Third times the charm, right? Right?!? UPDATE 8/15

ninjamicmic

Earning My Ears
Joined
Apr 30, 2013
Hello hello to everyone reading. Its a time of firsts for our small family. Its the first pre trip report i've written, the first time posting to DIS, oh and also the first time I'LL BE GOING TO DISNEY!!! Although i have been dreaming about this trip for a while. SO kick this off lets introduce the cast.

There's me, Mickey. Lucky enough to be named after the big cheese himself. Im 22, have been obsessed with Disney since i can remember. my favorite Disney movie is Lion King and my favorite character is Stitch.
i77xSsV.jpg



There is my hubby, Curtis, also 22. His favorite movie is Toy Story, and his favorite Disney character is also stitch. He's been to Disneyworld and Disneyland before but doesn't really remember his trip to the world.
nvQLQ7B.jpg


A Little Background:

We've planned this trip two different times and each time something went wrong and we ended up having to cancel, breaking my heart a little more each time. This year when it came time to bring up the idea, i went at it with a gusto. Everything got paid in full and the plane tickets were purchased right away, so barring any tragedies we are definitely going this year.

When:
We will be flying out of Salt Lake on the red eye on Sept 6, at 11:50, and touching down in Orlando around 6:12 am. Its a straight shot there which is great because ill be A) to excited to sleep, bouncing up and down, and generally annoying so the less time other people have to be around that is probably for the best. or B) Had spent the previous 24 hours with absolutely no sleep, because i'm going to Disney, duh, and completely crash on the plane. Either way there wont have to be any layovers to delay the NEED to be in Disney right now, this very moment.
The flight back leaves at 7:00 pm (yay, gives us some time to spend in the parks on the last day) and landing at about 10:00 pm.

Where:
The very first time we looked into Disney and started planning this trip, I was completely over whelmed by the amount of hotels that Disney had to offer. Sorting through all of them for about two weeks there were three that immediately caught my eye and i kept returning to. Animal kingdom lodge's safari room, Pop Century, and Art of Animations Little Mermaid Room. Animal Kingdom was quickly crossed out because of the price tag but is still my dream room so maybe one day, Art of animation and Pop century were the two that we went back and forth on. Originally for this trip, we were going to split the time evenly between the both but since AOA wasn't available for the room discount going on, we went with Pop Century.

Next Up: My call with Remington
 
After two tries in two years of planning this trip, only to have it fall through each time, I was actually gun shy. Last September when we couldn't go, i actually put all my trip planning supplies in the moving box and didn't unpack it, purposely avoided Disney blogs and podcasts and any updates having to do with the parks because the disappointment of not going was just way to high.
sxkww5J.gif


On the off chance that it would happen both Curtis and I mentioned to our work that we might be requesting days off in September to go to Disney. His boss never brought it up again but mine - lets call her M- would ask every now and then if i had made the reservations, encourage me to just do it, and generally lift my spirits. One day, my friend Chara dropped by to just hang out and asked when i was making my reservations. I Was in the middle of explaining why i was reluctant to and generally being a bit woe is me. Guys, she went FULL ON Edna Mode with me.
5FMVTI5.gif

There was encouragement in the form of tough love and it was exactly what i needed. She unpacked my Disney planning supplies, found my phone, dialed the number, and was not swayed by my protests and reasoning. She handed the phone to me when it started ringing and the conversation with Reservations began. The voice on the other side of the phone was perfect. He introduced himself as Remington and the British accent made it perfect. I explained to Remington that i just wanted to get some price quotes and i most likely would be putting down a deposit or anything. He completely understood and took me through the promos, which extras he thought would be good for us, and we also had a very long amazing conversation in which we both talked about our favorite things about Disney and how the Disney Magic was real. As you can probably guess, between Remington's reassurances that this trip would be magical and Chara's edna stare, the trip was planned, plane tickets booked, and the deposit made. All this was only 50 days out from our newly scheduled vacation. Yikes!! That didn't give us a lot of time. After getting off the phone Chara and i spent three hours planning dining reservations, plugging in park days to touring plans, and organizing all our information all while Curtis was blissfully snoozing away in the other room completely unaware of what waited him when he woke.

Here's what we came up with:

Sept 6:

Spend the day cleaning, packing, watching Disney movies. Have our wonderful friend David pick us up around 9 and arrive at the airport around 9:45. Get on a plane and fly to Disney

Sept 7:

Arrive in Orlando around 6: 15 A.M. Probably grab some breakfast at the airport and then head out to find the Magical Express. (Does anybody know if we have to grab our bags or will they be sent on bus?) Head over to Pop Century. Most likely they will laugh when we try to check in that early but we can put down our luggage if we have it and hop on a bus to the water parks. (If you guys have a favorite between the two, let us know!) We'll have lunch at t he water parks and then when they close head back to the room. If we're tired, then we will sleep, if not then off to Disney Quest for a little bit. ADR Garden Grill at 7:50

Sept 8:
Get up early and head to rope drop for Magic kingdom, take a break in the day to rest in room and have ADR at the 1900 Park Fare at 4:15, then head back out to the park.

Sept 9:
Sleep in and get to Hollywood Studios around 11 am. ADR for 50's Primetime for 12:10 and another for Sci-Fi Dine In at 8:15. Right now we're trying to decide if we want to move Sci-Fi up to 4:15 and cancel 50's to make Fantasmic, or miss it and take a chance to see it another day.

Sept 10:
Wake up early and get to epcot when it opens. Stay in Tommorowland part of epcot and take our time exploring and riding rides. ADR for Coral Reef Restuarant at 4:15

Sept 11:
Sleep in and hit the World Showcase when we wake up. ADR at Teppon Edo at 9:10

Sept 12:
ANIMAL KINGDOM BABY. I am so excited for this park. Get here when it opens or shortly after. Make sure we make our ADR at Tusker House at 1:35. Pack some Dramamine and see if i can face my fear and ride Expedition Everest. Maybe hit fantasmic this day?

Sept 13:
This will be the second magic kingdom day used mostly to see parades and shows and fireworks. ADR at Whispering Canyon for 12:25.

Sept 14:
Last Day.:( Breakfast at Ohana and then we'll pick out favorite things and do them once more before heading to Pop Century to pack our things and head to the airport.
 
I sure hope the third time is the charm!

For Disney's Magical Express, they give you luggage tags and you would put them on your checked luggage, and they are supposed to deliver it to your resort, you just board DME without going to baggage claim first. I never check my luggage, so I have never done it personally.

No mention of Fastpasses yet. Did you make your FP+? If not, you really need to get on that. Do you have a package? Room & Tickets? As far as an early check in, when you do your room requests, there is an option to choose that you would like to have early check in, and I don't think you get to pick anything else, and it's not a guarantee, it's just a request, but it may help you get a room earlier.
 
Looks like we are going to be at Magic Kingdom and Whispering Canyon the same day. Good luck with your planning and I hope everything works out for you this time around. Fingers crossed!
 


I sure hope the third time is the charm!

For Disney's Magical Express, they give you luggage tags and you would put them on your checked luggage, and they are supposed to deliver it to your resort, you just board DME without going to baggage claim first. I never check my luggage, so I have never done it personally.

No mention of Fastpasses yet. Did you make your FP+? If not, you really need to get on that. Do you have a package? Room & Tickets? As far as an early check in, when you do your room requests, there is an option to choose that you would like to have early check in, and I don't think you get to pick anything else, and it's not a guarantee, it's just a request, but it may help you get a room earlier.


Thanks for the tips! I just did my fastpass+ reservations and we do have a package. Do i complete early check in through the my disney experience or do i have to go about it a different way?
 
Looks like we are going to be at Magic Kingdom and Whispering Canyon the same day. Good luck with your planning and I hope everything works out for you this time around. Fingers crossed!

Thanks! Have a blast with your trip as well!
 
Don't bother eating breakfast at the airport. Pack a protein bar in your carryon , grab a coffee at the Starbucks when you get off the airport monorail and get yourself to Disney World!
 


Thanks for the tips! I just did my fastpass+ reservations and we do have a package. Do i complete early check in through the my disney experience or do i have to go about it a different way?

I usually get an email when it's time for me to do it and I just go through that, but I know you can also fax, and I think call in room requests. I'm pretty sure it shows up on MDE, too, but I forget. If you look on the resort board, I think there might be info in the big Pop Century SuperThread, but that's a lot of stuff to sort through, but you can also ask specific questions there.

POP Century~Unofficially the Grooviest FAQ Thread #10~October 2014

Also, this might explain it.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/Resorts/online-checkin.htm

Sorry I don't have better specifics, but I'm sure you can find out on the resort board.

ETA: maybe try here? But I cannot pull it up, since I'm not eligible for check in yet.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/online-resort-check-in/
 
Last edited:
Alright guys! i just finished making our touring plans and working out our ADR's for dining plan. Any helpful tips or suggestions are appreciated!

September 07:
We land at the airport around 6:30. We'll wander around and find the magic express. Ill most likely get us lost because, apparently, that's my talent along with breaking things on a wreck it ralph level. :tiptoe: After we've made our way to Pop Century, we'll have breakfast in the food court to pass the time and then head first to Typhoon Lagoon until about 2:30 and if luck is on our side hang out at blizzard beach from 3:00 untithey close. After we leave, we're planning on heading to the room to get showered and cleaned up before going to our ADR at the Garden Grill for 7:50.

September 08: This is an early morning Magic Kingdom day that's going to focus on the rides. Theres another Magic Kingdom day later in the week to catch the shows and parades and ride our favorites again. We'll wake up, get ready, and be at the park for rope drop. ADR- 1900 Park Fare at 4:15
FP+ Space mountain, Seven dwarfs mine train, and meeting Ariel in her Grotto.

September 09: Hollywood Studios! We're going to get a late start at this park ( planning to be exhausted from the massive amount of adrenaline, excitement, and walking ) and arrive around 11:00 am. ADR- 50's Primetime Cafe (paying out of pocket) at 12:10 and Dinner at Scifi Drive in at 8:15. Since our reservation clashes with Fantasmic, we're going to try catching the show another night.
FP+ Star tours, Extreme stunt show, Toy story mania

September 10: Epcot. Specifically Future World. We're going to ride rides, take our time, enjoy the park and then have an ADR:Coral Reef Restuarant at 4:15.
FP+ Mission space, The seas with nemo, Soarin. (Test track was not available)

September 11: Epcot World Showcase. This is the day we're sleeping in..as late as i can and then ill wake up curtis to get our butts to the parks. :rotfl2:We're going to wander and enjoy the countries, possibly try drinking around the world. I feel bad about letting our FP+ go to waste this day but there isn’t anything I can think of that we would NEED to use them on and id like to be able to see the line ques unless its going to take massive amounts of time and patience to get through the line.


September 12: Animal Kingdom! This is going to be a rope drop day with an ADR for Tusker house at 1:35 and then hopefully this is the day we can go see fantasmic. I tried to see if we could FP+ this but no luck.

FP+ Festival of the lion king, Kilamanjaro Safaris, Kali River Rapids


September 13: This is our second Magic Kingdom day that primarily going to focus on seeing the parades and shows that we missed the first time. We’ll probably also go back to ride our favorite rides and wander around. ADR: Whispering Canyon 12:25. This will be the second meal out of pocket.

FP+ Big thunder mountain, Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain


September 14: Departure day. This is a sad day so I made sure to save my favorite ADR for this day..OHANA!! I get to meet stitch!! This bright and early breakfast is going to be at 9:45 so we might splurge this day and use a cab to take us there instead of worrying about the busses so we can sleep in just a hair more. After we’re going to spend time in Downtown Disney and Disney Quest since we will be out of all the park tickets.


 
Nah, you shouldn't get lost. It's pretty easy to get to Disney's Magical Express. IIRC, you just take the tram to the main terminal. I think you will be on the 3 floor. Then, if you don't need to get luggage from baggage claim, you go straight down to the 1st floor, on the B side for DME. I think baggage claim is on the second floor, not sure because I never check my bags.

Plans sound good. I was told by a few disboards members that go to the parks all the time, that it's often easy to get F! as a fourth FP+ even right up until just before showtime. I'm kind of hoping that's the case, because this year is the first time that I don't have a F! dinner package. So, maybe try and get one day of, that's my plan.

Don't cut it too close for your return flight. I have seen some horrible lines at MCO security. Not to mention traffic or accidents blocking the route to the airport.

Hope you have a great time!
 
Found this for you. I think you will also get something when you get your luggage tags. As long as they didn't move DME or anything, this should be right.

image.jpg
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!











facebook twitter
Top