The Year of Disney - A 2018 PTR. Updated 10/12x4!

Happy Birthday to Me!

I’ve had a few people ask me, “Are you really going to Disney by yourself for your birthday?” Yep, of course I am! I’m a pretty strong introvert so being alone does not bother me at all. And a solo Disney trip is one of my favorite things. I do love going with other people but there is something intoxicating about being able to do what you want, when you want, without having to worry about others.

For Thursday, August 9th which is my actual birthday there was only one park I even thought about going to and that was Magic Kingdom of course!




MK is my happy place and what better way to spend your Birthday than at your happy place.

I plan to start my day at rope drop with a cruise through the jungle.




And a swashbuckling boat ride.



This will be my first trip through Pirates with the new scene and I’m anxious to see it. I don’t like Disney messing with my favorite ride. :D

My first FP for the day is BTMR from 9:25 – 10:25 am.



I want to use that one towards the end so I may have to fill in with the Tiki Birds or maybe Country Bears beforehand. I plan to stagger the outside activities as much as possible and also take frequent ice water breaks.

The reason I want to do that one towards the end is because my 2nd FP is right next door from 10:25 – 11:25 am. Yep, you guessed it, I’m going to brave Splash Mountain again.




That photo was taken back in 2015 and was the last time I rode Splash. It was pouring rain that night, hence the ponchos everyone has on. Water rides are just not my favorite because I hate walking around wet afterwards. But I figure if I’m going to ride it, August is the best possible time.

After Splash I’ll head up into Fantasyland and if I have time, take a boat ride around the world.




At 11:30 I will need to be at Be Our Guest to check in for my 11:35 am ADR. I need to celebrate my birthday with a turkey sandwich and my favorite chocolate cupcake.





I will definitely be preordering so I don’t have to stand in the hot sun on the bridge.

After lunch I will use my last FP from 12:30 – 1:30 to visit some happy haunts.




After that I will decide if I want to stay in the park or head back to my room for a break from the heat. Knowing myself, I’ll probably just trek on and try to stay indoors as much as possible. I’ll also take a peek for additional FPs. Being by myself I should be able to snag additional ones unless the park is super crowded.

I’ll also slow down a bit and see some shows like Tiki Birds or Country Bears if I didn’t catch them that morning. Heck I might even end up in the Hall of Presidents since its air conditioned!








One thing I know I won’t do is sit outside and wait for the afternoon parade. I’ve seen it enough times to skip it in the heat.

When I first started thinking about this trip months ago I made a few dining reservations just in case. For this evening I had decided to do meal #2 at BOG. But then the menu changed to super-fancy and expensive. I’m really not a fancy food person so I cancelled that reservation and instead made one at the Plaza which is much more my speed. I’m sure I will have my usual burger and fries and either a milk shake or chocolate ice cream for dessert.




One thing I may order differently this trip is the new Sangria. I’ve heard it’s pretty good so a glass of that might be in the cards.

After dinner I may catch another ride or two but I know for sure I will be somewhere in the Hub to catch Happily Ever After at 9:15 pm.




And yes, I do know that picture is from Wishes but I haven’t had a chance to photograph HEA yet. Maybe this trip I will get the chance.

As of right now, MK closes at 10 pm so after HEA I’ll start on my way out via the Emporium. I would like to find a new Disney rain coat on this trip as the one I currently have is at least 20 years old and long overdue for a replacement.

Up Next: Hollywood Studios Open 17 ½ Hours? No Problem!
 
I have done 2 1/2 solo trips and I enjoy them . I was there for my 50th birthday with my DH who just went to appease me - he doesn’t have the same love for Disney I do . I almost wished I was by myself. All I wanted was to be in MK on my birthday. The day before was evening EMH so I wanted to go and be there at midnight then stay until park close . Well , I was there at midnight but left by 12:30 cause DH was done . But he doesn’t mind when I go by myself now so it all worked out .

PS my older DS birthday is August 9th
 
Your birthday at MK sounds like it will be so fun!!

Thanks! I hope it will be. My only worry is the heat but hopefully I'll be able to handle that.

I have done 2 1/2 solo trips and I enjoy them . I was there for my 50th birthday with my DH who just went to appease me - he doesn’t have the same love for Disney I do . I almost wished I was by myself. All I wanted was to be in MK on my birthday. The day before was evening EMH so I wanted to go and be there at midnight then stay until park close . Well , I was there at midnight but left by 12:30 cause DH was done . But he doesn’t mind when I go by myself now so it all worked out .

PS my older DS birthday is August 9th

My husband started out as a non-Disney fan but I've managed to convert him. He still only prefers to go every other year. I did invite him on this trip just to be polite but we were just there in January and I'm making him come for a few days in October with my family so I knew he would say no. :rotfl:

Yay, a birthday twin!
 
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Hollywood Studios Open 17 ½ Hours? No Problem!

Since this is a very short trip, I will be splitting Friday, August 10th between Hollywood Studios and Epcot. HS is kind of lean right now on offerings and Epcot is just not my favorite park. Plus we will be spending a ton of time there in October for Food and Wine.

As the title says, HS is open a total of 17 ½ hours from 7 am to 12:30 am on this day with both morning and evening EMHs. I honestly don’t know how I’m going to start out this day since Toy Story Land is not open yet. My original thought was to rope drop Slinky Dog Dash but then I managed to snag a SDD FP for later that night. Instead, I may just try to head to Alien Saucer Swirl and TSM during morning EMHs. I really need more information about the crowds before I formulate a plan so I will be watching closely when TSL opens in a few days.

My first FP for the day isn’t till 9:30 am and it’s for Tower of Terror. Depending on how things go in TSL, I may or may not have time to kill before that FP. I might end up catching a show or doing some shopping.

After TOT, I will exit out of HS and head over to Epcot. I think I will take the bus on this leg of the journey since I want to end up at the front of Epcot. Part of me wants to take the boat because i know the International Gate will be a lot less crowded. But the boats can be pretty stuffy plus I'll then have to walk to the front of the park. So an air-conditioned bus directly to my destination sounds good at this point.




I wasn’t able to make my Slinky Dog FP till later that evening so I won’t have any FPs for Epcot. But I don’t think I will mind waiting in lines as long as they are indoors. The line shouldn’t be too long to take a favorite boat ride.



Or visit a purple dragon.



Oh heck, I might even wait in line for Test Track or Soarin’ since there will be air-conditioning.



I originally had Mama Melrose booked for this day but figured I wouldn’t be staying at HS all the way to lunch time so I cancelled that reservation. As of right now I have a 12:30 pm ADR at Garden Grill. I want to move that time a little closer to noon but if I can’t find an earlier reservation I’ll probably just stick with that one. I figured it would probably be the only way I’ll get to see Pluto on this trip. Plus the food is just awesome here. I’m drooling just looking at the photos.





I’m also hoping they still have the kid’s cup cake cones for dessert since I don’t like the usual berry dish they serve.



Once I ride some rides and have lunch in Future World, I will probably make one quick trip around World Showcase to stop at a few of my favorite stores. Mexico, Germany and Japan will definitely be stops along the way.

Part of me wants to make a stop in France for an Ice Cream Martini.




That baby has been calling my name ever since I had one last year but I am hesitant to drink a lot of alcohol on this trip because I sometimes feel nauseous when I combine it with hot weather.

I need to end up back at the International gate by 6 pm at the latest to catch a boat back to HS for my Slinky Dog FP from 7:35 – 8:35 pm. I want to use the FP close to the beginning of the time and you’ll see why here in a minute.

Another drink I’ve been craving is the California Sunset from Baseline Tap House so if I end up back at HS early, I may get one of these before heading to Slinky Dog. Once again it will just depend on the heat and how I’m feeling at the moment.




After Slinky Dog I will make my way towards Launch Bay to check in for the Star Wars Dessert Party. Yes, yes, I know I said no dessert parties but I read recently that they have added seating to this party. It's assigned seating and I will be seated with others because the tables are 4 tops. I just hope the people I end up with are nice. So indoors, plus seating, plus reserved viewing area for the Star Wars show all added up to me booking this one after I wrote the initial post. I know the menu has changed some since Jim and I did this party in 2016 but they still have the Darth Vader chocolate peanut butter cupcakes as far as I know so I’m good.



Originally, I had planned to leave the park after the Star Wars fireworks and not worry about evening EMHs. But then I saw a video of TSL at night and I knew immediately that I would have to venture back into the land to see it after dark. I don’t know if I’ll ride any of the rides again but I want to at least have some time to enjoy the lights. I ended up rearranging my FPs for the next day so I could stay without worrying about an early morning.

Up Next: Animal Kingdom and Shopping Day
 
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This will be a long but fun day! I'm glad you were able to get a SDD FP! The video of Toy Story Land at night looks incredible; it didn't even occur to me that would be all lit up until I watched that!

Glad you made an ADR for Garden Grill too!
 
This will be a long but fun day! I'm glad you were able to get a SDD FP! The video of Toy Story Land at night looks incredible; it didn't even occur to me that would be all lit up until I watched that!

Glad you made an ADR for Garden Grill too!

Yep, it's going to be a super long day but I can't wait to experience TSL! I'm hoping that the craziness that went on this weekend will have died down some by August.

I'm really looking forward to Garden Grill, I love the food there. And for some reason, the rest of my family never wants to eat there so catching it on a solo trip is pretty much the only time I get there.
 


Animal Kingdom and Shopping Day

Saturday, August 11th will be split between Animal Kingdom and Disney Springs. At the moment, AK opens at 8 am for EMHs. I’m really hoping they don’t change it to 7 am like they did for my January trip. That way I can get an extra hour of sleep although at this point I don’t know if I will end up getting up to make it for EMHs. It will depend on how late I stay at HS the night before. So I have two plans for this day.

Plan A – get up and head to AK for morning EMHs.

I will join the masses at rope drop to head to Pandora and Flights of Passage.




Despite having a FOP FP for later that evening, I still want to ride it in the morning if I manage to get up and moving in time. I’ve been on the ride 4 times now and it’s just as good every time.

If I get through with FOP early enough I might check the line for Na’vi River Journey. But in all honesty I can take it or leave it so I will probably head on out to Dinosaur instead.




After that, I will exit the park and catch the first available bus to a resort and then hop a bus to Disney Springs.

Plan B – If I’m too tired after my marathon HS/Epcot/HS day, I will sleep in a bit and then head straight to Disney Springs.

Once I make it to DS, I want to check out the jewelry store for certain. I would like to get a gold ring this time. There are a few Rebecca Hook ones I like but I want to see them in person before I buy. I also want to stop in at World of Disney, the Co-Op and Arribas Brothers.

I have a 1:15 pm ADR at the Boathouse. This is the only new to me ADR for the trip. I’ve heard good things about the restaurant and am anxious to give it a try.

Once I finish shopping, I’ll stop back at my room to drop of anything I bought and do some packing since I will be leaving the following day. Then I will head back to AK for the evening.


My first FP for the day is for the Safari from 5:15 – 6:15 pm but I hope to make it back to AK in time to see the Festival of the Lion King beforehand.



My second FP for the evening will be for Expedition Everest from 6:25 – 7:25 pm



My final FP is for FOP FP from 7:25 – 8:25 and I’ll probably stick around afterwards to see the land at night. I missed doing that in both January and February.

In between my FPs, I may grab dinner at Flame Tree but I’m not sure I’ll even be hungry after my late lunch. It’s been a while since I’ve eaten there though so I may go for it.




AK closes at 9 pm and I seriously considered doing Disney After Hours at MK. DAH is a special event that runs at MK from 10 pm to 1 am that night. It costs $119 a person ($89 with an AP) and it includes free beverages and snacks. In the end I decided on a different event the next morning because I don’t want to hurry myself out of AK to get to MK on time. I do hope they keep that event going so I can try it someday.

Up Next: Early Morning Magic at MK
 
Depending on how early you get in and out of FoP you should be able to get on NRJ no problem. I did both at rope drop in March. I was done with both at 9:30ish I think? Then ran over to Everest and was out of AK by 10!
 
Your plans for this day sound great! Good idea being flexible about the AM in case you're too tired to go to AK!
 
I fell behind (again!) but all of your plans sound terrific, especially your birthday at MK!! Sounds like you're ready to tackle DHS and TSL with a really good plan, too. I couldn't believe we were able to go this summer for a couple of surprise days, and even more so couldn't believe we missed the opening by just 3 days!!!!!! I can't wait to get back and see TSL myself soon!!!!!
 
Depending on how early you get in and out of FoP you should be able to get on NRJ no problem. I did both at rope drop in March. I was done with both at 9:30ish I think? Then ran over to Everest and was out of AK by 10!

I'm hoping to do something similar in a few weeks if I can get my butt out of bed and moving on time.

Your plans for this day sound great! Good idea being flexible about the AM in case you're too tired to go to AK!

Thanks! I like having different options and not having a really rigid schedule.

I fell behind (again!) but all of your plans sound terrific, especially your birthday at MK!! Sounds like you're ready to tackle DHS and TSL with a really good plan, too. I couldn't believe we were able to go this summer for a couple of surprise days, and even more so couldn't believe we missed the opening by just 3 days!!!!!! I can't wait to get back and see TSL myself soon!!!!!

I'm behind myself! Had a busy/stressful few weeks and was off the DIS for a bit. I'm really excited to see TSL for the first time.
 
Joy and Sadness

So once again I disappeared for a few weeks. I had a very busy end of June/1st half of July. First was a very joyous occasion. I flew up to PA for a few days at the end of June to celebrate my Great Aunt's 90th birthday. I've talked about her in the past, she's the one who introduced me to Disney. She and my Great Uncle took me to Disney for the very first time when I was 2 1/2. She still loves to tell the story of how I dragged them back and forth between Small World, Dumbo and the Tea Cups. She also took us back to Disney several times while I was growing up and also paid for Jim and I to go to Disney for our Honeymoon.

The party was very nice and was held at a local restaurant and then we went back to my cousin's house afterwards. Here's a picture of her with all but two of her Great, Great nieces and nephews. The missing two couldn't make it in that day from Chicago.




I was also excited to finally meet my Cousin's twin girls who were born last September.



And one more picture of my Great Aunt with all the Great, Greats.



The only downside of the weekend was missing my Mom's sister, Esther. She had planned the whole event but ended up getting sick and was in the hospital for the party. And that is the end of the "Joy" part of this post. Now comes the Sadness.

Esther unfortunately never made it back out of the hospital. She had both liver disease and melanoma and was doing great fighting both. But she got a lung infection which was a side effect of the drug she was on for the cancer. Her immune system was just too compromised to be able to fight off the infection and she passed away about a week and a half after the party. She was only 63.

I was supposed to fly up for a week's visit from 7/21 - 7/29 but luckily I have a great boss and he let me move up my vacation up by a week so I could be there for the funeral. It was a rough one and I was really glad I could be there for my Mom. She and Esther were best friends and I know my Mom is going to be lonely without her.

So if you will indulge me, I'm going to post a few pictures of my Aunt. She was a huge Disney fan like the rest of my family. We went to Disney together several different times. These first four are from the trip we took back in 2010 and the last one is from her daughter Morgan's wedding in 2014. We also went to Disney at the same time in 2016 but I don't seem to have pictures with her from that trip. We mostly did separate things that trip.












The first two days of my trip up North consisted of the viewing and funeral. But after that, Mom and I spent some time with family and also did some shopping. I managed to find two Disney related items to buy. We hit up some antique stores and while I didn't find any Pluto items I did find this very cool brass Mickey Mouse from Disneyland. It's only about two inches tall but it's much heavier than you would expect it to be.



I also visited my favorite Teddy Bear store and bought the following Steiff bear. Her name is Winnipeg and she is the bear that Winnie the Pooh was named after.





OK, let's move on and finish out the last day for my August trip.
 
Early Morning Magic at MK

Before I talk about the last day of my August trip, here's a picture of my Magic Band! It came right before I flew home for my Aunt's funeral.




I also got a new phone case that I think it pretty perfect for me. I was planning on waiting to pick it up on my August trip but I was worried it would sell out. So when I saw it pop up on Ebay, I grabbed it.



My flight out on Sunday isn’t till 5:15 pm so I have some morning time to spend. I will have to be up very early so I can check my bag and then be at the MK bus stop by 6:30 am at the latest. I signed up to do Early Morning Magic which runs from 7:45 am to 9 am. It cost $69 (no AP discount sadly) and includes as many rides as you can fit in on 7DMT, Peter Pan and Pooh. There’s also a breakfast offered at Pinocchio Village Haus that runs up till 10 am. From what I’ve read, there’s only about 200 people at this event.





I plan on starting out with one ride on Peter Pan and one on Pooh and then as many rides on 7DMT as I can fit in before 8:55 am. Then I will head towards Fronterland and wait at the rope. As soon as they release us I plan to head to BTMR and maybe Haunted Mansion before circling back to Fantasyland about 9:45 for a quick breakfast.

My first FP for the day is for Space Mountain from 9:30 – 10:30 am so that will be my next destination after breakfast.

My second FP is from 10:35 – 11:35 across the way at Buzz Lightyear. So I may head there next or if I need to kill time, take a spin on the Peoplemover.






As soon as I step into the Buzz FP line I am going to try to move my last FP a bit earlier. Currently it’s from 11:35 – 12:35 for Pirates. If I can move it forward to right after Buzz, then I can use it and also have an early lunch at Columbia Harbor House. CHH is one of my favorites and it’s been a few trips since I’ve eaten there so I really want to try to fit it in on this day.



One way or another I really need to be heading out of the park around noon so I can make it back to the resort for my DME bus at 2:15 pm. Hopefully I will also have a few minutes to swing by the Confectionary and get some fudge to take home.

And after that, it’s just boring travel stuff to get me back home to Georgia.

I will have one more post for the August trip which will be my outfits. I'm still waiting on one shirt that shipped yesterday then I can take pictures and post them for you.

While I was up home, we did a lot of planning for the October trip. My FP+ day for that trip in August 21st. As soon as I get those made, I will start the posts for that trip.

Up Next: Outfits for August
 
Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry to hear about your Aunt :( My condolences to you and your family. I'm sure it's been hard on your mom.

Your last day plans sound great, especially since you will participate in early morning magic! Can't wait to hear how it works out for you.
 
Ariana, I am sorry to hear about your Aunt. Life is so unreal sometimes... you go for a wonderful birthday celebration for your great aunt and it turns out to be a sad occasion as well. Love the pictures of your GA with the greats. The circle of life!
Your plans for your solo trip sound perfect. I know you leave some flexibility in there, but having a good base plan is nice. I am not as good a planner as you are, I can't concentrate well enough. But I'm working on it, and will soon have the bare bones for our trip in Oct.
I know this sounds blasphemous..lol...but we are changing from POFQ to The B Resort at Disney Springs for the first week of our trip. (Our second week is at Coronado Springs with our daughter and SIL who is military.)
We will pay just under $900 for the full week at The B (Mousesavers discount) and since they have their own busses, and are eligible for FP+ and early entry, I thought why not give it a try. If the transportation ends up being a pain, we will use Uber and Minnie vans with our big savings.
We are doing EMM also one morning during our stay. We will definitely use a Minnie van that morning since they are the only transportation that drops you off right at the park without transferring at the TTC.
Hopefully one day our paths will cross in our Happy Place. Your TR's are my favorite!
 
Sorry about your Aunt.
I spend part of this morning planning my december trip. We are going with family including my 3 nephews (4 year old and 2 year old twins) so working what they want vs want we want ( twins 13 year olds) and what my FIL wants will be interesting
 
Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry to hear about your Aunt :( My condolences to you and your family. I'm sure it's been hard on your mom.

Your last day plans sound great, especially since you will participate in early morning magic! Can't wait to hear how it works out for you.

Thanks, it was definitely a rough few days.

I'm pretty excited to give EMM a try. I actually had it booked for October also but that one got cancelled. Disney more than made up for the cancellation but I'll talk about that when I get to the October trip.


Sorry to hear about your Aunt. It's never easy.

Sounds like a great last day!

Thanks, you are right, it's never easy to lose someone.

I'm pretty excited to give EMM a try.


Ariana, I am sorry to hear about your Aunt. Life is so unreal sometimes... you go for a wonderful birthday celebration for your great aunt and it turns out to be a sad occasion as well. Love the pictures of your GA with the greats. The circle of life!
Your plans for your solo trip sound perfect. I know you leave some flexibility in there, but having a good base plan is nice. I am not as good a planner as you are, I can't concentrate well enough. But I'm working on it, and will soon have the bare bones for our trip in Oct.
I know this sounds blasphemous..lol...but we are changing from POFQ to The B Resort at Disney Springs for the first week of our trip. (Our second week is at Coronado Springs with our daughter and SIL who is military.)
We will pay just under $900 for the full week at The B (Mousesavers discount) and since they have their own busses, and are eligible for FP+ and early entry, I thought why not give it a try. If the transportation ends up being a pain, we will use Uber and Minnie vans with our big savings.
We are doing EMM also one morning during our stay. We will definitely use a Minnie van that morning since they are the only transportation that drops you off right at the park without transferring at the TTC.
Hopefully one day our paths will cross in our Happy Place. Your TR's are my favorite!

Yeah, the birthday celebration was wonderful but we really did miss my Aunt there. I was sure she would turn the corner and be fine but unfortunately it didn't work out that way.

I do love the planning stages of the trip almost as much as the actual trip and I do leave a lot of flexibility in case rides are down or the line is longer than I'm willing to wait in. Solo trips are much more relaxed for me because I don't have to worry about anyone but myself.

There's nothing wrong with staying offsite if it's what works best for your family. I just hate to drive anywhere so staying at a Disney resort with all of my transportation taken care of works for me.

Awe, glad you enjoy my TRs!


Sorry about your Aunt.
I spend part of this morning planning my december trip. We are going with family including my 3 nephews (4 year old and 2 year old twins) so working what they want vs want we want ( twins 13 year olds) and what my FIL wants will be interesting

I spent my weekend working on both my August trip and October one. Disney ended up cancelling an event we were going to do in October so I did some rearranging. It's definitely challenging to plan when you have different generations.
 
Outfits for August

It's finally time for the post that I know everyone was dying for me to get to, the presentation of my outfits! :rotfl2:I know this probably isn't the most exciting post for most people but I like to have a record of what I wore for future reference. I do have extra shirts that I'm going to throw in just in case I end up back and the room for a break and feel the need for a fresh shirt. As of right now, the weather is looking like it will be in the upper 80s with the usual chance of thunderstorms ever day which is what I expected. And yes I know it will change 100 times between now and then but obsessing over the weather is one of those things I just have to do.


First up, today is my single digit day so let's dance! :dancer:party::banana:



Shockingly, not one of my outfits for this trip includes Pluto! But I will more that make up for that with my October trip.

For Day 1 which is MK, I'm going with Big Al.




Day 2 which is HS/Epcot I decided to go all out with the Slinky Dog gear. I even got a special Magic Band for this day.







The last two shirts are actually repeats from previous trips. But for the first one, I was bundled up the whole time and never got a photo with the shirt. As for the second one, it was a rainy day and my only picture of the shirt is through a poncho.

Day 3 is AK/Disney Springs so I went with Lion King.




And my final day which is back at MK till noon I chose Tiki Birds.



I've pretty much got everything laid out for the trip so I can pack my suitcase next weekend. Oh and I also got my Mousekeeping envelopes ready. I found these envelopes on Etsy and they are super nice. I definitely don't have this kind of talent.



And that's a wrap for this trip! I may stop back in another time before the trip but at this point I really don't have anything else to report. Oh and I'm also on of those old fossils that's behind the time on the current phone apps like Instagram, Snapchat and what ever else is popular nowadays. I do have an Instagram account but I'm not sure if I ever posted a picture. I may try to do that if I can remember what my user name and password is for it. But for the most part I will just be posting to Facebook during the trip. So if you aren't already my friend on there and want to be, send me a PM on here and I'll tell you how to find me.
 

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