The ABC's of Trip Planning, Pt 1- K is for Keeping Things Kooky- Drinks V-Z; pg. 197 + New Link

[Steppesister]

How strange that AKL is not available... I wonder what might be going on that they have blocked the whole resort? Maybe a visit by a foreign dignitary. But then the suites would be blocked, too. Crazy!!

Boardwalk is one of my favorites!! I own DVC there and Katharina and I stayed there in 2011. I think you will absolutely love it for the convenience of being able to walk to two theme parks! The neat thing is that you also have kind of a small Disney village all around you with food, entertainment etc.

My 2011 TR is more a general thoughts and not a play-by-play report and this was the post where I wrote about the Boardwalk, but we stayed in the DVC portion: Magdalene's Boardwalk experience

I know it is pricey, but if you HAVE to settle on a Deluxe besides AKL (and WL - I understand your reasoning, I still love it!), I think you made a great choice!!

I will have to go back and read that again. I have to take off for school right now, after I get my goats tethered. But will def read it later tonight.

I agree! Sooooo strange not to be available. But it is what it is, and we'll be happy to roll with it.

And yes....sigh. I HAD to settle for a deluxe.

 

[jedijill]

You'll love Boardwalk for the F&W! Weird about AKL but maybe they haven't loaded their inventory yet. Either one will be fantastic.

Jill in CO

 

[Steppesister]

You guys are killing me. I'm leaving for the day at school and happy hour with my Nursing Homies (that'll probably take on a whole new meaning in 20 years) then to the Urgent Care for my wrist... long story I'll tell tomorrow. So, replies later....

 

[tinacaplan]

Hooray for the Boardwalk!! We were there in April (albeit very briefly) for our pre-cruise stay and you cannot beat the location! Especially during Food and Wine! My heart will forever belong to the Beach Club, but I'm so in love with Storm Along Bay I don't think I see straight when it comes to resort choices. The EPCOT resorts are incredible and there is nothing like walking in and out of my favorite park.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Of Good Eats and Goddesses​

Time for another spell-binding episode of Let's See Nashville....

Day 2, if you'll recall, included a dip into Hell-like humidity where we saw dark and fascinating caves, animals from another continent, and the coolest cars on the planet. What I didn't share with you was that to top off an already overly-packed day, we attended a lecture by Dr. Zahi Hawass, leading Egyptologist/Archeologist. It was riveting to see the modern work happening all over the Valley of the Kings and the constant discoveries of intact tombs still being found despite the regional upheaval in the area.

But today was a new day, with new things to see and do. And like they say... "CARPE DIEM!" So we carped. And we diemed. All the way to Nashville.

And what better way to start off the carping than with this?



Only to be followed by the appropriate THIS:



The Tacqueria del Sol is unbe-freaka-lievably good eats. I took a walk on the wild side and got the:

MEMPHIS TACO
Chopped smoked pork with a spicy jalapeño coleslaw and tequila BBQ sauce.

The enchilada was a green chili pork filled with the nomalicious, tender, juicy shredded pork smothered in spicy goodness.

The marg was a

WESTSIDE
"Our Specialty Margarita"
Herradura Reposado, Patron Citronge


That all looks delish! Of course your Marg was great - Reposado and Patron in one drink? The smoothiest of smoothies. The green pork doesn't look bad either. It is hard to find good Mexican food here, believe it or not. I saw Andrew Zimmeren on the travel channel yesterday feature our area, and he said there were generations of watered down Tex Mex - NAILED IT. I'm glad you could find a good place in Nashville.

WOW! 2 thumbs up for this place!

After lunch we headed off to the first destination of the day... a kitchy little homespun place called the Parthenon. Oopsie, I just lied again. It's actually an astounding and immense monolith built as an exact replication of the original in Greece. The only difference is that it is constructed of formed concrete rather than solid marble. I guess they thought leaving what little bit of wealth Greece has left was a noble gesture. At first I was mystified as to why this was even here or why it was built, but here is a little history that will help you understand:

Apparently, Nashville has long been known at the "Athens of the South". In 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition, it was erected as the Centerpiece of the Event. It was re-built in 1990 with Athena added. Today it serves as an art museum and pretty substantial tourist attraction. However, being centered in a large and lovely city park, locals also like to go there to relax and picnic, just as they did 120 years ago. Rather than spend more time with lengthy commentary, I give you... The Parthenon.






This seems a bit confusing.




The interior was intricately detailed with more solid brass than the inside of the Pentagon. Again the sizes were massive and I tried to get the kids in some of the shots to give some much needed scale. And by the way, Wiki has a fantastic write up on this place if you're interested in actually sizes and dimensions as well as a LOT more history.



For you Percy Jackson fans, note the chained doors.





I'm not sure I'd want to be naked in front of a kicking horse. Just sayin'. Cuz that guy's about to relegated to harem duty.

Biting my tongue here





The goddess herself. She stands at 42' tall with her minion, Nike, at formidible 6'. And yes, that's gold leafing. Which amounts to a lifetime of Disney trips. In deluxe resorts with Water Parks and more tickets. Such a waste of money. I"m sure I could have put it to much better use- on Dole Whips. And Corvettes.







If you're at all familiar with the books and movie The Lightening Thief, here are some actual movie props used. In the movie, Percy Jackson had to collect 3 pearls, one shown here, in order to get to the other world. (Bear with me, it's been WAY too long since I've seen the movies.) Below is the dart used to kill the Janitor (The Hydra). And yes, those are the doors pictured above that were trapping them, chained just as they are in real life.





After touring the main exhibits, we looked through the museum portions which explained the history and I came across this: some old timey rules established for the (then) new park. Public parks were a new thing to Americana and I guess a new set of etiquettes had to be established. I found the list in the middle paragraph gut-splitting hilarious. Careful, boys! Don't frighten the horses.




Man, this park sounds like no fun at all! I was just about to show up and stake a few of my cows out while trashing some crockery and having me some watermelon!!!

So, there you have it. The first part of Day 3 of our Kentucky/Tennessee Trip. So far, we're packing it in as best we can!

Next up: THE BIG RESORT REVEAL!!!

I have a feeling we are going to be surprised - I think you surprised yourself???

 

[MarieLightning]

That is really odd about AKL, but I feel like there's been more than one glitch in Disney's reservation system lately. Last week I was checking hotel availability for our upcoming week in November, just out of curiosity, and it was showing everything but two DVC resorts sold out! Almost gave us a heart attack thinking we would be close to full occupancy, but then I checked it night by night, and there were a bunch of hotels available for every night of the week.

Either way, the Boardwalk is definitely a great alternative, so so long as you're happy with it, that's great! I'd actually be a bit more partial to it myself - I looove the look of AKL, but you really can't beat walking right into Epcot. Either way, whatever happens down the road, you'll obviously have a great time at a gorgeous resort!

 

[pkondz]

1) It was INCREDIBLY weird, fun, and panic-attack inducing to be back at school today. Although it was only to help with teaching the 1st Year students their first lab skills, like literally how to work a hospital bed (believe it or not, there's more to them than meet's the eye) and how to give a bed bath etc..., it was a wake up call that starting up again is getting closer.

1. First day of school means one more day closer to graduation.
2. I believe you about the beds. My MIL was in one a few weeks ago and I was pretty impressed with the technology of the thing.

2) I sold our beautiful Butter Corn Snake, Orion, today for $100. That's approximately 1 entire day's worth of EATS for our trip, and stashed perfunctorily into the SSDVF!! (For those of you who are new around here, that's the "The Super Secret Disney Vacation Fund". )

cha-ching!

3) MY TA is making our resort ressies...

TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!​

Woot!!!!

BUT, there was one surprise that even I wasn't expecting. And now that I have your attention.... my homemade mac cheese is done and we need to eat. I may or may not be back on tonight, depending on the dog situation, which I will also explain later.....

You're evil, woman... you're an evil woman!

Ok, here the skinny on the Wilderness Lodge for me. I live in the PNW; we can go to any number of amazing and hugely beautiful lodges a lot like that any day of the year we'd like and do about once a year. Not always to stay in, but you know, Pendelton blankies, log trusses, and chainsaw carvings are pretty standard here. When I go on vacation, I really want to stay somewhere unique to me that I'd never get to stay in unless I'm at WDW or actually GO to that place/area. So WL just doesn't appeal to me at all.

I totally get that.
We see lots of that up here too, of course.
But still... it's a beautiful resort.
Given a choice, though... hmmm.... tough call.

You're pretty famous around here. Does that count?

You spelled "infamous" wrong.

YOu have Joes and Janes up there too?

Yes. But generally there's accents scattered over random vowels.

She should... I mean ice cream and boat rides. And congrats!! We had ours last year too!!

Thanks! And right back atcha!

.... uhh.... yeah, just like that. Except I see him all the time, so he's only mostly dead.

Well... yeah. That's true.

I think you mean twang.

No, no, no. I mean accent. They already have a twang. They pick up foreign accents from all the waters of the world.

Deal! We can laugh at all the schmucks walking around with $7 ice cream....


and then go buy one.

I'm in!

You just don't know what you're missing!

Oh, yes I do.

But at least there wouldn't be dancing dollies.

They don't dance, silly. They're head-banging.

Posted!

HEY! I didn't get a blister until AFTER I switched shoes during that trip. Shoulda stuck with em! Love 'em or hate 'em, they ARE comfy.

Well, of course. They're Canadian.

Yesterday dropped one on me, not like bird droppings on my head while standing in line for HM, but like a unicorn tooting rainbows on my day.

Have you ever smelled unicorn rainbow toots? Pretty, but disgusting.
It's their diet.

And you know how they say, 'be flexible and go with the flow'.

Plumbers say that...

Many folks from young to ancient (I won't mention names)

Thanks. Appreciate that.

Poly was OUT because I stayed there last time, and while I love, LOVE that resort, staying there again doesn't help me reach my fantastical, nerdy goal of staying at all the resorts on property.

Will you marry me?

Wait... you're already married.
I'm already married!

Only the Caribbean was tantalizing, but I quickly tossed that out because we're going to the Keys 10 days after we check in and I'll have enough of close enough to that-so it went.

That makes total sense, actually.

As I've said earlier, the Contemp is one that has NEVER appealed to me.

Ditto. Ugly building. Inside and out.

All to say, as it stands, we have AoA booked from the 10-17 and a Boardwalk standard view room from 17-20th.

Sweet!

1) It has a really creepy pool with a Clown to send my kids home with horrible nightmares. Which is awesome because we will be doing Halloween this trip, right?

2) It's super close to EPCOT, and the other highlight of this trip is F&W. So, that's a win, since we'll be spending quite a bit of time there.

Perfect placement, then.

HOW RUDE.

*sobs into her pillow*

I'm leaving for the day at school and happy hour with my Nursing Homies (that'll probably take on a whole new meaning in 20 years)

then to the Urgent Care for my wrist... long story I'll tell tomorrow.

Uh, oh. Hope it's nothing serious.

 

[cinderkelly]

How exciting you went for the Boardwalk, creepy clown pool and all! My DH has given me the green light to start our vaca a day early so we can have 6 full park days and BWI is on my short list for a one night only stay. I love the location and entertainment options! The resort looks just beautiful! Really strange though that AKL says no availability . But you get 10 nights at DW!!!!! How awesome is that??

But yea! You're booked!!! That's so exciting! I even get excited when I make a payment to my vacation and I get the conf. Email saying " you're one step closer to your DW vacation!"

Oh no....what happened to your wrist? Hope it's ok!

I agree with you about Wilderness Lodge, it never occurred to me to stay there before, we get lots of " lodge feel" in CO as well, but looking at the pics of the resort it was so beautiful and DH is really into Native American stuff so we were booked there until I started reading about all the upcoming construction. So it's still on my " one night only" list for our upcoming trip.

 

[cinderkelly]

sorry for the double post, apparently my internet has not has its coffee yet this morning!

 

[Steppesister]

HOW RUDE.

*sobs into her pillow*

You guys crack me up! Honestly, clowns don't scare me at all, and I have nothing to fear here. I just think it IS super odd that that is the main feature since Disney must know that many people (not just kids) are afraid of them. So odd. Anyway, this exchange is exactly why I love TRing and the people here. I get a laugh every time I sign in.

 

[Elevationist]

You guys crack me up! Honestly, clowns don't scare me at all, and I have nothing to fear here. I just think it IS super odd that that is the main feature since Disney must know that many people (not just kids) are afraid of them. So odd. Anyway, this exchange is exactly why I love TRing and the people here. I get a laugh every time I sign in.

I'm so glad that my MORTAL TERROR amuses you, Liesa!

Honestly... Just LOOK at that creepy dude! All massive and looming, mouth agape, eyes all glowing evilly... WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA. SERIOUSLY THOUGH.

 

[glennbo123]

You guys crack me up! Honestly, clowns don't scare me at all, and I have nothing to fear here. I just think it IS super odd that that is the main feature since Disney must know that many people (not just kids) are afraid of them. So odd. Anyway, this exchange is exactly why I love TRing and the people here. I get a laugh every time I sign in.

Of course, getting a moonlit picture of the clown at his creepiest was high on my to-do list this past summer. Thanks for giving me my first opportunity to use it!

 

[Steppesister]

You kill me.

Haha, always a pleasure to provide the comic relief.

Sadly, this doesn't shock me. Availability has been SUPER WEIRD lately. I'm actually fighting that fight for a few of my clients at the moment.

It is weird! But I'm happy to roll with it. The best theory I've seen is Magdalene's and a dignitary coming. It's either that or a massive glitch.

We share this fantastical, nerdy goal, my friend. I absolutely loved POFQ, but it's unlikely I'll return there anytime soon, as it's already been crossed off of the bucket list.

It'll be a fun pursuit and I'd love a friend to share the journey....

I love this plan!!! Which section of AoA?

The Little Mermain, Standard Room. We probably won't be there much, so this will work great! But we WILL be swimming in ALL of the pools for sure!! Super excited for that!

Yeah... That clown pool, man... I can't. I just can't. Eventually I'm going to have to stay at BWI to cross it off my list. And I do love EVERYTHING else about the resort. So. I myself am pretty much saving this one for the next time that an opportunity presents itself for a short trip in the dead of winter. So I can stay far, far away from that pool.

LOL!!! My daughter says now that it just looks so sterile and uppity. I think she'll change her mind once she gets there.

Yaaaaassss! (This is one of the reasons why I am hoping to move my Oct 2016 booking over to the Beach Club (no creepy clowns there, btw), if only the dang military rates will hurry up and get released!)

I LOVE the look of Stormalong. Someday.... you know what? My next year's trip I'll be able to get a Military through my son.... excited for that!

Nuff said.

Absolutely! The entire Boardwalk area is GREAT! Okay, sure, no wandering zebras and stuff, but whatever! You'll see those at AK on the safari anyhow, right?

Yes, and we will have at least one meal at AKL so will take a walk after Sanaa...

How excitiiiiiiing!!! And I just love your easy-going attitude about the change. I think you're going to have an AWESOME trip, no matter what! [/QUOTE]

It totally will be awesome!! Almost only a year left!!!

 

[Steppesister]

You'll love Boardwalk for the F&W! Weird about AKL but maybe they haven't loaded their inventory yet. Either one will be fantastic.

Jill in CO

I'm sure I will! Maroo and I almost chose it for our deluxe on our Girl's Trip, but the POLY won out. I know I'll love being close to my favorite park! Especially during F&W.

If Brook finds something in the next few weeks, and it's as cheap or cheaper than what we've already got booked, I'll be happy to switch back to AKL; either way it'll be awesome!

Hooray for the Boardwalk!! We were there in April (albeit very briefly) for our pre-cruise stay and you cannot beat the location! Especially during Food and Wine! My heart will forever belong to the Beach Club, but I'm so in love with Storm Along Bay I don't think I see straight when it comes to resort choices. The EPCOT resorts are incredible and there is nothing like walking in and out of my favorite park.

The Beach Club is pretty high up there too on my list, but I had to make a pretty quick decision, since I was ready at that moment to pull the trigger and I do love a smidge of the element of surprise. Seriously, it was as much a surprise to me as it was to all of you!! How fun is that!!??

I have a feeling we are going to be surprised - I think you surprised yourself???

I think there will be more flip flops and surprises that will come up along the way!!

 

[Steppesister]

That is really odd about AKL, but I feel like there's been more than one glitch in Disney's reservation system lately. Last week I was checking hotel availability for our upcoming week in November, just out of curiosity, and it was showing everything but two DVC resorts sold out! Almost gave us a heart attack thinking we would be close to full occupancy, but then I checked it night by night, and there were a bunch of hotels available for every night of the week.

Either way, the Boardwalk is definitely a great alternative, so so long as you're happy with it, that's great! I'd actually be a bit more partial to it myself - I looove the look of AKL, but you really can't beat walking right into Epcot. Either way, whatever happens down the road, you'll obviously have a great time at a gorgeous resort!

The whole system is such a dark mystery to me. When I was trying to get my own ressie for AoA a few weeks ago, just to check pricing, it showed NO Little Mermaid rooms available. At all. So weird!!! I'm glad I decided to go through a TA this time! It'll save me a lot of frustration and time I think in the long run.

Yes, it'll be great walking into the "back door" and being right where I want to be. I do think on our mornings that we want to hit up EMH in FW, though, we'll maybe take a bus? I need to ask @Flossbolna about this! Hmmm...??

But, you're right, either option- whichever it ends up being in the end, will be so awesome!

How exciting you went for the Boardwalk, creepy clown pool and all! My DH has given me the green light to start our vaca a day early so we can have 6 full park days and BWI is on my short list for a one night only stay. I love the location and entertainment options! The resort looks just beautiful! Really strange though that AKL says no availability . But you get 10 nights at DW!!!!! How awesome is that??

Ohhhh, adding an extra day... Niiiiice move! I am toying with a red eye, just to get a little extra time in the bubble as well. We won't have park tickets, but can definitely swim, ride the monorail, etc...I love that the BWI has so many entertainment options right there; it's like having a little mini park right in my own backyard! And, yes 10 nights at WDW... it's like a dream come true!

But yea! You're booked!!! That's so exciting! I even get excited when I make a payment to my vacation and I get the conf. Email saying " you're one step closer to your DW vacation!"

I will have to start making payments pretty soon; waiting to see what the last 2 paychecks pull in.

Oh no....what happened to your wrist? Hope it's ok!

Well, the short story is I have a pretty bad case of tendonitis going on. It's so painful right now, that I can hardly sign my name with a pen. I have 2 shifts of work left and after that will really have to rest it up until school starts. Ice, brace, Naproxen, etc...

I agree with you about Wilderness Lodge, it never occurred to me to stay there before, we get lots of " lodge feel" in CO as well, but looking at the pics of the resort it was so beautiful and DH is really into Native American stuff so we were booked there until I started reading about all the upcoming construction. So it's still on my " one night only" list for our upcoming trip.

WL isn't a bad place and I can totally see the appeal to the people who don't get to see that theming at all. And I totally would go there (without giving too big of a spoiler) for other reasons. Hint, hint.

 

[Steppesister]

1. First day of school means one more day closer to graduation.
2. I believe you about the beds. My MIL was in one a few weeks ago and I was pretty impressed with the technology of the thing.

So true! You really know how to put things in perspective!

A hosp bed and weigh you, alarm us if you're out of it (or try to get out of it), put you in positions so we can do all manner of uncomfortable things to you, and make you a cappucino.

cha-ching!

I should sell all the kids who aren't going too....

You're evil, woman... you're an evil woman!

I've been called worse.

I totally get that.
We see lots of that up here too, of course.
But still... it's a beautiful resort.
Given a choice, though... hmmm.... tough call.

And that's part of what makes Disney so amazing- something for everyone, and something for every occasion/mood/budget.

You spelled "infamous" wrong.

Yes. But generally there's accents scattered over random vowels.

Like, "eh?"

No, no, no. I mean accent. They already have a twang. They pick up foreign accents from all the waters of the world.

I'm sitting here trying to imagine how a Zimbabwean accent WITH a twang would even sound!!! (And then got coffee on my qwerty because I had to try it myself.)

They don't dance, silly. They're head-banging.

OH, yeah, right. WE'll have to go on that together sometime and you can headbang while I dance with them. And then we can talk about it in the Disney jail.

Posted!

Replied.

Well, of course. They're Canadian.

Is there anything Canadians CAN'T do?

Have you ever smelled unicorn rainbow toots? Pretty, but disgusting.
It's their diet.

I don't care how they smell if they toot out nights at the Boardwalk. For less money than nights at AKL and still be a deluxe.

Plumbers say that...

Will you marry me?

Wait... you're already married.
I'm already married!

Details, details.

That makes total sense, actually.

Sometimes that accidentally happens.

Ditto. Ugly building. Inside and out.

See? Great minds!! It was probably really cool and chic in 1971 when it was built. Now it's just... yuck. Sorry to all of you Contemp lovers out there. Just not my thing.

Perfect placement, then.

I think so. Still going back to AKL if it opens up though. For the kids. I'll be back regularly, them not so much.

Uh, oh. Hope it's nothing serious.

See comments to others.

 

[Steppesister]

I'm so glad that my MORTAL TERROR amuses you, Liesa!

Honestly... Just LOOK at that creepy dude! All massive and looming, mouth agape, eyes all glowing evilly... WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA. SERIOUSLY THOUGH.

My pleasure. LOL! I admit, he is creepy (ier) at night for sure. Maybe they used that on purpose to keep the whole resort with a more adult census load. ?? Obvioulsy, I love kids, like a lot since I have 5, but I'm also a fan of no splashing and quiet swims too.

Of course, getting a moonlit picture of the clown at his creepiest was high on my to-do list this past summer. Thanks for giving me my first opportunity to use it!

OH, you're soooooo welcome! Always glad when someone can give my readers a panic attack.

 

[Flossbolna]

On the morning EMH question: I am afraid that I do not know the definite answer!! I think we never did morning EMH. BUT I know that for normal rope drop you can just enter through the International Gateway. The walkway down to FW is open, but the pavilions are not. Actually: You might want to get breakfast in France as I think the bakery in France is now open from park opening...

 

[Steppesister]

Here's a recap of the first couple of days I'd already posted plans for:

Day 1- Travel Day

Not sure if we'll be taking a "normal" flight and arriving in the last afternoon or biting the bullet and taking a red eye.

"Normal" plan- Arrive late afternoon, check-in to AoA, head straight to DTD for an ADR at Raglan Rd., back to resort, swim

"Red Eye" plan- Arrive early morning, check-in to AoA, swim, head to bed for a nap, evening at DTD for an ADR at Raglan Rd., early to bed.

Day 2- 1st Real Park Day

Breakfast at Food Court, AM at EPCOT, FW until 11:00, WS; F&W lunch, 3:00 head to MK for MNSSHP

Day 3- 2nd Park Day

Slow morning after late party, AK in the morning (not sure if I should use the FPs here since we're arriving later than RD?) or wait and use them later....

Which brings me to the 2nd half of Day 3:

After our morning at AK, and @Flossbolna made a good point, we'll be super tired after staying up super late, we may not want to make a RD so early the next day, so we'll play that by ear. If we DO happen to get up early and are able to make it to RD, I'll change my FPs to MK for later; if not I'll have to use them here for EE, Safari, and possibly Dinosaur.

After some good advice by a trusted friend (Hi, @glennbo123 !) I think we'll try the Market Place for lunch. Unless as I continue my planning, I can't find a better place to plunk in Sanaa- which is a must-do for me. I KNOW the kids will LOVE Sanaa, but I don't want to sacrifice park time for going all the way there. We'll see.... Both options are still on the table at this point. And it may be a game time decision.

From lunch, I have on the spreadsheet to head over to MK around 3:00 for the evening. We'll just do whatever until it's time for one of the highest priorities of my trip- MSEP. For you new readers, this parade holds some extremely nostalgic feelings for me, and yes, I cry when I watch it. Every time. Something about re-living those childhood memories and the happy music I can't stop be-bopping to when I hear it. Wishes should be following the parade, if this year's schedules stay the same....

Somewhere in there, probably just before we find our parade spot, we'll grab dinner at:

1) If we do Market Place, a CS, we'll do The Plaza, a TS place, OR

2) If we end up at Sanaa, a TS, we'll eat at CHH, a CS place. Trying to balance to those out each day to 1 of each.

(Menu choices and all that good stuff to come in later posts....)

I'd love your feedback, comments, suggestions, etc..... Sometimes I overlook obvious potential messups for sure!!

Also, would love your prayers for this ridiculous wrist of mine. I really need it to be all better before school starts up!!!

 

[Flossbolna]

As to the FP+ question: Definitely get them for AK morning. Once you have used all of them, you will be able to get new FP+ at the MK one at a time at the kiosks (maybe even on the app, but last December that was not possible). Or at least keep an eye out on what the FP+ policies are about 3-4 months for your trip. That will give you one month to fine-tune your FP+ strategy before your window opens 60 days before the trip. If I were you I would not worry too much about FP+ just yet. The system is quite settled now, but who knows how they might tweak it within the next year. So, it is easier to do all the hard learning closer to the trip when there is less danger of things being changed around for you.

I hope your wrist heals soon!! I am sorry that it is giving you such a hard time!!