The One Where They Go To WDW - January ‘19 PTR - SINGLE DIGIT DANCE! (1/17 Update)

[disney-inspired]

Okay friends, we are a little more than a month out so I'm starting to write a list of things to pack for the plane.

I bought the oldest two kid-safe headband headphones so they could watch shows or play games on the tablets without disturbing others. I don't know if Lola will do anything since our flight leaves at 5:50 am. I'm hoping she just crashes after we get settled on the plane. Calvin and his family will be flying out later so he will likely be awake the whole flight.



I'm bringing my memory foam neck pillow so I can hopefully get some sleep during the flight and my Bluetooth headphones.

 

[disney-inspired]

Hello dear readers!

We are currently sitting at 35 days out. WHERE DID THE TIME GO?!
I had plans to lose a whole lot more weight before the trip and somehow my year just disappeared.


I have to kick it into high gear. I would love to lose 15 lbs before my trip and that is going to take serious discipline and effort.

So, how is this going to happen? Will I suddenly change overnight?



Nope!

It will take deliberate decision-making in my eating and exercise. I have a activity goal of a minimum of 10k steps per day, with a high goal of 15k.
I also have to force myself to go to sleep on time to not feel exhausted every day which inevitably leads to poor food choices.

I'll be food prepping every week until the trip as well. I was food prepping my food for most of this year and it sort of derailed in October - I was just mentally burnt out. I'm going to continue/refocus on intermittent fasting - It really helps prevent me from overeating.

Wish me luck, people! This is going to be hard but I want to feel good - physically and emotionally because we are going to take a bunch of photos and don't want to hate how I look in each one.

Who's with me?​

 

[disney-inspired]

Merry Christmas Eve!

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I can't believe it is already December 24th - Where did 2018 go? Not sure but I'm really looking forward to 2019 - so many good things are planned!

Disney World in January - great way to start off the year
Bahamas cruise in May - My first cruise ever!
Planning for some other travel since I'm getting my passport for the cruise - ideas? Perhaps... Disneyland Paris?!

Still no 'Ohana reservation for a better dinner time on 1/27 but I'm still going to check every day until our trip. Diana suggested if we don't find a better reservation we just put our names down and wait it out since we aren't in a big rush.Then we can explore the Poly and maybe get drinks at Trader Sam's.

I'm blessed that the majority of my close family lives nearby and we are getting together at my grandma's house tonight for Christmas. We will probably have a mini meeting to go over the park maps and start seeing what everyone's Must Do's are for our trip since I don't think we have really taken a detailed look yet.

Our Magic bands should be shipping out this week!!
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Also question for you dear readers:

*Where is the best place to get breakfast/brunch in Disney Springs? Counter or table service is fine!

 

[disney-inspired]

WE GOT MICKEY MAIL! Trip just got more real. My cousins also received theirs today too!

 

[missangelalexis]

Getting those magical express tags always makes things feel so real!!

 

[disney-inspired]

Happy New Year!

Hope you all rang in the new year surrounded by your loved ones.

We had a rollicking good time with a 1000 pc puzzle and watched Bird Box.

Our New Year’s Eve was a bit more magical because we received our Magic Bands!



I cannot believe we are now only 25 days away! I caught a cold and haven sneezing and sleeping all day. Better now than in 3 weeks!

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Happy New Year!

Hope you all rang in the new year surrounded by your loved ones.

We had a rollicking good time with a 1000 pc puzzle and watched Bird Box.

Our New Year’s Eve was a bit more magical because we received our Magic Bands!

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I cannot believe we are now only 25 days away! I caught a cold and haven sneezing and sleeping all day. Better now than in 3 weeks!

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So exciting! Magic bands are just the best kind of mail: I can't wait for ours.

We spent our New Year's Eve in urgent care and my middle child ended up with a chin full of stitches. The cut was so deep that the doc did two layers which will have to come out a week apart. She wasn't even doing anything interesting: she was trying to climb in a dining room chair from the side, she slipped, and down she went. Yay for parenting!

 

[disney-inspired]

So exciting! Magic bands are just the best kind of mail: I can't wait for ours.

We spent our New Year's Eve in urgent care and my middle child ended up with a chin full of stitches. The cut was so deep that the doc did two layers which will have to come out a week apart. She wasn't even doing anything interesting: she was trying to climb in a dining room chair from the side, she slipped, and down she went. Yay for parenting!

Oh my goodness! I'm sorry to hear about your little one! Vivian, my youngest niece at 22 months, was throwing up yesterday. Hopefully it was just a 24 hour bug.

 

[disney-inspired]

Hello Friends, Happy Wednesday!
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Can someone tell me why I've spent the last two nights watching packing videos and packing for my trip? I've got quite a bit of it done but you would think I was leaving tomorrow not in 18 days!

So I love watching people pack, don't know why but I guess I find it interesting.

I sort of freaked out the other day when looking at my Magical Express confirmation email from months ago. It said our resort was Pop Century so I called them right away and the cast member said she had me down for Art of Animation and provided our arrival date and airline. I'm going to call again and confirm a second time because as we are so close to our trip, I'm a bit paranoid.

I've been shopping lately and trying to put together outfits for the trip. I'm not full-on Disney bounding but going for an overall theme with my sister and nieces for some of the days.

Cue the post with all the clothes pics! ​

Traveling Day
My dad is driving us to the airport and we're leaving at 3 AM to make sure we have time go through security and get to our gate for our 5:50 AM flight. We have a 1.5 hr layover in GA so it'll be nice to get off the plane, stretch our legs and get something to eat.


Sunday - Resort/Disney Springs day
Touring Plans: None
I had never thought to do this, but thanks to my BIL's great suggestion, we added an 'acclimation' day.
It's going to let us sleep in and have a relaxing day at our resort and some time to check out Disney Springs. If it's warm enough (who knows with this weather!) we'll go to the pool and/or Jacuzzi.

Dining: We have an early dinner reservation at 'Ohana and I'm stoked to take my cousins to their first on-property dining experience. I plan for us to make a stop to check out Trader Sam's Grog Grotto & Tiki Bar. Lapu Lapu, anyone?


Monday - First Park Day! Magic Kingdom
I'm wearing a burgundy t-shirt with a mickey head applique that's polka dotted. My friend made it for our trip to Disneyland a few years ago.
FastPass+: Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh, and The Magic Carpets
Touring Plans: Attempting rope drop for this park day. We're making a list of each person's Must Do's to organize our day. We're Disneyland locals so we're familiar with all the rides but might more time for the shows/parades that are different. I also like seeing the attractions that are slightly different - i.e. Haunted Mansion
Dining: Lunch ADR at Be Our Guest and Dinner ADR at Skipper Canteen

Tuesday - Disney's Hollywood Studios
I'm torn between which tops I want to wear this day. I honestly doubt we'll be here all day because there isn't much to do with little ones so might hop over back to Magic Kingdom in the evening.
It's either my Marvel baseball tee or my Muppets long-sleeve - decisions, decisions!


FastPass+: Star Tours, Slink Dog Dash, Rock N' Roller Coaster
Touring Plans: This park is rather small so may have time to see most or all of it in half a day, depending on the crowd level.
Dining: Lunch ADR at Sci-Fi Dine In Theater

Wednesday - Rest Day and Resort Transfer Day!
We have a breakfast reservation at Ohana to see our best pals - Mickey, Pluto and Stitch!
We are moving from Art of Animation to Animal Kingdom Lodge this day so I'm sure we'll want to go check out the new resort and possibly go to Disney Springs again.

Anais and I have agreed to babysit all four kids so the parents can have a date night. Not sure what we'll do but most likely go to the playground, the arcade and grab some food in the food court before watching a movie in the room.

Thursday - Animal Kingdom Day
I might wear a custom shirt I have from a group trip a few years ago - not entirely sure.

Fastpass+: It's Tough to be a Bug, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Dinosaur
Touring Plans: Hoping to make it for rope drop since we'll be nearby. This park is so massive but I think we'll head straight toward Asia in the back and work our way around. Some of our party has FP for FOP so we'll definitely spend time looking around Pandora.
Dining: Sanaa @AKL

Friday - Epcot
Diana, the girls and I will be Aristocats themed. I'm pairing this tee with soft pink/purple cardigan.


Fastpass+: Nemo, LWTL, Test Track
Touring Plan: Get there at opening for Future World and then make our way through World Showcase.
Dining: Lunch @ Via Napoli

Saturday - Free Day
We have a 5-day park hopper and we have made ZERO plans for this day so far. I believe my sister, BIL and girls will do a split between MK and AK. I think Anais and I might attempt three parks this day We'll see how tired we are though

I found the coolest Maleficent tee at the Disney store AND it was on clearance. I think Disney is finally stepping up their game on the adult tees in store.



Sunday - Going Home
Sad day for sure Our flight leaves late in the day so we'll be able to sleep in and take advantage of the last few hours of our resort. I'm going to request a late check out if available.

Once we checkout and leave our bags with guest services, we'll likely go to Disney Springs one last time before ME picks us up.

 

[missangelalexis]

Cute outfits! Love that long sleeve muppets shirt!

 

[sheri18]

cute outfits...we leave in 2 days...I haven't even got the suitcases from the attic yet...yikes....

 

[disney-inspired]

cute outfits...we leave in 2 days...I haven't even got the suitcases from the attic yet...yikes....

Better get crackin!
I normally don't start packing until the week of but I started watching packing videos and wanted to be really organized for this trip. We are doing a split stay, with a possibility of having to move twice, so don't want to have a mess in my suitcase.

 

[disney-inspired]

Cute outfits! Love that long sleeve muppets shirt!

Thank you! It's hard to find Muppets gear outside of DHS. I'm hoping it's cold enough that I'm not uncomfortable in my warmer wear. I normally run hot so was contemplating shorts
Layers, layers, layers!

 

[disney-inspired]

Guys, I don't know if I'm really tired or something but I feel anxious as the trip is getting closer.
Mostly because of this stupid government shutdown (not trying to be political) and wondering if Trump declares a 'National Emergency', will my BIL be forced to report even though he's in the reserve.
I'm hoping they come to some sort of agreement or just that it doesn't affect our trip.

Also, I just saw our crowd numbers went up on Touring Plans site. Ugh! Why is AK at an 8 on Thursday 1/31???


Please send your soothing thoughts and reassure me that everything will be fine.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Guys, I don't know if I'm really tired or something but I feel anxious as the trip is getting closer.
Mostly because of this stupid government shutdown (not trying to be political) and wondering if Trump declares a 'National Emergency', will my BIL be forced to report even though he's in the reserve.
I'm hoping they come to some sort of agreement or just that it doesn't affect our trip.

Also, I just saw our crowd numbers went up on Touring Plans site. Ugh! Why is AK at an 8 on Thursday 1/31???
View attachment 374772

Please send your soothing thoughts and reassure me that everything will be fine.

TP's most recent update jacked up pretty much the whole first quarter of 2019. My dates all got really screwy, including 10s in AK and HS. I plan to go in prepared for the worst and I'll be pleasantly surprised if things aren't so bad. I'm not going to rely on being about to hit up 4th FPs too much and will expect my standby waits to be longer.

 

[disney-inspired]

TP's most recent update jacked up pretty much the whole first quarter of 2019. My dates all got really screwy, including 10s in AK and HS. I plan to go in prepared for the worst and I'll be pleasantly surprised if things aren't so bad. I'm not going to rely on being about to hit up 4th FPs too much and will expect my standby waits to be longer.

But what happened to cause this sort of jump???

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

But what happened to cause this sort of jump???

According to their blog, higher than expected crowds throughout the fall made them relook, adjust their algorithm, and bump most of the winter and early spring up. Also, last winter, Disney reduced capacity on lower crowd days (running fewer cars on a coaster, only running one of two tracks) so, even if there were fewer people in the park, waits were high like a high crowd day. They're assuming that'll happen again

 

[missangelalexis]

I'm not focusing on those TP crowd predictions. No matter what it's going to be fun!! Don't stress!

 

[disney-inspired]

According to their blog, higher than expected crowds throughout the fall made them relook, adjust their algorithm, and bump most of the winter and early spring up. Also, last winter, Disney reduced capacity on lower crowd days (running fewer cars on a coaster, only running one of two tracks) so, even if there were fewer people in the park, waits were high like a high crowd day. They're assuming that'll happen again

Ok, that makes some sense. I'll remain optimistic!

I'm not focusing on those TP crowd predictions. No matter what it's going to be fun!! Don't stress!

Yes, I won't let pre-trip jitters get to me and make me stress these next two weeks. I'll be in Disney World and everything else will be okay.

 

[disney-inspired]

Hello Friends! We have hit the single digits - 9 more days until our trip!

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I've picked up the last couple of packages for the trip (clothes) and can finish packing those up this weekend.
The optometrist called and let me know my contacts were ready for pick up BUT my glasses still haven't arrived - And I went in 3 weeks ago! I really wanted new glasses for the trip and use my old glasses as back up but at least I have contacts now. I need to find some cute sunglasses because something I LOVE about Florida is that the sky is WAY clearer than here in Los Angeles. We have so much haze/smog that we never get clear days. I have prescription sunglasses but it's such a hassle taking them off/putting them on when going from outside to inside - which you do a lot of in WDW.

Diana and I have our nail appointments scheduled for next Friday - I budgeted to splurge and get gel polish and deluxe pedicure. It's been months since I've had my nails done and I'm really looking forward to this treat yo' self day!

ALSO! I received an update from the passport services department and they have mailed out my passport and it should arrive on 1/22! I don't really need it for this trip but I'm glad I have it for my cruise in May. Now to find a really cute passport holder....

I'm still holding onto a shred of hope to find a later ADR for Ohana on 1/27. I was able to score a 6:20PM dinner at Crystal Palace on our last park day so the girls could see their favs - Winnie Pooh & the Hundred Acre gang. Also, maybe we'll be there long enough to see HEA.

Now to figure out what we're mailing to the resort...