What is going on here?! Gasp! He Said Yes! We're Going Back! A 2019 PTR

[kclark9830]

Hi everyone. I am giddy with excitement because we are officially going back to WDW in 2019! (OK SO THIS HAS ALL CHANGED NOW, AS YOU'LL SEE. FULL DISCLOSURE!!!) First I'll introduce us, and then I'll tell you all about how this fantastic turn of events came to be!

WHO: This is us last year when we stayed at the Boardwalk!



I'm Katie, and my hubby is Micheal. We've been married for 16 years, and we have three beautiful children (two here with us, and one in heaven, but you'll get to see her in a bit).

Going along will be our middle daughter Ashlyn, who is now 9, and Miles who will be 2 on our trip. This will be our 5th trip to Disney World. Yay!

So, here's how this thing came to be. After our trip in Sept. 2018, we made the decision to wait a few years before returning. We had plans to visit a few other places. Right? Right.

Except I started missing Disney soon after our trip.

I kept my longings to myself because I had PROMISED. We were going to wait a few years. Right? Yeah, that.

Well, when Free Dining was announced in January, I went ahead and booked. I didn't say a word to hubby, because I KNEW what he would say, and I knew I'd only cancel it later. I had only booked it because...well, do I really need to explain myself here?!

Weeks passed. I didn't say a word. I didn't even make any "plans." But then, a week ago, I thought I would test the waters. I was planning to cancel anyway. What could it hurt just to ASK?

It was an easy-going morning, we were getting ready for church and everyone was in a good mood. I casually mentioned that I'd booked a Disney trip for September, but I said I knew we couldn't really go.

Hubby chuckled and said, "You did not." Like, he totally wasn't letting me get one over on him.

I assured him that yes, I had.

Again he chuckled, and we kept getting ready for our day. After about five minutes, he asks what kind of trip I had in mind.

GASP!!! What?!

Big gulp and deep breath. I had to get this right!

So, I tell him. We have some big house projects we want to do this summer, so I know we can't really splurge. I had booked a simple six-day trip at All Star Music, with free QS dining. Nothing fancy. Very low key.

He's quiet a moment, then he shrugs and says he wouldn't mind that.

I seriously about fell over. SQUEE!!!! He laughed at me, and suddenly all was right in my world again.

So, here are the details...

You already know WHERE we're staying. We stayed at All Star Music back in 2014, so here are a few pics from that trip. You'll see Emma, our oldest, before she relapsed with cancer. And absent is Miles, since, you know, he wasn't born yet.



WHEN: September 2-7 (OUR NEW DATES ARE ACTUALLY JULY 28-AUGUST 2, AS YOU'LL SEE LATER IN THE PTR)

WHY: My birthday, and for NO REASON AT ALL! Yay!

Because I did not upgrade to the standard DDP, I don't plan to make any ADR's. Low key is the way we plan to go. This also means we're driving instead of flying. It's a ten hour drive, which isn't really that bad. That means no flights to watch. It feels strange to be going and not having a ton of things to plan out! But there's still planning to be done, make no doubt. I'm excited to keep my DIS pals in the loop.

I'll be back sooner or later with some more stuff to talk about . Thanks for joining along!

 

[Heluvsme]

I love low-key, and I bet this will be a very relaxing and FUN trip for y'all!!! You and your family look so sweet ❤❤ , I'm so sorry for your loss

Have fun planning!
Dawn

 

[kclark9830]

I love low-key, and I bet this will be a very relaxing and FUN trip for y'all!!! You and your family look so sweet ❤❤ , I'm so sorry for your loss

Have fun planning!
Dawn

I definitely hope so! Thank you for your kind words ♡, and thanks for following along!

 

[Araminta18]

I'm here! Yay! That's so exciting! Low key Disney trips can be the best, for sure. Hopefully this September won't be as hot as last year!

 

[kclark9830]

The first thing I realized I needed to start working on was which parks to visit on which days. This trip we will have only FOUR PARK DAYS .

I started thinking about our last trip. Our absolute best days were the two days we went to Magic Kingdom, and the reason was pretty obvious. About 90% of the rides at MK can be ridden as a family, whereas at the other parks we were constantly splitting up for rider swaps and Miles was always in his stroller. This led to a logical conclusion that we would spend two days at Magic Kingdom on this trip again. The other three parks will have to be split between the other two days.

I ran a bunch of scenarios through my head, but basically it has come down to me deciding it will depend on when I can get FP's for big rides like SDD and FOP. We will probably make no FP's for Epcot. This makes me sad, as Epcot is my favorite park. But there are fewer 2-year-old-friendly activities at Epcot (or maybe, my favorite things to do are not exactly fun for a 2 yr old), so it's on the cutting block as far as time goes.

Animal Kingdom has a few rides Miles can do, but it also has animals (big plus for a 2 year old! haha). Hollywood Studios really only has two rides he can do at present (I think?), but we MUST take Miles to the Disney Junior Dance Party thing (I can't remember exactly what it's called, but it wasn't open yet last September). Miles is obsessed with Mickey Mouse and Disney Junior, so I know he will love this.

Anyway, my current leanings are toward a schedule something like this:

Monday, Labor Day -- Arrival day, hang out at resort
Tuesday Morning - Epcot only until lunch'ish, then resort break
Tuesday evening - Animal Kingdom from 3'ish until close
Wednesday - Magic Kingdom
Thursday - Hollywood Studios (maybe do morning EMH at Epcot first, if they have it. Maybe.) (And we'll maybe switch this day out with the AK day, depending on when we get FP's for those big rides.)
Friday - Magic Kingdom (this is a party day, so we can only stay until 6, but they'll hopefully have morning EMH. We MIGHT hop to Animal Kingdom in the afternoon, but we'll see.)
Saturday - Departure day (boo)

The reason our daily schedule matters at all at this point is because I would like to make an ADR for Be Our Guest lunch on one of our Magic Kingdom days. That means I have to know which days we'll be at MK, obviously. Our 180-day mark is in a week and a half, so at least I have an idea of which days to search for.

And in real life news, it's been raining here for days on end. Many roads are closed due to flooding, and Ashlyn was out of school for three days straight due to the issue.

 

[kclark9830]

I'm here! Yay! That's so exciting! Low key Disney trips can be the best, for sure. Hopefully this September won't be as hot as last year!

Hiya!!! Yes, the heat. Bleck. When I told Micheal I'd booked for my birthday week again, he asked why I always picked such a hot time . I reminded him how he dislikes crowds (and how we like saving money) and told him it was a great week to go on those fronts.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

You will love Labor Day week! It's our favorite time to go (that or the next week)! Your children are beautiful (all three of them). I hope you have a fantastic birthday trip.

 

[kclark9830]

You will love Labor Day week! It's our favorite time to go (that or the next week)! Your children are beautiful (all three of them). I hope you have a fantastic birthday trip.

Thank you! ♡♡♡ We went last year on the same week, for the first time. I agree, it was a great week for crowds!

 

[CaseFace5]

Jumping over from my PTR! So sorry to hear about your daughter

We are pretty much in the same boat on planning (Too funny, I just typed out my thinking before popping over here!) I think a low key relaxing trip sounds alright! Can't wait to see what else you plan out!

 

[kclark9830]

Jumping over from my PTR! So sorry to hear about your daughter

We are pretty much in the same boat on planning (Too funny, I just typed out my thinking before popping over here!) I think a low key relaxing trip sounds alright! Can't wait to see what else you plan out!

Thank you , and glad to see you here!

 

[piglet1979]

We love going Labor day week. but now that the kids are in Middle School we have to go in the summer or during breaks. I can't wait to hear more.

 

[kclark9830]

We love going Labor day week. but now that the kids are in Middle School we have to go in the summer or during breaks. I can't wait to hear more.

I know the time is coming when we'll probably have to stick to a more traditional school vacation schedule, so I want to enjoy this flexibility while I can!

 

[kclark9830]

It's super exciting to be planning a trip again !

On our last trip, I cut out all the fun little extras because we were splurging on our resort and number of days. But, this time we're going cheaper, and I'm indulging in a few smaller extras .

I've been browsing t shirts and mouse ears on Etsy, and I've got a wish list (of course!). Ice realized I really like the mouse ears that are a little "extra", Haha. I also plan to get a couple simple pairs for Ashlyn.


Then, I'd like to do matching shirts, and I saw these on another TR here and loved them.



And this one for me...



And then I'd like to get this for Miles so he's not always in the stroller.



I got this email from Disney earlier this week. It's always exciting to get Mickey mail--even via email .

 

[piglet1979]

I love the Disney Mom shirt.

 

[Cloe Colton]

Joining in!

How exciting that DH said yes!! I've had a couple of those moments where I booked something and was shocked when DH agreed. Usually when I don't have to fight for it I find myself questioning my judgement haha

Picking your MK days are important but maybe snag a BOG reservation on another day that you could potentially switch to just so you have it? Can always cancel at a later date!

 

[Araminta18]

I love that backpack!

 

[kclark9830]

I love the Disney Mom shirt.

Me too! I think it's a fun bit of Disney whimsy without being over the top .

Joining in!

How exciting that DH said yes!! I've had a couple of those moments where I booked something and was shocked when DH agreed. Usually when I don't have to fight for it I find myself questioning my judgement haha

Picking your MK days are important but maybe snag a BOG reservation on another day that you could potentially switch to just so you have it? Can always cancel at a later date!

That is a great idea. I'm thinking maybe I'll book one for both of our MK days, just to be safe!

I love that backpack!

I think it will work well. It harnesses in the front to keep the kiddo secure. We've never done something like it before, so fingers crossed it'll work out . Miles is generally very well behaved, and we would only use it in less-crowded situations.

 

[ld4483]

I'll be following along on your trip report as we are going at the same time! (Sept.1-8) We were also there last year for Labor Day week and really enjoyed the low crowd factor, AND i also said we would skip a year to return in 2020 to celebrate our 40th anniversary, BUT NO haha! We got sucked into the "Sun and Fun" room offer so here we go again! I've already ordered two shirts for us and will surely be ordering a couple more! So excited!

 

[kclark9830]

I'll be following along on your trip report as we are going at the same time! (Sept.1-8) We were also there last year for Labor Day week and really enjoyed the low crowd factor, AND i also said we would skip a year to return in 2020 to celebrate our 40th anniversary, BUT NO haha! We got sucked into the "Sun and Fun" room offer so here we go again! I've already ordered two shirts for us and will surely be ordering a couple more! So excited!

Trip buddies! Glad to have you along!

 

[reyasmommy]

Yay! I'm glad I found your report as well!

Your 10 hour drive sounds like a walk in the park. Ours is 27 hours!

I love the Disney Mom shirt as well, too cute! And the kids still look adorable as ever!

Happy Planning!