Newsies: From Scratch - May And September 2024! - FINISHED! 09/07

[Sajchinook2015]

Good luck with your waitlists. Keeping my fingers crossed for ya.

 

[Newsies]

Good luck with your waitlists. Keeping my fingers crossed for ya.

Thanks so much, this is so kind!

 

[rdkeim]

Wow what an update! Your May plans are coming together. Would be nice if one of your waitlists comes thru. I'd be all about saving points if I could while still staying somewhere nice. And a cruise in 2025 - that's exciting! A different way to experience Disney. Looking forward to reading more about your plans.

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Hi Kait - I’m excited to see how your plans develop! We’ll be at WDW next May as well, including May 23-28th at the Poly Villas. We’re renting points and are VERY excited to stay at the Polynesian for the first time!

I’ll be crossing my fingers for you as well - it’s stressful to wait for requests! I bet at least one of your requests will come through, but it would be fun to meet you if we end up at the same resort this May.

 

[Sajchinook2015]

I could probably research but when is the Poly DVC building going to be ready. To lazy to look. I have stayed twice at Rivera and loved it. Sure wish I had the courage to do a solo trip. Too afraid of eating solo in restaurants. Silly I know. Good luck with all the planning. Sometimes the planiining and DREAMING is soo much fun,

 

[Newsies]

Wow what an update! Your May plans are coming together. Would be nice if one of your waitlists comes thru. I'd be all about saving points if I could while still staying somewhere nice. And a cruise in 2025 - that's exciting! A different way to experience Disney. Looking forward to reading more about your plans.

We're so excited for May!! This is our thought process, too: if we could save points while still being at a resort we're happy at, it would be ideal for next year. And we're very excited about the cruise! We still have a few months before our potential itineraries are released, but we're having a lot of fun watching DCL vloggers in the meantime.

Hi Kait - I’m excited to see how your plans develop! We’ll be at WDW next May as well, including May 23-28th at the Poly Villas. We’re renting points and are VERY excited to stay at the Polynesian for the first time!

I’ll be crossing my fingers for you as well - it’s stressful to wait for requests! I bet at least one of your requests will come through, but it would be fun to meet you if we end up at the same resort this May.

Hey hey Jenny!! So great to see you! Sounds like there's a very good chance we'll run into each other either at the Poly or around the Parks Thanks for keeping your fingers crossed for us!!!

I could probably research but when is the Poly DVC building going to be ready. To lazy to look. I have stayed twice at Rivera and loved it. Sure wish I had the courage to do a solo trip. Too afraid of eating solo in restaurants. Silly I know. Good luck with all the planning. Sometimes the planiining and DREAMING is soo much fun,

That's a great question! All we know is that it's supposed to open late 2024-- not sure when exactly it'll open late next year, but usually this means November or December.

Re: solo trips, I hear you there. Dining alone at restaurants is a pain point for me as well. It's a bit better at quick service places when you can tuck yourself in a table and hide your face in your phone while you eat, but I did a true "table service" experience solo during my first DCP and decided it wasn't my cup of tea. My best tip is to research which great restaurants at WDW have bars -- some of them, like Homecomin', serve the full restaurant menu, and it's much less awkward to eat in a setting like this versus at a table alone in the middle of a dining room!

And I agree-- the planning and dreaming is the fun of it all!

 

[Newsies]

A Small Life Update & First Batch o' May Plans
​

Well hello, hello! Long time, no see. A lot has happened since my last update!

So I've been talking about getting a new car for about a year now. Long story short: my sister was involved in a car accident in 2020, thankfully she walked away completely unharmed but the car we were sharing at the time was totaled. I needed a new car quickly in order to get to work so we took the small insurance payout we got and bought a 2011 Ford Edge that was about to go to auction. It was fine but certainly not my dream car and was really only going to be temporary until I had been working at my job for a while and was ready to lease or buy a new car.

Well, the Edge served me well, but over the summer I began to realize her days were numbered-- the rearview camera stopped working, she started having a lot of tire pressure issues we couldn't source, she started making clunky noises. I had found my dream car at a local dealer but didn't feel quite ready to commit to her...

... Until the Edge died on me in the first week of November It was a Sunday morning, I ran out to get some Starbucks, and as I was turning into the parking lot, she died on me. Wouldn't turn the steering wheel. Wouldn't budge. Called AAA to get her towed but my dad arrived to the scene first and when he popped the hood, he knew that the car was gone for good. We had to donate it to Habitat for Humanity.

It was very sad but it was her time and I took it as a sign. It was the universe's way of saying, "Go get your dream car!"

And the next week, that's what we did. Here she is! A Ford Bronco Sport in Robin Egg Blue.

​

She is my baby. Seriously. I couldn't love her more-- she's the perfect color and everyone tells me about how perfect she is for me, so I couldn't be happier with her!

The good news didn't stop there. A few weeks ago, I accepted a new role within my company (which I LOVE) and I'm really excited about it. I'll be creating this role in a net new department where I'll be reporting to a coworker I absolutely adore and I'll be making more money than I am in my current role, which makes me very excited to book my September trip soon!

That's enough talk about me. If you've made it this far through the post: thank you, and I'd love to hear about the recent wins in your life as well.

Now back to planning! I think I've nailed down my first set of Park plans & dream ADRs for our May vacation. Our Maycation, if you will.

Saturday, May 18
Travel Day
We drive from NJ, so this is our driving day. We start the drive at 11 PM on a Friday night and drive all through Sunday, stopping for Denny's for breakfast and Buc-ees for Lunch. Around 4-5 PM, we stop in Georgia for some dinner and to rest up at a hotel in Kingsland.

Sunday, May 19
Arrival Day/Hollywood Studios
Our day starts very, very early. Stupidly early. 4 in the morning early. We wake up, get back in the car, and start the final leg of driving to the mouse, which typically involves another stop at Buc-ees for some coffee and a breakfast pastry.

We don't typically start in Hollywood Studios, but I feel pretty confident in the plans I have laid out for the first three days. We'll do some morning fun at Toy Story Land and MMRR, then we'll head back to the hotel in the afternoon to unpack and get ready for dinner. We're hoping to have a nice early dinner at Jiko. This has been on our bucket list to try for a while, and we'll either drive or Minnie Van over there before heading back and spending the rest of the evening relaxing at the resort.

Monday, May 20
Magic Kingdom
Nothing crazy here today. Breakfast at Crystal Palace, then a nice, run-of-the-mill day at MK. For dinner, we'll take a boat launch to Wilderness Lodge and grab some drinks and small plates at Geyser Point-- it's a family favorite.

Tuesday, May 21
Epcot... and my birthday!
May 21 will be my 27th birthday! I've celebrated a birthday at Disneyland Resort before, but this will be my first birthday at Walt Disney World. Epcot is my favorite park, so we'll be having some fun here today. When my ADR window opens up, I'm going to book breakfast at Akershus because duh I want to spend my birthday with my favorite gals, but TBD if we keep it. We'll do all the birthday standards: drink wine, hug Mickey Mouse, have a margarita, buy a new Dooney bag at Creations, have a third drink of some sort. My birthday dinner is going to (hopefully) be at Chefs de France, my favorite restaurant in the Parks. I'm so excited for this day!

Wednesday, May 22
Pool day!
We're going to build a pool day into the middle of this week so we can fully enjoy the Lava Pool. We're gonna get our tan on! This will be the night we go to dinner at Disney Springs, and I'm hoping we can try the new Summer House. I've heard very good reviews since it opened this week and I reeealllly gotta check out that cookie bar!

Thursday, May 23
Hollywood Studios
Second DHS day, we're going to try Roundup Rodeo BBQ on this day. If I'm not wrong, we missed the soft opening of this restaurant by just a few weeks this year and while the reviews have been a mixed bag, I'm always down to try a well-themed restaurant!

Friday, May 24
Epcot
I'd like to try Shiki-Sai for dinner. We love Teppan Edo and the reviews for this new restaurant have been amazing, so this is on the top of our list. The only thing that would sway me was if there was a really, really good Garden Rocks performance happening on this day. And in that case: to Biergarten we go for the Garden Rocks package!

Saturday, May 25
Magic Kingdom
Our last day at the Parks! I think we're going to hop over to the Swan & Dolphin and try Rosa Mexicano -- this is another new one for us and we've heard very good things.

Sunday, May 26
Drive Home
Drive home with hearts full of Disney magic and eyes full of tears.

​

These are the plans. As always, open to thoughts/questions/comments/concerns/critiques!

Wishing you and your family a very happy, healthy holiday season!

 

[SEAGULL59]

A Small Life Update & First Batch o' May Plans
​

Well hello, hello! Long time, no see. A lot has happened since my last update!

So I've been talking about getting a new car for about a year now. Long story short: my sister was involved in a car accident in 2020, thankfully she walked away completely unharmed but the car we were sharing at the time was totaled. I needed a new car quickly in order to get to work so we took the small insurance payout we got and bought a 2011 Ford Edge that was about to go to auction. It was fine but certainly not my dream car and was really only going to be temporary until I had been working at my job for a while and was ready to lease or buy a new car.

Well, the Edge served me well, but over the summer I began to realize her days were numbered-- the rearview camera stopped working, she started having a lot of tire pressure issues we couldn't source, she started making clunky noises. I had found my dream car at a local dealer but didn't feel quite ready to commit to her...

... Until the Edge died on me in the first week of November It was a Sunday morning, I ran out to get some Starbucks, and as I was turning into the parking lot, she died on me. Wouldn't turn the steering wheel. Wouldn't budge. Called AAA to get her towed but my dad arrived to the scene first and when he popped the hood, he knew that the car was gone for good. We had to donate it to Habitat for Humanity.

It was very sad but it was her time and I took it as a sign. It was the universe's way of saying, "Go get your dream car!"

And the next week, that's what we did. Here she is! A Ford Bronco Sport in Robin Egg Blue.

​

She is my baby. Seriously. I couldn't love her more-- she's the perfect color and everyone tells me about how perfect she is for me, so I couldn't be happier with her!

The good news didn't stop there. A few weeks ago, I accepted a new role within my company (which I LOVE) and I'm really excited about it. I'll be creating this role in a net new department where I'll be reporting to a coworker I absolutely adore and I'll be making more money than I am in my current role, which makes me very excited to book my September trip soon!

That's enough talk about me. If you've made it this far through the post: thank you, and I'd love to hear about the recent wins in your life as well.

Now back to planning! I think I've nailed down my first set of Park plans & dream ADRs for our May vacation. Our Maycation, if you will.

Saturday, May 18
Travel Day
We drive from NJ, so this is our driving day. We start the drive at 11 PM on a Friday night and drive all through Sunday, stopping for Denny's for breakfast and Buc-ees for Lunch. Around 4-5 PM, we stop in Georgia for some dinner and to rest up at a hotel in Kingsland.

Sunday, May 19
Arrival Day/Hollywood Studios
Our day starts very, very early. Stupidly early. 4 in the morning early. We wake up, get back in the car, and start the final leg of driving to the mouse, which typically involves another stop at Buc-ees for some coffee and a breakfast pastry.

We don't typically start in Hollywood Studios, but I feel pretty confident in the plans I have laid out for the first three days. We'll do some morning fun at Toy Story Land and MMRR, then we'll head back to the hotel in the afternoon to unpack and get ready for dinner. We're hoping to have a nice early dinner at Jiko. This has been on our bucket list to try for a while, and we'll either drive or Minnie Van over there before heading back and spending the rest of the evening relaxing at the resort.

Monday, May 20
Magic Kingdom
Nothing crazy here today. Breakfast at Crystal Palace, then a nice, run-of-the-mill day at MK. For dinner, we'll take a boat launch to Wilderness Lodge and grab some drinks and small plates at Geyser Point-- it's a family favorite.

Tuesday, May 21
Epcot... and my birthday!
May 21 will be my 27th birthday! I've celebrated a birthday at Disneyland Resort before, but this will be my first birthday at Walt Disney World. Epcot is my favorite park, so we'll be having some fun here today. When my ADR window opens up, I'm going to book breakfast at Akershus because duh I want to spend my birthday with my favorite gals, but TBD if we keep it. We'll do all the birthday standards: drink wine, hug Mickey Mouse, have a margarita, buy a new Dooney bag at Creations, have a third drink of some sort. My birthday dinner is going to (hopefully) be at Chefs de France, my favorite restaurant in the Parks. I'm so excited for this day!

Wednesday, May 22
Pool day!
We're going to build a pool day into the middle of this week so we can fully enjoy the Lava Pool. We're gonna get our tan on! This will be the night we go to dinner at Disney Springs, and I'm hoping we can try the new Summer House. I've heard very good reviews since it opened this week and I reeealllly gotta check out that cookie bar!

Thursday, May 23
Hollywood Studios
Second DHS day, we're going to try Roundup Rodeo BBQ on this day. If I'm not wrong, we missed the soft opening of this restaurant by just a few weeks this year and while the reviews have been a mixed bag, I'm always down to try a well-themed restaurant!

Friday, May 24
Epcot
I'd like to try Shiki-Sai for dinner. We love Teppan Edo and the reviews for this new restaurant have been amazing, so this is on the top of our list. The only thing that would sway me was if there was a really, really good Garden Rocks performance happening on this day. And in that case: to Biergarten we go for the Garden Rocks package!

Saturday, May 25
Magic Kingdom
Our last day at the Parks! I think we're going to hop over to the Swan & Dolphin and try Rosa Mexicano -- this is another new one for us and we've heard very good things.

Sunday, May 26
Drive Home
Drive home with hearts full of Disney magic and eyes full of tears.

​

These are the plans. As always, open to thoughts/questions/comments/concerns/critiques!

Wishing you and your family a very happy, healthy holiday season!

Your plans look great and I love the Bronco!! Glad you treated yourself to what you really wanted! And congrats on the new position. Awesome!

 

[Sajchinook2015]

A Small Life Update & First Batch o' May Plans
​

Well hello, hello! Long time, no see. A lot has happened since my last update!

So I've been talking about getting a new car for about a year now. Long story short: my sister was involved in a car accident in 2020, thankfully she walked away completely unharmed but the car we were sharing at the time was totaled. I needed a new car quickly in order to get to work so we took the small insurance payout we got and bought a 2011 Ford Edge that was about to go to auction. It was fine but certainly not my dream car and was really only going to be temporary until I had been working at my job for a while and was ready to lease or buy a new car.

Well, the Edge served me well, but over the summer I began to realize her days were numbered-- the rearview camera stopped working, she started having a lot of tire pressure issues we couldn't source, she started making clunky noises. I had found my dream car at a local dealer but didn't feel quite ready to commit to her...

... Until the Edge died on me in the first week of November It was a Sunday morning, I ran out to get some Starbucks, and as I was turning into the parking lot, she died on me. Wouldn't turn the steering wheel. Wouldn't budge. Called AAA to get her towed but my dad arrived to the scene first and when he popped the hood, he knew that the car was gone for good. We had to donate it to Habitat for Humanity.

It was very sad but it was her time and I took it as a sign. It was the universe's way of saying, "Go get your dream car!"

And the next week, that's what we did. Here she is! A Ford Bronco Sport in Robin Egg Blue.

​

She is my baby. Seriously. I couldn't love her more-- she's the perfect color and everyone tells me about how perfect she is for me, so I couldn't be happier with her!

The good news didn't stop there. A few weeks ago, I accepted a new role within my company (which I LOVE) and I'm really excited about it. I'll be creating this role in a net new department where I'll be reporting to a coworker I absolutely adore and I'll be making more money than I am in my current role, which makes me very excited to book my September trip soon!

That's enough talk about me. If you've made it this far through the post: thank you, and I'd love to hear about the recent wins in your life as well.

Now back to planning! I think I've nailed down my first set of Park plans & dream ADRs for our May vacation. Our Maycation, if you will.

Saturday, May 18
Travel Day
We drive from NJ, so this is our driving day. We start the drive at 11 PM on a Friday night and drive all through Sunday, stopping for Denny's for breakfast and Buc-ees for Lunch. Around 4-5 PM, we stop in Georgia for some dinner and to rest up at a hotel in Kingsland.

Sunday, May 19
Arrival Day/Hollywood Studios
Our day starts very, very early. Stupidly early. 4 in the morning early. We wake up, get back in the car, and start the final leg of driving to the mouse, which typically involves another stop at Buc-ees for some coffee and a breakfast pastry.

We don't typically start in Hollywood Studios, but I feel pretty confident in the plans I have laid out for the first three days. We'll do some morning fun at Toy Story Land and MMRR, then we'll head back to the hotel in the afternoon to unpack and get ready for dinner. We're hoping to have a nice early dinner at Jiko. This has been on our bucket list to try for a while, and we'll either drive or Minnie Van over there before heading back and spending the rest of the evening relaxing at the resort.

Monday, May 20
Magic Kingdom
Nothing crazy here today. Breakfast at Crystal Palace, then a nice, run-of-the-mill day at MK. For dinner, we'll take a boat launch to Wilderness Lodge and grab some drinks and small plates at Geyser Point-- it's a family favorite.

Tuesday, May 21
Epcot... and my birthday!
May 21 will be my 27th birthday! I've celebrated a birthday at Disneyland Resort before, but this will be my first birthday at Walt Disney World. Epcot is my favorite park, so we'll be having some fun here today. When my ADR window opens up, I'm going to book breakfast at Akershus because duh I want to spend my birthday with my favorite gals, but TBD if we keep it. We'll do all the birthday standards: drink wine, hug Mickey Mouse, have a margarita, buy a new Dooney bag at Creations, have a third drink of some sort. My birthday dinner is going to (hopefully) be at Chefs de France, my favorite restaurant in the Parks. I'm so excited for this day!

Wednesday, May 22
Pool day!
We're going to build a pool day into the middle of this week so we can fully enjoy the Lava Pool. We're gonna get our tan on! This will be the night we go to dinner at Disney Springs, and I'm hoping we can try the new Summer House. I've heard very good reviews since it opened this week and I reeealllly gotta check out that cookie bar!

Thursday, May 23
Hollywood Studios
Second DHS day, we're going to try Roundup Rodeo BBQ on this day. If I'm not wrong, we missed the soft opening of this restaurant by just a few weeks this year and while the reviews have been a mixed bag, I'm always down to try a well-themed restaurant!

Friday, May 24
Epcot
I'd like to try Shiki-Sai for dinner. We love Teppan Edo and the reviews for this new restaurant have been amazing, so this is on the top of our list. The only thing that would sway me was if there was a really, really good Garden Rocks performance happening on this day. And in that case: to Biergarten we go for the Garden Rocks package!

Saturday, May 25
Magic Kingdom
Our last day at the Parks! I think we're going to hop over to the Swan & Dolphin and try Rosa Mexicano -- this is another new one for us and we've heard very good things.

Sunday, May 26
Drive Home
Drive home with hearts full of Disney magic and eyes full of tears.

​

These are the plans. As always, open to thoughts/questions/comments/concerns/critiques!

Wishing you and your family a very happy, healthy holiday season!

Love the new car and congrats on the new job.

I am trying to talk my mom and sis into eating at Woody’s BBQ RoundUp. Not having much luck. It’s been years since we have eaten at Biergarten so we have that on our list.

Have a Merry Christmas!

 

[Newsies]

Your plans look great and I love the Bronco!! Glad you treated yourself to what you really wanted! And congrats on the new position. Awesome!

Thank you so very much for the kind words, I appreciate the message! Hope you're having a wonderful holiday season!

Love the new car and congrats on the new job.

I am trying to talk my mom and sis into eating at Woody’s BBQ RoundUp. Not having much luck. It’s been years since we have eaten at Biergarten so we have that on our list.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Thank you so much, appreciate the kindness!

We love Biergarten -- we just went there for the first time back in March and we'll certainly be back, definitely the best buffet we've had on property in recent years!

Hope you're having a wonderful holiday season, Merry Christmas to you as well!

 

[Newsies]

NOT CLICKBAIT: I Am For Real (For Real) Going to Disney World September 2024!
​

The countdown is on! Again! And FOR REAL, this time. No takesie-backsies.

I'm going to Port Orleans -- French Quarter from Sep 22-28, 2024!

​

I learned from my mistakes this year and:

• Picked a different week in September where flights were much, much cheaper​
• Picked a different week in September where DISNEY was slightly cheaper​
• Started planning well in advance so I could lock in said cheaper rates​
• Started planning well in advance so I could budget my money and PTO for a longer trip!​

After an insane holiday season at my job, I was ready to go back to the Mouse and my mind was on the prospect of my solo trip next year. With far less concerts planned for next year + my bonus at work, it felt totally reasonable to start planning now so that I can continue to budget wisely and make this trip a reality for next year.

I did a little bit of digging and calculating with WDW's "Compare vacation offers" feature on their website to finesse the best dates, aided by JetBlue in a different tab to see what would truly be the best week to travel to WDW outside of Labor Day next year. I found a week where it was no cost to fly on the weekend versus weekdays and I was sold. I went back and forth between Pop C or POFQ, but the difference in price to go to POFQ wouldn't kill me and another poster here on the boards pointed out that late September would be hurricane season, so the storms could potentially shut down the Skyliner for prolonged periods of time. Staying at POFQ is on my bucket list anyway, so I'm just all-around very excited to for this trip.

​

I put my deposit down for the room to lock in the rates, and as soon as I float my PTO request by my new manager to make sure this week is kosher for a vacation, I'll book my flight. I have a solid plan for paying off this trip by end of April, aided by Disney gift cards, Disney Visa reward points, (hopefully!) my company's bonus payout, and (possibly!) a tax return.

So the next stops are:

1. Book my flight for September (Early Jan/ASAP)
2. Book ADR for May (March 20)
3. Buy ticket to MNSSHP when they're released (Likely sometime in April)

I loved 2023 and I'm sad to wrap up such a great year, but I'm so excited for 2024 already!

​

 

[SEAGULL59]

NOT CLICKBAIT: I Am For Real (For Real) Going to Disney World September 2024!
​

The countdown is on! Again! And FOR REAL, this time. No takesie-backsies.

I'm going to Port Orleans -- French Quarter from Sep 22-28, 2024!

​

I learned from my mistakes this year and:

• Picked a different week in September where flights were much, much cheaper​
• Picked a different week in September where DISNEY was slightly cheaper​
• Started planning well in advance so I could lock in said cheaper rates​
• Started planning well in advance so I could budget my money and PTO for a longer trip!​

After an insane holiday season at my job, I was ready to go back to the Mouse and my mind was on the prospect of my solo trip next year. With far less concerts planned for next year + my bonus at work, it felt totally reasonable to start planning now so that I can continue to budget wisely and make this trip a reality for next year.

I did a little bit of digging and calculating with WDW's "Compare vacation offers" feature on their website to finesse the best dates, aided by JetBlue in a different tab to see what would truly be the best week to travel to WDW outside of Labor Day next year. I found a week where it was no cost to fly on the weekend versus weekdays and I was sold. I went back and forth between Pop C or POFQ, but the difference in price to go to POFQ wouldn't kill me and another poster here on the boards pointed out that late September would be hurricane season, so the storms could potentially shut down the Skyliner for prolonged periods of time. Staying at POFQ is on my bucket list anyway, so I'm just all-around very excited to for this trip.

​

I put my deposit down for the room to lock in the rates, and as soon as I float my PTO request by my new manager to make sure this week is kosher for a vacation, I'll book my flight. I have a solid plan for paying off this trip by end of April, aided by Disney gift cards, Disney Visa reward points, (hopefully!) my company's bonus payout, and (possibly!) a tax return.

So the next stops are:

1. Book my flight for September (Early Jan/ASAP)
2. Book ADR for May (March 20)
3. Buy ticket to MNSSHP when they're released (Likely sometime in April)

I loved 2023 and I'm sad to wrap up such a great year, but I'm so excited for 2024 already!

​

Yay for 2 trips in 2024!

 

[Sajchinook2015]

NOT CLICKBAIT: I Am For Real (For Real) Going to Disney World September 2024!
​

The countdown is on! Again! And FOR REAL, this time. No takesie-backsies.

I'm going to Port Orleans -- French Quarter from Sep 22-28, 2024!

​

I learned from my mistakes this year and:

• Picked a different week in September where flights were much, much cheaper​
• Picked a different week in September where DISNEY was slightly cheaper​
• Started planning well in advance so I could lock in said cheaper rates​
• Started planning well in advance so I could budget my money and PTO for a longer trip!​

After an insane holiday season at my job, I was ready to go back to the Mouse and my mind was on the prospect of my solo trip next year. With far less concerts planned for next year + my bonus at work, it felt totally reasonable to start planning now so that I can continue to budget wisely and make this trip a reality for next year.

I did a little bit of digging and calculating with WDW's "Compare vacation offers" feature on their website to finesse the best dates, aided by JetBlue in a different tab to see what would truly be the best week to travel to WDW outside of Labor Day next year. I found a week where it was no cost to fly on the weekend versus weekdays and I was sold. I went back and forth between Pop C or POFQ, but the difference in price to go to POFQ wouldn't kill me and another poster here on the boards pointed out that late September would be hurricane season, so the storms could potentially shut down the Skyliner for prolonged periods of time. Staying at POFQ is on my bucket list anyway, so I'm just all-around very excited to for this trip.

​

I put my deposit down for the room to lock in the rates, and as soon as I float my PTO request by my new manager to make sure this week is kosher for a vacation, I'll book my flight. I have a solid plan for paying off this trip by end of April, aided by Disney gift cards, Disney Visa reward points, (hopefully!) my company's bonus payout, and (possibly!) a tax return.

So the next stops are:

1. Book my flight for September (Early Jan/ASAP)
2. Book ADR for May (March 20)
3. Buy ticket to MNSSHP when they're released (Likely sometime in April)

I loved 2023 and I'm sad to wrap up such a great year, but I'm so excited for 2024 already!

​

I love love LOVE the French Quarter. The boat to Disney Springs, the beignets, the quaint street like walkways. I am sure you will fall in love with it to.

 

[ExpeditionEmily]

NOT CLICKBAIT: I Am For Real (For Real) Going to Disney World September 2024!
​

The countdown is on! Again! And FOR REAL, this time. No takesie-backsies.

I'm going to Port Orleans -- French Quarter from Sep 22-28, 2024!

​

I learned from my mistakes this year and:

• Picked a different week in September where flights were much, much cheaper​
• Picked a different week in September where DISNEY was slightly cheaper​
• Started planning well in advance so I could lock in said cheaper rates​
• Started planning well in advance so I could budget my money and PTO for a longer trip!​

After an insane holiday season at my job, I was ready to go back to the Mouse and my mind was on the prospect of my solo trip next year. With far less concerts planned for next year + my bonus at work, it felt totally reasonable to start planning now so that I can continue to budget wisely and make this trip a reality for next year.

I did a little bit of digging and calculating with WDW's "Compare vacation offers" feature on their website to finesse the best dates, aided by JetBlue in a different tab to see what would truly be the best week to travel to WDW outside of Labor Day next year. I found a week where it was no cost to fly on the weekend versus weekdays and I was sold. I went back and forth between Pop C or POFQ, but the difference in price to go to POFQ wouldn't kill me and another poster here on the boards pointed out that late September would be hurricane season, so the storms could potentially shut down the Skyliner for prolonged periods of time. Staying at POFQ is on my bucket list anyway, so I'm just all-around very excited to for this trip.

​

I put my deposit down for the room to lock in the rates, and as soon as I float my PTO request by my new manager to make sure this week is kosher for a vacation, I'll book my flight. I have a solid plan for paying off this trip by end of April, aided by Disney gift cards, Disney Visa reward points, (hopefully!) my company's bonus payout, and (possibly!) a tax return.

So the next stops are:

1. Book my flight for September (Early Jan/ASAP)
2. Book ADR for May (March 20)
3. Buy ticket to MNSSHP when they're released (Likely sometime in April)

I loved 2023 and I'm sad to wrap up such a great year, but I'm so excited for 2024 already!

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We LOVE French Quarter so much, it's such a chill vibe and so easy to navigate. Late September should be perfect for crowd levels too!

 

[rdkeim]

After Wilderness Lodge, POFQ is my favorite resort! I think you will love it.

 

[Newsies]

Yay for 2 trips in 2024!

HOORAY!!! I'm so excited-- thank you for sharing the excitement with me

I love love LOVE the French Quarter. The boat to Disney Springs, the beignets, the quaint street like walkways. I am sure you will fall in love with it to.

I can't WAIT to fall in love with POFQ, thank you for the insights!!!

We LOVE French Quarter so much, it's such a chill vibe and so easy to navigate. Late September should be perfect for crowd levels too!

Hey hey Em!!! Thanks for checking in and for the tips, I'm really excited for POFQ. Merry Christmas to you, Tyler, and the families!!! I was just thinking about our DCP the other day -- every time I plan something with Universal, I can't help but remember our roomie outing that first week!

After Wilderness Lodge, POFQ is my favorite resort! I think you will love it.

Ooooh thank you so much for the kind words!!! I'm so excited!!!

 

[Newsies]

Disneyland Mini TR - Part I
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So in my DISboards absence, I went on 2 different Disney trips that went completely undocumented here because I wasn’t in the right headspace for writing about them. I went to Disneyland for my birthday in May 2022 and back to Walt Disney World in March 2023, both of which were wonderful trips. As I’m warming up my TR writing skillz, I wanted to briefly cover the highlights of each trip!

This is going to be a two-parter, but feel free to skip these next couple of updates if you’re not interested in either trip!

Disneyland - May 2022​

Dad and I visited DLR for the very first time May 20-24, 2022. I was determined to visit the west coast park for my birthday and while mom & Grace don’t fly, mom chipped in to help get dad to California with me – this was sort of a bucket list trip for the both of us! We flew nonstop with Jetblue from Newark to LAX on Jetblue. We left around 7:30 in the morning on May 20 and it was a long flight at almost 6 hours, but a relatively pleasant one. I think we landed at LAX around 11:30-ish California time and we caught a cab to Disneyland Hotel where we were staying for the trip. We got really lucky with traffic and made it to Disneyland Hotel relatively quickly, where we had lunch at Tangaroa Terrace. We walked around Downtown Disney for a little bit while we waited for the room to be ready, and once it was, we headed back for a nap. We had a dinner reservation at Trader Sam’s for the evening, and then we went to sleep after a long travel day.

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The next day was my birthday and my first ever day at Disneyland! We were up pretty early (#eastcoasters) and got ready and even after grabbing a cup of coffee and a pastry at the hotel coffee shop, we were some of the first people in line for security and subsequently in line for the park that morning. It felt unreal to be walking down Main Street USA and seeing a castle for the first time again! I remember our first ride of the day/of the trip was Matterhorn. We had Genie+ and it worked out much, much better in DLR than it ever did in WDW. Before lunch, we had already done Matterhorn, Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, and met the princesses at the princess hall there. Then we got a Mickey cookie and Matterhorn Macaroon from Jolly Holiday and shared a platter of fried chicken from Plaza Inn for lunch. Everything we ate was so good.

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After lunch, we took a trip on the Disneyland railroad to Fantasyland, where we did it’s a small world. IASW has a very special place in my heart as my first DCP location in 2016, and I loved Disneyland’s version just as well. Afterwards, we met up with my friend Soph and her boyfriend– we met Gaston and road Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, and Snow White’s Enchanted Wish, then we made our way back to the front of the park to meet Mickey and see Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln. We did the Tiki Room and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad together, and then we said goodbye to Soph and Tyler, as dad and I had a dinner reservation for my birthday. We ate at New Orleans Cafe which was terrific – we had the sweetest waitress ever! After a bit of shopping on Main Street, we headed back to the hotel room. It was honestly the best birthday ever. I was really surprised with how much we were able to get done at Disneyland– definitely the best Park day I’ve ever had!

(Continued in Next Post)​

 

[Newsies]

Disneyland TR - Part II
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The next day was our DCA day. I’m not going to lie to you all: Disney’s California Adventure has completely stolen my heart. I love the vibes, I love the different sections of the Parks, I love everything about it. Just a cool, chill place to be. Our first ride of the morning was Guardians: Mission Breakout and it was just about the most fun I’ve ever had. The song we got was “Give up the Funk” by Parliament and this girl’s popcorn bucket exploded and popcorn started flying everywhere. That sounds like it would have been annoying, but once I realized the soft things falling on me were popcorn I was like, “whose popcorn is this?” and there were tears in my eyes because I was laughing so hard. So good. I also met Wanda/Scarlet Witch – I know she’s kind of rare so I was excited to see her! Then we went on Radiator Springs Racers, we did Web Blasters, I saw the Spiderman acrobat show and got a selfie with Spidey himself, who wished me a happy birthday. I also met Dr. Strange and got some type of coffee cocktail from PYM test kitchen. Then we did Tow Mater Jamboree and Luigi’s Rollicking Roadsters before heading to Pixar Pier. Pixar Pier was a lot of fun as well. We met Edna Mode, went on Incredicoaster, had one of Jack’s Num Num Cookies, and then stopped to play a few carnival games. Then we went on the Pixar Pal-A-Round, which wasn’t as scary as I thought it was going to be! We had a corn dog for lunch and then went back to the room for a nap.

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We had a dinner reservation at Lamplight Lounge and wanted to see World of Color, so we headed back to DCA. I met Mickey in his cute little Newsie outfit because duh! I also got some mangonada type smoothie and we went on the Monsters Inc. ride before heading back to Cars Land, where we met Tow Mater and Lightning McQueen. Then we went back to Pixar Pier where we did some window shopping before our reservation at Lamplight Lounge. I don’t remember a lot about Lamplight Lounge other than it not being the best food but the ambiance and decor was really special and fun. After that, we met Joy and went on Midway Mania. Then we had a virtual queue or something to see World of Color. I forget what the exact process was like but we had to go to the World of Color viewing area super early and stood around for an hour and a half to watch it. It was a really moving show – just a very beautiful production and a great use of that space there. Afterwards, we went on the Little Mermaid ride and then did a little bit of shopping before heading back to the hotel and going back to sleep.

(Continued in next post)​

 

[Newsies]

Disneyland TR - Part III
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We woke up a little bit later for our last day at the Parks. We had a breakfast reservation at Goofy’s Kitchen. The food was soooo good but I remember it was a very odd character breakfast – you got a photo with Goofy at the beginning of the meal, but the characters inside the restaurant didn’t come by your table to take pictures, they just kind of ran around the room a bit. It was different than what we're used to but not unwelcome, Minnie kept making cute kissing noises at us and whatnot, all while we were able to enjoy some really great food.

We took the monorail to Disneyland and I don’t remember much about that morning. We went on the Alice in Wonderland ride and Storybook Canal boats, and I got a photo with Wendy which was very exciting, as she was the number one character I wanted to meet in California. I think I wanted to do some more character hunting after that, and dad wasn’t feeling well, so he went back to the hotel for a bit. In the meantime, I met Tinker Bell, Evil Queen, and Mirabel, then I went on Splash Mountain. I got a Mint Julep and some Beignets, then met up with my friend Rebecca. We took some pics at the front of the park, then I said goodbye to Disneyland and we headed off to DCA. We took some more pics in Cars Land, went on Incredicoaster, went on the Emotional Whirlwind, and grabbed a cone at Cozy Cone Motel. Then it was time for us to part ways, and time for me to say goodbye to DLR. With tears in my eyes I left DCA, and stopped at a store in Downtown Disney on my way back to the hotel.

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We had a very quick breakfast the next morning, grabbing another pastry/coffee at the coffee shop, then took a cab back to LAX where we caught another 6-hour, uneventful flight to NJ. It was an unforgettable vacation and I could not have asked for a better birthday or a better first trip to Disneyland!

Some quick hits:

• Genie+ rocks at Disneyland. In the past few trips I've been to WDW, I've found Genie+ to be functionally useless-- on the best days, it gets us on maybe 4-5 more rides than we would have done without. On the worst days, it gets us on 1-2 more than we would have done without. With Genie+ at DLR, I found we were able to do absolutely everything at the resort in basically two days, and went back for seconds in some cases. And I get that it's a smaller resort, but it feels like there are more attractions at Disneyland than there are at Magic Kingdom and we did 10-15 on day 1 alone and another 10 or so at DCA the next day. PLUS Genie+ comes with Photopass at Disneyland. I hesitated to buy Genie+ after our March 2022 trip to WDW but boy am I glad we did.
• Characters are a different, better ballgame. This is going to sound insane but the characters were more engaging on the West Coast, and I think it's because they roam and because character hunting is not as insane at DLR as it is at WDW. At WDW, the characters really only approach you when it's your designated turn to meet them, otherwise if you see them walking around a resort or some other rare instance where they're roaming, it's really up to you to walk up to them and engage in conversation. This is much different at Disneyland-- Pinocchio and Mickey Mouse for example both quite literally ran up to me when they saw me filming them on my phone and started making kissing noises at the camera. I really liked the roaming characters versus the set times and locations WDW has, and the character variety was a lot better at Disneyland as well.
• CMs are a lot friendlier, CM culture is a lot different on the West Coast. This is in no way a criticism of Disneyland but I found it interesting that CMs were so friendly that they would cross boundaries that a WDW CM would never cross. For example: we had a very sweet server at Cafe Orleans and at the end of my meal I told her how much I appreciated her and thanked her for her service, to which she gave me a hug and wrote her instagram @ on the bill so we could follow each other. WDW Cast is incredible (I should know-- I was in the Cast family twice!) but the sharing of social media handles between guests and CMs would absolutely never happen in a setting like this. Again, this is absolutely not a critique -- instead, this is something I loved about Disneyland. West coast Cast was just so friendly, chill, and honestly everyone I met just seemed happy to be working at Disneyland!
• Food is a lot better at Disneyland. By a mile. Everything we ate was just... *chefs kiss*. Food came out hot, food came out quickly, ingredients were all fresh and everything was just elevated in terms of presentation, seasoning, and quality. I think this is two-fold. One, I think meat and produce are just better quality out on the west coast in general. Two, I think this also has to do with the fact that Disneyland is so small-- they can afford to put more love into the fewer dining locations they have versus WDW!

In any case... this was the trip of a lifetime! BTW: I took a lot more photos than I posted here and if you want to see photos of anything else, or have more questions about touring/the hotel/the parks/the food, let me know and I'll dig through my photos and memories for you!

I'll do an even quicker write up of my March WDW vacation next!

 

[Newsies]

Quick WDW March 2023 TR
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This one will be quick, I actually didn't take a lot of photos or notes from this trip! I wasn't sure if I'd come back to the Boards for a TR so I just mellowed out and enjoyed this one.

We had one trip last year, a Spring Break stay at Riviera resort, March 5-11. As always we drove from NJ, stopping overnight in Kingsland, GA. It was a very uneventful drive as normal, starting the drive at 11 PM Friday and checking into our hotel room around 6 PM Saturday. A few stops along the way, namely for Cracker Barrel for breakfast and our favorite place on earth: Buc-Ees. We love that Buc-Ees is expanding up the east coast and would stop there for every meal if we could!

Like the crazy people we are, we woke up at 4 AM to finish the drive to WDW and get a full park day out of it. We arrived at the Riviera close to 8:30 and by 9, we were in Epcot, saying hi to Daisy and Minnie. We did our usual Epcot day-1-morning rotation of Soarin’, Living with the Land, and Spaceship Earth, and we also did Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. Dad and I had an ILL for Guardians, but the ride broke down and without knowing when we’d have time to go back that day, Guest Services was kind enough to issue us a one-time refund. Then we went back to the resort where dad played a round of cornhole with Donald Duck and we unpacked the room. We had a standard view studio and it was great– much like the Poly set up, there were two showers, which is a major time/stress saver when you’re traveling with multiple adults.

We went back to Epcot for dinner for our ADR at Biergarten, which was new to us and was very good – honestly the best buffet we’ve ever been to at WDW. We’ll definitely be back!

The next day we slept in late and had breakfast at Primo Piatto, then we spent the majority of the morning & afternoon at the pool. We ordered some drinks and small plates for lunch from the pool bar but it was forgettable. For dinner, we went to Steakhouse 71, which has been a family favorite since it opened and even when it was still The Wave. Steakhouse 71 has some of the best meat & steak cuts in WDW, but someone called it “a Vegas-y steakhouse” on the dining boards a little while ago and I can’t get it out of my head!

We had tickets to Disney After Hours at MK that night, so we went straight there after dinner. It was a decent night. We got on a few rides– namely Pirates, Tiki Room, Haunted Mansion, Little Mermaid, Dumbo, Peoplemover, and I’m sure one or two others– and we got some free ice cream and soda with the cost of the party that we waited in an insane line for. We had fun but I don’t think we’ll be back as a family soon. We ended up tapping out around 11, everyone was beginning to crash and having a prime rib dinner right before DAH didn’t help.

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The next day was our day at DAK, we got hungry on the bus ride over and decided we would try Rainforest Cafe for breakfast since it was serving breakfast and completely empty. We were actually very pleasantly surprised with Rainforest Cafe’s breakfast. There were a lot of good options on the menu and everything came out hot and fresh. After that, we went on Kilimanjaro Safari. My family had a noon reservation to do the Caring for Giants tour but I had a massive headache and just couldn’t do it– I went back to the resort for a nap while the rest of my family did the tour, which they said they loved. We had a more lowkey evening after that, including dinner at Topolino’s for the first time – we had never done dinner at Topolino’s Terrace before and this was the most anticipated ADR of our trip.

Service was not good. Our server was very dismissive & absent throughout the meal, didn’t offer any insights on the restaurant/menu or suggestions for wine, and ended the evening by spilling and breaking a full wine glass on me. If you know me, you know that the fact that I can even remember having a bad experience with this server 9 months later is very uncommon, as I tend to let this kind of stuff go very quickly. But we had extremely high hopes for this meal and felt like the service should have been much, much more elevated for the price point gere.

And no, FWIW, I didn’t bring any of this up to a manager/reach out to GS after the fact. I know nothing can change or get better if we don’t speak up, but we were only 2 days into the trip and I was just trying to focus on the rest of the week ahead of us.

With all of that being said, dinner was very good. I think I doubled up on the pasta with the gnocchi app and the rigatoni – I forget whether the rigatoni had duck confit or chicken but OMG it was to die for, it came in a gorgeous, smooth brown sauce versus a red and it was just so tender and flavorful. Dessert was the chocolate cake which was good, but at that point I had already had a wine glass broken over me so I was ready to dip.

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The next day was Hollywood Studios. We rope dropped, got Slinky Dog Dash & MMRR done, I did RnRC, and I even got my entire family to do Tower of Terror! Grace has been scared of ToT for as long as I can remember but she decided to brave it out this trip and she LOVED it! I’ve gone back-and-forth on my feelings for ToT over the years but doing Mission: Breakout has changed my opinion on it a little bit. We also saw the Beauty & the Beast show. We went to Galaxy’s Edge for a spell where I saw baby yoda being carried around in the mandalorian’s pouch, and I met Powerline Max which was the only character I really wanted to meet this trip. He was fabulous!

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We had a late lunch ADR at Sci-Fi Dine-In, which we haven’t been to since 2010. It was just okay, nothing to write home about. After lunch we went back to the hotel for a little while. We took the skyliner back to Epcot for a little bit but we didn’t stay for long and didn’t do much while we were there.

The day after that was Magic Kingdom. I get extremely overstimulated by MK during the day, it’s too crowded and exhausting, not to mention a PITA to get there. I forget what exactly we did while we were there but I do remember seeing Country Bear Jamboree getting the Coconut Dole Whip float I like that comes with a pineapple upside down cake pop. I also remember we had lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern, which is our favorite restaurant within MK. The food is consistently good here. I went back to the resort pretty early after seeing Festival of Fantasy and my family wasn’t too far behind. We spent an hour or two at the pool and then we went to Disney Springs for dinner. We were able to join the walk-up line for Paradiso 37 and grabbed some goodies from Gideons. Paradiso 37 was nothing to write home about but pretty decent for a last-minute walk-up situation.

On our last full day, we started things with breakfast at Topolino’s Terrace. I had a wonderful espresso martini with my french toast and Minnie Mouse was fangirling over my Jonas Brothers shirt. (And yes, service was better this time around)

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Then we went to Epcot where we took some photos of the topiaries, did Gran Fiesta Tour & Frozen Ever After, and dad and I finally got on Guardians! Our song was “Conga” by Gloria Estefan and we both had a blast. This is a really fun coaster and the transportation effect at the beginning of the ride blew my mind. We went to the Grand Floridian after that to look at the easter eggs and have lunch at Gasparilla Island Grill, then we went back to the resort to pack up the room a little bit and relax by the pool again. We went back to Magic Kingdom in the evening where we took some photos, went on Peoplemover, met Mickey Mouse, then we said goodbye to the parks for 2023.

The next day we drove home in one shot without stopping overnight– Grace and I both contracted some type of cold from WDW that we suffered through on the journey home and it was a doozy. Horrible muscle aches, sore throat, nasal congestion, and a cough that I couldn’t shake. Went to the doctor after a week and a half of terrible symptoms and it wasn’t Covid, Flu, or Strep Throat – just a mystery Disney illness that they ended up giving me some type of antibiotic to kill whatever it was. I ended up with that cough well into April!

Other than the mystery illness, it was a good trip and a different trip for us– we spent more time at the hotel & the pool than usual and really didn’t go crazy trying to get a lot done, which was nice. We also ate some great food and we really, really love Riviera Resort. We fell in love with Riviera during our March 2022 trip to CBR and knew we wanted to stay here this year. It’s such a pretty, compact resort and the dining is top-notch, not to mention how much we love the Skyliner. If we ever get a second DVC contract, it’ll be at Riviera. Fun trip– can’t wait for May!

Again, didn't take a ton of photos this trip, but if you have any questions -- just let me know and I'll do my best to answer!