Hello fellow Disney lovers. :wave: I am heading back down to WDW in a mere 35 days and I thought that a great way to release some of my built up anticipation is to work on a pre-trip report.
This trip is a little different in that it is a girls only trip. Just me and my mom this time.
The players/travelers:
Myself - Tracy, 37 (38 by the time we leave
). This will be my 10th trip to the World. My last trip was this past September.
My Mom - LuAnn (age withheld for fear of life and limb :lol:.) She hasn't been to Disney in 20 years, so I can't wait to show her all the magic.
This trip came about thanks to one of those magical emails that offers 40% off of a Deluxe room, 35% off of a moderate and 30% off of a value resort. After much consideration and research, we opted for Coronado Springs. (Unsolicited plug: If you are looking for some great info on this resort, check out Buzz2001's web site: http://coronado_springs.tripod.com It was pretty instrumental in helping me choose this resort)
This will be my first stay at Coronado Springs, and I couldn't be more excited. I hear great things about this resort. And a big plus - no conventions are currently listed on the convention calendar for the week we are there. Yipee!!
Once the resort was decided upon my next big question was "to park hop or not to park hop". On past trips we always chose the park hopper due to the step ladder closing times between all the parks. I mean, how nice is it to see Illuminations at 9:00, take the monorail over to MK and catch Wishes at 10:00 and still have 2 hours before the park closes at midnight?
During this time of the year the parks all tend to close within an hour or two of one another, so I opted for no park hopper. I decided to try a different touring plan and will be doing one park per day, open to close.
We also opted for the quick service dining plan. During our September trip we used the regular dining plan and loved it. But we also realized that many of our favorite meals were quick service (Cosmic Ray's, Pecos Bill's, Sunshine Seasons, Columbia Harbour House....you get the picture). So, I figure we will be just fine on the QS plan.
We leave Columbus on Sunday 02/28 at 5:50 am. We have a brief lay over in Atlanta and then arrive in Orlando at 9:58 am. I hope to be at the resort and checked in by noon and at our first park at 1:00.
Our touring plan is as follows:
02/28 - Day 1 - Disney's Hollywood Studios
03/01 - Day 2 - Magic Kingdom
03/02 - Day 3 - Epcot (EMH 8 am to 9 am)
03/03 - Day 4 - Animal Kingdom (EMH 5 pm to 8 pm)
03/04 - Day 5 - Magic Kingdom (EMH 8 am to 9 am) - this is the only day that I am going to wish that I had a park hopper. I am going to miss having the ability to go back to Epcot on my last day.
03/05 - Day 6 - return home to Columbus. I can already feel the sadness. Kind of silly when you haven't even left for the trip.
So, there you have it. My "girls only" trip with my mom. There is so much I want to show her and share with her during our trip. But I also want to remember to slow down and take it all in because this might be my last trip for a year or two. I feel very fortunate to be going back so soon.
Thanks for reading. See you on the flip side of my trip for some post trip pixie dust sharing.
This trip is a little different in that it is a girls only trip. Just me and my mom this time.
The players/travelers:
Myself - Tracy, 37 (38 by the time we leave
). This will be my 10th trip to the World. My last trip was this past September.My Mom - LuAnn (age withheld for fear of life and limb :lol:.) She hasn't been to Disney in 20 years, so I can't wait to show her all the magic.
This trip came about thanks to one of those magical emails that offers 40% off of a Deluxe room, 35% off of a moderate and 30% off of a value resort. After much consideration and research, we opted for Coronado Springs. (Unsolicited plug: If you are looking for some great info on this resort, check out Buzz2001's web site: http://coronado_springs.tripod.com It was pretty instrumental in helping me choose this resort)
This will be my first stay at Coronado Springs, and I couldn't be more excited. I hear great things about this resort. And a big plus - no conventions are currently listed on the convention calendar for the week we are there. Yipee!!
Once the resort was decided upon my next big question was "to park hop or not to park hop". On past trips we always chose the park hopper due to the step ladder closing times between all the parks. I mean, how nice is it to see Illuminations at 9:00, take the monorail over to MK and catch Wishes at 10:00 and still have 2 hours before the park closes at midnight?
During this time of the year the parks all tend to close within an hour or two of one another, so I opted for no park hopper. I decided to try a different touring plan and will be doing one park per day, open to close.
We also opted for the quick service dining plan. During our September trip we used the regular dining plan and loved it. But we also realized that many of our favorite meals were quick service (Cosmic Ray's, Pecos Bill's, Sunshine Seasons, Columbia Harbour House....you get the picture). So, I figure we will be just fine on the QS plan.
We leave Columbus on Sunday 02/28 at 5:50 am. We have a brief lay over in Atlanta and then arrive in Orlando at 9:58 am. I hope to be at the resort and checked in by noon and at our first park at 1:00.
Our touring plan is as follows:
02/28 - Day 1 - Disney's Hollywood Studios
03/01 - Day 2 - Magic Kingdom
03/02 - Day 3 - Epcot (EMH 8 am to 9 am)
03/03 - Day 4 - Animal Kingdom (EMH 5 pm to 8 pm)
03/04 - Day 5 - Magic Kingdom (EMH 8 am to 9 am) - this is the only day that I am going to wish that I had a park hopper. I am going to miss having the ability to go back to Epcot on my last day.
03/05 - Day 6 - return home to Columbus. I can already feel the sadness.
Kind of silly when you haven't even left for the trip.So, there you have it. My "girls only" trip with my mom. There is so much I want to show her and share with her during our trip. But I also want to remember to slow down and take it all in because this might be my last trip for a year or two. I feel very fortunate to be going back so soon.
Thanks for reading. See you on the flip side of my trip for some post trip pixie dust sharing.
