jrgutknecht
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2000
- Messages
- 199
The Trip of a lifetime soon to be an annual vacation pre-trip report
Who: Me (John) and partner (Tom) both 36.
When: May 5 13
Where: Disneys Wilderness Lodge
This will be Toms first trip to WDW and my first in about 15 years so were both looking forward to it. We decided to splurge and purchase a WDW Discovery Magic Vacation Package. I was a little skeptical at the cost / value of this before we left, but after a few days we realized we were coming out ahead. Ill provide a full detail at the end.
We made our reservations for the Wilderness Lodge in June of 2000 and when we called we were offered the honeymoon suite at a price of $290 per night. This was slightly higher than the regular room rate but since it had a Jacuzzi tub I figured it would be worth it. As it turns out since they made the 7th floor concierge in January of this year, we ended up with one of the cheaper rooms on that floor, I just hope they keep it that way for future years and visits.
Most if not all of what I learned about planning this trip came from these boards, so first let me thank all of you for your input and suggestions. In addition to simply telling you about what we did each day, Ill try to point out some of the things we learned along the way.
I also have to point out that the Passporter 2001 book was my number one resource in planning this trip. I purchased the deluxe version and used it extensively. It became my one source for all information and when we were on the trip, I new exactly where to go to find all the information I had collected over they months. I also used it to store all of my daily itineraries, receipts and daily journal notes. Jennifer and Dave did a great job on this book and if you havent seen it, I would suggest you check it out.
Since we had purchased the Discover Magic package (which includes 2 magical wishes per day) I was anxious to plan out our priority seating ahead of time. I also wanted to make sure we were taking advantage of everything the plan had to offer so I planned on some of the more expensive restaurants at WDW. With the exception of one, we did manage to make it to all of our PS meals. After a few days of full lunches and/or dinners, we just couldnt drag ourselves to the California Grill for dinner - we just werent hungry! It will give us something to look forward to next time.
Here is a quick look at our planned itinerary. It didnt take long for the plan to adjusted. While we thought we had a good plan, we quickly realized we were just a little too ambitious.
Saturday May 5 Travel, Hoop-De-Doo Review and rest
Sunday May 6 Disney MGM Studios ( EE) and Fantasmic
Lunch at Sci-Fi Drive-In
Dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby
Monday May 7 Magic Kingdom (EE)
Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern
Break at Hotel
Epcot
Dinner at La Cellier
Illuminations
Tuesday May 8 Epcot (EE)
Lunch at Coral Reef
Dinner at Artist Point
Magic Kingdom E-ride Night
Wednesday May 9 7:30 Breakfast w/ Donald at the Breakfastsaurs
Disneys Animal Kingdom
Epcot in the Evening
Dinner at Rose and Crown
Illuminations (as a backup in case of rain)
Thursday May 10 Dolphins in Depth at Epcot
Dinner at The California Grill
Spectromagic
Fantasy in the Sky
Friday May 11 Blizzard Beach
Downtown Disney
Luau at the Polynesian
Saturday May 12 Undiscovered Future World Tour at Epcot
Cirque DuSolei
Dinner at Fultons Crab House
Sunday May 13 Breakfast at Hotel
Checkout and travel home
This is actually pretty close to the way it worked out, we did miss a few things, but did eventually manage to see almost everything we wanted for our first trip. I guess well just have to go back next year to see the rest J You just cant see everything and if we didnt know what we wanted to see ahead of time we would have been completely lost. Planning turned out to be the key to a stress free vacation. We already new ahead of time what we were going to do. When it came time to adjust the plan, we were able to simply cross things off, or juggle them around until later. Having our options laid out saved us time and frustration when we got to the middle of the week and realized we needed more time to rest. So to all those out there whose families think they are nuts for planning so much stick to your guns! Planning is the KEY to a stress free vacation.
The first change in our plan came when Spirit Airlines changed our return flight from 2pm to 8pm. This actually worked out fine because it meant a few more hours of fun on Sunday before we came home.
Who: Me (John) and partner (Tom) both 36.
When: May 5 13
Where: Disneys Wilderness Lodge
This will be Toms first trip to WDW and my first in about 15 years so were both looking forward to it. We decided to splurge and purchase a WDW Discovery Magic Vacation Package. I was a little skeptical at the cost / value of this before we left, but after a few days we realized we were coming out ahead. Ill provide a full detail at the end.
We made our reservations for the Wilderness Lodge in June of 2000 and when we called we were offered the honeymoon suite at a price of $290 per night. This was slightly higher than the regular room rate but since it had a Jacuzzi tub I figured it would be worth it. As it turns out since they made the 7th floor concierge in January of this year, we ended up with one of the cheaper rooms on that floor, I just hope they keep it that way for future years and visits.
Most if not all of what I learned about planning this trip came from these boards, so first let me thank all of you for your input and suggestions. In addition to simply telling you about what we did each day, Ill try to point out some of the things we learned along the way.
I also have to point out that the Passporter 2001 book was my number one resource in planning this trip. I purchased the deluxe version and used it extensively. It became my one source for all information and when we were on the trip, I new exactly where to go to find all the information I had collected over they months. I also used it to store all of my daily itineraries, receipts and daily journal notes. Jennifer and Dave did a great job on this book and if you havent seen it, I would suggest you check it out.
Since we had purchased the Discover Magic package (which includes 2 magical wishes per day) I was anxious to plan out our priority seating ahead of time. I also wanted to make sure we were taking advantage of everything the plan had to offer so I planned on some of the more expensive restaurants at WDW. With the exception of one, we did manage to make it to all of our PS meals. After a few days of full lunches and/or dinners, we just couldnt drag ourselves to the California Grill for dinner - we just werent hungry! It will give us something to look forward to next time.
Here is a quick look at our planned itinerary. It didnt take long for the plan to adjusted. While we thought we had a good plan, we quickly realized we were just a little too ambitious.
Saturday May 5 Travel, Hoop-De-Doo Review and rest
Sunday May 6 Disney MGM Studios ( EE) and Fantasmic
Lunch at Sci-Fi Drive-In
Dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby
Monday May 7 Magic Kingdom (EE)
Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern
Break at Hotel
Epcot
Dinner at La Cellier
Illuminations
Tuesday May 8 Epcot (EE)
Lunch at Coral Reef
Dinner at Artist Point
Magic Kingdom E-ride Night
Wednesday May 9 7:30 Breakfast w/ Donald at the Breakfastsaurs
Disneys Animal Kingdom
Epcot in the Evening
Dinner at Rose and Crown
Illuminations (as a backup in case of rain)
Thursday May 10 Dolphins in Depth at Epcot
Dinner at The California Grill
Spectromagic
Fantasy in the Sky
Friday May 11 Blizzard Beach
Downtown Disney
Luau at the Polynesian
Saturday May 12 Undiscovered Future World Tour at Epcot
Cirque DuSolei
Dinner at Fultons Crab House
Sunday May 13 Breakfast at Hotel
Checkout and travel home
This is actually pretty close to the way it worked out, we did miss a few things, but did eventually manage to see almost everything we wanted for our first trip. I guess well just have to go back next year to see the rest J You just cant see everything and if we didnt know what we wanted to see ahead of time we would have been completely lost. Planning turned out to be the key to a stress free vacation. We already new ahead of time what we were going to do. When it came time to adjust the plan, we were able to simply cross things off, or juggle them around until later. Having our options laid out saved us time and frustration when we got to the middle of the week and realized we needed more time to rest. So to all those out there whose families think they are nuts for planning so much stick to your guns! Planning is the KEY to a stress free vacation.
The first change in our plan came when Spirit Airlines changed our return flight from 2pm to 8pm. This actually worked out fine because it meant a few more hours of fun on Sunday before we came home.
Only 12 more days!!
