The "Killing two birds with one stone" multi pre-trip report

[MinnieJay]

Chapter thingys:
The Cast! (Read below)
DIS is a gang?!
Mixed Messages
I will not DIS until homework is done-repeat over and over!
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=35564811&postcount=20"] How 1+1=4
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Trip Report!
Disney or Bust!
Magic Kingdom-Part one "Babe, you have the tickets...right?"
Magic Kingdom-Part two "Omg...we're really here!"
Magic Kingdom-Part three "Cruisin'"
Magic Kingdom-Part four "We're going on that? The choo-choo?"

Hola fellow DISreaders! I'm Jay! Also known as MinnieJay here. I've lurked the site for a while before finally deciding to give in and join!

I'm not new to TR-ing...I do them for cruises all the time.
...HOWEVER...I am new to doing trip reports with pictures! So please, bear with me



Now, some of you might be wondering why I'm calling this the "Killing two birds with one stone" multi pre-trip report.
(I promise you, no animals were harmed during the writing of this pre-trippie)
Well, I'm combining multi trips into one giant trip report!

Rundown of the trips:
Trip numero uno: March 5-7
My little bro has football camp at the Sports Complex and my whole family is going. My boyfriend and I are tagging along just to use our free tickets on Sat from the GAD program and Friday we (I) want to go to Wonder-Works and hangout on International Drive. My family LOVES FunSpot (my mom and brother hate theme parks, so to them, this is more important than Disney ) so this is usually a destination in itself!

Trip #2: April ???
My boyfriend is a year behind me and is a senior in high school and is going to Disney's Grad Nite 10. I'm extremely jealous because last year's Grad Nite was held in Hollywood Studious (Grrrrr) but I still had one of the best nights of my life. And since sometimes I am forced to live vicariously through my boyfriend (I don't have much of a life...read below on me later) I will update y'all on his one night adventure I know he will never forget! I wish I could relive mine.

Trip # 3: June???
The boyfriend is heading back to The World! (Lucky him) It's for his family yearly vacation. He's been hinting for me to go, but I'm thinking my family is doing a cruise, and my bro is crossing from middle school to high school so I have to go to that ceremony and my boyfriend is graduating high school, so I have to go to that and on top of all of that, I want to do summer school so I can take a load of Fall 2010 semester! Whew! But we shall see!

Thennnnn...
Trip #4: Going for Sept 2-6 (have to see how school/class schedule is first)
Four college kids. 4 days, 4 parks. We.Are.Going.To.Do.It.BIG! ...and cheap! We are on a budget! We are looking at staying at the POP but are still trying to work out the kinks!



Okay...enough about the trips! Y'all will get y'alls fill on that later. Promise : )

Time for some Background and Cast introductions!
(I'm going to go head and say I have very limited photos on my photobucket until I go home this weekend and get some off my mom's computer at home.)

My boyfriend Marquice, who is going to very mad with me when he sees this old picture of him on here. This is when we first got together almost 3 years ago. He's always bouncing off the walls 24/7 but at the same time so laid back and let's me take control. (Although I wish he would help me plan this trip besides saying "Baby, you're the planner...I'm going to let you do your job." Grrrrrrrrrr) But he is the most amazing guy I have ever met.

(I really need to get some new pictures on photobucket lol)

I'm a freshman in college right now. I would have more to say about me, but school is pretty much taking up my all my free time and I don't have a life. . But I love to travel and hoping to do Semester at Sea Spring 2011

And this is us together

But anyway, Marquice and I did the vacation thing before. We went on a cruise this past June...I will never cruise with him again! He's full of so much energy and wants to do every lido deck activity while all I want to do is find a spot in the shade with a book and do my favorite past time...EAT! So while coming up with vacation plans, that was definitely a big NO at the top of my list! That's how we came up with Disney : )
Here's a picture of me and my chopped up hair...ugh...I still don't know why I cut it all off! Marquice too. haha

And here is me and my little family : ) Brother, Mom, Me

This is from our Disney (one day vacation ) July 2008.

We just hung out in Cocoa Beach for a few days since she likes beaches (hence us only doing cruises for family vaca...we're not all stuck in one place together for a week) before going to Orlando for a few days to hang out on a resort.

And these are from Grad Nite 09! The most amazing night of my life thus far! I was sort of bummed that it wasn't going to be held at the MK that year since I have not been there since grade school...but it has me really looking forward to this trip! Mickey...I'm coming for you 0_o
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Katy Perry!

Well, that's all I have...like I said, I have very limited pictures on this new laptop. But I will sure to update! And I will prob be asking for help planning stuff along the way too. Let me know y'all are reading! : )

 

[MinnieJay]

Soooo...my boyfriend and I just "watched" (I say/type it that way because I'm an hour away) Samatha's Brown Fanathon at Walt Disney World!
I wished it showed more of the parks, but I still got excited! Come on March 5!!!

Anyway, so I got DBF to also read the PTR to see how I'm doing. He says I have no life

I also told him we have to get something in Lime Green to wear to the parks each time we go so someone would the boards would recoginze us. Now he calls us the DISgang and that was our gang color

 

[ZeroToHero]

Hahaha - I have a feeling I'm going to love this!

You have to (when you get the chance) tell all your plans for the trips. I love planning.. so I can offer suggestions. My boyfriend does the same as yours - "You plan everything, I'm sure I'll love it."

The only thing he picks for our trips is the food - and even then, I have to make lists and spreadsheets for him to look at.

You are so lucky to be able to go on that many trips! Even if they are short ones, spreading it out is so fun.

 

[cmp1111]

Wow, that's a lot of trips! Sounds great - thanks for sharing.

 

[MinnieJay]

So far, I have a very, very tentative plan for the weekend in March trip. And that pretty much consists of going with the flow. When I go back to my mom's house later in the afternoon, I will be able to find out more, but for right now I don't know anything. I think we are leaving Friday, I doubt my mom would want my little brother missing school or according to what time his camps leave, they will leave Thurs and me and my bf leave mid-day Friday.

Friday evening- Wonderworks for me and the bf at least or seeing what we can do on International Drive. Or maybe the fam will want to do FunSpot. I'm not sure just yet. Then head back to the the Resort (Wyndham) and see what's the fuss is about coming from my mom since that's all she ever talks about.

Sat morning- My mom is leaving to go back home (6 hour drive) for my uncle's surprise party (Hope he doesn't read these boards! I doubt it though. Otherwise he is going to go from this: to this: . He hates being the center of attention!) So that's where driving my car down will help. Hopefully Wyndham has a shuttle or something to the parks so we don't have to pay parking. Then spend the day in Magic Kingdom! Other than that...I have no plans.

Sunday- ??? I guess it's up to my mom. But I'm sure we are coming back today or night.

As for the other trips?! Ugh....I'm still coming up with plans for the Sept one. And dbf got his info for Grad Nite. He sounds excited!!! Yayy!

But I'm going to start super-planning those so I will most definitely need you help. Thanks in advance!

 

[SimmerBaggins]

Ya'll are all so CUTE!! and so young!! It's awesome that you are sharing all this with us...thanks!

But what I REALLY think is funny is that you are saying that, the cruise gave too much for your DBF to do, so you chose WDW!! I have been on a lot of cruises and know about the 50 bijillion things they will pack onto a cruise ship for you to do, but there are 50 bijillion MORE things to do (or more) at WDW...!!??

I think I get it, though -- you PLAN it, so ya'll will stick w/the plan?

Good luck, girl!

Vickie

 

[mebbradley]

What Wyndham resort are you staying at??

I stayed at a Wyndham resort last may when I was there.

 

[MinnieJay]

Ummm...I don't know. My mom knows all the details about the resort. Sorry.

I didn't know there wasn't more than one in Orlando! lol

 

[mebbradley]

There are two whyndam resorts. We stayed at Kingsgate,and there is also Bonnet's Creek.
If you are staying at Kingsgate (if you find out), just message me and I will send you the link to my photos from the timeshare.

 

[MinnieJay]

I looked up the Wyndham resorts down in Orlando and only saw one and that was Bonnet Creek.

I would ask my mom to double check, but she's sick and is acting like a whinny child...ugh. PARENTS! Geez. Her V-day flowers are making her nose stuffed up

 

[MinnieJay]

So instead of staying here:

It's only minutes away from WDW, we could have taken the shuttle, keep 14 dollars in our pockets and had a short ride back to the resort. We could have chilled in one of their two pools, or the lazy river with a drink (virgin of course!)

But oh no. DM had to get allllll her info mixed up

So we are REALLY staying...

The Hyatt in Lake Mary

It seems nice and all...but it's 40 MILES AWAY FROM WDW!
Sheesh! (As dbf would say) That's a drive!

So here's how we're PLANNING for it to go:
March 5- Fam leaves early that morning. While me and dbf either leave:
1. At 1pm and he skips his last class
2. At 4 pm and he goes to all his classes
3. Skips all classes and we just drive behind dfam in the morning.

If we do the last option, we decided to go to the Central Florida Zoo since it's only 7 miles away and will give us something to do for the night. Or if we leave later, we are going straight to sleep, if we can for an early day at Disney!
But we might end up like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b95oyhSd5ls


March 6- Disney! Right now, dbf and I are fighting over rather to go to MK or AK. I haven't been
to MK since I was like, 4 so I want to go! And I'm going to get a first timer button because I don't remember going...just have pictures (which I will put up soon.)
Spend the day there...hopefully he lets me get my way and we go to MK.
Him: "I know if we go to AK that day, if something goes wrong, I'm going to have to hear you complain and say...'If we would went to Magic Kingdom...'"
and he's right.

March 7- Leave : ( I'm not sure what time though. But if we arrive to late on Day 1, we will go to the Zoo that day, then make the drive back home.

So yes! That's our weekend getaway

18 more days!

 

[somethingblue]

Woo, how exciting!
I'm a college student too going on a trip with my boyfriend in May. His first trip to Disney ever! So it'll be interesting following your plans and then seeing how everything goes for you guys. You'll have to read my Trip Report after the May trip to get some ideas for your September trip together. =D

 

[MinnieJay]

Hey! You helped me with some of my plans!
I had a lot of questions and you helped me out.
Thanks again if I didn't say it on the other thread I started

I think this is mostly college students on here since we all are on budgets. lol

 

[ZeroToHero]

Somethingblue - when are you going in May? My boyfriend and I are going the 27th - June 1st.

 

[MinnieJay]

June 1! That's my birthday!
: )


And does anyone know if we park at Dowtown Disney (no parking fees), could we take the bus over to MK and back that night? The night we are going it closes at 10 and I just want to make sure that we can get back to the car.

 

[somethingblue]

Somethingblue - when are you going in May? My boyfriend and I are going the 27th - June 1st.

We're going May 10-17. We'll miss you! =[
It's too bad, I've been wanting to do some sort of dismeet for a while now. There are actually more young people on the Dis than I first realized. A lot more young couples are getting bitten by the Disney bug I think, haha.

Oh MinnieJay, do NOT ask this question on any other board! This is one of many "hot button" issues here on the Dis that causes people to lose their heads. It's an innocent question, I know, but dear Lord people hit the fan over it.

(There are a lot of "hot button" issues on this board...breast feeding, mug sharing, mug-reusing, whether fingerprint scanners actually work, and taking kids out of school are just a handful that come to mind...)

I may be mistaken but I am 99% sure there is no bus to MK from DTD or vice versa. The reason for this is pretty obvious...people parking at DTD for free and using the bus, thus saving a few bucks. You're technically not supposed to do that. Now I know that people still do it...they take a bus to a Disney resort, and then take a bus/monorail/boat to the parks.

But honestly, the extra travel time you tack on will probably be more trouble than the $14 or so that you spend on parking. And I'm not judging you for asking or anything, haha! This is a flame-free zone.

Oh, and you're welcome for the tips! I'm excited to read a trip report written by someone my age.

 

[MinnieJay]

So today, Dbf and I volunteered for the GAD program....






We had lots of fun! They were so friendly and helpful. They were preparing for a banquet to keep the school running so we had to bubble wrap everything to pack up into boxes, do programs and we met the awesome kids that attend the school along with the dedicated teachers that help these kids who all have learning difficulties succeed! I loved the people so much; I plan to volunteer with them again. So essentially, I'm getting wayy more than just a free Disney Ticket. (Although a free ticket is a nice incentive! ) Plus, she said that she will verify us tomorrow!

Anywho, also, dbf Marquice also invited our Mutual Best Friend (Dmbf?!) Marquis to join us on the trip!
I'm so excited to have my two favorite boys with me. It's going to be an interesting weekend! I can't wait!

Did anyone volunteer for the GAD program? Tell me stories

Now...back to school work.

WAIT! Here is me as a REAL MINNIEJay
Two pictures I found of my first Disney trip when I was little...I have no idea how old I was...maybe four? I would scan the others...but for some reason, these were already scanned on here

Me on my first "roller coaster". My mom said I was convinced that I was really on one. Now I know that it is really only TTA. I remember seeing a picture that must have been taken shortly before this one where I am looking around...scared

Me and my daddy! Who I miss and love oh so much! The only thing I remember about this and seen pictures of was this was some kind of show at Disney and there were fake guns popping and I didn't like the sound of that...I have to find the one of me covering my ears and crying.
Oh yeah...check out my Minnie shades

 

[MinnieJay]

Yeah! I was reading some of the threads and if a poster had a low thread count (like me) and said something the "senior" DISers didn't like...they were called a Troll! They can get really rude too! For everything, there will be the "Cheerleaders" saying that the company can't do any wrong...but to each their own. lol

I guess every online board has their hot topics that gets everyone underwear in a bunch. One the cruise board I'm also apart of, it's tipping, ChairHogs, jeans in the dining room and the whole Carnival vs Royal Carribean type thing.

Well, now I know. I will fork over the $14 to the Mouse for my magical day...I'm already getting a free ticket...but we're a cheap bunch. lol

 

[ZeroToHero]

Cute! I love how the TTA goes above your head! Hahahaha.

There are crazy hot-button issues - I try to stay pretty seperate, but sometimes I can't help it (one or two of them push my buttons.....) However, I can usually think before I post, and don't say anything stupid, like other people.

GAD sounds so cool! I might do that just for fun!

 

[MinnieJay]

Okayyyyy. When I last left you all, me and dbf had invited dmbf (Dear Mutual Best Friend). Now, while I'm used to hanging around guys (6 brothers! I'm the only girl
) it would be nice to hang out with a girl and balance out the sexes. After a while, being judge of who can burp the loudest, run the fastest and who really won the arm wrestle fights get pretty tiring.

So....

I invited by best friend in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD (dbf!) to join us of course! We've known each other since we were both five and we are excited to go!

So this trip has went from me and the boyfriend to the Gruesome Foursome doing Disney!!!

Since we only have one day at MK, what are some time saving tips? The parades aren't important to us, so while the crowds are there, we are planning to hit the rides we may have to skip if the lines are to long. And I read something on here about going to the left line? Anymore tips?

Next week!!! ekkkkkk!