My Pre-Trip Report
June 19-23, 2013
The past several years have been very stressful for my family. Several deaths in the family along with many other things have made it tough, especially the past five months. My dad’s younger brother passed away from cancer last summer. He’s been pretty depressed since then and I want to do something to lift his spirits.
Beginning at the age of five my parents took me to Disney World just about every summer. We went a total of 10 times. We also made one trip to Disneyland in 1999. Some of my most favorite childhood memories are from those vacations. My parents also love Disney World, my dad especially. They visited twice on their own before I was born. After I graduated from high school and started college we never got the chance to take another family vacation.
I met my boyfriend, Joe, in 2006 and we have been together ever since (7 years!) In August 2008 Joe and I took our first trip to Disney World together. He had been to The Magic Kingdom once before when he was 16 years old. His first trip to Disney wasn’t very magical, but I showed him how fantastic Disney World really is! We then made three more trips to Disney together in July 2009, August 2010, and May 2012. I also went to Disney World with some friends in August 2011, and in July 2012. So that makes a total of 16 trips for me!
Joe and I decided in January of this year that we wanted to take another trip to Disney this summer. We decided on the dates August 10-17. We love the Wilderness Lodge, but unfortunately couldn’t afford it this year so we booked our room at Port Orleans Riverside. Joe and I have stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter before, but never at Riverside. I stayed at Riverside (at that time it was called Dixie Landings) with my parents a long time ago, and I also visited there last July when I was with some friends (I stayed at French Quarter).
Last summer I was such a lucky duck that was able to go to Disney World twice! I even bought an annual pass. It was so wonderful. So, I was thinking about how I could go twice this summer, too. I just miss Disney so much when I’m not there. I already knew that Joe wouldn’t be able to go twice with me this year, and my friends aren’t going until December. So, I came up with the idea of taking my dad. He has been talking about how much he misses Disney. It makes me sad to hear him say he misses it when I get to go every summer. His 66th birthday is on June 17, so I thought that I could make it a birthday/Father’s day gift to him. I am a teacher so I wouldn’t be working then and it would work out perfectly! So, I talked to my mom about it and she agree to help pay for it. I booked the trip for June 19-23 at Port Orleans Riverside. My mom and I decided that we should not tell my dad about the trip until his birthday (two days before we leave). It will be a complete surprise. As of now (19 days before we leave) my mom and I are still the only people who know about the trip. It has been kind of fun having this little secret, but I am also so excited that I want to tell everyone! I haven’t even told Joe. I am thinking about not telling him until I get there, and then sending him a picture saying, “Guess where I am today?”
I have been brainstorming ways to tell my dad about his birthday surprise, but I still haven’t come up with anything creative. It might just end up being a card that says, “You’re going to Disney World!” I’m trying to figure out a way not to cry when I tell my dad that he will be going to Disney World. I will have to let him in on my secret in the morning of his birthday so he has two full days to pack.
This will be a trip full of firsts for my dad. It will be his first time on the Magical Express, his first time on Soarin’, his first time on Nemo and Friends, his first time on Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, his first time on Toy Story Mania, his first time on the new Star Tours, his first time using the dining plan and probably several more that I’m forgetting. It will also be the first time for both of us to ride the new Test Track, and the new Little Mermaid ride.
I decided to make dining reservations at places that I know he likes. So, on the first day we will be eating dinner at Cape May Café at the Beach Club. On our second day we will be eating at 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian. On our third day we will be eating at Teppan Edo in Japan at Epcot. Our final dinner will be again at Cape May Café at the Beach Club.
My dad has been to Animal Kingdom once before, but didn’t care for it much. We have a membership to (and live 15 minutes away from) the number one zoo in the country. Since this trip will be a short one I have decided to skip going to Animal Kingdom. It will be my first trip to Disney since Animal Kingdom opened that I will not be going there. While I would love for my dad to get a chance to ride Expedition Everest, he will get much more enjoyment out of the other three parks. And to get a park hopper just for one ride doesn’t make sense.
On June 19 our plane leave Columbus bright and early at 6:20AM. It is scheduled to land in Orlando at 8:25AM. We will take the Magical Express to Port Orleans Riverside. We will check-in (I did online check-in to speed up the process), but will not expect our room to be ready that early. From there we will head straight to Hollywood Studios! We will spend the rest of the day there, and then take the boat over to the Beach Club for dinner. I can’t imagine that we will want to do anything thing else after dinner so most likely we will head back to our resort to get ready for bed.
On June 20 we will get up early to get to the Magic Kingdom before the gates open at 8:00AM. We will spend the entire day at the Magic Kingdom. We will take the monorail to the Grand Floridian for dinner, and the return to the Magic Kingdom to watch the Electrical Parade and Wishes before going back to our resort.
On June 21 we will again get up early to get to Epcot before the gates open at 8:00AM. We will spend the day at Epcot and eat dinner in Japan. After dinner we will probably head back to our resort. We will most likely not watch Illuminations.
On June 22 we will get to the Magic Kingdom so we can watch the opening show (my dad has never watched this before). Again we will spend the entire day at the Magic Kingdom. We will then take the bus to the Beach Club for dinner. We may or may not return to the Magic Kingdom to watch the Electrical Parade and Wishes.
On June 23 we will have to get on the Magical Express at about noon. I’m not sure what we will do in the morning. I would like to either go swimming or go to Downtown Disney for a little bit. I may leave it up to my dad to decide what we will do. I don’t think it would be worth it to go to a park since we would probably have to leave the park by 11:00AM to make it back in time to get on the Magical Express. We will sadly be back to Columbus around 5:00PM. As always it will be bitter sweet to return home. Disney is such a special place for me and I miss it so much when I am not there, but when I am away from home I miss my family and my dogs.
I’m so glad that I am getting a chance to take my dad to Disney for his 13th trip. He’s getting older and I would have regrets if I didn’t get him to Disney at least one more time.
Excited for trip number 17 (and number 18 in August)!
