"The call isn't out there at all, it's inside me!" - August 2017 Pre-Trip Report UPDATED 25/07/17

[Princess Katie]

Hi Everyone

Okay, so I think I'm going to attempt to do a pre-trip then trip report! I tried a while a go to do one for a past trip and I've been thinking about doing one for this trip for ages! So, I've finally decided to bite the bullet and go for it! I absolutely adore reading everyone else's and although I don't comment, I ponder over every word picking up tips and tricks. so, thank you!
I hope this report won't be too boring or too wordy, and I promise that I'll try my best to keep it updated (and finish it!)

The Who, the What, the Where and the When!

The Who:

Okay, so I best start by introducing us!

My name is Katie I'm 23 (but will turn 24 on this holiday) and I'm a teacher! I currently work in an Infant School and I teach Nursery children. I adore my job even though it can be pretty tricky at times. My job takes up the majority of my time and may well have contributed to me putting off writing a trip report for so long!
I absolutely love all things Disney and kind of genuinely believe that I am a lost Disney princess. My love for Disney is such a big part of me and it features in every part of my life (it's sort of the reason for the pre-trip title!). I am super fortunate and I've been to Disney World quite a few times with my family, and in recent years my mum and I have had girly trips to Florida as just the two of us. In fact ... today we booked for the two of us to go next year as well

Last year, we went on our first Disney Cruise and whilst we were away I messaged a few of my friends ... which leads me to introducing the next and final cast member for this holiday!

James! - also 23 (but will be 24 by the time we go on holiday!). James and I are best friends and have been since we met each other at University a few years ago! James is also a teacher, he teaches scary Key Stage 2 children though (far too old!) and he works ridiculously hard to do everything he can for those children. Teaching is a really tough job at times, it's time-consuming and can take over your life ... but it is generally very rewarding and although we can both struggle at times, I'm not sure that either of us would ever do anything else.

James is a huge Disney fan too, he has a particular love for Star Wars and he is the only person that I know that can remember every single lyric to the majority of Disney songs James has never ever been to Florida but put up with me talking about it constantly throughout our time at University and then the messages when I was away last year. When I got back we started saying "oh wouldn't it be great if we could go together, haha" and before we knew it ... we'd kind of, sort of, booked! What started off as a bit of joke, quickly became a reality ... and I simply cannot wait!

The What:

When we first started chatting about it and bouncing around a few ideas, we settled on a few non-negotiables. We definitely wanted to go for two weeks and it had to be in the Summer holidays, we wanted to fly from Manchester UK on a direct flight and regardless of any price implications ... we NEEDED to visit Universal!
James is the biggest ever Harry Potter fan and this part of the holiday will be just as important as the Disney part! Every step that my mum and I took around the Wizarding World of Harry Potter last year, we'd turn to each other and say "oh my days, James would love this!".

The Where:

In recent Disney holidays, my Mum and I have stayed on site and have had the pleasure of the Disney Dining Plan. I know this doesn't actually suit everyone and I know it has lots of positives and negatives, but James and I love food and we knew that if we decided to book, we'd really, really want it!
So, we started looking at different Disney hotels and we eventually settled on Disney's Coronado Springs! I've never stayed here before but it looks completely beautiful. We booked through Disney and believe that we have quite a few benefits (including being able to use the Disney transport as neither of us will be driving whilst we're out there).

The When:

So we had decided the hotel, the food (incredibly important ) and we even had a few ideas of what we could do when we got out there! We just needed to decide on the when!
When we first chatted about going to Florida together, it was the end of August/start of September 2016 and due to our jobs, we had decided it had to be in the 6 week Summer holidays. So we had two options... Hmm, do we be sensible and wait a while so we can save up and take ages and ages to plan? Or, are we super excited and desperate to go and should therefore go at the earliest opportunity possible?
Ahh! That'll be the second option then! August 2017 it is!
One of our friends from University is getting married at the start of August and we definitely didn't want to miss it. We decided that we would fly to Orlando on Tuesday the 8th of August 2017 from Manchester! Eeeeeeeee!

"Wow!" we said.
"We've booked!" we said.
"That's it, now we just wait!" he said.
"PAH! WAIT?! No way, don't you know there's seat reservations, ADRs, Fastpasses and tonnes of teeny weeny super important details to plan?!" she said.

So, that's it! That's how it allllll began.
Months and months of scrolling through the DIBB have ensued, with endless messages to each other of "why can't we go nowww?", and then colour-coded tables of which parks are open and when.
Then, of course, there were decisions to be made on which of the many lovely Disney restaurants should we eat at? (I had a long, long, long list of places that I wanted to revisit )
You can probably see that our countdown isn't actually too bad now, but as I'm sure lots of you lovely DIBBers know, A LOT has happened between booking and now! I'll probably post a few times to tell you the different things that we've done along the way.

However, for now, I shall say ...
Thanks for reading and well done if you made it this far!
Hopefully it wasn't tooooo bad and maybe you'll even revisit to read the next instalment soon!

xxx

UPDATES
So, What happened next?
Food Glorious Foooooooood (oh and maybe some other plans)!
So, What about the finer details?
Let's skip some lines!
Summer has started! Update.
Spend, Spend, Spend! Part 1

[Princess Katie]

So, What happened next?

Okay, so we had booked our Disney holiday - wahoo! And poor James had assumed that was it, all done and dusted ... little did he know, I'm a Florida holiday planning obsessor and I was armed with lots of DIBBing info about what to do next.

The Night Before:
We had booked to fly from Manchester on Tuesday the 8th of August 2017, but neither of us actually live there. So we decided that we would stay at a hotel the night before. Using all of my previous trip knowledge (and with the help of Mum!), I booked a Business Class room with twin beds at the Radisson Blu hotel for Monday the 7th of August 2017.
Now, I know there are less expensive hotels and I know we don't need a Business Class room, but I just love the lounge and the in-room movies! Also, this is to be a luxurious, once in a lifetime (hahaha) trip, so I think we deserve a nice room! It also includes breakfast

**This is probably a good time to add some trip report disclaimers by the way! I will be posting pictures and photographs as we go along, eventually(!) but I won't be adding photographs of us (due to our jobs). Unless stated, the photographs are not mine and they are pictures that I have copied from Google just so people can imagine what we will be up to and to break up all of the writing(!) - If they belong to anyone though and you'd like me to remove them, just let me know! I also won't add specific prices unless I really deem it necessary. BUT I am more than happy to share prices with anybody that asks, I just don't want it to be a report completely focussed on money .. especially if people aren't interested in that **

The flights:
I may have forgotten to mention that we will be flying with Virgin Atlantic and we are in Premium Economy (James is 6ft so we clearly have only done this for the extra leg room ... ) As soon as I could, I reserved seats on the plane and we chose to sit in the bubble. Unfortunately some of the seats had already been taken so I'm not sure that they are the best seats but I do hope that they will be okay! On the way out we are in seats 21K and 21H and on the way back we are in seats 24K and 24H.

Universal:
Okay, so this is the biggie! This is the non-negotiable that we didn't get to sort the second that we booked the original holiday package.
Having been on previous trips (and having read the DIBB lots!), I really, really, really wanted us to stay on site at a Universal hotel for at least one night. It was so important that we got to visit Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure and I knew that if we booked one of the hotels, we'd get Front of Line Passes annnnnd Early Entry.
So I introduced the idea to James ... "Jamesssss, y'know theres a really cool way to get into Harry Potter world early and..."
"Harry Potter?! Yes! Whatever it is, let's do it!" YAYYY!

I checked prices on several different websites for the different hotels, but if I'm totally honest... I had my heart completely set on staying at Hard Rock Hotel so I didn't look *too* hard for bargains at the other hotels.
I also thought that going to see the Blue Man Group would be super cool for James and so I looked for prices for those shows too.
I looked at different prices on each of the websites and decided to book directly through the Universal website for a Garden view, 2 Queen beds room at Hard Rock Hotel for 1 night on Monday the 14th August 2017. And for the Two-Day Two-Park tickets and the Blue Man Group show at 8pm. After muchhhh discussion, we've gone for Tier 1 centre tickets - so fingers crossed they will be good!

Little extras ...
Now, all the way along, I've thought about what James would like and what I really want to show him to make his first Florida trip completely and utterly magical. Regardless of what we do, it will be full of firsts and I honestly can't wait to see it through fresh eyes. I've been to Florida many times (in fact, this trip will be my 11th time ) and each time I find it overwhelming and super fabulous. I want to share my favourites with him and try to make it perfect for my best friend Some of the things we book are brand new for me, or things that I haven't done for a long, long time. So I can't say that I've been completely selfless. But I really, really hope that we both have a fabulous time.

Thanks for reading
xxx

[JanetteP]

Wow - sounds like a perfect trip. We were in the Bubble in May for the first time in the first row of economy. We absolutely loved it. Hard Rock is wonderful too. Have a fabulous time

[Princess Katie]

Food Glorious Foooooooooooooood (oh and maybe some other plans)!

As I said at the start, James and I are verrrrrrry excited for the food aspect of our trip(!) and so we were very glad that we were able to book the Disney Dining Plan for the duration.
I set James on the task of trawling through the different restaurant options to see if there was anything he desperately wanted to try, but I know that there are hundreds and it can be totally overwhelming when you first come to look at them.

We met up for cups of tea and we chatted about the different ones, I told him about a few of the restaurants I'd visited before and we agreed that actually, they all sound amazing. So James said I could book anything that I thought he'd/we'd like as we enjoy similar foods and neither of us are seafood lovers.

I had a very clear idea of what I wanted the first day to look like (I'm one of those people that insists on visiting Magic Kingdom on the first day!) so I booked those restaurants first, then booked restaurants for the rest of the holiday based on the Busy Day Guide. I've booked a mixture of breakfasts and evening meals at what I think will be reasonable times BUT I've made it super clear to James that we can cancel them if we don't fancy it or if our plans change.
Now, I know that some people don't believe in booking all of the ADRs and some people don't even believe that Disney Dining Plan is a good thing, but for us, it will give us a chance to visit a range of restaurants that we wouldn't necessarily be able to visit. Also, some of them are just purely for the atmosphere and experience.

So where are we eating at Disney?:

This is what our plan looks like...

Tuesday 8th August - arrive at Disney's Coronado Springs. No ADRs needed.
Wednesday 9th August - 8.15am breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table because - princesses(!) and just because it's totally magical.
7.20pm dinner at Be Our Guest because again - magic(!) and the Beast photographs annnnd I'm hoping this will help us last for the new fireworks show - Happily Ever After.
Thursday 10th August - 6.20pm dinner at Sci-Fi Dine-In because this has such a great atmosphere and it's just really, really different.
Friday 11th August - 6.35pm dinner at The Garden Grill because - Chip and Dale! I think we're going to really enjoy meeting the characters!
Saturday 12th August - 9.25am breakfast at Trattoria Al Forno (Disney's Boardwalk). Now, this is a totally new one for me, we're going for the "Bon Voyage Adventure Breakfast" because - you guessed it - characters! A chance of Rapunzel and Flynn Rider?! How could we say no?
Sunday 13th August - 8am breakfast at Tusker House because ... yep, more characters! (are you noticing a theme yet?). Also, this is one of my fave breakfast restaurants, I love jungle juice!
Monday 14th August - Travel to Hard Rock Hotel mega early No ADRs needed.
Tuesday 15th August - Universal Studios and travelling back to Coronado Springs. No ADRs needed.
Wednesday 16th August - No ADRs booked for this day, we decided that we would be using some of our quick service credits. However ... they then released dates for the Star Wars dessert party. As I mentioned in the introductions, James is a HUGE Star Wars fan and I kept reading loads about how good this dessert party was... so I couldn't not book it. I decided that this would be James' birthday present and treated us This is at 8.15pm.
Thursday 17th August - 6.25pm dinner at 50s Prime Time Cafe because the atmosphere is hilarious and I almost like how nervous it makes me. I just watch everyone getting told off and hope and pray that I do everything right. It's a meal that I'm guaranteed to eat my greens, keep my elbows off the table and sit up straight! Not sure that I'll tell James these rules though ...
Friday 18th August - 6.30pm dinner at Teppan Edo because it's just one of my favourites. Again, I love the atmosphere and I just think that watching the food being cooked in front of you is incredible. Every chef we've had here has been brilliant and the food has always been delicious.
Saturday 19th August - 8.30pm dinner show - Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue because it's great food, great atmosphere and something different!
Sunday 20th August - 6.55pm dinner at Boma because I reaaaaally want to show James the Animal Kingdom Lodge and it's another 'different' restaurant. Lots of food on offer but not necessarily typical American cuisine. Also, I'm hoping he will try the butternut squash soup.
Monday 21st August - My birthday so maybe completely and utterly self-centred choices of restaurant for today! 8.30am breakfast at Crystal Palace because ... characters! (I'm only just realising how many character meals we have now that I'm typing it all out). Woohoo! And I really want to be in Magic Kingdom on our last full day. Then a 7pm dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse because steak is my favourite food, like, ever and last time I went, it was one of the best meals we'd ever had on Disney property. I'm also hoping to show James the Beach and Yacht club hotels and to spend a little of the evening on the Boardwalk.
Tuesday 22nd August - Travelling back to the UK day No ADRs needed.

So, typing all of that has made me ridiculously hungry!
Like I said, I'm happy to change and adapt the plans, but I really hope they work out alright. The eagle-eyed of you will notice that we've actually booked 1 credit extra each, so we will have to pay out of pocket for one of the meals if we decide to go to all of them. My current plan is that this will be Trattoria Al Forno, but nothing is set in stone

So where are we eating at Universal?:

We haven't booked any meals for the Universal days, but we do have a Landry card which will have $50 credit (isn't the DIBB just marvellous?! ). So we will probably eat at Bubba Gumps on the first evening. I also reeeeaallllllly would like us to try a milkshake at Toothsome Chocolate Emporium at some point but I'm not sure when as there's just so much I'd like to try and get James to try!
We will most likely have breakfast in Diagon Alley one day and Hogsmeade on the other. I don't necessarily think the food is the best here, but the atmosphere at both places is just incredible and totally makes you feel like you're in the movies.
I also think that James might like to try a Krusty burger ... and of course we HAVE to have one of those delicious, huge, sugary pink doughnuts!
Having said allllllll of this, it will just depend on what we fancy on the days. There is no pressure to eat 'proper' meals, maybe we'll just snack our way around Universal or maybe we won't fancy loads and loads so we'll just choose bits and bobs - who knows! But goodness, there are lots of options!
Again, I know some people don't recommend eating in the Universal parks and I know there are some restaurants that are better value for money or better quality ... but once in a lifetime (hahaha) remember!

Wow! Look how long this post is ... and it's all about food! I told you it was important to us!

Thanks for reading!
xxx

[Princess Katie]

Originally Posted by JanetteParker

Wow - sounds like a perfect trip. We were in the Bubble in May for the first time in the first row of economy. We absolutely loved it. Hard Rock is wonderful too. Have a fabulous time

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Thanks for reading Janette!
It's good to hear that you enjoyed the Bubble! We're really excited!

Hope you had a lovely time in May!

[Kat11]

All sounds really good! Looking forward to reading your trippie! 😃

Kat

[eleele]

Looks like you have everything covered, not long to go now! Hope you have an amazing time and I can't wait to read your trip report

[Princess Katie]

Originally Posted by Kat11

All sounds really good! Looking forward to reading your trippie! 😃

Kat

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Thanks for reading Kat!

[Princess Katie]

Originally Posted by eleele

Looks like you have everything covered, not long to go now! Hope you have an amazing time and I can't wait to read your trip report

See more...

I hope we have! I can't believe how quickly the time has gone!

Thank you for reading!

[BabyM]

Sounds like a fantastic trip. I look forward to reading your report.