A little help (reassurance)

[tiderule1]

I will be travelling to Disney this Thanksgiving with my wife, two daughters and mother-in-law. Yeah, yeah -- I know -- but she is a pretty good mother-in-law. She has agreed to watch the kids while the wife and I do downtown Disney. I have adjoining rooms in Port Orleans Riverside (Mansions, not the Bayou). Anyone stayed here lately? If so, let me know your thoughts.

As for Downtown Disney, what are the favorites?

We have heard to have Thanksgiving dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern. Anyone done this or have other suggestions?

Any other thoughts or suggestions for this week?

I have been planning this vacation for close to a year now and have done as much research and planning as I can. I just don't want to miss out on something great that is not in any of the books or sites I have been to. Just want it to be magical for the kids. This will be the second visit for the oldest (12) and the 1st for the youngest (5).

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

 

[mommystieg]

Hi I'm not much help. We stayed at POR in the Mansions two years ago. It is very pretty although it took us a couple of days to find our way around. The landscaping is awesome and the walk over to the main building was nice. As far as DTD, we love going in all the shops, especially World of Disney and Once Upon a Toy Store. There really is a lot to see and we usually end up at the Wolfgang Puck Express for lunch. We tried to have a snack from Ghiradelli's last year but it was pretty busy in there. We ate at LTT last year(not for Thanksgiving)--just a heads up--the turkey is like a turkey roll instead of the "real" thing. I have never been during the time of year that you are going so I don't have much advice. Don't worry about the magic, just relax and let it happen!!

 

[disneygoof]

What a great time to go! I'm sure you already know about Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party; tickets, if they're not already on sale, go on very soon, and I understand some days sell out well in advance.

I highly recommend the Family Magic Tour. You can find posts about it here and elsewhere. Words can't describe the fun and magic of this tour; not really a tour but a scavenger hunt that will delight your children and make you a kid again. Honestly, I was excited to tears several times during the two hours of the tour.

Finally, the books don't make a big deal of it, but if you're in the MK around 5, you should take in the Flag Retreat. It's very patriotic and very moving; very appropriate for Thanksgiving, I think.

Have fun!

 

[disneyag]

I second the recommendation for the Family Magic Tour.

In DTD we like Rainforest Cafe. The Once Upon a Toy shop is amazing. The World of Disney store is fantastic.

 

[colleen costello]

We have started to do character meals and have enjoyed them immensely. We had a great dinner recently at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary as well as at the Crystal Palace at the Magic Kingdom. My kids are 9 and 6 but the grandparents got as big a kick out of ther characters.

Have fun! Riverside is a beautiful resort. They have horse-drawn carriage rides now in the evenings. ALso, try the banana-stuffed French Toast at Boatwright's; it's WONDERFUL!

 

[KIS]

I "third" the Family Tour in the Magic Kingdom. Forget about how much the children enjoyed it -- I loved it.

KIS

 

[gilld]

Coming from the UK we don't celebrate Thanksgiving but I think Christmas would be similar...we eat turkey etc then. We were at WDW a few years back at Christmas and ate at LTT on Christmas Day, it was the closest to traditional "christmas dinner" for us. A VERY nice meal...though no plum pudding!!!!
Have fun whatever you do.