1st Time Reporter Here... Upcoming Engagment Trip with a few suprises! 5 Days to Go!!

[tiggersam00]

Hi Everyone,
I have been a lurker on this board for a while, hopping over from the wedding board! This is my first attempt at a Pre-Trip Report so please bear with me, and I hope you enjoy it!

1st up the introductions!
My name is Samantha and my fiance is Dave, he recently proposed at the Magic Kingdom on December 2nd 2008 after a VERY full day at the Magic Kingdom, Dave propsed to me at the Wishing Well next to Cinderella's Castle right after MVMCP's Wishes Show. It was perfect and very romantic! (the full story is the my Wedding PJ in my signature if anyone wants to check it out ). Now, we are currently planning our Disney Wedding for next February!

Our trip, or as I like to call it "You did WHAT!!":

So one day, not too long ago, I was sitting at my desk at work checking my email and I see an email from Disney (always a good thing IMHO). Well, I was lucky enough to receive a PIN code in that email for $595/person for 6 days/5 Nights at a Value resort with tickets and a $500 gift card at check in ... So me being a non-believer that offers like this actually exist I called up Disney.

Now both Dave and I are working at companies right now that have a "Use it or Lose it" Vacation policy, so we still had a week to use by May, so the time off was ok (and a WDW trip would be wayyyy cooler then sitting on our couch for a week), now to find out the "true" cost lol! Imagine my utter surprise to hear the CM on the phone say that "Yes, that email was correct, and the dates you are looking at are offered in that email". Now I know that park tickets are included, and I have AP's so I did not need extra tickets. Well the CM told me the new price (with just a 1 day MYW ticket to keep the offer valid)... ready for it.... $868! I was so happy that I booked it right then and there (I hadn't even asked Dave my DF -disney fiance- yet!)

So now I faced a new and much bigger task then booking an impromptu WDW vacation... telling my fiance! Dave loves Disney so I was sure he would be ok with it, but I am a very organized planner when it comes to Disney trips. I do not do anything "Spur of the Moment" with WDW, everything was always very calculated and thought out... until now.

I come home from work and Dave is sitting on the couch looking a little mopey, so I figured this would work to my advantage (heehee). I said to him "Dave, what would cheer you up right now" and I kid you not his answer was "Ummm a Dole Whip", (Can you see why I am marrying him ). So I just smiled and said "Ok I'll get you one, how about on March 29th?" He was a little confused by then so I just told him "Babe, I did something very un-me-like today, and you will love it! I booked us a trip to WDW for March!" DF thought this was the greatest news he had heard all day and now we are planning a trip back to our Engagment location in a few short weeks!

What, Where and Huh??

So we have a trip planned and we will be staying at the POP, this is one of the hotels we are reserving rooms at for our wedding so it will be nice to be able to tell our guests about it before they book. (And, it looks super fun!) Anyone else out there (hopefully I have some readers ) stay here before? Any fun recommendations?

I have a lot planned so I can hopefully update this PTR a lot until then. I would love any ideas about fun things to do at the resort and to do in the parks too Thanks everyone!

 

[DWGal210]

I love your start so far - and what a great trip you'll have! I agree, when you get those e-mails, some things are just meant to be.

I've stayed at POP and we really like it. It's usually my sister and I and we like it because:

1) It's cheap and cheerful (to borrow an expression from Rachael Ray!)
2) The theming is darling
3) The food court has a nice variety of food
4) We usually pick a value b/c of the cost, and since we don't spend a ton of time in the room, we don't need lots of extra space. But for the two of us, we think it's plenty of room.
5) There are 3 pools to choose from, and so I've found there's typically at least once that's less crowded than the others, and that can be nice and relaxing.
6) The giant bowling pins, yo-yos and kids toys make for great pictures

Have fun and look forward to hearing more!

 

[tiggersam00]

DWGal210 I love your start so far - and what a great trip you'll have! I agree, when you get those e-mails, some things are just meant to be.

I've stayed at POP and we really like it. It's usually my sister and I and we like it because:

1) It's cheap and cheerful (to borrow an expression from Rachael Ray!)
2) The theming is darling
3) The food court has a nice variety of food
4) We usually pick a value b/c of the cost, and since we don't spend a ton of time in the room, we don't need lots of extra space. But for the two of us, we think it's plenty of room.
5) There are 3 pools to choose from, and so I've found there's typically at least once that's less crowded than the others, and that can be nice and relaxing.
6) The giant bowling pins, yo-yos and kids toys make for great pictures

Have fun and look forward to hearing more!

Thanks for reading! I am really excited for this trip (I am treating DF) so I want to make it extra special! The "big" stuff at POP look like so much fun, Dave has already said he is taking a picture with Mr and Mrs Potato Head LOL!
The food court looks nice too, I have seen the pics online and the menu at allears.net, and it looks very cool! I totally agree with you about the price thing, I dont see the point of paying a ton of money for a room for a trip like this one (it's going to be jam packed)

 

[DWGal210]

We really liked POP; I would love to stay at some of the different hotels but at this point, I would rather have more $$ to spend on souvenirs.

We have family that are DVC members and so for our last trip we rented points from them, which depending on when you go and what kind of room you stay in, can be the same price as the Value.

But POP is by far my Value favorite. On our last trip, my sister and I checked in and our room wasn't quite ready yet. The gal said it was b/c they were shampooing the carpets. Yes, please do that!! I want a clean room!

Seriously though, it made me feel good that they did that.

 

[tiggersam00]

Umm yea, I def want clean rooms/carpets/ basically everything lol!
That type of stuff makes me feel good too

 

[DWGal210]

I have the same situation where I work - you can't carry over your vacation time and so you use it or lose it, like you said. I just started and so I have 5 days to use between now and mid-August so I am trying to figure out if my sister and I can take a trip. I would love to go with the 4/3 deal being extended, but we'll see.

There seem to be good deals with airfare too, so I'm watching that like crazy.

Looking forward to hearing more!

 

[tiggersam00]

Ok so I am going to try and break down our plans for each day... now you get to see how indecisive I can really be lol!

Here goes... Day 1

How do we get there??

Ok, well the trip is booked, now I just have to find flights... I honestly hate this part of the trip. Finding a flight is so difficult now, there are so many choices and options to pick from. Do I want to pay an extra $10 for more legroom, get a connecting flight and save $40, upgrade to "buisness class", fly later in the day and save $20... the list of options just goes on and on!

So after many hours on the internet I found a 1:30pm flight out of Logan on Sunday, arriving at MCO around 4:20pm on airtran for $96/each way. Sounds good to me this should be easy right... wrong! Well coming home we would have to fly out at some ungodly hour like 6am, so I quickly nixed that. Now after some hemming and hawing about flights to DF I decided to book the flight TO MCo on Airtran and fly home on JetBlue at 7:00pm... I never thought to book 2 different airlines but it actually saved me a lot of money by doing it this way! It only cost $200/person RT for the flights, and since we are taking alate flight home it gives us more time in WDW !

So on our first day we are getting into MCO and doing the Magical Express (our 1st time with this service) to the POP, and since our checkin will be on the later side we should be able to go right into our room and change for.... Downtown Disney!

Woohoo Downtown Disney!!

All WDW trips for me really begin with a trip to DTD, it really gets me in the Disney mood, plus the food is great! I think we will probably have dinner that night at Wolfgang Puck Express in the marketplace. They have such yummy food there! Then a little shopping and maybe (if I'm not too full) an ice cream cone from Ghirdellis!

Oh and a must for this trip is a stop at Goofys Candy Co and have some pretzel rods made! I have never done this before and it just looks like heaven!! Anyone else ever done this??

Now I figure at this point we will be pretty tired after traveling and eating so we will head back to the POP. This is where the 1st surprise for DF will happen... I am having a basket delivered from memoriesbybetsy as a surprise for Dave! It will have Mickey wine glasses, refillable mugs for the POP, a hidden mickey book and few other little goodies! If anyone has used Betsy before i would love to know what you thought. I found her after a great recommendation on the Dis and she is very reasonable in price (no markup on disney good, just a $25 fee for the basket, delivery to the resort, and taxes)

After that surprise it will be an early bedtime because the next day will be very busy and full of (more) surprises!

 

[tiggersam00]

I have been to WDW 26 times (I think, I may have lot count ) and DF has only been twice. This trip will be his 1st time staying on WDW property so he is superrrrrrrrrr excited! Now in all my trips there are a few things that I have always said "Oh I'll do it next time"... Well... this is next time!
Here is the Top 10 Must-be-done-on-this-trip-or-else List

1) Buy some of those dipped pretzels at Goofys Candy Co in DTD! They are so delicious looking I have to try them!

2) Go Mini-Golfing at eithier Fantasia Gardens or Winter-Summerland... anyone have a recommendation???

3) Try Ohana's for dinner! Mmmmmm

4) Have lunch at Le Ceiler... I cant wait for that soup!

5) Go to Atlantic Dance Hall for a drink (we are having our wedding reception there and havent even seen it yet lol )

6) Watch the fireworks from the beach of the Poly (we have a dinner ressie for Ohana after they are over )

7) Take a picture of DF and I with Chip and Dale, they are my fave's and we dont have a pic of us with them !

8) Go into Innoventions and actually spend some time in there (this is one the ALWAYS gets overlooked, so it is time to do it finally)

9) Buy a few pins to (maybe) start trading, I have never done this but it always looks like so much fun!

10) Eat a sandwich from the Earl of Sandwich, DF swears they are amazing so I really think I need to try one!

Thats all for now, I hope I have some readers

 

[DWGal210]

Hi, I'm still here for ya!

We love OHana - I've read some differing accounts on the boards, but we really enjoy it. It's always somewhere we have to go, sometimes more than once a trip!

And I completely understand on the flights; when we went last summer, I didn't buy tickets until April b/c I was waiting for the prices to go down. We finally decided to go down the night before since even with an extra night in the hotel it was still cheaper.

I want to try Le Cellier too - I hear it's great!

 

[tiggersam00]

Hi, I'm still here for ya!

We love OHana - I've read some differing accounts on the boards, but we really enjoy it. It's always somewhere we have to go, sometimes more than once a trip!

And I completely understand on the flights; when we went last summer, I didn't buy tickets until April b/c I was waiting for the prices to go down. We finally decided to go down the night before since even with an extra night in the hotel it was still cheaper.

I want to try Le Cellier too - I hear it's great!

Thanks! At least I have 1 reader lol! I have done day before trips too, the other thing I did once and I actually really liked it was leaving a day later (early in the AM) and staying at the airport Hyatt (or Hilton, cant remember which one is right in the airport). It was really easy and they have a great pool on the roof that was nice to relax in the night before our flight !

I am so excited to try Le Celier and Ohana too, they look so yummy!

 

[Jennifer48]

hi Samantha!

I saw your Pre-TR link in your siggie so I wanted to come say hi! Thanks for giving me the info on the MK photo session.

OMGOSH I got engaged on 12/1/08!! How fun!! DF did it at the Plaza Rose Garden next to the entry to Tomorrowland. I have photopass pics in my engagement TR link in my siggie if you want to check it out.

I stayed at POP once. It was really fun. The only qualm I had was that the walls are paper thin and we could hear the noisy family get up at 6am. Other than that, it was super fun!

Here is the Top 10 Must-be-done-on-this-trip-or-else List

1) Buy some of those dipped pretzels at Goofys Candy Co in DTD! They are so delicious looking I have to try them! They are wicked delicious! I've gotten the Mickey Rice Krispie treat before but it was too much for me. The pretzels were JUST right!

2) Go Mini-Golfing at eithier Fantasia Gardens or Winter-Summerland... anyone have a recommendation??? I've only done Winter-Summerland and it was so much fun! If you do both courses, they give you a discount. We only did the Summer side.

3) Try Ohana's for dinner! Mmmmmm so delish!! Make sure you bring your appetite to this all-you-can-eat meal!

4) Have lunch at Le Ceiler... I cant wait for that soup! Another awesome dish. That cheddar cheese soup is awesome!

5) Go to Atlantic Dance Hall for a drink (we are having our wedding reception there and havent even seen it yet lol )

6) Watch the fireworks from the beach of the Poly (we have a dinner ressie for Ohana after they are over )

7) Take a picture of DF and I with Chip and Dale, they are my fave's and we dont have a pic of us with them !

8) Go into Innoventions and actually spend some time in there (this is one the ALWAYS gets overlooked, so it is time to do it finally)

9) Buy a few pins to (maybe) start trading, I have never done this but it always looks like so much fun! Be careful, its so addicting!!

10) Eat a sandwich from the Earl of Sandwich, DF swears they are amazing so I really think I need to try one! OMG they are so good. DF and I have to go there each trip to get one. We even hit the EoS in Vegas when we were there in October!

Thats all for now, I hope I have some readers

 

[tiggersam00]

hi Samantha!

I saw your Pre-TR link in your siggie so I wanted to come say hi! Thanks for giving me the info on the MK photo session.

OMGOSH I got engaged on 12/1/08!! How fun!! DF did it at the Plaza Rose Garden next to the entry to Tomorrowland. I have photopass pics in my engagement TR link in my siggie if you want to check it out.

I stayed at POP once. It was really fun. The only qualm I had was that the walls are paper thin and we could hear the noisy family get up at 6am. Other than that, it was super fun!

Hey Jennifer! Thanks for joining in! No problem about the photo session, I actually got a few more emails from them today with options for making photo boards for a "guest book". I'll forward you those too!

I can't beleive we got engaged right after one another!!! How cool is that!!! Dave propsed right at the wishing well (next to the rose garden)! It sure is a small world lol! I'm going to read your TR right now!!

 

[tiggersam00]

Oh and I just read your TR and I was gettign engaged at MVMCP the night you were there... we probably passed each other!

 

[tiggersam00]

Day 2... Surprise Surprise

Ok so here goes day 2... it will start bright and early thats for sure!

7am I am having my makeup trial for my Disney Wedding! Ana will come to my hotel room and make me look more glamorous then I usually look at 7am lol! DF is not too happy about the early hour of this activity but Hello we're in Disney!! I am not sleeping in and wasting park time lol!! So I figure the best thing for him to do is get some breakfast and a paper and relax (and if he wants major brownie points maybe bring me a little breakfast from the POP...

Then we have to get to the International Gateway in EPCOT for 8:45.... we will be having Engagment Pics shot in the Worls Showcase!! I am so excited for this because I have seen other people's pics (on the wedding/honeymoon board) and they look amazing! I was going to keep this a surprise but I figured there was no way to keep it a secret especially after having the make-up artist there so early ! So I told him.. oh well I tried... but I caved!

After this we get to Enjoy Epcot for a while and I made us lunch ADR's at Le Celier which I am also super pumped about! That soup looks so yummy!

Now since DF will have been a good sport about the E-Pics (Pictures are not his most faveorite activity lol) I am going to surprise him... I got tickets to the Braves/Red Sox Spring Training game that afternoon at WWS!!!!! He does not know about this but I am pretty confident he will be pleased, he is a huge sox fan!

Then after the game we can do a few things depending on our mood (and energy level)... I figured we could do a few things before out Dinner ADR at Ohana!
1) head back to Epcot for a few more rides or stroll through WS. before taking the monorail for a cocktail and dinner
2) Go to the MK and catch a few rides before dinner then ride the monorail to the Poly and have a cocktail

I also would lovvve to have a Dole Whip at Captain Cook's at the Poly! Mmmmm my fave! (DF's too).

Then after parks/games/pics we will head to the Poly for Ohana!! Our ADR is after the fireworks at 9:30 so we can watch the show from the beach first then enjoy a meal!

Thats all for now, does this look like a good plan?? I am nervous about how long the buses will take too !

 

[Jennifer48]

I can't believe I was at MVMCP when you got engaged! Too bad we didn't "know" each other before that trip, that would have been a hoot!

Day 2 is major packed! It sounds like fun though. And a Sox game?! Wicked awesome!

(p.s I'm still looking for the avatar pic!)

 

[tiggersam00]

I can't believe I was at MVMCP when you got engaged! Too bad we didn't "know" each other before that trip, that would have been a hoot!

Day 2 is major packed! It sounds like fun though. And a Sox game?! Wicked awesome!

(p.s I'm still looking for the avatar pic!)

Thanks, I was looking at your pics from that night and trying to figure out where we were during those times lol! I may be insane trying to do thta much so we will see how I hold up... at least I get to sit at the game for a few hours! I love that you wrote wicked on here, only true Bostonians can appriciate that!

 

[alice99]

I have been to WDW 26 times (I think, I may have lot count ) and DF has only been twice. This trip will be his 1st time staying on WDW property so he is superrrrrrrrrr excited! Now in all my trips there are a few things that I have always said "Oh I'll do it next time"... Well... this is next time!
Here is the Top 10 Must-be-done-on-this-trip-or-else List

1) Buy some of those dipped pretzels at Goofys Candy Co in DTD! They are so delicious looking I have to try them!

2) Go Mini-Golfing at eithier Fantasia Gardens or Winter-Summerland... anyone have a recommendation???


Thats all for now, I hope I have some readers

Absolutely Winter/Summerland. Winter/Summerland is fun and interactive. The Christmas music is great and the decorations are awesome.

Fantasia is older and not as much fun. I went there with my kids and they were disappointed. It's nice, but doesn't compare to W/S.

 

[tiggersam00]

Absolutely Winter/Summerland. Winter/Summerland is fun and interactive. The Christmas music is great and the decorations are awesome.

Fantasia is older and not as much fun. I went there with my kids and they were disappointed. It's nice, but doesn't compare to W/S.

Thanks for the tip, I will check out W/S when we go, it looks like such a fun place to mini-golf! And I am a Christmas nut!!

 

[alice99]

P.S. GO YANKEES

 

[MiaBella05]

yeah for a disney engagement!!