MarkDief86
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2010
- Messages
- 34
Hello everyone! 
I’m not new at DISboards and have read tons of posts, but I am new at writing a pre-trip report so please bear with me. I’ve been to Disney World 10 times since I was a toddler. It was only until recently in 2009 when I first traveled without my family and actually took advantage of staying on Disney property and eating with the Dining Plan. In 2009 and 2010 I went with my friends and stayed at Coronado Springs which I think is a beautiful resort. I convinced my boyfriend to come with me in 2011 and stay at Port Orleans Riverside which I also thought was lovely, but not as great as CSR. Before our 2011 trip was even over I was already thinking about how I’m going to convince my boyfriend to come back to Disney again next year. I mean c’mon, I’m not the only one who does this… am I?
Let’s begin with our small cast of characters.
Me (Mark 24)- The Disney obsessing one. Face it, I think about Disney more than you do. It’s really Awesome how I can manage to find a way to bring Disney into an everyday casual conversation. I don’t know if I have a problem or if I’m just a huge Disney fan. Either way, my friends, family, and co-workers are used to me talking about it and usually just ignore me when I start talking. Not only have I been to WDW 10 times, I also was a student ambassador for 3 years and traveled all over the globe. I know a thing or 2 about traveling, budgeting, packing, and being away from home. I’ve been to Australia and New Zealand in 2003, France, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy in 2004, and China in 2005. I really love Mickey Mouse and just have to pose for a picture when I see him.
Bob (25)- Bob is my boyfriend of 2 years. He doesn’t love Disney but also doesn’t hate it either. He more or less comes with me because I ask him every day when our next trip is and wonder where we’re going to stay. I appreciate him putting up with me sometimes because I know I can be a real pest when it comes to this. He lets me do most (if not all) of the planning. I ask him what he wants to do and he usually doesn’t really care (he’s easy to please). Bob has been to Disney World before when he was younger but only made a day trip out of it when his family was down visiting other family. I think it’s cute that he calls the Magic Kingdom “Disney World” and all the other parks by their respective names. I try to tell him that all of the parks are Disney World but he just gets confused when I explain it to him. Jack Skellington is Bob’s favorite (currently distributed) Disney character. He likes all the Nightmare Before Christmas merchandise at Hollywood Studios.
Pre-Trip Report
Our trip will begin on Saturday, April 28, 2012 when we depart for the Philadelphia Airport. I am a US Airways frequently flier and this time decided to book us First Class seats. Bob and I have never had First Class seats before so this will be a new experience. We both get very antsy on the airplane and I figured I’d splurge and experience this for the first time. Our flight is to arrive in Orlando around 10:45 AM and we are going to be picked up by limousine from STAR Transportation. This would also be the first time I have rode in a limousine unlike Bob who has been in a wedding party before and rode in one. The limo will take us to the Polynesian Resort. I was debating if Animal Kingdom Lodge with a Savannah view would be comparable to the Polynesian Garden view (standard). It all came down to this… We like to take naps during our Disney trips because it makes us more relaxed and less cranky during those hot days. What better way to get to our hotel faster is by staying on the monorail system? We ran into problems last year at POR with waiting for over an hour for busses to take us from one location to the other. This way at the Polynesian we only have to worry about taking busses to DTD, AK, and HS while we can just ride the monorail to the MK and EP which are the 2 parks we spend most of our time at. This year we plan on doing the Wild Africa Trek at AK (we did this last year and was worth every dollar) and trying to see more of the things we didn’t do as much last year. We also are on the Deluxe Disney Dining Plan which made dining reservations easier and less worries about spending money while on vacation. Since everything will be paid for in advance the only money we have to worry about spending would be souvenirs or tours.
As of right now, I’m just patiently waiting for the 180 day mark so we can make our dining reservations.
I’m not new at DISboards and have read tons of posts, but I am new at writing a pre-trip report so please bear with me. I’ve been to Disney World 10 times since I was a toddler. It was only until recently in 2009 when I first traveled without my family and actually took advantage of staying on Disney property and eating with the Dining Plan. In 2009 and 2010 I went with my friends and stayed at Coronado Springs which I think is a beautiful resort. I convinced my boyfriend to come with me in 2011 and stay at Port Orleans Riverside which I also thought was lovely, but not as great as CSR. Before our 2011 trip was even over I was already thinking about how I’m going to convince my boyfriend to come back to Disney again next year. I mean c’mon, I’m not the only one who does this… am I?
Let’s begin with our small cast of characters.
Me (Mark 24)- The Disney obsessing one. Face it, I think about Disney more than you do. It’s really Awesome how I can manage to find a way to bring Disney into an everyday casual conversation. I don’t know if I have a problem or if I’m just a huge Disney fan. Either way, my friends, family, and co-workers are used to me talking about it and usually just ignore me when I start talking. Not only have I been to WDW 10 times, I also was a student ambassador for 3 years and traveled all over the globe. I know a thing or 2 about traveling, budgeting, packing, and being away from home. I’ve been to Australia and New Zealand in 2003, France, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy in 2004, and China in 2005. I really love Mickey Mouse and just have to pose for a picture when I see him.
Bob (25)- Bob is my boyfriend of 2 years. He doesn’t love Disney but also doesn’t hate it either. He more or less comes with me because I ask him every day when our next trip is and wonder where we’re going to stay. I appreciate him putting up with me sometimes because I know I can be a real pest when it comes to this. He lets me do most (if not all) of the planning. I ask him what he wants to do and he usually doesn’t really care (he’s easy to please). Bob has been to Disney World before when he was younger but only made a day trip out of it when his family was down visiting other family. I think it’s cute that he calls the Magic Kingdom “Disney World” and all the other parks by their respective names. I try to tell him that all of the parks are Disney World but he just gets confused when I explain it to him. Jack Skellington is Bob’s favorite (currently distributed) Disney character. He likes all the Nightmare Before Christmas merchandise at Hollywood Studios.
Pre-Trip Report
Our trip will begin on Saturday, April 28, 2012 when we depart for the Philadelphia Airport. I am a US Airways frequently flier and this time decided to book us First Class seats. Bob and I have never had First Class seats before so this will be a new experience. We both get very antsy on the airplane and I figured I’d splurge and experience this for the first time. Our flight is to arrive in Orlando around 10:45 AM and we are going to be picked up by limousine from STAR Transportation. This would also be the first time I have rode in a limousine unlike Bob who has been in a wedding party before and rode in one. The limo will take us to the Polynesian Resort. I was debating if Animal Kingdom Lodge with a Savannah view would be comparable to the Polynesian Garden view (standard). It all came down to this… We like to take naps during our Disney trips because it makes us more relaxed and less cranky during those hot days. What better way to get to our hotel faster is by staying on the monorail system? We ran into problems last year at POR with waiting for over an hour for busses to take us from one location to the other. This way at the Polynesian we only have to worry about taking busses to DTD, AK, and HS while we can just ride the monorail to the MK and EP which are the 2 parks we spend most of our time at. This year we plan on doing the Wild Africa Trek at AK (we did this last year and was worth every dollar) and trying to see more of the things we didn’t do as much last year. We also are on the Deluxe Disney Dining Plan which made dining reservations easier and less worries about spending money while on vacation. Since everything will be paid for in advance the only money we have to worry about spending would be souvenirs or tours.
As of right now, I’m just patiently waiting for the 180 day mark so we can make our dining reservations.
I'm glad that you found someone who will put up with your Disney obsession though.. sometimes it's not so easy! 
What places are you thinking about going to for your ADRs?
I always heard great things of Canada.
