When Does It Start to Feel "Real?"--A Nov 2017 PTR UPDATE- 11/12/17 Final Thoughts. <3

[Elizabeth Smith]

EDIT 6/14/17-- I am going to make this thread my Official Pre-Trip Report! I will link all new posts regarding planning my trip in this first post.

A Brief Introduction:​

On November 14th my husband and I will be taking our first Disney Trip together. I haven't been in about 10 years and he hasn't been for over 20. (By the way, we are both in our early 20s, so he doesn't remember it at all!)

We booked in late January, I think, but ever since then, I have felt such... dread. I don't know if that's the right word, but I'm so nervous. In my mind, it still seems impossible, probably since we're young and poor and spent so long saving and donating plasma for extra cash. I keep thinking that something is going to happen to keep us from getting to go. I still sometimes say "we're planning to go" or "if we go" rather than "we ARE going."

Does anyone else feel this way when planning a trip? When do you finally feel like it's really going to happen? When do you just feel excited instead of anxious?

Chapters:
Who is Going to WDW?
What I look like (In case you want to know)
What Resort Did We Choose?
ADRs and Which Park Each Day
Why we're going to Disney and How we Saved for it.
Disney Shopping Spree (Part 1, probably)
Crowd Calendar Changes and Quick Service Deliberations
Holiday Weekend Thoughts mini update
Coming up with Ways to Save... Maybe
My Ears (and other Random stuff)
Thoughts and feelings from me and my Travel companions + BOG Breakfast
Thoughts from Holiday World
REDcard Thoughts and Movie Nights
#Goals
Daily Itineraries, Days 1-4
Daily Itineraries Days 5-7
Fast Pass Plus Plans (mini update)
Last minute FastPass Question
FastPass Recap
Thoughts from Cedar Point
Maybe it's starting to feel. . . Dare I say? . . . Real!
And Shopping Spree (Part 2)
Only a Month Away!
MAGIC BANDS!!!
Feels Unreal, But in a Good Way!
And some thoughts about snacks
Setbacks, Achievements, and Final Thoughts​

 

[Shanti]

On November 14th my husband and I will be taking our first Disney Trip together. I haven't been in about 10 years and he hasn't been for over 20. (By the way, we are both in our early 20s, so he doesn't remember it at all!)

We booked in late January, I think, but ever since then, I have felt such... dread. I don't know if that's the right word, but I'm so nervous. In my mind, it still seems impossible, probably since we're young and poor and spent so long saving and donating plasma for extra cash. I keep thinking that something is going to happen to keep us from getting to go. I still sometimes say "we're planning to go" or "if we go" rather than "we ARE going."

Does anyone else feel this way when planning a trip? When do you finally feel like it's really going to happen? When do you just feel excited instead of anxious?

I hope you're joking about the plasma, because as much as I love WDW, it definitely isn't worth that.

I know the trip is real once I've booked the resort and the flights. I really start feeling like I'm on vacation when we arrive at the airport on the way to.

In your case, I imagine once you've paid for the resort and transportation (or whatever you're required to pay for in advance depending on how you're managing this trip), it will become real for you.

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

I hope you're joking about the plasma, because as much as I love WDW, it definitely isn't worth that.

I know the trip is real once I've booked the resort and the flights. I really start feeling like I'm on vacation when we arrive at the airport on the way to.

In your case, I imagine once you've paid for the resort and transportation (or whatever you're required to pay for in advance depending on how you're managing this trip), it will become real for you.

We booked our flights. Still have to pay for the whole package itself, but we have the money ready to go for that. We put our $200 down to reserve our hotel.

And no... I'm not joking about donating plasma! My husband and I both went off and on for about 4 months and made over well over $1000 doing it. I even read The Unofficial Guide to WDW while laying in the chair with the needle in my arm. It's not that bad, really, and I'm pretty squeamish when it comes to blood and poking and stuff. Lol.

 

[Vowelmommy]

I think getting it paid off in full will help it feel like a sure thing. I hope you guys have a magical trip!!

 

[cjbcam]

I always feel that way until we are on our way to the airport. Once on the plane is when the actual excitement comes because we are on our way. Our first real family trip was to Disney World 5 years ago and it seemed surreal until we were checking in to POR. You guys will have so much fun!!

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

Starting to feel a little better because my brother booked a trip to go with us at the same time. It seems silly, but adding another person to the mix will make it less likely that we flake out or something. Plus, now, all three of us can be excited together.

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

Who is going to WDW?​

1. Myself! My name is Elizabeth, I'm 22 right now and will be 23 when we're in the World. I will say right off that I am not a "Disney Fanatic" or anything like that. But I love the classics (Dumbo, Cinderella, etc.) and keep up with the new ones (Moana, Big Hero 6, etc.) I also love WDW. The last time I went was 2007, when I was 12, the summer after 7th grade. The time before that was 2001, when I was 6, the summer after 1st grade. The first trip was pretty lack luster. My family only spent one day at the MK and it rained for a long time. The other family we were travelling with wanted their money's worth at the buffet, so we wasted 2 hours at Crystal Palace. I peed my pants. I was already so wet from the rain that no one noticed. I still cried though. . . The second trip was, dare I say? magical. My family went for 9 glorious days. My brother and I held hands and skipped into Epcot on our first day. We were there for long enough, we could actually relax. I loved it and have been itching to return.
2. My husband! His name is Jacob, he's 23 and will be turning 24 shortly after we return from the World. He is also not a "Disney Fanatic." He enjoys the movies like I do and indulges me when I want to go to the Disney Store and buy a Dumbo plush out of the blue. He is quite excited for our trip to Disney though, because, for all intents and purposes, he has never been. Also, it was pretty rare for him growing up to get to go on big family vacations at all, so this will be one of the first big vacations he has ever taken. I think he will be really impressed with the Disney magic and hopefully he will be convinced it was worth the money and the plasma donating!
3. My brother! His name is Kyle, he's 25 and single, ladies. *wink wink* My brother was truly my best friend growing up. I moved away to college and he stayed home with my parents. He's still there, thinking about buying a house, or getting a new car. I told him, hey, don't waste your money on that stuff and come spend some time at Disney with Jacob and me instead! And my brother said yes. I think he was secretly hoping that we would ask him to come when we first started planning, since he wouldn't have any other excuse to go to Disney World on his own. He didn't have to think too hard before agreeing to spend a couple thousand dollars on a trip with us. I'm really excited that he's decided to come along!

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

By the way, this is what my husband and I look like:

This is us at a little zoo in Indiana. We took a mini vacation about two weeks ago to a B&B and enjoyed a few local treats while there. It was very relaxing, and a good tide-me-over until Disney World!​

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

What Resort Did We Choose?

Port Orleans French Quarter!

We waffled back and forth about this for quite a while. We were actually decided on Riverside, then right before we booked, we changed our minds. It really came down to the beignets offered at FQ! (JK jk, but seriously!)

I mean, come on.

And the fact that it’s smaller and thus a shorter walk to the food court, lobby, transportation, etc, helped us decide. We were looking at the Port Orleans resorts because all the reviews of them are pretty much glowing and we thought the photos we had seen of both resorts were gorgeous:

I think you'll agree, by looking at this image below, that it definitely would have been a tough decision judging by external appearance alone. I love the style of architecture at Riverside.

We wanted to go Moderate since this trip is a bit of a splurge but we could not really afford Deluxe. My brother probably could, and he did consider it, but he decided to save the money and stay at the same resort as us. My husband and I will be staying in a King Bed Suite. We are more than excited to visit fake New Orleans and hopefully will get the chance to enjoy the resort while we’re there.
​

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

What park each day and Dining Plan plans!​

We will be enjoying the standard DDP this trip. We did not want to worry about budgeting separately for food and it’s very convenient to have paid for all the food ahead of time. While we're there, free dining will be happening, but it's not available at POFQ and now they only offer the QS dining plan with moderate resorts instead of standard anyway. We want table service!

We have already made all of our ADRs, at least our preliminary ADRs. They were a pain in the neck to get. 180 days out, certain restaurants weren't open for reservations yet, like Liberty Tree, Crystal Palace, and Akershus. It was nerve-wracking and the back-ups we had planned weren't preferable, except for our Akershus back-up, which was Via Napoli, which I hear is good.

Our TA was the one to wake up at 6:00 am to try to book our preferences and her back ups that she booked were 1900 Park Faire, Tony's Town Square, Cinderella's Royal Table. We were kind of all over the place and they didn't make sense. The reservations she had would have us leaving the parks during fireworks or going to a park we weren't planning to be at that day. It's all part of the fun and stress of a WDW vacation, right?

After she made her picks, I went on MDE later and re-arranged some stuff. I changed Tony's for Skipper Canteen. I was the one who booked the Via Napoli back-up. I was still not pleased.

Anyway, I used the reservation finder on touringplans and was able to get everything I wanted. . . even if not at the exact time of day I preferred.

Here are our plans for ADRs so far:

· Monday 11/13/17—My Brother’s Arrival—Dinner at Biergarten in Epcot

· Tuesday 11/14/17—Our Arrival—Dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern @5:15 in MK (and MVMCP that night!!!!)

· Wednesday 11/15/17—Epcot Day 1—Dinner at Teppan Edo @ 7:00

· Thursday 11/16/17—First full day at the MK—Lunch at Crystal Palace @ 12:20

· Friday 11/17/17—Animal Kingdom—Leaving park after Rivers of Light to go to Disney Springs—Dinner at Chef Art Smith’s Homecoming 8:00 (hoping we have enough time to finish ROL before we have to get on the way to DS for our reservation. . .)

· Saturday 11/18/17—My Brother’s Departure day— just me and the hubby at DHS—Dinner at 50s Prime Time Diner @ 6:45, brings back memories of the last time I was in WDW! It was my favorite meal.

· Sunday 11/19/17—Second Full Day at the MK—lunch at Be Our Guest @12:15 —leave for a break and an early dinner at ‘Ohana @ 3:50—back for the Fireworks at MK in the evening—Trying to see about moving BOG to breakfast since I hear it's a better value on the DDP and our dinner reservation is only 3 and a half hours later. I want to be HUNGRY for 'Ohana!

· Monday 11/20/17—Epcot Day 2—Lunch at Akershus @ 12:30— Probably going to park hop that evening, either to AK to see Pandora at night and to catch ROL if we missed it on Friday OR to the MK to see the fireworks one more time and to be in front of the castle.

· Tuesday 11/21/17—Our Departure Day

I'm most looking forward to 'Ohana and Homecomin' myself. I mean, I'm excited for all of them! But these will be new to me.
My brother is looking forward to Crystal Palace the most, I think because of nostalgia.
And my husband is excited for Akershus because he's excited to try Norwegian cuisine (though I'm sure it's pretty Americanized...)​

Will update on the counter service meal options later.​

 

[Lauren Loves Mickey]

I really hope your trip goes amazingly! I can relate to the feeling of when does it become real. We are taking our first trip in November - and we are still working on the details of paying off the trip and getting down there but GOING TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. [: Sounds like you have an awesome trip planned. I had considered donating plasma to earn extra money but I am scared to death of needles and such. I am currently using apps and stuff to earn free gift cards and jumping on any money saving deals on gift cards to save as much money as we can for the trip.

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

I really hope your trip goes amazingly! I can relate to the feeling of when does it become real. We are taking our first trip in November - and we are still working on the details of paying off the trip and getting down there but GOING TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. [: Sounds like you have an awesome trip planned. I had considered donating plasma to earn extra money but I am scared to death of needles and such. I am currently using apps and stuff to earn free gift cards and jumping on any money saving deals on gift cards to save as much money as we can for the trip.

Yeah, I have never found apps/surveys to be very reliable for me. It takes hours and constant checking to even make a few bucks. I am on the google cross media panel. That gives you $1/week for every device you have it on, up to 3. So Computer, tablet, smart phone. That's the only one I use because I don't have to do anything to earn the money. They just track what you search. Which is a lot of disney related stuff. LOL. I use that to make little fun purchases and stuff off amazon. But I'm glad apps work well for you.

And I totally relate to the needle thing. I am actually pretty squeamish about blood and all that. But it's a super reliable way to make a little extra cash. About $75/wk per person, depending on where you go. I can get over the needle thing for an otherwise painless process. Plus, it helps burn victims and stuff like that, so you can feel good about yourself.

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

Why go to Disney? And how did we save for it?

In January of 2016, my husband and I started getting serious about taking a trip to Disney World. We had talked about it before, but then, we started building little vacation packages on the website and trying to figure out how much a trip would cost. I made it a goal to save $52 for the first week of the year, then $51 the next week, so on and so forth through the year and by the end of it all, we would have saved, by that method alone, almost half of what would be needed for a trip!

At that time I had a horrible job that paid barely anything. I was a consultant at a bridal gown and prom dress boutique. I was waiting for my husband to finish college so we could move away from our college town and I could finally get a new job and everything would be better. I was pretty depressed at the time. Fantasizing about a trip to Disney was something I would do to try and feel a little better, but back then, I felt like it would never happen.

Then in May we finally did move to our current home in Louisville for my husband to go to grad school. I got another horrible job. And our rent was more expensive. Saving for Disney was seriously put on hold. And I was even more depressed than ever. I honestly hated Louisville. The only good thing about being in Louisville was getting our puppy, Philo.

I then got a new job in August, which was great. I work at a call center for newspapers and I love my job, even though our customers are grumpy. Still hated Louisville, but now that I had a more decent paying job, Disney was back on, and back on in full swing. I told my husband, “we have to fixate,” meaning, we have to be obsessed about planning our trip, or we’ll start spending our money on stupid stuff and we’ll be spending the next 40 years saving for this trip.

In November, we started donating plasma to save even more money for our trip. I started getting paid commission at work. We were able to save the rest of the money for our trip in a few months. It was my goal to have the money so we could book by April for a trip in November. We actually booked our trip in February. And we stopped donating plasma, even though the extra money was nice.

That’s the story of how we saved our money for Disney. It was a lot of hard work, and there were set-backs for sure, like repairing my husband’s car, and paying for his schooling. But we did it and I’m proud that we did.

I still have a hard time in Louisville. I'm a little lonely being away from family and old friends. I was thinking about it last night and how much I miss everyone. But Disney has been something to look forward to. I try to live in the now as much as possible, and not wish the present away, but when I have nothing to keep me going, I feel stuck. So Disney is the next big thing! In the meantime, I'm trying to enjoy myself as much as possible.

​

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[TheRichFam]

PO is still our favorite resort. We prefer POR, but POFQ is beautiful, too. My wife is gluten free and the beignets at POFQ can be made gf, so we typically end up making the trip over there so she can eat beignets while I eat red beans and rice!

 

[Shrfleen]

We will be going the same week as you!

I start to feel its real and going to happen once its paid off and transportation is arranged. I'm very anxious this trip because my aunt and cousins are joining us but are not arriving the same day.

I try to save money by not eating out, saving all change and cashing it in, planning my checks so the bills are broken up and then taking part of what is left and putting it in savings. I have about $700 left on my portion of the trip and I hope I can pay it off soon because I'll need to save for souvenirs. Once it is paid off I will be less stressed.

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

PO is still our favorite resort. We prefer POR, but POFQ is beautiful, too. My wife is gluten free and the beignets at POFQ can be made gf, so we typically end up making the trip over there so she can eat beignets while I eat red beans and rice!

That's a nice added benefit! Maybe someday we'll be able to go back and try POR too. It was such a hard choice, but in the end I figured it didn't really matter because either resort is very well loved and it's Disney, so come on!

We will be going the same week as you!

I start to feel its real and going to happen once its paid off and transportation is arranged. I'm very anxious this trip because my aunt and cousins are joining us but are not arriving the same day.

I try to save money by not eating out, saving all change and cashing it in, planning my checks so the bills are broken up and then taking part of what is left and putting it in savings. I have about $700 left on my portion of the trip and I hope I can pay it off soon because I'll need to save for souvenirs. Once it is paid off I will be less stressed.

We've been saving our change and rolling it. That's mostly what we'll use for souvenirs. That, and Disney Reward Points. But my birthday is in August, so if my parents/grandparents give me any money for my birthday, and they usually do, then I will save that cash too. I've been reading up on how much to bring and I'm going to shoot to save $300/400. Which I hope will be enough! When I went as a kid, my parents gave me a spending allowance of about $100 to spend while there, which was more than enough. But I'm grown now, so I will probably want to spend a little more.

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

Disney Shopping Spree (Part 1, probably)
Since my husband and I have started planning this trip, we have been coming up with different things that we will definitely need to purchase for our trip. Here are some of the things we have purchased with our trip in mind (so far. . . )

Shoes, 2 pairs for me, and a pair for DH:

Not the most glamorous shoes, but we wanted some that were comfortable and breathable. I've been wearing my shoes for about a month now to local amusement parks and they hold up pretty well and are easy on my feet.

Cute Shorts (I might wear to dinner at 'Ohana):

A Dress to wear to Akershus:

Shirts for DH (given to him on our second wedding anniversary)

New phone (this was not really a Disney specific thing, but this new phone will really help since my old phone could not take pics):

We bought some other things that I don't have pictures of like the material to make homemade Minnie Mouse ears! I have already made 2 super cute pairs of ears. I made one sort of tropical pair with fake flowers on it to wear to 'Ohana. I don't know how good they will look with the shorts, so I may revise my plans later. My husband has also purchased me 2 other pairs which he gave me on our anniversary. One he bought on Amazon and the other pair from Etsy. The ones from Etsy I plan to wear with my new yellow dress to Akershus. I'll make a whole post showing my ears off, I think. Maybe I'll do a look book for my whole week, who knows?

We also bought some mystery pin packs and other pin packs from ebay. They were all in original packaging so I know they are real and not scrappers. I really want to try pin trading this trip and we have 31 in total to trade. I think I'll make a separate post about that later to show off all the pins we have, which ones I like and which ones I can't wait to get rid of!

I will share my plans for future shopping and make a proper wish list for more Disney stuff in a future post.​

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

Crowd Calendar Changes and Quick Service Deliberations
I got an email from touring plans updating me on some changes to the crowd calendar predictions during our trip. I highlighted the changes that will be effecting us/the parks we were planning to visit on those days.

I'm pretty pleased, because it looks like only one updated to be more crowded, and even then it's a day at Epcot, which I hear absorbs crowds pretty well anyway. I think we have made good decisions with which parks we will be visiting on each day.

To recap, in case anyone forgot:
11/14/17 -- MK
11/15/17 -- Epcot
11/16/17 -- MK
11/17/17 -- AK
11/18/17 -- DHS
11/19/17 -- MK
11/20/17 -- Epcot

We may park hop on some days, and on some days we are specifically planning to, but those are the main parks each day.

With all that said, I am going to need some help deliberating with some of my QS restaurant choices. Some I'm pretty settled on, but others, I just don't know anything about . . . Feel free to weigh in on the choices I have made
​

​

• Tuesday 11/14/17 — None, Arrival day​
• Wednesday 11/15/17—Tangierine Café in Epcot? Open to other counter service, but like this idea since it’s not basic American fare.​
• Thursday 11/16/17—Maybe park hop after MK to DHS and eat at PizzeRizzo? Open to other suggestions​
• Friday 11/17/17—Flame Tree BBQ in AK​
• Saturday 11/18/17—Backlot Express for lunch? Again, open to change.​
• Sunday 11/19/17—Lunch at Be Our Guest, as mentioned in our other dining plan post, and hoping still to be able to change to a breakfast reservation.​
• Monday 11/20/17—Maybe park hop in the evening after Epcot? Either to have QS at Harambe Market in AK or at Pecos Bill in MK. This is flexible and may change that day! Who knows?​
• Tuesday 11/21/17—QS breakfast at our resort before we head to the airport to leave the happiest place on Earth.​

Here is a table of my current dining and park selections if it is easier to view in this format:

The bolded options are the ones I have ADRs for.
Please, Disney Experts and Veterans, weigh in! Let me know what you would do.

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[Elizabeth Smith]

Holiday Weekend Thoughts mini update​

• 
  On Saturday 7/1/17 I woke up feeling really dizzy, with the room spinning. (My eyes were actually moving, which I think is called nystagmus?) And I was nauseous. I went to urgent care after a few hours of it not improving and got some anti-nausea and equilibrium/anti-dizziness pills, which kind of helped but not really. The last time this had happened, I felt better within an hour. It was not until the next day that I felt better this time. This concerns me, obviously, for various reasons. But since this is a Disney-related board, I will say that I have concerns about waking up dizzy and sick in Disney. It's a lot of money to spend on a vacation to not be able to ride anything because I am already woozy. We shall see and hopefully this will not happen again.
  
  So on Sunday 7/2/17, I skipped church because I was still spinny, but started to recover later. My husband and I drove to Cincinnati to hang out with my brother some friends at a grill-out. I called Disney in the car on way to said get-together, because I wanted to un-decline my magic band and MDE wasn't letting me. I had previously declined it because I had gotten a fancy Dumbo magic band for Christmas, but it was the magic band 1.0, and I wanted to get a new one as well so that I can use two while we’re there/have a backup for myself. The Disney reps themselves were not very magical. “You know you have like 100 days left to customize these, right?” And I was left on hold for long periods, then the call disconnected. And when I called back I was told it had been fixed already. . . Good hold music, though. "It's a small world after all..." Got stuck in my head! And the reps were friendly/nice enough. I work at call center as a coach, so am a little critical of call center reps/procedures. Leaving customers on hold/leaving long spaces of silence while you're typing is kind of frowned upon. . .
  
  The get-together was nice. We watched The Conjuring 2, which was not as scary as the first one, but had a better story.

• 
  Half-day at work on Monday. Helped clean up the apartment a little because we were having a friend to visit and he was arriving that night.
  
  On the fourth, we all went to our local park, Kentucky Kingdom, which I have a season pass to. Not the most amazing park overall, but they have a really good water park. Walking around KY Kingdom and then walking to the firework/4th of July Festival in my area, up the hill no-less, kind of tuckered me out. Switched from sandals to tennis shoes mid day helped my feet feel a little better. May want to remember this strategy for Disney. Took my puppy to the fireworks and he was really well behaved. . . Actually, we had left him at home alone and I was worried as to how scared he might be by himself. I felt guilty and drove back home to get him, walked from where we parked, up the street, back up the hill, now carrying my lazy dog . . . I was really tired! I'm just now feeling less sleepy today. I need to work on walking or else Disney will kill me!
  
  
  Hope all of you had a safe and Happy 4th of July!
  
  I'll have a more Disney-specific planning post coming later.

 

[momabaarjo]

Yay a couple trip in November...just like us however you are A LOT younger. I have to admit that the beignets totally tip the scale for me too. I LOVE POFQ! It is the perfect moderate resort...besides the beignets the size and the charm are real winners in my book!

Personally I would stay with the BOG lunch vs changing it for breakfast, after all you really must try the grey stuff cause the dishes are right it is delicious!

As far as other locations...I am looking forward to trying the new place in Avatar...
Satu'li Canteen. In Magic Kingdom my favorite is Sleepy Hollow (love the chicken and waffle). My favorite way to dine in Epcot is a snack serving in each country split with someone...try the entire World. There is not much that interests me in DHS right now...