Just Put the Money Down!--A January 2019 Pre-Trip Report FINAL UPDATE 1/10/2019

Elizabeth Smith

DIS Veteran
Joined
May 7, 2017
:welcome: Hello Everyone!

I am back with another Walt Disney World Pre-Trip report. . . For a trip we sure hope to take. Last time around I opened my Pre-Trip report with a question: When does it start to feel "real"?

Well, if possible, this trip feels even more unreal than the last! For one thing, I can't believe our last trip wasn't a one time only affair. I never expected to catch the Disney bug like I did, but now there's not a day that goes by that I don't think about the next Disney trip.

For another thing, I never thought I'd be able to afford another trip, especially not without donating plasma again! But 2017 was not a bad year financially, so we were able to save quite a bit and 2018 has been okay too.

And finally I'm STILL not sure if I will get the time off to go! I knew that if I stayed at my current position, there would be no way, since we wanted to go in January and our time-off cannot be used until it is accrued... and it doesn't roll over from the previous year. BUT I very thankfully got a new job and I start on August 6th! I have no idea what the vacation policies will be, but fingers crossed it all works out!

So! Let's get into the DETAILS.

Who?: So far, it's going to be me and Hubby again!

We recently went to London. Which was cool.

Me, aka Elizabeth: 23 going on 24, lover of Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Pooh Bear, and all things Dumbo.

DH, aka Jacob: 24 going on 25, lover of Haunted Mansion, the Disney Dining Plan, and making me happy. :P

Where? So far, Port Orleans Riverside. But we are not married to this resort, will just play it by ear to see what kind of resort discounts become available as we go.

When? January 12-20

Why? Well, really, just because we want to. But we can also say it's to celebrate a new job with better pay and benefits.

How? Using the same travel agent we used last time.

We've booked it! And now just to see. . . Will we actually get to go? (Hopefully we find out soon.)

If you would like to check out my most recent trip report, the link is HERE.
 
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180 Day ADR Review
The reason behind this trip report title is... I was tired of waffling about the trip and I knew that the 180 window for ADRs would be opening soon. So I told my hubby to go ahead and put the money down so we could at least do a preliminary ADR booking. I have had these restaurants picked out since like December, to be completely honest. We booked the trip on Sunday and the ADR window opened on Monday... Good thing we did that, because we got everything we wanted, but may tweak the times a little bit as we go.

January 12th -- Chef Art Smith's Homecomin' @ 7:05PM. -- This will be our arrival day and I wanted to spend it at Disney Springs since we didn't spend much time there last time.


January 13th -- Skipper Canteen @ 12:00PM -- This will be a new restaurant to us, and really I just wanted to try something new and I've been hearing more and more good reviews of this place.

January 14th -- Garden Grill Breakfast @ 8:35AM -- I have heard such amazing things about this breakfast and it will be a good opportunity to meet some of my favorite characters.
--Teppan Edo @ 6:30 -- We enjoyed this sooo much on our last visit to WDW and I really want to return. It's pretty much the only hibachi I like.

January 15th -- 50s Prime Time Cafe @ 11:15 -- This is going to be an early lunch because I want to hop back to the MK that afternoon. One of my "regrets" from our last trip was spending too much time at DHS. So we're just going to head there for rope drop and an early lunch before getting out to head back to the Magic Kingdom I actually think we may try to do a HEA dessert party on this night.

January 16th -- No ADRs this day. Going to spend all day at AK

January 17th --Via Napoli @ 6:25PM-- Going to rope drop DHS again and do anything we didn't get to do the first go around. Then we're planning to spend the afternoon at Epcot's World Showcase for lunch and dinner. I may move the Via Napoli reservation up a little bit so we can go back to DHS for Fantasmic! that night.

January 18th -- BOG breakfast @ 9:00am -- We really enjoyed this last time and want to try it again
Ohana @ 6:30PM -- Another repeat since we loved the food and the atmosphere of the Poly sooo much.

January 19th -- Sanaa @ 12:00PM -- We're going to spend most of the Day at Animal Kingdom and are going to take the short bus ride over to AKL for what I hear is an amazing restaurant. Apparently the bread service is legendary! Then we may park hop back for one last night at the Magic Kingdom.

January 20th -- Check out and go home.
 




Ahhhh!!!! I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for you!

We should just schedule a DISMeet!
It's just Steve and I this time. We're staying at the Poly from the 20-23rd but I am waitlisted at AKL for the first night. Didn't want to use so many points for our arrival night. Not sure we will get it so maybe we will be at POP or another value for a night.
 
Howdy! Here's hoping vacation policies at the new job are favorable! :) And on to more fun things...ADRs!

January 13th -- Skipper Canteen @ 12:00PM -- This will be a new restaurant to us, and really I just wanted to try something new and I've been hearing more and more good reviews of this place.

I love Skipper Canteen! Course I've only been there once, but the food was decent and I loved the atmosphere. But then I love the cheesiness of Jungle Cruise. :) Either way, it's a fun, different restaurant in the MK.

January 19th -- Sanaa @ 12:00PM -- We're going to spend most of the Day at Animal Kingdom and are going to take the short bus ride over to AKL for what I hear is an amazing restaurant. Apparently the bread service is legendary! Then we may park hop back for one last night at the Magic Kingdom.

That bread service is the whole reason we're trying Sanaa on our trip--it looks so good! I'm not sure about the rest of the menu but I'll travel far and wide for good naan.... :D
 
How fun! I hope you're able to get the time off of work. We're booked Jan 10-19 - I just posted my ADR's last week! I still see some availability for PPO breakfasts at BOG that week if you want to beat the rope drop crowd ;)
 
We should just schedule a DISMeet!
It's just Steve and I this time. We're staying at the Poly from the 20-23rd but I am waitlisted at AKL for the first night. Didn't want to use so many points for our arrival night. Not sure we will get it so maybe we will be at POP or another value for a night.

We'll plan on it then! As we get closer to the day, I'm sure we'll figure something out.

Howdy! Here's hoping vacation policies at the new job are favorable! :)

I'm hoping too! I'm sure I'll find out soon enough.

I love Skipper Canteen! Course I've only been there once, but the food was decent and I loved the atmosphere. But then I love the cheesiness of Jungle Cruise. :) Either way, it's a fun, different restaurant in the MK.
Different is what we're looking for. I'm not a super exotic eater, but I'm exotic enough and there's plenty on the menu that looks pretty tame.
That bread service is the whole reason we're trying Sanaa on our trip--it looks so good! I'm not sure about the rest of the menu but I'll travel far and wide for good naan.... :D
Yum! I may be looking forward to trying this place the most, if for nothing other than delicious naan. It has been FOREVER since I've had good naan.
How fun! I hope you're able to get the time off of work. We're booked Jan 10-19 - I just posted my ADR's last week! I still see some availability for PPO breakfasts at BOG that week if you want to beat the rope drop crowd ;)
I just moved my ADR to 8am. Thank you for the tip!
 
Party Time!

I went ahead and booked the Happily Ever After dessert after party for January 15th over the weekend!

Since I heard that the dessert offerings at the parties now include something like the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake from LTT, and that there are more savory options as well... I really wanted to try it out. Plus, there will not be any other special events going on during this trip that we'll want to drop the money on. Last time, we went to MVMCP, so this time, Dessert party. It's definitely over priced, but I guess it has to be that way to be exclusive.
I have no idea how popular they are, but I wanted to get our names on the list anyway.

I learned that the cancellation policy is 5 days out, and I should know in plenty of time if we have to change plans/dates for the trip due to vacation policy stuff.

So, the plan for the 15th is to Rope Drop DHS, stay for lunch and maybe a showing of the Indiana Jones show before heading over to Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day and for the dessert party!
 
Following along! I am determined to finish last year's trip report so I can let myself start a new PTR for our January trip! (Jan 1-5, then we're cruising!)

I went ahead and booked the Happily Ever After dessert after party for January 15th over the weekend!

Since I heard that the dessert offerings at the parties now include something like the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake

We booked a HEA dessert after party, too! I'm super excited about some Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake!!!
 
All Kinds of Good News
When last we left off, I was still not sure if we would be able to take this trip in January because I had just gotten hired with a new company. Well, Monday was my first day and so far, so good, and as of TODAY, my vacation time for January has been APPROVED!!
party:So, barring any crazy emergencies, it looks like January is a go!

In addition to this very most excellent news, I also got some good news from my friend touringplans.com.


Walt Disney World Crowd Level predictions or Park Hours have changed for one or more dates that you are tracking on TouringPlans.com!

Jan. 13, 2019
Sunday

Walt Disney World Overall Crowd Level decreased from 5 to 2.
» Magic Kingdom Park Hours:
9:00 AM-8:00 PM
Magic Kingdom Crowd Level decreased from 4 to 3.
» Hollywood Studios Park Hours:
9:00 AM-8:00 PM +EMH Evening
Hollywood Studios Crowd Level decreased from 7 to 3.
» Animal Kingdom Park Hours:
9:00 AM-8:00 PM
Animal Kingdom Crowd Level decreased from 7 to 2.
Jan. 14, 2019
Monday

Walt Disney World Overall Crowd Level decreased from 4 to 3.
» Magic Kingdom Park Hours:
9:00 AM-8:00 PM
Magic Kingdom Crowd Level decreased from 5 to 4.
» Hollywood Studios Park Hours:
9:00 AM-8:00 PM
Hollywood Studios Crowd Level decreased from 7 to 2.
» Animal Kingdom Park Hours:
9:00 AM-8:00 PM +EMH Morning
Animal Kingdom Crowd Level decreased from 9 to 2.
Jan. 15, 2019
Tuesday

Walt Disney World Overall Crowd Level decreased from 4 to 2.
» Magic Kingdom Park Hours:
9:00 AM-8:00 PM
Magic Kingdom Crowd Level decreased from 4 to 3.
» Hollywood Studios Park Hours:
9:00 AM-8:00 PM
Hollywood Studios Crowd Level decreased from 7 to 2.
» Animal Kingdom Park Hours:
9:00 AM-8:00 PM
Animal Kingdom Crowd Level decreased from 4 to 1.
Jan. 16, 2019
Wednesday

Walt Disney World Overall Crowd Level decreased from 5 to 4.
» Magic Kingdom Park Hours:
9:00 AM-8:00 PM +EMH Evening
Magic Kingdom Crowd Level decreased from 6 to 4.
» Animal Kingdom Park Hours:
9:00 AM-8:00 PM
Animal Kingdom Crowd Level decreased from 6 to 3.
Jan. 17, 2019
Thursday

» Magic Kingdom Park Hours:
9:00 AM-8:00 PM
Magic Kingdom Crowd Level decreased from 5 to 4.
» Epcot Park Hours:
9:00 AM-9:00 PM +EMH Morning
Epcot Crowd Level increased from 4 to 5.
» Animal Kingdom Park Hours:
9:00 AM-8:00 PM
Animal Kingdom Crowd Level decreased from 7 to 2.
Jan. 18, 2019
Friday

Walt Disney World Overall Crowd Level increased from 6 to 7.
» Magic Kingdom Park Hours:
9:00 AM-8:00 PM +EMH Morning
Magic Kingdom Crowd Level decreased from 6 to 5.
» Hollywood Studios Park Hours:
9:00 AM-8:00 PM
Hollywood Studios Crowd Level increased from 6 to 7.
» Animal Kingdom Park Hours:
9:00 AM-8:00 PM
Animal Kingdom Crowd Level decreased from 6 to 5.
Jan. 19, 2019
Saturday

» Magic Kingdom Park Hours:
9:00 AM-8:00 PM
Magic Kingdom Crowd Level decreased from 6 to 5.
» Hollywood Studios Park Hours:
9:00 AM-8:00 PM
Hollywood Studios Crowd Level increased from 7 to 8.
» Animal Kingdom Park Hours:
9:00 AM-8:00 PM +EMH Morning
Animal Kingdom Crowd Level decreased from 7 to 6.


So, if you cannot tell from the body of the email sent to me, for almost all days, they are predicting lower crowds than they had initially! Hooray for lower wait times. And now that I know that I can go, I can feel really excited about this information!
 
Disney Friend Love and How I'm Becoming a Crazy Person
One of my best friends from college recently moved to Orlando FLA to go live her best Disney life. She and her husband did get Disney jobs and I'm happy for them taking a leap of faith and selling their souls to our rodent god forever!!! I spoke with her last week and told her I was coming her way and she said we should get together! I'm very much looking forward to seeing them because it has been tooooo long.

Since my last trip in November... I have not so successfully tried to stay a sane person who doesn't see hidden Mickeys in everything and can conceive of taking a vacation outside of WDW. I've had no luck. The only time I imagine taking a trip outside of Disney World, I start imagining Tokyo Disneyland. It's a disease. I feel like 50% of my wardrobe purchases are Disney apparel. Is this who I am now? I have no regrets, though. Along the lines of my insanity, I have devoted a wall in my bedroom to my "Disney Vision." Which is to say, the wall is to remind me of all the things I love about Disney and WDW and inspire me to spend more money on the mouse. But here is a picture of my wall!





 
I love your Disney wall! Catching up on PTRs and I'm also really happy to see they predicting lighter crowds! We'll be there about the same time in January.
 
I love your Disney wall!!!!! So fun. Cute idea with your pressed pennies.
Thank you! It wasn't hard to make nor was it toooo expensive.
I love it! Such a fun wall of memories :)
Thank you! I feel the same way when I look at it!

I love your Disney wall! Catching up on PTRs and I'm also really happy to see they predicting lighter crowds! We'll be there about the same time in January.
Thanks for checking out my PTR! I'm glad that crowds will be relatively low...
 

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