Pre-Trip Two More Disney Days - July 2016 Pre-Trip

Hi Everyone!

I'm so excited to be back with another pre-trip report! I just wrapped up a report for my last trip from this past August which you can read about here if you'd like: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/august-2015-trip-report-completed.909458/.

WHO: Myself (Ashton - 25) and my DH (Jonathan - 26)

Here we are during our August 2015 trip:

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Our August trip was my DH's first time to the World and while he has not acquired the level of Disney obsession that I have, he had a good time and was actually the one that suggested this trip as you'll see below :).

WHAT: Two WDW days in between a weeklong trip to Daytona, FL

WHEN:
Daytona: 7/15/16-7/22/16
WDW: 7/18/16-7/19/16

WHERE: 1 Night @ Pop Century

WHY: When we came back from our August trip, I was in deep Disney depression not knowing when we would be coming back. We had several other trips/commitments already planned for 2016 so it didn't look like it was in the cards. Then one day, my DH and I were talking about a trip to Daytona that we were going to take in July with his extended family and my DH says, "You know, Daytona is not that far from Orlando. We could probably do a day trip to Magic Kingdom if you want".

So of course, the wheels in my head start turning and I'm trying to think of how we can make this happen for real. A couple months go by and we're looking at pictures from our previous trip and my DH starts talking about how he would really like to go to EPCOT too thus our day trip had turned into two days. I was not complaining one bit!

With everyone's schedules being so different, my DH's family would be coming to Daytona at staggered times so we decided to plan our Disney days in the middle of our vacation week so we could see everyone. We're sharing a three bedroom condo with J's immediate family so we won't have to worry about checking out/checking back at our room in Daytona which is helpful as well.

So let's get on to the details shall we?

THE PLAN:
-Friday, July 15th: Work half a day and then make the 6 hour drive down to Daytona.
-Saturday, July 16th: Daytona
-Sunday, July 17th: Daytona

-Monday, July 18th: WDW - Magic Kingdom
*6am: Drive to Orlando. Head straight to the Magic Kingdom to try and make 9am
opening.
~Per google maps, it takes an hour and a half to get from Daytona to Orlando so I'm trying to factor in an extra hour and a half to account for morning traffic and the time it
will take to get from the MK parking lot - TTC - through bag check, etc. HOPEFULLY this will be enough time. This is probably going to be the most stressful part for me so fingers crossed for a smooth trip!
*12:35pm: Lunch ADR at Be Our Guest
*We may leave the park late afternoon to take our bags to Pop Century if we feel like we need a break from the heat & crowds but we are going to try and stay all day if possible.
*Dinner will be QS at Casey's or Columbia Harbor House
*Stay at MK to see Wishes and park close
-Tuesday, July 19th: WDW - EPCOT
*Check out of Pop first thing and head over to EPCOT for 9am opening
*Morning: Future World
*1:10pm: Lunch ADR at Via Napoli (I'm pretty sure this is the whole reason my DH wants to come to EPCOT since he loved it so much on the last trip)
*Afternoon: World Showcase
~We don't have a set plan on when we're going to leave EPCOT, we'll just feel it out on that day.

-Wednesday, July 20th-Friday, July 22nd: Daytona

This is definitely going to be a quick, whirlwind trip just to give us a little Disney in our days to hold us over until our Land & Sea Five Year Anniversary trip in May 2017.

We're 64 days out as of today and I'll be able to make our Fast Passes on Thursday so stay tuned! :D
 
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WDWDarling

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Yay yay yay to all.

Riverside is such a great hotel, your going to love it. Their food court, and the giant water wheel always screamed DISNEY to me for some reason.

8:10 is the perfect time to watch illuminations. I can't wait to hear all about it.

I only ever read good things so I'm excited to give it a try. We like POP and didn't want to spend a lot since it's just one night but we could not turn down a moderate for such a good price!

Okay, good! I'm super excited and am crossing my fingers for good weather. Thank you for reading :).
 

WDWDarling

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Wow! You will love POR...beautiful place. If it was me, I would be planning less park time in the hot, Florida summer, and more resort time now. But I am an old fogey who can barely tolerate the summer heat when I could be in a pool instead.

I think so too! We are definitely looking forward to it.

Haha, I would LOVE to plan a relaxing, low-key trip but this is the only time we could make it to Disney this year so we're trying to fit a lot in a short amount of time. One of these days we'll plan a trip that's not in the middle of summer (our trip last year was in August :rolleyes:) and I'm sure that will help.

I'm loving your trip report by the way! It looks like you guys had a very relaxing and fun time. I would really love to explore Celebration and you are making me look at SSR in a whole new light!

Thank you for reading :).
 

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
I think so too! We are definitely looking forward to it.

Haha, I would LOVE to plan a relaxing, low-key trip but this is the only time we could make it to Disney this year so we're trying to fit a lot in a short amount of time. One of these days we'll plan a trip that's not in the middle of summer (our trip last year was in August :rolleyes:) and I'm sure that will help.

I'm loving your trip report by the way! It looks like you guys had a very relaxing and fun time. I would really love to explore Celebration and you are making me look at SSR in a whole new light!

Thank you for reading :).
Thank you. I bet you have will have a wonderful trip, heat and all. In my TR I'll post a pic or two of the POR Ol' Man Island pool.
 

WDWDarling

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Can't wait to hear about POR! That's where we are staying next year, and I'm so excited.

I won't be there long but I'll try and get some good pictures for you!

The only thing I'm worried about is the size of the resort and bus transportation but I'm just going to try and allow for extra travel time if we take the bus.
 

WDWDarling

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
That's some awesome planning you have for your two days in Disney! I'd pick the same parks. I'll be following along as well :)

Thank you @jrogue! It's always hard to have to pick between parks but my favorite is MK and my husband's is EPCOT (which just so happens to be my second favorite) so it makes sense for us. Yes, I can definitely get carried away with the planning but that's half the fun for me :).

Very excited that your trip is almost here! I hope you have a wonderful time!
 

jrogue

Well-Known Member
Thank you @jrogue! It's always hard to have to pick between parks but my favorite is MK and my husband's is EPCOT (which just so happens to be my second favorite) so it makes sense for us. Yes, I can definitely get carried away with the planning but that's half the fun for me :).

Very excited that your trip is almost here! I hope you have a wonderful time!
Thanks!! I can't wait ^_^
 

WDWDarling

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Alright friends, we are at the 35 day mark and we have added in something that has been on my Disney bucket list for a longggg time...

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Afternoon tea at the Grand Floridian!!!!!

I am so excited I just cannot contain it. My DH is decidedly less excited but he is putting on a happy face because he knows how long I've wanted to do this.

I was the little girl that played tea party, had tea party birthdays, and now as an adult collects tea pots so this is right up my alley.

I kept going back and forth with myself because we only have two days in the parks but then J was like, "isn't that what vacations are for, to do the things you want to do?" and I was like you know what yes, yes they are. So I'm going to go have myself a grown up tea party with my best friend :D.
 

jrogue

Well-Known Member
Alright friends, we are at the 35 day mark and we have added in something that has been on my Disney bucket list for a longggg time...

View attachment 145849

Afternoon tea at the Grand Floridian!!!!!

I am so excited I just cannot contain it. My DH is decidedly less excited but he is putting on a happy face because he knows how long I've wanted to do this.

I was the little girl that played tea party, had tea party birthdays, and now as an adult collects tea pots so this is right up my alley.

I kept going back and forth with myself because we only have two days in the parks but then J was like, "isn't that what vacations are for, to do the things you want to do?" and I was like you know what yes, yes they are. So I'm going to go have myself a grown up tea party with my best friend :D.

The tea was great! I did it for the first time a couple of days ago and it was everything I hoped it would be! Hope you enjoy it as well!
 

WDWDarling

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
The tea was great! I did it for the first time a couple of days ago and it was everything I hoped it would be! Hope you enjoy it as well!

So glad to hear that! I've read differing opinions since they changed the menu/prices but I have high hopes!

I hope you had a great time on your trip!
 

WDWDarling

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Magic Bands came in the mail today!

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We booked as part of the Awaken Summer promotion so of course DH wanted the BB-8 band.

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It was a good day for Mickey Mail as I also received one the the Disney shirts I ordered.

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20 days until we leave for Daytona and 23 days until we are in Disney!!!
 

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