A World of Disney - 2019-2020 Pre Trip Reports! - Basic NYE plans

[Woth2982]

All your updates sound great! That is awesome you bought DVC! My husband and I keep going back and forth on it. We are hoping to pay off our student loans by the end of 2020 and only at that point will DVC become a real discussion. We will probably buy resale because we love the Beach Club too much.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

reservation, but we don't know how those get distributed. We have a reservation May 30-June 1, so definitely want to get a reservation for May 31. We also don't know if hotel guests will be eligible to get one of the regular reservations, so hopefully we will and Dina and I can get one for June 1. We also don't know how they will do the actual access to the land, like if they will kick us out after a certain amount of time, or what! So many unknowns and rumors floating about!

This is so exciting!!!! To be one of the first in the land. I just hope they are ready!!!!

 

[xlsm]

Riviera is so pretty but I dislike the studio with the Murphy bed only...doesn't mean I wouldn't stay there in a heartbeat though, LOL!!



Hmm...all of us who weren't able to make the epic trip work should send you a paper version of ourselves, so you can have Flat Samantha and Flat Susan, etc, with you guys on the trip

 

[amazingact21]

I'm pretty surprised that DL's SW land is a little over a month from opening and they haven't told resort guests how the visitations are going to work. I am sure that's dampening your excitement a tiny bit. Like, share some details with us, Disney!

Congrats on becoming a DVC member! AKV is one of the most gorgeous resorts; I think you'll love having it as your home resort. (And, I mean, you got to know the place pretty well when you were stuck there with your cold last winter!)

 

[disneyAndi14]

2 weeks from today, we will be roommates, yay! It will be my first full day at Disney! I can’t wait.

I enjoy reading about all your trips and hotel bookings! I have 1 night booked at RPR at Universal in August, it is our first night of the trip. I really like having the EP.

How did you find a good rate at RPR? I check all the time and the stupid price never changes, even with late August being value season.

 

[NJlauren]

I’m here!

OMG that Asia trip! I floated the idea of Japan today and I got a hard pass from DH, I mean what?!?!?

What is a dole whip mimosa?!? I feel like I need that! If it’s bad don’t tell me!

That’s a lot of changes for May but not going to lie it’s so important to have the right place to stay. Especially when your ubering at 2am by yourself, so 100% get that!

Can’t wait to read all the trip reports from this trip!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Quick SWGE Update:

We got our land reservation from our hotel booking, ended up May 31, 8am-12pm. So opening day, opening hour! Woohoo! General reservations open up on May 2 (of course when I'm at WDW), and we are hoping they a) allow people with hotel reservations to get regular reservations too, and b) we can get one for that evening, so we can see the land at night! Of course we won't know the details for that booking type until the morning-of, but at least its less stressful now that things are settled.

They also say we have to leave at the end of our window, but haven't provided any details as to how that will be enforced. And unfortunately I don't expect to get any details (besides vague rumors) until we are actually there. I could see it going a couple ways:
1) They do a hard sweep through the land, kicking everyone out. I am doubtful about this because the second window is 11am-3pm, so there will be overlapping time periods and they can't kick everyone out.
2) They do wristbands and similar to the Halloween Parties, no longer allow people from the earlier time period to enter shops/food/ride.
3) They give people 1 pass to ride the Falcon, so afterwards you are just stuck wandering around and voluntarily leave.
4) They just say you are supposed to leave, but don't check at all.

Most likely it would be 2 or 3 (or some combination thereof). Personally I'm hoping for at least #3, because there will be plenty to explore in the land beyond our 4 hours.

 

[Lesley Wake]

Congrats on becoming a DVC owner!! Lots of exciting updates to your trips!

Thanks! It felt a bit crazy to spend that amount of money all at once, but makes sense in the long run!

I do not even know how you keep track of all this. It's crazy.

Hoping that your plans to see Galaxy's Edge when it opens work out. Cast Members were just announced to be blocked out from Disneyland for THE WHOLE SUMMER because of the opening so yeah, it about to get real nuts.

Congratulations on officially becoming a DVC member! AKV is truly a quality choice for your home resort.

That's what the PTR is for - getting my thoughts out of my head and somewhere else! And I saw about the CM blockouts! That is crazy!

All your updates sound great! That is awesome you bought DVC! My husband and I keep going back and forth on it. We are hoping to pay off our student loans by the end of 2020 and only at that point will DVC become a real discussion. We will probably buy resale because we love the Beach Club too much.

Yeah, I stayed at CCV and did the tour. I liked it, but AKV really feels like "home" to me.

This is so exciting!!!! To be one of the first in the land. I just hope they are ready!!!!

So do I!

Riviera is so pretty but I dislike the studio with the Murphy bed only...doesn't mean I wouldn't stay there in a heartbeat though, LOL!!



Hmm...all of us who weren't able to make the epic trip work should send you a paper version of ourselves, so you can have Flat Samantha and Flat Susan, etc, with you guys on the trip

I actually ended up requesting one of the Alligator Bayou rooms because some of them have been recently refurbished and the beds are supposed to be super comfy! It works for me being there by myself!

I thought about that!

I'm pretty surprised that DL's SW land is a little over a month from opening and they haven't told resort guests how the visitations are going to work. I am sure that's dampening your excitement a tiny bit. Like, share some details with us, Disney!

Congrats on becoming a DVC member! AKV is one of the most gorgeous resorts; I think you'll love having it as your home resort. (And, I mean, you got to know the place pretty well when you were stuck there with your cold last winter!)

I do love AKV (though I didn't get sick until after I left, so only spent 2 nights there).

2 weeks from today, we will be roommates, yay! It will be my first full day at Disney! I can’t wait.

I enjoy reading about all your trips and hotel bookings! I have 1 night booked at RPR at Universal in August, it is our first night of the trip. I really like having the EP.

How did you find a good rate at RPR? I check all the time and the stupid price never changes, even with late August being value season.

So excited!

I’m here!

OMG that Asia trip! I floated the idea of Japan today and I got a hard pass from DH, I mean what?!?!?

What is a dole whip mimosa?!? I feel like I need that! If it’s bad don’t tell me!

That’s a lot of changes for May but not going to lie it’s so important to have the right place to stay. Especially when your ubering at 2am by yourself, so 100% get that!

Can’t wait to read all the trip reports from this trip!

You should try working on him some more! Get some of the Disney Tourist Blog guide/posts! And they have some advice for how to do it on a budget (park tickets and things inside the park are much cheaper than the US parks)!

It sounds like some sort of slushy boozy drink! They also have an option with vodka!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

We got our land reservation from our hotel booking, ended up May 31, 8am-12pm. So opening day, opening hour! Woohoo!

That is amazing to say you were one of the first! Can't wait for all the pictures, cause we know you will take plenty!!!

 

[Lesley Wake]

That is amazing to say you were one of the first! Can't wait for all the pictures, cause we know you will take plenty!!!

I will certainly take photos but I think when I first enter the land I will put the camera down! I want to experience it without being behind a screen! I’ll go back for photos afterward!

 

[Cloe Colton]

Thats an awesome time slot! I was hoping you would update about what you got! That's going to be so crazy/cool to be in the first group going in!

I'm almost sad that DH and I aren't going until November now because I feel like it would be nice just to have the guaranteed time. I'm hoping that they'll have some resort benefit for us when we do go but it is a lot later! (hopefully ROTR will at least be open!)

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Awesome that you'll get to be there on opening day in the first time slot! I've read some of the scheduling was a disaster for people so I'm glad it worked out well for you!

 

[suse66]

Hmm...all of us who weren't able to make the epic trip work should send you a paper version of ourselves, so you can have Flat Samantha and Flat Susan, etc, with you guys on the trip

Love that idea! You can pose us at World showcase beside yummy beverages and takes pics....lol!

 

[Lesley Wake]

More Miscellaneous Updates:

Sorry - not a whole lot of photos in this post, just some quick updates!

May EPIC trip:
It truly was EPIC! So much fun! I will be working on a TR very soon, once I get a moment to decompress from the trip! But we will definitely have a repeat trip, just not sure if it will become annual or bi-annual! (Maybe WDW every other year and in the off-years something different, like a cruise, or DL, or something!) TBD!

May SWGE Trip:
We were able to get a couple of the free reservations as well as the hotel reservation. Of course, I was at WDW when they opened up, so I was literally on Flight of Passage while refreshing! Thankfully I gave Dina my login info and she was able to use those. So here are our reservations:
May 31, 8am-12pm via hotel reservation
May 31, 8pm-12am via free reservation
June 1, 11am-3pm via free reservation

We also have a 4th reservation the following weekend but that will be dependent on someone else coming into town, since they are the primary individual on the account!

Looking forward to it!

Asia Trip:
While in WDW I saw there was availability in business class for the remaining flight leg from Seoul-Shanghai. Definitely happy about that one, more because it will give me access to the business class lounge during my 5 hr layover.

I also booked hotels in Tokyo and Kyoto before leaving for WDW. For Tokyo, I booked at the Shibuya Tokyu REI Hotel. The reviews and rooms looked good and it was in a very convenient location in Shibuya (only a block or two from the train station). For Kyoto, I booked the Kyoto Tower Hotel Annex. I'm still unsure if I will stick with it; it's close to the train station, but I don't know if that will matter as much. I'm still trying to decide, but it is free cancellation, so I can change my mind if I need to!

SWDAS trip:
I made a stupid mistake that I discovered when I was checking into my flight home from Orlando. I accidentally booked my flight roundtrip from Orlando, instead of from Los Angeles! Ugh! Of course American Airlines has a $200 change fee per segment, so that would be more expensive than my original airfare! So annoying! I haven't rebooked because knowing my history, American may end up changing the flight times and (like this past trip) it would make me eligible to cancel for free. I think any change in fare would be much less than the actual change fee. So, fingers crossed!

I was able to go in an add another night in March (so it would be 2-nights AKV, 7-night cruise, 3-nights AKV). More so if the airfare works out better that way, I am covered.

 

[Momee]

Hi!!! I can’t wait to read your TR from the Epic trip! It was awesome running into you. My husband laughed at me for recognizing a Disboard celebrity.

 

[Lesley Wake]

Hi!!! I can’t wait to read your TR from the Epic trip! It was awesome running into you. My husband laughed at me for recognizing a Disboard celebrity.

Haha! It was fun! I think that was the first time someone recognized me so it was cool!

Did you guys ever get to see the baby gorilla? The momma never came out when I was watching!

 

[Momee]

Haha! It was fun! I think that was the first time someone recognized me so it was cool!

Did you guys ever get to see the baby gorilla? The momma never came out when I was watching!

Well I walked away still saying “oh my gosh! I can’t believe I saw her in person!!” Lol
You have achieved celebrity status- congratulations!!!

We stuck around for probably another 15 minutes (we had already been there at least 15 minutes prior). My daughter was camped out by the glass trying to catch a glimpse, but we didn’t have any luck. She would’ve stayed there all day if we would’ve allowed it. We live about 3 hrs from Disney and have annual passes, so she is determined to go back and see that baby before it gets too big.

 

[missjackiemcg]

May EPIC trip:
It truly was EPIC! So much fun! I will be working on a TR very soon, once I get a moment to decompress from the trip! But we will definitely have a repeat trip, just not sure if it will become annual or bi-annual! (Maybe WDW every other year and in the off-years something different, like a cruise, or DL, or something!) TBD!

SO. EPIC.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

May EPIC trip:
It truly was EPIC! So much fun! I will be working on a TR very soon, once I get a moment to decompress from the trip! But we will definitely have a repeat trip, just not sure if it will become annual or bi-annual! (Maybe WDW every other year and in the off-years something different, like a cruise, or DL, or something!) TBD!

I hope there is anohter one! I want to be able participate fully next time!

 

[Lesley Wake]

New TR for the Epic Trip: "Enjoy these moments, they are precious" - Lesley's EPIC May TR!​