diannamaria
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2007
- Messages
- 15
I steadfastly didn't want to create a trip report, let alone a pre-trip report...I swear...honest...
but here we are.
I've been seduced. Caught up. Sucked in. I think it was all the food porn numbing my brain
The Trip is Born
After much debate, I decided that what I really wanted for my 30th birthday present was a trip to Disney World. Oh, no, wait, what I wanted first was a Mediterranean Cruise. Then I switched to wanting a big fat diamond ring (another one). See, I was trying to come up with something that would rival the gift my DH picked out for himself when he turned 30 a couple years back...a 60 inch Sony Wega flat screen HDTV. We can't let him off easy now that it's my turn, can we ladies? Noooooo.
DH was really on board with the Cruise idea, but we just didn't want to spend all that money right now. We're trying to behave (ha!). So we decided to take the cruise in 2008. Legend of the Seas - Sept 2008 - Rome/Greece/Cyprus/Turkey/Egypt/Naples/Rome. So if my dream trip of a lifetime is happenning on my 31st birthday, what about this year? It just so happens that we got engaged in Disney (EPCOT to be exact) in 2003 and returned there on our honeymoon a year and a half later in October, 2004. Not having returned since then, we were both more than ready for another Disney fix.
Decisions, Decisions
With that decided, my brain kicked into gear. High gear to be exact. 60 days out from our intended arrival date and I was just starting to catch on to a concept known as...ADRs.
When I pre-plan I can go for days without food, water, human interaction. Seriously, I'm a planner. It's what I do. Hence my discovery of the DIS boards and the start of about a thousand hours online and on the phone/email with Jackie, travel agent diva. Endlessly researching the following: Wilderness Lodge or Port Orleans Riverside? Wilderness Lodge or Polynesian? What's the absolute bestest option for a wonderful signature dining 30th birthday dinner, AKA, Narcosees vs. CG vs. Jiko vs. Artist Point vs. Citricos vs. what if I don't want to try the foie gras at Victoria and Alberts and the only other choice for that course is snake eyeball tartare? It wasn't pretty and I'm not proud of it, but it gets the job done. I'm now 22 days until liftoff and here's the basic plan:
The Plan
Day 1: [9/28] Arrive Wilderness Lodge via Magical Express at ~12:00, Get settled and hit Magic Kingdom, ADR at CG 6:00 PM, DTD to round out the evening.
Day 2: [9/29] Happy Birthday Diann! Order room service breakfast, kick it at Magic Kingdom or Epcot until 2:00 ADR at the Grand Floridian Tea Room for afternoon tea, relax at resort until dinner at Artist Point 6:45 PM
Day 3: [9/30] Check out of WL, check in Poly. Animal Kingdom in the morning, MNSSHP tonight!
Day 4: [10/1] MGM Studios, 1:50 ADR at Le Cellier for lunch (no dinner ADRs available!), World Showcase and F&W remainder of day
Day 5: [10/2] Breakfast ADR at Kona, MK in the AM, late lunch ADR at LTT, late dinner ADR at the CG again.
Day 6: [10/3] Depart for home, 2:00 flight.
The Players
Me: Diann, age 29 (of course), loves Harry Potter, Philadelphia Eagles, TV [The Office, Heroes, Lost, The Hills, Greys Anatomy, Dinner Impossible] her 4 kitties, Halloween, reading books, her Jeep, and taking naps on the weekend. Currently trying to break addiction to HGTV.
DH: Bob, age 32, loves WoW, volleyball, Philadelphia Eagles, TV [Heroes, Smallville, Lost, Dinner Impossible, Battlestar Gallactica], his cat Michiba, sleeping in whenever possible.
Here we are: http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232fp7>nu=323:>95:>695>WSNRCG=3232754337895nu0mrj
I'll have to figure out how to post pics the right way....
Thanks for reading!
but here we are.
I've been seduced. Caught up. Sucked in. I think it was all the food porn numbing my brain
The Trip is Born
After much debate, I decided that what I really wanted for my 30th birthday present was a trip to Disney World. Oh, no, wait, what I wanted first was a Mediterranean Cruise. Then I switched to wanting a big fat diamond ring (another one). See, I was trying to come up with something that would rival the gift my DH picked out for himself when he turned 30 a couple years back...a 60 inch Sony Wega flat screen HDTV. We can't let him off easy now that it's my turn, can we ladies? Noooooo.
DH was really on board with the Cruise idea, but we just didn't want to spend all that money right now. We're trying to behave (ha!). So we decided to take the cruise in 2008. Legend of the Seas - Sept 2008 - Rome/Greece/Cyprus/Turkey/Egypt/Naples/Rome. So if my dream trip of a lifetime is happenning on my 31st birthday, what about this year? It just so happens that we got engaged in Disney (EPCOT to be exact) in 2003 and returned there on our honeymoon a year and a half later in October, 2004. Not having returned since then, we were both more than ready for another Disney fix.
Decisions, Decisions
With that decided, my brain kicked into gear. High gear to be exact. 60 days out from our intended arrival date and I was just starting to catch on to a concept known as...ADRs.
When I pre-plan I can go for days without food, water, human interaction. Seriously, I'm a planner. It's what I do. Hence my discovery of the DIS boards and the start of about a thousand hours online and on the phone/email with Jackie, travel agent diva. Endlessly researching the following: Wilderness Lodge or Port Orleans Riverside? Wilderness Lodge or Polynesian? What's the absolute bestest option for a wonderful signature dining 30th birthday dinner, AKA, Narcosees vs. CG vs. Jiko vs. Artist Point vs. Citricos vs. what if I don't want to try the foie gras at Victoria and Alberts and the only other choice for that course is snake eyeball tartare? It wasn't pretty and I'm not proud of it, but it gets the job done. I'm now 22 days until liftoff and here's the basic plan:The Plan
Day 1: [9/28] Arrive Wilderness Lodge via Magical Express at ~12:00, Get settled and hit Magic Kingdom, ADR at CG 6:00 PM, DTD to round out the evening.
Day 2: [9/29] Happy Birthday Diann! Order room service breakfast, kick it at Magic Kingdom or Epcot until 2:00 ADR at the Grand Floridian Tea Room for afternoon tea, relax at resort until dinner at Artist Point 6:45 PM
Day 3: [9/30] Check out of WL, check in Poly. Animal Kingdom in the morning, MNSSHP tonight!
Day 4: [10/1] MGM Studios, 1:50 ADR at Le Cellier for lunch (no dinner ADRs available!), World Showcase and F&W remainder of day
Day 5: [10/2] Breakfast ADR at Kona, MK in the AM, late lunch ADR at LTT, late dinner ADR at the CG again.
Day 6: [10/3] Depart for home, 2:00 flight.
The Players
Me: Diann, age 29 (of course), loves Harry Potter, Philadelphia Eagles, TV [The Office, Heroes, Lost, The Hills, Greys Anatomy, Dinner Impossible] her 4 kitties, Halloween, reading books, her Jeep, and taking naps on the weekend. Currently trying to break addiction to HGTV.
DH: Bob, age 32, loves WoW, volleyball, Philadelphia Eagles, TV [Heroes, Smallville, Lost, Dinner Impossible, Battlestar Gallactica], his cat Michiba, sleeping in whenever possible.
Here we are: http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232fp7>nu=323:>95:>695>WSNRCG=3232754337895nu0mrj
I'll have to figure out how to post pics the right way....
Thanks for reading!
