Jenna319
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2006
- Messages
- 1,554
Well, it is FINALLY the week that we leave for Disney World..... 
We are leaving this Saturday, the 5th and will be there until the following Saturday, the 12th.... I feel like time is just crawling and I am ready to jump out of my skin with excitement so I thought I would write a little pre-trip report as a way to get some of this bottled-up excitement out because I'm sure my husband is ready to kill me from all the Disney talk I've thrown his way!
First off, let me introduce myself. My name is Jenna, I'm 27, and I am a disney-a-holic. It has been 11 months since our last trip to the world and I'm about to relapse in 3 DAYS!!
I am absolutely addicted to planning vacations, mostly Disney of course, but we also love going to Vegas & Branson, MO. I am definitely the planner of the trips..... I plan and plan and plan all day long.... I just love it, it tides me over until we actually can get onto the Disney property!
My husband John has learned to called Disney his #1 vacation destination! He was always a Disney fan but not quite as much until I came into his life! This trip will be the first time we will be in the World for his birthday, which is September 8th.... he will be turning 31. He loves the LA Dodgers (even though he was born and raised in Chicago), Lionel trains, and our almost 2-year-old german shepherd Brady.
And speaking of Brady, he is a HUGE part of our lives..... we don't have children of our own yet and Brady is very much like our child! We both just love him to pieces!!
Disney has held a special place in our hearts since we started dating in 2002. Our first trip together to the World was back in February 2004 and since then we've been to Orlando 6 times and Disneyland 4 times! When we were planning our honeymoon in October 2007, there was no question that Disney World was where we were going to spend it..... everyone told me, "Oh why don't you go someplace new?" "Why Disney? Whats romantic about theme parks and kids running everywhere? Why don't you go to a beach in Mexico? Why don't you leave the country and explore the world?"
MY response- "What's NOT romantic about Disney!? Where else in the world can I stroll the beaches of Hawaii, go on an African safari, have a drink in front of the Eiffel Tower, take a boat ride through Mexico, etc. etc. etc!?" No one was going to change our minds! Here are some pics from Chef Mickeys on the first night of our honeymoon:
We almost ended up cancelling this trip altogether 2 months ago because of the economy
BUT we found a way to make it work, with many thanks to the Disney Visa Reward Dollars and Disney gift cards from past holidays! 
We have booked 3 nights at Port Orleans Riverside, this being our 1st time staying at this resort. We both have visited before to check out the fishing here and I used to stay at French Quarter years ago with my family so it will bring back a lot of memories to stay here!
Then, on John's bday, we are heading over to the Polynesian for 4 nights! This is our DREAM resort, we both have stayed there many years ago, me in 2001, and John probably in 1987 but we've never stayed here together, even though we make a habit of visiting Ohana every year and getting a lapu lapu!
I just wanted to share some things on our itinerary for this year:
Saturday, Sept 5th- Check in at POR, take the boat to DD, lunch at either Earl of Sandwich or Wolfgang Puck Express, head over to ESPN Club at night hopefully to watch a dodger game, and back to POR to check out Yehaa Bob at the River Roost Lounge! (don't forget, I plan EVERYTHING!
)
Sunday & Monday, Sept 6th & 7th- I really don't want to go to the parks until after Labor Day and the crowds go home so this will most likely be a pool or beach day! Maybe head out to Clearwater.....
I had wanted to do La Nouba one night for John's bday since we've never gotten around to it but didn't want to spend the $$ since we already splurged on Poly so I rented the DVD from netflix instead! It was much better than I expected and I'm surprised that Cirque du Soleil would allow a DVD to be made bc I don't really feel I have to spend the $$ on tickets now that I've already seen the DVD....
I had gone on tripadvisor.com to look at the highly rated things to do in the area (since we always have a rental car) and came across something at WonderWorks in Orlando called The Outta Control Magic Comedy Dinner Show. 2 shows nightly $25 pp includes an hour show and unlimited pizza, salad, popcorn, soda, beer, wine, and dessert! Then, I searched on ebay and found a buy one, get one free coupon! So I definitely plan on doing this either Sunday or Monday! Dinner, drinks, and a show for both of us for $25?! Good deal!
I also bought CityWalk passes on ebay for a discount to all clubs and plan on doing dinner at Margaritaville and clubs one of these nights!
Tuesday, September 8th *THE BIG DAY*- This is the day I've been looking forward to the most! John's bday and check-in at the Polynesian! I scheduled breakfast at Kona Cafe and plan on checking in super early (even though I'm not expecting to get our room ready) hoping and crossing my fingers that we may just receive our first upgrade ever? I figure the day after Labor Day should be one of their slower times and I booked a garden view room..... but would love to be surprised with a MK view! However, I'm not getting my hopes up or expecting anything. It is wonderful enough to be able to spend 4 nights at Poly!
I always like to surprise John with something at Disney every year. On our honeymoon, I ordered a gift basket from the Disney Florist with champagne, crackers, and the bride and groom Mickey ears. I also had the personalized menus and diver ordered at Coral Reef. Boy, was he shocked!
Last year, for our anniversary, I special-ordered a cake from 1900 Park Fare.
This year, I was supposed to keep Polynesian a surprise but I was so excited and ended up telling him! He was happy but I wish I had kept this a surprise till the day of his bday..... so I still wanted to have a surprise for him and I came across a little web site on the disboards called giftsofalifetime.com.
We are leaving this Saturday, the 5th and will be there until the following Saturday, the 12th.... I feel like time is just crawling and I am ready to jump out of my skin with excitement so I thought I would write a little pre-trip report as a way to get some of this bottled-up excitement out because I'm sure my husband is ready to kill me from all the Disney talk I've thrown his way!
First off, let me introduce myself. My name is Jenna, I'm 27, and I am a disney-a-holic. It has been 11 months since our last trip to the world and I'm about to relapse in 3 DAYS!!
I am absolutely addicted to planning vacations, mostly Disney of course, but we also love going to Vegas & Branson, MO. I am definitely the planner of the trips..... I plan and plan and plan all day long.... I just love it, it tides me over until we actually can get onto the Disney property!
My husband John has learned to called Disney his #1 vacation destination! He was always a Disney fan but not quite as much until I came into his life! This trip will be the first time we will be in the World for his birthday, which is September 8th.... he will be turning 31. He loves the LA Dodgers (even though he was born and raised in Chicago), Lionel trains, and our almost 2-year-old german shepherd Brady.
And speaking of Brady, he is a HUGE part of our lives..... we don't have children of our own yet and Brady is very much like our child! We both just love him to pieces!!
Disney has held a special place in our hearts since we started dating in 2002. Our first trip together to the World was back in February 2004 and since then we've been to Orlando 6 times and Disneyland 4 times! When we were planning our honeymoon in October 2007, there was no question that Disney World was where we were going to spend it..... everyone told me, "Oh why don't you go someplace new?" "Why Disney? Whats romantic about theme parks and kids running everywhere? Why don't you go to a beach in Mexico? Why don't you leave the country and explore the world?"
MY response- "What's NOT romantic about Disney!? Where else in the world can I stroll the beaches of Hawaii, go on an African safari, have a drink in front of the Eiffel Tower, take a boat ride through Mexico, etc. etc. etc!?" No one was going to change our minds! Here are some pics from Chef Mickeys on the first night of our honeymoon:
We almost ended up cancelling this trip altogether 2 months ago because of the economy
BUT we found a way to make it work, with many thanks to the Disney Visa Reward Dollars and Disney gift cards from past holidays! We have booked 3 nights at Port Orleans Riverside, this being our 1st time staying at this resort. We both have visited before to check out the fishing here and I used to stay at French Quarter years ago with my family so it will bring back a lot of memories to stay here!
Then, on John's bday, we are heading over to the Polynesian for 4 nights! This is our DREAM resort, we both have stayed there many years ago, me in 2001, and John probably in 1987 but we've never stayed here together, even though we make a habit of visiting Ohana every year and getting a lapu lapu!
I just wanted to share some things on our itinerary for this year:
Saturday, Sept 5th- Check in at POR, take the boat to DD, lunch at either Earl of Sandwich or Wolfgang Puck Express, head over to ESPN Club at night hopefully to watch a dodger game, and back to POR to check out Yehaa Bob at the River Roost Lounge! (don't forget, I plan EVERYTHING!
)Sunday & Monday, Sept 6th & 7th- I really don't want to go to the parks until after Labor Day and the crowds go home so this will most likely be a pool or beach day! Maybe head out to Clearwater.....
I had wanted to do La Nouba one night for John's bday since we've never gotten around to it but didn't want to spend the $$ since we already splurged on Poly so I rented the DVD from netflix instead!
It was much better than I expected and I'm surprised that Cirque du Soleil would allow a DVD to be made bc I don't really feel I have to spend the $$ on tickets now that I've already seen the DVD.... I had gone on tripadvisor.com to look at the highly rated things to do in the area (since we always have a rental car) and came across something at WonderWorks in Orlando called The Outta Control Magic Comedy Dinner Show. 2 shows nightly $25 pp includes an hour show and unlimited pizza, salad, popcorn, soda, beer, wine, and dessert! Then, I searched on ebay and found a buy one, get one free coupon! So I definitely plan on doing this either Sunday or Monday! Dinner, drinks, and a show for both of us for $25?! Good deal!
I also bought CityWalk passes on ebay for a discount to all clubs and plan on doing dinner at Margaritaville and clubs one of these nights!
Tuesday, September 8th *THE BIG DAY*- This is the day I've been looking forward to the most! John's bday and check-in at the Polynesian! I scheduled breakfast at Kona Cafe and plan on checking in super early (even though I'm not expecting to get our room ready) hoping and crossing my fingers that we may just receive our first upgrade ever? I figure the day after Labor Day should be one of their slower times and I booked a garden view room..... but would love to be surprised with a MK view! However, I'm not getting my hopes up or expecting anything. It is wonderful enough to be able to spend 4 nights at Poly!
I always like to surprise John with something at Disney every year. On our honeymoon, I ordered a gift basket from the Disney Florist with champagne, crackers, and the bride and groom Mickey ears. I also had the personalized menus and diver ordered at Coral Reef. Boy, was he shocked!
Last year, for our anniversary, I special-ordered a cake from 1900 Park Fare.
This year, I was supposed to keep Polynesian a surprise but I was so excited and ended up telling him! He was happy but I wish I had kept this a surprise till the day of his bday..... so I still wanted to have a surprise for him and I came across a little web site on the disboards called giftsofalifetime.com.
.... ive booked an afternoon tea at the Garden View Lounge at GF..... weve never done this before but my husband loves tea and I love the GF, so Im really looking forward to trying this one! Also plan on watching Hallowishes from the Poly beach on our final night! 
