Our Grandest Trip Ever... Literally! - August 2019 PTR *TR LINK POSTED 8/25*

[Newsies]

Prom Pics/Plans
​

Happy Sunday!

I have the rest of this trip all figured out. But before we get into that-- Grace went to her senior prom on Friday! Are you all ready for prom pics?

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Here's a closer look at her hair! It took her stylist an hour to do it, and it came out amazing!

​

She looked beautiful and had a great time! This weekend, she's celebrating the end of her senior year with her friends down by the shore.

I'll give you a moment to get out your "Ooh"s and "Ahh"s, and when you're ready, you can read the rest of our plans for this trip down below!

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20 // MK, DHS
11:30 AM -- Now that I have MM booked for the following day, I'm going to try to sleep in on Wednesday! My goal is not to rope drop... but I MIGHT end up rope-dropping MK anyway. Today is our family's "real" DHS day, but I really want to meet Remy and Emile from Ratatouille! They'll be meeting at the MK flag pole at 11:30, so my hope is to get to their first set before heading off to DHS.
1:00 PM -- Hopefully, I'll be at DHS by this time! I'd love to do any of the Municiberg stuff that I missed the day before, grab some lunch, and maybe a drink before my family arrives!
4:30 PM -- FP+ Slinky Dog Dash
5:30 PM -- FP+ Indiana Jones
6:30 PM -- FP+ Star Tours
8:20 PM -- ADR: Storybook Dining. Minnie Van back to the Grand afterwards!

THURSDAY, AUGUST 21 // DAK
9:00 AM -- Okay, now THIS is my MANDATORY sleep-in day! I definitely have to save my energy for Moonlight Magic this evening. On Thursday, my mom wants to book a Cabana for a half-day at the Grand Floridian pool. So we're going to have a nice, relaxing day at the pool. I just found out that we can book a Cabana over the phone in advance, so I'm going to try to do that today!
6:00 PM -- Check in for Moonlight Magic! We check-in at the Grand Floridian Villas, then we head over to the park for some fun!
6:30 PM -- FP+ Flight of Passage
7:30 PM -- FP+ Kilimanjaro Safari
8:30 PM -- FP+ Dinosaur
9:00 PM -- Get in a standby line! Moonlight Magic will begin soon, so between 9 and 9:30, only guests with the wristband will be able to enter the standby lines!
9:30 PM -- MOONLIGHT MAGIC TIME! We can't wait to meet characters, enjoy some rides, and eat some ice cream!

FRIDAY, AUGUST 22 // MK
8:00 AM -- Extra Magic Hours at MK. If I'm feeling up to it, I MIGHT rope drop. I never know with me. Sometimes I'm exhausted from the night before and STILL drag myself out of my room at 6:00 AM and by the time I'm on the monorail, I'm ready to play. But I might also just sleep.
11:00 AM -- FP+ 7DMT
12:00 PM -- FP+ BTMRR
1:00 PM -- FP+ Splash Mountain
2:00 PM -- Back to the resort to start packing
4:00 PM -- Head over to Disney Springs!
6:45 PM -- ADR: Chef Art Smith's Homecomin'

SATURDAY, AUGUST 23 // CHECK-OUT
7:00 AM -- Dad will get us up bright and early to start the drive from FL to NJ! We'll stop overnight in Virginia, then make the rest of the drive the next day!

Overall: I'm really thrilled with the vacation we've built so far. Now that we're adjusted to how consistent our vacations have become, I feel ready to start relaxing a bit more, which is great, because that means my legs won't ache for three weeks after we get home! I felt so stressed out during our last vacation, which I'm looking forward to changing this time around. Things are pretty sound right now, and I'm ready for our FP+ date in 10 days!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Oh my, Grace looks stunning!

I love her dress and hair.

Your plans are coming along nicely. Yay on having a lie in on Moonlight Magic day to reserve your energy. Wow on the amount of rope drops you’re planning to hit...not being a morning person I don’t know how you do it! Though if I can get up early anywhere it is Disney

 

[Newsies]

Oh my, Grace looks stunning!

I love her dress and hair.

Your plans are coming along nicely. Yay on having a lie in on Moonlight Magic day to reserve your energy. Wow on the amount of rope drops you’re planning to hit...not being a morning person I don’t know how you do it! Though if I can get up early anywhere it is Disney

I will tell her you said that! Thank you so very much!

Like the ancient Walt Disney World proverbs say, "I'm only a morning person at Disney!" When I'm at home, I'm only ever up out of my bed past 9 AM unless I'm going to work/class. But when I'm at Disney, it's like I have an alarm clock in my brain that wakes me up and tells me to get to a Park!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

I am obsessed with Grace's dress!! She looks gorgeous!!

Your plans sound so great!! I am definitely living vicariously through your planning (and may or not have just attempted to sell my mom on the idea of a trip )

 

[Newsies]

I am obsessed with Grace's dress!! She looks gorgeous!!

Your plans sound so great!! I am definitely living vicariously through your planning (and may or not have just attempted to sell my mom on the idea of a trip )

Thank you very much!! I will let her know you think so!!

You are DEFINITELY ready for a trip to WDW to celebrate your adventures abroad. Just saying.

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

You are DEFINITELY ready for a trip to WDW to celebrate your adventures abroad. Just saying.

Hahaha I completely agree! I also turn 21 on my next birthday, and what better way to celebrate??

 

[missangelalexis]

Aww Grace looked so pretty for prom!!

The rest of your plans sound great!!

 

[Cloe Colton]

Your sister looked gorgeous! Love the color of her dress. I miss prom season, always such a fun event!!

Your plans sound great. Its definitely nice when you know that you are going back to take it a little bit easier, hopefully you can accomplish that! (Although sometimes it still happens haha)

We just booked a cabana for our trip in September too at Stormalong Bay! I'm really excited for it, I just need to call back to have them apply the AP discount that I forgot to tell them about lol it definitely seems like a nice way to hang by the pool but also not turn into a burnt crisp!

 

[Newsies]

Hahaha I completely agree! I also turn 21 on my next birthday, and what better way to celebrate??

YES!! You definitely need to go to Epcot to celebrate 21!!

Aww Grace looked so pretty for prom!!

The rest of your plans sound great!!

Thank you, I will tell her you said that!!

We're so excited to book our FP+ choices!!

Your sister looked gorgeous! Love the color of her dress. I miss prom season, always such a fun event!!

Your plans sound great. Its definitely nice when you know that you are going back to take it a little bit easier, hopefully you can accomplish that! (Although sometimes it still happens haha)

We just booked a cabana for our trip in September too at Stormalong Bay! I'm really excited for it, I just need to call back to have them apply the AP discount that I forgot to tell them about lol it definitely seems like a nice way to hang by the pool but also not turn into a burnt crisp!

Thank you so much, I will let her know you said this!!

Oof, I feel that. I think I initially said I was going to take it easy for our Thanksgiving trip and THAT didn't exactly happen! I'm really gonna try this year with the two hard-ticket events we're going to!

Oh, that's amazing! Stormalong Bay is an awesome pool and the cabanas sound great there! Can I ask what it was like to book and pay for a resort pool cabana over the phone?

 

[Cloe Colton]

Pretty simple! You just have to call 407-WDW-PLAY, pick option 3 for rest and relaxation items and then just stay on the line until someone answers. They asked for the resort reservation number and then I just gave my cc info and it was all set!

I don't recall if you have an AP but there is a 15% discount which I failed to add when I first called but I called today and they refunded me the difference! I only booked a half day (still debating if I want to make it a full day but we really probably wont use it for like an hour past the half day lol). From talking in the Yacht and Beach Club thread one woman is saying she has hers showing up in MDE but I just got a confirmation number so I still need to do some investigating on that! I just assumed it was like tours and you don't get anything tangible in the way of confirmations!

But overall a very easy process!

 

[Newsies]

Pretty simple! You just have to call 407-WDW-PLAY, pick option 3 for rest and relaxation items and then just stay on the line until someone answers. They asked for the resort reservation number and then I just gave my cc info and it was all set!

I don't recall if you have an AP but there is a 15% discount which I failed to add when I first called but I called today and they refunded me the difference! I only booked a half day (still debating if I want to make it a full day but we really probably wont use it for like an hour past the half day lol). From talking in the Yacht and Beach Club thread one woman is saying she has hers showing up in MDE but I just got a confirmation number so I still need to do some investigating on that! I just assumed it was like tours and you don't get anything tangible in the way of confirmations!

But overall a very easy process!

So helpful-- thank you so much!!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

YES!! You definitely need to go to Epcot to celebrate 21!!

My thoughts exactly!! I think I pretty much have her convinced, so hopefully there will be a new PTR soon

 

[Newsies]

My thoughts exactly!! I think I pretty much have her convinced, so hopefully there will be a new PTR soon

I will keep my eye out on this board for it!!!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

If you guys follow LeBownitte on insta (who makes the BEST ears!!!), she had a sale on Friday and I won a $10 shop credit for the sale!

Those sales are not good for my wallet. Which seems contradictory because ya know 'sale' but what it really means is I'm buying more ears than I need

the family got into Moonlight Magic with minimal stress on our end!

The way it works is that once booking officially opens, your browser is assigned a random number that tells you where your place in line is/how many people are in front of you. The laptop started at 7050 people in front of us, our desktop started at 6500, my phone started at 3000... but the iPad only started at around 1300! Naturally, my iPad won the race and I got my confirmation email 20 minutes after booking opened!

Okay good to know! Glad you were so prepared. But not like I expected anything less.

She looked beautiful and had a great time! This weekend, she's celebrating the end of her senior year with her friends down by the shore.

but I MIGHT end up rope-dropping MK anyway

Now that we're adjusted to how consistent our vacations have become, I feel ready to start relaxing a bit more, which is great, because that means my legs won't ache for three weeks after we get home!

Same! It's so nice not feeling like go go go all day every day on each trip.

So glad your plans are shaping up!! It'll be here before you know it.

 

[Newsies]

Those sales are not good for my wallet. Which seems contradictory because ya know 'sale' but what it really means is I'm buying more ears than I need


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Okay good to know! Glad you were so prepared. But not like I expected anything less.


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Same! It's so nice not feeling like go go go all day every day on each trip.

So glad your plans are shaping up!! It'll be here before you know it.

MTE. Whenever there's a "Sale" with Lebownitte, I'm actually more inclined to spend all of my money. Oops.

Booking MM was definitely not as stressful as it was made out to be. However-- I learned later on that DVC members who booked cash reservations for their trip were unable to get the MM system to recognize their reservation last week!

YES!!! I am absolutely not going to miss the "go go go feeling" this time around!! I'm so glad you #relate!

 

[Newsies]

Our Tentative FP+ Plans!
​

Happy Father's Day! Today is going to be a pretty easy-going day in La Casa de Kaitlyn. Grocery shopping in the morning, a visit to Torrid to pick up some clothes I ordered, and pizza at my dad's favorite pizzeria for dinner. Mom & Grace got him some clothes for Father's Day, and I got him a pack of Disney-scented air fresheners from Magic Candle Co! I kept seeing their ad at the top of the page, so I checked out their website and as soon as I saw the air fresheners, I knew I had to get them for him. He loves his truck almost as much as he loves Disney world!

We've got a huge week coming up. Our first meeting as Camp Staff is Wednesday, I have a hair appointment on Friday, and Thursday is our FP+ day!

... Grace is also graduating high school on Thursday, but that's slightly less important than FP+ day, don't you think?

With all of this being said, I think I finally have my master list of FP+s to book! Here they are, ranked from the first day I'll be booking to the last day I'll be booking. I do have to run these by the family tonight during dinner so they are still moldable (although, let's be real- are FP+ or ADR ever set in stone?) but I think I've got them down pretty good for this trip!

#1- Hollywood Studios (Wednesday, August 21)
If we want to get on SDD at all this trip, we really need to get it for Wednesday. Preferably at this specific time, but really, any time between 3:45-6:00 would realistically work. Other than Toy Story Land, this is my family's least favorite park. I'm honoring mom's wishes for no FP+ in the morning or afternoon here, and we can go right from our FP+ to dinner at the Wilderness Lodge!
4:00-5:00 Slinky Dog Dash (back-up: Alien Swirling Saucers)
5:05-6:05 Star Tours
6:10-7:10 Tower of Terror

#2- Magic Kingdom (Sunday, August 18)
We definitely want to start our trip on a good note, which is why I'm inclined to book our first MK FP+ before our DAK FP+! Whatever else happens on this day, I have to meet Mickey & Minnie!
1:00-2:00 Meet Mickey & Minnie at Town Square Theater
2:05-3:05 7 Dwarfs Mine Train
3:10-4:10 Splash Mountain

#3- Disney's Animal Kingdom (Thursday, August 22)
So. At first, I thought I was going to try to book FoP for us again. But I've never been certain that dad would fit, and this week, Grace revealed to me that she has no desire to ride FoP. And frankly? At this point, neither do I. I, truthfully, don't care enough about Pandora to fight it out for this FP+, nor do I have the desire to stand in the standby queue for it. Thankfully, we have MM on this night! While the line is normally still at least an hour long for FOP during MM, I'll probably jump in line at 11:50 or so. I don't know what time FP+ service ends this night, but I know we won't get there until after 6 and the park closes at 8.
5:55-6:55 Na'vi River Journey
7:00-8:00 Kilimanjaro Safaris

#4- Disney's Magic Kingdom (Tuesday, August 20)
Our MNSSHP night! I know I definitely want to be in line for Jack and Sally at 4:00.
1:00-2:00 7 Dwarfs Mine Train
2:05-3:05 Peter Pan's Flight
3:10-4:10 Haunted Mansion

#5- Epcot (Monday, August 19)
Here's our tricky day! I was thrilled this week when C-Spot was bumped back down to a Tier 2 FP+!
ME:
9:00-10:00 Soarin'
10:05-11:05 Character Spot
11:10- 12:10 Spaceship Earth

FAMILY:
4:00-5:00 Figment
6:45-7:45 Test Track
7:50-8:50 Spaceship Earth

#6- Magic Kingdom (Friday, August 23)
I'm going to play it by ear on this day! I haven't actually decided on whether or not I'll do FP+ for this day, since I'll be super tired from the night before. I know I definitely want to say goodbye to my castle before heading back to NJ the next day!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Our Tentative FP+ Plans!
​

Happy Father's Day! Today is going to be a pretty easy-going day in La Casa de Kaitlyn. Grocery shopping in the morning, a visit to Torrid to pick up some clothes I ordered, and pizza at my dad's favorite pizzeria for dinner. Mom & Grace got him some clothes for Father's Day, and I got him a pack of Disney-scented air fresheners from Magic Candle Co! I kept seeing their ad at the top of the page, so I checked out their website and as soon as I saw the air fresheners, I knew I had to get them for him. He loves his truck almost as much as he loves Disney world!

We've got a huge week coming up. Our first meeting as Camp Staff is Wednesday, I have a hair appointment on Friday, and Thursday is our FP+ day!

... Grace is also graduating high school on Thursday, but that's slightly less important than FP+ day, don't you think?

With all of this being said, I think I finally have my master list of FP+s to book! Here they are, ranked from the first day I'll be booking to the last day I'll be booking. I do have to run these by the family tonight during dinner so they are still moldable (although, let's be real- are FP+ or ADR ever set in stone?) but I think I've got them down pretty good for this trip!

#1- Hollywood Studios (Wednesday, August 21)
If we want to get on SDD at all this trip, we really need to get it for Wednesday. Preferably at this specific time, but really, any time between 3:45-6:00 would realistically work. Other than Toy Story Land, this is my family's least favorite park. I'm honoring mom's wishes for no FP+ in the morning or afternoon here, and we can go right from our FP+ to dinner at the Wilderness Lodge!
4:00-5:00 Slinky Dog Dash (back-up: Alien Swirling Saucers)
5:05-6:05 Star Tours
6:10-7:10 Tower of Terror

#2- Magic Kingdom (Sunday, August 18)
We definitely want to start our trip on a good note, which is why I'm inclined to book our first MK FP+ before our DAK FP+! Whatever else happens on this day, I have to meet Mickey & Minnie!
1:00-2:00 Meet Mickey & Minnie at Town Square Theater
2:05-3:05 7 Dwarfs Mine Train
3:10-4:10 Splash Mountain

#3- Disney's Animal Kingdom (Thursday, August 22)
So. At first, I thought I was going to try to book FoP for us again. But I've never been certain that dad would fit, and this week, Grace revealed to me that she has no desire to ride FoP. And frankly? At this point, neither do I. I, truthfully, don't care enough about Pandora to fight it out for this FP+, nor do I have the desire to stand in the standby queue for it. Thankfully, we have MM on this night! While the line is normally still at least an hour long for FOP during MM, I'll probably jump in line at 11:50 or so. I don't know what time FP+ service ends this night, but I know we won't get there until after 6 and the park closes at 8.
5:55-6:55 Na'vi River Journey
7:00-8:00 Kilimanjaro Safaris

#4- Disney's Magic Kingdom (Tuesday, August 20)
Our MNSSHP night! I know I definitely want to be in line for Jack and Sally at 4:00.
1:00-2:00 7 Dwarfs Mine Train
2:05-3:05 Peter Pan's Flight
3:10-4:10 Haunted Mansion

#5- Epcot (Monday, August 19)
Here's our tricky day! I was thrilled this week when C-Spot was bumped back down to a Tier 2 FP+!
ME:
9:00-10:00 Soarin'
10:05-11:05 Character Spot
11:10- 12:10 Spaceship Earth

FAMILY:
4:00-5:00 Figment
6:45-7:45 Test Track
7:50-8:50 Spaceship Earth

#6- Magic Kingdom (Friday, August 23)
I'm going to play it by ear on this day! I haven't actually decided on whether or not I'll do FP+ for this day, since I'll be super tired from the night before. I know I definitely want to say goodbye to my castle before heading back to NJ the next day!

Wow big week! Hope it's a stellar one

 

[PlutosRHM55]

"And frankly? At this point, neither do I." Clearly what someone who has never been on Flight of Passage would say.

 

[Newsies]

Wow big week! Hope it's a stellar one

Thank you hun!!!!!!

"And frankly? At this point, neither do I." Clearly what someone who has never been on Flight of Passage would say.

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Your plans sound so great!! I actually completely agree with you on FoP. I did it for the first time in December and thought it was so fun, but I really just do not care enough to be that upset if I can't get a FP.