Joe and I just got back from a week at Disney.....our first as Annual Passholders! Woo!!
Fantastic trip, as always 
We stayed off-property, at an apartment in Celebration. We had never been to Celebration before, but a friend allowed us use of their apartment for the week, and we were able to bring the dogs! Bonus! Really enjoyed the small town, and were close enough to be at the parks in 10 minutes or less.
First some tips, notes and observations. Pics to follow. I hope....
Magic Kingdom Bag Check at the TTC!
We were surprised to see the bag check was right before the ticket gate the Ticket & Transportation Center for MK, and not at MK itself. Once at MK, all we had was the Magic Band scan. When we came from the Polynesian to MK, the bag check was at the Poly on the upper level outside before you got on the Monorail.
Magic Kingdom Rope Drop Changed!
We got to the park about 45 minutes before opening, and were equally surprised to see they were letting people in to the park instead of holding you in front of the train station. Everyone was let through as far as the Castle and hubs. They did a new opening ceremony show on the Castle stage instead of at the train station. You could pick a hub direction but only got so far.
Tip for 7 Dwarves Mine Ride w/o A FastPass!
We were not able to get any FPs for 7 Dwarves before we arrived, and I was thinking I was fine not riding it if the Stand By lines were too much (and they were). But as we were on the Monorail and closing in on MK on morning for Rope Drop we decided to try the Dash to 7D and see if we could get 1 ride in before it got crazy.
I researched and found there were 2 suggested approaches. 1 was to take the hub that goes to the right of the castle, towards Cheshire Cat/Tea Cups and takes a left up to 7D, and the other suggested taking the hub that goes around the left side of the Castle to the merry go-round/BoG area and hang a right and come down to the 7D entrance.
We opted for the hub that went to Cheshire Cat/Tea Cups, and were glad we did. Before opening we were allowed as far as where the hub intersects with the walkway to TomorrowLand.
I don't know how far they let the Castle group go before park opening, but when the let us all go, we got to 7D before they did. And what's worse, as we arrived at the entrance, they started pushing us up against the wall to the right, and worked us back towards the Teacup, so as the other group started coming down from the Carousel/BoG point and down to the 7D entrance, they kept having to go further and further down towards the Tea Cups because our side was filing in all the space.
Worked out well " we were on in about 10 minutes and then went on to the rest of our day.
Flight of Passage FPs " If at first you don't succeed, try, try again! And again! AND AGAIN!
Passholders can start looking for FPs at 30 days, and at 30 days, we had zero luck. But we kept trying and trying, and finally at about a week before our AK day, Joe scored a FP for our last day, on Friday. Yay!!
BUT...we also had plans to spend Wednesday at AK, and had FPs for River of Lights and Na'vi River. When we got up around Wednesday, I decided to do a quick check on FPs and low and behold, a FoP FP popped up for that evening! So I quickly swapped out my Na'vi FP for the FoP one.
In the end we did get 2 FoP FP rides in during the week. Very pleased, very impressed and so glad we got to ride!
The Stand By lines were ridiculous " lowest I saw was 60 minutes but routinely at 150 " 180. Na'vi was just as bad. Disney also had morning EMHs every day, so by the time 9 am rolled around, the standby was already at 60 minutes or more.
I will say the FP line was super quick " took us maybe 5 minutes, and most of that was walking to the boarding area.
Na'Vi River Journey without a FP Tip
When we switched out our Na'vi FP for the FoP, I figured we would never get to Na'vi, as Stand By was stupidly long and I could not find another FP.
But...after River of Lights finished at 9:30 pm, we decided to walk over to Pandora to check it out at night. As we were walking, I decided to check wait times. Na'vi as showing 15 minutes! So we picked up the pace a bit and when we got there the Stand By time was indeed 15 minutes! We went in and to our surprise, walked right on the ride.
Other Highlights
My favorite Disney Artist, David Doss, was at EPCOT on Friday 5/4, so we made it a point to go over and get another signed print! YAY!
Mini Mango Pie at Yak & Yeti Local!
You may recall my slight obsession with the Mango Pie at Yak & Yeti. I. Love. It. I think it was last year that the Yak & Yeti quick service spot started offering the mini mango pie. So I had to try it. Seriously, it is every bit as good, if not better, than the restaurant version. I went back for a second the next day. Next time I am bringing a cooler and buying 100 to bring home with me.
Favorite Overheard Conversation
On the Safari at AK, just as we got to the open area with the giraffes, the small kid in the row behind us says to his Mom, "Mom, when do we get to the ride?". The Mom said "Honey, this IS the ride!". The kid responded with a very disappointing "Oh". Everyone laughed. Except the kid.
Favorite Passholder Benefits
20% discounts on a lot of food and drinks and snacks and merchandise; the special Passholder entrance at the parks (though not always faster); free parking at the parks; and the free Minnie Flower & Garden Passholder car magnets at EPCOT! (I traded for 1 Mickey Holiday Passholder magnet and 1 Mickey Flower & Garden magnet )
Pretty sure that for the $289 we spent for each Annual Passholder ticket, 5 days of park hopping and free parking easily made it worth it.
