There's a First Time for Everything - A September 2016 Pre-Trip Report
When I last went to Disney, I had just graduated from college, so the hardest part of my day was figuring out what I was going to do all summer last time I went. This time, I'm counting down to Disney, not only because I'm obsessed, but because I NEED A VACATION. Adulting is just not for me, guys. Let's run away to Neverland, okay? I think we can hold off Captain Hook? 
[This is a picture of me on a Monday shouldering the week's work of responsibility.]
This is so me, it's not even funny.
I totally hear you, adulting just isn't for me either. It looks like you and your mom are going to have an AWESOME trip!
PLANNING THE TRIP
[We will start our trip here and end at Disney!]
Despite making plans a year and a half in advance, we didn't officially commit financially to this trip until the end of March 2016, so I actually started making payments in April. I originally had a really reasonable payment plan in place (basically $300 per paycheck or something financially responsible). But once it hit April, I realized I had NO time left. So now the payments are a lot more than I'd originally intended. I wanted to splurge on this trip, so let's get into the actual details!!
We're going down in LATE September to early October. We have a three night reservation at the Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Studios Orlando. We are flying in around 7pm on a Thursday and picking up the rental car. We were going to do the shuttle so we didn't have to pay for parking, but the rental makes more sense. I decided last minute (basically a day ago) to add an extra day to our Universal stay. I figured it made more sense than dragging my 56 year old mother through the park for only one day. It's hard to fit EVERYTHING into one day. That way we can enjoy the resort, since I opted for a 'deluxe' resort instead of staying off-site or for a 'value' resort.
On Sunday, we're checking out to move over to Disney. (YAAAY!!) We're checking into the Animal Kingdom Lodge!! Originally, I wanted to stay at the Wilderness Lodge. I was waiting for the free dining to drop, but I didn't get the offer I wanted. 
So after, you know, days of panicking, I decided maybe we would rent DVC points and just stay at Old Key West. For the days I was going to stay, it was like $800 altogether for six nights. (Which is a steal for a deluxe, IMO.) But I really like mousekeeping and the little Disney soaps (that I collect, but rarely use.) So I flip-flopped into a Port Orleans French Quarter reservation.
AND THEN. I was double-checking on the Wilderness Lodge again? And I saw an offer for free dining with the Animal Kingdom Lodge!! I actually did the math, crunched those numbers, and it made more sense to do free dining than a room discount with the AKL. For only $200 more, from POFQ, we could stay at a Disney Deluxe hotel. Yes, please!
So now we're staying from Sunday to Saturday at the AKL, standard view (though I'm hoping to upgrade when we get there depending on how funds go), with park hoppers and passes to MNSSHP for Thursday night.
Right now, I'm deciding where we're going to eat when we're over at Universal, since that's three nights of food to figure out, but I think the choices are harder over there than with Disney. I'm a devout follower of DisneyFoodBlog, so I feel like I know what I'm getting with Disney.
OMG, AKL is my favorite resort!
(Well, it's tied with Beach Club, but still, it's in the top slot.
) It's AMAZING, you're going to love it!!!!
And MNSSHP is so awesome, there just aren't enough words. Make sure to see the Boo to You parade, even if you're not a parade fan normally. And HalloWishes is can't miss. The entire feeling of the park is amazing at the party, we can't get enough.
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
I am the nerd of the family. It comes from the nurturing culture that comes with being obsessed with things like Harry Potter, Disney movies, and superheroes. I have only recently been introduced to Jurassic Park and Star Wars. So I definitely was NOT going to miss seeing Hogsmeade in Universal last time I went to Orlando, FL. If I saw ANYTHING, it was going to be Hogsmeade.
The bittersweet part of seeing Hogsmeade in 2014 is that I missed the grand opening of Diagon Alley by ONE DAY. I was SO CLOSE. We kept hoping for a soft opening, but they were filming with NBC or whatever, so there were zero opportunities to get inside. We did just about everything else in the park (JK, we did basically nothing). So THIS time, I'm planning to ride just about everything.
Here's the breakdown.
THURSDAY
Fly down to Orlando on the 5:10pm flight from Pittsburgh International. Pick up the rental car from Alamo. They were running a deal where you get a free upgrade if you choose within certain categories. My only problem with the rental car is that I want the points for my Southwest account, but I have no desire to drive the car. (That's where my mom comes in.) But since it's my name, my credit card, I'm not sure if we can have mom be the person that drives unless it's in her name. If it's in her name, can I still get the Southwest points?
These are the hard hitting questions, you know.
I anticipate touching down around 7:30pm and getting to the rental car kiosk by 8:30pm. We'll drive to the hotel, get checked in, and probably crash. I mean, we'll probably either pick some kind of food up on the way to the hotel or we'll buy something from a quick-service (if applicable) at the Royal Pacific Resort.
Then we'll 'unpack' and sleep.
FRIDAY
Since we have early morning entry and unlimited express passes, the plan was to get up early to beat the heat and go to whichever Harry Potter park is open first. Since Universal Studios closes at 5:00pm for the Haunted Horror Nights or whatever it's called, the plan is to do the majority of our time there (to make sure we've ridden everything) and then switch over to Islands of Adventure.
Since we'll be staying on property, we can definitely take a break if the sun is too much. I anticipate Mom will want time at the pool and out of the sun. That's why we have two day passes instead of one day passes. We don't have to try to fit EVERYTHING into one day anymore.
I'll most likely buy my interactive wand on Friday to maximize the amount of time I have to use it. It would be cool to get picked at Ollivander's, but I also have social anxiety, so having that kind of attention would stress me out, too. That's a double-edged sword.
Here's where I'm stuck. I would REALLY like to eat at Mythos, because it looks like SUCH a neat restaurant. But I was looking at the menu and it just didn't look appealing at ALL. I mean, it really seemed overpriced for what I would pick. And I would hate to spend money just to see what the restaurant looks like on the inside. So we're probably going to pass on Mythos.
I was also really torn on eating at the Leaky Cauldron or the Three Broomsticks, because I heard that the food just isn't good. So we were contemplating getting a snack or fish and chips or something to actually check out the restaurants, but not waste a bunch of money on sub-par food. (Food is kind of the objective this trip. I love to eat, as evidenced by my waistline, but I hate to spend money on food that just isn't good.)
I was thinking, originally, about doing Jake's or Mama Della's for dinner. BUT. If we have the rental car, I'm now thinking that we'll go to Disney Springs, since the parks shut down early, and do dinner at Raglan Road (or one of the other restaurants). If we eat at Raglan Road, which I loved, then I can add another Disney restaurant to my list later in our trip.
SATURDAY
Since we will have done just about everything the day before, I'm contemplating having Mom and I go over to Kona Cafe for breakfast instead of going early for the park opening. I really wanted to eat at Kona, because I heard the reviews are amazing, but there's nowhere to fit it later in the trip. If we go to Kona on Saturday morning, we can go super early and still make it back for regular park opening. Those express passes will save us from waiting in long lines, with the exception of the Harry Potter rides.
(I have no interest in Kong. So that's not an issue either.)
I figure we'll end up re-riding things and hitting whatever we missed the day before. This is an opportunity to hit whichever other Harry Potter restaurant we didn't visit the day before. And then I figured we'd take advantage of a restaurant on property for dinner, since again, the parks close early.
We'll most likely play mini golf Saturday night. The parks close at 7PM that night, I believe, so unless we're dog tired (and I doubt that we will be), we'll eat and then golf. I heard that the mini golf is just a fantastic amount of fun. And I think it would be a nice way to end our trip!
For those of you counting down with me, do you have recommendations concerning the food portion of our trip? Do you have favorite rides that we shouldn't miss? Do you have tips concerning Universal? I went once when I was a little kid (before Islands of Adventure was even there, apparently, and my mom hasn't been back). I went most recently with my dad, but we skipped all of the roller coasters except for the Dueling Dragons. We somehow still got 25,000 steps!
I stopped at the one bakery, Croissant Moon Bakery, but the napoleon I had there was very meh. It definitely wasn't worth the price we paid for it. We also went to Antojito's, which was pretty good, for lunch. But I think since we're eating Mexican food later in the trip, it might be good to eat something we're not going to be eating later.
I looked into Cowfish, but my mom won't eat fish, so that just seems like a miss for us.
Other than than that, that's my plan for Universal!
I'm a fellow nerd, and I'm so jealous about Universal! We still haven't made it over there yet. I'm DYING to see Harry Potter land.
UPDATED RESTAURANT LIST
Because I'm a crazy person, I have completely changed all of my reservations. Since I couldn't find any Universal restaurants that I wanted to try, and since I had added that extra day onto my trip, I readjusted my food plans.
THURSDAY:
Probably Jake's at the RPR at Universal.
FRIDAY:
Raglan Road at 8:45PM. Since Universal closes early, we're not going to worry about closing the parks. I'm more worried about enjoying our AMAZING food at Raglan. I looooved every bite from that restaurant!!!
SATURDAY:
Chef Art Smith's Homecoming Dinner at 9:10pm. Again, I figured we wouldn't worry ourselves with shutting down the park. I did just about everything last time in one day. So we'll conquer everything in two. And then we'll devour the entire menu at Homecoming!
SUNDAY: 2
Be Our Guest at 2pm. Mom's never been. The lunch is pretty good!
'Ohana at 9:00pm. It'll be a nice break from the park. The Polynesian is BEAUTIFUL and the food is even better!
MONDAY: 2
Kona Cafe at 7:55am. I really want to try Tonga Toast and the Macadamia Nut Pancakes.
The Wave Dinner at 9:15pm. Their food looks truly inspired. Out of all of the restaurants I looked into, the dishes seemed like they would appeal to us the most. I was really impressed with the reviews in comparison to Artist Point, which was where I originally had my 'new' reservation after ditching the Garden Grill.
TUESDAY: 2
50's Prime Time Cafe at 12:10pm. We have never been there, so we're hoping that even though we're on the dining plan, they'll still play along. I've read that some people didn't receive excellent service either way if they were or were not on the dining plan. So I have no idea what to believe. But if it seems like our waiter isn't having fun, I'm going to just be honest. We always tip well and even though we're on the DDP, we prepared ourselves in advance. So we're happy to tip for good service, great food, and a lot of fun. But hopefully it won't be a problem in the first place.
La Hacienda de San Angel at 7:30pm. Maybe we'll get window seats for Illuminations? Though I don't know that I want to be in the restaurant for 1 1/2 hours. Mom actually picked this one, once I forced her to help me, since I was going crazy.
WEDNESDAY: 3
Olivia's Cafe at 8:00am. We might, we might not, I'm not sure. My mom might throw in the towel. She's not a huge eater. But I feel like two meals for the amount of walking we'll do every day isn't unreasonable. Especially since most of our meals are early and then late. The banana bread french toast appealed to me here.
Jiko at 9:15pm. This is our 'fancy' dinner. What's nice is that since we're staying at the AKL, we can get dolled up in our hotel room and then wander around our own resort to go to dinner, rather than having to drive somewhere else. (It also means I might imbibe. I learned I like SOME alcoholic drinks!)
THURSDAY: 3
Boma at 7:35am. I AM SO EXCITED FOR BOMA. I keep trying to convince myself to just move it up earlier in the trip, but then it messes up my other breakfasts. So I'm just leaving it alone. But from all the hype this restaurant has, it's one of the ONLY reservations I won't cancel or change.
Le Cellier at 4:00pm. I have added, modified, and canceled this restaurant more times than I can explain. But since I'm on the DDP, I'm totally fine with TS credits now. So now we can try the infamous steak and the fries and the desserts. I wasn't going to, because we can try the filet outside in the Food and Wine Festival. But I really did want to try other things from this restaurant. And worst comes to worst, I cancel it and we go somewhere else. This is the night we have our MNSSHP tickets. So since we really only want to ride things, I'm not worried about getting into lines at 4pm.
FRIDAY:
What's Cooking with .... GRAHAM ELLIOT!!! 9:15am to 10:45am. Okay, guys. I am LOSING it. I'm SO EXCITED for Graham!!! It's going to be SO COOL. I've never done anything like that, so I'm REALLY EXCITED!! Have any of you done an event like that? I'd love to know what exactly to expect!
Bongo's Cuban Cafe at 9:15pm. I figure, it's the last night at the park. We should ride things and then go for a crazy awesome dinner. Mom picked this place and I want to eat EVERYTHING there. It's one of my main motivations for paying the extra money for the dining plan.
SATURDAY:
The Wave at 8:30am. Their breakfast looks boooomb. We will go to the Magic Kingdom, since we'll be right there, hit up Seven Dwarves and Space Mountain and then race back to Epcot to say goodbye to Soarin'.
I have no idea what we'll do for lunch, if anything.
So there you have it! My meal plans are done for now! (Though I did change meal times in the process of writing this. I'm shameless.) According to my countdown app, there is 1 months, 25 days, 18 hours, 51 minutes, and 35, 34, 33, 32 seconds until we're headed to our plane! I'm SO excited. But as always, I know I'm going to be so devastated when I have to stop planning again. I just love to plan... 
So! Anything you'd upvote or downvote? Have you had good experiences or bad experiences? Things we should DEFINITELY try or DEFINITELY avoid? Let me know!
Your ADRs look good! A very nice mix of places. Honestly, I would probably eat at Boma like 4x if I had Deluxe Dining, but that's just me.
Sneak down to the cafeteria and buy zebra domes. You're going to want a ton of them.
Sanaa is on my AKL wish list for next time, I've heard it's amazing.
Ugh! Work has been crazy lately! I'm sorry for bailing on you guys!! We've been planning/organizing/executing our vacation bible school at church. We're on the last day tomorrow and then it's Disney all the way! It's starting to get harder and harder to imagine myself going as we get closer and closer. The days start ticking down and I'm worried I'm going to wake up and it's all a dream.
I mean, my BANK ACCOUNT knows it's real (am I right or what?) but my brain is having some real problems lately. (I keep paying off chunks of my credit cards and it looks like my tip calculator is saying I'm spending close to $350 in 20% tips alone.) So the lack of money, living paycheck to paycheck, should I really buy this Chipotle so I can eat a Dole Whip in Disney guilt is a thing. But the counting down week to week is agonizing.
And I guess trying to lose a substantial amount of weight pre-Disney didn't go as planned. My brain sort of went 'Oh, well, we're planning on eating everything in Disney, so we might as well just enjoy ourselves now'. So I'm stuck at a particular set point. I'd REALLY like to lose at LEAST 10 pounds in the next six weeks (totally reasonable), but tell that to my brain.
We're trying to come up with a small goal to get ourselves to lose weight, but there's always something around the corner. Next weekend our city has 'Little Italy Days' where people set up their wares and their food trucks in one part of the city on a long street and you can just walk end to end and buy food. (That's my kind of thing.) I'm trying not to do the 'Oh, I'll start eating healthy after Little Italy Days' thing, since I know I'm not going to eat that much there. (The money thing...) I don't want to NOT go, but I don't want to spend my Dole Whip money either.
As for Disney, I'm really excited that we're so close!!! I've paid everything off except the rental car. I wanted to use my southwest card for the points with Alamo, but I'm thinking it might be better to go cheaper. Is $200 + gas for a 10 day car rental cheap?
I'm wondering if we have a day too much at Universal and a day too little at Disney. I keep trying to tell myself that we'll go back again, but I really want this trip to be special.
My mom's job has been particularly hellish lately and my job isn't any kind of peachy either. I keep telling myself that if I can JUST get to Disney, everything's going to be okay! But then I think about coming home...and then I'm sad again.
So! Some Disney Business. I have our days set out like this: Sunday: Magic Kingdom. Monday: Epcot. Tuesday: Hollywood Studios. Wednesday: Animal Kingdom. Thursday: Epcot/Magic Kingdom. Friday: Hollywood Studios. Saturday: Epcot.
But let's be honest. We're going to end up spending a lot of time in Epcot and the MK because they have the most rides. All of our fastpasses in HS are for Rockin Roller Coaster and the Tower of Terror because my mom LOVES them. I got a FP for Star Tours. I'm a new convert, so I'm so excited to see all the Star Wars stuff! I want to rewatch the movies before we go. I've seen the first six once and the seventh twice (though with much commentary and not so much movie).
I think with 42 days, I could probably watch a movie a day to count down to our trip between Marvel, Disney, Harry Potter, and Star Wars.
Do you guys have anything that helps you pass the time? I have a calendar that I color at work. Seeing the days physically go by is a little helpful, but I feel like August is crawling AND flying by.
Girl, I hear you about the losing weight thing. I've been trying to lose too, and I'm just stuck. I'm not gaining anything (which is good), but I've been working my butt off and not losing weight. I have a sedentary job like you so it makes it difficult.
TELLING THE REST OF THE FAMILY
So, you guys know that I'm taking my mom to Universal and Disney World, but the rest of my family does not. Here are some reasons!
My dad got to go to Disney with me last time! He doesn't work full time anyway, so I feel like my mom's more deserving of the trip anyway, since I'm paying for it.
My sister has taken several trips of her own (though not to Disney). She and I love each other VERY much. But we are just polar opposites. When I say left, she says right just because she doesn't want to do the same thing as me. She is very temperamental. Sometimes she's happy and we have a GREAT time. And sometimes she's just automatically angry and there's nothing I can do to lift her mood.
When mom and I decided to go to Disney (last June), we didn't want to tell them until we HAD to. We've been working without a break for over a year now. I have taken only 2.5 days off since I started. One was for our family reunion (which I did more work for than enjoyed) and the other 1.5 days were because my mom was really sick last year due to gallbladder problems. Otherwise, I've haven't taken any days off of work. So coming right out of college into a hardcore job thing is really difficult!!!
I feel like Disney is my reward for successfully adulting. (Or well, trying to.) I have my student loans in repayment programs. I bought a car and have my payments come out automatically each month and I haven't missed any. I pay for my cell phone bill. I pay for groceries and whatever other family needs that might require money here and there. I'm very lucky to live at home because my parents pay the mortgage and provide food and etc so I don't have to. (Though I honestly could not live on what I make, so I'm even more lucky.)
My mom works at a job where she's supposed to make commission. But the job is set up for her to fail. So even though she works endlessly, the company makes a ton of money and she makes even less than I do. (We're both looking for other jobs.) But she's so tired, I just feel like she deserves an AMAZING vacation.
But anyway: while I love my dad and my sister, I didn't want them to do the 'why are you only taking mom' thing. So I told them that I was going on a vacation with my best friend, Gina. I talked to my friend and she agreed to participate, since my sister works with us. And it's worked so far. (Though they're both concerned she's going to drop out of the trip, which is really funny. She breaks plans a lot.) On Tuesday, we're going to dinner and she's going to 'let me down easy'. On Wednesday, I'll explain that she backed out and I needed a replacement. So I asked mom. And that's going to be that.
And then I'll FINALLY be able to talk to my mom about the trip. 33 days!!!! I'm SO EXCITED. But now I'm starting to panic because I need to get clothes and a swimsuit and buy little things like OTC meds and bandaids and etc. I'm trying to get my room clean so that when I come back, I don't weep at the state of my bedroom. I'm honestly so tired of work, but it's going to be time to leave before I know it!
I still have to come up with a halloween costume for the party, but I have no idea what to choose! Forgive me, but I don't want to dress like a princess because my size just won'tI allow for anything but snickering from fellow guests. So I'm trying to figure something out that I WANT to be and will make sense. So far, I have no ideas. I'm contemplating just...not dressing up. It's terrible.
Are any of you doing the MNSSHP? Did you dress up?
We're doing the MNSSHP again this year. We usually don't dress up, per se, but we usually wear Halloween shirts (or orange and black or something) and a pair of ears or our tiaras or something. I'm looking at buying a bunch of pairs of Minnie ears for our trip, so I think I will wear a pair of those, and I found a "I'm Celebrating" pin on Etsy that has the witches from Hocus Pocus on it so I'll definitely be wearing that. I'm going to buy my mom and my aunt ones that say Boo to You and have Mickey on them.
I would say about 1/2 of the adults dress up. You definitely won't feel out of place if you don't dress up. And honestly, we've been to the party several times, and people of all sizes are wearing costumes and the guests are all really complimentary of one another. I've never seen anyone sneer at someone's costume, only tell them how awesome they look. Everyone is so excited to be trick-or-treating like kids again, it's just pure joy.
Can't wait to read more! You're getting so close!
) I'm going to try and have the next trip lined up before the current one starts so that I have something to pull me out of post-Disney depression. Even if that trip is more than a year out. We'll see how it goes!
French Toast Bread Pudding = heaven...... I tried working it in to our Nov. trip but just couldn't do it, and since our Aug. trip is so short I wanted to stay closer to our resort for breakfasts. And yes, it's making me sad!
I've heard and read very good things about the Wave breakfast and I'm actually considering the Wave dinner for August, both menus look so good!
I think what's going to help this time is having another trip coming up. 
But I will say most people don't gain what they think they will in Disney, if they gain at all. You walk so much, more than you realize. Plus you're going when it'll still be warm and most people - not me, mind you - eat less when it's hot. I eat the same regardless of weather 
but maybe I'll be able to do a good deal of walking before our Nov. trip once the weather cools down. I really should walk in this heat because it's not going to be any better in Florida at the end of this month!
it's so confusing. Last year I thought I had ones that fit, but when we got there most of the tops didn't fit right. (I did pack too many though so I had at least one that worked). This year I'll try them on (again) before I leave. We did the bandaid, travel size stuff trip a couple weeks ago 
I've been getting them for 17 years, started when I was 28. Thank God the meds I'm on now work well as long as I take a pill as soon as I feel my "aura" starting. I also started seeing a new chiropractor in June, she's a different type of chiropractor who doesn't use manipulation but rather focuses on the atlas orthogonal. I know it sounds weird!! I was so skeptical at first but besides helping me with a bad hip issue I was having, the frequency of my migraines has been GREATLY reduced since seeing her! I get 27 pills a month and July was the first month ever that I didn't use them all.......
It is the farthest from cold. I did a Minnie Mouse type costume last year that's always easy and cute.
