Pre-Trip May The Force Be With Us...

May The Force Be With Us

…because I am going to need all the help I can get!

I know, I know, I took forever to finish my Sept 18 TR and now it feels like this trip is right around the corner!

The Who:

Come on… you should know us by now.

Me aka mom – who takes 10 months to finish writing a trip report.

Ross aka Grumpy aka the Croc-less wonder. My wonderful Mickey ears wearing, husband of 27 years who I want to kill after spending a week 24/7 with him. (He spent a decent portion of this trip snoozing.)

Hope aka The Hopester – my baby girl who is now what Disney Dining considers an adult. Diagnosed with Autism and Sensory stuff, but has come so far.

Look how little she was...

And now - my Disney adult. lol

Julia aka Sissy. My 17 year old daughter – I don’t know how that happened. She was 6 the first time she went to Disney and now she is 17 and is a beautiful young lady and I can’t stand it!

Can I go back to when she wore Tinkerbell wings constantly?

The When:

September 5th – September 21st We are splurging with another long trip. I managed to sign Julia up for a couple of late sprint classes at college, so she can get away with missing the beginning of September, but this may be it for us, as far as September trips go.

The Where:

September 5th – 7th AoA – LM room

September 7th – 21st POP

The Shenanigans:

Well, we are already dealing with 2 issues that could make for some good trip report drama. Would you expect any less from us?

 

[Figment Forever]

I have been able to do two orders of two bands each. It took me checking every day multiple times a day before I could order them. It is very frustrating, and it's harder the more bands you want to order, because you have to get lucky enough to find a day when all the ones you want are available. I wish I could say I think Disney IT will fix this, but knowing Disney IT...

I had to do it in 2 orders - the first time, they had the bands that Hope and I liked, but not Julia. Luckily, since we had our room only reservation, I was able to order Hope and mine and get Julia her blue band. Then, I just kept trying with our other reservation and was able to snag Julia's today!

I was able to several weeks ago- they came so quick too.
We will be there the week Star Wars opens. Depending on if we are able to do AP Previews- we will be there at 6:00 am either opening day or the 30th. If we are able to ride the ride during a preview- will likely not do opening.

Good luck with the opening! I hope you can post some info to how everything going. I am dreading the same craziness of Toy Story Land. Friends of our were there on opening day and she said it was a 3 hour wait to just enter the "land". Not looking forward to that!

Got ours, but it was definitely a struggle. I think I was checking multiple times a day for 2 weeks straight in hopes of being able to find bands we all liked plus actually be successful in checking out. Not an easy task!

It was frustrating! There were bunch of times I had all the bands I wanted, but then couldn't check out!!!

We did but it was a mess. I brought my personal laptop at work and set it up to just constantly refresh until I found the one my daughter wanted. It took weeks (luckily I can close my office door lol.) Then it look over a week to ship so I thought maybe she would be stuck with the dreaded gray. Happily it shipped today. Frustrating though!

Thanks for the tip - I just started to check all the time and refresh frequently. Crazy!

What a nightmare this has been. I called and emailed several times. Once I got an IT lady and she told me I am not having any luck because I am trying too much! Huh?!? Cookies or something. She also said I was online at a very popular time. I told her I was up at 6am without luck. I also tried at midnight with no luck. Then the genius told me if all else fails I can buy them at shop Disney. Really???
I sent a very strongly worded email detailing all the flaws of this new MB program. I got a reply that told me to wait for August to order my September Magicbands as they are “working out the kinks”.

Wow - I would think they would have a better system before rolling it out. This seems to have a little bit more than just "kinks". lol

One trick I was told that seem to work for me, and for someone else is to use google chrome and put yourself in "incognito mode" and then try. If you are already using chrome... there are 3 verticle dots on the top right, underneath the X if you click on those, it will give you an option to open a new incognito window. Try that... Crossing my fingers for you.

Ummm... Mac user here... I have no idea what you said. lol
I was able to get my order in - but that was my next step going to Hope's computer which is a PC.

We were able to buy the dole whip one last night. Not sure if Matt did anything different. But we pick it up at the hotel when we check in.

I thought Julia would like the Dole Whip one, but no - I was also able to get that in my cart yesterday, so I held off. Thankfully, I found hers today and it worked!! Do they not ship it because you are in Canada?

 

[Figment Forever]

Joining in on the fun! YAY! So exciting!! We will be there during your visit! Looking forward to hearing more!

Thanks for reading and PLEASE say hi if you see us!!

I am super excited for this trip report--it's always a blast to read about!!

I'm glad Hope likes the boy, as I've found that the best judge of significant others is siblings. I have 3 sisters and 1 brother (who also is on the scale) and we have all been the best judge of character of any significant others any of us have had in the past.

Yes - Ive found that Hope is usually a good judge of "friends", so I'm glad she likes him. Good for him too because they have to share the backseat together when we drive to places. lol Thanks for reading along!

Joining in. We arrive the week after you (9/29) and SWGE is messing with my plans lol.

Enjoy your trip!!! May the force be with you too!

Aahhh! A new TR and a boy?!?!?! Can't wait to hear more!!! You guys are going to have an awesome time! And it sounds like Julia was taught well on how to pick a good one! I'm so glad that Hope approves

Thanks so much! I do think she picked well - just a lot of drama. "A TR and a boy" - I like that. That may have to be the TR title. (If he ever does travel with us to the world.)

 

[Rista1313]

And... Success... Finally!

View attachment 391811View attachment 391812

Was it my trick that worked?

Nevermind, I see you did it without my trick... congrats!

 

[Figment Forever]

July 20, 2019

Today was 4-H judging day.

6 days until County Fair & Showcase

30 days until State Fair

and of course…

This is when it starts to go really fast!

Hope has decided to wear her princess gowns again. I was wondering if she was going to stop this year, but I’m kind of happy she’s still into it. I think it may have been too much for me if she ditched her dresses this year. So I started going through them and getting them ready. They will most likely be the same as last year with maybe one or 2 additions. She had a really big growth spurt this year and got pretty tall. (Not tall enough to ride Superman at our Six Flags, but oh so close!)

We also have to invest in a new suitcase since Jet Blue destroyed one of ours from our last trip. It literally came off the circle round about thing with a huge hole in it! I found one at a local flea market for $30, but Ross thinks we should invest more for a better quality. It’s not typical for us to see things reverse, as he is usually the cheap I mean frugal one. (He is still recuperating from my MB upgrade.) We don’t travel very often, so for me, I’d rather be cheap.

It’s good that I have luggage to contemplate about because it takes my mind off the boy. They just passed their 3 month anniversary and are still not sick of each other. He did journey with us down the shore to my brother’s house – it was actually the first time he was at the beach or seen the ocean, so it was exciting.

I was sort of shocked that he was allowed to go with us. His parents are very strict. It makes for a lot of drama, hence my lack of appetite and constant nerves.

Nonetheless, he was allowed to tag along and it was a great time. He fits in perfectly with us. That may make me a little more scared.

Obviously, there was no way to add him on to this trip as we are at POP and could not afford an upgrade, but Julia has already asked if he could bounce back with us next time. Anybody here take a bf/gf without significant drama? I know it’s a long way off, but not really if we have to consider it to book a bounce back. I guess we would have to go to Riverside (which I do love and miss) or a family suite. I’d rather not do a suite because I think the room at RS would be cheaper – and I LOVE RS. But I heard they have family suites at ASMusic that are more affordable than AoA? Does ASMovies have them too?

 

[krisri18]

July 20, 2019

Today was 4-H judging day.

View attachment 391839View attachment 391838

6 days until County Fair & Showcase

30 days until State Fair

and of course…

View attachment 391836

This is when it starts to go really fast!

Hope has decided to wear her princess gowns again. I was wondering if she was going to stop this year, but I’m kind of happy she’s still into it. I think it may have been too much for me if she ditched her dresses this year. So I started going through them and getting them ready. They will most likely be the same as last year with maybe one or 2 additions. She had a really big growth spurt this year and got pretty tall. (Not tall enough to ride Superman at our Six Flags, but oh so close!)

We also have to invest in a new suitcase since Jet Blue destroyed one of ours from our last trip. It literally came off the circle round about thing with a huge hole in it! I found one at a local flea market for $30, but Ross thinks we should invest more for a better quality. It’s not typical for us to see things reverse, as he is usually the cheap I mean frugal one. (He is still recuperating from my MB upgrade.) We don’t travel very often, so for me, I’d rather be cheap.

It’s good that I have luggage to contemplate about because it takes my mind off the boy. They just passed their 3 month anniversary and are still not sick of each other. He did journey with us down the shore to my brother’s house – it was actually the first time he was at the beach or seen the ocean, so it was exciting.

View attachment 391841View attachment 391842

I was sort of shocked that he was allowed to go with us. His parents are very strict. It makes for a lot of drama, hence my lack of appetite and constant nerves.

Nonetheless, he was allowed to tag along and it was a great time. He fits in perfectly with us. That may make me a little more scared.

View attachment 391840

Obviously, there was no way to add him on to this trip as we are at POP and could not afford an upgrade, but Julia has already asked if he could bounce back with us next time. Anybody here take a bf/gf without significant drama? I know it’s a long way off, but not really if we have to consider it to book a bounce back. I guess we would have to go to Riverside (which I do love and miss) or a family suite. I’d rather not do a suite because I think the room at RS would be cheaper – and I LOVE RS. But I heard they have family suites at ASMusic that are more affordable than AoA? Does ASMovies have them too?

ASMusic has the family suites available. Movies and Sports are just the regular rooms. Art of Animation suites are almost always more expensive than ASMusic suites. For the price of AoA, I'd rather stay at Riverside. Although I can also see how the room setup of a family suite is better than a moderate: 2 bathrooms, kitchenette, and separate bedroom/living area. What's Hope's resort of choice?

 

[Figment Forever]

ASMusic has the family suites available. Movies and Sports are just the regular rooms. Art of Animation suites are almost always more expensive than ASMusic suites. For the price of AoA, I'd rather stay at Riverside. Although I can also see how the room setup of a family suite is better than a moderate: 2 bathrooms, kitchenette, and separate bedroom/living area. What's Hope's resort of choice?

Hope's choice is the Contemporary. Sorry kid, not gonna happen!

I would rather smash us into RS - since we are really just there to sleep. However, the thought of 2 bathrooms is rather tempting. If we decided on that, I think I would lean to ASMusic. Unless, we stayed offsite. (Oh my gosh - did I just say that?) We probably would not because the free dining is what makes the trip doable. However, we would probably not upgrade to reg dining and just stay with the QS plan.

 

[krisri18]

Hope's choice is the Contemporary. Sorry kid, not gonna happen!

I would rather smash us into RS - since we are really just there to sleep. However, the thought of 2 bathrooms is rather tempting. If we decided on that, I think I would lean to ASMusic. Unless, we stayed offsite. (Oh my gosh - did I just say that?) We probably would not because the free dining is what makes the trip doable. However, we would probably not upgrade to reg dining and just stay with the QS plan.

Dream big Hope!!!

 

[Matt and Kelly]

I thought Julia would like the Dole Whip one, but no - I was also able to get that in my cart yesterday, so I held off. Thankfully, I found hers today and it worked!! Do they not ship it because you are in Canada?

That’s exactly right. For any guests who do not live in the US, Disney won’t ship to international addresses. Bit of a drag but nice to know we’ll have something waiting for us when we arrive.

 

[ladydi]

We put my five foot tall daughter in the Murphy bed at riverside one year for a night-it’s a tight fit. I’d do the family suite instead.

 

[DisneyGigi]

Hope's choice is the Contemporary. Sorry kid, not gonna happen!

I would rather smash us into RS - since we are really just there to sleep. However, the thought of 2 bathrooms is rather tempting. If we decided on that, I think I would lean to ASMusic. Unless, we stayed offsite. (Oh my gosh - did I just say that?) We probably would not because the free dining is what makes the trip doable. However, we would probably not upgrade to reg dining and just stay with the QS plan.

Another thought, to throw out there- we did Old Key West in 2017. It actually was not much that much higher if at all, considering we did not have to bump up the free dining to table service. B and I took the bedroom with King and DS, his wife took the couch pull out. He is insanely tall, at 6’5 and was comfortable. There is also a chair that makes a twin bed too. Washer and dryer plus two sets of doors that lock either way for bathroom. Full kitchen and living room. Granted, you might have to switch up the sleeping arrangements- but the girls could take the bedroom and you guys do the pull out with the Boyfriend on the twin. Just a thought.

 

[Laura Loves Tigger]

Just found your pretrip and am following along. I really enjoyed your last trip report. We overlap our trips a bit, as my adult specials needs daughter and I arrive September 18th staying until the 30th.

 

[Ears to Disney]

We loved the Cabins at Fort Wilderness. They have the queen/bunks in the bedroom and the pull out couch in the living area so there would be a separate space for the bf if that concerns the parents.

 

[sheriffwoody]

OOOOOOOO a boy!!! I started dating my husband at the end of high school (I was 18, him 17), and neither of us had dated anyone before. Now we're going on 14 years together (almost 7 married)! That's great that he's a good guy. There would be a lot more drama to deal with if he wasn't!

I'm so happy you get to experience Galaxy's Edge! Can't wait to see how this trip unfolds.

 

[heatherhy01]

I am joining along! I thought you were entertaining during your actual trip report but this pre TR has a ton of potential! Sorry! I completely understand where you are coming from. As the Mom of 2 daughters myself, my oldest is going to be 21 and she waited until she was off to college to date. This seemed so much more scarier to me because she was 2.5 hours away and was hanging out with some boy (2 years older than her) that I didn't know anything about! But you know what? It all worked out...He is a wonderful boy. They have a lot in common and are still together after a year and a half. Why??? Because we raised great kids!!! Now looking back, I shouldn't have been so worried. She is a great kid with a good head on her shoulders.

Now, we just have to eventually meet the parents. That seems to be more scarier!!

 

[dizfan917]

The Treehouse Villas at Saratoga Springs have a Mom & Dad bedroom, a Girls bedroom with bunk beds and a Boy bedroom. I know they are crazy expensive, but you may be able to buy / rent points just for the trip or some such thing and everyone would have their own space...
But first you have to experience GALAXY'S EDGE, so don't worry too much, yet.

 

[PrincessJasmyn]

YAY! I am following along!!
Can't wait for September to roll around!

 

[Figment Forever]

That’s exactly right. For any guests who do not live in the US, Disney won’t ship to international addresses. Bit of a drag but nice to know we’ll have something waiting for us when we arrive.

That's a good way to look at it!

We put my five foot tall daughter in the Murphy bed at riverside one year for a night-it’s a tight fit. I’d do the family suite instead.

Hmmmmm.... I didn't think about that. Good point - thanks!

Another thought, to throw out there- we did Old Key West in 2017. It actually was not much that much higher if at all, considering we did not have to bump up the free dining to table service. B and I took the bedroom with King and DS, his wife took the couch pull out. He is insanely tall, at 6’5 and was comfortable. There is also a chair that makes a twin bed too. Washer and dryer plus two sets of doors that lock either way for bathroom. Full kitchen and living room. Granted, you might have to switch up the sleeping arrangements- but the girls could take the bedroom and you guys do the pull out with the Boyfriend on the twin. Just a thought.

I tried looking up some prices from the WDW site, but it seemed Key West was really out of our range. But I think I going to make some notes and ask when we are there booking a bounce back. Perhaps I was looking at the wrong room. Some rooms said unavailable.

Just found your pretrip and am following along. I really enjoyed your last trip report. We overlap our trips a bit, as my adult specials needs daughter and I arrive September 18th staying until the 30th.

Thanks for reading along! Please say hi if you see us there! Where are you staying?

We loved the Cabins at Fort Wilderness. They have the queen/bunks in the bedroom and the pull out couch in the living area so there would be a separate space for the bf if that concerns the parents.

Ohhhh - I just look at these and really like them! Question... Is Fort Wilderness a deluxe or a moderate? I always thought it was a deluxe, but now, the site seems to be saying it's a moderate.

OOOOOOOO a boy!!! I started dating my husband at the end of high school (I was 18, him 17), and neither of us had dated anyone before. Now we're going on 14 years together (almost 7 married)! That's great that he's a good guy. There would be a lot more drama to deal with if he wasn't!

I'm so happy you get to experience Galaxy's Edge! Can't wait to see how this trip unfolds.

Thanks so much for reading along!! Yes - I'm lucky he is a good guy. I just wish his family was a little easier to deal with.

I am joining along! I thought you were entertaining during your actual trip report but this pre TR has a ton of potential! Sorry! I completely understand where you are coming from. As the Mom of 2 daughters myself, my oldest is going to be 21 and she waited until she was off to college to date. This seemed so much more scarier to me because she was 2.5 hours away and was hanging out with some boy (2 years older than her) that I didn't know anything about! But you know what? It all worked out...He is a wonderful boy. They have a lot in common and are still together after a year and a half. Why??? Because we raised great kids!!! Now looking back, I shouldn't have been so worried. She is a great kid with a good head on her shoulders.

Now, we just have to eventually meet the parents. That seems to be more scarier!!

Thanks so much for reading along! Yes meeting the parents was a little intimidating for us. Thanks for sharing your daughter's story!

The Treehouse Villas at Saratoga Springs have a Mom & Dad bedroom, a Girls bedroom with bunk beds and a Boy bedroom. I know they are crazy expensive, but you may be able to buy / rent points just for the trip or some such thing and everyone would have their own space...
But first you have to experience GALAXY'S EDGE, so don't worry too much, yet.

Me? worry? Oh yes, I do worry. lol Treehouse Villas seem like a dream, but I guess, you never know. If Hope can dream for the Contemporary...

YAY! I am following along!!
Can't wait for September to roll around!

Thanks so much! Maybe our paths will cross in September!

 

[DisneyGigi]

That's a good way to look at it!


Hmmmmm.... I didn't think about that. Good point - thanks!



I tried looking up some prices from the WDW site, but it seemed Key West was really out of our range. But I think I going to make some notes and ask when we are there booking a bounce back. Perhaps I was looking at the wrong room. Some rooms said unavailable.



Thanks for reading along! Please say hi if you see us there! Where are you staying?


Ohhhh - I just look at these and really like them! Question... Is Fort Wilderness a deluxe or a moderate? I always thought it was a deluxe, but now, the site seems to be saying it's a moderate.




Thanks so much for reading along!! Yes - I'm lucky he is a good guy. I just wish his family was a little easier to deal with.



Thanks so much for reading along! Yes meeting the parents was a little intimidating for us. Thanks for sharing your daughter's story!



Me? worry? Oh yes, I do worry. lol Treehouse Villas seem like a dream, but I guess, you never know. If Hope can dream for the Contemporary...




Thanks so much! Maybe our paths will cross in September!

I wanna say we got it for around 300 for a 1br villa with free dining. It was way cheaper for us because we always bump up to table service. I am pretty sure it wasn’t too much of a difference than AoA, Cars Suite. Definitely check bounce back!!

 

[Figment Forever]

I wanna say we got it for around 300 for a 1br villa with free dining. It was way cheaper for us because we always bump up to table service. I am pretty sure it wasn’t too much of a difference than AoA, Cars Suite. Definitely check bounce back!!

Yes - we have always bumped up to TS too. Yes - It's definitely on my list especially since our trip will probably be significantly shorter next year. Thanks!!

 

[Laura Loves Tigger]

We are staying at Wilderness Lodge. Our trip is 12 nights, so I like to stay deluxe for longer trips so I have a balcony to sit on We generally stay moderate for shorter trips.