***Official June 2018***

Renee, we stayed at Pop for the first time last summer, and I was a bit apprehensive since it was our first Value. It was fine. The grounds are, in a word, CRAZYPANTS, and definitely worth a stroll around the property to see. One really nice feature is that Pop doesn't share buses, and we found them to be some of the most efficient out of everywhere we've been. As to the accommodations, Dave (over at a website whose name apparently gets blocked out by the boards :rolleyes2), says "You will never stay in a smaller room," and he WAS right about that, but it was comfortable, even pre-reno. All in all, we didn't fall in love, but we were perfectly content. :thumbsup2
Thanks for the review!
 
Hey fellow Junebugs! The months seem to be flying by (though not quite fast enough) Of course with waiting to book fastpases I'm second-guessing everything (hotel, transportation, food)

I know there are quite a few people going for extended trips. Do you all usually plan one table service meal a day? Or just a few you really want? I've got 4 table services planned out of nine days and I'm wondering if I should be looking for more before reservations become impossible...

We usually have a TS dinner, but I typically keep a few nights open that way if we're doing something else or just don't feel like getting ready to go out we don't have to. If we decide we want to go out, there are usually several places that have last minute reservations.
 
Double digit dance :yay:

Now if the AP discounts will just come out so I can figure out where we'll be staying the first 5 nights!!! :scared:
 




TSMM FPs still not available at least until June 8.
DANG-BLANG!! We arrive on June 8th and HS is our first stop (after checking into the hotel) and since we won't be there until 10am (or so) I was hoping for a FP+ for TSM!!!

I guess I can now start hoping that they'll open up FP+ for TSM some point before then....

ARGH!!!
 
I just keep thinking about the month's worth of soft openings for Pandora last year, and can't help believing we early June travelers are well positioned if they do that for Toy Story Land.

PS - Was anyone else a little concerned the Slinky Dog Coaster was going to run between Jesse's legs, or was that just me? :oops:

BTW, making my extra FPs turned out to be a complete nightmare. I got through to DSS, settled in with my spreadsheet, and discovered they couldn't make the reservations for me because I didn't have a valid ticket on those dates. Duuuhhhhhhh... Guess whose APs expire on June 3? :badpc: They can't be renewed until April 4, and ticketing won't let you renew early, which I find shocking because "what do you mean you won't take my money, Disney????" :eek: :faint: So I now have two five day parkhoppers which I can upgrade to renewals (nearly the same price, if you can believe it!), but unfortunately I have to do it in person at Guest Services. This means there'll be four days on our trip I won't be able to reserve FPs at ALL until we get there. The good news is two of those days were HS, both RDs mostly for ToT, but one for Jedi Training, and one day we were pretty much planning to skip rides because DS is doing a Pirate Adventure Cruise in the morning, and we really wanted to rent a boat in the afternoon. That leaves one MK day, early in the trip, and that evening we've got 6:15 Hoop dee Doo reservations. I figure if we can score a few early / mid afternoon passes, fine, and since it's a Tuesday, I'm moderately optimistic. If not, we can play Sorcerers for a while, do the Pirate Scavenger Hunt, then hop the boat to Ft Wilderness and nose around for a while.

The better news is I DID get those three days of double FPs with the special viewing areas for Illuminations, HEA, and RoL, and the RoL day has FPs for both Pandora rides. Megan, the CM at DSS who helped me, was a delight, and super efficient.

Here's hoping this is the biggest hiccup I face this trip!!! :crazy2: :crazy2: :crazy2:
 
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Hi, my DD and I will be going to Disney/ universal May 31-June 6. We are doing 3 days at Disney and 3 days at universal, but we are staying at Port Orleans Riverside the entire time.

We went to universal in 2015 and Disney in 2017, it was our first time at both places.
 
I just keep thinking about the month's worth of soft openings for Pandora last year, and can't help believing we early June travelers are well positioned if they do that for Toy Story Land.

PS - Was anyone else a little concerned the Slinky Dog Coaster was going to run between Jesse's legs, or was that just me? :oops:

BTW, making my extra FPs turned out to be a complete nightmare. I got through to DSS, settled in with my spreadsheet, and discovered they couldn't make the reservations for me because I didn't have a valid ticket on those dates. Duuuhhhhhhh... Guess whose APs expire on June 3? :badpc: They can't be renewed until April 4, and ticketing won't let you renew early, which I find shocking because "what do you mean you won't take my money, Disney????" :eek: :faint: So I now have two five day parkhoppers which I can upgrade to renewals (nearly the same price, if you can believe it!), but unfortunately I have to do it in person at Guest Services. This means there'll be four days on our trip I won't be able to reserve FPs at ALL until we get there. The good news is two of those days were HS, both RDs mostly for ToT, but one for Jedi Training, and one day we were pretty much planning to skip rides because DS is doing a Pirate Adventure Cruise in the morning, and we really wanted to rent a boat in the afternoon. That leaves one MK day, early in the trip, and that evening we've got 6:15 Hoop dee Doo reservations. I figure if we can score a few early / mid afternoon passes, fine, and since it's a Tuesday, I'm moderately optimistic. If not, we can play Sorcerers for a while, do the Pirate Scavenger Hunt, then hop the boat to Ft Wilderness and nose around for a while.

The better news is I DID get those three days of double FPs with the special viewing areas for Illuminations, HEA, and RoL, and the RoL day has FPs for both Pandora rides. Megan, the CM at DSS who helped me, was a delight, and super efficient.

Here's hoping this is the biggest hiccup I face this trip!!! :crazy2: :crazy2: :crazy2:

Woah, that is crazy!! I mean they are going to charge for parking at resorts, why stop now and not take your money early?? Oy, that would really make me upset about having to wait on fp's because of that :(I am sorry, but it sounds like you've made the best of it. Hope the rest of your planning is stress free!
 
Everyone should go watch the Dis Unplugged guys review Garden Grill breakfast. Even Pete was impressed and he said came into it with a few bad experiences under his belt. I think that cinnamon roll might've changed things a bit.
We love the breakfast...we just forego the cinnamon roll bc none of us are fans of cinnamon rolls.
 
Okay...so talking plans....here is what I originally had:

Sun 6/3 Travel day: Leaving around 6am from Atlanta, arriving around 2 or 3pm, studio at BRV. We will hang out at the resort, swim, QS at GP or RF, campfire, movie, watch EWP.
Mon 6/4 Resort day: WCC 10am, swim, rent water craft, explore resort, HDDR 6:15 at FW.
Tues 6/5 MK day: BOG 8am, early ride on 7DMT (x2??); FPs 7DMT x4, Pooh x2, Peter Pan x4, Splash x2 (my oldest is NOT a thrill rider). Midday break. BOG 5:20. Close down park.
Wed 6/6 Disney Springs, Polite Pig lunch. Sanaa 5:30, TotWL.
Thurs 6/7 Check out, hit up the outlets, drive home.

Anyway, my DH has some local friends visiting us on Wednesday. The plan would be for them to join us for dinner (already on ressie) and possibly the TotWL (are guests allowed, DVC people??), maybe DS earlier in the day. But now I am wondering if I should switch our DS day to Monday and our resort day to Wed. I would add them as day guests to our reservation if possible so they could swim with us. Maybe take them out on the water craft. So I went ahead and made a 9:30 am WCC ADR for Wednesday and then I will drop either Monday or Wed once we figure out the best plan.

Has anyone added day guests successfully before?
 
Well, it's officially official at this point. I paid off our package last week, so we are -REALLY- going to Disney! Hehe. The kids still don't know, but we'll be visiting from the 2-9th, staying at the Pop. I had originally planned for a family suite at AoA, but had to downsize due to a budgeting issue. But like hubby says, we won't hardly be in the room anyway, right? This will be everyone's first time to Disney (except me, but I was like..5..so this will be the first time I remember everything!), so I've probably gone over board, but that's completely okay. So, with the exception of FPs, here's our plan:

2nd- Arrival
3rd- Breakfast at BOG, and Dinner at BOG (I really don't want to do this twice in one day, but was our only choice >.<)
4th- Lunch at Sci-fi (And indiana jones. I will NOT leave until I see Indie. Hehe)
5th- Breakfast at Arkershus, Lunch at Coral Reef
6th- 930 sailing of the Albatross Pirate Cruise for the kids, Dinner- Highway in the Sky Dine around for hubby and self, kids are going to the new Contemporary Kids Childcare thingie for the evening.
7th- Dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table
8th- Lunch at Satu'li Canteen, then dinner at the Rainforest Cafe, or the RoL's package at Tusker House.....I'm torn on which reservation to keep.
9th- Departure
 
Well, it's officially official at this point. I paid off our package last week, so we are -REALLY- going to Disney! Hehe. The kids still don't know, but we'll be visiting from the 2-9th, staying at the Pop. I had originally planned for a family suite at AoA, but had to downsize due to a budgeting issue. But like hubby says, we won't hardly be in the room anyway, right? This will be everyone's first time to Disney (except me, but I was like..5..so this will be the first time I remember everything!), so I've probably gone over board, but that's completely okay. So, with the exception of FPs, here's our plan:

2nd- Arrival
3rd- Breakfast at BOG, and Dinner at BOG (I really don't want to do this twice in one day, but was our only choice >.<)
4th- Lunch at Sci-fi (And indiana jones. I will NOT leave until I see Indie. Hehe)
5th- Breakfast at Arkershus, Lunch at Coral Reef
6th- 930 sailing of the Albatross Pirate Cruise for the kids, Dinner- Highway in the Sky Dine around for hubby and self, kids are going to the new Contemporary Kids Childcare thingie for the evening.
7th- Dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table
8th- Lunch at Satu'li Canteen, then dinner at the Rainforest Cafe, or the RoL's package at Tusker House.....I'm torn on which reservation to keep.
9th- Departure
POP is just dandy, don't worry. We stayed in 70s WHILE under reno, in a NON reno room, and I swear it was the quietest room we've ever had anywhere on property. Buses were the awesome.

TUSKER HOUSE. DO TUSKER HOUSE.

Your kids are going to lose their wee tiny minds at the Albatross Cruise. (DS has done it before, and asked if he could please do it again before he ages out, so he's "onboard" for the 11th.) You'll be able to wander around the Epcot resorts and relax child-free while they're gone, and DO enjoy that!!! BUT, make sure you're back at the dock at least 15 minutes before they return. There's a whole show when they come back in and you'll want pics.

I did the Dinearound on my own last month, and it's AMAZING. The dessert portion with HEA viewing is a bit weird; you're kind of looking at the fireworks from the side, and it's neat but REALLY different than viewing it from the hub, and you're right under the monorail, which actually was kind of cool. The food, however, is out of this frickin' world. And getting on and off the monorail before anyone else makes you feel like Disney Royalty, so much that several of my new Dinearound friends and I did the "Queen Wave." I'm not sure the other monorail guests appreciated that... :rotfl2:
 
Okay...so talking plans....here is what I originally had:

Sun 6/3 Travel day: Leaving around 6am from Atlanta, arriving around 2 or 3pm, studio at BRV. We will hang out at the resort, swim, QS at GP or RF, campfire, movie, watch EWP.
Mon 6/4 Resort day: WCC 10am, swim, rent water craft, explore resort, HDDR 6:15 at FW.
Tues 6/5 MK day: BOG 8am, early ride on 7DMT (x2??); FPs 7DMT x4, Pooh x2, Peter Pan x4, Splash x2 (my oldest is NOT a thrill rider). Midday break. BOG 5:20. Close down park.
Wed 6/6 Disney Springs, Polite Pig lunch. Sanaa 5:30, TotWL.
Thurs 6/7 Check out, hit up the outlets, drive home.

Anyway, my DH has some local friends visiting us on Wednesday. The plan would be for them to join us for dinner (already on ressie) and possibly the TotWL (are guests allowed, DVC people??), maybe DS earlier in the day. But now I am wondering if I should switch our DS day to Monday and our resort day to Wed. I would add them as day guests to our reservation if possible so they could swim with us. Maybe take them out on the water craft. So I went ahead and made a 9:30 am WCC ADR for Wednesday and then I will drop either Monday or Wed once we figure out the best plan.

Has anyone added day guests successfully before?
You wouldn't have a problem in a quiet pool, but I don't know about the main. Obviously SAB is all over it, but when we were at Poly, all you needed was one person with a band to get through the gate at Lava Pool. I'd cruise the WL boards to see what they have to say.

I do know that as long as everyone signs the release, you can put Joe Blow on your boat, as long as he knows he can't sue. :rotfl2:

Can't believe we're going to miss each other on HDDR by ONE DAY. :(
 
I just keep thinking about the month's worth of soft openings for Pandora last year, and can't help believing we early June travelers are well positioned if they do that for Toy Story Land.

PS - Was anyone else a little concerned the Slinky Dog Coaster was going to run between Jesse's legs, or was that just me? :oops:

BTW, making my extra FPs turned out to be a complete nightmare. I got through to DSS, settled in with my spreadsheet, and discovered they couldn't make the reservations for me because I didn't have a valid ticket on those dates. Duuuhhhhhhh... Guess whose APs expire on June 3? :badpc: They can't be renewed until April 4, and ticketing won't let you renew early, which I find shocking because "what do you mean you won't take my money, Disney????" :eek: :faint: So I now have two five day parkhoppers which I can upgrade to renewals (nearly the same price, if you can believe it!), but unfortunately I have to do it in person at Guest Services. This means there'll be four days on our trip I won't be able to reserve FPs at ALL until we get there. The good news is two of those days were HS, both RDs mostly for ToT, but one for Jedi Training, and one day we were pretty much planning to skip rides because DS is doing a Pirate Adventure Cruise in the morning, and we really wanted to rent a boat in the afternoon. That leaves one MK day, early in the trip, and that evening we've got 6:15 Hoop dee Doo reservations. I figure if we can score a few early / mid afternoon passes, fine, and since it's a Tuesday, I'm moderately optimistic. If not, we can play Sorcerers for a while, do the Pirate Scavenger Hunt, then hop the boat to Ft Wilderness and nose around for a while.

The better news is I DID get those three days of double FPs with the special viewing areas for Illuminations, HEA, and RoL, and the RoL day has FPs for both Pandora rides. Megan, the CM at DSS who helped me, was a delight, and super efficient.

Here's hoping this is the biggest hiccup I face this trip!!! :crazy2: :crazy2: :crazy2:

I'm totally hoping for a soft opening!!! We got to ride EE a month before it opened that way and didn't expect it at all, so that would be fabulous.

I had a similar incident trying to get ahead on planning. I went to go on base Thu. when I was off to get our Military salute tickets. Dummy me didn't realize my id expired last month! The guy took my id and now I have to wait till DH can go with me to renew- which is a pain because of the hours he works and when the office is open. But we gotta be able to pick fp+ at that 60 day mark since we're doing it for 6 people!!! Oh the struggles...
 
After nearly 3 years away, I was able to talk the family into returning to Disney/Universal for our summer trip this year and we’ll be headed to Disney June 19-24, then Universal June 24-27! This will be our third trip down to Orlando, but this is the first time we’re staying on property at both parks, Swan Resort for Disney and Portofino for Universal. *I’m so excited and working on our plans nearly everyday...I tend to go a bit crazy when it comes to Disney planning ! Hoping to see all the things we’ve missed the last few trips and all the new things they’ve added.*
 

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