Thirteenth Official Disboards Meet in Kansas City! *INFO COMING SOON*

Thank you to everyone who came to our Sixth Official Disboards Meet in Kansas City! It was a lot of fun!

Information will be posted on our Seventh Disboards Meet in Kansas City in about a week! So, make sure you check back soon for the information!
 


Hello, everyone!

My name is Sherri, and I’m a Disney-aholic...ha ha. :)

I live in the Kansas City area - actually, south of Lee’s Summit, in Lake Winnebago - but we also have a house in Ft. Myers that we will be moving to in the next year or so when our youngest daughter goes off to college. I love having Florida residency, as it allows me a Florida WDW pass, which I try to use frequently!!!

I try to visit WDW a few times a year - sometimes with family and friends, and sometimes solo. My last trip was the week of January 21, which I did solo. I love solo trips, as I can pretty much do what I want, when I want...not having to answer to anyone! However, Hubby got a little jealous of this last trip, which is surprising, as he hasn’t always been a Disney fan. Since he pouted a bit, I’ve planned an upcoming 10-day trip for the two of us in October, where we plan on doing the Food & Wine festival, as well as some Halloween parties.

A typical Disney trip for me is about a week long, staying onsite (either in Deluxe or moderate hotels)...I enjoy the four main parks, but we don’t normally visit any of the water parks, as I find the Disney hotel pools sufficient for my needs. We like to dine at a LOT of table-service restaurants, as those are our “breaks” to enjoy some nice a/c and some time off of our feet. I love just about every single ride in the parks (with the exception of Tower of Terror - shudder!), and I love, LOVE meeting the characters. We also enjoy doing about every single backstage tour and/or special event, like the dessert parties.

My friends consider me the Disney expert, as I love the planning of the trip as much as actually visiting Disney. I have sat down and planned itineraries for several family & friends, so I can make sure they get the ultimate value & experience while they’re there - with as little waiting in lines as possible.

I’m also very experienced with runDisney, as I have ran several of the runDisney events in both WDW and Disneyland. If anyone has any questions, let me know!

I am Celiac, as well - so I am very experienced with dining at Disney with food allergies. Disney is amazing - they should really go out & train the rest of the restaurant industry on how it’s done!!!

I would love to meet up with everyone at a future Disney meet, although we are out of town from March 16 - March 25 for spring break, so will most likely miss the March meet. I’ll keep an eye out for the next one after that!

A huge thank you to whomever caught my Dis name, and to Mackenzie for reaching out to me and inviting me!
 


OMG - I just realized I forgot to mention the most important thing of all -

I AM THE BIGGEST STAR WARS FAN EVER!!!!!

Seriously, I am a huge Star Wars geek. Nerd. Whatever. I am the one decked out in my Star Wars attire at every Star Wars movie premier at opening night. Usually with my 25-year old son, who shares this obsession with me, and thinks its totally cool that his 56-year old mom loves Star Wars.

So, to say I am looking forward to the opening of all the Star Wars stuff at Hollywood Studios is an understatement. And if anyone is ever looking for someone to go see a Star Wars movie (“Solo” is coming soon - hint hint!), I’m your geek. ;0
 
Hello, everyone!

My name is Sherri, and I’m a Disney-aholic...ha ha. :)

I live in the Kansas City area - actually, south of Lee’s Summit, in Lake Winnebago - but we also have a house in Ft. Myers that we will be moving to in the next year or so when our youngest daughter goes off to college. I love having Florida residency, as it allows me a Florida WDW pass, which I try to use frequently!!!

I try to visit WDW a few times a year - sometimes with family and friends, and sometimes solo. My last trip was the week of January 21, which I did solo. I love solo trips, as I can pretty much do what I want, when I want...not having to answer to anyone! However, Hubby got a little jealous of this last trip, which is surprising, as he hasn’t always been a Disney fan. Since he pouted a bit, I’ve planned an upcoming 10-day trip for the two of us in October, where we plan on doing the Food & Wine festival, as well as some Halloween parties.

A typical Disney trip for me is about a week long, staying onsite (either in Deluxe or moderate hotels)...I enjoy the four main parks, but we don’t normally visit any of the water parks, as I find the Disney hotel pools sufficient for my needs. We like to dine at a LOT of table-service restaurants, as those are our “breaks” to enjoy some nice a/c and some time off of our feet. I love just about every single ride in the parks (with the exception of Tower of Terror - shudder!), and I love, LOVE meeting the characters. We also enjoy doing about every single backstage tour and/or special event, like the dessert parties.

My friends consider me the Disney expert, as I love the planning of the trip as much as actually visiting Disney. I have sat down and planned itineraries for several family & friends, so I can make sure they get the ultimate value & experience while they’re there - with as little waiting in lines as possible.

I’m also very experienced with runDisney, as I have ran several of the runDisney events in both WDW and Disneyland. If anyone has any questions, let me know!

I am Celiac, as well - so I am very experienced with dining at Disney with food allergies. Disney is amazing - they should really go out & train the rest of the restaurant industry on how it’s done!!!

I would love to meet up with everyone at a future Disney meet, although we are out of town from March 16 - March 25 for spring break, so will most likely miss the March meet. I’ll keep an eye out for the next one after that!

A huge thank you to whomever caught my Dis name, and to Mackenzie for reaching out to me and inviting me!
OMG - I just realized I forgot to mention the most important thing of all -

I AM THE BIGGEST STAR WARS FAN EVER!!!!!

Seriously, I am a huge Star Wars geek. Nerd. Whatever. I am the one decked out in my Star Wars attire at every Star Wars movie premier at opening night. Usually with my 25-year old son, who shares this obsession with me, and thinks its totally cool that his 56-year old mom loves Star Wars.

So, to say I am looking forward to the opening of all the Star Wars stuff at Hollywood Studios is an understatement. And if anyone is ever looking for someone to go see a Star Wars movie (“Solo” is coming soon - hint hint!), I’m your geek. ;0

Hi Sherri! It is nice to meet you! :) We would love to have you for an upcoming DIS Meet in our area. The next one you would be able to attend would be in May. On the very first post of this thread, I have listed a couple dates that will be chosen for that meet. If you could just let me know which of those dates would work best for you, that would be awesome! :)

Also, we are trying to find places a little more centralized. When we started meeting, we would meet in Olathe/Overland Park since a couple of us live in south Kansas City. As we have grown (a little), we have noticed people expressing interest in meeting, but not necessarily going all the way towards the southern part of KC. If you know of any places that you would recommend or have any ideas for a meet, always feel free to let me know.

Looking forward to meeting you! :)
 
Hi Sherri! It is nice to meet you! :) We would love to have you for an upcoming DIS Meet in our area. The next one you would be able to attend would be in May. On the very first post of this thread, I have listed a couple dates that will be chosen for that meet. If you could just let me know which of those dates would work best for you, that would be awesome! :)

Also, we are trying to find places a little more centralized. When we started meeting, we would meet in Olathe/Overland Park since a couple of us live in south Kansas City. As we have grown (a little), we have noticed people expressing interest in meeting, but not necessarily going all the way towards the southern part of KC. If you know of any places that you would recommend or have any ideas for a meet, always feel free to let me know.

Looking forward to meeting you! :)

May 12th would work for me - My daughter graduates a few days after that, and so the following weekend (May 19th - 20th), we’re tied up with graduation parties and open houses. :)
 
@KCSherri thanks for joining the thread!! Excited to meet you should it all work out :)

Please let us know if you know of restaurants that are good for you in regards to Celiac.

That's awesome about you and your son's shared interest.

I'm excited to hear about your experiences and knowledge. Between my husband and I I'm def. the Disney expert but compared to my lovely fellow DISers that I've met alas my knowledge doesn't hold a candle to theirs :D.
 
@KCSherri thanks for joining the thread!! Excited to meet you should it all work out :)

Please let us know if you know of restaurants that are good for you in regards to Celiac.

That's awesome about you and your son's shared interest.

I'm excited to hear about your experiences and knowledge. Between my husband and I I'm def. the Disney expert but compared to my lovely fellow DISers that I've met alas my knowledge doesn't hold a candle to theirs :D.

Any restaurant other than a sandwich shop or bakery is good for me - for obvious reasons...it sucks to be me with Celiac, but I’ve adjusted. And it’s not like stepping into a bakery will kill me or anything - it’s just that I will cry when I see everything that I can’t have - ha ha!

And speaking of shared interest - which is my Star Wars obsession - the Royals just released the date of their Star Wars night at the “K” yesterday. This year, they picked the best date possible for it - May 4th!!! And it’s a Salvy bobble head. I haven’t missed a Star Wars night yet at the K, so sure enough - I immediately bought tickets for it. It’s always a lot of fun. :) Go Royals!

As I said, any questions anyone may have...I’ve pretty much done it all at WDW. On my latest trip, I did the Disney After Hours - which was the BEST THING EVER. I wish they offered it year-round, and not just during “slow” season. And I use “slow” with quotes, because the parks were more crowded than I have ever seen them before for late January.

I also have done the Early Morning Magic (NOT to be confused with Early Magic Hour) several times, which gets you the buffet breakfast at MK, as well as access to 3 rides in Fantasyland before park opening. It is also worth every penny, in my opinion.

I did three of the dessert parties on this last trip - Frozen at Epcot, SW at Hollywood Studios, and the Plaza Garden at MK. All three catered to my gluten allergy, with the one at MK going far and above with what they offered me to eat. I seriously would have gained 200 pounds if I’d eaten all they gave me! All three were very different, but also very enjoyable. If I could only pick one, honestly, it would be the Frozen one at Epcot...it was a lot of fun. :)

Have a great Saturday, everyone - I fly back to KC tomorrow and I hope the temperatures there are like they are here in Ft. Myers - in the 80’s. Bwahahahahahahahahaha. Not. ;)
 
Any restaurant other than a sandwich shop or bakery is good for me - for obvious reasons...it sucks to be me with Celiac, but I’ve adjusted. And it’s not like stepping into a bakery will kill me or anything - it’s just that I will cry when I see everything that I can’t have - ha ha!

And speaking of shared interest - which is my Star Wars obsession - the Royals just released the date of their Star Wars night at the “K” yesterday. This year, they picked the best date possible for it - May 4th!!! And it’s a Salvy bobble head. I haven’t missed a Star Wars night yet at the K, so sure enough - I immediately bought tickets for it. It’s always a lot of fun. :) Go Royals!

As I said, any questions anyone may have...I’ve pretty much done it all at WDW. On my latest trip, I did the Disney After Hours - which was the BEST THING EVER. I wish they offered it year-round, and not just during “slow” season. And I use “slow” with quotes, because the parks were more crowded than I have ever seen them before for late January.

I also have done the Early Morning Magic (NOT to be confused with Early Magic Hour) several times, which gets you the buffet breakfast at MK, as well as access to 3 rides in Fantasyland before park opening. It is also worth every penny, in my opinion.

I did three of the dessert parties on this last trip - Frozen at Epcot, SW at Hollywood Studios, and the Plaza Garden at MK. All three catered to my gluten allergy, with the one at MK going far and above with what they offered me to eat. I seriously would have gained 200 pounds if I’d eaten all they gave me! All three were very different, but also very enjoyable. If I could only pick one, honestly, it would be the Frozen one at Epcot...it was a lot of fun. :)

Have a great Saturday, everyone - I fly back to KC tomorrow and I hope the temperatures there are like they are here in Ft. Myers - in the 80’s. Bwahahahahahahahahaha. Not. ;)
Thank you for letting us know. We will make sure to stay away from bakery's/sandwich shops.

I might have just booked a trip to WDW that is coming up shortly, and I booked the Disney After Hours event. I was very hesitant, because I can't really have ice cream or popcorn. Were you there on a night it was sold out? How was it with crowds? The Dis Unplugged podcast from 2016 where they talked about it convinced me to book it.

I had people recommend EMM to me. I just can't fathom that price for only 3 rides for about an hour when I could spend an extra $30 to have approx. 26 rides open for 3 hours. I also normally don't eat breakfast as a meal when I'm at WDW. Glad to see you enjoyed it though!

The only dessert party I have done at WDW is the SW Dessert Party right when the new SW Firework Show debuted. I would really like to try the Illuminations Dessert Party at some point since that is my favorite show.

I noticed the SW Day at the K post as well. I want to go, but I don't like to plan that far in advance especially with how weather can be around here. :D
 
Thank you for letting us know. We will make sure to stay away from bakery's/sandwich shops.

I might have just booked a trip to WDW that is coming up shortly, and I booked the Disney After Hours event. I was very hesitant, because I can't really have ice cream or popcorn. Were you there on a night it was sold out? How was it with crowds? The Dis Unplugged podcast from 2016 where they talked about it convinced me to book it.

I was there the evening of January 26th, which was sold out. I had a plan - I started in Tomorrowland, and just worked my way around the park. Even with it “sold out” - the longest I had to wait was 10 minutes at 7DMT, and a 6-minute wait at Peter Pan. Everything else was a walk on. The longest lines, actually, were at the snack carts - maybe 10-12 people deep - but they went fast. I made sure to do every single ride in the park (that was open) at least once - and sometimes 3-4 times, like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. There are photos I took back in Frontierland where it looks like I have the park to myself.

Like you, I don’t eat ice cream or popcorn. But - I did snag a few extra bottles of water, right before I left the park, and took them back to my mini fridge at the hotel.

I loved it. I actually said out loud at one point, “I feel like a celebrity!!”

A few tips:
1. Make sure you’ve had a rest during the day. I started the day at AK, used my FP’s, and then went to my hotel for an afternoon rest - and to get off my feet.
2. Have dinner BEFORE the 7:00 pm start (or whatever time it starts for you) I did a quick service at Columbia Harbor around 5:30 pm. It was nice to have a full tummy so I didn’t get hungry during the event.
3. If you want to make optimal use of time, skip the “longer” rides - such as Small World, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise and Pirates. Those can eat an awfully lot of time. However, I did them all - as I wanted to check off every single ride! I also did the Princess Fairy Tale Hall, and met all four princesses- with about a 5-minute wait.
4. If you see a long line at a snack cart, keep moving until the next one. The lines DO move pretty fast, though, as the cast members don’t have to deal with people trying to pay - which slows things down. They’re literally just grabbing food and/or drink and passing it on. :)
5. Take time to enjoy the Photopass photographers on your way out of the park to get some AWESOME night time photos in front of the castle with barely a crowd.
6. I finished the night by walking into Tinker Bell meet-n-greet at exactly 10:55 pm. (My event ended at 11:00) As long as you are in a line before the event closing time, you’re good to go with the ride.
7. If you’re taking a bus back to the resort, pay attention to cast members near the buses. The “usual” bus stops are not the “usual” - they change things up due to the lateness of this event.
8. Most importantly - have fun!!! Walk around like the ROCKSTAR you are!!! :)
 
I was there the evening of January 26th, which was sold out. I had a plan - I started in Tomorrowland, and just worked my way around the park. Even with it “sold out” - the longest I had to wait was 10 minutes at 7DMT, and a 6-minute wait at Peter Pan. Everything else was a walk on. The longest lines, actually, were at the snack carts - maybe 10-12 people deep - but they went fast. I made sure to do every single ride in the park (that was open) at least once - and sometimes 3-4 times, like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. There are photos I took back in Frontierland where it looks like I have the park to myself.

Like you, I don’t eat ice cream or popcorn. But - I did snag a few extra bottles of water, right before I left the park, and took them back to my mini fridge at the hotel.

I loved it. I actually said out loud at one point, “I feel like a celebrity!!”

A few tips:
1. Make sure you’ve had a rest during the day. I started the day at AK, used my FP’s, and then went to my hotel for an afternoon rest - and to get off my feet.
2. Have dinner BEFORE the 7:00 pm start (or whatever time it starts for you) I did a quick service at Columbia Harbor around 5:30 pm. It was nice to have a full tummy so I didn’t get hungry during the event.
3. If you want to make optimal use of time, skip the “longer” rides - such as Small World, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise and Pirates. Those can eat an awfully lot of time. However, I did them all - as I wanted to check off every single ride! I also did the Princess Fairy Tale Hall, and met all four princesses- with about a 5-minute wait.
4. If you see a long line at a snack cart, keep moving until the next one. The lines DO move pretty fast, though, as the cast members don’t have to deal with people trying to pay - which slows things down. They’re literally just grabbing food and/or drink and passing it on. :)
5. Take time to enjoy the Photopass photographers on your way out of the park to get some AWESOME night time photos in front of the castle with barely a crowd.
6. I finished the night by walking into Tinker Bell meet-n-greet at exactly 10:55 pm. (My event ended at 11:00) As long as you are in a line before the event closing time, you’re good to go with the ride.
7. If you’re taking a bus back to the resort, pay attention to cast members near the buses. The “usual” bus stops are not the “usual” - they change things up due to the lateness of this event.
8. Most importantly - have fun!!! Walk around like the ROCKSTAR you are!!! :)
Thank you so much for the tips on the event! I am planning on seeing ROL at AK that night, and it starts at 7:15. So, I'll be making my way out of AK around 7:25 p.m. and my event starts at 9 p.m. I'm an AP holder and mostly bought the event to have MK mostly to myself from 9-12. So, the extra time I can enter isn't necessarily important to me.
 
We did DAH on our last trip as well and it was amazing!!
The big bummer for us was we got stuck on the PeopleMover for 35 minutes... eventually they shut it all down then walked us off. And when we went to ride Space Mountain, the PM lights were on so it wasn’t completely dark. Jon said it was a “high speed thrill ride in the dim” :rotfl2:

But yeah I agree with @KCSherri on all the tips. We walked straight in to every ride. The longest wait was like 7 mins for 7DMT. It was our favorite part of the trip and I might book a trip next year just for it.
 

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