The Promise of Spring: F&GF 4.0 UPDATED: 5/11 - Page 13 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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You seem to have some great plans made for the first couple of days.
I always wonder about posting plans since we almost always end up altering them to some degree once we are there. But we like having at least a bit of plan before we head out.
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Originally Posted by bluejn
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Originally Posted by rhinohunter
Your MK day looks great even with the changes due to the health issues. Glad you were able to get BOG. Judy and I finally got dinner there last trip after many failures on the past few years. She really wanted to get to dance with Beast. He seems to be a lot more coordinated than I am when it comes to dancing. Be sure to ride Haunted Mansion, I just read that Memory Maker now has a video of the playful ghosts added.
I hadn't heard about the Haunted Mansion video. That has to be too cool!
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Just catching up, Cam. My heart goes out to both you and Luke... along with lots of hugs and pixie dust. Though we've never actually met, I want you to know that your family - especially your precious Stefanie - has touched me deeply. In a forever kind of way. Stefanie's beautiful spirit was evident to all of us who had the privilege of reading about her many Disney adventures. And I continue to be inspired by your and Luke's outlook on life. Grief will be a part of your existence, but that angel of yours soars a little higher every time she sees you smile. Of that you can be sure.
Loved your photos of the house and also of the prints. I've had my eye on that AKL print for years! We bought a couple of very inexpensive prints (more like placemats) in the AKL gift shop. They sat around in our basement for a long time until we finally got around to framing them... and now they look fabulous in our living room! Always nice to bring a little Disney magic home.
Great plans for your first night and first day at MK!
Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm still thankful every day that I was privileged to be Stefanie's mom, my greatest job ever.
Every time I notice the new prints on the wall, I think how much better our whole living room looks. The one in the safari bathroom is also perfect where it is.
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Originally Posted by Roxie2006
Just caught up and I think all your choices for Dining is great!!!! I really want to hear about the River of Lights Dining Package. We usually dine At Planet Hollywood our first day, but I have been reading some terrible reviews, so we're not sure if that will be our choice this time. Maybe I'll wait and hear what you and Luke think about it first. We are going to do BOG this year too!!! Your MK Day looks great!!!!!!
I'll be sure to include lots of pictures of Tiffins and ROL with as much description as I can. When Luke asked me to see about a Planet Hollywood Observatory ADR, he said he'd read some mediocre reviews of it, but thought it would be cool to see the refurb and check out the food ourselves. I'll definitely review that meal, too.
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Your MK day sounds lovely. I've never been on Space Mtn. With the fibromyalgia, I can just tell it would leave me in pain. I have chronic neck and shoulder pain, especially on my left side, though my right side seems to be flaring up lately too. Big Thunder Mountain was really rough too, so I learned my lesson back on our first trip. LOL
I believe I read that you are planning the balloon ride in Disney Springs. It is great. We have done it both during the day and the night. We even had a proposal on our date flight.
Your MK day sounds lovely. I've never been on Space Mtn. With the fibromyalgia, I can just tell it would leave me in pain. I have chronic neck and shoulder pain, especially on my left side, though my right side seems to be flaring up lately too. Big Thunder Mountain was really rough too, so I learned my lesson back on our first trip. LOL
Anyway, more great plans!
So sorry about your fibromyalgia. . So far I can still do BTMMR, but it seems more an more rides drop off as I age.
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Originally Posted by oldmom
I believe I read that you are planning the balloon ride in Disney Springs. It is great. We have done it both during the day and the night. We even had a proposal on our date flight.
We are really hoping to get a chance to ride Characters in Flight.
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Epcot is today’s destination, which means Flower & Garden Festival for blooms and food. The plan today is to head immediately to Test Track to do the standby line before it gets too long. Well, almost immediately, you know I’ll have to stop for some photos of the front F&GF displays. Back to the tiered structure for FastPass+ at this park, it is so annoying with three premier rides grouped together. Soarin’, Test Track, and Frozen Ever After manage to vie for our time every trip now. We have two full Epcot days so for this day we selected Soarin’ from the three. It has always been one of my favorites, and the new movie makes is even more incredible. But that means hightailing it to Test Track as soon as we enter the park and I’ve taken some photos. With that in mind, we made our first FP+ for Soarin’ at 10:05, so we’d have plenty of time for both these attractions.
As we move from one attraction to another today, we’ll wander through the gardens so I can take lots and lots of photos. My handy F&GF passport will help me keep track of each one. The festival merchandise I’ve seen doesn’t really appeal to me, except for a Tervis wine goblet available exclusively to AP holders. So I don't have much shopping planned even though we will visit the Festival Center today.
After the tier one choice is made, I kind of stare at the screen, thinking most of the tier two selections don’t really require a FP+. We did consider two though that can have longer queues at times throughout the day. Our second FP+ will be for Spaceship Earth at 11:05. Anyone know if the cameras are working on SE again? The loss of these makes the ride a bit bland at the end. Our third FP+ will be for Character Spot. We do like a little character time, but don’t really go for the character meals anymore. So this guarantees we get some time with Mickey and Goofy, two of our favorites. But if we’d rather start grazing through the food booths, we might just skip this one.
At this point we’ll definitely move into World Showcase for lunch and strolling the pavilions for topiaries and gardens. By the way, we do know we’ve planned to be at Epcot on a Saturday during a festival, but it’s what worked in our plans and is when the Festival Center is open. Hopefully, it won’t be too obnoxiously crowded. We don’t have dinner plans for this park other than the festival food booths. So, if it gets crazy, we can easily evacuate to another park, the resort, or Disney Springs. If we opt to stay, we’ll finish the evening with Illuminations. Unbelievably, I have not seen Illuminations since October 2015. That simply makes me sad as this is my favorite nighttime show. But Luke’s health made nighttime events last May difficult and then a whole family meet at DS and Hurricane Matthew nixed seeing it in October. Or we could come back to Epcot after a break elsewhere. But I am determined that I am seeing it this trip. I’ve just got to see it this trip.
Of course, at some time we’ll head back to resort and bed. By the way, every day I plan time on the balcony for animal watching and photographing animals on the savanna both morning and evening.
Plans look good for your first day at the F&G Festival! I too can't stand the tiered FP+ sytem in Epcot! Glad you'll be returning to Illuminations as it's my favorite nighttime show as well!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Great Epcot plans! I too hate the FP+ tiers there, and will also be rushing to Test Track as soon as we enter the park, before our Soarin' FP. Soarin' is my absolute favorite ride, and I can't wait to see the updates!
Plans look good for your first day at the F&G Festival! I too can't stand the tiered FP+ sytem in Epcot! Glad you'll be returning to Illuminations as it's my favorite nighttime show as well!
Thanks! I can't believe how long it has been since I've seen Illuminations. I once said I couldn't got to WDW without seeing. I've survived, but I'm not going to miss it another trip.
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Originally Posted by pamcarey
Great Epcot plans! I too hate the FP+ tiers there, and will also be rushing to Test Track as soon as we enter the park, before our Soarin' FP. Soarin' is my absolute favorite ride, and I can't wait to see the updates!
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I was very impressed with the new movie and the refurb to the theater we were in. We were in one of the original, but it was still awesome.
Your MK and Epcot plans sound great! We missed Illuminations this past trip but we did see some of the fireworks from the bridge near the Swan and Dolphin resorts which were beautiful. We will for sure see them at our dinner together in May! We did find the lines long for even the second tier rides this past week but hopefully that will be different come the late Spring.
Your MK and Epcot plans sound great! We missed Illuminations this past trip but we did see some of the fireworks from the bridge near the Swan and Dolphin resorts which were beautiful. We will for sure see them at our dinner together in May! We did find the lines long for even the second tier rides this past week but hopefully that will be different come the late Spring.
Luke keeps reminding me that we'll get to see Illuminations for sure at our dinner. I'm being a bit selfish as I really want to see it two times to make up for missing it.
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Yes, the cameras are working again at Spaceship Earth - well, they were last week. I am so with you that, outside the tier 1 attractions, I struggle to use my Fastpasses, but last week, there was a 35 minute wait for Spaceship Earth at around midday and a 50 minute wait for the character spot - I've seen it longer on the app as well, so those sound like good choices to me.
Spaceship Earth and Character Spot are usually my tier two choices as well. The problem comes when making Epcot FP selections for our second Epcot day as we don't really need to do SE or CS a second time.
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I always wonder about posting plans since we almost always end up altering them to some degree once we are there. But we like having at least a bit of plan before we head out. 
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Big Thunder Mountain was really rough too, so I learned my lesson back on our first trip. LOL
Parlor Panther in 'stalking mode'
Glad you'll be returning to Illuminations as it's my favorite nighttime show as well! 
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