This time I'LL be the GUIDE!- Aug 2016 PTR (UPTD 8/12- first time for everything!)

[dizneeat]

Another thing do do for TT is to go back and ride it just before or during illuminations. We are not fans of Illuminations, so easy choice for us.

I never thought about that. We are not huge fans of TT and I won't waste a FP on it, but what you suggested is something to try for. Thanks Tammie! Sorry for hijacking your thread, Yuki!

 

[englishrose47]

I just look at the FP+ on my Disney experience and go with that. I do want to hit some of the new attractions since last year . Is Soarin the new version yet or not ??

 

[YukiPhnx]

Yuki, I booked FP about 2 weeks ago and MS was still a tier 2. I tried to change one of my FP (only tried to see the tiers) and MS was listed as tier 2.

Great news on the citizenship certificate. Guess there should not be any more "stones" in your way to a passport.

Well, I guess we'll see tomorrow when I go to book my FP+. Maybe they're changing it depending on the season???

And thanks! I'm going to apply for my new passport this week. I'm so excited to finally have a passport with my new name on it after all these years!

If it changed, it has been since November when we were there. I'm not saying that maybe it hasn't or won't be during your trip Yuki, but if it has that is totally ridiculous on Disney's part. Pretty much everything in the Tier 2 list you have doesn't even need a FP...........unless you just happen to hit it at the wrong time when a huge crowd just arrived. Otherwise, pretty much every one of them is a walk on.

My thoughts exactly! I'm really hoping it isn't the case. I feel like it's so weird that they would only do this with Epcot when they only have so many rides that really need an FP+! I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

Interesting...I think it's just Disney's way of redistributing the crowds, especially during the summer months. I hope you get everything you want!
Oh sad that BTMR and IASW will be closed while you are there...but you'll get to see the new SW fireworks, which I just saw the live feed of...and I'm super jealous...makes me want to fly down there right away!

Thanks Su-Lynn, me too! I'm really looking forward to the new SW fireworks too! And to the new castle show. They all look so magical! You'll be there soon enough!

Yes, the tier thing stinks. They just added the new Frozen rise to tier 1 also.

I do what a PP does. FP for Soarin for sure with the new movie. Have you seen pics of the lines? Yikes!

Another thing do do for TT is to go back and ride it just before or during illuminations. We are not fans of Illuminations, so easy choice for us.

Yeah, I think we'll ride TT on our first night because we don't plan to watch Illuminations until our 2nd Epcot day.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

I just look at the FP+ on my Disney experience and go with that. I do want to hit some of the new attractions since last year . Is Soarin the new version yet or not ??

Yes, the new movie is out. People have been posting pictures of what looks like about a 4 hr long line for Standby. Others said they went back at night and it was only 15 min.

 

[glennbo123]

My new citizenship certificate has arrived!!!

That's great news Yuki! Also, good luck in finding a new job.

I see that others have set you straight about the Fastpass tiers. You're not the first person to have their plans dashed by discovering that little wrinkle!

I think you may be okay without Park Hoppers, as long as you plan accordingly. Keep dinners in or near the park that you plan on for that day. We've had either Annual Passes or tickets with Park Hoppers for the last several trips, but I've often thought that I could probably do without the Park Hopper, if necessary, to save money.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

We've been doing one park a day for awhile. It saves money and we add the water parks instead. It does take a little more planning, but we don't miss the hoppers, especially now with the FP+

 

[YukiPhnx]

Yes, the new movie is out. People have been posting pictures of what looks like about a 4 hr long line for Standby. Others said they went back at night and it was only 15 min.

Oh my gosh! I can't believe anyone would wait that long for it.

That's great news Yuki! Also, good luck in finding a new job.

Thanks Glenn!

I see that others have set you straight about the Fastpass tiers. You're not the first person to have their plans dashed by discovering that little wrinkle!

Good thing I had no problems booking! At the moment, M:S is a Tier 2 ride.

I think you may be okay without Park Hoppers, as long as you plan accordingly. Keep dinners in or near the park that you plan on for that day. We've had either Annual Passes or tickets with Park Hoppers for the last several trips, but I've often thought that I could probably do without the Park Hopper, if necessary, to save money.

So far, I've been doing well without park hoppers.

We've been doing one park a day for awhile. It saves money and we add the water parks instead. It does take a little more planning, but we don't miss the hoppers, especially now with the FP+

My thoughts exactly!

 

[YukiPhnx]

Mini-TR:Anime North

About a month ago, I attended one of Toronto’s annual anime conventions. Anime North is the largest fan-run anime convention in Canada! As some of you know, I’m a huge geek and anime is a large part of my life. This convention was the very first convention I ever attended back in 2003. They were celebrating their 20yr anniversary and I was so excited to be there!

I’m also a cosplayer, which is someone that dresses up as a fictional character.

My cosplays for this weekend were:

Luigi a la Daisy Duke

Poison from Street Fighter

Minnie Mouse

Andrew was my Mario on Friday

and cosplayed as Yun from Street Fighter on Saturday and Sunday

I love these anime conventions because it’s basically a weekend of LOVE. Everyone is just so happy and excited to be there to share their love of anime and meet other people. I love talking to strangers that share the same passion for something as I do. It’s not every day you get to be surrounded by so much positivity and love.

This is why I’ll always come back to these conventions. Some of my friends have told me that they’ve “outgrown” conventions. It’s true that anime conventions are filled with young people and that may make people feel “old”. I think I’m still too young to be saying something like that!

Anime North is when I first found out that there are a LOT of other people that love what I love and that it was OKAY to be me. It really helped me through my darkest years. How can I ever give this up??

Ok, story over. Here are some of the pictures I took during the weekend!

This is me with one of the people Andrew used to work with. When Andrew introduced us at a company party, we learned we had already met at previous conventions!

I found this really good Tenth Doctor cosplayer. You can see the excitement in my eyes! David Tennant is my favourite. Doctor Who anyone?

Anime North also hosts this wrestling event where people get in the ring with their cosplays!

From my meager understanding of games, this is a....Hydralisk from....that game that's really popular in Korea...with the pylons joke? Can someone help me out here? Fantastic cosplay nonetheless.

Kigurumi cosplays like these ones of Toriel and Papyrus from the game Undertale are becoming more and more popular! The awesome thing about the cosplayer on the left is that she's just like the new Talking Mickey at WDW!!

This was taken at my favourite panel of the convention, an 18+ panel on South Park. Fun fact: Andrew and I bonded over our love of this show.

We really loved this Ursula cosplayer and the way she showed off her tentacles. So creative!!

This is inside the Dealer's room, which is basically where all the merchandise is sold. This is just 1/4 of the room!

I was so proud of Anime North to see this.

Some of my friends dancing to J-pop group, Perfume's song.

This was something new for me. Circus performances at Anime North! And they were cosplaying from an anime too.

And no convention is complete without a pic with my favourite Doctor Who enemy, a Dalek.

I’ll be attending my first out-of-town convention at the end of July and Andrew and I will be trying our best to get tickets to New York Comic Con this October!

​

 

[englishrose47]

Awesome pix Yuki !!! Looks like you had a lot of FUN!!

 

[Poolrat]

My new citizenship certificate has arrived!!!

Great News!!!!!

I decided to quit the job I was at. I didn't want to continue to take part in my own abuse. I'm surprised I stayed for as long as I did. There were many red flags that came up since I started working there and I'm so glad I got myself out of that situation.
I'm hoping to get a position as a camp counsellor for the summer. I used to do this while I was still in school and I really loved it!

Sorry to hear this but I know this situation all too well. I hope you find something good in the near future.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Love the Anime-Con pics!!
Your trip is coming up next month!
I guess now it's just the waiting game until you take off...

 

[YukiPhnx]

Awesome pix Yuki !!! Looks like you had a lot of FUN!!

Thanks Rosie, I had such a great time! I love conventions!

Great News!!!!!

I knowww!!!! I cried tears of happiness!!

Sorry to hear this but I know this situation all too well. I hope you find something good in the near future.

Thank you Pat. It hasn't been easy trying to find something before the school term starts.

Love the Anime-Con pics!!
Your trip is coming up next month!
I guess now it's just the waiting game until you take off...

Thanks Su-Lynn! I feel bad for not updating more! Thanks for sticking around!

 

[GoofyFan1515]

Just checking in......

 

[YukiPhnx]

Carry-On Only!

To save money for the trip, we’re flying out of Buffalo, NY. We’ve done this many times before but the difference this time is that domestic flights no longer include one free checked bag. So it’s carry-on only!

Lucky for me, I’ve had plenty of practice!!!

In case you didn’t know, I’m REALLY into travelling and travel literature. I devour all kinds of articles and books having to do with travel and how to travel better. That includes everything having to do with packing too!!

I don’t want to brag…but I would say I’m a packing expert. Thanks to all those experts that came before me of course. I once packed for a 2.5 month trip that included summer in Australia and New Zealand, winter in Taiwan, and spring in Japan in just 1 carry-on suitcase and a duffel bag.

This is all because I learned of the concept of a “Capsule Wardrobe”. It’s the idea of building a wardrobe out of a few basic items that mix and match well together to create tons of outfits! This has changed my life as much as packing cubes have!

Another challenge of flying carry-on only is trying to pack as little liquids as possible. This has led me to the discovery of many wonderful solid products such as solid shampoo, solid lotion, and solid sunscreen!

My trip is coming up in 22 DAYS!!!! I finalized my packing list a while ago and have already started packing. This is what I’m packing!

Clothing:

-3 tank tops (it was hard to choose from all of my Disney tops!)

-1 pair of shorts

-1 running skirt (built-in shorts!)

-1 dress

-1 pair of sandals

-1 swimsuit

-2 sports bras (best for summer travel)

-3 pairs of socks (sports socks only)

-Oblong Stitch scarf (SOOOO many uses! I have a video on my youtube channel TravellingYuki about it)

Toiletries:

-Conditioner (that’s all I’m packing for the shower because I like Disney’s shampoo and soap)

-solid body lotion

-solid hair oil (this stuff really IS a miracle product. It does wonders for my dry hair!)

-solid sunscreen (this glides on so smoothly and covers so well!)

Make-up:

-Foundation stick

-Contour stick

-Beauty Blender sponge (instead of a brush)

-Minnie Mouse lipstick (What else?)

-Don’t want to bore you with the rest of that, haha

I actually cannot wait to help my DU’s family with their packing. What a weirdo, amirite?

​

 

[chunkymonkey]

I love all your packing tips Yuki! I too am a fan of capsule packing - using packing cubes and the like. I like buying the solid shampoo and conditioner from Basin whenever I'm in Downtown Disney Springs. Although my hair definitely needs more love than a solid conditioner. I'll have to look into that solid argan oil you have! That looks great! Although when packing for Disney, I find that I MUST have everything so we tend to check bags for Disney!

 

[KnK]

This has changed my life as much as packing cubes have!

Love love love packing cubes. They really are fabulous.

 

[YukiPhnx]

I love all your packing tips Yuki! I too am a fan of capsule packing - using packing cubes and the like. I like buying the solid shampoo and conditioner from Basin whenever I'm in Downtown Disney Springs. Although my hair definitely needs more love than a solid conditioner. I'll have to look into that solid argan oil you have! That looks great! Although when packing for Disney, I find that I MUST have everything so we tend to check bags for Disney!

Thank Su-Lynn! I'm always looking for ways to travel lighter. I've tried the conditioner from Basin but found it really hard to use. If I had to get a solid, I would get the ones from LUSH.

When did domestic airlines start charging for checked luggage???

 

[YukiPhnx]

Love love love packing cubes. They really are fabulous.

Yes, they really are! They are a real game changer. I recommend them to all of my friends and now can't imagine travelling without them! My fave brand is Muji because they are super light and thin, durable, and packs away into tiny little pockets.

 

[YukiPhnx]

First time for everything!

Since this will only be my 4th trip to WDW (shocking, I know!), there are still some things I’ve never done! And with so much that has changed since my last trip 3 years ago, there are a lot of new things too!

Here are some of the things I’m looking forward to doing/seeing for the first time

Illuminations

Disney Springs (in particular Uniqlo, Coca Cola store, and Disney TAG)

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Beaches and Cream
​

Be Our Guest
​

As I’m typing this, I realize this post is very similar to my Top 20 post…hmm….

ANYWAYS, my trip is in A WEEK and I still feel so unprepared!!! I’m so used to having to wait MONTHS for my trip but this came up so last minute and it feels like I didn’t have enough time?

Which is crazy because I know I’m well-prepared but I guess my anxiety is just acting up again

I’ve finally settled on my in-park bag (Heys Travelmate) and flip flops (New Balance) but still haven’t settled on the light jacket I’m wearing onto the plane.

Oh yes, speaking of Be Our Guest, I have pre-ordered our meal! I was going to get the Braised Pork but the portions looked a bit too big. I got the Grilled Shrimp kids’ meal for myself and will probably be sampling the Braised Pork off my cousin’s plate. What are family for right?

What’s the deal with the new refillable mugs at the resorts? Are they limited the time between refills now? If that’s the case, I’ll have to rethink my strategy on those and might not get them after all… I’m used to buying 1 and sharing with family but this new policy may put a damper on those plans.

I had a realization the other day that this will be the shortest trip I will be taking to Florida. There’s so much to do but I’ll have so little time to do it all! It’s COMMANDO time.

Ok, that’s enough rambling for now. This may be my last PTR post until my trip. I’ll see y’all on the flipside!

​

 

[chunkymonkey]

I can't believe you've never seen illuminations!!
I think the potions at BoG aren't huge for breakfast or lunch. But it could just be because I eat so much.
Have a great time! I hope you have a blast! Can't wait for the TR!

And see you in October!