Newsies: From Scratch - May And September 2024! - FINISHED! 09/07

[Newsies]

​

Well hey there, everybody! My name is Kait. I've been a DISboards poster on and off for 10 years (mostly on for the first 7 years, mostly off for the last 3 years). Over the past decade, I've started 10 trip reports and was mostly good about finishing them, though I never finished either of my last two and honestly, don't see myself returning to them. The down-low is that I got overwhelmed with how much the community on DISboards changed, overwhelmed by how much Walt Disney World changed, and my overall attitude towards Disney changed greatly when I was sent home from my second DCP due to COVID-19 closing the parks in March 2020. I didn't resent Disney at all, but like a lot of people in my position, COVID-19 really shifted my priorities in life and I started putting less energy into the Parks and more energy into other parts of my life. I'm really happy with where I am in life right now, but one thing I miss is writing PTRs and TRs for the DIS. I loved my trip reports!

So we're back & we're starting from scratch. Hence the name of this PTR, Newsies: From Scratch.

Hi, I'm Kait, and I'm going to Walt Disney World with my family next May, PLUS a Labor Day solo trip. Here's me and the Newsies family!

​

Together, we've done it all. We've stayed in 10+ hotels, had a brief era as Passholders, gone to MNSSHP, Moonlight Magic, F&GF, F&WF... you name it, we've been to it. We love it so much we decided to become DVC members in 2017 with our home resort being the Poly. And for anyone looking for a follow up from where I left off in my last post (April 2022): Yes, dad and I made it to Disneyland for my 25th birthday and we had the time of my life. Our last vacation as a family was 3 short months ago, we spent Spring Break at the Riviera and we had a lovely time. I'll cover off on both of those in a future post here!

On the far right is Grace, my 22-year-old baby sister and a current grad school student, which blows my mind! Grace is one of the only people in the world who truly "gets me." Together, we're always getting into crazy shenanigans. She loves cats, Disney chicken tenders, Ratatouille, and Epcot! Grace is a lot like me. She's a go-with-the-flow kind of girl, happy to let others take charge, until her social battery gets drained-- but she's a real trooper and great about advocating for herself when she needs to head back to the hotel for a rest!

I'm standing next to her-- I'm Kait, your host! I'm a 26-year-old marketing girlie from NJ with 13+ years of Disney vacation planning under my belt (yes, I really was 13 when I booked my family's first ADR, lol). Like I said earlier, there was a point in my life where I loved Disney SOOOOO much I decided to work for them not once, but twice (!!!!) during DCP Fall 2016 (attractions) and DCP Spring Advantage 2020 (character attendant). I've also done some non-Disney traveling in the past year, most recently to Vegas with my friends back in February for the latest Jonas Brothers Park MGM Residency. As far as non-Disney interests go: I LOVE concerts & music! My last few shows have been Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Olivia Rodrigo, Big Time Rush, and a looooot of Jonas Brothers. I also love getting my nails done, shopping, journaling, I'm one of those people who still finds Saturday Night Live funny. If we have legitimately anything in common, we should be friends.

Standing next to me is my mom, Susan. This woman is my rock and my best friend. Seriously, I would be lost without her. She's been going to WDW since she was a little girl and like most of us on the Boards, she affectionately calls it "her happy place." She loves Pooh bear, Duffy the Disney Bear, and caramel popcorn from Karamell-Kuche! Mom loves to lay out by the pool all day and head to Magic Kingdom at night.

Lastly, on the far right is my dad, Thomas. Dad is our chief of transportation and logistics coordinator! He's a retired firefighter who loves Chief Smokey Miller and wants to be the next fire chief of Main Street, USA! He also loves all things "Grumpy," the Poly, and his favorite restaurant is Biergarten. And let me tell you something... if there's a souvenir that lights up, he's going to find it and buy it!

Together, we'll be visiting the Parks again next May, and I'll be at the Parks solo next September, with both of those trips being the central plot of this non-linear PTR. We don't have a whole lot planned out right now, so if you're interested in joining us along for the ride, I would love some friends for planning advice and to use as a sounding board while I plan the next trip(s)! This will likely be our last vacation(s) at WDW until 2026, as we have our heart set on a DCL adventure for 2025. I'll have a different PTR built out for that next year!

And now, I humbly present... not 5, but 10 Ws of a Walt Disney World Vacation!

Who: The Newsies Family!
What: Our annual WDW vacation!
When: May 19-26, 2024
Where: Disney's Polynesian Resort & Villas
Why: To celebrate my birthday!

Who: Just me!
What: A solo September 2024 trip!
When: Sep 8-14, 2024
Where: Animal Kingdom Lodge
Why: One last trip around "the World" before I say goodbye to it until 2026!​

I'll post a table of contents next and away we go!

---

burgundy: 99362F
orange: DC7A4A
gray: 776E6B

 

[Newsies]

Table of Contents:​

May 2024:
1. The Good, the Bad, and the Cruise-y
2. A Small Life Update & The First Batch O' May Plans
3. May Updates: Tickets, DDP, an ADR, and a Second Pass of Plans
4. May WDW Pre-Trip Haul So Far
5. Flower & Garden Fun!
6. May 2024: Locked & Loaded
7. Big Week Ahead & Final Pass at May Planning
8. Our May 2024 ADRs!
9. Read All About It: Some Trip Reporting Musings
10. First Time Experiences I'm Excited For
11. Everything I Watch Before I Visit WDW
12. Let's Get Physical
13. May the Fifth Be With You
14. The Single Digit Dance!
15. The Final Countdown for May
16. May 2024: All Systems Go
17. What a Fine Evening for a Drive (CONCLUSION)

MAY 2024 TR: Birthdays. Back Pain. Battlestar Galactica. - Our May 2024 WDW Adventure!

September 2024 (which was briefly September 2023, and even briefly-er November 2023):
1. Less than 24 hours later...
2. Double Booked!
3. Why I Didn't Go to Disney World on Labor Day Like I Said I Would
4. "I'm not gonna do it, girl, I was just thinking about it, I'm not gonna do it..."
5. NOT CLICKBAIT: I Am For Real (For Real) Going to Disney World September 2024!
6. Flights, Camera, Action!
7. A Minor Set-forward
8. A (Seriously) Wild Update
9. Two Party, or Not Two Party?
10. It's Actually QUITE-So-Scary
11. Two Party!
12. September ADR Business
13. Close Enough, Welcome Back FastPass+
14. My One Tradition: The Newsies 4th of July PTR Update
15. September ADRs & Enchanting Extras!
16. Hydration & Not-So-Scary Satiation
17. ALL The Food & Wine Fun!
18. Pros, Cons, and Party Priorities
19. Come to the Dark Side, We Have Donuts
20. My FIRST EVER LLMP Selections!
21. Arrival Day + Day 2: Epcot Plans & Priorities
22. Days 3+4: Magic Kingdom Morning/DAK Plans & Priorities
23. From Scratch (CONCLUSION)

Random Updates:
1. Disneyland Mini TR - Part I
2. Disneyland TR - Part II
3. Disneyland TR - Part III
4. Quick WDW March 2023 TR

 

[Newsies]

Less than 24 hours later...
​

Well. I am officially booked for September 2023!

​

The impact of DISboards on a Disney fan's mind needs to be studied, because it's crazy that I was tossing the idea of MAYBE potentially doing a cute short little Disney trip over Labor Day Weekend to do MNSSHP and see the F&WF for a few weeks, then suddenly I return to the DIS and BAM the next morning I click "checkout" in my cart.

So we're officially booked.

​

For context: Back in 2021 I did a solo Labor Day vacation because my company gives us both the Friday before Labor Day and Labor Day proper off, so we always have a four day weekend around Labor Day. My mother doesn't fly, dad couldn't get the time off, and my sister Grace couldn't get away from school, but a few weeks before Labor Day I decided I really reeeaaaaallllyyyy wanted to do the Boo Bash (tbt lol). At the time we were still passholders and we had DVC points that were set to expire, so I was able to get away by myself for cheap. Boo Bash unfortunately ended up selling out, but I had a very pleasant last-minute weekend in Disney World regardless. I stayed at Old Key West, had a very relaxing morning at Disney Springs, actually got to do a DVC preview of Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, enjoyed the Food & Wine Festival, and spend some time with a few friends.

That was 2021 and last year, I spent the summer following a boy band around the country, but this year, I was really tempted to take advantage of the 25% off room offer for Labor Day Weekend. I honestly just need a weekend to myself and given how busy my job will be this summer, I'll definitely need to decompress. In front of Spaceship Earth. With a Welsh Dragon in my hand. AND... tickets to MNSSHP.

Yesterday I put the deposit down for the room & ticket package, which is just a quick 3-night stay at All Star Music with a 2-day standard ticket package. I have park reservations for DHS on Saturday and Epcot on Sunday. For Friday evening when I fly in, I bought my ticket to MNSSHP. I was going back and forth between buying the party ticket yesterday or waiting a little bit, but knowing how quickly LDW will probably sell out, I figured it would probably be better to buy it sooner rather than later. I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!

Who: Just me
What: A solo getaway!
When: September 1-4
Where: Disney's All-Star Music Resort
Why: Because I could! And I wanted to!
​

So my next steps are:

1. Book our May 2024 trip when our 11 month DVC home window opens up on Monday morning.
2. Book my flights for September.
3. Book Mears for September.

So exciting! I can't wait for my little getaway and for our May trip next year

 

[ExpeditionEmily]

Less than 24 hours later...
​

Well. I am officially booked for September 2023!

​

The impact of DISboards on a Disney fan's mind needs to be studied, because it's crazy that I was tossing the idea of MAYBE potentially doing a cute short little Disney trip over Labor Day Weekend to do MNSSHP and see the F&WF for a few weeks, then suddenly I return to the DIS and BAM the next morning I click "checkout" in my cart.

So we're officially booked.

​

For context: Back in 2021 I did a solo Labor Day vacation because my company gives us both the Friday before Labor Day and Labor Day proper off, so we always have a four day weekend around Labor Day. My mother doesn't fly, dad couldn't get the time off, and my sister Grace couldn't get away from school, but a few weeks before Labor Day I decided I really reeeaaaaallllyyyy wanted to do the Boo Bash (tbt lol). At the time we were still passholders and we had DVC points that were set to expire, so I was able to get away by myself for cheap. Boo Bash unfortunately ended up selling out, but I had a very pleasant last-minute weekend in Disney World regardless. I stayed at Old Key West, had a very relaxing morning at Disney Springs, actually got to do a DVC preview of Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, enjoyed the Food & Wine Festival, and spend some time with a few friends.

That was 2021 and last year, I spent the summer following a boy band around the country, but this year, I was really tempted to take advantage of the 25% off room offer for Labor Day Weekend. I honestly just need a weekend to myself and given how busy my job will be this summer, I'll definitely need to decompress. In front of Spaceship Earth. With a Welsh Dragon in my hand. AND... tickets to MNSSHP.

Yesterday I put the deposit down for the room & ticket package, which is just a quick 3-night stay at All Star Music with a 2-day standard ticket package. I have park reservations for DHS on Saturday and Epcot on Sunday. For Friday evening when I fly in, I bought my ticket to MNSSHP. I was going back and forth between buying the party ticket yesterday or waiting a little bit, but knowing how quickly LDW will probably sell out, I figured it would probably be better to buy it sooner rather than later. I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!

Who: Just me
What: A solo getaway!
When: September 1-4
Where: Disney's All-Star Music Resort
Why: Because I could! And I wanted to!
​

So my next steps are:

1. Book our May 2024 trip when our 11 month DVC home window opens up on Monday morning.
2. Book my flights for September.
3. Book Mears for September.

So exciting! I can't wait for my little getaway and for our May trip next year

Honestly relatable I tossed around the idea of a quick August trip for opening night of MNSSHP and I don't know what happened to me but somehow the trip was booked within a few hours. Our August weekend looks pretty similar to your September weekend in terms of overall park plans and we'll be using Mears Connect for June/August too.

 

[Newsies]

Honestly relatable I tossed around the idea of a quick August trip for opening night of MNSSHP and I don't know what happened to me but somehow the trip was booked within a few hours.

Isn't that crazy how it happens??? First you're just imagining what it would be like to be watching the boo to you parade with a churro in hand then BAM all of a sudden there are new plans in your Disney World app. It's crazy!

Our August weekend looks pretty similar to your September weekend in terms of overall park plans and we'll be using Mears Connect for June/August too.

Pretty please let me know your fav MNSSHP snacks and how you like Mears Connect?

 

[Newsies]

Double Booked!
​

Yesterday, I made not one, but TWO Walt Disney World Resort reservations!

I forgot to set my alarm for 6:00 AM (or is it 7?) when our family's 11-month window opened for booking at our DVC home resort, which means I forgot that it even was our 11-month window until about 10:30 AM, wherein I promptly panicked, closed every other browser out of my laptop, and logged into our DVC portal.

​

One of the many things I love about the Villas at Disney's Polynesian Resort is that they have a ton of Studio inventory. In fact, they only have Studio inventory, save for 20 bungalows, which means there's really no rush to book your vacation at the 11 Month Window. So there was really no reason to rush, but I told my family I'd get it done that day, so we are officially booked at the Poly for May 19-25, 2024! Only 11 months to go!

We're still not entirely positive we're going to stay at the Poly. Given that this will be my birthday trip, I'm trying really hard to get my family in the Beach Club Villas camp. We've never stayed anywhere on the Boardwalk/Beach Club/Yacht Club lake and I'm an Epcot girlie, so my dream is to stay at the Boardwalk or the Beach Club one day. In a perfect world, we'd be staying at the Boardwalk Villas, but those studios don't sleep 5 adults -- we always opt for a studio that sleeps 5 because it gives my younger sister the opportunity to sleep on the pull-down bed, so she and I don't have to share a bed.

Our only issue with the Beach Club is that those studios only have one shower and one sink area, whereas the Poly and Riviera studios both have two showers and two sinks -- it takes our family forever to get ready, so we love our additional shower!

With all of this said... I really want to spend a day swimming at Stormalong bay, and being able to walk back to our room from World Showcase sounds like a dream come true, plus there are so many great restaurants and Jellyrolls in this area!

We have 11 months to plan, so who knows where we'll end up next May?

​

On a completely unrelated subject: our May trip was not the only Disney hotel room I booked yesterday ... I also upgraded from a standard room at All-Star Music to a preferred room at All-Star Movies for my September trip!

To make a long story short: I had concerns with how far the Standard rooms at ASMusic were from the lobby & bus stop. I did a little more research and decided that the layout was maybe not the best at ASMusic. Since I won't have a car with me and am anticipating a very, very long arrival day between flying in early in the morning and then doing MNSSHP, not to mention how much I already dread walking to the Epcot and Hollywood Studios bus stops at the end of a long park day, I decided that ASMusic standard was probably not for me this trip. I basically had two options:

1. Move to a standard room at All-Star Sports. All-Star Sports and All-Star Movies both have more convenient layouts, but unfortunately, Movies doesn't have any standard rooms available for my dates. A standard room at Sports would run me the same amount of money as my vacation at All-Star Music, so I wouldn't have anything to lose. My location would still be a gamble and a bit of a walk, but at least I would be paying the same amount of money to almost guarantee having my room be closer to the Lobby than it would be at Music.​
2. Book a preferred room at any one of the All-Stars. Wasn't my favorite option at first, as I was trying not to spend any more money on this hotel, but I really liked the idea of knowing I wouldn't have a horrible walk at the beginning and end of the day.​

I decided just to look at pricing for a preferred room for all three All-Stars for my dates... and I found out that the cheapest preferred room upgrade would only be $66 more! Booking a preferred room at Music was the most expensive at about $87 more, followed by Sports at about $75 more, and the cheapest was All-Star Movies for only $66 more than what I was paying for a standard room at Music.

I decided it was a good deal to pay $66 more to guarantee that my room would be close to the buses and lobby. I wasn't married to the idea of staying at Music, and have already stayed at Sports, so I'm actually very excited with this upgrade and to be staying at All-Star Movies!

I was a little shocked that Movies was the cheapest of the preferred options, as I've always found Movies was slightly more expensive than the other two resorts when pricing out resorts in the past, but I also have only actually stayed at Sports before. Are there any All-Star pros here that know what's what and if I actually got a good deal? Did I make a mistake moving from Music standard to Movies preferred? Should I have done anything else? Let me know!

Very sorry for the text heavy update!

 

[nicole88s]

Your plans sound so fun! I just wanted to tell you that Boardwalk studios do sleep 5. They have the little trundle bed under the tv.
https://www.disneytouristblog.com/w...dwalk-villas-disney-vacation-club-wdw-046.jpg

 

[rdkeim]

I've followed your past TR's. Good to see that you're writing again! 2 trips booked - jealous

 

[MarieLightning]

Honestly, changing from a standard room at the Music to anywhere else at the All Stars is a good call we've stayed twice at the Music in a standard room, because we always repeat mistakes at least once (see also: AoA Little Mermaid rooms). The layout for that resort is just really bad.

It's great you were able to find a reasonable upgrade to a preferred room! We've splurged on those sometimes, though for the most part the walk to non preferred buildings at the Sports and Movies really isn't that bad. But preferred is that much more convenient, and at the movies especially those are the cutest buildings usually.

 

[EvilVillainess]

Less than 24 hours later...
​

Well. I am officially booked for September 2023!

​

The impact of DISboards on a Disney fan's mind needs to be studied, because it's crazy that I was tossing the idea of MAYBE potentially doing a cute short little Disney trip over Labor Day Weekend to do MNSSHP and see the F&WF for a few weeks, then suddenly I return to the DIS and BAM the next morning I click "checkout" in my cart.

So we're officially booked.

​

For context: Back in 2021 I did a solo Labor Day vacation because my company gives us both the Friday before Labor Day and Labor Day proper off, so we always have a four day weekend around Labor Day. My mother doesn't fly, dad couldn't get the time off, and my sister Grace couldn't get away from school, but a few weeks before Labor Day I decided I really reeeaaaaallllyyyy wanted to do the Boo Bash (tbt lol). At the time we were still passholders and we had DVC points that were set to expire, so I was able to get away by myself for cheap. Boo Bash unfortunately ended up selling out, but I had a very pleasant last-minute weekend in Disney World regardless. I stayed at Old Key West, had a very relaxing morning at Disney Springs, actually got to do a DVC preview of Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, enjoyed the Food & Wine Festival, and spend some time with a few friends.

That was 2021 and last year, I spent the summer following a boy band around the country, but this year, I was really tempted to take advantage of the 25% off room offer for Labor Day Weekend. I honestly just need a weekend to myself and given how busy my job will be this summer, I'll definitely need to decompress. In front of Spaceship Earth. With a Welsh Dragon in my hand. AND... tickets to MNSSHP.

Yesterday I put the deposit down for the room & ticket package, which is just a quick 3-night stay at All Star Music with a 2-day standard ticket package. I have park reservations for DHS on Saturday and Epcot on Sunday. For Friday evening when I fly in, I bought my ticket to MNSSHP. I was going back and forth between buying the party ticket yesterday or waiting a little bit, but knowing how quickly LDW will probably sell out, I figured it would probably be better to buy it sooner rather than later. I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!

Who: Just me
What: A solo getaway!
When: September 1-4
Where: Disney's All-Star Music Resort
Why: Because I could! And I wanted to!
​

So my next steps are:

1. Book our May 2024 trip when our 11 month DVC home window opens up on Monday morning.
2. Book my flights for September.
3. Book Mears for September.

So exciting! I can't wait for my little getaway and for our May trip next year

We will be there the exact same time MNSSHP Friday and Studios Saturday. Sunday we are going to HHN though. Hopefully we will get to see you around the parks.

 

[bubbles2021]

So excited to see you’re back writing on the boards!! I’ve always enjoyed your trip reports and glad I randomly found this new post cause I was looking to re-read your post about your visit to Buc-ees LOL.

 

[SEAGULL59]

Just found your report!! So how was your Labor Day trip??

 

[Newsies]

Your plans sound so fun! I just wanted to tell you that Boardwalk studios do sleep 5. They have the little trundle bed under the tv.
https://www.disneytouristblog.com/w...dwalk-villas-disney-vacation-club-wdw-046.jpg

Thank you SO MUCH for this information!! Apologies for the belated reply, have not been great about checking the boards But I appreciate the call-out here!

I've followed your past TR's. Good to see that you're writing again! 2 trips booked - jealous

Thank you so much for joining along and apologize for the delayed response!

Honestly, changing from a standard room at the Music to anywhere else at the All Stars is a good call we've stayed twice at the Music in a standard room, because we always repeat mistakes at least once (see also: AoA Little Mermaid rooms). The layout for that resort is just really bad.

It's great you were able to find a reasonable upgrade to a preferred room! We've splurged on those sometimes, though for the most part the walk to non preferred buildings at the Sports and Movies really isn't that bad. But preferred is that much more convenient, and at the movies especially those are the cutest buildings usually.

I was a little bummed to move from ASMusic because I LOVED the theming, but after taking a look at room tours/the map I just couldn't justify staying there, especially when the price to upgrade was so reasonable!

Good to know about non-preferred rooms at Sports and Movies-- my Sept 23 trip ended up not happening but planning now for Sept 24 and considering Sports and Movies in my planning process!

We will be there the exact same time MNSSHP Friday and Studios Saturday. Sunday we are going to HHN though. Hopefully we will get to see you around the parks.

Hi EvilVillainess! Hope you had the best time ever at MNSSHP, DHS, and HHN! I, unfortunately, never made it to WDW this month but I hope you had a blast!

So excited to see you’re back writing on the boards!! I’ve always enjoyed your trip reports and glad I randomly found this new post cause I was looking to re-read your post about your visit to Buc-ees LOL.

Hey hey bubbles2021!!! Thanks so much for replying and for the sweet words about my TRs That's so funny that you wanted to re-read about my visit to Buc-ees! I'm just glad my passion for Buc-ees is made evident in my writing!

Just found your report!! So how was your Labor Day trip??

Hey there Seagull, thanks for joining along! Without spoiling too much... it didn't happen I'm about to explain everything in a new update but I'm not too sad about it!

 

[Newsies]

Why I Didn't Go To Disney World on Labor Day Like I Said I Would
​

I debated coming back to the DIS to post about this, but I ended up cancelling my Labor Day '23 excursion back in July. I know, I know. It's okay to cry.

​

Actually, before anyone cries, I want to spoil the good news that I'm already planning a bigger and better vacation for Labor Day '24!

A lot went into the decision, but the main drivers behind cancelling were the price of airfare, the financial impact of another vacation I had planned, and choosing to prioritize going to more concerts this year.

I would say probably 80% of the reason I cancelled the trip was because no matter how I sliced it or diced it, it would have cost me between $500-$750 to fly from Newark to MCO on the dates I needed. I checked Jetblue like a hawk (from incognito browser tabs, mind you), had Hopper alerts set up, and the airfare only went up from the time I booked this trip. For retrospect: it cost me $250 round trip last time I flew to MCO on this same weekend. But this year, flying out on the Friday before Labor Day was stupidly expensive, and flying home on Labor Day proper was MEGA stupidly expensive, but I hadn't planned on taking off any more time at work this year to fly out a day before/fly home a day afterwards. If I had flown out on Thursday and flown back on Tuesday, I could have saved almost $300 through JetBlue, which is nuts, and something I've planned into my Labor Day excursion next year.

If airfare alone was the only factor, I probably would have just bit the bullet and booked the trip, but then the Jonas Brothers announced a second leg to their United States tour.

​

Now keep in mind, I was already going to spend a bit of money in August at an airbnb in NYC with my friends for the opening weekend of this tour. Then they announced shows in NJ where I live, and closing night for the North America leg was going to be in NYC. So I had the opportunity to be at both opening AND (North American) closing nights for this tour and I decided I was going to take it given that the band will be in Europe and Australia for the majority of 2024, and we're all anticipating that they're going to take a very, very, very long break from touring, concerts, and public appearances in general when they finish the tour in Europe next year.

Knowing that WDW will always be here, but the band won't, I decided to save a little bit of money by cancelling my Disney trip, put some of that money towards seeing my favorite band a few more times this year, and saved myself the stress of traveling to Florida and back. I was going to say something along the lines of, "Yes, I know I'm a crazy Jonas fan girl!" but then I remembered I was talking to a message board full of people who go to WDW yearly/multiple times a year, so we're all in the same crazy boat one way or another.


Anyway, I was only a little sad when Labor Day came around and I wasn't "Boo-to-You"ing with my favorite Mouse, and quickly got to work planning my Labor Day '24 vacation.

I'm gonna plan to be at the Parks from Thursday, August 29 to Tuesday, September 3. It'll require me taking 1.5 days off of work, but knowing that I won't be going to as many concerts next year, I'll have the time on my hands to do so. I'm planning on doing MNSSHP that Friday, AND I'm interested in adding HHN for the first time ever. My return to Universal Studios is far overdue and I've become a bit of a horror buff since Covid started! I'm entertaining the idea of staying at one of these three resorts:

• Port Orleans: French Quarter​
• Pop Century​
• All-Star Movies​

Right now, POFQ is my top choice, despite being the most expensive of the three. It's small, it's convenient, it has a great food court, and above all: when I was younger, this is the resort I remember everyone on DISboards stayed at when they took a solo trip and it's kind of been a bucket-list item of mine for a while

No matter what, I will probably book the room AND flights in February, so we have a bit of a ways to go before this trip is in motion. Until then, I'd love to hear what you guys think of my top 3 resorts for this trip and if you have any other suggestions for me!

 

[rdkeim]

Cancelling your trip totally makes sense. I would vote for POFQ! Such a nice size and only 1 bus stop.

 

[Newsies]

Cancelling your trip totally makes sense. I would vote for POFQ! Such a nice size and only 1 bus stop.

I'm really in love with the idea of POFQ right now! Soooo convenient and a big fan of beignets so it's at the top of my list right now.

 

[Newsies]

"I'm not gonna do it, girl, I was just thinking about it, I'm not gonna do it..."
​

A very wise TikTok audio once said "I'm not gonna do it, girl, I was just thinking about it... I'm not gonna do it..."

And that's how I felt today as I caught myself planning another solo trip for this year.

​

I might as well rename this PTR "Kait's Adventures in Clowning," because here I am a month off the heels of losing $90 (and $20 in Disney Rewards Dollars but whose counting) off a MNSSHP ticket I never used, considering booking ANOTHER trip for November 16-19.

Haven't booked anything yet, but last time I made a post like this, I booked the next day. So. Y'know. Take that as you will.

Long story short: I saw a post from a fellow DISer yesterday talking about how they were doing a solo trip this fall and planning on working remotely from their hotel room and going to Jiko for dinner that evening. And that sounded fabulous to me. A glass of red wine and a filet with mac and cheese is all I've ever wanted after a full day of Zoom calls.

And I thought to myself, "That could totally be me if I really wanted it to be." And I started brainstorming what a weekend could look like for me. And I found that flights were reeeeally not that bad for my dates. And hotel was reeeeeeeally not that pricey if I stayed at AS Sports, though I'd probably spring for Pop C which was also not terrible.

Take a walk with me. Envision the itinerary I'm planning:

Thursday, Nov 16: I would work half a day, then take a 2:45 flight to MCO. I would catch a Mears to Pop Century, probably get there around 6, and then Minnie Van or Uber to another resort for a good dinner.

Friday, Nov 17: Work "from home" in my hotel room from 9-5 and then Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party in the evening.

Saturday, Nov 18: Epcot in the morning, Jollywood Nights in the evening.

Sunday, Nov 19: Fly home early in the morning.

I'm very tempted to do it. I miss Epcot dearly, I'm foaming at the mouth to go to Jollywood Nights and see Kermit and Miss Piggy, and I just need some pixie dust. AND I found out last week that my student loan repayment was going to be far more reasonable than I imagined, so... I think the stars are maybe aligning for another solo trip.

Or maybe I'm just clowning and this will not even come close to the reality of my life in November. We shall see...

 

[rdkeim]

Sounds like a great plan! Hope you can make it happen I think Nov. would be a great time to go.

 

[Newsies]

Sounds like a great plan! Hope you can make it happen I think Nov. would be a great time to go.

It was definitely a fun plan!

 

[Newsies]

The Good, The Bad, and the Cruise-y
​

So, it happened again: I missed another window for booking our May trip, and this time it was the 7 month DVC window! My mind has been so preoccupied with work and other things lately that I completely forgot about it on Friday, and randomly remembered it last night, where I promptly dropped what I was doing and ran downstairs to my laptop. (Side note: I blinked and we went from the 11 month mark to the 7 month mark for this trip.)

So when I logged on last night to switch from the Poly to the the Beach Club, I saw that the Studios are full for the dates we're looking to visit and I'm on the waitlist. Riviera is full as well, so I made a waitlist request for Riviera as well, knowing we will likely get out Riviera request and will likely not get our Beach Cub request. I'm kind of kicking myself for missing this window, thinking I could have booked it if I was up at 6 AM and ready to go, but I know that's realistically not the case, as I've heard Beach Club Studios can be a competitive book. And they're probably even more competitive the week we're traveling, as that Friday will be part of the long Memorial Day weekend.

With that being said, rules of yin-yang apply. There's good in every bad, and bad in every good.

​

One of many reasons I wanted us to stay at the Beach Club or Riviera in May was because we all have Memorial Day off, so we can theoretically stay an extra day at the Parks and start the drive home that next Sunday rather than that Saturday. We have enough points as it is to stay 7 nights at Beach Club or Riviera that week. We would have to a) buy one time points to complete the week, or b) borrow 5 or 6 points from our 2025 contract to stay 7 nights at the Polynesian.

Now usually, we are anti-borrowing points from next year, knowing we go every year and our future selves will need those points. But... we're now committed to booking our first Disney Cruise for 2025, so we will probably not be visiting the Parks in 2025, and decided we can spare 4 or 5 points to get us through the end of the year, and bank the remainder of 2025 for 2026 when the time comes.

​

I don't want to get into the intricacies of this Disney Cruise planning here, DCL is a beast in and of itself and I'll probably put a separate PTR on the DCL boards just for this one cruise. The bottom line here is that we've done a lot of research so far and have our eye on the Disney Treasure for a 5-7 day itinerary late August 2025. And of course, we're very excited that we can finally make this happen after years of dreaming!

So. At the end of the day, the key takeaways for this trip are:

• We'll officially be at WDW from May 19-26, 2024​
• Right now, we're booked at the Poly, but we have a waitlist request in for the Riviera and the Beach Club to save DVC points.​
• Possibility of a solo September 2024 trip looking stronger than ever knowing I won't be at the Parks until 2026.​
• DCL August 2025, here we come!​

I'm going to reformat the first post in this thread to introduce the family and clear up our plans, and then we'll really be on a roll with this PTR for May and September 2024!