Our First Disney Vacation - Now to Plan the Trip of a Lifetime

[budafam]

Yay!!! I am so excited to be making one of these! Here's the info on us:
Who: Mommy (me) 27, DH 28, DS 4 & DD 2
What: DISNEY WORLD!!!
When: May 15th-20th
Where: Pop Century
How: Driving our minivan

Now a little background:
We are from Manitowoc, WI (it's a city of around 35,000 located right on beautiful Lake Michigan in between Green Bay & Milwaukee. DH & I have been married since July 23, 2005. DH works at a company that installs lifts and extras to help the handicapped get in and out of their vehicles (and drive them).

This isn't the first Disney trip that we have planned but it will be the first we are going on. What happened was just this... we booked a trip back in 2009 for September 2010. We had it all planned out and put the deposit down in October of 2009. The next month my mom (my very best friend) passed away unexpectedly. I was devastated and therefore we canceled the trip. The next year was the hardest in my life. I had a very hard time dealing with her being gone. We had recently bought a house only a block away from my parents (only a year before)... I'm so glad that we did that because it gave us the time to be with her more often. I feel like it's been nothing but sadness since and I'm finally going to get to be happy again. This trip is exactly what I need (and my family).

DH is not overly excited about vacationing. He would rather stay home and work on his import car. But he agreed to this vacation so I am determined to turn him into a Disney nut as I am He has a very unusual diet as well which makes it hard for us to find a place to eat (whether on vacation or not). He literally eats like a 3 year old (mainly a frozen cheese pizza daily & cereal). No meats, no fruits, no veggies so yeah, it's difficult. I reviewed menus and made reservations at a few Disney places and am hoping they will be able to accommodate him and his special needs (I believe I'll have no issues with Disney though!) We have gone out to eat to fancy restaurants where he orders a mac & cheese and grilled cheese sandwich and he sends them back because they put parsley on the mac & cheese or the grilled cheese has a different kind of cheese or bread than normal (yeah, THAT picky, lol)

The kids are extremely excited. Everyone told us not to go when they're this young BUT DH just couldn't say no with the deals they have (free under 3 as well) and I am a bit of a crazy camera lady so I'm sure we'll have enough pictures to remind them of when they went being this young. We have started our countdown & are beginning movie theme nights as well.

I'll be updating as I find time.

 

[butterflyjo]

WOW- first family vacation in WDW!? I hope your van as a DVD player for the kids!! (My parent took us kids- 5 total, from Iowa to WDW in a van with a DVD- and that was their saving grace. All were entertained!)

HA! You sound like me- I'm a camera nut too!!! I taken so many pictures over the years my DH just laughs at me when I whip it out! MAKE sure you're included in the pictures as well.

I can't wait to hear more!!!!

 

[mrssmith06]

Yay! We are planning our 1st trip for June! I'm so excited and so overwhelmed at the same time lol, these boards have been a HUGE help though!! We are doing Disney movie nights too!

 

[budafam]

WOW- first family vacation in WDW!? I hope your van as a DVD player for the kids!! (My parent took us kids- 5 total, from Iowa to WDW in a van with a DVD- and that was their saving grace. All were entertained!)

Haha! Funny you should mention that. DH is installing a dvd player/tv in the van this weekend. We had a portable one but he got this one from work... it is going to be a lifesaver

 

[budafam]

can't believe we're only 6 weeks away!

we have ADR's at the following:
Crystal Palace
Sci-Fi Diner
Chef Mickey's
1900 Park Fare

I tried to pick the most friendly for DH's picky habits and thought the character meals will save us a lot of time in the parks not having to meet all those characters

 

[budafam]

As of now that is... why does Disney have to keep announcing new things? Like Pixar Weekend is going on the day we get there. Sorry but we just don't have time for that! lol.. it sounds neat and all but I'm sure the crowds will be crazy so we're going to hope that means it'll be dead at MK on arriving day.

Day #1: Leave by 7am!!! Drive all day long and hopefully get to at least Monteagle, TN (which would be a little more than halfway). Stop for the night.

Day #2: Leave by 8am and get to Pop around 7pm or so. Check in and relax at the hotel all night long. I'm super excited about this night because originally it wasn't in the plans

Day #3: Get up at 7am and eat in the room. Drive to MK and take the boat over and get to witness our first rope drop at our first day at Disney World!!!
9am - Rope Drop
get FP for Peter Pan's Flight
ride Dumbo
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
ride Philharmagic
ride Peter Pan's Flight with FP
It's a Small World
Mad Tea Party (maybe, depending on my feelings of spinning that day!)
Snow White's Scary Adventures if enough time
Haunted Mansion
get FP to meet Mickey
1:05 ADR for Crystal Palace
3pm Parade
get FP for Jungle Cruise
meet Mickey with FP
Pirates of the Caribbean
get FP for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
ride Jungle Cruise with FP
depending on time, we may try for Splash Mountain or else get our spots on Main Street for the parade & Wishes show
Then back to Pop to sleep!!!

Day #4: Get up around 7am. Have breakfast in the room. Get to the buses by 8am. Arrive at Epcot close to 9:00... maybe a bit later than RD.
get FP for Soarin'
ride Test Track with Rider Swap
go to Innoventions - Club Cool
ride Soarin' with FP's & Rider Swap
get some snacks/light lunch
The Seas w/ Nemo & Friends... if there's time Turtle Talk but we're not planning on it
Imagination Pavilion
1:00 Visa Meetngreet
Walk around the World - eat lunch/snacks wherever... shop
Dinner will most likely end up being Mexico for myself & the kids... I want a margarita for Illuminations time at 9pm
DH will be eating at Cool Wash Pizza near Test Track
9pm Illuminations
Go back to Pop and sleep!

Day #5: Get up around 7am. Have breakfast in the room. Get to the buses by 8am. Arrive at Animal Kingdom close to 9:00. Rope Drop is at 9:00.
ride Kilimanjaro Safari
get FP for Kilimanjaro Safari for later
It's Tough to Be a Bug
get Dinosaur FP
lunch at Pizzafari around 10:30/11:00
Camp Minnie/Mickey meetngreets
ride Dinosaur with Rider Swap & FP's
ride Kilimanjaro Safari again with FP's
we *might* do Kali River Rapids depending on the weather & lines
Lion King show
leave & eat at Pop that night then sleep!

Day #6: Get up around 6:30am. Have breakfast in the room. Get to the buses by 7:30am. Arrive at Hollywood Studios a little after 8. We'd like to miss the TSM rush
get FP for TSM of course
Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Playhouse Disney
ride TSM hopefully with FP
get FP for Stunt Show
12:25 ADR for Sci-Fi Dine In Theater for lunch
line up for parade at 3pm
3pm Pixar Pals Parade
Stunt Show
Muppet Vision if we have time
Pizza Planet for dinner if we have time otherwise in the room.
line up for Fantasmic at 7:00... see the show at 9
leave and go back to Pop.

Day #7: Get up at 5:30am. Leave by 6am for MK parking lot. Take monorail to Contemporary for Chef Mickey ADR at 7:20 breakfast.
Take monorail back to MK & grab FP when we walk in for Princesses.
Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
meet Princesses
get FP for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Pirates of the Caribbean
lunch or snacks
this is going to depend on what we got done the first night... maybe just try to find some characters
Leave earlier than the fireworks as long as we saw them the first night (otherwise stay)

Day #8: Sleep in a bit. Leave by 8:15am to checkout and go to 1900 Park Fare for our 9:20 ADR. After this, we're going to let the kids pick what they want to do again before we leave. Hopefully leaving by 5 or 6pm at the latest... we plan to drive a bit, not much though and stop to rest.

Day #9: Drive, drive & drive. Hopefully we can get far enough that we'll have less than 10 hours left on Sunday. It would be awesome if we could be home by 3pm Sunday afternoon but I'm not counting on it. Stop, rest & eat again.

Day #10: Get home at some point

 

[live4christp1]

Hope you have a wonderful first trip!!!!!!

I was just goingt to comment on your 1st day at MK. You have noted to get a FP for Mickey's Philharmagic - the last couple of years we have been there you haven't needed a FP for it - it's been a walk on with the only waiting being waiting for the current show to finish and exit. I might be wrong and someone else here please correct me if I'm wrong but I have the Verizon Disney Parks app on my phone and will frequently look at it throughout the day that corresponds to the day of the week we will be in that park and MP always says "See Now". So you might be better to get a FP for Peter Pan, ride dumbo, do MP without a FP and then PP. That might free up your window if you want to grab another FP. I will make it a point to look at the Verizon app early on each day and see what it looks like over the course of the next few days. We have never really done Fantasyland at rope drop, we head to Adventureland - away from the masses......lol.

 

[budafam]

You have noted to get a FP for Mickey's Philharmagic - the last couple of years we have been there you haven't needed a FP for it - it's been a walk on with the only waiting being waiting for the current show to finish and exit.

Thank you! I will definitely remember that and change those plans I love these boards for this reason!!! lol... I would've had no idea otherwise

 

[Riviera510]

I agree with the PP about Philharmagic. That was always a walk on when we went in November but Peter Pan was always busy. We never did get to go on PP.


Also if you have to choose between Nemo and the LK.... well my personal preference was Nemo. I think my kids liked Nemo better as well. Of course they have watched Nemo the movie several times and loved it and could never get into the LK.

 

[lbuzz52]

Hi! We will be there at the same time. Nome of our park days are the same though. Are you doing park hoppers? I noticed you are dong ak and dhs on the same day. I'm sure that Disney can handle your dh's diet no problem!

 

[budafam]

Hi! We will be there at the same time. Nome of our park days are the same though. Are you doing park hoppers? I noticed you are dong ak and dhs on the same day. I'm sure that Disney can handle your dh's diet no problem!

Yes, we have the park hoppers... I'm not so sure if we'll even use them now that I see DHS is going to be open late the day we're going there (so we can stay then for Fantasmic).

We're now only 25 days away!!! I can't believe it's coming up so soon!

Today I wrapped all of the special surprises I have planned for the kids & went through our suitcases one final time. I also ordered some cute Disney blankets & new sandals for myself. Yay... tonight is Disney Move Night with Dinosaur

 

[Scraper]

So excited for you. Great planning. We go every year in May. You will not need a fast pass for Tough to be a bug. In all the times we have gone I have never needed one. The 13th will bo our last day untill we go in Aug. The Flower Festival is my favorite time to go.

 

[budafam]

So excited for you. Great planning. We go every year in May. You will not need a fast pass for Tough to be a bug. In all the times we have gone I have never needed one. The 13th will bo our last day untill we go in Aug. The Flower Festival is my favorite time to go.

Thank you! Great advice

I finished up my cheat cards last night. I made a main book of notecards full of important info (park hours, phone numbers, etc.) and then a mini book for each park on each different day with our outline of events on them and a few other tidbits (where to find special photopass poses, stores, restaurants & characters).

DH is at work right now and requesting off that Friday that we're supposed to leave. We were originally planning on leaving at 9pm that night and driving a straight 20 hours BUT I told him to ask off so that we could just leave in the morning and not be rushed. This way we will get to Disney Saturday night and be able to relax at Pop before hitting MK at rope drop the next morning. This way we won't have to leave the park that first day to check into our room either!!!

I just hope he gets off.... I'm still waiting to hear...

I'm debating on doing a trip report on here or making a separate blog. I'd like to be able to send friends & family to read about it as well... not sure yet.

Only 18 days away!!! I'm feeling the pressure now!

 

[amazingact21]

Your trip sounds great so far! I like all your ADR choices, as well. Crystal Palace, 1900 Park Fare, and Sci-Fi are all favorites of mine. And the buffets have enough choices that, hopefully, your DH will find something he likes.
My DF can be extremely picky, as well, and I've found that I've been able to make food selections that fit both our tastes fairly easily while at Disney World.

 

[amyrella]

Your plans sound good however I think turtle talk should not be missed. Vi didn't have my child when I saw it and thought it was great. Same as FOTLK! just my opinion!

Have a great time on your first trip!

 

[ospopo5]

Best of luck on your trip and have fun! Brining a 2 year old is not too young. It is just how you deal and manage the day.

Our daughter is going on her third trip in August. She has been to Disneyland when she was 5 months old and absolutely loved it and she went to Disneyworld in October and had a BLAST! So in August she will just be under 2 and we now will have our son who will be 5 months old with us.

Have a safe drive! Look forward to your updates.

 

[Marshay]

I'm not sure how I missed your PTR. Joining in now and hope to see you in the parks!!

 

[budafam]

Here we are, 3 days to go! My living room is full of totes, suitcases & bags. DH put new brakes on the van last weekend, I cleaned the inside & he cleaned the outside. Then of course it rained yesterday
Today I have a lot to do and tomorrow will be about equally busy. Thursday is just insane and I'm glad of that because it will go quick!
I can't wait to open the van doors on Friday morning and have the kids see their first "surprises" of the trip. This trip is going to be so magical for everyone