Back to the World! 10 DAYS till Disney! (A Pre-Trippie!)

[nsudisneyrep]

Hi everybody who wandered onto my pre-tripie! I decided to take a stab at this whole pre-trippie thingy-ma-bob. Who better to talk about my fun-filled Disney trip than those who can truly appreciate it here at the DIS? Where to begin... ah, the cast!

Okay, me first! That's me. I am 21 and I am a college student. A look into my Disney past; I was first introduced to Disney World at age 10 on a family vacation with Mom , Dad , and little brother (7 at the time). I'm sad to say I don't remember a lot, but we have pictures like the one of my and brother with Minnie Mouse, and looking bored to tears and the Hall of Presidents . I have always been a big baby about rides, so I stuck to Dumbo and the teacups, and yes, I remember It's a Small World. I am a Stitch fanatic and secretly wish he was real!

Next is DBF (22) a GENIE fan . He is a Main Street USA and Magic Kingdom whiz; he has been a sport putting up with "so I read today that..." when I talk about this DIS boards . He's really excited to go back to Disney, but there is one point about this whole trip where we butt heads... You see, I like to have a plan especially if we only have 7 days to do EVERYTHING in Disney World! He doesn't understand ; it's sad, really, but he let's me plan it so I'm happy.

How did DBF and I meet? We met in Disney World! We have a Disney love story and I love having a Disney love story! Three years ago we each attended a presentation at our schools 500 miles apart (me in Illinois near St. Louis and him in Oklahoma near Tulsa) about the Disney College Program. For those that don't know, the Disney College Program is a paid internship where a student moves to Orlando for a semester to work in the happiest place on earth, provide magic to guests, and gain real world experience and the world's best guest service training. Move to Orlando for a semester? Yes please!

DBF did the internship with his friend from Oklahoma, whom I worked with at a CS in AK, Restaurantosaurus. She introduced us in the MK, and the rest is history! After the internship was over, we parted ways, I went back to Illinois and he went back to Oklahoma. We saw each other once a month for the next 6 months and that summer, I packed up and moved to Oklahoma and we have been together ever since!!


Next installment coming soon: How did our trip come to be?

 

[nsudisneyrep]

How did our disney trip come to be? Well for DBF's 22nd birthday in February of this year, I flew his old roommate from Florida, Sam, to see him and spend the weekend. I don't know how I pulled it off without telling him, but we did it and it was a huge success, he was very surprised! After Sam (our little piece of Disney) left, we were sad So we started discussing (dreaming) of when we would finally go back to the World. Then we decided: We're going on vacation this summer!

We may not be cast members in Orlando anymore, but we still have our cast member status because we are campus representatives here in Oklahoma. We recruit students at our school to go to Orlando and do the internship that we once did. That means we still get our cast member discounts and perks, like free admission and discounts on accommodations, merchandise, and food! YAY!

First things first, when to go? We decided July. It would give us a few months to save up, and there were a number of reasons to go (not that we needed a good reason ). We could go to celebrate our 3 year anniversary, or we could go celebrate my 22nd birthday. We (okay okay, I ) decided we would go for my birthday.

Okay, next is flight shopping. We had the choice to fly out of our home airport, Tulsa, which is an hour and a half away, for $350 each. Yikes. Or we could fly out of Kansas City, Missouri, 5 hours away, for $350 total. Kansas City it is.

Air tickets were purchased. Next, accommodations. Our original plan was to stay with friends the whole time. We have lots of friends who stayed behind in Florida after our internship was over, and they all were more than willing to put us up for the week. Free lodging? Yes sir! But... (isn't there always a but?)

Me: Wouldn't it be nice to stay somewhere a couple nights of our vacation? I don't want to be a bother to our friends for our whole vacation...
DBF: Sure babe whatever you want (this is why I love him )

COOL! So I start checking hotel rates. Hmm, we don't want to rent a car cause underage driver fees stink, so we need someone close to DW, that is as magical as DW, has a shuttle to DW and is affordable. Maybe I could check somewhere on property, I think we get a discount, up to 50% off. It wouldn't hurt to call to check rates, right!? Okay so we will check for the last 2 days of our trip which will include my birthday and that way we have a way to the airport without bumming a ride from a friend and being an inconvenience.


Check my next installment for the awesome rate we got at POP and our schedule

 

[Avivasmom]

I love LOVE stories...we arrive when you are still there on the 29th, but staying at BWV.

Cannot wait to read more.

 

[nsudisneyrep]

Okay, so I called WDW Cast line and spoke with a sweetheart of a cast member and told her we were going for my birthday and we're so excited and no we haven't been in about 3 years and so on and, I'm sorry, I thought you just said we could get a 50% discount...I must not have heard correctly...I did hear correctly?

Me: I...oh...huh...ohmygosh...yes, please!

So, accommodations...check.

Okay so airfare and room were booked, now I plan. I will be the first to admit I did not do half the things there were to do in Disney in the whole 7 months that I lived there. So now I wanted to do EVERYTHING there was to do in our 7 day vacation. That was when I found the DIS. I tried telling DBF about the disboards and this was his response:

DBF: What's so cool about a bunch of people dissing Disney??



Eventually he got it, sort of. They never really "get it" though, do they?

So after lots of planning, this is what I came up with as our "game plan."

Tuesday, July 24
arrive in Orlando at 10:32pm and stay with friends Roz and Cody this night.

Wednesday, July 25
morning: go get Disney IDs and main entrance passes, go shopping at cast member store.
afternoon: arrive at MK before 3pm parade and stay until closing, see spectro and wishes
Stay with Roz and Cody this night.

Thursday, July 26 - Mom arrives/Mom's Birthday!
Morning: MGM - lunch at Sci Fi Dine In theater at 2pm (we've never been ). leave around 3.
afternoon: maybe AK to catch the 4pm parade, hang out at AK till close
OR
afternoon: head to POP to check in, meet Mom, explore hotel
evening: go to DTD Planet Hollywood for mom's birthday dinner (her choice) and some shopping, comedy club, and adventurer's club.

Friday, July 27
EPCOT all day! maybe a break at boardwalk
Evening: maybe MK EMH

Saturday, July 28
Morning: Ohana breakfast at Poly to see STITCH! 10:30 am
afternoon: back to MGM around 1pm, see 3pm parade, snacks/light meal at 50's prime time cafe 4pm (haven't been since I was 10!). close MGM and see Fantasmic!

Sunday, July 29
morning: AK
afternoon/early eve: open
evening: MK EMH till 3am! Turn 22 in the MK!

Monday, July 30 - HAPPY 22ND BIRTHDAY TO ME!
morning: Chef Mickey's breakfast, 10:30 am
afternoon: DisneyQuest!
afternoon/eve: epcot
evening: stroll along boardwalk...DBF and I love boardwalk

Tuesday, July 31 - Sad day
Mom's flight at 9am
We might hang out at the hotel, or go to MK to say bye to friends
Our flight leaves at 4:15pm


Final installment...Mom? Where did mom come from? And the conclusion. Stick around!

 

[nsudisneyrep]

Okay I know you're probably wondering, where did mom come from and why are we staying at POP 5 days now instead of 2? Well, all of our planning gave mom the vacation bug, so we invited her to join us and she graciously accepted, hehe. Duh. Besides, we love my mommy and can't wait to see her! And now since mom will be with us, we will just have to stay at POP the whole time she will be with us, 5 days at POP! Yay! "Sure, we can extend your stay and you still get the 50% discount!" I love Disney!

So, over the course of the past few planning months, I have done what any other Disney vacation-planning disser would do. I collected the Mickey head paint chips from Home Depot, I read the dis all day while I am at work, I live vicariously through other dissers trippies. But soon it will be our time, and you know what that means...... TRIP REPORT!

Thanks for reading, and help me count down the days to our vacation!
10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...It's DISNEY time!

 

[Avivasmom]

What a great discount!!! . We rented points and got an amazing deal for BWV...about a1/3 of the price.

 

[nsudisneyrep]

What a great discount!!! . We rented points and got an amazing deal for BWV...about a1/3 of the price.

wowwie! I am jealous! hehe.. thanks for reading!