englanddg's Real Life or is this just Fantasy?

[englanddg]

Some music to enjoy as you read...

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It's been two years. But, we are finally going back. I suppose I should introduce myself.

I'm @englanddg and the kiddo is Kaylee or KK. I'm old, she's young (10), and we like Selfies.

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I've been going to Disneyworld since 1983, where my parents took me and we stayed in Contemporary for the opening of EPCOT. This fostered an enjoyment of all things Disney (but especially the parks) that has lasted to this day. In the late 80's to mid-90's I had a Floridian Annual Pass and went 3 - 4 days a week most summers. I've also been to Disneyland California, which I adored, and on a Disney Cruise.

The kiddo has been to WDW 4 times, Universal once, and on one Disney Cruise (Fantasy - Western Caribbean).

Last year was a rather rough year, and I had to cancel my plans for our normal trip, as well as a family trip with my Grandfather. But, things are now back on track, and I'm back to doing Trip Reports!

This thread will be where I post pre-trip / packing / plans (and plan changes) / updates for the trip. At the end of this thread I will again attempt to do a daily trip report as seen with my Surf and Turf Adventure, which may be found here.

Note, it is missing the last day. I will finish that and the video for that trip (which is halfway done) before the coming trip, and will post in that thread.

MDE set up, Magic Bands customized and ordered!



Yeap, I bleed orange!

Current plans (booked) are as follows.
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Friday - August 7 - Fly to DC (Reagan) and meet the kiddo. Take the Metro to a hotel (not yet booked) in Crystal City / Pentagon City.

Saturday - August 8 - Tour the Smithsonian and the National Mall with the kiddo. The last time we did this we did the Capital Tour. I think this time we'll try and do the White House or the Washington Monument (or both). Air and Space is a must, as both the kiddo and I have a thing for planes and space (ok...I may have influenced her tastes a bit with that...addicting her to Star Trek young...nah...that couldn't have anything to do with it...)

Sunday - August 9 - Fly to Orlando (MCO) mid-morning. Take a taxi to Leow's Portofino Bay Resort at Universal Studios. Hang out around the hotel pool (the kiddo now has 2 years of swimming lessons under her belt, the last trip she was just learning how to swim properly, and it's something we continued through Red Cross Swimming classes after the trip).

Then we'll walk Citywalk, grab dinner somewhere. Probably this place, because it intrigues me:

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But, the kiddo and I will just play that by ear.

Then go see Blue Man Group that night. This is a redo of a failed Blue Man Group experience we had last trip to Universal.

The whole experience is noted in my 2012 trip report, but the long and short of it is that it was rainy, the kiddo and I were soaked, and the twinkie stuff (mushed banana) getting splattered on her (we were front row, center seats, so we got the brunt of it) was just too much. The kiddo's mood was shattered, and she frumped the rest of the concert. So...now she's a bit older (and I'm smart enough to bring better ponchos to the show!), so we are gonna try it again.

I will contact Blue Man's Box Office directly to get the front row seats again. Maybe she'll get another Shadow Drum Painting?

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Monday - August 10 - IoA

Breakfast at the Three Broomsticks before opening. Then enjoy the park. No Dining Plan this time (though they did change it since my 2012 trip...in 2012, it certainly was NOT worth it). I want to try and have an early dinner at Mythos. But, we'll play it by ear. I do want to have a dagwood sometime on this trip as well. :hungry:

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Head over to Universal at some point through the Hogwarts Express (I've heard we need to experience it going both ways, that the "show" is different, so...) Hang out there and catch the Cinematic Spectacular Nighttime Show.

Tuesday - August 11 - Whatever Universal

Basically, just go spend time in the parks. No special plans. She is finally tall enough for all the coasters, so I guess I'll have to brave Rip Rocket! Hope it doesn't get stuck!

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Wednesday - August 12 - Morning at Universal, head over to our next stop mid afternoon.

I have 3 day tickets at Uni, so since we likely won't be back for another few years, we'll spend most of the day meandering through the parks.

However, we have places to go and meals to eat (a late dinner at Jikos).

So, picking up a taxi from Portofino, we'll head over to Animal Kingdom Lodge. I got a stellar deal on a Club Level room with a view of the Arusha Savanna. We'll have a late dinner at Jiko, and then nibble on club level goodies as we attempt to spot animals on the Savanna from our balcony with my new toy (ordered yesterday).

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Z3JaFiB/A55+9qjgAT6lSENLfOSX/9HAfRRrb2ww+KrdVPIXEPc644lBeZKNx8MutwfqSX/wDb3qr6Z0YWm+rqHcPA78pPhPA+qhHSOBwJHmU9ptMyAarjrtys7EfogjC7NOaQ5eqxpCMeJuRz3jn9UlA5A+ablO4kzgCdMQOGJRgBN3A+W3mkmlO2NQJyu2nkB8ByTmipTe58RzO4bgtYI7kHyCmaaG2A81ZjpylXkvxhtT0+wJ9HCAtomWSi2xWIjpitaZntoQlY2WRG26VIXTiZaFR1a2zuak7JrXQk2UW8KT2g9JwhzcVXY3FpLTsKs9eLC3G3uKrOkRaQHePeP2Fjyx23Yp6S1FPccR+7r0P0F019qpGPcbyN/hyfmbbHzFj5leZ6OWzguwdT+kwySaJxs0tD/Nrrf+/uVK51lCEIBCEIKv1hdE26QpSwWbMzvwPP3X28J/C4YHyOxeda5r2EskaY5YnhsjHYFpyx4Y3ByIxC9ZKudL+hlNXsIlbqyapayVos9u4E/fbf7pw5HFB5+jfcLLgtaiikp5X08w1ZYjqu3OH3Xt3tcLEc1msNmOPBBBTHtJLbM/IZJ7N3QAMzgE00Wy7nHkE+Y3WkO5uHntQaMisE6jZZa7eXxW6kbXUdpWh1+83xDPiPqpBCCoyN2HNIqzV2jg/EYH3FV2oiLXEOFioSWidcWPJN422dZKQ5lE4s4HeAiDuLJOU2ZkEtdAu03sn7Rew3/AZpjAMVJwMx/wBo+aB7SR2+AUtTMsk6WAYC2SlGNW7HXjVhy33Yi1vBbthJS4TmNllYp2SZBZb9klgtk2ggI02rWp8mNW65SZTX1XNLmzgON/d+qrGlj3m+fxCn9LS3lPDBVvSjrvA3D4lZMstuKGYyrr0aqnMeS0kXZs5tKpMKt/R5hJw9j5tVC96UQhCAQhCAQhCCmdYXQRteGyRuEVVGLMeQdV7M+zltjq52OYJ5hcY6Q6Jmpg6KoYWPDb2uHAi/ia4eJpscfWxwXppUPrb6Pmopu2YLvgDiRvicBr+lg7kHb0HAdC5u5/JPtHjB5/E5RdG/UksduHmFJ0Zt2jeJPqEGjXLYSJs6SyTdUIk+7VY7ZRb6kpCScoJd1YBtUdpOpY9uIuRkd36Ji+RN5HXwQbwLNVmOS3gakJn3cUQdROwCcB10wpn423p6EEhR5jhj6YqV0azFvqomi+qmaE2I5Ka+wi3kp+jGZT1qZ0hwTtpXow82TiJqWCbNetw9HJwjWSN0EqBtJIo2snDQ5xyATieTYq1p6tuezGzF3PcubW1C3HXcouSS5JOZKgJpNaQnZfDkFIaRqNVuGZwHzKjIG/RY7y20jR5Aut9U+ihLNKT4WRgZXxLm29zSuXUEN3D1K9AdUmjezpHSkYyuuPyt7o9+suHa8oQhAIQhAIQhALDhdZQg889bXQU0cn2iEH7O87P8F5ODT+E7D5c6RS1WIdtGDhw2HkvW9ZSslY6ORrXseC1zXC4cDmCCuGdOeqOaBzpqAGaLEmK95Y94Zf8Amt4eLLxZoOd1wsbjIpk5yddpYmKQFrm4FrgQ5p3EHEJtNTEZH1+RQJFySc5D2u4JJzDtRLD3ojagMVr6B9CZ9JS6sY1Imn+LMRdrPwj2n/h8zYIK092qOKalelNG9Smjo8Ze2nOH8yTVbhwjDcPNW3RXRChp7djSQMItZ3ZtLsMu+67r453RDyhoro/VTkdhTzybiyJ5bvF3WsPVOKyjkhkdFMx0cjDZzHZg2B+BB817CAsuW9ePRZssArI2HtYiGyFovrQm+LwPZJvfYCfIOLUZUtC7aNyhoHWNjn8eSlaZ/uQWHR9RrNG/anzXqmfaXwyEXu29xyKlqXTrD4sD7ltpmrMdsV8NonpYmuW4colmkmnI3W328bF3zqq/OyVMiSkqNyiZtJNGbgFDVun792O/MfJc2yRDuuKZS2ltKhg1Wm7z/t/VVmaUDEm3NNJaw7M95xUfI8uz/wCf0Wa2TbVTHpmeUvdf04BOKaPFIxsUno6n1jbYMSfkqlqe6LaKdPKyNvikcGjg3aTwtcr0rQUjYo2RswaxoaOQFlQuqjo12bDVSNs541YwdjNrvP4c10VAIQhAIQhAIQhAIQhAIQhBG6W0BS1NvtFPDNbIyRtcRyJFwqzpTqr0fK0hkboHbDE91h/Q67fcrwhBwzSfUtVA/wAGaGRuzX143W4gBwWtF1H1DrdtUwx7wxr5TnvOp6ruqEHONCdTVBCQ6XtKlw/zHBrP7GWuODiV0GlpWRMayNjWMaLNaxoa1o3ADAJZCAQhCAWCFlCDm/TbqshnDpaQNhmxOoMInndb7h4jDeNq44+B8Ujo5Glj2nVc1wsQRvXqtVTpv0Jir2XwjqGjuSgbsmyD7zfeNm4hwGqZrNGxzcjvG4qKe8g2IHwU9pGgkgkdDO0skZgQdo2OB2tOwpjNCLYjzQR4J2W/uC373tAf1fROBQA7bJZujOZ87fIrqJRKLkA2uLuAwHvSD5L4AYbh8yp06NHsj+oud8wPctf/AI6+d3cLAD+1osmzSAbEXcfh+qWEFlJTttgAtYqIuNybD97FykypqYvNh67ua6p1bdCO3cJJBanYbm+HauH3Rw3ny5Z6A9AnVGrJICynGO50vBvDj6LtVNA2NoYxoa1oAAAsABsCDdrQBYCwGAA2DgsoQgEIQgEIQgEIQgEIQgEIQgEIQgEIQgEIQgEIQgEIQgEIQgr3S/olDXxgP7sjb9nK0d5vA+007R8CuJ9Iei1TROImYdS+ErbmNw2Y/dPA2Xo1avaCLEAg4EHEHmg8tPZdK0jw094m3qu19Luh1F2TpRTsa/H+WXRjInFrCGn0XDXmxPmgsTNI04+6SfyJKr060tsyP1sPgovRcYfMxrsWlwBGWHku59H+hVC1jX/ZmOcf8wukGe55ICDiOj9FzVL7QxOefwtwHM5DzXUeiXVk2MiSrs92YjHhB/Gfvcsl0eKJrQGtAaBkGgADkAt0GGtAFgLAYADIAZALKEIBCEIP/9k=

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That's a Bushnell Equinox Z Day/Night Monocular. It is capable of Image Capture and even records video. Should be fun!

Thursday - August 13 - Magic Kingdom

Breakfast at Cindy's at 8:05, and it's morning EM hours that day, so we'll head off to the rides after that. Can't wait to try out the Mine Train!

Lunch at Be Our Guest. I do hope they serve the Gray Stuff at Lunch service. I've heard it's delicious (I asked the dishes).

Dinner at Tony's Town Square. This is actually the first time that we've eaten there. I generally avoid Italian at Disney aside from EPCOT after a pretty poor experience at Mama Melrose a few years back, but I think it's worth a shot. I looked up pictures of it and I think it's worth a try!

Friday - August 14 - EPCOT

Breakfast at Cape May. Another new one for us. Then we'll hike through the International Gateway (rear entrance) of EPCOT.

Lunch at Teppan Eto

Dinner at Le Cellier

Saturday - August 15 - Leaving...or are we?

Ok, I played this trick on the kiddo last trip (and she wasn't too happy until she realized what was going on). After a breakfast at Boma, we're gonna head off to catch our transport. To where, you may ask?

Here... (and so this is the Real Life and it is Fantasy?)

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Got a veranda midship room, which is great. Last time I stayed in room 9172, which is aft with an oversized veranda. It was very nice, but one of the complaints I had was the vibration and noise from the engine during at sea days. And, since this cruise has a LOT of at sea days, I'm glad to be midship in room 6558. And, now that I know the ship better (I was SO LOST last time), I really like that placement.

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Sunday - August 16 - At Sea

Well, it's a day at sea. Which means...we do...whatever we want! The last cruise, once I got used to the vibe of a cruise, I found the at sea days were the most enjoyable. This Eastern Caribbean itinerary offers 4 days (including departure day) at sea, and I'm excited for that!

Monday - August 17 - At Sea

Ditto above. Catch a show, maybe a movie, play the interactive games, and enjoy the free food. :hungry:

The kiddo adored the kid's club last time, so I think I'll try and do Remy or Palo one of these days.

Tuesday - August 18 - St. Maarten

No idea, no plans. As I posted in the Disney Cruise forum, there are no Port Excursions listed for this port, so I guess we'll just make it up as we go along?

Wednesday - August 19 - St. Thomas, St. John

This is where I'm actually a bit torn. My daughter has family who live on St. Thomas who haven't seen her since she was 2, so we may meet them for Lunch or something. I haven't decided on an excursion (if we do one) either.

Thursday - August 20 - At Sea

Yeap, more chillaxing!

Friday - August 21 - Castaway Cay

Last trip, we just stayed on board. This time, I'm hoping to get out and we'll at least rent some bikes and snag some beach time!

Saturday - August 22 - Back on land...

<sigh>...tanned and fed, we'll head back on land, but the adventure isn't over yet! We'll hop the Magical Express back to our next and final leg of our journey...

Art of Animation!

We stayed at Pop the year this opened, and the kiddo really wanted to swim in the Nemo pool, but we couldn't (no pool hopping, tsk tsk...but at AoA with their keycard access gates, they take it REALLY seriously!)

At some point we'll head over to Hollywood Studios. We have a late lunch at Sci Fi Dine In (the Kiddos favorite, and frankly mine too...even over <gasp> Brown Derby!)

And a late dinner at 50's Prime Time, before heading over to see Fantasmic.

Sunday - August 23 - Go see the animals...

Ok, I dunno why this seems to happen every trip, but Sundays just "work" for Animal Kingdom.

Breakfast at Tusker House

Lunch at Yak and Yeti

Dinner at ?, then back to the hotel to chill out and relax around the pool!

Monday - August 24 - Disney Springs / Water Park

Here we'll hit up Typhoon Lagoon, and do some last minute shopping! I think we'll skip La Nouba this go around.

Breakfast somewhere...?

Lunch at T-Rex (ugh, I don't like the Landry's restaurants, but this is the kiddo's favorite, so this is for her)

Dinner at Raglan Road (yeah, that's for me...my second favorite (Bongo's is my favorite) at DTD).

Tuesday - August 24 - The end...see ya real soon!

Breakfast at Ohana (Tonga Toast!)

Lunch at Cindy's Royal Table

3pm Parade (Festival of Fantasy) and then a late flight back to DC where I'll crash overnight before heading back to ATL the next day.

So, there you have it! More to come later, but feel free to join in and chime in with any ideas / suggestions you may have!

So excited to be going back!

​

 

[englanddg]

Our previous trips.

2010

2011

2012

Unfinished 2013 video...

 

[englanddg]

​

Ok, Blue Man tickets purchased for 7p on August 9.

I called 1-800-BLUEMAN because I wanted to request specific seats. The thing about purchasing through Universal as a "package deal" is that the blocks of tickets released for those deals offer you pretty much no ability to request where you sit, only the Tier of seating you wish (unless something has changed). So, I contacted them directly.

Plus, for a group of 2, I don't really save that much. The Universal ticket only prices are around $60. Meal + Blue Man is a neat idea from Uni, that's $75, but limits where you can eat (still, a fun combo). These tickets direct from blue Man cost me $85 each. But, wait till you see where they are!

​

Now, I will say...they have a rather interesting "menu system" when you call 1-800-BLUEMAN...and if you miss the first part of the message where they tell you "Thank you for calling Blue Man Group" like I did, you hear the announcer voice (which on the phone system sounds...creepy, frankly), saying "For a good time in Las Vegas, press 1. For a good time in Orlando, press 2" and so forth. At first I thought I may have...ahem...misdialed and called a different sort of phone number.

I will let you fill in the blanks on what it sounds like, but lets just say it doesn't come off as...family friendly.

Go ahead, give it a call, you'll see what I mean!!!

The csr, Michelle, was very pleasant, and we made small talk while she looked for the best "Poncho Zone" seats she could find. One of the better phone conversations with a csr I've had in a while.

Their system does a "rotating availability" sort of thing, so you really can't "request" seats. Rather, they have to keep cycling through the system to see what comes up. The first ones were section AA (front row) 18 and 19. Those are off on the right Aisle. But, she was persistent, and wowza, she found us section AA (front row) seats 9 and 10.

​

Now, don't quote me on this, but I think these are the exact same seats (though it could have been 10 / 11) that we had on our 2012 trip. Fantastic for a redo!

I decided to leave the tickets as a Will Call pickup. One less thing to keep up with in the trip paperwork. Just show up and flash ID and pick up the tickets...

I know where Will Call is at that theater, and it shouldn't be that big a deal. Especially since we aren't trying to cram any park time into that day, so I can swing by after the Box Office opens and pick them up pretty much anytime as we flit around Citywalk.

​

(I'm going to bring a sturdier poncho and I'm considering a shower cap for the kiddo. I'm not kidding...the kiddo will have her hair in microbraids (as usual) and getting that banana out of her hair was a nightmare last trip!)

 

[englanddg]

​

So, quick update.

MDE has improved a lot since the last time I used it (even though it was only a year ago, I didn't make it all the way through that trip planning, and had a terrible MDE experience getting all the accounts to link)...the prior trip, 2013, I used it, as we were part of the second or third (not sure which) FP+ testing group...and, after that trip I had a few suggestions (posted in my trip report, iirc).

One of those suggestions is partially true now. I thought it would be smart for Disney to allow you to use it to plan the entire trip, not just the Disney portions. I get that they don't want to cross-promote (something Disneyland does do, btw, in fact, they actively market tickets to Universal Hollywood and Knott's Berry Farm on their site, and you can purchase through them...not kidding)...but, it seems a great way to not only provide a planning tool for guests, but to get a look into how guests are spending their time when NOT at the park.

Well, they sort of have that now through the "Notes" feature. I discovered (probably not news to many people, but news to me) that I can create a note on pretty much any day through the itinerary view. So, I'm using that to plot out the rest of my stuff. In the descriptions, I'm putting...well, the description. But, in the details part I am putting all the relevant stuff I used to keep jotted down in a Google Doc.

​

One draw back is that it doesn't show up on the website "My Plans" section...you have to go to Itinerary View to see it.

​

However, the GOOD news, as I've already tested, is that it shows up on the "My Plans" section of the app just fine. So, that's a plus! (suggestion to Disney, make it show up on the website, too...)

​

So, to review how I USED to do this prior to this trip, I have a Google Apps account that has Google Docs, etc. It's set up specifically for trips (mostly Disney, obviously) and I have all trip related emails sent to it, as well as use its calendar to map things out.

When my trip is over, I delink the account from my phone, and it lays dormant until my next trip. I've used this system since 2010...

But, this trip, I'm going to scrap that system, I think, and see how MDE handles it. So far, looks like it will work perfectly!

Good show Disney!

​

 

[englanddg]

So, since we're on the subject of Apps...lets take a look at the Universal App and online Planning Tools.

Lets start with the website. Yeah...there's not much there. Not much at all...



They do have a "planner" however... http://planner.universalorlando.com/

I'd go into detail about it, but there isn't much to say. It is a very slick "sales tool", but really doesn't offer much to someone who has already booked a trip. So...lets look at the app...



Well, I really like the design...













Well, looks interesting...



Nice GUI, and some menu options...

 

[englanddg]

So, moving on, lets poke around a bit. I like the maps (geez, does this thing look...ahem...familiar? Something like MDE mayhaps?)



You can click on an attraction and then favorite it (or like it)...I'm not exactly sure WHY you would want to do that...maybe to quickly check wait times? But...anyhow, it exists. So, I liked my favorite ride at Uni.



That's right MIB. Sorry guys, it blows Buzz Lightyear out of the water! (both versions, the Disneyland and Magic Kingdom ones!)

Alerts are the thing that interested me the most...



So, I went to Blue Man Group's detail page...and, well, it limits you to the current day. Another note, they categorize it not as "Music" but as a "Comedy Show", and it's not visible on the map by default. Seems they could have had multiple categories for events/shows when planning. Anyhow, my point is, it took me a bit to find it, but not that big a deal.



I like they put the phone number there, very nice design.

This app looks like it will work really well during our trip on the day of, but really isn't a planning tool at all. Easier than a paper map though, considering I have to carry around my phone all day anyway (that whole work while traveling thing...)

So, there ya go!

 

[englanddg]

Costume vote thread has been added!

​

 

[englanddg]

Well, I just spent the last hour updating my ADRs to include the proper family and friends in MDE.

I'm imagining this is due to the fact that I have more than just the kiddo linked through my MDE account (I have my sister, her fiance and my grandfather as well)...but, it was rather annoying.

That said, I don't think it would have made any difference had I NOT done this...but...call me obsessive about the planning stages. <grin>

 

[englanddg]

So, another update...

I've decided we are gonna give decorating Magicbands a go. Not only is it a fun thing to do, but we have a few "burn time" days in the schedule, and I thought it would be a neat Daddy/Daughter activity. Especially during down time on the cruise. Chill out in the stateroom sacking on room service and creating some custom bands for the second half of our trip? Yes sir!

I did a bunch of reading, and there are some amazingly talented people out there (far more so than me). They can do fantastic things with nail polish and paint and decals.

I'm...not so optimistic about the results I'd get doing that. I thought about using permanent chalk pens (for white), and metallic sharpies, and I may still go that route, but then I found the "Temporary Tattoo" method.

SOURCE - http://missionmouse.com/magic-band-diy-with-temporary-tattoos/

That was nice, but further digging, I found I can get whole sheets of Temporary Tattoo paper and print my own! They come in two forms.

Inkjet
http://www.amazon.com/Silhouette-ME...430873405&sr=1-1&keywords=inkjet+tattoo+paper

Laserjet
http://www.amazon.com/Color-Laser-P...sr=1-2-catcorr&keywords=laserjet+tattoo+paper

And then I found someone who had the same idea!

http://magicandmisadventures.com/2015/02/15/adding-more-magic-to-our-bands/

Now, for some history, I started my professional career with computers working closely with the reprographics industry, and for this I think I'm going to go for color laser. The reason being the bonding (fusing) method is more durable than inkjet methods would use. Now, I don't own one, but I think it's worth paying a few dollars to use one of the ones at Kinkos (or I'll drop a few bucks in the company coffee jar and use the one at work?)

Now I know you can buy stickers and stuff online, but I think it would be more fun to make my own!

So, between now and the trip, I'll print up some custom designs, and let the kiddo decide (as well as me). Then I'll pick up some jewels and glitter to bring along with it, as well as the fail safe clear nail polish durable topcoat to seal it all, and viola, project done!

So, to prep for this (as well as test it on an older band I have) I made myself a little electronic toy to play with.

I found a template online from the site I linked earlier where someone had done this before, but I found it didn't work well for my purposes. So, after double checking the measurements (and converting them into metric, more accurate), I modified them a bit for my purposes, and made my own set of templates using a color match method from press photos of the Magicbands, as well as one with a "clear" color palette and one with no fill at all.

These can easily be put into a photo editor that allows for layers (like Paint.Net (FREE) or Photoshop) so I can play with designs...which is how I plan to spend the next hour of my life! Their printout size matches the bands exactly (if you keep the scaling).

Anyhow, here's what they look like.

Red


Green


Blue


Pink


Yellow


Orange


Gray


No Inner Fill


No Fill at all


You can download the whole "set" here as png files (I can't upload png files to wdwmagic, sorry. It's in a zip file. So, if you want to do your own MB project, well, be my guest!

MB Templates.zip

​

I'll post designs I come up with later.

 

[englanddg]

Some Designs

 

[englanddg]

Welp, booked Washington Monument for 7:30p on the 8th. 2 Tickets cost me around $9 in "processing fees", but at least we won't have to be up and out early to get the free ones in line!

I wanted that time so we could end the trip with that, as sunset should be around 8:10p around that time of year, which should put us up in the observation deck for sunset. What a great photo op!

I think it's rather sad they only let you up by elevator anymore. I remember climbing the stairs as a kid and looking at the custom state stones (stones donated by states have engravings/facades on them that are only visible on the inside of the monument), but I think after the earthquake (maybe before?) they have completely shut down the stairwell for tourists.

I'm sure they'll have some views / examples though.

 

[englanddg]

As soon as my check hits my bank account, the cruise will be paid off. It isn't due until the 17th, but it feels good to go ahead and pay it off. Makes it feel more "real".

I trimmed a few items off it yesterday. Namely the post cruise stay at Pop (no need, I'm going to AoA booked through Disney Travel Company instead of Disney Cruise), and I also took off the prepaid gratuity (I'll just pay it off as a room charge like last trip).

I did leave the transfers from AKL to Port Canaveral, and from Port Canaveral to AoA.

I also left the trip insurance for a variety of reasons, one of the primary ones being the fact that it carries medical/dental and emergency transportation benefits. Knock on wood we won't need it (probably won't), but I wouldn't travel into International Waters or to a foreign country without some form of medical coverage, and the price offered through Disney Cruise (plus all the other cruise centric benefits) is well worth it in my view.

 

[englanddg]

Cruise paid for! Now I get to sit back and nurse my savings account for a month before the rest of the trip needs to be paid off in late June!

 

[englanddg]

More bands, with a monorail theme.

 

[englanddg]

And some ride based ones.

 

[englanddg]

Materials purchased, first mock up of the bands done.

I'm actually going to try this with high gloss sticker paper or with high gloss photo paper and glue...rather than the tattoo paper (only because I'd have to order the tat paper).

The template fits just as expected! This one is plain paper that I taped to the band after cutting out the template, just to test the dimensions.



This is a test...

Because, the one reason why I may need to USE the tattoo paper is that it will flex with the band.

But, I'm going to test it with sticker paper which you can get easier anyhow. I think it should work ok, as long as you don't flex the band outside of it's normal form (for that, I think the tat paper is a better solution)...

So, I'll do it, then paint it with several coats of the nail polish, and see if that's enough to keep the sticker from "bubbling" in normal usage / wear.

 

[englanddg]

Photo Paper High Gloss (Kodak) test.

 

[englanddg]

Stickers are worthless...

Here's the test. Has to keep putting it back into place...

Maybe if I did it with some adhesive?

 

[englanddg]

First piece of Mickey Mail!

 

[englanddg]

MM+ Thoughts - Mickey Mail
Welcome Packets - Part 1​

​

General Note - The pictures in this post have been edited to remove certain personal information. I'm sure you, the reader, will understand my reasoning. So, for example, where you see englanddg in the documents, that's where my name would have appeared.

Ok, so this is the first real "analysis" I've done with this report. So far it's just been basic info and brain dumping of a more conversational nature.

But, I was extremely impressed with the new Mickey Mail. This probably isn't a surprise to anyone that's taken a trip in the last year, but if it's been longer than that, the Mickey Mail has dramatically improved since even Spring of last year (I don't recall getting this for the aborted trip, I don't think I did).

So, I'm going to do a brief breakdown of what the packets are, including lots of pictures. But, there are some tidbits which I want to call attention to. Call them "Disney Details"...because...that's EXACTLY what they are.

So, lets start with the envelopes.

I got two packets. One for each leg of my Disney stay. This is the first packet (for the AKL portion of the stay before the cruise).

Pretty standard fare, matched the Magic Band packaging and Incredibles theme as you would suspect.

However, what is interesting is what the envelope for the SECOND part of my stay (at AoA) looks like.


That's right. They've programmed into the system that if it's a return visit (at least according to some flag in the system) you get a different envelope.

Now, I work in IT, and I worked in reprographics, in fact...variable data printed documents were my first job where I custom developed 11x17 signature center stitched employee benefits statements that were completely unique to the individual. So, for example, if you had health plan A, then it showed only your plan benefits, not a larger table. If you had retirment plan B, it showed that (with estimates based on a variety of factors of what you could expect your retirement to look like if you maintained the same plan to early and normal retirement ages).

Rather than babble on about it, you can see one here. (note, pretty much every page was different for every employee, and we ran these off Docutech 160s that printed duplex, added the cover and stitched inline. It was really fresh stuff back then.

https://web.archive.org/web/20041001013742/http://www.selectbenefitconsultants.com/floyd.pdf

Anyhow, I was doing that in 1996, when it was extremely rare. Especially in a graphical format. The reason I mention this is to explain how I look at this document with a professional interest and respect for the process, because I've produced things exactly like this and appreciate the challenges involved in doing it well. I'll touch on those as we proceed through the book.

Also, to note, if you've ever used a PDF or MS Word form template to fill out a form, think of these things like that, but on steroids!

Open the envelopes, and the first packet had a flyer insert instructing me to go to a website.



You can go there yourself. It's pretty generic, but pretty neat! But, if don't want to, I took a screen capture of the experience that you can watch here!

I seem to recall this video existed back on my 2013 trip, but the instructions (maybe even a card like this? I don't recall.) came with the bands, not the welcome packet.

Also, it's interesting that it wasn't included with Book 2...but, Disney knows I'm a return visitor (at least now they do), as I mentioned before.

So, lets move on. The covers. Here, you'll also note a difference (one that I thought was a bit odd, frankly, because it's one of the few "variable" parts that I don't understand why it's like that).

Book 1. We are the englanddg "Party".



Book 2. Note, here it's the englanddg "Family".



It's a really minor thing, but I'm not sure why it's there. What it does mean is that the last part of the line, or maybe the whole line, is completely variable, and probably entered somehow, maybe even manually. I'm not sure why they would choose to do that, as opposed to hard coding "Family" at the end, unless there is some flag (like, if two friends are coming together, then "Party" would be more appropriate)...but, I find it an interesting copywriting choice.

Open up the book, and you are treated to some unique and important information right from the start.

Book 1.


Book 2.



Again, pretty standard stuff that you'd expect (and used to be included on the older Welcome Packets). One thing to note is the Package Type indicates my specific Dining Plan as well (Deluxe for both trips). Note that, because it will come up again later.

Turning the page.



From what I can tell this page is the same in both books. Just general information about MM+, Magicbands and Fastpass Plus, as long as a "checklist" of things to do. I'm not sure if the checklist (which reflects I customized my bands with a green check) is variable or not, but I don't think so.

So, a suggestion for Disney (cause they have a lot of little things...hidden items, similar to Hidden Mickeys, in the book). I would have the bands section, if it's already been customized through MDE reflect the actual color and number of bands selected. It's a minor thing, but not impossible to do (There are only so many combinations) and while it's a coincidence that the first book actually matches the number and colors I chose, the second one didn't.

Not a big deal, and not something most people would notice or care about, but given what they did throughout the book, I think it could be doable.

Why? Well, I have a perfect example starting with the next page, so lets take a look!



Peek at page 5, on the left. Take a good close look at the MDE screen. See that name? That's right, in the real book, your name (I assume the primary account on the reservation is where they get that) is displayed there. I replaced it with englanddg.

I didn't notice it on the first readthrough, either that or this is really random that the name they chose for a stock graphic is MY name...so, I'm fairly certain this is added on the fly. And, I think it's the most awesome customization in the entire book. So, you can see why I think the MBs on page 4 would also be a neat little touch.

Again, most probably wouldn't notice it, but when you do, as I said, that's part of the "Disney Difference"...the details.

But, I also want to take a look at Page 6 (on the right). It is also customized. The picture above is from Book 2 (My AoA) stay. scroll back up and take a look at the pool that is listed.

Go ahead, I'll wait.

-----------

Did you look? Did you note that it is the Big Blue Pool, which is the main pool at AoA? Also, did you notice the backdrop is a map of AoA?

Well, take a look at Page 6 from Book 1 (my AKL stay).


Yep, it lists and shows a picture of the Uzima pool (the main pool at Animal Kingdom Lodge), and the background is the map of AKL. How cool is that!

So, break time, and then I'll be back with Part 2!