Feeling Grand - How to Plan a Disney Trip In 18 Days Or Less

[TarzansKat]

Originally Posted by Native NYer

I completely agree. Love the Poly pool. And the cabanas at the GF are a nice addition. I wish they had them at the Poly.

I do love the cabanas, too.

Originally Posted by dmank

Your post caught my eye since we've been counting down for 81 days to go to GF; and we too are checking in on Jan 30. But this will be my first trip there - got a 4/3 deal that couldn't pass up. I've always stared at GF and thought 'no way can we afford this.'

How exciting! There's nothing like the feeling of getting a good deal on the most expensive resort on the property.

I've also been to Disney twice while pregnant, and my husband probably prefers that I go when pregnant since it slows me down (ahem, to his pace). I take naps which never do otherwise!!

I do move at a slower pace too. I'm just a lot more relaxed when I'm pregnant. Honestly, I think one of the things I'm most looking forward to is peace and quiet. My mom is a light sleeper, but she never bothers me, so it'll be nice not to have a four year old waking me up at 600am.

Anyway - I think 18 day lead time is awesome so you don't have to wait all that time. Glad you are feeling better too. Have some fun with your mom.

The lead time is great. It's...actually...I think it's one of the shortest lead times I've ever had with the exception of one other trip. So it's nice because I don't really have time to think about and anticipate it. It's going to come up so fast.

And you never know. Maybe I'll see you there.

I don't post pictures, but if my custom tie dye Mickey tees still fit me, I will be wearing them. I also made myself a maternity one. It's super cute.

Originally Posted by Flossbolna

Hi, I just saw your ticker on If You Had Wings PTR and thought you would be there at the same time as us and went to check out your PTR and figured out that it really is a very new ticker!!

Indeed, very new!

I think going on a spontaneous trip like yours is a dream for every DISer! Just suddenly having the opportunity and taking it. How wonderful. I am looking forward to reading about your plans. I hope you are able to get good ADRs, we changed one recently and it turned out to be no problem at all.

You know what, I am very blessed to be able to take this trip. I'm blessed that everything fell into place for me, so I know this away time was really meant to be.

And I love your story about the GF - I absolutely agree that this rate was just asking to be booked!

For sure! So we'll be there at the same time, huh?

Like I said, look for the lady in the tie dye!

[TarzansKat]

Yes, yes, I know it's still day seventeen. But for sake of progress, let's pretend it's tomorrow. I don't know if I'll have time to get on here, so I wanted to keep things rolling. (Wednesdays are my Mondays as far as work week.)

First of all, I want to interrupt your regularly scheduled pre trip report programming with a little bean update. Today I had my first ultrasound, and it was awesome. DH had to work, but my parents and son were there, and it was so cool. My son was totally into it, and he loved the little pictures they printed out. He called them "my baby stickers." I guess that's what they looked like to him. We got to hear the heartbeat, and see a lot of movement before baby decided that was enough and settled down for a nap. It's hard to see a lot at this stage of the pregnancy but being able to see and hear the heartbeat, being able to see little hands and little feet and a little face...it never fails to amaze. Even though I've been through this before, I still feel the miracle of it all. There's a little life growing inside me, truly one of God's greatest blessings. I am very blessed.

It was wonderful to have this experience before this trip, although I must confess it makes me wonder more and more whether or not it's a boy or a girl. Now that I've seen the baby I feel so much more bonded to it, and I keep thinking...what are you, little bean? What colors should I be buying for you when I go to Disney?

To that, the answer is neutrals, because I won't find out the gender until March 9. We're in for a two month wait folks. Argh!

Now, lately I've had an increase / return in my appetite, which has been really nice. I'm trying to be healthy. I slip every now and then, I won't lie, but for the most part I get lots of fruits and veggies.

I plan to junk it up a little bit more while I'm in Disney.

Actually, planning our ADRs for this trip was pretty easy. I knew in my head some definite things, and others I wasn't so sure. The best resource I really had available to me was Allears. I checked out menus on that site, and boy did it make a difference. Places that I originally thought I'd like to eat no longer appealed to me, and places I thought I wouldn't want to return to did!

So, Saturday, Jan. 30 we arrive pretty late. I'll be surprised if we hit the hotel before 815. Mom and I are hoping to check in, dump our things in the room and grab a quick bite at one of the lounges. If we're feeling really tired (which is quite possible if I can't sleep on the plane since I'll have worked that day) we'll go to Mizner's Lounge or the bar at Citrico's. Mom can have a glass of wine, I can have a mocktail and we can kick off our vacation with some happytizers and then roll into bed. If we're feeling more ambitious (ie, TK did get a nap) we may head to the Tambu Lounge at the Poly or the lounge at the California Grill. It's really cool to have all those monorail options open to us.

Now that's not to say that I won't end up grabbing a snack from Gasparilla Grill and Games and passing out. I won't lie, that's a distinct possibility. The cool thing is that because we're staying at the Grand Flo, my mom is comfortable with heading out on her own.

That sounds weird, but my mom is a very social creature. She doesn't go to the movies alone, she doesn't like to go out to eat alone. These are things that I love, so we're very different like that. I think part of it is a safety thing, she wants to feel safe. Given that we're at the hotel, I think it's more comfortable for her, so I'm really glad.

Now the cool thing about getting in so late is we can hit the hay and be ready to go the next morning.

On Sunday, Jan. 31, we plan to go the Magic Kingdom. There are actually some evening EMH that I'll probably never see, but given that we're not park hopping, I thought best to take advantage of the Magic Kingdom on that day.

At 220pm, we'll be having tea at the Garden View Lounge. Tea is a tradition for me. I can't even begin to describe how much I love it. It's a wonderful, relaxing meal that will really help to break up our Magic Kingdom day. I don't know how we'll structure our day and I don't really care. I know we'll go to MK in the morning, go to tea in the afternoon and then see how we feel from there. Although I must tell you...the force is strong with Casey's. It's highly possible a late hot dog dinner will be had. It's also quite possible that prior to tea we'll be indulging in a Dole Whip breakfast.

On Monday, Feb. 1, we'll be at Epcot. Mom would really like to see Illuminations, and I'm going to try to stay up for it. It's actually my favorite fireworks display at Disney. Honestly, it gives me chills just thinking about it.

This night, we'll be having dinner at 600pm at Chefs de France.

Yes, you heard me. Chefs de France. For those of you who have read my previous reports, you'll know that I have a sort of love/hate relationship going on with this restaurant. Well, I think I can say without a doubt, it's Mom's favorite non-signature table service. I took a look at the menu and discovered there were some really nice dishes there for dinner that I was interested in. Our other possibility was Kouzzina, but I just was not feeling any of the entrees. And, I absolutely love escargot. I have ever since I was little. I remember being a kid and ordering that at restaurants, and the servers would always ask my mother in a mock whisper, "does she know what that is?" My mother would just smile and say yes. We were kind of a progressive food family in that way.

Never mind the fact that my mother is good friends with the evening manager. Just like my mother befriends waitstaff and other managers all over Disney. They remember her, they remember my Nana, and they get treated very, very well. It's really quite an experience to go to one of "my mom's" restaurants.

On Tuesday, Feb 2, we'll be at DHS. Our plans for this day are to get there early and get on Toy Story Mania. It is my mother's favorite ride in the parks rivaled only by Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. We don't plan to spend the whole day at DHS, however. I'd probably like to go on the Great Movie Ride, because although parts of it may seem dated, I still just adore it.

In the middle of the day, we'll probably head to Downtown Disney to get our shop on, and I'm hoping to use up a counter service at Earl of Sandwich. They have some awesome sandwiches there, I had a fantastic one on my May trip with Tink.

We'll head back to DHS in the evening for our 630pm ressie at The Brown Derby. My mother was surprised I picked this signature restaurant, but I haven't been there in a year. We've been to Citrico's, The California Grill, but not the Derby. And honestly, I am craving the food there.

At dinner, the Cobb is an appetizer, so I'm excited to split that with Mom. Then I'll have the noodle bowl, which I just love, and since I'll probably be too stuffed to consider eating dessert, I will be getting my grapefruit cake to go. I'm sure it will make a lovely midnight snack.

Plus, no surprise, Mom has a waiter that she absolutely adores there. And let me tell you, the feeling is totally mutual. When we ate there two Decembers ago, he called my Nana "Mom." He was so sweet to me, and to my son. He brought us more dessert than we ordered and never charged us for it. I'm really hoping he's working the night we're there because I know he'll pamper us and I could so use it.

On Wednesday, Feb. 3, we'll depart.

But before we do, we'll be having a Supercalifragilistic breakfast at 1900 Park Fare. Mom and I haven't done this breakfast in many, many a moon...actually, I'm not sure if we've ever done it. Maybe when I was a little girl, and given that I'm thirty now, that was quite some time ago, savvy?

I think this is a great idea. It's right in the resort, so we'll be able to get our luggage ready and bell checked, and then just head to breakfast. It's always nice to have a good breakfast before you leave, and when you eat at 1000, it almost doubles as an early lunch, really.

To me, it's just a bonus that there's characters. I'm really looking forward to trying a different breakfast buffet.

As you can see, with this pregnant woman, it's all about the food.




Next Chapter

[jenb1023]

Your plans sound great! How awesome that you can do this trip at the last minute and stay at the GF! Our last trip was a bit last minute and not having a long time to obsess and plan was kinda of fun! Can't wait to read more!

[pipersmom]

Your plans sound so awesome, TK. I loved the story about your love affair with the Grand Floridian! : It sounds like you and your mom are going to have a wonderful trip, and I'm sure you'll enjoy every minute of it!

[Charleston Princess]

When you say you are planning on junking it up on this trip, does that mean there is one of those apples you so adore in your near future???

[All7OfUs]

Originally Posted by TarzansKat

Sensing a trend here?



Just in case you wanted to know.

Yup!

And yes, I did. I think it's so funny how each woman/ baby has different cravings, likes, dislikes. So unique- each one.

[If U Had Wings]

I love that your trip is planned around the food. It looks like such a perfect girly trip for the two of you.

I did the tea this year at the GF and loved it. Somehow I'm working it into my next trip. There was this great group of Red Hat Society ladies while I was there, and I just loved them. I want to be just like that when I'm older.

[TarzansKat]

Originally Posted by jenb1023

Your plans sound great! How awesome that you can do this trip at the last minute and stay at the GF! Our last trip was a bit last minute and not having a long time to obsess and plan was kinda of fun! Can't wait to read more!

Everything has really just fallen into place for us. So it's been a very low stress...actually I would say no stress trip to plan.

Originally Posted by pipersmom

Your plans sound so awesome, TK. I loved the story about your love affair with the Grand Floridian! : It sounds like you and your mom are going to have a wonderful trip, and I'm sure you'll enjoy every minute of it!

Yes, we will!

Originally Posted by Charleston Princess

When you say you are planning on junking it up on this trip, does that mean there is one of those apples you so adore in your near future???

It is highly possible that one of those delectable goodies is on the horizon.

That are some make your own pretzel rods from Goofy's.

Originally Posted by All7OfUs

Yup!

And yes, I did. I think it's so funny how each woman/ baby has different cravings, likes, dislikes. So unique- each one.

I think what does amaze me is how different each pregnancy is, because they sure as heck are. It's almost like being pregnant for the first time again because I really don't know what to expect. This kiddo already has my taste buds so out of whack, and with the heavy nausea in the beginning, I'm just not sure what's to come.

Originally Posted by If U Had Wings

I love that your trip is planned around the food. It looks like such a perfect girly trip for the two of you.

I did the tea this year at the GF and loved it. Somehow I'm working it into my next trip. There was this great group of Red Hat Society ladies while I was there, and I just loved them. I want to be just like that when I'm older.

You know, even when I'm not pregnant I think our trips are pretty much planned around food. I'm more into picking my dining sometimes more than I look at the park hours to see if it jives.

That's cool that you saw a Red Hat society there. I think that's a great group.

[All7OfUs]

Originally Posted by TarzansKat

, I'm just not sure what's to come.

Something wonderful- that's for SURE!!

[Native NYer]

Happy to hear your son enjoyed the ultrasound. Love the baby stickers comment!

Great ADR choices. I can't wait to hear about afternoon tea at the Grand Floridian. And I didn't know the Cobb was an app at dinner. YUM! Love your plans to possibly have a Dole Whip breakfast.

[Lady Lallie]

Your food plans sound really great!

All of the places you are eating sound just delightful!

[MRYPPNS]

I really think the less time you have to plan the less stress because it is what it is. You have no time to second guess yourself or spend unless amounts of money on junk before you leave.

Kat in regards to the rides and being pregnant- basically no Mountains, no rollercoasters and nothing that spins you very fast. If you end up at AK and want to ride the Safari sit in the first 3 to 4 rows, the back of the jeep is WAY too bumpy. And I personally won't do the Indy cars at MK because of getting bumped from behind but I actually have NEVER ridden that attraction myself so take that with a grain of salt.

[maroo]

I love your plans!

And I love that you have already laid them all out!!?!

What did we do to deserve all those plans at once? No TK cliffhanger?



So...is your Mom famous?

[All7OfUs]

Originally Posted by TarzansKat

As you can see, with this pregnant woman, it's all about the food.

As it well should be!

[brookelizabeth]

Your plans look wonderful! Lots of great meals in there....and no shame on it being all about food. Most trips to Disney are, even when there isn't a pregnant woman in the group, aren't they?!