A day and a half of magic - The Birthday PTR (updated with pics)

[JustCor]

Let's start with the W's:

Who: Me, and only me. Corey, 35 (36 on the day of the trip), super awesome by default
What: Birthday trip to WDW
Where: Animal Kingdom Lodge, with time spent at MK and Epcot
When: The most important day of the year, April 23rd
Why: Because I've got to

Truth be told, there's been a bit of planning already going on. It's only now, at 2:30am when I'm fraught with insomnia and trying to kill a few hours before work, that I've decided to put up a PTR. My USF/IOA trip report was fun enough to write, so why not try a PTR too?

Let's begin.

Planning:

This Disney trip is actually a late add-on to a long weekend trip to Universal with friends. We've been talking about doing a USF/IOA trip for a couple of months and got serious about nailing down plans at the beginning of the year. After nailing down the dates (4/24-4/26), it was just a matter of getting a hotel (check) and park tickets (check) settled. That was cake. We're not huge planners and, aside from a Friday night dinner reservation offsite, we're going to just wing it, like every other USF trip. Since that trip happens to take place the day after my birthday, I was still left trying to figure out what to do. So, after thinking on it for about half an hour, I hit up MDE to check resort prices. Birthday at Disney sounds like the right idea!

Resort time:

I stayed at POR in the beginning of February and really enjoyed it. That seemed like a good place to start. And you know, POFQ gets great reviews here, so might as well look there too. But wait, this is my birthday. I want something special. Something different.

We're going deluxe. Because I'm special, or something like that.

When I booked my POR trip, I looked at deluxe resorts. Early February is a great time to get some really good deals. I briefly weighed chopping a day off that trip to stay at the Contemporary because it was really reasonable. Well, reasonable in the grand scale of Disney pricing. Maybe prices would be close, and I could afford to be a little more spendy since it's only one day. Unfortunately, the $1,000+ per night quickly and totally squashed that dream. A quick look at Beach Club, Yatch Club, and Boardwalk also stomped all over my dreams and wallet. POR or POFQ would be fine.

Except they're nearly full and not discounted. And all of a sudden I'm depressed about my birthday and considering just killing off these plans and just staying local. Then, though, I noticed that the discounted AKL rate isn't much more than the non-discounted POR rate. And it's Deluxe. Sure, that may only be a fancy word to charge more money, but it's working on this gullible sot. A little bit of hemming and hawing and I've got myself a room! AKL here I come!

With the accommodations out of the way, I decide that I've reached my planning limits for one trip. Like my previous trip, I'll just play it by ear and get in to whatever places I can get in to. Who needs ADRs? Who needs FP+? Not this soon-to-be Birthday boy!

......


......


.....


You know, maybe a nice birthday dinner would be in order. I mean, who wants to eat counter service fast food stuff on my birthday? Maybe just one ADR. I can wing the rest. But where? Where does one go to spend a birthday dinner at WDW?

 

[JustCor]

Let's to Dinner:

This is the part where obsessively staring at menus becomes painful. I'm not very good at planning food that far in advance. I subscribe to the philosophy of "I'll figure out what I want the day off because I don't know what I'll be craving for that day until... that day" kind of dinner planning. Today it may be sushi. Tomorrow it may be Italian. When I made my first (of many) ADRs, it was burgers. So, with that in mind, I hit MDE hard and looked at every menu, scanning them for any burger entry.

Time to break out my trusty notebook for half-a**ed planning. For those interested, my trusty notebook for half-a**ed planning is a Levenger Circa Jr. The Levenger Circa series is an excellent notebook with these cool little discs instead of traditional binding or spiral wire, or glue. The discs, which are replaceable in different colors, sizes, and materials, allow for jotting down notes at any point and quick and easy removal and rearranging of those notes. It also allows you to to add various paper styles, notes, and other add-ons without too much fuss. If you use a planner, I highly recommend it. I have a few, with a few more on the way.

But I digress.

In my trusty Circa, I write down the names of all of the restaurants that offer a burger. I eliminate any place that isn't in the parks because I want to be able to leave dinner and try and catch some later FP+ destinations without having to take an extra trip back to the parks. Then I cut out any restaurant at HS because, quite honestly, I have no desire to go to HS. I get a weird vibe from that park and don't tend to enjoy it. I plan to take a whole day and give the park a real fair shake because I really want to like HS. I just don't. And my birthday just isn't that day. Sorry Indy. Next, I cut out anything that isn't TS. I want to be served, but not in that dance-off competition kind of way (random throw away pop culture reference joke). After some coin flipping and review reading, I settle on Yak and Yeti. The burger looks tasty, I love AK, and I'm staying at AKL. Why not theme it out? Dinner chosen. Planning over. Time to relax.

But...

A week later, I don't want burgers. I'm burgered out, if that's even possible. I want something different. I want something... Epcot-y. And I want lots of it. Break out the Circa! This search is much easier. Filter out everything except Epcot, filter out anything that's not TS, look for a rear-end load of food. Biergarten it is. I love German food! I live in Germany many years ago and seem to have fond memories of it. Biergarten seems like an excellent way to relive those memories and eat delicious German food. Who doesn't like delicious German food? Communal seating though. That's a tough one. Especially for me, solo. I'm not good at being social. I'm the nervous type, which seems odd because I haven't had problems going to WDW or USF solo. Whatever. I'll work with it. German food!

Except...

A few days later and all I can think about is "communal seating". What's that feeling that I'm currently soaked in? Is that joyful anticipation? Is it fantastic excitement? No, that's definitely dread. Lots and lots of dread. Communal seating is a no go. Time to find something else, and fast.

Epcot is good. It's food land. I love food land. Break out the Circa and fire up MDE. We're on an ADR hunt. A quick spin of the wheel, perusing of menus, and a literal coin flip (ok, three coin flips) and it's Italian night! We're (I'm) going to Trattoria al Forno! Did you see those meatballs? I love meatballs. Seriously, I do. I give any restaurant that serves meatballs more leeway than they may deserve. ADR made, Biergarten cancelled. Planning over!

You know...

I hear Le Cellier is amazing. Sure, it's pricy, but it's my birthday, and I'm going to use that excuse to make whatever questionable decisions that I want, because... birthday. It's probably booked solid anyway. Let's look anyway. Just for giggles.

And I'm right. Dinner is booked solid. That's kind of a relief. I mean really, do I really want to spend $50+ on a steak that may not be all that great? Of course I do, but fate has intervened and it's not meant to be.

But lunch...

... is available. So I booked lunch. It's at 2pm(ish) and my dinner reservation is at 8:30. I'll just get an appetizer and maybe a dessert at Le Cellier and keep Trattoria. It's the perfect plan!

Really, it was. Except, it wasn't. An 8:30 reservation puts me past closing time for Epcot. I'd need to hop a bus to get to MK. That kind of defeats the whole idea of getting of the restaurant and walking to a FP attraction. Did I say walk? I think I meant roll. After 2 TS meals, I may be pushing the limits of walking. Are Oompa Loompas Disney? Can they roll my fat behind out of the restaurant like Violet Beauregarde? I would hope that they have a catchy song for me.

Back to MDE. Set filters to MK. All power to menus...

 

[JustCor]

Dinner Planning part 2: Electric Parade Boogaloo

I've tried booking meals at MK before. I've run into three problems:

1. Nothing stands out to me
2. I don't have any strong desire to do BOG or CRT
3. I'd rather eat mac and cheese at Friar's Nook nearly every single time (it's so incredibly good)

So, when I start looking at the restaurants there, I'm forced to ask myself if I'd really rather have insert restaurant here than a big, cheesy, melty, delicious bowl of Pot Roast Mac and Cheese? The answer is usually no. Still, I want a TS restaurant. Mac and Cheese may be great, but I want a nice place to sit down and have some food. The search ended up boiling down to two restaurants: Crystal Palace and The Plaza. I chose The Plaza. Because I'm in burger mood. Again. For today at least.

This time, though I think it'll stick. The lunch feels right. It feels like a lock in my head. The dinner is starting to feel right. It's not quite there, but I've bandied about the idea of eating at The Plaza before and always regretted not fitting it in. And if it doesn't feel, there's always Mac and Cheese. Mac and Cheese doesn't fail. Mac and cheese always feels right.

Surprisingly, another ADR managed to sneak in during all that planning. On the following day, I'll be enjoying a fine meal at Boma. That one is a definite. I've been wanting that for a while now. I made that reservation first, actually, and the thought of changing it hasn't even crossed my mind.

Dinner planning over. For real this time. Seriously.

Next: Activities

 

[JustCor]

I have to be honest here: I've never used FP+. Granted, I've only been going to WDW since last October, but I still haven't used it. I don't know how. I planned on remedying that for this trip, but it's frustrating. First, I only really wish to do three rides: 7DMT, Thunder Mountain, and Space Mountain. When fiddling with the FP+ setup, I ran into my first problem: Space Mountain is closed for renovations on that day. Boo. Whatever. Two is fine. But when I try to set two, it keeps suggesting a third. Sorry Disney, I don't want IASW, nor the Little Mermaid thing, nor the Peter Pan thing. But now it feels like I need a third. Do I burn an FP+ on a character meet? I'm still getting comfortable with the whole Character Meets. I'm a bit too anxious for that. Or am I? Maybe I do want a Character Meet. Do I go with the standards? Do I try for a Princess? Is it weird if a solo older guy does a meet with a Princess? Am I that creepy guy who stands in line solo to get a picture with a pretty girl?

Holy crap! I am that creepy guy. Thanks FP+. You've made me feel like a creeper. Or maybe I'm projecting what I feel other people would think of me as I stand in line for a picture. Is that what other solo people think when they stand in lines? Do they automatically assume that others are thinking ill of them? I feel the same pains. Unless you all don't feel that. In that case, screw you for judging me!

This FP+ thing is too stressful after trying to make basic plans to feed myself. I'll weigh my plans to either meet Tinkerbell or Snow White another time. FP+ can wait. Unless available times fill up by the time I get back to it. In that case, who cares? I just planned on playing some SOTMK anyway, and there's no FP+ for that. Yet. I hope.

How do you people do all of this planning and not have a complete and total mental breakdown? It's stressful!

More updates, in a much more timely manner, to come later.

T-28 days and counting.

 

[JustCor]

Fast Passes: They're a thing!

After a little bit of hemming and hawing, I think I've planned out something decent for my fast passes. It wasn't as easy as I was hoping it would be, but that's more because I really don't have anything that I'm dead set on doing. That made it difficult.

So, here's where I'm standing with my fast passes:
April 23rd @ Magic Kingdom

• Character meet with Mickey Mouse at Town Square Theater
• 7 Dwarves Mine Train

April 24th @ Hollywood Studios

• Muppets 3D
• Tower of Terror
• Rockin' Roller Coaster

Yes, I know I'm missing one at Magic Kingdom. I didn't know what to fill it with, so I'm leaving it open in case I'm struck by inspiration at some point. I had hoped to go on Space Mountain, but it's not going to be open that day. I'm toying with the idea of adding either Big Thunder Mountain or another Character Meet, but I'm not set on doing either at the moment. I decided to give Hollywood Studios a fair shake. I have no attachment to that park in the slightest. The last time I went, I didn't bother going because it's blah to me. But I feel like I should like it. It has things that I enjoy quite a bit. I love Star Wars. I love Indiana Jones, and I love the Muppets. I just have no real pull towards Hollywood Studios. I'm trying to decide if it's the Park itself that I don't care for or if I've had some strange mood that threw me off. We'll see.

This trip is finally nearing go time. The first thing that really nudged me over into excitement territory is my Magic Band being shipped out. I should have it by the beginning of next week! Since Orlando is a 2 hour drive for me, I don't get to experience the excitement of all the air travel stuff being mailed out. I kind of wish they'd send something for the people driving in. Maybe even if it's just a little hanging thing for your rear view mirror. Whatever the case, I'll make do (make due?) without it, or maybe I'll fashion something on my own. Hmmmm, I'll have to file that away in my brain for possible use later.

T-26 days and counting.

 

[JustCor]

The Bits and the Baubles:

Now that the bulk of the planning has been taken care of, it's time to plan for some other things. I've been keeping an eye open for items that I think would be nice to have while at the parks. One of the things that stood out last trip was how my phone seemed to be dead closer to the end of the night. I use the camera on my phone quite a bit, especially at the parks, so it makes sense that constantly turning it on and off would drain the battery. I may break down and finally buy a point-and-shoot style camera for use, but we'll see. In the meantime, I went with a slightly different solution:

A Trond Air 4000 mHa external battery. The gift card gives an idea of size. This thing is small and thin and is good for two full charges on my phone. That should take care of any battery issues. The short lightning cable lets me tuck the phone/battery into my pocket without having a rat nest of wires clumped up.

An idea of how thick it is. It has just a little more thickness than the height of a USB cable.

Next up is a little something I found at Walmart, of all places. I take a lot of notes and like to have some kind of pen and paper with me at all times to jot stuff down. To quote Aaron Draplin, creator of the wonderful Field Notes: "I'm not writing it down to remember it later, I'm writing it down to remember it now." So, I like to have stuff to write on and write with. Multiple stuff normally, as you'll see. With that in mind, I picked up this:

How cool is that?! It came with a really cheap plastic pen that was a wrong look away from snapping in half. I immediately replaced that with one of my trusty Fisher Bullet Space Pens. The Mickey notebook may not write underwater, but my Space Pen will. There's a magnet in the flap to keep the notebook closed, and it easily disappears into my pockets without adding any kind of unnecessary bulk. I like it. I wish they had another one or two to pick up to have for later.

As I mentioned, I like to have writing stuff with me at all times. I enjoy writing in general, so having paper and pen with me is essential. While the Mickey notebook is definitely fantastic, it's a little on the small side. So, I carry a Nock Co Hightower case loaded up with three pens and three pocketsized notebooks whenever I can:

It's a handy little case to have on a Disney trip. I use it to take my notes while I'm stopped and having a little snack. It travels pretty well, though I generally carry it when I have something with cargo pockets. It's excellent at work too.

More notebooks!

For pen people (we exist!): a TWSBI Vac 700 with 1.1mm stub, Visconti Rembrant in medium, and a Pilot Vanishing Point Fermo, also in medium. The TWSBI is filled with J. Herbin Stormy Grey, the Visconti has J. Herbin Rouge Hematite, and the Pilot has Pilot Black.

Those are my toys for this trip, so far at least. It's shaping up to be a really fun one and a half day adventure!

T-25 days.

 

[cajunfan]

I can't wait to hear where you finally settle on for ADRs or if they change again
...in what section did you find the Mickey notepad at Walmart? I have a friend that is a HUGE Mickey fan, and that is just something she may need.

Lynn

 

[JustCor]

I can't wait to hear where you finally settle on for ADRs or if they change again
...in what section did you find the Mickey notepad at Walmart? I have a friend that is a HUGE Mickey fan, and that is just something she may need.

Lynn

I found the Mickey notepad by the greeting cards near the card/envelope sets. It was sitting by a set of blank Mickey Cards and Envelope sets (picked those up too).

 

[JustCor]

I Have Too Much Time to Think:

I've been stuck on my meals. No, actually, let me rephrase that. I've been stuck on Le Cellier. It's definitely a place that I would like to go, but it's starting to not feel like the right place to go for this trip. I've actually been getting more and more excited about The Plaza for various reasons. My plan for Le Cellier was go to for a "light" lunch of an appetizer and maybe some poutine. It's not an awful plan by any stretch of the imagination, but it's starting to conflict with some other plans. I really want to get mac and cheese from Friar's Nook. It's probably my favorite meal anywhere at WDW. It's delicious. I'm sure there are plenty of amazing things to eat at Le Cellier, but I'm not planning on eating big there. I also want to sample a lot of different foods in Epcot. I still have the ADR, and I'm going to really think it over, but if I was headed to Disney this week, I'd cancel it and stick to the various snacks at the World Showcase and a big delicious bowl of Pot Roast Mac and Cheese. I like that plan a lot at the moment.

 

[Offsides]

Yay PTR!!!

Maybe I will be inspired to write one of my own. Or a trip report once I return, at least.

 

[JustCor]

Yay PTR!!!

Maybe I will be inspired to write one of my own. Or a trip report once I return, at least.

If you write it, I'm absolutely reading it!

 

[Offsides]

If you write it, I'm absolutely reading it!

Hooray! I am thinking I will write one once I get home

 

[JustCor]

I bought things:

My post with the pictures made me realize something very important: the camera on the iPhone is kind of mediocre. I know I've seen issues with pictures before, but now I really notice it. The pictures are washed out and faded, with a little blurriness to them. They look great on the phone, but when posted, the quality goes south. The positive to it, and all cell phone cameras, is the convenience. I know where my phone is when I need it. I can pull it out and snap off a quick picture fairly easily. A bad camera on hand is more useful than a great camera at home.

Still, I had to do something different, so I bought a new camera. It's a nice little Sony that has some decent specs and is a very compact size, making it convenient to carry in a pocket. Of course, it didn't have a memory card, and the card I thought I had at home has taken a trip to the abyss. A quick Amazon search solved that problem, and should arrive at my door tomorrow. After it arrives, I'll be taking the camera out for a test run. I need to make sure I can get some nice pictures with it with little fuss. As long as things are good, it'll be documenting my Disney trip.

 

[cajunfan]

Thanks for the info on the notepad.

Now you have me wanting to try that mac and cheese from Friars Nook!!

You will have to include more details about the camera. I am planning on using my phone camera, but Matt will have his good one with him. I just want to have a light carrying load this trip.

Lynn

 

[JustCor]

Thanks for the info on the notepad.

Now you have me wanting to try that mac and cheese from Friars Nook!!

You will have to include more details about the camera. I am planning on using my phone camera, but Matt will have his good one with him. I just want to have a light carrying load this trip.

Lynn

The mac and cheese is so good. I thought I took a picture of it from my last trip, but I guess not. I won't make that mistake again.

The camera is a Sony DSC-WX220. It's 18.2 megapixels with a CMOS sensor. It's supposedly a good sized sensor to help with low light situations. It has 10x optical zoom. It has built in Wi-Fi and NFC to connect to smart phones and tablets. I haven't played too much with that feature. The NFC on an iPhone is pretty well locked down so sharing photos through NFC is a no go on Apple products. I'll have to dig out my old Android tablet to see how well the NFC works. The app for iPhone/iPad isn't bad, but it's kind of clunky. You can use the app to transfer photos from the camera to the phone over wifi for quick uploading to social media and sharing with others, but it's not very intuitive to use. I still have to play around with the camera and get comfortable with the app. There may be more to it that I haven't figured out yet. It takes SD cards as well as Sony's Memory Stick. I haven't found if it's a standard Memory Stick or a Memory Stick Pro. SD Cards are cheap and easy to find, so I stick with them, and I can use them in other stuff. The intelligent auto focus seems to work well. I moved around from close to far to moving to dark and bright areas. The camera seems to seemlessly and quickly change settings to get an optimal picture. I'm not a pro photographer by any stretch, so the auto settings seems adequate for me. There also seems to be a fair amount of manual adjustment available for people who want a little more control over their photo settings. Something I really appreciate is that the charging of the battery is done in the phone rather than on a separate charger. I've had a few different cameras that required the battery be removed and placed on a specialized charger. I've misplaced those a few times making my camera a paperweight because the charger is more than I want to spend. In addition to charging the battery in the phone, it uses a Micro USB cable instead of a specialized connection. If you own a smartphone made in the past two years that isn't an iPhone, chances are really good that it's a Micro USB connection. Bravo Sony! The camera is small, light, and seems to be solidly constructed.

So, photos:

A quick comparison to a gift card. The camera really isn't that much larger. It is a very good size.

It's also very thin. It'll easily slip into a pocket without being bulky. I do think I'll need some kind of protective case for it.

My iPhone 6 next to the gift card for an idea of size comparison. The camera is substantially smaller. Also, a quick comparison in picture quality shows better color saturations and a clearer, less grainy images on the camera, as opposed to the iPhone shots, which is to be expected. If anything, that makes me feel much better about spending for a dedicated camera.

I hope that helps a bit. I like Sony cameras in general. They're well made, have really nice optics and sensors, and seem to take very good pictures.

 

[JustCor]

ADR Update:

There are days (like today) where all my plans look cockeyed. I looked at my plans again today and none of it made any sense. Instead of exploding the whole deal and starting over, I stepped away from the computer and avoided going to MDE. Now that I look at it again, with a day and some clarity added in, things look good again. I'm still holding on to the Le Cellier reservation, but it's no longer a thing I care to do. I'll hang on to it for one more week and take a look at it next Friday. If I still feel the same way, I'll drop it and go with my Epcot World Showcase plan instead. I like that idea more and more every day.

Camera update:

I've been trying to get in the habit of carrying my camera in my pocket with me wherever I go to get used to it being with me. The size is pretty spot on. I forget that I have it with me, which is good because it's unobtrusive, but bad because I forget to use it. Still, it's a good camera to carry. Over the time remaining until the trip, I'm going to try to put it through its paces to make sure I have a good handle on how to get good shots from it in various situations. Better to find the quirks now than at Disney. The picture transfer from camera to phone over wifi is very convenient. While I do wish the method for doing it was a little less clunky, it works, which is the big thing. I've thought about setting some kind of goal as to how many pictures I should aim for while at Disney, but I think I'll just go with the flow on this one. I had thought about getting the Memory Maker, but I don't see enough value in it for a day and a half trip. Perhaps I'll give it a go on a longer trip. This time, it's on me to make value out of my photography.

Odds and ends:

It's 20 days until go time. I'm more than ready to do this, at least on a mental level. Work has been super busy and a vacation will be a nice bit of relief from the stresses. I don't think that there is anything else that I have to pick up for this little trip, aside from some last minute stuff that is best picked up last minute. I've learned from my two previous trips to bring a pack of bottled water and some basic snacks. Also, since it's heating back up here in the good ol' state of Florida, a pack of Gatorade is a must to replenish everything lost from walking in the sun. All that stuff is easily picked up on the day of the trip. It really goes a long way towards avoiding misery at the Magic Kingdom.

So, 20 days. We're getting there.

 

[cajunfan]

Glad you stepped away from the computer for some clarity! It always helps. I of course would go with the WS option...but then I have been scouring those menus, and want to try just about EVERYTHING! Are there specific "kitchens" you are looking at...or more like me and want to try it all?

Good to know about the camera. And I saw you visited my PRT, so you can see why I asked about the details of it...

We are 34 days out. I am kind of excited to be driving this trip. We can bring so much with us. Like a couple of cases of water and things. Plus having the kitchenette in the family suite will be nice.

 

[JustCor]

Glad you stepped away from the computer for some clarity! It always helps. I of course would go with the WS option...but then I have been scouring those menus, and want to try just about EVERYTHING! Are there specific "kitchens" you are looking at...or more like me and want to try it all?

Good to know about the camera. And I saw you visited my PRT, so you can see why I asked about the details of it...

We are 34 days out. I am kind of excited to be driving this trip. We can bring so much with us. Like a couple of cases of water and things. Plus having the kitchenette in the family suite will be nice.

I just want to eat everything in sight! I think I'm just going to peek my head in every place that has food and see if there's anything I feel the need to eat and go from there. There are only two things that I can think of that I really want and that's a bratwurst and a jalapeno cream cheese pretzel. Everything else is a bonus.

Disney trips are fast approaching! 20 days to go!

 

[JustCor]

T-18 days

 

[JustCor]

There's not much to really update at the moment. I'm 16 days out from my trip. That should fly by. I'm looking forward to it. I've been meaning to take plenty of pictures with my camera, but work has been monumentally busy, putting those plans on the back burner. I'll try to get out and about sooner than later, but it'll really depend on how work cooperates.

So, how does one pass the time between planning and actual trip? Plan another trip! I'm working on a three day adventure, but am running into small problems. I have a credit card that I set aside to plan these kind of trips. I can't remember where I set it down a few months ago. It's not a card I carry with me, so I set it... somewhere. For the life of me, I can't remember when I put it so that I wouldn't lose it. It's super safe, then.

So that's the update of the moment. I have some searching to do.