Uh Stitch...you're kind of a big deal (Birthday Princess's 27th!)

WDW in Pearls

Monograms and Minnie Ears
Joined
May 5, 2013
Hello everybody!

I wanted to make a trip report about my trip September 14-19, but I've never done it before so I'm sure I will mess it up along the way somehow :) so if you have any pointers, criticisms, whatever, feel free to post.

Anyway, the intros seem to be the customary first post, so here goes...

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That's me! My name is Sam. As I post this, I am now 27 years old but my birthday was September 14th, the first day of our trip. This was trip number 15 for me; the first being when I was 18 months old. We lived in New York until I was 6 and now PA, so it's really only feasible for us to go once a year or less because of the amount of days off from work required. I was raised by a Disney fanatic of a mother who, as a teen, I thought was "like, soooo embarrassing" but as I get older I realize I've turned into her. Our vacations were pretty much always at Deluxe hotels (mostly the Poly) club level, deluxe dining, theme park view...my family spared no expense. Paying for vacations on my own has been quite a wake up call! Plus, the price increases since we were kids are pretty significant; even my parents have cut back on their own trips.

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This is John! John and I have been together for 2 1/2 years. We don't have kids or anything so this trip was just us, and this was our second trip together. John's Disney experience is much different than mine; for starters our first trip together was his first trip period. He sees Disney with a bit more logical of a set of eyes, and can better rationalize what extras are actually worth it while we plan. John is also about 14 years older than me so he's a little bit better at budgeting and being responsible with money than I am. No, I don't troll bars for older men, it just kind of happened this way. We used to work together and I don't think either of us knew quite how large the age gap was until we were already interested in each other. I rarely even notice the gap now (except when we talk about popular music, fashion, etc. when we were in high school and college!).

We chose to stay in the Wilderness Lodge again. Our first trip together was our first time there and we loved it. I originally tried it as a compromise; the tiki theme at the Poly didn't appeal to John at all and he loves camping and the outdoors and hopes to travel to Northern California in the near future. That being said, WL seemed like the perfect choice. Surprisingly, my Poly loving self fell in love too! It has a lot of the same luxuries as the Poly (minus the monorail) for significantly less. Plus, it's a lot quieter with a lot less visitors from outside the hotel.

We took advantage of a free dining week so of course I made some ADRs. I didn't plan every meal because last time we did and it cut into so much park time!

Saturday, September 14th (arrival day)
Chef Mickey's 6:00 PM
Tomorrowland Terrace Wishes Dessert Party 9(?) PM

Sunday, September 15th (this was the day we were celebrating my birthday even though it was actually the day before)
'Ohana 9 am
Tony's 7 pm

Monday, September 16th
Akershus 3:45 PM

Tuesday, September 17th
Cape May Cafe 9 am
'Ohana 6 pm

Wednesday, September 18th
Be Our Guest 6:30 PM

Thursday, September 19th
NONE

I'll work on more later but I'd love to hear your feedback in the meantime!
 
I always enjoy childless TRs! Nothing against kids, I like them and all, it's just I don't have any of my own so I have a hard time getting into TRs w/lots of young kids because I can't relate.
 
I always enjoy childless TRs! Nothing against kids, I like them and all, it's just I don't have any of my own so I have a hard time getting into TRs w/lots of young kids because I can't relate.
I'm the same way! I know if and when we have kids it will be a magical experience and all but there's something great about being a little selfish. No nap schedules or strollers and not feeling guilty about drinking around the world for starters!

Thank you for your feedback, I'll be adding more soon.
 


Day 1- Arrival Day (my birthday)!

We had a 8 am flight out of Philadelphia, which is about an hour and a half away. Philly TSA always seems to be understaffed in the AM from my experience so I wanted to get there 2 or so hours before. I'm me, so I MUST shower and do the hair/makeup routine so if you're doing the math this puts me at about a 3 AM WAKE UP TIME. No big deal, just go to bed at 7, right? Yeah...didn't happen. I'm like a five year old when it comes to Disney. I'd lay down for a little bit, then get up to pack something else I forgot, then lay down again, then play on the MDE app...I got a total of two hours in maybe?

The flight to Philly went off without a hitch and we landed a little early. As we went through the airport, people kept saying "Congratulations!" and I had no idea why! Finally, someone asked me if we had just gotten married. Turns out they had my princess ears confused for bride ears!

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^^ Those are the "bride" ears...I called them my Birthday Princess Ears! Hmph, some people just don't know Disney.

Anyway, it was already turning out to be a picture perfect birthday. We didn't have to wait AT ALL to get onto the Magical Express bus! We were both excited and, as expected, I got teary when we got to the gates. Also as expected, I legitimately weeped when I saw the Polynesian and the castle. I'm an emotional basketcase when it comes to Disney and I'm not even sorry about it.

The only problem we had was at check in, and it wasn't even that big of a deal. I felt stupid even complaining about it. I still do, but here goes:

As I eluded to in my previous post, John and I love Wilderness Lodge because its quiet and private. We opt for the Woods View rooms because the Courtyard View is too noisy. We'd rather view Bay Lake or the trees than someone else's kids in the pool...harsh but true! We got to our room and not only were we not in a Woods View room, it was one of those awkward corner rooms where you can't see much of anything. We went back down to tell them that we think we got a Garden View. Turns out they upgraded us for free to a Courtyard (which by the way, that was all the more reason why I'll never book a Courtyard View). I was still emotional and Disney-weirded so I decided to let John step in. John told the cast member that we really appreciated the upgrade and this will probably sound dumb but we would like the less expensive room. He told the cast member about the whole privacy thing (read: temporary escape from screaming kids). They placed us in a new room facing the Villas and all was well with the world again. I promise we're not a creepy couple doing things we shouldn't be on the balcony. Seriously. We just like to eat up there, sit outside and chat, FaceTime our families...totally G rated stuff, I swear!!

I promise we will actually get to the parks soon...stay tuned!!
 
:wave2: I'm in!

As much as I like reading about the cute experiences people's children have in Disney, I really enjoy a good kid-free report. I travel kid-free myself so it gives me a good idea of things I might like on my trip.

Do the princess ears have a veil type thing on them? I feel like I might remember them looking like that, but still- since when is pink the quintessential bridal color? Oh well! :confused3 :goodvibes

Glad you got your room situation all sorted out. It's funny because whenever people are talking about being pixie dusted with free upgrades, everyone always says to pay for what you want so you won't be disappointed at check-in. You guys did pay for what you wanted and got something else! I'm sure the CMs totally appreciated how nice you guys were about it. Some people go crazy when Disney things don't go there way!

Can't wait to hear about your park adventures! :)
 
:wave2: I'm in! As much as I like reading about the cute experiences people's children have in Disney, I really enjoy a good kid-free report. I travel kid-free myself so it gives me a good idea of things I might like on my trip. Do the princess ears have a veil type thing on them? I feel like I might remember them looking like that, but still- since when is pink the quintessential bridal color? Oh well! :confused3 :goodvibes Glad you got your room situation all sorted out. It's funny because whenever people are talking about being pixie dusted with free upgrades, everyone always says to pay for what you want so you won't be disappointed at check-in. You guys did pay for what you wanted and got something else! I'm sure the CMs totally appreciated how nice you guys were about it. Some people go crazy when Disney things don't go there way! Can't wait to hear about your park adventures! :)

Yes it did have a veil. I guess you're right, that's probably why. I guess I should have thought that one through!
 


I'm in! I love reading about 20 somethings trips to the world!
 

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