Two free airline tickets? Disney "Lite", here we come!

[phillymummer]

This is my first Trip report! I hope I can make it entertaining for everyone!

Let me start by giving you a preview: A family of three, a March 2013 trip decided upon, that same trip nixed because of the proximity to Easter , an unexpected prize of two free airline tickets, free dining, and daughter's 7th birthday!


THE CAST:
Me (37) - I am a teacher so my story is familiar: the only time I can travel to Disney for anything more than a long weekend is summer or spring break. Due to other commitments, Christmas is not an option. We *hate* crowds and we hate heat. Therefore, this is our second trip to Disney that is just a long weekend. I call this “Disney Lite” .

My Hubby (39) - He is not a huge Disney fan, but he goes because he knows how magical it can be. Who am I kidding? He goes because it's a vacation. Also, he is not a planner. He leaves everything up to me.

Our daughter (6) - This will be her second trip. We went in Oct 2010 for her 5th birthday. She turned 5 while there and we spent her birthday in AK, MK, and Epcot! She loved EVERYTHING about Disney, especially the characters and Fantasyland. We have not told her about this trip. She thinks we are just saving up for Disney. We will tell her when we wake her up at 4am to leave for the flight.

We are by no means “Commando Tourers”. If we see it, great. If not, no big deal. For the 2010 trip, I balked at the idea of making ADRs 180 days in advance and having an itinerary. I have come to realize the importance of a basic plan and have embraced it.

 

[phillymummer]

THE TRAVEL DATES!
October 19- 22

Let me explain how this date came to be. As I mentioned earlier, the original plan was to go in March of 2013 because my hubby has to be in Orlando for business. His company will pay for his airfare no matter when he leaves, so I thought it would be a good time to go since we would only have to pay for two plane tickets instead of three. The problem: The convention is traditionally the last week in March and in 2013 that is the week before Easter. That is a problem. We hate crowds. Is the one free plane ticket worth the extra price and the heavy crowds? Nope! We’ll go another time. I told my daughter we will save money for Disney until we can afford to go.

About a week or so after we nixed the trip, Hubby calls me from work, laughing hysterically. He won a contest at work and his prize is TWO FREE ROUNDTRIP AIRLINE tickets! Well, Disney here we come…. but when should we go? Jersey week became a serious consideration since I am a teacher and we live in NJ. Just a few days later, a tip about FD in the fall comes up on the discount board. What would make the trip even better than free airline tickets? Free dining! We looked at the dates and Jersey week is not included so that weekend is out. Since FD started on the 19th and daughter’s birthday is the 23rd, we decided upon that weekend.

The night before the FD offer opened to the general public, I kept my daughter up late in hopes she would sleep late the next day. (HA!). On the “big day” I was on the phone at 7am, with a list of my resort choices in order of preference. I was successful in getting my first choice- POFQ w/ a GV!


THE RESORT!

We decided upon POFQ for a few reasons:
We wanted a moderate for the queen size beds and the larger room. Also, Hubby wanted to be a little closer to MK bc he tends to get motion sickness, just nausea, and even 5 minutes can make a difference on a bus. We did not want POR because we stayed there in 2010 and I like to try different places. I am not fond of the theme at CS and CBR has only double beds, so that was out. POFQ it is!

 

[phillymummer]

THE ITINERARY!
I have the trip planned out. Since the trip is so short, there really wasn’t that much to plan. We are doing a mixture of strict schedule and wait-and-see attitude. We’ll come up with our own “Touring Plan” on the plane.

Here it goes:
Friday Oct 19- Arrival Day/ MK
Hopefully arrive at MCO at 11:25.
Ride the ME to POFQ, check-in, and hop the bus to MK.
Tour Fantasyland until about 8pm (Yes, I know I am leaving before Wishes. But I want to make RD at DHS the next day! All of us will need a good sleep, especially after being up at 4am for our flight!). If there is time, we will wander into other areas.
We’ll eat at one of the CS restaurants. (We’ll decide when we are there).

Saturday Oct 20- DHS
Wake up at 6am to make RD at DHS (early EMS ).
Ride TSM as much as possible!
Possibly head over to the Boardwalk for lunch and eat at Big River Grill or just eat lunch at CS in the park.
Get a red velvet cheesecake cupcake from Starring Rolls.
Sci-fi Diner for dinner at 5:35. Maybe stay for Fantasmic!
There are a lot of variable here. Maybe we will go back to the resort for a mid-day break; maybe not. Maybe we will stay for the parade and leave right after dinner.

Sunday Oct 21- MNSSHP!
Sleep in and relax at the hotel- take a swim, play in the arcade, explore the resort a little. About 2:30, get on our costumes on (costumes TBD) and head over to MK. We have an ADR at LTT at 4:15, so we want to be at the gates early. This is our first time going to a hard ticket event. I didn’t think Hubby would be interested in it, but he said it sounded like fun so we are giving it a try. Our exact plan for the party will be determined after we read the first reports of the party.

Sunday Oct 22- Home
Sleep in again. Eat a late breakfast and check out. Then, take the boat to DTD before taking the ME back to MCO around 2pm.

So, this is the plan! Comments, suggestions, and opinions welcome!

 

[vettegirl]

Yay for the free airline tickets! Wishing you all an awesome trip.