8 "Big Kids" + Free Food = DIS-nerdy Adventures... final pre-trip report update 9/23

[travelgirl06]

I have enjoyed reading the trip reports of fellow DISers so much, and I'm very excited to (finally) be starting my own! I can't promise to be as entertaining as UtahMama, Kpk89 or LaLa (nor will there be adorable kids on this trip...), but I'll give it a try.;)

How it all started...
It all started off so innocently, with a simple request of “Let’s have a Dis-nerdy lunch tomorrow”. As a bunch of Disney-obsessed engineering students (don't worry we're fun, I promise!), we quickly coined the endearing term "Dis-nerdy" for all events focused on our love of the mouse; these events are a favorite activity in our circle. Luckily for me, this Dis-nerdy lunch was planned right as the rumors of free dining were beginning to circulate, so I went into it with a plan…:thumbsup2

Going to school in California, we are all experts and frequent visitors to DL; however, I was shocked to learn that two of my dearest Disney-loving friends had never been to the World... obviously they needed to go.

Cue backstory...
Last year I was simply dying to go to WDW for free dining. You see, I’m enamored with tasty food, I’m a huge Disney fan, and I love a bargain; so, what could possibly be better? While I began my recruiting effort for last year's non-trip early, I was unable to persuade anyone to join me; luckily this year I knew it would be different. This year I had a plan, and a team of 24 students all in love enough with Disney to give up most of their free time to work on a project for WDI, surely I could persuade at least one of them to join me on my pilgrimage to the "other Disney".
End backstory

Putting the plan into action
The night before the said Dis-nerdy Lunch, I spent copious amounts of time crunching numbers and figuring out the best way to "sell" the WDW trip to a a bunch of poor college students. I estimated how much the trip would cost and thought about reasons to visit WDW (vs. simply driving down to DL). Luckily, I can be quite persuasive, and when it comes to Disney they are fairly easily persauded.

Once we all had our food and had caught up a little, I quickly launched into my spiel about WDW and Free Dining and the need to book very soon; luckily one of the boys is active on other boards, and was quick to support the idea of a trip. The two of us got rolling and the rest is pretty much history; trip planning (and money saving) was in full swing!

Preliminary Planning
The first thing we needed to decide was where to stay. Three of us began researching hotels like crazy; textbooks were set aside (temporarily) and we all began studying the various resorts, as if there would be a final on them the next day. At first we were set on staying at Pop Century - it was cute, fun and affordable.

However, being a self-proclaimed-over-planner, I couldn't resist just looking at the moderates. I have always dreamed of staying on property at WDW, and I felt like if we were flying across the country we needed to "go big". A certain DISer's website made me instantly fall in love with CSR, but two of the others were set on POFQ (they had also fallen prey to the allure of the Moderates). I showed them the amazing Unofficial CSR website, and they changed their minds pretty quickly:).

We decided on 6 nights with 6-day base tickets. We were hoping to fly in early on the first morning and fly out late on the last day, but we decided to wait on booking our airfare until we could all save up a little money. I began watching the airfares like a hawk, so that if they started to go up we could book quickly.

We set up a meeting to book the trip, and all engaged in a long ecstatic happy dance as soon as we received confirmation :banana: (this caused my anti-Disney roommate to come out and tell us how crazy we were to be going to Disney…) Luckily, we all knew that he was wrong, since we were going to the happiest place on earth, during the Year of a Million Dreams, no less!

Up Next: Meet the (Initial) Cast of Characters

[BabyPiglet]

Great start!

[travelgirl06]

The Fab Four:
When our trip was coming to fruition, we had a nice, quaint little cast of 4...

Me: 22, loves Disney, traveling, sushi, and ice skating. The last time I went to WDW was in 2005, when I stayed with a friend who was a CM, we had a great time, and I realized how much fun the World could be for "big" kids. I've also been lucky enough to visit DL 3 times in the past year, compliments of it being within driving distance and a really amazing school project. For this trip, I am most excited about staying on-site for the first time, eating what D and I refer to as "snob" food (aka fusion), seeing Fantasmic (first time), and seeing the World through the eyes of a few first-timers!
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa44/emms137/Picture040.jpg

D: my DBF, 22, loves Disney, and trains, my fellow pursuer of "snob" food. Since D has never been to WDW he doesn't know what to expect, but I'm working on getting him reved up. He loves DL and sees it as a second home (so much so that he hung a DL map over the kitchen table), so I'm sure he'll love WDW also. D is deffinately one to go with the flow, and he was happy to leave the planning to the rest of us for this trip, which was fine with me.
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa44/emms137/Picture122.jpg

A: 21, OBSESSED with Disney and especially Imagineering. A has never been to WDW either, and is incredibly excited. The trip is her 21st birthday gift from her parents (lucky girl!), and she is stoked. We spent way too much time looking at resort pictures and deciding which resort was best for us, we even went so far as to make a table comparing the pros and cons of the resorts we were interested in... A is very excited about all the parks and especially Blizzard Beach.
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa44/emms137/amberscookie.jpg

E: 19, E is the one who coined the term "Dis-nerdy" and has been very involved in planning for this trip. He frequents some other message boards, but I'm trying to persuade him to come over to the DIS (I want to have a TR-writing contest with him!). He's been to WDW before, so we'll be the designated "tour guides", he's especially excited about the Adventurer's Club (which A and I are leery of, but we'll give it a shot).
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa44/emms137/Picture143.jpg
(E and N, who you'll meet in Chapter 4)
Up Next: ADRs and a Plan

[travelgirl06]

Once the trip had been booked, being a wannabe-food-snob, I immediately began researching restaurants so that I could make ADRs. I asked A, E, and D for their opinions on food, and they pretty much told me that I could make all the food decisions:rolleyes:.

Being a "starving college student" I was more than excited at the chance to order full meals at nice restaurants without worrying about a huge bill at the end of the meal, so this was a factor in my decision making. I have never been a huge fan of buffets, so I ruled these out; since our campus buffet is questionable at best, there were no objections to this decision. I also knew that I wanted to dine at many of the Deluxe resorts, since they are so gorgeous, and visit DTD and the Boardwalk.

As I browsed the DIS reading dining reviews, I saw that ADRs were beginning to fill up, so I knew that I needed to take action quickly. I continued to browse menus and looked for the "least crowded" days at each park to co-ordinate park visits with ADRs. Here's what I came up with for our initial itinerary:

9/8: Arrive (hopefully early), visit EPCOT, dinner at Les Chefs de France
9/9: AK with DTD at night, dinner at Wolfgang Puck Cafe
9/10: MK, dinner at Concourse Steakhouse
9/11: MGM,with lunch at 50's Prime Time, possibly DTD at night
9/12:MK with dinner at Kona
9/13:EPCOT with dinner at Spoodles
9/14: No ADRs (out of meals...), depature time TBD.

Up Next: Getting There & The "Other" Room

[travelgirl06]

BabyPiglet,

Thanks for stopping by, your encouragement is appreciated. This has been fun to get started on, and hopefully you will enjoy the rest of it!:)

[dismom9761]

This looks like fun!:thumbsup2 Looking forward to reading more.:goodvibes

[travelgirl06]

Thanks for stopping by DisMom9761! I'm having so much fun writing this and getting excited for our trip. :)

I'm hoping to write more tonight, but I have to work out first as one of the other girls and I are doing a "Disney Diet Plan" before we go...although I'm sure the real DDP will quickly negate our efforts:rolleyes1 . Oh well, I'm sure it will be worth it.

[travelgirl06]

Since we are all paying this with our own hard-earned money (compliments of internships and summer jobs), we definitely wanted to keep the costs as low as possible. We had already slightly deviated from this plan of a "cheap" trip by upgrading to CSR, but that was beside the point.

As I mentioned earlier, as soon as we booked the trip I began watching airfare like a hawk. It stayed about the same for a few weeks, then one night at about 10 PM, I noticed it had dropped $100...:goodvibes I quickly dialed up E and A and told them to book immediately. Meanwhile, I secured seats for D and I. Within 12 hours we had 4 seats, all on the same flights, and even in the same rows for $240 each, which is a pretty good price, considering we are flying out from California. Now that we had airfare the trip felt even more "official", and we all began to get even more excited!

Apparently, we were maybe a little too excited (if that is even possible). We may have felt the need to spread the Disney love at our next design team meeting, I won't go into details, but let's just say that Wishes, Fantasmic, and Illuminations were all "sketched" out on the chalkboard... I'm not confirming that this actually happened, nor will I confirm that singing might have been involved, I'm just saying we were excited:rolleyes1

After the meeting J (a DL CM) comes up to me and says that he needs to join in on this adventure. My theory for this trip was "the more the merrier", until I realized that J meant we would probably have to switch to a Deluxe resort, and boy did that raise the price tag quite a bit! A bit too much in fact, so we encouraged J to build a second room so we could all be at CSR. And so the trip began to grow...

J looked into CM trips, which are discounted quite nicely, but ultimately decided that Free Dining was just as good a deal, and that it would be even better because he could spend more time with us:thumbsup2 . So he started recruiting and here is who he found:

J: You've already sort of met him, DL CM, Space Mountain expert, wants to be an Imagineer, he's been to WDW and he loves it, he's very excited to go back, I put him in charge of managing the logistics of "his" room (aka the "other" room) and he's doing a fabulous job, once he jumped in we had long discussions about ADRs and all things WDW.
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa44/emms137/JoshEricandBrian.jpg
E, J and our friend B from our design team (who isn't coming on this trip).

K: She is fabulous! I sometimes call her my protege, as she is following in my footsteps and heading up the design team (that I keep talking about) next year. She's also my future roomie (along with A), so we're excited to be taking a "roomie" trip before school starts. K has been to WDW and is excited to go again, plus she's working 60+ hours a week this summer, so this will be a very well-deserved vacation.
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa44/emms137/Picture182.jpg
Me, A, and K at the Bellagio

T: T and I met on a study abroad program 2 years ago, he's one of the nicest guys out there. T is pretty much up for anything, so I'm sure he'll enjoy the trip, plus we can re-live our adventures abroad in World Showcase (except they don't have any South Pacific countries...)
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa44/emms137/Picture115.jpg

N: N earned the title of "Little Miss Sassy" on our design team. She's a sweetheart all the way, but she tells it like it is and we love her for it! I don't know all of her Disney history, so I'll have to check on that... (N's picture is in Chapter 2)

Up Next: Chapter 5 - The Dinner-for-Eight Debate

[travelgirl06]

Hi to my two readers (and any lurkers)!

Does anyone have an easy explanation on how to post pictures? I can't believe I haven't tried this yet, but I would really like to add some photos to spice this up a little bit. Any advice would be appreciated!

[Nurse_Mommy4]

Well Hello Travelgirl, :goodvibes

I'm no expert (DD15 posted most of my pictures) but I do know that we used photobucket and uploaded the pics then tranferred the URL to the post. Does that make sense? :confused3

Wish I could do more but I'm just learning myself. :rolleyes1

BTW, your off to a good start!! I hope you do figure out the pic thing though, I love pics!! :cool1:

[dismom9761]

I learned how to post pictures from the technical board.They have really easy instructions.

I would try to tell you how but I would just confuse you.:confused3

[travelgirl06]

Hi Nurse_Mommy4! I'm glad you decided to check out my TR, I'm definitely enjoying yours so far.

Thanks for everyone's help with posting pictures. It wasn't nearly as bad as I expected (I know...what kind of an engineering student am I if I can't figure out how to post pictures online;) ). While I'm at it, I think I will add a few pictures from our recent DL trips, just to help set the mood for Disney...

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa44/emms137/onceuponatime.jpg
I absolutely love the pink color of the DL Castle, and I'm really excited for all the WDW newbies to see the gorgeous castle in Florida.

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa44/emms137/Picture037.jpg
A and I before riding Small World; we had a lot of energy considering we'd been up since about 5 AM.

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa44/emms137/thescariestrideever.jpg
So, apparently this ride traumatized A and I last fall... I can't wait to see what happens when we ride the WDW version this fall:rolleyes1

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa44/emms137/engineearstoys.jpg
I absolutely love this store... it's train, engineer and Disney themed... I wanted to buy half the stuff in the store for D... but I resisted somehow.

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa44/emms137/neverlandpool2.jpg
The Neverland Pool at the Disneyland Hotel. We all had so much fun in this pool on one of our team trips; we felt like little kids again! I'm hopeful we will have just as much fun in the pools at CSR (we are all very excited about the pyramid pool and the slide!). D claimed that this pool had the "best waterslide he'd ever been on"... just wait til we get him to Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon!

Now that I have pictures figured out, my report should be a little more interesting. I was visiting D all weekend (our internships are on different sides of the state...not fun), so I slacked off a little regarding the trip (but I did manage to secure about 15 LGMHs at Home Depot and talk his ear off about the trip). Anyways, I should be back to write another chapter soon (hopefully tomorrow).

[travelgirl06]

Once we had our whole group together J and I began planning and replanning, because that's what we both like to do. I had already made my ADRs, and I was hoping not to lose out on any of the restaurants I had selected, and J had a few ideas of his own in terms of food. We briefly toyed with the idea of trying to do one table for dinner, but a call to Disney Dining confirmed my suspicion that this could lead to longer wait times for tables, so we decided to stick with two tables and just flip around people so we all get ot eat with each other at different times.

I was hesitant about Concourse Steakhouse, and at the same time I was seriously contemplating the need for a "date night" for D and I. I told Josh this, and he started talking to the rest of the group about where they would want to eat. D and I settled on California Grill, because the menu looks fabulous, they have sushi (my favorite), the views are divine, and it seems really romantic. The rest of the crew is going to Narcoosee's for lobster dinners (I made A promise to bring me a little bit). Afterwards we will all (hopefully) meet up for Spectro and Wishes in the MK, so it should be a lovely evening.

I am also hoping to sneak in a trip to Beaches and Cream, because I am dying to do the Kitchen Sink (ever since Samantha Brown had it on Great Hotels, I'm hooked). This would be OOP, but if we have any room in our stomachs, I think it would be fun, especially since we have a big group, so we MAY actually be able to finish it.;)

"Final" ADR List
9/8: Les Chefs de France ~ Dinner
9/9: Wolfgang Puck Cafe ~ Dinner
9/10: CA Grill (me)/Narcoosee's (J) ~ Dinner
9/11: 50's PT Cafe ~ Lunch (OOP)
9/12: Kona (me)/Ohana(J) ~Dinner
9/13: Spoodles ~ Dinner
9/14: None, we'll eat CS and soak it all in prior to our 6 PM departure

Up Next ~ Chapter 6: Blizzards, Adventurers and Typhoons...oh my!

[travelgirl06]

In case you couldn't guess based on the title, my Disney crew felt the need to "enhance" the vacation a little bit more. A has been itching to go to Blizzard Beach for her whole life, I LOVE Typhoon Lagoon and E is dead-set on visiting the Adventurer's Club at Pleasure Island. While we toyed with the idea of just doing the Adventurer's Club and BB, we quickly discovered that this would cost almost as much as adding the Water Parks Fun and More option to our tickets. So, like any good budget-minded college students, we decided to go big and upgrade the tickets (we even added an extra park day for about $1.50, since our flight out is at 6 PM, and our last day is the only day Haunted Mansion will be open). So we finally have our upgraded tickets, our hotel, our flights, and our ADRs, everything seems to be shaping up well, which is nice.

We're planning on doing mostly half-days at the water parks (one day for each park), and visiting Pleasure Island and DisneyQuest (since it's "free" with the add-on). PI and DQ will be on our AK/DTD day and our MGM day, since those parks close the earliest. We will probably visit the waterparks on one of our EPCOT days and one of our MK days. It's a lot to squeeze in, but we should have a lot of energy (nevermind the fact that we have to start school two days after we get back;) ).

Never fear, while I am a true DISer and I feel the need to cram as much Disney fun as humanly possible into just under a week, I am thinking about my fellow travelers. The great thing about being a group of young adults and having the wonderful Disney Transportation (the buses at school are pretty bad, so we should be fine with this) is that we can all do whatever we want, whenever we want! If I want to stay at Typhoon Lagoon and T wants to go snooze at the hotel, that is perfectly fine. It seems like a fabulous plan... we'll see how well it actually works out:upsidedow

Our "final" plan is as follows (and after this, I promise, I shouldn't be boring you with any more plans, at least not until the actual trip part of this trip report):

Friday 9/7: Depart from CA at various times; D, A, E and I fly out around 8 and meet up with the rest of the crew at LAX before proceeding to MCO! This will be fun because we will all be excited, but I'm doubtful that we will get much sleep.

Saturday 9/8: Arrive at MCO at 6:00 AM (thanks to the redeye:thumbsup2 ), take DME to CSR and check-in. Head over to EPCOT for the morning, with a hotel break in the afternoon (if needed, we did fly all night...and the Dig Site looks fabulous). Dinner at Les Chefs de France (which I am super excited about), and Illuminations! After Illuminations we will head back to CSR for an "early" night

Sunday 9/9: Leave early for rope-drop at AK. Trek over to Expedition Everest, followed by Dinosaur and the Safari. I also plan on hitting up Kali River Rapids and seeing Nemo and Lion King (I love that show!). Stay at AK until close, then a quick trip back to the hotel to change and head over to DTD for dinner at Wolfgang Puck Cafe. After dinner, we will visit DisneyQuest until close, or possibly stop by Pleasure Island.

Monday 9/10: Early morning plans (I'll explain in the TR), followed by MK all day. Since MK is very much like DL, we won't be frantic about seeing it all, but of course, we want to do as much of it as possible. We will probably focus on the thrill rides and those that are unique to MK (Country Bears, Laughfloor, etc.) Dinner at CA Grill/Narcoosee's followed by Spectro and Wishes!

Tuesday 9/11: This will be our MGM day. E just told me that Rockin Roller Coaster will be closed while we are there:sad2:. So I'm planning on Tower of Terror in the morning, along with some rides and shows. Lunch will be at 50's Prime Time (this restaurant is so cute, I'm excited to share it with more friends!). The afternoon will probably be at the park, although we may take a pool break, depending on how much ground we cover in the morning. Fantasmic in the evneing, followed by DTD for Pleasure Island and the Adventurer's Club!

Wedneday 9/12: Blizzard Beach in the morning! We'll hang out here until it gets too crowded, then I plan on heading back over to MK for the afternoon or evening. Dinner ressies are split for Kona and Ohana's, and hopefully we will get done in time to watch Wishes and the Electrical Water Pageant from the beach at the Poly.

Thursday 9/13: Typhoon Lagoon in the morning. I'm hoping to do Crush and Gusher, snorkeling with the sharks and several other attractions here. Again, we will probably head out early to mid-afternoon, when it starts to get crowded. After TL, its back to EPCOT (hopefully via Beaches and Cream to try the Kitchen Sink) to finish up what we've missed. Dinner is at Spoodles, which should leave some time to explore the Boardwalk area; we also plan on watching Illuminations again as a "last night" celebration...

Friday 9/14: This is a "free" day of sorts, but we will have an extra park day and water park tickets. E and J are definitely planning on MK (since this is the only day that Haunted Mansion will be open while we are there). I'm keeping it open in my book, I think I'll go with whatever feels right, or whatever I've missed out on. We fly out at 6, so we will probably have to be ready for DME by 3; which still gives us a little time for fun. Then its back to reality...but with lots of great memories:)

[dismom9761]

You are doing a great job.:woohoo: I can't wait to see how you like California Grill.That is where DH an I are going on our adult onlt trip in Jan.:thumbsup2 All your plans look like soo much fun.:goodvibes

[travelgirl06]

Dismom9761: Thanks for reading my TR! I'm glad you are enjoying it, and I'll be sure to post a full review of California Grill for you. It looks absolutely fabulous, and the dining reports I've read on it sound awesome. I'm excited to see how our jam-packed-plans-of-fun turn out:)

[Avivasmom]

WOW it souds like a ton of fun!!! You will have a blast.

CSR is gorgeous and very big.

We are doing California Grill again in Nov. for our 11th wedding anniversary. We had window seats the last time and watched Wishes from our seats.

Love the pics too!!

[Lease]

Sounds like you've got a great plan, you'll have so much fun! I'm enjoying your pre-trip enough to change me from a lurker to an actual contributer. Reading your pre TR makes me think about how much I need to start on mine. (nah making the DH start it). We'll be there about the same time, but have a 2 day head start to warm up the parks for you. So if you see two 20-somethings acting like very big kids well then you'll know we've completely been taken over by the spirit of Disney :)

-Lisa

[travelgirl06]

Hi Avivasmom and Lease! I'm so glad to know people are enjoying my pre-trip so far. I can't wait to go on the trip and have some "real" stories to post for everyone:) . I'm super excited about California Grill (and all the other restaurants too), and now I know that there will be fellow "big kids" in the park to look out for:thumbsup2

I bought some goodies for the trip today, but I think I'm going to have to wait until tomorrow to post with pictures, since I have to be at work by way-too-early-thirty tomorrow (to borrow a phrase from a fellow DISer).

Also, J got his luggage tags and DME stuff in the mail a week ago, but mine isn't here yet (argh). And to make matters worse, I won't be able to have anyone check my mail for these "crucial" documents for at least a week... Oh well, I guess learning to be patient will help prepare me for WDW:rolleyes1

[dismom9761]

I will be looking forward to those pics.I love pics of people's loot...:surfweb:

[Redhead3]

Really enjoying the pre-trip report so far - you all sound like a fun bunch :cool1:

I'll be at WDW at the same time and some of our touring plans even overlap!

I'm sure you'll love CSR - I've stayed there twice and count it in my top 3 WDW resorts. I'm not staying there this trip though :sad1: we're at Pop Century since this is a budget trip.

[travelgirl06]

Of course, no Disney trip would be complete without the accumulation of oodles of WDW goodies. It sort of goes with the territory; and while I would love to say that the shopping was purely practical, that's not exactly the case. Luckily, I am a bargain hunter (in case you haven't guessed yet) and I'm working quite a bit this summer, so I can get away with a little bit of "fun" shopping.

Like any good DISer, I had to get myself some Crocs. I also convinced A to get a pair, hers are the light blue green Caymans. She wears them everywhere, its fabulous! Rest assured, there will be more pictures of the Crocs in the actual TR (complete with D staring at my shoes in disgust...he actually threatened never to go out in public with me if I wore them, but he still does:) ) . My mom and her friend came to visit me at my internship last week, and he friend persuaded me to get the watermelon ones, I was skeptical because I love my Reef flip flops, but they are pretty comfy.
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa44/emms137/Picture205.jpg

Next up we have a plethora of Tinkerbell goodies! My mom's said friend (who persuades me to treat myself way too much) is a Tinkerbell fanatic. I bought the t-shirt before they got here so I could show her (of course, she loved it). She then proceeded to send me the stickers and hairbrush as a "thank you" for letting them stay at my place and showing them around the area. Getting to hang out with my mom and her friend AND getting to talk about Disney (and get goodies too) - talk about pixie dust!
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa44/emms137/Picture206.jpg

And finally, my goodie bag supplies. I decided that I wanted to make goodie bags for the octet that I can hand out on the plane to get our trip started off on the right foot. I'm still looking for treats to fill them with, so if you have any ideas let me know. So far I have: princess pencil cases (girls), Cars lunch boxes (boys), glow sticks, crayons, and stickers. I know these are sort of silly, but we're going for a lighthearted "big kid" trip, remember?? Of course, there are also plenty of Mickey Head paint chips to go around, thanks Home Depot! Don't worry, I deffinitly spend enough time (and money) in HD on design projects to justify that many paint chips, at least in my opinion :-)
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa44/emms137/Picture208.jpg

Sorry about the huge pictures... I tried to make them smaller but I seem to be at war with photobucket right now...

[AGPrincess]

Loving your pre-trippie so far! Your group sounds like one after my own heart! I'm probably a DIS-nerd too...my major right now is electrical engineering (I'll be a freshman in college this fall!).

Can't wait for more!

(P.S. the goodie bags sound too cute!)

[Lease]

The goodie bags are such a great idea! I know I've seen Disney themed candy and toys in the register lines at Walmart in the "beg your parents for these now section." I wonder if I could pull off a surprise treat bag for our flight pixiedust:

[travelgirl06]

I'll be at WDW at the same time and some of our touring plans even overlap!

Redhead3: Hopefully you are getting just as excited about your trip. Maybe we'll run into each other, I'll be the one leading my (quite large, and frequently silly) crew on a whirlwind trek through the world...my lime green Crocs and mickey heads should be another hint:).

Loving your pre-trippie so far! Your group sounds like one after my own heart! I'm probably a DIS-nerd too...my major right now is electrical engineering (I'll be a freshman in college this fall!).
AGPrincess: based on your trip reports (and your major), you would definitely fit right it with us. You can tag along for the trip report, and hopefully we'll have lots of adventures to share with you.

Thanks to everyone for the props on the goodie bags. It's been fun slowly accumulating treats...then I realized that I only have 26 more days, so I'd better get moving on these things! I'm trying to find Disney goodies, but of course candies and other treats will also be included in the loot:thumbsup2

I also have a surprise planned for D during the trip. I'm bursting at the seams to share it on here, but I don't think I should, just in case he ever checks on the boards (which I highly doubt, since he constantly questions why I need to visit these boards and talk to "weird internet strangers", if only I could get him to come visit, I think he would be converted...maybe). At any rate, if you're overly intrigued (if you've been reading along and your an obsessive DISer, you may be able to guess), PM me; otherwise, I'm going to make you wait in anxious anticipation, just like him.

[Nurse_Mommy4]

Hey Travelgirl,

I'm so glad you figured out the pic thing!! :thumbsup2 I love pics!

ADR's are looking good!! Not a boat load of characters like mine, :rolleyes1 but still good! :thumbsup2

A girlfriend of mine and I are contemplating a future trip and I'll probably plan to try a couple "adult themed" restaurants then.

Keep up the good work! :goodvibes

[travelgirl06]

ADR's are looking good!! Not a boat load of characters like mine, :rolleyes1 but still good! :thumbsup2

A girlfriend of mine and I are contemplating a future trip and I'll probably plan to try a couple "adult themed" restaurants then.

Hi again! We are keeping the character meals to a minimum, primarily because we are sort of sick of buffets (we had a not-so-great cafeteria/buffet on campus, and I don't really care to relive the experience:rolleyes1 ). The "adult" restaurants will be such a treat, because very seldom do we get to go out to eat at nice restaurants and order "full" meals, since we're still dealing with the college student budget for the most part. All of the menus look pretty good, so I'm excited.

On another note, I went to a science museum with one of my friends today, and quickly discovered that my digital camera has decided to die on me...:sad1: . It was an old camera, and it's been on more adventures than any camera should be expected to endure, but I am still sad. It still seems to be taking pictures, but the display screen is done. I think I will try to tinker with it for a little while, but I'll probably end up getting a new camera (I've been wanting a new one for a while now, so this is a good "excuse"). My old camera was a Canon and I loved it (wonderful picture clarity!), any suggestions for new ones?

[dismom9761]

Love the pictures of all the goodies.:thumbsup2 I like the idea of goody bags.:goodvibes Can't give advice on cameras,I hate mine and that's the only digital I have had.

[Nurse_Mommy4]

Hi again! We are keeping the character meals to a minimum, primarily because we are sort of sick of buffets (we had a not-so-great cafeteria/buffet on campus, and I don't really care to relive the experience:rolleyes1 ). The "adult" restaurants will be such a treat, because very seldom do we get to go out to eat at nice restaurants and order "full" meals, since we're still dealing with the college student budget for the most part. All of the menus look pretty good, so I'm excited.

On another note, I went to a science museum with one of my friends today, and quickly discovered that my digital camera has decided to die on me...:sad1: . It was an old camera, and it's been on more adventures than any camera should be expected to endure, but I am still sad. It still seems to be taking pictures, but the display screen is done. I think I will try to tinker with it for a little while, but I'll probably end up getting a new camera (I've been wanting a new one for a while now, so this is a good "excuse"). My old camera was a Canon and I loved it (wonderful picture clarity!), any suggestions for new ones?


Sorry to hear about your camera!
I wish I could help with your new camera quest, but I am actually in the same boat as you. Although my digital still works (it's a kodak), I have been looking at the Cannon Power Shots 7mp, I'm not a big techno person so as long as it takes good pics of my kids I'm good! :thumbsup2

Talk to ya soon! :goodvibes

[travelgirl06]

Today my digital camera seems to be working today, it sure is fickle. It's done this before, but it worries me...what if it decides to spaz out at WDW? At least D has a digital SLR that we can use:thumbsup2 , but I think I will try to look for a new digi anyways...just in case;)

[Amy7979]

I have an Olympus that I love. It takes great shots. :)

[travelgirl06]

Hi Amy7979, thanks for stopping by! I hope you are enjoying the Pre-trip report so far.

I'm still debating on the camera issue (I know, it's been a whopping 48 hours since this "debate" started). I looked at a few online today, and I found some nice ones, but I'm trying to figure out if I really "need" one (e.g. will my camera behave for a week?) I'll keep you all posted, since this seems to be my only recent "pre-trip development".

On another note, A is going to pick up mail at my house this weekend, so hopefully she will find that our DME tags and information have arrived (and hopefully she will be nice and mail it to me so that I can have my very own, much coveted, DME luggage tags!! Otherwise, I'll just have to wait a few more weeks until we all meet up for the trip).

We've all been chatting online about what rides/activities everyone wants to do, so I'll post those for you all in a day or two, but now it's getting late and I need to get some sleep.

Thanks for reading!

[dismom9761]

HI!! Your getting close!!:woohoo:

[travelgirl06]

With the trip drawing near, I requested that everyone let me know what they were most excited about, so I can plan accordingly (I'm quite the obsessive planner, in case you haven't noticed). Here goes:

Ok, so maybe it will let me reply (I've been trying for like 4 days). You guys are all really bad a reading directions, and it is supposed to be your top THREE for EACH park (where the four came from is completely beyond me??)

Me
Wishes, Philharmagic, The Seas with Nemo, Soarin', Illuminations, Little Mermaid Show, Beauty and the Beast, Tower of Terror, Fantasmic, Expedition Everest, Nemo Show, Lion King, Crush'n'gusher, The Kitchen Sink (@ Beaches and Cream), DisneyQuest

D
monorail, train, mission: space, expedition everest, test track, rockin' rollercoaster (too bad it's closed while we're there...)

A
Great Movie Ride, Tower of Terror, Philharmagic, Everest, Test Track, Mission Space

K
Mission Space, Everest, Splash Mountain, Peter Pan, Space Mountain, Maelstrom,WISHES, Illuminations

E
Wishes!, Spectromagic, Haunted Mansion, Illuminations, Mission: Space, American Adventure, Tower of Terror, Great Movie Ride, Lights! Camera! Motors! Stunt Show, Expedition Everest, Finding Nemo Musical, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Adventurer's Club, Cinnamon Roll at the Boardwalk, Ghiradelli Soda Fountain Shop

J
Spectro, Wishes, Philharmagic, Illuminations, The Sea's with Nemo, Mission Space, Expedition Everest, Nemo Musical, Lion King Musical, MGM Stunt Show, Tower of Terror, Great Movie Ride, Crush'n'gusher, Ghiadelli's, Earl of Sandwich, Monorails

N & T haven't told me what they're looking most forward to, so they don't get a section in this chapter...if they ever update me, I'll update the pre-trip report.

[razzberryblitz]

hey! just wanted you to know how much i love your report so far...anyway i'm usually a lurker but i will be reading.

[travelgirl06]

Hi razzberryblitz,

Thanks for joining:goodvibes

[travelgirl06]

;) 17 days!

Wow, I'm getting really excited now, just over two weeks left:thumbsup2 . Plus, I will be really busy at work wrapping up my projects for the next week and a half, so it should go relatively quickly. I've also been trying out new activities (i.e. bouldering/rock climbing and bikram yoga), so my days and evenings have been jam packed, to a point where the days fly by...

I'm still working on the goodie bags, the other day I picked up Nerds candies for everyone at the grocery store. It felt like it was a fitting addendum, but the bags are still lacking. I told D that I got us "kiddie" school supplies (i.e. crayons and stickers) and he was pretty excited...then again we're a little crazy sometimes, and we may even be known to buy each other ridiculously silly (dare I say, juvenile) gifts on a fairly regular basis:rolleyes: . I'm sure there will be more on that as the trip progresses...

Plans haven't changed much; but I was sad to read that at California Grill sushi is apparently not an appetizer on DDP for the free dining period. I'm slightly irked because the fact that we could get sushi and entrees was a huge draw for CA Grill (vs. Narcoossee's), but I'm sure it will still be good. I do think it's kind o lame of Disney to just change up the menus at the last minute like that (don't they realize that all of our planning is based on the menus that we look at six months before our trip???), but I'm just gonna go with it. It is a bounty of free food afterall, and I suppose D and I could just pay OOP for some sushi (although that money would probably have to come out of our wine budget, and I don't know how well that's gonna go over;) ). Besides, we get to ride the monorail to the Contemporary, and I'm sure the train lover will like that (he told me he wants to spend a whole day riding the monorail...we'll have to see about that one).

I haven't started packing yet, I feel like an underachiever...shhh, don't tell. I did, however, get a new swimsuit and I've been working on the summery clothes (i.e. capris, tinkerbell t-shirt, and way too many skirts).

Also, the luggage tags and other awesome information finally came in! A picked it up and she's holding it hostage at her internship...so I have to wait until the day we fly out to see it all...luckily that is only 17 days away...:banana:

[Nurse_Mommy4]

;) I do think it's kind o lame of Disney to just change up the menus at the last minute like that (don't they realize that all of our planning is based on the menus that we look at six months before our trip???), but I'm just gonna go with it.


I agree! I just recently found out that Boatwrights (where we planned to eat dinner on our rest day), has recently changed their menu and of course the entree I wanted (pot roast) is no longer available! :headache:

I would cancel our ressie and book somewhere else but you and I both know that I would probably not be able to get anything I wanted. Oh well, as you stated....it is free food! :goodvibes

[dismom9761]

That is awful about the menu change.:sad2: Glad everything else is working out.:goodvibes

[travelgirl06]

Only TWO WEEKS (plus one measly day) left:banana:

As you can see, I'm getting even more excited. My internship has been keeping me busy though, so I haven't had much time for planning (not like my plan isn't already pretty darn set). I'm still trying to figure out how to maximize our rides-per-hour efficiency while still enjoying the finer details of the parks and visiting every other Disney attraction known to man. This trip is going to be crazy, that's all I know.

The last two days I've been working on the goodie bags a little bit, and while I'm afraid to take pictures (for fear that the Digi-demons will rear their ugly heads again), I'm more than happy to describe the latest batch of "goodies".

Tinkerbell Crayons (for the girls, the guys get Crayola)
Disney Coloring Books (compliments of D getting excited over the crayons)
M & M's
Nerds Candies (I'm debating relabeling them as "DisNerds")
Reeses Peanut Butter Cups
Kit Kats

I'm sure all that candy will do nothing to assist with us actually sleeping on the plane (remember, I'm the crazy one who actually wanted to fly on the redeye to maximize Disney time while "minimizing" hotel costs), but it should make for a fun evening.

Your Assistance Please...
So to end this latest installment of the "I've finished all my planning what do I do now (besides, ahem, packing)?" incoherant babbling, I wanted to inquire regarding your opinions on the use of initials (in lieu of full names). I know I'm getting confused, and while I thought it would be easier, but it may be far too confusing if you don't know who these people are (i.e. you may be wondering who the heck is N, a guy or a girl, etc.). So, if you would prefer the utilization of proper names let me know and I'll change it up, afterall, I aim to please (at least until someone would rather sleep in thandoesn't want to get to MK in time for rope drop...but, I'm sure we'll get to that later on):)

[travelgirl06]

So, I finally gave up on my old digital camera (the screen has been spazzing out again) and I ordered a new ELPH. They just came out with a "new" model, which seems to have the same specs. as the "old" one, but a slightly more ergonomic case (maybe?) so I got the old one, since it was nicely discounted at Costco. It's coming in the mail, and I can't wait to get it and start playing with it. It comes with a 2 GB memory card, which should hold all my pictures from the trip...maybe...as long as I delete the "bad" ones every night:goodvibes It should be a nice improvement from my 3 megapixel, battery-hoarding old camera:thumbsup2

On another note, I thought I had all my plans made for the trip, and then I realized that I have hardly thought about CS meals!:rolleyes1 . I have ideas for MK and EPCOT, thanks to the Unofficial Guide and these boards, I'm looking at the following for those parks:

MK
~Cosmic Rays (it sounds very amusing)
~Columbia Harbor House
~Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station

EPCOT
~Sunshine Seasons (the menu looks great)
~Tangerine Cafe (a chance to try new food:) ).
~ Yorkshire (D loves fish and chips..)

For MGM I've heard good things about ABC Comissary and Flatbread Grill, does anyone know of other good CS options there? We'll be doing dinner (if anything) as our CS at MGM since we are going to 50's PT for lunch. I'm wondering if we could sneak out of the park and do Beaches & Cream, but I have no idea how long that wound take (plus, we're more than out of TS credits, plus I don't know if the Kitchen Sink really counts as dinner...:rolleyes1 ). Lunch is late that day though, so we may be able to get away with snacks and then do Wolfgang Puck Express at DTD after Fantasmic (although, that's getting pretty darn late...)

AK I am totally lost in terms of food. None of the menus look that innovative, and I really don't want to do McDonald's food (although that is what I had last time when I was at AK, and it was pretty tasty...) Maybe we'll do Flame Tree, or maybe we'll finish the park early and come back to Coronado Springs for lunch. Last time I finished up AK by noon; of course, that was Pre-Everest and Pre-Nemo...so times have changed just a little bit.

If anyone knows any good lunch options at the waterparks that would be great too, otherwise we'll just play it by ear and eat whatever's nearby when we get hungry (which is probably what will happen anyways...oh de doh).

Snacky McSnacksters
I'm planning on taking granola bars to eat at the bus stops in the morning as we wait for the buses. I'm not a huge breakfast person, and I'd much prefer to hit the ground running as soon as we get to the parks (as long as I can keep my eyes away from those cinnamon rolls!) So, in theory, snack credits should be available for their intended purpose - snacks (which my crew affectionately refers to as SnackyMcSnacksers, in case you were wondering). E already told me that he is itching for a Dole Whip and some Kaki Gori, so those are most definitely on "the list". Other than that I think I need to browse the boards to figure out what's most highly recommended; again, when it comes down to it, I'm sure my eyes will guide me more than my DIS research, but hey - planning is half the fun!

[dismom9761]

HI!The only one I see that you have down that I don't like is ABC Commisary.We did not like it.:scared:

[travelgirl06]

Thanks for the tip about ABC Commissary. I'm sure the actual food decisions will wind up being spur of the moment, but planning is half the fun.

Only 10 days left, tomorrow I'm in single digits!

[travelgirl06]

In only one week my crew and I will be wandering EPCOT. I can't wait! Maybe we will be on Soarin' (just in case we are already a little homesick for CA and DL...as if that would ever happen), or maybe I will be teaching them about the glories of Maelstrom. I know I can't wait for the American Adventure (nor can E) and The Seas with Nemo (which was my favorite attraction ever as a child).

My only gripes about EPCOT are:
1. Spaceship Earth will be closed:sad1: I absolutely love this ride and it's interesting history of communications and technology; maybe it's my engineering background, or maybe it's just the fact that it's inside the globe, but I love it.
2. Wonders of Life is closed "seasonally": I swear, this ride is always closed "seasonally" when I go to the world. I really wish they could find a new sponsor for this pavillion and reopen it, because this would probably be my new favorite attraction at EPCOT. It's too bad they can't get one of the biotech's to sponsor it (or get a group of them to jointly sponsor it) because there are a lot of awesome medical advances going on right now.

On a more positive note, there will be much evening fun to be had with dinner at Chefs de France and Illuminations (provided we are all still awake after our lovely redeye adventure)!

I still haven't technically started "packing", but I have thought about what to pack and I just bought some more sunscreen (yay for end-of-summer sales and skin cancer prevention!) I also got my new camera in the mail and had a chance to play with it; since both my old and my new camera are Canon's it is fairly intuitive to use, which is a good thing.

I'm traveling around with D this week; so, I'm not sure how much I'll be able to update (if at all). But I'll be back after the trip, and hopefully then my stories will get a little more interesting; and maybe then I can even lure in a few more readers:).

Have a most wonderful long weekend!

[travelgirl06]

Argh! Apparently our ME documents never arrived, and since one of my roomies got the mail for me, we just figured this out today (and we fly out on Friday). I know DME deals with this all the time, so I'm not terribly concerned, but it would have been nice to figure this out two weeks ago when the rest of our documents arrived. Although, I suppose, if this is the worst that happens we're still doing great:thumbsup2 I'm keeping my eyes out for those tropical storms, but so far it looks like we're safe...at least for starters.

[travelgirl06]

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to post a quick update in case anyone is still lurking on/reading this thread. We got back from our trip a little over a week ago, and it was amazing. Unfortinatley, the first week of school has prevented me from updating much, but I'm working on it. Our trip came complete with amazing food, special memories, magical moments, and even a few of the million dreams...

At any rate, I finally persuaded Eric to do a dueling trip report with me, so I started a new thread on the trip reports board, you can find it here:
The Aspiring Adventurers have Arrived: Dueling Trip Reports (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1589331). Thanks for reading my pre-trippie, and please feel free to come join the fun (I promise more pictures, and I'm using actual names to alleviate confusion...heck, I was even getting confused with initials and I know all these people;) )