My FIRST EVER August 2012 PTR :) (Updated 08/13)

[Whereisalyssa]

Hello everyone! (If anyone decides to join me at all ) and welcome to my first EVER PTR!! I’m kind of nervous about making this because I honestly have no idea what I’m doing or how to make this thing interesting enough for you to follow but I’m going to do my best ! This is going to be my family and I’s fourth Disney trip overall and we couldn’t be more excited!
before you get started, here is a link to a quick video of our 2010 trip! we plan on making a much better and much longer video for this next trip! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhbHx5zv2Z8&feature=plcp

Cast of Characters
Lets start with ME!

Hi, I’m Alyssa, I’m a 20 year old university student from Canada and a massive Disney fan. My boyfriend is also a big Disney fan, but he won’t be coming along on this trip ☹. I’ll be turning 21 just before our trip so if any of you have any must-try drinks on your list, by all means let me know! I’ve planned a large amount of this trip on my own with the input from the other characters coming along.
Here are some of my favorites:
Favorite Princess: Belle/Ariel/Rapunzel
Favorite Character: Stitch/lottie
Favorite Movie: Tangled
Favorite Ride: Aerosmith's Rockin' Roller Coaster
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom/Typhoon Lagoon

Next is my brother Jesse:

He’s going to be turning 18 just before this trip (his birthday is exactly a week before mine!). He isn’t the biggest Disney fan (I know, I know, he’s crazy right?) he’d rather spend his time playing Xbox and his PS3, he considers himself a “hardcore gamer” LOL. We have always been extremely close so whether he would prefer to be at Disney or not we always have fun together.
Here are some of his favorites:
Favorite Prince: Flynn Ryder
Favorite Character: Captain Jack Sparrow
Favorite Movie: Toy story/Pirates of the Caribbean
Favorite Ride: Crush n’ Gusher
Favorite Park: Typhoon Lagoon

Finally, is my Disney lovin mama

She’s just as big of a Disney nut as me and is the wonderful lady funding this whole trip (muahaha). She’s excited to do just about everything but she’s most excited about the FOOD. She’s not only my mom but also one of my best friends and the three of us together make one super team!
Here are some of her favorites:
Favorite Princess: Belle
Favorite Character: Minnie mouse
Favorite Movie: Beauty and the Beast
Favorite Ride: Haunted Mansion
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom

Other members of the cast that will not be joining us but that deserve honorable mention are:
My NON DISNEY dad (don't worry.. that's just him in his "not-so-great" beatle juice costume)

And my two adorable kitties Mittens and Boots

UP NEXT: DECIDING ON A DATE!
​

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Deciding on a Date
Matching Etsy Shirts
Deciding on a Resort
Dining ADR's
Souvenirs
Itinerary
Booking Flights
Shopping Haul
Park Plans: Magic Kingdom
More Shopping!
Park Plans: Universal Islands of Adventure
Mousekeeping Tip Envelopes
Real Life Update #1
Park Plans: Epcot
Park Plans: Hollywood Studios
Pin Trading
Park Plans: Animal Kingdom
Park Plans: Water Parks
Shopping Haul #2
Packing Updates and a New ADR
MICKEY MAIL, LGMH's, AND MORE!
13 DAYS AND COUNTING

 

[Whereisalyssa]

Deciding on a Date​

This was pretty easy for us; every other Disney trip we’ve taken has always been in august because that is when all of my moms’ deadlines are finished at work so it’s the easiest time for her to go! We originally wanted to leave on the 16th and return on the 23rd so that we could make it home in time for the fan expo in Toronto (it’s sort of like a MUCH smaller comi-con) last year we had a blast at fan expo and I got to meet my beloved Tom felton(Draco Malfoy of Harry Potter)!! Buuuuut this didn’t work out because we decided to book with CAA and were informed that flights and hotel rates would be cheaper from a Tuesday to a Tuesday so we changed our dates to the 21st to the 28th! In the end this worked out pretty well because I was later informed that I would be a part of my boyfriends sisters wedding lovestruc)which is a few days before we leave AND we qualified for the Canadian free dining! Woohoo ! The only downside will be missing fan expo (which Jesse is pretty upset about).. but we can always go next year right?

sooo this post wasn't the MOST interesting in the world.. i'll give you that... so here are some pictures of our 2010 trip so that you can get to know us a little better!

There's a funny story behind this first one... my gamer brother looking very focused even though he'd already gotten the highest score possible and me looking visibly frustrated because i only had a few hundred points and didn't have a clue what I was doing wrong!

We stayed at the All-Star Movies in 2010 in the toy story section

WHAAAAT i SOO was NOT scared on Dinosaur...

the three of us together!

UP NEXT: DECIDING ON A HOTEL

 

[Whereisalyssa]

OT:
my boyfriend and I recently bought the cutest matching shirts on etsy for 12 dollars each!!

​

 

[Whereisalyssa]

Deciding on a Resort​

SO! As I have stated, in previous years we have stayed at the All-Star Movies, but we have also stayed at the Carribean Beach Resort! here are some past photos I have taken:

This time we wanted something cheap but fun, we actually considered the All-Star Movies resort again because of how much we loved it last time but we really wanted to try something new, so we decided on the Pop Century! We actually booked it with preferred pool view and upgraded our dining to the regular dining plan by paying the difference! We began doing research and were happy with our choice buuut a part of us wanted something different as well. We started doing research on moderates and found that we al really loved the theming of the Port Orleans French Quarter and preferred it to POP so we called our CAA TA and had her tell us the price difference if we were to switch resorts and it ended up only being just under 200 dollars more and we got the regular dining package totally free! So it was a done deal for us and we switched however, we only have a standard level room, but we don’t mind! We’ve called POFQ and were told that there are standard rooms in every building so we requested building 5 and 2! *crossing our fingers*. We are so excited to be staying at what seems to be such a beautiful resort and we can’t wait to take the boat down to downtown Disney at night!!

Here are some gorgeous pictures of the resort I found that make me extremely excited!

​

​

NEXT UP: DINING ADR'S​

​

 

[Whereisalyssa]

DINING ADR'S
Okay, so, our 180 day window was on february 24th I believe and I was staying with my friend at an apartment in toronto for our reading week from school and I was up bright and early to do the ADR's and of course... the reservation system was down and because toronto is an hour away from my home.. it was too long distance for me to call from my cell phone... I was distraught that I would have to wait until I was home to make the reservations but when I finally did, everything turned out exactly as I had planned!! woohoo!!

So here are the ADR's we ended up with:
Tuesday 21st - Rainforest Cafe @ DTD for 5pm (we've eaten at rainforest cafe before but never the one at downtown disney!)
Wednesday 22nd - Le Cellier @ 11:40AM and then Whispering Canyon @ 6:20pm
Thursday 23rd - UNIVERSAL DAY - we will have the meal deal there and also have dinner at the three broomsticks!
Friday 24th - Chef Mickeys @5:30pm
Saturday 25th - Sci Fi Dine In @5:10pm
Sunday 26th - Planet Hollywood @ 6:30pm
Monday 27th - T-Rex Cafe @ 6:30pm

Some CS places we would like to visit are Cosmic Rays, and Pizza Planet - anyone have any suggestions on another delicious CS?

we also definitely want to head over to beaches and cream for the kitchen sink! YUM!!

UP NEXT: ITINERARY​

 

[Whereisalyssa]

(slightly)OT: SOUVENIRS!
So I've been on the boards and online like craaaazy since we found out we are going and I've found a ton of things that i'm now saving up to buy! if anyone is interested and if anyone has noticed that they sell any of these at the parks please let me know! haha i'm not even sure that i'll be able to find them!

I have a pandora charm bracelet that will fit these Camilla charms

THIS if for my DBF

THIS will be for my dad

annnd for me!

I've got my heart set on that ring!!
hehe i promise my next post will be the itinerary!​

 

[Eight]

As far as drinks go, the only ones I've tried are the Grand Marnier Orange Slushie and the Lapu Lapu. Both were super good, although I thought both were a little strong (but I'm a total lightweight, soo...). Also, I've had the Magical Star Cocktail at Disneyland, and I'm pretty sure I've seen that on the menu of some bars at WDW, but I'm not 100% positive. I really like those, plus it comes with a light up glow cube so what's not to like?

Looking forward to reading more!

 

[Whereisalyssa]

As far as drinks go, the only ones I've tried are the Grand Marnier Orange Slushie and the Lapu Lapu. Both were super good, although I thought both were a little strong (but I'm a total lightweight, soo...). Also, I've had the Magical Star Cocktail at Disneyland, and I'm pretty sure I've seen that on the menu of some bars at WDW, but I'm not 100% positive. I really like those, plus it comes with a light up glow cube so what's not to like?

Looking forward to reading more!

Yay!! finally a reader!

and those drinks sound fantastic! I'd love to try and find the Magical Star Cocktail I was hoping for a really cute/special drink so that sounds perfect! thank you!!

 

[Whereisalyssa]

Our Itinerary


Alright, so, as I’ve told you we’ll be IN Disney from August 21st to August 28th, Tuesday to a Tuesday, yada yada.. you get the jist
So the day before that (Monday august 20th) we’ll be driving to Buffalo, Ny because we booked flights with JetBlue (my favorite airline!) but our flights aren’t until Tuesday morning! We wanted to be safe because you never know how long your wait at the border will be so we are driving in the day before, shopping at the Walden galleria mall and staying at the millennium hotel! We think it will be a fun little start to our vacation! Anyways, on to the fun stuff!!

Tuesday 21st – We will be landing at around 12:30pm and we will be hopping on the magical express and off to our resort, we’re hoping that this won’t take any longer than about 2 hours? After we arrive at the hotel and check in we want to take a chance to wander around the resort and go for a swim! Then we’ll hop onto the boat at PORFQ and head to DTD for our dinner at 5 at the rainforest café. After dinner we’ll be heading over to MK because we have preferred viewing for wishes at 8:45pm… after that will probably be bedtime or we might head over to Epcot for their evening EMH!

Wednesday 22nd – EPCOT DAY! We’ll be in Epcot the full day touring both future world and the world showcase! (Do you think we can get it done in a day?) We also have lunch at Le Cellier at 11:40am and dinner at whispering canyon at 6:20pm (does anyone know the fastest way to get to whispering canyon from Epcot?)

Thursday 23rd – Universal Islands of Adventure day ☺

Friday 24th – Magic Kingdom day! And dinner at Chef Mickey’s at 5:30pm – MK has evening EMH this day so we may take a long midday break and head back for MSEP and some more rides later in the evening!

Saturday 25th – DHS day! We will be there at 8am ready to head straight to TSMM! We’ll be touring DHS all day with dinner at Sci-fi at 5:10 and Fantasmic at 8:30!

Sunday 26th – hopefully today will be a typhoon lagoon day and then dinner at planet Hollywood for dinner and off to another park for the evening!

Monday 27th – another TL day and possibly AK for a few hours as well then dinner at the T-REX and off to another park for the evening!

Tuesday 28th – Departure day ☹ our flight leaves at 4:30pm so we will probably spend the day at the resort or head to DTD/MK for some last minute souvenirs.


If anyone has any tips or suggestions let me know! I’ve also created this chart of all of the hours of the parks each day we will be there to make it easier!
​

ALSO! we're finally at 98 DAYS!!! DOUBLE DIGIT DANCE ANYONE?! ​

 

[Whereisalyssa]

BOOKING FLIGHTS

Alright so I think I've already mentioned the fact that JetBlue is my favourite airline.. mostly because we've only had good experiences with them but also because of the personal TV's to keep me occupied (I'm terrified of flying!) so months and months ago we started stalking their website to see when flights would become available and when they finally did we found a flight out of buffalo at a reasonable time direct to orlando and the same coming home.. so we booked! unfortunately... since then JetBlue has changed the times of our flights several times ! So this is the flight itinerary we have so far.. we will fly out of buffalo at 10AM and land at 12:30PM ...all the good rooms won't be gone by this time will they? :S and our flight home departs at 4:30PM and arrives back in buffalo at 7PM... luckily we got a decent deal on them or we would not be impressed.. $900 altogether for 3 people!

here are some photos from the last time we flew with JetBlue!

that well dressed lady on the other side of the aisle is my grandma!

and here is the lovely flight attendant we had! we have no idea if she's with JetBlue anymore but she was so awesome! she made the flight ten times better for us!

​

 

[Eight]

Wednesday 22nd – EPCOT DAY! We’ll be in Epcot the full day touring both future world and the world showcase! (Do you think we can get it done in a day?) We also have lunch at Le Cellier at 11:40am and dinner at whispering canyon at 6:20pm (does anyone know the fastest way to get to whispering canyon from Epcot?)
​

​

​

I think Epcot is a pretty hard park to get done in one day, at least for me. I prefer to do it in two half days, one in Future World and one in the World Showcase. But I think it all depends on your touring style, and how long you like to stay in the park. I like to take breaks midday, especially when it's so hot, so that factors in for me.

Also, I'm pretty you could just take a bus from Epcot to the Wilderness Lodge to get to Whispering Canyon, but a taxi might be faster, if you don't have to wait for it. I've never taken a taxi at WDW, but I've seen them around.

I've never flown JetBlue, but I love any airlines that use personal TVs!
Not entirely sure what you mean by the good rooms being gone by the time you arrive? I'm from the west coast, so my flights always come in pretty late, usually getting to the resort by 7pm, and I usually have pretty good luck with getting good rooms. I guess it would depend on your definition of good though and whether or not you were really set on a certain building/floor/view etc.

 

[Whereisalyssa]

I think Epcot is a pretty hard park to get done in one day, at least for me. I prefer to do it in two half days, one in Future World and one in the World Showcase. But I think it all depends on your touring style, and how long you like to stay in the park. I like to take breaks midday, especially when it's so hot, so that factors in for me.

Also, I'm pretty you could just take a bus from Epcot to the Wilderness Lodge to get to Whispering Canyon, but a taxi might be faster, if you don't have to wait for it. I've never taken a taxi at WDW, but I've seen them around.

I've never flown JetBlue, but I love any airlines that use personal TVs!
Not entirely sure what you mean by the good rooms being gone by the time you arrive? I'm from the west coast, so my flights always come in pretty late, usually getting to the resort by 7pm, and I usually have pretty good luck with getting good rooms. I guess it would depend on your definition of good though and whether or not you were really set on a certain building/floor/view etc.

thank you for all of your input! We are slightly worried about trying to do epcot in one day too, so that might have to change. Epcot is the one park that we are really interested in touring this year because we tend to kind of skip over it .

Also, We'll be busing from Epcot to the Wilderness Lodge - I asked because I wasn't sure if the resort had any connection to the monorails!

I love those personal TV's I'm the most terrified flyer you've ever seen so they help SO much with my anxiety. As for the question about getting good rooms, we are staying at the PORFQ in a standard room about 5 days before the free dining for everyone starts so I'm worried about getting a room far away from everything - when I asked PORFQ they told me that they have standard rooms in every building so I requested 2 and 5 because I've heard they are closest to everything so I'm crossing my fingers that we get either of those buildings but with the FD for everyone so close I'm not sure that it will be a possibility...

ps. any tips on must see/must do things at Epcot besides the major rides? so far we have club cool (to try the famous beverly) and pick a pearl in japan!

​

 

[Whereisalyssa]

TRIP SHOPPING HAUL

Sooo it's feeling a lot like summer around here lately and I was in desperate need of some summer clothes/vacation clothes so my mom, brother and I took a trip to the nicest shopping mall we know (about an hour from our home) and I went shopping! here is some of what I/we bought!

FIRST: some luggage for my brother (his broke on our last trip) he also got the matching carry-on!

some high waisted shorts with a pretty little bow

Mickey Pj's and a stitch top!

and finally a couple of rompers! has anyone worn these around the parks? if so how cool/comfy are they?

90 days!!​

 

[cbeeindisney]

THIS if for my DBF

Want this same shirt for my bf for when we go, although I think yours will be much more excited to wear it than mine, unfortunately bf doesn't share my Disney enthusiasm (cough addiction)! I love that you made a souvenir list, I thought I might be the only one to scour the internet for Disney Parks merch in advance

 

[Eight]

That Stitch shirt is so cute! Where did you get it?

ps. any tips on must see/must do things at Epcot besides the major rides? so far we have club cool (to try the famous beverly) and pick a pearl in japan!
​

It might be just me, but I really like the movie in China. I don't know why, I've never watched any of the other WS movies, but I do like China's. Not sure if I'd call it a must do though.

I've never tried Beverly. I think I may have to on my June trip finally!

 

[Whereisalyssa]

I know!! isn't it adorable? I got it at Hot Topic

The China video? I'll have to check it out! thanks!! We ALWAYS miss the beverly, last time we were there we took a picture RIGHT in front of club cool but didn't go in and when we went back to try it club cool was closed.. just our luck, this year we are determined!

You're going in June? brb, heading over to check out your PTR! ​

 

[Whereisalyssa]

THIS if for my DBF

Want this same shirt for my bf for when we go, although I think yours will be much more excited to wear it than mine, unfortunately bf doesn't share my Disney enthusiasm (cough addiction)! I love that you made a souvenir list, I thought I might be the only one to scour the internet for Disney Parks merch in advance

Hahaha I love that shirt! Don't worry, I'm sure my bf will still be a little hesitant to wear it out anywhere even though he is a Disney fan haha ! By the way, I am just as glad as you are to find out that I'M not the ONLY one who searches the internet for merch before the trip hahaha (maybe i'm not just a super obsessive planner... but then again maybe we both are hahaha !!).

Thanks for reading! ​

 

[cbeeindisney]

Hahaha I love that shirt! Don't worry, I'm sure my bf will still be a little hesitant to wear it out anywhere even though he is a Disney fan haha ! By the way, I am just as glad as you are to find out that I'M not the ONLY one who searches the internet for merch before the trip hahaha (maybe i'm not just a super obsessive planner... but then again maybe we both are hahaha !!).

Thanks for reading! ​

I can assure you that I am a self-proclaimed super obsessive planner! Glad I'm not the only one!

 

[Eight]

I know!! isn't it adorable? I got it at Hot Topic

The China video? I'll have to check it out! thanks!! We ALWAYS miss the beverly, last time we were there we took a picture RIGHT in front of club cool but didn't go in and when we went back to try it club cool was closed.. just our luck, this year we are determined!

You're going in June? brb, heading over to check out your PTR! ​

I think a trip to Hot Topic is in my future. Stitch is one of my favorite characters! Maybe even my number one favorite, but sometimes I have a hard time choosing.

That's too bad! You will definitely have to go this year!
I haven't been to Club Cool in years. I'm actually not even sure where it is.
So, I have a question. I'm going with my friend to WDW, and since I want to go to Club Cool, I think it would be fun to try and get the classic Beverly reaction photo, since I doubt she knows about it. But how do you do that without being totally obvious about it? Like, here, drink this cup of soda while I conspicuously hold this camera up? I'm probably overthinking this haha.

 

[cbeeindisney]

Thought of you when I saw these...so cute! I was thinking about getting them for our trip, Idk if I could wait until we go to get them

25% off parks merchandise this weekend on Disney Store website...