April 2017 check in thread, come in and chat!

[Aladora]

Ok so obviously everyone wants to know what's going to be closed while they're there. I know the bobsleds probably will be, but I'm super hoping that the earlier closures of HM and PoTC mean they won't be closing again in April. At least aside from any unplanned stuff. *crosses fingers*

As far as we know, the only thing that is going to be closed other that what is already closed (ToT, ROA attractions, F!, DLRR) is Matterhorn. I posted upthread about the closures and put a link in the first post of this thread. I'll update it if/when more closures are posted. You can find that post here.

The Food & Wine festival dates were just announced so I'll post about that in a moment.

 

[Aladora]

Disney has just announced the dates for the DCA Food and Wine Festival. It is going to be held between March 10 and April 16, 2017 which means that we will sadly miss it by one measly day!

Not a lot has been posted about it but you can find what little info there is at THIS link.

For us personally, our little group may be increasing by one. My awesome sister-in-law is thinking of joining us on the trip which makes me extremely happy! She has come with on 2 other trips and since I adore her, I am happy when she comes along. She lives in Toronto so we only see her once or twice a year, sadly. Since we are already paying for the hotel and I can add her on to the reservation at no extra charge, she would only have to pay for her flights and DL ticket. Her birthday is in March so DH and I might just use some of our Airmiles and give her a 5 day parkhopper as a late gift.

 

[dubskates]

We will be there April 24-25, just a short visit tacked on to the end of a stay in San Diego.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

I was sorta hoping the food and wine would be when we were there. Oh well.

I finally nailed down a couple of things. The 25th is my 14th wedding anniversary so my husband and I are going to go to Blue Bayou for lunch that day while my mom takes the kids somewhere else. And then we're going to Minnie's on that Thursday. It's getting closer!

 

[lorijohnhill]

I was sorta hoping the food and wine would be when we were there. Oh well.

I finally nailed down a couple of things. The 25th is my 14th wedding anniversary so my husband and I are going to go to Blue Bayou for lunch that day while my mom takes the kids somewhere else. And then we're going to Minnie's on that Thursday. It's getting closer!

Aww.. that was my parent's anniversary. Have a great time!

 

[Aurora_Australis]

Ooh, we will be there for the last day of food and wine buuuuut... we were going to get 1 park tickets and that was going to be a DL day. Not getting hoppers and really want to have Easter Sunday in DL.

 

[Aggiegrl]

Hi everyone! We will be there the week after easter, staying at the DL Hotel (thanks for the Dapper Days link!). We are a seasoned WDW and Disney Cruise family, and this is our first trip to DL. We're super excited (but not about Matterhorn).

I've searched and I'm still not sure about something...fireworks strategy. It looks like we will only have weekend fireworks in April? We have elementary kids and grandparents in our party. MSEP isn't as much of a draw for us since we've seen it many times at WDW, although the kids still like it. Fireworks viewing is definitely a priority. Where should we stand and how far in advance do we need to be there?

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Aww.. that was my parent's anniversary. Have a great time!

Perfect date! HAHA!


I forgot there won't be fireworks except on weekends. Boo. We usually don't really stop to watch but we like that it tends to eat up some people so we can ride! What about the Electrical Parade? Does that go during the weeks?

 

[Aladora]

Perfect date! HAHA!


I forgot there won't be fireworks except on weekends. Boo. We usually don't really stop to watch but we like that it tends to eat up some people so we can ride! What about the Electrical Parade? Does that go during the weeks?

The schedule is not out yet but when I checked a random week in January and a random week in February, the MSEP was listed every week night and twice a night on weekend nights.

If all goes as planned, we will do the Aladdin's Oasis Grab and Go package for MSEP one evening and if the fireworks are only on the weekends then our only chance to see them will be Friday which is our last night. Keeping fingers crossed for good weather!

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

I forgot we'll be there Friday. Fireworks it is! Good way to wrap it up. We'll probably be too exhausted to rush around anyway.

I don't love sitting for parades but I feel like I'd be doing a disservice to my kids to not let them see the MSEP. The only other parade we sat for was when we won the dream suite and they gave us a premium viewing area HAHA!

 

[Aladora]

I forgot we'll be there Friday. Fireworks it is! Good way to wrap it up. We'll probably be too exhausted to rush around anyway.

I don't love sitting for parades but I feel like I'd be doing a disservice to my kids to not let them see the MSEP. The only other parade we sat for was when we won the dream suite and they gave us a premium viewing area HAHA!

WOW, super jealous!!!

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

What was funny was before we went we were like..woah that'd be so crazy to win. In my husband's family it's literally a 'curse' that they have bad luck so we knew we never would.

I guess my daughter broke the curse. She was 2 and she was the official winner. Now we make her enter contests for us because she really does have all the luck. ROFL

 

[Aladora]

What was funny was before we went we were like..woah that'd be so crazy to win. In my husband's family it's literally a 'curse' that they have bad luck so we knew we never would.

I guess my daughter broke the curse. She was 2 and she was the official winner. Now we make her enter contests for us because she really does have all the luck. ROFL

There are only a handful of things left on our Disney bucket list and 2 of the 3 are likely never going to happen. The only things left that we have never done in order of likelyhood to happen:

1. Ride in the Lilly Belle. (we were there in Aug 2015 and asked every day but it was too hot for the Lilly Belle to run)
2. Club33 meal.
3. Stay in the Dream Suite.

DS is old enough now to appreciate C33 and to behave correctly, now I just need to find a member that will let us buy him/her a meal! I know that the last two are never going to happen but a woman can dream, right?

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Club 33 would be so amazing. That's on my list too. We thought winning the Dream Suite would be awkward, but it was just so jam packed there was no time to think about it. I regret that there wasn't more down time IN the actual suite because it was so beautiful. My poor youngest wasn't born when we won. All she gets to do is see pics and be jealous.

Who knows, we didn't think the suite would happen. Maybe Club33 is still a possibility somehow for you someday. At least Lilly Belle is possible at some point. I guess not this time, huh? Bummer that the train is down. My youngest won't remember it from her first trip.

 

[Aladora]

Lilly Belle is definitely a possibility, we just had bad luck with the weather being SO hot! Not that I usually complain about heat but when it starts pushing 40, I start getting a bit grumpy!

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

I had to google to see how warm that is. Yep that'd do it!!

We hit that a bunch in the summer and I don't like leaving my house.

As an aside, it's currently 40 where I live (Fahrenheit) and it's a nice change from when it was in the negatives!!

 

[Aladora]

I had to google to see how warm that is. Yep that'd do it!!

We hit that a bunch in the summer and I don't like leaving my house.

As an aside, it's currently 40 where I live (Fahrenheit) and it's a nice change from when it was in the negatives!!

Whoops, sorry, I usually do the conversion in brackets like this: 40C (104F)

Where I live in British Columbia, it rarely gets above 30C (86F) in the summer and some years it never gets that high. On the other side, we usually have really mild winters although this year has been really cold! Typical winter temps here are around 8C (46F) and it only dips at or below freezing a handful of days a year.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Oh no worries! We're the weirdos using F!

I would love your temps. I am so sick of 110 in the summer and negative 10 in the winter!

 

[Aladora]

So, how are everyone's plans coming? I am itching to be able to book things such as the Aladdin's on the go package for MSEP and a dinner reservation for Napa Rose. I'm pretty sure I have everything else done.

Flights: Booked and paid for
Hotel: Booked, first night pre-paid.
Tickets: Already have APs
USA SIM cards: bought and topped up plans with Roam Mobility
Dining Reservations: According to this site we can start making reservations on Feb 16, 2017

There's nothing left for me to plan!

 

[Aggiegrl]

So, how are everyone's plans coming? I am itching to be able to book things such as the Aladdin's on the go package for MSEP and a dinner reservation for Napa Rose. I'm pretty sure I have everything else done.

Flights: Booked and paid for
Hotel: Booked, first night pre-paid.
Tickets: Already have APs
USA SIM cards: bought and topped up plans with Roam Mobility
Dining Reservations: According to this site we can start making reservations on Feb 16, 2017

There's nothing left for me to plan!

Yep, nothing but time to sit and wait!

Flights: booked a LONG time ago!

Hotel: We've had DL Hotel booked for a bit, but I just added a night yesterday. Instead of arriving early on a Tuesday, checking in,, and hitting the park, we'll be checking in on Monday late afternoon or early evening and getting settled.

Tickets: Purchased through Last Minute Travel and ready to go.

Dining reservations: Have a rough list/plan. I still can't decide between Goofy's Kitchen or Plaza Inn for a character meal. I was all set on Plaza Inn on our first day, but now that we're coming in the night before and not going to a park, Goofy's Kitchen for dinner sounds like a good plan. I also can't decide if we need to do Ariel's Grotto (we have 5 year old twin girls).