One week? Why don't we make it two? - June PTR **05/25 Last Update**

[MummyButterfly]

I am impressed by y'all jumping and trying to stay at every resort. Once I stayed at Caribbean Beach, I am too scared to try anything else! I love CBR so much!!

 

[MarieLightning]

I am impressed by y'all jumping and trying to stay at every resort. Once I stayed at Caribbean Beach, I am too scared to try anything else! I love CBR so much!!

We usually have to hop if we're doing more than seven nights, because I always book at least a week through some travel benefits I have at work, but seven nights is the maximum for those rates. And since we usually do a minimum of eight or nine nights, it always ends up involving hoping somehow.

We actually technically hopped three times during nine nights in August. We had originally planned on arriving on the Saturday, and leaving the Sunday, so we had our seven nights booked through work from Sunday to Sunday, and then we tagged along a night at Pop on the Saturday. We ended up deciding to fly in late on Friday though, and then there was no point in paying the upcharge of a Disney room (we were pretty much landing at 11 PM), so we stayed that night at an airport hotel and rose bright and early on Saturday morning to catch the DME.

Usually that's the main of our hopping though, so we just keep our first two days' worth of stuff in our carry ons. We'll have to figure out a better way to plan it this time though. We could do that for the Universal portion of our trip, but obviously once we move to Coronado we'll probably want to unpack, cause I can't live out of a suitcase for that long.

I am really excited to someday try Caribbean Beach! It was between that and Coronado, and the AP rate just ended up being much better for Coronado in May/June. I'll probably suggest it when we go with my family though, I think my parents and godparents would like it. Although, I don't think any resort will ever beat the French Quarter in our heart. Once we've stayed at them all (given that deluxes don't ruin us for life ) that's probably the one we'd go back to the most often. Unless we join DVC, I guess!

 

[MarieLightning]

Quick update to say...​

We are officially in the double digits!​

​

My Disney Experience told me so, look!​

​

(Perks of having an ADR on our arrival day even though we're technically starting over at Universal, I still get the actual countdown of our trip, woot).​

That's also the equivalent to 14 weeks until we're ready to go!​

Somehow, that seems a lot less daunting, doesn't it?​

Like, this week I was set to work six days in a row (which, I'm sure some people are used to, or used to more than that, but I'm typically doing three days work, one day off, two days work, one day off, etc, or at most five days in a row, so six days suck) and I was dreading it at the beginning of the week cause I felt it would be forever long.​

And now it's Friday evening, and I've only got tomorrow left, and it actually went by pretty fast!​

So, fourteen more weeks like that? Bring it on!​

(By like that, I mean, that go by fast. Not six days of work. Just so we're clear).​

The nice thing about doing a countdown by week is that I can try to spread out a bit more evenly things I need to get done throughout those weeks, and I can tell myself, well, this week you have that going on so that one will go by no problem! I can also try to establish how many more updates I can or should do, and how to space them out.​

And let's not forget, our traditional Disney Movie Countdown!​

I'm thinking we're probably do it once a week until our 60 days out, then watch two a week until we hit the weekend before, and then do one evening night from that point on, which should work out nicely since Amber should be done with exams by then!​

If we start tonight (which, I'll probably suggest we do ) that'll make it 28 movies to watch!​

We're gonna have to start working on that list!​

So, that's really pretty much it for now. There hasn't been much change in the past few weeks in regards to this trip. Amber did buy her Universal ticket (I still have to get mine), and we made a small room category change for our Grand Floridian stay, but that's about it.​

Hopefully before too long we'll have more news to share!​

 

[Magic2000]

I'll be there same time as y'all! Maybe we'll see y'all around! I'm bring my 5 yr old granddaughter!!!! We'll be there May 30 - June 9! So excited!!!! I'm still tweaking some of our ADRs..... Can't wait!!!!!
My dream trip is to stay a month at Disney!!!! So far, our longest stay has been 15 days, LOL.

 

[ArielSRL]

I'm in! My family will be at WDW 6/3-6/11 at WL! We do have some overlap on park days (Sun 6/4 MK, and I think HS Mon 6/5 - evening only for us). I have been looking for June PTRs so I was excited to run across yours!

We are at 104 days since it's after midnight! Yay!

I'm gonna go back and read your other stuff, too!

 

[MarieLightning]

I'll be there same time as y'all! Maybe we'll see y'all around! I'm bring my 5 yr old granddaughter!!!! We'll be there May 30 - June 9! So excited!!!! I'm still tweaking some of our ADRs..... Can't wait!!!!!
My dream trip is to stay a month at Disney!!!! So far, our longest stay has been 15 days, LOL.

Oooh maybe! I do always love running into fellow Disers

Hopefully someday we'll do a full two weeks just at Disney! Though for now I'm glad to be throwing Universal in there. A month would be amaaazing though.

I'm in! My family will be at WDW 6/3-6/11 at WL! We do have some overlap on park days (Sun 6/4 MK, and I think HS Mon 6/5 - evening only for us). I have been looking for June PTRs so I was excited to run across yours!

Awesome! I definitely need to have a look around as well, I've been so bad at keeping up my own reports, let alone having a look at others, but hopefully I'll be starting a new position soon that'll give me a bit more free time. But I do love reading reports of people going at the same time as us, so I'll definitely do my best to have a look at yours!

 

[MarieLightning]

What's A Pre-Trip Report Without Changes?

We're getting so close!

We are now officially less than three months away! In just a little over three weeks, we'll be able to start making our FastPass reservations!

Which, we'll probably start planning in a couple of weeks so that we're ready for it, and I'm definitely looking forward to that.

But of course, I didn't sit down and start writing up an update because I'm excited to do my FastPass selections in like, 23 days.

Nope, we had a bit of a change to our plans!

More specifically, a resort change!

No, we're not changing the Grand. That's just not gonna happen.

But we did decide to switch from Coronado Springs to...


The Caribbean Beach Resort!

Now, you may be thinking, what a terrible time to go to Caribbean Beach! There's gonna be so many closures!

And there are gonna be a decent amount of closures - primarily, the food court, and also one of the pools (I can't remember which, but it's not the main one is all I know). But see, we don't usually spend a lot of time in the food courts, and even if we were to grab something to eat at the resort, it seems to me that they're gonna have a decent amount of options offered still.

And then, they are offering a 75$US gift card per night of stay.

So, yeah, that kinda sealed the deal for us. That's 375$ that can be used toward food, and that's a big savings for us, because with the current exchange rate, a 375$ expense in US dollars equals about 500$CAD.

We did pay a bit more than we were gonna pay for Coronado, because there were no Standard rooms left, only King bed, but the difference is still much smaller than the value we're getting in return.

Honestly, I would have never thought to do this if it hadn't been for a post on a Canadian Disney fans group I'm a part of on Facebook. I had read of the gift card offer, but I figured it was for people who had booked before the announcement came for the refurbs and closures - after that, you book it with the knowledge that some things will be unavailable to you, and that's that.

But someone posted yesterday, saying they had just booked for January 2018, and were advised that they would be getting it! Not to mention, the website does not mention any restrictions on the offer at all. It's up there for anyone to see who may be thinking of booking.

So I figured, might as well check. And then I realized, Disney would probably rather offer a gift card as an incentive to fill up these rooms than have them go unbooked because nobody wants to pay a moderate rate, even if it is somewhat discounted, for a resort with amenities that will not be a hundred percent functional.


So, that's how our day went yesterday!

I do love the looks of Caribbean Beach, and we honestly would have been happy staying either there or Coronado this trip. The main reason we had picked Coronado was the price, so I'm excited to try out something new regardless of the theming, and it just ends up being better economically as well.

Plus, we'd been on the toss up whether or not we liked the looks of the new rooms at Coronado, so we would probably have formed a preference as to whether we'd rather have a new room or an old one (which, I think would have ended up being, I'd like to see the new rooms, but Amber prefers the old ones) and then one of us would have been disappointed upon arrival. Now, no matter when we go next, we'll know what to expect because the renovations will be finished.


Another quick change that I want to mention in passing is that we have decided to cancel our ADR at Via Napoli for our arrival day. We figure, seeing as we've been talking of a few things we want to try at the Flower and Garden Festival booths, we'll probably end up filling up on those offerings, and so that would be a waste of money to do a table service dinner on top of it.


In other news, I have two days of work left before it's vacation time! Next week is my first vacation week of the year, as well as Amber's spring break, and I am sooo ready for it!

There is no warmth in our future though, as we are headed to Minneapolis. We do have some pretty cool plans lined up - a whole day at the Mall of America (there is 100% a visit to the Disney Store there in my future), an Escape Game, a scavenger hunt around downtown (which is done through a phone app so I'm curious to see what it will be like), bowling, possibly mini golf, lots of board games, and of course, last but not least, a trip to the movie theater for Beauty and the Beast!


We will also take the opportunity to deliver something I've been working on for a few weeks, which is really just mildly Disney related, but I'm really happy with how it turned out so I wanted to share it!

Especially since, as it is a present for our friends and they're the ones we would typically share it with, I have had nobody to talk about it with.

I'm pretty sure I haven't mentioned this anywhere (at least not that I remember), but Amber and I have decided to have a vows' renewal, in August 2018. When we got married, it was a very simple affair that involved primarily signing papers and then going out to a restaurant for lunch. We did have a nice honeymoon, so there's that, but we ultimately never had a wedding ceremony and reception.

It's not the first time we've talked of doing a vows' renewal to have a proper ceremony and such, though the last few times it never really came through. At first, we made a conscious decision not to go ahead with it (which lead to our girls' trip in May 2014), because the money we'd be able to put into it wouldn't give us the kind of day we were hoping for. Then, Amber was never really into the idea of it, although I've gotten wedding fever several times since.

But finally, after years of bugging, she relented.

And now, it's official, as we have given a deposit on both our venue and our photographer! Plus, a bunch of things have already been bought for centerpieces and such.

The other official thing that has already been decided on is our wedding party! Which will be an all girls thing. Our photographer was pretty excited about that.

We didn't really have to do much asking, it was kinda just taken for granted that they would be our bridesmaids. But I do love the trend of putting together something nice to ask someone to be your bridesmaids, and I decided that just because we weren't needing to do the asking, I'd still like to put a little something together for them. I can't help it, gifts is my language of love.

(Basically, I'm one of those basic people you may have heard about. Pinterest and PSL latte ftw).

So I ended up making these boxes, and we each wrote them a letter to thank them for being a part of our day.

And of course, there has to be a Disney touch to it, because our wedding is Disney themed!

What we've learned here is, I really need to stop going to Michaels.


So, this is what we've been up to!

I'll probably update again after we return from Minnesota, maybe do a mini report of how our time there was, and then it'll soon be time to give more details about our FastPass plans!​

 

[ArielSRL]

To be honest, if I wasn't renting points, I'd probably do the same as far as staying at CBR. I'm a discount queen so I will take it where I can get it.

So pretty on the Disney bridesmaid gifts.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[adobda]

I've been a lurker on all your reports and I've lived vicariously through your trips! When you went in August I was so excited because of the possibility of catching a glimpse of the famous Marie & Amber...then our plans changed and we ended up going at the end of August instead, whomp whomp. You guys are the cutest and I was so bummed!

I'm so jealous of your upcoming trip and your plans so far are awesome (GF!!), and the switch to CBR is a smart one. I'm planning our next trip, and even though we didn't love CBR when we were there last year, the offering of the gift card has me looking there again; it kind of seems like a no-brainer.

I live in Minnesota and, despite the fact it will be cold, I'm sure you'll have a great time! However, we had tornadoes here on Monday, then snow and a 30+ degree temperature drop the very next day, so at this time of year you never know what you're going to get weather wise. Mall of America is one of our favorite places and the Disney Store is always a must stop shop! I hope you have a great time in Minnesota; I'll wave to you from about 45 miles away from the airport/MOA!

 

[MarieLightning]

To be honest, if I wasn't renting points, I'd probably do the same as far as staying at CBR. I'm a discount queen so I will take it where I can get it.

So pretty on the Disney bridesmaid gifts.

Enjoy your trip!

Pretty much! It just felt like the best deal we could get at that point, especially with the current exchange rate situation. We'll have other times to try out Coronado!

And thank you!

I've been a lurker on all your reports and I've lived vicariously through your trips! When you went in August I was so excited because of the possibility of catching a glimpse of the famous Marie & Amber...then our plans changed and we ended up going at the end of August instead, whomp whomp. You guys are the cutest and I was so bummed!

Oh my Gosh, thank you so much for following along! I'm glad you're coming out of lurking Hopefully our trips will align in the future, we love meeting other Disers!

I'm so jealous of your upcoming trip and your plans so far are awesome (GF!!), and the switch to CBR is a smart one. I'm planning our next trip, and even though we didn't love CBR when we were there last year, the offering of the gift card has me looking there again; it kind of seems like a no-brainer.

I'm still having a hard time believing we're actually staying at the Grand still at times! And yeah, ultimately I don't think it will become a favorite of ours (no resort we've been to so far has beat the French Quarter for us, and although obviously the Grand Floridian could easily ruin us, I have a hard time believing it would make us feel that seem homey feeling) it's just a pretty good deal right now, especially if you're not inclined to making use of the food court a lot. And if you were already planning to stay at a moderate, right now I do believe it prices out the cheapest of them all (rightly so, all things considered) and then on top of it there's a great value added. Like, since we'll be there for 12 nights it obviously won't cover all our food, but I think it'll probably cover close to half of it and that's one more thing we don't have to worry about.

I live in Minnesota and, despite the fact it will be cold, I'm sure you'll have a great time! However, we had tornadoes here on Monday, then snow and a 30+ degree temperature drop the very next day, so at this time of year you never know what you're going to get weather wise. Mall of America is one of our favorite places and the Disney Store is always a must stop shop! I hope you have a great time in Minnesota; I'll wave to you from about 45 miles away from the airport/MOA!

Well, we do live in Canada so cold's not gonna be unusual for us Yikes on the tornadoes though, and that's a pretty crazy drop. I did have a look at the forecast and if it stays as it, it's gonna be pretty much the same kind of weather we have here. I was hoping it'd warm up a bit faster, but winter coat and boots we shall bring along *sigh* I am super excited about MOA! Let me know the general direction and I'll wave back

 

[MarieLightning]

Aaaand I'm back!

​

Okay, I've been back a week and a half, but work has been a little crazy these past couple of weeks and is finally starting to settle down again.​

Vacation was awesome (it's always so great to see our friends) and return to work since then has been... well, less so, but it's work so whatcha gonna do.​

We had a lot of fun with the girls. We spent more than we should have but less than we could have at the Mall of America, we almost made it out of our Escape Room in time (literally, we must have been 2 minutes away, sooo close), we played bowling, we got lost a couple of times, we saw Beauty and the Beast in theaters (disclaimer - not my favorite live action whatsoever), we participated in a potato soup crawl on St Patty's Day - overall, it was great. Of course, it'd have been even more awesome to all be at Disney together, but between getting to see my friends not at Disney, and going to Disney by ourselves, I'd rather get to see my friends at least this one time a year.

​

There's also been some pretty big changes of plan as far as life goes, specifically Amber's life.​

After much thought, she has decided to leave the Nursing program.​

She's not been enjoying any of it at all, and she's been pretty miserable especially since this term started. She's never excited about clinical either, which her other classmates usually are, and after stressing out about a lot of factors (not wanting to disappoint people, the fact that other career paths will mean less money, etc) she finally made the decision.​

Ever since she's made that choice, and told everyone that she's made that choice, it's been obvious how relieved she is and how much better she's feeling. There's still some worries of course, because it's not easy going from having a clear path ahead to being back at square one, but she's got a pretty good idea of what she may want to do next so hopefully, it'll be something she enjoys more.​

So, that's what's going on in our lives. Now, Disney wise...​

Tomorrow is FastPass day!

​

We are technically already within 60 days from departure (wooooo!) but since we are starting with Universal, tomorrow is the big day. Hopefully, the system works out fine and I can get everything done in a reasonable amount of time.​

We pretty well established what we're hoping to get, but I'll probably give an update tomorrow or over the weekend to give our exact plans as far as FastPasses go!​

We did also make some more changes to our ADRs, cause we apparently can't leave anything as is!​

We decided to scrap the 4 Parks 1 Day plan for May 31st (yes, again... maybe we're just not meant to do it!), and instead will likely spend most of that day at Animal Kingdom, so we got a lunch reservation for Yak & Yeti!​

We also cancelled our Trail's End ADR on the 3rd of June, and made a lunch reservation at Olivia's Cafe. Amber's really been wanting to give it a try, and I figured it might be the right time to do so. We'll probably combine that with some Hollywood Studios time, though probably not all day. We'll see what happens and how we feel when we get there - whichever way, we'll for sure need to take time to pack up for the resort change the following morning, so maybe that'll just be part of our midday break.​

I'm getting so excited about every little thing we're getting ready for as far as the trip goes. I've already started planning my outfits, I can't wait to get our pins and bows ready to go, I cannot wait to start packing (Amber hates packing but I looove it, especially for a Disney trip!). We've got a brand new shiny GoPro so we're gonna try our hand at seriously vlogging (we did vlog some during our January trip, but the camera wasn't the best, especially for nighttime shots, so hopefully we'll have better luck this time around!).​

I made a brand new countdown board specifically for our future Disney trips, and all I hope is that there'll always be a number on it.​

​

In the meantime, here's to hoping tomorrow goes off without a hitch!

​

 

[ArielSRL]

I'm glad Amber has made a decision about her life plan that makes her less stressed and happier! That's very, very important.

Yay for FP day! We are all getting so close! We are 65 days out and I have started buying some necessities for the trip (I have quite a bit from last year but have found others I want/need). Over Spring break, which starts tomorrow, I am going to go through my boys' clothes to start an initial plan for their outfits to see what else I may need to buy. We usually wear 2 outfits a day in the scorching heat and last year we had the washer/dryer in the room but we won't have that this year bc we are in a studio. We will still have the free laundry room but it won't be as easy to wash stuff.

I love your countdown. I am not crafty at all so I bought one off etsy last year. It arrived around 80 something days out but this year we had it from the very, very beginning with 300 and something days on it. And now, finally we are at 65. Its really gone fast since we turned over to 99.

It's really getting real! We are going back to Disney!!

 

[MarieLightning]

I'm glad Amber has made a decision about her life plan that makes her less stressed and happier! That's very, very important.

I'm glad too, and everybody is in agreement that if she was feeling unhappy, the best decision was to get out. That was a big weight off her shoulders, too.

Yay for FP day! We are all getting so close! We are 65 days out and I have started buying some necessities for the trip (I have quite a bit from last year but have found others I want/need). Over Spring break, which starts tomorrow, I am going to go through my boys' clothes to start an initial plan for their outfits to see what else I may need to buy. We usually wear 2 outfits a day in the scorching heat and last year we had the washer/dryer in the room but we won't have that this year bc we are in a studio. We will still have the free laundry room but it won't be as easy to wash stuff.

Ever so often, I will see something and think, this would be good to have for the trip! We got our new Tevas a couple of weeks back (our cat pretty much destroyed our old pair, she chews on everything the butt munch) and I have a new park bag, plus a bunch of new Disney bows on the way, but somehow it's only real once I start laying out my clothes and planning outfits and such! We've never had to do laundry yet at Disney, but then we've never traveled with kids. That's still good with the free laundry room though - sucks to have to leave the room, but there's at least still a bit of convenience to it.

I love your countdown. I am not crafty at all so I bought one off etsy last year. It arrived around 80 something days out but this year we had it from the very, very beginning with 300 and something days on it. And now, finally we are at 65. Its really gone fast since we turned over to 99.

Thank you! I'm pretty happy with it, though those kind of things never exactly turn out how I imagined them. But for the most part, I think it'll last us a while so that's good. Our next countdown will probably be right about where yours started, since for next year we're planning early/mid April, but we'll have to make it through! And it does go by super fast, yet incredibly slow at the same time.

It's really getting real! We are going back to Disney!!

So crazy! I keep thinking how close we're getting and getting so excited, yet I feel like it's still forever away!

 

[MarieLightning]

Here Come the FastPasses!​

We are currently standing at 56 days shy of flying out to Orlando, and as of yesterday, our FastPasses have been selected! (With minor tweaking today, but we're all good to go!)​

It went by very smoothly, and we didn't really run into a single issue as far as timing or availability went, so that's good.​

Here's, basically, the skeleton of our upcoming plans. Some days, we do have a bit more of an idea of what we want to do, which I'll briefly go over now and possibly more in details later. For the second week though, we're gonna go with the flow for the most part so that's just ADRs and FastPasses for now.​

Saturday, May 27th​

• Test Track FP+ (4:20 PM - 05:20 PM)​

This is the only FastPass I selected for that day, because in all honestly, we're no longer sure if we will be heading on property on this day. Thinking of the hassle of getting to the hotel from the airport, then catching a cab to Epcot, and then having to arrange a cab back in the evening, when we're not familiar with the area outside of Walt Disney World Resort, causes me anxiety. Plus, that's two additional cab rides that, quite frankly, I'd rather not have to budget for.​

Most likely, our trip next year will fall right in the middle of Flower and Garden, so we'll have the opportunity to see it again, and a friend of ours who lives in Orlando has offered to pick up a couple of pieces of this year's merch for us. I still made the FastPass just in case, but more likely than not, we will be returning to our original plan to visit the Orlando International Premium Outlets. That's a 4$ trolley ride per person, roundtrip, and whatever we end up spending will just go along with our overall souvenir budget.​

Sunday, May 28th​

Universal Day, no FastPasses​

Monday, May 29th​

Universal Day, no FastPasses​

Tuesday, May 30th​

Disney Springs and Resort Day, no FastPasses​

ADR: Chef Art Smith's Homecomin' (12:35 PM)​

We may or may not make a few throwaway FastPasses on this day, just in case we decide to hit up a park at some point in the evening after enough chilling at the resort. I'd say most likely Magic Kingdom, but we'll see what happens.​

Wednesday, May 31st​

ADR: Yak & Yeti Restaurant (12:00 PM)​

• Festival of the Lion King FP+ (1:30 PM - 1:45 PM)​
• Expedition Everest FP+ (2:40 PM - 3:40 PM)​
• Avatar Flight of Passage (4:15 PM - 5:15 PM)​

We currently have some Dismeet plans on this day in the afternoon time, but I'm thinking we'll all want to take that time to explore newly opened Pandora. I'm hoping to catch Finding Nemo: The Musical before lunch, since we haven't seen it in a while.​

Thursday, June 1st
​

• Big Thunder Mountain FP+ (10:55 AM - 11:55 AM)​

ADR: The Diamond Horseshoe (12:05 PM)​

• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh FP+ (1:35 PM - 2:35 PM)​
• Space Mountain (2:35 PM - 3:35 PM)​

This day is Dis Anniversary Epcot Party day! So psyched about that! I'm thinking we'll probably want to keep the rest of the day a little more on the chill side, so we'll do some easy standby in the morning, hit our FastPasses in the afternoon, maybe explore a bit more around Tomorrowland to do the typical low wait attractions (Carousel of Progress, PeopleMover). I'm hoping to get a Buzz Lightyear FastPass after using our initial three. Then we may just call it go and head out early so that we can get some rest, and head out to Epcot some time in the evening.​

Friday, June 2nd​

• Spaceship Earth FP+ (10:50 AM - 11:50 AM)​

ADR: Restaurant Marrakesh (12:00 PM)​

• Living with the Land FP+ (1:25 PM - 2:25 PM)​
• IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth FP+ (8:30 PM - 8:50 PM)​

Seeing as the Dis party will feature unlimited Soarin' and Test Track riding, we decided to use up our Tier 1 FastPass on this day for IllumiNations. We can do single riders for Test Track if anything, and do mostly some World Showcase exploring throughout the afternoon. We haven't done that in a while.​

Saturday, June 3rd​

ADR: Olivia's Cafe (12:30 PM)​

• Meet Rapunzel and Tiana FP+ (2:00 PM - 3:00 PM)​
• Meet Cinderella and Elena FP+ (3:10 PM + 4:10 PM)​
• Meet TinkerBell FP+ (4:10 PM - 5:10 PM)​

Originally, we were gonna spend most of the day at Hollywood Studios, but as we're gonna be returning probably twice the following week, we decided we didn't need another full day. We're still gonna head there in the morning, most likely rope drop Toy Story Mania, standby Rock n Roller Coaster (regular or single rider line, depending), maybe watch a couple of shows before leaving somewhere around 11:30 for Old Key West. After lunch, we'll head to MK, stick around for our FastPasses times, do whatever else we can fit in that time, maybe see if we spot some people around (cause Gay Days), and then head back to the resort for the evening, do some more relaxing and call it an early night.​

Sunday, June 4th​

ADR: Kona Cafe (9:15 AM)​

• Haunted Mansion FP+ (1:30 PM - 2:30 PM) // Amber and Marie​
• 7 Dwarves Mine Train FP+ (1:35 - 2:35 PM) // Margaret and Chase​

ADR: Be Our Guest QS (2:25 PM)​

• Splash Mountain FP+ (3:30 PM - 4:30 PM)​
• Big Thunder Mountain FP+ (4:45 PM - 5:45 PM)​

ADR: Fireworks Dessert Party with Plaza Garden Viewing (7:45 PM)​

This is Margaret and Chase's arrival day, so Amber and I aren't planning on hitting the parks until after they get there, since they're not flying in too late. We'll check in at the Grand, hopefully have a room ready so we can put our stuff away then and there, and then most likely spend the rest of the day in the Magic Kingdom.​

Monday, June 5th​

• DINOSAUR FP+ (9:05 AM - 10:05 AM)​

ADR: Tusker House ROL Dining Package (10:20 AM)​

• Expedition Everest FP+ (12:25 PM - 1:25 PM)​
• Flight of Passage FP+ (1:35 PM - 2:35 PM)​

Tuesday, June 6th​

• Living with the Land FP+ (9:20 AM - 10:20 AM)​
• Soarin' FP+ (10:25 AM - 11:25 AM)​
• Journey Into Imagination with Figment (11:35 AM - 12:35 AM)​

ADR: Le Cellier Steakhouse (4:15 PM)​

Wednesday, June 7th​

• Tower of Terror FP+ (9:25 AM - 10:25 AM)​
• Rock 'n' Roller Coaster FP+ (10:25 AM - 11:25 AM)​

ADR: Mama Melrose Fantasmic Dining Package (11:35 AM)​

• Star Tours FP+ (1:40 PM - 2:40 PM)​

We're still crossing our fingers that MK hours get extended on this day, so that the EMHs move from 9 to 11, to 11 to 1, and then we have some late night evening fun time before calling it a night.​

Thursday, June 8th​

• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh FP+ (10:00 AM - 11:00 AM)​
• Peter Pan's Flight FP+ (11:00 AM - 12:00 PM) // Margaret and Chase​
• Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin FP+ (11:05 AM - 12:05 PM) // Marie and Amber​
• Space Mountain FP+ (12:05 PM - 1:05 PM)​

Don't tell her, but on this day, I'm hoping to convince Amber to watch Festival of Fantasy. Shhh.​

All kidding aside, I don't think we've seen FoF since November 2015, so I wouldn't mind watching it again. Seems like a good day to do it, too, so we'll see what happens.​

Friday, June 9th​

• Epcot Character Spot FP+ (10:00 AM - 11:00 AM)​
• Spaceship Earth FP+ (11:20 AM - 12:20 PM)​
• Test Track FP+ (12:30 PM - 1:30 PM)​

ADR: Teppan Edo (2:20 PM)​

On this glorious night, we also have our IllumiNations Cruise, so I'm super psyched about that!​

Saturday, June 10th​

ADR: Crystal Palace (8:20 AM)​

• Tower of Terror FP+ (11:55 AM - 12:55 PM)​
• Toy Story Mania! FP+ (12:55 PM - 1:55 PM)​
• Star Tours FP+ (2:10 PM - 3:10 PM)​

So, as you can probably see, we'll start off our day at the Magic Kingdom, Hopefully, after breakfast, we can get on a couple of rides with minimal wait, before heading over to Hollywood Studios. Amber and I will likely finish the evening at the Magic Kingdom, whereas Margaret and Chase are probably gonna have dinner at the California Grill.​

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I'm pretty happy with how everything is shaping up so far, so that's exciting!​

I'm also really glad with how easily the multiple people planning has been going. Honestly, I feel a lot less anxiety over this trip than I did about previous group trips, even though those past trips gave me entire freedom to plan everything on my own. But I'm pretty sure we haven't disagreed on a single element of the planning so far, so you know, that's pretty awesome!​

Now, just to get through eight more weeks of work...​

 

[ArielSRL]

Plans are looking good! Excited you got everything you wanted and I'm sure if you end up wanting to tweak anything later, you can. I'm envious of all your time! We overlap on Sun 6/4 at MK and Sat 6/10 at DHS!

 

[coloredimage]

Hi! Just found your PTR

(proof of getting older - I keep forgetting my age)

lol! I do that all the time! I was buying cards one day with my mother and we honestly had to do the math to figure out how old I was. I said I was 30 at work yesterday only to be reminded that I am not, in fact, in my 30s yet (to be fair, I'm almost there!)

but I'm sure Amber would also love to check out Seuss Landing since she grew up on Dr Seuss books.

Before the Harry Potter section was built Seuss Landing was my favorite! I loved it even more than Marvel land, and I've always been a pretty hardcore comic book girl. It's just so whimsical and the theme is on point. I love the carousel.

(you'll never guess where... yeah that's a lie, you should really know what's coming here

It's funny because the second I read "lunch plans" my brain went "Oh, Teppan Edo!" before I even read further

And there are gonna be a decent amount of closures - primarily, the food court, and also one of the pools (I can't remember which, but it's not the main one is all I know). But see, we don't usually spend a lot of time in the food courts, and even if we were to grab something to eat at the resort, it seems to me that they're gonna have a decent amount of options offered still.

And then, they are offering a 75$US gift card per night of stay.

I would do the same thing. And honestly, with as much as is going on at Caribbean Beach, it's such a big hotel that there's a good likelihood it won't even really be an issue. When we were there in 2014 we were near the construction (they had just finished the refurb on our room that week and had just moved on to the next block of rooms) and even then it wasn't an issue. And $75/night/person is an amazing deal.

What we've learned here is, I really need to stop going to Michaels.

I think you learned the opposite. These are beautiful! I love them!

She's not been enjoying any of it at all, and she's been pretty miserable especially since this term started. She's never excited about clinical either, which her other classmates usually are, and after stressing out about a lot of factors (not wanting to disappoint people, the fact that other career paths will mean less money, etc) she finally made the decision.
Ever since she's made that choice, and told everyone that she's made that choice, it's been obvious how relieved she is and how much better she's feeling. There's still some worries of course, because it's not easy going from having a clear path ahead to being back at square one, but she's got a pretty good idea of what she may want to do next so hopefully, it'll be something she enjoys more.​

I'm glad she made the decision even though it feels like she's back at square one. I've been there before. But at least she made the decision now and can find something she loves.

• Haunted Mansion FP+ (1:30 PM - 2:30 PM) // Amber and Marie​

• 7 Dwarves Mine Train FP+ (1:35 - 2:35 PM) // Margaret and Chase​

This is weirdly exactly what my plans are for my next trip (I'm going on HM while they're on 7 Dwarves). It made me double back when I saw it.

This trip looks like so much fun!

 

[MarieLightning]

Plans are looking good! Excited you got everything you wanted and I'm sure if you end up wanting to tweak anything later, you can. I'm envious of all your time! We overlap on Sun 6/4 at MK and Sat 6/10 at DHS!

Oooh awesome! We hadn't thought we'd return to DHS on the 10th, but I'm always glad to have extra time in all the parks. Plus, it makes I don't have to worry quite so much about fitting lots of time there the week before Margaret and Chase get in, which is good, cause we want to take it easy!

lol! I do that all the time! I was buying cards one day with my mother and we honestly had to do the math to figure out how old I was. I said I was 30 at work yesterday only to be reminded that I am not, in fact, in my 30s yet (to be fair, I'm almost there!)

I was talking about my upcoming birthday with my mom yesterday and even she had to take a moment to be like... you're turning 28, right? Yeah that's right.

Before the Harry Potter section was built Seuss Landing was my favorite! I loved it even more than Marvel land, and I've always been a pretty hardcore comic book girl. It's just so whimsical and the theme is on point. I love the carousel.

It does look pretty cute! Honestly, I'm a bit at a loss on how to handle Universal. We're gonna have so little time during a busy weekend, so I feel like looking into it too much will make me want to do things that we for sure won't be able to fit in. But then, I don't want to go into it having done no research at all. I guess we'll figure it out as we get a bit closer to the date.

It's funny because the second I read "lunch plans" my brain went "Oh, Teppan Edo!" before I even read further

We're creatures of habit

I would do the same thing. And honestly, with as much as is going on at Caribbean Beach, it's such a big hotel that there's a good likelihood it won't even really be an issue. When we were there in 2014 we were near the construction (they had just finished the refurb on our room that week and had just moved on to the next block of rooms) and even then it wasn't an issue. And $75/night/person is an amazing deal.

Right now it seems like the construction won't be affecting any of the room buildings anyhow, so I'm not too worried about it. And then, we plan on taking it super easy during that part of the trip, so so long as I can swim somewhere, I'm happy.

I think you learned the opposite. These are beautiful! I love them!

Thank you Everyone who's received theirs has been really happy so far so I'm glad I took the time to make them.

I'm glad she made the decision even though it feels like she's back at square one. I've been there before. But at least she made the decision now and can find something she loves.

That's what I'm thinking. She is finishing up some of her last classes, cause she doesn't want fails on her record, she's only got about another month to go and then it'll be time to move on to whatever comes next.

This is weirdly exactly what my plans are for my next trip (I'm going on HM while they're on 7 Dwarves). It made me double back when I saw it.

This trip looks like so much fun!

I really wish I could enjoy 7DMT, but the seats are just too uncomfortable for me. Amber and I have been trying to get in better shape, but we're always having a hard time keeping up the motivation. Now we decided we'll just try to start walking, and maybe working it up to jogging over time, so maybe someday I'll be able to ride that coaster without spending the whole time wondering why on earth they made the seats like they did!

I'm so excited for it all, I wish it were much sooner than it is!

 

[Bubbenstein]

Stopped by to tell you we'll also we in Epcot on the 27th, maybe we'll see you! We'll just be getting back from Aulani and Disneyland the weekend before but I couldn't stand the thought of not catching the new Bon Voyage breakfast and Pandora until October.

Also, I absolutely love the boxes you made! The prints you included are fantastic

 

[MarieLightning]

Stopped by to tell you we'll also we in Epcot on the 27th, maybe we'll see you! We'll just be getting back from Aulani and Disneyland the weekend before but I couldn't stand the thought of not catching the new Bon Voyage breakfast and Pandora until October.

Also, I absolutely love the boxes you made! The prints you included are fantastic

I think I have to start by saying, I am entirely jealous of your having trips planned for Aulani, Disneyland, and Disney World twice in one year. Future goals for sure!

Hopefully we do end up making it to Epcot on the 27th! We're still weighing the pros and cons, although I really miss seeing Epcot all beautifully decked for the Flower and Garden Festival.

Thank you! We found them on Etsy, we thought the watercolor effect looked super pretty

 

[MarieLightning]

Let's Change Things Up... Again

So, it's just about twelve days since we made our FastPasses, and already, there has been some change.

Isn't that always the way?

To be fair, I'm pretty sure these will be the last changes for a little while. So sure, actually, that after this update is posted, we'll be on our way to the Dollar Store to try and find some little notepads I can write out our plans in! (That's always a very exciting part of trip planning for me, for some reason).


Our first change is in regards to our first 'on Disney property' day, May 30th, during which we initially hadn't planned on hitting a park.

As it turns out, we have now made plans to spend some time with a friend who lives down in Orlando, and she and her boyfriend had talked about checking out Pandora that night!

The first of our plans will remain the same. We'll spend some time hanging out at Disney Springs, she'll join us for lunch, then we'll chill some at the resort, and head out to Animal Kingdom in the evening.

We've made the following FastPasses, though we'll see if we end up using all of them.

• Na'Vi River Journey FP+ (6:05 PM - 7:05 PM)
• Kilimanjaro Safari (7:25 PM - 8:25 PM)
• Expedition Everest (8:30 PM - 9:30 PM)

Our next change is actually food related. We have canceled our ADR for the Golden Horseshoe on June 1st, and instead moved it to June 8th. The reason for that being, we decided to add the Disney Disney Plan to our Grand Floridian reservation, after tallying up everything with Margaret and figuring we'd come ahead or even that way. As such, we figured we'd just save on that meal by getting it covered under the Dining Plan. Hopefully, Tortuga Tavern is open for lunch on the 1st and we can finally eat there!


Our plans have also changed for June 2nd!

We decided we'd spend most of the day at Epcot, but then head to Hollywood Studios in the evening, because... I completely had forgotten to factor the Star Wars fireworks into our planning. To be honest, I didn't even know if they were still happening. I think because they weren't 'announced' again after the Christmas fireworks were over, so I just thought there'd be no fireworks until they announced it again? Not sure where that logic came from, really.

Anyway, we were able to change around our FastPasses a bit, since we did have a FastPass for IllumiNations, and now here's what our day looks like.

• Living With The Land FP+ (9:30 AM - 10:30 AM)
• Spaceship Earth FP+ (10:50 AM - 11:50 AM)

ADR: Restaurant Marrakesh (12:00 PM)

• Test Track FP+ (4:20 PM - 5:20 PM)

ADR: Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular Dessert Party (8:15 PM)

We're mostly just gonna spend the whole afternoon in the World Showcase after lunch, heading from Morocco over to Mexico. Hopefully my timing is correct (if we explore thoroughly) and we'll get to Mexico close enough to our Test Track FastPass window, so that we can just head over that way. Then, finish the loop by heading back toward Canada, the UK and France, and then get out through the International Gateway to head to Hollywood Studios for the night. This is gonna be a busy day. I'm glad we planned to finish up our day early on the 3rd.



And that's it for the changes!

They were all pretty minor changes as it is, but I'm pretty excited about how things are coming along. There's only 48 days left, now! Only 7 weeks!

I'm thinking most of the updates I'll make after this are gonna be more in regards to getting ready for the trip itself. We did get some pretty cool Disney shirts from TeePublic and such that I'm likely to share, plus a few more things that will be getting delivered shortly! We're gonna start planning our packing list before too long, and before we know it it'll be May and it'll be less than a month to go!

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