*** The Official August 2018 Thread*** - let's have some fun....

[spurk5532]

My plan so far but most likely to change here and there multiple times before we leave.

Aug 13: Red Eye Flight to MCO from Spokane, WA. (Both my son and I sleep well on planes so not too worried about this and it gives us more time in the parks)
Aug 14: Arrive at 7:33am Check-In at ASMo then Epcot for the day Garden Grill lunch 12:10pm
Aug 15: MK day Skipper's Canteen lunch 12:55pm end the day at Beaches and Cream 9:40pm
Aug 16: Undecided BOG Breakfast 10:10am
Aug 17: AK AM Tusker House Lunch 12:50pm, MNSSHP in the evening
Aug 18 : HS Fantasmic Dinner Package H & V 7:50pm
Aug 19: Disney Springs before we have to head to airport for long flight home.

Okay already changed my plans after a BOG dinner ADR opened up.

Aug 16 is now a HS day with Fantasmic dinner package at H&V 5:10pm
Aug 18 will be our free day with dinner at BOG at 4:10pm.

 

[Tomh]

Our August 2018 rough itinerary

updated *NOW* 2 week trip to WDW: Aug 19 - Sept 1

Day 1: Travel/Disney Springs
Day 2: Epcot (Biergarten)
Day 3: MK *Early Morning Magic* (Crystal Palace)
Day 4: HS (HVine Fantastic package)
Day 5: MK (Cindy Castle + Liberty Tavern) (Dessert party MK)
Day 6: Typhoon Lagoon + 'Ohana Dinner
Day 7: Epcot (Akerhouse)
Day 8: EMM at MK then AK (Tusker House)
Day 9: HS (Sci-Fi + 50's Prime) (Dessert Party SW)
Day 10: Halloween Party in evening (Chef Mickey's lunch)
Day 11: AK (Boma)
Day 12: Epcot (opening day of Food + Wine)
Day 13: DHS a.m. + Halloween Party p.m. (Be Our Guest)
Day 14: Sleep in then Travel

may seem like a lot but we roll at a relaxed pace because we have so many days. MANY afternoons at pool/Nap and some late mornings and early evenings.

opted to stay at Pop Century w/ free dining and use the extra $ (instead of staying deluxe) to do ALOT of extras (2 Halloween, 2 EMM, 2 Dessert parties, DS shopping etc)

We always go for long trips, so that we have lots of time to do special things. We only stayed deluxe one time, and the last couple of years have stayed offsite. I think you stole my Itinerary though. EMM on the 19th, Halloween party on the 28th. Well, ok the rest is different, but still lol

That's pretty much why we stay Value, it allows a long trip with some extras. The longer trips allow for flexibility and down time so we don't feel like we need a vacation when we get back home.

Yup, agreed. I would rather spend the money on extra stuff like EMM, MNSSHP, LaNouba (or what ever it's replacement is going forward) etc.

Check in date of 7/30, so fast pass day is tomorrow. Very excited

Awesome!

Fellow August travelers,

I read somewhere that August hours may change slightly from what they are now. Is that a possibility?

August hours are open to changing up until the day of, and sometimes do. It is not unusual for a 9 park opening to change to 8 the night before, or for an extra hour to be added in the evening day of.

 

[amy1115]

Love seeing all the plans! Here are DH and I's (tentative) plans:

Aug 25th - Arrive at MCO from Dallas at 4:40PM. Take DME (first time, eek!!) to ASM Resort (first on-site stay, eek again!). Dinner @ Raglan Rd @ 7:45, also a first
Aug 26th - RD Epcot, lunch @ Via Napoli, take a break @ resort, hop to MK for the night.
Aug 27th - RD AK (First time in Pandora eek!) lunch @ Satu'li Canteen, take a break, back to AK to see Pandora at night and dinner @ Yak & Yeti.
Aug 28th - Sleep in/pool/Dis Springs day, lunch @ Homecomin', possibly do MNSSHP. Still can't decide on this one!
Aug 29th - Epcot morning with Garden Grille for breakfast, resort break, HS night for Star Wars Fireworks

Aug 30th - SPENDING MY 35TH BIRTHDAY AT DISNEY WORLD!!Just a little excited..... RD MK, lunch @ Liberty Tree Tavern, resort break, hop to Epcot for dinner @ San Angel Inn and Illuminations.
Aug 31st - RD MK, breakfast @ Kona, resort break and then hop to Epcot to enjoy The Food and Wine Festival. For what? You guessed it, the first time!!!
Sept 1st - The saddest day ever. We don't leave until the evening so we're not sure what we'll do for this day yet. Probably play it by ear.

This is definitely the trip of firsts for us. We're trying lots of new restaurants, first stay onsite, Food and Wine, possibly the Halloween Party. To say we're excited is such and understatement!

 

[Spunky946]

How did it turn out?

The website and app were both really glitchy for the first 20 minutes or so, which I’ve heard has been happening, and then it worked well and I was able to get everything I wanted at the times I wanted.

 

[rentayenta]

The website and app were both really glitchy for the first 20 minutes or so, which I’ve heard has been happening, and then it worked well and I was able to get everything I wanted at the times I wanted.

Other than the glitchiness, thats awesome!

 

[suse66]

I am taking my 14 year old niece for her first onsite trip August 21-28! Our plans so far as follows;

8/21 Arrival at 10:30. Check in to the Poly. Lunch at Oasis Pool bar. Epcot for EMH. Dinner at Via Napoli.
8/22 4 parks/1 day challenge!! HS/AK/EP/MK. Lunch at Yak and Yeti.
8/23 Sleep in/pool time. Early dinner at Sci-Fi. HS from about 3 pm on. Fantasmic/fireworks.
8/24 EMH at MK. Late breakfast at Trail's End. Typhoon Lagoon. Late EMH at HS??
8/25 Shopping at DS. Pool/relax. MK for evening. Dinner at the Plaza.
8/26 Breakfast at Kona. Blizzard Beach. AK from about 4 pm.
8/27 Mk morning. Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern. Evening ???? Probably EP.
8/28 EP/MK. Departure at 2 pm for 6 pm flight.

 

[amy1115]

I am taking my 14 year old niece for her first onsite trip August 21-28! Our plans so far as follows;

8/21 Arrival at 10:30. Check in to the Poly. Lunch at Oasis Pool bar. Epcot for EMH. Dinner at Via Napoli.
8/22 4 parks/1 day challenge!! HS/AK/EP/MK. Lunch at Yak and Yeti.
8/23 Sleep in/pool time. Early dinner at Sci-Fi. HS from about 3 pm on. Fantasmic/fireworks.
8/24 EMH at MK. Late breakfast at Trail's End. Typhoon Lagoon. Late EMH at HS??
8/25 Shopping at DS. Pool/relax. MK for evening. Dinner at the Plaza.
8/26 Breakfast at Kona. Blizzard Beach. AK from about 4 pm.
8/27 Mk morning. Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern. Evening ???? Probably EP.
8/28 EP/MK. Departure at 2 pm for 6 pm flight.

Loving your taste in food!! We have a lot of the same dining planned!

 

[mister morrow]

i am real late to this thread haha

my family of six and two friends will be going to disney from august 21st-27th.
compared to most people on the DIS, we are very last minute planners lol

we hope to stay on property in a villa (you never know!), but if not we are going to bonnet creek!
i don't think we'll have an issue getting a room at SSR or AKV (standard), but we are aiming for OKW!

 

[mister morrow]

i am currently eagerly waiting for dvc rental store to email me back for any openings.

fingers crossed!

 

[Tomh]

Well, since folks are sharing their plans, here's mine. We will be a group of 7, possibly 8.

8/16 Start the drive from NY, stop in Manning SC for the night
8/17 Lunch at Caribbean Jacks (Daytona), arrive in Disney area around 2:00. Shopping / Disney Springs for supper
8/18 Epcot with late supper at Rose and Crown
8/19 Early Morning Magic / MK. short evening trip to the Poly for supper at 'Ohana
8/20 Epcot with supper at the Biergarten
8/21 AK with supper at Rainforest Cafe'
8/22 Epcot
8/23 MK Crystal Palace PPO, Liberty Tree Tavern supper light lunch
8/24 Sleep in, shopping / Disney Springs / Old Town in the evening for the car cruise
8/25 Epcot with late supper at Rose and Crown (love dining there in the evening and staying for Illuminations)
8/26 AK lunch at Tusker House
8/27 MK Breakfast at Chef Mickey's PPO, supper at Liberty Tree Tavern light lunch
8/28 MK Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare PPO Lunch at Tony's Town Square light supper MNSSHP
8/29 Start the drive back to NY

 

[Rach73]

I read somewhere on here on another tread that if you have two reservations within 60 days of each other your FP window for the second reservation will open up a day early due to a glitch. My FP day was originally for tomorrow but I thought I would give it a try this morning and it worked!!! Made our Aug FPs a day early! Thanks Dis! I got everything we wanted and at the right times. Yay! We leave tomorrow for our June trip! So excited!

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

August 5th has plenty of FOP if anyone is interested

 

[mister morrow]

Well, since folks are sharing their plans, here's mine. We will be a group of 7, possibly 8.

8/16 Start the drive from NY, stop in Manning SC for the night
8/17 Lunch at Caribbean Jacks (Daytona), arrive in Disney area around 2:00. Shopping / Disney Springs for supper
8/18 Epcot with late supper at Rose and Crown
8/19 Early Morning Magic / MK. short evening trip to the Poly for supper at 'Ohana
8/20 Epcot with supper at the Biergarten
8/21 AK with supper at Rainforest Cafe'
8/22 Epcot
8/23 MK Crystal Palace PPO, Liberty Tree Tavern supper light lunch
8/24 Sleep in, shopping / Disney Springs / Old Town in the evening for the car cruise
8/25 Epcot with late supper at Rose and Crown (love dining there in the evening and staying for Illuminations)
8/26 AK lunch at Tusker House
8/27 MK Breakfast at Chef Mickey's PPO, supper at Liberty Tree Tavern light lunch
8/28 MK Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare PPO Lunch at Tony's Town Square light supper MNSSHP
8/29 Start the drive back to NY

i hope you guys have an easy drive down! just thinking about driving to disney makes me tired

we live in nj and used to drive down every trip to WDW!

are you guys on the dining plan? you have so many ADRs

 

[shanew21]

August 5th has plenty of FOP if anyone is interested

Gah it better stay this way by 6am!

 

[Tomh]

i hope you guys have an easy drive down! just thinking about driving to disney makes me tired

we live in nj and used to drive down every trip to WDW!

are you guys on the dining plan? you have so many ADRs

Aside from the burning in my legs and back from a ruptured disc (yup, that part of the drive stinks) I honestly don't mind driving down, and have done so every summer for the past 10 years. Key strategies are don't drive in July when Congress is still in session. Try to get through Virginia in the early afternoon, well before the evening rush hits. Get the hell through the Norther half of NJ before the morning rush into NYC starts, and don't drive down on the weekend. Mid week is MUCH better for the trip South. It usually takes us between 18 and 19 hours on the road. We have had years when it was much worse. We got stuck in awful traffic on I95 in the Northern half of Virginia, took over 3 hours to go 12 miles one year. It was brutal. We've had years where there were just accidents and slow downs everywhere.

One year, we left here at something like 3 in the morning, got through NJ with only one real slow area, because they were doing overnight construction. We were on 495 by 7:30 in the morning . . and then . . . we hit a huge pot hole, broke a steering knuckle on the car at 75MPH in the center lane with cars on both sides of us. Serious white knuckle driving for a bit there, while things shook, and veered all over the place. Managed to get the car off the road, in one piece. AAA towed us into Glen Burnie, where we dropped $1k on repairs, and wound up staying the night. Next morning we were on the road just before noon, and drove straight through to Orlando, arriving after 2:00 in the morning. That was a long, exhausting day. Tail lights in front of me were starting to swirl around by the time we got there. Had it taken another half hour, I would not have been able to do it.

Thankfully, the drive usually goes MUCH smoother than that!

No, we aren't on the dining plan, we aren't even staying on site. We are staying at Dreams Villas this year, and pay for our dining out of pocket. We do enjoy our table service meals. It is our version of a mid day break. We don't always have desert though, so that takes some of the cost out of it, and we will have an AP, so we will get a bit of a discount on some of the meals. Everything is paid for with Disney Gift Cards, which we buy at Sams Club. Sams sells the $500 card for about $480, so we save $20 on every card. We pay with our Disney Visa, which gives us another $4.80 in Disney Reward dollars for each card we buy, which we can spend on the trip, and since my wife is a Plus member at Sams, she gets another $10 in rewards at Sams for every $500 she spends, which nets us nearly another $50. All of that, plus the AP discount, makes the food a bit less expensive than you would expect. $500 in dining minus the AP 10% discount is $450. Paid for with a $500 gift card that cost us $480, so we saved another $20 there, bringing our cost down to $430. We got a $10 reward from sams, so now we are at $420, and we got $4.80 back from Disney Visa, so our final cost is about $415 for $500 worth of dining. The Sams rewards will be used for food and other supplies for the vacation villa. The Disney Visa Rewards money will be used for dining / souvenirs etc. in the parks.

 

[mister morrow]

Aside from the burning in my legs and back from a ruptured disc (yup, that part of the drive stinks) I honestly don't mind driving down, and have done so every summer for the past 10 years. Key strategies are don't drive in July when Congress is still in session. Try to get through Virginia in the early afternoon, well before the evening rush hits. Get the hell through the Norther half of NJ before the morning rush into NYC starts, and don't drive down on the weekend. Mid week is MUCH better for the trip South. It usually takes us between 18 and 19 hours on the road. We have had years when it was much worse. We got stuck in awful traffic on I95 in the Northern half of Virginia, took over 3 hours to go 12 miles one year. It was brutal. We've had years where there were just accidents and slow downs everywhere.

One year, we left here at something like 3 in the morning, got through NJ with only one real slow area, because they were doing overnight construction. We were on 495 by 7:30 in the morning . . and then . . . we hit a huge pot hole, broke a steering knuckle on the car at 75MPH in the center lane with cars on both sides of us. Serious white knuckle driving for a bit there, while things shook, and veered all over the place. Managed to get the car off the road, in one piece. AAA towed us into Glen Burnie, where we dropped $1k on repairs, and wound up staying the night. Next morning we were on the road just before noon, and drove straight through to Orlando, arriving after 2:00 in the morning. That was a long, exhausting day. Tail lights in front of me were starting to swirl around by the time we got there. Had it taken another half hour, I would not have been able to do it.

Thankfully, the drive usually goes MUCH smoother than that!

No, we aren't on the dining plan, we aren't even staying on site. We are staying at Dreams Villas this year, and pay for our dining out of pocket. We do enjoy our table service meals. It is our version of a mid day break. We don't always have desert though, so that takes some of the cost out of it, and we will have an AP, so we will get a bit of a discount on some of the meals. Everything is paid for with Disney Gift Cards, which we buy at Sams Club. Sams sells the $500 card for about $480, so we save $20 on every card. We pay with our Disney Visa, which gives us another $4.80 in Disney Reward dollars for each card we buy, which we can spend on the trip, and since my wife is a Plus member at Sams, she gets another $10 in rewards at Sams for every $500 she spends, which nets us nearly another $50. All of that, plus the AP discount, makes the food a bit less expensive than you would expect. $500 in dining minus the AP 10% discount is $450. Paid for with a $500 gift card that cost us $480, so we saved another $20 there, bringing our cost down to $430. We got a $10 reward from sams, so now we are at $420, and we got $4.80 back from Disney Visa, so our final cost is about $415 for $500 worth of dining. The Sams rewards will be used for food and other supplies for the vacation villa. The Disney Visa Rewards money will be used for dining / souvenirs etc. in the parks.

wow. we used to drive, but our experiences were surprisingly pleasant.

i saw dreams villas on tripadvisor when i was looking for hotels and those villas look so beautiful!

i hope you and your party has a great time!

 

[mister morrow]

after anxiously waiting for a day, dvc resale market responded... we officially have reservations for a 2 bedroom villa at Old Key West from the 21st to the 27th! we can't wait!

i still don't understand how we got that reservation

 

[shanew21]

Fastpass this morning! Unfortunately the earliest Slinky Dog Dash was only 5:50pm on 60+1, so we went with Toy Story Mania instead and we'll rope drop Slinky Dog bright and early.

(All for group of 2)
60+1:
Toy Story Mania 8-9
Rock n Rollercoaster 9-10
Tower of Terror 10:05-11:05

60+2
Everest 9-10
Kilimajaro Safaris 10-11
Flight of Passage 12:10-1:10

60+3
Big Thunder 9:10-10:10
Space Mountain 10:15-11:15
Splash 11:20-12:20

It absolutely pays to refresh and double check! I was able to move things around with moderate success by going to "Modify" then refreshing the times. They changed a lot while I was looking. The biggest example was Flight of Passage. Upon first booking the earliest time was 4:45, so I booked that then went to modify and after probably 5-10 minutes of refreshing a 12:10 popped up.

 

[crazedprincess]

@Tomh we will be in MK at the same time as you on the 23rd! But we are eating at LTT the day before. Wouldn't that have been funny if we happened to eat there at the same time?

 

[Tomh]

@Tomh we will be in MK at the same time as you on the 23rd! But we are eating at LTT the day before. Wouldn't that have been funny if we happened to eat there at the same time?

It's a small world after all