Our Grandest Trip Ever... Literally! - August 2019 PTR *TR LINK POSTED 8/25*

[lvcourtneyy]

Grace looked absolutely gorgeous for prom! Hope she loved it!

Your FP plans sound great. We had a much harder time with SDD FPs before and during our trip last week than FOP, so definitely smart to prioritize that.

I'm glad they dropped character spot back to tier 2, it was super weird that they made it tier 1.

I hear you with planning to relax more on trips lol. This last trip was only 5 days and we were go-go-go so much that our feet are dead. I can't wait until our October trip to enjoy our time without feeling like dying lol.

 

[Newsies]

Your plans sound so great!! I actually completely agree with you on FoP. I did it for the first time in December and thought it was so fun, but I really just do not care enough to be that upset if I can't get a FP.

Thank you so much!!

I'm so glad you agree, I thought I was crazy!! I think (for me at least) it has a lot to do with the fact that in general, Pandora doesn't impress me. I never liked Avatar, and the novelty of Pandora wore off reeeeeal quick for me.

Grace looked absolutely gorgeous for prom! Hope she loved it!

Your FP plans sound great. We had a much harder time with SDD FPs before and during our trip last week than FOP, so definitely smart to prioritize that.

I'm glad they dropped character spot back to tier 2, it was super weird that they made it tier 1.

I hear you with planning to relax more on trips lol. This last trip was only 5 days and we were go-go-go so much that our feet are dead. I can't wait until our October trip to enjoy our time without feeling like dying lol.

Thank you so much, I will pass along the compliment! She had the best time ever!

I had a feeling SDD would still be impossible in comparison to FOP, thank you for confirming!

I know!!! SO excited. Although, I was playing around with the app today and it looks like the app still thinks CS is a T2... I really hope it was just a problem with the phone!

SPEAKING of your last trip, I was THRILLED when I opened up DISboards and saw that you posted your TR thread!! On my way there right now!!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Thank you so much!!

I'm so glad you agree, I thought I was crazy!! I think (for me at least) it has a lot to do with the fact that in general, Pandora doesn't impress me. I never liked Avatar, and the novelty of Pandora wore off reeeeeal quick for me.

That's definitely how I felt about it. Especially after talking to a friend and having her say that even after seeing the movie, she didn't completely understand what was happening

 

[Newsies]

That's definitely how I felt about it. Especially after talking to a friend and having her say that even after seeing the movie, she didn't completely understand what was happening

Reminds me of how I felt in math class junior year when I never skipped a class and still got a C on the final!!

 

[Newsies]

The Official 2019 Post-FP+ Press Release

​

Less than half an hour after my window opened, I was finished booking our FP+ for this trip!

First things first: No Slinky Dog Dash. I mean nothing for the entire week. I thought I put our DHS day as far into the trip as possible, and I was looking for a later time, but I mean SDD is gone for the week. That's something I expected, everyone on DIS and in my August 2019 FB group said that grabbing a SDD FP+ was a bloodbath this week, so I'm not gravely disappointed. From a logistic standpoint-- Rope Dropping SDD is not going to work on Wednesday, since TSL has EMM, so the ol' "get-to-DHS-at-7-AM-and-they-let-you-in-to-TSL-at-8:30" plan isn't going to be a thing. I'll keep checking for SDD FP+, but if that fateful moment doesn't pull through, SDD will most likely not fit into our plans this year. That's fine with me, because my priority this year is seeing Municiberg. I know that SDD is going to be here for years to come, but meeting Edna Mode and getting Jack Jack's Cookie Num-Nums may not be here for years to come. Heck, it may not even be there when I get there! Who knows?

As far as booking itself went: not as stressful as it could have been. I tried on my computer at first and Olaf ate the page, so I picked up my phone and recovered extremely quickly. People were theorizing that this would happen today, so I was prepared. People were calling the booking process "stressful" for this week, but it seemed to go as well as it did for us (if not better?) than it did in 2017. There was a lot of availability for everything at Magic Kingdom, and literally everything was open for every time at Epcot.

Anyway, without further ado: here's our official set of FP+ for the week:

Sunday, August 18: Magic Kingdom
1:50-2:50 PM Meet Mickey Mouse & Minnie Mouse at Town Square Theatre
3:05-4:05 PM Splash Mountain
6:30-7:30 PM Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Check-in day looks practically perfect! At first, I would have liked 7DMT to be closer to Splash-- but once we get off Splash, our room will probably be ready, so we'll likely want to head there until it's time for us to come back and ride Mine Train then head to our dinner reservation at Skipper Canteen at 7:15. Unless we book CG brunch (still feeling extremely hopeful!), in which case we drop Skipper Canteen.

Monday, August 19: Epcot
ME-
9:05-10:05 AM Spaceship Earth
10:35-11:35 AM Mission: SPACE
11:35-12:35 PM Frozen Ever After

FAMILY-
4:30-5:30 PM The Seas with Nemo & Friends
5:40-6:40 PM Test Track
8:30-9:00 PM Spaceship Earth

My family claims they don't care about their FP+ choices other than Test Track, so I just did the best I could for them. Realistically, this is probably the best course of action for them: amble in at 5, Seas, Test Track, Dinner in France, then back to Spaceship Earth to round out the night. Which, frankly, I don't even think they're going to want to do Spaceship Earth-- they want to watch Illuminations, so they might 86 Spaceship Earth and do that instead.

I, on the other hand, could not be more thrilled with my own personal plan! I thought about booking Soarin' in the morning because I haven't done it in a hot minute, but this plan just looked so much better. Get Spaceship Earth and Mission: SPACE out of the way and then head to World Showcase, my favorite place in the entire world, and ride one of my favorite rides, FEA! This is gonna be a GREAT day.

Tuesday, August 20: Magic Kingdom
1:35-2:35 PM Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
2:40-3:40 PM Peter Pan's Flight
3:50-4:50 PM Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Again, looks great! We will most likely arrive at MK on the tail end of that BTMRR FP+, then after PPF and 7DMT, grab our party wristband, take some pictures, and get in line for Jack & Sally!

Wednesday, August 21: Disney's Hollywood Studios
4:40-5:40 PM Alien Swirling Saucers
5:50-6:50 PM Star Tours

Only 2 FP+ here today. The family wants to sleep in on this day, and I'll probably cop a same day FP+ at ToT or RRC or even one of the shows whenever I get there. We definitely want to be out of the park by 7 so that we know we'll be on time for our Artist Point ADR.

Thursday, August 22: Disney's Animal Kingdom
5:25-6:25 PM DINOSAUR
6:35-7:35 PM Avatar Flight of Passage

Looks like this WILL be the year of FoP! Mom and dad really insisted that they wanted to go on this ride yesterday, but Grace is still not sold, so I'll talk about her options with her tonight. When I went to grab our FP+ for DAK, this beauty was just sitting there, all alone, at the top of the results, so I snatched her up. She fit in perfectly with our plans, so it looks like we're going to FP+ her and then get in the standby line for NRJ once we get out and the park has closed to day guests.

I think at the end of the day, Grace will likely go on FoP with us. Sometimes, she just needs that little extra push out of her comfort zone and ends up having a great time!

Friday, August 23: Magic Kingdom
ME:
9:20-10:20 AM Meet Tinker Bell at Town Square Theatre

FAMILY:
10:20-11:20 AM Haunted Mansion

ALL OF US:
11:25-12:25 PM Peter Pan's Flight
1:50-2:50 PM Seven Dwarf's Mine Train

More convoluted stuff happening on this morning. The family will NOT want to wake up early enough for EMH, but I will probably be up and at 'em because I value park time more than I value my health and I can sleep when I'm dead or in the car back to NJ, whichever comes first this week. We will probably leave the park after our third 7DMT FP+ of the trip so that we can pack and spend our night at Disney Springs.


Some thoughts to recap!

• Book your FP+ choices on the MDE app. The web browser is complete trash, don't even bother with it.
• Magic Kingdom: insanely easy to book 7DMT and literally every single other ride. If you're planning a trip for Late August/Early September and your FP+ date is coming up, don't worry about 7DMT. There were so many times for everything, including Mine Train. Make MK your second-to-last stop for FP+ booking, even if it's the first park you go to.​
• Epcot: you can book whatever you want, at the exact time you want it, whenever you want. Make Epcot your last stop for FP+ booking.​
• Hollywood Studios: barring SDD, it looked like there were times open for everything else. I would still make this your top priority park, especially with Galaxy's Edge. But you may be out of luck for SDD, so make that the first thing you try to book if you really need it for this trip.​
• Animal Kingdom: Looked fine. DAK has remained very steady since Pandora opened. FoP is still a pretty difficult catch, but NRJ had quite a few times when I saw it.​

In general: Today went fantastic. Better than I thought it would, even! Our FP+ plans look perfect for the trip and I couldn't be happier

 

[NJlauren]

Pretty good results! Stinky on SDD! My day is coming up Sunday so I’m excited to hear most things were open for you!

 

[Eeyore daily]

Glad you got the FP+ you wanted minus SDD.

 

[Newsies]

Pretty good results! Stinky on SDD! My day is coming up Sunday so I’m excited to hear most things were open for you!

Stinky on SDD, but there's always hope something will open up! You're gonna be totally golden on Sunday. If you go to DHS, you might run into some trouble, but other than that, you're gonna get everything you want, I know it!

Glad you got the FP+ you wanted minus SDD.

Thank you so much!!

 

[Cloe Colton]

Nice fastpasses!! I can't believe SDD was gone for the whole week! That's just bananas. Although, I was able to score a sameday fastpass for SDD this week so maybe you'll be able to get one day of!

I agree about the website for booking fastpasses. I always have better luck with the app!

 

[Gina Starr]

I’m finally here! I have been following along but I’m a bad dis’er and haven’t commented yet! All your fp look great! That sucks that you didn’t get SDD but I like your attitude about it! Can’t say that I would have been as positive if it was me... I can’t wait to see what your family thinks of FOP! You are getting so close!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

So I'm just going to assume "Municiberg" is code for "Visiting Timmy on Sunset Boulevard and spending all your time in DHS there having a love fest while I restock Talking Slinkys for the billionth time" because then YAAAAYYYYY!!!! Love those plans. Praying that you get reunited with your bb Slinky Dog.

IS THAT A FOP FP I SEE?!!?!?!? Wow, my impact. Also, tell Grace she'll regret not doing it tbh They make it sound intense, but it's basically at the same level of intensity as Star Tours... but better. WAY better. Joe Rohde did what? THAT.

 

[Newsies]

Nice fastpasses!! I can't believe SDD was gone for the whole week! That's just bananas. Although, I was able to score a sameday fastpass for SDD this week so maybe you'll be able to get one day of!

I agree about the website for booking fastpasses. I always have better luck with the app!

I'm literally still shocked that one hasn't opened up yet. I've been stalking the app, too! I know that we can often get good luck with same-day FP+, so I'm really going to be pounding the app that morning!

The app >>>> booking FP+ same day at a kiosk in the park >>>> not booking FP+ at all >>>> trying to book a FP+ on the website I kid, I kid, but really-- when do you think Disney will upgrade their website?

I’m finally here! I have been following along but I’m a bad dis’er and haven’t commented yet! All your fp look great! That sucks that you didn’t get SDD but I like your attitude about it! Can’t say that I would have been as positive if it was me... I can’t wait to see what your family thinks of FOP! You are getting so close!

Yay yay yay!!!! So happy to have you here!!!!

I'm really trying to remain positive about SDD and California Grill Brunch, which I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for! Stalking the app has come through for me several times before, so I always try to keep the faith alive for as long as possible!

I can't wait to experience FOP!!! We'll be there before we know it!!!

So I'm just going to assume "Municiberg" is code for "Visiting Timmy on Sunset Boulevard and spending all your time in DHS there having a love fest while I restock Talking Slinkys for the billionth time" because then YAAAAYYYYY!!!! Love those plans. Praying that you get reunited with your bb Slinky Dog.

IS THAT A FOP FP I SEE?!!?!?!? Wow, my impact. Also, tell Grace she'll regret not doing it tbh They make it sound intense, but it's basically at the same level of intensity as Star Tours... but better. WAY better. Joe Rohde did what? THAT.

"Municiberg" is code for "Municiberg," but "Visiting Timmy on Sunset Boulevard and spending all your time in DHS there having a love fest while I restock Talking Slinkys for the billionth time" can be code for "Visiting Timmy on Sunset Boulevard and spending all your time in DHS there having a love fest while I restock Talking Slinkys for the billionth time!" I will OFC be visiting you at DHS, king!!!

#impacT. Grace will eventually come around, I'm sure of it.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Hi!

If you would like to meet my daughter and I around noon on Wednesday at DHS, you could have my SDD FP, we got several this week! Just let me know.

We will be at he same MNSSHP and we are planning to do the extra hour at MK on Friday 8/23.

Your plans sound great!

 

[Newsies]

Hi!

If you would like to meet my daughter and I around noon on Wednesday at DHS, you could have my SDD FP, we got several this week! Just let me know.

We will be at he same MNSSHP and we are planning to do the extra hour at MK on Friday 8/23.

Your plans sound great!

Caroline, you absolutely could NOT be any sweeter. Thank you so much for offering-- I truly appreciate it I'm still trying to decide whether I want to try and meet Remy & Emile at Magic Kingdom for their first set that morning (11:30 AM), so I'm not sure I'll be at DHS until closer to 1-1:30. It means so much that you offered, though! I know you mentioned in your PTR thread that you were also going to be at the 8/20 MNSSHP, and it looks like we'll be at EMH on that Friday, too! I truly hope our paths cross during this trip, I'd love to meet you

 

[dolewhipdreams]

First things first: No Slinky Dog Dash. I mean nothing for the entire week. I thought I put our DHS day as far into the trip as possible, and I was looking for a later time, but I mean SDD is gone for the week. That's something I expected, everyone on DIS and in my August 2019 FB group said that grabbing a SDD FP+ was a bloodbath this week, so I'm not gravely disappointed.

Oh dang that's rough! Crazy how it's still so hard to get even after it's been open for a year at this point.

Heck, it may not even be there when I get there! Who knows?

Get that negativity OUT OF HERE! Yes it WILL be there!

and Olaf ate the page

Oh is Olaf eating pages now? No more Stitch?

My family claims they don't care about their FP+ choices other than Test Track, so I just did the best I could for them. Realistically, this is probably the best course of action for them: amble in at 5, Seas, Test Track, Dinner in France, then back to Spaceship Earth to round out the night. Which, frankly, I don't even think they're going to want to do Spaceship Earth-- they want to watch Illuminations, so they might 86 Spaceship Earth and do that instead.

Maybe I missed this part, but what is your fam doing until 5pm? Just chillin out maxin relaxin all cool?

I value park time more than I value my health and I can sleep when I'm dead or in the car back to N

 

[Newsies]

Oh dang that's rough! Crazy how it's still so hard to get even after it's been open for a year at this point.


Get that negativity OUT OF HERE! Yes it WILL be there!


Oh is Olaf eating pages now? No more Stitch?


Maybe I missed this part, but what is your fam doing until 5pm? Just chillin out maxin relaxin all cool?


View attachment 410619

Yes!!! The SDD is crazy (though I completely understand of course)

YOU RIGHT, YOU RIGHT, MUNICIBERG WILL THRIVE!!!

Sometimes it's Olaf, sometimes it's Stitch, sometimes Mike Wazowski is all shocked to see you-- Disney continues to rope more and more characters in to breaking the news that their website is garbage.

Oh, you didn't miss anything. I actually don't know what my family does when I'm at the parks in the morning. They sleep in, sometimes they get breakfast without me, sometimes they decide to go to the pool, sometimes they just watch TV-- I get a variety of answers when I ask about their morning after they catch up to me.

(no sleep til brooklyn voice) NO... SLEEP... TILL SATURDAY, AUGUST 24!!!

 

[Newsies]

"The Surprise"
​

Okay, ya'll. Back on page three, when I told the story of my DCP Summer Alumni application journey, I made a big mistake and teased an extremely small surprise that has very little to do with Disney, my life, or anything that could possibly be relevant to this TR.

If you recall:

I was sad about this for APPROXIMATELY four hours... but then, I booked an even more exciting opportunity! It's still a secret to some people in my life who may or may not read these boards, so I can't post about it for a while, but I CANNOT wait to reveal it!!

Teasing this was my mistake, I should have prepared for the immediate response that followed, which was that everyone and their mother asked to know what the surprise was and if it involved me flying around the world and I had to sit on the fact that this secret was not as great as I made it out to be and I still couldn't reveal it in case Grace, who lurks here and is the direct recipient of this surprise, read this thread.

​

So Grace: she graduated High School on Friday night.

​

The tearful ceremony was held indoors in the school auditorium, as the threat of a thunderstorm loomed above us. Any of my fellow #JerseyGurlz here know that the rain this week has been absolutely insane, so it's no surprise that the ceremony was indoors-- but the smaller, darker space made it extremely hard to get photos of the ceremony itself

We're all extremely proud of her. It's so surreal to watch her graduate high school! I graduated in the middle of my second PTR here on the DIS 4 years ago, and I remember watching her middle school promotion ceremony the night before and thinking "it's going to be so weird when she graduates high school."

Here's a closer, better look at her cap. While mom and dad pushed her to go the Disney route, she opted for a classic Judge Judy themed graduation cap. She isn't pursuing a career in law, she just loves Judge Judy.

​

So my graduation gift to her was "the big surprise," and it's that she and I are going to a Riverdale Convention in NJ next week. Well... that was kind of the surprise.

Allow me to elaborate on what exactly made this convention such a big deal to me. It was announced way back in March that Cole Sprouse would be joining the Riverdale Convention tour in NJ this year, and of course, I immediately freaked out. If you don't know who Cole Sprouse is: he's a teen heartthrob, Riverdale is an adaption of the Archie comics and he plays Jughead who is a mysterious bad boy. My 2017 TR intro included a line about how much I loved Cole Sprouse, so I've been on the Sprouse hype train for at least two years now. Here's a photo of him, for reference:

​

I love him so much and I promised myself that if I got NLIC from the DCP Summer Alumni program, I would buy my ticket to Riverdale Con and shell out the big bucks to get a photo and an autograph with him. I mean, how many times in my life is he going to just walk into a convention center 30 minutes away from my house?

So that's what I did, the very same evening I withdrew my application from the Summer Alumni program. I bought two General Admission passes for the day, a photo op ticket with Cole for me, and a photo op ticket with KJ Apa for Grace. KJ plays Archie, and he's Grace's favorite actor, so everything worked out. I had a friend to go to the convention with and Grace had a future graduation gift. Later on, I bought an autograph ticket for Cole, then I bought a photo and an autograph with another one of my favorite actors from the show, Jordan Connor (he plays one of the South Side Serpents, not a huge character but a pretty big reoccurring one at this point).

I presented the gift to her in a shoe box, so she thought she was getting Nike shoes and was thrilled to open the box and see this:

​

(In the ticket with the box is a Riverdale Vixen cheerleading shirt and bow for her to wear at the convention)

So to recap: the whole reason I was excited for this "surprise" would be that I would finally get to meet Cole Sprouse. Unfortunately, Cole cancelled his appearance at the convention on Monday. As heartbroken as I am (and believe me I am DEVASTATED), these things happen and I'm just trying to make the best of things. The upside is that the convention has a pretty great policy on the tickets I bought to meet him. I can either a) send them in the mail to get a refund, or b) bring them to the convention and exchange them for other photo ops, autographs, and even merchandise. I'm going to try to get another photo and an autograph with KJ Apa, and I'm still excited to meet Jordan!

If you're still with this post, bless your soul. I just felt the need to finally get "the surprise" out into the air here! I will definitely update with how the convention goes on June 30! Probably more planning updates to follow in the interim.

 

[NJlauren]

UMM amazing surprise! I love Riverdale, even if i am behind like 10 episodes... And till you got the part about Cole Sprouse canceling i was about 10 clicks from figuring out how to go and see him! He is adorable, as is KJ Apa!

Have so much fun! Post some pics here after!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Great FPs!

A shame about SDD but I love your Epcot and meet and greet fast passes.

Yay on the surprise but a shame Cole cancelled his appearance. Congrats to Grace on graduating high school!!

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Well, I just read through 9 pages of PTR, so I guess I'm joining in .

So many thoughts (omg on finals, yay for MM, I can't believe you haven't gotten a notification for CG brunch) but most of them are no longer timely.

We'll be arriving on the 25th, so ships passing in the night. It's getting close!