PTR: Countdown to the best DREAM I'll ever have! Dream 9/11-15 WDW 9/15-18 UPDT 09/09

[soul_power]

Hello and to my very first pre-trip report! Take a seat, relax, pop some popcorn, and join me “over, sideways, and under on a magic carpet riiiiide.” Ok, totally kidding.

Now introducing your starting line-up......

That is DBF (Gino) and me (Gill - pronounced “Jill”) last month during our most recent trip to Disneyland. We’re both in our mid-20s, college graduates, and have been dating for seven years. I always jokingly tell him that I already gave him my best years and that he had me at my prime (we’ve been together since we were 18), so he’s stuck with me.

I’ve been going to Disneyland since I was in diapers. From then to now, I’ve taken countless trips to Disneyland, and the love for all things Disney grew and grew, and I never looked back. DBF took a few trips as a kid as well, and as a couple we began taking yearly trips together. He’s far from being a Disney addict, but he recognizes and supports my addiction (and has a tough time saying no to me).

In 2007, we took our first trip to WDW. Looking back, I don’t know how the hell we afforded it being the broke college students that we were, but somehow we were able to manage and spent eight days at Pop Century and visited all of the theme parks and the two water parks.


Fast forward to early 2010.. With all of the talk about the Disney Dream and all of its fabulosity, DBF and I both agreed that we had to be on the ship during its first year. Being the brat that I am, I was insisting that we add either a post-cruise or pre-cruise stay at WDW. DBF was hesitant because we knew that the Dream was going to cost us a pretty penny. At the time, I was trying to transition from my part-time job that I had all throughout college to a full-time job, but I was having no luck. DBF told me, “Find a full-time job and we’ll do WDW too.” He didn’t have to tell me twice! I grew more and more determined on the job hunt, and in July 2010 I landed a great job at a non-profit organization. Mission accomplished! In October 2010, we booked a 4-Night Bahamian cruise onboard the Disney Dream and a 3-day post-cruise stay at Pop Century.

Here’s what the itinerary looks like thus far:

09.10.11
SFO to MCO
Pre-cruise stay at Fairfield Inn Orlando Airport (we have a friend who works for the company - woo-hoo to the friends/family rate)

09.11.11
Goodbye land, hello sea! Sailing away on the Disney Dream

09.12.11
Nassau, Bahamas
Spending the day at Sandals Royal Bahamian (all-inclusive resort)

09.13.11
Castaway Cay
Booked the Castaway Cay Getaway Package that includes bike rentals, snorkel equipment, and a float/tube rental

09.14.11
At Sea Day

09.15.11
Goodbye, Disney Dream! Hello, Pop Century!
Hollywood Studios
Dinner at Captain’s Grille, Yacht Club

09.16.11
Animal Kingdom (first part of the day)
Dinner at ‘Ohana, Polynesian
Magic Kingdom - MNSSHP (second half of the day)

09.17.11
EPCOT
Dinner at Teppan Edo, EPCOT

09.18.11
Breakfast at Chef Mickey’s, Contemporary Resort (character breakfasts on our last day is a tradition of ours)
Flight home, back to reality

A little over a month to go!! Stay tuned for more updates.

Index:
08.09.11: First Update - To-Do List
08.17.11: Crocs are here!
08.26.11: Itinerary Updates
09.06.11: It's the Final Countdown!
09.09.11: All My Bags Are Packed, I'm Ready to Go...

 

[Toria]

Great start on your PTR! When you're getting off the Dream we will be getting ready to get on that marvelousship. Can't wait. Have fun!

 

[cheryllarsen]

Have fun!

 

[soul_power]

Great start on your PTR! When you're getting off the Dream we will be getting ready to get on that marvelousship. Can't wait. Have fun!

Oh, you have a trip coming up very soon, too! It'll be here before we know it. It felt like so long ago that we booked it, and now it's around the corner! I hope you have a great time too!

Have fun!

Thanks so much! I can't believe it's so soon. I feel like there's still so much to do!

 

[soul_power]

Update Time!

Not much has been going on in terms of planning. More so just playing the waiting game and trying to shed some pounds to look cute in the Bahamas! I looked at the calendar yesterday and realized that I only have to suffer through four more dreaded Mondays until DBF and I are off to Orlando!

Here's what is currently on the to-do list:

• Pre-pay cruise gratuities (just to get it out of the way)
• Buy new flip-flops/sandals that won't kill my feet (suggestions, anyone?)
• Buy a fairly inexpensive waterproof camera (suggestions, anyone?)
• Make door magnet

32 days and counting!!

 

[soul_power]

My Crocs came in!

I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be excited to see a pair of Crocs arrive on my doorstep. I was researching footwear to wear during the cruise and later at WDW, and I found these bad boys:

Definitely not your typical Crocs and they're cute and stylish enough for my liking! It's funny because if you refer to my first post, they look very similar to the sandals I'm wearing in the first picture but waaay more comfortable (I'm assuming). Those sandals killed my feet! No arch support is a bad idea. I don't know what I was thinking! I always wear the wrong type of footwear when I go to Disneyland and end up having to take frequent breaks to rest my feet, but I'm determined to make every minute count at WDW, and I'm putting my trust in these flip-flops and their great reviews.

25 DAYS AND COUNTING!!

 

[soul_power]

ONLY 15 DAYS TO GO BEFORE WE LEAVE!

There's been a few changes/additions to our itinerary, so I'm getting even more excited (if that's even possible)!! When our flight touches down at MCO at 6:20pm, we're going to rent a car (booked an economy car for $24 - what a deal!), head to Costco or a local liquor store to stock up on our adult beverages and then head here for dinner:

The CityWalk! Yes, I've read that the restaurants and shops are overpriced, but c'mon! You're on vacation! Isn't that to be expected?! We're planning on having dinner at NBA City:

I know DBF will love it!

We're going to keep the car overnight (thank goodness for complimentary parking at the hotel) and drive it back to MCO in the morning, check in at the DCL transfers counter, and hopefully be onboard one of the first buses to the port!

I seriously cannot believe how close our trip is! We booked it in October of last year, and now it's just around the corner!!

 

[Teri1]

Hi Gill, DH and I are on your cruise Sept. 11! I am excited too. Looks like you have great plans for your trip. We are staying at WDW two nights before the cruise and plan to eat at Ohana too, we love the food there. Hope to see you on the ship at the DISmeet.

 

[mousetravel]

Subbing! Ya'll are just too cute!

We went on the Dream this past June, and we loved it!

Can't wait to hear more!

 

[soul_power]

Hi Gill, DH and I are on your cruise Sept. 11! I am excited too. Looks like you have great plans for your trip. We are staying at WDW two nights before the cruise and plan to eat at Ohana too, we love the food there. Hope to see you on the ship at the DISmeet.

Hi! Thanks for stopping by! Hopefully we'll bump into each other on that big beautiful ship! I hope that you and your DH have a great time! I'll be crossing my fingers that we stop at CC, considering all that's been going on with that jerk Irene. It's our first Disney Cruise and we've been looking forward to CC for months!

I wish that we could've had a pre-cruise stay at WDW, but it turned into a post-cruise stay to minimize the amount of vacation time from work that we use. I'm not complaining though - it's Disney! It will also be our first time at 'Ohana. I drool over the food pictures, so I'm looking forward to our dinner there.

Subbing! Ya'll are just too cute!

We went on the Dream this past June, and we loved it!

Can't wait to hear more!

Thanks for subbing! I'll try not to bore you too much! I'm so thankful to those who have cruised before me. I've learned a lot from DIS, so I hope I can help others with my trip report when I get back. Eek! I don't want to think about returning home from my trip just yet, though! I spend a lot of time behind my camera lens, so expect lots of pics as well!

 

[soul_power]

Gotta love 3-day weekends because they mean shorter work weeks! I just have to suffer through the rest of the week and then it's off to Orlando we go!

DBF and I are soo excited! After almost a year of planning, it's almost here! Other than the staring at the calendar, all that we've been doing is shopping (I'm a brat and I insist on having new clothes before I go on vacation). We also picked this up:

It's the Kodak Easyshare Sport C123. It has decent reviews and the fact that it's waterproof and takes stills and video all for $75 makes it worth it to me! I'll let you know how it holds up. I'll have this for CC, but I'll also have my Canon point and shoot and Nikon DSLR with me on the trip.

Only four more sleeps until we leave!

 

[Cheryl726]

Sounds great! You'll have a great time! We were on the Dream in July (miss it ), it was amazing!

 

[soul_power]

Sounds great! You'll have a great time! We were on the Dream in July (miss it ), it was amazing!

Thanks so much! The trip being so soon is definitely bittersweet. I've been waiting for it for months, but at the same time I'm not looking forward to the aftermath. Any tips/suggestions would be greatly appreciation! DBF and I are Disney Cruise newbies!

 

[soul_power]

I leave for DBF's house (an hour away) today after work, and tomorrow morning at 10am we fly from San Francisco to Orlando! I spent a good amount of last night packing and quadruple-checking that I have everything. I even began to freak out a little bit because I started feeling like I'm going to forget something. I have our passports and cruise docs, so I guess everything else can be figured out later?? Eek!

My current issue is my almost-6-year-old beloved iPod. I was going to put a CC playlist together, but my iPod won't connect to my computer. I have a MacBook at home, and it wouldn't connect initially, but I eventually got it to work. My work computer (PC) won't recognize it at all. I was able to charge it with a wall charger using that same cord, but my issue is connecting it to the computer. I guess I'll just have to make a playlist on the iPod itself.

Anyway, I can't believe it's already here!! Thank you to those who have taken the time to read through my rambling. I'll be back with TONS of pictures!