Celebrating as One Big Happy Family: 5/10/14 - 5/18/14 - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Yay!! So close you are! (Hmm, sound like Yoda there) Glad I got in early. that certainly sounds like you'll be doing a whole lot of celebrating. And you know you're staying at our favorite resort!!
Looking forward to more.
Great start! Love seeing all the "characters" along for the ride. That's a lot of people and a lot of celebrations to manage! I remember the photos of Trinity you shared some time ago. She and Hope will have a great time together and I know there will be some cuteness overload photos in this report. Can't wait!
Woo Hoo another TR. Glad to meet the new family members coming along. Hope and Trinity sound like Evan and his cousin Eric. Best Buds and traveling together this summer.
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I can't believe your trip is so close! You are smart to have everyone get seprate rooms - I think that will be the key to this happy vacation. Wow! You are celebrating a lot!
I can't wait to read all about this trip! How great to have all the family along, and especially for Hope to have Trinity to hang out with!
I'm hoping they just get along for the entire trip.
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Originally Posted by MayraLR
Great start, Melissa! Those are a lot of celebrations! Great cast of characters! Hope is getting so big and very pretty. Your nieces and nephew are adorable.
Thanks so much.
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Originally Posted by JKnott17
There's lots to celebrate on this trip!! Your niece is adorable, just like Hope I hope they both have a fabulous time celebrating their birthdays in Disney!
Thank you so much. I think any birthday celebration in Disney is fabulous no matter what...right?
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Originally Posted by Coop
Great start! It's coming up quick!
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Originally Posted by xwewhisper
Great start, can't wait to hear all about it!
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Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
That is a whole lot of celebrating! Thanks for the introductions - nice 'meeting' your brother and his family!
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Originally Posted by Cam22
WooHoo! Another Melissa PTR/TR! So neat for all your family to be along and to have so much to celebrate!
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Originally Posted by bsblady01
I hope that you and your family have a magical time at the world
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Originally Posted by chezp
Great start and what a great cast of characters!
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Originally Posted by abubbles77
Great start.
Thanks so much!
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Originally Posted by lfredsbo
Great start! And WOW! That's a LOT of celebrations!!! I see many, many cupcakes in your future!!!
I never thought of it that way. It's almost like how many buttons can one gruop wear? Lol.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Linnynad
sounds.....FABULOUS!!!!!! I'm so excited for this TR, but can't believe we will be crossing paths............uuggghhh, I'll wave on our way to the port.
I'll wave back to you. It'll be strange knowing you're there, but not there.
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Originally Posted by iwonathomas
Great start! You will be celebrating a lot of wonderful occasions and glad your nice will be able to celebrate in such a special place
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Originally Posted by KMB733
Great Start!! Lots of things to celebrate with the family!
Thanks guys!
Quote:
Originally Posted by dsteiny23
Yay!! So close you are! (Hmm, sound like Yoda there) Glad I got in early. that certainly sounds like you'll be doing a whole lot of celebrating. And you know you're staying at our favorite resort!!
Looking forward to more.
As I was reading that, Yoda was the first thing that popped into my head, and then you said just what I was thinking. Haha! I guess we can share the Beach Club...for now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Great start! Love seeing all the "characters" along for the ride. That's a lot of people and a lot of celebrations to manage! I remember the photos of Trinity you shared some time ago. She and Hope will have a great time together and I know there will be some cuteness overload photos in this report. Can't wait!
Hopefully it will be more cuteness than meltdowns. Sometimes they're personalities clash a bit. We shall see if it happens at the Happiest Place on Earth.
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great start!!
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Originally Posted by Russi01
Great start a cast of characters. That is a lot of celebrations there.
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Originally Posted by llgmommy2
Sounds like a ton of fun. family and celebrations! Cannot wait to hear more!
Thanks so much!
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Originally Posted by mommapants
Woo Hoo another TR. Glad to meet the new family members coming along. Hope and Trinity sound like Evan and his cousin Eric. Best Buds and traveling together this summer.
Looking forwrd to all the details.
They can be best buddies and worst enemies too. Hoping that isn't the case on this trip.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhToodles!
I can't believe your trip is so close! You are smart to have everyone get seprate rooms - I think that will be the key to this happy vacation. Wow! You are celebrating a lot!
I feel like I was just down there. Time sure does fly by.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jackid2
YAY!! Found your new TPR!! Can't wait to read about your next adventure!
Planning was a little bit different for me this time around. First of all, I was planning for 8 people, not 3 or even 5, but 8. Then I had to factor in all of the new FP+ changes, which was already a headache in itself, so needless to say, I wasn’t too happy with Disney during this entire process.
I’ve been trying to adopt more of a go-with-the-flow touring approach so we don’t feel tied down to any set plans, and also where we could incorporate pool breaks into our day. So we first had to decide what restaurants we wanted to enjoy, and after that decision was made, I was then able to figure out what parks we would be at for certain times during certain days. BUT this was the old way of doing things, and suddenly FP+ was put into place, turning my planning world completely upside down. FP+ might be a favorite for some people, but for me, it became my vacation nemesis, especially due to the fact that I had a group of 8 people I was scheduling these things for. That was tough.
I ended up getting FPs for everyone in our group, regardless of whether or not they were actually going to get on that ride For example, my dad can’t do certain rides because of his back, but my mom can. He’s definitely not going to go get on another ride by himself while she’s having fun on the one he can’t get on, so this basically becomes a wasted FP. First thing that’s messed up with this system. I did this so that if anyone in the group wanted to do a ride that was different than what we already had a FP for, then they could make their own changes.
Then there were times that I only needed 2 FPs because the 3rd FP that I would have liked to get wasn’t allowed (thanks so much tiered system ). The FP+ system assigns you a FP anyway, and if you decide not to use it, then once again those become wasted FPs that could have been given to someone else. Second thing that’s wrong with this system. They should allow you to opt out of one of them, and then put you on a time delay or something, since that’s the real hidden agenda here. After all, this entire FP+ debacle is basically only a crowd control tool wrapped up in a pretty package.
So, after I finally put all of the puzzle pieces together, I did something I’ve never done before, I ended up making a planning spreadsheet, giving a copy to everyone in our group. Actually, I gave a copy to each of the women in our group, because come on, do you think any of the men are responsible enough for a planning spreadsheet? The women tell them what to do and where to be anyway, so I just removed them from the entire equation.
Without further ado, here’s our “go-with-the-flow/”tied-down-with-FP+” itinerary (I’m going to apologize now for the detailed and complicated nature of the following information )…
Saturday, May 10th - (Mike & Corinne’s 6 yr. Anniversary) Flight departs at 9:45am and we arrive at MCO around noon. My dad and brother booked a tee time at the Magnolia Golf Course while we settle in and relax by the pool. I can almost guarantee that there will be a drink in my hand during this time …I deserve it. Once everyone is back to together in the evening, we were thinking of heading over to the DVC lounge at BLT, but this is part of the go-with-the-flow portion, so that may change.
Sunday, May 11th - (Mother’s Day) MK for rope drop.
-Peter Pan FP 9:30am – 10:30am (could change when the Mine
Train becomes available)
-Enchanted Tales with Belle FP 10:35am – 11:35am
-Splash Mountain FP 1:00pm – 2:00pm
-Then mom, Corinne and I leave the men with the kids, and head over to
the GF for afternoon tea. Not sure if they will stay at MK or head back
to the resort, but either way, we will be heading to a different park in the
evening. Hopefully it’s Epcot, but again, plans could change.
Monday, May 12th - AK opens at 8am this day.
-Safari FP 9:00am - 10:00am
-Thanks to Laurie, I know I need to head over to Rafiki’s as soon
as it opens, so that’s what we’ll be doing next. Hopefully something
exciting will happen while we’re there since Hope currently wants to be
an animal doctor when she grows up.
-Everest FP 10:50am – 11:50am
-Dinosaur FP 11:50am – 12:50pm
-Once again, we’ll be heading somewhere else in the evening, maybe DTD,
however, my parents have other plans. An ADR at Narcoosee’s to
celebrate their upcoming anniversary.
Tuesday, May 13th - DHS at rope drop.
-Tower of Terror FP 10am – 11am (there may be a few of us sitting this
one out ).
-Star Tours FP 11:20am – 12:20pm (this FP was selected for me by Disney’s
system. I didn’t really need to ride this)
-TSMM FP 12:20pm – 1:20pm
-A possible pool break in the afternoon
-Return to DHS for a 5:20pm ADR at 50’s PTC and then stay for Fantasmic
at 9pm.
Wednesday, May 14th - (Hope’s 5th Birthday) Epcot **Will hopefully be meeting up with Cam and Luke sometime today**
-8:30am ADR at Akershus to celebrate Hope and Trinity’s birthdays. My
parents won’t be joining us for this meal.
-Spaceship Earth FP 10:30am – 11:30am (FP selected for me by Disney)
-Turtle Talk FP 11:30am – 12:30am
-Soarin’ FP 1:00pm – 2:00pm
**Special Birthday Event at 8pm** Details to come
Thursday, May 15th – (Mom & Dad’s 43rd Anniversary) MK all day/Men golfing in the morning at LBV golf course. Because my brother wants to be around for most of Trinity’s Disney firsts, he asked that we schedule our FPs for in the afternoon, when he’ll be done playing golf.
-Little Mermaid FP 12:45pm – 1:45pm
-Space Mountain FP 1:45pm – 2:45pm
-Buzz Lightyear FP 2:45pm – 3:45pm
-5:30pm ADR at LTT
-Stay for MSELP & Wishes
Friday, May 16th – AK in AM/Epcot in PM
-8:10am ADR at TH
-Safari FP 10:00am – 11:00am
-Primeval Whirl FP 11:30am – 12:30pm
-Everest FP 12:50pm – 1:50pm
-Possible afternoon pool break
-Date night for Michael, Corinne, Chad and I. My
parents will be watching the girls while we head over to Epcot for dinner
at Le Cellier (Mike & Corinne picked this restaurant) and then hopefully
attempting to do some drinking around the world while enjoying WS \ without children.
Saturday, May 17th – (Chad’s 37th Birthday) MK/Free
-MK at rope drop since I snagged us FPs for the Anna & Elsa meet-n-greet.
These were so difficult to get, and I ended up having to split up our group
in order to make the reservations. I was finally able to overlap our return
times where we ended up having a small window of opportunity when we
could all enter the queue together, and that was at 9:30am.
-Because I didn’t really need any more FPs, but again, had to take 2 more
of them, I scheduled a Buzz FP for 11:10am – 12:10pm and a Splash FP for
1:10pm – 2:10pm. These may or may not end up being wasted.
-The rest of the day is free, but I’m hoping we can head over to Epcot at
some point to try and get FPs for Test Track in case we haven’t had a
chance to ride it yet.
-We will also need to do something for Chad’s birthday, but that’s still on
my to-do list.
Sunday, May 18th – Our departure day
-9:10am ADR at CMC
-Head over to AKL to enjoy some of the resort activities
-Flight home at 5:45pm
Phew, I feel like I’ve just written a term paper right there. Never has my Disney plans looked so complicated, but should I get used to this? Will this be the norm from here on out? I really hope not. Since your brains are probably still dizzy from everything you’ve just read, I’ll stop here for today so you can go and grab some advil or a nap.
Nice plans! I hear you though about the issues with Fastpass+. I was really shocked when I investigated it for our last trip and realised you had to have three each day. Needless to say, a lot of ours were wasted and it's frustrating, as someone else could have used those.
By the way, I like your style giving the spreadsheets to the women in the group!
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Your plans sound great! Glad you had everything work out for the group.
How great that you got to snag an Anna & Elsa FP+. I almost fell out of my chair when I was finally able to get mine. I was so happy and excited! I told my kids I had been able to get the most important FP, the Anna & Elsa greet. The looked at me like I was a crazy woman.
I remember when I had to do my FP+ selections. I told my kids to please not talk to me or interrupt me until I was finished. I was sitting at my dining room table with the laptop, a planning journal that I have, my initial FP+ plans for each day, pencils and pens. It looked as if I was about to take a college exam.
Oy vie! I can't even imagine planning for 8ppl!!! but it certainly looks like you have it all under control! And yes, I agree......someone, or maybe everyone should be purchasing you a FAB!!!
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You may now take a bow and will get a standing ovation. That is an impressive planning job! I so agree with you about all those wasted FP+ Frustrating. For most parks I only needed 1 or 2 from a combination of accessibility, the tiered system or just preference. Having a FP+ for Mission Space or Space Mountain does me no good and is just depriving someone else of that slot.
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Glad I got in early. that certainly sounds like you'll be doing a whole lot of celebrating. And you know you're staying at our favorite resort!! 
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Deb
Holly: 
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
Sometimes they're personalities clash a bit. We shall see if it happens at the Happiest Place on Earth. 
so needless to say, I wasn’t too happy with Disney during this entire process. 
BUT this was the old way of doing things, and suddenly FP+ was put into place, turning my planning world completely upside down. FP+ might be a favorite for some people, but for me, it became my vacation nemesis, 
especially due to the fact that I had a group of 8 people I was scheduling these things for. That was tough. 
so this basically becomes a wasted FP. First thing that’s messed up with this system. 
). The FP+ system assigns you a FP anyway, and if you decide not to use it, then once again those become wasted FPs that could have been given to someone else. Second thing that’s wrong with this system. 
giving a copy to everyone in our group. Actually, I gave a copy to each of the women in our group, because come on, do you think any of the men are responsible enough for a planning spreadsheet? 
The women tell them what to do and where to be anyway, so I just removed them from the entire equation. 
)… 
…I deserve it. Once everyone is back to together in the evening, we were thinking of heading over to the DVC lounge at BLT, but this is part of the go-with-the-flow portion, so that may change.
I know I need to head over to Rafiki’s as soon 
).
Epcot **Will hopefully be meeting up with Cam and Luke sometime today**
Details to come
My
without children. 
Never has my Disney plans looked so complicated, but should I get used to this? Will this be the norm from here on out? I really hope not. Since your brains are probably still dizzy from everything you’ve just read, I’ll stop here for today so you can go and grab some advil or a nap. 
PassPorter Guide Author
Dreams, Wishes, Hopes... these are the parts of childhood we should never lose.
That is an impressive planning job! I so agree with you about all those wasted FP+ Frustrating. For most parks I only needed 1 or 2 from a combination of accessibility, the tiered system or just preference. Having a FP+ for Mission Space or Space Mountain does me no good and is just depriving someone else of that slot.
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