Two Bunnies Return to WDW

[jwhtewolfd]

Subbing! I'm going the same time as you are with my mom, can't wait! And I seriously have been trying to restrain myself from refreshing the calendar! I want park hours!!!!!

Hope I don't scare you away. As you can probably tell from my posts, and my ridiculous count down chain, I can be a little...obsessive? And I still haven't posted my packing list yet.

 

[jwhtewolfd]

The September 1st 90 day mark is here, but so far we only have Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach hours. Hm. Too bad I don't do water parks. I just KNEW the hours wouldn't be released while I had time off.

My newest anxiety:
My ADR date is a Friday. I can call at 6:00am central. I have to be at work at 8:30. Shouldn't be a problem, but reports of long hold times and disconnects are scary. IF I can't get ADRs accomplished by 8:30, I have two options:

1. Call after work. Though I can't guarantee I'll even be off before the dining line closes. Not to mention that's a heck of alot of people calling all day before me.

2. Have Tony do it.

Neither is very appealing. Oh, what will I think of next?

...Days Left Until 2009 Walt Disney World Vacation!
115 - Tomorrowland Indy Speedway cars can reach top speeds of 7.5 mph (to which Tony replied "Whee!" )
114 - Disney's Animal Kingdom Park encompasses 500 acres (I, of course, felt the need to point out that's 400 more acres than the hundred-acre wood )

 

[jwhtewolfd]

Disney is really making us sweat with all this "no releasing of hours" business. The couple of projected hours sources that have been dug up are disheatening. Only 2 Fantasmic! showings and ONLY ONE SPECTROMAGIC! What the heck are they thinking?? I think I might cry.

...Days Left Until 2009 Walt Disney World Vacation!
113 - The Carousel of Progress was designed by Walt for the 1964 World's Fair
112 - The Mickey's PhilharMagic screen is 150 feet long and 28 feet high

 

[jwhtewolfd]

GAH! Can you believe it is June 8th and Disney STILL hasn't posted all the official hours for September? And can you believe my baby brother turns 21 today? 21! He's not a baby anymore.

IF you've been following the September hours thread, as I have, you know that there are some "sources" out there. Reliable? Official? Who knows. But it's better than what's up (or NOT up, as the case may be) on disney.com. So without further ado, I give you the first draft:

Mon - Tues: panic and pack. Wed: work and day dream.

Thurs, Sept 24
Drive from New Orleans to Orlando. Leave ~3am, arrive ~2pm. Stop at Cracker Barrel for breakfast (6am). Check in, unpack car, DTD, CS Earl of Sandwich, shop, make Scar and Shere Kahn shirts, maybe even Lady and the Tramp anniversary shirts?

Fri, Sept 25 (6 yr anniversary)
MK 9am - 7pm (MNSSHP tonight, not attending). TS Tony's Town Square, CS Columbia Harbor House or Cosmic Ray's. Scratch the previously planned carriage ride, we're hopping to HS for 8pm Fantasmic!

Sat, Sept 26
HS (AM EMH) 8am - 7pm. CS ? TS Mama Melrose if can get Le Cellier later in the week. If can't get Le Cellier, will have extra TS and will do Brown Derby. Hop to MK for 8pm Spectro and 9pm Wishes (ONLY Spectro scheduled for our length of stay! )

Sun, Sept 27
AK 9am - 5pm. CS Pizzafari. TS Boma just after AK close. Hop to MK for 8 pm Wishes. Also MK PM EMH til 11pm if so desired.

Mon, Sept 28
EP 9am - 9pm and PM EMH til 12am if so desired. TS Coral Reef, as close to 11:30am opening as possible. CS ? Might just F&W fest for dinner. MUST try a grey goose slush. Illuminations at 9pm. Might have to have an orange slush too. Could try for dinner TS LeCellier today, but may have more luck later in stay.

Tues, Sept 29
AK 9am - 5pm. CS Flame Tree BBQ or Yak and Yeti. Hop to MK for MNSSHP 7pm - 12 am and TS Crystal Palace. Wear Shere Kahn and Scar shirts today.

Wed, Sept 30
EP 9am - 9pm. TS Garden Grill for dinner. TS LeCellier for lunch if I can get it. If not, then Brown Derby on Sat. and CS or F&W for lunch. Hop to MK for 9pm Wishes (last showing of Wishes while we're there - and HOPEFULLY they will add a Spectro tonight? Pleease?).

Thurs, Oct 1 (based on speculation)
HS 9am-7pm? CS ? Boat to EP for TS Tutto Italia dinner. If Fantamic! is showing, boat back to HS (sounds crazy, I know, but there aren't many places to eat in HS and we've never taken a boat before. It will be some much needed "off the feet" time) for Fantasmic! If no F!, stay in EP for Illuminations. (hoping for Ill today and F! tomorrow, but designed these two days so it could go either way)

Fri, Oct 2 (based on speculation)
MK 9am - 7pm (MNSSHP tonight, not attending). CS ? TS Kona at MK closing. If no F! last night, then hopefully F! tonight, so hop to HS for F! If no F! tonight, then hopefully there was F! last night, so hop to EP for Illuminations. (hoping for Ill yesterday and F! today, but designed these two days so it could go either way). Pack?

Sat, Oct 3
Sleep in. Pack? Load car. CS brunch/lunch Everything Pop food court. Drive from Orlando to New Orleans. Leave ~noon, arrive ~10pm.

Sun - Tues Sleep and recover. Back to work on Wed.

Special notes:
We plan on making rope drop every morning.
Hours listed are just park hours, not intended attended hours. I know I can't leave Epcot at 9pm and make it in time for Wishes at 9pm.
We are planning on using buses, monorails and boats for all this hopping, unless the hopping proves too tedious or problematic. I am prepared to use the car if need be, but I'm hoping value season will be kind to us, transportation-wise.
If you've been keeping up with projected dining options, we did give up The Wave, and Tony is willing to try Mama Melrose in lieu of Brown Derby if we can swing a LeCellier ADR. Oh, the sacrifices we make!

...Days Left Until 2009 Walt Disney World Vacation!
111 - Cinderella's Golden Carrousel was built in 1917!
110 - Japan's pagoda has 5 levels symbolizing the elements earth, water, fire, wind and sky
109 - The Tree of Life in Animal Kingdom is 145 feet tall

 

[jwhtewolfd]

100 Days Left! Moving into double digits!

Just watched Wall-E to celebrate. Also have Bolt next in my Netflix queue.

I have come up with a contingency plan in case there is no Fantasmic! scheduled on Oct. 1st or 2nd. We would see F! on Tues. Sept 29 and go to MNSSHP on Thurs. Oct. 1st. It would be cool to go on our last night (Fri. Oct. 2), but I'm not willing to chance some bizarre weather on our last day and possibly miss the parade or fireworks. Which means I still haven't bought my MNSSHP tickets yet! I would have to switch some ADRs, but Tony says we must see F! more than once. And I tend to agree. Unfortunately, I won't know October's schedule until...well, who knows when?

...Days Left Until 2009 Walt Disney World Vacation!
108 - Walt Disney World Resort opened on October 1, 1971
107 - In 2009, Epcot will host the 14th annual Food and Wine Festival
106 - Spaceship Earth is covered by 11,324 triangular panels
105 - In January 2008 MGM Studios changed to Hollywood Studios
104 - Disney Hollywood Studios opened May 1, 1989 (as MGM Studios)
103 - The Magic Kingdom covers 107 acres and has 7 themed lands
102 - If Spaceship Earth was a golf ball, the golfer would be 1 mile tall
101 - Sorcerer Mickey's hat in Hollywood Studios is 122 feet tall
100 - Disney's Animal Kingdom opened April 22, 1998

 

[racefanof88]

Hey Jamie, I'm coming over from Colleen's PTR. I love the pictures of your house, I know it took a lot of work to get it back into shape.

We will be at Pop at the same time. Our trip is Sept. 25 - Oct 3. We will be celebrating our anniversary while we are in Disney too. My DH and I will be married 22 years on October 3rd. We will be driving in from Mobile on the 25th and driving home on the 3rd.

We are now at double digits and I am counting the days to make my ADRs. Not sure yet if I am going to do the on line ressies or the old fashioned way and call.

Looking forward to your next update .

 

[jwhtewolfd]

Hey Jamie, I'm coming over from Colleen's PTR. I love the pictures of your house, I know it took a lot of work to get it back into shape.

We will be at Pop at the same time. Our trip is Sept. 25 - Oct 3. We will be celebrating our anniversary while we are in Disney too. My DH and I will be married 22 years on October 3rd. We will be driving in from Mobile on the 25th and driving home on the 3rd.

We are now at double digits and I am counting the days to make my ADRs. Not sure yet if I am going to do the on line ressies or the old fashioned way and call.

Looking forward to your next update .

What a small world of coincidences. We'll be passing Mobile at about 5 am on the 24th. Be sure to wave and we'll make sure they hold you a room with a good view at the resort. I haven't decided on online or calling yet either. I might be attempting to book online while I'm holding on the phone! Whoever is faster - the CMs or the internet connection/Disney website - will win out.

 

[jwhtewolfd]

Guess who's going to Magic Kingdom in January! Vet conference in Orlando January 16 - 20 and then...Magic Kingdom to ride the newly refurbed Space Mountain on January 21!

Meanwhile....Days Left Until 2009 Walt Disney World Vacation!
99 - Magic Kingdom's Main Street , USA consists of only 4 buildings
98 - Each Test Track vehicle has three on-board computers
97 - Sorcerer Mickey's hat was added to the Studios in September, 2001

 

[racefanof88]

What a small world of coincidences. We'll be passing Mobile at about 5 am on the 24th. Be sure to wave and we'll make sure they hold you a room with a good view at the resort. I haven't decided on online or calling yet either. I might be attempting to book online while I'm holding on the phone! Whoever is faster - the CMs or the internet connection/Disney website - will win out.

I am losing my mind . We are actually leaving on the 26th, so you will be well into the Disney mode before I get there. I will be finishing up with last minute touches on the 24th. I have been playing around with the on line stuff and I may be holding the line too while booking on line.

Guess who's going to Magic Kingdom in January! Vet conference in Orlando January 16 - 20 and then...Magic Kingdom to ride the newly refurbed Space Mountain on January 21!

Meanwhile....Days Left Until 2009 Walt Disney World Vacation!
99 - Magic Kingdom's Main Street , USA consists of only 4 buildings
98 - Each Test Track vehicle has three on-board computers
97 - Sorcerer Mickey's hat was added to the Studios in September, 2001

Congrats on the January trip . I can't decide when I want to go back next year. I really like going in February or March.

 

[jwhtewolfd]

ADRs are DONE. Well, til I start to make changes anyway. I'm going back to bed for an hour. Will update with details after work.

 

[jwhtewolfd]

I set my alarm for 4:45 am (that's central time). I woke up shivering...violently. Apparently my bedroom is extremely cold at 4am. It took everything I had in me to throw my lovely, comfy, warm, down blanket off, but eventually I was able to stumble to the other side of the house to the computer. I entered my phone # and reservation # and got to work.

First priority: Le Cellier. Nothing available. Nothing available. Nothing available. WTH!? Oh. No, I don't want JUNE 30. I want SEPTEMBER 30. It's 5am. Lots more available now. Go figure. It's 5am.

I found the online ADR system to work FAIRLY well. Other than my own oopsies, I didn't have any problems. It could be polished up a bit, but I think it went smoothly and quickly. It would have been even faster, but I was really firm on the times I needed for hopping purposes. That took a little more time for the system to search a few different times.

I admit, I did have to cheat twice and book a party of 3 in order to get the times I needed. I wanted Coral Reef as soon as it opened for lunch. It fits perfectly into our touring plan and they always seem to run late. I figure if you're first, they can't be behind yet. Right? The other cheat was Kona Cafe, on our 9th day, no less! I didn't know Kona was so popular.

At 5:45 - Mission Accomplished
The results:
Friday 9/25 - Tony's Town Square - 11:30 am
Sat 9/26 - Mama Melrose - 4:15 pm
Sun 9/27 - Boma - 5:45 pm
Mon 9/28 - Coral Reef - 11:40 am
Tues 9/29 - Crystal Palace - 5:45 pm
Wed 9/30 - Le Cellier - 12:30 pm
Wed 9/30 - Garden Grill - 5:35 pm
Thurs 10/1 - Tutto Italia - 7:00 pm
Fri 10/2 - Kona Cafe - 5:10 pm

Tony's was supposed to be dinner, but there was nothing early enough that I was comfortable with for us to make it to Fantasmic! by 8 pm. I asked Tony (who was still up playing computer games) if he REALLY wanted to eat there ON our anniversary, or if we could swap it with Crystal Palace or Kona. He REALLY wanted to eat there ON the 25th.

I said OK, but it would have to be for lunch, and there is no steak on the menu for lunch. He asked me if I had to have steak at EVERY meal....Um...Is that a trick question????

And it was a good thing I checked over them thoroughly before checking out. I had found a 4:40 pm spot for Mama Melrose (I wanted 5pm), but when I was double checking I realized I had forgotten to select the date and it defaulted to our arrival day - Thurs the 24th! Our driving day! Oops. I had to settle for the 4:15 spot on Sat. What do ya want? It was 5am!

Many of these are earlier than I WANT to eat. We don't usually eat dinner til, well, right now. I have my dinner plate in front of me while I type this at 8:45pm. (Smothered lemon chicken with scalloped cheese potatoes, if anyone's interested.) But since we'll be hopping around to make night time shows, I wanted to give us plenty of time to be seated, eat, hop, and position ourselves strategically for the night time spectacular of choice.

Countdown factoids will have to wait for the moment; I need to eat before it gets cold.

 

[racefanof88]

Your ADRs look great . It is good to know that it was easy to get the 90 + 10. I get to make mine Sunday morning and if we end up eating at the same places at the same time I will be sure to let you know. It would be great to meet you. We will be doing Tony's too but I want to try and get it on the day we do MNSSHP. I will be much more excited about the trip come Sunday after my ADRs are made.

 

[jwhtewolfd]

Your ADRs look great . It is good to know that it was easy to get the 90 + 10. I get to make mine Sunday morning and if we end up eating at the same places at the same time I will be sure to let you know. It would be great to meet you. We will be doing Tony's too but I want to try and get it on the day we do MNSSHP. I will be much more excited about the trip come Sunday after my ADRs are made.

That would be cool if we ended up in the same place. I feel so much better now that ADRs are done. As soon as I see if F! is on Friday Oct. 2 (keeping my fingers crossed) I'll buy my MNSSHP tickets for Tues Sept 29 and be all set.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

So the online ADRs can be made at 6 eastern but the phone ones at 7?

And yes, 4:45 am is not fun. Unless you get up at 4, then at least by 4:45 you are pretty much awake.

You got some good ADRs. So only 90 days away! It's going to come fast!

 

[jwhtewolfd]

So the online ADRs can be made at 6 eastern but the phone ones at 7?

And yes, 4:45 am is not fun. Unless you get up at 4, then at least by 4:45 you are pretty much awake.

You got some good ADRs. So only 90 days away! It's going to come fast!

Yep, the online system rolls over an hour earlier.

If I hadn't had to work, I'd've just stayed up til 4:45am. That's a whole lot easier for me than WAKING UP for 4:45am.

Yep, gonna come fast, but not as fast as 3 MORE DAYS!! Are you "AAGGHHHHH!!!!" yet? Or have you reached "aahhhhh" already?

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Yep, the online system rolls over an hour earlier.

If I hadn't had to work, I'd've just stayed up til 4:45am. That's a whole lot easier for me than WAKING UP for 4:45am.

Yep, gonna come fast, but not as fast as 3 MORE DAYS!! Are you "AAGGHHHHH!!!!" yet? Or have you reached "aahhhhh" already?

Still at AAAGGHHHHH!

I think ahhhh will not come until the truck is unloaded at my new place. Even better ahhhhhhhh will be once things are unpacked.

I have a hard time waking up in the mornings too. One of my students gave me an alarm clock as an end of year gift yesterday. It's a nice clock and one of mine broke so it's a great gift. I had to laugh though with another teacher later that it's like it's hinting I was late a lot or something...which is funny because in the four years I worked there I was late ONE TIME (by 15 minutes...bad traffic in bad weather) and it was LAST school year.

 

[racefanof88]

OK, so let me get this straight. I can make my ADRs at 5am our time? If so I may just try and stay up. I was thinking 6am is 7am in Orlando so that would be the right time. Am I wrong?

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

OK, so let me get this straight. I can make my ADRs at 5am our time? If so I may just try and stay up. I was thinking 6am is 7am in Orlando so that would be the right time. Am I wrong?

If you are in Central Time, then yes you are an hour behind Eastern.

Central 4 = Eastern 5
Central 5 = Eastern 6
Central 6 = Eastern 7

I've gotten lots of practice with the Central/Eastern time zones this year.

 

[jwhtewolfd]

OK, so let me get this straight. I can make my ADRs at 5am our time? If so I may just try and stay up. I was thinking 6am is 7am in Orlando so that would be the right time. Am I wrong?

You are correct.

 

[jwhtewolfd]

I have GOT to stop reading Disney menus before dinner.