Wake me up when September Ends: Oct. TR - Friends, Fun, and Disney at Forty!

It's us! Again! September marks the first month that we haven't visited WDW since getting our AP's in April, so we are itching to get back 'home!' Now, someone once posted a whole thread about how people who live far away from WDW manage to get there so often, so I feel I should clarify some things. Not all of those trips were 'once a month.' The reason we were there in June & July was our July 1-5 cruise on the Dream. So in one continuous visit we knocked out 2 months.

When we purchased our AP's we knew for sure that we would be taking 3 trips to WDW in the next 12 months. This October Trip is one of them. This is how my son chose to celebrate his birthday for the last 2 years, and honestly, it's one of those 'twist my arm' type things - we couldn't be more excited to take him to WDW!

I guess I should introduce the cast: Myself, my husband, daughter and son two weekends ago after cheering on our Auburn Tigers to victory:

Now, honestly I probably wouldn't be doing another trip report, but I need some advice from my WDWmagic friends, so I just decided to wrap this all up in one nice package. The thing is, it's Fall Break in our hometown, so TONS of people we know will be at WDW while we are there. We are soooooo excited to spend time with our friends at WDW. I know it's not for everyone, but for us, friends & family make WDW that much better! :sohappy:

More.....

 

[erstwo]

Most of our meet ups with friends will be casual - 'We'll call you when we get there.' type things, but one family - some very dear friends - are where I need some advice.

These are our friends the B. family with us at Turner Field where we went to cheer on our Cubbies to victory about a month ago. Turned out the B. Family was in Atlanta at the same time, so they came to the game to hang out with us (and possibly cheer for the 'other' team....... :lookaroun)

Now, the husband grew up in a military family. His grandparents are from California and he has been to Disneyland many, many, many times. He remains unimpressed. His wife however, went to WDW 2 years ago with her brother and his (now) wife and LOVED it. :sohappy: She can't wait to go back, but has had trouble convincing her husband that it's worth it.

They had some airline tickets they needed to use before they expired and someone in their family had a timeshare they needed someone to use before it expired, so it turned out that they will be in Orlando on the same Sunday that we will be at WDW. They have decided to join us for ONE - one! - day at WDW. And I have that ONE day to convince the husband that WDW is the place to be.

So here's where I need the advice. We have brainstormed and brainstormed and have decided that Epcot will be the place to be. No one is looking for thrill rides (especially with the baby - they want to do things with the baby, not without the baby) that, along with the size of the park, eliminates DHS. Magic Kingdom is too much like Disneyland. After tons of talking with the wife, our options are Animal Kingdom or Epcot.

What do you think? I would be Epcot all the way, BUT - it's Food and Wine Festival - on a Sunday. Will it be a crush? Touring Plans has it at a 5, but it's also THE park to avoid that day.

The husband does love the San Francisco Zoo. Should we go AK? But AK seems so limiting to share the Disney magic.

Help!

Other than that our plans are to arrive at All Star Music on Thursday about mid day (driving to Valdosta Wednesday.) Call some other friends to see if we can meet up with them at the MK. We are going to try (go ahead and laugh - I know it's a long shot ) to get in with them at Chef Mickey's for dinner that night.

Friday it is breakfast at 1900 Park Fare - then on to whichever park we're liking that day. Right now I think MK. My husband will arrive late this afternoon.

Saturday is breakfast at Ohana and then probably on to AK. We haven't spent much time here in recent trips, and I'd like to see some of the shows. Dinner at the Garden Grill.

Then it's Sunday - and time to share the WDW love!

Monday, we drive home.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Wow- that's a challenge! 1 day!!! OMG! Oh well- if it were me- that one day should be Epcot since it's unique- at least compared to anything he's seen. I agree that MK is too DL-like considering what you've said about him and with the baby, I don't see them being able to enjoy enough of DHS to really sway him. While I've never been to the San Francisco Zoo, we've been Houston Zoo members the last few years. we LOVE the zoo; HOWEVER, our love and frequent visits to a very good zoo killed AK for us. I know AK is so much more than a zoo, but with a baby- they're not going to be able to really experience things like Everest and I've heard that Lion King and Nemo can be hit or miss with a child that young. Personally, I think Food & Wine would be another reason to hit Epcot. I know Epcot is listed as a 5 that day, but I've lost some faith in TouringPlans after our August trip. Most of our days were supposed to be 9.2-9.7 and they all felt like 3s!!! Which was good for us! :sohappy: Ok- so that's my opinion Have an AWESOME trip- hope your son has a FABULOUS birthday!!! :sohappy:

 

[erstwo]

Wow- that's a challenge! 1 day!!! OMG! Oh well- if it were me- that one day should be Epcot since it's unique- at least compared to anything he's seen. I agree that MK is too DL-like considering what you've said about him and with the baby, I don't see them being able to enjoy enough of DHS to really sway him. While I've never been to the San Francisco Zoo, we've been Houston Zoo members the last few years. we LOVE the zoo; HOWEVER, our love and frequent visits to a very good zoo killed AK for us. I know AK is so much more than a zoo, but with a baby- they're not going to be able to really experience things like Everest and I've heard that Lion King and Nemo can be hit or miss with a child that young. Personally, I think Food & Wine would be another reason to hit Epcot. I know Epcot is listed as a 5 that day, but I've lost some faith in TouringPlans after our August trip. Most of our days were supposed to be 9.2-9.7 and they all felt like 3s!!! Which was good for us! :sohappy: Ok- so that's my opinion Have an AWESOME trip- hope your son has a FABULOUS birthday!!! :sohappy:

Thank you!

And the one thing about the zoo aspect is that Epcot kind of has some of that appeal too in the Seas section (I know - aquarium, not zoo, but still the whole 'look at that' idea is there.) And they just got back from a week at Atlantis in the Bahamas and I've seen the pictures of Baby B. staring at the fish. So I'm hoping that will win them over. :animwink:

I really like what you said about the Food and Wine being another reason to go to Epcot. I hadn't really considered that!

As a side note, I remember nothing about the zoo in Houston, but I do remember a lot about Hanna Barbera Land! (That ages me doesn't it? :lol ETA - I was going to ask about Astroworld, but just googled it and saw that it is closed now. I remember a lot about that place too!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

I definitely agree with Epcot... And with it being food and wine, if they're into that kind of stuff (I mean, who wouldn't enjoy a nice adult beverage at Epcot!!!) then it might be a bonus! I think you'll be able to show him just how great Disney is! I'm seeing a guy right now who's only been to Disney once - ONCE!!! Waaaay back when he was younger. He doesn't quite get why I'm all hyped up for my trip in 52 days.. I think I might need to take him on our spring trip if we're still together.. After all, I can't be with someone who doesn't love Disney right?! :lol: Maybe I can convert him to a Disney lover like all of us!! Anywho, best of luck with the friends hubby!! Let us know how it turns out!!

 

[erstwo]

I definitely agree with Epcot... And with it being food and wine, if they're into that kind of stuff (I mean, who wouldn't enjoy a nice adult beverage at Epcot!!!) then it might be a bonus! I think you'll be able to show him just how great Disney is! I'm seeing a guy right now who's only been to Disney once - ONCE!!! Waaaay back when he was younger. He doesn't quite get why I'm all hyped up for my trip in 52 days.. I think I might need to take him on our spring trip if we're still together.. After all, I can't be with someone who doesn't love Disney right?! :lol: Maybe I can convert him to a Disney lover like all of us!! Anywho, best of luck with the friends hubby!! Let us know how it turns out!!

Absolutely! You have to convert him if he is to stay. I think spring would be a wonderful time to introduce WDW too.

Thanks so much for the advice! I really am feeling better about my Epcot choice.

 

[fractal]

That's a tough one.

I guess I would have to go with EPCOT. You can do SSE, LWTL, the Seas, Explore the "I" pavilions and then the rest of your day in WS. Hopefully they can hang around until Illuminations but that may be asking too much with a baby.

However, AK does have a parade, kiddie rides in Dinoland, Camp Minnie Mickey and Rafiki's Planet. Even the safari and the trails are doable with a baby - not to mention Flights of Wonder. Festival of the LK is a great show and if the youngin' starts acting up you can always leave.

You could also just flip a coin. :wave:

 

[erstwo]

That's a tough one.

I guess I would have to go with EPCOT. You can do SSE, LWTL, the Seas, Explore the "I" pavilions and then the rest of your day in WS. Hopefully they can hang around until Illuminations but that may be asking too much with a baby.

However, AK does have a parade, kiddie rides in Dinoland, Camp Minnie Mickey and Rafiki's Planet. Even the safari and the trails are doable with a baby - not to mention Flights of Wonder. Festival of the LK is a great show and if the youngin' starts acting up you can always leave.

You could also just flip a coin. :wave:

Sometimes, that's what I feel like I should do! But I'm 99% set on Epcot now. AK will probably be an 'emergency' alternative - like us arriving at the gates and realizing it is too crowded, etc.

I think that Baby B. will make it to Illuminations. You never know, but she's a real trooper and a great traveler. In less than a year she's traveled more miles than I have in the last 12 months - Hawaii, Atlantis in the Bahamas, etc. So she knows how to hang with the big kids!

 

[erstwo]

Well, I caught the Aulani (DVC in Hawaii) segment on Good Morning America today while at the gym. Got me thinking about our trip again and I came home and started to finally put together a plan for our trip.

As of right now it will be:

Thursday - arrive around lunch time, Magic Kingdom, then ????? once MK closes early for MNSSHP (Touring Plans has MK as a 1.1 for this day! )

Friday - finish up MK in morning - DHS in afternoon

Saturday - AK all the way! (Hoping to catch Flights of Wonder for the first time)

Sunday - Epcot with friends



I really can't believe that 1.1 for Thursday at the Magic Kindgom! I am sooooooo tempted to change my plans so we can arrive Wednesday night. Right now the plan is to leave Wednesday around noon and stay overnight in South Georgia/ North Florida then drive the rest of the way Thursday morning.

But if we drove all day Wednesday.......... and could go to morning EMH at MK on Thursday........... how awesome would that be?


Also - Taking ANY and ALL advice from anyone who's ever been to the Food and Wine Festival (especially on a Sunday, but I'll take any advice at this point) about how to tour with first timers! Want to give them the best impression of Epcot overall - should we go right as WS opens? Or try for late lunch/ early dinner? Or just dinner?

Thanks guys!

 

[erstwo]

Got my reservation package today! So excited! :sohappy:

This is the first time since December that we've had a package. All of our other trips have been resort reservation only and those arrive in a boring ol' standard envelope. Ha!

I really like the new hologram luggage tags. Excited to try them out over the Year of a Million Dreams tags.

Just over a week and a half! :sohappy:

 

[erstwo]

One week from today, I will have just picked up my son from school and it will be petal to the metal headed toward the happiest place on earth! :sohappy:

Happy Dance!!!!! WooHoo, Woohoo, It's my birthday...... uh, huh........ :lookaroun ........ wait....... were y'all watching that?

Okay fine. So, it's not MY birthday. But it is my son's! And I'm excited.

Got out my "Disney bag" yesterday. My Disney bag includes: Pin Lanyards, extra pins, ponchos, extra light up things (whirly twirly things we've bought on previous trips and dollar store bracelets, etc.) and a few other things that come in handy on trips to Disney. Does anyone else have a Disney bag? What's in yours?

Can't wait to get started on the actual Trip Report part of this Trip Report! :lol:

 

[erstwo]

A little update, just because the people on this board are most likely to understand my excitement/ how impressed I am!

Most of our trips to WDW, I go down early with the kids and my husband flys in to join us later, as his work schedule allows. On all of our trips this year, we have always gone to the airport to pick up my husband - usually to maximize his time in the parks, etc. But this weekend I was discussing the details of our trip with my husband - while he politely pretended to listen, all the while typing away on his computer - and mentioned that we would leave the park right after lunch on his arrival day, as per usual, to pick him up next week.

My husband looks up and says, "You know, I'm bringing some extra work things with me and I'd rather leave my things in the room this time, instead of in the car. Why don't I take the Magical Express?"

Why not? So I called Disney on Monday and gave them his flight info. They told me on the phone that he was too late in registering and that he would have to pick up his voucher at the Disney Welcome Desk in the airport. No problem! It was totally our fault for waiting so long.

Well - Guess what piece of Disney magic arrived on our doorstep yesterday?

That's right - they overnighted my husband's Magical Express packet! Is that service or WHAT? :sohappy:

We really had no problem with him picking up his voucher at the welcome desk, but this is just another example of Disney going above and beyond!

Can't wait to be 'home!'

 

[erstwo]

On our way home after another great trip! :sohappy:

It certainly was a wet one - so glad to see the sun this morning!!

Hoping to get some (minor) photo editing done and start posting before tonight.

 

[erstwo]

Last Wednesday dawned bright and sunny. A perfect Fall morning.

I read an article online recently that said that people get the most enjoyment and benefit from vacation in the days leading up to the vacation. We say it over and over again on this site, but I guess the anticipation really is one of the best parts of travel! We were certainly excited at my house, but we were super busy those last few days too, so I wasn't able to get into the Disney spirit as much as usual.

My kids however, had no such problem. In fact, when I went to pick up my son from school early on Wednesday, I found him already waiting for me:

We stopped off at our house to pick up a few things we had forgotten and then we were on the road!

I seriously think I live in one of the most beautiful states:

We stopped somewhere in Georgia for a Chick Fil A dinner. Nothing better than a clean playground and a chicken nugget dinner with Polynesian sauce!

They were too cool with their ice cream:

We stopped in Valdosta for a stay at the Comfort Suites right off 75. This is either the 2nd or 3rd time we've stayed there. Great place. Huge rooms, super clean, new, great staff and they really make me feel secure - a great feeling when you are a mom traveling by yourself with 2 young-ish children.

We were up around 8 Thursday morning. WDW was calling our name and we had friends waiting to meet up with us at DHS!

Soon we saw this welcome sight:

429 has become my favorite entrance. No traffic is the best! Plus I love the Target at the first exit off the Turnpike. Anyone know what exit # that is?

We arrived aroun 12:30 eastern time. Check in to All Star Music was quick and easy. At first we were assigned a room on the first floor in Broadway, but before I could walk away from the desk the manager came over to tell us that room wasn't quite ready. We were given a new room on the 3rd floor of the Country section. At first I was kind of bummed that we would be aaaaaalll the way at the very back of the resort, but honestly, it didn't add that much walking to and from the bus stops and the parking lot was super close to our rooms.

The kids were DYING to meet up with our friends, but they were in that 'I'm so hungry that I'm acting out' stage, so I steered them to the food court. I had the taco salad and the kids had chicken nuggets.

The best part of ASMusic for me? Cherry Coke at the beverage center!!! :sohappy:

 

[erstwo]

After lunch, I insisted that we unpack the car because I knew we would be in parks until closing.

Once in our room we found some super cool towel animals, including the standard Mickey head towels. Before our Disney cruise my kids never really paid attention to the towel animals, now they are all about them.

We had a bird, a Mickey, and a pig. So awesome!

Finally unpacked, we were off to the bus stop to meet our friends at DHS!

After a few phone calls and texts we determined that our friends were finishing up at Sci Fi and that we would meet up at TSMM to wait out the stand by queue together and then use the 6 Fastpasses they had acquired for Star Tours.

We hung out by the entrance to the TSMM queue and watched the line grow longer as the post - parade crowd made their way to the ride. :hammer:

A little photo shoot to pass the time:

Lady was our newest addition to our plush 'family.' My daughter saw Lady last trip and saved her allowance to buy her this time. I have to say, I think she made a good choice. She has the softest ears!

 

[erstwo]

And finally our friends arrived!

I don't think the line was really 80 minutes. Maybe it was just because we had friends to chat with and pass the time, but it felt more like 30 minutes. I was so glad we didn't let the 80 minute queue discourage us from riding, especially since it was our friends first time at WDW since the 90's.

After our spin on Toy Story we headed for Star Tours.

One spin on Star Tours was enough for my daughter, but the boys really wanted to ride again, so they went again while my daughter and I waited outside the gift shop.

Lady had trouble deciding what she wanted to do next......

 

[erstwo]

Another photo shoot to pass the time:

After the second turn on Star Tours, we decided to part ways. Our friends had tickets to MNSSHP that night and I told them they didn't want to be late and would actually be able to get in early if they wanted. So they headed out of the park and we headed back toward Pixar Place for some yummy snacks.

After picking up our icees, we sat down outside the TSMM building. One of my favorite people watching spots in all of WDW.

 

[erstwo]

After we finished, we headed toward The Voyage of the Little Mermaid.

Stroller parking......

We must have seen this show 10 times, but never once have I stood in the actual waiting area. I guess we've always been luck to just walk up as the show was starting? :shrug:

But the waiting area was awesome!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

YAY for another TR!! :sohappy: Seems like ya'll just got back from your cruise!!!

And can I just say I LOVE Cherry Coke as well!! I so wish they had it more places in the world.

 

[erstwo]

YAY for another TR!! :sohappy: Seems like ya'll just got back from your cruise!!!

And can I just say I LOVE Cherry Coke as well!! I so wish they had it more places in the world.

It feels that way to me too! The days are flying by (I feel so old saying that! - but it's true!)

Yay for Cherry Coke! I'm in total agreement that they need it more places in the world. If they can't offer Dr. Pepper, Cherry Coke is the next best thing.