Pre-Trip Celebrating our “3 Ear” Anniversary Disney style!

Hello fellow Disney Fans!

This will be my first trip report! I have SO appreciated everyone's trip reports while I count down the days until our next trip... so I thought I would try and return the favour! As of today we have 44 days to go!

Who: My amazing DH Dan (32), myself Becki the Disney planner (30), our friend Trish (34), and my DMIL Judi (62)
When: September 18th-27th 2015
Where: Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House Studio Villa
Why: Well... Dan and I certainly don't need a reason for a Disney vacation ... but we will be celebrating our "3 Ear" Anniversary on September 8th which is pretty close to our trip! Trish and Judi will be celebrating their first trips!

Disney Experience: I have been on three Disney trips. I went on a family vacation to Disney in May 1993 for my 8th birthday. I knew I would be back...

Dan's first trip to Disney was our 5 night "Disneymoon" at Port Orleans Riverside in September 2012. He was hooked and we went back for a split stay 3 nights Pop Century and 6 nights at Animal Kingdom Lodge in October 2013!

Trish went on a trip to Florida in 2010. She said she went to "Disneyworld"... but she only went to the Magic Kingdom for a few hours. They didn't stay for Wishes... her companion hated it so they left...

Judi went with my DBIL and DSIL, my DSIL's parents, and our four nieces and nephews August 2013. They stayed at a (not so nice) condo half an hour outside Orlando... they did half a day in each park with my DMIL looking after the little ones. Judi did the grocery shopping, cooked all their meals, and babysat most of the trip. I was so excited to ask her all about her trip when she came home and she really couldn't remember much about Disney at all.

So... that is why I consider this Trish and Judi's first trip! On site, no cooking, plenty of time in the parks... it will hopefully be a MUCH different experience for both of them this time!

Dan and I on our Disneymoon September 2012 . He was such an awesome husband wearing those "groom" ears all day long! Such a trooper!

Dan and I on our trip in October 2013. Dan had lost 90lbs and I had lost 35lbs! We've put a few of them back on since... I have SO many photos of our last two trips I should have done trip reports!

Plans so far:
For this trip I booked our AKL Villa through David's DVC Rentals and I hope it works out okay. It is our first time renting DVC points... both of our previous trips were booked directly through Disney. I had no problems linking our resort reservation to MDE and everything seems to be going well... *breaths deeply*...

I wanted to stay closer to my favorite park the Magic Kingdom... either at Wilderness Loge or the Polynesian... but I was out voted . All three of my travel companions unanimously voted for the AKL! Dan and I both loved it... and I guess Dan had really talked it up... so AKL it is!

Knowing that we are Canadian snowflakes who are not used to the FL heat and humidity... I have broken our days up so that we spend the morning in a park, rest in the afternoon, and then go to a park for the evening most days.

Dan and I loved the MNSSHP on our last trip so the four of us are going on this trip as well. We also booked the Wild Africa Trek for the four of us for the first time. Dan's favourite park is the AK, his favourite resort is AKL, and so he is PUMPED for the Trek!

Friday September 18th: We will be driving from southern Ontario to Detroit, MI for our flight to MCO. We will catch the DME and then check in to the AKL. (We just received our DME packet in the mail yesterday. Dan and I both screamed and jumped around the room when we saw the envelope! Two year between trips is too long... )

Saturday September 19th: Morning in AK, dinner ADR at Trails End, and the evening in my beloved MK

Sunday September 20th: Morning in Epcot, dinner ADR at Via Napoli, and the evening in Epcot

Monday September 21st: Morning in AK, lunch ADR at Sanaa, and evening at HS (I have a Fastpass for the late Fantasmic! show... we have never see seen it before! So excited!)

Tuesday September 22nd: Morning in MK, lunch ADR at BOG, dinner ADR at Kona Cafe, evening in MK for MNSSHP

Wednesday September 23rd: Morning in HS, afternoon in BB, and evening in DD (No ADRs... more of a relaxing day)

Thursday September 24th: Morning in AK for the Wild Africa Trek Tour, dinner ADR at The Plaza, and evening in MK

Friday September 25th: Morning in MK, lunch ADR at Whispering Canyon Cafe, and evening in Epcot for F&W

Saturday September 26th: Morning in AK, dinner ADR at Boma, and last evening in MK

Sunday September 27th: Late breakfast ADR at Boma, check out AKL, and fly home

So... other than all the fast passes that is pretty much the plan for now. I have also booked an order with Garden Grocer to deliver some cases of water and pop to our resort. Dan is so excited about the cherry Coke! We used the service last trip as well and it worked out well.

Judi's nickname is "flash" and I booked the Memory Maker as well so there should be lots of pictures for our trip report!

OMG I AM SO EXCITED GUYS!!!!!!!!!

 

[FlaggNL]

I can imagine you're so excited Great plans! And you even are in WDW before we do Have a great time and enjoy the pre feelings!

 

[sheriffwoody]

Great plans!! You should be fine with the DVC points. We did that last time and had no issues The Garden Grocer sounds like such a good idea. I should look into that!

We're celebrating our 3rd anniversary this year also! We will be arriving a couple of days after y'all leave.

 

[Goblin]

Sounds like its going to be an awesome trip! And exciting to really show people how to do and see Disney!

We rented from David's for our trip last October to AKL and it was fantastic! We got a room right above/around the lobby, we seriously pixie dusted out. What kind of view did you book?

Heehee! We also worked out losing weight before our last trip and I'm pretty sure it all came back in that one Disney week! lolz. You guys look fantastic though!

Looking forward to hearing all about your trip!

 

[lostpro9het]

...
Thursday September 24th: Morning in AK for the Wild Africa Trek Tour...

You are going to have so much fun on this!

 

[Bedknobs and Broomsticks]

I can imagine you're so excited Great plans! And you even are in WDW before we do Have a great time and enjoy the pre feelings!

Those "pre feelings" are really one of the best parts of planning a Disney vacation! I plan to enjoy it to the fullest... I just wish it didn't take me an hour to fall asleep each night thinking about our trip!

Great plans!! You should be fine with the DVC points. We did that last time and had no issues The Garden Grocer sounds like such a good idea. I should look into that!

Oh good! I read such positive reviews about David's on this forum... and the price was SO great I took the chance. Right now Garden Grocer has a promotion: Order 60 days out save 10%, order 30 days out save 7%, order 15 days out save 5%. I ordered at day 60 and the 10% discount paid for the delivery fee. Last trip we ordered 4 cases of 24 Dasani waters... and they delivered 5 cases of 35 Dasani waters because it was on sale! It was very nice of them but we had a couple cases left over at the end of our trip so we gave them away to other families before we caught our flight. A nice man name Kevin called after I booked my recent order to confirm everything... and let me know that I can add things to my existing order up to 48hrs before the delivery. I thought that was great to know in case I forget something! No extra delivery fee just pay the price of the new item. I would highly recommend their service!

We're celebrating our 3rd anniversary this year also! We will be arriving a couple of days after y'all leave.

Congratulations on your anniversary! Where are you staying?

Sounds like its going to be an awesome trip! And exciting to really show people how to do and see Disney!

We rented from David's for our trip last October to AKL and it was fantastic! We got a room right above/around the lobby, we seriously pixie dusted out. What kind of view did you book?

Heehee! We also worked out losing weight before our last trip and I'm pretty sure it all came back in that one Disney week! lolz. You guys look fantastic though!

Looking forward to hearing all about your trip!

Yes, I really hope Trish and Judi enjoy the Disney magic/ bubble the way Dan and I do! I am trying to tell myself not to worry about their experience all trip and miss enjoying it myself... I have read other trip reports where that has happened.

Glad to hear your experience with David's has also gone well... I am so nervous about showing up and the reservation has been cancelled by the owner! I added our DVC reservation to MDE in November. I booked the ADRS at 180 days... Fastpasses at 60 days... then on day 50 I logged in and I could see our park tickets and all our reservations EXCEPT the AKL reservation. To say I panicked would be an understatement LOL . When I tried to add it back on it said it was already used. I called Disney and Dexter said he could see the reservation on their side and added it back on. I felt sick the rest of the day! Hearing good experiences definitely makes me feel less nervous...

We booked a standard room and are hoping for a savannah view upgrade! We booked and received a pool view last stay at AKL... we enjoyed it. There were so many look outs we didn't feel like we were missing anything, but we will have our fingers crossed this time!

Thanks! Congrats to you guys! Disney is a great incentive for getting out walking and losing weight... especially if you get 300 memory maker photos and make giant Disney vacation scrapbooks of your trips like me . Thank goodness this third scrapbook will be more than just Dan and myself! We have put about half the weight on over the last two years... I think we will always struggle with our weight... I am just glad we are in it together!

You are going to have so much fun on this!

Thanks! I really hope it's amazing. It is my 3rd Anniversary gift for Dan and he is BEYOND EXCITED! He loves seeing all the animals. He can't wait to feed a hippo! Do you have any advice for us? What did you like best?

 

[sheriffwoody]

Congratulations on your anniversary! Where are you staying?

Ours is Oct 6th, but we're going to be there Sept 28-Oct 2. I have a big event at work on the 6th, so I couldn't be gone then
We've used DVC Rental Store, but I think David's is pretty much the same. We love getting to stay at a deluxe! We'd never be able to pay the rates for a regular deluxe stay. I better go ahead and do Garden Grocer and get that discount. We're past 60 days, but we can still get the 7% off.

I also just saw your part about losing weight. I'm trying SO HARD to get back down my normal weight for our trip...mainly so I can splurge while I'm there and not end up putting on more than I've already gained Getting close to 30 years old is making it harder and harder to lose!

 

[lostpro9het]

Thanks! I really hope it's amazing. It is my 3rd Anniversary gift for Dan and he is BEYOND EXCITED! He loves seeing all the animals. He can't wait to feed a hippo! Do you have any advice for us? What did you like best?

Basic advice:
Wear comfy clothes and sneakers.
They will provide you with water bottles and water
If you want to bring a camera make sure it can strap to your harness or body. No cell phones, or any loose items, e.g. glasses without straps.
You get a ton of pictures that they take during your Trek and they will take any picture you want if you just ask them, from a group shop to more monkey pics.

Our favorite parts:
The lunch
Proximity to the animals and the time with them
The rope bridge

We've done the Trek twice and both experiences are in my trip reports below.

 

[Bedknobs and Broomsticks]

Ours is Oct 6th, but we're going to be there Sept 28-Oct 2. I have a big event at work on the 6th, so I couldn't be gone then
We've used DVC Rental Store, but I think David's is pretty much the same. We love getting to stay at a deluxe! We'd never be able to pay the rates for a regular deluxe stay. I better go ahead and do Garden Grocer and get that discount. We're past 60 days, but we can still get the 7% off.

I also just saw your part about losing weight. I'm trying SO HARD to get back down my normal weight for our trip...mainly so I can splurge while I'm there and not end up putting on more than I've already gained Getting close to 30 years old is making it harder and harder to lose!

We couldn't go for our Anniversary on September 8th due to work as well. Also... even though it's only a couple of weeks later we hope it might be a little cooler end of September. We wouldn't have stayed Deluxe for all 9 nights either without renting DVC. Too expensive... especially now with the change in the USD/CAD dollar.

Getting close to 30 makes a difference! I just turned 30 in May. Eat what you want... I am sure you will walk it off while in Disney! I have always splurged and lost a pound or two because of all the walking.

Basic advice:
Wear comfy clothes and sneakers.
They will provide you with water bottles and water
If you want to bring a camera make sure it can strap to your harness or body. No cell phones, or any loose items, e.g. glasses without straps.
You get a ton of pictures that they take during your Trek and they will take any picture you want if you just ask them, from a group shop to more monkey pics.

Our favorite parts:
The lunch
Proximity to the animals and the time with them
The rope bridge

We've done the Trek twice and both experiences are in my trip reports below.

Good to know about the water! I have to wear my glasses or I won't be able to see where I am walking... does that mean I need to go buy a strap for them? I wear my glasses 100% of the time (unless I am sleeping lol.) I won't bring my camera but I think Judi will want to take hers... I will let her know it needs to harness to her body. She has a large expensive DSL (is that right?) so I don't know if it will be allowed... I look forward to reading your trip reports!

 

[lostpro9het]

Good to know about the water! I have to wear my glasses or I won't be able to see where I am walking... does that mean I need to go buy a strap for them? I wear my glasses 100% of the time (unless I am sleeping lol.) I won't bring my camera but I think Judi will want to take hers... I will let her know it needs to harness to her body. She has a large expensive DSL (is that right?) so I don't know if it will be allowed... I look forward to reading your trip reports!

I'm 94% sure they will provided you with a strap. If the camera can be held by a strap around her neck I think it will be ok. Also, they will provide you with sunscreen before you head out and a cold towel about half way through.

 

[Bedknobs and Broomsticks]

I'm 94% sure they will provided you with a strap. If the camera can be held by a strap around her neck I think it will be ok. Also, they will provide you with sunscreen before you head out and a cold towel about half way through.

I hope so! Since I wear my glasses all the time I wouldn't have even thought about it. Great to know... I wondered about water/ sunscreen when I read about no backpacks being allowed. A cool towel will feel wonderful! We are the 8:00am trek because we thought it might be cooler and we heard you see more animals earlier. I was tempted to save $50 per person and go in the afternoon... but 8:00am it is!

Since we are 8:00am I think we get breakfast instead of lunch?

 

[lostpro9het]

Since we are 8:00am I think we get breakfast instead of lunch?

I would venture to say breakfast since you would probably be hitting the hut around 9:30-45. We've always done the afternoon trek and the food has been amazing. Just this week my DW was reminiscing about how great the chicken dish was they served us. She's right too, it was pretty awesome.

 

[FlaggNL]

Those "pre feelings" are really one of the best parts of planning a Disney vacation! I plan to enjoy it to the fullest... I just wish it didn't take me an hour to fall asleep each night thinking about our trip!

I/we totally agree! Although we are not planning much.... more go woth the flow types!

 

[Bedknobs and Broomsticks]

That's awesome! It's mostly thinking about forgetting our passports, my fear of flying, and thinking about what if the DVC owner cancels the day before that keeps me up .

Once I get checked in to the resort it all melts away... and we go with the flow. Yes I booked ADRs and fastpasses... but last trip we did want we wanted and cancelled what we didn't.

 

[Majesty1919]

Glad to hear your experience with David's has also gone well... I am so nervous about showing up and the reservation has been cancelled by the owner! I added our DVC reservation to MDE in November. I booked the ADRS at 180 days... Fastpasses at 60 days... then on day 50 I logged in and I could see our park tickets and all our reservations EXCEPT the AKL reservation. To say I panicked would be an understatement LOL . When I tried to add it back on it said it was already used. I called Disney and Dexter said he could see the reservation on their side and added it back on. I felt sick the rest of the day! Hearing good experiences definitely makes me feel less nervous...

Panic, that would've been me. I'm currrently prepping to book a Villa using points for the first time for Feb. and am nervous. Don't know which broker to use. As far a I can gauge both DVC rental store and David's both seem to be reputable. I've been combing the Internet trying to reassure myself that it would be fine.

 

[Bedknobs and Broomsticks]

Panic, that would've been me. I prepping to book a Villa using points for the first time and am nervous. Don't know which broker to use. As far a I can gauge both DVC rental store and David's both seem to be reputable. I've been combing the Internet trying to reassure myself that it would be fine.

That was me last fall! I took a deep breath and did it! I went with David's because it sounded like when there have been issues at arrival David has made things right. So far everything (other than our reservation disappearing) has gone smoothly. David's employees have all be very quick to respond and very friendly. I had a change of address and they contacted the DVC owner who updated Disney. We just received our DME packet in the mail on Tuesday at our new address... so overall I would recommend so far...

.... but I will be calling the AKL resort directly the evening before we fly to make sure everything is still fine... at least it gives me something else other than my fear of flying to worry about... I am a mess !! Good thing a wonderful Disney vacation is on the other end...

 

[Majesty1919]

That was me last fall! I took a deep breath and did it! I went with David's because it sounded like when there have been issues at arrival David has made things right. So far everything (other than our reservation disappearing) has gone smoothly. David's employees have all be very quick to respond and very friendly. I had a change of address and they contacted the DVC owner who updated Disney. We just received our DME packet in the mail on Tuesday at our new address... so overall I would recommend so far...

.... but I will be calling the AKL resort directly the evening before we fly to make sure everything is still fine... at least it gives me something else other than my fear of flying to worry about... I am a mess !! Good thing a wonderful Disney vacation is on the other end...

I'd be interested to hear how you make out. Have a sparkling time

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

Have a wonderful trip! Not too much more waiting to go. Oh and happy anniversary!

 

[Bedknobs and Broomsticks]

Have a wonderful trip! Not too much more waiting to go. Oh and happy anniversary!

Thank you!

 

[ColoradoEquestrian]

Happy trip planning! We're just about anniversary twins -- September 7th here Congrats on your trip!