Trip Report ***Completed** For the First Time in Forever! Aug 2016 WDW Trip Report

Hi guys! I'm so excited to start my very first trip report! My family and I have just gotten back from Disney World about a week ago and we had a fabulous vacation. It was our first trip to Disney since 2008, so there have been a lot of changes since then. This was our first trip since Fast Pass + and Magic Bands and the DDP, so it was a bit of uncharted territory for us. This was also the first trip where I was primarily in control for most of the planning. My Dad insisted on using a AAA travel agent to book the package even though I told him I could have done it. I planned all our meals, booked all our fast passes, and generally mapped out all of our park days. Overall I think it went really well considering I hadn't actually been to the parks in 8 years. Thank God for these forums and You Tube!

Anyway it was a very memorable trip with its highs and lows and I can't wait to share the craziness with all of you. So here is the outline of our vacation to start:

When: Friday Aug 19th- Mon Aug 29th 2016

Where: All Star Movies Resort

Who: Myself (Melissa), my Mom, my Dad, my younger brother Matt. My younger sister Stephanie and her bf Steve (now fiancee but we'll get to that!) arrived on Tues Aug 23rd.

Anyway I hope you enjoy my trip report!

 

[PineapplePrincess]

I really enjoyed your report...thanks for taking the time to share. Also I'm glad your family thanked you for all your hard work with the planning. Even though you probably had fun doing it, it's nice to be appreciated!

 

[catmandoo]

Great trip report! Enjoyed following along on your adventures! I need to get working on mine...

 

[sheriffwoody]

I enjoyed your trip report!! I thought of so many things to write as I was reading through, but of course now I've forgotten it all...

I hope you get to go back for Food & Wine next year. It's wonderful! Also, with you on the dole whip . I do enjoy the swirl from the Polynesian resort, but just the straight up pineapple soft serve is too much for me.

Oh yeah, I was also going to tell you that you inspired me to get a couple of lanyards for when I take my sister in January! I have a few pins that I'm not willing to trade, but I'm going to buy us some little pins that don't have any special significance that we can trade while we're there. I think we'll have fun doing that together!

 

[DimpledDevil18]

Oh yeah, I was also going to tell you that you inspired me to get a couple of lanyards for when I take my sister in January! I have a few pins that I'm not willing to trade, but I'm going to buy us some little pins that don't have any special significance that we can trade while we're there. I think we'll have fun doing that together!

Yay I inspired someone else to get into pin trading/collecting! It does get expensive and addictive, but I think pins make great souvenirs and they are definitely a great conversation piece while in the parks. I'm the same way about not really wanting to trade my pins once I buy them because I get so attached. Each one has a special ,memory associated with it or a reason that I bought it. I do enjoy trading with CM's though. Some of the mystery pin packs are great for this or if you buy one of the booster packs of 4-5 generic pins. Another option I'm considering doing for my next trip is to look on Ebay and you can get a lot of pins (anywhere between 25-100) for under $20 plus shipping. They are used pins but are supposedly good enough to use to trade with cast members.

 

[Scoppin]

Yay I inspired someone else to get into pin trading/collecting! It does get expensive and addictive, but I think pins make great souvenirs and they are definitely a great conversation piece while in the parks. I'm the same way about not really wanting to trade my pins once I buy them because I get so attached. Each one has a special ,memory associated with it or a reason that I bought it. I do enjoy trading with CM's though. Some of the mystery pin packs are great for this or if you buy one of the booster packs of 4-5 generic pins. Another option I'm considering doing for my next trip is to look on Ebay and you can get a lot of pins (anywhere between 25-100) for under $20 plus shipping. They are used pins but are supposedly good enough to use to trade with cast members.

They are good enough for trading. I purchased a 50 pin lot for the kids to start their collection and a little something extra to do. they were very excited when the pins arrived at our room. Almost to the point, there were not any left for trading. They came out to about $0.50 per pin.

 

[blreinsel]

I totally understand what you were feeling with your sister "stealing your thunder" and getting engaged at Disney. My friend just got engaged a couple of months ago (after only knowing the guy for 8 months), and I was extremely irritated.. Still kind of am. And it doesn't make sense because I know that even though my boyfriend and I are "relationship ready," we aren't financially ready quite yet. She talked about wanting to get engaged in Disney before and I was terrified that it would happen. I guess I just feel like she knows that's my dream, and my boyfriend and I have been together a lot longer, so I should be able to call dibs lol. So fortunately she didn't steal my fantasy for getting engaged, but I do still worry about her incorporating Disney into her wedding (also my fantasy). It's hard when you're close with someone, whether it be friends or family, because you don't want to seem like a copy cat for doing the same things.

What I'm getting at is I CAN RELATE!!

I enjoyed your TR! Thanks for sharing!