The Little Trip That Could-- PartI: Pre-PTR for our Upcoming Holiday Adventure! About This Page:

[MyRapunzal]

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Great plans

[quote=amandal;1982317]
You will have to switch monorails at MK in order to get to the Poly, so I would say approx. 30 minutes of travel there is safe. Also, I would say about 1 and a half hours to eat.
You should have lunch at Earl of Sandwich. I've never been but I've heard it's great!!
Your plans look great, of course. Do you have a Disney Visa? You may be able to get a discount on the Tour . . . . [/quote]
(BTW-- Whoops... don't know why I didn't quote this correctly! But you get the jist!)

Thanks...
The timeframe would mean our ADR would have to be for about 7:30 to get to the Segway tour for 9:30--- done eating by like 9, to Epcot by 9:30... What is the earlier ADR time? We would have to get up at like 6am! I thought we'd be shooting for 7! lol!

Anyways, another question for everyone--

What do you know about the Hollywood Holly-Day Parade and the Jingle Jungle Parade? Should I work an afternoon into AK just for the parade?

Last year these 2 parades and Osborne Lights all opened on November 12th which looks like it would give me the window to see everything. We already have MGM time alotted and weren't planning on going to AK at all... I was thinking that we could probably grab some food to go at Yak and Yeti since they are in cartons, find a good spot and just see the parade and leave? It would only take a few hours... if the parade starts at like 4 like the other one does, that would mean we could get on a bus at like 2... grab a late lunch and a parade spot, then sit and eat and wait... we could be back on the bus out by 5.

It would fit into our Friday where I didn't plan much but an evening ADR. We could go for a later dinner closer to 8 and just start our day with the parade and head over to Epcot since I want to shop in the AM. Is it worth seeing?

Anyone know if the Holly-Day Parade will still be going on with the Block Party Bash? What about Dream lights?

[Colexis Mom]

The lights should still be on I'm not sure about the Hollywood Parade though...my guess is that since the Block Party replaced the regular parade, there would be a holiday one either

I've yet to see the AK parade, but I'd still recommend it

[jhoshowski]

The Jingle Jungle Parade is very cute. . .not sure I would make a special trip to the park to see it, though.

As for lunch on your DTD day - I'm with Amanda. EoS all the way!! Which reminds me, I have got to try to fit it on for our trip. . .maybe OOP on our last day. . .

[Alice in wonderland]

I think it is worth seeing the Jingle Jungle parade but i am biased to anything to do with the AK. You could get yak and yeti for lunch and then walk over to Africa where the parade ends and watch it there. That way you dont have to be thee as early. If the Parade starts at 345, it doesnt arrive to africa until at least 15-20 mins later so bear that in mind.

You would definately make it to the bus by 5pm. Hey then you could make a dinner reservation at boma thta night HAHAHAHHA

[MyRapunzal]

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

The lights should still be on I'm not sure about the Hollywood Parade though...my guess is that since the Block Party replaced the regular parade, there would be a holiday one either

I've yet to see the AK parade, but I'd still recommend it

I think that it would add some productivity to an otherwise so so day! lol! I figured since they are called Dream lights it would continue with the YOAMD extension. Hopefully!

Originally Posted by jhoshowski

The Jingle Jungle Parade is very cute. . .not sure I would make a special trip to the park to see it, though.

As for lunch on your DTD day - I'm with Amanda. EoS all the way!! Which reminds me, I have got to try to fit it on for our trip. . .maybe OOP on our last day. . .

Our friends also recommended EoS but I think if we were going over there we would go to Captain Jacks... maybe I can squeeze it in on our departure day since the cheaper flights will probably be the later ones. This way we could check out, drop off our bags and not have to head into a park while we wait.

Originally Posted by Alice in wonderland

I think it is worth seeing the Jingle Jungle parade but i am biased to anything to do with the AK. You could get yak and yeti for lunch and then walk over to Africa where the parade ends and watch it there. That way you dont have to be thee as early. If the Parade starts at 345, it doesnt arrive to africa until at least 15-20 mins later so bear that in mind.

You would definately make it to the bus by 5pm. Hey then you could make a dinner reservation at boma thta night HAHAHAHHA

I have to say--- it was totally your TR and remembering AK in the cool weather that sparked my interest-- then when I saw Sharons pictures of the Holly Day parade it got me thinking about parades...
I am a total animal lover so its wierd for me not to love AK more... we have just done all the rides that we want to and had such great experiences with them and the CMs that we wouldn't want to go through the humidity and waits and crowds to have the less than perfect experience.

[BelmontBelle]

Your plans look great! Isn't it amazing how much fun you can fit into a long weekend?

[Kenny]

Sounds good!

[carters_mom]

Just getting caught up. Congrats on booking your trip and making it official.
I wanted to tell you how much I love the Minnie Jane crocs you picked. I was really considering getting the exact same pair for myself although my husband hates anything crocs

Thanks for asking about the Jingle Jungle Parade at AK, I'm planning on trying to see it for my first time in December.

The cake your mom made was AMAZING!!!

Your plans are looking great

[scdisneyfan]

I enjoyed the jingle jungle parade myself but i do love AK so i have a biased opinion If you dont have much planned it would be worth the try. As for EOS i loved it but i've never eaten at Captain Jacks. But you have to get some hot chocolate or sundae at Ghiradeli's is a must if you have the time. And dont forget about the scrapbooking store in DTD. I think christmas shopping there is a great idea i actually shopped for my friends there in sept last year and got some must haves that you can only get there.
I would say your plans look great so far though. You get some rest time and shopping time and will still have time for everything else.

[KandJluvdisney]

plans look great mel,
thanks for the comments on my weight loss - that means so much
like jen said - it is cute but if you are not planning a trip to ak then not sure if I would waste all the time to get there for a 15 minute parade - though you and rob know what works best for you - so it you want to squeeze it in then do it - I have to admit that ak is not my favorite park and Juan and I only spend about 1/2 the day there - we find we can do everything we want done by about 1 or 2 pm
I love touring plans- my trip is in jan 09 and I already have tentative plans done because of them.
good luck and hurry back

[TheThomasFam]

Melissa:

Thanxs for the free shipping code - my husband just ordered some crocs and used the code!

[MyRapunzal]

Originally Posted by BelmontBelle

Your plans look great! Isn't it amazing how much fun you can fit into a long weekend?

I think as my ideas for this trip change and move around I am starting to realize how much fun Rob and I can actually be! lol! On our last trip I tried to make sure we hit all these little things, as if we could never return to WDW but when you look at it from the perspective that you are going to be back to eat at the other restaurants and see the other shows or events, it takes a lot of the stress off. I feel more prepared now, almost 8 months away from this trip than I did 3 months before the trip we took in 2007.

Originally Posted by Kenny

Sounds good!

Thanks! I am sure my plans will change from now until then but I figure its a good start!

Originally Posted by carters_mom

Just getting caught up. Congrats on booking your trip and making it official.
I wanted to tell you how much I love the Minnie Jane crocs you picked. I was really considering getting the exact same pair for myself although my husband hates anything crocs

Thanks for asking about the Jingle Jungle Parade at AK, I'm planning on trying to see it for my first time in December.

The cake your mom made was AMAZING!!!

Your plans are looking great

I just adore crocs, Rob is not as big a fan as me but I just love the minnie janes, even though they gave me blisters at first, once I fixed the straps they have easily become the cutest shoes I own (are crocs considered shoes?)
And glad to see I could help with the AK parade info!

Originally Posted by scdisneyfan

I enjoyed the jingle jungle parade myself but i do love AK so i have a biased opinion If you dont have much planned it would be worth the try. As for EOS i loved it but i've never eaten at Captain Jacks. But you have to get some hot chocolate or sundae at Ghiradeli's is a must if you have the time. And dont forget about the scrapbooking store in DTD. I think christmas shopping there is a great idea i actually shopped for my friends there in sept last year and got some must haves that you can only get there.
I would say your plans look great so far though. You get some rest time and shopping time and will still have time for everything else.

Ooooh thanks for the tip about the hot cocoa! Rob and I are cocoa fiends during the cold weather! I loooooooooooooove the scrapbooking store! Rob bought me tons of stuff our first trip but we skipped DTD all together our second trip (what are we crazy!?!?) so I have a lot of catching up to do! I figure it would be nice and unique gifts if we got christmas gifts there- all the ladies would love the figures and stuff and toys for the kids... I think I could get a big chunk of stuff done and since we have been there twice in the last two years its not like anyone would be expect some big souvenir upon our return anyways!

Originally Posted by KandJluvdisney

plans look great mel,
thanks for the comments on my weight loss - that means so much
like jen said - it is cute but if you are not planning a trip to ak then not sure if I would waste all the time to get there for a 15 minute parade - though you and rob know what works best for you - so it you want to squeeze it in then do it - I have to admit that ak is not my favorite park and Juan and I only spend about 1/2 the day there - we find we can do everything we want done by about 1 or 2 pm
I love touring plans- my trip is in jan 09 and I already have tentative plans done because of them.
good luck and hurry back

Thanks and your welcome!
Rob and I are just the same with AK but I don't know if I want to not go AT ALL either? I am interested in Yak and Yeti enough to say... head over for an hour or so to grab lunch AND the parade but I don't know if I would do it for one or the other, ya know? I will probably feel Rob out about it as it gets closer-- unless MGM doesn't do the holiday parade, because in that case he will have no choice! haha!

Originally Posted by TheThomasFam

Melissa:

Thanxs for the free shipping code - my husband just ordered some crocs and used the code!

No problemo! Glad I could help! The crocs website is great and not marked up compared to store prices-- anything that gets you closer to your crocs for the least amount of money makes me happy too!

[PrincessSharon]

Your plans look pretty good to me. I'm not sure it would be worth a special trip to AK just for the Jingle Jungle Parade, but when you throw in Yak & Yeti, and it's also sort of a down day for you, I'd say it's worth it.

[amandal]

I agree with the others about not making a special trip to AK for the JJP. If you were going there anyway, that would be a different story. We aren't going to AK in August either. There is just not enough to do there (IMO) and the 7 year old we're taking doesn't necessarily LOVE animals. I would save it for a trip you'll have more time with. Have you dropped any more hints to the fam or Rob yet? I was thinking about you yesterday and thinking about how I can't wait to see the countdown calendar and "vacation box" for this trip!!!

[MyRapunzal]

No real update today but I just wanted to say that I hope everyone had a great Easter! I am nannying today and thought I would share a picture.

Here are the eggs me and Rob dyed the other night:

Clearly some came out better than other-- but they all taste the same, right?

In any case I haven't had much time to get thinking about this Walt Disney World trip. I spent some of my free time this weekend finally making a picture slideshow of the trip we took last summer.

Oh, and thanks to Sharon and Amanda and everyone else for their input on Animal Kingdom. Rob and I are def animal lovers so even though we SAID we weren't going back maybe we will make the trip for the parade, Yak & Yeti and to walk around the Discovery Trails and look at the maminals! lol! I am not sure yet.

By the way, I didn't know what I had been missing with the Passporter Club! Man- I printed some worksheets last night and they are awesome! Countdown calendars and I got these great summary sheets that will help with my journaling and TR once we are on the vacation already. So glad I decided to go for it. I already knew I loved their E-books so I decided to go for the Passporter Club instead of TGM this trip since I already had a subscription to TouringPlans.com for this year.

In any case, enough with my rambles. I will be back with a better update sooooon! Don't forget about me if it takes a few days! lol!

:::::Next Up:::::
Wow! How time doesn't fly when you are waiting for WDW!