After 10 Years.......We're Going To Disney World!!!

[scasta86]

Hello everyone and thank you for taking time to read my post. This is my first trip report so I hope it’s at least somewhat enjoyable to read. I suppose I should start with my background and all the events that have led me to become the HUGE Disney fan that I am today. It’s kind of lengthy so I apologize if I bore anyone. I grew up in the late 80’s and the 90’s; naturally all the Disney blockbuster movies that came out during those years were parts of my childhood.
Throughout my childhood I also had the opportunity to experience some of the older Disney movies and Mickey Mouse shorts. Naturally every time that something bearing the name “Disney” came out, it was at the top of my list. In mid 1996 my grandmother asked me and my younger brother if we would like to go to Disney World to “meet Mickey Mouse.” As I recall, back then I didn’t know much about Disney World except that there was some castle and characters like Mickey and Minnie Mouse were all over the place. After months of preparation and anticipation passed we finally set flight for Orlando in December 7th 1996. My mother had just had my youngest sister so it was my grandmother my brother and me. Nothing could have prepared my 10 year old self for what I experienced in the Magic Kingdom the following day (another trip report unto itself if I could reproduce all the details.)
The memories of that trip, and the wonder and excitement that followed it are something that I will remember forever. From the small army of “robots” in SplashMountain, to the de-materializing ghosts in The Haunted Mansion. Needles to say I had a blast, however that week all I kept thinking was how much I wished that my mother and sister could be able to experience all those wonderful things.
When that week was over and I flew back home the only thing I kept telling my mother was that we ALL needed to go back next year. Unfortunately that never happened, though I kept trying and insisting constantly ever since I got back. Disney World as wonderful as it was, seemed unattainable. Well I would appreciate feedback on my report. As I said it's my first one, so I hope it's somewhat enjoyable

 

[scasta86]

I never gave up on asking to go on a vacation to WDW. But other things would crop up, family engagements, travel to other places, etc. The more I learned about Disney World, Walt Disney and his legacy the more I liked the place and the more I wanted to go back. I saw some videos of certain rides and shows, online and read many different guidebooks which only made me want to go back more. I was especially sad to have missed the Millennium and Happiest Celebration on Earth celebrations. After a while I figured that I could take a summer vacation down there with some friends. However I still longed to be able to share the magic with my mother and sister. When I started college, made possible through some grants and scholarships, I was told I would be receiving whatever money was not used up for my tuition and books. As it turned out a rather large amount of money was not used for tuition. When I received the first batch of checks I had some bills to pay and WDW was the last thing on my mind. Fast forward to about a year ago, when I received the second batch of checks. I figured I would save them in case some sort of emergency came up where I would need that money. Around that time I discovered Disboards, when I would occasionally visit Disney sites to see what was new. But I still never considered using that money for a Disney vacation, (I might have, but not seriously.)

Towards the end of May of last year, I figured I could fly down there with my 11 year old sister; I had enough money for a 3 day getaway. It would be a small trip but a Disney trip nonetheless. I figured the last week of August would be ideal, just before the start of the new school year. My mother already had made other plans with her vacation weeks at work, so I didn’t consider her. After telling her of my plans she expressed interest and told me she would try to make arrangements at work. Meanwhile I continued to research ticket media, hotels and airline tickets to go down to Orlando. The amount of research that goes into actually planning a trip, as opposed to learning about the destination is completely different. My mother or DM, in Disboards terms , was told at work that she could take a vacation either the last week of August, or the second week of December. The prospect of an actual Disney vacation was something I did not want to wait that long for. So I started planning for a late summer trip. Several problems cropped up during the planning. It was too soon, it was not value season, and we would need more time to make arrangements at home before traveling.
Instead I began to research park operating hours for December. I had heard so much about how the start of December was the best for traveling to WDW, because of the light crowds and Christmas decorations. December started making more sense, with the only drawback being the waiting. (Late June; almost 5 months). So I started looking at the park operating hours for December. I knew that our arrival day would probably be spent at the Magic Kingdom, and so finding a night when Spectromagic was shown was a priority for me. The other parks seemed to have similar operating hours during the week, so they weren’t as much as of a concern as MK. I must have gone through 15 different vacation packages with different options and add-ons on Disney World’s website. Looking at the different options and fees, deciding what I did and didn’t need. I quickly settled on Pop Century resort. It’s the newest of the value resorts, and I liked the decades theming. I also figured that the Park Hopper option added an unnecessary extra charge for a feature we would not need. After considering my budget and the cost associated with spending a day in one of the parks I selected the 5-day ticket as the best option. I even selected the order in which we would hit the parks: (MK, Epcot, MGM, MK, and AK). I opted out of the Dining Plan, and Vacation Insurance. They seemed like unnecessary additions to my package. I also opted out of using Disney’s website for air tickets. Southwest offered much better prices for them. I selected the earliest and latest flight to maximize our time in the parks. After settling on all these minute details the vacation package was set. I purchased it from Disney’s website on July 14th (5 months away from the departure date), at just under $1000, not bad. IT was official after 10 years of waiting I would be going to Disney World!!