*Dreams Do Come True* PTR- My first WDW trip! Only 1 week away!

[rosanab1031]

I have been planning my first WDW trip since December and I am very excited that it is only 1 week away! I just recently discovered these forums and have found so many great threads to help me in my preparations! So... here is my story:

My BF and I will be taking our first WDW trip together (and my first EVER) June 2-5! I am a DVC member and we will be staying in a deluxe studio villa at the Animal Kingdom- Kidani Village.

We have a lot to pack into our 4 day, 3 night trip and I cannot wait to expeirence WDW for the first time!

 

[happybelle]

Joining in.

 

[rosanab1031]

Joining in.

Thanks!

 

[rosanab1031]

I officially became a DVC member last year! I decided to take the tour after seeing all the kiosks around the Disneyland Resort. My sister and I have been planning a trip to Europe forever and it just kept getting delayed. Thanks to DVC we will finally be going next summer!

But here was my dilemma: What to do with the points I had that would expire this year. I took my family to Disneyland for Christmas and we stayed at the Grand. It was lovely! But I still had some points to use.

My boyfriend and I have now been together for 4 years. For 2 of those years we have had Disneyland APs and had always talked about going to WDW. So I decided that for our 4th anniversary I would surprise him with a WDW trip and not let my points go to waste!

On April 6 at exactly 12:00AM I surprised him with the trip. He couldn't believe it! He was even more excited about staying at the Animal Kingdom because that is one of the parks he doesn't remember going to when he was younger.

 

[rosanab1031]

I didn't know where to start with my planning since I have never done this before. Luckily I found some really amazing threads on here to help out.

One thing that I found that has been a great planning tool is Ride Max. You can plug in the times you will be at the park and select the attractions and shows you want and then it uses a special algorithm to put together a day with approximate wait times and everything. If it works out, I will be VERY happy!

I have fibromyalgia so I will be using a cane to help me get through the parks. Also counting on MULTIPLE painkillers. Haha. Not the most ideal situation but I am going to enjoy myself darnnit!

I also have spreadsheets with different plans so that we will be prepared no matter what

 

[rosanab1031]

Since I wasn't sure how the BF would react I really didn't finalize any details. I had no idea what ADR's were and I definitely started planning a little late.

We decided to go ahead with the DDP because we are big eaters and we think we will get the most out of our meals that way.

I really wanted to have a meal at CRT but there were NO reservations available only being a month out. So we decided on these 3 table service reservations: The Crystal Palace- Lunch, The Biergarten- Dinner, and Boma- Breakfast. Our DDP also includes 3 quick service and 3 snacks each. I definitely want to do a quick service at BOG. Belle is my favorite Disney Princess so I am excited for all the different things with her at the MK. I think we will decide the other quick service restaurants while we are there

So now that I know you can book your ADRs 180 days out I will make sure that I will get a reservation at CRT for my trip to WDW with my sister in 2016

 

[Blessedwithboys]

Since I wasn't sure how the BF would react I really didn't finalize any details. I had no idea what ADR's were and I definitely started planning a little late.

We decided to go ahead with the DDP because we are big eaters and we think we will get the most out of our meals that way.

I really wanted to have a meal at CRT but there were NO reservations available only being a month out. So we decided on these 3 table service reservations: The Crystal Palace- Lunch, The Biergarten- Dinner, and Boma- Breakfast. Our DDP also includes 3 quick service and 3 snacks each. I definitely want to do a quick service at BOG. Belle is my favorite Disney Princess so I am excited for all the different things with her at the MK. I think we will decide the other quick service restaurants while we are there

So now that I know you can book your ADRs 180 days out I will make sure that I will get a reservation at CRT for my trip to WDW with my sister in 2016

Your ADR's sound great! Especially for being able to get them so late in the game. Keep trying for CRT or any others you want. I have seen some come up a day or two before Your trip sounds like a blast!! I am joining in!

 

[rosanab1031]

Your ADR's sound great! Especially for being able to get them so late in the game. Keep trying for CRT or any others you want. I have seen some come up a day or two before Your trip sounds like a blast!! I am joining in!

Thanks for joining! I'm actually okay with not getting CRT this trip. Gives me and my sister something to experience together when we go in 2016

 

[rosanab1031]

So, the day after I broke the news to the BF about our WDW trip I instantly went on the hunt for cheap airfare! And I found it too. The prices had actually gone down from when I first started looking so I was very excited. We are flying on Spirit over there and will be coming back on American Airlines. But of course they don't tell you any of the baggage charges until your flight is confirmed.

I found out AFTER purchasing my airfare that Spirit charges you even for your carry-on ! And it's the same price for checking-in a piece of luggage ! I was very upset about this because now the BF and I have to fit eveything into "personal items". I think we can do it but it's just a real bummer and one extra thing to stress out about

So BEWARE when booking cheap airfare! Always go to the company website and check out their baggage poilicies before purchasing. Every plane I have EVER been on allowed a free carry-on so I was completely shocked when I found out that Spirit Airline does not!

 

[rosanab1031]

To plan our 4 day trip I used a program called Ride Max to help me plan everything hour by hour. Since we don't have time to do everything this program really helps to schedule the things you want to do in the time you need to do them in. It came highly recommended so I hope it works. I have plugged all of the information from Ride Max into a couple of spreadsheets so we know exactly what we are doing everyday

 

[rosanab1031]

Our bags our packed and we are on our way! To my parents house that is! Lol. My dad is taking us to the airport in my car and then he will be driving it back for my sister to use as she cat sits for us! I am so excited for the day to finally be here! YAY!!!

 

[rosanab1031]

We have now boarded the plane! I can't believe this day is finally here! We have a layover in Ft. Lauderdale and then we our off to Orlando. Luckily are bags were just right and we didn't have to pay any extra money Can't wait to start posting pictures of our Disney Adventures!