Pre-Trip OH MY GOD I'M BACK AGAIN: huge family trip, birthday, 1st visit, engagement??

Hey there everybody! It's been three long years since my last trip report, and three long years since my last trip. I've been lurking and not posting much because my Disney morale has been low, but now I've officially booked my 2019 trip with my family for October 2019! AND I AM SO EXCITED I CAN'T EVEN SLEEP ANYMORE. All I want to do is plan.

And one of the best things about this trip? I'll be staying at the Polynesian for the first time in 6 years!

I'll post more tomorrow, but if you're interested in checking out my last trip report it's below in my signature-- I took a sister trip in 2016!

To come next post: dates, dining reservations, and intro to my cast of characters!

To give you a preview of what you're in for, heres a pic from one of the last times I stayed at the Poly:
FB_IMG_1531110692862.jpg


EDIT 7/3 ITINERARY IS NOW IN COMMENTS, as well as MagicBands and Fast Passes!
 
Last edited:
Click to expand...
NessNewt

NessNewt

Well-Known Member
jrogue said:
Hey there everybody! It's been three long years since my last trip report, and three long years since my last trip. I've been lurking and not posting much because my Disney morale has been low, but now I've officially booked my 2019 trip with my family for October 2019! AND I AM SO EXCITED I CAN'T EVEN SLEEP ANYMORE. All I want to do is plan.

And one of the best things about this trip? I'll be staying at the Polynesian for the first time in 6 years!

I'll post more tomorrow, but if you're interested in checking out my last trip report it's below in my signature-- I took a sister trip in 2016!

To come next post: dates, dining reservations, and intro to my cast of characters!

To give you a preview of what you're in for, heres a pic from one of the last times I stayed at the Poly:
View attachment 383884
Click to expand...

Poly is #goals !
 
jrogue

jrogue

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
THE WHO

BOYFRIEND – soon to be fiancé??
100% this is absolutely who you will be seeing the most of in these posts! This is my boyfriend of nearly 12 years: Vinny! We’ve been to WDW a handful of times together already, but we haven’t gone together since 2013 so we are way overdue. I say soon to be fiancé since he’s known it’s my dream to be proposed to at WDW, and when we went the last time we felt we were a bit too young to be getting married. So … hopefully that will be part of the magic this trip!! 😊
ME AND VIN.png


GODPARENTS
I AM FINALLY TAKING A VACATION WITH MY GODPARENTS!! They are basically like an aunt and uncle to me, and I definitely consider them my closest family members aside from my immediate family. Sandy and Tony have been staples of my life since I was young. I’d spend summers visiting them in their pool, and we spend nearly every holiday together. We see each other for birthdays and celebrations, and some random times when we go over. I love them so much and am really excited to get to spend so much time with them. Sandy is my grandmother’s sister’s daughter, so 1st cousin to my mom…and I guess second cousin to me? But she is amazing, and is basically my aunt.
tony sandy.png


GODBROTHER/COUSIN
The next person is the son of my godparents, so I call him my godbrother 😊 His name is Joe, and we have been close ever since we were kids. He’s about 13 years older than me, and apparently I was the first baby he ever held! We haven’t been on vacation together since we went to PA once when we were little, so this is really exciting for me. I always want to be closer to my family and see more of them, and now I get the chance to! Here’s a picture of us in his mom’s pool from when we were younger. The picture after that is of Vinny and Joe playing with Joe’s son AJ’s Christmas present. With the two of them together this is going to be an interesting trip, haha.
me and joe.jpg

vin joe playing.png


COUSIN’S WIFE
Elaina and Joe got married 4 years ago, so now she’s part of our big happy family! Elaina is lovely: beautiful, super smart, and a lot of fun! She is really excited to go on this trip, and is my companion-in-planning. 😊 We’ll be chatting a lot the next coming months, and helping each other find and finalize reservations, etc. With both of our brains together we’re going to make an awesome vacation!
joe elaina.png


THE BIRTHDAY BOY
Last, but certainly not least, we have the birthday boy! This whole trip is being made possible because AJ is celebrating his 3rd birthday at the end of October, so this trip is his birthday present. And it will also be his first visit! I haven’t been on a trip with a toddler since my sister was one, so that means at LEAST 20 years ago! I can’t wait to see WDW through his eyes, and to watch him meet his hero Mickey Mouse for the first time. For his first Christmas I gave him his first ever Mickey Mouse plush, so Disney + AJ holds a special place in my heart. He calls me and Vinny Aunt Jenny and Uncle Vinny, and I’m honored to wear that name 😊
aj bubbles.png

aj 2nd bday.png

vin aj.png

That last picture was from a month or so ago of Vinny and AJ when we went over Joe and Elaina's house. Aren't they the cutest? Vinny gave him a light saber for Christmas, so all he's been saying is that he wants to be a Jedi. We'll see if he gets his wish during the trip! :)
 
Last edited:
jrogue

jrogue

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
WHEN?
October 5 - 12th!

WHERE?
Disney's POLYNESIAN RESORT!! I am so excited to go! I haven't stayed here in just about 7 years, and I've missed it so much. Staying at the Contemporary last trip was great, and I really liked experiencing another resort ... but nothing is as quite homey as the Poly.

the ... BAD?
I have some concerns with this trip. I'm concerned that my boyfriend is trying to take off for two vacations (we have an annual trip to Wildwood with his family in the summer -- it's his cousin's last before she moves to California for college), and he might not be able to -- not unless he has a new job or takes an entire week and two days unpaid. It's really hard for him to take off at his job, and for some reason instead of letting his boss know sooner rather than later, he hasn't told her at all. It's nearly impossible for them to take off at that job, and so I feel like he's really hopeful that he'll get something new and be out of there before our vacation.

I'm concerned about the money. They haven't released a discount yet for Fall 2019, and it's going to be very hard for us to be able to save up for this if they don't release one. I'm basically counting on the discount, or I'll be totally broke for a really long time.

I know some of the most popular money saving tricks -- stay at a different resort, don't do the dining plan, bring food from, etc. But for me, part of the Disney experience is letting go of all of that and just doing our favorite things. I need to figure out ways to either save better beforehand, or to make more money while I can. Getting an after-work part time job is out of the question (I already have a full-time job, and in the summer I work extended summer hours), but my boyfriend getting a better paid job would really help.

Anywho, I'm really excited for the trip either way. Hopefully some discounts will be released, and hopefully I can talk to him one day where he can reach out to his boss and make a deal with that week.
 
jrogue

jrogue

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So, I spent nearly 4 hours the other day working through my trip. I've done pricing, park days, etc. It's a little hard working with the rest of my family since they are working with a travel agent and I am not. I'm awaiting their confirmation on what their plans are, and then I'm going to finalize mine! I'll share our days once I am home. :)

In other news, I AM A HUGE FAN OF PACKS. I wore one my entire last trip with my sister, and honestly, I've been wearing them all my life. Like honestly, look at my fashion in WDW:

14141986_10100146882244072_5926431150889639488_n.jpg
14212102_10100146881849862_4481564505382209216_n.jpg
14203383_10100146881929702_152341820240170338_n.jpg

(Polynesian, MK, and EPCOT respectively)

On my last trip I sported a hot pink pack. This trip, I'll be going for something a little less .. color specific. The description says navy and silver, but it looks dark enough to pass as black to me! I love this Everest pack. It holds everything: phone, misc items, camera. Even your wallet if you needed it, and a pair of sunglasses. It's surprisingly sturdy and you can wear it on nearly every single ride. LAST TRIP I DIDN'T TAKE IT OFF ONCE. success!!!

Screen Shot 2019-06-27 at 11.28.10 AM.png
 
NessNewt

NessNewt

Well-Known Member
jrogue said:
So, I spent nearly 4 hours the other day working through my trip. I've done pricing, park days, etc. It's a little hard working with the rest of my family since they are working with a travel agent and I am not. I'm awaiting their confirmation on what their plans are, and then I'm going to finalize mine! I'll share our days once I am home. :)

In other news, I AM A HUGE FAN OF ***** PACKS. I wore one my entire last trip with my sister, and honestly, I've been wearing them all my life. Like honestly, look at my ***** fashion in WDW:

View attachment 384486View attachment 384488View attachment 384487
(Polynesian, MK, and EPCOT respectively)

On my last trip I sported a hot pink ***** pack. This trip, I'll be going for something a little less .. color specific. The description says navy and silver, but it looks dark enough to pass as black to me! I love this Everest ***** pack. It holds everything: phone, misc items, camera. Even your wallet if you needed it, and a pair of sunglasses. It's surprisingly sturdy and you can wear it on nearly every single ride. LAST TRIP I DIDN'T TAKE IT OFF ONCE. ***** success!!!

View attachment 384485
Click to expand...

Did someone say pack?

384508


Pretty sure it's the same one! And it's the PERFECT bag.
 
jrogue

jrogue

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I've been stalking My Disney Experience for the MagicBand upgrades ... I can never seem to get the Haunted Mansion band, so I haven't ordered any upgrades yet.

My family's itinerary might vary slightly from mine and my boyfriend's, but here it is so far. STILL TENTATIVE, so if you have any suggestions please throw 'em in there :) One quick question for y'all -- is the Polynesian still the first stop on the Magical Express?

SATURDAY: MK
arrive at MCO around 11am
head to the Poly, and try to get to the MK in time to see the 2pm parade!
Lunch: Captain Cook's if we have time, or Casey's Corner if we don't have time before the parade.
Dinner: The Diamond Horseshoe (I've never eaten here before, so excited to try it out!)

SUNDAY: AK/MK
So here is where my family is torn. They want to do AK in the AM, and since I want to spend time with them I'd do that too..but my original idea was to do Epcot and MK. We have tickets to MNSSHP that night.
Breakfast: Captain Cook
Lunch: Early dinner/late lunch at Capt Cook again.
Later: Snacks throughout MNSSHP

MONDAY: HS
Breakfast: Kona Cafe
Lunch: Snacks at HS
Dinner: Hollywood & Vine

TUESDAY: EP
Breakfast: Garden Grill
Lunch: FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL
Dinner: La Hacienda De San Angel DE DELICIOUSNESS

WEDNESDAY: HS/MK
I plan on waking up super early to head to HS that day, so will have a late breakfast at Capt Cook
Lunch: w/e in MK
Dinner: BOG

THURSDAY: MK/AK
Breakfast: Ohana with family before they leave!
Dinner: UNKNOWN. I kind of wanted to try Tusker House, but also Yak and Yeti is always a staple favorite. And I figure since I should be nearly out of table services and have some QS left, maybe Yak and Yeti QS would be our best bet

FRIDAY: EP/MK/EP
Breakfast: Capt Cook
Lunch: Afternoon tea at Grand Floridian
Dinner: Liberty Tree Tavern

heading to Epcot to end the night, and the trip.

SATURDAY
head back home :(

What do y'all think? I want to add breakfast at Crystal Palace somewhere in there .. but can't figure out where would be best. Maybe can move around afternoon tea at GF?
 
jrogue

jrogue

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Ordered MagicBands today, 🤞not sure when they will go out based on the 4th of July, but we will see. Ordered the Haunted Mansion one for me, and the Black Panther one for the boyfriend. Originally I wanted Pirates for him, but that was out of stock this time. Fingers crossed the order goes through well..excited to get them!!
 
jrogue

jrogue

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Edited my reservations a bit, so now they are:

SATURDAY: MK
Lunch: Captain Cook's if we have time, or Casey's Corner if we don't have time before the 2pm parade.
Dinner: The Diamond Horseshoe (I've never eaten here before, so excited to try it out!)

SUNDAY: AK/MK
Breakfast: Captain Cook's, then head to AK
Lunch: Early dinner/late lunch at Capt Cook's again.
Head to MK for MNSSHP
Later: Snacks throughout MNSSHP

MONDAY: HS
Breakfast: Kona Cafe or Captain Cook's
Lunch: Snacks at HS
Dinner: Hollywood & Vine

TUESDAY: EP
Breakfast: Garden Grill
Lunch: FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL
Dinner: La Hacienda De San Angel DE DELICIOUSNESS

WEDNESDAY: HS/MK
I plan on waking up super early to head to HS that day, so will have a late breakfast at Capt Cook's
Lunch: w/e in MK
Dinner: BOG

THURSDAY: MK/AK
Breakfast: Ohana with family before they leave!
Mid-day: Tea at the GF
Dinner: Yak and Yeti QS

FRIDAY: EP/MK/EP??
Breakfast: Crystal Palace
Dinner: Liberty Tree Tavern

SATURDAY
head back home :(
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom