Pre-Trip Halloween, a birthday and Christmas! The ever-changing planning of our November 2014 trip!

FlaggNL · Mar 5, 2014

Wow, you also have a long wait ahead

Only 13 days more than us

Enjoy the planning and the pre-trip feelings!! following along!

LucyK · Mar 5, 2014

FlaggNL said:
Wow, you also have a long wait ahead Only 13 days more than us Enjoy the planning and the pre-trip feelings!! following along!

Just 238 more days to go! Welcome!

Roo Bear · Mar 5, 2014

Hi Lucy - we are staying at POFQ from 30th October to 14th November when we will have to fly back to the UK. We'll look out for you

LucyK · Mar 5, 2014

POFQ is the best resort, isn't it? We should all coordinate and do a little WDWMagic meet on the food court, it'll be fun!

FlaggNL · Mar 7, 2014

LucyK said:
Just 238 more days to go! Welcome!

And still counting down. So you stay in POFQ? We stay offsite in a home.. we also want to go to Universal for 2 days... and the pre feelings still are great.. although... it will take soooooooooooooo long

LucyK · Mar 7, 2014

FlaggNL said:
And still counting down. So you stay in POFQ? We stay offsite in a home.. we also want to go to Universal for 2 days... and the pre feelings still are great.. although... it will take soooooooooooooo long

I stayed off site for my first visit and then POFQ for our second. I could never stay off site again for Disney, the bubble feeling you get when you stay on a on-site hotel is so good, it feels like the magic never ends, I know it's cheesy but that's how I feel! Also being on-site really helps when you have a senior citizen in your party, we take breaks during the afternoon so my mom can rest and being off site would not work as well for that.

You should do Universal even if you're not a Potter fan (and specially if you are!), they have great attractions and cool rides, some of my favorite rides are in Universal Studios, favorite rollercoaster, favorite shooter game... it's a great park.

I'm sure time will go by faster when we hit the 180 mark. Just 50 more days for that!

Roo Bear · Mar 8, 2014

Yes we should LucyK

FlaggNL · Mar 11, 2014

LucyK said:
I stayed off site for my first visit and then POFQ for our second. I could never stay off site again for Disney, the bubble feeling you get when you stay on a on-site hotel is so good, it feels like the magic never ends, I know it's cheesy but that's how I feel! Also being on-site really helps when you have a senior citizen in your party, we take breaks during the afternoon so my mom can rest and being off site would not work as well for that.

You should do Universal even if you're not a Potter fan (and specially if you are!), they have great attractions and cool rides, some of my favorite rides are in Universal Studios, favorite rollercoaster, favorite shooter game... it's a great park.

I'm sure time will go by faster when we hit the 180 mark. Just 50 more days for that!

I guess we will stay onsite on another trip. The difference in price between onsite and offsite is a really huge gap for us Europeans

And I understand you completely! We have the same at DLP. We stayed couple of times onsite, but for 3 years now we stay offsite. Of course it is much much cheaper bur on the other hand the magic never ends when you stay in onsite hotel. The thing is now we can go 3/4 times a year because of staying offsite, otherwise once in 2 years.

Same is for WDW. When staying offsite we probably can go once a year, otherwise once in 3/4 years I guess.

And hey it's not cheesy

We absolutely will do Universal. We are Potter fans and doing the ride (by the time we are there more rides

) is an really absolutely for sure not matter what have to do!

Just 40 days before hitting the 180 mark.... feelings are getting better and better

joshsprincess921 · Mar 11, 2014

Your upcoming trip sounds amazing! I loved the Halloween party and hope to one day be able to attend the Christmas party! To be able to do both on one trip will be so much fun for you! Looking forward to following your plans and your future TR.

LucyK · Mar 11, 2014

akayw0718 said:
All caught up! What a LONG trip (JEALOUS). Everything looks so amazing!

Thank you and welcome to the PTR! It's indeed a very long trip, probably because it'll be our last for at least 4 or 5 years. So why not go out with a bang, right?

joshsprincess921 said:
Your upcoming trip sounds amazing! I loved the Halloween party and hope to one day be able to attend the Christmas party! To be able to do both on one trip will be so much fun for you! Looking forward to following your plans and your future TR.

Thank you! What did you most enjoyed about the party? I've never been and it's the two things I'm most looking forward to, the Halloween Party sounds so cool and full of great stuff to do, plus, CANDY! And Christmas party, with the park all decked out for Christmas? It'll definitely be a dream come true. I'll do a TR for sure, it'll be a long one!

FlaggNL said:
I guess we will stay onsite on another trip. The difference in price between onsite and offsite is a really huge gap for us Europeans And I understand you completely! We have the same at DLP. We stayed couple of times onsite, but for 3 years now we stay offsite. Of course it is much much cheaper bur on the other hand the magic never ends when you stay in onsite hotel. The thing is now we can go 3/4 times a year because of staying offsite, otherwise once in 2 years.

Same is for WDW. When staying offsite we probably can go once a year, otherwise once in 3/4 years I guess.

And hey it's not cheesy

We absolutely will do Universal. We are Potter fans and doing the ride (by the time we are there more rides ) is an really absolutely for sure not matter what have to do!

Just 40 days before hitting the 180 mark.... feelings are getting better and better

It's cheaper to stay offsite for sure, I even checked one or two hotels close to WDW but offsite but in the end the bubble sucked me in LOL

I do want to visit DLP sometime soon. We're planning a extended stay in Europe (England, Scotland, France and Austria) for next year and I'll see if I can fit one or two days to visit DLP while we're in France.

Roo Bear · Mar 11, 2014

We'll also be going to Universal & Islands of Adventure. Did the HP ride in 2010 when it had just opened - amazing! Can't wait to go back & find out about the other improvements.

LucyK · Mar 11, 2014

We usually skip the afternoon parade because it interferes with our breaks. Well, I showed the video of FoF to my mom today and she's now intent on seeing it. Problem is, mom can't do it rope drop to park close without a break though so I've come up with a few options:

A) Arrive at MK for rope drop, use our FP+ and ride other stuff standby. Make our way to Frontierland around 2PM and grab a spot near Peco Bills and leave the park after the parade. With the parade still going and people blocking the way, we'll probably be out of MK around 4PM . Go back to the resort and call it a day.

B) Go to MK on a day with evening EMH, even though it'll be more crowded during the day. Arrive at rope drop, make the most of standby, make our way to MSUSA and grab a spot near the train station. Leave right after the parade has ended for a break at the resort. Go back to MK around 7PM. In this scenario MK needs to close at least 10PM so we can still have a good time and use our FP+ at night.

C) Sleep in and go to MK after lunch, scheduling our FP+ during the afternoon. Grab a spot near Frontierland to watch the parade. Enjoy the park till closing time.

With options A and B we would also make our Crystal Palace breakfast ADR for that day.

Option C is not my favorite scenario. We are early risers, being up and running by 7AM even while on vacation is the norm for us. If we decide for this option, I feel we'll be losing half a day of park time.

Option B is my favorite, but we might go with A, as this is the one where mom can get the most rest while I swim/explore the resort.

Still have 62 days to go before I have to decide. I really need the November calendar to make more concrete plans.

Thoughts?

joshsprincess921 · Mar 12, 2014

LucyK said:
Thank you! What did you most enjoyed about the party? I've never been and it's the two things I'm most looking forward to, the Halloween Party sounds so cool and full of great stuff to do, plus, CANDY! And Christmas party, with the park all decked out for Christmas? It'll definitely be a dream come true. I'll do a TR for sure, it'll be a long one!
.

I really loved the parade, it was so great and seeing all the villians! Loved seeing everyone's costumes and Hallowishes! Just a really great experience that I know you'll enjoy! My neice and I had the greatest time. I suprised her by having her an appt at the BBB a couple hours b/4 the party and she was all dolled up like Merida for the party! She was on Cloud 9!

LucyK · Mar 12, 2014

akayw0718 said:
So want the Nov. calender as well!

I personally like A. Mom needs her rest! And there's nothing to stop you from exploring, hanging out. Plus, you never know if after a nap, Mom may want to go with B. You're doing a hopper, correct? In that case, you could always go stroll the World Showcase or something in the evening.

After I posted, I started to think more about it and it's very likely we'll go with A. We have plenty of time to enjoy the parks even if we don't get back to MK on that particular day. We're not doing hoppers so far as I'm still on the fence about using it more than once the entire trip. I might not get it and if once we're there we decide to hop, I can add it to the tickets very easily. We're great fans of Downtown Disney, we're window shoppers and have actually lost a few hours inside WoD, so even without hoppers we would have a place to go.

joshsprincess921 said:
I really loved the parade, it was so great and seeing all the villians! Loved seeing everyone's costumes and Hallowishes! Just a really great experience that I know you'll enjoy! My neice and I had the greatest time. I suprised her by having her an appt at the BBB a couple hours b/4 the party and she was all dolled up like Merida for the party! She was on Cloud 9!

I'm even more excited about it now! We don't celebrate Halloween over here and going to a Halloween party/trick or treating has always been a dream of mine.

I'm pretty sure I'll be disneybouding instead of a full on costume and Merida has potential, I already have the crazy wavy hair anyway!

LucyK · Mar 29, 2014

Hi everyone!

Things have become a little hectic around my neck of the wood, work has been a pain and now that my boss is sick it might be even worst. So sorry for the lack of updates!

I couldn't let this day go by without posting though, todays marks 214 days before we arrive, or exactly 7 months! Isn't that great? Only 14 more days before we slip to the one hundreds and 44 more days to make changes and stress over our ADRs.

I made some changes to my touring plan but I want to wait till official hours are posted before I share that with you. Thanks to the always great feedback this forum shares I now changed my last park day from AK to EPCOT and will try for late check out, knowing we might get but hey, I won't know if I don't ask for it, right?

njDizFan · Apr 2, 2014

LucyK said:
Hi everyone!

Things have become a little hectic around my neck of the wood, work has been a pain and now that my boss is sick it might be even worst. So sorry for the lack of updates!

No excuses....lol

7 months already, wow time flies

LucyK · Apr 4, 2014

Totally excusable @njDizFan, boss man has the dengue fever and is out of commission till second order and I'm now working as boss lady and getting all the crap usually reserved for him (but not the money).

njDizFan · Apr 5, 2014

LucyK said:
Totally excusable @njDizFan, boss man has the dengue fever and is out of commission till second order and I'm now working as boss lady and getting all the crap usually reserved for him (but not the money).

Dengue Fever!! holy cow, another reason not to live in a subtropic climate...Só estou brincando.

Well boss lady let's hope he either gets better or you get some more money to bring to WDW(you know S America pretty much supports the entire Florida economy).

I will except the excuse but try to keep up with updates...thanks

LucyK · Apr 11, 2014

November hours are out and I'm pretty upset there won't be a Halloween Party in November. This means I will have to go to the October 31st party, which will be sold out and way too full. Should I just forget about it?

LucyK · Apr 12, 2014

We just reached a huge milestone for our trip countdown!

Only 200 days left before we arrive in beautiful Orlando, FL!

With November hours out I can now finalize our itinerary, which I'll share as soon as crowd calendars are up. I'm stressing a bit about going to MNSSHP on October 31st but in the end it'll be alright I know we'll have a great time.

31 days to go before I make my ADRs!