What will you celebrate?....A Girls-only trip! May 2009 CSR *UPDATE: GOING LIVE 5/30*

[TinkerBelle_325]

Among my friends I'm known as the girl obsessed with Disney....to some its perfectly normal and to others a little bit weird, but most know at some point or another that I will offer them a chance to go to Disney with me.

I tend to plan trips on a regular basis....the key word being plan....rarely to these plans ever become reality!

Last week I mentioned to a friend that I had planned a whirlwind "Disney fix" trip for May. However, with my parents extremely busy and my friends either in school or going to Disney in April (Belle_373! ) I was left without someone to go with!

So I filed the plans away with the others that never came to be and left it at that.

I was out to dinner with one of my best friends and she asked "Are you still thinking of going to Disney in May....because I might want to come..."



She did it....she awakened the Disney recruiter in me!! Suddenly I was going on about resorts, parks, restaurants, passes, extra magic hours, magical express and she looked kinda like this: with a bit of and some

After a slower, calmer break down....

WE ARE BOOKED!

IM GOING TO DISNEY!!​

When?

Saturday May 30th - Wednesday June 3rd

Where?

Disney's Coronado Springs Resort

Who?

Tink (me): I'm 23, but I'll be 24 by the time this trip rolls around. This will be my 31st trip to WDW! I am completely obsessed with all things Disney and I'm still a kid at heart My favorite parks are Epcot and the Magic Kingdom. My favorites rides are Splash Mountain, the Haunted Mansion and Soarin'. I *love* food and dining reviews are my passion.

Alice: She is 23 as well. I've known her since high school and she is the kind of friend you always die of laughter with She has never been to Disney scared1: I know, blasphemous!) and is very excited! Her one requirement is that we go to Animal Kingdom because she loves the environment, nature and animals.

Plans

May 30th - Arrival Day
- Drive from Toronto to Buffalo
- Fly from Buffalo to Orlando (Flight 12:20 till 2:55)
- Magical Express to Coronado Springs (eta 4:30pm)
- Bus to MK at 6pm
- Monorail Tour!
- DINNER at Ohana 7:55pm
- Wishes from the beach

May 31st - MK Day
- Bus from Coronado at 7:45am
- MK 8:30am
- Rope Drop
- Frontierland, Adventureland and Liberty Square
- LUNCH - Liberty Tree Tavern
- Afternoon at CSR pool
- Bus to MK 5pm
- Monorail to Poly
- DINNER at Kona Cafe 6pm
- MK Evening with EMH
- Fantasyland, Toontown, Tomorrowland
- Spectromagic
- Wishes

June 1st - AK Day
- Bus from Coronado 7:45am
- AK 8:30
- Rope Drop
- Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Pangani Forest Exploration, Maharajah Jungle Trek, Festival of the Lion King
- LUNCH - Flame Tree BBQ
- Bus to DTD 1pm
- Shopping (World of Disney, Goofy's Candy Co.)
- Afternoon at CSR pool (3 - 5)
- Bus to MK 6:30pm, Monorail to CR
- DINNER at California Grill 8:10pm

June 2nd - Epcot Day
- Bus from Coronado 7:45am
- Epcot 8:30am
- Rope Drop
- Soarin, Living with the Land, The Seas with Nemo & Friends, Test Track, Innoventions
- LUNCH - Le Cellier (O Canada at 11)
- Afternoon at CSR pool
- Bus to Epcot 5pm
- World Showcase - Gran Fiesta Tour, Maelstrom, American Adventure, Impressions de France
- DINNER - Tokyo Dining

June 3rd - Departure Day
- BREAKFAST - Pepper Market
- Magical Express 9:30am
- Flight home 12:30 to 3pm

 

[DWGal210]

Sounds like fun plans!! I'm glad your friend is able to go.

I keep seeing Kona Cafe over and over again in the TRs, and I have not been there - thinking that in December, we'll for sure have to add that to the list!

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

Kona Cafe is fantastic!

Most people rave about breakfast, which I have yet to try. But I can tell you that for lunch and dinner it is one of the best meals on property. Its affordable great food!

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

ADR Plans​

Food is one of my favorite things in life! Therefore its a huge part of all my WDW vacations I started a VERy early Pre-Dining Report for my Sept 2009 WDW Vacation so now I've added my May plans there as well.
~*We seldom report of having eaten too little*~

May 30th
DINNER: Ohana

May 31st
BREAKFAST - Main Street Bakery
LUNCH - Liberty Tree Tavern
DINNER - Kona Cafe

June 1st
BREAKFAST - Pepper Market
LUNCH - Flame Tree BBQ
DINNER - California Grill

June 2nd
BREAKFAST - Sunshine Seasons
LUNCH - Le Cellier
DINNER - Tokyo Dining

June 3rd
BREAKFAST - Pepper Market

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

Going with a First Timer!!​

​

Ok so that's an exaggeration but going with a first timer will be a different experience. I've never been to WDW with someone who has NEVER been there. The closest I've come is with my friend Winnie who went when she was 6 and then returned to WDW with me at age 16. But she could actually remember aspects of the world!

First things first....we only have 3 full days to see WDW! We arrive at MCO at 3pm on Saturday the 30th so we won't be doing a park that day. Instead we will be going to the Polynesian and having dinner at Ohana then watching Wishes from the beach.

So I gave Alice a quick run down of each park and let her decide the 3 that we will visit. We are trying to keep the costs down and I doubt that we will be park hopping.

For 2 reasons we decided that we will not be visiting Disney's Hollywood Studios...

1. Alice doesn't like thrill rides, actually its more that they make her sick.

2. It's Star Wars Weekend

I'm going to give Alice a "cheat sheet" of sorts on the Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Animal Kingdom so that she can let me know if anything catches her eye as a MUST DO. But overall she has told me to take control of the trip and she will trust me to give her the best WDW experience!

So I've started making my lists of things she must see:

Magic Kingdom
- Main Street & the Castle (well duh!)
- Splash Mountain (I'm *really* hoping she will try this!)
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Captain Jack's Pirate Tutorial
- Haunted Mansion
- Jungle Cruise
- Peter Pan's Flight
- It's a Small World
- Mickey's Philharmagic
- The Many Adventures of Winne the Pooh

Animal Kingdom
- Everest (I don't think I have a hope of getting her on it but i want her to *see* it LOL)
- Finding Nemo: The Musical
- Festival of the Lion King
- Kilimanjaro Safaris
- Pangani Forest Exploration
- Maharajah Jungle Trek
- Tree of Life paths
- Its Tough to Be a Bug

Epcot
- Soarin
- Spaceship Earth
- Test Track (maybe?)
- The Seas with Nemo & Friends
- The Gran Fiesta Tour
- Maelstrom (if I can convince her the boats dont fall backwards! lol)
- Impressions de France
- O Canada
- All the World Showcase countries

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

UPDATE: Got all my ADRs

After an agonizing wait of 3 hours I got all my ADRs. I know this new system is going to be fantastic when it is fully implemented but right now its a royal pain! I'm praying Alice doesn't ask me to change anything!

The coolest thing is that Alice wants everything to be a surprise! She trusts me to plan out the perfect WDW experience for her and doesn't want to know many details or see many pics!

That would kill me as I spend a majority of my time doing this

as I look at WDW pics!

I should be requesting the time off work next week or the week after and then I'll buy airfare and be set!

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

UPDATE​

We have officially booked our flights! I Southwest! No baggage fees, no change fees, all fares can be refunded to travel credit, 2 BAGS! And you get to pick your own seat

While we live in Toronto, it is SO much less expensive to fly out of Buffalo!

Example:

Flying Air Canada direct from Toronto to Orlando = $930.10 CDN

Flying Southwest direct from Buffalo to Orlando = $425 CDN

That is a savings of $505.10!

FLIGHTS

May 30th 2009
Departs from Buffalo at 12:20pm
Arrives in Orlando at 2:55pm

June 3rd 2009
Departs from Orlando 12:40pm
Arrives in Buffalo at 3:15pm

We will be using Magical Express for the first time. I'm not a very trusting person so we will be handling our own luggage. Am I unrealistic to think we will be at CSR by about 4 or 4:30 with our flight arriving at 2:55?

Alice and I went for dinner on Friday and I tried not to overwhelm her with information . Her one request was to swap Tokyo Dining for Chefs de France as she has never had real french food. I also discovered that by "thrill" rides she means anything that goes upside-down. I still think Everest is out as it feels like it goes upside down and she said backwards is out too

Here is our updated MUST SEE list:

Magic Kingdom
-Rope Drop!
- The Castle
- Splash Mountain (she agreed to try it! )
- Thunder Mountain
- Pirates (she can't wait to see the ride that inspired the movie)
- Jungle Cruise
- Haunted Mansion
- It's a Small World
- Peter Pan's Flight
- Mickey's Philharmagic
- Dumbo
- Cinderella's Golden Carousel
- Mad Tea Party
- Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- Snow White's Scary Adventures
- Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin

Animal Kingdom
- Kilimanjaro Safaris
- Pangani Forest Exploration
- Maharajah Jungle Trek
- Tree of Life garden
- Oasis
- Festival of the Lion King
- It's Tough to be a Bug

Epcot
- Soarin'
- Living with the Land
- Circle of Life
- The Seas with Nemo & Friends
- Spaceship Earth
- Mission:Space (non spinning)
- Test Track
- Mexico
- Gran Fiesta Tour
- Norway
- Maelstrom
- China
- Germany
- Italy
- United States
- American Adventure
- Japan
- Morocco
- France
- Impressions de France
- United Kingdom
- Canada
- O Canada

WOW That's a LOT for a few days LOL

I'm not one for commando itineraries but here is what I've planned so far:

May 30th
7:30am - My parents and I leave my house, Pick up Alice, COFFEE!
8 - 10am Toronto to Buffalo International Airport
10:30 - 12pm - Curbside Baggage, Security, Gate & Boarding
12:20pm - 2:55pm Flight
3 - 4pm Monorail to Terminal, Baggage Claim A, Terminal B Magical Express
4:30pm - Arrive Coronado Springs & Check-in (request Casitas 1 or 3)
5pm - Show Alice around the resort
6pm - Bus to MK
6:30pm - Monorail to Poly
7pm - DRINKS @ Tambu Lounge
8:05pm - DINNER @ Kona Cafe
10pm - Wishes from the Beach

May 31st
7am - Wake up call
8am - Bus Stop
8:30am - Arrive at MK
8:45am Rope Drop
9am - Frontierland
10:30am - Adventureland
11:30am - Liberty Square
12pm LUNCH @ Liberty Tree Tavern
1pm - SNACK @ Aloha Isle
1:30 - Bus to CSR
2:30 - 4:30 - Dig Site Pool
5:30pm - Bus to MK
6pm - Monorail to Poly
6:25pm - DINNER @ Ohana
7:30pm - Monorail to MK (Evening EMH)
8pm - Fantasyland
9pm - Wishes
10pm - Tomorrowland
10:30pm - Redo rides / Shopping on Main St!

June 1st
7am - Wake up call
8am - Bus Stop
8:30am - Arrive Animal Kingdom
8:45am - Rope Drop
9am - Kilimanjaro Safaris
10am - Pangani Forest
10:30am - Kilimanjaro Safaris
11am - Maharajah Jungle Trek
11:30am - LUNCH @ Flame Tree BBQ
12pm - Flights of Wonder
1pm - Festival of the Lion King
2pm - Bus to CSR
3 - 5pm - Casitas quiet pool
6:30pm - Bus to MK
7pm - Monorail to Contemporary
7:30pm - DINNER @ California Grill
9:30pm - Bus to DTD
10 - 11pm - Goofy's Candy Co & World of Disney

June 2nd
7am Wake up Call
8am Bus Stop
8:30am Arrive at Epcot
8:45am Rope Drop
9am Soarin, Living with the Land, The Seas with Nemo & Friends
10am Spaceship Earth, Innoventions, Test Track
11am - World Showcase, Mexico, Gran Fiesta & Canada, O Canada
11:30am - LUNCH @ Le Cellier
12:30am - United Kingdom, Morocco, Japan
1:30pm - Taxi from BC to CSR
2pm - 4pm CSR Pool
5pm - Taxi to BC
5:30pm - Norway, Maelstrom - China, Germany, Italy, America
7pm - DINNER @ Chefs de France
8pm - Impressions de France
9pm - Illuminations
9pm - 12pm Epcot Extra Magic Hours!

June 2nd
7am - Wake up Call
7:30am - Breakfast at Pepper Market
8am - Packing
9:30am - Magical Express
10:30am - Orlando International Airport, Check-in, Security
11:30am - LUNCH @ Airside 2
12pm Gate
12:40 - 3:15pm Flight
3:30pm - Buffalo Baggage Claim
4:30 - 6:30pm - Buffalo to Toronto
7pm HOME

Ok ok...so its a *bit* commando But I'm really very flexible and prone to changing my plans during the vacation itself!

 

[H20DogsNDisney]

Can't wait to read more

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

Can't wait to read more

Thanks!

I'm getting super excited Only 73 days to go

I called Disney Dining yesterday to try and get an ADR for dinner at Chefs de France and the ONLY time offered was 9:10

I have a 6:30 at Tokyo Dining so I figure I'll go have a few sushi rolls and then wander World Showcase, watch Illuminations from the French bridge and then haul butt to Chefs and have something light, like French Onion Soup and Dessert Not ideal but for now it will do. I'll keep trying back to get an earlier ADR. We decided that with Kona & California Grill that Tokyo dining would be too much sushi (well Alice thought that...I can never get enough sushi )

 

[AlohaPolynesian]

OH MY GOSH! I totally understand how you feel!!!!!!! When I say I want/need to go to Disney I get "Wait, didn't you just go there?" Or "Isn't that for kids? I don't get why you like it so much." I'm jealous your friend said yes! I'm working on a friend right now. She has a free round trip ticket she was going to use to come visit me at school, but I told her that Chicago is boring and since she's never been to Disney it would be a perfect time!! Cross your fingers!!

Your ADR's look great, too!

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

OH MY GOSH! I totally understand how you feel!!!!!!! When I say I want/need to go to Disney I get "Wait, didn't you just go there?" Or "Isn't that for kids? I don't get why you like it so much." I'm jealous your friend said yes! I'm working on a friend right now. She has a free round trip ticket she was going to use to come visit me at school, but I told her that Chicago is boring and since she's never been to Disney it would be a perfect time!! Cross your fingers!!

Your ADR's look great, too!

Thanks for reading! I'm really lucky, my 3 best girlfriends love WDW

Belle_373 is by far the most obsessed and my DIS-support system. She is at WDW right now!! She sent me a text that she saw the MK Welcome Show for the first time today (blasphemous I know!) and that she cried like a baby. I assured her I've seen it dozens of times and still cry every single time (behind my sunglasses now )

My best friend Winnie has been to WDW with me 3 times and has been once with her family. We're looking forward to going together again in the next few years.

Alice (who has never been to WDW) loves Disney movies and has been asking for a few years if we could go.

But I definitely have my fair share of friends that look at me like I'm nuts when I say I'm returning "home"

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

With 12 days to go I thought I should post some pics from previous trips!

Oct 2006

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

August/Sept 2007

October 2008

 

[KimDis]

OK Tink, your photos are gorgeous!

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

OK Tink, your photos are gorgeous!

Aww thank you! Those were taken with my old camera (A Canon SD500 Digital Elph) now I have the Canon SD880 Digital Elph and my pictures are going to be even crisper! I'm looking forward to playing with all the cool settings on it

UPDATE: LIVE BLOG! ​

Inspired by lurkyloo, I have decided to blog live from my iPhone during my trip! I'll provide updates on crowds, weather and even play a few games of "Where in the World Am I?" as well as updating this TR and my Dining Review (all links in my signature). I'll warn you that my live reports can be rather brief, but I promise to fill in all the details when I return

Check out my blog here: Tinkerbelle_325 Does WDW Live!

 

[KimDis]

I just got an 850 last fall - good to know you can get such great pics at the parks without a huge camera! I may have to pm you about your settings...

Aww thank you! Those were taken with my old camera (A Canon SD500 Digital Elph) now I have the Canon SD880 Digital Elph and my pictures are going to be even crisper! I'm looking forward to playing with all the cool settings on it

UPDATE: LIVE BLOG! ​

Inspired by lurkyloo, I have decided to blog live from my iPhone during my trip! I'll provide updates on crowds, weather and even play a few games of "Where in the World Am I?" as well as updating this TR and my Dining Review (all links in my signature). I'll warn you that my live reports can be rather brief, but I promise to fill in all the details when I return

Check out my blog here: Tinkerbelle_325 Does WDW Live!

 

[H20DogsNDisney]

thanks!

i'm getting super excited only 73 days to go

I called disney dining yesterday to try and get an adr for dinner at chefs de france and the only time offered was 9:10

I have a 6:30 at tokyo dining so i figure i'll go have a few sushi rolls and then wander world showcase, watch illuminations from the french bridge and then haul butt to chefs and have something light, like french onion soup and dessert not ideal but for now it will do. I'll keep trying back to get an earlier adr. We decided that with kona & california grill that tokyo dining would be too much sushi (well alice thought that...i can never get enough sushi )

9:10 wow!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

Woohoo! I get to check-in for my Southwest flight in 40 minutes!

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

9:10 wow!!!!!!!!!!!

I called back around the 45 day mark (package cancellation day) and was lucky enough to get a 6:30 ADR at Chefs de France

 

[H20DogsNDisney]

nice!