This month has been crazy! I feel like I've been going non-stop, and then of course both Luke and I spent most of last week sick, so that derailed our timeline of getting a few things done...
Christmas was pretty low-key this year, Luke and I haven't been buying presents for each other in a few years now, and we extended that to quite a few family members this year due to our upcoming trip (and that fact that most people we typically buy for are actually coming to Disney with us). I have to work today and tomorrow, and Luke works right up until Friday, so that just leaves us a few evenings to get everything in order for this wedding, since we leave early Saturday morning (I can't believe how quickly this year flew by!).
I picked up my dress from the seamstress the other day, it actually fits now which is nice
Luke has his suit home already as well, all tailored to fit him. I also ordered more custom shirts for Luke and I, but I didn't remember to take pictures of them before packing them into a suitcase - guess you'll have to read my trip report to see them haha.
I'm determined to get through our itinerary for the rest of our vacation on here, so here we go:
We have a breakfast reservation at Olivia's at Old Key West for Luke, my Dad and I. We figured my Dad would want a good breakfast after spending most the day before traveling through airports and sitting on planes. From there, we will be catching a bus and heading to my Dad's first Disney park ever - Hollywood Studios. Luke and I were originally supposed to be doing a half day of parks by ourselves before anyone arrived this day, but we just modified a few things once my dad had his flight booked. My Dad's very first Disney ride ever will be one of Luke's favourites - Star Tours! We'll follow that up with a Fastpass for Toy Story. We'll then have some time to look around, maybe get my Dad to do a character meet or something. Our third Fastpass of the day is for the Indiana Jones show - I think my dad will really enjoy it (and Luke and I have never watched the full thing). We then have a late lunch reservation at 50's Prime Time - after my disappointing meal there in 2016 I'm ready to give it another try (and Luke won't stop talking about a PB&J milkshake haha). I hope our server is really into the whole theme because I haven't told my dad anything about this place haha.
After we eat, we'll leave the park and head back to Old Key West. By this point, Luke's mom, aunt and one of his sisters will have landed in Orlando and should be close to arriving at the hotel (if they haven't already). My dad's own room will be ready at some point as well, so we'll get him checked out of mine and Luke's room, and into his own for the rest of the trip. Around 3:30 that afternoon, 6 more of our wedding guests land at the airport (all on the same flight - my mom, step-dad, maid of honour and her husband, and a groomswoman and her husband). Four of them are heading to All Star Music that night, but I'll greet my mom and step-dad when they arrive at Old Key West. Another 2 guests (also staying at ASMu) arrive later that evening.
Luke is really excited about taking his family members to Disney Springs to eat at Earl of Sandwich that night - he loves that place. He will be heading to bed early though, in preparation for his full marathon the next day. I will probably also head to Disney Springs at some point that afternoon and just grab snacks from somewhere.
My Dad and I will be heading into Orlando that night - I bought us tickets for an NBA game! It's not our favourite sport, but neither of us have ever been to a game, and the Cleveland Cavaliers are in town that night so we couldn't pass up an opportunity to see Lebron James play. My Maid of Honour (Ashley), and her husband Mike are also going to the game, and I believe Groomswoman Lisa and her husband Trevor are going as well.
It'll be a late night when I get back to Old Key West, and Luke will have been asleep for hours.
Park(s) Planned:
Hollywood Studios
Fastpasses:
Star Tours 9:05-10:05
Toy Story 10:15-11:15
Indiana Jones Stunt Show 12pm Show
ADR's:
Olivia's Cafe Breakfast 8:15am
50's Prime Time Cafe 1:05pm
Day Nine Plans - January 7th, 2018
Sunday morning, Luke will be waking up at some unGodly hour so he can eat and get ready for his big race. I'll wake up to see him out the door, then head back to bed for a bit more sleep. I know how slow the buses are on this day though, so I'll try and be out the door at a half reasonable time - let's see how long it takes me to round up everyone else on my own this day
. The plan for everyone is to head to Epcot to cheer on Luke. I'd like to be there as close to rope drop as possible, since almost everyone will need to stop at the ticket booth to activate their park tickets (if you purchase using the Canadian discount, you have to stop at a ticket booth and show your Canadian passport). Once we get everyone into the park (and take 47,816 pictures I'm sure), we will already be in our first Fastpass window. Also - I made all the Fastpasses for all 20 people
- that was a bit of work, but I actually enjoyed it and was quite pleased with what I was able to get! I thought most people should start their Disney experience with a classic - so we'll be going on Spaceship Earth to start things off right (at this point, it'll be 9 of us)! From there, we'll cheer for some marathoners (at that time of day, it's mainly the people who have done a few marathons before - the elite runners if you will). Our next Fastpass has us splitting up - I'll be going with a group of 7 to Test Track, while two head over to Frozen Ever After (they are the only two who have been to WDW recently, but they went with a large group and didn't stay on site, so they weren't able to get Fastpasses for FEA, so it was their only request).
By the time we meet up again, we'll check and see where Luke is. If he is getting close, we'll stand around and cheer on the runners, waiting for him so we can give him a hug before he finishes the last mile or so of his race. If he's still not close, we'll head to Sunshine Seasons for lunch. I tried to not make too many ADR's, since a few people requested lower-cost meals if possible - and Sunshine Seasons is a great choice both for variety of food and cost!
After we eat and see Luke, people are on their own.
Two of our guests (Devin and Larissa) only have time for 3 park days (they have two small children who they are leaving at home, so they didn't want to be away for a full week), so they will be going to Hollywood Studios for the rest of the day - they both love Star Wars! I set them up with Fastpasses for Toy Story, Star Tours and Tower of Terror.
Ashley and Mike will be spending this entire day at Universal Studios, I might have got Ashley addicted to the Harry Potter franchise while we were living together back in 2010 haha. That morning before they leave for Universal, they will be checking out of All Star Music, and checking into Old Key West that night for the rest of their vacation.
My plan for everyone else is to head out and catch the monorail, and head to Magic Kingdom. Splash Mountain will be closing the next day for a refurbishment, so I'll be trying to grab Fastpasses for that as soon as we scan in for Test Track. Since we have so many Disney newbies on this trip, I thought that Splash was an important ride to go on at least once! If people aren't interested in that, they can head back to their hotel room for a nap or stay in Epcot or head to Disney Springs (or head to Hollywood Studios/Animal Kingdom if they wanted to - I left the entire afternoon up to them).
Around noon, my two bridesmaids (Stephanie and Lauren), along with Steph's boyfriend Ryan, will be landing at MCO. Once they check in at Old Key West, they will be heading to Magic Kingdom, where I set them up with Fastpasses - Peter Pan's Flight, Splash Mountain and Haunted Mansion. Even if no one else from Epcot wants to join me in traveling to MK, I'll be meeting up with these three and enjoying some park time with them.
After his race, Luke will head back to our room at OKW and shower/nap.
We have a late supper reservation at 9:45 for everyone at 'Ohana. So I've instructed people to take the Polynesian bus if they are at a park until closing time, or take an Uber if they are at a hotel. Since I'll be at MK, I'll be there well before our reservation time - hopefully with enough time to grab a Dole Whip
. It'll be late by the time we finish eating, so Ubers back to the hotel will be very welcome.
Our photographer will be landing in Orlando while we are at the Polynesian, so she will just head to OKW and check in to her room there.
For the information below, I only listed my own Fastpasses to keep it simple.
Park(s) Planned:
Epcot/Magic Kingdom
Fastpasses:
Spaceship Earth 9:05-10:05
Test Track 10:10-11:10
ADR's:
'Ohana 9:45pm