(More than)A FIVE years of Trips! -- TR Started! Day One - updated 6/10

[hurleysweety]

Wait, looking at your signature, is this your first time seeing WoC??? That's pretty exciting! Do you really need touring plans?? I feel like a DLR expert like you could just come up with your own good plan. Oh, and that's a crazy good deal on the hotel!

Yes! First time seeing WoC! I'm a little frazzled by that - I'm doing my research on it tonight, so hopefully I'll come up with a plan. Right now, I feel alot like this...

And you're right, why worry about touring plans? I'll just go wherever sounds good.

 

[hurleysweety]

If you want your family to see WoC at DCA this year, here's a simple test to see if you can plan and then enjoy this show!

1. Do you like to learn every possible thing about an attraction?

2. Do you enjoy staying up late to research the traffic patterns of DCA?

3. Is your idea of a fun day waiting in line to get into a park to wait in line to get a pass to wait in line to get into an area to wait for a show?

4. Do you dream about the colors blue, yellow, and red, in this order?

5. Do you have a WoC "viewing map" downloaded to your computer?

If you answered "YES" to all these questions, then you, my friend, are the perfect candiate for viewing WoC!​

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I've just read the entire, yes entire, WoC superthread. Its only 7 pages now, so its not that bad. But I've also read all those little links to separate posts/threads and to other forums. I've learned the answers to all my questions, and then came up with new questions, based on things I've learned. Really, I've decided, that I'll just be happy to see it!

I also know that I'll be super anxious about having a bad spot, having annoying people by me (probably the worst worst worst thing to me in the world), or having a crabby hubby. I really don't want the last!

I think we're gonna opt for the 10:15 show. Mostly because standing in line from 9-10:45ish, and then waiting for the show in our area for about 25 mins sounds MUCH more appealing than arriving at 7 for a 9pm show. I do not like waiting (does anyone???). I would much prefer to circle the park three times than wait in line; even at the end of the day!

Any tips for us? We won't get to the park until 1:30 on Friday...I'm thinking we'll see what passes are left and get them. And then decide later if we want to watch, or should we wait for Blue FP for 10:15 on Saturday. ??? I'm so afraid to not try and see it Friday - because I always use the "see it the first chance you get, because you might not have a second!" rule.

 

[skiingfast]

Any tips for us? We won't get to the park until 1:30 on Friday...I'm thinking we'll see what passes are left and get them. And then decide later if we want to watch, or should we wait for Blue FP for 10:15 on Saturday. ??? I'm so afraid to not try and see it Friday - because I always use the "see it the first chance you get, because you might not have a second!" rule.

I agree, what if something happens on Friday?

I would risk showing up at 1:30 and expecting tickets to be left. I would get a picnic, have it for lunch or early dinner.

 

[DLR29]

Just for what it's worth, I saw WoC on a Sunday in early December. Got to the parks around 1ish and the first thing we did was pick up WoC FP and they were Blue for the second show.

All 3 times I've seen the show I've seen Blue!

As skiingfast said, also, you can get the picnic. I'd think that even at 1:30 they'd still be giving out Blue FPs at the picnics.

 

[hurleysweety]

I agree, what if something happens on Friday?

I would risk showing up at 1:30 and expecting tickets to be left. I would get a picnic, have it for lunch or early dinner.

Thanks - I think we'll hope for the best Friday afternoon.

I've definitley considered the picnic idea and was all for it when I realized the AP discount too...until I saw the actual meals. I get the idea of it, and I think FWIW that the picnic option is a great idea. But nothing screams, "YUM" and I'm not even a picky eater. Have you had them before?

Just for what it's worth, I saw WoC on a Sunday in early December. Got to the parks around 1ish and the first thing we did was pick up WoC FP and they were Blue for the second show.

All 3 times I've seen the show I've seen Blue!

As skiingfast said, also, you can get the picnic. I'd think that even at 1:30 they'd still be giving out Blue FPs at the picnics.

I'm definitley hoping for blue! If I get yellow, I'd be okay with that too. I'm also fine with using that fire hydrant rule, so we'll see how it goes!

 

[skiingfast]

.

I've definitley considered the picnic idea and was all for it when I realized the AP discount too...until I saw the actual meals. I get the idea of it, and I think FWIW that the picnic option is a great idea. But nothing screams, "YUM" and I'm not even a picky eater. Have you had them before?




I'm definitley hoping for blue! If I get yellow, I'd be okay with that too. I'm also fine with using that fire hydrant rule, so we'll see how it goes!

I have done the picnic. I'm not a vegetarian by any means and found that option to be just fine. I did the European Antipasto and it was very good.

A lot of people get the American and don't like the fried chicken. Why? Because all of the meals are served cold and people didn't expect the chicken to be cold.

 

[tksbaskets]

I did the WOC picnic and found it delish! I had the one with the fried chicken. The chicken is cold but I like to eat cold fried chicken so that didn't bother me at all. It came in a nice reusable bag too.

TK

 

[mvf-m11c]

I have done the WoC picnic and the food was nice for being cold. I have done the cold fried chicken and it was okay. The WoC tote bag was very nice to use to carry the food when we didn't want to eat it at the park. For all the picnics that I have done, I got them online where you get the first show of a multiple day show and I got all blue FP. If you get the picnic early, you have a good chance of getting the blue FP. I had the option of selecting the yellow but I like the blue FP than the yellow FP.

 

[DLR29]

I also did the picnics once. Got the chicken one (I really liked the chicken despite it being cold) and the cured meats/cheeses one. Both had good things and bad things. My mom and I shared so we each got what we wanted from both meals.

 

[hurleysweety]

I have done the picnic. I'm not a vegetarian by any means and found that option to be just fine. I did the European Antipasto and it was very good.

A lot of people get the American and don't like the fried chicken. Why? Because all of the meals are served cold and people didn't expect the chicken to be cold.

Ya I saw that they were served cold. I remember eating fried chicken like that as a kid on picnics (which makes sense since they're picnics!). I can see how someone might be dissapointed if they're expecting it to be like fried chicken found hot at other restaurants on property.

I did the WOC picnic and found it delish! I had the one with the fried chicken. The chicken is cold but I like to eat cold fried chicken so that didn't bother me at all. It came in a nice reusable bag too.

TK

Oh yes, the bag looks very nice. I was reading an old blog about the picnics and it seems like when they first came out, you got one with every meal, instead of one with every four now. Makes much more sense economically! And who needs a giant bag for one meal!?

I have done the WoC picnic and the food was nice for being cold. I have done the cold fried chicken and it was okay. The WoC tote bag was very nice to use to carry the food when we didn't want to eat it at the park. For all the picnics that I have done, I got them online where you get the first show of a multiple day show and I got all blue FP. If you get the picnic early, you have a good chance of getting the blue FP. I had the option of selecting the yellow but I like the blue FP than the yellow FP.

Interesting that you had the option of selecting. Do you think they'd let you select which show, as well? I know people have said that guest relations is usually willing to change you to a later show, as opposed to an earlier show. Wonder if this would work for picnics as well...hmmm...

I also did the picnics once. Got the chicken one (I really liked the chicken despite it being cold) and the cured meats/cheeses one. Both had good things and bad things. My mom and I shared so we each got what we wanted from both meals.

I do have to admit, the cold chicken looks good. And I'd be happy to just try it out and say, hey, I did that picnic thing. But this whole idea came to a crashing hault last night when DH saw me looking at the pictures of the meals on the site and asked if it was a kid's meal . I'm pretty sure he'd eat one of those whole prime rib's you see them cutting at the buffets if they let him!

Thanks for all the help guys!

 

[skiingfast]

I'm definitley hoping for blue! If I get yellow, I'd be okay with that too. I'm also fine with using that fire hydrant rule, so we'll see how it goes!

If you do a picnic ask for blue if they give you yellow, or ask if you can come back later and trade or ask for a manager to ask for blue.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Interesting that you had the option of selecting. Do you think they'd let you select which show, as well? I know people have said that guest relations is usually willing to change you to a later show, as opposed to an earlier show. Wonder if this would work for picnics as well...hmmm...

The CM can let you select which color you want to choose for the show if they are still available. If you get it early, you will have a better chance of selecting which color FP you want. U show up later and they might have only one color available. It is possible if you bought the picnic online and get the first show and you can ask the CM when you pick up the picnic and switch the 1st show to the 2nd show. I would assume that GR would let you change the 1st show FP to the 2nd show FP. I have never tried it since I have seen the first show out of all my trips. I don't want to see the 2nd show since I have to wait in another line for the 2nd show and have to fight for a good spot. I have read on HydroGuy TR that he ordered the picnic online and asked if he could get the 2nd show instead of the 1st show FP. He traded the 1st show FP for the 2nd show FP since he got a FP from GRR that same day.

 

[DLR29]

I think the policy is that if you buy the picnics online, you'll get a FP for the 1st show. If you buy the picnics on that day, you get a FP for the 2nd show.

 

[tksbaskets]

Tell your hubby I'm not a kid but I was satisfied with the amount of food

The tray is quite deep...dessert in the middle quite yummy...

 

[hurleysweety]

OK...YUM! That food looks so good. I'm a sucker for food porn!

Just got on real quick because I'm making Wal-mart run and will be getting some stuff for the trip which makes it so real. I'm thinking about doing a Disney meal sometime this week, maybe Wednesday or Thursday. Groceries, boots, jacket, and Christmas stuff. Oh Wal-mart...you just offer a vast variety of too many things that waken my shop-a-holic little heart that I try so hard to hide...

 

[hurleysweety]

I'm out-of-disney-sorts today.

Do you know what I mean? Its those days when life gets in the way of planning, so you get frustrated by the planning when you finally have time for it? I most definitley feel that way today. Not only did I get a big fat nothing at the store today (Disney-wise, grocery-wise I could feed a small army of CM if they happened to appear on my doorstep), but today is pretty much the last day I have to plan - and I'm just not in the mood. Tell me I'm not the only one who these issues...that somewhere along the line of planning a trip - whether a spontaneous one planned in less than 10 days, or one that has PTR over 5 pages long and is still months away - you just have days where the Disney magic is just not in you.

No worries though, I will get my trip binder done tonight. Pictures to come! So exciting for me to think that the next time I make my trip binder, it'll be for WDW!

 

[DLR29]

Sorry you aren't feeling the magic yet...don't worry, I get them too sometimes. It'll come when you get there.

 

[hurleysweety]

Sorry you aren't feeling the magic yet...don't worry, I get them too sometimes. It'll come when you get there.

Oh I'm ready...I'm soooo ready now!

 

[hurleysweety]

Wooohooo! One more day of work then we're off to Disneyland!

Well after my post last night, I knew I needed to get my trip binder together. I do one for each trip, no matter the insignificance or length. Needless to say, my WDW one looks like a book by the time I'm usually done with it. And for DLR short weekend trips, I end up adding little dumb pages to make it look like I put more effort into it...

Since my printer is only doing grayscale right now [read: I'm not about to buy $50 color ink to print my trip binder, I know, priorities, priorities], DH will be printing it tomorrow at his office. So I will be working on finishing that tonight and you all will just have to wait until tomorrow to see it. I KNOW...the agony of waiting to see my binder... But I mean really, I am a graphic designer, so this is probably one of my most favorite parts of planning. Picking a theme and making pretty pages...ya, I'm a little bit nerdy like that sometimes. But aren't we all?

DH is pretty much ready to go. He's started greeting me with, "Let's going to Disney" or "I'm ready to go to California" instead of, "Hi..." LOL. These are signs, I've learned, that he's really excited for the trip. These phrases most often occur when all he needed to get done before a trip is complete and he can just relax. He even said to me today that we should leave tomorrow instead - but too late of notice for work. Darn it!

In other news, I've got my laundry going and getting my suitcase out. I've gone grocery shopping for snacks and also need to go through my Disney box. Anyone out there have one? Its that box where all those random things you only use on trips or other random Disney scraps get put when you're cleaning up the house? Ours needs to be bigger. It holds guidebooks, maps, vacation planning DVDs, old photopass cards (not sure why...), and all that other junk-ahem-disney freebies that seems to collect once you become a planning addict. Lime green mickey heads anyone?


OOOOH! And I can't wait to take a picture next to the giant wall that is now the entrance for DCA. I told DH tonight that we would and he laughed. I can't wait to pose like a cheeseball and enjoy the stares of children and their parents alike. "Oh honey, I want a picture by this side of the wall first, then over there, where it curves..."

More exciting post tomorrow...I promise. Less rambling. More planning.

 

[tksbaskets]

Yeah! One more day