My First Real Trip, a July 2012 PTR: **CHANGES UPDATE 6/18**

[pharmjenn]

That countdown chart is so cute. I have considering doing some sort of countdown, but know we will forget all the time. Even with Advent Calendars containing chocolate, we forget for a couple days!

 

[Angies1274]

Love your countdown chart!! It's so cute!!

 

[PixieMama]

Love the countdown calendar!

 

[andapanda]

That countdown chart is so cute. I have considering doing some sort of countdown, but know we will forget all the time. Even with Advent Calendars containing chocolate, we forget for a couple days!

Love your countdown chart!! It's so cute!!

Love the countdown calendar!

Thank you all! If I hadn't started a countdown so long ago, I might not have done one at all...however, my slight OCD tendencies dictated that I finish the countdown at some point.

I used one of the Winnie the Pooh Cricut cartridges for the honey pots and lids, and the Winnie the Pooh characters were actually coloring pages I found online, and adjusted the sizes to suit my needs. I was really pleased with how it turned out. I should add, I haven't actually crossed off any of the days, because I can't bear (no pun intended) to blemish the countdown in anyway. I guess if it stays safe, I'll put it away for the next trip (hehehe).

 

[andapanda]

Arrival/Day 1 - July 6th and 7th​

We will actually be arriving on Florida on July 6th, but couldn't justify spending the money on a Disney room when we would be arriving late, wouldn't need the dining plan, and weren't planning on entering the park. Our initial plan was to drive all day on the 6th, arriving on the morning of the 7th, but we quickly realized we'd be wasting the 7th if we did that since we'd be too tired to do much. So, the plan is to leave early morning of the 6th and arrive sometime in the evening. We have one night at a decent off-site hotel booked, at a VERY reasonable price (Thank you Priceline!)

On the 6th, our plan is to arrive sometime around 5 or 6pm, after visiting with some friends in Jacksonville (pending - if not, everything will be ahead by a few hours). We will then visit Downtown Disney to upgrade our PhotoPass to PhotoPass+ - we have so many character meals that we would buy packages for that it only makes sense for us. I'm thinking we'll grab a counter service meal, possibly at Wolfgang Puck Express. We won't be doing much (if any) shopping that night since we'll be visiting Downtown Disney the next night. We may try to do Characters in Flight, if the weather is right. I figure by that time, we'll be ready to relax and possibly hit up the pool at our overnight hotel.

July 7th is our five year anniversary. On the morning of the 7th, we're going to leave our overnight hotel between 6 and 6:30am, and plan to be at Port Orleans French Quarter around 7am. I'm very doubtful that we'll be able to take our luggage to our room at that time, but you never know. I will be doing the online check-in so hopefully that increases our chances. After we get checked in and figure out the luggage situation (if we can't go to our room, I'm hoping they'll store our luggage - I refuse to leave it in the car), we'll head to Typhoon Lagoon. We would like to be at Typhoon Lagoon when it opens at 9am. We have a late lunch reservation at The Turf Club Bar and Grill (Saratoga Springs) at 3:30. After our lunch, we are hoping to play mini golf. We haven't decided yet on if we'll play Winter Summerland or Fantasia Gardens. We are big mini golf fans, we we may try to get in a round at each at some point. We'll return to our resort and head on over to Port Orleans Riverside for a carriage ride at 6:00pm. After the carriage ride, we're going to take the boat to Downtown Disney and have an 8:30 dinner at Fulton's Crab House. If we have time (and energy) after dinner, we're going to check out Disney Quest. And after all of that, we're going to head back to the resort and get a good night's sleep for our very exciting Day 2.

 

[onescgirl]

That is a early 1st day!
I think your driving down plans sound great.
We like to drive down the day before & stay at a cheaper hotel outside of WDW the night before our WDW vacation starts.
When you eat at Garden Grill, make sure you request to eat on the lower level.
I'm pretty bummed about missing Test Track too. It's one of our favorites!

 

[andapanda]

That is a early 1st day!
I think your driving down plans sound great.
We like to drive down the day before & stay at a cheaper hotel outside of WDW the night before our WDW vacation starts.
When you eat at Garden Grill, make sure you request to eat on the lower level.
I'm pretty bummed about missing Test Track too. It's one of our favorites!

It's a very early day, but if I know myself, I'll be laying awake early in the morning with excitement, so I might as well head to Disney! I made a note of requesting the lower level with the Garden Grill on my itinerary, thank you!

I suppose Test Track being closed (and the Fantasyland expansion) just gives me a better excuse to plan another trip

 

[andapanda]

Day 2 – July 8th​

Day 2 starts a very magical day for me…I mean us. We will be visiting the Magic Kingdom on the 8th. Now, from my first trip, I don’t even remember seeing the castle. I don’t know, maybe we came in a back entrance because we were in the parade that day? Anyway, our day starts off with an 8:05 reservation at The Crystal Palace. I would like to get most of our thrill rides done in the morning, as I’ll have my contacts in and due to my allergies, I may not be able to wear them the whole day. We’re planning on renting a locker and keeping my glasses and contact case/saline (amongst other things) just in case. And chances are, I’ll need to switch over to my glasses at some point because we plan on being at the Magic Kingdom the WHOLE day…including the EMH until 1am (we're both open to leaving if we get too tired though). I know that J has an interest in Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom, so we’ll probably attempt to play it. We have a 1pm lunch reservation at Liberty Tree Tavern. Annd…we have 9pm reservations for the Tomorrowland Terrace Fireworks Dessert Party! We’re planning on getting either a quick service dinner (or using some snack credits) if we’re hungry between lunch and the dessert party. I’m also hoping that they add a second time for the Main Street Electrical Parade. This is one of my few memories from my first trip, and I LOVED it. We’ll be in the dessert party for the 9pm parade – kind of disappointing, but I know I’ll see it at some point on our trip, and it’s worth it to get into the dessert party (and not fight the crowds to see the fireworks).

My top five rides/attractions:
1. Mad Tea Party
2. Dumbo
3. Haunted Mansion
4. Jungle Cruise
5. Splash Mountain

J’s top five rides/attractions:
1. Mad Tea Party (he likes to watch me laugh like an idiot on these kinds of rides – I love to spin in circles)
2. Dumbo
3. Hall of Presidents
4. Carousel of Progress
5. Space Mountain

Ultimately, I’m pretty sure we want to ride everything we can, and see all the shows we can get in. When I asked J to pick his top five rides/attractions, he said all of them. My first time, all I wanted to ride was Mad Tea Party, and for some reason, we were never able to get on it. We’re using Lines for ride times and a touring plan. Our plan right now is to stay as late as we can handle – it’s one of the perks to going without kids (although I hope our next trip will include a little one or two), and then head back to the resort and get a little bit of sleep before Day 3.

 

[creativeamanda]

Joining in! I love your countdown calendar! It is so stinking cute!

 

[andapanda]

Joining in! I love your countdown calendar! It is so stinking cute!

Thank you so much!

 

[andapanda]

Day 3 – July 9th​

To start our third day, we have 7:30am reservations at ‘Ohana. I am incredibly excited about ‘Ohana, because Stitch is one of my favorite characters. After breakfast, we will head to Epcot. One of the things I’d like to do in Epcot is pick a pearl in Japan. Test Track will be closed when we’re there, so I’m guessing Soarin’ will be packed. Our plan is to hit Soarin’ first (not sure if we’ll get a Fastpass or just ride), and explore Future World West. If we finish in Future World West before lunch, we’ll go to Future World East. If not, it’ll be after lunch. As for Mission: Space, I’m leaning toward the Green side. (Truthfully, I’m using the Lines app, but things aren’t optimizing right for me – as long as it’s working, I’ll probably base our plan on the touring plan.) I’m thinking we’ll hit World Showcase after we explore both sides of Future World. We plan to spend the most time in World Showcase. I’m not sure what all it has to offer – I still have some research to do. J is excited about touring World Showcase at a leisurely pace – we have plans to take another evening (Epcot EMH I think) and do anything we didn’t get to do. We have a 12:00 reservation at Biergarten – J’s pick to indulge his German heritage. We also have a 6:40pm reservation at Akershus. After dinner, the plan is to leave Epcot and head to Hollywood Studios for EMH – I want to ride Tower of Terror at night. The last time J was at Hollywood Studios, it was MGM and neither Tower of Terror nor Rock’n’Roller Coaster were there. J’s only request is to see the 3D Muppet Movie.

J’s top Epcot ride/attraction picks:
1. Spaceship Earth
2. Captain EO
3. Mission: SPACE

My top Epcot ride/attraction picks:
1. Soarin’
2. Living with the Land
3. The Seas with Nemo and Friends

 

[andapanda]

Day 4 – July 10th​

On Day 4, we’ll be starting our day with 7:30am breakfast at Kona Café. At this time, we’re leaning toward heading to Animal Kingdom for the morning. I’m thinking we’ll pick one major ride, and then explore the park’s trails until it’s time to leave for lunch. Our lunch pick is at Downtown Disney – 12:30 lunch at Raglan Road. After lunch, I think we’ll do some shopping at Downtown Disney and possibly head back for a rest at the resort until dinner. Dinner is at Kouzzina at 5:00pm. Once we’re done with dinner, our plan (per J’s request) is to head to Epcot since it’s evening EMH and explore any parts of World Showcase that we missed on the day before – and possibly “Snack Around the World.” We realize we probably won’t be hungry, but we have to use our snack credits somewhere – even if we get small treats to take back to our room with us. I came up with a list of potential snacks based on the menus I’ve looked at. Also, depending on the weather, this may turn into a Drink Around the World challenge (it would have to be low heat/humidity for that to occur for me, or I’ll get sick). The plan is to get one snack (or drink) and split it.

Our Snack Around the World To-Do List:
1. Canada – Canadian Pretzel Breadsticks
2. United Kingdom – Shortbread
3. France – Chocolate Crepe
4. Morocco – Baklava
5. Japan – Kaki Gori
6. America – Cream Cheese Pretzel
7. Italy – Tiramisu or Cannoli (or both, according to J)
8. Germany – German Chocolate Caramel
9. China – Caramel Ginger Ice Cream
10. Norway – School Bread
11. Mexico – Churros or Paletas

 

[PixieMama]

I haven't been on ToT at night... that would be so cool! I'll have to remember to do that in October

Mmmm, churros. I think those may be my favorite snack in all of WDW!

 

[andapanda]

I can't remember if I rode ToT at night previously, but I think it would be awesome to look out over the park at night, if only for a split second.

I know I like both churros and paletas, so I can't choose. It might be both, on separate days. :

 

[andapanda]

Day 5 – July 11th​

Day 5 is our Hollywood Studios Day. We’ll start our day off early (I’m sure you’re sensing a pattern by now) with 7:30am ADRs at Boma. It took J a lot of persuading to get me to commit to Boma. Breakfast seemed like our best bet, since there is still a lot of breakfast foods served in addition to the African dishes. This will be a good opportunity for me to experiment with some different foods. After breakfast, we’ll head over to Hollywood Studios. Our plan, as is everyone’s, I’m sure, is to go to TSMM first thing. I’m not sure if we’ll ride it right away or get fast passes – it depends on the timing. We have 11:15am reservations for Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater. This is another one of J’s picks – he is a sci-fi movie fanatic and is excited about eating here. I’m sure we’ll probably spend awhile in the restaurant, watching the cheesy movies. I don’t mind spending some time in the restaurant, since there are several shows that we aren’t too interested in seeing. We also reserved a Fantasmic! Dining Package for 4:30pm at Mama Melrose’s. We're planning on being at the park the whole day.

A few things we’re not particularly interested in:
1. American Idol Experience (definitely no)
2. Playhouse Disney Live (definitely no)
3. Disney Channel Rocks! (definitely no)
4. Voyage of the Little Mermaid (not sure what it is)
5. Beauty and the Beast Live (J’s least favorite of all Disney movies – but I may be able to persuade him to do this)

Neither of us like American Idol, and we aren’t traveling with children so I’m guessing Playhouse Disney and Disney Channel Live will be a definite no. Any input/opinions on Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast would be appreciated. Also, I’m open to suggestions as to which attractions we might want to do if we’re visiting Hollywood Studios during evening EMH (as we are a few days prior to this) – I’d like to get a few easy things done when we visit a few days before (Day 3) during the evening EMH.

 

[PixieMama]

I'm not a big breakfast-eater, but breakfast at Boma is very good! If you're not feeling adventurous with the foods, there's plenty of "normal" breakfast fare: bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, pastries, bagels, fresh fruit, waffles. And the "Jambo Juice" (I've also seen it called "African Frunch" ) is very yummy!

I'm also not a fan of American Idol, so I've skipped AIE in the past... that is, until my trip last year. Even without being a fan of the show, I really enjoyed the attraction. If you have the chance to do it, I say give it a try!

Voyage of the Little Mermaid is a live-on-stage telling of the movie... sort of like the Beauty and the Beast show, but on a much, much smaller scale.

 

[Angies1274]

Your plans look great!!

Love the snacking around the world! We're attempting that as well. You picked some great snacks to try!!

We rode ToT in the dark on our last trip and loved it!! It was so cool to look out and see the park all lit up!

I'm not sure what to suggest for evening EMH's at DHS because we've never been but definitely see Beauty and the Beast. It's an amazing show.

 

[andapanda]

Thanks for the input! I'll have to work on J about seeing some of the shows - he'll probably give in though

I'm off work today, so I think I'm going to look at what exactly is open during EMH, and see if I can plan a few rides for EMH. I don't think I'll plan on more than two or three, as that might be a good time to just leisurely walk around the park. That, and J is worried that if I plan too much I'll get frustrated if it doesn't go my way as far as wait times.

 

[andapanda]

Day 6 – July 12th​

Our day will start out with a 7am ADR at Chef Mickey’s. I’ve debated back and forth about Chef Mickey’s, but I’m pretty sure we’ll keep this reservation. I’m hoping we won’t be there too long, as we’re planning to go to Blizzard Beach, and it has morning EMH. There are some things we’ll obviously be skipping, as we don’t have kids: Ski Patrol Training, and Tike’s Peak. I’m also very wary of Summit Plummet. I’ve never ridden any speed slides before, and I have a fear of heights and the feeling of free-falling. I’m game for just about anything else. I may have mentioned this before, but we aren’t the type of people to ride water rides over and over again, so we’ll probably try to visit everything we want to ride, and then hang out in Melt-Away Bay and Cross Country Creek.

Not counting any of the rides I mentioned above, that leaves us with:
1. Teamboat Springs
2. Toboggan Racers (If I can convince J – he has a fear of going head first)
3. Chair Lift (I’m sure we’ll ride it to get up to the green section, even though I hate chair lifts)
4. Downhill Double Dipper
5. Runoff Rapids (We’ll probably try to ride all three slides)
6. Slush Gusher
7. Snow Stormers (If I can convince J)

It doesn’t sound like much, so I’m hoping we can fit everything in. I know lines can get hectic in water parks, so I’m hoping we get there right at 8am or shortly after – I know it’s cutting it close with breakfast. After Blizzard Beach, we have 4:15 ADRs at The Garden Grill in Epcot. This is a change from my previous dining schedule, and J’s pick after he found out about Chip and Dale. I’m not 100% sure what we’ll do after dinner. We may wander around Epcot, but I’m thinking possibly visiting Downtown Disney or just heading back to the resort for a bit. Or if we feel like it, going back to Blizzard Beach or using another water park credit and re-visiting Typhoon Lagoon if we missed anything we really wanted to do. Our last ADR of the day is at Kona Café, and isn’t until 9:30. We’re planning on going early to see the Electrical Water Pageant.

 

[andapanda]

Day 7 – July 13th​

This is our Animal Kingdom day. We have 8:05 ADRs at Tusker House, and 12:30 ADRs at Yak & Yeti. I think I’m most looking forward to DINOSAUR! and Kilimanjaro Safari. J is looking forward to Expedition Everest. We plan to ride the rides early and then spend the rest of our time exploring the trails. We then have an 8:00pm ADR at Boatwright’s. This was another one of J’s picks, and to be honest, I’ve looked at the sample menu and I don’t see much I’m interested in eating. I don’t know if we’re interested in seeing the Festival of the Lion King or Finding Nemo – The Musical. These kinds of shows just aren’t up our alley – but we’ll see how the day goes. I’d like to take a laid back approach to Animal Kingdom. After Boatwright’s, we’ll probably head back over to Magic Kingdom for EMH. And then, back to POFQ to pack.

Day 8 – July 14th ​

This is our last day at Disney. We will probably check out (and see if we can have our luggage stored), and then our starts with an 8:00am ADR at 1900 Park Fare. From there, we will probably go to Magic Kingdom. If there is anything we really wanted to do and didn’t get to at any other park (or something we’re dying to do again), we’ll park hop. I’d really like to spend the entire day at Magic Kingdom though. At some point during the day, we’ve talked about leaving Disney property and checking into our hotel for Universal. This is still up in the air, as I’m not sure about the logistics of parking at the parks after we’ve checked out. We may just hold off until after we leave the parks. We have a 6:00pm ADR at Captain’s Grille, and then to finish off our stay at Disney…the IllumiNations Fireworks Cruise! This is something J and I debated extensively about, because of the price. But we’ve found another group to share a cruise with (and I think we still have space for a few more!). I’m terribly excited for this, even though it means the end of our stay at Disney. We have no idea when we’ll be back (I’m pushing for a shorter stay next summer, but J insists that he would rather not do Disney two summers in a row), and that will make me incredibly sad.