Lauren and Bob's September Disneymoon Trip Report UPDATED: FINALLY COMPLETED!

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lolastardust's picture
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Lauren and Bob's September Disneymoon Trip Report UPDATED: FINALLY COMPLETED!

It is now just over a month until our Disneymoon and I am starting to get really excited! I went to Disneyworld with my family lots as a child/teen, but this will be my first time as an adult, as well as my first time staying on Disney property! Bob has never been before so this is super exciting for him too! We arrive in Orlando at 7pm on 11th September, and get back to the UK early on the morning of the 22nd September. We don't have a car or a dining plan but have made a few ADRs. Smile My grandparents are going to be in Orlando at the same time so they have offered to take us to WWoHP and maybe shopping off property.

This is our itinerary so far:

Day 1 - 11th September 2013:
We'll get into Orlando at 7pm then get the Magical Express to Art of Animation Resort where we'll check in. We're flying from the UK so I imagine we'll be exhausted, though I'll still be super excited because I'm a big kid. We'll probably just check out our room, go for a walk/explore then head to bed.

Day 2 - 12th September 2013:
As this is our first full day in Orlando, the plan is to take it easy, explore the resort, go for a swim, and maybe walk over to Pop Century, or get the bus to Downtown Disney for a wander. No firm plans for this day - will probably try to obtain bottled water from somewhere though.

Day 3 - 13th September 2013:
FIRST PARK DAY! We are kicking off our Disneymoon with a full day at the Magic Kingdom! I am considering trying to make rope drop but as neither of us are morning people I'm not sure if we'll manage. Either way, we'll grab a quick breakfast then hit the park asap. We'll be trying to get round as much as possible so we'll end up probably just grabbing a dinner at the resort when we're done and then have a quiet night around the resort.

Day 4 - 14th September 2013:
We have booked breakfast at Cape May Cafe for 9.30am. I am VERY excited about breakfast with Minnie Mouse! When we're full of food, we're going to spend the rest of the day at Epcot. This is probably my favourite park so YAY. Will probably have meals in the park as the food is so exciting!

Day 5 - 15th September 2013: This will either be a pool day or a shopping day - there is a possibility my grandparents will take us shopping off property. We then have dinner reservations at Tony's Town Square at 6.50pm, with the plan being that we will eat and then catch the Electrical Parade and Wishes. It's EMH till midnight so I am hoping to enjoy a few of the scary rides at night!

Day 6 - 16th September 2013: My grandparents are picking us up and taking us for a buffet breakfast off property, then taking us to WWoHP for the day. They will just be dropping us off and picking us up later on as they are in their 80s and would not enjoy walking around the park. They'll then probably take us for dinner later on and then back to the resort. Really excited about this day as we're both huge Potterheads! This is my grandparents' last trip abroad as they have decided not to renew their passports, so it's a little sad but I am glad we will get to enjoy it with them.

Day 7 - 17th September 2013: Planning to spend a full day at DHS, then either catch Fantasmic, go to Jelly Rolls or meet my grandparents for food/shopping (if we have not done so on the 15th.)

Day 8 - 18th September 2013: We're planning to take it easy in the morning and then spend the afternoon/evening at Downtown Disney. We have dinner reservations for 7pm at House of Blues, then are planning to stay out drinking cocktails till late, so have a romantic night on the town. Smile

Day 9 - 19th September 2013: We're going to spend the day at Animal Kingdom, then grab some food somewhere and maybe head to Epcot for drinks and fireworks - I want to try out this tequila bar I've heard so much about - and head back to the resort.

Day 10 - 20th September 2013: Last full day. :'( We'll spend the day doing anything we want to do-over or haven't had time to do, then get changed into our costumes for MNSSHP! We'll be grabbing a quick dinner and will then be going out with a bang in our Mickey and Minnie costumes at the Halloween party.

Day 11 - 21st September 2013: We fly home at 3.40pm, so we won't have a lot of time to do much before our flight. I know I'm going to be so sad on the last day!

Trip report to follow at the end of September! EEEEEEEEEEE so excited! clapping yay mickey

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Potterheads! I love it!! Your trip sounds amazing. Have fun and congrats!

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Magic Mirror's picture
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All your plans sound wonderful! It is so close.........just around the corner......

P.S. i love your name....one of our cats that we rescued when it was orphaned we named lola.....

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I would have loved to have a Disneymoon! Congrats and look forward to your TR when you return. Love HP, so interested to hear about the WWoHP. We have never left the Disney property the times we've been, but may have to in the future if we keep going back regularly.

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Sounds like a great plan! Can't wait for a full trip report and tons of pictures when you get back! *wink*wink*nudge*nudge* biggrin

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YAY! This all sounds super exciting. We just got home from our Disneymoon--the amount of time you have will be perfect for taking it easy and enjoying the honeymoon. Because that would be my only advice--take it slow and enjoy it, but it looks like your plan definitely allows for that!

Congratulations!

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July 2010- First Disney trip with my now husband and his family. Campsites at Fort Wilderness
March 2012- 2 day Spring Break trip to Disney ---Royal Plaza (dowtown disney area)
July 2013- week long Disneymoon -- split stay Caribbean Beach and Coronado Springs

December 2014 Christmas Trip- TBD
Summer 2015--Family Trip

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Sounds like a great trip. It will be here before you know it.

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KanineKrunchies wrote:
YAY! This all sounds super exciting. We just got home from our Disneymoon--the amount of time you have will be perfect for taking it easy and enjoying the honeymoon. Because that would be my only advice--take it slow and enjoy it, but it looks like your plan definitely allows for that!

Congratulations!

Thanks for the tip! I was a little concerned we were trying to cram too much in and weren't going to get enough chill-out time but fingers crossed we'll be okay! We go away just after my Masters dissertation goes in, so it'll be amazing to finally get to relax! Thanks all, I promise I will take a bajillion photos! Laughing out loud x

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If you get there and you feel like it's too much, just slow down. I never ever do everything I have in mind when I go. The beauty in that is that you can always plan another trip, Disney will be there. It's okay if you don't see it all!

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Your trip sounds fabulous!!! mickey Sounds like you've got a great plan! Looking forward to your trip report

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The travel documents arrived today! I don't think I've ever been this excited! Laughing out loud

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awesome nice! Mickey Mail!

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yay Woot! Oh happy day!

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clapping clapping yay yay There is nothing better than Mickey Mail!

Magic Mirror's picture
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muchlove Mickey Mail muchlove

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I'm excited for you! Hope you have a wonderful time on your Disneymoon.

My hubs & I are doing Mickey & Minnie for the MNSSHP too! We'll be there after you, though.

Can't wait for your TR & pics!!!

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stars Wohoo! Mickey mail! stars

lolastardust's picture
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Hey all,

I'm kinda starting to freak out slightly. Our trip is in three days and I'm very nervous. I freaked out about money and cancelled two of our ADRs, so now the only ones we have are Tony's Town Square, Cape May Cafe (breakfast) and House of Blues. I think this will be okay as my grandparents are taking us for dinner off property on a couple of days. Anyway, for the last few weeks, I've been writing a Masters dissertation so haven't had much time to prepare for our trip. I haven't prepared any touring plans and my husband Bob seems to think we can just 'wing it'. Am I wrong for being nervous that we haven't prepared enough? I know we're going in a quiet season so the parks won't be too busy but I have major fear that we will miss out on things that we want to do. Anyway, sorry for freaking out. I'm just wondering if anyone has any last minute tips or words of wisdom for us? I think our budget works out at about $150-$160 a day. Thanks in advance guys! Smile x

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Okay Lola, calm down, you'll be okay! Just take a deep breath and enjoy, that's the best way to do a WDW vacation. Ken and Jan are just ending their vacation and they had a wonderful time, no crowds, just hot as the dickens. Make sure you got your park tickets, clothes on your back, some food money and hell your good to go!

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Woohoo, that's really helpful, thanks! Haha my husband doesn't cope in the heat so we will need to take lots of breaks I think. Smile laugh

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Even more reason to slow down and use the pool. We never were pool people, but we've been using them a lot more lately. I'm never bothered, there is always someone with a bigger belly then me! biggrin laugh

My Speedo just draws attention. Love

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Hahaha, I LOVE the pool and we will definitely be having a couple of slow pool days. Bob has Mickey Mouse and Spongebob Squarepants swimming trunks so he will want to show them off! biggrin

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Lola, you'll be fine. This is the best time of year to "wing it" and is something we do often. We're leaving this morning and just ended a great vacation here. We only had 3 ADRs and to be honest, we didn't really need them. Seriously, winging it here is a load of fun because you can do what you want when you want. We woke up many mornings having no clue what we'd do that day. The crowds are minimal and fast pass time was usually one hour from when they were issued. However, we walked on to almost everything standby with minimal wait (longest was 20 mins).

Have a wonderful time! It's really hot and humid here, but the air conditioning in all the buildings is excellent. We just drank lots of water and went inside buildings often to cool down. Keeping a small towel with you is also handy as you can wet it or use it to wipe your forehead as many do. Our hotel provided such "sweat towels" at the entrance.

Have fun!!!

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Sounds fantastic! Thanks a lot for the tips. We definitely prefer not to over-plan our trips. I think my husband is very happy it's unlikely to be crowded. laugh Will provide a detailed trip report when we get back!

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Remember to watch shows as well. Like Muppet Vision 3D is a good attraction to do when it's hot out and most parks have a way for you to get a little wet. Like at MK they have Splash Mountain and the Casey Jr soak zone in the circus. You should drink one cup of water for every hour you are in the sun. Don't push yourselves. Even TSMM had a minimal wait. The other it was jumping around but never went over 75-80 minutes and got down to 45 minutes. They just started a new dance party in Studios in front of the hat. They bring out characters like Captain Hook, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, Penguins from Mary Poppins, Genie, Lilo, Stitch, Pinocchio, Gepetto, Queen of Hearts and classic characters as well.

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If you have $150 to $160 per day for food, then you can eat at a table service restaurant at least once per day. If you could get by with a quick service lunch, then you could eat at a TS each night. That is more than plenty. (Obviously I am not considering the restaurants like V&A and other "deluxe" restaurants)

Have fun! Don't sweat the small stuff. Your honeymoon should be a trip of your lifetime. I remember every little detail of our honeymoon 5 years ago! Safe travels!

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mickey IT'S GOING TO BE OK~ ! mickey

If you go with a laid back attitude of whatever we encounter is great - there will be no stress

Any day in The World, even just sitting in the airconditioning with a drink and people watching,
is a GREAT DAY!~

go-have fun-think of us a little bit and EnJoY

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You are going to be fine, the hard work is done, the fun is going to start very shortly just enjoy and breath, Once on the plane you have a while to the end but it is going to be peachy. Have you done your ESTA? That is the final bit of documentation you mustn't forget. X

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Sally-Ann wrote:
You are going to be fine, the hard work is done, the fun is going to start very shortly just enjoy and breath, Once on the plane you have a while to the end but it is going to be peachy. Have you done your ESTA? That is the final bit of documentation you mustn't forget. X

Thanks, yes, we have done our ESTA - my grandparents reminded us about it thankfully. Smile

Wow, thanks for all the other great tips, everyone! Feeling a lot less nervous now and your comments are very helpful as we're both basically first-timers (I've been before but not since I was a teenager, and only with my parents, and Bob has never been). I can't believe we're flying out in just three days! It's crazy close. *explodes from excitement*

yay clapping

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I'm too late to give advice but hope you are having a fantastic honeymoon! muchlove

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Hey all. We've been here a few days and it's been mostly amazing. Unfortunately I've had a severe head cold for a couple of days that on a couple of occasions has had me in tears of frustration. Nonetheless I've pushed through and we have already done lots! Had to get my grandparents to bring me some cold remedies as it was so bad. But we have lots of great photos and I have also cried with happiness on a few occasions. We've still got time left but I'm already compelled to start planning another trip. Bob says we can come back for our two year anniversary but I feel like I can't wait that long. Looked at bounce back deals but they're all too soon. Lol what has become of me?! Hehe full trip report to follow when we get back next weekend.