Disney or BROKE!!! MAGIC MOMENT!! 6/18 We had the greatest trip ever!!!

[planetcaravan19f]

NOTICE : This story/thread is split into two parts The Pre-trip report (planning) and the Trip report (what happened in Disney)

My first Pre-Trip report!!!! I am SO excited to be going to Disney World, I could jump around and scream!! I am also glad that there is this AWESOME website and discussion boards so I can share my idea’s and plans with other people who understand my excitement!!

Well, down to business. Let me introduce the characters!!

Me: I’m a full-time waitress in my late 20‘s. I live with my boyfriend and his son. I’ve been to Disney World a few times. Once when I was around the age of 12 and again, when I was 16. Every time I thought I had died an gone to heaven. I had a blast!!! I also went to Disneyland when I was just a toddler. I remember almost everything….I think, my most vivid memory is hiding under my moms legs (utterly terrified) during the Snow White ride. I am now just a big kid, ask anyone who knows me, I know even though I’m all grown up I will still have the time of my life. I might actually ride a few roller coasters!!

DBF: He is a stubborn , old , hillbilly in a handsome young body!! He is not excited about going to Disney, he went when he was very young, and again when he was 14 and was “too cool“ to have fun and nothings changed. Also, he is not much of a people person, so I hope its not too crowded!! Okay, okay, before I scare you too much I should mention that he absolutely adores his son and I. Yes, he spoils us rotten and showers us with affection!! I only agreed to this trip is because I know, even though he won’t allow himself to have fun, he will slap a smile on his face and make sure we are having a blast!!!
Edit: Forgot to mention what my boyfriend does for a living!! He drives two, two-thousand pound, Belgin(?spell), dray horses, on Mackinac Island, MI. The island is very small,but big on tourists, and no cars are allowed (to preserve historical ambiance) So the only way to get around is by foot, horse(taxi or saddle), or bike!!

DSS7 (Disney step-son): A true blessing. He is everything I could have asked for in a son!!! Smart, handsome, well mannered , well behaved!! I could go on and on. Don’t get me wrong he is still a kid and tries to push the limits but never actually crosses them! I know I will have a stress-free, fun trip with him along!! Although he has never been to WDW, he loves everything Disney!! Mickey and the Dalmatians are his favorite characters but he loves them all!! Like me, he loves to swim and play video games!!!

A picture of the three of us from last Christmas.

A picture of me (12mths?) with my dad in Disneyland (1981?).

A picture of me at age 12 in Disneyworld with my cousins. I'm in the red shirt on the far right.

A picture of my DBF at work!!

Once upon a time,

I asked my boyfriend almost a year ago if he would pay for half of a Disney World vacation if I planned it all and he said YES!! For a week straight I researched prices and estimated gas , food, etc/ and decided that we could afford it!! After looking up “Disney tips information” into a search engine I found some amazing websites!! Once I seen how organized a lot of people were with their planning, the bug bit me and there was no turning back!!

I’ve run out of time for now but I will post the first chapter of my story soon. It will focus on how I assumed planning this trip would be hard, but after an insane two month planning addiction, my brain was mushy, my eyes strained, fingers twitching…..Will I go over our budget of $4,000 with just the lodging, transportation, and tickets or will we get to eat something other than PB&Js.!?!?!?

Chapter 1
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22280627&postcount=9

 

[PolishMickey]

Can't wait to hear more!!
That picture of you and your dad is ADORABLE!!!

 

[Blueyed Girl]

I was wondering when you would start a PTR!! It's addicting isn't it??

Great start! Can't wait to read more.

 

[planetcaravan19f]

I was wondering when you would start a PTR!! It's addicting isn't it??

Great start! Can't wait to read more.

Thanks Blueyed Girl!! Merry Christmas TO EVERYONE!!!!

 

[planetcaravan19f]

Can't wait to hear more!!
That picture of you and your dad is ADORABLE!!!

I WISH YOU COULD COME WITH ME POLISHMICKEY!!

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!!

 

[winkers]

It doesn't take much to become obsessed with disney vacation planning! you'll have your boyfriend converted in no time!

 

[englishrose47]

Where will you be staying? When are you going?

 

[PolishMickey]

Where will you be staying? When are you going?

Thats your cue to post the first chapter!!

 

[planetcaravan19f]

Chapter One

After I began searching for help online, I found more information, tips, pictures, and most importantly PEOPLE, that could teach me about Disney, than I thought was possible!!! Some of my favorite sites have been, the disboards(big surprise eh?), AllEars.net of course, and MouseSavers.com . I have a laptop so I quickly became addicted to copy and pasting tips to the notepad program. I also went through many small memo pads of paper with rough outlines of daily itineraries, estimate budgets, packing list and so on.

First thing I wanted to decide is WHEN to go. The first two weeks in February were said to be a great time to go crowd and weather wise. After consulting with my boss she gave the “okay” to take the time off. (I would hope so with a year’s notice right!)

Next was HOW to get there. I never even looked up flight prices. I figured even with gas prices as high as they are it would still be cheaper to drive. Also, my parents took me on many cross-country trips and I just love traveling by car!! Not to mention we can take all we can fit in the car!!

Next was WHERE to stay. Luckily I have a sister halfway down to Florida and a brother halfway up from Florida, so I can stay with them or nearby hotel. I also may need to stop between my brothers and home, depending on how exhausted we are.
As far as Orlando…I quickly decided that even with a ticket/room/dining package I couldn’t afford to stay on property. I wrote out a rough estimate on what the cost would be to stay on property and kept it close by hoping I would win the lottery or that I wouldn’t be able to find a cheaper solution, because I have always dreamed of staying there.
I knew I wanted a suite or apartment with a kitchenette/washer/dryer since we would be there for nine days. The first hotel I booked was Liki Tiki Village. The pools and on property activities seemed overwhelming! However after reading some bad reviews online, and remembering my chances of having a hot day in February I started to look around again. I also added the need for an indoor pool on my list. After a few weeks of searching I found a small apartment at the Enclave Suites (off of International Drive) for $15 dollars a night cheaper than Liki Tiki!!! It has an indoor pool, and a great kitchen, but no in room washer/dryer. However, I booked right away!!
Since then I have heard a lot of scary stories about International Drive, but I am not afraid. I actually like driving in big cities and am looking forward to driving aggressively again. (I live out in the sticks!!)

Last was how many days to spend in the parks. As I mentioned before I’m a waitress, taking a vacation that requires a lot of walking isn’t really a vacation for me, so I insisted on having some OFF days to sleep in and swim in the pool. So I spent ANOTHER week looking up rides, park events, show times, etc. and writing out rough itineraries to see which days we would stay up late and would want an off day afterwards. In the end I decided we would spend five days in WDW and four days doing other things. However, I got six day passes in case we were on an off day, but itching’ to go back and see Mickey!! (the extra day upgrade was only $17 total!!)

Okay so far here is the budget
Hotel: $850
Gas: $650
Tickets: $660
-----------------
Total : $ 2,160

Not bad, Not bad!! But remember even though some of the most expensive stuff is out of the way we still have to eat.

I know you guys love pictures!!
So here are a few more old ones to tide you over!!

Up next in Chapter 2, Tips I followed and brain-washing my DSS!!
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22310301&postcount=20

 

[jordanyosh]

okay here i am........

 

[KatGarcia]

I'm in!

 

[sanderella36]

I'm in! Ready for more!

 

[planetcaravan19f]

It doesn't take much to become obsessed with disney vacation planning! you'll have your boyfriend converted in no time!

Where will you be staying? When are you going?

okay here i am........

I'm in!

I'm in! Ready for more!

WELCOME

I had to add an important Edit to my opening post, so check it out. I know someone out there has heard of Mackinac Island!!

 

[winkers]

sounds like your dbf has a fun job! Do you work on the island also?

 

[MickeyMaz]

This sounds like you've done some good planning and you should have a great trip. I have heard the same about early Feb. Here is another web site to check out for event times and such:

http://pages.prodigy.net/stevesoares/

We are a family of four and averaged between $24-$30 for each of our CS meals. That'll give you an idea as to what to expect to spend. We had about 6 CS meals to every TS on our last trip. Trying to save money.


Looking for more of your updates. Have fun. And make your TS ADR's soon.

Maz

 

[planetcaravan19f]

sounds like your dbf has a fun job! Do you work on the island also?

I worked on the Island for four years! DBF and I met there and he was raised over there. But now that DSS is in school someone has to be home ALL of the school season (which conflicts with the island season) so I work full-time on the "main-land" now!!

We are a family of four and averaged between $24-$30 for each of our CS meals.
Looking for more of your updates. Have fun. And make your TS ADR's soon.

Maz

Thanks for the info!!! And

I made my ADR's as soon as they would let me!! DISboards has trained me well!!

 

[englishrose47]

Check out the Dis meets we have set up on the PTR board Yearbook, Marsh & myself all have PTRs We'd love to meet you. Even if you acciently posted on my thread Maybe it was an omen( a GOOD one)!!

 

[Shmu]

A picture of me (12mths?) with my dad in Disneyland (1981?).

I'm signing up. Followed you from Jordan's thread. I about cried when I saw this picture. I rode Dumbo for the first time at WDW in 1971 with my mom. One of my precious memories. Love your vintage pics. Looking forward to more updates and for your TR.

 

[cc1075]

Look familiar - - - well we are just about 30 minutes south of the bridge.

I jumped over from Jordan's - - - you will have a grand time!! We have been going to Disney every year since 1979 - - - so be ready for the addiction!!

Great report and wishing you the best time ever!!

 

[planetcaravan19f]

Chapter 2

Some of the best web-sites IMO for Disney tips/info are magictrips.com and mouseplanet.com, and you already know my favorites!(chapter one)

Here are some of the most important tips I’ve followed already:

#1 The official Disney web-site has some park maps you can customize and have mailed to you, after receiving them I decided they were to big to carry around and I decided right then that I would make my own map/itinerary!! Pictures below. I ordered any free or cheap tourist information I could find online and quickly decided what to keep(glow in the dark Mini-golf that’s awesome!!) and what none of us are interested in (just cuz it’s the world’s largest Mc Donald’s doesn’t mean I want to eat there, bistro or not) Everything I kept went into the envelope Disney sent my custom maps in.
Here is a link to a post I wrote about some of the brochures I ordered!
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20940794&postcount=320
#2 If you can, cook/eat some meals in your room to save money. One reason I wanted a room/apt. with a kitchen is the ability to cook a fast easy meal in the room. This option is more relaxing to us on “off” days than driving to a restaurant every time we get hungry, or “snacking” the hunger away.
#3 If your traveling with kids load an old M&M mini’s tube (large) with quarters. I plan on giving it to my DSS the day before we leave home for Florida, to use in arcades or spend on cheap toys/snacks. But!!…there’s always a “but” with parents…every time he asks that dreaded question “Are we there yet?!?!” , we will take a dollars worth of quarters out of the tube!! Hopefully this will help keep our nerves floating on cloud nine! We will slip most of the coins back in when he’s not looking anyway!! Also bring one with quarters and pennies for the penny press machines in the parks!!
#4 made copies of my Disney tickets the day they came in!! So if I lose them I will have the card #’s to get quick replacements!
#5 Make address labels ahead of time for postcards! I will want to send out cards to a lot of people. I took some “label” stickers and wrote an address on each one so now it will take me ten minutes to slap the sticker, stamp, and quick “wish you were here” or on each card!!
#6 Get travel insurance. 50/50 chance that I spend $300 to cover all three of us and we’ll will be protected in an emergency (especially since we have no health insurance) or if we make it back without a hitch we have “wasted” our money. I’d rather be safe than sorry.
#7Get DisneyVISA Rewards card. I was only able to get a $500 dollar limit on the card so in a year I only managed to rack up 38 “Disney dollars” but I ordered my rewards card and it will pay for a meal, good enough for me!!
#8Get dog tags for book bags, and children (shoe string) with all your info, don’t forget hotel phone #, on them in case they are lost!
#9 You should expose your children to as much “Disney” as possible before the trip so they are more comfortable with characters and are more familiar with themes and songs they will hear all day long! Yes, I have definitely been brainwashing my DSS by playing almost non-stop Disney movies and we even have a few more Disney board games, books, and toys in the house!!


There are many more tips, such as packing and touring the park tips but I will put them with my upcoming packing list and park itineraries!!

Up next, our detailed park plans!!!

Pictures of my homemade park itineraries!!!

Uh Oh !!! #6 added on to the budget!!
Balance at the end of Chapter one:

Balance 2,160
Travel Insur. 300
---------------------------
Total 2,460

Chapter 3
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22327517&postcount=28