Daddy is Going to Disney!!! Pre-Trip Report 12/3-12/10 AKL Kidani

[budafam]

Today I finished my trip report from October 2012 so what do I do now? Start a PRE-Trip Report!!! Yes! (Because I do NOT have enough other things going on in my life!)

We are officially 71 days away! Time is flying by considering we started this countdown at 300 days.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Kristy, I'm 30 years old (yuck, I hate saying that) and this will be my 5th trip to WDW (with my 1st trip being in May of 2011). That seems like a lot doesn't it? I'm from Wisconsin.. lived here all my life.. in a small town located on beautiful Lake Michigan (okay it's really not so beautiful and kinda makes our town smell of dead fish but it's an okay place to grow up and raise a family).

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be a Disney addict but here I am! Last July I became a Disney travel agent and I LOVE it. It helps to pass the time when I cannot be there myself.



I've been married for 8 glorious years to one h*ll of a man! He puts up with everything I do and I could not ask for anything more. He's not very fond of Mickey.. he's not a fan of travel but he puts up with it for my sake. He will not be joining us on this trip (he's very happy because of that - and so am I.. lol). We have two beautiful children. DD is 5 years old and just started 4K. She is the cutest thing ever and loves to pretend she's a real princess. DS is 7 years old and in 2nd grade. He loves many Disney things but he also is very much into Ninja Turtles.

Past trips:
May 2011 - We drove from Wisconsin as a family of four. DH gave me the ring to complete my wedding set in front of the castle after Wishes. I fell in love with WDW. It's all his fault. Really.

October 2011 - I surprised my 5 year old son the day before Halloween with a trip to WDW.. just me and him. We had free dining and upgraded to DxDP. It was only my 2nd time flying and my son's first. We had a BLAST at MNSSHP!!!

May 2012 - We returned as a family of four and took my mother in law along with us. We flew and stayed off site at Bonnet Creek (more room, less money). DH & I visited Universal for the first time.

October 2012 - I surprised my 4 year old daughter with this trip for her birthday. We had the free dining once again and upgraded to DxDP. We had such a wonderful trip with many new firsts.

That brings us to this trip. We will be there from 12/3-12/10. It is going to be me, my dad (76 years old), my sister (54 years old) & my 2 children. We rented points to stay at AKL-Kidani (this is a first for us) and we purchased the DxDP (yes, actually paid FULL price for it!). I basically want this trip to show my dad why I love Disney. I never thought he would agree to a trip so when he said yes, I booked it as quickly as I could. It will be 4 years ago on 11/28 that my mom passed away. She would have LOVED Disney just as much, if not more than I do had she ever had the chance to visit. Everytime I visit, I think of her and it feels like she's there with me. I hope my dad gets that same feeling because we miss her sooo much. I'm also very excited that my kids will have this experience with my dad. He will be retiring 2 weeks before our trip. He's in great shape so I know he can handle the walking. I just hope we can talk him into going on the rides!

It has been a challenge planning this trip. There will not be much down time (at least not for me) and I plan to upgrade to AP's for me and the kids while we're there. Can't wait to update the pre-trip report & thanks for following along

 

[budafam]

Reserving for chapters...

 

[wiigirl]

Following along!

 

[budafam]

Let's face it. These Disney trips are not about going on rides.. or seeing characters. It's ALL ABOUT THE FOOD. Okay, well this one is for sure! I want to give my dad & my sister the FULL experience so we opted to PAY OOP for the Deluxe Dining Plan Yup, we're crazy (and hungry!)

Most people who get the deluxe dining plan take it easy. They'll do a breakfast and then maybe a signature or dinner show at night. Us? We are crazy, right? Let's just say 3 sit down meals a day is not going to be out of the norm for this trip. Hopefully we get the dessert party booked as well. Yup, nuts.

Before every trip to Disney, I go on my Disney diet. I try to lose some weight so that I don't feel "as guilty" when I add it back on. Everyone does that, right?

If you were wondering, with the deluxe plan it's going to end up giving us a total of 105 table service credits & a total of 70 snack credits. Plus 5 refillable mugs. BRING. IT. ON.

Here are our ADR plans:

Arrival Day
12/3 - 7:45pm Sci Fi Dine In Theater dinner

12/4 - 11am Cape May Cafe breakfast
12/4 - 3pm 50's Prime Time Cafe lunch
12/4 - 8:30pm Cape May Cafe dinner

12/5 - 12:20pm Biergarten lunch
12/5 - 7:25pm California Grill dinner

12/6 - 8:35am Tusker House breakfast
12/6 - 1pm Yak & Yeti lunch
12/6 - 6pm Boma dinner

12/7 - 8:30am 1900 Park Fare breakfast
12/7 - 1:30pm T-Rex lunch
12/7 - 6pm Fulton's Crab House dinner

12/8 - 11:30am Chef Mickey's breakfast
12/8 - 5:05pm Ohana dinner

12/9 - 8:05am CRT
12/9 - 11:55am Liberty Tree Tavern lunch
12/9 - 4pm Be Our Guest
12/9 - 8pm Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Party

12/10 - 9am Boma breakfast

So any guesses as to how much we will gain? Okay, maybe we shouldn't play that game.. lol.

Before I get anyone who says this is way too much food, I know that. I've done this before (scheduled 3 meals in one day) and I survived.. barely. I'm hoping I've learned to control myself at the buffets enough to where I'll be able to order dessert later on. We'll see!

 

[ShesAPirate]

Following along!

I will be at AKL Jambo for DISapalooza weekend. I'm bringing my mom, who's only ever been to MK, and it was a day trip. It was also about 27 years ago. Like you, I want this trip to show her why I love it so much The boyfriend is sitting this one out (he enjoys it, but thinks twice a year is too much )

Looking forward to reading more!