UPDATED 08/10!!! - "Third Try's the Charm!" - PTR Aug '18 - Our 1st trip!

[Kippa-Dee-Do-Dah]

This is so cute! I would love to do this for my niece but she's too young and would be asking every day if we were going to Disney World.

Thanks! I've had to wait since we booked last fall so it's been killing me! (Although seriously, we've slipped up so many times in front of them, I'm not sure how they didn't catch on...proof they don't listen to us, I guess!) My husband wanted to tell them at about 30 days out. I was like nope, I'll give you until school's out and that's it! It's been great, we've watched the planning dvd and they check my phone every day for the countdown.

 

[reyasmommy]

POR is my favorite! You'll fall in love!

That's an adorable letter from Mickey Mouse... I remember when my kids were young enough to use those letters for and we'd leave gifts from Mickey Mouse in our room everyday after we got back from the parks. It kept them from asking about buying stuff in the gift stores because they knew they would be getting a surprise every night. ((Dollar store finds))

As you know from my PTR we are surprising them this year but in a different way.... They think we're going to Omaha and we'll surprise them when we check in for our flight.

You guys are going to have so much fun! Can't wait to read more!

 

[Kippa-Dee-Do-Dah]

POR is my favorite! You'll fall in love!

That's an adorable letter from Mickey Mouse... I remember when my kids were young enough to use those letters for and we'd leave gifts from Mickey Mouse in our room everyday after we got back from the parks. It kept them from asking about buying stuff in the gift stores because they knew they would be getting a surprise every night. ((Dollar store finds))

As you know from my PTR we are surprising them this year but in a different way.... They think we're going to Omaha and we'll surprise them when we check in for our flight.

You guys are going to have so much fun! Can't wait to read more!

Thank you!!! Hopefully in the next few days I can get to FP and ADR's!

I tragically learned that doing "tinker bell gifts" (or Mickey gifts) in the hotel room was not for us, on our first trip to the Land. The kids were passed out cold when we got back and I was too tired to even try to put anything together! We give them a limit to spend in the parks. And they've quickly learned that no, mom and dad are not going to buy the 8-foot plush Mickey or the $70 princess dress for them! Pressed pennies for the win!

 

[reyasmommy]

Thank you!!! Hopefully in the next few days I can get to FP and ADR's!

I tragically learned that doing "tinker bell gifts" (or Mickey gifts) in the hotel room was not for us, on our first trip to the Land. The kids were passed out cold when we got back and I was too tired to even try to put anything together! We give them a limit to spend in the parks. And they've quickly learned that no, mom and dad are not going to buy the 8-foot plush Mickey or the $70 princess dress for them! Pressed pennies for the win!

My daughter will usually save up all of her allowance for our Disney Trips, and then she doesn't end up buying anything till the end of the trip. My son on the other hand has to blow his money the second we arrive.

We could spend hours in the World of Disney Store ….. A few trips ago my daughter wasn't paying attention and backed up into the shelves with the snow globes. At least 1/2 a dozen of them fell to the ground and shattered. All I could do was see all the dollar signs I was going to have to pay for all of the broken ones. A CM came up and just told us it was okay, no worries and that they would never charge us for such a thing. They knew it was an accident. I've never been so relieved.

 

[Kippa-Dee-Do-Dah]

My daughter will usually save up all of her allowance for our Disney Trips, and then she doesn't end up buying anything till the end of the trip. My son on the other hand has to blow his money the second we arrive.

We could spend hours in the World of Disney Store ….. A few trips ago my daughter wasn't paying attention and backed up into the shelves with the snow globes. At least 1/2 a dozen of them fell to the ground and shattered. All I could do was see all the dollar signs I was going to have to pay for all of the broken ones. A CM came up and just told us it was okay, no worries and that they would never charge us for such a thing. They knew it was an accident. I've never been so relieved.

WHOA. That is terrifying!!! And amazing that they didn't charge you!! I've always wanted a Disney snowglobe, ever since they used to carry them in the Disney Store when we were kids.

 

[Kippa-Dee-Do-Dah]

FASTPASSES, ADR'S, AND STRATEGY, OH MY!

Alrighty now, time to talk about all this overwhelming stuff!

We made ADR's in February. We were hoping for:

- Sci-Fi Dine In (dinner)
- 'Ohana (dinner)
- Victoria & Albert's (dinner)
- Biergarten (dinner)
- Bon Voyage character breakfast
- Garden Grill (breakfast)
- Be Our Guest (dinner)

ADR day came and went, and we got.....

- Sci-Fi dinner @ 3:45 (um...)
- 'Ohana dinner @ 4:00 (huh?)
- Victoria & Albert's dinner @ 7:00 (much better)
- Biergarten dinner @ 6:30 (good good good)
- Bon Voyage character breakfast at 10:40 am (high five for sleeping in!)
- Garden Grill breakfast @ 8:00 (pre-park opening = excellent)
- Be Our Guest --> N/A

WHAT?!?!

That's right, folks. My TA wasn't able to get anything for BOG, not even for breakfast or lunch. About a week or two after our ADR date, it was announced that BOG's dinner was changing to a signature dining experience. So, we figured that eventually spots would open up. I went to the Mouse Dining website and put in trackers for anything at BOG, and for better dinner times for Sci-Fi and 'Ohana.

And then, a few weeks ago it was announced that BOG would be closed during our ENTIRE trip, only to reopen for our very last MK day.

So now I've basically got one day we're working with to get a reservation. To top it off, after being on Mouse Dining for the past few months, I finally got a text last week for a reservation for BOG on our last day.

It was 7 AM. The kids are out for the summer, I didn't have to get up yet, I didn't recognize the number, and I thought the words "Be Our Guest" was a cutesy title for an invite for a friend's July 4th party. So I glanced at the text and went back to sleep. And of course, hours later when I thought to look at it, the reservation was gone.

So...I'm still looking. And wishing. and hoping. And praying for a miracle....for all three reservations.

For the rest of our meals, we'll likely do snacks, QS, or food court. We plan to eat breakfast in our room at POR each morning while we get ready, except for our resort/free days. I actually made my own master list of every restaurant at WDW, which "land" they're in, and made notes regarding type of food served and ratings. That way we can kind of choose as we go along, but also know if we're picking something worth eating at.

Just stating the obvious, folks!

to be continued....

(sorry, not feeling great today, I'll finish another time!)​

 

[Kippa-Dee-Do-Dah]

Daily Plans & FP!

Well. Been planning (and canceling) this trip for like 3 years now....and we never made it as far as getting FP+ before....until NOW!

We've got about two weeks of family-filled vacation, so without further ado, here's what we've got going on:

August 17-18 - Travel Days

We are driving, and will spend the 18th at my Aunt's house in Orlando, since we had originally planned to fly in on the 19th, the first day of our reservation.

August 19 - Check in!

We're going to sleep in and hang out with my Aunt, go to the grocery store by her house, check in at POR, and head to Disney Springs. (We are really not "get to the parks after checking in" type people. We like rope drop too much!)

August 20 - Hollywood Studios

It's still so hard for me to not call this MGM! Plans include: Jedi Training, Toy Story Land, few shows (maybe Voyage of the Little Mermaid), lots of exploring. We've got FP+ for TSMM, Indiana Jones show, and Star Tours. Hoping to do Toy Story Land first and rope drop Slinky Dog! This day we have our Sci-Fi rez, still hoping to change the time on this. We'll end the day with Fantasmic!

August 21 - Magic Kingdom #1

Since we have 3 MK days, my TA planned for us to sleep in a little this day before heading there. Our first FP isn't until 11:50 (7 Dwarfs!), so the plan is to leave for MK around 10 AM and stroll Main Street a bit. We may also try to ride a few rides with low waits (like the carousel) and meet characters. For lunch, we're planning to do snacks as opposed to full meals, since we currently have a 4 pm 'Ohana rez. Before that, we'll do Tomorrowland (also have Speedway and Buzz FP). After dinner, we'll finish Tomorrowland, and do more MS exploring and meeting characters before seeing fireworks.

August 22 - Resort Day #1

Swim. Laundry. Repeat.
(Hubs and I have dinner plans at the GF - Victoria & Albert's! We love date nights at nice places so we're super pumped!)

August 23 - Magic Kingdom #2

Rope dropping Magic Kingdom and all that comes with it - LET'S DO THIS!

We're planning to spend most of the day in Fantasyland, and hoping to do Peter Pan, Small World, Philharmagic, and Enchanted Tales before our first FP at Pooh. We also have a Haunted Mansion and Splash FP for around lunchtime, after which, we'll head back to FL and play the Refresh game on MDE for more FP. We have no dining plans this day - it's all about FL, getting more FP, snacks here and there, and characters. We're not planning to make it a late night since we'll have already seen Happily Ever After.

August 24 - Epcot Day #1

Another Rope Drop! We're heading straight to Turtle Talk, and have morning FP for Nemo, Spaceship Earth, and Test Track. We'll meet Baymax, Joy & Sadness, and do a few other walkthrough attractions before heading to France for lunch (planning to eat at Les Halles). After that we'll do the southern part of World Showcase - France through Germany, as we have a rez at Biergarten that night. We'll watch Illuminations - hoping to pull at 4th FP for that!

August 25 - Resort Day #2

So the kids don't know about this one yet! After sleeping in, we'll have a 10:40 rez for the Bon Voyage breakfast at the Boardwalk! Hubs and I are hoping that Bubs will enjoy having the princes at the breakfast. Ariel and Rapunzel are two of Boo's favorites, so she's set. After that, we'll hang out at our resort, swim, do laundry, start packing what we can, and possibly head back to Disney Springs. We actually have two dining reservations that night - Boatwright's and Boathouse, so we just have to decide which one to keep!

August 26 - Epcot Day #2

We'll start the day with a Pre-Park breakfast at Garden Grill. I've heard such great things about it so even though it wasn't on my radar initially, I'm super excited! After that we'll try to beat the RD crowd for Soarin. We're planning to do more of the Future World West area that day, including Character Spot. Picking FP for that day was hard, since we got Test Track for our first day, and don't want to backtrack too much. So Figment and Mission Space were our before lunch choices. After that we'll do World Showcase, from China to the UK, with a Frozen FP at 2:15. We're not planning to make a full day here - possibly we'll try to get more FP, maybe stay for dinner, but allowing ourselves the choice to head back to the resort late in the afternoon if we want.

August 27 - Magic Kingdom #3

And here it is...our last park day.

We'll be there at Rope Drop and head to Adventureland, Frontiersland, and Liberty Square, plus anything else we want to do again. We landed FP for Pirates, Big Thunder, and 7 Dwarfs. We have no dining reservations, so I'll have our list of everything we still want to see and do and hopefully have a magical last day at Disney!

August 28 - Check out

And now it's time...to say goodbye...to our friends at Disney.....We haven't decided yet if we'll take 2 or 3 days going back, so whatever we decide will determine if we get to sleep in at all. Hopefully we can wander the resort and give it a proper farewell before we head back home.

AND THAT'S OUR TRIP!!!! Please feel free to let me know what you think of our plans!!! Anything we should change??
​

 

[Kippa-Dee-Do-Dah]

BIG NEWS!!!!

WE PAID OFF OUR TRIP TODAY!!!

ONLY 34 DAYS UNTIL WE CHECK IN!!!!

Thank you for taking the time to read this ridiculously long update. ​

 

[disney-inspired]

No Animal kingdom at all?

 

[Kippa-Dee-Do-Dah]

No Animal kingdom at all?

We decided to skip it on this trip. Hubs and I aren't huge zoo people and it doesn't appeal to us. And Avatar isn't a draw for us either. I know, we're weird! But we have an awesome free zoo where we live (with rides!) so we decided to wait until a future trip for AK.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

We're traveling in August too. If one more person tells me it's going to be hot

Glad you're finally able to take your trip! POR is gorgeous!

 

[Kippa-Dee-Do-Dah]

We're traveling in August too. If one more person tells me it's going to be hot

Glad you're finally able to take your trip! POR is gorgeous!

Oh, the comments about heat. LOL I get those too. We had like 6 solid months of solid, snowy, freezing cold winter this year so I'm looking forward to burning up!

Thanks!! We can't wait!

 

[Kippa-Dee-Do-Dah]

EXTRA LAST MINUTE DETAILS!!!

Well let's see....we've covered ADR's....FP.....hopes and dreams and wishes....

Two outta three ain't bad!

Last night my sister Rex called and FINALLY told us that yes, she is going to be able to come with us on our trip! We are super excited because we had a blast when she came on our second DLR trip with us. Plus, free babysitter for date night! She's going to fly in late (like, midnight) on Sunday the 19th, and stay until Saturday afternoon. We know we won't be able to have all of our FP together since she's buying her ticket so late, but it's ok! She's going to do her own thing when she needs/wants to so she can see everything she wants to see.

So this means that we'll definitely be in the Alligator Bayou section of POR, which I know my son will love! (Unless, POR Reservation Magicians, you were looking to upgrade someone to a Poly Bungalow, in which case our family happily volunteers!)

My other wish: if you read above, you know my struggle with getting a BOG reservation for this trip. We check in in 9 days. There's been NOTHING for months. But two days ago....

Sometimes, folks, it pays to lay in bed and let your children starve* while you groggily scroll FB on your phone while trying to wake up in the morning. Such was the case on Wednesday. I saw a post from the admin of one of the many Disney FB groups I'm in. She said that whatever refurb was scheduled for BOG next week has apparently been canceled, which meant RESERVATIONS OPENED UP! And luck of all lucks, she had only posted about 10 minutes prior. I jumped out of bed and logged onto MDE. I was able to make a reservation for basically any time of the day I wanted for the 2 other days we'll be at the MK! So we decided to do lunch since it gives us the most bang for our buck!

Other changes: we decided to cancel our reservation for V&A and instead do a cheaper date night. Not gonna lie, it hurt letting that one go. But it hurts less now that we have BOG! We also decided to grab an ADR for Paddlefish dinner on our second resort day. I'm kind of sad that they modernized it so much during their renovations (must EVERYTHING be stark white and gray with straight lines?!), but I know my kids will get a kick out of eating on the boat. Still hoping for different times for Sci-Fi and 'Ohana to open up for us, but we've planned around them so we'll be good otherwise.

We got our MagicBands in the mail a few weeks ago and are sitting in all their glory on the bookshelf in the living room. The kids are under strict instruction not to touch them....but they are having fun staring at them every day.

And that's about it! I've put the mail on hold for our trip days, and have started doing laundry. Packing and house cleaning will begin next week! And then...

*No children were actually starved during the grabbing of a BOG ADR.
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