PreTrip Report
When: September 12-19th
How: 4 driving from IL to FL and 9 Flying PIA - ORD – MCO, then DME
Where: Caribbean Beach Resort, Standard Pirate Rooms!!!
Tickets: 8 day MYW w/ Park Hopper and Waterpark, Disney Memory Maker, AND Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween Party
Who:
Josh (me)
Kassi (DW)
Layne (DS1- 4yr 1st trip)
Blake (DS2 – 3mo 1st trip)
Becky (Mema - 1st trip)
Kristin (Kiki - SIL– 1st trip)
Jerry (Papa)
Karen (Grammy)
Lori (Nana)
Bev (Gma B)
Tara (Sister)
Joe (BIL)
Connor (Nephew – 18mo 1st trip)
We have discussed going to Disney World with our 4yo DS1 for probably the last year. Telling him about it and showing him pictures; all the good stuff to get him excited. We were expecting DS2 when we booked the trip, and told DS1 we were going to go after DS2 was born. DS2 was born in late May and since his birth, we have stopped talking about Disney because I wanted to TOTALLY SURPRISE HIM!! My DW and I have been talking about different ways to tell him we are going to Disney but we want to hold out until the day of the trip! Well approximately 2 weeks ago DS1 asked Papa if he would take him on vacation to MN (we went on a family vacation there when DS1 was 2 ½ yo and he clearly enjoyed it despite the 12 hr drive). OPPORTUNITY!!! So now DS1 knows we are going on vacation soon but he thinks we are going to fly to MN! We plan to hold out until we get to MCO and then break the news to him that we aren’t going to MN and we are at Disney World!! DW is worried he is going to be devastated because we are going to MN but we are both hopeful he won’t mind after he realizes where we actually are. (will post video of his reaction in Trip Report) It could potentially be a long ride on DME to the resort… We will be utilizing the Rider Swap, since we will have a 3mo and 18mo on our trip, and our 4yo is only 42 inches tall. Also with that being said, this trip is probably going to go a lot slower than we are used to and im sure our TR will be very different than the PTR. But here’s how we would like this trip to go….
DAY 1
Mema, Kiki, Grammy, and Papa will be leaving early on Friday 9/11 to make the drive to Florida, while the rest of us will be flying out at 6:30 AM on Saturday 9/12. Quick Hop from PIA to ORD then gliding on down to MCO. We arrive at MCO around noon. (This is where will will tell DS1 that we are at Disney.) Then we will take DME to our resort, Caribbean Beach. We didn’t plan on staying in the Pirate Rooms, however when they came out with the Free Disney Disney Plan, we chose to change our rooms to take advantage of the dining perks. We have Fast Passes booked in Magic Kingdom for the afternoon the day we get there but we are considering just taking in easy and maybe swimming at the resort or sliding over to a waterpark this day. My nephew has “His First haircut” in MK at 4 pm! Late dinner planned at Whispering Canyon Café.
DAY 2
Sunday 9/13 we will spend most, if not all day at MK. We are getting up early to go see the opening ceremony at MK. No one on our trip has been to the ceremony before, and I think it would be neat for our DS1 to experience this. Fast Passes this day are Jungle Cruise, Winnie the Pooh and “Wishes” fireworks show. Dinner at Ohana.
DAY 3
Monday 9/14 We will spend the morning in Hollywood Studios and depending on how long it takes for us to get around HS, we may go to a Blizzard Beach in the afternoon. Fast passes for today include Tower of Terror, StarTours, and ToyStory. The large group dinner is planned at Chef Mickey’s, while us parents (Myself, DW, Sister and BIL) are going out to eat alone at Teppen Edo. We will then meet back up at Epcot for the fireworks.
DAY 4
Tuesday 9/15 Today will be slower paced for a couple reasons, 1) Day 3, I think the walking and excitement is going to be catching up to some of us. And 2) We have a special evening planned. So we will spend the morning in Epcot, we have Fast passes for Mission Space, Soarin, and Turtle Talk. Then we will go back to the resort for a NAP. Yes, we scheduled a NAP for today. Dinner is planned for 5pm at Shutters at our resort. Then myself, DW, ds1, (possibly DS2), my sister, BIL and Nephew, and Nana and GmaB are headed to MK for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. None of us have been to this party before but have heard great things. We are all super excited. My family is going as “StarWars” characters and my Sister’s family is going as “Jake and the Neverland Pirates”. There will be pictures!
DAY 5
Wednesday 9/16 – Now what I was thinking when I made our schedule, I don’t know. But it will work out. Today we are going to EMH at Animal Kingdom. Breakfast at Tusker House (characters) at 930. Some more AK after breakfast. We have Fast passes for Kilimanjaro Safaris, Everest and Dinosaur. Then around dinner time, we will go to MK for a while and watch the fireworks again.
DAY 6
Thursday 9/17 – MK has EMH in the morning, so we will go there in the morning, and have lunch at Be Our Guest. FastPasses scheduled for Peter Pan, 7D Mine Train, and Space Mountain. Then we will go back to Hollywood Studios for the afternoon with Dinner planned at Mama Melrose. Then we hope to see Fantasmic.
DAY 7
Friday 9/18 – Last day at WDW. L EMH at Epcot, World Showcase. Fast Passes for Nemo, Meet and Greet Disney Pals (remember we have young children lol) and Test Track. Possibly to Animal Kingdom in the PM with Dinner on the Boadwalk at BigRiver. Depending on the mood, we may go back to Epcot for the Fireworks one last time.
DAY 8
Saturday 9/19 – Up early to check out and catch flight at MCO around 10am. We will be back home around 230 pm.
I hope you all enjoyed my PTR and stay tuned for TR sometime when we return.
When: September 12-19th
How: 4 driving from IL to FL and 9 Flying PIA - ORD – MCO, then DME
Where: Caribbean Beach Resort, Standard Pirate Rooms!!!
Tickets: 8 day MYW w/ Park Hopper and Waterpark, Disney Memory Maker, AND Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween Party
Who:
Josh (me)
Kassi (DW)
Layne (DS1- 4yr 1st trip)
Blake (DS2 – 3mo 1st trip)
Becky (Mema - 1st trip)
Kristin (Kiki - SIL– 1st trip)
Jerry (Papa)
Karen (Grammy)
Lori (Nana)
Bev (Gma B)
Tara (Sister)
Joe (BIL)
Connor (Nephew – 18mo 1st trip)
We have discussed going to Disney World with our 4yo DS1 for probably the last year. Telling him about it and showing him pictures; all the good stuff to get him excited. We were expecting DS2 when we booked the trip, and told DS1 we were going to go after DS2 was born. DS2 was born in late May and since his birth, we have stopped talking about Disney because I wanted to TOTALLY SURPRISE HIM!! My DW and I have been talking about different ways to tell him we are going to Disney but we want to hold out until the day of the trip! Well approximately 2 weeks ago DS1 asked Papa if he would take him on vacation to MN (we went on a family vacation there when DS1 was 2 ½ yo and he clearly enjoyed it despite the 12 hr drive). OPPORTUNITY!!! So now DS1 knows we are going on vacation soon but he thinks we are going to fly to MN! We plan to hold out until we get to MCO and then break the news to him that we aren’t going to MN and we are at Disney World!! DW is worried he is going to be devastated because we are going to MN but we are both hopeful he won’t mind after he realizes where we actually are. (will post video of his reaction in Trip Report) It could potentially be a long ride on DME to the resort… We will be utilizing the Rider Swap, since we will have a 3mo and 18mo on our trip, and our 4yo is only 42 inches tall. Also with that being said, this trip is probably going to go a lot slower than we are used to and im sure our TR will be very different than the PTR. But here’s how we would like this trip to go….
DAY 1
Mema, Kiki, Grammy, and Papa will be leaving early on Friday 9/11 to make the drive to Florida, while the rest of us will be flying out at 6:30 AM on Saturday 9/12. Quick Hop from PIA to ORD then gliding on down to MCO. We arrive at MCO around noon. (This is where will will tell DS1 that we are at Disney.) Then we will take DME to our resort, Caribbean Beach. We didn’t plan on staying in the Pirate Rooms, however when they came out with the Free Disney Disney Plan, we chose to change our rooms to take advantage of the dining perks. We have Fast Passes booked in Magic Kingdom for the afternoon the day we get there but we are considering just taking in easy and maybe swimming at the resort or sliding over to a waterpark this day. My nephew has “His First haircut” in MK at 4 pm! Late dinner planned at Whispering Canyon Café.
DAY 2
Sunday 9/13 we will spend most, if not all day at MK. We are getting up early to go see the opening ceremony at MK. No one on our trip has been to the ceremony before, and I think it would be neat for our DS1 to experience this. Fast Passes this day are Jungle Cruise, Winnie the Pooh and “Wishes” fireworks show. Dinner at Ohana.
DAY 3
Monday 9/14 We will spend the morning in Hollywood Studios and depending on how long it takes for us to get around HS, we may go to a Blizzard Beach in the afternoon. Fast passes for today include Tower of Terror, StarTours, and ToyStory. The large group dinner is planned at Chef Mickey’s, while us parents (Myself, DW, Sister and BIL) are going out to eat alone at Teppen Edo. We will then meet back up at Epcot for the fireworks.
DAY 4
Tuesday 9/15 Today will be slower paced for a couple reasons, 1) Day 3, I think the walking and excitement is going to be catching up to some of us. And 2) We have a special evening planned. So we will spend the morning in Epcot, we have Fast passes for Mission Space, Soarin, and Turtle Talk. Then we will go back to the resort for a NAP. Yes, we scheduled a NAP for today. Dinner is planned for 5pm at Shutters at our resort. Then myself, DW, ds1, (possibly DS2), my sister, BIL and Nephew, and Nana and GmaB are headed to MK for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. None of us have been to this party before but have heard great things. We are all super excited. My family is going as “StarWars” characters and my Sister’s family is going as “Jake and the Neverland Pirates”. There will be pictures!
DAY 5
Wednesday 9/16 – Now what I was thinking when I made our schedule, I don’t know. But it will work out. Today we are going to EMH at Animal Kingdom. Breakfast at Tusker House (characters) at 930. Some more AK after breakfast. We have Fast passes for Kilimanjaro Safaris, Everest and Dinosaur. Then around dinner time, we will go to MK for a while and watch the fireworks again.
DAY 6
Thursday 9/17 – MK has EMH in the morning, so we will go there in the morning, and have lunch at Be Our Guest. FastPasses scheduled for Peter Pan, 7D Mine Train, and Space Mountain. Then we will go back to Hollywood Studios for the afternoon with Dinner planned at Mama Melrose. Then we hope to see Fantasmic.
DAY 7
Friday 9/18 – Last day at WDW. L EMH at Epcot, World Showcase. Fast Passes for Nemo, Meet and Greet Disney Pals (remember we have young children lol) and Test Track. Possibly to Animal Kingdom in the PM with Dinner on the Boadwalk at BigRiver. Depending on the mood, we may go back to Epcot for the Fireworks one last time.
DAY 8
Saturday 9/19 – Up early to check out and catch flight at MCO around 10am. We will be back home around 230 pm.
I hope you all enjoyed my PTR and stay tuned for TR sometime when we return.
and will start to get to work on our trip report. We were going to make a video of our trip from video we took on a gopro but unfortunately at the first night of the Halloween party our gopro and camera were stolen and we lost all video and pictures we took the first 4 days. we are going to still try to salvage some kind of video but will have to see what we have on our phones. anyway keep and eye out for our trip report as we will be posting in the next week sometime.