Is This Real Life?!? - My First Trip in over 16 Years...PTR - FINAL UPDATE 10/15!!

[SarahDreamsInDisney]

HI EVERYONE!!! I'm just a little bit excited, can you tell?

Well this is my very first post, on my very first thread. And frankly, this system of posting things is really complicated, since I'm such a newby, but I'm hoping to get the hang of it quickly. So please be gracious and helpful as I get started...

SO...

This is my pre-trip reporting zone and I guess the area where I share all of my information and plans before I head out for Disney.

But first a little background info...

First, me!

My name is Sarah and I'm a 24 year old daycare director extraordinaire from a suburban town outside of Portland, Oregon. Growing up, my family...mom, dad, DSister21 and DSister17, have always been Disney lovers at heart but didn't make many trips to either WDW or DLR. Although I spent 12 years of my life growing up in a small town in central Georgia (you would think we went to Disney World ALL the time huh?) I have only been to DW three times...and not since...drum roll....1995!!! Agh!!! Yes I know, I've never seen the Animal Kingdom or have any memories of DHS, well back then it was MGM Studios anyway. So needless to say, this upcoming trip is definitely needed and well deserved!

Secondly, there is my wonderful husband, Ken!

Ken is (as of now!) a 25-year-old Disney-park hater. Honestly, he would rather not be going on this trip. BUT he made me promise that we would go to DW before we had kiddos of our own so we could experience it as an adult couple, alone. We've been married for a little over a year now and plan on going to graduate schools next year, so the time has never been better before school takes over...and who knows when the whole kiddo thing will happen for us. Anyway...Ken only went to DisneyLAND once as a child and once with my for Spring Break of 2008. Big mistake. It was extremely crowded with wall-to-wall people, CM's directing traffic, 30 minute waits for CS food ...a true nightmare for someone who didn't want to be there anyway. So my goal is to convince my Canadian husband that this upcoming trip is worth all of the money we've been saving by approaching it carefully, organized to a T, and hopefully following the great planning strategies from Touring Plans to maximize both of our enjoyment.

Our wedding last summer on Oahu

Up next, an attempt to link and explain how we came to plan our trip, when we're going!, where we're staying and our itinerary. But like I said, I don't know how to use this stuff, how to post a link to another post or why I can't upload photos...so give me some time to figure it out...suggestions would be greatly appreciated! See you all again soon!!!


Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Why
Chapter 2: The When and Where
Chapter 3: ADR's and Dining Schedule
Chapter 4: The Foods I Can't Wait to Try!
Chapter 5: Is This Real Life?
Chapter 6: A New Goal Attained!
Chapter 7: Paid in Full!
Chapter 8: Let's Get Festive
Chapter 9: A Special Delivery
Chapter 10: Our Countdown Really "Begins"
Chapter 11: A Few of My Favorite Things...
Chapter 12: Packing Already? Plus some changes...
Chapter 13: Tickets to the Magic
Chapter 14: Two Weeks to Go
Chapter 15: Single Digits and Online Check-in
Chapter 16: Movies, Music and Accesories
Chapter 17: Tomorrow, Tomorrow, We're Leaving Tomorrow...
Chapter 18: Off to Disney World!!!

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[ZFamily5]

I'm in! And first I think!! You can't post pictures until you've posted 10 times. Can't wait to hear more about your plans!!

 

[SarahDreamsInDisney]

yay yay yay!!! yes you are first...the very first! ha ha I went around to various threads and managed to scrounge up 10 posts...now I can put the pictures in...thanks!

 

[ZFamily5]

yay yay yay!!! yes you are first...the very first! ha ha I went around to various threads and managed to scrounge up 10 posts...now I can put the pictures in...thanks!

Can't wait to see them! You can come post on my TR if you want!

 

[SarahDreamsInDisney]

wait...I still don't see how to do that??? help!!!?? I see the logo to attach an image, but it's only available as a URL...how do I get regular photos from my computer on there??? I really appreciate your help, I warned everyone I have NO idea what I'm doing!

 

[ZFamily5]

wait...I still don't see how to do that??? help!!!?? I see the logo to attach an image, but it's only available as a URL...how do I get regular photos from my computer on there??? I really appreciate your help, I warned everyone I have NO idea what I'm doing!

You have to upload photos from a file on your computer to photobucket. From there you click on the URL under each picture and paste it here. When it posts, it shows the picture, not the URL. Hope that helps!!

 

[SarahDreamsInDisney]

You have to upload photos from a file on your computer to photobucket. From there you click on the URL under each picture and paste it here. When it posts, it shows the picture, not the URL. Hope that helps!!

ah ha! That was what I needed to know! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

 

[SarahDreamsInDisney]

Chapter 1 - The Why?


As previously mentioned, my DH Ken and I promised each other to go to DW someday before we had kids. Growing up, my entire family LOVED all things Disney, so my youngest sister, Nathalie-17, was promised a trip before she graduated high school. She is a senior this year. So my family had joined RCI network that uses time share points for places around the world. They decided that THIS was the year for them and booked time share points at a World Mark/RCI resort really close to Disney World. And the best thing yet, they decided that my DH and I would be able to stay in their condo with them for FREE!

The only problem...the trip was scheduled for December 21-29th. Uh oh. As fun as a Disney Christmas sounded, I was a little suspicious of bringing Ken to DW at THE most crowded time of the year. Unfortunately, and without thinking rationally, we quickly committed and had time approved off from work without thinking much about it. I started doing some research and came across this crowd calendar and panicked. There was no way I would get my DH to consciously commit to that considering our previous excursion to DLR for a very crowded spring break in 2008.

This photo is proof that not even a ride on Pirates could cheer up Ken in 2008...

So after hours of careful deliberation we hatched our own plan to enjoy the Disney magic the same year as my family but still have a more enjoyable, less crowded time....

I then began researching quiter times at DW...and since we don't have any kids yet, school schedules weren't something we had to consider---work goes year round so let's take time off!

I then came across this crowd calendar and knew that we had a much better month on our hands!!!

Next up, the when and where!

Click here to continue!
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[SarahDreamsInDisney]

You have to upload photos from a file on your computer to photobucket. From there you click on the URL under each picture and paste it here. When it posts, it shows the picture, not the URL. Hope that helps!!

Ok ZFamily5, another question for you...how do I make a link of my subsequent posts so I can do a table of contents at the beginning??? I see how to make links, but I'm not sure what "address" or "url" to give the post to know what to open...make sense? help again?

 

[ZFamily5]

Ok ZFamily5, another question for you...how do I make a link of my subsequent posts so I can do a table of contents at the beginning??? I see how to make links, but I'm not sure what "address" or "url" to give the post to know what to open...make sense? help again?

In the top right hand corner of each of your posts, there is a post number. Click on the post number and then that post will pop up individually with it's own URL. Hope that helps!!

 

[ZFamily5]

First of all, love your wedding picture (and the other pictures too, for that matter)! We went to Hawaii last summer and loved it!! I agree with not taking your DH busiest time of the year! Can't wait to hear when you're going!

 

[SarahDreamsInDisney]

Chapter 2 - The When and Where?

When I last left off, my DH and I had realized a Disney trip in October would be much more pleasant than a wall-to-wall December trip. Now we had the unfortunate task of telling my family, whom we had already confirmed with/promised to go in December with, that we were changing our plans, ditching them and going on our own in October. BUT I decided that I didn't want to be wishy-washy anymore; we needed to be 100% committed to our new idea. So I decided that Ken and I would actually formally book our trip so that when we told my parents and sisters, there would be no going back or convincing us otherwise.

We had our week set, now we needed a resort. I thought I would have a better chance convincing Ken this trip was worthwhile if we went with a value resort and went as cheap as possible. As I showed him photos of the choices, he asked, "Well what would we get if we spent more money?". So I began researching Moderate resorts.

We automatically ruled out the Fort Wilderness Cabins because we live in the Pacific Northwest and would NOT want to go on "vacation" to facilities that look similar to what's around us for local vacationing. I didn't want anything too cartoon-y because we don't have any kids I was really trying to impress Ken...who remember, doesn't want to be on this trip anyway and didn't grow up loving on Disney...and thought he might see fiberglass alligators at the Port Orlean's Resorts as silly. I will say now, I've heard great things about POFQ and would not be opposed to staying there someday.

So now it was down to Coronado Springs and Caribbean Beach Club. I showed Ken some photos and he was undecisive (see, he really doesn't care ) so the choice was up to me. However, when I saw the photos of the updated rooms at Coronado, I knew it was the one for us!

Thankfully, we had a little pixie dust sprinkled over us the week before because we had just received a hefty tax return and I knew we could immediately purchase plane tickets and pay a deposit on the trip so I was ready to book! I booked our flights first on Orbitz, since I knew I would need to input the Magical Express Information, and then booked everything else through the Disney website. Easy.

So...here are our details as to WHEN and WHERE!

Dates: October 16th-October 22nd (although our plane leaves Portland on Saturday the 15th, so I'm using that as my countdown date )
Arriving Flight: PDX to MCO arrives at 12:01pm on 10/16
Accommadations: Disney's Coronado Springs Resort...Standard Room
Disney Dining Plan: YES
Departing Flight: MCO to PDX leaves at 6:00pm on 10/22

Oh yeah...I forget to tell you that after this step, I talked to my family. They were a little sad and surprised that we would not be sharing in a Disney Christmas with them; however, they were happy that we were doing something we really wanted to do on our own. And they still liked the idea that we would be sharing experiences in the same year so we could celebrate for each other! I felt better knowing they would be excited for us on our adventure.

Next up...I've got a rumbly in my tummy for some yummy foods! ADR's and dining schedule are NEXT!

Click here to continue!


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[Oliquig]

Hi, I'm joining in! CS looks great, I had never seen the updated rooms before. Hopefully the lessened crowds will improve your husband's attitude towards Disney.

 

[ZFamily5]

October seems like a great time to go to Disney World! We were supposed to go then back in 2001, but due to my grandpa's health complications, we weren't able to go. I will have to live through you for my October experiance at the World. Coronado Springs looks amazing!! We can't stay there because there are too many people in my family, but my aunt and uncle stayed there and LOVED it! Can't wait to hear all about your dining choices!

 

[SarahDreamsInDisney]

Hi, I'm joining in! CS looks great, I had never seen the updated rooms before. Hopefully the lessened crowds will improve your husband's attitude towards Disney.

Awesome! Thanks for joining in! The rooms were pretty much the deciding factor since I wanted things to feel modern, clean and really relaxing. One more perk which I'm excited about too, Coronado doesn't share buses with other resorts since it's the "convention resort" so maybe that will mean less waiting?? And I'm also hoping and praying that the crowds are not too big for his enjoyment!

 

[SarahDreamsInDisney]

October seems like a great time to go to Disney World! We were supposed to go then back in 2001, but due to my grandpa's health complications, we weren't able to go. I will have to live through you for my October experiance at the World. Coronado Springs looks amazing!! We can't stay there because there are too many people in my family, but my aunt and uncle stayed there and LOVED it! Can't wait to hear all about your dining choices!

Thanks again for your help explaining how to post things accurately! I'm really looking forward to the mix of moderately warm weather, special events (Epcot Food and Wine Festival!) and small crowds. I hope your grandpa is ok now. And you're more than welcome to live through my trip...Lord knows I've lurked and lived through so many other's! I'm glad you're along for the ride.

 

[Merida]

Subbing! I really like the wedding picture - everything is so blue in the background! Did you stay in Hawaii for your honeymoon?

I really like Coronado Springs as well (really, the only moderate besides Port Orleans) and it's because of the updated rooms too! I love the bedding. I associate nice, clean white bedding with fancy hotels (probably because it's not possible to have nice sheets with two rowdy cats in the house!).

 

[ZFamily5]

Thanks again for your help explaining how to post things accurately! I'm really looking forward to the mix of moderately warm weather, special events (Epcot Food and Wine Festival!) and small crowds. I hope your grandpa is ok now. And you're more than welcome to live through my trip...Lord knows I've lurked and lived through so many other's! I'm glad you're along for the ride.

You're welcome! I know I had to get lots of help when I first joined the boards! Are you going to MNSSHP? Actually, to make a long story short, we had a trip planned in October and my grandpa had a heart attack and passed away about 3 weeks before our trip. I was only 5, so I wasn't terribly disappointed about the trip being cancelled, but I still want to go back in the fall. Sorry to hijack your PTR!

 

[SarahDreamsInDisney]

Subbing! I really like the wedding picture - everything is so blue in the background! Did you stay in Hawaii for your honeymoon?

I really like Coronado Springs as well (really, the only moderate besides Port Orleans) and it's because of the updated rooms too! I love the bedding. I associate nice, clean white bedding with fancy hotels (probably because it's not possible to have nice sheets with two rowdy cats in the house!).

Ha ha thanks for joining! I'm with ya' on the bedding at Coronado, I also associate the crisp, modern look as being a more upscale experience

Before the wedding, my husband's family and mine flew out to Oahu for a week of vacation before our wedding, then the wedding day happened and then my new husband and I honeymoon'd on Kauai for a week afterwards. It was very relaxing and I certainly did NOT want to come back to work after two weeks in Hawaii!

 

[SarahDreamsInDisney]

You're welcome! I know I had to get lots of help when I first joined the boards! Are you going to MNSSHP? Actually, to make a long story short, we had a trip planned in October and my grandpa had a heart attack and passed away about 3 weeks before our trip. I was only 5, so I wasn't terribly disappointed about the trip being cancelled, but I still want to go back in the fall. Sorry to hijack your PTR!

I'm terribly sorry to hear about your grandpa. You'll have to plan another trip in the fall in his honor. I was going to talk more about MNSSHP a little later...but I don't want to leave you hanging...my short answer is "no" but you'll have to stay tuned as to the explanation and reasoning behind that, I know a lot of people will think I'm crazy!