Through Fresh Eyes...One Week Left 5/1

[ValarDisneyus]

The gift reminds me of standing outside the bridge to Beast's Castle while watching Wishes two years ago. I felt like I was AT that point in my most favorite Disney movie (and may have started crying a little....) If you don't want to deal with the crowds out front in the Hub then head back there; it's still a gorgeous show!

Karen Hallion's shirts are awesome! I ordered Merida, opened it, put it in the wash and.... have not seen it since. Dressing as the Dovahkiin from Skyrim could be fun or Link from Zelda, maybe even a Hobbit! DSis and I are going to take at least a couple days and do that "Disneybounding". We did a few last time (minorly, like wearing blue for Elsa) and it was fun. *edit* Oh, if we went at Christmas, I'd definitely figure out something Nutcracker-inspired.

I never saw Karen Hallion's Merida! I need to look that up! I probably won't ever wear a costume unless I'm at MNSSHP. I love making costumes for Squeaks, though.

 

[KatMark]

Amanda, I'm sorry I missed this post. Wow...you are a saint for all that you went through. I'm glad you finally worked it all out and got the ADR's you wanted. And for getting Be Our Guest. I hope you like it as much as we did.

 

[KatMark]

I just wanted to stop by and wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving.

​

 

[ValarDisneyus]

Thank you so much, Kathy! I hope you're doing well.


I hope everyone else reading (and those who don't, too, ha!) had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

 

[ValarDisneyus]

Hey there! It's been a minute, right? This will, sadly, be a short update, but still- an update! By me! On the DIS! During finals! It's a Christmas miracle!

So, for an update on the costuming, I got nothing done in November aside from material gathering. It's not my favorite truth, but it's one I've accepted. Today I started a mermaid tail only to cut it about an inch too narrow and not have enough fabric to start over. Well done, me.

BUT I DO HAVE LEGITIMATE NEWS! You all may recall that The Force is strong with my husband, and Star Wars Weekends news/availability broke this week. I stayed home from work through sheer happenstance on the first day that reservations were make-able. I figured I'd call the reservation line in the morning when it opened and I'd have no worries.

Well, sure enough, 7 am rolls right past me, and I look at the clock when it is 8 am. I'm a bit nervous now, but still self-assured. Sure enough...

Complete failure. According to the dining line, everything was booked. EVERYTHING. Our whole trip. Booked up, in one hour of opening the phone lines. I had a sad. But, ever the optimist, and mildly curious, I checked the My Disney Experience site thingie where you can make ressies...

AND WIN! Rezzies for dinner with Jedi Mickey AND while Squeaks, Jackie and I are at the tea party, Matt and Terry can have breakfast with Darth!

I have some serious beginner's luck. I'm so glad I read the DIS like it's an instruction manual for life, or I'd have never known to check both reservation-making options. THANK YOU, DIS!

And thank you for reading this meager update, I'm sorry that pictures of dresses are not yet involved. Finals should be over after tomorrow night, and then I'll be much busier with happier things.

 

[KatMark]

so glad you got the Star Wars meals.

 

[SarahDisney]

Finals ... I certainly don't miss those.

Yay for getting the Star Wars meals! Very exciting!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Yay for getting those meals!! I was glad when DH decided to pass on those. It made my life so much easier.

 

[STLMickeyMom]

A magical mix of the force and pixie dust , for sure! That's super exciting!

 

[ValarDisneyus]

so glad you got the Star Wars meals.

Thank you, thank you! I'd like to thank KatMark, for continually sharing her love of Disney with the interweb, and the Academy known as the Dis, for showing me where to hunt down coveted reservations. Of course I'd like to thank my Mom, to taking me to Disneyland when I was wee. THANK YOU!

Finals ... I certainly don't miss those.

Yay for getting the Star Wars meals! Very exciting!

Woo, you're not kidding. I took my last one for the semester last night and it felt like my brain lost 30 pounds. I just went right to sleep, all stress for the moment just absolutely gone.

And yes! Thank you! I even bought a Darth Vader dress. (I hope it doesn't look too silly with leggings because let me tell you, it was made for women who are either shorter than me, far more adept at sitting in a ladylike manner, and/are more confident about the state of their legs than I.)

Yay for getting those meals!! I was glad when DH decided to pass on those. It made my life so much easier.

You know, I bet if I'd have asked my husband out-right, he'd have just told me he'd be fine without. I know, though, that on some level, he's secretly glad I did this. One of those things you're almost embarrassed to say you want to do (you know how men who are trying to stifle their inner boy can be if they think they'll be laughed at) but you're glad you're doing it. I told him he has to take some pictures and tell me about trading with the Jawas for me, Squeaks said she's too scared of Darth to do it so I won't do the Sci-Fi breakfast; I have to live vicariously through the male faction of our vacation party.

A magical mix of the force and pixie dust , for sure! That's super exciting!

I'm trying to not get my expectations lifted so high that they're impossible to attain, but yes. Yes, I think it certainly will be magical. I mean, Darth Goofy. Only at Disney, right?

 

[KatMark]

Thank you, thank you! I'd like to thank KatMark, for continually sharing her love of Disney with the interweb, and the Academy known as the Dis, for showing me where to hunt down coveted reservations. Of course I'd like to thank my Mom, to taking me to Disneyland when I was wee. THANK YOU!

This made me smile. Thank you.

 

[ValarDisneyus]

Aww! All my silliness is well worth it if it makes you smile.

 

[SarahDisney]

Woo, you're not kidding. I took my last one for the semester last night and it felt like my brain lost 30 pounds. I just went right to sleep, all stress for the moment just absolutely gone.

And yes! Thank you! I even bought a Darth Vader dress. (I hope it doesn't look too silly with leggings because let me tell you, it was made for women who are either shorter than me, far more adept at sitting in a ladylike manner, and/are more confident about the state of their legs than I.)

I'm a firm believer that leggings go with everything ... seriously, not as much during the summer, but during the winter, the only time I don't wear leggings is if I'm wearing thick tights. I say if you want it to work, it works.

Then again ... I don't usually win any "Best Dressed" awards, so take my fashion advice with a grain of salt.

 

[KatMark]

I just wanted to stop by and wish you and yours a very

​

 

[ValarDisneyus]

I just wanted to stop by and wish you and yours a very

​

Awww, thank you Kathy! I hope yours was wonderful and very merry.

 

[ValarDisneyus]

It's 3 months out from today! It's 3 months out from today and I HAVEN'T BOUGHT SHOES. I haven't done much of anything! I'm starting to panic a little.

What would you be doing at 3 months out? Surely I'm in trouble.

 

[SarahDisney]

3 months ... so exciting!

I'm never anywhere near ready to go 3 months out (then again, I'm a last-minute planner most of the time). You definitely have plenty of time left to get ready.
Since FP+ day is coming up in a month or so, you may want to look at the rides with FP+ and the tiering system and make some priorities for what you want. You don't need to do this right this second, but since it's your first trip, it might help to take some time to think about what's important to you.

Other than that ... what I like to do is make a list of what needs to get done and assign "timelines" of when I think it should be done, and work from there. Each person has different things that they need to do, and you actually may be able to get everything done in 3 months.

How's the sewing going?

 

[Gracefulskinny]

It's 3 months out from today! It's 3 months out from today and I HAVEN'T BOUGHT SHOES. I haven't done much of anything! I'm starting to panic a little.

What would you be doing at 3 months out? Surely I'm in trouble.

3 Months out So Exciting!!! We are getting close!

I am starting to gather DD's outfits but only because the spring and summer consignment sales happen at this time of year. I would probably wait another month or two if I wasn't dealing with a set schedule like that.

I am also finishing up deciding which FP+ we are going with.

 

[ValarDisneyus]

3 months ... so exciting!

I'm never anywhere near ready to go 3 months out (then again, I'm a last-minute planner most of the time). You definitely have plenty of time left to get ready.
Since FP+ day is coming up in a month or so, you may want to look at the rides with FP+ and the tiering system and make some priorities for what you want. You don't need to do this right this second, but since it's your first trip, it might help to take some time to think about what's important to you.

Other than that ... what I like to do is make a list of what needs to get done and assign "timelines" of when I think it should be done, and work from there. Each person has different things that they need to do, and you actually may be able to get everything done in 3 months.

How's the sewing going?

I have started looking at FP+. It doesn't particularly help that, if the ride isn't at Disneyland, we have no idea if we want to do it and/or how much. I'm hammering out a calendar firm-style, and then still trying to predict the future, like I'm gambling with impossible to understand stakes, with indeterminable amounts of time, with unknowable odds, with a dealer who smiles all the time.

And sewing...oi vey...I'm running late.

3 Months out So Exciting!!! We are getting close!

I am starting to gather DD's outfits but only because the spring and summer consignment sales happen at this time of year. I would probably wait another month or two if I wasn't dealing with a set schedule like that.

I am also finishing up deciding which FP+ we are going with.

Yeah, it's about time for me to be thinking about outfits, too. And by that I mean I'm going to spend my next day off cutting out dresses. .

 

[SarahDisney]

I have started looking at FP+. It doesn't particularly help that, if the ride isn't at Disneyland, we have no idea if we want to do it and/or how much. I'm hammering out a calendar firm-style, and then still trying to predict the future, like I'm gambling with impossible to understand stakes, with indeterminable amounts of time, with unknowable odds, with a dealer who smiles all the time.

And to make it worse, some of the rides that they have at both are different at WDW than they are at DL (although mostly they're similar enough).
There are probably a ton of threads here discussing DL vs. WDW versions of rides, so that might help.
There is a thread out there somewhere (I don't have the patience to look for the link right now) that has a list of FP+ priorities. You may want to look at that and then look at descriptions of the high-priority rides and see if it sounds like something you might like. There are also YouTube videos of a lot of the rides, so that might be helpful in deciding if it's something you want to try.