12-12 36th birthday trip!

[bnhasak]

I'm looking for any tips or recommendations for my upcoming 36th birthday! It is a bit of a special trip to me, as I will be turning 36 on 12/12/12.

I've been hoping to celebrate in Disney with my family on this day for a few years. With a decent refund this year, and some hard work the next few months, I think we can afford it (if we drive).

Just wondering if there is anything you would recommend to make it extra special, or extra cheap? LOL!

We usually rent points from the Disboards DVC. We have found it a good deal. We are newly gluten free, so we may not go with the meal plan like we usually do. This will be our first trip with 2 celiac family members. Trying to plan out how to do the meals without the convenience of Disney dining.

We were thinking of doing a YES program since the kids will be missing a bit of school, and this might help the trip be more educational.

We usually stay at a studio at SSR, but also like Wilderness Lodge. We've heard good things about Animal Kingdom as well as Bay Lake. Is there any place that would be most recommended for our family, me, hubby, son who will be 7 and daughter who will be 9. Okay, I'm fine with turning 36, but seeing that my kids will be 7 and 9 freaked me out.

Thanks for any input. The special birthday seemed like years away, but here we are 9 months out and I really want to make it happen for all of us!

 

[Marionnette]

I'm looking for any tips or recommendations for my upcoming 36th birthday! It is a bit of a special trip to me, as I will be turning 36 on 12/12/12.

I've been hoping to celebrate in Disney with my family on this day for a few years. With a decent refund this year, and some hard work the next few months, I think we can afford it (if we drive).

Just wondering if there is anything you would recommend to make it extra special, or extra cheap? LOL!

We usually rent points from the Disboards DVC. We have found it a good deal. We are newly gluten free, so we may not go with the meal plan like we usually do. This will be our first trip with 2 celiac family members. Trying to plan out how to do the meals without the convenience of Disney dining.

We were thinking of doing a YES program since the kids will be missing a bit of school, and this might help the trip be more educational.

We usually stay at a studio at SSR, but also like Wilderness Lodge. We've heard good things about Animal Kingdom as well as Bay Lake. Is there any place that would be most recommended for our family, me, hubby, son who will be 7 and daughter who will be 9. Okay, I'm fine with turning 36, but seeing that my kids will be 7 and 9 freaked me out.

Thanks for any input. The special birthday seemed like years away, but here we are 9 months out and I really want to make it happen for all of us!

Allears has reviews about celiac dining in Disney. Check it out before you decide against the dining plan.
http://www.allears.net/din/guestceliac.htm

Disney chefs will also work with your dining restrictions to make something for you that is not on the menu if necessary.

I stayed in a Kidani studio with my adult daughter and niece. I felt the room was very cramped. When the sofa bed was opened, there was no room to move around or to get out on the balcony easily. I would not recommend it for a family with small children if you want to be able to go out on the balcony while the children are falling off to sleep. And as much as I loved Kidani itself, there are a few negatives that I felt make it less desirable. First, there is no counterservice dining there. And secondly, you really need a car if you want to get around Disney easily. AKL/AKV is the only deluxe resort that does not have boat transportation, nor is it within walking distance of any park. At least WL/WLV has boat transportation to MK.

If you would like to make your birthday special, make sure that it is on your dining reservations that you are celebrating. You might get a special appetizer or dessert. Or you may get nothing. Have it noted on your room reservation and they will have a birthday button for you when you check in. Wear it. You'll get many birthday wishes from the CMs and maybe a little pixie dust like being assigned a good spot on Soarin' or a better table at 'Ohana.

You might want to do something extra special for yourself at a spa or book a tour as a birthday gift to yourself. The holiday tours can be very interesting.

Or, get MVMCP tickets.

Or book a CP dinner so that you can get priority seats for the show.

Whatever you decide to do, have a happy birthday!

 

[ziggystardust]

thats my boyfriend's birthday too!

One little thing that i love doing while we are there is to rent a boat (the little 2 seaters) from the resorts. We usually get it from WL or the Poly. Its relatively inexpensive and a lot of fun. Especially if you have 2 boats going and you can sort of chase each other.

regardless you will have a great time and happy early birthday!

 

[bnhasak]

Thank you both so much! I really appreciate the GF dining advice as well.

It will be during the holiday season (our favorite) so I'm really getting excited, and also leaning towards VWL as they have great holiday decorations!