Second Star the the Right and Straight on til Disney... Sept 2014 Pre-Trip Report

[cpanagiotakos]

Welcome to my very first trip report!!

I have been a long time member of the boards but have never really gotten into trip reports until recently and I thought I would give it a shot. I am an obsessive planner- I even do it for a living but more on that later.

First things first- Time for a Happy Dance http://www.wdwinfo.com/images/smilies/cheer2.gif
I am going to Disney!!!


I am especially excited about this trip because it will be just me and DBF. We have been to either DL or WDW every year of our relationship (5 years next week) but always with a group or family- this is our first trip just us!!

I have always had fun obsessively planning all of our trips but have never had the opportunity to be the lead on any of them.

Please join me on this adventure as I get ready to plan my very first trip on my own!

 

[cpanagiotakos]

Me Christina (26)

I am a planner- I am not happy if I am not planning something. With that being said I LOVE my job. I am an Office Manager and Event Planner at a tech company. I love themes, I love details and I love Disney. Each week I plan a different Disney themed dinner and put ideas and tutorials on my blog. http://www.myculinarycabaret.com/

I grew up on Disney movies. I also grew up going to Disneyland every year. I can't say when my obsession began but it was definitely early. (Though my family all enjoy Disney they all think that I am crazy!)

Our 2011 Trip to Disneyland with My Family

My Favorites
Movie- Beauty and the Beast, Emperor's New Groove, Peter Pan
Character- Belle, Ariel, Jiminy Cricket
Park- World Showcase
Rides- Great Movie Ride, Peter Pan
DOLE WHIP!!!



DBF Mitch (25)

Mitch is a public servant and that is all I am allowed to say. His whole family are Disney obsessed. He is probably the tamest of them all. They go to WDW at least once a year.

Our 2012 WDW Trip with his Family


His Favorites
Movie- Alice in Wonderland, Sword in the Stone
Character- Captain Hook
Park- Magic Kingdom
Rides-Haunted Mansion

The Story of Us

Mitch and I met his freshman year of college. We were both involved in student activities and became fast friends. We both had developed an attraction to each other but the timing was never right. Finally as I was wrapping up my Senior Year we went on a leadership trip to Florida where we swam with manatees and went on a special behind the scenes Disney tour. The last day of our trip we were given a few hours in the parks. We rode Haunted Mansion together when the ride broke down. We were stuck going backwards on the hill for about 20 minutes. It was the first time that neither of us were in another relationship and sparks flew and we have been together now for almost five years.

(Thats us in 2010 with our friend Kelsey)

Disney was such a part of both of our childhoods and now it is a huge part in our relationship. We watch a Disney movie each night to fall asleep. All of our vacations have consisted of a Disney park. I am so lucky to have found someone I share so much in common with and love so much. I am very much looking forward to this trip with just the two of us.

 

[cpanagiotakos]

For the first time ever we don't have to plan this trip around our families schedules. We are so excited to be able to do during a low crowd level for the first time ever.

We are hoping to pick our dates perfectly so that we can experience at least two of the following:

Free Dining Promotion
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party
EPCOT's Food and Wine Festival
Dapper Day

We have been looking at the end of September so that we can experience some of the things we have never been able to to really make this trip unique. I have been looking at past dates to get an idea of the best timing.

We are currently thinking September 24- September 30.

We are hoping some dates will be announced soon (or at least in enough time that I can get ADRs at BoG)

Why we would like to get to some of these events:

Free Dining- We have done the DDP a few times in past visits and just love the convenience of it. We love the unique themed dining experiences and have always made them a huge part of our visits. We plan on getting the DDP no matter what but would LOVE to have the free dining promotion. We are a young couple just starting out and are currently paying student loans, saving for a house and hopefully a wedding (trying to be patient!)

Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween Party- I ADORE Halloween. It is by far my favorite holiday. I love any excuse to get dressed up. Mitch loves the Villians. He gets so upset that villians are very hard to find in the parks now. He would love the opportunity to be able to get those rare M&Gs. This is probably the most important thing to us this trip.

EPCOT's Food and Wine- EPCOT more specifically World Showcase is by far my favorite park. I love meandering through the countries and trying new things. Although there are always new little things to discover the park is definitely getting a little stale for me. It would be really fun to visit it during this wondeful festival.

Dapper Day- I LOVE to Disneybound. Even when not visiting the parks I love to dress in outfits inspired by my favorite characters. This year Dapper Day will be at DHS on Sept 27th and I would love to meet people share one of my passions.

I would love to hear what you all think about these events and how to best pick our dates so we can best experience these events?

 

[DVCmom4]

Following along!! I love food and wine! I'm hope dh and I can take along weekend for just the 2 of us this year!

 

[cpanagiotakos]

DVCmom Thanks for joining!

DBF and I had to take a quick trip to NYC for business (and a Billy Joel concert!!) The four hour train ride made him a very captive audience

He decided that free dining was most important to him so we are crossing our fingers!

After that he said he would love MNSSHP so we are are going to try and do that. Why can't Disney release dates already?!?! I am so impatient.

We also discussed hotel options. We are between POR and CSR. Neither one of us has stayed at either but we really like the vibes of both. I am doing my research on the quality of bus transportation of each.

Does anyone have any recommendations or reasons why they like one or the other?

Thanks!

 

[Tiramisu]

Following along.

I understand your impatience about dates... I'm waiting on dates for December!

I've never stayed at either but I've visited CSR and they had so many bus stops that we were practically falling over them! I don't think you'd ever have a long wait for a bus.

 

[cpanagiotakos]

It's OFFICIAL!!!! We put our deposit down with Dreams Unlimited this week. I just couldn't wait for Disney to release event dates. We are going...


September 24- September 29

Still hoping for Free Dining and waiting for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party dates. We were very pleased to see that Food & Wine was starting a week earlier than in the past. I was worried about crowds going the first weekend but now we will be there for it during the week. I am just hoping it does not affect the Free Dining Promotion.

Now That we are all booked I can start my favorite thing EVER... PLANNING!!!!

I am listening to the disunplugged podcast and have all of my supplies and am ready to go.

I use this strategy to plan out any trip or multi-day event. It is a sheet from the Post-It brand weekly planner. I use color coded 2x2 post it notes to help me plan the days. Each day has projected park times written on the top. Each post it has an area of the park on it. We separate MK and EPCOT by area as we tend to spend a lot of time in those parks. DBF doesn't do any thrill rides so we only spend a half day in each AK and DHS.

I am going to spend the afternoon comparing the crowd levels for each park from touringplans and easywdw to decide where we will be when. I will share the final post it display when I have finished.

After I figure our park itinerary I will share my process for figuring out ADRs.
I think I am going to try to use a similar system for FP+ as we get closer.

 

[cpanagiotakos]

Well the prelimary schedule is finally done- thanks to post it brand

Now I just have to keep my fingers crossed that we get the ADRs that we want. Our 180 day mark is March 28. So close but so far away.

After weighing multiple crowd calendars I think these will be our best options for each day.

Wed Sept 24- Arrive at Coronado Springs
Head to MK (FP+)
Dinner at Mitch's Favorite Pecos Bill
Thurs Sept 25- EPCOT FW World Morning
EPCOT Food &Wine Festival
Fri Sept 26- Utilize EMH at AK
Back to Hotel for Rest
EPCOT
ADR Rose & Crown for Illuminations Viewing
Sat Sept 27- Utilize EMH at DHS (FP+)
Make ADR at Hollywood Brown Derby
Return to Hotel
ADR at Be Our Guest
Sun Sept 28- Early Morning to Ride Coasters (Mitch has to do them on
on an empty stomach)
Late Breakfast ADR- 1900 Park Faire
Extra LONG rest
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party
Mon Sept 29- Earliest Cinderella's Round Table ADR
to take advantage of empty Main St.
Revisit MK favorites

 

[AmandaInWonderland7]

Following along

I will be there from September 20-28th, so I look forward to following your preparations and being on almost the same countdown schedule, hehe

 

[cpanagiotakos]

Following along

I will be there from September 20-28th, so I look forward to following your preparations and being on almost the same countdown schedule, hehe

Thanks for following along Amanda! Congratulations!!!

We were between POR and CSR. We haven't stayed at either. We will have to connect after so I can get your opinion on the resort.

 

[cpanagiotakos]

I Got the ADR's I want!!!

Thanks to Marla at Dreams Unlimited Travel I was able to get all my requested ADRs- including the coveted Be Our Guest

Before I discuss my ADRs I just have to say a few things about a last minute conference trip I had to take. I had a conference at the Hyatt Grand Cypress a few weeks ago. I wasnt able to get a whole lot of park time but I have some thoughts I would like to share about what I did experience.

First of All the second I found out that I would be attending this conference I started trying to get Be Our Guest reservations. Beauty and the Beast has been my favorite movie since the day I first saw it in the theaters (at age 4) I have been OBSESSED with Belle ever since. The last time I was in the World was Sept 2012 just before it opened. We didnt go last year because we were going to Disneyland. Needless to say I have been DYING to get there. I checked everyday for about a month to get in. I have to say I LOVE Disney's new reservation policy. During my lunch break from the conference on Thursday I was able to book ADRs for Friday. There were no words to describe how excited I was!! It was truly everything I ever imagined. The details were amazing. The food was good- some unbelievable dishes and some mediocre ones. I dont want this to turn into a review but we had one of the house wines L'ombre de le bete and it was one of the best blends I have had (my dad who was also in town on business agreed) and came with a unique label. It was incredible.

Our day in the Magic Kingdom on Friday was truly perfect. Despite spring break crowds we never waited more than 10 minutes. We didn't have an agenda so we got a rare opportunity to really slow down and explore. We aren't normally parade people but we grabbed a dole whip and a curb and saw the Festival of Fantasy Parade which was truly an amazing experience. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. Definitely a must see.

After the perfect day at the Magic Kingdom we decided to head over to EPCOT for the Flower and Garden on Saturday. EPCOT has always been my favorite park. I have never been there for either of the festivals so I was excited. I have to say I have never been more disappointed in my life. There were some things that Disney could not control- like the crowds of rude drunk people. Seriously the crowds were unbelievable and I have been there in the dead middle of summer. The lines for the bathrooms were as long as the lines for the rides. After using many bathrooms the day before in the MK that were so immaculate you could eat off them I was so disappointed in EPCOT. I have done a lot of traveling and it really upsets me to say I would rather use the port-o-johns at Oktoberfest in Munich than Germany in the WS.

I was also really excited about the outdoor kitchens. I love to get tastings from all the countries so I thought this would be perfect for me. There were a few things that I found good but most of the items were mediocre to inedible. Especially in the American kitchen- I understand its already prepared food that has to feed a lot of people but they have to be able to do better than that. I was really looking forward to F&W but am really apprehensive after this experience. I may be changing the schedule to have more time in the MK and less in EPCOT after this.

 

[AmandaInWonderland7]

Thanks for following along Amanda! Congratulations!!!

We were between POR and CSR. We haven't stayed at either. We will have to connect after so I can get your opinion on the resort.

Yes, definitely! And I'd love to hear your take on CSR, as we had contemplated that one as well.

 

[wiigirl]

Following along!

 

[cpanagiotakos]

They Announced Free Dining!!!!!! I was so afraid they wouldn't this year. Thanks Disney!

My travel agent was able to adjust our reservation to include it. I am so excited about our ADRs. We keep going back and forth on our EPCOT day but I think we have come up with our final food schedule.


9/24- Arrival Day- Dinner (CS) Mitch's #1 Food Must Do- Pecos Bill
9/25- EPCOT- Snacking Around the Food and Wine Festival
Late Dinner (OOP) Kouzzina- My Dad is Greek so I have
wanted to compare his cooking to Cat Cora's and with it closing
we had to squeeze it into this trip after all of our credits were
accounted for. We made this for after park closing figuring
after a day of F&W we could just get apps or split something.
9/26- AK and EPCOT-
Lunch- We arent huge AK fans and Mitch doesnt ride EE
so we wont be in the park very long in the morning. Depending
on how long we are there and when we get hungry we get we
can grab something at Flame Tree or back at the hotel.
Dinner- This has been the most difficult decision. We
want to try Chefs de France but I was able to score
Illuminations timed ADRs at the Rose and Crown. We are
hoping that they will extend the after hours wind down so we
can R&C then.
9/27- DHS and MK
Lunch (OOP) Hollywood Brown Derby- light salads for
lunch so we can save room for dinner.
Dinner Be Our Guest- I am so excited. As I mentioned
before I was able to get last min ADRs on my work trip and it
was everything I dreamed it would be. It was Friday during
Lent last time though and I had given up potatoes so my
choices were limited. Can't wait to share this with Mitch. I
know he is going to love it.
9/28- MK and MNSSHP
Late Breakfast 1900 Park Faire- We wanted to take it
easy today so we could tour hard tonight. Mitch cant ride
anything rocky after he eats so we are going to do the
mountains first thing this morning then spend a leisurely
afternoon. I am going to surprise him with a massage at the
GF after brunch.
Dinner (CS) Columbia Harbor House- planning to grab
a bite here before riding the HM a bunch of times.
9/29- MK
Early Breakfast CRT What better way to end our trip
than getting into the park before opening. Making our way
down an empty Main Street and then re-riding our favorites.


Now I have until July to figure out what we want to prebook our FP+ for.