Oh I Just Can't Wait to be Home! - A June/July 2014 Pre-Trip Report!

[PrincessCasey27]

Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen to my first ever Pre-Trip Report!


This trip has been a long time coming and something we have all been looking forward to for months. I can't wait to share all of our plans and get some opinions on things we have never done before!

Let me begin by introducing the lovely people who will be involved in this awesome trip!

My name is Casey and I inherited my obsession with Disney from my parents, in fact, both of my sisters are just as obsessed because of them. Anyway, I'll get back to my parents later. I'm 21 years old, (22 by the time we leave), soon-to-be BSN (graduating in less than a month!), and an EMT, which basically takes up all my free time. I'm looking forward to this trip for lots of reasons: 1) We leave the day after my birthday, so its kind of exciting; 2) It’s the first time I will be old enough to drink around the world, which I've been looking forward to for years (I actually think my mom's more excited than I am for this one); 3) The last time I went to Disney was back in January of 2013 with a bunch of friends, which was so much fun, but it wasn’t the same as going with my parents. I can't wait to share this trip with all of you, and I hope I do a good enough job since this is my first trip report.

Favorites:

Park: Epcot, Magic Kingdom
Rides: Spaceship Earth, Journey into Imagination with Figment, Soarin', Pirates of the Caribbean, Tomorrowland Transit Authority, Carousel of Progress, Big Thunder Mountain, Rock 'n Roller Coaster, The Great Movie Ride.
Characters: Figment, Mickey
Restaurants: Olivia's, Sunshine Seasons, 'Ohana, Chef Mickey's, Whispering Canyon Café, Wolfgang Puck Express
Food: Dole whips, Butterfinger Cupcake from Starring Rolls, Avocado Margarita, Funnel Cake, Olivia's potatoes, Pina Colada bread from 'Ohana and Olivia's.

Now let me introduce the rest of the group!

This is Krissy, the middle child in the family, and she will be contributing to this report once in a while. She's 18 years old and dreams of going to the college program and eventually work in Disney, probably at a restaurant since she loves to cook. Anyway, she's a self-proclaimed Disney addict and she and I are basically the one's who plan every detail of our trips, our parents just pay and have the DVC membership.

Favorites: (written with quotes from Ms. Krissy)

Theme park: Magic Kingdom
Rides: Space Mountain, Astro Orbiter, Carousel of Progress, Tea Cups, Mickey's Philharmagic, Journey Under the Sea with Ariel, Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Peter Pan's Flight, Soarin', Test Track, Maelstrom, Imagination, Spaceship Earth, Rock 'n roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Backlot Tour, Great Movie Ride, ("is eating a ride?") , Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, Kali River Rapids, Primeval Whirl.
Resorts: Old Key West, Polynesian, Grand Floridian, Contemporary, Boardwalk, Yacht and Beach club
Characters: PLUTO, "the main man" Mickey, Copper and Todd ("the two original best friends, where my love of foxes and hounds started"), Dug, Peter pan, Dumbo, Timothy Mouse
Restaurants: Olivia's, ("I love food so this is gonna be kinda long"), 'Ohana, 50's Prime Time Café, ("we can go there for lunch, they have good food, it’s the same but at that time"), Big River, Cape May Café, Chef Mickeys (for breakfast only), Wolfgang Puck Express, Mama Melrose's, Raglan Road, The Turf, Whispering Canyon, Sunshine Seasons
Food: Olivia's potatoes, ALL DISNEY WORLD CHICKEN FINGERS ("best chicken fingers ever"), chips served with the chicken fingers at Saratoga Springs, Cheeseburger flatbread, Ham sandwich at the Land, Corn dogs from Casey's Corner, Chicken Caesar Salad at Big River, Mac&cheese at Cape May Café, Dole Whips, Mickey Chocolate cake at every quick service, Tiramisu at the Land, Banana bread pudding at 'Ohana, Kitchen Sink at Beaches and Cream, Mickey Waffles.

These people are the reason my sisters and I are the way we are. My mom and my dad raised us to love Disney and everything that went along with it. My dad owns his own business and my mom works with customer service and these trips to Disney are what they look forward to all year. My dad loves planning Disney trips and my mom loves just going with the flow while we're there. Oh and they've been DVC members since 1997, which is part of the reason we're able to go as often as we do.

Favorites:
Park: Epcot (Mom), Hollywood Studios (Dad)
Rides: The Land (Mom), Carousel of Progress (Dad)
Characters: Tigger (Mom), Mickey Mouse (Dad)
Resorts: Old Key West
Restaurants: The Turf, Olivia's
Food: Sandwiches at the Land, Pineapple Bread, Crab Cakes from Olivia's

This is Kelsey, the baby of the family. She's 15 years old but likes to think she's much older. She goes to high school and helps coach a basketball team at her old school. She's definitely a social butterfly and she's so much like me, it's scary (according to my mother). She's not as crazy with planning these trips as the rest of us, but she loves going.

Favorites:

Park: Magic Kingdom, Epcot
Rides: Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan's Flight, Soarin', Maelstrom, Spaceship Earth, Test Track
Characters: Peter Pan, Mickey, Donald, Stitch, Anna, and Elsa.
Resorts: Old Key West, Grand Floridian, Contemporary, Polynesian, Bay Lake Tower, Boardwalk, Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge
Restaurants: The Turf, Cape May Café, Chef Mickey's
Food: Mickey Waffles

This is Eddie, my boyfriend, best friend, and partner in crime for 2+ years now. This is his second time going to Disney with my family and the 6th time going in general. He's a fireman and will be an EMT right before we leave for this trip. He's my goofball and he enjoys making fun of me all the time.

Favorites:

Theme parks: Hollywood Studios, Epcot, Magic Kingdom
Rides: Star tours, Soarin', (original) Test Track, Living with the Land, Rock 'n Roller Coaster, Big Thunder Mountain, Tomorrowland Speedway
Characters: Goofy, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, Mickey, Pluto
Resorts: Old Key West, Wilderness Lodge
Restaurants: 50's Prime Time, Liberty Tree Tavern (Turkey dinner), Wolfgang Puck Express
Food: Orange Dole Whip

(Commentary by Ms. Krissy)

This is Cody and he's Krissy's boyfriend of about a year. He's 23 years old, a former Marine, and he's "a little cutie." His parents are DVC members and he has been to Disney every year of his life, except for the 4 years he was in the Marines. He's a hidden Disney lover, but Krissy knows he is, she says it's hidden somewhere in his heart. He acts like a child and is constantly making everyone laugh. He has 3 exemptions from all Disney trips: 1) It's a Small World, 2) Waiting in line to meet characters, 3) Tea cups.

Favorites:

Theme parks: Epcot
Rides: Spaceship Earth, Rock 'n Roller Coaster, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, Space Mountain, Test Track
Characters: Donald Duck
Resorts: Grand Floridian, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Boardwalk, Wilderness Lodge, Aulani
Restaurants: Via Napoli, 50's Prime Time
Food: Pizza from Via Napoli, any type of quick service pizza, "Fruit Loops"

Additional family members who will not be joining us:

These are the two small animals that live with us. Kiara's our 2 year old princess and Kahlua's our 5 year old little prince. They have a love-hate relationship with one another (she loves him, he hates her) but they are both little cuddle bugs and are huge parts of the family. They also refused to comment on their favorites, I think they're still bitter that we aren't bringing them along

Up next: Resort and dinner plans! ​

 

[PrincessCasey27]

When we were deciding when we should make this lovely trip to Disney, we had a lot to consider. Since I'm graduating college this year, I was hoping we could figure a way to make it down there in late May or early June so we could beat some of those crazy summer crowds and maybe even sneak in a Star Wars Weekend since none of us have ever experienced that and I know my boyfriend and mother would LOVE to be there. But unfortunately, my parents wouldn’t agree to taking Kelsey out of school for that long, especially being that close to final exams. Anyway, then we decided on going toward the end of June into the beginning of July. We got lucky with this choice because it turns out that Kelsey will still be in school until June 26th because we had such a gross winter with a whole lotta snow days. So after that whole long explanation, our trip will be:

June 28th - July 7th

which is 10 days, 9 nights.

Usually we end up going down there for 8 or 9 days but this year we decided to extend the trip just a bit because we had not been to Disney since summer of 2012 (we're the kind of family that goes to the world AT LEAST once a year, so not going for more than a year is pretty rough on us).

And just as important as when we are going is where we will be staying. This was a no brainer since it's our all-time favorite resort but we shall be staying at my beautiful home away from home:

Old Key West!

I love absolutely everything about this place and it screams "HOME" to me and the rest of my family. Since there are 7 of us going back to my lovely home, we need lotsa room. When we were booking, we requested a 3-bedroom grand villa but unfortunately, the only opening they had for one of those rooms was for a few days during our trip. So instead we booked a 2 bedroom villa and a separate studio (for the boyfriends) and we were put on a list to see if we could somehow get that 3-bedroom.

Since we're all crazy with planning these vacations, we counted down the days til we could finally book our dining reservations. We also decided that we will be doing the dining plan again this year. Usually when we go to Disney, we tend to be creatures of habit and go to the same restaurants since we know what we like and its basically become a tradition. Well this year, Krissy and I decided that we were going to try a few new places, and hopefully we can get some opinions from you lovely folks on the Dis.

So the plan is:

Saturday, June 28th: Olivia’s Café @ 6:45pm

This is a family favorite and I feel like it’s a hidden gem that not many people know about. Their potatoes are to die for and I'm in love with their pina colada bread, and just the entire atmosphere is great. It's just such a homey kind of place, especially with all the DVC family pictures outside the restaurant, we love it.

Sunday, June 29th: 'Ohana @ 5:20pm

I love this restaurant so much it's insane. The atmosphere is perfect and the food is great every time we come. I prefer coming here for dinner also since I'm not that much into breakfast (I know, I'm strange).

Monday, June 30th: Biergarten @ 6:05pm

Now this is a new one for us. I have wanted to try this place for years but like I said earlier, we're creatures of habit and like our routines. Anyway, I've heard good things about the food and just the overall atmosphere and I'm really excited to try it out.

Tuesday, July 1st: Cape May Café @ 6:45pm

Another family favorite here, more specifically my dads. He loves this place and it’s a tradition every time we come. What can I say, the man loves his buffets. Plus we love wandering the resort before and after dinner since Beach Club is gorgeous.

Wednesday, July 2nd: Liberty Tree Tavern @ 6:35pm (Mom, Dad, & Kelsey) ; Le Cellier Steakhouse @ 6:20pm (Casey & Eddie) ; 50’s Prime Time Café (Kristen & Cody)

Alright so since we're traveling with boyfriends, we thought it would be a fun idea for everyone to kind of have a night where we could go off on our own and have a lovely date night. Eddie and I chose to go to Le Cellier since neither have us had tried this place and he LOVES his steak. I'm really looking forward to seeing if it lives up to its reputation. Krissy and Cody decided on 50's Prime Time Café, but that may change before we end up leaving. My parents and Kelsey are going to Liberty Tree Tavern for their Thanksgiving dinner.


Thursday, July 3rd: Raglan Road @ 6:45pm

This was a restaurant that Krissy, Eddie, and I went to when we last went to Disney back in January of 2013 without the parents. The food was amazing and the atmosphere was great. Krissy and I grew up taking Irish Dance lessons so watching the Irish dancers perform during dinner was a lot of fun also.

Friday, July 4th: Chef Mickey’s @ 9:25am

What trip would be complete without breakfast at Chef Mickey's? Another one of our many family traditions is breakfast and autographs at this lovely place. We decided on coming here on the 4th of July for one big reason: resort hopping. Since the crowds on this holiday are insane, we decided to use this day as a resort hopping day and we usually start that little tour of the property at the Contemporary.

Saturday, July 5th: Via Napoli @ 6:20pm

Another new restaurant for us to try! My and Krissy's best friend, Maddie, had been telling us for years to try this place because she's pretty much obsessed with it. This year we decided to book it and I can't wait to try it!

Sunday, July 6th: The Turf Club @ 7:00pm

This is my mom's favorite place to eat! She loves being able to sit out on the back patio that overlooks the Sassagoula River and watch the boats go by. Obviously, the food here is also amazing!


Sooo yeah that’s basically our reservations for this trip, I just have one request of all you lovely Dis members..

Like I said in the original introductions post, I just turned 21 and my mom has been looking forward to have someone to drink around the world with. My question for all of you is: what is your favorite drink in the world and where can I find it? We're trying to make a list before the trip so we can budget some money on the side (since any alcohol on property is pretty pricey).

Thanks guys!
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Up next: Fastpass+ selections and our day-by-day itinerary ​