Just feel like "talking" about our upcoming trip with fellow Disney lovers!

[LMDisneygirl]

About a month ago DH and I finally decided to go to WDW without (yes, without) our 2 boys. Gasp! Actually, we've done it before. We spent our honeymoon at WDW (the boys weren't born yet). Then we went back for our 10 year anniversary "alone". And now we are going for our 15th! The boys have gone a few times with us, with the last time being last year. They loved it, but they are happy to stay home and do the "world tour of cousins, aunts & grandmas" while we are gone this year. We've done a pretty good marketing job, and have promised to bring them souvenirs from the Japan gift shop at Epcot (Pokemon, Beyblades......).

So, we're going in a few weeks. I don't feel like I've done anywhere near the obsessing and planning I did for our trip last year. But I guess I got things together so much last year that I'm riding on some of that planning and knowledge for this year. Hopefully it comes together as easily as I'm thinking it will!

We have been walking in preparation for our trip (and also just because we could really use the exercise!). We're going 2+ miles, 4 or 5 times a week. We usually walk in the evening, but today we walked in the middle of the day and it was 93 degrees. Kind of crazy, I know! It did feel quite a bit like it felt at WDW last August on our trip, except that we didn't have any gift shops or air-conditioned rides to duck into today!

We're trying to decide where to have a nice anniversary dinner. We have an ADR at Le Cellier, which we have never been to before. We're open to other thoughts if we can get an ADR. I think we're leaning toward somewhere with a nice filet.

We're going for 6 nights this time. It just doesn't seem long enough! I'm torn between thinking "We have to go, go, go. There isn't enough time. We have to squeeze in everything we can. We can rest when we're home!" and feeling like "It's our anniversary trip without the kids. We need to relax, take our time, do what we really really want to, and then just chill and enjoy it." So torn!!!!

I guess that's it for now. So glad I have somewhere I can send my random thoughts out to!

 

[LMDisneygirl]

We are so happy to have the Free Dining for our trip! We had it last time, and it's a nice little savings. We're staying at the Pop, so we have the QS plan. Now for the decision on whether to upgrade to the TS plan.

How much is it? I can't remember and I'm not finding it. Is it $10 per person per day, or more? If it's $10, it would be $120 for the two of us. If we were going to 2 nice TS restaurants that would pay for itself. BUT, while we would swap out a TS dinner for a QS dinner we would LOSE a snack credit each day for each of us. Plus, we'd need to add tips and have a more scheduled trip with ADRs. Still, it might be nice to do more sit-downs since it's just the two of us. I got kind of tired of burgers, pizza, and chicken nuggets on our last trip. It was a longer trip though (since we combined it with a conference), so there were many more days of fast food. And we do have plans to eat at a couple of nice QS restaurants that aren't quite so "fast foody". We enjoyed splitting a couple of QS meals around the world showcase at EPCOT last time. Plus, DH loves Casey's and will want to stop in for corn dog nuggets every time we go to the MK.

Those are my thoughts for right now.

Feel free to comment or say "HI" and tell me about your upcoming or last trip!

 

[DisneyMomma09]

Congratulations on your upcoming anniversary! When are you going to be in Disney? My response to your question about upgrading the dining plan is that I prefer to have a TS meal at some point during the day. We find it is a nice respite from the heat and a nice break from all the standing and walking. But it is certainly up to you! There are many different CS places that offer things other than burgers and fries, so I am sure that if you decide to stick with the QSDP, you will be able to find many other options!

Good luck in your planning! You can read about my upcoming trip in my PTR. Check out the link in my signature!

 

[LMDisneygirl]

Congratulations on your upcoming anniversary! When are you going to be in Disney? My response to your question about upgrading the dining plan is that I prefer to have a TS meal at some point during the day. We find it is a nice respite from the heat and a nice break from all the standing and walking. But it is certainly up to you! There are many different CS places that offer things other than burgers and fries, so I am sure that if you decide to stick with the QSDP, you will be able to find many other options!

Good luck in your planning! You can read about my upcoming trip in my PTR. Check out the link in my signature!

Hi! And thanks for commenting. It's so nice when someone says Hi. I'll have to check out your PTR. We're going in a few weeks. We've been in August the last few times we've gone, so we know we're in store for HOT HOT HOT! It's a great time to go to Typhoon Lagoon though!

-------------------------------

So we think we've decided to try something new on this trip - the sit down buffet at Germany in EPCOT. We've never been to it, but have heard it's great.

We're debating about a sit down breakfast. DH LOVES breakfast. I can take it or leave it. So he's planning to get QS bfast from Pop most days, and then we'll go to a TS breakfast one day. We've been to Kona Cafe (Polynesian), Whispering Canyon Cafe (Wilderness Lodge) and Boma (AK Lodge). We like them all. They all have their good points. I think I'll let him decide since he's the breakfast lover.

 

[Disney9.9.10]

I love your PTR title! That is what I feel about my PTR - sometimes you just want to talk to people who "get it"! Congratulations on 15 years of marriage! I look forward to following along!

 

[LMDisneygirl]

I love your PTR title! That is what I feel about my PTR - sometimes you just want to talk to people who "get it"! Congratulations on 15 years of marriage! I look forward to following along!

Thanks for checking in! I was feeling so lonely!

 

[LMDisneygirl]

I posted this exact same thing on it's own, but decided that it really is part of my PTR thinking, so I copied and pasted it right in here too!

The stress isn't your normal stress like "What will I pack" or "How can I get it all done before I leave" or even "I haven't made all my ADRs". Let me explain it this way......

The first time I went to Disneyworld as an adult was for my honeymoon, and we were just plain excited to go. We did a fair amount of Disney guidebook reading, researched and decided on a resort, thought about where we might like to eat a few of our meals, and mostly just got very excited about our trip. I'm guessing it's that way for many people, unless you're one of the people who finds the DIS before your first trip, then all bets are off! We didn't know every little hint and tip, but we had a great time!

The next few times we went, we did a lot of exploring and planning for our trip. Since we were big Disney lovers after going on our honeymoon we loved obsessing in the planning! We spent hours and hours reading guidebooks, looking up park hours, parade and firework times, planning meals and park days in advance, and (as of our last trip) pouring over the Disboards. We planned, talked, and prepared. And the planning was so much fun!

Now we're planning for our 15th anniversary trip in a few weeks. This time without the kids. And instead of just being excited about being away with my husband I'm all stressed...... "6 Nights isn't enough time to do it all", "How many times do we want to get to park openings?", "How can we get up early, go to a waterpark mid day, take a nap, and stay out til 2am for an evening EMH?", "what should we do when we arrive at 1pm on our first day", "which things are most important to me?", "which are most important to my husband?", "what if we both want two different trips???", "do we really need to eat at Casey's EVERY time we go to the MK?". You know, once you've gone a few times and know what you love to do and how MUCH wonderful things there are to do, it's hard to imagine how you'll fit it all in (because really you won't).

And as DH and I do our "Disney training walks" each day I realize that we each have favorite things that we are planning on, or things that we really could do without. And I'm hoping that they will mesh together well, but I'm stressed that they won't. I make the joke that it's not a trip to Disney until I cry. But really I'd love to go and have a wonderful trip with a man I truly love to be with, and have as little conflict as possible.

I know that this is my normal "pre trip stress" talking. 6 nights away with my husband is truly a GIFT, and I need to just enjoy the anticipation and have a wonderful trip. Now I just need to figure out how to chill myself out!

How has your preparation changed as you have gone on several (or even a couple) trips to the most wonderful place on earth? Do you get stressed before your trips?

Thanks for reading, and hopefully some of you will comment back too!

 

[LMDisneygirl]

I forgot to mention some of the reason I feel like there is more "stressing" and less "fun planning" this time. And that is that there doesn't FEEL like there is much new to find out. I know there is, but at this point looking through a guidebook feels pretty "been there, done that". So while we are certainly planning things in advance, there doesn't feel like there is as much to DISCOVER.

I KNOW that thinking is wrong though. I think we're going to try to do at least one new thing at each park that we've never done before. Some thoughts:

Magic Kingdom
- There are several places we've never eaten. We've mostly gone to Casey's and Cosmic Rays. We've also been to the Pizza place in fantasyland.
- Haven't been on the Jungle Cruise in a LOOOONG time
....Trying to think of other things!

EPCOT
- So many great restaurants to try. We're planning to go to Germany this time for the lunch buffet.

DHS
- Indiana Jones (but I think it's just plain too hot to go in the middle of the summer, isn't it?)
....Not sure what else we haven't done, though we've only seen Fantasmic once and we were sitting up in the back and I was paying a lot of attention to my son to make sure he wasn't afraid

AK
- Khali River Rapids
- ANY looking at animals - just have never done it
- Primeval Whirl (DH has been on it, but I haven't)
- Festival of the Lion King show
- Characters in their AK gear

We've also only ever been to ONE park opening. We got to the MK opening last time. So maybe this time we'll get to go to a couple more of those too!

 

[dizney chick]

I am sooo excited for you. My DH and I would love to take a no kids trip but we haven't worked up the courage to tell the kids They have been several times and if I promised Pokemon I might be able to gat away with it
Can't wait to hear more!

 

[LMDisneygirl]

I am sooo excited for you. My DH and I would love to take a no kids trip but we haven't worked up the courage to tell the kids They have been several times and if I promised Pokemon I might be able to gat away with it
Can't wait to hear more!

The "easier" and "harder" of it is that we just took the boys for a long trip to WDW last summer (see my trip report link in my signature if you're interested!). Since they were there last year, in a way it makes it easier to do a "romantic mommy & daddy" trip this year without them. On the other hand, they loved the trip last year, and can't wait to go back again. So from that perspective it makes it harder to go without them. Especially since my 11 year old discovered his inner "thrill rides" lover last year on our trip. But they are excited to stay at several different family members house for a day or two at a time while we are gone. We're very fortunate to each have parents and two sisters (and their families) within 15 minutes of our house. But the souvenirs are a MUST. We will be disowned if we don't bring them!

We told them we'd try to go back in a couple years with them after the Fantasyland expansion and new Animation resort are done.

 

[DisneyMomma09]

I have been looking at trying something new this trip, as well. What about one of the tours? There are many different options and it would give you a new and different perspective of the parks!

 

[LMDisneygirl]

I have been looking at trying something new this trip, as well. What about one of the tours? There are many different options and it would give you a new and different perspective of the parks!

That's a great idea! Definitely something worth looking into. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[MichMickey]

DH checking in. Anyone have an opinion on park opening for Epcot, DHS and AK?

 

[pooksma]

Congrats to you both on 15 years! DH and I took a trip in 2008 without our son (he still doesn't know about it) It was great to take a vacation together again.

We have a few restaurant favs- Le Cellier is at the top of the list. In fact, this will be our first trip without and ADR there. Rose and Crown and Boma are also in our good books.

Looking forward to reading more.

 

[LMDisneygirl]

So here is the question......do we rent a car for just overnight, or do we rent it for the whole week?

Our trip is coming quick! Two weeks from right now we should be on mainstreet scoping out our spot for Wishes! I can close my eyes and imagine it right now, even with the sound of Mario Kart in the background, and my 11 year old telling me stories he's made up as he plays.

We're planning to fly down and take the Magical Express to the Pop. We then have a loose plan of possibly hitting Typhoon Lagoon that afternoon and then going to the MK that first night, which is our tradition (the MK part, not the TL part). Somewhere in there we planned to go rent a car from a hotel near DTD. It was just going to be a one night car rental so we could go to the grocery store to get a few snacks and LOTS of WATER! I can't tell you how wonderful it was on our summer trip to Disney last summer to come back to our room from the sweltering hot sun, and have plenty of ice cold water in the styrofoam cooler we bought. SO NICE!!! We figure that with the cost of water in the world, it's worth it to rent the car for a night to get what we need & want to have in our room. We probably come out ahead financially.

So my husband priced it out, and he's wondering if we should get the car for the whole 6 nights, rather than just the one night. There is a sort of "economies of scale" thing going on, like when you buy Disney tickets (if I am using that term correctly). Boy, this is a toughie! We're on a little bit of a budget with our trip......but it sure is nice to climb into your very own (even though it really belongs to someone else) air-conditioned car that you can sit down in (more an issue for DH than me since he always tries to stand and make sure all the women have a seat on the bus (awwww!)), and drive back to the resort (or wherever else you want to go).

Still......it is about $150 worth of luxury and comfort.

Decisions, decisions! Well, time for another "Disney Training Walk". More later!!

 

[DisneyMomma09]

What about a grocery delivery service? I have never personally used one because SIL lives near Orlando and does our shopping for us, but I know many people here use them. That might be even more economical than renting a car.

 

[LMDisneygirl]

What about a grocery delivery service? I have never personally used one because SIL lives near Orlando and does our shopping for us, but I know many people here use them. That might be even more economical than renting a car.

Thanks for the suggestion. We have thought of that. I looked into Garden Grocer. I guess we'll weight out all our options, see where our money is at, and make a decision soon!

In other news.....I seem to be in a better mood over the past 2 days. I hope this will continue! The stress is less, and I'm getting more excited about our trip rather than concerned about a bunch of dumb little "what if's".

 

[Stan Solo]

Hello LM

Stan Solo here you may remember me from such threads as your post trip report

While we never been to Disney we plan to just walk to Hess from DTD my understanding is that it is just a short walk. If you plan to buy a lot of water just bring a rolling suitcase with you.

 

[lynn46356]

We took a parents only trip a few years back for our 25th anniversary and also stayed at Pop. It was wonderful!!!!! I planned and planned (probably for a few years but don't tell). We drove down (16 hours) straight through. Call us crazy!!! It was wonderful having some alone time together. It was our first major vacation by ourselves - our middle son (20) was in charge of our youngest son (9). What were we thinking!!!!!! We tried to take a more leisurely attitude toward the vacation but we made it to rope drop every morning. We had free dining (qs) but upgraded to the basic dining plan. It was great having a sit down meal every day with just the two of us. We were lucky to find an illuminations cruise to share with a party of adults. It was worth the extra $. We traveled in November/December so we got to experience Disney during the holidays which was extra special. I'm sure you will have a wonderful time. I think your plan of TL the day you arrive sounds wonderful too. I love reading the cake thread on the restaurant board. How about ordering a small cake to celebrate your anniversary. I'm sure its not too late! Relax and Enjoy your upcoming Disney Trip! It will be marvelous!!!!!!!!

 

[LMDisneygirl]

We took a parents only trip a few years back for our 25th anniversary and also stayed at Pop. It was wonderful!!!!! I planned and planned (probably for a few years but don't tell). We drove down (16 hours) straight through. Call us crazy!!! It was wonderful having some alone time together. It was our first major vacation by ourselves - our middle son (20) was in charge of our youngest son (9). What were we thinking!!!!!! We tried to take a more leisurely attitude toward the vacation but we made it to rope drop every morning. We had free dining (qs) but upgraded to the basic dining plan. It was great having a sit down meal every day with just the two of us. We were lucky to find an illuminations cruise to share with a party of adults. It was worth the extra $. We traveled in November/December so we got to experience Disney during the holidays which was extra special. I'm sure you will have a wonderful time. I think your plan of TL the day you arrive sounds wonderful too. I love reading the cake thread on the restaurant board. How about ordering a small cake to celebrate your anniversary. I'm sure its not too late! Relax and Enjoy your upcoming Disney Trip! It will be marvelous!!!!!!!!

Hi Lynn!

Sounds like a great trip! I hope ours will be the same. We're still batting around the idea of upgrading to the TS dining plan. So many pros and cons. We need to decide what's more important......flexibility and not having to plan in advance, or nice meals sitting down in a nice air-conditioned restaurant together! I love the cake idea! We'll need to check into that.