A Disney Geek-tastic Trip to the World Updated 3/27!

[luvpoohandcompany]

Im in. Cant wait to hear all about it

 

[khertz]

Joining in!

 

[mommy2E]

I'm here. Cant wait to hear all about your trip!

 

[MomToPrincePhillip]

I'm in! Looking forward to your TR, and seeing Franklin's photos!

 

[Tiggerrn2]

Can't wait to read more. Looking forward to the photos as well!! They are always so nice! Disney should pay him for their use and advertise with them.

 

[soldiersmom]

I'm new to your reports, but checking in instead of just lurkin'...looking forward to all the pictures

 

[Missyrose]

I am in, I have been following your excitement for disney since you bought your first DVC contract.
Good for you!!!

4,000 photos!!! Holy Cow.....

Awww thanks! I can't believe it's been almost a year since we bought the Boardwalk contract! Glad to have you along.

I never come across any of your other postings, but i'm still sorta new, and i'm intrigued. Count me in.

to the Dis and our TRs. There are links in my signature if you want to read any of our other trips. And feel free to ask any planning questions you have, I love helping people plan!

Can't wait to hear about it!

And I can't wait to tell you all about the trip!

I recently found some of your other trip reports and have thouroughly enjoyed reading them so i'm excited to see a new one Your husbands photos are spectacular!

Thanks, you're making me blush! I hope this one lives up to the others.

I'm here

Yay! Glad to have you Marissa!

Yeah, can't wait for another one of your TR's! They never disappoint!

Thanks for joining the party!

I'm in, can't wait to hear and see more of your trip.

Thanks Janet! Glad to see you here.

I'm here! Looking forward to the photos!

Yay! Hi Kel! Man, you're ticker is really on the move now!

I'm in! Can't wait to read all about it and see Franklin's awesome pictures!

Thanks for joining in!

Im in. Cant wait to hear all about it

Glad to have you!

Joining in!

Yay! Glad to see you over here too!

I'm here. Cant wait to hear all about your trip!

Yay!

I'm in! Looking forward to your TR, and seeing Franklin's photos!

There are lots and LOTS of photos for you to enjoy!

Can't wait to read more. Looking forward to the photos as well!! They are always so nice! Disney should pay him for their use and advertise with them.

I totally agree. They could pay us in Disney gift cards! I'd be fine with that.

I'm new to your reports, but checking in instead of just lurkin'...looking forward to all the pictures

Glad to have you out of lurkdom! We're a friendly bunch, glad to have you join us. ​

 

[Missyrose]

With the introductions out of the way, it’s time to officially start the trip. For the first time in YEARS (!) I was not working the night before a Disney trip. So I actually went to bed at a reasonable time, which was good because it was still very dark out when the car service arrived to pick us up at 5:15 a.m.

We made an uneventful trip to the airport and were through security rather quickly. That’s been the really nice thing about JetBlue moving all its Florida flights from one D.C. airport to the other -- JetBlue’s spot in the new airport is this annex, with its own security so there’s never any lines!

Oh, and how cute are our matching Mickey and Minnie sweatshirts?

We did learn one thing from the October trip, the breakfast choices in that part of the airport are terrible, so I packed us bagels to eat before the flight.

Soon, it was time to board. But before we could get in the air, they had to de-ice the plane because it was FREEZING!

Once we were above the clouds, though, there was a spectacular sunrise!

While waiting for the bathroom, I struck up a conversation with one of the flight attendants. He asked how often we go to Disney and then why were we visiting this time. I told him about the engagement in October and how we were coming back to celebrate our 10th anniversary and Franklin’s birthday this time.

He got really excited and said we needed cocktails to celebrate! So he asked what we’d want, I said Jack Daniels to go with our sodas.

The rest of the flight went very quickly and, like most flights into MCO, we landed early! Nothing screams “you’re at Disney” like a ride on the faux-norail!

This is where our story differs from our many other trips. Typically we’d take Disney’s Magical Express to the resort. But about a month before the trip, I was looking at our plans and noticed we had a bunch of ADRs at resort restaurants and a couple of trips to Downtown Disney. So when I checked into the cost of a rental car and found out we could get a week-long rental for about $100, we jumped on it.

The plan morphed into me taking the DME (so we could tag our suitcases) and Franklin would grab the rental car and meet me at the resort.

We parted at the ground level. I headed for DME check-in...

… and Franklin made his way to the Budget desk.

Elton checked me in, I swear he was much friendlier than he appears.

I lucked out and was led straight onto waiting DME motorcoach.

I grabbed a seat in the third row, which wasn’t perfect for arch pictures (but I did have a fabulous view of those big new screens!)

As we pulled out of the airport, George, our driver, asked if there were any first-timers on the motorcoach.

When no one raised their hands, he said: “Well good, you’ve all seen everything around here. I’ll just drop you in Tampa then.”

He was awesome, and hilarious. He explained we’d be stopping at Port Orleans Riverside, Port Orleans French Quarter, Beach Club/Yacht Club and Boardwalk. Great, my resort is last. Sigh, at least I have the video to comfort me.

And I got really excited for the New Fantasyland section of the video!

There was so much to look forward to on this trip...

Our first meal at Be Our Guest.

And our first ride on the reimagined Test Track.

The DME is truly the perfect opening for a Disney trip, there’s so much to be excited about!

Meanwhile, back at the airport. Franklin picked up the rental, a Mazda 3.

And he hit the road. Okay, I’m no Franklin, but I think my arch picture turned out pretty darned well!

Unbeknownst to me, Franklin was also grabbing some arch photos while he was driving (thank goodness I wasn’t in the car)!

Yeah, yeah, yeah, his picture wins, I know.

Now that we were on Disney property, the motorcoach made its way to POR...

… then POFQ.

Man, both those resorts are so pretty. Much greener than I would’ve imagined! George got on his mike again and said, “Remember how I said we’d be going to Beach and Yacht before Boardwalk, well I was wrong. We’re headed to Boardwalk next!”

I know it shaved maybe five minutes off my DME trip, but I was so excited to finally be heading to Boardwalk!

Franklin was right behind us. Here’s his arrival photo at BW.

That DME motorcoach on the right is mine, we were waiting for the other motorcoach to move.

But there was no doubt about it, we were finally home -- at Disney and at our beloved Boardwalk. And there was no better feeling in the world.

That’s where we’ll leave off this time. But I want to hear from all of you, do you rent a car or rely on Disney transportation? If you’ve done both, which did you like more?​

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Great start-amazing pics
I keep calling Franklin "Frank-a-lin" in my head as I read because of one of your other reports from a while back

We definitely rely on disney transport. We tried hiring a car once in 1993 and the whole "driving on the wrong side of the road" made for added stress big time . That and the fact that we like to share a glass of wine with dinner means it just makes it so much more fun to leave the driving to disney

 

[Missyrose]

Great start-amazing pics
I keep calling Franklin "Frank-a-lin" in my head as I read because of one of your other reports from a while back

We definitely rely on disney transport. We tried hiring a car once in 1993 and the whole "driving on the wrong side of the road" made for added stress big time . That and the fact that we like to share a glass of wine with dinner means it just makes it so much more fun to leave the driving to disney

Hahahaha, that's funny! For those of you that haven't read the "Boo to Two" TR, Franklin and I went to Disney with my dear friend Kelley (Princessamongprinces), her DH and her twin boys Ryan and Jack. Ryan and Jack both called Franklin "Frank-a-lin" the whole trip and it's stuck. It was just such a cute 3-year-old thing to add that extra syllable.

I can totally understand why you wouldn't want to rent a car, that would be scary! ​

 

[teekathepony]

Great start! And great idea to rent a car AND use DME for the luggage. We have never rented a car, we always rely on the Disney transportation. Less stress finding our way around, parking, etc. Although there are definitely times when I've thought it would be more convenient to have a car.

 

[reelmom]

I lurked on your last report but I hope to join in more on this one. Great start.

 

[Cllong75]

We've never rented a car at Disney, but I have always pondered the thought.

 

[JanetMom]

Great arch photo! I was totally impressed and then scrolled down and you are right - Franklin won that contest. Still, your photo is better than any that I've ever managed.

 

[DisneyFreak06]

Great start! I think you got a great shot of the arch. Better than anything I ever got. How did you do that? Lean out into the aisle? Jump up and stand next to the driver?

I always do DME. We rented a car once for one full day. That was it.

 

[Disneyluvr]

Love, love, love the matching sweatshirts!! Where did you get them?

 

[natebenma]

Fantastic start to your trip!

You guys look pretty good for so early in the morning. Love the two pictures

Brilliant solution to the luggage/rent a car situation!!! You did have to split up for a bit, but so worth it to not have to deal with your luggage.

Cute pictures of the DME movie.

Both arch pictures were great! Which leads me to a question more commonly posted to Franklin- what camera do you use?

home!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I'm here and looking forward to hearing all about the fun!

Very savvy of you to do both the rental car and DME...I love it!! I don't know how they determine the order of the stops...it seems to be different every time...and mine is usually last. "Torture" to be so close and yet so far stopping at all the other resorts first.

Adorable sweatshirts!

 

[Missyrose]

Great start! And great idea to rent a car AND use DME for the luggage. We have never rented a car, we always rely on the Disney transportation. Less stress finding our way around, parking, etc. Although there are definitely times when I've thought it would be more convenient to have a car.

Thanks Wendy! We had definitely been fine in the past relying solely on Disney transportation. But what we learned from having a car on this trip, is that it was nice not having to factor in an hour to get to or from anywhere. It made the trip feel less frantic.

I lurked on your last report but I hope to join in more on this one. Great start.

Yay! I'm so glad you came out of lurkdom! I'm happy to have you join in.

We've never rented a car at Disney, but I have always pondered the thought.

I think it can be worth it if it won't break the bank. We're lucky, with just the two of us, we don't need a huge rental car.

Great arch photo! I was totally impressed and then scrolled down and you are right - Franklin won that contest. Still, your photo is better than any that I've ever managed.

Thanks Janet. Trust me, I know I could never compete with Franklin's photos! I'm always just happy when my pictures turn out in focus!

Great start! I think you got a great shot of the arch. Better than anything I ever got. How did you do that? Lean out into the aisle? Jump up and stand next to the driver?

I always do DME. We rented a car once for one full day. That was it.

I was leaning pretty far into the aisle, luckily no one in the two rows in front of me had the same idea!

Love, love, love the matching sweatshirts!! Where did you get them?

SparkOfInspiration on Etsy. She does hand-painted stuff and also great Disney necklaces.

Fantastic start to your trip!

You guys look pretty good for so early in the morning. Love the two pictures

Brilliant solution to the luggage/rent a car situation!!! You did have to split up for a bit, but so worth it to not have to deal with your luggage.

Cute pictures of the DME movie.

Both arch pictures were great! Which leads me to a question more commonly posted to Franklin- what camera do you use?

home!

Makeup does wonders that early in the morning! I used our point and shoot, a Sony HX9V. I call it the miracle camera, I can actually take photos that don't suck with it.

I'm here and looking forward to hearing all about the fun!

Very savvy of you to do both the rental car and DME...I love it!! I don't know how they determine the order of the stops...it seems to be different every time...and mine is usually last. "Torture" to be so close and yet so far stopping at all the other resorts first.

Adorable sweatshirts!

The DME/rental car split worked out really well for us. And I'm with you on the DME stops. There's one common thread, no matter which resort you're headed to, there is ALWAYS too many stops! Just get me to my resort already!

​

 

[Tiggerrn2]

Fun photos! So nice of the airline to bring you a celebratory drink.
We have done both ME and had a car. The last couple of times we went as a family, we drove instead of flew.
I have to say that having the car really made dinner ressies easy. It was really fast to drive on over to the resort and then be able to just jump back in the car and head to Boardwalk or POR for some evening entertainment. Not having to wait for the bus was awesome!
We never had any trouble being allowed to park at the resorts for dinner, shopping, or just a wander around.