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

[lvcourtneyy]

Yo Ho Yo Ho- Another Disney trip to plan!

My name is Courtney and I'll be the captain of this PTR!


That's me on the left (in case you weren't sure)! I'm a 29 year old emergency room nurse by night and Disney travel agent by day. This will be my 21st trip to WDW and the obsession just keeps growing! I visited once as a child in 2000 for my older sister's Make-A-Wish trip but the full obsession didn't start until my first trip as an adult in 2012. I became an AP for the first time in 2015 and have never looked back!


(Side note: It is my goal EVERY TIME to be picked for the laugh floor. He has been picked twice. I have been picked zero times.)


My travel companion for this trip is my DBF Mike. This will be his 12th trip to WDW with me and I know he went a few times before we met but really the obsession was born when he started going with me. He likes to tell people he only goes to make me happy but I'll have you know the man is in more Disney Pin trading groups on facebook than I am!



We both love all things Halloween, Nightmare before Christmas, pin trading and character hunting!

This will be our 5th trip together during the Halloween season and the 3rd where we will be in WDW for Halloween! Our plans are to be in Orlando from October 24- November 8, subject to change based on the date of the first MVMCP!

We are looking forward to enjoying MNSSHP, HHN at the Dark side, running our first Disney race (and first ever race! ), Food and Wine, resort hopping on Halloween, MVMCP and enjoying some of the non-theme park aspects of the Orlando area!

In the interest of full disclosure, this is the 3rd PTR I've attempted and I never managed to finish the first two . With it being so early on this time, I'm hoping to do a better job!

I hope you'll join along in my planning! I'm excited to share! ​

 

[lvcourtneyy]

1. Intro
2. The Resort Saga Begins
3. Wine, Dine and... Run?
4. Guacamole at 1 am? Sold!
5. ADR Planning
6. Resort Debate and Outlet Finds
7. Travel Plans
8. A Wickedly Good Summer
9. Fastpass Plans and Spending Money!
10. June Fastpasses and Plan Updates!
11. Monorail Bar Crawl?
12. October 24, 2019: It's Really Not So Scary
13. Rivers of Light Dessert Party
14. ADR day and June updates
15. December Trip?
16. Friday, October 25, 2019 Plans
17. Real Life Update with some June trip updates
18. Food and Wine updates
19. June trip schedule
20. 22 days til Disney!
21. 11 Days til Disney!
22. 6 days til Disney!
23. It’s Disney Day!
24. June Trip Report Link!
25. October trip changes and a new possible trip
26. Saturday, October 26 plans
27. Let's Talk Cruises!
28. Quick Update with Discounts!
29. New Resort Reservations
30. Sunday, October 27 plans
31. Oga's Cantina!
32. Monday, October 28, 2019 plans
33. Fastpass Day!
34. Disney Dining Plan breakdown
35. October 29 and 30 plans
36. Happy Halloween!
37. Friday, November 1st plans
38. Saturday, November 2nd plans
39. Sunday, November 3rd plans
40. Monday November 4th and Tuesday November 5th plans
41. Last Post Before the Trip!
42. We're Back!
43. Friday December 13 plans
44. New TR Link!
45. December 14 and 15 Plans
46. Plan Changes and Dec 16/17 Plans
47. PTR Complete!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

The Resort Saga Begins

If you've ever travelled to Disney with me (it's a short list so I expect it to mostly be no's), you'd know that I have a terrible time committing to a resort. I change them an insane amount of times to the point where in July 2017, Mike and my sister weren't 100% sure where we were getting on the Magical Express to go (I had switched from Wilderness Lodge to Yacht Club at 2 am 2 days before we left). Yes I'm aware it's a problem.

No I don't intend to change it.

I'm sure many of you share this trait, right?

This particular saga starts all the way back on October 30, 2018. We traveled last year for essentially the same dates and absolutely loved our trip. On the 30th, we attended the Return to Sleepy Hollow event at Fort Wilderness and spent some extra time at the resort to take in some of their festivities and campground decorations. Long story short, I fell in love!


We went back to our resort that night and were fully prepared to book a campsite and rent an RV almost a full year in advance. Well, it didn't happen. There was no campsite availability to be had . After calling Disney to confirm and chatting with some Fort CMs, we learned that we would have to reserve a campsite 499 days in advance when booking opens! I was initially crushed but have no fear- the 499 day is already marked on my calendar for 2020!

This left us back at square one on where to stay for this trip.

Last year, we found a phenomenal deal on an off-site condo for $57 a night and less than a 15 minute drive to the parks. It was amazing and we had so much room! We very strongly considered this option again for this year (and aren't totally convinced we won't go back to it!) However, we've been waiting for SWGE opening info to decide on our plan. With the opening announced for 8/29 and very clearly going to play a part in our planning, we decided we needed to consider an on-site option. My biggest concern is if they add EMH daily like they did for TSL, if we are off-site, we'll have no opportunity to ride without a massive wait.

Because of the 15 night length of our trip, the only option in our budget is a value resort. We're not big "downtime" people anyway so that was fine. I priced rooms last week and Pop was available which appealed to me with the Skyliner but when we were finally ready to bite the bullet and book this morning, there was no availability at Pop.

That's what I get for going against my better instinct and waiting! So we landed on ....



All-Star Movies!

We booked a preferred room and the theming of the Toy Story section looks so cute that I'm requesting a room in this section! Added bonus- all the Toy Story rooms were refurbed last year and we LOVED the refurbed rooms at Pop.

So while part of me is still hoping that we'll find availability at Pop, the other part is excited to check off a new resort on the list!

That being said- our trip is still a way's away..


Not that I'm counting or anything!

So, does anyone think this resort choice will stick? Or do we think I'll live up to my reputation and change it about 845 times before we get there?
​

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Wine and Dine and....Run?

Let me start this by saying- we don't run.

At all.

We've been in WDW at the same time as different races and never really thought much of it. Last October, we ended up meeting up with friends of ours who flew in for the Wine and Dine Half Marathon weekend. They were so excited about it and convinced us that as long as we do some training, we'd be fine running a Disney race in the future.

Knowing that we'd be traveling for pretty much the same dates this year, we decided the Wine and Dine 5k would be our first race! We thought about running one of the longer races also but decided to keep it fun and low-key for our first ever running experience.

I've read that registration for the races sells out super quickly sometimes, especially the 5k. So I specifically marked my calendar with the passholder early registration day, 3/14.

Anddddd forgot all about it until St. Patrick's Day. Of course by then, the passholder registration was closed for the 5k so I had to wait for general registration to open on 3/19 at 10 am. And since I work nights, I (naturally to add to the stress), worked the night before and got home around 8 am and decided to stay awake and wait for registration to open.

The link went live on the page around 9:45 am and I opened it on two different browsers on the computer and on my phone in incognito mode waiting to get through. I stayed on the "waiting" page with the loading screen until around 10:20 when finally I got through on my phone!

Long story short- we're now officially registered for the Wine and Dine 5k!



I was so overtired and stressed by the process that the different merchandise packages totally overwhelmed me so I didn't add any. Someone on the runDisney board told me I can go back and add them now so I'll have to log in and look at the options again. Anyone who has done runDisney before- are the preorder items also available at the expo? Or do they tend to sell out quickly and I should buy them now?

Also if anyone wants to share any training ideas- I'm literally all ears!​

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Guacamole at 1 AM? Sold!

We learned about the post-race party at Epcot from our friends last time also! All these trips and Dis reading and I had no clue & I definitely didn't know that anyone could buy a ticket! We ended up buying tickets from someone not using them in a Facebook group and got them very cheap! We are very excited to attend the party again this yar because it was so much fun!



Since we have APs, we can enter the park at any time but this year they announced you can enter with party tickets at 5 pm which is a nice perk!

We (particularly me) are major character hunters and love to meet new/rare characters so that was a big part of why we were excited to attend. I'm hoping they have even more great characters this year for the 10th anniversary!

Here's some pictures of the fun we had at last year's party (even though we got drenched in the downpour at the beginning):



The food and wine booths were kept open for the party also which was great!



Remy has been on my list to meet forever so this was our first meet of the night!



We ended up with some gorgeous nighttime WS shots!






I hope this sushi comes back for Food and Wine this year! I ate it so many times during our trip!







I'm obsessed with this guacamole at the margarita stand in Mexico and eating it at 1 am was fantastic to me!





The party ended at 1 am and we ended the night eating guacamole and meeting Mickey! It was a perfect low-key night in Epcot and I can't wait to go again!​

 

[emilyhuff]

Following!!!! So lucky you get to spend 15 days in WDW! That is awesome! We are going from 10/23-10/28! Can't wait to read more of your plans!

 

[missangelalexis]

YAS girl I'm joining in!! I have faith in you this time

Halloween is obviously the best time of year to go and I love living through your pictures! And even better when you can stay long enough to do the first Christmas party!

I'm going to say unless Pop opens up, you're gonna stick with your resort. I definitely understand wanting to stay onsite for SWGE reasons.

Is it sad that the only reason I'd consider doing a race is for the character meets? I can 't wait to hear how the experience of your first race goes!!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Following!!!! So lucky you get to spend 15 days in WDW! That is awesome! We are going from 10/23-10/28! Can't wait to read more of your plans!

Thank you so much for joining! We were so spoiled by the 15 nights last year that I immediately wanted to do it again!

YAS girl I'm joining in!! I have faith in you this time

Halloween is obviously the best time of year to go and I love living through your pictures! And even better when you can stay long enough to do the first Christmas party!

I'm going to say unless Pop opens up, you're gonna stick with your resort. I definitely understand wanting to stay onsite for SWGE reasons.

Is it sad that the only reason I'd consider doing a race is for the character meets? I can 't wait to hear how the experience of your first race goes!!

Yayyy thank you for being here! Please feel free to yell at me if I start to fail

Halloween is 1000% my favorite! I actually read about a Halloween themed bar opening in Orlando so I need to find out when it's opening!

I think you're right about the resort! As much as we loved our condo last year, staying on-site seems to make more sense this time. If Pop does open up, I'll actually be torn on what to do! The Toy Story section of Movies looks so cute and I'd love to stay at a new resort!

It's most definitely not sad because that's what won me over about it!

 

[princess_ariel_85]

Following!

Love the All Star Movies resort, it’s so cute! Can’t wait to read more

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Following!

Love the All Star Movies resort, it’s so cute! Can’t wait to read more

Thank you for joining! It does look really cute! I’m getting excited to stay there !

 

[lvcourtneyy]

ADR Planning

March 25 is a rough day for me. I'm an Emergency Room nurse and today marks 2 years since I was attacked by a patient at work who attempted to choke me with wires connecting him to a cardiac monitor. Fortunately, I did not suffer any lasting physical injuries but I still struggle mentally with the incident. I am lucky to have a great support system in my family, friends and coworkers and last year he was sent to prison for his actions.

It is easiest for me to keep busy today so what better to do than try to map out our ADRS?!

Our ADR day is about a month away on April 27th and I'm frustrated because Disney hasn't released
1. Park Hours
2. MVMCP dates
3. Food and Wine dates



I mean they're turned us into these master planners but then only given us half the info we need!

The most important to me are the dates for MVMCP because we will change our trip dates to allow us to attend the first party if we need to but for how, I'm just hoping it follows the same schedule as last year.

The hardest part of picking ADRs to me is balancing our old favorites to return to with new places I want to try.
​

Old Favorites



Hoop-dee-doo has quickly become one of our must-dos on every trip! The food is good, the show cracks me up every time and it's not hard to win me over with unlimited sangria! A certain PTR writer may have over-indulged on the sangria last time and tortured DBF wandering through the campsites wanting to find more dogs to pet...

My plan is to book the 4 pm show on 10/30 and hopefully enjoy the Return to Sleepy Hollow event afterwards as well as enjoying some of the Halloween festivities taking place at the Fort.


Crystal Palace is another restaurant we eat at almost every trip. The food isn't anything new or amazing, but it is always good and we always enjoy our meal. We prefer breakfast but last year we booked lunch here before MNSSHP and it worked out perfectly so that is the plan again this year.




Sanaa- we ate here for the first time last October and not to no-one's surprise, we fell in love with the famous bread service. Plus, who can pass up eating with this great view of a zebra so close! I'm happy that DBF has recently decided to try Indian food and like it so that we were finally able to eat here!



Kona Cafe- Tonga Toast and a mimosa flight (including one with the POG juice!) - need I say more?



Ohana- DBF requested to eat here again and most of the time when I asked where he wants to eat I get "I don't care" so I like to accommodate when I get an actual answer!



Yak and Yeti- this is another of our must-dos where we eat every trip. We have the Landry's card so we won't actually make an ADR but it's at the top of our favorites list!



Bon Voyage Breakfast- the food is delicious, Tangled and the Little Mermaid are 2 of my favorite movies, and I can start the morning with mimosas and princes!


New Restaurants

California Grill brunch- I've been watching tons of vlogs and reading reviews here on the Dis that have made me put this on my must-do list. The only concern I have is the Sunday that we can do this is the day of the Post-Race party at Epcot and I was hoping to be able to take advantage of the opportunity to come back at night and watch the fireworks

Be Our Guest dinner- we've eaten at BOG many times for all meals since it opened but haven't tried dinner since it switched menus

Plaza lunch- we ate here for breakfast in November last year on the first day they had breakfast and it was delicious. I discovered my love for fried green tomatoes in Savannah so that sandwich is calling to me! I think this will make a good pre- MVMCP meal

Biergarten- our World Showcase go-to is Rose and Crown but there's so many options that I want to try something new. The show here looks fun and a liter of beer is always a good option in my book

Trail's End brunch- I've wanted to try Trail's End for a while and the brunch options sound delicious

Homecomin'- we had a reservation here last trip and cancelled it to meet up with friends so I'd like to actually try it this time

Beaches and Cream- I'm pretty sure we did eat lunch here once but I think it was on our trip a couple years ago in July where I was getting heat exhaustion and I don't remember it at all so I'd like to give it another chance. I'm thinking on a HS day it would be a good alternative.

Wine Bar George- another restaurant we had a reservation for last year and canceled to go to the Post-Race party. I've read reviews and the steak looks delicious and I want to try the Frose!

Sorry for the lengthy post! It's a long list but with 15 nights, we have a lot of meals to eat! I'll only be able to make ADRs for our first 10 days initially, and then will have to go back and do our remaining days which is annoying but it worked out okay last year. If anyone has eaten at any of the new places we're considering and has any good or bad things to share, I'd love to hear them!

 

[missangelalexis]

Sending hugs your way on this tough day

I would be pretty disappointed if I heard you were skipping HDDR! I can tell it's one of your faves! I still have never been! But it's definitely high on my list of new things to do.

Your planned list sounds amazing, so many awesome places! CG brunch looks sooo good, I always love reading about people's experiences there.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Sending hugs your way on this tough day

I would be pretty disappointed if I heard you were skipping HDDR! I can tell it's one of your faves! I still have never been! But it's definitely high on my list of new things to do.

Your planned list sounds amazing, so many awesome places! CG brunch looks sooo good, I always love reading about people's experiences there.

Thank you

You have to try HDDR! It took us a long time to get there because I was never sold on it but now I can’t picture a trip without it!

It really does look amazing! I’ve watched so many vlogs of people eating there now that DBF is like are you trying to memorize the menu

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Resort Debate and Outlet Finds

Since Disney is taking their sweet time releasing info for Food and Wine and dates for MVMCP, there's not much I can plan right now.

Which means I've taken to checking the Disney travel agent site multiple times a day for resort availability. Today, Pop showed up as available for our dates! I was fully prepared to switch and as I got to the check-out screen, I suddenly didn't want to change!

Who is this person and what happened to the girl who changes resorts 12 times?!

But I was considering:

A) I want to stay at every resort and this would check another off the list
B) The only reason I was considering switching is for the Skyliner and we're gonna have a car so it's not really that big of a benefit
C) A standard room at Pop was a few hundred dollars more than a Preferred room at Movies. Which really isn't anything to write home about but since I'm sure fall discounts will be minimal after SWGE opens, I'll take a savings where I can.
D) A value is a value and as long as we get a renovated room at Movies, it's basically the same as Pop.

Sooooo, we're still booked at Movies for now

Also, on Monday we went to our local outlet mall where they have a Disney outlet!

I found the perfect shirts there last year for MVMCP but it's very hit or miss what you can find.

But Monday was a good day!



I'm obsessed with ornaments and really, I have way too many but these were $2.99 each!



DBF was really excited about the Millenium Falcon shirt since SWGE will be open before our trip.



These are my shirts! I was so excited about the Ears to America tank top because I had thought about buying it when it was in the parks but I didn't love it enough to pay full price. In the outlet it was only $7.99! The Mickey shirt is actually a mens shirt but I fell in love with it so I just bought it in a small. And the Hocus Pocus shirt! I'm planning to wear it on Halloween with my 3d printed Hocus Pocus ears!

The best part? They were giving out "Disney notes" so for every $50 you spent, you got a coupon for $25 that you can use starting 4/1 so now I have an excuse to go back! ​

 

[Luvmepluto]

Following. Can't wait to hear more!!!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Following. Can't wait to hear more!!!

Thanks for reading !

 

[missangelalexis]

I think you're making the right call staying at Movies, especially since you've never been there before and it will save you some money!

Omg great finds at the outlet! I love that Hocus Pocus shirt!!

 

[Eeyore daily]

This sounds like such a fun trip! I've been worried that 10 days would be too long for just my DBF and I but your PTR helps me shake that worry off!

 

[thingwithwings]

Following along! This looks like such a fun trip!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

I think you're making the right call staying at Movies, especially since you've never been there before and it will save you some money!

Omg great finds at the outlet! I love that Hocus Pocus shirt!!

That’s what I was thinking!

Me too! I love good outlet days !

This sounds like such a fun trip! I've been worried that 10 days would be too long for just my DBF and I but your PTR helps me shake that worry off!

I definitely don’t think it’s too long ! I like longer trips because they leave time for things you wouldn’t do otherwise like resort hopping !

Following along! This looks like such a fun trip!

Thank you!