Two Weeks of Disney Fun an Aug/Sept 2014 Pre-Trip Report!

[gillybeaaan]

Since I have absolutely nothing to do over the summer holidays before my trip I thought I’d do a Pre-Trip Report! We’re flying out on August 26th for two weeks of fun!
This will be my third trip to Walt Disney World, I went with my dad in 2002, and then 10 years of begging later I was able to convince mum to go with me in 2012! This time last year I decided I wasn’t waiting 10 years again and started researching this trip! Mum told me she was out of the picture so I started the hunt for someone to come with me!

Introductions

Me
I’m Gillian, a 21 year old trainee primary school teacher going into my final year so I'm making the most of the last trip I’m going to be able to take that isn’t in school holiday times until I retire ! I’m the Disney nut and the planner behind it all, although this is the first trip without either of my parents and I’m so anxious!



Ryan

Ryan has been my boyfriend of just short of two years and I managed to use my puppy dog eyes to get him to say yes to the trip! We met at uni so during the holidays we’re sort of long distance (Liverpool-ish to Kent) so the trip will be the first time I’ve seen him in two months! I know it’s a bit of a risk taking on such a big holiday as our first one abroad but hopefully it will all work out and we’ll have a fab time! He’s not so big on the planning, in fact, I’m 100% sure he couldn’t tell you one Dinner Reservation we’ve made even though we spoke it through! Here he is showing his Disney side by modelling my Minnie ears!



So after lots of batting my eyelashes we booked a two week stay at Disney’s Old Key West Resort with free Disney Dining and a $100 gift card! We’re flying from Manchester with Thomas Cook which I’m a little anxious about with all the mixed reviews they seem to get but hopefully it will all work well for us! I’m just happy that we’re going, heck I’d fly in the hold if it meant I got to go to Florida!

Oh and by the way, we’re going to be sporting these beauties at one point in our trip. Yep, we’re going to be that couple! (I’m also making us matching hoodies for the flight)



Hopefully some of you will be interested in this PTR (and the TR after the trip), next up I’ll talk the dining reservations I made!

p.s. are these pictures too big? Just let me know and I'll resize ​

 

[gillybeaaan]

Sorry for the delay between updates, I'm in Edinburgh with limited internet so I'm posting through the app on my phone so apologies for any errors!

Changed all my coppers at the bank today and I had nearly £190! I was shocked that there was that much, can't wait to buy a Dooney and Bourke with it now

I made my reservations at the 180 day mark but for some reason I haven't been able to stop myself tweaking them! Ryan isn't too keen on the idea of being tied down to a resteraunt all the time so there isn't as many as I'd like but there's only so much I can persuade him into! Here's a list of our ADRs!

Chefs de France - I loved this place when I went with my mum in 2012 so couldn't resist a ressie for our first full day in Disney!

Be Our Guest - this is the highlight of my holiday! So excited that I was able to get a reservation here! I can't wait to dine in Beast's castle!

Yachtsman Steakhouse - Another love of mine, we went on mums birthday in 2012! Since then it's been a bit of a catchphrase of ours Whenever we have a steak that it's 'not as good as the Yachtsman Steakhouse' so I'm excited to finally go back to something that is as good as the yachtsman steakhouse!

50's prime time cafe - hoping for a bit of a better experience here this year! When I last went it was almost as though my server couldn't be bothered!! The food was lovely he was just captain complain a lot, I suppose it wasn't helped by a large group who had to share just one menu that came in their language! Hopefully I'll get the full experience this time!

Mama Melrose - we're doing this purely as part of the fantastic dining package but I enjoyed it last time!

Planet Hollywood - Now, this is a touchy subject! I booked T-Rex for this night. Then Ryan decided we didn't need a ressie so I cancelled on his request. Fast forward a few weeks and he decides he wants a DTD ressie. Of course, can't find a a single table for T-Rex so he decided on planet Hollywood instead!

Crystal Palace - purely for the early entry to the park on our last morning! All I can eat Mickey waffles and hugs from tigger are another bonus though!!!!

Ohana's - our last night meal, can't wait to eat those pot stickers again! yum yum yum!

I'm pretty sure I forgot to mention we're going to the September 1st Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween party! Can't even tell you how excited I am for this! Don't think we're dressing up though, I may disney bound as someone but I'll need to figure that out!

I promise my next instalment will be a bit more exciting, it's just not all that easy on this app! Hoping I arrive home before my Mickey Mail does! I can't wait to get it, that's when it really feels real!!

 

[gillybeaaan]

Look what arrived yesterday




Also thought I'd share the countdown I made a couple of months ago, very excited that its now at 24 days!


Obviously and old picture of it though

 

[BudgieMama]

Following your PTR! You are arriving the same day we land back in the UK from our first trip!

 

[gillybeaaan]

Following your PTR! You are arriving the same day we land back in the UK from our first trip!

Hiii! I've been following yours too! Your trip is literally just around the corner! You must be so excited!

 

[BudgieMama]

Hiii! I've been following yours too! Your trip is literally just around the corner! You must be so excited!

So excited! I can't wait!

 

[gillybeaaan]

Sorry for the lack of posts, nothing much to report!

Just ordered my suncream, slightly miffed that it came to £30 but a couple of years ago I used P20 and now I don't want to use anything else! Guess its best to pay more and know I'm safe!!

I seem to be really stressed about this holiday and its affecting my sleep a bit! I've been having dreams that I was kicked off the plane whilst it was mid-flight over the ocean!!! So I'm essentially tired and grumpy working my butt off for these last couple of weeks before we go! Ryan's being zero help with any of it so thats fab! Can't wait to get a lie in tomorrow!

Found a T-Rex ressie for lunch on one of our days, been kicking myself ever since I cancelled the one we had so happy to have this one and now I'm thinking of taxing to the Mall after lunch there!

On my day off tomorrow I'll write up a brief overview of our plans!

 

[gillybeaaan]

My days of kind of turned into shopping days, so sorry for the delays! I’m off again tomorrow so I’m going to start putting things away in my suitcase; I’m still stress central so maybe getting organised will start to put me at ease!!

Before I carry on and talk about my plans I thought I’d share the Disney goodies I bought today! It’s been a while since I’ve really treated myself so today I made up for it! They consist of a travel mug (all you're allowed to drink from in most schools so I'm Disney-ing up my cups of tea), a Tinkerbell towel, some Disney shirts and the cutest luggage tag and passport holder! (The bottom left picture is a dress for my niece, it was too cute to resist. That baby is gonna bankrupt me and she isn't even mine!!! )




Right, our plans!

August 26th – We fly from Manchester at 10.15 with Thomas cook. Hoping to be at the airport early enough to mooch through Duty Free, have breakfast and buy some snacks/drinks for the plane so we don’t have to pay on board! All being well we should arrive in Orlando at 2.35pm. Hoping for a swift exit through the airport (isn’t everyone?!) then off to DME. I’ve completed online check in for our resort. Hoping to be placed in the Millers Road area, if I’m elsewhere can I ask about possibly being moved? Then we’re gonna see what we feel like, clearly I want to go to the Magic Kingdom, but Ryan will have a say too!

August 27th – On our first full day we’re heading to EPCOT, my favourite park! Within our fastpass + picks we have the character spot. Meeting characters makes me really anxious but I also want a mickey hug! We have a dinner ADR at Chefs De France that night, then illuminations!

August 28th – We’re at magic Kingdom and I’m really excited to have our seven dwarves fastpass+ today, I’m dying to try this ride out! I’m also looking forward to seeing new fantasyland, when we went in 2012 the walls were up and IIRC they started soft openings just after we left! The day ends with another new experience for me, our Be Our Guest Dinner ressie!1

August 29th – We’re heading to Hollywood studios to check out the Frozen events! I’m planning to buy the Elsa Magic Band (I couldn’t decide between pink and blue for my band, so now I can have a blue one with my plain pink one!!) I also really want one of the Olaf Limited Edition ones, however I’m not holding out hope that they’ll still be available when we get there! We have a lunch reservation at 50’s Prime Time Café. EPCOT has EMH 9-11 this night, if all goes well I want to hop on over for more EPCOT fun!

August 30th – Our first animal kingdom day, we have Expedition Everest, Dinosaur and Kali River Rapid fastpass+ for this day. We have our Planet Hollywood dinner reservation so will hop back to the hotel to freshen up before we head to DTD for the evening (I’m guessing this will be when I exchange my gift card voucher. Can’t see why I’d need to go over earlier!). Magic Kingdom has EMH until 2am and I really want to go!

August 31st – Another Magic Kingdom day, with fastpass + for Buzz, Splash & Space Mountain. We don’t have any food reservations for today so hoping I can find a walk up (or snag a ressie for somewhere that morning!) Another day that MK has 2am EMH, if we don’t go on the 30th I want to stay until the very end, I can always have a lie in the next day!

September 1st – The morning of the 1st we’re heading to a waterpark or downtown Disney for a relaxing morning before MNSSHP at night. I’ve decided I’m going to take the dress I used to dress up as Tinkerbell for my 21st birthday and get some cheap wings from poundland! Ryan is still unsure whether to dress up but I’m going to regardless!

September 2nd – Back to EPCOT today, with a dinner reservation at Yachtsman Steakhouse! EPCOT has EMH in the morning, but after MNSSHP I’m not going to push for an early morning, we’ll just take it slowly!

September 3rd – We have no official plans for today, but I’m thinking Hollywood studios to continue to check out frozen and to fill in bits we missed!

September 4th – Another day with no plans except for a lunch reservation at T-rex. Hoping to get a taxi to Florida Mall but will have to see on the day!

September 5th – We’ve planned to visit animal kingdom today and have FP+ for Primeval Whirl, Kilimanjaro Safaris and Festival of the Lion King (This was its tough to be a bug but it got changed due to its refurb!). EPCOT has evening EMH again tonight, may pop over if the wind takes us there!

September 6th – Hollywood studios has morning EMH, planning on going there and staying until close! We have a Fantasmic dinner reservation at Mama Melrose tonight too!

September 7th – We’re spending our penultimate full day at EPCOT with a fastpass + for illuminations the final time of the trip! *Sniff* *sob* No dinner ressie again today so will try and snag on when we’re there!

September 8th – Our last day is going to start with breakfast before rope-drop at Crystal Palace, I want to walk down a quiet main street on our last day! Then a day of fun at Magic Kingdom before heading to Ohana’s for dinner, we may just be able to squeeze in one last entry before close at 10pm but we’ll see!

September 9th – Our flight leaves at 16.35 so if I’m right DME will pick us up at about 12? I’m guessing we’ll just mooch around the hotel to be safe in the morning, as much as I’d love to miss my flight and be stranded!

I’m really sorry for any typos in this (and the length of it!) the lack of sleep is really getting to me! Took me ages to realise why I had my dates wrong when typing it all out, I was forgetting that Saturdays and Sundays existed for some reason!

 

[Gowans]

That passport holder and luggage tag are so lovely!
Where oh where are they from??

Your plans sound great, cant wait for the TR

 

[gillybeaaan]

That passport holder and luggage tag are so lovely!
Where oh where are they from??

Your plans sound great, cant wait for the TR

Primark! They have a whole range of that design including a pencil case, tablet case and a really cute satchel (except it can only be worn as a back pack which is why I decided to reluctantly put it down!)

Again nothing really exciting to report, I sorted my dollars the other day so along with my FairFx card I'm ready to go shopping!

I also made myself a skirt for MNSSHP because I decided my Tinkerbell dress wasn't really my best option! Its safe to say I wont be on the next Great British Sewing Bee but it will do for its purpose! Just going to team it with a black top and some minnie ears that I'll buy out there!



Getting really excited about the trip now and have started to separate my stuff to pack!

 

[gillybeaaan]

Its my single digit dance day!!



Safe to say i'm excited now

 

[BudgieMama]

Its my single digit dance day!!



Safe to say i'm excited now

It'll fly by!

 

[sjt22]

Oh just catching up on your PTR.

I fly out a few days after you



Love the mini dress

Sarah x

 

[gillybeaaan]

It may just be me but does it ever happen to anyone else that you start off by watching one random video on youtube and three hours later you are watching something completely irrelevant to that first video?

Well the other day I ended up watching a recipe on Le Cellier's Cheddar Cheese soup and my heart started aching! I didn't want to skip this this trip but was worried about our credits not stretching. My dad gave me $150 spending money the other day which would pay for it (he was feeling guilty and tried to buy me out of not being mad at him) and I thought it wouldn't be harmful to just see if there was a spare ressie floating around but didn't get my hopes up! Turns out there was quite a few ressies and we're going to Le Cellier for lunch!!

If i'm not particularly hungry I may just order the soup and a dessert (is that allowed?) I'm a steak lover but I'm really just there for that soup!

Started packing my case and it's already really close to the weight limit, apparently I'm completely over packing!! Very happy I have two suitcases on the way home for anything I buy!

Ryan has arrived in Southport which is nice even if I'm still working and he's staying at a fairly close caravan park with his parents. I can't believe how quickly this is all coming around, one more work shift tomorrow and then it's 3 days off til Disney!

 

[gillybeaaan]

I've started a live trip report here! Tomorrow is the day!!!!

 

[maclondon]

Right, our plans!


No universal on any of the free days - I couldn't go all that way and NOT visit Wizarding World etc.