If I have to turn 30 I might as well do it in Disney Pre Trippy November 2014

[gtyrel10]

PRE TRIPPIE INDEX

Update 1: The First Draft Plans
Mini Update 1.1: MVMCP Booked!
Update 2: ADRs and Food Part 1
Update 2: ADRs and Food Part 2
Update 3: Shopping!
Mini Update 3.1: A little bit about me
Update 4: ADRs Booked!
Mini Update 4.1: New Birthday plans
Update 5: Final ADRs Booked
Mini Update 5.1: An ADR Tweak
Update 6: I need your help dibbers!
Mini Update 6.1: Weigh in!
Update 7: Tickets Booked
Update 8: Snack List part 1 - The Soft Drinks!
Mini Update 8.1: The missing family member!
Update 9: Tickets and Purchases!
Update 10: Snack List part 2 - The Alcoholic Drinks!
Update 11: More Purchases
Update 12: Snack List part 3 - The Food Part 1!
Update 12: Snack List part 3 - The Food Part 2!
Update 13: Holiday Bits and Bobs!
Update 14: Double Digits!
Update 15: Shopping, Goody Bag fillers & dinning disasters!
Update 16:Birthday Plans!
Update 17: Oops I did it again!
Update 18: We finally have wheels!
Update 19: The unexpected change!
Update 20: The expected change!
Update 21: There may or may not have been more shopping done
Update 22: There is a 4am...
Update 23: Fastpasses are Done!
Update 24: Single Digits!
Final Update!


Hi Everyone,

I don’t know if many people will read this but (lfc_sarah ordered me to do one so here I am). I am also so ridiculously excited about our trip that I figured this would save my poor other half listening to me endlessly if I write it all down.

This is my second pre trip report and will hopefully (when finished) be my second Trip report. My first was our trip to Disneyland Paris last year:

I have been on the Dibb for nearly a year (my one year dibbversary will be next week). I originally joined just out of interest as I really thought my other half would never agree to a WDW trip. Mainly because he specifically said I don’t ever want to go to WDW. Anyway after obsessively reading every trip report I could lay my hands on I concocted a plan to hit DLP last year for my birthday filled with all my new found information. Well that panned out just perfectly and we had an amazing trip.

Let me first introduce the cast of this trip then I can bore you all with how it came about.

The Cast,

Me: Gemma I am 29 (but will turn 30 in Disney ) I am completely in love with all things Disney. I am also a bit of an obsessive planner (however I am starting to feel that maybe Disney and planning just go hand in hand). I am forever torn about which Disney movie is my favourite. I love the classics: Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin but my other top two which I never tire of watching are Sword in the Stone and Robin Hood (if you haven’t seen them get them they are amazing). I also love all things Pixar again probably not that big of a surprise. Oh and of course Harry Potter mad along with my younger brother. For his Christmas present I took him to London to do the studios tour and it was amazing. He currently hates me as he wants to come to Haz Pot land with us. I have been pretty lucky and got to sample the Florida magic twice with my family. I also had a cheeky two-day trip to Disneyland California with an ex and a very rushed one day trip to Disneyland Paris with the same ex and then our fab 5 day trip to Disneyland Paris last year. I loved California and our Paris trip was just perfect Disney and Christmas are just two of my favourite things. I have a bit of a grown up job but that doesn’t stop me rocking up to any and all meetings with my Disney pens and notebooks in tow, it makes work far more interesting when your notebooks look like this. This isn’t my official Disney planning notebook I haven’t yet decided which one of my “good notebooks” will get the honor of that:



Anyway sorry I am rambling this is me:



Boyfriend: Maurice 48. We are have been together just over 2.5 years now and have been living together just over a year and to be honest life is pretty fab. We just have the best time together and he is just a total sweetheart. Now as you may have guessed M is a bit of a proper grown up with a very serious job and honestly doesn’t get the whole Disney thing. I have tried to ease him in and he does enjoy some of the movies but the thing he hates is what he calls “the singy bits” you know those lovely parts in the movies when they break into song? My favourite being the song that is sung when Belle is walking around the village (actually got it on my ipod its my favourite going to work song!). Well he hates them and as such put a big fat veto on Orlando originally but as the next part of my story will explain that all turned around. Again sorry for the rambling thanks for bearing with me, this is my gorgeous boy (just to avoid future confusion that is actual a Mocktail he is drinking, being Mr super fit and healthy he does not drink so instead it will just be me sipping back the cocktails while he does all the driving!). M has an older brother who lives in Florida and he himself has lived and worked all over America many times:



How the Holiday Came About,

So as I mentioned above Maurice was totally against going to Orlando, he had been to Florida a number of times to see his brother but had no interest in Disney or any theme parks. Me on the other hand well I may have mentioned it once or twice. So last week I came home from work and the following conversation occurred:

Maurice: “So this West Coast trip is it the same price as Florida?”
Me: “Kinda the West Coast is a bit more expensive as you are travelling more”
Maurice: “Hmmm ok and you want to go to the West Coast this year?”
Me: getting confused “No I thought we could do that next year I am not fussed about this year”
Maurice: “Ok so what’s those prices you keep quoting at me for your birthday in Florida”
Me: I then reel off all the prices and possible holiday iterations I have memorized. Also its worth pointing out here I may have underpriced a lot of things in order to get him onboard
Maurice: “Ah ok, well do you want to just book it then”
Me: “Don’t mess with me boy!”
Maurice: “No really, its your birthday I want it to be something special the only thing you are going to love is Orlando so lets just do it”

At this point dear reader I was totally speechless! I was pretty much just starring opened mouthed at him (we are not a codfish!). It then took me a week (yip a whole week) to realise he wasn’t joking and we really could go. Then a week to the evening the first conversation happened I phoned Royalties who managed to give me a great price for Aer Lingus.

Flights,

So we have booked ourselves on flights with Aer Lingus on the 4th of November from Edinburgh to Dublin clear immigration in Dublin (kinda excited about this) then Dublin direct to MCO. We will arrive in MCO at 18:15.

Our return flight is then on Tuesday 18th of November at 20:15, very excited about that as we will have most of the day to do things. This all including baggage and picking our Dublin to Orlando seats came in at the healthy price of £996. I think this was good we probably could have got it cheaper but Maurice was keen to have as few changes as possible.



Lounge,

As part of booking our flights with Royalties we will have the Edinburgh airport lounge included on the way out. For our return flight we have a bit of a wait in Dublin nearly 5 hours to be precise so I am probably going to look into booking the lounge for our way home, has anyone done this before?

Hotel,

So I had a bit of a nightmare with the hotel part of the trip. It all seemed simple enough a nice cheap and cheerful offsite hotel. Then we all know what its like you start thinking for only an extra £50 we could have a nicer room then you start moving up hotel grades and before you know it you are no were near the fake price you made up to convince your Disney hating boyfriend to go to Orlando …….no just me then?!

Anyway after checking for Condos and Villas and everything ending up outside of my budget I went back to look at hotels. Maurice one big stipulation was he wanted an apartment or at least a hotel suite with kitchen area etc. So in the end we went with the Grande Villas Resort. It looks beautiful the rooms all have a living area kitchen and separate bedroom and bathroom plus it has fantastic reviews on Trip Advisor and Expedia. The more exciting part was through Low Cost Holidays website I got it for the crazy bargain price of £511 (and £26 back through TopCashBack). From what I can tell its in a great location close to Disney and Seaworld and since most of our time will be in Disney I figure this made sense. We wont be doing any stay at Universal (I say this at the moment but I am already trying to think of ways to change that) so this will be our home for 14 nights.








The Parks,

So now the holiday bit and not just random chat from me. At the moment the plans are as follows:

9 Day Disney Tickets:



I plan on getting us Magic Bands when we arrive I know its probably an unnecessary expense but this is really a once in a life time thing so I figure I might as well go for it all. And since we will be getting memory maker and have fast pass bookings as well as ADRs it seemed handy to have them all on my wrist.



14 Day Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure ticket (new Harry Potter world! )




14 Days Seaworld, we have no plans to do a waterpark I really don’t bother with Waterparks and I doubt we will have time to get to Busch Gardens



1 Day at the Kennedy Space Centre. This one was actually me running through all the great things you could do in Florida and Maurice getting very excited when he realized this was were the actual space launchings were from.



What’s next,

Don’t think you are getting out of it that easily guys you have more to come from me. The next installment will be our first draft Itinerary although if anyone is super keen to check it out I already have it in my Dibb vacation planner so feel free to check it out and all feedback is welcome.

I hope to get it typed up tomorrow because then its all the excitement of ADRs next week! I can already feel the pressure to get these right!

Thanks for reading along,
Gemma xx

[MariaLynda]

Hello! Plans look great.. im not that far behind you and I will be turning 40 cough cough very scary. Are you going to do mvmcp? X

[MariaLynda]

Omg 14 nov?

[gtyrel10]

Originally Posted by MariaLynda

Hello! Plans look great.. im not that far behind you and I will be turning 40 cough cough very scary. Are you going to do mvmcp? X

See more...

Hi,

Thanks for reading! Haha no scary at all, i am more excited about Maurice 50th birthday that seems exciting and fun were as mine is filled with dread

Funny you should mentioned MVMCP it was only today that we (I) started to think about it and how much i really want to do it. I noticed in the park hours that some days MK shuts at 7pm i take it that is a party night? I have 2 days roughly marked as party days, when do they normally announce them?

Have you been at this time of year before?

[MariaLynda]

Yes the 7pm ones are the party nights... seen mentions of 5 may for the tickets.

first time for nov, usually do end of april into may... wanted to time it over my birthday

[Guest]

Fab pre trippie so far.

[Disney2010]

I turned 28 in DisneyWorld & it was amazing! Be sure to pick up a Birthday badge. I'm be no means an attention seeker (opposite in fact!) but it never gets old hearing "Happy Birthday" in that lovely Floridian accent

[Disney2010]

Oh & be sure to make sure you see the Osbourne Family Lights... Breathtaking!

[gtyrel10]

Originally Posted by MariaLynda

Yes the 7pm ones are the party nights... seen mentions of 5 may for the tickets.

first time for nov, usually do end of april into may... wanted to time it over my birthday

See more...

Oh that will be lovely when is your birthday?

Originally Posted by mancdisney

Fab pre trippie so far.

See more...

Aww thanks for reading

Originally Posted by Disney2010

I turned 28 in DisneyWorld & it was amazing! Be sure to pick up a Birthday badge. I'm be no means an attention seeker (opposite in fact!) but it never gets old hearing "Happy Birthday" in that lovely Floridian accent

See more...

Originally Posted by Disney2010

Oh & be sure to make sure you see the Osbourne Family Lights... Breathtaking!

See more...

Aww thank you I will be asking for a badge. I am a bit like that the thought of being noticed would be awful but it seems nice in Disney!

Oh yes the Osbourne lights, I need to remember this one, do they have times for when it shows?

[MariaLynda]

Nov 14... is the nov 14 in your signature the day or ref to 2014?