Chunkymonkey & Chubbyhubby's Year of Disney PTR! NEW 12/27 THE END and New TR Link!

[Neverland_Girl]

You are my Disney life goals! So jealous of all the trips you have planned.

 

[soniam]

They both sound good! One day I'll probably try the Parisian afternoon.

Have fun at the party! I was thinking about it but didn't have the time to spare.

We are definitely crazy. Insane even. But I'm sure there are people crazier than us.
I think they call a week before, but we'll be on the cruise. So I will leave it in your hands. Whatever you decide is fine with us I can also give them a call ahead of our cruise.

I'll ask them when they call. We will be home.

As for Universal, what would you like to know? Many of the same rules apply for Disney apply to Universal. RPR is great. They have a good pool bar. I have heard good things about the sushi they serve in the Orchid Lounge at night. ADRs are a lot different. Many places don't even take them. Are there any restaurants that you want to try? You have to eat at one of the Potter restaurants. They are both good, but have different things. Butter beer is a must! I'll be able to advise better about how Express Pass is affecting the Potter rides. They only recently started doing that. Universal reminds me more of Disneyland and its size and level of planning required.

 

[Tracy161]

139 Days until Holidays at WDW Dolphin (yeah I kinda snuck this trip in there...right now this is tentative)

Ooooh!!!

Can't believe in just 3 weeks we'll be boarding a flight to WDW with my family and friends!

Isn't it crazy!? August is sneaking right up on us

One of my nieces is also having some issues with anxiety lately

I'm sorry to hear about this. But after looking at your schedule (impressive as always, by the way!), it sounds like you are all planning on being really smart with the kids in general - plenty of mid-day breaks and opportunities to chill for a bit. Hopefully that'll help

I've added a Disney Jr. breakfast at Hollywood and Vine.

Yay!

@Tracy161: Saturday August 19th in MK for dinner at LTT, and Sunday August 20th morning at DHS!!

Woohoo!!!

I think I can survive park hopping the regular way (the horror!) on August 12th

If anyone has any tips for Universal that would be helpful. The last time I was there was 2010.

I have you beat... 1997 for this girl!

I'm definitely booking a private tour for us for Prince Edward Island so I can fulfill my dreams of visiting Anne of Green Gables national historic site.

I'm SO jealous!!!

For Halloween I can just reuse my Han and Leia outfits from our SWDAS cruise last year (unless I come up with something better).

These outfits are awesome

Then a late lunch at....where else...TIFFINS. duh.

Duh.

MNSSHP!!! Our first Halloween party!!

Woohoo!!! I blew an opportunity to do this a few years back because I was solo. Halloween is my favorite holiday and Disney my favorite place, so the two colliding is just for me... or at least I expect it would be

although DH wants to be Gaston, LOL

Of course! Cause Gaston is his "favorite guy!"

pre-race dinner at Sanaa..because BREAD SERVICE seems like a good idea before our run.

Sure sounds like a good idea to me!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Yeah that sounds like a good plan too. Actually haven't seen the water parade up close so that should be fun.

It's cute, I get really nostalgic when I watch it. I feel like that's one of the few bits of old school Disney left.

Yeah the lobster in the maritimes is amazing. My dad is from New Brunswick and he used to joke about how when he was growing up, all the poor kids ate lobster sandwiches for lunch and the rich kids ate peanut butter and jam. I'm sure even if it's not high season there will be lots of seafood to be found, but I know what you mean. I loved those types of shacks in Maine.

Haha I heard that lobsters and crabs were like the scavengers of the oceans and that no one used to want to eat them. Ha!

Woohoo this is quite the year of Disney!

It is! It's like a bucket list year for me.

I'm so disappointed this falls in the summer when I can't go.

Good idea then I'll know if I'm really missing anything or not.

It may be nothing to get too excited about. I think it's worth it to people without AP and don't' have Memory Maker as then they can download the pictures for free! It's too bad @KathyM2 is leaving today as this would have been perfect!

I wish I could do this! Especially because Josh might be going to a friend's bachelor party this weekend, but I can't take this weekend off work And Josh keeps reminding me our trip is 1 week from then

Yeah there's stuff happening all the time which I can't make either, but there is always next year!

Yes! What do you want to know about?

Haha, everything! What rides should I go on first? We'll have the express pass from the hotel, but we don't really need to ride the HP rides since we have the event to do that, so I guess I can just focus on the non HP rides!

we're not going in December anymore. We couldn't find affordable airfare when I went to book like a month or two ago so we ended up canceling that weekend trip because it was going to end up being more expensive than just going for a weekend should've been. We were thinking of just staying at USO anyway for the new HP stuff, but we can't find any airfare for under 700-800+ RT (and I've looked at every weekend from late Nov to early Jan), and usually it's under $400 RT for us both. We don't have many direct flights we can choose from, and any of the longer flights would eat up an entire day so nothing really worked (and there wasn't really enough of a price difference to a longer flight to consider them).
Instead we might go to USO for Mardi Gras next year for a weekend, but I'm not sure about that yet either.

Oh no, that sucks. I hear you on the flight prices. It used to be so cheap to fly to Orlando from Newark. I thought that would be the case this year too, but for some reason this year has been unreasonably higher in price. I've had to use miles and stuff for some flights which I don't normally use to FL because I know how cheap it can be. You can still get cheap flights but they are on days and times that won't work for us. So we're stuck with the higher prices for now. SAD.

Good luck on the Mardi Gras plans!

Did you see the new thing this morning that through the end of September some restaurants (mostly signatures) are offering 30% to AP holders?

I saw that! I can't really change our August plans at this point so I can only add it in September, and we only really have time for one dinner. I'll have to see if this can work for us as it's a great deal, but with all the Food and Wine kiosks will we even have time for another sit down...not sure!

So close! I feel like all of our things opened over the last week... Cruise check in, fast passes, adr date for January is in a week...

It's pretty cool to have the Disney rush all come together so you're super Disney-focused!

I really want to go down for a weekend in December to see the holiday decorations... Maybe I should look into that one... Lol. DF doesn't get much vacation time, so that will be the deciding factor. Though I've picked up enough SW points for some free flights...

Hmm good idea!!!!

You are my Disney life goals! So jealous of all the trips you have planned.

Thank you! It's a bucket list kinda year for me. I figure I might as well go for it and do all the Disney trips I wanna do since we have the AP.
I'm not sure we'll be able to do so many trips in a year again!

 

[chunkymonkey]

I'll ask them when they call. We will be home.

Yay!!

As for Universal, what would you like to know? Many of the same rules apply for Disney apply to Universal. RPR is great. They have a good pool bar. I have heard good things about the sushi they serve in the Orchid Lounge at night. ADRs are a lot different. Many places don't even take them. Are there any restaurants that you want to try? You have to eat at one of the Potter restaurants. They are both good, but have different things. Butter beer is a must! I'll be able to advise better about how Express Pass is affecting the Potter rides. They only recently started doing that. Universal reminds me more of Disneyland and its size and level of planning required.

Haha I am basically doing ZERO planning for Universal, I am not even sure what to plan for. I figure we have the Express Pass and we may not even do the HP rides on the first day because we have the event at night. So we'll focus on everything else. Oh I went on RPR one time when it first opened and never again, that thing was soooo scary! On that ride video...Steve doubled over laughing because the entire video was of me cursing up a storm.
I did like how you could pick your own music though, that was cool,

Which Harry Potter restaurant should I go to? I went to Three Broomsticks once I think.
I'm definitely getting Frozen butter beer and since the event has unlimited butter beer I'm going to drink so much of it...I hope it's the frozen kind cos that's the kind I like most.

Isn't it crazy!? August is sneaking right up on us

I know...it's so close, I can smell the Dole Whip...

I'm sorry to hear about this. But after looking at your schedule (impressive as always, by the way!), it sounds like you are all planning on being really smart with the kids in general - plenty of mid-day breaks and opportunities to chill for a bit. Hopefully that'll help

Yeah we're going to try our best. Today my niece had her church performance and she didn't even make it up on stage, but we all said it was "ok". My sister is also a Special Needs teacher so she's super paranoid about this kind of stuff, probably reading into it too much. But otherwise Eva was really happy we all came to her non-performance!

I have you beat... 1997 for this girl!

Wow looks like someone needs to make a trip to USO too!

I'm SO jealous!!!

Bucket list for sure!!

These outfits are awesome

Thank you!!

Woohoo!!! I blew an opportunity to do this a few years back because I was solo. Halloween is my favorite holiday and Disney my favorite place, so the two colliding is just for me... or at least I expect it would be

WHAT! No Halloween party?!?
Well we've never done it before either although we've been there once when we could have. But I guess we all learn the error of our ways eventually...

Of course! Cause Gaston is his "favorite guy!"

Yes he is...

 

[ariane37]

August 12th Looking forward to it!! I was in my MDE account today to check on something and it hit me that tomorrow is two weeks for us!!! I'm overly excited because the boys will be with us and they haven't come since Nov. Happy you'll get to meet them even though if my Maryland meet up with Kari @kastoney last month was any indication, Christopher will basically act like you're wasting his time

So jealous of all your trips! Now that I've said how excited I am the kids are coming I'll say they get in the freakin' way of my Disney time lol. Trying to figure out when our next trip will be so I can get it in the books before our Aug. one is over! And the cruise is exciting, the more of them I book for clients the more I think I want to go on one..............

 

[Raeven]

It may be nothing to get too excited about. I think it's worth it to people without AP and don't' have Memory Maker as then they can download the pictures for free! It's too bad @KathyM2 is leaving today as this would have been perfect!

That's true, it probably isn't anything too different.

Yeah there's stuff happening all the time which I can't make either, but there is always next year!

I keep hoping they'll eventually have one of those Orlando Informer events while we're there!

Haha, everything! What rides should I go on first? We'll have the express pass from the hotel, but we don't really need to ride the HP rides since we have the event to do that, so I guess I can just focus on the non HP rides!

Hm the best rides in my opinion from each park excluding HP. And it doesn't really matter when you do them because EP will get you right on.

IOA: We generally skip Toon Lagoon because you get soaked on all the rides. We also generally skip the attractions in the Lost Continent section. Skull Island sometimes still has a bit of a wait even with EP, we both enjoy this one. Spiderman is amazing, lots of fun meet and greets in the Marvel area too. I just saw they opened a new little store for women's superhero merchandise too. I don't know if you like bigger roller coasters, I don't, but The Hulk is there too. You do get wet on Jurassic Park River Adventure, but I think that one's a lot of fun. If you go into the Discovery Center there's a weird game on the ground floor where you can put your faces on dinosaurs which is pretty hilarious to do once. In Seuss Landing the High in the Sky Trolley has a good view of everything. The Cat in the Hat ride is kind of outdated looking.

USO: Men In Black is a great ride, and you can go on it more than once in a row with your EP which we always want to do. If you ask them for the Immigration Floor Tour at the end you'll get to go down on the floor and take pictures with the aliens and stuff (you can see it in my USO TR), which is a lot of fun if you like the movies. Despicable Me Minion Mayhem is quite popular. I don't care for the minions so we've never been on it. Although no one really like Shrek 4-D and I do If you like roller coasters Rip Ride Rock It can be a little wait even with EP. Transformers is supposedly similar to Spiderman, but I rode Transformers once and it made me a little ill so I prefer Spiderman. For Jimmy Fallon you need to go in the app and basically reserve your time to go in kind of like FP on the day of. We're not crazy about the Simpsons area rides, but I've heard the QS there is good. There's also characters wandering around in a lot of different areas at USO. The KidZone we really only go in for E.T. If you like a tamer roller coaster there's Revenge of the Mummy, that's another popular one I'm not a fan of because of the G force. And finally the Horror Make Up Show is really fun, I also like the Terminator one it's a little outdated, but I like the Terminator movies.

Oh no, that sucks. I hear you on the flight prices. It used to be so cheap to fly to Orlando from Newark. I thought that would be the case this year too, but for some reason this year has been unreasonably higher in price. I've had to use miles and stuff for some flights which I don't normally use to FL because I know how cheap it can be. You can still get cheap flights but they are on days and times that won't work for us. So we're stuck with the higher prices for now. SAD.

Good luck on the Mardi Gras plans!

Yes! The flights were crazy expensive this year! I picked that weekend because we left the same weekend last year, and the prices were way higher. I know weekends aren't ideal days to fly, but we always fly in on a Friday and leave on a Sat or Sun and it's never usually that expensive. We would've paid for half of it in points, but it was so expensive that the points didn't even cover as much as usual. If I could fly out mid week I could make it work, but I don't have any more vacation time to do that with. It is sad!

Thanks I hope we get to go! I always think it looks so cool. We may not be renewing our Disney AP's next year or if we do not until right before a trip, but we will still have our USO AP's so we only have to worry about flights and hotels.

I saw that! I can't really change our August plans at this point so I can only add it in September, and we only really have time for one dinner. I'll have to see if this can work for us as it's a great deal, but with all the Food and Wine kiosks will we even have time for another sit down...not sure!

That's true I did see you don't have a lot of spare time in that trip. Not sure if we'll fit any of those in but I was looking at FF and Citricos before, so maybe one of those.

 

[soniam]

Haha I am basically doing ZERO planning for Universal, I am not even sure what to plan for. I figure we have the Express Pass and we may not even do the HP rides on the first day because we have the event at night. So we'll focus on everything else. Oh I went on RPR one time when it first opened and never again, that thing was soooo scary! On that ride video...Steve doubled over laughing because the entire video was of me cursing up a storm.
I did like how you could pick your own music though, that was cool,

Which Harry Potter restaurant should I go to? I went to Three Broomsticks once I think.
I'm definitely getting Frozen butter beer and since the event has unlimited butter beer I'm going to drink so much of it...I hope it's the frozen kind cos that's the kind I like most.

Oh, I've never done Rip Ride Rocket. I am way too chicken for that Sorry, I meant the hotel, Royal Pacific. We have stayed there a couple of times and really like it. I would only plan if you want to go to a restaurant that gets really busy and doesn't take reservations. Toothsome Chocolate Factory, for instance, can have really long waits; however, if you get there first thing at lunch, you can walk right in. If you download the Cowfish app, you can use it to get on their virtual waiting list from a half mile from the restaurant. We did it from Royal Pacific, and I think most of the park is within range. If you have done 3 Broomsticks, then I would do Leaky Cauldron. They are both good. I think it depends what you like most. Mmmm, frozen butter beer I like to add a shot of fire whiskey to my butter beer sometimes Try the ice cream shop in Diagon Alley; they sell soft serve butter beer ice cream. The shop behind it near the entrance to Knockturn Alley also sells it and butter beer. They tend to not get long lines. Take time to just enjoy the Potter areas. They are really amazing.

 

[franandaj]

Monday Oct 30th - We plan to arrive in the morning. We don't have any ADRs today yet. I wanted to book the The Hibachi Experience event at Teppan Edo but the last time I checked there was no availability. So I'll keep trying or just keep that day open for F&W booths. I think we'll try and do Epcot during the day and go to MK at night to watch HEA and it's also nighttime EMH. I think I'll make our FP+ for Epcot today. Hoping to meet @franandaj today too!

I'm looking forward to meeting up too! We have a Mediterranean lunch at 1PM so either before that or after 3PM when we get out.

 

[annie170]

So jealous of all of your upcoming trips! Really looking forward to reading about all of them!

I'm so sorry your poor little niece is dealing with anxiety. I'm also a Special Needs teacher, mainly mild learning disabilities, so I understand that too much knowledge thing. My oldest granddaughter, who is now eight, was a very nervous child from three until about six. She just kind of outgrew most of her anxiety issues and is more relaxed now. My oldest daughter, her mom, is a total type A personality. Perfectionist, over achiever, driven in all aspects of her life, etc. I often wondered if some of this was rubbing off on her. It's heartbreaking to see someone so young so worried and anxious. I really hope Eva enjoys herself this trip.

 

[Tracy161]

Yeah we're going to try our best. Today my niece had her church performance and she didn't even make it up on stage, but we all said it was "ok". My sister is also a Special Needs teacher so she's super paranoid about this kind of stuff, probably reading into it too much. But otherwise Eva was really happy we all came to her non-performance!

Awww, I can relate to this. I was in gymnastics very competitively for several years, but I froze up all the time and wouldn't eat for days before each competition because of my anxiety. I think the important thing to do is exactly what you all did - be encouraging but not forceful. Sounds like you all were the kind and loving family she needed My family had a restaurant for over 30 years and being a waitress through middle school, high school, and college was what finally forced me out of my shell and completely changed me into a much more outgoing person with far less anxiety. Maybe something will come along much sooner for your niece to help with her anxiety too But I wouldn't suggest she start waitressing for a few more years

 

[MeghanEmily]

Oh my goodness, the year of Disney continues, and it's glorious!!!

All your plans look amazing! Looks like others have already covered lots of Universal tips, but I'm so excited you're going and I hope you have an amazing time. So great that you get the HP event for those rides!! I prefer Three Broomsticks for HP restaurants, but either one is pretty good. Both HP restaurants are easily some of the best quick service in the park. Leaky Cauldron also has a decent breakfast. Thunder Falls Terrace is also decent for QS (not HP) and we like Mythos okay for TS. We did almost zero planning for the USO portion of our trip last time and found we didn't need to do any more. I love Disney and the intricate planning that goes into a trip, but not having to know where you'll be at every moment of the day was a nice change at USO.

Also, yay for our DisMeet!! Looking forward to meeting you and any of your crew that happens to be present!!

I wish I had more advice for the anxiety of your little one. I was a fairly anxious kid, but I didn't do things like that, and I'm not sure how my parents dealt with it on vacation. I typically didn't get as anxious on vacation because it was a fun break, but I can imagine how it might be really overwhelming and a scary break from routine. Hopefully she'll do well.

Also, I'm so excited for you going to PEI! The Island is so quaint and beautiful, and it really feels like you've stepped into a different world — the pace is much slower, people are a little friendlier, etc. We go every couple of years. It's about 30-40 minutes driving from Charlottetown to Cavendish where you'll find your "Anne" stuff, and I'm sure they have organized tours. Try some raspberry cordial for me!! And if you decide to hop off the boat in Halifax and are looking for a friendly face, let me know! I'll be in school in October, but I may be able to meet you depending on the day, etc.

@MeghanEmily I can't remember the rest of your days but hope we can do a drive by too lol. I think we are planning Epcot that morning and MK that night, but things could change lol. I can PM you my cell number too if you want.

Please do!! We can compare schedules/notes and find a time to say hello! Since I expect you'll have a Canadian cell # that's even better, since I've been operating mostly on FB for DisMeets with US friends.

 

[Dugette]

I'm just going to quote a couple other thoughts that express my thoughts on your plans:

You are my Disney life goals! So jealous of all the trips you have planned.

Oh my goodness, the year of Disney continues, and it's glorious!!!

What an amazing travel year!

 

[Simba22]

Annual Photopass Day sounds so cool! I always look forward to the special character photo ops during MNSSHP so I would love this event! Sounds super fun! Oh, and your spreadsheet is amazing! You guys are going to have a great time on your family trip. The family trip that I planned back in 2012 was fantastic - I wasn't sure how it was going to go since we everyone was at a different level of WDW experience, but it turned out great. And everyone was really appreciative of all of my planning, even though they admitted that at first they didn't understand what the point was. After the first day, they started to understand!

 

[cinderkelly]

OK I managed to get Victoria and Alberts on 11/3! This is literally the most expensive meal I've ever eaten.
But considering we did the 5k that morning, and it's our anniversary - think it's justified. Well, that's what I have to convince DH.

Totally the perfect excuse to spend copious amounts of money on dinner! How many years for you guys?

21 Days until August Family Trip at the Poly
43 Days until Universal Orlando (with a side of Yacht Club)
93 Days until Marvel Day at Sea on the Disney Magic (Canada Coast Cruise)
102 Days until our Anniversary, MNSSHP, F&W 5k Trip at the Grand Floridian & WDW Swan
139 Days until Holidays at WDW Dolphin (yeah I kinda snuck this trip in there...right now this is tentative)

Wowzers! I can't keep up with you guys.

August 19th is the 2nd Annual Photopass Day!

That sounds awesome!

I think I can survive park hopping the regular way (the horror!)

You've gotten so spoiled
I imagine the express bus is like staying Club level. You never want to go back to the old ways again! Ahh, the good life...

Orlando Informer Event the night of Sept 2nd where we get to ride all the major WWoHP rides with no lines! That sounds pretty cool. It also includes dinner and unlimited butterbeer.

I'm so jealous! Mmmmmm....Butterbeer.....

Senses spa - maybe a couples massage. I'll see if I want to spend the time and $$$

It may be cheaper to just fly me down and I will give you both massages instead.

Sanaa..because BREAD SERVICE seems like a good idea before our run.

Still haven't had this! And we were so close last time!

then we'll take one of those new Minnie Vans

Aren't they adorable?

since our first trip last year was pretty much that same time

I wish we were going back in December also, that was an awesome trip. And the weather was perfect!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Oh, I've never done Rip Ride Rocket. I am way too chicken for that Sorry, I meant the hotel, Royal Pacific. We have stayed there a couple of times and really like it. I would only plan if you want to go to a restaurant that gets really busy and doesn't take reservations. Toothsome Chocolate Factory, for instance, can have really long waits; however, if you get there first thing at lunch, you can walk right in. If you download the Cowfish app, you can use it to get on their virtual waiting list from a half mile from the restaurant. We did it from Royal Pacific, and I think most of the park is within range. If you have done 3 Broomsticks, then I would do Leaky Cauldron. They are both good. I think it depends what you like most. Mmmm, frozen butter beer I like to add a shot of fire whiskey to my butter beer sometimes Try the ice cream shop in Diagon Alley; they sell soft serve butter beer ice cream. The shop behind it near the entrance to Knockturn Alley also sells it and butter beer. They tend to not get long lines. Take time to just enjoy the Potter areas. They are really amazing.

Oh haha, I thought you meant that roller coaster at first...yes that thing is so scary. I can't believe I actually went on it. It's all Steve's fault, he insists I have to go on everything at least once but I could already tell by looking at it that I'd hate it and I did.

Toothsome and Cowfish both look great. I am not sure when we will get to eat there though. The orlando informer event includes dinner, although it's simple stuff like pasta and salad, although I heard we also get unlimited ice cream from that ice cream shop. Yay! I think we may try Leaky Cauldron for breakfast, and Toothsome for lunch, unless we have to had lunch in the park then maybe we'll go to Leaky Cauldron instead for lunch. I am getting excited about Universal. I do love Harry Potter but I guess the excitement for me kinda of died down after the last film and my obsession for Disney increased, but I remember I stayed at RPR back in 2010 and liked it a lot and now it's all renovated so it's probably even better.

I'm looking forward to meeting up too! We have a Mediterranean lunch at 1PM so either before that or after 3PM when we get out.

That sounds great! I will PM you my number closer to October!

So jealous of all of your upcoming trips! Really looking forward to reading about all of them!

I'm so sorry your poor little niece is dealing with anxiety. I'm also a Special Needs teacher, mainly mild learning disabilities, so I understand that too much knowledge thing. My oldest granddaughter, who is now eight, was a very nervous child from three until about six. She just kind of outgrew most of her anxiety issues and is more relaxed now. My oldest daughter, her mom, is a total type A personality. Perfectionist, over achiever, driven in all aspects of her life, etc. I often wondered if some of this was rubbing off on her. It's heartbreaking to see someone so young so worried and anxious. I really hope Eva enjoys herself this trip.

Thank you so much for the encouraging info! That is good to know, we're hoping Eva outgrows her anxiety issues eventually, and we'll do our best to make sure all the kids enjoy Disney! I have a feeling their favorite part of the trip will be...the resort kiddie pool, lol. I will do my best to calm the adults down too. Maybe a round of lapu lapus for everyone...

Awww, I can relate to this. I was in gymnastics very competitively for several years, but I froze up all the time and wouldn't eat for days before each competition because of my anxiety. I think the important thing to do is exactly what you all did - be encouraging but not forceful. Sounds like you all were the kind and loving family she needed My family had a restaurant for over 30 years and being a waitress through middle school, high school, and college was what finally forced me out of my shell and completely changed me into a much more outgoing person with far less anxiety. Maybe something will come along much sooner for your niece to help with her anxiety too But I wouldn't suggest she start waitressing for a few more years

Oh wow I would not have realized that about you! (The anxiety part, not the gymnast part! You look like you're athletic!)
That is great that being a waitress made you more outgoing, I really would not have known you had to go through that! I am sometimes a little shy myself but I when it comes to Disney, I don't hide it!
Thank you! I hope everyone has a great time! The pressure is on for me...

 

[chunkymonkey]

Oh my goodness, the year of Disney continues, and it's glorious!!!

Thank you! I am thoroughly looking forward to splurging this year before the Disney drought next year. (i.e. no annual passes)

All your plans look amazing! Looks like others have already covered lots of Universal tips, but I'm so excited you're going and I hope you have an amazing time. So great that you get the HP event for those rides!! I prefer Three Broomsticks for HP restaurants, but either one is pretty good. Both HP restaurants are easily some of the best quick service in the park. Leaky Cauldron also has a decent breakfast. Thunder Falls Terrace is also decent for QS (not HP) and we like Mythos okay for TS. We did almost zero planning for the USO portion of our trip last time and found we didn't need to do any more. I love Disney and the intricate planning that goes into a trip, but not having to know where you'll be at every moment of the day was a nice change at USO.

Thank you! I'll be sure to go to at least one of the HP restaurants! I do really like how USO doesn't need much planning at all. I think the express pass makes it easy too because you know you can use it on most of the rides and don't have to prebook like FP+

Also, yay for our DisMeet!! Looking forward to meeting you and any of your crew that happens to be present!!

YES! Really looking forward to meeting in person!!

I wish I had more advice for the anxiety of your little one. I was a fairly anxious kid, but I didn't do things like that, and I'm not sure how my parents dealt with it on vacation. I typically didn't get as anxious on vacation because it was a fun break, but I can imagine how it might be really overwhelming and a scary break from routine. Hopefully she'll do well.

We hope so too! Thank you! I think a new experience for everyone is a little daunting... but she talks about Disneyworld all the time and I think she's pretty excited to go, but I'm sure her idea of Disneyworld (princesses dancing on the street at the castle and everyone is dressed like royalty) and the reality (long lines, heat, crowds) could be vastly different.

Also, I'm so excited for you going to PEI! The Island is so quaint and beautiful, and it really feels like you've stepped into a different world — the pace is much slower, people are a little friendlier, etc. We go every couple of years. It's about 30-40 minutes driving from Charlottetown to Cavendish where you'll find your "Anne" stuff, and I'm sure they have organized tours. Try some raspberry cordial for me!! And if you decide to hop off the boat in Halifax and are looking for a friendly face, let me know! I'll be in school in October, but I may be able to meet you depending on the day, etc.

Eeeek I'm sooo excited about this! I booked EVERYONE on a private tour to the AoGG Heritage site. I don't care if my in laws have not heard a peep about AoGG, since I am doing the planning, they are coming too. Also the price for the car was the same if 2 people go or 5 so I guess they can choose to come or not, haha, but I will take the tour myself if I have to. Heehee. I'm definitely going to try some raspberry cordial!! And maybe some currant wine too...
Omg, do you live in Halifax? That sounds really awesome! Right now we're booked on some 6 hour tour to go eat lobster somewhere. I didn't know what else my in laws would like, but if there's a bit of time before we have to head back on the ship, I'd really love to see you! (I believe we're docked from 8:30am-4:45pm)

What an amazing travel year!

Thanks Dugette!! I think we are just missing each other in October too.
Someday we shall meet!

Annual Photopass Day sounds so cool! I always look forward to the special character photo ops during MNSSHP so I would love this event! Sounds super fun! Oh, and your spreadsheet is amazing! You guys are going to have a great time on your family trip. The family trip that I planned back in 2012 was fantastic - I wasn't sure how it was going to go since we everyone was at a different level of WDW experience, but it turned out great. And everyone was really appreciative of all of my planning, even though they admitted that at first they didn't understand what the point was. After the first day, they started to understand!

Thank you! I don't often do one so elaborate for myself and Steve but since this is a big endeavor and many moving parts I went ahead and dd a super-detailed one. Now my family can't say I didn't try my best, LOL. I'm so happy your family had so much fun! I'm really excited about it hope all goes smoothly.

Totally the perfect excuse to spend copious amounts of money on dinner! How many years for you guys?

9 years!!
Thanks! I'm glad you agree.

Wowzers! I can't keep up with you guys.

Yeah I think I've gone a bit insane this year...

You've gotten so spoiled
I imagine the express bus is like staying Club level. You never want to go back to the old ways again! Ahh, the good life...

I haven't stayed club level before but once I get there, I'm never coming back!! Unless I run out of money, which would make my stay very short. hahaha.

It may be cheaper to just fly me down and I will give you both massages instead.

That is a great idea, what's better, is how about you come a few weeks early from your trip...

Still haven't had this! And we were so close last time!

Yes! We didn't make it there either and we were at AKL.

Aren't they adorable?

Sooo cute!

I wish we were going back in December also, that was an awesome trip. And the weather was perfect!

That trip was wonderful! It was so fun hanging out and we got to experience MVMCP together! And yes the weather was really nice!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Hi Su-Lynn! Looks like we are going to miss you in November...I just booked November 5-7 at ASMo in between our time in St Pete. I just CANNOT be in Florida without getting a little bit of Disney magic in...

 

[chunkymonkey]

Hi Su-Lynn! Looks like we are going to miss you in November...I just booked November 5-7 at ASMo in between our time in St Pete. I just CANNOT be in Florida without getting a little bit of Disney magic in...

That's awesome! We are leaving on Nov 5th...maybe we can meet right when we leave and you arrive, LOL. Although I have not booked our flights yet (but I want an evening flight).

 

[Jenny Sanders]

That's awesome! We are leaving on Nov 5th...maybe we can meet right when we leave and you arrive, LOL. Although I have not booked our flights yet (but I want an evening flight).

We are planning on arriving by noon. We'd like to have lunch at Geyser Point. The menu looks awesome and WL in my absolute fav resort!!!! Let's see if we can make something happen! I would love to do a quick DIS meet!!!!!