Real Life Cinderella Fairytale...Anniversary Trip in October!

[BippidiBoppidi]

Well, I have been stalking the DIS for over a week now and it has become a new addiction (on top of just the regular Disney trip planning). I've also been creeping on some of these trip reports and decided to add my own. This of course is my first TR, and it may not be all that exciting, because our trip is a QUICK one. BUT...I want to write it out for my own record and also to maybe help those of you who are like us and sometimes just need to get a Disney fix in, even if it has to be a really really quick trip. Hopefully I can show you that it can be done!

So let's start with introductions:

Me - Stacey, 31, working at home right now for an insurance company, but really I'm an elementary school teacher (long story how I ended up here). Disney fan since birth, pretty much, but I feel like I've gradually let more and more Disney fandom into my life as I've grown up and not cared as much about being "cool". Letting your inner nerd out is very rejuvenating!

My Favorites (stole this list template from disneylove16 because I liked it ):

Favorite ride: Splash Mountain
Favorite restaurant: Be Our Guest
Favorite park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Disney movie: The Little Mermaid
Favorite character: Pluto (I'm a classical kind of gal)
Favorite resort: Polynesian (never stayed, but dreaming of making it there someday!)
Favorite non-Disney interest: dogs, baking (I have a side cookie decorating business), home decorating

I have been to Disney 5 times now. I went for the first time with my family when I was about 7 years old. I remember having a Character breakfast on the steamboat and as an adult, I wish they still did that! I think we stayed at Carribean Beach Resort, but I'm going to have to go back in our old pics and research!

When I was in high school, we got to visit Disneyland in CA as my sister was a dancer and got to perform in the parks! That was a cool visit, and I was excited to see California Adventure, too. We stayed off site that time, because we also did other LA-touristy stuff during our vacation.

My 3rd visit was with friends in college the summer before I graduated. One of my best friends, Chris, worked at Disney (he did the college semester there), so he had us park hoppin' all over the place to hit the highlights in one day! This picture is from our Character meal at Liberty Tavern

Then, I was lucky enough to go again just 5 months later with my family! We left the morning after my college graduation and spent Christmas there! (Let's not talk about how disappointed I am about the Osborne Lights leaving this year)

Before I tell you about my fifth trip, let me introduce...

DH - Michael, 32, Army veteran of 9 years and currently works for a telecommunications company (customer care)...which is a terrible horrible awful stressful job. (sidenote: Please be kind when you call someone for help...it really wears on you when you are being yelled at most of your day for things you didn't do.) On top of that, DH has just started college courses to get his Business degree. I couldn't be more proud of him. He is a self-proclaimed nerd...has always been into a variety of things in that realm, including Disney. However, I think meeting me has broadened his Disney obsession, and it is now a huge part of both of our lives (more on that in a minute)

His Favorites:

Favorite ride: Space Mountain
Favorite restaurant: 50's Prime Time Cafe
Favorite park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Disney movie: Lion King or Beauty & The Beast
Favorite character: Can't choose
Favorite resort: He's only been to one (POR)...introducing him to more this trip!
Favorite non-Disney interest: dogs, working out, Warhammer, Marvel, all things "nerdy"

When we first started dating, I discovered that Michael had NEVER been to Disney World (or Disneyland). I told him we HAD to go. Which leads me to tell you about my last trip to Disney...

DH and I went in 2014 for just two park days (one night at POR). I thought it was just our first big trip as a couple, but it ended up being a whole lot more!

He ended up setting everything up for a proposal during "Wishes" while we were dining window-side inside Cinderella's Castle (at CRT). It was an amazing, memorable trip!

You can read the whole proposal story here if interested:
Our Proposal Story

So, on our last night, I was literally in tears as we were walking out of MK. We had such a great time but it was so short and I wanted to live it all over again! We briefly talked about the possibility of having our wedding at Disney but 1) It was out of our budget and 2) We wanted a lot more people there than we could have at Disney. So, instead we settled for a Cinderella-themed wedding in our hometown and it was so beautiful and whimsical and magical and perfect!

Needless to say, Disney went from something we both loved to something we both LIVED. All things Disney are truly incorporated into so many different aspects of our lives!

So here we are, 5 months before our first wedding anniversary and deciding very last minute to make a quick Disney trip happen to revisit where it all began! We (well, I) have started planning like crazy and we have a few things booked. Looking forward to sharing our plans and am totally open to suggestions I can add to this trip or keep in mind for our next one (planning this quick one has us already decided that a week-long trip to Disney for our 5th anniversary is in our future)!

Oh and before I end this post, I have to share a picture of our two kids. We love them like they were our own!
Lily & Akela:

 

[BippidiBoppidi]

The Plan So Far​

Ok, on to the fun stuff!

So we had talked about potentially going to Disney for our anniversary back in January, but we weren't too sure it could happen. We had plans to buy a house, and things were just uncertain. Plus, we like traveling, period...we actually have a goal to visit all 50 states together in our lifetime. So we debated on trying to check off a new state or going back to Disney.

Months passed and then in April, my parents told us that they have purchased a condo a the beach! My mom said she really wanted DH and I to use it for our anniversary trip, so we agreed. Then we did a quick GPS search and learned that Disney is only another 6 hours on the road from the condo, so the itch became bigger and bigger. We definitely wanted a full week vacation, but weren't sure we could swing a full week at Disney on a budget. But the blessing of having a free place to stay most nights helped it become more of an affordable reality!

So, about two days after learning about the beach condo, I contacted our fabulous TA and asked her for some pricing options for two days at the park and one night. We originally booked one night at Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary and two day PH tickets. Then I got to researching and learning more about going in October (which I have never done before) and learned that the F&W Festival would be going on the same time! I've ALWAYS dreamed about going during F&W and felt so lucky that in coincidentally fell on our anniversary week! Well....we are big foodies and also enjoy drinking together, so the more I thought about it, the more I thought it would be nice to just stumble into bed at the resort rather than limit ourselves and then drive back 6 hours after our second night (which I think we were crazy to think we could do in the first place).

So NOW we have two day PH tickets and two nights at POR which is extra romantic because that is where we stayed the night we got engaged! We currently also have the Plus Dining plan, but with the F&W festival, I'm thinking of cancelling that and just paying OOP for our ADRs and using the money for F&W packages.

We are still planning out little details but here is what we have so far:

Monday, October 10th (our actual wedding anniversary)

• Drive to POR, plan to arrive around 9:00am
• Check into POR or leave our bags (last time we went at 7:30 and our room was already available, so it's worth a shot to check!)
• Head to Magic Kingdom
• ADR at Tony's Town Square Restaurant at 2:45 (I plan to fill you guys in on our Lady & the Tramp connection in another post...I have read how awful people think the food is, but we are going more for the atmosphere and to check it off our "dined there" list) We plan to head there around 2:00 to request a table on the patio so we can watch the parade while we eat and rest our feet.
• After the parade we are thinking about either enjoying more of MK or heading to HS to hit up the Star Wars stuff (both of us are big Star Wars fans)...we will probably decide that day.
• Also put it in my schedule to grab a Dole Whip for an afternoon snack...I have always wanted to try one but it always gets put off so I'm scheduling it this time!
• Head back to the room for showers and dress up for dinner
• Carriage Ride at POR at 7:00pm
• 8:00 head to The Contemporary, enjoy drinks in the lounge
• Watch fireworks show begin on the observation deck
• ADR at California Grill at 9:40
• After dinner, we plan to just head back to the room and have a slice of our wedding cake, enjoy a bottle of champagne that was given to us on our wedding day, and watching our wedding video before going to bed.

Tuesday, October 11th

• Grab a quick breakfast at Riverside Mill Food Court
• Head to Animal Kingdom around 9:00 (this is a new park for both of us, so still learning what we should FP+ that morning)
• Head to HS around 12:00 or 12:30 if we didn't get to do it Monday
• 2:00 Head to Epcot for F&W Festival...EMH that night until 11:00!!
• Illuminations that night
• Possibly try out Jelly Rolls if we feel like being out late

Wednesday, October 12th

• Pack up and check out
• Breakfast at Boma at 9:35
• Depending how we feel and if we got our souvenirs yet or not, we may go to Disney Springs for a bit before driving back to the beach.

As you can see, our Tuesday is a lot less planned out then our Monday...mostly because it's our actual anniversary day. I'm anxious for the F&W menus, events, and prices to be released so we can get some more plans and budget nailed down! We also have a while to go for our FP+ selections, so I'll be thinking about how to wisely book those!

Any suggestions for Animal Kingdom? I have always skipped it when I've been to Disney because "we have a zoo at home" so why would I spend time there? But I do want to do Expedition Everest and I think DH would love the Dino stuff. Any suggestions you guys have to make the most of our two days I would love to hear!