Working the System - A NYE PTR - Link to TR is up! 1/13

[eandesmom]

Continued from previous

We will enjoy all the ambiance the Three Broomsticks has to offer, whether it is lunch or breakfast that finds us here. I am confident it will very likely be one or the other. While it doesn't translate well in pictures, it is amazing to sit in there and soak it up...and see things running around upstairs!





I am confident the full morning will be spent here and that we will likely be back later in the day. We will, at some point make our way here, my mom’s favorite ride, EVER.



We may have to stop and





Whack a mole

It is January, so we may skip the water rides







Except for this one



Evan may try some climbing



Come dark, I bet we are back here



We have hoppers, but I don’t expect any hopping this day. You never know, but it is unlikely!

As the day draws to a close…you all KNOW where we are going don’t you?
Heck, we may pop out for Happy Hour earlier..





Who am I kidding. Jeff and I WILL pop out for happy hour, it is more a matter of who goes with us!

The day will end here











Will the volcano blow?



I am sure it will



After dinner (and Jeff doing damage in the store I am sure! at least we will get our AAA 10% off of dinner and shopping...assuming I remember to bring the card) we will make our way home via shuttle. Still some details to work out there and it is questionable whether mom and dad can make it the full day without a break so they well could go back earlier and skip the group dinner. Because of that concern...and 4 boys desire to see the other park, we will be back another day and on that day, I expect us to hop.

A lazy day and a crazy day

 

[15isto2]

Do you have room in a suitcase for me???

 

[Pinkocto]

What fun!!! I've never been to Universal but must someday.

 

[jedijill]

Can I please join your family??? I don't think one more person will mess up your plans. I can get a discount on the Universal tickets.

Jill in CO

 

[KristiMc]

Yay for the flight price drop and for Mickey Mail! We received our luggage tags for our NYE cruise this week.

We did 2 days at Universal this past June. We all loved Harry Potter.

 

[stinksmom]

I'm only part way through your TR but wanted to make comments before I forget some things First I will have to find the app for beers and ears! We love having some adult beverages throughout the day when touring the parks ( except MK obviously). And I just read about your idea of getting a credit for TIW if you don't get your card before breakfast. I had no idea you could do this but I will keep it in mind. We will be getting it this trip and will be able to get it in plenty of time for our first meal but good to know!

And finally we will be there from 12/25 to 1/2 staying at BWV too Maybe we will run into your clan!! I will have to get out my color coded spreadsheet and see if we overlap at any point for parks etc. We are planning Epcot for NYE if we can get in. Dinner at Shula's so we will have to see if they are allowing guest into Epcot after that. If not we thought we would just watch what we can from the resort -I love the Bellevue Lounge for cocktails so that is the back up plan.

Also I'm interested in following the family trip. Our Christmas present to my in-laws is going to be rooms at BWV in July so the whole family can go. A friend is renting us some of his points so that helps our budget! We've done DW with my SIL and family and MIL and FIL before. That didn't work too well. But due to my MIL, BILL and SIL all fighting a form of cancer this last year my DH decided he would give it another try. Plus BIL and his son have never been to DW so it's a must do!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[KatMark]

Cynthia, plans sound wonderful. I like that the girls are going to have some female time while the boys go and do whatever they are doing to do (even if watching football).

I would love to see the new Harry Potter thing but a trip to Universal is just not worth it for us anymore since we don't do the coasters.

Ahhhh....Margaritaville...I knew you'd be eating there.

 

[MEK]

Yay for tea at the GF! It really does look like a lot of fun. And the Trail's End dinner sounds fun too.

It's great that you are going back to Universal Studios. I just read a review of Forbidden Journey that sound AMAZING. I really need to get over there soon.

Very fun plans!

 

[MeMom]

We are planning to see the Fort Wilderness decorations again this year, as well. The girls will enjoy that. Trail's End is one of those 'hidden gems' in WDW. We can't say too much about it, or others will find out and it will become expensive and crowded.

 

[Wicket's Mom]

Fort Wilderness is an amazing place. The last trip we took with the kids, we used Mom's motor home & stayed there.

I would love to see the Harry Potter area at Universal, I'm a big fan!

 

[rentayenta]

Cheeseburger is Paradise (paradise)....love it. That's our usual pitstop while in Vegas. Hmm....maybe I'll take Joshua and his teammate while we're in Vegas this weekend? Hotel rates are super low so I am assuming they aren't expecting too many folks.


Is that Universal? It looks fun! Please don't tell M I said that. I will never hear the end of it.


Love blood pudding.

 

[eandesmom]

Do you have room in a suitcase for me???

I have a feeling it's a very full suitcase!

What fun!!! I've never been to Universal but must someday.

Oh you must Pam, it is so much fun. I am getting more and more excited about going back. It will be a bit brutal not having the onsite stay perks but I do think Hosgmeade, over the holidays, will be simply magical for all of us.

Can I please join your family??? I don't think one more person will mess up your plans. I can get a discount on the Universal tickets.

Jill in CO

Jill, you would always be welcome! Of course

Discounts? We love discounts

Yay for the flight price drop and for Mickey Mail! We received our luggage tags for our NYE cruise this week.

YAY for Mickey mail is right! Although I WAS hoping to get one of those cute USB drives some folks are getting but I have a sneaking suspicion they aren't going out for DVC stays...A NYE cruise will be so magical.

We did 2 days at Universal this past June. We all loved Harry Potter.

We are excited to go back and my dad may burst between now and then. It's pretty adorable.

I'm only part way through your TR but wanted to make comments before I forget some things First I will have to find the app for beers and ears! We love having some adult beverages throughout the day when touring the parks ( except MK obviously). And I just read about your idea of getting a credit for TIW if you don't get your card before breakfast. I had no idea you could do this but I will keep it in mind. We will be getting it this trip and will be able to get it in plenty of time for our first meal but good to know!

The app is fun, and free! They actually do a special one for Food and Wine as well.

And finally we will be there from 12/25 to 1/2 staying at BWV too Maybe we will run into your clan!! I will have to get out my color coded spreadsheet and see if we overlap at any point for parks etc. We are planning Epcot for NYE if we can get in. Dinner at Shula's so we will have to see if they are allowing guest into Epcot after that. If not we thought we would just watch what we can from the resort -I love the Bellevue Lounge for cocktails so that is the back up plan.

I love that we will be at BWV, makes it so easy to have a nice backup and not stress about what to do if the crowds are too much for anyone.

Also I'm interested in following the family trip. Our Christmas present to my in-laws is going to be rooms at BWV in July so the whole family can go. A friend is renting us some of his points so that helps our budget! We've done DW with my SIL and family and MIL and FIL before. That didn't work too well. But due to my MIL, BILL and SIL all fighting a form of cancer this last year my DH decided he would give it another try. Plus BIL and his son have never been to DW so it's a must do!

Can't wait to read more!

Life is too short, you do need to make time for those memories. It can be hard, you have to let go of your own trip expectations and let it be what it will be. We had that a bit on the trip with my MIL and her DH but it really was a wonderful trip, just not always the park time we'd expected it might be for all but still wonderful nonetheless. I think the main, or only, issue we are having now is my sisters are VERY resistant to the whole idea of FP+. They do not want to be scheduled. Which I get. Totally.

But I really REALLY don't think they get that without it, at that time of year, given the changes (and resulting reductions in paper FP to boot) that they may end up with zero FP's. They are big people and I'm not going to stress about it but I do think they are making a mistake. One that may be able to be fixed once there but maybe not, at least not for everything we have booked now that they have the tiered system in place.

They think they know, having been before, and having been to DLR but...it's been a long time and never at this kind of crowd level and well...I don't think they really have a clue.

So...that part will be very interesting. I only worry about the kids not being able to ride together.

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics!

 

[jedijill]

Jill, you would always be welcome! Of course

Discounts? We love discounts

The company I works for owns Universal and I can get 30% off but I just double checked and I would have to be there to pick up the tickets.

Jill in CO

 

[afwdwfan]

We truly have nothing we HAVE to be at until 2:15 pm. And that is only some of us!

Good plan for New Years day.

Although the parks might just be a ghost town at RD that morning if enough people think that way...

This will definitely depend on bowl games for at least one of the big boys. They are big boys, they can figure it out!

It can't be New Years Day without watching some football.

Kerri and Eric will be off on a date somewhere…with no reservations yet as far as I know. They are talking Rose and Crown, it will be interesting to see how that works out for them.

Yeah... good luck with that.

It's January...the danger of melting is FAR less!

I don't know... it is still Florida.

Complete with butterbeer. Because we all need that much sugar first thing in the morning

Well, you certainly will if you go to MK until 1 am the night before.

It is January, so we may skip the water rides

I wonder if they turn the water effects down any in the winter like Disney does? Either way, I know how wet I got riding the Popeye ride in the summer and I'm afraid to even think of trying in the winter.

Except for this one

Definitely can't miss this one. It isn't that wet anyway.

As the day draws to a close…you all KNOW where we are going don’t you?

 

[annmarieda]

Before I get to our next day, 2 small, but exciting updates! We have our flights for the DL trip and the price dropped on my outbound leg for the NYE trip. We only had one ticket purchased at full price (rest were either miles or miles+$) but that one ticket…gave me an $80 credit! Which will go a long way to my May outbound leg for our girls trip, now I just need that price to drop and I am all set for all trips. Well, until we get to the August one that is.

That is great!!! Love when flights drop and credits are issued.

And mickey mail arrived, our DME tags are here!

Did you get the box with the thumb drive? We got booklets that came with that that appear to be our travel docs... but no DME tags. However... If yours just came I bet I have another week or so.

We will be here





And likely enjoying some of this

What a neat girly thing to do!

The rest of us are dining at Trails End. I am super excited about this oddly enough. Partially due to the decorated sites but partially as the menu sounds really good and the perfect post NYE kind of food should anyone need recovery food.

I mean, check out this menu! And the price! For a Disney Buffet that is.
Adult price range: $24.99-$26.62 Tax is included; gratuity is not included.

All-You-Can-Eat Buffet includes:
• Soup of the day
• Chili
• Salad Bar
• Peel-and-eat shrimp
• Smoked Pork Ribs
• Fried Chicken
• Pasta
• Pizza
• Selection of Vegetables
• Hand-Carved Roasted Meats
• Fresh Catch of the day
• Housemade Fruit Cobbler Non-alcoholic beverage included
• Full service bar also available.

That is a great price!

We have a wizard to see! Our plan is to do the mears transfer ticket package…I've generally heard good things about it but read a review recently that talked about it taking a very long time to get to Universal based on stops at multiple resorts and that has me reconsidering it a bit. We haven’t booked or bought anything yet. But it will be busy there and I want to be there early.

Sounds like a fun day is planned at US/IOA!

Who am I kidding. Jeff and I WILL pop out for happy hour, it is more a matter of who goes with us!

The day will end here

Sounds like you will a great meal there!

 

[scottny]

The plans sound great.

 

[CarolynK]

Kerri and Eric will be off on a date somewhere…with no reservations yet as far as I know. They are talking Rose and Crown, it will be interesting to see how that works out for them. I’m staying out of it.

You're not going to say "I told you so," are you

Well...unless she asks on Thanksgiving, which is possible. I di have a feeling plans will get reviewed as everyone will be here. YAY! I love Thanksgiving. LOVE it!

Thanksgiving is such a great holiday!! We are hosting too...at least you will be talking about WDW with your family mine have never been, so it's not a topic that comes up....

 

[Chilly]

We went to AK on Jan 1st and it was empty so if you aren't tired you can get loads done.

Happy Thanksgiving for tomorrow, I wish we had a similar holiday in the UK.

 

[eandesmom]

Cynthia, plans sound wonderful. I like that the girls are going to have some female time while the boys go and do whatever they are doing to do (even if watching football).

I think it will be a lovely down day, very much looking forward to it!

I would love to see the new Harry Potter thing but a trip to Universal is just not worth it for us anymore since we don't do the coasters.

Ahhhh....Margaritaville...I knew you'd be eating there.

There is a lot to do and see at Universal/IoA I think, even without the coasters. Forbidden Journey isn't a coaster, kind of a combination of haunted mansion, spiderman, and soarin.

Yay for tea at the GF! It really does look like a lot of fun. And the Trail's End dinner sounds fun too.

It's great that you are going back to Universal Studios. I just read a review of Forbidden Journey that sound AMAZING. I really need to get over there soon.

Very fun plans!

You do need to get over there! FJ is fabulous, I can't wait to see it again and am excited to see Hogsmeade decked out for the holidays.

We are planning to see the Fort Wilderness decorations again this year, as well. The girls will enjoy that. Trail's End is one of those 'hidden gems' in WDW. We can't say too much about it, or others will find out and it will become expensive and crowded.

Oh, good point!

Shhhhhhh

Fort Wilderness is an amazing place. The last trip we took with the kids, we used Mom's motor home & stayed there.

I would love to see the Harry Potter area at Universal, I'm a big fan!

We love the Fort, it was our first true on property stay for more than a night (in the cabins) but haven't eaten at TE yet. I am very excited to go back, as are the E's.

Cheeseburger is Paradise (paradise)....love it. That's our usual pitstop while in Vegas. Hmm....maybe I'll take Joshua and his teammate while we're in Vegas this weekend? Hotel rates are super low so I am assuming they aren't expecting too many folks.

Good idea! Perfect post game food too! K flies out early tomorrow for hers. UGH

Is that Universal? It looks fun! Please don't tell M I said that. I will never hear the end of it.


Love blood pudding.

I like blood pudding too, the kids did the american breakfast but that one was mine

I promise not to tell M. LOL!