And then there was nine...a Magical Journey!

[BecsBunch]

This is my first pre-trip report so please bear with me as I stumble through the process!! I look forward to reading the comments, suggestions, etc. And I can't WAIT to get to WDW!!

Cast:

Becky (me)-29, stay at home mom to five and a full time college nursing student. Bone-a-fide Disney Nut, plan-a-holic, listmaker.

Tim (Dh)-32, man of my life for the last 16 years but married almost 12. Firefighter, team leader at GM. Not an overly enthused Disney nut and definately does not understand the importance of making lists and following plans.

J-our 9 year old son. This will be his 2nd trip!
A-our 6 year old son. This will be his 2nd trip as well.
K-our 5 year old daughter. This will be her 1st trip!
E-our 3 year old daughter. This will be her 1st trip as well.
JR-our 11 month old who will be spending quality time with his Auntie.

The three some:

"Big D" (30): Wishes he was a professional race car driver (he does race locally). Perhaps he'll get some pixie dust this trip and his dream will come true. Visited WDW many many years ago.

"JSS" (27): Working mother, full time accounting student, mom of one. Currently in training to become an obsessed Disney plan-a-holic, just as I am. Visited WDW while in High School 12 years ago.

"Lil Miss" (almost 3): This is the little apple of their eye. This will be her first time to WDW too!

Reason for this trip: Honestly...must there really be a reason to take a trip to the most magical place on Earth? I think not! This just happens to fall during the Spring Break for our college classes, although it's not the spring break for our children's school. This trip is long overdue and I'm hopeful it will provide all of us many magical memories for years to come.

Up next...Perfect...until reality sinks in!

 

[BecsBunch]

Background Information: In order to take a vacation together, you'd have to guess that we're a pretty "tight knit" group. We've seen eachother at our worst and our best. We've taken short trips together and had a great time.
In late December 2006, I began running some numbers and getting some ideas together for how much our family vacation was going to cost. We took the boys back in Feb 05 and left our girls at home with family. We had a fantastic time and long to take the girls on a magical trip. Before long, our dear friends (or shall I say, JSS decided that they would like to experience this magical journey too. And then there were nine....
January 2007: There are so many options to choose from that nobody can seem to make a decision. Money is a factor, especially especially since we have a large family. Therefore, we (JSS and I) hatch the plan that in order to save money (and lots of it), we will camp at the Fort. Let me clarify, we will tent-camp. We've camped before in the heat, even without water or electricity. It couldn't be that difficult, especially having the "luxeries" of running water and electricity! With that decision made, we decided that we'd do the DDP as well. Everything seemed perfect. Or was it???
After a week or so, reality began to sink in. I woke up early one morning to three sick children, one who was complaining of horrible growing pains, and I had a sudden urge to vomit. I thought to myself, "How in the world would I survive a week in a tent if one of us ended up sick". : Suddenly I heard, "You get what you pay for" in my head. Without consulting the others, I began my search for something a little more comfortable without breaking the budget.
The second week in January, I had secured a reservation on points at a 2 bedroom villa in Old Key West. Now I'll admit, I am a bit nervous about this resort. We recently had stayed at Wilderness Lodge and Coronado Springs and absolutely loved them. WL was my first choice; however, there was no availability for the time frame we were going. So, I "settled" with OKW. I'm sure we will have a great time once we're there.

Up next...The early bird catches the worm...what does the late bird get?

 

[BecsBunch]

The Data: We may end up arriving on the 3rd and staying one night at a value resort. It just depends on what type of flight we can get. Oh, yes...we're still waiting on flights!! We're just a little under 7 weeks away and we have not yet secured our flight reservations! The prices are absurd at the moment and I'm hoping that they will drop some. Time will tell...unfortunately, patience is my worst enemy.

LODGING: March 4-9: 2 bdrm Villa at OKW. Room requested was non-smoking, near the Hospitality House. We will end up with 6 day hoppers and a customized plan to boot.

Up next...Firm...or...Flexible?

 

[BecsBunch]

Wednesday January 17, 2007: Today was an effective day for planning. I have planned the entire itinary out and even though it seems "clustered", I assure you, it is very flexible. Well, that is, with the exception of the first night (Sunday). That is the day that I am standing firm on.
You see, I was delegated to be the planner for this trip. I'm the budget conscious, obcessive list maker, deal seeker of the group. If it's not a good deal, it probably won't be recommended by me. Perhaps that comes from being raised in poverty as a child. Or perhaps it's from being a mother to five children. In any event, if I can find it cheaper, I'll be looking for a way to make it fit into my universal plan. Therefore, as head planner, I have chosen the following for our trip:

The flexible Master of all Plans!
Alrighty, being the obsessive compulsive over-planner that I am, I have come up with an itinerary for our trip. This, of course, is not in stone. And if you feel that the three of you (or girls/boys) want to split off from eachother and do something else, we totally understand. Having gone before, we found that even the best "plans" need to be tweaked once your there. Maybe you feel like sleeping in one morning, maybe one of us isn't feeling well at night, or maybe we just decide to totally go to a different place all together. In any event, I did the best to come up with an effective plan, figuring in park hours, shows, dining options, etc. Oh, and lets not forget "my personal preference". Let me know what you think...

Psst: I'll call the dining tomorrow and see about getting advance reservations for the table service places I've picked out.

Sunday March 4: Today is a Magic Kingdom Day. I can't WAIT to see how our kids' faces light up when they set eyes on the Castle.
Counter Service Meal: Cosmic Rays (lunch) in MK
Table Service Meal: Liberty Tree Tavern (after 4pm) in MK
9pm is the Wishes fireworks
10pm is Spectromagic show
2am is when Magic Kingdom closes for the night!! (EXTRA EVENING HOURS)

Monday March 5: SLEEP IN after our LONG evening at Magic Kingdom . We will then head over to MGM studios to spend the day/evening.
Counter Service Meal: ABC (lunch)
Table Service Meal: 50's Prime time OR Mama Melrose
7pm or 8:30pm is Fantasmic (GREAT show)
11pm is when MGM closes (EXTRA EVENING HOURS)

Tuesday March 6: Wake up early, grab a quick snack before leaving and head to the Magic Kingdom for an early meal and to watch the opening show.

**Hoping to get an early reservation at Crystal Palace for Breakfast
9am: Opening parade at MK (suppose to be awesome, never seen it)
Table Service Meal: Crystal Palace (breakfast) at MK
Table Service Meal: Whispering Canyon (WL) (dinner) after 4pm-boat from MK
Finish off the evening at Magic Kingdom for the 7pm Spectromagic Parade and the 8pm Wishes Fireworks OR travel to Epcot to see Illuminations at the 9pm showing time.

Wednesday March 7: This is a FREE day to do whatever we want! We can visit some area resorts or we can do some shopping at DownTown Disney (DTD) or we can hang around our own resort or head to any of the parks (as we have hoppers).
Counter Service Meal: Earl of Sandwich at DTD marketplace *lunch*
Leave and head over to Epcot to finish off the day/evening.
Counter Service Meal: Electric Umbrella (dinner)
9pm: Illuminations Fireworks show and head "home". Epcot closes at 9pm. If we see Illuminations earlier in the trip, we can skip this show and focus on just hanging in one of the parks riding rides.

Thursday March 8: Wake up early to head to Animal Kingdom for the Opening Ceramony that begins at 9am. BE THERE EARLY! Plan to leave the resort by 7:30am.
Counter Service Meal: Tusker House or Flametree BBQ (lunch)
Enjoy our time at Animal Kingdome until early afternoon. Leave to enjoy whichever place we'd like. For now, I do have a
Table Service Meal for Planet Hollywood in Downtown Disney-west side for supper. However, we can change that if needed!
7pm: Finish off the evening watching the Wishes Fireworks show at Magic Kingdom. Head back to our resort, Enjoy the company, get a few drinks from the bar, play in the hot-tub (snicker), pack, and go to sleep.

Friday March 9: Wake up & snap back to reality as we prepare to leave the Happiest Place on Earth! (I'm crying already!)

Up next... Was the bird quick enough?

 

[BecsBunch]

As luck would have it, the bird, although late, still managed to snag some ADR's for the upcoming trip.

I called about 4:30pm today and was able to make ressies for Liberty Tree Tavern (dinner), Mama Melrose (dinner), Crystal Palace (breakfast), Whispering Canyon (dinner), Princess Breakfast (breakfast), and Planet Hollywood (dinner). I'm not sure yet if we will keep the Planet Hollywood yet or not. I guess it depends on what the others think.

So, any thoughts on these places? Oh, Mama Melrose is NOT for the Fantasmic package, as that particular menu didn't appeal to us.

Up next...Mom, are we going to Disney?