Mrs. Darling's June 2010 Accidental PTR: Pirates and Harry Potter 6/30 TR Link posted

[dismagiclover]

Great pics (as usual)! The "extra" people issue. I get it!
We've never done AK PM EMH but we recently did MK PM EMH. Crowd levels were at a 9 so I expected it to be a nightmare. It was really quite fun! We got on Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Haunted Mansion, etc.

Amanda

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed PM EMH. We've never done them before, but I've decided to try it out this year. Especially now that our next day at AK in up in the air.

So I am not the only one whose plans are being modified by family? Good to know we can all comiserate!

Love the photos. Once again, my favourite is the columns!

Family. Gotta love them though

Adorable character pics!!! I definitely know what you mean about having extra people along. I am such a planner and when we brought the family last year, I had to learn to be flexible and slow it down a little. But it worked out! As you know, we had a great trip!

I'm sure it will work out fine and I really don't mind. This is just an "accidental trip" after all. It is just kind of different to not know exactly which parks we'll be in or what we'll be doing or where we'll be eating when the trip is only 2 months away. To anyone not on the DIS that sounds insane, but you guys know what I mean

 

[dismagiclover]

It's time for the final segment from Darling Family Disney Memories 2008 Edition.

After a short break at the hotel, Wendy and I headed back to Epcot for a Girls Night Out.

We had dinner at Rose & Crown and watched Illuminations from their deck.

The next morning we went to an early breakfast at Tusker House with Donald and his pals.

We were at Animal Kingdom from open to close (they closed at 5:00) and had a great day.

The next morning it was finally time for Michael and I to have our special time. We had an early morning breakfast at Crystal Palace and had a grand time jumping the street car tracks on our way down Main Street.

Soon the rest of the Darling clan joined us and we had a fabulous day at the Magic Kingdom.

I love this picture! Look how John is protecting Michael

Wendy played Cogsworth in Belle's Storytime.

Gotta love the TTA

And you really have to love Mickey bars!

Late afternoon Wendy and I left the boys and headed to BBB where she was transformed.

Then we were off to a special dinner at the Castle.

We finished up the night watching Wishes on Main Street with my Best Disney Friend Liz (she was on a short solo trip.)

The next day was our last and we headed to Epcot for a few hours where we had our first family ride on Test Track. John is sitting next to me, but you can't see him.

Wendy then practiced her driving skills.

And we had lunch at Garden Grill and said our goodbyes to our old friends.

Then we drove to the airport

It was a great trip! But don't worry there will still be more Disney Family Memories to come.

 

[DrMomof3]

Great trip! I love the idea of spending special time with each child. Maybe we'll try that...

Amanda

 

[dismagiclover]

Great trip! I love the idea of spending special time with each child. Maybe we'll try that...

Amanda

It really is fun to be alone with each kid for a while. The kids love it and it gets me more park time and gives DH a bit of a break from the parks. Works out great for everyone

 

[wdwgirl03]

Aww, such fun pictures! That one of the boys "fighting" Captain Hook is pretty darn cute.

Mmm...Mickey ice cream bars. I could go for one of those right now!

 

[Stefy]

So as I've been contemplating our plans for Day 6 evening I've come up with a new idea. I already have an Epcot evening on Day 3. (I don't think I mentioned that I switched ADRs from 1900 Park Fare to Garden Grill. The boys love that place and I like the idea of not having to trudge up to the buffet.) And another Epcot evening on Day 5 when we are eating at Coral Reef. So now I'm considering eating an early dinner at Olivia's on Day 6 and then heading over to Animal Kingdom for the EMH. We've never done EMHs before. I've always adhered to TGM's advice, but from my search results here on the DIS it sounds like PM AK EMHs (enough acronyms for ya) are not too bad. The Safari will be closed, and my boys won't ride Everest, but they love Kali River and we can get in that pesky Dinosaur Dumbo. Plus I'll be able to let them play in the Boneyard one of their favorite attractions. During the day it is so hot that I limit the amount of time they can play there. Plus hopefully there will be some characters out and my boys love the characters. I think it would be a relaxing evening and kind of fun to be in this park in the evening. So what do you think? Anyone have any experience with PM EMH at AK?

We have never really done a PM EMH, mostly AM ones. But this year we are going for the PM ones. Loving the idea of being in MK at 2am and wondering AK and riding Everest in the dark

I vote that you go for it too, you can do all of what you said, maybe ride Kali in the dark too

Also, seeing the animals at a different time of day might be fun too, might be more active perhaps.

I was hit with a bit of a planning snag this morning. It's not a bad snag just a potential change in a few plans. My parents (who are taking Wendy on the cruise) are considering flying directly into and out of Orlando. That means they will take Wendy directly to the port which is nice for me. The snag comes in with the potential they may want to spend some time with me and the boys in Orlando at some point. And my sister-in-law and kids may decide to come spend some time with us in Orlando as well on one side or the other of the cruise since she will now have to get her daughter to/from the port. This isn't bad news at all. My parents are great and it's always fun to spend time with them. And my sister-in-law is one of my most favored relations! Plus she comes not only with my niece that is Wendy's age, but with one of the nicest 13 year old girls I know. And for my boys she brings my 7 year old nephew. And as a bonus there is an adorable 2 year old toddler that is a total crack up. So of course this will be fun to spend time with them. But the snag comes in with the fact that they are not uber planners like all of us DIS crazed folk So they don't really know when they are coming or what they are doing yet. In fact my parents haven't even bought the plane tickets so they have no idea. So this forces me to be a bit flexible about plans. Chances are good my parents will arrive the evening of Day 2. I'm sure they haven't even considered where they will stay yet. That is my Ohana dinner which I don't want to give up but we shall see what happens. Then they will presumably take Wendy to the port on Day 3, but I'd think we could still get a few hours in at AM EMH at HS like I planned. The big adjustment will probably have to come with Day 7 when they return. I haven't even posted those plans yet, but we were planning on spending the day with the Disney Family at Animal Kingdom. That may be up in the air a bit (Sorry Liz) depending on my parents and sister-in-law. I am extremely flexible with the whole thing and am just happy to be at my Happy Place

Its great that your SIL might join you guys

I wouldn't fret too much and defo do not give up your Ohana ADR. Maybe you could change it to an earlier time so that by the time you have finished you can go to the airport and pick up your parents? I assume thats why you are thinking about cancelling, apologies if I'm wrong.

Great photo recaps too

 

[Angies1274]

More great pictures!! It looks like you had a wonderful trip! I really like the idea of spending time with each child. What a great idea!!! I know the boys would love that! I may have to do that on our next trip!

 

[belle8306]

I love your special time with each child! My niece will be doing BBB for the first time on our trip. She is really excited!!

 

[dismagiclover]

Aww, such fun pictures! That one of the boys "fighting" Captain Hook is pretty darn cute.

Mmm...Mickey ice cream bars. I could go for one of those right now!

The one of the boys and Captain Hook is one of my favorites too

We have never really done a PM EMH, mostly AM ones. But this year we are going for the PM ones. Loving the idea of being in MK at 2am and wondering AK and riding Everest in the dark

I vote that you go for it too, you can do all of what you said, maybe ride Kali in the dark too

Also, seeing the animals at a different time of day might be fun too, might be more active perhaps.

Its great that your SIL might join you guys

I wouldn't fret too much and defo do not give up your Ohana ADR. Maybe you could change it to an earlier time so that by the time you have finished you can go to the airport and pick up your parents? I assume thats why you are thinking about cancelling, apologies if I'm wrong.

Great photo recaps too

I'm planning on the AK EMH and maybe we will try Kali in the dark! Unfortunately I think most of the animals are put to bed by that time though. And I doubt I'll give up my Ohana ADR. My parents don't even have their flights yet so I really have no idea when they will arrive. I doubt I'll have to pick them up at the airport. They're usually pretty independent and will get a shuttle or rent a car or something. It's just we don't see them much (they live 1500 miles away) so I figured they may want to meet up with us that evening. But they may not too, and even if they do we can arrange it after dinner. Anyway I'm going to try not to worry about it until I know what their flight plans are and what they want to do. You know how it is though. I want everything figured out and planned. That is part of the fun!

More great pictures!! It looks like you had a wonderful trip! I really like the idea of spending time with each child. What a great idea!!! I know the boys would love that! I may have to do that on our next trip!

The individual time thing really is great! The kids love it and I love it. Plus then I get the most Disney time

I love your special time with each child! My niece will be doing BBB for the first time on our trip. She is really excited!!

BBB is really fun, but I hope your niece doesn't have a tender head. They pull that hair pretty tight!

 

[praisehisname]

Joining in a bit late. Your plans sound great so far, and I'm loving the memories of past trips!

 

[Charlefours]

What great memories from your trips--such a blessing to have these amazing trips.

Ugh, what a planner's nightmare--I can understand why you would be going a bit crazy with the unknown. I am sure you will get it all figured out!

I have read good things about PM AK EMH. It would be an interesting thing to try out and see if you like it. If anything, it is suppose to be much cooler so you are able to enjoy it a bit more than the hot days.

 

[dismagiclover]

Joining in a bit late. Your plans sound great so far, and I'm loving the memories of past trips!

Glad you could join us

What great memories from your trips--such a blessing to have these amazing trips.

Ugh, what a planner's nightmare--I can understand why you would be going a bit crazy with the unknown. I am sure you will get it all figured out!

I have read good things about PM AK EMH. It would be an interesting thing to try out and see if you like it. If anything, it is suppose to be much cooler so you are able to enjoy it a bit more than the hot days.

We really are blessed to have so many great Disney memories! I'm trying not to worry about the new developments in my trip. I'm just happy I'll be at Disney. And I was just there in January and I'm going back in October and next January so I have nothing to complain about! I'll be sure to report back on the PM AK EMH.

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

We're thinking of hitting AK in the afternoon/evening, too. But our main focus would be to see FOTLK, and I'm not sure what the latest show is. I'm still up in the air about it.

You're being very nice and flexible in terms of your family. I hope I could be that open-minded! Shelley and I were just having a conversation during our scrapbooking event about whether or not everyone will just follow us, or if they'll strike out on their own. We ended up deciding that there will probably be a bit of both.


I also think it's great that you made sure you had one-on-one time with your kids. On Thursday, we're splitting up - Jack is going to DisneyQuest with his daddy and uncle, while we take the girls to BBB. I don't know what Will is doing that morning. I'm guessing his grandpa will hang out with him. I don't see him hanging out at either of those places for long!

Great plans, and great pictures from your earlier trip!

 

[cdotla]

Once again, I love that you do a little "nite" out with each kid on your trip - what a special way to get some one-on-one time with your children!

Love the photos...you have some many great family ones from that trip!

 

[dismagiclover]

We're thinking of hitting AK in the afternoon/evening, too. But our main focus would be to see FOTLK, and I'm not sure what the latest show is. I'm still up in the air about it.

You're being very nice and flexible in terms of your family. I hope I could be that open-minded! Shelley and I were just having a conversation during our scrapbooking event about whether or not everyone will just follow us, or if they'll strike out on their own. We ended up deciding that there will probably be a bit of both.


I also think it's great that you made sure you had one-on-one time with your kids. On Thursday, we're splitting up - Jack is going to DisneyQuest with his daddy and uncle, while we take the girls to BBB. I don't know what Will is doing that morning. I'm guessing his grandpa will hang out with him. I don't see him hanging out at either of those places for long!

Great plans, and great pictures from your earlier trip!

Do you know about this site? http://pages.prodigy.net/stevesoares/ It is a great resource when planning. The times generally remain the same, but not always. We saw FOTLK last trip, but I'm thinking maybe we'll try and see Nemo this time. We haven't seen it in a while and I think my boys would really like it. I'd also love to see Flights of Wonder since we never have, but the last show is at 3:00 and I don't think we'll be to AK by then. My family coming I think will end up fun. I feel really lucky to be going on this trip at all so like I said I'll just be happy to be there. Plus we're heading back in October and January so I don't feel like I have to do everything. That's great you're scheduling some special time with the kids too. A boy thing and a girly thing. The kids will love it!

Once again, I love that you do a little "nite" out with each kid on your trip - what a special way to get some one-on-one time with your children!

Love the photos...you have some many great family ones from that trip!

Those Mommy/1 kid times really were great! We haven't done that every trip, but I'd love to. It is just fun to be in the parks with just one kid and to let them choose what they want to do. Unfortunately won't get any individual time this coming trip because I can't exactly leave one of the boys back at the room by themselves

 

[dismagiclover]

On with the plans! Though as previously mentioned this day is actually totally up in the air. I'll tell you what the plans were for Day 7 before we hit the snag of the extra people. Still no word from my mom or sister-in-law about their plans. Honestly I probably won't know what their plans are for another month or so. So until then we'll just pretend that these are the plans for Day 7.

The day will begin at Animal Kingdom where we have a 8:05 ADR at Tusker House. This is an ADR I'm keeping for now, but it could end up getting dropped. I'd like to do it because I love the juice here and I love the characters in their Safari outfits, but we shall see. After we finish breakfast first stop will be the Safari. This is a great ride and the entrance is right next to Tusker House so it will be up first on the agenda. What we do next is pretty open. We will have been here the evening before so I don't imagine we will have any must do's. We may explore the trails, ride Kali River, try to catch Flights of Wonder, or head over to Rafiki's Planet Watch. Or some combination of the above. In our original plan the Disney Family was planning on meeting us here around 10:00, but as has been explained that might not happen. In all likelihood we will leave this park pretty early (like around 10:00) to meet up with Wendy and parents/sister-in-law & kids. I'll be excited to hear the report from the cruise. Then what we do depends on what my sister-in-law wants. My parents will probably be heading to the airport and I'm not sure if everyone else will have park tickets or not. If they do we'll head to the park of their choosing. If not maybe we'll just head back to OKW for a swim. The rest of the day is flexible. I was hoping to head over to Hollywood Studios around 4:30 to try and meet some of the many characters that appear in the Animation Studio around that time on non-Fantasmic nights. Then we have an ADR at 50's Primetime. But that is only for 4 people so I don't know how that will work out. I don't know if my sister-in-law will want to go somewhere else for dinner with all of us. It may be tough to get ADRs for such a large group so late in the process. I guess we shall see. Honestly I'd like to keep this ADR because we've never been and it sounds like a fun place. What are some of your experiences there? So those are the current sort of plans for the day No matter what we end up doing we'll be in great company (whether it's with my SIL & kids or the Disney family). So I'm sure it will be a great day!

 

[carissanboys]

That last batch of pictures were wonderful.

How nice that you'll get to spend some time with family!

 

[belle8306]

We went to 50's Primetime on our honeymoon (9 years ago in July!). The food was good. At the time I was such a Disney newbie I didn't know what to expect. I think I would have a better time if we went back now. The pot roast and fried chicken always look good. They also have the PB &J shake that looks interesting. I think your kids would enjoy it.

 

[dismagiclover]

That last batch of pictures were wonderful.

How nice that you'll get to spend some time with family!

Thanks! It really will be fun to see my family at Disney

We went to 50's Primetime on our honeymoon (9 years ago in July!). The food was good. At the time I was such a Disney newbie I didn't know what to expect. I think I would have a better time if we went back now. The pot roast and fried chicken always look good. They also have the PB &J shake that looks interesting. I think your kids would enjoy it.

I definitely want to try that PB&J shake. Are shakes included on the dining plan here? I hope 50's Primetime works out.

 

[belle8306]

I'm not sure if they are included. It would be nice though!