ChiasMom
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2014
I’m so excited to create my very first Pre-Trip Report! I’m a long time lurker on the DIS Boards but this will be the year I participate! We’re booked for a stay at Pop Century from 11/28/17 to 12/5/17.
About Us:
We are a family of three from Southern New Jersey, just outside of Philly.
Us at Epcot in 2014 (The little one is WAYYYY Bigger Now)
Me, 32
Learning Support Specialist
# of prior WDW visits: 6
Favorite Character(s): Ursula, Merida, Sadness, Ariel, Moana
Most Looking forward to: MVMCP, the new night time shows and Pandora attractions at AK, living vicariously through my daughter at BBB
My hubster, 38
Fleet Manager
# of prior WDW visits: 2
Favorite Character(s): tbh, I don’t think he has one or cares to choose
Most Looking forward to: Dining! And Rockin Roller Coaster, his favorite ride.
My Daughter, 4
# of prior WDW visits: 1
Favorite Character(s): This changes almost daily. At the time of this writing, she’s obsessed with Beauty and the Beast and Ariel.
Most Looking forward to: Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, Meeting the Beast at Be Our Guest Restaurant, and Meeting Gaston at his tavern.
Our last visit was in October 2014 to celebrate my 30th birthday, and it included myself, my husband, my daughter (then 1.5 years old), my mom, and my brother. This time, we’re coming back with just the three of us, which we are super happy about because we can really stick to my anal-retentive, ugh, I mean, highly organized touring plans. Last time, we were slowed down considerably by my family members who are not so keen on waking up early.
Here’s a birds-eye view of what last time was SUPPOSED TO look like:
I’m also really excited that my daughter will be able to experience more of the Disney Magic this time, since she’s older now and really hitting a good target demographic for the parks, particularly Fantasyland in MK. This will likely be the last time I can take her during the “school year” because once she starts kindergarten it becomes a truancy issue. Someday soon, we’ll only be able to go during “Jersey Week!” (I’m one of those people who refuses to go during the summer).
This will be my 3rd time staying at Pop, and my husband’s second. It isn’t terribly glamorous, but it certainly does the trick! We did treat ourselves to a preferred room this time, so I’m interested to see whether or not that pays off.
I’ve never been to WDW during the holiday season, so that’s our main focus for this trip. We’re definitely planning on the Christmas Party and I’m also excited about the seasonal stuff in Epcot. We are going to try to get in a good amount of time for character meet and greets, something I haven’t had to think about for any of my prior trips. We are skipping Disney Springs this time (it’s lovely, but not priority for us), and we’re also not planning on any water park stuff. Although I’m packing a bathing suit just in case, I don’t really anticipate getting any pool time in, either - partly because the weather will be hit or miss, but also because I’m anticipating that our schedule will be quite full! That’s how I roll….
We have the Dining Plan (still crossing my fingers for the free dining promotion to apply to us this year), and we selected Park Hopper tickets. I was on the fence about whether or not the park hopper was necessary, but I felt like if I didn’t purchase it, I’d wind up regretting not having it. I’m still undecided on whether or not to get the Memory Maker option this time. We got it last time and were not terribly impressed, as there were many photos missing and the picture quality was frequently disappointing. I shall ponder it a bit more.
I’m a TouringPlans.com subscriber and already have crowd forecast all mapped out for my travel dates. (Grrrrr…. Already got an email that the crowds have been upgraded a few points for each day I’m there - so I need to update the spreadsheet already and re-consider my park days). I’ve also got my list of “must-do” items for each park to help prioritize our FP+s and ADRs (which I will likely post below at some point). I’m really just sitting on my hands until it comes time to book ADRs and check out the published park hours around the 6-month mark.
Holy Moly! So Excited! 286 Days to go!
*edited to correct my number of previous visits, because apparently, I can't count!
About Us:
We are a family of three from Southern New Jersey, just outside of Philly.
Us at Epcot in 2014 (The little one is WAYYYY Bigger Now)
Me, 32
Learning Support Specialist
# of prior WDW visits: 6
Favorite Character(s): Ursula, Merida, Sadness, Ariel, Moana
Most Looking forward to: MVMCP, the new night time shows and Pandora attractions at AK, living vicariously through my daughter at BBB
My hubster, 38
Fleet Manager
# of prior WDW visits: 2
Favorite Character(s): tbh, I don’t think he has one or cares to choose
Most Looking forward to: Dining! And Rockin Roller Coaster, his favorite ride.
My Daughter, 4
# of prior WDW visits: 1
Favorite Character(s): This changes almost daily. At the time of this writing, she’s obsessed with Beauty and the Beast and Ariel.
Most Looking forward to: Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, Meeting the Beast at Be Our Guest Restaurant, and Meeting Gaston at his tavern.
Our last visit was in October 2014 to celebrate my 30th birthday, and it included myself, my husband, my daughter (then 1.5 years old), my mom, and my brother. This time, we’re coming back with just the three of us, which we are super happy about because we can really stick to my anal-retentive, ugh, I mean, highly organized touring plans. Last time, we were slowed down considerably by my family members who are not so keen on waking up early.
Here’s a birds-eye view of what last time was SUPPOSED TO look like:
I’m also really excited that my daughter will be able to experience more of the Disney Magic this time, since she’s older now and really hitting a good target demographic for the parks, particularly Fantasyland in MK. This will likely be the last time I can take her during the “school year” because once she starts kindergarten it becomes a truancy issue. Someday soon, we’ll only be able to go during “Jersey Week!” (I’m one of those people who refuses to go during the summer).
This will be my 3rd time staying at Pop, and my husband’s second. It isn’t terribly glamorous, but it certainly does the trick! We did treat ourselves to a preferred room this time, so I’m interested to see whether or not that pays off.
I’ve never been to WDW during the holiday season, so that’s our main focus for this trip. We’re definitely planning on the Christmas Party and I’m also excited about the seasonal stuff in Epcot. We are going to try to get in a good amount of time for character meet and greets, something I haven’t had to think about for any of my prior trips. We are skipping Disney Springs this time (it’s lovely, but not priority for us), and we’re also not planning on any water park stuff. Although I’m packing a bathing suit just in case, I don’t really anticipate getting any pool time in, either - partly because the weather will be hit or miss, but also because I’m anticipating that our schedule will be quite full! That’s how I roll….
We have the Dining Plan (still crossing my fingers for the free dining promotion to apply to us this year), and we selected Park Hopper tickets. I was on the fence about whether or not the park hopper was necessary, but I felt like if I didn’t purchase it, I’d wind up regretting not having it. I’m still undecided on whether or not to get the Memory Maker option this time. We got it last time and were not terribly impressed, as there were many photos missing and the picture quality was frequently disappointing. I shall ponder it a bit more.
I’m a TouringPlans.com subscriber and already have crowd forecast all mapped out for my travel dates. (Grrrrr…. Already got an email that the crowds have been upgraded a few points for each day I’m there - so I need to update the spreadsheet already and re-consider my park days). I’ve also got my list of “must-do” items for each park to help prioritize our FP+s and ADRs (which I will likely post below at some point). I’m really just sitting on my hands until it comes time to book ADRs and check out the published park hours around the 6-month mark.
Holy Moly! So Excited! 286 Days to go!
*edited to correct my number of previous visits, because apparently, I can't count!
Last edited:
have color coded spreadsheets. I have DH, DS9, DS8, & DD3. Looking forward to following along.
