Second Time's the Charm??? A Presidents Week PTR

[heathsf]

Before I get into what we have planned, I'll give a little bit more background.

This will be my 8th trip to Disney. The first 3 were family trips that I hardly remember because I was little. Two of them were off-site and one was at the Contemporary (I really wish I remembered it). Trip #4 was close to 10 years later, another family trip when I was in college and we stayed off-site. Trips 5, 6, and 7 were all with friends at Pop. So I've been on 3 trips without my mom since we were last there together. My last trip was August 2009 and her last trip was December 2003.

I love all kinds of rides. I love everything from Peter Pan's Flight to Rock 'N' Roller Coaster and everything in between. My mom, on the other hand, hates heights and anything that goes fast. There are a lot of rides that she hasn't experienced. Some she's never done because they weren't there during her last trip (such as Soarin') and others she has just refused to do (Test Track).

Despite her fear of heights, she does want to ride Soarin' but I know she will be extremely nervous before she gets on. I'm pretty confident she'll love it though.

Okay here we go. Day By Day Plans:

Day 1 Sunday

It's going to be a super early morning. Our flight leaves at 7:30am so I better get to bed early the night before! We should land in Orlando at 10:15 am. From there we're taking Magical Express to Pop to check-in and then heading right over to Epcot. I won't get my hopes up too much but it would be great if there were still fastpasses left for either Test Track or Soarin'. (Or both! Is that asking too much?) Dinner is at 4:30 at Teppan Edo and we'll stay for Illuminations. Magic Kingdom has EMH from 12am - 3am tonight. I'm not sure how tired we'll be but I'll check Lines and if it seems like wait times are low enough to get some things done, maybe we'll head over.

Day 2 Monday

We'll be at HS for RD. There are EMH at night but no Fantasmic so we're hoping it won't be too crowded, at least not in the morning. AK has morning EMH this day so we're hoping everyone goes there. We have dinner reservations at Mama Melrose at 4:35pm. Perhaps we'll stay for EMH or if it gets too crowded we'll hop over to Epcot since it's supposedly going to be the most empty park.

Day 3 Tuesday

AK has EMH Monday and Wednesday so we're going Tuesday assuming most people will plan to go either the day before or the day after meaning we'll have the park aaaaaaalllll to ourselves . My mom isn't a big fan of AK but I'm hoping she'll change her mind on this day. I know I have no hope of getting her on EE so maybe I'll ride that alone if the line is short enough. AK is open relatively late today (until 8pm!) so hopefully that will also help thin out crowds in the morning. We have dinner at Boma tonight at 4:30 (I really shouldn't say "tonight" - I should say "this afternoon" ) and I'd like to get there early to walk around AKL. I've never been there before but it looks amazing. We'll be heading there right from AK. After dinner we'd like to see Fantasmic. It's showing at 7:30 and 9:00. I'm hoping that if we aim for the second show maybe we'll get to do a ride or two before getting into line.

Day 4 Wednesday

We'll be at MK for RD today. Hopefully with a good touring plan we'll be able to get a lot done. We have dinner at Crystal Palace at 4:40. I really wanted to make an ADR that was available for lunch at Kona Cafe at 2:35 but mom didn't want to take the time to leave the park in the middle of the day. I told her it would be a nice break from the crowds that would be there by that time but she's really not a lunch person anyway so I gave up. Dinner at Crystal Palace it is. MSEP is at 7 and 9 and Wishes is at 8. With that 4:40 ADR I feel like we'll be at MK all day without a break and I'm not sure how I feel about that. We'll see how it goes.

Day 5 Thursday

We'll be at Epcot for RD this day. (We're early people. Can you tell?) We'll spend the day there until we've had our fill and then walk over to the Boardwalk. Dinner is at Kouzina at 7:55. I've never been to the Boardwalk so I'm looking forward to this. As for getting back to Pop afterwards, I read that the quickest thing to do is to take a cab ($5-$10) rather than using the buses but having to transfer or walking all the way back to the entrance of Future World.

Day 6 Friday

No concrete plans here. Our flight home leaves at 3:00 so we'll have the whole morning to do something, just not sure what.

I know it seems like we have very little downtime scheduled but hopefully that won't be the case. I really don't know exactly what to expect to be able to get done with Presidents Week crowds so depending on how things go we may leave a park earlier than expected or stay later. We don't have any Downtown Disney scheduled but I'd like to get there at some point too. I guess we'll just see how things go...

And that's that!

 

[Leshaface]

Before I get into what we have planned, I'll give a little bit more background.

This will be my 8th trip to Disney. The first 3 were family trips that I hardly remember because I was little. Two of them were off-site and one was at the Contemporary (I really wish I remembered it). Trip #4 was close to 10 years later, another family trip when I was in college and we stayed off-site. Trips 5, 6, and 7 were all with friends at Pop. So I've been on 3 trips without my mom since we were last there together. My last trip was August 2009 and her last trip was December 2003.

I love all kinds of rides. I love everything from Peter Pan's Flight to Rock 'N' Roller Coaster and everything in between. My mom, on the other hand, hates heights and anything that goes fast. There are a lot of rides that she hasn't experienced. Some she's never done because they weren't there during her last trip (such as Soarin') and others she has just refused to do (Test Track).

Despite her fear of heights, she does want to ride Soarin' but I know she will be extremely nervous before she gets on. I'm pretty confident she'll love it though.

Okay here we go. Day By Day Plans:

Day 1 Sunday

It's going to be a super early morning. Our flight leaves at 7:30am so I better get to bed early the night before! We should land in Orlando at 10:15 am. From there we're taking Magical Express to Pop to check-in and then heading right over to Epcot. I won't get my hopes up too much but it would be great if there were still fastpasses left for either Test Track or Soarin'. (Or both! Is that asking too much?) Dinner is at 4:30 at Teppan Edo and we'll stay for Illuminations. Magic Kingdom has EMH from 12am - 3am tonight. I'm not sure how tired we'll be but I'll check Lines and if it seems like wait times are low enough to get some things done, maybe we'll head over.

Day 2 Monday

We'll be at HS for RD. There are EMH at night but no Fantasmic so we're hoping it won't be too crowded, at least not in the morning. AK has morning EMH this day so we're hoping everyone goes there. We have dinner reservations at Mama Melrose at 4:35pm. Perhaps we'll stay for EMH or if it gets too crowded we'll hop over to Epcot since it's supposedly going to be the most empty park.

Day 3 Tuesday

AK has EMH Monday and Wednesday so we're going Tuesday assuming most people will plan to go either the day before or the day after meaning we'll have the park aaaaaaalllll to ourselves . My mom isn't a big fan of AK but I'm hoping she'll change her mind on this day. I know I have no hope of getting her on EE so maybe I'll ride that alone if the line is short enough. AK is open relatively late today (until 8pm!) so hopefully that will also help thin out crowds in the morning. We have dinner at Boma tonight at 4:30 (I really shouldn't say "tonight" - I should say "this afternoon" ) and I'd like to get there early to walk around AKL. I've never been there before but it looks amazing. We'll be heading there right from AK. After dinner we'd like to see Fantasmic. It's showing at 7:30 and 9:00. I'm hoping that if we aim for the second show maybe we'll get to do a ride or two before getting into line.

Day 4 Wednesday

We'll be at MK for RD today. Hopefully with a good touring plan we'll be able to get a lot done. We have dinner at Crystal Palace at 4:40. I really wanted to make an ADR that was available for lunch at Kona Cafe at 2:35 but mom didn't want to take the time to leave the park in the middle of the day. I told her it would be a nice break from the crowds that would be there by that time but she's really not a lunch person anyway so I gave up. Dinner at Crystal Palace it is. MSEP is at 7 and 9 and Wishes is at 8. With that 4:40 ADR I feel like we'll be at MK all day without a break and I'm not sure how I feel about that. We'll see how it goes.

Day 5 Thursday

We'll be at Epcot for RD this day. (We're early people. Can you tell?) We'll spend the day there until we've had our fill and then walk over to the Boardwalk. Dinner is at Kouzina at 7:55. I've never been to the Boardwalk so I'm looking forward to this. As for getting back to Pop afterwards, I read that the quickest thing to do is to take a cab ($5-$10) rather than using the buses but having to transfer or walking all the way back to the entrance of Future World.

Day 6 Friday

No concrete plans here. Our flight home leaves at 3:00 so we'll have the whole morning to do something, just not sure what.

I know it seems like we have very little downtime scheduled but hopefully that won't be the case. I really don't know exactly what to expect to be able to get done with Presidents Week crowds so depending on how things go we may leave a park earlier than expected or stay later. We don't have any Downtown Disney scheduled but I'd like to get there at some point too. I guess we'll just see how things go...

And that's that!

Dinner sounds amazing!!! I would love to do something like that, but I don't think we have a fondue restaurant around here?!

And your plans look great!!

Tell your mom, if she gets nervous on Soarin' to look to the side of the ride...that's a trick I learned here on the DIS that we told my mom, cuz she's not into heights either, and she did look to the side at one point in the ride (I think over the Malibu part), but she really enjoys the ride now and loves going on it!!

Sounds like you have everything figured out!!

Now I hate to bring this up, but how is the weather over there in Feb?? Does it still snow or not as bad as it is in Dec/Jan??

 

[heathsf]

Now I hate to bring this up, but how is the weather over there in Feb?? Does it still snow or not as bad as it is in Dec/Jan??

It could snow again BUT this time it's over my week off and we left some cushion room on either side so hopefully even if it does snow we'll have enough flexibility that we'll still get there!

It is not usual for us to be getting this much snow. We're having multiple storms in one week. It's one of the worst winters on record in terms of snow just in January alone.

But aside from that, I have to say I'm feeling much much better about everything. Had we gone, I would've been at the airport right now to come home. The trip would've been over so fast! I'm really looking forward to having the extra days in Feb.

 

[Leshaface]

It could snow again BUT this time it's over my week off and we left some cushion room on either side so hopefully even if it does snow we'll have enough flexibility that we'll still get there!

It is not usual for us to be getting this much snow. We're having multiple storms in one week. It's one of the worst winters on record in terms of snow just in January alone.

But aside from that, I have to say I'm feeling much much better about everything. Had we gone, I would've been at the airport right now to come home. The trip would've been over so fast! I'm really looking forward to having the extra days in Feb.

This is great thinking!

So what else do you need to plan?!?

ETA: wanted to let you know I started a PTR for my cruise, if you want to come on over!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2647258

 

[heathsf]

Wow I really meant to post something every day but it's very easy to fall behind!

So here's my little tidbit for tonight. I was thinking about all of the attractions that my mom hasn't done either because it wasn't open during her last trip (Soarin'), she refused to do it (Test Track), or just something we didn't get to on that last family trip in 2003 (pretty much everything in the Animal Kingdom). Naturally, I made a list and broke it down into 3 categories .

Things She Hasn't Done That I Know She'll Love:
-Mickey's Philharmagic
-Monster's Inc
-Seas with Nemo
-Turtle Talk
-Lights Motor Action
-TSM
-Kilimanjaro Safari
-It's Tough to be a Bug

Things I Have No Chance of Getting Her To Do:
-Expedition Everest
-Tower of Terror (But she did agree to go through the queue to see the preshow and the elevator loading area )
-Rock N Roller Coaster
-Space Mountain
-Kali River Rapids


And best of all...
Things I Have a Chance of Getting Her To Do, Even Though That Chance Is Small and Will Require Some Convincing:
-Soarin' (She says she wants to do this, but I have a feeling she may get very nervous when the time comes and want to back out. Hopefully I'm wrong!)
-Test Track
-Splash Mountain
-Big Thunder Mountain RR
-Dinosaur

 

[Leshaface]

I understand all the rides she won't go on, but what's wrong with Kali Rapids?? Is it the wet part perhaps? My mom loves these kind of rides, in fact her favorite one is Splash Mountain...not even my 25 year old sis-in-law will ride Splash but my 60 year old mom will!!

And I so hope she'll be able to ride Dinosaur!! I love that ride!!! It reminds me so much of our Indiana Jones ride here at Disneyland, but I think Dinosaur is way funner IMO!

Don't worry about not posting everynight...sometimes you just get in a rut and don't know what to post about!! That's where I'm at currently on my PTR...I have no idea what to put!

 

[heathsf]

I made a vacation purchase yesterday!

I bought the Baggallini Big Zipper Bag in Red:

Here's an inside-the-bag view (in a different color):

The bag that I used on my last trip was a small-ish Nike backpack which I really enjoyed except for constantly having to take it on and off to get to it or when I sat down on rides. I'm not sure if I'll be able to fit everything I want to in the new bag though. (I like to be overprepared when I'm in the parks )

Here are some pictures from my 2009 trip where you can see the Nike backpack:

Since DBF has a free month of Amazon Prime for signing up as an "Amazon Mom" I should have the bag by Tuesday

I'm sure I'll end up bringing both bags with me and we'll see what happens... They may both get some park time

 

[BMC423]

at your experience, Sorry I'm from NYC and I don't know about you but this Winter has been super depressing and I can only imagine how disappointed you were . BUT on a good note your new plans sound great! YAY for mother daughter trips, I took one with my mom years ago and it was so much fun. We're prob. due for another one soon. Looking forward to your future posts.

 

[Jaaaacki]

Great purchase. I'm still trying to decide on a bag. I'm actually thinking back pack because of the kids.

 

[heathsf]

at your experience, Sorry I'm from NYC and I don't know about you but this Winter has been super depressing and I can only imagine how disappointed you were . BUT on a good note your new plans sound great! YAY for mother daughter trips, I took one with my mom years ago and it was so much fun. We're prob. due for another one soon. Looking forward to your future posts.

Hi! Thanks for joining in!

This winter is HORRIBLE!! This morning I had to get to my car with my heavy laundry basket and the entire parking lot was like an ice skating rink! I literally skated (in sneakers) to my car because I was too afraid that if I lifted up one of my feet I would fall. And I almost fell anyway! I can just imagine picking up all of my dirty clothes scattered around the parking lot after that! Spring can't come fast enough!!!

I'm so excited for this trip. My mom and I have never traveled alone before. I'm glad to hear you had such a great time doing it! And I see you have a trip coming up. Do you have a PTR?

Great purchase. I'm still trying to decide on a bag. I'm actually thinking back pack because of the kids.

No doubt you'll fit a lot more into a backpack and if I can't get everything I want to carry in the baggallini then I'll be using the backpack. Other than having to take it off/put it on 100 times a day I thought it was great.

 

[heathsf]

I understand all the rides she won't go on, but what's wrong with Kali Rapids?? Is it the wet part perhaps? My mom loves these kind of rides, in fact her favorite one is Splash Mountain...not even my 25 year old sis-in-law will ride Splash but my 60 year old mom will!!

And I so hope she'll be able to ride Dinosaur!! I love that ride!!! It reminds me so much of our Indiana Jones ride here at Disneyland, but I think Dinosaur is way funner IMO!

Don't worry about not posting everynight...sometimes you just get in a rut and don't know what to post about!! That's where I'm at currently on my PTR...I have no idea what to put!

I think it's a combination of the super-wetness and the whole "loose raft in the water" kind of thing that will keep her off Kali. But maybe I'll be wrong! I think my best chance of getting her on is if it's unusually warm, like 90 degrees. But on Splash Mountain, since that's not as wet, it's the drop that she doesn't want to do.

As for Dinosaur, she doesn't like being scared in any way so I may have to do a little bit of fibbing before this one because honestly, those dinosaurs are terrifying! No matter how many times I ride it, I am genuinely scared and screaming my head off the entire time

I'm planning to ask her today how she feels about that list of rides and I'll work on her from there

 

[BMC423]

I'm so excited for this trip. My mom and I have never traveled alone before. I'm glad to hear you had such a great time doing it! And I see you have a trip coming up. Do you have a PTR?

I know all about that "skating" I walk 8 blocks to the train every morning Today looks like a beautiful day out, so sunny hopefully some of this stuff will start to melt.

I do have a PTR, I tried to put a link on my signature, but it wasn't working maybe it will come up now.

 

[heathsf]

I know all about that "skating" I walk 8 blocks to the train every morning Today looks like a beautiful day out, so sunny hopefully some of this stuff will start to melt.

I do have a PTR, I tried to put a link on my signature, but it wasn't working maybe it will come up now.

Yeah it's 40 degrees out and it feels so warm doesn't it???

I still don't see the link to your PTR in your signature but I was able to find it through your other posts. I have to run out now but I'm subscribing and looking forward to reading it later when I get home!

 

[heathsf]

So here was her response to the 5 "Maybe" rides:

Soarin'
She insists that she won't chicken out on this one. But she did ask me several times how high the seats are lifted in the beginning...

Dinosaur
Yes! After assuring her that it wasn't a rollercoaster (and showing her a video with a sneak peak) she is excited to ride it!

Test Track
She didn't seem as excited about this one but agreed to go on it.

As for Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain, she wants to look at them first which I think is only going to intimidate. Especially since the drop on Splash (and the people screaming) make it seem worse than it is! But we'll see....

I told her that since I'm giving her a pass on 5 rides (EE, Space Mountain, RNR, ToT, and Kali), I get to choose these 5 rides that she doesn't have a choice about! I'm pretty sure that once I get her on, she'll love it.

I also realized that I forgot to mention one other thrill ride: Mission Space! On our last family trip in 2003 Mission Space was brand new and we all rode it. Apparently she didn't do enough research because if she had known how intense it was she never would have gotten on! It was the first thing we did in the morning and she had an upset stomach for the rest of the day. As much as she hated it back then, she agreed to do the green side on this trip and I'm happy with that because I'm curious about the "milder" ride.

That's all for tonight!

 

[Leshaface]

So here was her response to the 5 "Maybe" rides:

Soarin'
She insists that she won't chicken out on this one. But she did ask me several times how high the seats are lifted in the beginning...

Dinosaur
Yes! After assuring her that it wasn't a rollercoaster (and showing her a video with a sneak peak) she is excited to ride it!

Test Track
She didn't seem as excited about this one but agreed to go on it.

As for Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain, she wants to look at them first which I think is only going to intimidate. Especially since the drop on Splash (and the people screaming) make it seem worse than it is! But we'll see....

I told her that since I'm giving her a pass on 5 rides (EE, Space Mountain, RNR, ToT, and Kali), I get to choose these 5 rides that she doesn't have a choice about! I'm pretty sure that once I get her on, she'll love it.

I also realized that I forgot to mention one other thrill ride: Mission Space! On our last family trip in 2003 Mission Space was brand new and we all rode it. Apparently she didn't do enough research because if she had known how intense it was she never would have gotten on! It was the first thing we did in the morning and she had an upset stomach for the rest of the day. As much as she hated it back then, she agreed to do the green side on this trip and I'm happy with that because I'm curious about the "milder" ride.

That's all for tonight!

Yay!!! It sounds like you did some major persuading!! i'm glad she'll go on Dinosaur!! And you're right, it is very thrilling!! The first time I went on it I closed my eyes! I couldn't believe how intense it was but now I love it! A must do!

Test Track is super easy! Did you happen to show her any youtube videos of Test Track?? and make sure you tell her, that she'll be completely strapped in with no drops or loops! It just feels like your on the freeway in a convertible!

What I had learned about Mission Space, was to keep your eyes on the screen the entire time and to not look away at all, for fear of getting motion sickness! And also to keep, like a mint in your mouth so you have something to suck on?! I read about these tips in the Unofficial Guide!

 

[heathsf]

Wow only 9 days to go until our Disney Trip Take 2 and NJ went a week without a major snowstorm for the first time in what seems like forever! In fact, one of my students said to me this morning, "It's supposed to be WARM today!" Uh yeah... if 40 degrees is warm. But hey, it certainly is an improvement.

Warm, in my humble opinion, is more like 75 degrees which is basically the weather forecast in Orlando for the next week. Nine days seems so close and yet so far away right now.

The baggalinni arrived on Tuesday and it's a perfect size. It's not too tiny, or too huge, it's just right! The only complaint I do have is that it's very heavy for an empty bag. But the final verdict will come after testing it in the field.

Which brings me to my next point: writing a TR. I've decided that I definitely want to write one - another first for me on the DIS. I've read plenty of TRs in the few months since I've joined and I think writing my own would be fun. However to be honest, I don't feel like I was totally successful with my PTR. For anyone who reads this, I would LOVE some advice on how to write a great TR.

I am going to bring a small journal to write in on the trip. I kept a travel journal for the first time this past summer on a 3 week trip to Europe and I can definitely appreciate how difficult it can be to take the time to write down all the details of your trip when you're right in the middle of it. But I am certainly glad that I did because when I read through it on my flight home I realized how many little details I would have completely forgotten if I hadn't documented them. Perhaps I'll take some time to jot some notes while I wait on those long Presidents Week lines

There will be lots of pictures, links to keep things organized, and I intend to keep up with timely updates. I'm *hoping* that it will be a success story of navigating Presidents Week crowds but I suppose we'll all have to wait and see how that actually turns out.

 

[m2zjj]

Only 9 more days! You're so close now and I'm jealous!

I have no advice on writing a TR since I've never done one but I will be there to read yours. I can't wait to hear all about your trip.

 

[heathsf]

I have no advice on writing a TR since I've never done one but I will be there to read yours. I can't wait to hear all about your trip.

Aw thank you! That makes me so happy!

 

[Leshaface]

Wow only 9 days to go until our Disney Trip Take 2 and NJ went a week without a major snowstorm for the first time in what seems like forever! In fact, one of my students said to me this morning, "It's supposed to be WARM today!" Uh yeah... if 40 degrees is warm. But hey, it certainly is an improvement.

Warm, in my humble opinion, is more like 75 degrees which is basically the weather forecast in Orlando for the next week. Nine days seems so close and yet so far away right now.

The baggalinni arrived on Tuesday and it's a perfect size. It's not too tiny, or too huge, it's just right! The only complaint I do have is that it's very heavy for an empty bag. But the final verdict will come after testing it in the field.

Which brings me to my next point: writing a TR. I've decided that I definitely want to write one - another first for me on the DIS. I've read plenty of TRs in the few months since I've joined and I think writing my own would be fun. However to be honest, I don't feel like I was totally successful with my PTR. For anyone who reads this, I would LOVE some advice on how to write a great TR.

I am going to bring a small journal to write in on the trip. I kept a travel journal for the first time this past summer on a 3 week trip to Europe and I can definitely appreciate how difficult it can be to take the time to write down all the details of your trip when you're right in the middle of it. But I am certainly glad that I did because when I read through it on my flight home I realized how many little details I would have completely forgotten if I hadn't documented them. Perhaps I'll take some time to jot some notes while I wait on those long Presidents Week lines

There will be lots of pictures, links to keep things organized, and I intend to keep up with timely updates. I'm *hoping* that it will be a success story of navigating Presidents Week crowds but I suppose we'll all have to wait and see how that actually turns out.

Wow only 6 days left!!! That came quick!!

And I think it's such a great idea to keep your own journal! In fact, it should be strictly a Disney journal, so that you can keep all your Disney notes in one place over the years! That's what i'm doing! So that when I'm on the plane flight there, I can go back and reminisce about all my previous Disney trips and it will get me more excited!! Plus, it was great to be able to look back when writing my TR!

Please take lots of pics!!

 

[BMC423]

haven't been on in awhile been busy with school, just finished catching up. Your mom is very cute, i'm the same way with the rides. I agree with test track though it doesn't even go that fast . I also think it will be harder to get her to ride space and splash once she sees them but try to tell her look at all those little kids riding it and they are fine (that's how my husband got me on space mountain).

About your TR, I think your PTR is fine (yet again what do I know I'm a newbie too lol). Maybe try to write notes down as you wait something that will help your remember later. I'm hoping to do my writing during son's naps, on lines, and before bed. I'm looking forward to your pics and TR since I leave two weeks after you!