"We Got A First Timer Out Here"-May 2011 Pre-Trip Report

[Z'sMom]

I must admit I am a fairly new lurker and yet in this short time you all have inspired me to take the planning of my WDW vacation to greater heights. Why simply plan when I can make it…an obsession! I posted on the welcome board where numerous posters suggested that I read through the millions (and I do mean millions) of posts…orders which I began following immediately. Today (123 days until our trip and counting) it occurred to me that I could in fact create a pre-trip report…so here we go!!!!

Magic carpet riders include:
Me-29 years old and have NEVER been to WDW. When I began planning this trip 3 months ago I thought that Disney consisted of 1 park, a few restaurants and could surely be covered in three full days…......is all I will say! I begin a new job in 2 weeks and I made sure to clear this vacation before I would sign a contract….hey…you gotta have priorities right?
DS (soon to be) 5- the reason for this trip! He will be turning 5 four days before we leave for WDW. He is the absolute light of my life and amazes me every day!
D (soon to be) H-37 years old and could care less about the planning as long as I don’t make him eat anything that isn’t meat or potatoes or make him wear anything “stupid” on his head….(the Mickey Ears will be a surprise…shhhh).
DSS17-17 years old and is thrilled to be going to WDW! Like his father he also fears the greens of vegetables or anything that once swam in the ocean!

ME AND Z!!!

Allow me to set the stage:
Last August I finished grad school (a grueling year and a half of my life) and along the way I made a promise that went something like this “forgive me for the hours spent bent over accounting books, the weekends spent researching the drudgery best known as economics and losing my mind writing yet another marketing paper…help me make it through this and I will take us to Disney World.” This promise was made to Z…and the time has come to pay up.

At this point a few of you may be wondering why I am choosing to plan such an elaborate WDW vacation when I should be saving for and planning a wedding. Well, simply put, the WDW vacation is much more fun to plan. No stressing about which color of green the bridesmaids dresses should be, how I am gonna get my dad on a boat to Jamaica or losing 10 lbs so that I can fit into a size 7 wedding dress...

In all seriousness, I lost my mother to breast cancer in July of this last year….there are some people that you just can’t plan a wedding without...'nuff said.

And now….the moment you have all have been waiting for…the ITINERARY:
May 20: Arrival, DTD w/ Disney Quest and Dinner at T-Rex
May 21: Epcot Day 1 w/ dinner at Coral Reef
May 22: Hollywood Studios, F! Package w/ lunch at Mama Melrose and dinner at the Sci-Fi (I've heard the food stinks but I want to eat in a plastic car and watch horribly cheesy, B rated movie clips)!!
May 23: Magic Kingdom with dinner at Grand Floridian Cafe
May 24: SLEEP IN!!!! Typhoon Lagoon/Magic Kingdom w/ dinner at Narcoosees
May 25: Animal Kingdom w/ dinner at Ohana’
May 26: Universals IOA (having breakfast w/ Spiderman…DS5 is gonna freak!!!!)
May 27: SLEEP IN!!!! Epcot Day 2 w/ dinner at Akershus
May 28: Universal Studios w/ dinner at California Grille

We are booked to stay at the CSR which I am SUPER GEEKED ABOUT!!! I can’t wait…the pool looks AMAZING!

So for all of you that have known for years that Disney was much more than 1 park, that the world couldn’t possibly be seen in 3 days and that have actually been to one of the many restaurants we will be dining at…I would greatly appreciate your comments and criticisms.

 

[JennisSilly]

How exciting- you're going to have a blast! I just started my first trip report too

Subscribing!

 

[Z'sMom]

Yayyy...I am so very glad that someone responded right away !!! I absolutely cannot wait to go....123 days will take FOREVER!!!

At this point...1:00 in the morning when I have to be up for work in 5 hours...I belive that my soon to be DH may seriously be thinking of committing me...

He just doesn't understand that I NEED TO OVERTHINK THIS VACATION...I AM OCD AND THAT IS WHAT I DO

Goodnight all!!

 

[JennisSilly]

Haha, I totally understand- that's why I started my PTR, when I came home and told DH I had an excel spreadsheet of our vacation, he was a little.... concerned.

haha, OCD = always prepared!

 

[Z'sMom]

In 122 days, 13 hours and 37 minutes we leave for DISNEY! We leave for the airport (grab a ginormous latte since I’m sure I won’t have slept a wink the night before) early in the a.m. Now is the time to add that not only am I a Disney virgin, I am also an airplane virgin….three out of four of us are….oh my poor husband. Flight is scheduled to leave at 10:30 a.m. but I know how these things go (come on guys, I may never have flown but I have picked people up from the airport before).

Reach MCO around 12:45 and make it to CSR by 2:30 (having completed the online check in) we dump our luggage, check out the resort and head to DTD.

We hit Wolfgang Puck Express for lunch (bring on the Margarita Pizza), check out the sights around DTD (maybe the Ghiradelli store….duh!) and end up at DisneyQuest. We love arcade games, video games….all games. Both boys are going to freak when they seat this multiple floor video arcade (our idea of a killer video arcade is Dave & Buster’s….so this will blow them out of the water!!!!).

We have ADR’s at 9:00 for T-Rex. Here is where I admit that I added this reservation late in the game (which explains why were eating at 9 pm). We are eating there because I just have to see these “meteor showers.” The restaurant looks so cool!

After dinner we head back to the resort…perhaps a quick dip in one of the pools (it is my understanding that the pools are open until midnight) if the evening is a warm one!

By now I am sure we will be exhausted…I’m exhausted just writing it….so we will hit the sheets and prepare for Day 2 of this magic carpet ride...EPCOT!

 

[Z'sMom]

Since Epcot opens at 9 a.m. I am figuring we need to leave our resort around 8 (maybe 7:45...need help here). Here is where I must admit that I am the ONLY MORNING PERSON in this group…the adventure of making RD will be like pulling teeth. Sure the 5 year old will fly out of bed the first morning, but the husband and the teen…UGH (is all I will say).

We will grab a breakfast snack before we leave the resort and board the bus.

Once at Epcot we will beeline it for Soarin’ (thank you Disers), Test Track, Spaceship Earth and grab a FP for Mission: Space (oh no!!! not for me…). I would like to get through all the rides, which may make the husband and the teen vomit sick everywhere, out of the way prior to lunch. Next we will hit a few attractions that will calm the stomachs: Living with the Land, The Seas with Nemo & Friends, Turtle Talk with Crush.

Lunch will be a QS (probably at Electric Umbrella since my traveling companions are unadventurous where food is concerned).

We will then hit Journey into Imagination with Figment, Honey I Shrunk the Audience, The Circle of Life, and Innoventions. We will then begin the World Showcase.

We have an ADR at Coral Reef @ 7:00

Illuminations @ 9:00

Since this is only our first day at Epcot, if we don’t make it through our plan completely….we have a 2nd day scheduled (one that includes me “drinking around the world” ).

If any of the experienced see a flaw in my plan, please let me know. While there is no PERFECT touring plan (especially with children) I would like to get as close to perfection as humanly possible (ahh...the OCD rears her ugly head)!

 

[Z'sMom]

Today I will wake the team with reassurances that tomorrow is the first of two of our sleep in days…secretly this only means they can sleep in until 9 a.m. but hey…least they don’t have to be up at 7 a.m.

We are only slated to hit HS one day on this trip; since I am the ultimate coordinator…I think it can be done (I’ll let you all know where you can write me when I have my nervous breakdown…LOL)!

Breakfast is a snack…maybe something fatty from Starring Rolls! From here we will beeline it to Toy Story Mania (another thank you) and grab a FP for ToT. I think we can hit the Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Disney Jr. Live on Stage, Muppet Vision 3-D and Beauty and The Beast. We will then return to ride the ToT. Hit the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Move Set Adventure (let the stomachs settle) and then on to Mama Melrose for our 2:00 ADR (bring on the four cheese flatbread that I have been dreaming about ever since dizneet's dining review...your reviews are AMAZING).

Maybe we will make it for the Pixar Parade @ 3:00…maybe not…I am not willing to forego a good Italian dish just to make the parade. I am sure that we will be able to catch some of it!

After lunch we will hit the Great Movie Ride, the Studio Backlot Tour, Lights! Motors! Action! Extreme Stunt Show. Of course we have to hit Indiana Jones (Loving all the movies except for the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull…IMO it was hokey).

We have an ADR for 6:35 at the Sci-Fi Diner. I have read the reports and the food in the place gets poor reviews. Since we will have had a late lunch at Mama Melrose, I am figuring we will hit the onion rings and the desserts….maybe skip the full on dinner and just load up on garbage food!

Perhaps before F! DH and DSS17 will want to hit the Rock N Roller Coaster and Star Tours….the child and I will forego these! We will head over to Fantasmic! ...with our tickets (since I booked the F! package)!

Since tomorrow is a sleep in day…were gonna take a late night swim upon returning to our resort!!!

 

[Z'sMom]

Okay kidding…today is the not the day for sleeping in…today is Magic Kingdom Part 1. We will awake and have breakfast at the Pepper Marekt...something more than just a snack. Since the Magic Kingdom is humungous…the below encompasses our endeavors:
Tomorrowland
1 .FP for Space Mountain
2. Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
3. Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor

FantasyLand
4. FP for Peter Pan's Flight
5. FP Mickey's PhilharMagic
6. It’s a Small World
7. Snow Whites Scary Adventure
8. Dumbo
9. Mad Tea Party
10. Fairytale Garden-Tangled

LUNCH-Snack

Frontierland
11. FP for Splash Mountain
12. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
13. Tom Sawyer Island

Adventureland
14. FP for Jungle Cruise
15. Magic Carpets of Aladin
16. Enchanted Tiki Room
17. Pirates of the Caribbean

Liberty Square
18. Haunted Mansion

19. Dreams Parade-3:00
20. Electrical Parade-9:00
21. Wishes-10:00

My hope is that we might balance the busier rides with FP’s and hit smaller attractions (if there is such a thing at WDW) while we are waiting for our return times. If we don’t hit everything today…we have the Magic Kingdom Part 2. I believe that this park deserves 2 days!

We have ADR's at the Grand Floridian Cafe for 5:25. I made dinner early enough so that we can make it back to MK in time for the Electrical Parade and Wishes.

After Wishes...sleep!

 

[Z'sMom]

I would like to pause and ask you all a question:

Do I have this correct? From CSR we will take a direct bus to Epcot, HS and AK. When going to the MK we will take a bus to the monorail and the monorail will take us to the MK.

From a park, how do we get to a resort? Say from MK to the Grand Floridian? How much time should be allowed for this? 1 hour?

 

[Z'sMom]

Okay…I guess I will let everyone sleep until 8 or so this morning…before they stage a revolt and overtake the throne !

We will probably grab breakfast at the Pepper Market and head to Typhoon Lagoon (or sit poolside at the resort if we choose); I can’t see us wanting to spend an entire day at a water park…maybe half. The second half of the day we will head back to the Magic Kingdom to hit whatever we might have missed the day before…or re-hit the attractions that we loved!!! Initially I had only 1 day planned for this park…decided that we would need at least a day and a half.

We have an ADR for 8:35 at Narcoosees (ummm-LOBSTER)…this was completely my choice. Since I am the only one that is planning the trip (and the others are more than fine with going with the flow) I based the majority of the dinner reservations around my preference. I would like to add here that while I like all food that is strange and unusual (with the exception of red meat), the husband will only eat red meat and potatoes (god forbid he eat anything green), the 17 year old lives on chicken quesadillas and the 5 year old lives on chicken nuggets…eating out is ALWAYS an adventure.

 

[Z'sMom]

Not sure why this park is always suggested as the park to skip…we are very excited about this park! The troops will again need to make RD with me…I will probably bribe them with sweets (ill use the “let’s get there early and well grab a cinnamon roll for breakfast” bribe)! I can soooo win these people over with sugar!

We will make our way to Dinoland USA and grab a FP for Dinosaur, catch It’s Tough to Be a Bug and the Triceratop Spin, grab a FP for Primeval Whirl, hit Finding Nemo and play at the Boneyard. Here is where we will break for lunch at the Flame Tree BBQ (husband and DSS17 LOVE RIBS!!!).

Asia: After lunch we will grab a FP for Kali River Rapids, hit EE (as long as they promise not to puke ribs) and do the Maharajah Jungle Trek.

On to Africa: will hit the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail and Kilmanjaro Safaris.

We will finish up the park with the Festival of the Lion King and the Jammin Jungle Parade at 3:45. If attractions need to be worked around the parades…these touring plans are guidelines…NOT SET IN STONE! I don’t want to lose all my hair on this vacation (it is after all a vacation, isn’t it??). Plus, I am told that during the hottest time of the day (early afternoon) the animals are not always out...if we have to hang out...we hang out!

We have a 7:10 ADR at Ohana’. Ever since I have begun reading the dining reports I have been craving the banana dessert that this place has...can feel myself getting fatter just thinking abou it ! After dinner we will head back to the resort, swim if the 5 year old so chooses and spend a little down time in the room! PHEW!

 

[Z'sMom]

Begin the day at Confisco Grille…where we are going to have breakfast with Spiderman!

We plan on spending the whole day here…we LOVE HARRY POTTER. When Z (DS5) was 3, for Halloween he dressed up as “Harry Potty”…because he couldn’t say Potter! It was the cutest costume ever!!!

We will then grab something at the Pepper Market when we return to CSR. DS5 and DSS17 are gonna hang out in the room this evening (one lives on his iPod and the other lives on his DS…this will give them some down time). The husband and I are going to head down to the lounge and have a cocktail or two…just the two of us!!! I believe that the Rix Lounge has a DJ tonight…so there may even be dancing (my husband with two left feet will be thrilled to hear this).

 

[Dismom55]

One little tip, In Animal Kingdom, you might want to consider doing the Safari Ride first thing in the AM. Once it gets hot out the animals tend to find shady places and you won't see much. We did the Dino dig first on our first trip when my son was 7 and it was a mistake, he did not want to leave that area. One other tip is my kids tend to do Kali River ride last or nearly last as they get wet and do not care to walk around wet for long time. Since AK closes early, we usually have time to head back to the resort, change into dry clothes and head out to our ADR.

I am NOT one of those who do not like AK, love it and would not miss it for anything. You should go to the park and make up your own mind about it.

Most of all have fun.

 

[Z'sMom]

Dismom-Thanks so much for the advice; it is great to get advice from those who have actually experienced the parks...we will do the safari ride first! Many thanks

 

[Z'sMom]

I will let everyone sleep in today (probably as late as they want…within reason)! Tonight is Epcots evening EMH…so we will have plenty of time today. We will probably hit the pool and have a nice breakfast and then its off to Epcot.

This day begins my "DRINKING AROUND THE WORLD" excursion!!! Not only do I want to eat my way through the world…heck I wanna drink my way through too! Since our first day revolved around the rides and attractions in Future World…this day is going to focus on the World Showcase (bring on the Maelstrom Ride!!!).

We also have an ADR at Akershus for 6:25-I love the princesses…so does DS5. His favorite is Belle (sorry Cinderella). I chose Akershus for this reason…it sounds like we are going to be able to see all of the princesses here (or at least a good portion of them). This means that we won’t have to wait in meet and great lines for them…or maybe we will…no matter!

Illuminations are at 9:00 tonight…and I am dying to hit Boulangerie Patisserie…bring on the pastries.

After this it is off to CSR for sleep!

 

[Z'sMom]

Today we will grab a quick breakfast at CSR and then head out to Universal Studios. I won’t elaborate too much here (since it feels as though I’m cheating on WDW-)!

We have an ADR at California Grille for 7:45 tonight…I saved what might just be the best for last! The desserts look amazing (we are big “dessert” people).

After dinner we are going to head back to CSR, take one last dip in the pool and pack up…for tomorrow we will be leaving this magical land and heading back to reality.

 

[Z'sMom]

We leave early...need time to get home, do the mounds of laundry that I am sure we will have accrued, relax and bit before going back to work tomorrow...oh well-we need to work so that I can begin planning the next vacation...right?!?!

 

[Dismom55]

Oh, you will be leaving the day we arrive, hope you and your family will have the best time.

 

[Z'sMom]

Dismom-many thanks; I hope your family will enjor their stay as well-how can you not in a place this EXCITING!!!

118 days, 14 hours, 38 minutes...just to keep you all updated...we're not excited at all

 

[Z'sMom]

Just a countdown update...

117 days...8 hours...47 minutes...​

Have a great weekend everyone!!!