Back to the Magic! An April/May 2009 Pre-TR

[jenbear123]

Who's travelling?
Me - 23 - Avid Disney fanatic from Ontario, Canada who would go to Disney World every month if her bank account allowed it. My favourite Disney movies are Bambi and The Lion King (I love the classics).

My mom - Another Disney fanatic (I had to get it from somewhere) who loves Disney World where she can be a kid again. Her favourite ride at WDW is BTMR and Soarin'.

My sister - 25 - Currently working down in Epcot at the Walt Disney World resort, who is very excited for our visit. She only started working there about a month ago but she's lovin' it. (Who wouldn't?!) She has the best (and loudest) laugh and it's highly contagious. Her favourite animal is a cow (she collects an assortment of cow related things) and her favourite Disney movies (I'm taking a guess here) are Monsters Inc. and Finding Nemo

Travel Dates?
April 25th to May 2nd, 2009

Where are you staying?
We'll be staying at Port Orleans French Quarter for the first time. We have a few room requests (i.e. Building Four, top floor, corner room) but we'll see how many of those we get.

ADRs?
Yes, we are indeed on the regular Dining plan! I never go to WDW without it! HUGE money saver. I'm sure many of you can agree.

Our ADRs are looking like this:

April 26 - Character Dinner at 1900 Park Fare
April 27 - Breakfast at Chef Mickey's, Dinner at the Plaza Restaurant
April 28 - Lunch at CRT (Can't wait for this one!)
April 29 - Breakfast at Tusker House
April 30 - Late dinner at Le Cellier

We'll also be dining at many CS spots (many of which I've never been to) which I plan to rant and/or rave about.

Our complete itinerary to follow in my next post!

 

[jenbear123]

Trip Itinerary​

I am a woman of organization and trip planning. When it comes to WDW, we MUST have an itinerary. When we don't plan ahead (like in 2005) everyone gets flustered and doesn't know what to do next. That being said, I do all the trip planning from now on. Of course I allow for a little input from the rest of the family as well

Keep in mind that most of our itinerary had to based around our ADRs and we have Park Hopper passes.

Day 1:
Basically this is our travel day for me and my mom. Our flight doesn't leave Toronto until the evening and we won't arrive at POFQ until well into nightfall. If the store is still open, we'll grab some snacks for breakfast in the morning on our dining plan. Since there won't be much to see or do at these hours, it will be straight to bed for an early morning!

Day 2:
Wake up EARLY and have breakfast in our room. We like to watch our weight as much as we can so, we'll be bringing some little cereal boxes down with us. DSis will be providing our milk and bottled water for the duration of the trip since she has access to her car plus she knows the area better than we do! Does anyone know if POFQ store offers large cartons/jugs of milk like Wilderness Lodge? I know WL had that place in the back of Mercantile that sold more grocery items. I'd hate to keep wasting our snack credits or paying OOP for those little Mickey milks!

After breakfast, it's straight to MK! I know some people like to save it until last but to us, MK is the symbol of WDW and it's a must-see on our first day. We plan to arrive before rope is dropped (trust me, we do not sleep in for a WDW vacation!) and get on all our favourite rides before our late lunch ressie at Crystal Palace. This was actually a late ADR. When I originally made our ADRs 90 days in advance, I didn't even ask for Crystal Palace! Luckily, a few days ago I snagged a late lunch time which might make us a little full for our early dinner ressie at 1900 Park Fare. Doesn't bother us though! We'll be so overwhelmed with the character interaction that we won't eat much.... hopefully. After all, the food is SO good....at Crystal Palace anyway. We'll find out soon enough at 1900 Park Fare.

Once dinner is over, we'll hop the monorail back to MK to be in time for SpectroMagic and Wishes! This will be an EMH night but we'll see how our energy levels are after the fireworks show.

Day 3:
Another early wake up call to be on time for our Chef Mickey's breakfast at the Contemporary. Hopefully we can eat and be out in time to make it to MK for.......KEYS TO THE KINGDOM TOUR!!! I have only ever experienced one other tour, Magic Behind Our Steam Trains Tour, and it was fabulous. The amount of information you are given (not to mention the little surprise they give you at the end) is amazing. It is well worth the extra cost. I am hoping that the Keys to the Kingdom tour will live up to my expectations. I am all about learning about how things are done, why they were done the way they were, and what goes on behind closed doors. It fascinates me. My mom is just coming along for the ride. She has no choice in the matter! We'll be having lunch at Columbia Harbour House (included in the tour cost) which will be another first for us. I've heard good reviews so hopefully it will be a good experience.

After the tour, my mom and I will head over to DSis's apartment if she is not working. My mom has yet to see it since DSis moved down here. After the tour of the apartment (seems like a tour themed day!), we'll all head back to MK for dinner at the Plaza restaurant. My favourite entree is their spinach salad with strawberries : and their ice cream desserts are to die for!

After dinner, if we have energy left, our evening will include a visit to DD exploring the various shops and perhaps a Design-A-Tee encounter will be included....

Day 4:
Wake up for breakfast in our room or we might try Sassagoula Floatworks depending on what's cooking. We can't expect to eat healthy the entire time we're in WDW!

After breakfast, we speed over to Epcot for EMH to ride Soarin' as many times as we can before the long lines begin. We might even try to get on Test Track once or twice if we have enough time. By the time Epcot is starting to fill up, we'll be heading over to MK for our CRT ressie in the castle!!! I've heard mixed reviews about this experience but I'm looking forward to finally experiencing it myself. After our late lunch, it'll be another opportunity to see DSis's apartment if we didn't get to see it the other days. If we already have, we'll go straight back to Epcot for dinner at Sunshine Seasons then grab a spot early for Illuminations.

Day 5:
This will be our sleep in day.... sort of. We have to be up and out in time for our park opening time breakfast ressie at Tusker House in AK. Once we finish breakfast, hopefully the lines won't be too long for us to get on a safari ride or miss out on any fastpasses!

Most of this day will be spent at AK with a possible pit stop at Harambe Fruit Market. I looked at the menu on AllEars.net and it seemed to offer some yummy healthy options. I'm interested to see what it's all about.

With every visit we have at AK, we have usually seen everything by 3 o'clock in the afternoon (on a good day). This will give us enough time to head over to DD for a quick dinner at Earl of Sandwich. We ate here AT LEAST 3 times the last time we were at WDW. It's THAT good! Then it's a rush over to HS for Fantasmic! This will be the only showing that works into our itinerary so we have no room for error here!

Day 6:
This day is spent at my mom's favourite park, Epcot. We will wake up relatively early, have breakfast in our room (speeds things up a bit) and arrive at Epcot nice and early. Our day will be spent riding all our favourite rides like Soarin' (yes we have an obsession), Test Track, Living with the Land, Spaceship Earth, and so many more! During our Sept '08 trip, we spent 13 hours straight in Epcot. Can you tell it's our favourite park? Knowing our history I have planned lunch at Sunshine Seasons and a rather late dinner (not by choice) at Le Cellier. Being from Canada, I'm excited to see how they do things here. We most likely will not finish dinner in time to see Illuminations, which is why we saw it on Day 4

{If you've read this far, thank you for being so devoted and interested in my trip!}

Day 7:
Finally our full day at HS has arrived! Another early breakfast in our room or at Sassagoula (whichever is faster...maybe we'll get our breakfast things when we return from the parks the night BEFORE since we have a fridge this time. At the Pop, you get no such luxury! That was interesting managing keeping milk cold in our room... But that is another story for another thread. Sorry to go ) As soon as we pass the admission gates, we race straight to Toy Story Mania and grab a fastpass. If the line isn't long, we'll line up right away.

Lunch is planned at Starring Rolls Cafe and dinner will be at Studio Catering Co. If we haven't seen DSis apartment yet, this will be another opportunity to do so. If we've already visited and had the tour, we'll attempt to walk from HS to the Boardwalk then continue to Epcot. I've always wanted to try walking this pathway but, again, we'll have to see what our energy levels are like. If we make it to Epcot, it will be another EMH night until we collapse!

Day 8:
Our flight takes us back home. Saying goodbye to DSis (again) will be sad... but I will be back in July!

 

[jenbear123]

So anyone reading this yet? Suggestions? Comments? Interests?

 

[princess_momma]

I think your plans sound way fun! I'm super jealous that you're going so soon! I feel like my trip is forever away!!

I know what you mean about pretty much designating yourself to plan. My family would just get much done if anything if I hadn't taken charge. lol Thank God they have us!

 

[jenbear123]

Yay! My first reader!

Don't wish for the trip to come too fast or else it'll be gone before you know it! I try not to think about it too much so it won't come and go so fast!

I have some pictures to post but since I'm at work right now it will have to wait until I'm home!

More to come about the history of our Disney trips and how we came to love the World!

Stay tuned!

 

[princess_momma]

Oh I'm so excited!! I love pictures!! I took way too long to get mine up because I couldn't log into my photobucket for some reason...yeah it turns out I was using my dis sign in for that and its not the same! lol! but i can't wait for your update...and you are right, i don't want it to all go by too fast. i would love to be 90 days out, with adrs lol so then its real but i still have time to soak in the excitement and anticipation!

 

[jenbear123]

I realize this Pre-TR is rather lacking but trust me! My TR upon my return will be good! I plan on taking a notebook along with me to write in every night during my trip so I won't forget anything! So much happens in a day, it's hard to remember everything.

I'm really looking forward to reviewing restaurants that I have ADRs for, specifically CRT. I've heard mixed reviews; some say it's not worth it, others say it's amazing and can't be missed.

As an update for my Pre-TR, I've started packing! I've printed out a checklist of stuff that I want to bring (I'm killer organized). Here it is for your enjoyment:

T-shirts
Camis
Capris
Sundress
Shorts
Pants (wear one pair on way there)
Long sleeve top
Hoodie
Poncho
Nice outfit for dinner
Socks (at least 5 pairs)
Flip flops
Sketchers
Cleo Crocs
Hat
Underwear (of course!)
Pyjamas
Bathing suit
Towel
Shampoo/Conditioner
Hair Dryer
Hair Clips/Ties
Hair Brush
Body Wash
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Dental Floss
Deodorant
Razor
Face Cleanser/Cream
Medicine (i.e. Gravol, Advil, Allergy, etc)
Blister bandages/stick
Bandaids
Camera (CAN'T FORGET! Honestly I've had many nightmares that I forget it)
SD memory cards
Camera battery charger (Also, another recurring nightmare)
Passport and all other travel documents
Insurance info/documents
Ziploc bags
iPhone
iPhone charger
Chapstick
Gum (since none is sold on WDW property!)
Sunscreen/Face Sunscreen
Mini-cereal boxes
Sunglasses
Crystal Lite
Tide-to-Go
Mickey Ears (Bought these on my last trip, they were on clearance!)

Whew, hope I'm not missing anything!

Here's a preview of my little purse that I'll be carting around the parks with me:

DSis stitched on the patch and did all the lettering. I only asked her to do the patch, but she surprised me with the lettering!

It's not very big but it holds the essentials: camera, gum, money, key to the world card, small snacks, etc. I hate carrying a huge thing around with me. This is just the right size!

 

[jenbear123]

Sometimes I hate to travel. My body starts to revolt against me. Usually it's my entire digestive system. Yesterday I felt yucky all day.

I hope it's temporary and is only nerves. I'd hate to get sick right before going to WDW!!!

 

[jenbear123]

ONE MORE DAY!!!!!!!!!!

I'm nearly all packed and ready to go! I also picked up a Winne the Pooh journal to keep track of everything I do each day. Expect a detailed trip report upon my return!