Tried to make me go to (Disney)Rehab & I said No No No! PTR 10/16/09 On our way!

[TiggerAllie]

This is our first Pre-Trip Report, and I guess we're coming late to the game, as our next trip is less than 60 days away! (thank goodness!)

We'll be heading down to WDW Oct 16 - Oct 23 for Food & Wine and MNSSHP, our favorite time of the year to go! We're splitting our stay between SSR (yay DVC points) and WL.

So, from looking at our recent trip list, you'll probably figure out that we have become Disney addicts! Since we haven't been back to WDW since March '09 , I am desperately seeking my Disney fix! Hopefully writing this pre-trip report will help satisfy that somewhat...

Introductions!
Me, a serious Disney and DIS addict, 33
DP, maybe not quite as Disney-devoted as me, but still willing to go multiple times each year, also 33

Here's a pic from one of our earlier trips:

OK, 2 worries about doing a PTR....
1) That kind of means we have to do a TR, which means our trip better be TR-worthy!
2) What if nobody reads it??!?!?

 

[TiggerAllie]

We haven't been to Disney since March, and I started getting serious Disney withdrawl by July. We didn't have any idea when we were going back to WDW, but I was helping one of my coworkers plan a Disney trip for her birthday in August. (Of course, this only heightens the withdrawl symptons...) I said, the heck with it-- I want to plan MY next Disney trip!

Now, we are not big advance planners... we try to go maybe 2-3 times a year because we have DVC, and we usually only plan about 6 weeks out or so.


We REALLY love the fall at WDW... great weather, Food & Wine, and Halloween!... so we decided to plan something for this season. However, this year, I am teaching a class at the University, so I only can take vacation during the week of Fall Break, which meant we had very limited choices to use our DVC points.

So, even though it was at least 10 weeks out from our trip, we were only able to get park of our stay on DVC pts at SSR. But, we were able to use the AP discount to get a great rate at WL, one of our favs!

We are now splitting our stay (we've done this once before): 10/16-10/19 at SSR and 10/19-10/23 at WL! Hooray!

But how the heck can I wait 10 whole weeks until we go?!?!?

I'll tell you how... by obsessing over planning and reading the DISboards all day! Gotta get that Disney Fix!

Here's a picture from our last trip to WL (at Christmas time):

The view from our room--we were upgraded from Woods View to Courtyard View!

 

[tkitty]

We haven't been to Disney since March, and I started getting serious Disney withdrawl by July. We didn't have any idea when we were going back to WDW, but I was helping one of my coworkers plan a Disney trip for her birthday in August. (Of course, this only heightens the withdrawl symptons...) I said, the heck with it-- I want to plan MY next Disney trip!

Now, we are not big advance planners... we try to go maybe 2-3 times a year because we have DVC, and we usually only plan about 6 weeks out or so.


We REALLY love the fall at WDW... great weather, Food & Wine, and Halloween!... so we decided to plan something for this season. However, this year, I am teaching a class at the University, so I only can take vacation during the week of Fall Break, which meant we had very limited choices to use our DVC points.

So, even though it was at least 10 weeks out from our trip, we were only able to get park of our stay on DVC pts at SSR. But, we were able to use the AP discount to get a great rate at WL, one of our favs!

We are now splitting our stay (we've done this once before): 10/16-10/19 at SSR and 10/19-10/23 at WL! Hooray!

But how the heck can I wait 10 whole weeks until we go?!?!?

I'll tell you how... by obsessing over planning and reading the DISboards all day! Gotta get that Disney Fix!

Here's a picture from our last trip to WL (at Christmas time):

The view from our room--we were upgraded from Woods View to Courtyard View!

Hi! I'll be watching for your updates. I can't seem to start a PT of my own!
We'll be At OKW from Oct 2 to Oct 9th and then one night at ASMu. We've never stayed at either, and I'm excited.

 

[reyasmommy]

I would love to visit WDW during October someday, not sure if it will ever happen since my daughter will be starting kindergarten the year after next, but I guess you never know?!


I'm so jealous of all you DVC members.... my dream is to one day be a member as well.


I hope you have a fabulous trip.... it's coming up really soon!

 

[desparatelydisney]

My BFF LOVES that song! So, of course, I had to check out your PTR.

I just started my first one too with the same fears as you...

so, I'll make you a deal....

you read mine and I'll read yours, then fear number 2 will be wiped off the list

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2267158

P.S. - WL is our absolute favorite!!!!

 

[ammeador2]

I worry about my PTR also. I keep thinking I hope that I am not boring my audience!

I look forward to hearing more!

 

[lilmissie]

I am excited to read another PT report! Especially since your going soon. We go oct 18-23rd staying in WL. Can't wait to read more.

 

[TiggerAllie]

I would love to visit WDW during October someday, not sure if it will ever happen since my daughter will be starting kindergarten the year after next, but I guess you never know?!


I'm so jealous of all you DVC members.... my dream is to one day be a member as well.


I hope you have a fabulous trip.... it's coming up really soon!

Sounds like next year may be the year to go! DVC has been a very good investment for us (Exhibit A: Disney Obsession; Exhibit B: If that money had stayed where it was, it would only be worth half as much as it was then!), but you have to figure out when is the right time for your family. It took us 6 years...

My BFF LOVES that song! So, of course, I had to check out your PTR.

I just started my first one too with the same fears as you...

so, I'll make you a deal....

you read mine and I'll read yours, then fear number 2 will be wiped off the list

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2267158

P.S. - WL is our absolute favorite!!!!

OMG, I LOVE WL too! I'm so excited to be going back! You know... everytime I read the title I get that song stuck in my head! I'm on my way to go subscribe to your PTR!

I worry about my PTR also. I keep thinking I hope that I am not boring my audience!

I look forward to hearing more!

I was worried that I was talking to myself here! I'll have to read your PTR, too.

I am excited to read another PT report! Especially since your going soon. We go oct 18-23rd staying in WL. Can't wait to read more.

Thanks! It looks like we overlap at WL--yay! I know the trip is soon... but not soon enough! I'll be posting the few things we have planned so far... they are getting a few more each week!

 

[TiggerAllie]

Ok, so the next order of business... try to get some ADRs! At this point, we are behind the 8-ball, so to speak, because it's free dining and we were within 60 days, let alone 90 days!

We LOVE trying new restaurants, so this trip, we are adding a trip to Sanaa at AKL and the new Kouzzina on the Boardwalk!

Our plan so far:
10/17 Jiko dinner: we had a so-so trip to AKL a few years back (see the trip report) but LOVED Jiko and I love the animals! We like to go for dinner and then stop by the AKL pool area afterwards to see the animals with night-vision goggles!

10/18 CA grill dinner: Always a special treat! We planned it to be able to see Hallowishes, my FAVORITE fireworks show. The sushi is awesome, along with the goat cheese ravioli. DP likes to order "Vegetarian Unplugged" a special "not-on-the-menu" item that the chef puts together. This is kind of our "anniversary" dinner.
10/19 Sanaa dinner (back to AKL)
10/20 Le Cellier lunch (so hard to get!) We've always loved this place, ever since we ended up sitting next to the Inniskillin winery people for dinner, mere hours after we were at their food and wine seminar!
10/21 Narcoossee's dinner (a new favorite)
10/22 Kouzzina dinner

I'm thinking if we get in early enough, dinner at DTD on Fri night when we get in (Raglan Rd or maybe that new Paradiso 37?) and I do love Crystal Palace breakfast to celebrate our last day... but maybe Tonga Toast at Poly instead?.... still up for debate!

Let me know what you think!

 

[TiggerAllie]

I was listening to the radio this weekend, and I heard that NASA finally launched Discovery, for one of its last missions. Last time we were at Disney (March '09) we were lucky enough to see a rocket launch from our balcony at SSR-- we were just back from dinner at Artist's Point at WL, watching the local news, when they announced that the rocket had just taken off. We ran to our window and looked out to the east, and saw a huge glow in the sky (the picture doesn't do it justice):

Launch of the Kepler Space Telescope March 6, 2009 from Cape Canaveral
Apparently NASA lists their future launch schedule, so you can guestimate if it might coincide with your trip! Apparently they have one scheduled for Halloween night!

 

[TiggerAllie]

So far, we only have "refundable" items scheduled for our trip. The hotel room deposit is refundable, as are the DVC points. You can always cancel ADRs.

The big step in solidifying the trip is buying airfare... once that happens, there's no going back!

Of course who am I kidding--we're not changing our dates, because we can't! My teaching schedule means that I only have the week of Fall Break off, and DP has to schedule all of her vacation at the hospital for the whole year back in February, so it's a done deal!

But, it is a big step! We are kind of prissy about the airline we fly. Living in Ann Arbor means we fly out of Detroit--which means Northwest (now Delta) is our major carrier. NW has the most flights, flies out of the best terminal, gets first priority on the runways and at the deicer... (more on that later). AirTran and Spirit also fly direct, so there is usually decent competition on flights to Orlando, and we can get a good deal, but this year, flights were >$300 for no good reason! AirTran was half the cost! But we couldn't bring ourselves to fly the discount carrier, so I started stalking the prices.

I'm going to let you in on my big airfare secret: One day a week, usually Monday or Tuesday evening, Northwest has a very short "Promo" fare sale--the prices for the tickets we wanted were $50 less! I missed it the first week, but I was ready the second week when the same promo fare sale came around again.

So, we leave after work on Friday, getting in around 10PM, but just in time for a late dinner at DTD, and we fly back the following Friday afternoon, late enough to enjoy a morning at the parks (CP breakfast perhaps?) but not the last flight of the day, in case there are delays/cancelations. Though who I am kidding--getting stuck in Orlando isn't such a bad deal!

Wow, this is kind of long, so I'll have to get back to our disasterous trip of February '05 at ASSp, back before DVC, before our APs, and before I really go into the DIS...

Let's just say Spring Break + snow storm + Spirit airlines + speeding ticket + Expedia = general badness! Good thing a nice CM helped fix some of it!

 

[TiggerAllie]

Ok, a quick diversion to the story that I promised...

At the end of our post-grad school, DP, myself, and our best friend (also super Disney-loving) wanted to go to Disney over Spring Break (which for us was at the end of February). We purchased a package through Expedia for tickets, a car, a room at ASSp, and a flight on Spirit Airlines.

Our flight left very early in the morning, so we got to the airport at 4:30AM in a horrible snow storm (it was Detroit in Feb). We were already wearing our sandals, and because we were at the "old" terminal, we ended up dragging ourselves and our luggage through the 6 inches of new snow from the car to the terminal.

Many flights were delayed, but we eventually boarded the flight. However, the plane needed to be de-iced before leaving. As the discount-carrier plane, we were last in the de-icing line. Now it takes about 2.5 hrs to fly to Orlando. Our friend fell asleep multiple times on the plane while we were waiting on the runway, every time she would wake up and ask "Are we there yet?" and we would say that we were still in Detroit. 5 hours later (that would be 2 flights to Orlando), we finally took off, and arrived about 8 hours late.

We got our rental car and headed out over to WDW upset that we had already missed half of our first vacation day! Instead of arriving at 9am, we were arriving at 5pm. DP had just found out about the DISboards as we were researching the trip and had seen that there was a speed trap at WDW. Of course, as she is telling me this, the blue lights are flashing and we are being pulled over. Argh! $80 and 1 rude police officer later (no Disney spirit there!), we finally make it to ASSp.

When we go to check in, they don't have our reservation! No room reservation, and no tickets! We get on the phone with Expedia, the CM gets on the phone with Expedia, but they can't rectify the reservation. Fortunately, the CM was super nice and super helpful. She was able to get us the room we wanted at ASSp (even in the baseball section by the pool!), and we were able to get the Expedia reservation canceled and refunded. This worked to our advantage, because we were able to rebuy the tickets with one day less, to make up for the day we had lost in our travel disaster.

We ended up having a fabulous trip, and now we are all Disney addicts! But, that's why we only book with Disney directly and always fly major airlines. The Northwest/Delta 6am flight from Detroit to Orlando that day only was 1 hr late, not 8 hrs late, so the extra $ is worth it to us (as long as it's not outrageous!)

Now, it was pretty cool weather while we were there, but we were able to get this awesome picture in front of the castle when we got into the park before opening because of our CP ADR.

So, I kind of feel like I'm talking to myself here--anyone else around?

We have:
1) Room ressies SSR/WL
2) ADRs (see above), but still up for debate... any opinions?
3) Plane tickets (no going back now)!

Next up.... tickets, tours, costumes, and more planning!

 

[TiggerAllie]

So, for each trip we like to pick some special "extra" to do. Examples of some things we've done are:

WL Holiday carriage ride
Lunch with an Imagineer
Behind the Seeds tour
Keys to the Kingdom tour
Yuletide Fantasy tour
Around the World Epcot segway tour
Backwoods Adventure FW segway tour
...and MNSSHP and MVMCP.

Obviously for this October trip, we are doing MNSSHP.

We've done 2 Segway tours before, which we REALLY enjoyed!

First, the classic Around the World Epcot segway tour, on the old "original" version segways, which were somewhat harder to control... (I almost ran into a tent in Italy!)

Second, the Backwoods Adventure segway tour, on the new i2 "offroad" tire segways, where we got to ride a lot more and drive around on the trails along Bay Lake by Fort Wilderness and Wilderness Lodge, and these segways are so easy to manuver, even through trees and trails!

This trip, we wanted to do another "backstage" type tour (a la KTTK, YF, or BTS), maybe in Epcot. And much to our happy surprise, Disney is now offering a new "backstage" segway tour on the offroad version (X2) at Epcot. It's called "Nature-inspired Design" and focuses on "land, sea, and air" at Epcot (i.e. The Land, The Living Seas, and something about a helipad...). I can't wait! This tour is only offered Sat and Tues mornings (8:15AM--ahhh!) and cost us $104 per person for the 3 hr tour (this includes the AP/DVC/AAA/Disney Visa discount).

So here is our plan...
We arrive late Friday night, and we'll have to pick up our renewal APs before the tour. If we're lucky, we'll get into Orlando early enough to get to DTD before 11PM when the Guest Relations window closes. Otherwise, we have to get to Epcot Guest Relations the next morning by 7:45am (ACK!) to get through the GR line, pick up the passes, and get to the tour meeting site by 8:15AM!

Hopefully this plan will work! Let me know what you think!

I hope we can stay awake for our dinner ADR at Jiko at 8:30PM on Sat night...

 

[Calway]

Nice pre-trip report. We are from MI also and will be driving down with an RV!
We are new at this so wish us luck. We'll be at the fort from 10/19-10/24.

 

[TiggerAllie]

Nice pre-trip report. We are from MI also and will be driving down with an RV!
We are new at this so wish us luck. We'll be at the fort from 10/19-10/24.

Wow! That is a long drive! While we were on the FW segway tour, we toured FW for the first time--I had never been over there! There were all sorts of decorations for Mardi Gras and St. Patrick's Day. Have a great time, and pack some Halloween decorations.

I heard that the headless horseman rides all the way back to the FW horse barn after the MNSSHP parades--it was so cool if you could see him!

 

[ammeador2]

Hello again! I love the pic of the giraffe at night. We are staying at the AKV and I am hoping that we may get upgraded and see some animals. That would be great! I look forward to reading more...

 

[gattra]

Fellow metro detroiter here!! I think I was caught in that same snowstorm coming home from my spring break!! It's funny to leave paradise and return to winter hell!!

Well, we will be coming to Disney right after you leave...I am so looking forward to the F&W and MNSSHP!! October appears to be a great time to go. Have you ever been at this time?

 

[Calway]

I have my Halloween decorations ready to take to the fort.
We have thought of going to MNSSHP but after spending just one day at Cedarpoint, we were too tired to stick around for the laser show in the evening. We are morning people and aren't sure if paying extra for MNSSHP is worth it. We would have been attending 10/20 since we have reservations for Crystal Palace at 5:40. I guess it will depend on how we feel closer to that date. We need to save up for gas to get to Disney and back!

 

[manntra]

Hi there! I came over from the October thread. I will be going a bit before you....Oct4-9th at Kidani. First time for MNSSHP and F&W....I am taking my 13 yr old niece (she has been my travel buddy on quite a few trips.)
We are flying from a small airport here in town and I am a bit prissy too about airlines/airports so I always fly NW and we have a stop in Detroit!
Your ADR's look great and the Segway tour sounds like a lot of fun...I have a trip planned for May and am taking my neighbor so maybe we could do that then.
I might try out Sanaa for lunch seeing that I am right there. I already have ADR's set up but there is always room for more!

Tracy

 

[TiggerAllie]

Hello again! I love the pic of the giraffe at night. We are staying at the AKV and I am hoping that we may get upgraded and see some animals. That would be great! I look forward to reading more...

I'll tell you the secret of how we took it... We used the night vision goggles! Just put your camera lens in one of the eye holes (like binoculars) and take the picture that way!

Fellow metro detroiter here!! I think I was caught in that same snowstorm coming home from my spring break!! It's funny to leave paradise and return to winter hell!!

Well, we will be coming to Disney right after you leave...I am so looking forward to the F&W and MNSSHP!! October appears to be a great time to go. Have you ever been at this time?

This will be our 4th trip during the F&W/MNSSHP time of the year--after the first time, we were hooked! (And the first time was even during Hurricane Wilma!) But the weather is so pleasant and F&W and MNSSHP are so fun--HalloWishes are my absolute favorite fireworks--I wouldn't want to miss it!

I have my Halloween decorations ready to take to the fort.
We have thought of going to MNSSHP but after spending just one day at Cedarpoint, we were too tired to stick around for the laser show in the evening. We are morning people and aren't sure if paying extra for MNSSHP is worth it. We would have been attending 10/20 since we have reservations for Crystal Palace at 5:40. I guess it will depend on how we feel closer to that date. We need to save up for gas to get to Disney and back!

I'm sure the fort must be so cool during Halloween! Definitely, MNSSHP gets better (ie less crowded) as the night goes on... I feel the later you stay, the more you get out of it. It's so much fun, but if you decide to go, maybe you should try to sleep in or nap during the day and just get to MK for your CP ressie and start your park time then? Otherwise, at least try to see the HalloWishes fireworks show from one of the places where they pipe in the music (I think they play it on the Poly beach? or CR/Cali Grill or some places around GF)....

I've never been to Cedar Pt for the laser show (used to go all the time, but haven't been in years now)...

If you do go to MNSSHP on 10/20, maybe we'll see you there! I haven't bought tickets yet, so the date isn't set yet, but based on where our ADRs are, that's the best night. So many people talk about not buying tickets until they know more about the weather... and there are 3 party nights during our trip... but I am nervous about waiting until so close to the party to buy the tix!

Hmm... we still need to decide on costumes...

I'll gather up our MNSSHP costume pics from years past (at least 05, 06, 07, because we didn't really get around to them in 08, which turned out to be kind of disapponting in the end). Then I'lll take suggestions and maybe votes on what ideas we come up with (of which we have very few right now)!