Welcome Home, Itinerary #5

[jaleaton]

Nervousness....CHECK!

Queasiness....CHECK!

Ready for some fun and action....CHECK!

What are these things, you might ask? All the things running through my head as I start my first ever co-written pre-trip report, alongside Kayla87.

So why the title? This will be the first time "home" as DVC members for Kayla 87 and her DH, and myself and my DH. This year we both bought into DVC, and are excited to start the traveling. When Kayla 87 and her DH first started planning this trip, we were invited, but kindly declined. DH and I thought there was no possible way to join them for a number of reasons. After an overbooked flight, and 2 free tickets each later, we decided maybe this trip was more of a reality than just a dream. So, like any good friend would do, we re-invited ourselves, and now we have ourselves a trip in the making with our dear friends. Since we declined, Kayla 87 and her DH made some grand plans and had a finalized itinerary (or so they thought). Now that we're back in the picture, the itinerary has changed many times, and hopefully not too many more, henceforth, the ITINERARY #5 part.

So now, for all that good stuff you've been waiting for: the who, what, when, where, and why of it all.

Who are we?
I am Jacinda (jaleaton). I have been traveling to Disney since I was 13 years old. Let me say, I hated Disney as a teenager , while travelling with my family. As an adult, things have changed, and I love all things Disney. I am an over-planner, as well as an over-packer. I'm a picky eater, and peruse all the menus before I even go to Disney.

Corey is my husband. He likes Disney almost as much as I do, and lovingly lets me plan all of our vacations. Corey is a super nerdy computer guy, and the monorail is his favorite Disney attraction. This will be Corey's 6th trip.

- Corey and Jacinda

Kayla (Kayla87) is a good friend of Corey and I. She will be celebrating her 21st birthday while in the World. We've known Kayla for about 2 - 3 years now. This will be Kayla's second trip to WDW. Kayla loves elephants, things relating to France, and history. Kayla is the history buff of the group, and could easily go far in Jeopardy.

Tom (Kayla's DH) and Corey are old college friends. Tom is as much as a perfectionist as myself, and also belongs to over-planners anonymous. Tom's into building things, and enjoys the little hidden details in Disney. Tom has also been going to Disney for many, many years.

- Tom and Kayla

The when and the where is what you have to look forward to in the next posts...

We'll hop here, and we'll eat there!
Itinerary 5.5
Door Decorations, Attempt #1
Tom and Kayla's Babies
You're WHAT???
Free Photopass

 

[kayla87]

Hi! Co-writer of this pre-trip report here!

I'll elaborate a little more on what Jacinda has already said...

Tom and I spent our honeymoon at Disney World, and it was my first trip ever. We bought DVC awfully spur of the moment one day at the MK, but we haven't regretted it once. Before this trip, I was very reluctant about Disney. My DH on the other hand, won a prize in our DVC presentation for most trips to Disney World. I think it's around 15 for him. Now I've mostly taken over planning our trips, and am on the boards way more than he is. I used to make fun of him for getting on Disney boards!

This summer, Tom and I were sitting on a DVC membership, wondering what to do with it. So I presented him with the idea of an early January trip. My spring semester of college starts on January 12, so we planned a Sunday Jan 4 to Saturday Jan 10 trip at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge. We booked a 2 BR, hoping that our friends Corey and Jacinda would join us. For a number of reasons they eventually declined, and we went on a waiting list for a 1 BR.

Then, C&J encountered an overbooked flight on their journey back from their October trip, and got free tickets. We got a phone call from them one night saying "Are you opposed to us going on your January trip?" I was dumbfounded. Then I had to get busy...

 

[TKTommy]

I'm Going Too!!!

 

[kayla87]

Apparently my husband decided to join the Disboards

In just a few days, we went from a 2 person, 7 day trip to a 4 person, 9 day trip. We already know how we grew to 4 people, but why two extra days?

On Wednesday night, Corey & Jacinda called and said that their flight vouchers wouldn't work for the day we were flying out, the 4th. So, we looked up some value resort pricing, and they booked a flight for the 2nd, bought Annual Passes, and booked two nights at Pop Century. Then they called us back about half an hour later, and we decided to change our flights to the 2nd too! (Because of course how could we spend two days knowing our friends were in Disney and we weren't! )

Then, Thursday I called to get a DVC room for 2 nights, and was only able to get a 2 BR at Old Key West.

So now, our overall plan goes something like this -
Jan 2 - C&J drop us off at the airport because we have an earlier flight on a different airline. Then they fly out later that afternoon
Jan 4 - Move from Old Key West to Wilderness Lodge
Jan 10 - C&J have an afternoon flight, and we (Tom & Kayla) have an evening flight home

 

[tinytreasures]

wow sounds like fun and a lot of planning
we will just miss you we are hoping to travel on the 11th

can't wait to hear more about your trip

 

[jaleaton]

My hat is tipped to Kayla for some fantastic planning...over and over again. Like she said, on Fri. 1/2 and Sat. 1/3, we'll be staying at OKW, and then we'll be transferring to VWL for the remainder of the trip until Sat. 1/10. Originally there was quite a bit of park hopping in order to see everything. Given the extra 2 days of our trip, there might be a day here or there, where we're not quite as busy. One of our big goals this trip is to enjoy the last of the Christmas decorations, and to try a new variety of restaurants.

Here's a view into our itinerary. I apologize in advance if you're an acronym hater. For all of those here for the food (and who isn't?), those are colored in red on the itinerary. I'm sure a food review will follow at some point.

Friday 1/2
MK in the afternoon.
Wishes
Spectromagic

Saturday 1/3
DTD
Lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express
Look at Christmas decorations
Ride Splash!
DHS
Fantasmic
EMH at DHS

Sunday 1/4
Check into VWL
AK
MK
Dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern
EMH at MK

Monday 1/5
Epcot
Lunch at Le Cellier
Illuminations

Tuesday 1/6
MK
Lunch at Kona Cafe
DTD or Electrical Water Pageant

Wednesday 1/7
DHS
Epcot
Dinner at Teppan Edo

Thursday 1/8
AK
Breakfast at Tusker House
Boardwalk
Epcot

Friday 1/9
Lunch at Whispering Canyon Cafe
MK
Dinner at Ohana

Saturday 1/10
I refuse to speak about this day.

 

[kayla87]

wow sounds like fun and a lot of planning
we will just miss you we are hoping to travel on the 11th

can't wait to hear more about your trip

Thanks for the reply! I've run across a few other people traveling around the same time. I'm hoping it will be a great time of the year. I've read the first few posts of your own pre-trip report, and I hope you have a really great time! You all deserve it!

 

[kayla87]

At some point in the future, I will probably elaborate on each day's itinerary, to the point that no one will listen, not even those traveling with me. But for now, I would like to say a few words about Splash Mountain.

Splash Mountain is my DH's favorite ride in MK, and maybe even his all time favorite. When I told him it was going to be down for rehab the day we got there, he was truly distraught. Luckily, Corey and Jacinda changed all of our plans, and now we get to rid it on the 3rd!

Unforunately, this may be bad for me. Splash was probably the one ride I was scared to do, and Tom knew that, and every time a small drop came, I would tense up and he'd tell me it was the big one. Finally, the big drop came , but we didn't fly off the mountain like I feared. We bought the picture, because that is tradition for him.

Fastforward a few weeks, and Corey and Jacinda are at our house, and we pulled out the picture to show them. Only then did I realize how absolutely petrified I looked! Even the three little kids on the ride looked less scared than me! Perhaps this upcoming ride on Splash will be redemption for me. I can only hope!

 

[kayla87]

This trip will be mine and Tom's first trip without EMH wristbands. Corey and Jacinda have been when this policy was in effect, but weren't asked to show their cards very often. I dread having to pull out my card, so I'm looking into lanyards for EMH nights. I tried an ebay search for Disney lanyards, but I don't think we'll be going that direction. At Office Depot yesterday I figured that we could get four cheap lanyards and the cards holders for about 11 dollars. Jacinda is resistant to the idea, so I need to come up with a plan to make her wear one

I plan on decorating our door at Wilderness Lodge with grapevine wreath Mickey and Minnie heads, so I bought more wreaths yesterday for C&J's heads. I haven't put any together, or attempted to make Minnie's bow, but when I do I'll post pictures!

Today, I need to cancel the Hollywood and Vine Fantasmic Package we had for 2. We will be doing general seating when we try it on our first Saturday there. It's a second showing so hopefully it shouldn't be too bad.

I also need to change our Chef Mickey breakfast to two since C&J's flights leave too early to allow them to eat breakfast with us. C&J bought into Bay Lake Tower, and we might do another group trip in September on their points, so we could always do a group Chef Mickey breakfast then!

 

[kayla87]

We're currently trying to figure out some dining issues. We will be on the regular dining plan for our time at Wilderness Lodge, but won't be for the two nights at Old Key West. Tom and I will also be eating one more meal than Corey and Jacinda on Friday. Since this is our first DVC stay, I'm trying to figure out ways we can save money by eating in the room. The only problem is - I will not have groceries delivered, and whatever it is has to be packed in my luggage.

So far, I was thinking that Tom and I could eat pasta with parmesan cheese for lunch on Friday. Dinner on Friday is more complicated, because C&J won't be arriving until 6 or after, and we will need to hustle to the TTC so they can get their Annual Passes. Tom says he won't eat dinner, but will just snack in the MK (which in the end will probably cost as much as just eating a meal, but whatever ). If it's feasible, I'd like to make a quick meal in our room before we leave for the MK.

The only problem with that is...what can I pack in my luggage to feed up to 4 people? Meat is out of the question. A thought just now came to me - maybe I could talk everyone into a homestyle bake. It's a small box to pack, doesn't take long to make, is good, but hopefully not so filling that we end up stuck in our room for half an hour waiting for vacant bathrooms. (Might as well admit it now, I'm sure it will come up eventually )

If anyone actually reads this, and has ideas for luggage meals, I'd be happy to take suggestions

 

[kayla87]

I am going to steal all of Jacinda's hard work and update our itinerary with changes we've made.

Friday 1/2
Epcot
MK
Wishes
Spectromagic

Saturday 1/3
MK EMH for Splash Mountain
Look at Christmas decorations
Afternoon at OKW
MK for Christmas parade
DHS
Fantasmic
EMH at DHS

Sunday 1/4
Check into VWL
AK
MK (or Epcot???)
Dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern
EMH at MK

Monday 1/5
Epcot
Lunch at Le Cellier
Illuminations

Tuesday 1/6
MK
Lunch at Kona Cafe
Electrical Water Pageant

Wednesday 1/7
DHS
Epcot
Dinner at Teppan Edo

Thursday 1/8
AK
Breakfast at Tusker House
DTD
Lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express
Boardwalk
Epcot

Friday 1/9
Lunch at Whispering Canyon Cafe
MK
Dinner at Ohana

Saturday 1/10
Nothing planned except flying home

Tom and I aren't going to do Chef Mickey's breakfast on our last day.

We also changed our Saturday to better accommodate the Christmas parade and riding Splash Mountain. We are also making Thursday our DTD (window) shopping day.

Tom and I are going to Epcot on our first afternoon before C&J's flight arrives. I vaguely remember there being a reason...perhaps that we would visit Epcot on Sunday afternoon if it was still decorated? I need to dig through emails, and hope I left a paper trail of the idea.

We almost had Itinerary #6 in the making when Corey and Jacinda got developer points. They offered to use them for our first two nights at Saratoga Springs, but there was no availability.

Today I did a survey on Sunshine Rewards . When school got busy last month I stopped visiting, but I need to up my rewards to so I can redeem a gift card before we leave. Hopefully I can stick with making time for a survey a few times a week!

 

[jaleaton]

What is this Sunshine Rewards, and free money you speak of? I like free money, and we all know I have tons of spare time. Please, do tell.

Kayla is forgetting that they were going to Epcot to upgrade their tickets to an Annual Pass. She is right in saying, that they were also going to check to see if decorations are up. I remember this one, because I think she's really checking for me. I'm all about seeing as much Christmas stuff as possible for the few hours it may be remaining up and decorated.

I know there are some lurkers out there, please don't be shy. Hopefully we're not boring you to death. I have a feeling once the trip report actually gets started, we'll have plenty of funny stories to share.

 

[kayla87]

What is this Sunshine Rewards, and free money you speak of? I like free money, and we all know I have tons of spare time. Please, do tell.

Sunshine Rewards is perfect for Disney lovers who have free time of the internet. It's a quick, fun way to make a little extra money for Disney. Plus, the owners of SR are Disney lovers, and members can redeem their rewards in Disney Dollars or Disney Gift Cards! I take surveys, sign up for some mailings, get cash back on certain online purchases, or take advantage of special offers companies give to SR members. I highly recommend signing up and earning a few bucks to spend in the World!

Now, I just have to decide if I want to cash out in Disney Dollars, or a gift card. I don't know which is better

I have a feeling once the trip report actually gets started, we'll have plenty of funny stories to share.

Yeah...I hope exciting things happen while we're there

 

[kayla87]

Well, since we've last updated, we have ditched the idea of cooking lunches or dinners in our room. And, we added an ADR on Friday the 2nd at Plaza before Wishes.

We changed Saturday the 3rd's itinerary a little, but we've only changed the time of day we are doing things, what we are doing is still the same.

Also, I'm debating whether I should do Disney dollars or a gift card for my SR redemption. I need to learn about Disney dollars and how awesome or not they are. Will an adult look silly paying for stuff with them?

On Sunday Jacinda and I worked on figuring out our Minnie Mouse ears for our door at Wilderness Lodge. We realized we are uncrafty with bows, and had to google bow making before we figured something out. I've still got work to do with them...like assemble them... I think the primary plan for attaching them to the door is suction cups, but we'll have to wait until the day after Thanksgiving when I dive into Christmas decorations to find what kind of suction cups I have in stock.

 

[ArmyWife3-4]

Alright I'm hopping in to read all about your trip! DH and I are thinking DVC is a strong possibility in our future so I am always curious to hear how people like it!

 

[kayla87]

Alright I'm hopping in to read all about your trip! DH and I are thinking DVC is a strong possibility in our future so I am always curious to hear how people like it!

Thanks for reading!

Even though me and my DH, and Jacinda and her DH haven't actually vacationed with DVC yet, we absolutely love it! Personally, we would never be able to afford staying at places like Wilderness Lodge without DVC. Of course, it's not the actual hotel, but the rooms are better because they are rooms for living in! (Kitchens, washers and dryers, living rooms...)

Plus, consider this. Corey and Jacinda went to DW last month. They're going in January. They're going in June. And they're going in October. That's kind of unusual, in part because the January trip is on our points, but it's feasible.

I could go on and on about how nice it is, but I'll end with this final statement - I don't think most people regret buying into DVC, most people regret not buying into DVC sooner.

 

[jaleaton]

Alright I'm hopping in to read all about your trip! DH and I are thinking DVC is a strong possibility in our future so I am always curious to hear how people like it!

Welcome!!!

I will also add to what Kayla has already said. DVC is fantastic. We just purchased 200 points in October at the Bay Lake Tower. With that 200 points, we were included in the incentive of $5 off per point, and an additional 200 developer points. So basically with those initial 400 points this is what we were able to do in 1 year.

1br at Saratoga Springs from 6/1/09 - 6/5/09
1 br at Saratoga Springs from 6/28/09 - 7/1/09 rented out to my parents.
2 br at Bay Lake Tower for some amount of time to be decided in October.

After those 3 trips there are still points leftover to roll over for the next year. I agree with what Kayla has said, it really is a good investment for the long term, if you and DH plan on traveling quite a bit.

 

[kayla87]

I was just looking back at older posts in this PTR, and I came across this...

At some point in the future, I will probably elaborate on each day's itinerary, to the point that no one will listen, not even those traveling with me.

Oh, how true! I don't even send emails to the men in the group because they don't read them any more!

Since I haven't been planning on the Disney front, I thought I'd talk about our pre-Disney plans.

On New Years Eve, Corey and Jacinda will be coming here for our annual "party" (Okay, that's not a great party smiley, but I've never seen it before and I thought it was interesting)

The next morning Tom and I have a Christmas to attend, and Corey and Jacinda will probably visit some family in town. That night is an awesome Disney packing party, where I try to sneak all of my overflow into other people's luggage.

Oh yeah, I forgot a very important step on New Years afternoon. Grandma and Grandpa are picking up our two doggies and gerbils (who, by the way, we had to FIND on Wednesday after they fled their cage)

Here is doggie #1, a 2 yr old Dachshund/Pekingese

And doggie #2, an 11 month old border collie (who we got from Jacinda's parents!)

They love staying with Grandma cause she has woods to tromp around in. Here is testament to the fun they have...

Friday is a bunch of flying from our new airport, and then the rest you already know about!

 

[kayla87]

Oh, Disney, why did you do this to me? Hours have changed for 7 park days during our trip. Fortunately, only one of them affects our plans, but it's a Hollywood Studios day where they took away the second showing of Fantasmic! And, the park is closing an hour early that EMH night, so we can only be in the park until 10pm. I don't like this change...but I'll get over it. There is one bright spot...hopefully...if they're cutting back hours on the 1st and 2nd, maybe that means attendance will be down.

Oh yeah, I'd advise always using Disney's calendars (even though they suck and are slow). Wdwinfo's were only partially correct.

I booked Magical Express yesterday. Yay, check that off the list.

We found out last night that Ellen will close on our Epcot day, and honestly, I wish Disney would stop rehabbing all the good attractions for napping

Happy Turkey Day.

 

[jaleaton]

So last night, I revealed another trip changing surprise to Tom and Kayla...Corey and I are pregnant! It's pretty safe to say that all of our reactions are similar: with a mix of . Let me back up a bit and explain these feelings. Tom and Kayla knew that we had been planning on starting a family, but at last notice, we were going to hold off another year after being unsuccessful for a few months. Corey and I decided to hold off because I am a teacher, and I was hoping a due date would coincide with the beginning of summer break. Well, as Murphy's Law would have it, of course we get pregnant as soon as we stop trying, and are now expecting very late in the summer.

What does this mean for our trip...not too much, except Tom now has someone to sit out some of the rides with him. Even though I will only be 2 months pregnant, I will probably sit out the following attractions:

Expedition Everest - which Tom doesn't care for, and will be sitting out too.
Rock N Roller Coaster - another that wouldn't fare well with Tom.
Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - even though these are not quite that intense, I don't want to chance anything.
Splash Mountain - I'm really on a roller coaster of emotions on this one, so I don't know yet.
Test Track
Living with the Land - Corey is really concerned for my safety on this one, so I guess I will sit it out.

Just a little joke about the Land. I'm pretty sure I'll be ok, unless I'm having some crazy dragonfruit cravings, and I push myself overboard while reaching for it.

I'm hoping that at only 2 months I won't be insanely tired, having to pee every 2 seconds, or having strange pickle with dole whip cravings.

I will have to live vicariously through Kayla as she experiences some of the alcoholic beverages that we have been reading up on. I'm not usually a drinker, but I was going to have a few drinks with her this trip since she will be recently of age to drink. I'll just make her drink for both of us this trip.