It's my first college spring break...I'm going to Disney World! Mar 12 (Updated 6/18)

[Tink9721]

Hi everyone! Welcome to my third trip report!

I'm Christine, an 18 year old college freshman.

This picture is from Feb 2010 but I really don't look any different now.

This is my mom, Nancy. She doesn't like getting her picture taken but I've talked her into character pictures the past couple of years!

As usual, it's just the two of us going on this trip. I love our mother daughter trips! We have a lot of fun. This will be my 10th trip to WDW!

Here's a picture of the two of us with Tigger last year.

If you read my last report, you might remember me saying that we probably wouldn't be going for a while after last February. Well apparently I lied A couple of months ago I started looking at January prices. My winter break goes until January 23, and as most of you know the prices go down right after New Year's. So we had tentative dates set for Jan 7-12. We hadn't booked it yet because my mom knew she had to go on a business trip some time in January but she didn't know when. But I booked the ADR's and had it all planned out just in case. Then in early December we had a family crisis. My grandma fell and had to go to a nursing home temporarily. She came home right after Christmas and we have to take care of some things for her until all of the in home care gets set up, so that made the January trip impossible. I was really looking forward to the Jan trip because of the low crowds and I really wanted to overlap trips with my wonderful DIS friend Meghan (Megablocks). But once we knew it wouldn't work out we started thinking about alternate dates.

We were initially talking about going in May once I'm out of school. I wasn't too happy about that because I knew it would be getting pretty hot in May. Neither of us do well in the heat. I get nasty headaches in the summer and I really didn't want to be feeling miserable during my trip. Then we started talking about spring break. My break is March 12-16. I don't have classes on Friays so we decided to leave on Friday, March 9th. So, a few days after Christmas we went to our local AAA office and booked our trip for March 9-15! I'm thrilled to be staying at my home away from home, the Wilderness Lodge I love pin codes!

I'm a little nervous about the crowds, but the President's Day crowds are pretty bad and that's when we usually go so I think we'll be fine. We'll be taking advantage of Extra Magic Hours and we've scheduled an ADR every day to get a break from the crowds. Honestly, I'll be so happy to be there I don't think crowds will even bother me. I really didn't think we were going this year so I'm just incredibly happy to be going on this trip

If you've followed my other reports, you know I never finished my first one, and barely finished my second one Because of the craziness of my senior year of high school, a family crisis over the summer, and the start of college, there were very long breaks between updates and it took me about 7 months to finish. I'll try my hardest to do better with this report

In my next update I'll share my ADR's!

Only 8 weeks until my trip!!!

 

[MeMom]

As usual, it's just the two of us going on this trip. I love our mother daughter trips! We have a lot of fun.




I'm thrilled to be staying at my home away from home, the Wilderness Lodge I love pin codes!


Only 8 weeks until my trip!!!

As much as I know we would miss the little girls, I would like to take Jill on a long weekend trip someday. We could stay somewhere nice and just let her call the shots. It would be a very different trip - getting on and off buses with no strollers, not worrying about nap times, staying out late and/or sleeping late - just whatever she wants to do. That would be nice for her.

for Wilderness Lodge. I never got over there on the Christmas trip. That was my biggest regret from that trip. The day we had planned to go over there in transferring from one place to another (can't remember now), John thought it would take too long, so we ended up not going. I even thought about getting a cab over there the last morning just to run in and take pictures, but I knew that would be a lot of money just to go for a few minutes for pictures and then pay for another cab back to Pop. I'll look even more forward to being over there again this summer to visit.

8 weeks and counting!

 

[Megablocks]

Yayyyyy I'm here!!!

I really wish we could have overlapped this month...but now you have something to look forward to still.

 

[Tink9721]

As much as I know we would miss the little girls, I would like to take Jill on a long weekend trip someday. We could stay somewhere nice and just let her call the shots. It would be a very different trip - getting on and off buses with no strollers, not worrying about nap times, staying out late and/or sleeping late - just whatever she wants to do. That would be nice for her.

for Wilderness Lodge. I never got over there on the Christmas trip. That was my biggest regret from that trip. The day we had planned to go over there in transferring from one place to another (can't remember now), John thought it would take too long, so we ended up not going. I even thought about getting a cab over there the last morning just to run in and take pictures, but I knew that would be a lot of money just to go for a few minutes for pictures and then pay for another cab back to Pop. I'll look even more forward to being over there again this summer to visit.

8 weeks and counting!

I'm sure you'd both enjoy that!

I would love to see WL at Christmas time. Someday we'll make it there in December. I really love WL. We've been so lucky to be able to stay there so many times. My mom is in love with that place! She loves to sit in a chair in front of the fireplace and read a book.

Yayyyyy I'm here!!!

I really wish we could have overlapped this month...but now you have something to look forward to still.

Yay! Hi Meg!!!

Maybe next January At least we can meet up around here since we live so close! I wish we could do anothe pre-Red Sox game birthday meet up this year but my birthday is on a Monday. I haven't decided if I'm skipping class that day or not...I could easily go to my first class. My second one ends at 4:00 and the game is at 7:00...I like to get there early and I need to give myself at least an hour and a half to get to Fenway whether I'm driving or taking the T. I'll probably end up skipping my second class to save myself a stress induced headache on my birthday. But I have no idea why I'm worrying about this 3 and a half months early

 

[Tink9721]

Hi everyone!

It's time to share my ADR's! I wanted to do that a few days ago but I'm trying to space out my updates so I don't run out of things to talk about before my trip

There are a few meals that we try to do every year, but we always like to try one or two new ones.

Friday, Mar 9 - Dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern. We did this meal for the first time a few years ago, back when it was still a character meal. We loved it and have been there every year since. We weren't too upset when the characters left because we mainly go there for the wonderful food! I often find myself craving the mac and cheese they serve. I think it's Stouffer's, and I've bought the frozen version at the grocery store but it definitely doesn't taste as good as it does at LTT!

Saturday, Mar 10 - Lunch at Via Napoli. We tried this for the first time last year. I booked it for our last trip because I had heard great things about the pizza, and we were not disappointed! My mom and I both fell in love with this place. The pizza was amazing!!!

Sunday, Mar 11 - This is the one day with two ADR's. We have breakfast at Tusker House in the morning. We did this one a couple years ago and have been back every year. We've never had a bad meal here. The food is amazing and the characters are fun. We also have dinner at Yak and Yeti. This is a new one for us. I've heard great things about the food here so I'm excited!

Monday, Mar 12 - Breakfast at Cape May Cafe. This is another new one that I'm really looking forward to! I love Disney breakfast buffets.

Tuesday, Mar 13 - Dinner at Chef Mickey's. My mom took me here on my surprise trip when I was 9, and I think we've been back every trip since then. I love it, but my mom can take it or leave it. She likes the food and the characters but she's not a big fan of the Contemporary.

Wednesday, Mar 14 - Crystal Palace. My favorite restaurant at WDW! It was my first character meal on my first trip and we've been there for lunch every trip. We both love the food, the atmosphere, and the characters. I always schedule this for our last full day, which we always spend at MK.

I didn't schedule anything for the day we leave because we'll want to spend as much time in the parks as possible before we have to head for the airport.

So those are my ADR's! I can't wait to eat yummy Disney food I go back to school on Monday so I'm sure the wait will go by faster once I'm busy with classes.

7 weeks and 3 days until we leave!

 

[Megablocks]

LTT - I am jealous! We ate there a bunch when it was a character buffet, but felt like the characters were what made the meal, so we haven't been back. There is a toffee dessert there that is calling my name.

Via Napoli - I know Hope really liked it there and I've heard a lot of good thing about it. I'm an adventurous eater and the prosciutto and cantelope pizza sounds very interesting to me. I'll try just about anything at least once just to say I tried it. My best friend studied abroad a few times and has tried everything from camel to frog legs to snails so I have serrrrrrious food envy We actually were on the hunt the weekend after Thanksgiving to find a place in Boston that served snails since we were gonna be in town, anyway. The fancy-pants place we go to Thanksgiving and Easter is a French restaurant and on their regular menu (not their severely limited holiday menu), they offer snails!!! We considered going there, but it's pricey and kinda fancy, and we're cheap and not fancy.

Tusker House - I wanna try this for breakfast soooooo bad! I have heard such good things about it!

Yak and Yeti - Definitely on my list of places I want to eat. There's some kind of seafood curry and mahi-mahi on the menu that I would LOVE to try. And there's some dessert of fried wontons stuffed with cream cheese...mmmmm...I'm hungry.

 

[Tink9721]

LTT - I am jealous! We ate there a bunch when it was a character buffet, but felt like the characters were what made the meal, so we haven't been back. There is a toffee dessert there that is calling my name.

Via Napoli - I know Hope really liked it there and I've heard a lot of good thing about it. I'm an adventurous eater and the prosciutto and cantelope pizza sounds very interesting to me. I'll try just about anything at least once just to say I tried it. My best friend studied abroad a few times and has tried everything from camel to frog legs to snails so I have serrrrrrious food envy We actually were on the hunt the weekend after Thanksgiving to find a place in Boston that served snails since we were gonna be in town, anyway. The fancy-pants place we go to Thanksgiving and Easter is a French restaurant and on their regular menu (not their severely limited holiday menu), they offer snails!!! We considered going there, but it's pricey and kinda fancy, and we're cheap and not fancy.

Tusker House - I wanna try this for breakfast soooooo bad! I have heard such good things about it!

Yak and Yeti - Definitely on my list of places I want to eat. There's some kind of seafood curry and mahi-mahi on the menu that I would LOVE to try. And there's some dessert of fried wontons stuffed with cream cheese...mmmmm...I'm hungry.

I did like the characters but the food keeps me coming back

I'm really not an adventurous eater. I saw somebody eating the spaghetti and meatballs last year and they looked SO good until I got home and looked at the menu again and realized that they were veal I'm definitely not a vegetarian, but something about eating baby animals bothers me. I won't eat lamb either. I used to go to a farm in Vermont and spend a lot of time feeding and petting the lambs and they were so cute and sweet and that's all I can think of when I see lamb meat

Tusker House is amazing. The food is soooo good. And they have the best juice ever!!!

Yup, I think I'll be getting those fried wontons! Now I'm hungry too I've been having major Disney food cravings lately. I want a chocolate croissant!

 

[DMGeurts]

I am in for this one!

We will be there at the same time... I am taking my two daughters for a mom/dd trip - March 6-15th at POFQ.

It doesn't look like we will be in any of the same parks, except the 14th at MK. We have a lot of the same ADRs as you do, just on different days...

Looking forward to following another March PTR.

D~

 

[Tink9721]

I am in for this one!

We will be there at the same time... I am taking my two daughters for a mom/dd trip - March 6-15th at POFQ.

It doesn't look like we will be in any of the same parks, except the 14th at MK. We have a lot of the same ADRs as you do, just on different days...

Looking forward to following another March PTR.

D~

Mom and daughter trips are great I have a lot of fun with my mom. We've never been in March so this will be a new experience. Up until now(my first year of college) my spring break has been in April and I also had a February break, which is when we usually went. I'm really excited about the Flower and Garden Festival. We usually saw some of the stuff being set up in Feb, and we saw the Festival in April a couple times, but that was a few years ago so I'm looking forward to it!

 

[miprender]

Hello fellow RI'er! I can't resist when one of my own is going to Disney

Which college are you attending?

 

[DMGeurts]

Mom and daughter trips are great I have a lot of fun with my mom. We've never been in March so this will be a new experience. Up until now(my first year of college) my spring break has been in April and I also had a February break, which is when we usually went. I'm really excited about the Flower and Garden Festival. We usually saw some of the stuff being set up in Feb, and we saw the Festival in April a couple times, but that was a few years ago so I'm looking forward to it!

I can see that you and your mom have such a great relationship! I can only hope that when my girls are your age, they will still love going to WDW with me. Right now, they are 12 & 13, so their liking me changes on a minute by minute basis - but over all - we enjoy spending time together. We have never been on a trip alone together - so we are really looking forward to this.

We are really excited about the F & G show too, and even more excited that maybe Dumbo and the Great Goofini might be open... xxx crossing fingers xxx - but it's probably going to get pushed back again.

Thanks for stopping by my PTR to say hi... I know it's a bit long, and I am sure that intimidates people - but I really love it when people stop by to say hi. Most of the time, I am nice.

I can't wait to hear about more of your plans and hopefully we'll bump into eachother while we are there.

D~

 

[Tink9721]

Hello fellow RI'er! I can't resist when one of my own is going to Disney

Which college are you attending?

Hi! It's always nice to talk to other Rhode Islanders!

I'm going to RIC. I absolutely love it! I'm living at home and commuting. I thought I'd get sick of driving there and back every day but I actually don't mind at all. It's only 12 miles, and I scheduled my classes so I don't have to deal with bad traffic, plus I have Fridays off. I have late morning and early afternoon classes, so I never hit rush hour in the morning. I do run into some traffic on Federal Hill on my way home, but it's not too bad. My second semester starts on Monday and my schedule is exactly the same as it was last semester. It worked out really well for me

I can see that you and your mom have such a great relationship! I can only hope that when my girls are your age, they will still love going to WDW with me. Right now, they are 12 & 13, so their liking me changes on a minute by minute basis - but over all - we enjoy spending time together. We have never been on a trip alone together - so we are really looking forward to this.

We are really excited about the F & G show too, and even more excited that maybe Dumbo and the Great Goofini might be open... xxx crossing fingers xxx - but it's probably going to get pushed back again.

Thanks for stopping by my PTR to say hi... I know it's a bit long, and I am sure that intimidates people - but I really love it when people stop by to say hi. Most of the time, I am nice.

I can't wait to hear about more of your plans and hopefully we'll bump into eachother while we are there.

D~

I'm glad you all enjoy spending time together! I really appreciate my relationship with my mom. Through middle school and high school I heard so many of my friends talking about arguing with their parents. I've always gotten along really well with both of my parents.

I'm crossing my fingers too! I keep hearing they're supposed to open in late Feb so hopefully that's true.

I loved looking at the pictures of your outfits and bags on your PTR!!

I'll definitely keep an eye out for you! I usually have a lime green Mickey head hanging from my park bag, assuming I don't forget it. Which reminds me, I need to put that on my packing list

 

[MeMom]

We've done them all but Via Napoli, and I am hoping to get over there this summer. The problem with Disney restaurants is that I want to go to all of my old favorites and try new places, too, and that just doesn't work out. We'd be doing nothing but eating!

I'm glad your school schedule works out so nicely for you. Trent commuted and went long days 2-3 days a week, depending on the semester, and then worked the opposite 2-3 days a week. It was a great set-up, and he never had to spend a dime on a dorm.

I think you are right about time flying by when you get back in school. January usually drags for me, but because we were in Disney World right up until school started, then had to deal with the funeral, I feel like I am just getting back in the swing of things and it is already the 18th. I think it has helped me that the weather has not been so, so cold as it normally is, too. Seems like being cold slows time for me.

 

[DMGeurts]

I'm glad you all enjoy spending time together! I really appreciate my relationship with my mom. Through middle school and high school I heard so many of my friends talking about arguing with their parents. I've always gotten along really well with both of my parents.

I'm crossing my fingers too! I keep hearing they're supposed to open in late Feb so hopefully that's true.

I loved looking at the pictures of your outfits and bags on your PTR!!

I'll definitely keep an eye out for you! I usually have a lime green Mickey head hanging from my park bag, assuming I don't forget it. Which reminds me, I need to put that on my packing list

Thanks for the compliments about my bags and outfits... Creating like that has really made planning for this trip a lot more fun, and sharing what I make with my friends on The Dis has really kept me motivated - my list for our trip is still really huge. I have plans to make 3 more park bags for myself, plus some custom shirts for the girls. My youngest dd even wants a Goofy skirt, so my brain is swimming with how I want to do that, and when. LOL

Yes, don't forget to add your LGMH to your packing list - and pack it. LOL

MeMom... I've seen you a bit around the boards, but I haven't ever read any of your TRs (I really should)... I just wanted to say, I am sorry for your loss, it sounds like you've lost someone you were close to.

D~

 

[Tink9721]

We've done them all but Via Napoli, and I am hoping to get over there this summer. The problem with Disney restaurants is that I want to go to all of my old favorites and try new places, too, and that just doesn't work out. We'd be doing nothing but eating!

I'm glad your school schedule works out so nicely for you. Trent commuted and went long days 2-3 days a week, depending on the semester, and then worked the opposite 2-3 days a week. It was a great set-up, and he never had to spend a dime on a dorm.

I think you are right about time flying by when you get back in school. January usually drags for me, but because we were in Disney World right up until school started, then had to deal with the funeral, I feel like I am just getting back in the swing of things and it is already the 18th. I think it has helped me that the weather has not been so, so cold as it normally is, too. Seems like being cold slows time for me.

That's the exact same problem I have We have our favorites that we want to eat at every trip but we always try to eat at one or two new ones every year.

I definitely like commuting. It really doesn't make any sense to add en extra $10,000 a year to my tuition bill to live 12 miles away when I already have a car, and I love living at home.

My vacation has gone by pretty fast, but not as fast as time goes by when I'm in school. I definitely need to get back into a routine!

Thanks for the compliments about my bags and outfits... Creating like that has really made planning for this trip a lot more fun, and sharing what I make with my friends on The Dis has really kept me motivated - my list for our trip is still really huge. I have plans to make 3 more park bags for myself, plus some custom shirts for the girls. My youngest dd even wants a Goofy skirt, so my brain is swimming with how I want to do that, and when. LOL

Yes, don't forget to add your LGMH to your packing list - and pack it. LOL

MeMom... I've seen you a bit around the boards, but I haven't ever read any of your TRs (I really should)... I just wanted to say, I am sorry for your loss, it sounds like you've lost someone you were close to.

D~

I'm amazed at how fast you can make those! Even if I really knew how to sew it would probably take me forever to make anything!

I added it to my packing list so hopefully I'll remember

 

[miprender]

Hi! It's always nice to talk to other Rhode Islanders!

I'm going to RIC. I absolutely love it! I'm living at home and commuting. I thought I'd get sick of driving there and back every day but I actually don't mind at all. It's only 12 miles, and I scheduled my classes so I don't have to deal with bad traffic, plus I have Fridays off. I have late morning and early afternoon classes, so I never hit rush hour in the morning. I do run into some traffic on Federal Hill on my way home, but it's not too bad. My second semester starts on Monday and my schedule is exactly the same as it was last semester. It worked out really well for me

I did my undergraduate at RIC and met my DH there too.... but that was a long time ago! But I always commuted too, I couldn't see paying for a dorm when I lived 20min away

 

[Tink9721]

I did my undergraduate at RIC and met my DH there too.... but that was a long time ago! But I always commuted too, I couldn't see paying for a dorm when I lived 20min away

Exactly! Why pay an extra $10,000 a year when I live so close? I'm actually writing this from the library at RIC No homework yet so I'm DISing in between classes

 

[Tink9721]

Hi everyone! Sorry for the lack of updates. I was getting ready for my second semester, which started yesterday. I don't have any homework yet so I'm DISing in between classes in the library So far I really like all of my classes. I just have one that I haven't been to yet, which I have in a little less than an hour.

In trip related news, our trip is now paid in full! I'm hoping the wait goes by faster now that I'm back in school.

My mom said something a few weeks ago about how she hopes I don't have any papers or anything due right after spring break, since we leave the day after my last class. But it doesn't look like I have anything due the week after spring break so that's awesome! I'd have Friday-Sunday to do it but I'm always incredibly un-motivated right after a Disney trip

That's all I have to report today. At some point I'll post a loose day by day schedule for the trip, which will probably change a bit between now and when we leave. I'll probably post some pictures from past trips to keep us all entertained until we leave

6 weeks and 3 days left!

 

[Tink9721]

Hi! Once again, I'm sorry for the lack of updates! I've been really busy with school, car problems, and being sick for a couple days. School is going really well; I really like my classes! My car started giving me some trouble last Wednesday and I was afraid to drive it to school but I ended up staying home on Thursday anyway because I caught a nasty bug and felt really sick. But the bug is gone, and my car is in the shop. There was something wrong with it, but don't ask me to explain what it was because I know nothing about cars My mom worked from home so she could take me to school today and I should be getting my car back later today.

In trip related news, we hit the 5 week mark this past Friday! We were a little over 10 weeks away when we booked the trip so we're over half way there now! I was looking at due dates and test dates for my classes and it looks like I'll have a ton of work the two weeks before my trip. I'll definitely be ready for that trip when March 9th gets here

I also have a DIS meet in the works with my friend Meghan (Megablocks) for the 18th or 19th of this month We originally met in Disney back in February 2010 and we live near each other so we've been able to have a bunch of DIS meets since then

Well, I need to head for my next class! I'll post a loose day by day schedule some time this week!

 

[Tink9721]

Okay, it's finally time for me to post my day by day schedule!

This will probably change a little bit, but I scheduled it around park hours and ADR's.

Friday, March 9 - Arrival day! We have an early flight. I think it's somewhere between 7:00 and 7:30, but I'm not positive. I think we land in Orlando between 10:00 and 10:30. Then we'll hop on the Magical Express and check in at WL. Our room has always been ready when we've checked in there, so assuming that's what happens this time too, we'll head up to our room, drop off our stuff, and then head for the Magic Kingdom! We have a 6:15 reservation at Liberty Tree Tavern. Usually we turn in pretty early our first night since we're so tired, but we're gonna try to stay out later to take advantage of that day before the spring break crowds show up over the weekend! I'm planning on going to bed early the night before so I won't be as tired that day. Usually I end up being really busy right before we leave and then I'm up late packing. If I don't miss my Tuesday/Thursday classes between now and then I'll probably end up skipping class on the 8th so I'll have that whole day to pack.

Saturday, March 10 - Epcot day! We had never spent a full day at Epcot until our last trip. It ended up being one of the best Disney days we've ever had! We had enough time to ride Soarin' twice, do almost everything we wanted to do in Future World, go around the whole World Showcase, and watch Illuminations. So that's our plan for this day. We also have a 2:00 reservation at Via Napoli

Sunday, March 11 - This is a two park day. We'll be heading to Animal Kingdom in the morning and staying until it closes. We have a 9:30 breakfast reservation at Tusker House, and a 6:15 reservation at Yak & Yeti. I really wanted to get both of those in and had to schedule them for the same day, but they're spaced out pretty well and all of that walking makes you really hungry The park closes at 7:00, so after dinner we'll leave. We're planning on heading back to WL for a little bit to relax, and then we're going to MK for evening EMH I'm not exactly sure how late it's open that night. I've seen a few different times. The park closes at 11:00 and I think EMH is 11:00-1:00, but I'm not positive. We'll probably head over there between 9:30 and 10:00 and stay until EMH ends, or until we collapse. Whichever happens first

Monday, March 12 - I had planned this as our DHS day, but I've been hearing that this might be the day that Storybook Circus opens. If that's true, I definitely want to be there to see a new section of MK open! So we'll see what happens. We'll at least be at DHS that night for Fantasmic and EMH from 9:00-12:00. We have a breakfast reservation at Cape May Cafe at 9:30.

Tuesday, March 13 - This is our free day. The only thing we have planned is dinner at Chef Mickey's at 8:00. If we end up spending some of Monday at MK, we'll probably use this day for more DHS time. I basically left this day open in case there were things at at Epcot, DHS, or AK that we wanted to do again, or that we hadn't done earlier in the trip.

Wednesday, March 14 - This is our full day at Magic Kingdom! We always do this the day before we leave. It's always my favorite day of the trip. We're gonna try really hard to make rope drop. We've tried and failed several times We also have a 1:05 reservation at my favorite restaurant; Crystal Palace

Thursday, March 15 - Time to go home But our flight isn't until 8:00 and the ME picks us up at 5:00...so we have all morning and afternoon to soak up some more magic! We usually don't have as much time our last day because we've always come back on a school night but we booked a later flight since I don't have school the next day. We usually just go to MK for those last few hours. We may end up doing that again, or we might go to another park first, and then go to MK. We always like MK to be the first and last park of the trip.

I'd like to point out that I started writing this post three hours ago in the library but then I ran out of time and had to go to class, and now I'm finishing it at home

I have a DIS meet with Meghan (Megablocks) at the aquarium in Boston on Saturday I'll probably post some pictures from that next week!

That's all for today. 3 weeks and 3 days left!