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

[lsenquiz]

Ahhhhh...AK! I love it!! Your plans look terrific! I love the character meetings at CMM!

Ending the day at WCC will be nice and fun too!!

Character M&Gs are a big part of our trips although our boys are getting to the age where they grudgingly do it for me. I explain that I ride the barnstormer because I love them(I hate that ride) so they can take a picture with Mickey because they love me. I don't make them take pictures with the princesses but insist on pictures with the other characters.

Love the plans.
And can I add that your niece made a cute Pocahontas. Love the costume! Does she usually dress up for the parks? Or just favorite characters?

AK is one of my favorite parks so I will enjoy reading about your day there!

She has every princess costume. We usually bring them with us and she changes in and out of them. Some days she has 3 costume changes in one day. She is a trouper and never complains and loves having her picture with a princess in a matching costume.

 

[lsenquiz]

Day 6 - Fri Sept 20th​

This is Magic Kingdom day and it is sure to be a special one. Although DH, Buzz and I will have visited Magic Kingdom in May and one day on this trip before everyone else arrived this will be the first time for Tink, Stitch and Ariel since they opened FLE.

We will arrive in time for the opening show. When we get through the gates DH, Buzz and Stitch will head to this:


speedway by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet

And Tink, Ariel and I will head here(one of us will run to get in line and the other will pick up FPs for Peter Pan on the way):


enchanted tales with Belle by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Borrowed from the internet

Ariel will be dressed appropriately for the show:


belle by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

We have several things we want to do with Ariel first thing that the boys are not interested in so I expect that the boys will do this:


buzz 3 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

And this:


laugh floor by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Borrowed from the internet


While we are exploring the new Fantasy Land and spending some time with Ariel in her Grotto(the real Ariel not our Ariel). Since she will be in mermaid form I am not sure yet which dress our Ariel will wear:


ariel by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


ariel2 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Everyone will come back together to ride this:


Little-Mermaid-Ride-Outside-Magic-Kingdom by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet

Then I will head here for FPs:


thunder mountain by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from EasyWDW

While everyone else heads here:


teacups by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet

This ride makes me sick so I will not be on it. However, I do hope to see these guys while we are there:


alice and white rabbit by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

I also hope this lovely lady is out:


godmother by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

And these not so lovely ladies too:


step sisters by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Our Peter Pan FPs will be open by now so we will take a magic flight through Neverland:


Peter_Pan_s_Flight_Sign by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed for Mouse Planet

Since we are in the area and there is never a line for this in September we will hop on here:


Carrousel by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Borrowed from the internet


Then off we go for a wild flight with Goofy:


Barnstormer by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet

Up next is a ride on a very special elephant:


dumbo by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet

The character hunter in me will want to stop in and see Goofy, Donald, Daisy and Minnie:


pete's silly side show by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Borrowed from the internet

By now it should be time for a late lunch so we will head here:


be our guest by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Borrowed from the internet

We do not plan to do this on our May trip so it will be a first for all of us to eat here.

While everyone else gets in line for lunch DH will run over here for FPs:


Splash_Mountain_Fastpass_at_Disneys_Magic_Kingdom by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet

I am hoping our FPs open up for this right after lunch:


big thunder mountain by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

The next thing on the list is a ride with Aladdin on his magic carpet:


aladdin's magic carpet by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet

Then a relaxing trip with some pirates:


pirates of the caribbean by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet

I am hoping our FPs for this will be open by now:


splash mountain by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

After Splash Mountain we head back over to tomorrow land where we will all ride Buzz again.

I expect that DH and Tink will want to ride this:


spacemountain by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Borrowed from the internet

So I will take anyone who does not want to ride Space Mountain on Buzz. For anyone who has never been to Disney in late September the wait for Space Mountain is usually less than 10 minutes and the wait for Buzz is usually 5(which is about how long it takes you to walk through the line). So we may ride these a few times.

This should be a MNSSHP night and since we will have already gone to the party earlier in the week we will be leaving the park by 7pm. Probably right at 7pm. We have another Magic Kingdom day planned for this trip so we will catch everything we missed then.

I am hoping that our late lunch at BOG makes it possible for us to wait until we get back to the resort for dinner. I think the kids would rather enjoy some pool time and a pizza then eat at MK.

Up next DHS!

 

[lsenquiz]

Day 7 – Sat Sept 21st​

Today is Hollywood Studios day. This is our favorite park . I forgot to mention that Swat(Tink’s DH) will have arrived the evening before. Based on previous years, I expect this to be an early EMH day so we will arrive at the park by 7:30am. This is one of the few parks we actually do EMH in. Since we are usually staying at the Boardwalk it is just a 15 minute walk for us to get there from the room. This time we will be taking a bus which means we will have to be at the bus stop by 6:45am. That seems hard especially when we have three little ones to get up and get ready. So, I may break my biggest rule while at Disney and we may take the car and over.

First up as always will be DH & Swat running to TSM for FPs and Tink and I taking the boys to Sounds Dangerous to get signed up for this:


jedi Training Master by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Buzz has done this almost a dozen times but Stitch did it for the first time last year. They both love it.

After we get the boys signed up we will all run over and try to ride TSM standby. Then we will all head right back where we were and ride Buzz’s favorite ride:


star tours by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from the internet

We are hoping to get the boys into the 9:20am Jedi Training class so we will hang out in this area riding Star Tours until their class time.


Jedi Training by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


Jedi Training Stitch by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


Jedi Training Ariel by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Even our little Ariel did this one year.

I expect that our TSM FPs will be open by the time the class is complete so we will head back over to ride this:


Toy Story Mania by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

I have this picture with DS for every year since TSM first opened at DHS.

We will also pick up a second set of FPs for TSM since there will more than likely still be some available.

It should be about 10am by now and still too early for any of the shows so we will probably split up. DH, Swat & Stitch will head over to ride this:


39493300002 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Tink and Ariel will ride this:


voyage_of_the_little_mermaid1 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from the internet

And Buzz and I will go to this:


disney jr by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from the internet

After that, the boys will head back over to watch this show:


indian jones by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from the internet

I am not fond of this show so us girls will be heading to see this(if it is still there):


Beauty and the Beast by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

However, before we head to Beauty and the Beast, Tink and I will stop and pick up one(or 2) of these at our favorite bar; 50’s Prime Time:


Bloody Mary by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

It will be time for lunch by the time the shows are over so we will head here:


pizza planet by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from the internet

I really, really wish they would add some better counter service to DHS! While we are eating someone will run over and get FPs for RnR.

After lunch we will head here to hopefully get some seats in the shade:


lights, motors, action by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Borrowed from the internet

Up next we will probably ride this:


Great Movie Ride by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

This is not on our must do list but it is a great opportunity to cool off.

We will also want to catch this since Stitch will not be with us for our May trip and I want him to see it at least once.


legend-jack-sparrow-sign by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Borrowed from the internet

Next I want to head to the Animation Studios and take the drawing class. We have never done this as a group and I think it will be fun. After the class, I hope, hope, hope, we will get to do Characterpalooza in the Animation building. I know it is on hiatis right now because of the Fantasmic schedule but hope that they bring it back in its originally form. I have mentioned before that I am a big character hunter. This is the very best place(IMO) to get some great pictures with some rare characters. I plan to dedicate a whole post to this event later but here is a sample of some rare character M&Gs we have gotten here:


goody and max by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


Genie1 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


Bolt by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

I think there is a good chance that DH & Swat might be the only one who wants to ride this:


rock and roller coaster by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from the internet

So they will be able to use the FPs to ride a couple of times.

We will also keep an eye on our TSM FPs and run over there at some point in the afternoon to ride it when they open up.

The final thing I want to do for this day at DHS is watch these guys perform:


mulch sweat and shears by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from the internet

We saw them for the first time in 2011 and thought they were excellent. After this, we will head back to the resort for some pool time and to pack up. We will be heading to Port Canaveral the next day for our very first Disney Cruise .

 

[indimom]

You've got some very busy days there!! I think your idea of picking up a tasty beverage on your way to see Beauty and the Beast is a great idea. I would probably go see that one again with a nice cold drink in hand.

It wasn't my favorite show (just a straight forward stage production, as opposed to the Nemo or Lion King shows which have a different production or the cool puppets and effects.)

But, we sat in the very back row when we went and were suprised out how nice that was. You caught a little breeze and had a backrest! It was a great place to sit and take a break from the heat of the day!

And I completely forgot the Mulch, Sweat and Shears. I'll have to add that to my Maybe list for DHS! I'm still a little rusty on the entertainment at this park. lol.

 

[lsenquiz]

I completely forgot the Mulch, Sweat and Shears. I'll have to add that to my Maybe list for DHS! I'm still a little rusty on the entertainment at this park. lol.

For excellent info on the entertainment in each park use this site: www.wdwent.com. When you get to the main page just click on the specific park across the top. I use this a ton, especially for DHS and EPCOT.

 

[indimom]

For excellent info on the entertainment in each park use this site: www.wdwent.com. When you get to the main page just click on the specific park across the top. I use this a ton, especially for DHS and EPCOT.

I just checked this out! Great Resource! I've gone to other sites (allears, mouseplanet), but this one is perfect! Thanks much!

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

Love your MK & DHS plans!! I've also never checked out that website! Going to have to do that!!

 

[lsenquiz]

I just checked this out! Great Resource! I've gone to other sites (allears, mouseplanet), but this one is perfect! Thanks much!

Glad you like it. It is so well organized I can not image using anything else.

Love your MK & DHS plans!! I've also never checked out that website! Going to have to do that!!

Thanks. I am sure the website will become one of your favorites like it has become mine.

 

[lsenquiz]

Day 8 - Sun Sept 22nd​

We will all be up early on this day because we need to make the drive to Port Canaveral to board:


Disney Dream by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from Mouse for Less

This will be the first Disney cruise for all of us and the first cruise ever for everyone except DH and myself. My Aunt, Uncle and Gunz (Tinks DS) will have arrived the night before so there will be 10 of us heading for Port Canaveral. I have no idea what our boarding time will be because we do not plan to even book the cruise until end of July. We are waiting because we would like to book a *GT rate.

For anyone who does not know what this is it is a discounted cruise rate that Disney releases about 60 days out for any cruise that is not at or close to capacity. These rates are not guaranteed but I have been tracking them since last August and I feel pretty good that they will be released for our September trip. I expect that we will save about $400 - $500 for the three of us for the 4 day cruise.

The downside to booking *GT rate is you do not get to select your cabin (you do get to select your type - i.e veranda, Ocean view or inside) and we will probably have to choose late dining ( I think we would have picked this anyway even if early dining was an option).

So regardless of what boarding time we get we will arrive early. I hope to be there by 10:30 - 11am. This will allow us to park, deal with the luggage and explore the boarding area.

This is how I think this day will go. I am very interested in comparing this to the trip report I finally write to see how I did with the plans. I can create a touring plan for the Disney parks in my sleep but have never cruised Disney so I feel like such a newbie:

First up:

We will check in, get our pictures made and check the kids into the kids club while we wait to be called to board. Eventually (hopefully earlier rather than later) we will be heading through here:


Entrance to Disney Dream by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from the internet

I am trying to think of a creative name to use for when they announce us. Sadly creativity is not my strong suit so I may put that responsibility on my DH.

If we get on the ship early enough we will head right to here to get everyone in the vacation mood:


Aqua Duck by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from Disney and more blogspot

I plan to carry on our swim stuff so we can change in the restrooms. We will also be carrying on some alcohol since we enjoy a night cap in our rooms in the evenings. I think it is excellent that Disney allows you to bring alchohol onboard. The only rule is that you have to carry it on and consume it in your room.

We will eat lunch by the pool and hang out here until our room is ready which should be around 1:30pm.

We will be reserving a room with a balcony so I plan to have some champagne in the room for a toast on the balcony when we first get in the room.


Disney Dreaam Balcony Room by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from Mouse Trips

After we have toasted and unpacked we will make our way here for the open house:


Oceaneers lab by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from the internet

Oceaneers club by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from the internet

Our 4 little ones plan to spend a lot of time here. My DS LOVES kids club and I will be lucky if I get to spend any time with him at all for this part of our vacation. Honestly that is a big reason why we wanted to spend so much time at Disney before the cruise. Since we will have been together 24/7 for the past 7 days I will be ok if DS prefers the kids club to me for the next 4 days.

It should be time for the muster drill by the time we are done exploring the Kids club so we will head to our designated spot. I have my fingers crossed that we get a spot in the air conditioning with seats. I dont think they require you to wear your life jackets to this drill anymore and I am so glad. My DS has anxiety about going on a boat anyway and I do not want him to be scared.

After the drill we will head here:


sail away party by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from Inside the Magic

I am looking forward to this and hope that are decision to sail during hurricane and off season will make the boat less crowded so we can really enjoy this.

After the Sail Away party we will let the kids head to the kids club if they want. If they do, then the kid-less adults will head here:


quiet cove by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from the internet

If the kids want to hang with us then we may go on a character hunt.

We will all head here before dinner:


Golden Mickeys by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from the internet

Then back to the room to get ready for dinner. I hope to have the following rotation for dinner:

Enchanted Garden, Royal Palace, Animators Palate, & Animators Palate. If I get my wish we will be eating here on our first day:


Enchanted Gardens by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from the internet

We definitely plan to do dine and play since we want to really enjoy dinner and know that the kids will not want to sit through a two hour dinner. So, the kids will be picked up and taken to the kids club about 45 minutes after dinner starts.

After the adults are done with dinner we will swing by the kids club to see how the kids are doing. If they want to hang out with us then we will head here:


D Lounge by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from the internet

If they want to stay in the kids club then we will go check out some of the adults only entertainment.

Eventually it will be time to call it a night.

Up next: Nassau!

 

[leshunlenese]

Hey I am coming over. I would love to do a disney cruise in the future. Your days look great!I need to get on the wagon. I kept getting delayed because my plans keep changing.

 

[lsenquiz]

I would love to do a disney cruise in the future. .

I think a Disney cruise is a really great option for a single parent. I think they even have DIS meets on alot of the cruises specifically for single parents.

I kept getting delayed because my plans keep changing.

I saw. I do not know what it is about the Georgia counties changing the fall break around so much. My cousin and I live in different counties. We used to have the same week off in September and then last year they moved hers so they are a week apart. She ended up having to take her two kids out of school for a week to accomidate our trip last year and I will take our DS out for a week this year. I was mad at first and then looked on the bright side and decided that would mean that we could go to Disney for two weeks instead of one.

I am one of those bad parents that think that is is not the end of the world to take your child out of school for a week especially when they are in the lower grades. My DS does not get to spend much time with his cousins so this annual trip is very important to us.

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

Love reading your Dream plans!! I have read good things about the *GT booking plan...I bet it will work out well for you too!

Seeing your cruise plans makes me so excited for our upcoming cruise!!

 

[dr&momto2boys]

Great TR! I'm especially interested because we have a trip planned to WDW in September too (Aug 31 to Sept 7) and will board the Fantasy on Sept 7 until the 14th.

We get to start making our dining reservations tomorrow! Yay!

We just stayed at Fort Wilderness last month for the first time. We "camped" in our motorhome. That was a new experience for me (at Disney.) We loved the Fort, but I'll stick with our DVC villas I think (mostly because I hate the long drive!)

I laughed when I saw you contemplating tent camping and then decided upon BLT! That's a bit of the opposite extreme! You'll love BLT. Even though I love the ambience of some of the other resorts more than BLT, BLT is still my favorite because of it's location. You just can't beat it! I think it's even better than VGF will be. But I'll probably try them once too when they open.

We can't get enough DVC points! We own at BWV, BLT, and AKV. We've also stayed at VWL, OKW, Aulani, and VGC (at DL.)

Thanks for going through all the trouble of a TR!

 

[lsenquiz]

Seeing your cruise plans makes me so excited for our upcoming cruise!!

I know! I can not wait to read your TR

 

[indimom]

Looks like a fun-filled day one on the cruise!

 

[lsenquiz]

Great TR! I'm especially interested because we have a trip planned to WDW in September too (Aug 31 to Sept 7) and will board the Fantasy on Sept 7 until the 14th.

We get to start making our dining reservations tomorrow! Yay!

We just stayed at Fort Wilderness last month for the first time. We "camped" in our motorhome. That was a new experience for me (at Disney.) We loved the Fort, but I'll stick with our DVC villas I think (mostly because I hate the long drive!)

I laughed when I saw you contemplating tent camping and then decided upon BLT! That's a bit of the opposite extreme! You'll love BLT. Even though I love the ambience of some of the other resorts more than BLT, BLT is still my favorite because of it's location. You just can't beat it! I think it's even better than VGF will be. But I'll probably try them once too when they open.

We can't get enough DVC points! We own at BWV, BLT, and AKV. We've also stayed at VWL, OKW, Aulani, and VGC (at DL.)

Thanks for going through all the trouble of a TR!

I agree with you about the Villas. We usually stay at BWV on rented points but have still not convinced ourselves to buy yet(maybe next year???). For us, the EPCOT resorts are the best location because our favorite parks are DHS and EPCOT. I know I will like BLT but do not expect it to take the place of BWV in my heart.

I was glad to see you have a TR that includes Beach Club in your signature. I am going to try to read through it this week. As you can see by my signature, we have a May/June trip coming up that includes a stay at Beach Club. That will be our first time staying there so I love to read about other people's experiences.

 

[lsenquiz]

Looks like a fun-filled day one on the cruise!

 

[lsenquiz]

Day 9 – Mon Sept. 23rd​

This will be our second day on the Dream which is our Nassau day. We are still trying to figure out exactly what we will do this day- remember there are 10 of us to please. I think it is possible that we may split up. Two of the boys(Gunz & Stitch) want to go deep sea fishing with their dad. There is no way that our DS(Buzz) is going to do that. So I am going to list what I think we will be doing and we will see what the rest of the group settles on.

Because we will be making our Cruise reservations just 60 days before the cruise our options may be limited so I will list what we would like to do in order of priority:

This is our first Priority:


blue lagoon dolphin swim by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Borrowed from the internet

Our goal will be to get the 9:30am boat to Blue Lagoon. If we can then we will do our Dolphin encounter as soon as we get there and explore the area after that. We will make sure we take a boat back to the ship so we are back on board by 5pm.

If we are unable to secure a Blue Lagoon reservation our second option will be to head to Atlantis to do this:


Atlantis Shallow Water Dolphin by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Borrowed from the internet

During this excursion we will spend 30 minutes in shallow water with the dolphins and then be allowed to explore the lagoons of Atlantis. Some of the Lagoons we do not want to miss are:


Ruins Lagoon by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Borrowed from the internet


Predator Lagoon by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Borrowed from the internet


hibiscus lagoon by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Borrowed from the internet


royal ray lagoon by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Borrowed from the internet

If we don’t get priority one or two then our plan will be to head to Atlantis through a different way:


Atlantis by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Borrowed from the internet

We have reserved a room at the Comfort Suites on Paradise Island. This will give us full access to Atlantis. This is a guarantee because I do not have to book through the cruise line. In fact, I have already reserved the room since we can cancel up to Sept 18th with no penalty. We will actually save about $200 by booking Atlantis this way rather than booking directly through Disney.

If we end up with this option, we will have to take a cab from the dock to the hotel and then back to the boat at the end of the day. We will check in to the hotel first thing in the morning and then head immediately to Atlantis. It will be nice to have the room if one of us needs a break but more than likely we will not use it

We will plan to see as much of Atlantis as we can before 4:30pm then head back to the boat.

We will explore the Lagoons first and then head to the water park. Sadly there is not much that are little ones can(or will) do since most everything requires a 48” height. (this is the main reason why this was not our priority 1 option.). We will probably spend some time on the lazy river and here:


Current River by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Borrowed from the internet

This is a fast moving version of the lazy river

Finally we will spend some relaxing time here:


Beach Atlantis by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Borrowed from the internet

We want to be back on the boat by 5pm so we can get cleaned up in time to see this:


Villians tonight by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Borrowed from the internet

After the show we will either go play Bingo or go to the Family Dance Party. Then hopefully we will be heading to here for dinner (this will depend on if I get the dining rotation I am hoping for):


Royal Palace by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Borrowed from the internet

Once again, the kids will participate in Dine and Play so they will be picked up about 45 minutes after dinner starts and taken to the kids club.

Once we are done with dinner we will swing by the kids club to see if the kids want to stay or come hang out with us. If they want to hang with us we will head to the D-lounge to see what is going on there. If they want to stay in the kids club we will head to the adults only part of the ship.

We will try to get to bed at a decent hour because the next day is our Castaway Cay day and I want to be off the ship very early so we can enjoy a full day on the island.

 

[Alysa]

That villain show looks amazing! Do you get to meet the characters afterwards?

 

[lsenquiz]

That villain show looks amazing! Do you get to meet the characters afterwards?

To be honest I have no idea(although I think it would be great if we did). I am sort of flying blind when it comes to my cruise plans because I have never cruised Disney before. I will try to find out and let you know.