PTR: A Wish My Heart Made...I Have An AP!! Update 9/28

ElsasMom

Mouseketeer
Joined
Mar 5, 2014
Messages
422
Hi Everyone :wave: & :welcome:

You may have seen a few of my TRs floating around with my cute little mini me, but this PTR is a horse of a different color!

Here's me in my adventure Anna Disney Bound & with my twinsie. I died my hair red this summer and added a bleached streak before MNSSHP. I love me some Anna. :love:




I'm a Florida native. I spent lots of time during & right after college living in more exciting places, but ended up raising my family back here. :beach:

:earsgirl: I've been to WDW more times than I can count :earsgirl:. I've been to WDL once. I've only stayed on property twice (both in Sept 2014) at AoA & Pop. I use my wheelchair
wheelchair.gif
at the parks. I have cerebral palsy and the distance is rough for me. Since discovering the Dis my Disney bucket list has grown and I'm become completely obsessed with Disney Bounding.

This year my lovely "you-can-go-as-much-as-you-want-as-long-as-you-don't-make-me-come" DH got me an AP for my birthday :cake:party::bday: He even gave it to me a month early so I could book FP's for a Bday trip. :love:

That's right a WHOLE YEAR of Disney :faint: For little old me. What about the kiddos pirate:princess:? Well, I'll still take them over the course of the year when there's a great FL Resident deal or important event, but since we're doing a Disney Cruise on the Dream :sail: in Feb (PTR in my signature) DH is not so keen on another family trip. (PS: our Disney Cruise is the weekend after my bday trip! :love: :mickeyjum DISNEY BOOK ENDS!! :mickeyjum :love: Living the dream :woohoo: )

Beyond that, I know you guys will understand this, WDW is the pixiedust: ONLY place I really unwind. I always joke with DH that I literally have to alter my physical reality to de-stress, but it's totally true. Nothing can touch me when I'm there. So for 2015, Momma takes some time for herself in her happy place. ::MickeyMo

I'll be going with friends and family who have AP's, maybe taking some solo trips (which I've never done before) and I'm sure bringing the kids before the year's over.

Coming up: My Bday trip!, The Disney Princess Half Marathon, A Mother's Day Get Away & Much More...

Who's in? :thumbsup2

Index

February

Birthday Trip

Let's Plan A Birthday Trip
Fast Passes & The Bday List
Disney Duds
Magical Mail
Birthday Bound Trial Run

New Plan
Packing

Princess 1/2 Marathon
Princess 1/2 Marathon
Princess 1/2 Marathon Part 2

Princess 1/2 Marathon Part 3: I AM INSANE

March

Flower & Garden
Surprise! Epcot Day Trip


Dapper Day
Dapper Day?



April

Nerd Day
Nerd Day Comes to WDW

May

May-hem!

Mom's Weekend
Planning Begins

Clothes Decisions

Star Wars Breakfast/Dcuz Bday Trip
Trips! Trips! Trips!
Rebel Scum

June

Adventure Day!
 
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Where to begin...

Back in the summer of 2013 (when I hadn't been to WDW for years after a lifetime of :love: & knew perfectly well I'd married someone who just isn't a big fan of WDW) my DH shocked the heck out of me by suggesting a family trip to Disney! We stayed off site for 3 days & did MK, EP & HS. :rotfl2: Excuse DD shoes on the wrong feet, she rushed out of the booth so fast they fell off and she put them back herself.



After that trip there were monthly discussions about going back/getting passes. DH would discuss it, but nothing ever happened. Then in early 2014 I got Discover Disney Tickets. $43 A DAY?!? :faint: We (DD & I) took 3 day trips 1st AK (my first time) 2nd EP & finally MK. :earsgirl: :earsgirl:



Those trips really re-ignited my need to be home. :mickeyjum I pressed on bringing up new trips/passes & I did score a massive princess-tatic bday trip for DD & a MNSSHP date night (TR in my signature). ;)

And then?!?



DH literally made my YEAR.

If only, it had been that simple folks. I read all the info and discovered DH HAD TO be present to pick up the pass since he had paid for it, :eek: uh-oh. :eek:

I called and spoke to a CM. I told her it was a gift & DH wouldn't be with we for my first trip and she assured me if you buy the pass directly from Disney the purchaser has to present at pick up. WHAT?!? I just assumed (I've never been a PH before) that people buy them as gifts all the time. :sad2:

The CM explained that a TA or AAA or wherever would physically verify the purchaser's identity on the spot, but they can't on the website so there we are. She told me we could pick up my pass at DTD as well. I knew DH wasn't going to like that.

While she was on the phone I asked her why I wasn't able to link my pass on MDE. She verified I was typing the right number & then told me it had to be "Magical Enhancements" & to keep trying.

Another day or so went by with no luck linking my pass to my account. I was getting worried :worried: about booking my FPs. I remembered that recently when I booked a FL Res ticket I could link it, but it had to be verified when I got to AK which caused some issues. Maybe, my AP had to verified before I could link it? :confused3

DH & I discussed a trip to DTD in the near future :drive: It wasn't exactly near by. We went round & round trying to decide whether we should bring the kids & make a night of it or just go ourselves. We decided to get a week night sitter drive up and then right back. I was nervous about when Guest Relations closes at DTD, but the website said "Normal operating hours" & somewhere I got the idea that we had until 10pm.

Then I had the bright :idea: to make a dinner reservation & make the most of having a sitter. We also went round & round on where to eat & how early we could get there.



Lemons into lemonade I thought, Disney Date Night :woohoo:. Ugh...wrong-o.

 


What's Our Eta?!?

We set out for DTD :drive: armed with instructions for where to park during the construction. We hit serious traffic about an hour in :crowded: :car: but we expected that. I kept checking the arrival time on the GPS & getting nervous :worried:

Our ressie was 8:30 & the GPS was now projecting our arrival at 8:48 :scared1: I'd never eaten at Fulton's Crab House before (it's the pretty boat) I had been excited to try it. Now, I was worried we would be late, I'd get $$charged$$ & not even get to eat. :worried:

DH was relieved when traffic started to thin out & was doing his best to make up :hourglass time, but we never gained more than a few minutes.

Then I realized :eek: the GPS clock was never reset for daylight savings OOPS! "Slow down, honey we're gonna be fine, I'm an idiot." Phew!

No Stalling!

With that to laugh :rotfl: about the drive :drive: went by pretty quickly. Just as we were discussing which exit because we were getting super close, the oil light came on! :scared1:

We pulled off & followed the GPS toward a gas station, but the longer we drove the weirder the car started to act (which was super weird considering it drove fine all those hours before this) :confused3. We were passing a fancy hotel when it stalled. DH got it to start again & we pulled into the parking lot. :confused:

I was so grateful it hadn't happened on the highway. Phew!

Cabs, Construction, Confusion

DH wanted to walk to the gas station to get oil & water. We unloaded my wheelchair
wheelchair.gif
& put on our jackets because it was freezing! :cold: We decided we couldn't just leave the car without telling someone. We trecked through this HUGE hotel to the concierge desk. There was no line, so we explained that we were not guests & our car had broken down. We told them where we left it & they promised not to tow it. I was so glad they were understanding. Phew, again!

Then we set out to implement DH's bright :idea: to walk to the gas station. The sidewalk just ended 1/2 way down the block in front of the hotel! It was freezing :cold: & there was no way we could cross those busy roads :car:. New plan. :idea:

We waited in line for 15min to tell the concierge we'd changed our minds about walking & needed a cab. By the time we got our cab it was almost time for our dinner & we couldn't work on the car until it cooled down so we headed to DTD. We would have been fine expect for all those stupid partitions from the construction. I fell like a rat in a maze. :confused:

We were about 10min late, but the hostess seemed un-bothered by it & we were seated immediately. Phew! I was so glad we made it. Esp since we might have expensive car repairs in our future. :car:

We both looked at our menus & then each other & shook our heads. We were to stressed to even think about food. We ordered a crab dinner for two. I told DH to run over to Guest Relations now so we could leave as soon as we were done. :hourglass

30min later DH came back upset, Duh! I had to be there too. It was getting late & we were afraid they'd close before we left dinner. Our sever called for us & they closed at 11:30 that night. Phew!

We did our best to eat, but took most of it with us. Honestly, under other circumstances it would have been a lovely date night. :rotfl2:

We picked up my pass & got directions to a gas station that we could get to on foot. (Then we got directions 2 more times, stupid construction.) We finally got what we needed & called another cab to get back to the car.

The Feeling is Mutual

The security guard approached us to verify it was our vehicle. He was very nice, but he wanted us gone ASAP. Nothing we did helped. It wouldn't start at all. The security guard showed us where we could go in to get warm :cold: (thank goodnes!) & wished us luck.

While we were waiting I opened ::MickeyMo MDE on my phone and scanned my pass to link it to my account. It seemed to work & I was to tired to do anything else. At 2AM the tow truck arrived. It was a long ride home, but I was so glad to be on our way.

Up Next Part 3: What Now?!?

 


The Final Chapter

I bet you guys thought I was kidding about it being an epic saga, right? Ready for the final installment? :thumbsup2

The next morning I was a zombie :coffee:. Once I'd gotten the kids off to school with Grandma & checked on the car I decided it was FP time! :cool1:

I logged into MDE, but my pass didn't show up at first. :confused3 There was some kind of error message, ugh. I refreshed a few times, but it didn't show up. I didn't worry to much at that point because I could see it listed under cards & bands.

While I was there I ordered my Magic Band. I have one I decorated for DD's bday trip:

f270577a-d2b1-41c0-88aa-accfdba78e08_zps8f2d4d8d.jpg


Mine's the green Anna one. But I feel like there must be something special about the PH bands. Maybe not? :confused3 The CM who gave me my pass made a huge deal about ordering my magic band. We'll see.

I still couldn't see my pass :badpc: so I tried to look at FP options (which I'd done very briefly the night before without a problem). Now it was saying I didn't have valid park admission.

I called and talked to a CM in tech support, Harold. :earsboy: He was extremely sympathetic, but there wasn't much he could do. He said the system showed my pass expiring the SAME DAY it was issued. :scared1: Nice. :rotfl:

He told me there were...wait for it...wait for it... Magical Enhancements. He said to check back in an hour. :hourglass

Right before the hour was up I got an email :surfweb: from him:

"After our systems came back up, I went to check and see if the

expiration date on your Seasonal Annual Pass had been corrected. It

had not.

I got in touch with my ticket support team, and they told me that

expiration date had been entered incorrectly when you activated

your pass at Downtown Disney®.

Unfortunately, my team does not have access to correct the

expiration date.

Please call our Ticket Services team at (407) 566-4985, option 5,

to have your expiration date corrected. I would have done this for

you, but they will ask for verification information which I don't

have, such as your credit card information.

I'm very sorry for the inconvenience."



I got back on the phone. Between my fatigue from the adventure the night before and the stress of all the run around with the pass, by I was not my usual sunny self. :sad: First, I got a CM who let me tell the whole story before not so magically transferring me. Normally, I dig the Disney music on hold, but it kept cutting out. :sad2:

Next I reached a CM in ticketing who listened to my plight & informed me she also had to transfer me, but not before adding that she wasn't "sure this could be resolved over the phone" What?!? :scared1: :eek:

Seriously?!? What?!?!

Then I reached a CM in the AP department who was stunned to hear my year pass had been issued for a few hours. She was the sweetest (Harold was a close second). She fixed me up and waited on the line to make sure everything was correct.

Then I exhaled for the first time all morning, Phew! :thumbsup2

She told me I might want to have card re-issued as it probably has the wrong date on it, but I should also order the Magic Band.

Since, I'd already done that I informed her I'd be stopping at Guest Relations for my birthday button any way. She wished me a happy birthday and transferred me to the after call survey which promptly hung up on me. :rotfl:

And thus my friends, (I sincerely hope) ends the adventure of getting the pass.

Tune in next time for: Let's plan a birthday trip!
 



Hey there, Disney Fans!! Who's ready for some actual trip planning? Yes, me too. :thumbsup2

But first, it's been a super rough week :crazy2: & I'd love it if you guys who are following (& hopefully enjoying) my report would say Hi. Thanks! :thanks:

Ok, back to Disney plans! :cool1:

The Cast

I decided to post pictures of each of us from Disney with our DD's even though this one is a grownups only trip. :earsgirl: princess:



Me, ElsasMom aka Katie. The Birthday Girl party: :cake:



DCuz aka N, if you read my last TR she & her DH came with me to MNSSHP



My friend J

All of us are moms & ::MickeyMo HUGE Disney fans ::MinnieMo. We all have AP's & are super excited for our Disney day. It isn't easy to get a few friends together for a Disney trip after everyone has kids. So, I am over the moon that my very first trip as a PH will be on my birthday with some of the most fun girls I know! :earsgirl: :earsgirl: :earsgirl:

Plans

We'll be going up for the day so no hotels required. I think N & I will have a little slumber party and we'll met up with J early in the morning. We'll all drive :drive: together. It makes me feel like a kid again! My birthdays have been hit or miss the last few years. Last year I didn't really celebrate so I'm doing this one my way. I won't tell you how old I am but...I have to think about it really hard to remember lately. :rotfl:

With the cast assembled it was time to start making decisions. The girls were both up for anything. Well, almost J is "terrified" of the monorail & N doesn't do the big roller coasters like Space Mountain. They both told me it was my day & they were happy to do whatever I wanted. Aren't they great?

(My picture from a family trip in 1996)

The ONE thing that I decided HAD to happen on my birthday was Tower of Terror. It was one of my favorites as a teenager, but since I've started going with my own family I haven't been on. It's been almost a decade. :sad: Also, when I did my last big trip with my family HS was my kids' & DH's least favorite park & I felt rushed out of there.

With ToT on the agenda, I asked the girls where we should have birthday lunch. They again said it was my day & they were just happy to be at Disney. :love: They're awesome. :love: Also N just got a brand new Tables in Wonderland card. I thought back to my favorite things to do at HS (back when it was MGM) & decided Sci-Fi Dine in. I remember loving it when my parents took me there as a kid.

I got a reservation for the 3 of us at 1:35pm. I felt like there was supposed to be a place to tell the restaurant I was celebrating my birthday, but maybe I'm thinking of DCL. They'll see my button I'm sure. :cake:

And so it begins! Yay! :cheer2:

Up Next: Fastpass Fauxpas

 
Hi!:wave2:

Have fun on your girl's trip. They are the best. I'm a west-coaster, so my annual girl's trip is in Disneyland, but it's a blast.
 
:wave2: Hi there! Joining in! You've had quite the adventure to get that AP haven't you! :rotfl::lmao::rotfl2: At least you (hopefully) have it resolved now!
 
Hi!:wave2:

Have fun on your girl's trip. They are the best. I'm a west-coaster, so my annual girl's trip is in Disneyland, but it's a blast.

:welcome: I can not even stand it I am soooooo excited! :thumbsup2 It never occurred to me to have it annually, that's a great idea.

:wave2: Hi there! Joining in! You've had quite the adventure to get that AP haven't you! :rotfl::lmao::rotfl2: At least you (hopefully) have it resolved now!

:welcome: Thanks for joining. I KNOW can you believe all that?!? Mickey would be appalled. It started to feel like they were testing me. :rotfl: Fingers crossed.
 

Fast Passes

So, ToT was a must, but what else? Like I said, I hadn't spent time in DHS without kids since it was MGM. When I took my family there we didn't have any FP's we spend a lot of time on the Honey I Shrunk My Kids playground.

(2013)

I'd read enough TR's to know there was plenty of fun stuff to do in DHS these days, but it was almost like being able to decide on my own was too much freedom. :confused3

I checked in with the girls and they were both up for Frozen sing-a-long which sounded like a fun way to celebrate party:! Anyone know where the wheelchair seating is for that?



Here's where we landed, only it wouldn't let me book them! I kept clicking on the three of us & the Feb calender was only showing a couple days in. So, then N tried to do it with just her & I (since we were already linked in MDE). No problem there. I sent the screen shot to J and told her to grab them.

She replied that she couldn't view Feb AT ALL on her phone and she'd try from home. Then N (who's had her pass the longest) just copied our FP's over to J and we were all set! Later I read about that on KTP. :idea:

Park to Park

We started discussing the rest of our day. Since all of our plans at DHS start at noon we needed to decide where to spend our morning.

My favorite Disney ride is BTMRR so I suggested MK. Ever since discovering how much wilder the ride is from the back row at MNSSHP I have been dying to go again!

It was at this point I realized I was doing things all out of order. Here I was letting myself get all carried away! Time to check park hours, events, crowd calenders, etc. I crossed my fingers I wouldn't be discouraged when I did.

Drumroll....



All good for DHS :woohoo:, but MK was red. I did notice MK is open until midnight so I was hoping we'd be good if we hit some high priority stuff in the morning.



What's that, crowd calender guy? Hit the bricks by 1pm? Done and done. Looks like we'll be in pretty good shape! Phew. I also consulted KTP's crowd calender which said pretty much the same thing.

The Bday List (So Far)

Misc

Sleepover with Disney manicures!
Birthday Button!
A great Disneybound (more on that later)

DHS

*Tower of Terror :eek:
Rock-n-Roller Coaster (I've never been on!)
Frozen Sing along (That's right 3 grownups belting the Disney music, don't tell our DDs)
Toy Story Mania (I'm pretty sure it's against Disney law not to)
SciFi Dine In (What's good there? Suggestions welcome)
Starring Rolls for a bday treat (what's the best thing there?I know it's all good, but if it were your birthday what you get?)

MK
Get Pixie Dusted at Castle Couture!
Magic Shot with Tink (in front of the castle if possible)
Big Thunder Mountain Rail Road (Love of my Life :love: )
Space Mountain (doubt we'll have time)
BLRS (Um what? I wrote this grouping of letters and haven't a clue what they mean. Google didn't help. Anyone?):rotfl:
Talking Mickey so he can sing me happy birthday pixiedust: ::MickeyMo

Ok, what am I forgetting? Grown-up birthday fun...what would you do?


 
How it Started

I have never been a fashionista :cutie:, I am solidly a jeans & t-shirts girl. I grew-up going to Disney before Etsy & the making themed outfits craze (Not that I mind it I love a theme & crafting). So, when I took my family I pulled from what we had in our closets (which included a lot of Disney t-shirts esp for :earsgirl: DD :earsgirl: ). Comfort & practicality are always the priority.

As for me shorts (preferably with cargo pockets) & tanks or t-shirts. Sneakers & hair up. Sometimes a sun dress, but I miss having pockets.

Last spring I went to Epcot with DD & her cousin & aunt. I wore my "We're All A Little Mad Here" shirt & jean shorts with cargo pockets. I braided my wet hair the night before & slept on them. When I saw the pictures...

Pretty little DD


Not as pretty me


Well, blah! I wish I'd brushed & re-braided my hair, maybe wore a little make-up, sat up straight, etc. But that picture was evidence of how little time I'd give in general to taking care of myself. DD was picture perfect all day & I re-braided her hair several times, but I hadn't given my appearance even a passing thought. I needed a reason to take care of myself & Disney pictures worked for me!

Also, can you believe we got a picture all 3 of them! :cool1: it was an awesome morning.

Disney Bound

I'd read one of katt789 wonderful TRs about Disney Bounding. Disney Bound is creating outfits inspired by Disney characters not costumes. Our next trip a month later I decided to give it a try.

I did an Aurora DB: Pink shirt, curled ponytail with a sparkly gold hair tie and Aurora nails. I looked good & felt good. Nobody got it, but that wasn't the point. Next time I'd add a spinning wheel necklace and maybe a gold headband with a crown.

My nails (I did them myself attempting to copy these http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/82/68/22/826822dfd515b97647ed09366f6e5939.jpg)





Here's a shot of my princess hair



Here's the outfit



DD did a DB that trip too



Everyone got hers! So cute.

Now I Was Hooked!

Anna



E & A



These were for a Frozen themed library event, but the reaction was great!

Best Day Ever

My Rapunzel Disney Bound for DD's bday trip







Purple tank top with a lacy back, french braid with flower barrettes borrowed from DD (in hindsight I'd have worn the 3rd flower I thought was too much) I even used a Rapunzel hair tie for my braid.

Birthday Bound

I knew I had to Disney Bound on my birthday girls trip, but who.... My favorite color is green so a lot of my wardrobe is green. DD had given me a big white fabric flower for Christmas so I thought a Tiana outfit was in order.

Here I am with Tiana in Sept



Here's what I have so far





I LOVE :love: the shirt, it couldn't be more perfect for Tiana, right? I took some fabric scraps from a Christmas project & pinned on the flower DD gave me to make a belt since Tiana has a magnolia near her hip. I thought about using the solid side of the fabric, but the gold and green seemed so Mardi Gras. I think I'll add some gold sequins in the middle of the flower too.

BUT, I'm not in love with the skirt. Three guesses why not...No Pockets! Shockingly, I own tons of green skirts, but no shorts. So, maybe cream color shorts? :confused3 We'll see.

I'd also like to get a frog necklace as a birthday present to myself. I found a Tiana hair tutorial on youtube that doesn't look too tricky: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3li_y-fcSY I'll post a picture of the test run.

And these shoes:



I wore them at my wedding :) AND to MNSSHP when I dressed as coronation Anna.

The girls are into DBing too. So J is going to do Minnie & N is doing Snow White:



This picture is from when she & her DH did Snow White & Price charming at some point last year. I got her these for Christmas to go with her outfit:



I'll post final decisions on my birthday outfit & hair pictures soon. Next post will probably be about my Princess 1/2 Marathon trip so I created an index so it doesn't get to confusing.
 
See and DH wonders why I ended up with a Spreadsheet for our wardrobe!:lmao: I haven't figured out what/how I'm doing things but there will be coordinating outfits for sure! (The first of DD's Etsy dresses arrives soon!)
 
See and DH wonders why I ended up with a Spreadsheet for our wardrobe!:lmao: I haven't figured out what/how I'm doing things but there will be coordinating outfits for sure! (The first of DD's Etsy dresses arrives soon!)

Yay! Isn't Esty the best? It's a wealth of ideas and options. I started talking about packing for our Disney cruise and DH was like um, it's 3 days!! But DD has her Minnie Dress, her Pirate Fairy costume, her Belle gown, Tiana sundress, Ariel bathing Suit w/matching personalized cover up...etc LOL :rotfl: Packing is going to be interesting... I may not be able to get all 4 of us in one large suitcase. :rolleyes1

Hi! Joining in. I hope you have a great birthday trip.

Thank you! :welcome: Glad you joined!!
 
Princess 1/2 Marathon



Believe it or not in Middle School I did races regularly in my wheelchair
wheelchair.gif
. The last time I participated in one was when DD was 3mo old. Here's me doing my last 5K while wearing DD.



These days I'd rather cheer :cheer2: than run.

Dcuz, N and her friend had qualified for the 1/2 marathon and were looking for people to split the room with them. I had an AP now so I figured "What the heck!" :thumbsup2

We got a group of 4 together, but one lady had to back out so it's going to be me and the runners. :grouphug: So, N looked for a room.

I've only stayed on property twice AoA & Pop so I was excited! We got a room at All Star Movies! A preferred room next to the buses.



N told me to check out the ChEAR :cheer2: Squad packages, but looking into that got me wondering about
wheelchair.gif
seating...

I got really worried I'd be sitting behind a bunch of standing people with no view at all. :crowded: Hmmm...

I tried messaging my avid Run Disney friend and she had no idea :confused3. Then I asked the TA who helped us set up the Disney Cruise and she said "I would assume they do, but I'm not sure." VERY HELPFUL, sigh.

I read over the website some more and eventually found a phone number to Run Disney. The CM was super sweet...I wanna say Jennifer? Anyway, she said there was accessible seating in the free and ChEAR :cheer2: Squad sections, but ALL seating is first come first serve.

She said people start arriving by 5am :coffee:. So, I asked N to check on what time the transportation at the hotel would be dropping off. It turns out it runs 4:15-6am and we'll definitely want to go on the early side. :sunny:

Now I have to decide if I should officially register for ChEAR :cheer2: Squad or go early and hope for the best...
 
ChEAR Squad?

Ok, the name is ah-dorable ::MickeyMo. Has anyone done one of these?

ChEAR Squad – BRONZE ($0) Package includes:
* E-newsletter detailing all of the weekend events to make your experience truly magical!

ChEAR Squad – SILVER ($39) Package includes:
*The E-newsletter included with the Bronze Package plus...
*ChEAR Squad gear

ChEAR Squad – GOLD ($65) Package includes*(Half Marathon Only):
*All of the Silver Package amenities plus...
*Reserved ChEAR Zone viewing location along the course (first-come, first-served)
*Entry into the Finish Line ChEAR Zone which includes:
*Reserved grandstand seating (first-come, first-served)
*Hot and cold beverages
*Private restrooms

ChEAR Squad – PLATINUM ($120) Package includes*(Half Marathon Only):
*All of the Gold Package amenities plus...
*Entry into the Race Retreat** which includes:
*Disney Character greetings
*Brunch plus hot and cold beverages
*Temperature-controlled tent with lounges
*Internet access to check live results
*Private Restrooms
*Information Station
*Live video feed from the Finish Line
*Kiddie Corner

N told me to get a package with seating, but I put the GOLD package in my cart and they added a processing fee and it was $70 and that is a ton of money for bleachers and port-a-potties.

I mean that's more than my part of the hotel room. So, N and I chatted again. Since the lowest paid package only gives me a shirt I decided to skip it and take my chances with the free seating. I'm toying with making a my own ChEAR squad shirt. I love Disney and being crafty so Disney crafts are my favorite.

After the Race

Now that the hotel and pre-race logistics were more in hand we chatted about the rest our day. The 3 of us will get breakfast after the race, but N and I are the only ones with APs so we're not sure if the 3rd member of our group will join us for Disney time afterwards. We hope she will, but either way N and I decided weren't leaving without some Disney time. We discussed MK vs EP and decided we'd hit up Epcot.

I told N, despite Epcot being one of my favorite places I'd never ridden Soarin' or Test Track. We decided to start by grabbing Soarin' FPs since TT has a single ridder line. Here's what we ended up with:



I usually do Epcot with no FPs and no reservations because you can and still have an awesome time, but I don't know how long the girls will last post marathon. Go Princess Runners Go :cheer2:
 
Glad you said that about Epcot being doable without using FPs. Because Little Miss is only predicted to reach 39" {I know an inch short of being able to ride TT and Soarin! :headache:} We are saving that day's FPs for our evening park.


I agree with your assesment... $70 is a heck of a lot of money for bleachers and portapotties! It's a half marathon surely you can find SOMEWHERE along the 13.1 miles that you can see and cheer.
 
Believe it or not, there was another hiccup in the AP saga. The day after I went to DTD I ordered my magic band on MDE.

The other day, I started to worry about how long :hourglass it had been since I ordered it. When I logged in there was no record of it. :confused3 I guess fixing the expiration date on my pass canceled the order.

I ordered my magic band again and yesterday....






IT CAME :banana:

So, the answer to my question is different box and small Passholder slider otherwise it's just a regular magic band. You have no idea how happy I was to see it! :wave2: ::MinnieMo ::MickeyMo

12 Days!!

One of my friends heard about my Tiana Disney bound and got me these!





Aren't they perfect? My friends are amazing. I AM SO EXCITED for my bday trip! party:
 
Glad you said that about Epcot being doable without using FPs. Because Little Miss is only predicted to reach 39" {I know an inch short of being able to ride TT and Soarin! :headache:} We are saving that day's FPs for our evening park.


I agree with your assesment... $70 is a heck of a lot of money for bleachers and portapotties! It's a half marathon surely you can find SOMEWHERE along the 13.1 miles that you can see and cheer.

The last time I went to Epcot A & E were still in Norway so I let the crowd run by and we walked into the character spot, onto Nemo and Journey to Imagination before we'd even been there an hour. Everyone says it absorbs the crowd the best of all the parks and they're right. Take advantage of her missing the height requirement and hit the other stuff while the crowds rush to TT & Soarin'

Yeah, I'll find a spot. Keep your fingers crossed for me. ;)
 












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