One trip? Witch, please! Make it two! MNSSHP and NYE with Mickey! updated 12/26x3

That's so cute how X became little niece's go-to guy!!

You're wearing all your same old clothes on this trip!! Puh-lease! That's ridiculous! I'm pretty sure you need a whole new wardrobe to even be allowed in the WDW gates. ::yes::

I think I'm going to go look for earlier times b/c I'm developing a fear of chilly nights sliding down log flume and following it up with the wildest ride in the wilderness!

Ooh, good point! Yeah, it might be a little chilly for those activities. Florida temps are pretty unpredictable in December, so it's hard to say.
 
We are flying down on 12/28 from another tiny regional airport an hour south of here. This one serves TWO airlines with TWO terminals and not just one like the itty bitty airport mom and I flew out of in October. Flights from our town's airport were just too expensive or had awful times. We will arrive at MCO around 9:30pm, and we booked a room at the MCO Hyatt for the night.

So, we'll land, collect our luggage, check in at the hotel, and the next morning we'll take the Magical Express to All Star Movies for the first part of our stay.

Haha I love doing this! It's nice starting the vacation the night before, plus I don't have to worry about how I look since I can just go straight to sleep once off the plane.

All the Star Wars meet and greets (and any M&G we happen to stumble upon that has a non-scary wait time), Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, March of the First Order, and *maybe* RnR. The main priority will be our FPs and reservations, and checking out all of the holiday decorations. I'm so excited we're flying in on the 28th so we will be at DHS on the 29th to see Sunset Season's Greetings. If we didn't come that one day early, we would have scheduled DHS for another day or skipped it entirely.

We only have one night to see this Sunset Season's greetings too and that is the day we arrive (this Thurs!). Really looking forward to seeing all the projections on the Tower of Terror!

I'm finally starting to get really, really excited about this trip!! And feeling like my planning game is super strong 8-)

Yes, your game is super strong! I'm so excited you decided to brave NYE at MK! You'll have to report back and see if it's as crowded as everyone says it is!

X stayed home from school on Friday to "help" me get ready for their arrival that morning, so my 3 year old niece latched onto him and declared him to be her best friend.


So cute!!

I have nothing new for this trip. No cute new ears or shirts or anything. I haven't even had time to look! So if you see pics on social media or read the TR, you'll be seeing the same ol' Disney shirts from trips past. Our magic bands arrived though, and those are new...does that count??

I didn't buy anything new for our trip either...oh wait, I got a new backpack. Everything else is stuff that I had but some stuff I've never worn yet so I guess it's "new"? :)
 
Merry Day after Christmas!!

So it looks like I DID abandon this PTR after all. I was on the fence about starting it, and this is why. I knew I'd be super busy and not give it the full attention it deserved...mainly b/c this whole trip didn't even receive much attention, either!!

We leave the day after tomorrow. I am super unprepared. DH is calling for Magical Express now. Because we almost forgot.

I told you we were unprepared!

A few things that have been going on...

I have been sick for 3 weeks. I just can't shake this cough. Today is day three without constant medication though, so I think the end is finally in sight. I didn't have any time to rest or try to get well, because December is always a busy time. School activities, family activities, etc. Today is my first truly lazy day and I'm contemplating taking down all of my Christmas stuff (and it's a LOT of stuff - three big trees plus all the extra things I put out) instead of leaving it up until we get home in January.

My chihuahua Penny was having trouble walking on Saturday. It seemed like she was having a seizure. Last year she woke me up in the middle of the night having one, and we rushed her to the emergency vet at midnight. She ended up having an ear infection. So, I kind of assumed that might be the case again this time around. After I noticed her having problems, I brought her into the bathroom where I was getting ready and closed the door so the other dogs would leave her alone. She laid on the rug while I was getting ready for DH's work Christmas party and acting totally out of it. Then, all of a sudden, she hopped up like everything was fine and went outside and then into the living room and hopped up on the couch. DH had made her a vet appointment but they couldn't get her in until 1:00pm. Because she was acting normal again, we went ahead and went to DH's party.
I got home and took her to the vet. They checked her over and did blood work. She had a fever, but no ear infection. He did confirm that she probably DOES have a seizure disorder, but it isn't severe or affecting her overall health.

But...

she's too heavy.

She weighs 14 pounds and is supposed to be between 7 and 9lbs. So she has to start a weight loss plan. Poor fat baby! I just thought she was bulking up for winter. She always loses weight when we are gone on a trip, so I guess I just have to make sure she keeps it off. She weighed about 9 pounds when we got her and I thought she was too small, so I'm a terrible judge of dog weight I guess!

We also saw Star Wars last weekend, and Jumanji on Christmas Eve, and tried to cram in as many holiday type activities as possible.

It's been a long, crazy month and I'm ready for a break! I'm not sure going to Disney World over the new year is much of one, but I'll take it anyway!

so where were we with trip talk?? I think we're up to New Year's Eve, which is...Epcot! How insane are we??

Very, apparently.

Have you seen the pics from around the parks yesterday?? Grab your fainting chair, Margaret. They're intense. I imagine we'll see similar or worse crowd conditions. Lord help us.

We check OUT of Movies on 12/31 and INTO Animal Kingdom Lodge (Kidani Village, savanna view studio). I have noticed that Fantasy in the Sky is on the schedule at MK on 12/30 for both the 6:30 AND 11:50 shows, so we are tentatively planning to watch the earlier show and then leave the park and go back to the resort OR go to the Poly and watch the later show from the beach. If we leave early, we'll start New Year's Eve earlier!

Right now we have an ADR for 10:55am at Ale and Compass. We might cancel if we're out late or feel like it will make us be on too tight of a timeline that morning.

We will uber to Kidani from Movies and drop our stuff off.

**If we keep Ale and Compass:
- we'll either catch the bus to DHS, then ferry to Yacht Club or Minnie Van/uber to Yacht Club
- we'll check out this year's holiday displays in the Boardwalk area's resorts (loved them last December!)
- we'll enter Epcot via the International Gateway and work our way up toward Future World and our Fast Pass reservations.

This plan will make for a very long day.

**If we drop Ale and Compass:
- we'll get a later start from Movies to Kidani, and will probably go over to Jambo House and grab some food from The Mara (unless we get something from Movies food court, but I love The Mara for QS after my stay last May. Plus ZEBRA DOMES!!)
- we might just hang out for awhile and enjoy the animals at the resort
- we'll finally head over to Epcot to enter in time for our first Fast Pass.

We've got:

- Living with the Land FP for 1:10 - 2:10 (I just made this one right now while typing this out!)
- Soarin' FP for 2:15 - 3:15
- Spaceship Earth FP for 3:30 - 4:30

I want to try and hit Land at the end and Soarin' at the beginning, to try and have time to look at the aquariums in The Seas. I'm ok with not riding the Nemo ride...it's not my favorite, and is mainly just a way to get to the aquariums for me! Part of me also wants to watch Turtle Talk. We loved it at California Adventure, but I've never watched it while at Epcot. Depending on what time we arrive and how bad crowds are at that time. There are still a LOT of early morning/afternoon FPs available in Epcot for Figment/Nemo/Land/Pixar Movies, and Spaceship Earth for late evening. That was surprising!

If we can't do anything but our FPs, that's fine too - we don't expect anything extra on this day!

We want to do Spaceship Earth right at the beginning of our window because afterward we have to go all the way to France for our 4:30pm ADR at Chefs de France.

And after we eat?? Well, it'll just be survival at that point, won't it?? I imagine we'll get out around the time the early Illuminations begins. I have zero plans past that. We might wander the World Showcase or we might try to cram ourselves into a spot for midnight...but waiting for 5 hours doesn't exactly sound like much fun to me. I sure hope I can stay the course and not give up on ringing in the New Year - I'm old, I get tired :rotfl::rotfl:

epcot-happy-new-year-disney-world-M.jpg
**Photo Credit to Disney Tourist Blog** Thanks, Google!**



 


Moving on to New Year's Day plans!!

happy new year.jpg

2018. Does anyone else think that just sounds CRAZY??

Since we plan to be out late and ring in the New Year, we figure we'll be getting a late start that day. Right now we have an ADR for Sanaa at 11:35. We can't be at Kidani and not have Sanaa! It was one of our favorite meals last December, and I'm glad we took the time to go there even though we weren't staying at AKL!

We'll be at the Magic Kingdom on this day...I suppose there's a very small chance that if we don't make it to midnight at Epcot, we'll get up early for rope drop and go back for lunch, then back to MK afterward. I'm not sure how likely that is! There's also a chance we'll cancel Sanaa, but that's pretty slim.

Our FPs are:

- Pirates 1-2pm
- Jingle Cruise 2:05 - 3:05

(we want to hit these back to back, obviously)

and then Buzz Lightyear from 3:05 - 4:05

We have an ADR at Citricos at 5:35, and after that we'll go back to MK for Happily Ever After.

Starting 2018 at the Magic Kingdom sounds like a pretty good day to me!

Up next...our last park day!

 
Since starting my updates this morning, I have cancelled Ale and Compass and exchanged it for Sanaa on 12/31. (I'll probably end up cancelling Sanaa for the next day, 1/1, because of this, and we'll get to MK earlier. )

I'm so curious to see what we actually end up doing. The whole trip is a mystery, LOL!!

Our last park day will be 1/2, and we'll spend it at Animal Kingdom. According to the weather, we're going to freeze. Well, at least I will, I'm a baby.

Our plans this day...

We have a Boma breakfast ADR for 7:30. Bread pudding, baby!! Yum!! DH loves breakfast, and after having Boma in May by myself, I knew I needed to get him there asap!

After that we'll head over to Animal Kingdom. I'm not sure what we'll do first once we get there. I'll check wait times and if the safari is reasonable, we'll do that. I could do the safari all day though, I never get bored with it!

Right now I'm planning to be bundled up. The weather says the high is only going to be 55 that day. And cloudy. I will freeze!!

We have FPs for:

Safari from 10:25 - 11:25am
Flight of Passage from 12:15 - 1:15
Everest from 2:05 - 3:05

If it's cold I might actually turn INTO the yeti while on Everest!! But I have to ride. I hope maybe the low temperatures will drive people out of the park and we'll have a better opportunity to ride the Navi river ride standby, or get a same day FP for it. I want to meet Baloo and King Louie. We also might go out to Rafiki's Planet Watch. DH has never been over there, and it's a good way to kill time. Plus, isn't Timon still out there?? I have never met Timon!

Right now I have ADRs for Jiko at both 5:35 and 6:50. Don't judge me too harshly! There are still ADRs for it available so I don't feel as guilty as I would if I had multiples for somewhere else. I try not to do that, but DH and I REALLY want to see Pandora after dark. I am 99% certain we will cancel the 5:35 and keep the 6:50. I will probably end up doing that later today, too.

And that's it! We depart on 1/3 and get home in the early afternoon. We'll need to drive to pick up the kids from their grandparents, get back home, and be up early the next morning to go back to school and regular life. Boo!!

I am never ready for Christmas break to be over, and I know this year will be the same. I'm already dreading it!!

Thank you all for following along even though I was terrible at keeping it up this time around.

For those of you reading my October TR, I'll work on getting a few updates out this evening so I can get it wrapped up after we return...and yes, there will be a TR for this NYE trip too!

I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season and that 2018 is amazing for all of you! See you all next year!!



 
We leave the day after tomorrow. I am super unprepared. DH is calling for Magical Express now. Because we almost forgot.

We've forgotten to book it entirely before.

Poor fat baby!

Aw yes poor chubby pup.

She weighed about 9 pounds when we got her and I thought she was too small, so I'm a terrible judge of dog weight I guess!

You're the dog mom version of van Italian mom. "Eat more you're too skinny!" :rotfl:

Well, it'll just be survival at that point, won't it??

Oh goodness yes, text me how it goes!

Bread pudding, baby!!

Yes!!

Plus, isn't Timon still out there?? I have never met Timon!

I thought so I wanted to meet him, but we never got there.
 


We've forgotten to book it entirely before.



Aw yes poor chubby pup.



You're the dog mom version of van Italian mom. "Eat more you're too skinny!" :rotfl:



Oh goodness yes, text me how it goes!



Yes!!



I thought so I wanted to meet him, but we never got there.

So...we booked it for pickup at the airport but we can't book it ourselves for the return b/c they said the DVC owner has to do it!! I didn't even think about that. I was already annoyed that I couldn't pick room location at Kidani without her doing it, so this just really irritated me. She isn't answering messages so it looks like we'll be ubering to the airport on departure day. No big deal I guess, but STILL!

My poor fat baby, LOL. I may be guilty of giving her a french fry. No more fries for Penny!

Oh you know I'll be sending you pictures of crowds. Or maybe pictures of me crying from fear, LOL!!
 
So...we booked it for pickup at the airport but we can't book it ourselves for the return b/c they said the DVC owner has to do it!! I didn't even think about that. I was already annoyed that I couldn't pick room location at Kidani without her doing it, so this just really irritated me. She isn't answering messages so it looks like we'll be ubering to the airport on departure day. No big deal I guess, but STILL!

They make you leave soo early now that Ubering is probably worth it.

My poor fat baby, LOL. I may be guilty of giving her a french fry. No more fries for Penny!

:rotfl:

Oh you know I'll be sending you pictures of crowds. Or maybe pictures of me crying from fear, LOL!!

:laughing: yes I want to hear all about it! Bright spot I watched a Timtracker video from Xmas eve at MK and the crowds didn't look too terrible.
 
So...we booked it for pickup at the airport but we can't book it ourselves for the return b/c they said the DVC owner has to do it!! I didn't even think about that. I was already annoyed that I couldn't pick room location at Kidani without her doing it, so this just really irritated me. She isn't answering messages so it looks like we'll be ubering to the airport on departure day. No big deal I guess, but STILL!
Can you do it via the online form (https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/airport-transportation-reservation/) or even possibly in person at the resort?
 
Hello everyone! Updating from a packed bus headed to Epcot. We left kidani at 12:45. It’s now 1:34 and it’s supposed to take us about 40 more minutes to get there. Crazy! But everyone on the bus is talking to each other and making friends, lol!!

For future reference, go to ak or dhs if you’re ever here for nye!!
 
We are home!! I will get a TR started soon...today or tomorrow, probably.

The lady getting out of her car to pee on NYE wasn't that last time peeing ladies would be an issue...one also caused us to miss a connecting flight yesterday - and we ended up spending 8 hours in the Atlanta airport waiting for our rescheduled one. Woo! (she got up right as we were getting ready to take off, putting us at the back of the line on the runway. About 25 people missed connections, as it was already delayed by over an hour in the first place leaving Orlando. Ugh!!)

I'll post a link here as soon as I get it going!!


 

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