Sitting here waiting on hubs to get home and decided to update the report.
He has been in North Dakota on work assignment the past three weeks.
He will be home tonight ‘til Tuesday then head to Kentucky for a few more weeks.
I loathed having him gone this long, however we have known about this assignment for about six months.
He didn’t want to leave because he thinks I’m helpless. In many ways I am. Particularly when it comes to bugs, critters –
things like that. Thankfully, no big issues arose on the home front.
Except the day I was wearing flip flops and a praying mantis landed on my foot.
A slight meltdown ensued, but I survived.
I feel I’m failing at getting him involved with the trip. Most times he acts like he doesn’t care about the details –he just wants me to tell him where to show up and when. I’ve tried talking to him about the plans, but he seems bored with it.
However, ever so often he will ask random question that make me think I’m not giving him enough information.For example, the other day he asked “Do we have plans for the first day?”
Wait.
What??
Of course we have plans. It’s Disney World.
That’s not what I said, by the way. That’s just what I was thinking in my head.
I explained - yes we have plans. At Disney world there is always a “plan.” That’s the way I roll.
I never plan “rest” days - not even during my longest stay which was nine days. Sure, there are “rest” moments and “rest” hours, but no such thing as rest DAYS.
So if you can think of something I can do to get him involved without totally boring him, send your thoughts my way.
Other than that, things are on and popping in these parts!!
Magic Bands arrived today. Woot!
Tried on my Dumbo slider – and love it!
I want a Mickey one now, but will wait and get it at the parks.
No point paying for shipping with just 23 days to go. Double woot!
Admittedly, I don’t like the Magic Bandits at all.
They don’t fit flush to the band and look as if they will fall off with any swift movement.
Epic fail, Disney. Epic fail!
In the meantime, I have been busy shopping for more vacation merch.
I know I said I only needed a few things …
Jansport Big Student Backpack
I’m a little worried about this because it delivers 9/18 and we leave for an overnight stay near the airport on the 23rd. Hopefully, there is no delay …
I also ordered the locking backs for my trading pins (that I don’t actually trade.)
The first time I looked on Amazon they were $7.99 for 12 backs and I need way more than 12.
I couldn’t stomach the thought of paying $16+ dollars for the things (I’m cheap like that), so someone suggested the craft store, Michael’s.
Well, the one and only time I went to a Michael’s was a total waste of time.
It was back to the drawing board ...
Looked them up on Amazon a second time and they were $5.99. I gave in and added them to the cart.
They should be here next week.
I bought shoes, too.
You know, in past trips to Disney World I don’t think I thought so much about finding a comfortable pair of shoes. I just wore what I had. In retrospect, I was younger and realize after 40, my body’s needs have changed. Can’t just walk around all day in just any old shoe ...
I have a pair of Skechers flip flops I’ve worn the past few summers.
They are very comfortable ...
BUT … a few months ago I was wearing them and was caught in a rain storm.
That is when I realized how dangerous they can be.
Plastic type shoes with no strap on the back = danger when it rains.
My feet were sliding all over the place. I ended up taking them off and walking barefoot (eww)
because I was afraid of twisting a knee, or ankle.
Decided I definitely need different shoes for Disney.
We all know how it likes to suddenly start raining in the afternoon in Orlando …
A friend has plantar fasciitis and buys “special” shoes. She wears the cutest, most comfortable looking sandals in the summer. Soon after my plastic shoe-verses-the rain incident, I asked her for a recommendation on a brand. She said her doctor recommends Merrell.
I looked them up online and they were upwards of $70.
Uhhhhhhmmmmm … No!
Then I remembered the store in town. DSW sells name brand shoes at a discounted price.
Oh my gosh! Name brand shoes are so expensive!!
Sure, I have a few pair of Skechers and a pair of Rocket Dogs, but I’m certain I didn’t pay $70+ for ‘em.
I must have walked the sandal aisle at DSW ten times.
(Apparently, this is a bad time to purchase sandals in these parts, because the pickings were slim.)
BUT … I found a pair of Merrells that were 30% off!!
They were $43 -ish.
I put them on and walked the aisle a bit. Super comfortable.
BUT ...
As you can see, they are brown. I need black shoes, too.
They didn't have them in black. Booo!!!!! Ladies: black goes with everything, right?
I visitited a few other stores.
Slim pickings. BUT ...
I fell in love with the brand Teva.
I thought Merrell was out of my price range. Well, Teva is out of this world out of my price range.
BUT ... that didn’t stop me from looking online.
Found these on Amazon - also in the $40 range.
I can work with that!
I think my shopping is finally done. I think …
Oh, I forgot one more thing I purchased this week.
Memory Maker.
I hadn’t planned on getting it because again, way out of the (cheapskate) budget.
I know they don’t like us to talk about it here, so let me just tell you this …
My “friends and family” got in on MM for about $30 each …
The hubs made it home late Friday night. Yay! It put me in a good mood, so Saturday morning I went shopping at Goodwill.
I found this Belle shirt I thought would be perfect to wear to breakfast at Be Our Guest, but it didn’t fit right so I left it.
I also found a really cute Mickey tee that fits just fine.
It will be too hot for Florida, so I will sport it the day before we leave. We are flying out of Indianapolis and spending the night there.
Speaking of which, I had a horrible time finding a hotel near the airport. I booked a “Park, Sleep, Fly” package at Ramada then
got an email a few days later saying they would not be able to accommodate us. It ticked me off, but I’m grateful they didn’t wait
until the day before the reservation, or something like that. I literally checked seven different properties trying to find one that
would allow us to leave our car there for the week. I’ve never had a problem finding a package like that, but not this time.
The main problem I ran into was the shuttle to the airport does not run 24 hours. Most started at 5:00AM and with a 6:30 flight,
that’s way too late to leave for the airport. I’m fairly sure the Southwest counter doesn’t open until 5, but I don’t want to leave the hotel at 5,
I want to be there at 5. When it was all said and done I decided we will just drive to the airport and pay park there.
Look what else I found at Goodwill.
Disney movies on VHS!! They were 99 cents each.
I knew we had a VCR in the attic, so I scooped them up with the quickness. I don’t watch Disney movies,
so the only one of these I have ever seen is Mary Poppins. The Snow White movie sparked a good conversation with hubs
in which I got to tell him all about Seven Dwarves Mine Train and showed it to him on YouTube. He was actually excited and totally
intrigued when I told him SDMT is one of the most coveted fast-passes in the World. He was shocked when I told him I couldn’t
get one at 60 days out. I did eventually get it, but it took some serious stalking on MDE.
If you recall, I don’t like to go in the attic by myself because bats, so when I got home with the tapes I took the man up there
with me to find the VCR. A few hours later we were watching Mary Poppins. We enjoyed some wine and eventually turned the
movie off so we could learn the lyrics to 'A Pirates Life for Me.'
Drinking leads to odd decisions.
Interestingly enough, the only part of the song we memorized aside from the chorus is “we pillage, we plunder.”
While in the attic I found my PassPorter from 2006. For those who don’t know about PassPorter, let me tell you –it’s a planner’s dream.
It’s described as a travel guide, planner, organizer, journal in one.
When I went to Barnes and Noble to buy one for this trip they didn’t have it in stock. They ordered it for me and I was a
little disappointed when I went back to pick it up. Gone was the leather bound cover that made it look so professional.
Now it’s just a regular looking book on the outside. The contents are mostly the same though, so I’ll get over it.
But they could have at least made the updated versions so that the pages come out and could be put into the leather cover, but nooooooo …
Here’s a page I thoroughly enjoyed seeing and reading.
We actually made it to all of those ADR’s except for one. I don’t recall why we blew off Liberty Tree Tavern. It's written down
in a journal somewhere in the attic. I’m just too chicken to spend a decent amount of time up there to find it.
AnyWho – not only did I find the PassPorter I found a treasure trove of other Disney related - goodies.
It is in these times I am proud of myself for being a hoarder. But I’m not like the hoarders you see on television.
I’m a semi-organized hoarder
The hubs cannot wrap his head around why I have Disney restaurant receipts from eleven years ago.
I remember the Cobb salad and grapefruit cake at Hollywood Brown Derby being super delish!
I've mentioned it before - Fulton's was my favorite restaurant on property. Our meals were always excellent.
The pressed pot coffee at Kona was the best!
I was on the fence about Memory Maker because most of my Disney pictures ended up in storage. However, if my ex and I were still together many of them would be displayed around the house I guess. While I complain about the cost of Memory Maker, I am certain we spent well over $100 for these photo packages.
As you can see, I amateurishly erased my ex- husband’s face from the pictures. Not because I hate him, but because he doesn’t need to be all up in my trip report.
I have plenty of other stuff to share in future posts. Gives me something to do for the next three weeks.
I think the receipts survived because they were tucked away in the PassPoter. The attic doesn't have a heating/cooling system so during summer it's extremely hot and extremely cold in winter. Imagine my surprise when I pulled my high school yearbook from up there to find every hand written note inside it had disappeared.
Hey friends. 19 days!!
Look what I found - an old school Magic Band circa 1999.
Last night we watched Toy Story on VHS. I was disappointed it took twenty years for me to take interest in that movie.
It was so stinkin’ cute! I do not know why I have it in my brain that I don’t like kid movies because the few I have watched I enjoyed.
Speaking of, up until a few days ago I was convinced there is no reason to ride Frozen Ever After. I’ve never seen the movie and don’t care.
Or so I thought.
I have of course heard “Let it Go” and have general knowledge of the characters – just didn’t want to deal with the hassle of
trying to get a FP or stand in a ridiculously long line. Well ... I was listening to Sorcerer Radio and “Let it Go” came on –
sang by the Voices of Liberty from the American Adventure in Epcot. Oh my gosh, it was so beautiful!
Guess who wants to ride Frozen Ever After? This girl.
I won’t wait more than 30 minutes for it though if we can’t get a FP. The two days we are at Epcot we have FP for Soarin’ and Test Track,
which knocks us out of the running for a FEA FP. Pardon my language, but the tiered system sucks!
The next best thing is jump in line as soon as it opens. We will see …
Our ADR’s have changed as well. I nixed Flying Fish and changed it to Jiko because of a thread I read in the dining forum.
A lot of folks seem to really love that place, so now I want to try it. Interestingly enough, looking through my planning spreadsheet
from 2006 I see where I had Jiko scheduled then scrapped it for Portobello’s Yacht Club.
Probably because of something I read in the dining forum …
Animal Kingdom Lodge is beautiful though, and I think having dinner there our first night will be romantic.
I really want hubs to see it too – that and Wilderness Lodge.
On a side note - When I stayed at AKL back in the day we ate at Boma. According to my trip report, I started with a plate of the African
inspired selections and they set my stomach on fire. I ended up going back to the buffet for less adventurous items, like mac and cheese.
I also recall being put off because they did not have straws. Our server said they were afraid guests would throw them in the savannah
and put the animals at risk. I loathe putting my lips on restaurant glasses. Since that time, I believe they now have cardboard/paper type
straws at the lodge.
For our first day in the World we plan to go to Epcot early afternoon and use snack credits at Food and Wine. I decided to make a game of it. When I showed hubs the game he just shook his head.
I said “What?”
His response - “I don’t know whether to call you child-like or creative.”
I said “Doesn’t matter to me, I’m not offended by either.”
Any-who – some of you may be old enough to remember a game we use to play as kids in which we folded a piece of paper into multiple triangles. We could then slide our fingers into the bottom and move the paper back and forth like a mouth – as if the mouth were speaking.
I wanted to make one of those but had no idea what it was called in order to search for it on the Net. I asked a few people – using hand motions to demonstrate what I was trying to communicate. Everyone knew exactly what I was talking about, but no one knew the name.
Finally, after a few stab in the dark searches on YouTube, I found it.
Do you remember these? Apparently, it is referred to as a “Paper Fortune Teller” or Paku Paku and is a form of Origami.
In case you have never seen this, what you do to start the game is have the person you are playing with pick a number. Then you open and close the fortune teller that number of times. The fortune teller ends up in the open position in which there are categories inside from which to choose.
In this particular case, the categories are the names of the countries featured at Food and Wine Festival. When the category is revealed it lists the name of the items on that country’s menu.
Here’s a picture, but don’t laugh because it’s sloppy. It was my first try at making one and I messed up and put numbers on the inside.
I plan to make fancier ones on the plane ride to Orlando. Of course I will need to make several of them because of the number of booths.
Not all booths will be represented though because some of the menus I don’t care for much.
Hubs and I played a few practice rounds and he was excited to choose the lamb T-bone from Australia.
I think he’s going to like this game after all ...
For the first round we get to select whatever food item we want without using the fortune teller. (I’m eyeing the loaded mac and cheese, the filet from Le Cellier, or the piggy wings. Decisions. Decisions. )
From there we use the fortune teller only.
We have to be careful as to not overeat. Our ADR at Jiko is set for 6:20 ...
Over the past weeks, I composed this pre-trip report to include memories and rants and all sorts of whimsical stories. Today I begin with an offering of prayer to the victims and families of those affected by the hurricanes. As I type the words below, and the ones that came days and weeks before, I realize nothing I have been through compares to the devastation caused by those storms. I am grateful for the tangible memories I have from the past, unlike many who have seen everything they know and love obliterated. Prayers, prayed and praying … *****************************************************************************************************************
All items I ordered online since the last time I was here have arrived. They include the backpack that wasn’t scheduled
to deliver until the 18th. Thanks, Amazon!
Within hours of delivery, I began the project of transferring my trading pins from a lanyard to my new backpack.
I had searched the forum to find an effective solution for making sure the pins would not fall off the bag. If you
have Disney pins then you know the plastic backs they come with aren’t worth a darn. The “Original Pin Saver” backings
came highly recommend by the folks on the forum, as well as the folks on Amazon.
I was intrigued by an Amazon review in which the buyer explained the importance of making sure to have a great deal
of patience while working with the Pin Saver product. The reviewer said to lock yourself alone in a room.
I now understand why such specific advice was given.
Those things are tiny … and I mean tiny. Within just a few minutes I had already lost a few. It literally took two hours
to secure 15 pins to my backpack. The trick is using a small Allen wrench to place a tiny locking screw into the Pin Saver,
while balancing both on the pin post.
The process would have been simpler if I was applying the pins to a lanyard, but I was working from the pocket of a backpack.
That meant balancing those tiny items while folding the backpack inside out at the same time. GAH – so frustrating!!
Here’s the thing. I don’t fix stuff.
I don’t craft.
I don’t make things.
So a process like this for someone like me was downright aggravating. The tiny screw kept falling into the pocket of the backpack
and I would have to fish for it. At some point I dropped that tiny little wrench and couldn’t find it …
Our house has super dark hardwood floors and I eventually found that little sucker literally camouflaged into the floor. Literally!
I don’t know which Allen that wrench was named for, all I can say is I didn’t like Allen very much at all!
My backpack looks cute, though. The pins are secured nicely and not going anywhere without a force.
My new Teva sandals showed up, too. I wore them on a walk yesterday and - I don’t know.
They aren’t nearly as comfortable as the Merrell’s.
The best way to describe the difference in the way they feel is with the Teva’s, the soles of my feet feel
as though they are sitting on a cork or foam board. Rough. With the Merrell’s, my soles feel like they are sitting on a soft,
bear skin rug. I explained this to my friend – the one who made the recommendation for which brand to buy.
She said the Teva’s are more of a hiking-style sandal and that I would get used to it. I hope so!
But, hey - first world problem.
In the meantime, I’m still busy being influenced by topics I read on the forums, the Unofficial Guide and see on YouTube. The latest: The theme in the lobby at Port Orleans French Quarter inspired some of the background themes of the movie “The Princess and the Frog.”
Well … since we are residing at POFQ this trip … and I have never seen the movie “The Princess and the Frog” …
Guess who bought the “The Princess and the Frog” movie?
Guess who also bought the “Frozen” movie?
And then - this morning I got the wild idea to swap our Test Track fast pass for Frozen Ever After.
It happened after reading advice from the Unofficial Guide - which I have read more intently than ever, by the way.
I usually just skip around to the sections that interest me, but seeing as how I have extra time on my hands …
I still haven’t heard back about that job interview, by the way …
According to one of the strategies from the Unofficial Guide, guests should fast pass Frozen Ever After because
the limited availability of same-day FP for that ride. It goes on to suggest heading to Test Track immediately after
because of Test Track’s single rider line. That’s the thing about Touring Plans and the Unofficial Guide.
Their recommendations are multi-leveled and based on factors such as whether there are children in the group, the number of days
you plan to visit the park – things like that.
After a few attempts at swapping TT for FEA – which FEA was not available at all by the way, I decided to come back
and read about it here at DIS.
Here’s the thing. I have always loved every aspect of planning a trip to WDW - up until the time of reserving fast passes for this trip.
At 60 days out I still had only a vague understanding of what I was doing.
How can I determine 60 days in advance where we will be at any given moment in the parks?
I’ve never planned a trip to this level of detail - and I’ve planned some activity-heavy trips in the past.
Therefore, when it was time to make FP reservations, I just winged it because there was just too much information.
I guess I didn’t put enough thought into the logistical difficulty of scheduling a FP in advance.
You have to consider - I haven’t been to the World since the days when FP was dispensed from a machine the day of. My planning strategy was always as simple as: We are going to this park on this day … This restaurant on this day … This show on that day, etc.
Everything else just fell within that basic strategy.
This time, I went as far as using the Touring Plans site to create a customized tour.
The first touring plan I created was for Magic Kingdom with an 8:00 ADR at Be Our Guest.
But it had us trapeze-ing all over the park. It literally made no sense.
Why in the heck would we leave BOG in Fantasyland, without riding any of the rides, and head to Liberty Square? Why?
So I scrapped the whole customized touring plan thing and reserved FP based on what seemed to make the most logistical sense.
Now that I understand the system a wee bit better, I see where I made a few mistakes. It’s okay though – there’s still time to fix it.
Seventeen days!!!
From what I gathered here, a good strategy for FEA is to get in line between 9 and 11. The idea being FP at this ride doesn’t start
until 11 and therefore we will not be competing with the folks in the standby line AND the folks in the FP line.
It was not the only strategy offered for conquering this ride. It was the one for me that makes the most sense.
From here I need to see if I can push our 9:05 FP for TT back a little bit. Again – first world problems.
Whew! That was a lot.
On that note – how about a blast from the past.
When ADR's were easier to get and the handouts at the hotel made everything seem so simple ...
Or when WDW travel offered vacation packages that came with vouchers to watch fireworks from preferred viewing areas - instead
of making us pay extra for dessert parties.
Or - a time shortly before the trip I arranged for Mickey to call my ex-husband to say good morning.
Too cute!!
Hey Friends! We’re in the single digits!!
Check out these cute countdown templates I found on Pinterest. Printed on thick stock paper - they turned out great!
All of a sudden I feel like we’re not prepared. Seriously! Does this ever happen to you? After months of planning I feel I have forgotten something. Time to make some lists - A list of items to pack and a list of things I still need to get done. Hope it helps. Yikes!
At the same time, other things are really coming together. The MDE app is far more useful now that we are closer to the trip. In the past I was only using it for FP+, ADR’s and restaurant menus. The last few days I found myself using it to search wait times, Photopass locations, etc.
Speaking of wait times – got an email from Touring Plans on the 12th with updated crowd calendar predictions. The numbers went down, except for MK which changed from 3 to 4. Although the numbers weren’t high to begin with, it still gets me excited to think wait times will be reasonable and we will have the opportunity to ride 7DMT, FOP and FEA multiple times.
The email from TP was what prompted me to start looking at wait times on MDE. When I checked MDE this morning around 7DMT and FOP were both less than an hour. FEA was closed at the time. Fingers crossed.
Placed an order through Garden Grocery for room essentials. Three bottles of wine and four gallons of water. $80!!
They charge $14 delivery and on top of that request a tip. The wine was of course much more expensive than what we can get it for at home. I decided to go with individual gallons of water
because of the way Garden Grocer/brands are packaged – mostly in bundles of 36 or more. Since we will only need it to fill up water bottles in the morning and whatever we drink at night, I didn’t want to end up with a bunch of extra bottles at the end of the trip. I have a tendency to overbuy, so we will see if I gauged things correctly this time. We are Amazon Prime members and could have
gotten free delivery, but lo and behold – Amazon doesn’t deliver alcohol.
It might have been cheaper to purchase everything at the resort. I will definitely be investigating that theory when we get there ...
In a previous update I mentioned having watched “The Princess and the Frog” and enjoying it.
I was inspired to watch when I read some of the imagery of the movie was inspired by our soon to be resort home –Port Orleans French Quarter. The first image is from the movie. The next is from POFQ’s food court.
Super cute!
It will be my personal mission to find other similarities as well – if they exist.
I want to watch the movie at least one more time before the trip.
Finally – I managed to learn the first full verse of ‘A Pirates Life for Me’. Getting in costume helped.
We have a box of “props” I like to dig out when we have parties at the house. Needless to say, it makes picture taking fun. I think I have enough in the prop box to create a“Ray” costume from “The Princess and the Frog.’
I hope so. That would be fun!
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