Finally Graduated! Disney, Here I Come!! 6/18-6/26!!

[steviethegreat]

Finally Graduated! Disney, Here I Come!!

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Welcome! My name is Stevie. You probably don't know me, unless by crazy coincidence, because I'm brand new to the Disboards!!

I am the one on the left. That's my sister on the right, though! Sometimes we get along, but we'd most likely injure each other on a vacation like Disney. Close quarters is not a good idea for the two of us. But we love each other when we text!

So a little about me! I just turned 25 at the end of March. And I just graduated college after seven very long years. I was a Creative Writing major with a Theatre Arts minor. I started college in 2007 and did two years at my local community college. Then I transferred to Slippery Rock University, where I just didn't fit in personality-wise. I spent a lot of my time on the computer, and I started to get homesick, so I was driving 1.5hrs one way to and from school every day while my mom paid for an apartment up there. I failed my second semester, moved home, and did another two years at community college. Then I transferred to Pitt! And I loved the small campus, the teachers actually cared about me and my performance. So, I started working really hard to make Dean's List. Aaaand! My second semester there, I did! And then I did it two more times!! And THEN I made Honors!!

That was definitely one of the best days of my life!!

But before I graduated, actually before my birthday, I got an invitation to a wedding from my friend, E. She was having her wedding in Disney World on the 25th of June!!! Normally, I go on a camping vacation June 24th-29th. And her wedding was the 25th. So I didn't think I'd be able to make it. But after talking to my parents, they both agreed that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, so I definitely needed to go to Disney to her wedding!!!

I was only planning on going one day, and seeing Harry Potter while I was there, but my mom talked me into taking my Dad as my plus one. (She said he'd pay for a lot of the trip.) So I agreed to ask him along.

And he was super excited to get to go!! So excited, actually, that he decided to extend our trip to the Sunday before the wedding!

My cousin is a DVC member and she said we could use her points to stay on property. So I was really excited when we were told we could most likely get Sunday until Wednesday. My dad wanted to stay longer than the wedding, but I didn't want to miss any camping. So my mom generously suggested that the two of us go the Wednesday before the wedding. That's nine days, my friends!!!

Since we had a room rate for the wedding to stay at Port Orleans, we got a reasonable discount. So we're staying at Port Orleans from June 18th to June 22nd. Then we're switching to Old Key West from June 22nd to June 26th.

I've done a lot of research about the food and the resorts. About which things to ride, and etc. Probably a little too much research. But something someone said on the boards really resonated with me. The point of a vacation is to relax. People hit Disney with the intention of doing too much. But I am going to try to be relaxed. If I get my three FP+ done and I get to go to my ADRs, I'll consider that a good day. Anything else is extra.

I also want to spread the magic of Disney to everyone possible, especially Cast Members. They work SO hard!! So I'm hoping to brighten as many days as possible and fill out surveys, talk to managers, and go to guest services to let Disney know how incredible their staff is. And hopefully, others will do the same! It's our only way of giving BACK to Disney.

Here's to Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust! Welcome to our trip!!

Chapter List:​

Introduction
Itinerary
To-Do List

 

[steviethegreat]

Here is my itinerary for our trip.​

June 18th: Arrive at 8:15am in Orlando. Do the car dance with a rental. Check-in to POFQ and then obviously go eat beignets. We have an ADR at Raglan Road at 2pm for a late lunch. And an ADR for dinner at 'Ohana at 9:15pm.

June 19th: Head to the Dark side!! We're going to Universal and IoA for WWOHP and whatever else they have there. I have no ADRs, but I had Giordano's in Chicago and never ate their pizza, so I'm planning on stopping there for dinner.

June 20th: EPCOT!! We want to snack around the world, so that's the plan. I have FP+ for Soarin', Spaceship Earth, and Mission: Space. And we're planning on eating lunch at Chefs de France. And, you know, snacking our way around Epcot. I heard something about Mexico selling goat milk caramel. Uh, I need that in my face ASAP!

June 21st: MAGIC KINGDOM, AAAAHHHH!!! Ahem. I have FP+ for BTMR, 7DTR, and Space Mountain. We have a reservation at Liberty Tree Tavern, but just for dessert. Don't judge me! And then we have an ADR at the Yachtsman for a graduation dinner treat.

June 22nd: Animal Kingdom. I have FP+ for Kilimanjaro, Everest, and Kali River Rapids. And an ADR for Boma for breakfast!! Originally, I wanted to go to Tusker House for lunch, but I added up how much it was going to cost originally to go to all of the ADRs I had and it was $877!!! That's CRAZY. So we dropped the $78 for the Tusker House and figured we'd spend half that at a counter service.

June 23rd: Hollywood Studios. I have FP+ for RnR, The Great Movie Ride, and ToT. I plan to book it to TSM, though. We have an ADR for Sci-Fi and Hollywood Brown Derby (for dessert).

June 24th: Magic Kingdom. I have FP+ for Peter Pan, Space Mountain, and the Seven Dwarves Mine Train again. I also have a Fast Pass for Be Our Guest, and my friend, E, and I are going to try to ride something together. We have an ADR for the Flying Fish Cafe, but that's subject to change. I liked the restaurant at Riverside, so I might see about switching to there. We'll see!

June 25th: Epcot. This is the day of the wedding. So we're spending the morning and the first half of the day at the reception. Then there's a dessert party at 8:30 (I think?) at the Lochside, UK (or something), so my plan is to leave the reception a little early, and hit Epcot. We're planning on doing Spaceship Earth, Soarin', and Turtle Talk with Crush. The tiered system for Epcot is so annoying. I'm figuring, since the food at the reception will be brunch, we'll eat around the showcase again.

June 26th: We have to leave. D: Our flight is at 7:35am, so we'll be hitting the airport early to catch our flight. We most likely won't get any sleep at all. Here's to the Fauxnorail!!

 

[steviethegreat]

Only Eight Days to Go!!

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Holy moly! Only 8 days to go! That's crazy talk!!

I have so much to get done before we can leave. Packing is a distant future from now. I have a packing list that I made a few weeks ago after spending a few days cruising the Disney Tips board. I went on a few threads and combed through like..113 pages of tips from all kinds of people. Some things wouldn't apply to us. No kids here! But a lot of other things did. So we're going to start a box that holds all of the things we'll be needing to take down.

I know a lot of people do that way ahead of time. But I've only known we were going since March. And even then, June was a very long way away. Part of me still doesn't believe that we're going on this trip. I've wanted to go to Disney so badly for so long, I really won't believe that I'm there until I'm in Orlando, at the hotel, breathing in the Florida air and melting under all that heat.

So. There's that.

What We Have to Get Done:​

- Clean the Dining Room
- Clean the Sunporch
- Clean the kitchen
- Clean my own room
- Clean the stairs
- Do all the laundry
- Pack a bag for WDW and for Creation Festival
- Use the packing list
- Buy new shoes
- Buy new dress for the wedding + hit Lane Bryant for girl things.
- Get hair treatment for anti-frizz control
- Call Fantastic Sam's in Orlando to see about hair style for the wedding
- Customize Magic Band
- Have the dog sitter come over for a walk-through with the dogs.

And I am likely still missing stuff.

 

[steviethegreat]

Almost Time!!!!

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Holy pants!!! It's only one day until I am in Orlando!!!!! Whoa!! This time tomorrow, we'll be standing at checked baggage hoping our luggage made it through okay. That's INCREDIBLE.

Part of me still doesn't believe we're going to Disney. Does anybody else ever feel like that? I never doubt going anywhere else. But I guess I've wanted to go to Disney so badly for so long, that it just doesn't seem possible to be going now. The only thing I'm not thrilled about with this trip is the fact that my mom and sister aren't going. If they could go, this trip would be perfect.

But! I'm so excited to go with my dad. (You'll meet him soon. I'll write that update from the plane!!!) I think he and I are going to have the best time ever.

I checked-in to Southwest and got our boarding passes. We have to do the rest of our shopping today. I did a lot at Walmart and Target, but we still need some other things. I want to make some letters that say 'Thank you!' for the cast members we encounter that go above and beyond. And I need envelopes for Mousekeeping. I wanted to decorate our door, but if we're outside at POFQ, is there a point? I'll just decorate the window. That'll have to do.

I need to get a backpack, a pair of sandals, and a few other things we haven't picked up yet. We still have to get Universal tickets, and we also have to organize our rental because my dad is a lazy bones and won't do that yet. So here's to hoping that when he gets home, we can do that. That's especially important.

I need to buy clothes still from Gabriel's because I am a believer in jeans no matter what the weather, and with that humidity, I'll be a puddle. So I'm going to look into shorts and pants. But blegh, because shopping sucks.

Still! Watching a few movies as I clean to enjoy this last day home! I am so excited to go, but there's so much to do!!!

So much for a pre-trip! We're about to embark! That's crazy awesome!!!