My family is going to WDW to celebrate my December graduation from graduate school, hence the thread title as I will have earned a Masters degree! 
This will be my sixth trip to WDW, but my first trip with my husband and both my parents in tow at the same time. We'll also be celebrating my parents' 30th wedding anniversary! 
This trip is all about the food!
In the past, I've gone on three mother-daughter trips to the World, and one trip with my now-husband, where we got engaged. I've always dreamed of having both my husband and I and my parents go together as we often travel together and have a blast. My dad has never been really excited about a trip to Dis
However, my university is quite large, and I explained that if we all went to WDW together to celebrate, I wouldn't expect any of them to sit through the hours-long graduation ceremony! 
So off we go, to CSR in Dec!
Now, in order to meet that Dec. graduation goal, I have a thesis to finish, but I don't think a little DIS in moderation will interfere with that. Famous last words...
It's almost time for the 90-day ADR window, so I thought I'd get my first pre-trip report ever started to help pass the time. Here's the cast for our upcoming trip:
Me, 27, a WDW fanatic. Everything about it is just relaxing and fun to me. Planning for the trip is ALMOST as fun as being on the trip for me. The biggest challenge on our upcoming trip for me will be slowing down and respecting a slower pace for those in our party who aren't as excited as I am to see everything and do everything in our time there.
H, 28, a convert to WDW by means of free dining on his one past trip. He loves the food at the World and has already been talking about where we are going to eat when we're there. Otherwise, he has a good time, but would rather be in Vegas--his version of WDW. There are many reasons I love CSR, but one reason I chose it for this trip is the great espresso bar. I am the only one out of the 4 of us who doesn't have a total addiction to strong coffee.
DM, my Disney partner in crime! My mom and I took our first trip to WDW in 2003. Convinced it would be our only trip (who here has said that before?! 
), we pretty much ran ourselves ragged, but had an awesome time. We've managed to go back a couple of times since then. We are already planning to leave the guys at the resort while we close down DTD each night with our adventures in shopping.
DD, our reluctant travel buddy. He doesn't see the appeal of WDW yet, but after a few days at Epcot and all the great meals I have planned, I think he'll be a convert. He doesn't tolerate crowds well and likes to tour things at a slow pace, so I'm working on a new kind of touring plan to make sure he has a good time. We'll plan breaks and I won't worry if I don't see everything again on this trip--we'll be back. 
When the 4 of us get together, food is always on the shortlist! We love to cook, eat, share meals, and try new things. So this trip is completely arranged around our ADRs. We booked before the free dining announcement, so that was an amazing bonus that saved us $600!
We'll be at the World for 7 nights. I've been mulling over restaurant choices for months, but I tried to choose based on places we've enjoyed in the past, things we thought my dad should experience, and some new places none of us have eaten at. Here are the places we're planning to eat so far:
We're also planning some pastry breakfasts from Main St Bakery and Epcot. We have some lunches open where we'll eat Counter Service, but I'm not sure where yet, as those days are pretty open so far on our touring plan.
I've also started thinking about snacks I want to try that I've never had before, like school bread and a dole whip! Definitely time to make sure I try those this trip!! I'll post my snack plan another day.
I saw today on the DIS that the Candlelight Processional dining package is now 2 TS credits for a set menu, so I don't think we are going to do that.
It's just not worth that high of a cost to me. DM and I have seen it and while I think DH and DD would enjoy it, I don't want to pay OOP for a set menu or use the 2 credits. We're already planning to pay OOP for Jiko and a couple of breakfast meals. I'm frustrated with the new CP guidelines, and it's annoying that WDW hasn't published all the costs yet for those who don't want to use 2 TS credits. 
That's all for now--time to get back to work on the classes I'll be teaching starting next week. I'll check back in with planning updates as they come up. The DIS makes planning and waiting so much more exciting!!
This will be my sixth trip to WDW, but my first trip with my husband and both my parents in tow at the same time. We'll also be celebrating my parents' 30th wedding anniversary! This trip is all about the food!In the past, I've gone on three mother-daughter trips to the World, and one trip with my now-husband, where we got engaged. I've always dreamed of having both my husband and I and my parents go together as we often travel together and have a blast. My dad has never been really excited about a trip to Dis
However, my university is quite large, and I explained that if we all went to WDW together to celebrate, I wouldn't expect any of them to sit through the hours-long graduation ceremony! So off we go, to CSR in Dec! Now, in order to meet that Dec. graduation goal, I have a thesis to finish, but I don't think a little DIS in moderation will interfere with that. Famous last words...
It's almost time for the 90-day ADR window, so I thought I'd get my first pre-trip report ever started to help pass the time. Here's the cast for our upcoming trip:
Me, 27, a WDW fanatic. Everything about it is just relaxing and fun to me. Planning for the trip is ALMOST as fun as being on the trip for me. The biggest challenge on our upcoming trip for me will be slowing down and respecting a slower pace for those in our party who aren't as excited as I am to see everything and do everything in our time there.H, 28, a convert to WDW by means of free dining on his one past trip. He loves the food at the World and has already been talking about where we are going to eat when we're there. Otherwise, he has a good time, but would rather be in Vegas--his version of WDW. There are many reasons I love CSR, but one reason I chose it for this trip is the great espresso bar. I am the only one out of the 4 of us who doesn't have a total addiction to strong coffee.DM, my Disney partner in crime! My mom and I took our first trip to WDW in 2003. Convinced it would be our only trip (who here has said that before?! ), we pretty much ran ourselves ragged, but had an awesome time. We've managed to go back a couple of times since then. We are already planning to leave the guys at the resort while we close down DTD each night with our adventures in shopping.DD, our reluctant travel buddy. He doesn't see the appeal of WDW yet, but after a few days at Epcot and all the great meals I have planned, I think he'll be a convert. He doesn't tolerate crowds well and likes to tour things at a slow pace, so I'm working on a new kind of touring plan to make sure he has a good time. We'll plan breaks and I won't worry if I don't see everything again on this trip--we'll be back. When the 4 of us get together, food is always on the shortlist! We love to cook, eat, share meals, and try new things. So this trip is completely arranged around our ADRs. We booked before the free dining announcement, so that was an amazing bonus that saved us $600!
We'll be at the World for 7 nights. I've been mulling over restaurant choices for months, but I tried to choose based on places we've enjoyed in the past, things we thought my dad should experience, and some new places none of us have eaten at. Here are the places we're planning to eat so far:
- Mama Melrose (dinner) (DH requested this one, so we'll kick off the trip with it and see the Osborne lights to get in the holiday spirit)
- Boma (breakfast)
- Flame Tree BBQ
- Ohana (dinner)--hoping to see Wishes during dinner or before/after from the Poly. beach
- Kona (breakfast)--never been!
- Sunshine Seasons (lunch)
- La Cellier (dinner)
- Crystal Palace (breakfast)
- Cosmic Rays
- Earl of Sandwich (dinner)
- Tutto Italia (dinner)
- Pepper Market (breakfast and probably a lunch)
- The Wave--never been!
- Chefs de France (lunch)--never been!
- Wolfgang Puck Express (dinner)
- Jiko--dinner
We're also planning some pastry breakfasts from Main St Bakery and Epcot. We have some lunches open where we'll eat Counter Service, but I'm not sure where yet, as those days are pretty open so far on our touring plan.
I've also started thinking about snacks I want to try that I've never had before, like school bread and a dole whip! Definitely time to make sure I try those this trip!! I'll post my snack plan another day.
I saw today on the DIS that the Candlelight Processional dining package is now 2 TS credits for a set menu, so I don't think we are going to do that.
It's just not worth that high of a cost to me. DM and I have seen it and while I think DH and DD would enjoy it, I don't want to pay OOP for a set menu or use the 2 credits. We're already planning to pay OOP for Jiko and a couple of breakfast meals. I'm frustrated with the new CP guidelines, and it's annoying that WDW hasn't published all the costs yet for those who don't want to use 2 TS credits. That's all for now--time to get back to work on the classes I'll be teaching starting next week. I'll check back in with planning updates as they come up. The DIS makes planning and waiting so much more exciting!!
Arghgh! How did I miss that? 
We're flying into Sanford. This trip is to celebrate my graduation, but apparently being in graduate school isn't really making me any smarter. 
I've put an * next to all the restaurants we're trying for the first time.
