But I Wanna Go NOW! (My first pre-trip report)

[Nefferz]

Ok, so I've never done this before but if I'd realized that writing pre-trip reports was possible and even encouraged, I'd have been writing everything down here for the last year instead of venting to my notebook!

Last September (a year out!) I decided that somehow, I'd make a Disney Vacation work for me and my two teen-age boys. I'm a single mom who, many years ago, promised those boys that we'd go back to Disney one day. We were there in '02, but the kids remember so little about the trip that it will seem brand new to them. It was a difficult visit for me because my now ex-husband and I were in the process of splitting up and he didn't speak to me the entire time we were there. That's all I really remember about it... the seven day silent treatment.

Anyhoooo..ancient history.

I have been to Disney several times, all day trips. The first time was 1983ish when I went down to Florida to visit a girlfriend of mine and we got discounted tickets. I remember riding on Space Mountain twice without a break and no line! Alpha then Omega. Boy, the tummy did NOT like that! Back then, my favorite rides were "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" and "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." Bummer, huh?

I moved to Florida for a few months in '84 or '85 and went several times during those months; I completely fell in love with the World. Absence has made the heart grow fonder.

When my family and I went in '02, I went with little or no preparation. How was I to know the place had grown so much in the 20 years I'd been away? I made every mistake that could be made during that trip, but somehow, mistakes, silent treatment and all, I managed to come away with a few good memories and, best of all, the knowledge that the next time, I needed to be prepared.

So, who is going? That would be me- a 45 year old kid who has never outgrown my love for Disney, and my two teenage boys. Ed is 15 and Stephen is 13. We will be going from the 5th of September until the 14th and staying at Pop. Oh.. and that will be with Free Dining- can you say Woo Hoo!?!

I've been reading and thinking for a year now, and I'll begin putting those thoughts into some sort of readable form, I hope, and post it here. I'll appreciate whatever thoughts or advice may come my way from all of you seasoned Disney vacationers.

But boy, oh boy.. I am wicked excited!

 

[Nefferz]

I've tried unsuccessfully to involve the boys in the plans, but they are far too busy playing video games and downloading music to think about anything other than Mission Space and Expedition Everest.

Like it or not, I've made plans without them. I figure they're both old enough to ditch me if they really dislike the itinerary- just meet me in time for supper (do folks eat supper anywhere other than New England?)

We arrive in Orlando Saturday, 9/5 at 11AM, if the airplane gods are smiling on us. We don't have anything planned for that day other than settling in, finding the Fridge from the Fridge Swap and getting to know the lay of the place. We'll have a 9 day pass, so if we decide to go to one of the parks, we can.

Oh.. and obviously these plans are tentative. My ADR date is the 7th of June.

Sunday: Animal Kingdom with the Parade @ 4 and then off to the Hoop-dee-doo at 7:15.

Monday: Epcot and Illuminations @ 9. Dinner at the Garden Grill.

Tuesday: Magic Kingdom with dinner @ Whispering Canyon.

Wednesday: Magic Kingdom with Dinner @ Liberty Tree

Thursday: Hollywood Studios with Fantasmic (maybe-depends on the crowd). We're planning to have lunch @ the Sci-Fi.

Friday: A quiet morning spent getting rested up for THE PARTY!! I purchased tickets for the MNSSHP and we hope to start our evening with an early supper at The Crystal Palace.

Saturday: Another slow start. This may be a good day to go to DTD and souvenir shop. I'm hoping to get the first supper seating at Tony's and then we'd like to catch Spectro.

Sunday: Epcot with dinner at the Biergarten.

I fully expect to need some down time in there somewhere, and if time allows, I'd like to go back to the resort for an hour or three at some point in the day.

Well? Seem workable? I'd welcome and appreciate any thoughts you all have.

 

[Raecheal]

I love your plans so far...POP is our favourite hotel.. and free dining. BONUS. I"m sure you and your boys will have a blast.

I"m in...

 

[Nefferz]

Free dining is especially a bonus when you have two boys with what we call "Hollow Legs". They're always eating, always hungry, and they're both quite thin! Wish I had that problem...

 

[Nefferz]

I'll admit that price played a small part in my choice of resort, but I wavered between POP, POFQ, Riverside, CBR, and WL. Ok, so I was wavering in a wishful thinking way when it came to Wilderness. Still, it was between POP and several Moderates and here's why I chose POP.

1) I'm a flower-child wannabe. I was born in the mid 60s and firmly believe that I was born 15 years too late. I love the music, the colors, the history- all of the stuff that goes with having lived in the 60s (except for the drug use- not my thing). If it's flower-power, peace signs or love beads, count me IN!

2) I find Tye Dye Cheesecake and Twinkie Tiramisu intriguing.

3) POP Fridge Swap. Need I say more?

4) I wouldn't 'really' rather die than Disco- just don't let that get around, ok?

5) I'm an eternal optimist- I'm convinced they'll bring back the frozen coke machines!

6) My eldest boy has a mullet. He'll fit right in.

7) A penny saved is a penny spent somewhere else in Disney! (I sooo want to build my own mouse-ears hat!)

8) Lady and the Tramp, The Jungle Book and Who Framed Roger Rabbit are three of my favorite Disney movies. (101 Dalmatians and The Aristocats being another two.)

9) The Monkees are my heroes. (I WILL marry Peter Tork one day!)

10) We were in WDW when POP was being built and I remember driving by thinking, "That's going to be a really neat place to stay!". Looks like I'll find out in a few months!

 

[Raecheal]

Enjoyed reading all 10 reasons why you love POP especially number 7 and 10!!!

 

[Nefferz]

'Till we can do the Double Digit Dance!!

 

[OhMari]

Be prepared, I heard they may have eliminated storing refrigerators at POP.

 

[Nefferz]

Be prepared, I heard they may have eliminated storing refrigerators at POP.

I saw that thread. If so, so be it, huh? I'll just have to change number 3 to, "I just love rabbits and ducks!"

I'm planning to send some stuff down ahead of us and if the fridge isn't available, I'll ship a cheapo-deluxo styrofoam cooler then as well. That should do the trick if the swap comes to an end.

Oh man.. I'm the eternal optimist!

 

[Nefferz]

It's my 90 day mark and that means ADRs! I am booking the vacation through a TA, so I didn't scramble to be on line at midnight and poke in all my choices. Good thing too- I couldn't have stayed awake that long.

Anyhoo.. My TA and I emailed back and forth a few times (she's out of state- one of the Disney agentcies one sees advertised all over the websites) and she took a look at my itinerary, offered a few words of wisdom and even told me that she didn't think there would be a problem with my getting a ressie at Chef Mickey's instead of Tony's. I wasn't going to attempt a reservation at CMs because I know how popular it is and I had reluctantly decided to fore-go it. I'm the character meal geek anyway- the teenage boys don't really care, I don't think.

I listened to her advice and changed the itinerary around just a bit (tweaked it, really) and the TA told me that she'd be the one staying up till midnight, punching in the ADRs. Works for me.

Now I'm waiting to see if I got the reservations I'd requested. Keeping my fingers crossed!

Keep you posted!

 

[Nefferz]

It took a few days and a phone call or two on my part to get the ADRs and confirmation numbers straightened out, but it's done. Most of it was done by the TA, and she did a great job at getting the restaurants and times that we requested, and even grabbing two that I didn't think I could get! I'm very pleased.

The only ressie we didn't get was the Hoop-dee-doo, which wasn't as big a disappointment as I thought it would be. Seems there is a big group going the night we wanted to go and the place was full-up. This freed up two TS credits and I was at a loss. The TA is a fan of the Cinderella Supper at 1900 Park Fare, so she managed to get a later ADR for the day we arrive. I'm still a bit nervous about that because the boys and I will have been up since 4AM and the ressie is for 7 in the evening. I'm hoping we'll be able to get into the room early enough to freshen up and maybe even catch a few winks before we have to head over there.

The other choice I made was to have a late lunch at the Tusker House on the day we are at AK. The original plan was to have the picnic in the park followed by the second HDD show. I may yet call and change this time however, because I'm not sure about the 'late lunch' part. I'll think about it.

About the Cinderella Supper-

See- I haven't told the boys that we have this planned. I didn't even mention this alternative to them as yet, only that we had to change our plans around a bit. I'll let them know that we're going to the Grand Floridian for supper on the evening we arrive and that it's a nice restaurant, perhaps the fanciest we'll be dining at during our stay and that they are to be on their best behavior. Mum's the word on the Character part, but I can just see their faces when they walk in- two teenage boys who are too cool for Fairy-tales- coming face to face with Cinderella and her family. If you knew my kids... you'd be laughing.

This beats the threats I've made about sending them to the Bibbity-Boppity-Boutique if they don't behave!

Oh- and the new and improved itinerary looks a bit like this:

Saturday: Arrival and check-in/settle in. Dinner at 1900 Park Fare.

Sunday: Animal Kingdom with late lunch at Tusker House.

Monday: Epcot with Dinner at the Biergarten.

Tuesday: Magic Kingdom with Dinner at the Whispering Canyon.

Wednesday: Magic Kingdom with Dinner at Chef Mickey's. This is a change and one that I was VERY happy about!

Thursday: Hollywood Studios with lunch at the Sci-Fi. We may attempt to see Fantasmic, but it's not so important to us that we will spend 3 hours or more waiting for decent seats. I'd rather let the boys spend those hours riding the rides and seeing the shows.

Friday: This will be a slow day because we will be attending MNSSHP in the evening. We will hang out at the resort until dinner, which will be at the Crystal Palace.

Saturday: Again, a slow day, resting up, sleeping in. I'd like to get to DTD to get some souvenir shopping done. We'll be having Dinner at the Liberty Tree followed by a viewing of Spectro Magic.

Sunday: Back to Epcot, Dinner at the Garden Grill.

Monday... well, I don't want to talk about Monday.

 

[Raecheal]

I love your adr's, we especially love Biergarten, tusker house and were going to be trying the sci fi dive in our on next trip on July 31st, 2009.