Oct 2022 Pre-Trip Report with Uncle Bob & Aunt Sally

[VandVsmama]

One meal that I was having possible 2nd thoughts on was the Brown Derby at HS. Mostly because YDD is a picky eater, All Ears' website showed them as not having a steak on the menu (just short ribs, which might work). However, WDW's website (https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/hollywood-studios/hollywood-brown-derby/menus/) is showing a filet mignon on the menu and YDD would LOVE that.

So I think that we'll keep the Brown Derby on the list for a HS lunch for 1 of our 2 days where we start at HS.

DH will probably get the cobb salad (which is really good!). ODD will eat pretty much anything. Uncle Bob & Aunt Sally will both get something keto-ish and gluten free. I'll probably get the cobb salad, too. Last time, I got a chicken dish which was really great, but it's not on the menu at the moment.

 

[VandVsmama]

I just saw this on the Dis's website:

https://www.wdwinfo.com/news-stories/mickeys-not-so-scary-halloween-party-returns-in-2022/

We have NEVER been to a Halloween party. I've always wanted to go to one at Disneyland, but haven't been interested in the DL version since they switched it over to DCA a few years ago.

It looks like tickets go on sale on 5/12 for people staying on site (so that would be us!). The options for our trip would be:
- Sun 10/2 - $139 per ticket
- Tues 10/4 - $159
- Thurs 10/6 - $159
- Fri 10/7 - $179

The WDW website says that the party goes from 7 pm - 12 am. And you can get into MK starting at 4 pm.

I think that we'd prioritize rides & fireworks if we go to the party. ODD is going to want to dress up as Ahsoka Tano and YDD will probably be Captain Marvel (she's talked about it before). I've always wanted to dress up as Fairy Mary from the Tinkerbell movies and I secretly hope that DH would be up for dressing up as Fairy Gary (he could wear a kilt), but I don't think he's too keen on wearing fairy wings. LOL.

I think that we'd probably go on Sun 10/2. Which would mean that I'd change it up in terms of our park reservations.

Right now, I have a MK park reservation on 10/2, followed by HS on Mon 10/3. Since we'd be going to MK from 4 pm-12 am on 10/2, then I think we should instead start at Epcot the morning of 10/2. Take a break at the hotel in the afternoon, take a nap, and then suit up for party time at MK in the evening.

OR start at HS on Sunday.

Nah...we should do Epcot on Sunday morning. Have QS lunch at Primo Piatto at Riviera that day and I could book a TS dinner at MK for Sun evening (Skipper Canteen!).

So we'll keep the HS reservation for Monday 10/3. I think that we'll all need to sleep in on Monday, so no early start for us on our HS day. I could target an early lunch at HS at either the Brown Derby or Prime Time Cafe and we could spend the rest of the day at HS until closing time.

Then Tues 10/4 is Epcot again, only we'll be sleeping in on Tues as well...going to take YDD to Typhoon Lagoon & also rent a pontoon boat from WL or CR's boat dock for an hour. Then go to Epcot in late afternoon and spend the evening there.

 

[VandVsmama]

Fairy Gary:



Fairy Mary:

 

[VandVsmama]

Well, folks, we are still in the land of trip planning. Many discussions have been had over the past few days about the MK Halloween parties in October. Our group has decided on the following in terms of costumes:

• Uncle Bob - Han Solo goes to Florida - a pair of shorts with the normal upper body wear that Han Solo dons in the original trilogy movies.
• Aunt Sally - Princess Leia goes to Florida - something involving capri pants
• ODD - Ahsoka Tano complete with her 2 Ahsoka Tano lightsaber that she bought last summer in Star Wars-land.
• YDD - some sort of Jedi, only wearing shorts + probably a black t-shirt and a Jedi robe. Or she might skip the robe and do shorts + a Jedi tunic on top. Plus her purple lightsaber from Savi's Workshop (we had some drama over the weekend over this light saber, more on that in a sec).
• me - a modified version of Barriss Offee.

• DH - has now flat out refused to dress up. So we're going to make him wear a "Hello, my name is" name tag and we're going to write this on it --> "the only responsible adult."

I'm definitely going to do the tattoo-ish markings of Barriss Offee on my face and hands. I will make a stencil for that so I don't have to free hand it. I'm also going to make a stencil for ODD's Ahsoka Tano facial markings.



I did some research online over the weekend and found some suggestions on types of makeup to use that a lot of cosplayers have used with good success, so I'll try that out at home before the trip.

For my costume, it looks like I will probably need a balaclava, but holy cow, that's going to be hot in the Orlando early October weather. I might ditch that part.

I'm probably going to go with this for a hooded cloak/cape and I'll wear it with a long sleeveless linen black dress:


Or this is another option (it also comes in black or a dark burgundy color):


for a balaclava, I could probably go with a hot weather one from Under Armour. Those often come in black.

OR, I could skip the whole cloak thing and instead just to a hood thingy like this which is for sale on Etsy.

 

[VandVsmama]

YDD's purple lightsaber snafu:

In early June 2021, we went on a cross-country road trip to WDW. Just the 4 of us - me, DH, ODD, YDD. It was a 1-way road trip and we flew back home. The reward for ODD, YDD, & me to enduring cross-country in the car for a few days was a week at WDW.

On that trip, the kids spent some of their saved-up money to make light sabers at Savi's Workshop. YDD went with a purple kyber crystal since purple is her favorite color. She loves that light saber.

Fast forward to a few months ago and she said, "Daddy, I think my lightsaber needs new batteries. Can you change the batteries for me?" Sure!

Did DH look up the directions of how to change out the batteries? No. He just started dismantling the lightsaber. Spent an hour in the garage figuring it out, then reemerged from the cave and said, "Ok, it took me forever to figure it out, but I got the new batteries in and I had to almost totally take apart the whole thing to do it. It SHOULD work now."

It worked for a couple of days and then...nothing.

YDD really wants to use this lightsaber with her costume for the Halloween party. REALLY wants to use the purple lightsaber.

I spent a good 45 min on Friday evening trying to get the battery pack removed from the lightsaber base/hilt/handle. It WOULD. NOT. BUDGE. Bruised a finger trying to get that thing out.

So I told DH over the weekend that he needs to give it a go. And that if he can't get it to work either, then WE are buying YDD a new lightsaber before the party. We'll go to Dok Ondar's in Star Wars-land to get her a new one. Cue grumpy face from DH.

At lunch time today, he, thankfully, got it to work...with a lot of grumbling filled with "What did you to do this?" and "I don't know what you did to this thing," followed by me grumbling back at him with "YOU were the one who messed it up in the first place. It wasn't me!"

I'm happy to report that the lightsaber is now quite operational. YDD is going to be a very happy camper.

 

[VandVsmama]

Greetings and salutations, everyone!

I am thrilled to report that I just got us all tickets to the Halloween party at MK for Sunday 10/2!


None of us have EVER been to a Halloween party at WDW **OR** Disneyland. I already texted Uncle Bob & Aunt Sally to tell them the good news tonight and they are super stoked!

It did require me to login to my WDW account in order to purchase the tickets (online!) and it ONLY showed me the dates for when we are staying on site. This makes sense since tickets don't go on sale to the general public until a few days from now, so for now, everyone is limited to only being able to buy tickets for dates that match up with when you're staying on site.

I won't lie...it was expensive. Total including tax came to $888. Ouch. But this party is a bucket list thing for me and I've always wanted to go to one of the Halloween parties...and we could never afford to in the past because our travel budget was always tight...needed to scrimp and save wherever possible.

Uncle Bob & Aunt Sally have already decided their costumes. I'm going to get my kids' costumes as b-day gifts for them for their birthdays this summer. For now, DH is still being a grump and has vowed to not wear a costume. Therefore, we're all going to make him wear a name tag that says "Hello, my name is...The Only Responsible Adult."

He thinks that this is a totally lame idea, but I think that it's going to be a riot.

This, along with the news this past week that the new Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster is opening this month at Epcot, will probably change our park reservation decision for 10/2. So I need to consult with Uncle Bob & Aunt Sally and collectively decide which park to switch our park reservation to instead of MK.

I also hope that for dinner on 10/2, I can get us an ADR for either Skipper Canteen or Cinderella's Royal Table. None of us have ever eaten at CRT (again, cost). Our immediate family has eaten twice now at Skipper Canteen and we really enjoy the whole experience there. The odds are higher of getting an ADR at Skipper Canteen over CRT for sure. ADR day isn't until early August, though.

 

[VandVsmama]

A lot has happened in a week! ODD's final exams finished. YDD's last 2 final exams are today for 8th grade. Work is super busy and I'm taking 2 days off early next week for an extended weekend road trip with my sister to Santa Fe, NM! We leave in 2 days on Saturday.

I ordered YDD's Jedi costume for her birthday, which is next month.

DH has now turned over a new leaf and instead of saying, "Psh, no, I'm not dressing up. You're all going to look totally lame," he's now saying, "Well, maybe...possibly..." when I ask him to pretty please with sugar on top dress up for the Halloween party.

This is a major shift in The Force, people! THE HUSBAND IS PROBABLY GOING TO DRESS UP!

 

[VandVsmama]

Yesterday was the last day of school. Hooray! Sadly, ODD tested positive for COVID 2 days ago, so her long-awaited choir trip to England is now cancelled for her. She's heart broken and very sad about it. We also have had to cancel our plans to take YDD to Universal Studios Hollywood next week while ODD was on the choir trip.

Thankfully, ODD hasn't had any symptoms whatsoever. This morning, YDD started with some mild COVID symptoms. She slept in until 10:30 am this morning (which is unusual for her). But so far, so good...nothing else. DH & I are ok. ODD got a COVID test because the travel company that the choir is using requires it. She seemed healthy as a horse. As it turns out, another kid in the choir tested positive as well!

So needless to say, our summer has not started out very well.

Turning our sights to WDW, I've gone around and around about it in my head, but I think that I'm going to stick with our original plans to go to MK on Sunday, 10/2, even though we have a Halloween party ticket for MK that same day.

So why not go visit another park in the morning instead?

Because the Touring Plans crowd calendar predicts that MK crowds will be a 3 that day. Shorter lines!

The day after...Monday 10/3...we will probably sleep in, so we won't be hitting up HS at rope drop that day. I'll book an ADR for lunch at the Brown Derby or Prime Time Cafe that day and we will just plan on starting our day at HS at lunch time instead of the a.m. We plan on staying at MK at the Halloween party until closing time, so it'll be a late night that Sunday night the day before!

For meals on Sunday 10/2:

• lunch - if an ADR, probably Skipper Canteen. If QS, then we'll eat lunch off site at maybe Captain Cook's at the Polynesian or at Primo Piatto at the Riviera. If we eat lunch at the Riviera, then we could take a bus from MK to Riviera, and then after lunch at the Riviera, take the Skyliner back to AoA.
• dinner - Hoping I can get an ADR at Cinderella's Royal Table this day. Otherwise, we'll target for Skipper Canteen for lunch.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

Following! I love how thoughtful and thorough you are in your approach, but keeping it fun too!

 

[snikki]

Did you decide on transportation?

 

[VandVsmama]

Did you decide on transportation?

Sort of. Decided after reading many reviews of Mears that we are NOT using them either to or from MCO. Going to go with another company instead, but probably not the new Sunshine Flyer either.

 

[VandVsmama]

It was YDD's birthday last week. One of the gifts we got her was a whole Jedi costume complete with tunic and robe and the whole 9 yards. She loves it!

ODD's birthday is coming up next. Got her an Ahsoka Tano head piece/hat/wig/whatever you call it.

On a different topic, I think that we're just going to purchase Genie+ for our MK and HS days on the trip.

 

[VandVsmama]

I've been reading this thread about the new Guardians of the Galaxy ride in Epcot. And honestly, based on what I've read so far, I know for sure that neither DH or I will be riding it. Uncle Bob & Aunt Sally will definitely want to ride it. So will my kids. I'd love to go through the queue, but will definitely take the chicken exit.

I AM definitely concerned about my kids getting really sick on the ride. So I'll probably make them take something like Bonine.

The kids & I, along with Uncle Bob & Aunt Sally, went on the GOTG ride at DCA (i.e., old Tower of Terror) the first summer after it opened after the GOTG redo of TOT...and oh my Lord, it was NEVER AGAIN for the kids & I! I almost puked on that ride. The only thing that prevented me from doing so was screaming my head off the entire time. I was shaking like a leaf for a good 10 min afterwards. My kids didn't stop crying for 20 min afterwards.

Now granted, GOTG at DCA is totally different type of ride compared to GOTG at Epcot, but I'm still pretty anxious about going on it. And I'm not willing to totally ruin the rest of a park day because I feel so terrible afterwards.

We haven't ever been on Mission Space and DO plan on going on it this trip, but we'll go the green side instead of orange.

 

[DisneyMama811]

following along!! I'm working on our Pre Trip Report for Jan 2023 trip... but I feel like it's early to post that?? I'm new to this

 

[VandVsmama]

We're flying to & from Orlando on Southwest Airlines for this trip. So earlier this week, when they announced their fall airfare sale, I went on their website to see if either of our flights were on sale.

Well, IF a sale price would have applied, it would have been 40% off of >$600 each way! Which would still have ended up as more expensive than when we first got the ticket when Southwest opened up their flight schedule for October. Sheesh!

 

[VandVsmama]

I was up at 3:00 am local time this morning for making our ADRs! Here's what we ended up with:

• Arrival day (Sat 10/1) - no ADRs. Plan is to have dinner at Primo Piatto at the Riviera. Will use the Skyliner to get there.
• Sun 10/2 - tried to get Skipper Canteen for dinner at MK, but nothing available. Will keep trying! This is a Halloween party night and we do have Halloween party tickets for this day. I signed up for a reservation search through Touring Plans. Lunch will be at HS at Backlot Express.
• Mon 10/3 - 12:25 pm lunch at Hollywood Brown Derby. Dinner will be some sort of QS, probably at Epcot. Or maybe Primo Piatto and then we go to Epcot for rides & evening entertainment.
• Tues 10/4 - 5:30 pm dinner at Tutto Italia at Epcot. Lunch will probably be at Geyser Point at WL. This is going to be a sleep in day, rent a pontoon boat on Bay Lake, maybe take the kids to Typhoon Lagoon while rest of the adults hang out and rest.
• Wed 10/5 - BIG WIN with a 7:20 pm dinner at CRT in the MK! Aunt Sally is a huge Cinderella fan...so much so that when we talked previously about the possibility of eating here, she said that she'll probably cry when we walk into the place. I was so excited about getting this ADR that I couldn't fall back asleep until about 4:30 this morning! Some sort of QS for lunch, not sure which one yet. Our a.m. park reservation is at HS, but I'm thinking of switching it to Epcot.
• Thurs 10/6 - no ADRs for this day. Plan is to eat lunch at AK at Flame Tree BBQ and have dinner at Primo Piatto at the Riviera (DH loves the food there).
• Fri 10/7 - 6:05 pm dinner at CA Grill! This is a Halloween party night, so MK will close to us at 6 pm anyway. If we have time after dinner, we will probably go to HS for rides before their 9 pm closing. We are going to steer clear of Epcot on a Fri night during Food & Wine Festival. We'll be at MK this day. Not thrilled with any of the QS options at MK, so we might venture to one of the monorail resorts for lunch.
• Sat 10/8 - sad plane ride home. Park reservation at MK. Plane ride home leaves MCO around 4 pm, so we'll need to head to the airport at 1 pm.

I'm totally stoked about getting CA Grill and Cinderella's Royal Table!

 

[VandVsmama]

I've already made a change to some of our plans...

For Wed 10/5, we're going to start the day at Epcot instead of at HS. Still keeping the ADR at CRT for dinner that day!

I also just made a backup Skipper Canteen ADR for dinner for Thursday, 10/6 at 5:40 pm. Thursday 10/6 is a Halloween party night, so we won't be able to stay in MK after dinner, but that's ok because we'll just go to HS or Epcot instead after dinner. If I can eventually get an ADR at Skipper Canteen for Sunday 10/2 for dinner, then I'm going to cancel the one for Thursday. YDD is a happy camper. She loves the theming at this restaurant.

 

[VandVsmama]

Oh...forgot to also add that I talked to Uncle Bob & Aunt Sally last night. They did a big unboxing over the phone w/me for some trip stuff they'd purchased online.

Uncle Bob & Aunt Sally are dressing up at the Halloween party as "Han & Leia go to Florida." Uncle Bob's Han Solo belt arrived yesterday and it looks spot on accurate just like the movies. YAY! Their online order for Body Glide also arrived. That's going to be a life saver from blisters and discomfort in unmentionable places. They also bought some new carry-on rolling suitcases since their plan is to just bring carry-on luggage and not check any baggage.

2 months from today, we'll be doing our first park day!

In other news, my kids go back to school tomorrow. They're starting 9th and 11th grade. Where did the time go? Dang. Year after next, we'll be doing a high school graduation!

 

[VandVsmama]

I've already changed an ADR. Looked at the Brown Derby menu and it's almost all fish at the moment, so we are switching lunch that day to Prime Time Cafe instead!

 

[VandVsmama]

AAAAHHHH! I totally forgot to book an ADR for Oga's Cantina! SON OF A BATMAN! Now there's nothing available. Darn it.

However, I did book a Savi's Workshop reservation for Uncle Bob for our first visit to HS on 10/2!