Yes, [insert random family member/friend’s name here], we are going to WDW AGAIN!

[experiment_627]

I can’t believe it is time to start another trip report. I thought it would never get here, but now the year is zipping by, and we will be making our ADR’s a week from today!! Our last visit to the World was Nov/Dec. 2006, and we have been planning this one since we got in the car to come home.

The cast:

Candy – The planner of the house. I love planning and researching just about anything, but Disney trips are definitely my fave. I visited MK w/my family twice growing up, but my Disney gene didn’t truly come out until we took our Disneymoon in 2005. Since then, there has been no turning back!

Stephan – Lifelong Disney lover. It was his idea to Honeymoon at WDW, but I don’t think knew he was creating a monster at the time. He made many trips to DL growing up in Las Vegas.

Here is my favorite pic of hubby and I from our last trip:

Our only children at the moment are our fur babies who I am sure will get mentioned a time or two along the way.

Razz:

Cajaya:

This trip will be full of firsts for us. Neither of us have ever stayed in a moderate or deluxe resort, and we’ll be doing both. This will also be our first time cruising as well as attending Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. We will be traveling on Oct 22nd and haven’t decided yet where we’ll spend that night. Our land/sea package doesn’t start until Thursday, but we wanted to get down there by Wednesday night, so we’ll have a full day in the parks the next day. We’ll be checking into Port Orleans - French Quarter on the 23rd. On Sunday the 26th, we are off to Port Canaveral for four nights on the Wonder. From Oct. 30th – Nov 3rd, we’ll be finishing off our stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Originally, my mother and her boyfriend, Bill, were traveling with us the first 4 days of our trip, but I think I scared them off with my planning. As the name of this trip report implies, we are alone in our Disney geekdom in our families. But as you and I know, they are the weird ones.

I hope to sit down with Stephan this weekend and work on our ADR list. He has to be on the phone at 7 AM next Friday morning (I’ll be at work, and his lucky behind works from home) to try to score us the chef’s table at Victoria & Alberts for our first night.

 

[bonna girl]

You are not alone!!! I married a very wonderful and patient man in 2002 and convinced him to go to WDW in 2005 (I had been there 4 times prior to my marriage). We have been back every year since. My family thinks I am nuts (especially since we don't have kids and they do) and yes they get that glazed over look in their eyes or that ho hum sound over the phone when I mention we are going. Our friends also give us that same look. But I don't care - I enjoy my vacation. And I also enjoy the planning. We just completed all of our ADR's and were lucky enough to get ressies at Le Cellier.

We are heading there in September - staying at a value resort. I've heard wonderful things about Port Orleans and you will love the cruise. I cruised back in 2002 with my girlfriends and we enjoyed every minute of it. The adult area of the Castaway is nice but I also had fun on the family beach - Plus the fresh fruit on the island.

I join you in your Disney Geekdom.

 

[experiment_627]

yes they get that glazed over look in their eyes or that ho hum sound over the phone when I mention we are going. Our friends also give us that same look. But I don't care - I enjoy my vacation. And I also enjoy the planning. We just completed all of our ADR's and were lucky enough to get ressies at Le Cellier.

I don't that glazed over look SO well, LOL.

I hope you enjoy Le Cellier! We skipped it this time, but loved our meal there on our last trip. I talked DH into trying Portobella Yacht Club instead because of the reviews from the DU podcast!

 

[ktink]

Enjoying so far. Can't wait to hear more. We are also Disney geeks and a few friends get it but most don't. We're from TN to.. Go Vols!

 

[bonna girl]

We've never tried Portobella - but have read good reviews on it. That is one of the hardest things about going to WDW... too many outstanding restaurants - which one do you try????

Our new ones for this year are Boma, 1900 Park Fare, Tutta Italia and possibly San Angel. Have you been to any of these? If you have, let me know what you think.

We also just got our flights purchased today - Southwest had a decent deal for direct flights. What to do now for the next 100+ days..... hmmm read the post on the boards and keep alert to all the new things

 

[experiment_627]

Enjoying so far. Can't wait to hear more. We are also Disney geeks and a few friends get it but most don't. We're from TN to.. Go Vols!

Go Vols is right!! Where in TN are you from? We live in Dandridge, but I work in Knoxville.

Our new ones for this year are Boma, 1900 Park Fare, Tutta Italia and possibly San Angel. Have you been to any of these? If you have, let me know what you think.

We have been to all of those except Tutta Italia. We are going back to Boma and 1900 Park Faire this trip because we really enjoyed them. We were sort of indifferent when it came to San Angel. It was decent, but we can get just as good at home for a third of the price, so we haven't been there since our honeymoon. I hope you enjoy them all!!!

 

[experiment_627]

I have several updates to post, but I just haven't had it in me. If anyone following along listens to the Dis Unplugged or visits the podcast forum, you know of Bawb's passing. It has effected me more than I ever imagined, and very few people in my everyday life "get it". I guess grieving the loss of someone in an internet community is pretty new to all of us, and there are plenty of people here who understand, so there is comfort in that.

Anyway, I hope to be able to get an update posted within the next few days.

Thanks!

 

[bonna girl]

I have several updates to post, but I just haven't had it in me. If anyone following along listens to the Dis Unplugged or visits the podcast forum, you know of Bawb's passing. It has effected me more than I ever imagined, and very few people in my everyday life "get it". I guess grieving the loss of someone in an internet community is pretty new to all of us, and there are plenty of people here who understand, so there is comfort in that.

Anyway, I hope to be able to get an update posted within the next few days.

Thanks!

You have my sympathy and understanding - I did not know Mr. Varley but the passing of a friend or friend who is family is something I can relate to.

Please accept my sympathies and (please don't be affended ) my prayers.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Take your time. We'll be here.

 

[experiment_627]

You have my sympathy and understanding - I did not know Mr. Varley but the passing of a friend or friend who is family is something I can relate to.

Please accept my sympathies and (please don't be affended ) my prayers.

I appreciate your thoughts. I never had the pleasure of meeting Bawb myself, but I still feel like I have lost an old friend in some ways, so my DIS time has been spent on the podcast boards for the last week or so.

Take your time. We'll be here.

Thanks! I hope to take some time to work on things today. All the ADRs are done as of today!

 

[experiment_627]

167 days to go!

All of the ADRs have been made which also means the preliminary itenarary is in place. We'll see how many times it changes over the course of the next few months.

We also decided to rent DVC points for the first night of our stay, so we have a studio at Saratoga Springs for Oct. 22nd. We love checking out the resorts, and we’ll be staying in three this time around. My goal in life is to stay at them all. My parents must be so proud. :

Here is what our itenirary looks like at this point:

Oct 22nd – Travel day

Get up reeeeeeeeeally early (or just don’t go to bed :thumbsup: and leave around 2 am. Drive, drive, drive. Stop for gas in GA. Pick self up off the pavement after paying for said gas. Drive, drive, drive. Arrive in Orlando around noonish.

Once we get checked in, we plan to hang by the pool or maybe take the boat over to DTD and peruse the shops until our room is ready.

Dinner that night is at Victoria and Albert’s at the Grand Floridian. We did not get the chef’s table. The person right before Stephan did, but that’s ok. He said he is fine with just eating there, so I am happy too. I am a bit worried that my palate is not sophisticated enough for it, but he has been talking about it for over a year, so I am more than willing to give it a go. I am willing to try new things and all, but I can be pretty picky too, so I am trying to keep an open mind.

After dinner, we hope to watch Wishes and/or the water parade from the GF beach before heading back to SSR to rest up for our first park day!!

Oct. 23rd – MK and PI

Breakfast: MK Bakery – French toast loaf anyone? *raises hand*
Dinner: Portobello Yacht Club

We hope to hit the Adventurers Club this night. Stephan mentioned wanting to go on our last trip and when I read the description of it, I thought *snore*. BUT it was SO much fun. I can’t wait to go back!

Oct. 24th – Epcot

Breakfast: Boma (I wanted to wait until we were staying there to go to have breakfast, but it didn’t fit w/the other plans, so we moved it.)
Late lunch/early dinner: Chefs de France

We want to hit the Food and Wine Festival some this day, but since reading it gets really crowded on weekend nights, I’d say we’ll move back to Future World at some point before Illuminations that night.

Oct. 25th – MGM

I know, Hollywood Studios, but it will always be MGM to me!

No breakfast plans today. Maybe Starring Rolls, who knows, I just want to ride ToT as many times as I can!!

Dinner: Brown Derby Fantasmic Package
Fantasmic was rained out on our last trip, so I am looking forward to seeing it again.

Oct. 26th – Port Canaveral

Check out of POFQ
Breakfast: Kona (I refuse to make another trip without trying tonga toast!!!)

Then, it is off to Port Canaveral to board the Wonder for four days.

Oct. 27 – 29th – Sailing the Wonder

We want to do Palo for at least brunch, if not dinner too.

We are on the fence about the rasul at this point. Anyone have any thoughts or experiences to share? Stephan is super sensitive to hot water, and I have read that is the worst part, so I am not sure.

We are both just excited to be going on our first cruise!

Oct. 30th – Back to WDW

First, we’ll check in at Animal Kingdom Lodge.

We have no plans for the day as far as what park.

Dinner: Jiko

Oct. 31st – MK/MNSSHP

Breakfast: Ohana
Dinner: Boma

We are excited to be going to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party on Halloween night!

Nov. 1st - AK/MGM (?)

Breakfast: Donald’s Safari @ Tusker House
Late lunch/early dinner: Yak & Yeti

Leaving it open after lunch as to which park we go to.

Nov. 2nd – Epcot/MK

Breakfast: 1900 Park Faire
Late lunch/early dinner: Garden Grill

Will probably hit F&WF again and possibly the MK since Stephan and I both seem to like to both begin and end our trip there. It just feels right that way for some reason.

Nov. 3rd - Home

Drive, drive, drive, drive much less animated than 12 days prior. I already dread the depression.

So, that’s it so far. Let the shopping for clothes and other goodies to take with us begin!

 

[ReneeDisney]

Great itinerary and report so far!
We'll be at WDW the same time as you 10/25 - 11/3 at the BWI!

Can't wait to read more----

 

[L.E. Ott]

OK, guess it's time for me to finally stop lurking and weigh in here. I am the DH mentioned above, and as previously stated, I'm the one who created this monster. So I've decided to become more active and you'll be seeing my input from time to time, wether it's wanted, agreed with, or not. Just kidding hunny.

 

[experiment_627]

OK, guess it's time for me to finally stop lurking and weigh in here. I am the DH mentioned above, and as previously stated, I'm the one who created this monster. So I've decided to become more active and you'll be seeing my input from time to time, wether it's wanted, agreed with, or not. Just kidding hunny.

I've been trying to get him on the DIS for two years!! I hope I don't regret it....

Perfect screen name hun!

 

[experiment_627]

I was happy to see these in the mail.

MSSHP tickets!

 

[experiment_627]

I am really behind on the updates, but I just have to say....


99 Days!!!!!

Doing the double digit dance.

 

[experiment_627]

Several friends and family members have been asking for an update, and I am WAY overdue, so here we go…(thanks so much for reading btw, it makes this SO much more fun! ).

On our honeymoon, we had a stitch figure that ended up in our car after our wedding (our reception was Disney themed and had stuffed animals and other Disney stuff on the tables), and he kept making noise on the way down and during the trip, so we kind of adopted him as our mascot.

For some reason or another, we took Super Pooh as our mascot for our last trip:

This time, we decided we wanted to get something we would use for more than one trip, so this is what we decided on:

This way, we can make him look different, but still not actually be switching mascots each trip. We plan to stock up on Disney parts in Downtown Disney, so he should be good to go for awhile after that.

We don’t actually carry our mascots with us in the parks. We just put them in different places around the room to hold our Mousekeeping envelopes and such. Mousekeeping seemed to have fun moving him around too, and it is just one of those little things that makes the trip that much more fun for us.

We had reservations for lunch at Garden Grill on the last day of our trip, but they will no longer be serving lunch then. We decided just to leave the day open for more Food and Wine Festival goodies.

We have scheduled a haunted carriage ride at Ft. Wilderness at 9 pm on 10/23. We actually did a carriage ride on our last trip and had a blast, so I am really excited for a spooky one!!

Here is a picture of our horse, Doug, from 2006:

We have added the Romantic Escape at Sea package to our cruise which includes:

--Romantic gift amenity delivered to your stateroom (one per package, usually includes two robes, picture frame, voucher for 8"x10" photo and chocolates)

--Tropical Rain Forest pass for two at the Vista Spa & Salon (length of cruise)

--Priority seating at Palo (one night - package covers the usual nominal per-person fee)

--Romance turndown service (one night)

--Champagne breakfast in bed (one morning - this is a full breakfast, from a more extensive menu than the standard continental breakfast room service)

We have Palo reservations for dinner as well as brunch plus spa reservations for the exotic rasul on our sea day. All of these depend on when DCL desides to hold the event I am most looking forward to w/Don “Ducky” Williams. Here is a link to the info: http://psc.disney.go.com/eventservices/disneygallery/dcl_donduckywilliams.html.

We have been busy shopping and have several things on the way that I will try to post pictures of in the coming weeks. I just can’t believe we are under the two month mark already!!

 

[L.E. Ott]

OK, I know I'm driving her crazy, so time to update a little myself:

THE PLAN TO DRIVE WIFE TO INSANITY:

Last night, started talking about what I'm packing and all the little things we need to pick up before we leave......it's still more than a month away.

Night before that, counted out all our squirreled away cash and loose change, organized the gift cards, gas cards and disney dollars, cleaned out my wallet to make room, removing anything unneeded like Belk, JC Penny, Eddie Bauer, Home Depot, etc........yep, it's more than a month away.

Today, gonna suggest we review our ADR's and possibly change a couple to more closely fit where we're staying/going for those days. Of course, I won't volunteer to be the one to call and make these changes. Also, from this point on, I'm goona sneak in and look at everything I can find on The DIS and other sites, so I can come up with new stuff to bug her with......

If this goes as well as it's started, she'll be Bat-S#&% crazy by the time we leave!!!

 

[experiment_627]

The car is packed, and we are ready to go. Now...if I can just manage to actually get something done at work today...

Stephan has called me at least 3 times already, and it isn't 10 am yet.

The alarm went off this morning, and I looked at Stephan and said, "We are going to Disney TOMORROW!"

Cajaya is on her way to spend a week with her grandma. My dad will be over to pick Razz up and tell us goodbye when I get home from work.

The plan is the leave sometime between then and 2 am. They are starting a pool at work as to when we will actually leave. So far, the latest time is midnight. I think they have my number.

Within a few hours (give or take) of this time tomorrow, we should be in our happy place.