Hi everyone! This is my first ever pre-trip report, so please bear with me. (If you have any trip report tricks and tips that would be much appreciated!)
WHY: It hasn't been 84 years, but it sure does feel like forever since I've been to Walt Disney World. My last trip was in 2013 and it was absolutely wonderful. I went with my parents, my sister, her boyfriend, and my boyfriend. We shared two connecting rooms at the Polynesian and stayed for 8 days, 7 nights over Easter Break.
After that, several things got in the way of returning to THE WORLD. We couldn't afford to take the whole family again, my boyfriend couldn't afford to go nor could he get the vacation days, and my sister has been in college unable to take time off. (Yes, they do get summer and winter breaks, but she was going to school throughout both of them the past couple of years!)
A couple of family members and friends were talking more and more about their upcoming trips to WDW this year, which caused me to realize some things. I've never used a Magic Band (AND I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO! I need to do more research!) I haven't seen the MK's new (new to me) 3pm show. I haven't ridden the Mine Train yet, nor have I seen any of the new scenes in Star Tours. I've been listening to the WDW loops nonstop any chance I get. I was seriously missing Disney and I needed to find a way to go.
My parents are unable to go this year due to my mom having her second hip replacement surgery. My dad will be staying home and taking care of her. I knew my boyfriend couldn't go, but the #1 person I really wanted to go to WDW with was my sister. I bribed and bribed and bribed her, and finally one handbag and blazer (and offer to pay for the trip) later, my sister agreed to take a few days out of her busy schedule to come with me this summer!!
My parents:
WHO? My sister and I! She's 20 and I am 27 (will be 28 once we arrive)
WHEN? Saturday, June 11 - Wednesday, June 15th
WHERE? Garden view at the Contemporary Resort
That's it for now, but I have made all of our ADRs and will be posting those either later this weekend or next week!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As promised, here are our ADRs and our plans.
**These are subject to change, as I am not sure how Rivers of Light will factor into this. Hopefully it will be open while we are there, but since we don't know times, we can't plan around it. If anyone has any info/suggestions that would be greatly appreciated!**
SATURDAY [arrival + MK]
We arrive at the Contemporary hopefully sometime between 12 and 1. We'll grab lunch at Captain Cook's at the Poly, then head over to the Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day.
Lunch: Captain Cook's (QS)
Dinner: Liberty Tree Tavern @ 6:30 (TS)
Jess LOVES the food at Liberty Tree
SUNDAY [HS + AK]
Breakfast at the Poly, then hop on the bus to Hollywood Studios for the day. Have a QS lunch there, then later on take the bus to Animal Kingdom for dinner and their new nighttime offerings!.
Breakfast: Kona Cafe @ 8:30
Lunch: Hollywood Studios (QS)
Dinner: Yak & Yeti @ 6:00 (TS)
MONDAY [MK + EC]
Breakfast at The Crystal Palace early in the AM, but then we will head on over to Epcot after catching a couple of rides in the Magic Kingdom. Lunch will be at Epcot, and then we head back to the Magic Kingdom for dinner. If the Rivers of Light is showing on this day, we can head over to the Animal Kingdom after dinner to try and catch it.
Breakfast: Crystal Palace @ 8:30 (TS)
Lunch: Epcot (QS)
Dinner: Be Our Guest @ 7:30 (TS)
Our last BOG lunch:
TUESDAY [AK + EPCOT]
We will have breakfast very early in the morning at The Contemporary so we can hop on a bus to the Animal Kingdom as close to opening as possible. We will spend the morning there, then head to the Grand Floridian for tea at 2. After tea, we'll head on over to spend some time in Epcot for dinner and their extra magic hours.
Breakfast: Contemporary (QS)
Lunch: Afternoon Tea @ 2
Dinner: La Hacienda @ 6:30 (TS)
WEDNESDAY [MK + departure]
We will eat a big, very early breakfast at the Contemporary. Then, we'll check out and spend our remaining time in WDW at the Magic Kingdom.
Breakfast: Contemporary (QS)
Anywho, let me know what you guys think! There's always room to move some stuff around. I'm bummed this time that we'll be missing out on eating at the 50's Prime Time, but we switched that out in favor of Teppan Edo since we have never eaten there before.
EDIT: Below in the spoiler section are our FULL plans. These of course aren't set in stone aside from reservations, but here is how our days will go!
Thank you in advance to anyone who follows along with this story/journey! I guarantee you it will be an entertaining trip!
WHY: It hasn't been 84 years, but it sure does feel like forever since I've been to Walt Disney World. My last trip was in 2013 and it was absolutely wonderful. I went with my parents, my sister, her boyfriend, and my boyfriend. We shared two connecting rooms at the Polynesian and stayed for 8 days, 7 nights over Easter Break.
After that, several things got in the way of returning to THE WORLD. We couldn't afford to take the whole family again, my boyfriend couldn't afford to go nor could he get the vacation days, and my sister has been in college unable to take time off. (Yes, they do get summer and winter breaks, but she was going to school throughout both of them the past couple of years!)
A couple of family members and friends were talking more and more about their upcoming trips to WDW this year, which caused me to realize some things. I've never used a Magic Band (AND I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO! I need to do more research!) I haven't seen the MK's new (new to me) 3pm show. I haven't ridden the Mine Train yet, nor have I seen any of the new scenes in Star Tours. I've been listening to the WDW loops nonstop any chance I get. I was seriously missing Disney and I needed to find a way to go.
My parents are unable to go this year due to my mom having her second hip replacement surgery. My dad will be staying home and taking care of her. I knew my boyfriend couldn't go, but the #1 person I really wanted to go to WDW with was my sister. I bribed and bribed and bribed her, and finally one handbag and blazer (and offer to pay for the trip) later, my sister agreed to take a few days out of her busy schedule to come with me this summer!!
My parents:
WHO? My sister and I! She's 20 and I am 27 (will be 28 once we arrive)
WHEN? Saturday, June 11 - Wednesday, June 15th
WHERE? Garden view at the Contemporary Resort
That's it for now, but I have made all of our ADRs and will be posting those either later this weekend or next week!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As promised, here are our ADRs and our plans.
**These are subject to change, as I am not sure how Rivers of Light will factor into this. Hopefully it will be open while we are there, but since we don't know times, we can't plan around it. If anyone has any info/suggestions that would be greatly appreciated!**
SATURDAY [arrival + MK]
We arrive at the Contemporary hopefully sometime between 12 and 1. We'll grab lunch at Captain Cook's at the Poly, then head over to the Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day.
Lunch: Captain Cook's (QS)
Dinner: Liberty Tree Tavern @ 6:30 (TS)
Jess LOVES the food at Liberty Tree
SUNDAY [HS + AK]
Breakfast at the Poly, then hop on the bus to Hollywood Studios for the day. Have a QS lunch there, then later on take the bus to Animal Kingdom for dinner and their new nighttime offerings!.
Breakfast: Kona Cafe @ 8:30
Lunch: Hollywood Studios (QS)
Dinner: Yak & Yeti @ 6:00 (TS)
MONDAY [MK + EC]
Breakfast at The Crystal Palace early in the AM, but then we will head on over to Epcot after catching a couple of rides in the Magic Kingdom. Lunch will be at Epcot, and then we head back to the Magic Kingdom for dinner. If the Rivers of Light is showing on this day, we can head over to the Animal Kingdom after dinner to try and catch it.
Breakfast: Crystal Palace @ 8:30 (TS)
Lunch: Epcot (QS)
Dinner: Be Our Guest @ 7:30 (TS)
Our last BOG lunch:
TUESDAY [AK + EPCOT]
We will have breakfast very early in the morning at The Contemporary so we can hop on a bus to the Animal Kingdom as close to opening as possible. We will spend the morning there, then head to the Grand Floridian for tea at 2. After tea, we'll head on over to spend some time in Epcot for dinner and their extra magic hours.
Breakfast: Contemporary (QS)
Lunch: Afternoon Tea @ 2
Dinner: La Hacienda @ 6:30 (TS)
WEDNESDAY [MK + departure]
We will eat a big, very early breakfast at the Contemporary. Then, we'll check out and spend our remaining time in WDW at the Magic Kingdom.
Breakfast: Contemporary (QS)
Anywho, let me know what you guys think! There's always room to move some stuff around. I'm bummed this time that we'll be missing out on eating at the 50's Prime Time, but we switched that out in favor of Teppan Edo since we have never eaten there before.
EDIT: Below in the spoiler section are our FULL plans. These of course aren't set in stone aside from reservations, but here is how our days will go!
SAT 6/11: MK
MK: 9AM – 10PM
EC: 9AM – 9PM
MGM: 9AM – 8:30PM
AK: 9AM – 11PM (EMH: 8AM – 9AM)
6:00am – Head to airport
8:00 - Board plane
8:35 – Depart
11:25am – Arrive
xx:xx – Magical Express to Contemporary** Give $2 tip to driver for luggage
12:45pmish – Monorail to Polynesian
1:00ish – Captain Cooks (QS)
2:00ish – Monorail to MK
2:05-3:05 - SPLASH MOUNTAIN FP
3:00 – Festival of Fantasy Parade
4:05-5:05 - SPACE MOUNTAIN FP
5:20-6:20 - SEVEN DWARFS MINE TRAIN FP
6:40 – Liberty Tree Tavern for Dinner (TS)
9:00 – Main Street Electrical Parade (or ride Small World, Mansion, Thunder Mt)
9:45 – Celebrate the Magic
10:00 – Wishes
SUN 6/12: HS + AK
MK: 9AM – 10PM
EC: 9AM – 9PM
MGM: 9AM – 8:30PM (EMH: 8AM – 9AM)
AK: 9AM – 11PM
7:00am – Wake up & showers
8:30 – Monorail to Polynesian
8:45 – Kona Café (10% off with Disney Visa)
10:00 – Bus to HS
11:00–12:00 – STAR TOURS FP
11:30 - Single rider line for RNR
12:20-1:20pm - TOY STORY MANIA FP
1:25-2:25 – MUPPET VISION 3D FP
1:45 – Lunch at HS (QS) *make new fastpasses for EPCOT
3:00 – Bus to Animal Kingdom
6:00 – Yak & Yeti (TS)
MON 6/13: MK + EC + POLYNESIAN TORCH LIGHTING AT 6
MK: 9AM – 10PM
EC: 9AM – 9PM
MGM: 9AM – 8:30PM
AK: 9AM – 8PM (EMH: 8AM – 9AM)
7:00am – Wake up & showers
8:00 – Walk to the MK
8:25 – Crystal Palace (TS)
10:00 – Monorail to TTC
10:15 – Monorail to EPCOT
10:35–11:35 – TEST TRACK FP
11:45-12:45pm - SPACESHIP EARTH FP
12:55-1:55 – JOURNEY INTO IMAGINATION FP (will change to SOARIN if open)
1:30 – Lunch at EPCOT China? (QS) *make new fastpasses
3:00 – Walk the WS, maybe Test Track single rider, or head back (depending on FP)
5:00 – Monorail to TTC
5:30 – Walk or monorail to the Polynesian
5:45 – In Polynesian lobby
6:00 – Torch Lighting Ceremony
6:30 – Monorail to MK
7:35 – Be Our Guest (TS)
9:00 – Main Street Electrical Parade (or ride Small World, Mansion, Thunder Mt)
9:45 – Celebrate the Magic
10:00 – Wishes
TUES 6/14: AK + EC
MK: 9AM – 10PM
EC: 9AM – 9PM (EMH: 9PM – 11PM)
MGM: 9AM – 8:30PM
AK: 9AM – 8PM
6:30am – Wake up & showers
7:30 – Breakfast @ Contemporary (QS)
8:15 – Bus to AK
9:10-10:10 – EXPEDITION EVEREST FP
10:20–11:20 – KILIMAJARO SAFARI FP
11:30-12:30pm – FESTIVAL OF THE LION KING FP
1:30 – Bus to Grand Floridian
2:15 – Garden View Tea Room (CHESHIRE TEA & make new FP reservations)
5:00 – Monorail to TTC
5:30 – Walk or monorail to the Polynesian
5:45 – In Polynesian lobby
6:00 – Torch Lighting Ceremony
6:30 – Monorail to MK
6:45 La Hacienda de San Angel (TS)
9:00 – Illuminations
WED 6/15:
MK: 9AM – 10PM (EMH: 10PM – 12AM)
EC: 9AM – 9PM
MGM: 9AM – 8:30PM
AK: 9AM – 8PM
6:00amish – Wake up & showers
7:00 – Breakfast @ Contemporary (QS)
7:45 – Bring bags to bellhop to hold
8:00 – Get to the MK for the opening ceremony
8:45 – Opening Ceremony
9:00 – Try for either Mine Train or something else
9:10-10:10 – SPACE MOUNTAIN FP
10:25–11:25 – HAUNTED MANSION FP
11:30-12:30pm – PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN FP
12:30-1:30 – Get in any last rides/shopping
1:30 – Walk back to Contemporary for DME
2:00ish – DME pick-up. TIP BELLHOP $3.
Also tip DME driver $3
**Flight home**
MK: 9AM – 10PM
EC: 9AM – 9PM
MGM: 9AM – 8:30PM
AK: 9AM – 11PM (EMH: 8AM – 9AM)
6:00am – Head to airport
8:00 - Board plane
8:35 – Depart
11:25am – Arrive
xx:xx – Magical Express to Contemporary** Give $2 tip to driver for luggage
12:45pmish – Monorail to Polynesian
1:00ish – Captain Cooks (QS)
2:00ish – Monorail to MK
2:05-3:05 - SPLASH MOUNTAIN FP
3:00 – Festival of Fantasy Parade
4:05-5:05 - SPACE MOUNTAIN FP
5:20-6:20 - SEVEN DWARFS MINE TRAIN FP
6:40 – Liberty Tree Tavern for Dinner (TS)
9:00 – Main Street Electrical Parade (or ride Small World, Mansion, Thunder Mt)
9:45 – Celebrate the Magic
10:00 – Wishes
SUN 6/12: HS + AK
MK: 9AM – 10PM
EC: 9AM – 9PM
MGM: 9AM – 8:30PM (EMH: 8AM – 9AM)
AK: 9AM – 11PM
7:00am – Wake up & showers
8:30 – Monorail to Polynesian
8:45 – Kona Café (10% off with Disney Visa)
10:00 – Bus to HS
11:00–12:00 – STAR TOURS FP
11:30 - Single rider line for RNR
12:20-1:20pm - TOY STORY MANIA FP
1:25-2:25 – MUPPET VISION 3D FP
1:45 – Lunch at HS (QS) *make new fastpasses for EPCOT
3:00 – Bus to Animal Kingdom
6:00 – Yak & Yeti (TS)
MON 6/13: MK + EC + POLYNESIAN TORCH LIGHTING AT 6
MK: 9AM – 10PM
EC: 9AM – 9PM
MGM: 9AM – 8:30PM
AK: 9AM – 8PM (EMH: 8AM – 9AM)
7:00am – Wake up & showers
8:00 – Walk to the MK
8:25 – Crystal Palace (TS)
10:00 – Monorail to TTC
10:15 – Monorail to EPCOT
10:35–11:35 – TEST TRACK FP
11:45-12:45pm - SPACESHIP EARTH FP
12:55-1:55 – JOURNEY INTO IMAGINATION FP (will change to SOARIN if open)
1:30 – Lunch at EPCOT China? (QS) *make new fastpasses
3:00 – Walk the WS, maybe Test Track single rider, or head back (depending on FP)
5:00 – Monorail to TTC
5:30 – Walk or monorail to the Polynesian
5:45 – In Polynesian lobby
6:00 – Torch Lighting Ceremony
6:30 – Monorail to MK
7:35 – Be Our Guest (TS)
9:00 – Main Street Electrical Parade (or ride Small World, Mansion, Thunder Mt)
9:45 – Celebrate the Magic
10:00 – Wishes
TUES 6/14: AK + EC
MK: 9AM – 10PM
EC: 9AM – 9PM (EMH: 9PM – 11PM)
MGM: 9AM – 8:30PM
AK: 9AM – 8PM
6:30am – Wake up & showers
7:30 – Breakfast @ Contemporary (QS)
8:15 – Bus to AK
9:10-10:10 – EXPEDITION EVEREST FP
10:20–11:20 – KILIMAJARO SAFARI FP
11:30-12:30pm – FESTIVAL OF THE LION KING FP
1:30 – Bus to Grand Floridian
2:15 – Garden View Tea Room (CHESHIRE TEA & make new FP reservations)
5:00 – Monorail to TTC
5:30 – Walk or monorail to the Polynesian
5:45 – In Polynesian lobby
6:00 – Torch Lighting Ceremony
6:30 – Monorail to MK
6:45 La Hacienda de San Angel (TS)
9:00 – Illuminations
WED 6/15:
MK: 9AM – 10PM (EMH: 10PM – 12AM)
EC: 9AM – 9PM
MGM: 9AM – 8:30PM
AK: 9AM – 8PM
6:00amish – Wake up & showers
7:00 – Breakfast @ Contemporary (QS)
7:45 – Bring bags to bellhop to hold
8:00 – Get to the MK for the opening ceremony
8:45 – Opening Ceremony
9:00 – Try for either Mine Train or something else
9:10-10:10 – SPACE MOUNTAIN FP
10:25–11:25 – HAUNTED MANSION FP
11:30-12:30pm – PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN FP
12:30-1:30 – Get in any last rides/shopping
1:30 – Walk back to Contemporary for DME
2:00ish – DME pick-up. TIP BELLHOP $3.
Also tip DME driver $3
**Flight home**
Thank you in advance to anyone who follows along with this story/journey! I guarantee you it will be an entertaining trip!
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consider it a brain break! And thanks! I'm super excited for them -- they'll be our first ever magic bands!!
