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View Full Version : Terri - A boy and his mom - Aug 3-9, 2008 - Pop Century



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Terri
06-01-2008, 04:57 PM
I've tightened up the plans a bit. Thanks to everyone who has suggested rest breaks and taking time to get off my feet. Here's the time & park breakdown. According to TourGuideMike - Quality over Quantity - don't try to do everything and take afternoon breaks! I only had to make a couple of changes based on his advice and crowd loads - shouldn't be a big problem and my dinner reservations moved easily. Wow. the only big one (and it's because I chose lunch over dinner) was moving LeCellier from 5pm to 11:30AM. Piece of cake.

So...without further ado...

Sunday - August 3 - arrival
I expect to get to POP around 10:00AM. Check in, drop off our luggage, grab our tickets and ... off to Animal Kingdom!
this day really doesn't change. No breaks today - just lunch at Bengal BarBQ and dinner at Yak&Yeti. Park closes at 8pm. back to POP - find our luggage and room and go to bed.

Monday - August 4 - Epcot
We will be there at opening. Yeah! lunch is wherever we have it. Back to POPfor a break from approx 2-5 (swim and a nap would be nice). back to Epcot then dinner reservations at Rose & Crown at 7:30 (hoping for patio seating!). Our intentions are to watch Illuminations from here - then back to POP for bedtime!

Tuesday - August 5 - Disney Hollywood Studios
Here's one of the days we switched based on crowd expectations. Again - get here at opening then lunch wherever we choose. Back to POP for a 3 hour break and back for dinner at 50's Prime Time cafe. I've seen Fantasmic! a zillion times in California - no plans on seeing it here as we'd rather hit a couple rides more than once!

Wednesday - August 6 - Magic Kingdom!!!
I can't wait for this day. Having grown up at disneyland, I'm looking froward to this park more than any others. I have my favorites I have to hit (see earlier entries above) and will make a point of getting to them. Still...I'm planning the 3 hour break in the middle of the day - sleep and swim then back to the Magic Kingdom for Liberty tree dinner and fireworks. We're here til close and then back to sleep.

Thursday - August 7 - Epcot and who knows...
TourguideMike and his expectations of crowds got my attention for this day. so...we're park hopping today. First thing this morning - Epcot and then lunch at LeCellier. Again...our 3 hour mid-day break. But...after our break I'm leaving it up to my son. We can go back to either Animal Kingdom or Disney Studios. Whichever he chooses - or...if he really wants...we can do both. I expect he'll want to focus on just a few rides at each...hmmm...I bet Rock N Roller coaster and Tower of Terror at DS and Dinosaur, Kali River Rapids, and Expedition Everest at AK. Something tells me we'll be at 3 parks today!

Friday - August 8 - Magic Kingdom
Our last full day. Yep. all day at the Magic Kingdom. On a friday. With EMH until 3AM. I'm planning a 4 or 5 hour break during mid day including lunch at POP. Sean thinks we'll be at the park until close. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! I'm hoping to make it until midnight. Dinner is at Tony's.

Saturday - August 9 - day of departure
Sleep in. Check out. Pack car. Hit a park (again - Sean's choice) for 5 hours. Sean also wants to go the Downtown Disney - so we'll hit that after the park and before hitting the road. I plan on being on the road by 8pm and only driving a couple of hours before finding a hotel. Then the next two days are 9+ hour drive days. Maybe stretch it out a little more. I have to be back at work on the 13th, so I should be okay!

so there it is. I suggest to anyone who's never done WDW to check out tourGuidemike.com. Awesome!!! And you can couple it with mouseplanet, and every tour book you could possibly have. (I've got tons of 'em!)

GaRain
06-02-2008, 07:51 AM
Animal Kingdom day – are you planning to ride Everest? If so, go straight back, do not pass go, do not collect $200. Go straight back and get a fast pass. If your time is not for a couple of hours, this is a great time to check out the trails, or Kali River Rapids. The waits for Finding Nemo have been better, I have heard, than when it first opened – but if you plan to see it, you may have to wait in line a bit. Take some time to explore – there are so many little trails around, I discover something new every time I go.

Epcot – when you get there, again, make a beeline to The Land. You must get your FP to Soarin’ as soon as you can!!! Illuminations is awesome – you will love it!

Studios – I am so jealous you are going to Prime Time!! I love that place. Make sure to wash your hands and keep your elbows off the table – eat all your veggies, but make sure to leave room for desert. I love the S’mores!!!

Terri
06-02-2008, 10:23 AM
Animal Kingdom day – are you planning to ride Everest? If so, go straight back, do not pass go, do not collect $200. Go straight back and get a fast pass. Epcot – when you get there, again, make a beeline to The Land. You must get your FP to Soarin’ as soon as you can!!! Illuminations is awesome – you will love it! Studios – I am so jealous you are going to Prime Time!! I love that place. Make sure to wash your hands and keep your elbows off the table – eat all your veggies, but make sure to leave room for desert. I love the S’mores!!!

Excellent!
immediately to EE for a fastpass. No doubt that is going to be a major attraction for Sean and I. I kind of wondered if I needed to run straight there. It'll be tough...not looking at anything along the way - but I know how the game has to be played - and I'm definately a player!!

Same with Epcot. Soarin' is the only "big" ride i want to do at epcot. the space ride scares me. I tend toward motion sickness and I have mild arythmia so...everything I've heard tells me to stay away from the ride. That's okay. There's plenty of other things to do and I have no problems with roller coasters so I'll be hitting those on this trip!

Really? Prime time really is like eating at gramma's?? I can't wait! It'll be my childhood all over again and I can't wait for someone else to tell Sean to put his napkin in his lap!

61 more days...I can't stand it! Sean is leaving for a trip back home to Alaska this saturday - so at least he gets to get away from things. I wish I could...probably why I'm looking forward to my WDW trip so much!:p

GaRain
06-03-2008, 05:15 AM
I can't wait to hear about your trip when you get back!

Terri
06-30-2008, 07:53 AM
1 - surgery today on big toe...rumor has it, I'll be all better for hikes around WDW...we'll see:eek:
2 - saw a great food network show on eating around WDW! It was filmed a few years ago, but it still seems to be a realistic look at what's in store. My DS hasn't been as "into" planning as I've been so I made him watch the show. His eyes got HUGE! He's a food network snob, so eating around Epcot suddenly meant something to him! I don't think he cares about anything else right now except eating at the parks. He was thrilled to hear we have reservations at the 50's Prime Time Cafe. He thought the whole idea looked great...of course, he did ask me if I thought it reminded me of my childhood...what a poop!
3. - my countdown clock here at work says 1 month/1 day/5 hours/37 minutes/34 seconds!:p (that's until the end of my last day of work before we depart on the 1st...)

relaaxedwheniamthere
06-30-2008, 01:47 PM
:eek:good luck on the patio @rose & crown . it is the best!!!!

Terri
07-05-2008, 08:27 AM
I must drive people nuts with all my constant changes...but really, I'm just trying to tweak the plans - make them realistic for what we REALLY will do.

So...here's the updates to our trip (we arrive in less than 30 days!!!!)

Sunday - Aug 3 - no changes - arrive, check in, go to Animal Kingdom (lunch - I'm thinking BarBQ), dinner at Yak & Yeti, back to POP and to bed!

Monday - Aug 4 - no changes - Epcot - lunch wherever (Sean's choice) - back to hotel for rest and swim, then Epcot again, Rose & Crown for dinner and illuminations

Tuesday - Aug 5 - minor change in today's plan. After watching a food network special on eating at WDW, Sean really liked the themed idea of the SciFi Dine-in restaurant. We discussed the pros and cons that I've learned from MousePlanet - but he still wanted to give it a shot, so ... I canceled one of our dinner reservations and got lunch reservations here. After lunch, we will take our afternoon break then return in the evening for our dinner at the 50's Prime time cafe and more fun in the park.

Wednesday - Aug 6 - no changes - Magic Kingdom - lunch wherever (again, Sean's choice) - hotel for swim and rest, then back to MK for fun and dinner at Liberty Tree!

Thursday - Aug 7 - Morning at Epcot, lunch at LeCellier, back to POP for afternoon rest, then...it's up to Sean on where we go in the afternoon. His options are either Disney Studios or Animal Kingdom - Sean also picks the counter service for dinner.

Friday - Aug 8 - Back to Magic Kingdom - Lunch...wherever Sean chooses then back to POP for our typical afternoon rest. Then, just like thursday, Sean gets to pick which park to return to for the afternoon - his choices are between Animal kingdom and Epcot. Again, he gets to choose the counter service for dinner.

Saturday - Aug 9 - this is the day we leave, but because we are driving and we don't need to be home until the 12th, I'm planning an almost full day at WDW. Our plans are to go back to the Magic Kingdom for 4 or 5 hours, then hit downtown Disney before we drive off. I don't expect to drive too far - hopefully an hour or two, then find a safe place to lay our heads and call it a night!

So...what I've done is allow more park hopping and more choices for Sean to make. He's really been a dear and allowing me to make all the plans. but he has also pointed out that I ALWAYS plan, and then the plans are thrown out the window when we get there! Not neccesarily true - the planning allows for me to make better choices once we arrive, but that's not how he sees it. So...this time...I've allowed for those choices to be made...just by someone other than me. That's why I dropped tony (MK) and added SciFi (DS). Sean really wanted the experience at SciFi (no matter what the food is like) and really didn't want to be locked into MK on a friday night. And really? The MK is more for me since I grew up at Disneyland. It's just my way of going home. I expect Sean will like other things better (or differently). He's already declared that Epcot should be totally awesome! He's really looking forward to going there! But he's also fond of rollercoasters...thus the return to AK and DS on our options list.

Hopefully I can stop with the alterations...

Based on everything I've learned from all of you I have:
picked our hotel
reserved our table service choices
and...most importantly...
planned 3-4 hour breaks in the middle of each day!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you EVERYONE!!!:fez:

dsmolij
07-15-2008, 04:46 PM
Terri, enjoy whatever you do. My son and I will be heading to WDW on 8/16 and we can't wait. I am glad to see that you are adding in rest time, while at the pool, at least dip you feet in the hot tub and relax those muscles. Trust me, it will help you and get the muscles refreshed for all the walking you do. Keep us posted, even with the minor tweaking, it's a great report.

Terri
07-16-2008, 02:51 AM
I got cortisone shots in both heels this past monday - they've given me anti-inflamitories and pain pills, exercises and ice - the pain is starting to subside!!! They told me to expect little pain while at disney world as long as I follow all directions and take breaks in the day.

Yeah!!! no motorized vehicles for me!!!:fez:

anniedg
07-16-2008, 06:54 AM
Glad the feet are getting better! I thought I'd throw in that we love Sci-Fi! I know a lot of people are "eh?", about the food, but I actually like it as well as the atmosphere. And as far as planning vs. winging it, all that planning helps either way -if you decide to change plans midstream it's a lot easier if you have in your mind what the other workable options are!

Sounds like you're in great shape -- have a blast!

bav052299
07-22-2008, 07:20 PM
How cool that we will be staying at the same hotel mostly during the same time. We will be the ones with all the crazy small children. :)

Terri
07-23-2008, 02:37 AM
How cool that we will be staying at the same hotel mostly during the same time. We will be the ones with all the crazy small children. :)

Silly you! I won't notice unless they jump up and down on me! I'll be on vacation!!!!:p

bav052299
07-23-2008, 06:17 AM
Silly you! I won't notice unless they jump up and down on me! I'll be on vacation!!!!:p

LOL - I totally understand! However, if you see a pregnant lady toting around three small children with her hubby, it's more than likely us. :)

dsmolij
07-24-2008, 04:34 PM
Both of you enjoy your vacation. You both will be coming back from your vacation and then I will be leaving for WDW. ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Donna