Just Keep Swimming - Our First Disney Trip TR - COMPLETE 3/21!! About This Page:

[Cam22]

Great pictures!

[crythomas]

Great Pics! Sorry you got sick towards the end

[mommapants]

Nice Pictures. That giraffe looks close enough that you could have touched it.

[Asuka]

Overview and Thoughts

Wow... this trip report took forever to get through. Perhaps because it wasn't the best feeling trip. It's been six months since I came home and now we're wrapping up. I'm going to look at areas of the trip and discuss them and then go on to discuss my future plans.

Airline

I loved AirTran. The staff was friendly and getting onto the planes was an efficient process. The seats were comfortable and the rides were smooth. I'd definitely fly with them again, especially considering how cheap it was. I payed 210 dollars each way. Not too shabby!

Resort Hotel

The Port Orleans French Quarter was beautiful. I loved the architecture of the buildings very much. The room was lovely and was very clean. I also liked how close everything was. I’m not sure how I’d handle being at a resort where it takes ten minutes to walk to the bus stop. The staff was very nice and did the best they could to help out with my situation. They certainly didn’t have to prepare that gift basket but they did anyway and it really helped boost my spirits. I would definitely stay here again if I could. I want to try other resorts, especially the Grand Floridian, but if I was on a tighter budget I wouldn’t skip over POFQ for a second.


Dining Plan

The dining plan was definitely convenient and it was nice not having to worry about having enough money to pay for meals. However, we did pay for two meals out of pocket; Cinderella’s Royal Table and Hoop-Dee-Doo Review. They would have been two credit meals and we didn’t want to waste our credits on them, although they certainly would have been worth it. There was so much food with each meal. After lunch on many days, we didn’t feel hungry for dinner. We ended up not using a bunch of our Counter Service credits and because I didn’t budget snacks well, we ended up scrounging at the gift shop on the last day to get snacks. The saving grace was definitely that we were on free dining. I did the math on my dream trip food. I was realistic, but didn’t hold out on character meals and other nice locations. The total amount was about equal to what I’d pay for the regular dining plan, but I’d be dining at more table service locations than counter service. In short, I’d rather get a room discount than free dining.

The Parks

I absolutely loved Disney World. Six months later and I wish I was there again right this minute. My favorite park was definitely the Magic Kingdom. I loved all the parks and wished I had more time in them, especially Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. Magic Kingdom stole my heart though. It had a sense of whimsy that really let my inner child come out. My favorite ride that I got to go on was Peter Pan’s Flight. My favorite attraction was meeting the Fairies.

I also loved Epcot and it deserves a special mention. Soarin’ was amazing. Although I still think that the “fresh air” smell they pump in there smells like laundry. I also loved the Figment ride. Meeting Duffy and a number of other characters was very special too. What takes the cake though was my meal at Akershus. The food was very good and meeting the Princesses is an experience that can’t be recreated.

The Restaurants

I ate so many wonderful meals during my stay that it’s hard to pick favorites. I’m going to do a quick “Best of”.

Best Character Meal: 1900 Park Fare

‘Ohana was a very close second to PF because of how delicious the food was. What took the cake and won it for PF was the character interactions. It was wonderful to meet Mary Poppins and Alice. They were so engaging and really helped me feel better after I learned that I was essentially penniless in Disney. The buffet food was good, despite it being late in the serving.

Best Non-Character Table Service Meal: Hoop-Dee-Doo Review

I know, I know. Technically there are characters in this meal but it isn’t in the format of a character meal where you wait for them to interact with you specifically. The show was so much fun and very funny. It was also really neat to be so close to the stage. The chef was very kind in helping design a meal just for us. The salmon was to die for. To this day I haven’t had salmon as good as that chef made. The strawberry shortcake was also delicious.

Best Counter Service Meal: Tortuga Tavern

We didn’t have too many counter service meals. This one was definitely the best though. I loved the toppings bar and the food itself was delicious. It was also fun to sit under the canopy and avoid the rain.

Best Snack: Mickey Bar

I didn’t have many snacks either but I’m including the ones I got on my last day towards this category. The Mickey Bar still wins out. Honestly, it isn’t anything out of the ordinary. But it was fun and a milestone to be eating my first one. It didn’t taste half bad either.

Besides the mentioned restaurants, the other meals were fabulous and all deserve praise.


Overall Experience

This was a trip of mixed emotions. Between the bank issues, being proposed to and saying no, and the general feeling of leaving Disney it was a roller coaster in itself. Was it a good trip though? Yes, it was. I have no regrets about it. I hope though that I will have an even better trip in the future.

For the record, four months later I finally got all my money back. And yes, they caught the guy who stole my card number. He is currently in jail as I am one of many victims to his fraud.


What is in the future?

For whoever has been paying attention to my signature since I started this, you may have noticed many changes. That’s because I had to do a lot of changes. Initially, I was going to take Zac on a 3-night Bahamian Disney Cruise for his 30th birthday this year. Well, that isn’t going to happen. We broke up officially a week after we got back from Disney.

I then ended up booking a 7-night Western Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy. I was absolutely psyched about it. My problem? No one could afford to go. Even when I offered to let them go at a very reduced rate. One of my friends committed finally but then had to back out. So no more cruise. I tried for months to try to find someone to go to Disney World with me but I ran into the same problem that no one I knew could afford to go.

I finally found something to do though. In May I am going to Arizona to visit my Uncle and he says we can go to Disneyland. I tried to push the fact that we need to plan for it but he didn’t seem too interested. He is visiting this weekend though and I will sit down with him and talk it out. It will probably be easier to do in person than over email.

Also, I found a tour group called PacSet Tours. They do pop culture based trips to Japan for really amazing prices. Their December trip also has one day in Tokyo DisneySea. Guess who’s going? Me! I am so excited. I am a Japanophile and this is such an amazing opportunity.

That is the future so far. I really hope to get back to Disney World some day and I am already setting money aside to do so. Perhaps that trip will be “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes”. J


Thank you everyone so much for following along this whole time. It has been an amazing journey with all of you. Thank you also for your support. It’s lovely to know that people are out there who care. Passporter family forever!


Love,
Becky

[chezp]

Thanks for sticking this with this - I can imagine this was really tough to write in places.

I'm so glad things have worked out with Japan - you will adore the country. I'm also a Japanophile and had been fascinated by the country for many, many years when we got to visit in 2013 and I was not disappointed. I was hoping to be heading back around now for a return visit, but that didn't work out for many reasons, but I'm hoping to return in a few years' time. Tokyo DisneySea is the most amazing Disney theme park - it's our favourite by far and you will love it.

[Colexis Mom]

Great finish! I'm glad they caught the guy who stole your info! Have a great time on your trips!

[Cam22]

Great wrap up! Glad you've got a couple more trips planned.

[luvnwdwgal]

Thanks for sharing your trip Becky. Sorry you had to go through so much emotionally. Have a great trip to Japan!

[mommapants]

Thanks for taking us with you on this roller coaster trip. I'm happy to see things have settled down for you and you are able to move forward with everything.
Congrats on the Japan trip.

[crythomas]

Thanks for sharing your trip even though you had some rough times on it. I am glad that you finally got all of your money back and that they caught the guy.