Going off the Beaten Path- A Disney Trip through a Teen's Eyes

[worldtraveler996]

Hi everyone! My name is Emily and I am relatively new to the DISboards. My dad was the first one to use the website and listen to the blogs; my mom and I followed shortly afterward. This was a last minute trip as we only started planning since the beginning of February. The last trip we took was in October 2012 for my 16th birthday and my family, my mom especially, have had difficulties with withdrawal. When we saw the discounts that for spring, my mom and dad could not resist. Before going any further, let me introduce everyone.
Emily(17)(Me) Mark(DF 47) Heather(DM 43) Jackson(DB 13). And as you can tell, we are from Green Bay, WI and we are Packers fans !


Back to the planning. My parents first told me after school one day that we were going to go to disney. Because we planned so late, we only had a few resorts to choose from and the picked... the Fort Wilderness Cabins. Now... I am NOT a camping person. A cabin is as close to camping as I will get. However, my dad and I watched DIS unplugged videos; Pete was in my position as well and he thought it was wonderful, so that was reassuring. There was also the matter of which we we would go. During April, I have my prom. My mom, thank goodness, had already thought of this and picked a different week. The one concern was that the week we are gone is the week before my IB Psychology test for college credit. However, Disney is totally worth it so we decided to risk it ! We will be staying from April 27 to May 2 and we cannot wait!
I will post more topics in different posts, this is just my introductory post!I am a major planner and I have planned all of my families trips since I was 12. Although, this trip will be totally different from our past ones because we usually go in October, have the dining plan, don't stay in cabins, and had regular fastpass system. This trip, we are staying in May, in cabins, my dad is making our meals, and we get to try fastpass+! It will be an adventure!​

 

[worldtraveler996]

My family and I are now a week away so I thought I would give just some background on what we are doing.​

Food:
Because we are on somewhat of a budget this time, my dad will be making our meals at our hotel. This is one of the reasons why we picked the cabins because they have a full kitchen. At first, we were planning on cooking food every night, until my dad received a $250 Disney gift card in the mail (I have no idea why. I decided not to question it ). We decided that we would eat out on one special night at a restaurant that we all enjoy. It was a tough choice, but we decided on California Grill the day we arrive. Because we made the reservations in less than 60 days out (Inconcievable!), we got reservations for around 9 the day we get there, which I have no complaints about because it's California Grill But the fact that my dad is making food himself for the rest of the week creates the problem of getting it.

First Day Plan:
The first day is a tough day to plan. First of all, we fly out of Milwaukee at about 5:30 so we all have to be up at around 4 (my brother will just have to tough through it or sleep on the plane). When we get off the plane it will be about 8:30 in the morning which is no where near check in, and my dad still needs to get the food! So our plan is that when we get off the plane, my mom, brother, and I will get on the magical express while my dad rents a rental car. My brother is pretty upset he will miss the magical express ride with us because that is one of his favorite parts . Because my dad doesn't want the groceries to get warm in the car until 3, he is going to take a tour of Golden Oaks (they are thinking of moving to Florida after my brother and I graduate, but I think he is just doing this for fun ). While he is doing that, the rest of my family will be at Magic Kingdom riding rides. Once my dad checks in, gets the golf cart, and drops off the groceries, he will join us. It seems like a pretty good plan for the situation we are in and I can't wait!

Question Time!!!!:
I have a question for those of you who have been to Disney and have linked multiple my disney experience accounts to a master account where all of your reservations have been made. I have done that and I have heard that people have had troubles checking in and trouble with reservations. I tried to disconnect them but it was after I made ALL of the reservations for fastpasses and hotels and restaurants. When I disconnected them, my fastpasses went to my account, my dad's and the restaurant reservation went to his account, and my mom and my brother's remained on the master account (my mom's). So my family decided it was not worth it and we joined them together again. I was just wondering if they have fixed those problems and joining the accounts together no longer causes trouble with check in and stuff.

Have a magical day!​

 

[worldtraveler996]

The time has come for my family and I to start packing because...we leave today!!!! Yay!!!!We are driving down to Milwaukee tonight so we can get up bright and early (not really bright it'll be 4 am when we wake up ) for our flight at 6 am. This means that my pre-trip report must come to a close and move to the Trip Report category so watch for that soon. I don't know if I will do the plan each day I am there or if I will do it when I get back. Anyway, thanks for reading if you have and watch out for my trip report coming soon!
Have a magical day! ​