Planning to make it Magical for my first-timer bf :)

[rccllap]

I've been to WDW, DL, and even on the very first ever Disney Magic west coast cruise to Mexico in 2005. I love Figment the bestest, Goofy and Eeyore the nextest, and everyone else thirdest

My boyfriend of almost exactly one year, has (gasp!!) NEVER been to anything Disney.

For a special vacation, he wants us to go to WDW together without our kids (his is 7, mine is 13) for about a week. We might even get to go NEXT MONTH!! That's right, June 2013.

I'm doing ALL the planning. We will stay on-property but not with my DVC points (mom's there right now, yes now, for a month at various WDW and non-WDW resorts for a very special vacay of her own and she used them, which is great, they're hers primarily anyways!!) so we are looking at PO-FQ in a corner, king bed room. We will probably get the quick service dining plan so I don't have to try to work out too much short notice AR's.

Our officially official anniversary is June 16th, which is also Father's Day this year, meaning the parks will probably be kind of packed. I am still hoping for one "nice" meal that night, with possible choices including Coral Reef at the Living Seas, or maybe 'Ohana at the Poly.

We're working on a Friday to Thursday schedule. Driving down from NC on Friday to check in late. Park days Sat, Sun, Mon, Tues, Weds...possible one more shot Thursday morning before we get back in the car to drive home. That's one full day to each theme park and one day to split. The way I kind-of-commando, in my family it's called high-grading, I can get both AK and HS done easily inside of one day with some time left over, so I expect to be able to see more of MK and EP/WS at busier later day times plus give both MK and EP/WS one full day of attention.

 

[rccllap]

I tried to add a ticker to my siggie but it wouldn't take. However, I learned that it's three weeks and six days to the day we might be heading to Disney!!

The bf is now thinking we should stay longer. Now it's looking like a nine night vacation!! I can really make something out of that. We will stay the whole time at PO-FQ in a king bed room. I thought about doing a split stay, but that just isn't worth the trouble. Plus we're doing QS dining, and I want the credits to build up if we do some table service mid-week.

He's worried that there's a bunch of stuff I can't do. I don't know where he got that idea. I have issues with motion sickness so I stay away from Star Tours, ToT, Dinosaur, and the Mad Tea Party...but I can do pretty much everything else. Even RnR is okay if I do it first thing in the day before a big meal when it's still not overly hot.

Mom's staying an extra week. She booked an off site time share condo for the extra days. She is having SO MUCH FUN. I'm glad she's getting so much out of this trip and she's sending home so many great pics!! C & D are Ewoks for SWW

 

[disd55]

Sounds exciting! I hope he turns into a DisFAN!

 

[rccllap]

Mom's really enjoying SWW. She's made it to HS each day before 8 am for "rope drop" in order to max out the characters. And it's paid off. Now the bf wants to try to make it to SWW next year. Any more Disney planning and he's going to decide we're moving there. Which is not a bad idea except my son is about to start early college up here, which is a 5 year program.

I toyed with the split stay idea for about an hour yesterday. It sure would be fun to spend time at more than one resort. But now that we're considering a longer stay, we can plan to spend a day on down time and maybe visit some of the other places to see them.

I think he might do the Richard Petty driving experience. We are now also considering the Wild Africa backstage tour.

 

[WXgal]

Hi there! So happy you are going again! We just got back and we did a Disney Count down calendar. It was a great way to countdown to the day you leave! Check out what we did on my blog. Search Disney countdown calendar at www {dot}latteandlegos {dot}com

Stephanie

 

[rccllap]

Hi there! So happy you are going again! We just got back and we did a Disney Count down calendar. It was a great way to countdown to the day you leave! Check out what we did on my blog. Search Disney countdown calendar at www {dot}latteandlegos {dot}com

Stephanie

Thanks, Stephanie! I took a quick look at your blog...very nice I have started a few of those over the years but never managed to keep up. Lots of great ideas there! This trip is just the adults but in October we're taking our boys and the younger will be 8 when he gets to see WDW for his First Time...so exciting!

I checked out the pricing on the value resorts today, as a price check on deciding if staying at PO-FQ was the final answer. Turns out for a nine-night stay, it's "only" $400 more for the Moderate with king bed. I think that for my bf's special first time, staying at the Mod and upgrading to the king bed room is worth it. (Considering, he was willing to stay at the Polynesian and I balked at the cost...I'd much rather spend the money on the magic than a room we'll barely be in.)

Found out today that Epcot seems to have done away with the Segways. I did that tour a few years ago, and my Mom's done it also. Sad, but I have to wonder if the recent lawsuit has something to do with it, or if it's just time to say goodbye and try something new. (The lawsuit was an ADA thing for use of the Segways in the park during operating hours.)

 

[rccllap]

I have the, Monday-morning-three-weeks-and-four-days-before-vacation Blues. It's so much harder to immerse oneself in Disney planning from one's office.

But not impossible.

We are driving down, because we live "only" nine hours away. We're renting a vehicle though, not taking one of ours. My sweetheart says we will get a larger vehicle to accomodate all the "stuff" that I get to shop for. I have no idea what he thinks I'm going to buy?? A couple of t-shirts for the boys, maybe a plush or two, but who knows.

We went Disney Store internet surfing last night. They just don't have much available online at all anymore. I know that there is SO MUCH MORE at the parks and DTD.

And I'll share a little secret here. We're going to exchange rings on this special trip. Matching bands. We decided that we'll find a little nook somewhere and see if we can get a Photopass photographer to snap a few shots. Neither of us is in a hurry to get married again and we're very happy in our committed relationship, but we decided wearing matching rings would be a nice way to commemorate our commitment to each other and this special trip. We might even end up with Disney rings, who knows

 

[Nakkira]

I to am planning a trip with a sort-of First-timer Boyfriend. (He went as a kid a LONG time ago but only the once)

So exciting. I look forward to reading your future trip report!



Link for my pre-trip Blog
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3108939

 

[rccllap]

I stumbled across this thread and spent far too much time reading it:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3088430

Wow.

 

[rccllap]

The trip dates may have to change, but for a decently good reason. I had a job interview today. If they make an offer and need me to start quickly we will have to reschedule.

 

[Nakkira]

Good luck with the job interview and hopefully you will not have to push your trip back too far!

A girl can only take so much "anticipation".

BTW love the idea of exchanging commitment rings!!! Very romantic and much more responsible than jumping in to engagement before you are ready!
I can't wait to see the pictures


I really am thinking of discussing something like that with my BF at some point. We both know that we would not be ready for marriage for a long time for many reasons but in the mean time I think we are ready to declare to each other some level of commitment. Sadly, due to his VERY ugly divorce (worse than mine) he is a bit commitment phobic, something we are still struggling with.
I would however, say it is a positive sign that he is willing to book a vacation with me 6 months out! LOL

 

[rccllap]

I feel like it's Mission:Space countdown:

Give me a go, no go for launch...

I got the time off approval from my boss yesterday, so decided that even if I do get an offer from the potential new job, I will let them know that this is an established planned vacation and I will be available to start when I get back.

Woot!

So it's a GO FOR LAUNCH.

need to:
~Make appointments for the pets to get their vacc's updated
~Reserve rental vehicle
~Take bf shopping for new summer clothes including cargo shorts!! and comfy shoes
~Clean my house for the cat & turtle sitter

I also need to check the refurb list for attractions and rides, just in case something is down that we want to spend time with. That happened to me one year, Space Mountain was out of commish!! Sad, sad.

 

[rccllap]

THREE WEEKS FROM TODAY WE START DRIVING SOUTH!!!!

Yes, the excitement level just hit a new high. I'm actually going to start the process of doing all the laundry and trying on all my summer things to make sure I have enough clothes to pack.

Mom sent me a video of EE and another of a tortoise having a wellness checkup. Poor thing was wiggling its legs all over the place freaking out that it couldn't feel the ground

Bf is car shopping. We are probably renting a mid size SUV for this trip, but he's threatening to just buy a better vehicle instead. Which I'm okay with, his truck is a POS and I hate it...if he could get something with better fuel economy I'd be very happy.

 

[rccllap]

It's difficult to plan something last minute because the prices of everything just seems so overwhelming.

Boarding four dogs and one cat will cost over $1,000.

Renting a vehicle OR fixing my car to make it safe for the drive comes out to about $800.

Annual passes just for the two of us, since I'm DVC, is $850. (Luckily...?...we're planning three trips in a year so this will amortize.)

Nine nights at POFQ is about $3,000. This includes the QS dining.

Two "nice" dinners, probably at least $200.

I have no idea what our shopping expenses will be. The bf is the most compulsive shopper in the history of humankind.

So this one trip, for real, is going to end up being at least six thousand dollars. *sigh* I miss the days of not having to worry about it because my mom was taking care of everything.

 

[rccllap]

Just completed the three dining reservations that I had hoped for with one small snag.

We're spending our first full park day at Epcot, on Sat 6/15. So, booked lunch at the Coral Reef at 11:30 that day.

Sunday, which is also Father's Day, is our actual anniversary, and I wanted to eat at 'Ohana at the Poly so we could then walk on the beach to see Wishes. Well, I got a ressie at the Poly but instead, at the Kona Cafe. I'll take the trade off, because the beach + fireworks was the most important thing.

Friday 6/21 we're going to eat at La Hacienda de San Angel, to try for premium Illuminations viewing.

All the other meals will be QS DP or OOP (as these three will also be OOP expenses). But these three table service meals give us six quick service credits to play with for breakfasts. And making this trip special was most important, so we've agreed to just keep it fun and enjoy the moments.

 

[rccllap]

WHOOOHOOO!!

My annual pass: Purchased!

Our resort ressies: Made, paid, confirmed!!

All ADR's done (only three)!

Good golly Miss Molly I am SO EXCITED.

The Disney ticketing person advised me to go ahead and get Bf's AP when we get down there, to save on the FedEx charge for overnighting it and so we won't be waiting for it to get here in the mail. I thought that was very thoughtful of her. And of course it's no big deal to pay for it down there. Not like WDW will stop selling AP's! The only possible snag is if ticket prices increase, but that's an "oh well."

 

[rccllap]

Got the reminder email from Disney today! I wish I could get my work computer to talk to their website better so I could do the online check-in my phone doesn't want to do it either, so I suppose I'll wait til I get home tonight and do it then.

We bought our matching rings this weekend

Can you believe we could not find any cheap rain ponchos?? Crazy. Dollar store, hopefully.

 

[Nakkira]

Can you believe we could not find any cheap rain ponchos?? Crazy. Dollar store, hopefully.

Try checking the camping/sports section of a department store

 

[rccllap]

We did end up finding rain ponchos at the local Dollar General, thankfully. Went to the local camping/sports store and got a few other things too!!

I'm absolutely dizzy from the excitement. I simply cannot hold myself together with regards to anything non-Disney right now. It's a very good thing I can split my work tasks into very small bites because that is the ONLY way I'm getting anything done right now!!

Three more days of work...as in, three days from RIGHT NOW as I type this, I'll be wrapping up and leaving my desk!!