Barbie and Ken do Disney Trip Report COMPLETED!!

[Blaynexox]

How did I miss this?!?!?

I've been looking foward to this since I first found you on my trip report! Yay! I'm too excited for you!

First of all, the two of you are soooo cute together. Barbie and Ken is the perfect description. I lovvvvvvvve it. Such adorable pictures. I also am in love with your puppy.

Your travel plans sound perfect. I can't wait to hear all about your first experiences at the world.

Now just randomn points
-we ate at Donald's Breakfast once and really hated it. It took an hour and 15 minutes before a single character came to our table and when they did they were extremely rushed. A cast member took a blurry picture and when I asked them to please retake it they gave me an attitude. We had much better experiences at O'hanas character breakfast and especially at Garden Grill, although the food at Crystal Palace is awesome

-I love your Valentine's Day Plans. Coral Reef + EPCOT +Animal Kingdom. It's soooo romantic. You guys are going to have a great time

-We had a HUGE picture frame shipped back from the world. It took about two weeks but it came back perfectly and in one piece!

Can't wait to hear more babe!

OMIGOSH! I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU! I keep thinking - Hmm.. why is she not reading this! SHE NEEDS TO READ THIS! Well Im glad you finally found it. Silly me probably should have just Pm'ed you and MADE SURE YOU FOUND IT! Oh well you are here now and all is good! Haha I love the Barbie and Ken too. I NEVER would have considered that for the title until everyone kept saying it. I was flattered so of course I changed it to that! As for my puppy Krull the Warrior King aka Krull, Krullster, Boo, Man, and about a million other pet names that I call him everyday, he is the best dog in the world. I honestly don't know how I will live without him for 11 days! My parents, well as much as I love them - i can leave them but my dog .. NO WAY! Im going to miss him so much. My suitcase is pretty big, I wish I could take him with me!

Im sorry you had a bad experience at Donald's. I've heard about equal good and bad. However, we are going to try it out and see. HOPEFULLY we will be pleasantly surprised! I also want to go so that we can get to Everest quickly and be in the park early. I hope hope hope its good, but if its not i'll live. Plus it will be our last day in the world so I bet i will be in one of those "EVERYTHING IS GREAT BECAUSE ITS DISNEY AND I DONT WANT TO GO HOME" moods that I hear so much about!

I cannot wait for our Valentine's Day dinner at Coral Reef. I momentarily considered California Grill, but I knew the Coral Reef was more up our alleys. I think the ambiance will be perfect and very romantic. Also I have a feeling that Epcot may be a really romantic place to be on VDay with all the countries and such. It will be like taking a mini VDAY trip around the world! As for Animal Kingdom , we will either go there or go to pleasure Island because they are having Valentine's festivities. I haven't decided yet

Glad to know the shipping went well. My father shipped back ALL of his purchases and they arrived about a week after he got back. Depending on how much we bought we may or may not do that.

Anyways it was great to hear from you! Im jealous that you only have 9 days to go! LUCKY DUCK! I want to hear all about your trip too! You better write another AMAZING trip report! Talk to you soon

 

[MeMom]

Thanks for letting us all come along on your trip. We're enjoying the pictures and look forward to hearing all about how things go. My prediction is that once you step onto Disney property, your life will never be the same! It is just an awesome experience.

 

[Our2Girls&Disney]

Hi Blayne! A fellow New Englander catching up here. I am very excited for you. Let me just say, you are going to have a blast! I also want to say that I looked at your itinerary and you may need a vacation after your vacation. I love planning vacations, it part of the fun, so no worries it will all turn out wonderful because you did your research.

I am sooo jealous of you leaving in 21 days, 89 days for us. My DD5 told her teacher that she will not be in school tomorrow because she will be in Disney World for 8 days. I drop her off at school and her teacher says, Are you going to FL? I said yes in April. She just laughed and told me the story.

Anyway, have a great time and tell us all about the trip.

 

[Cinderella2004]

Hey Blayne!!

Here a little closer picture, I do hope we see each other!! Thank-you for the sweet compliment, I feel so old looking at you!!

(my little budding photographer took that picture in August at the Poly)

We got the t-shirts at the Disney store. Do you have one near you? I'll be going on Friday this week, PM me if you'd like me to pick one up. They are quite cute!

I got my red and white hoodie at NY and co, not to long ago, they had several to choose from, if you need to find one.

Have you seen any first day reports from the party.....I just can't wait!!!!

Will you have a cell phone with you??? I'll Pm you my # to be sure we meet up!!!

 

[BriarRosie]

Congrats on the trip! I'm going to offer my .02 on a lot of things, before I even begin to comment on the itinerary!

Airline prep. Since you haven't flown, I hope your Dad clued you in on what you need to know. Don't leave home without your I.D. You won't be able to get through Security without it. I haven't flown JetBlue, but most airlines have online check in 24 hours in advance, so you might consider doing that before you go. There are also strict packing measures which mean no liquids or gels in your carry on items UNLESS you pack a 1-quart Ziplock with no more than 3 oz of liquids, like travel sized shampoo and conditioner. That means, no sunscreen, hairspray or other "product" for hair in the carryon. It's a pain, but I now stash my "contraband" in my luggage, secured in large Ziplock bags to insure for accidental bursting.

Now for the itinerary. Before I comment, I noticed you packed very full days. Keep in mind that if you are running around, early morning to late evening, you'll wear yourself out by the third day. Taking a break back to the resort midday can recharge your batteries.

And since there is a LOT of walking at Disney, I have found that I can fight blisters before they happen. I used to buy trial-sized antiperspirant in the "white solid" expressly for the purpose of applying to my feet only, before I put on my socks and shoes. Dove worked well. It kept my feet dry, which also helped prevent blisters. Now, I have Glide, which I bought at a sporting goods store. That works great for the feet AND any areas that might experience "chafing".

And above all, stay FLEXIBLE. Having an itinerary is great, but the worst thing someone could do is stay strictly to the "plan" until it stresses you out when things don't flow the way you've planned. If you are adaptable to change, going with the flow, you'll have a much better time!

Disney has started a new shipping cost policy when you're shipping directly from their stores. It's highway robbery. I would suggest you ask your Pop Century concierge desk how you might be able to have items shipped FedEx from your resort later in the week. That should be cheaper (especially if your DBF gets an employee rate!)

Ok, here we go!

-We are going to check into Pop Century and then go down to DTD where we will grab something to eat at Earl of Sandwich and then go SHOPPING! and to Disney Quest. After we have a 5:00 ADR at Planet Hollywood. (I would love to have everyone's opinions on Planet Hollywood. I've heard such bad things that Im nervous about going here! HELP!)
-After we will go back to POP and explore the resort and then CRASH! I'll probably lay awake all night telling myself that im at disney world, but hopefully not!

I would skip DisneyQuest. It's fun, but unless you have 4 hours to spend there, I'd suggest spending time shopping and exploring Downtown Disney. You'll probably be tired from the travelling, and you can get some of the best shopping out of the way at the World of Disney store. Earl of Sandwich...keep it! Yummy!

Day 2 (FINALLY! - more basic plans for today)
VALENTINES DAY
-Epcot all day
-ADRs at Coral Reef at 5:40
-AK for EMH

I'm not sure how good the evening EMH are. I've heard that they can be more crowded than the parks during normal hours. (I'm biased, as I spend just about every night of my trip at the Adventurers Club!)

Day 3
-MGM
-Lunch at 50's Prime Time Cafe
-May or may not stay for parade
-Back to Pop to change (although I have yet to figure out what this "changing" consists of since I dont think we are even wearing costumes!)
-Magic Kingdom for PIRATE AND PRINCESS PARTY Yes Im 5 years old and super excited for this!

Leaving MGM and relaxing at the hotel is a good plan. It can be an absolute zoo if you try to enter the MK at the "official" party time, so I recommend going to the MK from Pop no later than 4:30pm. They might have the party wristbands at the turnstiles, but if not, you can swing by City Hall to grab them when you show your party ticket. (There are plenty of opportunities to get your wristband.) I'd also suggest getting your dinner when you arrive at any counter service of your choice. They will herd guests staying for the party into one location while they close the park to non-party guests, but it will save you lots of time if you're already past security and the turnstiles.

Day 4
-Magic Kingdom
-Lunch at Columbia Harbor House
-Share a Dream Come True parade
-Epcot for Le Cellier ADRs at 4:20
-Watch illuminations and stay for EMH

I love the tuna sandwich at CHH!
One thing to keep in mind when you need to travel between locations:
Give yourself at least an hour. If you stay for the parade, you'll need to book it out of the park to get to your ADR. If you don't mind walking through the entire length of Epcot, you'd be taking the Monorail to the TTC and switching to the Epcot monorail. There are other ways to get there via the Epcot resorts and International Gateway, but it might confuse newbies who aren't familiar with the area.

skipping many days...

Day 9
-Epcot until afternoon
-Late Lunch at Les Chefs de France at 3:00
-Downtown Disney for Cirque du Soleil show at 6:00 (YAY! )
-Dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express
-Either AK for EMH or Pleasure Island to go to one of the 18+ clubs

The Cirque show is WAAAAAY at the farthest point on the West Side. When you take the Downtown Disney bus, there will be two stops. Marketplace and Pleasure Island/West Side. Get off at the second stop and head left past the crosswalk. The show says it starts at 6pm, but be sure you're seated by 5:30pm. Cirque has a pre-show that starts when people are still arriving at the theater. (I just saw the "O" Cirque show in Vegas on Jan 14th. It was wonderful!)

As for Pleasure Island, you shouldn't have any trouble getting into the Adventurers Club or Comedy Warehouse. For the latter, you need to get into line about 30 minutes earlier than the posted showtime to get a seat. My favorite place is the Adventurers Club. It's really difficult to describe, but it's part show, part ad lib, and the actors will often play different roles of the club characters on different nights. The Main Salon will not have much action, but they do induct you into the club multiple times a night, teaching you the creed, the club "salute" and theme song. If you get to the Club between 9:15 and 9:30pm, you'll probably have time to make it into my favorite show in the Library: The Balderdash Cup. If that doesn't make you want to stay for more shows, I don't know what will!

Day 11 LAST DAY!!
-Packing and such
-Animal Kingdom for half day
-DTD for last minute shopping
-Back to POP by 5:30
-Flight leaves at 7:35 and we land back in reality at 10:18 PM!

Keep in mind that you make arrangements for the Magical Express pickup, they will want to drive you back to the airport 3 hours before your flight time. That means you might have a ME pickup time of 4:30pm. You'll want to be back at the resort no later than 4pm to be sure you have time to get your bags from storage.

I tend to think you packed a lot in, but you'll know if you're wearing yourself out too quickly. If you feel that you can push yourself for these full days, go for it. But always remember that your resort is only a bus ride away.

I went to WDW for my senior trip years ago, but the only parks open were MK and Epcot! (Yes, I'm showing my age!) I was able to push myself from morning to night, so maybe you're up to the challenge.

 

[serendipity]

I LOVE your suitcase. It's perfect. It's so hard to distinguish which suitcase is yours at the airport terminal so your suitcase is perfect! You might want to consider putting something on "Ken's" suitcase so that you'll be able to easily identify it.

I really hope you enjoy Donald's Breakfast. You're right, it is Disney so I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time.

I can't wait for you to go! I think I'm more excited for you to go then I am!!!

 

[jaycns]

I don't know if this helps at all...but the normally $69.95 Disney Couture Mickey shirts are on only $24.99 right now at disneyshopping.com (in the outlet section). And today only you can get an additional 10% off if you use the code OUTLET.

Here is a link to the shirt.
http://as7.dsi.go.com/is/image/DisneyShopping/57849M?$full$

Also, if you are looking for any more luggage...they have a 4 peice set of MICKEY luggage (not your beautiful bright red...which I LOVE by the way) for $49.99 (black) and for $59.99 (tan).

Last thing...they have the cutest Mickey denim jacket for only $12.99.

Just think...you would still have time to shop for it online and have it shipped to you before you leave!!

That Mickey shirt is SUPER cute!

I am so excited for you!! 20 days to go now!!!!

I cannot wait to here what you think of Cirque. Where did you find a link to watch part of it? THANKS!!

 

[natale1980]

It looks like you will be getting to disney at the end of our trip.
Hope you have a great time!!!
-nat

 

[Blaynexox]

Thanks for letting us all come along on your trip. We're enjoying the pictures and look forward to hearing all about how things go. My prediction is that once you step onto Disney property, your life will never be the same! It is just an awesome experience.

I love sharing my trip with all of you! Im excited that people think its interesting enough to read! I don't feel like Im up to par with the rest of the trip reporters, although this is only the pretrippie so hopefully it gets much more exciting! Oh gosh. I don't think I can get more obsessed with this trip so I think your completely right - it WILL change my life!!

Hi Blayne! A fellow New Englander catching up here. I am very excited for you. Let me just say, you are going to have a blast! I also want to say that I looked at your itinerary and you may need a vacation after your vacation. I love planning vacations, it part of the fun, so no worries it will all turn out wonderful because you did your research. I am sooo jealous of you leaving in 21 days, 89 days for us. My DD5 told her teacher that she will not be in school tomorrow because she will be in Disney World for 8 days. I drop her off at school and her teacher says, Are you going to FL? I said yes in April. She just laughed and told me the story.
Anyway, have a great time and tell us all about the trip.

Hey! Thanks! I have been up to Salem, NH many times! I agree with you. I think I definitely packed to much in. I have actually had a couple changes to the itinerary so I will be sharing them with everyone. That is such an adorable story about your daughter! Before you know it the 89 days will be up! Its nice to have something to look forward to!

Hey Blayne!!

Here a little closer picture, I do hope we see each other!! Thank-you for the sweet compliment, I feel so old looking at you!!

(my little budding photographer took that picture in August at the Poly)

We got the t-shirts at the Disney store. Do you have one near you? I'll be going on Friday this week, PM me if you'd like me to pick one up. They are quite cute!

I got my red and white hoodie at NY and co, not to long ago, they had several to choose from, if you need to find one.

Have you seen any first day reports from the party.....I just can't wait!!!!

Will you have a cell phone with you??? I'll Pm you my # to be sure we meet up!!!

Hey! You and your DH are just adorable! What a cute picture of you two! I want to stay at the Poly SOO bad! If I could choose any hotel I think it would definitely be that one or AKL. However, value resorts it is for me for A WHILE probably!

I do have a Disney store near me. The last time I peeked in was a little bit after the holidays and it was CLEANED OUT! So I will definitely check down there on Saturday and let you know if I find them! You are so sweet to offer to get me one! I will let you know if I can find it or not! Thanks!

I absolutely love NY&CO and we have one right down the street from me at the Northshore Mall. I will try to go tomorrow or Friday to see if they still have them. Thanks for letting me copy you!

I have seen a bunch of reports from the party and a lot of pictures! It looks GREAT! I also saw a clip of the fireworks on YouTube. It didn't spoil it for me though because I cant really envision how it will be to see it in real life, so it was nice just to take a peek!

I actually haven't decided if we are going to bring cellphones yet. Todd has this tendency of losing EVERYTHING that he puts in his pockets I cant tell you how many times we have had to search for his wallet or his phone. I don't know if I will be carrying a bag into the park or not though. However, I do hope we can meet up down there! .. the sad thing is I cant really tell you to meet me anywhere because I don't know how to get around! Oh well - hopefully I will learn quick! talk to you soon!

 

[Blaynexox]

Congrats on the trip! I'm going to offer my .02 on a lot of things, before I even begin to comment on the itinerary!

Airline prep. Since you haven't flown, I hope your Dad clued you in on what you need to know. Don't leave home without your I.D. You won't be able to get through Security without it. I haven't flown JetBlue, but most airlines have online check in 24 hours in advance, so you might consider doing that before you go. There are also strict packing measures which mean no liquids or gels in your carry on items UNLESS you pack a 1-quart Ziplock with no more than 3 oz of liquids, like travel sized shampoo and conditioner. That means, no sunscreen, hairspray or other "product" for hair in the carryon. It's a pain, but I now stash my "contraband" in my luggage, secured in large Ziplock bags to insure for accidental bursting.

Now for the itinerary. Before I comment, I noticed you packed very full days. Keep in mind that if you are running around, early morning to late evening, you'll wear yourself out by the third day. Taking a break back to the resort midday can recharge your batteries.

And since there is a LOT of walking at Disney, I have found that I can fight blisters before they happen. I used to buy trial-sized antiperspirant in the "white solid" expressly for the purpose of applying to my feet only, before I put on my socks and shoes. Dove worked well. It kept my feet dry, which also helped prevent blisters. Now, I have Glide, which I bought at a sporting goods store. That works great for the feet AND any areas that might experience "chafing".

And above all, stay FLEXIBLE. Having an itinerary is great, but the worst thing someone could do is stay strictly to the "plan" until it stresses you out when things don't flow the way you've planned. If you are adaptable to change, going with the flow, you'll have a much better time!

Disney has started a new shipping cost policy when you're shipping directly from their stores. It's highway robbery. I would suggest you ask your Pop Century concierge desk how you might be able to have items shipped FedEx from your resort later in the week. That should be cheaper (especially if your DBF gets an employee rate!)

Ok, here we go!

I would skip DisneyQuest. It's fun, but unless you have 4 hours to spend there, I'd suggest spending time shopping and exploring Downtown Disney. You'll probably be tired from the travelling, and you can get some of the best shopping out of the way at the World of Disney store. Earl of Sandwich...keep it! Yummy!

I'm not sure how good the evening EMH are. I've heard that they can be more crowded than the parks during normal hours. (I'm biased, as I spend just about every night of my trip at the Adventurers Club!)

Leaving MGM and relaxing at the hotel is a good plan. It can be an absolute zoo if you try to enter the MK at the "official" party time, so I recommend going to the MK from Pop no later than 4:30pm. They might have the party wristbands at the turnstiles, but if not, you can swing by City Hall to grab them when you show your party ticket. (There are plenty of opportunities to get your wristband.) I'd also suggest getting your dinner when you arrive at any counter service of your choice. They will herd guests staying for the party into one location while they close the park to non-party guests, but it will save you lots of time if you're already past security and the turnstiles.

I love the tuna sandwich at CHH!
One thing to keep in mind when you need to travel between locations:
Give yourself at least an hour. If you stay for the parade, you'll need to book it out of the park to get to your ADR. If you don't mind walking through the entire length of Epcot, you'd be taking the Monorail to the TTC and switching to the Epcot monorail. There are other ways to get there via the Epcot resorts and International Gateway, but it might confuse newbies who aren't familiar with the area.

skipping many days...

The Cirque show is WAAAAAY at the farthest point on the West Side. When you take the Downtown Disney bus, there will be two stops. Marketplace and Pleasure Island/West Side. Get off at the second stop and head left past the crosswalk. The show says it starts at 6pm, but be sure you're seated by 5:30pm. Cirque has a pre-show that starts when people are still arriving at the theater. (I just saw the "O" Cirque show in Vegas on Jan 14th. It was wonderful!)

As for Pleasure Island, you shouldn't have any trouble getting into the Adventurers Club or Comedy Warehouse. For the latter, you need to get into line about 30 minutes earlier than the posted showtime to get a seat. My favorite place is the Adventurers Club. It's really difficult to describe, but it's part show, part ad lib, and the actors will often play different roles of the club characters on different nights. The Main Salon will not have much action, but they do induct you into the club multiple times a night, teaching you the creed, the club "salute" and theme song. If you get to the Club between 9:15 and 9:30pm, you'll probably have time to make it into my favorite show in the Library: The Balderdash Cup. If that doesn't make you want to stay for more shows, I don't know what will!

Keep in mind that you make arrangements for the Magical Express pickup, they will want to drive you back to the airport 3 hours before your flight time. That means you might have a ME pickup time of 4:30pm. You'll want to be back at the resort no later than 4pm to be sure you have time to get your bags from storage.

I tend to think you packed a lot in, but you'll know if you're wearing yourself out too quickly. If you feel that you can push yourself for these full days, go for it. But always remember that your resort is only a bus ride away.

I went to WDW for my senior trip years ago, but the only parks open were MK and Epcot! (Yes, I'm showing my age!) I was able to push myself from morning to night, so maybe you're up to the challenge.

Wow. First off let me just say - THANK YOU! I COMPLETELY appreciate all of your input and tips. I REALLY need them and you really spent a lot of time helping me. THANKS SO MUCH! So first off. Yes, my dad did give me a pretty thorough description on the packing protocol. (However he only had ONE BAG! ) But I will make sure to put all my liquids in my checked bags. I really dont need any sort of liquid or product with me on the plane anyways. My hair is pretty resilient!

I completely understand your comment on packing in A LOT! I agree. I think that I have packed a lot in. Mainly because I have never experienced it and want to cram as much as I can in. I have already made a few changes to the itinerary, but I will have to sit down and see what else I can tweak in order to give us midday breaks. It should work out so that we can have a midday break on a lot of the days because I have a "morning park" and then a park where we are having dinner on a lot of the days. Thanks for the tips on blisters. I have bought my crocs and plan on purchasing some moleskin. I will also consider that deodorant tip. Very ingenious! I really planned out my itinerary just so that I could have some guidelines for the trip. I needed something like that as an outline, however I will definitely be lenient with the days. If we decide to sleep in or skip a park that day it will be fine. I just really want to make all our ADR's. The rest will work out the way it works out.

About the shipping. We are actually going to be bringing a lot of suitcases now that I found that extra one at my house. I will be bringing 2 big suitcases and a medium sized carryon so I don't think there will be a problem with souvenirs - at least I hope not

For this trip we got the Park Hopper Plus upgrade for free and I really wanted to go to DisneyQuest in order to use the free passes and because it looks like something me and Todd will really enjoy. I especially want to try out the Build and Ride your own rollercoaster thing. We will play it by ear though. Ooh and I am VERY excited for Earl of Sandwich - Yummy is right!

Thanks for your tips on the Pirate and Princess party. We are going to leave after lunch and relax at the resort. We were planning on heading over to MK a little early about 4:00 or so. Once we are rested. We should be out of MGM by about 1:00 PM that day so we should have a couple hours or so to rest at Pop.

Thank you for the traveling tip - this is what I am most nervous about. So leave about an hour between traveling. Yikes! Thats a while! I will have to make sure I write this down! On Day 4, I think that we will not end up staying for the parade. Instead I think I may have us go back to the hotel around 1:30 ish and relax until our ADR at Le Cellier. Does that sound better?

For Day 9 - CIRQUE DAY~!! I have actually changed that Les Chef de France ADR from 3:00 to 1:30 so we will have plenty of time to get to Downtown Disney. Do you think there would be enough time to have a break at Pop before the show? Im glad you let me know where it was located. Ill make sure I print that out so I'll know where to go! Thanks for telling me about the Adventurers Club - I have been hearing so many good things about it! Now that there is only two clubs I can get into, I definitely think we will have to try that out!

I have NO IDEA why I wrote "back at Pop by 5:30" in my trip report. It clearly says in my real itinerary be back NO LATER THEN 4. So that was just a misprint We would end up stranded in Disney if we were back by 5:30 - although that may not be such a bad thing!!

I hope Im up for the challenge, but I am going to look at my schedule and try to give us some breaks. Me and Todd are the kind of people who never sleep past 7. Well I AM THAT PERSON. Todd would LIKE to sleep, but I never let him! I can feel relaxed on about 6 hours of sleep. My father keeps warning me though that Im packing way to much in. This from the man who doesnt even know what an ADR is and mixes up his Universal rides with the ones he went on in Disney! Anyways I want to thank you so much for all your tips. Seriously, I WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATe any other feedback or tips you have. Especially about getting around the "world". Thanks again!

 

[Blaynexox]

I LOVE your suitcase. It's perfect. It's so hard to distinguish which suitcase is yours at the airport terminal so your suitcase is perfect! You might want to consider putting something on "Ken's" suitcase so that you'll be able to easily identify it.

I really hope you enjoy Donald's Breakfast. You're right, it is Disney so I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time.

I can't wait for you to go! I think I'm more excited for you to go then I am!!!

Hey! Thanks - i am just in love with that suitcase. SERIOUSLY. It is sitting behind me at this moment and I keep taking loving little peeks at it! I think I will call it "Big Red"! ihope we like donalds too! Im pumped to go and Im also pumped for you to go so I can hear all about it!! Your going so soon OMG! are you all packed? Get to the pretrippe already!

I don't know if this helps at all...but the normally $69.95 Disney Couture Mickey shirts are on only $24.99 right now at disneyshopping.com (in the outlet section). And today only you can get an additional 10% off if you use the code OUTLET.

Here is a link to the shirt.
http://as7.dsi.go.com/is/image/DisneyShopping/57849M?$full$

Also, if you are looking for any more luggage...they have a 4 peice set of MICKEY luggage (not your beautiful bright red...which I LOVE by the way) for $49.99 (black) and for $59.99 (tan).

Last thing...they have the cutest Mickey denim jacket for only $12.99.

Just think...you would still have time to shop for it online and have it shipped to you before you leave!!

That Mickey shirt is SUPER cute!

I am so excited for you!! 20 days to go now!!!!

I cannot wait to here what you think of Cirque. Where did you find a link to watch part of it? THANKS!!

Omgosh! This is VERY weird. First the coincidence with the matching banks and NOW you pick out the ONE SHIRT THAT I WAS DESCRIBING IN MY RANT! I have been eyeing that shirt for the past 3 months! That is NUTS! I unfortunately don't have $25 to spend on it. I mean I could always "charge it" with my first and only credit card! But Im supposed to be being good and not using my card so that I can use it at Disney. I know $25 doesn't sound like a lot of money - but hey - i work at joanns fabrics for god sakes! I do love it though. I may have to splurge! AHH I LOVE IT.. I feel the pull of that credit card! haha and my dad's voice in my head "Blayne don't use your card unless you have the cash to back it up!" Jay you are being an "enabler"!!!

YAY I AM SO EXCITED TOO! Ooh I cant wait for Cirque. It wasnt a website I watched - my friend actually had the DVD of Cirque Quizam and let me borrowed it. I was absolutely enthralled by it! Cant wiat! Talk to you soon!

It looks like you will be getting to disney at the end of our trip.
Hope you have a great time!!!
-nat

Thanks so much! Stay tuned!

 

[Cinderella16]

Another great installment! I love all the luggage talk, I get excited over the smallest things too. Well I'm keeping this short and sweet cuz I am taking a study break! Your trip is coming up really fast!!! January is almost over!!!

 

[Blaynexox]

Another great installment! I love all the luggage talk, I get excited over the smallest things too. Well I'm keeping this short and sweet cuz I am taking a study break! Your trip is coming up really fast!!! January is almost over!!!

Thanks! Its good to know Im not alone. I legitmately get excited over the smallest things. You should have seen me the day my passporter came in! I read it cover to cover and was basically like - and when those crocs came in after the initial "oh boy they are just as ugly in real life as they are online" comment I was as well! RRR I should be studying too. But Im ADDICTED! Your right the trip is coming so soon. I can believe tomorrow we will be in the TEENS! YIPPY! Talk to you soon!

 

[mlill]

Love the new luggage! You're goin' to WDW in style! Don't worry, you're going to love LaNouba! Cirque is definitely weird, but GOOD! I know you're going to have a blast at the P&P Party, too! It's getting close now!

-Michelle

 

[2BusyPlanning]

OK, I was going to let this one go. But, JoAnn Fabrics was my first job. I live in Memphis (home to FedEx). And you must have watched "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" way too many times! Krull, the Warrior King? Too funny!

BTW... you guys really do look like Barbie and Ken!

I will be checking back for your trip report. Have a great time!

 

[njdisneyfreak]

I just began reading your pre-trip report. Thanks for replying to mine, or I may not have known about yours. I love your pictures. You and your BF look so cute together and that is the cutest little dog!!! My DH and I have a cute little dog, too. So, I'm partial to them.

I am so glad that you provided us with so much background to your story. I definitely can see how it would help us understand. I really respect your parents for stepping in and helping your BF by taking him in. That says a lot about them.

You are going to have a GREAT TIME at WDW!!! I still feel so excited each time I go and you never forget your first trip there.

My DH and I stayed at POP on our last trip. We really liked it. I was so excited when I found out that we had the building where the big statue of Lady from "Lady and the Tramp" stands. In fact, when I opened my door, she was right there!

I can't wait to read the rest of your report, both before and after.

 

[BriarRosie]

Wow. First off let me just say - THANK YOU! I COMPLETELY appreciate all of your input and tips. I REALLY need them and you really spent a lot of time helping me. THANKS SO MUCH! So first off. Yes, my dad did give me a pretty thorough description on the packing protocol. (However he only had ONE BAG! ) But I will make sure to put all my liquids in my checked bags. I really dont need any sort of liquid or product with me on the plane anyways. My hair is pretty resilient!

Heheh. I'm just an opinionated buttinski. I am glad your Dad made sure you knew what to expect. But please, PLEASE don't forget the Ziplock bags! Any leak is a BAD leak.

I completely understand your comment on packing in A LOT! I agree. I think that I have packed a lot in. Mainly because I have never experienced it and want to cram as much as I can in. I have already made a few changes to the itinerary, but I will have to sit down and see what else I can tweak in order to give us midday breaks. It should work out so that we can have a midday break on a lot of the days because I have a "morning park" and then a park where we are having dinner on a lot of the days. Thanks for the tips on blisters. I have bought my crocs and plan on purchasing some moleskin. I will also consider that deodorant tip. Very ingenious! I really planned out my itinerary just so that I could have some guidelines for the trip. I needed something like that as an outline, however I will definitely be lenient with the days. If we decide to sleep in or skip a park that day it will be fine. I just really want to make all our ADR's. The rest will work out the way it works out.

The good thing is that you have a long trip. WDW has so much, you really can't squeeze everything you want to see into a week. I'm really glad to see that you've bought the guidebooks. I have been a guidebook junkie. I'm the type who will read them cover-to-cover for entertainment. If you've researched the attractions, you'll probably have a good idea what you want to see and the priority of which you want to see the most. I have one suggestion of an attraction I strongly suggest everyone avoid like the plague: Stitch's Great Escape. Trust me on this. You won't be able to get those minutes of your life back and you'll more than likely lose your appetite. If you heed that advice, I'll consider my mission accomplished.

For this trip we got the Park Hopper Plus upgrade for free and I really wanted to go to DisneyQuest in order to use the free passes and because it looks like something me and Todd will really enjoy. I especially want to try out the Build and Ride your own rollercoaster thing. We will play it by ear though. Ooh and I am VERY excited for Earl of Sandwich - Yummy is right!

No worries. DisneyQuest is fun (I've been the one that used to be here in Chicago), but I guess it's not a big deal if you don't get the "full" day in if it doesn't bother you. (I'm one of those people who want to try everything, and I know DQ requires a lot of time to do this!)

Thanks for your tips on the Pirate and Princess party. We are going to leave after lunch and relax at the resort. We were planning on heading over to MK a little early about 4:00 or so. Once we are rested. We should be out of MGM by about 1:00 PM that day so we should have a couple hours or so to rest at Pop.

Sounds great! If you get antsy, you can always go to the MK early, but you would enter with your park hopper pass (and just show your Party ticket later for the wristband pickup sometime after 4pm). Just don't forget to bring your Party tickets with you or you'll have fun doing the Bus Ride of Shame back to Pop to get them.

Thank you for the traveling tip - this is what I am most nervous about. So leave about an hour between traveling. Yikes! Thats a while! I will have to make sure I write this down! On Day 4, I think that we will not end up staying for the parade. Instead I think I may have us go back to the hotel around 1:30 ish and relax until our ADR at Le Cellier. Does that sound better?

That tip is usually for travelling between resorts, or if you want to be sure you get to your ADR's. Disney doesn't make travelling between resorts that simple, and your best bet is using a theme park or Downtown Disney as a "hub". During park hours, you can always travel from resort to resort using any theme park transportation. When the parks close, Downtown Disney becomes the "hub". The best part of using the bus system is that each bus depot has clear signage showing which resort belongs to which numbered stop. The numbers and locations will not be the same in each park, so it's good to check out the signs leading to the busses.

For Day 9 - CIRQUE DAY~!! I have actually changed that Les Chef de France ADR from 3:00 to 1:30 so we will have plenty of time to get to Downtown Disney. Do you think there would be enough time to have a break at Pop before the show? Im glad you let me know where it was located. Ill make sure I print that out so I'll know where to go! Thanks for telling me about the Adventurers Club - I have been hearing so many good things about it! Now that there is only two clubs I can get into, I definitely think we will have to try that out!

You really don't have to worry about Downtown Disney. The layout is similar to the outdoor mall near my house, and getting from end to end takes no longer than 10 minutes. All you really need to know is when you get off at the Pleasure Island stop, you'll just follow the crowd through the crosswalk, and head left past the giant dinosaur by Planet Hollywood and take a left past the AMC Theater. The Cirque "tent" is where the West Side ends, and it's just an enormous white building.

And if you're stuck in the 80s or 90s buildings at Pop Century, it's ok to cut through the parking lot to get to the bus stop. As long as you look both ways, of course. LOL!

 

[4boysrus]

Hi Blayne!

I just got all caught up on your PTR . I saw the link to it when you responded to my pre-trippie.

I'm really enjoying yours and I can't believe that we'll be at Pop at the same time for several days. I'll have to look out for you.

Wanted to also say that my dh and I started dating our sophmore year in HS. I was 15 and he was 16. We just celebrated 12 yrs together and we'll be celebrating our 9 yr wedding anniversary in April.

Can't wait to read more about your trip!

 

[*MickeyFan*]

Hey! Thanks for reading! I would love to do a honeymoon at Disney! I was thinking maybe a Land/Sea type thing! How would rate having a honeymoon there? I hope you have fun on your upcoming trip and I cant wait to here all about yours as well!

Well our Honeymoon wasn't the most exciting.. Being DH first time to Disney he was kind of a stick in the mud. I mean don't get me wrong he loved the rides... but he didn't want to do the Mouse ears, and we really didn't know the things that were available to us. My Boss and his Wife at the time actually set up the trip. We just forked over the $$. We shared a room, which stunk.We stayed at the Disney Institute (it's no longer there ) We didn't take advantage of it like we could of, so it's like a if I only knew then what I know now type of thing. Maybe I can convince him to do our vows again on our 10th anniversary or something Not sure if I will do a trip report. I don't think I am clever enough. We will see. I am really enjoying the report! jen

 

[Cinderella16]

Thanks! Its good to know Im not alone. I legitmately get excited over the smallest things. You should have seen me the day my passporter came in! I read it cover to cover and was basically like - and when those crocs came in after the initial "oh boy they are just as ugly in real life as they are online" comment I was as well! RRR I should be studying too. But Im ADDICTED! Your right the trip is coming so soon. I can believe tomorrow we will be in the TEENS! YIPPY! Talk to you soon!

I did the exact same thing 2 weeks ago when my Passporter came in!! I have never read a book that fast!! I love the Passporter, DBF thought I was crazy because when it came in the mail finally I started screaming and got all excited...he didnt understand (but secretly likes it too) I will have a whole section on that in my pre trippie when I get the time to write another installment.