We changed our dates a little... we will be arriving Friday Jan 29 early afternoon. After taking Magical Express to POR we will be taking the boat to Downtown Disney for dinner with our best friends
. We just found out they are moving to Orlando soon!! They live near us now (they go to BYU), but I met Amanda when I lived in Orlando after college. She met her husband, Bryan, while they were both lifeguarding at Typhoon Lagoon! She will be 9 months pregnant with her 2nd child, so we may wind up meeting them a different night depending on childbirth... Their first date was at Planet Hollywood in Downtown Disney, so we will most likely eat there (Amanda loves it). I also will want to do some serious Disney shopping
! Later that night, we might go check out a band at House of Blues or head back to our resort to see Yehaw Bob or jazz music at POFQ... or get in the pool (I just found out they are heated - yay!). We'll have to see if they are doing campfire and smores or outdoor movies while we're there too. I heard they were last year.
Saturday, we will go to EPCOT. We decided to not do park hoppers this time
which I have never tried... Friday is EMHs at EPCOT, so I am hoping it will be dead there on Saturday. The crowds are supposed to be a level 3 (wait times 15-25 mins tops) that week anyway. We will be getting there before they open anyway, grabbing a Fastpass for Mission Space and then going on Soarin or the create your own coaster ride. I am very excited to do Ellen's Energy Adventure, since I haven't riden it in years. I am obsessed with Ellen, I think she is just awesome. It will be funny to see how young she looks on the ride (if I am remembering correctly, they put Ellen as the ride host over 15 years ago). We will probably skip Figment this trip because I miss the old Dreamfinder version
. We have a reservation for a late lunch at Les Chefs de France, which I am very excited for. I checked some menus of recommended TS restaurants and that one really made my mouth water... Lobster bisque is my favorite soup ever, DH loves Onion soup. I also love Escargots! And DH loves dessert so he will pick something good there too. We will be touring the countries most of our time in the park this day, looking at all the little "hidden" gardens, shopping, catching the little shows/demonstrations. I can't wait! I really love EPCOT.
The rest of the week I have written down somewhere, but not in front of me at the moment. We will spend 2 days in each park (except Animal Kingdom, which we wil go to for evening EMHs day) to total 7 days in the parks. We won't be going to Disney on Sunday, so we will have Sat and then Mon-Sat at the parks. Like I said before, I lived in Orlando, so we will be going to my old ward (church) and then visiting with friends on Sunday. It'll be a nice resting/family-style day. I really look forward to it! We plan on going to Cirque du Soleil one night, going to Disney Boardwalk at some point, taking the Keys to the Kingdom tour towards the end of our trip, trying Kim Possible our 2nd day in EPCOT, and more.
I grew up in a town about 4 hours South of Orlando (Naples), and my parents still live there... so, they will be visiting us for a "long weekend" towards the end of our trip. We are getting the 4/3 deal so we will be checking out of POR Friday Feb 5. My parents will be getting a suite at Lake Eve resort for all of us. My older brother will come up and visit too (from Ft. Lauderdale). A friend from high school works at Lake Eve, so we are getting the friends and family rate!!! Yay! It will be so awesome to spend 3 days with my parents and DB! DB and I shared an apartment for most of college and we are super close... plus, I have the best parents in the world
Can you tell I am homesick, LOL. My grandparents live in Ocala (about an hour NW of Orlando) so it will be interesting to see if they come to visit. I hope so!
More details about ADRs later...