A First Anniversary Disney Style

[KristinAnne]

Introduction

Well, I've thought long and hard about doing a Trip Report for our first anniversary trip, and I have finally decided to give in! I wanted in on the fun!
We are only a month and 3 days away now so the time has come for me to begin! Here's hoping I get some readers to come along with me!

Let's begin at the beginning, shall we?

Cast of Characters:

Me: I am a 28 year old English teacher. I have been to Disney 7 times, but the last time was in 2001 with my college friends for Spring Break. As you can see from my siggie, my favorite character is Chip the teacup. I am also partial to Sully, Mater, and Chip and Dale. It is definitely time to return!

DH: DH is a 28 year old purchasing coordinator for a local college. He has only been to Disney once when he was 16. His family only did MK then, so most of this is new to him. It was his idea that we go to Disney for our anniversary.

Dates: We will be in The World from June 20-28. Our actual anniversary is the 23rd. My parents own a timeshare offsite, so we will be staying there. I am a bit jealous of all of the wonderful pictures of the Disney resorts, but this makes far more sense to save money, and since we are newlyweds, we need as much money as possible! We are literally 1 1/2 minutes from Animal Kingdom, and 10ish minutes from the rest, so we'll probably SAVE time on travel not having to deal with the bus system.

Here are a few pictures from our wedding to tide you over for now. I'll be back later with some more details about our Itinerary and ADRs. I'll be uploading more pictures to Photobucket, but it nearly took forever last night just to do 4, so it may take awhile!

Just married!

The most beautiful cake I have ever seen!

Dancing with my Dad...I AM my father's daughter!

First dance as husband and wife!

Post 1: Introductions
Post 2: Itinerary
Post 3: ADRs
Post 4: Why Disney?
Post 5: Yay!

 

[KristinAnne]

The Itinerary

Sorry about the size of the pictures. I resized them, but they are still coming out big. I'll work on that...

Here's our trip! Let me know what you think of the plans. Any advice is welcome.

June 20
We are arrive in Orlando late, around 11:50 PM. We have already booked a hotel for one night, so we're just going to rent a car, drive to the hotel, and get some shut eye!

June 21
We are going to check out of our hotel around 9 or 10. The next part is a little up in the air. We might go to the Magic Kingdom right away, even if we just take a walk down Main Street. The plan is to go to DTD for lunch, so we might forego MK and just go there instead. I really want to go to Earl of Sandwich, and this is our only opporunity. I am leaning toward just going to DTD without the stop at MK. We'll look around for a bit, do some minimal food shopping, and check into the timeshare. We can't check in until 3. Once we're unpacked and whatnot, we are going to spend the evening at the World Showcase in Epcot.

June 22
We are doing Animal Kingdom today. The plan is to get there close to rope drop, rush for a FP for EE, then head over to the Safari. I really want to check out Animal Kingdom Lodge, so I think we'll take the bus there and eat at The Mara for lunch. It should be a nice break from the heat. We'll head back to AK when we're done. The plan is to go to the Boardwalk and eat at ESPN and watch the RED SOX game for dinner! Gotta see my Sox!!! We'll probably watch Illuminations from there as well.

June 23...ANNIVERSARY!!!!
This is going to be a 100% Magic Kingdom day! We'll arrive in the morning, again somewhat close to rope drop. Most days we're doing breakfast in our room, but today I want to get something at Main Street Bakery. Lunch is likely to be at Pecos Bill, as that is the ONLY place DH really really really wants to eat. I gave him a stuffed Mickey with a certificate entitling him to a meal there for Valentine's Day! I would like to return to the timeshare in the afternoon to swim a bit and get cleaned up for dinner. We have ADR's at CRT!!! I really really want the table overlooking the park! We plan on watching Wishes from the beach at the Poly!

June 24
We are breaking from Disney on this day and taking a day trip to Daytona. It is something DH really wants to do. I am wondering about changing from bathing suits to regular clothes for dinner. If anyone has any advice for restaurants, please let me know!

June 25
Back to Disney today! We'll be at Hollywood Studios (MGM!). Like most, I want to do Tower of Terror and Rockin' Rollercoaster first! I love love love both of these. DH has never been and I can't wait to go with him!!! We have an 11:30 ADR for Sci-Fi. I have never been here. DH loves cars though, so I think he's going to get a kick out of it. He is also very excited about seeing Lights! Motor! Action! I have to see Beauty and the Beast too! We have a 6:25 ADR for Kona this night. After dinner we'll either resort hop or go back to MK for some strolling and people watching.

June 26
This is going to be a more relaxed day for us. We'll get a later start, and then either go back to Epcot or resort hop. We'll head to Beaches and Cream for a late lunch, then probably head back to the time share to swim and rest. At night we're going to DTD for an 8:30 ADR at Raglan Road.

June 27...LAST DAY
We have a 7:30 AM ressie at Chef Mickey's. I am already telling myself this is crazy, but it's our LAST DAY, and I want to maximize our park time. We are going to split this day between Epoct and MK. We'll do Future World in Epcot, and then head back to MK. We probably won't head over there until early evening, as the only thing I really care about is catching Spectromagic and Wishes.

June 28
We have to leave The Happiest Place on Earth today. We may go to Captain Cooke's so I can have Tonga Toast for Breakfast or check out Celebration before we have to go back to the airport.

Okay...there's the whole itinerary! Comment for me people! What do you think?? I need some readers!
Next up...A complete list of ADR's followed by additional food plans...I love my food!!

 

[KristinAnne]

ADRs

We don't have a whole lot of ADRs. One reason because we can't do the DDP, and it's a lot of money to spend OOP for TS meals everyday. And another reason is because I really don't want to revolve our trip too much around eating. I don't want to have to worry about getting to a restaurant for a certain time or relying too heavily on transportation. But don't worry...there are plenty of other food plans involved, despite the lack of ADRs!

6/22: No ADR obviously, but planning on ESPN for dinner
6/23: Cinderella's Royal Table for our Anniversary for dinner! (Have I mentioned it's our anniversary on this trip??? )
6/25: Sci-Fi for lunch
Kona for dinner
6/26 Planning on on Beaches and Cream for lunch
Raglan Road for dinner
6/27: Chef Mickey's for breakfast

The rest will be CS. Our first night we are just going to eat around the World Showcase! Yummy!!! Each time I look at Allears, I decide on something different I want to eat! As I mentioned earlier, the only CS place I KNOW for certain we'll be going is Pecos Bill. I have all these great dinners lined up, and DH cannot stop talking about Pecos Bill, so Pecos Bill it is! We're also planning on grabbing something at The Mara when we're at AK, because I really really want to check out AKL. I know Boma would be a better quallity option, but I don't want to spend the money. I have also thought about a ressie at The Plaza on 6/27, but I don't know where we'll be when, and I don't want to be tied down to anything. Let me know of any suggestions. I'll take any recommendations on your favorite CS places, no matter where they are, or just yummy snacks!

More food plans later. I need some responses! Join in with me!

 

[KristinAnne]

Why Disney?

Okay, admittedly, I don't need to be explaining to the DISers WHY we've chosen Disney, but I need readers, so maybe the back story will be interesting. At the least it will bump me up again!

We toyed with different ideas for our honeymoon, though Disney wasn't one of them. I have to say though, the pictures and stories of honeymoons I've read here on the DIS do look amazing and more magical than anything else! Anyway, we thought about Italy and Hawaii, but decided against them for the same reason that we never really entertained Disney. We needed something relaxing. We didn't want a working honeymoon. So we decided on Jamaica. This was the most amazing vacation I could ever have dreamt of. It was the perfect mix of relaxation and adventure at the same time. We swam with the dolphins, went horse back riding in the Carribean, climbed a waterfall, but still read and slept by the pool. Wonderful, and it was definitely what both of us needed!

Here are some pics:

DH and I by a fountain on the grounds of the resort

View from our room

DH taking video of the wonderful water

And for you foodies...
Carved watermelon

Carved ice sculpture with some more food we ate on the beach

Breakfast on the balcony...heaven

And finally, and perhaps most importantly...the Tree Bar!!!

So the first anniversary rolls around. Okay, check that...we came back from our honeymoon, knew we wanted to use the timeshare for our first anniversary, and almost immediately made plans. Originally, we were set on going to San Francisco and driving the Pacific Coast Highway to Los Angeles. Everytime the timeshare company would call us back though, they offered something HOURS from where we wanted to be. So, time to rethink this...that's when DH suggested Disney. Crazy enough, but I was the hesitant one. I wasn't sure Disney was where I wanted to be. Remeber that I'm a teacher (albeit not of the little ones), and sometimes I just need a break from the kiddies. But the more I thought about it, the more excited I became. All of a sudden I realized that this is probably our only opportunity without kids, and it would be wonderful for the two of us to enjoy it together.

Before you know it, I'm searching different Disney websites, end up on the Disboards, and I am now officially OBSESSED!!!! We haven't even left yet, and I'm thinking about how we can swing a long weekend around Christmas to see all the lights and the rest of the holiday Disney magic!

Sorry if my pics are still big...I resized, but only some seem to be coming out smaller. I'll still work on it!

Comments now???

 

[KristinAnne]

Yay!

Woohoo!!! Just ordered our park tickets!!! It's official...We're Going To Disney World!!!