Why Don't You Become a Travel Agent? Calling all trip planners. Updated 4/25

[MK2010]

I personally like the first one better but the kids might like the second one better. (I know, no help.lol) Have you tried right clicking the picture? It should give you the option to save the picture to your computer.

I know, right? We totally agree. The first one is definitely the favorite by the adults. In fact, we've nicknamed it, "Screw the kids, a house for us." Lol. (Probably not the best language, but if you hang around nurses in the workplace long enough..)

I did try right clicking on the picture and doing save image as, but it saved it as some weird file not a png or jpeg. Weird.

 

[MK2010]

Hey Guys! just a quick little line or two here...(Hopefully, I'll get some sort of real update on here later. No promises though) But here's what's up:
1) Jesse agreed to no park hoppers. I think this is a great decision, because i honestly feel like we get more park time by jsut doing 1 park/day AND we get more rest time. I'm hoping to get my first touring plan posted later today. Of course I'm subscribing to Touring Plans and Kenny the Pirate's Character Locater. The character locater does help because Touring Plans doesn't have all of the meet and greets listed (For instance they leave out things like Pooh and Tigger outside The many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Buzz Lightyear outside Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.) However, I'm having a hard time figuring out how to combine the two plans. Of course, now that I'm thinking about it, i might be easier to make a spreadsheet of what characters are offered through Touring Plans across all 4 parks because it might even out. for instance, I'm positive that touring Plans offers the Pooh meet and greet at either Epcot or AK. Therefore, maybe I don't need all of the "pop up" meet and greets that are listed on the Character Locater.

2) This one is much more exciting for me. I booked my GRADUATION TRIP!!!!! I compromised with DH. He wants to do runDisney's 1/2 marathon and stay at All-Star Sports. I want to go RIGHT AFTER my graduation in December and feel the Christmas magic in the air and stay at Poly. So, I agreed to wait until Marathon weekend, but we're staying at THE POLY!!!!!! As of right now, we're booked Jan. 3-6 at the Poly. I wanted to take the kids back in the summer for a stay in our camper at Ft. Wilderness, but last night they decided they would rather go skiing. I've always wanted to take the kids skiing, but haven't been able to swing it. my oldest will be a senior next year so I'd really like to do this for him. (We'll go to Ft. Wilderness the next summer. Bucket List, people!)

Alright, I'm off to go make a spreadsheet folks! hopefully I'm back real soon!

 

[MK2010]

Okay, help!!!! The plan to make a spreadsheet didn't work. Well, I mean it worked. I made a spreadsheet, but it still didn't give me any additional M&G. So, I can pull the times off of the M&G that we want from the Character locater and then maybe just enter them in on Touring Plans as in the park breaks???? Any recommendations?? I guess I could just make sure there is plenty of extra time built into the plans as well and make a note as to which characters we want to meet that day.

 

[MK2010]

Okay, here we go for reals people. An update! An honest to goodness real live update! What I have for you today is the Touring Plan for our first day. Wait, let me back up a second and give you the basics again.
Friday October 13- arrival
Saturday October 14- MK
Sunday October 15- Epcot morning generous break, MNSSHP
Monday October 16-AK (late start 10 ish)
Tuesday October 17- DHS
Wednesday- Epcot
Thursday- Rest Day/Disney Springs
Friday- AK
Saturday- MK
I'm planning on 3-4 hour breaks every afternoon. So, that's that. In order to not make this post interminably long, I'll post the touring plan for Saturday Oct. 14 (MK) in the next post.

 

[MK2010]

Here is the link for the actual plan if you want to go over to Touring Plans and check it out. http://touringplans.com/plans/print?id=2258100

MK
Welcome Show
Tomorrowland Speedway
Peter Pan's Flight
Many adventures of Winnie the Pooh
POTC
BTMRR
Splash
Dumbo
7DMT
Jungle Cruise
Muppets Present
Peter Pan M&G
Columbia Harbor House (1 p.m. for 45 minutes)
Space Mtn
FOF
Afternoon Break (3:30-7:30)
Mickey's Philharmagic
Under the Sea
Pecos Bill's (8:50 for 45 minutes) *I may skip this to go save seats for Wishes. Can you still watch from the Rose Garden?
Talking Mickey M&G
Tinkerbell M&G

This plan has us finished at 10:45. What do you think? I used Touring Plans so everything is in this order to minimize waits. Do you think the meal times are good? I'm trying to avoid crowded dining times. So, RATE MY PLAN!

 

[MK2010]

Okay, I'm going to try and get in one more touring plan before the site goes down for the night. This one will be for MNSSHP on Sunday night. We'll be at Epcot that morning from 9-1, but then will take a break and enter the party at 5. My big concern about this one, is I won't be with them. I will be spending my night in line to meet the 7 Dwarves (mainly Dopey!). Its gonna happen y'all! I. AM. GOING. TO. MEET. DOPEY. Dopey or DIE! Anyway, here is the link if you want to see the actual plan. http://touringplans.com/plans/print?id=2258070

MNSSHP (5-12)
Barnstormer
Mad Tea PArty
Buzz
Magic Carpets of Aladdin
POTC
HM
Splash
BTMRR
Boo To YOu
Pinocchio's Village Haus (9 p.m. for 45 minutes)
7DMT
Hallowishes
Space Mtn.

With this plan there is no time for meet and greets. Jesse gave me a list of characters that each of his kids want to meet. As of right now, there's not really that many characters they want to meet. But I'm wondering if when they get there and actually see the characters out if they're going to go nuts. I tried to leave plenty of time on most days. And honestly, I think I could pull Barnstormer, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, and 7DMT out with no problems. We have one more day in the MK, the final day, so I guess I could just play it by ear. Except for HM they've seen everything else so it would just be a repeat anyway. What's your take?

 

[uccats97]

Okay, help!!!! The plan to make a spreadsheet didn't work. Well, I mean it worked. I made a spreadsheet, but it still didn't give me any additional M&G. So, I can pull the times off of the M&G that we want from the Character locater and then maybe just enter them in on Touring Plans as in the park breaks???? Any recommendations?? I guess I could just make sure there is plenty of extra time built into the plans as well and make a note as to which characters we want to meet that day.

I'm not sure what you need help with. Are you wanting help combing the character greeting times or tracking down the times? Are you planning exactly what time and where you will meet the characters? Sorry. I want to help but I'm just not clear on how I can be of help.

 

[uccats97]

Here is the link for the actual plan if you want to go over to Touring Plans and check it out. http://touringplans.com/plans/print?id=2258100

I'd probably just eat dinner at your condo before you go back to the park. Why waste park time and spend extra money when you'll be chilling out until dinner time anyway? Maybe move your lunch break up to noon. It really won't be that much busier than lunch at 1. Don't forget, they take orders on both sides of each register. Make sure you take advantage of a possible line where no one is utilizing one of the sides.

The Rose Garder no longer exists due to the expansion of the hub. The expansion has allowed for more room to see Wishes.

 

[uccats97]

Okay, I'm going to try and get in one more touring plan before the site goes down for the night. This one will be for MNSSHP on Sunday night. We'll be at Epcot that morning from 9-1, but then will take a break and enter the party at 5. My big concern about this one, is I won't be with them. I will be spending my night in line to meet the 7 Dwarves (mainly Dopey!). Its gonna happen y'all! I. AM. GOING. TO. MEET. DOPEY. Dopey or DIE! Anyway, here is the link if you want to see the actual plan. http://touringplans.com/plans/print?id=2258070

The characters during the party are usually tucked away. The kids may not even notice them. Don't forget about all of the treat stops! That can take some time but it's worth it for the amount of candy you'll collect. Make sure to bring an empty backpack to help carry the treat bags as they fill up. You may want to skip Splash during the party if everyone will be in costume. Don't skip HM! There is usually a Happy Haunt outside of the mansion and the atmosphere is extra special on party night. Again, I would plan to eat dinner before the party. I know it would be an early meal but you could grab a hearty snack during the party instead. Huge time saver and you'll have all that candy the kids will be wanting to eat! Look for PhotoPass photographers to get extra party exclusive magic shots.

 

[MK2010]

Thanks @uccats97! Yeah, I wish I could figure exact rimea for the character meet and greets. I mean, I know the exact time/place for every character because I subscribed to KTP's Character Locater. But I have no way of entering that on my Touring Plans unless I guesstimate and put it in as a break. For example, touring plans lists the meet and greet for Mickey and Tinkerbell so I can get accurate wait times and such. But it doesn't list the meet and greet for Peter Pan. I can look at the schedule touring plans has produced and try to figure out where the best time to dit in that meet and greet might be, but thats the best I can do.

Thanksfor the news about the Rose Garden. I thought I'd heard it was gone. I'll miss it. I thought it was a great tucked away little spot to watch the fireworks, butnI bet everyone is glad for the extra space around the hub.

Good to know about the characters being tucked away. So far he swears his kids aren't in to characters, but they've never been to Disney before either. I just had this vision of them walking into the party and somehow turning into character freaks! And then there I would be without a plan! Oh the horror! Lol.

I definitely need to talk to him more about the food. They eat late. 9am for Breakfast, Lunch around 1 or 2, and then late dinners around 8 or 9. I was trying to accommodate their regular eating schedule so I didn't have a bunch of hangry tourists on my hands! If it were my family....well it wouldn't matter. We're locked in to an eating schedule due to my DD diabetes, but we have more flexibility now that she has an insulin pump.

 

[uccats97]

@MK2010 Wow! Those are some late dinner hours for sure. If that's what they're used to, it may be for the best to stick with their schedule. I get what you mean about the novelty of the characters. I would try to stick with the permanent meet n greets and only stop for a pop up character if someone is adamant about meeting one they happen to see on the fly. I know you want every detail planned to make their trip perfect, but it's best to have a plan with flexibility, knowing it will surely have to be changed as the trip unfolds. You're doing a great job!

 

[MK2010]

Thanks @uccats97! Nursing school starts back today. (Ugh, the stress.) I got quite a bit accomplished over Christmas Break. We're 10 months out. I really feel the need to lock in our housing accomadations within the next 3-4 months.

 

[uccats97]

@MK2010 I've been stressing about my overbooked schedule. We have 3 wdw vacations between Feb and June mixed in with volleyball tournaments almost every weekend. It's a lot to plan! And, I agree, you should get a rental booked soon. When we have rented properties in the past, I usually find several that I like and email each owner. I make an offer lower than what they are asking and have been successful in getting some great deals. My best was a 5 bed, 5 bath home with private pool 10 min from Disney for $700/week and then that was split between 3 families! Don't be shy about negotiating price. The worst they can say is no.

 

[MK2010]

Thanks @uccats97! I didn't know you could do that. I'll defintely give that a try.

 

[MK2010]

Well hello there! I bet you all thought I disappeared. Nope! (Well, only for a little while.) School started back for me with a vengeance. (8 more months and then I am DONE! Thank you dear Jesus that 3 of those months are summer break!) While I was busy with school, Jesse was keeping his wallet shut tight. Why? He took his wife to Mexico for two glorious weeks! He got back a few weeks ago and the planning has been in semi full force. Of course, all of the housing I had chosen was booked( just like I knew it would be.) So I had to start over on that front.
Here's what we finally settled on (Yes it is booked and paid in full):


So, its actually a 4 bedroom, 3 bath house with a dining room and play room in the enclosed garage. I didn't include ALL the pictures, but enough that you've got a fairly good idea. It is located in the housing development of Indian Creek just west of 429. We went through VRBO and the information page for the house says its 3 miles from the Disney gates. I'm hoping that is close enough to satisfy me! Lol!

We also booked our flights. I had to work hard to convince Jesse not to fly Spirit! Once I showed him all the extra fees for each airline he finally agreed to fly Southwest. (My favorite airline!) We have to leave here at midnight on Oct 12 because we have a 6 hour drive to the airport and our flight leaves at 7 am. That sounds crazy, but since we're both nightshifters its really not an issue. We can both do 72 hours on minimal sleep. I'll probably get in a good 2 hour nap on Thursday before we leave and then sleep some in the car on the way down. He has assured me that his whole family will knock our for the drive. Then I'll help out with the kids on the plane while he catches a 2 hour nap.

Once we land, we don't have anything too stressful planned for the day. We rented a minivan from the airport that we'll pick up. He doesn't want to tell the kids we're going to DisneyWorld until the next day . Not really sure how we're going to pull that off, but whatever. So my traditional first meal in Orlando of Earl of Sandwich at Disney Springs is out of the question. Anyway, we can't access the house until 4 p.m. and our flight lands at 10:30. But I figure by the time we make it out of the airport, grab some lunch, and do some grocery shopping we won't be far off from that mark.

I'm counting on a swim in the pool to knock the kids out and have an early bedtime for everyone. Cause I'm sure the adults will need it! Okay, here's my question for this post....Is there a grocery delivery service that can deliver within this housing development? (Ya know...just in case I'm too tired to go to the store...or would rather spend my time at the Disney Outlet instead.)

 

[uccats97]

Amazon Prime grocery, We Go Shop, Garden Grocer.

 

[MK2010]

Amazon Prime grocery, We Go Shop, Garden Grocer.

Awesome! I've used Garden Grocer before, but that was when we stayed at Bonnet Creek. So I didn't know if the housing developments had a restriction on such things!

 

[MK2010]

Hi guys! 172 days to go!!!! Our tickets from Boardwalk Tickets arrived. I guess that means I need to get on the ball and create MDE accounts for everyone. I have one and Jesse has one, those are linked. but i still need to do everyone else. i spent this past week booking and cancelling dining reservations! I have Cali Grill at 9 p.m. on Tuesday for Jesse and his wife. I have booked and cancelled Chef Mickey's....twice! I have T-Rex booked and Akershus, but the last one will be getting cancelled if i can get a CRT ressie. I'm also on the lookout for a BOG ressie and it has to be at dinner because his wife wants her pic with the Beast IN HIS CASTLE. It would have been so much easier if I'd known they wanted those ressies on their 180 day mark. But his wife swore that she didn't like the looks of BOG and didn't want to eat there. Then she saw a video when they went to watch the new Beauty and the Beast. Now we just HAVE to have that ressie. Well once that came out, then all of a sudden Akershus wasn't nearly good enough and (even though we had already debated between Akershus and CRT) now we HAVE to eat at CRT.So patience, I'm learning patience. I did warn him, I can make magic, but I can't work miracles!

Last week I had the opportunity to meet his wife, Erika, and go over all of the plans. It only took 3 hours!They seemed to enjoy everything I had laid out. Especially the reveal to the kids. I'm going to create a basket with all kinds of goodies in it that they'll wake up to on Saturday morning. I'm going to create a letter from Mickey (in his handwriting of course!) that says he heard they were in town and would like to invite them over to his place to meet all of his friends! They seemed to think the kids would like that.

Two more weeks of school! Yay! I CANNOT wait to be done!The instructors for next semester came to talk to us. They dropped the little bomb that there will be no Monday clinicals. they will all be on thursday and Friday. Anybody see a problem with this? Yep, that's right. I planned for us to leave Thursday night at midnight to catch a 7 am flight out on Friday. there are several rotations so I'm hoping I'm not in that rotation or that I can switch with someone. Worst case scenario, I'll call in sick to clinicals and pray like heck they don't fail me. Missing ANY days in nursing school is a BIG no-no. It irritates me that I asked the instructors before I booked the flights and was assured that there would be Monday clinicals.

Next up on the agenda, making tie dye Mickey shirts, designing shirts for each day, making a customized autograph album, and coming up with all sorts of fun surprises!