Disney Loving Peas / Universal Loving Peas

Oh no! Really hoping it’s food poisoning and that he’s on the mend already.

Pixie dust sent!

Pixie dust coming your way! If it was good poisoning they should be ok, so let's hope that is what it was. What a bummer on their birthdays, too. Definitely pack some ginger ale, saltines and applesauce for the drive. Maybe some peppermint tea too.

I hope everyone is on the mend soon and your trip is wonderful. I can't wait to hear all about it when you get back!!!

How's everyone doing?

So much pixie dust coming your way. Safe travels. Cannot wait to hear all the gory details when you get home! Have so much fun!

Sent!!!





Is there anything good?
I have a disney visa so I think I can get 25% right now but there isn't anything I wanted to search for and I didn't see anything I needed.

I am finally getting around to writing a review/tips/etc.

NOTE: I have added a few things since I first posted this.

We allowed for 6 days at Disney (2 days at Hollywood Studios, 2 at Epcot, 1 each at Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom). We also did 1 multipark pass day at Universal Studios to see the Harry Potter World part. We wish we’d had 1 more regular day at the latter, particularly at Diagon Alley. The 6 days at Disney allowed us to do everything we wanted, but if we’d had to stand in long lines, we’d have had to prioritize. We had the DAS pass, which was a huge help (DH is disabled due to back surgery and a heart attack he barely survived). We got to do pretty much everything we wanted.

Staying at a hotel on property (and the Dolphin/Swan hotels are included) gave us an edge on getting those desired dining reservations! However, our DD snd her DH were still able to get into a restaurant they wanted (but couldn’t get reservations for) by going the stand by route there at Disneyland. We saw stand by people getting into Space 220, too. We absolutely loved Space 220, Skipper’s Canteen, and Tusker House. If you have food allergies or restrictions, they really try to accommodate your needs (all the restaurants, not just those 3).

Memory Maker was definitely worth the money for us. We hit just about every photographer we could find. Tip: if a Disney photographer is a bit too quick in scanning your magic band or whatever, ask them to do it again. Some photographers at Epcot had longer lines and rushed it. Result: We had photos that weren’t ours, and probably vice versa. We were missing the Test Track photo, because of the way that one is done, but because we knew the day, approximate time, and what we were wearing, Disney Memory Maker person was able to find it for us. We got so many photos taken that in most cases, I didn’t worry if some were missing, but it might be an issue for another family.

My DH had spent countless hours watching YouTube videos on preparing for Disney, and it paid off.

If anyone in your party is older or disabled, it helps to plan in rest days if you can afford the extra hotel costs. We definitely needed them.

We loved the Dolphin hotel. They were fabulous! They handled huge numbers of people during the hurricane and even managed to get us all fed. We extended our stay due to the hurricane, and they helped us with the room change, which we did the night before, so that we could still get to the parks the next morning and not be delayed. The Dolphin was also within walking distance of both Epcot and Hollywood Studios, or in our case, easy distance for our mobility scooters. We took our own scooters, and we took spare batteries, which we swapped each night. The fully charged batteries lasted the full day in the parks, but we never stayed till midnight, since the hurricane changed those plans. We did have our chargers, just in case, but we never needed them. We did see people with rental scooters just stuck waiting for someone to come bring a different scooter.

PLEASE look before you suddenly shift directions where you are going. Scooters do NOT stop on a dime! Thankfully, we didn’t hit anyone, but I lost count of how many times someone just suddenly changed direction without looking and stepped right in front of my scooter. I also had people do it, who looked right T me, knowing that they were stepping right in front of me, expecting me to stop in time, or gambling that they could dart in front/past me fast enough. There were a TON of people on scooters there, many of whom are NOT used to using a scooter. Please take a second to look before you suddenly change direction.

Also, if you are a larger family group, please do not string out in a line all the way across the walking areas from left to right, making it impossible for others (on scooters OR on foot) to get past you, especially if you are sauntering slowly. Sometimes people are trying to get to their reserved dining or attraction in time, and a roadblock is not appreciated.

If you go when the weather can be hot, do NOT wear black or other dark clothing! You’ll feel like you are cooking if it’s sunny. Take a compact umbrella if you are at WDW. You’ll need it at least once. The downpour (pre-hurricane by several days) was quite something. A poncho is helpful, too, but the umbrella can also be used as a sun shade on hot days. We’re older. We don’t care if it doesn’t look cool. Comfort matters more than appearance.

We did the droid building experience (less expensive than the light sabers), bought a special 50th anniversary ornament for our Disney tree, and got 50th anniversary badges (written up nicely in silver and black ink instead of sharpie) as momentos. The droids were definitely worth it, IMO, but the BB8 moves like it’s drunk. It’s pretty funny, and our granddaughter loves it. DH built an R2 unit, which is more stable. There is a place outside the droid factory (can’t remember how close) where a lot of people were playing with their droids. We got the case and personality chip. That was helpful, because the cardboard boxes are ZERO protection when it rains. It’s not waterproof, but it kept my droid dry. The droids are also pretty sturdy, which was a good thing, because I managed to drive mine off the building surface and onto the floor. It didn’t even crack, and it still works fine.

Final lesson learned the hard way: If anyone here makes their own custom shirts with Cricut/Silhouette, be aware that layering vinyl tends to come off in the dryer. A single layer of vinyl is usually fine (except metallic silver). Unless you do different colored layers like a puzzle, putting them in the dryer will ruin your vinyl decorated shirts. Hang them to dry. We loved having our unique shirts, though, even though I have had to do some repairs since getting home.

Our favorite rides in Hollywood Studios: Rise of the Resistance, and Smugglers’ Run. We’re Star Wars fans, so we loved everything about Galaxy’s Edge. We enjoyed the droid build, too. The Runaway Railroad Ride was fun, too. Keep in mind, I hate heights and rollercoasters, and DH can’t ride most of the extreme rides, anyway, due to his pacemaker. We had the Memory Maker and used it thoroughly at each park.

Animal Kingdom favorites were Flight of Passage and The Lion King (phenomenal production!).The Zoom photographer was harder to find there, but we kept hunting till we found him, He took several shots of us, because no one seemed to know where he was (no line), and he must have been bored, but it was great for us.

Epcot: we thoroughly enjoyed the Ratatouille ride, always like the Frozen ride, and loved the Harmonious Firework/light show. We got lots of photos with characters, and we loved both the food and the ambiance of Space 220. We also found (only because we hunted for it), the French pastry shop. Their desserts are amazing! We also loved the Liberty singers.

Magic Kingdom: I love Pirates of the Caribbean, always have, always will. The parade was fun, but I thought the steampunk dragon version of Maleficent was extremely fun and cool. We got stuck on Haunted Mansion. I’ve always thought it was a fun ride, but not where we got stuck. I won’t say anymore, but if we ever get to go back, I’ll skip that one. We rode 7 Dwarves Mine Train, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Peter Pan’s Flight, all of which we enjoyed. We rode the Riverboat and the Carousel of Progress, and DH fell asleep on both. They were quiet and relaxing, but our time could have been spent better than those two rides. We ate at Skipper’s Canteen, which was excellent. We even got seated in the special “secret” room. If you ever go there, read the titles on the books. Some of them are funny. We got our special ornament early in the day, which was a good thing, because that was the only shopping we got to do. Our original day, we would have had till midnight, but due to the hurricane, we ended up having to do Magic Kingdom on a Halloween Party day, and they practically chased us out of the park once we finished eating dinner, so we got no other shopping done there.

In spite of the hurricane, and in spite of the little things that went wrong, it was a fabulous trip!

Skellinton, my DH and I were both able to transfer. We can’t do a lot of walking, which is why we need our scooters, but we were able to walk the amounts required for transferring and the relatively short amounts of walking for Rise of the Resistance. For those who aren’t Star Wars fans, Rise of the Resistance may be confusing. My DH is a bigger Star Wars fan than I am, and I was surprised that he found it a bit confusing the first time. The second time made more sense to him. We rode it 3 times during our two days there. The Rise of the Resistance ride uses the same technology as the Runaway Railroad and also the Ratatouille ride at Epcot. I don’t know what they do for those who are too disabled to transfer.

The Ratatouille ride has an extra surprise element that was fun. I laughed both times we went on it. The Rise of the Resistance has a very different type of surprise, and my engineer DH never could figure out how they did it (he was also puzzled by the jumping fountains).

I am happy and excited for you that you still have your trip to look forward to. I hope you, your mom, and aunt (and anyone else who may be going with you) enjoy it as much as we did!

So there aren't big dips or twirls on those rides? My aunt can transfer if it is just walking. She can't do Pirates because she can't step down into the boat. I think she will be able to do the M and M Railroad ride because it just looks like a step into the cart, correct?
Thank you for all your tips! I really appreciate it!

Thank you so much!!!

I had forgotten a out the drop, but it’s minimal IMO.

However, understanding what is going on is part of the fun. Those who haven’t seen the Star Wars movies may find it very confusing.

I hope our friend is having so much fun with her family! I can’t wait to hear about their trip when they get back!

I started scrapbooking in 9X12 format using the velvet and minky albums from scrapbook.com.

I'm mostly making pages outside the page protector and also some pocket page protectors.

I started with our most recent trip in 2021 then worked my way back.

Then we went again in May and I worked on that until October Daily with a break for Week in the Life and a travel journal from a trip we took in June.

I have one day left to scrap -- our EPCOT day. I have more than 260 photos. I organized them into folders and I'll do one page per album or one 2-page spread per album. I think I counted like 16 folders so one story for each.

I had posted some photos then I stopped sharing them for some reason. I think I just was scrapping away and not taking the time to social media them.

I love the physical process of scrapbooking. It's been like my therapy lately. After December Daily, I will go back and finish up that day before we go in April.

I love Disney. I'm so glad the kid is marching in the parade. Gave me an excuse to plan another trip.

I don't know if I'll go back and do the rest of the older trips. Our first trip from when our daughter was 8 was recorded in the travel journal I made of that whole trip. All the ephemera and good stuff is already in there so I really don't need to document it again. There is so much else I want to do.

joblackford is the queen of making amazing photobooks. She'll probably have some tips if you decide to go that route.

For big family trips I like to do a digital album that focuses on the Who, What, Where just to get it done. Then I like to take my time scrapping about the smaller stories from the trip. I'd recommend writing down what you want to remember cuz that will be the hardest thing to do as time goes by.