April 2016 Girls Trip!

[JAMIESMITH]

When my family and I left Disney property on the Magic Express back in January, I didn't know when I would be returning. I certainly didn't think I would be going to back to Disney World in 2016! BUT I AM!

My cousin Marie, who also happens to be my neighbor and one of my best friends, was selected to present at a conference in Orlando on April 4-6, 2016. Her husband was unable to take off work to go with her so she invited me and my seven year old daughter, Madilyn, to join her instead. And you'd better believe that we are jumping at the opportunity to go back!

Marie goes by mjohn9083 here on the DisBoards. I’m hoping she will find the time to help me with this PTR. She can fill you in on more details about the conference. All I know is that it is something to do with higher education and that it is buying us a super cheap trip to Disney World!


This is my super awesome cousin Marie with Marie Kitty in Epcot. This picture was taken when Marie joined my family on our first Disney vacation back in 2012. This was Marie's third trip to Disney World, but she hasn't been back since.





This is a picture of Marie from a prior visit in March of 2011. Animal Kingdom, I think, but I’m not sure who the character is.





And here is one of me and my daughter with Mike & Sully at Hollywood Studios. This was taken in January of this year.





Here is another one of me with my girl from 2012. We fell in love with the Polynesian Resort that trip!





And just because she’s cute: Maddy with Minnie and Pluto in Epcot.





Maddy hugging Tink.





More details to come!

 

[mjohn9083]

Hey everyone! Cousin Marie here I am so excited to be headed back to Orlando for another Disney trip. This go around is super exciting because most of my travel expense is being covered through a conference I was selected to present at. I work in higher education (community college in Mississippi) and I love to research ways we can better engage and retain students so they can be successful.




The conference is put on by a publishing/tech company called Cengage. The location moves each year (the first year I went in 2013 it was in Nashville, last year was Phoenix). The conference has more than 500 attendees each year, and it is usually the time when big tech companies like Microsoft show off their new things (think Cortana, Office 10, etc.).


Anyway, here is where the conference will be hosted / where we will be staying for 3 nights:
Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista
1751 Hotel Plaza Boulevard
Lake Buena Vista, FL

More details to come!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

The Cengage Conference is paying for three nights at the Lake Buena Vista Hilton which is within a few minutes walk of Disney Springs (I keep wanting to call it Downtown Disney!). We opted to book Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights there. I made a reservation for Saturday night at Coronado Springs. I also added two days of regular park tickets for each of us. Marie is going to pay me for her tickets and part of the room at Coronado before the package has to be paid for in full.

We are planning to drive to Birmingham, Alabama very early Saturday morning to catch an early morning flight to Orlando. Once we land, we will take Magical Express to Coronado and spend the day in the pool and hanging out at the Resort. We are hoping to grab lunch at Siesta's Pool Bar and dinner at Pepper Market.

On Sunday we will leave our bags with Bell Services before catching a bus to Animal Kingdom Park. I'm thrilled that Marie chose my favorite park for our first park day. We are planning to bring something from home to snack on for breakfast. I did make a lunch reservation at Rainforest Café. None of us have ever eaten there so I'm very interested in any feedback you may have. At the end of the day, we will take the bus back to Coronado and collect our luggage. I'm not sure if we can take a bus to Disney Springs with our luggage and walk to the Hilton or if we will need to call a cab. I'm hoping for dinner from Earl of Sandwich.

The plans for the rest of our trip hinge on what day Marie is presenting at the conference. We are hoping that she will present on Monday. If that is the case, Maddy and I will walk to Disney Springs and catch a bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge for a late breakfast at Boma. Maddy loves giraffes and I've always wanted the opportunity to explore this Resort! We will catch a bus back to Disney Springs and either find something to do there or go back to relax in our room. We plan to catch another bus that night from Disney Springs to The Polynesian so that we can watch Wishes from the beach. I'm thinking we may also get some food from Tambu Lounge.

We are hoping that Tuesday will be our Magic Kingdom day. I have made a reservation for lunch at Cinderella's Table. This will be a first for us, but since this is probably our last visit for several years and probably our only girls' trip, we want to give it a try. Madilyn will only be little for so long!

We have no plans on Wednesday other than Marie going to the conference closing. I am toying with riding a boat from Disney Springs to explore the Port Orleans Resorts and maybe find some food there.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Updated Plans! (Extra day included!)

Saturday Apr 2nd
Fly from Birmingham
ME to CSR
Pool time
Lunch at Siesta's Pool Bar
Rest in room
Dinner at Pepper Market

Sunday Apr 3rd
Breakfast in our room
Leave luggage with bell services
Bus to AK
Lunch at Rainforest Café 12:15
Bus to CSR
Pick up luggage
Bus to Disney Springs
Walk to Hilton
Pick up dinner at Earl of Sandwich

Monday Apr 4th
Bus to MK
See opening ceremony
Lunch at Be Our Guest
MSEP 9:00
Dinner at CRT 9:30

Tuesday Apr 5th (Marie is presenting)
Walk to Disney Springs
Boat to POR
Breakfast or lunch at Sassagoula Floatworks
Rest in room
Bus to Magic Kingdom
Monorail to Polynesian
Appetizers and dessert from Tambu Lounge (unless we can get a reservation at Ohana)
Watch Wishes from Poly beach

Wednesday Apr 6th
Sleep In
Pack up
Walk to Disney Springs
Bus to Pop
Relax in room
Bus to MK
Boat to WL
Lunch at Whispering Canyon Café 12:30
Pool time or relax in room

Thursday Apr 7th
Leave luggage with bell services
Bus to any park
Bus to AKL
Breakfast at Boma 10:00
Explore AKL
ME to airport
Fly to Birmingham

 

[JAMIESMITH]

CSR Plus 2 Day Park Tickets $832.00
POP Room Only $125.00
Cinderella's Table $195.00
Owe $632.00 ($350 Marie and $282 Jamie)

Siesta's Cantina $45 (including alcoholic drinks)
Pepper Market $25
Pepper Market $12
Rainforest Café $35
Earl of Sandwich $22
Plaza Ice Cream Parlor $12
Be Our Guest $25
Cinderella's Table Paid For
Sassagoula Floatworks $25
Tambu Lounge $25
Everything Pop $20
Whispering Canyon Café $40
Boma $60

Approx $400 needed for meals including tips and taxes.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Flights are booked! We are flying out of New Orleans on Saturday and should land around 9:45 AM. We are flying back into Birmingham on Thursday and should land around 5:00 PM.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

We made an 8:10 Breakfast ADR at BOG for Tuesday. We also have a 9:30 Dinner ADR at Cinderella's Table. We plan to start and end the day in two different castles I've had lunch at BOG, but this will be my first time for breakfast. Marie has never been, but I think she will love it. I'm hoping we can hit either A&E or 7DMT right after breakfast.

I need to plan out our dream FP+ itinerary.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

We've moved our last night from POP to a standard room at AKL. I'm super excited about this change!

I've also changed our lunch at WCC to dinner, but if something became available at Ohana, I would jump on that instead.

I'm pretty confident that we will be keeping all of our other dining reservations as is. We may try to see a movie Tuesday night in Disney Springs and watch Wishes from the Poly beach on Wednesday instead.

It's getting closer!

 

[rideswithchrist]

What fun! I wish my hubby or family member got tickets to Disney.

(That is Turk from Tarzan in the Animal Kingdom picture)

 

[JAMIESMITH]

What fun! I wish my hubby or family member got tickets to Disney.

(That is Turk from Tarzan in the Animal Kingdom picture)

She actually got us a room for three nights, but we still had to pay for our tickets. I'll take anything I can get, though

That explains it! I've never seen Tarzan.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

We ditched the reservation at Rainforest Café and plan to eat at Flame Tree BBQ instead. I'm excited because we enjoyed it so much in 2012, but it was closed during our 2015 trip.

We also swapped our Whispering Canyon Café reservation for one at Kona Café, which my family loved last year, but will be a new restaurant for Marie.

We are less than three months away, FP+ reservations are right around the corner. I can't believe how close we are getting!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

FP+ reservations are made! We have Dinosaur, Expedition Everest, & Kali River Rapids on Monday. We have Pirates, Splash Mtn, and A&E on Tuesday. Our reservations have been paid in full. The only expense once we get there will be food and a few souvenirs. It won't be long until we can start packing!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

We are now flying in and out of Birmingham, AL.

Online check-in has been completed for both Coronado Springs and Animal Kingdom Lodge.

We have pre-ordered breakfast at Be Our Guest.

I've started packing a few things (toiletries, and swimsuits so far).

Three weeks and counting!

 

[pepperandchips]

Yay! 3 weeks!!! I have never had Flame Tree (I know, it is shocking to me too) but part of that is because the new food offerings at Harambe Market are SO GOOD! I am personally a fan of snacking around any and every park possible, so maybe I will grab a couple different nibbles on my next trip - something from Flame Tree and something else from the Harambe Market.

Have you stayed at the Hilton at Disney Springs before? We just stayed at the Wyndham (across the street) last weekend and I was so impressed with the location and the new pedestrian bridges! It was so easy to walk over and grab a bus. The Earl of Sandwich is right there too. I loved the location and will likely stay there again if I can get a similar price.

Enjoy your final countdown!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Yay! 3 weeks!!! I have never had Flame Tree (I know, it is shocking to me too) but part of that is because the new food offerings at Harambe Market are SO GOOD! I am personally a fan of snacking around any and every park possible, so maybe I will grab a couple different nibbles on my next trip - something from Flame Tree and something else from the Harambe Market.

Have you stayed at the Hilton at Disney Springs before? We just stayed at the Wyndham (across the street) last weekend and I was so impressed with the location and the new pedestrian bridges! It was so easy to walk over and grab a bus. The Earl of Sandwich is right there too. I loved the location and will likely stay there again if I can get a similar price.

Enjoy your final countdown!

I'm glad to hear that the hotel location is so good. I've actually never stated offsite before!

Flame Tree BBQ is awesome, but I've not had the chance to try the new Harambe Market. Tough decision ahead!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Single digit dance today! We have done online check-in (with no requests in hopes that our rooms will be ready early in the day). We have pre-ordered our breakfast at Be Our Guest. I plan to start packing this weekend. I think the only things left to do are wash and service my car and do online check-in for our flight to Orlando. I'm so excited to be going back!

 

[pepperandchips]

You're so close!!!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

The trip report has begun!!!
http://www.disboards.com/threads/april-2016-girls-trip.3500756/