Two Weeks until Two Weeks! - Update 3/22 - NEW TR LINK!

[brookelizabeth]

I LOVE your countdown calendar! Even if I tried, I could make one as cool as that!

We flew JetBlue in 2009 and loved it. The in-seat entertainment was great for the kids and they let us check on bag each for free - do they still do that?

A casual dinner at Epcot sounds perfect to me.

Yep! The first bag for each passenger is free. LOVE THAT!! I'm looking forward to the flight, it sounds like JetBlue is going to be great.

Brook - Did you hear about the friendship boats? I only see it listed under BC/YC but it says:

"Friendship Boats to Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and resorts in that area will not be available 2/14/2011- 3/10/2011. Disney is providing bus transportation to Disney's Hollywood Studios from the resort bus stop."

Here's the link. I read on Tour Guide Mike that it had something to do with the dock at the BC/YC so hopefully it won't effect you too badly!

I did hear about that! I read that the BC/YC boat dock is under refurb, so guests can either walk to another dock, or use the bus service - so I'm not too concerned because the chances of us leaving from the BC/YC will be pretty slim...thankfully! Whew!

Your countdown calendar is great.

Like a few other posters have said you will love Jet Blue. We use them every year now. We have an airport that is an hour closer to us but Jet Blue does not fly from there so we go to Boston because we love Jet Blue.

Wow! that is so great to hear! I'm getting pretty excited about the flight! The rates were incredible too!

Hey Brook! I'm finally here!!! Better late than never, right? LOL

I am soooo excited & cannot wait to hear about your trip!!! I can't believe you guys are leaving pretty soon!!!! LESS than 2 weeks now!!!

​

I've never flown JetBlue but have heard good things about them from other people!

We ordered from Garden Grocer last trip & it worked out great! It saved a trip to the store and it was very convenient so we didn't have to worry about getting a taxi or renting a car for just a day. When you fill out the order form (if you decide to go with them), I'm pretty sure you can even tell them what time to deliver it to your resort. It was really nice because they left the order with Bell Services at CBR and then Bell Srvcs brought it to our room for us! We ordered diapers/wipes, cereal, breakfast bars, and I think even some juice & maybe canned fruit. I can't remember for sure...but I will look it up for you! I'm sure you've already looked over their list of items...they have so much stuff to choose from!

Can't wait to hear more about your plans for your 15 day trip!!! I am super jealous but also very excited for all of you!!! I hope our trips overlap sometime & we can meet in person! Henry & Luke would have so much fun!

We have done Garden Grocer once or twice in the past, and same with WeGoShop. We have liked both the services - so easy!!! We were leaning toward Garden Grocer again this time, but I think we'll just hit up the Hess Station across the street from the BW instead. It's walking distance. When we need a "food refill" we will have a rental car for one day, so we'll do it then. I think it will work out...or we will learn a lesson and always get delivery.

I hope our trips overlap sometime too! I'm SURE Henry and Luke would have a ball together! It would be so fun to be hanging poolside why those two boys run around together. Or goofing around in one of the parks all together!

 

[kjh73]

I just finished reading your last amazing trip report!! I'm excited to follow along with this one!

 

[thewesterberg]

BEST. COUNTDOWN. EVER! It's awesome! Look out Art of Disney - there's a new Mickey artist in town and his name is Henry!

Love the "I'll be doing this in ___ days" Game... best ever!

And all your talk of shamrock shakes is making me crave one!
We are out of bread.
N will need a sandwich in his lunch tomorrow.
I should head to the grocery store to buy some.
There's a McDonald's on the way there.
How handy!

I think I just figured out what I'm doing before bed...

 

[brookelizabeth]

Two weeks from today...February 27.

Today will be our first full day in Disney World and we will be going to the Magic Kingdom!!!!

We won't set an alarm this day, and we'll just get to MK when we get there. I do want to see the opening show again this trip (and hopefully get the REAL ONE ), but I figure there will be time for that later when I'm livin' next door to it.

As we walk down Main Street I will capture the Tradition Picture of Henry's first glance at the Castle. We'll head straight for Fantasyland to begin our touring.

I am planning this trip a tad differently. Since we know we will get plenty of park time I am focusing on what we want to do at each park, rather than what we are doing each day. Only a few days in our entire trip have dedicated "this is what we are doing" activities on them. Most of the time we are pretty much going to decide on the fly by looking at crowd level projections, determining what we are feelin', and going from there. We also have a list of non-park activities that we want to try (I'll get to those later in the PTR).

In each park, I want to try and hit at least a few of the attractions that we have never done...which for MK, the list looks like this:

1. Liberty Bell
2. Haunted Mansion
3. Magic Carpets
4. Main Street Cars
5. Snow White's Scary Adventures

Snow White is a MUST since it will be closing at some point in the unknown future.

Aside from those Henry continuously brings up

He LOVED this ride in September - and Joe spun it so fast I almost got sick.

We also must ride

(picture stolen from the internetz)

since we haven't ridden on it in a long while and Joe and I both love it!!

And, since Henry has never been there - we want to go explore Tom Sawyer's Island! We think he'll really enjoy running around through the caves and into the fort. And we'll really enjoy playing with him!

Henry has also never rode Peter Pan or the Astro Orbiter, both of which I think he will find a lot of fun, so they are on the list.

Of course there are The Regulars

Buzz Lightyear

Jungle Cruise

PeopleMover

and many, many more.

If weather permits we are going to ride Splash! I haven't been on it since 2006. And this will be Henry's first time......!

And he has said, more than once, he wants to ride

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Which has this Momma nerrrrrrrrrrrrvous. He hasn't ridden any sort of roller coaster since he was just barely 2 years old, but has been very brave with the "big rides" and loves that last lap on Test Track. We've watched videos of BTMRR on YouTube many times, and he declares he wants to ride it each time. I think when we get there we will let him watch it a bit and then let him decide....is there a good spot to view the coaster from anywhere near it?


And also on the MK list is

The boy is lookin' a tad shaggy lately!

Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It! I've only seen bits of it, and would like to watch the whole thing.

And of COURSE

Now, back to February 27. Let's eat!

Lunch will be at The Plaza!

I have wanted to eat here for a long time, and have made - and canceled - several ADRs. This one is STICKING. Kathy has teased me with stories of how yummy it is, most notably their fries. The big thick steak fries. Yep, I'm lookin' forward to it. And I am going to try my hardest to save room for ice cream!


Dinner will be

Like you had any other guesses!


Snacks. Oh, how I love you snacks. Christine has me over a Mickey Waffle with Powdered Sugar from Sleepy Hollow.

And naturally there is the

and the

Ice cream sandwich from the Main Street Bakery.

We cannot forget about

Not really planning my snacks, but these in particular have been haunting my daydreams lately...

I am certain I'm forgetting at least a couple things. What are they? What are your favorite rides and eats?

 

[lovegrumpy]

All sounds great and yummy.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Mmmmmmm.... I can't wait for all the yummy Disney snacks!!

 

[BrooklynnsMommy]

I have called MeMom and we have agreed that your DVC ownership has temporarily been suspended until you have ridden Haunted Mansion and Henry has ridden Peter Pan. I can't believe you haven't ridden Magic Carpets or Snow White but I really can't believe that Haunted Mansion is on that list! I am sitting here in shock. Please make sure in two weeks you accomplish all of those tasks.

 

[KatMark]

Brook, sounds great. I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO happy you are going to Plaza on your first day. The meals are pretty good sized, so perhaps you can share because you really need to save room for dessert.

I have a feeling that Henry will LOVE Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

 

[SoonerGirl]

I think Henry will be fine on BTMRR. Honestly, I think it's more tame then Barnstormer, that sucker is fast! I can't think of a place where you can watch the ride and see very much of it. If you walk over towards the exit there is a spot where you can see the trains coming by, it's just a small section of the ride though.

Henry hasn't ridden Peter Pan? Really? You MUST fix that!!

I can't get over that pic of him getting his haircut, what a tiny little guy he was! It doesn't seem like that was that long ago but he's grown so much!

My favorite MK snack is the cinnamon almonds - yum!

 

[Poolrat]

I have called MeMom and we have agreed that your DVC ownership has temporarily been suspended until you have ridden Haunted Mansion and Henry has ridden Peter Pan. I can't believe you haven't ridden Magic Carpets or Snow White but I really can't believe that Haunted Mansion is on that list! I am sitting here in shock. Please make sure in two weeks you accomplish all of those tasks.

Must fix that!!!!


I think you can see BTMRR from tom Sawyers Island. At least part of it.

 

[bellebookworm9]

If weather permits we are going to ride Splash! I haven't been on it since 2006. And this will be Henry's first time......!

And he has said, more than once, he wants to ride

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Which has this Momma nerrrrrrrrrrrrvous. He hasn't ridden any sort of roller coaster since he was just barely 2 years old, but has been very brave with the "big rides" and loves that last lap on Test Track. We've watched videos of BTMRR on YouTube many times, and he declares he wants to ride it each time. I think when we get there we will let him watch it a bit and then let him decide....is there a good spot to view the coaster from anywhere near it?

Splash is my favorite!! I really, really hope the weather allows you to ride it!

My mom HATES roller coasters. Absolutely despises them. I managed to get her on BTMRR and she LOVED it. Laughed the whole time. She also loves Test Track. I'm sure Henry will be fine. It's not too fast, and no big drops at all. You can actually see it quite well from Tom Sawyer Island.

Also, gotta say, I'm with MeMom and Brooklynsmommy on suspending your DVC membership until you've ridden the Haunted Mansion. I'm shaking my head in disbelief.

 

[micandminforever]

I love the picture of Henry getting his hair cut. It is so cute.

Corn dog nuggets were not in my plans this trip, but after seeing the picture of them I want them now.

Maybe we should add the HM to the Dis meet. Then you would have witness.

 

[Kara]

Brook, I've been gone for a bit but your report was the first I looked up when I was in the mood for a Disney fix!!! and I was sooo happy to see you are going again soon!!! So I can live through you! LOL! I think I got DH to plan another trip but not till next year...and BLT is a possibility! So please take lots of pics so I can convince him)) LOL Cant believe how big Henry is gettng!!!! Looking forward to the rest of your plans!

 

[Charleston Princess]

I have a feeling certain Magic Kingdom snacks from a certain someone's PTR will be haunting (oh, look, a Haunted Mansion reference ) my daydreams today.

Lots of fun plans for MK. Looking forward to the traditional shot of Henry looking at the castle and being incarcerated with Zurg!

I do hope you get to see the real opening show this time. LOL!

Henry is a boy after my own heart -- I love the teacups, too!

 

[MeMom]

I know I am not supposed to be jealous, but I am anyway , that you have two whole weeks to work on your list! We'll be trying to pack in everything we can in our few days, and it will be great, but oh, how I long for those 10-11 day summer trips when we can do a few things each day and have plenty of down time. Our next longish one will be from Christmas to New Year's, and I am so excited about that. The next three are all less than a week, and some only a few days. I just get nuts inside trying to figure out how we are going to do all of our favorites, do a new meal somewhere, and visit all of the resorts we love so much. Isn't that such an awful, yet wonderful, problem to have?

Get to Peter Pan first thing in the morning, because the lines get ridiculous. We very often ride it, and then get right back on while it's still a walk-on. It's such a fun feeling of flying, and I bet Henry will really love it!

Do you get ride pins for Henry as he conquers them? He will get a lot of new pins on this trip, if so. Brooklynn loves Big Thunder Mountain. In the car on the way to Discovery Center the other day, we asked her what she was looking forward to, and that was her first answer.

Happy planning as these two weeks go by!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I think you are going to love The Plaza. Those fries are delish! And yes, that waffle at Sleepy Hollow is yum-o. I think you can get powdered sugar and/or cinnamon. Good thing you have two weeks in which to eat all that!

Really? Never been on HM? Wow. You must fix that. Will H try it? I think he'll love Peter Pan. We got stuck on PP on the last trip and while it was probably no more than 5 min I was starting to get nervous and wondering how they'd get us down!

2 weeks!! I AM jealous!!

 

[kschafer]

Revoke your DVC membership You have some important tasks girl!!

Favorite MK snack? Gonna have to go with the cream cheese pretzel and coke slushie from Lunching Pad

Is it true? MEK may be finally joining us on FB?!?! Michelle...you're next!

 

[Flossbolna]

Love your MK plans! Some thoughts on Henry and BTMRR: I personally find this coaster less challenging (and I used to be scared of coasters before I got used to them at Disney parks) because it is on a real track on a mountain, not up in the air. So it is just a very fast train ride. While barnstormer has you going through the air. For me this made a huge difference! Also I think his love of trains might be quite some motivation! I would suggest to ask for a place further to the front of the train, it is much less jerky. And I think you might be able to ride all three of you together, so you can have Henry between the two of you and he will not slide around so much. There is quite a nice viewing area when you follow the path towards the exit of BTMRR (to the right when you are in front of the entrance). Possibly he might be more scared by the loud noise on the way up the mountains and the bats?

I also see that you mentioned the Hess Station quite a bit, but you have the same problem I have as well: No idea, what is actually offered. I think this would be a great service for future BWV guests if you could take some pictures of the inside of the station (if you don't feel too strange about taking pictures inside a petrol station! ).

 

[wdwgirl03]

I like your plan of just picking what you want to do at each park rather than what you want to do each day. That's what we always do anyway.

Favorite rides for me are definitely all the mountains, Peter Pan, Jungle Cruise, Buzz...well, pretty much everything at the MK. I cannot believe you haven't been on the Haunted Mansion!

As far as snacks go, we usually don't get a whole lot of snacks. But I do like those cream cheese pretzels thanks to LL!!

 

[jenjolt]

Well it goes without saying that my heart soars at the thought you'll finally be riding my beloved!!! It is a classic my friend, and really not that scary...but shhhh don't tell the ghosts I said that LOL!!!!

Okay you talking about those snacks are not doing anything for my diet LOL!!! Do you know I keep telling myself I will have that ice cream sandwich from the Bakery and have never gotten around to it!! Well the next two trips will be warmer so I'm going to have one!!!

Hmmm....you will love the Plaza I'm a huge fan!! I love eating there, it's so good there!! I love getting a ressie there before seeking out my seat for the nighttime activities!!!!!