No Hurricanes Please- A Redemption Trip- November 2018 PTR-Updated 11/17/18 New TR Links

[SweetSerenity]

(Carousel of) Progress!​

This has been a most productive day!

So, today was FP+ day. I woke up super early yesterday and stayed up way too late. I told Jason I'd never be able to wake up in time to get started on our selections this morning. So, he suggested I try at midnight, EST last night. I hopped on promptly at 11:00 p.m. with one eye open. Nope. Okay, lets try again at midnight CST. Nada. Okay, I'm going to bed.

I woke up this morning at 5:54 a.m. I trip over some ungodly dog toy in the floor and fumble my way to the laptop. It's 5:59 a.m. so I pull up the site as quickly as possible. Nothing. I finally get the bright idea of looking up what time they will open. 7:00 EST. One minute. Really. One lousy minute. Okay, here we go!

I had two goals in mind. I wanted FOP and SDD. I am happy to say that I did get FOP, but not SDD. That's okay, though. We can either try to go early or we skip it. It'll be okay either way.

So, without further ado, I present the highly coveted FP+ selection:

11/01/18
BTMRR- my favorite!
Peter Pan's Flight- so worth a FP even though the new queue is lovely
SDMT

11/02/18
BTMRR- told you, it's my favorite!
Splash Mountain- this is right in the heat of the day
Haunted Mansion- we are having lunch at LTT so this was close by

11/03/18
Na'vi River Journey- FOP was not available
Kilimanjaro Safaris- you never know about the wait on this
EE- weeee, backwards coaster!

11/04/18
Alien Swirling Saucers- hey, at least I managed a new ride FP!
RnRC- love love love this ride! I have never had a FP for this before due to the old tier system and we always picked TSM
Star Tours- this is for my beloved

11/05/18
Dinosaur- eh, not a lot of choices
FOP- yes yes yes!!!!!! So excited. We had to get these late in the evening, but that's okay!
EE- Weeee! Backwards coasters!

11/06/18
Soarin'- I love Soarin', but it makes me so queasy so it's best we get it out of the way first.
Living with the land- I mean, what else are we going to do except the stinky boat ride
The Seas with Nemo and Friends- we'll be in the vicinity

11/07/18
No Park Day

11/08/18
BTMRR- I know, I know. 3 times.
It's a Small World- So, I tried to think of FPs that we really needed. I would never ever ever have considered a FP on this before, but I've heard crowds have been high so I went with it.
SDMT- Again, I think this one is of value.

11/09/18
Frozen Ever After- the wait on this, to me, is worse than TT so I picked it
Spaceship Earth- again, not many choices.
LWTL- stinky boat ride for the win.

So, that's it! They're done!!!!!

But wait, that's not all!

I also customized our Magic Bands today so they are ready to ship out.

I ordered our Landry's card so we will have the rewards to use at Yak & Yeti.

TeePublic had a 30% off sale so I finished up with purchasing the last of our vacation clothes. I've done lots of clearance shopping lately for shorts and warmer weather clothes. I'm really excited about the designs I found today. There may be some cute matchy matchy ones for Jason and me. . . just saying. . .

And! I booked our hotel room for Halloween night. I love Expedia and with the combination of a 50% off sale and my points from a short vacation in April, I got a highly rated King Suite for. . . $19.00. Yep. $19.00 There is a resort fee of $9.00 that we will pay at check-in, but that's totally okay. I think $28.00 for one night is just fine.

59 days to go! I'm so counting down the days! Just a few more small things to do and we are all set.

Have a nice week!

 

[Araminta18]

Bummer about SDD, but at least FoP! They look great!

And lookit you being all productive--it's getting closer! Also, $28 for a hotel room? that's amazing!

 

[disneyAndi14]

SDD is doable right at park opening as long as it is not broke down. It loads fast and wait times are never usually more than 60 minutes.

Glad you got most everything. I love BTMRR so I totally get all the FP+!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Glad you got all of the fast passes you wanted. Sounds like everything is falling into place!

 

[SweetSerenity]

Bummer about SDD, but at least FoP! They look great!

And lookit you being all productive--it's getting closer! Also, $28 for a hotel room? that's amazing!

Yes, I'm totally okay without SDD. We'll make it work. I know, right! I'm a big spender!

SDD is doable right at park opening as long as it is not broke down. It loads fast and wait times are never usually more than 60 minutes.

Glad you got most everything. I love BTMRR so I totally get all the FP+!

I'll head there first. Thank you for the advice!
Yes! I could ride it endlessly. My husband laughs like a maniac on rides that he enjoys. It makes me giggle. We were on ToT once and the girls next to us kept saying they couldn't hear anything because of his laughter. Hey, joy is joy!

Glad you got all of the fast passes you wanted. Sounds like everything is falling into place!

Yes! 52 more days. So close!

 

[SweetSerenity]

It's FALL Y'all!!!​

Okay, not really. It's still 90+ degrees out, and I've yet to decorate my house. This time last year I had so many fall decorations that my husband declared fall must have thrown up all over my house. I don't care. I watch Hocus Pocus year-round. I have no shame!

We are 52 days out. Yes! Unfortunately, I became really sick 2 weeks ago, and I've yet to really recover. They can't really figure out what's going on. I've had an IV and 5 shots in the last week along with a CT and other tests. The results aren't really making sense. I'm so grateful for the care I've received from my work family. The point of this was not to draw out the illness, but I had to miss some work so I'm really concerned about not having enough time for my vacation. I worked every extra hour I could to make up for it because, dang it, I'm going to Disney this year!!!!!!!! They did change my diet yet again, taking away dairy and gluten. So, I'm a gluten-free, dairy-free, no raw vegetables, low carb, no popcorn, seeds, or nuts, grain free, and lean protein only kind of gal. Yeah. . .


I'm gonna ignore all that for one week. Just one. Well, 10 days. I'll deal.

I tweaked our ADRs.

But I had really good reason for one of them! I'll get to that in a moment!

We talked about the menu for The Edison on Halloween, and while I was exited about trying a new place (Jason really does not care- he just humors me) I saw something that made me change my mind. So, I rearranged it to Raglan Road. We have eaten there once way back in 2010, and we both enjoyed it. Actually, Cookes of Dublin is one of our favorite places. We had intended to eat there, but since we're changing to Ragland Road we probably will go elsewhere. Oh, there are so many possibilities.

I also dropped Tokyo Dining for 11/02. We picked up La Hacienda at 7:00, but someone stole it so we ended up getting it for 9:30. I'll try again for an earlier slot, but it's not a big deal if not. We'll just nap in the afternoon. We've never been to La Hacienda, and the new menu for Tokyo Dining just wasn't appealing.

Okay, back to Fall. Allears.net posted the news about the Disney Springs WonderFall Flavors Program. It listed all the restaurants in Disney Springs that are serving seasonal fall flavors until 11/06. Pumpkin galore!


I'm only listing what was appealing to us and descriptions courtesy of allears.net. Check out the rest of the selections there:

YeSake- Apple Cinnamon Sangria

Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar-
Bavarian Roasted Pork Shanks – tender, bite-sized “pig wings” tossed in an Oktoberfest beer sauce and served with fried spatzle mac and cheese
Air Pirate’s Pretzels – Oktoberfest-themed flight of pretzels with spicy German mustard and beer cheese fondue
Autumn Smash – fall into the season with Captain Morgan Rum, lemon juice, peach nectar, simple syrup, and a touch of cinnamon

Raglan Road-
Pumpkin Crème Brûlée Tart – pumpkin crème brûlée baked in a pastry shell with fried cheesecake bites, caramel toile, and chocolate ganache
Pumpkin Baileys Irish Coffee – Baileys pumpkin spice with fresh espresso topped with whipped cream

The Daily Poutine-
Oktoberfest Poutine – stout gravy, bratwurst sausage, cheese curds, and cilantro
Ace Pineapple Cider – a balanced, crisp, natural offering made with fresh pineapple offering a sweet taste and tart finish. This pineapple cider was the first developed in the world

Amorette's Patisserie-
Caramel Apricot Cobbler – Verrine with apricot topped with sugared almonds and buttermilk panna cotta
Fall Harvest Petit Cake – cinnamon and nutmeg chiffon cake, layered with Calvados salted caramel mousse, cranberry cherry pate de fruit, and roasted hazelnuts
Apple Cider Riesling Wine Slushie

D-Luxe Burger-
Apple Whisky Jam and Smoked Sausage Burger – smoked gouda, lettuce tomato, and caramelized onions
Pumpkin Shake – Pumpkin, caramel, and graham crackers swirled together for a tasty fall treat

4R Cantina- Pumpkin Spice Churro Balls

Doesn't that all sound delightful?

Next update will start our itineraries. I vow not to change any more ADRs with the exception of an earlier slot for La Ha.


Happy planning!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

They did change my diet yet again, taking away dairy and gluten. So, I'm a gluten-free, dairy-free, no raw vegetables, low carb, no popcorn, seeds, or nuts, grain free, and lean protein only kind of gal.

I hope you are starting to feel better! And I have to ask... What in the world are you eating?!? It doesn't seem like you can eat anything!

 

[SweetSerenity]

I hope you are starting to feel better! And I have to ask... What in the world are you eating?!? It doesn't seem like you can eat anything!

Ha! That is the million dollar question. There is little on the safe list, but smoothies, chicken, and cooked vegetables that aren't beans, peppers, onions, or other acidic foods. I've lived mainly on soup and crackers for the past 2 weeks, but that's just because I've been sick. It will all get better! I just have to figure it out.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Ha! That is the million dollar question. There is little on the safe list, but smoothies, chicken, and cooked vegetables that aren't beans, peppers, onions, or other acidic foods. I've lived mainly on soup and crackers for the past 2 weeks, but that's just because I've been sick. It will all get better! I just have to figure it out.

Man, I truly do hope it gets better! Smoothies and soup doesn't sound too too bad, though.

 

[disneyAndi14]

I’m so sorry you have been ill! I sure hope it all gets figured out.

I love Fall, my house always looks like it threw-up pumpkins! I think Halloween is my favorite holiday even though around here, winter starts shortly after!

I loved my meal at Raglan Road, only been once, the scallop forest and bread pudding yummy!

 

[SweetSerenity]

Travel Day Itinerary- 10/31/18​

46 more days!

With each update, I get a little closer to our trip. Now that everything is just about finalized, I thought I would go ahead and start planning out our itineraries. They will not be planned to the minute detail because Jason doesn't want that. I'm going to try to make this trip as leisurely as possible, which is very difficult for me because I just want to speed walk through everything.



Travel Day- Halloween!

I will have to watch Hocus Pocus the night before. Don't worry, I watched it last night.
We plan to leave around 3-4 a.m. That really depends on if Jason has to work the day before. I can sleep on the ride, but he won't let me drive.

It's a 9 hr 35 minute drive to our hotel for the night in Kissimmee from our house.
Along the way, I'm sure we will stop for breakfast. Preferably at chick-fil-a because we have gift cards.

Idealistically, I'd like to arrive around 2-3 p.m. Hopefully, we can get checked in quickly and, if time allows, have a nice little nap.



But not for long because then it's time for Disney Springs!

There are so many snacks that we want to try at DS, especially before the fall promotion ends, but I've narrowed it down to spending the evening at Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar.

We aren't lushes by any means, but I'm sure after a long day of driving a drink may be nice. I'd like to try the Autumn Smash fall drink.

We may share the Bavarian Roasted Pork Shanks and the Air Pirate's Pretzels.

Then it's off to Raglan Road for dinner at 7:15. I am extremely excited about this!

If by any chance there is room for the pumpkin spice churros from 4R Cantina, then we'll head over there. I highly doubt we're going to be able to eat all this, but it's #foodgoals.

After that, it'll be time to head back for the evening and get a good night's sleep because because because. . . the next day we're officially starting our vacation!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

46 more days!

With each update, I get a little closer to our trip. Now that everything is just about finalized, I thought I would go ahead and start planning out our itineraries. They will not be planned to the minute detail because Jason doesn't want that. I'm going to try to make this trip as leisurely as possible, which is very difficult for me because I just want to speed walk through everything.

46 more days!!! Woo Hooo!!! It will be the longest 46 days ever!

I will say that, that is pretty much how i plan. I basic overall plan witth pins in certain points in the day to keep the day going smoothly. But what we do in between the pins are open and it works well for our family. I hope you that as well. Sounds like it might be a good compromise between you and DH.

Then it's off to Raglan Road for dinner at 7:15. I am extremely excited about this!

If by any chance there is room for the pumpkin spice churros from 4R Cantina, then we'll head over there. I highly doubt we're going to be able to eat all this, but it's #foodgoals.

Just take the Churros to go. Something to snack on back in the room.... I am sure they would be way better warm, but I bet they will be tasty when you back in your room in your pj's and all snuggly in your bed!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Sounds like a good first day plan!

 

[Dezign]

I can't believe I missed this PTR! I'm marking my place and will get caught up later--can't wait!

 

[SweetSerenity]

46 more days!!! Woo Hooo!!! It will be the longest 46 days ever!

I will say that, that is pretty much how i plan. I basic overall plan witth pins in certain points in the day to keep the day going smoothly. But what we do in between the pins are open and it works well for our family. I hope you that as well. Sounds like it might be a good compromise between you and DH.


Just take the Churros to go. Something to snack on back in the room.... I am sure they would be way better warm, but I bet they will be tasty when you back in your room in your pj's and all snuggly in your bed!

That is an excellent idea! I'm actually not a big fan of churros, but Jason loves them. I just wanted to try them because, you know, I like pumpkin spice and everything nice. Generally. I don't really like things that are rolled in cinnamon and sugar. I'm weird.

Sounds like a good first day plan!

I'm looking forward to reading more about your trip!

I can't believe I missed this PTR! I'm marking my place and will get caught up later--can't wait!

Welcome! I'm happy to see you here!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

That is an excellent idea! I'm actually not a big fan of churros, but Jason loves them. I just wanted to try them because, you know, I like pumpkin spice and everything nice. Generally. I don't really like things that are rolled in cinnamon and sugar. I'm weird.

I think I want to try this on our next trip, bring dessert back to the room.

 

[SweetSerenity]

Day One Itinerary:
​

So, is anyone else facing the Great MDE Crash 2018? Both the MDE app and the Disney website have gone ka-put for me. They're both showing that I'm checking into Boardwalk Inn and AKL during our dates. Memory Maker is not linked to the app, but it is linked to the website. My ADRs are all kinds of screwed up. Canceled ADRs are still showing up with no option to cancel, times aren't exactly corresponding to what I have written down, and our Sanaa ADR is lost altogether. Goodness gracious. I spoke to a nice CM online about a week ago who told me they are doing "magical enhancements" so displays are not correct. He was kind enough to check on our resort reservation to make sure that Boardwalk Inn is showing on their side so that when our bands are shipped out they link to the correct resort.

Today, though, because of the ADR fiasco I called the line to make sure that the ADRs I had written down were corresponding to what they had on their side of the reservation since the app and the website each had different things listed and neither were correct. So, the first person I spoke to was a little huffy with me and pointed out that I had a lot of reservations. Halfway through going down the list she decided she had had enough of me and transferred me to the dining reservation line. That's fine, she could have done that to begin with after she answered my other reservation related questions.

The second lady laughed at me and said "Wow! That's a lot of reservations." Okay okay, yeah, I know. I've got over 20, but I'm also staying 9 nights. Can we please just go down the list quickly to make sure I haven't truly lost anything? She complied, we found Sanaa, and confirmed what was right and what was wrong. She said that she never wanted to hear about magical enhancements again. I apologized to her for the long list, thanked her for her time and my appreciation of her help, and went on my merry way. I still can't figure out why Sanaa has vanished, but I do save all my confirmation emails to a folder in my email in case of things like this.

So now that that hot mess is all settled, lets get back to the regularly scheduled program and talk about our official first day of our vacation, shall we?

Day One- November 1st, 2018

It's our 3rd wedding anniversary this day, and I'm going to wake up in Orlando, Florida!

We will check out of our off property stop for the night and head on over to the. . .


Boardwalk Inn!
Words cannot express how excited and blessed I am to be staying here. We were so surprised by the upgrade, but I cannot wait to spend our anniversary here. Being so close to Epcot is incredible, too!

I'm sure our room will not be ready, but since we are driving we can either leave our luggage in the car or drop it off and head on over to our first park of the vacation:

The Magic Kingdom!

We have an 11:20 reservation at

I've eaten here before, but Jason has not. He is looking forward to trying the honey brisket macaroni and cheese.

After that, we have FP+ for my very favorite rollercoaster on property- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Yeah, I know, eating and then ripping through the mountains sounds like a great combination.

My other two FP+ for the day are Peter Pan's Flight and SDMT.

We will need to leave the park around 5:00 to go check into our room because we have our anniversary dinner at Shula's at 6:45 so we will need to change into nicer attire. I bought a really nice dress on clearance that I can't wait to wear.

After dinner, I'm sure we will be exhausted and will call it a night. We may change into comfortable clothes and check out the boardwalk during the evening, but I'm sure we'll be ready for a good night's sleep as well.

We'll be there soon! 37 more days!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Sounds like a great first day! I would recommend dropping off the luggage just to protect it from the heat! We're going to be doing the same on November 4th when we switch hotels.

Shula's is great dinner! Enjoy!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

So, is anyone else facing the Great MDE Crash 2018? Both the MDE app and the Disney website have gone ka-put for me. They're both showing that I'm checking into Boardwalk Inn and AKL during our dates. Memory Maker is not linked to the app, but it is linked to the website. My ADRs are all kinds of screwed up. Canceled ADRs are still showing up with no option to cancel, times aren't exactly corresponding to what I have written down, and our Sanaa ADR is lost altogether. Goodness gracious. I spoke to a nice CM online about a week ago who told me they are doing "magical enhancements" so displays are not correct. He was kind enough to check on our resort reservation to make sure that Boardwalk Inn is showing on their side so that when our bands are shipped out they link to the correct resort.

Mine "seems" to be ok. Fingers Crossed. What in the world are they doing?!? I hope that it will all be to make it better.

Boardwalk Inn!
Words cannot express how excited and blessed I am to be staying here. We were so surprised by the upgrade, but I cannot wait to spend our anniversary here. Being so close to Epcot is incredible, too!

Speaking of your switching I saw that the rumor is that they are making a sand bottom to the pool over at AKL. Intersting.

37 days!!! Woo Hoo!!! How is your diet going? Helping at all?

 

[SweetSerenity]

Sounds like a great first day! I would recommend dropping off the luggage just to protect it from the heat! We're going to be doing the same on November 4th when we switch hotels.

Shula's is great dinner! Enjoy!

That's a good idea to go ahead and drop it off. We will be brining a lot of drinks with us so they shouldn't be sitting out in the heat either.
We've never been to Shula's! It was between that and Yachtsman, which we enjoy, but we wanted to try something new.

Mine "seems" to be ok. Fingers Crossed. What in the world are they doing?!? I hope that it will all be to make it better.


Speaking of your switching I saw that the rumor is that they are making a sand bottom to the pool over at AKL. Intersting.

37 days!!! Woo Hoo!!! How is your diet going? Helping at all?

I have no idea what they are doing, but I just paid off our trip in full so I hope that all translated correctly. Things were still really wonky this morning so I should have called to pay it off, but I did it with multiple transactions so I wanted to be able to physically see it go through. Here's hoping that all worked out right.

Really? A sand bottom???? GROSSSSSSS!!! So I hate hate hate sand. I hate the beach. I can't stand the thought of sand squishing in my toes. I know it will be wet and more like cement, but ewwwww. I hope that's just a rumor!

Ugh, the diet is a fiasco. I had another doctor's appointment on Thursday and got some disappointing news, but I can't give up. We are trying an additional medicine to try to help with fluid retention. I take about 16 pills a day so to add another is not what I wanted, but if we can get this stomach mess situated then I think the other things may fall better in place. I am having to be even more restrictive with my diet starting tomorrow while I'm at work. My doctor shook her head and laughed at me because of all the diagnoses I have for my age, but you know what? So many people have it so much worse. I'm okay, and even though things kind of suck from time to time it's perfectly alright. I'm doing my best and that's all I can do! I appreciate you asking, though!