You're going to Disney back again? How do you do it? May 2014 Pre-trip Report

[Cesarlovesdisney12]

The title says it all... That's the question I get asked by everyone at my work place. I work for the government in Oklahoma and no one up here has the Disney love like other folks.

This is my 1st ever report. I am one of those people that loves to read other people trip reports and I like to see the comments. But never ever reported a trip of my own & it's about time. Here are the players of this trip, which are the usual's of every trip to Walt Disney World:

This is me, Cesar, 26:


I am a Disney fan to the fullest. I was born & raised in Miami, FL. As a kid, my father (you will see him in a little) was a truck driver, he would deliver to Disney World & we would always go to the parks while the truck was unloaded. Personally, I have been to Disney about 200 times, growing up I went away from attending as I got older, that was until I met my fiance & we had our daughter. And my love to Disney World has been reconnected all over again. The connection between me and Aubrey is Disney Movies. We can sit together and watch these movies all day long. Our movie collection is insane. As far as Walt Disney World, my loves are: Park- Hollywood Studios, Character-Mickey Mouse, Princess-Belle, Ride-Tower of Terror, Show-Fantasmic, Dining experience-Chef Mickey.



This is my fiancé, Lacie, 23:


She is currently in the transition phase of a hate to love Disney World. She had never been to Disney World before we met and we are going for our 3rd trip together. She sees the smile on our daughters face and she cannot help but to love this place. She is going to starting nursing school in the fall, so this trip is going to be a reliever before 11 months of schooling. As far as a connection to the parks & Aubrey, they love collecting the pressed pennies which started on our last trip in August. As far as Disney, she likes Magic Kingdom, Snow White, possibly the new Dwarf Mine Train, Fantasmic, Chef Mickey.

Now where the fun begins, this is our daughter Aubrey, to be 4 going on 16 on third trip:


She is the complete Disney fan, loves everything and anything Disney. This will be her 3rd trip to the World. 1st time, she was 2 and didn't really enjoy too much as she was too young and many Disney movies/Characters were new to her. Our 2nd trip together, it was a birthday gift and we decided to go all out for her. I forgot to mention out of all the times, I have been to Disney World, I have never stayed on-site nor had the dining plan. But this pass trip, we did & WOW were we missing out. It was our best Disney trip ever & it's the reason why I will never stay off-site again. This trip will be somewhat of a repeat (more on that later). Back to Aubrey, the 2nd trip she was all about the rides & shows but the character meets were iffy. She would be happy w/ some and scared of others, hoping this time it will be all smiles. She knows all the characters, princess, supporting characters & background dances & noises in all the movies. LOL. Her favorites are: Magic Kingdom, Winnine the Pooh, Elsa & Cinderella, The Hunny ride like Aubrey calls it (winnie the pooh), dun dun dunn show (fantasmic), Cinderella Royal Table.

This is my father, Cesar Sr, 50:


Now he is a difficult person to crack on Disney. I know deep down inside, he loves Disney but doesn't really show it. I can remember me & my brother watching Disney cartoons in the morning w/ him. Pictures show him having fun at the World, but I think he really enjoys just being w/ his sons & granddaughters. He is a great person to go to Disney because he does not complain of heat, rain, snow (JK), lines, crowds, he just goes w/ the flow. He is a trooper and takes pride in being 50 and keeping up w/ us and his grandkids. Little known fact is that we are trouble when we get together and very loud but it's all in good fun. His Disney favorites are: Magic Kingdom, Donald Duck, Cinderella, Splash Mountain, and Chef Mickey.

This is my brother, Jonathan, 29:


He is also a Disney fan but not as bad as I am. He just had his 1st daughter (more on her in a little) & I told him in a couple years, he will be like me and Aubrey. My part of the family resides in Miami, FL and I am living in Oklahoma. So our trips to the World are not only a vacation, but a family reunion, birthday celebrations, and spoiling the little ones. He is the bigger brother you always wanted, to fight w/, play w/, argue w/, and the one who took care of you when you needed him. His Disney favorites and I am somewhat guessing here are: Magic Kingdom, Mickey Mouse, Cinderella, Space Mountain, and Cinderella Royal Table.

This is my future sister in law, Nieves, 32:


She is somewhat of a Disney fan but nothing out of this world. Great person to be around & does get a little out of hand, but she is fun. Slow to wake up in the morning, like my brother, but fun once she gets going. She get along w/ my fiancé, which is a plus and loves roller coaster. Her Disney favorites are (again guessing): Magic Kingdom, Minnie Mouse, Sleeping Beauty, Space Mountain?, Cinderella Royal Table.

Last but not least, my niece Hennah, 1:


She is the youngest of the litter. She will be turning 1 in May & will be her 2nd trip to the World. She really does not know what is going on but she enjoys the weather and colors at the moment. Last trip, she would smile when the talking characters would talk to her. Hopefully she enjoys it a little more now & hopefully walking by then. at the moment, she is big into Nemo, so Epcot is a must do for her.

Now that you have met the group, let’s get down to what everyone is here for: WALT DISNEY WORLD.

 

[Dasha Hermosilla]

Can't wait to hear more!

Hoe neat your dad drove things up to Disney.

 

[Cesarlovesdisney12]

So much has happened since I originally wrote my 1st trip report. I was not able to post my pre-trip report because of being a newbie on the boards. But I had pre written it on a word document and have been working on getting everything saved. This post will include everything that happened in February, as I am a couple months behind.

Last year trip was amazing, as mentioned before hand I had never stayed on property & it now is a MUST every time we go. We are currently stuck on Art of Animation & even though it is considered a value resort and cost as much as moderate resorts, I still think the value resorts are the only ones that scream Disney to our family. We love the colors, huge statues and theme. The only downside of last year trip about a month before the trip, I sprained my ankle and never really let it heal. I kept running because I wanted to be at 200lbs before the trip. Well on the 1st night of our trip, we went down to the pool & horsing around I pushed off the wall a little awkward and tweaked my ankle.. NOT a problem. The next day I woke up early and went running around the resort & again, NOT a problem. We were going to Animal Kingdom that day and everything was fine till about half way thru the day I started feeling some pain and by the end of the day, I could not walk w/ out a limp!! The next day at MK, I was able to walk w/ pain and ice at night but the 3rd day, it got to me and had to rent a wheelchair & only one pair of the 6, I brought fit me w/ the swelling. But because of being 6'2" and 200 pounds, no one was willing to push me, so we went back and I got a motorized scooter. Hopefully between now and May 14, everyone is in one piece and feeling great.

As far as February goes on, we have purchased our flights. We live in Oklahoma and are flying out of Dallas, TX. Flights were extremely cheap instead of flying out of our airport. For the three of us, it will be $500 round trip. We are staying at a friends house on Monday night, he will drive us to the airport thru the night, only a 2 hour ride. Once the flights were bought, it was that excitement of we are going for sure & it is only a couple months away. We also got to customize our magic bands w/ colors of our choosing!! I choose red, Lacie has Blue, and Aubrey insisted on pink. We are excited for the magic bands as change is always better for us, which includes me to running for fast passes. LOL. More to come of February and March....

 

[Cesarlovesdisney12]

As of March 2014, we have our reservations, magic band colors, flights.. We usually do one park a day and only one day in each, which will be the same for this trip w/ a little hitch.

The last trip we felt that it went fast because we didn't have a day off. It was just one day, one park after another. This trip we have decided to have a down day in the middle. I personally could not have a full down day. LOL. We have decided that everyone is free to do whatever they want that day. I think Aubrey will want to do the pool for the most part of the day but I did book a character dining that night. W/ that being said, we should go on to the dining reservations..

Almost all of our reservations are for dinner. We are big dinner eaters and certain of the group do not eat breakfast but there is a couple things we love to do for breakfast. I know some of our options are not the highest standards in some of the Disney goers. Most of the reservations are the ones we love, based of the meets, food, and atmosphere. We are into trying new things but for the most part, we absolutely love the places we are eating at. And with that here we go:

May 14th: Chef Mickey.. Now I know a lot of people knock on this place because you can meet these characters anywhere and people say the food isn't great. But to me, the food here is AMAZING.. The mashed potatoes are to die for and the mac & cheese are my daughter favorite. For this trip, our niece is turning the big 1 and boy do I have a surprise in store for my family. Follow this pre trip to the trip report and I will let you know!



May 15th: This is the finance's favorite place & she is not a big breakfast eater. We are having breakfast at the Tusker House. Now we are for the most part big breakfast fans. But for me, the eggs are crazy good. I know... I know... I know they are powered eggs but only if I could only make eggs like that!



May 16th: Quick story here... Last year, I let my father pick what he wanted to eat for his birthday. Initially, we were going to celebrate the birthday here until we found an opening at Cinderella Royal Table. But last year, we ate at La Hacienda last year and the food was ehh but the service was horrible!! We are a big group (8) and the tip is always included. To me, I think it is because the waiter knows that and it sucks.
But this year the initial plan was to do the Garden Grill and after a lot of discussion, I have changed it over to Akershus Royal Banquet Hall for something new when it comes to dining. We are going more for the food and only hoping to meet Belle in her yellow dress.

May 17th: This is the place that I believe my niece & daughter will go crazy.. The Crystal Palace w/ some really sweet friends! This is a must do for my DD and more than likely the DN. This day is our semi off day, where everyone is free to do whatever they want to and I will more than likely do the pool and park half way. I have fastpasses booked for after the meal but I will probably end up there way before.

May 18th: This is my brother favorite part because he feels like royalty and exclusive. Personally, I love this place but I wanted to try something new. Last year, we enjoyed it so much and that is what the DD is talking about all this year. She wants to eat at Cinderella Castle. The interaction from the Princesses is off the charts at this dining. So definitely a must for us again. Not to mention the food... Here are some pics!



May 19th: Sci-Fi Dine In is the choice for this night! Now we are not super thrilled about this restaurant but we have never had a sit down at HS ever. But the movie dine in is interesting to me. So there you have it.

More to come later. Thanks for reading!