Magic to do and fantasy to study - Disneyland, Cruise, and WDW PTR *ADR Update 11/9*

[chunkymonkey]

Finally made it over to your PTR!! What fun you are having! I love that you are a performer! Loved the tap dancing video!
I haven't been to Disneyland for many years. I really want to go back. I should just go back.

My sister and I are trying to come up with cruise stateroom door decor...not sure what we will be doing yet though. Definitely will have some of our Star Wars character pictures we took at Star Wars Weekends this year.

I like how you have all these trips planned. It's like you have something to look forward to at the end of a trip!
Can't wait to hear more!

 

[LizardQueen8]

Finally made it over to your PTR!! What fun you are having! I love that you are a performer! Loved the tap dancing video!
I haven't been to Disneyland for many years. I really want to go back. I should just go back.!

You SHOULD just go back! It's such a different feel, yet so much the same. Sometimes I think I actually prefer it to WDW...

My sister and I are trying to come up with cruise stateroom door decor...not sure what we will be doing yet though. Definitely will have some of our Star Wars character pictures we took at Star Wars Weekends this year.
!

So far we've gotten a Peter Pan Mickey for the porthole, and we also plan on getting a bunch of maps from DL and making magnets from them.

I like how you have all these trips planned. It's like you have something to look forward to at the end of a trip!
Can't wait to hear more!

It's amazing and confusing at the same time .

 

[LizardQueen8]

So, Disneyland is rapidly approaching. Naturally, this meant I spent my weekend watching Disney movies I've somehow never seen before. Who cares about the running costume I still need to finish, or the half inch of dust on my furniture, or the fact that I really should have done a training run Saturday AND Sunday DISNEY MOVIES.

First up:



Review: a fun way to spend an hour. I liked Once Upon a Wintertime, Johnny Appleseed and Pecos Bill the best. The rest were cute, but not particularly memorable. This also led down a Wiki wormhole consisting of John Chapman, the original "legend" of Pecos Bill and onwards into other tall tales.

Next up:



Review: ...I know that this is a huge favorite amongst a certain age group. My takeaway is that...you really needed to see this movie for the first time as a child. I don't need to see this again. I didn't hate it, but...yeah, I'm good with just the one viewing.

Finally:



Review: This is not a particularly well plotted movie (or in some cases acted LYNN-HOLLY JOHNSON I AM LOOKING AT YOU). But the atmosphere is nice and creepy, the special effects are surprisingly well done for a pre-CGI era, and the overall story engrossing despite the gaping plot holes. I'd most definitely watch this one again.

In other news: THE CRUISE IS PAID IN FULL WOOOOOOOOOOO. Check in is just a few days before we leave for DL. We won't be making any dining reservations because fancy food is just wasted on me, and K doesn't want to go by herself. We also don't plan to eating formally at the restaurants every night because we'd rather eat according to our own schedule, but we will at least a couple of times because we also want to experience as much of the ship as we can. We are hoping to book a couple of port adventures; update on that post check in. Mostly we are looking forward to our verandah. And beaches.

I ran 3.1 miles without any walking on Sunday. God, running sucks. But at least now I know I can do it for the Super Heroes 5K! Without dying! This is important because I plan on spending as many waking hours in the parks as I can without falling over.

As for WDW, my ADR date is also rapidly approaching. I'm really going to have to sit down and look at park hours and crowd calendars and make a few actual decisions soon. Update on that forthcoming as well.

NEXT UPDATE: A rundown of what Avengers Weekend is going to look like. Approximately. Maybe. Hopefully. Also, new t-shirts!

 

[lilpixiebabe101]

My friend ann who Ive mentioned in my PTR is doing avengers next month! She loves meet and greets!

So much disney in one year! Super jealous!!! I'm hoping my new side job will let us get to the parks once a year...maybe....crossing my fingers and hoping for pixie dust here lol

 

[LizardQueen8]

So much disney in one year! Super jealous!!! I'm hoping my new side job will let us get to the parks once a year...maybe....crossing my fingers and hoping for pixie dust here lol

This many trips in one year will likely not happen again any time soon, if ever. Especially since I want to start visiting the overseas locales in the next couple of years!

 

[lilpixiebabe101]

This many trips in one year will likely not happen again any time soon, if ever. Especially since I want to start visiting the overseas locales in the next couple of years!

Sounds like Ann. She's been so much in the last two years with runs I think she's gotten a bit burnt out. I think she's only going for our trip next fall into avengers at DL.

You know how to PM for those overseas excursions )

 

[dawnmichele]

PIPPIN!
I haven't even started reading your PTR yet, but saw the title on the main page and knew I had to click!!
Now on to reading...

(PS. This summer I met John Rubenstein while he was touring as Charlemagne.)

 

[LizardQueen8]

PIPPIN!
I haven't even started reading your PTR yet, but saw the title on the main page and knew I had to click!!
Now on to reading...

(PS. This summer I met John Rubenstein while he was touring as Charlemagne.)

fellow musical theater lover!!!!

I missed the tour when it came through here, and I am totes jealous you met John Rubenstein!!! I was in a production of Pippin many years ago, and it remains one of my favorite shows I've ever done.

 

[huggybuff]

This is not a particularly well plotted (or in some cases acted LYNN-HOLLY JOHNSON I AM LOOKING AT YOU).

I can't believe she was a Bond Girl! Thankfully she didn't actually sleep with James because he deemed her too young.

I ran 3.1 miles without any walking on Sunday

Amazing job!!!

 

[LizardQueen8]

I can't believe she was a Bond Girl! Thankfully she didn't actually sleep with James because he deemed her too young.

I'm pretty sure she's tied with Denise Richards as WORST BOND GIRL EVER.

 

[huggybuff]

I'm pretty sure she's tied with Denise Richards as WORST BOND GIRL EVER.

They may be 2a and 2b. It's been scientifically proven that Tanya Roberts is the worst of all time. You could practically see the cocaine under her nose.

 

[LizardQueen8]

New T-shirts!!!



Yes, it's possible I have a slight Disney t-shirt addiction. But I can't take pictures in the same shirts every single trip! I need new ones! ALL THE NEW SHIRTS!!!!!

...okay, I am at a point where I can start mixing and matching from previous trips. Maybe. We won't discuss the fact that I already pre-ordered a Star Wars Day at Sea shirt, or that I will buy at least two new shirts in Disneyland, and probably another one on the cruise as well....

I KNOW I HAVE A PROBLEM.

ANYWAY, 9 days until Disneyland and a 5K and the 60th Anniversary celebration!!!! K and I fly down together Thursday morning, and M and S join us at separate times that late afternoon/evening. Since K and S are running the same races, they are sharing a room. Which means I get to share with M, who is doing the 5K with me and who I still miss so much since she moved to San Francisco back in June. So, bonus that we are sharing! Since FP+ has not yet sullied the waters of Anaheim, we don't need to do a whole lot of advance planning for this trip, but here is a very sketchy, basic look at the trip:

Thursday: K and I will hit the Expo as soon as we check in to our hotel, which means we will hopefully get there by 10:30-11am at the latest. We'll pick up our packets, our shirts and our park tickets and then head IMMEDIATELY into the parks. I predict we will hit Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion and Pirates first, depending of course on what Fast Pass we decide to get. M will join us in the parks once she has checked in to our room and hit the Expo herself. I'll stay at the parks until around 9pm, probably; the other two girls can stay an hour later if they wish, but M and I will need to get to bed at a halfway reasonable hour.

Friday: 5K! M and I will be up at butt o'clock to get to our corrals (I anticipate being in one of the last corrals, so I'll want to get as close to the front as possible since my time is most likely WAY exceeding that of most of the others who will be surrounding me). After the race, back to the room to shower, maybe crash for an hour or so, and then out to the parks! S will join us this day, so we will be a merry foursome for most if not all of the day. I think our only plan will be "go on as many rides as possible while still stopping for a corn dog". Maybe we'll do World of Color this night? I also want to make sure I get to marvel at all the Christmas decorations - this will be my first time at a Disney park during a holiday season!

Saturday: K and S run the 10K. M and I get to the parks at opening and hit as many rides as possible (notice a theme here?) before our character breakfast at the Plaza at 10am, where we will all meet up I AM SO EXCITED I LOVE CHARACTER BREAKFASTS. Then lather, rinse, repeat the plan of the day before, hitting any rides we've missed and making sure I at some point get to ride the whole circuit of the Disneyland Railroad, as I have never done that before and it will be closed for the duration of the Star Wars construction. I anticipate S and maybe K will call it an earlier night this day with the half marathon being the next day. M and I will definitely do one of the nighttime shows - Fantasmic if the other girls turn in early, Paint the Night and fireworks maybe otherwise.

Sunday: K and S run the half marathon. This also might be the day they have friends who live in LA come out to join them in the parks. If so, M and I will be on our own all day. If we haven't done many character photos, I'll want to do some of those this day, as well as see if I can equal last year's record of riding Peter Pan and Alice and Wonderland four times each. Whatever evening show we haven't hit yet, this will be the night for that. M flies out this night, so we will make sure she gets to see whichever shows are more important to her before she leaves. I think S flies out on Sunday too? But she doesn't seem to really care about the nighttime extravaganzas (she didn't see any of them last year), so I'm not concerned with her preferences .

Monday: SEASON OF THE FORCE BEGINS!! As I think I may have said before, I am only a casual Star Wars fan, but K is a RABID Star Wars fan, so we will check out of the hotel super early and be at the gates of Disneyland long, long before rope drop so we have the best chance of seeing as much of the festivities as possible before we have to leave between 2 and 2:30pm. Most critical on the list will be Space Mountain with the Force Awakens overlay. But we'll also want to do Star Tours, some meet and greets, look at merchandise, etc. It will probably be crazy insane, but I am confident of our ability to maximize the little time we will have. And then, home .

Finally - and I can't stress this enough - THERE WILL BE SHINY NEW DIAMOND CELEBRATION EARS PURCHASED AND WORN ALL WEEKEND.

 

[huggybuff]

Love the new t-shirts! Especially the Robin Hood one. Your plans sound fantastic

Good luck on your 5K!!!

 

[LizardQueen8]

Love the new t-shirts! Especially the Robin Hood one. Your plans sound fantastic

Good luck on your 5K!!!

Thank you!!! Good luck on your races, too!

 

[lilpixiebabe101]

Gotta love the ears!!!

 

[LizardQueen8]

Getting down to the wire for Disneyland! Cautiously optimistic about getting through my race! Stressing about all last minute travel nonsense!

However, I have been able to distract myself with a couple of odds and ends for my other two planned trips.

First, WE ARE CHECKED IN FOR THE CRUISE! We've got a lovely early port arrival time, and were able to get both of the port adventures we wanted - the ATV tour and beach break in Cozumel and the Rum Point catamaran excursion for Grand Cayman. On Castaway Cay we both plan on running the fun run 5K, and then will just lounge on the beach and get character photos. Well, I'll get character photos anyway. CHARACTERS!!!!!!

Second, Disney World ADRS!!!!!!

I was a couple of days past my 180+10, but since I wasn't trying to make that many reservations and I know cancellations happen all the time, I wasn't too concerned. I wasn't expecting much, but I wasn't going to get all crazy about it either.

Imagine my surprise when I had zero difficulty getting everything I wanted, on the days I wanted, at the times I wanted!

*drum roll*

Kona Cafe for breakfast (Tonga Toast!)
Garden Grill for a character breakfast (not the most exciting characters, but Farmer Mickey)
Via Napoli for dinner my final night (my one repeat, but I really liked it and it's not crazy expensive or too formal)
And BE OUR GUEST FOR DINNER I GET TO MEET THE BEAST.

 

[huggybuff]

I'm back from WDW and can vouch for the Tonga Toast (and meeting the Beast as well).

Can't wait to hear about your Avengers adventure!