This is my first ever post, although I have been following the boards for quite a while. I just never had the chance to ever create my own posts. Here's a little bit of backstory:
I've always been a longtime Disney fan. I say it's in the genes because my Grandmother loved the older Disney movies and my Mom loved all things Disney. So it was natural that I would be a Disney Addict, right? My favorite memories were watching the old Disney cartoons and waiting with the family in the living room on Sunday nights to watch the Wonderful World of Disney. I still tear up whenever I hear "When You Wish Upon a Star." And, of course, I had to watch every episode that the TGIF shows took to the Disney parks. They took me to WDW when I was a couple of years old, which was the worst decision. Apparently, I wasn't cooperative and was cranky because it was so hot and humid. Then Mom accidentally took me on the Haunted Mansion instead of the river boat and I had an epic meltdown. They never took me back lol. Fast forward many years, and my then boyfriend (now husband), R, and I decided to take a spur of the moment trip to WDW in 2012. It was last minute, we had no idea the amount of planning involved but decided to make the best of it. I guess it was more of a chance to try to save our relationship after a lot of downs during that time. And guess what? It worked!! We had so much fun that trip. But it was only when we returned home that I realized we completely skipped over Adventureland. We had to go back after that right?? We eloped in 2014 and I decided to go to WDW for our honeymoon. It was the most magical trip ever. Of course, it helped that I was away from all the snow we were having back in VA!!! Then we went back in 2015 for our anniversary. During that trip, we took advantage of the bounceback offer of free dining to return in 2016. Score!!
So here we are now. Only 37 days until our trip, which will be my first time ever flying. I was afraid we would not be able to go on this trip. My mother died last month and I wasn't sure whether I would be up to it emotionally. But I know she would really want me to go on this trip and, honestly, my husband and I just need a break from everything. Luckily, a former coworker of mine is willing to stay at our place (2.5 hrs away from her home) to watch my special needs dog for me!!. It goes without saying, that she will be getting a really good present from WDW. She is also a Disney Addict and she knows how much I need a break. I can't say enough for good, loyal friends. But I'm still worried about leaving my dog for a week with someone other than my mom. He's definitely my furbaby and I'll probably be driving my friend crazy the entire week with texts and phone calls LOL.
If all goes according to plan, we will stay at PO Riverside from October 1-7 and then stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House on Oct 7th before returning home on the 8th. R and I absolutely LOVE Riverside and he never wants to stay anywhere else. Luckily, I was able to get a room at AKL with the room discount so I finally get to stay at a deluxe resort!!
Here are the plans so far:
*Oct 1 - leave the house super early, drive to the airport, and land at MCO at 9:40am. We'll have lunch at Disney Springs at Art Smith's Homecoming. R loves fried chicken so how could I say no when he's letting me have another WDW trip?? Then we'll have dinner at Raglan Road. Will definitely have a slow day at Disney Springs since I'm not a morning person and will probably need a nap.
*Oct 2 - AK day. We'll have a quick service lunch at Harambe Market so that R can have Bibo, which he became addicted to at Club Cool during our last trip. Then dinner at Sanaa, one of our favorite places to eat on property.
*Oct 3 - EPCOT!! We have a pre-park opening breakfast at Akershus. I loved their dinner but first time having breakfast there. I became addicted to the gjetost cheese and in my hometown (no longer live there), I found a place that sold it. Not good for this lactose intolerant person! The rest of the day will be the Food and Wine Festival and then I'll finally be doing the Behind the Seeds Tour. I'm so excited about this!
*Oct 4 - We'll start the day in HS and then go back to EPCOT around lunch. The husband and I don't really enjoy HS that much and last year we only had one day at F&W Festival, which was not enough time. We have tickets for a culinary demonstration and then a late lunch at Garden Grill (another first for us). It will be a late night at EPCOT for EMH. I love the Disney parks after dark. It feels so much more magical and special to me.
*Oct 5 - MK day, which is my favorite park. We don't have many things scheduled this day bc I want to just soak in the atmosphere. MK is open late this night for EMH so we'll be leaving the park for dinner at Kona Cafe before returning. R and I loved Kona for breakfast during our trip in 2014 but it will be our first dinner there.
*Oct 6 - Another MK day, but this time we have a breakfast ADR for 8:00AM before the park opens. I'm not fond of their breakfast but I loved being in Fantasyland before it opens to everyone else. It was one of the highlights of our trip last year. Because the park closes early that day for MNSSHP, we'll be leaving for an early dinner at 'Ohana, my favorite place to eat!! One day I WILL stay at the Poly.
*Oct 7 - No parks scheduled for this day. We'll just relax around Riverside, maybe go to Disney Springs, before we check into AKL and go to dinner at Boma, another first for us!
*Oct 8 - leave to return home
I should say that my husband has never really been a foodie. When we first started dating 14 years ago, he actually hated to eat - it was just something he had to do to live. I come from a food loving Southern family where all our of events revolved around food. The idea of not enjoying food was completely foreign to me LOL. We must have rubbed off on him bc now he's more open to trying new foods, etc. Last year, at the F&W Festival, one of my wishes actually came true! R said to me, and I quote: "Next year, can we focus more on the food and less on the rides?" This was a big deal to me for two reasons: 1. He actually had the idea of coming back the following year (while he enjoys Disney, he doesn't love it like i do) and 2. He wanted to eat - and eat a lot! So this trip, I'm planning everything around food. His requests were Ohana bread pudding and French Quarter beignets.
Once I figure out how to upload photos, I'll post a few pictures of our previous trips. And I'm not sure if anyone else does this, but R and I have theme songs for each of our trips (besides the first in 2012 when we were completely overwhelmed and overloaded from it all). Each trip, there always seems to be one song that's played constantly and gets stuck in our heads. In 2014, it was "Friend Like Me" from Downtown Disney (before they changed the music loop) and in 2015 it was "Let's Go Fly a Kite" (the instrumental version played at the MK bus stops). I'm excited to see what the song will be this year
I've always been a longtime Disney fan. I say it's in the genes because my Grandmother loved the older Disney movies and my Mom loved all things Disney. So it was natural that I would be a Disney Addict, right? My favorite memories were watching the old Disney cartoons and waiting with the family in the living room on Sunday nights to watch the Wonderful World of Disney. I still tear up whenever I hear "When You Wish Upon a Star." And, of course, I had to watch every episode that the TGIF shows took to the Disney parks. They took me to WDW when I was a couple of years old, which was the worst decision. Apparently, I wasn't cooperative and was cranky because it was so hot and humid. Then Mom accidentally took me on the Haunted Mansion instead of the river boat and I had an epic meltdown. They never took me back lol. Fast forward many years, and my then boyfriend (now husband), R, and I decided to take a spur of the moment trip to WDW in 2012. It was last minute, we had no idea the amount of planning involved but decided to make the best of it. I guess it was more of a chance to try to save our relationship after a lot of downs during that time. And guess what? It worked!! We had so much fun that trip. But it was only when we returned home that I realized we completely skipped over Adventureland. We had to go back after that right?? We eloped in 2014 and I decided to go to WDW for our honeymoon. It was the most magical trip ever. Of course, it helped that I was away from all the snow we were having back in VA!!! Then we went back in 2015 for our anniversary. During that trip, we took advantage of the bounceback offer of free dining to return in 2016. Score!!
So here we are now. Only 37 days until our trip, which will be my first time ever flying. I was afraid we would not be able to go on this trip. My mother died last month and I wasn't sure whether I would be up to it emotionally. But I know she would really want me to go on this trip and, honestly, my husband and I just need a break from everything. Luckily, a former coworker of mine is willing to stay at our place (2.5 hrs away from her home) to watch my special needs dog for me!!. It goes without saying, that she will be getting a really good present from WDW. She is also a Disney Addict and she knows how much I need a break. I can't say enough for good, loyal friends. But I'm still worried about leaving my dog for a week with someone other than my mom. He's definitely my furbaby and I'll probably be driving my friend crazy the entire week with texts and phone calls LOL.
If all goes according to plan, we will stay at PO Riverside from October 1-7 and then stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House on Oct 7th before returning home on the 8th. R and I absolutely LOVE Riverside and he never wants to stay anywhere else. Luckily, I was able to get a room at AKL with the room discount so I finally get to stay at a deluxe resort!!
Here are the plans so far:
*Oct 1 - leave the house super early, drive to the airport, and land at MCO at 9:40am. We'll have lunch at Disney Springs at Art Smith's Homecoming. R loves fried chicken so how could I say no when he's letting me have another WDW trip?? Then we'll have dinner at Raglan Road. Will definitely have a slow day at Disney Springs since I'm not a morning person and will probably need a nap.
*Oct 2 - AK day. We'll have a quick service lunch at Harambe Market so that R can have Bibo, which he became addicted to at Club Cool during our last trip. Then dinner at Sanaa, one of our favorite places to eat on property.
*Oct 3 - EPCOT!! We have a pre-park opening breakfast at Akershus. I loved their dinner but first time having breakfast there. I became addicted to the gjetost cheese and in my hometown (no longer live there), I found a place that sold it. Not good for this lactose intolerant person! The rest of the day will be the Food and Wine Festival and then I'll finally be doing the Behind the Seeds Tour. I'm so excited about this!
*Oct 4 - We'll start the day in HS and then go back to EPCOT around lunch. The husband and I don't really enjoy HS that much and last year we only had one day at F&W Festival, which was not enough time. We have tickets for a culinary demonstration and then a late lunch at Garden Grill (another first for us). It will be a late night at EPCOT for EMH. I love the Disney parks after dark. It feels so much more magical and special to me.
*Oct 5 - MK day, which is my favorite park. We don't have many things scheduled this day bc I want to just soak in the atmosphere. MK is open late this night for EMH so we'll be leaving the park for dinner at Kona Cafe before returning. R and I loved Kona for breakfast during our trip in 2014 but it will be our first dinner there.
*Oct 6 - Another MK day, but this time we have a breakfast ADR for 8:00AM before the park opens. I'm not fond of their breakfast but I loved being in Fantasyland before it opens to everyone else. It was one of the highlights of our trip last year. Because the park closes early that day for MNSSHP, we'll be leaving for an early dinner at 'Ohana, my favorite place to eat!! One day I WILL stay at the Poly.
*Oct 7 - No parks scheduled for this day. We'll just relax around Riverside, maybe go to Disney Springs, before we check into AKL and go to dinner at Boma, another first for us!
*Oct 8 - leave to return home
I should say that my husband has never really been a foodie. When we first started dating 14 years ago, he actually hated to eat - it was just something he had to do to live. I come from a food loving Southern family where all our of events revolved around food. The idea of not enjoying food was completely foreign to me LOL. We must have rubbed off on him bc now he's more open to trying new foods, etc. Last year, at the F&W Festival, one of my wishes actually came true! R said to me, and I quote: "Next year, can we focus more on the food and less on the rides?" This was a big deal to me for two reasons: 1. He actually had the idea of coming back the following year (while he enjoys Disney, he doesn't love it like i do) and 2. He wanted to eat - and eat a lot! So this trip, I'm planning everything around food. His requests were Ohana bread pudding and French Quarter beignets.
Once I figure out how to upload photos, I'll post a few pictures of our previous trips. And I'm not sure if anyone else does this, but R and I have theme songs for each of our trips (besides the first in 2012 when we were completely overwhelmed and overloaded from it all). Each trip, there always seems to be one song that's played constantly and gets stuck in our heads. In 2014, it was "Friend Like Me" from Downtown Disney (before they changed the music loop) and in 2015 it was "Let's Go Fly a Kite" (the instrumental version played at the MK bus stops). I'm excited to see what the song will be this year
