Walt Disney World and the Meaning of Life-Jan. 2011 (Back Home)

[Eight]

It's all 42.



I'm guessing you got the connection between the 'meaning of life' part of the title and the first sentence of this post (or maybe you didn't, which is totally fine. it's just a reference to a book.), but perhaps you're wondering what Walt Disney World has to do with 42.

It's simple.

This trip to Disney World will be my 42nd trip to a Disney resort.
(in case you're wondering, it breaks down like this:
Disneyland - 33 times
Walt Disney World - 5 times
Tokyo Disneyland - 2 times
Disneyland Paris - 1 time)

I can only hope that this trip provides me with a better understanding of life, the universe, and everything.

...

Alright, bit of a nerdy reference to start us off there, and I'm not even a fan of the The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I just couldn't resist making the association.

Anyway, moving along...

Hello and welcome! You might be wondering who I am right now (or maybe you decided after that nerdy reference you didn't want to know, and have already left. I'm hoping you haven't.), so I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm Rachel, I'm 21, and maybe, kind of, sort of, just a little bit obsessed with Disney. I took my first trip to Disneyland when I was 18 months old, and I like to think that trip really started everything. Granted, it's not like I remember anything from that trip, but you know. It sounds good, right?

I don't know about you, but I really like the trip reports and pre-trip reports that include pictures. So here's a picture of me on my trip to Disneyland last September. (and if you'd like to read about it, you can check out my trip report here.)

As you can see, I had a run in with some pirates. They backed off after I pulled out my cutlass and showed off my amazing skills.

Yeah, that totally happened, I swear.

This will be my 6th trip to Disney World, and I can't wait! I'll be going with my parents, and I have to give them credit. Neither one of them is a big Disney fan like I am, and yet, they're still willing to come with me.

If you ask my mom, she'll tell you she's been to Disney too many times, but I suspect she likes going more than she lets on. It's really thanks to her that I've been to Disney so many times. She'll always come with me when no one else will. And while she may not get excited about going like I do, she more or less understands my love for all things Disney, and therefor only makes fun of me a little bit when I get l excited over something little, or I know some minute detail about a ride, or I get emotional watching fireworks.

I have to admit, I'm a little surprised that my dad decided to come. He gets motion sick very easily, so he won't go on most rides. I'm not sure, but I would guess that most of his memories of past Disney trips consist of sitting outside ride exits, reading a book. Well, it's either memories of that, or memories of being 'that guy that always gets chosen when there's audience participation at some show'. I don't know what it is, but he's picked quite often. (I did get chosen for the Indiana Jones show at Hollywood Studios once. I was so excited to be living up to my dad's legacy. But I haven't been picked for anything else since then. Hmm...) He's talked about bringing his bike along so he can do some cycling while my mom and I go to the parks. Anyone know of good places to ride in Orlando and the surrounding area?

The plan is to go in late January. We have a pretty good idea of the dates, but since we haven't actually booked anything like rooms or flights yet, they're still tentative.

I'm going to stop here, as I don't want to make my first post too long.

...

Okay, okay, fine, the real reason I'm ending here is that I'm afraid I'll have nothing to talk about later if I include more now. This is my first Disney World pre-trip report, and I'm a bit worried that I'll do it wrong. But it's worth trying, yeah?

Until next time!

Table of Contents

One Little Spark of Desire
Can You Guess Where I'm Staying?
Books
Surf's Up!
A Change in the Plans
Little Debates and Wonderings
Dining Plans and Schedule
Must See (and Must Not See) Attractions
Two More Things
Live Mini Update
Back Home

 

[Eight]

I've never really liked Figment, but I keep thinking of that One Little Spark song.

One little spark of inspiration
Is at the heart of all creation

Only I suppose it would be slightly more appropriate for this situation if it went like this:

One little spark of desire
Is at the heart of all trips conspired

Okay, I realize that doesn't really rhyme very well or even make that much sense, but let's go with it anyway. Because it's more or less true, don't you think? When you first start to think about planning a trip to anywhere, it's usually because of some desire. Maybe it's because you want to see the Eiffel Tower or maybe it has to do with a childhood dream of seeing lions in the wild. Or maybe you desire to go to Disney World.

It's no secret that I love Disney, in most its forms. I love the parks, I love the movies, I love the music (though I can't say I love the Disney channel. Never have. Not even when I was its target audience. Go figure.). As a result, I'm one of those people who's constantly trying to plan their next trip to a Disney park (though I would like to say that Disney parks are not the only places I like traveling to. I don't want to give off the impression that they're the only places I ever go to.).

It was pretty easy last year. Last year I was living in Los Angeles, and as a result, I was able to go to Disneyland a couple times a month. I loved my annual passport. I ended up moving back to Seattle though, and as silly as it may sound, it's frustrating not being able to go to Disneyland whenever I want. I was able to make a quick trip down in September, and it was great, but it only led to more plotting on my part of when I could get down there again.

Not too long ago, I was looking at a website that had all the latest Disney news when a spark of desire hit me and I came up with an idea. What if I were to plan a trip to Disney World in December? It made sense to me, I had nothing planned the first couple weeks of December, supposedly those weeks are fairly uncrowded, and it would be fun to see all the holiday decorations, so why not? I thought it was a brilliant idea.

I talked to my parents about it, and surprisingly, they were both pretty cool with this plan. I did my research on pricing for rooms, flights, and tickets, but I soon discovered that hotels on Disney property were either booked or very expensive the first week of December. That didn't seem to fit with the idea that the first two weeks were not very busy, so I looked at the second week of December. I was able to find rooms this time, though it looked as though we would have to stay at a value resort. None of us were very keen on staying at a value resort or going the second week, but I was ready to book it anyway since as far as I was concerned, I had the oppurtunity to go to Disney World! Sure, I had my doubts, but I was so thrilled at the prospect of going, I pushed those doubts aside.

My parents, being the voice of reason, told me to think about it. Which I found to be rather annoying since I was so sure I wanted to go. However, the more I looked at pricing and read message boards about going at that time, the more doubts I had. And they became harder and harder to ignore.

My parents, being the voice of reason once again, told me I should look at pricing for January or February since that's when we had gone the past two times. I did so grudgingly, but it became clear very quickly that going then would make much more sense. There were more rooms available with lower prices, flights cost much less, and tickets, well, tickets were the same, but even so! Despite all that, I was still pretty set on going in December until I realized that if we went in January, I could add an extra day. I was sold. Late January it was!

So there you have it, that's how this trip came about.

And to think, it all started with one little spark of desire.

 

[Eight]

I had told myself I wouldn't update again so soon, but I find myself on this chilly Sunday evening with nothing else to. If I continue at this rate, I'll have nothing more to write about in approximately 3 days.

Anyway.

Let's talk about where I'm staying.

Actually, no. I think I have a better idea. Instead of sharing all the boring details about booking our room, I'm going to show you some pictures and see if you can figure out where we're staying. I think it's fairly easy, but I'm hoping it's more fun than me simply stating what resort we chose.

Ready?

Any guesses?

 

[BecomingObsessed]

I don't even know all the hotels at Disney World, so I can't guess but I want you to spill the beans! You're going to have to give up the details soon because it's not that long before you go

 

[jelloarms]

Are you camping out at Fort Wilderness? That's the only place of lodging that I have seen 0 pictures of when it comes to the rooms and it looks tent-ish. Is it FW? Is that your own tent or do they provide tents for you?

 

[Eight]

I don't even know all the hotels at Disney World, so I can't guess but I want you to spill the beans! You're going to have to give up the details soon because it's not that long before you go

Hey, I've got like two months to spread this out, so I think I can withhold details just a little bit longer...

 

[Eight]

Are you camping out at Fort Wilderness? That's the only place of lodging that I have seen 0 pictures of when it comes to the rooms and it looks tent-ish. Is it FW? Is that your own tent or do they provide tents for you?

It's not Fort Wilderness, though that's a good guess since those are tents.

The pictures aren't from Disney World or any Disney resort for that matter, so I think you'll have to extrapolate based on the details in the photos, if that makes any sense.

 

[BecomingObsessed]

I was going to guess the Wilderness Lodge based on the tents, but now I have absolute zero idea. I was hoping you'd give up the details today, but I'm hooked. I'm going to have to ride out the two months!

 

[Eight]

I was going to guess the Wilderness Lodge based on the tents, but now I have absolute zero idea. I was hoping you'd give up the details today, but I'm hooked. I'm going to have to ride out the two months!

I can see how you would guess the Wilderness Lodge, but that is also incorrect.
I probably won't say where I'm staying until someone can correctly figure it out, but there's so many other things I can talk about until then. Like where we'll be eating, what attractions I'm looking forward to most, how my collection of Disney World books seems to grow by the day...

 

[BecomingObsessed]

Disney Polynesian? The picture of you on the roof is what is making me think that.. I don't know how the tents tie in, but I'm too impatient to wait for more guesses!

 

[Eight]

Disney Polynesian? The picture of you on the roof is what is making me think that.. I don't know how the tents tie in, but I'm too impatient to wait for more guesses!

I was wondering if someone might guess the Polynesian because of the last photo. But no, that's not it.

Should I give a hint?


I'll try and get another proper update in today or tomorrow, though I haven't decided if I'll be discussing dining reservations or my obsession with Disney books.

 

[Eight]

I'd like to apologize in advance for such a non-update. I'm over in Eastern Washington for the weekend, and I don't have my notes to update Club 33 or my notes about dining for this trip.

Anyway.

A couple of days ago, I thought I had a brilliant idea. What if I took a picture of all my Disney books stacked together? I mean, surely it would be an impressive display, since I have quite a few.

It was a great idea until I realized just how much time it would take to track them all down and put them all back when I was done.

Okay, so it probably wouldn't have taken that long, but it still would have been annoying having to put them all back.

It made me realize that I have a couple I haven't read yet, plus some I'd like to re-read, and then I looked at my Amazon wishlist and realized that there were a few I want to buy... Which led to another idea. I'm not sure if it's a brilliant yet or not.

I haven't been reading much lately. It's embarrassing, but I rarely read for pleasure anymore. I think it's a shame, as I enjoy reading, but I really have to force myself to sit down and pick up a book. I keep thinking of these plans where I dedicate thirty minutes a day to reading, but it never seems to work.

Here's my idea. What if I try to read some Disney related book every week or so? I have no clue if this will work, but often, when I share an idea or goal, I'm more likely to follow through with it.

I started reading Realityland by David Koenig and I'm aiming to try and finish it by next Friday. I'll keep you updated.

Oh, and you can still guess where I'm staying as no one has figured it out yet. Need another hint?

 

[Eight]

I know I have yet to talk about the two big pillars of any Disney World vacation, resorts and dining, but I think I'm going to put that off even a bit longer. Why? I guess if I figure if I post those, I'll have nothing else to talk about.

So I'll talk about something I scheduled today, and I'm pretty excited about it.

Surfing lessons at Typhoon Lagoon!

I had the opportunity to try surfing for the second time this summer, and I loved it. Unfortunately, living in Seattle means I don't have a lot of chances to go surfing, since the ocean is about three hours away and pretty cold compared to places like Hawaii or even California. I've been wanting to try again (I had plans for lessons in September, but due to weather, they were cancelled), so when I found out that they did lessons at Typhoon Lagoon, I knew I had to check it out.

I finally got around to calling today, and I was able to sign my dad and I up for the Friday we'll be there, but not without a slight hassle. Apparently they only do them on Fridays and Tuesdays in the winter, and of course, Friday and Tuesday were the only two days I had breakfasts scheduled. Go figure, right? Luckily I was able to move Friday's breakfast at Kona Cafe to Saturday. (And now you know one of my eight dining reservations. )

It messes with my original schedule slightly, but I think it will be worth it.

I also made a Word document with all our reservations and plans. It looks a lot neater than all the messy notes on pieces of scrap paper that I started with. And I put it all in my cute Stitch note folder that has multiple pockets, so I can have one for dining reservations, one for the hotel reservation, and three more for.. uh... other stuff.

And because pictures are fun, here's a picture of my Stitch folder. Sorry about the poor quality, I was just using my webcam.

And a close up.

All right, I think that's all I have to say for now.

 

[magichusky]

Okay I got it: Based on the rugged, jungley (is that a word?) theme of the pics, my first guess is AK Lodge. For my second guess, I'm going out on a limb and guessing the WDW treehouses, which is way out in left field but is at least a remote possibility based on the pics. My goodness- where in the world were those pics actually taken anyway??

 

[*DISNEYFREAK*]

Hi there Rachel,
i felt the need to post something due to some shocking similarities we have after reading your post....
Firstly i too am a Rachael, not 21 anymore though ( unfortunately ) but now 31, i was taken on my first trip to Walt Disney World by my parents when i was 5 & felt that that trip has sculpted my life too this very day......
over the last 26 years i have been blessed with many,many,many trips back sometimes twice in one year ( i am from the u.k so consider myself very lucky ) i too am venturing back to the world in january ( or as i like to call it HOME ) but get the added fun of now bringing my kids, one princess & one pirate
i wonder if as the next few weeks pass by & the excitement starts to grow if you & i will have the same experiences of getting ready for our return to the most magical place in the world, i am enjoying your report & i hope you enjoyed my reply as this is only my second post on the DIS as i only joined yesterday
Rachael

 

[Eight]

Okay I got it: Based on the rugged, jungley (is that a word?) theme of the pics, my first guess is AK Lodge. For my second guess, I'm going out on a limb and guessing the WDW treehouses, which is way out in left field but is at least a remote possibility based on the pics. My goodness- where in the world were those pics actually taken anyway??

Yay, you got it!! That's right, we'll be staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, or more specifically, Kidani Village. I'm pretty psyched. I've stayed there three times before, and I absolutely love it.

The pictures are of tent camps in Tanzania from when I went there in 2007. I thought it was kind of clever..

 

[Eight]

Hi there Rachel,
i felt the need to post something due to some shocking similarities we have after reading your post....
Firstly i too am a Rachael, not 21 anymore though ( unfortunately ) but now 31, i was taken on my first trip to Walt Disney World by my parents when i was 5 & felt that that trip has sculpted my life too this very day......
over the last 26 years i have been blessed with many,many,many trips back sometimes twice in one year ( i am from the u.k so consider myself very lucky ) i too am venturing back to the world in january ( or as i like to call it HOME ) but get the added fun of now bringing my kids, one princess & one pirate
i wonder if as the next few weeks pass by & the excitement starts to grow if you & i will have the same experiences of getting ready for our return to the most magical place in the world, i am enjoying your report & i hope you enjoyed my reply as this is only my second post on the DIS as i only joined yesterday
Rachael

Hi Rachael, welcome to the DIS! Glad to have you reading.

That's so exciting that you'll be going soon as well! Is this your kids first time going? I feel very lucky that I've been so many times, and that the excitement still never seems to get old.

 

[Eight]

Hello again!

I have either been extremely busy with the holidays or extremely lazy, I'm not telling which.

But I figured I should update this, as there has been a fairly major CHANGE IN THE PLANS. (It works best if you say that in a dramatic voice. Just saying.)

See, my family had been talking about taking a big trip this year. And this past week we finally made a decision about what we wanted to do and where we wanted to go, and made a deposit on this trip. Unfortunately, by taking this bigger trip, my dad will not be able to come to Florida due to work related stuff.

So now it's just my mom and I going. While I'm glad we'll able to take this big trip, I am kind of sad that my dad won't be going. On the bright side, now I won't feel guilty about going on all the rides while he waits outside.

This also may change where we're staying, or at least what sort of room we're staying in. We had made a reservation for a two bedroom villa at Kidani Village, but now since it's just my mom and I, it seems a bit superfluous. We're going to call on Monday to see if we can change at all.

Also, I'm not sure about this, so maybe you can answer my question. Since I made all our dining reservations for three people, do I have to go and rebook everything for two people or can I keep my original reservations?

On the note of reservations, I guess I'll have to call and change the surfing lesson too. Aah, I'll do this on Monday.

Alright, I'm going to leave it here for now and work on the next update of my Disneyland TR that I still haven't finished. I know, I know, I have to finish that before I leave!

Take care!

 

[tiggeriffic44]

Howdy,
Great thread! Hitchhikers guide and surfing = perfect. We are going in late January and I am calling in the morning to set up surf lessons. Best idea ever.

Now if I can just get my last couple dinner reservations to line up...

Keep writing!

 

[Eight]

Howdy,
Great thread! Hitchhikers guide and surfing = perfect. We are going in late January and I am calling in the morning to set up surf lessons. Best idea ever.

Now if I can just get my last couple dinner reservations to line up...

Keep writing!

Hey, thanks for reading!

The surfing lessons are pretty cool, huh? Though I have to admit, I'm thinking of canceling them. But we'll see.

Oh man, dining reservations. So glad you can do those online now, but it's like a logic puzzle, trying to figure out when you should do which one depending on which park you're going to and the crowd levels and all that fun stuff. It's tricky.