CdnSquirrel (Dennis & Dawn) January 2015 - Pre Trip

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CdnSquirrel (Dennis & Dawn) January 2015 - Pre Trip

welcome to Dennis & Dawn's very first Pre-Trip Report, a preview of our upcoming eight days of Magic and Adventure at Disney's Pop Century Resort. My lovely wife Dawn has been to WDW in her youth and has fond memories of the Jungle Cruise and the luau at the Polynesian. This will be my first trip to the World. Our wonderful kitty, Kahlia, will be taken care of by my wife's mother, who has cat sitted before. We hope to find cat-sized mickey ears for her!

I am one of those "Get up with the birds, get dressed and be ready in ten minutes" type of people. Dawn is not, which is OK, as that will give me time to go to the food court and have my needed morning coffee! We also have planned afternoon naps into our plans to rest our weary feet.
I have ADHD and places like Disney World tend to bring out my inner squirrel! The Royal Ontario Museum, the Toronto Zoo, and especially the Ontario Science Centre bring out my inner child, my inner hyperactive child. Oddly enough, over stimulation tends to give me extra energy. Luckily, Dawn will have a scooter so she should be able to keep up with me!
We are taking our new Olympus Rugged Point & Shoot camera with us, a GoPro for videos, and have paid for Memory Maker. I take a LOT of photos when on vacation.
Day 1; Monday, January 5 " We will be rising early with the birdies as we need to cross the Canadian/US border and get to the Detroit airport with time to spare before our flight at 10:05 A.M.. Fortunately we have heard there is a Tim Horton's at the airport so we will be able to get yummy breakfast sandwiches and coffee.
We are scheduled to arrive in sunny Orlando on Delta Airlines at 12:42. Then we will hopefully make our way through the airport to the Disney Magical Express without getting too lost. I plan on stopping at the NASA store if I can find it.
If we're lucky we will get good seats on the DME on the way to Pop Century. Once we arrive we will register, pick up our groceries (from Garden Grocer) and get Dawn's scooter from Apple Scooter, and have a little rest before we head to the Magic Kingdom!
First thing on the agenda will be to get Mickey Ears! We have fast passes for Anna & Elsa, Tinker Bell, and Wishes!
Day 2; Tuesday, January 6 " Our first (and only) ADR, 8:30, at the Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh and friends! We will be meeting a new friend and CM (who happens to hail from our hometown) for breakfast and afterwards she will be joining us for the day! Having someone experienced with the park will be awesome. I met her at my workplace a few months ago; she mentioned she lived in Orlando which perked up my ears and we ended up having a lengthy Disney discussion. She works as a chef in the special events department at EPCOT.
We have fast passes for Peter Pan's Flight, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and Space Mountain. Dawn tells me that when she was eleven she rode the entire ride with her eyes closed! We will likely have lunch at Cosmic Ray's. I'm looking forward to a Dole Whip and a Mickey pretzel.
Day 3; Wednesday, January 7 " Hollywood Studios! Fast Passes for TSMM, Star Tours, and the Frozen Sing-Along. Hopefully the hat will still be there. We are looking forward to the stunt show and the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids place. It should be a good place for photos ops! No Tower of Terror for us though; neither of us like the idea of dropping. I might do the Rockin' Roller Coaster if I find the gumption. We will end the day with Fanstasmic!
Day 4; Thursday, January 8 " Our first of two days at EPCOT! Fast passes for Test Track, Mission: Space, and Journey into Imagination. Things to look forward to; Club Cool and the dreaded Beverly, meeting Duffy, School Bread in Norway, and maybe a walk up lunch at Biergarten.
Day 5; Friday, January 9 " Magic Kingdom. Since we'll have missed Rope Drop on Tuesday, we will get to see the opening show today! Fast Passes for Buzz Lightyear, Peter Pan's Flight, and meeting Mickey. We hope to have a leisurely day, taking time to enjoy the sights, see the parade, and shop a bit.
Day 6; Saturday, January 10 " Animal Kingdom! Looking forward to Kilimanjaro Safaris, our first fast pass of the day! Also have fast passes for Festival of the Lion King and Expedition Everest. I love me the critters so hope to see lots of interesting animals. We'll also probably see Flights of Wonder and Its tough to be a bug. Looking forward to some African cuisine too!
Day 7; Sunday, January 11 " Our second day at EPCOT. We have fast passes to Spaceship Earth, The Seas, and IllumiNations. Hope to sample lots of interesting food today!
Day 8; Monday, January 12 " Departure day. Our final day at Magic Kingdom; We hope to meet lots of characters today. Fast passes for 7DMT, Peter Pan, and Cinderella. Our flight leaves at 4:00 so we'll be on the DME to the airport at 1:00.

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JMed's picture
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Sounds FANTASTIC!!! So happy and excited for you both. We just stayed at Pop in November and enjoyed it very much. It fit our needs and we got to spend more $$$ everywhere else. Can't wait to hear all about it!

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JoAnn C's picture
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sounds like a wonderful trip.

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CdnSquirrel's picture
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We're pretty excited! The other day, at my father's birthday party, we had cheesecake which i Mickeyified.

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Allie's picture
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Your first ever Walt Disney World trip?! How exciting! It sounds like a fantastic plan and I'm sure you guys will have a blast! yay

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I can;t wait to hear all about it.

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What a great itinerary! It is really going to be fun - you have paced it out so you will have time to explore. Disney is a feast for all of the senses! awesome

And I have a tabby cat like yours, but he would have nothing to do with dress up.

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CdnSquirrel's picture
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She is our baby. So cute and a great lap kitty. One month to go! Hope our luggage tags arrive soon.

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What a great way to start 2015..Now if I had only decided to stay in Montreal after emigrating from Scotland way back in the 70's ( Yep, Iam that old ) The trip from Canada to Florida would be so much shorter than crossing the Atlantic..Have a magical vacation .. clapping

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Oh this sounds perfect!!! You are going to have such a terrific time!