Let's do this! WDW in August!

[MinnieWebster]

Short notice, but I've enjoyed reading several DISer's PTRs for upcoming trips, and thought it'd be fun to try sharing my own plans for our upcoming trip to the World.

Who: Myself and DH
When: August 24-Sept 2, 2017 (our longest visit!)
Where: We are staying at AS Sports

We don't normally do TS, preferring to stick to QS and snacks, however we decided to change it up this time, and have made a few ADRs for: BOG, Yak & Yeti, Rainforest Cafe, and Le Cellier Steakhouse.

Since our trip is already less than 3 weeks away I will post our plans over the next few days. We have pretty much everything planned out already. So excited!! Can't wait to be back in our happy place

 

[MinnieWebster]

Wow! Busy day today. Helped some friends move, so we are pretty worn out. Hopefully we can just chill and relax tomorrow.

Usually we go to a park on our arrival day, but we decided (again) to change things up this time. No park on arrival day (or departure day, again not the norm for us)

Arrival day is Aug. 24, our flight lands at MCO at 9am. Once we get to AS Sports and check in, we plan on heading over to Typhoon Lagoon for a few hours. Then we will go to DS, where we have our first ADR for an early dinner at Rainforest Cafe. We will then wander around DS for a couple hours before we head back to our resort. Possibly going to do the movie at the pool, which should be fun. It would be something new for me.

 

[MinnieWebster]

Watching Avatar this afternoon!! And DH wanted to look at our menus again, make sure we have plans to visit the places we want to try, so we are doing that today too

 

[momjeeps]

Following along will be interested to see what you all are doing. A friend and I are squeezing WDW into a wedding weekend in Orlando. Our dates overlap the beginning of your trip. She is picking me up at MCO at about 2pm on 8/25. We plan to go straight for AK and do what we can until close. Then have ADR for Raglan at 10. Saturday we have a PPO ADR for BOG. Then plan to do our essential rides until a late lunch ADR at BOG (again) at 1:45 and then head out to rest and cleanup for the wedding that night at 7pm off property. Sunday is EP all day. Only have one ADR at 2 for Napoli the rest will be snacks and QS. Monday we have early ADR at Cape May and then we leave for Atlanta. Super quick trip.

 

[MinnieWebster]

Following along will be interested to see what you all are doing. A friend and I are squeezing WDW into a wedding weekend in Orlando. Our dates overlap the beginning of your trip. She is picking me up at MCO at about 2pm on 8/25. We plan to go straight for AK and do what we can until close. Then have ADR for Raglan at 10. Saturday we have a PPO ADR for BOG. Then plan to do our essential rides until a late lunch ADR at BOG (again) at 1:45 and then head out to rest and cleanup for the wedding that night at 7pm off property. Sunday is EP all day. Only have one ADR at 2 for Napoli the rest will be snacks and QS. Monday we have early ADR at Cape May and then we leave for Atlanta. Super quick trip.

Fun!! That sounds like a great weekend visit! We talked about trying to get BOG for breakfast, but we booked our trip less than 180 days in advance, so I wasn't able to find any PPO. Decided the cost wasn't worth it this time for a late breakfast time. But maybe we'll try it some other trip if we can get a PPO
I really liked Via Napoli! We ate there in 2013, when we took my parents, sister and BIL for their first visit to WDW. DH has several places he likes to get snacks from WS, especially the Boulangerie Patisserie in France. We want to try Sunshine Seasons this time, the menu looks really good.

 

[momjeeps]

Fun!! That sounds like a great weekend visit! We talked about trying to get BOG for breakfast, but we booked our trip less than 180 days in advance, so I wasn't able to find any PPO. Decided the cost wasn't worth it this time for a late breakfast time. But maybe we'll try it some other trip if we can get a PPO
I really liked Via Napoli! We ate there in 2013, when we took my parents, sister and BIL for their first visit to WDW. DH has several places he likes to get snacks from WS, especially the Boulangerie Patisserie in France. We want to try Sunshine Seasons this time, the menu looks really good.

We only booked a couple of weeks ago. I've just been stalking the ADRs like crazy!

You will love Sunshine Seasons. That was one of favorite QS when we were there with family.

 

[MinnieWebster]

We only booked a couple of weeks ago. I've just been stalking the ADRs like crazy!

You will love Sunshine Seasons. That was one of favorite QS when we were there with family.

Lucky!! I was very surprised to get the 2 lunch ADRs for BOG.
Yay! I am looking forward to it

 

[MinnieWebster]

Day 2! This is our anniversary! We will rope drop MK (there are early EMH here).
We have FP+ for:
9:00 Space Mountain
10:00 Peter Pan's Flight
11:00 Splash Mountain
We like to get as many rides in as we can during the first couple hours, and usually do our first FP toward the end of the hour. Today though, we will do Space Mountain closer to 9am because we already have plans to be in Tomorrowland at that time, and will try to ride it standby a couple times before our FP.
I was able to get an ADR for BOG lunch, so we will eat there before heading to DHS. Main goals here are to see the Pixar Live show and Disney Movie Magic, which I found by accident the other night since these 2 shows are ending early in our visit.

 

[MinnieWebster]

Day 3 we will start at AK. We are going to rope drop FOP and then ride NRJ.
FP+:
9:55 Dinosaur
10:55 Kali River Rapids
11:55 Na'vi
We are going to try the new restaurant, Satu'li Canteen (using the new Mobile Ordering), before hopefully going to the 1pm show of Festival of the Lion King.
After the show we will take the Express Transportation bus to Epcot, where we will do a few rides before going through the World Showcase. We will probably watch IllumiNations this night.

 

[MinnieWebster]

Come on, 4:00!! Received texts this morning that our other 2 sets of Magic bands have been delivered. Only 16 more days!! 10 more days of work.

 

[MinnieWebster]

Day 4 is EMH at DHS. We will rope drop Toy Story Mania. We usually try to get a few times through the line before the wait gets really long (and it's time to do our first FP+). Makes my arm super tired, but we enjoy it
FP+
9:05 Aerosmith Rock N' RollerCoaster
10:05 Tower of Terror
11:05 Star Tours


Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite Disney movies. This is in the plans to watch the 11:00am show this day.

We are probably going to cancel the FP for Star Tours, as it's not really needed (although sometimes that line can get quite long), and DH doesn't really care to do this one more than once. So with cancelling that FP, we will try to get something in MK for mid-afternoon. We will plan on heading over there about 2:00. Then do whatever rides we can/want at MK until Happily Ever After and Once Upon A Time that night.

 

[MinnieWebster]

2 weeks from right now we will be at MCO, on our way to the Magical Express bus to take us to AS Sports!!

 

[MinnieWebster]

Day 5!!
EMH at AK, so we will rope drop FOP again, then ride Na'vi River Journey and Safari before heading over to ride Kali River Rapids (DH likes to ride it a few times, before it gets busy) and Everest.
Hidden Mickey!! Lol!

Then, we will hop the bus over to Epcot, hopefully we can get to FEA before 11am and the line gets long. Test Track and some of the other rides in Future World.

Heading back to AK by 3pm for a late lunch ressie at Yak & Yeti. We usually only eat at the QS and get the chicken fried rice, but we decided we'd try the TS this time too 445pm FP for FOP, 620pm Kali River Rapids, and 805 for Rivers of Light. We couldn't get anything earlier for FOP this day, so we agreed it would be okay to forgo the opportunity for additional FP+ this night, and instead guarantee that we can see ROL at least once.

 

[MinnieWebster]

Day 6 is late EMH at Epcot, so we will sleep in and go to Blizzard Beach for a few hours.
FP+ at Animal Kingdom that afternoon, 1:00 FOP, 2:00 Kali, and 3:00 Safari. Then we'll catch the bus to Epcot, where we have a 4:25 ressie for Le Cellier. I'm excited for this... I LOVE their cheese soup, we tried it at F&W a couple years ago. Since we are going to try to watch IllumiNations earlier in the week, we will most likely spend that time at Soarin'.

 

[MinnieWebster]

And....over the weekend we decided we will upgrade our current 8-day park hopper plus tickets to annual passes. Decided on the platinum pass, which does not include the water parks. So that means we spent today reworking our plans for days that were previously non-park days or included water parks....
So day 1 has been modified to: after we check in at All Star Sports, we will head out to the bus stop. Right now we have agreed to just take whichever bus is there first to take us to a park, and then we'll do the upgrade at the ticket counter of that park. We might change that to a specific park between now and next Thursday....
I told DH I still wanted to see the movie at the pool that night, so we have decided to keep our ADR for Rainforest Cafe at DS and walk around there for a bit before heading back to the resort for the movie.
Days 2 through 5 will not change. Day 6 we will rope drop DHS and spend a couple hours there before heading to AK for our FP+ and then the evening at Epcot with late EMH
10 more days from tomorrow morning!!

 

[MinnieWebster]

No more express transportation means we are altering our plans once again. Since traveling between parks can take some time, with waiting for buses and going through security each time, we have decided to limit the park hops to once a day.
I think we were okay the first half of the trip, but we removed the rope drop at DHS on day 6. We will instead rope drop AK and spend the morning, early afternoon there before going to Epcot, where we have an ADR at Le Cellier (yay!). Maybe we will take a walk to the boardwalk and get some ice cream...we've done that once or twice and enjoy it. I didn't think we'd have enough time at Epcot to get through everything plus go to the boardwalk, but looking at the plans again I think we can fit it in. So DH will like that

Day 7 we have fast passes for AK again, FOP, Kali and Safaris. We were able to move Kali and Safari up to the morning, to get them done before our FOP FP, so we can look for FP at MK earlier. We will probably grab lunch at Flame Tree BBQ before heading to MK for the rest of the day. There are late EMH, so we should be able to get quite a few of our favorite rides in. DH had said we would watch HEA again, so we will do that and then whatever rides we can fit in before the park closes.

 

[KathyM2]

I followed you over from my TR...your trip is so close!! So excited for you now that mine is over!!

Usually we go to a park on our arrival day, but we decided (again) to change things up this time. No park on arrival day (or departure day, again not the norm for us)

I see you changed your plans later after writing this...I guess with an AP now there is no reason not to do an arrival day park visit. We only had a non park day because we didn't want to use a park ticket on a day where we wouldn't get there until afternoon....

I was able to get an ADR for BOG lunch, so we will eat there before heading to DHS.

Best. Love the lunch. Did breakfast and dinner on our trip and missed the lunch, but we had done it before. Would love to do it again!

before hopefully going to the 1pm show of Festival of the Lion King.

Love this show. If the crowds are like they were this week...go at least 30-40 minutes early to get in....there are usually seats but if you go too late you might not make it.

We will rope drop Toy Story Mania. We usually try to get a few times through the line before the wait gets really long (and it's time to do our first FP+). Makes my arm super tired, but we enjoy it

My fave ride. DD's hand kept getting sore too though. I had a strategy of switching hands for each scene lol

Heading back to AK by 3pm for a late lunch ressie at Yak & Yeti.

Loved this place. The garlic noodles were so good!

 

[ariane37]

I know I'm late but I just found this! All your plans sound great! Congrats on upgrading to the AP's, we've had them for the last couple years and will be getting them again this year.

Watching Avatar this afternoon!

What did you think? DH and I watched it, thought it was ok but better understood the connection to being in AK. Kids haven't watched it yet but after visiting Avatar last week, my oldest wants to watch it now

Pixar Live show and Disney Movie Magic,

DH and younger DS watched Pixar Live last week and they both really enjoyed it. We also saw Disney Movie Magic and while everyone liked it, I LOVED it. It reminded me of what HS used to be when it really was about the movies so I was very happy to have seen it.

we will take the Express Transportation bus to Epcot,

I read through, so you know it's being discontinued Very sad because we've used this twice and it was so easy and convenient!

Love this show. If the crowds are like they were this week...go at least 30-40 minutes early to get in....there are usually seats but if you go too late you might not make it.

Yup I agree with Kathy. We tried getting in to FOTLK without a FP last Nov, and this year in March and May but only got there 10-15 minutes before the show started. Couldn't get in or would have had to stand. Crazy! Never used to happen! So we used a FP last week which we've obviously never done. While it wasn't hot in Nov. or March, I do think in the heat more people see it to get in the a/c, although it is the best show on property IMO.

 

[MinnieWebster]

I followed you over from my TR...your trip is so close!! So excited for you now that mine is over!!

Yay! I loved reading your TR, it sounds like you and DD had a great trip, and got to do quite a bit.

I know I'm late but I just found this! All your plans sound great! Congrats on upgrading to the AP's, we've had them for the last couple years and will be getting them again this year.

We lived in Tampa for about 9-10 months over 2015/2016, and the first thing we did after unpacking the moving truck was head to Disney to get AP. We went almost every other weekend, mostly just day trips, spent Christmas there...it was awesome. DH is trying to figure out when we can move back to FL so we are closer to our fave place again

Best. Love the lunch. Did breakfast and dinner on our trip and missed the lunch, but we had done it before. Would love to do it again!

I love it too. Maybe I'll try to get a dinner ADR next year, would be cool to see the Beast.

If the crowds are like they were this week...go at least 30-40 minutes early to get in....there are usually seats but if you go too late you might not make it.

Yup I agree with Kathy. We tried getting in to FOTLK without a FP last Nov, and this year in March and May but only got there 10-15 minutes before the show started. Couldn't get in or would have had to stand. Crazy! Never used to happen!

Thanks for the heads up!! I know sometimes that line can get pretty long, but in the past we've been able to get in a few minutes before the show started. I'll make sure we have a little extra time beforehand to get in line. I think we have it in the plans two different days, because we are going to AK several times, so I guess if we miss it the first time we will have to get over there even earlier later in the week.

My fave ride. DD's hand kept getting sore too though. I had a strategy of switching hands for each scene lol

I've tried switching hands, but my left gets tired even quicker than my right ...might have to give it another try this time though. DH likes to ride it several times in a row before the line gets long

Loved this place. The garlic noodles were so good!

Awesome, that's what I was planning on ordering!!

What did you think?

We like it. I actually saw it in theaters with some friends. It's the first movie I watched in 3D.

 

[MinnieWebster]

I just read back through some of this and realized we have adjusted our plans a little bit for Day 5, since there is no more express transportation. We will skip the EMH at AK on this day, and RD Epcot instead. Ride what we can in FW (and FEA), hopefully before the lines get too long. DH has been pushing for Mission Space to be added in to the plans, so we will probably do the green version on this day as well. I've done MS once before, and did okay on it, but I do have motion sickness once in a while so I didn't really care to do it again. But DH wants to see it since the refurbishment, so I told him we can do the green version