A year without Disney? Who am I kidding?!(a PTR) LINK TO TR!

[DisneyCrafter]

You know I LOVE Disney World, but if I were younger & didn't have kids yet, I'd jump all over the California trip! It'll be a long while before we can take off on an adventure like that.

Sorry, it's taken me so long to reply and now you're off on your trip! I wanted to make sure I knew what I really wanted to do before I responded to anyone.

Hmmmm, that's a tough one! Although like you mentioned, it's definitely not a bad problem to have, because both trips sound amazing!

To be honest, if I were presented with the same two choices right now, I'd go with Disney World. But, that could just be because I'm gearing up for a trip and it's really on my mind!

As much as I'd like to visit Disneyland, it just doesn't seem the same to me. LA, Vegas and the Grand Canyon are all on my list though, so...
Being the planner that I am, I would really want to take some time to sort out the California trip. Since I'm not familiar with any of those places, and I would want to make sure I was picking the best hotels in each spot, knew of restaurants to go to, what kind of tours I wanted to take, etc. For me, the six or so months to plan wouldn't be enough. I would need more like a year to really feel prepared for that trip.

In short, I'd pick the World, but you really can't go wrong with either trip.

I actually have the hotel picked out for Disneyland and I have the transportation company picked out along with the tour company for the day trip to LA. That being said, I just can't get excited enough about Disneyland. I was talking with my DSIL last night and she said that DLR is not as fun at WDW. I think deep down I knew that.

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Return to the trip report witin the pre-trip report: Day 1, Part II

When I last left off, we had just gotten into our rental car and I was currently in the process of entering in the address for the hotel. Okay, push calculate route…hmmm, “I kinda figured this was gonna happen. We need to wait until we’re out of the garage before it can find satellites.” Before long, we’re out. Still not working…”Why is it taking so long?” Well, we need to go somewhere, so let’s choose North. Continue to follow along in a big circle…still not working. This dumb GPS still thinks we’re in IL not FL, I bet. Thank goodness it kicks in right before we are on the tollway! It doesn’t take long before we’ve made it to the Hampton Inn Florida Mall. I don’t think the hotel was in the “nicest” part of town, however, it appears nice enough from the outside. The inside appears to be newly remodeled and the check-in process goes smoothly. We drive around, grab our luggage and head to our room. Wow, I’m really impressed. It’s VERY clean. We’re hungry at this point but I need to freshen up so within about an hour we’re out the door and on our way to the Cheesecake Factory! Yum!

We eventually locate the restaurant (hard to spot from afar-it’s a part of the Mall at Millenia). Okay, GPS, it’s not looking good for you! DH drops me off at the front and goes to find a spot. The wait is 60 minutes. (Not too surprising, very rarely do we go to Cheesecake Factory back home and NOT wait.) We spend time walking around the mall and eventually our buzzer goes off (after DH visiting the podium 3 times because we’ve actually been waiting closer to 90 minutes at this point). We quickly order an appetizer. (Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes-YUM!) Our entrees arrive and I’m very LESS than impressed. My pasta is sticking together and barely hot enough. This doesn’t happen at Cheesecake Factory. Not cool, Orlando, not cool. The cheesecake arrives and at least they have one thing going for them, their slices are bigger than we get back at home. I take half mine back to the hotel along with most of my pasta that I know will not be eaten. The cheesecake on the other hand was consumed shortly after we got back to the hotel. I had a hard time sleeping. The sheets were very uncomfortable, they almost felt TOO sanitary. They were NOT very soft AT ALL. I at least felt rested enough by the next morning to get up and get going to….

Well I guess that’ll have to wait until next update…and there WILL be pictures for that one!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Oh no! I hate to hear your night was less than magical. I used to go to the Mall at Milenia all the time when I lived in Orlando. I've eaten at that CF quite a few times. Sorry to hear it wasn't good for you.

I can't wait to see some pictures!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Oh no! I hate to hear your night was less than magical. I used to go to the Mall at Milenia all the time when I lived in Orlando. I've eaten at that CF quite a few times. Sorry to hear it wasn't good for you.

I can't wait to see some pictures!

Oh no, don't mistake what I said. I had a great night! I just was a little disappointed in the Cheesecake Factory's main entree's is all. I really enjoyed the Mall. It reminded me of my favorite mall here at home, only ours is outdoors but it has all of those designer stores.

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Disney Trip Update!​

As of Saturday afternoon, we are officially booked for our next trip to...

WALT DISNEY WORLD!!

Miraculously, we had a pin attached to our names! I had DH call and ask because I was trying to pick dates but the current room-only discount goes until October 1. With the pin discount applied we saved $400 on our room!

We'll be arriving on September 29 and leaving October 9. That is 10 nights and 9 entire days! Our longest trip yet! Airfare is not booked yet, as SW doesn't open the booking window for our dates until March 14. I'd like to arrive Thursday evening and on our departure day, I'd like to leave sometime in the afternoon.

We'll be staying at...

Pop Century!

Oh man, did I ever have a rough time of it deciding where to stay, whether to do a split stay or just stay at one resort! In the end Pop! won out primarily because of the cost. Out of all of the values, it is the one I most want to stay at. The other resorts I was debating over were the Polynesian and the Boardwalk Villas. I even thought about the Swan/Dolphin. In the end Swan/Dolphin was thrown out because I'm in Disney and if I'm at Disney I want to be IN Disney in every aspect! The Polynesian and the Boardwalk Villas were nixed because I can't justify the cost. With my hours fluctuating with the family that I babysit for, I don't want to feel stressed out about making enough money to pay for these resorts.

I think Pop definitely has that Disney "feel" to it, I've heard good things about the food court, and the rooms appear to be nice.

Now, let the REAL planning begin!!!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Woo hoo for being booked! And for such a long trip - that is so exciting! I can't wait to find out all of the details of this trip!

 

[Mommy2LittleVols]

Just found your thread this morning. Woohoo for being booked!!! We LOVE Pop! It definitely has the Disney feel. The food court is great - our favorite, actually!

Looking forward to more trip plans, and also more on your cruise TR!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Woo hoo for being booked! And for such a long trip - that is so exciting! I can't wait to find out all of the details of this trip!

It is VERY exciting. As soon as I share our tentative plans you'll see why I just couldn't make it any shorter!

Just found your thread this morning. Woohoo for being booked!!! We LOVE Pop! It definitely has the Disney feel. The food court is great - our favorite, actually!

Looking forward to more trip plans, and also more on your cruise TR!

WELCOME!!! I'm so glad to have more readers! I am looking forward to staying at Pop! very much!

 

[Joyciemc]

I am enjoying reading your trip report within a pre-trip report!

A disappointing Cheesecake Factory meal is sad... it's a long time to wait for less-than-perfect food! At least cheesecake always makes it better...

I was going to vote for WDW, so I am glad you picked it! I really enjoyed DL, and want to go back sometime... a super long (yay for 10 days!) WDW is just so fun- who can resist?

I love Pop Century- it has a very fun atmosphere and would always be my #1 value resort pick. I hope you guys love it, too!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

I am enjoying reading your trip report within a pre-trip report!

A disappointing Cheesecake Factory meal is sad... it's a long time to wait for less-than-perfect food! At least cheesecake always makes it better...

I was going to vote for WDW, so I am glad you picked it! I really enjoyed DL, and want to go back sometime... a super long (yay for 10 days!) WDW is just so fun- who can resist?

I love Pop Century- it has a very fun atmosphere and would always be my #1 value resort pick. I hope you guys love it, too!

Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake ALWAYS makes it better! White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle YUM!

Obviously I can't resist WDW!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Okay so the house is cleaned and laundry is currently being done. I've had quite a productive morning, especially considering I worked for 1.5 hours already, so I think I deserve some DIS time!

I thought that I would share some of my roughly laid out plans with you for our trip in September/October. These are subject to change and probably will change at least somewhat, knowing me.

Arrival Day (Thursday): We plan on taking a late afternoon flight out of Chicago, that way DH only has to take a half day off of work. Depending on what times are available we may even take a later flight so DH doesn't have to use this day as vacation at all.

Day 1/Day 2 (Friday/Saturday): These days will be spent at MK and EPCOT, our favorite parks. The Food & Wine Festival begins on September 30 and I know that we will not be able to resist the temptation to go! I'm also not sure that we can resist going to the MK on our first day so I'm thinking that we'll spend the morning/afternoon at MK and the evening at EPCOT on our first day. I have these park days split into a morning/afternoon and then evening plan, so it won't throw me off. The second day AM/early afternoon will be spent in EPCOT (FUTURE WORLD). I then think we'll take a park break. (We'll also need to pick up our rental car on this afternoon.) We'll then return to the MK for the parade/fireworks and hopefully some more attractions!

Day 3 (Sunday): Our Universal Day! DH really wants to visit and I am getting more excited every day about visiting Harry Potter World so we're going to give it a go. We'll have a rental car so we'll drive ourselves. One of the rewards from our debit card points is a 2 park-1 day ticket to Universal, so I plan on saving our points to redeem for our FREE day at Universal!

Day 4 (Monday): This morning/afternoon will be spent off-site. We'll hit up the Disney Outlet store at Premium outlets and have lunch off-site as well. We'll return the car in the early-mid afternoon. I believe we will be going to Epcot tonight.

Day 5/Day 6/Day 7 (Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday): AK/Epcot, DHS/DTD, and Typhoon Lagoon/???. Those are how these days will be spent, just not sure of the order we'll do them in yet.

Day 8/Day 9 (Friday/Saturday): We'll end the trip in mainly the same way that we began it. I'd like to do MNSSHP on Saturday if it's offered, if not we'll do it on Friday night. We definitely will be spending one afternoon at Epcot eating more things at the Food & Wine Festival. We'll have scheduled open time in case we want to visit AK or DHS again. Ideally, I'd like Friday to be our open day and Saturday to be Epcot/MK. We'll see.

On our departure day I'd like to fly out in the late morning if I am unable to get Monday off of work. If I do have Monday off of work, I'd like to perhaps leave in the evening after spending some more time in the parks. But we'll see. Normally on departure day, I've already got the Disney Blues and don't feel like doing much of anything!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

The plans sound great! I think splitting your first day between MK and Epcot is a great idea - that's our two favorites, too.

 

[DisneyCrafter]

The plans sound great! I think splitting your first day between MK and Epcot is a great idea - that's our two favorites, too.

It's difficult for me to choose between these 2 parks as my favorite-they both are special to me in different ways.

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Cruise Trip Report, Day 2, Part I:

This morning began with an unwanted wake-up KNOCK from housekeeping. It didn't bother me all that much b/c I believe I was basically awake and just laying in bed. As soon as DH told them to come back later, we'd gotten dressed and headed to the lobby for some breakfast. It was, well, free breakfast. The coffee was surprisingly delicious and I stuck to a basic breakfast of yogurt and fruit. Somehow, I just don't trust breakfast meat and eggs that look as though they are prepared in a closet. Call me crazy!

It was quite gloomy this day and a bit rainy, not to mention a tad chilly. It didn't bother us all that much, however, b/c our plans really wouldn't be interrupted by the weather. Our plans were to see a movie, have lunch and shop in DTD! (How I wish I was there NOW! )

We plugged in the GPS and were on our way to the AMC theatres at Downtown Disney. Only the GPS brought us to Blizzard Beach. No Joke! Mini Lesson: Follow the signs in WDW, ignore the GPS. We must have passed the Swan/Dolphin three times. No exaggeration necessary.

I made DH slow down so I could take this picture:

Eventually we made it to the movie theatre, purchased our tickets, grabbed some pop & popcorn and sat down in some VERY comfy seats to watch The Dilemma.

 

[Mommy2LittleVols]

We learned the hard way to ignore GPS at WDW, too! We were trying to get to All-Star Sports and ended up at DTD!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Ugh - I have been woken up so many times by housekeeping. Although it is usually during the afternoon while I'm napping, so that's probably my own fault.

 

[DisneyCrafter]

We learned the hard way to ignore GPS at WDW, too! We were trying to get to All-Star Sports and ended up at DTD!

I heard from DH's Uncle that it's something to do with the fact that there's not many cell phone towers on property. Who knows??? All I know is that I'm following the signs if we're ever driving on property again!

Ugh - I have been woken up so many times by housekeeping. Although it is usually during the afternoon while I'm napping, so that's probably my own fault.

Ugh! It happened to us in Vegas last June. Except-they didn't even knock they just came right in. HELLO! PEOPLE ARE IN THE ROOM! I screamed at her to get out and then felt bad but I was about to shower!.

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Whoa! That 6 month mark is reallllly creeping up on me! I haven't been in Disney mode lately. I need to get my behind in gear but I need October park hours to be released! I was SOOOOO sick last week and now I'm in spring "cleaning" mode (also known as "What can Rachael find to throw away?" mode). I just refuse to let my home become a storage unit for things we don't use and won't ever use. So, I just throw it away. I HATE CLUTTER especially useless clutter! Anyway...

I'll be sharing my ADRs soon as well as my Disney to-do list so be sure to stick around!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

My 180 day ADR mark is quickly approaching so I thought that I would share some of my dining choices with you all. October park hours have not been released yet so I can't chose times.

Liberty Tree Tavern: Lunch: New!
Ohana: Dinner
San Angel: Lunch
Sci Fi: Lunch: New!
Boma: Breakfast
Grand Floridian Cafe: Breakfast
California Grill: Dinner: New!
Narcossees: Dinner: New!

Right now I'm happy with that. As you can see, we've taken a break from the character meals and I'm okay with that. I don't want to be tied down by the stress of ADR times. I'm not the person that can easily skip out on an ADR. If it's planned-we're going. We'll have plenty of open time to chose which parks we'd like to go to. We'll definitely be eating lots of CS meals but with this being my 6th trip to the world, I am finally finding the best places for our tastes to get CS meals in the parks. I don't want to feel like I'm missing out on good eats and with careful planning, we won't!

 

[DisneyFirefly]

You have to try the toffee cake at LTT It was SO good!

I really think you guys will like Sci Fi, too. It's pretty simple, but I really enjoyed it.