caylene44
Aspiring Disney Travel Planner
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2015
Hello, all! This is my first pre-trip report so please bear with me here. I have been EXHAUSTING my BF and family with “too much” Disney talk (is there even a thing?! 
) so I decided to bring it to the DIS where others can share my excitement.
Just to preface, like all of you, I am obsessed with all things Disney. I live on the west coast so I’ve been to Disneyland a handful of times since I was a small child. The true fire lit inside me when I went to Disney World for the first time in 2008. I’ve been on a quest to become an AP and DVC member ever since (still working on convincing my BF on this, I think he will wear down once he visits WDW for the FIRST time).
Still the funniest Disney picture I have: My sister and I love RnR, the ladies in front of us not so much...
Because of this passion and experience, my family has enlisted me to be their travel planner (oy vey). If you’ve ever seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding, my family now calls me “Toula.” As much as I hate it, I also LOVE it. I plan trips I’ll never go on just for fun and am seriously considering becoming a Disney vacation planner outside of my full-time job.
WHEN: 8/29/19-9/5/19—These dates were picked far before the SWGE announcement which has put a little bit of a damper on my spirit but we will survive!
WHO: Our party ranges from 5-13 adults on any given day of the trip. Me (27), my BF (27), my sister (turning 21), my mom (55), my dad (61), my cousin (28), her BF (28), my other cousin (who is sisters to the other and is turning 30), her BF (37), my uncle (54), my aunt (52), my cousin’s friend (29), and her BF (28).
The fact that some people want to opt out of certain days has given me such a headache. My aunt and uncle only want to do 2 park days. My cousin’s friend and friend’s BF are only coming on 2 park days (different than the ones my aunt and uncle are attending). I have to remember who wants to come to which day, etc. Made the ADRs a little tricky but they are thankfully all solidified now.
WHERE: Caribbean Beach! I have stayed at Port Orleans-Riverside and Coronado Springs in the past so I’m excited to try a different moderate. Thankfully, my family is all staying in the same resort (my cousin’s friend and her BF are staying off-property). However, I did give people the option to “opt out” for cheaper accommodations but they decided to take my advice to stay on-property (the pressure to deliver is REAL). My parents and sister have a preferred room as do my BF and I. Everyone else is staying in a pool-view room, which will be interesting considering what I’ve read on the DIS about the walking distance at this resort.
WHAT/WHY: Disney, of course! To get into a long-winded explanation, my cousin is turning 30 this August and started talking nearly 2 years ago about wanting to go to Universal for WWOHP. As soon as anyone breathes a word concerning Orlando, little alarm bells go off in my head. I promptly invited myself on the trip, which then morphed into an extended family vacation. My sister turns 21 on September 3 so we decided to make it a joint trip so she can have her heart’s desire of drinking around the world at EPCOT (she celebrated her 17th birthday at WDW so she is THRILLED to be back. I have a spring break birthday and have never celebrated it at Disney *cue my pity party*).
TENTATIVE PLANNING/ADRs (UPDATE HERE):
) so I decided to bring it to the DIS where others can share my excitement. Just to preface, like all of you, I am obsessed with all things Disney. I live on the west coast so I’ve been to Disneyland a handful of times since I was a small child. The true fire lit inside me when I went to Disney World for the first time in 2008. I’ve been on a quest to become an AP and DVC member ever since (still working on convincing my BF on this, I think he will wear down once he visits WDW for the FIRST time).
Still the funniest Disney picture I have: My sister and I love RnR, the ladies in front of us not so much...
WHEN: 8/29/19-9/5/19—These dates were picked far before the SWGE announcement which has put a little bit of a damper on my spirit but we will survive!
WHO: Our party ranges from 5-13 adults on any given day of the trip. Me (27), my BF (27), my sister (turning 21), my mom (55), my dad (61), my cousin (28), her BF (28), my other cousin (who is sisters to the other and is turning 30), her BF (37), my uncle (54), my aunt (52), my cousin’s friend (29), and her BF (28).
The fact that some people want to opt out of certain days has given me such a headache. My aunt and uncle only want to do 2 park days. My cousin’s friend and friend’s BF are only coming on 2 park days (different than the ones my aunt and uncle are attending). I have to remember who wants to come to which day, etc. Made the ADRs a little tricky but they are thankfully all solidified now.
WHERE: Caribbean Beach! I have stayed at Port Orleans-Riverside and Coronado Springs in the past so I’m excited to try a different moderate. Thankfully, my family is all staying in the same resort (my cousin’s friend and her BF are staying off-property). However, I did give people the option to “opt out” for cheaper accommodations but they decided to take my advice to stay on-property (the pressure to deliver is REAL). My parents and sister have a preferred room as do my BF and I. Everyone else is staying in a pool-view room, which will be interesting considering what I’ve read on the DIS about the walking distance at this resort.
WHAT/WHY: Disney, of course! To get into a long-winded explanation, my cousin is turning 30 this August and started talking nearly 2 years ago about wanting to go to Universal for WWOHP. As soon as anyone breathes a word concerning Orlando, little alarm bells go off in my head. I promptly invited myself on the trip, which then morphed into an extended family vacation. My sister turns 21 on September 3 so we decided to make it a joint trip so she can have her heart’s desire of drinking around the world at EPCOT (she celebrated her 17th birthday at WDW so she is THRILLED to be back. I have a spring break birthday and have never celebrated it at Disney *cue my pity party*).
TENTATIVE PLANNING/ADRs (UPDATE HERE):
- August 29: Travel day! We all fly from Seattle so we won’t get to our hotel until 7 pm or so. Planning on eating a quick bite at the hotel and getting some rest.
- August 30: Universal day—since this started as my cousin’s birthday trip and her only wish was to see WWOHP, we are dedicating an entire day to Universal.
- August 31: Water park and HS—This one scares me being a Saturday and 2 days after SWGE opens. However, we have an ADR for Sci-Fi Dine In for 11 so we are going to risk it.
- September 1: Water park and AK—Lunch ADR for Yak & Yeti for 9 of us. Y&Y is a MUST for my parents, sister, and I so we are excited.
- September 2: Water park and MNSSHP—This is my first time doing MNSSHP and I CANNOT wait. Still trying to decide a couples costume for the BF and I…(suggestions welcome!)
- September 3: Water park and EPCOT—Since this is my sister’s ACTUAL 21st birthday, we are drinking around the world! ADR at Teppan Edo for dinner (her request)
- September 4: MK—This day is just my parents, sister, BF, and me. We are starting out with Kona Café for breakfast (dad’s request), doing BOG for lunch, and then meeting up with everyone else for dinner at Cali Grill.
- September 5: Check-out day
Going to Disney Springs to get all our shopping done and have lunch at The Boathouse. We fly out this night.
- It is stressful wrangling so many people. However, I am trying to go with the flow and give people as much info as possible. At the end of the day, they are going to do what they are going to do and I’m not going to let it ruin my trip. Considering that we are paying thousands to go and this is my BF’s FIRST time at WDW, I want to do the things I want to do on this trip. For example, my mom suggested we hang at the hotel with everyone on September 4. I promptly said NO, we only get so many days at Disney, I’m making the most of them.
- It’s even more stressful when people who are unfamiliar with WDW planning ask questions/make suggestions. My uncle wants to rent a car, I had to point out that a) we do not need a car and b) we would have to pay to park it everywhere. About a month after I made ADRs, my cousin asks if we can go to BOG. She said “even if we don’t eat there, can we go see it?” Um, excuse me. 1) We needed to make that reservation a month ago for NINE people. 2) No, you can’t just go in without a reservation
- Slightly nervous about what to do with FP+. Not sure if I should make them for the party or let everyone decide for themselves. Thoughts? I have slight PTSD from waking up at 3 am to make ADRs for all of us.
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Thankfully, the group got cut down due to schedule/budget constraints.
Because of that, they opted to not come to HS and are just doing EPCOT that day (they're really interested in the food& wine festival so they don't mind having 2 EPCOT days).
). I think that's appropriate for their first visit/the limited number of days they are going.
