Cloe Colton
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Hello all!
To introduce myself my name is Cloe and on this trip I will be traveling with my ever patient DH Dan!
We are high school sweethearts and have been together for ten years this year! I have been to Disney World many, many times, basically as much as I can and have gone my whole life. My first trip was at 6 months old and basically went every other year growing up until I had my own money and now its more like 2-3 times a year! lol. I just became an AP on my last trip and literally don't know why I waited so long. I don't want to even think of the dollars I could have saved the last few years! Dan didn't go to Disney growing up and his first time was with me and my family five years ago. He loves Disney as much as a normal person does but does enjoy doing other things outside of Disney, so we try to find a good balance. (And when he won't go with me, my Mom and sister are usually on board!
We will be celebrating our one year anniversary at the Happiest Place on Earth this July.
When we got married I promised him our honeymoon wouldn't be to Disney because we had been so many times already (and tbh I wanted something different as well) but what I secretly had in mind was a fantastic trip to Disney AFTER the honeymoon!
Unfortunately, I lost my job three weeks before our wedding so two trips wasn't in the budget, but we still thoroughly enjoyed our honeymoon to Maui and Oahu, Hawaii. Even staying at Aulani (see I got some Disney in there! haha)
Basically as soon as I started my new job in January I began plotting a big anniversary trip and since I work for a bank I HAVE to take two weeks mandatory every year I would have plenty of time for a trip!
Unbeknownst to my hubby, I booked a room for us at the Wilderness Lodge for July 20th-July 27th. (Which actually worked in our favor when the parking costs came out since we were grandfathered in to no parking fees) Our wedding anniversary is July 21st so my thought was to fly in the day before so we could have a restful and magical anniversary and spend a week in Disney. I figured if the dates didn't work for my husband we could change them but at least I would have a trip placeholder and would secure the standard view rooms before they booked up!
Eventually I got my husband on board for the trip and soon we were officially going! I secured my two weeks off at work beginning July 20th and he was able to get all of the days off he needed as well. I booked our rental car through EZ Rental (we always use them and haven't had any issues in the past) and bought Dan's park ticket through Undercover Tourist, opting for the 4 day MYW with 2 extra days sp 6 days in total for him (and my AP).
Well, then came my first addition to the trip. In April, I began looking at flights and keeping an eye on prices for Southwest. We live in Buffalo and for us, the best airline is Southwest since they have multiple straight thru flights daily, the two free checked bags and free flight changes. Well, when I began looking into flights on July 20th, they did have a very early morning flight 6:20am-8:45am or a very late 12:40pm-3:20pm. Growing up, my family always picked the very early morning flights because you get to maximize your day without paying for an additional night at a hotel. Well as an adult with my own funds, I have come to HATE those early morning flights. They make me super nauseous all day, I worry about oversleeping and it's such a rush to pack up those last minute items before you leave. Plus, any delays that happen just make you mentally figure out everything you might be missing in Disney and when you fly in at night with no plans, you get there when you get there! So I called up Dan at work and asked him if he thought he could schedule himself an early shift on July 19th so that we could fly out that night. He was totally down to do so since early morning flights make him sick, too (and apparently make me cranky ). The 6:50PM flight on July 19th was actually cheaper than any of the July 20th flights anyway and an additional one night stay at POP! wouldn't break the bank. Plus then we'd be able to get an additional night in Disney plus the full day on July 20th, feeling fresh and relaxed!
So, we were now going July 19th - July 27th. The flight I wanted on July 27th was way more than I was willing to spend, but a very early morning flight home was available at $89 a pop so I booked them as placeholders because I knew I could easily switch the flight if I needed to. Eventually, I found the flight I wanted on July 27th at 7:55PM for the price I wanted, so we would maximize our full last day. We usually enjoy going to see a movie in Disney Springs or mini putt at one of the courses. Why go home before you have to, right? haha So technically that was the second "addition" to the trip!
Then Disney decided to bring back Disney After Hours. My cousins had tried it out in the past and had raved about it. I looked at the dates and realized it actually fell on our anniversary the week we were going. When I had booked the trip, I had planned NO parks for the day of our anniversary. Spending the day in the hot, July sun in any of the parks sounded the least bit relaxing for our anniversary. But going to dinner at California Grill and then to DAH sounded pretty fun actually! So I went ahead and booked the tickets and was able to get the AP discount on both of our tickets
Not that this is technically an addition but I did change our night at Pop at the end of May. I spend quite a bit of time looking at DVC hotel availabilities and one just happened to open up at Bay Lake Tower for a studio on July 19th. I had to try to get it! It was more expensive than POP! BUT what a great way to start our trip! We would also avoid that pesky one night parking fee at Bay Lake since its a DVC resort and they are exempt. Plus, when we get in we can grab a snack at the Contemporary, walk around, shop, maybe take a ride around the monorail? Usually when I fly in the night before for POP, I head to Boardwalk to get pizza from the Pizza Window...but this just sounds more fun and more anniversary-like! And, my Mom and Dad actually honeymooned at the Contemporary so it seemed even more fitting to start our trip here!
Then came our third, and definitely final addition to our trip. We were watching youtube and a suggestion popped up for a youtuber vlogging her Disney Dream Cruise experience. Dan wanted to watch it and who am I to say no to that? Basically we both fell in love with what we were seeing. Dan has always wanted to try a cruise and I wasn't entirely sold. To me it was only worth it if it was a Disney Cruise and I didn't think he would be sold on that. We talked on it for a little bit and looked up the dates of Disney Dream Cruises leaving out of Port Canaveral in July and there just so happened to be a three night Bahamas itinerary leaving July 27th!
It almost seemed too good to be true. I knew I could swing it since I have two weeks off from work anyway but we weren't sure that Dan would be able to since he was also taking off a few days the next week for a wedding that he was in. So until he could get his request in we began doing as much research as possible. Dan considered doing the same itinerary through Royal Caribbean but I wasn't sold unless it was a Disney Cruise. Yes, it would save money but was it worth the savings? From everything we both read, the value in the Disney Cruises was there. No one seemed to walk away from the Disney Cruises feeling like they didn't get their moneys worth. Also, just the decor of the ship and the restaurants looked so much more elegant than the other ships we looked at. So, the day Dan requested the additional days off I paid off my Disney credit card so that I was prepared and could get that good ole 0% financing if we were able to go. On Friday of last week I booked our very first Disney Dream Cruise! And we are both so excited. This seems like the perfect way to end our anniversary trip. Especially since you usually need a vacation from your vacation anyway! lol
So what does our trip look like?
July 19th -
SW Flight 6:50pm-9:20PM. Land and grab our rental car from EZ Car Rental.
Head to Bay Lake Tower.
July 20th -
Breakfast at the Contemporary QS.
Animal Kingdom - FP for FOP, Everest and Dinosaur.
Small lunch at QS Yak and Yeti
Head over to Wilderness Lodge to check out our room and get refreshed for dinner.
Disney Springs - The Void, shopping and dinner at Paddlefish. Maybe some after dinner drinks at Winebar George or The Edison
July 21st (Anniversary) -
Lunch at Grand Floridian Cafe.
Couples massage at Senses Spa
Hang by the pool at Wilderness Lodge
Late dinner at California Grill and to watch Happily Ever After
Grabbed a late FP for SDMT to ride before the party in case the line is too long during the party
Disney After Hours
July 22nd -
EPCOT
Lunch at Coral Reef
FP for Spaceship Earth, Test Track and Living with the Land
Dinner at Le Cellier
July 23rd -
Hollywood Studios
Lunch at Woodys Lunchbox
FP for Slinky Dog Dash, Rock N Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror
Snack at Baseline Taphouse
Dinner at Narcooses
July 24th -
Rest day/chill by the pool
Lunch at Geyser Point
Dinner at Artist Point
Magic Kingdom in the evening for ice cream sundaes from The Plaza and to watch Happily Ever After
FP for Buzz Lightyear, Space Mountain and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
July 25th -
Animal Kingdom
Lunch at Satuli Canteen
FP for FOP, Safari and Everest
Dinner at Jiko
July 26th -
Magic Kingdom
Lunch at The Plaza
FP for Space Mtn, SDMT and Thunder Mtn
Dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table
July 27th -
Check out of Wilderness Lodge
Drive to Port Canaveral for Disney Dream Cruise
Embark
Dinner at Palo at 8 - canceled and changed to the July 29th
July 28th -
Nassau, Bahamas
Planning to book the Atlantis Aquaventure Excursion. To see Atlantis has always been a bucketlist item for me and Dan loves waterparks so its a perfect match!
Pirates night!
July 29th -
Castaway Cay - planning on packing our own snorkel gear and possibly renting bikes to explore the island. But we will wait until the day of because I will be perfectly happy sunbathing all day!
Dinner at Palo at 8:30
July 30th -
Disembark in Port Canaveral
Spend the afternoon in Disney Springs - shop or maybe see a movie or possibly try bowling?
Early dinner at Art Smith's Homecomin'
Head to the airport
Any suggestions or thoughts are greatly appreciated! Especially when it comes to the cruise since neither of us have ever done one!
To introduce myself my name is Cloe and on this trip I will be traveling with my ever patient DH Dan!
We are high school sweethearts and have been together for ten years this year! I have been to Disney World many, many times, basically as much as I can and have gone my whole life. My first trip was at 6 months old and basically went every other year growing up until I had my own money and now its more like 2-3 times a year! lol. I just became an AP on my last trip and literally don't know why I waited so long. I don't want to even think of the dollars I could have saved the last few years! Dan didn't go to Disney growing up and his first time was with me and my family five years ago. He loves Disney as much as a normal person does but does enjoy doing other things outside of Disney, so we try to find a good balance. (And when he won't go with me, my Mom and sister are usually on board!
We will be celebrating our one year anniversary at the Happiest Place on Earth this July.
When we got married I promised him our honeymoon wouldn't be to Disney because we had been so many times already (and tbh I wanted something different as well) but what I secretly had in mind was a fantastic trip to Disney AFTER the honeymoon!
Unfortunately, I lost my job three weeks before our wedding so two trips wasn't in the budget, but we still thoroughly enjoyed our honeymoon to Maui and Oahu, Hawaii. Even staying at Aulani (see I got some Disney in there! haha)
Basically as soon as I started my new job in January I began plotting a big anniversary trip and since I work for a bank I HAVE to take two weeks mandatory every year I would have plenty of time for a trip!
Unbeknownst to my hubby, I booked a room for us at the Wilderness Lodge for July 20th-July 27th. (Which actually worked in our favor when the parking costs came out since we were grandfathered in to no parking fees) Our wedding anniversary is July 21st so my thought was to fly in the day before so we could have a restful and magical anniversary and spend a week in Disney. I figured if the dates didn't work for my husband we could change them but at least I would have a trip placeholder and would secure the standard view rooms before they booked up!
Eventually I got my husband on board for the trip and soon we were officially going! I secured my two weeks off at work beginning July 20th and he was able to get all of the days off he needed as well. I booked our rental car through EZ Rental (we always use them and haven't had any issues in the past) and bought Dan's park ticket through Undercover Tourist, opting for the 4 day MYW with 2 extra days sp 6 days in total for him (and my AP).
Well, then came my first addition to the trip. In April, I began looking at flights and keeping an eye on prices for Southwest. We live in Buffalo and for us, the best airline is Southwest since they have multiple straight thru flights daily, the two free checked bags and free flight changes. Well, when I began looking into flights on July 20th, they did have a very early morning flight 6:20am-8:45am or a very late 12:40pm-3:20pm. Growing up, my family always picked the very early morning flights because you get to maximize your day without paying for an additional night at a hotel. Well as an adult with my own funds, I have come to HATE those early morning flights. They make me super nauseous all day, I worry about oversleeping and it's such a rush to pack up those last minute items before you leave. Plus, any delays that happen just make you mentally figure out everything you might be missing in Disney and when you fly in at night with no plans, you get there when you get there! So I called up Dan at work and asked him if he thought he could schedule himself an early shift on July 19th so that we could fly out that night. He was totally down to do so since early morning flights make him sick, too (and apparently make me cranky
). The 6:50PM flight on July 19th was actually cheaper than any of the July 20th flights anyway and an additional one night stay at POP! wouldn't break the bank. Plus then we'd be able to get an additional night in Disney plus the full day on July 20th, feeling fresh and relaxed!So, we were now going July 19th - July 27th. The flight I wanted on July 27th was way more than I was willing to spend, but a very early morning flight home was available at $89 a pop so I booked them as placeholders because I knew I could easily switch the flight if I needed to. Eventually, I found the flight I wanted on July 27th at 7:55PM for the price I wanted, so we would maximize our full last day. We usually enjoy going to see a movie in Disney Springs or mini putt at one of the courses. Why go home before you have to, right? haha So technically that was the second "addition" to the trip!
Then Disney decided to bring back Disney After Hours. My cousins had tried it out in the past and had raved about it. I looked at the dates and realized it actually fell on our anniversary the week we were going. When I had booked the trip, I had planned NO parks for the day of our anniversary. Spending the day in the hot, July sun in any of the parks sounded the least bit relaxing for our anniversary. But going to dinner at California Grill and then to DAH sounded pretty fun actually! So I went ahead and booked the tickets and was able to get the AP discount on both of our tickets
Not that this is technically an addition but I did change our night at Pop at the end of May. I spend quite a bit of time looking at DVC hotel availabilities and one just happened to open up at Bay Lake Tower for a studio on July 19th. I had to try to get it! It was more expensive than POP! BUT what a great way to start our trip! We would also avoid that pesky one night parking fee at Bay Lake since its a DVC resort and they are exempt. Plus, when we get in we can grab a snack at the Contemporary, walk around, shop, maybe take a ride around the monorail? Usually when I fly in the night before for POP, I head to Boardwalk to get pizza from the Pizza Window...but this just sounds more fun and more anniversary-like! And, my Mom and Dad actually honeymooned at the Contemporary so it seemed even more fitting to start our trip here!
Then came our third, and definitely final addition to our trip. We were watching youtube and a suggestion popped up for a youtuber vlogging her Disney Dream Cruise experience. Dan wanted to watch it and who am I to say no to that? Basically we both fell in love with what we were seeing. Dan has always wanted to try a cruise and I wasn't entirely sold. To me it was only worth it if it was a Disney Cruise and I didn't think he would be sold on that. We talked on it for a little bit and looked up the dates of Disney Dream Cruises leaving out of Port Canaveral in July and there just so happened to be a three night Bahamas itinerary leaving July 27th!
It almost seemed too good to be true. I knew I could swing it since I have two weeks off from work anyway but we weren't sure that Dan would be able to since he was also taking off a few days the next week for a wedding that he was in. So until he could get his request in we began doing as much research as possible. Dan considered doing the same itinerary through Royal Caribbean but I wasn't sold unless it was a Disney Cruise. Yes, it would save money but was it worth the savings? From everything we both read, the value in the Disney Cruises was there. No one seemed to walk away from the Disney Cruises feeling like they didn't get their moneys worth. Also, just the decor of the ship and the restaurants looked so much more elegant than the other ships we looked at. So, the day Dan requested the additional days off I paid off my Disney credit card so that I was prepared and could get that good ole 0% financing if we were able to go. On Friday of last week I booked our very first Disney Dream Cruise! And we are both so excited. This seems like the perfect way to end our anniversary trip. Especially since you usually need a vacation from your vacation anyway! lol
So what does our trip look like?
July 19th -
SW Flight 6:50pm-9:20PM. Land and grab our rental car from EZ Car Rental.
Head to Bay Lake Tower.
July 20th -
Breakfast at the Contemporary QS.
Animal Kingdom - FP for FOP, Everest and Dinosaur.
Small lunch at QS Yak and Yeti
Head over to Wilderness Lodge to check out our room and get refreshed for dinner.
Disney Springs - The Void, shopping and dinner at Paddlefish. Maybe some after dinner drinks at Winebar George or The Edison
July 21st (Anniversary) -
Lunch at Grand Floridian Cafe.
Couples massage at Senses Spa
Hang by the pool at Wilderness Lodge
Late dinner at California Grill and to watch Happily Ever After
Grabbed a late FP for SDMT to ride before the party in case the line is too long during the party
Disney After Hours
July 22nd -
EPCOT
Lunch at Coral Reef
FP for Spaceship Earth, Test Track and Living with the Land
Dinner at Le Cellier
July 23rd -
Hollywood Studios
Lunch at Woodys Lunchbox
FP for Slinky Dog Dash, Rock N Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror
Snack at Baseline Taphouse
Dinner at Narcooses
July 24th -
Rest day/chill by the pool
Lunch at Geyser Point
Dinner at Artist Point
Magic Kingdom in the evening for ice cream sundaes from The Plaza and to watch Happily Ever After
FP for Buzz Lightyear, Space Mountain and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
July 25th -
Animal Kingdom
Lunch at Satuli Canteen
FP for FOP, Safari and Everest
Dinner at Jiko
July 26th -
Magic Kingdom
Lunch at The Plaza
FP for Space Mtn, SDMT and Thunder Mtn
Dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table
July 27th -
Check out of Wilderness Lodge
Drive to Port Canaveral for Disney Dream Cruise
Embark
Dinner at Palo at 8 - canceled and changed to the July 29th
July 28th -
Nassau, Bahamas
Planning to book the Atlantis Aquaventure Excursion. To see Atlantis has always been a bucketlist item for me and Dan loves waterparks so its a perfect match!
Pirates night!
July 29th -
Castaway Cay - planning on packing our own snorkel gear and possibly renting bikes to explore the island. But we will wait until the day of because I will be perfectly happy sunbathing all day!
Dinner at Palo at 8:30
July 30th -
Disembark in Port Canaveral
Spend the afternoon in Disney Springs - shop or maybe see a movie or possibly try bowling?
Early dinner at Art Smith's Homecomin'
Head to the airport
Any suggestions or thoughts are greatly appreciated! Especially when it comes to the cruise since neither of us have ever done one!
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While not much, this isn't really accounting for any other extras beyond what I'm expecting we'll get. Also, I suspect my Mom and I will make it done to Disney at least one more time before my AP expires so it will eventually save me more than that. (I'm REALLY kicking myself I didn't get it during my Spring Break trip! I think the ability to get free valet service is also a nice perk since we will be going to Disney in July and if it's monsooning before dinner we can just pull up and avoid becoming drowned rats!
