DLFan123
living the dream-literally!
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2012
- Messages
- 821
So I didn't completely abandon this pre-trip report, but we've been through a lot the past month. As our trip has neared, we have experienced many set-backs, but none will stop us from making our trip.
First, DP had kidney stones! Yes, I know, very unusual at her age and with her current diet etc...
but what do I know. This seems to be an issue of the past at this point. For a few days a couple weeks ago, we feared it might affect our trip, but thankfully it will not! Stones passed!
Second, as soon as she began feeling better, we learned of the partial SAB closure at BC, making us rethink our resort choice. The biggest part of the frustration with this has been finding someone to give us accurate information about what exactly will be closed. We still don't know for sure, but we have made the decision to stay put. If only you knew the stressing we did, thinking about alternative solutions...changing travel dates altogether (which would mean missing DP's bday celebration at WDW), staying at a different resort (which would mean changing all our ADRs, which turned out to be just impossible at this late date), or just staying put, which is ultimately what we decided. From what we can tell, only a small portion of the water complex will be closed. We are committed to make the best of it. One draw for us with BC is the wonderful complex that is SAB. Last year, we felt we didn't spend enough time enjoying it, and we'd planned to spend more time this year...now we will just go with the flow. We are still super excited to float in the Lazy River portion, which all say will be open.
So now the trip approaches rapidly..we made our actual ticker long ago, and the dates seem to be a little off, so we actually arrive sooner than our ticker says we do...
Here is our adjusted itinerary...
Arrival day, late night, magical express to POR
Day 2
Early morning res at Tusker House for breakfast with Donald, avoid RD line at AK
Entire day at AK, lunch will be quick service (jalapeno cream cheese filled pretzel for DP)
Dinner at Sanaa
Considering going for the last remaining hours at MK versus relaxing at the hotel early
Day 2
Late morning, pool time at POR
Lunch at Fulton's in DTD
Afternoon at DTD
Dinner at Boatwright's and eve at POR, enjoying the resort
On this day, DP will learn about the special bday plans I have made for the next evening (can't post here, since she reads these posts! You will have to wait until we get back to find out!)
Day 3
Up early, pack and leave luggage with Bell services to be transferred to BC
HS for RD
Lunch at Sci-Fi
Afternoon to BC for check-in and change for evening surprise
MK area...can't tell you what we will be doing, because it's a surprise!
Day 4
Up early, Epcot day
Breakfast at Cape May Cafe
Lunch will be quick service at Epcot
Dinner at La Hacienda
Illuminations (hopefully from our table at La Hacienda!)
Day 5
Breakfast at Chef Mickey's early early ADR
I'm regularly checking in hopes of switching this to Crystal Palace breakfast, so we can get in to the park early. Unfortunately, everybody else thought of this first. 
RD at MK
Lunch at Tony's
Dinner res at Crystal Palace (we still think we may cancel this one-originally booked to "get our money's worth" out of the dining plan but feel like we'd enjoy CS just as much. Had lunch at CP last year and we enjoyed it, but I'm not sure we need a repeat)
Day 6 DP bday
EMH AK
Lunch at Yak and Yeti
Afternoon back to BC
Evening dinner at San Angel Inn
Illuminations from the other side of the world showcase
Day 7
Late morning, time at the resort, enjoying (hopefully) SAB
Lunch at Rose and Crown's
Dinner TBD
We may catch Fantasmic this night, since we won't yet have had time for this. If not, we may watcha movie on the beach.
Day 8
Breakfast at Kona Cafe
RD at MK
Lunch at LTT
Dinner back at Kona
Evening we will watch the water pageant from the Poly resort. So excited to see this resort, so we can decide if we'd like to stay here on a future trip!
Day 9 will be an easy going day
Late morning res at Capt Grille
Day at the resort
Lunch at Chefs de France
Dinner at Cape May Clambake
Day 10 departure day-let's not even think about it!
As you can see, we've loosened up our reservations a bit. This should give us plenty of time to enjoy pizza on the boardwalk, Beaches and Cream, and counter service in Epcot as well as MK. We aren't huge eaters, and we are more spontaneous about what/when/where we want to eat. I think this is a good mix. Can't wait for the Boulangerie Patisserie!!!
We are getting very excited now, but it is crunch time. We have a lot of packing still to do, and things around the house to get it ready for our live-in dog sitter!
First, DP had kidney stones! Yes, I know, very unusual at her age and with her current diet etc...
but what do I know. This seems to be an issue of the past at this point. For a few days a couple weeks ago, we feared it might affect our trip, but thankfully it will not! Stones passed!Second, as soon as she began feeling better, we learned of the partial SAB closure at BC, making us rethink our resort choice. The biggest part of the frustration with this has been finding someone to give us accurate information about what exactly will be closed. We still don't know for sure, but we have made the decision to stay put. If only you knew the stressing we did, thinking about alternative solutions...changing travel dates altogether (which would mean missing DP's bday celebration at WDW), staying at a different resort (which would mean changing all our ADRs, which turned out to be just impossible at this late date), or just staying put, which is ultimately what we decided. From what we can tell, only a small portion of the water complex will be closed. We are committed to make the best of it. One draw for us with BC is the wonderful complex that is SAB. Last year, we felt we didn't spend enough time enjoying it, and we'd planned to spend more time this year...now we will just go with the flow. We are still super excited to float in the Lazy River portion, which all say will be open.
So now the trip approaches rapidly..we made our actual ticker long ago, and the dates seem to be a little off, so we actually arrive sooner than our ticker says we do...
Here is our adjusted itinerary...
Arrival day, late night, magical express to POR
Day 2
Early morning res at Tusker House for breakfast with Donald, avoid RD line at AK
Entire day at AK, lunch will be quick service (jalapeno cream cheese filled pretzel for DP)
Dinner at Sanaa
Considering going for the last remaining hours at MK versus relaxing at the hotel early
Day 2
Late morning, pool time at POR
Lunch at Fulton's in DTD
Afternoon at DTD
Dinner at Boatwright's and eve at POR, enjoying the resort
On this day, DP will learn about the special bday plans I have made for the next evening (can't post here, since she reads these posts! You will have to wait until we get back to find out!)
Day 3
Up early, pack and leave luggage with Bell services to be transferred to BC
HS for RD
Lunch at Sci-Fi
Afternoon to BC for check-in and change for evening surprise
MK area...can't tell you what we will be doing, because it's a surprise!
Day 4
Up early, Epcot day
Breakfast at Cape May Cafe
Lunch will be quick service at Epcot
Dinner at La Hacienda
Illuminations (hopefully from our table at La Hacienda!)
Day 5
Breakfast at Chef Mickey's early early ADR
I'm regularly checking in hopes of switching this to Crystal Palace breakfast, so we can get in to the park early. Unfortunately, everybody else thought of this first. RD at MK
Lunch at Tony's
Dinner res at Crystal Palace (we still think we may cancel this one-originally booked to "get our money's worth" out of the dining plan but feel like we'd enjoy CS just as much. Had lunch at CP last year and we enjoyed it, but I'm not sure we need a repeat)
Day 6 DP bday
EMH AK
Lunch at Yak and Yeti
Afternoon back to BC
Evening dinner at San Angel Inn
Illuminations from the other side of the world showcase
Day 7
Late morning, time at the resort, enjoying (hopefully) SAB
Lunch at Rose and Crown's
Dinner TBD
We may catch Fantasmic this night, since we won't yet have had time for this. If not, we may watcha movie on the beach.
Day 8
Breakfast at Kona Cafe
RD at MK
Lunch at LTT
Dinner back at Kona
Evening we will watch the water pageant from the Poly resort. So excited to see this resort, so we can decide if we'd like to stay here on a future trip!
Day 9 will be an easy going day
Late morning res at Capt Grille
Day at the resort
Lunch at Chefs de France
Dinner at Cape May Clambake
Day 10 departure day-let's not even think about it!
As you can see, we've loosened up our reservations a bit. This should give us plenty of time to enjoy pizza on the boardwalk, Beaches and Cream, and counter service in Epcot as well as MK. We aren't huge eaters, and we are more spontaneous about what/when/where we want to eat. I think this is a good mix. Can't wait for the Boulangerie Patisserie!!!
We are getting very excited now, but it is crunch time. We have a lot of packing still to do, and things around the house to get it ready for our live-in dog sitter!
! Can't wait to here your reviews for both La Hacienda (we ended up cancelling this in December) and Sanaa.
