Long time reader, first time poster...
I am leaving TOMORROW to take my mom to WDW!
Back story: I grew up in Arizona, so I am a Disneyland lady at heart, but I also love WDW. I was introduced to WDW by my closest friend who went to Orlando to work in the college program, and then she stayed for quite a few years. She moved through the ranks (lots of different jobs, including guest relations) up to the level of Disney wedding coordinator. I visited her in Orlando quite a few times. One of the highlights was attending the soft opening of Animal Kingdom for staff preview days! My friend no longer works for Disney, so although I have been to WDW several times, this will only be the second time that I've paid admission! And this trip will be the longest time I have spent in WDW.
My mom has been to Disneyland / California Adventure quite often, too, but she's never been to WDW! She and my father divorced a couple of years ago, and she's been slowly recovering from that heartache. My mom and I are very close. She said that one of the things she thought she would miss after her divorce was the trips she had planned to take -- the traveling she thought she would do with my dad. Well, I told her that she and I could travel instead! Her birthday is on 2/17/2011, so I am taking her to WDW! (We take lots of trips together. We travel well together. This past May, we spent about 5 or so days in Washington, D.C. together.)
Here's our plan: We are meeting at the Orlando airport. My mom lives in Arizona and I live in Delaware. Our planes are scheduled to arrive within an hour of each other tomorrow (Friday, 2/11) in the early evening. Then we will take the Magical Express to our resort.
Staying at Pop Century!
Free Dining Plan (upgraded for $10 / day from quick service dining -- which would have been completely free at a value resort -- to the regular dining plan, so we have 1 snack, 1 quick service, & 1 table service meal each day)
We're trying to decide whether or not to go ahead and buy the refillable resort mugs, because they don't come with the regular dining plan. I know that some people say that they're not worth it if you have to pay for them, but we're major soda drinkers, so it might be worth it for us. Plus, it doubles as a souvenir.
ADRs have been set for a while... but not for as long as you might think!
Fri., 2/11, Dinner at 'Ohana (This ADR is scheduled three hours past our planes' arrival times, so we think that we'll make it.)
Sat., 2/12, Lunch at The Crystal Palace
Sun., 2/13, Lunch at Le Cellier (got REALLY lucky on this one... just happened to find an opening online about a month prior to our trip date!)
Mon., 2/14, Lunch at 50s Prime Time
Tues., 2/15, Breakfast at Tusker House
Wed., 2/16, Dinner at Sanaa
Our preference is for ADRs at late lunch times at the parks where we plan to start the day, and then we can park hop in the late afternoon or evening. We'll probably use a snack credit or pay out of pocket for breakfast usually and go for a quick service dinner.
My flight leaves tomorrow afternoon! I am SO excited! I'm not even fully packed yet, and it's 6 p.m. before the trip, but... as I've said to people, how difficult is it to throw a bunch of Disney t-shirts into a suitcase (with jeans, undies, PJs, shoes, and such)?!?!
I love taking pictures. Although I'm not as savvy as some excellent photographers on this site, I will eventually post a trip report afterward... probably gradually over time, because I have a bunch of work deadlines to meet after I return.
Thanks to everyone who has posted excellent trip reports. I have been inspired by them! They've helped me get even more excited for this trip as I've read the trip reports over the past few months.
Sincerely,
Mandy
I am leaving TOMORROW to take my mom to WDW!
Back story: I grew up in Arizona, so I am a Disneyland lady at heart, but I also love WDW. I was introduced to WDW by my closest friend who went to Orlando to work in the college program, and then she stayed for quite a few years. She moved through the ranks (lots of different jobs, including guest relations) up to the level of Disney wedding coordinator. I visited her in Orlando quite a few times. One of the highlights was attending the soft opening of Animal Kingdom for staff preview days! My friend no longer works for Disney, so although I have been to WDW several times, this will only be the second time that I've paid admission! And this trip will be the longest time I have spent in WDW.
My mom has been to Disneyland / California Adventure quite often, too, but she's never been to WDW! She and my father divorced a couple of years ago, and she's been slowly recovering from that heartache. My mom and I are very close. She said that one of the things she thought she would miss after her divorce was the trips she had planned to take -- the traveling she thought she would do with my dad. Well, I told her that she and I could travel instead! Her birthday is on 2/17/2011, so I am taking her to WDW! (We take lots of trips together. We travel well together. This past May, we spent about 5 or so days in Washington, D.C. together.)
Here's our plan: We are meeting at the Orlando airport. My mom lives in Arizona and I live in Delaware. Our planes are scheduled to arrive within an hour of each other tomorrow (Friday, 2/11) in the early evening. Then we will take the Magical Express to our resort.
Staying at Pop Century!
Free Dining Plan (upgraded for $10 / day from quick service dining -- which would have been completely free at a value resort -- to the regular dining plan, so we have 1 snack, 1 quick service, & 1 table service meal each day)
We're trying to decide whether or not to go ahead and buy the refillable resort mugs, because they don't come with the regular dining plan. I know that some people say that they're not worth it if you have to pay for them, but we're major soda drinkers, so it might be worth it for us. Plus, it doubles as a souvenir.
ADRs have been set for a while... but not for as long as you might think!
Fri., 2/11, Dinner at 'Ohana (This ADR is scheduled three hours past our planes' arrival times, so we think that we'll make it.)
Sat., 2/12, Lunch at The Crystal Palace
Sun., 2/13, Lunch at Le Cellier (got REALLY lucky on this one... just happened to find an opening online about a month prior to our trip date!)
Mon., 2/14, Lunch at 50s Prime Time
Tues., 2/15, Breakfast at Tusker House
Wed., 2/16, Dinner at Sanaa
Our preference is for ADRs at late lunch times at the parks where we plan to start the day, and then we can park hop in the late afternoon or evening. We'll probably use a snack credit or pay out of pocket for breakfast usually and go for a quick service dinner.
My flight leaves tomorrow afternoon! I am SO excited! I'm not even fully packed yet, and it's 6 p.m. before the trip, but... as I've said to people, how difficult is it to throw a bunch of Disney t-shirts into a suitcase (with jeans, undies, PJs, shoes, and such)?!?!
I love taking pictures. Although I'm not as savvy as some excellent photographers on this site, I will eventually post a trip report afterward... probably gradually over time, because I have a bunch of work deadlines to meet after I return.
Thanks to everyone who has posted excellent trip reports. I have been inspired by them! They've helped me get even more excited for this trip as I've read the trip reports over the past few months.
Sincerely,
Mandy
