I don’t know where we’re staying, but I know where we’re eating! May 2011 *NEW 5/10!

[Joyciemc]

Thank you all for being so kind... it is hard to explain how much of our life was Otis-related. We'll be mostly ok, then suddenly get hit with the reality that he isn't here and have to go through it all again.
We got a sympathy card today and that made me cry all over!

But it's only been a week, and I think we're doing ok so far.


I'll have a more positive update soon, I promise.

 

[klacey1]

Oh, Joyce, I'm so sorry about Otis. Our pup died very suddenly in June and it was the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with. I still tear up about it now-- believe me, I understand your pain. So sorry.

 

[loganpaulsmom]

Joyce I am joining in too.. first sorry for your loss of otis.. second. .we are both from MA..and third we were both married in April (although I was married 11 years ago in April).. i am looking forward to seeing more of your trip report.. I have made one for my trip too.. (sadly no one has joined yet).. Anyway, maybe we will run into you at the World.. we are going May 4th thru the 12th..

 

[TheThomsLuvDisney]

So sorry for the loss of your Otis, it sounds like he was an amazing pet and truly loved .

 

[Joyciemc]

Joyce I am joining in too.. first sorry for your loss of otis.. second. .we are both from MA..and third we were both married in April (although I was married 11 years ago in April).. i am looking forward to seeing more of your trip report.. I have made one for my trip too.. (sadly no one has joined yet).. Anyway, maybe we will run into you at the World.. we are going May 4th thru the 12th..

Thanks for joining! Great to have another MA person around
And I am excited to have another May trip to read along with!

Oh, Joyce, I'm so sorry about Otis. Our pup died very suddenly in June and it was the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with. I still tear up about it now-- believe me, I understand your pain. So sorry.

Thank you, Kylie. We go back and forth between being fine, then something will remind us that he's not here and it's sad all over. But it does help that we got an 'extra' two months after he first got sick. It's the worst part of having pets- but I guess it's worth it...

So sorry for the loss of your Otis, it sounds like he was an amazing pet and truly loved .

He was the best cat. Anyone that came into our house was immediately greeted with a purring white cat in their lap. He was no angel, though- when he was younger he would randomly attack my head for no reason. But his cute way outweighed the bad stuff!
Thank you for your kind thoughts.

 

[Joyciemc]

Ok, I'm going crazy over here. There are two things I want to book for our trip, but I've been waiting cause they need to be pre-paid and we don't want to part with our money sooner than we have to.
But the pessimist in me is convinced that they'll be sold out soon and I want to just get them squared away so I will know our trip schedule for sure! So I'm going to book them this month, but I'm trying to wait until this credit card statement closes. Just a few days now!

So what am I talking about?

First, there's the Backstage Magic Tour!
This is what disneyworld.com has to say about it: Doesn't this sound like fun?

At Epcot, we'll reveal some of the exquisite details that make The American Adventure one of our most popular attractions. You'll see Main Street, U.S.A. at Magic Kingdom theme park in a whole new light after your guide leads you through a hidden world—the legendary underground "Utilidor" tunnel system. I originally wanted to do the Keys to the Kingdom Tour which stays at MK. But then we figured, what the heck? Let's go nuts!

Take a break with a family-style lunch at the Whispering Canyon Café inside Disney's Wilderness Lodge. I've never been to the WL and I wanted to eat at WCC last trip but we didn't. Not that lunch is the highlight of this tour or anything Then, see how horticulture and landscape design play a starring role in creating an endless variety of uniquely themed environments at the Walt Disney World Nursery & Tree Farm. This also intrigues me, kinda like the Behind the Seeds tour, which we really liked!

Head to Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park and see how Walt Disney Imagineers combined cutting-edge design with breakthrough technology to create the thrilling Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. I love the ToT! This would be amazing! Here, as in every corner of Walt Disney World Resort, wardrobe is an integral part of the magic, so you'll learn how the Creative Costuming team outfits the performers in Disney parades and shows. Finally, wrap up a most wonderful day at Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park with an up-close look at Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade.


So yeah, I am stoked to do this and really want to hurry up and get it squared away!

The other thing we're hoping to do is the Backstage Safari at Animal Kingdom:
The Backstage Safari tour at Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park provides a 3-hour insider's look at the innovative ways that Disney Cast Members care for its animal inhabitants.

Do you love animals? Are you curious how Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park looks after more than 1,700 animals representing 250 different species?

Find out how on this behind-the-scenes walking tour that offers a revealing look at the new and creative ways Disney's wildlife specialists meet the unique challenges of animal care and behavior—all while running a lushly landscaped Disney Theme Park and promoting wildlife conservation.

Get up close to a variety of spectacular and majestic animals in their backstage habitats. Talk with animal keepers as you visit the Animal Nutrition Center, explore the state-of-the-art veterinary hospital and discover other backstage facilities. Learn the story of how every day 3 tons of food is prepared, distributed and fed to the animal residents of Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park.


This one is perfect because we don't really want to ride the Safari anymore, but still really like AK. Now we'll have a different way to enjoy it. We'll probably do the tour, stay for a ride or three on EE, then head to another park.

Of course, this all depends on us being able to book the tours for when we need them. I already made ADRs based on the days I'd like to do the tours, so I really want to get it all settled!

Have any of you done either of these? What'd you think?

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

Ok, I'm going crazy over here. There are two things I want to book for our trip, but I've been waiting cause they need to be pre-paid and we don't want to part with our money sooner than we have to.
But the pessimist in me is convinced that they'll be sold out soon and I want to just get them squared away so I will know our trip schedule for sure! So I'm going to book them this month, but I'm trying to wait until this credit card statement closes. Just a few days now!

So what am I talking about?

First, there's the Backstage Magic Tour!
This is what disneyworld.com has to say about it: Doesn't this sound like fun?

At Epcot, we'll reveal some of the exquisite details that make The American Adventure one of our most popular attractions. You'll see Main Street, U.S.A. at Magic Kingdom theme park in a whole new light after your guide leads you through a hidden world—the legendary underground "Utilidor" tunnel system. I originally wanted to do the Keys to the Kingdom Tour which stays at MK. But then we figured, what the heck? Let's go nuts!

Take a break with a family-style lunch at the Whispering Canyon Café inside Disney's Wilderness Lodge. I've never been to the WL and I wanted to eat at WCC last trip but we didn't. Not that lunch is the highlight of this tour or anything Then, see how horticulture and landscape design play a starring role in creating an endless variety of uniquely themed environments at the Walt Disney World Nursery & Tree Farm. This also intrigues me, kinda like the Behind the Seeds tour, which we really liked!

Head to Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park and see how Walt Disney Imagineers combined cutting-edge design with breakthrough technology to create the thrilling Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. I love the ToT! This would be amazing! Here, as in every corner of Walt Disney World Resort, wardrobe is an integral part of the magic, so you'll learn how the Creative Costuming team outfits the performers in Disney parades and shows. Finally, wrap up a most wonderful day at Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park with an up-close look at Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade.


So yeah, I am stoked to do this and really want to hurry up and get it squared away!

The other thing we're hoping to do is the Backstage Safari at Animal Kingdom:
The Backstage Safari tour at Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park provides a 3-hour insider's look at the innovative ways that Disney Cast Members care for its animal inhabitants.

Do you love animals? Are you curious how Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park looks after more than 1,700 animals representing 250 different species?

Find out how on this behind-the-scenes walking tour that offers a revealing look at the new and creative ways Disney's wildlife specialists meet the unique challenges of animal care and behavior—all while running a lushly landscaped Disney Theme Park and promoting wildlife conservation.

Get up close to a variety of spectacular and majestic animals in their backstage habitats. Talk with animal keepers as you visit the Animal Nutrition Center, explore the state-of-the-art veterinary hospital and discover other backstage facilities. Learn the story of how every day 3 tons of food is prepared, distributed and fed to the animal residents of Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park.


This one is perfect because we don't really want to ride the Safari anymore, but still really like AK. Now we'll have a different way to enjoy it. We'll probably do the tour, stay for a ride or three on EE, then head to another park.

Of course, this all depends on us being able to book the tours for when we need them. I already made ADRs based on the days I'd like to do the tours, so I really want to get it all settled!

Have any of you done either of these? What'd you think?

I have never done but the backstage magic tour sounds like so much fun! I'd love to go through those utilidors and learn about the costuming. When we went on PoTC last year I turned and said to fiance "Wonder how much they spend on costumes alone here" as everyone is dressed in their specific themed outfit. The detail Disney puts behind everything just amazes me, the tour sounds like a lot of fun!

 

[klacey1]

The backstage magic tour sounds really fun-- especially the TOT part! Lunch at a sit-down sounds like a nice way to break up the day, too---we can't wait to eat at WCC next trip! Menu looks sooooo good.

 

[Joyciemc]

I have never done but the backstage magic tour sounds like so much fun! I'd love to go through those utilidors and learn about the costuming. When we went on PoTC last year I turned and said to fiance "Wonder how much they spend on costumes alone here" as everyone is dressed in their specific themed outfit. The detail Disney puts behind everything just amazes me, the tour sounds like a lot of fun!

I cannot wait to do this tour! A whole day of traipsing around WDW learning stuff and peeking behind the scenes

The backstage magic tour sounds really fun-- especially the TOT part! Lunch at a sit-down sounds like a nice way to break up the day, too---we can't wait to eat at WCC next trip! Menu looks sooooo good.

I was surprised to read that a sit-down lunch was included (I mean, it should be for the price, I just assumed it would be CS type place).
I've wanted to try WCC for a while, so it's extra cool that it's part of the tour!

 

[Joyciemc]

I am totally exhausted and I am about to head to bed (nice and early on this rocking Saturday night. Oh the joys of working weekends!) but I got my second wind when I started doing a little trip planning.

We booked the tours!!!! We got both on the days we wanted, and there was a 15% DVC discount on each of them. I wasn't sure that Backstage Magic had the discount, so that was a very cool bit of information!

AND we booked our flights! The best part is that when I first looked on Southwest.com, they priced out $20 more than what the price ended up being. Still way more than I am used to paying for flights... does anyone else remember flying roundtrip to Orlando for less than $200? Oh well...

We are flying out of Providence on 5/1 at the insanely early time of 6:30am. But that means we get into Orlando at 9:20, plenty of time to have some fun on arrival day!

We fly home 5/6 at 3:25pm. I wanted a later flight, but the price went up a lot and it just wasn't worth it. So I'm not sure what we'll end up doing on departure day, maybe just hang out at the resort (whichever one it ends up being!)


I also booked ME for travel to/from the airport.


Now that all those things are taken care of, I'll be posting our daily plans soon!

 

[jelloarms]

The Backstage Magic tour sounds really fun! I was thinking of booking that too actually.

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Both of the tours sound amazing! I'm so glad you go them both booked - and exactly when you wanted them! I would love to do the Safari tour. I think that would be so interesting.

 

[Stefy]

I'm sorry to hear about Otis

Coolbeans about booking both tours, the Backstage Safari is really good. We did that on our second trip and it was alot of fun and really informative. You'll have a great time

 

[Joyciemc]

The Backstage Magic tour sounds really fun! I was thinking of booking that too actually.

I can't wait for it! Though I am going to have anxiety about being late or not meeting at the right place- they'll leave without you! We'll set two alarms that morning, I think!

Both of the tours sound amazing! I'm so glad you go them both booked - and exactly when you wanted them! I would love to do the Safari tour. I think that would be so interesting.

I'm glad we got them on the right days- ADRs were based around them and I didn't want to have to try to switch things. It is nice to have it all settled now! Though I wish it was May already!

I'm sorry to hear about Otis

Coolbeans about booking both tours, the Backstage Safari is really good. We did that on our second trip and it was alot of fun and really informative. You'll have a great time

Thanks, Stefy. I had a dream about him last night, and instead of being sad it made me feel better, so I think that is progress.

Glad to hear that the Backstage Safari was good. I'm really looking forward to it!
Hey, you're going to DLP soon! I can't wait to hear about it- never get to see much about that park

 

[Tracy161]

Yay for the tours! I cannot WAIT to hear all about them!!!

 

[Stefy]

Thanks, Stefy. I had a dream about him last night, and instead of being sad it made me feel better, so I think that is progress.

Glad to hear that the Backstage Safari was good. I'm really looking forward to it!
Hey, you're going to DLP soon! I can't wait to hear about it- never get to see much about that park

That's lovely that you dreamt of him. Means he will always be forever in your hearts

You will have a blast on the tour and you get a neat mug and pin too afterwards

Yep 1 week today until DLP, can't wait. Just praying that the snow doesn't affect our travel too much.

 

[annmarieda]

So sorry to hear about Otis. It is never easy to lose a pet.

Congrats on getting the ADR's and the tours!! I will be anxious to hear how the tours go. I have never gone on one and I think our next trip I will have to consider doing one.

Merry Christmas!!!

 

[Joyciemc]

Yay for the tours! I cannot WAIT to hear all about them!!!

They're the highlight of the trip!

That's lovely that you dreamt of him. Means he will always be forever in your hearts

You will have a blast on the tour and you get a neat mug and pin too afterwards

Yep 1 week today until DLP, can't wait. Just praying that the snow doesn't affect our travel too much.

Hope you two are having a fantabulous time at DLP!!

So sorry to hear about Otis. It is never easy to lose a pet.

Congrats on getting the ADR's and the tours!! I will be anxious to hear how the tours go. I have never gone on one and I think our next trip I will have to consider doing one.

Merry Christmas!!!

I'll keep you posted!
I'm already thinking of what other tours I want to do (Segway tour at WS is tops for the next trip)

 

[Joyciemc]

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I hope everyone had wonderful holidays and that 2011 is a spectacular year for all!

We've been quite busy around here, but the decorations are finally away and the New Year's Eve party clean up is finished. Now I can focus on what is truly important: Disney World in a little less than four months!

I spent some time today neatening up my planning notes (ADRs and other booking info was all scrawled on several sheets of notebook paper... now I've got it all nice and neat in a Word document). In the midst of that, I was working on day by day itineraries. And in the midst of that, I started thinking about things that we wanted to accomplish (and avoid) this time around. So that brings us to the always popular....

List of things we want to do this trip
-Spend plenty of time relaxing at our resort (or other resorts). As DVC members staying on points, we can pool hop. Though having been a DIS member since 2002, the words 'pool hop' make me edgy and nervous... I'm gonna feel like an outlaw
-Try some new restaurants. We've got ADRs booked for new places, and plenty of unscheduled meals so we can try different CS places. This will also free us up to wander around more.
-Get pictures with the characters. I thought I'd get a lot last time, but ended up with just one with Alice. I hope to do better this time.
-Use Photopass more. I think I'll pre-pay for the CD so we'll be more inclined to seek out photographers.
-Bring the Hidden Mickey book. We forgot it last time and ended up taking pictures of pages in a store in Epcot. It was embarrassing. I will remember the book this time.
-Wishes. I am breaking my own 'no nighttime spectacular shows' rule. But I must say, I've been hankering to see this lately...
-Jellyrolls. We balked at the $10 a head cover charge, but I think we'll go ahead and splurge this time around.


And just as important (in my mind, anyway)...
List of things we don't want to do this trip
-Toy Story Mania. Unless the wait is 5 minutes, we will not ride this. Read my last trip report if you'd like to know why... the ride kicked our butts emotionally. And we are pretty obsessed with ToT, so our Studios time is better spent there.
-Soarin'. Still have no desire to re-ride this one. I figure by the next trip, I'll be interested again. Maybe.
-Fantasmic, Illuminations, parades. Despite my cold little heart melting enough for me to want to see Wishes, it has not warmed enough to justify waiting and planning the amount of time it takes to watch these things.
-Check into a dirty room. We have no control over this one, but I hope Disney gives us a break this time around!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

I'm joining in. Better late than never, right? I was going through major Disney blues. So much so that I was convincing myself that we didn't need a trip to the world this year. Yea...okay! Now that we have a trip in the works, I'm feeling quite like myself again!

As far as southwest and less than $200 flights go, are you referring to the total cost for 2 people round trip? That would be amazing! I snagged us some $69 each way flights to MCO for our cruise next month in the beginning of December and I am pretty happy with that!

The Backstage Magic Tour sounds like so much fun! I want to look into a trip for our next trip. How long is this tour?

Let me know how the resort time goes! I think I need to change the way I do that this trip!