Trip Report June 19-24 (pre, during, and post) with In-Laws

The Plan

Day 0
We are crazy drivers. Every trip. 15+ hours. Straight. Only once have we stopped along the way for the night. Usually we try to leave mid-afternoon and arrive our hotel around 7am so we are in the parks at opening. Well, this time...last day of school for DD and me (I teach high school just outside Baltimore) is Friday the 17th of June, so we are leaving the morning of the 18th. Taking our time along the way for some pit stops. Still driving overnight, but that's just the way we roll (get it...roll...cars have wheels, oh well).

Day 1
Sunday the 19th of June. The nuclear family (just the 3 of us) will do a morning at Studios before everybody else arrives flying in from California. DD loves the biggies, so we'll hit Tower and RnR Coaster that morning. Most likely Little Mermaid and Muppets as well, because we don't think nephew will be likely to enjoy those as much as we do. Twice during the day we will snag Star Tours FPs so that 6 people can enjoy it that night. After they arrive mid-afternoon, we'll head back to Studios and do the Backlot Tour (been almost a decade since I did that) before dinner at Mama Melrose (F! package). After dinner, we'll catch the Indy stunt show, ride Star Tours, maybe Great Movie Ride and then go see Fantasmic! Finally, a real night's sleep after the show.

Day 2
At Animal Kingdom for rope drop and morning EMH. We will do E:E while the rest visit Dinosaur or maybe just Triceratops. There is some debate as to what nephew will be up for, so remains to be seen what happens! We'll meet back up for the Safari and Pangani. Then Festival of the Lion King and lunch wherever we feel the urge to grab it. After lunch, we'll head to Rafiki's, before catching the afternoon Nemo show. Finishing up the show circuit, we'll try to catch Flights of Wonder before dinner and Tough to Be a Bug after. AK closes at 7pm that night, so sleep will come early and be welcome!

Day 3
Another morning EMH, this time at Magic Kingdom. Hopefully, we can do most of Fantasyland and be in Tomorrowland before regular opening (we've done that much before in much more crowded seasons, so we can hope). Right around regular opening, we'll grab food at the bakery, then off to Adventureland. Following Adventureland, we'll go back over to Tomorrowland to use some FPs we grabbed early and then lunch at Ray's. After lunch, it's main street shopping, maybe a haircut, the afternoon parade, then back to the room for naps! In the evening, we'll head back to MK for lots of dead folks - Hall of Presidents and Haunted Mansion. Then enjoy the evening parade and fireworks.

The Plan (part 2)

Day 4
Not doing the morning EMH today, so we'll be certain to get to Epcot early! While most of the crew heads to Imagination and then Living Seas, I will likely grab FPs for....well, something that people want to do later (maybe Test Track, maybe Mission:Space green, maybe Soarin'). We'll all enjoy Living with the Land (personal favorite) before lunch at Sunshine Seasons. Hoping that the masses have started to head for World Showcase, we'll hit Innoventions, Spaceship Earth, and Universe of Energy. Most likely another afternoon nap before back to Epcot for World Showcase touring, dinner at Rose and Crown (winner!), and Illuminations.

Day 5
Another nice morning to sleep in until....maybe even 7:30am! But gotta get to Studios for opening! Upon entry we will move with the masses to Toy Story Mania. Then split up for nephew (huge Star Wars fan) to catch another Star Tours while we do Tower of Terror (unless DD becomes a Star Wars fan as we are watching it in a couple weeks). Lots of variables in the rest of the morning and early afternoon, but most likely either all or most will go see the LMA Stunt Show, and then another Toy Story (with morning picked up FPs). After some afternoon rest, we will be doing the Backyard BBQ, which is a huge hit with this family (and we hope with the in-laws, too!).

Day 6
The extended family has an early flight back to CA, but we will be heading to Epcot to do whatever we missed and (most important) Akershus Princess Breakfast! With whatever time we have remaining before hitting the road around 2pm, we will be doing some Kim Possible adventures. DD (and parents, too) are huge fans of these. We have done them all at least once and DDs excited has led to purchase of the Kim Possible season 1 DVDs! Hopefully with getting out at 2pm we can avoid at least a little of the I4 traffic, but that's wishful thinking!

So, there it is. Thoughts and ideas are certainly welcome!

Sounds like a good plan. Looks pretty "commando" but that's my speed to. My kids loved KimPossible mission on our last trip and I plan to join them on one this year.

DD and I tried to do Kim Possible last year..looks like lots of fun...but it was SO HOT and we could not think staight and were having trouble following the directions....haha so we gave up. Maybe if its not so hot this time around we will give it another try!!!
Sounds like you have a great plan..wave hi when on 95 in Woodbrige to me!!!!

mamamouse said:

I must admit I chuckle everyti,me anyone on the boards mentions "going commando" because to me that means without ur gotchies on(sorry)

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Me too !!!! :ROFLOL:

fractal said:

Sounds like a good plan. Looks pretty "commando" but that's my speed to. My kids loved KimPossible mission on our last trip and I plan to join them on one this year.

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That seems funny to us, because we consider this trip to be pretty low key compared to some we have taken! We are planning a lot less 'per hour' than we usually do, because we know that the rest of the family won't be able to keep up with the pace the three of us usual tour at.

mickeysshoes said:

DD and I tried to do Kim Possible last year..looks like lots of fun...but it was SO HOT and we could not think staight and were having trouble following the directions....haha so we gave up. Maybe if its not so hot this time around we will give it another try!!!
Sounds like you have a great plan..wave hi when on 95 in Woodbrige to me!!!!

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Hope you get a chance to do it! We always make sure to do at least 2 of the missions on each trip. It actually helps us to slow down and enjoy the countries of WS a little bit more. Not sure if waving is what I'll be doing around Woodbridge - usually that's cursing at I95 traffic territory!

mamamouse said:

I must admit I chuckle everyti,me anyone on the boards mentions "going commando" because to me that means without ur gotchies on(sorry)

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Never would've thought that was where my trip report would be going!

Hey, the trip report sounds great!!
We will be there the 17th-the 23rd.
Our plan is
17-MK --Crystal Palace at night
18-Wife and son our going to the waterpark (not for me), I am on my own at Disney!!! --Ohana at night
19-AK--Hollywood And Vine at night
20-EP--Le Cellier for lunch
21-Chill day--50's Prime Time at night
22-HS--Garden Grille at night
23-Mix it up. Plane trip 7pm
However wanted to note we will be at Fantasmic on the same night. My package is Hollywood and Vine. If you see a tall guy with glasses (usually with a Phils hat), my wife, and teenage son (I am on the other side of parenting then you guys, in fact we are celebrating his graduation), do not hesitate to say hi. Have a great time.

Have you ever been to Fantasmic with the dinner package? Any tips?

We usually go around the third week of August. We are a little nervous about crowds. The crowd calendar says that crowds really do not pick up until the following week. Any thoughts?

phllymouse said:

Have you ever been to Fantasmic with the dinner package? Any tips?

We usually go around the third week of August. We are a little nervous about crowds. The crowd calendar says that crowds really do not pick up until the following week. Any thoughts?

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We've done the F! package quiet a few times. Only real recommendation is to get there a little bit before whatever time they tell you (or is printed on the ticket). That way you can get as close to center seating as the reserved section will allow. The reserved section is pretty far over on the side, so getting toward the middle is at a premium! We also tend to get there early so we can chat with the people around us - love meeting fellow Disney fanatics!

Almost all of our trips have been during times that touringplans.com says the crowds will be 9 or 10, so this trip is going to be a decent change for us! I can only hope that they are right with their numbers!

I'll be on the lookout for the Phillies hat! We'll be the big group with 5 adults and 2 kids. One bald man (DWs dad) and one almost there with a goatee and glasses (that's me), three very obviously related women, and two crazy kids!

brifraz said:

Not sure if waving is what I'll be doing around Woodbridge - usually that's cursing at I95 traffic territory!

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Brother B, why don't you give 301 a try?
Rt 29 to Rt 100
Rt 100 to I 97
I 97 to 50W, towards DC
Get off at 301S there in Bowie
Take 301 all the way over the Harry Nice bridge into King George. Stay on it when 301 turns into Rt 207.
That dumps you off on 95 one exit north of Kings Dominion. Traffic can slow through Upper Marlboro and Waldorf, but I find it much better than going 95.
Just a suggestion.
Oh yeah, see you at OKW!

stratman50th said:

Brother B, why don't you give 301 a try?
Rt 29 to Rt 100
Rt 100 to I 97
I 97 to 50W, towards DC
Get off at 301S there in Bowie
Take 301 all the way over the Harry Nice bridge into King George. Stay on it when 301 turns into Rt 207.
That dumps you off on 95 one exit north of Kings Dominion. Traffic can slow through Upper Marlboro and Waldorf, but I find it much better than going 95.
Just a suggestion.
Oh yeah, see you at OKW!

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We're regulars on 301 South. We have family outside Richmond and that is our usual path down that way. Since we're leaving mid-afternoon we think we can avoid the worst of DC. We actually do 27 to Germantown, then 270 to DC and around the west side - same mileage as 795 to 695 to 95, but less headaches. And, yes, see you at OKW!

Under 2 weeks to go...

So, at this point, like everyone who is reading this, we start to really get psyched up. Both my wife and I are visiting at least 3 Disney websites a day and reading everything we can.

A few of the days have changed hours to be open a little longer, but I don't think we're going to adjust any plans really. For a week, we had some Star Tours paranoia that we were going to have to adjust things to make sure the young cousin (huge SW fan) gets to ride at least twice. Since the lines and FP distribution seem to be more reasonable than some had predicted we feel pretty safe with our original plan.

This is also about the time that we start making our Guide book. Yes, we make our own guide book each visit. Basically we download the latest menus for all the restaurants we plan to visit and for most of the kiosks where we might be, print out our daily plans, and usually print out some scavenger hunts or the like. Hope to start on that tomorrow!

For those who are reading, we will be posting live from the World each night (unless I fall asleep!) with updates.

brifraz said:

So, at this point, like everyone who is reading this, we start to really get psyched up. Both my wife and I are visiting at least 3 Disney websites a day and reading everything we can.

A few of the days have changed hours to be open a little longer, but I don't think we're going to adjust any plans really. For a week, we had some Star Tours paranoia that we were going to have to adjust things to make sure the young cousin (huge SW fan) gets to ride at least twice. Since the lines and FP distribution seem to be more reasonable than some had predicted we feel pretty safe with our original plan.

This is also about the time that we start making our Guide book. Yes, we make our own guide book each visit. Basically we download the latest menus for all the restaurants we plan to visit and for most of the kiosks where we might be, print out our daily plans, and usually print out some scavenger hunts or the like. Hope to start on that tomorrow!

For those who are reading, we will be posting live from the World each night (unless I fall asleep!) with updates.

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Hopefully I'll see you there! At least just to make introductions and say hello. Just called OKW this morning to request room locations. Hopefully building 33 or 44. Sounds like your crowd is going to be a big one! Are you all going to try and stay together as a group the entire trip, or break up everyone into "interest groups" that will do their own thing?

stratman50th said:

Hopefully I'll see you there! At least just to make introductions and say hello. Just called OKW this morning to request room locations. Hopefully building 33 or 44. Sounds like your crowd is going to be a big one! Are you all going to try and stay together as a group the entire trip, or break up everyone into "interest groups" that will do their own thing?

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Just the 7 of us and for the most part I expect we'll be sticking together. Once in the parks, we'll split up for a ride at a time because our DD7 likes all the big time rides while her cousin (5) does NOT like rides very much. Also, he'll want to see LMA and we can stand to miss that show (which means we'll be doing Tower of Terror right about then). We'll definitely need to meet up at OKW!

Crowd Calendar

Wow! Got up this morning and did a quick check of the crowd calendar on touring plans and found that since last week the projected crowds for every day of our visit have gone up significantly! Most days have changed from a 6.3 or so to an 8.5 or so!! Guess we need to plan a little more time waiting in lines. At least it gives us a little more planning to do!

I just saw the same thing. I thought YIKES. That is a big jump in crowds. I thought I was beating the large crowds by a week. I guess not. I have to wonder if the report on more tour groups made it jump. A three point jump some days to 9 of 10 is close to July 4th weekend.

During - Drive and Day 1 Recap

Well, here we are (face to face, a couple of Silver Spoons). And, anybody else who thinks that phrase any time they here somebody say "Well, here we are" will hopefully fit right in with my report.

It is early morning of Day 2. One of my jobs is to be the first awake - it just comes naturally. Despite only 2 hours of sleep Saturday night and getting to bed around 11pm last night, I was up at 5:30am, 15 minutes before my alarm was set! Now it is just a matter of the other 6 folks getting up, getting coffee, and getting cleaned up for the day.

But, you don't really care about all that, you want the report!

For my fellow I95 warriors...we left northern Maryland at 11:15am on Saturday. Hit the obligatory terrible traffic in northern Virgina (lost an hour near Fredericksburg), hit some crazy wind and rain near Fayetteville (Auntie Em! Auntie Em!), and saw the most fabulous lightening show ever near Savannah (around midnight and looked like daylight for nearly an hour). Arrived at Disney at 5:45am and checked in to OKW.

DAY 1
So, we hit Hollywood Studios at about 7:30am (for 9am opening, but, we were bored!) and we the first car and first people in line. This was just the trio of myself, DW, and DD7. Of course, being the way we are, we were still revising plans as we sat at the turnstiles. In at 8:40 and up to the rope drop. We decided to go with the crowd and did Toy Story first. DD got her highest score - I was a Beaver as usual. Then the girls went to Tower of Terror while I got the first 3 Star Tours FPs. We met up at Rockin Roller Coaster for DDs first time ever. She rode with me and despite nearly dislocating my shoulder (she has one heck of a grip!) declared at the end "I have a new favorite roller coaster!" Then we went to do Star Tours standby (to enjoy the line - and to get 3 more FPs). Sadly, the security screen was not working, so we missed out on those jokes. But the new ride was great! We got Darth/Kashyyyk/Yoda/Coruscant. Although, the 3D with the motion is almost more than my stomach can...well, stomach. Then we meeted and greeted with Phineas and Ferb and headed back to OKW at 11am to meet the rest of the crew and get some lunch.

Driving the trip back, we were doing our prayers that the room would be ready. No such luck. So, we dozed in the lobby until they arrived around 12pm. Then we grabbed some grub from Goods to Go and sat and ate and geared up for the rest of the day. At 1:15 we were on the bus back to Studios. The first full clan activity was the Backlot Tour - enjoyable despite the obvious neglect it has suffered over the years. Then time to use our 6 Star Tours FPs (Grandpa doesn't do motion simulators). We all had a great time and the young cousin absolutely loved it! Just to keep tally, we got Darth/Tatooine/Akbar/Naboo. Then we all did MuppetVision. Still one of my favorite all time attractions. The film upgrade still looks awesome, but the theatre effects are still in a sad state of disrepair (worst new failure was the penguin orchestra did not rise and fall).

We were in to Mama Melrose at 3:50 for our 4:10 ADRs. Normally I wouldn't mention that much detail, but we then didn't get a table until 4:40pm! A bit frustrating.... But, the food was enjoyable and always way more than we could eat (lots of cold pizza for breakfast this morning). Then we did the Great Movie Ride (which sadly did not work out for you cousin who has a strong dislike of human AAs - or fake people as he calls them). Since we still had some time before seating time for Fantasmic!, our core trio plus sister-in-law did RnRC again. Just as fun the second time. With pretty healthy thunderstorms both East and West of Studios, we headed into Fantasmic! just after the crazy rush and sat smack dab in the middle of the reserved seating section. The show as delayed as we waited for the storms that never quite hit to pass by, but at 9:15pm, things got going. DD loves this show. I enjoy it, but it is another thing that I think is in sore need of updating. The largest sequence in the show is Pocahontas which I think really dates the show. I much prefer the snippets of all the other movies that are in the show than the too-large chunk of the the movie that came out right around when the show premiered.

We were back to the room and getting settled and bedded in around 10:30pm and that's it for Day 1!

It's 7am now and it appears that at least half of the crowd is moving and getting ready to go. We'll see you tonight (or tomorrow moring) after an awesome Animal Kingdom adventure (can't resist some quality alliteration).