Loving Disney more than ever and planning a dream trip!!

[yourMaire83]

I wake up feeling well rested and drunk with sleep. Having dreamt what seems like through the entire night the same dream. The cast of charaters changes, and sometimes includes family, old friends... but it is always the same place Walt Disney World!!

I don't dream this every night, mind you... but when it happens it is a golden experience. So I conned my husband into agreeing to go on a 9 night (7 days at the parks and Sundays for church and to visit with old friends) WDW vacation!! We will go in March, but I think about and plan the trip for hours every day. I figured I finally need to put them in writing and all the ideas in the same place - right here in my Pre-Trip Report & Plan!

 

[yourMaire83]

My obsession with Disney started when I was a youngster. I grew up in a small beach town in South Florida, about 4 hours drive from the 'World. My favorite rides were (EPCOT) Spaceship Earth, Captain Eo, Figment, Energy Adventure, Maelstrom, the Mexico ride, (MK) Dumbo, Teacups, 10,000 Leagues, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, the Haunted Mansion, Mr. Toad, the Peoplemover, WDWRR, (MGM) Great Movie Ride, Backlot Tour, Star Tours, Indiana Jones (ok, I know it's not a ride)... I also think they used to have Let's Make a Deal where the Drew Cary Sounds Dangerous soundstage is.

Now there are more great rides!! I can't wait to go back to Disney - we used to go every year when I was a kid and now I live 3,000 miles away

Here are some photos for you all of what I think of when I dream of WDW...

Plus here's a link to the youtube video for Captain Eo (this was a 3D movie and has been replaced with Honey I Shrunk the Audience. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AstW05bDiQU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2Zt-57Cg0U

I can't wait to go on all the rides I remember, plus my newer favorites... Tower of Terror, Rock N Rollercoaster, all the MK Mountains (not new but I was too scared to go on them as a kid!), Kali River Rapids, Soarin'...

Plus, I have not yet been on Expedition Everst or the revamped Pirates ride!

 

[yourMaire83]

Today I finalized my booking!! We will visit WDW Jan30-Feb7. Unfortunately, we will miss the Flower & Garden Festival at EPCOT this year, but the trade-off is so worth it. We will experience the theme parks with almost no crowds and we will save a couple hundred dollars!

Two of my good friends (I used to live in Orlando a couple of years back in my early 20s) that still live in Orlando will be about 8-9 months pregnant while we are there! It would have been nice to go a little later and see newborn babies, but we will live. Plus, getting them baby gifts is a great excuse to catch up with old friends. Speaking of old friends, I am very excited about so many of them who are already (and so soon) on board for some serious hanging out/playtime at the parks when we are in O-town!

----

I looked into doing the Disney Dining Plan, and I don't think I will do it. I don't think we need all that food (it seems like A LOT). I have planned a sit-down restaurant for every other day for a total of three... 2 fine dining lunches and one fancy dinner. The rest of the trip will be casual, grab and go food or snacks zipped away in my Camel Bak. Hopefully, we will plan a trip for Fall 2012 or sometime when they are doing the FREE Dining Plans, because I would love to try it.

As for my trip planning - today I made a chart of what I think the park hours/extra magic hours will be while we are there (based on last year). I also found and printed some good tips from www.guide2wdw.com

I have come up with some restaurants for us to go to on our reservations required meals. Right now I am thinking 50's Prime Time Cafe (I have been there before and I think my DH will LOVE IT), Chefs de France, and Tusker House (have not been to either). I looked at their menus at www.allears.net and I think DH and I will love the food and atmosphere there.

I have put together a nice folder with all my charts and printouts I am using for planning, including some 11x17 color park maps. Also, I am looking for cute Disney t-shirts for the hubby and I... ANYONE RECOMMEND A SITE?? I have been browsing the offical Disney store and it's slim pickins!

Also!!! We will be bringing 2-way radios for when we split up to be single-riders on the busy rides, so we can meet up afterwards - Plus, they will be fun!

 

[yourMaire83]

I just noticed I didn't put any details about our trip...

After exhaustive research, I decided on Port Orleans Riverside. I have heard some great things about this resort. I think it will be very relaxing and romantic and away from the hustle and bustle of all thinks Mickey. We can catch a ferry boat and go to Downtown Disney and DH is very very excited about that. We will visit a lot of my old friends this way. They're all locals so we'll just have them meet us/pick us up at Downtown Disney (they all know exactly how to get there).

No concerts are posted yet for the Orlando House of Blues, which is an AMAZING venue. Hopefully there will be a good show or two for us to catch. I remember Orlando seeming like an epicenter for the music biz so there should be something. If all alse fails, there is always Jellyrolls, a lively piano bar also in Downtown Disney.

We are also planning on going to the Polynesian Resort's beach to watch the MK fireworks one night. Hopefully it's easy to get there using Disney tansportation...

Here's some pictures of us on our Honeymoon at Disney - June 2008

 

[tink519]

I think my MIL has stayed at Port Orleans and enjoyed it. And I love taking the boat from Saratoga over to DTD. I think Jellyrolls in on the Boardwalk though, someone correct me if I'm wrong.... But a lot (all?) of the clubs in Pleasure Island are no longer open. Maybe it used to be part of PI? I'm a big far of Ragland Road at DTD, but I'm a sucker for an Irish bar

Anyway, you can take a bus from DTD to any of the other properties. So getting to the Polynesian or the Boardwalk is pretty easy.

 

[yourMaire83]

OK, I had this 3-ring folder holding all the info I printed up and wrote down for this trip... tips, ideas, Disney 'secrets', and so forth...

The last couple of days I have started on this little flip book that I will use while we're on the vacation. It's much much smaller (I took regular size paper, cut it in half and then folded that down the center to make the pages). Here's some photos...

I haven't glued down the pieces of paper in case I want to change them around later. (We have over 3 months to change our minds and/or find new tips.)

We're getting really excited!!!

While I'm putting pictures up here, here's a pic of our new puppy. He's a basset hound and almost 5 months old. His name's Beauford!

 

[yourMaire83]

I think Jellyrolls in on the Boardwalk though, someone correct me if I'm wrong.... But a lot (all?) of the clubs in Pleasure Island are no longer open. Maybe it used to be part of PI? I'm a big far of Ragland Road at DTD, but I'm a sucker for an Irish bar

Anyway, you can take a bus from DTD to any of the other properties. So getting to the Polynesian or the Boardwalk is pretty easy.

I Googled it, and you're right - Jellyrolls in on the Boardwalk. We will definately spend one afternoon/evening at the Boardwalk and another (or more) at DTD. All the clubs at PI are closed... my friend, a local Orandoite, had her Bachelorette party there the week it closed. RIP Adventurer's Club
There a a few restaurants still open there though. I heard they replaced Spoodles with Cat Cora... it's a shame, cause we wanted to do a breakfast there one day.

We don't drink, so we really want to go to Jellyrolls since you don't have to drink to have a roarin' good time there, ya know?! And we really like to let loose and have a good time.

I'm hoping it doesn't take forever to get to the Boardwalk and the Poly and anywhere else we want to explore. There are a few restaurants at the resorts I want to try but I thought it would be too much of a hassle to get to them... maybe I will change my mind on that before it's 90 days out from our trip in 2 weeks.

 

[tink519]

This is our first trip where we are eating quite a few meals in different resorts. I'm excited about it. Hopefully they aren't too difficult to get to.

I am also hoping to go to Jellyrolls, probably on our Adult Night out. Need to figure out the best way from the Contemporary to the Boardwalk. That could be complicated...

 

[yourMaire83]

We changed our dates a little... we will be arriving Friday Jan 29 early afternoon. After taking Magical Express to POR we will be taking the boat to Downtown Disney for dinner with our best friends. We just found out they are moving to Orlando soon!! They live near us now (they go to BYU), but I met Amanda when I lived in Orlando after college. She met her husband, Bryan, while they were both lifeguarding at Typhoon Lagoon! She will be 9 months pregnant with her 2nd child, so we may wind up meeting them a different night depending on childbirth... Their first date was at Planet Hollywood in Downtown Disney, so we will most likely eat there (Amanda loves it). I also will want to do some serious Disney shopping! Later that night, we might go check out a band at House of Blues or head back to our resort to see Yehaw Bob or jazz music at POFQ... or get in the pool (I just found out they are heated - yay!). We'll have to see if they are doing campfire and smores or outdoor movies while we're there too. I heard they were last year.

Saturday, we will go to EPCOT. We decided to not do park hoppers this time which I have never tried... Friday is EMHs at EPCOT, so I am hoping it will be dead there on Saturday. The crowds are supposed to be a level 3 (wait times 15-25 mins tops) that week anyway. We will be getting there before they open anyway, grabbing a Fastpass for Mission Space and then going on Soarin or the create your own coaster ride. I am very excited to do Ellen's Energy Adventure, since I haven't riden it in years. I am obsessed with Ellen, I think she is just awesome. It will be funny to see how young she looks on the ride (if I am remembering correctly, they put Ellen as the ride host over 15 years ago). We will probably skip Figment this trip because I miss the old Dreamfinder version . We have a reservation for a late lunch at Les Chefs de France, which I am very excited for. I checked some menus of recommended TS restaurants and that one really made my mouth water... Lobster bisque is my favorite soup ever, DH loves Onion soup. I also love Escargots! And DH loves dessert so he will pick something good there too. We will be touring the countries most of our time in the park this day, looking at all the little "hidden" gardens, shopping, catching the little shows/demonstrations. I can't wait! I really love EPCOT.

The rest of the week I have written down somewhere, but not in front of me at the moment. We will spend 2 days in each park (except Animal Kingdom, which we wil go to for evening EMHs day) to total 7 days in the parks. We won't be going to Disney on Sunday, so we will have Sat and then Mon-Sat at the parks. Like I said before, I lived in Orlando, so we will be going to my old ward (church) and then visiting with friends on Sunday. It'll be a nice resting/family-style day. I really look forward to it! We plan on going to Cirque du Soleil one night, going to Disney Boardwalk at some point, taking the Keys to the Kingdom tour towards the end of our trip, trying Kim Possible our 2nd day in EPCOT, and more.

I grew up in a town about 4 hours South of Orlando (Naples), and my parents still live there... so, they will be visiting us for a "long weekend" towards the end of our trip. We are getting the 4/3 deal so we will be checking out of POR Friday Feb 5. My parents will be getting a suite at Lake Eve resort for all of us. My older brother will come up and visit too (from Ft. Lauderdale). A friend from high school works at Lake Eve, so we are getting the friends and family rate!!! Yay! It will be so awesome to spend 3 days with my parents and DB! DB and I shared an apartment for most of college and we are super close... plus, I have the best parents in the world Can you tell I am homesick, LOL. My grandparents live in Ocala (about an hour NW of Orlando) so it will be interesting to see if they come to visit. I hope so!

More details about ADRs later...

 

[yourMaire83]

Part of our preparations for this trip will be physical conditioning! I want both DH and I (mostly me, as I am the one most out of shape!) to be in good physical form so we will be full of energy to conquer Disney! This is the symbol for "confused," but I thought it looked like lifting weights, LOL.

We also want to get in shape for snowboarding!! We live within a few miles of the base of the mountain that has 3 popular ski resorts and they officially open after Thanksgiving! It's coming up very close!

My goal is to lose 2-3 lbs a week until our trip. I've been pretty good the past 2 weeks, so hopefully the hard part is over. We leave in less than 12 weeks... If I lose 3 lbs/week that's almost 40lbs! That'll put me close to what I weighed 3 years ago and would be AMAZING.



We'll see how it goes. I will be posting my progress/struggles. If it's working well I will post my techniques as well for others to see what I did. Wish me luck!!!

 

[TKDizneyluver]

Hola Marie!

Call me blind, I didn't notice your link to your Pre-TR until today so I popped over from the CF thread to read about your planning! I still need to catch up from the beginning so I will be back!

Happy planning!

 

[yourMaire83]

Hola Marie!

Call me blind, I didn't notice your link to your Pre-TR until today so I popped over from the CF thread to read about your planning! I still need to catch up from the beginning so I will be back!

Happy planning!

Thanks! I didn't think anyone was reading this it was starting to make me sad.

The beginning of my PTR is kind of nostalgic of the 80s and 90s Disney memories I have. We had only a 4 hour drive, so we would go once a year. Today I went to YouTube and watched some vids of old rides, Horizons got me really sad. That was the best, and it was my mom's favorite ride ever.

I can't wait for Disney!!! I feel like I'm gonna be spoiled by staying at POR for a whole week with my DH. Makes me feel like a real grown up.

 

[Shyvioletisme]

No concerts are posted yet for the Orlando House of Blues, which is an AMAZING venue. Hopefully there will be a good show or two for us to catch. I remember Orlando seeming like an epicenter for the music biz so there should be something. If all alse fails, there is always Jellyrolls, a lively piano bar also in Downtown Disney.

we always check HOB too to see if anyone is playing when we're there...so far, we've never had any luck...but hopefully you will!!

Here's some pictures of us on our Honeymoon at Disney - June 2008

omg...ya'll are too cute!!!
you'll definitely have to let us know you like POR...DH and I have thought about staying here possibly on our next trip and continue to want a bunch of opinions on it!

 

[Shyvioletisme]

also I love your folder with your handmade pages!! It's really cute and a fun idea!!!

Good luck on losing the weight...2-3 pounds a week is definitely doable!!!

 

[TKDizneyluver]

Hey Marie,

I finally got a chance to catch up on your TR, sounds like you have some great plans!! You will love staying at POR, DH and I stayed there with my DSis & BIL in 2001 and really loved the theming of it and the fact that we could take the boat to Downtown Disney.

I agree, as do many of us Dis peeps, about the closing of the Pleasure Island clubs. We always had so much fun at the Comedy Club & the Adventurer's Club, such a shame!

It is so great that you will get to get together with your friends while at Disney and still be able to enjoy the parks with your DH.

Your little flip books that you made are cute, they would be great keepsakes in a scrapbook (I'm a scrapbooker). I have all of our trips scrapped except the last two. It will give me something to do over the cold winter that is fast approaching us.

Hope you get lucky with some groups at HOB, unfortunately we did not have luck during our last visit.

Can't wait to hear more about your trip planning!

 

[maddhatir]

Hi Marie!! Nice to "see" you!!!

You did a great job on the little itinerary book!! I am too lazy to write down all of tips I find- I just copy and paste them in Word

Not sure if you have ever done this, but last year SIL, DNiece and I walked from the GF to the Poly. It is such a peaceful walk along the water at night. We did not see a single soul along the way- it was great! You might want to head over to the GF on the path after watching the fireworks from the Poly beach.

If you do not mind walking- you can take the monorail to Epcot and walk over to the BW from there. (anytime I can avoid a bus ride, or 2, I DO it!)

Keep us updated~!

Don't forget Bill Nye the Science guy is with Ellen on the Univ of Energy. Ok- so I watch "Living with Ed" and Bill is on there a lot

 

[hkrox]

Hey I finally got a chance to catch up on your trip report. You guys are such a cute couple. All of the planning will definitely make your lives easier when your down there. The POR is such a great choice for your guys. It is a really relaxing place. And the Keys to the Kingdom tours look like so much fun so you'll have a great time there.