Pre-Trip My thank you Grandma blow out trip!

Please bear with me because this is my first attempt at any kind of trip report. I've had a lot of experience reading everybody's reports, so it may not be TOO bad. ;)

First off let me properly introduce ourselves. I'm Kim, and my DH (not technically, but close enough after 11 years together) Steve. We thoroughly enjoy getting our Disney on, and we generally make at least one DLR trip a year so we don't go through Matterhorn Macaroon withdrawals. This was from our Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour a couple of years ago when they let you go through the Dream Suite.

Disney dream pic.jpg


These are our fur babies. This is Kylie's cousin (@Tony the Tigger ), Kricket. She's two.

Patience Kricket.jpg


And this is Jaeger. He's only one.
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Drunk Jaeger puppy.jpg


And we can't forget about Gizmo (a.k.a. Mo)

Studious Mo.JPG


These guys will be staying with his son while we are off playing. Small advantage of having a mid-20's son that doesn't have a lot of vacation time saved up. ;)

This trip is being made thanks to my Grandma who passed away a couple of years ago. She left me a nice chunk of change, and I have been the responsible adult with the majority of the money but I know that she would want me to do something that I absolutely LOVE too. That being said we are splurging a bit with this trip! We will be staying at The Polynesian with a theme park view!!! I'm sooooo excited about that! Steve has NO idea how much I'm spending on the trip, and it's probably best he doesn't find out. :cautious: This is the first time for him staying inside the Disney bubble at WDW. In the past I have stayed at the CBR with my parents, and at French Quarter with a friend. We stayed at the Swolphin for our last trip 5 years ago...at least I think that's right. Anyway it's been quite a while since we've been to WDW, and we're looking forward to some of the changes.

I need to enlist the help of my fellow WDW'ers for ADR ideas. The one and only ADR Steve has absolutely no say in is lunch at BoG. I was able to snag a reservation this morning...SOOOO excited!! The hitch to planning meals with Steve is that he is one of those people that food is simply a necessity for, and doesn't understand the fun in trying new foods or splurging a bit from time to time. He is also an incredibly "simple" eater...he won't eat chicken (or any meat) on the bone, no buffets, doesn't drink (which isn't a bad thing, but he doesn't always understand why I like to have a drink or two on vacation), and everything he eats is just "okay." I'll give you an example...we went out for a nice dinner at Skamania Lodge(https://www.destinationhotels.com/skamania/dining ) with his brother and his new girlfriend. We all had wonderful steak dinners, nice wine, and he requested the chef make him a grilled cheese sandwich!!! :jawdrop::facepalm::hilarious: I was momentarily mortified by his request, but got over it by the time I finished my wine.

That's all I got for now, but I will be sure to post updates as they come to me. Thanks guys for reading, and sending me any pixie dust and suggestions you might have! I'm on my own planning for this, but I have some time since the trip isn't until the first part of May. :)
 

PacNWTigger

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Dang... it sure does! Now if your magicbands say MrChicken and Rista1313 inside... I'm going to get suspicious :cautious:
No MrChicken on Steve's band, but I should've done something like that since he has his Haunted Mansion band too. He asked me last night why we have TWO bands each. I told him it's because I spoil him like crazy, and that if he had a special one I needed one too! :hilarious::greedy:
 

Rista1313

Well-Known Member
No MrChicken on Steve's band, but I should've done something like that since he has his Haunted Mansion band too. He asked me last night why we have TWO bands each. I told him it's because I spoil him like crazy, and that if he had a special one I needed one too! :hilarious::greedy:

I have an orange bird band, plus the purple band, but I have a flower and garden magicband decoration coming from myfantasybands.com and mrchicken only has 1 band.... (and he has stickers coming too) I wonder if me having 2 and him having only 1 will become an issue for him during the trip? hmmmm we shall see!
 

PacNWTigger

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I have an orange bird band, plus the purple band, but I have a flower and garden magicband decoration coming from myfantasybands.com and mrchicken only has 1 band.... (and he has stickers coming too) I wonder if me having 2 and him having only 1 will become an issue for him during the trip? hmmmm we shall see!
I also figure that way we have a back-up band. I know for a fact that our regular bands are successfully paired with our reservation, but I'm not quite as trusting for my skills making sure things are paired up.
 

PacNWTigger

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Okay gang...I need your assistance!!! Our flight doesn't come in until 7:00 pm to Orlando, so I'm wondering if we should pick up our bags or trust Disney to get us our bags before we go to bed. They say it can take up to three hours for the bags to be delivered, so that means it could be 10:00 and it would be safe to say that we might be a bit on the cranky side to be awakened if they show up later than that. What would you guys do?
 

Rista1313

Well-Known Member
Okay gang...I need your assistance!!! Our flight doesn't come in until 7:00 pm to Orlando, so I'm wondering if we should pick up our bags or trust Disney to get us our bags before we go to bed. They say it can take up to three hours for the bags to be delivered, so that means it could be 10:00 and it would be safe to say that we might be a bit on the cranky side to be awakened if they show up later than that. What would you guys do?

I would say if you want them before bed time, grab them!
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Pick up your bags. Or be content with possibly waiting until getting them the next morning or late that night. With arriving so late your room will be (or at least should be) ready so you can drop them off and then head out for the night if you want or just crash for the night.
 

PacNWTigger

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I would say if you want them before bed time, grab them!
Pick up your bags. Or be content with possibly waiting until getting them the next morning or late that night. With arriving so late your room will be (or at least should be) ready so you can drop them off and then head out for the night if you want or just crash for the night.
I think you ladies are right that we should grab our bags. I still need to hold on to the luggage tags in order for things to work out right for our bags to get to the airport on the way home, right? Arriving late in the day is definitely a pitfall to living on the West Coast. :confused:
 

Tuvalu

Premium Member
I think you ladies are right that we should grab our bags. I still need to hold on to the luggage tags in order for things to work out right for our bags to get to the airport on the way home, right? Arriving late in the day is definitely a pitfall to living on the West Coast. :confused:
If you plan to pick up your bags at MCO and take them on DME, you can throw away the yellow bag tags. They are only for use to the resort.

For your flight home, you’ll need to visit the Resort Airline check in desk at the Poly between 5 am and noon. Your bags will be tagged with the official airline tags and transported for you to MCO.
 

PacNWTigger

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
If you plan to pick up your bags at MCO and take them on DME, you can throw away the yellow bag tags. They are only for use to the resort.

For your flight home, you’ll need to visit the Resort Airline check in desk at the Poly between 5 am and noon. Your bags will be tagged with the official airline tags and transported for you to MCO.
Good to know! Thank you for the information. Super helpful!
 

Uncle Lupe

Well-Known Member
Glad I found your Pre TR. We enjoyed BoG for lunch and breakfast. Food critics are not impressed anymore but you cannot beat the atmosphere. I wish I had done a dessert party (I just threw up a little) the crowds for HEA were insane.
 

PacNWTigger

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Glad I found your Pre TR. We enjoyed BoG for lunch and breakfast. Food critics are not impressed anymore but you cannot beat the atmosphere. I wish I had done a dessert party (I just threw up a little) the crowds for HEA were insane.
Glad you found my little planning session. My guy isn't a fan of crowds at the firework shows, so I figured it was a fair way to work around it while I get to enjoy the show AND chocolate! :hungry::hilarious:
 

PacNWTigger

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Okay...I better finish up because I'm leaving in 11 days!! I can almost do the single digit dance!!
1524589001310.png

Day 4 (Wednesday)
I don't have anything scheduled for the morning, so I think this would be the perfect time to go to either Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon. I'm hedging towards Typhoon Lagoon because I haven't been there since I was a teenager, but I'll ultimately leave the decision up to Steve because it doesn't matter that much to me which one we go to.

I set up some late afternoon FP+ at AK because I really wanted to see Pandora at night.
5:00 Kali River Rapids (I might find something to replace this one depending on the how warm it is)
6:30 Na'vi River Journey (I want to experience it at least once, and it seems to be a consensus that it is not worth a long wait)
8:30 Rivers of Light (Steve won't be thrilled, but he did make it through World of Color at DCA for me and we at least we get to sit for this one.)

I was hesitant to use a FP+ for RoL, but I really wanted to be sure I saw it without having to wait because that would be a BIG deterrent for Steve. With any luck I'll be able to pick up a FP+ while at the show for EE because I think that would be great at night too!

Day 5 (Thursday)
This is the day I am REALLY looking forward to. This will be the first time we actually step into the Magic Kingdom...I'm betting we will venture over there beforehand, but this is the day I have all scheduled out.
10:00 BTMR (We both LOVE this ride...technically we love all "mountain" rides...LOL!)
11:20 Lunch at BoG!!!! I am too excited for words on this one. We will probably pre-order our food, but I need to ask Steve closer to the date because he's going to say he doesn't know what he wants. I know I want the Croque Monsieur with the Lemon Meringue cupcake. Steve will probably go with the Croque Monsieur as well because it's the closest he's going to get to a grilled cheese sandwich, and get the Strawberry Cream Cheese cupcake. We might share the French Onion soup since I've heard such wonderful things about it too.
1:00 Splash Mountain (It should be the perfect time of day that we won't mind getting a little wet to stay cool for a while)
2:50 Space Mountain (It will be a hike, but we are prepared for doing a lot of walking)
7:45 Reservations for the Dessert Party for the Garden Viewing (I'm hoping that Steve will appreciate the fact that we won't have to camp out to get a decent spot to see the castle for the fireworks.)

We will probably be able to grab a few more FP+ after Space Mtn to fill in the time before the dessert party. I'm thinking that we will grab a bite to eat at Casey's for a lighter dinner so we (okay I) still have room for dessert later. :hungry::hilarious::inlove:

Sorry so text heavy...Here's a Kricket and Chunk (her first born puppy now 7 months old this weekend) as a consolation.
Chunk and Kricket.jpg

This is what happened after Steve took Chunk back to his owner...

Sleepy Steve and Kricket.jpg
 

PacNWTigger

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So jealous that you are going in 11 days! But happy that you will have a fantastic time!
Thank you! Steve FINALLY looked at the flight details and figured out that I had upgraded to Economy+ for the LAX to MCO leg of the trip, and was even more surprised to see that I had gotten us First Class for the flight home! :jawdrop::hilarious: I think he's afraid to open up his WDW app to see the other stuff that is planned...LOL!
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Thank you! Steve FINALLY looked at the flight details and figured out that I had upgraded to Economy+ for the LAX to MCO leg of the trip, and was even more surprised to see that I had gotten us First Class for the flight home! :jawdrop::hilarious: I think he's afraid to open up his WDW app to see the other stuff that is planned...LOL!

Good call with the upgrade on the flights. You are goin' in style, that's for sure!;)

I'm being nosy...what other fun stuff do you have planned?
 

PacNWTigger

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Good call with the upgrade on the flights. You are goin' in style, that's for sure!;)
I'm being nosy...what other fun stuff do you have planned?

It's a freestyle kind of plan...LOL! We will do the Polynesian Twilight feast and watch the fireworks in the room one night. Thanks to @lostpro9het and @imahistorygeek for letting me know about this!! Probably catch the new Avengers movie when we go to Disney Springs (I still want to call it Downtown Disney :confused:) and get a bite to eat at Homecoming at the bar. It's too difficult to do reservations with Steve, so quick service is generally the best dining option. DEFINITELY doing dinner at F&G as we browse one evening.

I'm trying to throw in down time so we can enjoy the Polynesian in all of its glory. I mean I can't stay there and NOT get Tonga Toast for breakfast at least once or relax by the pool with a libation or two...or three. :hungry: I want to try to have a drink at Trader Sam's just so see the differences. I definitely have to stop by Tambooo for a drink as well. Maybe I will be fortunate enough to have a "Shirley" sighting. ;):inlove:

I think this might be the first vacation that Steve and I do a little bit of solo stuff too because I want to see some of the shows that he's not keen on. Growing up as an only child I never really got to break away from my parents all that much on vacation (and I never got to bring a friend along), so doing stuff on my own while vacationing is a new way of thinking for me.

Overall I am getting super excited for our adventure. We are really busy for the next week, so I don't have a lot of time to get stuff together like I usually would. I think I'm dropping Mo off at my parent's house next Thursday so I can have Friday night to make sure everything is in order. T will be staying with the dogs, so we don't have too much to worry about on that front. Jaeger seems to have allergies right now though...his right eye is puffy and crusty...do dogs get pollen allergies??
 

TheMouseFan

Well-Known Member
It's a freestyle kind of plan...LOL! We will do the Polynesian Twilight feast and watch the fireworks in the room one night. Thanks to @lostpro9het and @imahistorygeek for letting me know about this!! Probably catch the new Avengers movie when we go to Disney Springs (I still want to call it Downtown Disney :confused:) and get a bite to eat at Homecoming at the bar. It's too difficult to do reservations with Steve, so quick service is generally the best dining option. DEFINITELY doing dinner at F&G as we browse one evening.

I'm trying to throw in down time so we can enjoy the Polynesian in all of its glory. I mean I can't stay there and NOT get Tonga Toast for breakfast at least once or relax by the pool with a libation or two...or three. :hungry: I want to try to have a drink at Trader Sam's just so see the differences. I definitely have to stop by Tambooo for a drink as well. Maybe I will be fortunate enough to have a "Shirley" sighting. ;):inlove:

I think this might be the first vacation that Steve and I do a little bit of solo stuff too because I want to see some of the shows that he's not keen on. Growing up as an only child I never really got to break away from my parents all that much on vacation (and I never got to bring a friend along), so doing stuff on my own while vacationing is a new way of thinking for me.

Overall I am getting super excited for our adventure. We are really busy for the next week, so I don't have a lot of time to get stuff together like I usually would. I think I'm dropping Mo off at my parent's house next Thursday so I can have Friday night to make sure everything is in order. T will be staying with the dogs, so we don't have too much to worry about on that front. Jaeger seems to have allergies right now though...his right eye is puffy and crusty...do dogs get pollen allergies??
Yes, dogs can have allergies to all the same things we can!!
Sounds like a great trip! Have fun!!
 

PacNWTigger

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Sounds like you have a good plan. You will love Homecomin’ and Trader Sams.

And yes dogs can get allergies!
Yes, dogs can have allergies to all the same things we can!!
Sounds like a great trip! Have fun!!
We loaded the dogs up with Benedryl and their eyes are not so goopy. The rain helped us out quite a bit to knock all of that pollen out of the air for us.

I'm going to start packing tonight. The upswing of rain means that I can pack all of my nice weather stuff for our trip. :joyfull:

I'm also going to look into doing Univeral for a day since our second AK day we aren't there until late in the day. Any suggestions? Probably going to look into doing the front of the line pass since we're only looking at one day at the park, and going to sign up for Uber. (We've never taken Uber before, so that's definitely a new thing for us.)
 

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