Living the dream and remembering the Bagman LIVE UPDATE 10/2 - Page 38 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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So many details! I picture you being über-organized. I'd be a mess trying to align everything you're dealing with.
Well I try my best to be organised and, honestly, planning something like this helps to keep me busy.
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I'm so glad to hear (vicariously) from Laurie. I think of her often.
We're in touch every few days and she's full of great information about so many places around the world. I am envious of all the wonderful places she's been over the years.
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Maine is one of the few US states still on my bucket list - seriously looking forward to your TR.
Not good news on your side but perhaps the exchange rate will help me finally get to London ... ? It should work that way, correct?
It certainly will, but obviously things can change at any moment with exchange rates. They hate uncertainty, so whether things improve for us over the next couple of months as you head towards the Presidential elections remains to be seen. I'm certainly hoping so...
I am now all caught up with your plans. Bob and I hope to do New England and Niagra Falls in the future so I will be reading the TR when you post. Of course it's so cool we will be a small part of it as we have several times we will share adventures! See you soon
Can't wait to see you guys - it's been far too long.
Pre-trip report – part thirty five: two dinners at Boma?
Wednesday 3 August
Well, what about this as a rumour? RUMOR: The Great Mickey Ride Replacing Movie Ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios? I read this on Facebook tonight, and understandably (I think) people were getting pretty uptight at the suggestion. As the article says, it may all be blue sky thinking, and I hope so, because I do like the Great Movie Ride, and part of me feels that if it went, the whole point of the Studios would go as well. Ok, perhaps a bit overly dramatic, but isn’t that the point of the Studios – to explore the history of films? Just a thought…
Sheila (Big Baloo) posted on the pre-trip report that her mom had recommended a place that turned out to be Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound, which looked amazing. I was absolutely up for going there, given it was only 10 minutes from where we’re staying. I liked the fact they said they weren’t fancy, just “traditionally tasteful”, although sadly those plans went out of the window when I saw their opening hours. The one day they’re closed is Sundays, and guess what night we’re staying in the vicinity? You got it – Sunday!
Thursday 4 August
There were some reviews this morning on Facebook of the Flying Fish Café, which re-opened yesterday. I think most of my friends who live in Orlando must have been there! From the photos I’ve seen, which were pretty mouth watering, and I’m now really excited to try out the new menu.
I guess I got excited too early about the Muppets live show at the Magic Kingdom, as now they’re saying it won’t open until October. Oh well.
I’ve got a friend on Facebook who’s been at Niagara Falls over the last couple of days, and some of the photos he’s posted have been just amazing. I cannot believe that in just over six weeks’ time, we’ll finally get to see it for ourselves.
Friday 5 August
I was so pleased to see a post from Linny (Linnynad) saying that they’re checking out of the BoardWalk on 21 September, and asking if we were going to be in Epcot on the night of 20 September, as they’ll be hanging around World Showcase that night. we will! I suggested she send her cell phone number to us, as I still need to sort out getting a SIM card (the plan is to work out what size we need at the weekend and get it ordered), so that we can hopefully get together. It would be lovely to see her.
I did also have another thought about our arrival at Disney, while reading Donna’s (DMA) post in her pre-trip report. It turns out she’s taking exactly the same flight as us from Buffalo down to Orlando, albeit a couple of weeks earlier. She mentioned about getting to the resort at lunchtime, which is our plan, but then I was thinking more about it. If we get a big enough car and all the luggage is in the boot (trunk), then why not just go straight to Epcot? The only reason I want to go to the resort is to get our car parking pass, but surely if we have our resort reservation number and can give that at the parking booth, we won’t be charged, and even if we are, surely they’d refund us? It would make more sense to just go straight to Epcot and start eating, rather than heading to Animal Kingdom Lodge, and then making our way back to the park. Hmmm….
I do keep checking the park hours literally every day to see if any hours have been added to the Studios. It is so frustrating to know that the fireworks are taking place up until the day before we visit. I also want to know what’s happening with the Jungle Book show/Rivers of Light, as Animal Kingdom is still only open until 7:30pm on the night we’re there, and the there’s no sign of a night-time show beyond early September. For a Disney planner so used to getting all the information at six months out, this is so hard to deal with.
On my pre-trip report today, someone on the boards (purplegal – I don’t know your real name) mentioned about the African Lion Safari, which certainly looks interesting. I wish we had more time to fit in it, as I think it would be worth a stop, but I don’t want to take away from the time we have at Niagara Falls, as that’s something I’ve wanted to see for 20 years.
Saturday 6 August
Five weeks today, we fly out and I have now officially started packing! I’ve gone through the first aid kit and worked out what we need, some more paracetamol, as I have been going through them to deal with the neuralgia pain so I’ve ordered that as part of our grocery order for this week, Savlon (antiseptic cream), which is now on next week’s grocery order, and Piriton, an anti-histamine. I have three packs, but given I am susceptible to being bitten when I’m away and you can take up to four tablets a day, I’d go through those quite quickly if I get some bites, as each pack would last about three days, so I’ll get some more, just to be on the safe side. The way it’s worked in recent years, if I take lots of supplies of it, then I don’t get bitten, so better safe than sorry.
As teabags and washing tablets (we have those now as opposed to washing powder) were on special offer, I ordered those this week, and have bagged both up to come with us, so that’s done.
I finally ordered the international SIM card that should give us a UK and US number, as it turned out to be free shipping even over here. That meant it cost us just $18, which I can live with, and hopefully it will all work fine. The delivery needs a signature, so I’ve ordered it to go to Mark’s work, as otherwise if there’s no-one here, and we have to go and pick it up from the post office here, it’s a 20 minute drive each way. It’s not that far away, it’s just a pain to get to.
Sunday 7 August
I heard from Linny this morning, and I’ve got her cell phone number now, so hopefully we will be able to meet up at World Showcase on our first night in Disney World. I explained the situation with our cell phone number, and fingers crossed, we’ll have a new cell phone number in the next couple of days, so I can let her (and a lot of other people ) know it.
I did look into whether there’s anything else we can pay for before our trip, but really there isn’t. We could pay for some of the Canadian attractions we’re going to, but none of them cost that much, and I’m always worried that something might happen, and we might not make it to these places. That’s what happened with Hawai’i, we didn’t feel like doing half the things we planned to, and as a result, I was very glad I didn’t buy a card that gave us access to all the places we wanted to visit, as that would’ve been a costly mistake, given we didn’t make it to half of them.
I spent today working through our itinerary, and checking that everything is done. For example, does everywhere we’re visiting have an address? Most did, but some didn’t, so I added those in. I also had a very close look at Niagara Falls, as I had some ideas about what to see and do there, but I didn’t have a clue where they were all situated, relative to each other. Now I do. The plan is to park at Skylon Tower, then walk over to Hornblower Cruises, do that, then walk over to Journey Behind the Falls, and then take the Niagara Falls Incline Railway, and walk back to the Skylon Tower. I was going to do the Whirpool Aero Car, but that’s quite a distance out, so I ditched that idea. I think this is much more achievable, and hopefully leaves us some time to just wander and enjoy the views.
I also had a look at Universal’s show times, as when I got to that page, I noticed that I was lacking much detail. still nothing – all their show times only go up to 27 August, so I guess I’ll be checking again in a couple of weeks’ time.
I wasn’t sure I had quite the right details in our itinerary when I got to Disney, so I went into My Disney Experience, and discovered I still had two dinners at Boma booked for the same night! Considering they were just an hour apart, I do not know how Disney’s website managed that! Finally, I have deleted our earlier booking at 5:10pm, leaving us with the hour later one I wanted…
I also made sure that I have everything printed off that I should have, for example hotel reservations, car rental reservations, ticket details etc., so we’re all set on that front now. However, as I was doing it, I realised I had no signature form signed for our cruise. Ah, that would be as we haven’t actually done online check-in yet. Ok, time to do that… As I went through, I did wonder why I hadn’t done it before, then realised why, as it took forever to add in all the details of our various flights. Disney asks for them, even though they’re 16 and six days before our cruise, so I had to pull all of that up. Thank goodness I have it all in the itinerary…
I don’t think I’d mentioned this before, but I’d previously messaged Deb (as in Deb Wills of All Ears Net fame) and Linda, but they’d been about to set off on their river cruise sailing out of Budapest, so I knew I wouldn’t hear from them for a while. While I was going through our itinerary, I realised that just about every meal I’d suggested to them had now changed time so I thought I’d better message them to let them know. I heard back from Deb, and they’re joining us for the California Grill brunch. As she said, we’ll have so much to talk about. I had a look back through my trip reports, and we haven’t seen them since breakfast at the Mara in March 2015. I am so looking forward to seeing them, and also to brunch. I said to Mark this is probably the meal I’m most looking forward to out of the whole trip. I don’t know why, but the idea of brunch there just really appeals to me.
Your itinerary is looking good! With so many stops, you've got quite a few items to check and recheck, making sure everything is just so and the timing is right!
I would feel the same way if GMR were to change to the Great Mickey Ride! That's one of my favorites in DHS and always a must do!
I sure hope the Great Movie Ride stays the way it is! I love that ride!! Donna is right- you sure do have a busy itinerary and checking the details is a necessary project!! You guys are going to have an amazing trip!!
Your Niagra Falls plans sound much like what we do when we go there!! You will have a wonderful time!!
Here are a few pictures from our most recent trip there!
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Last edited by Tara O'Hara; 08-31-2016 at 07:48 AM..
All your plans are really coming together! I'm not sure how you keep track of so many plans for such a big trip like this, but I guess being the world travelers that you and Mark are, you've got the planning down to a science. Glad to see you got the Sim card all worked out. How nice that you'll get the chance to have brunch with Deb from AllEars. Her website is one that I always look to when planning a Disney trip! I hope you find a movie to enjoy on your flight over as it does make the time pass more quickly!
GMR just needs some updating with films. Throw some Star Wars in there! They better not change anything else.
Disney resorts don't give out parking passes anymore. They scan magic bands at the toll booths now. But seeing as how you don't get yours until you check in.... I guess you'd have to go the reimbursement route then? Unless you can use one of your old ones? I think that should work. I know my old magic bands are all still in my MDE and can be activated or un-activated. It's worth a shot, I guess.
Good idea to have some relaxing time just enjoying Niagara Falls. And also not to buy all your admission stuff ahead of time! You just never know how you're gonna feel during your trip.
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Good to be so organized with the first aid kit. We ended up not having a couple of things we should have had on last week's cruise. We managed, but could have had an easier time if we'd had it all in our pack to begin with.
Your itinerary is looking good! With so many stops, you've got quite a few items to check and recheck, making sure everything is just so and the timing is right!
Tell me about it!
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I would feel the same way if GMR were to change to the Great Mickey Ride! That's one of my favorites in DHS and always a must do!
I just don't get it and I just hope it's a horribly inaccurate rumour...
I sure hope the Great Movie Ride stays the way it is! I love that ride!! Donna is right- you sure do have a busy itinerary and checking the details is a necessary project!! You guys are going to have an amazing trip!!
Your Niagra Falls plans sound much like what we do when we go there!! You will have a wonderful time!!
I hope so!
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Here are a few pictures from our most recent trip there!
All your plans are really coming together! I'm not sure how you keep track of so many plans for such a big trip like this, but I guess being the world travelers that you and Mark are, you've got the planning down to a science.
Well, I wouldn't necessarily say that. That's why I keep checking, re-checking, and then checking again, just in case I've missed anything out. That's the key to it.
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Glad to see you got the Sim card all worked out. How nice that you'll get the chance to have brunch with Deb from AllEars. Her website is one that I always look to when planning a Disney trip!
Oh me too! I love the fact that she never puts anything up there until it's been confirmed. Fun as rumours can be, it's nice to know that whatever you see on All Ears is definitely the truth.
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I hope you find a movie to enjoy on your flight over as it does make the time pass more quickly!
Well, I'm really only after one or two at the most, as I want to try and get some sleep in on the way over, so that we're at least vaguely awake to spend some time with Dave and Rob!
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The last time I was at Niagra Falls was when I was pregnant for Claire. It is so beautiful. Be sure to see the falls at night too.
Sadly we won't be able to. I was planning on it, but Southwest changed their flights the next day, when we're flying down to Orlando. I was expecting 11:00am, but they came out with 8:00am for that day, which changed our plans. There was no way I was going to risk staying the night in Niagara with that early a flight and having to cross the border. Maybe one day on a future trip....
GMR just needs some updating with films. Throw some Star Wars in there! They better not change anything else.
Well, heck, they're throwing Star Wars at everything else!
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Disney resorts don't give out parking passes anymore. They scan magic bands at the toll booths now. But seeing as how you don't get yours until you check in.... I guess you'd have to go the reimbursement route then? Unless you can use one of your old ones? I think that should work. I know my old magic bands are all still in my MDE and can be activated or un-activated. It's worth a shot, I guess.
Ugh, that's a pain! Of course, if Disney had the technology, they should be able to immediately look us up and confirm we're staying on property, but I won't hold my breath on that one... sigh.
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Good idea to have some relaxing time just enjoying Niagara Falls. And also not to buy all your admission stuff ahead of time! You just never know how you're gonna feel during your trip.
No, that was a lesson learnt from Hawai'i when we didn't visit half the places I thought we would....
Seems like you have most of your plans in place now! I hope that isn't true about the GMR as that would be strange and not so good!
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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!
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You got it – Sunday! 
From the photos I’ve seen, which were pretty mouth watering, and I’m now really excited to try out the new menu. 
I don’t know your real name) mentioned about the 
That meant it cost us just $18, which I can live with, and hopefully it will all work fine. The delivery needs a signature, so I’ve ordered it to go to Mark’s work, as otherwise if there’s no-one here, and we have to go and pick it up from the post office here, it’s a 20 minute drive each way. 
still nothing – all their show times only go up to 27 August, so I guess I’ll be checking again in a couple of weeks’ time. 
Considering they were just an hour apart, I do not know how Disney’s website managed that! 
so I thought I’d better message them to let them know. I heard back from Deb, and they’re joining us for the California Grill brunch. 
You guys are going to have an amazing trip!!
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