We planned our short anniversary trip well in advance. Weather had other ideas. We were scheduled to check in at Pensacola Beach today. We had watched weather, checked live feeds, stayed on top of social media sites, and had originally been told our reservations were still good. Here we are 14 hours from home, still 5 hours away, and we receive our cancellation phone call. 
No complaints, we understand, weather is not controlled. And the locals have much more to worry about than an extra couple of tourists.
Hubby says “What’s 7 more hours, make the reservations.”
Huh? Did DH just give clearance for a very impromptu Disney trip? 
YAY!
Staying at a nearby hotel and driving to EP for F&W for the 16th-17th, then back home.
I’ve made our park reservations and booked our FP, I just hope our hotel isn’t icky. I found Home2Suites near DS and we have stayed at those in smaller towns for wrestling tournaments, so surely it’s not horrible.
I’m going to feel awkward, no Disney clothes, no ears, no bag….
2 things we have never done and I have questions - 1) Parking - Is preferred parking worth paying the difference? We are thinking of parking at HS and hopping the skyliner back and forth between EP/HS. 2) I have always used a magic band. I can just hold my phone up since I have it in my Apple wallet, yes? Or do our annual pass cards work as well?
If you have the budget for it, it can be really nice to park right up near the front. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a “must have” for me.
Yes! I no longer use a magic band, just my phone. I do miss the bands, but I have to use the App so much anyway it makes more sense to me to just use the phone for it all.
Sorry about the weather! Hop you have a great time anyways!
I often upgrade to preferred parking. You could also drive between the two. Once you pay for preferred parking in one park, it is good at every park that day.
Thank you!!
I didn’t say, but I should have. For me, preferred parking is “worth it” I love it. (Even at AK at 6;35 when I might have been the 30th car in the lot).
I was thinking it would be. Especially with F&W, if we decide to only do EP, Fri/Sat might be pretty full.
This was the saddest and then happiest post! 
Just like that big turn you took at the fork in the road.
It definitely depends on the park, the circumstances, your needs, etc. With regular parking you can often get a pretty good spot either by being early or by coming later in the afternoon and swinging into a spot someone else vacated. But if it is worth it to you to have a guaranteed spot with a minimal walk, it is absolutely worth the cost, IMO. At MK that still means you have to walk quite a ways though.
You can use your phone if you enable MagicMobile or plastic ticket medium – I think the AP card works but I’m not positive. Worst case you can talk to GS when you arrive.
IMO MagicBands are much more convenient at WDW, but you can get by without them.
We have done Preferred Parking at EP in the morning and then driven to HS (where you get Preferred Parking after paying for it at EP). I thought it was worth it. I would do that over taking the Skyliner between EP and HS.
@sunsecret_511097 if you do hop, I just wanted to make sure you keep in mind that if you park your car at EP and go to HS, you need to be back at EP before park closure to walk to the front.
Today was great! Hot, but great! Parking - we thought was worth the difference, today was $25 using our AP for preferred. After getting in at 4:30am, we got to the park around 12:45pm. Target is near our hotel, so we stopped for ponchos just in case. Parked in row 105 of Hei-Hei, a really simple walk. DH could never get his phone to work with his google wallet, so we just used his card at tapstiles. Could have been his phone case or he could have a setting turned off. He regularly turns off almost all the extras on his phone to save battery.
We stopped at 10 booths today and really enjoyed the food. My favorite was the pomegranate codder at Coastal Eats and the butternut squash purée that comes with the trout at Bramblewood Bites. DH likes the spiced apple rum old fashioned for a dessert drink and he really liked the trout from Bramblewood Bites.
We rode LwtL, SE, Nemo, FEA, and TC, we also walked thru JW.
Tomorrow, we just plan to meander and eat more food. I have Remy, Soarin, and LwtL for our FP tomorrow. I need to narrow down my choice from all the ears I found that I like. And will buy a pin or shirt tomorrow, too.
We did not park hop, but if we do, we will just drive since the parking pass works for the same day. The actual drive from our hotel to/from EP, super easy. I still like staying on property for their transpo and the EE benefits. But, staying off property isn’t horrible.
So sorry, I just realized I replied directly to @PrincipalTinker. Lack of sleep….
I knew you just used the reply button!
Yeah… I have to take mine 100% out of the case to get it to tap correctly. You do have to make sure that NFC is turned on in your phone as well. That’s what will let you do “tap” payments / entry.
Hope the sun isn’t too bad today! Enjoy your stroll aound EP!!