Trip Report, Episode X: Kessel Run 2 - Run Harder (a.k.a. "The Too-Far In Advance Minute-By-Minute Plan")
FastPass Day! It's FastPass Day!
But first, some quick updates for everyone following along (and thank you for doing so. I appreciate everyone who reads these updates, even if you don't reply). I've lost 19 pounds since I started watching what I eat, which isn't quite where I wanted to be at this point, but isn't far off either (at least not enough to get frustrated by). This morning's weigh-in was 422, down from 441, and I think I can get under 400 by Dec. 27, when I pull out of my driveway and begin the 18-hour drive to WDW.
Also, I have another tattoo appointment set for next week, which should bring all the main coloring to completion. From there it'll be one more appointment for final touchups, and I'll be done before the end of the month.
Now, on to FastPass Day (yay!) which was today, not yesterday as I briefly believed. You see, when I made that reservation for the Frozen Dessert Party on the 28th, it threw off everything in
MDE by a day. So the site told me yesterday was 60 days until my trip begins, which was technically true as far as reservations were concerned, but not true for hotel/FP purposes. Thankfully I didn't make any special plans to wake up early to make my FP reservations, so I wasn't too bummed when I couldn't do it on Sunday.
This morning I didn't get to sleep until about 2 a.m., so I wasn't about to set an alarm for 7. I'm not nearly that dedicated (despite what this trip report would make you think). As it was, I ended up waking up at about 9:30, which is earlier than I normally would, but I decided that it would be a good time to just get up and start making some FP choices.
I didn't bother with Flight of Passage, since even if I drop another 20-30 pounds by December, I'm pretty sure I still won't fit on it, but I was surprised to see that there were still FP options for it for each of the days of my trip (I checked just for research purposes). The only FP selection that was completely unavailable for any day I looked at was Illuminations on the 31st, and I'm pretty sure the FP was just for the 6:40pm show -- the 11:40pm show has a different name. I also decided to make FP reservations on the 28th (which opened up for me even though my hotel reservation doesn't start until the 29th). Once everything was said and done, I took a look at my FP reservations, my dining reservations and the various shows, parades and other options at WDW and started planning out my days at the parks minute-by-minute (or as close to it as possible). And here's what it looks like, with my FastPass+ selections in bold:
Wednesday, December 27th
- 9 a.m.: Leave West Hartford, CT
- 1 p.m.: Grab lunch/fill up gas somewhere on the New Jersey Turnpike
- 6 p.m.: Grab dinner/fill up gas near Rocky Mount, N.C.
- 9 p.m.: Stop for the night around Florence, S.C.
Thursday, December 28th
- 9 a.m.: Leave Florence, S.C.
- 1 p.m.: Stop for gas somewhere around Jacksonville, FL
- 4 p.m.: Arrive at Magic Kingdom parking lot
- 4:30 p.m.: Actually arrive at Magic Kingdom after parking, tram, security, ferry, etc.
- 4:40 p.m.: Take lots of pictures of Cinderella's Castle, because I love it and want to live there
- 4:45 p.m.: Get in line for a ride near the middle of the park that has a wait time of less than an hour
- 5:45 p.m.: Meet Mickey Mouse at Town Square Theater (FP window 5:10-6:10)
- 6:00 p.m.: Visit the Enchanted Tiki Room (depending on show times and line length)
- 7:00 p.m.: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (FP window 6:10-7:10)
- 7:15 p.m.: Splash Mountain (FP window 7:15-8:15)
- 7:25 p.m.: Take monorail to T&T (while doing this, I might try and snag a same-day Epcot FP, if any are still available)
- 7:35 p.m.: Take monorail to Epcot
- 7:45 p.m.: Arrive at Epcot. Take too many pictures of Spaceship Earth, because duh.
- 8:00 p.m.: Do Test Track as Single Rider
- 8:30 p.m. (approx): Do Spaceship Earth (pending wait time) or visit World Showcase
- 9:30 p.m.: Check in for Frozen Ever After Dessert Party
- 9:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.: Eat too many desserts and drink too many cocktails
- 10:30 p.m.: VIP viewing of IllumiNations
- 10:45 p.m.: VIP ride of Frozen Ever After
- 11:00 p.m.: Monorail back to T&T
- 11:30 p.m.-ish: Leave parking lot, drive to Orange Lake
Friday, December 29th
- 9 a.m.: Leave Orange Lake
- 9:35 a.m.: Breakfast at Cape May Cafe
- 11:00 a.m.: Enter Epcot via International Gateway, Meet Mary Poppins in the U.K.
- 11:30 a.m.: Meet Alice in the U.K.
- Noon: Meet Mulan in China
- 1 p.m.: Take Friendship boat from Epcot to DHS
- 1:30 p.m.: Arrive at DHS
- 1:45 p.m.: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (FP window 1:20-2:20)
- 2:25 p.m.: Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith (FP window 2:25-3:25)
- 3:30 p.m.: For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
- 4:15 p.m.: Star Tours – The Adventures Continue (FP window 3:55-4:55)
- 5:00 p.m.: Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! Holiday Dessert Party at Disney's Hollywood Studios
- 6:00 p.m. (I think): Disney Movie Magic
- 6:30 p.m. (I know): Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM!
- 7:05 p.m.: Voyage of The Little Mermaid
- 7:25 p.m.: Leave DHS
- 7:45 p.m.: Finally arrive at Port Orleans - Riverisde
- 8:00 p.m.: Pool time maybe?
Saturday, December 30th
- 8:45 a.m.: Leave Port Orleans, probably via Uber/Lyft
- 9:10 a.m.: Breakfast at Boma
- 10:10 a.m.: Finish breakfast, take bus to MK
- 10:30 a.m.: Arrive at MK
- 10:45 a.m.: Splash Mountain (FP window 10:15-11:15)
- 11:15 a.m.: Haunted Mansion (FP window 11:15-12:15)
- 11:30 a.m.: It's a Small World (depending on wait time)
- 12:20 p.m.: Peter Pan's Flight (FP window 12:20-1:20)
- 12:55 p.m.: Lunch at Be Our Guest
- 2:20 p.m.: Post-lunch milkshake at The Plaza
- 3:30 p.m.: Mickey's Once Upon A Christmastime Parade
- 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.: TBD pending what I can get for same-day FP selections
(I'll pretty much take the "next available attraction" any time I can get it, but my priority order, would be something like Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Pirates of the Caribbean, Under the Sea, Enchanted Tales, Winnie the Pooh, PhilharMagic and so on...)
- 8:05 p.m.: Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen Dinner
- 9:15 p.m.: Probably one last stand-by ride
- 10:40 p.m.: Fireworks Dessert Party with Plaza Garden Viewing
- Midnight: Fireworks!
- 12:30 p.m.: Take bus back to hotel
Sunday, December 31st
- 7:45 a.m.: Leave Port Orleans via car
- 8:00 a.m.: Arrive at Epcot
- 8:25 a.m.: Princess Storybook Dining Breakfast at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
- 9:45 a.m.: Standby on Frozen Ever After (if less than 90 minutes)
- 11:15 a.m.: Mission: SPACE (FP window 10:35-11:35)
- 11:30 a.m.: Single rider Test Track
- Noon: Spaceship Earth (FP window 11:35-12:35)
- 12:25 p.m.: Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival
- 1:00 p.m.: Soarin' (FP window 12:40-1:40)
- 2:00 p.m.: Chefs de France Lunch
- 3:15 p.m.: Impressions de France
- 3:40 p.m.-6:30 p.m.: TBD pending what I can get for same-day FP selections
(Again, I'll most certainly settle for "next available attraction", but my priority order would be: Mission SPACE again, Figment, Nemo, and the Film Festival again - still not crazy enough to think I could get a same day FP for FEA, Soarin or Test Track)
- Also sometime between 3:40 and 6:30: Take a break in the DVC Members Lounge
- 6:40 p.m.: IllumiNations early show
- 7:15 p.m.: Enjoy some of the New Year's Parties around World Showcase
- 8:15 p.m.: San Angel Inn Dinner
- 9:30 p.m.: Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros
- 10:00 p.m.: Grab an adult beverage or two, find a good spot for the midnight fireworks show and sit back, relax and watch a movie on my phone
- 11:40 p.m.: Fireworks!
- 12:30 a.m.: Leave the park
- Much, much later, thanks to traffic: Arrive back at Port Orleans
Monday, January 1st
- 8:10 a.m.: Leave Port Orleans via car
- 8:25 a.m.: Arrive at T&T
- 8:50 a.m.: Arrive inside MK
- 8:55 a.m.: Let the Magic Begin Welcome Show
- 9:00 a.m.: Fairytale Dining Breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table
- 10:15 a.m.: Do the attraction with the shortest wait time in the area of CRT
(looking at you Prince Charming Regal Carrousel)
- 11:00 a.m.: Leave MK, drive to AK
- 11:30 a.m.: Arrive at AK, do a character meet (there's usually one going on right near the entrance with a short wait time)
- Noon: Na'vi River Journey (FP window 11:50-12:50)
- 12:15 p.m.: Grab some of those ridiculously good hamburger pods in Pandora, plus one of those weird adult beverages with the bubbles in them
- 1:00 p.m.: Festival of the Lion King (if the standby wait isn't terrible)
- 1:45 p.m.: Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain (FP window 12:50-1:50)
- 2:00 p.m.: DINOSAUR (FP window 1:50-2:50)
- 2:15 p.m.: Leave AK, drive to DHS
- 2:45 p.m.: Disney VISA Cardmember Character Experience
- 3:45 p.m.: The Hollywood Brown Derby Dinner Fantasmic 1st Show
- 5:00 p.m.: Some attraction at DHS that I get on a same day FP after getting in the DINOSAUR line (Star Tours on standby is the backup plan)
- 5:40 p.m.: Voyage of The Little Mermaid (if I get that same day FP and don't have a long wait)
- 6:15 p.m.: Head over to the Fantasmic theater
- 7:00 p.m.: Fantasmic!
- 7:30 p.m.: Grab an adult beverage and a snack and find a good spot for Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular
- 8:00 p.m.: Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular
- 8:30 p.m.: Leave DHS head to Epcot for EHM
- 9:00 p.m.: Arrive at Epcot
- 9:15 p.m.: Single rider Test Track? Or do some other attraction? No same day FP option during EMH so that's out
- 9:45 p.m.: Character meet (probably Mickey and Pals, since that's definitely open late, but I'll flip to Baymax if he's still meeting this late)
- 10:30 p.m.: Leave Epcot
- 11:00 p.m.: Arrive back at Port Orleans, get some much-needed sleep
Tuesday, January 2nd
9:00 a.m.: Leave Port Orleans
9:15 a.m.: Arrive at Boardwalk
9:20 a.m.: Bon Voyage Adventure Breakfast
11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.: NOTHING! No Plans! I'm gonna do random stuff. Maybe I'll see a movie at Disney Springs. Probably squeeze in a visit to Company D if it's open. Maybe take a 2-hour nap in my car. I can have it all!
6:00 p.m.: Leave wherever I am, drive to Wilderness Lodge
6:35 p.m.: Artist Point Dinner
8:00 p.m.: Take boat to MK
9:00 p.m.: Happily Ever After Fireworks
9:30 p.m.: Take boat back to Wilderness Lodge
10:00 p.m.: Drive to parents' house, saying goodbye to Walt Disney World until I return five weeks later
(Note: there's a good chance that I punt on the latter part of this and just head to my parents' house right after dinner, since I'll have two very long days of driving ahead of me)
So that's the plan. I already have a headache thinking about how it's going to be blown to bits the moment I arrive in Orlando, but for now I'm very excited about it. Let me know what you all think, what else I should be targeting/making room for/etc. And if you're going to be at WDW during this time, let me know and maybe we can find a time to meet up. I know it seems like my schedule is packed, but outside of dining reservations and the nighttime shows, I'm really flexible on everything else.