Is Disney World the Only Place You Go? A Bro and Sis PTR Feb. 2011-TR Link added!

[IheartDDuck]

So, as my PTR title suggests, people are under the impression that the only place I visit is Disney World. While this is not entirely true, it is the place that I visit most frequently. It makes me so happy to be there and takes all of my cares away.

This is a trip that I am taking just with myself and my brother Jason. Here's a brief rundown on the cast:

Me - Danielle

I am 29 years old, and my favorite thing to do is to travel. I love to read and write. As you may have guessed, Disney is my favorite place to visit, and I am now over 20 trips strong. I work as an accounting supervisor for a catalog company, and I'm currently working on my Master's Degree. I will have graduated with my Master's in January, right before this trip occurs.

Partner in crime - My brother Jason

This is Jason and his son Joaquin on our trip to the world in October of 2009. Joaquin will not be joining us on this trip. I will explain why in a moment. Jason is 33 years old, and he is very competitive. I guarantee that a theme on this trip will be who wins on Buzz Lightyear and Toy Story Midway Mania and how many times. Jason works in the IT field, and we actually work together. So as if we don't see each other enough on a daily basis, we travel together too.

This trip came about because I really wanted to go and visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We are taking a family trip to the World in July of 2011 for my parents 40th anniversary, and I was hoping that on that trip, we would take a detour to Universal. However, my plans were debunked by my older brother, who said that my SIL and niece would not enjoy Universal. So, I tried to figure a way to get down before then.

So, I went to Jason and asked if he would be interested in going on a trip with me. He was all for it. He said that he would need a break from Joaquin for a period of time. Now, so people understand, here is why. Jason is a single father, and Joaquin bounces back and forth between Jason and his mom. Jason has Joaquin most of the time, because of how scheduling works out for them. That being said, Joaquin is a rambunctious almost 3 year old now. On top of this, Jason has recently had some health problems that were unexpected. He needs a break, and he knows it. I had told him that if he wanted to bring Joaquin along for the ride, I would be totally fine with it, but Jason said no. Joaquin will be joining us on our family trip in July though, so we'll be able to have a good time then.

I wanted to go when it was cold and less crowded, so we opted for February 5th to 12th, 2011. Our original plan was to book at Pop Century. However, then my wonderful father came in to help us out.

Dad -

He told me that he wanted me to use their DVC points to go. The reason behind this is because he wanted to thank me for taking them to Paris and Belgium in September. Long story short, my mom immigrated here from Belgium when she was 15 and hasn't been back. I wanted to do something big for them for their anniversary this year, so I bought the three of us airline tickets to Paris. So, Dad told me he wanted me to use the timeshare because without the plane tickets, we obviously would have never made it to Europe. Thanks Dad!

So, now we had to decide where we were going to stay. Jason and I made short work of that and quickly decided on the Boardwalk Villas. We both love this resort, and we love the convenience of it. So my mom called and we got in! Score!

So now we are at the BWV from 2/5-2/12/11.

I will be laying out our itinerary shortly, but our plans are to go to Universal for two days so we can take full advantage of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and get ample Disney time as well.

Stay tuned for each days itinerary and the most important part......dining!

 

[IheartDDuck]

What's the most important thing that Jason and I discussed when we made these plans? Dining of course! I had a goal when planning this, and it was to eat in places that either Jason has not eaten or I have not eaten. There are some that don't fit this criteria, but these are places that we have not dined at in quite some time. Jason has not been fortunate enough to go as many times as I have, so really I didn't add as much input into the dining plans as normal. Since this is his trip to get away, I wanted him to be the one that was thinking through what he wanted to eat. We opted out of the dining plan. I am an annual pass holder, so I am opting for Tables in Wonderland instead. We are also planning on doing a *ahem* beer tour around Epcot. Not all in one day though. I admit wholly and freely that doing that would not be a good idea for me. That being said though, I want to partake in most of the libations that Epcot has to offer.

So, first and foremost, here are our dining plans. We also talked through it and made tentative counter service plans as well. We have no breakfasts planned. This is because we are renting a car since we will be going to Universal for two days, so we are going to stop at the grocery store and pick up some basic breakfast provisions to save some money.

Saturday 2/5 - Arrival Day
Biergarten - 7:05pm - This is Jason's favorite restaurant, and I love the atmosphere. Plus the beer......can't forget the beer.

Sunday 2/6
Flame Tree Barbeque - Lunch
Cosmic Rays - Dinner

Monday 2/7
Rose & Crown - 1:05pm - Anyone ever tried the beer flight here? Mmmmm, it's good. Very good....think I like beer?

Tuesday 2/8
Boma - 8pm - Jason has never eaten here before, which I didn't realize. I have eaten here several times, and it's one of my favorite buffets. I love all of the different selections of food.

Wednesday 2/9
Tony's Town Square - 1:30pm - We ate here in October of 2009 and Jason love it, so I suggested it again.

Thursday 2/10
Wolfgang Puck Express for dinner - This will likely be our shopping night, so we both suggested Wolfgang.

Friday 2/11
Bistro de Paris - 6:30pm - I'm stoked about this. Neither one of us have eaten here before, and we are sacrificing table service restaurants on two days just so we can try it. This is one of the reasons that we opted out of the dining plan, since it is not a dining plan restaurant.

Saturday 2/12
Sci Fi Dine In - 11:35am - I have not eaten here in a few years, and have never eaten here for lunch before.

Me being the dork that I am, I have also plotted out all of the beer locations in Epcot. The plan is:

Mexico - Cantina - Dos Equis
Norway - Beer Cart - Carlsberg
China - Tea Stand - Tsing Tao
Germany - Biergarten - Various
Italy - Tutto Italia Kiosk - Moretti
America - Fife & Drum - Sam Adams
Japan - Kaki Gori - Kirin
Morocco - Coffee/Pastries - Casa
France - Patisserie - 1664
UK - Rose & Crown - Various
Canada - Snack Cart - Various

Oh yeah, I've got that all planned out.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Here is our itinerary for our departure day.

We fly out of Milwaukee's airport. It is an easier airport to handle than O'Hare or Midway. Plus for me, it's easier to get to. Mom or Dad will drop us off at the airport so we can save some money that way. Yay Mom and Dad!

Our flight is on AirTran departing at 7:35am. It's a non stop flight, so we will be arriving at about 11:15am.

I have opted to rent a car for this trip, since we are going to Universal for two days. So, the plan is that Jason can wait for the luggage while I go to Thrifty and get us our car. Hopefully I'll be finishing up with the car information when Jason is ready with the luggage.

After that, we are going to make a few stops before checking in at the hotel. The first stop is to pick up our Universal tickets and Jason's Disney ticket. I will have my annual pass already, so there won't be a need for me to get one for myself. We have a corporate website with work that offers us discounts on park tickets, and their office is about 1 mile off property. I think they're associated with Orlando Fun Tickets, but I'm not entirely sure.

After this, we'll be stopping at a grocery store, either Winn-Dixie or Publix to pick up some breakfast things and snack foods. I'm all about saving money. And, I need to make sure I don't forget to bring the Garmin, because trust me, even though I have been to Disney so many times, I still get lost when I get off property. Go figure.

Once these two errands are complete, it's time for us to go and check in at the Boardwalk!

My guess is that by this time it should be at least 1pm, if not later. That's fine with me, because my hope is that our room will be ready when we check in.

If the room is ready, I always like to unpack right away and freshen up. I like to get settled in right away and make myself at home.

After this, the rest of the day is pretty much open until our dining reservation that night. Since we're walking distance from Epcot, that is our plan for the rest of the day.

Our first mission will be to get something to eat, but nothing that is too filling. I don't want to get an entire counter service meal, because I want to be able to enjoy my buffet at the Biergarten that evening. So, I think the plan is just to play this part of the day by ear.

We made no attraction plans on this day, but Jason and I will always find something to do. I find myself to be a hybrid kind of a traveler. I like to plan things out, like where I'm going that day and what we will eat, but other then that, I typically don't plan out attractions 100%. I will have in mind what I want to do.

One of our stops will likely be La Cava. Love the margarita's! That's got to come before the beer.....according to drinking lore.

Our dining reservation is at 7:05pm on this night. I wanted to give ourselves enough time to enjoy a leisurely meal, but with enough time to spare in the end to watch Illuminations. I am determined to try to get good pictures of Illuminations! However, I don't know how that will go. The last time I ate at the Biergarten and then tried to take pictures of Illuminations, for some strange reason that I can't figure out (*cough*), I couldn't hold my camera steady. Wonder why that happens?

Just to fill you guys in, contrary to what I may seem like, I am not a lush. I just can't hold my liquor. Three beers in, I'm done. So consider the size of the beer at the Biergarten.....yup, Illuminations pictures just won't come easy after that.

What's also nice about this with Illuminations is that we can walk back to our hotel. No crammed buses for me! This leads me into a little side story of how bad beer and crammed buses are for me....

About 4 years ago, we took a last minute trip to WDW over Thanksgiving. Right, so just think about the crowd levels. We managed to land ourselves a room at Port Orleans French Quarter. Well, Jason and I on this particular trip branched off from our family to go to Fantasmic!. We watched the show, and then decided that we wanted to go to Illuminations, because we had never watched two fireworks shows in one night. By some grace of God (and the Epcot boat), we made it to Epcot with about 45 minutes to spare before the show. This was one of the nights that there were two Fantasmic! shows, so we saw the 7pm showing I believe.

Well, give Jason 45 minutes and he'll have a great time. So where did we go? Yup, the Rose & Crown to sit at the bar. Well in about 45 minutes we had two Irish Car Bombs and each had a yard of Guiness. Let's just say that I was feeling gooooood. I laughed the entire time during Illuminations because apparently neither one of us could hold the camera straight. So after the show, we're ushered out with the huge crowds. I was so loopy that my lovely brother had to hold my hand out because there were so many people. He didn't want me to get lost.

So we make it to our Port Orleans French Quarter stop, and there's a huge line! At this point, it's all hitting me. I'm loopy, I'm tired, and I'm ready to hit the sack. So we all cram into one bus. I don't know how it happens. And I'm standing, not sitting.....and loopy.....and unbalanced. All of the people that were sitting by where I was standing were laughing at me because I was a sight to see. I had to apologize to this one guy sitting by me over and over again, because the bus would turn, I would tip, and inevitably step on him. Many times.

This is why I'm happy we're at the Boardwalk.......

 

[IheartDDuck]

So have I mentioned before that my brother is a procrastinator? Oh yeah, he is a giant procrastinator. So about a month ago, he asked me if I had requested the dates of our trip off as vacation yet. I told him that I hadn't, but that I was going to submit it soon. My boss is very easy going and has never denied any of my time off requests.

As an accountant, I'm fully aware that there are certain times during a month that I can't take off because we have to close the books each month. As long as my time off doesn't coincide with those dates, then he doesn't ask questions. Anyway, I digress. He said that he was going put his request in too.

So now we are about a month later, and I ask him "Have you requested the time off yet?"

Jason: "No."

Me:

I mean, I'm not a paranoid person when it comes to time off, but his boss is also not my boss. Meaning, I can't predict if his boss is going to say no to him.

He basically told me that he was going to tell his boss that it is non-negotiable, that he needs this time off. With all of his health problems lately, and the fact that we are a company of 150 people with two IT guys, sufficed to say he needs this vacation.

So about three days ago he put it request in......and still hasn't gotten a response about whether or not the time off is okayed.

I am sure he's going to get the time off, and I'm trying to stay calm, cool, and collected.

I am not a procrastinator. Scratch that. I am not a procrastinator when it comes to vacation. Sure, maybe a little bit in other things, but not when it comes to Disney.

Let's just hope that his boss approves his time sooner rather then later.

 

[IheartDDuck]

As I try not to have a full fledged meltdown because Jason hasn't gotten his time off approved yet, I will move forward with our itinerary.

Sunday February 6, 2011

Plan: Animal Kingdom AM

Must do's: Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safari, Dinosaur

I love Animal Kingdom, but more as a touring park then as a park with attractions. That said, we only have three must do's there. Everything else will be an in addition to. I do love the shows, but mostly I like to just walk around. And I refuse to do Kali River Rapids. If you ever wonder why, just read here.

No It's Not a Nice Wave Pool

Plus, it's likely it will be cold.

Our plan is to eat breakfast in our room with the light breakfast provisions that we would have purchased at the grocery store. Then for lunch, where else but Flame Tree Barbeque. We are both fans of this counter service location, and I like to sit and relax in the back by the water.

After we finish with Animal Kingdom we will be off to....

Magic Kingdom PM EMH

My favorite park of all time. This embodies Disney for me, as I'm sure it does for many people. Since it's magic hours, we may relax at the resort for a while first, then go to Magic Kingdom.

I have five things on my agenda for this evening.

1) Wishes

2) Dinner at Cosmic Rays (my favorite)

3) Beat Jason on Buzz Lightyear

4) Beat Jason on Buzz Lightyear

5) Beat Jason on Buzz Lightyear

I'm a simple girl with simple dreams really.

Stay tuned for: More beer? (Anyone know what Disney cartoon that's from?)

 

[bkandreu]

Let me begin by saying I absolutely LOVE cosmic rays! anyway, very good pretrip report so far.. i'm curious to find out whether he gets the time off approved! let's hope he does!You've been to Disney so many times! When was your first time going? Just curious. I'd like to know how the Sci Fi is for lunch. I've never been there for lunch either! Anyway, very nice pre-trip report and cant wait for more!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Let me begin by saying I absolutely LOVE cosmic rays! anyway, very good pretrip report so far.. i'm curious to find out whether he gets the time off approved! let's hope he does!You've been to Disney so many times! When was your first time going? Just curious. I'd like to know how the Sci Fi is for lunch. I've never been there for lunch either! Anyway, very nice pre-trip report and cant wait for more!

Let me first say

I'll keep everyone posted on whether or not his time off gets approved. I'm optimistic about it.

The first time we went to Disney was in 1985 when I was four years old. When I was younger, we didn't go as often because we weren't able to afford it. We went 4 times between 1985 and 2001. The majority of my trips occurred after I turned 20, because my parents bought into the Disney Vacation Club.

I'll post all of my details on dining when I post my trip report after we get back, so I'll be able to share our experience at lunch at Sci-Fi. I'm not a huge fan of their dinner menu, but I've heard and read on the DIS boards that lunch is better.

Thanks for joining.

 

[DVCWDWMEMBER]

So glad that you and Jason will be going. You will have a wonderful time for sure. I can't say that I am envious because you and I are going in 10 days.

 

[IheartDDuck]

So glad that you and Jason will be going. You will have a wonderful time for sure. I can't say that I am envious because you and I are going in 10 days.

Even though you're my mom, I figured I would give you a welcome.

I know, we'll be there before we know it. Which reminds me, I need to do online check in soon.......

 

[DVCWDWMEMBER]

Even though you're my mom, I figured I would give you a welcome.

I know, we'll be there before we know it. Which reminds me, I need to do online check in soon.......

Thanks for the welcome I can't wait to have an awesome time at WDW

 

[IheartDDuck]

Onward to day three! Hopefully I get some more people along for the ride!

Monday February 7, 2011

Plan: Epcot AM

Must Do's: Soarin', Test Track, Mission Space, Spaceship Earth.

I love Epcot in the morning. The plan will be to get here for rope drop. Obviously we will follow the giant crowds to Soarin' to pick up fastpasses.

The AM will be spent getting our must do's done. Must do's done. Ha ha. That sounds funny.

Our reservation on this day is at the Rose & Crown at 1:30pm, where I will once again visit with my good friend, the beer flight.

And maybe, on the way out, a pit stop here.

Our next plan this day is:

Plan: Hollywood Studios PM EMH

The only thing I want to do here is Fantasmic! If we can do more, then obviously we will. However, I do know that Toy Story Mania tends to be crowded. But, at PM EMH, you can potentially wait in line if you are patient and wait until the end of the night.

I love Toy Story Mania.

Pitiful scores, right? This will get better. I'm working on some wrist exercises!

Next Day: Harry Potter!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

HI DANIELLE!!! I'll join this PTR as well!!!

How great for you and your brother to be going! I'm 25 and my brother is 23 and we did a similar trip last March for my birthday. I never thought that our ages, we would pull something together like that, and manage to get along lol. For us it was a last min trip and we stayed at POP! I'm all about any trips to WDW and my boss at work even comments how I go to WDW more than the mall..she's right

 

[IheartDDuck]

HI DANIELLE!!! I'll join this PTR as well!!!

How great for you and your brother to be going! I'm 25 and my brother is 23 and we did a similar trip last March for my birthday. I never thought that our ages, we would pull something together like that, and manage to get along lol. For us it was a last min trip and we stayed at POP! I'm all about any trips to WDW and my boss at work even comments how I go to WDW more than the mall..she's right

Hi Megan!

My brother and I have gone on lots of trips together, but always with family. We thought it would be interesting to go with just the two of us.

As for me going to WDW a lot, the people that I work with just don't understand why I like it so much. I try to explain it to them, but they still don't understand. They've just never really experienced the magic I guess.

 

[IheartDDuck]

So I was tossing around an idea in my head today. Sometimes I don't know where I come up with these things. I think I've been reading too many trip reports!

I have always thought about doing deluxe dining, but the quantity of food terrifies me. I'm still trying to lose some more weight, and I don't think that much food would help me out any!

So I asked my parents what their thoughts were before I even brought it up to Jason. See, Jason loves food, and he's a genetically blessed male that can eat obscene quantities of food and not gain weight. Me.....I look at a brownie and I gain a pound.

We're not on the dining plan right now. So that would mean that I would have to cancel the Bistro de Paris, because it's not a dining plan restaurant. Plus, it's obviously more expensive.

However, then I had an idea.

Jason had mentioned wanting to eat at Cinderella's Royal Table for breakfast, because it's his favorite breakfast establishment. (Pretty much for the stuffed french toast). We had opted out of any breakfasts, so we didn't make a reservation. Well, then I got to thinking. Instead of doing the deluxe dining plan, maybe I would just see if I could swing a reservation at CRT. I thought it unlikely, but what the heck. So I search a range of dates, and what do I find?






CRT on Wednesday February 9th at 8:35am!

And to boot, this is my Magic Kingdom day! No changing anything around necessary!

I haven't told Jason, because this will be my surprise. I am going to try my best to not tell him until we get there. We'll see how that goes, because I am not that good at keeping secrets. At least not this kind.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Joining in! I see you're in Chicago...so we're kind of neighbors. Sounds like a fun trip with your brother. We always fly out of Mitchell too since we're in Milwaukee and have taken those 7:30 am flights several times.

Can't wait for more of your plans!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Joining in! I see you're in Chicago...so we're kind of neighbors. Sounds like a fun trip with your brother. We always fly out of Mitchell too since we're in Milwaukee and have taken those 7:30 am flights several times.

Can't wait for more of your plans!

We're actually closer then you think. I live in Illinois right on the border of Wisconsin, but since most people go when I say where I'm from, I always say Chicago. I'm like equal distance between Chicago and Milwaukee, I just really don't like O'Hare that much.

I'll have more plans up soon! I'm going to hop over to your PTR and check it out.

 

[IheartDDuck]

So I had made this reservation for Cinderella's Royal Table, and I didn't want to tell Jason until we were just about to go. Remember I said I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to keep it to myself?

Yup, I couldn't. Apparently I can't keep a secret to save my life. I ended up telling Jason where we were going to have breakfast. He was very excited to find out we would be going there. I'm glad he was happy about it. I just can't keep good news like that inside!

You know those new commercials that they're showing for Disney? Where on Christmas day, the parents tell the kids that they're leaving for Disney World in a few hours? I am telling you, that would never be me. Never tell me good news and expect me to keep it I guess!

Jason still hasn't gotten his time off acknowledged either. I am so trying my best to not freak out.

Of course, this prompts my dad to say to me "Well, if he can't go, I'll go". And he keeps saying it over and over again. I think my dad wants to go?

I will post more about our itinerary when I get back from my upcoming trip!

 

[DVCWDWMEMBER]

Wait a minute here if Jason can't go then how come your dad can go. We need to have a drawing of names here

 

[IheartDDuck]

Wait a minute here if Jason can't go then how come your dad can go. We need to have a drawing of names here

Um, maybe I'll just go by myself?

You can both come if you'd like to........if he can't go.

 

[wdwgirl03]

haha, I don't know if I could keep a Disney-related secret either. It's just too hard to keep from sharing the excitement!

BTW, I love those new Disney commercials. They are so cute. I even went on youtube one day to look for them, which of course led me to other "surprise Disney trip" videos which was so fun to watch. It amazes me how many people do that!