Surprise Solo Weekend Adventure Time!: An April 2015 PTR - COMPLETED 4/27!

[Elevationist]

Surprise Solo Weekend Adventure Time!
(Counting Down the Days Until Magic!)

An April 2015 Pre-Trip Report​

Hi, everybody! Some of you may already know me and my adventures from my September 2014 week-long solo Trip Report & Dining Report, and/or from my PTR for my upcoming December 2015 Disney World vacation. For those of you who are new to me and my ramblings, welcome!

Everybody, grab a cocktail and mingle, but don't get too terribly comfortable, since this PTR is gonna be a quick & dirty one... Because I JUST NOW TODAY booked a weekend trip for only 25 days from now! I invite all of you to hang out with me for the next 3+ weeks and revel in my planning craziness with me!


THE DETAILS:

Who: Just me!
What: A weekend getaway to pass the time until my big birthday trip in December!
When: April 24-27, 2015
Where: Disney's Port Orleans French Quarter Resort
Why: Because who says "NO" to a chance to visit the Most Magical Place on Earth? Not this girl!


THE WEEKEND WARRIOR PRINCESS:

ME: Billie, 34 years old
~ WDW planning is my life. I work as a travel agent and my favorite part of my job are my Walt Disney World clients. I wish I could say I'm a lifelong WDW junkie, but sadly that's just not the case. I have memories my first trip when I was 5 years old, with my mother and father and grandmother. But coming from a family who doesn't vacation, I wasn't exposed to WDW again until I was 17 and a senior in high school. We came down for "Grad Night," but being thrill-seeking teenagers, Disney was boring and Universal was more fun. (I'm hanging my head in shame even as I type this! ) Fortunately, a year and a half later, a good friend who did have a love of Disney invited me to join her on a trip at the beginning of January 2000. And wouldn't you know it, I had the most amazing time, and I cried the night we left. I finally understood the magic, and I have been hooked ever since, returning as often as possible! Working in the travel industry has afforded me many wonderful opportunities over the years, but this trip totally took me by surprise!


Favorite Character: Minnie Mouse
Favorite Movie: Beauty and the Beast
Favorite Princess: Belle
Favorite Park: Epcot
Favorite Ride: I'm incapable of choosing one over all favorite! However, my favorites in each park are Splash Mountain, Soarin', Tower of Terror, and Kilimanjaro Safaris.

 

[Elevationist]

PROGRESS:


Dates? April 24-27, 2015

Resort? Port Orleans French Quarter Resort, Garden View Room

Park Tickets? Obtained!

Disney Dining Plan? Trying out the Quick-Service Plan for the first time!

Memory Maker? Nope, not just for a 3-night trip!

Booked Package? Locked in and good to go!

Payment Progress? 100% ($393/$393)

Car Rental? Booked and confirmed!

Additional Savings Progress? 100% ($835/$835)

Scooter Rental? Booked and confirmed through Buena Vista Scooters.

Flower & Garden Booth Menus? My wishlist has been made!

ADRs? Booked and confirmed!

Itinerary? Spreadsheets are finished!

FastPasses? Done! Got exactly what I wanted, when I wanted it!

Packing? All done, except for a few last-minute items!

 

[Elevationist]

25 days until WDW!
**************************************************

Hey, ya'll!

Okay, so the story: This trip literally popped up out of nowhere this morning, and then all the pieces just magically fell into place...

So as previously mentioned, I'm a travel agent. And you see, cruise lines occasionally offer something for travel professionals called ship inspections. What? Why on earth would somebody INSPECT a ship? Sounds technical...

No no no. Let me explain. So basically, sometimes when a ship is in it's home port, the cruise line will invite a small group of travel agents to come and tour the ship and have lunch aboard. It's just a chance for us to familiarize ourselves with their ships and offerings a bit more, so that we can sell their voyages more effectively.

Well. At work this past Friday, I just so happened to be on the Disney travel agents online portal catching up on some refresher training. And I noticed that they are doing one of these ship inspections on the Disney Magic on April 19th in Port Canaveral, just outside Orlando.

I mentioned it to my boss, Rachel, since she already has a family trip to Universal Orlando booked for April 15th-19th. Figured since she was going to be down there anyway, she might want to check it out. And she freaked out, and totally wanted to do it.

As for myself, I immediately forgot all about it over the weekend.

So then fast-forward to today, Monday...

When I got to the office, Rachel looks at me and goes:

"I need to talk to you about something."

Uh oh. That's rarely good...

It turns out that after talking to her husband and mother-in-law, they both need to get home sooner on Sunday than they would be able to if Rachel were to stop for a few hours and do the ship inspection.

Soooooo...

This morning she asked if I would be willing to drive her car down on Saturday (we're only a 5-hour drive from Orlando), shack up in one of our partner hotels for the night (at my own expense), and then we could go to the ship inspection together on Sunday.

At first I was concerned about paying for a hotel, but then I remembered I have a good chunk of money in my Disney Vacation Account, which I've been using to horde all my spare pennies for my upcoming December trip. I did the math, and realized I could spare enough out of it for a night or two in a Disney resort next month, just as long as I could get a military rate on a Value resort, and my top choice was a Preferred Room at All-Star Movies, since I still need to cross that one off my list.

So I called, and amazingly, they actually had it available, one Preferred room left, and at the military rate... WHAAAAAAT?! I locked it in on-the-spot, with zero hesitation!

And so THEN I remembered that I have an extra day on the park tickets I already bought for my December vacation. I only need a 4-day ticket for that trip, but we are clearancing some old Disney World No-Expiration hopper tickets at work and I got a huge discount on a 5-day, so much that it made it actually cheaper than a 4-day. I figured I would just use the extra day on another trip sometime.

And now, suddenly, out of nowhere... I have a reason to use it.

I'll drive Rachel's car down on Friday, April 17th, after work, check-in late (around 11pm) at All-Star Movies, and get some sleep. Then spend all day Saturday at Epcot and Magic Kingdom, opening and closing them down respectively. And then on Sunday morning, Rachel's husband will drop her off at ASMo, and we'll head over to Port Canaveral to do the ship inspection of the Disney Magic, and then afterwards start the drive home and get back around 8pm that night.

I'm a little worried about spending the extra money, but I have faith it will all come together by December.

And most importantly...

...HOLY CRAP, I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD IN LESS THAN A MONTH!

 

[SarahDisney]

OMG you're going down in less than a month! So exciting! And getting to "inspect" the Disney Magic will probably be a cool way to end the trip...

Sounds like it's going to be an awesome time! And All Star Movies is pretty cool, so hopefully you'll enjoy your time there!

I'm so excited for you!!! (And also super jealous...)

 

[hokieinpa]

Wow wow wow!! What an amazing lucky, last minute trip?!

I'll just say I'm a little jealous that you have a job where things like this can happen!

But it sounds like a perfect quick trip! You'll get to hit a few highlights and see F&G!

Can't wait to hear about your plans!

 

[Elevationist]

OMG you're going down in less than a month! So exciting! And getting to "inspect" the Disney Magic will probably be a cool way to end the trip...

Sounds like it's going to be an awesome time! And All Star Movies is pretty cool, so hopefully you'll enjoy your time there!

I'm so excited for you!!! (And also super jealous...)

Honestly, it doesn't even feel real yet. I just keep staring at the print-out of my booking, and caressing it lovingly... Is that weird?

I'm going to try to take lots of photos, especially of the Disney Magic, so I can do a Trip Report upon my return!

I've stayed at All-Star Music and Sports in the distant past, and they were 110% fine. I've been intending on staying at Movies for years and getting that much closer to my long-term goal of staying at every resort, but it just kept getting put on the back-burner for other resorts. I figured this two-night stay would be the perfect opportunity. I just lucked out in a big way that it happened to be the ONLY value resort with a military rate still for those dates, and they ONLY had Preferred rooms (which is what I wanted). Like I said, it truly seemed like the pieces all just MAGICALLY clicked into place this morning!!!

 

[Elevationist]

Wow wow wow!! What an amazing lucky, last minute trip?!

I'll just say I'm a little jealous that you have a job where things like this can happen!

But it sounds like a perfect quick trip! You'll get to hit a few highlights and see F&G!

Can't wait to hear about your plans!

You know, I think F&G might be one of the things I'm MOST excited about getting to go see for a half-day! A week in April is far too much sun and heat for me. Having Lupus, prolonged sun/heat exposure can make me extremely sick , so that's why I always travel in the fall or winter. Spring and Summer is a big no-no.

But for just one day, while wearing a nuclear-level sunscreen? I can handle that. So this will probably be the only time I get anywhere near the Flower & Garden festival, and I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity!

 

[squeegee]

Woohoo! So jealous!

 

[GracieKam]

Wow!! Yay you!!

 

[Chicago Mo]

this sounds FANTASTIC!!! you get to see MAGIC!!! I am SO SO JEALOUS!!!!

 

[Elevationist]

Woohoo! So jealous!

Thanks for following the new PTR! I'll try to make it entertaining!

Wow!! Yay you!!

YAAAAY indeed!!! It's been 24 hours since my boss proposed the idea to me, and it still seems surreal how spontaneously this trip came to together!

this sounds FANTASTIC!!! you get to see MAGIC!!! I am SO SO JEALOUS!!!!

I'm pretty stoked to be getting to tour one of Disney's ships finally! And working in the quick WDW visit has made it so much better! Sooooo exxxccciiittteeeddd!!!

 

[*tinker*bell*]

Ooo I'm excited to hear your plans unfold! I live too far away for quick trips to wdw but I love to read about them!

 

[Elevationist]

Ooo I'm excited to hear your plans unfold! I live too far away for quick trips to wdw but I love to read about them!

Yaaay, and welcome to my PTR!

Even though I only live 5 hours away, I still never ever make quick trips like this. I would totally be an AP holder and spend every long weekend at WDW if I could... Maybe someday! Right now, financially it just makes better sense for me to do one big week-long trip a year. So this weekend outing is a first, and totally a treat for me!

 

[Tracy161]

OMG Billie!!! I am SOOO excited for you!!! What luck! And I think based on the savings you'll already been getting, you can absolutely justify this trip!!! Just over three weeks away... AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

 

[Elevationist]

OMG Billie!!! I am SOOO excited for you!!! What luck! And I think based on the savings you'll already been getting, you can absolutely justify this trip!!! Just over three weeks away... AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I couldn't agree more! I am going to be pretty anxious until April 12, though... My boss could still pull the plug on the whole thing between now and then. I'm just going to soldier on with planning and stay positive, though!

 

[Bethislucy]

oh wow what a fun surprise. I need a new job that has Disney perks lol

 

[Elevationist]

oh wow what a fun surprise. I need a new job that has Disney perks lol

It's a great gig, if you get in at the right place. I'm severely underpaid at my job, so at least the Disney perks make it worth showing up to the office 5 days a week!

 

[Elevationist]

23 days until WDW!
**************************************************

Hey, ya'll!

Okay, so of course I launched into SUPERFREAK PLANNER MODE on Monday. There will be a screencap of my spreadsheet coming soon enough!

FP+ are all booked. I got exactly what I wanted, at times that work perfect for me. I'll share more on this later.

MagicBand is customized, and it says it's preparing to ship, so I hope that means to me and not my resort! Fingers crossed!

Even though I know I'm supposed to be doing this trip on the cheap, I decided to just peeeeeeeek at what lunch ADRs are available. And low and behold, there was a single lonely lunch reservation at 11:30pm for Tutto Italia. I grabbed it without thinking too hard about it. Why? This was the ONE reservation for my September trip that I ended up wanting, but never got. And there's no room for it on my upcoming December trip. I was sooooo excited to nab it!

...And now I think I'm going to cancel it.

Here's my reasoning... Since I usually can't/don't/won't travel during the Spring, this will probably be my one and only encounter with the Flower & Garden festival at Epcot. I was there for Food & Wine in September, and looooooved it. (Those of you who read my Dining Report might remember that I hit those F&W booths up pretty hardcore.) And I've read so many good things about the outdoor kitchens at F&G, that now I'm seriously considering just doing that for lunch instead.

Not only will it likely be my only chance to do so at F&G (and I can do Tutto anytime on future trips), but even if I get something at multiple booths, I'll still spend less that I will at my ADR. Plus since my time is so limited at Epcot on that day, simply grazing my way through the booths will give me more time to just wander and explore and soak up what little time I'll have in World Showcase.

What would ya'll do for lunch? Keep the ADR, or just hit up the F&G booths?

 

[squeegee]

23 days until WDW!
**************************************************

Hey, ya'll!

Okay, so of course I launched in SUPERFREAK PLANNER MODE on Monday. There will be a screencap of my spreadsheet coming soon enough!

FP+ are all booked. I got exactly what I wanted, at times that work perfect for me. I'll share more on this later.

MagicBand is customized, and it says it's preparing to ship, so I hope that means to me and not my resort! Fingers crossed!

Even though I know I'm supposed to be doing this trip on the cheap, I decided to just peeeeeeeek at what lunch ADRs are available. And low at behold, there was a single lonely lunch reservation at 11:30pm for Tutto Italia. I grabbed it without thinking too hard about. Why? This was the ONE for my September trip that I ended up wanting, but never got. And there's no room for it on my upcoming December trip. I was sooooo excited to nab it!

...And now I think I'm going to cancel it.

Here's my reasoning... Since I usually can't/don't/won't travel during the Spring, this will probably be my one and only encounter with the Flower & Garden festival at Epcot. I was there for Food & Wine in September, and looooooved it. And I've read so many good things about the outdoor kitchens at F&G, that now I'm seriously considering just doing that for lunch instead.

Not only will it likely be my only chance to do so at F&G (and I can do Tutto anytime on future trips), but even if I get something at multiple booths, I'll still spend less that I will at my ADR. Plus since my time is so limited at Epcot on that day, simply grazing my way through the booths will give me more time to just wander and explore and soak up what little time I'll have in World Showcase.

What would ya'll do? Keep the ADR, or hit up the F&G foods?

Definitely the grazing at the booths, IMNSHO. You say you never travel this time of year, and tutto italia is there year-round. Besides, with the smaller portions, you get to try more things.

 

[Tracy161]

Oh I side completely with you on this: hit up the food booths!!!!!!!! You can get that ADR at some other time in the future, but you may not return to another F&G for a very long time... if at all! Food booths all the way!