SaraSpringsIsHome
Too excited to sleep!
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2010
Hello! I’m Ali (saraspringsishome), and I’ve never done a trip report before, let alone a PRE trip report! All the excitement and planning for our upcoming trip (24 days!) has me going a little crazy and I’m anxious and itching to get going, so here goes nothing! I will do my best to learn how to make this interesting with photos and colors and gifs and all that fancy jazz the kids are using these days. I also adore reading other people’s PTR’s and TR’s, so ya know, it’s like returning the favor.
Backstory:
DH and I went to Disney last November as a “big” trip. It was to be our last trip for awhile. We stayed for 9 nights at the Beach Club Villas, went to the parks for 7 days, MVMCP, went to Universal for 2 days, and had an all around amazing time!
Fun in November. I Goofy.
DH had been looking in to going back to get his masters for awhile. He applied in January and waited for an eternity. Over the course of the next 4 months, phone interviews, an on campus interview (consisting of 6 interviews in one day) and more waiting, he finally found out in May that he had been accepted as the one and only MFA Arts Leadership candidate at a very reputable school, with full scholarship and an assistantship! Big life changes ahead, as he will have to quit his full time job and go back to school for 3 years.
What does one do when a HUGE life event happens and you realize that your husband will have no life over the next 3 years... you convince him to make it a celebration and go to DISNEY WORLD! Okay, so there wasn’t much convincing required. At all. We also had some unused DVC points that expire in November, so we obviously HAD to go on a trip!
I guess you all could use a little background info and the WHO/WHAT/WHEN of this trip... that is coming up in 24 days!
WHO:
I’m Ali. I am a 32 actor/singer/dancer and live in SWVA. I work year round at a dinner theatre with my husband, so planning any vacations is tricky. My weekends are Mondays. I have lost count of the number of trips I’ve taken to WDW, most of which happened after I turned 18. I have been a DVC member for 11 years, having recently taken over full ownership after my mother passed away in January of ’16. I absolutely love to travel and go on vacations. I am my mother’s daughter; I work to go on trips!
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Ride(s): I’m a Libra and decision making is tough! Peter Pan’s Flight, Finding Nemo the Musical, Haunted Mansion, Carousel of Progress, Enchanted Tiki Room*
Favorite Restaurant: Biergarten**
Favorite Resort: Boardwalk
Favorite WDW treat: Create-your-own Rice Crispy Mickey at Goofy’s Candy Company
Favorite Disney Movie: Beauty and the Beast, Mary Poppins
Favorite Pixar Movie: Up
Favorite Character: Chip and Dale
DH’s name is Donnie. He is 30 and going back to school! He has worked full time as a sound designer/sound mixer for the past five years and also owns a professional videography business. He is a huge Star Wars fan, lover of all things Batman, and of course Disney, especially the older (and sometimes obscure) Disney movies.
Favorite Park: Hollywood Studios
Favorite Ride(s): Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor, Aladdin’s Flying Carpets, Peter Pan’s Flight, Great Movie Ride*
Favorite Restaurant: 50’s Prime Time Cafe**
Favorite Resort: Boardwalk
Favorite WDW treat: Mickey Premium Ice Cream Bar
Favorite Disney Movie: The Gnome Mobile, Aladdin, Peter Pan, Babes in Toyland
Favorite Pixar Movie: Toy Story
Favorite Character: Scrooge McDuck
Notes:
*We both love thrill rides/E ticket attractions, but upon looking at our favorites, none actually make the top of our lists! We always ride them and get FP’s for them, but when it comes down to it, we both love nostalgia and feeling like a little kid the best!
**We are not actually eating at either of our favorite restaurants this trip, even though we probably won’t be back until Star Wars Land opens. Hmm.
WHAT:
One last vacation before grad school! Celebration! “Budget friendly!”
We got the 4 day/1 park per day “Magic Tickets” Disney was offering. Plus, we will go to Blizzard Beach on day 4 using our DVC discount.
WHEN:
July 16-22
I haven’t gone to WDW in the summer in about 20 years and swore we never would. But, when it’s the only time you can go, you make it work! DH and I have made two trips in September, one of which was our honeymoon almost 3 years ago, and once last November.
Honeymoon fun on Dumbo!
WHERE:
We are staying for 6 nights in a 1 br standard at Boardwalk Villas. We booked our hotel room May 2, which only gave me about 2.5 months to plan, but also meant we only had to WAIT 2.5 months until our trip!
I initially booked a 1 br garden view for 5 nights. Then we (I) decided we should go for 6 nights, so that we could go to Blizzard Beach one day. And be in Disney longer. This can become very tricky when dealing with DVC and points and availabilty. I rebooked but had to do 4 nights in a1 br BWV, 2 nights studio at BLT. One day while checking (stalking) the DVC resort availability tool I, with my jaw on the floor, saw that there was a 1 br standard available for 6 nights! We ended up using the same number of points for a 6 night stay just because of a difference in view. I snatched that sucker up quick! No split stay, and we were staying at our favorite resort.
HOW:
We live not quite 10 hours from WDW, so we will be driving down in one day. We did this last November, and it really wasn’t a bad drive. We will probably leave around 5 a.m. Sunday morning and arrive to the hotel between 3-4 p.m.
We really are *trying* for a budget conscious trip, but the budget has expanded a bit. No park hoppers, no dinner ressies, no hotel to pay for, no flights. I’ve also been putting money towards Disney Gift cards every week so the final bill won’t be quite so painful. We did end up with a sit down meal every park day, however. Oops. I like to eat! Plus it’s July and hot and a/c at lunch. I also have planned a surprise for DH, and it is SO hard to keep a secret. I won’t keep it a secret here for long. Any guesses? It was a little pricey, but I know he will be excited! Heck, I’m really excited about it!
Next up... the nitty gritty plans!