It's Been 20 Years!! - A Sept 2017 PTR

[amyharris0919]

Hello! I’m a little late to the game, but I can’t stand it anymore, and have decided to start a PTR! I plan and talk about this trip All. The. Time. And my family just shares glances with each other, like “she’s at it again”. So, I’ll post here and whether anyone reads or not, at least I get it off my chest!!

First off, I am Amy. DH is Leonard, we’ve been married 27 years this next month. First DS is Zach, just turned 23. And second DS is Garrick, who just turned 10. Yep, 13 years apart. Yep, it was definitely a surprise!!

I’m a Retail Service Rep for Mattel. It’s a pretty awesome company to work for! I visit stores and make sure our feature toys are on the shelves. DH is a computer geek, 27 years with the same company. DS#1 just graduated college with a Music Technology degree (think studio mixing and that kind of thing). He minored in percussion and plays drums for Instant Karma, the band he’s been with for just over a year. DS#2 is going into 4th grade, and loves YouTube, Minecraft, Batman, baseball, basketball and football.

This pic is from our last trip to Orlando, three years ago. That was just for Universal. When we made that trip, Disney got cut and I told the guys, “fine, but next time we’re there, we’re going to WDW!” We haven’t been to WDW in 20 years. The oldest was 2 our last trip, and obviously doesn't remember any of it. So this is basically a first time trip for both of them.

This trip came into being back in May. We had started discussing our summer vacation plans, and due to our oldest just graduating, and most likely moving out very soon, we knew this was more than likely his last family vacation with us. So we decided it needed to be something big. I was originally planning California. Then DH told me he just wasn’t thrilled with that idea. I asked where he wanted to go, HE said Orlando. Obviously, I ran with it, and Disney, here we come!!!

More later...time for work!

 

[amyharris0919]

When & Where??​

Next was figuring out our dates. Because it was important to do this for older DS, I had to figure not only our schedules, but now his as well! He works, and is also in a band and has gigs planned months out. Long story short, summer just wasn’t working out. I suggested mid-September dates to DH, and he (who has never, EVER approved of pulling our kids out of school for vacation) actually agreed! Woo hoo!

So I locked in our dates of September 15-24. DS#2 is only missing 3.5 days of school, as that’s a short school week. And he’ll be in school a full month before being gone. And another big plus, it’s over my birthday, September 19!!

Obviously, next on the list was figuring out where to stay. Through DH’s work, we managed to get a travel certificate for $230, good for a 7-night stay in a condo, there were many resort choices. As much as I would have liked to stay on property…. $230?? For 7 nights?? Who can beat that?? So I locked us in to Summer Bay Resorts in a 3-br condo for 9/17-24. It’s a little further out than I would prefer (it will take 20-25 minutes to the parks) but it has great amenities.

So what to do those first two nights? That’s where I get my on-site fix! Booked us 9/15-16 for ASMo. I’m sorry, but I just can’t help but cringe a little at the fact that those 2 nights are costing us more than a full week in a much larger room. I am still SO excited, though!! And now we get MB, and 60-day FP res! Rolling 60 days, but I'll take it.

 

[amyharris0919]

Now the Fun Stuff!

One of the first things I did was sign up for TouringPlans. Used them for Universal and loved it, so it seemed like a no-brainer. Second thing I did was sign back up on this forum! Over the last month I have been using the TP crowd calendar, as well as the GREAT recommendations and help on these boards, to create an itinerary and tentative touring plans in order to figure what ADRs to get, as well as what FP I will attempt to get.

I got 4-day tickets (1 ticket per park), no hoppers. We’re pretty commando theme park visitors, and will be there RD until close for them all, no breaks away from the parks. I tried to schedule my lunch ADRs for a later lunch to give us a break from the heat. I was pretty excited to learn after our dates were set that F&W and MNSSHP are both happening while there! Obviously we will be taking part in both! I won’t go through my whole planning process…but here’s our basic itinerary so far.

Friday, September 15 – ARRIVAL
Flight scheduled to get in 8pm – pick up bags, rental car
Check-in to ASMo and just crash

Saturday, September 16 – DHS
ADR – 12:45 lunch at 50’s Prime Time Café
Also booked SWaGS Dessert Party (super excited about this!!)

Sunday, September 17 – FREE DAY
Check-out of ASMo
ADR – 1:20 lunch at Beaches & Cream - actually hoping to move this up a bit, using TP res finder
Will probably check out Disney Springs before heading over to Summer Bay

Monday, September 18 – EP
ADR – 1:35 lunch at Garden Grill
Picked this day for EP because Air Supply is the Eat to the Beat artist, one of DH’s faves from back in the day!

Tuesday, September 19 – MNSSHP (and my birthday!)
Have a 6:05 dinner ADR at BOG, but will likely cancel that one and keep the one on 9/21

Wednesday, September 20 – FREE DAY
Since we’ll be out until midnight the night before, taking this day off to just chill at our resort.

Thursday, September 21 – MK
ADR – 4:10 dinner at BOG – wanted dinner to see the Beast!

Friday, September 22 – AK
ADR – 1:40 lunch at Tusker House – ROL dining package

Saturday, September 23
Driving over to Kennedy Space Center, maybe spend some time on Cocoa Beach, dinner on the beach

Sunday, September 24
Departure day – flight leaves at 4pm

 

[amyharris0919]

So, this last week was all about FP! Since we are doing a split stay, I had to do rolling 60-day FP. I planned out all our days on TP, and used that in trying to get FP. I didn’t use their option to “optimize”, but rather created my own plan to eliminate zig-zagging around a park. I’m all about efficiency!! And then based on what they showed for wait times, that’s how I determined what rides to go for. I know TP isn't set in stone by any means, and things could absolutely change. However, we used their plan 3 years ago for Universal, and we were all amazed at how spot-on it was! So now, I'm a believer!

DHS:
Toy Story Mania - 10:40 AM - 11:40 AM
Frozen Sing-Along - 12:00 PM - 12:15 PM
Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular - 2:45 PM - 3:05 PM

We will RD RNRC, and TP shows very short wait times for ToT and Star Tours at the times I’m planning, which is why I used 2 FP for shows.

EP:
Turtle Talk With Crush - 10:40 AM - 11:40 AM
Meet Disney Pals - 2:10 PM - 3:10 PM
Frozen Ever After - 4:40 PM - 5:40 PM

We will RD TT. Honestly, the Turtle Talk one was just to use one, again just based on my TP plan. Hoping to get a 4th FP for Soarin’ after FEA…we’ll see what happens! I would really love to dedicate more time in the World Showcase, but I know my guys are going to want to spend more time in Future World. I’ve only got like 2 hours of free time to wander around WS. And during F&W, too.

MK:
Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh - 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Meet Ariel at Her Grotto - 10:50 AM - 11:50 AM
Peter Pan's Flight - 12:35 PM - 1:35 PM

This day messed me all up. I overslept by an hour and a half, which maybe didn’t really make any difference, but maybe it did! I really wanted PPF earlier, and will continue to try to move it up. We will RD 7DMT. I knew going in I wouldn’t be able to get one of those in the morning like I wanted. This day’s plan is jam-packed. And this is the day that, when we’re there, I need to remind myself to BE FLEXIBLE. I am hoping to get 4th FP and beyond for certain attractions, but I need to be prepared that there may be something that we just won’t get to see, and that’s okay.

AK:
Kilimanjaro Safaris - 10:05 AM - 11:05 AM
Meet Favorite Disney Pals - 11:40 AM - 12:40 PM
Na'vi River Journey - 12:40 PM - 1:40 PM

We will RD FOP. Again, I knew going in that there wouldn’t be one available for that ride. And another long-shot, but I was really hoping for a morning NRJ. I will keep looking for that one too. My plan works, but it could work better.

Now I’m not really sure what to do with myself. I’m sure I’ll be tweaking plans here and there, but mostly I feel a lot of this is locked in, unless we get more notices of ride closures! I’ll be anxiously awaiting the first reports from MNSSHP, as I’m not planning on anything there until I hear first-hand accounts and experiences!

Guess that’s it for now!