Year Off From Disney, Big Mistake

[disneydork409]

to my first trip report!

To start off, I haven’t been in over 2 years. I have been having serious withdrawals. I feel bad for my boyfriend because I seriously talk about nothing but Disney. My family and I have been going every year since I was in 7th grade. In my signature I have all of our trips listed. You could say I’m very obsessed with Disney. I’m writing this while I’m taking a break from studying for Midterms… (Also am listening to Disney music)

We (my parents) are also DVC members. We (they) own at Animal Kingdom and BoardWalk.

We like snacks. We would rather eat snacks all day than eat lunch. However, dinner is also important.

I guess I should give you a quick overview of our upcoming trip!

Who?

These are pictures from our cruise in December 2012


Me, Adam, and Emily

Me, Deanna, 20 years old (but I've been told I am really still 5 ). College sophomore, Hotel Restaurant Tourism Management Major. Favorites: Ride: Toy Story Mania, Snack: Turkey Leg, Character: Dumbo, Park: Magic Kingdom, Restaurant: ‘Ohanas, Resort: Beach Club.

Brother, Adam. He is the baby and we all love him and are going to miss him a lot! He’s staying at our grandparent’s house for the week, he also has school. 13 years old, 8th grade, but he will not be joining us on this trip. Favorites: Ride: Dinosaur, Snack: Churros, Character: Woody, Resort: Beach Club.

Sister, Emily. Not as obsessed as Mom and me, but she’s still obsessed. We’re both going to have a difficult time studying for Midterms while dreaming of Disney… 18 years old College Freshman, Management Major. Favorites: Ride: Splash Mountain, Food: ‘Ohana’s dumplings, Character: Stitch and Donald Duck, Park: Magic Kingdom. And I quote “And the new FantasyLand! I’m so excited. I also love being able to walk to EPCOT, and I think BoardWalk will be my favorite resort. Although I’ve always like the Contemporary.”


The parents

Mom. The person who came up with the idea of us getting DVC, now we have a good excuse to go every year! She is the pin trader of our family. She also got me into the Dis and is the one who is encouraging me to do this trip report. Favorites: Ride: Winnie the Pooh, Snack: Coffee float (MK), Character: Tinkerbell, Resort: Bay Lake Tower.

Dad. He’s happy if everyone’s happy. He can make Mickey and Goofy voices! He’s also the only guy going on this trip, so he’s going to have to deal with our giggles and squeals. Favorites: Park: Animal Kingdom, Character: Tigger and Goofy, Snack: Coffee float, Restaurant: ‘Ohanas, Resort: Wilderness Lodge.


Fifi and Papa (Mom's parents) They will not be joining us on this trip, but they will be going with us in December.


Group picture from our November 2009 trip with Grama (Dad's Mom). That was the first time she’d been to Disney!

Why?

Our parents and Adam went to Disney with one of Adam’s friend’s family. It was their first time going to Disney. So because of that trip, our parents were not planning on doing this trip at all, but Emily and I kind of begged and well…we got what we wanted. We are all very sad that Adam isn't going with us. We are also going this December while all of us are out of school so we can go together.

Here's some proof that they were actually there in November 2013


When? Where?

March 15-21, 2014. During the college Spring Break. We are staying at BoardWalk Villas. Yes, spring break. We are scared of the crowds and hope it won’t be too bad. But we are prepared for the long waits. We are also from colder weather, so right now we honestly just want some sun.

What?

Usually we use the dining plan, but this trip we’re going to try the Tables in Wonderland. We never eat everything that we are required to under that plan. Emily and Mom are planning on sharing most of their meals. Also this way we can eat more snacks.

This is our original day-by-day plan and we’re probably going to stick to it.

Saturday:
Plane takes off around 6PM and we’ll be in Orlando around 9PM.
Check into BoardWalk Villas.

Sunday:
Magic Kingdom. FastPasses for Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Peter Pan’s Flight.
Dinner at Be Our Guest Restaurant.

Monday:
EPCOT. FastPasses for Test Track, Soarin’, and Living with the Land.
Dinner at Tutto Italia Ristorante.

Tuesday:
Animal Kingdom. FastPasses for Dinosaur, Everest, and Kilimanjaro Safaris.
Dinner at ‘Ohana.

Wednesday:
DHS (We still call it MGM…) FastPasses for Toy Story Midway Mania, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours.
Dinner at Chefs de France (subject to change).

Thursday:
MK. FastPasses at Winnie the Pooh, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean.
Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern.

Friday:
Check-Out
I’m already dreading this day.

I have to tell you right now that all of us are OBSESSED with Disney food. Also we all require coffee to survive. So a warning, most of my pictures will probably be food related. SNACKS. Also I am going to be taking pictures with my iPhone, my regular camera is waaay outdated. Another warning, I can be random and can ramble. I’ll try to keep it to a minimum

I hope you enjoy our trip as much as I can bet we will! Without further ado, sit back (or lean hunched forward as I do on my computer ) and relax and enjoy my report! Have a magical day!
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[disneydork409]

I am going totally stir crazy in my dorm room. I went through the application process to become an RA, I will find out the results the first week of April. I’m hoping for the best (obviously). (Later update: I didn’t get the position. But that’s fine with me) I also had two midterms, Monday and Tuesday, and only two homework assignments which I finished this morning… We also got the snowstorm today, we’re looking at 12-24 inches of snow! (Elsa, calm down we’re on our way!) My college canceled classes after 4PM today which didn't help me any since my last class today started at 3:30PM I’m hoping they cancel tomorrow’s classes! However, whether I have classes tomorrow or not I’m still not going home until Friday.

We’re also happy the storm should be over with by tomorrow, because our flight is on Saturday. If only the storm was a few days later or our vacation was a few days either, we might not have been able to go to Disney! I would’ve been very depressed.



Lately I haven’t been having much of an appetite. So I’ve been trying to “train” for Disney. I didn’t end up eating the cinnamon bun until later. This training isn’t working, I can’t eat much. HOWEVER when I am at Disney I will eat until I feel like I’m going to explode. …okay, that’s probably not a good idea, but I’m not going to hold back! Emily says that my appetite will probably be bigger there, I certainly hope so!

Oh fun story of the day. I decided to wear my good boots because of obvious weather reasons. I live on the third floor of my building so I have to take the stairs. I made it to the last set of stairs and I slid down them, landing on my back and hitting my head. I just laid there for a few second and I didn’t realize what happened at first because it all happened so fast. Luckily Emily came to my rescue. I’m fairly certain that I don’t have a concussion, but I did have a headache for a few hours. Yay…

I have had lots of stress this past week, haven’t been eating much, and now I have actually fallen. I am in major need of a vacation!
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[disneydork409]

Update on my fall: I have a massive bruise on my elbow.
Update on college: Classes were cancelled today!

Mom told me she got me a present, she’s going to give it to me tomorrow but she won’t tell me what it is… I can apparently wear it, so I’m assuming it’s some sort of Disney jewelry.

Well, I finished packing today and it’s only 2:30PM… I’m going to try to distract myself from the excitement, which probably won’t work very well.

Oh! Emily can paint nails really, really well. She always does Disney designs on our nails before our trips. Here are pictures of our nails.


My nails


Mom's nails


Emily's nails​

 

[disneydork409]

I woke up at 7am, I have no idea why. Excitement, I guess! We weren’t going to leave until 11 at the earliest though, so I had plenty of time to wander (jump around) the house. We FINALLY decided to start packing up the car around 10:45 and left by 11. We promised to bring Adam a bunch of candy home from EPCOT. Very specific orders.


Oh darn, still not Florida.

We had to drive to the Albany International Airport which took about 2 ½ hours. We were 4 hours early for our flight. There was about a 5 minute wait for check-in and also for the security check. Needless to say, we were REALLY early. The lady in charge of our gate was really nice and actually let us board first (we had class A seating anyway, so don’t worry we weren’t cutting that many people).




Bye bye snow and ice!



The flight was pretty uneventful. Emily and I sat next to each other and watched The Incredibles on my iPad. For us to get to Orlando, it takes about 2 hours and 45 minutes. When we got there, around 8pm, we decided to get our luggage ourselves instead of the Magical Express getting it because that would mean it wouldn’t get to our room for a LONG time, we were pretty sure we’d fall asleep almost right away.



We had to wait awhile for our luggage and again for the Magical Express to actually leave the airport. That wonderful movie always gets me all excited!



Around 10pm we finally got to the hotel. We headed straight to check-in and our room was ready so we headed there right away. The hallways in Boardwalk seem to go on FOREVER, we felt like we’d never arrive at our room! We got there, dropped our luggage off, and decided to go down to the Boardwalk to get something to eat for dinner. We decided on pizza and had to wait about 20 minutes for it. We brought the pizza back to our room and wolfed it down. I was so hungry that I forgot to take a picture, but here’s proof that it was actually eaten!



After we ate we went to sleep anxiously awaiting our magical day ahead of us!​

 

[disneydork409]

I have to apologize ahead of time for not taking better room pictures. These were taken the first night and I just never thought to take better ones. Plus the couch stayed as Emily and my bed the whole time and we weren't going to bother making it.













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[disfanforlife]

Great report so far. Can't wait to read more!!!

 

[disneydork409]

Chapters

Year Off From Disney, Big Mistake

2 Days Until We Leave – March 12, 2014
1 Day Until We Leave
Saturday - We Leave Today!
Boardwalk One Bedroom Villa

Day 1
Turkey leg, Coffee float, Yum!
The Festival of Fantasy
Be Our Guest and Illuminations
Alex and Ani

Day 2
Topiaries
Test Track and Fish
Rain Rain Go Away
Non-trip, but still Disney Related
Fireworks from our Room

Day 3
Animal Kingdom
Safari
Real Life Update
EPCOT and 'Ohanas

Day 4
DHS
View and Beaches and Cream

Day 5
Last Day

 

[Missyrose]

I'm in! I'm in! Can't wait to hear more, but for now...

I also love the Magical Express video, I can't really start my trip without it. It's a new video though, I've heard mixed reviews. Did you like the new version?

Thanks for the tour of the BWV 1-bedroom villa! We're staying in a two-bedroom (Boardwalk view! ) for our early December trip and we're so excited to stay in something bigger than our usual studios. They did such a nice job with the BWV refurb, everything seems so much brighter now!

Love all the plans you have for the trip, can't wait to see how they actually turned out. Good luck with the RA application! My best friend actually went into that as a career (she runs a couple of dorms at Berkeley and she looooves it!).

 

[disneydork409]

I'm in! I'm in! Can't wait to hear more, but for now...

I also love the Magical Express video, I can't really start my trip without it. It's a new video though, I've heard mixed reviews. Did you like the new version?

Thanks for the tour of the BWV 1-bedroom villa! We're staying in a two-bedroom (Boardwalk view! ) for our early December trip and we're so excited to stay in something bigger than our usual studios. They did such a nice job with the BWV refurb, everything seems so much brighter now!

Love all the plans you have for the trip, can't wait to see how they actually turned out. Good luck with the RA application! My best friend actually went into that as a career (she runs a couple of dorms at Berkeley and she looooves it!).

Yay! My second follower! (First being my mom, hahaha)

From what I remember about the older welcome video, I liked that one better. I didn't really care for the new narrator girl. But of course showcasing the new attractions and rides got me really exited.

I really wish we would've stayed in the two bedroom! Only because the four of us were sharing one bathroom, but other than that it really wasn't that bad. We also actually went and viewed the sample one bedroom villa they have available and ours was definitely bigger. We think it was because we were on a corner, so they just used up the extra space. Our living room/kitchen area was very spacious.

Some plans were changed, and most worked out for the better!

Thanks for the luck on my RA application. I didn't get it though, but it wasn't poorly reflected on me. There were over 140 applicants and only 40 positions! I'm sure they gave most to people who were already RA's too. Maybe I'll try again next year!​

 

[Kitten<3Duck]

Subscribed! Can't wait for more updates.

 

[disneydork409]

Emily and I awoke around 7am to our mom making coffee. Up and at ‘em! Made sure everyone had their very important magic bands on and off we went to the bus stop, Magic Kingdom was in our very near future! The CM at the bus stop was funny, well he tried to be. We didn’t have to wait long for a bus and we only stopped once more at the Swan and Dolphin on the way to MK.


We arrived right as the opening ceremony was finishing but that was okay, and we weren't in a rush.

As we walked right down the middle of Main Street USA we noticed the construction. Yuck. There were walls up in most of the hub, which I didn’t take pictures of because I didn’t want to remember them!





We walked towards Adventure Land thinking about our Fastpasses and also knowing that the line could get very long. After standing in line for a few minutes we were informed that they were doing some construction so we headed to Pirates instead. We pretty much walked right onto Pirates, not much of a wait at all. We sat in the front row and got soaked. Good thing it was very warm that day so we dried fairly quickly!



We then headed towards the Tangled bathrooms to take care of some business. But first, let me sit in this puddle of water… Yes, got my butt wet again. But oh well, I was in Disney World!



Emily and I hadn’t seen the New Fantasyland yet so we decided to head that way and maybe go on Ariel depending on the wait time. Again, we walked right on! This morning was going great!



Winnie the Pooh was next, there was a line for this one though. But as my nails foretold I love Pooh and I can wait through a line for him.

Next we went to our first Fastpass of the day, time to test those MagicBands! …and of course mine and Emily’s had issues. The guy suggested for us to go to a kiosk to have it checked out. Luckily he let us on the ride since Mom and Dad’s bands were working.
After the ride we decided we were hungry and made the executive decision to get a turkey leg to share. As we had a few bites and were passing it between the three of us (Mom doesn’t care for the turkey leg. Shame on her. BUT more for us!) we headed towards a kiosk in Frontierland. The ladies that helped us were very nice and patient. They also reminded us of the new parade, which we decided to remember for later. They couldn’t figure out exactly what went wrong with our bands because the site said that we had the Fastpass reservations. Emily and I tried not to be rude standing there eating our turkey leg in front of the lady, but she said she didn’t mind and she’d seen worse.



The whole Fastpass incident took a while so after we were done with that we decided to get two coffee floats at the Sunshine Tree Terrace. Emily and I shared one and Dad and Mom shared the other. I think we got the mocha one, either way it was very yummy.



After we ate the coffee floats we decided to see if the Jungle Cruise was done having its issues. It was! I don’t remember exactly how long the wait was, but I don’t think we waited any longer than 30 minutes. Our skipper was fairly entertaining and I think he threw in a few new jokes. Either that or I just always think that they’re funny. …probably the latter

We then had Fastpasses for Peter Pan and Big Thunder. OH YEAH! Splash Mountain was closed. We knew about it before hand, but that didn’t make the sadness any better. Next time Spashy!

We were all pretty tired so we decided to go to the Carousel of Progress. You all know the “move all the way to the right (left) of the theater” spiel. Well, of course people stopped in the middle or just sat on the side of the theater that we all entered. So we decided to walk around the front and sit on the other side! Ha! Still got kind of middle seats too. I didn’t tell you this, but Dad needed a nap. I also didn’t just tell you that I think I’m the only one in our group that actually paid attention to the whole thing. I also sang along the whole time.

When we got out of the Carousel we knew that the parade was getting closer so we decided to just look in the Big Top store because I love Dumbo and hadn’t seen it yet. I was absolutely in love. I saw the Dumbo pillow pets and had to send a picture to my boyfriend. He had given me one for our one year anniversary.







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[disneydork409]

We then decided to pick a spot for the parade. Somehow we did find a spot in Frontierland right on the white line. We sat on the ground knowing we still had awhile to wait. While we were sitting there some people tried to stand outside of the white line, which was a walkway for people who didn’t want to see the parade but still wanted to walk through Frontierland. Disney is good about having their CMs telling the people to move out of the way and only be inside the white lines. It still annoyed us of how many people just kept wanting to stand there. Obviously the white tape is there for a reason. When the parade started the CM blocked the path off with a rope and we went up to that rope so we would have a front row view. I took plenty of pictures, so here are some.















































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[disneydork409]

After the parade we decided that we just wanted to go on something that not a lot of people would be waiting in line for, especially with all the people leaving the parade. Because we were in Frontierland anyway we decided to go see the Country Bear Jamboree. The doors opened about 5 minutes after we entered the waiting room.



We were all pretty hungry and we had an early dinner reservation at 4:40pm at Be Our Guest, so we decided to go even earlier, at 4pm. They let us in almost right away. The service was fast and the food was alright. We were seated in the main room. It was pretty dark in there, I couldn’t imagine eating in the West Wing. I hate not being able to see my food! As you can tell from the pictures, I kind of forgot to take a picture until some of my food was already eaten…whoops! But Mom, Dad, and I all got the Braised Pork and Emily got the Salmon.









The whole day we did a lot of back and forth in the parks which isn’t unusual for us. We don’t really ever have a full plan of what to do, but we always say we want to try to minimize the back and forth…which never happens! (haha smiley) It’s part of our Disney experience to get WAAYYY more waking then we need to. Before we left MK we also looked in a few shops on Main Street. We also went to the City Hall for a little bit because Mom had some things to buy, etc.

After dinner we decided to go back to our room where we only stayed for about an hour and then decided to go to EPCOT. We were in Disney after all, who rests?

We went straight to Mouse Gears, I don’t remember if Mom was looking for anything in specific or if we just wanted to look in the store. But anyway! I decided I was hungry and was dead set on getting ice cream. I was contemplating between regular ice cream or gelato. I decided on regular ice cream, so we walked all the way to America. After I finished my ice cream it was late enough that we decided to stay for Illuminations. (Which I don't have any pictures of because there was a tree in the way and the photos wouldn't have came out too great. Plus I was pretty tired)





After Illuminations we walked back to the hotel, we were all pretty exhausted. I got a sunburn, it was the also the warmest day of the whole trip.

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[disneydork409]

Subscribed! Can't wait for more updates.

I hope you enjoy! Thanks for following!

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[jelloarms]

Just letting you know I am following along! I love adults only (older kids are okay too) TRs. I LoLed in real life when you wrote "we went to see if the Jungle Cruise was done having issues."

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Subbing.......

I wish we would have been able to see the new parade when we were there in Jan/Feb. It hadn't started yet. Love your pictures!!

 

[disneydork409]

Just letting you know I am following along! I love adults only (older kids are okay too) TRs. I LoLed in real life when you wrote "we went to see if the Jungle Cruise was done having issues."

I definitely fall into the adult/older kid category, being a college student! And the Jungle Cruise is always having issues! But I hope you enjoy and thanks for following!

 

[disneydork409]

Subbing.......

I wish we would have been able to see the new parade when we were there in Jan/Feb. It hadn't started yet. Love your pictures!!

The parade is great! I loved all of the costumes. But we feel the same way about the Minecoaster not being open Thanks for following along, I hope you enjoy!

 

[disneydork409]

Just realized that I hadn't shared the present that mom gave me before the trip. She gave both Emily and I Alex and Ani bracelets. Emily got a gold Mickey head and I got Mickey ears. The ones in the picture are mine. I got the castle for my birthday.



I also don't believe that I mentioned our honorary trip members. Emily brought a little Dumbo and I brought a brown bear that converts into a neck rest. We end up each buying a new friend at the end of our trip. Stay tuned to see who joins the family!



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[Missyrose]

Excellent updates! First off, how did I not know about the coffee floats at Sunshine Terrace?!?!?! That is on my must-try list next month!

Loved the full-family selfie while waiting for the parade. And speaking of the parade, your photos were fabulous. Festival of Fantasy may be the thing I'm most excited to see in May. There are just so many awesome costumes and fantastic details I can't wait to see in person!

You should try the West Wing the next time you're at BOG. It's sooooo much quieter than the ballroom. The ambiance is really cool in there, dark, but very cool.

And I love that you guys couldn't help but slip into Epcot that night. It's so tempting when you stay at Boardwalk and EPCOT IS RIGHT THERE!!!

Can't wait to read more!