A first time planners Pre-Trip Report!

[LoJoDisney]

Hello! I just joined DIS Boards last week & have read a couple trip reports and loved them so I decided to start my own!

Let me start with a quick introduction:

WHO:
My name is Lauren- I'm 25 (today actually! ). My dad and I used to do yearly Disney vacations that he would plan. They were amazing and started my love for Disney. Now I am planning my first trip on my own for my boyfriend and I.

DBF- Joe is a year older than me and has been VERY understanding of my love for Disney and joined in on the fun. We have been watching multiple movies a week, joined the Disney Movie Club, and he doesn't complain when all I have been doing lately is talking about Disney & planning our trip

WHEN: September 8th-September 14th

WHERE: We will be staying at Disneys Caribbean Beach Resort! I have stayed at Allstar Music (once) & the Grand Floridan a handful of times. Excited to try this resort out!

WHY: Joe has never been! It's hard explaining the magic to someone who hasn't been to Disney World before but he's eagerly listened and still doesn't know what to expect but is very excited for his first trip! The pressure has been on while planning this trip because I want to make it as special as I can!

I have a bunch of pictures to add of some of the planning I have done, but I am only at 5 posts. I will edit with some pictures when I can post

Thanks for reading!

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Chapter 1- A Disney Themed Birthday
Chapter 2- Planning Excitement
Chapter 3- Days 1 & 2
Chapter 4- Day 3
Chapter 5- Day 4
Magic Bands Arrive!
Chapter 6- Day 5
Chapter 7- Day 6 & 7
Chapter 8- LGMH's!
Last Post Before We Leave!

 

[LoJoDisney]

I don't think I have ever looked forward to something so much in my life. I have non-stop been planning and talking about this trip for the past few months.

My 25th birthday was this past weekend and apparently everyone has caught on to how excited I am.....

Here are some of the gifts I got!

My gift from DBF in this adorable bag


One of the things he got me was my Alex & Ani Minnie Bracelet! I can't wait to collect some more of these while we're in Disney!



My boyfriends sister got me these adorable old school Mickey & Minnie glasses (& super cute Minnie/Mickey socks that I don't have a picture for!)



One of my best friends really went along with the Minnie Theme with this bag, mug, ears, Minnie Mouse stuffed animal, and T Shirt! Mostly all pictured below!




My boyfriends mom also got me a Minnie T-Shirt, Mickey Tumbler cup & a gift card for us to use while were in Disney!

FINALLY one of the BEST gifts was that My Dad called Victoria and Albert's and paid for DBF and I to have dinner there and made us reservations for one of the nights during our trip. When my dad and I always went on our Disney Trips we would eat there each time and I always remember it being so special. He told me that Joe and I had to enjoy this experience together now too He's such a great dad!

I felt so loved and appreciated that my friends and family would contribute to my Disney Obsession! They are all so excited for us to go on our first big vacation together too!

 

[KatMark]

Lauren, the link worked.

I have to go to a meeting now, but I'll be back in a bit to read.

 

[LoJoDisney]

Great!! Glad it worked

 

[Chicago Mo]

I'm here!

 

[KatMark]

Lauren, great introductions.

Happy Birthday a little late (you are a year younger than my baby!).

How great that you are taking your BF on his very first trip. I am sure he will fall in love with it with your enthusiasm.

What a great gift from your Dad. We've never eaten there (my DH is not into fancy food or dressing up on vacation at all), but I've heard wonderful things about it.

LOVE all of the gifts you got for your birthday.

I'm sorry that we will miss you by mere days.

 

[bellasmommy0]

Following along! We are going Sept 1st to 9th and I cant wait!

 

[sbmorasch]

thats amazing i am as well going to be down on the same days. all though i am not going to be staying in Caribbean beach i wish lol. i can't wait to read more about your trip. are you gonna go to any haloween parties?

 

[LoJoDisney]

Chicago Mo I'm here!

Thanks for joining!

KatMark Lauren, great introductions.

Happy Birthday a little late (you are a year younger than my baby!).

Thank you!!

How great that you are taking your BF on his very first trip. I am sure he will fall in love with it with your enthusiasm.

I sure hope so, then we can make these trips more often!

What a great gift from your Dad. We've never eaten there (my DH is not into fancy food or dressing up on vacation at all), but I've heard wonderful things about it.

My boyfriend is not really into fancy foods either, but he promised that he would have an open mind going there!

bellasmommy0 Following along! We are going Sept 1st to 9th and I cant wait!

Thanks for following! I'm excited to be going in September as all of my past trips have been in June/July when its extremely busy!

sbmorasch thats amazing i am as well going to be down on the same days. all though i am not going to be staying in Caribbean beach i wish lol. i can't wait to read more about your trip. are you gonna go to any haloween parties?

That is great we'll be there the same days! We didn't plan on going to the Halloween party, but we are going to Magic Kingdom one of the days that the party is happening. I read that those days are often the least crowded days as MK closes early for the party! Are you planning to go to the Halloween party?


Also- to any DIS Veterans out there, am I doing the "quoting" thing ok? haha! I'm still learning how to use this site!

 

[sbmorasch]

Thanks for joining!





Thanks for following! I'm excited to be going in September as all of my past trips have been in June/July when its extremely busy!



That is great we'll be there the same days! We didn't plan on going to the Halloween party, but we are going to Magic Kingdom one of the days that the party is happening. I read that those days are often the least crowded days as MK closes early for the party! Are you planning to go to the Halloween party?


Also- to any DIS Veterans out there, am I doing the "quoting" thing ok? haha! I'm still learning how to use this site!

we will be going to 4 parties in halloween. I suggest you go to at least one. they are so much fun and the princes are out and rare characters. plus a great new set of fireworks at night and a new castle show. and you can dress up! it is so much fun and it is a great way to get amazing photos at night with the castle and all the lights on. the wait for rides are not as long. the price for one ticket I believe in 71 dollars.

also it is great we will be down at the same time. we might bump into eachother lol

 

[LoJoDisney]

we will be going to 4 parties in halloween. I suggest you go to at least one. they are so much fun and the princes are out and rare characters. plus a great new set of fireworks at night and a new castle show. and you can dress up! it is so much fun and it is a great way to get amazing photos at night with the castle and all the lights on. the wait for rides are not as long. the price for one ticket I believe in 71 dollars.

also it is great we will be down at the same time. we might bump into eachother lol

The parties sound fun, that's awesome you are going to so many! It would be cool to run into each other!

 

[LoJoDisney]

First of all, I LOVE to plan things, and once I have something to plan I devote a lot of time & energy towards it!

The first thing I wanted to do was make a countdown calender. I wasn't sure exactly how I wanted to make it so I started looking on some Disney Blogs, Pinterest, and other sites....

This is what I finally came up with, I love it!



How I made it:

Supplies:

• Square Frame
• Disney Scrapbook Kit (it had a few pieces of paper & stickers)
• Red & yellow paper
• Letter Stickers
• Magnets
• Hot Glue Gun (could use super glue as well)
• Glitter
• Velcro

I have to admit, I did have a major fail with my first go at this project.
I originally wanted to put this on our fridge and use a dry erase marker to write in the numbers on the red/yellow boxes. It would have been MUCH easier. HOWEVER, I used magnetic strips I bought from a craft store that had sticky backs. The sticky backs did NOT hold up and I ended up having to clean up a bunch of glass off the ground a few days after it had been hanging on my fridge.

So instead of buying a new frame, I just used the frame without the glass and I hot glued the magnets on the back.
I glued my scrapbook paper to the frame since there was no glass to hold it together! I then created 2 red rectangles and glued those to the scrapbook paper. Next to those 2 rectangles I added sticker letters that said "Days till Disney". Then I cut up a bunch of yellow rectangles (smaller than the 2 red ones I had made). Based on when I started my count down, I made numbers on by free-handing the number on the yellow rectangle with the glue gun & sprinkled red glitter over it. Then stuck velcro on the backs and can change my numbers daily. It took more time, but I really like the result!


Besides making our countdown calender I also saw an ad on facebook to create a free decal! This is what ours looks like...



I just love it. That little dog represents our standard poodle, Sophie

I also created customized maps through Disney that were sent to us. These I absolutley LOVE! They are sent in such an awesome envelope and on the neatest paper. I want to frame the map of the entire WDW and hang it somewhere in our house.



I just LOVE getting Disney mail. I've taken pictures of just about everything we've gotten so far. Getting close to 30 days so we should be getting some more soon







DBF changed his mind about 10 times before finally committing to his Magic Band color! He originally wanted to go with grey and now has chosen red. Mine will be pink!

Last crazy picture- of course anytime I have seen anything Disney I feel an obligation to take a picture of it, so this is of me & my boyfriends sister at a party store. (I can't lie though- these masks are a tad bit creepy!)



Up Next: ADR's & Daily Plans!

 

[dekkerdisneydreamer]

Came over from KatMark's trip report. Going back to read now.

 

[sbmorasch]

The parties sound fun, that's awesome you are going to so many! It would be cool to run into each other!

Haha ya for sure. I'm sure we will run I to each other. I just posted my pre trip report for my August trip. You should read it and post on it

 

[LoJoDisney]

Came over from KatMark's trip report. Going back to read now.

Welcome!! Thanks for reading

 

[dekkerdisneydreamer]

It's always so thrilling to get Mickey Mail. It just means that you're getting closer and closer. I definitely think it helps pass the time before you actually go.

 

[ZehnJahren]

Following along on your preparations for your trip. All your Minnie presents were very cute! I don't think anyone but my Mom has caught on to my crazy Disney obsession yet; I never get Disney gifts - though I'm getting one this year - a Disney charm for my Chamilia bracelet!

I always like to see everyone's countdowns! I've never done one, but there are a lot of creative ideas out there.

The maps they send you are really nice! Do you remember how long it took you to get them?

I just got my AP magic band yesterday, but it was mailed to my mom because she's keeping all the important stuff for our trip with her since I'll be moving soon. You should be getting yours soon for a September trip, right?

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Hi Lauren!!! I'm coming along for the ride!!! So far, so good on your trip report --- you are doing well!! I love your countdown calendar and I recognized that paper right off the bat, as I'm a scrapbooker!! Keep up the excellent work!!

My family will be down at the same time, and if I read correctly, you'll be at MK on the days we will be cause we are going on party days (although not going to the party this year ).

Are you going to have a LGMH (Lime Green Mickey Head) on? I will so I can hopefully meet some of my Dis friends! I'm hoping to add you to that list!!

 

[RooRach0906]

Joining In!

Happy Belated Birthday!!!!

How fun taking your BF for the first time! DH and I honeymooned in Disney and he had only been once or twice before as a kid but only for the day when he lived in Orlando needless to say but now he loves it!

Your birthday gifts are awesome!!

I love your countdown calendar, gotta love Pinterest for ideas!

Can't wait to hear more!

 

[LoJoDisney]

It's always so thrilling to get Mickey Mail. It just means that you're getting closer and closer. I definitely think it helps pass the time before you actually go.

I know it really does, especially after all the planning is done & all you have left to do is wait!

Following along on your preparations for your trip. All your Minnie presents were very cute! I don't think anyone but my Mom has caught on to my crazy Disney obsession yet; I never get Disney gifts - though I'm getting one this year - a Disney charm for my Chamilia bracelet!

I always like to see everyone's countdowns! I've never done one, but there are a lot of creative ideas out there.

The maps they send you are really nice! Do you remember how long it took you to get them?

I just got my AP magic band yesterday, but it was mailed to my mom because she's keeping all the important stuff for our trip with her since I'll be moving soon. You should be getting yours soon for a September trip, right?

What is a Chamilia bracelet? I may have to look into these!

I believe it took almost a month to get the maps.

I think our Magic bands will be shipping after August 8th! I booked through a Travel Agent and I've heard some people say that things will go to the Travel Agent first- but so far all of the Mickey Mail has come to my house so I think everything will be shipped to me. I can't wait to get our Luggage tags & Magical Express tags- it will make everything seem more real!

Hi Lauren!!! I'm coming along for the ride!!! So far, so good on your trip report --- you are doing well!! I love your countdown calendar and I recognized that paper right off the bat, as I'm a scrapbooker!! Keep up the excellent work!!

My family will be down at the same time, and if I read correctly, you'll be at MK on the days we will be cause we are going on party days (although not going to the party this year ).

Are you going to have a LGMH (Lime Green Mickey Head) on? I will so I can hopefully meet some of my Dis friends! I'm hoping to add you to that list!!

Hi! Thanks for joining I love scrapbooking too! I can't wait to make one from our trip!

I will be at MK on the 9th & the 13th- are those the days you'll be there? I would love to meet you and your family!

What is a Lime Green Mickey head?!

Joining In!

Happy Belated Birthday!!!!

How fun taking your BF for the first time! DH and I honeymooned in Disney and he had only been once or twice before as a kid but only for the day when he lived in Orlando needless to say but now he loves it!

Your birthday gifts are awesome!!

I love your countdown calendar, gotta love Pinterest for ideas!

Can't wait to hear more!

Hi Rachel! I love that you went to Disney for your honeymoon! I would love to do that
When I was younger I dreamed of getting Married at Disney and my dad took me on a tour at the Grand Floridian to the Wedding Chapel. It was amazing. Maybe one day.....