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Baboontyme

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I took mine for the same reason, and just locked it in the safe in the room after checking in.  I guess I just assumed (always the wrong thing to do) that it was just restricted in the parks and not the resorts.  The more you know...

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  • 2 weeks later...

Booked for September 8-15 at Pop Century. It'll be my girlfriend's first trip so I'm trying to plan the days out to get the most for her first experience. We didn't do the dining plan, but I have booked dinner at Jiko and Monsieur Paul with a lunch at Sci-Fi Drive-In so far. I'm trying to get Ohana, but there aren't any openings for the whole week. I'll keep checking it everyday for cancellations. Here are our current plans...

Sunday September 9:

Morning Magic Kingdom (MNSSH is that night closing the park at 6)

Fantasmic that Night

Monday September 10:

Animal Kingdom

Jiko for Dinner

Tuesday September 11:

Epcot

Monsieur Paul for Dinner

Wednesday September 12:

Morning Hollywood Studios

Sci-Fi Dine-In for Lunch

Evening Magic Kingdom

Thursday September 13:

Islands of Adventure + Universal 

Friday September 14:

Magic Kingdom + Anything missed

 

I hated doing less than a full day at Magic Kingdom to start, but you have to start your first trip at Magic Kingdom right? Oh and I'm still salty about The Great Movie Ride and Universe of Energy, but we're gonna have a great time. We may have to throw in another night for Epcot just to get more Food and Wine Festival.

Edited by SimonBolivar
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7 hours ago, SimonBolivar said:

Booked for September 8-15 at Pop Century. It'll be my girlfriend's first trip so I'm trying to plan the days out to get the most for her first experience. We didn't do the dining plan, but I have booked dinner at Jiko and Monsieur Paul with a lunch at Sci-Fi Drive-In so far. I'm trying to get Ohana, but there aren't any openings for the whole week. I'll keep checking it everyday for cancellations. Here are our current plans...

Sunday September 9:

Morning Magic Kingdom (MNSSH is that night closing the park at 6)

Fantasmic that Night

Monday September 10:

Animal Kingdom

Jiko for Dinner

Tuesday September 11:

Epcot

Monsieur Paul for Dinner

Wednesday September 12:

Morning Hollywood Studios

Sci-Fi Dine-In for Lunch

Evening Magic Kingdom

Thursday September 13:

Islands of Adventure + Universal 

Friday September 14:

Magic Kingdom + Anything missed

 

I hated doing less than a full day at Magic Kingdom to start, but you have to start your first trip at Magic Kingdom right? Oh and I'm still salty about The Great Movie Ride and Universe of Energy, but we're gonna have a great time. We may have to throw in another night for Epcot just to get more Food and Wine Festival.

I'd flip flop your AK and EP days due to traditional crowd level. Friday 9/14 is also a MNSSHP night so if you want to take in the night fireworks/parade at MK you need to flip that with your Thursday Universal.

If you're doing EP Food and Wine stay the hell away from Friday(after 4pm), Saturday, and Sunday as it will be overrun with locals.

Sunday is pretty busy at MK for the exact reason you mention; people arriving on Saturday want to start with MK.  Tuesday and Thursday are the slowest days at MK.  That said, I am a fan of going on party nights as long as you make rope drop as many avoid the abbreviated hours.

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I believe you can use the pools at Art of Animation since they are linked. The Cone pool is great. Agreed, check the crowds calendar and piece out your parks based on that. Plus, Epcot and MK are linked via monorail. Faster than the shuttles. HS is closest to your hotel but has the least to do but they did just add Toy story land. 

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On 6/11/2018 at 6:39 PM, mdmost said:

I believe you can use the pools at Art of Animation since they are linked. The Cone pool is great. Agreed, check the crowds calendar and piece out your parks based on that. Plus, Epcot and MK are linked via monorail. Faster than the shuttles. HS is closest to your hotel but has the least to do but they did just add Toy story land. 

I used to take the monorail from Epcot to MK area every month for a roommate dinner at Ohana when I worked at Innoventions. It's much quicker (and just plain more fun) than taking the shuttles. What is the time frame for FastPass+ now? 45 days out?

Edited by SimonBolivar
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60 days out if you're staying onsite. 30 days if not staying onsite. Of course, you're still behind the people who are arriving even a day earlier than you as they can plan out their entire trip before you even get a chance to book your first day of FP+. 

Edited by mdmost
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On 5/31/2018 at 9:40 AM, SimonBolivar said:

I'm about to pull the trigger for September 9-15. I remember when I worked there that the week after the week of Labor Day was one of the deadest weeks of the year. It'll probably only be a 3hr wait for Avatar!

Simon Bolivar to Disneyland? You used to be such an adventurer. Username does not check out.

Edited by Thetexashammer
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10 minutes ago, Knoxtnhorn said:

In Magic Kingdom; staying at Kitanni Lodge.  Wifi blocks sites in the parks but not at the lodge.

Hah my family is at MK today. If you see some really white people in Baylor gear...just ignore them.

Edited by SimonBolivar
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So Day 4/5 of our Disney vacation.  

Likes:

Animal Kingdom Lodge.  Cool animals outside.  Staff very friendly.  Pool is awesome.

The rides.  I didn't think I'd like this aspect very much because I'm a coaster freak; however, the rides have been really entertaining.  Even rides that are mostly animatronics like Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean were really cool.

The food.  My scale isn't going to like it.  I had a hot dog with macaroni and bacon on top the other day.  Ate at Sanaa today and the fancy restaurant in Mexico (Epcot).  Really good.

The staff.  Everyone is extremely nice and attentive.

Dislikes:

The people here (tourists) are really fucking rude.  I'll be surprise if I get out of here without charges.  Amazes me how inconsiderate people can be.  On the bus yesterday, there were at least 10 able-bodied men sitting in their seats while several elderly women and children struggled to stand up while the bus was moving.  Some guy went through me to get off another bus.  

Crowded.  Yes, I know it's Disney but, Jesus Christ.  You can't walk 5 steps without running into anyone.  Nobody here knows the words, "excuse me" or "I'm sorry".

My sister-in-law.  Gdamn wife invited her along.  She walks about 2 miles per hour, hasn't met a dessert she won't pass up, continuously complains about her mother.  

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The people here (tourists) are really fucking rude.  I'll be surprise if I get out of here without charges.  Amazes me how inconsiderate people can be.  On the bus yesterday, there were at least 10 able-bodied men sitting in their seats while several elderly women and children struggled to stand up while the bus was moving.  Some guy went through me to get off another bus.  
Crowded.  Yes, I know it's Disney but, Jesus Christ.  You can't walk 5 steps without running into anyone.  Nobody here knows the words, "excuse me" or "I'm sorry". 


At WDW, it’s usually Brazilians and Yankees, two of the worst subsets of humans on the planet.
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I don't see how anyone can do Disney without Fast Passes.  We got lucky in that someone at Disney screwed up our friends' reservation.  We ended up getting 2 emergency Fast Passes per day.  So we used the original 3 + 2 emergency passes.  Only did the regular line 3 times all week.

The Mexican restaurant @ the Parade of Nations or whatever it's called near Epcot is really good.  With the low lighting and volcano, I felt like I was eating in a dream.

My favorite ride was Soarin' Around the World.

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On 6/6/2018 at 11:03 AM, SimonBolivar said:

Booked for September 8-15 at Pop Century. It'll be my girlfriend's first trip so I'm trying to plan the days out to get the most for her first experience. We didn't do the dining plan, but I have booked dinner at Jiko and Monsieur Paul with a lunch at Sci-Fi Drive-In so far. I'm trying to get Ohana, but there aren't any openings for the whole week. I'll keep checking it everyday for cancellations. Here are our current plans...

Sunday September 9:

Morning Magic Kingdom (MNSSH is that night closing the park at 6)

Fantasmic that Night

Monday September 10:

Animal Kingdom

Jiko for Dinner

Tuesday September 11:

Epcot

Monsieur Paul for Dinner

Wednesday September 12:

Morning Hollywood Studios

Sci-Fi Dine-In for Lunch

Evening Magic Kingdom

Thursday September 13:

Islands of Adventure + Universal 

Friday September 14:

Magic Kingdom + Anything missed

 

I hated doing less than a full day at Magic Kingdom to start, but you have to start your first trip at Magic Kingdom right? Oh and I'm still salty about The Great Movie Ride and Universe of Energy, but we're gonna have a great time. We may have to throw in another night for Epcot just to get more Food and Wine Festival.

I'm ashamed to say I'm an annual pass holder. My kids and wife love disney. 

One thing of note for you: GET TO THE PARKS BEFORE THEY OPEN. You will get so much more done if you start early (when doors open). For MK, go directly to mine train - presently the longest line on average - , then go back to space mountain. Alternatively, go directly to splash and thunder after mine train and you can probably ride them at 5-15 minute waits a few times. Whatever you don't plan to do first thing, save for PM or midday fast passes. Don't waste fast passes for early morning stuff when lines are more reasonable. 

Don't be afraid to start early, go nap/rest/pool at hotel in afternoon, and then go back to parks late afternoon/night. 

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There isn't an offseason anymore but our trip is setting up pretty nice with no park being projected to be over 3 out of 10 on the crowd calendar including two 1 out of 10s on there. I don't have a problem going wire to wire (the way my family traditionally did it)  or going back in the middle of the day. She's early 20s (no pics) and I'm late 20s and we both are runners so physical tiredness shouldn't be an issue. I've changed some reservations to get us in at Ohana and Boma so we will be going back to change and chill on those days for sure. I dropped Monsieur Paul from our schedule. I like the restaurant a lot the last time I went, but it's Food and Wine Festival so no point in wasting a couple hundred on that when there are so many things to try.

Edited by SimonBolivar
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Just got DL trip partially booked for the second week in October. Looking at 3 days at DL, 1-2 days at Universal, and 2-3 days doing whatever else the kids want to do in LA. I’ve still got to figure out where it makes sense to stay or whether we stay at the Grand Californian a few nights and move North for the rest of the trip.

Hopefully that will permanently complete my Disney parental requirements after 5 trips in a little over 24 months covering all US Disney parks and both Universals. I did find out this week I have two work meetings in Orlando scheduled for this fall. I think I’m going to tell my wife they are somewhere else.

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23 hours ago, Brew said:

Just got DL trip partially booked for the second week in October. Looking at 3 days at DL, 1-2 days at Universal, and 2-3 days doing whatever else the kids want to do in LA. I’ve still got to figure out where it makes sense to stay or whether we stay at the Grand Californian a few nights and move North for the rest of the trip.

Hopefully that will permanently complete my Disney parental requirements after 5 trips in a little over 24 months covering all US Disney parks and both Universals. I did find out this week I have two work meetings in Orlando scheduled for this fall. I think I’m going to tell my wife they are somewhere else.

Oh you're good...until Star Wars Land is open. 

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Hey MDMost.  Stupid question but you seem to know a lot about both Disney and Star Wars.

Do you know the name of the song that is played when the Storm Troopers do their march at Hollywood Studios?  I originally thought it was from TLJ, but the only "march" I'm finding is the "March of the Rebellion" or somesuch.  

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I love heckling the Storntrooper March and trying to get the crowd booing them. Keeping it clean for Disney is tough. Things along the line of, ‘Hey, Phasma does your mommy still wash your Ewok underoos for you? If they come up to me doing the intimadatiin bit I get to say aren’t you a little short for a Stormtooper as I’m 6’4”. 

Edited by ShaggyBevo RIP
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Touringplans has a great reservation finding bot. They keep a search going until it finds the reservation for you. I was able to pounce on openings at Ohana and Be Our Guest (Lunch QSR) after others cancelled. They shoot you a text with the link right to setting the reservation.

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6 hours ago, BurntEyes said:

Get a car safe, some actually bolt in. Midway USA has a lot. Install before you go, problem solved. 

No security is going to take your firearm, nor should you leave it with one. 

 

Well, I'm already back.  Would have been perfectly fine to keep it in the truck.  (Animal Kingdom Lodge.)  There was absolute nothing remotely resembling a search when parking in the garage.  The issues would have arisen when going into each park; however, I had no desire to carry in the park.

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Getting the bug, brohams. Thinking about New Years Eve to early January at WDW. Touringplans is acting like MK and Epcot aren't bad on the 1st and 2nd. After that it gets bad but we talked about using a trip like this to take it slow after the first couple of days. Airfare isn't awful from Dallas. Wouldn't mind going back to DLR but I'll wait till Star Wars Lands comes on. What's the best moderate to stay at? Would be interested in the pools, theming, and bus service. I'm thinking Port Orleans Riverside and the Royal Guest Rooms or the Caribbean Beach Resort which seems to have the best pool. 


And I'll throw out that this is fairly dumb of me as we're already going to Universal Orlando in October. 

Edited by mdmost
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21 minutes ago, mdmost said:

Getting the bug, brohams. Thinking about New Years Eve to early January at WDW. Touringplans is acting like MK and Epcot aren't bad on the 1st and 2nd. After that it gets bad but we talked about using a trip like this to take it slow after the first couple of days. Airfare isn't awful from Dallas. Wouldn't mind going back to DLR but I'll wait till Star Wars Lands comes on. What's the best moderate to stay at? Would be interested in the pools, theming, and bus service. I'm thinking Port Orleans Riverside and the Royal Guest Rooms or the Caribbean Beach Resort which seems to have the best pool. 

My last day of work at Epcot was crowd control on NYE into 2010 for the midnight Illuminations show. What a shit show with Brazilians destroying planters to get a better view and general mayhem. We went once as guests when I was young on NYE and did two or three attractions all day. You're right though that the following day (especially morning) isn't so bad. Of the moderates I've only stayed at POR FQ and Caribbean Beach. The redo of Caribbean Beach is making it ugly right now (is the main pool open?) and Coronado Springs is just starting theirs too. I'm not sure when both of those are supposed to be completed. French Quarter was fine but nothing too memorable. I do remember thinking there were a lot of stops on the buses to French Quarter.

Edited by SimonBolivar
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POFQ for bus service. Pool use is hit or miss at that time of year depending on cold fronts. Was there that week this year and got hit with a major cold front; mid to upper 30s, wind, and rain. It was 0F when we left home so we had the outwear for it with us. We enjoyed empty; EP(seriously during Illuminations there where only 30-40 people within eyesight) MK and AK and got lots of great cast interactions for coming out in that weather. 

Edited by ShaggyBevo RIP
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Is there any tangible benefit to staying on resort? We stayed at the Wyndham in the Bonnet Creek area this last time and it just seemed like a much better deal. We had a two bedroom apartment which I’ll take 10 times out of 10 over a hotel room. They also had great amenities for the kids and easy access to everything. There is a definite benefit with Universal, but I just don’t see it with Disney.

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