The Trip that Almost Wasn't (Sept. 2015) | Making Magic out of Sadness (Canceled, but not over!)

[MouseketeerKelsey]

Hello everyone! I just got back from 3 days at Disney last night and I was feeling so much post-Disney sadness that I decided it was time to plan another trip!

I wanted to book another trip before our annual passes expire 9/20/15 so an early September trip it is!!!!

I am going to start the actual details tonight! I am so excited to share it with you all!!

 

[MouseketeerKelsey]

Alright! Time for the basics!

Dates: September 1-5 My longest trip ever!
Who: Me and my mom, possibly just me but most likely both of us
Hotel: I am so excited...I have wanted to stay here for so long and it is finally happening. *drum roll*

ART OF ANIMATION!!! And we are staying in a......

LITTLE MERMAID ROOM!!!!

I. CAN. NOT. WAIT!

I am so excited to see the resort, eat at the food court and maybe even swim! That is huge, I don't swim. I'm afraid of water. I blame my parents, I grew up in a room painted with murals of corral reefs. Beautiful, but not my thing. (I don't really blame them) But the pool looks so inviting!

Next up: Introductions!

 

[MouseketeerKelsey]

I guess we should do some introductions. Here we go!

My name is Kelsey. I am 19. I am an annual pass holder and I live about 2 hours from Disney. My favorite park is Magic Kingdom. My favorite ride is Thunder Mountain. My favorite princess is Belle and my favorite character is Stitch! I am Disney obsessed and know so many facts about the parks that my parents call me their "official tour guide" and I love it!

This is me!

This trip was just me and my mom. She also is a pass holder. Her favorite park is "um I'm not sure, between Epcot and Magic Kingdom." Her favorite ride is 7 Dwarfs Mine Train. Her favorite princess is "my favorite princess is you" awwwwww how cute. It is really Cinderella, always has been. Her favorite character Pooh! These are two pics I loved from this past trip.

My dad hasn't been in years. He isn't quite the Disney enthusiast that I am, but he puts up with my obsession. One day we will get him back to Disney, maybe when he isn't working so much. He is a doctor and those darn patients just always want to be treated when they need it. How inconsiderate of our vacationing.

I have made some ADR's, which isn't the norm for me but I wanted a few since this trip is longer. I think maybe I will share them in the next post.

Hope everyone is having a magical day

 

[HSMndLKfan92]

The Little Mermaid rooms look beautiful! We usually stay across the way at POP.

 

[MouseketeerKelsey]

The Little Mermaid rooms look beautiful! We usually stay across the way at POP.

We have stayed at POP the last 2 trips and I have stayed there many times before. I am so excited to be checking out the AoA!

 

[KathyM2]

I'm so excited for you and following along! I totally know that feeling...of just getting back and feeling like you have to start planning a trip right away....I was there in March and have been obsessing over when/how to get back ever since! Good luck with all your planning!

 

[AshBriSmi]

Wow!! Looks good already!
Early Sept. will give you low-crowd too! Good thinkin!!

I haven't stayed at POP yet but it's a must Love the LM room!!

 

[MouseketeerKelsey]

I'm so excited for you and following along! I totally know that feeling...of just getting back and feeling like you have to start planning a trip right away....I was there in March and have been obsessing over when/how to get back ever since! Good luck with all your planning!

Thank you and welcome! Thanks for following along. I love planning trips so much, it felt almost empty without having it. Plus I want to go back to Disney, so that doesn't hurt

Wow!! Looks good already!
Early Sept. will give you low-crowd too! Good thinkin!!

I haven't stayed at POP yet but it's a must Love the LM room!!

TouringPlans has it as a 1 for each day that we are there! I couldn't be more excited about having low crowds!

I love POP. It is a lot of fun and I really like the value resorts. I don't find that we spend enough time at the resort to warrant spending that much more to stay somewhere nicer. As long as we have a nice place with air conditioning to sleep, I am good. That being said, I am so excited about staying at Art of Animation that I am almost shaking!

 

[MouseketeerKelsey]

Oh no. Someone make me stop booking ADRs. I am never planning this far in advance and I can't get over how many options I have. It's overwhelming but fantastic. I am a little bummed because I thought there was a chance that Food and Wine would overlap, but sadly it won't. That's okay. I went this year and I wasn't overly impressed.

Let's get into the reservations!

Tuesday, September 1:
Lunch @ 2:15 pm

I have eaten here before and LOVE it! The food was great and it was a lot of fun. I can not wait to go back.

Wednesday, September 2:
Dinner @ 6:20 pm

I have heard wonderful things about this place. I may be changing it, though. This is the one night we are going to be out of the parks at 5 pm which means we could go anywhere on property. I am still thinking.

Thursday, September 3:
Breakfast @ 9:50 am

I have been here for lunch and I think it is such an adorable, fun restaurant. I am looking forward to dinner here. There are EMH in the morning so I went for a later breakfast.

Saturday, September 5:
Lunch @ 1 pm

This is a favorite of ours. I have been here a few times including lunch on our last day of this trip and it never disappoints.

That's it for now! I am so excited!

 

[HSMndLKfan92]

Tuesday, September 1:
Lunch @ 2:15 pm

I have eaten here before and LOVE it! The food was great and it was a lot of fun. I can not wait to go back.

I am SO team Sci-Fi but it's still a great choice - especially if you love it!

 

[KathyM2]

LOVE Raglan Road!! And you got some other great ADR's too...haven't been to Prime Time yet and hope to try it next time!

 

[AshBriSmi]

Thank you and welcome! Thanks for following along. I love planning trips so much, it felt almost empty without having it. Plus I want to go back to Disney, so that doesn't hurt



TouringPlans has it as a 1 for each day that we are there! I couldn't be more excited about having low crowds!

I love POP. It is a lot of fun and I really like the value resorts. I don't find that we spend enough time at the resort to warrant spending that much more to stay somewhere nicer. As long as we have a nice place with air conditioning to sleep, I am good. That being said, I am so excited about staying at Art of Animation that I am almost shaking!

Score for all 1's!!

I agree with you- I love all the gorgeous resorts WDW has to offer but I think once it is my own money, I will be staying at a Value resort. OKW is my dream resort so it's pretty cool that you've stayed there!

I have an ADR there for my trip and I'm super excited! If you have time ever, totally let me know more of what you thought about it!

 

[MouseketeerKelsey]

Oh geez...I have a tough choice to make. I have been dying to stay at Art of Animation since it was announced. I love it but it is still a value resort. For the first time I looked into renting(is that the right word?) DVC points and for almost the same price, we could stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge.

I don't know what to do.

I think AKL will be the choice because how the heck do I pass that up???

 

[KathyM2]

For the same money it would be tough to pass up AKL....although I don't know about renting...for some reason it makes me nervous? Is more "non refundable" than just booking at a resort? Is that what scares me? Not sure...but I would love to stay at the BC or GF one day and that might be the only way...I look forward to hearing more about it.

 

[AshBriSmi]

GIRL!! You have to stay at AKL!! For me! Ahhh! How would you pass that up!?!? That's insane!

 

[MouseketeerKelsey]

For the same money it would be tough to pass up AKL....although I don't know about renting...for some reason it makes me nervous? Is more "non refundable" than just booking at a resort? Is that what scares me? Not sure...but I would love to stay at the BC or GF one day and that might be the only way...I look forward to hearing more about it.

Yeah, it literally comes out to $14 more for a studio at AKL. I found a company that does the DVC points and read a ton of reviews and they were all positive. It says that it is refundable but I think I am going to call and just have someone explain the policy fully for me. I want to stay at GF so bad but it is still out of reach for me at this point.

GIRL!! You have to stay at AKL!! For me! Ahhh! How would you pass that up!?!? That's insane!

Honestly, I don't think I can pass it up. Looks like we are staying there! Will probably book it for sure tonight.

 

[KathyM2]

That's such a good deal. I think for our next trip after the October one that's already booked, I might look into renting DVC.

 

[MouseketeerKelsey]

I have been wanting to update you, there just isn't anything to update! I am running into an issue getting the same rate that the site quoted me for AKL so I am trying to find out about that.

I'll let you guys know as soon as I do!

I also have some ADR updates!

 

[MouseketeerKelsey]

Long time no update, but I finally have news! I made our FP+ selections today!!! I messed up a little.....I was off by a day. 58 days out, not 60. Not a big deal, but no Anna and Elsa this trip! Someday....

Are you ready to see what I got???

September 2nd:

September 3rd:

September 4th:

September 5th:

The only thing I may change is Magic Kingdom. I haven't had FP for the fireworks or parade before and I would love to see them from a great spot stress free. I never really run into an issue with not getting to go on rides without an FP but I seem to strike out on parade viewing spots a lot.

What do you think? If you were me, what would you do?

 

[MouseketeerKelsey]

I am so looking forward to this trip! It hasn't been a main focus in my life because I have a huge trip to California coming up for a music thing complete with 2 days at Disneyland, but I am letting myself start to get excited for this too!!

So far the plans are as follows for each day.

The plan is to hit all of the parks, Downtown Disney and DisneyQuest for the first time ever! I didn't want it to close without ever getting to go there.

What do you guys think? Is there anything that you would do that I am missing?