Where do you want to go for your college grad trip? DISNEY WORLD!

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Hi everyone!! This is my first big trip report. I did one a while ago from my spring break 2006 when I spent the day at WDW with some friends. But this one is a bit more exciting and I hope some people read it. I'm sorry I'm not married or have cute little kids in my pictures but for those with college kids might want to read this and if your bored you might want to as well!

Background Info

~Cast:
Me-22, college graduate!
Bro-20, college junior
Dad
Mom

~Here is some background info for everyone and some reasons why we were taking the trip. Every year we go to WDW my dad always says we are never going back and we do. We typically go in late June/early July which has taken a toll on my parents so when I said I wanted to go to WDW for my grad present, they agreed if we went in May, not only in May but 12 hours after my graduation! It was tough graduating, packing, moving out, moving home, and packing for vacation!

I have never posted pics but I'll try, so here are some from my college graduation on 5/11:

--my aunt and uncle went to wdw at easter and got me the graduation cap and had it mailed to my house for graduation day. My roommate ordered the mickey somewhere online but they have smaller ones at wdw as well as antenna toppers.

NEXT INSTALLMENT:

Packing for WDW and trip info!!!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

~For those of you who havent been scared away yet, here's my next installment!

May 12, 2007

We left for PIT airport at 10am for a 1:30 flight b/c we had ticket issues with the Orbitz company so we wanted to arrive in plenty of time. Parked the car, got a shuttle, walked right up to the counter and got our boarding passes and seat assignments w/o any trouble then headed to TGIFridays for lunch before our flight.

We boarded the flight around 1pm. I love nonstop flights to WDW, mainly b/c of the small kinds that are on the plane and they are so excited and I just love seeing their expressions like my brother and I had when we were little and went to WDW. After a 2 1/2 flight from the 'burg, we were at MCO. Here's some pics on the plane and at DME check-in.

Check-in went very smooth. We walked right up to the counter and went right into the line which WL was with CR which made sense b/c of their location and I had read you tend to make multiple stops depending on the resort. So everything was going smooth and my dad said this was pretty cool and what could go wrong....well, he spoke too soon!

Up next: DME, just semi magical for the ppl going to WL

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

After we got checked-in and got situated in our line (about 4 families infront of ours) we were then led to our bus about 5 mins later but then we noticed that the Poly and GF line was with ours as well on the same bus (prolly b/c they were not busy AT ALL). But it sure did fill our bus up and from many visits to WDW we knew that WL was the first hotel in the MK area so we assumed we would get let off first but nope!

Normally, they say that you should be to your resort within an hr or so..we were 2+hrs. Our driver which who was new I guess, made 4 wrong turns within the MK area, made two wrong turns at Poly just itsself, 1 wrong turn at WL, and we quickly found out we were the last resort to get dropped off. First was Poly then GF, CR, and FINALLY WL. I'm assuming that during the summer/busy times they dont pile several resorts like that on the bus. Map wise, it would have been quicker to start with WL but at least we made it there in one piece!

Well in any event the DME was not so magical for us and my dad at one point was ready to take over controls of the bus lol. At that point we just hoped for small check-in lines, the room we had booked/paid for, and then to head off to MK for the night.

So we figured after the bus troubles, we felt we were clear to go until check-in.

Next Installment: Since when did a courtyard/bunkbed room face the woods??

 

[WDW Fan]

Sounds like a tough start - I hope things went smoother as the night went on. It doesn't sound like you got the room at WL that you were hoping for. Congratulations on your college graduation!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Oooh, I'll definitely be reading this one! I had graduation today, so I'm a little tired right now (but the title caught my eye!), but this sounds exciting! I wish I could be going to Disney World for my graduation! Congrats on graduating!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Well after the bus horrors, we finally made it to WL and check-in. We had booked our room in early Dec. with a courtyard/bunkbed room. The past 2 visits we had booked woods and were given a courtyard (loves the disney magic!) so as we walked up to the first room on the fourth floor, I quickly noticed that the room was not facing the courtyard based on the numbers, so we entered and opened the curtain to find a nice view of woods with a small view of the villas pool so dad quickly called the front desk to speak to the manager who appologized about the misunderstanding of the view so we gathered up our carry-ons and headed back to the front desk and were given a "main pool courtyard" room 3149.

Although the room situation set us back a 1/2 hr or so, we got the ticket and DDP info, left our carry-ons in the room and headed to MK via boat. We never go to a park the first day unless we have an early flight but due to the park closing at 10 and it only costing $2.00 more to get in we decided to head to the park. We arrived around 6:30, got some photo pass pics and headed to Adventureland for POTC. Afterwards we rode SM, BTM a few times each, and Hall of Pres. We also ate at Columbia Harbour House for our CS (yummo!) and then stood by SM and watched the Spectro Magic Parade and headed to Main Street to watch Wishes. I still get chills every time I see Wishes!!

Heres some pics of the first nite there:

NEXT INSTALLMENT: EE and some DINOSAURS!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Sounds like a tough start - I hope things went smoother as the night went on. It doesn't sound like you got the room at WL that you were hoping for. Congratulations on your college graduation!

It was a rough start, its hard going from being rental car ppl to depending on WDWs transportation but we survived but def. missed the freedom of our own rental car transportation!!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Oooh, I'll definitely be reading this one! I had graduation today, so I'm a little tired right now (but the title caught my eye!), but this sounds exciting! I wish I could be going to Disney World for my graduation! Congrats on graduating!

Congrats on ur graduation!!!! I still havent gotten over that mine is over, prolly cuz I'll be back in the fall to student teach so I'm done but not totally!

 

[lazidazi07]

Congratulations on your graduation! My trip is a late grad trip so I share your excitement! Love to read trip reports that dont feature little kiddos sometimes!

 

[KidGoofy]

Congrats on Graduating. This trip report is really fun. Thanks for sharing

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Thanks for all who are interested, and here I thought mine would be boring without cute little kid pics lol. I could dust some off from the late 80s early 90s lol.

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Hello everyone!! Thanks again for show interest! Here's my next installment...

May 13, 2007
Info: morning @ AK and CS at the Flame Tree BBQ

The call from Stitch came at 7:30 am, we figured we would leave by 8:30 to get there for the 9am opening...boy were we wrong! Apparently along the way someone didn't tell my family to allow at least an hr for the bus travel so we arrived around 9:30ish and headed right to EE. Heres some pics from our first morn. at WL:

It was the first time for my family to ride EE b/c I rode in March 2006 on a day trip to WDW while on Spring Break with my roommate and some other friends so this was quite exciting to see the reaction of my family and it was a hit b/c we then rode it another 4 times lol. Heres some pics from it and from KS:

After our long day at AK, we headed back to the hotel to shower and get ready for our Mothers Day dinner at LTT w/minnie, goofy, pluto, chip, and dale......

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

When we got back to WL, we had all gotten ready for our 6:30 ADR at
LTT for Mothers Day dinner but at 5:00 we got a knock on the door...it was the WL room service with a special cake we ordered for my mom for Mothers Day from the WCC bakery. The cake was chocolate with chocolate moose (as we call it!) and it was around $18.00 with about 8 pieces depending on how u cut it. Heres some pics of it (sorry mom cut it before i could get a pic!):

After the cake surprise we headed on the boat to MK for LTT and Wishes! and some rides too...

~Needless to say by the end of the day I was dead! I had sprained and had a small fracture on my ankle back late March so this was the first time since before my accident that I was walking long distances for long periods of time, so by the end of the trip, I was pretty much dead and cant wait till my next pedicure!

Next Installment: Fish and Chips and a Drive-In Dinner

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Loving your report so far! I don't think it is boring at all. It is refreshing to read a report about a trip with all adults. I will be travelling to WDW this summer with my family as well, no little kids along for the ride so it is great getting to read about your trip as it should be a similar experience to ours. We are even staying at the same hotel and going to celebrate my brothers HS grad.

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Hi everyone!! sorry its taking me forever to do this TR. I've been down at my school to do training for my summer job and I forgot to take my camera for my pics but I'll try and work on some of it before I head to beddy!

 

[Keyana]

Enjoying your TR so far. I love reading adult only TR's. DH and I are going in Dec and have never been without little ones, so I really enjoy TR of others. Also enjoying your pictures.
Thanks for taking time to put up a report.

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Monday May 14, 2007

We did the morning/afternoon at Epcot and night at MGM. We always seem to miss the F&G show when we go in late June so I was excited to get to see all of the characters in flowers! For lunch we ate at the Fish and Chips place in England. It was yummo but nothing really special that you couldnt get at your local LJS fast food. We also rode most of the popular rides except MS but we did get to ride Soarin about 4 times (3 w/o a fast pass). And we rode TT twice (1 with a fast pass).

We like to try new things or experience things we havent done when we go to WDW so I basically made my parents and brother go to Character Connection for pics with the characters. We also tried out the Cola place near by to taste the different pops (sorry its a Pittsburgh saying!) from around the world. You will be able to tell when craig tasted Beverly.

Next Installment: MGM and a Drive-In!!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Congrats on ur graduation!!!! I still havent gotten over that mine is over, prolly cuz I'll be back in the fall to student teach so I'm done but not totally!

Oh, haha, I'm student teaching in the fall too actually! But it is still weird to think that I'm done with classes forever! Loving your report!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Great update! I love when people pull the Beverly trick on their family. I plan on getting my brother with it this trip!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Hi everyone, I'm back!! This has been a crazy week for me. I had to work at the amusement park for 2 days and then I was down in Pittsburgh helping my roommate and her family pack boxes cuz they are moving to SC at the end of the month so I have been w/o a computer and Dis!!! but here some more goodies to read about!!

Sci-Fi and Fantasmic!!
Normally we go to Sci-Fi for lunch but since it was the first time being on the DDP, dad wanted to save as much $ as possible so we ate mostly dinners as our TS. As it turned out we went above and beyond the 25-27$ amounts for our TS on most meals. Anyways at Sci-Fi, we had about a 15 min wait until our table was ready. We all enjoyed the WONDERFUL milkshakes that you can get as a drink on the DDP. You can get all non-alcoholic drinks as ur drink on the DDP. Other than that and the desserts, the food was just so-so. Afterwards we decided next time we will stick to lunch there like we always have. Our server was on the CP from Russia and it broke our hearts when she told us she loved America and loved being here b/c she can get food and she feels safe. Needless to say she is trying to stay in the US after the CP.

After dinner we rode some of the rides and used our fast passes since the park was really crowded and it was EMH too. We decided that we would see the 9:00 showing of Fantasimic so we could ride during the next show. Well we decided that we would take the 2nd row seats b/c they opened them up due to the crowds and boy was that a mistake. I think I got more wet watching that show than riding SM once!! It was horrible. I took one pic of Mickey and then the water started flying so I put my camera away. I didnt know that I needed my water camera for the show!! Anways heres some pics from that nite!

Up Next: TL and Some Italians!!