I hope I finish this one....Trip Report!!***updated 04/09/08***

[Dav2205]

It's that time again. Time to get excited for another trip to Walt Disney World .

Now I did start a trip report for my trip last September, but due to illness/uni starting back and general forgetfullness of what we did (I didn't take notes - shame on me!!) I kind of gave up after day 2 or 3. Having learned my lesson though, I'm back and more organised than ever .

Lemme just make a quick recap of our trip last September. We went for a week to the AKL with free dining. It's probably easy to work out that we had a total blast!!! The dining plan was great, we're usually a family that would mostly eat counter service meals and would generally go in June/July. Having the opportunity to try so many great eating places and not having it really interfere with our park time as it was a slower part of year was so refreshing . We knew that we would have to do it again!

So when the Free Dining package was announced again for this year, we snapped it up. Unfortunately our first choice of AKL was unavailable when we booked for the package so we went for POFQ instead. We already visited this hotel in 2001. It was our first on site stay and it holds a special place in our hearts as it was also our first trip away without my dad (my mum and dad separated in 2000) and after a bit of nervousness on my mum's part we had an unforgettable trip.

You may think that this trip is pretty much going to be a carbon copy of our trip last year? Well you'd be quite wrong, because there was one major difference. This year we would be joined by my Stepdad, and he is not what you would call a Disney fan .

So without further ado, the cast for the trip -

Me - 19 years old. Is dreading turning 20 so I have taken to telling everyone I'll be 19+1. Currently at University studying Maths + Computer Science and having a blast. There's no place I'd rather be than WDW .

DB - My wee brother, 15 years old. HE's the thrill seeker. Will try anything and usually drags me with him whether I like it or not. Likes getting his own way, so teenage hormones can sometimes be an issue .

DM - My mum, 25 years old ( ). Loves Disney World, said the happiest place on earth is more than a simple marketing campaign. Likes to plan but leaves the research up to the more computer literate me .

DSF - My stepdad. Huge cynic of this holiday. Is really only going to please my mum, and I'll explain in the next chapter (which will probably be up tonight) where his cynicism came from and how we managed to convince him this trip was a good idea.

So that's the four of us. I'll be posting info about our itinerary, ADRs and other random stuff in the next 5 months till the trip. I'm sure I can find loads to talk about Disney wise. What will be told? Well you just have to wait and see .


Index

Background Info - Post #1
How we convinced the Disney cynic - Post #10
ADRs and our basic itinerary - Post #15
International Program thoughts - Post #19
Some small ramblings - Post #25
Random stuff/My Favourites - Post #30
Day 1!! - Post #36
Day 2- Post #40

 

[jjk]

great start,looking forward to reading more

 

[natalielongstaff]

Fab start looking forward to more !

 

[Strommie]

Great start

 

[jen_uk]

Looking forward to hearing more

 

[The Fetherstons]

Good start, Looking forward to the next

 

[2ScottishPrincesses]

Looking forward to hearing how you all lured your Stepdad over to the dark side

 

[DisneyJo]

Sounds great, what are your dates? We're at POR from 14th to 28th August

 

[mark&sue]

can't wait to read more


susan

 

[Dav2205]

Thank you for all the kind comments . I'm going to try and update this every couple of days, either with some info about the trip, our fav Disney things, amusing stories about our Disney experiences or just stuff about my life to keep this going .

Sounds great, what are your dates? We're at POR from 14th to 28th August

We'll be there from the 23rd to 30th August. We very well may share a bus one day .

How we got a Disney cynic to agree to go to the world

A bit of background is needed here first of all. DB and DM have been to Florida 4 times between 1997-2007. I have been 5 times (I went with 3 of my friends in August 2006 - best holiday ever!). DSF has never been to Florida, heck he has never visited the US.

His perfect holiday could be summed up in one that he took in summer 2006 when the rest of us went to Florida (I know I went twice in a year, how lucky am i? ). DSF went to the Alps for two weeks and by the end he had climbed Mont Blanc with a group of complete strangers he had only just met. He is an avid climber, and while he can't understand our love for Florida we can't understand his love of climbing a mountain . It throws up some interesting conversations, a classic being me or DB claiming that we have climbed four mountains in Florida the last few trips and at least we've been to Everest . He has always viewed WDW as very commercial and even described it as 'too fake' for his liking to our total horror.

Getting him on this trip took multiple tactics -

Tactic 1 - Good old fashioned bribery DM had possibly the best tactic. It wasn't total bribery, there was a bit of good old fashioned guilt thrown in there as well. Hints of "Why won't you just come once?" "It's our favourite family holiday. Why won't you come with us?" and "Just think of all the things I do for you that I'd rather not?" chipped away at him for many weeks and surely contributed to his agreeance.

The bribery part was simple - if he agreed to come to Florida, DM said she would go on a holiday he wanted to go on in June while I'm on holiday with friends in Spain and DB is away with his friend's family to Holland both for two weeks. So literally last week they booked to go away to the French alps for a week to do some walking and sightseeing. DM never tires of bringing up what she had to do for this holiday to us .

Tactic 2 - Do some stuff he'd be interested in DSF has actually been to Disneyland Paris with us. I'll just have to say, he hated Disneyland Park but funnily enough enjoyed the Studios park much more! This was only a year after it opened as well and there was barely anything there. So it was clear that we needed to point out things he would enjoy. I went onto the WDW website, and started showing him Epcot (specifically Soarin, Test Track and World Showcase), MGM (Both stunt shows) and Animal Kingdom (Safari, Festival of the Lion King and the trails.). I didn't really bother showing him what was in the Magic Kingdom as this was the exact stereotype of Disney he didn't enjoy but he'll just have to deal with it when we get there.

He's also hugely interested in space travel, so he and DM will be visiting Kennedy Space Centre as this was the one thing he said that if he went he REALLY wanted to do, and who are we to deny him of it? DB and I will be visiting Universal Orlando on this day as we're old enough to be let loose for at least a day and will just meet up later. A visit to the much-hyped-in-our-family Cirque du Soleil was also promised .

Tactic 3 - FREE FOOD!!!!! This was an easy one. DSF loves to exercise and eat healthily, but the minute we step off a plan on holiday he becomes a greedy sod . I swear when we visited Canada he didn't stop eating for the two and a half weeks we were there! He even put DB and I to shame which is no mean feat!

When we came home from our free dining trip last year, DM broke it down and explained that we were paying ~£80 per person per night (I may be slightly wrong on this) which included flights, accommodation to a deluxe hotel, tickets into the Disney theme parks and basically all our meals and snacks. Even DSF had to admit that it was an impressive deal! I'm sure he was also licking his lips at the prospect of Le Cellier and Califoria Grill after our glowing reviews last year . I realise that this year due to the dining plan changes it isn't quite as good a deal, but we still thought it was good enough to hold off til the end of August to go. I'm also hoping that the mega summer crowds have at least died down a little. Wishful thinking? I sure hope not .

Anyway, it appears that a combination of these three factors resulted in DSF relenting and agreeing to join us on this trip! This is merely phase one of my bigger plan. By the 30th August I fully intend to have him scouting for hidden mickeys and be sporting his own highly fashionable Mickey ears! . And hey even if he decides WDW isn't for him at least he tried it and got to stuff his face for 7 days .


Well, that's it for this second installment. I will most likely post another update tomorrow as Uni is slow at the moment. Will either be an ADR post, Itinerary post or simply something about my favourite Disney stuff .

Until then, I hope you are enjoying my Pre Trip Report and will stay with me for the long haul .

 

[jjk]

fully intend to have him scouting for hidden mickeys and be sporting his own highly fashionable Mickey ears! . And hey even if he decides WDW isn't for him at least he tried it and got to stuff his face for 7 days .

excellent,this had me laughing out loud good luck

 

[Minniespal]

Looking forward to reading more

 

[arieljasmine]

Enjoying your trip report, especially hearing about how you convinced your stepdad to go on the trip. You can't beat free food

Laur's

 

[wicket2005]

Excellent start, looking forward to reading more. I hope your stepdad ends up loving his holiday.

 

[Dav2205]

ADRs and basic itinerary

The ADRs are booked . DM did it yesterday and we got everything we wanted. Below are the places we'll be eating and a basic idea of what we'll be doing each day.

Saturday 23rd August

Flight from Glasgow-Orlando Sanford with MyTravel. We depart Glasgow at 11am and will land in Orlando around 3pm.
Transfer to Port Orleans French Quarter. We need some advice here. Last year we transferred by coach and HATED it. It was uncomfortable, took ages and the pickup time coming back was horrid. We want to preferably go by towncar this year, and need some recommendations of companies to transfer with from Sanford .
Anyway we're hoping to have checked in at POFQ and in the room for realistically 5:30-6:00. Then it will be a q quiet first night. We hope to hit House of Blues in DTD tonight as I've always wanted to eat here . Then it will be a short look around DTD and hopefully an early night.

Sunday 24th August

Our first full day in Disney - YAY!!!!

It's sort of a family tradition to go to Animal Kingdom on our first day, and this trip is no exception. We love this park, and have spent 2 days at it in the past. I don't agree at all that it is a park to bomb round and get out by lunch. We'll hit all our favourite attractions, which is pretty much everything but the fairground attractions in Dinoland. Our plan for lunch will be to cash in a Counter Service credit at Pizzafari. We were one of the mourners when Tusker House changed, and don't like the look of Flame Tree BBQ so Pizza it is.
We'll head to Epcot at night for an 8:05 ADR at Le Cellier. Last year we only managed to get a lunch reservation here so we're looking forward to see what the dinner menu holds in store .

Monday 25th August

The plan of today is to go to DHS. This is another park we can definitely spend the whole day on, riding everything except from TOT (What can I say, we can be wusses sometimes ) DB and I love RnRC though, but my all favourite attraction at DHS is still Muppetvision 3D. IT may be old and perhaps even a little outdated, but it's as charming and really funny. I also think it's different enough to Philharmagic that it can coexist with it.

As we dislike pretty much all the DHS counter service options bar Pizza Planet, we'll be going to the Sci-Fi for lunch. This gets mixed reviews on the DIS, but we love it. I think you just have to take it for what it is, a burger joint with a great atmosphere. We kept it simple with what we ordered and had a great meal.

We'll then wrap up the rest of our attractions and either have a CS at Pizza Planet before Fantasmic or hold off til we get back to the hotel. I have to say that Fantasmic is my all time favourite thing at WDW. The first time I saw it I was completely blown away and mesmerised by it. Repeat viewings have not affected the magic at all .

Tuesday 26th August

We'll start today with a character breakfast at Chef Mickeys. We always do one character breakfast per trip. Chef Mickey lets us meet the big 5 in the best comfort possible with OK food to boot. The atmosphere may be chaotic but we feel that just serves to wake us up .

Today's our Magic Kingdom day. Well I say day, it never really turns out that way. You see with what will be a 16 year old and a 20 year old male in tow, quite a few MK attractionsare eliminated automatically. Some are done through sheer enjoyment (Buzz, Splash, Pirates, BTM, Philharmagic), others through nostalgia (Space, Peter Pan). The Haunted Mansion never bothered us before but I want to see what it's like after the rehab.

I'm also thinking of subjecting my stepfather to one of the following 3 attractions - Carousel of Progress, Hall of Presidents or American Adventure. Your answers on a postcard .

We will probably be done in MK by 3pm,well we hopefully will, as we wanted to get a quick late lunch at RFC. This is another place that gets varying reviews, but we've never had a bad meal and feel that if we can get there around 4:30 wait time will be minimal compared to later on that night.

This is where we'll split up for the first time on the trip. We decided to let the adults have a little alone time, so they'll be doing Cirque du Soleil tonight while DB and I will go to Disney Quest for a few hours . DB will entertain himself with the arcade games and I hope to get some internet time to catch up with friends etc.

We'll then meet up and head to Wolfgang Puck Express, our favourite counter service, before heading back to the hotel and calling it a night .

Wednesday 27th August

Today is our day of (partial) rest . There's a few things we like to do on our quieter days. The first thing is mini golf. DB is supremely competitive and does not like to lose, but hey I can't help being so good at mini golf now can I . We usually go to the Fantasia course, as it is within walking distance of the boardwalk. We'll most likely go to ESPN for an OOP lunch here. I love their chicken wings and nachos .

It's not a very exciting day, after lunch we'll head back to the hotel so DB can go for a swim and the rest of us can relax and have a drink or two (non alcoholic for myself of course , seriously 21 to drink? That is a rant for another day though ).

We have a 7:15pm resi for Jiko this evening. There was two major reasons for this booking - first of all we really wanted to go back and visit AKL as it was incredible last . Secondly, we'd looked at Jiko a few times while staying at the lodge but didn't have enough credits left over so went to Boma instead. This time we made sure to keep credits so we could try this out . We have nothing planned after Jiko, probably just head back to the hotel and relax and prepare for a busy next day.

Thursday 28th August

This is our split day for the group. DM and DSF are heading on a joint Kennedy Space Centre Tour and Alligator Boat Ride. This will mean they are gone from around 8am to 7pm.

On this day DB and I will head to USF for a 2 park marathon day. Our aim is to hit every attraction we want to ride AND stop in for a burger at lunchtime at Margaritaville. The plan is to first head to IOA - we'll try and hit (in this order) Hulk, Spiderman, Popeye, Dudley do Rights, Jurassic Park, Duelling Dragons. We hope that we have enough time for a short walk to hopefully dry out before lunch.

As we'll be paying for it, Margaritaville will be a nothing fancy burger and soft drink affair . It's amazing what happens when we have to pay for something ourselves isn't it .

After Margaritaville we'll head to USO. There are a few attractions here we aren't too bothered about, for example Twister and Jaws. Hopefully we have enough time to go on Mummy, Men in Black and also try out the new Simpsons and renovated Earthquake rides.

If we make it back before the others, we've agreed to go to Disney Quest for a bit and meet DM and DSF in DTD for another dinner at WPE (what can I say, we can't get enough of it .)

Friday 29th August

Our last full day . We'll be going to Epcot today, doing all the main attractions in Future World first using the old get there early and run to Soarin tactic before doing Test Track etc. I will admit that I tried Mission Space Orange last time and didn't care for it at all so we will be giving that one a miss. I hope to have lunch in either the UK or Japan's counter service options .

The rest of the day will then be spent touring world showcase before heading back to the hotel to freshen up for our 8:00 res at California Grill. We did this last year and loved it, and thought that it would be a great way to finish our stay. The greatness of the food will hopefully help keep our minds off the long day we have ahead the next day.

Saturday 30th August

Our leaving day . We won't have to do much more than have breakfast in the hotel then another quick look around before we are picked up for our 5pm flight home .

So that's our basic itinerary. It'll probably change a bit before we go, and we're not that commando in that we schedule everything we do. As long as we have an idea of where we're going and some dining plans we'll be fine.


So, to recap, our dining plans -

Saturday 23rd August

Dinner - House of Blues

Sunday 24th August

Breakfast - Snack at POFQ
Lunch - Counter Service at Pizzafari (AK)
Dinner - Le Cellier at Epcot

Monday 25th August

Breakfast - Snack at POFQ
Lunch - Sci Fi Diner at DHS
Dinner - Pizza Planet or POFQ Food Court

Tuesday 26th August

Breakfast - Chef Mickey at Contemporary
Lunch - Rainforest Cafe DTD
Dinner - Counter Service WPE DTD

Wednesday 27th August

Breakfast - Snack at POFQ
Lunch - ESPN cafe
Dinner - Jiko at AKL

Thursday 28th August

Breakfast - Counter Service at POFQ
Lunch - Margaritaville
Dinner - Counter Service WPE DTD

Friday 29th August

Breakfast - Snack at POFQ
Lunch - Counter Service at World Showcase (Epcot)
Dinner - California Grill at Contemporary

Saturday 30th August

Breakfast - Counter Service at POFQ


Up next - I'm applying for the WDW International Program . All my thoughts on it

 

[DisneyJo]

We're at AK on Sunday 24th and Tuesday 26th at MK so yeah we may share a bus, look for my LGMH's

 

[arieljasmine]

Sounds like you a have great trip planned, loads of excitement and great food. Looking forward to hearing all about the international program

Laur's

 

[jjk]

sounds like a great trip

 

[Dav2205]

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't updated this in a while after trying to commit to regular updates .

It's been a busy couple of weeks. Loads of nights out (I love the Uni social life ) and just general business have meant I literally haven't had the time to update this. I also got some good news today. My university has just relaunched their radio station and my friend and I applied. Lo and behold today I got a reply saying we have a trial run next week with a look to a permanent slot . Definitely looking forward to it to say the least!

Anyway, I was going to talk about something Disney related, and I think it'll have to be the international program as it's on my mind CONSTANTLY at the moment .

The first time I became really interested in the IP was my trip last year. I had noticed a LOT more British people scattered all over the world and not just located in the United Kingdom pavilion at Epcot. Two examples I can remember is a guy from Glasgow loading at Pirates of the Carribean and the man checking us in at California Grill was from Aberdeen. This got me thinking, not all of these people can actually be living in Florida permanently can they?? My head was literally buzzing for the rest of the holiday thinking about this.

My original plan was to try and go this summer, but I soon came to the conclusion that I'll only be 20 and I'd wait a year so I can go to the bars and clubs and get y'know the full experience .

I looked up a few sites -

disneyinternationalprograms.com
wdwip.com

to get some more info. I first of all thought that if you're only going over for a limited amount of time that I could only work in the UK pavilion in Epcot. This didn't thrill me because I didn't particularly want to work there, mostly because I really wanted to work in attractions and of course the UK pavilion doesn't have any! My mind was put to rest though on the DIS college boards when I found out that the International College Program allows candidates to work anywhere on property .

So, I've been giving a lot of thought to where I'd like to end up if I did get through (even though I've not even to apply til September!) and I came up with these. I'd love your opinions on them, and I tried to put in my absolute favourite attractions with one or two of my 'loved but not so obvious' picks. This is mainly because I know with the obvious attractions they're likely to be requested by a lot of people, and I really don't want to end up on It's a Small World or something like that if it's avoidable .

Pirates of the Carribean - Has been my absolute favourite attraction since the first time I went to Disneyland Paris and rode it close to 20 times in 3 days. It's just a totally immersive attraction.

Haunted Mansion - I'm mostly intrigued by it because if you're in the right role it appears that you have to play in character which sounds brilliant!

Splash Mountain - obvious reasons really. Great attraction, one of the busiest on property and looks like it would be great fun.

Muppetvision 3d - right this is the wild card. It's getting on a bit now so I'm guessing it wouldn't be the most obvious of choices?? But I love, love, love it even though it doesn't have the technical brilliance of say Philharmagic. I also think it still has one of the absolute best pre shows around!

So that's pretty much it for my choices, I'd still have loads to sort out if I got in and the thought of it is a tad overwhelming! But I won't get a chance like this again like ever so I'm going to go for it and hope for the best. I'm in absolutely no doubt that I'll love it if I get in .

I'll try and update again soon, have no idea what I'll be posting about but it's Disney so it's all good .

 

[2ScottishPrincesses]

If I were you I'd definately try for Haunted Mansion 'cos as yous say it would be to be one of the creepy characters