My solo birthday trip PTR! 10 days of DxDP!

[dawnhaze]

I've been planning this big trip for so long that I've taken two impromptu trips in the meantime! 10 days, deluxe dining, La Nouba, Photopass+, and a side trip to Universal. I'm super excited! I got my Mickey Mail from my AAA agent a couple weeks ago.

I'm Jen, and I'll be turning 27 on January 16th. I love computers, Disney, theme parks, Broadway, and Harry Potter. I'm an annual passholder and I'll be taking 3 trips in 2013, and also a Disney cruise.

I'm going to be flying out of JFK super-early on January 8th, and returning pretty late on January 18th. I'm staying in a Little Mermaid room at AoA, which I'm really looking forward to, except for the potentially long walk I've heard so much about.

I've had a heck of a time getting this trip organized. I booked it myself originally, and then transferred it to my AAA agent. The original reservation never got cancelled, so I kept getting emails about owing money even though I was paid up! We finally got that straightened out. It's all worth it to head down to WDW. My last two trips had their glitches and it all worked out fine!

My other trips are in May and August, and I might do PTRs for those too, but they're not nearly as long or as complicated as this trip!

Post 2 will contain my ADRs and daily planning!

EDIT: This is now a live trip report! I will link posts when I get home. Enjoy the ride!

 

[dawnhaze]

I have a pretty specific plan, dictated partially by my ADRs, since the dining is going to be the highlight of this trip. (I hope!)

On the 8th, I'm planning to have a CS lunch OOP at AoA's food court. I'm going to visit Magic Kingdom and redeem my Photopass+ voucher in the afternoon, and then dinner will be at Hoop-de-Doo Revue at the 8:00PM show.

The plan for the 9th is to hit rope drop at Hollywood Studios, and then have lunch at Brown Derby at 11:30AM, followed by some more park time. After that, mini-golf at Fantasia Gardens is on the agenda. Dinner is at Jiko at 5:30PM, which is my earliest dinner all trip, because I'm seeing La Nouba at 9:00PM. (If time runs short, I'm going to take a cab to DTD rather than wait on the long bus ride.)

For the 10th, I have an 8:05AM reservation at Tusker House, after which I'll be touring Animal Kingdom. I'll probably take an afternoon break, and then possibly go to Studios for Fantasmic in the evening if it's not too crowded. I have a dinner reservation at Flying Fish at 8:05PM.

On the 11th, I have an 8:05AM reservation at Cinderella's Royal Table. I'm going to spend the day at Magic Kingdom, take an afternoon rest, and then come back. Dinner will be at Citrico's at 8:15PM.

On the 12th, I have an 8:15AM reservation at Akershus, and then I'm planning to spend the day at Epcot. I may or may not take an afternoon rest, because dinner will be at Monsieur Paul at 6:15PM. Afterwards, I want to see Illuminations.

For the 13th, I'm planning to sleep in a bit, and then have a 10:15AM breakfast at 1900 Park Fare. I want to spend the afternoon at DTD and go to DisneyQuest for a few hours, and then head to Epcot for a 6:00PM dinner at Garden Grill. Then I'll probably head back to the resort and soak my feet in the pool with a drink of some kind.

On the 14th, I have a super early breakfast at 7:40AM at Cape May Cafe. I might take a cab to this too. Afterwards, I want to revisit Studios, because the headliners there are some of my favorite rides in all of WDW. I'll definitely take an afternoon break since I'll be up so early, and then I want to go to MK to see Wishes. My dinner reservation is late - 9:35PM at Narcoossees.

On the 15th I have another early reservation at Magic Kingdom, 8:05AM at Crystal Palace. I'll stay at MK for the morning, take my afternoon rest a bit earlier than usual, and then spend late afternoon and evening at some other park. I don't know which one yet! My dinner reservation is for Spirit of Aloha at 8:00PM.

The plan for the 16th, my birthday, is to head to Universal. I bought the tickets/transport deal from Dreams Unlimited, so I'm hoping Mears can pick me up super early and get me over there when the parks open. My priority is the Harry Potter area of IoA, but I also want to ride all the headliners in both parks. I have their ExpressPass thing, so I think I can do it! I also have a dinner reservation at Artist Point at 9:20PM, so I'll be asking Mears to drop me off at Wilderness Lodge on the return trip.

I planned a later breakfast for the 17th since the 16th will be a long day. 9:20AM at Ohana isn't as late as I wanted, but at least it's not before 8AM! I'm going to use this day to revisit whatever park I feel like at the time - probably Studios or Animal Kingdom. Dinner is at Yachtsman Steakhouse at 6:00PM. I might go to Epcot for Illuminations afterwards.

On the 18th, my departure day, I have a 9:00AM breakfast reservation at Chef Mickey's. After that, I'll spend my last few hours of the trip at Magic Kingdom and then head back to AoA for DME.

 

[dawnhaze]

My final thought for now is:

How in the world am I going to pack for a 10-day trip?! I don't want to do laundry on vacation!

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions for packing for long trips? Not just laundry-related! Anything! I've never been at WDW for longer than 5 days before.

 

[dawnhaze]

I changed my Cape May Cafe reservation on the 14th to 9:05AM. That's much more reasonable. I wasn't looking forward to getting up so early that day!

I started packing my backpack today, but since I'm split between two residences at the moment, my big suitcase is what I'm living out of, and my little suitcase is 3 states away! I'll have to pack next week. I got some Tide Pods and a laundry bag, so if I have to wash clothes one evening, it won't be the worst thing in the world.

I'm hoping for the weather to allow a water park day somewhere in my schedule! Obviously there's no reliable forecast at 14+ days out though.

 

[ilovediznee]

Your trip sounds great! I went with my BFF on my 40th b'day and left my DH and DD at home but was only gone 5 days.

As far as your clothes, I have several thoughts so maybe one or two will work for you. My parents had a friend that travelled extensively. He only brought old things, like socks, underwear, etc and used them. Once used, he threw them out. Not only was he orignally going to do that, but then it left room in his suitcase.

Another thought it to plan outfits in detail . Plan on doing ONE load of wash if possible. In other words, plan for days 1-5 and then wash those clothes so you have clothes for the last five days.

Hope this helps!

DIane

 

[dawnhaze]

Another thought it to plan outfits in detail . Plan on doing ONE load of wash if possible. In other words, plan for days 1-5 and then wash those clothes so you have clothes for the last five days.

Hope this helps!

DIane

I'm definitely going to pack planned outfits. I think I'll be able to squeeze laundry time in on the 13th, and that'll get me through the rest of the trip.

 

[dawnhaze]

I did my online check-in last night, since I'm still seeing the old website and it mostly works. 9 more days!

I am a bit puzzled because my ADRs are displaying weirdly - the one for Bistro de Paris didn't change into one for Monsieur Paul, it just displays a string of numbers, and the one for Flying Fish Cafe changed into one for their special chef's menu and wine tasting. I tried to call earlier and confirm that they're still right, but the CM I spoke to said their system was down. I guess I'll call back later.

 

[dawnhaze]

I got the new site to show all my ADRs correctly! It feels like an accomplishment since everyone and their dog is having problems with the darn thing. I also called and confirmed the questionable ones with a CM. She said a lot of people have been seeing odd changes like that and their phones have been ringing off the hook about it.

I also packed today! I have my suitcase, carry-on, and backpack in the trunk of my car until it's time to leave. The only thing I have left to pack is my iPad and its charger, which I'll toss in right before I go, since I use it constantly.

I think the most important item I packed is a "blister kit" with alcohol swabs, a couple of sewing needles, Neosporin, fingertip-style bandaids for toes, some of those gel bandaids specifically for blisters, and moleskin. I also tossed a pair of scissors, nail clippers, and a nail file into that kit for ease of packing. I made sure to pack a couple of laundry pods and dryer sheets as well. I'm hearing on some other threads that the laundry areas at AoA are pretty busy, though. I guess we'll see, I'm only going to need to do one load.

My "departure day" itinerary, and by that I mean the 24 hours prior to leaving, is kind of a nightmare. I'm working until 10PM in Delaware on 1/7. Then I have to drive up to my apartment in Brooklyn and drop off the things I don't want to leave in my car. By this time, it will be about 1:30AM on 1/8 - my actual departure day. My flight leaves at 6:16AM, meaning my best course of action is just to drive straight to the airport, check in for my flight about 4 hours early, and then sleep in the terminal and on the plane.

The things I do for Disney!

 

[stasijane]

Hows your packing going? I will bring shorts that I can wear with different shirts and it saves a bit of room. I also found on my last trip that the packing cubes from Ebags work really good in cutting down the pile of stuff in your suitcase.

 

[dawnhaze]

Hows your packing going? I will bring shorts that I can wear with different shirts and it saves a bit of room. I also found on my last trip that the packing cubes from Ebags work really good in cutting down the pile of stuff in your suitcase.

Yeah, I have a set of packing cubes and I love them to death!

I have shorts, jeans, and slacks packed, along with t-shirts and a hoodie. It's pretty much my entire wardrobe! I only own about 14 days worth of clothes outside of my work uniforms, haha. I need to buy a nice top to wear to some of my nicer dinner ADRs though...

 

[dawnhaze]

Looking at early weather reports, I think I'm going to abandon my hopes of a water park day. I can spend the couple of warmer days trying out AoA's pools, and save the water parks for May/August when it's guaranteed to be hot.

I finally remembered to call and book my AAA Wishes viewing, too. I'm surprised they had a slot for me on 1/14 since I waited this long to call about it.

Five more days and I'll be home! I'll probably do a live trip report.

 

[Sparkly]

Sounds great so far!

We're going in Feb and have done for the last two years. We didn't swim much at all.

I'll be following this thread.

 

[dawnhaze]

In 24 hours I'll be in Orlando! My flight departs JFK at 6:25AM and should arrive at MCO around 9:16AM. I did my online check-in for my flight this morning. I'm always paranoid about getting bumped from flights, and I've heard that how early you check in can affect that, so I always do it as soon as I can! Of course, I pay for JetBlue's premium seating because I prefer to sit in the first 2-3 rows of the plane, so I think I'd be last to get bumped anyway, but you never know...

I've already gotten my dining reminder emails for Hoop-de-Doo and Brown Derby. I can't wait! I haven't been eating much because I've been sick over the weekend with strep throat, but my doc said I won't be contagious after 24 hours on antibiotics, so I'm not letting it ruin my fun. Thankfully it's beginning to subside, so I'm looking forward to eating well on vacation!

The weather seems to be looking up, too. Almost no rain in the forecast *knock on wood* and temps in the high 70s. Maybe I will think about that water park day after all! (75 is hot in my book!!!)

 

[nafiaw]

Your itinerary sounds great. Have a great time!!

Happy Birthday also!! (mine is one day after yours... lol) Looking forward to your trip report after you came back.

 

[dawnhaze]

The time has come! I'm getting ready to board my plane to MCO! I've never flown out of JFK before - recent re-transplant to NYC here - so getting here was an adventure. Long term parking is about 4 miles away from the terminals and you have to take AirTrain. Good thing I found this out ahead of time!

This will be converting to a live trip report... I guess I need to PM the mods and have it moved. I hope to be able to post pics on the go, but I'm only taking my iPad and iPhone with me, not a real computer.

See ya in the World!

 

[OhMari]

Hi,
I have you moved.
I spend a few days solo at WDW, while my dh attends his convention.
I am looking forward to hearing about all your ADR's. You sure must love breakfast.
On the morning of your Cape May ADR, take a bus over to the Studios and then hop on the boat that drops you off at either the Boardwalk or Yacht Club. Real easy walk to Cape May. Just give yourself plenty of time.

 

[dawnhaze]

Hi,
I have you moved.
I spend a few days solo at WDW, while my dh attends his convention.
I am looking forward to hearing about all your ADR's. You sure must love breakfast.
On the morning of your Cape May ADR, take a bus over to the Studios and then hop on the boat that drops you off at either the Boardwalk or Yacht Club. Real easy walk to Cape May. Just give yourself plenty of time.

Thanks for moving the thread for me, and for the tip on getting to Cape May!

I'm actually not a big breakfast fan most of the time, only when I go on vacation. I'm way too lazy to cook breakfast on a regular basis! But this trip I am really looking forward to lots of Mickey waffles!

I'm on DME right now and the video is about to begin. Art of Animation will be the first stop, yay!

 

[dawnhaze]

AoA is AWESOME!

The theming is even better than it looks on video. The LM rooms are just beautiful. The level of detail far exceeds any other value resort I've stayed at. I'm in building 9, ground floor, almost in the middle. Not a bad walk at all, in my opinion. The buildings are spaced out pretty far but it goes by quickly. The great theming in the LK section helps a lot with that.

The LM pool is nice, but the Nemo pool is FANTASTIC. The underwater music is a really nice touch.

I haven't eaten in the food court yet, except for a cupcake (which was good). It is definitely very crowded though.

My single complaint so far: the in-room wifi is horrible and so is my cellular service. But only so much can be done about that, so I suppose it will have to be okay.

Off to do some pin trading, redeem my Photopass+ voucher, and head into MK

 

[dawnhaze]

Pin trading was very successful. I completed my collection of the Princess perfume bottles.

Redeeming the PP+ voucher was super easy, but I didn't trust the clip on the lanyard it came on, so it went in my regular one with my AP and KTTW.

I got in two rides on Space Mountain, and the new Little Mermaid ride, which was just great. I really liked it and definitely want to do it again. I'm going back to MK a couple more times later in the trip anyhow. I also saw the 3pm parade for the first time.

Hoop-de-Doo was a fantastic show. My seat was literally front and center. I took the boat over from Magic Kingdom, which was a fun ride. The food was about what I expected. I was STARVING by the time I got seated since I didn't eat anything but the previously mentioned cupcake all day. But, I always feel bad at meals served family style because I hate wasting food. They brought me my own buckets of chicken and ribs! I stuffed myself but it was so worth it.

Also: I timed the walk from the food court to my room. It's 7 minutes walking at a leisurely pace behind strollers and wheelchairs. I could do it in 5 with a clear path if I was in a hurry.

 

[nafiaw]

Glad you had a fun day. Looking forward to more of your posting!!