I won a free trip to WDW! - 5 nights 02/25 Polynesian

[lisalawless1979]

I was the grand prize winner of a contest through Brides.com for a free trip to WDW! This is 5 nights at a resort, including park passes. (We have to pay air fare, and food). This is the pre-trip report because I'm too excited NOT to write about it. I've been to WDW once before, and am taking my BFF (from jr high!) with me because she's never been and we LOVE going to DL together. We're both turning 30 in '09, so this is also our 30th birthday celebration!

Background:

I'm a long time Disney fan - of the theme parks, that is. I watched Disney movies (I do know all of the lyrics to all the songs for Little Mermaid, Aladin and Beauty and the Beast...) as a kid but didn't keep up with that part of the Disney experience. I was in love with the Disney princesses as a little girl. I grew up in southern Arizona, so trips to Disneyland were the highlight of my kid experience and I've continued it in to teen and adult years. I've gone more times than I remember to DL, and in 2006 I took my boyfriend (DBF) and his daughter (DSD) on our first trip to WDW! We were there 8 days, at Concierge Wilderness Lodge and had a blast. I've been looking forward to taking another trip but not the cost (we must have spent close to $6k on that trip...)

What I love about visiting the parks the most is the theme-ing and how the parks keep you in the "magical" moments. I have so many great memories of being a kid and skipping around enjoying everything I saw. As a teenager I went on trips with a youth group where my BFF (also coming with me on this trip!) and I would get to wander around the parks on our own, causing trouble (at times) and having a blast in the way teenage girls can.

As a kid I never got to stay at the DL Hotel or eat at the restaurants on site, so when we went to WDW and I had the money, we went allllll out. We got a stretch Happy Limo to surprise the DD, concierge level with balloons and chocolate for her birthday, cinderella's castle dinner, bibidi bobidi boutique, etc. I think I was more excited than she was!

I'm going to be posting pictures from the last trip and also talking more about DBFF and myself. I just wanted to start this so I have a place to come back to!

I'm also starting the planning. We're at the Polynesian 02/25 for 5 nights, MK view!! We'll be taking Magical Express. Other than that, we don't have any ADRs or days picked out for specific theme parks. More on that later!

Gotta go do NYE stuff, I'll be posting more on this soon.

 

[lisalawless1979]

The more I've been reading other TRs and going over photos from our last visit...now I'm bummed it is ONLY 5 nights. Talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth...this is a FREE trip! Part of the problem is, coming from Seattle, my flight doesn't get in until 10pm! So by the time we use ME and get checked in, etc, it'll be time to go to sleep. On our last day my flight is at 3pm so there won't be a lot of time for much. So that means we're really only there for 4 full days!

A couple things I'm considering:

1. Change my flight to leave earlier, getting in at 3pm. Won't have time to do much but will give me more time to settle before starting next day, plus could do dinner or an evening show. I got super cheap tix to orlando (non stop for $220 from Sea!!) so changing will be an extra $150. Going to have to hope for some magical answer here....

2. Last day is Monday morning, March 2, and there are EMH for AK. Thinking of getting up early and seeing the animals early when they're out. I've only been to AK once, during August, and the park was pretty miserable and the animals didn't want to come out I am not sure if we want to spend one of our 4 entire days at AK so this could be a good way to see the park for a few hours plus not have a wasted morning! We'll see, I'm not really a morning person

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

Wow, how exciting. 5 days is better than none!!!
I hope you and your BFF have a wonderful time!!!

 

[lisalawless1979]

Wow, how exciting. 5 days is better than none!!!

YES!! You are right - I think I'm just bummed being snowed in without power here! Brighter days are in my future!!

I hope you and your BFF have a wonderful time!!!

THANK YOU!! I know it is going to be a blast

 

[lisalawless1979]

As mentioned in previous post, we were at WDW in August 2007. So, to help get me through the next 51 days (!!!) I'm going to write bout the last trip!

The cast:

Me: Late 20s, liberal, professional geek, lots of Disneyland trips in my past but first disneyworld trip! And first time staying on resort!
DBF (engaged as of 02-08!): early 30s, skeptical, not big on Disney, great dad and good to travel with.
(his) DD: Turning 7, previous Disneyland trips but first Disneyworld trip, also first time saying at a Disney resort. it was her 7yo birthday present trip!


We stayed at Wilderness Lodge Concierge and had a blast for 8 days! Here are some photos from the trip:

First surprise for the DD - we got a limo to the park from the airport

Our welcome letter with chocolates (the first of many chocolates left for us in the room!). Loved this step. Arriving at the lounge, everyone was so welcoming and the suite was a relief to see after the long flight from Seattle.

The view from our suite!

Autopia is a favorite of all of ours!
DD driving (the horror!):

I'm smiling way too big!

We didn't spend very much energy waiting to meet characters, so when we saw these guys getting off the tea kettles and no line we hurried over for an autograph! Asking sweetly...

DBF and DD in front of the castle!

Somehow I think this look is becoming....

Love the hats!

Future Disney Bride?!

BBB! We brought our own dress, found on EBay! Great dress, very pretty:

Castle Dinner for her birthday!

Rained out at MK! Unfortunately this was the Pirate and Princess party night. On one hand, it meant *no line* and no crowds for anything. ON the other hand we were wet and the big rides were closed due to lightning Lots of trips on POTC!

At Disney Studios...I'm a big nerd!

We loved our visit to the Poly for breakfast, and found the grounds so beautiful (this is why I'm staying at Poly in Feb).
Tonga Toast!

In the lobby:

At AK, I think this was DBFs favorite part of the trip...

We got soaked on the rapids!

Face paint at AK:

This guy lives in the concierge lounge and we saw him a lot! We had him try on DDs hat while she posed...

Posing in the lobby of WL. This was closed for refurbishment until our last day, so we had to get a pic!

DD couldn't get enough of the pool and slide - on our last day we checked out, left our stuff with concierge and got a couple more slides in before having to catch the plane:

I couldn't believe 8 days went by so fast! I had planned to do a TR after we got back but I was too bummed! We'll see if I can keep it up this time around...

 

[Disney Darling]

CONGRATULATIONS!!! How exciting to win a trip! This is a dream of mine.

I'm enjoying reading so far. Keep us posted!

 

[KibbyCat]

The more I've been reading other TRs and going over photos from our last visit...now I'm bummed it is ONLY 5 nights.

Couldn't you just spring for an extra few days? Room-only rates are really cheap right now, and if you "upgraded" the tickets you won (if that's even possible), you'd only have to pay the difference.

A couple things I'm considering:

1. Change my flight to leave earlier, getting in at 3pm. Won't have time to do much but will give me more time to settle before starting next day, plus could do dinner or an evening show. I got super cheap tix to orlando (non stop for $220 from Sea!!) so changing will be an extra $150. Going to have to hope for some magical answer here....

If you're already thinking of changing your flight, I'd say go ahead and make your trip longer.

Just a thought....

 

[brandip22]

How exciting! Congrats! I never win anything- I need to try to do that more often!
So, I agree with pp- see if you can add a few extra days to your trip. Even if you had to change resorts to Pop, those few extra days would be more than worth it!!
Have fun and keep us posted!

 

[Villainess]

I am going to 2nd or 3rd adding a few days to your trip to make it longer especially since you are losing out on the first day! How wonderful to win a trip - I never win contests.

 

[lisalawless1979]

Thanks for your tips, guys. I hadn't thought of extending the trip, but obviously if I'm willing to spend $150 for an extra 7 hours I should consider extending another day or two! I have to find out if I can get the time off from work...but otherwise will keep this in mind! Thanks!

Hmm, I really loved WL CL on last trip. Hmm...thinking...what if I spend the last night WL CL and enjoy that hot tub I'm so bummed about missing at the Poly?? Plus I really loved eating at Artist's Point! It is funny because I live in the Pacific Northwest but in some ways they do it better than we do here

Funny story about Artists Point - they carry a huge selection of Washington wine and had a bottle from my DBF's mom's winery! We brought a copy of the wine list home so she could see her wine being carried there

 

[lisalawless1979]

YeeHaw! Just got this email...

"Your reservation is confirmed for the 1st March at 09:00 PM for 2 at the
Victoria and Alberts."

We're going to celebrate our 30th birthday in style! Of course, that means getting up early on the 2nd might be a little difficult......

I told them it was our birthday, but they asked if it was a surprise for my bff. Is there anything they do differently for surprises?? I'm super excited about Victoria and Alberts - if you've been I welcome your comments!

Still thinking on spending another day. But the cost of dinner can be a factor here....


Sort of unrelated - I just started using a "virtual concierge service" today called http://asksunday.com. I sent a request with dates and times and our names, and he took care of all the details of making the reservation! It is my own concierge 24x7! I'm really excited about it, and since I hate doing things like calling people for appointments and reservations, I think this could be a huge relief! If you're looking for this kind of service you should check it out! And if you sign up...pm me for my info so I can get the referral credit

 

[lisalawless1979]

Got alerts on new airfare for $150 on united from Seattle on the dates of my trip. Since that is the min I'd pay to change my flight, doing it this way I'd end up with a Delta credit so I'm considering it. The deal is, there is a red eye that will arrive Tuesday morning. Has anyone done the red-eye to Orlando? Is it just not enjoyable to hit the parks and services when you haven't showered? I can sleep on a plane pretty easily!

I was thinking of changing to the red eye leaving Tuesday night (so I don't have to take any time off of work), arriving at 9AM Wednesday. Drop off my stuff at Poly and then kicking around for a day until my BFF arrives at 7pm that night. I've never hung out at Disney solo, so that's another thing to consider!

 

[lisalawless1979]

I can't believe it is already less than a week until I leave! A few updates

1) Delta lets you change your flight day-of for just $50 (assuming there are seats available), so I'm going to call early on Wednesday morning and try to fly earlier. There's a chance the flight will be sold out, but I'm resigned to letting chance win out over paying that extra $100!

2) I was offered a new job in Seattle! One I'd been interviewing for the last month, is with a profitable company doing something I love

3) I gave informal notice to my current (stressful/too many hours) job on Friday while working in New York. Which means my week in WDW will be an extra celebration of moving on after 6 years of working with the same company!

4) I play roller derby, and unfortunately sustained an injury this morning that I'm afraid will prevent me from being able to walk by Wednesday without assistance I'm trying to remain optimistic but also need to look in to mobility options while at the world...I can't believe the timing on this!

More on the roller derby life in the next post. For now...anyone have tips for getting around with a wheel chair (where do you get them? how much, etc) or some kind of scooter while I'm there?

 

[lisalawless1979]

About 5 years a group of women in Seattle got together to start playing this crazy new version of the sport most people are familiar with - Roller Derby. The rules were based on the old school, banked track derby that many remember seeing on TV when they were kids, but this version is all-female, skated owned and operated, and on a flat track, making it easy enough to find space to practice and play without investing a lot of money. We based our rules off of the already formed Texas Rollergirls and went from there, making most of it up as we went along.

I'm going to make the story a little more interesting by throwing in some of my favorite personal derby pics!

5 years later and our league just played an opener at the local sports venue in front of 4,000 fans! It has been a trip, and I'm thankful for the opportunity to participate in such a fun, female oriented, competitive environment.

I get asked this all the time so I will tell you: yes, it is REAL. Nothing is scripted, we have refs and rules and tournaments and practices just like all the other sports out there. No, we don't get paid. All of the money from bouts goes back in to paying for our practice time and to run the organization.

Watching this sport grow from a group of girls who like to drink beer and thought it'd be cool to knock each other over on skates to seeing it grow to something closer to a franchise has been amazing! The fact that we get to keep our fake names, wear entertaining outfits and are encouraged to have personality while maintaining serious athleticism is one reason I continue to dedicates hours of physical and emotional time, give up lots of girls' night outs, and put my body through this kind of pain every week

Up until last week, I had never been seriously injured. Unfortunately, a poorly timed fall from a skater on to ME while we were scrimmaging caused me to strain my hip flexors and pull or tear my adductor. Very painful! Also unfortunate timing for my trip!

Luckily I have the disboards, and have been able to quickly read up on being mobile at WDW with a temporary disability. I've rented an ECV from Walker - who was very helpful and threw in the insurance for free!, have wheelchair assistance arranged for the flight, and will be bringing my crutches for when I am not having to go long distances.

The injury isn't so bad that I'm completely immobile. I'm on ice and rest and elevation and some pain killers. Mostly I have to avoid putting weight on my left leg, and lifting the leg or doing stairs is not very fun

The good news is this is treatable with physical therapy and rest, and the dr says I should be able to be on skates within a month. It'll be a long month!

Still, I'm looking forward to this trip and am too excited to pack, if that makes sense! I should be getting in at about 7pm to the Poly, and can't wait to relax with one of those pineapple drinks :-D

 

[DWFan4Life]

Congratulations, that's great. May you have a nice time and enjoy. All of the pics are awesome.

Have a safe trip.

 

[lisalawless1979]

I'm back! Was a whirlwind 5 night trip at Poly and we hit all the non-waterparks! I can't believe how much we packed in there, including multiple trips on Everest, Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, RNR, and I even went on TOT twice (but not more than that...)! Ate at Coral Reef, Citricos, Tusker House, Kona and Victoria and Alberts!!

I did my whole trip in this:

And, while it was trying for me to deal with depending on others to get around, altogether it was probably the best place to be with an injury!

I'll be posting a TR later, hopefully, after my pictures are uploaded and the photopasses are assembled. This is my first TR, so any requests for what you'd like to see are appreciated!