DoomBuggy86
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2010
Hello Everyone!
I am new to the DIS boards, and this is my very FIRST Pre-Trip Report!
My name is Erica, I'm originally from NJ, and I am a 24-year-old self-proclaimed WDW addict. I still enjoy getting autographs from the characters (I have an autograph book from August 2008 to prove it!), I have planned 3 and an upcoming 4th WDW vacation in my 2 years out of college, and I tear up EVERY time the Spectromagic music plays on DIS Radio.
I am also recently engaged! My DFi's name is Michael, he is from Northern Ireland, I met him on Election Night two years ago, and he truly is my very own dream come true.
As recent college grads, we've both had our share of recession woes. In fact, shortly after Michael proposed, he lost his job due to another round of cuts at his firm, and my temporary preschool teaching job ended. Such is the life of many a qualified college grad (and even PhD holder!) these days!
For the past month, we have both been dealing with the stress of job hunting and constantly reassessing our finances and career paths. Not so fun! And not so conducive to happy wedding planning!
Then it dawned on us last week. All of the excitement over our engagement and future together had been shoved to the side. We had turned into much less endearing versions of Eeyore, always followed by a rain cloud. We had forgotten to count the many, MANY blessings in our lives. We were missing the magic!
So, we made a spontaneous decision to TAKE ACTION! Bring pretty darn fiscally responsible for our tender ages, we have decent savings. I got onto the WDW website as fast as I could, found a package within our budget, and presto! We were going to Disney World!
We booked a 4 night, 5 day vacation to the most magical place on Earth, we are staying at the AS-Sports, and we leave on MONDAY!
The trip will serve two purposes. The most important will be to CELEBRATE our engagement and our commitment to each other and to reclaim the magic in our lives. The second will be to experience WDW during the fall, which we have never done!
This will be my 10th trip. I have never been to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival, nor MNSSHP. We will be doing both!
(I should mention to everyone that Halloween is my FAVORITE holiday, I am obsessed with Tim Burton, and I want to live in the Haunted Mansion!)
Planning this trip has made me believe again, and I want to share our experience with you.
SO, without further adieu, I present you with a classic Erica Disney Itinerary!
I have been making these for years (I learned from my wonderful Mom!), and I never get tired of them. I hope you enjoy it and I hope you tune in for the Trip Report!
Erica and Michaels Not So Scary
Disney Engagement Celebration!!!
A Happily Haunted Itinerary
Day 1: Erica and Michael, youre unemployed, overwhelmed, and about to get married, what are you going to do next?! GO TO DISNEY WORLD!
Get to airport.
Sleep on plane. (Erica: Is it too early for champagne?)
Arrive in Orlando
Get on Disneys Magical Express to the All-Star SPORTS Resort. Erica will now don her Minnie bride ears (and try to convince Michael to purchase the groom ears for the next four days!). Retrieve Keys to World and absolutely essential Just Engaged buttons!
Spend day in DISNEYS HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS!
Lunch at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater. (Beware of the Blob it creeps and leaps and glides and slides across the floor, right through the door, and all around the wall, a splotch, and blotch, be careful of the Blob!)
Make sure to hit the Backlot Tour (Michaels never been on it!), and one stage show.
Later that night: Ferry to Disneys Boardwalk! Because Erica misses the Jersey Shore, and Michael missed the Boardwalk on his first trip.
Day 2: DISNEYS ANIMAL KINGDOM (The groom-to-bes favorite!)
Get to AK when park OPENS.
Ride the rides, visit Yeti, jungle boogie.
After park closes, stop-in at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for a look see and a trip to the Cape Town Lounge and Wine Bar. (Where we hope the bartender notices our Just Engaged buttons and brings out a bottle of Moet. HEY, this is DISNEY WORLD, it could happen!)
Hop a bus to Downtown Disney for food, drink, etc, etc
Day 3: EPCOT (Extra Magic Hours!) Also, the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival! Disney World in the Fall = AWESOME!
Get to park when it opens. Go STRAIGHT to Test Track (the one major ride in EPCOT Michael hasnt done yet!)
Contemplate the future in Future World, hit up the Food Festival Welcome Center, visit Michaels native UK, share a tri-color margarita in Mexico.
Lunch at the Biergarten Restaurant in Germany! Oktoberfest here we come!
Hit up the Food Festival Welcome Center, enjoy tapas from all the countries and more, drown our sorrows in lots of VINO, perhaps catch Sugar Ray playing at the Eat to the Beat! Concert Series (no, seriously, Sugar Ray).
EXTRA MAGIC HOURS until 12AM if deemed necessary and appropriate.
Day 4: THE MAGIC KINGDOM / MICKEYS NOT SO SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Erica is not at ALL excited about Halloween in Disney World. Nope, not one bit.)
Erica will don her Disney Halloween shirt and Minnie Mouse witch hat for this special day.
EXTRA MORNING HOURS!
Allow approximately 10-15 minutes for Erica to freak out over the Magic Kingdom in Halloween garb.
Go STRAIGHT to Space Mountain (Sadly closed during Michaels first visit. Michael will then determine his all-time favorite Disney coaster!)
Ride the Haunted Mansion at LEAST 7-times.
Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween Party begins!
Trick or Treat around the Park (Erica may pass out from sheer joy!), hobnob with villains, go to the CHARACTER DANCE PARTY in LIBERTY SQUARE, more Haunted Mansion (be sure to take picture in front of hearse a ghost will appear when the picture is developed!), HalloWishes fireworks, Mickeys Boo-to-You Halloween Parade (find a spot early to catch the Headless Horseman!), stay until MIDNIGHT, Erica can now die HAPPY!
Last Day / Back to the Magic Kingdom
Ride all of our favorites one (or several) more times!
Magical Express back to the airport
Return home feeling enchantingly in love, magically refreshed, and ready to face the next months with a little faith, trust, and pixie dust!
A happily haunted vacation, indeed.
To be documented by copious pictures, taken by:
Princess Erica of the Land of Blushing Bride Laughter and Happily Ever After
Prince Michael of the Land of True-Loves-Kiss and Wedded Bliss
Itinerary Brought to you by 999 Ghosts, Inc.
Making Nightmares Come True
Hurray baaack, hurray baaaack
Be sure to bring your death certificate
Were just dying to have you
I am new to the DIS boards, and this is my very FIRST Pre-Trip Report!
My name is Erica, I'm originally from NJ, and I am a 24-year-old self-proclaimed WDW addict. I still enjoy getting autographs from the characters (I have an autograph book from August 2008 to prove it!), I have planned 3 and an upcoming 4th WDW vacation in my 2 years out of college, and I tear up EVERY time the Spectromagic music plays on DIS Radio.
I am also recently engaged! My DFi's name is Michael, he is from Northern Ireland, I met him on Election Night two years ago, and he truly is my very own dream come true.
As recent college grads, we've both had our share of recession woes. In fact, shortly after Michael proposed, he lost his job due to another round of cuts at his firm, and my temporary preschool teaching job ended. Such is the life of many a qualified college grad (and even PhD holder!) these days!
For the past month, we have both been dealing with the stress of job hunting and constantly reassessing our finances and career paths. Not so fun! And not so conducive to happy wedding planning!
Then it dawned on us last week. All of the excitement over our engagement and future together had been shoved to the side. We had turned into much less endearing versions of Eeyore, always followed by a rain cloud. We had forgotten to count the many, MANY blessings in our lives. We were missing the magic!
So, we made a spontaneous decision to TAKE ACTION! Bring pretty darn fiscally responsible for our tender ages, we have decent savings. I got onto the WDW website as fast as I could, found a package within our budget, and presto! We were going to Disney World!
We booked a 4 night, 5 day vacation to the most magical place on Earth, we are staying at the AS-Sports, and we leave on MONDAY!
The trip will serve two purposes. The most important will be to CELEBRATE our engagement and our commitment to each other and to reclaim the magic in our lives. The second will be to experience WDW during the fall, which we have never done!
This will be my 10th trip. I have never been to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival, nor MNSSHP. We will be doing both!
(I should mention to everyone that Halloween is my FAVORITE holiday, I am obsessed with Tim Burton, and I want to live in the Haunted Mansion!)
Planning this trip has made me believe again, and I want to share our experience with you.
SO, without further adieu, I present you with a classic Erica Disney Itinerary!
I have been making these for years (I learned from my wonderful Mom!), and I never get tired of them. I hope you enjoy it and I hope you tune in for the Trip Report!
Erica and Michaels Not So Scary
Disney Engagement Celebration!!!
A Happily Haunted Itinerary
Day 1: Erica and Michael, youre unemployed, overwhelmed, and about to get married, what are you going to do next?! GO TO DISNEY WORLD!
Get to airport.
Sleep on plane. (Erica: Is it too early for champagne?)
Arrive in Orlando
Get on Disneys Magical Express to the All-Star SPORTS Resort. Erica will now don her Minnie bride ears (and try to convince Michael to purchase the groom ears for the next four days!). Retrieve Keys to World and absolutely essential Just Engaged buttons!
Spend day in DISNEYS HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS!
Lunch at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater. (Beware of the Blob it creeps and leaps and glides and slides across the floor, right through the door, and all around the wall, a splotch, and blotch, be careful of the Blob!)
Make sure to hit the Backlot Tour (Michaels never been on it!), and one stage show.
Later that night: Ferry to Disneys Boardwalk! Because Erica misses the Jersey Shore, and Michael missed the Boardwalk on his first trip.
Day 2: DISNEYS ANIMAL KINGDOM (The groom-to-bes favorite!)
Get to AK when park OPENS.
Ride the rides, visit Yeti, jungle boogie.
After park closes, stop-in at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for a look see and a trip to the Cape Town Lounge and Wine Bar. (Where we hope the bartender notices our Just Engaged buttons and brings out a bottle of Moet. HEY, this is DISNEY WORLD, it could happen!)
Hop a bus to Downtown Disney for food, drink, etc, etc
Day 3: EPCOT (Extra Magic Hours!) Also, the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival! Disney World in the Fall = AWESOME!
Get to park when it opens. Go STRAIGHT to Test Track (the one major ride in EPCOT Michael hasnt done yet!)
Contemplate the future in Future World, hit up the Food Festival Welcome Center, visit Michaels native UK, share a tri-color margarita in Mexico.
Lunch at the Biergarten Restaurant in Germany! Oktoberfest here we come!
Hit up the Food Festival Welcome Center, enjoy tapas from all the countries and more, drown our sorrows in lots of VINO, perhaps catch Sugar Ray playing at the Eat to the Beat! Concert Series (no, seriously, Sugar Ray).
EXTRA MAGIC HOURS until 12AM if deemed necessary and appropriate.
Day 4: THE MAGIC KINGDOM / MICKEYS NOT SO SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Erica is not at ALL excited about Halloween in Disney World. Nope, not one bit.)
Erica will don her Disney Halloween shirt and Minnie Mouse witch hat for this special day.
EXTRA MORNING HOURS!
Allow approximately 10-15 minutes for Erica to freak out over the Magic Kingdom in Halloween garb.
Go STRAIGHT to Space Mountain (Sadly closed during Michaels first visit. Michael will then determine his all-time favorite Disney coaster!)
Ride the Haunted Mansion at LEAST 7-times.
Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween Party begins!
Trick or Treat around the Park (Erica may pass out from sheer joy!), hobnob with villains, go to the CHARACTER DANCE PARTY in LIBERTY SQUARE, more Haunted Mansion (be sure to take picture in front of hearse a ghost will appear when the picture is developed!), HalloWishes fireworks, Mickeys Boo-to-You Halloween Parade (find a spot early to catch the Headless Horseman!), stay until MIDNIGHT, Erica can now die HAPPY!
Last Day / Back to the Magic Kingdom
Ride all of our favorites one (or several) more times!
Magical Express back to the airport
Return home feeling enchantingly in love, magically refreshed, and ready to face the next months with a little faith, trust, and pixie dust!
A happily haunted vacation, indeed.
To be documented by copious pictures, taken by:
Princess Erica of the Land of Blushing Bride Laughter and Happily Ever After
Prince Michael of the Land of True-Loves-Kiss and Wedded Bliss
Itinerary Brought to you by 999 Ghosts, Inc.
Making Nightmares Come True
Hurray baaack, hurray baaaack
Be sure to bring your death certificate
Were just dying to have you
