Third Time's the Charm! A June, Oct/Nov and Dec '19 PTR complete 12/22!

[lvcourtneyy]

I stayed at CBR a few years ago, and I loved it. It's a great resort!



There's a pop-up bar at the Grand Floridian that's the stand-in for Mizner's; depending on the time, you could also go to the Pool Bar? I have had a good drink at the lounge at California Grill, too!

Thank you for the suggestions! I didn't even think about the pool bar but that's a great option. We might have to get a drink at both the pop-up bar and the pool bar lol

I think we'll be too early at the Contemporary for the California Grill lounge. I was considering that we could make a stop back there after the Grand then walk over to MK but I think that might end up being too many drinks

 

[lvcourtneyy]

October 24, 2019: It's Really Not So Scary

It's kinda a weird "in-between" time in planning for both our June and October trips. Our ADR day for October is just over a week away so I'm trying to nail down some concrete day by day plans.

Last year when we were planning our October trip, so was everyone else that we work with.

Okay, it wasn't everyone but it sure seemed like it at the time.

In fact, we were attending the wedding of one of my good friend's the week before we left for Disney and sure enough, they chose WDW as their honeymoon destination. They were one of two couples from our hospital there on their honeymoon at the time. I'm telling you, everyone was going at the same time.

I had already made plans for us to attend the party the first full day of our trip, October 25. In June, all 4 of us were at another wedding and my friend tells me our last day in Disney is October 25 and we're going to the Halloween party that day! I quickly thought it over in my head and decided we could change things around and go to the party the next night if they weren't interested in us crashing their honeymoon so the conversation went like this:

Me: Ah! That's the day we were planning to go too but I can change it so we don't crash your honeymoon.
Friend: Nooo leave it and we can trick or treat on Main Street together! Honey, Courtney and Mike are going to the same Halloween party as us in Disney!
Friend's Fiance: Oo awesome- can we do a group costume?

And so the plans were made. And I ended up loving the fact that we did MNSSHP the first night of our trip and MVMCP the last night of our trip so much that I immediately decided we would do it the same way this year.

The night before we'll have spent at Mike's mom house, about an hour away from Disney. Depending on which of his 912 family members are around, I'm sure we'll be visiting someone in the morning. I'm flexible on what time we leave for Orlando. Just as long as it's by 11 am.

We'll check in at All-Star Movies. Hopefully our room will be ready and we can head there to unload some bags and change. We've booked a preferred room and I requested the Toy Story section. If not, we can change in the lobby and leave everything in the car.

One thing I didn't do when packing last year was to pack a separate smaller bag for everything we'd need at Mike's mom's house and for the first day at Disney so we ended up having to drag all our bags into his mom's house and re-sort. This is something I will definitely plan better this year!

As soon as we're ready we'll head out to Magic Kingdom! I'll book some fastpasses for the 12:30-3:30 time frame and see what we get to.

I'm aiming to get an ADR for Crystal Palace at 1:30.



We like to do a big TS meal before parties to carry us through most of the night. Then, we can mobile order from a QS while holding a spot for the parade or fireworks and not waste party time.

Our more detailed plans for the party itself will have to wait until after the 1st party so we can see what changes are made this year but we generally spend all of our party time doing party-exclusive things especially meeting characters we can't meet at other times.

I'm still trying to convince DBF on costume ideas. I think it would be cute to do Winnie the Pooh characters, especially since we'll be eating at Crystal Palace AND can meet them in their costumes during the party but he's not 100% convinced.

We've been attending MNSSHP together yearly since 2015 & I thought it would be fun to look back at our past outfits:








As you can see, we started out in no costumes and have gone up from there since lol! #theobsessionkeepsgrowing

If anyone has any costume ideas, I'd be glad to hear them!


​

 

[NJlauren]

Joining in!

Looks like you have two amazing trips coming up!

We are doing an adult only trip October 22-25, I am so excited to go to food and wine and just hanging out and eat and drink!

I am way jealous of your June trip for the villains! Going to be so fun and it’s so soon!

I also did my first ever race as a Disney race! I did the Disneyland 5k! I do not run, I highly recommend the couch to 5k app, I am going to start it up again too. I want to try and do either the 5k or 10K princess weekend this year!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Joining in!

Looks like you have two amazing trips coming up!

We are doing an adult only trip October 22-25, I am so excited to go to food and wine and just hanging out and eat and drink!

I am way jealous of your June trip for the villains! Going to be so fun and it’s so soon!

I also did my first ever race as a Disney race! I did the Disneyland 5k! I do not run, I highly recommend the couch to 5k app, I am going to start it up again too. I want to try and do either the 5k or 10K princess weekend this year!

Thanks for joining!

Where in NJ are you from? I'm in Staten Island, very close to NJ. Food and Wine is a perfect excuse for an adults only trip!

I downloaded that app and we were supposed to start training a while ago and never did . Now that the weather is nicer, maybe we can train outside as I'll enjoy that much more than going to a gym.

Running a race on Princess weekend has been on my bucket list for a while now!

 

[evre13]

I was considering that we could make a stop back there after the Grand then walk over to MK but I think that might end up being too many drinks

Friend's Fiance: Oo awesome- can we do a group costume?

This is so great! I love friends who like Disney.

If anyone has any costume ideas, I'd be glad to hear them!

I think Pooh would be adorable - Tigger and Piglet are two of my faves! Oh, and Rabbit and Owl! Maybe go as them and you can complete the set of those that meet in the park?

Running a race on Princess weekend has been on my bucket list for a while now!

It's so fun! Do it!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

This is so great! I love friends who like Disney.



I think Pooh would be adorable - Tigger and Piglet are two of my faves! Oh, and Rabbit and Owl! Maybe go as them and you can complete the set of those that meet in the park?



It's so fun! Do it!

Disney friends are the best friends!

Oo I love the idea of completing the set of Pooh characters !

 

[NJlauren]

Thanks for joining!

Where in NJ are you from? I'm in Staten Island, very close to NJ. Food and Wine is a perfect excuse for an adults only trip!

Thanks! We are in West Orange off of 280, I would ask where on Staten Island but I know 5 places and 4 of them are my friends or families houses!

I downloaded that app and we were supposed to start training a while ago and never did . Now that the weather is nicer, maybe we can train outside as I'll enjoy that much more than going to a gym.

It’s way easier then I thought, honestly I am not a runner at all, I hate it, but was able to do it, and had a great time running the race, I can’t wait to do it again! And the characters are fun too!

Running a race on Princess weekend has been on my bucket list for a while now!

We are going back and forth between princess and Star Wars.... I mean ideally I want to do both but don’t tel DH

 

[missangelalexis]

Your first day plans sound great! You are a party PRO so I know you're going to have a great night! I like the idea of doing a Pooh themed costume, especially if you eat at CP beforehand!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Thanks! We are in West Orange off of 280, I would ask where on Staten Island but I know 5 places and 4 of them are my friends or families houses!



It’s way easier then I thought, honestly I am not a runner at all, I hate it, but was able to do it, and had a great time running the race, I can’t wait to do it again! And the characters are fun too!



We are going back and forth between princess and Star Wars.... I mean ideally I want to do both but don’t tel DH

Lolol I'm the worst at knowing where pretty much anything is. My best friend from college lives in Montclair which I think isn't too far from you butttttt I could also be way off

The characters are a big part of why I want to do the races lol!

Your first day plans sound great! You are a party PRO so I know you're going to have a great night! I like the idea of doing a Pooh themed costume, especially if you eat at CP beforehand!

Thank you! It's funny because no matter how many parties we do, I still get anxious planning for them!

 

[NJlauren]

Lolol I'm the worst at knowing where pretty much anything is. My best friend from college lives in Montclair which I think isn't too far from you butttttt I could also be way off

The characters are a big part of why I want to do the races lol!

Very close, it’s actually where we first looked when we moved out here!

I’m not from NJ so I’m always like yeah sure I know where that is (plus our google maps). Ok yup not even close to what I was thinking!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Very close, it’s actually where we first looked when we moved out here!

I’m not from NJ so I’m always like yeah sure I know where that is (plus our google maps). Ok yup not even close to what I was thinking!

That's how I feel all the time! I'm grateful for GPS because I'm sure I'd be lost all the time without it (I'm lost a lot even with it lol).

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Rivers of Light Dessert Party

Last August, Disney announced the Rivers of Light dessert party and I really wanted to try it. However, it was only being offered certain nights a week and couldn't work it into our plans.

I know I'm in the minority, but I enjoy the show. It's definitely not the most exciting nighttime show but I like that it's true to the theme of Animal Kingdom and not in-your-face Disney.



The dessert party had fallen off my radar until a couple days ago Disney announced the show would be changing!

From Disney Parks Blog:

“Rivers of Light: We Are One” introduces additional, stunning imagery and familiar animal characters from Disneynature films, along with a colorful tapestry of classic moments from Disney animation, to express our connection with animals and the emotions and milestones we all share in our journey through the great circle of life.

I knew we'd want to see the new show especially with it debuting 2 weeks before we get there so I looked at the dates the dessert party was happening and it was on our Animal Kingdom day!

So I booked us for the dessert party on June 15!


(picture stolen from google)

We've done a lot of Disney dessert parties and always enjoyed them so I'm excited to experience one at Animal Kingdom and to see the new show!

In other news, I think I've mentioned I've been doing a ton of overtime at work. The other night, I had some downtime at work so I was playing around on our employee website. My hospital has a program where you can give each other "gem points", basically to show appreciation for each other. You can redeem them for all kinds of things but I never really looked into it before. Well, the other night I logged in and saw I had some ridiculous number of points. I found the gift cards section and was able to redeem them for a $200 Disney gift card and a $50 Landry's card! Talk about a happy dance! The Landry's gift card will cover most of our meal when we eat at Yak and Yeti and the Disney card I'm gonna put towards our room which means we only owe $200 until it's paid in full! ​

 

[missangelalexis]

Perfect timing that the party is happening on your AK day! That will be fun, especially with the debut of the new show!

How awesome that you were able to get some gift cards!

 

[NJlauren]

You go girl! Earn those GEMS!!

I also consider desert parties but never end up booking them.... looking forward to hearing how this one is!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Perfect timing that the party is happening on your AK day! That will be fun, especially with the debut of the new show!

How awesome that you were able to get some gift cards!

Yess it worked out perfectly !

You go girl! Earn those GEMS!!

I also consider desert parties but never end up booking them.... looking forward to hearing how this one is!

Thank you!!

I like them! I’m sure we never come out ahead moneywise from them but I do get 2-3 alcoholic drinks in which makes it seem like the price makes sense

 

[Cloe Colton]

Okay I'm just joining in but I feel like I could be reading my own PTR! haha we are so similar its CRAZY!

Me and DH are also heading to Disney the same weekend in June and I completely reworked our trip to go to the Villains party on 6/13!! It better not sell out haha I also had zero luck in getting SDD for 6/14. Which I was definitely surprised about!

The ROL dessert party does look really nice! And you'll get to see the new show which is awesome! Nice that this one includes alcohol!

We are also doing a Winnie the Pooh theme for MNSSHP this year! Great minds think alike! I actually have Crystal Palace booked for us before the party but if I end up getting a Cali Grill reservation idk if we'll keep it!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Okay I'm just joining in but I feel like I could be reading my own PTR! haha we are so similar its CRAZY!

Me and DH are also heading to Disney the same weekend in June and I completely reworked our trip to go to the Villains party on 6/13!! It better not sell out haha I also had zero luck in getting SDD for 6/14. Which I was definitely surprised about!

The ROL dessert party does look really nice! And you'll get to see the new show which is awesome! Nice that this one includes alcohol!

We are also doing a Winnie the Pooh theme for MNSSHP this year! Great minds think alike! I actually have Crystal Palace booked for us before the party but if I end up getting a Cali Grill reservation idk if we'll keep it!

Oh wow our plans are crazy similar! Ah that’s awesome that you were able to rework your trip to go! We weren’t supposed to go this summer at all but I’ll take any excuse to work in a Disney trip lol. Ugh I hope it doesn’t sell out! Do you know what time tickets go on sale the 29th? I wanna buy them right away just in case lol.

What is up with the Slinky fastpasses?! I went in August last year when it wasn’t even up two months and had no trouble getting them !

Oh man great minds really do think alike! California Grill does sound like a better meal than Crystal Palace for sure lol!

 

[amazingact21]

Hi! Just found your Pre-trip report and wanted to let you know I'm following along now!

 

[Cloe Colton]

Oh wow our plans are crazy similar! Ah that’s awesome that you were able to rework your trip to go! We weren’t supposed to go this summer at all but I’ll take any excuse to work in a Disney trip lol. Ugh I hope it doesn’t sell out! Do you know what time tickets go on sale the 29th? I wanna buy them right away just in case lol.

I don't actually know what time they go on sale, I've asked a couple times on the AHs thread but no one seems to have an answer. I would think they would know what time they've gone on sale in the past but even that seems to be a hard answer to get! lol I wake up for work at 7 so I'll probably try then, and then at 8 and then at 9 haha one of them has to be the time!

What is up with the Slinky fastpasses?! I went in August last year when it wasn’t even up two months and had no trouble getting them !

I have NO idea! When DH and I went for our anniversary trip in July last year I could have had them for 60+1 so I'm not sure what has changed! Unless they've severely limited fastpasses for the top rides to keep stand by lower? If that's the case it doesn't seem to be working lol

 

[evre13]

That's so awesome about the gem points - little did you know that your coworkers would pay for some Ahi Tuna nachos (I may be projecting, those are my favorite things at Yak n Yeti)!