Pre-Trip WE HAVE TO GO BACK! (April 2016)

Wow.

Well, this is quite a surprise!

We JUST got back from Disney on 9/26!! I hadn't been in ten years, and honestly didn't expect to be back for quite some time, but as luck would have it, it looks like we are going to be back in just SIX SHORT MONTHS!! I'm seriously still kind of in shock!

So here is a bit of back story to explain..My co worker has told me that her and her significant other are going to start trying for a baby...right now. I'm totally cool with this except that we normally vacation in September, and really any way it plays out if she were to be successful in the new few months, it would mean no vacation or any time off for me for up to 3 months. We always go to the beach, and so my brain started racking. We could go in early spring, but no, too cold, and basically it just went like that and me calculating out how many months from each month and blah blah. It got overwhelming. I knew that no matter what, I'd be pretty safe in April or May but it's not warm enough for the beach. Disney briefly came to mind but I thought "no way will i be able to talk my husband into going back this soon!" So all day today I looked up prices with the help of my mom (remember, she planned out entire vacation!) and I came home in hopes of trying to convince my husband that I think this is the best thing to do in regards to the uncertainty of my coworker being out next year. It didn't take much convincing! He was surprised that we could stay for as cheap as we could and that was it! We decided we are going to do it! I am giddy like a school girl!

I LOVE my beach trips, and the fact that I'm so excited about this is a bit surprising! So that's that! This is SUPER early in the planning process (and that step is OMG i'm still in shock!) and I know all of almost NOTHING right now except that we will be staying in a Value this time around since we are footing the bill. LOL

Anyway, that's all I've got right now. I honestly can't believe it! Stick around!

 

[ScarletBegonias]

HOW EXCITING! Jealous

I'm positive it's the only time in my life we will ever be able to go back again this quickly, so we are jumping on the chance! After this, I really don't know when we will go back (...for now! LOL)

 

[ScarletBegonias]

I'm not 100% sure - but I think you could make all you purchases using your Magic Band (for convenience) - charging it all back to the room and then just go to the front desk and use your gift cards to pay off the balance. That way you don't have to carry around the cards or worry about your balance. They can always print out an itemized list of your spending.

Congratulations on going back!!!

Well that would be awesome! I'll have to ask around for this! That would be helpful! There is something amazing about not needing a wallet at all in Disney! It sure is magical to just touch your band, enter a pin and be on your way!

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Wow thats great news I could say I am soooo jealous, but we have the same here, although some more months inbetween! We are leaving for WDW in 8 days and then again in October 2016 we will be back again! The offer through Disney UK was so great we could not refuse it Congrats on the return trip

I don't blame you for taking advantage of that deal! Do you come for more than a week when you come? I wish I got two weeks in Disney. Then I wouldn't have to rush around so much!!

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Me three! -- we'll be at Beach Club 4/22 - 5/1

Yay! Another April person!

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Hello everyone!
I'm thinking this morning about Pop Century! I want to do more research on the resort. From the pictures I saw, it looks pretty awesome. Who's stayed? Any preferable building? I'd like to be close to the food court (as I'm sure everyone does). The last trip we brought no food or water from home (stupid) and had to go to the Mara at AKL ALL the time. I'm now hearing that AKL's Mara is one of the less desirable food courts and that Pop's is pretty awesome! That's exciting news.

I loved AKL because it was so quiet and tropical, but I think that Harper will LOVE the theme at Pop. Everything is so big and colorful! If anyone has anything they'd like to tell me about the place, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

 

[lostpro9het]

... Who's stayed? Any preferable building? I'd like to be close to the food court (as I'm sure everyone does)...!

POP is our favorite value and was our goto before we drank the DVC kool-aid. We prefer top floor of the 70's building, the "Preferred Rooms" which are closer to the food court and buses. I'd recommend it as a top value choice!

 

[ScarletBegonias]

POP is our favorite value and was our goto before we drank the DVC kool-aid. We prefer top floor of the 70's building, the "Preferred Rooms" which are closer to the food court and buses. I'd recommend it as a top value choice!

Thank you! Wonderful! I'm happy to hear good things about it! I am only slightly worried that AKL has spoiled me!

 

[lostpro9het]

Thank you! Wonderful! I'm happy to hear good things about it! I am only slightly worried that AKL has spoiled me!

It will be different!

 

[Ciara]

Hello everyone!
I'm thinking this morning about Pop Century! I want to do more research on the resort. From the pictures I saw, it looks pretty awesome. Who's stayed? Any preferable building? I'd like to be close to the food court (as I'm sure everyone does). The last trip we brought no food or water from home (stupid) and had to go to the Mara at AKL ALL the time. I'm now hearing that AKL's Mara is one of the less desirable food courts and that Pop's is pretty awesome! That's exciting news.

I loved AKL because it was so quiet and tropical, but I think that Harper will LOVE the theme at Pop. Everything is so big and colorful! If anyone has anything they'd like to tell me about the place, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

I really like POP! After staying there multiple time throughout the years, i am impressed by how well its maintained! We even saw them painting the sign and cleaning the sidewalks while we were there last month. Pop is nowhere as big as AKL so everything is fairly close, even AOA. I have stayed in fifties section twice and liked it but i liked the eighties building we were in last time, building 9, it was very close to bus but a little further from the pools and about medium to the food court, seemed ALOT quieter.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

I really like POP! After staying there multiple time throughout the years, i am impressed by how well its maintained! We even saw them painting the sign and cleaning the sidewalks while we were there last month. Pop is nowhere as big as AKL so everything is fairly close, even AOA. I have stayed in fifties section twice and liked it but i liked the eighties building we were in last time, building 9, it was very close to bus but a little further from the pools and about medium to the food court, seemed ALOT quieter.

Thank you!! this is great to know!

 

[TheMouseFan]

Hello everyone!
I'm thinking this morning about Pop Century! I want to do more research on the resort. From the pictures I saw, it looks pretty awesome. Who's stayed? Any preferable building? I'd like to be close to the food court (as I'm sure everyone does). The last trip we brought no food or water from home (stupid) and had to go to the Mara at AKL ALL the time. I'm now hearing that AKL's Mara is one of the less desirable food courts and that Pop's is pretty awesome! That's exciting news.

I loved AKL because it was so quiet and tropical, but I think that Harper will LOVE the theme at Pop. Everything is so big and colorful! If anyone has anything they'd like to tell me about the place, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

We love Pop! I always like to request a lake view room in the 70's building. It really isn't a long walk to the food court, and it is very quiet and peaceful. It is also a very short walk across the bridge to AoA. I really like the food court at both Pop and AoA, as long as you stay away during peak meal times!

 

[ScarletBegonias]

We love Pop! I always like to request a lake view room in the 70's building. It really isn't a long walk to the food court, and it is very quiet and peaceful. It is also a very short walk across the bridge to AoA. I really like the food court at both Pop and AoA, as long as you stay away during peak meal times!

Thank you! I will keep that in mind! Dinner at AKL was a nightmare, even more of a nightmare if it was raining.

 

[Mom@disney]

I have never been myself to POP, but my sister has only stayed at POP the 3 times she visited DisneyWorld and loved it. I hear nothing but good things too about the Food Court.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Okay, so because I have six months left, I'm going to take this a little bit at a time. My first planning thoughts are with Magic Kingdom since it's the biggest park to work out. I didn't realize until yesterday when I started more in depth research just HOW much we missed in September. We really were at the mercy of a 15 month old child, so we just didn't do a lot. I'm hoping six months from now, she might be a tad bit more patient, and not be so cranky pretty much the minute we hit the parks. (hah... we'll see)

I told my husband that we really should get to the park as soon as we can, even a little before RD if we could. I explained how you can get a LOT done in the first two hours and since Harper is normally up early, we should try to go for it. He said as long as he could get his coffee, he'd be fine. I also suggested that we shower at the end of the day, instead of in the mornings. It takes a good hours for us both to get ready in the morning, and that was an hour we were killing with a child who could be in the park. He said that made sense. That way we can get up, get dressed and leave. The way we did it in September (get up, me shower, him shower, then eating, then waiting for the bus, riding the bus) wasted a good two hours before we even got to a park. No wonder Harper needed a nap as soon as we walked through the gate!

Anyway, I'm digressing a bit.

So I sat down yesterday with all of my information and wrote down all the MK rides/attractions that we missed last time that I'd even be mildly interested in doing. I then rated them by priority (1, 2 & 3. 3 being "If I missed this, I wouldn't care). The list is LONG! I did decide that I'm skipping 7DMT this time. Completely. Unless by some act of the Disney gods there is an extremely short wait. Don't get me wrong, it's a great ride, but it's very very short, and I won't be able to ride with my family, so I think I'll skip it this time around and focus on things we haven't done yet.

I also decided that we are going to be going LEFT from the hub and not right. In September, we went right both times, and never got much further than tomorrowland before Harper needed a nap. We never even saw some of the other "lands" at all. I really am starting to see why Touring Plans are semi important now. I also need to start thinking about ADR's (if any) and then FP's for the day.

In the next post, I'll post my list of rides for MK.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Magic Kingdom Planning:
In September, our FP+ choices in MK were, a Mickey M&G, Peter Pan, and 7DMT. Since I'm skipping 7DMT, that's one FP+ that's free for something else. While we really liked Peter Pan, should I really use a FP+ for this again this year? We didn't get to do Winnie the Pooh, or Meet Ariel, a ton of things. I feel like it's pointless to use a FP for something we've already used it for. However, I am a n00b, so maybe my mindset is wrong here.
So here is a list of my rides in MK. I'll start with highest priority. (I KNOW we won't get all these done. Absolutely, however, going in with rides in mind that I'd pick over other rides, I'm hoping will help guide me in the parks a little bit!)

Highest Priority Rides in MK:
POTC, Haunted Mansion, Ariel's Grotto, Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh, Merida Meet, Princess Fairy tale hall & Space mountain.
Obviously, the ones geared towards smaller kids would be above Space, and HM. Would you use a FP for any of these if they were really important to you?

Priority 2 (really would like to do, but not a MUST do)
Jungle Cruise, Tom Sawyer Island, It's a Small World, Enchanted tales with Belle, Peter pan, Under the sea Little mermaid & Buzz

and Priority 3 (if we don't do it, no biggie)
Splash, BTMRR, Monster's Inc, People mover (I'm sure we'll do this)
I'd love to do Splash and BTM, but I love riding with my Hubby and we won't have that option because of Harper, so I'm not really upset if we can't do them.

Our FULL MK day isn't until Thursday! (we leave for home Saturday), but I will be in the park our first day in the evening because I really want to go MK our first day and see the Electrical Parade. Any rides better suited for the night crowd that I don't need a FP for?

 

[wdisney9000]

Magic Kingdom Planning:
In September, our FP+ choices in MK were, a Mickey M&G, Peter Pan, and 7DMT. Since I'm skipping 7DMT, that's one FP+ that's free for something else. While we really liked Peter Pan, should I really use a FP+ for this again this year? We didn't get to do Winnie the Pooh, or Meet Ariel, a ton of things. I feel like it's pointless to use a FP for something we've already used it for. However, I am a n00b, so maybe my mindset is wrong here.
So here is a list of my rides in MK. I'll start with highest priority. (I KNOW we won't get all these done. Absolutely, however, going in with rides in mind that I'd pick over other rides, I'm hoping will help guide me in the parks a little bit!)

Highest Priority Rides in MK:
POTC, Haunted Mansion, Ariel's Grotto, Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh, Merida Meet, Princess Fairy tale hall & Space mountain.
Obviously, the ones geared towards smaller kids would be above Space, and HM. Would you use a FP for any of these if they were really important to you?

Priority 2 (really would like to do, but not a MUST do)
Jungle Cruise, Tom Sawyer Island, It's a Small World, Enchanted tales with Belle, Peter pan, Under the sea Little mermaid & Buzz

and Priority 3 (if we don't do it, no biggie)
Splash, BTMRR, Monster's Inc, People mover (I'm sure we'll do this)
I'd love to do Splash and BTM, but I love riding with my Hubby and we won't have that option because of Harper, so I'm not really upset if we can't do them.

Our FULL MK day isn't until Thursday! (we leave for home Saturday), but I will be in the park our first day in the evening because I really want to go MK our first day and see the Electrical Parade. Any rides better suited for the night crowd that I don't need a FP for?

First off, I think its safe to stop calling yourself a "noob" because your planning skills are far above that of a novice.

Second, if I may, Id like to offer a different perspective on the planning aspect. My brother is the uber planner and will probly wet his shorts when I send him a picture of the Excel spreadsheet that @b33b33 made. My sister is not a planner. She doesnt even make her FP+ selections until they get there. Both have children and Ive visited many times with both of them and have had a unique look into the different park touring styles. My brother feels he HAS to get his moneys worth by planning and hitting as many attractions/shows/parades as possible. My sister feels there is more value in taking it slow and soaking it all in with her kids. I side with my sister in this aspect because its just fun to be there with the people you love, but I also have an amazing time with my brother and his style because you definitely have a feeling of accomplishment.

In the end, I feel you cant wrong either way. Maybe plan a few days out and also have a few days of just allowing the day to unfold without any expectations of how many rides you can squeeze in or where your gonna eat and at what time. I love knowing we have an ADR for our fav restaurant (Biergarten) for our trip next week, but I also love that on the next day, we will wake up, with no ADR's and just eat when we feel like it. Granted, we may not be able to get a seat at certain restaurants, but thats fine with us. We just let the Universe take over and eat where we can and we have never had any issues, plus we have discovered some very interesting places we may not have tried otherwise. Ive been surprised though how often we have walked up to a place like 50's Prime Time or La Hacienda (usually booked solid on day of) and been able to get a table. But when we cant, we just a grab a bite at a quick service and keep it moving. It can be extremely rewarding when your not slaved to a schedule of FP+ and ADR's.

Just my 2 cents on the issue. Your gonna have fun no matter what! Ill definitely be following along. And on a side note, wife and I use the gift card method and really like it. We just use a different card each day or you can even combine all your cards into one gift card if you dont want to keep up with having many of them. Its great when you dont have to spend any money because its already on the gift card. Better than the dining plan, IMO.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

First off, I think its safe to stop calling yourself a "noob" because your planning skills are far above that of a novice.

Second, if I may, Id like to offer a different perspective on the planning aspect. My brother is the uber planner and will probly wet his shorts when I send him a picture of the Excel spreadsheet that @b33b33 made. My sister is not a planner. She doesnt even make her FP+ selections until they get there. Both have children and Ive visited many times with both of them and have had a unique look into the different park touring styles. My brother feels he HAS to get his moneys worth by planning and hitting as many attractions/shows/parades as possible. My sister feels there is more value in taking it slow and soaking it all in with her kids. I side with my sister in this aspect because its just fun to be there with the people you love, but I also have an amazing time with my brother and his style because you definitely have a feeling of accomplishment.

In the end, I feel you cant wrong either way. Maybe plan a few days out and also have a few days of just allowing the day to unfold without any expectations of how many rides you can squeeze in or where your gonna eat and at what time. I love knowing we have an ADR for our fav restaurant (Biergarten) for our trip next week, but I also love that on the next day, we will wake up, with no ADR's and just eat when we feel like it. Granted, we may not be able to get a seat at certain restaurants, but thats fine with us. We just let the Universe take over and eat where we can and we have never had any issues, plus we have discovered some very interesting places we may not have tried otherwise. Ive been surprised though how often we have walked up to a place like 50's Prime Time or La Hacienda (usually booked solid on day of) and been able to get a table. But when we cant, we just a grab a bite at a quick service and keep it moving. It can be extremely rewarding when your not slaved to a schedule of FP+ and ADR's.

Just my 2 cents on the issue. Your gonna have fun no matter what! Ill definitely be following along. And on a side note, wife and I use the gift card method and really like it. We just use a different card each day or you can even combine all your cards into one gift card if you dont want to keep up with having many of them. Its great when you dont have to spend any money because its already on the gift card. Better than the dining plan, IMO.

Thank you so much for this! You are absolutely right! I was afraid my "planning" was going to look obsessive! I am all about going with the flow, and we did so very easily on this past trip! We spent 30 minutes in Tomorrowland just letting Harper running around and burn off steam! We spend time while she was sleeping eating ice cream and people watching! We sat in Gaston's for awhile too doing nothing at all! We sat at Casey's Corner on our last day for nearly two hours and just hung out. We did not want to run around like crazy people, and we don't this trip either! I was just not into planning at all in the last trip, and realized that there was a TON I didn't even know existed which lead to my looking more into things. We go at Harper's speed, and when she falls asleep, that's the best time for us to stop and relax!

I DO think just having a list of rides with me (maybe just at the resort) to remind me things I'd like to aim in that direction would be helpful! If we don't hit them, we don't. If I were to walk by something that wasn't on "my list" that we decided in that moment we wanted to do, we'd do it for sure!

Our last trip we literally ambled along with NO direction, or plan! While it was nice, I think we could have hit a bit more rides if we had just known they were there!

So that's kind of my goal! Educate myself a little better on what's actually out there!

And I'm flattered my planning skills are a notch above n00b level

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Just because I feel I need to mention it: The time we weren't following the FP's my mom made was when we were going all the wandering. LOL. We did do the things she planned, but there was a lot of spare time.

Heck, when we sat at Casey's Corner, we had NO idea there was a parade coming through. We just wanted to stop and relax. It was just awesome that FoF passed right by us!

 

[ScarletBegonias]

One thing I'd like to improve upon?
Quick service meals! I feel like we hit the very very common ones, and for that reason most of the meals were just "meh"
I'd love to hear about the better Quick Service meals!
I wasn't really a fan of Cosmic Ray's plain ol' boring burger that I ate several times on the trip! Even, Columbia harbor house was just okay (and maybe it's just the gluten free options). One of the better QS meals was at Sunshine Seasons in Epcot. I had pork with BBQ sauce, and rice, and an awesome GF brownie. I think that's the one think I'd love to better at, is finding better places to eat! We don't really plan on doing any ADR style dinners, so QS is where it's at.

 

[wdisney9000]

One thing I'd like to improve upon?
Quick service meals! I feel like we hit the very very common ones, and for that reason most of the meals were just "meh"
I'd love to hear about the better Quick Service meals!
I wasn't really a fan of Cosmic Ray's plain ol' boring burger that I ate several times on the trip! Even, Columbia harbor house was just okay (and maybe it's just the gluten free options). One of the better QS meals was at Sunshine Seasons in Epcot. I had pork with BBQ sauce, and rice, and an awesome GF brownie. I think that's the one think I'd love to better at, is finding better places to eat! We don't really plan on doing any ADR style dinners, so QS is where it's at.

Sunshine Seasons is by far our favorite QS spot. We get the turkey sandwich every trip. Another one we like is Boulangeirie Patissierie (spelling?) at France pavilion in Epcot. Big selection and great prices! Tortuga Tavern in Adventure LAand is good if its open (which is rare). Starring Rolls in HS is great too. Big Sandwiches. The bar at 50s Prime Time is great but not sure if that would be a good choice with Harper. Yak and Yeti QS at AK is awesome as well. We get the sweet and sour chicken, and by "we", I mean that we order it and my wife devours it and occasionally allows me to have a bite, lol. Ill post others when I think of them.