A Loooong Way to WDW from the Land of Oz! updated 18 Nov #10, 11 & 12

[backinoz]

G'day everyone

A bit of background first - we will be a family of DD10, DD11, me & DH when we arrive @ WDW on the 22 Dec 2008, after 25+ hours travelling from the land of Oz. (Not the one that Dorothy went to BTW). The day we are travelling will be DD10's - Lucky for her it will be an extra long one as we cross the date line flying over - Unlucky for her is that pretty much the entire day will be on planes and in airports. I figure by the time we get to our room in WDW around 8pm, we'll all be exhausted, so we're celebrating her birthday the next day.

This first part of the trip is easy, 1 night R.O. booking, Poly breakfast with Lilo & Stitch, shopping @ DTD, go around MK area resorts looking at Christmas Decorations, then birthday dinner at 1900 Park Fare. Pick up rental car & bags & drive north for 2-3 hours, before crashing for a very sound night's sleep. Next day (Christmas Eve ) we keep heading north to spend Christmas in NC with BIL & SIL with their DD9 & DS10. Arriving back in WDW on Dec 30 (late afternoon), staying until 14 Jan 2009 (flying out of MCO around 1pm).

So, I'm looking for input on my plan to make the most out of our time in WDW (& Universal). Please offer ALL your comments, suggestions, and reccommendations - anything that's gonna make the trip, or our itinerary any smoother, or more family friendly will DEFINITELY be appreciated.

My first draft plan is:

Tues 30 Dec - 1 night R.O. @ Pop
31 Dec - 8 Jan 8 nights on MYW Pkg with DDP @ Pop (not sure how many days for park ticket yet)
31 Jan NYE @ Epcot - from reading the DIS, it SHould be the least Squishy
8-9 Jan 2 nights R.O. @ Pop
Fri 9 Jan Day Trip to Kennedy Space Cntr
Sat 10 Jan Early check out, check in to Universal Hotel for 1 night
10-11 Jan Universal & IOA with FOTL passes from staying on site
11-14 Jan 3 nights R.O. @ Pop - We want to spend our final couple of days in WDW, redoing our favourites, and catching anything we've missed
14 Jan ME to MCO - Bye Bye WDW

My logic for doing it like this is: we want to spend NYE in WDW, we'd like to maximise our time using the DDP, and I want to spend our 15th anniversary in WDW on the 8 Jan. We also want to do Universal and IOA, & for 4 of us, it seems to make sense to stay onsite with them for 1 night so we get FOTL access - I thought we'd do Kennedy Space Centre the day before so we can use the hire car to transfer to Universal on the Sat.

One specific thing I'd like to know - Will Pop store a couple of our bags for us for the 1 night we spend at Universal?

Sorry if the post is a bit long winded, and Thanks for your Comments/Help/Suggestions.

 

[backinoz]

Wahoo - we've made our room ressies for WDW (thru Dreams) - am waiting to confirm dates at Universal.

Plans have changed a little in the past few weeks... After crunching all the numbers for our meals, the DDP isn't really worth it for us, especially with our two DD's at adult price. I know they can split a meal and just use one credit, but in the end, we're not gonna use up all those credits anyway, plus it's gonna be waaaayyyyyy more food than we'd order normally with all those desserts included. So bookings are RO at this stage, we can always shange to a pkg later if we need to. I'm also thinking that I'll probably end up getting an AP, as it seems likely we'll be able to get a room discount for the Jan09 section of our stay - another wait and see I guess.

We're still planning on 'escaping' to Universal over the Marathon Weekend - only DH wants more than 2 days/1 night there, so we're adding another day, (and slowing down the pace).

Plan is now:
Dec 31 NYE in Epcot, Arrive at rope drop (to do a few rides and get FP b4 it gets absolutely impossible), LATE ADR for Akershus breakfast, LATE TS lunch at WS, and LATE ADR at Coral Reef (9pm?) for desserts

Jan 01 Sleep, sleep, sleep Go and have a look at christmas desorations at AKL & WL (CS lunch at one of them), Maybe Disneyquest at DTD. Not sure if we'll last long enough to do Campfire Movie at FW & see Electrical Pageant at one of the MK resorts.

Jan 02 MK here we come - try & follow UOG touring plan to do as much as we can until we've had enough & want to chill our for the rest of the day, probably go to Epcot for Evening EMH (if they keep this year's schedule).

Jan 03 DHS (EMH?) - again try for the UOG touring plan until we want to change to a slower pace. Take a break & come back to see Osborne lights, stick around for Fantasmic if we're up for it.

Jan 04 AK (EMH?) - UOG plan again - for as long as we feel like. Early dinner at BOMA, pick up rental car, maybe head to DHS for evening EMH, or at least to see Osborne lights if we didn't the night b4.

Jan 05 Take a break from WDW and head out to Kennedy Space Cntr (DH is an mechanical Engineer, and DD11 has a keen interest in Engineering/Robotics etc. so this day is for them) Hopefully have time to stop at Outlet Mall b4 returning rental car. Late dinner ADR to have dessert at Artist Pt at WL.

Jan 06 MK - EARLY ADR at Crystal Palace b4 opening - Dumbo, Dumbo - my DDs want to revisit a favourite from their trip many years ago, so first up it is (I'm not waiting in line for Dumbo, so first thing at opening it is). Take a break & head to Epcot for dinner in Morocco & to watch Illuminations.

Wed 07 DHS - Ride the headliners first up, catch up on what we missed the other day. Evening EMH at AK (?) to go and ride EE after dark!

Thu 08 Our 15th Anniversary - DH & my day to do what we want (not sure what exactly). MK for CRT dinner to celebrate.

Fri 09 Check out & taxi to Royal Pacific at Universal. Head to Universal for the day, take our time and have an early night.

Sat 10 IOA for Character breakfast (I hope), take our time in IOA, dinner at Hard Rock Cafe & wander around City Walk.

Sun 11 Check out & store bags, back to Uiversal/IOA to redo all our favourites, taxi back to Pop & early'ish' night

Mon 12 DHS at rope drop - Something tells me my DDs are gonna love Toy Story Mania. (they both still sleep with Woody & Jessie that the Disney Fairies brought them one night when we were last in WDW nearly 7 years ago). So the plan is to ride it over and over until the line gets too long, then we'll vote on what to do with the rest of the day. Come back for Fantasmic if we want.

Tues 13 MK for rope drop to redo favourites there (BTMR is my guess), spend the day soaking everything in, finding those elusive autographs, and taking buckets of photos to keep the memories alive.

 

[jsmla]

Wow! You're already so organized! My hubby and I will also be celebrating our anniversary at Disney. We'll be there January 7th-11th. It seems so far away.


Jennifer

 

[backinoz]

Congratulations Jennifer! Hope you guys get to do something special while you are there.

As for being organised - I think I've been 'forced' in to it to a certain extent by the need to make our ADR's 180 days in advance (especially for CRT and the NYE ones). To figure out where you're gonna eat, you need to know where you're gonna be - No point making ADR's at one place, then figuring out you'll be in another. Much better to have them, then cancel if we want, than find out we can't get them.

Just glad I've found the DIS boards - I think we would be arriving there soooooooooooooooooooo unprepared otherwise....

Cheers!

 

[jsmla]

I just got around to making our resort reservation. I can start with the ADRs on July 11th. Right now we have four nights booked and think we might use the Dining Plan but that's it.

BTW, My daughter and I spent two weeks in Australia during the Olympics. We loved it! I would love to go back but hubby refuses to fly for that long.

Happy planning!

Jennifer

 

[backinoz]

Arrrrggghhh! It's 181 days until we get there!! Now where did I store all my ADR details???? That's right, in my MASSIVE trip planning spreadsheet...

A quick email to Merrie, the lovely lady from Dreams who's booking all my WDW 'stuff' for the trip has got the first set of ADRs out of the way (when we're celebrating DD10s birthday).

Now for the rest... Hmmmm, not sure if I like the look of them now I'm so much better informed, and have found the links to all the restaurant menus (and reviews). Changed NYE a bit - still Akershus for breakfast, but late lunch is now to be at Marrakesh (seems to be more reliable in producing good food than San Angel), and very late dinner ressie changed to Nine Dragons (was to be Coral Reef for dessert only, but am thinking we're more likely to share meals at Marrakesh and here instead).

The next dilemma! Jiko or Boma??? After looking at the menus, I figured out that the $$ will be much the same for us either way, (DDs will have to pay adult $$ at Boma, but would share at Jiko, and DH and I would probably share an appetiser, and share a dessert). Sooo, Jiko gets priority. Am still not so sure about DDP as well, so are going ahead with plans as if we will be doing DDP to make sure our preferred ADRs are in place. As time gets closer, and we know what our accom will actually be costing us, we'll decide which way we want to go, and cancel any ADR's we won't be needing. (That does not include the one at CRT for our anniversary though!) Have also decided to change Artist Point to Whispering Canyon @ WL after seeing photos & reading reviews - Artist Point seems to be lacking in the theming dept. - Whisp Canyon looks like it belongs in the WL...

Now, only have our LAX/MCO flights to book on SW later this week, and I can relax... at least until they release the Jan hours (& EMH schedule).

 

[backinoz]

It's all done!!! Everything is as booked as it can be at this stage.

First up - airfares... Well South West didn't provide the fares we were hoping for AND the schedule is different for December, BUT... United had fares significantly lower than they had been (I assume in response to SW fares being released). Still not cheap at around $220USD each one way LAX/MCO (plus the $15 for each bag we bring), but the flight is non-stop, we only have an extra 40 minutes over the obligatory 3 hour stop in LAX, and we'll arrive in orlando at 6.30pm. Much much better I think.

Next up - ADRs... All done thanks to Merrie at Dreams. I booked all we needed assuming we will do DDP, but still not sure until prices, packages, and AP discounts come out (so I can decide if I should buy an AP). This is what we have;

Tues 23 Dec - 10:10am Ohana (breakfast) & 4:30pm 1900 Park Far GF (dinner) to celebrate DD10's birthday - no need for lunch that day

Wed 31 Dec - 10:25am Akershus Princess Storybook Breakfast, 5:45pm Nine Dragons, 8:10pm Coral Reef (last available that evening - will try for later, last possible time is 8:50pm). This is meant to only be for dessert, so I may end up canceling this one. We'll be spending NYE in Epcot.

Thurs 1 Jan - 11:10am 1900 Park Fare Breakfast - GF A Rest Day after a big NYE

Fri 2 Jan - 6:00pm Whispering Canyon Cafe - WL Taking time out from a day in MK - we'll probably end up sharing meals

Sat 3 Jan - 11:35am The Hollywood Brown Derby - DHS Prime Time doesn't really appeal to us, and I think we should 'do the Derby' while we're here

Sun 4 Jan - 5:30pm Jiko - AKL (A nice leisurely dinner after a day in AK)

Tues 6 Jan - 8:05am Crystal Palace - MK, 7:00pm San Angel Inn - Epcot Breakfast before opening, and I get an Eeyore Hug

Wed 7 Jan - 6:05pm Boma - AKL Before going to Evening EMH at AK to ride Everest in the dark - will we keep dinner down???

Thurs 8 Jan - 5:45pm Cinderella's Royal Table - MK (Our 10th Anniversary Dinner)

Mon 12 Jan - 11:30am Sci-Fi Dine-In - DHS I figure my DDs should experience this while we're there for a light lunch & milkshake

Tues 13 Jan - 12:25pm Cinderella's Royal Table Lunch - MK (the only other ADR I'm not sure about, but better to have it and cancel than try to get it any later)

So that's it pretty well. Only thing left for me to do is to sort of our rental for the week when we're visiting family in NC. We have to have a 4wd given we're spending a couple of days on Beech Mountain (and I assume we'll need snow chains too), and to hire it from the airport when we arrive for the 8 days is $690!!!! Here's hoping I can get it cheaper as time goes on.

Now I can sit back and relax (I think), and try and get the rest of the family involved with the planning, or at least figuring out what their 'must see' lists are.

Cheers.......

 

[backinoz]

So much for sitting back and relaxing!!!!

Firstly...

'They' announce the hours for Jan I find out that Fantasmic's been cut back to twice a week - BANG goes my plan of just winging it to see Fantasmic on one night when we're in DHS while we're there. Don't think that's gonna work anymore, so better book a Fantasmic Package.

The choices - Hollywood and Vine (At first I thought go with the cheap one, it's a buffet, your should find something we all like), but then I started reading reviews Nope, No, definately not. Next Option Mama Melroses - we actually did the Fantasmic package here waaaay back on our single previous visit to WDW. I don't remember anything bad about it so it must have been OK, it's just I cook a lot of Italian at home so it's not something we'd normally choose when dining out. Final Option - Brown Derby, love the look of the appetisers, and the desserts, but the entrees don't appeal at all. If I want to spend that kind of $$ on a meal, I'd much rather do so at Jiko, CG, Artist Point, or Narcoosees. Soooooo, Mama Melroses it is for the Fantasmic Package.

Next... AAA rates have came out for Jan, which lovely Merrie at DU was able to apply to our RO ressie. It means we have to check out and in again on NYD, but given that's a rest day anyways, a not too taxing task to save some $$. We didn't do the panic purchase of the tickets before prices went up, I may have saved some $$, but not much (considering the interest rates here, the $$ is better off reducing the interest payable on my mortgage), plus until AP discounts and pkg discounts for Jan become available, I can't really say which tickets we want.

Other Good news .... My DHs constant travelling for work has given us another nice little perk for this trip (apart from his and my return airfare to WDW) - I too now have FF Gold status, which gives me Qantas Club access (and access to the Admirals Lounge with AA). I'm sure the hours sitting in terminals in between flights will be much more enjoyable for us all, especially having access to that hot shower, and somewhere a little more peaceful and comfortable to wait for our next flight on the 36hr trip home. I dare say it'll be the only time my DDs & I ever use it though.


Finally............ BIG problem, I heard the CRT review on the DISUnplugged - What!!!!! Can it really be that bad - evidently so.

So now I'm in an absolute quandry over where we should celebrate our dinner that day. Since it's our Anniversary, DH & I get to pick the park, which will proabably be MK (but as it will be Day 7 in the parks we may just change our minds on this) - we'll probably tour until around lunch, but from there it depends on what we do next, and where we decide to eat. I'd like somewhere nice for dinner, so that we can change out of our park clothes, and try and arrange for one of the Photo Pass Sessions before we eat.

At present we have a 5.45pm ADR for CRT Dinner. My DDs thought it would be lovely if we could all have dinner together in the castle to celebrate our anniversary (they normally cook dinner for us if we're celebrating at home, so very much want to be part of the celebration). BUT, I'm really really worried about the food quality here, and that our special anniversary will be memorable for all the wrong reasons. Has anyone celebrated at a CRT Dinner, what made it special/memorable for you? (Or, was it as bad a Kevin said in his review?)

Next ............. Jiko. We'll be eating here one night of our trip regardless, as this menu draws us in like no other. Why??? We have a special affinity for Africa (we lived in Mozambique for nearly 6 years), and the African food, people and culture have a special place in our hearts. That and the South African Wine List! Has anyone celebrated here? What was it like? Only problem here is the amount of 'back & forth'. ........ Pop->TTC->GF/Poly (for photos)->TTC->AKL (dinner)->TTC/Epcot->Pop (maybe use taxi for GF->AKL, or AKL->Pop? Rental car is not an option as we'd like to enjoy our wine while we're here.).

Next......... Narcoosees. It'll save a fair bit of the 'back and forth' and we could have photos done at the GF, then stay here for dinner. My only issue is that DD11 & I are allergic to shellfish, which restricts our menu choice somewhat. We can eat fish with scales, (LOVE snapper), but aren't big fans of Tuna, Salmon etc. The big plus - MK fireworks across the water, Electric Parade, and the least amount of 'to & fro'. Plus we could order the slipper desserts, which I know my DH would love (he's the chocoholic in our family).

Finally.......... California Grill. Menu is quite appealing, but changes a fair bit from what I understand, so could be a bit 'hit & miss', depending on what's in season I guess. None of us are Sushi fans, so that doesn't draw us in. What does is the idea of port and cheese on the top of the contemporary, watching wishes. Is this truly the best view of them on property? Also a good option as far as transport goes.

So there is my dilemma - what to do, what to do????? I'm open to suggestions...

Typing all this out has helped. I know that really I want to go to Jiko that night, I'm just not sure about the ease of transport I guess. We do have a lunch booked for CRT on our last day in WDW, so my DDs will still get to have a meal in the castle if we don't go there for dinner. But, since we're planning on going to Jiko anyway, so should we really be considering Cali Grill or Narcoosees to experience dining somewhere different? This is all just too much

I think most of the 'pressure' is just me overobsessing trying to do as much as we can, while still keeping an eye on the budget, and provide magical memories for us all. Central QLD to WDW isn't cheap, and I doubt if we'll ever get to go there again, so am trying real hard to get it right. But hey, we'll be in WDW for DD10s birthday and our Anniversary - how could I get it wrong .

Time to go and do other stuff for a while (you know, things like washing, vacuuming, painting & decorating - the things we all did before giving in to our WDW & DIS opsession). Maybe if I cleared my head and didn't think about it so much the answer would become obvious??? Nope - not helping.....Yet.

 

[backinoz]

Now only 2 months & 1 day until we arrive in WDW!!!

DH is starting to show enthusiasm towards trip and planning , and DDs are right into the whole planning thing. DD11 is currently making character lists according to 'availability', then deciding who's autograph she wants most. DD9 just wants to know what we have planned for her birthday celebration - no clues yet though! (Apart from her knowing we're flying on her birthday and arriving in WDW on the day)

However there is a spanner in the works.... The Aussie Dollar has crashed a bit since we first booked Thankfully it seems to be recovering a little over the past week, but it has meant we've had to rethink things and try and save some $$. As at today with the AUD around $0.70US, our trip has gone up by around 35% since making the booking. It's not going to stop us going, but will curtail our spending a fair bit!

So far the only thing to go has been our 2 nights onsite at Universal. No front-of-the-line passes for us , but since we're planning on going there towards the end of our trip the crowds should have all gone back to school by then (I hope). Luckily Merrie was able to get us the AAA rate at Pop for those few days in the middle as well - $78.42 a night is pretty good but here's hoping for an even better room discount or add-on soon. (A girl can dream........ ).

BTW - Jiko has won the Anniversary Dinner Lottery - I think the cocktails and wine, plus our love of all things African has done it. Unknown to my DDs we still have the lunch ADR at CRT on our final day, which I'll keep as a surprise (if I can).

Thanks to the DIS I also found out about Brenda at WDW who helps with food allergies etc. Sent her an email today to get info on what's available for DD11 as she has a level of lactose intolerance - DO NOT want her to have a reaction in the middle of our holiday, so will be playing it safe! Will have to make sure we stop at supermarket on way back to WDW to stock up on Lactose Free milk for her too - she doesn't like the taste of soy milk (which is what's available at Pop Food Court).

As for other plans......... Hmmmm, need to make sure we ride Splash Mtn on our MK day on 2nd Jan as it's going into rehab for most of our time there. i.e. be there at rope drop, hightail it to Splash, get FP, then straight in to standby line. (Note to self, make sure we have ponchos , do NOT want to spend the day damp). Checked out the Epcot Fantasia NYE Buffet - but since DDs would both be paying full adult price, and I'm not too sure about a few of the meat dishes, we'll stick with our plan. Hopefully we'll be able to grab a few drinks/treats around the WS later in the evening to enjoy, and we'll take our time over dinner.

So now it's a waiting game.... Hoping for good code for Jan, hoping the Aussie $$ recovers, and hoping for the next two months to pass ASAP Because......

I want to go to WDW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Insert spoilt 36yo child smiley here!)

 

[backinoz]

Ok I'm in a quandary over our first night (22 Dec) - our 1 night in the world, basically for DDs 10th birthday. The big question IS... will we be so tired that we want to go straight to sleep when we arrive at WDW? OR, will we have slept on the plane and the time zone variation be so strong that we just can't sleep and would be better of staying at DTD where we can at least go across the road to check out some shops, chrissy decorations etc before we're ready for sleep? My head says DTD, but my heart says my DDs would love their 'surprise' 1 night stay at ASMo (they think we're staying at Pop) - it's where we stayed on our 1st trip and both are still VERY partial to Toy Story and it's characters. $$ wise it's much the same, so the heart's winning, but if I could get a cheaper rate at the Hilton in DTD then I think that's where we'll be going!

As for all the excitement over Disney's Stay4Free3 deal - it wasn't a winner for us, mainly because we arrive before the 4 Jan, and stay for longer, we're much better off $$ wise with me buying an AP, and having APH rates for most of our stay. Plus, from what I've been able to find out, because we're coming from Aus. we may be able to buy Ultimate tickets thru the UK website - 14 days with hopper and more, for cheaper than a 10 day hopper - sounds good to me. Basically because the Aussie $$ has fallen further against the USD than the pound, and because you can get a 14 day ultimate ticket for the price of a 7 day at the moment.

Our car rental is the other 'thing' to finalise - again we're looking at booking through a UK wholesaler because it works out a whole lot cheaper - like $200 Aussie cheaper! (for a better car at that) - $500 (Aussie) for a full-size SUV for 8 days with all insurances and pre-paid petrol seems like a pretty good deal to me.

BTW - to those who may end up reading this - apologies for all the facts and figures - I'm using this pre-trippie to keep track of things ready for when I do my post WDW scrap books - it'll be great to just print out my posts here for journalling rather than have to find all the scraps of paper with everything written on them!

Now on to the fun planning - what to do with our Disney Days...

 

[backinoz]

I'm sure Merrie at DU is totally cringing every time she sees an email from me but FINALLY I think I have eveything all sorted, and my ADRs can stay as is (providing Disney doesn't announce any more rehabs and change their park hours again). I'm gonna skip our 22&23 Dec plans - they're unchanged except that we'll definately be getting a hire car from the airport and driving to WDW when we arrive. I was just a bit worried about how busy ME would be 3 days before Christmas and, it saves us having to go and pick it up the next day.

So we arrive at Pop on 30 Dec, will return the car, and then HOPEFULLY back to Pop for an early night. (If not there is always the MK which is open until 4am - NOT)

31 Dec - Up bright and early - I'm talking b4 6.30am here so we can be at the Epcot bus stop by 7am. I know it doesn't open until 8am, but I would like to do a few rides before it gets MEGA crowded and I figure the only way to do that (and to get a locker for the day) is to be at the head of the pack. We'll do as much as we can early, then we have a 10.25 breakfast at Akershus - I figure we won't b out of there until midday at least. We'll then spend the afternoon strolling around WS, maybe do a show/ride or two using FP, and hopefully find a spot of grass to sit down on to relax (and maybe have a nap) - I pray it doesn't rain !! Dinner is at 5.45 at 9 Dragons (DD11 is dragon mad and loves chinese food, folklore, culture, and decor). Hopefully we can take our time a bit with the meal - order some appetisers & drinks, then our main meals, and then (possibly) dessert. Afterwards is chill out again - and try and seek out some characters for photos and autographs while passing the time until the late illuminations. My hope here is that we're all nicely rested and not too tired as heading to the busses with the teeming hordes doesn't appeal at all. Plan is to exit through the Int Gateway, and walk on over to DHS for a few rides/shows at their EMH, then catch a bus back to Pop from there after the post-midnight chaos has settle down somewhat. Now I realise that this is awfully ambitious to stay awake for so long so there are a few other ideas in the back of my head. One is to leave Epcot around lunch time, and head back to Pop for a nap, then back to Epcot for our dinner ADR - problem here is that I don't think anyone will be tired enough to sleep that early in the day. The other is to leave Epcot after dinner & head back to Pop for the nap, then back to Epcot around 11pm in time for Illuminations etc. - problem here is we may not want to wake up, and then that we'll have a lousy spot to watch the fireworks and we'll miss all the evening 'festivities'. I much prefer the idea of finding a nice patch of grass for a mid afternoon nap in Epcot, but what are the chances of finding that on NYE???

As for NYD - what do I have planned? NOTHING! Well that's not entirely true. I figure we'll probably sleep until lunch time or there abouts, and the 'plan' such that it is? - maybe head over to AKL to check out their Chrissie Decorations and grab a bite to eat at Mara, then bus'n'boat to Ft Wilderness to have a look around and then hang around for the outdoor movie, watch the electrical pageant, and then back to Pop to sleeeeeepppp. If we wake up early, we'll still go over to AKL, but come back to Pop for a nap b4 heading over to Ft Wilderness.

I'm hoping that our recovery day on NYD will be enough to recharge us for the 2 weeks ahead. The last thing I want to do is to start out the holiday tired and grumpy! As for the rest of our plans? They're almost figured out but I need to get down some ideas of what to surprise our DDs with first!

 

[backinoz]

So Dh and I have been talking over this trip, and Christmas, and the fact that the Aussie $$ isn't getting any better so we're really going to have to watch how we spend our $$. BUT we still want to have a magical time and try and do all that we can because we know we're not going to be back in WDW anytime soon (if ever).

So it's got me thinking about how I can combine or 'arrange' some of these magical experiences into Christmas Presents for our DDs. One is extremely obvious - we have a Lunch booked for CRT on our last day in the world - unbeknown to our DDs. So a very nicely presented lunch invitation will definitely be part of their present, (it'll give them a little time to get excited about dining at the castle) - I know both were a little disappointed that we cancelled our anniversary dinner at CRT, but understood that DH & I would rather dine at Jiko, and that it would be much better value for money.

Now I just need to come up with some other ideas for 'vouchers' for them to use on our trip. Some will be for treats - like a Mickey Icecream bar, or a sundae of choice, some will be to take 'control' of what we do for the afternoon in the parks (i.e. ride of their choice - I pray it's not to take me on the teacups over and over and over again). I think I'll put these together with a heap of other things I think they'd like to know in their own journal for WDW - things like hidden mickey locations, where they can get pressed pennies, and a few of those other lesser know WDW 'attractions'. Hopefully these little journals along with a treat or two will bring smiles to their faces on Christmas Day!

If there's anyone reading this that has other suggestions - I'd sure appreciate hearing them - Thanks!