PaintsWindColors
Theme Park Junkie
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2014
- Messages
- 243
Hello! 
My name is Lacey, and I work from home as a Corporate Travel Consultant for American Express Global Business Travel. I'm 28 and my partner in crime, Patrick, is 31. We are two big kids at heart and love counting down the days to our next vacation! I've never posted a PTR so please pardon any rookie mistakes!
Dreaming of a Disney vacation!
Our next trip is booked September 16-26, although we'll only be on Disney property the 16th-23rd (hopping over to Universal for the final weekend). I've been setting us up in moderate resorts but have eyed the Contemporary Resort for far too long - so I took the plunge and got us a Deluxe Garden room this year! I'm sure most DISers know quite a bit about the resorts already but I'll share with you the part that made me most excited for this specific type of room:
http://www.disboards.com/threads/co...deluxe-room-pictures-and-mini-review.2919774/
That's right, I just linked you to another DIS board because it's THE reason I chose this room! Look at how HUGE it is! Now, I love my dear Patrick very much but the more space, the better. And the cherry on top is that there are only 3 of these rooms available at the Contemporary Resort so we don't have to fuss too much over room requests. I have subscribed to TouringPlans.com for assistance with the room request, though, because we would prefer the 3rd floor if possible but we won't be heartbroken if it doesn't happen.
In case you didn't see the pictures in the link, just look at this:
Wowza!
Next up, ADRs. I'm a bit of a planning nerd...okay, a huge planning nerd...when it comes to Disney and I know I'm among kindred spirits! I had my alarm set for 5am CST (we're in Missouri so we have to wake up a little earlier than our East Coast friends) at 180 days so that I could secure our priority reservations. I've never had much of an issue getting the big ticket items, but I've also never traveled in September/October when Magic Kingdom closes early for MNSSHP on select days. Knowing I would likely have to wait and call the dining line to get CM help with the 180+10 ADRs, I tried using the online reservations first to no avail (couldn't secure Be Our Guest for a dinner slot). I started a pot of coffee and patiently waited the next hour so that I could call in and - voila! - the CM came to my rescue. So here's what we've got right now (itinerary included):
Friday, September 16: Arrival around 2pm, MNSSHP, QS dinner in park (and lots of candy!) We're dressing as Princess Leia and Obi Wan
Saturday, September 17: Monorail to Poly, brunch at Kona Cafe, drinks at Trader Sam's/Tambu Lounge, Dole Whip at Pineapple Lanai, 5:45pm ressies at California Grill, Wishes from CG observation deck, 10:15pm Electrical Water Pageant
Sunday, September 18: Animal Kingdom - this day is unclear because we would really like to book a dining package for Rivers of Light but they haven't been announced yet. Tiffins (tentatively) but we'll stick with Yak & Yeti for an alternative. Dawa Bar (watermelon mimosa) and Tamu Tamu Refreshments (chocolate covered espresso beans and rum-spike Dole Whip) are also definitely happening.
Monday, September 19: First Epcot Day - we scheduled two days at Epcot this time around because we wanted to dedicate the first day to enjoying the park and the second day to enjoying the Food & Wine festival. So this day we'll be heading to the park early to explore Future World and then back to Via Napoli for lunch at 11:30am, explore the World Pavilion, and then dinner at Le Cellier at 4:45pm.
Tuesday, September 20: Hollywood Studios - we are huge Star Wars fans so our first priority is to jump in the Disney Visa Imperial Meet 'n' Greet. We're not usually the character meeting type, but we'll make an exception for this opportunity. We're definitely going to secure a FP for Toy Story because it's one of our favorite attractions, probably enjoy a QS lunch, and then a cupcake from Starring Rolls. We have a Fantasmic! dining package booked for 4:20pm at Hollywood Brown Derby and we'll end the night at Fantasmic!
Look at these cool kids
Wednesday, September 21: Magic Kingdom - we don't rise early for rope drop but we picked this day for MK because (as of now) there are evening EMH and we are night owls. We've got lunch scheduled for 12:00pm at Liberty Tree Tavern and dinner is 4:40pm at Be Our Guest. There will be several stops for Dole Whips, cinnamon rolls from Gaston's Tavern, and at least one obligatory LeFou's Brew. We will also try to catch as many parades as possible but we historically have only been keen enough to catch the last parade of the day (when the park is less crowded). We will also attempt to secure a viewing location for Wishes but we won't be waiting hours in advance because the advantage of staying at CR is that we can enjoy fireworks from the hotel and we want to let others have the good spots (we're very accommodating to people with children because Patrick's 6-foot frame means he's a human skyscraper and can easily obstruct the views of children behind us).
Thursday, September 22: Second Epcot Day - we will arrive to the park a little later than normal so we can catch lunch at San Angel Inn at 11:40am and spend most of our time enjoying the F&W offerings. Patrick doesn't drink but I will be attempting my second Drinking Around the World challenge and will hopefully emerge triumphant. We will stop for a QS dinner (likely Tangierine Cafe) if we're hungry. This day's FPs will be reserved for catching the attractions we want to experience again, or for the very busy options that we couldn't secure the first day (I'm looking at you, Soarin' and Frozen Ever After). The night will end with IllumiNations.
Friday, September 23: The end of our Disney journey - check out of CR, head to Disney Springs for shopping (we always get a Christmas ornament), and stop by the Boardwalk for lunch at Flying Fish if it's open, followed by a cupcake or other treat from Boardwalk Bakery. We'll wave our goodbyes to Disney and jump ship to Universal for a couple of days.
And that's it! Gosh, I'm worn out from just thinking about it. I've got my Halloween costume ready, my MagicBand customized, and I am patiently awaiting the day we can board that happy flight to Orlando. Thanks for reading!
My name is Lacey, and I work from home as a Corporate Travel Consultant for American Express Global Business Travel. I'm 28 and my partner in crime, Patrick, is 31. We are two big kids at heart and love counting down the days to our next vacation! I've never posted a PTR so please pardon any rookie mistakes!
Dreaming of a Disney vacation!
http://www.disboards.com/threads/co...deluxe-room-pictures-and-mini-review.2919774/
That's right, I just linked you to another DIS board because it's THE reason I chose this room! Look at how HUGE it is! Now, I love my dear Patrick very much but the more space, the better. And the cherry on top is that there are only 3 of these rooms available at the Contemporary Resort so we don't have to fuss too much over room requests. I have subscribed to TouringPlans.com for assistance with the room request, though, because we would prefer the 3rd floor if possible but we won't be heartbroken if it doesn't happen.
In case you didn't see the pictures in the link, just look at this:
Wowza!
Friday, September 16: Arrival around 2pm, MNSSHP, QS dinner in park (and lots of candy!) We're dressing as Princess Leia and Obi Wan
Saturday, September 17: Monorail to Poly, brunch at Kona Cafe, drinks at Trader Sam's/Tambu Lounge, Dole Whip at Pineapple Lanai, 5:45pm ressies at California Grill, Wishes from CG observation deck, 10:15pm Electrical Water Pageant
Sunday, September 18: Animal Kingdom - this day is unclear because we would really like to book a dining package for Rivers of Light but they haven't been announced yet. Tiffins (tentatively) but we'll stick with Yak & Yeti for an alternative. Dawa Bar (watermelon mimosa) and Tamu Tamu Refreshments (chocolate covered espresso beans and rum-spike Dole Whip) are also definitely happening.
Monday, September 19: First Epcot Day - we scheduled two days at Epcot this time around because we wanted to dedicate the first day to enjoying the park and the second day to enjoying the Food & Wine festival. So this day we'll be heading to the park early to explore Future World and then back to Via Napoli for lunch at 11:30am, explore the World Pavilion, and then dinner at Le Cellier at 4:45pm.
Tuesday, September 20: Hollywood Studios - we are huge Star Wars fans so our first priority is to jump in the Disney Visa Imperial Meet 'n' Greet. We're not usually the character meeting type, but we'll make an exception for this opportunity. We're definitely going to secure a FP for Toy Story because it's one of our favorite attractions, probably enjoy a QS lunch, and then a cupcake from Starring Rolls. We have a Fantasmic! dining package booked for 4:20pm at Hollywood Brown Derby and we'll end the night at Fantasmic!
Look at these cool kids
Thursday, September 22: Second Epcot Day - we will arrive to the park a little later than normal so we can catch lunch at San Angel Inn at 11:40am and spend most of our time enjoying the F&W offerings. Patrick doesn't drink but I will be attempting my second Drinking Around the World challenge and will hopefully emerge triumphant. We will stop for a QS dinner (likely Tangierine Cafe) if we're hungry. This day's FPs will be reserved for catching the attractions we want to experience again, or for the very busy options that we couldn't secure the first day (I'm looking at you, Soarin' and Frozen Ever After). The night will end with IllumiNations.
Friday, September 23: The end of our Disney journey - check out of CR, head to Disney Springs for shopping (we always get a Christmas ornament), and stop by the Boardwalk for lunch at Flying Fish if it's open, followed by a cupcake or other treat from Boardwalk Bakery. We'll wave our goodbyes to Disney and jump ship to Universal for a couple of days.
And that's it! Gosh, I'm worn out from just thinking about it. I've got my Halloween costume ready, my MagicBand customized, and I am patiently awaiting the day we can board that happy flight to Orlando. Thanks for reading!
And you're going to 
I keep saying I'm done then buying more stuff.
He doesn't care about buying Disney clothes so I end up shopping for us both.
