It's a Land/Sea/Land Celebration!!...A Jan. 2019 PTR *Updated 10/9*

[Happy Duck]

Hello fellow Disney fans!

My name is Lauren and welcome to this wild rollercoaster ride! After taking a break from Disboards for awhile, I'm back to share with you the details (and hopefully, completed TR) for the most *insane* trip I have ever planned.

A lifetime ago, I began the trip report for "The Wilderness Must Be Explored (for 15 days!)- A Mother/Daughter Trip!" but alas, as is the fate of many trip reports, it stays unfinished. Perhaps in this time of waiting, I will pull out the trip notebook, and finish that epic tale.

Why am I starting a new PTR? Because I need someone to bear witness to the monumental task that lies ahead of me. In January 2019, my family will embark on a trip that I have dubbed insane. It's ridiculous. It has so many details, it is quite possible I will leave us stranded for a night without a bed to sleep in. (Hence, the PTR. If you see any egregious errors, please inform me!)

Here is the outline of the trip.

Wednesday, January 2nd - Friday, January 4th is the "Sibling Trip" portion. My brother Alex (college student) and I are spending some quality time together. We're staying at Art of Animation (Little Mermaid Room) since that resort has always been on his bucket list.

Saturday, January 5th - Sunday, January 6th is when our Mom arrives to join us. When she arrives on Saturday (Jan. 5) we are switching to the Contemporary Resort. We've never stayed here before, and since we're only staying two nights, it seemed like a great opportunity to try it!

Monday, January 7th is CRUISE DAY! The three of us (Alex, Mom, and I) are embarking on a 4-night cruise on the Disney Dream! We scheduled DCL transfers so we'll be picked up on Monday morning at the Contemporary Resort. (This is our first ever Disney Cruise and I am so excited!)

On Tuesday, January 8th, my Dad flies into MCO. Why is he flying in after we've already left on the cruise? Well, my Dad is currently finishing up his last year at seminary (changing careers) and he and his friends put together a trip to celebrate! We're calling this portion of the trip the "Seminary Soiree". He and his friends will have quality time from Tuesday, January 8th - Friday, January 11th, staying at Port Orleans Riverside.

On the morning of January 11th, the three of us will disembark from our cruise...and transfer back to WDW! That's right, folks...this trip isn't over yet! After the cruise, Alex, Mom, and I will transfer back to Port Orleans French Quarter. Dad will transfer to POFQ as well.

From Friday, January 11th - Monday, January 14th we will all be together at POFQ. Alex and I are booked into a Standard room and Mom and Dad are booked in a King.

But wait! We're still not done!

On Monday, January 14th, Alex and I will board the UN-Magical Express and return home but Mom and Dad will stay! Mom and Dad will finish out this adventure and continue to stay from Monday, January 14th - Thursday, January 17th.

And then, this insane trip will officially be at an end....and the trip report will officially begin!

So, do you think we're crazy? I certainly do! This trip has been dreamed up, planned, and been a savings goal for a long time. Officially, this trip is to celebrate both my brother's graduation from high school(June 2018) and my Dad's graduation from seminary (May 2019). Obviously, we are a Disney-loving family and in lieu of parties and other gifts, we decided to celebrate together! Also, with all of us in different places and in different careers, it is unlikely that we'll have any opportunity to do this ever again.

So like I said, this trip is insane. Planning it is a monumental task. But it is also crazy exciting and I am so glad you are along for the ride!

Introductions
Wednesday, January 2nd
Thursday, January 3rd
Trip Background

 

[Happy Duck]

Time to introduce the cast for this trip!

My name is Lauren!



I am a self-proclaimed Disney addict and this will be my 11th trip overall. My very first trip was when I was 12. We stayed at AKL and it was supposed to be "the trip of a lifetime"...and it almost was! Returning to Disney World just wasn't a priority. In high school I was able to return as a part of the band/chorus trip, but it wasn't a traditional vacation. Then, in January 2012, everything changed! Mom decided she wanted to take her kids to Disney. I was just about to graduate from college and she thought it would be the perfect "last hurrah". But it wasn't! That was the moment everything changed and we became a Disney-obsessed family!

Since then we've taken trips in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. I've taken trips with the whole family, just Alex, just Mom, and even had a solo adventure! This year (2018) is known as the dark year in our family. We decided to take a year off to save for this INSANE adventure in January 2019!


Meet Mom and Dad!



Mom was the first to convert to "Disney-Addict". Remember, it was her idea to take her kids on an adventure in January 2012! Dad didn't join in the fun until March 2014...and even then, he went as a partial-unwilling participant. He came only because we enjoyed Disney so much and he wanted to know what the fuss was about. After that trip, he was hooked and has looked for every opportunity to return!


Meet Alex!



Alex is not quite as Disney-obsessed as my Mom and I are, but he truly enjoys going on trips. He's more of the "you-plan-it-and-I'll-enjoy-it" kind of vacationer. Not that it's a bad thing...I don't mind planning the trips! Alex is currently in his freshman year, majoring in Theater Production and Design. This January trip is perfect because now that he's out of high school, he has an extended winter break!


Guest-star: Maggie!



This is my little puppy, Maggie. She's a terrier mix that I rescued 2 years ago. She's not really a fan of Disney because that means Mama goes away for a week or so...but she's always happy when I bring her surprises!

 

[Happy Duck]

Wednesday, January 2nd
Resort Reservations: Art of Animation - Little Mermaid (Alex and Lauren)
Dining Reservations: None

Today will be DISNEY DAY! I know we are walking into the post-New Years crowds, but that's OK. Hopefully we'll get a chance to see some of the Christmas decorations before they are taken down!

Alex and I are getting an early start...3:30am to be exact! It remains to be seen, but we may choose to stay the night before in a hotel near the airport for convenience. Currently, my plan is to pick Alex up at 3:30, make it to the airport by 4:15, park in the economy lot and bus back over to the terminal by 4:45, make it through security by 5:15, and onto the plane by 5:45am! Whew...quite a timetable to stick to! If all goes well, we should be arriving in sunny Florida by 8:45am. After that, it's the walk to Level 1B and onto the Magical Express!

Even with any extra stops, I imagine we'll be at Art of Animation by 10:30. If the room is ready, we'll go drop our stuff off and if not, it's a quick stop at bell services. At this point, we'll probably be hungry so we'll grab a quick snack at Landscape of Flavors. The last time I stayed there (2013) I tried a Mickey-shaped brownie that wasn't too impressive. I remember it being very dry. Maybe a cupcake this time? (I would get a Mickey Bar but I have a personal rule that I have to eat the first one of a trip in a park.)

After getting some food, we'll get on a bus to Animal Kingdom. Today's goals are Pandora + Festival of the Lion King. My hope is to get a FP+ for Avatar Flight of Passage from 11:45 - 12:45pm and we'll ride Na'avi River Journey in standby. Lunch will be at Satuli Canteen...I cannot wait to eat that delicious chicken bowl again! After lunch, we'll attend the 3:00 Festival of the Lion King show and then stop back in Pandora for one more ride on a banshee. It'll be an early night for us (since it was such an early morning) and we'll head back to AOA to unpack, collapse into bed, and probably watch a movie as we drift off to sleep in the most magical place on earth.

 

[Happy Duck]

Thursday, January 3rd
Resort Reservations: Art of Animation - Little Mermaid (Alex and Lauren)
Dining Reservations: None

Good morning Disney! Time to start the first full day!

We like to get an early start, so the plan is to be at Landscape of Flavors for breakfast by 7:20 - 7:30. After eating something yummy, it's off to Magic Kingdom!

Our first stop for the day will be Frontierland, starting with Big Thunder and then heading over to Splash. We love heading this direction first thing in the morning. These are probably our favorite 2 attractions in the whole park so we love getting to them right away! After conquering the mountains, we'll have some time for Tiki Room, the Tree House, pin trading, and maybe a snack. After the rush of the first two, it'll be nice to slow down and just enjoy some time in Adventureland. Of course, we'll also visit Pirates and Jungle Cruise.

Then it's lunchtime! I don't know where we'll end up yet...maybe Peco's? We haven't eaten there in a few trips so it might be time to return. After lunch we'll visit Philharmagic and Haunted Mansion before making the trip down Main Street. Most days, we would be heading back to the resort for a break, but as this is the first day, we're going to continue adventuring for a little while longer!

We're going to switch to Hollywood Studios for one reason...TOY STORY LAND! This will be the first time we're seeing the world from the "toy" perspective! However, before we visit the land of toys, we're going to head to Arendelle and enjoy a Frozen Sing-Along! I know this has been there for awhile, but we've never had the opportunity. It'll be a first for us!

After singing along with Anna and Elsa we'll head over to Slinky Dog Dash! The plan is to get a FP+ for 4:00 - 5:00. Then it'll be dinner time...of course we're going to eat at Woody's Lunch Box! After dinner, it's time to break those plates at Toy Story Mania (and continue my winning streak!), followed by a FP+ at Rock 'n' Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror.

After our trip on the elevator, it's time for Fantasmic! This is one of Alex's favorite shows. I think he loves it even more than fireworks! After Fantasmic, it'll be time to say goodnight. Back to AOA to rest up for another day of fun!

 

[Happy Duck]

You might be looking at this trip, and all of its different parts, dates, and resorts, and start to wonder...why would they ever do this? Surely there must have been a less complicated way to travel!

Well, there's a few reasons. It started with everyone's "real life" schedule. As we are 4 adults, there are a lot of scheduling concerns (also known as work....) I had to be back to work on Wednesday, Jan. 15th. Dad couldn't leave until after Monday, Jan. 7th. (He's taking his GOEs - General Ordination Exams - that day. Hence leaving for Disney on Tuesday....time to celebrate!) Alex is heading back to college over Martin Luther King weekend, so he needed to be back with enough time to get everything prepped and ready. Mom's schedule was the most flexible.

Then we started to think about how we wanted to travel. First priority was that Mom and Dad wanted time alone together in addition to time as a family. Early on, we decided that since Alex and I needed to be back by the 15th, Mom and Dad could add a few days by themselves at the end of the trip. Sounds easy enough to do.

Then, Dad said that he and his seminary friends wanted to plan a trip together. Alex and I don't particularly know them very well, so we didn't want a large portion of our trip to be spent with such a large group. At the same time, I was pushing for a sea-portion of the trip. We've never been on a Disney Cruise before (or any cruise) and it's something that I've always wanted to try. Dad had 0% interest in going on the cruise, so we decided that while the rest of us set sail on the Dream, he would be back in WDW with his seminary friends.

Then, thinking about the beginning of the trip: Alex and I had the flexibility to fly in a few days before everyone else. We decided to plan a few days of a "sibling only" trip, staying at AOA because that's been a bucket list resort for Alex. Since it will be January and we are flying in from Pennsylvania, it made sense that Mom would fly down on Sunday, the day before the cruise, just in case of a delay. The more we thought about it (and her schedule) we realized Mom was able to come in on Saturday instead and have 2-nights with us instead of just the one.

Originally, we were all going to switch to POR. We've stayed there before and really enjoy it. THEN Disney released the "Gift of Magic" room-only discount. As I usually do, when discounts are released I start searching for a way to upgrade. I found a room available at the Contemporary for about $200 more than the room at POR. Yes, that's a steep increase, however we've never stayed at the Contemporary before and what better time to try it than when you only need to pay for 2 nights?

Whew...so that's how we got to this:

Alex and Lauren at AOA
Mom joins us, switch to CR
Alex, Lauren, and Mom leave on Disney Dream
Dad arrives and stays with seminary friends at POR
Back from cruise, all together at POFQ
Mom and Dad alone at POFQ