Just Engaged, why not celebrate in Disney?

[kdluscher]

Ok, so this is my first ever PTR, so I am sorry if I bore everyone. I am a huge fan of the DIS and honestly don't know where I would be without it. I have been reading trip reports for over a year now and decided it was time to start my own. So, if you can all bear with me now, let's get this thing started.

So, as you can guess by the title I am recently engaged, so where better to celebrate but Walt Disney World. So, actually this tripped was planned way before we got engaged, but hey we might as well tell everyone we got engaged and see what Pixie Dust we encounter. Ok, I am rambling, now so lets see where to begin.

When: May 26-June 2
Where: Coronado Springs Resort
Who: Me and DF

Ok, so onto the introductions...

This is a picture of me and DF last year at DHS on the Streets of America.

ME(Kristen)-I am a 25 year old cook from Ohio. I am also a full time student online through Kaplan University studying to receive my Bachelor's degree in Nutrition. This will be my 6th trip to Disney. I love, love, love Disney and have ever since I stepped foot onto Disney property back in 1999. I am also a huge food junkie and will also try to do a dining review as well.
Favorite Park: Epcot
Favorite Ride: Space Mountain
Favorite Character: Minnie and Eeyore

DF(Brandon)-He is 20 and works in a graphite mill. This will be his second trip to Disney. He does not love Disney as much as me, but he is starting to love it more the more we go. Last year was his first trip to Disney and I think I got him hooked. He is definitely more laid back than me and kind of just lets me do all the planning.
Favorite Park: Epcot
Favorite Ride: Rockin' Roller Coaster and Test Track
Favorite Character: Stitch

Up Next: How this trip came to be....

 

[Corrine 1973]

Congrats on your up coming wedding. What better place than to celebrate at Disney World

Me and my DS will be there at the same time, so maybe we will see you guys around.

Can't wait to read all about your plans.

 

[kdluscher]

Well, let's see now, where did we last leave off. Oh yeah, we just finished introductions. So let me give you a little back story as to how this trip actually came to be.

When Brandon and I first got together, I had mentioned that I wanted to go back to Disney. Of course he said he wanted to go because he had never been there before, but was a little leery because we are adults. Well, I reassured him that it would be jsut as fun for us as it is for kids. At the time, we had a lot of financial trouble, but lived on a tight budget for awhile in order to save enough money to go to Disney. So, we went over Easter last year and stayed at POP with the 6 day park hopper and DDP. Let me just say that the moment Brandon first stepped into MK, he was hooked. He said we had to come back again next year. Of course, I said YES!!

Last May, Brandon started his current job at the graphite mill making a lot more money than before. So we knew we could easily save for Disney again. We were not really sure when we were going to go, but had already decided we were staying at a Moderate this time. We were basically down to picking between Carribbean Beach or Coronado Springs. In the end, we obviously went with Coronado only because we have had family members stay there before and they loved it. So Coronado it was, but when we were going was another dilemma.

Brandon had found out last fall that he could not get vacation until after May 24. Well I have to take vacation before June 3 or after Labor Day because we are super busy at the restaurant at this time with weddings and graduation parties and what not. Well, luckily for us, free dining dates came out in September and low and behold May 27-June 2 was free dining. SCORE!! We decided it worked out perfectly for us, so I booked it.

Now last year we had six full park days and this year we would only have five. This made me kind of sad. So I did a little more research and realized that flights were actually cheaper on the 26th and it would only cost me a little over $200 to book an extra night. Well, that's exactly what I did. So, our first night there is a room only reservation, then the next day we check out and check back in to start our 6 day stay with FD. I just feel that six whole days in the parks is exacgtly what we need so we do not have to rush around and try to cram everything in in four or five days. It just works for us. So, this is how our trip came to be.


Up Next....The background story of us

 

[kdluscher]

Congrats on your up coming wedding. What better place than to celebrate at Disney World

Me and my DS will be there at the same time, so maybe we will see you guys around.

Can't wait to read all about your plans.

Thank you so much. Keep an eye out for us when you are there! We will be the big kids with just engaged buttons on!

 

[kdluscher]

Alright, I figured that maybe everyone wanted to know a little bit about Brandon and I and how we met and came to be. We met in July 2008. I had just started working at the restaurant I am still currently working at. Brandon was a dishwasher and a high school senior. I was a 22 year old cook who had just moved home from South Carolina and was still going through a really bad break up. There was something about Brandon that just caught my eye right away. I don't know if it was his smile or his kind eyes, but I knew there was something special about him. I knew I wanted to take things slow since I was still healing over my break up, plus he was only 17 at the time. Well, we spent about 6 months or so just kind of getting to know each other and hang out. He was soooo easy to talk to that I knew I could tell him anything and everything and he would never judge me. Which he didn't, he just loved me even more.

I remember he had just turned 18 in December that year and I knew I was ready to start a relationsip again. I mean, this guy really changed me from this sad, depressed broken girl into the happiest, most confident girl ever. I was someone different and that was all thanks to him. Well, New Years Eve 2009 we were both obviously working that night. At midnight we all stop working to watch the ball drop. When that ball dropped, I went to find Brandon and tell him I was ready to start this relationship, this new chapter of our lives. Of course he said yes. Since then on we have never been apart.

We decided to move in together 2 years ago. Honestly, now I know it was the best decision ever. When we first started living together things were tough. We were trying to get used to living with each other and we spent every second of every day together. This was hard, because we are both people that like our alone time. You honestly want to know waht saved us...our trip to Disney. We found that happiness again and the love we had forgotten. Since that trip everything has been so much better for us.

Since Brandon's job change, we do not see each otehr as much since he works days and I work nights. But, for us, that works. We enjoy every second we have together. We have rekindled that fire that was once burning inside of us. So, I knew months ago that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. I couldn't imgine what my life would be like without him there. So I flat out told him I wanted to get married to him and I wanted to get engaged in Disney. Well, he didn't want me to plan out every aspect of my life. He wanted me to be surprised. So, on March 11, I came home from work and there were tons of candles lit all over my living room and a CD with all of our favorite love songs were playing in the background and he proposed to me. Boy was I surprised. Of course I said yes. It may not have been Disney, but it was the best thing ever!! The very next day I called Disney and made sure they knew that we were celebrating our engagement and are hoping for some Pixie Dust.

So, there you have it folks...the story of Kristen and Brandon. Now we are patiently waiting for our DIsney trip to come and are slowly planning a wedding and Disneymoon for next summer.

Up Next....The Great Flight Descision

 

[Corrine 1973]

Ahh, what a sweet story.

Can you guys be just the cutest couple ever.

 

[mchhp]

Congratulations on your engagement. I agree, celebrate in disney. It took me years to get my dh to go to disney. we were together 7 years before we went (when dd was a year old). He always thought it was more for families, so we did universal and islands of adventures, etc.

So, the minute we step into MK with it being DH's and DD's first trip, he has the nerve to ask me why we hadn't come before this? REALLY?

Hope you have a blast and I wish you both the best!!!

 

[MelMel11]

Count me in!!

 

[kdluscher]

Congratulations on your engagement. I agree, celebrate in disney. It took me years to get my dh to go to disney. we were together 7 years before we went (when dd was a year old). He always thought it was more for families, so we did universal and islands of adventures, etc.

So, the minute we step into MK with it being DH's and DD's first trip, he has the nerve to ask me why we hadn't come before this? REALLY?

Hope you have a blast and I wish you both the best!!!

Thank you! I think Disney is great for families, couples, whoever! It isn't called the Happiest Place on Earth for nothing! I never give DF an option, I just tell him we are going to Disney and that's that.

 

[kdluscher]

When it came to transporting ourselves from Warren, Ohio to Orlando, FL, we actually had to debate between flying and driving. I couldn't believe we were even going to have that conversation. I have made the drive from Charleston, SC to Warren, Ohio severaly times in my when I lived in SC, so I knew I did not want to do that considering I would be so anxious for Disney. Plus, I get car sickness, so I would either have to drive the whole time or try to fall asleep. We finally decided we could not spend 18 hours in our car and opted to fly instead.

Now, here is the great flight debocal we went through. (I use we very loosely because it really was just me). Brandon is the type of guy that just kind of goes with whatever I want, so as you will notice I make the majority of descisions about our trip. So, on May 26, which is the day we leave, Brandon has to work from 4am-12pm. So when looking for flights we had to find one that left in the afternoon, but gave us enough time to get to the airport. We have four airports within 2 hours of our home. Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Akron Canton, and Youngstown Warren. I searched and searched between these four airports. In the end, it came down to 3 choices.

I am a huge Airtran fan. I have always flown Airtran, so I automatically searched their flights first. They had a nonstop flight out of Akron leaving at 5:54 pm on May 26 and landing at 8:10 in Orlando. Well, I liked the fact that it was nonstop, but I did not want to get into Orlando that late because I was concerned with us beine able to find someplace to go eat. So, I checked Alligent Air next because they fly out of the Youngstown Warren Airport which is about 20 minutes from my house. The only problem with Allegient is that they only fly on certain days and only have one flight a day. And the biggest problem, they fly into Orlando-Sanford Airport instead of Orlando International. Well, they had a flight on the 36th at 6:50pm, which landed at 9:05pm. I definitely did not want this flight because we would not be getting in til late and would have to rent a car and drive to Orlando late at night. Granted, the costs of the flights are cheaper than most places, but renting a car actually would make the cost a lot higher. So, my final option was through Southwest. They had a flight out of Pittsburgh on the 26th at 4:10 pm and we land in MCO at 6:25pm. This flight was perfect!! Obviously, this is the flight we chose.

This flight just seemed to work out the best for us because we would land in Orlando at a decent time with plenty of time to go find a place to eat. Plus, we get to use DME, which is free and Southwest allows us to check 2 free bags. That means no shipping snacks to Disney this year. See last year, we shipped all of our breakfast foods and snacks to POP via UPS. This year since we can check 2 bags plus have a carry-on, we can put all of our snacks in one of the suitcases and not have to pay for shipping. BONUS!! The only thing about this flight time is that as soon as Brandon gets off work, we have to get on the road. But I think we can do it.

Up Next...Day 1 Plans

 

[KatMark]

I'm in, Kristen. First, congratulations to you and Brandon on your engagement.

Love the introductions and how you got to meet. Glad you got the airlines settled. Anxious to hear about your first day.

Oh, and last but not least, love that you are staying at our "home away from home" -- we love the Coronado.

 

[kdluscher]

I'm in, Kristen. First, congratulations to you and Brandon on your engagement.

Love the introductions and how you got to meet. Glad you got the airlines settled. Anxious to hear about your first day.

Oh, and last but not least, love that you are staying at our "home away from home" -- we love the Coronado.

Thank you very much! I have heard nothing but good things about Coronado, so I am excited to get to stay there myself.

 

[kdluscher]

Just wanted to tell everyone I am sorry I have been away for a few days. A very close friend of mine just passed away and it has been very hard on me and my friends. We have just been reminiscing about his life and celebrating the fact that we got to know him. But, I am back and ready to continue my PTR.

 

[kdluscher]

Ok, well let me tell a little about what is going to happen in May 25 a little before we get into the actual day we are leaving. On May 25, both Brandon and I have to work. If I haven't mentioned this before, he works a day job and I work afternoons/dinner shift. So we do not get to see each other very often. So on the 25th, Brandon is going to work like normal and then dropping me off at work at 4:00. From there it is his job to drop our two little dogs off at Grandma's for the week. Grandma being Brandon's mom who absolutely loves having her granddogs over anytime she can. This woman takes the week off of work to stay home with the dogs. And they absolutely love their grandma, so it all works out.

<a href="http://s1126.photobucket.com/albums/l607/kdluscher/?action=view&current=SU1HMDAwMDMtMjAxMDEwMjUtMTcwMy5qcGc.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l607/kdluscher/SU1HMDAwMDMtMjAxMDEwMjUtMTcwMy5qcGc.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


Here's a pictures of my dogs. They are both miniature dachshunds. Emily is on the left. She is a 5 year old, red short-haired dachshund. I have had her since she was a 6 weeks old. She is the apple of my eye and I love her to pieces. Duke is a 4 year old, black and tan wired hair/short hair mix dachshund. I got Duke about 9 months ago from my mom. She had 4 dachshunds and needed to get rid of one so I took Duke. It has been difficult getting him used to our house and our rules, but he has come a long way and I couldn't see letting him go back there ever again.


So anyways...on to our actual Day 1 now...May 26 will be our actual first day of vacation, well at least for me. Brandon will be going to work from 4am to noon on that day. While he is at work, I will be finishing any last minute packing and doing any homework I can before we leave. When he gets off work, he will stop by the bank to cash his paycheck so we have a little extra spending money for Disney. Then he will jump in the shower real quick and we will hopefully be on the road by 1:00. We will have to stop for something to eat on the way, probably Arby's.

We will hopefully get to Pittsburgh by 2:30 because it takes about an d hour and a half to get there from our house. We will be leaving our car at Charlie Brown's Airport Parking. It is right around the airport, but a lot cheaper and more secure than the airport parking lot. The have security onsite 24/7 and complimentary shuttles to and from the airport 24/7 as well. We are hoping that we will be in the acutal airport by 3:00 in order to catch our flight by 4:10. Check-in should be easy since I paid for early bird check-in, which checks us in 24 hours ahead of time.

Now let me tell you what it is like to travel with Brandon. Last year was his first time flying and ever being in an airport. For any of you who have ever been to Pittsbirgh airport, you know that the security check line is crazy. So, as soon as I get in the line I take my belt off, untie my shoes, have my liquids out of my carry-on, and my laptop out of its case. I tell Brandon to do the same, but he said he will be fine. Well, wouldn't you know that we get up to the check area and he has to take off his shoes and belt, so people are going around us waiting on him. Then we get through and I tell him to hurry we gotta catch the tram to the terminal. Well, there is Brandon jsut moseying along like he is in a museum. I am thinking, if this is what Disney speed will be like we won't get everything done. So we finally make it to the tram and I jump on and lo and behold the doors shut before the slow poke can make it through. So he is standing there panicking, so I have to fish out my cell phone and call him and instruct him where to go. Needless to say, he is more ready and prepared for the airport this year.

So, I am hoping we can make it to the gate on time, which we should if all goes according to plan. We should land in Orlando by 6:30, but I hope we land early. We will be using DME because it is the best way to go in my opinion. I will be getting my own luggage though and only because I do not know when they will be delivering my bags and I do not want it to be in the middle of the night. So anyways, when we get to Coronado, I will check us into our room-only one night stay. From there we will go on an adventure to find our room, which we always end up the furthest from the main building. We plan to change then head to DTD for dinner.

Since we are not on the dining plan our first night, we plan on eating at Earl of Sandwich. We have heard good things about this place and their sandwiches are rather inexpensive. And after EoS, we will head to Ghiradelli for some sundaes! I have seen some pretty amazing pics from this place and we could not pass them up. If we have time to browse a few stores we will. I saw a hoodie on the Disney Store website that I liked, but they didn't have my size, so I am on the search for it down there. Hopefully I can find it within my first few days there. Anyways, we will probably head back to the resort early since we have to get up early to check out and back in and head to our first park. Plus, Brandon was up at 3am to go to work, so he will be pretty tired. I think we have a pretty good first day.



Up next...Day 2...which park will it be?

 

[kdluscher]

Sorry the picture of my dogs didn't work...I am still trying to figure out photobucket. Let me try this again...

 

[kdluscher]

Ok I got it to work that time...so you can refer to the post before the pic to get to know my dogs a little bit better. Thanks for your patience guys!!

 

[kdluscher]

Friday May 27: Day 2 plans


So, it really was not a big decision as to where we would go on our first day. Magic Kingdon of course!! So on this day we have to check out and check back in for our 6 day/ 7 night stay with free dining and 6 day park hoppers. On this day MK opens at 9:00am, so I plan on getting up around 6:30 or so, after taking my shower I will head down to the check in/out desk while DF wakes up and takes his shower. I will check us out of our current room and check us back in in order to receive our park tickets and dining plans. Hopefully we will be in the same room we were just in so we don't have to pack our stuff back up. After check in, I will head back to the room and we will grab a quick breakfast in our room, then either take our bags to bag services (if in a diff. room), or head to the bus stop. We want to be at the bus stop by 8:00 at the latest. I want to be to MK by 8:15-8:30. I want to see the RD ceremony. I have not seen it since I was a kid and I really want to see it again.

After we see the ceremony, we will head through the gates and under the train station onto Main Street. Of course our first stop will be Space Mountain. After that we will head to Fantasyland and ride a few rides there before heading over to BTMRR. After we ride BTMRR, we will check the fastpass return times for Splash Mountain and hopefully can get back to there after lunch or so. After we ride our must rides, we will start riding whatever we can. We will probably eat lunch around 11ish. It is a tradition of mine to eat at Casey's Corner on my first day. Why not eat America's food in America's favorite place?!

After lunch, we will probably use our Splash Mountain fastpasses and then ride whatever else we did have a chance to ride earlier. Once it starts getting hot we may ride the riverboat or head over to Tom Sawyer's island, but we normally try to take an afternoon break to get out of the Florida heat. The heat in Florida is so much different than that in Ohio, so we try to take a break to get out of it.

After our break, it will probably be close to our dinner ressie. We have a 5:10 ADR at Tony's Town Square. We have never eaten here before and Brandon really wanted to try it. Last year we were watching the afternoon parade and standing near Tony's and he saw someone eating chicken parm and it was huge. Ever since then he has wanted to eat there. I have heard mixed reviews, but I try to go in to every new restaurant with an open mind. Now, I am kind of an Italian food snob. This is because I work at an Italian restaurant, it is a family-owned business and they use family recipes to make everything. I am so used to their food that it is hard to please me with any other Italian food, but I am willing to give Tony's a try, at least to see DF's face when they serve him his chicken parm.

After dinner, we will check on fastpass times at the mountains and head to the Haunted Mansion when it gets dark. I only ride it at night because riding during the day does not do that ride any justice. This night MK has the Main Street Electrical Parade and Wishes. So we will probably try to find a spot around 8:30. While I hold our spot, Brandon will go to Aloha Isle and get us our dole whips. We love these things!! Once the night shows are over we will mosey our way out of the park possibly roaming through the stores. It will be an early night because we have another long day ahead of us.


Up Next...Day 3 plans...where will we go today?

 

[KatMark]

Kristen, great updates.

The first thing I would do, is call CRO and be sure your reservations for the room only and then the package are linked. Then when you check in for your room only, explain that you have a package starting the next morning and you'd like to stay in the same room. They did this for me two years ago and I just went down at 7:00 a.m. and got our new tickets and we were on our way to the MK by 7:45 a.m.

Your plans sound great. I'm curious though...can you get through security and to your gate and board your plane all in less an 90 minutes? We went to Florida earlier this month (it was a business trip for my DH, but I got to go to go see my best friend and it took us about 45 minutes just to get through security on both ends...it was awful with the new full body scanners, etc.).

Your MK day sounds great. I love the opening show and we always make sure to do it once. Tony's is good--not gourmet Italian, but we have never had a bad meal there.

 

[kdluscher]

Saturday May 28: Day 3

So for our thrid full day we will be spending it at DHS. I know this is Star Wars weekend, but I was really unaware of that until about a week ago. See, me and DF are not Star Wars fans so I did not even think about looking or planning around that. I was reading someone else's PTR and saw that they would be in Disney the same time as us, but they were going for Star Wars weekend. So, then I did the research and saw that we were indeed going to DHS during Star Wars weekend. Well, I am a month away from my vacation and I had already had this day planned out and I could not really switch my ADRs and plans around because Fantasmic is only on certain nights the week we are going. So we are going to brave the crowds and do DHS with the Star Wars fans. I figure, I have 2 extra days that we can always go one morning if we did not get to see everything. SO, on to the plans...

DHS opens at 9:00 this morning, so we will be up around 7ish to shower and grab a quick breakfast in our room. We want to be at the bus stop by 8:00 if possible. We saw the opening show last year and I don't really care if I see it again this year or not, I just want to be near the front so I can join in the rush of people to TSM. Last year was the first time riding TSM for both me and DF, it was not open on past trips I had made. We rode it like 4 or 5 times and that is because we utuilized fastpass like crazy. So, once the gates are open and the rope is dropped, we will proceed on towards TSM. I will jump in the fastpass line and grab fastpasses, then we will wait in stand by to try to ride it first. After our ride, we will go to RnR because it is Brandon's favorite. After RnR, which if the lines are short, we may ride again. From there our day is pretty much a go with the flow kind of day. We want to see the Beauty and the Beast show and Lights, Motor, Action show, so we will check the times for that. We also will ride Great Movie Ride and Voyage of the Little Mermaid before lunch. Along with Toy Story Mania a few times. We will stop for lunch around 11:30. We want to try Starring Rolls Bakery for lunch this day. I have heard nothing but good reviews, so of course I want to try it. We have to be there when they start serving lunch in order to get a sandwich.

So after lunch, we will probably have TSM fast passes again, so we will ride that and see the shows we want to see. We will also try to ride RnR again and MuppetVision 3D. This is probably my favorite 3D show in Disney. I absolutely love it! If the heat isn't killing us and we are not that tired, we may stay to see the afternoon parade. If not, we will probably head back to the resort to relax in the air conditioning for a little while. Now, you probably ask, why hasn't she mentioned Tower of Terror at all. Well, let me tell you, that I will not ride this ride. I rode it once as a kid and will never do it again. I am very afraid of heights, yes I ride rollercoasters, but most the time you are going so fast you don't realize how high up you are, plus my eyes are closed most of the time. But, when it comes to rides where you are straight up, I cannot do it. When I was a kid I only went on it because my dad said he would. He is more afraid than I am, so we did it together and once was enough for both of us. Brandon is still kind of leering about going on it too.

I was watching the Biggest Loser this past week and I was watching the contestants jump off of this tower in New Zealand. I was getting very shaky just watching them. I could never do that because of the heights. I don't even like tall bridges. Thus, why I will not go on Tower of Terror again.

Ok, back to the report...So after a possible afternoon break or parade, we are going to head over to the Boardwalk area. We didn't get a chance to go over there last year, plus we have a ADR in that area. So we will go over there to check out some of the shops and those resorts. We will then head to the Beach Club resort around 4:45 for our 5:00 ADR at Cape May Clam Bake. We enjoy buffets and when I was trying to decide on one that was different than where we ate last year, I saw this one. We both like seafood, but do not get much of it living in Ohio. Nothing fresh at least. So we are looking forward to this meal. After dinner, we will probably go ride anything we did not have a chance to earlier or check out some of the shops. Then at 8:00 we will grab our snacks for the show and head to wait in line for Fantasmic. I really like this show and will wait in line for an hour for it. After the show, we will head back to the resort because we have another full day ahead of us Sunday.


Up Next...Day 4...where are we off to now??

 

[kdluscher]

So, DF just went and got the mail and what was in there?!?! Our DME packet and luggage tags!!! It means that Disney really is right around the corner. This made me even more excited and anxious about our trip!!