"What?? Did you say 8 trips in 2019?" An new AP holder's PTR (updated 11/25)

[ArielSRL]

Table of Contents

Introductions

Chapter 1: March Plans
Ready to go! Short update
Chapter 2: May Plans
Chapter 3, Part 1: June Plans
Chapter 3, Part 2: June Plans
Chapter 4: July Plans
Chapter 5: Updated PTR Plans
Chapter 6: November Plans

Trip Report Links

A Quick March Birthday Getaway

 

[ArielSRL]

Introductions

Hello! Welcome to all of my previous readers, as well as any new readers! I really wasn't planning to do this but I am really excited about all of our trips this year and where else can I post all our plans? So even though I have been absent from the DIS for a bit and I feel like I am way too busy these days (aren't we all?), I am going to make a go of it. I mean, other than going to Disney, what makes me the happiest? Um, planning Disney! I have slowly been making my way back to the DIS. I really don't know why I allowed myself to be gone for so long but what can I say, I was a lost soul for awhile. We've made two Disney trips that I didn't write about at all. But now, I'm back. I've spent way too much time vegging out on Facebook lately and need to get off that train. So like I said above, I am "home." Now to the intros.

First off, here's the obligatory family photo:

Fun times with my goofballs in October!

Now let me introduce you individually to the cast of characters:

First up is my DH, Chad. If you have read my previous TR, you know that Chad is a full on Disney convert. In 2017, he made his first trip in 35 years. He suffers from anxiety and generally dislikes crowds and lots of people. But, even though Disney has crowds and lots of people, the magic was too much for this guy and he is now almost as big a fan as me.

His favorite characters are Mickey, Figment and The Muppets. His favorite things at Disney are Sanaa, the atmosphere at Wilderness Lodge and Whispering Canyon Cafe, Flight of Passage, drinking around the World at Epcot, and everything at MK because we all enjoy being there and he could see how much the boys love Disney there.

Next up is:

Will, 4 years old, pre-k-er, been to Disney four times now. He says his favorite rides are IASW, PotC, Buzz and People Mover. It used to be Goofy's Barnstormer and I was excited that he would become my roller coaster buddy...alas, that didn't last long and now he refuses to ride it! We did get him on 7DMT and Splash Mountain in June 2018, but he refused in October 2018. Oy.

Oh and his favorite movies are the Cars movies and his favorite characters are, of course, McQueen, Mater, Cruz, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Donald and Daisy! Whew!

Then we have:

AJ, 7 years old, first-grader, and my serious kid! He has been to Disney five times, now. He is definitely not a thrill rider as he is tall enough for almost all - or probably all at this point - of the rides but he refuses most of the height restricted ones. He is more willing than Will to be bribed to ride them though! HAHA! His favorite rides are Pooh and Tomorrowland Speedway. His favorite Disney movie is Moana and his favorite characters are Winnie the Pooh, Maui, and Pua.

Lastly, there is me:

So, Disney fanatic - if you can't tell or don't already know, travel agent specializing in Disney, Disney World drink taster...haha. I *think* I have been to Disney about 19+ times but I honestly do not remember all my visits as a kid so it could be more.

My favorite rides are ToT and BTMRR. My favorite characters are Maleficent, Rapunzel, Ariel, Aurora, and Rey from TFA...though I also have much affection for Mulan, Stitch, and recently, Cruz Ramirez. Favorite movies are Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, Tangled, and The Force Awakens. Also, I have lots of love for Mulan, Lilo & Stitch, Brave and Zootopia. Um...can you tell how indecisive I truly am??? HAHA. It would probably be easier to tell you who and what I don't like as opposed to who and what I do like. #Disnerd

So...the trips! Yes, those trips. We do have 8 in the works for this year and know the dates of 7 of them. Five are booked. For other than the first two, we will have APs, which is really what mostly makes the trips possible. Oh and a nice tax refund...which has been filed for as of last night. I'll get into the specifics in another post but general time frames are March, May, June, Fourth of July, Labor Day, October, and Thanksgiving. That's only 7, you say? Well, that's because we are hoping number 8 is Star Wars: Galaxy Edge AP previews.

Anyway, we have lots of resorts and ADRS booked so I look forward to sharing those soon enough. Our first upcoming trip is a mere 19 days away and it was a semi last minute one (booked Dec 22) for Will's 5th birthday. Because we won't be activating our APs til June, this will be a quick resort only trip. I will post those details soon!

So buckle up and come along for the ride on our 2019 Year of Disney!

Thanks for joining in!

 

[MeghanEmily]

I'm here!

 

[ArielSRL]

I'm here!

Yay! Thanks for being the first!

 

[Monykalyn]

This should be fun! I got 8 trips out of my AP too...so nice when the ticket part is taken care of!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I am here!!!!!

It's a good time to be an annual passholder!

Thanksgiving

hmmm, I am working on Andy on the Thanskgiving trip! So, we might be there as well.

number 8 is Star Wars: Galaxy Edge AP previews.

Here's hoping on this on!!!

 

[Jfsag123]

Here! Welcome back! I was gone for a long time too. Just started updating my trip report again recently for the first time since October.

Your description of Chad makes him sound remarkably similar to my DH. Too bad we don’t overlap with all your trips! I believe it will happen one day again. Looking forward to following along with your plans again!

 

[suse66]

Joining in! Aps really do burn a whole in your pocket, don't they?? I wasn't "supposed" to go back until our anniversary trip in July but just hopped on the last minute train for a solo March Break getaway! Solo because my almost 17 year old twins don't want to go (what is wrong with them?) and my DH is busy with work. Happy planning!!

 

[ArielSRL]

This should be fun! I got 8 trips out of my AP too...so nice when the ticket part is taken care of!

And really the 8 are just for 2019. Our APs will be good from June 2019-June 2020. I am sure we will get a few more trips in 2020 in!

I am here!!!!!

It's a good time to be an annual passholder!

Yay! And yes, yes it is!

hmmm, I am working on Andy on the Thanskgiving trip! So, we might be there as well.

Oh, good luck! We want to see the Christmas stuff and that's going to be our best bet! It would be great if we overlap!

Here's hoping on this on!!!

No doubt!

Here! Welcome back! I was gone for a long time too. Just started updating my trip report again recently for the first time since October.

Thanks for joining in! Welcome back to you as well! Doesn't it stink when life gets in the way of the Dis? I need to make my way back to your TR!

Your description of Chad makes him sound remarkably similar to my DH. Too bad we don’t overlap with all your trips! I believe it will happen one day again. Looking forward to following along with your plans again!

Yes, we have to match up one of these days!

Joining in! Aps really do burn a whole in your pocket, don't they??

You are not lying!

I wasn't "supposed" to go back until our anniversary trip in July but just hopped on the last minute train for a solo March Break getaway! Solo because my almost 17 year old twins don't want to go (what is wrong with them?) and my DH is busy with work.

Have fun! And yes, what is wrong with them?

Happy planning!!

Thank you!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

I'm here and sooo glad to have you back!!!!

 

[Cloe Colton]

Joining in! I'm glad I'm not the only one with so many trips in the works for this year!!

 

[ArielSRL]

I'm here and sooo glad to have you back!!!!

Thank you for the warm welcome and thanks for joining in!!

Joining in! I'm glad I'm not the only one with so many trips in the works for this year!!

People think I'm crazy but honestly its where I am the happiest!! Why wouldn't I go as often as I can?

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Thank you for the warm welcome and thanks for joining in!!

I wouldn't miss it!!!

 

[buzzrelly]

Joining! Sounds like it'll be a fun year!

 

[NJlauren]

Joining in! Similar boat as you, had a long DIS break and got back recently! To much FB not enough DIS! We are getting our first APs this year too! But don’t have as many trips planned... but maybe I can sneak a few more in...

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Oh, good luck! We want to see the Christmas stuff and that's going to be our best bet! It would be great if we overlap!

This is exactly what I am thinking. The girls school always does Parent Teacher Conferences the first week in December. And they do 2 half days and 1 full day off. And Thanksgiving is super late this year. So, we can go Wednesday to Wednesday all the girls will miss is 2 half days!

I really want to see Christmas stuff too! The parade, snow on main street, all of the story tellers in EPCOT!!!

 

[ArielSRL]

Joining! Sounds like it'll be a fun year!

Yay! Thanks for coming over!

Joining in! Similar boat as you, had a long DIS break and got back recently! To much FB not enough DIS! We are getting our first APs this year too! But don’t have as many trips planned... but maybe I can sneak a few more in...

I'm glad I am not the only one. I was feeling left out by missing this place! I think I went a little AP crazy! Fortunately we can drive so that's not too costly and most of our trips are long weekends.

This is exactly what I am thinking. The girls school always does Parent Teacher Conferences the first week in December. And they do 2 half days and 1 full day off. And Thanksgiving is super late this year. So, we can go Wednesday to Wednesday all the girls will miss is 2 half days!

I really want to see Christmas stuff too! The parade, snow on main street, all of the story tellers in EPCOT!!!

I'm planning for Wednesday to Sunday so fingers crossed we can meet up, possibly a few times! I'm really thinking I don't know how I'd tour then but probably mornings and maybe nights but lots of resort time because of the crowds. My parents may join us and they will be 71 and 70 so we'll need to go slow because of them anyway. If they do join us, I'd love to do OKW. But I was thinking if it was just us 4, I'd love to do the cabins at FW. We will just have to see. I've booked our trips through Labor Day but not Oct or Nov yet though I may need to get something in place for Nov soon.

 

[ArielSRL]

Chapter 1: March Plans

Happy Saturday, people! I am back to add to this PTR. So we are 13 days out from our March trip. Figured it might be a good idea to discuss it here. HA! Prepare for a text heavy post, though I did find some photos to throw in.

We are booked at Pop Century in a standard room. I'm not a huge value fan. There, I said it. But this was a last minute, frugal type trip and Pop is basically the best of the values as far as I am concerned. Also, one of my biggest complaints is the buses and we will actually be using our car this trip so I don't have to worry about that much. My other complaint is all the people but I am going to try to get over that and enjoy! I feel like the rooms are a tad small, but still nice enough for a short trip. The pool area is fine - I mean, they have a pool bar so I am good to go - and its got a fun theme. So, we will survive!

Here are a few Pop photos from our October 2018 trip:




We are booked for Friday, March 1 - Sunday, March 3. We will all be taking that Friday off and the plan is to leave around 5am, driving. We live in the NE Atlanta suburbs so we cannot get stuck in morning traffic. My biggest issue is, we usually are about an hour late leaving for all our trips. If we leave at 6, we may still be okay, but 5am would be almost like ghost town!

The drive takes about 6 hours and 45 minutes with no stops. Last June we did it in about that time bc we only stopped to use the facilities twice and the side of the road (boys only) once. HA. That is the plan for this trip as well. If we do, in fact, leave at 5am, we could potentially arrive at 12pm. So we are planning to do lunch at the Pop food court, hopefully get in our room, then have some pool time (and pool drinks) if it is warm enough:



We also plan to walk over to AoA for a bit. AJ, Will, and I went over with my parents in 2016 but I doubt Will remembers (and he is a huge Cars fan) and maybe not even AJ. Plus Chad has not seen it before. We will have dinner at the AoA food court and I hope to possibly grab a drink from the pool bar as they have different options. Side note: is the pool bat inside or outside the pool gates? BTW, I am a total mess here but I wanted to include the photo because it showed all of us in 2016.



If we have enough time, we might go over to Bay lake Tower and up to TotWL and watch the MK fireworks, but I don't know if that will work out or not.


On Saturday, we will be having a few TS meals and visiting Disney Springs. I was holding out hope that we would go to MK but its just not financially responsible and while I am all for Disney Math, this would really be too over the top based on all the other trips we are planning in 2019. So I have us a Cape May breakfast reservation at 9:10am.



I really enjoyed this character meal when we did it in 2016 (the boys look so little here!) and Chad will get to check out Beach Club for the first time. I am really crossing my fingers to stay there in June 2020 on our DVC points. After that we will head to Disney Springs for some shopping, drinking, and snacking. Possibly a Polite Pig lunch if we are hungry. I have so many saved photos of things I want to buy (snacks, drink, and wares) so I am looking forward to this.

We have a 6:55 ADR at Ale & Compass at Yacht Club. Yes, I know we are basically going back to the same area but when I booked this trip and started looking at meals, these were the available ones I wanted to eat at. We booked for 6 people because Chad has some local friends that may join us. After this, we might just walk around and enjoy the Boardwalk area. Hopefully we can see some of the Epcot or DHS fireworks from there. I know I have seen Epcot ones there before but it has been a really long time so I'm not sure of the current situation.

On Sunday, it will be departure day and we won't want to dilly dally too long. We may grab some food from the Pop food court before we head out.
**ETA: This is my 180 day for our August trip so I guess I'll probably book some ADRs that morning. Spoiler alert! We are booked for CSR in August and I want to book the new restaurants there so I may actually have to be up early to do that.**
I believe we will hit up the outlet before we head home. The fortunate thing is we are all off on the Monday.
**ETA: this is our FP day for May. It is just Chad and I and we only have one day at Epcot so it won't be too difficult.**
Chad has an appointment and Will also has his 5 year appointment. AJ may have to have something done that day too.

Side note: AJ is a toe walker and his achilles has tightened so much that he has to have it stretched so they are going to do castings on him. We decided to wait until after this trip but we don't want to wait too long because it can take several weeks and we will all be going back to Disney in June. So he may get his first casting on that day. Please think good thoughts if you are so inclined!

In any case, we don't have to rush home, but neither Chad nor I really enjoy night driving so we won't stick around all day.

And that is pretty much March in a nutshell! I hope you enjoyed the update!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

First off, I am bummed that we won't be crossing paths on this trip. But there are more possibilities to come!

I'm planning for Wednesday to Sunday so fingers crossed we can meet up, possibly a few times! I'm really thinking I don't know how I'd tour then but probably mornings and maybe nights but lots of resort time because of the crowds. My parents may join us and they will be 71 and 70 so we'll need to go slow because of them anyway. If they do join us, I'd love to do OKW. But I was thinking if it was just us 4, I'd love to do the cabins at FW. We will just have to see. I've booked our trips through Labor Day but not Oct or Nov yet though I may need to get something in place for Nov soon.

That would and will be nice! The cabins is a good idea for December! I might have to look into it. What is the pool like there? Not that swimming in December will be top on my list of things to do..

The pool area is fine - I mean, they have a pool bar so I am good to go - and its got a fun theme. So, we will survive!

Priorities! I like it! Do you have a drink list for Disney Springs? I am hoping we make it down there at some point on our trip. We will see. DH keeps talking about the moonshine from Homecomin'

oA food court and I hope to possibly grab a drink from the pool bar as they have different options.

AoA food court was pretty good, the one time we ate there. I will be interested to see if you think it is THAT big of a difference than Pop.

So I have us a Cape May breakfast reservation at 9:10am.

I want this on our list for the summer!

Side note: AJ is a toe walker and his achilles has tightened so much that he has to have it stretched so they are going to do castings on him. We decided to wait until after this trip but we don't want to wait too long because it can take several weeks and we will all be going back to Disney in June. So he may get his first casting on that day. Please think good thoughts if you are so inclined!

Good Luck! That doesn't sound fun. But good you are getting it taken care of.

 

[ArielSRL]

First off, I am bummed that we won't be crossing paths on this trip. But there are more possibilities to come!

I know! But you are correct! And I am glad we got to meet in October!

That would and will be nice! The cabins is a good idea for December! I might have to look into it. What is the pool like there? Not that swimming in December will be top on my list of things to do..

I really don't know! I should probably look into it! It is all going to come down to discounts though. Right now CSR isn't too expensive so I may need to go ahead and book that so we have a placeholder.

Priorities! I like it! Do you have a drink list for Disney Springs? I am hoping we make it down there at some point on our trip. We will see. DH keeps talking about the moonshine from Homecomin'

Um, of course I do! Actually, I just printed out menus from a few places: Jock Lindsey's, Homecomin', Amorette's, and Dockside. I need to print Polite Pig as well.

AoA food court was pretty good, the one time we ate there. I will be interested to see if you think it is THAT big of a difference than Pop.

I'll let you know!

I want this on our list for the summer!

It is so good and so fun!

Good Luck! That doesn't sound fun. But good you are getting it taken care of.

Thank you!