Too Excited to Sleep...until August? Pre-Trip Report Aug '19

BasilofBakeryStreet

Earning My Ears
Joined
Feb 8, 2019
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Hey there! I'm Basil. This is my first trip plan post on this site. I'm just so excited for August to come, and I keep wishing it was closer. This pre-trip plan is both to organize myself and give me something to do while we impatiently wait.

This will be my wife (Milo) and I's fifth trip together! (And the sixth for both of us who each went once in childhood.) It has been four years since our last trip. We did a little bit of non-Disney traveling the past few years, and have finally saved up enough money in our Disney Fund. We thought about waiting a little while for Star Wars Land to be completed, but we decided to go this year since we figured the crowds would just be too much. (And we couldn't wait any longer.) Perhaps, we'll go back sometime during the 50th.


About Us!
We are both nearly 30 and have been together for nine years (married 5 by the time we go on this trip). We both share a serious love for Disney, and it was one of the things that made us bond when we first met. We have three (fur) children, two cats and a dog. We will soon be aunts, and we are already planning to take our future niece or nephew to Disney when they're old enough!! We also absolutely love Harry Potter, Star Wars, and various other geeky things that I won't even begin to list. And Kingdom Hearts. We have been playing them all, and I don't think that has helped us keep the Disney bug at bay.

Milo: A wise-cracking, Dad joking, fierce dork of a woman who also cries at sappy puppy commercials. She is incredibly intelligent, very handy and creative, and has done work with animal care and conservation. Her favorite foods are chicken nuggets, pasta with butter, and plain steak. Her favorite Disney movies are The Lion King, Hercules, Aristocats, Fox and the Hound, Tarzan, and, well, probably all of them. She has an uncanny talent for finding sales, making money off of saving apps (like ebates), and locating every freebie imaginable. Seriously, though, we haven't purchased toothpaste in like 3 years because she gets it for free all the time. She's also talented at making me laugh until my face hurts.

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Basil:
I'm much more reserved and quiet. I work in special education, and I absolutely love it. My favorite Disney movies are Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Rescuers, Winnie the Pooh, Pete's Dragon (the original), and Tangled. I keep both of us calm. I love pretty much any kind of food; I love to try new things. I love reading, musicals, board games, camping, cuddling our fur children, and anxiously awaiting and dreaming about our next adventure.

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Why August?
Yes, we know it will be extremely hot and humid. However, I work at an elementary school, as well as summer school, so end of August is the most feasible time to go this year. The other school breaks either fall in lake effect snow season or butts up against Easter, neither of which are ideal for flights. We've survived June, though, so, hopefully we'll conquer August, too. I just might need frequent breaks.

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Saving and Saving
Neither of us have the highest paying jobs, so it has taken us a while to save up for our next trip! We have done so by putting money away into a box that we don't touch, cashing in on all the savings apps (ALL of them, seriously), asking for gift cards for holidays, Credit Card Rewards, and generally just shopping around. One day, we dream of being able to just afford to up and go, but that might be a long shot.

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So, yeah, welcome to our planning! I might have a spreadsheet, too, but I won't post that. haha Next post will be about out hotel, airplane, and dining.

Welcome aboard the exciting ride of two "adults" heading to the best place in the world!
 
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HOTELS AND PARKS!!

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Our first two nights (17 & 18) will be spent at Universal at the Loews Royal Pacific Hotel. We splurged on a better hotel because we can get unlimited fast passes (or whatever it's actually called), AND this hotel is amazing. Really, though, the express pass is worth it, especially if you only want to tour both parks in two days (or even one). We enjoy all the rides there, but especially Harry Potter.

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Our first day (since we land ridiculously early, and the parks don't close until very late) we'll got to Universal (17), and the next day will be devoted to Islands of Adventure (18). We think it will be enough time. We've happily done both parks in a day before. We do have a buffer day on the 19th that could end up as a Universal day instead, but we'd rather use it as a relax/non-park day in Disney.

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On the 19th, we'll head to Disney early and check our bags at the Caribbean Beach Resort where we'll stay for 6 nights. We tried to stay here last time we came, but I guess they overbooked? So, we were randomly upgraded to the Contemporary, which we weren't the biggest fans of. It was a very sterile, fancy hotel, and, honestly, the other guests were very snobby. We were there in regular clothes, and everyone just sort of stared at us and turned up their noses. (No offense to anyone who stays there, of course. That was just our particular experience.) The cast members there, however, were AWESOME, as always. I think they realized we were uncomfortable. Riding the monorail straight to Magic Kingdom was amazing. I rode it as a child before to go Chef Mickey's, but it was really nice to ride it to and from the park right from your hotel.

So, our hope is that we'll stay at the Caribbean Beach this time! We love the theme of it, and we hope to try out the pool. We've previously stayed at Riverside and French Quarter, so this seems to be right up our alley. We've heard stories about the busing being bad there and long walks, but, honestly, it is what it is. It's free transportation. We're young and don't have children, so we can get up very early and try to catch one of the first ones. (And probably stand so others who need it can sit.) Nothing can be worse than the "free busing" we had from an off-site hotel. I just hope we like the resort! If not, oh well, we'll try somewhere else next time! One day, I dream we can stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge with rented DVC points. I think that's the only way we could afford it.

The 19th we plan to have a non-park day. This could change and become a park day if our flight doesn't allow the 17th to be a park day, or if something else happens. I would love to have a day that is more relaxing, though. Milo is very much a go-go-go person, and I feel like we never get to experience our resort or other things Disney has to offer! This day will hopefully allow us to take time to swim in the pool, explore the resort, go to Disney Springs, and RELAX. Some other options of things we may end up doing: The Edison after 10pm shows, The Verge Star Wars (We've heard amazing things about this!), The Electric Water Pageant, and anything else we decide to do on a whim. I guess that doesn't sound super relaxed, but we figured we would take it slow. If we don't have time for something or decide not to do it because we want to swim more or just spend more time elsewhere, then we'll do that. (As long as Milo can tame the ants in her pants hahaha.)

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The 20th will be our first park day at Disney. We've arranged our (tentative) schedule to avoid Magic Kingdom on MNSSHP days (20th and 23rd). We are both very torn about whether or not we should attend. We LOVE Halloween AND Disney. But is it worth the extra price? Right now, we have decided not to, but I could see that changing. The 20th will be a Hollywood Studios day. We love this park, but we're a bit sad that a lot of the attractions we used to enjoy have been closed down (Great Movie Ride :(). Which would be okay if Star Wars was open, but, oh well. We'll go again when it IS open, and there are less crowds because of it. We plan to still have a blast and fastpass+ Toy Story Mania or Slinky Dog Dash, Star Tours, and one other ride or show. And then use our fastpass happily for whatever after that. We will, of course, go see Fantasmic! It's one of our favorite nighttime shows.

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The 21st AND 22nd will be Magic Kingdom days! We've decided to do two days of Magic Kingdom on this trip, so, hopefully, we can take it a little slower and not feel the need to pack everything into one day. We have a new book for characters to sign, and we are excited to use it. We love all the rides and will likely seek to try them all. We hope to try new foods, do something we haven't done or had time to do in the past, and generally just soak in the magic. Our priorities for Fastpasses are: Mine Train, Peter Pan, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Pirates. We love the parades, so we will, of course, stop to watch those, and the night shows are our bread and butter. If one of those days has EMH, you bet your biscuits we'll be staying until the end.
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The 23rd will be an Animal Kingdom day! I don't know why people claim Animal Kingdom is a half day park. We could easily spend two days there, and that's not including Avatar (since we have yet to experience it!). We like to walk all of the trails and see all of the animals, as well as ride the rides. Disney sets very high standards for animal care and conservation; it's amazing to see what they are able to do. We take this park slower than the others so we can fully take everything in. Our priorities for Fastpasses are: Flight of Passage, Everest, and Kilimanjaro Safaris. We plan on seeing Festival of the Lion King, the new Up! Bird Show (AND HOPEFULLY SEEING KEVIN AT THE PARK), and Rivers of Light. And everything, really. Maybe we'll collect our Wilderness Explorer Badges as adults. And see Avatar at Night.

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The 24th is another park day, but it's very flexible. We're thinking a second Hollywood Studios day, but we may change our minds. Maybe we'll go to Epcot or have another day at Animal Kingdom. This is a see how we feel sort of day, and I love it.

The 25th we leave very late, so we'll probably have the morning and afternoon to relax and either shop or eat or do whatever we desire.

IS IT TIME TO GO, YET??

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Food.

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I mean, it's the best part, right? Although there was an offer for "free dining," we chose to take a discount on our hotel stay instead. The price didn't seem worth it for us. We snack more than we have full meals, and we'd be paying more for park hopper tickets that we don't need. We like to fully immerse ourselves in one park per day and find we have more than enough to do. I could see wanting park hopper with children, but the added price made the "free dining" especially not worth it. If we went to a lot of character meals, wanted park hoppers, and drank more than one alcoholic drink per trip, I think we'd choose to use it. Right now, we'd be losing money if we wanted to have a meal plan, either way.

Today was ADR day, so these are pretty finalized:

8-17 Staying at Universal, so no reservations or anything, just winging it.
8-18 Ditto to the day before, but we hope to eat at The Three Broomsticks at some point.
8-19 Lunch at T-Rex. It's such a cool restaurant. And maybe very late dinner/evening snacks at The Edison.
8-20 Early dinner at Sci-Fi Dine-In.
8-21
Dinner at Be Our Guest.
8-22
No Dining Reservations.
8-23 Early lunch at Rainforest Cafe.
8-24
No Dining Reservations.

Not the most exciting ADR choices, but we decided not to super splurge on sit down places this time. (Also, Milo is a very picky eater, and there's no sense going somewhere where she can't find something she really likes and has to settle and still pay a ton of money.) Whenever we get to bring our future niece or nephew, however, we'll probably do all the amazing places.

For breakfasts, we'll probably either pick up something quick at the hotel or in the parks. Either a quick meal or just a snack. Lunches that aren't sit-down will probably either be quick service or snacks. I fully plan on getting one of those waffles from Sleepy Hollow as a meal. We also just learned you can get kids meals at quick service places, even as an adult! This is great because it'll save some money, and we'll actually be able to eat it all. Milo eats a lot of the same things, so I know she already has places lined up in her head to get food at such as flatbread at Pinocchio's Village Haus. Meanwhile, I'm too overwhelmed by the choices and will try whatever calls to me. Dole Whip here I come.

I wish we had unlimited money for eating. haha

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Keeping an eye on this one! Me and my husband are heading to Disney in August too so I like reading the reports of a couple around our age. Excited to hear about what snacks you plan!
 


ALL THE NEW THINGS!
And one Bummer.

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We haven't been in a few years, so I am getting pumped just looking at all of the new attractions and experiences that are going to be offered at all parks while we are there! This is mainly just a post of me geeking out and getting excited all over again. The only bummer is SWGE opens DAYS after we leave. I'm both grateful and disappointed, but I know the crowds would have been too much.

My next posts will be preliminary daily "plans" and a list of more specific SNACKS AND FOOD options because my Pinterest keeps making my stomach growl.

Universal!

Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure!! This opens in June, so it will have been open for two months before we get there. I'm hoping that will lessen the crowds at least a little bit. Either way, we're so excited for this. We are huge Harry Potter fans, and all of the information out about it so far makes it sound like it's going to be one heck of a ride. The amount of magical creatures they're going to try to cram into the ride sounds impressive. I can't wait to hear more about it soon.

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Skull Island: Reign of Kong wasn't there last we went, so that'll be exciting to try, as well. I've heard good things about it.

Disney's Magic Kingdom
Mickey and Minnie's Surprise Celebration. We are wicked excited for this! I've been seeing posts on Facebook and other places about all the surprise characters that seem to show up during this celebration. We're stoked to see someone new. Also, we just love celebrating.

Muppets Moments in American History. I've heard this is incredibly amusing, and the Muppets are the best.

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Disney's Animal Kingdom
Pandora. We have yet to see it, and just the promotional photos look amazing. I've heard so many good things about Flight of Passage, and I hope we can get fastpasses for it. I also desperately want to see it at night!

Rivers of Light. I don't remember seeing this last time we went to Animal Kingdom. I've heard mixed reviews, but it sounds like something we would enjoy.

Tree of Life Projections Show. Coming in May, so there isn't much out about it. If it's anything like the projection show in Magic Kingdom, we'll be more than pleased.

Up! Bird Show. Russell, Dug, Birds? Count us in.

KEVIN. OH MY GOSH, PLEASE.

Hakuna Matata Dance Party. Milo LOVES Lion King, so I know she'll want to see this.

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Disney's Hollywood Studios
Municiberg. Omg. We can meet EDNA MODE. Stoked.

Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy. This starts end of March, so I'm unsure what this will entail. Sounds like it could be great, or mostly just for the littles.

Wonderful World of Animation Show. This starts in May. I'm always game for a new night show!!

Toy Story Land, of course. We grew up with Toy Story, so we're very interested in seeing what they have done as well as trying out Slinky Dog Dash.

Star Wars Launch Bay. I know this is more of a look at stuff and see some characters kind of place, but we say that Disney Visa members get to have a special meet and greet. So, that's exciting! (As long as it is still open since GE is opening much sooner than they said.)

Disney Movie Magic, March of the First Order, Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular, and Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away. All shows we want to see!

Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway??? I mean, SWGE was moved up, so maybe this will be a thing when we're there.

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Epcot
We may or may not go to this park, but I'll list the new things anyways! I can't wait for what is coming in the future, though. Epcot truly needs the update.

Epcot Forever. Replacing Illuminations. I'm not sure what would be better than that, so hopefully the replacement is great.

Meet Joy & Sadness. Yes.

Meet Ralph & Vanellope. Whoo!

Frozen Ever After. We do love Frozen, and this opened just after we last went.

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Other Disney Things
Skyliner? Not sure when these will definitely open. We would love to try it at least once, especially since our hotel will have a station.

Disney Springs. They were still super updating last time we were there, so it'll be great to explore and see what is completed.

The Void. I'm sad DisneyQuest is gone, but this sounds AMAZING. We are going to do the Star Wars one.




So, yeah, those are all the new (to us) things out there. If you've done any of them, let us know what you thought!
 


MORE FOOD

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It's all I keep seeing on my Pinterest, so preliminary daily plans are going to have to wait. Feel free to chime in with some of your favorites, as well. We're probably not going to try ALL of these, but it's nice to list and dream about options!

Milo

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Milo has very simple tastes, so her list will be rather redundant. She both has a lot of food allergies, and she's the ultimate picky eater with the taste buds of a five-year-old. To her credit, her pickiness stems from the fact that certain textures, flavors, and smells make her want to throw up.

Universal Studios: Ice cream from Florean and Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Other than that, it'll depend on what she feels like that day. It'll likely be a burger from one of the burger places, chicken nuggets from one of the Simpsons places, or pizza. She's also likely to get ice cream again from Ben & Jerry's.

Islands of Adventure: The Three Broomsticks is a definite. Milo will be getting the Rotisserie Smoked Chicken Platter. A rare meal where she will eat everything that comes with it. Other than that, she'll probably seek out ice cream and french fries.

City Walk: It's likely we'll eat some very late dinners outside of the parks. We are thinking of trying The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen one night. Milo will likely get a hamburger or some sort of steak. And a milkshake, of course.

Magic Kingdom: We are going to Be Our Guest for dinner. She'll be getting the Center-Cut Filet Mignon, probably requested to not have any of the glaze or marmalade on her meat or sides. For snacks (or even lunch?) she'll be getting 2-10 Mickey Ice Cream Bars (as one does). She'll also probably get cotton candy or a pretzel. As far as real food goes, she likes Pinnochio's Village Haus for their flatbreads. Just plain cheese. I feel like she also likes the chicken nuggets at Columbia Harbour House.

Hollywood Studios: We're going to the Sci-Fi Dine-In for dinner, and I'm fairly sure Milo will be probably get the Strip Steak and a milkshake. She likes ABC Commissary for their burger or chicken nuggets. Pizza Planet doesn't exist anymore, so she'll probably have to try pizza elsewhere. She'll also probably want a Mickey Pretzel and 2-10 more Mickey Ice Cream Bars.

Animal Kingdom: We're going to the Rainforest Cafe for lunch. She'll probably either splurge on a steak or go for a burger. Other than that 2-10 more Mickey Ice Cream Bars. She likes pizza from Pizzafari. I bet she would enjoy the half chicken at Flame Tree BBQ, if she dares to try it.

Disney Springs & Hotel: We're likely to only grab a quick breakfast at the hotel. She'll probably only get a side of bacon and maybe a donut. We are eating at T-Rex for lunch, and there are a lot of things we will both eat. We'll have to decide when we're there. We have The Edison scheduled for very late, and we'll stay until the after 10pm show starts. We might eat dinner, or we might cancel the reservation and just pop in and have some snacks. This is on our flexible day.

Epcot?: If we decide to go, we'll decide whatever tickles our fancy, but Milo will want ice cream in France.


Basil

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I'm a lot more adventurous when it comes to food. This is mostly just a list of things that sound amazing, but who knows what I'll actually end up trying!

Universal Studios: Ice cream from Florean and Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. PUMPKIN JUICE. And then I'll let my heart guide me. Nowhere super sticks out at the park to me, as far as food goes. I'll probably want a burger after flying.

Islands of Adventure: The Three Broomsticks is a definite. I'll either be getting the Fish and Chips or the Chicken and Ribs Platter. Oh and pumpkin juice. There are too many choices everywhere else, so I'll gauge how hungry I am. I'll likely get a pastry somewhere for breakfast.

City Walk: It's likely we'll eat some very late dinners outside of the parks. We are thinking of trying The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen one night. The flatbreads look amazing, as do their sandwich choices, so I'm not sure I'll be able to pick until that day.

Magic Kingdom: We are going to Be Our Guest for dinner. I'll be getting the Roasted Pork Tenderloin and the amazing French Onion Soup. I'm also looking forward to Dole Whip either in float form, or the Hei Hei cone that I was seeing pictures of (if it still exists when we go!). Le Fou's Brew from Gaston's Tavern. I also really like Pecos Bill Tall Tale Cafe, and I might even try the
Kids' Pork Carnitas Rice Bowl since their portion sizes are always huge and you can add as many toppings as you want. And the one thing I keep seeing pictures of and drooling about is the Fresh Fruit Waffle Sandwich at Sleepy Hollow. Yuuuuuuum. I'm so hungry again.

Hollywood Studios: We're going to the Sci-Fi Dine-In for dinner, and I'll probably get the BBQ burger or the Cheese Steak Sandwich. I have previously had the best funnel cake of my life with strawberries and ice cream by Indiana Jones, so I might try for one of those. I also want to try Woody's Lunch Box. Maybe get a Lunch Box Tart for breakfast and the delicious looking BBQ Brisket Melt for lunch or something.

Animal Kingdom: We're going to the Rainforest Cafe for lunch. Not sure what to get here! There's so many options at this park, so I'm just going to list a few. I know they have a "snack" at AK that is pulled pork and macaroni and cheese. And then there's the Flame Tree BBQ, which is A-mazing. The Pongu Lumpia looks delicious, as does the Night Blossom drink. Maybe I'll try the kid's Chopped Wood-Grilled Chicken Bowl at Satuli Canteen. Also the quick service part of Yak and Yeti is delicious. I like their bowls with noodles.

Disney Springs & Hotel: We're likely to only grab a quick breakfast at the hotel. I want Mickey Waffles at some point. Otherwise, it'll just be a pastry or something else quick and portable. We are eating at T-Rex for lunch, and there are a lot of things we will both eat. We'll have to decide when we're there. We have The Edison scheduled for very late, and we'll stay until the after 10pm show starts. We might eat dinner, or we might cancel the reservation and just pop in and have some snacks. This is on our flexible day.

Epcot?: If we decide to go, we'll decide whatever tickles our fancy, but I'll will want crepes in France.




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What are your favorite things to eat? Anything amazing we (well, mostly me) are missing??
 
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I may have missed it but when do you go??

I am set to go August 3rd - August 9th

You are going to love PANDORA!!! It is a must do for me every time.

August 17-25, but Disney starting on the 19th!

Awesome! I keep hearing such good things about it. I was skeptical when they originally proposed it, but Pandora looks so amazing.
 
Preliminary Plans
Why isn't it August, yet? These plans will likely change, but here's what we're thinking so far. Milo is trying to be "laid-back" this time, but we'll see. haha The hours are currently what's up on the Disney website, but I could see that changing as we get closer.


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Saturday 8-17-19
Flight & Universal Studios
Loew's Royal Pacific Hotel
Park Hours: 9am to 9pm

No Reservations
  • Arrive at MCO around 9am and take Uber or Lyft to hotel
  • Check-In, get express passes, go straight to Universal Studios
  • Get a couple rides in and then find some lunch
  • Spend a ton of time in Diagon Alley
  • Likely get a late dinner outside of the park
  • Favorite Shows and Attractions:
    • Horror Make-Up Show
    • Universal Cinematic Celebration Night Show
    • Despicable Me
    • E.T. Adventure
    • Harry Potter Escape from Gringotts
    • Men in Black
    • The Mummy Ride
    • The Simpson's Ride
    • Transformers


Sunday 8-18-19
Universal Islands of Adventure
Loew's Royal Pacific Hotel
Park Hours: 8am to 9pm, HP Early Access
No Reservations
  • Get up early and either get a breakfast snack outside or in the park
  • Harry Potter Early Access at 8am
  • Rope Drop the new Hagrid's Motorbike ride and/or The Forbidden Journey
  • Hang out in Hogsmeade
  • Lunch at the Three Broomsticks
  • Other rides & then likely return to Hogsmeade
  • Maybe dinner outside the park
  • Favorite Shows & Attractions:
    • Spider-Man
    • Ripshaw Falls (if it's even running)
    • Flight of the Hippogriff
    • Harry Potter & the Forbidden Journey
    • The NEW Hagrid Motorbike ride
    • Jurassic Park River Adventure
    • Bilge Rat Barges
    • If they have the lights on Hogwart's Castle!
    • Kong


Monday 8-19-19
Hotel & Disney Springs
Caribbean Beach Hotel
DS Hours: 10am to 12am
Pool Hours: ??
T-Rex for Lunch & The Edison Very Late (might cancel)
  • Leave the hotel at our leisure and take uber or lyft to Disney
  • Check-In to the Caribbean Beach Hotel and store our luggage
  • Maybe go swimming?
  • Take the bus to Disney Springs and have lunch at T-Rex
  • Spend some time at Disney Springs
  • Maybe go swimming again at the hotel?
  • Come back in the evening for Disney Springs for The Edison?
  • Electrical Water Pageant, but that could happen any night possibly
  • The Verge Star Wars Experience at some point!!
  • Maybe even Disney's Boardwalk?


Tuesday 8-20-19
Hollywood Studios

Caribbean Beach Hotel
Park Hours: 9am to 9pm
Sci-Fi Dine-In Early Dinner

Hoped for Fast Passes:
-Slinky Dog Dash or Toy Story Mania
-Star Tours
-One of the shows?
  • Quick breakfast at hotel or something at the parks
  • Get to Hollywood Studios on earliest bus from hotel
  • Rope drop any high priority rides we couldn't get fastpasses for
  • Go to other fast pass rides and all the awesome shows we can fit in
  • Sci-Fi Dine-In for an early-ish dinner!
  • Try to meet Edna Mode (and any other characters, duh!)
  • Disney Movie Magic, Star Wars a Galactic Spectacular, and Fantasmic
  • evening shows, if all of the times line up.
  • Favorite Shows & Attractions:
    • Toy Story Mania
    • Beauty and the Beast on Stage
    • Muppet Vision 3D
    • Star Tours
    • Slinky Dog Dash
    • Little Mermaid
    • All the character meet and greets
    • The new Mickey and Minnie Ride if it happens to be open



Wednesday 8-21-19
Magic Kingdom

Caribbean Beach Hotel
Park Hours: 9am to 11pm w/EMH
Be Our Guest Dinner

Hoped for Fast Passes:
-Mine Train
-Space Mountain
-Splash Mountain
  • Quick breakfast at hotel or something at the parks
  • Arrive on the earliest bus from the hotel and hour early since that is when
  • Main Street opens now
  • Watch the opening show
  • Rope drop something on our favorites list we don't have a fast pass for.
  • Ride all the rides and meet all the characters we want. And eat all the snacks.
  • Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade.
  • Catch any other shows we happen upon.
  • Dinner at Be Our Guest.
  • Stay for Extra Magic Hours
  • Nighttime shows at the castle.
  • Favorite Shows and Attractions:
    • Peter Pan
    • Seven Dwarf's Mine Train
    • All 3 of the Mountains: Splash, Space, and Thunder
    • Buzz Lightyear
    • Haunted Mansion
    • Winnie the Pooh
    • Pirates of the Caribbean
    • Dances in the street
    • Character Meet and Greets
    • Enchanted Tales with Belle
    • Small World
    • Jungle Cruise
    • Monster's Inc Laugh Floor
    • Journey of the Little Mermaid



Thursday 8-22-19
Magic Kingdom

Caribbean Beach Hotel
Park Hours: 9am to 9pm
No Reservations

Hoped for Fast Passes:
-Haunted Mansion
-Thunder Mountain
-Character Meet and Greet? or POTC
  • Quick breakfast at the hotel or somewhere inside the park
  • Arrive early, probably. Milo always wants to make the most of every day
  • Do any shows or rides we missed the day before or characters we didn't meet
  • Re-ride some of our favorites and ones we never ride
  • Generally, just do whatever we want and have fun!
  • Evening shows
  • See list above of favorite rides, etc.



Friday 8-23-19
Animal Kingdom

Caribbean Beach Hotel
Park Hours: 9am to 8:30pm
Rainforest Cafe Lunch

Hoped for Fast Passes:
-Flight of Passage
-Everest
-Kilimanjaro Safaris

  • Early Breakfast at the hotel or somewhere in the park
  • Arrive on the earliest bus from the hotel
  • Rope Drop one of the Pandora rides (FOP if no fastpass)
  • Either do Kilimanjaro Safari before lunch or in early evening
  • Fastpasses before lunch or rides that are close-ish to it
  • Rainforest Cafe for lunch
  • All the rides and shows after lunch and into the evening
  • Also, walk through all of the animal exhibits
  • Rivers of Light
  • Pandora at Night
  • Favorite Shows and Rides:
    • Kilimanjaro Safari
    • Flight of Passage
    • Expedition Everest
    • Festival of the Lion King
    • Up! Bird Show
    • Dinosaur
    • Finding Nemo
    • It's Tough to Be a Bug
    • Kali River Rapids
    • Na'vi River Journey
    • Rivers of Light and Tree of Life Projections


Saturday 8-24-19
Hollywood Studios? Epcot?

Caribbean Beach Hotel
Park Hours: 9am to 9pm
No Reservations

Hoped for Fast Passes:
-Slinky Dog Dash or Toy Story Mania
-Star Tours
-One of the shows?
  • This day will depend on how we feel and crowd levels due
    to SWGE opening in a few days. Also, it'll be hard to tell if we
    we will still want a second Hollywood Studios day with the removal
    of quite a few rides we used to love
  • We also might go and try out Epcot, or we might even decide
    on trying another Animal Kindgom or Magic Kingdom day since both
    are our favorites



Sunday 8-25-19
Disney Springs?, Hotel? & Flight Home
Disney Springs opens 10am
No Reservations

  • This day we're playing by ear. We might go and spend some time at Disney
    Springs, or maybe we'll just swim at our hotel. Maybe we'll do a half-day at
    a park. It's really up in the air.
  • Early dinner somewhere
  • Take the magical express to the airport, probably around 5:30/6pm
  • Cry because we have to go home



Other things to note about any of these days! We might spend a few of the evenings either at Citywalk or Disney Springs or elsewhere depending on how tired we are and what we decide we want to be doing. Or we might just lounge around the hotel.
 
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Yay for another fellow August traveler! We will be there almost the same dates as you! We are there 8/17-8/26.

I really want to swing a day at Universal to check out the new Hagrid ride!

We are doing the MNSSHP on 8/20, I find the Tuesday night ones are a little less crowded.

Our resorts for this trip are YC and GF, we love the GF and are not fancy people at all, this will be our 3rd stay there! We use a TA for a really good price this time of year, it makes the Deluxe affordable for us!
 
Yay for another fellow August traveler! We will be there almost the same dates as you! We are there 8/17-8/26.

I really want to swing a day at Universal to check out the new Hagrid ride!

We are doing the MNSSHP on 8/20, I find the Tuesday night ones are a little less crowded.

Our resorts for this trip are YC and GF, we love the GF and are not fancy people at all, this will be our 3rd stay there! We use a TA for a really good price this time of year, it makes the Deluxe affordable for us!
You definitely should! The Hagrid ride sounds like it's going to amazing.

Do you rent DVC points through your travel agent for the deluxe, or do they just lower the price? We haven't used a travel agent, yet, so I'm always interested to know how they're different.

Hope you also enjoy your August trip!
 
Do you rent DVC points through your travel agent for the deluxe, or do they just lower the price? We haven't used a travel agent, yet, so I'm always interested to know how they're different.

I have rented points 4x right here on these boards and the price is way less than Disney. The only thing is you have to usually have all the money up front, which can be hard. There is an agency that does a deal around Labor Day and the prices are so good. We can’t say who they are on this board but if you are interested I can message you on here.
 
Whoohoo, a deal!
This is an update about the Universal part of our trip. They were having a deal on tickets. Buy two and get three days three. We snatched those right up because, seriously, what a deal! Now, we don't even have to worry about if our plane gets delayed on the 17th. We can go to the park whenever we're able on that day, spend a full fay on the 18th, and then do the early morning Harry Potter world for the 19th and go a half day. (Or maybe even a full day. It'll depend what we decide.) I'm a little sad that means our rest day is likely out, but Milo seems to think we'll just do a half day so we can still sort of rest. Either way, we're not paying more for extra tickets, so!
 
My DH, DD (6), and I will be at Disney from August 12-20. Our plans have us at Universal on 8/18. I really wanted to work out a split stay with the Royal Pacific to get those express passes, but it was so expensive. We are instead doing a split between AKL Kidani and Pop Century. Friends were able to use their DVC points to get us into AKL, and it is a dream come true to get to stay there.
 
My DH, DD (6), and I will be at Disney from August 12-20. Our plans have us at Universal on 8/18. I really wanted to work out a split stay with the Royal Pacific to get those express passes, but it was so expensive. We are instead doing a split between AKL Kidani and Pop Century. Friends were able to use their DVC points to get us into AKL, and it is a dream come true to get to stay there.

Yeah, we saved and saved to be able to afford Royal Pacific and found a few deals. Next time, I doubt we'll be able to afford it.

I hope you have so much fun at AKL!! That sounds amazing. It looks like one of the best hotels to stay at.
 
On the 19th, we'll head to Disney early and check our bags at the Caribbean Beach Resort where we'll stay for 6 nights. We tried to stay here last time we came, but I guess they overbooked? So, we were randomly upgraded to the Contemporary, which we weren't the biggest fans of. It was a very sterile, fancy hotel, and, honestly, the other guests were very snobby. We were there in regular clothes, and everyone just sort of stared at us and turned up their noses. (No offense to anyone who stays there, of course. That was just our particular experience.) The cast members there, however, were AWESOME, as always. I think they realized we were uncomfortable. Riding the monorail straight to Magic Kingdom was amazing. I rode it as a child before to go Chef Mickey's, but it was really nice to ride it to and from the park right from your hotel.


It sounds like you and I have similar tastes in resorts. I stayed at CBR years ago and it was beautiful. The times I have spent just wandering around the Contemporary, I have enjoyed it but I didn't get the vibe of it being a place that I want to stay at. That is what is great about Disney, so many resort choices!

I mean, it's the best part, right? Although there was an offer for "free dining," we chose to take a discount on our hotel stay instead. The price didn't seem worth it for us. We snack more than we have full meals, and we'd be paying more for park hopper tickets that we don't need. We like to fully immerse ourselves in one park per day and find we have more than enough to do. I could see wanting park hopper with children, but the added price made the "free dining" especially not worth it. If we went to a lot of character meals, wanted park hoppers, and drank more than one alcoholic drink per trip, I think we'd choose to use it. Right now, we'd be losing money if we wanted to have a meal plan, either way.

I have tallied up prices for what I think we would most likely eat and where and like you, the dining plan would be more expensive than getting the room discount and paying OOP for my meals.

For breakfasts, we'll probably either pick up something quick at the hotel or in the parks. Either a quick meal or just a snack. Lunches that aren't sit-down will probably either be quick service or snacks. I fully plan on getting one of those waffles from Sleepy Hollow as a meal. We also just learned you can get kids meals at quick service places, even as an adult! This is great because it'll save some money, and we'll actually be able to eat it all. Milo eats a lot of the same things, so I know she already has places lined up in her head to get food at such as flatbread at Pinocchio's Village Haus. Meanwhile, I'm too overwhelmed by the choices and will try whatever calls to me. Dole Whip here I come.

You and I must be reading some of the same threads. Just the other day, I wrote myself a note that I have to try the waffle with strawberries at Sleepy Hollow! It just looks so amazing!

I am enjoying reading about your plans. It is fun to read and get ideas. I also like how you have organized your pre-trip thread.
 
Fast Pass Day!
Hollywood Studios (Aug 20)
  • Star Tours
  • Toy Story Mania
  • Indiana Jones (which we might nix and replace with something else on that day)
Magic Kingdom (Aug 21)
  • Peter Pan
  • Buzz Lightyear
  • Space Mountain
Magic Kingdom (Aug 22)
  • Haunted Mansion
  • Splash Mountain
  • Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Animal Kingdom (Aug 23)
  • Kilimanjaro Safaris
  • Everest
  • Flight of Passage
Hollywood Studios (Aug 24) - If we still end up going
  • Star Tours
  • Mupper Vision 3D (which might change)
  • Slinky Dog Dash
 

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