Multi Phase Trip Back Story

Grand Floridian / Disney Cruise / Universal Studios

When: October 24 - November 4

October 23, 2014

In about an hour we will board our flight which will carry us from Logan Airport to Orlando. This trip has three components. The next two nights will be spent at Disney World; the seven following that will be on the Disney Fantasy cruise ship; and then there are three additional nights to be spent at Universal Orlando.

This trip has been more than a year in the planning with the cruise portion booked about 1-1/2 years ago and, most recently, in jeopardy of not happening at all.

In the spring of 2013, I was pleasantly surprised to find that we were not only getting a tax refund, but one that was relatively healthy. I asked Gene what he thought about going on a Disney Cruise. He did not hesitate to say "Book it!". (We went on a cruise three years ago which Gene enjoyed tremendously - I don't think he stopped smiling for the entire trip!!). I began to explore ships, itineraries, and cabins. We settled on a Western Caribbean cruise on the Disney Fantasy with a balcony cabin on the very back (stern) of the ship.

I had hoped to be able to book a studio room at the Grand Floridian for a one night stay prior to our trip thinking I might have more luck with such a short stay. In the interim, as I explored air fare, the difference between flying on Friday and flying on Thursday made us decide on a two night Disney stay. When we reached our seven month mark for booking, I duly got on the booking right away!! I wasn't overly surprised when there was no availability at the Grand Floridian but I was surprised when there was no availability at Bay Lake Tower (our second choice) and no availability in the Hospitality House area of Old Key West. It seemed the only real possibility was Kidani Village at Animal Kingdom so I booked it. I was a bit disappointed but try to be adaptable and soon was thinking about a nice dinner at Jiko. Still, I waitlisted at both Bay Lake Tower and the Grand Floridian.

Just a short while later, I was notified that our Bay Lake Tower waitlist had come through. I was happy with that but kept the Grand Floridian on waitlist.

We threw around the idea of going to Mickey's Not So Scary party but, when I looked at ticket costs for the Friday night party - the only real possibility for us - and a one day ticket at the Magic Kingdom, there didn't seem to be that huge a difference in cost so we settled on going to the park during the day and forgoing the party. In the past, party days have tended to be lightly attended by park goers - at least until around late afternoon and we are hoping that will hold true on this day as well.

I booked dinner at California Grill on Friday evening and lunch at the Plaza Restaurant on Friday. I guess I was not paying enough attention to the dates as I missed my first opportunity for fastpass+ bookings, realizing this when I got an e-mail from Disney reminding me my window to book had opened up. I had no problems booking Big Thunder Mountain and Peter Pan but the new Seven Dwarves ride eluded me. I booked Pooh instead. Still, I continued to check past fass+ availability from time to time and one day Seven Dwarves popped up so I was able to exchange Pooh for the Dwarves. Happy again!

Still planning, I booked a car service to take us from Disney to the port; from the port to Universal and from Universal to the airport. We planned to take Magical Express from the airport to Disney upon our initial arrival in Orlando.

One evening, while sitting on our screen porch on a hot July evening, I noticed I had an e-mail from Disney. Although I had essentially given up at this point, I was elated to find our wait list for the Grand Floridian had come through!! Very cool!!

In August, I contacted Disney and booked Magical Express. In September, Disney mailed our Magical Express luggage tags to us. I never looked closely at them. We also got new Magic Bands and our cruise ship information.

About six weeks before our trip, I began to experience some medical issues. Just 1-1/2 weeks before departure, I finally had a diagnosis and began a new medication to mitigate the symptoms. Just three days before we were slated to leave, I was doing a final round of blood tests which, fortunately, came back within normal limits so, I finally permitted myself to get excited about going!!

We talked about having Disney deliver our checked bags for us but, when I looked at the Magical Express tags, I discovered they were for delivery to Bay Lake Tower. I figured that would delay delivery just enough that we decided not to use them. Instead, we will pick up the bags at baggage claim and bring them to the bus with us.

On the day before the trip, I sat down to print out boarding passes for the seats we had selected eight months earlier and found that I was now in seat 1A while Gene is slated to be seated in seat 13A!!! Forty-five minutes later, we are both in row 1 - not my ideal but better than where Jet Blue put us!! Also, I purchased tickets for Universal Studios - both parks - buy 2 days and get 1 free - print at home. I think all is in readiness!

And......here we go!!!!!