the 2 bedroom was, we loved the decor - very beachy, calming, and pastel-y. Love love love. We're opting for a 1 bedroom this time since we don't need the second bedroom. We're sisters, so we can handle sharing a king bed. Hannah will probably get the couch out in the living room. We both love having our own bed on vacation, but not enough to spend 13 days in a studio, AND not enough to spend the points on the extra bedroom.

And we also decided on May. I'm off May 1 - August 1, so June and July are too hot for us. Miss also has an annual conference she attends in June each year, so that left May. We've never traveled in May, and one of my goals is to make a trip to Disney in each month of the year. May is great! May is springy. In May, most kids are still in school (which I hope equals smaller crowds). May's temperature is not as humid as the rest of the summer months. May is not yet hurricane season. May it is!

We're traveling May 4-16. We'll be there from a Monday one week to a Saturday in the next. We are so so SO excite!

Oh, and remember the cameo I mentioned Mom would be making? Well, she told us (again, as she does every year) that she can't afford to go with us. Okay, okay, Mom, we hear ya. Well, she made a joke in passing about she and Dad buying plane tickets and flying down for the middle weekend. We wholeheartedly thought it was a great idea! Dad said no way, and she quickly took it back... or so we thought. She brought it up again, and then we brought it up... this continued for a while. Missy had a business trip to Japan in December of 2008, which put her over the top in earning a free trip with her frequent flyer miles. She and I discussed giving this to Mom to help her make the trip. We offered, and about a week later she agreed! So she's flying down (all by herself - big deal for her) on Friday May 8 and flying home on May 10 in the evening. She stipulated that they had to be direct flights, so there's a direct flight that gets in at 10:07 on Friday and leaves Orlando at 5:40 on Sunday. We'll get to spend Mother's Day with her - yay! And since it's such a quick trip, she can just pack a carry-on. More to come on the details of that weekend.

Am I forgetting anything about the when or the why of the when? Don't think so. I'll be back soon with trip plans!

Oh, and we're driving from Ohio. Straight through: woo-hoo!

 

[Lynn5700]

HEY!! YAY I'm first!!!!!!!!

Your little girl is beautiful!! Aww!!!

Hey if I spot you when I'm there I will say hi! If you see me say hi too!!! I'm not hard to miss with the red hair and all lol.

Did you make your ADRs yet?

 

[donaldsgal]

HEY!! YAY I'm first!!!!!!!!

Your little girl is beautiful!! Aww!!!

Hey if I spot you when I'm there I will say hi! If you see me say hi too!!! I'm not hard to miss with the red hair and all lol.

Did you make your ADRs yet?

Actually, she's not my child. It's "better" - she's my niece. That means I can give her over to Mom when she's being difficult! But thanks - she's a doll, huh?

I will certainly say hi if I see you! I'm sure Hannah would gravitate to you if she saw you given your resemblance to Ariel!

Yup, my ADRs are made. I'll be posting about those in the next couple of days! We have some great meals in store. I checked to see if your meals and mine coordinate. We are eating at some of the same places (Jiko, California Grill, and Yachtsman) but on different nights. Great minds think alike - and apparently have great taste! Enjoying your TR, btw!

 

[wlwilliams9]

Yay! Another May pre-trippie!! We will be there the 7th-16th at the Poly! Your DNiece is a cutie pie! I can't wait to here more about your plans especially those ADR's!

 

[donaldsgal]

Yay! Another May pre-trippie!! We will be there the 7th-16th at the Poly! Your DNiece is a cutie pie! I can't wait to here more about your plans especially those ADR's!

Hey, thanks! I'm so excited you came on your own and posted. I love having people who want to read my PTR. I agree that Hannah is a cutie. How fun for you that you're at the Poly - that'd be awesome to stay on the monorail line! I'll think of you as we zip by on the monorail.

And now, back to your regularly-scheduled PTR!

Food, anyone?

We love Disney food. I know a lot of people think the service and the quality has slipped since the introduction of the dining plan (in its ever varied forms). We haven't seen the slip, so we're happy to keep eating at our favorites.

Okay, so here's our food. We're one of those touring families that generally decides ahead of time even where our counter service will be. It's part of the delight (or insanity )in all the planning:

Monday May 4 - arrival day.
DINNER: Counter service all the way! We'll be driving straight through from Ohio, leaving about 6:30 Sunday night, so we expect to arrive in Orlando around 1 PM or so.

Tuesday May 5
BREAKFAST: Probably something from Main Street Bakery - total yum!
LUNCH: Pinocchio's Village Haus - we love the fries there, and Hannah likes the chicken nuggets.
DINNER: Crystal Palace at 6:25 PM. We love dinner there

Wednesday May 6
BREAKFAST: We plan to be sleeping in this day, so nada on the breakfast.
LUNCH: Coral Reef at noon.
We haven't eaten here for lunch, only dinner, but this trip is about celebrating, so we're fitting in all our favorites!
DINNER: Tokyo Dining at 8 PM.
We haven't eaten here before, period. I read a TR from marsh0013 and she mentioned getting a window seat and staying to watch IllumiNations. Loved that idea, so that's our plan, too!

Thursday May 7
LUNCH & DINNER: For the first time in our many trips to Orlando, we are venturing off site. We'll be at Sea World today, so we're doing CS there. Any suggestions?

Friday May 8 - This gets a special color because Mom flies in today.
BREAKFAST: Something in the room before the trip to the airport.
LUNCH: Pizzafari most likely.
DINNER: Yachtsman Steakhouse at 7:10 PM. Yum - we love it here!

Saturday May 9
BREAKFAST: Probably from Starring Rolls.
LUNCH: Toy Story Pizza Planet.
DINNER: in the room.
You don't know me yet, but this is shocking! We never eat in the room, despite being DVC members. (NOTE: I say "we" are DVC members even though they are my sister's points. That's because 1) I love Disney as much as she does, 2) I do almost all of the planning, and 3) she's awesome and TELLS me they are as much mine as hers!) Part of our vacation mentality is eating out and taking a break from the nightly routine of cooking and cleaning up after ourselves. But we have to cut costs somewhere, so we are sacrificing by eating in a couple of times.

Sunday May 10 - Mother's Day
BREAKFAST: Boma at 8 AM - yummo!
LUNCH: In the room again *sigh*.
DINNER: California Grill at 5:30 PM. Wait, what's that sound? Oh, it's the angels singing and rejoicing about California Grill! I'm a bit nervous about this one just because we're taking Hannah, and I want her to behave. We're taking her to the others, too, like Yachtsman Steakhouse, but she's been there before. CG is the fanciest place for us (even though some think it's loud), and I know they have those paper tablecloths which clearly indicates kid-friendly, but I still fret a bit.

Monday May 11
BREAKFAST, LUNCH, & DINNER: Counter service all the way. Concessions again. But we're in Disney for nearly two weeks, so it's still great! I'll guess we'll do Sunshine Seasons for breakfast and lunch and Toy Story Mania for dinner.

Tuesday May 12
BREAKFAST: Probably a soft pretzel from a kiosk somewhere.
LUNCH: Pizzafari or Flame Tree Barbeque.
DINNER: Hoop Dee Doo at 5 PM.

Wednesday May 13
BREAKFAST: Cinderella's Royal Table at 9:15 AM
LUNCH: Counter Service if anything at all. Probably Casey's or Cosmic Ray's.
DINNER: Jiko at 5:40 PM. This is a first for us, and it's the last signature restaurant for us to visit. Yippee!

Thursday May 14
BREAKFAST & LUNCH: In the room and in the room.
DINNER: Counter service, but I doubt Miss will tolerate Toy Story again. I love this place - it reminds me of the first restaurant we ate at EVER on Disney property. She, apparently, just tolerates it. Need recommendations for CS for DHS.

Friday May 15
BREAKFAST: Probably Starring Rolls again.
LUNCH: Ummm - again need advice for CS at DHS.
DINNER: Teppan Edo at 5 PM.

Saturday May 16
BREAKFAST: Main Street Bakery
LUNCH: Dunno. Counter service somewhere before we leave Disney for the year.

Okay, so that's the food. Please fire away with recommendations for CS, particularly at DHS.

I'll be back soon with the parks and our plans for each park!

 

[wlwilliams9]

Hey, thanks! I'm so excited you came on your own and posted. I love having people who want to read my PTR. I agree that Hannah is a cutie. How fun for you that you're at the Poly - that'd be awesome to stay on the monorail line! I'll think of you as we zip by on the monorail.

And now, back to your regularly-scheduled PTR!

Food, anyone?

We love Disney food. I know a lot of people think the service and the quality has slipped since the introduction of the dining plan (in its ever varied forms). We haven't seen the slip, so we're happy to keep eating at our favorites. We are all about the food too! We're doing the DxDP this time. I made 17 ADR's! I'm already stuffed!

Okay, so here's our food. We're one of those touring families that generally decides ahead of time even where our counter service will be. It's part of the delight (or insanity )in all the planning:

Monday May 4 - arrival day.
DINNER: Counter service all the way! We'll be driving straight through from Ohio, leaving about 6:30 Sunday night, so we expect to arrive in Orlando around 1 PM or so.

Tuesday May 5
BREAKFAST: Probably something from Main Street Bakery - total yum! Yummy!
LUNCH: Pinocchio's Village Haus - we love the fries there, and Hannah likes the chicken nuggets. Yummy!
DINNER: Crystal Palace at 6:25 PM. We love dinner there and Yummy!

Wednesday May 6
BREAKFAST: We plan to be sleeping in this day, so nada on the breakfast.
LUNCH: Coral Reef at noon.
We haven't eaten here for lunch, only dinner, but this trip is about celebrating, so we're fitting in all our favorites! We've only done dinner, but it was fantastic and you can't beat the atmosphere!
DINNER: Tokyo Dining at 8 PM. Never been
We haven't eaten here before, period. I read a TR from marsh0013 and she mentioned getting a window seat and staying to watch IllumiNations. Loved that idea, so that's our plan, too!

Thursday May 7
LUNCH & DINNER: For the first time in our many trips to Orlando, we are venturing off site. We'll be at Sea World today, so we're doing CS there. Any suggestions?

Friday May 8 - This gets a special color because Mom flies in today.
BREAKFAST: Something in the room before the trip to the airport.
LUNCH: Pizzafari most likely.
DINNER: Yachtsman Steakhouse at 7:10 PM. Yum - we love it here! Another Yummy! I love steak!

Saturday May 9
BREAKFAST: Probably from Starring Rolls. Great bfast option
LUNCH: Toy Story Pizza Planet.
DINNER: in the room.
You don't know me yet, but this is shocking! We never eat in the room, despite being DVC members. (NOTE: I say "we" are DVC members even though they are my sister's points. That's because 1) I love Disney as much as she does, 2) I do almost all of the planning, and 3) she's awesome and TELLS me they are as much mine as hers!) Part of our vacation mentality is eating out and taking a break from the nightly routine of cooking and cleaning up after ourselves. But we have to cut costs somewhere, so we are sacrificing by eating in a couple of times.

Sunday May 10 - Mother's Day
BREAKFAST: Boma at 8 AM - yummo! Never been, but look forward to Boma in the future!
LUNCH: In the room again *sigh*.
DINNER: California Grill at 5:30 PM. Wait, what's that sound? Oh, it's the angels singing and rejoicing about California Grill! I'm a bit nervous about this one just because we're taking Hannah, and I want her to behave. We're taking her to the others, too, like Yachtsman Steakhouse, but she's been there before. CG is the fanciest place for us (even though some think it's loud), and I know they have those paper tablecloths which clearly indicates kid-friendly, but I still fret a bit. We'll be here tonight too, 6:10pm! It's our anniversary! If I see you, I'll say We have taken DD here before and there were plenty of other children in the restaurant too. Don't fret, it's not that upscale! It's definitely fine dining, but casual and family friendly. Hannah and my Emily can play while we pig out!

Monday May 11
BREAKFAST, LUNCH, & DINNER: Counter service all the way. Concessions again. But we're in Disney for nearly two weeks, so it's still great! I'll guess we'll do Sunshine Seasons for breakfast and lunch and Toy Story Mania for dinner.

Tuesday May 12
BREAKFAST: Probably a soft pretzel from a kiosk somewhere.
LUNCH: Pizzafari or Flame Tree Barbeque. Yum, BBQ!
DINNER: Hoop Dee Doo at 5 PM. I've never been, but I here it is the best dinner show at Disney. It's on my to do list!

Wednesday May 13
BREAKFAST: Cinderella's Royal Table at 9:15 AM We'll be eating here for the first time on the 14th!
LUNCH: Counter Service if anything at all. Probably Casey's or Cosmic Ray's.
DINNER: Jiko at 5:40 PM. This is a first for us, and it's the last signature restaurant for us to visit. Yippee! We'll be here tonight too, but later! Everything on the menu looks delish!

Thursday May 14
BREAKFAST & LUNCH: In the room and in the room.
DINNER: Counter service, but I doubt Miss will tolerate Toy Story again. I love this place - it reminds me of the first restaurant we ate at EVER on Disney property. She, apparently, just tolerates it. Need recommendations for CS for DHS. DH loves Toluca Turkey Leg Co. The taco salad & pulled pork sammie are great!

Friday May 15
BREAKFAST: Probably Starring Rolls again.
LUNCH: Ummm - again need advice for CS at DHS.
DINNER: Teppan Edo at 5 PM. Yummy and fun!

Saturday May 16
BREAKFAST: Main Street Bakery
LUNCH: Dunno. Counter service somewhere before we leave Disney for the year.

Okay, so that's the food. Please fire away with recommendations for CS, particularly at DHS.

I'll be back soon with the parks and our plans for each park!

I've added my comments and can't wait to see more plans!

 

[Disneyfan71]

I am definitely on board...At first I thought she was your daughter...but she's too cute!! And I bet you are SUPER excited to get to Disney!! we will be going in June but reading another PTR keeps me going Looking forward to reading more.

 

[donaldsgal]

I've added my comments and can't wait to see more plans!

Looks like we'll be coinciding a few times - how fun! The DxDP will be a good time, I'm sure! How old is Emily? Please do some hi if you see us. My family loves it when DISers come say hi to me in the parks.

I am definitely on board...At first I thought she was your daughter...but she's too cute!! And I bet you are SUPER excited to get to Disney!! we will be going in June but reading another PTR keeps me going Looking forward to reading more.

I'm so glad you found my humble PTR! You're right on - suUUUper excited for Disney! 78 days and counting!!!

Okay, so last I left you, I was going to fill you in on our park itineraries. First, although I have already introduced the cast of characters to you, I forgot two major players:

This is the car that will be our ride vehicle on our magical journey to Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida (I'm channeling the monorail narrator here). This is my car, and it feels a bit strange to say it, but I'm exited my car will be in Disney. I guess I feel like it's more ways to relive the trip in my daily life after we get home since I drive it every day.

And this is my Canon S5 IS. I LOVE this camera! It takes such great shots, it's easy to use, and it has captured some outstanding fireworks shots (the most illusive medium I attempt to capture while on vacation). Oh, and it takes videos, which is another great feature. We'll be doing lots of videos this time since Mom won't be there to enjoy it. We'll probably show Dad, too, since he's never seen or heard many of the sights of Disney! The video tends to be pretty quiet at times, so I need to read up on any ways I can enhance the microphone to pick up more sound.

Okay, now back to the original point of this update!

We are TGMers, but because of the switch to 90 day ADRs and park hour publications, we had to wait longer than normal to make our reservations. Thanks to some good advice on the TGM boards, I was able to predict which parks Mike might suggest - and I was almost exactly right! Go me! So below is the list of days and what we'll be doing when.

Here's a couple of caveats about our park touring. We like to ride our favorites as many times as possible. Our park favorites are as follows:

MK are: Splash, Big Thunder, Space (not this year due to the rehab - ), Haunted Mansion, Pirates ("Piearts" as Hannah calls it), Jungle Cruise - can't get enough of those corny jokes, Peter Pan's Flight, and PhilharMagic.

Epcot: Soarin', Spaceship Earth, and Test Track. Miss really likes Universe of Energy, and I do too, but if we only do it once, that's okay with us.

DHS: Tower of Terror, Rock 'N Roller Coaster, and Toy Story Midway Mania. We also love Voyage of the Little Mermaid and Star Tours, but again, if we only do these once the whole trip, we're good to go.

AK: Everest, FotLK, Primeval Whirl, Kilimanjaro Safari, and ITTBAB.

Now, we don't always do them multiple times each day, but we definitely do them as often as possible.

This year, since it's just Miss and I for the most part, we won't be doing multiple rides on the mountains each day as we usually do. We'll probably do one ride each while the other person hangs out with Hannah either by riding something else or letting her play, such as in that play area underneath the railroad by Splash Mountain (she loves that play area). The best part of the big rides are laughing out loud at the thrills and spills with Miss beside me/in front of/behind me. Since we don't get to do that for the most part this year, we'll just do each ride once. But that will leave more time for other things, so it's all good!

Before I go on, I also need to explain how we keep track of our touring plans. I usually write out the order of attractions we want to see. Click here to learn why I do this and how I handle it if we get off track. I promise, I'm not psycho and not so regimented that we follow a plan to the detriment of the entire vacation.

So before, I used to type these daily itineraries and take them with us into the park. This wasn't the ideal because I had to keep track of them each day! I'm not forgetful, but when I return to the room, I empty out my pockets so I can get comfy and then reload them before heading out. I don't always empty into the same place - leads to some forgotten items! Secondly, when it was rainy, the pages got damp. Not so easy to read the words when the ink has been smeared.

Well, I was reading the infamous timandlesley's PTR and a poster there, Nicole786, had posted pictures of her itineraries that she does on her iPhone. I'm an iPhone user (the pictures of my car and camera above are iPhone pics as an example of the level of quality this amazing device offers!), so I thought I'd give this a shot.

I love this idea! So. Much. Fun! With Nicole786's tips, I have learned to create these on Keynote (a Mac's version of PowerPoint). You can export them as images, and then you can sync the iPhone with your computer to share images between the two. I have a folder in my pictures album on my phone called "Disney Itineraries" where all of these pictures will be. I took a video of myself explaining this. I know a picture is worth a thousand words, so a video must be good for a million, right? I understand I'm a dork, but that's just part of my charm.

Here's the video of how the itineraries work:


So here's the obligatory "trip overview" iPhone itinerary:

Monday May 4 - arrival day!
We are non-parking it today. We should arrive at OKW around 1:30 or so (we hope), so hopefully the room will be ready. We'll likely rest after our long trek from Ohio (16 hours straight through minus a stop at Bob Evans, most likely, for breakfast Monday morning). We may drive over to DTD for some shopping, or we may just cool it (literally) with a dip here:

Here's our itinerary for today (the white streaks are the confirmation numbers that I've blotted out for posting purposes):

Tuesday May 5 - Magic Kingdom!!!
Our plan of attack here will be Fantasyland, a bit of Toon Town, Frontierland, Adventureland, Liberty Square (which is mainly Haunted Mansion) - all before lunch! We'll take a break in the afternoon, (swim or sleep - our favorite things to do on the break), and head back for Crystal Palace for dinner. We'll likely do some of Tomorrowland at this time - Buzz Liteyear for Miss Hannah (as we often refer to her; not sure wh ) and the TTA if it's open. Sadly, we'll most likely miss Spectro this year. Miss wants Hannah to see more of the afternoon parades, so in order to make that happen, we need to take evenings of at times to allow us to spend more time in the parks during the day. We will NEVER miss Wishes, though, so Wishes is on tap for tonight! Yayyyyy!

The iPhone itinerary:

Wednesday May 6 - Epcot!
Today we're sleeping in and making today's focus primarily World Showcase. We'll start with grabbing FPs for Soarin' before heading to Coral Reef for lunch. If we're lucky and the return time is up (it is early May, after all ), we'll hit Soarin' and head to Universe of Energy. Then we'll tour World Showcase. We may take an afternoon break today, or we may not. We aren't big shoppers while on vacation, but my goal is to travel back INTO the pavilions in WS without just passing by them. If we end up getting this accomplished more quickly than we expect, we'll head back to the resort to rest. We also want to see a few WS shows - the acrobats, the World Showcase players, Miyuki, the Serveur Amusant, etc. etc. etc. Dinner is at 8 at Tokyo Dining, where we plan to arrive around 7:40-7:45 so we can get a window seat for a view of IllumiNations when it starts at 9. Then it's home and to bed!

Today's itinerary:

Thursday May 7 - Sea World!
In our many trips to Disney, we have never made time for Sea World. Well, not this year! We had a Sea World in Cleveland for many years, so we were lucky to visit there a few times as a child (Mom was chosen to hug Shamu AND kiss a walrus. Apparently they wanted me but I was too scared...) Anyways, a combination of not buying APs this year and having the time to "get away" makes this a perfect idea this trip. We'll plan on being there all day, but I doubt we will be. We have some must-sees, and I'm excited about them! Hannah, as you'll learn - is incredibly tiny! She's just around 25 pounds at 3 - usually a child hits 20 pounds by their first birthday! She's also pretty short - currently holding at 34.5 inches barefoot. We're hoping she grows an inch so she can at least do Barnstormer at MK, but she may be at 35 inches with her tennis shoes on. Anyways, Shamu's Happy Harbor would be a bust since she's too little for everything - and since when does the Skytower and rides of its ilk have height requirements?! - so we'll be focusing on animals and shows. Not a bad way to spend the day! We may each try to get in Journey into Atlantis and the Wild Arctic Ride (we are plus-sized and traditional amusement park rides don't always accommodate us comfortably). I'm excited for this day. Any recommendations on places to eat at Sea World? The itinerary is in no particular order today since we know nothing about this park. We'll go by show schedules and the closeness of one thing to another to save on walking since we might stay all day.

Here's the iPhone itinerary (beautified 'cause I could ):

And with that, I think that's enough for this update. I'll be back soon with more details and itinerary photos! Enjoy your Sunday!

 

[Nicole786]

The cards look great, I'm glad I could spread that tip, it works out amazingly well!

 

[wlwilliams9]

Looks like we'll be coinciding a few times - how fun! The DxDP will be a good time, I'm sure! How old is Emily? Please do some hi if you see us. My family loves it when DISers come say hi to me in the parks.

Emily is 2, she'll be 3 in July!

The itineraries for your iPhone look great! I wish I had an iPhone, but I never use a cellphone so I would only use it to make Disney Itineraries! Kind of a waste of $$!!

 

[Starwater]

"We plan to be sleeping in this day, so nada on the breakfast."

Wow, its so refreshing to see someone admit to planning to sleep in at least one day at Disney!!

Subscribing!

 

[donaldsgal]

Thanks wlwilliams9 and Starwater! Sorry I haven't updated in a while; life has been busy, and I'm at my sister's where the Internet is only accessed by using her cell as a modem ( which I can't do while she's at work). Anyway, I should be able to post more next week after returning from spring break! Oh, and we are actually sleeping in a few days this trip, and I'm looking forward to it!

 

[Disneylove1228]

omg i can't believe you'll be there for so long! i'm jealous!
everything looks amazing!!

 

[donaldsgal]

omg i can't believe you'll be there for so long! i'm jealous!
everything looks amazing!!

Hi, and thanks so much for joining me Disneylove1228!!! I share your excitement for my longer trip. It's officially only 45 days until Disney!!!

So I know I only have a few readers, but remember? This PTR is for me this time. I must admit... I was going to let this PTR die. Shame on me! I must repeat after myself: "I will complete this PTR. I will complete this PTR. I WILL COMPLETE THIS PTR!!!"

When last we left your intrepid PTR writer donaldsgal, she was regaling you with the tales of her daily itinerary to the Most Magical Place on Earth! However, there are a few updates to notify you about.

First, we got our hotel for the return trip via Priceline. We got a 3 star Hilton in downtown Charlotte for $52 and change total! That's pretty good, since the website shows those rooms going for $125 rack rate! Woo hoo!

And we changed an ADR. I got to looking at the menu for Coral Reef for lunch, and it didn't thrill me. I loved their potatoes au gratin with the mahi mahi, and those potatoes are no longer anywhere on the menu. Well, my cousin went to Disney February 28-March 7 and ate at T-Rex. They loved it. We have eaten at the Rainforest Cafe twice - once was good, the last time was okay (made okay by the literal freezing air conditioner blowing on us resulting in a request to move after 45 minutes of intense shivering). Hannah loves dinosaurs, so this one is in part for her. Hopefully we like this one. The guys at WDW Today did not enjoy it, so we'll see what we think in a couple of months, I guess! So on May 6, we're headed to T-Rex at 12:15 instead of Coral Reef.

Lastly, we have added a special treat to Thursday, May 7. We've never seen the Electrical Water Pageant, so we plan to go to the Poly around 8, grab a hammock and let Hannah play in the sand, watch the EWP, and maybe stay for Wishes, depending on how tired we are.

Now let's get back to it. We're up to Friday, May 8. Something exciting is going to take place on this day - Mom arrives! We're headed to the AK this day, but Mom's flight doesn't get in until around 10 at MCO, so we'll likely not get to the park until 11ish. We have dinner planned at Yachtsman that night, one of Mom's favorites these days. We've never seen the AK parade, so we'll do our best to see it this day.

Here's the obligatory iPhone itinerary:

On Saturday, May 9, we head to DHS and MK. DHS has AM EMH that day - something we typically avoid these days. However, my mom's top 5 things at Disney are Soarin', Tower of Terror, Mickey's PhilharMagic, Festival of the Lion King, and Christmas IllumiNations. She's a very accommodating person, never wanting us to change plans to suit her, and since we had planned AK and DHS for when she arrives, she wants us to stick with that. We'll probably ride TSM only once and then get to ToT for as many rides as possible. Given that Hannah will be old enough to have an eligible park ticket but supremely too small for all the roller coasters, that means we get to ride in shifts of 2, so 4 FPs will get us 2 rides. That evening, Mom is graciously babysitting Hannah while Miss and I have an "adults-night-out." Where will we go, you ask? Why, the MK, the most adult-oriented place in Disney! We'll probably skip Spectro in favor of riding rides but might not skip Wishes; we just love it!

The iCard:

Sunday, May 10 is Mother's Day! We'll start the day with a breakfast ADR at Boma. We ate here last October, but I was feeling sick, so I didn't really enjoy it. After breakfast, we'll go back to the hotel and swim, nap, and just generally enjoy our first class mom on Mother's Day at Disney!!! Her flight home leaves at 5:45, so we'll probably head out for MCO around 3ish. Then, we have a much-anticipated ADR at California Grill. When we take Hannah to signature restaurants, we try to shoot for the first ADRs of the night, assuming people who want adults-only experiences aim for later at night reservations. (Yachtsman is an exception since we'll have had a later start that day and will need to get Hannah a break before we head to a dinner where we'll likely be there for a while.) We try to stay out of their way, seeing as how I used to be one of those adults who would prefer to hear crying children at Walmart than at my beloved Disney restaurants. Hannah's never been here, but I'm hopeful it goes well. We'll likely arrive around 5:10 or so in order to request a castle view table. We the sushi here, so be sure that we'll be ordering some of that deliciousness.

Here's the iCard:

Monday May 11 brings us back to Epcot. Today, we're arriving for rope drop and as many rides on Soarin' as physically and FP-ally possible. I'll probably have a bacon, egg, and cheese croissant at Sunshine Seasons - yummy! I had it there in 2008 and it was superb! Then, when we take our afternoon break, it's another Disney trip first: We're using Kid's Nite Out so that we can take advantage of riding our DHS favorites together. This plan consists mostly of doing TSM, RnRC, and ToT in a perpetual loop until we have to return to relieve the sitter. We're only using the service for 4 hours, so hopefully it's a great time for Hannah, too. We hear great things about this service, so we're giving it a shot!

The iCard:

And with that, I'm caught up to the iCards I have made thus far. Have a good night, and I'll be back soon - I promise!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Wow, sure sounds good to me, almost time to go, get packing.

 

[angelsmith52]

Oh my! Lots planned and what a fabulous time you are going to have!!! Looks great!

 

[donaldsgal]

Wow, sure sounds good to me, almost time to go, get packing.

Oh my! Lots planned and what a fabulous time you are going to have!!! Looks great!

You know, it never fails. Whenever I decide to give up on the PTR (soon to be TR) because it seems no one's reading or posting, or I start feeling silly that someone would care about our trip, someone posts. Can I just say to you both?

Today, I've actually spent most of the day doing last minute research. I'm trying to decide if we're going to see the DHS Block Party Bash. I only have a 10 day park hopper (my sister renewed her AP and I opted not to), but we wanted to see Celebrate a Dream Come True as well without having to stay in a park all day. We usually leave after lunch, so those parades being at 3 throws a bit of a wrench in things. We aren't going back next year - , first time since 2005 that we will miss a year - so that heightens our sense to see and do as much as we can. Also, Hannah is in the throes of believing all the magic and LOVING everything Disney, so we want to give her every chance to see her characters "in real life", you know?

Anyway, that leaves Tuesday May 5, Wednesday May 13, or Thursday May 14 to see Celebrate a Dream Come True. However, that means staying later into the day on those days. May 14 is actually a non-park day most of the day - we're going to see Fantasmic! that night since my sister loves that. But that day would make sense to see BPB, right, since we're already there? So that means, when do we see CADCT? We are making the 13th at the MK very Hannah-focused; she has a BBB appointment that morning, we have reservations at CRT at 9:15, and we are seeing characters (something we never make time for outside of the character buffets). But we have Jiko on the 13th at 5:40, so she needs a nap before then. And it's an early morning too due to BBB and CRT.... decisions decisions!

What do you think?

Option 1:
See CADCT on the 5th. We've got reservations at Crystal Palace for dinner at 6:25, so it wouldn't leave us much time for a break if we stay for the parade, but we could do it. We'd leave around 3:30 and need to head back by 5:45 at the latest since MK is so hard to get to. Seem almost pointless to leave if we're seeing CADCT that day, but we'll have driven in just the day before, so a long day with no break might exhaust us. On the other hand, we may be running on the adrenalin of being there and have no trouble staying. Then we can see BPB on the 14th when we're headed to DHS for the afternoon/evening for Fantasmic!

Option 2:
See CADCT on the 13th. We'd leave the park around 3:30ish, get back to OKW, Hannah could take a quick nap until about 5, then we'd get up, freshen up, and head to AKL. Again, this would let us see BPB on the 14th as well as Fantasmic! that night. I like the idea of seeing BPB on the same day as Fantasmic! (would also let us get those elusive 50s Prime Time Cafe reservations that we've been trying to get but haven't been able to given the time it will take to get from MK to DHS), but it seems like a long day, given we'll have to be at the MK by 8 AM (which means up and out the door by 7ish) to make BBB and CRT.

Option 3:
See CADCT on the 14th. Park hop to DHS for Fantasmic! that night. Then see BPB on the 15th, which is our last full day at Disney. We'd have either no afternoon since we have reservations at Teppan Edo at 5 PM, or we could go to DHS from opening till about 11ish (getting in those hard-to-obtain FPs for Toy Story and getting some early-in-the-day rides on ToT and RnRC), leave for a break, return at 2ish, use the FPs from before, see the parade, then hop to Epcot via the Friendship Ferry for dinner. Please help! We're getting close, and I'm terribly indecisive!

ETA: I think I lean toward option 3. Don't know though, since the 15th is our last full day. We may want every last second in the park! It'll help when my sister is available for me to call and ask her about these options. She's at a meeting now, so I'll feel better talking this out with her soon!

Oh, and I'll post my updated itinerary cards once I make the choice. Thanks again for caring to read and post. I actually plan to "go live" with the report while we're there. That will be a challenge to do since it's hard to sit down and write when I want to relax and sleep, but we have a lot of evenings off after dinner, and we almost always take afternoon breaks, so there will be plenty of chances to update while we're there.

 

[shordiebecka]

I know how you feel! I long to have people read my PTR, I have a few readers, but not tons. I'm doing it mainly for me to keep my head together though!

I wish I had an Iphone. Those things are so creative.... I also am so jealous you get so much time in the world. You are going to have such an amazing time!!!!!!

I know you asked for CS in DHS, but I just wanted to bring up that Hollywood & Vine is an all you can eat buffet, affordable, and I loved it last time I was there. You will hear good, & bad things about it though. Can't wait ot hear more!

 

[donaldsgal]

I know how you feel! I long to have people read my PTR, I have a few readers, but not tons. I'm doing it mainly for me to keep my head together though!

I wish I had an Iphone. Those things are so creative.... I also am so jealous you get so much time in the world. You are going to have such an amazing time!!!!!!

I know you asked for CS in DHS, but I just wanted to bring up that Hollywood & Vine is an all you can eat buffet, affordable, and I loved it last time I was there. You will hear good, & bad things about it though. Can't wait ot hear more!

Thanks for the tip. I think H&V is on the slate for a future trip. I'm like you - just because I hear bad things about a restaurant won't keep me away, such as hearing if the service has gone "downhill" at Coral Reef, Teppan Edo, etc. We love those places and go regardless of what others say. It's nice to hear others do the same, and it's always good to have a balanced perspective. After all, I can't think of any restaurants that are all good or all bad, you know?

Thanks again for stopping by!