~*~our 2011 DISNEY-POTTER trip~*~

[wingedjojo]

Hi everybody and to my first ever pre-trip report!!!

I've been reading on the Dis for a while now and since we've got a trip planned (finally), it's my chance to do one! Since this is my first ever pre-trip report and I have no idea what I'm really doing, I'm kind of nervous in starting one. So bear with me as i try to do this right and make it something worth reading.

Anyhoo, like any good pre-trip report, I guess I'll start with the basics.

What: our 4th trip to Disney World and 1st ever visit to see Harry Potter

When: June 13 - June 19

Where: offsite; but who cares? we're going to DISNEYWORLD!!!

Why: graduation trip for my sister (from high school) and myself (from college; yes, i'm ancient)

and most importantly...

Who:
First off, there's me of course. My name's Jo, ripe old age of 22, and about to graduate from the University of California, Davis as an animal science major. What's an animal science major, you say? Well, here's a little snippet as to what we like to do:

Grossed out? Here's a better picture:

I'm the one on the right. The guy on the left is my boyfriend who, sadly, will not be coming with us.

Next on the cast list is my mom (age undisclosed):

Contrary to what the picture suggests, she is not an alcoholic. What she is though is a very hard-working individual who raised 3 girls (practically) by herself. While not as big of a Disney fan as most in our family, she tolerates it and we try to make her have as much fun as possible. She's the planner when it comes to flights, hotels and such whereas I deal with the smaller details (i.e. which park, which day, looking for deals, etc.).

My 2 younger sisters: Jan (17) and Jess (19)

Jess is to the left and is currently a second year art studio major at Mills College. She's good at what she does (trust me, otherwise I so would not have endorsed her going to such an expensive school for art - I'm just kidding). Likes Disney enough but sometimes I feel she can go either way. Doesn't give much input other than "don't care."

Jan is the other soon-to-be graduate. No idea what college she's going to yet since acceptance letters haven't gotten out but she wants to go into nursing or something similar. Besides me, I think she's the second biggest Disney fan in the family; she'll probably help me plan most in terms of what to do/eat.

Last in the party is Jan's boyfriend, Edward. I'm pretty sure he's 18; we share the same birthday and he's 4 years younger...so yeah, that's 18.

I'm not sure how he feels about Disney. I guess he likes it enough to come along (or likes my sister enough to come along for her). This is a first for us having Edward come on a "family" vacation so we'll see how that goes. Most likely we'll make him take all our family pictures; possibly pack mule as well.

As I somewhat mentioned before, this is our 4th trip to Disney World. We went in 2000, 2003 and 2007. It wasn't until last year that I discovered the Disboards, introduced them to my sisters, and have been dreaming of the day we can finally use the knowledge we gained off of these boards. Not to mention we are SUPER excited about seeing the Harry Potter land at Islands of Adventure.

I'll leave it here for now and return with more details of our planning. It's gonna be fun times and you're all welcome to come along. Thanks for reading!!!

 

[wingedjojo]

How Our Trip Came To Be

This trip didn't really go into its planning stages until about a month ago. We wanted to go somewhere as a last hurrah before we all got split up (both sisters at different colleges, me off to who knows where and mom at home). Many ideas were thrown around.

#1: Disney Cruise

- Why we thought YES: We have never gone on a Disney Cruise before, mom can relax while we did our own thing, warm Caribbean weather, not a lot of walking necessary.
- Why we decided NO: No (decent priced) room available; oh well, next time we'll make decisions earlier to snag that room.

#2: Disneyland

- Why we thought YES: It was close, not too costly, and we can have a road trip.
- Why we decided NO: We had just gone to Disneyland in winter of '09. It didn't seem worthwhile to go before all the construction was done. Plus mom is way tired of Disneyland already (she didn't even go into the parks with us in '09 ).

#3: Hawaii

- Why we thought YES: Again, that warm weather, relaxation, and little walking was tempting to the mom. We haven't been to Hawaii since I was 5, Jess was 3, and Janet currently in progress (although it didn't really count since we were there because of flight issues and was forced to stay a day). Plus, BEAUTIFUL was a big bonus.
- Why we decided NO: Round trip airfare at the time was hella expensive; $700 before taxes and fees? No, thank you. Hawaii, you shall have to wait.

#4: New York

- Why we thought YES: Only mom has ever been to New York and I really wanted to see the Statue of Liberty and Times Square. We would have been able to travel down to Washington D.C. and go see tons of museums and Jess loves art so she was a go.
- Why we decided NO: Jan said "no interest."

#5: Disney World

Mom was super hesitant about suggesting this even though she knew the three of us would be on board immediately. On a single person's income, Disney World is pricey. Being in California, traveling to Orlando can only be done through air ($), we would have to stay in a hotel since we don't know anybody out there ($), staying offsite (which is what we have always done) meant we would need a car ($), and finally, park tickets ($) would mean big bucks ($$$).

What made her change her mind was a number of things.
1) She was able to find airfare through Continental for $500 each person (taxes and fees included). Granted, it was a red eye flight and we had a 3 hour layover in Texas going and coming back, it was still a pretty good deal compared to Hawaii.
2) My aunt works for Sheraton hotels and got us an amazing deal at Sheraton Safari Hotel and Suites for $50 a night.
3) She was able to find a weekly rate for a midsize car from Advantage for about $13/day. I couldn't find anything better through mousesavers, so .
4) I convinced everyone to chip in and pay for our own park tickets and I would pay for a couple of meals.

So after all that and many discussions and agreements, we booked the flight, reserved the hotel and car, and the dates were set. Disney World was a go.

 

[OThopeful35]

Subbing Can't wait to hear more! We leave out of SFO as well and the airfare for my month of August very expensive But we have to go this year because I am off to Graduate school in 2012

 

[wingedjojo]

Subbing Can't wait to hear more! We leave out of SFO as well and the airfare for my month of August very expensive But we have to go this year because I am off to Graduate school in 2012

YAY!!! My first reader!!!
The sad thing about school is always being limited in travel dates. Grad school sounds super exciting; I hope I can get to that point one day.

 

[wingedjojo]

The Plan

So here's a basic outline of the current itinerary. I say current because between now and June, anything can change.

Monday, June 13

We have a red eye flight leaving SFO around 12:30am. I don't mind this so much because I love airports and the feeling of adventure and travel that comes with being in an airport. The excitement of flying, let alone flying to Disney World, would have me up and chipper. I just hope they don't have those cancer-inducing machines set up. As much fun as it is to get through security and bag check, I don't want to walk away with more radiation than necessary running through my skin cells.

We'll fly for a couple of hours, have a layover in Houston, fly again at 9am then finally arrive in Orlando around 1pm.

Before we can actually leave the airport there will be a couple of things to take care of. If we checked any bags in (which I'm sure we will), we'll have to get those (does anyone else enjoy watching the bags go round and round?). This may be preceded or followed by a trip to the bathrooms. Lastly we will get the rental car and be on our merry way.

Dependent on the time, the order of events will vary. What I do know is that at some point we will check into the Sheraton Safari Hotel and Suites and go to Downtown Disney for lunch at T-REX!!!

At least for Jan and I, we're super excited to be eating here. I'm sure the food won't be much different from Rainforest Cafe but seriously, who can pass up dinosaurs? I hear it's super loud in there and to that I say: who would be afraid of quiet dinosaurs? Right?! Louder the better!!!

Following lunch, we'll probably wander around a bit and check out the shops, go back to the hotel to swim, relax, and just get ready for the next day at....

Islands of Adventure to see the WONDERFUL WORLD OF HARRY POTTER!!!!

 

[wingedjojo]

I just had a thought about having to take a flight at 12am. That's when the flight departs. We'll probably have to be at the airport about 3 hours prior, so that's 9pm. We should have no problem with that; not even mom. And here I was all worried about getting up and stuff...we probably wouldn't even have gone to sleep.

Anyway. On to day 2's plans:

Tuesday, June 14

The plan today was simple. All we really wanted to do was visit the Harry Potter land at Islands of Adventure. Sure we'll do other stuff there too but that's our main focus.

I had decided to put Harry Potter land at the start of our trip because...
#1: It's the beginning of the trip so we'll be all energized and ready to battle our way through crowds.
#2: It's a Tuesday and the probability of large crowds (should) be less; ergo, more time/space to explore.

The park is supposed to be opened from 9am - 9pm. 12 hours should be enough time to get our Harry Potter fix, right? Has anyone been to Harry Potter land before? Is 12 hours doable in getting things done?

MapQuest says it'll take about 20 minutes to get there (give and take traffic, make that 45 minutes). So we'll need to get out the door about an hour in advance. I'll probably be awake by 6 knowing me the way I do.

We actually were at Islands of Adventure back in 2007 so there really isn't anything on our MUST DO list besides visit Harry Potter land. Hopefully we'll get to go into Hogwarts more than once and the lines aren't too terrible.

We'll have our day at the park and probably be back by 11 at the latest.

 

[OThopeful35]

Eating at T-Rex sounds awesome! It's a must-do on our agenda this summer. DS will really wants to go, "to the dinosaur restaurant." LoL...I am seriously thinking about leaving earlier so that we can go to US/IOA....it would definitely have to be a surprise for DS, just in case it does not happen....he will not be disappointed

 

[wingedjojo]

Eating at T-Rex sounds awesome! It's a must-do on our agenda this summer. DS will really wants to go, "to the dinosaur restaurant." LoL...I am seriously thinking about leaving earlier so that we can go to US/IOA....it would definitely have to be a surprise for DS, just in case it does not happen....he will not be disappointed

I can already see your DS having a blast at T-Rex. It's almost a given that boys and dinosaurs kind of go hand in hand.

If you can go to IoA, it would totally be worth it. I mean, yeah, a lot of the rides there are thrill rides and I'm not sure how your family feels about them, but the detailing in the different lands are almost as good as Disney. My personal favorite (soon to be replaced with Harry Potter land, I'm sure) is Seuss Landing. That place is crazy cool. Here's a couple of pictures of when we went in 2007:

Apparently, there isn't a single straight line in that part of the park, which is pretty neat. And I just love Dr.Seuss.

They also have a part of the park dedicated to superheroes. I'm somewhat confused as to whether they will change that or not considering a lot of them were Marvel characters and as we all know, Disney bought out Marvel. I wonder if Universal has to pay some sort of bigger licensing fee or what not.

Anyway, you should totally consider going there. In terms of Universal Studios, if you've ever gone out to the one in LA, it's not that much different and unless you really have time, I would really just skip it.

 

[RachelNinja]

I'm here! Haha, is it silly to say that I love "finding" other Asians on DIS???

[edited after reading your updates!]

I really like your PTR style! Haha, I got a kick out of the stuff that you know you'll have to do after you land in Florida. I too would think about the fact that we'll have to take a bathroom break! That's what I thought with Amtrak! I was looking forward to a bathroom that didn't move!

When Disney bought out Marvel, I asked about Universal too! They worked out some agreement though, and Marvel will stay part of Universal from what I remember.

Oh, as for Harry Potter, I don't know about it because I didn't go. However, Danielle, Nikki, and Ray went to HP on the Friday we were there. We dropped them off early in the morning way before it opened, but then they called us at 1:30pm and told us they were done! They said it was really crowded, and there really wasn't much to do. They said a lot of the storefronts are fake, and there are only 3 stores to go in. Dani got dizzy from Forbidden Journey, and Nik got scared on it.

A tip they got from our uncle ... they said to use bag swap instead of waiting for a locker. Since there were 3 of them and it was an uneven number anyway, they did it so that 2 people went first while 1 person held the bag. Then the person with the bag would go on and 1 other person could ride again (Ray had to ride by himself though because both Dani and Nik didn't want to go on it again!).

Oh, they also said the food wasn't good. The shepherd's pie was "sour" according to what they said. But of course, this was after they had Columbia Harbour House, Pecos Bill, Le Cellier, and 'Ohana!!!

I don't mean to discourage you from being excited and stuff because they did say it was done very well and that they're very glad to have gone there. They said it was just funny that they were looking forward to HP so much and not so much to WDW, but after experiencing both of them, it reversed! I think it was because we went to WDW parks first, and they had such high expectations because of the cleanliness and the really yummy food! It's good for me because now they REALLY want to go to WDW again! Howard and I have travel companions!

 

[wingedjojo]

I'm here! Haha, is it silly to say that I love "finding" other Asians on DIS???

[edited after reading your updates!]

I really like your PTR style! Haha, I got a kick out of the stuff that you know you'll have to do after you land in Florida. I too would think about the fact that we'll have to take a bathroom break! That's what I thought with Amtrak! I was looking forward to a bathroom that didn't move!

When Disney bought out Marvel, I asked about Universal too! They worked out some agreement though, and Marvel will stay part of Universal from what I remember.

Oh, as for Harry Potter, I don't know about it because I didn't go. However, Danielle, Nikki, and Ray went to HP on the Friday we were there. We dropped them off early in the morning way before it opened, but then they called us at 1:30pm and told us they were done! They said it was really crowded, and there really wasn't much to do. They said a lot of the storefronts are fake, and there are only 3 stores to go in. Dani got dizzy from Forbidden Journey, and Nik got scared on it.

A tip they got from our uncle ... they said to use bag swap instead of waiting for a locker. Since there were 3 of them and it was an uneven number anyway, they did it so that 2 people went first while 1 person held the bag. Then the person with the bag would go on and 1 other person could ride again (Ray had to ride by himself though because both Dani and Nik didn't want to go on it again!).

Oh, they also said the food wasn't good. The shepherd's pie was "sour" according to what they said. But of course, this was after they had Columbia Harbour House, Pecos Bill, Le Cellier, and 'Ohana!!!

I don't mean to discourage you from being excited and stuff because they did say it was done very well and that they're very glad to have gone there. They said it was just funny that they were looking forward to HP so much and not so much to WDW, but after experiencing both of them, it reversed! I think it was because we went to WDW parks first, and they had such high expectations because of the cleanliness and the really yummy food! It's good for me because now they REALLY want to go to WDW again! Howard and I have travel companions!

Hahaha, I believe I "found" you first. Yeah, there aren't that many of us around on the Dis, is there? Weird.

Based on what you said, I do believe it was quite well planned of me to put Harry Potter land first then. Our trip can only get better from there! Although honestly, my sisters and I are such big fans of Harry Potter that if they had put out a large cardboard box saying "Meet Harry Here" we still would've gone and checked it out.

Are you gonna include their visit to Harry Potter in your trip report? I would love to see pictures.

 

[wingedjojo]

So here in the cow-land that we call UC Davis, it's finals week. Testing began Tuesday and my last test is on Saturday night. While it was probably bad form of me to start a pre-trip report at the beginning of said week, I couldn't resist.

Anyhoo. If I want to pass my classes and actually be able to go to Disney World with pride, I need to study. I've already made it through one test and final project with only two more tests to go!!!

Considering I had to deal with this on my last test

(chicken scratches, I say) and it only gets worse from here, I need to ban myself from the Dis until after my last final. It's not that far from now but since I go on the Dis so much, it's gonna be torture. No worries though, I got these lovely beauties to keep me company during my studies:

TATA for now!!

 

[RachelNinja]

Yup! You did "find" me first! Since I don't have much time to look for new reports to read (and I'm rarely on the PTR board), I only get to them sometimes when others comment on mine! So yay!

I haven't seen any pics from HP yet. I'll ask him for them when I get closer to the reporting date. Here's hoping I don't start fading away with TR writing just like I did in my last one! I am determined to finish the April 2010 one too though!

GOOD LUCK ON YOUR FINALS! Haha, I have no clue what's on that board!

 

[hugApug]

Subbing on your PTR! I'm an SF girl too, originally from Yuba City- very close to cow-town Davis!

Can't wait to hear more about your trip itinerary. We'll be visiting WDW and WWoHP in May, and are super excited. Good luck on your finals!

 

[OThopeful35]

I can already see your DS having a blast at T-Rex. It's almost a given that boys and dinosaurs kind of go hand in hand.

If you can go to IoA, it would totally be worth it. I mean, yeah, a lot of the rides there are thrill rides and I'm not sure how your family feels about them, but the detailing in the different lands are almost as good as Disney. My personal favorite (soon to be replaced with Harry Potter land, I'm sure) is Seuss Landing. That place is crazy cool. Here's a couple of pictures of when we went in 2007:

Apparently, there isn't a single straight line in that part of the park, which is pretty neat. And I just love Dr.Seuss.

They also have a part of the park dedicated to superheroes. I'm somewhat confused as to whether they will change that or not considering a lot of them were Marvel characters and as we all know, Disney bought out Marvel. I wonder if Universal has to pay some sort of bigger licensing fee or what not.

Anyway, you should totally consider going there. In terms of Universal Studios, if you've ever gone out to the one in LA, it's not that much different and unless you really have time, I would really just skip it.

I cannot wait to go here It looks so fun. I did not buy any disney park tickets for the first 4 days so we are going to spend those days at US/IOA.

I go to a CSU so we are done for the quarter. Hope you did well on your finals!!

 

[jtawesomesauce]

I'm offended. I should be the second biggest disney fan.... hisssssss
And I am excited. You just gotta talk about the right stuff.
And I have not agreed to NY for the museums. I would not want to go there.

You better write about me as a disney fan.
And you're welcome.

Jess




meow

 

[wingedjojo]

Yup! You did "find" me first! Since I don't have much time to look for new reports to read (and I'm rarely on the PTR board), I only get to them sometimes when others comment on mine! So yay!

I haven't seen any pics from HP yet. I'll ask him for them when I get closer to the reporting date. Here's hoping I don't start fading away with TR writing just like I did in my last one! I am determined to finish the April 2010 one too though!

GOOD LUCK ON YOUR FINALS! Haha, I have no clue what's on that board!

Thank you for the well wishes!!! Hopefully I did well enough.

I believe in you; you can totally finish your TR(s). Plus, when you're all stressed from your wedding plans, you can go reminisce about all those good times and you'll feel better.

Subbing on your PTR! I'm an SF girl too, originally from Yuba City- very close to cow-town Davis!

Can't wait to hear more about your trip itinerary. We'll be visiting WDW and WWoHP in May, and are super excited. Good luck on your finals!

Thanks for the well wishes. Are you super excited about going on your trip? It's so close!!!

I cannot wait to go here It looks so fun. I did not buy any disney park tickets for the first 4 days so we are going to spend those days at US/IOA.

I go to a CSU so we are done for the quarter. Hope you did well on your finals!!

to going to US/IoA. It'll be fun. I can't remember but states are on the semester system, right? Do you guys get a lot of time off for spring break? Also, thanks for the well wishes on my finals.

I'm offended. I should be the second biggest disney fan.... hisssssss
And I am excited. You just gotta talk about the right stuff.
And I have not agreed to NY for the museums. I would not want to go there.

You better write about me as a disney fan.
And you're welcome.

Jess




meow

Well, well, well. What do we have here? You would be second but you never contribute to planning and pay attention to me. But you at least get points for making a Dis account. You and Jan are tied.

 

[wingedjojo]

Continuing with The Plan, onwards to day 3!!!

Wednesday, June 15

Today is going to be our Magic Kingdom day. The last time we went to Disney World, I had planned our park days randomly. We also hadn't been aware of the FastPass system nor thought about crowd levels. This year...I was determined to be prepared. First off, I planned the days according to Undercover Tourist and just followed their advice for which park to go during which day. I'm also going to plot out which rides to get FastPasses for the moment we hit the parks.

As for the Magic Kingdom, I'm not too worried about getting everything done. Considering that the Magic Kingdom is very much like our Disneyland, if we miss something, no big deal. I feel like we're just gonna enjoy our time and go at whatever pace we feel like going.

We'll probably hit up Fantasyland first since I feel that part of the park always get crowded way fast. I'm sure the first thing we'll ride will be Peter Pan (hopefully) because this is a ride that mom actually likes. Last time we went in 2007, we waited 2 hours (yes, let me repeat that, 2 HOURS) to get on. Lets not repeat that shall we.

We are also looking forward to Haunted Mansion since it was down for refurbishment in 2007 and they added a new interactive queue.

One thing I really want to do on this trip is get a LOT of good looking pictures. I was browsing through my photos from 2007 and I hardly have any pictures at all. That will have to change this year; plus I'm prepared! Last summer, I got myself the super sexy Canon T2i.

I'm still learning but I'm determined to master all the buttons and settings on it. Also, on a whim and because it was on sale, I got a Kodak zi8.

Yes, I know my T2i has a video recording setting already but I couldn't resist the lure of the pocket camcorder and I'm just a sucker for electronics. I'm also justifying this purchase by saying I'll lend it to Jess when she goes off to study abroad next year. Will that happen? We'll see.

Besides knowing we'll be at the Magic Kingdom this day, I didn't really make any other plans. No dining reservations, nothing. Like I said, it's gonna be a very chill day. I toyed with the idea of attempting to get into Cinderella's castle for lunch or something but I figured it's probably going to be overpriced for sub-par food. None of us are really big on the princesses. It'll be cool to be inside the castle but I really can't justify a $$$ meal just to be inside the castle. One day I'm sure I'll get in there but not this trip.

I've been hearing a lot about this rope drop business and the opening ceremony and I'm going to attempt to get the family (plus Edward) up early enough to make it. We'll see if that happens.

 

[jtawesomesauce]

GIVE ME YOUR T2I!!!!!!

 

[wingedjojo]

-___-;; ...stop trolling Jess, or I'm demoting you down to favorite sister #2.

Day FOUR!!!

Thursday, June 16

On this day we will be spending it at the Animal Kingdom.

I've always liked Animal Kingdom (being an Animal Science major, who would've guessed?) and am looking forward to this day. One of my lifelong wishes is to one day work in this park, putting my major to good use. How cool would it be to put two of my favorite things in the whole world together and make a living out of it? Super cool, that's how cool.

The must do's for this park is definitely Expedition Everest and the safari. What I know for sure I'm not going to do is It's Tough to be a Bug. I like animals and all but when it comes to creepy crawlies, no way. Bugs and snails. And slugs. Also spiders. Those things I cannot stand.

Like Magic Kingdom, I feel we're gonna take it easy this day as well. We're for sure going to hit up Festival of the Lion King because I remember that being a really good show in 2007. Maybe the Finding Nemo musical if our timing is right.

Back tracking to Expedition Everest being on the must do list. The last time we went to Disney World, I was the only one brave enough to attempt the ride. Jess said she'll for sure ride this time because she's starting to become a thrill junkie. I'm pretty sure Jan said she'll try but mom is most likely sitting it out. Her reasoning for forgoing the thrills? "I'm too old." She doesn't know what she's missing.

Oh, I forgot to mention something concerning our Magic Kingdom day. FOR SURE, this time, I will get a dole whip. After reading all these trip reports spouting the greatness of the treat, I am DETERMINED to try it. I like pineapple and frozen goodies. So I can't lose!

 

[RachelNinja]

I think it's smart to have your camera and video camera too. Howard has a Canon (I never remember which one), and when he records videos, it drains the battery very quickly. Plus, because it's filmed in HD, it's harder to upload because the file is so large. There are some rides that he doesn't want to bother filming because he'd have to hold the expensive camera up. I'm the one who gets more videos because it's so much easier to hold something smaller. Definitely worth it, I think!

I do think, however, that you have to be mindful of your video camera because there was one year that my dad had ours (a small one likes yours), and he clipped it to his belt and used it like, once!!! Haha, he kept forgetting he had it, so if you're always holding your camera, don't forget to take some video too! Those can be much more fun to have sometimes too. For example, we have video of ordering the Dole Whip Floats and my cousins trying them for the first time! Can't capture that in just a picture.

Since you don't have any ADRs for MK, I'm going to suggest Columbia Harbour House if you haven't already tried it! We LOVE it, and we got my cousins to love it too! The fried fish was so yummy. Plus, we eat around 10:30am or so to avoid the crowds. We go upstairs, and it's so quiet and it's nice to get away from the crowds and noise level. Oh, and we like to eat in the part of the building that separates Fantasyland and Liberty Square because we can still SEE WDW! We also loved Pecos Bill. I especially loved it because of the hot cheese sauce and the onions that I was able to add to my cheeseburger (also has banana peppers and mushrooms and other things as well).