***Official August 2023 Thread***

[QueenofPrideRock]

6 more days to go. By this time next week we’ll be wrapping up our first MK day, sitting down to dinner (or just finishing dinner- I’ll see where the day takes us), and deciding what we might want to do before the fireworks.

- suitcases are almost completely packed. I don’t know what got into me but once I started tossing a few things in yesterday, I kept going.

- ADRs have still not budged. At this point I don’t know why I look because I know enough to know I can probably move it the night before or the day-of. But also it gives me something “Disney” to do for the next few days.

-parents have offered to drop us off at the airport. Secretly concerned this is so they can announce they’re actually joining us (LOVE them but we have VERY different travel/ Disney “styles”)

-will resist the urge to pack anything else because I can see that there’s an inch of space in a suitcase.

-have given up the deep clean of the house. Cleaning my house with my kids in it is like brushing my teeth while chewing Oreos.

"like brushing my teeth while chewing Oreos" really made me giggle

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

5 days to go (sorry for the rapid updates here)
-have not packed anything additional. Waiting for the Amazon delivery guy to drop off the last two “essentials”
-scheduled Instacart pickup
-will resist the urge to continue adding items to my Instacart pickup
-found out that my SIL and her husband, and our nephew (her son)/ son’s wife/ their 2 children are going to be there at the same time. We have been trying to plan a trip with SIL for almost 10 years and the timing never works. So I guess we stopped trying and now here we are. Will resist the urge to rearrange all of my plans in light of this. They are Disney people, they have made plans already just like us so they will get it. We will figure out how to meet up at some point though and that should be fun.

 

[Pills]

Going in a week from today. Haven't packed, but laundry is going so we'll be setting aside things soon!

My daughter (the one hugging Donald in my picture) has the LSAT on Saturday and does NOT want to hear a countdown, but we can talk about the vacation.

Still couldn't move the Skipper Canteen reservation earlier for the 16th. Oh, well.

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

Going in a week from today. Haven't packed, but laundry is going so we'll be setting aside things soon!

My daughter (the one hugging Donald in my picture) has the LSAT on Saturday and does NOT want to hear a countdown, but we can talk about the vacation.

Still couldn't move the Skipper Canteen reservation earlier for the 16th. Oh, well.

I have not been able to budge any of my ADRs (and I only have 3 at this point) for my trip the 12-20th. That’s unusual at this point (a week or less out) but I’m wondering if maybe that will change once they finally push the ADR update I’ve been hearing about for a week.

Happy packing!

 

[disney-inspired]

Late to the party! I'm leaving Friday night.

I have been packed since Monday. The only items I need to pack the day of are my electronics for my carry on (phone, airpods, charger), otherwise all set.

I'm taking a red eye and will be landing at 7am Saturday morning

5 days to go (sorry for the rapid updates here)
-have not packed anything additional. Waiting for the Amazon delivery guy to drop off the last two “essentials”
-scheduled Instacart pickup
-will resist the urge to continue adding items to my Instacart pickup
-found out that my SIL and her husband, and our nephew (her son)/ son’s wife/ their 2 children are going to be there at the same time. We have been trying to plan a trip with SIL for almost 10 years and the timing never works. So I guess we stopped trying and now here we are. Will resist the urge to rearrange all of my plans in light of this. They are Disney people, they have made plans already just like us so they will get it. We will figure out how to meet up at some point though and that should be fun.

I didn't know I could schedule ahead for instacart! I'm going to go place that order now so it's ready for me.

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

I didn't know I could schedule ahead for instacart! I'm going to go place that order now so it's ready for me.

I think times for Saturday pickup opened on Monday (so you’re definitely within the window to schedule for Friday, but might be helpful for anyone else playing along at home). I wasn’t sure how fast time slots fill up so I figured I’d better jump on it because I need a very specific time slot.

Safe travels!!!

 

[disney-inspired]

I think times for Saturday pickup opened on Monday (so you’re definitely within the window to schedule for Friday, but might be helpful for anyone else playing along at home). I wasn’t sure how fast time slots fill up so I figured I’d better jump on it because I need a very specific time slot.

Safe travels!!!

I picked a saturday delivery since I'm doing a red eye.

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

We are wheels up in less than 6 hours and I think it’s finally actually setting in. We have been fortunate to visit so many times but this trip is hitting a little differently and I’m a ball of emotions (and caffeine and adrenaline) this morning.

-Suitcases are loaded.

-DH unlocked a new level of suitcase Tetris last night loading the suitcases into the car last night so we wouldn’t have to do it this morning

-In line to buy donuts as a tip for our airport shuttle drivers (okay actually my father and stepfather and so far they get a 5 star Yelp review for their friendly and attentive service and low rates)

-finally had the meltdown I’ve been waiting for about whether or not we are giving ourselves enough time to make the 20 minute ride to the airport (Tweed/ HVN), check our bags, and walk through one of the two TSA scanners they have (for those not local to CT, it’s a small airport -like walking down a hallway and out the door to your plane and the counter agent is possibly also the air traffic controller small). I think our 10 AM arrival for an 11:45 boarding/ 12:25 departure is okay but I would have slept in the parking lot if I could have.

- Car service driver has contacted us with his info and where he will meet us at MCO and a reminder that there is a liquor store next door to our Publix pickup should we need that as well. Already making new friends on this trip!

-in about 12 hours we will be enjoying our traditional Publix sub by the pool night one dinner

 

[scrappinginontario]

We are wheels up in less than 6 hours and I think it’s finally actually setting in. We have been fortunate to visit so many times but this trip is hitting a little differently and I’m a ball of emotions (and caffeine and adrenaline) this morning.

-Suitcases are loaded.

-DH unlocked a new level of suitcase Tetris last night loading the suitcases into the car last night so we wouldn’t have to do it this morning

-In line to buy donuts as a tip for our airport shuttle drivers (okay actually my father and stepfather and so far they get a 5 star Yelp review for their friendly and attentive service and low rates)

-finally had the meltdown I’ve been waiting for about whether or not we are giving ourselves enough time to make the 20 minute ride to the airport (Tweed/ HVN), check our bags, and walk through one of the two TSA scanners they have (for those not local to CT, it’s a small airport -like walking down a hallway and out the door to your plane and the counter agent is possibly also the air traffic controller small). I think our 10 AM arrival for an 11:45 boarding/ 12:25 departure is okay but I would have slept in the parking lot if I could have.

- Car service driver has contacted us with his info and where he will meet us at MCO and a reminder that there is a liquor store next door to our Publix pickup should we need that as well. Already making new friends on this trip!

-in about 12 hours we will be enjoying our traditional Publix sub by the pool night one dinner

Thanks for the fun post! Have a great trip!!

 

[suse66]

6 days to go and I just got back from my cottage where I was for a month. So I have to unpack, organize and repack with all my Disney things. I pretty much have my Instacart order done and have to pick a delivery time. I have Sweets and Seats fireworks dessert party booked, Caring for Giants tour, Savour the Savannah, Cirque de Soleil show and Sangria University. So lots of fun plus park time, great food, pool time and relaxation. It's a 10 day trip so I should be able to fit it all in.

 

[Justrose]

1 week away!

Yesterday DD and I went through the clothes I had pulled from our 7 storage containers of Disney apparel and made our outfit final selections. Gathered all the other stuff we take (it's a lot) and made a giant pile on the living room floor. Have to make one last Target run for a couple things and order Instacart. Packing will commence Friday.

We also spent time yesterday watching DFB and other vlogs for MNSSHP deets.

 

[DeeBee3]

Anyone have time to share news from the parks? Crowds, wait times, etc...

 

[QueenofPrideRock]

Anyone have time to share news from the parks? Crowds, wait times, etc...

My trip isn't until the end of the month but I've been checking the Touring Plans "historical crowds" daily in anticipation: https://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/crowd-calendar/month/august/2023

 

[han22735]

We don't arrive till Saturday, but I've been watching wait times. They are definitely lower this week than last but still some long waits out there. Hopefully they continue to drop going into next week. I'm also noticing lots of rides being down which stinks and makes things worse.

 

[scrappinginontario]

We arrive a week from tomorrow. I'm watching wait times and anticipating our wait times being similar to this week as I'm pretty confident that schools that are not in session yet will not go back until after Labour Day.

 

[madzy]

We arrive today! Gonna hit Hollywood Studios WITHOUT Genie+. Definitely not getting our expectations up. We are just happy to be there.

 

[McMonsters]

10 days to go! We have a family wedding to get through this weekend on top of packing for our move. This trip is coming fast!

 

[lizzyb]

4 days until we arrive. Hoping for reduced crowds and cooler temperatures lol.

Still need to pack...

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

Anyone have time to share news from the parks? Crowds, wait times, etc...

I can give a quick update.
We were at MK on Sunday (TP rated it crowd level 4 and I would say that was fairly accurate). The 12 pm and 3 pm parades had plenty of viewing room front row without lining up at all. Minimal waits for things like food and photopass (these are 3 ways I eyeball just how many of my closest friends are at MK with me). So, strolling around the park was easy to do without bumping into people or crowding too much at pinch points.

I didn’t pay as close attention to ride waits because we did buy and make good use of G+. We also focused mainly on Fantasyland and Frontierland but we got so much done by around 4 pm we were able to head over to Tomorrowland for a while. We did not rope drop but did arrive close to park opening (almost 9 AM).

Some of what I did note (and I didn’t check waits throughout the day, only when it was time for me to head to the next thing so that I could decide what to LL next). BTMRR had a 65 minute wait around 3 pm and that held for a while, probably the rest of the day. 7DMT had a long wait from open to close. HM’s LL line was backed up to the Riverboat entrance at one point around 2 pm I think (standby at that time was posted as 65 minutes and held there the rest of the day). People mover had a long wait most of the day (long being 20 minutes or so because that one is usually walk on) but that was because it repeatedly broke down. Space Mountain was about 20-25 minute actual wait by around 4 pm. We had TRON boarding group 1, got there around 9:30 and were riding before 10- probably sooner if my engineer DH hadn’t been marveling at the locker setup. Character meets in Fanstasyland in the morning had zero wait (15 minutes posted but maybe 1-2 parties ahead of us each time) and we had a private meet with Chip & Dale because no one was in that entire area but us. We didn’t even feel particularly crowded leaving after fireworks (which we watched from over by TRON because DH and DS had ILL but the ride broke down around 8 pm, did not come back up, and we decided not to jam our way through to the front of the castle).

I can also try to remember more specifics for MK if anyone has specific things they want to know. I’ll comment about EPCOT next, we were there yesterday.

Also, the weather news is true. We usually go in August so we know and are prepared for the heat/ humidity but Sunday was like no heat we’ve encountered ever. We had plenty of water, stayed on the shady side of whatever walkway we took, wore hats, planned a long lunch in the AC, and stuck to mostly air conditioned attractions during peak sunshine. The weather forecast said 97, but the “real feel” approached 120 and they were not lying. It was doable, even skipping the mid-day break I was sure we’d take but my kids vetoed me.

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

We arrive today! Gonna hit Hollywood Studios WITHOUT Genie+. Definitely not getting our expectations up. We are just happy to be there.

Please please please give a quick update on how that went if you can. We are at HS tomorrow. Today, the pool is calling!!

Hoping it was great and you had a magical day!