jglor
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- May 28, 2015
- Messages
- 66
Sorry for the length of this post, but I feel like I need to get everything out. Also, I’m so excited about the trip that I want to tell everyone every detail, and my wife is sick of hearing about it (more on that further down). From reading this board (especially trip reports) it looks like you guys will eat it up, instead of telling me that you don’t want to hear it.
I live in Southern California, near San Diego, and about an hour and a half from Disneyland. I have been to Disneyland more times than I can count, but I’ve always wanted to go to Disney World. Well, it’s finally happening later this month.
When we first started dating, and until we had our son, my wife and I would to go to Disneyland about twice a year. When our son was about 1 1/2, we went for the weekend, and ended up upgrading to annual passes (The SoCal passes). When those expired, we took 2 years off, and then got annual passes again. When those passes expired, we took another 2 years off.
Because the good SoCal passes are no longer available (no more Sundays), this year we were looking into getting more expensive passes, and we discovered the Premiere pass that was good for both DL and WDW. We kind of joked about getting them and the jokes started getting more serious. I started doing some research and really wanted to go. We didn’t have a big vacation planned for this summer (the last few years we have gone to family reunions, so those were really our “big” vacations), so I started seriously pushing for a WDW trip. My wife was concerned about our son not being old enough to enjoy it (he’s 7, and will be 2 months away from turning 8), but she relented. We got the Premier passes in June (on Father’s day), but had already booked most of the trip before then. Incidentally, we paid for the passes (over $3000 total!) with $50 and $100 Disney cards that we bought from Target at 5% off. That took a while, but the CM was awesome.
Because this may be the only time we ever go (it’s been 42 years in the making for me), I kind of want to do everything. We will be there for 8 days (August 29 – Sep 6) and will be hitting every theme park (not the water parks), with 2 MK days, 2 Epcot days and 1 day each for HS and AK. We’re taking a break day in the middle of the week, to decompress, change hotels, swim, and check out Downtown Disney. What? Change hotels? Yes, we are staying 4 nights at POP, then moving to the Wilderness Lodge. Why? We could have just done a moderate for about the same price, but we really wanted to try a deluxe, and the Wilderness Lodge has the added benefit of being kind of like the Grand Californian for about half the price. (And my son thinks it’s like the lodge in Planes Fire and Rescue, which he loved). And like I said, I want to do everything.
I’ve spent the last few months doing tons of research. We got the Unofficial Guides, subscribed to Touring Plans, have been reading this board a lot (but not posting until today) and watching lots of trip videos (Hi Joe and Ashley!). Needless to say, I’m super excited, and so is my son, but my wife is apprehensive. Every trip we’ve taken, somebody gets sick, usually our son, but sometimes me (and sometimes both). She’s extremely worried about food. She’s a vegetarian and has a hard time finding good food. I eat meat, and our son eats a little, but we both get upset stomachs if we eat too much greasy food. We all get cranky when we are hungry, and I get major headaches if I have not eaten, drank or slept enough. So I can see where she’s coming from. She’s worried that something will go wrong, which will make me upset because I’m building this up in my mind to be the most awesome trip ever.
On the food front, we’ve placed an order with Garden Grocer so we will have fresh fruit, some veggies, and some supplies to make our own breakfasts and a few lunches. We’re not doing the dining plan because we are not huge eaters and out of pocket will definitely cost less. Well, actually, I can be a huge eater when given the opportunity, and the dining plan would probably cause me to gain about 10 pounds and be miserable from eating too much every day. We do have a few dinner ADRs planned, and will be doing counter service for other meals.
As far as planning, I’m stuck between over and under planning. We know what parks we’re going to each day, and have our FP+s picked out. I’ve made a few custom touring plans using the Touring Plans site. We did a few trial runs at Disneyland, and I discovered that rides usually take longer than the app thinks, and stuff ends up being pushed back or missed, which frustrates me, so we will have to take that into account. I definitely don’t want to be the drill sergeant, telling everybody where to be and when, and not have a chance to just take it all in. On the flip side, I don’t want to spend 2 hours in a line that would have been much shorter if we had gone at a different time. My plans only go to early afternoon at this point, so the rest of the day is open (except for night shows and fireworks).
The toughest day to schedule is Hollywood Studios, because there are so many shows that have scheduled times, so fitting everything in is tough. Add on the fact that my son wants to do Jedi Training so we can’t plan that one until we get there and get a show time.
We are planning on making rope drop most days, but that’s going to be a little rough. My son is a super early riser, but I am not. However, I can get myself ready and out the door 10 minutes after rolling out of bed, but it takes my wife and son an hour, even if I try to help. My biggest concern is going to be getting everybody to go to bed and fall asleep at a decent time (especially on the first night with a 3 hour time difference) so we can get up early in the morning.
Because we are Disneyland veterans, but have never been to WDW, this will be an interesting trip for us. From watching videos and reading books I feel like the Magic Kingdom is kind of an alternate universe version of Disneyland where some rides (like Bear Country Jamboree and Peoplemover) were never removed, and other things are different. I think it’s going to be both familiar and different at the same time, which is cool.
Also, somewhat unintentionally, we will be there on my birthday. The week we are going wasn’t our first choice, but my work schedule interfered with our first choice. We will be in Epcot that day, and are having lunch at the Biergarten (where I will probably eat too much and be miserable for the rest of the day. See above). Incidentally we went to DL for my wife’s birthday last week (lunch at Blue Bayou) and are going for our son’s 8th birthday in November (Goofy’s Kitchen for breakfast).
Of course, since we have the Premier passes, we are already talking (not super seriously) about going one more time, (for a slightly shorter trip) before they expire next June.
It’s getting really close now. I can’t believe it’s less than a month away. Our POP MagicBands came yesterday, and our WL bands come on Monday. We also got a set for the annual passes, so we each have 3 bands. My wife has a friend who went recently who thinks it’s weird, be we think it’s really cool that we each have multiple bands.
I’m not looking for advice or anything really, maybe some reassurance, but I just wanted to get it all out there. For everyone who made it this far, thanks for reading. I feel like I rambled a lot there. Feel free to ask me any questions, or tell me what you think.
I live in Southern California, near San Diego, and about an hour and a half from Disneyland. I have been to Disneyland more times than I can count, but I’ve always wanted to go to Disney World. Well, it’s finally happening later this month.
When we first started dating, and until we had our son, my wife and I would to go to Disneyland about twice a year. When our son was about 1 1/2, we went for the weekend, and ended up upgrading to annual passes (The SoCal passes). When those expired, we took 2 years off, and then got annual passes again. When those passes expired, we took another 2 years off.
Because the good SoCal passes are no longer available (no more Sundays), this year we were looking into getting more expensive passes, and we discovered the Premiere pass that was good for both DL and WDW. We kind of joked about getting them and the jokes started getting more serious. I started doing some research and really wanted to go. We didn’t have a big vacation planned for this summer (the last few years we have gone to family reunions, so those were really our “big” vacations), so I started seriously pushing for a WDW trip. My wife was concerned about our son not being old enough to enjoy it (he’s 7, and will be 2 months away from turning 8), but she relented. We got the Premier passes in June (on Father’s day), but had already booked most of the trip before then. Incidentally, we paid for the passes (over $3000 total!) with $50 and $100 Disney cards that we bought from Target at 5% off. That took a while, but the CM was awesome.
Because this may be the only time we ever go (it’s been 42 years in the making for me), I kind of want to do everything. We will be there for 8 days (August 29 – Sep 6) and will be hitting every theme park (not the water parks), with 2 MK days, 2 Epcot days and 1 day each for HS and AK. We’re taking a break day in the middle of the week, to decompress, change hotels, swim, and check out Downtown Disney. What? Change hotels? Yes, we are staying 4 nights at POP, then moving to the Wilderness Lodge. Why? We could have just done a moderate for about the same price, but we really wanted to try a deluxe, and the Wilderness Lodge has the added benefit of being kind of like the Grand Californian for about half the price. (And my son thinks it’s like the lodge in Planes Fire and Rescue, which he loved). And like I said, I want to do everything.
I’ve spent the last few months doing tons of research. We got the Unofficial Guides, subscribed to Touring Plans, have been reading this board a lot (but not posting until today) and watching lots of trip videos (Hi Joe and Ashley!). Needless to say, I’m super excited, and so is my son, but my wife is apprehensive. Every trip we’ve taken, somebody gets sick, usually our son, but sometimes me (and sometimes both). She’s extremely worried about food. She’s a vegetarian and has a hard time finding good food. I eat meat, and our son eats a little, but we both get upset stomachs if we eat too much greasy food. We all get cranky when we are hungry, and I get major headaches if I have not eaten, drank or slept enough. So I can see where she’s coming from. She’s worried that something will go wrong, which will make me upset because I’m building this up in my mind to be the most awesome trip ever.
On the food front, we’ve placed an order with Garden Grocer so we will have fresh fruit, some veggies, and some supplies to make our own breakfasts and a few lunches. We’re not doing the dining plan because we are not huge eaters and out of pocket will definitely cost less. Well, actually, I can be a huge eater when given the opportunity, and the dining plan would probably cause me to gain about 10 pounds and be miserable from eating too much every day. We do have a few dinner ADRs planned, and will be doing counter service for other meals.
As far as planning, I’m stuck between over and under planning. We know what parks we’re going to each day, and have our FP+s picked out. I’ve made a few custom touring plans using the Touring Plans site. We did a few trial runs at Disneyland, and I discovered that rides usually take longer than the app thinks, and stuff ends up being pushed back or missed, which frustrates me, so we will have to take that into account. I definitely don’t want to be the drill sergeant, telling everybody where to be and when, and not have a chance to just take it all in. On the flip side, I don’t want to spend 2 hours in a line that would have been much shorter if we had gone at a different time. My plans only go to early afternoon at this point, so the rest of the day is open (except for night shows and fireworks).
The toughest day to schedule is Hollywood Studios, because there are so many shows that have scheduled times, so fitting everything in is tough. Add on the fact that my son wants to do Jedi Training so we can’t plan that one until we get there and get a show time.
We are planning on making rope drop most days, but that’s going to be a little rough. My son is a super early riser, but I am not. However, I can get myself ready and out the door 10 minutes after rolling out of bed, but it takes my wife and son an hour, even if I try to help. My biggest concern is going to be getting everybody to go to bed and fall asleep at a decent time (especially on the first night with a 3 hour time difference) so we can get up early in the morning.
Because we are Disneyland veterans, but have never been to WDW, this will be an interesting trip for us. From watching videos and reading books I feel like the Magic Kingdom is kind of an alternate universe version of Disneyland where some rides (like Bear Country Jamboree and Peoplemover) were never removed, and other things are different. I think it’s going to be both familiar and different at the same time, which is cool.
Also, somewhat unintentionally, we will be there on my birthday. The week we are going wasn’t our first choice, but my work schedule interfered with our first choice. We will be in Epcot that day, and are having lunch at the Biergarten (where I will probably eat too much and be miserable for the rest of the day. See above). Incidentally we went to DL for my wife’s birthday last week (lunch at Blue Bayou) and are going for our son’s 8th birthday in November (Goofy’s Kitchen for breakfast).
Of course, since we have the Premier passes, we are already talking (not super seriously) about going one more time, (for a slightly shorter trip) before they expire next June.
It’s getting really close now. I can’t believe it’s less than a month away. Our POP MagicBands came yesterday, and our WL bands come on Monday. We also got a set for the annual passes, so we each have 3 bands. My wife has a friend who went recently who thinks it’s weird, be we think it’s really cool that we each have multiple bands.
I’m not looking for advice or anything really, maybe some reassurance, but I just wanted to get it all out there. For everyone who made it this far, thanks for reading. I feel like I rambled a lot there. Feel free to ask me any questions, or tell me what you think.
. Congrats on coming out of lurkdom 
Second, you're not going to be able to do everything. 
But, you will do a lot and you'll have great fun. Most people who are DL veterans are surprised by the sheer size of WDW. 
We were there for 11 days, but the first few days were wedding related since we were getting married at Disney World. I'm all about the parks and the rides. DH had a good time, but he definitely would have liked to go to the pool a bit more than a few hours before we had to leave for the airport. This year, since we won't be back for a few years at least and plan on going to DL/
