Around the world in 16 days a May 2014 PTR - Updated 2/14 - Day 3

[lsenquiz]

to my forth PTR. Technically this should be my third PTR as it is for our upcoming May 2014 trip however I started my PTR for our upcoming September 2014 trip first thinking I was not going to do a PTR for our May trip and I called that one my 3rd PTR so I will refer to this one as the 4th.

As I said above, my original plan was to skip the PTR for this trip. Honestly I just did not think I had the time to devote to two PTRs at once. However, last night I had The Dream. You know the one where you realize you are on the last day of your Disney vacation and you havent even entered a park yet? So I woke up this morning and decided that a PTR will at least set my mind at ease that we do have plans.

So, first up as always the cast:

Me(Lisa) - I work fulltime in IT but have the luxury of working from home. My only hobby is planning vacations. I prefer Disney but am happy as long as I have a vacation in the works. I turn 50 in November 2014 and the celebrating for that special birthday started December 1st 2013 and will continue until my Birthday. Thats right, I plan to celebrate turning 50 for a whole year. I am calling it Lisapalozza. My favorite park is Hollywood Studios with EPCOT a close second, favorite attraction is Soarin and I really dont have a favorite character as I love them all. For those that have not followed my previous PTRs or TRs I am a BIG character hunter. We always reserve plenty of time on our trips to spend with them.


DSC04294 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

DH(Kenny) - He also works fulltime in IT(same company as me) and could have the luxury of working from home but prefers to go into the office. All of his hobbies revolve around sports and Boy Scouts with my DS. His favorite park is Hollywood Studios, I dont think he has a favorite attraction and his favorite character is Grumpy.


DSC04374 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

DS9(Gabriel) - He loves Star Wars, video games and Super Heroes. His hobbies usually involve a screen of some kind (TV, Tablet, Laptop etc) although he is showing a real interest in Boy Scouts. His favorite park is Hollywood Studios, favorite attraction is Star Tours and favorite character is Buzz Lightyear.


DSC04835 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

This will be our third trip to Disney for Star Wars weekends. The first one (2011) was ok and the second one (2013) was AMAZING (see my TR in signature). I hope this one is just as good as last years with a little less emphasis on Star Wars weekend since that was really the only stressful parts of last years trip.

So I hope some of you are able to follow along. It is always more fun to write a PTR when you know someone is reading it. If you do follow along, please stop in and say hello. If you have a PTR or TR going yourself let me know and I will be happy to follow along with your plans also.

 

[lsenquiz]

Chapter 1 - Introductions
Chapter 2 - Trips dates and resorts
Chapter 3 - Mickey Mail!
Chapter 4 - Day 1 - Travel day and Boardwalk Villas
Chapter 5 - Day 2 - Star Wars Weekends Part 1
Chapter 6 - Day 2 - Star Wars Weekends Part 2
Chapter 7 - Resort Change - Adding AKV!
Chapter 8 - Day 3 Epcot - Part 1
Chapter 9 - Day 3 Epcot - Part 2


UP Next:
Day 4 - Sunday June 1st Animal Kingdom with dinner at Rainforest Cafe
Day 5 - Monday June 2nd Resort day with dinner at Big River Grill
Day 6 - Tuesday June 3rd - Hollywood Studios
Day 7 - Wednesday June 4th Magic Kingdom
Day 8 - Thursday June 5th Resort day
Day 9 - Friday June 6th Hollywood Studios (2nd SWW day) and lunch at Hollywood & Vine
Day 10 - Saturday June 7th Magic Kingdom with and early Breakfast at Crystal Palace
Day 11 - Sunday June 8th Resort switch to the Villas at Wilderness Lodge with dinner at Chef Mickeys
Day 12 - Monday June 9th Epcot
Day 13 - Tuesday June 10th Magic Kingdom
Day 14 - Wednesday June 11th Resort day with breakfast at OHanas
Day 15 - Thursday June 12th Epcot
Day 16 - Friday June 13th catch all day

Misc:
T-shirts/shoes
Pre-trip shopping/ Photopass+(memory maker)
Luggage/ Unique packing items/ Packing system
Summary part 1 Parks by day
Summary part 2 Dining by day
Summary part 3 Characters
Summary part 4 Extras

 

[wiigirl]

Following along!

 

[lsenquiz]

Following along!

It is always nice to see you join one of my PTRs! I love when you follow along.

 

[nikki7680]

following!!

 

[lsenquiz]

following!!

Thanks. Hopefully I can keep both these PTRs going

 

[feistygalkmc]

I'm in! We are going at the beginning of May and I can't wait! Thinking about starting my first PTR myself just to keep the anticipation at bay and somewhere to record my plans/ideas and get suggestions. Can't wait to read more....now I think off to start my very own PTR!

 

[lsenquiz]

I'm in! We are going at the beginning of May and I can't wait! Thinking about starting my first PTR myself just to keep the anticipation at bay and somewhere to record my plans/ideas and get suggestions. Can't wait to read more....now I think off to start my very own PTR!

A PTR is really an awesome way to layout your plans and get suggestions!

 

[anniebabymu]

So glad to see you bit the bullet and are doing a May one! Following along

 

[lsenquiz]

So glad to see you bit the bullet and are doing a May one! Following along

Glad you are here! This one will probably move pretty fast as I have already laid out most of the plans. Just have to get my pictures in order because I like a picture heavy PTR

 

[lsenquiz]

Trip dates and resorts​

Our dates for this trip are Thursday May 29th Saturday June 13th. This will actually be the longest trip we have taken. 16 days!!! However, our trip last May was 15 days so this one only beats it by a day. I do think 2 weeks is ideal for a Disney vacation if you can swing it. It allows you to move at a much slower pace but still get to do and see everything you want to. The length of our trip last May definitely played a big part in what made the trip AMAZING!

We are also doing a split stay this trip. The first 10 days will be at our absolute favorite resort Boardwalk. We will be staying in a studio which is fine for Kenny, Gabriel and I. Below are pictures of the studio we had during our September 2013 trip.


DSC04558 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


DSC04567 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


DSC04563 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


DSC04569 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


DSC04572 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


DSC04571 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


DSC04577 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


DSC04576 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


DSC04573 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


DSC04574 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


DSC04575 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


DSC04592 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


DSC04587 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


DSC04583 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Then the last 6 days will be in a studio at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge.


Villas_at_Wilderness_Lodge_45 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
borrowed from the internet


Villas_at_Wilderness_Lodge_51 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
borrowed from the internet



View-from-a-Deluxe-Room-at-Disneys-Wilderness-Lodge[1] by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
borrowed from the internet


post2dsc_44801-1024x679[1] by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
borrowed from the internet


DSC05920 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

We have never said at Wilderness Lodge so we are excited to give that resort a try. I would also love to hear anyones opinion about the lodge or tips they may want to offer for newbies staying there.

 

[lsenquiz]

Since I am a little late starting this PTR I am going to have to back track some to catch up. So let’s rewind to the week before Christmas when this arrived:


DSC06261_EDITTED by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
I removed our last name because I did not want it available to the world on flickr.

I had not been on the DIS for a couple of months so I had no idea it was coming. I was really excited to get it. I love the book and the fact that it has our name on it, I love the fridge magnet that reminds us of important dates:


DSC06263 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

And I really, really, love the flash drive.


DSC06264 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

I know there is not a lot of storage space on it but I just think it is so cute. I especially like the fact that the Mickey head lights up green when you are using it.

Since we have a split stay planned for this trip we actually got two sets of these. This worked out well since my DS26 nabbed a flash drive as soon as he saw it. That left the other one for me!

 

[twinsouvenirs]

What fun! Following along.

 

[lsenquiz]

and thanks for following. I see you are from Ohio. Both DH and I were born and raised in Ohio. We have been in Georgia for 26 years but still call Ohio home.

 

[twinsouvenirs]

I am!!! And winter in Northeastern Ohio makes you really appreciate FL weather

We love Boardwalk but I am dying to try VWL! Artist Point is officially my favorite restaurant in the World AND the world

 

[lsenquiz]

I am!!! And winter in Northeastern Ohio makes you really appreciate FL weather

We love Boardwalk but I am dying to try VWL! Artist Point is officially my favorite restaurant in the World AND the world

I agree. Believe me once you move south you never want to go back to that cold!

 

[feistygalkmc]

I LOVE the Boardwalk Resort! I think it is my favorite so far. I stayed in a 1 bedroom villa split with friends a couple times and it is just awesome. Except we always got stuck at end of the hall so it was a looooong walk to our room lol I really hope to stay there again the studio is perfect size for us also but I think our next trip (already planning it in my mind) is going to be a stay at BLT renting points. Epcot is my favorite park and I love the convenience of walking through the international gateway or over to HS but with the little one I think we will spend quite a bit of time at MK.

I've only been to WL once to take in the Christmas décor but it is just stunning. I think I would consider staying there also but it feels so far away from everything? I think it is because you can't really see it very well, it's kind of hidden by the trees? I love the pool area though and the look/feel of the resort.

We got that same Mickey mail a few weeks ago! Dh walks in from getting the mail and said you have some Disney mail. I was like what?! Gimme that envelope! But we didn 't get flash drives, what are those for? They are really cute

 

[lsenquiz]

I LOVE the Boardwalk Resort! I think it is my favorite so far. I stayed in a 1 bedroom villa split with friends a couple times and it is just awesome. Except we always got stuck at end of the hall so it was a looooong walk to our room lol I really hope to stay there again the studio is perfect size for us also but I think our next trip (already planning it in my mind) is going to be a stay at BLT renting points. Epcot is my favorite park and I love the convenience of walking through the international gateway or over to HS but with the little one I think we will spend quite a bit of time at MK.

I've only been to WL once to take in the Christmas décor but it is just stunning. I think I would consider staying there also but it feels so far away from everything? I think it is because you can't really see it very well, it's kind of hidden by the trees? I love the pool area though and the look/feel of the resort.

We got that same Mickey mail a few weeks ago! Dh walks in from getting the mail and said you have some Disney mail. I was like what?! Gimme that envelope! But we didn 't get flash drives, what are those for? They are really cute

Boardwalk is and I suspect always will be our favorite. We always stay in a standard room and make the following room request "High floor, unobstructed view, facing the bus stop". If our request is granted(which it always has been) we end up with a room where you can see the high fireworks from Illuminations from our balcony. The one time we did not make the request we were on the first floor in a room that was 1 room away from being as far from the elevators as you can get . It was a long way but the good news was we were half way to Hollywood Studios when we got to our room

We actually have a stay booked at BLT in a two bedroom using points for our September trip. We choose that because we are bring our great niece with us and she is just 2 so we know we will be spending more time at MK than we usually do. This will be our first time staying there so I can't wait to see how we like it. You never know with us. We spent two weeks at Beach Club last May and I did not like it near as much as we like Boardwalk.

I wonder why you did not get the flashdrive. Did you mail come in a box? The flashdrive was under the other paperwork in the box. There are a couple of small files on the flashdrive which take you to some websites but I plan to just use it like I would any other flashdrive. The Mickey head lights up green when you use it.

 

[twinsouvenirs]

Boardwalk is and I suspect always will be our favorite. We always stay in a standard room and make the following room request "High floor, unobstructed view, facing the bus stop". If our request is granted(which it always has been) we end up with a room where you can see the high fireworks from Illuminations from our balcony.

Great tip!!! We stayed in a garden view and had a view of the Swan/Dolphin, and we were at the end of the looong hallway. I didn't mind because i didn't have to constantly watch room numbers--just went to the end of the hall and there we were

 

[lsenquiz]

Great tip!!! We stayed in a garden view and had a view of the Swan/Dolphin, and we were at the end of the looong hallway. I didn't mind because i didn't have to constantly watch room numbers--just went to the end of the hall and there we were

That walk can feel like forever but it is nice when you are walking back from Hollywood Studios