A long awaited return - Spring Break 2015

[irene_dsc]

It's been a long time since I've posted on here, but I couldn't resist starting another PTR for our family's second WDW trip. I probably won't have time to post much, but here's the start:

First trip was Winter Break, seven years ago. My son was in 1st grade, and my daughter was 3. Now, my son is in 8th grade, and my daughter is in 5th grade, and complaining that she barely remembers our WDW trip. I'd been wanting to do our next trip in spring, and this is the last time for 3 years that they will be at the same school with guaranteed same Spring Break - and my daughter still wants to spend time with me! (My son, not so much, but just barely, lol.)

Last time, we stayed onsite at CBR, flew, did Magical Express, and the Dining Plan - basically, immersed ourselves in the Disney experience. But, we'd also like to visit Universal this time (Harry Potter!) and also have separate beds for the kids. So, offsite seemed to make a lot more sense (esp since the 10 year old would be an adult on the dining plan, but doesn't really eat like an adult).

Since we made our decision at the last minute, locations were filling up quickly, and since we want to go during prime Spring Break week, prices at the best places were going up, too. So, we finally snagged a reservation for a 1 bedroom condo at Blue Heron resort. We'd been hoping for a larger space, but at least it has bunk beds for the kids, and a separate living room from the sleeping spaces plus kitchen. Since we'll be off-site, driving makes a lot more sense (or at least, flying seems that much more expensive), and then I don't have to track down flights along with everything else at the last minute!

 

[irene_dsc]

I've updated my siggy - but you can see some of my thoughts that turned into this trip in the PTR for the maybe trip that never happened.

ETA: An introduction to the family! Maybe I'll get more readers if I actually, say, introduce us in proper PTR style!

I'm not sure how to edit and upload photos, so you'll have to go to the second page to see the photos. But, an intro:

Me: Irene, slightly crazed and overwhelmed architect, mom of 2, Girl Scout Leader, etc. I'm the vacation planner in the family. My husband thought I was a little crazy to do as much planning as I did for our first WDW trip, but really appreciated it once we were there. My hobbies are gardening and playing the guitar, although I rarely get to do that. Plus, reading.

DH: Michael, also an architect (we have our own small architecture firm), hobby is starting new businesses and how to take over the world. Needs a vacation like nobody's business.

DS: Thomas, 13, just got his Black Belt in taekwondoe, and is finishing up 8th grade. He also likes video games, Warhammer 40K, and starting to get into role playing games like Dungeons & Dragons.

DD: Gwen, 10, is big into Pokemon, especially competitive video game Pokemon. Her goal is to get to Worlds this year as her last year in the Junior age division. This is her first year in the competitive realm, but luckily there is a League nearby, so she's had lots of opportunity to practice. She also plays flute, is in the school choir, Girl Scouts, and jazz dance - and just talked me into doing Drama Club this spring because the theme is Greek Myths.

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Ooh, look, I figured out how to upload a photo! This is us plus my mother-in-law last fall. I'm in heels - not usually that much taller than everyone else! Ds is actually now taller than me!

Back to the original post..
A lot of things have happened since our last trip, both for us and for Orlando. Fantasyland has been remodeled, there are new wrinkles to FastPass, and Harry Potter stuff at both Universal parks! One of my first challenges is figuring out how to divide the days / tickets. We will check in Friday, March 27, and check out Friday, April 3. I got the Mousesavers code for Undercover Tourist for tickets, and that starts the dilemma. Their deals are for extra days, not just discounts. I can get WDW base tix upgraded from 4 days to 5, and Universal tickets are about the same price for 1 day hopper, 2 day base (upgraded to 3 days), or a little more for 2 day hoppers (upgraded to 3). It almost seems silly not to do the extra days, but then I have an extra day as a swing, maybe as a first night if we aren't fried from the drive, etc. Note that we aren't big rollercoaster/thrill seekers, so 2 days seems like it would be plenty at Universal, and we might be able to do everything we want in 1 day with the hopper. (And, Hogwarts Express! Need the hopper for that!)

We are also thinking we can probably skip Hollywood Studios this time around, esp since ds is too old to do the Jedi Training Academy now. (Thank goodness we got him in the last time, when it was super important to him!) I'm actually not sure what ds' must do is for this time around, although he does always love raft rides like Kali. Dd is the one who has really been angling for this trip. Her absolute favorite from last time was Peter Pan, so I was happy to see it survived the Fantasyland makeover (in my very quick look at the website). She is also very into Pokemon, so I need to take her to the Japan area in Epcot. She hates makeup, so at least I know she won't want to do Bibbity Bobbity Boutique!

Since we won't be doing the dining plan or WDW park hoppers, I don't figure on doing many ADR's, but I'm sure we'll want to do at least one character meal. I also want to see Wishes at least once. Supposedly you can see the fireworks from some places at the Blue Heron, but I need to be onsite for them at least once!

I've also got the 2014 Unofficial Guide from the library, but hadn't realized it was published before they finished Fantasyland and the new Harry Potter section, so it doesn't seem nearly as useful as I thought it would be!

Anyhow, I've got lots to plan in the next 6 weeks or so! I did our last plan in about the same time frame the last time, but I'm a lot busier this time around, so it will be a bit more challenging. At least this time I'm not starting completely from scratch, and I don't need to make nearly as many ADR's, so if necessary, we can wing more of it. Thanks to anyone who wants to follow along...

 

[mommytothreeboys]

I'm here for the planning fun! We will be there the week before you...overlapping the weekend!

 

[irene_dsc]

I have a reader! Welcome, Missy!

I'm gradually starting on the itinerary, and trying to figure out some meal and general pacing strategies. We tend to like breaks and not being all go, go, go, for instance.

In talking with the kids, I'm hearing that my daughter doesn't really care about doing any character meals. My son is saying he might want a Looney Toons character meal. We haven't done Tusker House, so that's a possibility.

Looking at the various restaurant descriptions again, I was reminded that I didn't really like how crowded the CS places at MK were, and I started looking at Liberty Tree Tavern. As it happens, both kids have great social studies teachers this year, and my daughter is studying the Revolutionary War this year, so they both think that sounds like a great theme! Lunch ADR's seem to be available every day except Tuesday, yay! I had been thinking maybe doing MK our first Saturday because it is the only day it doesn't have an early EMH, but then I realized that since it has a *late* EMH, Wishes won't be until 10 pm! That would make it a very long day for us! So, now I'm thinking it will be a different day - maybe Sunday.

For Epcot, I hadn't realized that it is during the Flower & Garden Festival - yay! But it didn't seem like there were scheduled events that I actually want to add to the schedule, just special things to watch for (topiaries, etc), so it doesn't really matter which day. I'm not sure if that means I should avoid the weekends or not. Foodwise, I realized that there are so many different CS places throughout the World, we could sample as we go around and share items. Last time, we had a dinner ADR at Marrakesh, so we didn't taste much as we were going around. (I think I'll also be happy if we don't do any sit-down dinners at Disney restaurants - the prices have gone up a *lot* since we were there before!)

I haven't even started on Universal restaurants...

So, here's a beginning...

Thurs, March 26 - leave Illinois, arrive Atlanta late
Friday, March 27 - arrive Blue Heron Resort mid or late afternoon (driving)
Sat, March 28 - Epcot? Eat around the World (EMH: MK late, HS early)
Sun, March 29 - MK? Lunch - Liberty Tree Tavern, Wishes 9 pm (EMH: MK & AK early)
Mon, March 30 - AK? Tusker House breakfast or lunch?
Tues, March 31 - rest day
Weds, Apr 1 - Universal
Thurs, Apr 2 - Universal
Fri, Apr 3 - head north...

 

[irene_dsc]

So far, the plan is getting approval from the rest of the family. I officially made the ADR's for Liberty Tree Tavern (1 pm, Sunday) and Tusker House breakfast (10:35 am, Monday).

I quickly glanced at the dining section on Universal in the Unofficial Guide, and it looks like not nearly as many options, and no reservations required. Phew!

Now, time to go to sleep. I just had to get those ADR's before they slipped away, once I had a plan! I can still change the plan, but at least I've got them reserved...

 

[irene_dsc]

So, even tho I should be working (so we can pay for all of this!), I skimmed a few planning threads. And saw a link to easywdw.com with crowd calendars. Naturally, MK is Not Recommended for Sunday. Not until Tuesday or Wednesday. Tuesday I can't get a Liberty Tree Tavern reservation, but there are a few on Weds (lunch). I'm not sure I can convince everyone it's a good idea to wait that long to go to MK, however. Unless I flip the entire trip - Universal first? Thoughts?

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Well...I have always found that the crowd calendars/predictions are helpful. However, with a good plan you can make pretty much any day work. I don't think I would change all of my plans.

We are going to MK on Saturday...not recommended, but I love MK late at night so we're forging ahead!

 

[irene_dsc]

Yeah, Dh pretty much agreed that we know it will be crazy busy whatever day we go, so we just need to prioritize well. At least the kids don't care about waiting in line to meet characters - that is a huge timesaver.

 

[irene_dsc]

I started thinking about the must-do's list:
MK - To do again: Peter Pan (dd), Buzz (ds and dd), Teacups (dd), Wishes (me, dd)
MK - missed the last time: Splash Mountain (was closed, but a must do for ds since he loves water rides), Haunted Mansion (they weren't ready for it)

Epcot: To do again: Soarin' (except dd - she was too short before), Living with the Land (me, dh)
new to us: check out the Pokemon stuff at the Japan pavilion, maybe the Phineas & Ferb activities

AK: To do again: Kali River Rapids (all, esp ds), Kilimanjaro Safari (all)
new to us: Dinosaur

Obviously, we will do more than that list, but those are my priorities so far.

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Exploring the Epcot WS shops is on my list too. Very cool stuff in there!


Living with the Land is one of my favorites. So glad to see it on your list!

 

[irene_dsc]

I've been busy, but I finally bought my tickets! And I got the last day for 2014 prices from Undercover Tourist using the Mousesavers link. Phew. I got the 3 day base ticket for WDW, and 2 days plus 1 free Park to Park for Universal (since it was cheaper than 2 days!). Since I waited so long, I sprang for the 5 day shipping, so I can be sure to get them in time, and make some FP+ reservations hopefully!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

I did the express shipping too. Worth it to be sure you have them in time for FP+Day!

 

[irene_dsc]

Got my tix - now I need to do my FP+! We are way past the 30 day window, so who knows how that will go. But, gotta get more work done first...

 

[irene_dsc]

Ok, got my tickets linked and added FP+! They aren't ideal, but I'll take them and see how it goes.

Here is the WDW itinerary so far...

Saturday, March 28: Epcot
10:05 Spaceship Earth
11:45 Mission Space
1:30 Soarin'
Not scheduled: then, Living with the Land, eat around World Showcase

Sunday, March 29: Magic Kingdom
1:00 Liberty Tree Tavern ADR
5:15 Splash Mountain
8:15 Peter Pan
then run and find a spot for
9:00 Wishes!
10:15 Seven Dwarves Mine Train! I can't believe we got this one!
We will probably go to Peter Pan in the morning anyhow, esp since I'm nervous about the timing right before Wishes, and both of those are must-do's!
Also, definitely doing Buzz Lightyear and the Haunted Mansion earlier.

Monday, March 30: Animal Kingdom
10:35 Tusker House Restaurant
1:35 Dinosaur
3:15 Kali River Rapids
4:50 Kilimanjaro Safaris

Comments in the next post...

 

[irene_dsc]

My comments on the whole FP+ thing:

First, it seems weird to plan out so much of our day ahead of time! I now feel like I'll have to make some routings to make sure we can hit the other things we want to do. I was bummed our Epcot FP+s were so late, but I picked the earliest of the options so we could move onto World Showcase. We never did Innoventions when we were there before - maybe we'll try that between Spaceship Earth and Mission Space. Or Test Track, actually. Or start with Test Track, if we get there early enough. We'll probably skip the whole Nemo section - dd seemed very uninterested in it as we discussed rides.

I put most of my MK comments in the itinerary post. I hadn't expected to get a SDMT spot at all, so that totally threw me! I was going to use one on Buzz, but I'm hoping the lines won't be too long for that. It does mean that since all of them are so late, we won't have any other FP+ options for the rest of the day, alas.

For AK, it seemed odd that the system wasn't smart enough to see that we had ADR's already, lol! Most of the options were during our ADR, so they were out. But this means we can cool off in mid-afternoon, and then rest our feet on the safari at the end of the day. No idea if we'll actually get to see any animals. We saw a lot when we were there in January, but I know there aren't as many when it is hot. I've been checking the weather lately, and it seems to vary from high of 86ish to high of 70, so who knows what we will get!

 

[irene_dsc]

I started looking at maps. I'd forgotten just how big and spread out MK is! I'm thinking now that we could start by quickly going to Buzz Lightyear, since it is pretty near the entrance, then Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, then lunch. That may take us most of the morning! Of course, the kids may, or may not, want to try Space Mountain.

After lunch, we can do Big Thunder Railroad. We might do Tom Sawyer's Island. I'm intrigued by it - not sure about the kids. I figure we can skip most of Fantasyland - that will help a bit. Maybe Pirates of the Caribbean. I know I was underwhelmed when we were there - not sure on the kids.

 

[irene_dsc]

Bummer. Putting something on my wish list doesn't make it show up on the map on my itinerary. That could've been helpful.

 

[irene_dsc]

So, switching FP+ times isn't as hard as I thought it would be! I was right that the Seven Dwarves time was the *only* time available, so that one is staying as is. But that's ok. I switched Peter Pan to 10:50am-11:50am. That way, we can start in Tomorrowland, then make our way to Peter Pan at a more leisurely pace, do the Haunted Mansion, then lunch. I haven't decided if I want to switch Splash Mountain. It would be convenient to do right after lunch, but it seems silly since we would be nice and cool already from eating inside. This may take more thought...

 

[irene_dsc]

So, I started looking at an afternoon plan of swinging down to meet Peter Pan in Adventureland after lunch, but it says Schedule Unavailable for that day.

 

[irene_dsc]

New MK afternoon plan...

After lunch (about 2 pm), head to either Tom Sawyer's Island or Big Thunder Railroad. Do both, then Splash Mountain FP+ - by then, we should be ready to cool off again! If hungry, eat at Pecos Bill's - I don't expect much from it, but it has both burgers and bbq pork sandwiches, so that should please both kids. (One won't eat burgers, and one won't eat bbq!) If not hungry, head to Pirates of the Caribbean, then dinner at Pecos Bill's. Then make our way towards Main St to find a spot for Wishes...