April and August. It's a 2 for 1 PTR deal! (Updated 4/19 --- TRIP REPORT LINK!!!)

[Happy Duck]

Welcome to my first EVER Pre-Trip Report, leading to my first EVER Trip Report! Basically, it is the BEST DAY EVER!!!! Im so happy right now, its absolutely ridiculous. My level of Disney (Toy Story) Mania, already at an all-time high, has increased to Epic (Mickey) proportions.

A Tale of Happy Ducks, Minnie Mice, and Little Woodland Creatures​

Chapter One: Introductions

There is good reason to be so joyful, as we just booked a mini-trip for April 2013!!! Who is we, you might ask? Well, take small children by the hand, refrain from dancing, and come along for the ride!

First up, let me introduce myself. My name is Lauren, I am 22 years old, and in the past year and a half my love of Disney has grown from mildly interested to full out obsessive.

In the daylight hours, I am a first year music teacher for Pre-K through 8th grade students. I absolutely love my job and I couldnt think of a better way to spend my days.

This will be my 4th trip to the World, my second in 15 months, and my first as (drumroll, please!) an ANNUAL PASSHOLDER! Thats right! This may not be my only trip of 2013 Stay tuned to find out more!

Now that you know the basics, lets get into more advanced knowledge&like my Disney favorites!

Favorite Characters: Donald Duck and Rex
Favorite Princess: Pocahontas
Favorite Movies: Pocahontas, Toy Story, Beauty and the Beast, and Tangled.
Favorite Restaurants: Tusker House (breakfast), Cindys, and 50s Prime Time Café
Favorite Music: Colors of the Wind, The Wishes Soundtrack, Kingdom Celebration and When will my life begin?
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Ride: Mount Everest

Next, Id like to welcome Mama (also known as MinnieMomma) to the fun!

She is pretty much my twin. We say things at the same time, think things at the same time, and even burst out into random song&.we have the same brain, and more importantly, the same love (obsession) for all things Disney!!! This will be her 5th trip to the World. We are also helping each other along the journey of becoming healthier and happier. What a better way to celebrate then by going to Disney World???

Mamas Favorites are&
Favorite Characters: Minnie Mouse, Gus Gus, Rex, and Thumper
Favorite Princess: Cinderella
Favorite Movies: Cinderella, Bambi, and Finding Nemo
Favorite Restaurants: Cindys, Tusker House, and Coral Reef
Favorite Music: Part of Your World and A Dream is a Wish your Heart Makes
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Rides: Teacups and Splash Mountain

Finally, we have my younger sister, Sarah.

Dont let her towering height fool you; she is 13. (Sometimes very 13.) Sarah is such a sweet-heart and she cares for anybody and everybody. One thing I love about her is that she lives her own life and doesnt blindly follow the not-so-great model set by other teenagers in this day and age. Mama and I tend to live life through a childs eyes and she enjoys life right along with us!

This will be Sarahs 3rd trip to the World. Her first trip was when she was only 2 ½, so she doesnt remember anything from it except the stories weve told her. The most memorable is that during and after Fantasmic, she kept wondering if the people guys (her spontaneous name for the villains) were going to get Mickey. For days after, she would ask us about the people guys&it was so cute! Like Mama and I, her love of Disney has also soared and she is enjoying her chance to help in the planning process of this trip!

Sarahs Favorites are&
Favorite Characters: Mickey Mouse, Rex, and the entire Hundred Acre Wood
Favorite Princesses: Merida, Rapunzel, and Mulan
Favorite Movies: Lion King and Brave
Favorite Restaurants: Rainforest Café and 50s Prime Time Café
Favorite Music: Wishes Soundtrack
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Ride: Toy Story Mania, Dumbo, Teacups

I hope you enjoyed meeting all of us! Come back soon to discover more about our magical plans!

*Chapter links in Post 3*

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[Alysa]

What a fun start! And I love the adorable title, can't wait to hear more!

 

[Happy Duck]

Chapter One: Introductions
Chapter Two: A Brief History Lesson
Chapter Three: Details, Details, Details
Chapter Four: We're Coming Mickey!
Chapter Five: Awesome April leads to Amazing August!
Chapter Six: The Most Magical Store on Earth
Chapter Seven: Super brief, mostly happy update
Chapter Eight: I'm REALLY going to Disney World!!!
Chapter Nine: Disney is EVERYWHERE
Chapter Ten: Planning 2 Weeks of ADRs. Possible?
Chapter Eleven: Who knew scheduling meals could be so fun???
Chapter Twelve: Update on our Disney Life!
Chapter Thirteen:The One where we make even more plans!!!
Chapter Fourteen:Updated ADR list...for both trips!!!
Chapter Fifteen: Counting Down!!!
Chapter Sixteen: We are PIN TRADERS now!
Chapter Seventeen: NOT FART SHOES
Chapter Eighteen: Progress Pic Update!
Chapter Nineteen: Tonga Toast!
Chapter Twenty: We're getting a bit Deluxe over here!!!
Chapter Twenty-One: This time next week, I'll...

 

[Minnie Momma]

In a little more than 2 months we will be walking right down the middle of Main Street U.S.A.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Eating one of these!

Watching her at Cinderella's Castle

Getting autographs from my two favorite mice

Let the festive crazy joyful fun commence!

 

[Happy Duck]

Chapter Two: A hopefully tantalizing history of how this whole trip came about

Note: Pictures are intended to provide a splash of color for your viewing pleasure in an otherwise wordy explanation and may not always refer to the topic at hand. Enjoy anyway.

As Ive said before, our family wasnt terribly into Walt Disney World until relatively recently. We had gone once when I was 12, but there was never any push to make our way back to Florida. (Back then, we didnt know what we were doing, which sometimes worked out to our advantage. Daddy planned the whole trip&and not knowing what it was&booked us at the Animal Kingdom Lodge!! And then we got upgraded to Savannah view!!) We had always loved Disney movies, but in an enjoyment sort of way. Not in an obsessive sort of way

THEN. IT. HAPPENED.

The summer of 2011 came and changed our lives forever (okay, not quite that dramatic, but you get the idea!)

Mama came across a Groupon deal for an off-site hotel near Disney World. She jokingly told Daddy about it, saying we could take a quick 3 day trip, and have a fun weekend. Well&.my problem is when Im presented with an opportunity, I run with it. I was all aboard (the Monorail, of course!) and full speed ahead! I was calculating (and recalculating) everything. It was my goal to make the cheapest but longest trip possible that would be most likely to convince Mama and Daddy that a trip to Disney World was an actual possibility. I had us staying at a Quality Inn for goodness sakes.

After about a month of my going crazy, (staying up until 1am looking at cost spreadsheets isnt weird, is it?) Mama let me have a little bit of hope. She started bringing up the idea of staying at a Value resort. It wouldnt be that much more expensive, we wouldnt have to rent a car, and (even better) wed be immersed in the Disney Magic!

As if we needed more motivation, we also decided that it would be smart to take a trip before my imminent graduation and entrance into the world of teaching.

This single act, while wonderful, would guarantee that any future trips would be based around my school schedule, and therefore only at peak times. So, in order to celebrate my upcoming foray into adult life, we decided to take the trip at the beginning of January, right before my final semester of student teaching.

Ahhh, January. How I love thee. Low crowds, great weather, lower cost...perfection.

As the trip neared, our love of Disney eventually catapulted us into the world of DISboards. Throughout our meanderings of various trip reports, we came to the conclusion that the Value resorts may not be quite what we were looking for. They are generally larger, louder, and also (as Ive heard) the beds arent quite as comfy. (Also, we found out that cheerleaders would be in attendance during our stay&.shudder.) After a bit more number crunching, we decided it wouldnt be that much more to upgrade to a moderate (!!!)

Now comes the big question...which one?????

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[Happy Duck]

Chapter Three: Details, Details, Details

As we browsed through the pictures, room tours on youtube, and reviews, we decided upon Port Orleans French Quarter. It was a match made in heaven. It was small, quaint, and had such a friendly staff! We didnt need all of the bells and whistles offered by larger resorts, so we were fine without things like a sit down restaurant on site. We had Sassys! (Our pet name for Sassagoula Fireworks )

The trip itself was January 8th  January 14th, 2012. We even had a day visiting the world of Harry Potter! It was an amazing trip filled with amazing new memories. Mama, Sarah, Bryan (my brother), and I went on the trip, leaving Daddy at home. Dont worry. He didnt want to go anyway

One thing Mama and I learned after we got home is that we didnt know enough! We werent as schooled as we are now. For example, we missed the School Bread! For that matter, we didnt know you could go into the big Mexican pavilion. We also didnt know about the Three Caballeros! And for a Donald Duck fan like me, that was just not right. We completely missed the animation class&and for an art lover like my sister, that was sad. We didnt watch a single parade, and we barely took the time to breathe, let alone enjoy the ambiance of Magic Kingdom. Dont even get me started on not knowing about Starring Rolls or not getting anything at all from Main Street Confectionary. Apparently we took pictures without actually purchasing any deliciousness!

Now, dont think we were completely clueless. We did know enough to make ADRs! We ate at lots of fun places: Cindys, Tusker House Breakfast, 50s Primetime Café, Coral Reef, Chef Mickeys, and Rainforest Café. Free dining definitely came in handy!

After such a magical trip, experiencing everything and enjoying each moment, it was obvious to us that it wouldnt be our last trip to visit Mickey and the gang. The question was...when would we be back?

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[Happy Duck]

What a fun start! And I love the adorable title, can't wait to hear more!

Thanks! I'm having fun FINALLY writing one of these!

 

[Alysa]

Chapter Three: Details, Details, Details

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Oh my goodness, what is that?!? I must order it!

 

[Happy Duck]

Oh my goodness, what is that?!? I must order it!

That amazing creation is the French toast at Cinderella Castle. Sooooooo good.

 

[Happy Duck]

Chapter Four: Were Coming Mickey!

The rest of 2012 was a Disney blur. Mama and I grew more and more in love with all things Disney. We would have Disney nights where we watched a movie and had a themed dinner, headed to the Disney store often (we used to have two near us until recently&now we only have the one ), and became more in love with the DIS.

By May, we were both itching to schedule another trip. But that was just silly! We used to be those people who saw Disney commercials and thought, Why would anyone go there every year? Our family trips to see the Mouse had been in 2002 and 2012. (Mama and I did go on a band trip to Disney in 2006&but it really didnt count as a full trip in my book.) So we were making a pretty consistent schedule of every 10 years.

One thing I knew without a doubt was& I CANT WAIT 10 MORE YEARS!

Mama and I hatched a plan. At the time, we were both trying to lose weight and become healthier. Not above bribery, we thought, what if we made a trip to Disney as our reward???

That was all of the convincing we needed! So we set out to plan a week-long trip to Disney World. But wait. It is just going to be the two of us. And I had not yet spent any of my graduation money. And we would have a long time to save. What if we have a TWO WEEK trip all to ourselves? No convincing necessary! We were sold!

Then came the hard part of all Disney plans. Waiting. Remember, this plan was hatched in May of 2012. We still needed to lose about 60lbs each. That would take at least a year, plus having this massive trip line up with vacation schedules. That means that we would not be going until August of 2013. As of right now, we are STILL about 7 months out (the trip is at the end of August) and we each have a lot of work to do.

November through December was a very stressful time for me as a new music teacher, and I freely admit I didnt have as much success as I would have liked. Post my unfortunate holiday season gain, I still have about 45lbs to go. Yuck. Doable, but definitely still a tight schedule. Even worse? Mama and I made the rule that if we dont lose the weight we have to cancel the trip. That would be way too sad!!!

Now, Im sure you are wondering. If this trip wasnt scheduled until August, why are you going in April??? Stay tuned to find out why.

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[Happy Duck]

Chapter Five: Awesome April leads to Amazing August

When we last left off, a big question was asked: Why are we going in April if the big reward trip isnt until August?

Well, the explanation is actually rather simple. Relatively recently, my sister began to be intrigued about our new, healthier lifestyle. She began to become aware of what she was eating, started moving more, and even joined us at the gym! One day, I innocently floated the idea that if she joined us and became healthier, maybe she could come along on a trip!

Now, some of you are thinking, why dont you just take your sister along for the 2 week trip? Well, first off, Id really like the chance to have the trip of a lifetime with my Mama. Also, Sarah will probably be headed elsewhere on an amazing Sarah-Daddy trip of her own at the same time. Its a win-win situation! So we are sticking with our original plan&.and adding a mini-trip into the mix for Sarah!

Sarah is absolutely over the moon. We are making this trip geared toward her&giving her lots of control as to what we plan and what we do. Shes in Disney heaven!

First thing we had to do was choose the dates that we would be going. I only have 2 days left to use at work, I have a few class plays coming up in the next few months, and Mamas schedule is in a word, ridiculous. The absolute best dates were April 11-15. Wed be getting to Orlando around 9pm on the 11th, sleeping (yeah, right) and waking up for a full day in the Magic Kingdom!

A short trip, but enough for one park a day, a few ADRs, and a lot of fun! Unfortunately, a work conflict for Mama has left us with a big unknown. If we had to, we would push it off to April 12-16, but it would be harder because I would be missing a busy day of my week. Will our dream dates work???

The eternal optimists, we decided to go ahead and book a trip for April 11-16th, knowing that if we had to change to the 12th-16th it would be fine, as well as knocking off the extra day if our original plans prevailed. Unfortunately, this meant that while we could reserve the room, we couldnt get plane tickets! As one of the most difficult details arrange, we are still biting our nails waiting to hear from our respective employers before we take the plunge and book the flights. When at last we see the light, we will be able to finally (officially!) book the plane!

The whole process of booking the trip was super dee-duper fun. With two trips totaling at least 18 days in Disney World for this year, it made absolute sense to become Annual Passholders! We could have waited to actually purchase them in April when we were there, but I saw that there is currently an AP room discount deal available. No way am I going to pass that up! So I went online, filled out the information, and voila! I was a passholder!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EEEEEEEEEEEEK! I danced around the house, had a huge grin on my face, and couldnt sleep that night. Im too excited to sleep!!!

Now comes the sad part. It turns out that the number of rooms booked under the AP was already at its limit.



While talking to the Cast Member, she said that I could still apply the Spring Offer (which was 25%) and could call back over the next 2 months and hopefully snag one of the AP rooms.

Now, you might be asking&where exactly are we trying to book?

Originally, Mama and I had planned on staying at French Quarter again. It was just the perfect resort for us. However, one night I just happened to say, Sarah, is there anywhere else YOU would like to stay? Since it is HER trip, wed like all of her wishes (within financial reason!) to come true! She went online and started looking at other resorts and other rooms. Once she came across the Royal Rooms at Riverside, she was hooked!

She light up like a light bulb and was so excited at the possibility of being booked there. The Cast Member I was talking to while booking asked if I wanted to look for AP discounts elsewhere since one was not available for a Royal Room. Of course, we said no. It is worth it just seeing the joy on my sisters face!

By the way, when I got on the phone at first to book the room, I must have sounded so giddy that the Cast Member asked me, You are so happy; you must work for Disney, right? No, kind lady. But I am joyful all the same!
So to bring you up to speed: we have a hotel reserved, no flights, and still no definite okay from the bosses. What to do next? Be patient? Make wishes on stars?

Nah. Lets make ADRs! Optimistic doesnt even begin to describe us!
There were many factors that went into our ADRs. First thing, we wanted to make sure that we had as much park time as possible. While we want to be able to enjoy sit down meals, we want the chance to do as much as we can as well since we only have a total of 4 days (really 3.75 in the parks). Wed also like to minimize travel time in between places. Then we thought about whether or not we wanted to go to the same restaurants as the last trip, or try new ones. Then the most important piece of the puzzle came into play: SARAH! This is her trip so we want to make sure that she is getting to choose the restaurants.

So far, this is our schedule:

Friday- Crystal Palace (8:20am)
This was one of Sarahs absolute musts. She loves Pooh and the rest of the gang (enter: Little Woodland Creatures), so this was definitely going to be one of our restaurants. As the park doesnt open until 9, we are hoping to be able to finish up and make it to Fantasyland rope-drop to make it to ETWB quickly. Im going to keep an eye on it and hopefully well be able to move the time up to 8:00 if possible to give us a bit more time to eat (and then walk around and take people-less pictures!)

Saturday- 50s Prime Time Café (1:30pm)
We all loved this experience last trip and Sarah really wants to return. She says she will get and finish a milkshake this time! We think well be able to do everything we want to at Hollywood Studios since well be there 9am-8:30pm. A lunch break will be very nice!

Sunday- Yak and Yeti (6:45pm)
This is the reservation that has a possibility of changing. Its not a wow restaurant, although Im sure those fried wontons will taste heavenly. Since Animal Kingdom closes at 7pm that night, we have plenty of time to head to a resort restaurant for dinner if we would like to. Sarah likes the look of the menu, although she definitely did not have the same reaction to it that she had for Crystal Palace. I did let her know about the idea of eating at a resort restaurant and she asked me, You can do that? Eat at another resort? Why, of course sweet girl! As of right now, the appeal for Yak and Yeti is that we can eat at closing and then leave through an empty park. Picture time! Also, we wont have any extra travel time so Sarah would have ample time to swim that night. She is a fish!

Weve chosen not to schedule any ADRs on our last day (Epcot) because wed like to be able to eat around the world. A little of this, a little of that. It will be great having the time to enjoy lots of delicious goodies (and yes, some actual lunch food, too!)

Thoughts? Comments? Ideas? Any input is appreciated!

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[Tinker326]

Hi, I'm in for your ride (or multiple rides) over the next few months! Sounds like a fun year!!! I'm jealous you are doing 18 days at Disney... I think I'm just gonna retire there myself. Maybe in the Poly Hotel. When I strike it rich!!!

We love Prime Time as well & haven't been there in YEARS - it's on our list for our November trip. That is my one 'for sure' along with Ohana Breakfast (my fave breakfast!). I've never tired Yak & Yeti-- I"ll watch your trip report for a thumbs up or down!

And good luck with your 'get healthy' motive. I always fine good incentives (a trip to Disney) go very, very far in success rates!

Love all your pictures too! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Happy Duck]

And good luck with your 'get healthy' motive. I always fine good incentives (a trip to Disney) go very, very far in success rates!

Love all your pictures too! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the good luck! I'm mostly back on track and feeling great. In our house, whenever we want something that we're not supposed to have, someone else just has to say "Disney" or "Mickey" and most of the time we think better of it This is also helping. Gives me something to do! (As if I don't have enough to do as a teacher.....)

 

[Happy Duck]

Chapter Six: The Most Magical Store on Earth


February 3-5



Argh! This waiting is driving me crazy. Why cant people just respond and say, Of COURSE you can have those days off. It will be no problem at all. Every day I worry that the flights will sell out. Or worse, that they will say no!

To keep ourselves from going insane, we did what any Disney-crazed people would do---- go the Disney Store!

It just happened to be that on Sunday 2/3 we happened to go out to dinner, to a restaurant that just happened to be three doors down from the Disney Store.

I'm trying to remember to take applicable food pictures. This was the only one I took. Meet my salad from the salad bar.

I think I need to work on my food pictures!

Dinner was lovely, but Mickey was calling from afar. This Disney Store is actually an outlet store and we have found awesome deals there. This particular day had a Buy 1 Plush, Get One Free deal. Under normal circumstances, that deal is ridiculous. Add it to the fact that there was a whole CLEARANCE section with Conductor Mickey and Holiday Mickey, and youve got an amazing find.

I guess technically, Conductor Mickey is Guest Star Mickey from Mickey Mouse Club, but as a music teacher, I look at him in those tails, and I see him as a conductor all the way.

With the lovely BOGO deal, I ended up getting both Mickeys for UNDER $10. Right? I know! Amazing.

Sarah found Dumbo and fell in love with him, but we had a coupon in possession that didnt become valid until a later date. She was sad to say goodbye Will they ever be reunited?

You would think that would be the only Disney Store trip that week? Well, you would be wrong. Tuesday, Februrary 5th was the release date for Peter Pan. Of course we had pre-ordered it, so we had to go and pick it up. And use that lovely $10 coupon!

Before we went to the Disney Store we stopped at Subway for dinner.

They didnt have Broccoli and Cheddar soup, my favorite But otherwise, a very satisfying (and healthy) dinner. I ended up trying a Veggie Delight for the first time. Italian herb and cheese bread, no cheese, toasted, tomato, spinach, red onion, sweet peppers, and pickles all with sweet onion sauce. It was very good! I had a side of Jalapeño chips&they were okay.

A little too hot and not enough flavor. As you could tell, Im still learning about taking food pictures. I have to practice for April!

Next, we pulled a Tigger and practically (perfectly) bounced all the way down to the Disney Store!

Upon entering a Disney Store I have a pretty standard procedure. First, I get all giddy. Then I try and focus. There are so many things to look at!
I try and take it shelf by shelf, but you know, its hard. So I usually end up taking another lap or two (or three) around the store.

Sorcerer Mickey! I always look at him, but never buy him. Maybe someday.

Mama loves Minnie!

REX BOWLS. Seriously, best bowls ever. We already have 2 of them in the house...but these were on sale for $0.99. YES. I said 99 CENTS! So I had to buy two more. Im not crazy, I swear. But I do think they make food taste a bit more magical

Which dwarf are you Mama?

Dopey! Not on sale, so she said goodbye to her doppelganger.

PANCHITO! I may have missed the boat, as it were, but Im excited to officially meet those Caballeros in person soon!

Cutest PJs ever! They didnt have my size. Boo. So I settled with a Medium that I will wear at Port Orleans Riverside soon!

Im 22 years old. And when at the register, I ask for a sticker. Yay! (Please ignore the hair. We were going to the gym&.)

Oooh, last minute purchase! Pocahontas was on the bag! Therefore, we must buy it.

You see, Pocahontas is a much under-appreciated member of the Princess club. As she is my all-time favorite princess, if I ever see her on anything, it is pretty well assured that I will buy it. Hear that Disney? Want my money, appreciate Pocahontas!

The (little one) also got her wish. She came home with some new friends! Sarah ended up with both Dumbo and Squirt, courtesy of BOGO. So cute!

Though I wonder why Squirt has flowers all over his shell. Any ideas? He doesnt have them in the movie!


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[happybelle]

Joining in.

 

[Happy Duck]

Joining in.

Welcome! I'm happy you're here!

 

[Happy Duck]

Chapter Seven: Super brief, mostly happy update

I was approved for taking the days off in April! Yippeee!
Mama was approved for taking 2 weeks off in August! Yippeee!
Mama still doesn't know about April.

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[Happy Duck]

Chapter Eight: Im REALLY going to Disney World!

(Sorry for the lack of pictures. This will be a very wordy update, but hopefully enjoyable. At least I think it is!)

Saturday, February 9th, 2013 will hence be known as The day I officially booked the trip by purchasing non-refundable airline tickets!

Thats right, my fellow Disney lovers. I am officially heading to the world April 11-15th!!!!!!!!!! Its officially official! No turning back now!

That means Ive got to get my butt in gear (and smaller) and really work hard. No more cheating. If I get to Main Street on Day 1 and feel that, Well, I dont look as great as I wanted to at this point but its okay because Im here I will be very disappointed in myself. I think Ive gotten out of my funk because Ive started losing again&now I just have to keep up the momentum! The problem is, I cant be, ah well, I didnt make my goal so I cant go. The trip is booked with plane tickets! No turning back now!

As happy as I am, there is one rain cloud over this whole situation still. My Mama is not able to go with us. While I am obviously happy that I am going to Disney World, it will be my first trip without my Mama! And that is quite sad. Were like peanut butter and jelly. We just go together! (like rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga dong!)

On the bright side, I get a sisters-only trip, which is a very fun idea as well. Sarah and I have a lot of fun together. Even being 10 years apart, we are very close.

Here comes the scary part of this situation. I will be going on a plane, in charge of my little sister, all by myself. Yes, I know Im 22 (and she is 13 and very competent herself), but I havent ever done anything like this. The most Ive gone is 8 hours away with her, but that was by car. This is a whole new world!

Now that the trip is booked, I am ready to share my master plan! (Or at least my master plan thus far. Itll probably change a little bit in the next few months, or weeks, or hours)

Thursday night is travel night. Sarah and I cant leave until after school and it takes 45 minutes to get to the airport in good traffic. And what are the chances we have a 5 mile back up and that turns into 2 hours??? So we are leaving for the airport as soon as possible on Thursday, hopefully no later than 4:00pm.

Well probably pick up dinner somewhere, probably at the airport. Yay. Airport food. Can you sense the excitement? Luckily, we will have an amazing culinary future ahead of us!

Our flight leaves at 6:15pm and is scheduled to arrive in Orlando at 8:50pm. I figure well be at Port Orleans Riverside by 11pm at the latest. Since it is a shorter trip, we are going to fit everything we need into carry-on. We will already have our luggage in hand and wont have to worry about anything!
Once we get there, well probably stop and get a bite to eat just because we can. Yay, Disney food!

Then well head off to our home away from home, take showers, and drift into a blissful night sleep! At least, that is the plan for one of us. I, on the other hand, need to take a bus to Downtown Disney where I will exchange for my Annual Pass and pick up Sarahs tickets. Im hoping to be back in my bed by 12:00-12:30. Crossing fingers!

Why am I bothering to take care of this Thursday night instead of waiting for Friday morning? Well, we have a very important engagement to attend Friday morning and wont be able to stop at Guest Services because they open too late. Sarah and I will be dining with Pooh and the entire gang from the Hundred Acre Wood at 8:10 Friday morning! (Yes, I was able to push the time up by 10 minutes! Wahoo!)

Once we finish up our delicious breakfast, I plan on heading straight for Enchanted Tales with Belle. After that, Sarah is the guide! (Of course, I will continue to give my best sisterly guidance. I refuse to wait in any line over 30 minutes long.)

This is our only day in Magic Kingdom, but it is also a very long day. Magic Kingdom is scheduled to be open until 11pm that night! As Sarah loves swimming, we will probably head back to the hotel during the afternoon for a few hours and explore the slide. She has already insisted upon it and is so excited that she will be able to swim outside in April!

Im going to try my best to just let go and enjoy the experience. No need to do the park commando style. I have to keep telling myself that!

Well head back to the park for the evening, probably hit up one of my favorite restaurants for dinner. Well scope a spot for the MSEP and Wishes, most likely grabbing a Dole Whip along the way. Mmmmmmmmm. Sounds amazing. Can I have one now?

Saturday April 13 is Epcot Day! Our plan is to arrive at park opening (9am) and bust out Future World bright and early. One of our most important tasks of the day is finding dresses at Mouse Gears! Sarahs goal in life at the moment is to be able to comfortably wear a Mickey dress around Disney World. I think that is a fantastic goal to have!

Throughout the day, well probably wander up into World Showcase, but we may not take time for every pavilion. I do have some must eats on my list though: Kringla Bakeri, strawberry shortcake, and red bean ice cream! We dont have any dining reservations because we want to eat our way around the world and enjoy a little here and there. This will be helped by the fact that the Flower and Garden Festival will be going on during our trip! We are so excited! We did not realize this while we were discussing dates. I hear that they will have small food kiosks set up around the world. Yum! Well obviously spend time finding all of the amazing topiaries. Pretty! Our night will finish off with Illuminations at 9pm.

Sunday April 14 is the day we head into the movies! Hollywood Studios is calling us and we will be ready bright and early to battle the crowds for those coveted Fastpasses. Fastpass Mania, ride standby, meet some special friends, and then ride with Fastpass. Thats the plan! Other than the regular must dos, one must do on our list is meeting Woody and Buzz! I am so excited! We have been re-discovering our love for Toy Story at home and I cant wait to meet them in person. I might even get a picture with the Rex that is on their backdrop. I love Rex! (Now I have guilt! --- best line ever)

Our dining reservation for the day is at 50s Prime Time Café! As Ive mentioned before, Sarahs goal is to get one of those amazing milkshakes. Yummmmmy. Our reservation is for 1:30pm and that will give us plenty of time to finish up in the evening, and head for Fantasmic at 8:30!

Monday April 15 (our last day, boo) is our Animal Kingdom day! There are EMH starting at 8am and we plan on being there bright and early! Animal Kingdom is a favorite park of ours, so we will be looking forward to it. We almost squeezed HS and AK on the same day so that we could head back to Magic Kingdom, but decided to take some extra time for HS and AK. Our (my) morning plan is to Fastpass Everest, ride Kilimanjaro, ride Everest again and continue from there!

Our (my) absolutely must-do for the day is meeting Pocahontas!!! The last time I met her in January 2012, I was so excited that I could barely get out a sentence. Besides, Mama told the photopass photographer that Pocahontas is her favorite princess! and the guy was confused and took mostly pictures of Sarah and my girl! Sad. Obviously, we did not realize this until later. I nearly shed a tear looking at all of these great pictures of Sarah. I was also wearing a poncho at the time. Definitely not the greatest meet and greet in the history of the world. Ill do better this time!

Then comes the worst part of the day: heading to the Magical Express. I think it is the only form of transportation that can go from a rolling palace one day to a dungeon just a few days later. Our flight is not until 7:35, so I dont think well have to be back at POR until 4:30. I plan on picking up some Disney food somewhere and taking it with us to enjoy in the airport, and later at home. Question: Is it true that you can take packaged food with you on the plane in your carry-on?

To recap: Our ADRs for April have shifted a bit. Since we switched Epcot and Animal Kingdom days we are now only doing Crystal Palace and 50s Primetime.

You would think that the end of this trip would mean the end of Disney magic for a while. But if you were paying attention, youd know that I have ANOTHER TRIP COMING IN AUGUST. Thats right! About 4 months after I return to reality, I will head back into the magic!

OFFICIALLY!

MAMA HAS TAKEN THE TIME OFF AND WE ARE GOING!

This will now become TWO PRE- TRIP REPORTS IN ONE!

Isnt that exciting?!?!?!?!

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[Happy Duck]

Chapter Nine: Disney is EVERYWHERE

Ive heard that if you are getting married, you notice bridal magazines and rings everywhere. If you are pregnant, you start noticing babies every place you go.

When you are planning a Disney trip, apparently you become obsessed with anything Disney related. IT IS EVERYWHERE.

Even Michaels.

Not kidding.

You would have thought that were two five year olds. But pretty colors were everywhere! See?

STICKERS! These stickers were so different than the ones you normally find. And they were very inexpensive!

See? LOTS and LOTS of stickers!

We are very, very happy children.

CUTEST RIBBON EVER. Mickey, Minnie, Pooh, and Buzz Lightyear!

Seriously??? Could this get any more perfect???

Howdy partner!

Need a Disney tattoo?

In the little kids toy section, there was a whole section! Jackpot!

Im a Princess!

We also went to the thrift store and bought the best game of Monopoly ever created. TOY STORY!

Sure, its the Junior version, but that didnt stop us from buying it and playing it. (For $2, Ill take it!)

Sarah won, by the way. Re-Match! I see a Toy Story night in our future. Movie, Toy Story Mania on the Wii, and Monopoly Jr. What could be more fun? (Pizza Planet pizza would make it better, but Ill make due with Pizza Hut)

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[Happy Duck]

Chapter Ten: Planning 2 weeks of ADRs. Possible?

If you haven't noticed, Ive changed the thread title of this PTR to reflect the fact that this is now TWO REPORTS IN ONE! WAHOOOOOOO. I will do my best to make any August updates one color, and April updates another.

I'm a planner. I'm obsessed with it. I want to make the best plans possible to maximize ride time, minimize wait time, and minimize travel time. That being said, I do have help. I really like the plans presented on easywdw (If you don't agree, do not bother arguing about it. I wont allow any negative vibe on here) so I used them in determining ADRs. One philosophy that I have found to be true from my own experience is that parks with evening EMH tend to be busier. That doesn't mean that we never take advantage of them, but we will usually park hop somewhere else for the day. The great thing about it is yes, the crowds will be heavy at the EMH park, but no other park is open, so it doesn't really matter. At that point, you are accepting the crowds as they are.

The first step in determining ADRs is deciding WHERE you want to eat! (Obviously!) At first we had a monster list that required us having 2 table service meals most days for 14 days straight. We tried to rationalize that. Its going to be a long week, we said. Well need the breaks from the heat, we said. We really want to try all of these places and it will be worth it, we said. Then reality hit in. Would we really be able to eat that much food? Even with us splitting most meals, which we do already, that is A LOT of food. So we reevaluated. Mama and I wrote down our top-top-top restaurant choices and we created our ADR list from that.

Tuesday (2/12) Mama was able to call and get the majority of them reserved!!! You know what is coming. Here is our plan!

Sunday August 11
Flight and check-in at POFQ. YAY! Our whole vacation awaits us! Well try to contain ourselves. Will be unsuccessful. Head to Magic Kingdom as soon as possible. Watch Wishes. Cry.

Monday August 12
Epcot. Starting the culinary portion of the trip is our Le Cellier reservation at 7pm, followed by Illuminations at 9. What a fantastic first day!

Tuesday August 13
Early Tusker House breakfast at 8:05pm. Hug Donald. Spend the morning at Animal Kingdom. Possibly take an afternoon break and head to Hollywood Studios for the evening. Fantasmic @ 9.

Wednesday August 14
Magic Kingdom all day! Try to get into Be Our Guest for lunch! For those who have been, what time is the best time to go for lunch? Early or wait until closer to the end of the lunch seating?

Thursday August 15
All day at Epcot! Via Napoli for lunch at 11:30am. I probably wont decide what I want to get until I'm there. There are so many things I want to try!

Friday August 16
Spent most of the morning and early afternoon at Hollywood Studios. Sci-Fi lunch at 11:45. After Hollywood, head back to the hotel to relax and rest up. (This will be Day 6, and I think well need some naptime.) After lounging and sleeping, we have dinner at 8pm. AT 1900 PARK FARE! YAY! I am so excited for this dinner! After our dinner, we will conveniently head over to Magic Kingdom for EMH from 10-midnight.

Saturday August 17
If desired, begin the morning at Magic Kingdom. Head to Sanaa for our 12:00 lunch, and then spend the evening at Animal Kingdom. I am very excited to be in Animal Kingdom late! I think it is going to be beautiful!

Sunday August 18
Rest day. This is our day to do whatever, whenever. We may head to Downtown Disney, we may lounge in the pool, we might watch a movie&whatever we want to do! This is also a good day for us to lazily explore other resorts. We will finish the day with dinner at 6:30 at Ohana!

Monday August 19
This day begins at Epcot, followed by Hollywood Studios. Dinner for the day is 50s Prime Time at 7:30pm. Yes, that means it will be my 3rd time there. I'm not complaining! Love it!

Tuesday August 20
We have a lazy morning scheduled, followed by all day at Animal Kingdom. I finally get my Yak and Yeti reservation at 5:45! (We had to cancel it for the April trip due to days being switched around.) Fried wontons, here I come!

Wednesday August 21
Magic Kingdom day! Well take a break at the Grand Floridian mid-day. I have to see Uncle Jesse's piano, and want to lay on the beach! And the Joey-Stephanie swing. And feel classy and such. Our break is followed by 2:00 Tea! Total princess day. I plan on wearing a tiara.

Thursday August 22
(ONLY THREE MORE DAYS! *tear*) We are going to start the day with Kona breakfast at 9:00. Mama and I already know what we are going to order We are going to get both the Macadamia Nut Pancakes and Tonga Toast and then split them. I love having an eating buddy! After breakfast, well take the monorail over to Epcot for the day. It is our last Epcot day, so well be hitting all our must-dos again.

Friday August 23
Today is split between Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. Last day for both of them, so were making sure to experience all of the important things. No ADRs so that we can come and go as we please. Who knows? We might schedule one day of.

Saturday August 24
Last day. I might be a little sad when I wake up, but not for long! We will have breakfast with Cindy in the castle! (This is the only one not yet reserved. Mama couldn't schedule them all at once and due to it being later in the trip, she had to wait to reserve.) The rest of the morning and afternoon will be spent enjoying all that Magic Kingdom has to offer.

At some point, we will inevitably have to head back to POFQ and get on that now-it-is-not-so-fun express.

What a plan! I cannot believe that we are actually taking 2 weeks. This will be the only trip of its kind in my life. After this, we are back to reality as my graduation-two summers of work- fund will be officially depleted. And then some.

If you hadn't counted, that is 12 ADRs scheduled over 14 days. CRAZY! And these probably wont be all! We've made it a plan to have these scheduled, but while we are there, we can add others as desired. These are the ones that we definitely, 100% NEED to go to.

Here is a comprehensive list. I've starred all of the ones that are new to us.

*Le Cellier- dinner
Tusker House- breakfast
*Via Napoli- lunch
*Sci-Fi- lunch
*1900 Park Fare- dinner
*Sanaa- lunch
*Ohana- dinner
50s Prime Time- dinner
*Yak and Yeti- dinner
*Garden View Tea
*Kona- breakfast
Cinderellas Royal Table- breakfast


Enter food baby.

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