I knew who I was this morning, but I've changed a few times since then.. (NOW A JUNE!) 2021 PTR (new update 5-31)

[kclark9830]

I'm glad you're doing a full day at Epcot as well! You know what's interesting, in our trips post-COVID Steve and I have found that we actually spend MORE time in some of the parks in a single day than we did before; specifically AK and Epcot. Not sure why other than that we go slower and feel absolutely no rush to be anywhere but it's very nice!

Yes,that is definitely what im hoping for!

 

[kclark9830]

I am here! Late to the party but here just in time for the real planning. Hopefully.


We were going to go then but we pushed our trip out to 2022, sadly.


The slow con is always the way to go with the DH's!


We aren't beach people either, and it always our problem with vacations. So many family trips are beach oriented... Which is why we usually end up at Disney!


That will be nice to be in Disney for her birthday. Even if there is no special event to do. Just being together will be so nice! Even just eating a favorite snack of hers or something?


Hey, whatever keeps them happy!



I would recommend Beaches and Cream even if you don't do mini golf. It is similar food to The Plaza, simple but good. And it is fun! It's a short walk from EPCOT IG. And a uber or lyft would be like $12 to get back. All cheaper than probably lunch at Le Cellier... Don't get me wrong I LOVE Le Cellier but from the sounds of it, B&C is up your family's alley.

That is a great point about b&c plus uber being less than Le Cellier. I do believe we would enjoy it!

 

[kclark9830]

Mini Trip Report Pigeon Forge/Dollywood

We are back from our Spring Break trip to Pigeon Forge with my mom and sister/niece and nephew. We had such a good trip, so I thought I'd share a teeny TR here in the middle of my PTR .

Day 1 was travel day. We left around noon and arrived around 6PM. Picked up a grocery order at WM pickup, then headed to our Air B and B.

Mom had booked a great little house right in the heart of Pigeon Forge. Like a horrible trip reporter I never took any pictures of the house.

Day 2 - Dollywood
We planned to "rope drop" Dollywood, which wouldn't be so bad at all because they don't open until 10. Unfortunately, plans mean very little to certain people in our travel group . I think it's clear I don't mean myself .

It was fine, though, and we arrived around 11. I had purchased Time Saver passes ahead of time, so I knew we'd be able to skip any lines that had built up at the bigger rides.




We headed straight to the kiddie coaster because it is Miles's favorite ride. It was a great way to start our day. Next we headed to the Wildwood Grove area and rode the rides there.



By the time we finished all these rides it was almost 2, and we were starving. We headed inside the Till and Harvest restaurant, which allows you to build your own protein bowl. It was pretty healthy for theme park food, and very tasty. We did have to wait in a LONG line there, even at 2.



I thought the light fixtures were so cool! (Sorry, I don't know why these are sideways)

After eating, we made our way around the park (it's kind of a big circle). We decided to ride the River Rampage, which is basically the same as Kali River Rapids in AK. This turned out to be the highlight of our trip because we got SOAKED, and it was freezing, and we couldn't stop laughing at our terrible luck.



We hit up a socially distanced show where we heard several of Dolly Parton's family members sing some of her songs. It was lovely. We finished our day at the Country Fair area so the kids could ride all the kiddie rides in quick succession before the park closed at 6PM. And of course we did some shopping on our way out.

Day 3 - Shopping at outlet stores then eating at Paula Deen's restaurant. We spent way too much money but had fun doing it. Then we ate at Paula Deen's restaurant, which was a fun experience because it's a unique venue...but the food was basically Cracker Barrell at twice the price . Glad we did it once but wouldn't do it again.





Day 4 - Came home. Unfortunately, Miles came home with a terrible rash. I dont know if he had an allergic reaction to the sunblock I used or if he picked up a virus at the park. We did all the "things" like hand sanitizer at each ride and washing hands, social distancing, and wearing masks. So I'm not sure what to think about it.

In regular life, Miles JUST had allergy testing last week because he always appears to have a cold and gets multiple sinus infections. They determined he does not have allergies. So might he still be allergic to his sun block? I have no idea. It does look better today so maybe it was just an allergic reaction, and he has no other symptoms.

He actually goes next week for immunology testing to see if he has a weak immune system. For anyone not aware of our family medical history, our children unfortunately do not have a great track record of superb health. This is very stressful for me.

On that train of thought, I've actually wondered from time to time if people wonder about all my "maskless" pictures. We absolutely DO follow all mask mandates and social distancing guidelines. (For instance, we wore our masks on our trip, but Dollywood does encourage guests to remove masks for a quick picture as long as you are socially distanced).

In fact, when the pandemic started and everyone was freaking out about making adjustments for isolating and masks and sanitizing, we kind of chuckled. Not literally, of course, but we couldn't ignore the obvious similarity between pandemic living and what our lives were like for years prior. I don't mean the pandemic is amusing. Please know I do NOT mean that. But we have lived in medical bubble-ness for years. We are well adjusted to this world, and the pandemic felt not-so-different for us in almost every way.

So we are very comfortable continuing to live our lives in the midst of a pandemic. We had to learn to adjust a long time ago or our lives would have been at a standstill years ago for many years straight. Does that make sense?

Anywho, I'm sure no one really cares to know all that . I still want to lay out our MK plans for our last park day on our upcoming June trip, and only a week and a half until I can make ADR's! I'll be back soon! TTFN!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Your mini trip sounded nice!

Day 4 - Came home. Unfortunately, Miles came home with a terrible rash. I dont know if he had an allergic reaction to the sunblock I used or if he picked up a virus at the park. We did all the "things" like hand sanitizer at each ride and washing hands, social distancing, and wearing masks. So I'm not sure what to think about it.

Oh no! I hate the world we live in now! Every little thing is now 5 time more paranoid / scary! It sounds like it might be suncreen? Sometimes you just never know! Which is even worse sometimes.

He actually goes next week for immunology testing to see if he has a weak immune system. For anyone not aware of our family medical history, our children unfortunately do not have a great track record of superb health. This is very stressful for me.

Fingers Crossed for you! I can't even imagine how stressful that must be.

bvious similarity between pandemic living and what our lives were like for years prior. I don't mean the pandemic is amusing. Please know I do NOT mean that. But we have lived in medical bubble-ness for years. We are well adjusted to this world, and the pandemic felt not-so-different for us in almost every way.

I always think people in China think the same thing. They are so must more used to masks.

 

[kclark9830]

Your mini trip sounded nice!


Oh no! I hate the world we live in now! Every little thing is now 5 time more paranoid / scary! It sounds like it might be suncreen? Sometimes you just never know! Which is even worse sometimes.

Isn't that the truth! Hopefully we can get some answers soon.

 

[kclark9830]

A couple updates to talk about!

1. My parents have decided to come along on this trip. They're staying at Coronado Springs, and will be joining us for 3 park days (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday)!

2. Micheal announced very unexpectedly that he wants to fly rather than drive. Prices are high in our area right now, so we might still drive. But im stalking the prices daily to see if they come down any, and if they do we will be flying instead of driving!

Day 5 - Magic Kingdom pt 2

This will be our 2nd MK day, and our last park day overall (boo!). The plan all around is to take it slow. We want to do:

* advenureland
* frontierland
* liberty Square
* the left side of fantasy land
* Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern??? We've never eaten here and I'm strongly considering it

There are only a couple things considered must-do's, so we'll take the day as it comes. We do plan to be there for opening. No plans for a midday break. We will probably stay until we're "done" then go back to the resort for R&R before packing up for departure the following day.

Next Wednesday is my ADR day. I'm going to attempt making the following ressies, though I may not keep them all.

* Monday at lunch - The Plaza Restaurant
* Tuesday at lunch - Rainforest Cafe @ AK
* Wednesday at lunch - Beaches & Cream
* Wednesday at supper - Chefs de France
* Friday at lunch - Liberty Tree Tavern

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Day 5 - Magic Kingdom pt 2

This will be our 2nd MK day, and our last park day overall (boo!). The plan all around is to take it slow. We want to do:

* advenureland
* frontierland
* liberty Square
* the left side of fantasy land
* Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern??? We've never eaten here and I'm strongly considering it

There are only a couple things considered must-do's, so we'll take the day as it comes. We do plan to be there for opening. No plans for a midday break. We will probably stay until we're "done" then go back to the resort for R&R before packing up for departure the following day.

At first, I thought you were going to list all the lands at the Magic Kingdom, a la Stacy's 7 Must Do's where she lists the 4 main parks, the 2 water parks, and Disney Springs.

Next Wednesday is my ADR day. I'm going to attempt making the following ressies, though I may not keep them all.

* Monday at lunch - The Plaza Restaurant
* Tuesday at lunch - Rainforest Cafe @ AK
* Wednesday at lunch - Beaches & Cream
* Wednesday at supper - Chefs de France
* Friday at lunch - Liberty Tree Tavern

Those look like nice choices! I love Beaches & Cream!

 

[kclark9830]

Some Dinings Rezzies Set Up

Well, our ADR day finally arrived. I am mostly happy with how everything turned out. It did take some extra finagling, a little more effort than in past years, but it seems like I did pretty good compared to other reports I've read .

Heres what I ended up with:

*The Plaza @ 2pm Monday
*Rainforest Cafe @ 12:30pm Tues
*Via Napoli @ 1pm Wednesday (after considering my parents would be with us this day, and they would have zero interest in diner type food, I decided this was a better choice than Beaches & Cream)
*Sci Fi Dine In @ 2:20pm Thursday (honestly doubtful I'll keep this one, but I haven't decided 100% yet)
*Liberty Tree Tavern @ 1pm Friday

Our meals at the Plaza and Sci Fi are pretty late for what I was wanting, especially The Plaza, as we were wanting to be out of MK around 1PM, and this will put us there until around 3. I'll keep trying to adjust both of these to either an earlier time or a supper rez. We will see! Sci Fi Dine In has become a sort of tradition, kind of like the Rainforest Cafe at AK...so I might not be able to get off the hook for that one! I also decided to forgo Chefs de France. We've just eaten there the once, back in 2016, and it was soooo good. But with us eating lunch at Via Napoli, I want to do a QS supper (hopefully at Regal Eagle ...I may be unnecessarily hung up on that).

 

[CruellaNY]

I was wondering how dining went for you! Glad you got mostly what you wanted; it's been a mess lately. I get you on Regal Eagle lol. For whatever reason I was really wanting to eat there so we did in November. It was good don't get me wrong and the boys enjoyed it! I don't know why I NEEDED to eat there but I did and now I can say I knocked it off my list! It smells soooooo good when you walk by

 

[kclark9830]

I was wondering how dining went for you! Glad you got mostly what you wanted; it's been a mess lately. I get you on Regal Eagle lol. For whatever reason I was really wanting to eat there so we did in November. It was good don't get me wrong and the boys enjoyed it! I don't know why I NEEDED to eat there but I did and now I can say I knocked it off my list! It smells soooooo good when you walk by

I guess I just really love bbq ! And yes, I'm definitely happy with how it all went. No complaints!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

1. My parents have decided to come along on this trip. They're staying at Coronado Springs, and will be joining us for 3 park days (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday)!

Yeah! That will be fun!!

2. Micheal announced very unexpectedly that he wants to fly rather than drive. Prices are high in our area right now, so we might still drive. But im stalking the prices daily to see if they come down any, and if they do we will be flying instead of driving!

Ha! maybe you can add a day if you fly?!?! Sorry, this is how I think....

Via Napoli @ 1pm Wednesday (after considering my parents would be with us this day, and they would have zero interest in diner type food, I decided this was a better choice than Beaches & Cream)

Bummer, but you can't go wrong with Via Napoli.

Liberty Tree Tavern @ 1pm Friday

I hope you can keep it. We were pleasantly surprised when we went for lunch.

I want to do a QS supper (hopefully at Regal Eagle ...I may be unnecessarily hung up on that).

I hope you do! I want to hear how you like it. It will def be on our list when we go again.

 

[kclark9830]

Moving & Shaking

We're moving right along in our countdown to WDW! 50 days until we leave our house!

We've made some minor adjustments here and there, including I decided to buy MB's after all, because I'm worried the batteries won't work on our old ones, for things like on-ride pics...because we've decided to get Memory Maker! I had no interest in doing this until Disney relaxed mask rules for stationary pictures. Now my Mom and I are splitting the cost. I'm very excited about this!



Moving on to ADR's, I was able to adjust our Plaza rez on Monday (our 1st MK day) from 2PM to 12:25, so I'm very happy about this.

I'm still wondering if FP+ might show back up before our trip. I've gotten this screen on MDE for 2 days straight now. However, when I click the link it takes me to the "Know Before You Go" page. Could be nothing, but we will see!



In real life news, we now have bunnies. So there's that. One is named Thumper, obviously. I tried for Judy Hops for the other one, but Miles named it Fuzzy Jeans.



II'll be honest, it's been hard to get excited for this trip, for me. I keep thinking about how much I was looking forward to going to Alaska in what would have been less than 6 weeks. It's not like Alaska is going anywhere, but I was so excited about that trip. Maybe next year.

 

[WishesQueen]

Hi Katie! Just bopped in to say that we'll be there June 7-13!! I like finding people with the same dates, ha ha. SO excited to go back--we were last there in August of 2017. Love your pictures, by the way, that little baby is beyond precious. Hope your day is good Dana

Hey Katie and AliceNDinah my dates are close to the same June 6th to June 11th. We were there with our adults kids in October but this trip is just us celebrating our 30th anniversary.

Agreed....its fun waiting with people with the same dates....or close to the same.

 

[kclark9830]

Hey Katie and AliceNDinah my dates are close to the same June 6th to June 11th. We were there with our adults kids in October but this trip is just us celebrating our 30th anniversary.

Agreed....its fun waiting with people with the same dates....or close to the same.

Yes, for some reason theres just a nice feeling of commeradrie.

 

[AliceNDinah]

Yes, for some reason theres just a nice feeling of commeradrie.

Agreed! Like we're all in it together! Getting close now, yay!!!

 

[WishesQueen]

Yes, for some reason theres just a nice feeling of commeradrie.

Agreed! Like we're all in it together! Getting close now, yay!!!

I am looking forward to taking pictures without masks this trip. I love the positivity on the Fastpass return but I think its going to return with a price tag

Did you guys get your dining you wanted? I was so stressed because October was a nightmare, but I did good this time around. I think its because these reservations were only for 2.

I personally was hoping for some fireworks to return by then. In October I didn't think I would miss them and to be honest we totally did.

Have either of you been there since Covid? If you have questions or tips I would totally be interested.

 

[AliceNDinah]

I am looking forward to taking pictures without masks this trip. I love the positivity on the Fastpass return but I think its going to return with a price tag

Did you guys get your dining you wanted? I was so stressed because October was a nightmare, but I did good this time around. I think its because these reservations were only for 2.

I personally was hoping for some fireworks to return by then. In October I didn't think I would miss them and to be honest we totally did.

Have either of you been there since Covid? If you have questions or tips I would totally be interested.

Yes, definitely pictures without masks!!! I wish there would be Fastpass too; I guess we'll have to make the best of it.
As for dining, I got MOST of the ones I wanted: I'm still on the hunt for an Oga's reservation for June 11th. That was my first pick, then I struggled to get Beaches & Cream, and FINALLY got one for the night before we leave. That was really a tough one! I was lucky to snare one for Homecomin' as well; we've never been there.

I personally haven't been to the World since August of 2017....I'm excited to be back in that bubble!
Counting down the days, can't believe we're getting so close, yay!

 

[WishesQueen]

Yes, definitely pictures without masks!!! I wish there would be Fastpass too; I guess we'll have to make the best of it.
As for dining, I got MOST of the ones I wanted: I'm still on the hunt for an Oga's reservation for June 11th. That was my first pick, then I struggled to get Beaches & Cream, and FINALLY got one for the night before we leave. That was really a tough one! I was lucky to snare one for Homecomin' as well; we've never been there.

I personally haven't been to the World since August of 2017....I'm excited to be back in that bubble!
Counting down the days, can't believe we're getting so close, yay!

Its not horrible without Fastpasses, everyone is in the same boat and sometimes there are no lines later in the day for the popular rides.

I got Cali Grill, The Wave, Le Cellier, Toppolino's Terrace & Wine Bar George. The last two are new to us and we haven't been to Le Cellier in years, because we always end up at Yachtsman Steakhouse but it hasn't opened yet. Just trying to make it a special anniversary trip.

Homecomin is FANTASTIC, I am a pretty healthy eater and I just let myself enjoy all the fried goodness there. We have Olga's for the first time and I've never been to Beaches & Cream. My DD is lactose intolerant so we always avoided it and even though she isn't coming this time I still forgot about it....lol

Have you heard of touring plans? If you go on there website you can put 2 restaurant choices you want on a specific date and time and they'll text you if they find them. You have to be quick and hit the text that will lead you into mydisneyplans and you can scoop up the reservation. If you miss it, you have to go back to the touring plans website and start it up again because it thinks it found it for you. Its for free even if you have don't have a membership there, you just have to make an account. It already found me a breakfast I was looking for and a later dinner at Le Cellier. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[AliceNDinah]

Its not horrible without Fastpasses, everyone is in the same boat and sometimes there are no lines later in the day for the popular rides.

I got Cali Grill, The Wave, Le Cellier, Toppolino's Terrace & Wine Bar George. The last two are new to us and we haven't been to Le Cellier in years, because we always end up at Yachtsman Steakhouse but it hasn't opened yet. Just trying to make it a special anniversary trip.

Homecomin is FANTASTIC, I am a pretty healthy eater and I just let myself enjoy all the fried goodness there. We have Olga's for the first time and I've never been to Beaches & Cream. My DD is lactose intolerant so we always avoided it and even though she isn't coming this time I still forgot about it....lol

Have you heard of touring plans? If you go on there website you can put 2 restaurant choices you want on a specific date and time and they'll text you if they find them. You have to be quick and hit the text that will lead you into mydisneyplans and you can scoop up the reservation. If you miss it, you have to go back to the touring plans website and start it up again because it thinks it found it for you. Its for free even if you have don't have a membership there, you just have to make an account. It already found me a breakfast I was looking for and a later dinner at Le Cellier. Let me know if you have any questions.

Ooooh, I tried for Le Cellier, couldn't do it....so many good places were just snapped up it seems. Ah well....We are doing Homecomin on our arrival day, yay! That was sort of a big one to snag too.
Oh yes, I'm on the touring plans website, I put in for Oga's, but so far haven't heard anything. Who knows, still have some time, I guess. Thanks for your nice reply!

 

[kclark9830]

I haven't been since covid. It's actually been since fall of 2018 for us! I am disappointed in not having fireworks, but it's not a huge thing for me for sure.

We did well on getting the dining we were going for, thankfully!