Operation WDW!

[Justsyd2]

Hello everyone, and welcome to our first pre-trip report. Our trip is under three weeks away, but I had to wait until finals so I would have the time to write a report. I'll warn you now that I have a wicked sense of humour, so please take all words lightly, as that is how they are meant to be taken.

This trip consists of myself (45) and my DH (48). I'm a college student, published writer, Jewelry Designer, and I also work part-time at my local college in the Disabilities Support Services Testing Center. DH is a refrigeration, heating and air conditioning technician.

We've never been to WDW before, so I had the novel idea of booking a trip in late December of 08. Our trip is now paid off, and we're ready to go! We leave on May 31st and return on June 6th.

We'll be staying at CBR. We're currently in the room lotto because I didn't want to pay extra for a preferred room. I'll let you know later if we ended up in a broom closet, or if we needed field gear in order to find OPR!

We currently have dining reservations at CRT, Rose and Crown, and Crystal Palace. We have a loose itinerary, which I will elaborate on soon, and we are celebrating our anniversary, and 1st visit on this trip.

I plan to post:

Prologue

Operation WDW
Reservation Revelations
Resort Roulette
Dining Dilemmas
Ponderous Parks
V.B. OCD
Ordering Ordeals
Prepacking Panic
Invasion Itinerary

and any other topics I can think of that should be listed here. I'll be back soon!

 

[Justsyd2]

I need to explain a leetle bit of background before I get started. In 1998 I worked in California for eight months for a Special Effects Company. We basically made movie monsters. (I am so proud to proclaim that I helped make a Woolly Mammoth for George Lucas, but I digress.)

My roommate, Leese, introduced me to Walt Disney. Her house was a shrine. Her clothes were Disney. She shopped at the Disney Store. She owned every Disney movie ever made. At first, I thought that she was nuts...until...she bought me a season pass to Disneyland for Christmas.

On my first visit, as I stepped foot on Main Street, I saw it...the Castle...not just any castle, because there are a lot of those in CA, but THE CASTLE, the one in Disneyland! I must admit that I teared up a bit.

We went straight to Fantasyland where we rode Peter Pan. It was just...so awesome...then we went wild, and rode just about darn near everything. I loved it all, and I was hesitant to admit, that I got it. I really got it.

In the eight months that I was there, we went once a month. I loved the colors, the sounds, the music, the rides, the shows, the pretzels, the soup bowls, the....everything!

I have since dreamed of going to "The World." It's been 11 years, and I'm finally going to fulfill that dream. I can't tell you how excited I am to be making this trip.

Currently, my DH thinks I'm nuts, but I'm hopeful that I'll be changing his mind really soon.

 

[souda]

I'm in...We will be there at the same time. Our dates are 5/27 to 6/5. What a wonderful celebration-your anniversary. It's my 10 year wedding anniversary June 26. Have a wonderful 1st trip. I look forward to hearing more.

 

[Justsyd2]

Welcome, and thank you. I hope you have a great trip, and a wonderful anniversary! I'll be continuing shortly.

 

[Justsyd2]

Now we come to the part that explains the title of our PTR. I had no clue that deciding to go to WDW was going to be such an huge task. Honestly, we had done DL in one day, with no ADRs, and with little ride waits, so I thought, hey, how bad can it be?

Imagine my surprise when I started doing my research! First, there are 4, four, FOUR, Theme Parks, plus Downtown Disney, plus two waterparks, plus Disney Quest, and much more!

Then, there are a bizillion resorts on property, ok, maybe 20, but I had no idea! How do you even begin to know where you want to stay when almost all of them look so great!

Then, you need to make ADRs. Do you know how many places there are to eat at WDW? Well, you probably do, but I didn't. How do you even begin to decide what you want to eat, on what day, and at what time?

After hiding under my computer desk for a couple of days, I decided to crawl back out, and start sorting through all of this information. This is when I found the DISboards, and all of the people who have boldly gone where I want to go. There now seemed to be a small light at the end of the tunnel...so, Operation WDW began, but I still made a few mistakes along the way.

 

[Justsyd2]

I had been playing on the WDW website for a few months or so before I booked this trip, so I thought I had it pretty much all figured out. I was so wrong. At first, of course, I wanted the Platinum Plan, (yeah, right, doesn't everyone? ), but I didn't understand that the MYW package was tied to the number of resort nights that you book. I was thinking that we could book the first night on-site, then go off-site, and still have the Platinum Plan for 10 days. I was just going to find a nearby motel room for around $50 bucks a night, and rent a car. Really, I had it all figured out!

So off I went to the WDW website...typed in a one night stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge with 10 days worth of the MYW package with the Platinum Plan, and received a price of $1,500.00. I'm thinking, wow, what a bargain! So, yup, I booked it online, and paid in full...

It took me all of 5 minutes to realize that what I thought I thought, and reality, were two completely different things. I printed out my email, and then picked up the phone to call Disney. They didn't laugh too much when I explained what I thought I was doing, but how I even thought that I could get the Platinum Plan for 10 days for that price is beyond me, I'll just have to plead insanity on that one.

Well, it took about 30 minutes, but we got it straightened out...what happened? Where did I book? Coming soon...

 

[DWGal210]

Great start so far!! Sounds like you two will have a great time. Don't hesitate to ask any of us any questions; I think you're going to love it and wonder why you haven't been before

Have a good one!