My First PTR...aka, I Have No Idea What I'm Doing! *Jan '17*

[fizzingwhizbee]

Hi everyone!

I've been reading the DIS for a little while now, and decided to pull the trigger and create my own account here so I can join in on the fun. Unfortunately since I'm so new and don't have my ducks in a row, I don't really have any fun pictures or anything, but hopefully over time I can add them and get up to speed with all that!

So, I figured I would try my hand at a PTR and see how it goes!

To start: a little about me. I took this template from someone else's PTR, so thanks!

Me!
Name: Ashley
Age: 27
Favorite Disney Park: Epcot
Favorite Disney Resort: I've only been to one so far...so I guess by default it's Coronado Springs!
Favorite Disney Movies: Moana, Brave, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Mulan, Fantasia...honestly, how can anyone choose just one? Or even just a few?
Favorite Disney Character: I honestly don't think I have one. Is that crazy?
Favorite Disney Song: Under the Sea, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Prince Ali
Favorite Ride in Magic Kingdom: Big Thunder Mountain RR
Favorite Ride in Epcot: Tie between Test Track and The Land
Favorite Ride in Hollywood Studios: Rock'n'Roller Coaster
Favorite Ride in Animal Kingdom: Kali River Rapids
Favorite Disney Restaurant: Cape May or Chefs de France...but this may change as we try more!

I have a husband, T, a 5 year old stepson, C, and 2 cats who don't seem quite sure how this whole "catting" thing works.

The first time I went to Disney World, I was 12. I went as part of a team for a competition, and while we barely had any time to see the parks, I thought it was amazing. Unfortunately, I didn't go back until I was 23! When I did, I realized that Disney is even better than I thought it was, because once you are over 21 Epcot is like a whole new world, haha! Plus it was great to be able to go through the parks without being on another adult's schedule. I was hooked. That year, we stayed offsite and drove to the parks each day. In 2013 my family went again, staying offsite, and we split the trip between Disney and Universal. As a Harry Potter fanatic who literally grew up reading the series, eagerly awaiting each new book (the first came out when I was 9, so very close to Harry's age), Universal really made an impression on me and to be honest, I'm not sure which one of the two is my favorite park. I think if Universal didn't have HP, Disney would win hands down...but it does, and that really speaks to me in a way I can't even articulate.

By early 2014, T, C and I had a home together and C was with us 100% of the time. 24/7. With that, although I'd actively been helping raise C since he was less than a year old, I became a mom in the most meaningful sense of the word, regardless of being "step" anything. To C, I am his mom, and so from here on out, he will be referred to as C or DS Of course, this new arrangement meant we needed to do one thing: Take a family vacation!! So on 2014, we stayed offsite once again and split our time between Disney, Universal and Sea World. T had never been to Florida, much less any of the theme parks, and he loved it. C, who was still a bit little for some of the things, had a blast. Now we all were hooked.

2015 came and went without any Disney trips at all, but that's because we got married! T and I took a honeymoon on our own, part of which was spent at Universal, and it was fantastic.

In 2016, we brought back the family Disney trip and stayed onsite for our first time! We went in early February and stayed at CSR. Our room was super close to the main hub and despite it being MUCH colder than we anticipated, we had a blast. C was tall enough to ride most of the rides, and to this day he continues to randomly remind people of how amazing 7DMT was. He totally cannot let that ride go. We must have gone on it over 10 times that week!

Now, C is 5, and tall enough for ALMOST everything! I am so excited that he can do Space Mountain, Mission: Space, and Soarin' for the first time. Anything else I'm missing for 44" kids?

2016 was a really rough year for us. I think it was for a lot of people, but it hit us really hard. What do you do when basically your whole year sucks and you're ready to move on? You go to Disney!

We said to hell with it and booked a trip less than two months out. You only live once, right?!

I'm excited to finally be joining in on these boards. The community here looks great!

*Itinerary in next post*

 

[MamaBelle4]

Sounds great! We're going down in just under a month, it will be our DD1's first trip!

 

[fizzingwhizbee]

What a fun age!! Even though they can't go on much, you can just see in their eyes how exciting it all is for them to take in.

 

[xlsm]

Welcome to the Dis!! I'm excited to hear about your plans I totally understand about being ready for 2016 to hit the road!

 

[fizzingwhizbee]

FizzingWhizbee's Family Vacation Itinerary

When: January 22-27, 2017
Where: Caribbean Beach. I have put in a request for a couple of buildings and am hoping guest services can make some magic for me! While CSR wasn't overly huge, I was spoiled to be two buildings away from (whatever you call the main hub with checkin and the restaurants and stuff...is there a name for this?) the main building/bus stop. I've looked at CBR's maps and read a lot of comments about how HUGE CBR really is, and while we're all pretty able, C (like any child) can be a bit rotten when he's super tired. So I'm hoping we get a spot nearby the bus stops, and close enough to the feature pool that he will be a happy camper.
Dining Plan: YES! After doing Disney dining last year, I was so happy with it. I know that math wise you have to be careful because it really isn't always cheaper, and you still have to tip, but T and I both loved the convenience of just showing up, swiping MagicBands, and not really thinking about whether we had payment on hand or if we were going to get socked with a huge room charge later for everything we'd put on our account. Paying for dining ahead just feels better, somehow.

Day 1
Arrive at CBR via Magical Express by....1ish? per my estimation. I've already done the online check-in, so that should be quick. We'll get ourselves settled (or leave our bags with the bellhop if the room isn't ready) and head over to Epcot.

FP+: Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival, Frozen Ever After, Spaceship Earth (honestly except for Frozen, these were pretty arbitrary. I'm not sure if Frozen will even be busy at 7pm, but I didn't want to take the risk. If you think any of these would be a waste between 3 and 9pm, I'm open to suggestions on what FP+ I would be better off choosing!). I have never had a problem getting on TT later at night, and since I couldn't choose it with Frozen (stupidest rule ever) I'm taking my chances.

Dining: Rose & Crown

Day 2
Animal Kingdom!

FP+: EE, Kilimanjaro Safaris, DINOSAUR
I would really like to do Festival of the Lion King this year, as I have still never done it! Bad luck I guess. Do I need to FP+ it and dump another selection?

Dining: Chefs de France

I really never can make AK into a full-day experience, most likely because C wants to ride all the things rather than sit nicely for shows, so that makes it really tough. He's too much of an adrenaline junkie I guess...after all, he says his second favorite ride after 7DMT is ToT! If it were just me and T, I think we could easily stay a full day. So we'll leave AK sort of early in the day, possibly go for a dip in the pool or if it's too cold, spend a couple hours at Disney Springs, and then move on to Epcot for dinner. After dinner, we'll do what we can with whatever FP+ are available and play it by ear, most likely staying for IllumiNations.

Day 3
Hollywood Studios!

FP+: Star Tours (obviously), ToT, TSM!

Dining: Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater -- I'm excited for this not because I hear it's exceptional (I haven't been, but have heard it's mediocre food-wise) but because C is going to get THE BIGGEST KICK out of eating in a car with a giant movie screen. Worth it.

Most likely we won't be going to HS more than once this trip, so my goal is to either stay all day or find a way to work in a break with some downtime and return in time for some evening rides and Fantasmic!.

Day 4
Magic Kingdom!

FP+: Peter Pan, Space Mountain, 7DMT. Because we booked so late, all of the early 7DMT FP+ were booked. I'm hoping we'll be able to do BTMRR/Splash/PotC in between without too much trouble, but since it's an EMH day and people might be planning to stay later, I'm worried mid-day is going to be slammed. Can anyone weigh in on how busy the rides would likely be during the 8-10pm EMH? We've never done late-night EMH before, but since C is a bit older now and better able to handle a late night, I think we'll give it a go.

Dining: Cape May. T voted this his favorite restaurant from our last trip, followed very closely by Chefs de France. I've seen a mixed bag of experiences on the forums, but when we went everything was hot and delicious and the server was sweet as could be. It's now a must-do for us, and I hope it doesn't lose its shine this year!

Day 5
Epcot!

FP+: The Seas, Soarin', Mission: SPACE.

Dining: 'Ohana! I haven't been to 'Ohana and wasn't sure I would be able to go this trip, either. When I went to set up my ADRs, the only reservations available were at 9:50 and 9:55pm. NOT gonna happen with a 5 year old! But I kept looking every day, and eventually an earlier one opened. You better believe I snagged that in the blink of an eye!

Since we'll have already visited Epcot twice, most likely this will turn into a half-Epcot half-MK day, especially since dinner is at the Poly. Hoping to get lucky with some PM FP+, or at least short lines!

Day 6:
????

We have a late flight, so we don't have to be back for the ME until around 5pm, which leaves us with basically a full day in the parks if we want. Honestly, I'm not really sure what I want to do here...I hate to plan nothing and possibly miss out on valuable FP+ opportunities, but I'm not sure which park we will want to revisit. Any ideas? If it were you, which park would you go to?
If the weather is especially warm, there's a good chance we'll spend most of the day swimming and relaxing, since I'm sure we'll be a bit tired from all the go-go-go of the previous 5 days. But I just kind of feel like I can't be at Disney and NOT go to a park, since it's only 6 days. If we were on a 10 day trip I would absolutely have built in some resort days, but I don't know. WWYD?

 

[jenkel]

Following along.

 

[Lei]

Hi and welcome to DIS! Wow, you're three weeks away, how exciting!

I've never been to evening EMH MK either (or any EMH for that matter lol), but it's famous for being a crowd puller. You shouldn't worry, though, as long as you plan to arrive at rope drop, take midday break to avoid the busiest part of the day, come back later and stay until park closing. I'm sure you've come across this advice many times on the board!

Sci-Fi Dine-In's setting IS awesome. C will have a blast, I'm sure!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Hello! I am following along! You are very close to your trip. So exciting!

Caribbean Beach. I have put in a request for a couple of buildings and am hoping guest services can make some magic for me!

We are staying at Caribbean Beach in the beginning of February. I am looking forward to see how you like it. We have never been there. I didn't reserve any specific areas. What did you request? We will have a car, so I was thinking that it would matter quiet as much.

Paying for dining ahead just feels better, somehow.

We totally agree! It adds to the carefree vacation a bit. You can just order what you want. It also breaks up the payments, pay most ahead and then pay the extras after. We love it too!

I would really like to do Festival of the Lion King this year, as I have still never done it! Bad luck I guess. Do I need to FP+ it and dump another selection?

You should DEF see Festival of the Lion King! It is one of my favorites. It is amazing. C may sit long enough to watch this. there is fire twirling and "monkeys" jumping. I personally, don't think you need a fastness for it. There really isn't a bad seat in the theater. It is a circular theater, and they perform all the way around. The fastness really gets you front row seats, but I don't think you need them. All it really does is give C a chance to "perform" during the show. Towards the end of the show they pull some kids up to dance with the performers. I you think he would like that, maybe it's worth it. My girls were NOT interested in doing that.

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater -- I'm excited for this not because I hear it's exceptional (I haven't been, but have heard it's mediocre food-wise) but because C is going to get THE BIGGEST KICK out of eating in a car with a giant movie screen. Worth it.

We did this on our last trip. We loved it. The food is good, not amazing but solid. I liked it and the girls looooooved sitting and eating in cars. They also got a kick out of getting "drivers licenses" It's a nice rest too, nice and cool, dark and relaxing. AND if I remember correctly, a milkshake is included as your drink here!

Honestly, I'm not really sure what I want to do here...I hate to plan nothing and possibly miss out on valuable FP+ opportunities, but I'm not sure which park we will want to revisit. Any ideas? If it were you, which park would you go to?

Personally, we would probably hit Magic Kingdom up again. If C really likes rides, this is the best place to be. You will have the most rides for him to do again and you will probably not have done everything still. We like to end our trip at Magic Kingdom and usually let both girls pick 3 of there favorite rides to re-ride. Maybe since it is your last day just take it all a little slower, don't rush as much. Just enjoy the park. C might like to try the Sorcers of Mickey game too. Which is a nice way to explore the park a bit more leisurely.

Can anyone weigh in on how busy the rides would likely be during the 8-10pm EMH? We've never done late-night EMH before, but since C is a bit older now and better able to handle a late night, I think we'll give it a go.

Right at 8 will be busy. The fireworks will have just finished up and crowds will be high. But all the non-onsite guests will start to leave and it will thin out. You kind of just need to wait out the crowds just a bit. It is a little hit or miss too. We have had EMH hours with no one around and others where it was packed with people! Just go with the flow and you will be fine. Something like 7DMT will probably still have a long line, but BTM can potentially have no line.

 

[fizzingwhizbee]

Hi! Thanks for taking the time to make such a detailed response to my post!

I don't have the paper with me that says the exact buildings I requested (sorry!) but I think I asked for Aruba 51/52, Jamaica 44/45, or Martinique 25/26. They made it pretty clear nothing's guaranteed, but I think I will call and ask a little closer just to make sure my request is still on file, etc. I noticed it was blank online, and I suspect it's because the request is so specific there just isn't a way to reflect it on MDE.

C would most likely not be super into being pulled into a performance of FotLK, so I'll stick with what I've got and just walk in when we're ready. It really does look fantastic.

Oooooh, I hope a milkshake is still included!! They made some changes for 2017 dining so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you're right. I'm also glad to hear you felt the food was solid!

I think you're onto something with going back to MK on the last day. C really is a rides kind of kid -- he would much rather go on the rides than almost anything else. We've got a really Epcot-heavy schedule since we're going back there for dining a bit, so it would be nice to go back to MK. It's too bad none of the HS expansions will be done for another ~2 years, I feel like there is so little to do there in comparison to the other parks. I know there's shows and things, but I just really struggle with it. I seem to remember being more impressed with it when I was 12, but then again...I was 12!!

In other news: MagicBands are arriving at my house TODAY!!! I told C yesterday that I chose a red one for him as he's been telling me for weeks his favorite color is red, and his response was "oh...well that's good but I thought I would be getting a blue one" (he got blue last year). I was like, dude, you've been insisting your favorite color is red!!! I can't find the blue one so I couldn't reactivate it if I wanted to, so I decided to be Mommy Dearest and offer him the chance to choose a new MagicBand. He chose the Pluto band, and suckered me into buying the Haunted Mansion Hitchhiking Ghosts MagicBandits to go with it. This coming from the kid who DOESN'T LIKE the Haunted Mansion! (Which, to be honest, I feel is a travesty.) I think he just thought the ghosts' faces were super goofy. But that's fine, because he will take one and I will be more than happy to have the rest!

2 weeks, 4 days, and a handful of hours until we're off!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

In other news: MagicBands are arriving at my house TODAY!!!

Did you get the old style magic bands or the new style magic bands? I have been wondering which will arrive for us!

It's too bad none of the HS expansions will be done for another ~2 years, I feel like there is so little to do there in comparison to the other parks.

My daughter was a little disappointed with the lack of rides in HS. But the expansion will hopefully fix some of that. Of course it will take forever to be done!

 

[Corrine 1973]

Wow, your trip is just around the corner. It sounds like you have some amazing plans. Can't wait to read more.

 

[fizzingwhizbee]

Starwarsmom, we got the old bands! As far as I know the only people to get the new ones are those who purchased the limited edition ones, or have an AP.

 

[iheartbelle87]

following along! You leave right after we get back! My name is Ashley too... well, technically it's "Ashlee" but you get rye point!

Sounds like you have some great plans! I think C would
Really like FoTLK, would definitely
Recommend this!

 

[rmw1313]

As a Harry Potter fanatic who literally grew up reading the series, eagerly awaiting each new book (the first came out when I was 9, so very close to Harry's age), Universal really made an impression on me and to be honest, I'm not sure which one of the two is my favorite park. I think if Universal didn't have HP, Disney would win hands down...but it does, and that really speaks to me in a way I can't even articulate.

I feel the exact same way! HP is my fav!!

2016 was a really rough year for us. I think it was for a lot of people, but it hit us really hard. What do you do when basically your whole year sucks and you're ready to move on? You go to Disney!

Same! I literally had the same thought process when booking our January trip. It was almost like "I'm determined to make 2017 better, so we are going to start it off on a good note!"

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater -- I'm excited for this not because I hear it's exceptional (I haven't been, but have heard it's mediocre food-wise) but because C is going to get THE BIGGEST KICK out of eating in a car with a giant movie screen. Worth it.

I booked for the same reason! I knew my BIL would flip when we went there..I'm also still excited to try it for the first time.


Your 2 weeks are going to fly by!!!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Starwarsmom, we got the old bands! As far as I know the only people to get the new ones are those who purchased the limited edition ones, or have an AP.

Thanks for the info! Yesterday was our last day to make changes to our bands, so ours will be sent out soon.

I did just see this...
http://wdwnt.com/blog/2017/01/photos-guests-now-recieving-magicband-2-new-packaging/

So who knows!

 

[fizzingwhizbee]

Thanks for the info! Yesterday was our last day to make changes to our bands, so ours will be sent out soon.

I did just see this...
http://wdwnt.com/blog/2017/01/photos-guests-now-recieving-magicband-2-new-packaging/

So who knows!

Oooooooh if you get the new ones lemme know!

rmw1313, I love it! Technically I started 2017 with food poisoning (because OF COURSE) so I am hoping our vacations start us off right!

 

[fizzingwhizbee]

Whoa! Four more days after today, and then we'll be waking up early and making our way to the airport! I am so excited.

Thanks to some of the comments on my PTR, I decided to set up a few FP+ for MK on our last day. Unfortunately there were ZERO 7DMT FP+ available at any time during that day, so we're going to try to wing it...we'll see how that goes. I booked Peter Pan, Space Mountain, and Buzz Lightyear.

I wonder how much time we need to allow to get back to CBR in time for the Magical Express? Should we be at the bus area an hour before our ME time? More? We didn't go to a park on our last day last time, we went to Disney Springs early and then spent the rest of the day around CSR, so I'm not sure what to budget.

 

[VACamm]

I just found your PTR and read that you are new here, and I wanted to say WELCOME to the crazy!!

CSR is my favorite resort, and I just stayed at CBR last September. I'm glad that you're getting to try a new resort, and OMGOSH you're leaving in just a couple of days! Your plans look fantastic, and I can't wait for you to write a trip report when you return!

 

[fizzingwhizbee]

I just found your PTR and read that you are new here, and I wanted to say WELCOME to the crazy!!

CSR is my favorite resort, and I just stayed at CBR last September. I'm glad that you're getting to try a new resort, and OMGOSH you're leaving in just a couple of days! Your plans look fantastic, and I can't wait for you to write a trip report when you return!

Hurray! Thanks for the warm welcome. I don't know how I am going to make it through these next two days at work! My brain is all Disney all the time.

We just decided to have C spend an evening at either Lilo's or Sandcastle (we haven't done this before) and they look like a great time for the kids. And I am so excited for a Disney date night with the hubs!!

I have been compulsively checking the weather and while I hoped for at least one 80s day so I could swim comfortably, the weather looks perfect for the parks. Fingers crossed it stays that way!!

 

[VACamm]

Hurray! Thanks for the warm welcome. I don't know how I am going to make it through these next two days at work! My brain is all Disney all the time.

We just decided to have C spend an evening at either Lilo's or Sandcastle (we haven't done this before) and they look like a great time for the kids. And I am so excited for a Disney date night with the hubs!!

I have been compulsively checking the weather and while I hoped for at least one 80s day so I could swim comfortably, the weather looks perfect for the parks. Fingers crossed it stays that way!!

I'll be crossing my fingers and my toes for good weather!