The First Getaway Of Our Relationship- A Pre-Trip Report (First One Ever)
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Section1Guy · 01-19-2008, 02:47 AM

Well, this is my first foray into the world of trip reporting. I’m unbelievably excited for my trip and I hope I can deliver the goods for the board once the trip gets going. I’m nervous that I won’t be able to dissect the trip as well as all of you do. Well, this should be the easy part as the trip hasn’t started yet.

CAST

ME: John, 24, from White Plains, NY. I’m one of those guys who tells everyone he’s a genius even though he decided to drop out of college. I guess I’m an intellectual slacker. I’ve been told I can’t use the word smart anymore because smart people don’t waste as much time as I have, but I digress. I run my own company that I started 2 years ago, Section1Recruiting Inc. We use our website, publications, and events to promote high school football players to college coaches in hopes of receiving scholarship offers for them. As for my Disney World experience, I almost thought of myself and my family as Disney freaks. After seeing the internet world of Disney though, I’m not so sure. I’ve been to WDW 5+ times, I went to Disneyland once WAAAY back in the day, I don’t even remember it. I’ve had many memorable trips, but I’d say the #1 trip was definitely in 1999 when I was in WDW for a baseball tournament and I hit a homerun out of the big stadium. That whole trip was great. Ahhhh, memories…

GF: Liz, 19 (she’s a youngin’), residing in Mt. Vernon, NY but lived in Highland Park TX, Raleigh NC, San Francisco CA. She’s a college student at Fordham University in NYC. We’ve been together for 2 years now, and I’m positive she’s the one. I’m pretty sure she feels the same way

. Her Disney experience is foggy to me right now. I don’t think I have dates exactly right but she’s been to Disneyland twice when she was around 6-10 years old. This will be her first trip to WDW and I’m beyond excited to be her guide.

WHEN: Tuesday March 11th- Tuesday March 18th 2008

WHERE: Off Property, first 5 nights at Vistana Villages, final 2 nights at Fairfield Inn at Marriot Village

This trip came about last year when I wanted to go in May. We were all set to start planning in, but her mom felt like it wasn’t a good time. She’s a bit of a stickler for that type of thing. It was put on the super back burner for a while. Her mom loosened up a bit since then though and I had a feeling we’d be ok for this year. The idea came up again when I got a JetBlue email saying we could get 59 dollar tickets to Orlando through March. I got excited and I checked her Spring Break schedule thinking I might have a shot. JetBlue needed the travel to be on certain days (the middle of the week obviously) which was discouraging because Spring Break is only 1 week, but with the early Easter, I checked Fordham’s schedule and boom they have a TWO WEEK Spring Break this year. I couldn’t believe it. Without asking Liz or anyone, I booked the flight. 277 dollars is a lot for a slacker with not steady income to drop if the trip didn’t work out, but whatever. I’m impulsive like that. The trip would be a Christmas present to her.

The best way to save money was to beg and plead with my big family who owns timeshares left and right to give up a banked week for me. My parents’ timeshare was apparently full for the time we wanted to go. I asked around to aunts and uncles. They wanted me to pay their annual maintenance fee. This was reasonable of course except that I could get a really cheap motel for cheaper money. Obviously the accommodations were going to be a bit down, but money was the main factor. I shopped and shopped and shopped for some lodging. Then, a couple weeks ago it happened. The parents’ timeshare opened up and we got a 1 bedroom at Vistana Villages on I-Drive South. It was a Sunday-Sunday reservation, so I needed two days at a hotel. Through AAA, we got Fairfield Inn at Marriot Village for 102 dollars per night total, Taxes/Fees included. The lodging was set.

Despite going to WDW what I consider many times, I’ve never stayed on property ever (That’s going to change on my next two trips!). Between timeshare stays and motels with my baseball teams. It’s never happened. “Well John, going to WDW multiple times, what happens to be your favorite table service restaurant?” I couldn’t tell you. I’ve never had a meal at a table service restaurant in WDW before. We’ve always been such theme park commandos that it’s never happened. I don’t know why. I’m sure I had a character breakfast when I was like 3-4 on my first trip there, but I don’t remember where at all.

Sooo…I made my first ADRs ever. Timing was an issue. We booked the trip in middle of December for the March trip. Money is an important factor and eating at WDW isn’t cheap, but I really wanted to try a couple places out that really shined in a WDW way. I wanted reservations around 4-5 pm to give sufficient touring time after dinner. Here was the initial list.

Wed March 12th
-50’s Primetime Café 3:55pm (Lunch sitting)

Friday March 14th
-Boma 4:40pm

Saturday March 15th
-Whispering Canyon Café 5:00pm

My choices were based on the fact that 50’s seemed like one of the top themed places in WDW and Boma and WCC would give us a chance to see my two favorite resorts from what I can tell at WDW. I was incredibly happy about my ADRs. But two days ago, reading through my PassPorter and Unofficial Guide for the third-fourth time in a month I decided I wanted more things to do despite being a theme park freak. Friday the 14th, the parks are all closing fairly early for some reason. I have no idea why. It’s our Animal Kingdom day, and they’re open until a solid 8:00pm. We’re having our dinner at Boma at 4:40 that day. Our evening was going to be a relaxing one Vistana Villages. Then, on a whim, I got an idea. I’m going to see if I can get good seats for La Nouba. Liz is a ballerina and loves art in every fashion. La Nouba gets such great pub, I always wanted to check it out but was scared to waste park time. There are no parks open at 9pm that night. I took a shot and got the exact seats I wanted based on Mousesavers suggestions. We got category two seats in Section 205 Row FF. I was pumped. I couldn’t be stopped. I wanted to take one more shot at something nice and romantic for Liz. We were planning on eating dinner light at each of the lands in World Showcase at Epcot on Thursday March 13th. We wanted to sample a bit of everything. That’s no longer the case. I booked a 9:30pm table at California Grille with Wishes set to go off at 10:00pm. I couldn’t be happier with the way things have turned out.

My perfect “first trip with my baby” is going off as planned so far….knock on some serious wood….

That concludes my first dip into the Trip Report world. I’m a feedback person so please tell me if there is anything I left out (I don’t know how I could’ve this is way longer than you guys care for I’m sure). I’d love to answer questions or comments. Hopefully I did the PassPorting crew proud.

John

**MickeyMAC** · 01-19-2008, 08:20 AM

Great start John. Sounds like you are going to have a fantastic trip.

**Colexis Mom** · 01-19-2008, 08:29 AM

Great start and great plans John

I hope you guys have a great trip

wvugrrrl · 01-19-2008, 10:38 AM

Great start! I can't wait to read your finished TR! Hope you have a great trip!

**RobDVC** · 01-19-2008, 01:19 PM

Excellent summary, John! Can't wait to read all obout the trip!
I think you did a great job, it wasn't too wordy at all.

**DrDolphin** · 01-19-2008, 01:51 PM

Sounds like some great plans - can't wait to hear all about it!

**wdwmom23boys** · 01-19-2008, 02:15 PM

Your plans sound great. Hope you have a magical trip!

Tiggerbelle · 01-19-2008, 02:38 PM

I love getting a guy's perspective!! Everything sounds great -- your DGF is a lucky girl!! Keep the details coming!

Section1Guy · 01-19-2008, 04:45 PM

I definitely noticed that there are very few guys who are Disney Commandos, so it should be interesting to hear/see the differences...

I get obsessive with research and things (when it's something I wanna do obviously not like school work). So I'll read things 100 times over, I'll search far and wide for different angles to do things.

I have each day planned out almost to the T. I'm not a wing it person or a take an afternoon break and see what happens person. I have my set touring plan for every day and which parks, and if we finish the tour before closing, then we can park hop, just walk around, revisit attractions, or head back to our timeshare.

This disposition came about partly because of my Aunt Joanne who is a true Travel Commando and partly because I'm always worried I'll miss something so everything must be planned accordingly.

It's going to be fun though.

Lemap760 · 01-19-2008, 04:51 PM

Great start John. It sounds like you know exactly what you want.

**Colexis Mom** · 01-19-2008, 06:44 PM

I'm sure you'll have a great time

**DyanKJ130** · 01-19-2008, 09:23 PM

Great start! Your plans look great! Can't wait to hear how everything unfolds

mickeycrazy · 01-20-2008, 09:18 PM

Sounds like you have some really great and thoughtful plans. I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time.

**emtpej** · 01-21-2008, 06:36 AM

Dear John,
Sounds like you have made some great plans for not a lot of $$$!
Thank you for the more in-depth intro.
I have been reading some books about the Disney brothers and they did what you have done (as have I) and that is to believe I yourself and have passion for your work and not be afraid to ask for help from your family (they did it many times). They did not go to college either, yet Walt got so many honorary degrees, you wouldn't believe it!
What I'm saying is, keep the faith, and you can make your dreams come true!
Have a great trip, you have given me some good ideas for romantic moments!

**debsta922** · 01-21-2008, 06:43 AM

Your plans sound great John... can't wait to read about your trip when you return.

01-19-2008, 02:47 AM	#1 (permalink)
Section1Guy Community Rank: Wayfarer Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: White Plains, NY Posts: 177	The First Getaway Of Our Relationship- A Pre-Trip Report (First One Ever) Well, this is my first foray into the world of trip reporting. I’m unbelievably excited for my trip and I hope I can deliver the goods for the board once the trip gets going. I’m nervous that I won’t be able to dissect the trip as well as all of you do. Well, this should be the easy part as the trip hasn’t started yet. CAST ME: John, 24, from White Plains, NY. I’m one of those guys who tells everyone he’s a genius even though he decided to drop out of college. I guess I’m an intellectual slacker. I’ve been told I can’t use the word smart anymore because smart people don’t waste as much time as I have, but I digress. I run my own company that I started 2 years ago, Section1Recruiting Inc. We use our website, publications, and events to promote high school football players to college coaches in hopes of receiving scholarship offers for them. As for my Disney World experience, I almost thought of myself and my family as Disney freaks. After seeing the internet world of Disney though, I’m not so sure. I’ve been to WDW 5+ times, I went to Disneyland once WAAAY back in the day, I don’t even remember it. I’ve had many memorable trips, but I’d say the #1 trip was definitely in 1999 when I was in WDW for a baseball tournament and I hit a homerun out of the big stadium. That whole trip was great. Ahhhh, memories… GF: Liz, 19 (she’s a youngin’), residing in Mt. Vernon, NY but lived in Highland Park TX, Raleigh NC, San Francisco CA. She’s a college student at Fordham University in NYC. We’ve been together for 2 years now, and I’m positive she’s the one. I’m pretty sure she feels the same way . Her Disney experience is foggy to me right now. I don’t think I have dates exactly right but she’s been to Disneyland twice when she was around 6-10 years old. This will be her first trip to WDW and I’m beyond excited to be her guide. WHEN: Tuesday March 11th- Tuesday March 18th 2008 WHERE: Off Property, first 5 nights at Vistana Villages, final 2 nights at Fairfield Inn at Marriot Village This trip came about last year when I wanted to go in May. We were all set to start planning in, but her mom felt like it wasn’t a good time. She’s a bit of a stickler for that type of thing. It was put on the super back burner for a while. Her mom loosened up a bit since then though and I had a feeling we’d be ok for this year. The idea came up again when I got a JetBlue email saying we could get 59 dollar tickets to Orlando through March. I got excited and I checked her Spring Break schedule thinking I might have a shot. JetBlue needed the travel to be on certain days (the middle of the week obviously) which was discouraging because Spring Break is only 1 week, but with the early Easter, I checked Fordham’s schedule and boom they have a TWO WEEK Spring Break this year. I couldn’t believe it. Without asking Liz or anyone, I booked the flight. 277 dollars is a lot for a slacker with not steady income to drop if the trip didn’t work out, but whatever. I’m impulsive like that. The trip would be a Christmas present to her. The best way to save money was to beg and plead with my big family who owns timeshares left and right to give up a banked week for me. My parents’ timeshare was apparently full for the time we wanted to go. I asked around to aunts and uncles. They wanted me to pay their annual maintenance fee. This was reasonable of course except that I could get a really cheap motel for cheaper money. Obviously the accommodations were going to be a bit down, but money was the main factor. I shopped and shopped and shopped for some lodging. Then, a couple weeks ago it happened. The parents’ timeshare opened up and we got a 1 bedroom at Vistana Villages on I-Drive South. It was a Sunday-Sunday reservation, so I needed two days at a hotel. Through AAA, we got Fairfield Inn at Marriot Village for 102 dollars per night total, Taxes/Fees included. The lodging was set. Despite going to WDW what I consider many times, I’ve never stayed on property ever (That’s going to change on my next two trips!). Between timeshare stays and motels with my baseball teams. It’s never happened. “Well John, going to WDW multiple times, what happens to be your favorite table service restaurant?” I couldn’t tell you. I’ve never had a meal at a table service restaurant in WDW before. We’ve always been such theme park commandos that it’s never happened. I don’t know why. I’m sure I had a character breakfast when I was like 3-4 on my first trip there, but I don’t remember where at all. Sooo…I made my first ADRs ever. Timing was an issue. We booked the trip in middle of December for the March trip. Money is an important factor and eating at WDW isn’t cheap, but I really wanted to try a couple places out that really shined in a WDW way. I wanted reservations around 4-5 pm to give sufficient touring time after dinner. Here was the initial list. Wed March 12th -50’s Primetime Café 3:55pm (Lunch sitting) Friday March 14th -Boma 4:40pm Saturday March 15th -Whispering Canyon Café 5:00pm My choices were based on the fact that 50’s seemed like one of the top themed places in WDW and Boma and WCC would give us a chance to see my two favorite resorts from what I can tell at WDW. I was incredibly happy about my ADRs. But two days ago, reading through my PassPorter and Unofficial Guide for the third-fourth time in a month I decided I wanted more things to do despite being a theme park freak. Friday the 14th, the parks are all closing fairly early for some reason. I have no idea why. It’s our Animal Kingdom day, and they’re open until a solid 8:00pm. We’re having our dinner at Boma at 4:40 that day. Our evening was going to be a relaxing one Vistana Villages. Then, on a whim, I got an idea. I’m going to see if I can get good seats for La Nouba. Liz is a ballerina and loves art in every fashion. La Nouba gets such great pub, I always wanted to check it out but was scared to waste park time. There are no parks open at 9pm that night. I took a shot and got the exact seats I wanted based on Mousesavers suggestions. We got category two seats in Section 205 Row FF. I was pumped. I couldn’t be stopped. I wanted to take one more shot at something nice and romantic for Liz. We were planning on eating dinner light at each of the lands in World Showcase at Epcot on Thursday March 13th. We wanted to sample a bit of everything. That’s no longer the case. I booked a 9:30pm table at California Grille with Wishes set to go off at 10:00pm. I couldn’t be happier with the way things have turned out. My perfect “first trip with my baby” is going off as planned so far….knock on some serious wood…. That concludes my first dip into the Trip Report world. I’m a feedback person so please tell me if there is anything I left out (I don’t know how I could’ve this is way longer than you guys care for I’m sure). I’d love to answer questions or comments. Hopefully I did the PassPorting crew proud. John Last edited by Section1Guy : 01-19-2008 at 12:22 PM.

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