*** The Official August 2018 Thread*** - let's have some fun....

[rentayenta]

Checking in to report we are having an awesome time. Went to DHS last night for EMH and waited in a 50 min line for SDD (we have a FP later this week). It was so worth it, so much fun! More intense than I had anticipated. I wanted to see TSL at night since out FP are all during the day. It's really adorable!
Our last two days we have not seen any rain, Thurs night it rained a tiny bit around 11:30 P.M. on our bus ride home. The heat is rough but mid day breaks are a must for us no matter what time of year we visit. The crowds have been very manageable which makes the heat easier to me. Heading out to DHS in a bit and then we have a reservation at Teppan Edo tonight. The AKL is truly a magical place. We are in room 3324 a standard view room. I requested a partial Savannah View and our view is amazing. It's hard to leave the room with giraffes and zebras outside your balcony. Hope everyone's trips/planning is going well. We have 3 more wonderful Disney days left!

We are staying at AKV too, Kidani though. I am so excited and I agree it's tough to leave the resort, its amazing!

Glad you are having a good time! Sounds like the crowds are manageable.



We leave tonight! Anyone have any good tips for sleeping on an airplane? We are taking a red-eye, non stop, from LAX to MCO.

 

[tvsdisney]

This wait is killing me!! Only 11 days left and I started packing already!

 

[luvmy2babies]

I thought someone here said they were recently at blizzard beach / how were the crowds ?

My children and I went for a few hours yesterday. We got there around 11. It didn't feel very crowded but the lines for the big slides were significant when we walked by them. We didn't do the big ones. No one in my crew that adventurous. We have only been one other time. Last year we went from 4 to close (7 that day). You could bump into someone in the wave pool easily with the floats since you don't have much control over it. We also didn't have any trouble getting a hold of one though. Lines weren't long for food and snacks. No trouble getting into a changing room when we were leaving. Hope this helps.

 

[Mika02]

Finally got my hair done last night. My mom messaged me at 12am (while I was sleep lol) saying in one week she will see us. The kids and I can't wait to see her as well been nearly a year!

About to start organizing outfits for our trip makes sure we have everything. Can't believe our trip is almost here!

 

[Aladora]

15 days to go! I made a mani/pedi appointment for the day before we leave, now I just need to pick what Disney nail design I want.

Our flight leaves at the disgusting time of 5:45am so we have to be at the airport super early. We typically travel with only carry on bags so we check in the day before and then we roll up at the airport 15-20 minutes before boarding. This trip we are flying first class (!!!!) so all our checked bags are free. As a result we are planning on bringing two cases which means we have to get to the airport at least 1.5 hours early.

We’ve made arrangements to stay at my mom’s place the night before, she is around 20 minutes from the airport and we are aprox twice that. When you have to get up at 3:00ish, 20 extra minutes of sleep is important!

 

[ashnicole]

We are staying at AKV too, Kidani though. I am so excited and I agree it's tough to leave the resort, its amazing!

Glad you are having a good time! Sounds like the crowds are manageable.



We leave tonight! Anyone have any good tips for sleeping on an airplane? We are taking a red-eye, non stop, from LAX to MCO.

Have a safe flight!
I would also love any tips for sleeping on planes, as I have a red eye from LAX next week. I’ve never taken a red eye but since our trip is so short we wanted an extra day.

 

[rentayenta]

Have a safe flight!
I would also love any tips for sleeping on planes, as I have a red eye from LAX next week. I’ve never taken a red eye but since our trip is so short we wanted an extra day.

Thanks, you too! Thats the reason we are taking a red-eye as well, to add an extra day and not waste a day traveling. Plus it was not $$$ and through JetBlue we were able to apply some miles.

I am a terrible traveler and sleeper so this should be an adventure. We did opt for their version of first class so we could have more room, board first, and try to get some sleep.

 

[ashnicole]

Thanks, you too! Thats the reason we are taking a red-eye as well, to add an extra day and not waste a day traveling. Plus it was not $$$ and through JetBlue we were able to apply some miles.

I am a terrible traveler and sleeper so this should be an adventure. We did opt for their version of first class so we could have more room, board first, and try to get some sleep.

Hopefully that helps! I can never sleep for more than 20 minutes on a flight, but I figured I don’t sleep the night before vacation anyways so why not try flying in the middle of the night? We’ll see how this works out haha
But as my sister tells me, even if we’re tired, at least we’re tired in Walt Disney World and not sitting at work or at home!

 

[rentayenta]

Hopefully that helps! I can never sleep for more than 20 minutes on a flight, but I figured I don’t sleep the night before vacation anyways so why not try flying in the middle of the night? We’ll see how this works out haha
But as my sister tells me, even if we’re tired, at least we’re tired in Walt Disney World and not sitting at work or at home!

Exactly! Your sister is correct! We have only taken one red-eye years ago with our kids and plane change in the middle of the night. It was hell.

I slept surprisedly well last night which is a rarity the day before traveling.

 

[Leesha.Monster]

We are staying at AKV too, Kidani though. I am so excited and I agree it's tough to leave the resort, its amazing!

Glad you are having a good time! Sounds like the crowds are manageable.



We leave tonight! Anyone have any good tips for sleeping on an airplane? We are taking a red-eye, non stop, from LAX to MCO.

Our flight last year left LAX at 9:55pm(ish) and we arrived at MCO around 5:30 am. We got to our resort in less than an hour.
I could NOT sleep on the plane and my 9-year-old wouldn’t sleep either even though I was sure he would. We were super tired and luckily we got our room early at 9:45 but waiting in the resort those 3 hours were killer. I was prettt exhausted and we knocked out from 10:30am until 6:30pm.

This year we decided to do a morning flight and arrive at MCO around 6pm. We’ll see how that works out.

Sorry I know you asked for advice but whatever I tried did not work!! Haha. We tried waking up early, no naps in the daytime before we left. No go for us. Hope you find something that works for you!!

 

[rentayenta]

Our flight last year left LAX at 9:55pm(ish) and we arrived at MCO around 5:30 am. We got to our resort in less than an hour.
I could NOT sleep on the plane and my 9-year-old wouldn’t sleep either even though I was sure he would. We were super tired and luckily we got our room early at 9:45 but waiting in the resort those 3 hours were killer. I was prettt exhausted and we knocked out from 10:30am until 6:30pm.

This year we decided to do a morning flight and arrive at MCO around 6pm. We’ll see how that works out.

Sorry I know you asked for advice but whatever I tried did not work!! Haha. We tried waking up early, no naps in the daytime before we left. No go for us. Hope you find something that works for you!!

The worst! I predict we will crash out early tomorrow night. I am not expecting our villa to be ready though I did request early check in; DVC seem to be the last ready. They have our money already. We leave LAX at 10 pm and arrive at 6:30 am but it'll feel like 3:30 am. I am hoping for the best. As of right now, seating looks ok and unless a bunch of folks upgrade, we may have a little room to spread out. Fingers crossed!



Good luck with your morning flight. It's nice to keep normal hours.

 

[ashnicole]

Exactly! Your sister is correct! We have only taken one red-eye years ago with our kids and plane change in the middle of the night. It was hell.

I slept surprisedly well last night which is a rarity the day before traveling.

That was one thing I refused to do: change planes at 2 or 3am, I can’t imagine! But whatever gets you to WDW is a decent flight!

Our flight last year left LAX at 9:55pm(ish) and we arrived at MCO around 5:30 am. We got to our resort in less than an hour.
I could NOT sleep on the plane and my 9-year-old wouldn’t sleep either even though I was sure he would. We were super tired and luckily we got our room early at 9:45 but waiting in the resort those 3 hours were killer. I was prettt exhausted and we knocked out from 10:30am until 6:30pm.

This year we decided to do a morning flight and arrive at MCO around 6pm. We’ll see how that works out.

Sorry I know you asked for advice but whatever I tried did not work!! Haha. We tried waking up early, no naps in the daytime before we left. No go for us. Hope you find something that works for you!!

That’s what I’m hoping to do! I have an early 10 hour shift that day. We’ve agreed to not sleep at all on the day of our flight in hopes of that helping. We’ll see!

Has anyone checked into a hotel after a red eye? I’m thinking we’ll get to AoA around 9:30am. Do you usually have to wait until 3pm for your room to be ready?

 

[Monykalyn]

Safe travels to those coming soon! Little rain so far. Late night last night meant a bit of sleep in today, plus afternoon nap (slept almost 3 hours). Started in MK, got space, people mover, buzz done, the our SDMT FP turned into anytime FP, got snack- then HM, philharmagic FP PP, FP thunder mountain, RR to storybrook to be closer for BoG lunch, SDMT and headed out. Currently at Trader Sams on patio enjoying drinks and breeze! Had go for splash-eh. Not gonna make it. Might make it for HEA...

Checking in to report we are having an awesome time. Went to DHS last night for EMH and waited in a 50 min line for SDD (

We were there too! 51 minutes at 11:40ish. Was in bed after shower at 130am. DD was working celebrity spotlight last night so we got to chat with her. Saw fantasmic and SW fireworks. The current version of SW fireworks are entirely skippable. Been watered down since SWW and this new version is bleh- but they don’t have to shut TSMM down like they used to so...
Enjoying my view

 

[dubskates]

7 days to go for us. Our flight keeps getting moved earlier and earlier, so we should be at the resort bright and early!

 

[Monykalyn]

For those still to come! Almost here for you! Very likely last night at MK for a couple years (faint possibility of girls trip next May)

 

[Tulles]

Day 2 and we're still dragging butt a little. Our Pooh FP is at 9:45 so we'll need to speed up a little to make it before 11 when it expires. An hour and a half should be plenty of time.

 

[MamaJessie]

I originally thought CP at 10am and HDDR at 4 made sense but now I am thinking about it realistically and we will not want two heavy meals so close together so I think I am going to drop Crystal Palace. I have seriously planned on going to Crystal Palace the last 5 trips and each time we end up cancelling for one reason or another lol. Maybe an 8am will open up, who knows...

Just set up my last weekly grocery order until vacation is over, yay!

 

[luvmy2babies]

Our magical trip is nearly at an end. We had a great day at Animal Kingdom yesterday. We did Discovery Island, then the Africa portion, Dinoland and Pandora. We rode the Safari ride, did the trails, then after some hydration, ds and I did Dinoland while my 15 year-old got some additional rest. Then we headed to Pandora for our Navi River Journey fast passes and stayed through the show and saw it light up. Watched a bit of Tree of Life Awakening before heading out.

We have two more park days and fly home early afternoon on the 7th. Today we are resting though I will probably do the laundry and we may have a bit of pool time. We are spending the evening at Magic Kingdom, going in around 3 or 4 and hopefully staying to see HEA. Tomorrow the plan is to see Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo and the Asia portion of Animal Kingdom to finish up.

I have tried to enjoy each and every day. Vacation always go by too quickly no matter the length. This has certainly been a good one. The goal was not to go home feeling like I needed another vacation immediately because honestly because my job is in contract status, I never know when the next one will be even if I plan another one. Still, I told dd I was going to begin planning much earlier for our next trip whatever that is. I really want to plan a trip to do Universal. We all agreed we went to see it. The kids have a 4 day weekend in January I was looking at. As to Disney, I can see our trips are changing as the children get older and that is fine too. We also really want to do Disney World at a cooler time next time so we can bring my mother.

 

[DisneyObsessed87]

Our magical trip is nearly at an end. We had a great day at Animal Kingdom yesterday. We did Discovery Island, then the Africa portion, Dinoland and Pandora. We rode the Safari ride, did the trails, then after some hydration, ds and I did Dinoland while my 15 year-old got some additional rest. Then we headed to Pandora for our Navi River Journey fast passes and stayed through the show and saw it light up. Watched a bit of Tree of Life Awakening before heading out.

We have two more park days and fly home early afternoon on the 7th. Today we are resting though I will probably do the laundry and we may have a bit of pool time. We are spending the evening at Magic Kingdom, going in around 3 or 4 and hopefully staying to see HEA. Tomorrow the plan is to see Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo and the Asia portion of Animal Kingdom to finish up.

I have tried to enjoy each and every day. Vacation always go by too quickly no matter the length. This has certainly been a good one. The goal was not to go home feeling like I needed another vacation immediately because honestly because my job is in contract status, I never know when the next one will be even if I plan another one. Still, I told dd I was going to begin planning much earlier for our next trip whatever that is. I really want to plan a trip to do Universal. We all agreed we went to see it. The kids have a 4 day weekend in January I was looking at. As to Disney, I can see our trips are changing as the children get older and that is fine too. We also really want to do Disney World at a cooler time next time so we can bring my mother.

Sounds like you have had a great trip! I enjoyed following along. We always feel like we need a vacation after vacation, so I have made it our goal to take it slower this trip and really enjoy the moment - not be rushing from one thing to the next.

 

[luvmy2babies]

Sounds like you have had a great trip! I enjoyed following along. We always feel like we need a vacation after vacation, so I have made it our goal to take it slower this trip and really enjoy the moment - not be rushing from one thing to the next.

It has been. It has been a mentally exhausting year going back to the start of the school year. I'm not ready for school to begin again at the end of the month. But I said I would vacation earlier to give myself more time. Last year school started like 4 days after we got home. Both kids are on IEPs and last year wasn't a good year for either of them. I almost pulled them both to home school. I have also been working an average of 50 hours a week for almost a year. Been working on this trip too. I am grateful for this time. Already had some meetings to hopefully make next year better, but still. If I had to face another school year without a break I don't know if we would have made it.