September 2013 with a twist - New 9/13 - we are on our way!

[wiigirl]

Great update!

 

[lsenquiz]

Have you tested out the dandy cases? I ordered 2 of them for us also based on good reviews. I had ordered other similar waterproof cases before that and I tested them with napkins inside and they were damp at the end. I'm hoping the Dandycases are better!

I tested the cases last night and the napkin was completely dry after letting the cases sit in the water for a couple of hours

Great update!

 

[lsenquiz]

Monday September 23rd

Animal Kingdom – This is our second day at this park for this trip​

Below is a list of what we hope to have seen this trip by the end of this second park day:


animal kingdom 2 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

We will all be up early this day because we want to make Morning Extra Magic Hours (8am) for AK. This will also be the first time with 6 people trying to get ready in the morning with 1 bathroom. We will eat a quick breakfast in the room and I hope to be out the door and on our way to the bus stop by 7am. I expect to arrive at AK by 7:30 – 7:45am. We will meet Aunt P, Uncle F, Gunz & Ariel at the entry gate because they will be coming from Art of Animation.

Our first priority will be to ride the Safari using the standby line but as always we will stop for a quick Tree of Life picture with the whole group along the way.


Photo0221FourBySix by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Then off to the Safari:


Safari by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

After the safari we will head to Mount Everest. Several from our group want to ride. I can take this ride or leave it so I will probably stay with any little ones who do not want to ride. The standby line is never more than 5 minutes so I expect that everyone will ride a couple of times.


Photo0224FourBySix by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

After Everest we will head over to Dinoland. Most of our party will ride:


DSC01757 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

and


Photo0227FourBySix by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

While I take little Ariel on TriceraTop Spin (over and over and over again!).


DSC03460 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Then the kids will play some of the carnival games and then will want to spend some time in:


DSC03463 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

The adults plant ourselves right at the exit and let the kids just run around. I do like the fact that there is just one way in and one way out of this place.

It will be time for an early lunch by the time the kids are done in the Boneyard so we will head over here:


flame-tree-sign by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

I expect that Aunt P, Uncle F & Gunz will be done with this park after lunch so they will head out and the rest of us will head to: Flights of Wonder.


DSC03442 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Kenny, Gabriel and I saw this for the first time in May and it was added to the must do list. I don’t think anyone else in our party has ever seen it. We will also try to see as many of the street performers as we can while we tour the park for the rest of the day.

Next we will head over to see:


DSC03471 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Then to see my favorite show in all of Disney:


DSC03476 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


. by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


DSC03482 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

We will spend some time in Camp Minnie Mickey visiting with characters. A must do M&G will be for Ariel to see:


Photo0236FourBySix by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Then I want to try to talk everyone into doing this (we have never done it but I think it would be a ton of fun)!


kali river rapids by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from the internet

After that since we will all be soaked we will head back to Fort Wilderness for some downtime before dinner. We have 8:30pm reservations for:


hoop_dee_doo by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from the internet

I am super excited because Tink is the only one in our party that has seen it and it was years ago. Gabriel loves singing and dancing so I think he will really enjoy it.

Up next: Magic Kingdom

 

[Leger13]

Love the shirts you made! That's cool about those water proof cases for your phones. Nice camera case I got a rain coat for Alex for the parks but will buy ponchos at our resort once we get there. I'll probably regret it lol

 

[lvcourtneyy]

I tested the cases last night and the napkin was completely dry after letting the cases sit in the water for a couple of hours

Ah awesome! Thanks so much for letting me know!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Your AK plans sound great! That's how we start our mornings at AK too: Safari, EE, Primeval Whirl, then Dinosaur!

The little one looks so cute as Pocahontas! Festival of the Lion King is my favorite too! It's seriously an amazing show.

HDDR looks like so much fun! I hope you guys have a blast!

 

[lsenquiz]

Love the shirts you made! That's cool about those water proof cases for your phones. Nice camera case I got a rain coat for Alex for the parks but will buy ponchos at our resort once we get there. I'll probably regret it lol

Honestly ponchos have always worked fine for us until this last trip. We had the official Disney ponchos for a few years and then I switched to coleman which I like better but both did the job. The wind this past trip became a problem but we did have a tropical storm come through at the end of our trip.

 

[lsenquiz]

Ah awesome! Thanks so much for letting me know!

Your AK plans sound great! That's how we start our mornings at AK too: Safari, EE, Primeval Whirl, then Dinosaur!

It's really the best plan especially if you rope drop and do morning extra magic hours. We can usually get all 4 done before the park officially opens

The little one looks so cute as Pocahontas! Festival of the Lion King is my favorite too! It's seriously an amazing show.

We actually skipped it our first 3 trips to Disney The first trip we took the time to see it I could have just kicked myself for not seeing it sooner.

HDDR looks like so much fun! I hope you guys have a blast!

I know we will and I figure the fact that we are staying at Fort Wilderness makes it the perfrect time to try it. Just a walk back to our cabin when it ends.

 

[Leger13]

Honestly ponchos have always worked fine for us until this last trip. We had the official Disney ponchos for a few years and then I switched to coleman which I like better but both did the job. The wind this past trip became a problem but we did have a tropical storm come through at the end of our trip.

Your post about that motivated me to order rain coats for DH and I lol so thanks! I just hope they arrive in time! Looks like its going to rain our whole trip :-/

 

[momabbate]

Oh wow I got caught up before you left. I'm glad you added your changes on this one and didn't go with idea to start a new ptr. I agree that a ptr should have changes. My trips change all the time up to the time things are happening. You put my planning to shame. I go in Sept so I don't feel the pressure to have a real plan. We just do what we feel like. (Ok maybe not that relaxed but very close.)

 

[lsenquiz]

Your post about that motivated me to order rain coats for DH and I lol so thanks! I just hope they arrive in time! Looks like its going to rain our whole trip :-/

One more point I will make is I was unable to use a weather forecast at all during our last trip. There were several times when I got up in the morning and looked at the weather and it would say either rain or sunny and we got exactly the opposite when we got to the parks. So unless there is a TS or God forbid a Hurricane I would take any weather forecast with a grain of salt. Always bring your rain gear just in case and prepare to have fun rain or shine

 

[lsenquiz]

Oh wow I got caught up before you left. I'm glad you added your changes on this one and didn't go with idea to start a new ptr. I agree that a ptr should have changes. My trips change all the time up to the time things are happening. You put my planning to shame. I go in Sept so I don't feel the pressure to have a real plan. We just do what we feel like. (Ok maybe not that relaxed but very close.)

I always go with a plan (mainly because I love planning and it helps pass the time leading up to our trip) and then we go with whatever feels right when we get there. There are days when we follow the plan to the letter and days when we go a completely different direction.

Also none of the rest of the people in our party even know I have a plan. They just follow along with my suggestions on what to do next but never feel like we have a strict schedule.

 

[lsenquiz]

Doing the single digit dance

​

We hit our single digits yesterday and I did not even have time to celebrate Life continues to be so busy.

I am starting to feel alot less panicked than I was last week. I got everything on my pre-vacation to do list done (thank goodness for Amazon Prime which allowed my to do all my last minute shopping online and not worry about whether stuff was going to get here on time). Now all that is left is packing. I am 0% complete with that and usually at least 50 - 75% complete by this point. However, I have the whole weekend set aside to get packing done so we should be completely ready to go by EOD Sunday.

We plan to leave immediately after school on Friday 9/13. Nothing like driving to Disney on Friday the 13th

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Yay for single digits! I finished most of my packing last night finally but I still have to buy the last minute toiletries and stuff!

Can't believe our trips are SO close now!

 

[lsenquiz]

Yay for single digits! I finished most of my packing last night finally but I still have to buy the last minute toiletries and stuff!

Can't believe our trips are SO close now!

Just sent you a PM with my cell number. Text me if you want to try to get together. It would be great to meet you guys face to face but no pressure. I know how Disney trips can get away from you. Have tons of fun!!!!!!!!!

 

[lsenquiz]

Tuesday September 24th

Magic Kingdom​

This is the 3rd of 4 scheduled MK days for this trip (not counting MNSSHP). Below is an updated picture of what we accomplished during our last trip in May. I have checked off the things we expect to get done on our 1st & 2nd MK day. I have also crossed out the things we do not plan to do even if we could make time for them.


magic kingdom3 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

This will be the first full day that Tink and family will spend at MK since the new Fantasyland opened. Aunt P, Uncle F and Gunz will be spending the day at another park. Our goal will be to arrive in time for the opening show:


DSC03564 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


DSC03563 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Once the gates open I know that Tink, Ariel & I will make the run to Enchanted Tales with Belle (it is the only thing I will run to on this trip!) in an effort to get into the first show. We will also pickup FPs to Journey of the Little Mermaid for all of us while we are in Fantasyland.


Belle by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Kenny, Gabriel, Swat and Stitch will head here first:


DSC03565 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Then to:


astro orbiter by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

And finally:


Walt Disney World Gallery Photo by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Then Swat will try to talk Stitch into riding this:


Walt Disney World Gallery Photo by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

There is no way Gabriel is going on Space Mountain so Kenny will have to skip it also unless Tink, Ariel and I can get back over to Tomorrowland before they are ready to ride. I do hope we are all back together by this point. Next up will be:


Walt Disney World Gallery Photo by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

I do not ride these but I am the only person in our group that doesn’t so I will just watch and take pictures while everyone else rides.

After that we will all head over to Fantasyland. If our FPs for Journey of the Little Mermaid are open we will ride that.


. by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

If not we will probably just make our rounds until they open up. We will ride Barnstormer and Dumbo standby as long as the wait is less than 10 minutes or grab FPs if it is longer provided they are still not linked to the FP system.


barnstormer by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


dumbo by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

After we have taken our Journey Under the Sea one of the guys will run over and grab FPs for either Splash Mountain or Big Thunder while Tink and I take Ariel to see the Little Mermaid.


ariels_grotto by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

I know that Gabriel will not want to ride either mountain after his bad experience during our last trip. Kenny and I also don’t mind skipping them so depending on whether Ariel wants to ride we might be able to pull FPs for both at the same time and just let Tink and family use ours.

We will finish up in Fantasyland while we wait for our FPs to open up for the mountains. The remaining must do’s on our list are:


. by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


pooh by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


small world by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Then we will hop on the railroad and ride it over to Frontierland. If our FPs are open Tink and family will ride:


Walt Disney World Gallery Photo by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


Splash by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

If not we will grab some lunch at:


pecosbill by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Then ride the mountains after lunch.

Next we will make our way over to Adventureland. First up will be:


Pirates_of_the_Caribbean by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Borrowed from the internet

Then:


magic carpets by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Then Tink and I will probably take Ariel to Tinker Bell’s Magical Nook and the boys will head to Liberty Square to get some cards to plan Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom.

After that the only other firm plan we have for the day is to see the Celebrate a Dream come True Parade:


Parade by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Today is a MNSSHP day which we are not going to so MK closes at 7pm for us. We will head back to Ft. Wilderness and watch Hallowishes from there. I also hope to catch the Electric Water Pageant

Up next: Hollywood Studios

 

[lsenquiz]

Final Day - 9/25 - 9/27​

We leave on Friday and I still have a ton to do so I need to wrap this PTR up. I have three days left on this trip to detail out but I think I will just leave these as catch all days and we will visit whatever parks we need to to finish up our must do lists. Below are pictures of what we think we will have accomplished at each park by this point so it will give you an idea of what we might target. I know for sure we will visit EPCOT one of these three days because that is a park that Tink and family will not have been at yet.


mk final by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


HS final by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


Epcot final by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


animal kingdom 2 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

I also wanted to list the app/sites I use during my trips to help me stay on track:

1) www.touringplans.com – I create a customized touring plan for each park that I can access on my iPhone
2) Lines app – This is an app on my phone offered by touring plans that allows me to track wait times & FP distro.
3) www.kennythepirate.com – I use his site to manage my character M&Gs. He also has an app called character locator but I cannot seem to get it on my iPhone. So I just bookmark his site instead.
4) www.wdwent.com – I use this site to track show times!

This is really all I need to make sure we get the most out of each of our Disney vacations.

We leave Friday at 1pm EST so I will stop in one more time to say goodbye before we leave

 

[lsenquiz]

We are officially on our way! Spending tonight with my BFF in Maitland Florida then headed to our favorite place Boardwalk tomorrow!!

 

[Alysa]

Have a fantastic time!!! Can't wait to hear all about it! Give those elephants at the pool a pat for me!

 

[gracer9977]

Hope you are having a wonderful time. Will be watching for your TR when you get back.