Pre-Trip It's the time of your life!

You don't want to stop...it's your chance, live it up!

Remember that song? I have not had access to iTunes in oh, about 10 years...so all those Disney hits are still playing on my ancient little iPod to this day. Anyways, was listening to this song this morning, and felt some true Disney inspiration! Lines like "Cause you get the chance and you take it, Make it the best you can make it, Why should you hold back?" really spoke to me.

This pre-trip report comes a little on the later side than usual. I think it's partly because we weren't 100% sure we were going to Disney this year, coupled with the fact that when it was confirmed, it kind of felt...disappointing. It's been a humbling year for us, as we set our hearts on growing our family, but that time hasn't come for us yet. It's been hard to not associate those feelings with Disney itself, for it was my childhood, it was and is our love story, and it holds dearly many of our hopes and dreams for the future. We had so many grand visions of sharing this magical place with little ones, that it feels almost bittersweet to be going back, just the two of us. Yet here we are, and "Celebrate You" gave me life today. I have so much to celebrate in my person, and that is my loving, down-for-anything, kinda dorky, amusing husband, J. This is a time in our lives that we may one day miss, but we sure aren't going to miss out on anything now!

The Cast
Us, and our baby Pook-a-looz, Goofy & Pluto.
GP.png

Who said my name?

The Plan
September is our jam. Staying from the 2nd to the 10th at All Star Music. Usually, I like to switch the resorts up, but something about All Star Music really captured our hearts last year. I think it was Broadway. Those streets at night...*love*.

So that's a grand total of 9 days in the World, and we are planning for 7 park days, 1 nonpark day, and 1 water park day. There's a lot to look forward to:
DDQ6QNFWsAATz9i.jpg:large

MK: Happily Ever After (haven't even listened to the soundtrack yet, gosh I'm excited)
EP: Food & Wine Festival (it's been 2 years since our last)
HS: Star Wars Galactic Spectacular (we saw a dumbed-down, rain-version last year)
AK: Pandora and Rivers of Light (AK nights are about to get even more 'lit' as the kids say)

Dining will be covered ad nauseam, because eating is kind of a passion of ours.

FP+ is coming up and I'm already apprehensive.

Anyways, all of that will be coming in the next installments. If you stuck around til now, thanks for reading, and hope you will follow our next grand adventure. I'll end with a quote from the man himself:

“I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter. With the laugh comes the tears and in developing motion pictures or television shows, you must combine all the facts of life — drama, pathos and humor.”
―Walt Disney
63e9b7e9707a8671564dfac4a304c21a.jpg

WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!
 

belledream

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Let's delve into some day-by-day plans!

Day 1: We originally planned to spend arrival day at Magic Kingdom, arriving just before lunch, literally so J could get a Corn Dog Nugget Meal from Casey's Corner. However, we really enjoyed our mega-resort-hopping opening day last year, and thus, a change in the winds occurred. Our current vision is to make our way to Epcot area resorts this time around, and chow down at Boardwalk Bakery, and spend a quiet afternoon around Yacht & Beach, Swan & Dolphin, and maybe renting a surrey bike before heading to Magic Kingdom area for dinner at Kona Café. That means a relaxing evening on Polynesian beach or Grand Floridian docks, watching Happily Ever After for the first time from a distance. Not entirely sure if I want my first HEA experience to be anything but right in front of the Cinderella Castle, but it just may have to be this way, and it doesn't sound too bad.

Day 2: Hollywood Studios to start our parkventures just like last year, with the same obsessions as always...Toy Story, Tower of Terror, and Beauty and the Beast. We're excited to dine at Brown Derby for dinner to complete our collection of HS restaurants, and hoping to see the Star Wars fireworks at full capacity this time.

Day 3: A fresh morning at Animal Kingdom. I suppose we will book it to Pandora, which I've tried my hardest to avoid any kind of spoilers, and am so ready to soak it all in for real. I'm annoyed that as of now, Rivers of Light won't be showing on this night, which has forced us to allot another day to Animal Kingdom. But an extra night at AK is actually sounding pretty enticing...and I don't think we will regret it.
DDQ1SPjV0AI53CN.jpg:large


Day 4: Although there's nothing really new coming to Epcot this year, I am really looking forward to it. Like, my heartstrings are being tugged thinking about meandering World Showcase right now. Not to mention, we'll have the Food & Wine Festival to really tie everything together. I just can't wait to sit on a curb in France and look up at pretty window shutters whilst sharing a sweet treat with J.
DDRL8VgVwAAxkn0.jpg:large


Day 5: Magic Kingdom, FOR SURE. Evening EMH puts us at a 9am to 11pm day, but we have 8am Be Our Guest breakfast, and here's to hoping park closing gets extended to midnight! Open to close, count us in.
DC2nfpaUwAEEjPe.jpg:large


Day 6: Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon, and Disney Springs. Seriously one of the best days ever was had last year. We went hard at BB and TL on the slides, and then spent some quality time resting our feet in the wave pool. Might try to shove in a round of minigolf at Winter Summerland this time around. In the evening, we have a date with fried chicken at Chef Art Smith's Homecomin'.
C-QslCAXkAE4YWm.jpg:large


Day 7: Back to Epcot for another full day of fun. Again, getting the feels just thinking about Epcot. As much as a park/ride commando I am, I somehow find myself really holding onto so many precious moments of just *being* and loving it. Or maybe *being* to me can both mean watching the sun color Spaceship Earth with beauty...and also screaming my head off on Test Track. Dinner is scheduled at Tokyo Dining, our beloved. We kept axing this in the name of 'trying new things', but now that we've achieved that, it's just time.
C8M5qgMV0AAz_uL.jpg:large


Day 8: Back to Animal Kingdom for a second day solely to see Rivers of Light. Yes, we don't believe in park hopping and this is the price we pay. If we go this route, that means we will have only spent one night inside the Magic Kingdom, which seems kind of scary to me, as it's our favorite nighttime park (or anytime park really). I keep telling myself this will be a winning decision, with all that AK has to offer now with Pandora, and the good ol' classics in Safari/Everest/DINOSAUR/trails/treks/Broadway-like shows. Oh, and I could totally spend an entire night watching the Tree of Life Awakenings over and over. Dinner at Tiffin's - yes please. Ok, good choice, me. Stay strong.

Day 9: As is tradition, we will end this chapter of our Disneytales at Magic Kingdom. In my dreams at Be Our Guest again, of course. We also have the latest flight out that we have ever had, so we could potentially stay in the park until almost dinnertime. Maybe J can get his corn dog nugget meal after all.

And there you have it. It seems very familiar...yet somehow...feels distinctly different. Even though I love to have a plan, stick to it, and do 'all the things', I just have this overwhelming desire to just be there. I must be getting old and sentimental. Or who knows? I may just turn into the maniac I am once I step foot in the parks. :p
 

belledream

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Well...just a mere 48 hours later and I changed my mind about everything. I called Disney about adding an extra park day ticket because I just couldn't resist another day & night for just 20 bucks or so. I mean, our surrey bike rental probably would cost that much. Also, are we really going to be in the mood to bike for an hour in 90 degree weather? Probs not.

So then that settled it. We'd be going to Magic Kingdom on our first day, take the boat out before dinnertime and head to Kona, then back for another MK sunset and watching HEA in the park. But as I scanned reservation ability for our arrival day...you know...just because...I saw something that caught my eye. A Rivers of Light Dining Package for Tiffins. Wow, that was a rare sight to see in that predictable alphabetical list.

It sent my mind whirling. What if we spent our arrival day at Animal Kingdom? It's the closest park to our resort, so we would get there and back easier/sooner on what's already going to be a long day. Another concerns was that we would be doing a second AK day moreso for the nighttime festivities rather than the daytime, since we can accomplish everything with the one full day we already had. So I proposed to J that we go AK > HS > MK > EP to keep with our ALL 4 PARKS FIRST tradition, and keep our variety pack of MK > BB/TL > EP > AK > MK in the latter half of the trip. Most importantly...2 NIGHTS and 3 DAYS AT Magic Kingdom after what seemed like it was more like 1.5 days. I feel like a friggin' genius! $20 well spent.

Now I'm SO EXCITED to spend our arrival day with our most anticipated ADR and Rivers of Light! I'll be rejoicing in my little victory for the next few days before FP+ reservations come up. We'll see how that goes!
 

belledream

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
July 3rd: Let's play Settlers of Catan and Mario Kart with friends tonight into the wee hours of the morning because tomorrow is July 4th and everyone is off!

Went to sleep at 2:30 AM. Woke up at 6:52 AM to book FP+. Not my most responsible decision ever...

For our first Animal Kingdom day, there was zero availability for Flight of Passage, which I wasn't entirely surprised by, but nonetheless *slightly annoyed*. Recovered quickly to grab a FP for Na'vi River Journey, along with Expedition Everest and DINOSAUR. Oh my god, DINOSAUR was down last year and I missed it so so much. I cannot wait to be reunited. I ended up getting the illusive Flight of Passage FP for our second Animal Kingdom day, so tensions were eased there.

For Hollywood Studios, we went with the normal lineup of Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours. At Epcot, it was Soarin', Living with the Land, and The Seas with Nemo and Friends, just to go along with our touring plan. For Magic Kingdom, FP+ is like a breeze with so many options: I ended up with Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Space Mountain, and Buzz Lightyear, maybe threw in a Peter Pan in there somewhere. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

In other news...I went to the Disney Store outlet this past weekend and got myself a Christmas-in-July present! $3.
IMG_4383.JPG

What will they come out with this year? My wallet is scared but I-MUST-KNOW!

I have also been eyeing this phone case because, as you may know, I love Beauty and the Beast.
6604055761156

I've watched the live action film 3 times already, the 3rd time also being this past weekend with my brother who was like "What's your problem?" as I giggled with giddiness at the Walt Disney Pictures scene before the movie even started, welled up with tears during the ballroom scene, and made him sit through the entire credits to listen to How Does a Moment Last Forever.

But that case though...

In the words of LeFou...too much?
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom