Heffielump's Commando Disney Trip

[Heffielump]

Hi I'm Heffielump! Long time lurker of Dis who finally decided to join in on the fun with a March 2011 PTR.

Coming up - Cast of Characters!

 

[Heffielump]

Cast of Characters for this trip is limited to me, myself and I!

I'm a 29 year old female, Marketing Manager for a large multinational company. I have a few loves.

1. My job because it allows me to travel all around the world, including around WDW

2. Disney and all its wonderful characters. My favorite Disney character is Pooh (and all his lovely friends) and my favorite Disney princess is Ariel.

3. Food. I work for food, travel for food, live for food. I've even spent time working in my favorite restaurant in Toronto just to get closer to food. In another lifetime I think I would have been a pastry chef.

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Hey, Neighbour!!!! We are from Niagara!!!! We will be down there in 2 weeks!! Gonna follow along with your plans!!!

 

[Heffielump]

Or in other words - background info!

I've been to Disney twice in my life. Once on a family trip when I was a little girl when we stayed off-site. I was terrified of roller coasters and pretty much everything back then and because my mom was/is a teacher we had to visit in the dead heat of summer. My worst memory was thinking we were going to go over the edge during Maelstorm. Best memory was snuggling up to a giant Mickey Mouse in one of the stores.

My second trip was in October 2009. We contemplated staying at AKL and the Grand Floridian, but the Waldorf had just opened up so we were swayed by the grand opening rates. Despite my best efforts I feel like I missed a lot on that trip (I didn't have a Dis obsession at that point). I think we also overdid it with the park-commando style touring plan. Added to the Epcot Segway tour, needless to say I missed a LOT of what Epcot has to offer!

My favorite park is Magic Kingdom , just because well... it's MK!!! Epcot comes at a close second, with MGM (I refuse to call it HS) coming in third, solely for TSM!!! I can 150% do without AK, which probably has something to do with my insane fear of birds... the last trip I went on, I spent trying to find routes AROUND the birds that decide to park themselves in the MIDDLE of the path.

This trip will unfortunately be a very brief one, although there is the promise of ANOTHER trip in May when I return to Orlando (yet again) for another conference.

Orlando is just another stop on my long list of places I need to travel for work. My company is hosting a conference at the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek during the last week of March. I have to be at the conference on Sunday March 27th, so the plan is to fly in on Friday March 2th and spend a full day at WDW on Saturday. Originally I was planning on adding some additional days after the conference, but a trip to Miami got in the way... I know! I'm giving up WDW for Miami... please don't judge!!!

I'll also be spending an evening in Harry Potter land as the conference has shut it down exclusively for us!!! That's right, exclusive access to Harry Potterland

Coming up next, a list of parks, attractions and food items I want, no wait NEED to hit...

 

[Heffielump]

Hey, Neighbour!!!! We are from Niagara!!!! We will be down there in 2 weeks!! Gonna follow along with your plans!!!

YAY!!!! A follower! I can see Niagara from the window in my office if I look REALLY closely! *waves*

 

[Heffielump]

I'm a planner... period! Every trip I take, I crack open the Excel spreadsheet and map out the itinerary, call it an occupational hazard, but when I have a gazillion conference attendees running around, it helps when I'm organized. So the master plan!!!

Fly to Orlando on Friday March 25th, check into the hotel (I'm staying at the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek or the Waldorf Astoria) and head to DTD. I'm still contemplating whether to rent a car for the Orlando portion of the trip, it would be nice to have the option to go out, but since I'm stuck at the hotel from Sunday - Wednesday, I would only need it for one day. The Hilton DOES offer bus transportation to WDW, so that's what I might stick with.

DTD Plan
* World of Disney - I have a confession to make, I have an addiction to buying furry friends, not the real animal kind, the stuffed kind. Last time I brought home a giant Minnie Mouse with me on the plane, yes if you were flying from MCO to YYZ in October 2009, and some moronic woman was lugging around a giant Minnie, that was me. The seat next to me was empty so Minnie got her own seat! The goal for World of Disney will be to NOT bring home every furry friend in the store, although I need to bring home giant Mickey to keep giant Minnie company at some point, the added trip to Miami will prevent me from doing so this trip... sorry Minnie!!!
* Goofy's Candy Co. - Ummm Mickey shaped rice krispies, dipped in chocolate?!?

The next day will be my commando park day. I'm planning on purchasing a one-day park hopper and hitting Epcot and MK. Both parks open at 9am.

My Master Plan!
Rope drop at Epcot, ride Soarin', FP Soarin', ride Test Track, FP Test Track, ride Living the Land, and Nemo before hopefully my FP will be ready. I really want to visit the new caramel shop in Germany, but I may have to skip World Showcase this trip... ALTHOUGH! IF I can get a lunch ressie at Le Cellier, I would go solely to try the darned Cheddar Cheese Soup and Pretzel Bread. Yes, I realize I'm from Canada, but let me tell you, there is NO cheddar cheese soup in Toronto...although if you're into poutine there are some great places!

After hitting Epcot - commando style, or pirate style the plan is to head over to MK. I'm a parade and fireworks junkie, so A Dream Come True parade and Wishes are on my list. Also, Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo, Pirates and the carousel. I still haven't gotten over my fear of roller coasters, so no Space Mountain for me... On the food list - Dole Whip, cream cheese pretzel, popcorn and of course a Mickey bar!!!

So what do you think? Too crazy? Not crazy enough? Anything else I should add to my list?

 

[Heffielump]

More Disney!!!

Trip to Miami was vetoed by my friend who was going to meet me down there. Instead of Miami, I'm going to do more days at Disney!!! And I might have an added cast member!!! Stay tuned for that one...

It will still be a super commando trip, but now I might get to spend a full day at MK and a full day at Epcot! Still no AK, but I still might park hop to MGM. AND this also means I can bring back giant Mickey!!!

The downside is I now have to travel to New Jersey the week before Orlando. This also means I will likely be flying from NJ straight to Orlando because it just doesn't make sense to fly home for a night before hoping on another flight. The downside is that I will have to pack cold weather clothes in addition to warm weather clothes