DISNEYMOON: "Honey, you didn't list underwear!" - 9/14: Link to TR and LIVE TWITTER!

[SilverL]

Hi everyone! I've never done a Pre-Trip report, but now I'm thinking that the process might be cathartic! So here I am.

The Cast:



My DH and I are both young newlyweds and stressed out college students who take way too many classes. I'm an English major, and he is Pre-Med. Our finances, as you can imagine, are very tight. We had a completely DIY wedding and we had to put off our honeymoon until after the summer in order to afford it without going into debt. (We are Dave Ramsey fans --- we have no debt and avoid it at all costs.) But we are going to be able to afford it, and I am SO excited!!

Me: I went to Disneyland at least 3 or 4 times when I was a kid. We live in the NW of the USA, so Disneyland is obviously much closer. However, ever since my family's first trip to Disney WORLD, I have never wanted to go back to the land! We actually tried to plan a trip to Disneyland once, and I told my mom that I would rather not go at all. (Terrible, I know, but true.) I have now been on three family vacations to Disney World. We stayed off site every time, and once our party consisted of ten people! (The answer to your question: Yes, it was insane. But it was also insanely fun.)

I am a type A personality and a planner by nature. I often say that my brain operates in lists. My mom and I have always planned our trips down to the little details. In fact, I have planned other people's vacations for them. (I handled all of the ADRs for my Grandparents a few years ago.) My DH was opposed to all of this planning at first. He wanted to just go and wing it. So, I told him, "Well, you married me!" He's now fine with it as long as there is flexibility in THE PLAN (there is) and I don't try to force him to love spreadsheets (I don't.)

DH: My DH has only been to Disneyland once or twice. I think he went when he was a kid, and his family took another trip when he was in high school. Unfortunately for him, because of this, he doesn't understand me when I start speaking "Disney World". I think he might need a glossary to understand our conversations about the trip. Poor guy. I made the mistake of showing him The Kitchen Sink dessert at Beaches and Cream and so his only requirement for the trip is that we order it.



I don't know how just the two of us will eat that, but we'll try (and then get extremely sick)

Plans A & B:

Originally, I planned for us to go from Dec. 3-11. I made an 8 page spreadsheet, including itinerary, packing lists, shopping lists, restaurants, menus, budget, etc. Then I found out that finals week for fall term was going to be Dec. 7-11. I was frustrated, but it wasn't the end of the world, and I started over.

Okay, let's take a red eye flight on Dec. 9th and stay until the 17th. DH's birthday is on the 10th, so we can still take advantage of the free birthday admission deal. This will work. Create wdw-2.xlsx. Tweak it, and perfect it. Yay! All we have to do now is book...

Plan C:

And then the college decided it would be better to move everything back and have Dec. 14-18 be finals week. I had to start over again, and at that point I was really disappointed and not looking forward to it because I was afraid my plans were just going to get screwed up again

We looked into the week before Christmas, as well as going during the last week of class and coming back for finals. Before Christmas was way too expensive ($1200 more than we had planned), and no one wants to come home from vacation to take their final exams (insert vomit smiley here). Briefly, we considered January. I started to think the trip wasn't going to happen. But then, I remembered:

In September there is free dining.

I priced it. Fall term doesn't start until Sept. 28th, so we could be flexible with our dates to accommodate DH's work schedule. Going in September would save us $800 from our original plans! YES! WE ARE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!

Updates:

"I'll never go in September again!"
THE plan
I booked our trip!!
Sharing Meals on DDP
I FORGOT TO MAKE ADRS!
ADR results
Planning Cards & A Surprise for DH!
Boma ADR Change
How early does KTTK get booked?
Medieval Times... oh boy
Red Eye Flight and Dining Plans
"Honey, you didn't list underwear!"
Room Requests
Packing List
Pictures galore!
Flight and tour booked! Ebeneezer is an awesome CM!
Medieval Times and CODE NAMES!
How many cases of water?
The mail has arrived! and pin lanyards
Just how OCD am I?
Day 1 Plans
Airlines, Pins, and Day 2 Plans
Shopping Time!
LGMH, Pins & Mickey Mail!
Packing and Door Decor
New Camera!
Day 3
"Did your stomach just gurgle?"
MNSSHP Costumes!
Shoes & Bags
New Camera Pictures
Day 4 Plans
Day 5 Plans
Day 6 Plans
Day 7 Plans
Day 8 Plans
Weather Update
Day 9 Plans
Final Schedule
PACKING and we're going LIVE

[SilverL]

We interrupt the typing of the plans to explain the original title of this post ("I'll never go in Sept. again!"):

My last trip to WDW was in September 2007, and boy, let me tell you: IT WAS HOT! I am from the cold, wet, grey coast of Washington State where the seasons consist of Almost Winter, Winter, Still Raining, Road Construction, and Deer & Elk season. Although we had a fabulous time on our trip and managed to avoid most crowds, it was hot hot hot, sweaty, smelly, humid, nasty, frizzy, rainy (used to that one!), and stormy! My poor sister's curly hair practically inflated every morning. I got sick from the heat on our MGM day. Lightning storms rolled in every single night and our car was almost struck by lightning (of which I am terrified). Fantasmic got canceled because of the storms. On the way home from that trip, I declared, "I will NEVER go in September EVER again!" And I never intended to. We had been in January before, and it was wonderful. But with our December plans out the window, we somehow ended up with September.

My philosophy is that if it's $800 less, you buy some shorts, some ponchos, and a mister fan, and make sure you pack deodorant, and say screw it! September works for me!

[SilverL]

THE Plan:

Dates: Sept. 15th-23rd
Hotel: 8 nights at Pop Century (on site for the first time ever ) with Free Dining!
Other Stuff: We have basic (non-park hopper) tickets, a prepaid PhotoPass, tickets to MNSSHP and a subscription to Touring Plans

Itinerary

Day 1: DH'S FIRST TIME FLYING Fly across the country to Orlando. Check in at Pop, and go to Beach Club for dinner at Beaches & Cream around 8. The late dinner will work great for us since when we land hopefully around 5pm, we will feel like it's only 2pm.

Day 2: INTO THE FUTURE Wake up ridiculously early (for west coasters). Miraculously make it to my FAVORITE park (Epcot) before the park opens. Tackle Future World. Ride Test Track at least three times. Have lunch at Sunshine Seasons and eat dinner at Teppan Edo (I am SO looking forward to this)
Alternate ADR plan: Garden Grill

Day 3: DO YOU WANT KETCHUP WITH THAT? AK by rope drop. Hit Kilimanjaro Safari first, because it's my favorite ride Have lunch at Flame Tree BBQ. Go to Wilderness Lodge for dinner at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. (WCC was SUPPOSED to be DH's birthday dinner when we intended to go in Dec. He has no idea about the antics that go on there, but is excited about the food)
Alternate ADR plan: Call back every single day until I get WCC because we WILL eat there!

Day 4: THERE BETTER NOT BE A THUNDERSTORM Hollywood Studios day. Make a beeline for TSM. Try to hit as many shows today as possible. Eat lunch at Backlot Express. HOPEFULLY we will have dinner at Mama Melrose with the Fantasmic package.
Alternate ADR plan: Try for Brown Derby. I would rather get a turkey leg and stand in line than eat at Hollywood and Vine ever again!

Day 5: EATING AROUND THE WORLD Back to Epcot. (I am very sad that we're not ending the trip at Epcot like I would prefer, but since it's in the name of avoiding crowds, I can deal.) Eat our way through the World Showcase for Breakfast and Lunch. Dinner at Chefs de France. Watch IllumiNations.
Alternate ADR plan: Rose & Crown (unless Le Cellier is miraculously available)

Day 6: HOW EARLY DO WE HAVE TO GET UP??? Wake up even earlier than usual and head over to AKL for a Photo Session---which our family doesn't know about yet. I hope we can surprise them with fabulous pictures. Then stuff ourselves at Boma and head to Hollywood Studios again. If Fantasmic got canceled on Day 4, we will do it on this day. Have dinner at Studio Catering Co. Last time we went to WDW in Sept, we never got to see Fantasmic because of lightning. Boo!
Alternate ADR plan: Ohana, with Photo Session at the Poly

Day 7: DOLE WHIP OR DIE Strollerville (AKA Magic Kingdom) day! Since we are both Disneyland veterans and we have no kids, we have opted to only spend one full day in the MK. We figure we will more than make up for it on later trips when we have kids. Have lunch at Columbia Harbor House and eat dinner at The Plaza. I WILL EAT A DOLE WHIP ON THIS DAY! We forget to EVERY trip!
Alternate ADR plan: Tony's or Liberty Tree (I can't decide which is better)

Day 8: OUR LAST DAY IN THE PARKS Back to AK. Make sure to ride Kilimanjaro in the evening. After closing, we will head over to MK for MNSSHP! We've never done a party and I'm not sure what to expect. Also not sure if we should wear costumes.

Day 9: BACK TO REALITY Fly home. Hopefully we can book a late flight and sleep in after the long day before.

[MinnieNurse]

Hey, just tuning in. Plans look great. I will make you feel better, I will be there in August. Much hotter I am sure. But then again, I am a Texan so doesnt really bother me. I am enjoying your report so far.

[SilverL]

I got the text from DH today... go ahead and book the trip! So I did!

I also bought our MNSSHP tickets for Sept. 22 and prepaid for our PhotoPass CD!

We have 9 days and 8 nights at Pop with Free Dining and 9 day basic tickets.

Still need to book our flights.

YAY! I'M SO EXCITED!

[nu2wdisneyw]

Hey there!
I am joining you in your planning adventure! You have details down to the last day!!! Congrats on booking and I hope you enjoy MNSSHP...we opted not to do it since its September 4th when we are there and I am not thinking about Halloween at the beginning of September! Well I look forward to reading along!

[SilverL]

Originally Posted by MinnieNurse

Hey, just tuning in. Plans look great. I will make you feel better, I will be there in August. Much hotter I am sure. But then again, I am a Texan so doesnt really bother me. I am enjoying your report so far.

Oh yes, I have actually been in August as well. We were HOT TAMALES the entire trip. Even though I said NEVER again in September and went back on it, I know I will never go in the summer again. The heat is so hard for us Washingtonians who live on the coast to bear. I live right near the beach. It's June and it was cold and rainy (like fall) yesterday. Go figure!

Originally Posted by nu2wdisneyw

Hey there!
I am joining you in your planning adventure! You have details down to the last day!!! Congrats on booking and I hope you enjoy MNSSHP...we opted not to do it since its September 4th when we are there and I am not thinking about Halloween at the beginning of September! Well I look forward to reading along!

Halloween isn't typically my thing and I definitely am not thinking about it in September either. But my DH and I think the party will be a lot of fun. I really want to go to one of the parties... so we are! I don't think we'll dress up though. Maybe we can wear funny hats?

Question for everyone:

We are on the basic dining plan. That means we can have 1 TS each and 1 QS each per day, as well as 1 snack. I have planned to have one big TS meal per day, and if we each order our own entrees at those meals, we will use up all of our TS credits.

Now, here is my question: Do you think we could split a QS meal for each of our other two meals, or would we be hungry?

I have heard a lot of people say that the DDP is a lot of food. I have been considering simply bringing some cereal for mornings, but if the QS lunches are going to fill us up a lot, I would rather split for breakfast and lunch (or whatever our small meals are). Pop's adult breakfast platter seems like something we could easily split (scrambled eggs, potatoes, biscuit, sausage, and bacon).

What do you all think?

[SilverL]

Wish me luck, everyone. Today is the day of DH and I's scariest finals. I still have two more papers to finish before 2pm. Once this is over, though, I will be DONE with school for this term, aside from a fun project I need to do for lit! DH has his math final today. We're both terrified. I have western civ---which I would normally ace, but the professor is an awful teacher. No one ever learns anything in his classes. The entire class freaks out for the midterm and final and ends up making stuff up and then somehow we all manage to pass. It's sad. But I need history credits.

[MinnieNurse]

Originally Posted by SilverL

Question for everyone:

We are on the basic dining plan. That means we can have 1 TS each and 1 QS each per day, as well as 1 snack. I have planned to have one big TS meal per day, and if we each order our own entrees at those meals, we will use up all of our TS credits.

Now, here is my question: Do you think we could split a QS meal for each of our other two meals, or would we be hungry?

I have heard a lot of people say that the DDP is a lot of food. I have been considering simply bringing some cereal for mornings, but if the QS lunches are going to fill us up a lot, I would rather split for breakfast and lunch (or whatever our small meals are). Pop's adult breakfast platter seems like something we could easily split (scrambled eggs, potatoes, biscuit, sausage, and bacon).

What do you all think?

I think you could go either way. If you normally eat 3 meals a day you probably would be better splitting breakfast and lunch. If you do not eat 3 meals a day I would say just eat the 2.

We did the deluxe plan on our last trip and it was way to much for us. Its nice because you can do a lot of signature places, but there is no way we could eat 3 meals a day that way. We were stuffed. We always do the regular dining plan and just do 2 meals and the snack and it works great for us. Hope this isnt more confusing for you. I tend to ramble.

[MinnieNurse]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention.

I love the swimsuit.

[SilverL]

I bought my bag for the parks! But unfortunately, Kohls no longer has it available... Good thing I bought it when I did. It's cross body with two little pockets in the front big enough for a cell phone. One of them zips, and the other doesn't. Then there is a little zippered part and a big inside area with a pocket also the size of a cell phone, and an open pocket on the back just big enough to hold a notebook. It's really cute. It's bright oranges, yellows, purples, and teals on brown with flowers.

I also bought my first swimsuit in eons because my DH MADE me. It's very cute. Also from Kohls:



I get to make my ADRs in TWO DAYS! Not looking forward to getting up at 3:45am Pacific, however.

Oh, our MNSSHP tickets also came. They're nothing special, though. Just regular tickets.

[crocko]

Signing in to follow along.

My family is going from Sep 17 - 26th...so, we will be sharing in the humidity with you. I'm from Oklahoma, so probably won't really be any worse than what I'll be leaving.

Good luck getting your ADR's tomorrow!!

[by the way, your school starts back SUPER LATE!!]

[SilverL]

OMG

I FORGOT TO CALL IN MY ADRs THIS MORNING

Waiting on hold now. 7:00pm pacific time

*pulls hair out*

[SilverL]

I'm a horrible DISer. Can't believe I forgot to call this morning! I was happily reading the boards when it dawned on me that today was the 18th. I tore out of the room like a madwoman, grabbed the phone and dialed frantically, certain that all was lost.

Here is what I wanted for my trip:

Teppan Edo 6pm
Whispering Canyon 6pm
Mama Melrose Fantasmic Package 5pm
Chefs de France 6pm
Boma 7:30am
Plaza 6pm
Liberty Tree 6pm

Here is what I got:

Teppan Edo 4:40pm
Whispering Canyon 8:05pm
Mama Melrose *NOT FANTASMIC PACKAGE* 3:05pm
Chefs de France 6pm
Boma 7:30am
Plaza 6:05pm
Liberty Tree 6pm

I am pleased!

[MinnieNurse]

Originally Posted by SilverL

I'm a horrible DISer. Can't believe I forgot to call this morning! I was happily reading the boards when it dawned on me that today was the 18th. I tore out of the room like a madwoman, grabbed the phone and dialed frantically, certain that all was lost.

Here is what I wanted for my trip:

Teppan Edo 6pm
Whispering Canyon 6pm
Mama Melrose Fantasmic Package 5pm
Chefs de France 6pm
Boma 7:30am
Plaza 6pm
Liberty Tree 6pm

Here is what I got:

Teppan Edo 4:40pm
Whispering Canyon 8:05pm
Mama Melrose *NOT FANTASMIC PACKAGE* 3:05pm
Chefs de France 6pm
Boma 7:30am
Plaza 6:05pm
Liberty Tree 6pm

I am pleased!

Not to shabby! At least you got them all, just a few different times thats all. I always love not having to pick another place.