You're going to Disney, again?? A September '12 PTR

[herb102211]

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to our September '12 PTR! This is my first PTR and I'm hoping you will follow along!

As you can tell by the title, we frequent WDW alot! In fact, this will be our 3rd trip this year, with one more to go in November. We became DVC members last year (our home resort is at the BWV) and AP holders this March, so we can see the mouse even more!



Now, on with the show!

Who's Coming:: Myself and DH.

About the Cast of Characters-

Me(26)- My name is Melissa and I'm a Disney fanatic. I've loved everything about Disney since I can remember. This will be my 12th trip with DH in only 5 years (once in 2008, twice in 2009, once in 2010, four times in 2011 and four times in 2012). See, I told you we go quite frequently I guess you can say we've caught the Disney bug! I'm a financial analyst for a university (fun times, lol! .)

My Disney Favorites-

Favorite Park - Epcot and Magic Kingdom
Favorite Disney movie - Too many- Beauty and the Beast, the Little Mermaid and Toy Story would be my top 3
Favorite Ride - Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain
Favorite Character - The Beast, Minnie, Pooh
Favorite Princess - Belle
Favorite TS Restaurant- LeCellier
Favorite Character Restaurant- Crystal Palace and 'Ohana
Favorite CS Restaurant- Earl of Sandwich
Favorite Disney Snack - Caramel Apple Oatmeal cookie at Karamelle Kutche

DH (27)- Chris isn't quite the Disney fanatic as myself, but I'm working on that! I'm very grateful that he allows me to go on so many WDW trips, and doesn't put up a fight (usually ) . One way to a man's heart is through food, so I always make sure we've got a bunch of TS restaurants booked on our trips! DH is a research analyst for a large IT firm.

DH's Disney's Favorites-

Favorite Park - Epcot
Favorite Disney movie - Toy Story
Favorite Ride - Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror and Big Thunder Mountain
Favorite Character - Any of the Toy Story characters and Goofy
Favorite Princess - Me? haha
Favorite TS Restaurant- LeCellier
Favorite Character Restaurant- Crystal Palace and Garden Grill
Favorite CS Restaurant- Earl of Sandwich
Favorite Disney Snack - Anything!

Us on our Disneymoon last October

When: September 14-18th

Where: We will be staying at Bay Lake Tower, Art of Animation and the Boardwalk Villas. Yes, you read that correctly, 3 resorts in 5 days. I'll get to more about that later


Why: We'll be celebrating our first anniversary

I hope you will follow along for what will be a fun filled trip!

 

[herb102211]

We are set to arrive at MCO on Friday, September 14th at 10:50am (non-stop on JetBlue) .We booked DME so we can jump right on the bus and head to BLT. We'll let Disney take care of the luggage!

We booked this trip fairly late in the game (about 1.5 months before) so it was slim pickings with DVC choices.

Our first night we are staying at Bay Lake Tower in a Lake View studio. We've stayed at BLT several times before, and love the fact that we can walk to Magic Kingdom.

We could have gotten a room at Bay Lake for the first 2 nights, but then I remembered that the Little Mermaid section of AoA was set to open on September 15th. It just so happened that was the 2nd day of our trip, so we ended up booking The theming of the resort looks awesome and we can't wait to stay there.

Our 3rd night we will be switching to a Boardwalk view studio at the Boardwalk Villas. Even though this is our home resort, it's actually the first time we'll be staying here. The location of the Boardwalk is our favorite. There is so much to do in that area and you're only a short walk or boat ride away from Epcot and Hollywood Studios!

You probably think we're crazy for switching resorts 3 times in 5 days, but we actually don't mind it. We stayed at OKW, BCV and BLT during our May trip and loved getting to see all of the different resorts.

 

[herb102211]

Since this is a shorter trip, we've got a lot of grounds to cover in a short amount of time.

Friday 9/14- Arrival Day!!!

On Friday, we'll be attending MNSSHP! I love being able to trick or treat at 26, hehe. We will be meeting up with friends at the party, who also happen to be at Disney this week. We're still up in the air about what costumes we're going to wear. Since we're 2 weeks away, I guess I better make a decision quickly! We've been in September before and I know how hot it's going to be, which is why I don't want to wear a costume that I'm going to be too warm in.

Last year DH and I went as bride and groom while on our Disneymoon.

We've been to MNSSHP 4 times before, so we've gotten the party agenda pretty well mapped out. First, we have an ADR at Crystal Palace at 3:40pm. We might hit up some of the rides after that or we might head back to the room for a bit (why I love being at BLT!) We'll get in line around 6 for our photo with the 7 dwarfs. It's a tradition and we've learned our lesson years ago that if you don't get in line early, you'll be spending half of your night there. The rest of the night will be spent trick or treating, photos with the characters, riding rides and catching the last parade!

Saturday 9/15- A day away from the mouse, what???

On Saturday, we'll be heading to 'Ohana's for an early breakfast. Afterwards,we'll be heading to Universal Studios for the day. Yes, we're cheating on the mouse! DH had been to Universal once when he was younger and I've never been, so we decided to mix things up a bit and head to Islands of Adventure for the day. We'll probably head back later afternoon, because I want to enjoy the pools at AoA. We'll cap off the night with dinner at LeCellier.

Sunday 9/16~ A day in paradise!

Sunday is another early morning, because we're heading to Discovery Cove!!! We absolutely love this place We've been twice before and done the dolphin swim both times.

This time we will just be doing the day resort package. We are both Seaworld annual pass members, so we got a great discount on the day package ($69pp). When we've done the dolphin swim, we've always had a mid morning swim time, so we wouldn't get around to exploring the rest of the park until after lunch. This time we're glad that we're not any time constraints and can just enjoy the park at our leisure. The new sea otter oasis opened up this past summer, and we're excited to see that! After Discovery Cove, we'll head back to the room to change and rest for a bit. Tonight is the Wishes Desert party at MK! The first time we went was on our honeymoon and we loved sampling all of the deserts.


Monday 9/17- Eating and drinking around the world!

Monday, the last full day of our trip We booked an anniversary photo session with Randy Chapman at the Boardwalk for the morning. Last year, we did a honeymoon portrait session with him and got some amazing shots, so we wanted to book another one with him for this year.

After our photo session, we'll be heading to Cape May Cafe for breakfast. The rest of the day will be spent eating and drinking around the world at Epcot. No matter how many times we go to WDW we can always spend a full day or 2 at Epcot. The park has so much to offer and it is definitely our favorite park. We'll end the night with dinner at the Garden Grill and watching illuminations. Since we're at the Boardwalk Villas, we might walk over to Fantasia Gardens for a little game of mini golf, before calling it quits for the night.

Tuesday 9/18- And now it's time to say goodbye.......

That brings us to Tuesday, the day we say goodbye to Mickey (until November anyways ) Our flight leaves at 11:15am, so I figure that DME will be picking us up around 8:15am.

 

[herb102211]

What everyone always wants to know, where are you going to be eating?!?

We will be on the deluxe dining plan for 2 of the nights we are there. We've got some old favorites as well as a newbie this trip. Each trip, DH and I always try and eat in at least one new restaurant, some of which happen to be our returning favorites trip after trip.

Friday 9/14~ We will probably just grab a CS lunch at the Polynesian or Contemporary after we check in.

Dinner @ Crystal Palace at 3:40. We always eat at Crystal Palace every trip. It's become a tradition. We've never had a bad meal there and love the character interaction.

Saturday 9/15~ Breakfast @ 'Ohana at 7:45. This has become another favorite of ours through the years. We love the Polynesian and the food is great!

We will be at Universal during lunch.

Dinner @ LeCellier is at 7:50pm. Chocolate moose, anyone?

Sunday 9/16~ We will be eating breakfast and lunch at Discovery Cove.

Dinner @ Kona Cafe @ 5:30. This is a new one for us! The menu looks really interesting and I can't wait to get a Lapu, Lapu!

Afterwards, we have an ADR at the Wishes dessert party at 8pm. Bring on the desserts!

Monday 9/17~ Breakfast @ Cape May Cafe 10:30. We're interested to see how CMC is after the refurb. The character interaction has always been great, as well as the service and food.

We'll be in Epcot for the day so we'll use our snack credits for lunch at the at the Boulangerie Patissere in France and the Karamelle Kuche in Germany.

Dinner is @ 5:50 at the Garden Grill. We went here the first time last year after never being able to get an ADR and it has become one of our favorite character meals.