A comedy of errors.....or the road to our trip home (1st pre-trip report)

[mmtska]

Hi everyone! This is my first report of anything! Hopefully this will turn into my first TR (and a great trip!)

A total of 5 (not including layovers.....GAH!) plane trips separates me and my DH from the Happiest Place in the World! Home really is where the Navy takes you....or is it....

My goal since I was 15 was to visit every Disney Park in the world. I was lucky enough to marry a guy who was ok with that dream! So together, we're planning on going from Tokyo to Paris...well maybe not in that order. We've made it to Tokyo Disney/DisneySea already, but thanks to a good friend and some GREAT discounts, we're heading to the place where it all started (well maybe not for Walt, but for me!)

* Who is in your party

ME: Megan-a 28 year old (ok 29 in less than a week!) elementary music teacher from Western PA. Solid fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Sleeping Beauty My first trip to WDW was at 3. I don't remember much, just that it was a party of 5-my mom, dad, me and my great-aunt and great-uncle. Second trip was a little different-I was 7 and Pluto tried to eat my dad's head-SWEET!! I went again in 1996 and 1998 with my high school marching band for Magic Music Days. I love all things Disney and get constantly picked on for that....oh well. I get to have fun and act like a kid again!

DH: Ricky-a 23....yes 23 I'm a cradle robber...RP in the Navy. DH isn't quite into Disney as much as I am, but I'm converting him. He's a kid at heart too so he doesn't mind all the Disney stuff. His only trip to WDW was with his family back in 2000 so he has an advantage-he's actually BEEN to Animal Kingdom. His favorite park is Epcot. It's pretty much the one thing we've fought over this entire trip...


* Your travel dates
As much as I want to go some other time than the summer, being a teacher/child of a teacher makes summer one of the only times we can go....so here we are again! We're flying down from Pittsburgh June 22 and returning June 27.

* Where are you staying
This is a complicated situations....well it was anyway! We have the military 'package' which is giving us 40% off of rooms!!!! We first thought we could only get a moderate resort with that, but the CM said that we could get a value!!! YAY saving money!! We booked at POP-pretty cool because I only remember All Star Music and DH has only ever stayed at All Star Sports.

Weeks pass and I manage to save more money than I thought I could. I do some more research (a lot of searching on these boards too!) and decide that we want to upgrade to a mod. Between DH and I we decide on Coronado Springs-and it was still available So there we go. 5 nights at the beautiful CSR


* What Advanced Dining Reservations you have made (if any)
Since we're on the DDP and I love food, I spent a lot of time checking out the restaurants. I hope we enjoy the ones we chose!

22nd-Dinner at Narcoosee's. Since we're celebrating our anniversary, I thought this would be kind of a cool place to check out.

23rd-Dinner at Crystal Palace. I have a thing for Tigger. 'Nough said.

24th-Lunch at Rainforest Cafe. DH and I have a lot of memories at RCs so although we've been to quite a few, we put this as a must do.

25th-Dinner at Garden Grill. I love character meals, and I thought this would be a cool place. Plus Chip and Dale rock!!

26-Dinner at Big River Grille. Not an ADR, but hopefully I can call there and get some info. I've read you can, so I'm going to try!! WDW-DINE doesn't take ADRs from there at least. This is DH's request since he loves some beer and I didn't want to do Biergarten.


* If you have a set itinerary
So far no set one yet. I bought the UG and downloaded RideMax so we'll see what happens. We want to hit AM EMH and then hit a less insane park. I'm not sure how that's going to work since our ADRs are in the EMH parks. Missed that recommendation before we made the ADRs so we're stuck. Oh well, we're flexible! In the words of Bon Jovi "I'll live when I'm alive, and sleep when I'm dead!"


* Any special plans, events, etc that you have planned
This is for our anniversary so we're having the dinner at Narcoosee's. Other than that we don't have anything planned. We'll see though. I've got a couple months.....maybe we'll get a cake for dinner. mmmmmmm cake

 

[lucky978]

Hope you have a fantastic trip. And tell your husband "Thank You" for serving our country!!!

Looking forward to reading your trip report. We're heading to POFQ in just 12 days. I'm spending as much time between now and then here on these boards.

Enjoy your trip!!

 

[mmtska]

Thanks for replying! I'm so excited to go Enjoy your trip! I wish we were going sooner

 

[mmtska]

Poor DH. He really got the shaft this year with his leave. We've been planning this trip based on the fact that he had 30 days of leave and we'd be able to squeeze it in and still get to spend a lot of time with families. Unfortunately, all RPs and Chaplains on our base are only allowed to take 2 weeks. So I get to come home 10 days before we leave-he shows up the day before.....ugh.

We'll be staying at a hotel close to the Pitt airport so we don't have to drive back and forth an hour from my parents' house to catch our plane. We'll end up on the tarmac at MCO lunch time-ish. Hopefully we'll be able to check in a bit early!

Depending on time, we might check out DTD for a bit and then head over to Narcoosee's. If we don't have time, then chill at the resort and then head to our anniversary dinner! I love me some lobster so that will definitely be in my tummy

After that we're still debating on DTD or MK. We have to activate our tickets that day so I'm leaning towards MK. Either way, we're at WDW!!!!

I'm probably going to let DH have this day because I'll be plan happy for the rest of it!!! On to Day 2......

 

[mmtska]

So this past March (around the 7th actually heh) I realized-hey! I've been married for 2 years! And I still love my husband-even better Then I realized we were celebrating that anniversary at Disney-again!!! That's right, this is actually our 2nd celebration at a Disney park (I'm pulling for an annual tradition since we're going to try to go to Hong Kong Disney next year).

I decided to share some pictures from our Tokyo trip last year. There's a lot of things that were so familiar, and other things that I've never seen and were pretty rockin'!

View of the castle, Walt and Mickey

It's a Small World-in any country

In front of the castle

Flower Mickey at night!


We've seen it thousands of miles away, but we can't wait to see it in Florida!! At least it'll be warmer.....dang that was cold!

 

[mmtska]

Ah the Magic Kingdom. Where (ok IMO) a Disney World trip really starts. I finally get to add to my collection of pictures in front of the flower Mickey! I love pictures, so I have some must-do shots already in my head-this being the first!

I can't wait for that first step down Main Street either! I'm sure it'll be like a MAD rush, but I will most definitely be there for rope drop! Another must-do shot: in front of Cinderella's Castle of course! There have been quite a few changes since 1998, so my goal is to hit Buzz and the Pooh ride first thing. The Tokyo Disney Buzz was closed when we went, and I LOVED Pooh (and from what I can tell it's the same thing) but I really want to hear it in English!! As much as I try to learn Japanese, I still can't understand most of it.......so I'm excited to understand what's going on. And I'm hoping it bounces in the Tigger section as well!!!

I'm going to miss Space Mountain (and found out that it'll be closed when we go back to Tokyo Disney too ) DH and I didn't go on it at Tokyo because the line was a 3 hour wait and all fastpasses were gone. I though it'd be ok because we'd be heading there soon and could ride it in Florida....HA joke's on me!

The other 2 mountains though? HERE I COME!! I'm such a coaster junkie and love big dips and falls. Granted these don't touch Millenium, Dragster and Maverick at Cedar Point, but I go there for coasters-I go to Disney for

After some major ride-age, we'll probably head off to the hotel for some lunch and R&R. Then back to the magic!!! We'll be heading to the Crystal Palace for some good times with and for dinner!!!! I love Tigger. I have a stuffed Tigger from every Disney park, and a big fuzzy baby Tigger from a store in Oki. I even have a Pooh puzzle that hangs in our apartment.

After the important part of our day we'll probably hit up some more rides and shows (at least 2 times on PoTC for me!!!) and end our night with Wishes and the Kiss Goodnight. This is probably going to make me cry. Then again everything is going to make me cry. Our friends have already started making bets on how many times I will cry during the trip-and debating on if me tearing up counts!

Next time: Day 3 and Animal Kingdom!

 

[mmtska]

So not much to say actually. I've never been to Animal Kingdom. It had opened 2 months before our band went, and no one wanted to go. In fact, the band director called it a glorified zoo! Fast forward 11 years and I'll finally get to see it! DH went a few years after it opened, but said that there wasn't much open so he doesn't remember much at all.

Although I do love zoos, I'm really excited to see wildlife in a more natural habitat. I'm all about the Safari and the walking trails. We're hopefully going to catch the Safari around park opening since I've read that's when the animals are more awake. In my mind that means much more interesting! I can't WAIT for Expedition Everest too. Yeti fun for everyone!

As for food: Rainforest Cafe was DH's choice It's kind of our 'thing'. Anytime we go somewhere and there is one-we eat there. It started when we met in San Antonio and went from there. So yeah, might not be the BEST restaurant in the World, but it's ours!!

Wish us luck-this is the only park with no experience!

Day 4: DH's fave EPCOT

 

[mmtska]

Ok here's the deal. The last time I went to EPCOT I was 18. It was our last day at the World, my friend Chris and I had no energy and we rushed around trying to see everything. I remember NADA. The time before that? Yeah I was 7 and all I remember is Figment. I love Figment. I still have a stuffed Figment from when I was 7. That is all. My outlook? BLECH. I'd rather do Magic Kingdom another day. That or get some extra Tower of Terror time in

DH on the other hand? LOVES EPCOT. He loves the rides (rides? what rides!) and digs walking around the countries in WS (uh yeah like I said-18 and running around) and checking out every little spot to learn something. Um they have rides?

Ok so in fairness to DH, I start looking things up on EPCOT. The big golf ball? Has a ride! Never knew that-no really.....if it was around when I was 7 I don't remember it. HA. SOARIN' sounds neat....in fact it sounds really awesome. Test Track.....huh, yet another fun ride. NORWAY HAS PRINCESS AURORA. Well ok I'm sold. AND SHE IS SPOTTED IN FRANCE!!!!!!!!! I had DH laughing for HOURS on that one. I now want to spend the entire day in EPCOT. Heh.....for once I'm thankful DH liked something that I wanted to bypass!

Well stubborn DH prevailed again. He made me promise NOT to go the Akershus for the Princesses....he says he can't handle all that girly stuff. Well phooey. She's still in France right.....RIGHT?!?!?!

Dear DH, If I do not get to meet Sleeping Beauty while at WDW we will have issues.

Instead I convinced him to eat at Garden Grill-I need characters yo! I want to see the spinning restaurant-and I think he does too. I guess that works. I'm kind of looking forward to the WS too. Although I could care less about Japan at this point-fool wanted to eat at Teppan Edo. Really? We get Teppanyaki over here ALL. THE. TIME. I'm more excited about finding souvenirs that are cheaper than over here!! Okinawa is expensive..... I'm hoping the Taiko drummers let me play I've gotten pretty good at them!

This is probably going to be the most interesting day of our trip. I don't want to hear "I told you so" so I'm taking ear plugs with me Oh well, at least I'll get to experience it as an 'adult'. Look, just because I'm 29 doesn't mean I've grown up yet!

Next-Day 5 DHS and my 2nd favorite ride in the World!

 

[mmtska]

MGM....I mean DHS is my 2nd fave park. I haven't heard a lot of good things about it lately though. I'm really excited about 2 of the rides I haven't been on yet: Toy Story Mania and Rock n Roller Coaster (coaster junkie remember!). I'm even more excited about Tower of Terror though! I love that free fall and looking out right before it. We did it twice at Tokyo Disney and I had so much fun-especially at night. DH and I have managed to do the ride several times in a row. DH caught it on a rainy day. I caught it late at night when a lot of people had already left the park. WHOO!! So is it strange I hope for rain on our DHS day?

I'm a little worried about our food choices on this day. My hopeful plan is to do as much as we can in the morning, head to Big River Grille and chill on the Boardwalk for a bit, then head back later in the day. However we're thinking about renting a car from one of the DTD hotels, so we may break and head to DTD and eat at Earl of Sandwich, and save BRG for dinner. Then our plan would be leave DHS at 8, eat at BRG and head to MK for PM EMH!! I actually bet that's what will happen! We figure we can always sleep on the plane, so that would definitely work for us

Sadly this is the last day of our trip. Our plane leaves at 10 am so we have to leave the resort around 7.....so no fun for us I can't wait to go! I have less than 2 months until I head home, and just a bit over 2 months until we make it to Orlando!

Hopefully I'll have more info soon Thanks for reading this far!

 

[mmtska]

After reading the boards, the UG and some other guidebooks, I figured having some sort of bag at WDW would be helpful. I had read some good reviews about baggalinis, so I went and checked some of them out. DH didn't like ANY of them, and since he would probably be the one carrying it around, I figured he should be the one to really pick it out. So he went on a search for a small sling bag that would be 'manly.' Um right. After some searching he found this:

He loves green and it apparently isn't too girly for him I really do like it though. I can't find it for sale anymore online though. It has a zipper pocket in the front which I really like for IDs, KTTW card, etc. Plus it also has a mesh bottle pocket on the one side-perfect for the water that we're planning to gulp down in June!

I also wanted to get some comfy walking shoes. I got these

for Christmas last year and wear them a lot in Oki, so I'm hoping it's a good choice for Florida. I also have these

that I wear a lot. I LOVE these flip flops. I'm not sure they're good for a whole day of walking though. I can stand on them forever, but ankle support stinks, and the thong part of the shoe gets annoying.

My personal preference is there

I have to say Skechers are some of the most comfy shoes that I've ever owned, and the slip-ons mean no shoelaces coming untied!! That makes me uber happy

DH also needed some sandals, so he got these

and says they're one of the most comfy shoes he's ever had! YAY! So now we're both happy-me with my crocs hehe and him with his new bag. All set for a grand ol' time!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Just found your pre-trip report. Lovin' it so far.

 

[mmtska]

Just found your pre-trip report. Lovin' it so far.

Thanks!! I'm pretty fired up about it. 11 years since my last WDW trip and I'm going crazy The TR is a great outlet heh.

 

[mmtska]

Earth day is my 2 month mark! Seems strange to me that in 2 months I'll be asleep in my queen (hopefully) bed at the CSR! I think half of the fun is the anticipation though. DH and I have been going back and forth the last few days about renting a car. I say no, he says it's a good idea. I say that we're not going off Disney property, he says that maybe one of the days we will want to. (uh we have 4 full days-4 parks.....yeah ok) I've been tempted to create a poll on the Transportation board, but I have a feeling that it would be neck and neck and I STILL wouldn't have a good idea! So I took it to a friend (a DISer I know from another chat board-HI KATIE!) and asked her since she is our Dis-pert on that board. She agreed that there really wasn't a point to renting a car-especially since we're staying on property.

Why is it why ONE person agrees with me, my DH all of a sudden gives in. I just need to use this more often-it would save me a lot of headache. I told him what she wrote and "oh well yeah I guess it does make sense." ARGH!!! Oh well, that's $200 more for souvenirs

Plus, MORE good news!!! DH was supposed to be able to take a month of leave, but it didn't happen. So we're trying to rush around getting everything we want to do at home done! It's costing me $1700 to fly from Okinawa-San Francisco-Pittsburgh and back and him $1400 to fly from Okinawa-Pittsburgh and back. Plus the plane trip to FL and back. We're pretty tapped for money. Well he's possibly getting TAD orders to Chicago-meaning the government will fly him there and back for school!!!! We have to cancel his flight (they'll do that because he'll have orders) and all we have to pay for is a flight from Chicago-Pittsburgh. So our expense went from $1400-$140!! YAY! Now he just has to get accepted to the school. Here's hoping!

 

[mickeystoontown]

There's no way that I'd rent a car for just 4 days. Heck, we stay for 10 days (we drive our own car to WDW) and we drove our car once, just once, during the entire stay. The year before, we were there for 10 days and we drove our car twice. Really no reason to pay for a rental car.

 

[mmtska]

There's no way that I'd rent a car for just 4 days. Heck, we stay for 10 days (we drive our own car to WDW) and we drove our car once, just once, during the entire stay. The year before, we were there for 10 days and we drove our car twice. Really no reason to pay for a rental car.

I'm totally using this for more info for my DH! hehe He decided last night he wanted a car again....I had to explain everything over again!!

 

[mmtska]

It's been a busy few weeks around here and I haven't done much on the computer. This whole swine flu has become extra irritating. My DH almost had trouble with his leave-his TDY orders were canceled, and rumors ran around that leave would be too. Luckily, since he had his leave already approved, we're good.

On a better note-WE'RE PAID OFF!!!! I called about a week ago and paid the rest of the vacation off! This makes things so much better Tomorrow is the cutoff so we have 46 days left to go and I ge more excited every day.

I now am a proud owner of the Unofficial Guide and Ridemax so I'll be having fun in the next few weeks. Plus only 12 days of school left! Sometimes working part time rocks hehe. Then it's a 15 hour plane ride to San Francisco. ARGH.

Oh well 1 month 5 days until San Fran, 1 month 9 days until I'm home in PA and 1 month and 15 days until WDW!!!!

 

[mmtska]

Good morning everyone! Ok well it's almost 11 pm here, but I'm trying to get into the States time. At this time next month I'll be hanging out with my bff in San Fran, getting ready to fly to Pittsburgh :-D

We got some bad news this week. Because of the swine flu, leave for my husband's unit was canceled. Supposedly it was only for the service member, but turned out it was for dependents too-made sense but still. I have serious island fever,, so this was a well needed trip. Plus quite a few things were going to happen this summer that we'd miss. Today DH got word that they would look at already approved leave and re-approve it! We're not still assured to go, but it looks pretty good.

So back to playing around with my touring plans and Ridemax! I've plugged a bunch of different possibilities in-using it for the possibility of park hopping. We may be doing more than we should, but heck-it'll be fun!

 

[mmtska]

So the plan was for us to go to Big River Grille our last day. However, DH found out that it wasn't going to be an ADR and we might have to *gasp* wait. So that was then end of that and we ended up making an ADR for Biergarten! He's wanted to go there from the get go, but agreed to go to go to Garden Grill so we could meet Chip and Dale-and possibly Mickey Luckily the reservation is right when the restaurant opens, so we'll be able to go there for lunch and GG for dinner-with a span of 5 and a half hours-good thing I love food hehe.

I'm excited about being able to get this ADR. I would have rather had breakfast with the princesses, but I'll survive heh!

1 month to go!

 

[teruterubouzu]

I hope things work out and that you arrive at Walt Disney World like you planned. It's fun making those dining reservations!

 

[mmtska]

I hope things work out and that you arrive at Walt Disney World like you planned. It's fun making those dining reservations!

Thanks! It's looking better and better, but still no firm 'yes'. I had fun making them the first time.....thought I'd be done but nooooo....DH has to be dificult!! LOL