Ok- I am breathing into a paper bag… so we have been going once a year-did our trip this past Oct. I am a PLANNER! Dh is going to Orlando this Thurs-Sun for a guys wakeboarding thing…anyway, he just walks in this morning and says, “OK, if you and Ds6 want to go to Disney for the weekend— just take him out of school Thurs and Fri and go” Ummm okay this is awesome but I mean, I am now planning a trip in 2 days and have a grad school assignment and work Wed. EEEK.
Christmas party on Fri? Osborn lights?? I may only get one or two days of park tickets. He booked that new B hotel by Downtown Disney and I will be using their transportation. Does anyone know anything about it?
No ADRS? No FPP made? No MM. What will I do? This is madness. My head is spinning and I need to go work on my grad school paper. Yikes Thanks for listening. This is a good problem to have. I am just not spontaneous.
I guess I would just surprise DS6 and wake him up Thurs and throw him in the car.
Wow what fun. No you don’t get to plan much but also don’t have to wait for months for it to get here lol.
You could do the party Thurs or Friday as neither party is sold out. Just looking at the dining page there are actually a lot of ADR’s still available.
I haven’t stayed at the B but the pictures make it look really nice! And all you really have to do is get to DTD which is very close then you can just hop on Disney Transportation.
Because you are a planner, you have already done tons of research so you will not be going into unexplored territory. Take it as an opportunity to enjoy and explore the parks in a more relaxed fashion - you don’t have to do anything specific or stick to a pre-determined schedule. Make some ADRs if you want, or just go with the flow and hit up CS. If you have not done them before, I would definitely consider MVMCP and the Osborne Lights
I would agree with @brklinck, you’re not flying blind here, which is a huge help! Take your time, savor the trip, and perhaps try to hit up some things you normally skip. You absolutely must do the Osborne Lights if at all possible. It’s an incredible experience!
I am so excited! My mind is just kind of blown (and totally kicking myself for not upgrading to APs when I was there in Oct, but I had no clue this would happen. My first trip with DS was Dec 2011 and he had just turned 3 and we did MVMCP and Osborne lights but he was so little. That was my most magical trip!! Sooo I think I will do a party (either Thurs or Fri- hoping they don’t sell out. I am still not sure how early we can leave Thurs). And then do Osborne lights the other day. Then we can go check out Christmas decorations at the resorts on day 3. Wow. How will I ever concentrate on this paper that I am trying to write.
Yes I would imagine out of the blue Disney trips would make it hard to concentrate lol. So maybe plan to do the lights on Thursday since they’ll be on and won’t require you to be there at a certain time and the party on Friday since you know you’ll be there by then and can purchase the tickets beforehand. Do you have another trip in the works? Maybe it’s time to get the AP’s now.
What a wonderful problem to have!
Don’t worry, you have this down pat.
No ADRs? Take the opportunity to check out those QS you’ve always wanted.
Above all, enjoy and have a great time!
This is great. Hope you have a fantastic time. Given you did a trip in October and likely did a lot you should think of this as a lets see what is going on for the holiday season kinda holiday
I have no advice to offer but I wanted to say have a fabulous time! I just returned from a rather unplanned trip and it ended up being so much fun. We start our big family trip which is very planned on Tuesday and I’m a little apprehensive now about it now because I keep thinking that I planned too much.
I was up until 2 am working on grad school paper ( I am too old for this) and I have not packed one thing, made one ARD or booked one FPP because I haven’t figured out tickets yet. Hopefully both Thurs and Fri parties are still not sold out. I am at work, hoping to finish my paper and get started on my trip. Ds6 still has no clue. I am kicking myself for not upgrading my 8 day tickets this past Oct to APs. Really makes me so mad at myself when I look at prices for 2 and 3 day park hoppers. Yikes!
So here are my follow-up thoughts after my big weekend.
First off, The B Resort & Spa-
This was my first time staying off property. They consider this resort to be “in the Disney resort” but not on property. It is an easy ten minute walk to DTD. You get the DTD free bus shuttle service- BUT- it takes you to the TTC when you are going to MK, not directly to MK like I am accustomed to- this was a pain for MK. The shuttle was great for everything else my morning making RD at MK, I should have cabbed it to Contemporary and walked. I got on the first shuttle (8 am, was at the TTC by 8:20 and thought I would be fine (9 am RD) but NOPE! Alas, the monorail didn’t start until 8:30 and the ferry was terribly slow. I got to MK at 8:47,morning show was underway, bag check line was nuts (this was Sat, the predicted 2 that ended up being a 7, and my chances were blown for the run to 7DMT. So that is my main negative and I could have saved myself by cabbing to Contemp and walking.
Overall, the vibe of the resort was great- like a knockoff of the W. Very bright and modern. I had booked the cheapest room on Orbitz which w/ the resport fee was about 95/nt and they had a buy 2 nights, get one 3. So with all of the taxes and fees, it came right to $307 for everything for 3 nights. There was a great restaurant, the pool was good w/ a zero entry. The resort and pool does have a more adult feel, but I never felt out of place with my son. The only drawback of the pool is that the tower building shades it and there was very little sun at 2pm on a sunny day. I would stay there again for anywhere under 150 night and a short 3-4 night stay. Anything longer and I just can’t stay away from BC or on property. But if choosing between Pop- I would take B resort over it, hands down. The cheap orbitz rooms are the 1st and 2nd floor rooms-not the tower. I liked that bc there was easy access. This is the older part of the hotel but it has been redone and you can only tell it is old by the low ceilings in the hallways and the WC/shower area in the bathroom. But it was very clean and nice.
A sudden trip w/ no ADRs and no FPP the day of arrival
I bought tickets on the car ride down that THurs. I made FPP and began trying to get them indiv and was able to eventually score 7DMT fpp for Sat. So, keep trying. I could not get any for TSM on the day of arrival. I completely lucked out when TSM was down and we walked up, waited 10 mins and walked on the ride! It had been at 75 mins for standby and my son was begging to wait in the line. After years of legacy fpp and doing it RD and riding 3 and 4 times in a row and using the legacy fpp- I just COULD NOT stand in an hour line for TSM. Lol. I loved Osbourne lights, DS6 was not as impressed and constantly begging to “ride rides” which we know is pretty limited at HS. We did ST, a typical favorite and for some reason this “ride” made both of us a touch dizzy. Never had that happen before. I ended up getting a headache a little while later too. After trying to get the nerve to ride ToT since ds6 was begging (I couldn’t do it- I hate elevators and any rides w large drops). There were ADRs available when I checked- so keep checking day of and the day before- a lot showed up but I was only searching 2-4 people.
Epcot RD - The shuttle to Epcot was quick and painless, made RD, did TT, brekkie at Sunshine Seasons, the Land, and then toured WS while waiting for our FPP for Soarin. WS was empty right at 11 and I was hoping for more Christmas decorations but it was still great. Did Soarin and headed back to hotel for rest. MVMCP Fri night was GREAT!! Low crowds and that is still my favorite parade!! And yes, I have seen MNSSHP three times and the CP twice and Christmas is my fave! It is just pure magic. Crowds were low, we rode everything except PP (kept breaking) and 7D but did everything else we wanted. It was easy to walk and really had a blast. Sat we did RD at MK, it was really busy but we got a ton done between 9-12 and then hit the hotel pool, had lunch at American Q (the hotel rest.) and walked to DTD to shop with low crowds (I was shocked on a Sat afternoon). I got a Ghiridhelli sundae-yum!
No ADRs- what-what?? So usually I am big on the ADRs. It was actually refreshing to not HAVE to be anywhere. I got my 'Ohana fix by visiting Tambu Lounge on Sat night with DS6, dh and a friend of his and we walked right up, got a table w/ football tv view and I was able to get the sticky wings, breads and dips, and bread pudding with my Lapu Lapu !! I was smelling the Poly and eating the Ohana bread pudding with NO ADR. Does it get any better? My son begged to close down MK (no EMH for B hotel but MK was still open until 11, but man, the 1 am EMH would have been great!!). We had so much fun!
-For my next trip- I will not overpack (so much easier to stay organized), I will not over plan (LOL, I can dream), and I will realize that I never make it to the railroad or the talking town square Mickey, no matter how hard I try. Rats!
Sounds like a great trip!!! I’ve learned over the years adrs don’t fit for us… Having to be somewhere on time at disney isn’t for us will have to try out mvmcp one of these years… The parade sounds great!! Congrats on your last minute success!!!
will have to try out mvmcp one of these years… The parade sounds great!! Congrats on your last minute success!!!