So whatever happens, let's begin. A July 2014 PTR COMPLETE

[Newsies]

Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome. Fremde, etranger, stranger...
​

Before I even introduce myself, and before this becomes evident, I want to let everyone know that I have never written a pre-trip report, post-trip report, live-trip report, regular-trip report, or any kind of trip report. So if this post dies suddenly, or I don't post for weeks on end, it's mostly because I'm new to trip blogging and, well, the DIS in general, so I apologize in advance. To be honest, I'm not even sure why I've decided to start this thread so early. I guess part of it is boredom, and I guess the other part of it is being so happy to finally be going home that I couldn't wait to start talking about it.

As a 17 year old, I tend to find more and more difficulty in finding a motivation to keep going through my routine- it's hard to want to go to school for 7+ hours a day when you don't like waking up early and don't have open campus- and Disney World is one of those things for me. I feel like the more and more I think about Disney World, the more motivated I am to get through the school year and make it to summer. And essentially- that's where the Disney 2014 journey started. I haven't been to Disney World since 7th grade, and I've been having large withdrawal symptoms over the past few months. And for months all I talked about was going back to Disney, or the cool new things going on at Disney World, or the new Fantasyland, etc.

So yesterday DM took me out for a manipedi at our local nail salon. She began to talk to me about how cold it is here in New Jersey, and how she just wants to get away and go on vacation. It was quiet for a few minutes, and then she turns to me as my gel is drying. "Kaitlyn?" She says. "Call dad and tell him to be ready when we get home. I want to book Disney today." And so after my gel polish dried, I called dad, and we went to AAA. Within an hour, we had booked our second ever Disney World vacation. And I could not have been happier. And as an aspiring journalist and Disney fanatic, I knew I couldn't wait to begin documenting my next big journey.

With that being said-

My name is Kaitlyn.

The first one is me in my cowardly lion costume, and the second one is me with Corey Cott- he plays Jack Kelly in Newsies on Broadway. Alongside Disney, it's fair that you know I'm into a variety of other different things. These things include: Big Time Rush, Newsies, musical theatre in general (Little Shop of Horrors auditions are tomorrow. You can expect to hear all about my life as an actress throughout this thread, to be honest), makeup, blogging, coffee, Harry Potter, and more. As I said before, I'm 17. I come from the great state of New Jersey.

And of course, there's an obligatory Disney favorites section for almost everyone who makes a PTR/TR

Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Ride: BTMR, SM, EE, basically any coaster
Favorite Character: Any and all princesses, Gaston, Peter Pan
Favorite Restaurant: Tie between Sci-Fi and 50s Prime Time
Favorite Hotel: Contemporary Resort

And finally, the details of our trip are:

Hotel: Grand Floridian Resort (garden view room).
Dates: July 6th-13th, 2014 (DSis will be celebrating a birthday, but we'll get to that some other time)
DDP: Yes, DDP.
Transportation: Driving from New Jersey to Florida- YIKES!​

And that's all I have to say for right now. I'm really looking forward to meeting all sorts of new people on the forums, and I can't wait to share my experience with such a fun, diverse, and kind-hearted group of people. Talk to you all later

-Kaitlyn

 

[Newsies]

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. Hotel switch and Disney Bows
2. Dining Reservations
3. TONS OF PIXIE DUST- An unreal upgrade and more magic
4. Awesome FP+ Selections
5. Magicbands and luggage
6. Ohama means family, family means finishing up Disney shopping.
7. Quick post-finals update.
8. Appointments and PUPPIES!
9. Two weeks!
10. We go together... like the "what's in my bag" tag!
11. One week until arrival. BREATHE.
12. Puppy boarding and mani-pedis.
13. ONE MORE DAWN, ONE MORE DAY... ONE..... DAY........ MORE! (final chapter)

 

[Newsies]

Hello!

If you're reading this post, we've actually come to the end of the journey of this PTR. You can read the official TR right here

Thanks for joining me while I prepared for the most magical vacation of my life!

TTFN,
Kaitlyn

 

[LB1122]

#1 Break a leg at auditions. I am a middle school teacher who directs plays and we also have auditions going on!!

#2 Disney is on the horizon for you...YEAH!

#3 Looks like I am first to in on the fun that you will share.YEAH!!! So have Contemporary on my wishlist of hotels

 

[Newsies]

#1 Break a leg at auditions. I am a middle school teacher who directs plays and we also have auditions going on!!

#2 Disney is on the horizon for you...YEAH!

#3 Looks like I am first to in on the fun that you will share.YEAH!!! So have Contemporary on my wishlist of hotels

#1 THANK YOU

#2 Thanks again!!! I'm so excited it's unbelievable

#3 Haha, thanks for tuning in! I've stayed at the Contemporary once before- it's an incredible experience and it's such a fun hotel!

 

[Newsies]

Hey, I realize I haven't updated this in a long time and that's because the trip has kind of been pushed to the back of my mind. Anyway, I didn't get into Little Shop (my high school directors have never cast me in a musical, but it's all good), but I have Hairspray auditions in about two weeks for a performing arts center, which will be good because I have a lot of luck with community productions (I actually have already gotten into Hairspray at one point in my life, but since it was further away from home than we thought it would be, getting to rehearsals was difficult so I couldn't do it).

/End theater rant/

Anyway, we've decided to switch hotels from the Contemporary to the Art of Animation. Besides the 3,000 price different between them, we'd really love to see what Art of Animation and the value resorts have to offer for us. A Contemporary trip can be done maybe once with the budget we have (and it already has been for us!), but if we like what we see with the value resorts, we could go back to Disney year after year. I'm definitely going to miss being on the monorail line, but at the same time, the Art of Animation looks like sosososososo much fun, especially for an animated movie junkie like me. It'll definitely be quite a switch from Contemporary, but I'm looking forward to it.

On an unrelated note, I bought some Disney related bows that I'm TOTALLY gonna be bringing to the park! You can read the full review here, or just take a look at this picture I snapped with my Gaston bow

That's all for now!
xx Kaitlyn

 

[Newsies]

1/19 Update

Another quick theater thing I wanted to mention- because I'm going to Stagedoor Manor this summer, I was given the opportunity to take master classes in NYC with the cast of Matilda and some other big Broadway names in February. I'm super excited about it and I'll probably be posting quick blurbs about it as well!

Okay, onto the update.

We made all of our ADRs last night. DS is celebrating her 13th birthday on July 11th, and she couldn't be happier with our picks. Take a look at what we have so far. Since the regular DP only allots for 2 meals a day (one table, one quick service) we've taken OP meals into consideration on the list. Also, I'm not sure what we're doing on July 12th, but that'll probably be a primarily quick service day:

July 6th:
-Eat before we get to Disney
-Dinner at Downtown Disney OP

July 7th Magic Kingdom:
-Crystal Palace reservation OP
-Pecos Bill
-Tony’s Town Square reservation


July 8th Animal Kingdom:
-TBD
-TBD
-1900 Park Fare reservation

July 9th Epcot:
-Akershus Dining Hall reservation
-Eat at QS around Epcot
-Big River Grille OP

July 10th MGM Hollywood Studios:
-TBD
-TBD
-50s Prime Time Café reservation

July 11th Magic Kingdom
-Chef Mickeys reservation
-TBD
-Be Our Guest reservation

July 12th

July 13th
-Ohana Breakfast reservation

So now our ADRs are out of the way! We've also ordered our free Disney Planning DVD, which should be here in 2-3 weeks.

-Kaitlyn

 

[Newsies]

Okay, wow. I haven't updated this PTR in a LOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time. Mostly because not much has been happening- until this week.

We switched hotels again, and this time I'm even more excited than I was before! Due to the Disney Summer Discounts, my family was able to upgrade from the Art of Animation to the GRAND FLORIDIAN RESORT!! I was seriously crying because I was so happy! And it only cost us $400 to upgrade. Can you believe that? It's always been a dream of mine to stay at the Grand Floridian- to me, the Grand Floridian is the height of luxury at a Disney resort. I'm so happy we're back on the monorail route, too! Plus, this makes our last meal even simpler, since we have reservations at 1900 Park Fare before we go. And I love Basin White. In fact, that's probably my favorite part of the upgrade. Basin White all day every day. Anyway, what was I saying? Oh, yeah. If you have the opportunity to upgrade through the Disney Summer Discount, do it. Upgrading from a value to a deluxe for $400 cannot be beat.

A few other smaller Disney-trip related things happened this week as well.

• My mother got a Disney Visa. She's planning on putting this trip on the card and she's really hyped for the benefits the card will give us in the parks- like the Epcot meet and greet.
• We ordered our customized maps today. Very exciting!!!
• We bought everything to make a Disney planning binder, however, we have yet to start filling it up, haha.

Our next step in our Disney planning process is getting Grace's (DSis) birthday plans squared away. She's turning 13 and we want to surprise her. We're looking at the Pirates and Pals cruise at the Contemporary, since she loves Peter Pan and fireworks. But we're also looking at doing a Gifts of a Lifetime event, but we have some concerns with GOAL. For example, we have dining reservations for that day and we're worried they'll interfere with whatever they plan for her. Also, Grace does not like being the center of attention that much- we're worried a GOAL event will overwhelm her.

So that's all I have for this update. I'll keep adding as more gets added!

TTFN,
Kaitlyn

 

[Newsies]

Hello again to the .5 people who visit this thread!

I'm SO, SO sorry I haven't been updating. I'm in a show called "Urinetown" right now- it's very dance heavy and the rehearsals are killing me.

So, we passed our 60 day-mark this week, which means we were able to book our Fastpass+ selections. And yes- despite my schedule, I stayed up until midnight to book them. Here's what our new schedule looks like:

Monday, July 7th (Magic Kingdom):
Space Mountain: 11:10 – 12:10
Under the sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid: 6:30 – 7:30
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train: 8:00 – 9:00

Tuesday, July 8th (Animal Kingdom):
Kilimanjaro Safaris: 10:15 – 11:15
Kali River Rapids: 12:35 – 1:45
DINOSAUR: 3:14 – 4:15

Thursday, July 10th (Hollywood Studios):
Voyage of the Little Mermaid: 12:10 – 12:25
The American Idol Experience: 12:55 – 1:10
Beauty and the Beast- live on stage: 2:30 – 2:50

Friday, July 11th (Magic Kingdom)
Royal Fairytale Hall: Meet Anna & Elsa: 1:00 – 2:00
Pirates of the Caribbean: 3:40 – 4:40
Peter Pan's Flight: 6:30 – 7:30

As you can see, WE'RE GOING TO MEET ANNA & ELSA! That was the first FP+ we booked and the reason why I stayed up until midnight. July 11th is Grace's birthday, as you might remember, and we finally came up with a plan for her special day. We're going to take her on the Pirates and Pals Fireworks Cruise at the Contemporary that night- so PotC and PPF, in addition to being her favorite rides, are going to be kind of a hint of what's next that evening

I'm also really excited to be riding the Mine Train. It's going to be awesome.

So that's it for today- I'll keep you guys updated x

TTFN,
Kaitlyn

 

[Newsies]

Got home on Monday and these babies were sitting on the counter waiting for me.

From left to right- DM's, DSis', mine, and DD's A bit of magic and joy as I embark on the hellacious journey that is finals week.

Anywho, with 24 days left, we figured it was an appropriate time to bring out the luggage as well.

The middle one is my main luggage, and the smaller one is for my overnight/toiletry bag. Since we're driving down, as you all know, we're going to be stopping overnight at a motel along the road. So we need an overnight bag to bring into the room with us!

The last time we stayed at a motel on our way down to Florida things got sketchy. We were going to Daytona Beach and DM, DSis, and DD were staying in one room, with my DGranny and I in another. Our toilets didn't work and when we tried calling someone, we found out that our room phone didn't work either. So I ended up walking over to my parent's room, calling from their phone and explaining the problem. Not fun. Hopefully this year things go a little bit better.

I'm also bringing Nemo with me! I wanted to bring Stitch, what with our family shirts and all (Shh! They're a surprise. DM and I ordered them a few weeks ago in secret. They're going to be so cute), but Stitch was nowhere to be found. Luckily I "found Nemo" .

Following my train of updates, the next time you hear from me, I'll probably be either packing or have already packed and am waiting to embark on our journey.

TTFN,
Kaitlyn

 

[courtneybelle]

Joining because we have basically the same dates!! We'll be there July 5 to July 13 and we are celebrating my sister's 16th birthday. She's very into theater too so you'd get along well

 

[Newsies]

Joining because we have basically the same dates!! We'll be there July 5 to July 13 and we are celebrating my sister's 16th birthday. She's very into theater too so you'd get along well

That's awesome! Thanks for joining along and keep in touch- can I ask when your sister's birthday is?

 

[Silvermist20]

Following along too. Tell me how the Mine Train is!

One of the trips I went on we had to drive from NJ to FL. (Personally it was ok. It made my butt hurt from sitting so long though.)

I like how you named some of your magic bands are named after Disney characters! My family was lame and named them after us.

I like the Nemo.

It's an awesome idea to book the fastpasses for POTC and PPF to give your sister hints of what's to come!

 

[courtneybelle]

That's awesome! Thanks for joining along and keep in touch- can I ask when your sister's birthday is?

My sister's birthday is July 8

 

[Newsies]

Following along too. Tell me how the Mine Train is!

One of the trips I went on we had to drive from NJ to FL. (Personally it was ok. It made my butt hurt from sitting so long though.)

I like how you named some of your magic bands are named after Disney characters! My family was lame and named them after us.

I like the Nemo.

It's an awesome idea to book the fastpasses for POTC and PPF to give your sister hints of what's to come!

I'll be sure to let you know how Mine Train is! It sounds like such a fun ride and the design is incredible!

And gurl, I know how you feel haha. This is my third time driving down to Florida with my family. Technically my fourth, but the first one doesn't count since I was so young.

And thank you!! Nemo's very old. He's been in my attic for a while and he's a little dirty, but still good. Still good.

As for the FP+s, Grace is gonna be so excited. I'm so happy we were able to do something so cool for her on her birthday.

My sister's birthday is July 8

My sister's birthday is July 11th. So close!!!

 

[Newsies]

Remember those shirts I was talking about that DM and I ordered for the trip? They came in today! Kind of.

As you can see, the embroidery guy made a liiiittle mistake. We went back almost immediately and as soon as we walked in he said "I know. I spelled it wrong, didn't I? I think I realized it as soon as you left and I was reviewing your order. Sorry, I was thinking of Obama." So we got to keep the shirts as a gag and we're getting the real ones on Saturday. He's a great guy- but this was too funny of a mistake not to share with you all!!!

So after that, my family and I went to finish up shopping for the trip. First we went to Five Below. I went on a little crawl to see how much Disney stuff I could find.

I almost bought this magnificent lanyard. Almost.

Okay, I actually had a rationale for buying the princess wipes but decided not to. I needed to save money for what I was REALLY there for- earbuds, flip flops, and window decorating things for the room.

There was also a princess makeup case but I didn't feel like photographing it cause it was kind of boring and close to the ground.

Cute idea for small kids! I was even going to buy one for myself for Stagedoor Manor as like a small light to use after curfew. The kids section also had a lot of disney coloring/activity books, stuffed keychains, etc.

​

I would have totally bought this and used them and brought them to school and not lost a wink of sleep over it. But, money.

​

Okay, I didn't even know what these cupcake things were, but they had them in Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse, Tinkerbell, and Maleficent, and the struggle to not buy them was so. alive. and well.

Maleficent... looks... cute. How many times a day can we say that? Beautiful flawless BA, maybe, but rarely does there come a time when I can call her cute.

There was a ton of Frozen merch at the check out desk. Besides the snowglobe, though, nothing really stood out to me.
​

After we were done at Five Below, we had lunch at Chick-Fil-A. Then we went to DSW so we could get sneakers. I don't really own a pair and as we know, they're kind of a necessity for Disney World.

Oh. My. God. They're perfect.

I've NEVER been a sneakers person. I prefer Sperrys or flip-flops, especially in the summer. But I legitimately fell in love with these sneakers today. I can't wait to wear them! Ahh!!!

Then we finished up our shopping excursion at Kohls. I got a pair of shirts, a few sets of pajamas, and a bathing suit. So now we're all done with shopping for Disney World.

So that's my "Ohama" mishap/Five Below gallery/Sneaker appreciation post. See you later!

TTFN,
Kaitlyn

 

[Newsies]

Brief but relevant updates.

• I'm meeting up with my friend Christina while I'm in Disney World! She and I are gonna hang out together at the Magic Kingdom the first Monday we're there.
  
  I met Christina online through the Newsies fanbase last year. We've met in real life twice. I'm super excited to see her and spend my first day in my favorite place with one of my coolest friends!

• Since I had to sign up to volunteer at the library, I decided I'd check out a few books on Disney World while I was there. Some of them are interesting, but most of them are full of just basics- and stuff I already know a lot about.
• My family started "Disney training" this week. Every night we go up to my school and walk around on the track for a while. Disney training.
• Finals ended today, which means two more days of school left, which means 19 DAYS UNTIL DISNEY WORLD

So that's all I needed to say. See you guys next time something big happens.

TTFN,
Kaitlyn

 

[Silvermist20]

I cracked up at the Ohama!

And not to be THAT person or anything, the lanyard is the Evil Queen and not Maleficent.

That's cool that you met your friend online and are hanging out one day in Disney.

Lol the Disney Training thing made me laugh!

 

[Newsies]

I cracked up at the Ohama!

And not to be THAT person or anything, the lanyard is the Evil Queen and not Maleficent.

That's cool that you met your friend online and are hanging out one day in Disney.

Lol the Disney Training thing made me laugh!

Thanks for the read! And I meant MAGNIFICENT, as in awesome, not MALIFICENT, lmao, but thanks anyway! I didn't realize I had capitalized the M until you pointed it out. Sorry for the confusion ;D

 

[Newsies]

Q: What do you get when you cross a small, unpopular cinema, a weekend where most people are away, and two friends who love Disney?

A: A private showing of Maleficent.

LOL! To celebrate the first full day of summer break, my friend Molly and I decided to see Maleficent together. We got some Starbucks (I got a butterbeer frappuccino. I died.) then headed on over the theater. We were the only two people for Maleficent! It was okay. The plot was kind of weak, but the action scenes were great and Angelina Jolie = queen of everything. Her makeup was on point and her costumes were fantastic. But enough about that. Just decided it would be a cute and relevant thing to share with you guys before moving on to the next update

So anyway, I finished my process of "pre-packing" yesterday. It's when I make sure I have everything I plan on bringing, make a check list of it all, and pack it in my suitcase to make sure everything fits. But then we went to Old Navy today and I got like 4 more pairs of shorts, 4 more pairs of flip-flops, 2 more tank tops and 2 more shirts. So I guess I have to pre-pack again now.

We finished up all of our appointments today!

July 3rd (2 days before we leave) DM, DSis and I have mani-pedi appointments at 3:00.

Then at 4:00 that night, we're sending Roxie to Roxdane Pet Hotel for the week.

Everyone, meet Roxie.

Roxie's our red chow-chow. She's a year old. She flew in to us from Texas on my 16th birthday last year (May 21st) and she loves playing outside. She's very protective and barks at anything that breathes within a 20 mile distance of our house. She's a little more energetic (and WAY more loud and powerful) than we thought she would turn out to be. My mom had a black chow when she was a child (his name was Cocoa) and he was sweet and gentle until he passed away when I was like 5. But we love our Roxie and we know her heart is in the right place.

That's it for this update. Current countdown lies at 14 days until departure, 15 days until we arrive at Disney World, and 16 days until I see the Magic Kingdom again.

And I could not be more excited than I am right now

TTFN,
Kaitlyn