My January 2011 Birthday PTR!!

**Just a warning, but I love to take pictures. On our last trip I took 2300 pictures. We were only there for 8 days. So be prepared to see lots of pictures in this.**

Now on to what ya’ll came here for.

Who:
Jessica, the birthday girl. That’d be me. I will be turning 28 five day before we leave on our trip. I will absolutely be the 28yo walking around with birthday ears on. And my birthday button.

Momma, my mom, of course. For some reason, unknown to me, she gave me complete control of this trip. I booked everything, and am planning all of it. She’s just along for the ride.

Nanny, my nanny, duh. LOL. My nanny has only been to WDW a few times. She has never stayed on property, or experienced character dining. We are gonna show her all the good stuff.

What: My birthday celebration in WDW.

When: January 22nd-January 29th.

Where:

Pop Century Resort (My best friend works here.)

Why: Well, honestly, cuz it’s my birthday. LOL. I was actually planning on going sometime in January/February to celebrate mine and my friend’s birthdays. It was going to be somewhat of a solo trip. Then my mom decided that she didn’t want me going by myself, so she’s tagging along. Then my nanny decided she wants to go also. So now it the three of us, plus my friend, as often as he can join us.

We were able to take advantage of Free Dining for this trip. I never realized how much we spent on food, until I saw how much I saved, by getting it for free. LOL.

We have ADR’s at Crystal Palace, Le Cellier, Whispering Canyon Café, 50’s Prime Time Café, Liberty Tree Tavern. I have eaten at all of these before with the exception of Le Cellier. My mom told me that I could book whatever I want so I did. LOL.

As far as CS goes, I plan on eating at Earl’s as often as possible. I tried this on my last trip and our love affair started. Here’s my favorite, the Hawaiian BBQ.

Other than Earl’s, I plan on eating at Cosmic Ray’s, Columbia Harbor House, Starring Rolls, a few new places in Epcot, and any places ya’ll suggest to me.

 

[jesemeca]

Now for the itinerary.

Jan. 21st/22nd-We will be leaving around midnight. I am pushing for leaving even earlier than that. More time in WDW, the better. Right? We plan on stopping at Cracker Barrel on the way for breakfast.

Jan. 22nd-Checkin at Pop Century. I doubt our room will be ready when we get there. That just means I get to bother my friend while he is at work and go get me some Earl’s. We will probably spend the day at DTD.

Jan. 23rd-Magic Kingdom. We have ADR’s at Crystal Palace for 8:05am. Gotta love seeing Main St. empty. This is my absolute favorite place to eat in WDW.

Jan. 24th-Animal Kingdom/Magic Kingdom. Today we are eating at Whispering Canyon Café at 2:00pm. We will spend the morning in Animal Kingdom. After lunch we are heading over to Magic Kingdom to see the Main Street Electrical Parade.

Jan. 25th-Epcot. Tonight we have dinner ADR’s at Le Cellier at 6:00pm. This will be my first time trying Le Cellier. We will also be watching Illuminations.

Jan. 26th-Magic Kingdom. 8:05 ADR’s at Crystal Palace again. Told you I love this place. (Both Magic Kingdom and Crystal Palace.) We will also be having dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern at 5:10pm.

Jan. 27th-MGM. Yes, I will always call it that. We are eating lunch at 50’s Prime Time Café at 11:30am today. I will also be seeing Fantasmic tonight for the first time. Finally. LOL.

Jan. 28th-Magic Kingdom. Crystal Palace one more time. At, you guessed it, 8:05 am. LOL. Gotta love Pooh Bear.

Jan. 29th-Checkout time. Unfortunately it will be time to pack up and leave. I will have to say goodbye to my friend, which is something I am not looking forward to. Hopefully we can start planning the next trip. That should make it a little easier.

 

[jesemeca]

Since the parks close early while we are there, I need some help figuring out what to do at night. I have never been when the parks closed this early. I’m sure at least a couple nights I will wind up at DTD. But what about the Boardwalk, is it worth visiting at night? I have heard that there is not as much to do anymore. How is Jellyrolls?

What about visiting any other hotels? Any you think would be worth me checking out? It would most likely be just me, maybe my friend also. But it’s okay, I like to take pictures so I don’t mind being by myself. I'm more concerned with safety than anything else. I will have my own car, so if you think driving would be better to get where you are suggesting, let me know.

I was also thinking about booking a late dinner one night for just my friend and I. Any suggestions? I’m not the most adventurous person when it comes to food, but I do like to try new things. So, keep that in mind.

While planning this trip, I have also been thinking about another trip later on next year. Hopefully, I will have a bounce back offer when we go in January. I would like to go see all the Halloween decorations next September. I would also like to attend the Food & Wine Festival at Epcot.

 

[jesemeca]

Itinerary--A little more detailed.

Travel Day-
The current plan is to leave around midnight. I would like to leave around 10 or so. That would put us at POP around 10 in the morning. That’s like a whole extra day there. LOL. Breakfast will be at Cracker Barrel.
After we checkin and they tell us the rooms aren’t ready, we will head on over to DTD. And eat at Earl’s!!! (Can’t you hear it, it’s calling my name.) We will then show my Nanny all the cool stores. I will also need to go pick out my Birthday Ears. Yes I will be wearing them all week long, along with the button. When I was booking the trip and the ADR’s, anytime it would ask me what are you celebrating, I put in all the info it would take. LOL.
Hopefully after lunch the room will be ready. We can go back to POP, unpack and get settled in. Then I’m going to try one of the cocktails at Petals. I missed out on them on my last trip. I am determined to try one this time around. Also thinking of booking a late dinner for just my friend and I. Not sure where though.

Day 1-
Magic Kingdom Day. We always start and finish in the Magic Kingdom. It’s my favorite place to be. When I walk under the train station, I wanna spin around like a ballerina does. LOL. We have breakfast ADR’s at Crystal Palace for 8:05am. Which means I will be able to take pictures of Cinderella Castle with no one else in them. This will be the beginning of the Photopass adventure. I am planning on pre-buying the cd, so I will be taking as many PP pictures as possible. After breakfast, we always head to It’s A Small World. That is always our first ride on the first day. A late lunch/early dinner will be had at either Cosmic Ray’s or Columbia Harbor House. We will be staying for Wishes.

Day2-
We start off the day at Animal Kingdom. We are eating lunch at Whispering Canyon Café at 2. Animal Kingdom opens at 8 for EMH. We plan on riding the Safari, and seeing Finding Nemo and Festival of the Lion King. Do you think we can get all that done in 4 hours? I figured we would have to leave around noon to get to Wilderness lodge on time. Is that enough time? Or too long even? After lunch, we will be returning to Magic Kingdom, to see the Main Street Electrical Parade and Wishes. There are EMH’s this evening. So I will be staying for that, my mom and nanny may stay with me, depending on how cold it is.

Day 3-
Today is our Epcot day. Epcot opens at 8:00am this morning. We plan on eating at POP for breakfast. I would like to catch the opening show today. We don’t ride any of the major rides at Epcot, so no running for FP’s for us. LOL. I do plan on riding Universe of Energy. I haven't ridden this one in a very long time. I want to eat lunch at one of the CS in World Showcase. I’m thinking of either the one in Mexico or France. Dinner this evening will be at Le Cellier at 5:00pm. After dinner we will have more than enough time to find a great spot for Illuminations.

Day 4-
Today will be another Magic Kingdom day. Breakfast is once again at Crystal Palace at 8:05am. I plan on catching ToonTown if it’s still open. Dumbo will also be on the list, to see over those walls. And get some good pictures of all the work being done. I would like to try out El Pirata y El Perico for lunch, if it’s open. After catching the afternoon parade and riding some of our favorites again, dinner will be at Liberty Tree Tavern at 5:10pm. We will end the night with Wishes, my favorite.

Day 5-
We will be going to MGM today. Yes, I know it’s the wrong name, but I don’t care. LOL. As soon as we get to MGM, we will go straight to Toy Story Mania. Ride once, and get fast passes. After that mess, it’s time for some food. Breakfast this morning will be at Starring Rolls. I want a chocolate peanut butter cupcake. I know that it’s technically not breakfast food, but oh well. Once again we don’t do the thrill rides here, so we will take our time walking around enjoying the shows and tame rides. Lunch is at 50’s Prime Time Café at 11:30am. We will be staying to see Fantasmic this evening at 6:30pm. This will be my first time seeing the show. I hope its not too cold that night.

Day 6-
Today will be our last day in the parks. Off to Magic Kingdom and Crystal Palace at 8:05am., once again. We will hit all our favorites a few more times, buy last minute souvenirs, and savor the last day. Not sure where lunch will be today, or dinner for that matter. To end the evening will be one more viewing of Wishes.

Departure Day-
I will be trying to convince my mom that we don’t have to leave so early this day. We can take our time driving home. Hopefully, I can get her to stop at DTD one last time. So I can get me some Earl’s for the road. LOL.