Rope Drop is Tip #1!! A June 2016 TR...updated 10/31 pg 19 post 373 THE END!

[Jfsag123]

Oh my gosh, I was laughing out loud at AJ's faces in his pictures! Both the photopass and 7DMT shots - priceless! I'm sorry your plans didn't go the way you wanted that first day, but it sounds like it at least had the benefit of helping you with future planning. We have never tried to do a park on arrival day, but I have considered it every time. I now think I will throw that idea out the window.

And we love LeFou's Brew as well! You may not have had the most successful day in getting to fastpasses, but it seems like you definitely did well in the food/snack area, which to me is almost as important.

 

[ArielSRL]

Oh my gosh, I was laughing out loud at AJ's faces in his pictures! Both the photopass and 7DMT shots - priceless!

I know, right? I mean, he was total comedy this trip!

I'm sorry your plans didn't go the way you wanted that first day, but it sounds like it at least had the benefit of helping you with future planning. We have never tried to do a park on arrival day, but I have considered it every time. I now think I will throw that idea out the window.

Yeh, I mean, I hope I'm not complaining too much. Now, I can look back on it and (sort of) laugh, and it does provide some comedy for my report. But I truly did have a good time. Just want to do the report justice and share all the lovely and not so lovely parts!

And its interesting because a lot of families, I think, do a park on arrival day so I figured no big deal. But I now know that for me, it isn't a great idea.

And we love LeFou's Brew as well! You may not have had the most successful day in getting to fastpasses, but it seems like you definitely did well in the food/snack area, which to me is almost as important.

The funny thing is, I think we had a FP for almost everything we rode. We just didn't ride that many things....lol. We do love to eat so we did enjoy that part. I mean, even if the dining plan was too much food...I'd rather it be that, than not enough!

 

[LindseyJo22]

Finally...WE ARE AT MAGIC KINGDOM!!!! Yay!

Woo hoo! I adore your tank top - I had resisted the Hot Topic ones because of their junior sizing - glad to know they look good on adults too! I might have to go looking before our next trip (Says the person who just bought 2 new Disney shirts at the Disney store - I now have 5 but obviously that is not enough).

In any case, we made our way toward the castle and stopped for a few more Photopass photos:

I love the Photopass service so much - we have many more pictures than we would if we had to remember to take them or ask other people to.

Now you'll notice that my wonderful son is making lovely faces in these photos. Unfortunately we don't discover it until a few days later! Smh.

Oh no! Well, I'm sure they will be amusing to look back on if nothing else

After this, Dad, AJ, and I decided to run over to 7DMT as it was right across the way, and use our special anytime FPs for it. Good plan and it was a great ride! Or at least I thought so. Dad thought it was fine but nothing special and I'll let you figure out what AJ thought by looking at these photos:

Oh my! These are also priceless. Too bad it had an effect on the rest of the trip - but hopefully by the next one he might be more adventurous?

LaFou's Brew! Yummy! I liked it quite a bit. Nope, was not too sweet for me.

I feel the same way - I really enjoyed it (but I have a huge sweet tooth - it's hard for things to be too sweet).

Can you tell by their faces that they were HOT? OMG...I don't want to complain too much about it because it would be very easy to, but it was hot. Our last trip was the end of July and it seemed just as hot as it had been then.

I can't even imagine Disney in July. And I think it's been a pretty hot summer, because it was pretty warm when we were there in May - I can imagine June was quite hot.

But this kind of stuff also plays into my "get to Disney a day early" plan for next year. It's a lot to try to drive, arrive, get into the room, eat, get luggage in, and get to a park all in the same day. Too much for me anyway.

I think this is a really good plan. The few times we went when I was a kid, the first day was for exploring the hotel and visiting Disney Springs since we always stayed at Port Orleans (Dixie Landings at the time I think). It was really relaxing while also feeling special and no one was freaking out about wasting a park ticket if travel got delayed since we always flew. Now that it's just my husband and me most of the time, we will hit a park (or at least will right now since we have APs), especially if we're somewhere like the Boardwalk but we can be pretty efficient in getting stuff together since there are no other people to consider. I imagine when we travel with a larger group or have kids in tow it will be a bit different.

Loving the report! And the potential for Wilderness Lodge is so exciting! That's definitely on my list, but I want to wait until the construction is done. We've got Animal Kingdom Lodge booked for January and I could not be more excited. That one has also been on my list forever

 

[Aspenmarie82]

Hello! Thanks for joining! Yes, it was a cardboard box. I broke it down but then used packing tape to make it sturdy enough for them to color on. I had seen ones on Amazon that sell between $15 and $20 bucks but I needed two and I read the reviews that said they were basically cardboard, so I made my own. I think they worked fairly well but they were slightly too big. I wanted them to go across the card seat arms but by doing that, they just took up lots of space. Not sure if it would've worked to make them smaller or not.

Cool thanks for the response!

 

[ArielSRL]

Woo hoo! I adore your tank top - I had resisted the Hot Topic ones because of their junior sizing - glad to know they look good on adults too! I might have to go looking before our next trip (Says the person who just bought 2 new Disney shirts at the Disney store - I now have 5 but obviously that is not enough).

Yeh, I was worried about the sizing so I ordered a few at first and once I tried them out and saw they were fine, I ordered a whole bunch more. The tanks are racer back, which is fine but I prefer the "muscle" tees because those are just sleeveless.

I love the Photopass service so much - we have many more pictures than we would if we had to remember to take them or ask other people to.

Yes, I got it because I'm never in any photos. But I do have a regret. I never took the kids out of the stroller for the photos. It just seemed too much trouble, but I totally should have. And we didn't stop for enough photos. Basically running two hours late everyday just had a domino effect and we were just always rushing around.

I can't even imagine Disney in July. And I think it's been a pretty hot summer, because it was pretty warm when we were there in May - I can imagine June was quite hot.

And it was just so humid! I just poured sweat! So gross. I took two showers every day. One during our break and one at night!

I think this is a really good plan. The few times we went when I was a kid, the first day was for exploring the hotel and visiting Disney Springs since we always stayed at Port Orleans (Dixie Landings at the time I think). It was really relaxing while also feeling special and no one was freaking out about wasting a park ticket if travel got delayed since we always flew. Now that it's just my husband and me most of the time, we will hit a park (or at least will right now since we have APs), especially if we're somewhere like the Boardwalk but we can be pretty efficient in getting stuff together since there are no other people to consider. I imagine when we travel with a larger group or have kids in tow it will be a bit different.

Yeh, I think it would be fine without kids or without parents (who drag their feet...lol). And honestly, being 7 hours away really allows us to get there in plenty of time to relax a bit. We'll just leave around 6am, I'm thinking, and with stops, should arrive no later than 3, which leaves plenty of settling in time!

Loving the report! And the potential for Wilderness Lodge is so exciting! That's definitely on my list, but I want to wait until the construction is done. We've got Animal Kingdom Lodge booked for January and I could not be more excited. That one has also been on my list forever

I considered AKV for the animals and the theming! The resort looks beautiful. But in the end, decided it's too far out/remote. I am hoping most of the construction should be done by next June at WL!

Thanks for reading!

 

[Jfsag123]

Yeh, I mean, I hope I'm not complaining too much. Now, I can look back on it and (sort of) laugh, and it does provide some comedy for my report. But I truly did have a good time. Just want to do the report justice and share all the lovely and not so lovely parts!

Not at all! At least, not in my opinion. I get the sense that it was frustrating to have your plans/timing disregarded some of the time (which would have driven me nuts too), but you still had an enjoyable trip overall.

The funny thing is, I think we had a FP for almost everything we rode. We just didn't ride that many things....lol. We do love to eat so we did enjoy that part. I mean, even if the dining plan was too much food...I'd rather it be that, than not enough!

Amen to that!

Yes, I got it because I'm never in any photos. But I do have a regret. I never took the kids out of the stroller for the photos. It just seemed too much trouble, but I totally should have. And we didn't stop for enough photos. Basically running two hours late everyday just had a domino effect and we were just always rushing around.

I often didn't take the kids out of the stroller on our first trip too and it bothered me later on looking at the pictures. This should be a tip that gets shared on The DIS more often!

 

[ArielSRL]

Amen to that!



I often didn't take the kids out of the stroller on our first trip too and it bothered me later on looking at the pictures. This should be a tip that gets shared on The DIS more often!

The more I think about it, I'm glad we are going two years in a row because I feel like this year was just the practice/learning session for next year...lol. But what am I gonna do if we have a 2 year absence? I'll have to relearn everything again!

 

[ariane37]

Omg AJ's faces adorable and priceless!
I haven't tried LeFou's because it doesn't sound appealing to me, but neither did butterbeer and I ended up liking that. Maybe I'll have to try one in Nov.
I'm sorry your arrival day didn't go as planned but like you said, it's good to,look at this trip as a learning experience for next year. We almost always do a park on arrival day IF we can get to a park by 2 or 3. Otherwise it's the resort, dinner at another resort, DTD (oops! DS lol). And if we have to get up ridiculously early on arrival day I don't even attempt a plan that has us out roaming late. But of course most of this has been learned through trial and error over many trips...... and things just get easier as the kids get older. Except the yelling and arguing. And them annoying you. Ok well, they can move quicker when they're older.......

 

[ArielSRL]

Day One 6/4/2016 ~ Magic Kingdom (part 2)

So it was getting late and we were behind on the plan (yes, I know you are in shock!). We still hadn’t eaten and it was about 8:45ish at this point. We had planned on eating at Cosmic Ray’s (around 6 or so…haha) and we were right there, so off we went. Again, we took turns getting our food; me first, ordering for myself and the boys, and then it was my parents' turn. My food took a long time to come out. It was weird because several people that ordered after me got their food first. I still don’t know what the issue was but eventually my food came out.

Here’s the photos I have of our meal:



I got the Angus Bacon Cheeseburger with French Fries, Strawberry Lemonade Slushie, and the Triple Chocolate Cake. I think I ate a fair amount of my food. Again, I got the boys the Chicken Breast Nuggets, this time with French Fries, Strawberry Lemonade Slushie, and the Triple Chocolate Cake. They ate...wait for it...practically nothing! Probably some Cheerios and Goldfish I brought.


Um...so Dad got the Hot Dog (and it looks like some yogurt? maybe fries?) and Mom got ??? HAHA. Mom probably got the Cheeseburger or the Chicken Sandwich but I have no idea because I don't have a photo nor do I have the receipt. Bad trip reporter! LOL. Oh but I do think she got Carrot Cake, which went back to the hotel and was never eaten!

I'll throw in here that around this time, the boys were pretty much melting down. It was probably their worst (only?) meltdowns of the trip and I figured we would have to gulp down our food and high tail it out of MK. But, for some reason I'll never know, they got it back together and everything calmed down. Maybe it was the lemonade slushies with the Mickey straws? No idea, but I was glad, whatever it was.

Because Mom and Dad got their food after us, we were finished before them. AJ mentioned he wanted to ride the Tomorrowland Speedway again, so I quickly booked us a couple FPs and we ran over. It was nice to get a ride together, just he and I.

Here’s our ride selfie:


When we got done, we went back over to help Mom and Dad gather everything together and get on the move out of Cosmic Ray’s. It was right about 10 and even though I had not planned for us to watch Wishes, I thought, let’s jump on the People Mover and catch some glimpses. However, my dad decided that we should just watch from Tomorrowland….so, of course, that’s what we did. And, honestly, it was fine and probably just as good, if not better than watching on the PeopleMover (I had us watching CtM and Wishes from the front of the castle the next night so it was okay that this wasn’t the best view) but just the fact that my plans were pretty much thrown by the wayside kind of irked me. Oh well.

After Wishes, we finally got on the PeopleMover. Great ride! Unfortunately, I have no photos. Oops.

After this, we decided to head out. As we are walking out by the Tomorrowland Terrace, we noticed that Celebrate the Magic was going on and actually we could see it fairly well. I had heard how good it was and even from that spot, it did not disappoint. I really hadn’t meant to watch it though because as I said earlier, it was on the plans to watch the next night, with plenty of time beforehand to stake out a good spot. All I’m going to say is, good thing I watched most of it tonight…

So after that, we headed out of the park, and employed the resort monorail trick. We didn’t have to wait very long and we were back at the TTC, back to handicap parking, got the boys all buckled in and we were on the road for SSR.

I really hadn’t meant for us to be out so late that first night. I had had us leaving the park by around 9:30, but with arriving at the park two hours later than planned, it seems fitting we were heading out later than planned. And, of course, it really takes forever to get back to the resort when driving to MK. So we got back to the resort late, and we still hadn’t even fully unpacked. I did as much as I could, took a shower, and maybe tried to catch up on social media? I truly don’t remember, but I know it was late when I finally made it to bed. I did set my alarm for 6:30 but I was the only one. I should’ve set up a wake-up call…

In any case, another good reason to change up the travel/arrival plans for next trip. See how many lessons I learned just on day 1???

Thanks for reading.

Up next: Day Two 6/5/2016 ~ Magic Kingdom (part 1)

 

[ArielSRL]

Omg AJ's faces adorable and priceless!

I know!! I crack up everytime I see these photos. Oh and there is one more upcoming that looks almost identical...but I'm getting ahead of myself!

I haven't tried LeFou's because it doesn't sound appealing to me, but neither did butterbeer and I ended up liking that. Maybe I'll have to try one in Nov.

I definitely say give it a try. I will admit though that I like ICEEs and slushies quite a bit so this was right up my alley.

I'm sorry your arrival day didn't go as planned but like you said, it's good to,look at this trip as a learning experience for next year. We almost always do a park on arrival day IF we can get to a park by 2 or 3. Otherwise it's the resort, dinner at another resort, DTD (oops! DS lol). And if we have to get up ridiculously early on arrival day I don't even attempt a plan that has us out roaming late. But of course most of this has been learned through trial and error over many trips...... and things just get easier as the kids get older. Except the yelling and arguing. And them annoying you. Ok well, they can move quicker when they're older.......

Thank you for the sympathy. Just a hint...none of the days go as planned...lol.

Yeh, I think if it was just DH and me, or when the kids are older and a stroller with diaper bag and all the other junk isn't needed, we can move a little faster and hit a park on arrival day again. But then again, I may just fall in love with the more relaxed arrival day plan and stick with it. I'm already in love with the idea and I never thought I would be. I thought for sure I wouldn't be able to stay away from a park that first day and now I know how much more I'll enjoy it if I start out refreshed a bit. And, if it goes as planned next year, we'll be leaving home around 6am so we will probably be fairly tired once we arrive, anyway.

Oh and as far as the yelling and arguing...that's already a thing at 2 and 4! And they annoy me (they have no idea what the words personal space mean)...but I'm sure it will be in different ways as they get older. But the moving quicker I'll definitely appreciate!

 

[ArielSRL]

Oh and just to show you guys how crazy I really am, I've already drawn up a schedule with some dining, for next year...


I just can't help myself. Of course, I'm sure they'll be 1000 changes (or more) before I even book dining, much less go on the trip....

 

[Jfsag123]

Ok, I may or may not have already sketched out a very rough outline of our trip for next year too and we may or may not be overlapping on a couple of days. I'm also thinking Epcot 6/7 with an 8:00am Garden Grill and DHS on 6/10. Great minds think alike!

I cracked up at "hint, none of our days go as planned" then I felt bad for how much I laughed. But seriously, mine didn't go as planned either for the most part. And yet here we both are again! What can I say? I know I will never stop.

I love your ride selfie - super sweet! And I'm so glad you got to see Celebrate the Magic! One of my favorite things in all of WDW.

 

[Chrystmasangel]

Hello! Joining in. Your boys are just adorable!

Sorry to hear things were going rough for you. Nothing like the "running late" wrench to put a kink into your very well worked plans! Do plans ever go as we want? I did a 5 day Christmas trip in 2014 and even warned my family that it was jam packed and they better be ready to go (my youngest DS is 14 now, so not so much of an issue when they get tired). I think I had more trouble with DH then either of the kids. I ended up having to forgo several of our FP's because we didn't make it to parks in time. My DD (16) is always ready to put on her happy face regardless of how tired she is and DS does well until he gets REALLY tired, then I will see unhappy faces. My family has made me promise that next trip to Disney will be a more relaxed, time at the resort kinda trip. Talk about something completely different than I have ever planned before. I keep having to back up and re-do my plans so we are only spending 6-7 hours in a park at most per day. Something I have NEVER done... I am even incorporating a down day. No park at all. It's unheard of in this household. HAHA. I have had to look at planning ADR's at places outside the parks or at different parks than we are touring so that I keep my promise to my kids and DH. Our trip originally started as a Spring Break 2017 trip for Flower and Garden...now though, we are looking at Halloween/Thanksgiving instead because we want to wait for Pandora to be open or at least most of it. On a good note though, because it is a more resort focused trip I finally get to book a resort on the monorail or the Boardwalk for the first time ever! The price is a little more justifiable if you are going to be spending a lot of time there.

 

[ArielSRL]

Ok, I may or may not have already sketched out a very rough outline of our trip for next year too and we may or may not be overlapping on a couple of days. I'm also thinking Epcot 6/7 with an 8:00am Garden Grill and DHS on 6/10. Great minds think alike!

Ok, so I don't feel so crazy now! And that's great we have overlap. Without my parents there, I'd love to plan a quick Dismeet! I *think* we should be able to better stick to a schedule without them there (sorry, M&D but it's true...). I'm wondering about the ppo ADRs I'm planning. I hate to push us too much. And the GG one may not be necessary bc we can do rider swap for TT and Soarin so we can split FP, so I'll have to decide at some point. But we definitely want to do GG, whether at 8 or at 10:30.

I cracked up at "hint, none of our days go as planned" then I felt bad for how much I laughed. But seriously, mine didn't go as planned either for the most part. And yet here we both are again! What can I say? I know I will never stop.

Oh it's totally fine to laugh! I semi-laugh about it now, too. And boy, did I learn a lot, like I mentioned before. And yeh, I figure even next year, I doubt my plans get followed to a T. My only goal will be (again) rope drop, which is a lot more obtainable this year. I don't mind if we stray from the attraction list...I mean, I'd like to at least get through one trip each on most attractions, but we do have two vocals kids that are going to make requests while we are there. I'm not going to say, "No! We can't do that! It's not on the plan!" Well, at least I won't say it every time! Haha!But yeh, if we can just get to rope drop, I think we can accomplish a lot, and not be running behind the whole darn trip! That would totally make me happy!

I love your ride selfie - super sweet! And I'm so glad you got to see Celebrate the Magic! One of my favorite things in all of WDW.

Thanks! I don't really do the selfie unless it's with my kids. I got one with each of them this trip. I'll work on more for next trip!

Yes, Celebrate the Magic is wonderful. We are definitely going to do the "stake out the spot" thing next trip though, so we get a really good view. I should name the next trip, "The Trip of Redos!"

 

[ArielSRL]

Hello! Joining in. Your boys are just adorable!

Thanks for joining in!

Sorry to hear things were going rough for you. Nothing like the "running late" wrench to put a kink into your very well worked plans! Do plans ever go as we want?

Thank you for the sympathy! And I agree about plans hardly ever going exactly as we want. I'm such a planner and it was so hard for me once I had kids because things always go off schedule! I've definitely gotten better about it - if you can't beat 'me, join 'em, right - but I'm looking forward to this trip because my DH, as opposed to my dad, will (mostly) do what I tell him.

I did a 5 day Christmas trip in 2014 and even warned my family that it was jam packed and they better be ready to go (my youngest DS is 14 now, so not so much of an issue when they get tired). I think I had more trouble with DH then either of the kids. I ended up having to forgo several of our FP's because we didn't make it to parks in time.

Why do they not know to bow to the planning experts?? Right?

My DD (16) is always ready to put on her happy face regardless of how tired she is and DS does well until he gets REALLY tired, then I will see unhappy faces. My family has made me promise that next trip to Disney will be a more relaxed, time at the resort kinda trip. Talk about something completely different than I have ever planned before. I keep having to back up and re-do my plans so we are only spending 6-7 hours in a park at most per day. Something I have NEVER done... I am even incorporating a down day. No park at all. It's unheard of in this household. HAHA. I have had to look at planning ADR's at places outside the parks or at different parks than we are touring so that I keep my promise to my kids and DH. Our trip originally started as a Spring Break 2017 trip for Flower and Garden...now though, we are looking at Halloween/Thanksgiving instead because we want to wait for Pandora to be open or at least most of it. On a good note though, because it is a more resort focused trip I finally get to book a resort on the monorail or the Boardwalk for the first time ever! The price is a little more justifiable if you are going to be spending a lot of time there.

It sounds like a nice trip...it really does! I would love to get to that point. Maybe when my kids are older and they have more trips under their belts. I guess I feel like I have to go a tad commando because it's their first few trips and I want them to experience everything! But to be honest, they probably enjoyed every bit of this past trip, even though I was silently seething the whole time!

Btw, do you, or will you, have a PTR for your trip? I love reading about plans!

Thanks again for joining!

 

[Thing2008]

Wow. You are such a good mom! Your boys look like they are having a wonderful time. Can't wait to hear more about the trip.

 

[ArielSRL]

Wow. You are such a good mom! Your boys look like they are having a wonderful time. Can't wait to hear more about the trip.

I'm your first post on the boards? Wow! I feel special.

Thanks for joining. Aww and thanks on the good mom compliment. More coming soon!

 

[Thing2008]

I'm your first post on the boards? Wow! I feel special.

Thanks for joining. Aww and thanks on the good mom compliment. More coming soon!

Yes thanks for the warm welcome! No problem you are one!

 

[punkin413]

I'm interested to see how your experience at SSR was. Erica and I have a January trip booked there (it's not set in stone yet but we're booked) and it's been about 8 years since I've stayed there.

I meant to quote a picture of AJ in his blue Mickey shirt. Seth has the same one!

We didn't really wait in any incredibly long lines on this trip, maybe 30 at most, but even 15 - 20 minutes was long with a 2 year old. He is too heavy to carry the whole time but he likes to wonder off if you aren't holding onto him. He also likes to go 'boneless' when you are holding his hand.

When we went in 2013 Seth was 2.5 years old and I know EXACTLY what you mean. It was mid-late May so very VERY warm but not really HOT yet (like June/July/August) and I was miserable with having to hold/carry/deal with him. And that was a trip without Ray and while my mom is a great help, it's not the same. It was hard work!

 

[ArielSRL]

I'm interested to see how your experience at SSR was. Erica and I have a January trip booked there (it's not set in stone yet but we're booked) and it's been about 8 years since I've stayed there.

Beautiful, quiet resort! It served our purposes. I don't like the gift shop...much too small. Artist Palette has lots of choices, nothing spectacular but all good. Not tons of theming but that probably helps to keep it more quiet (less young children playing around the resort). Mousekeeping staff was excellent and very helpful.

I meant to quote a picture of AJ in his blue Mickey shirt. Seth has the same one!

When we went in 2013 Seth was 2.5 years old and I know EXACTLY what you mean. It was mid-late May so very VERY warm but not really HOT yet (like June/July/August) and I was miserable with having to hold/carry/deal with him. And that was a trip without Ray and while my mom is a great help, it's not the same. It was hard work!

Yes, I hated not being able to take the stroller through the lines (though I get why you can't). He was a major handful when out of the stroller.