Mission: Turn BF into a WDW fanatic

[Princess_Ariel_5]

Hi! So, I just returned from my trip to WDW this afternoon and I decided to start a trip report. I figured if I didn't start it soon, I may forget some parts! Haha. This is my first ever trip report, but my 17th (or 18th...I lose count) time to Disney World. I went with my boyfriend, who had never been to Disney until this trip. I'm not really sure how to start this, so I'll do it my own way...here we go...

Some background info:
My name is Eva, I'm 25, and I live in NY. I'm a teacher, and a hardcore Disney fan. I've always been a Disney fan, and took my first trip to WDW at the age of 4. I have my parents to thank for my obsession. We went every single year when I was younger and as a result, my siblings are also big fans. My sister did the Disney College Program a few years ago, so while she was there, I lived vicariously through her and visited her when I got the chance. My boyfriend and I have been dating for about two years now, and he knew from day one that he was with a hardcore Disney fan and he had to accept the fact that sooner or later, I would drag him to WDW. He grew up watching and loving Disney movies like The Lion King, Toy Story, Beauty and the Beast, and others, so he knows the deal about how amazing the movies are. Now, I just had to convince him how amazing WDW was...

This story starts back in July, when we were getting ready for a Royal Caribbean Cruise to Bermuda. He was super excited, and I was looking forward to it but hey, it's not Disney and I'm a teeeeeeny bit afraid of cruises. This is what started our discussion about vacations and where else we would eventually want to go. I, of course, brought up Disney World and he was not into it at the time, but I figured I could convince him. So, we go on the cruise, have a nice time, and we're back home. I subtly bring up how Star Wars (he's a fan) is now owned by Disney and there is a bunch of Star Wars stuff in Hollywood Studios. That caught his attention for a bit, but then he forgot about it. He still wasn't convinced. After a few weeks of throwing Disney in to everyday conversation and having mutual friends who also love WDW bring it up, he finally agreed to order the Vacation Planning DVD and watch it with me! I was slowly reeling him in. The DVD came in, we watched it, and he was interested. I even caught him going on YouTube to watch Walt Disney documentaries (he's a history buff) and learning the history of the studio. I kept looking at vacation packages and pricing out different packages. Finally, one day in August, he was sick of hearing me talk about it and told me to just book it!!! We were officially going to Disney World on February 14th and returning on February 19th. We purchased the dining plan and were booked to stay at All Star Music (until something changed...dun dun dun...stay tuned). I was ecstatic, but I know I still had to convince him further.

And so, my mission to turn my boyfriend into a WDW fanatic began...

 

[Dentam]

Joining in! Can't wait to hear all about your trip!

 

[Princess_Ariel_5]

Oh! I forgot to mention this in my earlier post – we had memory maker and it was great! I hardly took any pictures on my own because I was honestly just truly enjoying my time in WDW that I didn’t even think to take out my phone. My BF hates pics of himself, so I don’t want to post pics of him since he’s uncomfortable with that, so there will be no pics here


After we booked, I was constantly on here checking out the boards and on the WDW website planning our trip. I noticed a deal that I hadn’t noticed before – save 20% for staying at a moderate with the dining plan and it was valid for our trip dates! I checked it out and realized it was not much more at all, so I changed our reservation from All Star Music to Caribbean Beach! I was psyched; I stayed at CBR with my family before and loved it. I told my BF and showed him pictures and videos. As a fan of travelling to the Caribbean, he was impressed and more excited than before.

February 14th, 2016
I was up and ready to go for our 11AM flight at 6AM. I guess I was pretty excited. My BF seemed to be excited too but I could tell he was still skeptical. Oh well, too late, we were on our way! We caught an early cab to the airport and arrived in 15 minutes, which is record time in NYC. We were about 3 hours early for our flight and flew through security. While we were waiting, we grabbed breakfast and talked about all the things we were going to do in WDW. I was so excited, I couldn't stop smiling and I felt like a little kid again. Nothing too exciting happened here, we got on our plane, had a pleasant flight thanks to Delta’s in-flight wifi with their selection of movies. I was able to watch The Intern on my iPad. Finally, we landed! We were here – at MCO. We went from 0 degree weather to 75 degree weather and I loved it. We got off the plane and I could hardly contain my excitement. We made our way to baggage claim and to the Magical Express, and we were off! To my surprise, we were the first stop, so the ride wasn’t too long at all! I did online check-in, and 10 minutes in to the bus ride, I received a text saying our second floor room was ready in Martinique, building 23! Just what I had requested! This was off to a great start. We arrived at the resort, stopped in at Customs House to grab a map and ask for directions and we set off on our walk to Martinique. It was a short walk, maybe 7 minutes, to our room. We walked in to the room and I could tell my boyfriend was impressed – he told me he was not expecting the room to be so nice and he was expecting it to be “Disney in your face” and was surprised to see that it was very clean and nice. We put our stuff away, relaxed for a bit, checked out Old Port Royale, and then headed to DTD…I mean Disney Springs, I’m still not used to the new name. The buses at CBR were great for us – they ran often and were very efficient, so we really enjoyed it. As we go off the bus at Disney Springs, we walked in by the Disney Christmas Store and went in. We really enjoyed that store, and the other stores. We did a lot of shopping, and then headed over to Paradiso 37 for our 7:00 reservation. We got to the area at around 6:30, and noticed the line was RIDICULOUSLY long. We got on the line, and heard people around us saying they were already waiting for an hour or so. That made us nervous, but we waited. People were complaining, we were hungry, and tired, but I was in Disney World so I tried not to let it get to me. Our reservation was for 7:00. FINALLY, at 7:30, we were seated. We ended up being seated in a back room that seemed to be reserved for Valentine’s Day. It was nice and quiet, away from the main dining room, so it worked out well. I ordered the Fish Tacos, which were delicious and my boyfriend ordered the Mahi Mahi sliders, which he thoroughly enjoyed. After dinner, we were exhausted from traveling and shopping, so we headed back to CBR and crashed. Arrival day went extremely well, except for our long wait for dinner. The next day, we were off to EPCOT, so we went to sleep early in preparation for Future World exploration and drinking around the world!

 

[MataHari22]

Following along.

 

[Dentam]

How nice to go from 0 degrees to warm and sunny FL! Sounds like you had a great arrival day! EPCOT is a good way to ease a Disney newbie into the bubble, and drinking around the world - well planned!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

joining in! Glad to see your plan worked to convince him to go on the trip and that he seems to be enjoying it so much. If he is a history buff there is so much in connection to Walt Disney (making government movies during WWII, etc.) and also, just the building of Disneyland and the heads of state that visited, etc.

I hardly took any pictures on my own because I was honestly just truly enjoying my time in WDW

how dare you just enjoy your vacation?!?!?!?

Seems like a smooth arrival day (I too live in the NYC area, we're a bit north) so remember how cold it was that weekend. I guess for being Valentine's day that wasn't too long of a wait and glad dinner was good!

 

[Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Daa]

Joining in! Im trying to turn my boyfriend into a Disney addict too! Curious to see how yours enjoyed it!

 

[frostymojo]

How did this turn out?

 

[Princess_Ariel_5]

Ah, I've been so busy I haven't had a chance to add to this! So, our first full day, here we go!

We went to EPCOT. Got there before RD and waited in line. We took the bus from CBR, no complaints there. Once we got in, there was a mad dash to Test Track but we already had a FP+ for 11:00! So we went to explore Future World. First ride was Spaceship Earth, of course. BF really enjoyed it, since it told the history of communication and whatnot and he looooves history! We walked around Future World a bit, went in to the different pavilions and shopped. We loved the Pixar short films! After exploring Future World, we hit Test Track and it was AWESOME! Then, it was time to head to the World Showcase to drink around the world! BF was super excited for that. We started with Canada and made our way around. It was a gorgeous day, just chilly enough to be comfortable in a windbreaker. The sun was out, but it wasn't too hot. Great day, honestly. We wandered around the World Showcase and drank and shopped! We had fish and chips in England and snagged a table right near the water overlooking all the other countries so it was super relaxing and quiet. As we headed around, it was crowded but not crazy overbearing. My BF really enjoyed the World Showcase. By around 2:30pm, we were exhausted! We headed back to CBR to nap and freshen up for dinner. At around 5, we started to head back to EPCOT for our 6:30 Biergarten reservation! It was a but chillier in the evening but still nice. We got to the park about an hour before our reservation so we took our time walking over and stopped for many pictures since we had memory maker. We made it to Biergarten and were nervous that we would have another night like the night before with the wait at Paradiso, but we were seated quickly! Then we learned we had to sit with other people at a table since we were a party of 2. BF and I were a little nervous because there were many young, screaming children as well as screaming, drunk adults around! Luckily, we were seated with a lovely family! Their two kids were super cute and well behaved, and the parents were so funny and nice to talk to. We had great conversation and I enjoyed my wine while BF enjoyed his large beer. I'm a very picky eater so I didn't love the food but my BF did. I just had some chicken and potatoes but he had everything and said it was great, so don't take my opinion too seriously since I am known for ordering chicken fingers and fries everywhere I go! After dinner, we walked around the showcase a bit and were able to see the HS Star Wars fireworks! That was nice to see on our walk back to the bus. So, our first day was a success! BF was impressed and enjoyed the atmosphere and vibe of EPCOT and he finally understood how Disney was NOT just for kids! Score for me. We went to bed early again, we were headed to Magic Kingdom the next morning! I was nervous about this because I wasn't sure if my BF would enjoy it since it is "Disney in your face" and geared more towards kids...I was too tired to worry too much though, and I fell asleep quickly. CBR has awesome beds, btw!

Tune in tomorrow for our tales from the Magic Kingdom!

 

[heaven2dc]

Glad your BF is enjoying his first visit! Hopefully MK won't be too crowded so you both can have a great day Sometimes it's hard to know how first time guests will react to Disney and I think you started out your trip perfectly with Epcot being the first park.