First Time Planner, And I Might Need Some Help! - Updated - Days 1-2

[LaurNY]

Hi Everyone!

My name is Laur and I'm a long-time Dis lurker who finally decided to man-up and create an account so I can get some feedback for my upcoming trip!

So, without further ado here is my very first attempt at a PTR...

"Honey, how many times are you going to change this itinerary around and is it really necessary for you to keep everything in a binder?"

At this point, we've put together our basic itinerary & made most of our ADRs. I've planned some special surprises here and there for DBF. I hope someone out there finds me entertaining and I hope the experts will weigh-in and help me out with the gaps in my plans! So, here we go!

 

[LaurNY]

All About Me
All About The Trip
The Trip Master Plan
Trip Day 1 - Arrival Day
Trip Day 2 - Magic Kingdom/DHS
Trip Day 3 - Animal Kingdom/Magic Kingdom
Trip Day 4 - Epcot
Trip Day 5 - DHS/Epcot
Trip Day 6 - Universal Studios/DTD
Trip Day 7 - Magic Kingdom
Trip Day 8 - Departure Day
Our Trip "Must Do's"

 

[ghtx]

Looking forward to following your PTR. We'll be there when you are (from the 14th-18th).

 

[LaurNY]

Looking forward to following your PTR. We'll be there when you are (from the 14th-18th).

Thanks so much! I hope I can make this interesting!

 

[LaurNY]

More About Me!

Hi there! My name is Laur. I am 25 years old and just finished my masters degree in nonprofit management. It was a long 3 years, since I had to work full time while in school. But I did it. And someday I hope to fulfill my dream of working with underprivileged kids. For now, I work in fundraising and I lead a pretty hectic life. My DBF is a nurse who works the night shift, so our schedules only sync up 2 or 3 days a week. I have a ton of interests: sports, cooking, photography, movies, just to name a few. I can sometimes be a homebody, but usually I am up for anything. I try to experience as many different things as I can.

Adventure is out there!

I have always loved all things Disney, since I was a little kid.

My first trip to WDW.

I couldn't wait to go back after our trip in 1998. But, circumstances as they were, I wasn't able to go until nearly 10 years later. In 2007 my family went on a large group trip to Orlando. I only got to spend a few days at WDW, but it rekindled my love for all things Disney. In 2009, I took a girls trip with my mom to California and convinced her to spend one day at Disneyland with me. It was the best day of the trip!

Creepy, but I'm glad I had the chance to take this picture before they got rid of the big letters!


Favorite Park: Epcot
Favorite Ride: Haunted Mansion, Tower of Terror, Toy Story Midway Mania (only ridden it in DL!)
Favorite Movie: Up (guaranteed I cry during the first 10 minutes, EVERY DAMN TIME), Wall-E, Toy Story, Beauty and the Beast
Favorite Character: Mickey & Minnie, Wall-E, Dug

So that is a lot of information about me! Maybe DBF will let me post a little profile about him too, but for now, I'll include a little bio in my "All About The Trip" section!

I promise I'll be back soon with the basic plan of attack for our trip and then each day a little more in-depth. Along with reports about everything else going on!

 

[LaurNY]

All About The TRIP

Who's Going?
Me - 25 y.o. who just finished her masters degree (read: needs a vacation) and hasn't been on a real Disney World trip since 1998. I love to plan, take pictures, and I probably shop more on vacation than I should! My favorite part of vacation is planning special experiences for whoever I am with. And yes, I am keeping everything related to this trip in a Disney binder.

DBF - 27 y.o. nurse who hasn't been to Disney World since he was really little. Loves to tour, generally tolerates my shopping, and is kind of a foodie. DBF is a perfect vacation partner because he pretty much goes with my flow.

Me and DBF have been together for two years and have gone on several trips together. We decided a year ago that we wanted to head to WDW together for a week-long trip since neither of us had been in a really long time. (DBF has never experience Soarin'!!!) We decided to go in October because DBF started a new job a few months ago and wouldn't be able to take off a whole week until the fall. Plus, we figured the weather would be better and the crowds would be lower in the fall.

We have the same attitude about vacation: get up early, take afternoon breaks, stay up late, and just have fun.

Big Details
Dates: October 13-20
Hotel: Port Orleans - Riverside (A new hotel for me, DBF has stayed there once before)
Tickets: 5-Day Park Hoppers
Dining Plan: Deluxe (First experience on the Dining Plan, and I am excited!)

 

[LaurNY]

Here is the trip "Master Plan" as I like to call it

I am super organized and I really love to make charts and I use Excel for organizing different aspects of my life. I decided to keep everything organized on a calendar I created. This way, DBF and I can have the calendar on our phones while in the parks and we don't have to carry around the paper version!

As you can see, there are some gaps where we need to decide food options. And most likely we will just grab something CS in those cases. But DBF and I are the type to ask each other, "hey what do you want to eat" and respond with "I don't know, what do you want?" So, we need as solid of a plan as possible!

 

[LaurNY]

Trip Day 1 - Arrival Day

I am usually one of those people who wants to get up at 4am and be on a 7am flight. BUT, for this trip, DBF convinced me we should take it a little easier on arrival day - ensuring me that we would have just enough time to do everything else we wanted to do without having a hectic arrival day.

So, I reluctantly booked a 1:30pm flight out of NY that has us landing in Orlando around 4:30pm.

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of a later flight. I can sleep in, go over my suitcase one more time, and maybe have time to get a manicure before we leave!

The original plan for our first night at WDW was to check into the Port Orleans Riverside and then take the boat over to DTD for dinner. I like the DTD Disney area, especially the stores. And DBF would enjoy the atmosphere. Plus it would be a relaxing way to start our trip.



WELL



A few weeks ago, I saw that Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue reservations had opened up for booking! I had previously read that it would be closed for renovation when we would be there, and I was seriously heartbroken. I LOVED HDDR as a kid, as did DBF, and the Wilderness Lodge is one of my favorite resorts. I immediately snatched up an 8:30pm reservation for arrival night, knowing it would be a perfect way to start our trip! What better way to get in the Disney spirit?! (Plus, unlimited sangria.)

I am really looking forward to a relaxing arrival day.

I hope everything goes according to plan!!

 

[jenny105]

Just for the record, I keep everything Disney trip related in a binder too! I'm in!

 

[LaurNY]

Just for the record, I keep everything Disney trip related in a binder too! I'm in!

Thanks! The binder is really handy. And I decided right before we leave I will scan everything and put the PDF on my phone. This way, I can have everything with me, without having to lug said binder around the parks!

 

[PrincessAmongPrinces]

Hi there! I'm joining in!
1st- you picked a great week to go! That's when we went last year, and I found the weather and the crowds to be quite pleasant!
2nd- I love that you still call it MGM! I totally do too! It took a long time before I was able to convert to the "proper" DHS.
3rd - I adore your spreadsheet. You're a girl after my own heart! I had a very similar chart for our trip. But I find it really helpful to have a master game plan.
Your plans are off to a great start! I'm looking forward to reading more!

 

[LaurNY]

Hi there! I'm joining in!
1st- you picked a great week to go! That's when we went last year, and I found the weather and the crowds to be quite pleasant!
2nd- I love that you still call it MGM! I totally do too! It took a long time before I was able to convert to the "proper" DHS.
3rd - I adore your spreadsheet. You're a girl after my own heart! I had a very similar chart for our trip. But I find it really helpful to have a master game plan.
Your plans are off to a great start! I'm looking forward to reading more!

Thanks! Me and DBF still call it MGM but here on the Dis I thought I should try and be more current - calling it DHS. So I guess I use both. I hadn't realized they changed the name until about a year ago. Whoops!

 

[lledman]

following to see your other plans.

I too have a trip binder, I have used the same one for our first 4 trips but it was getting to be quite large so for our last trip in January I replaced it with a new trip binder which I am using again for our October trip.

 

[sushi candy]

Totally subscribing! I am so happy to see another planning nut like me!
I was going to use a binder but I decided to use a notebook instead since I wanted to travel light. I think it's great that you are dropping by to see Hogwarts.

 

[LaurNY]

following to see your other plans.

I too have a trip binder, I have used the same one for our first 4 trips but it was getting to be quite large so for our last trip in January I replaced it with a new trip binder which I am using again for our October trip.

Thanks for joining in! I will most likely keep the printouts of everything from this trip in PDF form on my computer or maybe on a Disney flash drive. I could only imagine how much paper I would accumulate after a few trips!

Totally subscribing! I am so happy to see another planning nut like me!
I was going to use a binder but I decided to use a notebook instead since I wanted to travel light. I think it's great that you are dropping by to see Hogwarts.

Thanks! I am considering bringing along a very small notebook to take notes during my trip. I don't like to carry too much stuff around with me! The Hogwarts trip was a MUST and I'll go into more detail about that further down the road in this report!

 

[LaurNY]

Trip Day 2 - Magic Kingdom/DHS

I am a vacation morning person. Any normal day during any normal week, I have to drag myself out of bed. Not on vacation. On vacation, I am up at 7am ready to go. So you'll see lots of early mornings for us on this trip. DBF isn't as enthusiastic as I am. But get him some coffee and breakfast and he's pretty amiable.

This will be our first real day of the trip and, I don't know about you, but I couldn't fathom starting our trip at any other park besides the Magic Kingdom. We will be heading into the park early for an 8:25am reservation at the Crystal Palace. I was only here once. On my very first trip to WDW (I was 4). So I don't have much memory of the place. DBF has never been.

After breakfast, and lots of Eeyore hugs we plan to work our way through the lands. I know lots of people plan out which rides to hit first, and which direction to go. DBF and I discussed making our plan each day at breakfast so we can gauge the crowds and use our iPhone apps to figure out where to head. Anyone have any input about which direction we should go in?

Hopefully we will be near Liberty Square for our 1pm lunch reservation at Liberty Tree Tavern. Otherwise, we'll cut across the park. With the Deluxe Dining Plan, we decided to do as many TS meals as possible. I enjoy being able to sit for a bit, rest my feet, and relax while a waiter brings me my food and refills my water glass.

After lunch, we'll probably just pick up where we left off and the plan is to stay in the park for a few more hours before heading back to POR for a little afternoon siesta.

After napping/pool lounging/relaxing the goal is to head back out and hit up DHS EMH. With Fantasmic! at 7:30pm, we will aim to get in line around 6:30. After Fantasmic! we have a dinner ADR at the Dine-In Theater at 8:10. I am a little worried we wont get out of Fantasmic! in time so I might try to sit near the back and start making my way out toward the end.

After dinner, my only goal is to ride Tower of Terror in the dark. And then maybe TSMM before closing if the line is short. Anything else we get to do here is just gravy.

 

[PrincessAmongPrinces]

MK is the perfect first park. Nothing says "Disney" more to me than walking down Main Street USA and seeing Cinderella's Castle. Great choice on the Crystal Palace breakfast! We loved it on our last trip. The puffed French toast is delicious! And any breakfast with Winnie the Pooh and gang is sure to start your day with a smile.

If you want to ride Dumbo, I'd probably head straight over to Fantasyland after breakfast. That'll probably be the shortest line of the day. If you're not set on that, I'd probably head toward Adventureland and avoid the crowds. I had the undercover tourist iPhone app when we went and the wait times seemed pretty accurate.

I've never seen Fantasmic. I think it'll be on our must do list for whenever we go again! The pictures I've seen in others trip reports seem awesome. I hope you and your DBF enjoy it!

 

[jenny105]

MK on the first day is a must! As soon as we land and get settled, we'll be headed over to MK for MNSSHP. I'm not even waiting til the next day LOL.

If you wanna ride Dumbo, head to Fantasyland right after breakfast. If not, I would head to the back of the park and ride Splash & BTMRR. There won't be anybody there at that point and it'll feel like you have the park to yourself!

 

[Skeleton Jack]

Looking forward to more planning and to hear about your trip! I'm going to WDW this October as well and can't wait!! This will be my 3rd trip, but my first time for Halloween and I am already too excited to function!!

 

[WyldLynx]

Subbing! I'm an uber planner and do my very best to keep everything organized either in my binder (my family calls it my Disney Bible) I too have a trip overview sheet that I keep days/park/adr#s/and must do's. Waiting to read more