A Celebration Trip Full of Surprises - May 2015 PTR (New 9/15 - New TR Link!)

[SimplyGoofy]

A Celebration Trip Full of Surprises
The Third Sister Extravaganza

A May/June 2015 Pre-Trip Report

Hello, fellow Disney lovers!

I am SO EXCITED about our upcoming trip and decided the best way to make our departure date come faster is to share my plans with all of you!

We’re going to the World to celebrate Anika’s high school graduation as well as her birthday. This trip is the BIGGEST one we’ve ever done – it will be the longest (17 days), the craziest (our planned schedule is insane), and has the largest amount of surprises (other than the fact that we’re going, Anika knows almost NONE of our plans).

In case you haven’t met us before on my prior (finally finished!) trip report, A Savanna, A Wizard, and Oodles of Food, we’ll start with the ever-important cast for the upcoming trip. As our first visits to Disney World were as young children, I thought pictures from those trips would be the most fun.


First up is me, Jenny (picture circa 1988). I’m a lover of all things Goofy, thrill rides, desserts, and (shh! ) Harry Potter:

See? Goofy. The love started from a young age.

Favorite Parks: Magic Kingdom and Epcot
Favorite Attractions: Tower of Terror, Expedition Everest, and Toy Story Midway Mania*
Favorite Characters: Goofy (of course!) and Eeyore
Favorite Movies: Aladdin, Toy Story 3, and Up!
Favorite Restaurants: Via Napoli, California Grill, and Crystal Palace
Favorite Snack: Carrot Cake Cookie

*Does the Muppet Vision 3-D pre-show count as an attraction?


My travel companion is my fabulous sister, Anika (picture circa 2005). She loves Disney but hates meeting characters, has mad adoration for the Grand Floridian, and goes with the flow of my planning craziness:

She was very proud of conquering Space Mountain.

Favorite Parks: Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios
Favorite Attractions: Tower of Terror, The Great Movie Ride*, and Carousel of Progress**
Favorite Characters: Princess Anna and Mulan (From the movies only – Anika doesn’t do characters!)
Favorite Movies: Lady and the Tramp and Up!
Favorite Restaurants: Via Napoli, Rose and Crown, and Garden View Tea Room
Favorite Snack: Mickey Cookies 'n Cream Ice Cream Sandwich

*Yes, I don’t understand it either?
**Do I have her well-trained or what?!


Here is a more recent picture from our sister Disney-venture in 2013:

Goodbye, beloved hat!

This vacation will be my 7th trip to Disney World and Anika’s 5th. As our birthdays fall in July and May respectively, I think this is a great sign!

There are big things in store for our upcoming trip...

Four resorts!

Six parks!

Two water parks!

Our first Disney tour!

Far, far too many ADRs!

I also plan to include a few highlights from our 2013 trip. (Seriously, since it took me a year to get started on my 2012 trip report and then two years to finish it, an attempt at a full 2013 trip report is just a lost cause. )

Let’s get this show on the road as there are only this many days until our departure:

ONLY 70 DAYS TO GO! YIPPEE!!!



I’m thrilled that you’re along for the ride!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Chapter Links:

Links for Upcoming Trip
The All-Important Travel Dates
You're Staying at HOW Many Places?!
There's No Such Thing as (Too Much) Magic
Dreams Really Do Come True
The Ecstasy and the Agony of Third-Party Bookings
Oh, the Place You'll Eat! (continued)
It's Snack Time!
Magic Kingdom Must-Do's
Epcot Must-Do's
Hollywood Studios Must-Do's
Animal Kingdom Must-Do's
Downtown Disney and Waterpark Must-Do's
Plans - Day 1
Plans - Day 2
Plans - Days 3 & 4
Plans - Day 5
Plans - Day 6
We're Ready for Launch!
Plans - Day 7
Plans - Day 8
Plans - Day 9
Plans - Day 10
Plans - Day 11
Plans - Day 12
Plans - Day 13
Plans - Day 14
Plans - Day 15
Plans - Day 16
Plans - Day 17
One Day to Go!
We're Home!!!
New Trip Report Link!

Links for 2013 Trip Report
We're Going Back to Disney World!
A Week in Mexico (in Disney World) (continued)
First Disney Day Traditions (continued)
The Day with Four ADRs (continued) (still continued)
Sleep? Who Needs Sleep?!
How Many Times Can We Ride the Tower of Terror? (continued)

 

[sailored]

Joining in! Can't wait to read more.

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

Yay! I'm here & joining in! 17 days sounds absolutely amazing. Can't wait to hear about your plans!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Joining in! Can't wait to read more.

Thanks so much for joining in! I took a peek at your upcoming trip and it looks AWESOME - hooray for the Animal Kingdom Lodge! I LOVE that resort!

My first update will be on its way shortly!

Yay! I'm here & joining in! 17 days sounds absolutely amazing. Can't wait to hear about your plans!

Lauren! Thanks so much for joining in!

Yes, totally amazing, but gosh adding that many days really makes the cost go up! I've actually found major savings in every category (hotels, park tickets, etc.) and those elements are already paid for in full, but I've just stopped adding the numbers. Doing so would make my head explode.

 

[AMCB1022]

Joining in, excited to read more!! And yay HP!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Joining in, excited to read more!! And yay HP!

Thanks so much for joining!

I ADORE Harry Potter... and he just may play a part in this pre-trip report!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

The All-Important Travel Dates

The first question that people ask when you announce you’re going to Disney World is… “So, when are you going?”

We’ll just say that our dates may have changed a few times…


Plan #1

We’re going to Disney World to celebrate Anika’s graduation, so first she needed to, you know, graduate! Her school district has both a public and parochial school and they switch back and forth every other year with which school has the early and late graduation weekend. This year Anika’s school gets the early weekend, so I had visions of heading to Disney for a week in early to mid-May…

Flower and Garden Festival!

Food Booths!

Less Crowds!

Well, the “early graduation” this year is May 17th. The last day of the Flower and Garden Festival.

So much for that plan.


Plan #2

The next idea was to leave the Tuesday after graduation on May 19th. We’d fly into MCO, stay at the Hyatt at the airport, and start our vacation with a laid back approach. I planned that we’d sit at the pool, have a leisurely dinner, and then go to bed early before waking up the next morning to catch the Magical Express to the World.

This plan actually had some traction as I even created an initial schedule for it on excel. This trip would’ve been 13 days long, which included a few low-key days and staying at two different resorts. I really wanted to try a split-stay and decided it would be great on a longer trip. Our past trips have been eight or nine days of go-go-go all the time, so I knew it would be nice to really kick back and enjoy some “vacation” days on our vacation!

The only negative of this plan is our nearly immediate departure after her graduation. I’m sure she wants to go out with her friends on graduation night and she likely wouldn’t be thrilled at the thought of waking up for an early flight just a day later.

The more and more I thought about it, leaving the following weekend just made so much more sense. Anika would be rested from graduation weekend, she wouldn’t be attempting to pack while preparing for her graduation party, and I would have time to recover from the weekend as well (I will be helping my parents prepare for and throw her graduation party, along with attending the actual graduation ceremony).

So, the dates were pushed out one week!


Plan #3 - The Winner!

When I determined our final departure date I also expanded our timeline. It didn’t make any sense to me to leave on a Saturday and then come back on a Thursday, so the new plan was a Saturday arrival and Sunday departure with two weeks in between.

The only negative of a 16 day trip is the park ticket situation – I can only buy 10-day park tickets with 10 waterpark/other visits, and those tickets expire 14 days from their first use. What were we going to do on the first few days so we could ensure park entry on our last full day? I considered annual passes, but that thought passed quickly as I didn’t want to buy the premium annual passes (and I knew we’d want to visit both water parks and I REALLY want to try Disney Quest).

It didn’t take long with me to come up with a solution. We were SO CLOSE to other fabulous Orlando destinations – perhaps with a vacation this long we could fit another spot in as well?

Our trip bumped out by one more day when I didn’t jump on the airfare fast enough – the prices jumped a lot just a few days after the dates were released. (Word to the wise – if you fly Southwest, buy your tickets on the day they release your dates!) It was much cheaper to fly back on Monday rather than Sunday, so that’s what we’re doing.

So there we go! After all of that craziness and many considerations, we have our final vacation dates:

Saturday, May 23 – Monday, June 8, 2015

Hallelujah!



Up Next: Half of the Resort Choices

 

[SimplyGoofy]

You’re Staying at HOW Many Places?!

Back at Plan #1, I thought we might stay at one resort. I thought we’d go “all out” by staying at a deluxe resort.

By the time we got to Plan #2, I decided a split-day was totally doable as we’d be there for nearly two weeks. I like to unpack when we arrive, but I could easily pack my suitcase so I could unpack part of it at one resort and part of it at another resort.

Moving along to Plan #3 - the trip was now expanded to 17 days and I had two destinations in mind. I wanted to include a blend of value and deluxe – I wanted some exciting resorts but didn’t want to pay through the nose for the entire vacation. That led me to booking us at four resorts.



Yes, four.

I promise that it totally makes sense once you see our trip as a whole. At least it makes sense to me. I may also be crazy.

Our first and last resorts were the easiest choices.


Resort #1

I wanted something fun for our first resort – it was the start of our grand Disney adventure, and we’d have quite a few hours to kill between our arrival and our dinner ADR. I wanted to try somewhere we’d never stayed (and preferably never seen) before. We were only staying for one night, but that didn’t mean we needed to go all out as we wouldn’t have long to enjoy it. That led me to book:

That’s right! This would be our very first visit to the Pop Century Resort (and Spa!).

I initially booked Pop for our 2013 trip, but changed it over to the Coronado Springs Resort. I’m very excited to explore everything the resort has to offer and view. A visit here is definitely in order:

I understand it’s not as good as its prior version, but I still want to try this:

Tie-dyed cheesecake! Anika will likely not want to partake as she is NOT a fan of red velvet cake!

I also look forward to viewing the memorabilia in the lobby:

I’m crossing my fingers that my room request comes through so we have a view of this lady:

THE Lady! Anika adores Lady and the Tramp, so I feel a stay in the 50’s section would make her the most excited.

Since we’re so close, I also want to wander over here:

There’s no way that we would be SO CLOSE and not explore Disney’s newest resort! I can’t wait to see the colorful lobby:

And also can’t wait to explore all four sections of the resort (probably starting with this section):

Sa-weet!

We’re booking at a Disney resort first as (1) I can’t imagine beginning an Orlando vacation without a ride on the Magical Express, and (2) I ADORE the Magical Express luggage delivery. We’ll have to schlep our luggage enough with three resort changes, so the less we schlep, the better!

Overall, I think an afternoon of exploration, many pictures, and some pool time sounds like a great way to kick off our vacation!


Resort #4

This resort will be our home for the bulk of our stay – 10 nights of fun! I wanted something well-located and with enough to do that we wouldn’t be bored, but not so much that the price tag would be prohibitive (as most of this vacation chunk would be spent in the parks, anyway). A moderate resort would be the best choice. They have extra amenities (bigger pools, pool slides, more dining options), but cost less than the deluxe resorts. That led me to book:

We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside during our family trip in 2007. I thought it was a very pretty resort and REALLY loved the boat to Downtown Disney. I think the boat will be especially awesome given the construction and transportation craziness at Downtown Disney! I considered booking its sister resort, French Quarter, for the smaller layout and proximity to the beignets – I decided to stick with Riverside to get the extra dining options and the larger pool.

I’m really looking forward to views like this:

As well as spending lots of time here:

Based on our last trip in May, this time of year calls for LOTS of pool time!

My room request is for the mansions – we stayed in Alligator Bayou last time so staying in the other section would be nice. We’d also like the extra drawer space as we have no need for the extra bed.

I bet you’re wondering about resorts #2 and 3? They’re two of the biggest surprises of the trip, so those will have to wait for another day.

Up Next: Big Surprise #1 (and Resort #2!)

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Hi Jenny!! Anxious to hear about your upcoming plans plus looking forward to some highlights from your last trip.

17 DAYS???? 4 RESORTS?????

OK, totally on board with Pop Century Resort (and Spa!) But BOOOOO to the "new" Tie-dyed cheesecake! At least it tastes the same.

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

4 Resorts!! You have very ambitious plans! Wow. I'm looking forward to hearing what surprises you have in store!

 

[iheartbelle87]

Can't wait to read more!

 

[MEK]

This sounds like it is going to be quite the epic trip. What a wonderful way to celebrate a high school graduation.

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Hi Jenny!! Anxious to hear about your upcoming plans plus looking forward to some highlights from your last trip.

17 DAYS???? 4 RESORTS?????

OK, totally on board with Pop Century Resort (and Spa!) But BOOOOO to the "new" Tie-dyed cheesecake! At least it tastes the same.

Rob! I'm very excited to share my plans and talk about my last trip!

I know! I'm excited about BOTH of those things!

I knew you'd be excited about your favorite resort and spa! It's too bad I didn't try the cheesecake before it changed, but I'm looking forward to it nonetheless.

4 Resorts!! You have very ambitious plans! Wow. I'm looking forward to hearing what surprises you have in store!

I've yet to determine if I've totally lost my mind! I am pretty excited to experience all four of them, though!

Can't wait to read more!

Thanks so much for joining! Another update (an introduction for my 2013 mini-trip report) is coming up shortly!

This sounds like it is going to be quite the epic trip. What a wonderful way to celebrate a high school graduation.

I'm SO EXCITED about it! It's especially fun since I know all of our plans and Anika knows just a few of them. I think it's driving her nuts that she doesn't know all the details like she usually does. I can't wait to surprise her throughout the trip!

It's a great place to celebrate graduation - she's looking forward to buying one of those Disney graduation hats!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

We’re Going Back to Disney World!
2013 Trip Highlights – Part I

After our excellent trip in 2012, I didn’t have any intentions on returning to Disney World for a few years. I thought perhaps our next trip would be to New York City or Washington D.C. (places I had not been to in several years).

I didn’t question my plan until Disney introduced some very appealing discounts.

Disney rolled out the discounts its Disney Visa cardholders two days before they were released to the general public. I held steadfast for the first day, but by the second Anika and I were calling the Walt Disney World phone number and listening to their hold music of Disney attraction soundtracks.

Just an hour later we were booked for eight days at Disney World! I initially booked at Pop Century, but I changed it just a few days later to:

Disney's Coronado Springs Resort! I thought we might appreciate the bigger rooms, queen beds, and the larger pool. We’d always traveled to Disney World in the off-season months of January or February, so this would be a very different trip since we were traveling in May!

We missed the 180 day cutoff by more than a month, so I didn’t waste any time in booking ADRs. Considering we didn’t book six months in advance, I still booked a wonderful selection!

Quite a few favorites from our previous trip made the cut: I booked pre-park opening breakfasts at Crystal Palace and Tusker House; lunches at the Rose and Crown, Liberty Tree Tavern, 50’s Prime Time Café, and Yak and Yeti; and dinners at Via Napoli and ‘Ohana. We also booked a return trip for afternoon tea at the Garden View Tea Room. Would you believe it, even though we were less than 140 days out we got every reservation we wanted (including great times for our pre-park opening breakfasts!). I’m sure the fact that we were a duo helped, but it shows that you can book great reservations past the six month mark!

I did make a few new reservations that I was pretty excited about. They included breakfast ADRs for:

I made this ADR for our last trip, but we ended up dropping it in favor of an early departure to Universal. I was so excited to eat breakfast here! Macadamia nut pancakes and Tonga Toast, here we come!

I’m so glad we tried it before it closed! (Its closure made me sad - it was delicious!)

As well as dinner ADRs for:

Our plan was to try a few appetizers such as the famous cheddar cheese soup!

I booked a prime pre-Illuminations ADR and looked forward to seeing the nighttime spectacular from a new angle!

And, believe it or not, it took me just a few searches before I found an ADR for:

A highly coveted Be Our Guest reservation! I couldn’t BELIEVE when this popped up and I jumped on it! Our dinner here was a little late (8:45), but as we’re up late anyway it didn’t matter one bit. We were both very excited!

The other ADR I was SUPER excited about was for this special event:

They now allow you to book this at 180 days out like any other ADR, but back in 2013 booking this was a pain in the royal rear end. Disney would release a month of dessert parties approximately a month out, but it didn’t follow any sort of schedule and there are very few available spots. In true DISboards fashion, I added myself to the dessert party watch thread, added the former DISboards app to my smartphone, and come April 1st I checked it ALL THE TIME.

My craziness paid off! I happened to be home for lunch when the party watch thread lit up – booking was open for May! I jumped onto the Disney World website, logged in, and booked a party of two just ten minutes after the party opened!

Within just a few weeks, I had our resort reservation, park tickets, ADRs, flights, and everything we needed for another fabulous Disney World vacation! Now, hurry up, May!

Up Next for 2013: Coronado Springs Resort Review

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

Oooh! I so want to try the Wishes Dessert Party! What did you think?

I LOVE that it only took you one day to change your vacation plans from NY to Disney. And you scored some nice ADR's too! When we went back in 2012 we only booked 2 months in advance but were still able to get a pre-park breakfast at Crystal Palace. It CAN be done!

 

[TheLittleKatie]

17 days?? 4 resorts?!?! I am SO in! This sounds too amazing.

I love POR, it was always my home resort as a kid. I can't wait to hear about it!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

YAY, 2013 trip highlights!!

Coronado is currently on the short list for next trip as a possibility, so I'm anxious to hear about it.

I have to hand it to you Jenny, you have WAY more ambition for ADR's than I ever would. This is a lot of the reason I don't do them. I can't take the stress, lol.

 

[cajunfan]

Oh Wow...17 days! That sounds incredible! I can't wait to hear all about it. Also, I need to see if you have a review and pictures of the Dessert Party. We have this scheduled for this May.

Lynn

 

[SimplyGoofy]

This sounds like it is going to be quite the epic trip. What a wonderful way to celebrate a high school graduation.

Oh my gosh, @MEK, I just realized I forgot to give you the smilie! Fail!

Due to that, you're going to get two.