September 2015 - Checkin Thread

[SeattleSuz]

Who has their suitcases packed already? My mum was teasing me when I said I was going to get my suitcase out, "So soon?! You still have 12 days!"

 

[pixleyyy]

Just back from our fabulous (albeit hot and busy) trip. Happy to answer any questions you still have, but here are some of the things that we learned:

• Rope drop is still a must and you can get so much done in the morning - unless rope drop/opening is at 10am, because by then almost everyone is awake and headed to the parks. We did a 9am rope drop at DCA and a 10am rope drop at DCA, both with TSMM on the mind and both taking the same path. Both were also EMH for onsite guests. Wait time on a 9am rope drop was about 10 minutes. On a 10am rope drop (and power walking to be near the front of the line) we had a 30 minute wait. Ugh!
• When rope drop was at 8am it was amazing! We did 12 rides in the first 2 hours... all the big ones except Space. What a great use of time. It was a day with long park hours so we took time to swim in the middle of the day (which we never ever do, but it was really hot and we knew we'd be out late that night). Best choice ever. Everyone was refreshed and ready to go for the rest of the day.
• Rides being down was a huge issue! Tuesday morning in Disneyland here is the list of closures in the first 1-2 hours of opening: Teacups, Alice, Matterhorn, Indy, Splash, Buzz, HMH (and Pirates, which was down for refurb). That's 8 rides down at once. Holy moly, the rest of the park was insane!
• Seeing PtN anywhere was awesome. Worth the time to stake out a spot. We did the second parade and got a great spot after the fireworks on the curb along of main street. Just so, so impressed with this parade!
• Disneyland Forever fireworks were awesome! We saw them our first park day in the hub near the front. It was a good view but we were less impressed with the castle projections since we'd seen them last fall in WDW and they were so much better there (bigger castle so projections are easier to see maybe?). We saw the fireworks the second time in the middle of main street and thought it was so much better! Yes, the fireworks are further away but the projections are so much better! THAT was our magical spot and it was way less crowded than the hub!
• We stayed in a park view themed room at the Fairfield Inn and it was decent. Staff was really nice and I like how they always welcome you back when you enter. Room was a little small for us and 3 teenagers and all of our stuff but we made due. That being said, it was really too far of a walk for us. We had stayed at BWPPI before and the walk between there and Fairfield was a killer, after so many hours on your feet in the parks. Lesson learned - we will stay at BWPPI or one or two hotels down on either side. Our feet were so tired!
• We walked SO MUCH! I think we walk more at DLR than at WDW. The first day we walked 16 miles! The other days were between 10 - 14. Wowza!
• Really missed the talking Mickey experience that they have in WDW. It was soooooo much cooler! That being said, Mickey is always cool.
• Thor was FABULOUS! His mannerisms were perfect, his voice was divine, his look was spot on. He took time to ask a few questions and talk about posing for the photos. He wasn't rushed at all. I was just so impressed. And I didn't even meet him, simply took pictures of my son meeting him. Captain America on the other hand - hi, take a picture, bye. Some meets are just better than others and Thor took the cake. AMAZING!
• First time seeing Ghost Galaxy and we really enjoyed it.
• Love, love, love Haunted Mansion Holiday. So good! Really wish it would stay that way all year long because we like it so much more than HM, even if it's not the "classic".
• Water bottle filling stations would be really welcome additions to the park. We brought water bottles but finding water to fill them up without waiting in long lines was a pain and we just can't afford to purchase $3 water bottles all day long for all 5 of us.
• They could really use lines for those going into the parks bagless. It would help alleviate some of the bottleneck at bag check.
• The app was really nice and we loved it when it worked. We were frustrated by the lack of cell signal in the parks. I'm not sure if it was our carrier or if there just isn't great service, but we found it frustrating to not be able to use the app when we wanted to, especially in DCA. The best part was the characters. We could see when and where a character would be. Unfortunately, we found the FP photographers section to be inaccurate. There were several times that I wanted a picture of us in Main Street with the castle behind us, see that a PP photographer should be there on the app then wander around the area and not be able to find them. I never did get that photo! Got several at the statue, since someone was always there, but never got the main street pic.
• We got to see the absolute best PP photographer again! His name is John and he took photos of us at the partner statue our last trip, 3 years ago. When we got in line again we saw that it was him! He really took his time to get great photos... first of hubby and myself, then with all 5 of us, then with just the 3 kids. I really appreciate that he took the time to make our PP+ worth it. Can't wait to see them!

That's all of the ramblings I can think of at the moment.

 

[smchristy]

63 hours to go!

My weekend was spent doing laundry in anticipation of packing. I hate packing. I always over pack and I cannot afford to over pack this trip because DD7 and I are sharing a suitcase. We have so much planned for our 4 day trip...three days in the parks and the last day at a wedding. We will probably be more tired going home that we will be on our 6:30 am flight to LAX

 

[RichP1269]

We'll be in the parks at this time tomorrow!

 

[SeattleSuz]

6 more days!!!

 

[lorijohnhill]

We'll be there Friday!!!

 

[dolphingirl47]

I arrived in Amsterdam from where I will hopefully leave for Disneyland tomorrow morning. Flying standby so I am a little scared.

 

[lorijohnhill]

Ok, I just finished packing and we have one entire (large) suitcase that only contains costumes and the associated accessories. I think I may be in need of a twelve-step program. My daughter (8) and I are going for 11 days and we have two large and one medium suitcases, two backpacks, and my CPAP/medical bag! Yikes!

 

[ADLFAN]

Ok, I just finished packing and we have one entire (large) suitcase that only contains costumes and the associated accessories. I think I may be in need of a twelve-step program. My daughter (8) and I are going for 11 days and we have two large and one medium suitcases, two backpacks, and my CPAP/medical bag! Yikes!

Wow, that's a nice long trip! Have fun!! Your suitcase full of costumes cracked me up! On my past trip, I had half of a carry on filled with Mouse Ears!! And still I couldn't resist buying one new pair!

 

[dadofnicholas]

Monday!

 

[shannon006]

I arrive on Monday!!! Our son is getting married Saturday. The wedding is out of town so we will be traveling there Friday, and coming home Sunday. I will have to get up at 2am EST Monday to get ready to leave for the airport. So I am packing for two trips. Lol

 

[smchristy]

Tonight will be a busy night full of packing and reviewing lists etc... DD7 and I leave at 3:50 am to catch a 6:30 am flight to LAX tomorrow. Hopefully we will be walking into Disneyland around noon tomorrow!!!!!

I have been able to keep this a secret from her all this time. Now I just hope I don't blow it over the next 24 hours. I cannot wait for this big surprise reveal!!!

 

[Ellester]

In the middle of our trip and having a great time! Taking a day off today to do laundry and relax. Happy with Hotel Indigo, the walk isn't bad at all. We actually think it's less than getting from a villa at the back of Animal Kingdom Lodge to the bus stop and then from the bus stop to the turnstiles at any of the Florida parks! It was SO hot on Sunday, it hit 103! It's made the rest of the week seem mild. Looking forward to two more park days and the first MHP before we fly back to Atlanta on Saturday.

 

[Chris9ty]

In the middle of our trip and having a great time! Taking a day off today to do laundry and relax. Happy with Hotel Indigo, the walk isn't bad at all. We actually think it's less than getting from a villa at the back of Animal Kingdom Lodge to the bus stop and then from the bus stop to the turnstiles at any of the Florida parks! It was SO hot on Sunday, it hit 103! It's made the rest of the week seem mild. Looking forward to two more park days and the first MHP before we fly back to Atlanta on Saturday.

Glad to hear you are having a good trip. Hope it cools down some for you. Glad to hear that you like Hotel Indigo- we arrive there Oct 2!

 

[SeattleSuz]

Only 4 more days! Busy weekend of packing, soccer, Seahawks game, work and yardwork.

 

[lorijohnhill]

I am now officially on vacation!! I am sitting I. A cabana next to the pool at DLH. I have one very happy little girl. She is loving the monorail slides!

 

[SeattleSuz]

What's the weather like so far?

 

[lorijohnhill]

It's already pretty warm. It's nice that there is a fan in the cabana! I imagine that it will get quite hot this afternoon.

 

[poseys]

Welp, I've been home less than a week and I've already decided on my next vacation- a Disney Cruise. I'm officially a Disney Mom.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I am more than halfway through this trip and I am having a blast.

Corinna