First trip as adults and we're hooked! A Dec 2011 TR

Hey Everyone! This is my first trip report, so hopefully i'll be able to get the photo posting right. I really enjoy reading everyone elses TRs, so I'm hoping mine can help someone pass the time until their next trip home!! Here goes...


Who: Me (26, graduate student) and Austin (25, teacher)

When: December 17-23
Where: Pop Century
How? By car…. Over 15 hours of car..


Both of us have been to Disney as kids (Austin three times, and me once) but neither of us had ever stayed onsite! Plus, it had been over 10 years since the last time we went. First trip as adults!! Needless to say, we were VERY excited about this trip!

I’m the type of person who feels like they need to know as much as possible about anything they do! So when we started planning this trip back in May, of course I started reading these wonderful boards and learning lots and lots and lots about Disney! Thanks to everyone :wave:

Planning: We were bound to our dates by our school schedules, but we also LOVE Christmas, so we were excited to visit at that time of year. We also are planning on moving to Philadelphia during 2012, so we wanted to try to go to Disney once before the big move.

I have LOVED spending hours and hours researching, reading the forums, reading trip reports, and planning out our magical vacation. There are so many decisions, so many choices!!

I really wanted to upgrade to a moderate or deluxe, but we honestly just couldn’t afford it! I’m so glad we didn’t this time though, because we were in our room so rarely!! I do, however, look forward to trying many other resorts in the future!!

We chose Pop Century from the other values mainly because of it having it’s own bus. I also just thought it looked cool ☺
We chose not to get park hopper passes, just to save money. Worked out well for us on this trip!

We also got free quick service dining, and I’m so glad we did! Almost every time we sat down to eat, my husband said “Thank you so much for doing research and getting us free dining! I love not having to worry about spending money!” I know the pros and cons of free dining have been discussed to death, but it was the right discount for us for this trip!

Despite having free quick service dining, I also made us a few ADRs:
Dinner at Le Cellier!!! And Breakfast at Kona Café on our last day. I think for our first trip as adults, this was a perfect amount of ADRs. In the future we may book more, but we just wanted to play all the time, not spend an hour on a meal!!

Ok, onto the trip….. some of these pictures will be from my phone, some from our digital camera, then some from my sister’s DSLR that I borrowed, and then some from my brand new DSLR that I got on this trip!! ☺ enough cameras for ya?

December 16th – 17th:
I was already out of school, so I packed up the car and had everything ready to go by the time Austin got off work… I may have rushed him just a bit ☺

We loaded up our pups….

and took them to my mom’s house for the week. Then, we were on the road!!

We left at 4 pm and drove all night! Stopping only for bathroom breaks or snacks… such as this one:

We don’t have DD around us and we love it!!

As we got closer and closer the anticipation just kept building! Every sign made me shriek!!

And then……

We’re finally here!!! I must admit… I cried a little. Months of planning and reading, and booking and rebooking and obsessing… and we’re finally here!!

 

[Howe]

So around 9:30 am, we finally pulled up to our resort!

Now, because we drove all night, we were really hoping our room would be ready when we got there. I checked in online and indicated we would be arriving early, but I told Austin NOT to get his hopes up, because we may just have to wait until 3 to check in. So we go in, go to the check in desk, and tell the lady we’re first timers, and she gave us our buttons. She then told us our room was not yet ready… but that she was going to find us one that was!! She really made our day. We had a preferred room, and it was in the sixties building.

Second floor, view of the pool. Honestly, after reading so many negative reviews of the value resorts, I was very impressed with our room! Plus, when we got there, these were in our window!!!

 

[Howe]

Now I brought Christmas decorations for our room, so I set them up while Austin showered, and then I showered and we headed to our first destination!

We decided to first head to Downtown Disney and eat lunch and look around. We ended up having a bus completely to ourselves!! Pretty sweet first experience with Disney transportation.

We ate lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express… this would be the first of not one, not two, but THREE meals here this week!! The pizzas really are good, and it’s nice to get to sit down and eat off real plates for a quick service credit! This time I chose the four cheese pesto pizza and the crème brulee for dessert. The pizza was great, but I didn’t love the crème brulee… I think it was a little burnt. Austin had the meatball pizza and cheesecake, both of which he devoured in their entirety… this boy can eat some serious food!

After eating we walked around, I picked up a pin lanyard, and Austin got a few star wars pins. We went back to our resort to drop off our things, and then we were off to Epcot!!

 

[Howe]

Sorry the pictures are kind of huge! I'll work on resizing them a bit for the rest of the TR!

 

[vcstr]

Oooh, so looking forward to the rest of this trip report! It will be cool to see the World through your eyes since you haven't been in some time, and since it is totally different as an adult.

Can't wait for the rest!

Oh and your dogs are adorable!

 

[tink65]

Great beginning to your TR! I'm kind of like you were. I love reading everyones trip reports but I've never done one myself...mainly because I'm not sure about how to post the pics! LOL! Need to do a little research and figure that one out.

Can't wait to read more! Thanks for sharing!

 

[phlydude]

We are driving in May unless we can get cheap flights like we scored in Sept (under $100 r/t!) and are about 1 hour north of where you left from (Delaware/Maryland border @ I-95)
I don't know how you drove all night and then were able to stay up all the next day into the afternoon!

 

[Howe]

It was late afternoon evening, so we decided to hop on SSE, and then head to the World Showcase. When we looked over the lagoon across to the WS, I teared up again. We are really here!

We went to Mexico and explored the pavilion a little and then rode Gran Fiesta Tour! Next we hopped over to Norway and rode Maelstrom. Then we just explored the World Showcase and soaked it all in! We split a beer and a pretzel in Germany, and for dinner we split a platter from Tangerine Café…. SO GOOD!! I also later had a Grand Marnier Slush… delicious, and I don’t even like sweet drinks!!

We stopped by the Japan Pavilion where I saw the love of my life, Hello Kitty!

I think we just walked around the rest of the night, and then watched Illuminations from England. I was pretty much boohooing by the end of the fireworks! Luckily, I looked over at Austin and he was all teary-eyed too. It was a really special moment. Perfect ending to the first day of our trip! We hung around for about thirty minutes after the park closed, and then hopped on the bus back to pop!

Back in our room, we talked for a while about how we couldn’t believe we were finally here! But it didn’t take long for us to fall asleep… we had traveled all night the night before!!

I promise the picture quality gets better from here on out, most of these pictures were taken with Austin’s Iphone 3GS, so not the best quality!

 

[Howe]

Oooh, so looking forward to the rest of this trip report! It will be cool to see the World through your eyes since you haven't been in some time, and since it is totally different as an adult.

Can't wait for the rest!

Oh and your dogs are adorable!

Thanks for reading along! It is a totally new experience as an adult, and I loved it!!

My dogs are pretty much the most adorable things on the planet... I might be biased

Great beginning to your TR! I'm kind of like you were. I love reading everyones trip reports but I've never done one myself...mainly because I'm not sure about how to post the pics! LOL! Need to do a little research and figure that one out.

Can't wait to read more! Thanks for sharing!

Yeah I still can't get the photos smaller. Thanks for following along!!

We are driving in May unless we can get cheap flights like we scored in Sept (under $100 r/t!) and are about 1 hour north of where you left from (Delaware/Maryland border @ I-95)
I don't know how you drove all night and then were able to stay up all the next day into the afternoon!

Oh yes, driving definitely saves money lots of the time. We are actually from Louisiana, but we are moving up to Philadelphia this summer. I don't know how we stayed up the whole night either!! Took turns driving and drank LOTS of coffee!! Plus the excitement of Disney helped! :sohappy:

Thanks for following along!

 

[mamamouse]

excellent job so far!!!:wave:

 

[EaglesfanNJ]

Sorry the pictures are kind of huge! I'll work on resizing them a bit for the rest of the TR!

Hi there... great job so far on the report! I really look forward to the rest and experiencing Disney through the eyes of a first timer again. I too was a first timer at Disney as an adult...didn't go until age 23, and now i'm hooked.

Now then, more report!

 

[phlydude]

Oh yes, driving definitely saves money lots of the time. We are actually from Louisiana, but we are moving up to Philadelphia this summer. I don't know how we stayed up the whole night either!! Took turns driving and drank LOTS of coffee!! Plus the excitement of Disney helped! :sohappy:

Thanks for following along!

I saw the mileage in your details (which you changed to Louisiana) and time of driving and just assumed mid-atlantic :hammer:
D'oh!!

 

[WishIWasAtWDW]

great start to your trip report! i am the same way with wanting to do tons of research before i go somewhere new. the planning stages for a trip are so fun! i just love planning trips! especially to disney world! wdw at christmas time is amazing! i just went for my first christmas time trip in december 2010 and all of the decorations were so beautiful! i think it may be my favorite time of year to go to disney. i love that you brought christmas decorations for your room! i think if i was there that close to christmas, i would bring some decorations too! very cute tree. can't wait to read more!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Love the TR so far!! Went this past November and all the Christmas decorations were up. It was wonderful!! As Ashley said above, such a beautiful time to go!!

 

[enchanted_belle]

Another Courtney! :sohappy: And your guy has a bushy beard too :lol:

I'm so excited to have a TR to read since mine's almost done Can't wait to hear all about your Christmas adventures

(And yayyyy you're moving up near meeeeee)

 

[Howe]

excellent job so far!!!:wave:

Hi there... great job so far on the report! I really look forward to the rest and experiencing Disney through the eyes of a first timer again. I too was a first timer at Disney as an adult...didn't go until age 23, and now i'm hooked.

Now then, more report!

Thanks for following along! I'm working on more right now!

I saw the mileage in your details (which you changed to Louisiana) and time of driving and just assumed mid-atlantic :hammer:
D'oh!!

haha no problem, I've actually had someone else think I was from around there, so I figured I'd change it and be less confusing

great start to your trip report! i am the same way with wanting to do tons of research before i go somewhere new. the planning stages for a trip are so fun! i just love planning trips! especially to disney world! wdw at christmas time is amazing! i just went for my first christmas time trip in december 2010 and all of the decorations were so beautiful! i think it may be my favorite time of year to go to disney. i love that you brought christmas decorations for your room! i think if i was there that close to christmas, i would bring some decorations too! very cute tree. can't wait to read more!

Planning is definitely half of the fun! And christmas time was amazing! Thanks! I loved our little tree!

Love the TR so far!! Went this past November and all the Christmas decorations were up. It was wonderful!! As Ashley said above, such a beautiful time to go!!

The decorations are amazing! I think it set the bar a little high for all of our future trips!!

Another Courtney! :sohappy: And your guy has a bushy beard too :lol:

I'm so excited to have a TR to read since mine's almost done Can't wait to hear all about your Christmas adventures

(And yayyyy you're moving up near meeeeee)

Yay for Courtneys! And beards!! :sohappy:
I read some of your TR as well!! So cute! We are excited about our move, but nervous as well! Our first winter there should be interesting!

 

[Howe]

Day 2! Dec 18th (Magic Kingdom and MVMCP!)

We had planned to go to rope drop at MK the next day, but after driving all night and playing allll day, we didn’t get up that early. No worries. While I was showering, Austin went to everything pop and grabbed us some coffee in our refillable mugs! We were waiting to have a big fat cinnamon roll at Main Street bakery for breakfast. So we got on the bus with our coffee and headed off to the Magic Kingdom!!

As soon as I passed under the archways…. You guessed it, I started to cry. And then when I saw the castle? Waterworks. Disney makes me very emotional!!! Standing there on Main Street, taking it all in… it was everything we planned and hoped for! It was more than we remembered as children. It truly is a magical place.

Austin got this pic of me right after I saw the castle… yep you can see that ugly cry face on my chin

So this day I had my sister’s DSLR that she so kindly let me borrow, and I was taking pictures and having so much fun just taking in Main Street and the castle! All of the Christmas decorations were so pretty!!

 

[Howe]

We also saw a few friends… nevermind the fact that they are with people we don’t know…

Then the castle… the beautiful castle!!

Then we stopped for our cinnamon roll…

Delicious!!!

 

[Howe]

Next we were taking pictures by the statue of Walt and Mickey…. And this happened

I texted my sister, who said, of course, that this had never happened to her! I’m freaking out. I google it on my phone… Yes.. here I am sitting right in front of the castle and I’m googling camera error codes!! Turns out it was probably because her sensors were dirty or something. I was really disappointed because I had been looking forward to getting some good pictures on our trip, but just put the camera up and tried to get back into the magic!

We went and got FPs for Peter pan, and then rode It’s a small world, one of my favorite rides!

Then we did Philharmagic, Snow White, and then used our Peter Pan fast passes!

Next we headed over to Pecos Bills for lunch! I love fake cheese, so I was really excited for the toppings bar. We both got the deluxe cheeseburger with the onion ring and bacon on it, but I actually ended up taking mine off! I’ll just stick with the cheeseburger next time. We had chocolate cake for dessert! P.S. How are Disney fries so good? Is it just the magic??

 

[Howe]

After lunch, we rode some rides in frontierland, adventureland, and explored liberty square. Later that afternoon we stopped at Sleepy Hollow for a snack with a nice view

Chocolate chip cookie peppermint ice cream sandwich! I’m a sucker for holiday treats. It was delicious. The ice cream pretty much slid right out though.

After walking around a bit more, we went to Guest Relations to try to get our MVMCP tickets fixed (because I accidently ordered children’s tickets), but I left the tickets, AND my credit card in the room, so we had to head back to the resort to grab them. No big deal. Got them fixed and we were back in time for the party!

I wondered, before the trip, whether or not the party tickets would be worth it. I think they were worth it one time, but we probably will not do it again, just to save money. We had really low crowds late that night (even though the party was sold out) so we got to walk onto tons of rides! My favorite part was seeing all the cast members in their Christmas attire! The parade was great as well.

Before the fireworks we ate dinner at Cosmic Ray’s and basically had the exact same thing we ate for lunch, but it was good! After the fireworks we rode tons of rides, space mountain, astro orbiter, BTMRR twice, HM (my favorite) twice, people mover, etc.

While we were waiting in line for space mountain, Austin kept asking me if I was okay and said I seemed down. I said I was fine, but he could tell something was bothering me, and he knew it was about the broken camera. THEN, he said, “We’ve spent all this money on a fabulous vacation that we want to remember, and I want you to have as much fun as possible, so let’s go tomorrow and buy you a DSLR as a Christmas present.” Of course I freaked out first and said are you kidding me? I pay our bills so I know that’s not really something we should spend money on right now. But then he said he got an extra bonus at work, and had been planning on getting me an iPad with it, but thought a DSLR would be better! Yes please!!! I have the best husband ever.

So that night, once we got back to our resort, I had to do lots of internet research to decide what camera to get!!