Figment1990
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2008
- Messages
- 2,392
I have a funny take on the Magic Bands for this trip. Since it is just DH and I and we have been to the World several times, we doing the "spontaneous" plan. Since FP+ limits you to three choices per day, it is helping "guide" us through the parks. Without these three things "booked", we would just wander aimlessly and probably not do much because the standby lines could be longer than we are willing to wait.
Here's how I "planned" our itinerary (*sorry, it's a little long)...
Thursday: Flight lands at 5:30, DME to AKV by 7pm. No set dinner plans yet. We'll either eat at the Mara or order room service if we want something "fancy". Since I won't be able to get our TIW card until the next morning, I don't want to eat at a TS restaurant.
Friday: Hit AK first thing (EMH at 8am) and get our TIW card. The only things we really want to do here are Kilimanjaro Safaris (it's a different experience every time) and maybe Everest. We may walk the two trails too, if we have time. After that (hopefully by 10am), we'll catch a cab to the Expo, get our bibs and new corral assignments, and do a little shopping. Then it's lunch at the ESPN grill (counter service that accepts TIW
) and back to the resort, hopefully by 1pm. For the evening, I plan to get to DHS around 4pm. Here's where the FP+ comes in handy. I have a FP+ for RnRC at 4:40. We'll do that as soon as we can. Then, it's ToT on standby, followed by Fantasmic at 6:30. We have a FP+ for Fantasmic so we don't have to wait in line super early. I plan to sit near the back so we can make a quick exit. Then it's over to TSMM where we have a FP+ for 7-8pm. After the ride, we head over to 50's PTC for dinner at 7:45. The park closes at 8 so we should have a nice, leisurely bus ride back to the resort after dinner.
Saturday: RACE DAY!!I want to get up early and hit the MK in the morning. It's not really a trip to WDW without going to the MK, but there is not a lot we NEED to do. I want to check out the new Fantasyland so I made 3 FP+ reservations for us. First, we'll hit Buzz Lightyear (one of these days, I will beat DH
) with a FP+ of 9:05. Then, off to Fantasyland for Under the Sea with Ariel at 10:05. Finally, we'll hit BTMRR at 11:05. Perhaps, if the standby line isn't too long, we will try for the Haunted Mansion on our way over to Frontierland. If it's not too late, on the way out, we will try for PoTC. I'd like to be back at the hotel by 1pm so that we can get a decent nap in before the race. I plan on eating dinner by 5pm (tuna and pasta salad in the room) and getting to Epcot by 6pm. Then, we'll catch the shuttle to the WWoS...and then we wait
.
Sunday: SLEEP IN. I have a "lunch" (but it will be our first meal of the day) at Sanaa at 1:30. After lunch, we'll head back to Epcot. We have FP for Soarin at 3, Test Track at 4:40 and Mission Space at 5:45. After that, it's more time at the F&W booths (and Grey Goose slushies!) and Illuminations to close out the night.
Monday: Nothing planned so far for the morning. Maybe some pool time or back to the AK for any of the shows that we missed. To close out the trip, I booked dinner at 7:30pm at Artist Point. We honeymooned at the WL 11 years agoso that has a special meaning for us. Afterwards, we'll take the boat to the CR and head over to the Top of the World Lounge to watch the Holiday Wishes from the roof at 9:30pm. DH has never been to the TOTWL so I am excited to share it with him. We'll walk back to the MK bus stop and catch the bus back to AKV. Then I'll have to get us packed up because we leave the next day
.
Tuesday: Our flight leaves at 2:30 so I am planning on an 11:30 DME pickup. I booked our traditional departure-day breakfast at Boma for 10:15am. We'll check our bags with RAC and leave our carry-ons with bell services before breakfast. I plan to linger at breakfast until about 11:00 and then we'll head out to the bus stop to start the sad trip home.
The point about the FP+ is that without it, I would literally have no "guidance" to follow. This way, I can formulate a bit of an itinerary but still maintain the flexibility to change it up as we want.
DH and I honeymooned at the WL 11 years ago too! Last year we booked Artist point for a meal during race weekend, this year we are going back to Jiko. We spent an evening there at the bar having south african wine and apps back on our honeymoon in 2002 and love the atmosphere.
Our plan is similar with a few exceptions. We're going to Epcot on thursday night, DHS on friday, probably followed by jelly rolls or ESPN, expo saturday after a nice mornings of sleeping in and late brunch, Epcot on sunday to eat everything in sight
, MK on monday morning for breakfast and a couple rides, and tea in the afternoon at the Grand before leaving for the airport. We don't have any set plans for rides yet but maybe if we get some FP+ we will use that. We usually like to ride the "big rides" when DS is not with us, so FP+ would be helpful to get to ride Test Track, Soarin, Rock n Roller Coaster, TSM, and Space Mountain. Wonder if I'll be able to hook up our rundisney tickets (if they ever arrive!)
Around mile 6 was my slowest with a 9:25. 
. I'm just glad that I can use it to get into a better corral. *IF* I do the entire 13.1 the same way that I do my training runs, I could complete it at a 12:30 pace (I hope), but since I plan on taking my time through the parks and stopping for pictures, I will be happy with a 14:00 pace overall
. I had 12.5 miles to do according to the Galloway plan. The weather was great but I just wasn't into it. My legs seemed tired but I think it was more my mental state. Just a crappy crappy week AND two of my chEAR squad had to cancel and can't come to see me run 
