-*- I blame it On the Ipod -- a November Pre Trip Report - UPDATE! 11/12

[DizFan101]

I blame it On the I-Pod Pre Trip Report..

​

This is my official 2nd Pre Trip Report to prelude, hopefully my first official FULL trip report come November of this year. The title of this PTR comes in, mostly if you have read my now unofficial first trip report in the completed section. I really don't consider that to be my first official because I never really completed it because of a technical malfunction with my Ipod. So since my Ipod broke leaving me with nothing, I just had to end my failed TR on the drawing room floor. So that's how I got my title of this trip report. lol. This time I hope to bring along the old fashion pen and paper to jot down what I witness first hand on my 12th trip to the world. I also hope to be Tweeting as well, so I'll let you know my twitter account, a little closer to the date.

The reason behind the purple color is that it is my favorite color followed by green. . So you might see both colors.

As I said this is our 8th trip to Disney World that I can remember. I guess I would say within my 24 years I have been to Disney 13-14 times. lol. We started going yearly since 2005 when we returned, for my High School graduation. We have stayed in only 3 on site hotels: Caribbean Beach Hotel (2005), All Star Music (2006) and Pop Century (2007,2008,2009-2x, and 2010 & soon to be 2011).

Before you read any further, I would like to Thank you for stopping by and reading my PTR. I know I didn't get much followers for my other trip report.



The Introductions
When/where and why
Our ADR's
Life Update
Day Plans
Traditions
A Disney UpDate
Pins...Pins...and Magical Express update
Fixes to ADR's and Countdown Continues
10 Day Mark + Online Check In
7 Day Mark + Tweeting Live From WDW
1 Day Mark + Airline Check in.

 

[ilovedisney1]

Well I will be one of your followers! Hey at least you have tried doing a trip report I have never done one before.

 

[DizFan101]

Well I will be one of your followers! Hey at least you have tried doing a trip report I have never done one before.

Yey my first follower. Hopefully I will have a few more......

 

[StephaniexMarie]

I'm in!

 

[DizFan101]

The Introductions ​

Who are we, you ask?"
Well, there's me!

My name is Megan, I'm now 24 years old but unfortunately will be 25 at the time of the trip. I don't want to grow up and you can't make me. lol. I haven't always been a huge Disney fan. It was more like 2005 when I did get more interested in Disney. I then graduated from college in 2009 with a BA in film. My favorite ride is....I guess it's a tie between Tower of Terror and Expedition Everest. lol. Can't decide. lol. My favorite park is a tie between Epcot and Disney Hollywood Studio.

Other then that I am a and fan!

Then there's my most favorite person in the whole wide world.
My Mom. (DM)

My DM, is the greatest mom one can ever ask for. She's my best friend. Thanks to NJ Governor McGreevy (or however you spell his name), had an early retirement plan for people over 50 back in 2002. So she was able to retire from working, and was able to spend more time with family. Her favorite past time is doing the family's genealogy. Her favorite character is Peter Pan. Her favorite park is the Magic Kingdom and of course her favorite ride is Peter Pan.


Here is the two of us together:

It has always been just the two of us that has gone to Disney over these past 5-6 years, some years a few of our friends came to the parks to hang out. But sometimes I wish I could persuade my dad into coming with us, but he's not into long lines, and the Florida weather, even though we did tell him it's not too muggy there in November. But still he's not the guy who will wait in long lines. . But if I ever get married my dream is to have my wedding at Disney World.

 

[ilovedisney1]

That would be so cool to have a wedding there.

 

[cam&phoebsmom]

We are also going in November-looking forward to your pre-trip!

 

[DizFan101]

The When/Where and Why​

We go every year to Disney. In 2009 we went twice so I could get my gift card on my birthday. We have gone to Disney in January(2008/2009), May(2007), October (2005/2009), and November (2010)

January we went to Disney during the marathon. We didn't realize it was the marathon so we made a promise to never do that again. May was just hot and a lot of people were there. October, was busy and too warm for the October season...November was just right last year with weather temp and crowds.

We decided we would go again in November. We booked our 2011 trip on July 5. Our original dates were:

November 6-11
But after I had anxiety about that week being Jersey week and the Food and Wine Festival, I changed it to:

November 13-18

We are flying out of Newark International Airport:

via Continental, on the 13th at 6:30am so we will have a full day at the parks and coming home on the 18th at 7:30pm. Hopefully we won't have any snow then . One of the reasons why i picked November is because i hate NJ winters although November usually doesn't have a lot of snow in November.

We are staying for 6 days - 5 nights at the all exclusive, Pop Century. . Through out the years we have stayed on property, whether it be the Caribbean Beach Resort, All Star Music, and Pop Century...Pop Century is our favorite.

Even though I did like CBR at the time (because i didn't know much about Disney at the time), I now realize you spend more time on the Buses going to each pavilion of the resort then you do at the parks. lol.

I did not care for All Star Music because it seemed like we had a very long walk from the bus to the room we were at. I remember I got blisters. Ouch!
Pop Century seems like the best because you don't spend too much time on the buses and we have seemed to be lucky in the room department, meaning that it's not far from the buses and the Main Building.

We have stayed in the 80's/50's (2x)/and the 70's. Last Year we stayed in the 70's because I asked the lady behind the counter if it was possible to stay a bit closer to the main building. We ended up getting a brand new refurbished room. Pretty Cool. Now that I look at the map on allears.net I don't think it was any closer to the main building, although it did feel like it when we were there.

 

[Pinkpony]

I'm in!

Pink

 

[DizFan101]

Our "awesome" ADR's! ​

It was really hard to choose where to eat for our ADR's. I guess it's because we go every year and there's always one I don't like. I had a few favorites that became not so favorite any more due to change of menu. . Then I go by reviews and menu item selection. I couldn't believe how picky I was. lol. For our Counter Services, we split between two people that way we both get breakfast and lunch every day. We split Breakfast at Everything Pop and then usually have a hamburger somewhere in the parks. For our snacks, we usually get something cool such as the infamous, Mickey Bars! or we treat ourselves to our traditional Disney foods: Funnel Cake/Ice Cream Sundae at Pop Century. Yummy. .

In the past we have eaten at: The Wave, Coral Reef, Le Chef De France, Rose and Crown, Raglan Road, Kona Cafe, Planet Hollywood, Sci-Fi Dine in, 50's Prime-Time Cafe, Mama Melroses, Nine Dragons, Liberty Tree Tavern, Tusker House, Biergarten, Le Celliar, Tutto Italia, Via Nepoli.

Every year we try at least one new restaurant and keep with our old favorites or give a restaurant another shot...
Our awesome ADR's for November 13-18th are:

Sunday -

CORAL REEF - 4:30pm
PENDING- Might switch w/ Wednesdays Via Nepoli

Monday **

YAK and YETI - 4:45pm
** this our new restaurant for this year.
I am looking forward to the Duck and the Fried Wontons.

Tuesday

Raglan Rd (DTD) - 5:15pm
Last year I "liked" this restaurant but not loved it.
I'm going to see if I am going to keep it because I didn't care for the selections all that much.


Wednesday**

Via Napoli - 5:45pm
**We are giving this a 2nd shot because I liked the zeppoli's for dessert.
We might not keep this because of our Wednesday plans.

Thursday

Rose and Crown - 5:30pm
**We might cancel this and go with a 2 table service restaurant depending on Wednesdays plan.
Anybody know a really good 2 table service restaurant?
​

​

 

[StephaniexMarie]

Your ADR's sound fun! I would love to try Yak & Yeti, but we might just go with their quick service option this year.

 

[jenneth79]

I'm in! How great that you've been able to go to Disney so many times, I like your ADRs! We might meet up with my cousin who lives in the area on our trip in September, and Raglan sounded like a good choice!

 

[ilovedisney1]

Looks like a good set of ADR's!

 

[DizFan101]

Just Thoughts...Update
Just my thoughts.​

These past few days/months almost a year I haven't been myself. I have been diagnosed with PTSD due to a traumatic event, that happened 4 years ago. It feels like 5 years since I was only 20 when it happened and I'll be 25 years old this year. (I guess it has been 5 years if you count the day of the incident). Where has the time gone? I just feel different. Sometimes it is hard to explain. Even though I have a great family who supports me 100% I just feel alone. I just feel like I'm not going to make it on my own...ever.

I was hoping that this upcoming Disney trip would help me. But it doesn't seem like it. I have little to no interests any more...including much of Disney. As I look back on my life, I just remember how much I loved Disney and Disney World. Mostly everything anything Disney.

I look back on the past Disney Trips I have been on with my mom. It has just been us two girls on the trips and means a lot to me. But that's the point. I have no one else and since it means a lot to me that it's something my mom and I share I can't imagine going without her. But it won't always be that like because everyone gets old (unfortunately) and I just can't imagine the days ahead (in the far future). I am not one to embrace change, but it will come no matter what.

I think bout negative things all the time because it just feels like it always has been negative. I have been bullied since the 5th grade, nobody really liked me for who I was and even though I was always nice to people nobody showed me respect back. .

These days I just think about death. Why does god put us on this earth just to take us away? Why create when he just takes away. I guess I think about this because of the recent passing of my grandma. These days i just can't remember any of the good days. I easily break down into tears, sometimes at the wrong times...such as driving. But I'm an excellent driver and can deal with everything. One thing I don't do is talk or text while driving.

I have never been in love, never really felt "girly" or a "tomboy." I just feel like an object in the room watching everybody and everything go pass me. It's like I am standing still and while everything is passing me by like in the movies when one character is in perfect focus when the rest of the world is zooming by at top speed. I don't sleep much and have to take Tylenol PM or else I'll be up all night. I'm never am truly hungry anymore and just eat to keep myself alive, although I need to shed a few dozen pounds.

Some days I just want to curl up and die because I'm so numb. I don't feel anything anymore which is good and bad. Good because I don't feel anger but bad because It is very easy for me to break down and cry. I have a new psychologist and hopefully she'll help. This past Tuesday I called my current (now past) psychologist of 2 years and when I told him I was ending his services (of 2 years) all he said was "Okay, Bye." *** ?? Now that just makes me feel like crap even more.

Anyway, that's my "life/thoughts" update. As I am typing this it is 10:57pm, I'm wide awake and listening to some music (*!@$ Perfect by Pink, Permanent December, Two Lonely People, Chasing Cars).

 

[StephaniexMarie]

I'm really sorry you feel that way. I'm not sure if I will be able to help much with my response, but it's worth a try. I know thinking about a future without your mom is very terrifying. But don't let that damper the time you have with her now! Enjoy every second you have with her, because every one of those moments are precious. I'm also sorry to hear that you were bullied. I know what that is like, and it definitely is not fun. The things people say to you can cause emotional scars, but you have to try your absolute best to forget about them because you ARE a better person when it's all said and done. I know you said you're starting not to have much interest in anything even Disney - the best advice I can give you is to listen to some park music. That always picks me up. I really hope your new psychologist is a better one! I'm only 14 years old but I know myself and a lot of other people on these boards would love to help you out whenever you're feeling down. My mom's bugging me to go to bed now, but best of luck.

 

[DizFan101]

Day Plans

Our daily plans can change in an instant... Sometimes they go as planned and sometimes we go with the flow and whatever happens, happens...
But now the schedule is this:


Sunday Nov 13 - Arrival Day
November 13 we wake up in Northern NJ and go to Bed in Orlando.
We have a 6:30am flight out of Newark which means we get up around 5:00am to get to the airport in time. It takes roughly 2 hrs to get to Orlando so it means we get to FL around 8:30-9am, if everything goes well. There could be some delays in flight, but you never know. We get to MCO take the Magic Express to Pop Century. Sign in, and usually we are lucky enough to have a room ready. But i doubt a room will be ready at 9:30am. We usually just pick the bus w/ the least amount of people but if everything goes as planned, it will seem like we would get there as all the parks open for the day.We will probably head to either Epcot or Hollywood Studios as I like to go to my favorite park first. . We do have ADR's at Coral Reef, so probably spend the day at Epcot have dinner there, and head to DHS for EMH.


Monday- Nov 14

I am planning on doing the early Segway Tour. Get a taxi for $8.00 from Pop to Epcot. If i don't do the tour today i will probably do it on Thursday or Friday We might have friends come up from Jacksonville, Florida to spend the day / night at the parks w/ us. That includes my mom's friends and her two kids. If we don't end up doing the tour at Epcot we plan to hit the Studios in the morning followed by Animal kingdom in the afternoon.


Tuesday-November 15

Get up, eat breakfast at everything pop, and depending whose there, and what everyone wants to do, we might go to Hollywood Studios.Depending on whose there and what everyone wants to do, i think we will be going to Magic Kingdom in the morning then head Downtown Disney in the afternoon for our ADR @ Raglan's Rd followed by a Night at Magic Kingdom for EMH.


Wednesday - November 16
November 16 is my brothers 27th birthday and is also my Friend's Birthday... So i'll probably end up getting them a little something from the parks. On Wednesday we are thinking about taking a cab/Mears to Universal Studios/Island Adventure to see the New Harry Potter section of the park. I never been to either of these parks before. In my lifetime I have been to Disney and Sea World that is it. We do however have ADR's for Via Napoli which I am trying to change w/ Sunday's ADR at Coral Reef. If we do go to HP we will probably be back to enjoy some time at a WDW park so that our tickets don't go to waste. If we don't use the ADR we might go to the Brown Derby or somewhere that uses 2 Tables on Thursday.


Thursday - November 17 - Last FULL day
Thursday is our last full day with Table services and more. It's a sad day because we are usually waiting online to call Magical Express for the next day to pick us up from Pop Century and also receive a bill for any souvenirs we buy - which will probably be a few stuff. lol. Our last full day will be filled with things we didn't do or want to redo over again. However if I do manage to do the Segway tour on Monday, i will probably do it on this day...


Friday - November 18 -
Today is our official last day... The day we have to drag our suitcases to the front door while watching new vacationer's start their wonderful Disney Trip.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From past experiences, our schedule never really exists because we are constantly, changing what we want to do the morning of. Sometimes the bus to the park we want to go to is so full we just hop on another bus to another park. Or if we don't feel like going to the restaurant where our ADR's are at (or can't due to technical problems) we will go somewhere else.

One year for example, we had an ADR for Rose and Crown but when we got there there was a kitchen fire so they shut down the restaurant making us wonder around places to eat. We finally got seats at Kouzinna at the Boardwalk w/o ADRs but just barely. lol.

 

[DizFan101]

Traditions​

Well, only 103 days till Disney from today (Aug 2).

Tomorrow (Aug 3) I am calling into Disney World for Free Dining if the chat doesn't come up at work. lol. I am operating Firefox on this computer and is super hard to try to turn off pop up blockers because I don't know how. Anyway, when it comes to Disney World, it is only my mom and I although I have tried and failed to persuade my dad to come this year. He just doesn't like the florida weather or lines. Plus he can't walk too long (knee problems. ). ​

Just a few of our traditions include:

Getting an early flight into Orlando from Newark. This year might be record timing since we're supposed to leave at 6:30am.Hopefully no delays and we'll get to Orlando by 9:30am/10:00am. That way we get a full day in the parks.

Always leave late on the last day to get another day in at the parks. Also I love night flights because you don't have the sun in your eyes. It's also relaxing because you don't have too many people with kids.

since It is just the two of us, we usually split the counter services. We split breakfast and lunch and get our own table service. It's a good way to not pack on too many calories. lol.


We get at least 1 funnel cake as a snack on our trip. It's only a Disney Treat because we don't have it here at home. One year we had 1 cake each and it was too much. lol.

We get a Pop Century Sundae either the last day or the day before. Last year we had the sundae as our dinner and rearranged our Table seating for lunch instead of dinner. That way we both got to have our own lunch's the last day.

I usually get a beach towel each year, but not sure if I am going to keep up w/ this tradition because we have a few too many towels. But I guess you can't have too many towels when it comes to this family. lol.

That's about it folks for traditions. I'll post updates as time goes by.

 

[blairbear]

I just wanted to say a quick hello!

I read your thoughts about what was going on with you in your life. I am sorry to hear you are going through such a tough time. It is hard to think of losing a parent. I hope that things get better for you and that the magic of Disney and the time spent with your mother there will help.

I look forward to reading more of your PTR

 

[DizFan101]

Just an Update​

I decided to do an update to let you know that the trip is still on...for now...I am going through things, but hopefully things will get better prior to the trip.... But anyway, on to Disney. lol. There are things I haven't done at Disney in general and things I want to do this upcoming November trip.

Things I haven't done at Disney:

swam in any Disney Resort pool - unless you count putting your feet in
went on the Flight of Wonder Balloon (in Down Town Disney).
Done any VIP tours
haven't been to Typhoon Lagoon (since 96) and never been to Blizzard Beach
never done a character meal... I'm 24 years old... i'm too old, right?
never done Disney Quest...
Never Resort hopped.

Things I want to do this year:

- Flight of Wonder Balloon
- Segway Tour
- Swim in the Resort Pool.
- Two Words: Sea World

I have been to Sea World in 1996 when I was like 10 and couldn't reach to pet the dolphins which i Loved back then. Very disappointed. So I want to go back again. Since we are so familiar w/ Disney why not go to another park. We were thinking about Harry Potter but I'm not that interested in Harry any more. I'm not a huge Roller coaster fanatic so I don't think it will be for me. I like roller coasters that have the support over your shoulders and is in the dark so you can't see the height you can drop from. lol. So we'll do Sea World for a half day or so on Wednesday then come back to the "world" for our ADR at Via Napoli.

This year we might have a lot of people join us at the parks. Which will make it busy. My mom's friend lives in Florida. She might come to the park Monday to Tuesday with her kids. Then my cousin (2nd cousin relationship) might come with her boyfriend and his kid - from her text she states "We'll be there." We? So I suggest she's bringing her boyfriend and kid. If she comes we'll take her to DHS since she never been there! So excited to show her the rides. She's a thrill ride junky. lol.

 

[ilovedisney1]

Just an Update​

I decided to do an update to let you know that the trip is still on...for now...I am going through things, but hopefully things will get better prior to the trip.... But anyway, on to Disney. lol. There are things I haven't done at Disney in general and things I want to do this upcoming November trip.

Things I haven't done at Disney:

swam in any Disney Resort pool - unless you count putting your feet in
went on the Flight of Wonder Balloon (in Down Town Disney).
Done any VIP tours
haven't been to Typhoon Lagoon (since 96) and never been to Blizzard Beach
never done a character meal... I'm 24 years old... i'm too old, right?
never done Disney Quest...
Never Resort hopped.

Things I want to do this year:

- Flight of Wonder Balloon
- Segway Tour
- Swim in the Resort Pool.
- Two Words: Sea World

I have been to Sea World in 1996 when I was like 10 and couldn't reach to pet the dolphins which i Loved back then. Very disappointed. So I want to go back again. Since we are so familiar w/ Disney why not go to another park. We were thinking about Harry Potter but I'm not that interested in Harry any more. I'm not a huge Roller coaster fanatic so I don't think it will be for me. I like roller coasters that have the support over your shoulders and is in the dark so you can't see the height you can drop from. lol. So we'll do Sea World for a half day or so on Wednesday then come back to the "world" for our ADR at Via Napoli.

This year we might have a lot of people join us at the parks. Which will make it busy. My mom's friend lives in Florida. She might come to the park Monday to Tuesday with her kids. Then my cousin (2nd cousin relationship) might come with her boyfriend and his kid - from her text she states "We'll be there." We? So I suggest she's bringing her boyfriend and kid. If she comes we'll take her to DHS since she never been there! So excited to show her the rides. She's a thrill ride junky. lol.

Well i your never to old to go to a character breakfast. I've been to bunches of them. I've been to Disney Quest and that's alright in my opinion. I do recommend go into the pools just because I love pools.