Pre-Trip We are trying new things, darn it!- September 2016

Since I have recently become obsessed with trip reports, I have decided to try my hand at one for my upcoming trip. Hopefully I can entertain and enthrall anyone who wants to read.

So... here we go. The Players...

Me: Dale, 37, full time Nurse, part time writer, very amateur photographer (Though I was asked to do my friend's wedding in October... )... First trip to a Disney Park- Disneyland in 1989 I was 10, and been obsessed ever since... this will be my 15th trip to Disney World. (Also under my belt, 5 trips to Disneyland and One day in Disneyland Paris)

AND Frank, my husband (35)... Retail Manager... I can't tell you when his first trip to Disney was "I don't remember!" he says... But together we've been about 1 times (And twice to Disneyland) Favorite Quote- "I am smiling." As you will see in many pictures, he may have a different definition of the word "smile" than most people...

Our story- I first saw Frank in high school, we were in Marching Bands at different schools, but I noticed him since he was in the Color Guard and I thought it was really cool that they allowed a guy to do it. A few years later, my friend and I were out to a late dinner after work, and he pointed out a couple of people he went to high school with one of whom was Frank... We officially met a couple years later at a bar... and we have been together since 2003. Married last year about 5 days after it become legal in Ohio.

SO... this trip starts with our trip last year, September 2015 at Pop! For some reason, I decided to read through the little book they put in the room, little did I know about bounceback offers... And saw that it was Free Dining if you book before you leave, so... I said, "Hey, Frank, are we coming back next year?"
And we decided that we were.

September 15-22 at Caribbean Beach in a Pirate Room (Because I am 37 going on 10), Free Dining, 6 day Park Hopper was the original booking...

Now, this was the longest we'd ever gone in advance for booking, so I was thrilled to have the extra time to really research where we wanted to eat and whatnot, and set a countdown for the days.

Sidenote- The 2015 trip, I decided I was tired of eating at the same restaurants all the time, so I told Frank that we would be trying a few new places... (He's a bit of a picky eater) but it worked out, and he enjoyed most of them. So THIS year, I decided to throw caution to the wind and go with ALL new places... but that's a story for another time.

 

[prfctlyximprct]

Cannot wait to hear your dining plans! I must use the overused saying of "Yolo! You only live once!" Do it up! Throw all that caution to the wind and try everything new! That is so exciting! I loved Caribbean Beach, and a pirate room? HECK YES. Enjoy all your pre-trip vibes! It will be here before you know it!

 

[catmandoo]

So, let's travel forward in time a bit to March 19thish, 2016... the 180 day mark. Since the trip was so far off when I booked, I didn't really think too much about it... and made plans to go visit my sister in Albany and head into NYC for a day... on our 180 day mark... OH NO! How could I make dining reservations on a train from Albany to New York?!

I didn't trust Frank to make them since he'd pick the same old places... though we did reach a compromise in the months between booking and day 180. We had to have Breakfast at The Crystal Palace so he could see Pooh, his favorite, and get the puffed French Toast, which is his FAVORITE thing to eat at Disney. As you can see below, Pooh is one of the only things that can make Frank smile. (Last year's breakfast, always on our last day)

(Plus, I get to meet my Disney Doppelganger...)

SOOO... I woke up a bit before my sister and I had to leave for the train, and quickly made a Crystal Palace reservation for our last day, since I know they can go quickly.

An hour or so later, on our way into the city, I got out my tablet and logged on to make more reservations. That's when I noticed, I hadn't made a reservation for our last day, I had, in fact, somehow managed to make the reservation for THAT VERY DAY! I couldn't cancel online, so I had to call and a very nice lady helped me sort it out and make a reservation for the proper day...

By the end of the train ride, I'd had *most* of our reservations made...

9/15- Arrival Day- Tokyo Dining 6:50P
9/16- The Plaza Restaurant 5:15P
9/18- Be Our Guest Lunch 10:45a
9/19-Boatwrights 5:05P (Our 13 year dating anniversary!)
9/20- T Rex 3:00PM
9/21- The Crystal Palace 9:15A

Now, you'll notice a gap in there... which was intentional. Since (See Title of Thread) I decided we were going to do one of the Dinner Shows.... but which would it be... Hoop-de-doo, Spirit of Aloha, or Mickey's Backyard Barbeque... and would Frank agree?

Time would tell...

 

[FlaggNL]

Thanks for sharing and following along!

 

[RememberWhen]

Congrats on your wedding! My wife and I got married in 2010 in lovely Massachusetts.

We're missing you all by 1 day. We arrive the 23rd. We've got tons of dining reservations, including Hoop Dee Doo. It's our favorite.

I'm following along and can't wait to hear about your trip.

 

[catmandoo]

So we continue... As March wore on, I started to not feel so great... but I always tend to put things off and not worry about myself. In the beginning of April, I had my annual checkup. The doctor ran the usual labs, plus a few others based on our discussion, and I got a call the next day saying he wanted me to go see a specialist because of some of the results... He also ordered a few cardiac tests because my EKG results were slightly abnormal. What exactly were we checking for, I asked... Well, turns out some of my lab work indicated a possibility of cancer.

Oh.

It really caught me off guard, and I got to thinking... What if this is it? What if this is the last bit of time I have left? It didn't even occur to me to cancel the trip, come heck or high water, we were going, and if this was my last trip to Disney ever, darn it, I was going all out.

I booked the Hoop-De-doo since I thought Frank would like the food at that one the most. I called and upgraded our tickets to include the Water Parks & More since we'd never been and I've wanted to check them out the last few trips, but we could never work it out. I booked the Illuminations Dessert Party as a treat for our Anniversary night... (Sidenote, Frank *HATES* seeing fireworks/nighttime shows/parades and I'm not sure why, but I was acting as if it'd be my last trip, and I've never really had a good view of Illuminations)... and somewhere in there I booked the Halloween Party as well (Which we've been to, but decided not to go this year, but then I thought... It's fun and, hey, Candy.) I wanted to see La Nouba, but it has such an odd schedule and couldn't fit it in.

So, the days went on, and I had more tests... and more tests... and ended up in the ER one night in May with such horrible nausea/vomiting/heart palpitations that I was worried I wouldn't make it to September. After some IV meds and fluids, I was sent home with some new prescriptions and instructions to follow up with my Doctor. Which I did, and saw the specialist, and had a few more tests.

Anyway, to spare you the suspense, no cancer... and the cause of my issues could be helped with a couple medications. But still, it scared me, and I'm glad I was treating this as a "Go for Broke" kinda trip... because you never know.

This takes us into the end of June... with day 60 coming up July 17th!

 

[RememberWhen]

So we continue... As March wore on, I started to not feel so great... but I always tend to put things off and not worry about myself. In the beginning of April, I had my annual checkup. The doctor ran the usual labs, plus a few others based on our discussion, and I got a call the next day saying he wanted me to go see a specialist because of some of the results... He also ordered a few cardiac tests because my EKG results were slightly abnormal. What exactly were we checking for, I asked... Well, turns out some of my lab work indicated a possibility of cancer.

Oh.

It really caught me off guard, and I got to thinking... What if this is it? What if this is the last bit of time I have left? It didn't even occur to me to cancel the trip, come heck or high water, we were going, and if this was my last trip to Disney ever, darn it, I was going all out.

I booked the Hoop-De-doo since I thought Frank would like the food at that one the most. I called and upgraded our tickets to include the Water Parks & More since we'd never been and I've wanted to check them out the last few trips, but we could never work it out. I booked the Illuminations Dessert Party as a treat for our Anniversary night... (Sidenote, Frank *HATES* seeing fireworks/nighttime shows/parades and I'm not sure why, but I was acting as if it'd be my last trip, and I've never really had a good view of Illuminations)... and somewhere in there I booked the Halloween Party as well (Which we've been to, but decided not to go this year, but then I thought... It's fun and, hey, Candy.) I wanted to see La Nouba, but it has such an odd schedule and couldn't fit it in.

So, the days went on, and I had more tests... and more tests... and ended up in the ER one night in May with such horrible nausea/vomiting/heart palpitations that I was worried I wouldn't make it to September. After some IV meds and fluids, I was sent home with some new prescriptions and instructions to follow up with my Doctor. Which I did, and saw the specialist, and had a few more tests.

Anyway, to spare you the suspense, no cancer... and the cause of my issues could be helped with a couple medications. But still, it scared me, and I'm glad I was treating this as a "Go for Broke" kinda trip... because you never know.

This takes us into the end of June... with day 60 coming up July 17th!

Well geepers, that's a lot. I hope this is one of very very many trips to the magical land we all love.

 

[joshsprincess921]

Wow...I'm in. Hope you are doing better.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

I'm in!

So glad you do not have cancer!! This sounds like a great trip! September is a great month go. We stayed at CBR on our most recent trip, and I really liked it despite the poor reviews it seems to get around here!

 

[catmandoo]

I'm in!

So glad you do not have cancer!! This sounds like a great trip! September is a great month go. We stayed at CBR on our most recent trip, and I really liked it despite the poor reviews it seems to get around here!

I read some reviews online after we booked and they all seemed to be... not great, especially the location of the Pirate themed rooms, but then I figured... It's cool, we have legs that work and we could both use the exercise. We always tend to be far away from the main building anyway, it's just how my luck goes with traveling. When we stayed at Coronado Springs a couple years ago, we were so far away that we'd finished our drinks by the time we got back to the room.

Thanks for following along!

 

[catmandoo]

So, let's travel back a bit... sometime in February or so, I saw a post on the Facebook from my friend in California about some problems she and her husband have been having recently, and I've been telling her for quite a few years that we'd be out to visit soon, but it never really worked out due to finances, work, school (I had gone back to school in 2011 for my Nursing Degree)... so with this news, and the fact that I'd just gotten a nice check from a lawsuit settlement, I decided this was the year to visit.

We planned a quick, 5 day trip, and with the leftover money I got our plane tickets for Florida (Cleveland to Orlando, leaving at 7:05 am, arriving at 10:31am, the times back were changed, but it think we leave around 2ish?) and paid off a good chuck of the September trip.

Our trip to California was in May, we visited the Disneyland Resort for 3 days, Universal Studios for 1, and then just toured around Hollywood for a bit on our last day. It was a fun trip, got my mind off things for awhile, and it was great to see my friends.

And although I've been there quite a few times, I can never get over how different it is, and always compare it to WDW... though Sleeping Beauty Castle did look awesome all lit up for the Diamond Celebration.

So it was a nice little detour... but I knew we still had September to look forward to...

Minus Big Thunder Mountain and minus Dinosaur (Which, as it so happens, is my favorite ride in all of Disney World)
But at least Frozen Ever After would be open (Hey, don't judge... I Love me some Frozen...)
So, July 17th would be coming, and Fastpasses would be made.

Would I get everything I wanted?

 

[Figment Forever]

So glad the medical issues worked out - how scary! We will be in MK on the 18th. Will keep an eye out for you guys!

 

[HurricaneHanna]

That's when I noticed, I hadn't made a reservation for our last day, I had, in fact, somehow managed to make the reservation for THAT VERY DAY! I couldn't cancel online, so I had to call and a very nice lady helped me sort it out and make a reservation for the proper day...

HaHaHa I have done that before too and thank goodness I noticed and called the reservation line. "Hello, I have a reservation at Le Cellier in an hour and I'm 1000 miles away..."

Following along

 

[HurricaneHanna]

Anyway, to spare you the suspense, no cancer... and the cause of my issues could be helped with a couple medications. But still, it scared me, and I'm glad I was treating this as a "Go for Broke" kinda trip... because you never know.

I think it's good to treat special things in a "go for broke" kinda way. Especially as we get a bit older and health isn't perfect, you just never know.
I'm glad that it was just a scare. sometimes scares can be a good wake up call.

 

[draybook]

Since I have recently become obsessed with trip reports, I have decided to try my hand at one for my upcoming trip. Hopefully I can entertain and enthrall anyone who wants to read.

So... here we go. The Players...

Me: Dale, 37, full time Nurse, part time writer, very amateur photographer (Though I was asked to do my friend's wedding in October... )... First trip to a Disney Park- Disneyland in 1989 I was 10, and been obsessed ever since... this will be my 15th trip to Disney World. (Also under my belt, 5 trips to Disneyland and One day in Disneyland Paris)

AND Frank, my husband (35)... Retail Manager... I can't tell you when his first trip to Disney was "I don't remember!" he says... But together we've been about 1 times (And twice to Disneyland) Favorite Quote- "I am smiling." As you will see in many pictures, he may have a different definition of the word "smile" than most people...

Our story- I first saw Frank in high school, we were in Marching Bands at different schools, but I noticed him since he was in the Color Guard and I thought it was really cool that they allowed a guy to do it. A few years later, my friend and I were out to a late dinner after work, and he pointed out a couple of people he went to high school with one of whom was Frank... We officially met a couple years later at a bar... and we have been together since 2003. Married last year about 5 days after it become legal in Ohio.

SO... this trip starts with our trip last year, September 2015 at Pop! For some reason, I decided to read through the little book they put in the room, little did I know about bounceback offers... And saw that it was Free Dining if you book before you leave, so... I said, "Hey, Frank, are we coming back next year?"
And we decided that we were.

September 15-22 at Caribbean Beach in a Pirate Room (Because I am 37 going on 10), Free Dining, 6 day Park Hopper was the original booking...

Now, this was the longest we'd ever gone in advance for booking, so I was thrilled to have the extra time to really research where we wanted to eat and whatnot, and set a countdown for the days.

Sidenote- The 2015 trip, I decided I was tired of eating at the same restaurants all the time, so I told Frank that we would be trying a few new places... (He's a bit of a picky eater) but it worked out, and he enjoyed most of them. So THIS year, I decided to throw caution to the wind and go with ALL new places... but that's a story for another time.

I know that feeling, my friend. My wife and kids are VERY picky. Me, not so much but I go along with it and we stay within the same 5 or 6 restaurants on every trip. Glad to see you caught the bounce back. We've used it for our last 2 or 3 trips and it's nice knowing that you have free dining locked in. Looking forward to the trip report!

 

[myhappyplace]

In for what seems like it will be an awesome report! Welcome to the wonderful world of trip reporting, and you're doing great!

 

[WDWDarling]

So glad to hear that everything is alright!

Your plans look great and with free dining I say go all out!!! Following along .

 

[Ayden]

I'm also following along.

Great to hear you're feeling better and it wasn't cancer! I hope you have an amazing trip!

 

[Ciara]

Following along! Cheers to being cancer free!

I absolutely LOVE the waterparks. Im glad you were able to work them in. Its too bad you couldn't get tickets for La Nouba, i also have wanted to go but the schedule in September is always so weird!

 

[catmandoo]

So where were we... Just made dining reservations.... Illuminations Dessert Party... Water Park Tickets... INcidently, this has been a repeated conversation the last few months...
Me- "When we go to the water parks, [random question/statement]."
Frank- "What? We're not going to the water parks."
Me- "Well, I'M going to the water parks, you can do whatever you want."
I can't quite tell if he's joking or serious...

ANYWAY, day 60 was fast approaching, and then they released the Eat to the Beat concert schedule. Now, backstory, Frank's favorite music group is Wilson Phillips. Two years ago, we managed a quick trip to catch their show at the Food and Wine festival.

But last year, it wasn't doable because of timing/budget.

So when we found out this year that they'd be there October 3-4, we looked into changing the dates of our trip. But as I thought, with the dining reservations and plane tickets and whatnot, it wasn't worth it. So, Frank was upset.

So, into research mode I went, trying to figure out a way to make it down, literally 10 days after we were there, to make sure Frank could see Wilson Phillips again. And, somehow, I made it work. It wasn't terribly expensive, so for our 1 year wedding anniversary I surprised him with...

Disney 2016 trip #2!
October 2-4, All-Star Music, 2 Day ticket, no hopper, no water parks, no dining plan
Managed to find a Sale with Frontier Airlines $49 per person each way.
ADR for Paradiso 37at 945pm on the 2nd and Chefs de France for the Eat to the Beat Dining Package


I didn't get a picture of him then, but I could tell he was thrilled. His face looked remarkably similar to this picture...

Anyway, Day 60 was coming... fast passes to be made... now for TWO trips. Oh, boy!