WE'RE GOING HOME!!

[Franrose]

Yippee @Sinders99 !!

 

[Brisbanemum]

Wow! What did she say when you corrected her?

She got very quiet and just nodded her head and mumbled something about being a long time since she had been there. lol

TRIP PLANNING UPDATE

WE BOOKED OUR FIRST 14 NIGHTS ACCOMODATION AT...........

08.09.16 by Jennie Gardiner, on Flickr

Super excited to have it locked in. Of course if a special comes up or a better rate pops up (pun intended) we're able to rebook. The other part of our accomodation will be a 7 night DVC stay at Bay Lake Towers but we won't be able to book the DVC rental until 11 months out - January 2019. We're leaving the Bay Lake Towers stay until the last week of our trip (14 Dec - 21 Dec) as a nice treat to finish off. We figure also that the crowds will start to build in that week, so being closer to Magic Kingdom will help us avoid some of the transport frustration that comes with crowds and tired people You all know what I'm talking about!​

They just announced a 'bounce-back' deal for Free Dining so hopefully they'll have free dining for your dates as well. We are definitely going to take advantage of the deal this time and go to Disneyland first to make the dates work for us. Here's what they announced....

Dates-

"May 28 – June 4, 2019

June 28 – September 7, 2019

December 6 – December 24, 2019

According to the brochure that’s currently being left in guest rooms, the offer is able to be booked through October 31, 2018, and requires a minimum 4-night stay along with a 4-day park hopper. Other exclusions may apply.

Those who book a Value or a Moderate Resort will get the free Quick Service Dining Plan.

Those who book a Deluxe Resort or a Villa will get the free Disney Dining Plan."

Love your MNSSHP magic shots! We can't wait to get the Hitchhiking Ghosts one!!!!! We've been to a lot of MVMCPs so have most of the stragegies down-pat now.... you just can't beat the party atmosphere. It is going to be quiet strange however, not hearing 'It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year' Christmas Carol blasting through the speakers when we enter lol

 

[Sinders99]

They just announced a 'bounce-back' deal for Free Dining so hopefully they'll have free dining for your dates as well. We are definitely going to take advantage of the deal this time and go to Disneyland first to make the dates work for us. Here's what they announced....

We've been to a lot of MVMCPs so have most of the stragegies down-pat now.... you just can't beat the party atmosphere. It is going to be quiet strange however, not hearing 'It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year' Christmas Carol blasting through the speakers when we enter lol

We actually got the free standard dining plan on our last trip and have decided that even if free dining does come out for our dates we're not going to book under that promotion. We just felt that it was too inflexible and too much food. We're also buying annual passes this trip because we're staying for so long and buying regular park tickets just to get free dining would still work out more expensive purely because of the regular park ticket costs we'd have to pay. I think I mentioned some of the math in a previous post on this thread.

I'd love to hear any tips you have on doing the MVMCP. We've not been to one so it'll be brand new for us

 

[Brisbanemum]

I'd love to hear any tips you have on doing the MVMCP. We've not been to one so it'll be brand new for us

I'd imagine most of the tips would be similar between MVMCP and MNSSHP Such as watching the 2nd parade instead of the 1st and the quietest location is usually in Frontierland and entering at 4pm if you don't have a day ticket also. For us because we have the annual passes, we spend the entire day at MK and at about 3/3.30pm-ish sit down and have a big family style meal for late lunch/early dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern. Then we don't spend anytime during the evening sitting down and having a full meal during the actual party. And the Christmas goodies they give out sustain you for the rest of the night.... lots of cookies lol If you can afford it, I would highly recommend getting tickets to 2 MVMCPs. You can spend one meeting characters, getting magic photos, seeing the parade and watching the fireworks and castle shows. At the other party, you can then relax more and enjoy the very short ride lines and just embrace the full party atmosphere without having to run around and see/do everything. For us, that is one of the advantages of staying at WDW for long periods, which others may not have the luxury to do because of limited time. We are doing 3 MNSSHP this trip and I can't wait!

 

[Sinders99]

I would highly recommend getting tickets to 2 MVMCPs. You can spend one meeting characters, getting magic photos, seeing the parade and watching the fireworks and castle shows. At the other party, you can then relax more and enjoy the very short ride lines and just embrace the full party atmosphere without having to run around and see/do everything.

WOW! That's such a great tactic. I'd never even thought of this but it's an excellent idea. Part of the reason we economised with a 14 night POP stay was so that we could afford to add the extra magic we wanted. We'll definitely look into booking 2 lots of party tickets It sounds like you've been in Orlando in December a bit. Can I ask how you found the weather?

 

[Brisbanemum]

WOW! That's such a great tactic. I'd never even thought of this but it's an excellent idea. Part of the reason we economised with a 14 night POP stay was so that we could afford to add the extra magic we wanted. We'll definitely look into booking 2 lots of party tickets It sounds like you've been in Orlando in December a bit. Can I ask how you found the weather?

lol yep, we have been there a lot in December. The weather is almost identical to here in Brisbane for Autumn/Winter. Normally it's cool in the mornings and at night (maybe 10c-14c), but still gets pretty warm with max temp around 25c at about 3pm. Though being Florida, it's really hard to predict. :/ On our very first vacation there in December the temps were freezing with only an average max of 16c per day and we had to dress in layers for the early morning starts. But then, the following year, it was crazy hot with an average 24c min / 32c max every day! We had to buy extra shorts to wear that year lol. Now, we normally pack for all scenarios and include shorts, jeans, swimmers, a couple of light jackets, one heavy jacket, 2 pairs of sandals/flip flops and 2 pairs of closed in shoes. It means heavier luggage, but less stress lol

You guys are going to have such an amazing time there! They embrace the holidays so well and it's so easy to get caught up in all the festive spirit

 

[Sinders99]

WOOO!!! Got my copy of The Unofficial Guide to WDW today in the post

Already reading through the pages and saving recommended websites to my favourites bar. I love the Unofficial Guides because they're so thorough and objective. We purchased the guide on our first trip in 2016 so they're a great momento in our bookshelf of our trips and our plans. I was lucky enough to pick up an advanced copy in a charity auction which raised money for Give Kids The World a charity which provides accomodation, meals, transport and tickets to Walt Disney World for sick kids and their families

 

[LivingforDisney]

I have a 13 night stay at the moment, with 31 ADRs booked. I thought I was the only indecisive one

Our trip started with the cruise this time, as it's something my kids have always had their heart set on (and I'd said yes, 'one day' lol). So it was one of the first things I booked and I've worked the rest of the trip around it, the cruise chose the overall destination and since we were going to be in the area, who wouldn't stop in at WDW! For a couple of weeks lol! However if I had chosen the Disney part first, I probably wouldn't even be looking at a cruise as we've already cruised in this area.

We have booked a stay at Universal's (Loews) Royal Pacific Resort, I don't think we'll really need the express pass but I bet we'll love it at the time. I've booked club level to take care of the bulk of our food while there just to reduce some decision making while there. I'm quite partial to a continental breakfast.

How did you find the Titanic exhibition, @LivingforDisney? Maybe I should add it to our itinerary!

The Titanic exhibitions was quite interesting, I think it was only about $15 to get in and we all enjoyed it. We were there a couple of hours. They did have it here in Sydney last year I think, told all my friends to go lol

 

[Sinders99]

TRIP PLANNING UPDATE

Sorry all for the lack of updates but it's been a crazy busy time. Last Sunday (12 August) I ran the City2Surf in Sydney!! It was my first time running this race and a great warm up for the Melbourne Half Marathon on 14 October. I actually did really well considering I was way behind in my training and really wasn't as prepared as I would have liked. I maintained a pace of around 8.5 minutes per km and finished the 14km race in 1hr 54mins. So it was an action packed weekend last weekend but I came home sporting a cold sore. For anyone that's had cold sores they can be really painful and this one was no exception. Only problem was - mine allowed an infection in which then infected the glands on the right hand side of my face!! I've never had anything like it before. The right hand side of my face swelled up and it looked like someone had ripped my wisdom teeth out or punched me in the face. So I've had to have half a week off work to recover. Not the healthy living experience I was hoping for and it's put my half marathon training back a week

Anyways, during this time at home I have made some more plans.

After much indecision about when to return to Australia and wether to take a cruise at the end of our trip or just come home we've decided to spend an extra week in Orlando staying with friends we met on our Disney Cruise back in 2016.

When we met them in 2016 they were living in Texas but shortly after returning home from their Disney Cruise they announced to family and friends that they were moving to Orlando (my personal dream)!! So they now live in a stunning home in the WDW area and have very kindly offered us a guest room to stay as long as we like over the Christmas area.

So at this stage these are our updated plans:
​

30/11/19 - Fly MBN - ORL
30/11/19 - 14/12/19 - POP Century Resort
14/12/19 - 21/12/19 - DVC Rental - Bay Lake Towers / Wilderness Lodge or Polynesian (whichever has availability at the 11 month booking window)
21/12/19 - 28/12/19 - Pickup Hire Car & Stay with friends in the Orlando area
28/12/19 - Fly ORL - MBN
30/12/19 - Arrive home
​

I'm actually pretty nervous about driving in the US and hiring and driving a car will be a first for us. If it works out well though I'm sure on future trips we'll hire and drive again or maybe even drive cross country to somewhere like New Orleans which we've always wanted to visit. Having a car for the last week of this trip will give us the freedom to visit Walmart, Kmart, International Drive. We'd also love to see an Orlando Magic basketball game.​

 

[Sinders99]

TRIP PLANNING UPDATE

So this update has more to do with the toys and gadgets that we take on trips than the trip arrangements themselves.

Everyone knows that when you spend a lot of money to travel so far you want to make sure you have a great camera, a great mobile phone, good phone coverage & data and any other gadget that's going to make travel easier.

It's been 4 years since I upgraded my mobile phone and for over 12 months my hubby has been pestering me about upgrading to a new iPhone. My poor little iPhone 6 has served me well but the GPS is terrible, the battery life is awful and for the past few months it's started freezing and shutting down every couple of days. Today I finally buckled and purchased an iPhone X on a plan which includes 130GB of pooled data, unlimited national talk & text and unlimited international talk and text with 4GB of international roaming data included! That's going to come in super super handy for our trip!! I don't want to sound like an Apple poster child but the new iPhone X really does have some great features.

In addition to my new iPhone I'll also shortly be adding an iWatch to my collection. As I've mentioned previously in this thread I run regularly and try to participate in at least 1 half marathon each year along with various shorter distance races. I'm addicted to collecting running medals and the side effects of running don't suck either! For the past 2 years I've had a FitBit Blaze which has been great but it's chunky, pretty unattractive, has no internal storage for music and no GPS. My husband's Blaze hasn't stood up as well as mine (even though he does NO physical activity if he can help it) so rather than buy him a new wearable he's inheriting mine and I'm pairing my iPhone X with a GPS+Cellular iWatch. It'll be so nice not to have to take my wearable off to shower!!

It's been a long time since I've had so many shiny new toys to play with but it's been worth the wait and I know they're both going to be great in the parks

So what other gadgets, apps and tools does everyone take on their WDW trips??​