Pre-Trip Family Return to WDW - Take 2

As some of you may recall, we were supposed to return to WDW in July of 2020. It would have been the first time the whole family has set foot on property since December 2017 and it was going to be a surprise for our girls. Check in day was supposed to be July 11th, the same day the parks started reopening, but I had no desire to be part of the reopening process. So, we canceled and wound up going on a road trip that took us from TX through AR, TN, NC, GA, AL, MS, and LA. If you think that sound crazy, you should see the map of the trip I want to do this summer!

I'm going to try and break the PTR down section by section rather than just through it all out there. I don't know why, but I'm choosing to start with...

LODGING
In any event, we pushed our WDW plans to February and made it one big family planning event. Seriously, we probably watched 50 resort room videos and I was still left to decide on the winner. I wasn't even sure what was going to be open, but the finalists were 1. a studio villa at the Poly 2. a Lion King suite at AOA (this was the decor they liked best) or 3. connecting rooms at CBR. And this is where it gets kind of crazy.

This is what I picked for our lodging...

(not my picture)

Yes, it's a Poly studio villa, but don't get too excited...I didn't stick with these plans. I was already off to a bad start when my parents opted to go with the GF, since they do not care for the Poly. When the Poly construction was announced and I realized monorail service to Epcot probably still wasn't going to be a thing in February, I decided to go big. The kids were bothered about no rain style shower, but we're getting one installed in our master bath at home...so, they'll get over it!

(also not my pictures)

So, I switched us to a 1 bedroom villa at OKW. I know...it wasn't on our list! I wasn't optimistic about bus service or boat service resuming to Disney Springs, but this is going to be a road trip, so having my vehicle and all of this space for the price seemed like a great option. The kids were a little bit sad because they like being MK area, but when they saw the size of the room, they quickly came around to the idea and really liked the jetted tub. We had one in our old house and recently put one into their renovated bathroom, so they've become quite the bath and shower connoisseurs. The only thing...I wasn't sold on it and had plans to change if a decent discount was offered to get us into a 1 bedroom at BWV. If it were for a regular resort room I'd be all over BC, but I don't like the BCV decor as much. Sure, YC was an option, but after our 2012 stay, I was asked to skip it for future trips. BWV also seemed like a good plan for getting to HS to try and get a RotR boarding pass (before they changed the process to 7am).

(definitely not my picture)

I was actually a little bit late to the game when discounts hit. I mean, it was still probably same day, but I wasn't ready at the crack of dawn. Consequently, the phone wait time was 2+ hours (heard it was more like 4). I couldn't spend my whole work day waiting on hold with Disney, so I did what I've found in the past to be the easiest thing to do. Book a whole new reservation and then cancel the first one. Sure, it's a game of deposits, but it's better than sitting on hold. In the end, it was still more than a discounted villa at OKW, but everyone seems happier with the location. In fact, my parents...who did not make the shift to OKW with me, were good with BWV and also booked a 1 bedroom there for themselves. Sounds like it was cheaper than their room at the GF. I had thought about upgrading to a 2 bedroom at OKW instead, since many of you know about my husband's snoring, but BWV seemed like the better option...and I'll just try and cram an air mattress into the room so I can sleep in peace! Oh, and while this also didn't make the list, this was where we were supposed to stay over the summer...well, in regular room. So, it's kind of fitting.

This also gave me a chance to have some fun with my younger daughter...the one who hates clowns.

I had told her that Luna Park's slide was under construction and nobody knew what was going to happen with the clown. When the end results were revealed (which are really kind of blah, IMO), I decided to play a trick on her and show her a pic from a previous trip. I told her that the clown was just refreshed and is open for business.

(This is my picture!)

At first, she got all mad. When I showed her the actual renovation updates with the new school Mickey and friends, she was not a fan and said they should have kept the slide! Wow! And that's coming from a serious clown hater!

Coming up...I discuss dining and cake possibilities, the who's and what's kind of stuff, and some other little things.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

PHOTOGRAPHY

Some of you may recall that I didn't bring my DSLR to WDW last January. My phone didn't do a bad job, but I missed the big camera. I still don't have a ton of time to play around with it and learn all about it, nor do I have the budget to invest in some higher grade equipment, but I will have two new lenses (barring any unforeseen issues) in my bag for this trip.

The first is what I often hear referred to as a pancake lens. It was a Christmas gift from my husband
Canon - EF-S 24mm f/2.8

It's a wide angle...not as wide as my widest lens option in my collection (Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6), but it is faster than that lens. My fastest lens is a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8, which I like for portraits, but not so much big landscape photography.

The second new lens probably won't get much use at WDW.
Tamron 100-400mm F/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD Lens for Canon

This is basically the polar opposite of the pancake lens. Not my pic, but this should help give some perspective on lens size.

I've ordered the lens but waiting on it to arrive. I really bought it for wildlife photography and to work on my skills with astrophotography. Still, it can't hurt to bring it and test it out. I really wanted a Canon branded super telephoto, but they're all a bit out of my budget, and after doing my research...the Tamron is a much lighter lens, doesn't use the pump style (dust particle risk), and is weather sealed (Canon I was not). This one does not come with the tripod collar, so this should give me some time to test it out and see how much I really need it...before on a trip with more wildlife photography opportunities. I've seen some reviews and it seems more people like the collar for videography and people like me, who don't love using any kind of tripod (but I will for some things), so not running out to get it yet. The collar is around $150, so I really want to see before spending. My current telephoto is a Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6, which I'll probably let the kids use most of the time. They usually use my old Rebel XS DSLR with the Canon EF 35-80mm f4-5.6 lens that came on my old Rebel 2000 film SLR. It still leaves some gaps in my lens range (55-100mm) and I've spent enough for now...so everyone will have to share a little

Although, I guess I can't rule out some zoomed in wildlife photography at WDW. Imagine what this bald eagle on one of the Swan's swans would have looked like with a big telephoto.

So, hopefully I come back with some nice pics...and I usually take a bunch!

In other news...magic bands look like they will probably arrive this time. The status is now showing they're at my local post office and should be delivered tomorrow. Fingers crossed I get all four and they're the right ones.

Also bought a few new pairs of exercise pants for the parks. I've become a big fan of pockets so that I can have my phone handy...so all three have outer thigh pockets.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I was really hoping to have a positive post for today about my Magic Bands. They did arrive, but I only received 3 of the 4 that I ordered and paid for. So what I was seeing on MDE was a sign that they messed up.

Of course the merch line is closed for the day, so I have to call tomorrow to fix this. At this point, I'm thinking of just asking for a refund and buying something when we get there...and/or using an old band in the meantime. I'm just so frustrated! 42 days since I ordered and it's still not right!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

It's been a really frustrating morning with Disney, but I tried to keep my anger to myself. I still may write a complaint, but today was about getting things fixed.

I called the merch line that processed my replacement right at 9am ET. I waited on hold for about 15 minutes. The girl who answered was sweet enough, but she said I'd have to call the ShopDisney parks merch line to get help. I asked her why, since this line was able to help with my reorder. I was informed that while some members of the team are trained with Magic Bands, she is not. She gave me the number to the ShopDisney parks line just in case I got disconnected. She did try and connect me, but I sat in silence for some time and then started to hear strange noises. So, I hung up and dialed the ShopDisney number she gave me. I waited on hold for about an hour and 33 minutes before I got through...just to find out the band I selected for me was out of stock.

They are refunding my $20. For now, I plan to use my IASW band I bought for last year's trip. If I see anything I love...maybe I'll buy it. It is tempting, but I don't think I trust ShopDisney to get it to me before we leave.

 

[RememberWhen]

It's been a really frustrating morning with Disney, but I tried to keep my anger to myself. I still may write a complaint, but today was about getting things fixed.

I called the merch line that processed my replacement right at 9am ET. I waited on hold for about 15 minutes. The girl who answered was sweet enough, but she said I'd have to call the ShopDisney parks merch line to get help. I asked her why, since this line was able to help with my reorder. I was informed that while some members of the team are trained with Magic Bands, she is not. She gave me the number to the ShopDisney parks line just in case I got disconnected. She did try and connect me, but I sat in silence for some time and then started to hear strange noises. So, I hung up and dialed the ShopDisney number she gave me. I waited on hold for about an hour and 33 minutes before I got through...just to find out the band I selected for me was out of stock.

They are refunding my $20. For now, I plan to use my IASW band I bought for last year's trip. If I see anything I love...maybe I'll buy it. It is tempting, but I don't think I trust ShopDisney to get it to me before we leave.

What a hassle... The small World one is really cute though. I

 

[Songbird76]

It's been a really frustrating morning with Disney, but I tried to keep my anger to myself. I still may write a complaint, but today was about getting things fixed.

I called the merch line that processed my replacement right at 9am ET. I waited on hold for about 15 minutes. The girl who answered was sweet enough, but she said I'd have to call the ShopDisney parks merch line to get help. I asked her why, since this line was able to help with my reorder. I was informed that while some members of the team are trained with Magic Bands, she is not. She gave me the number to the ShopDisney parks line just in case I got disconnected. She did try and connect me, but I sat in silence for some time and then started to hear strange noises. So, I hung up and dialed the ShopDisney number she gave me. I waited on hold for about an hour and 33 minutes before I got through...just to find out the band I selected for me was out of stock.

They are refunding my $20. For now, I plan to use my IASW band I bought for last year's trip. If I see anything I love...maybe I'll buy it. It is tempting, but I don't think I trust ShopDisney to get it to me before we leave.

How frustrating! You'd think that would be something they could see when they helped you order, that it was out of stock. Or that you should have gotten a notification about it!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

What a hassle... The small World one is really cute though. I

yeah, I felt like I was wasting my time and energy on something they should have had accounted for from the start. Thanks! I do really like that band. I probably won't consider any others while there unless I see something that I think is even more fun.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

How frustrating! You'd think that would be something they could see when they helped you order, that it was out of stock. Or that you should have gotten a notification about it!

What frustrates me even more is that it's still on there!

It even lets me select it! Last trip, when I was trying to order a fun band, I ran into some out of stock bands showing in this section...but when I clicked on them I got a message about them now being out of stock. So, someone could literally go on there today, pay for this band and who knows how long it'll take for them to find out that it's out of stock.

I wound up sending a complaint. The amount of time I've spent on hold trying to correct this matter and the system and process bugs that allowed this to happen have me quite cranky. It's tied into Disney IT so I doubt they'll fix it, but they should know about these issues. I still can't wrap my head around why they wouldn't automatically issue a refund when the system showed the ordered band was out of stock. The fact that I had to sit on hold for so long for something that should be automatic is infuriating.

 

[Darstarr]

What frustrates me even more is that it's still on there!

View attachment 525412

It even lets me select it! Last trip, when I was trying to order a fun band, I ran into some out of stock bands showing in this section...but when I clicked on them I got a message about them now being out of stock. So, someone could literally go on there today, pay for this band and who knows how long it'll take for them to find out that it's out of stock.

I wound up sending a complaint. The amount of time I've spent on hold trying to correct this matter and the system and process bugs that allowed this to happen have me quite cranky. It's tied into Disney IT so I doubt they'll fix it, but they should know about these issues. I still can't wrap my head around why they wouldn't automatically issue a refund when the system showed the ordered band was out of stock. The fact that I had to sit on hold for so long for something that should be automatic is infuriating.

I planned a trip for my son and his GF recently. Long story short, the bands arrived the day they checked in (but they had already been in Florida for close to a week). The CM checking them into their resort said, “oh I see your magic bands just arrived” (our mail comes very late) “go pick one out from the store”.
Moral of the story, since offering the upgraded MB choices Disney has really highlighted their incompetence in this area. No wonder they decided to cut bait on the whole MB thing.

 

[Songbird76]

I planned a trip for my son and his GF recently. Long story short, the bands arrived the day they checked in (but they had already been in Florida for close to a week). The CM checking them into their resort said, “oh I see your magic bands just arrived” (our mail comes very late) “go pick one out from the store”.
Moral of the story, since offering the upgraded MB choices Disney has really highlighted their incompetence in this area. No wonder they decided to cut bait on the whole MB thing.

When they first started offering the upgrades to the cool bands, the system was completely bogged down with people trying to get them. We just wanted the plain color ones because we order skins from magicyourband.com. But I could not get through to choose them. Someone said if you did incognito mode, you could get through, so after weeks of unsuccessful attempts, I tried the incognito. It worked! But then we got to Disney and they said we never chose our bands so we all had the grey ones. (International ones don't get sent to your home address. You have to pick them up at check in.) Good thing we had the skins to dress them up!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I planned a trip for my son and his GF recently. Long story short, the bands arrived the day they checked in (but they had already been in Florida for close to a week). The CM checking them into their resort said, “oh I see your magic bands just arrived” (our mail comes very late) “go pick one out from the store”.
Moral of the story, since offering the upgraded MB choices Disney has really highlighted their incompetence in this area. No wonder they decided to cut bait on the whole MB thing.

While it seems a bit devious to put customers through such stress, part of me wonders if it's intentional. I know they are moving to having people use their smart devices in place of bands, so if bands are no longer free and deliveries are stressful, maybe people will stop buying? Maybe they also see better profit margins in Fuel Rod, with all of the phones that will need regular charging due to their use in place of bands? Just theories

 

[HouCuseChickie]

A FEW MINOR UPDATES...

1. That big lens I ordered wound up being out of stock. I am still looking to get it, but I think I'm going to wait until after Disney. The reality is that I don't need it for this trip, so that's $ I probably shouldn't throw into it right now.
2. I canceled Beaches & Cream. Nobody was really feeling the idea of the kitchen sink and some options in Disney Springs sound more appealing. So, that's that.

Beyond that, just trying to survive until the trip. The older one has some really early days due to school softball and then we have tournament ball with their select teams on the weekend. Getting my kid to school by 5:45am on a Monday is just cruel...to all of us

 

[KellBelle]

I canceled Beaches & Cream. Nobody was really feeling the idea of the kitchen sink and some options in Disney Springs sound more appealing. So, that's that.

We ate their for the first time this past December. It was good, but I would not call it a must do. Food was average and our server was not great. Also, we drove and the guy at the parking lot gate was really rude and strongly emphasized that we were held to a 2 hour parking limit. I think you will find much more enjoyable treats in DS.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We ate their for the first time this past December. It was good, but I would not call it a must do. Food was average and our server was not great. Also, we drove and the guy at the parking lot gate was really rude and strongly emphasized that we were held to a 2 hour parking limit. I think you will find much more enjoyable treats in DS.

We've been there before, but never for the Kitchen Sink. Someone pointed out that it's just Edy's ice cream and that they aren't currently doing all of the fanfare, so no real point in going there. Interesting about the guard at the gate. We'd be walking if we kept it, but I'll have to keep an ear out for similar should we drive to any of our ADRs.

 

[KellBelle]

We've been there before, but never for the Kitchen Sink. Someone pointed out that it's just Edy's ice cream and that they aren't currently doing all of the fanfare, so no real point in going there. Interesting about the guard at the gate. We'd be walking if we kept it, but I'll have to keep an ear out for similar should we drive to any of our ADRs.

We had a few ADR's that we drove to and each property was different. Some checked, some didn't...some guards were very nice and welcoming and some were not.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We had a few ADR's that we drove to and each property was different. Some checked, some didn't...some guards were very nice and welcoming and some were not.

As of right now, I see Riviera being the only resort where we'll have to utilize resort parking for dining. Our breakfast there is before the skyliner starts running and our dinner there is after it stops. Hopefully, we won't face any issues.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Odds and Ends

So, I heard back from Disney today about my whole Magic Band telephone/email fiasco. This was the reply...

So, I got a canned response, where the girl addressed it to herself rather than me.

The one eating mask that didn't get canceled also arrived yesterday. I think I like it and could see how this might help reduce some of the risk with indoor dining. I found a seller on Etsy who should be able to get us three more before the trip, so I put in that order today.

It's not perfect and we may get tired of using them, but I figure it can't hurt to try using these.

 

[Zipadeelady]

Final results of me trying to keep the food off of that mask

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Final results of me trying to keep the food off of that mask

I know...I see that happening! At least mine is camo, so maybe it'll hide all of my food mess? These will be used strictly for meals and I plan on washing them each day. So, I hope that makes them more useful.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Well, we're down to the final days of the countdown. I'm kind of glad that lens didn't work out. I found something else that's just a little bit more that will have better reach for wildlife. I don't plan on any souvenirs from Disney since I'm still bitter about my Magic Band and not too keen on any of the purses and bags available right now. That alone should cover a nice portion of the lens.

Other than that...the new eating masks arrived...I picked up some snacks and laundry detergent for the room...I remembered to add my old band to the bunch of new ones...and a bunch of other little things. Now, if only I could get the urge to start packing. It looks like temps should be fairly mild during the day, but cooling off at night. Living in the south, evenings in the 40s-50s is bundle up weather So, I guess we're packing a bit of everything.

Beyond that, Disney has been playing around with hours. I got all excited that I was able to improve my 5:40 at Skipper Canteen to 6:20, but then it occurred to me that ADRs had previously only been until 6. Look like park closing was shifted from 6 to now 7, so more ADRs were added. I think something like that may be in the works for one of our HS nights, since the park closing is listed at 7, but recently, ADRs up until 8pm were added. I changed our 50s to later as a result.

I have some crazy days before we go, so if I don't post again...be looking for a TR by mid February

 

[HouCuseChickie]

One final thing where I could use some thoughts and suggestions. I know, really last minute...right?

We are getting the kids Visa gift cards for their parent free time in the parks. These are well fed kids, and obviously, we have a lot of meals planned, but we figure they may want a snack or two during the day, or even a fun drink (non-alcoholic). So, it's not like they are going to be completely fending for themselves with food each day. I was initially thinking $50 per kid, but my husband was thinking $100 per kid. My 14 year old freaked out and thinks she's going to starve. She even explained to me that Disney food is expensive Our park time boils down to about 4.5 days, and I don't see them being away from us for all of it, since there are going to be some things we'll want to do together. Plus, with the exception of our Epcot day, we're looking at at least 2 TS meals a day, which include them.

What do you think? Too much, just right, or not enough?