My Trip of a Liftetime (8/5/19-8/13/19)

czechplz

Big Al's #1 Pal
Joined
Feb 25, 2017
Hello! Welcome to my pre-trip planning days! I feel like I want a spot to sort of journal my thoughts and ideas while planning a trip with 3 other very passive adults. That's what this place is here for, right?
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THE CABALLEROS
I attended the Epcot Dis Meet in 2017. I dragged my best friend of 18 years, Britani, along with me. Enter Britani. She is a very Disney gal from Indiana. I lived in Florida at the time and she was watching me take all of these trips there with friends who aren't her. One day, I surprised her with a trip to the World for her birthday. We stayed at my favorite resort, Coronado Springs. I thought this was my dream trip. A private party in Epcot and a whole week with my best friend in my favorite place. What could have made it any better? Enter Khymm. Khymm was a fellow Dis-er that we met at the animal Kingdom meetup. He was travelling solo and we hit it off pretty well so we invited him to hang out with us during our last two days there. We three kept in tight communication after the trip. Khymm and I wound up having Thanksgiving there later that year since we would both be alone for the holiday.

My husband is in the military and we were forced to move to the exact opposite corner of the country, Washington. Before leaving, I had one last hurrah and then left Walt Disney World, thinking it would be a decade before I would get to return. Less than 8 months later, another meetup was announced (during my birthday!) and Khymm and I decided we had to be there. I invited my other best friend to join, as he has been going through a VERY rough year and I just missed him to pieces. Enter Brandon. Brandon is very much so a big brother to me, but I haven't seen him in three years. He was never really a disney kid, but I let him be my friend anyway. He pretty much turned into a Disney kid overnight. He became so ecstatic for the trip that he so badly needed. He's still sending me text messages about how monumental it will be for him. It warms my heart.

Enter Britani again. Khymm decided it wouldn't be a Caballero trip without her. She wasn't in the financial spot to go to Disney again so soon so he offered to pick up her tab. All of a sudden it dawned on me that I would actually be in my favorite place with my favorite people (minus my family, of course!). I will never be able to convey how important this is to me.
giphy.gif


CH-CH-CHANGES!
One thing that people need to know about me is that I am a very meticulous planner. I also cannot make a decision to save my life, which is not a good combo at all. When we first started the trip, we booked at Beach Club because I always wanted to stay there. Once the military discounts were released, we had to move to Yacht Club as no discounts were available at BC. I wasn't too confident though that we would be comfortable staying in a small room. We reluctantly downgraded to Art of Animation in a family suite. Boom! Free dining came out! We dropped the military discount and swapped to the free dining promotion, as it was a bigger discount and upgraded to the Deluxe plan. During a previous trip, I stayed at Art of Animation and I really wasn't a fan. Because of that, I kept getting a gut feeling that AoA was not going to make me happy. I found myself staying up late, constantly checking the prices of other Disney resorts. I finally took the dive one night. Following my gut, I canceled AoA and booked a one-bedroom at Kidani Village. To compensate for the price hike, we dropped down to the regular dining plan. I finally felt satisfied with all of the changes in the three-month period and was finally able to start making dining reservations and other park plans.
giphy.gif


THE GAME PLAN


Khymm's awesome workplace decided to give him free tickets for the four of us to go to Universal Orlando for the day, both parks so that is in our plans. Right now, everything looks like this:

1-Bedroom Savanna View at Kidani Village with 5-Day Park Hoppers and the DDP.


  • 5/5/19 - Arrival Day
Three of us all arrive in the morning so we are going to meet up at the airport and then take DME to the resort. We will attempt to check-in once we get there. After that, we are going to go to Guest Services to activate our tickets and buy memory maker. Once that is done with, we are going to get lunch at Gasparilla Island Grill and wait for Khymm's arrival. Once he lands, we are heading straight to the grocery store to get some goods for the week and then we are going to Disney Springs for our reservation at Homecomin'.
  • 5/6/19 - Hollywood Studios
We are going to rope drop on Sunset Boulevard, have lunch at Hollywood Brown Derby, and then take a break at the resort. We will be heading right back to Hollywood Studios for dinner at ABC Commissary and catch Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular.
  • 5/7/19 - Universal Day
In the morning, we are heading straight to the parks. We plan on buying an express pass, depending on what the crowds are like when we get there.
  • 5/8/19 - Epcot and Magic Kingdom
Drinking around the world will commence! Katsura Grill will give us a nice break during the shenanigans. Halfway through the day, we have to go to the Contemporary to pick up our credentials for the Dis events. Once we get back to Epcot, Tangerine Cafe would be the perfect dinner for such a day and then an early night in at the resort.
  • 5/9/19 - Magic Kingdom and Epcot
My birthday will start off at the Magic Kingdom for a breakfast at Be Our Guest. Then, we are going straight to Epcot for a couple of rides and then a lunch at my favorite spots, Nine Dragons. Afterward, we are taking the monorail straight to Magic Kingdom. An ultra-late dinner will be had at Cinderella's Royal Table.
  • 5/10/19 - Break Day
A family breakfast in our villa's kitchen will be leading the food-filled day, followed by a trip to Disney Springs for The Void. For lunch, we will be going to D-Luxe Burger. After shopping around, we are going to hang out in our resort pool for a few hours. After that, we will head to Fort Wilderness for a dinner at Trail's End. Following the stuffing, we are taking a bus right to Animal Kingdom for the Dis Pandora party.
  • 5/11/19 - Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom
The whole morning will be spend in Animal Kingdom, our favorite park. A late lunch will be had at Sanaa, followed by a trip to Magic Kingdom for the remainder of the day with dinner at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Cafe.
  • 5/12/19 - Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom
The day will start with EMH at Animal Kingdom. In the early afternoon, we will go to Magic Kingdom. We booked the Festival of Fantasy package at Tony's Town Square Restaurant so that we can get a top notch view of my favorite parade in Disney history. Afterward, dinner will be at Columbia Harbor House, right before we watch Happily Ever After woefully.
  • 5/13/19 - Departure Day :(
We will be having a late breakfast at Olivia's and then back to the resort to pack up and check out. Until DME comes to get us, we will have lunch at The Mara and then watch the animals on the savanna. Once my friends are picked up by DME, I will take a bus to DAK and then another one to the Boardwalk, where I will have a solo night. I might meet up with a friend if they are available that day, but my plan right now is to just eat, explore the resort, and relax in the room.
  • 5/14/19 - MY Departure Day :(
I plan on sleeping in, getting some breakfast, and then hopping aboard the DME for my 8 hour journey home.



THE WAITING
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AWESOME PLANS!!! I am following along! Your trip is quickly approaching, less than 2 months! so sweet!!
 
I have made several changes. I dropped the Trattoria al Forno breakfast so that we can sleep in an extra hour. I also moved around our dining choices, but kept them mostly the same, except for the cancellation of Via Napoli and the addition of Chefs de France. As seen on our timetable, I am very worried about getting through the day on the 11th and the 12th. There seems to be no space for a break.
 


I just bought our 5-day military salute tickets. I sent in an order form to Shades of Green a month ago, but never received a phone call to complete the transaction. I went to the travel office on my military base to purchase from them. The tickets wound up being $50 cheaper from ITT than Shades of Green, including the price of shipping, but I do have to wait 3 weeks to receive them whereas SoG tickets typically arrive within a week. The SoG tickets do arrive pre-activated and they can even give your your numbers so that you can connect your tickets to MDE. If you purchase through ITT, you have to activate them upon arrival at the parks and you have to wait until you receive the physical voucher to connect them to your MDE.
 
I just bought our 5-day military salute tickets. I sent in an order form to Shades of Green a month ago, but never received a phone call to complete the transaction. I went to the travel office on my military base to purchase from them. The tickets wound up being $50 cheaper from ITT than Shades of Green, including the price of shipping, but I do have to wait 3 weeks to receive them whereas SoG tickets typically arrive within a week. The SoG tickets do arrive pre-activated and they can even give your your numbers so that you can connect your tickets to MDE. If you purchase through ITT, you have to activate them upon arrival at the parks and you have to wait until you receive the physical voucher to connect them to your MDE.

We were going to go through SoG but my parents (my dad is the sponsor for our tickets) were sketched out about buying them over the phone. Interesting that ITT was cheaper, I need to compare ours to SoG's prices. I'm curious to hear how long it takes for your order to come in. We are planning on ordering ours about a month before FP+ date but I'm worried that's too tight of a turnaround.
 
We were going to go through SoG but my parents (my dad is the sponsor for our tickets) were sketched out about buying them over the phone. Interesting that ITT was cheaper, I need to compare ours to SoG's prices. I'm curious to hear how long it takes for your order to come in. We are planning on ordering ours about a month before FP+ date but I'm worried that's too tight of a turnaround.

I live in Washington and all of the mail tends to be late so I estimate to get here right at that 3 week mark.
 


Joining in on the planning and can't wait to read more. Your friend Khymm is a great guy!!! and for his job to supply tickets to US :scared1::scared1::scared1:
 
I live in Washington and all of the mail tends to be late so I estimate to get here right at that 3 week mark.

I live in Washington as well! Not sure what branch your husband is in but we are planning on buying our tickets at PSNS (naval shipyard in Bremerton). So now I'm especially curious how long yours will take. Haha.
 
I live in Washington as well! Not sure what branch your husband is in but we are planning on buying our tickets at PSNS (naval shipyard in Bremerton). So now I'm especially curious how long yours will take. Haha.

Well, hello neighbor! <3 I bought ours at Bangor! I'll let you know for sure when I wind up getting them.
 
Well, hello neighbor! <3 I bought ours at Bangor! I'll let you know for sure when I wind up getting them.

Aww, nice to meet on here! :) And thank you, I really appreciate it!

Also, just noticed your spreadsheet you linked. We are kindred spirits, I have multiple spreadsheets saved to my OneDrive that I meticulously lord over :rotfl:Can't wait to hear about your trip!
 
Whelp. A lot of factors lead to me having to completely rework our plans. This lead in a lot of park hopping and the loss of an Epcot table-service restaurant. :( RIP.
 
@caylene44, I got my tickets the other day. It says that it takes at least 15 business days to receive them. I got the call after 19 business days.

Thanks for getting back to me! Exciting you got your tickets but annoying it took longer than expected... We have about 24 business days between when we plan on ordering and FP+ date so fingers crossed it doesn't take longer than that.
 
Hello! Welcome to my pre-trip planning days! I feel like I want a spot to sort of journal my thoughts and ideas while planning a trip with 3 other very passive adults. That's what this place is here for, right?
giphy.gif


THE CABALLEROS
I attended the Epcot Dis Meet in 2017. I dragged my best friend of 18 years, Britani, along with me. Enter Britani. She is a very Disney gal from Indiana. I lived in Florida at the time and she was watching me take all of these trips there with friends who aren't her. One day, I surprised her with a trip to the World for her birthday. We stayed at my favorite resort, Coronado Springs. I thought this was my dream trip. A private party in Epcot and a whole week with my best friend in my favorite place. What could have made it any better? Enter Khymm. Khymm was a fellow Dis-er that we met at the animal Kingdom meetup. He was travelling solo and we hit it off pretty well so we invited him to hang out with us during our last two days there. We three kept in tight communication after the trip. Khymm and I wound up having Thanksgiving there later that year since we would both be alone for the holiday.

My husband is in the military and we were forced to move to the exact opposite corner of the country, Washington. Before leaving, I had one last hurrah and then left Walt Disney World, thinking it would be a decade before I would get to return. Less than 8 months later, another meetup was announced (during my birthday!) and Khymm and I decided we had to be there. I invited my other best friend to join, as he has been going through a VERY rough year and I just missed him to pieces. Enter Brandon. Brandon is very much so a big brother to me, but I haven't seen him in three years. He was never really a disney kid, but I let him be my friend anyway. He pretty much turned into a Disney kid overnight. He became so ecstatic for the trip that he so badly needed. He's still sending me text messages about how monumental it will be for him. It warms my heart.

Enter Britani again. Khymm decided it wouldn't be a Caballero trip without her. She wasn't in the financial spot to go to Disney again so soon so he offered to pick up her tab. All of a sudden it dawned on me that I would actually be in my favorite place with my favorite people (minus my family, of course!). I will never be able to convey how important this is to me.

giphy.gif


CH-CH-CHANGES!
One thing that people need to know about me is that I am a very meticulous planner. I also cannot make a decision to save my life, which is not a good combo at all. When we first started the trip, we booked at Beach Club because I always wanted to stay there. Once the military discounts were released, we had to move to Yacht Club as no discounts were available at BC. I wasn't too confident though that we would be comfortable staying in a small room. We reluctantly downgraded to Art of Animation in a family suite. Boom! Free dining came out! We dropped the military discount and swapped to the free dining promotion, as it was a bigger discount and upgraded to the Deluxe plan. During a previous trip, I stayed at Art of Animation and I really wasn't a fan. Because of that, I kept getting a gut feeling that AoA was not going to make me happy. I found myself staying up late, constantly checking the prices of other Disney resorts. I finally took the dive one night. Following my gut, I canceled AoA and booked a one-bedroom at Kidani Village. To compensate for the price hike, we dropped down to the regular dining plan. I finally felt satisfied with all of the changes in the three-month period and was finally able to start making dining reservations and other park plans.
giphy.gif


THE GAME PLAN


Khymm's awesome workplace decided to give him free tickets for the four of us to go to Universal Orlando for the day, both parks so that is in our plans. Right now, everything looks like this:

1-Bedroom Savanna View at Kidani Village with 5-Day Park Hoppers and the DDP.

  • 5/5/19 - Arrival Day
Three of us all arrive in the morning so we are going to meet up at the airport and then take DME to the resort. We will attempt to check-in once we get there. After that, we are going to go to Guest Services to activate our tickets and buy memory maker. Once that is done with, we are going to get lunch at Gasparilla Island Grill and wait for Khymm's arrival. Once he lands, we are heading straight to the grocery store to get some goods for the week and then we are going to Disney Springs for our reservation at Homecomin'.
  • 5/6/19 - Hollywood Studios
We are going to rope drop on Sunset Boulevard, have lunch at Hollywood Brown Derby, and then take a break at the resort. We will be heading right back to Hollywood Studios for dinner at ABC Commissary and catch Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular.
  • 5/7/19 - Universal Day
In the morning, we are heading straight to the parks. We plan on buying an express pass, depending on what the crowds are like when we get there.
  • 5/8/19 - Epcot and Magic Kingdom
Drinking around the world will commence! Katsura Grill will give us a nice break during the shenanigans. Halfway through the day, we have to go to the Contemporary to pick up our credentials for the Dis events. Once we get back to Epcot, Tangerine Cafe would be the perfect dinner for such a day and then an early night in at the resort.
  • 5/9/19 - Magic Kingdom and Epcot
My birthday will start off at the Magic Kingdom for a breakfast at Be Our Guest. Then, we are going straight to Epcot for a couple of rides and then a lunch at my favorite spots, Nine Dragons. Afterward, we are taking the monorail straight to Magic Kingdom. An ultra-late dinner will be had at Cinderella's Royal Table.
  • 5/10/19 - Break Day
A family breakfast in our villa's kitchen will be leading the food-filled day, followed by a trip to Disney Springs for The Void. For lunch, we will be going to D-Luxe Burger. After shopping around, we are going to hang out in our resort pool for a few hours. After that, we will head to Fort Wilderness for a dinner at Trail's End. Following the stuffing, we are taking a bus right to Animal Kingdom for the Dis Pandora party.
  • 5/11/19 - Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom
The whole morning will be spend in Animal Kingdom, our favorite park. A late lunch will be had at Sanaa, followed by a trip to Magic Kingdom for the remainder of the day with dinner at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Cafe.
  • 5/12/19 - Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom
The day will start with EMH at Animal Kingdom. In the early afternoon, we will go to Magic Kingdom. We booked the Festival of Fantasy package at Tony's Town Square Restaurant so that we can get a top notch view of my favorite parade in Disney history. Afterward, dinner will be at Columbia Harbor House, right before we watch Happily Ever After woefully.
  • 5/13/19 - Departure Day :(
We will be having a late breakfast at Olivia's and then back to the resort to pack up and check out. Until DME comes to get us, we will have lunch at The Mara and then watch the animals on the savanna.


THE WAITING
giphy.gif
Sounds amazing! I am going for the same dates as you! Can’t wait!
 
I had a fun morning. I got a notification that Delta canceled my flight and rebooked me onto one the next day so I booked an extra room for myself at Port Orleans Riverside. I'm a little sad that I don't get to go to the airport and leave with my friends, but I do get to stay on property for one more day and relax. By myself :(
 
Got all of the magicbands! I got one set for our Kidani stay. We were able to order 3 customized bands and 1 normal, non-upgraded band. They all came at the same time. However, they only provided a luggage tag for the unupgraded band. I received my own magicband for my solo stay. We also received another set of four magicbands for the whole group. This occurred because we originally had a room at Art of Animation, but we upgraded to AKV. Somehow this resulted in an error and we cannot remove the reservation from our accounts. They sent us the magicbands for it, but we have not been charged for the room at all. Strange, but yay for free magicbands!
 

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