Pre-Trip The August 2018, All-Welcome, Orlando Extravaganza

I am SO excited to have booked another trip to WDW and Orlando! It’s ‘super-Saturday’ here in the UK. Back-to-back rugby matches….. so DH is happy. I am NOT a fan of watching sport, so instead, I’ll start my pre-trip report!


BACKGROUND – How did this all begin?

Per my intro-post, I was bitten by the Disney bug more years ago than I care to remember when my two sons were small. Our youngest was 3 when we first visited Euro-Disney in 2001. I am a reformed Disney sceptic. To me Disney was just a large corporation, set on exploiting parents, via their kids, to maximise profits. However, we were able to incorporate an overnight stay into return leg of a holiday in France and, in the spirit of “don’t knock it ‘till you’ve tried it” and “I’m sure the kids will enjoy it” off we went…..


Well…. I was blown away (and DH and the kids quite liked it too). We have very few photos from this trip but they are amongst the first digital photos we have. We must have bought our first digital camera just before this holiday. Our youngest, aged three is in the photo below. (I delayed posting this until I had checked with everyone that they are comfortable with me uploading their photos.)

I’m not an amusement park fan. Nor do I particularly like roller-coasters. What I loved was the theming and the element of surprise. A first trip always stands out. I loved the fact that, for most rides, you can’t walk up and take it all in at a glance. There’s an element of the unknown. On a couple of occasions I thought we’d come to the end of the attraction to discover we’d only reached the end of the pre-show! I also love the fact that life (with all its attendant demands) is put on hold. From the moment you enter “the bubble” it’s just fun. Pure, unadulterated fun. Even without the rides, the atmosphere is unlike anything, anywhere else.


The ticket price seemed good value too. My recollection is that a single day ticket then cost just over £50 GBP. On our drive home we stopped off at Yorvik (a Viking themed, semi-educational attraction in York) and paid £35 GBP for a single, adult ticket. The Vikings didn’t move….. It was just stationary tableaus with sound-effects and ‘midden smells’. After barely more than an hour we’d seen everything and we were ready to leave. .... It was so disappointing in comparison.

Since our first trip we’ve made many more over the years, typically every three to four years to either Disneyland Paris or to Orlando, staying both on and off-site (incorporating days at Universal too). Every trip has been great. Our trips have been interspersed with other memorable holidays but there’s just something about the Disney trips that makes them stand out.

Still seem to have very few photos from our 2003 EuroDisney trip. As I recall, the memory cards didn’t hold very much then. Eldest son below (just turned 10 then).

My photos are nowhere near the quality of many posted on the forum. (I am in awe of those posted by @fractal!) But, I hope they liven up my musings and my trip down memory lane. We upgraded our digital camera for our first Florida trip in 2004 and incorporated a trip to the Kennedy Space Centre.

I miss the parade at Animal Kingdom. It was a real favourite. I had the photo below as my screen-saver for years. Makes me smile every time I see it.

Our eldest was so happy to win one of the awful dinosaur toys in the fairground games at Animal Kingdom. Even now he insists on trying to win another one… Youngest was toothless at this point! Note the ‘peely-wally’, blue Scottish lack of a sun-tan look that we all have. This will be a theme of all our pics, regardless of the year.

Watching the Blues Brothers at Universal. Still love to see them.

One of the odder parts of the parade in 2007! I don’t remember them looking quite like this in Fantasia…..

A poor photo but another parade I miss. The night-time, electric parade. Can’t remember what it was called.

To be continued.....

 

[Fankle]

It's been a little while since I posted but there has been plenty of preparation going on there's lots still to do.

TICKETS
We’ve bought all our park tickets now. I priced numerous options from many suppliers (including Disney) and the 14 day tickets for the price of 7 offered the best value for us (even for the members of our party will only be there for 10 days). They come with park hoppers, water-parks and memory maker which we’ll take full advantage of. The tickets were bought via American Attractions in the UK using the link/discount from the Martin Lewis website. We’ve also bought tickets for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party for the second week of our trip which will be fun. It took about a week for the tickets to arrive (plastic tickets not vouchers) and there were no issues linking them in my MDE account.

ACCOMMODATION
I’ve made a couple of changes to our accommodation bookings. We were planning to stay somewhere cheap, offsite for our first night. This was planned when initial flights (to Tampa) were booked and no-one was going to arrive before 9pm on the first day. Since then however my sons’ girlfriends are going to join us, and their flights arrive at MCO earlier that day. So, I switched our reservations for the first night to Art of Animation, booking a couple of Little Mermaid rooms. The hotel looks fun. It means those arriving at MCO will be able to use the Magical Express and start enjoying their trip straight away. I’m just hoping that our convoluted travel plans into Tampa go smoothly so that we arrive early enough to explore the resort!

We’ll drive to Animal Kingdom Lodge to check in the next morning rather than letting Bell Services transfer our luggage. Hopefully if we check in early, in person (even if our rooms aren’t ready) we’ll stand a better chance of getting the best room combination we can.

Our original, room-only, rack-rate reservations at Animal Kingdom Lodge were made months ago directly via the US Disney web site. I was counting on snagging a room-only discount to apply to the reservation when they became available. However when the discounts were released there were few to be had and none for the types of rooms we wanted. Since then I contacted Magical Vacation Travel (recommended by the Backside of Magic podcast) who were able to offer a sizeable discount off rack-rate, though not for our original room type. The new reservations have been linked to MDE with no problems.

We’ve switched from a savannah view with bunk beds so a savannah view with two queen beds and from a pool view room to a standard room. Given that these changes save $1,500…… so be it! I’m hoping that we’ll be able to get a partial-savannah view with the standard room by checking in early and chatting to reception about the options.

TRANSPORT
We booked fly-drive with BA into Tampa, originally booking a 7-seater. However, with 8 of us now there for the first week that wasn’t going to be big enough (particularly with all our luggage). I called BA and it was straightforward to upgrade this. We now have a 12-seater mini-bus! (There was nothing in-between size-wise.) I did wonder if trying to make a change would only be possible by cancelling the entire booking and re-booking at current prices but thankfully that wasn’t the case (or we’d have managed using Uber or Lyft). Think the additional cost between the 8 and 12 seater was about £140 for the fortnight including a small fee for changing the boking.

ADRs
Slowly but surely I’m rationalising and cutting down our dining reservations (ADRs). Now that we’ve finalised our accommodation plans and have ruled our staying at the Polynesian I’ve been able to cancel quite a few. I do still need to go through them again and cull some more but I keep finding myself thinking of scenarios where we’d use them that stop me hitting the ‘Cancel Reservation’ button…..

Lots of planning going on at the moment to work out what our priorities are for the parks and working on plans for each day so that I know which fastpasses we want to snag, but I’ll save that for another post.

 

[Uncle Lupe]

If planning a Disney vacation is part of the fun then you're having blast. I wish we could get those 2 week long vacations but I would hate to see that bill.

We did BoG twice. I enjoyed the setting, the idea of where you were eating more then the food. The food was good but the experience of all this planning and anticipation and sharing that event with the family was amazing.

 

[Fankle]

If planning a Disney vacation is part of the fun then you're having blast. I wish we could get those 2 week long vacations but I would hate to see that bill.

The family tease me mercilessly about the excessive planning, but the anticipation is part of the fun! At the start of the planning, everything still seems possible.....

The villa offsite certainly helps with the cost but there’s no getting away from it, flying in from overseas is expensive. It’s why we seem to average a trip every four years. The danger there is that there’s a lot invested in it - financially and emotionally. (Which reminds me that reviewing our holiday insurance cover is still on the ‘to-do’ list.)

Not long now until the kids are graduated and earning. Then they can treat their parents to a trip.

 

[Fankle]

CATCHING UP

Less than a month to go now. How did that happen? We’ve all been super-busy I guess. The boys have had exams. DS1 is now finished and enjoying a last summer of student freedom before work starts in earnest, post-Disney. DS2 has a summer internship and is busy earning his spending money. The DNs still haven’t finished school yet. The English schools finish late and their school seems to be amongst the latest. DH & I have had our heads down at work. It’s been a great summer so far and we’ve finished landscaping our garden. Inside has been neglected but there are only so many hours of the day, some of which HAVE to be dedicated to Disney planning….


BOOKING FASTPASSES

We booked fastpasses since I last posted. DH & I both logged in, with a prioritised list split between us ready to go, exactly at the deadline. (It’s a little easier for us because the time difference meant the deadlines fell at midday in the UK.) DH was much better at it than me. A couple of times I accidentally selected July rather than August and found myself wondering why there was no morning FP+ availability for certain rides. But we got them booked, albeit with me getting flustered and with not-a-little swearing on my part!


We’ll be going to each park more than once but despite this, I’ve been quite repetitive with the FP+ choices. At EPCOT for example, both days we booked Frozen, Mission Space and Spaceship Earth. (I figure that we’ll rope-drop Test Track and Soarin’.) I refined the bookings a little in the day or two after that and, thanks to #Andrew Appleby (who gave the forum the heads-up about a new drop of FoP FPs) I was able to get FoP slots in the morning cool: yeah! and thank you again Andrew). I’m happy with our selections which is good because, with eight of us in the party, modifying anything at this point is virtually impossible.


CHOOSING MAGIC BANDS

Since we have a night at Art of Animation before we move to Animal Kingdom Lodge, we get to choose two colours of Magic Bands each. I swear everyone has changed their minds half-a-dozen times (or perhaps that was just me). Everyone has chosen Magic Band Skins from MagicYourBands which will help to distinguish between those who have chosen the same colours. I don’t know how robust/resilient these skins will be but they look fun, arrived quickly and they weren’t expensive.
I checked the Magic Band customisations on MyDisney yesterday, since the deadline for customising them is expiring. Glad I did because two of the selections had reverted to Grey! Hopefully they’re all correct now. If they’re not we won’t find out until we arrive since, for overseas guests the bands are held at reception rather than posted to you before-hand.


MAGICAL / TRAGICAL EXPRESS

Six of us are flying from Manchester to Tampa and hiring a mini-van in Tampa so no Disney Magical Express (‘DME’) needed for us. However, both DGs are only with us for the first of the two weeks. (DG1 doesn’t have the vacation time free for two weeks. DG2 needs to return for her sister’s wedding; one of the very few valid reasons for leaving Disney early! ) The two fly in/out of Orlando International on the same days but at different times so DME is perfect for them, particularly since they arrive much earlier than those of us driving over from Tampa and can get to the resort and start their trip.


By the time they leave however, we’ll have transferred to the villa offsite. I looked at the options for getting them back to the airport. If we drive them, two return airport trips will really disrupt the day. Uber/Lyft would work but they’ll each be travelling alone which makes it less appealing. Pre-booking a limo service was another option I considered. In the end from a cost/hassle perspective, it was just as easy to book one night at All Star Movies for the two of them. That way they’re entitled to use DME on the way back too. We can use automatic check-in and can then call past the hotel the following morning to check-out, get the DME details and to leave their luggage with Bell Services before carrying on with our day. At lunch-time DG1 can head to All-Stars with DS1 to say goodbye. Late afternoon, DG2 can do the same with DS2.

 

[Fankle]

THE DETAIL

Got to admit that I’m a major spreadsheet & a list person. It’s the only way that I can keep track of everything. I have a TouringPlans subscription (well worth it in my opinion). Their crowd calendar helped influence which part to visit on which day. That happened months ago before we booked the ADRs. Since then, knowing the ADR and FP+ times, I’ve refined things and here, in glorious technicolour, is the Plan…..

I’ve mentally walked through each day a few times using DH (&/or whomever will listen without rolling their eyes too much ) as a sounding board to find the holes in the plan. My fear is that I wipe everyone out by trying to cram too much in. To that end I’ve built in a couple of hours of pool time each afternoon and allowed for a lie-in after the Halloween party.


I’m pretty sure there are also too many table service meals still included. After we booked our fastpasses (committing us to specific parks on specific days) I rationalised the dining reservations. I know that both my wallet and my waistline will thank me if I cut a few more out but I fought for these reservations darnit! …..and I’d really like to eat at each of these places…… (Most definitely a first-world problem!)



TYPE A PLANNING OVERKILL


Knowing our group’s tastes, I’ve pulled together customised touring plans that take account of our fastpasses for each day using the TouringPlans web site. This has forced me to prioritise and make choices now and to be a little more realistic about how much it’s feasible to do each day. I’ve spoken to everyone about their priorities and preferences which range from wanting to try everything (DG2) to repeat-riding the biggest rollercoasters as often as possible (DN2).


I started by telling TouringPlans what time we wanted to arrive and leave each day then added all the rides we wanted to do and hit their ‘Optimise’ button. It recommended FastPasses and inevitably said that we wouldn’t be able to fit everything in. I then gradually refined the plans, cutting back to maintain a few hours of pool time on most days. There’s a natural point for finishing early in each plan so that all/some of us can head back to the hotel/villa for more time chilling out if desired.


I’ve also summarised the detail for each day (an oxymoron I know) on crib sheets and plan to print these off for everyone. That way everyone knows what time we aim to leave the hotel/villa each morning, where we’re going, the steps in the touring plan, fast-pass and dining reservation details etc. This might sound completely over-the-top but there is method to my madness, honest! Here are my reasons:

• While I’ve been doing the pre-trip planning, I don’t want everyone constantly having to ask me what we’re riding/doing next; that will drive us all nuts;
• It will make it easier if we want to split up for a time;
• I don’t want to keep getting my phone out to check what’s next. I know we’ll need phones to book additional fastpasses and to modify plans but this will make the battery last longer.
• The print outs from TouringPlans run to a couple of sheets. I just want something small to slip in a back pocket with all the key info on it for that day;

As the day progresses our plans will get more fluid but I know from experience that with a big group (none of whom visit Disney often) stopping in Main St at 9am to ask everyone to agree on what to ride first is a recipe for disaster…….


I read trip reports from those who book last-minute and go often enough that they can be blasé about planning. I’d love to be able to visit often enough to do this but when trips average at once every four years or so and with larger groups, I’ll stick to uber-planning for now. Perhaps DH & I should consider a trip just the two of us. (Hmmm… I won’t tell the ‘kids’ if you don’t!)


Any day-of fastpasses we can snag after we use the first three will be a bonus. It may be impossible to find eight that are the same and I doubt that I’ll have the patience in the park to keep refreshing the App to coordinate times/rides for smaller groups.

 

[Fankle]

RULES FOR THE TRIP

Let me preface this by saying that this is tongue-in-cheek (but only a little) and I know, at times it’s contradictory. For those of you who’ve been on holiday with larger groups (especially larger, family groups) it really helps when everyone follows the same basic ground-rules.

Sometimes it’s easy because everyone is attuned and nothing needs to be stated explicitly. However, why take that chance? So here, in no particular order, are my suggestions for a harmonious trip. (I’ll post these on a new thread too, since I’m curious to know what else others would add to the list.)

1. Let’s make the most of our park tickets. I know the villa / hotel / pool is fun, but if we wanted a chillaxed beach holiday we’d have booked one. This isn’t it. Which means……

2. Get up on time – short lines and FPs wait for no one. If you want a lie-in, that’s cool, you can catch us up but we won’t twiddle our thumbs waiting for you. That said…..

3. Chillin’ time is essential! - if we go full-on, all day, dawn to dusk for the whole trip, we’ll crash. Take the opportunity to relax when it’s available.

4. Eating at Disney is expensive. We’ve budgeted for this but please don’t waste food. Portions are large. If in doubt, order less or share – the next meal is only hours away! However…

5. Please don’t let this stop you trying something new!

6. The Plan is the Plan and the Plan is good……BUT…… the Plan won’t work if everyone keeps making exceptions. Perhaps ‘It’s a small world’ isn’t YOUR favourite ride but there won’t be time for you to ride Space Mountain then re-join us. If everyone keeps doing this we’ll all just end up waiting around for each other. So, unless a ride makes you physically nauseous (hmmm, perhaps Small World was a bad example) then please just ride it with us... Alternatively….

7. Time apart is fine - we don’t normally live in each other’s pockets. Why should Disney be different? BUT….

8. Please don’t wander off without telling us. The rest of us don’t want to waste our time on our holiday worrying about or hunting for you.

9. Stuff will go wrong. Sh*!t happens - Flight delays, illness, bad weather. Whatever happens let’s make the best of things and not let it spoil the trip. That includes dealing with others……

10. We may meet grumpy Cast Members. We will encounter obnoxious guests. Whatever - we won’t let others spoil our trip. Let it Go!

11. Over the course of two weeks everyone is going to get tired / grumpy/ hangry or simply not feel at their best at some point. It’s ok to slow down, split-up or bail out for a while. BUT, please don’t inflict your bad mood on anyone else because they might be full-of-beans happy just then. It’s not fair to bring others down.

12. Sharing is good but, please keep your germs to yourself! Let’s do what we can to stay healthy so WASH YOUR HANDS whenever you can and NO SHARING WATER BOTTLES. We’ll be living in closer proximity than at home so if one person gets sick it’s easier to infect one-another.

13. Whilst the Plan is the Plan and the Plan is good……the world won’t end if we don’t follow it to-the-letter. We may need to adjust and adapt. (One for me!)

14. And lastly, going home at the end of a trip is rotten. Smile - we’ve done this before. It may be a year or two (or four) but we’ve always come back.

 

[Kizlit]

Oh wow... you have so much kudos from me for all the planning you're doing! I can't wait to see your trip report and hope you guys have an amazing time.

 

[Fankle]

Oh wow... you have so much kudos from me for all the planning you're doing! I can't wait to see your trip report and hope you guys have an amazing time.

Thank you. I do enjoy the planning and the build up to the trip! When the kids were young and it was just the four of us in our immediate family travelling, DH & I just chatted through our plans. Now, with girlfriends and cousins all joining in with the fun, writing the pre trip report has been really helpful because others can keep up with the planning when they feel like it.

I’m starting to keep my eye on the weather now; we’ve never travelled in August before. It looks like it could get pretty wet at times!

 

[Kizlit]

Happy August! It's your travel month, how exciting!

 

[tatibus0913]

Wow, I'm impressed! I think I need to start color coordinating my spreadsheets

Ohana is probably my favorite restaurant at Disney World. Both breakfast and dinner are amazing there! I've also done breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, and always with just adults, and it's a good time. The Mad Hatter is great and we love Tigger and Pooh!

 

[Fankle]

Wow, I'm impressed! I think I need to start color coordinating my spreadsheets

Ohana is probably my favorite restaurant at Disney World. Both breakfast and dinner are amazing there! I've also done breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, and always with just adults, and it's a good time. The Mad Hatter is great and we love Tigger and Pooh!

I definitely don't do subtle spreadsheets! They give everyone else a headache but make sense to me.... Really looking forward to O'hana. I've never visited the Poly before, just passed it on the monorail on previous trips and thought how good it would be to visit.

 

[Fankle]

 

[Fankle]

Single digit dance day! Yaaay!

Only one unexpected bump in the plans. The one evening we were planning being at Universal, Universal Studios is closing at 6pm! (Wed 29th August). Not sure why. They reduced the park hours really late in the day. Given that we have fastpasses and restaurant reservations on other nights that are impossible to rearrange now (especially for a party of eight) we'll just have to work around it. The second week will be a bit more fluid anyway depending on what we want to repeat.

The packing is started, well, the important stuff at least, like large unicorn and pineapple inflatables for the Villa pool .....