ArielDreams
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2005
- Messages
- 505
We are just 1 day away from our Disney vacation so I thought it would be a perfect time to write a pre-trip report! So lets start with the cast of characters.
Me (Ariel), 24 - a year out of college, currently working in marketing - which I don't like, working on applying to grad school for education I took my GREs last weekend and am ready to relax for 5 days in Disney before I complete my applications (Its on the "after Disney" list of things to do I'm a procrastinator). My interests include dance (part-time teacher), scrapbooking, collecting DVDs and all things Disney! Its hard for me to count the number of times Ive visited the various parks so see my signature for details! 3 Disney locations down, 2 to go! I will make it to Tokyo and Hong Kong some time in my life.
BF (Aladdin), also 24 - works in customer service for a cable company, also doesnt like his current position and is looking to escape it at Disney as well! He used to live in Florida when he was little but the only times hes visited "the World" were once to Epcot on a school field trip and once when he, his mom and sister saved their pennies for one day at the Magic Kingdom. So, since hes a big kid at heart, it's about time he had a proper Disney vacation! The only things he remembers are Spaceship Earth, Pirates of the Caribbean and buying a pirate bandanna and sword. I am so excited this is all new to him! His interests include video games, Aerosmith, Star Wars and anything that is Asian.
So here's a little background on how we got together. Last September, we were both at a piano bar celebrating our birthdays separately (mine is the day before his). I was crying because I felt lonely and I ended up being a third wheel. Then behind me, I catch a glimpse of Aladdin and was very interested. But of course, neither of us would do anything about it. So his brother-in-law (aka, wing man of the night) got us talking and in less than 5 minutes we were dancing to the Transvestite song from the Rocky Horror Picture Show and then no music at all. The rest is history! We've been "official" for a year now and I know I have found an excellent Disney partner!
The idea for this trip basically came from me saying "I will definitely be going to Disney sometime this year, even if its by myself. Its been too long." To which Aladdin replied "Well, you better not go without me!" So I read the all the boards and went about planning a "budget friendly" trip (I say "budget friendly" because I think if I had waited, I might have gotten better deals but whats done is done and you never know what deals they could throw at you!)
Step 1: The Airfare
From researching all airlines, I determined Southwest was the way to go - for us, thats Providence to Orlando. And then from the Disboards, I determined the date that November flights were going to be released. So on June 26, I sat at work refreshing the page for 3 hours until finally they released the flights. The dates we were going were totally dependent on what days we could get the lowest airfare for - and that I only wanted to take off 3 days from work. Luckily, I found the lowest fare for the month of November and was able to get that for our Prov-Orlando leg, as well as a decent fare for the flight home. November 8-12 it was! Since then, Southwest decreased the fare for our return flight so I was able to get a $90 credit for another Southwest flight by switching to the reduced fare. I mean, I wish I could have gotten my money back but hey well just have to take another vacation!
Step 2: The ADRs
Aladdin thought I was completely nuts for booking these in July but I knew I had to get them in if I wanted to get everything we wanted as well as good times! So I made them and was very happy with what we got. I think the woman I booked through was impressed I knew my stuff. (See itinerary for what we picked!)
Step 3: Book the Package
Since Disney kept not having special deals for when we were going, I got discouraged and decided to go with AAA. (Since then they've come out with free dining and all this other stuff but I dont want to talk about it ) Of course I don't really need a travel agent since I always know exactly what package I want, but I just wanted the deal. So I went in knowing I wanted 5 day park hopper with dining and 4 nights at All Star Movies (standard). I was unimpressed by our travel agent, who Aladdin says had a really bad mole on his face he couldnt stop looking at. I was more concerned with what he was typing on his computer... making sure everything went in right! So anyway, we ended up with what I wanted plus a preferred room since all of the standards were booked - it actually only ended up costing us $40 more which in the grand scheme of things, isn't too much. I was told once I made the final payment in September, I'd receive my packet of information via mail. So... fast forward to last week when I STILL didn't receive my packet of information. I called the AAA office and our agent was out for the day (good thing!) so the woman who was helping me went to the back to check and came back saying "oh, they've been sitting here ready to be picked up!" To which I said "well thats great because I was concerned that they wouldn't fit in my small apartment mailbox but he did tell me theyd be mailed". She responded, "He didn't call you to tell you they were in? Well, that's a problem." I mean, if I had misheard or he had been mistaken that they would be mailed, he (or someone from the office) should have told me to come pick them up! So anyway, Aladdin went a picked them up the next day. But it gave me minor anxiety until I found out where they were.
Step 4: Cram All the Disney Movies We Can in Before We Go!
Some, I had only seen once in my lifetime but was willing to try them again - and I ended up liking most and even ended up buying some on DVD (the DVD collector I am... also addicted to Disney Movie Rewards ) Since we booked the trip, we have watched:
Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Cars, The Incredibles, Bugs Life, Monsters Inc, Wall-E, Ratatouille, Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas, Hunchback, Enchanted, Newsies
In addition, I've also flipped through every guide book known to man (I own Birnbaums but I also work in a building with a Barnes and Noble, so I frequent it on lunch breaks) and we've watched all of the Disney On Demand content although kinda disappointed its mostly what was on the planning DVD
I will post our itinerary next but here's a picture of us at 6 Flags! (the warm up to Disney, hehe)
Me (Ariel), 24 - a year out of college, currently working in marketing - which I don't like, working on applying to grad school for education I took my GREs last weekend and am ready to relax for 5 days in Disney before I complete my applications (Its on the "after Disney" list of things to do I'm a procrastinator). My interests include dance (part-time teacher), scrapbooking, collecting DVDs and all things Disney! Its hard for me to count the number of times Ive visited the various parks so see my signature for details! 3 Disney locations down, 2 to go! I will make it to Tokyo and Hong Kong some time in my life.
BF (Aladdin), also 24 - works in customer service for a cable company, also doesnt like his current position and is looking to escape it at Disney as well! He used to live in Florida when he was little but the only times hes visited "the World" were once to Epcot on a school field trip and once when he, his mom and sister saved their pennies for one day at the Magic Kingdom. So, since hes a big kid at heart, it's about time he had a proper Disney vacation! The only things he remembers are Spaceship Earth, Pirates of the Caribbean and buying a pirate bandanna and sword. I am so excited this is all new to him! His interests include video games, Aerosmith, Star Wars and anything that is Asian.
So here's a little background on how we got together. Last September, we were both at a piano bar celebrating our birthdays separately (mine is the day before his). I was crying because I felt lonely and I ended up being a third wheel. Then behind me, I catch a glimpse of Aladdin and was very interested. But of course, neither of us would do anything about it. So his brother-in-law (aka, wing man of the night) got us talking and in less than 5 minutes we were dancing to the Transvestite song from the Rocky Horror Picture Show and then no music at all. The rest is history! We've been "official" for a year now and I know I have found an excellent Disney partner!
The idea for this trip basically came from me saying "I will definitely be going to Disney sometime this year, even if its by myself. Its been too long." To which Aladdin replied "Well, you better not go without me!" So I read the all the boards and went about planning a "budget friendly" trip (I say "budget friendly" because I think if I had waited, I might have gotten better deals but whats done is done and you never know what deals they could throw at you!)
Step 1: The Airfare
From researching all airlines, I determined Southwest was the way to go - for us, thats Providence to Orlando. And then from the Disboards, I determined the date that November flights were going to be released. So on June 26, I sat at work refreshing the page for 3 hours until finally they released the flights. The dates we were going were totally dependent on what days we could get the lowest airfare for - and that I only wanted to take off 3 days from work. Luckily, I found the lowest fare for the month of November and was able to get that for our Prov-Orlando leg, as well as a decent fare for the flight home. November 8-12 it was! Since then, Southwest decreased the fare for our return flight so I was able to get a $90 credit for another Southwest flight by switching to the reduced fare. I mean, I wish I could have gotten my money back but hey well just have to take another vacation!
Step 2: The ADRs
Aladdin thought I was completely nuts for booking these in July but I knew I had to get them in if I wanted to get everything we wanted as well as good times! So I made them and was very happy with what we got. I think the woman I booked through was impressed I knew my stuff. (See itinerary for what we picked!)
Step 3: Book the Package
Since Disney kept not having special deals for when we were going, I got discouraged and decided to go with AAA. (Since then they've come out with free dining and all this other stuff but I dont want to talk about it ) Of course I don't really need a travel agent since I always know exactly what package I want, but I just wanted the deal. So I went in knowing I wanted 5 day park hopper with dining and 4 nights at All Star Movies (standard). I was unimpressed by our travel agent, who Aladdin says had a really bad mole on his face he couldnt stop looking at. I was more concerned with what he was typing on his computer... making sure everything went in right! So anyway, we ended up with what I wanted plus a preferred room since all of the standards were booked - it actually only ended up costing us $40 more which in the grand scheme of things, isn't too much. I was told once I made the final payment in September, I'd receive my packet of information via mail. So... fast forward to last week when I STILL didn't receive my packet of information. I called the AAA office and our agent was out for the day (good thing!) so the woman who was helping me went to the back to check and came back saying "oh, they've been sitting here ready to be picked up!" To which I said "well thats great because I was concerned that they wouldn't fit in my small apartment mailbox but he did tell me theyd be mailed". She responded, "He didn't call you to tell you they were in? Well, that's a problem." I mean, if I had misheard or he had been mistaken that they would be mailed, he (or someone from the office) should have told me to come pick them up! So anyway, Aladdin went a picked them up the next day. But it gave me minor anxiety until I found out where they were.
Step 4: Cram All the Disney Movies We Can in Before We Go!
Some, I had only seen once in my lifetime but was willing to try them again - and I ended up liking most and even ended up buying some on DVD (the DVD collector I am... also addicted to Disney Movie Rewards ) Since we booked the trip, we have watched:
Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Cars, The Incredibles, Bugs Life, Monsters Inc, Wall-E, Ratatouille, Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas, Hunchback, Enchanted, Newsies
In addition, I've also flipped through every guide book known to man (I own Birnbaums but I also work in a building with a Barnes and Noble, so I frequent it on lunch breaks) and we've watched all of the Disney On Demand content although kinda disappointed its mostly what was on the planning DVD
I will post our itinerary next but here's a picture of us at 6 Flags! (the warm up to Disney, hehe)
