3 Years in the making! **Complete**

[DisneyLifer87]

I am super excited to be starting this Pre-Trip Report! As those of you who may have followed my previous 2 reports know... I tend to let real life lead me astray. But.. NOT THIS TIME! We're in this for the long haul and I'm determined to complete this puppy to the end.

A little sneak peak of us...

DH and and I were married in May 2010 at the Disney's Swan Resort. My Disney dream wedding! The story behind that and the rest of our lives will come after work.. so please stay tuned!

---Random Ramblings---
Who, What, When, Where Why?
About Us
The Plan Thus Far...
Wedding Recap
Flights are Booked

---Itinerary---*Completed*
Day One Itinerary
-- Epcot World Showcase Must-Do's
Day Two Itinerary
-- Epcot Future World Must-Do's
Day Three Itinerary **Updated**
-- Animal Kingdom Must-Do's
Day Four Itinerary **Updated**
-- Magic Kingdom Must-Do's (3/4)
Day Five Itinerary **Updated**
-- US/IOA Must-Do's
Day Six Itinerary
Day Seven Itinerary
-- Hollywood Studios Must-Do's
Day Eight Itinerary

---Planning---
Disney To-Do
Lists, Lists, and yes, Lists
You're a wizard, Harry!

 

[DisneyLifer87]

The who, what, when, where, and why......

WHO: Just me and the hubby celebrating our anniversary. Granted, our anniversary will actually be May 18th, 2011 and we are not going till September. However, given our school/work schedules September was the easiest time frame.

WHAT: Our Disney anniversary trip. This will be our third trip as a couple. It will also be DH's third trip ever and my 6th in my lifetime.

WHEN: September 17th-24th, 2011

WHERE: We have a Preferred room at the POP Century resort with 7-day park hopper tickets and the Dining Plan.

WHY: ....because it's Disney!

 

[DisneyLifer87]

A Little Bit About Us....

Me I'm a 23 year old Wireless Consultant for Verizon Wireless, full-time. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in May of 2009 and have since returned to school as of last Tuesday to obtain a teaching license for teaching high school literature. Basically I am always crazy busy, but LOVE to spend any waking moment planning for Disney. My goal for this trip is to simply relax and enjoy the parks since our last trip had so much wedding/family things going on that we barely had time to ourselves.

DH is a 22 year old cook for a local nursing home. He is currently working roughly part-time and attending school part-time as well. He will graduate in December of 2011 with an Associate's Degree in Criminal Justice. I am very proud of his commitment! He is very laid back and really enjoys Disney, but mostly for the food. The planning is all placed on my shoulders as he would rather just show up. DH's goal for this trip is to spend half days in the park and take frequent breaks instead of constantly running. (Hah, we'll see.)

----------------------------------------------------
A little tidbit about our trip....

The title describes that this will be our third year in a row going to Disney. Initially this trip was not planned to happen due to the wedding expenses which stacked up when DH was laid off a month after our return. We went through quite the financial turmoil with me stuck in a job I was dissatisfied with, but unable to leave due to DH's unemployment. Thankfully some pixie dust came our way in September when DH found his current job. Shortly after in November, I replaced my horrible job for the one I love right now. We are getting back on our feet quickly and have decided to reward ourselves and our financial struggles by using our tax return for a Disney trip.

Dreams do come true!

 

[DisneyLifer87]

No readers yet, but I'll continue on....

The Plan....(so far) with pictures

Saturday 09/17/11: Travel Day
Fly into Orlando from Minneapolis arriving via Disney's Magical Express to POP Century around 2:30pm.
Hop on the bus to Epcot for some World Showcase enjoyments and a nice relaxing ease back into the Disney lifestyle.
Dinner ADR at Teppan Edo

Sunday 09/18/11: First official Disney day
Get up early to hit Epcot at park open.
Tackle Future World.
Dinner ADR at Coral Reef

Monday 09/19/11: Day two
Get up early to hit Magic Kingdom at park open.
Dinner ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern.

Tuesday 09/20/11: Day three
Get up early as usual to hit Magic Kingdom at park open.
Take the monorail to Epcot for dinner ADR at Nine Dragons

Wednesday 09/21/11: Day four
Get up early to hit Animal Kingdom at park open.
Head back to the hotel to change before a night on the Downtown Disney town for shopping and dinner ADR at either Planet Hollywood or Wolfgang Puck's

Thursday 09/22/11: Day five
Get up early to hit Disney's Hollywood Studios at park open.
Dinner ADR at 50's primetime cafe

Friday 09/23/11: Day six
Get up early to hit Disney's Hollywood Studios at park open.
Dinner ADR at the Sci-Fi Drive in

Saturday 09/24/11: Travel day
Returning home on an early flight to miss Disney

 

[MelMel11]

Count me in. Cannot wait to hear more of your planning. We are going on our 3rd trip in July..

 

[DisneyLifer87]

Count me in. Cannot wait to hear more of your planning. We are going on our 3rd trip in July..

Thanks for jumping on board.



Life has been a little crazy around here. My supervisor and my store manager were both let go on Friday leaving the team with 3 reps and 1 supervisor remaining. 56 hours put in this week and goodness knows what next week will bring.

On the plus side, I did pick up my copy of The Unofficial Guide 2011

 

[DisneyLifer87]

Anxiously awaiting September hours to be released so I can finalize our park days and ADRs.

Also of course waiting for a few more tax documents so we can get our return and pay off Disney

 

[DisneyLifer87]

DISNEY IS PAID OFF!!!!

 

[Disneypolyprincess]

Time to party! Congrats on a trip you thought would never happen and paying it off! Can't wait to hear more

 

[mtgirl29]

Sounds like so much fun! Cannot wait to read more!

 

[DisneyLifer87]

Sounds like so much fun! Cannot wait to read more!

Time to party! Congrats on a trip you thought would never happen and paying it off! Can't wait to hear more

Welcome to the party!

Got our Passporter 2011 yesterday in the mail. What a welcome surprise from a long day at work.

On a slight side note update, our sweet kitty Nala is showing early signs of kidney failure. We're hoping to keep it under control and she seems happy and healthy for the time being. She will be celebrating her 17th birthday with her brother Simba this May, so all in all she's had a healthy, luxurious life.

I'm going to upload a few trip photos from our May 2011 adventure and post a bit more on our daily itineraries which I have been working on with tentative September park hours. Who doesn't love pictures, right? Stay tuned.

 

[Disneypolyprincess]

Welcome to the party!

Got our Passporter 2011 yesterday in the mail. What a welcome surprise from a long day at work.

On a slight side note update, our sweet kitty Nala is showing early signs of kidney failure. We're hoping to keep it under control and she seems happy and healthy for the time being. She will be celebrating her 17th birthday with her brother Simba this May, so all in all she's had a healthy, luxurious life.

I'm going to upload a few trip photos from our May 2011 adventure and post a bit more on our daily itineraries which I have been working on with tentative September park hours. Who doesn't love pictures, right? Stay tuned.

Awww best wishes to your cat my dog is around 16 can't wait to see your pictures

 

[L-Harper]

I'm in! I'm in!



I'd love to see some of your wedding photos!

 

[DisneyLifer87]

Our Disney Wedding was held in one of the courtyards at the Swan Resort on May 18th, 2010. We originally had it planned in the small fountain area outside of the resort entirely, however the Swan double booked our location! My wedding planner with Just Marry! (who was fantastic, by the way) offered the courtyard due to our small party and I was alright with that. She then surprised us on our wedding day with a reimbursement of 80% compliments of Disney for the mistake. We didn't even mind the move and were totally understanding. Talk about some Disney magic!!
Needless to say, I bought a medium sketch D&B purse with our excess money, as well as some other Disney goodies. We enjoyed every minute of the wedding (though it was quick) and thought our photographer Randy Chapman was phenomenal. Our reception was a dinner at Ohana followed by a group outing to Margaritaville.

Now enjoy some photos while I work on our itinerary for this year's trip:

Our niece, Sydney, telling me how excited she is for the wedding...

Chilling on the walkway between the Swan and Dolphin. Actually, we were melting....

Are we done yet? I'm hungry....

I have many more, but this is not about my wedding, right?

 

[DisneyLifer87]

Day Zero (9/16/11)

We will be driving from Duluth, MN down to the cities and staying overnight at my mother's/stepfather's place so they can take us to the airport the following morning. I have no plans for this day... we get there when we get there. Usually the earlier the better (aka a dinner I do not have to cook )

Day One (9/17/11)

6:00am - Wake up or.. prepare to leave if sleeping has not yet occurred.
6:45am - Leave for the Airport
7:15am - Arrive at MSP and travel through check-in/security which will hopefully be a breeze. Find some breakfast before heading to the gate.
9:00am - LIFT OFF! We're going to Disney, baby!
1:13pm - Scheduled landing at MCO

-DME traveling and check-in at POP Century. We'll purchase our refillable mugs and pick up a quick snack before hopping on the bus to Epcot.

5:30pm - Estimated time we will reach Epcot to travel the World Showcase.
7:00pm - ADR at Via Napoli

-This day is very relaxed and a nice ease back into the Disney way of life. We will stay for Illuminations before heading back to unpack our luggage which should have arrived by that time and head to bed earlier.

Now enjoy some of last year's Epcot photos from the F&G Festival:

 

[Disneypolyprincess]

Day Zero (9/16/11)

We will be driving from Duluth, MN down to the cities and staying overnight at my mother's/stepfather's place so they can take us to the airport the following morning. I have no plans for this day... we get there when we get there. Usually the earlier the better (aka a dinner I do not have to cook )

Day One (9/17/11)

4:00am - Wake up or.. prepare to leave if sleeping has not yet occurred.
4:45am - Leave for the Airport
5:15am - Arrive at MSP and travel through check-in/security which will hopefully be a breeze. Find some breakfast before heading to the gate.
7:10am - LIFT OFF! We're going to Disney, baby!
11:13am - Scheduled landing at MCO

-DME traveling and check-in with a short pit stop at POP Century food court for some lunch.

3:30pm - Estimated time we will head to Epcot to travel the World Showcase.
7:00pm - ADR at Teppan Edo. Time is subject to change, but this is what I'm aiming for.

-This day is very relaxed and a nice ease back into the Disney way of life. We're looking to catch a few shows and ride Maelstrom as well as the Gran Fiesta Tour. Other than that, we have no precise plans outside of dinner. We will stay for Illuminations before heading back to unpack our luggage which should have arrived by that time and head to bed earlier.

Now enjoy some of last year's Epcot photos from the F&G Festival:

I loveLove your pictures! Sounds like a great start!

 

[L-Harper]

Great update! Your pictures from Epcot last year are absolutely beautiful! I can't wait to see what you have planned for the following days of your trip. I love pre-trip reports!

 

[DisneyLifer87]

Booked our flights today through Disney! Saved a little bit in comparison to other sites. Grand total for round-trip from MSP $738.80.

We will arrive early Saturday the 17th as planned and leave around noon on the 24th as hoped. The Disney travel agent I spoke to was a little confused at first because it just so happens that our arrival and departure flights have the same flight number. He said that in his 3 years he had never seen that.

Coincidence or frightening?


...stay tuned for more itinerary fun.

 

[Disneypolyprincess]

Booked our flights today through Disney! Saved a little bit in comparison to other sites. Grand total for round-trip from MSP $738.80.

We will arrive early Saturday the 17th as planned and leave around noon on the 24th as hoped. The Disney travel agent I spoke to was a little confused at first because it just so happens that our arrival and departure flights have the same flight number. He said that in his 3 years he had never seen that.

Coincidence or frightening?


...stay tuned for more itinerary fun.

How odd to have the same flight numbers to and from! I hope nothing bad goes wrong!

 

[DisneyLifer87]

Day Two: 9/18/11
7:00am - Wake up and get ready for our first official day at Disney!
7:45am - Head down to the Pop food court for breakfast on the go.

--here is where I shall insert a little side note: DH is pretty much the only one of us who actually eats breakfast. Typically I'm not hungry until the afternoon. For this reason we will frequently pop (hah, pun intended) into the food court to snag a croissant or the like for him en route to the buses.--

8:15am - Catch the bus to Epcot for Future World
9:00am - Park Open, ride Soarin'
9:30am - Head to Test Track and ride!
10:30am - Ride Spaceship Earth
11:00am - Ride Universe of Energy with Ellen
11:30am - Spend sometime in Innovations (maybe do Sum of All Thrills)
12:00pm - Ride Living with the Land
12:30pm - Ride the Seas with Nemo
1:15pm - Chill out with Crush in Turtle Talk

1:45pm - Grab a bite to eat and head back to the hotel for a swim/nap before...

5:00pm - Catch the bus back to Epcot
5:30pm - Take our Visa Photo pass photo and don't miss it this time!
6:15pm - Coral Reef ADR

Afterwards we will seek out a few World Showcase areas we missed before:
8:00pm - Monorail to the Magic Kingdom for EMH
8:45pm - Avoid the MSEP crowd like the plague and push on into Tomorrowland for Space Mountain.
9:45pm - Ride the People Mover and enjoy glimpses of Wishes as we pass on by.
10:15pm - Finish watching Wishes before crossing over to ride a night time Jungle Cruise experience. I hear awesome things about this.

Afterwards we will do a little bit of shopping, but then head on out for the night.

Now, a few more Epcot images for your viewing pleasure from F&G Festival....

Stay tuned for Day Three.....