How Beachy! How Nautical! How Grand!-An August 2014 Pre-Trip Report

[Scott MC]

How Beachy!,How Nautical!, How Grand!

Welcome! Welcome!
It's been a while since I've attempted one of these, so let's cross our fingers that I'll keep up with and finish this one.

My name is Scott and I'm a teacher (4th Grade) from a wee bit north of Boston, MA. This will be my 14th trip to WDW. I went on my first trip when I was about 3 1/2 years old. I have no recollection of where we stayed, but I remember what's now the Astro Orbiter, and I remember hugging Gideon (from Pinocchio), while holding a soft-serve ice-cream cone, and getting it all over him. Since then, I've gone with family, friends and my partner, Tom, who goes by JNPants here on the Dis.

For this trip, Tom and I will be joined by my sister Erin, and her bf Seth. We're all veterans at this point. As you may have guessed by the title, there will be three resorts on this trip, but I'll get to that later, along with all our plans. I'm hoping to use this PTR as a place to organize information, bounce ideas around, and just generally get excited about the trip! I'll put links to various pages in this first post as we go along.

I'll save the next two posts for introductions and origins of this trip.

Happy reading!

Table of Contents

Introductions
Trip Origins and Original Planning
Who WON'T be joining us (aka Kitty Pics!)

 

[Scott MC]

Let's meet the cast of characters, shall we?

First off...well...me.

Name: Scott
Age: 35
Number of Trips to WDW: 13 (this trip will be 14)
Favorite Park: Epcot has given MK a strong run for it's money, but at the end of the day, MK wins.
Favorite Ride: Can I pick one from each park? No? Fine. Tower of Terror- I love the old Hollywood theme combined with the thrill of it all. (But Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan's Flight, Splash Mountain, Great Movie Ride and Soarin', I love all of you too!)
Favorite Resort: Boardwalk Inn...for now.
Favorite Restaurant: It waffles between Narcoossee's and Citricos, based on most recent experiences, I'll give it to Citrico's
Favorite Movie: Again..can I choose 5? Still no? Fine. Grrrr. Cinderella (but Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, and Alice in Wonderland-the original...not the remake ::shudder::, Snow White and Summer Magic...I love you all too!)
Favorite Princess: Cinderella. Duh. See above.
Favorite Villan: The Wicked Stepmother
Favorite Classic Disney Character: This has been the easiest one. Donald Duck!


Now it's time for DP...who I met a little over 7.5 years ago. When we get to WDW in August, it will be our 8 year "date-iversary" He is a chemist and is as big a fan of WDW as I am.

Name: Tom
Age: 33 (by trip time)
Number of Previous Trips to WDW: 8
Favorite Park: Epcot (quick answer)
Favorite Ride: Space Mountain (EE is a close runner up)
Favorite Resort: Boardwalk Inn
Favorite Restaurant: Flying Fish (crazy about the Potato Wrapped Snapper- "I enjoy the upscale atmosphere, while at the same time being whimsical in theming. I also like that you can sit at the bar and eat, which is not overly common in WDW")
Favorite Movie: Cinderella (woah! Totally didn't see that one coming!-though Tom is fickle, and reserves the right to change this to Beauty and the Beast)
Favorite Princess: Ariel
Favorite Villan: Ursula
Favorite Classic Disney Character: Scrooge McDuck (Huge DuckTales fan)


Let's now meet the supporting players on this trip:
My sister Erin and her bf Seth. (Both 26)

They are both huge fans, and I can't even tell you what number trip this is for them. I can tell you Erin is a huge Little Mermaid and Ariel fan. They are huge MK fans, and prefer to stay in a MK resort, (specifically GF or WL), and they are taking a gamble coming over to the "Dark Side" of the Epcot loop with us.


I'm going to reserve this space for one more potential traveler to possibly join us at a later date.

 

[Scott MC]

Ok, so here's the 411 on how this trip came to be.

I'd been to WDW 5 times by the time I was about 22/23. The parental units had always financed the trip. In 2007, my best friend from High School (who remains my best friend) invited me on a mini-group trip. There would be 6 of us, and we'd be renting a property a mile or so from the WDW gates. My first inkling was, "Holy cow...I can afford to take myself to Disney now!." Crazy as it may seem, I hadn't really thought of that before. My second inkling was, "Off property? Really? I've always wanted to stay at the GF!." That notion was shut down hardcore due to finances. Well..whatever. We went and had a great time...and then the pattern began. The 2007 trip was in August. I then proceeded to go in August 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. In 2013, we took Tom's nephew during April school vacation, and while in the back of my mind, I assumed that we'd come back to The World in August 2013 as usual, it was not to be. We regretted this decision, dubbed ourselves silly geese, and began planning August 2014 to get back on track. Now as far as the company, we'd been with Erin and Seth in '08 and '09, but every summer since, Erin has been forced to stay home in August due to her applying for an Elementary teaching job. I don't know what it's like where you are, but around here, landing elementary teaching jobs is insane. Erin covered many maternity leaves, subbed every class from kindergarten, to gym, in 10+ elementary schools in 2 cities, but never seemed to be in the right place at the right time, despite getting huge complements on interviews. Well, this year, a great school made the right choice, and gave her a full time job of her own, and she's doing fantastically. I'd always told her when she was searching that when she landed the permanent job, we'd take a Disney trip together, so here we are. Tom and I actually said during last April's mild Orlando weather that we actually missed the sweltering heat of August. Being a teacher myself, and not having any personal days, I'm limited in when I can go on vacation, so I'm very lucky that Tom enjoys August. We find that you get used to the heat after a day or so, the crowds are manageable, and The Mouse usually offers some nice discounts. I'll discuss where our discounts came from when we get to hotel choice in another post.

 

[wiigirl]

Following along!

 

[DisneyCoasters]

Hi Scott! This is Nicole!

Excited to follow your PTR and connect with you guys on the Disboards!

 

[happymomof1]

Hi ScottMC! I'm following along!

 

[YCFAN]

Hi Scott!!

I'm always interested in your posts. I'll be following along.

 

[MidnightParade]

Joining in!

Curious! Whats with the candelabra in Tom's picture?! Friend for Lumiere?!

 

[nannette]

I don't usually follow PTR... but this one sounds fun! Can't wait to read more!! Love the title by the way!

~N

 

[Ninja Mom]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm listening....

~NM

 

[teekathepony]

Hello! Followed the link from the BC/YC FAQ thread and thought I'd subscribe!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[HBGdancermom]

Scott, following along! Can't wait!

 

[Mrsdonaldduck]

Following along!!! We will be at the YC and GF in August!!

 

[Scott MC]

Following along!

Welcome aboard to my first follower!

Hi Scott! This is Nicole!

Excited to follow your PTR and connect with you guys on the Disboards!

I feel like I know you......

Hi ScottMC! I'm following along!

Wheee!

Hi Scott!!

I'm always interested in your posts. I'll be following along.

Aw, Nettie, I knew I could count on you. Notice that under "Favorite Resort," I said BWI...for now. You know what I'm thinking.

Joining in!

Curious! Whats with the candelabra in Tom's picture?! Friend for Lumiere?!

When we had dinner reservations at Be Our Guest, they called us, and met us with that candelabra. We carried it with us to illuminate the way to our table. Nice touch eh?

I don't usually follow PTR... but this one sounds fun! Can't wait to read more!! Love the title by the way!

~N

Wow, I'm honored! And as for the title, it was mostly Dee's idea. I suppose I should give her some credit eh?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm listening....

~NM

Yeah, yeah, you'd better.

Hello! Followed the link from the BC/YC FAQ thread and thought I'd subscribe!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

Welcome aboard!

Scott, following along! Can't wait!

Howdy! Thanks for following!

Following along!!! We will be at the YC and GF in August!!

It seems like a killer combo eh?



I'm going to try to further update this over the next 5 days since I'm on vacation. Wish me luck!

 

[UncleOrville]

Tap tap tap... is this thing on?

My triumphant return to DIS posting! Looking forward to hearing all about the trip!

 

[Disney9.9.10]

This sounds like an amazing trip! I'l join in to read all about it. You remind me a bit of myself with the trouble you had in choosing favourites

 

[Scott MC]

Tap tap tap... is this thing on?

My triumphant return to DIS posting! Looking forward to hearing all about the trip!

And we've missed you! Ladies and gentlemen, the person who got me into TRs... And Twitter!

This sounds like an amazing trip! I'l join in to read all about it. You remind me a bit of myself with the trouble you had in choosing favourites

Many of my faves could change by the time this trip is over. Most likely to change would be resort and restaurant. Stay tuned!

 

[JanetMom]

Oooh, I'm in! Gives me something to do while I pass the same amount of time until our trip.

 

[Hardheadedwoman]

Following along! Love it when everyone in the family is a big Disney fan!

 

[jakeybake]

I will be following along! Looking forward to it!

I'm a fellow YC/BC thread follower who also lives north of Boston in little old Winthrop.

Looking forward to following along on your journey!

Jay