We Can't Forget to Budget for Margaritas! Dec 2016 PTR

[marinahendrix]

Hello everyone and welcome!

My name is Marina and I will be your guide through this Pre-trip Report and the Trip Report to follow!
Thank you for joining in!

This is a very long awaited trip for my boyfriend and I. I have my excel spreadsheet prepared, my weekly YouTube vlog favorites favorited and my Disney parks podcast subscriptions subscribed to!

The Gist:

Dates: Saturday December 10th - Saturday December 17th
Resort: Disney's Port Orlean's Resort - Riverside!
Dining: Out of pocket and we are prepared to splurge!
Transportation: Our first time flying first class and we are using Disney Transportation while on property.

About me:

My name is Marina. I am 27 years old, I live in Austin, TX and I just became a Registered Nurse two weeks ago! My nursing specialty is NICU and I am loving every second of it. Its demanding and intense but its the most rewarding thing I've ever been involved in. This trip is a late (after months of orientation) graduation trip but mainly we will be celebrating my birthday which falls right smack in the middle of our trip!

I am a former Cast Member, having been in the Walt Disney World College Program in the Spring of 2010 as a PhotoPass Photographer in Epcot, where I had the absolute privilege of creating magical moments and giving countless directions to Soarin'! This will be my first trip back to the world since my college program ended in May of 2010.

I love photography and especially Disney photography. Most of my Instagram feed consists of photos taken at Disney World of Disney World things. You can almost always find me adjusting the position of my food to make for a better photo or trying to frame a photo in the best way and then taking 10 of them .

Fun Facts!
Favorite Disney Characters: Belle, Baloo, Doug from Up
Favorite Disney Movies: Beauty and the Beast, Jungle Book, Lion King
Favorite Disney Park Area: Epcot's World Showcase
Favorite Disney Ride: Mission Space (Orange side!), Expedition Everest, Peoplemover
What I'm most excited for: Dining in the Beast's Castle and seeing old friends from my College Program who still work for Disney!


My other half:

His name is Kevin. He's 27 years old and we live together in Austin. He works for Apple and has been my lifeline while I was buried in school work so he deserves this vacation just as much as I do!

Kevin's family visited Walt Disney World twice in Kevin's lifetime, once as a baby and once when he was 12 years old. He hasn't been to a Disney Park since 2001! We all know how much things have changed since then!

Kevin likes Disney but he's not nearly as into it as I am . He loves history and has been researching Disney park history which has given him something to enjoy on his own about planning this trip. We recently started a weekly tradition of watching Disney animated movies or documentaries about Walt Disney and the parks. Its been so nice and has really helped us connect with this trip and make it more than just a vacation in the distant future, which is fun!

Kevin's favorite movie of all time is Star Wars. He's made me swear to keep all Star Wars related park developments a secret so he can witness them with fresh eyes and see them in all their glory! He's excited to visit the launch bay and meet Kylo Ren and we are both so excited about the Star Wars fireworks!

This is a photo of Kevin at his brother's wedding. It definitely had the caption "Not even the Younglings survived" Definitely a Star Wars fan.

Favorite Character: Goofy
Favorite Movie: Toy Story, Hook, Cars, Up
Favorite Park Area: Epcot's World Showcase
Favorite Ride: Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror, Test Track


Also making an appearance are Kevin's parents, his sister, and his nephew. They are planning a Disney World trip of their own and will be there the same week as us! They are staying at Port Orleans Riverside as well so we are hoping to meet up with them on our afternoon breaks and we are going to spend the last few days of the trip going to the parks together as a group. This will be their first time staying on property and staying for a whole week!

Kevin's parents, Betty and Carroll

They took their three kids to Disney World 3 or 4 times total but they haven't been back since 2001.

Kevin's mom Betty is excited about seeing shows and soaking up the ambience and watching her grandson experience the parks. Her favorites are Its a Small World, Teacups, and Dumbo!

Kevin's dad Carroll has some health issues relating to a fall injury years ago which led to pneumonia and ARDS back in 2008. He has to be on oxygen at all times and can only walk a few steps at a time so its been hard for them to be able to take a family trip together. They're going to be renting a scooter for him, but he said he would be happy just spending the whole trip in the Emporium shopping!

Kevin's sister Katie

Katie loves classic Disney and as the oldest of the siblings, has great memories of all of their family trips to Disney World! She is so excited to be able to take her son Logan on this trip and experience Disney as an extended family now!

Favorite Characters: Winnie the Pooh and the gang!

Kevin's nephew Logan

Logan is 5 and will be turning 6 years old just a few days after we return from our trip on December 23rd. Being born so close to Christmas, its hard to make sure he feels special on his birthday so we are going to make a big deal about his birthday while we are in Disney! We are unsure of how Logan will do on this trip, because he tends to shut down sometimes when he's put on the spot (trying a new food, playing a new game, meeting someone new, etc.) He also has a hard time with conflict so some of the shows might be scary to him. He may just end up taking a more passive role in his first Disney World experience and watching things from the side lines. However, he may surprise us all and will love meeting the characters and having new experiences! Katie took him to Disney on Ice a few months ago and this happened:

He's obsessed with all things Cars and he loves the Fab 5!


That's the whole gang! I hope you can follow along as I flesh out the final details of this trip and then begin my actual trip report! Woohoo!!

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[Raeven]

Following along! We'll be there around the same time as you guys! Dec 9th-17th, but the latter half of the week will be at Universal. My boyfriend's birthday falls on the last day of the trip.

There's no better place to splurge than Disney

 

[marinahendrix]

Following along! We'll be there around the same time as you guys! Dec 9th-17th, but the latter half of the week will be at Universal. My boyfriend's birthday falls on the last day of the trip.

There's no better place to splurge than Disney

You got that right! That sounds like a wonderful trip for you guys too! I'll be following along in your report as well! Maybe we will run into each other

 

[marinahendrix]

We just booked our first class flights to and from Disney World! We are so excited to fly first class. Kevin is 6'3" so whenever we fly coach, his knees are practically touching the seat in front of him at all times and its super uncomfortable for him. We decided kind of on a whim that we would budget for first class plane tickets just so we could have the full luxury experience (short of booking a deluxe resort!)

We both decided that this trip should be more about quality than quantity. We aren't going to try to rush around and cram in as many things as possible. Instead, we are going to select a few attractions that we don't want to miss and we will consider the rest a bonus! We want to take it slow, eat a lot, and relax! Literally every single ADR is a place I've never been to and I snagged some of the top ones! I was definitely sitting at my computer with heart palpitations 180 days out at 5:00 am to get them and I'm very proud of myself!

Here is our itinerary and park plans for our trip!

Saturday:
Flight leaves Austin at 12:00 noon and arrives at MCO at 5:30ish. We will be taking ME to Port Orleans Riverside and plan to arrive at 6:30 or earlier. We will check in and freshen up and then head to Magic Kingdom for MSEP and Wishes! The last time I was at WDW, Spectromagic was still the nighttime parade so I have never seen MSEP! Kevin is especially excited for it because thats the parade from his childhood trip. He still has the soundtrack on a CD from his visit to the parks 15 years ago! We are also going to try to get FP+ for some assortment of 7DMT, Splash, Space, or BTMRR, but really I just want to spend a lot of time on the People Mover. MK closes after Wishes at 10 pm.

Sunday:
We are going to sleep in a bit or explore our resort if we wake up early and then head into Epcot around 10ish or so. We are going to get a FP for Soarin Around the World and Mission Space and maybe the Character Spot if you can get them for Baymax or the Inside Out characters. During nursing school, me and my two best friends from school went to see Inside Out and Sadness is literally all of us in the days before an exam. So glad that part of my life is over!

At Epcot we are going to grab lunch from two counter service places because we want different things! I am going to the Tangerine Cafe in Morocco and Kevin will most likely get fish and chips from the Yorkshire Fish Shop in the UK. We are both really looking forward to spending a lot of time just exploring the world showcase and taking it all in. For dinner, we have reservations at Le Cellier at 5:55 pm and plan to get out in time to get an adult beverage and find a spot to watch Illuminations. Kevin ate at Le Cellier with his family back in 2001 but only remembers a moose shaped desert that I don't think they have anymore. He was devastated when he heard that.

Monday:
Monday we are going to Hollywood Studios. It will be both of our first times seeing it without the hat! I am excited to see in person how much better it looks! I love the look of the chinese theatre and the hat always seemed too cartoony and intrusive to the overall feel of the area. I'm pumped! We are getting there at rope drop and plan to B-line to TSMM along with everyone else. We are hoping to get a FP+ for ToT and ride RnRC standby after TSMM. I've only ridden ToT once and it definitely made me cry. I hate heights and I hate drops but Kevin says we have to ride it. We would like our other two FP+ to be for TSMM and Star Tours. I love Star Tours! It makes me sick generally but I love the theming and just get excited whenever I am there! I haven't seen the updates to this attraction yet either! Kevin only remembers the outside of the attraction but I'm sure he will love it. I hope one of us can be the rebel spy! We have a late lunch ADR at Sci Fi at 1:30 and may leave the park for a break after that. I'm toying with the idea of booking the Star Wars dessert party but I'm more leaning towards grabbing the snacks of our choice and just waiting in a good spot for the Star Wars fireworks! We are both soooo looking forward to these fireworks. Kevin LOVES John Williams and we have the Star Wars soundtrack playing in our house pretty regularly. I hope he cries a little bit. Tears of joy of course!

Tuesday:
Tuesday we are going back to MK for rope drop! We hope to get FP+ for some arrangement of 7DMT, Space, Splash, or BTMRR so we can ride more than once. We are taking it easy today and riding the classics (HM, JC, and Pirates) and snacking and taking in the atmosphere. We have a lunch ADR at Be Our Guest at 12:10 and plan to leave the park after that for a mid day break. We will return that evening for MVMCP! We have never been to a ticketed party before and I'm really looking forward to a special parade and fireworks! I've tried really hard to fast forward through vlogs when people are at MVMCP so it'll be a surprise! We plan to stay until midnight.

Next post, the Wednesday of our trip is my birthday!
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[Raeven]

We're going to be in Epcot that Sunday and MK that Tuesday too! We're going to the same MVMCP.

So far Joy and Sadness and Baymax aren't part of the Character Spot FP. And I cried on ToT too