Don't Put Your Hand on Mickey's Hat-A Family Vacation--NEW TRIP REPORT 5/24/14

[teekathepony]

So they announced a discount for Disney Visa card holders today for when we are going. It is the same stay, play, and dine discount as last year. You basically get park tickets and the dining plan for the children's price. We basically just added the quick service dining plan for two people for 9 nights for an extra $240!!!!!

Needless to say I am very excited! I also added our flight info so all our plans and reservations are set! We are going to do three sit down meals out of pocket. Now all that is left to do is plan our days so we can start deciding what parks we are going to and when!

Wow that's a great deal! So happy for you!

 

[jash08]

There is nothing better than a perfectly timed discount! So glad that worked out for you. What a wonderful price. I did the QS dining plan summer of 2012 and I actually liked it. There are a ton of great QS restaurants to choose from and I had fun figuring out where to eat.

Very happy for you! Let the menu perusing begin!

I know! Discounts are the best. We have done the quick service once before and we loved it. It is nice to just eat when you are hungry and not have a schedule. I was bouncing up and down when I saw there was a discount announced. My dad and step mom are heading back tomorrow from food and wine festival. They said everything is awesome!

Wow that's a great deal! So happy for you!

I thought it was pretty good too. I have basically be flying with excitement today. I can't hardly wait for it to get here. Your trip is almost here!!!!! That is super exciting too.

 

[jash08]

Hello All!!!


I am going to start a mini PTR on this report. We have started making plans for our trip, so I can share more info now.

First, a current life update. Jeremy and I have been married for almost five years already! Since we are going to Disney in January, we decided not to do anything super special for our anniversary. We decided to take a few days off from work and just spend some time together. Now, this may not sound exciting, but Jeremy and I work very different schedules. He is off from work in the middle of the week and I am off on weekends. This means the only way we get to spend a whole day together is to take vacation time.

We have no big plans other than to head to Nashville for one of the days and try to get a head start on Christmas shopping. My work stepped in and threw a little wrench in the plan. See I am taking Thursday and Friday off. At 4:23 pm this past Friday, I get an email to confirm I am available to go onsite with our new trainer and show her how to train a new client. Not that big of a deal, except they want us there Tuesday through Thursday and the client is 3.5 hours away. Here was the look on my face :





I told them no way for Thursday. They were cool and said just stay Tuesday and Wednesday and come home Wednesday night. So it is almost like a mini vacation as I will leave work early afternoon Monday and not be back in the office until the following Monday and 3 of those days I get to spend with Jeremy!!!!!!


Now on to Disney details!!!!!!!!!!


We will be leaving for Disney on January 30th. Since we are flying, we will also be getting there on the 30th. We are going to fly out of Nashville. Nashville airport is about 2 hours and 15 minutes from our house. We are taking an early flight (more Disney time!) and it is nonstop. Our flight takes off at 6:40 am. So if you do the math, In order to be at the airport by 5 (plenty of time to eat and get through security), we have to leave our house by 2:30. Which means getting up at 1. Did I mention I am working the day before? That is ok, I am pretty sure I will look like this by exactly 1:02:





We are not planning on staying at a hotel in Nashville the night before unless we are supposed to have bad weather. Remember, it will be January and we do get snow and ice here. It is a fairly short flight and we are scheduled to land at 9:30.

When we get there, we are going to be getting in line for the Pop Magical Express bus. Once we get checked in, we are planning on getting on the first park bus we see. We will be calling it a night early since we got up so early and want to be refreshed for the next day. I do not have any definite plans for the day, but I will share a picture of what I am pretty sure the day will be like:





Now, I have to pack for work! Check back next week for more info.

 

[MEK]

Have a great work trip.

Yeah - I'm not so sure I could get up at 1am to get ready to leave for the airport. I would probably never fall asleep. Love that you are flying from Nashville. I'll keep my fingers crossed that the weather is perfect.

 

[jash08]

So, the work trip went well. No issues driving and the clients were eager to learn. We did have a rough start to the training though. A medical helicopter went down the morning we started. It made the national news this week. It was in Somerville, TN, right outside of Memphis. Since it happened in their county, they were the first to respond to the scene. Let's just say it was not pretty and there was nothing they could do, so they were all a little shell shocked. We recovered quickly and started training, but we kept an eye on the TV for news releases and the media kept calling. I came home Wednesday. On Thursday there was the Naval base shooting in Millington, TN, which is the town my hotel was in. I drove past that base twice a day to get to the client. I sure was glad to be home!

Jeremy and I spent some time together at the end of the week. We headed to Nashville on Thursday and got an awesome start to our Christmas shopping. We left the house about 8 am and got home right at 7 pm. We just hung around town Friday and ran some errands. We went to a Highland festival today. We had a blast, but it sure was windy and COLD! I know it is not actually very cold, but 47 degrees coming out of Summer feels A LOT colder than 47 degrees coming out of Winter.

No big plans our first full day in Disney. We decided to only plan what park we would start the day at and then hop to wherever we felt like later in the day. We will be going to Hollywood Studios this morning and then who knows where. I know we will do Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror, The Great Movie Ride, Star Tours, and Muppets. Who knows what else we will do? And to be honest, we will probably take the Friendship boat to Epcot!

Next time, a look at day 3 (second full day)!

 

[jash08]

So here we are, Saturday, February 1st. What is the agenda for the day?






































Animal Kingdom!!!!!!!!!!!



We will probably only do a few things here before hopping to another Park. The plans will start with Safari Fast passes and then over to Everest so Jeremy can ride in the single rider line. I cannot do this as large drops make me VERY motion sick. But I can be flipped upside down and go through corkscrews. Go figure?





After he rides Everest a few times, we will go back for the Safari and hope we get to see some animals! I really enjoy this ride. It is very relaxing to me. I love animals anyway, but to see them like this is a treat. We will then probably do the walking trails and then Conservation Station. ***Disclaimer*** As big of fans as we are of Disney, we have never done Conservation Station. We are gonna do it this time! After that, maybe one more trip on Everest and then we will head to Dinosaur. We will wait and do the shows another day probably. After Dinosaur, we will either grab a bite to eat or hop and eat at another park. Either way, at some point in the day, we will look like this:






There is no telling where we will end up. We are trying to go with a more relaxed approach this trip and only plan the starting park and then hop wherever we feel like later. As a planner, this was very hard for me to agree to, but I am game! Check back next week!!

By the way, did anyone else see the new music collection that are releasing this month? Four CD box set with 94 songs. They are themed Modern Disney Classics, Timeless Disney Classics, Disney Theme Park, and Disney Channel. Guess who will own one of these sets?

 

[MEK]

I love AK. I have only been to the Conservation Station once. I keep saying I'm going back, but I never do. Make sure you take LOTS of pics!

 

[teekathepony]

Love the AK plans. I've done the Conservation Station... can't say I'd go back, but then I'm glad to say I did it.

 

[jash08]

I love AK. I have only been to the Conservation Station once. I keep saying I'm going back, but I never do. Make sure you take LOTS of pics!

I am sure there will be several taken! I think it will be neat to finally see it. This is one thing I have never done at AK. Plus, I am a dork and like educational things so this seems right up my ally.

Love the AK plans. I've done the Conservation Station... can't say I'd go back, but then I'm glad to say I did it.

I am going to try and just go with the flow. I am pretty sure once I hit Disney property, I will probably not care what I do or when!!!! I think we will probably be the same way. Ok, did it, good to go now!

 

[jash08]

First off, I just want to say Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends! There are many things for me to be thankful for this year. I won't go into the whole list, but I am very thankful for my health, my family, my friends, and my readers! Also thankful that I get to take another Disney trip AND that I am almost to the 60 day mark. Getting closer everyday!


I have slacked off a bit in the updating as I have been working INSANE hours at work. I am pretty sure at one point today the following comments came out of my mouth, "I don't care, I am not your momma" and "I don't know, my brain is mush right now."


So now we are up to our Third full day. This will be Saturday, February 2nd. We have a nice start to the day. We are eating breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table at 8:05. It is expensive, but we ate here on our honeymoon and had a great time. Since we are celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary, I thought it would be nice to go here again. Hopefully we will be done eating right as the park opens so we can start out in the heart of it.


I am sure we will do all of Fantasyland and New Fantasyland. Then at some point we will do Liberty Square, Adventureland, Splash Mountain (Jeremy), maybe Big Thunder Mountain (I got queasy last time so we shall see), the People Mover, Buzz, and CoP.

If we feel like it, we will then hop to another park. I am sure it will be Epcot because 1) we are creatures of habit, 2) I like the monorail ride into the park 3) it is an easy transfer, and 4) I like Figment.

Keep checking back as we get closer to departure day!

 

[MEK]

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving as well.

Too funny about how one feels when they are overworked! I know that feeling only all too well!

Yay to a CRT breakfast! Sounds perfect!

 

[jash08]

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving as well.

Too funny about how one feels when they are overworked! I know that feeling only all too well!

Yay to a CRT breakfast! Sounds perfect!

We had an excellent Thanksgiving. Ate way to much and spent a whole lot of time with family. It was great.

We are really looking forward to that breakfast.

 

[jash08]

Where is the time going???????

I need to kick this into high gear. Guess what, I am 48 days away until I am in Disney World. So I pretty much feel like this:





Let's go back and do some look back to see what has happened recently and then we will look forward to the next day.

Like most of America, I was stuck in my house last weekend thanks to winter weather. I wrapped all of my Christmas presents and got everything grouped together by what needs to be shipped or what house items need to go to on the same day. Until about Wednesday, it was really fun trying to ice skate to the car!

Something exciting did happen before this period. Well, exciting and incredibly frustrating. We hit the 60 day mark, which means we could make fastpass + reservations. I am going to rant for a minute.

Dear Disney, WHY IN THE WORLD DID YOU PUT FANTASMIC AND TOY STORY MANIA IN THE SAME TIER AND ONLY GIVE ME THE CHOICE OF ONE?!?!?!?!?! How can I make that choice? When I saw that, I looked just like this:





So, here are our choices for the days we have already reviewed:

Day One:
Tower of Terror
Toy Story
Star Tours

Day Two:
Safari
Expedition Everest
Dinosaur

Day Three:
Under the Sea
Winnie the Pooh
Peter Pan

By the time I finished picking our fastpass + times, I felt like doing the following.





So now we are up to Monday, February 3rd. We are going to go back to Animal Kingdom today for the morning/early afternoon. Our fast passes are:

Safari
Meet the Characters
Dinosaur

Since I do not ride Everest, I figured Jeremy could do single rider line and we could meet some characters.

What we do that afternoon depends on a few things. See, the Super Bowl is the night before. If my team doesn't make it to the Super Bowl, or if they do and don't win, we are avoiding the Magic Kingdom like the plague. If my team wins, we will be on Main Street for the MVP parade so I can see the MVP from my team. In case you are wondering, my team is the New Orleans Saints.


WHO DAT!!!!!!!!!!!!


That is about all for today. Check back soon for another enthralling installment!

 

[teekathepony]

I was so glad that they changed to the tier system after I made my FP+! I had a look, and it looks so frustrating! Glad you were able to get a good bunch!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[courtneybelle]

Your trip plans sound great so far! I'm dying at the Kuzco GIF, he's one of my faves.

I also prefer loops and corkscrews to large drops, not sure why I haven't been to Conservation Station in forever, I hope you guys enjoy it!

I think you made the right choice of picking Toy Story over Fantasmic. When we were there, there wasn't a special FP+ section, and a lot of FP+ people who got there at the last minute didn't have the best seats. If they had a special section reserved for FP+ people it would be a lot more enticing!

WHO DAT! I don't follow professional football but when I visited New Orleans I loved how people would say that

 

[jash08]

I was so glad that they changed to the tier system after I made my FP+! I had a look, and it looks so frustrating! Glad you were able to get a good bunch!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

I think we did ok. I went and checked several times to make sure I didn't forget anything.

Your trip plans sound great so far! I'm dying at the Kuzco GIF, he's one of my faves.

I also prefer loops and corkscrews to large drops, not sure why I haven't been to Conservation Station in forever, I hope you guys enjoy it!

I think you made the right choice of picking Toy Story over Fantasmic. When we were there, there wasn't a special FP+ section, and a lot of FP+ people who got there at the last minute didn't have the best seats. If they had a special section reserved for FP+ people it would be a lot more enticing!

WHO DAT! I don't follow professional football but when I visited New Orleans I loved how people would say that

I thought he was pretty cute!

I am looking forward to Conservation Station. I am a complete dork and LOVE anything even semi-educational.

That makes me feel soooooo much better about Toy Story Mania. I would have been pretty upset if I had used it on Fantasmic and then didn't have a special area to sit.

You know what is funny? We (Saints fans/New Orleanians) are like that EVERYWHERE! We will be walking through Disney and I will see someone with some form of Saints apparel on and I will yell Who Dat and they will yell it right back. My husband just shakes his head and gives me the "are you serious?" look.

 

[MEK]

Nice FP selection and I hope you will be on Main Street cheering on your team! 41 days now! That's soon!

 

[jash08]

Good Afternoon!

I have been working like crazy trying to get ready for the holidays AND our vacation. If we weren't going to Disney at the end of January, I could just enjoy the holidays. But I have to stay focused and keep on point at work or I will be digging out for two months when I get back. I worked for six hours today and then came home. It is rainy and nasty outside with small amounts of flooding. So that means it is computer time!


We are now up to Tuesday, February 4th. We are going to Epcot! This is my favorite park so I am glad to start the day here. I am sure we will be here prior to this morning, but it is nice to start your day there. Our fast passes for today are:

Test Track
Spaceship Earth
Nemo


Soarin' makes Jeremy sick (it is the wrap screen and movement) and Mission Space makes me anxious (too boxed in feeling), so Test Track is the only thrill ride for us in Epcot. We will more than likely spend all day here. We decided this will be the planned day we go to Downtown Disney so I am sure we will head that way around 4 or so and grab some dinner and souvenirs. If we get too worn out, we will go to Downtown Disney another day.



I just want to say Happy Holidays to all of my readers! I hope you all have a blessed season! I will be back soon!

 

[jash08]

Nice FP selection and I hope you will be on Main Street cheering on your team! 41 days now! That's soon!

I know! The suitcases have assumed the pre trip position of being on our guest bed and items are slowly making their way into them. I have already made the packing list, the "we need to pick this up" list, and the "you (Jeremy) need to do this the day before we leave" list.

 

[MEK]

I know! The suitcases have assumed the pre trip position of being on our guest bed and items are slowly making their way into them. I have already made the packing list, the "we need to pick this up" list, and the "you (Jeremy) need to do this the day before we leave" list.

I used to start packing that far ahead. My last trip I was packing the day before. Really slipping, I think.