PTR-Does being there every day in my dreams count?

[eeyore04]

Well as most of us get older, we get wiser, more mature….

I, like lots of people on here I’m sure, got a little more obsessed with a little thing called Disney… that fact makes a lot of people who don’t understand the magic, think that we are immature, crazy, etc, etc; but we all know it’s just plain magic.

My obsession became as big as it is a few years ago when I made my first trip to The World, which I’ll tell you about in one of my upcoming chapters, but for now, I would like to start off with…

Welcome to my Pre Trip Report!

The Facts:
Who: Myself, my younger brother and our mom... and most likely my cousin and her husband!
Dates: September 13-22, 2012
Accomodations: Pop Century
Tickets: 8 Day Park Hopper
Dining: Free dining + upgrade.

Stay tuned for chapters!


~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~


Chapter 1-How I came to Love Disney
Chapter 2-Trip #1-The Fight-cation
Chapter 3-Post-trip: The Obsession Begins
Chapter 4-She Doesn’t Help The Situation!
Chapter 5-OK! That’s it! I’m going-with or without you!
Chapter 6-Introducingggg: The Cast!
Life update
Chapter 7-The Concussion... a back story
Chapter 8-No, it’s 180 days. (Stupid Travel Agent)
Why the obsession?
Chapter 9-ADRs
Chapter 10-PAID!
Chapter 11-Surprise! (Don’t give me that attitude young man)
Chapter 12-Dessert party woes! (oh noes!)
Chapter 13-One month to go/the Checklist
Chapter 14-Our itinerary
Chapter 15-Single Digits!
Chapter 16-HOLY TIME, Batman, where did it go?

 

[teekathepony]

YAYYYY!!!! I'm here and subbing of course!

 

[OrangeJuice]

Hey,
I'm jumping over from your cousin's PTR and subbing to this one. Welcome to the DIS and can't wait to hear more of your plans.

 

[eeyore04]

Hey,
I'm jumping over from your cousin's PTR and subbing to this one. Welcome to the DIS and can't wait to hear more of your plans.

to my PTR and thanks! I'm looking forward to getting to know some of the people on the boards here. She's always talking about the DIS and wonderful people here!

 

[eeyore04]

Chapter 1-How I came to Love Disney

A lot of us have stories about when we were little princesses/princes we always had the Disney dream…. I was in the moderate range. I loved Disney movies, had my Disney stuffed animals (Eeyore was always my #1 favorite) and dreamed about Disney from what I watched on my Disney Sing-Along Songs: Disneyland Fun VHS (that to this day has a permanent home in my VCR) I know...

The summer that I was 12 and my brother was 7, our parents sat us down at the kitchen table… I remember it like it was yesterday. They had 2 books, one of Disney and the other, pools. We had a choice. We talked about it, and decided that an inground pool that would last the rest of our lives was a better idea than a 1 week Disney vacation , so a few days later the tractor showed up in the backyard and the dream of a family vacation to the Happiest Place on Earth was lost…. for now.

Fast forward 10 years when my cousin and her then boyfriend (now husband) ask me and my boyfriend at the time if we want to go to Disney with them. I wanted to go soooooo bad it made my stomach turn. My boyfriend was even into the idea, but we decided money was tight and we weren’t going to do it. Disappointed, I never lost the spark that my cousin started that day!

The following year, the spark continued to grow, seeing all her pictures, hearing stories and spending time online (at that point mostly just the Disney Mom’s Panel) We decided that it was time to go to Disney. We booked a trip for September 2009 and that’s when it really got going.

 

[earthfaries]

Hi! I am excited to follow along here on your PTR . You're going to have so much fun with the 8 day park hopper and the free dining pass!

I am so glad you got to go to WDW for the first time in '09 and that the seed was planted. Once that WDW seed is planted watch out ~ it really grows!

 

[teekathepony]

You have to admit, that pool is awesome.

 

[eeyore04]

Hi! I am excited to follow along here on your PTR . You're going to have so much fun with the 8 day park hopper and the free dining pass!

I am so glad you got to go to WDW for the first time in '09 and that the seed was planted. Once that WDW seed is planted watch out ~ it really grows!

Thanks so much! I am so excited to get back to The World and experience it with my family.

I know about the seed... it's insane how much it grew! I have someone constantly watering it for me hahaha... my cousin and I are each other's worst enemy/best ally depending on how you look at it!

 

[eeyore04]

Let’s set the stage. Myself at the age of 23 heading on my first Disney vacation, not only that, the first vacation I’ve ever taken with a guy, alone, AND the first time I’ve ever left this beautiful country I call home. My boyfriend, age 31, who had been to Disney as a kid, but many, many years ago (appx 20 years prior). We had been dating for 2 years, and we said yeah-lets go.

I had started a new job that spring, hopefully what will lead into my career, a good job, and was able to finally for the first time ever take paid vacation time. I was in heaven. I didn’t care how much it cost-I was going.

The planning was helped a lot by my cousin, we made our ADRs through our travel agent, changed them a couple times…. We drove the 4.5 hours to the airport (rather-I drove because he doesn’t drive *grumble*) and we even stopped by said cousin’s house that was being built on the way to the airport to sign it!

We left Friday after work and first drove to my cousin's place to sign her house that was being built at the time. As those of you who know her from the DIS she's insane about Disney! So we added a little mickey flavor to it....

I’m not going to bore you with all the tiny details that are ingrained in my brain…. But I will give you a few tidbits of why I call it the “fight-cation”

Example #1-Downtown Disney. We stopped for a little liquid refreshment, himself: coffee and me a cold lemonade. He decided to pay out of pocket for the $5 miniature sippy cup and when it was horrible coffee, and too small, he blew up, at me, because he was angry.

Example #2-We had decided to go to DisneyQuest for 1 day, added the “ Water Parks, Fun, and More” to our tickets for this reason only. It would be indoors, we both like video and arcade games, and we decided to try it out. When I wanted to do the Aladdin simulator and he didn’t, I suggested he go do the next thing he wanted to do while I did the sim and we would meet up afterwards-he blew up at me because “I didn’t want to do anything he wanted to do”.

Example #3-When he wanted to do ToT and RnR (not my thing, I’m not a thrill rides person) I said that I wanted to get my caricature drawn and would meet him in a certain spot afterwards, he was furious. I asked him if he wanted me to wait so he could get his caricature done too (as I thought he may have wanted to do it as well) it was another “you don’t want to do anything I want to do” (I get motion sickness in the passenger seat of a car if I look down) so no, I don’t want to do the thrill rides and he knew that before we went.

Example #4- (and the most important one) My first day at the Magic Kingdom, we enter Fantasyland and my eyes go wide. Dumbo, and Cinderella's Carousel! He (while rolling his eyes) went on the carousel with me (5 minute wait), but when I went to get into the 25 minute line for Dumbo he flat out refused to wait that long for “the stupid elephants” and drug me off to ToonTown. I never did get a ride on Dumbo that entire trip.

I look back at my pictures from 3 years ago and I can tell you what we fought about that day, when we were fighting, and why he was peeved at me for one reason or another.

So that is why I call it the “fight-cation”

 

[NancyLuvsMickey]

I'm here and I'm going to tag along with you on your vacation... I promise not to fight with you and I'll go wherever you want to go... And ride whatever you want to ride... And I'll be so quiet you won't even know I'm here...

 

[teekathepony]

Fight-cation. Classic.
You are going to notice SUCH a difference this trip!!! I think (if possible) you're going to like Disney even more!!

 

[earthfaries]

How awful about your Fight-Cation The second time we went to WDW on vacation my dad joined us for the last half of the trip. He was a bummer the whole time, ruined Epcot for us. It really made the trip a lot less fun. He wanted to skip all the fun stuff, he complained about the sun and the heat and the crowds ... he wanted to be "in charge" of the park days and dragged everyone around to do basically nothing. I feel where you're coming from.

I know you've going to have a wonderful vacation this time around ~ and you deserve it!​

 

[eeyore04]

How awful about your Fight-Cation The second time we went to WDW on vacation my dad joined us for the last half of the trip. He was a bummer the whole time, ruined Epcot for us. It really made the trip a lot less fun. He wanted to skip all the fun stuff, he complained about the sun and the heat and the crowds ... he wanted to be "in charge" of the park days and dragged everyone around to do basically nothing. I feel where you're coming from.

I know you've going to have a wonderful vacation this time around ~ and you deserve it!​

It's not that I didn't enjoy myself at all last time, if I said that it would be a lie... it's just that he loved to fight and I don't, and I know I will have a great vacation!

Fight-cation. Classic.
You are going to notice SUCH a difference this trip!!! I think (if possible) you're going to like Disney even more!!

of course I wil...
reason #1-no Chris
reason #2-I get to share it with Mom and David
reason #3-you and Johnny are going to be there!
reason #4-I know more now than I did then and I think that's a good thing. I've already lost my Disney 'virginity'... I have more knowledge about it going in this time
reason #5-I'll get to experience mom and David's first time vicariously through them

I'm here and I'm going to tag along with you on your vacation... I promise not to fight with you and I'll go wherever you want to go... And ride whatever you want to ride... And I'll be so quiet you won't even know I'm here...

hahahahaha glad to have you along for the ride... as long as I get to do Dumbo, and no one calls them "the stupid elephants", I'm fine!

 

[eeyore04]

Chapter 3-Post-trip: The Obsession Begins

Ok-despite it being the “fight-cation” I couldn’t wait to get back to Disney. I started creeping message boards, doing Disney news searches, going on allears, wdwmagic, the dis.... One of my favorite things to do was listening to wdwtoday podcasts. you name it, I was probably on it.

I’ve also been known to spend hours on youtube looking at Disney videos, I spent weeks and weeks going through the “Today in the History of the Walt Disney World Resort” series and made myself a spreadsheet on Excel EVERY SINGLE THING they chronicle on that series, so if I wanted to know what happened in Disney World history on any given day, it’s just a click away. (I told you... obsession!)

I spent countless hours going through photographs, deciding what ones to print. I did a traditional photo album (which to this day I don’t know where to find in my house), my scrapbook, however, I know where that is! This scrapbook of our Disney adventure… took me almost 10 months to complete! I bought the 2009 Disney album when I was there, along with stickers, paper, etc… and went to work.

Hours upon hours, lots of time and $$$ I put into chronicling our adventure. Mostly the good, of course. I was just a beginner scrapbooker, so now when I look back on some of my pages I would love to re-do them but I won’t because it shows the journey from n00b scrapbooker to a more experienced, refined one. The album (that was built to hold 20 pages) holds 84 pages and is almost 3 inches thick… this did not help my obsession.

I don’t really have to tell some of you, who are obsessed as well, on how obsessed I have become on this one.... but I'm just gonna assume that some of you are just as bad!

here's just a few pictures of my album... so sorry the quality isn't the best.

The album itself

My opening page

Crystal Palace... Eeyore is my FAVORITE! ...take note of the Eeyore shirt!

Some people trade pins, I collected pressed pennies

Stay tuned for more... which features teekathepony!!!

 

[NancyLuvsMickey]

"We" can ride Dumbo as many times as you won... I like that ride...

I have like four full pressed penny books and they never get looked at... That's a neat idea to scrapbook them... I've also been thinking about turning them into a charm bracelet... Need to do something with them because right now they are unappreciated...

 

[teekathepony]

I really need to finish at least one Disney scrapbook. I'm going to work on my 2010 trip again, I want it finished before I go on another trip!! You want to do some Disney scrapping sometime?

 

[eeyore04]

"We" can ride Dumbo as many times as you won... I like that ride...

I have like four full pressed penny books and they never get looked at... That's a neat idea to scrapbook them... I've also been thinking about turning them into a charm bracelet... Need to do something with them because right now they are unappreciated...

I loved getting pressed pennies when I was there. It was
(a) a cheap souvanier
(b) not the first time/place I've collected them
(c) so much fun to get all kinds of different characters and things on them!

I have been collecting American coin for the past 3 years and have quite a bit... so I do plan on taking down lots of quarters and pennies so I can get more! I read somewhere a long time ago about someone who suggested putting your money for pressed pennies (the 51 cents) into an empty M&M Mini tube together so you aren't digging for change when you come across a machine!

As for putting them in my scrapbook, it was a natural thing for me to do!

 

[eeyore04]

I really need to finish at least one Disney scrapbook. I'm going to work on my 2010 trip again, I want it finished before I go on another trip!! You want to do some Disney scrapping sometime?

Absolutely! We should get together and do some scrapbooking! Maybe after Cirque? the next few weeks are kinda hectic!

 

[eeyore04]

Chapter 4-She Doesn’t Help The Situation!

Well, most of you who are reading my PTR probably know my cousin and don't even realize it... teekathepony. Yes, I'm the older, and wiser of us, but we are first cousins and I consider her one of my very best friends.

I have lived vicariously through Wendy over the past several years, as she continually made trips to Disney World (or in one case Disneyland Paris) EVERY year. Boy was I jealous. EVERY SINGLE YEAR! I would have been hatefully jealous but at least we would talk Disney whenever we were together, much to the dismay of a lot of people around us… but I don’t care what other people think. I could be obsessed with much worse than Disney.

As I believe I had mentioned in one of my previous chapters, Wendy had asked me and my ex to go with her and Johnny back in 2008... but we didn't go. I was asked again last year (2011) if I wanted to join her on a Disney trip and had to decline. My fiancée (got engaged in 2009 just after our trip) and I were fighting a lot, I didn’t want to commit to a vacation with him when I didn’t know the status of our relationship or how long it was going to last, and he wasn’t too happy about the thought of me going alone (without him) even though I wouldn’t be touring alone (or not all the time anyway). Money was going to be tight as well, and as much as it killed me to see her (and her inlaws and another cousin on the other side of her family) go together last year, I didn't get to go.

I SWORE that my next trip would be a solo trip. As much as most people thought I was nuts, Wendy kept encouraging me to make that trip, and do it alone. Do it for ME for once. And I knew I was doing it.... it was just a matter of getting rid of the other fella and DOING IT.

Finally in October of 2011, 4 days before my birthday, I broke up with my fiancee and have never looked back since.... just forward at what a dream it would be to do Disney alone....

...and then it hit me like a ton of bricks. Not that I was single after 4 years and a rock on my finger... NO! That was old news! I was going to go to Disney on a solo trip! I have read about so many people doing solo trips, thought about how wonderful it would be... and then it hit me... my birthday! What a better way to celebrate than be in Disney World on my birthday! And who cares if I'm by myself? I would be in Disney World! I would be celebrating my birthday in Disney World! EEK! And Wendy, well she was my the entire time.

So in February I requested my normal October week vacation (week of Canadian Thanksgiving which I have had off every year so far) and hoped for the best.

Not. Approved ugh. Yes, I'm serious. It wasn't approved because my supervisor and I can't have the same week off. ok. Fine. Here's a better idea-September! Free dining! OK... 3rd week of September.... annnnnd hope for the best (again).

All this time of course I have been pricing, and I'm ready to book. And alllll this time, Wendy is behind me-cheering me on. not helping the situation (sure my yearly bonus could pay off some bills but Disney is more important, right??)

A slight snag in the plans of not on my birthday but what the heck, the bills will be there when I get back... I'm going to Disney World!

...(I hope)

 

[teekathepony]

I'd like to point out a problem with your chapter title; "She doesn't help the situation!"

If by she you mean me
and by "the situation" you mean your Disney obsession
and your point essentially is that I provoked you to go to Disney
which is the thing you wanted above all else
how is that not helping?

I suggest a new title for this chapter;

"My awesome, younger and smarter cousin helps everything."