Return of the Zombie Pre-Trip Report: October 3-8, 2010 (Updated 9/15, Completed!)

[lilwhiterabbit]

I'm inserting a handy index for entries, because, knowing myself, this is probably going to get long! The original text of the first entry has been preserved below.

EASY REFERENCE INDEX
Original Pre-Trip Report (You're looking at it!)
Trip Postponed: "It's Dead, Jim!"
Trip Reanimated: "It Lives!"
Shambling Forward: Booked, But Needs More Brains
Brains?: Or Dining Reservations and an Accident!
Braiiiins: Meeting Time
The First One is Picked Off: We Lose Corey
Safety in Numbers: We Have a Plan--Park Schedule, ADRs and Transportation
Nailing Down the Doors: A Few Small Changes in ADR Hell
A Few More Nails: Even More Changes
I Thought You Said You Had a Plan: ADR Hell Strikes Again and Plans Change
Newsbreak: We Interrupt This PTR With Costume Progress Pictures
Stick to the Plan: First and Second Day Itinerary (Arrival and Magic Kingdom)
Stay Together: Epcot Itinerary and More Costume Pics
Make Sure You're Well Armed: Tickets, Supplies and Costumes
If You Run Out of Ammo, Just Keep Moving: DHS Itinerary and Pictures of Nigel's Captain Hook
End of the Line: Animal Kingdom Itinerary and Final Post

The Players

Me! I'm a 32 year old, divorced mother of one. I was an administrative assistant and/or office manager for many years, then went back to school full-time in 2007. I'm just about ready to graduate and head on to graduate school then, hopefully, teach at the college level. I'm obviously a big Disney fan as well as a costume designer. I've costumed professionally since 2001 (theater shows, private commissions, etc.), but it generally doesn't pay the bills, so it's more of a hobby that I'll occasionally get money from.

Nigel, my wonderful partner is 28 and a graduate student. He should graduate at the end of the summer, so this trip is partially a graduation present for him. As you can probably tell by the picture, he's also quite a character.

Kate, a mutual friend and Disney-phile is helping me plan the trip. And, uh, I don't actually know how old she is. Mid-to-late twenty-something? Kate is a housekeeper and also a costumer.

Mike, another mutual friend. He's thirty*mumble* and hasn't been to WDW since the 90's. He does some sort of nebulous tech guy thing for a living. I think he's technically (no pun intended) a software consultant, inasmuch as you can define what a software consultant is.

Aldea, Mike's girlfriend and also a friend. She too is a divorced mother of one and is thirty*mumble*. I'm not sure how long its been since she's been to WDW, but I'd guess more than five years.

Corey, our final friend is also 28, and is a customer service rep for a software company. He's never been to WDW, so we were trying to drag him along, but it looks like he's dropped out of the trip for now.

No pictures of the final four, you ask? Nope. Not yet, anyway. I'm sure I'll take plenty of pictures during the vacation, but the rest of our intrepid crew will have to remain somewhat mysterious in the meantime. As you can probably tell, this is an adults-only trip so we can blow off some steam. It should be a fun time and will hopefully create some magical memories.


Text of Original Post Here:
Okay, I'll admit it; I'm a planner. I love schedules, spreadsheets, bulleted lists--you name it. So when my partner casually suggested we might take a vacation at the end of this year, I immediately thought of WDW. I, myself, have been five or so times thus far, all of them as an adult. My partner hasn't been to WDW since he was a pre-teen. Animal Kingdom hadn't even opened its doors back then!

I went with my parents and son last July and enjoyed the trip despite the heat and the crowds. My partner had heard so many good things about Disney after I got back from that trip, that he was willing to make a go at it himself. So I've begun planning a trip for just the two of us in early October, 2010.

The hitch? We're both college students, he a grad student who should be graduating this spring, and me an undergrad who still has a year and a half to go before my BA. Being college students, true to type, we are poor. We have very little income outside of student loans and grants, and most of that rightfully goes toward tuition, books, and living expenses. So to do this, we're going to have to come up with ways to make money and to save what little we've got. Right now, it seems impossible, but if we stick to our guns, I think we can do it.

I've made out a budget for right around $2000 for the both of us. We have several friends who are DVC members who are willing to rent us points to cut down on hotel costs, so we're going to jump at that. The rest of the money will go toward travel expenses, park tickets, souvenirs (which neither of us are particularly bad about) and food. The food budget gave me fits, until I realized I could go through the menus of each restaurant we were interested in eating at and determine an appropriate cost. Like I said, me = planner.

At the moment we've got around $50 in savings toward the trip, which isn't much, I'll admit, but it's a start. If we have the total amount in savings by June of this year, I'll be able to book the trip with relative comfort. If we don't, however....

So, right now, our biggest challenge is saving money. I have personally been doing pretty well, but my partner, well... he's a spender. I'm trying to figure out how to train him to save money, something he's never really had to do before. We're using piggy banks for spare change, and that's been working pretty well (though I have to keep him from fishing quarters out to get sodas on campus). I'm considering giving each of us a monthly 'bill' toward the trip, stacked in with our other bills, so that we know we'll be putting a certain amount away each month.

Do you think this could work? Also, any other budgeting/money-saving ideas are welcomed. I really want to bring him to WDW, to show him just how magical it can be, but we've got to do it without breaking the bank.

 

[myasma]

Hi, just wanted to let you know that I subscribed. As for your question, I am exactly like your partner. Not good at saving money. What I did to save money for the trip is as soon as I get extra money before I spend it, I put it towards the trip. It costs 200 to book a trip with Disney and after that you can just keep adding as you go along. Before you know it, the bill will be paid up. Also for two months I am doing without all but neccesities and putting a huge lumpsum to the vacation bill. That also takes care of most of the bill. Hope my ideas helped you a little bit.

 

[lilwhiterabbit]

Note the date change in the title of this pre-trip report. Originally, we'd planned to make it back to WDW in October of this year, but due to unforeseen circumstances, we don't think a trip is in a cards this year.

The unforeseen circumstances I'm talking about are pictured below:

This is Cricket. Cricket is a rescue from the local Humane Society and an absolute sweetheart. She's a four month old Black & Tan Coonhound mix and my partner and I simply couldn't resist taking her home with us. We've already got one dog, Aiden, and we'd considered getting him a playmate for quite a while because he's got way too much energy for the both of us to keep up with him. Cricket was the perfect dog to add to our family, so we adopted her last week.

Adopting Cricket is absolutely an added expense, since we'll have to pay more in vet fees, food, toys, boarding, the whole kit and kaboodle. Before we adopted her, my partner and I had a long talk and decided we'd postpone our Disney trip in favor of bringing her home with us. We'll be putting the money we've managed to save so far toward her care.

Cricket is the best reason to postpone the trip, but there was another one that we'd anticipated as well: my partner graduates from his grad program this May and we don't know how long it's going to take for him to find a job. We may also need some of that money to help pay bills while he's looking. So, yeah, October is just a no-go at this point.

We are aiming for a January 2011 trip however! By then we should be settled into whatever finances we're going to have available and it gives us more time to save and plan. So I'll keep updating this as we go along, though it may end up being one of the longest pre-trip reports in history.

 

[lilwhiterabbit]

Aaaaand... the October 2010 trip is back from the dead. So much has changed in the past few months, I'll try to sum up, but I'll probably forget something.

So, my partner's extended his time in grad school to complete his thesis. We've also got a fair amount socked away right now and I'm expecting a bigger than normal disbursement in the fall. Finally, I got that pesky 40% PIN code from Disney and it's just too good a deal to pass up. But, to split the cost, we're now traveling with a minimum of three other people.

So my friend Kate had been trying to plan a trip this fall to go to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival. She'd originally planned on renting a house in the area and inviting a whole passel of people to split the cost. Only no one would commit, so it got to the point that she wasn't sure if her trip would happen either.

Cue my 40% off PIN code. I talked to Kate and suggested we book the trip under my name, using the code, and that would cut down on rooming costs for everyone. She thought this was a fantastic idea, and began spreading the word. I called Disney reservations to get some numbers.

Well, the time we're going is apparently tight for Moderate hotels, as we'd originally intended to stay at Port Orleans Riverside. Unfortunately, there were no rooms available there. Nor were any available at Coronado, and there were only pirate-themed rooms left at Caribbean (not that we have anything against pirates, mind you--but those rooms are slightly more expensive than standard ones). The only Moderate with any room was Port Orleans French Quarter.

Okay, not bad. We wanted Port Orleans anyway, and French Quarter's fine if we can't get Riverside. The catch? Because there are so few rooms, we need to put down deposits to hold the ones we have for more than a week. Cue Kate and I scrambling to get people to commit to the trip so we can pay our deposits before the hold expires.

So far, my partner, Kate and I are on board, and her roommate, Mike and his girlfriend Aldea have confirmed. Okay, fine, that's at least five, but we were hoping for at least one more person so everyone would be paying the same amount. We've asked a number of friends, but have been met with only 'maybes'. I'm going to hit up one more friend tomorrow, a guy who has expressed interest in going to Disney previously (he's never been--shocking, I know!) and can likely afford the trip. If he doesn't bite, however, it looks like it will be just the five of us, with my partner and I in one room, and the three of them in the other. It'll still be cheaper than we originally thought, thanks to the PIN, but my partner and I will be paying the 'full' discounted price.

Our deposit is due next Saturday if we want to continue to hold the rooms. It's such short notice, but I think we can do it. Of course, we've run into another snag: Kate already has a three-day ticket to Disney World and doesn't want to have to buy a new ticket. That means the people in her room will have to find their tickets some other way, since Disney requires everyone in a room to have the same ticket.

Right now we've gotten some excellent advice on the Resorts board and we're planning on just booking the room and either buying tickets through a reseller, or waiting to buy them at the hotel when we get on site. Of course, this will alter the amount per person I originally told them it would cost them to book (the price will go down, but still, I hate not being accurate). I do rather like this idea, though, because it allows people to be more flexible with ticket choices. It took me a while, but I warmed to it.

So that's where I currently stand; waiting to see if anyone else jumps on board and dreading the deposit deadline that is swift approaching. Wish a little pixie dust for me, if you please, that we can get at least one more person before the deadline!

 

[lilwhiterabbit]

And the trip is on!

I didn't feel like waiting, so I booked both rooms at Port Orleans and put down the deposits.

We know we're going to need two rooms, no matter what, so it seemed silly to wait any longer. Kate and crew will be reimbursing us for their deposit on Friday and, as of now, we're set for rooming at WDW October 3rd, 2010! We elected to just reserve the rooms and handle ticketing separately. My partner (who is named Nigel, by the by) and I are planning on buying our tickets from Guest Services when we arrive, but we're going to keep an eye out for a better deal before then.

We're still looking for a third person for our room, however, and have a friend, Corey, who is considering accompanying us. He needs to first figure out if he can get the time off from work, however, which is understandable. I'm hoping he'll have an answer for us by Friday.

I'm still a little dazed that we're actually going--especially with all the ups and downs so far this year. But I know we can afford it, and we both (all?) need a vacation, and this would make a great graduation present for Nigel, and the trip is scheduled right around our anniversary... so, why not? I'm so excited I'm chair dancing!

 

[lilwhiterabbit]

So, remember Corey? The guy I said might be joining our intrepid crew on our journey? Well, he was in a car accident last Friday. He's fine, but we're not sure if his insurance will cover the repair expenses. So there's a possibility that he won't be able to afford the trip. Since the rooms are already booked, however, we're not going to press him to get the deposit to us. Mostly, we just want him to go, even if that means he has to pay everything when we arrive on site.

We are going to have a 'group meeting' in two weeks to discuss the trip, however. Some of the people going have never been to the World... or if they have, it's been well over ten years and a lot has obviously changed since then. Kate and I have been talking and we want to try to schedule going to a couple of the parks on the same days, though obviously everyone's going to do their own thing at some point. We also need to discuss ADRs, since it can be impossible to get a table without them. I'm trying to come up with a check list of things to discuss at the meeting so we don't forget anything important (things like how Fastpasses work, Extra Magic Hours, how the Food and Wine Festival is set up, etc.)

Nigel and I have already booked two ADRs, however, since I know the window for those can diminish rapidly. One of them, a dinner reservation at Rose & Crown so we can watch Illuminations from the patio, can be altered or changed, depending on what the rest of the group wants to do. The other, a dinner for two at Jiko our fourth night in the World, is staying put. Nigel and I will be celebrating our two-year anniversary on this trip, so we want a romantic night out to ourselves.

One thing Kate has mentioned to me is that she's not interested in going to DHS or AK, so there will be at least two days where we'll be touring without her. DHS is one of my favorite parks, so I'm definitely not going to miss it. AK is a bit more negotiable for me, since there's not much that appeals to me there (I grew up in Louisiana near the New Orleans zoo, so that's kind of spoiled me for looking at animals), but Nigel's never been so we'd like to at least spend a few hours there during our trip... and ride Expedition Everest... probably more than once.

I've also made a rough itinerary for Nigel and myself, since I've found I can see more of the parks if I have a good game plan. Everyone going with us can follow it or not, but I know what's going to be more satisfying to me, and it's not wandering around aimlessly, trying to figure out what to do next. Wastes far too much time! See, I told you I was a planner.

 

[lilwhiterabbit]

Kate and I have set up a meeting for everyone who is interested in the trip to get together for dinner on July 7th. Nigel and I just moved into a new house with a ton more space, so we're thinking we might host the meeting here. Kate and I are both pretty mean cooks, so I think we could whip up something for everyone.

Also, Corey has confirmed that he's at least still interested in going and is planning to come to the meeting. Keep your fingers crossed, because that would mean Nigel and I will have found the third person for our room.

I've got a list of things to go over at the meeting and I'd really love some feedback. I'm trying to anticipate many things a first timer to WDW would want or need to know. If I've left anything out, please let me know!

A Newbie's Guide to Their First WDW Vacation
How we're getting to Disney World

• Who is riding in what car?

Our Hotel: Port Orleans French Quarter

• Rooms and reservations (w/ totals and confirmation #s)
• Keys to the Kingdom
• Pools and hot tubs
• Food court, begnets and refillable mugs
• Breakfast in the room saves money!

Transportation at Disney

• Bus system
• Monorails
• Water Taxi to DTD

Tickets

• We don't have a package
• Buying tickets at Guest Services at the hotel or parks
• Buying in advance from ticket re-sellers and discounts
• Costs and ticket options

Food

• Breakfast in the room saves money!
• Why ADRs are necessary
• How ADRs are done
• Rose & Crown for Illuminations
• Jiko for Nigel and I
• Boardwalk or Downtown Disney for dinner the first night

Magic Kingdom

• Spectromagic and Wishes viewing times/locations

Epcot

• Food and Wine Festival booths
• Festival classes, tastings and demonstrations

Disney's Hollywood Studios

• Fantasmic

Animal Kingdom
Fastpasses and Extra Magic Hours

• How Fastpasses work
• How Extra Magic Hours work

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

• What it is and when
• How to get tickets

 

[lilwhiterabbit]

So, it looks like Corey won't be joining us for the trip after all, leaving Nigel and I with an empty bed in our room. He's moving toward the end of the year and doesn't think he can afford the trip with moving expenses. Having just moved myself, I can't say I blame him. Though he is moving in with two of our friends, instead of into a new house or apartment, and really doesn't have a whole lot of stuff, so I think he may be overestimating expenses.

Oh well. If he doesn't want to go, then we can't force him to. He's going to be missing out on a lot of awesome, though.

In other news, the meeting fell through, thanks to illness on Mike's part, and has been rescheduled for Monday evening. We're going to grab dinner at a nearby restaurant and discuss options. The main things I want to get out of the meeting are a vague idea of who is going where on what days, how we're handling tickets, and the importance of ADRs. Particularly with Kate only wanting to go to MK and Epcot, there are definitely going to be times when our schedules don't sync up. We could probably all do MK and Epcot on the same day, however.

Kate wants to do MK the first day (that's Monday, the 4th). Generally I don't go to the MK on Mondays because most people do start their visits there and its more crowded. We're going in a time of low crowd levels, but I find it easier to do MK on the second day. Plus, Nigel and I already have ADRs for the Rose & Crown on the 4th, so we assumed we'd be doing Epcot first. Basically, if we're going to go on the same days, we need to figure out which to do. We're pretty close, so I'm not sure we can change our ADRs for Epcot to Tuesday. Or whether we'll need to add Kate, Mike and Aldea to the reservation.

This is why the meeting is necessary, I think. It will help us all get on the same page.

 

[WDWRocksMySocks]

I'm here! It sounds like you guys are all going to have such a great time. Congrats on the 40% of pin. I've never stayed at POFQ, but I've heard a lot of great things about it. Heck, it's probably worth it just for the beignets! I'm all about the food.

I see you're trying to cut down on the costs. I'd HIGHLY recommend getting your tickets through Undercover Tourist. You can save quite a bit on tickets. Plus, if you subscribe to the MouseSavers Newsletter you can get a small discount on Undercover Tourist ticket prices.

Look forward to hearing more!

Btw...Cricket is adorable!!!

 

[lilwhiterabbit]

I'm here! It sounds like you guys are all going to have such a great time. Congrats on the 40% of pin. I've never stayed at POFQ, but I've heard a lot of great things about it. Heck, it's probably worth it just for the beignets! I'm all about the food.

I see you're trying to cut down on the costs. I'd HIGHLY recommend getting your tickets through Undercover Tourist. You can save quite a bit on tickets. Plus, if you subscribe to the MouseSavers Newsletter you can get a small discount on Undercover Tourist ticket prices.

Look forward to hearing more!

Btw...Cricket is adorable!!!

I've never stayed there either, but I grew up in Louisiana, so I'm both interested and amused at seeing how Disney does my home state.

Undercover Tourist is currently looking like our best option, though I'll have to get the newsletter and crunch some numbers to really see. I'm keeping an eye out for it on the 15th!

And I am very much about the food too. I've been trying to go during the Food & Wine Festival for years so I can eat my way through Epcot!

 

[lilwhiterabbit]

Tonight, Nigel and I sat down with Kate, Mike and Aldea and drew up plans for the trip. The meeting was very much a success, in that we walked away knowing our transportation to and from Orlando, what order we'd be doing what parks and which ADRs to reserve. We're still lamenting the loss of Corey, but them's the breaks. It looks like it's just going to be the five of us.

So, transportation...

I'll be inheriting my mother's minivan in a few weeks so the plan, as of now, is for us to all ride down together. The van has plenty of room, so I don't think it'll be too tight for everyone plus our luggage. There's a huge 'trunk' space in back, though whoever is sitting in the last seat may have to share their space with a cooler. Since we live in Atlanta, it makes more sense to drive, rather than fly, and the trip down is generally around seven to eight hours (although I did make it in six once... shh, don't tell anyone ). Plus, this really cuts down on gas costs for all of us.

We're leaving Atlanta pretty late in the day, because Aldea needs to drop her son at his father's house before we can leave. Because we won't be getting in until 7 or 8, we decided the best place to have dinner would be DTD. So, once we've checked in to POFQ, we'll hop the boat to DTD to make our 9:45 ADR at Raglan Road. Yes, I know that's crazy late for dinner. But, if we're not even checking in until 8, we need time to settle into our room and to travel to the restaurant.

You may remember that I mentioned Kate doesn't want to go to DHS and AK. Nigel and I are most definitely going to both, so it was important for us to determine when we were doing MK and EP if we all wanted to go to those two parks together. Well, this is what was decided.

We'll be going to MK on the 4th, to take advantage of the evening EMHs. Trying to find a TS restaurant with a reasonable ADR on that date has been like pulling teeth, though. The best I could get was 7:55 at Liberty Tree Tavern. Assuming Spectromagic is at 9 that night, we'll hopefully have enough time to eat and make it outside for the parade. We'll be showing up a little early, however, in the hopes that they might seat us before 7:55. I'm so used to watching Spectro from the porch of Tony's Town Square that I'm a little lost in regard to finding a good viewing location for the parade. I know most people line up along Main Street, so maybe Liberty Square will be less crowded?

On the 5th, we'll be hitting Epcot to take advantage of the morning EMHs (and booking it like mad to Soarin'). Since we're mostly going to be focusing on the Food & Wine Festival on this day, we're trying to get the stuff in Future World done as quickly as possible. Right now, we're waiting on two things: the schedule/menu for F&W, and the possibility of ADRs for La Hacienda San Angel.

I've got an ADR for that night, for the five of us, at the San Angel Inn for 8:15. That was the best I could do to get us anywhere near a decent spot for Illuminations viewing. I normally watch it from the patio of the Rose and Crown, but that was a no go. I'd love to get an ADR for La Hacienda... assuming the rumor about the window facing the lagoon is true, but I'll have to wait until they become available. Even if I can't get an ADR for LH, for some reason, I'm going to keep trying to get an earlier meal at the Inn, since Kate is enamored of the place.

On the 6th, Nigel and I head off to DHS. Kate is most likely going to do her own thing that day, and possibly hang out with her brother (who will also, oddly, be down there the same time), while we're not sure what Mike and Aldea are doing. They may go with us to DHS, or they may not. Either way, Nigel and I have our plans, which includes a lovely anniversary dinner for the two of us at Jiko at 7:50. I love DHS and I love Jiko, so I'm very much looking forward to this day!

Finally, on the 7th, Nigel and I will be going to AK, then heading back to the hotel to rest before MNSSHP. Don't get me wrong, I like AK well enough, but I've never been able to spend more than half a day there. Thus, it seemed like the best park to do before MNSSHP—it gives us time to take a nap in between the two!

We check out on the 8th, and have to leave fairly early, because Aldea has to pick up her son before 7:00PM. Fortunately, since we're coming back on a Friday, we'll have the weekend of the 9th-10th to recover.

So that's the plan, so far. I'm sure things will change between now and then, however.

 

[WDWRocksMySocks]

You'll love the F&WF. We went in 2008 and it was so fun!! We went earlier in the day and the crowds weren't bad at all. Mmm...I'm hungry just thinking about it. MNSSHP is a blast, too. Are you guys going to dress up? I bet you could make some pretty sweet costumes!

 

[lilwhiterabbit]

You'll love the F&WF. We went in 2008 and it was so fun!! We went earlier in the day and the crowds weren't bad at all. Mmm...I'm hungry just thinking about it. MNSSHP is a blast, too. Are you guys going to dress up? I bet you could make some pretty sweet costumes!

We're definitely dressing up for MNSSHP. I'm making Nigel a Victorian evening costume which he wants to wear in the park, so that's easy enough. I'm having a lot of trouble coming up with something for myself, though. Originally, I was going to do Jane from Tarzan--since it sort of goes along with the Victorian theme--but I'm going back to being a redhead shortly, so I'm not sure Jane will work since I don't want to wear a wig. Ariel would be too easy and Jessica Rabbit would be to va-va-voom. The only other thing I can think of is Megara, since she has reddish brown hair, or maybe Rosetta from the fairies?

Clearly, I'll have to do a lot more thinking!

 

[lilwhiterabbit]

ADRs for five people are going to be the death of me, I swear! I've shuffled a few of them around and even made a new one, but I'm still not entirely pleased with what we've got.

So MK night, the first night, I have one ADR for Liberty Tree Tavern at 7:50 PM, and one for Ohana at 9:50 PM. I'm not sure which of these I'll keep. I want both a good place to watch Spectromagic and a good place to watch Wishes, and be able to eat dinner. For Liberty Tree, its possible we can eat and then walk outside for Spectro, but that's cutting it pretty close and I'm not sure we'll be able to see anything. Which is kind of important when, like me, you're only 5'1. I've never been anywhere for Spectro other than Main Street, so I'm not sure how crowded it gets over in Liberty Square.

Then there's the Ohana problem. If we go with that ADR, we're cutting it pretty close to Wishes start time and I'm worried we won't be seated in time to see it. I do realize that you can't see it from every table in the restaurant, but I know they'll let you get up to see it when it starts. I suppose we could try arriving fifteen minutes early and see if they can seat us then? I just don't know.

I've been trying to move up the time for either of them--say Liberty Tree to 7:00 PM, or Ohana to 9:30, but haven't had any luck. I check back every day, but nothing has budged, so far. I'm also having the same problem with the San Angel Inn. I have an ADR for 8:00 PM, but can't seem to get anything earlier, and Kate is very insistent that she must eat there.

It's not looking like a great plan for parades/fireworks so far. At least Nigel and I cleared up that we won't have to make any more ADRs for the rest of the party. Kate's going to do her own thing for the second half of the trip and Mike and Aldea say they just want to wing it. Well, they're adults. They can handle themselves.

One thing I did manage to move, to my satisfaction, is my anniversary dinner at Jiko to 6:00 PM. Why so early, you ask? Oh, because I'm spoiling Nigel with tickets to La Nouba! Got to have dinner earlier so we can make the 9:00 PM showtime.

In other news, I've made a few minor purchases toward the trip, including a nice straw sunhat to wear in the parks. I'm very fair skinned and sunburn easily, so having something to protect my scalp is a must. The hat I've worn on previous Disney trips has gone missing, so it was time for something new. And speaking of something new, I'm planning on investing in some Fitflops before we leave. I have fallen arches and hate wearing sneakers, so I'm hoping these will do the trick. I've heard nothing but rave reviews about them.

 

[lilwhiterabbit]

I just realized that I've only got 74 days left until we leave. That's only two and half months! And here, I was thinking October seemed so far away.

But okay, I think I have a confession to make. I think I've become one of those people... you know, the ones who change ADRs constantly and can't seem to settle on a meal. See, I got rid of my ADRs at both Liberty Tree and Ohana. Instead, our MK meal is going to be at Kona Cafe... unless I change my mind again.

The hardest part is trying to plan around parades, fireworks and Extra Magic Hours. Since MK day has evening EMH, and Spectro starts at 9 (at least, from what I've seen so far) and Wishes starts at 10, we're not sure if they'll do another Spectro at 11. I know it happens occasionally, but I think October is too slow a month to hedge my bets on it. So, since we're so close, getting an ADR where we'll be able to see both is nearly impossible. I'm going to keep trying, especially as we near the 45 day window where a lot of people drop, but right now we're opting for Wishes over Spectro.

Hence the ADR for Kona at 8:30. We'll have enough time to hop the monorail over to the Poly, eat dinner, then head out to the beach to watch the fireworks. Or at least that's the plan.

As for the other reservations, they're still firm. I'm still trying to change the 8:00 one at San Angel Inn to 7:00, but nothing's opened up so far. And, of course, I'm still waiting to hear about La Hacienda.

Beyond the crazy ADR schedules, however, everything else is coming together pretty well. I've got itineraries for all five days and it looks like a schedule everyone can work with. I can't help feeling that this is going to be a fairly exhausting vacation, though. Maybe I need to schedule in some time to just relax?

 

[WDWRocksMySocks]

It's hard to say w/ the Ohana/Wishes thing. I'm betting that since it's later in the evening, you may be able to get seated right away. However, I've waited 20-30 minutes at times to get in. It'd be great to watch Wishes from the Poly, though. I've always wanted to watch it from the beach there.

I definitely suggest scheduling some down time. Nothing beats an afternoon break by the pool!

 

[lilwhiterabbit]

I've always wanted to watch Wishes from the beach at the Poly too, but I may be getting vetoed this trip. I actually forgot that day is evening EMH at the Magic Kingdom, so I was thinking we'd just finish the day at the Poly. Now, it looks like we'll be heading back into the parks, so my group wants to do dinner earlier so we'll have more time to tour. I can't say I blame them, but I'm determined to get out of the parks for at least a little while and relax somewhere. I've made a reservation for Kona a little earlier in the evening (7:10--there weren't any Ohana reservations that early still available and now that I've learned chef TJ has moved to another restaurant, it's not quite as appealing to the vegetarians in our group), so it's looking more and more like we'll be eating there, then heading back into the park for Spectro/Wishes/EMH.

Oh well, there's always the next trip for fireworks-on-the-beach.

 

[lilwhiterabbit]

Trying to plan a trip for a group of people is so much more difficult than trying to plan one for just my partner and myself. Not that our friends are particularly difficult--because they really aren't--but because everyone has one or two things they must do, and one or two things they really don't want to do.

So ADRs have changed again. The eating at Ohana, then watching Wishes from the beach? Not going to happen this trip. You see, I forgot that there were evening EMH at MK that night, so leaving the park at 9:30-ish to have dinner offsite and then return fairly late isn't the brightest of ideas. So we've decided that we're going to eat dinner earlier in the evening and return to MK to watch Spectro and Wishes there, then stay until the park closes.

Unfortunately, Ohana didn't have anything available earlier in the evening (unless we wanted to eat around 4:30... which we didn't), so I switched our reservation to Kona Cafe for 7:10. So we'll still get offsite for a few hours to eat and relax before heading back into the madness of the park. Just no fireworks from the beach.

I've also decided Nigel and I won't be doing La Nouba because he got all big-eyed when we watched a short video of WWoHP on Youtube. He's not insisting that we go there, mind you, but I know it's something he'd really like to do, so I think we're going to chance it. I did tell him that the crowds have been crazy there, but hopefully they will have died down at least a little by October? I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

So that means we'll also be skipping AK this trip. This is not a big deal to me, since I can take or leave AK, and Nigel didn't sound terribly excited about it, so I think we'll be okay. Kate never planned on going there anyway and Mike and Aldea... yeah, I have no idea what they're doing beyond the first three days. So, Nigel and I will be heading to WWoHP on Wednesday, October 6th, before heading back to the World and having dinner at Jiko at 8:45. Doable? I think so.

ADR Recap:
Sunday, October 3rd - Dinner at Raglan Road at 9:45 PM after a long drive from Georgia
Monday, October 4th - Dinner at Kona Cafe at 7:10 PM before we head back to the MK for EMH
Tuesday, October 5th - Dinner at San Angel Inn at 8:00 PM (still trying to move this up so we can eat and grab a good spot for IllumiNations)
Wednesday, October 6th - Dinner at Jiko at 8:45 after IoA
Thursday, October 7th - Nothing but counter service this day because we'll be doing DHS in the morning/early afternoon, then taking a break at POFQ to eat and rest before MNSSHP later that evening

I *think* these are pretty hard and fast at this point, save the one for San Angel Inn. Still holding out for an earlier reservation or the possibility of eating at La Hacienda de San Angel, once ADRs open up for the new place.

Next up, touring plans and pictures of cute stuff I bought for the trip. Oh yes, and costume plans for MNSSHP. You don't want to miss those!

 

[lilwhiterabbit]

I'm working up to a bigger installment the next time I visit the boards, but I thought I'd make a brief interjection to show you progress pictures of the costume I'm making for MNSSHP.

Nigel and I went back and forth trying to figure out exactly what we wanted our costumes to be. We finally gave up trying to do a "couples" costume and decided we'd each wear something we could be excited about. There's a big convention in Atlanta every year called Dragon*Con, and we're doing a costume group for the convention based upon characters from Peter Pan, but with a steampunk aesthetic.

If you don't know what "steampunk" is, Google it. Go on, I'll wait. You'll find plenty of information describing the style and subculture.

So, a steampunk Peter Pan group for the convention, and Nigel is going to be portraying Captain Hook, while I'll be Wendy. Since I was already making the costume, Nigel has decided he wants to be "Steampunk Captain Hook" at MNSSHP. Fair enough, and we'll get some cute pictures of him in front of the PotC ride.

As for me, my Wendy costume looks a little too much like Victorian underwear (that was my take on a "nightgown") for me to really want to wear it in the parks. Plus it has a chatelaine, with a ton of tiny accessories, so I don't want it to break or get caught on anything. I am making another costume for the convention, however; a steampunk avaitrix, which is turning out to be very cute. Then, it occurred to me that I could simply add wings and be a "Steampunk Tinkerbell" and the boyfriend said, "Make it so."

So far, I've completed the bloomers/shorts and aviator's cap for Tinkerbell, and am in the process of making a faux leather harness to complete the outfit. I've got a pair of pink cellophane fairy wings that flash green in certain lights, so I won't have to worry about making those. Combined with a "safari" shirt, stockings, riding boots, goggles and fingerless gloves, I think I've got an outfit.

Here are a few progress pictures to show you how it's all coming together:

My aviator's cap + goggles. This was surprisingly easy to put together. I still need to attach a buckle and grommets to the straps, but it's pretty much done.

My shorts/bloomers. I'm absolutely delighted at how cute these turned out. I am so excited to wear them!

And, for good measure the wings, though they're pictured with another fairy costume I no longer wear:

Now, that's my costume. Unfortunately, I don't have anything thrown together for Hook just yet, so you'll have to wait for pictures of that. I should have both outfits completed by the end of August, though, so I promise to update when they're done.

And, now, back to your regularly scheduled pre-trip report!

 

[lilwhiterabbit]

We now return to our regularly scheduled PTR.

It's now less than two months from when we leave, so I thought I should get down to writing up trip itineraries and a loose schedule of what we'll do. Now, although I've admitted that I'm definitely a planner, I'm not as specific as, "We must be on Space Mountain at exactly X time on X day." I tend to plan things like what parks we'll be in, ADRs, and a vague, "We'll walk this direction and try to hit certain things along the way."

So let's start with Sunday, they day we'll be arriving in WDW:

Sunday, October 3rd
Leave Atlanta around 12:00 PM (we have to leave later than I normally would due to family obligations on Aldea's part)
Arrive at POFQ between 8:00 and 9:00 PM
Settle into the room and freshen up before catching the boat to DTD
ADR for Raglan Rd. at 9:45 PM
Head back to the hotel and rest up for the night

Monday, October 4th
Get up at 8:00 AM (I usually try to make rope drop, but I doubt that will happen with this group... so I'm giving a more lenient wake-up time)
Eat breakfast in room
Head to the Magic Kingdom
Walk up Main Street USA toward the castle
Hang a left in front of the Crystal Palace toward Adventureland
Things I Want to Do:

• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Jungle Cruise
• Enchanted Tiki Room

Continue to Frontierland
Things I Want to Do:

• Splash Mountain
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Continue to Liberty Square
Things I Want to Do:

• Haunted Mansion
• The Hall of Presidents

Eat lunch at Columbia Harbor House
Continue to Fantasyland
Things I Want to Do:

• Peter Pan's Flight
• Mickey's PhilharMagic
• Winnie the Pooh

Continue to Tomorrowland
Things I Want to Do:

• Space Mountain
• Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
• Carousel of Progress

Take monorail to Polynesian Resort at 6:30 PM
ADR for Kona Cafe at 7:10 PM
Return to MK for Extra Magic Hours
Stake out spot for Main Street Electric Light Parade
Continue to Tomorrowland Terrace for Wishes

So, what do you think? Sound like a plan? I'm planning on hitting all of the attractions on my list, but there will probably be a few more, since I'm not sure what everyone else wants to do (other than Nigel). Some of what I've got listed, like the Hall of Presidents and Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor are for Nigel specifically. Mostly, we'll just start in Adventureland and head counter clockwise and see what comes up.