Our HoopDeeDoo Debut (Advice Welcome!)

[ariane37]

I am going to have a hard time selling HusbandMan on any shows. We went to the Aladdin show at DL and it was *awful*. I mean... truly terrible and since it was my idea, he is profoundly dubious about trying. I will have to get him to go "for Cupcake" with low expectations and maybe I can swing that. (And have him be pleasantly surprised.)

Well in that case, I'd either do FOTLK first, or not have him go to Flights of Wonder! FOW is really, really good; however, it's not as blow-you-away as the Lion King show. If you have him see that one first, you might just be able to sell him on more shows

 

[Baklava]

Well in that case, I'd either do FOTLK first, or not have him go to Flights of Wonder! FOW is really, really good; however, it's not as blow-you-away as the Lion King show. If you have him see that one first, you might just be able to sell him on more shows

Flights of Wonder is live birds, right? That's a much higher blow-you-away factor for him. (And Cupcake is becoming an avid birder.) We've seen Lion King in San Francisco, and it was great, but DH is way more interested in live animals. What he didn't like was the abbreviated version of Aladdin that they do at DCA- not just that it was abbreviated, it was flat out *bad*. I mean, really and truly dreadful. I suspect FOTLK is much better, but he's hard to convince!

 

[tabrizia]

*Wave* just came over from the facebook group. We are going to start our vacation as yours is ending. We are going to be at Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom the same days at the end of your trip (and start of ours). Actually I think we're going to be at BoG breakfast at the same time, we have a 8:10 ADR there on 1/14.

Your plans look great. I also caved and did CRT, we're doing it on the 14th though as a late lunch. I was going to wait until our family only trip, but we switched that to a Disneyland trip instead.

 

[Baklava]

I'm making changes! I'll post a new itinerary after my FP+ date in about a week, but for now...

Captain's Grille after Fantasmic was a pipe dream. We'll do aQS in HS before the show for dinner that night. (Would LOVE recommendations!)

Captain's Grille will be part of our other HS day and as that bumps Boatwright's, we'll be moving Boatwright's to our final day and dropping Rainforest because it's not unique and we've done it more than once in Anaheim. This also gives some flexibility for spending that evening at another park or the hotel pool if we want. (HS has EMH until 9 that night. We might try for a final ride on Star Tours or something.

I think that flexible lunch in AK is going to become Flame Tree. It looks so good!

 

[Stretchy Shorts]

I am going to have a hard time selling HusbandMan on any shows. We went to the Aladdin show at DL and it was *awful*. I mean... truly terrible and since it was my idea, he is profoundly dubious about trying. I will have to get him to go "for Cupcake" with low expectations and maybe I can swing that. (And have him be pleasantly surprised.)

We never miss the bird show at AK

 

[Stretchy Shorts]

Flame Tree is great. One suggestion is that they have a 'rush' at opening (11am) so a good time to is about 11:20. There's a bunch of seating hidden behind the counter service. Go down the stairs towards the lake and you'll find great, quiet places to camp and eat. The BBQ half chicken is wonderful!

 

[Baklava]

It's The All New, Take Two, So Much Ballyhoo... Hoop-Dee-Doo Debut.

Now with Fast passes and the most recent dining changes. Because I am wishy washy, that's why.

So here's the NEW NEW plan:

Flying out of SMF. This is Disney, not Sparta. Madness is not the thing.

We land at MCO at 8:10PM. We'll do dinner at the POR food court and crash and get a fresh start the next day.


Day Zero - 1/5

Arrive late in the evening.
Dinner at food court.


Day One - Epcot 1/6 9-9

Breakfast at the food court
Test Track 10:05-11:05
Spaceship Earth 11:05-12:05
Asherkus 12:25
Meet the Disney Pals 2:20-3:30
Rose and Crown 7:15
Illuminations 9:00


*Soarin is closed and Mission Space is now a Tier 1. This changed our FP+ strategy for Epcot.



Day Two - Magic Kingdom 1/7 9-8

1900 Park Fare Breakfast- 8:00 AM (non-rope drop day, monorail to MK after)
Space, Big Thunder and Splash Mountains. FP+ for 10, 11 and 12.
CRT 1:10 for the ladies
Crystal Palace 1:10 for the gentlemen I want so many pictures...
3 o’clock parade 3:00 (We may try for a same day FP. You never know...)
MSEP 7:00 (Again, might shoot for a FP and see if we get lucky.)
Whispering Canyon - 8:20 PM






Day Three - Animal Kingdom 1/8 9-5

Tusker House Breakfast- 8:00
Safari 10:15
Expedition Everest 11:45
Flame Tree for lunch at some point
Festival of the Lion King 1:30
Flights of Wonder at some point. Cupcake is all about birds.
Sanaa Dinner 5:30


*FP+ was a little waffley on this one. We wanted Kali but it's closed. Then I book a Mickey and Pals meet and greet. Then I realized that's *stupid* right after a Tusker House breakfast and with a Mickey and Pals meet and greet on another day. So the guys get to suck-it-up-buttercup and watch FOTLK.



Day Four - Hollywood Studios 1/9 9-7
Sci-Fi 8:00
Head straight to JTA sign ups
Frozen Sing Along 10:35
Star Tours 11:45
Mama Melrose 12:55 (Fantasmic package)
Toy Story Midway Mania 2:20
Disney Jr. Dance Party?
Fantasmic 7:00

*Dinner??? Heaven help us, there's no ADR! Chaos reigns! Seriously, we're winging it on this one. We don't know that we'll really want to eat before Fantasmic and after it's hard to make a plan. We might try a DHS resort or even Boatwrights at our resort or the food court. We'll have a little spontaneity.

Boy is going to try to single rider Star Tours because, as he puts it, "the fascists won't let me have two fast passes for it."



Day Five - Non-Park, Downtown Disney 1/10

Breakfast up in the air (Boardwalk in the morning? Skip it and have a snack?)
Splitsville (with bowling- early lunch) 10:45
Characters In Flight
Pick a Pearl
Raglan Road 5:00
Pirate and Pals Fireworks Voyage Check-in 8:45 @ Contemporary

*This day has not changed at all, which makes it an anomaly.


Day Six - Epcot 9-9 1/11 EMH AK AM

Breakfast flexible
Turtle Talk 10
Mission Space 11:00
Restaurant Marrakesh 12:00
The Seas with Nemo 2:00
Coral Reef 8:55

*I noticed that the FP+ system booked my Nemo at the same time as Marrakesh. I changed it, but I thought they weren't supposed to do that. It wasn't just an overlap, both things started AT 12:00.



Day Seven - Hollywood Studios 9-7 1/12

Hollywood and Vine 8:00
Tower of Terror/TSMM 10ish
Great Movie Ride/Muppet Vision 11:30ish
Lunch? May leave it unplanned.
Star Tours 1ish
Captain's Grille 8PM

*FP+ is wonky because again, Boy won't ride ToT or GMR. We got overlapping times for everything so all of them work, but they're things like, 12:55 v. 1:05. We also changed up our dinner plans because CG was unrealistic after Fantasmic and we moved it here, requiring that Boatwrights get shifted... there was a domino effect. It all worked out nicely, though.



Day Eight - Non-Park 1/13
Ohana 9:00
Explore the Poly, check out the beach, maybe ride the monorail around. (I kinda want to see the station inside the Contemporary. It's a thing, okay?)
T-Rex 12:00
Again, keeping it flexible, but this would be good pool time over at POFQ since Old Man Pool is going to be closed. Depends on weather and moods.
HoopDeeDoo Revue 6:15

*Boy announced late in the process that he wanted to meet Stitch. Really kid? REALLY? I asked what you wanted for HOW long and got, "I don't care..." answers? >sigh< Anyway, I got us Ohana and yeah, it means we'll eat lighter at lunch time but it makes the emo teen happy and that's worth a lot.
I made some FP+ for this afternoon in case we decide to hit MK between lunch and dinner. It's our second Disney Springs day and we may be done with it by lunch. I got Rapunzel (with Pirates for Boy), FoF parade and Peter Pan. I think we're fine ditching these if we opt not to go.

Day Nine - Magic Kingdom 1/14 9-8
Pre-opening BoG 8:00!
7 Dwarves 10ish
Enchanted Tales/Pirates 12:00
If the new restaurant in Adventureland is open I'm shooting for that.
Anna and Elsa/ Jungle Cruise 1:30
(Another chance to try for the parade at 3:00 if we haven't managed it yet.)
Spirit of Aloha 5:15
Wishes Fireworks from Poly beach at 8 PM?


*FP+ for this day were my first priority and I was happy to get both Anna/Elsa AND 7DMT. The pre-park BoG may make the 7DMT redundant, but we can always head straight to something else and then come back for 7DMT. Flexibility!



Day Ten - Animal Kingdom 1/15 9-5
Crystal Palace 8:20
Safari 10:00-11:00
Yak and Yeti (12:00) Pushed it from 11 but we may still dump this.
Dinosaur 11:05
Expedition Everest 1:50
Boatwrights 6:35
Honestly, I'm tempted to ditch AK partway through this day and go elsewhere. We've cancelled RFC for dinner, so sticking around the area is no longer a thing.


*So... Boy heard about Breakfast Lasagna. It is now a moral imperative that we have CP breakfast. It also means that while the guys eat there twice, they are perfectly happy to do so and it covers the Pooh requirement for Cupcake.



MDE at 8 am, so the departure morning isn't too painful, but a quick breakfast and a fond goodbye.

 

[tabrizia]

I am hoping there is still A&E avaliable on the 12th when I do my FP+ in 7 days. It is like the girl's one main request. I'm still debating Tales with Belle or hoping that we can get one after we use our other FP+ as well.

FYI if you are full from breakfast on the 13th, the appetizers and then the Chocolate Extinction, is fun and a ton of food.


It looks like a great plan and good FP+ luck!

 

[Baklava]

I am hoping there is still A&E avaliable on the 12th when I do my FP+ in 7 days. It is like the girl's one main request. I'm still debating Tales with Belle or hoping that we can get one after we use our other FP+ as well.

FYI if you are full from breakfast on the 13th, the appetizers and then the Chocolate Extinction, is fun and a ton of food.


It looks like a great plan and good FP+ luck!

Did you get your A and E?

 

[tabrizia]

Did you get your A and E?

I did, a bit later then I wanted, but I got it. I also got one for the 17th, but it is at a bad time, so I am dropping it. I am trying for one tonight at midnight for the 21st. I won't worry about it, since we have ours, but I'm trying to grab it for my sister and her kids. I also kind of want one for the 23rd but it has to be at the perfect time, since we'll be leaving for the airport around 3, it just seems like a great thing to do on our last day.

Oh and we dropped our Crystal Palace breakfast. I really like that meal, but it was right in the middle of the opening 2 hours, and we decided rides were more important, so we're trying the lunch. No breakfast lasagna for us.

 

[Baklava]

Okay, so remember how I said I get panic attacks? I am hovering on the brink of giving myself a panic attack over the potential for having a panic attack later on. (No, really. I'm super special in the head.)

The updated crowd predictor on Touring Plans has made me shuffle a few things. While I have been avoiding EMH, the current predictors have me in DHS on a day that's an 8. I can't handle an 8. On the other hand, my adjacent non-park day... is a 4. Even with EMH it's only a 4 and that seems like a difference worth a little hassle.

So... the new plan involves swapping around stuff on Days 4, 5 and 7. Day 5 becomes DHS and day 4 becomes Disney Springs. Day 8 has minor adjustments but it mostly works. We *may* lose one Disney Springs meal and we decided that we'd rather ensure Raglan Road and risk T-rex, since we have Landry's Club and it makes T-Rex easier to do as a walk up.

The places I have changes or am worried about are in blue. I'm edgy about the lack of breakfast plans which may be silly.

No Really, I'm Going To Get My Act Together... Hoop-Dee-Doo Debut.

So here's the NEW NEW NEW plan:

Flying out of SMF.

We land at MCO at 8:10PM. We'll do dinner at the POR food court and crash and get a fresh start the next day.


Day Zero - 1/5

Arrive late in the evening.
Dinner at food court.


Day One - Epcot 1/6 9-9

Breakfast at the food court
Test Track 10:05-11:05
Spaceship Earth 11:05-12:05
Chefs De France 1:00 Akershus bit the dust. We determined that it was doubling up on princesses we'd see elsewhere and Boy wanted CdF when he looked at the options. Crossing my fingers that it isn't too fancy for Cupcake.
Meet the Disney Pals 2:20-3:30
Rose and Crown 7:15
Illuminations 9:00



Day Two - Magic Kingdom 1/7 9-8

1900 Park Fare Breakfast- 8:00 AM (non-rope drop day, monorail to MK after)
Space, Big Thunder and Splash Mountains. FP+ for 10, 11 and 12.
CRT 1:10 for the ladies
Crystal Palace 1:10 for the gentlemen I want so many pictures...
3 o’clock parade 3:00 (We may try for a same day FP. You never know...)
MSEP 7:00 (Again, might shoot for a FP and see if we get lucky.)
Whispering Canyon - 8:20 PM




Day Three - Animal Kingdom 1/8 9-5

Tusker House Breakfast- 8:00
Safari 10:15
Expedition Everest 11:45
Flame Tree for lunch at some point
Festival of the Lion King 1:30
Flights of Wonder at some point. Cupcake is all about birds.
Sanaa Dinner 5:30



Day Four - Non-Park day 1/9
Breakfast up in the air (Boardwalk in the morning? Skip it and have a snack?)
Splitsville (with bowling- early lunch) 11:00
Characters In Flight
Pick a Pearl
Possibly some pool time
Captain's Grille 8:00 or 6:25 (I currently have both ADRs.)


Day Five - DHS 1/10

No breakfast plan
Head straight to JTA sign ups
Star Tours 9:45
Frozen Sing Along 11:05
Toy Story Midway Mania 12:05
Hollywood and Vine 1:30
Disney Jr. Dance Party?
Totally unsure about dinner
Pirate and Pals Fireworks Voyage Check-in 6:45 @ Contemporary

*Note- this was the one day that had not changed at all last time. So much for that!

Day Six - Epcot 9-9 1/11 EMH AK AM

Breakfast flexible
Turtle Talk 10
Mission Space 11:00
Restaurant Marrakesh 12:00
The Seas with Nemo 2:00
Coral Reef 8:55


Day Seven - Hollywood Studios 9-7 1/12

Sci-Fi 8:00
Tower of Terror/TSMM 10ish
Great Movie Ride/Muppet Vision 11:30ish
Mama Melrose 11:55
Star Tours 1ish
Fantasmic 7:00



Day Eight - Non-Park 1/13
Ohana 9:00
Explore the Poly, check out the beach, maybe ride the monorail around. (I kinda want to see the station inside the Contemporary. It's a thing, okay?)
Raglan Road 1:00
HoopDeeDoo Revue 6:15



Day Nine - Magic Kingdom 1/14 9-8
Pre-opening BoG 8:00!
7 Dwarves 10ish
Enchanted Tales/Pirates 11:15
If the new restaurant in Adventureland is open I'm shooting for that.
Anna and Elsa/ Jungle Cruise 1:30
(Another chance to try for the parade at 3:00 if we haven't managed it yet.)
Spirit of Aloha 5:15
Wishes Fireworks from Poly beach at 8 PM?


Day Ten - Animal Kingdom 1/15 9-5
Crystal Palace 8:20
Safari 10:00-11:00
Dinosaur 11:05
Yak and Yeti (12:00) we may dump this.
Expedition Everest 1:50
Boatwrights 6:35
Honestly, I'm tempted to ditch AK partway through this day and go elsewhere. We've cancelled RFC for dinner, so sticking around the area is no longer a thing.
**Maybe we'll get on EE earlier, ditch Yak and Yeti and head over to T-Rex.



MDE at 8 am, so the departure morning isn't too painful, but a quick breakfast and a fond goodbye.

 

[Stretchy Shorts]

Exploring is fun

 

[Stretchy Shorts]

One of my family's favorite things to do is to chillax at the pool every day. Are you planning to do that?

 

[Baklava]

One of my family's favorite things to do is to chillax at the pool every day. Are you planning to do that?

Not daily, no. We're hoping for enough warm days to do some pool time, but pool time isn't a huge priority for us.

 

[Stretchy Shorts]

Not daily, no. We're hoping for enough warm days to do some pool time, but pool time isn't a huge priority for us.

 

[pascalspal]

Following along! Your plans look great so far!

 

[tabrizia]

Your changes look good. I'm still teaming my plans a bit though I can't change days at this point. Biggest issue with going with a huge group.

 

[Baklava]

Yeah, I'm really surprised the day switch came together at all, let alone as easily as it did. New wrinkle. HusbandMan FINALLY got on the Disney site and looked around... and announced he wants to play mini golf.

>sigh<

I TOLD them to look. I TOLD them to tell me what they wanted. I TOLD them MONTHS ago. So here I am 5 weeks out making sure we play mini golf.

 

[tabrizia]

Yeah, I'm really surprised the day switch came together at all, let alone as easily as it did. New wrinkle. HusbandMan FINALLY got on the Disney site and looked around... and announced he wants to play mini golf.

>sigh<

I TOLD them to look. I TOLD them to tell me what they wanted. I TOLD them MONTHS ago. So here I am 5 weeks out making sure we play mini golf.

If it makes you feel better out of the 16 people (though 2 are under 3 and one isn't doing parks) we have coming on the trip. 5 people have tickets (my family), 11 people have a basic plan (my family again, plus one sisters family and my parents) and 5 people are still not sure what days they are coming let alone what get are doing.


I am more or less in charge (edited because my phone is apparently insane) of making the whole thing into a cohesive plan too!

 

[ariane37]

Yeah, I'm really surprised the day switch came together at all, let alone as easily as it did. New wrinkle. HusbandMan FINALLY got on the Disney site and looked around... and announced he wants to play mini golf.

>sigh<

I TOLD them to look. I TOLD them to tell me what they wanted. I TOLD them MONTHS ago. So here I am 5 weeks out making sure we play mini golf.

This is my DH and 2 DS's on every trip!! So I always end up adding/changing things last minute . I know you can't teach an old dog new tricks so I tell myself that's DH's excuse lol,
but c'mon boys! They've been 11x and should know by now how things work!
As far as mini-golf we've done WinterSummerland twice, very cute. Just returned Sat. from our Thanksgiving Disney trip and finally tried Fantasia Gardens (the easier side) and boys preferred that.