*** January 2019 Thread ***

[Sydney2977]

We were able to extend our trip by a day!
Yay! We can visit Magic Kingdom now
New dates: 26-30th

Woohoo! Glad you're able to add a little extra magic to your trip.

We leave tonight! Stayed up until 3am finishing packing and now I'm at work until 2:00. I'm so anxious to just get down there!

I hope your work day flies by!

 

[Sydney2977]

I still have quite a bit of work to get through before I leave. I just have Saturday off between now and our trip and will be working Sunday and Monday then leaving work at 3pm on Monday to head straight for the airport. I will take my dog to a friends house Sunday evening for her "staycation" with them. Then just need to get my cat set up with his self feeder and waterer for his staycation too. Hoping he'll be a good boy and leave my Christmas tree alone while I'm gone. He's been good while it's been up for the past month or so. I like to leave my Christmas stuff up until at least the end of January and actually it's a tradition in Denver to leave exterior Christmas lights up until after the annual stock show.

If you'll be at work till right before you leave hopefully time will go by quicker. I worked a closing shift the night before our last trip and I found it went by fairly quick, then I came home and fell right to sleep so was able to get up easily the next morning. This time I'm off the day before and I'm worried I'll be so excited I won't be able to sleep! Good thing DH will be doing the majority of the driving!
I love the tradition of leaving Christmas stuff up too! I'm reluctantly taking ours down today, and DH already took outside stuff down. Our older cat just likes to sit under the tree but the younger one has tried to climb it a few times this year.

 

[Truxi]

Donald “sang” happy birthday to me.

How did that work? Was it an "all eyes on you" thing? Because my bff hates Big Birthday Deals at restaurants, but he loves Donald, so he might like that!

Glad you're having fun!

 

[kslo69]

There is no reason for it to be anything that has been on the schedule for months. Holidays, events (well planned) etc would already be factored in.

we just returned form our long weekend trip to celebrate DH 50th Birthday. we went to Hollywood Studios this past Saturday and it was WAY MORE crowded than when we went in May. Overall, i would have to say every park was more crowded than May, but HS was especially crowded. I dont believe there is any such thing as down time in Disney anymore.

 

[disney-inspired]

we just returned form our long weekend trip to celebrate DH 50th Birthday. we went to Hollywood Studios this past Saturday and it was WAY MORE crowded than when we went in May. Overall, i would have to say every park was more crowded than May, but HS was especially crowded. I dont believe there is any such thing as down time in Disney anymore.

I assume some of that crowd was Marathon people who came early.

We arrive the day before the Pro Bowl week ends and thankfully we don't go into the parks until the day after it officially ends.

 

[Dentam]

If you'll be at work till right before you leave hopefully time will go by quicker. I worked a closing shift the night before our last trip and I found it went by fairly quick, then I came home and fell right to sleep so was able to get up easily the next morning. This time I'm off the day before and I'm worried I'll be so excited I won't be able to sleep! Good thing DH will be doing the majority of the driving!
I love the tradition of leaving Christmas stuff up too! I'm reluctantly taking ours down today, and DH already took outside stuff down. Our older cat just likes to sit under the tree but the younger one has tried to climb it a few times this year.

Yeah, the days have been going by fast so far since I've been working all week. We're supposed to get snow tomorrow and part of our department's responsibility is to clear pathways so the shoveling will keep me busy plus make me very eager to get to WDW!

I've heard some reports on the news thread I think it was that many of the parks and resorts there still have Christmas decorations up also. I think they're nice to have in January which is a pretty bleak month. Adds some cheer!

 

[disney-inspired]

Holy cow - I just re-checked the crowd levels for our dates and our AK day - 1/31 - level jumped to a level 8! What happened?! It's a Thursday and they're having an Disney After Hours event.

 

[lookame]

How did that work? Was it an "all eyes on you" thing? Because my bff hates Big Birthday Deals at restaurants, but he loves Donald, so he might like that!

Glad you're having fun!

He pointed at my birthday button then moved his arms back and forth like he was “singing” if that makes sense...it was a cute meet

 

[lookame]

Hollywood studios was not to bad today. After about 4 pm though there was a lull until fantasmic. We could have left and been fine. The morning though was a lot of fun! We got here at rope drop and went straight to sign up for jedi training. Then rode midway mania twice with maybe a 5 minute wait. The kids enjoyed jedi training. They fought Darth Vader. My son volunteered to fight first and he really showed his skills. My shy daughter fought last and she just sort of tapped Vader’s lightsaber. Her first time to hit she stood there and the trainer said “that’s right, make him wait for it!” She didn’t suck either it was cute. We rode star tours and saw the Vader version then ran to muppet vision, finding goofy and chip and dale along the way. After muppet vision we ate lunch at sci fi which was great! We’re on the dining plan but my parents aren’t so we got desserts. Our waitress was awesome and gave them an ice cream sundae (plus she was so lovely and talkative and really played up the car hop roll). Then ran over to star tours again and saw the kylo ten version. After it was our fastpass for slinky hog which was a ton of fun. My daughter loves roller coasters so she really loves that. She liked it so much she got a slinky dog toy. Aliens spin was a posted 30 minute wait and it took a good hour before we got on. It was fun but not worth the wait. At this point started the lull. We kind of wondered around and experienced things as they happened, like the blue square...you step in it and 3 cast members cheered for you (only while in it). We did meet kylo ren where my son told him he’ll go to the dark side. I asked my daughter and she shook her head no, kylo ten threw his fist down in a motion that was like he said “dang it” Chewbacca was also a fun meet, he seemed to love my daughter giving her so many hugs.

As a side note...it’s COLD today! It’s like Ohio weather!

 

[Dentam]

As a side note...it’s COLD today! It’s like Ohio weather!

Sounds like a fun day at HS! What was the temp there today? I'm trying to figure out what to pack since I know the temps there will feel colder than they would here in Denver due to the difference in humidity. ETA: I checked online and it looks like it only reached 59 there today, yikes!

 

[Dentam]

Somehow I completely forgot to preorder our lunches for BOG. So, I called my family (they live in a different state) and asked what they wanted. My sister was like "what is Be Our Guest and why am I ordering my lunch so far in advance"? I completely forgot that the last time she was in WDW was before that area was even built! It will be fun to show her all of the new things that have been added in the parks since her last visit!

 

[Amunet]

So, unbelievable story that I feel you guys will appreciate the most:

I posted yesterday about adding a day to our reservation, but today is when I worked with my travel agent to change it.
We have a Play, Stay, Dine promotion where we got free quick service dining with our stay at All Star Movies, at an AMAZING price too. However, this booking option could not be seen through my travel agent's booking system NOR Disney when she called, it was only to be found on my iPad. So, we booked it back in November.
Fast forward to today when we were seeing if they could extend that promotion for the extra day. Lo-and-behold, the promotion turned out to be a Canadian only package We live in the US and used the US booking system, plus the booking was transferred to my travel agent after I booked it.
The CM was flabbergasted and it took a bit for them to change it, no idea how it happened. We didn't get the promotion extension but, honestly, I'm just grateful to have the promotion in the first place!
I feel extra grateful to be going on this trip now. I mean, that's just crazy.
We ended up adding an extra park ticket to the existing reservation and just made a new hotel stay reservation for the extra night.

If this is our only pixie dust for the trip, I'm definitely okay with it because it is quite the extra magical experience for us

P.S. We think my iPad is magic

 

[Clockwork]

Holy cow - I just re-checked the crowd levels for our dates and our AK day - 1/31 - level jumped to a level 8! What happened?! It's a Thursday and they're having an Disney After Hours event.

View attachment 374750

Touring Plans claims it’s not a crowd calendar, it’s a wait time calendar. I wouldn’t be too worried I’ve been this week for the past five years and the parks have never been that crowded. Epcot some nights was a ghost town. Animal kingdom and Hollywood will probably be the least staffed that’s why they are giving them both higher numbers. I’d go with the expectations of low crowds and slightly higher wait times at these parks. The one thing I really like is that the parks empty out as the night goes on and that there are less kids at this time. Not that I don’t like kids, that’s just one less person in front of me while I’m waiting to ride Slinky or soarin’.

 

[disney-inspired]

Touring Plans claims it’s not a crowd calendar, it’s a wait time calendar. I wouldn’t be too worried I’ve been this week for the past five years and the parks have never been that crowded. Epcot some nights was a ghost town. Animal kingdom and Hollywood will probably be the least staffed that’s why they are giving them both higher numbers. I’d go with the expectations of low crowds and slightly higher wait times at these parks. The one thing I really like is that the parks empty out as the night goes on and that there are less kids at this time. Not that I don’t like kids, that’s just one less person in front of me while I’m waiting to ride Slinky or soarin’.

Ok, I must have read it wrong. Thanks for the clarification - feeling more at ease.

 

[Kip Herner]

Just cancelled a 7:40pm reservation at California Grill for Monday Jan. 14th. Was able to get a dinner reservation at Storybook Artist Point and my dauo wants to see the Evil Queen.

 

[lingling83]

He pointed at my birthday button then moved his arms back and forth like he was “singing” if that makes sense...it was a cute meet

that is awesome! Part of our trip is for my birthday and my DH is telling our son to tell everyone it's mommy's birthday

 

[Sydney2977]

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow....

I'm feeling so at ease because I got everything done at work I needed to yesterday, including meeting with my supervisors and assistants to go over assignments, so now I can completely relax on vacation! I'm waiting for my nail place to open so I can go get them done, run to the grocery store to pick up a few things for DS for while we're gone, come home and pack, go to church, dinner, and come home to watch the Cowboys game, then drift off to sleep and wake up and rive to WDW! Here's a rough outline of our plans, though we're perfectly fine winging it too:

Day 1:
leave home by 9am
stop in Jacksonville for lunch and to exchange a gift I received for Christmas (we don't have this store here in the Charleston area so this should work)
arrive at BWI by 5pm and check in
dinner at ESPN or Big River Grill
go to HS or Epcot to activate military tickets

Day 2:
MK day (9am-8pm)
breakfast at Capt. Cook's- I need Tonga Toast, DH needs breakfast burrito
lunch at Diamond Horseshoe @ 1:10- new for us
dinner at Cosmic Ray's or Pecos Bill's
FP's for BTMRR, Jungle Cruise, and 7DMT

Day 3:
AK day (9am-8pm)
breakfast at Isle of Java or Kusafari Coffee- new for us
lunch at Harambe Market- new for us
dinner at Pizzafari Buffet @ 6:15- new for us
FP's for Safari, EE, and FoP
maybe emh at Epcot 9-11pm

Day 4:

MK day 9am-8pm, emh till 10pm)
breakfast at The Plaza @ 8:50- new for bf
lunch at Cosmic Ray's or Pecos Bill's
dinner at Boma @ 6:55pm
FP's for Space Mt., Buzz, and Pooh

Day 5:
DHS day (9am-8pm)
breakfast at Boardwalk Bakery- new for us
lunch at ABC Commissary or Backlot Express
dinner at Woody's- new for us
FP's for RnR, TSMM, and ToT

Day 6: Our 22nd Anniversary
Epcot day (9am-9pm)
breakfast- Beachclub Market- new for us
lunch & dinner- Festival of the Arts food booths, aka eat around the world- new for us
FP's for Spaceship Earth, Test Track, and The Land

Day 7:
breakfast at Boardwalk Bakery
pack and check out
shopping & lunch at Disney Springs
drive home

 

[omniscientmommy]

Single Digits! 9 days....

 

[ariane37]

We leave next Sunday the 20th. I am not one to worry about weather down there until we're down there BUT- right now they're saying snow here next Fri-Sat-Sun We were also supposed to get a storm tonight and then yesterday it changed and it's missing us so I'm trying not to worry yet! But..... I'm kind of worrying lol!

 

[Starclassic]

We leave next Sunday the 20th. I am not one to worry about weather down there until we're down there BUT- right now they're saying snow here next Fri-Sat-Sun We were also supposed to get a storm tonight and then yesterday it changed and it's missing us so I'm trying not to worry yet! But..... I'm kind of worrying lol!

Same!!! I’ve had to rearrange 2 winter trips in years past because of snow....I do not want to go through that again!! Ughhhh fingers crossed!