Hello everyone! My name is Katie and I am attempting my first ever pre-trip report. My boyfriend (of three years next month) and I will be taking our first vacation together to Disney World at the end of August. Growing up, my family traveled to Disney World once every couple of years. I did the Disney College Program my sophomore year of college but I haven't been back to Disney World since then (2008). My boyfriend went once with his family when he was 9 but he doesn't really remember anything about it. Needless to say, we are both super excited about our upcoming trip! I am sooo excited to introduce him to all of my favorite Disney World foods, places, attractions, experiences, etc. I absolutely cannot wait to ride Haunted Mansion and to consume an obscene number of Dole Whips and sweet cream cheese stuffed pretzels (amongst about a million other things). I'm not really sure how to do this but I think I'll give it a try…
August 24th: We arrive at Orlando airport around 2:30 and we're headed to Port Orleans Riverside. I've never stayed here but it seems like a nice resort! That day we have FastPasses at Star Tours, Toy Story, and Muppet*Vision. I haven't been back to Disney World since 2008 (before the Toy Story attraction existed) so I'm not really sure what to expect as far as that ride is concerned? That night we have an ADR at Sci-Fi Dine-In. Is it realistic to go from POR to Magic Kingdom (to spend an hour or so, I would really love to start my vacation seeing the castle) and then to Hollywood Studios by 5:30ish? I'm guessing no since our flight doesn't get to Orlando until around 2:30 but it might be worth a shot. Our plan is to see the Frozen Fireworks at 9:00 and then the later Fantasmic at 10:00. Do I have those times right? Where should we be to see the Frozen Fireworks and will we have enough time to get over to Fantasmic?
August 25th: My boyfriend has a surf lesson scheduled at Typhoon Lagoon so we have to be there super early. Has anyone ever done that? If so, thoughts, comments, concerns? I'm not doing the surfing lesson, I'm just going for moral support and to take pictures! After that, we plan to spend some time at Typhoon Lagoon before we head over to Epcot. Our FastPasses are for The Seas, Spaceship Earth, and Soarin'. We have an ADR at Boatwright's, which will be a totally new experience for me! Later that night, we will likely head over to Downtown Disney.
August 26th: This is our Animal Kingdom day! We have FastPasses for Dinosaur, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and Festival of the Lion King. I am really nervous about Dinosaur because I have never ridden it before and I don't like the drop feeling on roller coasters. I'm definitely going to try it though! That night we have an ADR at Boma, one of my favorite WDW restaurants! After dinner we will either head back to our resort to watch Yehaa Bob or maybe squeeze some more park time in. It's still up in the air, because we're not sure if Yehaa Bob is the best way to spend our Wednesday night on our one-week trip (but I have heard that he is wonderful so we would definitely see him if we had unlimited time).
August 27th: We plan to spend the majority of the day in Magic Kingdom but we may hop over to some other parks! We have FastPasses for Seven Dwarves Mine Train and Haunted Mansion. I have a FastPass for Peter Pan's Flight and my boyfriend has one for Space Mountain. Similar to Dinosaur, I am very nervous about Seven Dwarves Mine Train. I haven't been on a roller coaster since I was really little and I remember not liking the drop feeling. Does anyone have any insight on this? How is Seven Dwarves Mine Train for a non-coaster person? I do enjoy Test Track and Star Tours! At night we have an 8:20 ADR for Ohana. Will that give us enough time to get back to Magic Kingdom for 10:00 fireworks or should we plan on watching them from the beach at the Polynesian? Also, what time should we get to the Polynesian if we want to check out Trader Sam's before dinner?
August 28th: We plan to spend the majority of the day in Epcot. We have FastPasses for Figment, The Seas, and Soarin'. Our ADR that night is for Biergarten, where I've never eaten! Any suggestions on where we should stand to watch Illuminations?
August 29th: Our plan is to spend the whole day in Magic Kingdom! We have FastPasses for Jungle Cruise and Seven Dwarves Mine Train. I have a FastPass for Winnie the Pooh and my boyfriend has one for Big Thunder. I'm not sure that I'm ready to attempt Big Thunder yet, even if I do end up liking Seven Dwarves Mind Train. In the evening we have an ADR at Be Our Guest which I am very excited for! I hope we get to sit in the West Wing! That night, we plan to watch the Electrical Parade and Wishes. Can we still stand on Main Street during Wishes? I haven't been back to WDW since the hub expansion so I'm not sure of the best place to stand anymore.
August 30th: Our last day is not really set in stone. Our flight doesn't leave until about 6:30 so we'll have most of the day to hang out in the parks. Our tentative plan is Magic Kingdom with FastPasses for Seven Dwarves Mine Train, Buzz Lightyear, and Haunted Mansion. We have no ADR scheduled for this day. I'm not sure what we'll have time to do, especially considering that our luggage and everything will still be at POR!
So I think that about sums it up! I'm not sure what else I'm supposed to include but I think that gives everyone a good idea of how we're planning to do our trip. I hope you enjoyed reading my pre-trip report and I'm so ridiculously excited to board our flight down to the most magical place on earth!
August 24th: We arrive at Orlando airport around 2:30 and we're headed to Port Orleans Riverside. I've never stayed here but it seems like a nice resort! That day we have FastPasses at Star Tours, Toy Story, and Muppet*Vision. I haven't been back to Disney World since 2008 (before the Toy Story attraction existed) so I'm not really sure what to expect as far as that ride is concerned? That night we have an ADR at Sci-Fi Dine-In. Is it realistic to go from POR to Magic Kingdom (to spend an hour or so, I would really love to start my vacation seeing the castle) and then to Hollywood Studios by 5:30ish? I'm guessing no since our flight doesn't get to Orlando until around 2:30 but it might be worth a shot. Our plan is to see the Frozen Fireworks at 9:00 and then the later Fantasmic at 10:00. Do I have those times right? Where should we be to see the Frozen Fireworks and will we have enough time to get over to Fantasmic?
August 25th: My boyfriend has a surf lesson scheduled at Typhoon Lagoon so we have to be there super early. Has anyone ever done that? If so, thoughts, comments, concerns? I'm not doing the surfing lesson, I'm just going for moral support and to take pictures! After that, we plan to spend some time at Typhoon Lagoon before we head over to Epcot. Our FastPasses are for The Seas, Spaceship Earth, and Soarin'. We have an ADR at Boatwright's, which will be a totally new experience for me! Later that night, we will likely head over to Downtown Disney.
August 26th: This is our Animal Kingdom day! We have FastPasses for Dinosaur, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and Festival of the Lion King. I am really nervous about Dinosaur because I have never ridden it before and I don't like the drop feeling on roller coasters. I'm definitely going to try it though! That night we have an ADR at Boma, one of my favorite WDW restaurants! After dinner we will either head back to our resort to watch Yehaa Bob or maybe squeeze some more park time in. It's still up in the air, because we're not sure if Yehaa Bob is the best way to spend our Wednesday night on our one-week trip (but I have heard that he is wonderful so we would definitely see him if we had unlimited time).
August 27th: We plan to spend the majority of the day in Magic Kingdom but we may hop over to some other parks! We have FastPasses for Seven Dwarves Mine Train and Haunted Mansion. I have a FastPass for Peter Pan's Flight and my boyfriend has one for Space Mountain. Similar to Dinosaur, I am very nervous about Seven Dwarves Mine Train. I haven't been on a roller coaster since I was really little and I remember not liking the drop feeling. Does anyone have any insight on this? How is Seven Dwarves Mine Train for a non-coaster person? I do enjoy Test Track and Star Tours! At night we have an 8:20 ADR for Ohana. Will that give us enough time to get back to Magic Kingdom for 10:00 fireworks or should we plan on watching them from the beach at the Polynesian? Also, what time should we get to the Polynesian if we want to check out Trader Sam's before dinner?
August 28th: We plan to spend the majority of the day in Epcot. We have FastPasses for Figment, The Seas, and Soarin'. Our ADR that night is for Biergarten, where I've never eaten! Any suggestions on where we should stand to watch Illuminations?
August 29th: Our plan is to spend the whole day in Magic Kingdom! We have FastPasses for Jungle Cruise and Seven Dwarves Mine Train. I have a FastPass for Winnie the Pooh and my boyfriend has one for Big Thunder. I'm not sure that I'm ready to attempt Big Thunder yet, even if I do end up liking Seven Dwarves Mind Train. In the evening we have an ADR at Be Our Guest which I am very excited for! I hope we get to sit in the West Wing! That night, we plan to watch the Electrical Parade and Wishes. Can we still stand on Main Street during Wishes? I haven't been back to WDW since the hub expansion so I'm not sure of the best place to stand anymore.
August 30th: Our last day is not really set in stone. Our flight doesn't leave until about 6:30 so we'll have most of the day to hang out in the parks. Our tentative plan is Magic Kingdom with FastPasses for Seven Dwarves Mine Train, Buzz Lightyear, and Haunted Mansion. We have no ADR scheduled for this day. I'm not sure what we'll have time to do, especially considering that our luggage and everything will still be at POR!
So I think that about sums it up! I'm not sure what else I'm supposed to include but I think that gives everyone a good idea of how we're planning to do our trip. I hope you enjoyed reading my pre-trip report and I'm so ridiculously excited to board our flight down to the most magical place on earth!
Enjoy the pre feelings!