Tiki's January 2015 Trip w/guest! *Last Page*

[Amy]

Is it 2014 already? Whoa-whoa-whoa! Just in time, too! I'm heading to the Happiest Place On Earth on Tuesday and will be there until the following Tuesday! Hooray! I'll be hanging out at Old Key West part of the time and then swapping over to Boardwalk for the other half, also one of the days will be spent outside of the parks with a family member and her daughter at Seaworld.

I didn't forget about you guys, I swear!

Cool! Have a great time ~ take some pictures to share?!

[TikiTikiRoom]

I'm sure I'll be snappin a photo or two per day. If you have an Instagram, feel free to follow me on there. @Feastboy

It's mostly filled with my art junk, hand made action figure bootlegs, bands, skateboarding...yadda yadda...26-year-old guy stuff.

[Amy]

I'm sure I'll be snappin a photo or two per day. If you have an Instagram, feel free to follow me on there. @Feastboy

It's mostly filled with my art junk, hand made action figure bootlegs, bands, skateboarding...yadda yadda...26-year-old guy stuff.

I don't have an instagram yet. I suppose I might need to set one up one of these days. Not on Facebook then huh?

[Goofyfan]

Instagram???? I am getting old.

[TikiTikiRoom]

Instagram???? I am getting old.

trust me, I was fairly against it when I first heard of it....but then I realized I could use it to the benefit of networking with other artists and BAM....I'm hooked. It's a photo sharing platform, owned by Facebook.

[TikiTikiRoom]

Well well! Look what the cat dragged in! I know i know.... "who are you?" you'll ask. I've been fluttering all around, working jobs, showing art and generally living life so visits to this site have been sparse. But I am here to announce that I will be back in the Happiest Place on Earth come January 22nd! .... but you know what the best part is? I'm going by myself and taking my girlfriend of 6 months with me as a birthday present to her and a general thank you for putting up with me so far haha. We've made reservations at Saratoga Springs (Boardwalk was taken, but we are on the waiting list...) and am overall VERY excited about this trip for numerous reasons. The first being I get to enjoy WDW through the eyes of a girl who hasn't been there since she was 6, so I'm looking forward to seeing her mind get blown. The second reason is we're doing all of this on a whim. We may make a dining reservation or two right before we leave but for the most part we have park hoppers for 6 days and will just be bouncing around enjoying our time away from the hustle and bustle of daily life. I do want to ask, though, we are scheduled to land in Orlando around 10:30-ish, so we'll be at the resort early, but our check-in isn't until 4pm. I'm hoping we can check in a LITTLE bit earlier, but we'd probably still have several hours on our hands. What do you guys recommend for the two of us to do for that span of time? Downtown Disney is obviously right there so We'll most likely traverse that-a-way and see some things and do some stuff there. Any other suggestions? Oh, also as far as dining reservations go, what have been the easiest places to get in to last minute for y'all? We can't live off of room-made spaghetti for that entire week...I mean, I could but I'd prefer not to...

[Amy]

Congratulations on your upcoming trip ~ sounds spontaneous and fun!
I would venture to say you will be able to check in early...maybe even by the time you arrive. It never hurts to ask anyhow. And if your room isn't quite ready, you can always check you luggage with the bell service desk and come back later when you can check in.
You might try a monorail resort hop along with DTD.
No suggestions for last minute restaurant ressies, although I think you will have more success if you are dining at off peak times. I'm curious what you are able to get into though as people always make it seem like you will never eat anywhere without a reservation

[TikiTikiRoom]

Congratulations on your upcoming trip ~ sounds spontaneous and fun!
I would venture to say you will be able to check in early...maybe even by the time you arrive. It never hurts to ask anyhow. And if your room isn't quite ready, you can always check you luggage with the bell service desk and come back later when you can check in.
You might try a monorail resort hop along with DTD.
No suggestions for last minute restaurant ressies, although I think you will have more success if you are dining at off peak times. I'm curious what you are able to get into though as people always make it seem like you will never eat anywhere without a reservation

I do remember being able to get into the Sci-Fi drive in at Hollywood on a whim a couple years back. Gotta take that into decision. Also your monorail idea is SPLENDID. I had that idea for some time later on our trip but that's an even better opportunity! Stop by the Polynesian, grab a mai-tai, simmer down for a bit and whiz around. Dude you're a life-saver.

[cy1229]

Pack your swim suits in your carry-on if you're using Magical Express, so you have access to them when you arrive. Check in, ask for an alert when your room is ready, then go to the pool and relax. After getting up at dark thirty in the morning that will feel really good. Then you can venture to Downtown Disney if you wish, or do like Amy suggested and monorail crawl. A party of two in January should be able to walk up to 'Ohana for dinner without a reservation, which I recommend. Or go to a bar at each monorail resort and have a drink and an appetizer. Watch the fireworks from the lounge on top of Bay Lake Tower to prep yourself for a great start in the morning, then catch the monorail to the MK and a bus back to Saratoga. Assuming you're not renting a car, that is.

[TikiTikiRoom]

Pack your swim suits in your carry-on if you're using Magical Express, so you have access to them when you arrive. Check in, ask for an alert when your room is ready, then go to the pool and relax. After getting up at dark thirty in the morning that will feel really good. Then you can venture to Downtown Disney if you wish, or do like Amy suggested and monorail crawl. A party of two in January should be able to walk up to 'Ohana for dinner without a reservation, which I recommend. Or go to a bar at each monorail resort and have a drink and an appetizer. Watch the fireworks from the lounge on top of Bay Lake Tower to prep yourself for a great start in the morning, then catch the monorail to the MK and a bus back to Saratoga. Assuming you're not renting a car, that is.

Awesome tips, Cy! You really think 2 people could get into Ohana last minute like that? I'm totally ok with that idea. But yes, we'll be taking the Magical Express as well as using resort transportation.

[cy1229]

Pack your swim suits in your carry-on if you're using Magical Express, so you have access to them when you arrive. Check in, ask for an alert when your room is ready, then go to the pool and relax. After getting up at dark thirty in the morning that will feel really good. Then you can venture to Downtown Disney if you wish, or do like Amy suggested and monorail crawl. A party of two in January should be able to walk up to 'Ohana for dinner without a reservation, which I recommend. Or go to a bar at each monorail resort and have a drink and an appetizer. Watch the fireworks from the lounge on top of Bay Lake Tower to prep yourself for a great start in the morning, then catch the monorail to the MK and a bus back to Saratoga. Assuming you're not renting a car, that is.

Awesome tips, Cy! You really think 2 people could get into Ohana last minute like that? I'm totally ok with that idea. But yes, we'll be taking the Magical Express as well as using resort transportation.

Well, you're going to be there at the end of January, which is one of the slowest times of the year in spite of everything Disney schedules to try to avoid that. 'Ohana is one of the "higher end" restaurants so cheer groups, school groups, tour groups, etc. will not be eating there. And, you're a small group, easy to fit in somewhere. What's the worst that can happen? Go up to the check-in desk right when they open at 5, ask if they have anything available for the night. The worst answer you'll get back is "no." Then you just get some drinks and small plates, crawl the monorail resorts, hang out, and go back to your condo. According to the guys on WDW Today, it is apparent that the number of tables available for ADR's and the number of tables available aren't the same number, and that each restaurant holds back some of the tables for walk-ups. Can't hurt to try.

And actually, now that I think about it, if you watch the fireworks from atop BLT, you can walk to the MK and get a bus back. Might be faster.

[TikiTikiRoom]

I didn't even THINK of Bay Lake Tower. Geez. Some Disney fan I am. I guess my brain is all over the place right now since this'll be my first "adult" trip to WDW so I'm trying to pack as much knowledge into my head before i leave......sheesh. I need to relax!!

[cy1229]

I didn't even THINK of Bay Lake Tower. Geez. Some Disney fan I am. I guess my brain is all over the place right now since this'll be my first "adult" trip to WDW so I'm trying to pack as much knowledge into my head before i leave......sheesh. I need to relax!!

You mean you don't inherently know everything there is to know about Disney World? What's wrong with you?

You don't need to think of everything. That's why you have this fan site, and these forums, to pick our brains. You would think of things I would not, and others will have suggestions of their own. From that smorgasboard you'll be able to craft your own custom vacation perfect for you both

Yes, you DO need to relax. Remember, you can overplan yourself to death and forget to enjoy it. The point is to enjoy your trip and your time with your girlfriend. So do it. If you don't get a dinner reservation you wanted, so be it. I guarantee they won't run out of food at Disney World and you'll be able to eat somewhere.

The only thing about the lounge at the top of BLT is that it's *supposed to be* for DVC members only. However, I think they've relaxed that a lot in off-peak times. Again, the worst that can happen is the gatekeeper at the elevator doors says "sorry, you're not a DVC member" and then you go eat somewhere else or watch the fireworks from somewhere else. But I think for the time you're going, they'd rather have warm bodies buying drinks and food than empty seats for DVC members who aren't there. Assuming you're not a DVC member.

[TikiTikiRoom]

My girlfriend and I were discussing some ideas for when we get there, and she let me know that she wants to do a lot of her picture taking on our first day there so we don't have to lug around the camera everywhere we go. I can totally get on board with that idea so I mentioned that, then, the monorail would probably be a cool idea so you get to see a lot of WDW in a nice span of time. Maybe stroll around Saratoga across that awesome bridge and let her get a feel for the resort, too. This trip's all about her, considering it's her birthday on the 20th. Oh man, I'm pumped

[Amy]

My girlfriend and I were discussing some ideas for when we get there, and she let me know that she wants to do a lot of her picture taking on our first day there so we don't have to lug around the camera everywhere we go. I can totally get on board with that idea so I mentioned that, then, the monorail would probably be a cool idea so you get to see a lot of WDW in a nice span of time. Maybe stroll around Saratoga across that awesome bridge and let her get a feel for the resort, too. This trip's all about her, considering it's her birthday on the 20th. Oh man, I'm pumped

Sounds like a plan, but I would definitely still take the camera with you, or your phone if it has a good camera. I think your girlfriend will want more pictures than she thinks, and I'm sure you will want to capture some of her joy as she rediscovers the resort.