Fresh Out of University and Onwards to Disney!!!An August PTR!!!(Last Update 8/26)

[YukiPhnx]

Chapter 1. Introductions!

Hello friends! I've been dying to start this PTR, but being still in school, had to get that out of the way first. My last exam was yesterday, so woohoo, I can get started!

Here are the links
Chapter 1. Introductions! (You're already here!)
Chapter 2. More good stuff about us!
Chapter 3. My itinerary and touring plans!
Chapter 4. Dining plans and ADRs
Chapter 5. Birthday surprises!
Chapter 6. The ride's the thing
Chapter 7. All in the preparation
Chapter 8. I like free things
Chapter 9. Yuki's art of Disney
Chapter 10. Four different airlines, one destination
Chapter 11. I has tickets!!!
Chapter 12. Oh Noes!Itinerary dilemma due to slight park hour change!
Chapter 13. Back at school
Chapter 14. Some Disney in my life
Chapter 15. What are YOU packing?
Chapter 16. Oh Boo-urns!
Chapter 17. Summer has arrived!
Chapter 18. No more Power Rangers???
Chapter 19. A quick update
Chapter 20. Future trips!
Chapter 21. I dreamed a dream
Chapter 22. I love postcards!
Chapter 23. TSM closure confirmed =(
Chapter 24. This one's for the ladies
Chapter 25. Another closure?
Chapter 26. My trip loot. Sorta...
Chapter 27. The pirates league!
Chapter 28. Need help with sweat!
Chapter 29. My ten firsts
Chapter 30. I'm not dead!!!
Chapter 31. Holy smokes, 8 more days!!!
Chapter 32. 95% done!
Chapter 33. We leave tomorrow!!!

Ok, on to the intro of the cast of (2) characters.

I'm Yuki(21), and here's a photo of me on my first ever trip to WDW in 2006.

It was a complete dream come true for me. My parents saved up for 6 years so that my siblings and I could spend a week at WDW. We must've been the luckiest kids in the world because we had no parents on this trip. Just me at 17, and my siblings at 14 and 13 yrs old. They deemed me as responsible enough

On that trip, I didn't know much about WDW at all. We went on a package that also included admission to SeaWorld, JFK Space Centre, and Universal Studios. We stayed offsite and there were shuttle busses that took us to the parks in WDW. We had no idea what to expect at Disney, but still had an AMAZING TIME, despite little to no planning (we planned the order of the parks).

This is the three of us at Epcot

And this is us at the then, MGM Studios

We LOVE funny posing

My sister's such a character, I love her

After that trip, I came home and went WDW crazy. With no plans to return soon, I found websites like mouse savers and the Dis and discovered that I had missed SO MUCH Ofcourse, going to these sites just made me want to go back MORE, of course. So I started looking at prices and started to get a real sense of how much a WDW vacation would cost. My parents paid for our first trip ever of course, but I was determined to pay my own way this time.

So after a lot of research (which I blogged on my livejournal about ), the idea of returning in 2010 seemed more and more plausible. Which leads us to our second character, my DBF.

This is DBF, Andrew (21). He'll be turning 22 when we're at Disney. And yes, I planned it that way.

That's him and his neice in Taiwan. His hair's longer now too.

So, why was 2010 such a great year to return? Well, Andrew graduates this June, and I was going to graduate this August, but decided to spend an extra year getting a minor. It'll also be our 3rd yr anniversary (date-versary?), and 3's my favourite number. So it worked out pretty well.

I started planning all of this in 2008, so I would have 2 years to save up, which was just about right.

I already have rooms booked (with CAA discount), flights arranged, and tickets bought!

We will be at Pop Century from Aug.17-Aug.24, 2010. So come along on my countdown to my favourite place in the world!

 

[YukiPhnx]

Chapter 2. More good stuff about us

Ok, now that I have those initial intro's out of the way, I can tell you guys more about us.

I'm a 4th year University of Waterloo student in the Social Development Studies program. Currently, I'm working on getting a minor in Psychology and will be applying to get into the Bachelor of Social Work program next fall.

This is my 2nd trip to the World. I've always loved all things Disney, my favourite movie being Aladdin and my favourite princess is Snow White (though I don't really know why....) I've always dreamed of going to Disney, so when I went in 2006, I literally felt like, a kid at Disney World! There's just no other way to put it!

One of my favourite rides......is the Haunted Mansion. I'm actually not a big fan of Soarin'. I didn't quite get the appeal. I also loved Buzz Lightyear and the TTA. I just realized, I listed mostly MK rides!

My favourite characters are Tink, Stitch, Wall-E, Dug, and Rhino.

I'm also HUUUGE geek. Yes, I know the DIS is FULL of Disney geeks. But I'm a geek of many other things.

Here's a photo to give you a clue.

Still don't know it yet? Here's another one.

Give up yet? I'm sure some of you will get it.

Yes, I'm an anime/sci-fi/comic/gaming dress-up-to-go-to-conventions geek.

And I LOVE it

One of my main hobbies is making costumes for myself and dressing up in public. I'm a total attention ***** and LOVE wearing a costume out to the mall or just to go downtown. Of course, I usually choose the costumes that don't have wig. Those are reserved for conventions

And luckily for me, DBF is also such a geek and dresses up as well (although a little more relunctantly), but he does it for me.

Here's a photo of us at the last summer convention, as characters from the game, Team Fortress 2

Ok, let me tell you a little more about Andrew. He's a computer software engineer, and will be graduating from the University of Queens. This is also his 2nd trip to the World. His first trip was when he was 6 or 7, so he doesn't remember much of what happened.

Oddly though, he remembers Honey! I shrunk the audience! quite well. He's not big on Disney. He certainly enjoys the movies and LOVED Wall-E (not as much as me though!). But he's looking forward to see me GIDDY WITH HAPPINESS when I get off that plane at MCO.

He's the best DBF ever and I really think he's the one! Cross your fingers ladies! He only really agreed to this trip because he knows how happy it'll make me. He's a keeper, amirite?

We love taking silly photos. Here are some.

Here's a nice one to end this post.

He's my prince charming and I'm so happy I found him

 

[TrayRene]

Hi Yuki! I saw your post on Jordan's report that you had a pre-trip started so I came over to say hello. How nice that your parents sent you and your siblings to Disney - by yourself!! You guys must have had an awesome time!

I, like you, didn't understand the "art" of doing Disney until I started reading the Dis boards.

Love the photos - especially the last one - you two look so happy!

Can't wait to hear about all of your plans!

 

[dellasgirl]

Wow Congrats on the graduating from collage-way to go
and isn't fun to plan your trip--half the fun to me-not so much to DH(my DBF)
he just says 'yes dear' sigh's and goes on.
looking forward to the rest

 

[*Seanaci*]

Hey there! Popped over from Jordans thread! I look forward to following along!

I'm thinking of starting my PTR soon, but hesitant to as my trip isn't till December 2011

 

[YukiPhnx]

Hi Yuki! I saw your post on Jordan's report that you had a pre-trip started so I came over to say hello. How nice that your parents sent you and your siblings to Disney - by yourself!! You guys must have had an awesome time!

I, like you, didn't understand the "art" of doing Disney until I started reading the Dis boards.

Love the photos - especially the last one - you two look so happy!

Can't wait to hear about all of your plans!

Thanks so much for coming along! Yes, I really DO have the best parents in the world! And thanks about the last picture, I'm very happy with him

Wow Congrats on the graduating from collage-way to go
and isn't fun to plan your trip--half the fun to me-not so much to DH(my DBF)
he just says 'yes dear' sigh's and goes on.
looking forward to the rest

Andrew is exactly like that! He's happy for me, but doesn't really want to hear about all the details.

I'm CRAZY about planning! I've already read the Unnofficial Guide cover to cover. I also read ALL the menus over at Allears. Planning just gives me such a rush!

Hey there! Popped over from Jordans thread! I look forward to following along!

I'm thinking of starting my PTR soon, but hesitant to as my trip isn't till December 2011

Thanks for coming! Yeah, I was thinking of starting my PTR earlier, but it felt like too early! Hopefully this PTR will help these next 4 months fly by

 

[YukiPhnx]

Chapter 3. My itinerary and touring plans!

So, since the official park hours came out back in February, I've had my finalized itinerary.

I bought the Unofficial Guide and LOVED it.

Here's my copy.

And here's how worn out it is. I'm sure it'll be in worse conditions after WDW.

So, because I actually bought the book and read it like a bible, I'm gonna take a crack at their park touring plans. I've decided to follow their recommended touring plan and pretty much follow it to the T.

The last time I was at WDW, I didn't have to wait all that long for the rides anyways since it was August, so I don't feel like I have much to lose to go with their plans. If it works, then it gives me more time! If it doesn't, I've planned to be in the parks for their evening EMH's, so I'll have extra time if needed.

I bought a little notebook to write all my plans in, including flight numbers, resort reservation numbers, ADRs, touring plans, e-mails of my family and friends, mailing addresses for postcards, and even a spot to write in notes for my TR!

Here it is. If you haven't figured it out yet, my favourite colour is green.

I added on the stickers myself. Found a pack of 100 of the Fab Five stickers for $1 at a local craft store!

So, what are my plans? I have a total of 8 days, 7 nights, and 6 MYW base tickets.

Day 1-August 17
-arrive at MCO around 2:30pm
-since Epcot is the first WDW park I ever entered, I'm going to make it a tradition to always visit it first on future trips
-head to Epcot first thing after checking in and have lunch/dinner at Sunshine Seasons
-try out Sum of All Thrills and tour Innoventions East and West
-head to DTD before Illuminations and shop a bit before heading back to the POP

Day 2-August 18
-get up around 10am
-pick up a Birthday button because it's Andrew's birthday!
-DTD for lunch at Earl of Sandwich (I'm looking forward to trying the Jerk chicken)
-resort hop to POFQ, PORS, Beach Club, and Boardwalk
-have a celebratory birthday dessert at Beaches and Cream
-get a birthday cupcake at Boardwalk Bakery
-head to HS and line up for second showing of Fantasmic!

Day 3-August 19
-get to Epcot for rope drop and follow UG's one-day touring plan (when I write my TR, I'll be reviewing their touring plans to see how well it worked out for me)
-when I get to WS, do Kim Possible WS Adventure and tour the countries that way
-watch Illuminations from Japan
-since this night has magic hours, I can take my time with the WS shops and try to get on the FW rides some more

Day 4-August 20
-get to MK for rope drop and follow UG's touring plans
-eat a Dole Whip in Adventureland
-have a Turkey leg for lunch!
-MK has magic hours this evening, so I might actually take a break back to POP if it gets too hot and come back later in the evening

Day 5-August 21
-wake up around 10am for more resort hopping!
-tour the Grand Floridian, the Poly, and WL
-lunch at Whispering Canyon Cafe
-I haven't planned anything specific for the evening yet
-but I've written down a list of stuff we can choose from:
-Chip and Dale's campfire
-ESPN Club at Boardwalk (none of us are sport fans, but we love the grub at sports bars)
-Downtown Disney

Day 6-August 22
-get to AK for morning magic hours
-follow the UG's guide (my problem for this touring plan, is that some of the rides on the touring plan won't be open during morning EMH. I might actually just ditch the plan for AK, since we'll have more than enough time there anyways)
-order Picnic in the Park (I've been dying to try this since it came out. Andrew and I have already chosen what we want to order!)
-anniversary celebration dinner at Boma

Day 7-August 23
-get to HS for rope drop and follow UG's touring plan
-even though Fantasmic is showing tonight, I don't feel a need to watch it twice. I'm hoping I'll be able to get on some more rides while people line up for F!

Day 8-August 24
-departure day Trip hasn't even started and I'm already sad to leave
-have brunch in POP's food court
-our flight is at 2:45pm, so ME should be picking us up around 11:30

 

[jordanyosh]

hello!

 

[lovealldisney]

You two are so cute together! Can't wait to read all about your upcoming plans!!

Just FYI you should be able to get a B-day button at check in. We did for myself and my kids.

 

[YukiPhnx]

hello!

Hi Jordy! Thanks for coming by!

You two are so cute together! Can't wait to read all about your upcoming plans!!

Just FYI you should be able to get a B-day button at check in. We did for myself and my kids.

Aww, thanks so much! At check-in? I'll keep that in mind. I'm afraid in the midst of all the excitement of FINALLY being there, I might forget

Thanks for joining in!

 

[lovealldisney]

Aww, thanks so much! At check-in? I'll keep that in mind. I'm afraid in the midst of all the excitement of FINALLY being there, I might forget

Thanks for joining in!

Have it noted on your reservation. Hopefully when you check in they'll see it and give you the button. If you and they forget you can always go to the desk later and get one. Enjoy and have fun!

 

[*Seanaci*]

I'm reading the UG now in anticipation of our 2011 trip. I think I'll pick up the 2011 UG edition when it comes out toward the end of the year. I may get the Passporter guide book instead. Haven't decided for sure though.

Anywho. Earl of Sandwich has delish sandwiches. We ate there in 2008 and we will def be eating there again in 2011.

 

[YukiPhnx]

Have it noted on your reservation. Hopefully when you check in they'll see it and give you the button. If you and they forget you can always go to the desk later and get one. Enjoy and have fun!

I've already noted it on my reservation. We have three things to celebrate!

I'm reading the UG now in anticipation of our 2011 trip. I think I'll pick up the 2011 UG edition when it comes out toward the end of the year. I may get the Passporter guide book instead. Haven't decided for sure though.

Anywho. Earl of Sandwich has delish sandwiches. We ate there in 2008 and we will def be eating there again in 2011.

The good thing about your trip being in December is you can just pick it up later when it gets on sale. I actually checked my own library and they have the latest edition for most of the guides! But I'd rather have my own HUGE copy to tote around of course

Yeah, I hear great things about EoS. I didn't get to go to DtD on my last trip, so I'm really looking forward to it this time

 

[dellasgirl]

We-my DD and I debated over buying the unofficial guide verses the unofficial Guide Color Companion to WDW-and in the end we went with the color companion-it has tons of pics including rides,rooms etc and it even has a bit of humor in it. I will be going to the library and borrowing the regular unofficial guide.
love you planner--i just got a small planner that will easily fit in my park bag
and plan to decorate it.
Your plans sound great--by all means get andrew a birthday button and make sure he wears it!!!
Great thinking on your part about planning a "down" day--

 

[YukiPhnx]

We-my DD and I debated over buying the unofficial guide verses the unofficial Guide Color Companion to WDW-and in the end we went with the color companion-it has tons of pics including rides,rooms etc and it even has a bit of humor in it. I will be going to the library and borrowing the regular unofficial guide.
love you planner--i just got a small planner that will easily fit in my park bag
and plan to decorate it.
Your plans sound great--by all means get andrew a birthday button and make sure he wears it!!!
Great thinking on your part about planning a "down" day--

Well for me, I knew I could look at all the pictures I wanted online. But it's a great way to get your kids pumped for the trip!

You have NO IDEA how long it took me to choose a notebook! I went to dollar stores EVERYWHERE to find something that was light, portable, well space, and cute(yes, that was important) to use as my travel notebook. It came down to this and a pink one with a heart in it. Dollarama has great notebooks to choose from.

Oh, he BETTER be wearing it! We'll also be wearing anniversary buttons too, for our Boma dinner

Ya, it was important for me to have a free day in there, since I was planning to go commando on the park days. I knew Andrew wouldn't have liked having to wake up at 6-7am four mornings in a row!

Thanks for coming along!

 

[YukiPhnx]

Chapter 4.Dining plans and ADRs

No, I'm not on the DDP. This chapter is about my plans for dining.

When I first started planning for this trip, I really liked the idea of the DDP. But I knew I wouldn't eat that much, and didn't like the idea of having to make all those ADRs and planning my day around those meals.

This is before the QSDP and the online ADR system came out. It was really hard deciding whether I should go with a dining plan after all.

I mean, that QSDP is PRETTY sweet. I knew I would be eating a lot of snacks cause I LOVE snacking. And I knew we would only be eating CS meals for our trip. I was also already planning to buy the refillable mug.

The deciding factor was my experience from my past trip. WDW's adult-sized meals are simply TOO big for me! We discovered after a day of eating at Epcot that none of us could finish the meals we bought, so after that, we started ordering more kids meals. And those combos actually turned out to be just my size! My brother (going through puberty at the time) still got an adult combo, so my sister and I would eat off his.

I read through all of the menus at Allears, and deemed most of the kids meals worthy. Too bad there isn't much variation in them, amirite? Mostly chicken fingers, pizza, mac and cheese, and PB&J... Fortunately, Andrew will be ordering from the big kids menu, so I can eat off his plate.

I also found out from researching online that I can buy the food a la carte. Which will help keep the cost down.

So in the end, it came down to cost, and eating OOP was just much cheaper than getting the QSDP, cause I certainly don't eat enough for it to be worth it. I'm looking into it for my next trip though. I'm taking my cousins and siblings to the World in 2013.

And since my cousins will only be budding teenagers, it'll probably be more convenient for my aunt to have their meals prepaid, rather than entrust them with a lot of cash while we're there.

Soooo, I bet you're dying to know my choices for dining eh??

But first, let's see where I ate on my last trip!

Magic Kingdom
-Cosmic Ray's
-Pinocchio's Village Haus

Epcot
-Cantina de San Angel
-Tangieriene Cafe

HS
-Pizza Planet
I think we ate dinner back at the hotel...

AK
-Pizzafari
And again, I think we ate at the hotel

So as you can see, I actually didn't get to experience much of the dining WDW has to offer.

Ok, on to where I plan to eat.

These are all based on what I've read online, of reviews and such, and a little of my own experience (which isn't a lot). Where I actually choose to eat at will be based on where we are when we get hungry, but our choices will be narrowed down with this list. I want to eat at mostly new places this time, which won't be very hard.

Magic Kingdom
-Cosmic Rays (this is practically a must. I ate here last time and loved the chicken. I actually didn't notice the fixings bar, so I might be getting a burger this time)
-Turkey leg cart (I really want to try one of these!)
-Casey's Corner (I hear good things about those mini corn dogs)
-Pecos Bill
-Columbia Harbour House (recommended by jenbear123 )

Animal Kingdom
-Picnic in the Park
I think that's it, since I plan to have dinner at Boma. Flame Tree Barbeque sounds good, but we'll have plenty of that when we eat at Whispering Canyon Cafe

Hollywood Studios
-Starring Rolls Cafe (As soon as I saw their sandwiches and desserts, I drooled buckets)
-Toluca Legs Turkey Company (in case I didn't get any at MK)
I don't hear a lot of good things about the CS in HS....so I'm hesitant to list any more. Can anybody change my mind?

Epcot
Ahh Epcot.....Epcot is the exception here. Since most of its eateries are very good, I'm going to list the places I WON'T eat at.
-Mexico (Cause I had it last time)
-China (Being Chinese.....I doubt the food being served at WDW is worth the price....I've been spoiled)
-Japan (Pretty much the same thing as China, minus the being Japanese part. Coming from a multi-cultural city like Toronto, I can get amazing Japanese food at the fraction of the price of Yakitori House)
-Morocco (Again, cause I already had it last time)
-UK (I'm actually not sure about this one....I'm a fan of fish and chips, so what if the Yorkshire County Fish Shop makes AMAZING fish and chips?? Someone help me out here)
-America (I can get this food any time, no way I'm going to bother eating here)

We also plan to drink our way around the WS. I hear German beer is very good and I can't wait to try a margarita in Mexico! I'll be buying drinks for Andrew as one of my birthday presents for him

Downtown Disney
-Earl of Sandwich
-Wolfgang Puck Express
-Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop

Resorts
-Boma
-Whispering Canyon Cafe
-Beaches and Cream
-ESPN Club
-Boardwalk Bakery

As I have already mentioned, I have ADRs for Boma at 8pm and WCC at 2:30pm. I thought I would have more to say about them.....I guess not.

I wonder if it's obvious yet that I'm an adventurous eater? Especially on vacation or when I go somewhere new, I always try to have foods I can't have back home. I mean, I never know when I'll be returning (not talking about WDW), so this may be my only chance to eat those foods. Or even just choose foods I don't get to eat often at home.

When my family went on a cruise a couple of years ago, every night, the menu would have something different, but also the usual steak and potatos for those that aren't risky eaters. I always tried a different appetizer, entree and dessert. But my sister would only ever get steak. I was in heaven the day they served escargots. I think I got 3 servings of that appetizer!

I almost forgot to mention. Snacks! On our last trip, the only snacks we got were McDees fries (crack to my little sister),Itzakadoozie popsicles, and a funnel cake (best in the world, I swear) . I don't know why we never got a Mickey bar!

So, this is my list of snacks
-Mickey ice cream bar
-cotton candy (Andrew's favourite)
-frozen banana (this is totally new to me. Didn't even knew these existed until Arrested Development. So now we HAVE to try them!)
-funnel cakes
-Dole whip

Wow, that sure was a long chapter. It took me a long time to come up with my lists. Please let me know what you guys think of it!

 

[YukiPhnx]

Hey lurkers, I know you're out there!

I have no problem with you lurking, but just let me know you're there! This is my first PTR ever so I'm not even sure if I'm doing things right!

So just give me a holler to help boost my confidence a little! Thanks!

 

[YukiPhnx]

Chapter 5.Birthday surprises!

As you already know, I've planned to celebrate Andrew's birthday while we're at WDW.

He's never been much for birthdays. He's more of a it's-just-another-day type of guy.

Unfortunately, he's dating a girl that LOVES all kinds of celebrations, especially birthdays. So he's just going to have to deal with it

I LOVE getting surprises, and love giving them as well. So I've already planned for a couple of little surprises for his birthday.

For one, I got him this.

One day when we were talking about our trip, he brought up his interest in looking for Hidden Mickeys. I told him about these a while ago and he remembered!

He assumed he would be bored while waiting in line and waiting for me to shop , so he told me he was going to make it his goal to find at least 10 Hidden Mickey's in each park.

So, loving and thoughtful girlfriend that I am, I picked up a copy and have been hiding it from him ever since. I plan to whip it out when we get there and surprise him with it!

That way, he'll at least have some direction when looking for them, and we can turn it into a game of who can find the most Hidden Mickeys!

My next surprise for him, is a cake. I'm planning to order a small 6 inch cake from the POP kitchens and having them send it up to our room!

I'm also planning to buy him his first drink in Orlando at Petals Pool Bar soon after we check-in.

What do you guys think of these surprises???

I've looked into a lot of other things. I'm not made of money, so many of the tours and experiences are out. I've also looked into Disney Florists for their champagne package, but I don't think we'll be able to finish the bottle and don't really plan to bring any home.

Some people have suggested I pick up a small bottle of wine when I'm at Epcot.

Initially, I looked into getting him a Pirates Mickey hat, but I already know there's NO WAY he would ever actually wear it.

So, does anyone have any good ideas for inexpensive (or even FREE) birthday gifts or experiences I can do? We're already planning on picking up a button, so I already know that.

Please give me your ideas!

 

[jordanyosh]

or take a few drinks purchased at Petals and walk over to the Bridge to NoWhere and sit and enjoy the view....or if you're anywhere near Epcot or DHS, take a ferry over to the Boardwalk, Yacht and Beach Club area and walk around Crescent Lake and sit on the beach....

 

[YukiPhnx]

or take a few drinks purchased at Petals and walk over to the Bridge to NoWhere and sit and enjoy the view....or if you're anywhere near Epcot or DHS, take a ferry over to the Boardwalk, Yacht and Beach Club area and walk around Crescent Lake and sit on the beach....

Oh, that sounds like a wonderful idea! I plan to walk down that bridge at least once while I'm there.

And wow, that beach walk sounds really romantic