Feeling hot, hot HOT!! 7/11 PTR

[mmtska]

About a year ago I was sitting in my friend's living room in Okinawa, Japan watching American Idol with her, her daughters and my DH. I had this grand idea that we should all go on a cruise together in 2011 since we'd be back in the states, and they'd be coming back for their annual summer visit. Secretly I knew that the Dream was debuting and I was all about the new ship! I also knew that my friend didn't like Disney and I was bound and determined to change her mind......so I did!!

So here are the 'original' cast of characters and plans!

Who:

Me: a 31 year old kid who has serious Peter Pan syndrome and teaches for a living. Except now I'm seriously considering a change of scenery..... I've been to WDW 6 times and Tokyo Disney once.
Fave Disney live action: Newsies
Fave Disney animated: Tangled/Sleeping Beauty
Fave Disney character: Person-Rapunzel/Aurora Animal-Tigger/Pascal
Fave Disney cartoon show: Gummi Bears! followed closely by Phineas and Ferb

DH: he puts up with my Disney obsession lol! Although he does enjoy it almost as much as I do.
Fave Character: Grumpy-that says it all

Melissa: The convert (I hope) She's been to WDW once-no planning and ended up hating the crowds. I've tried to make this completely painless....hopefully it works. Luckily she loves Phineas and Ferb too

She's the one on the left

E-beth: the 17 year old who kindly helped me convince her mom it was an amazing idea to go on a Disney cruise and WDW lol

and Mattie: the 8 year old. She is VERY excited about this trip!!! Almost as much as I am

When: July 19-24. I know, not the best time to avoid crowds, but when you're a teacher, there's not much of an option!

Where :well we started out at POP, then upgraded to OKW when the military discounts came out, went to SSR when we added a few more people, then went back to OKW when our numbers went down again......but we're back to OKW!!

 

[mmtska]

When we first started to plan this trip, it was the 5 of us. Doing things the cheap way for WDW and living it up (kind of) on the ship. I love to read, so I was on these boards constantly and bought a bunch of books

I currently own:
the Unofficial Guide
Hidden Mickeys
Birnbaum's Walt Disney World for kids
Disney Passporter
Disney Cruise line

There are probably a few others, but those are the basics.

I also have the Lines app for the iPhone, and a subscription to touringplans.com. I discovered Ridemax on our last trip and LOVED it!

Touringplans gives you general idea of how to plan a day at the parks, along with other stuff to do. Ridemax gives you a minute by minute plan which I wasn't to sure about at first, but after doing everything we wanted in the am, then relaxing later I was a convert. Totally recommend it!

 

[mmtska]

And then there were 6. Mel asked to bring her DBF who's a Marine and we decided that was a good idea, so we booked SSR in the Tree House Villas. Not only that, but some good friends of ours wanted to come as well. So we're up to 8 people in our group! Sadly, the DBF got order to deploy to Afghanistan, so we're back down to 7.

Pretty sure this is where it ends.....I hope.

 

[mmtska]

So this is one thing that a lot of people find to be a pain in the patootie, but I think it's actually pretty fun sometimes We got everything that we wanted at the times we wanted! Guess that's what happens when you're the obsessive planner like I am! So here are the ADRs!

July 20-50s Prime Time Cafe at 5:45. I'm really excited about this one because I think the people in our party will enjoy all the antics that I read about.

July 21-Le Cellier at 11:30. This was a request from our friend Jamie. I wasn't sure if we'd be able to get this, especially with a large group and the fact that dinner is now a 2 credit meal. Buuuuuuut, we did! I've heard good and bad, but whatever. Yum.

July 21-Cape May Cafe at 5:30. This was my 'request' because I love seafood, and I went there this past November and it was delicious!!

July 22-Crystal Palace at 8:05!! Ok this is supposedly the prime time to get to CP. In before the park opens and great photo opportunities. I love the Pooh characters, so this is a double bonus for me

July 22- CRT at 5:30. This was the one and only request from Mel. She wants to take her 8 year old there to celebrate her birthday. She loves princesses so it's perfect!

July 23-WCC at 6:30. This was another request from Jamie and his girlfriend. Once again-really excited for the antics!

So excited for these meals!

 

[KCSherri]

My stepdaughter is in Okinawa right now, with the Army! Small world!

You will be there a bit before we will this summer - and your plans are looking good. We're doing a lot of the same restaurants as you are - and I've never been to Cape May before, so I'm happy to see that you think it's good!

 

[mmtska]

My stepdaughter is in Okinawa right now, with the Army! Small world!

You will be there a bit before we will this summer - and your plans are looking good. We're doing a lot of the same restaurants as you are - and I've never been to Cape May before, so I'm happy to see that you think it's good!

That's crazy! I was very happy to be on US soil in August lol.

I happened to be in FL for a job interview (that I ended up not getting) and headed to Cape May since I have a friend who is a CM there. It was so good, and they even had a sugar free dessert there that was AMAZING. I'm hoping they still have something like it since I can't have a lot of sugar....

 

[mmtska]

WOW. I can't believe that it's less than 2 months already. I'm constantly reading what to wear questions in regards to shoes, so I figure I'd add the shoes I'm taking.

Yes, I realize exactly how much walking is done at WDW. Been there, done the commando thing, so these are shoes that I can deal with all day lol!

I have these in black and mushroom. I have an old pair too, but they have no tread. I LOVE these! They are perfect for walking around all day. The only thing that I'm not a fan of is when they get wet. They get super slippery, but luckily they dry quickly!

These are my favorite tennis shoes EVER. I get the same kind of ones pretty constantly. Sketchers are so comfy!

These ones are for our Disney cruise that is happening after our trip.

I found these at Target for $15. Comfy and cute! perfect for nights

Soon to come-the baggage....

 

[mmtska]

Wow! I can't believe that we have a month to go! DH and I are heading down the 18th, and I can't wait!

We got our travel documents today-the luggage tags are kind of trippy. They're holograms and if you're not careful, can cause a headache lol. The only thing that I'm bummed about is the fact that there's only one voucher for mini golf per room. That means for 7 people, only one of us can play for free. Ugh. We won't even use the other vouchers so it just stinks in general. Oh well.

So ready to go! I just now have to figure out how much we're going to pack. That'll be fun.

I have also decided that we are NOT going to go crazy commando. My friend Melissa had such a horrible time at Disney last time, that I don't want this trip to drive her crazy. So we'll be doing the rope drop thing, go until lunch and then come back to the hotel and CHILL. I'll be coming back several times to Disney, so I'm not worrying about it! Our friend Jamie and his DGF are going to be back too, so we just want to have a good time with friends and just take our time. :-D

I'm really excited about our cruise too! We got those documents the other day and it just made it more real! We leave from WDW to DCL on the 24th and are going to be relaxing on the Dream for 5 glorious nights! We have 1 excursion for Castaway Cay, and are planning to just take it as it goes and see what we can see. I don't want to be running around crazy on a cruise!!

Oh yes-recommendation. GET PHOTOPASS!! I got a reminder to preorder, and I know that we loved it last time, so no brainer! We get all 7 of us in the pictures and can get TONS of pictures with borders-plus!

 

[Cheryl726]

What excursion did you book on Castaway Cay? We are doing the stingray excursion the first CC day.

 

[mmtska]

What excursion did you book on Castaway Cay? We are doing the stingray excursion the first CC day.

We're doing the Extreme Getaway package-it includes the Stingrays and I can't wait!

 

[mmtska]

Wow....less than a week to go! We're pretty much ready to go-even packed! We both have plenty of Disney shirts, so those are packed along with our bathing suits. Our itinerary is set, even though I have serious problems with Disney losing/finding our reservations. Yeah that's right. I can't check-in online, so I called Disney and they couldn't find it either! Luckily they called guest services and it's there. I'm a little worried about when we check in, so we'll be hopefully getting in in the morning so we don't have to waste the day checking in.

Here's our plans:

July 19:
Check-in to Old Key West, get our KTTW cards and leave one of the cars at the resort.
Head to Shades of Green and get our park tickets.
Find someplace to get lunch and head back to OKW to meet up with the rest of our parties.
Then we're going to tour the resorts and check out DTD for the rest of the day. Chances are we're going to hit up some mini golf too!

July 20:
Hollywood Studios!
I have to hit TSM, RnRC, ToT and the Great Movie Ride. An absolute MUST DO for everyone is the Phineas and Ferb M&G. SO EXCITED!!! I even have my Perry shirt planned
Lunch at 50s PT, afternoon break at the pool and back to DHS to catch whatever we haven't already gone on(which will probably be everything minus like 2 rides lol)

July 21:
Epcot
Definitely getting Kim Possible phones and doing the missions. I want to introduce everyone to Beverly too
QS lunch-we have Le Cellier ADRs, but since we have 2 extra meals, this one might have to be canceled.
WS in the afternoon and Cape May Cafe for dinner! Then back to Epcot for Illuminations

July 22:
MK!
This is going to be the best day! We have early morning ADRs at CP and I can't wait to see the park empty!
My only must dos are the mountains and PotC!
The girls we're with have appointments at BBB, and then dinner at CRT! This is the big deal for them and the only thing their mom requested. I even managed to get a letter from a great DISigner-thanks Shadowryter!
It's a PM EMH so we may or may not be there until 3 am-I might be

July 23
AK. I don't really care about this park, but I definitely want to do KRR, EE and the Safari. Then I'm really wanting to go back to Epcot. I'll be happy hanging around there for the day!. We'll be at WCC for dinner, and then head back to MK for Wishes and to say goodbye.

July 24:
Wakeup and leave for our cruise! I'm probably going to cry just because not only are we leaving my favorite place in the world, but we're leaving some great friends.

Oh well-5 days of relaxing and sunshine so I can get over our whirlwind trip!
I'm definitely be doing a live report and a TR when I get back!

 

[mmtska]

Heading down early-why you may ask? Although I have no idea if anyone is following this, because I've done a pretty lame job lol. I have 2 (maybe 3) interviews on Monday the 18th!!! I'm supposed to have the third, but haven't gotten any information from the company. They were supposed to email me, but I've heard nothing. Oh well.

I'm really hoping to get the first one-it's at Shades of Green!! I'd love it