And the Countdown Is On!

We are less than two weeks from our next Walt Disney World vacation! Woohoo! Usually by this point, I am in full-on planning mode. This year has been a little different. We have had so many loose ends from a variety of things that it has been hard to nail down specific plans. But just the week, I got our Magic Bands linked up to our tickets and secured Fastpasses for each day in various parks. We have friends returning today who also tested the Magic Bands, so I'm hoping to get some feedback on how well they worked before we go.

Something else we're doing differently this year is attending a Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. We've been dragging our feet about purchasing tickets (waiting on other things to be scheduled) but it looks like the party will be our first official day in the Parks this trip. I'm super excited to share our family costumes with you--they are so fun! And we got most of them at Good Will or from our own closets, so they were very affordable. And I even coerced my parents into dressing up, which was no small fete--especially for my dad. They are gonna look great too!

We'll also be eating at a few restaurants we've never tried--and a few favorites that are worth visiting again. We'll be seeing some of the New Fantasyland for the first time, and we're definitely going to try to see the Princesses in the new Fairytale Hall. But most of all, we're excited to see our cousin Camille, who works in Guest Relations! She is a rock star to my Disney-loving girls. :-)

We'll be staying at Pop Century this time. Haven't been there since our first visit with our oldest daughter in 2005. We were in All Star Movies--the only Value we've never stayed in--but changed our reservation after realizing the closed food court at All Star Sports would likely mean more foot traffic and possibly fuller busses at ASM. We tried to book a moderate, but couldn't get two rooms for the dates we needed, so we're trying Pop again. It was brand new and very crowded when we were last there, so hopefully it will be less chaotic on this visit.

If any of you have planning questions you'd like me to answer as I prepare for this trip, fire away! I have covered how I pack and plan in previous posts, but I'm happy to revisit those things...and they continue to evolve year after year as our children grow and our needs change.