How many more sleeps till the Canadians do Disney...again -- pre-trippie!

[coconutsunshine]

Note: So since I'm super indecisive, I've changed the name of my pre-trippie -- it was The Sweet Tooth and the Toy collector are going to Disney!! A pre-trippie with pics!

Oh my goodness, one week from right now I will be at WDW!!!

Okay, so after much hemming and hawing, I’m doing it, with one week to go, I’m going to brave the Pre-Trip world and you can’t stop me. Well maybe you can stop me if no one reads this. I’ll admit it, I’m a lurky loo and I’ve read so many other trip reports and really love them that I thought I would try my own. So bear with me, be patient and beware that I tend to go on tangents and off topic quite a bit!!

Okay, everyone buckled in, here we go…..

DH and I are visiting our most favorite place on earth WDW from Sept 12 – 22. We’re staying at POP CENTURY (we love you POP) with free dining!! We plan to celebrate our second anniversary even though our anniversary has already passed. This is our anniversary gift to each other so even though it’s not the correct day it’s the sentiment that counts!

Cast of Characters:

Me – Jenny 27 (look 19 – I always say I need to get a shirt that says “Yes I am an adult!)

Being silly at Coronado Springs!

Playing at Target!! I just love TARGET we don't have them in Canada

Lover of Walt Disney World, okay I have an obsession with Walt Disney World, I will admit it. Member of the “you’re going to Disney again, didn’t you just go there?” club. Total girly girl who loves pink! I love to bake, love love love to bake, but have to be careful as I try to eat everything I make right after!! Ha Ha I love love love sweets, I have been known (okay I do it all the time) to eat stale cake, cookies, breads because hey it’s a baked good!! You’ll probably here me talk lots about sweets and bread and I can pack a lot of them away, I seriously could eat a whole cake if my head would just let me!!!
My first trip was in 2002 and I fell head over heels in love. During the parade the splash mountain characters pulled me onto the street and started dancing with me and that was it, it was my pixie dusted moment. I may have been almost 21 but I felt like a princess right there on that street and all reality disappeared and I was in the most magical land. I love that feeling – the one where everything feels magical and that’s what Disney does for me. I’m a bit wacky; I’m one of those ones that will start dancing to the music in the middle of the street and not care what anyone thinks!! Oh and I’m Canadian, originally from the most eastern point in North America – St. John’s NL but living in Ottawa, Canada’s capitol at the moment.

DH – Sean 28

Lover of WDW; but, not quite to the same extent as us Disboarders. He loves to go to WDW and never even hesitates to agree to a vacation. He is the most patient and agreeable man and husband anyone could ever wish for (I’m a lucky woman ), so much so that I think he may just snap and go crazy some day. Haha only joking everyone!! Techy by day avid toy collector by night. Loves all things GI JOE and Transformer, so if any of you out there want to get rid of any old toys I know someone who would idolize me if I found some… I know I’m shameless! ! Also a lover of Star Wars but is on more of a GI JOE kick right now. I use the toy collecting as a bartering system for Disney “I don’t mind you buying such and such toy if we can go to Disney this year” . Sean is also a Canadian and Newfoundlander and the reason we live in Ottawa (his job)!


Our one Fur baby is in Heaven and after two years I’m still not able to even think about adopting a new one. Here are a couple of cute pictures of Gypsy, the costume is Snow White – she wasn’t overly fond of wearing it. I know she isn’t with us now, so technically she is not a character, but she was and always will be my special baby.

I love the trip reports and pre-trippies that have lots of pictures and since I like pictures I will probably post lots of pics. Let’s face it we all like the pics!!!

So I made a small countdown calendar -- don’t laugh at it, well okay do if you want, I didn’t have much time to make it. I thought it would be cute if I posted a picture each day of us counting down, so here goes… 7 sleeps till Disney!

Side note: In our household we say “sleeps till” when counting down. This is from one of my favorite Christmas songs from the Muppet’s Christmas Carol, Kermit sings there’s only one more sleep till Christmas and my mom and I have used that line whenever we count down anything and of course we have to sing it to the tune as well. See, here’s one of those tangents I warned you about.


CONTINUED IN NEXT POST!!!!

 

[coconutsunshine]

We actually started counting down at day 11 -- I know day 11 is kind of weird. 11 days out was the day I actually had time to sit down and make our countdown calaner, I had planned to make it for 30 days out, oh my !

So here are pics of days 11 - 8!!

11 more sleeps!

10 More sleeps!!

(please excuse this picture it was late)


9 More Sleeps!!

8 More Sleeps!!

Next up: Itinerary and Background info!!!

 

[Spartangirl]

I'm in! Can't wait to hear about your trip! Only one week to go!

 

[coconutsunshine]

I'm in! Can't wait to hear about your trip! Only one week to go!

Yay!! I have a visitor!! Thanks!!!

 

[coconutsunshine]

Only 6 days to go… that is less than a week!!!

6 More Sleeps:

Background:

I may not have got married in Disney but I’m making up for it and getting everything else!
Honeymoon

First Anniversary

and now Second Anniversary and since DH agreed just yesterday that if they have a Free Dining Bounceback promotion –which they do, as posted on the boards, we can book!!! Looks like we’ll be going back again next year!! Oh my goodness YAY!! So that means we’ll celebrate our third anniversary as well, can you say tradition!!! And you know traditions can’t be broken!!

I think I am actually getting the most excited for this trip than I have for any other trip. I think that is because I actually have time to think about it. On all our past trips there was so much going on before our trip that I didn’t have time to stop and get super excited. I mean here I am 6 days out and having trouble sleeping. I’ve also had butterflies for like 2 weeks now!! On all our past trips there was sooo much going on before we went. Last year we went at Christmas and took a trip to Toronto the week before and then had Christmas stuff and parties right up until the night before we left. When we went last June we took a trip to our hometown 2 weeks before we went and then the week before we went my mom visited us. The trip before that was our Honeymoon, enough said there. And all the trips before that I had a dance recital the weekend we left. So all that said this time I can relax and enjoy!!

So this trip is the trip of many changes. It started with an email containing a 40% discount code and ended with Free Dining!! So after getting the code and bringing it up over and over and over to DH he finally cracked (on the last day) and said let’s book it. Well, I noticed that one of the dates was the same week as Free Dining was going to be offered so I booked that week, wink wink, hoping for free dining. It must have been meant to be because when I called, on the last day the promotion was offered, I got my dates and the resort I wanted. Fast forward to April – I have been anxiously stalking the boards and call up Disney the morning Free Dining starts and we get free dining, yay! Side note again: I got so obsessive that I even tried to get a Disney Visa so I could book early, but they won’t give us Canadians a Disney visa . I then happen to notice really good prices on a 3 day cruise, bring it up to DH and what ???!!! he’s on board – shocked I was!!! All’s good right, well then we throw in some friends who are also neighbours who decide they want to come. Well okay that would be fantastic, 2 couples both celebrating anniversaries, this could be really fun; they’re not into the cruise though , so I drop the cruise idea. I get them booked and change the dining reservations and we’re all in happy planning mode – end of June comes and our friends let us know that they may not be able to come. Canada day comes – we’re Canadians remember (July 1) – and we’re hanging out, I casually mention if they have decided to cancel and I’m informed “we cancelled last week” – What????? Okay I have to do some quick stepping to fix up our plans and our dining, and why of why didn’t I book that cruise? On a side note our friends did have a very good reason for having to cancel, so there were no hard feelings. The upside, well now that they are not going I can add on a couple of days (they were limited vacation time wise), so I added two days, one at the beginning and one at the end and got back into planning mode again. Wait do us Disers ever get out of planning mode?? So that is how our trip came to be. It morphed and changed but one thing remained the same…WE’RE GOING TO DISNEY!!!!

So here is the plan:

Transportation:
We usually fly from Ottawa to Orlando, but since fuel has gone up the Canadian airlines – all two on them, haha – have gone INSANE!! Seriously there are extra charges showing up left, right and center, so we are driving the 3 ½ hours to the lovely town of Syracuse NY and flying from there. We are saving $800 by doing this!!! Yes you just read $800!! So now I feel like our trip is practically free.

We were going back and forth about whether to rent a car or not. First we were going to rent a car just for the first day so I could get some water and such at Walmart and Sean could continue his search for GI JOES, but then when we realized it was $50 for one day, we started thinking of not renting. So we looked into getting water delivered to the resort and the nice members of Disboards gave me loads and loads of advice. Then a friend of mine found a fabulous deal on a car rental so I checked and it was only 103 for 10 days!! That was too good to resist so we are now renting a car. I have to say I did struggle with the decision to rent a car, I’m really afraid that having a car will take me out of the magic and fantasyland and remind me of work and home etc. On the other hand it will save so much time and with the impending hurricanes I think we would rather have a car. So although I will miss Magical Express dearly we will be renting a car!

Itinerary:
Friday Sept 12: Get up nice and early, finish packing, pack up the car and get on the road! First stop Tim Horton’s. Warning: Going off track again - For all of you who don’t know what Tim Horton’s is, its Canada’s biggest coffee/donut chain. Now I don’t drink coffee, but those who do are seriously addicted to Tim Horton’s my mom and dad included. I been behaving since the beginning of August so I am letting loose and getting an ice capped, maybe I’ll even go super crazy and get a large, and a donut!!

Sorry not the best pics but at least you can see Tim Horton's Iced Cap and donut!!

Back on Track: We plan to hit Syracuse by 11:30 and then its DH shopping time. Like I’ve mentioned he is an avid toy collector so we have to make the rounds to Target, Toys R Us and Walmart to check for special figures and vehicles that he can’t find here. We’ll pick up so lunch and then head to the airport around 2:30ish for our 4:20 flight!! YAY
Arrive in Orlando at 7:05 – get luggage – get rental car – go to Disney!!!! Check in, check out our room then head to the Super Walmart to get some water, Target to look for toys and the outlet Disney store for me!!

Saturday Sept 13
Morning: DHS EMH – Time to try our Toy Story Mania – I have avoided any talk of Toy Story Mania like the plague, I want it to be a super surprise. I know the premise, but not much more.
Evening: AK
Supper: Yak and Yeti – I’m super excited to try this place out – I can’t wait for that Brownie Sundae
Night: Pleasure Island – Comedy Club and 8 Trax I love that place!!

Sunday 14th
Morning – Epcot
Evening – MK – EMH
Supper – Crystal Palace

Monday 15th
Morning – AK - EMH
Supper – O’Hana’s
Evening: DHS – Fantasmic

Tuesday 16th
Morning – DHS
Lunch – Sci Fi
Evening – MK – MNSSHP!!!!!!!! Super Excited!
We love Halloween, although we don't like scary stuff... I think we just like celebrating anything!! Here's a pic of our entryway last Halloween

Wednesday 17th
Morning – Typhoon Lagoon - boy do we love the wave pool, it’s the only thing DH is actually super excited about!!!
Evening –AK
Supper – Boma

Thursday 18th
Morning –MK – EMH
Supper – Kona
Evening – Watch the fireworks on the Beach at Poly
Night – Disney Interactive

Friday 19th
Morning – Blizzard Beach
Evening – Epcot - Illuminations
Supper – Le Cellier

Saturday 20th
Morning – Free Morning to do whatever we have missed
Evening – MK – Spectro @ 9
Supper – Liberty Tree Tavern

Sunday 21st
Morning – Free morning
Lunch – MK – meeting friends!!
Evening – MK – EMH
Supper – Whispering Canyon Café, but hoping to change this once we get there


Monday 22nd
SAD DAY
Plane leaves at 1:00 to take us back to reality

Here are a couple of pics of us, since I promised lots of pictures!!

UP NEXT: Past Trips and PICS

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Hello! Great start to an another fellow Canadian! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[coconutsunshine]

Thanks!! I'm glad someone is reading... i was getting nervous..

Is it cold in Thunder Bay today, its so yucky here!! Let's hope the sun comes out tomorrow!! Oh my, who am I, Annie

 

[coconutsunshine]

Anyone want to say hi??

 

[disneydreamin247]

Your plans sound great! You're going to have an awesome time. You're quite lucky to have a DH who isn't adamant about avoiding all things Disney...such as the men in my family are .

 

[coconutsunshine]

Your plans sound great! You're going to have an awesome time. You're quite lucky to have a DH who isn't adamant about avoiding all things Disney...such as the men in my family are .

Oh no avoiding Disney that's just plain scary. I'll have to help you work on those men!!

Thanks for joining in!!! I think we'll have an awesome time too. The weather here had been cold and yucky the past two days, so I'm looking forward to the Florida sunshine!!

 

[disneydreamin247]

Oh no avoiding Disney that's just plain scary. I'll have to help you work on those men!!

Thanks for joining in!!! I think we'll have an awesome time too. The weather here had been cold and yucky the past two days, so I'm looking forward to the Florida sunshine!!

Well they try to avoid it but we go back every year! Actually they got off easy this year. I'm the only member of my family going this year, with DS of course. But we usually go together. My parents, DS, my aunt and uncle, and their 3 kids . Talk about chaos! lol This trip is going to be a nice change of pace.

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Hi Jenny! Yes the weather up here in Thunder Bay has been cooler and rainy.... not so much fun. Only 5 more sleeps for you!

 

[Disney Brat]

Joining in!!! Enjoying your PTR so far...you must be so excited!!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

The sun'll come out tomorrow! Yay, You're going to Disney in the morning! Have a great time! Please fill me in on all the detail when you are back!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

According to your schedule, you should be enjoying your last night in Disney! So I expect that we should hear from you sometime either late tomorrow night or sometime on Tuesday! Can't wait to hear all about it!