Around WDW in 14 days - a pre-trip report

[MissStitch626]

Wish I was here right now!!!

 

[MissStitch626]

I am in full blown Disney planning mode at the moment. What this means as that no matter what I tell myself I’m going to be doing when I come home from work, at the weekend etc I invariably end up on the Disboards, reading trip reports, lurking around the theme park forums or looking at the food porn threads or merchandise photos!

Contrary to appearances, I am not like this all the time. I seem to go through phases where I am super excited and want to spend all my free time planning for our trip, but then a few weeks later it all kind of goes to the back of my mind and I can go back to my normal routine of work and writing (and some measure of peace and sanity!)

In fact for our last WDW trip in 2009, I expected the last two weeks before it to be completely unbearable and didn’t think I’d be able to sleep, but I was actually pretty chilled about it all by that stage. I think it was because there was nothing left to do but wait for the day to arrive, but I think everyone was completely stunned that I was so calm!

Sometimes I’m actually glad when the excitement subsides a little bit as I feel like I can concentrate a little bit better on ‘real life’ – then at other times I feel like I’m going to work to pay for Disney

Does anyone else experience this or am I just completely mad?!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Wish I was in Disney World right now as well!

I completely understand the need to spend lots of time in full blown Disney Planning mode. I'm surprised to hear you were calm in the couple of weeks before your trip. I'm hoping I will be like this but do not see it happening at the minute!

 

[MissStitch626]

Ok, the title of this post possibly makes it sound a little more interesting than it actually is!

After making all our ADRs, I started to consider Tanz's suggestion about upgrading to the DDP. I think I mentioned before that we have free QSDP (well, we think we do, more on that in a second) and are planning on paying OOP for all our table service meals. I've toyed with the idea of the DDP before, and always thought that it wouldn't be worth it as there's no way we would get full use of all those credits.

So, with that in mind I decided to put my theory to the test, and yesterday afternoon I went through the menus for every restaurant we have an ADR for (and if you're thinking this was just an excuse to look at menus you would be right!) and added up the potential price of each of our meals, taking into account the most expensive item we could potentially choose, drinks, tips etc.

It turns out it is actually cheaper for us to pay OOP for our meals! That's not to say that would apply to every party or group - it's really just because we don't have ADRs planned for every day and because of what we are likely to eat, it just wouldn't be worthwhile upgrading for us.

I'm glad I sat and worked it all out though, otherwise it might have been constantly at the back of my mind, wondering whether or not we should have upgraded and if we were paying over the odds unnecessarily. Plus, I really want the extra snack credits on the QSDP!!

Now, the QSDP is a saga in itself. We booked through Virgin holidays and didn't originally have any dining plan. However I later decided that the QSDP might be a good idea, and went onto our online booking to find out how much it would cost to add this to our booking, not realising free dining had since been released for our dates. I assumed I wouldn't be able to add this as we hadn't added it at the time of booking (and for what it's worth would have been happy to pay for it), but there was no problem adding it on. However looking through all the documents a few weeks ago, I noticed that though it shows we amended the booking, it doesn't actually say we have the QSDP. This set alarm bells off for me - what happens if we get there and they have no record of this and we don't have it on our documents? DH has called a few times and has been told that they will send an updated invoice but nothing has come through so far. Hoping for smooth sailing so hopefully we won't have any problems!

 

[MissStitch626]

Wish I was in Disney World right now as well!

I completely understand the need to spend lots of time in full blown Disney Planning mode. I'm surprised to hear you were calm in the couple of weeks before your trip. I'm hoping I will be like this but do not see it happening at the minute!

I was as amazed as anyone! Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it was so close to the trip, it was real and I was finally going, or maybe my brain was just so full of trip planning it just shut down

 

[MissStitch626]

That's a great photo. I've never seen that as this will be our first time at Port Orleans!
Guess what?!! We're booked at 'OHana for Oct. 4 as well!! Our ADR is for 7pm.

I can't believe we're going to be there at the same time, what are the chances?!

I feel a mini-Dismeet coming on

 

[MARsMama]

I know what you mean about being in full Disney planning mode, I can't seem to shake it!! I am constantly thinking and planning Disney and can't seem to get too much else done! It does go in waves though, I'm waiting for this one to subside a bit!
Any news on your QSDP and if it's been added to your invoice yet? Thankfully there's still lots of time to iron out the kinks and make sure it's there before the trip
I think a mini-DISmeet sounds great I still think it's amazing that we are going to be there at the same date and time, too cool!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Am glad you managed to calculate if it would be worthwhile for you guys to get the DDP, as now at least you won't worry about if it had been cheaper. Also yay on getting the extra snack credits - there are so many choices!!

I hope Virgin holidays get back to you with an updated invoice soon. Enjoy the rest of your week!

 

[MissStitch626]

I've been away from the Disboards for about a week, it feels like a life time!! I have so much catching up to do on everyone's pre-trip reports.

As I predicted my planning calmed down a bit, partly because it was just one of those weeks and partly because I was on late shift - I'm always too tired for trip planning on late shift!

We still haven't had the updated invoice in yet. I've drafted an email to them asking for this - it feels a bit silly doing this when it's still four months away, I just like to know everything is sorted out and there are no unpleasant surprises waiting for us when we arrive.

On the planning side, I've made another few purchases for my MNSSHP outfit. More picture clues are to follow (as soon as I've uploaded them to photobucket!), but I can reveal that one of the items I bought was a set of iron-on t-shirt transfers. This is going to be a bit of a trial and error effort, as I'm not really sure how well this is going to work. I have a particular picture that will go on my costume (telling you what it is will give too much away!) and it was actually pretty difficult to get the picture in its original form, so I did my own on my computer. I am now going to attempt to tranfer this to my costume, but I'm not convinced this will work out how I imagined, so if not Plan B will involve fabric paint and several more spare t-shirts
It occurs to me that the actual revelation of this costume is likely to be something of an anti-climax! I would like to warn everyone that I have zero creative talent when it comes to stuff like this and I have never made a costume in my life - I intend this to be more of an affectionate tribute to some of my favourite Disney characters.

DH reminded me tonight that he still hasn't decided what he is dressing up as. I have a horrible feeling he will decide the week before we fly out, leaving me with a few days to put together something for him! I am toying with the idea of somekind of Tron-style outfit for him. I can sort of visualise how to do it but not sure he'd like the idea of an all black outfit if it's hot outside!

Coming up soon we have one of my favourite parts of trip planning - the part I like to call The Great Shopping Expedition Next Saturday DH and I are hitting the outlets and a huge shopping centre to get all our new clothes and accessories for our trip - expecting super excitement quickly followed by stress of unknown levels, but I love it!

 

[TanzUnited99]

I used to have to work late shifts in one of my previous jobs and they suck!

Looking forward to more costume clues. I also want to try and make some iron on t shirts but like you am not very creative! Will have to see if I decide to give it a shot - feel a bit guilty ruining lots of shirts in the process!

on hitting the shops!! Enjoy your trip - which shopping centre are you visiting? I look forward to seeing your purchases

 

[PixieMama]

I am still stumped on the costume!

 

[MissStitch626]

So, one week earlier than originally planned, DH and I embarked on the Great Shopping Expedition in search of almost all the holiday essentials.

Three shopping centres. One day. As much as I like shopping, this is the type of day that usually makes me

But, it was so much fun!!! I love going round a store picking up one thing after another and then dragging around all my shopping bags like I'm Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. DH was remarkably patient and only hinted at complaining once or twice - the rest of the time it was gentle reminders of "you don't have to buy everything today."

Have more or less all of my holiday clothing now apart from one or two things that I can pick up at any time. I wanted to get most of it in first because I had my bonus payment this month, and secondly because I don't trust the stores here in the UK, they have a tendency to start brining in the winter ranges in June so wanted to make sure I had everything before the summer ranges start disappearing.

I stuck to all of the promises I made myself and was reasonably sensible picking clothing for the parks. Instead of just throwing everything I liked in the basket I did actually stop to consider how comfortable something would be in Florida in September. Bought a bit of a mixture of sporty/casual stuff and smarter stuff. And in an absolute first for me, I am bringing a dress! Just a cotton summer dress but still, it's not shorts or jeans and a pair of trainers so this will be a bit of a departure!

Also picked up a very cute Daisy Duck wash/make-up bag, which I'll post a picture of soon.

Next up. . .mini-disaster!

 

[MissStitch626]

Yesterday, it was a little bit windy where I live. . .

To give you some idea of what you're looking at, there should be a six foot fence in between the camera and the wall. There should also be more bricks than there are now.

This is what was left after we cleared away some of the initial rubble last night. As I'm typing this I'm waiting on the builder arriving to take a look at the wall and assess the situation.

When we first discovered the damage I was and and but have calmed down a bit now (at least till the builder arrives!) Compared to what's happening after the tornadoes in Missouri and other areas this is nothing, so I'm trying to look on the bright side - no one was hurt when part of the wall came away, and the house itself doesn't seem to be damaged. At least the trip is already paid for so we don't have to try to find repair money on top of that. I do think the universe is trying to tell me not to do any more shopping though!

 

[PixieMama]

Scary that the wall came tumbling down... but glad no one was hurt. Hope the damage isn't too severe and can be easily fixed.

On a lighter note, yay for shopping! I'm starting to think of what I'll bring on my trips... maybe I'll even pack a sundress, too!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Can't wait to see the shopping purchases!

at the wall falling over! It has been very windy recently and we keep getting scares from the news about the volcanic ash coming to Manchester tomorrow!

 

[MissStitch626]

Thought I'd take a break from dealing with collapsing walls and broken fences to post some cute pics!

Found this for my makeup/shower stuff. There is so much Disney merchandise in other stores at the moment.

And, after a mammoth search, I have found The Perfect Park Bag. Drum roll please. . .

I LOVE this bag. It's exactly the size I wanted, big enough to hold some basic park essentials (sun lotion, park maps, mini planning book, hand gel and wipes etc. Plus my sunglasses when they're not on my face/head/tucked in the top of my t-shirt!) but not too big that it will become a nuisance to carry around. Plus the strap is adjustable so I can wear it across my body. I was so happy to find this bag as bags and trainers are the two things I'm particularly fussy about and I really wanted something perfect. DH is just happy not to have to carry all my stuff with him as well as his own for a change

 

[MissStitch626]

I really need to start posting more regularly to accurately use the title Photo of the Day We are quickly approaching our 100 day mark, at which point you should expect the planning to go into complete overdrive and I will be positively unbearable!

In the meantime, I have hopefully figured out how to post some of my photopass pics so here's one of my favourites from 2009.

Apologies for the massive size! I love this photo, especially when people look at the album and ask "are those balloons real?" You can also just see my LGMH logo that I usually wear in my plastic ticket lanyard hoping other Disers will say hello!

 

[MissStitch626]

After talking to a friend the other day about our favourite rides/attractions at Disney, it occured to me that there are so many things that we'll be doing for the first time this year, not including dining experiences.

Space Mountain - this has been closed each time we've been in the past. On DH's previous trip with his family before we met it would have been open but he was not a coaster person in those days

Country Bear Jamboree - don't ask me why, I just really want to see this. Always seem to just miss it so I'm determined to see it this time.

Hall of Presidents - another one that we always just miss, say we'll come back to later and never do.

Tower of Terror - I have been dying to go on this (no pun intended!) but DH has never been keen. Usually I have no problem going on a thrill ride alone, but I have a weird thing about dark rides or anything that might have a darkened queue and didn't want to go on alone. However, we have made a little deal this year, and he's agreed to ride it (see next on list)

Mission Space - for some reason, the idea of this ride absolutely terrifies me. (Warning - this is another confession that makes me sound a little bit crazy!). It's not actually the idea of the spinning or the motion that bothers me (much!). I once read in a guide book that you're supposed to press buttons throughout the ride and if you forget what to do you'll be 'prompted' by Gary Sinise. Now, when I read 'prompted', what I heard in my head was 'yelled at'. Since then DH has patiently endured my complaints of "I don't want to get yelled at by Gary Sinise!" and we haven't been on this. But, like I said, a deal has been struck, and in exchange for ToT I will be riding Mission Space (whichever version doesn't make everyone sick!)

Other firsts this year will be Club Cool, Impressions de France and Reflections of China. I love that there's still so many new things to experience!

 

[21hearts]

Hi! I just stumbled upon your PTR and I'm in. I haven't read it all yet but I will. I can't wait to hear all about your trip when you get back!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Great purchases (love the bag!) and photo at Disney. Are them balloons real?!