The Girls are going to Disney! A Nov. 2011 pretrip report. (Upd. 11/22 - we're home)

[joy13]

I love reading reports, so I'm in. Who knows how lont it will really be befor we get back. Maybe you'll inspire me to take a girls trip also.

I'm excited - it should be fun! I know the feeling of having no trip planned - this one just became for sure in July and after this one it will probably be at least 2014.

Hi! Joining in! My brother is a big ol' packer fan...he would love your team spirit. Cant wait to read more!

Your brother has great taste! I didn't even do that with my introduction pictures on purpose they were just the best/most recent pictures I had. But we are still basking in the glow of being Superbowl Champions

Last time we went was during the Christmas decoration time as well. Amazing!! I, too, am jealous.......lol

Maddie and I were looking at pictures today (Janet - mom2rtk's actually) and it really got us excited. Maddie was oohing and awwwing at the Parade/fireworks and Osbourne lights pictures.

 

[mom2rtk]

Maddie and I were looking at pictures today (Janet - mom2rtk's actually) and it really got us excited. Maddie was oohing and awwwing at the Parade/fireworks and Osbourne lights pictures.

Thanks Joy!

It's nasty hot here today, so I'm sewing and thinking about our December Disney trip as I go. I'm feeling cooler already......

 

[joy13]

First off - If I have any East Coast readers - please stay safe from Irene! I pray she does minimal damage and that the flooding isn't as extensive as they are predicting.

So - I guess I'll get to some of my planning. First off I have to give huge props to one of my readers and my travel agent extraordinaire jenseib I usually book myself, but Jen has recently become a travel agent and I thought - why not help her out and give her some business. I am so glad I did because I had about 4 different scenarios of how to book and when to book etc. Jen ran all the numbers for me and we got it booked, then free dining came out like a week later. So she then spent hours on the phone for me switching my ressie to free dining. We are staying value, so it's the Quick service plan, I realized a few days later that the two table service meals we were going to pay for oop were more expensive than upgrading to the basic plan - so then she switched that for me too So I really gave her a lot of work to do and she did a great job So if you need a travel agent - she comes with a glowing reference from me


We leave on Wednesday 11/16 at 7:00am. We fly from here to Minneapolis and then from Minneapolis to MCO. We are scheduled to get in at 2:19. Since we are supposed to get in relatively early in the day and we are going for such a short trip - I am hoping to get to MK for a little while after checking in at Pop. Here is another change Jen had to make for me - on our original ressie I had gotten 5 day base passes because I want to go to MK the day we get in. But I thought about it and it is November and while snow is rare here that early - it's not unheard of - so when we switched the ressie to free dining I had her book it with a 4 day base pass and then if we get in on time - we will add a day to our tickets I know it's not much to add on a 5th day, but I figure why spend money if we don't have to - the trip is expensive enough as it is.

So once we get to MCO we'll take the Magical Express to Pop:

Here are a few pictures of Pop for those who have not seen it:

Pop is a very fun resort - this will be my 3rd stay there and I've loved it each time.
Continued next post

 

[joy13]

So once we check in, I hope to get our room, freshen up and head over to Magic Kingdom. I don't have huge plans, just to get into the Disney spirit and ride a few rides. I'm bummed that there is no Main Street Electrical Parade this day, but there is Wishes at 8:00.

We have a Chef Mickey's ADR for 8:25

- so I am trying to decide how to handle that. I'm trying to decide between watching Wishes from the end of Main Street than getting to Chef Mickey's as quickly as possible - or leaving MK before Wishes and watching Wishes from the 4th floor observation deck and then heading to our reservation. I'm leaning towards the second choice - but I welcome all opinions. This will be our only chance to see Wishes while we are there. After our dinner - we will head back to Pop for a good nights sleep. We should still be able to catch a bus, but I'm keeping taking a cab back to Pop in the back of my mind. So - airline and weather willing we should have a really nice arrival day

 

[joy13]

Thanks Joy!

It's nasty hot here today, so I'm sewing and thinking about our December Disney trip as I go. I'm feeling cooler already......

Your pictures are so gorgeous! Disney could use them in their advertising! I was saying I don't get pictures that good and Maddie agreed with me

 

[joy13]

It's nasty hot here today, so I'm sewing and thinking about our December Disney trip as I go. I'm feeling cooler already......

That sounds like the perfect way to cool off!

 

[skier_pete]

Hey there - traveling over from my PTR to yours!

I'm trying to decide between watching Wishes from the end of Main Street than getting to Chef Mickey's as quickly as possible - or leaving MK before Wishes and watching Wishes from the 4th floor observation deck and then heading to our reservation. I'm leaning towards the second choice - but I welcome all opinions.

Your in luck! I have lots and lots of opinions!

I'm with you on the second option. I would do it from the Contemporary. You won't feel rushed to get out of the park for your ADR. It's probably a pretty decent spot to see it from. (We've watched it from the roof at CG once - and THAT was a good viewing spot of course.)

This will be our only chance to see Wishes while we are there. After our dinner - we will head back to Pop for a good nights sleep. We should still be able to catch a bus, but I'm keeping taking a cab back to Pop in the back of my mind. So - airline and weather willing we should have a really nice arrival day

Hmmm...catching the bus might be tough - if the park closes at 8 PM that night, the buses supposedly run 60-90 minutes after park closes. That means by 9:30 PM you will be out of luck with buses out of MK. The buses from Epcot would run until 10:30 PM or so, so you might be able to take the monorail to Epcot and then grab a bus from there, but at this point, I would probably say plan on the cab. Might run you $25 from MK to Pop Century, though. We usually budget for 1-2 cab rides a trip just for the occasional convenience.

 

[joy13]

Hey there - traveling over from my PTR to yours!



Your in luck! I have lots and lots of opinions!

I'm with you on the second option. I would do it from the Contemporary. You won't feel rushed to get out of the park for your ADR. It's probably a pretty decent spot to see it from. (We've watched it from the roof at CG once - and THAT was a good viewing spot of course.)




Hmmm...catching the bus might be tough - if the park closes at 8 PM that night, the buses supposedly run 60-90 minutes after park closes. That means by 9:30 PM you will be out of luck with buses out of MK. The buses from Epcot would run until 10:30 PM or so, so you might be able to take the monorail to Epcot and then grab a bus from there, but at this point, I would probably say plan on the cab. Might run you $25 from MK to Pop Century, though. We usually budget for 1-2 cab rides a trip just for the occasional convenience.

I love opinions! Thanks for the confirmation on my thinking for Wishes, just seems less stressful to me. I'm sure someone at the Contemporary can help me with the bus situation.

 

[FosterA]

You almost make me wish we were staying at Pop instead of the Poly. Seriously!
I mean my son would freak out over those huge icons. He loves yo yos and all those kinds of nic nacs. Maybe we'll take a day just to bus over there and look at the stuff.

 

[joy13]

You almost make me wish we were staying at Pop instead of the Poly. Seriously!
I mean my son would freak out over those huge icons. He loves yo yos and all those kinds of nic nacs. Maybe we'll take a day just to bus over there and look at the stuff.

We really do love Pop and we have a small family, so the space is fine for us. Once you get to the Poly though - you'll forget all about Pop

 

[joy13]

Thanks for sticking with me everyone I'm working a lot of hours over the next few days - gotta make the bucks to pay for the vacation, so I volunteered to work the holiday weekend - double time baby! So I hope to get my out first full park day up soon, but I'm not making any promises it will be before next week

 

[skier_pete]

No worries. Make your money, girl! Look at me, I didn't post a real update for a month...my DiS friends didn't give up on me.

 

[joy13]

No worries. Make your money, girl! Look at me, I didn't post a real update for a month...my DiS friends didn't give up on me.

That's true - we Disboarders are a loyal bunch! Thanks Pete!

 

[jenseib]

So - I guess I'll get to some of my planning. First off I have to give huge props to one of my readers and my travel agent extraordinaire jenseib I usually book myself, but Jen has recently become a travel agent and I thought - why not help her out and give her some business. I am so glad I did because I had about 4 different scenarios of how to book and when to book etc. Jen ran all the numbers for me and we got it booked, then free dining came out like a week later. So she then spent hours on the phone for me switching my ressie to free dining. We are staying value, so it's the Quick service plan, I realized a few days later that the two table service meals we were going to pay for oop were more expensive than upgrading to the basic plan - so then she switched that for me too So I really gave her a lot of work to do and she did a great job So if you need a travel agent - she comes with a glowing reference from me

Aw...you are making me blush!

I like the idea of going to the observation deck for Wishes too. Buses usually go about 2 hours after park closes so you have that option, but also you could go to DTD from Contempory and then bus back to Pop if you don't want to spring for a cab. The monorail to Epcot might not be running. They cut the monorail hours down drastically now and I heard that one runs less than the other...could be a rumor as I didn't use it at night.

I am glad you are kind of moving slow with the report....I am so behind lately with reading, so it works great for me.

 

[joy13]

Aw...you are making me blush!

I like the idea of going to the observation deck for Wishes too. Buses usually go about 2 hours after park closes so you have that option, but also you could go to DTD from Contempory and then bus back to Pop if you don't want to spring for a cab. The monorail to Epcot might not be running. They cut the monorail hours down drastically now and I heard that one runs less than the other...could be a rumor as I didn't use it at night.

I am glad you are kind of moving slow with the report....I am so behind lately with reading, so it works great for me.

You may blush, but the praise was well deserved

I figure I'll ask at the Comtemporary and they can tell me if the buses are still running.

 

[joy13]

I hope everyone is having a great weekend! With my schedule, I haven't gotten to work on any planning, but come Tuesday I plan to put my nose to the grindstone

 

[joy13]

Our first full park day will be Thursday 11/17, I decided based on different events going on and crowd calenders that we will go to DHS.

The hours for the park this day are 9:00 - 7:00pm. As of now, Fantasmic is not scheduled for this day.

So I think my plan will be to be at the Pop bus stop between 7:30 and 7:45 - which means we will actually be there by 8:00 I know we won't be first at the turnstiles - but the crowd level for the day is 1.1 out of 10 and I don't really need to be first in line. So we will do what the normal thing is to do and head over to:

But I don't rush to the fastpass machine. When we went in 2009 we got to DHS at probably 8:30ish and then walked to TSMM - rode the ride with about a 15 minute wait and then got a fastpass - our fastpass time was for 11:45 I believe - so it worked great and we got to ride twice That is my plan for this trip too - crowd levels are similar, so I am hoping it works out. Everyone rushes to the Fastpass machines and those lines are longer than the ride lines. By riding first - the fastpass line is gone by the time you are done.

So after TSMM - I'm not sure exactly what order we are going to proceed to do things. Some of it depends on the show times for the day. I can get that a few weeks before we go from the Steve Soares site. I want to ride RnR and Tower of Terror:

I am the only one who will ride these - so this is where the times guide comes into play. My thinking is to stop at Starring Rolls and get something for breaksfast:

While Mom and Maddie are eating, I will make a run for a Tower of Terror fastpass, but I think if the standby line is short, I will ride stand by before I eat Then my thought was that when the Beauty and the Beast stage show starts, Mom and Maddie could go see that and I can ride RnR through the single rider line a few times and then maybe my fastpass time will be ready for Tower of Terror. I have never ridden Tower of Terror, in 2005 I just didn't, 2007 and 2009 it was down when I went to try and I never got back later in the day. I'm not sure if I'm going to like it, but I want to try it at least once. For those who have ridden it - if I only ride using my fastpass, will I be missing some cool theming in the standby que or is the fast pass line in the same area? That's the only reason I am considering riding standby when I run for my fastpass if the line is short.

The other things I'm hoping we'll see/ride are:

The Great Movie Ride
Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Walt Disney - One Man's Dream
Muppets 3D:

Star Tours (probably by myself):

and the Animation Studio

We will probably catch lunch at:

I'm sure we will also fit in a visit to Woody and Buzz:

I'm also hoping to catch Phineas and Ferb, but I have heard the lines for them are pretty long. I don't know if they'll still be meeting in November, but I would guess so since they are so popular. We'll also stop for characters as we see them. I think we should be able to get all these things done pretty early in the afternoon. But if we are still there in time for the parade - we will stay for that as well.

If we are done by the time we eat lunch - we'll head back to Pop for a rest/swim. We have an ADR for Mama Melrose at 5:30 we need to be back for. I have a story to go with that. Just this morning, I couldn't remember what time one of our ADR's was for - so I went onto Disney's site to check it (love online ADR's btw!) and when I looked I didn't have an ADR for Thursday the 17th - when I looked closer - the ADR I made for Mama Melrose - I accidently made it for Saturday the 19th! I had a 6:40 time, which I liked better, but when I went to make one for the right day - they only had 4:00 and 5:30 - so I took the 5:30. Thank goodness I caught that while I could still get an ADR!

So after dinner we will go check out the biggest reason I wanted to go to DW at Christmastime:

The Osborne lights! The park closes at 7:00 and we have the 5:30 ADR so I am hoping we'll have plenty of time to stroll through. I had hoped to be there when they first turn them on and then go back later - but with our ADR time, I think we'll only see them later. The crowds will be less at that time, so it'll be ok

If we had plenty of rest time in the afternoon - I'm hoping we'll have some energy to go to the Boardwalk area after DHS closes. I've never been over there and it sounds like some of those resorts are decorated nicely as well. That will be a decision made that day though.

So that completes our first park day, I hope it won't be too crazy and there will be enough sit down shows that will keep our legs fresh!

Click here for Maddie's list for DHS attractions

 

[joy13]

I bought Maddie the Birnbaum Guide to Walt Disney World for Kids book so she could help me plan. I'm having her go through each park and list the rides she wants to ride, maybe ride, and not ride. Even though she is tall enough to ride everything - she is not a thrill ride girl at this time. I thought she would be - she loved Goofy's Barnstormer and Splashmountain at 4 years old - but she is getting less brave about rides as she ages, instead of more brave. This could be an interesting trip I thought it would be fun to put her list for each park on here after I post my updates.

So - Maddie's list for DHS:

Wants to ride/see:

Toy Story Midway Mania

Muppet Vision- 3D (this scared her in 2009 - but I'm not bringing that up )

Walt Disney - One Man's Dream


Might want to ride/see

Voyage of the Little Mermaid

Doesn't want to ride/see:

Tower of Terror

RocknRollercoaster

Playhouse Disney - Live on Stage (she's growing up )

Lights, Motor, Action Stunt show

Studio Backlot tour

Star Tours

American Idol Experience

Indian Jones Stunt Spectacular

Notice the longest list Sigh....

She missed a few - she didn't list the Animation Studio, Beauty and the Beast or the Great Movie Ride - but I pretty much told her we're going to try and do those. She was somewhat interested in the Honey I shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure, but didn't write it down. I would rather skip that - so I didn't remind her If she really wants to do it that day though - we will.

So that's the DHS list, stay tuned for the rest of the parks!

 

[skier_pete]

Hmmmm...when you said that the park closes @ 7 PM on Thursday, it got me thinking, because my calendar says 8 PM. But I went to the official web-site, and they listed 7 PM as well, and also indicate there is no Fantasmic that night (They've added it most nights of the week.) I wonder why the early closing? Anyways, with no Fantasmic that night - you are probably in for a lightly trafficed day at DHS.

From what I've heard, even though they say "park closes @ 7 PM" it doesn't mean they shut off the lights @ 7 PM, so you'll actually have a little longer to enjoy the lights. I agree with you, one of the main reasons we picked that week was to catch the lights (and food & wine).

 

[joy13]

Hmmmm...when you said that the park closes @ 7 PM on Thursday, it got me thinking, because my calendar says 8 PM. But I went to the official web-site, and they listed 7 PM as well, and also indicate there is no Fantasmic that night (They've added it most nights of the week.) I wonder why the early closing? Anyways, with no Fantasmic that night - you are probably in for a lightly trafficed day at DHS.

From what I've heard, even though they say "park closes @ 7 PM" it doesn't mean they shut off the lights @ 7 PM, so you'll actually have a little longer to enjoy the lights. I agree with you, one of the main reasons we picked that week was to catch the lights (and food & wine).

Thanks for the info on the lights - that's what I as thinking too - so I'm hoping to linger a bit there. I really hope they don't add Fantasmic to this day - I'm counting on crowds being light!

Glad my pre-trip helped your schedule a bit - I wonder if they changed the closing time? I got my times from touring plans - but now did double check them with the Disneyworld calender. I'm sure they may change as the dates get closer.

If your daughter ever reads with you - I'd be interested on her opinion of Maddie's will do/won't do lists