DAY 6 - November 10th
This day is kind of still up in the air. In my itinerary, I have it as an MK day all day just because I think that's where we will have the most attractions that the 3 of us can experience together. However, if we feel like there is any park we have not spent enough time in (I'm thinking that might end up being AK since we are only spending one day there), we can substitute it in as needed for a morning or afternoon. But for now, the plans are...
...Magic Kingdom!
Maybe rope drop, but maybe just when we feel like getting up and heading over there.
Breakfast will be in the room more than likely.
Since this will be our 3rd day in the MK, we can ditch the touring plan and do whatever sounds good at the time. By this point, we should have been able to accomplish everything we wanted to do, so maybe we can spend more time tracking down characters (if DS is into them), or meandering around the park taking it all in.
The MK does have morning EMH this morning, but like I said, we should have accomplished everything we set out to do, so avoiding things with longer waits shouldn't be too difficult.
If we end up at MK again, lunch will more than likely be at another of our enjoyable CS locations, Pecos Bill's.
After lunch sometime, it will be back to the resort for a break/nap and maybe a swim if the weather permits.
My two choices for after our break are...
1. Head back to MK.
My main reason for doing this would be to experience the Main Street Electrical Parade...
...and Wishes, my favorite nighttime show!
I don't know how well DS will tolerate fireworks, or being in the parks that late, so surely by the end of the week we should know if it's ok to attempt the nighttime displays or not.
Or...
2. Hollywood Studios
The one and only reason for doing this would be to experience the Osbourne Lights since we only have 2 nights we would be able to see them.
My reservation about doing this is it is the opening night of the lights, so I know the crowds will be big. But whichever night we do them, we will probably have to attempt them at the beginning of the night when the crowds are heavier anyway, so that might not even matter. I guess it will be one of those things that we will have to wait until the actual day to decide what we want to do. If we go back to MK, we will just see the O Lights on Friday night instead. Like I said, I know we can probably count on crowds whichever night we decide on, but the O Lights are a must!
Which plan do you think would be better for the afternoon? I'd love some Disney planners' opinions!!
In non-Disney news, another big event is quickly approaching...
DS's 1st birthday!
His birthday party is scheduled for October 22nd (his actual birthday is the 24th), and (no flaming please!
) is going to be Elmo themed. I will share the cute little story of how we came to that decision.
I'll set it up by saying DS had just recently learned to clap. So I was searching around online for Mickey Mouse 1st birthday supplies, MM cakes, the whole 9 yards. When I mentioned it to DH that afternoon, he suggested we should do an Elmo party since DS just loves all things Elmo and Sesame Street right now. He then proceeded to ask DS, "Do you want an Elmo party?" to which DS laughed and clapped. I asked him if he wanted a Mickey Mouse party with no response. DH asked him
again did he want an Elmo party, and DS clapped and laughed
again. So from there it was settled, Elmo party it is!
We ordered him some adorable custom invitations from ebay. She charged about $13 to make the file for us, then sent us the picture for us to print ourselves wherever we wanted. We got them printed at Wal-Mart for a little more than $4. Not bad, and they came out so cute! We could also email the file to people instead of having them printed if we had wanted to, but I still wanted to do them the traditional way.
And these are the party supplies we decided to go with.
I liked that they were for a 1st birthday without being the baby Elmo character in a diaper. That just turns me off for some reason!
We also ordered 2 shirts for him from
Stitcheroos that just shipped today, one for his birthday party and one for us to take on vacation with us! I can't wait for them to come in. I will be sure to post some pictures!
And finally, we went ahead last week and ordered some pressure reducing earplugs for Paxton for the plane ride, and also some ear protection earmuffs for him to wear if we do decide to stay for the fireworks any nights. He was all to happy to model them for me too!
On top of that, I think it will be easier going to buffets with him because we'll be able to get food right away and we're less likely to have to deal with an impatient, hungry toddler. 
The characters walking around causing a distraction might help some too.
We will not be going to a park this morning. Instead, we will be tackling the 2 events that decided the dates for this trip for DH and I.
It tasted 10 times better for that reason alone. 
What to do, what to do.
Another big decision we were faced with today was that RCI actually called and said they had found a match for our request for 7 nights at a DVC resort! The resort was Old Key West, which has never been one I was very interested in trying. The match was for a 2 bedroom, which was soooooooooo tempting because we would be getting it for so cheap! However, I think we have up to 15 days before our reservation to cancel with Wyndham and we are down to 14, so it's too late to cancel anyway. If this had only come through a couple days sooner when we could have actually weighed the pros & cons and made a decision instead of one being made for us!! Maybe next year...and maybe a more desirable resort!
Believe me, I feel your pain.
It is so frustrating that you have to make reservations so far in advance and it completely kills your flexibility when park hours change or crowd calendars change. I think this just became another strike against Table Service meals and the regular dining plan in my book.
i hope not to get anymore of those touring plans emails but it will still be a great trip for you guys! and so sad that you got the notice a few hours too late. I know i would like to try OKW one day. however Happy Birthday to your little man and if i do not get back here have a great trip! o and i really love the family pic at the zoo!!!
