I've got the Disney bug and I can't stay away. AKL June 2018 TR started 6/25

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

My bags did get lost last time. But only because I had a last minute room change. So, lost yes, but ON Disney property. LOL! I think it's a pretty reliable system in general, but there's always the chance the AIRLINE loses it too.

And this is probably why we will collect our own bags. It would be nice to know they have arrived in Orlando. If we let DME take care of it and they don't show we will have to figure out if it was a DME error or an airline error. Too much potential complication to think about for me

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

20 Days!

Only a few weeks away and I am still making changes! Today thanks to the TP reservation finder I was able to get Be Our Guest for dinner at the much earlier time of 6:30. So I went ahead and cancelled the BOG lunch reservation in favour of the dinner. I also added a dinner reservation at Homecomin' in Disney Springs on our arrival day.

On the bad news front, the airline we are booked to fly on, Westjet, may have its pilots go on strike this week. We are crossing our fingers that everything works out. Worst case scenario is that we would have to drive down but that would mean an extra two days to drive down and then back again which would mess up our plans to visit family in Ohio. The bigger problem is that my brother is booked to fly home on the airline next week so he may have a bit of a headache getting home. Cross your fingers for us!

 

[Sailormoon2]

Fingers crossed. Flight drama is the worst.

 

[reyasmommy]

Fingers crossed.….. Air France is striking too, so I'm thankful that I don't have reservations through them on our upcoming trip. Then I heard Frontier might strike too, which is who we're taking to Orlando. So stressful and nerve-wracking!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Fingers crossed. Flight drama is the worst.

Yes, I hate any worries over flights as it is totally out of our control and I am a control freak.

Fingers crossed.….. Air France is striking too, so I'm thankful that I don't have reservations through them on our upcoming trip. Then I heard Frontier might strike too, which is who we're taking to Orlando. So stressful and nerve-wracking!

Good thing the European flights are okay but nerve-wracking about the WDW flights! Crossing my fingers for you!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

18 Days!

Our next day is our "rest" day. This day we do not have any intense park plans. We will sleep in a bit but not too long most likely as I find I am incapable of doing so on vacation.

We have a Soarin fastpass for 10:00-11:00. We will ride Soarin and then wander down to the International Gateway and exit the park.





Why so little time in the park? We have a late breakfast ADR at the Boardwalk. We are going to be dining and hanging out with two of my favourite Disney couples! Rapunzel and Flynn and Ariel and Eric.








Our ADR time is 11:20 which is later than I would like it but that is all that was available when I switched this reservation from our departure day to our "rest" day. I made the switch when we decided to not use a rental car. I just think it would be too much to get to the Boardwalk, eat and then get back to AKL for the Tragical Express.

After "breakfast" we have three courses of action 1)Go back to Epcot 2)Take a bus to Disney Springs from Boardwalk 3)Head back to AKL for pool time. Since this is our rest day and we already have two Epcot days planned I suspect we will go with options two or three.

The only other set plan for the day is dinner at Jiko!! I have been dreaming of the filet and mac and cheese for years. Hopefully I'm not disappointed! For $50 for the steak i better not be!

 

[Steppesister]

Why so little time in the park? We have a late breakfast ADR at the Boardwalk. We are going to be dining and hanging out with two of my favourite Disney couples! Rapunzel and Flynn and Ariel and Eric.

I had no idea this was available! And it looks nice from the reviews/blog I just looked at!

After "breakfast" we have three courses of action 1)Go back to Epcot 2)Take a bus to Disney Springs from Boardwalk 3)Head back to AKL for pool time. Since this is our rest day and we already have two Epcot days planned I suspect we will go with options two or three.

I'd take Door #2 for a semi-down day and Door #3 for a really down day.

The only other set plan for the day is dinner at Jiko!! I have been dreaming of the filet and mac and cheese for years. Hopefully I'm not disappointed! For $50 for the steak i better not be!

You will LOVE it!! Jiko is amazing!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I had no idea this was available! And it looks nice from the reviews/blog I just looked at!

I am really looking forward to it. It was one of the few must-do ADR's for me this trip. I like that it is not a buffet and I have heard great reviews about the food.

I'd take Door #2 for a semi-down day and Door #3 for a really down day.

Exactly, what we do will probably be determined by how much time we have at Disney Springs on our arrival day and if there is something there that will lure us back.

You will LOVE it!! Jiko is amazing!

I sure hope so!

 

[SweetSerenity]

We are going to be trying Trattoria Al Forno for a late breakfast as well in November. I am so excited about this!

We ate at Jiko on our honeymoon. I hope you enjoy it!

 

[Steppesister]

I am really looking forward to it. It was one of the few must-do ADR's for me this trip. I like that it is not a buffet and I have heard great reviews about the food.

I like that it's not a buffet too. So many character meals are!

Exactly, what we do will probably be determined by how much time we have at Disney Springs on our arrival day and if there is something there that will lure us back.

Our tradition is to hit up DTD too, (sorry easier to type than the other!) our first night too. And we usually only have time to eat, so always want to go back for a bit of shopping later.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

16 days!!!!

I have started thinking about what photo hosting site to use for my TR. I used photo bucket in the past when it was free but it requires a fee now and I also started having issues with it so I'm looking for a new site. I don't mind paying a fee if the site runs smoothly and is reliable but free is always preferable. Do you have any recommendations? What do you all use for your photos? For this TR I have just been uploading directly on the Dis but I have just been using images from google as my pictures are too large and the Dis won't upload them.

Day 7 - Magic Kingdom

This is our second Magic Kingdom day. We are booked for Early Morning Magic this day.



EMM lets us into Fantasyland at 0745 for unlimited rides on Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh and Seven Dwarves Mine Train.





An empty Mine Train is a common site during EMM




I have read that some of the other Fantasyland rides will open during EMM as well such as the carousel, Small World and the Teacups. EMM also includes a buffet breakfast at Pinocchio Village Haus.



Only 200 tickets are sold for this event so the park is basically empty. EMM runs until park open but breakfast is served until 10. I have read several reviews and it seems what most people do is position themselves to get to Tomorrowland or Frontierland right at rope drop to get some rides in when crowds are low and then head back to eat breakfast at around 0930 to maximize the advantage of EMM.

At park open I think Mom and I will either head to Tomorrowland where I will ride Space Mountain and hopefully ride Buzz Lightyear before heading back to Pinocchio's for our breakfast. The other option is to visit all the princesses at Fairytale Hall right at park open when there are no lines. That may be the more relaxing option. I'm not sure how easily Mom will be able to do the Tomorrowland hustle and back for breakfast.

After breakfast we will head to our first fastpass, Haunted Mansion 10-11. We will then head down to Adventureland for our next two fastpasses, Pirates and Jungle Cruise.





We have a lunch ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern at 2:00. I plan on either getting the Colony Salad or the burger followed by the Ooey gooey Toffee Cake!




The rest of the day will be very go with the flow. If we didn't catch HEA on our first MK day we will see it this night.


I would like to catch some of the performances around the park - Dapper Dans, Muppets American History Show etc.

 

[Raeven]

I have started thinking about what photo hosting site to use for my TR. I used photo bucket in the past when it was free but it requires a fee now and I also started having issues with it so I'm looking for a new site. I don't mind paying a fee if the site runs smoothly and is reliable but free is always preferable. Do you have any recommendations? What do you all use for your photos? For this TR I have just been uploading directly on the Dis but I have just been using images from google as my pictures are too large and the Dis won't upload them.

I use Imgur now. It took a little bit to learn which link to use, but I found it easier than some of the other options out there.

the burger followed by the Ooey gooey Toffee Cake!

Can't wait to hear if you get the burger! We haven't been yet but the burger is probably what we would both get.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I use Imgur now. It took a little bit to learn which link to use, but I found it easier than some of the other options out there.

Thanks! I will have to check it out.

Can't wait to hear if you get the burger! We haven't been yet but the burger is probably what we would both get.

i'm usually pretty good about dining reviews/food porn so I will definitely post about it.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Good news! The Westjet pilot strike has been averted so no more stress over our flights!

My brothers visit is going well. It has been nice to spend time with him and his girlfriend. They fly home Monday and it is a relief to all of us that they won't have to worry about how they are getting home now that the strike seems to not be an issue.

I was also stressing over our Disney flights more than I thought as I had such a huge sense of relief when I heard the airline news. I really did not want a 24 hour drive each way. It wouldn't have been so bad if we had planned it that way with sightseeing along the way but we would have had a strict driving schedule if we had been forced to drive.

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Your plans sound wonderful! I use Flickr for my TRs, and it's been great! Very user-friendly!

 

[OhMari]

Wow, glad that the pilots did not strike, sorry but driving stinks. We will be gone about the same time as your vacation. So let me know when you want this switched over.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Your plans sound wonderful! I use Flickr for my TRs, and it's been great! Very user-friendly!

Thanks, I will have to check out Flickr as well.

Wow, glad that the pilots did not strike, sorry but driving stinks. We will be gone about the same time as your vacation. So let me know when you want this switched over.

Yes, such a relief that the strike didn't happen.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

12 Days!!!

Day 8

This is our second Epcot day. Depending on how we felt about the new version of Soarin on our first day we may choose to rope drop it again this day.

We have a fastpass for Test Track 9:35-10:35. We haven't been on Test Track since it was revamped so I'm looking forward to checking out the changes.

After Test Track we will stroll over to the International Gateway and then to the Beach Club for our lunch ADR at Beaches and Cream! Yum! Visiting Beaches and Cream for lunch on one of our Epcot days has become a tradition and we go every trip. I have always ordered a burger followed by a No Way Jose that I can never finish as it is so big but it is also so delicious! Maybe I will try something different this year? I also order a flavoured coke when I am here as it tastes so much better than the canned stuff at the grocery store. It comes straight from the soda fountain and then they mix in the flavoured syrup. Yum!!!







We will probably spend some time after lunch exploring World Showcase and then back to the hotel for pool time! No real timeline here at all.

We will be back at Epcot in time for our 1900 dinner reservation at Via Napoli. I think that Mom and I will probably split a pizza here. It will depend on if we can agree on what to order! Last time I got the pepperoni but I think I want to try the white Four Cheese pizza this time.




After dinner we will probably stroll around World Showcase and enjoy the evening ambience. I doubt we will watch Illuminations as we will most likely have viewed it on our first Epcot day. By skipping it we will get ahead of the park close crowds at the bus stop.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Sounds like some great planning! I have read all your TR’s in the past, loved them. Your brothers are a riot, I am sure you will miss all their antics on this trip.

We have used ME many times and only 1x did we have missing luggage, it was a pain but we did get it around 2am. We did get a $100.00 resort credit and 3 extra FP’s so that helped.

 

[Sailormoon2]

Beaches and Cream photos are making me sooo hungry!