Sept. 2011 - To the World in 80 Days

[AJRitz]

My wife and I have been discussing when to return to Walt Disney World ever since we got back from our trip this past October. When were planning that trip, we thought it was a "once in a lifetime" thing, but by the time we were heading for home, we knew we would be coming back.

Since then, I've started hosting a Disney Podcast with the Dis Dads, and I've been ready to go back as soon as possible. DW is the practical one, and after months of discussion I finally had to reluctantly agree that the budget wouldn't have room for a return trip until December 2012. It was just a couple of weeks ago that DW and I settled on dates for a December 2012 trip (over Squeaker's birthday). I even started making plans to start a 365-day countdown Tumblr blog.

Last week, I was out of town for a training program for work. I checked my work Email on Wednesday night and I had an Email from my supervisor. It seems there's a conference being planned and I've been doing work in the area being covered by the conference. Am I available to go to the conference and do a presentation? Oh, and the conference is the week of September 19. And it's in Orlando.

I got back into this office on Friday, and got a few more bits of information about the conference (there are still LOTS of details to be filled in). It's not only in Orlando, it's in Downtown Disney - at the Royal Plaza. I immediately said that I'd be happy to present at the conference thankyouverymuch!

And with that, instead of the 15 months I had to plan our last Disney trip; or the 365 days (plus) that I was going to spend planning our next trip; as of July 1st, we're heading back to Walt Disney World in 80 days!

Next up: Quick planning over a long weekend.

 

[AJRitz]

Reserved

 

[AJRitz]

I guess I should introduce you to the crew.

DW tolerates my Disney obsession. She appreciates that I am happy to plan every last detail of our trip and loves the quality family time we get at Walt Disney World. Her only complaint is usually about the cost, but even she had to admit that this deal was too good to pass up.

DD8, a/k/a "The Bug." She celebrated her 8th birthday on our last Disney trip. She's a thrill-ride adrenaline junkie. She'll even ride things I won't (I avoid rides that are excessively spinny when I can). Since our Disney trip, she's experienced "real" roller coasters at Worlds of Fun (our local Cedar Faire park). She and I are ride buddies, as her younger brother and DW aren't as fond of the thrill rides as we are. Her favorite ride at WDW tends to change depending on which thrill ride she's ridden last, but she's most excited to ride Tower of Terror this time.

DS4, a/k/a "Squeaker." Squeaker is a 44" tall, 59 pound, 4-year-old wrecking ball of energy! He was diagnosed with ADHD about three weeks after we returned from our last trip. (If we only knew then what we know now . . .). We've been working to find the right medication and dosage for him for months, and - knock on wood - we seem to have found what works for him just over the last few weeks. He's still the same bright, energetic, imaginative, fun-loving kid. But when he gets upset, he's able to pull himself back from the edge (with effort) instead of launching into an uncontrollable fit; and his impulse control issues are greatly reduced. If it weren't for the improvements in our (and his) ability to manage his behavior, we would never have been able to make this trip, where DW is going to be touring the parks alone with the kids during the day while I'm in my conference. The first thing out of Squeaker's mouth when we said we were going back to WDW was to ask whether we were going back to the Halloween party. He also loves Pirates of the Caribbean and is a HUGE Star Wars fan.

Me, a/k/a AJRitz. I'm the Disney junkie in the family. I'd never been to WDW (or any Disney theme park) before our trip back in October. But in the process of planning that trip and experiencing it with my family, I fell in love with the place. Since then, I've started the disdads.com website and the Dis Dads Podcast. I've even become a part-time Disney Specialist travel agent. I'm also the planner, as I alluded to above. By the time we leave, I'll have the plan down to the last detail. To me, the point of planning like that is to make us as prepared as possible to deviate from the plan if we need to. While I really enjoyed our "splurge" trip (Poly CL, DDP, side trip to Universal/IoA), I'm looking forward to experiencing a different kind of Disney trip this time around (All-Star Music, QSDP, WDW only).

 

[dvczerfs]

IM IN!!!!
congrats on the trip aaron. i cant believe we are missing each other by one day. i hope the planning is going well!!! being you have the sept. 2011 trip, is the december 2012 trip still on the board???? tammy and i have been talking to see about getting briana back down in 2012 and there may be a chance we will be going back in early december when briana is on winter break.

 

[RodBelding]

Count me in! Good stuff Aaron.

 

[AJRitz]

So, you know how I mentioned in my first post how we were only doing this trip because most of our hotel would be covered by my work trip (in addition to most of my food and all of my travel)? Well, being the detail guy that I am, I couldn't resist doing a direct comparison between what it was going to cost to just extend the stay at Royal Plaza by a few nights or to move on-property after the conference. And as I was starting to run that comparison (hmmmm - we save a bunch of money on parking fees if we're staying on property) my Disney Specialist Travel Agent brain kicked in. WAIT! These dates are included in the Free Dining promotion! We can't get free dining if we only book the weekend. What if we just book the whole stay at a Value resort, with a Magic Your Way ticket package and free QSDP?

Whoa! Once you add-in the free parking, staying at All-Star Music for the week, with the tickets and QSDP package, will actually cost us LESS THAN staying at the Royal Plaza, buying tickets from Undercover Tourist, and paying for food out of pocket!!

So, as of now, we're booked at All-Star Music for the entire trip. Because of the way my business trip works, I may have to make a conference reservation at the Royal Plaza too (we may have a minimum number of rooms to fill, in order to get the conference rooms at a particular rate). We may end up with two hotel rooms for most of the trip. And it will STILL cost us less out-of-pocket. If I get really lucky, work will reimburse me at the applicable hotel reimbursement rate instead, at which point this becomes a REALLY cheap trip!

More on detailed plans later, but I had to share this little nugget.

 

[dvczerfs]

So, you know how I mentioned in my first post how we were only doing this trip because most of our hotel would be covered by my work trip (in addition to most of my food and all of my travel)? Well, being the detail guy that I am, I couldn't resist doing a direct comparison between what it was going to cost to just extend the stay at Royal Plaza by a few nights or to move on-property after the conference. And as I was starting to run that comparison (hmmmm - we save a bunch of money on parking fees if we're staying on property) my Disney Specialist Travel Agent brain kicked in. WAIT! These dates are included in the Free Dining promotion! We can't get free dining if we only book the weekend. What if we just book the whole stay at a Value resort, with a Magic Your Way ticket package and free QSDP?

Whoa! Once you add-in the free parking, staying at All-Star Music for the week, with the tickets and QSDP package, will actually cost us LESS THAN staying at the Royal Plaza, buying tickets from Undercover Tourist, and paying for food out of pocket!!

So, as of now, we're booked at All-Star Music for the entire trip. Because of the way my business trip works, I may have to make a conference reservation at the Royal Plaza too (we may have a minimum number of rooms to fill, in order to get the conference rooms at a particular rate). We may end up with two hotel rooms for most of the trip. And it will STILL cost us less out-of-pocket. If I get really lucky, work will reimburse me at the applicable hotel reimbursement rate instead, at which point this becomes a REALLY cheap trip!

More on detailed plans later, but I had to share this little nugget.

are we talking still talking extending a few days???

 

[AJRitz]

are we talking still talking extending a few days???

Well, the conference runs through September 23. We're going to stay through the weekend and heading home on Monday, September 26th.

 

[AJRitz]

The basic schedule is set. Six days of base park tickets = each park once, and returns to MK and Epcot:

Tuesday, September 20 - Disney's Hollywood Studios (and our first-ever Fantasmic!)
Wednesday, September 21 - Magic Kingdom (and MSEP and Wishes)
Thursday, September 22 - Epcot (and an early evening)
Friday, September 23 - Magic Kingdom (and MNSSHP and HalloWishes and Boo to You!)
Saturday, September 24 - Animal Kingdom
Sunday, September 25 - Epcot (and Illuminations)

Each day will have a long afternoon break, especially the first three days. DW will be touring solo with the while I'm in my conference until Friday.

Now, on to the detailed touring plans . . .

 

[dvczerfs]

The basic schedule is set. Six days of base park tickets = each park once, and returns to MK and Epcot:

Tuesday, September 20 - Disney's Hollywood Studios (and our first-ever Fantasmic!)
Wednesday, September 21 - Magic Kingdom (and MSEP and Wishes)
Thursday, September 22 - Epcot (and an early evening)
Friday, September 23 - Magic Kingdom (and MNSSHP and HalloWishes and Boo to You!)
Saturday, September 24 - Animal Kingdom
Sunday, September 25 - Epcot (and Illuminations)

Each day will have a long afternoon break, especially the first three days. DW will be touring solo with the while I'm in my conference until Friday.

Now, on to the detailed touring plans . . .

new pics!!! are you guys rope drop people, nap in the afternoon, return later in the afternoon people?

 

[AJRitz]

new pics!!! are you guys rope drop people, nap in the afternoon, return later in the afternoon people?

Yep.
The kids seem to be up early just about no matter how late we stay up the night before. But if we work them in the morning, they'll take a nap when we get back to the hotel (even if they insist they're not tired). Returning in the evening was a bit of a mixed bag on the last trip, but we were dealing with unmedicated ADHD then. This time, we don't really have much choice but to do the return in the evening part (at least we don't if I want to tour with the family at all before the weekend).

We did talk about it and decide that we'd go ahead and rent a stroller one last time, to try and keep Squeaker's legs fresh. I suspect he'll walk more this time than he did last time anyway. But especially with DW touring during the day with both kids while I'm in my conference, if Squeaker gets worn out he can rest in the stroller and The Bug doesn't have to miss out. Luckily, The Bug is comfortable riding just about any attraction by herself. I've had her practicing this summer at World's of Fun. She rides a few super-spinny flat rides that I can't handle, and she goes through the line and rides the ride while I wait for her at the exit just fine.

 

[AJRitz]

A funny thing happened when I was about to purchase airline tickets for the rest of the family last week. The fares with Allegiant (which, to be fair, included both the airfare and rental car) had crept up quite a bit. And when I cross-checked fares on Southwest (which flies into MCO, unlike Allegiant, which files into SFO) I discovered that the SWA fares had dropped significantly. Flying SWA also gives us flexibility. Allegiant only has flights two days/week, and SWA has several flights/day.

So I pulled up the spreadsheet and started running numbers. Well. How about that? We can stay a day longer (adding a day to the hotel and tickets), forgo the rental car for Magical Express and get better luggage policies, and actually SAVE $4. Yep. That's right. Stay longer. Pay less. Um, thank you sir, may I have another!

Looking at our schedule, I'm glad that SWA flights for our original return date were booked up such that the lower fares weren't available, and we were "forced" to add a day to the trip. I found out my conference doesn't end until Noon on Friday, and without adding the Monday park day, I would have only gotten two full touring days the entire trip. So yay me!

So here's the revised schedule:
Tuesday, Sept. 20 - Disney's Hollywood Studios (and Fantasmic!)
Wednesday, Sept. 21 - Magic Kingdom (and MSEP and Wishes)
Thursday, Sept. 22 - Epcot (packing it in before Illuminations)
Friday, Sept. 23 - Animal Kingdom and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party
Saturday, Sept. 24 - Magic Kingdom
Sunday, Sept. 25 - Disney's Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom (Kids' Choice - I'm hoping for DHS).
Monday, Sept. 26 - Epcot (and Illuminations, to close out the trip)

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

So I pulled up the spreadsheet and started running numbers. Well. How about that? We can stay a day longer (adding a day to the hotel and tickets), forgo the rental car for Magical Express and get better luggage policies, and actually SAVE $4. Yep. That's right. Stay longer. Pay less. Um, thank you sir, may I have another!

So, let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up:

Work asks you to go to Orlando and pays your way. You find a way to save money staying on site and adding free dining. Now you find a way to save money and stay longer??

If you have any luck left in whatever rabbit's foot is working its magic on your behalf, can you send some my way?

 

[afwdwfan]

Hey there, looks good so far. Look forward to seeing how a Disney professional travel agent plans a spur of the moment trip.

 

[MissStitch626]

You are either the luckiest Disney fan I've ever heard of or a trip planning genius

Plans sound great, can't wait to read more!

 

[AJRitz]

As wonderful as our trip was back in October, one of the things that was less than stellar was that Squeaker spent chunks of the vacation on total sensory overload. This was likely related to his (undiagnosed at the time) ADHD. He was reluctant to get on rides. No matter what we rode, when asked if he liked it he would mention the one thing about it that he didn't like. For example, he had a HUGE grin on his face for most of Test Track. When I asked him, "how was that?" when we got off, he said, "I didn't like the bumpy part."

He spent much of his time in his "rollercoaster" (his name for the stroller we rented) like this:

So one of my goals before our next trip was to get Squeaker more comfortable with rides. At 44" tall as of this past weekend, he's tall enough for most WDW attractions. Getting Squeaker's meds regulated was Phase I. Phase II is facilitated by our season passes to the local Cedar Fair amusement park, Worlds of Fun. Up until this past weekend, he'd spent his time in an area of the park called Planet Snoopy, full of junior-sized rides, and came to really enjoy them.

I launched Phase III of my plan this last week, and I can happily say that I have Squeaker hooked on the Disney Parks videos available from Netflix Instant Streaming. From watching the videos, he decided that he wanted to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (he's VERY excited about that one); Splash Mountain; Space Mountain; Kali River Rapids; Dinosaur; and Star Tours (sight unseen, he's a big Star Wars fan). Which led us to Phase IV this past Sunday.

We really shouldn't have gone to to Worlds of Fun on Sunday. That's sort of a story in and of itself - I'd accidentally left my iPad weather app set for Boulder, CO, where I was for work a couple of weeks ago. 85 degrees and partly cloudy? Sounds like a beautiful amusement park day, let's go! Only to discover that the weather in KANSAS CITY was intense sun, 100 degrees, with a heat index of 103. The weather did chase away the sane elements of the community, so lines were short, and we were able to get in about a half-dozen rides in the two-and-a-half hours we lasted in the park. The goal of the day was for Squeaker to try some "big kid rides."

After a stop at the carousel by the entrance, we headed to Viking Voyager - a log flume ride that dates from the opening of the park in 1973. It's certainly no Splash Mountain, but it was a good introduction for Squeaker to a log flume ride. Here's a video (shot by someone else) of Viking Voyager:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOF27LROPFI

He turned out to be about 1/4" too short for the Kali River Rapids-like Fury of the Nile. He rode Sea Dragon, which is like a giant swing. There's no real analog to it at WDW, but he did fine with both the height of the ride and the weightless feeling from the big drop (think Splash Mountain final drop). And then, for our final ride before heading home, he rode his first big kid roller coaster, Spinning Dragons. Ironically, the WDW ride the most closely approximates Spinning Dragons is Primeval Whirl - one of the few attractions he's too short to ride at WDW. Here's vide of the ride (again, shot by someone else):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK28V5lsFQA

Though he looked pretty scared during the ride, and complained briefly that he'd bumped his knee during the ride, when we got off of it he insisted that it was AWESOME!

So now we're just 60+ days away from our trip, and it looks like we will all get to experience most WDW attractions all together, instead of The Bug and I riding attractions while DW and Squeaker bask in the atmosphere (which, while a worthy endeavor, really ought to be the side dish, and not the main course).

 

[dvczerfs]

great update aaron!!! hes gonna have a blast this time!!! briana sis like characters till see was about 4. she was fine with the "non big heads" but mm or pooh came up to her she would flip out!! the time is going to go fast till its time to leave!

 

[AJRitz]

The basic schedule is set. Six days of base park tickets = each park once, and returns to MK and Epcot:

Tuesday, September 20 - Disney's Hollywood Studios (and our first-ever Fantasmic!)
Wednesday, September 21 - Magic Kingdom (and MSEP and Wishes)
Thursday, September 22 - Epcot (and an early evening)
Friday, September 23 - Magic Kingdom (and MNSSHP and HalloWishes and Boo to You!)
Saturday, September 24 - Animal Kingdom
Sunday, September 25 - Epcot (and Illuminations)

Each day will have a long afternoon break, especially the first three days. DW will be touring solo with the while I'm in my conference until Friday.

Now, on to the detailed touring plans . . .

Wait, what? I only get three full park days, and one of them is going to be Animal Kingdom? Um, no. I mean, I like Animal Kingdom and all, but it closes four hours earlier than the other parks. And now that we're not heading home until Tuesday, we have another park day to add. So that called for some shuffling. Here is the new, revised park schedule:
Tuesday, September 20 - Disney's Hollywood Studios (and our first-ever Fantasmic!)
Wednesday, September 21 - Magic Kingdom (and MSEP and Wishes)
Thursday, September 22 - Epcot (and an early evening)
Friday, September 23 - Animal Kingdom morning (and MNSSHP and HalloWishes and Boo to You!)
Saturday, September 24 - Magic Kingdom
Sunday, September 25 - Hollywood Studios
Monday, September 26 - Epcot (and Illuminations)

I'm also considering adding the Wishes Dessert Party on Saturday, September 24th. It would give us a more comfortable way to watch the fireworks on the night after our MNSSHP late night. But it would also cost us over $100. Most of the reviews I've read say that the desserts are great, but the view is less than ideal and the cost is such that most wouldn't do it again. Anyone have any thoughts on the subject?

 

[FreezinRafiki]

Friday, September 23 - Animal Kingdom morning (and MNSSHP and HalloWishes and Boo to You!)

We've done this a few times with both MNSSHP and MVMCP. We can hit the highlights of Animal Kingdom in about 6 hours (with September crowds, you should have no problem). Leave AK mid afternoon, take a nice air conditioned bus ride over to MK and get in with your MNSSHP tickets at 4:00pm.

 

[afwdwfan]

Wait, what? I only get three full park days, and one of them is going to be Animal Kingdom? Um, no. I mean, I like Animal Kingdom and all, but it closes four hours earlier than the other parks.

I understand completely. I think that would call for a change in plans.

I'm also considering adding the Wishes Dessert Party on Saturday, September 24th. It would give us a more comfortable way to watch the fireworks on the night after our MNSSHP late night. But it would also cost us over $100. Most of the reviews I've read say that the desserts are great, but the view is less than ideal and the cost is such that most wouldn't do it again. Anyone have any thoughts on the subject?

I can't really say, as I've never tried it myself, but it is something that I'm considering for our trip. Normally there is no way I'd spend $100 for dessert and a place to watch fireworks, but on vacation, I always tend to enjoy trying different experiences. I love dessert and I love fireworks, so from that standpoint, I'd definitely try it at least once.