50th B-day at WDW

[kwnancy]

My 50th is not until October of 2007 but I just decided this is where I want to be. DH will be in classes (nursing student) and DD19 is also in classes (another nursing student, but at a different school). She may be able to join me for the weekend part of the week.

Looking for ideas for my trip. I do plan on staying on-site, hopefully with a great FLA resident rate. How soon should I book the room? I plan on getting a seasonal pass.

I am an early riser so Early - Entry is perfect for me. What should I do in the evenings and what about dining options?

I'm a planner and would appreciate all suggestions!

Thanks, Nancy

 

[rkmassa]

Would also like to know answers to some of these questions. My 40th birthday will be Feb 2007. Of course planning on celebrating at DW. Been planning for 3 years.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

I celebrated my 50th in WDW last November. We had SO MUCH FUN!!!

I invited all my friends and family to join me (paying their own way, of course) and ended up with 43 adults, 9 children, and 2 babies at my birthday meal (which was breakfast at Boma). The rest of the time we just met up in various combinations.

One thing I did was try to do something special with each of my children and family members, and to book some special experiences that I hadn't tried before.

I took my mother (who is in her late 70's) to afternoon tea at the Grand Floridian. She had never been to WDW before and was convinced she wouldn't like it - she only came because of my birthday. Well, she LOVED it, and that afternoon tea was definitely a highlight. The day after we all came back she phoned me to say "when can we go again??"

My oldest son and I did the "Lunch with an Imagineer" together at the Brown Derby. Great experience and so interesting!

My daughter and I did "Shopping around World Showcase." Usually we are with her brothers and they don't have the patience to go in all the stores - but she and I thoroughly enjoyed it and came home with some great souvenirs.

My second son and I did Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party together and also had a dinner at Raglan Road - he loves to try different beers so it was a great spot for him.

My youngest son and I did the Segway Tour of Epcot. I can't believe how much fun it was, we both loved it and hope to do it again.

A group of us did the "Family Magic Tour" in Magic Kingdom, including my two grandchildren.

My sisters and I went to the Comedy Warehouse and the Adventurer's Club and had a great time partying.

We also made a special effort to get "in the show" as often as we could - including being an "extra" in Indiana Jones, in the hot seat at Millionaire (sadly gone very soon), riding the front car of the monorail, etc.

The rest of the time we just met up with friends and family members to do the parks, and tried to meet up for meals as often as we could.

It was so much fun and definitely eased some of the pain of turning 50. I have so many great memories of sharing that holiday with the people I care about.

And don't forget to wear your birthday button! My son made up T-shirts for him, his wife, and their two kids announcing my birthday - I loved it!! Did I mention that we had SO MUCH FUN!!!!

Teresa

 

[grumpy.uncle]

My 50th is not until October of 2007 but I just decided this is where I want to be. DH will be in classes (nursing student) and DD19 is also in classes (another nursing student, but at a different school). She may be able to join me for the weekend part of the week.

Looking for ideas for my trip. I do plan on staying on-site, hopefully with a great FLA resident rate. How soon should I book the room? I plan on getting a seasonal pass.

I am an early riser so Early - Entry is perfect for me. What should I do in the evenings and what about dining options?

I'm a planner and would appreciate all suggestions!

Thanks, Nancy

I'm spending my 50th at WDW in Jan.07. I will be arriving on Dec.31 w/ one of my friends and we will be staying at Villas at WL for one nite. We have lunch ressies at GF and dinner at Ohana. We will just tour the resorts to see the Xmas decor on the first day as I have no desire to battle the crowds in the parks that day. Will probably watch fireworks from the Poly. The next day we transfer to the BWV where an assortment of my friends will be arriving at different times during the day. We are staying until Jan.8 and I've left the schedule somewhat open at this point. I do know what parks we'll be going to each day, but I'm going to let everyone decide how much Disney they want to experience. On my actual birthday, We will be in the AK that day and I've booked ADR for Boma shortly after the park closes. That is the only meal that I've planned on everyone being at. The rest of the time, we'll just play it by ear. I suspect we will be breaking up into smaller groups most days. I've been twice to WDW and have experienced most of it. Only ride I haven't done is EE and so looking forward to it. Also want to hang at one of the water parks for one day to break it up ( I need my lazy river fix). There is so much to do at WDW, it just depends on how much you want to spend. Eventhough I'm springing for the rooms at BWV, my friends need to purchase their own transportation, park tix, food, drinks, etc. so I'm not forcing anything on any of them, because it is quite an expenditure on their part. Honestly, if everyone wants to eat meals in our rooms(we do have kitchens) it's okay by me. I just want to share WDW w/them as most of them have never been there. I want them to see what I find so amazing about "Our World".

 

[kwnancy]

Thanks for the great ideas - I sent my room deposit today.