Pre-Trip Halloween, a birthday and Christmas! The ever-changing planning of our November 2014 trip!

Hello everyone!

This is a spur of the moment thing since I've never done a trip report before, much less a pre-trip report! But some of you guys seems so nice that I finally decided to bit the bullet and start my PTR.

We went to Disney this past February and on our last day, after much crying and wishing I could just say screw the world, I'm moving to my room on POFQ permanently, we decided that we'd be coming back ASAP. As we set there waiting for the shuttle to take us to the airport I already had my phone calendar opened and we're looking around dates. Would we want to come back in February? Could we afford a trip as big as this one knowing we had a trip to Italy planned for the end of the year already? After much talking (we did have a 11 hour plane ride home after all!) we decided on November 2014. Over 600 days away! Both the MNSSHP and MVMCP played a big part on our decision and after we finally set on our dates we finally could breathe a bit better, we're coming back to our second home!
 
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LucyK

LucyK

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So who exactly are we?

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This one was taken on Animal Kingdom on February and it has become my favorite picture of the whole trip.

On the left it's me.
Name: Lucy
Age: er... a little over 30. Ok, 33 as of three days ago. I'll sadly be 34 when we go back.
Disney fan since: ever! I remember watching Disney Cartoons from as early as a 3 year old.
Favorite character: Scrooge McDuck
Favorite character that Disney allows me to meet: Donald.
Fun fact: I can play the cello. I can't whistle to save my life though.

On the right it's that amazing lady that I have the honor to call mother.
Name: Ana
Age: 71. Will turn 72 right in the middle of our trip, she'll be the birthday girl for our entire trip!
Disney fan since: since she owned a TV and got to watch b&w cartoons!
Favorite character: Tiger.
Fun Fact: she can't smile for pictures. And when she tries she looks so strange that she just gave up. I don't think I have one picture of her smiling and when I try to sneak one, she gets really mad at me.

Ok, so here's the big reveal:

We're Brazilians. No we don't go with tour groups. We kinda hate them as much or more than you guys because they give us normal folks a real bad reputation. So don't judge us by what they do, because we're very calm and polite people. We also don't chant, shout, run over others and we absolutely not cut in front of others. If you can deal with the fact that we're not Americans but love Disney and still want to read my PTR, I welcome you.
 
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LucyK

LucyK

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
SO, November 2014 is our time frame but when and where?

Like I said, MNSSHP and MVMCP are our goals. For that to happen we had to arrive no late than November 1st. After a few debating on dates we decided: October 31st to November 22rd. That would give us 23 days total to divide our time between Disney and the other theme parks.

We actually leave home on October 30rd, a Thursday, it's a 11 hour trip including connections. We more than likely will fly Delta again since we have a lot of miles from Skymiles and we'll probably get one ticket using those and pay for the other OOP. Delta operates three daily flights from the international airport closest to where we leave. Our favorite one departs at 10:55PM with a connection on either Atlanta or Detroit. If we stop at Atlanta, we'll be at MCO around 8AM and if we stop at Detroit we get to MCO around 10:30AM. I rather stop at Detroit because Customs there is always empty 7AM when we arrive.

We go back on November 22, a Saturday. Our favorite return time is the flight leaving MCO at 4:30PM, which gives us half a day for shopping or going to a park on departure day.

OK, we know when, how about where?

Two things I was certain of:

1) we'd go back to POFQ. The resort is small but beautiful, the bus service is great and we loved everyone there, the CMs were amazing to us.

2) Disney would be our last stop. Leaving Disney to go another hotel is an absolutely nightmare. I couldn't enjoy the new hotel at all because I kept comparing it to POFQ and the service provided there. We had some troubles there as well (room was on a smoking floor when I specifically requested a non-smoking room because of my allergies, got charged twice for our room). I want to avoid this feeling again, so this time around we'll do offsite first then move to Disney to finish our vacation.

One thing my mom is certain of: she will NEVER set foot on a Holiday Inn again. Those poor suckers should be glad she doesn't speak English because otherwise she would have ripped them a new one.

We decided we wanted to stay at one of the Universal Hotels and in the end we chose Royal Pacific Resort. Our dates here are October 31st to November 11th.
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We can walk to the parks, rooms are spacious and airy, the pool looks fantastic and it was the cheapest one. Funny thing though, it's considered a deluxe hotel and the price is cheaper than a moderate hotel at WDW!

On the 11th we pack our things and we go home... TO DISNEY!
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POFQ will forever be my second home, I love the place, the decor, the ferry to DTD... I love it all. Ideally we want to stay at the same building as before, building 4. If they are able to give us the same room, 4105, I'll be the happiest girl on earth but I know that is highly unlikely and we'll be happy if my building 4 ground floor request is granted.

I booked the whole trip on the same day package reservations opened for Disney! Clicking that PURCHASE button was a relief, I was finally on my way back.

For Universal we got the 3-Parks Unlimited Ticket, good for up to 14 days at either Universal Park and Wet&Wild. We also planned a Seaworld day.

Our MYW package includes tickets for 8 days and the Dinning Plan. Plus we'll purchase tickets to both MNSSHP and MVMCP.

Up next, detailed plans. Because I love to plan!
 
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LucyK

LucyK

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
FOOD:

I'm a piscatarian, I don't eat any meat besides fish and seafood. I also eat dairy and egg although I try to make sure that all eggs and meat are free range and cruelty free. Before my first visit in 2005 I thought it would be harder to eat at Disney but I found they do carter rather well to different dietary needs. And while I'm there I simply don't care about calories and sugar and all that stuff that is bad for you. I actually lost 8 pounds on my last visit and that was eating 2 snacks a day plus a table AND a quick service meal!

I rather prepay most of our dining expenses beforehand so I always get the DDP. It's worth the price for us even after paying for appetizers and tips. Last trip we saved around $250.

We do lots of TS dinners and some character breakfast, saving the QS credit for our lunch. Some of them are repeats of the one we went once and loved it or it's our favorite place to eat while others we're trying for the first time. I realized we didn't do much resort hopping to eat which is something I plan to rectify next time. After looking through menus and asking a lot of questions, I decided on these restaurants so far (of course they are all subject to change because I'm as fickle as they come):

Table Service:
Via Napoli, California Grill, Rainforest Café, Mama Melrose's, Citricos, Boma, Cape May, Boatwright's, Crystal Palace, Chef Mickey's, Tusker House, Kona Café,

Counter Service:
Be Our Guest, Tamu Tamu, Boulangerie Patisserie, Cantina de San Angel, Wolfgang Puck Express, Main Street Bakery, Columbia Harbour House, Flame Tree Barbecue, Earl of Sandwich, Bongos Cuban Café Window, Pinocchio Village Haus.

That's it for now!
 
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LucyK

LucyK

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
After reading Disney Food Blog Review of 1900 Park Fare we decided to drop our Chef Mickey's ADR in favor of the former. The fish options are quite good and the salads were the main reason for the change. Plus they have strawberry soup, which I love.
 
LucyK

LucyK

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I was thinking about what will I wear for our MNSSHP party! And I though, uhm, why not a SNICKERS BAR costume: http://www.costumecraze.com/CNDY15.html which is funny, cute and very easy to wear. I'd pair with some black leggings and some boots and voila!

But them I saw this:
25670-Candyland-Costume-large.jpg http://www.costumecraze.com/GAME19.html and it's AWESOME! Not only it's cute and super fun but it's also Disney related in a way! A homage to Wreck It Ralph! What could be more perfect? I totally ordered that one. I'll also use leggings (maybe light grey or pale gree) and pink Mary-Janes like this one:
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Totally happy with my Halloween outfit!
 
LucyK

LucyK

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Just called to add two more day to our trip! We're now booked at Royal Pacific from October 30th to November 11th and at POFQ from November 11th to November 23rd.

This gives me another DDP credit to spend and I was thinking about 1900 Park Fare for dinner. What do you guys think?
 
Wikkler

Wikkler

Well-Known Member
LucyK said:
But them I saw this:
View attachment 29770 http://www.costumecraze.com/GAME19.html and it's AWESOME! Not only it's cute and super fun but it's also Disney related in a way! A homage to Wreck It Ralph! What could be more perfect? I totally ordered that one. I'll also use leggings (maybe light grey or pale gree) and pink Mary-Janes like this one:
View attachment 29769
Totally happy with my Halloween outfit!
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Don't wear those unless looking pretty is a higher priority than getting shoes that are made for walking long distances
 
LucyK

LucyK

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Wikkler said:
Don't wear those unless looking pretty is a higher priority than getting shoes that are made for walking long distances
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:in pain:
I hadn't really thought about walking too much on those shoes. Great advice, I'll look into another cute but wearable shoes!
 
LucyK

LucyK

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I want to do the Sunrise Safari! But they only are offered to AKL CL guests and only on Thursdays and Sundays (and I only know that thanks to some amazing posters here at WDWMagic) so I have some rearranging to do.

My plans:

Drop the last night from our 12 night package at POFQ. That amounts to $440 with the Dining Plan included.

Book AKL concierge level for one night, RO reservation $591 (taxes included).

Add one more park day to our 9 day park ticket. Use that 10th day to go to AK.

The tour costs $65 p.p and includes a special breakfast at Pizzafari.

Leave AK around 1pm and make our way back to AKL, snack at the concierge level club, check out and make our way to the airport.

Including the cost of the extra ticket and the upcharge for the room, I'm looking at an extra $350. Not much all things considered and how much I love animals.

Thoughts? Is it doable? Should I just stick with the Backstage Safari tour offered to all guests ($72 p.p, already on my to-do list)?
 

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