How a WDW Trip Went from Five Months to Five Days: An October 2020 PTR *Updated 7/8*

[LaurieLiz]

Hello, hello everyone! Welcome to my second ever pre-trip report!



If you didn’t tune in last time, my name is Lauren, and I will be your host (not a ghost) for this lovely adventure.

My first attempt at a PTR/TR was last year preceding and following a family trip. Well, I really should've known that as a full time student, I don’t really have a lot of time on my hands, so I eventually abandoned it to focus on my job and studies.

That being said, I recently graduated and my fall plans have been canceled due to COVID-19 (more on that later), so I’m looking forward to dedicating time to all things Disboards with a new set of trip reports.



Okay now to get into the details about how this trip came to be!

As I mentioned earlier, I had fall plans that were upended by the massive force that is a global pandemic, and those happened to be the… Disney College Program.



Me and a friend from my choir had bonded over our love of Disney and decided to apply. We went through the lengthy process and eventually got into the Fall Program together as Attractions CPs. We had so many fun things planned, but come the beginning of July, we received the news that the program had been cancelled for Fall 2020.



We were obviously very sad about this news, but understood why it had to happen. While we were discussing afterwards, I jokingly (not really) mentioned that we should plan a trip to WDW this year. After serious consideration for our health and safety, we decided that with the measures Disney has put in place, as well as being healthy young adults, we were comfortable with traveling to Orlando! Thus it was officially time for me to put my planning hat back on and get back into it!



I’ll just give you guys a quick introduction with more details to come! Our schedules are pretty much free courtesy of the virus, so we are visiting from October 12th to 16th for a 5 day / 4 night trip (hence the reason for this title). We’re super excited for a chance to get away, Fall in the parks, trying Food and Wine even though it’s a smaller version, low crowds and finally seeing Galaxy’s Edge.

Now to introduce ourselves!

To begin, I’m Lauren!



(This is me with my "Mickey" cupcakes from a recent birthday!)

I’m a recent graduate from the University of Michigan, with a degree in Biology, Health and Society. In the future, I’m actually planning on getting a Masters degree in Epidemiology, so it’s been quite sad to see how this pandemic has played out.

Like most of you, I am a diehard Disney fan. This will be my 12th trip to WDW, but first without my parents, so that is both exciting yet terrifying at the same time. One of the things I’m most excited about is the low wait times because I’m definitely a ride person over anything else!

Favorite Rides: Tower of Terror, Splash Mountain, Soarin’, Expedition Everest
Favorite Princesses: Belle, Rapunzel
Favorite Park: Epcot (my poor baby is full of construction )
Favorite Character: Flynn Rider, Aladdin
Favorite Fab Five Character: Minnie Mouse
Favorite Disney Movie: Aladdin, Tangled
Favorite Pixar Movie: The Incredibles, Coco
Favorite Marvel Movie: Avengers: Infinity War
Favorite Marvel Character: Spiderman
Favorite Star Wars Movie: The Empire Strikes Back
Favorite Star Wars Character: Han Solo
Favorite Resort: Polynesian, Animal Kingdom Lodge (remember that)

And my companion joining me, is my lovely friend Jenna!



As I mentioned earlier, we are both mega Disney fans, but she hasn’t been back to the parks since she was a kid and has only satiated her Disney desire through YouTube videos. I’m very excited to show her around and try to get her on Tower of Terror (she doesn’t like drops).

Favorite Ride: Expedition Everest
Favorite Princess: Belle
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Character: Aladdin
Favorite Fab Five Character: Minnie
Favorite Disney Movie: Frozen II
Favorite Pixar Movie: Incredibles 2
Favorite Marvel Movie: Captain America: Civil War
Favorite Marvel Character: Captain America
Favorite Star Wars Movie: The Last Jedi
Favorite Star Wars Character: Rey/BB-8
Favorite Resort: I haven't stayed there yet but I love the theming of Poly and DAKL!


That’s all for now! I’m very excited to share all of our plans with you, as we move forward through these unusual circumstances. I’m going to update later with more information so stay tuned. See ya real soon!

Next Update --> ​

 

[MamaMeems]

Can’t wait to read more!

 

[Wishuponastar0412]

It's great you're so positive and still planning a trip! My brother was supposed to be Fall DCP as well in merchandise and seems kind of lost on what to do next. We are a big Disney family, so always his dream to work there. At least you have something to look forward to

Hopefully once things get back to normal they will restart the program and maybe you'll have the chance to work there!

 

[LaurieLiz]

Can’t wait to read more!

Thanks for joining in!​

It's great you're so positive and still planning a trip! My brother was supposed to be Fall DCP as well in merchandise and seems kind of lost on what to do next. We are a big Disney family, so always his dream to work there. At least you have something to look forward to

Hopefully once things get back to normal they will restart the program and maybe you'll have the chance to work there!

That's all you have to be right now! This trip is definitely helping! I'm sorry to hear about your brother. I felt the same way for a while, but I wish him luck with everything and hope he gets a chance soon! ​

 

[LaurieLiz]

Hi everyone. Welcome back for another update!



I thought I’d give you some insight into how we started planning our vacation. Obviously it’s very hard to meet in person nowadays, so Jenna and I’s first planning session happened over FaceTime around mid-July. On the agenda was figuring out our hotel decisions, as well as discussing the possibility of flying or driving.

In the case of hotel options, we had quite a few. I knew it would be a good idea to stay on property for the transportation. We are both under the age of 25, thus renting a car is not an option if we decided against driving. At first glance, it seemed that Pop Century was the only option within our price range, as we were trying to keep costs low.

I then remembered that DVC members typically offer rental points for properties at a fraction of the normal price. I then pursued the boards and reached out to several people with our requests to see what was available.

At the time there seemed to be limited availability with the only options being Saratoga Springs, as well as AKL. Between those two we were definitely more interested in staying at AKL, as it is such a unique experience and one of my favorite resorts!

That being said, one thing we had to consider was the closure of AKL and with that if we were planning on staying at Kidani Village vs. Jambo House. At first glance we were more interested in staying at Jambo house. We truly just like the feel there more and the lobby is absolutely breathtaking!

However, while Kidani Village is open, the hotel rooms at Jambo House are currently closed, along with all the quick and table service restaurants. This could be a concern because staying there would make our lives harder in terms of meals. I also believe that any sort of check-in services are also limited to Kidani as well.

That being said, that is something that we were actually quite excited about, as it would limit the exposure to other guests and we’re pretty flexible when it comes to the other problems. So because of that at the end of the process, we decided to book a standard studio at AKL - Jambo House!

The rental process was pretty seamless. The individual we rented from came with great reviews (always ask for references) and also provided a contract to make sure both parties were comfortable with the arrangement. Overall, we are super happy with our choice and can’t wait for October.

Complimentary aesthetically pleasing pics below!

Ugh just look at how beautiful this resort is!

In addition to our resort we also discussed the possibility of flying/driving. At the time we had decided to commit to driving down. This was particularly appealing to us as we would be spending less time on public transportation, which still makes me a bit uncomfortable. Our plans for mode of transportation have been ever evolving, so this won’t be our final plan.

I think that’s all we discussed! Next Thursday we’re picking our ADRs, so we’re very excited about that and I’ll update after that happens. See ya real soon!

Next Update -->
​