So, here we go! Finally, my Offcial Pre-Trip Report(tm):
First the cast:
Me: I'm a 41 year old Systems Engineer. My first Disney Experience came when I was 5 or 6 (can't QUITE remember). My grandfather, who lived in Central Florida, passed away and my family went down for the funeral. After all the sad stuff, my folks decided we needed something to lift the spirits of the whole famly, so we spent a day at Disney World (just the MK then). I don't have much of a memory of the place. I can remember the Snow White Ride (SCARY!), The Peter Pan Ride (Neat!), and the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride (COOL!). My next experience was in the early 80's, literally just before EPCOT opened. Missed it by that >< much! Don't remember much other than loving POTC and HM. Next time
was the Big Family Vacation. A few years after I graduated from college, my parents decided that the family needed one last hurrah. We all went to WDW for 10 days, staying in our camper at Fort Wilderness. At luck would have it, a group of friends of mine decided to go down at the same time. That group of friends included my current DW, though at the time, she was just a friend. In short, we had an AMAZING time that trip. And about a month later, my "friend" became my girlfriend! Must be something in the WDW water. We managed another 1-day trip a few years later, but we arrived the night before at 3:00AM and the next day was a bit of a blur. Bleh. Still, must be something in the water, we married 9 months later! General disposition: laid back kinda guy, love almost all things Disney. Favorite rides: Haunted Mansion, POTC, Tower of Terror.
DW: a 42-year-old College Professor. Went to WDW as kid in the mid-70's. Next time is when we went in 1993, and last time was the Day of Exhaustion. Very much a Disney fan.
DD(4, almost 5): Currently obsessed with virtually all things Disney. Particularly fond of Princesses (huge suprise, eh?) and she likes to pretend to be on Capt. jack Sparrow's crew (even though we haven't let her see the movies yet).
The dawn of the plan: DW and I have wanted to go back to WDW since our last trip. We both loved it there, and wanted to return. Once our daughter was born, we decided we wanted to do a WDW vacation, but wanted to go when our daughter was old enough to remember, but young enough to be swept up in the magic. Add to that the fact that 2 years ago we had to both change jobs and relocate halfway accross the country (including buying a new house and a bunch of new furniture). Well, let's just say we weren't exactly flush for a bit. Now we're settled in, and we thought it was time to take a trip. We decided in November to think aobut a trip this year, and then I suffered a ruptured disc. OUCH! I was nearly incapacitated. I was told I would need surgery and it was scheduled for the end of January. Would we be able to take the trip!? The surgery was successful, and a week later, I felt sure I would be up to a trip... so... to the phones!
My wife is an academic, so , sadly, we're pretty much restricted to going in the summer. It's gonna be hot! Well, we decide that if we GOTTA go in the summer, we might as well go during DD's birthday. I mean, how cool is that? 5th birthday at WDW? SWEET! We really wanted to have a meal at the castle. But we're well within the 180 days, so what the heck. I give a call to dining. As luck would have it, they had one opening for lunch at CRT on my daughter's birthday. SCORE! Now... where to stay.... I really wanted to stay at the Poly, but that's just outta financial reach this year. Sooo... a moderate... which one? We like the idea of of CBR, but ultimately decide on POFQ with the Dining Plan. So we're set!
Being obsessed with the trip, I get right on the planning. And here I present: Da Plan!
Day 1: We arrive about noon at Orlando. Magical Express from Orlando to POFQ. Based on advice, we'll take a carry-on with what we need and then head out for some fun! We'll head to the MK for DD's first glimse of the Castle. We plan on this being a casual first visit, a look around, and hit a ride or two. We'll have a character dinner at the Liberty Tree Tavern. We'll see how tired we are, and then head back when we've had enough.
Day 2: We'll hit Animal Kingdom today. Not sure how much we'll do here, but we plan at least till late afternoon. We'll hit Festival of the Lion King for sure, and we'll see if DD is up to EE. She likes roller coasters, but the Yeti looks a bit scary to her. We'll head to Chef Mickey's for a late-ish dinner, and back to MK for the evening. I think we'll spend a LOT of time in MK.
Day 3: OFFICIAL MAGIC KINGDOM DAY/DD's Birthday. We'll spend all day in MK. WE'll have lunch at CRT. Since it's DD's birthday, I'm hoping for some magical moments, but I'm avoiding trying to build it up too much. I know these things can be hectic, and a bit hit or miss. Frankly, just being there will be a thrill for DD. We'll do more rides in MK and have dinner at Crystal Palace. Hopefully we'll see Spectromagic and Wishes.
Day 4: MGM. Basic have fun day at MGM. We'll see the shows, and MAYBE ride RnR (if DD is up to it). Sadly, I think ToT is too much for DD just yet, so we'll give it a miss. We'll have dinner at Hollywood and Vine and see Fantasmic.
Day 5: Water Park day. We'll decide which one on the fly. We'll spend a few hours there and head back to POFQ. We'll then go to Epcot for dinner at Marakesh. Probably make an early night of it to rest up a bit.
Day 6: Epcot. We'll do Epcot today. My wife wasn't thrilled with Epcot the last time we were there, but it's changed a lot since then. We'll have dinner at Chefs de France, and watch Illuminations.
Day 7: Open day. No plans for today. We may just relax at POFQ, or head to wherever we want. Fast and loose today!
Day 9: Home again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig. We'll have a leasurely breakfast and then head to the airport. Vacation over :-(.
Can't wait!!!!!
First the cast:
Me: I'm a 41 year old Systems Engineer. My first Disney Experience came when I was 5 or 6 (can't QUITE remember). My grandfather, who lived in Central Florida, passed away and my family went down for the funeral. After all the sad stuff, my folks decided we needed something to lift the spirits of the whole famly, so we spent a day at Disney World (just the MK then). I don't have much of a memory of the place. I can remember the Snow White Ride (SCARY!), The Peter Pan Ride (Neat!), and the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride (COOL!). My next experience was in the early 80's, literally just before EPCOT opened. Missed it by that >< much! Don't remember much other than loving POTC and HM. Next time
was the Big Family Vacation. A few years after I graduated from college, my parents decided that the family needed one last hurrah. We all went to WDW for 10 days, staying in our camper at Fort Wilderness. At luck would have it, a group of friends of mine decided to go down at the same time. That group of friends included my current DW, though at the time, she was just a friend. In short, we had an AMAZING time that trip. And about a month later, my "friend" became my girlfriend! Must be something in the WDW water. We managed another 1-day trip a few years later, but we arrived the night before at 3:00AM and the next day was a bit of a blur. Bleh. Still, must be something in the water, we married 9 months later! General disposition: laid back kinda guy, love almost all things Disney. Favorite rides: Haunted Mansion, POTC, Tower of Terror.
DW: a 42-year-old College Professor. Went to WDW as kid in the mid-70's. Next time is when we went in 1993, and last time was the Day of Exhaustion. Very much a Disney fan.
DD(4, almost 5): Currently obsessed with virtually all things Disney. Particularly fond of Princesses (huge suprise, eh?) and she likes to pretend to be on Capt. jack Sparrow's crew (even though we haven't let her see the movies yet).
The dawn of the plan: DW and I have wanted to go back to WDW since our last trip. We both loved it there, and wanted to return. Once our daughter was born, we decided we wanted to do a WDW vacation, but wanted to go when our daughter was old enough to remember, but young enough to be swept up in the magic. Add to that the fact that 2 years ago we had to both change jobs and relocate halfway accross the country (including buying a new house and a bunch of new furniture). Well, let's just say we weren't exactly flush for a bit. Now we're settled in, and we thought it was time to take a trip. We decided in November to think aobut a trip this year, and then I suffered a ruptured disc. OUCH! I was nearly incapacitated. I was told I would need surgery and it was scheduled for the end of January. Would we be able to take the trip!? The surgery was successful, and a week later, I felt sure I would be up to a trip... so... to the phones!
My wife is an academic, so , sadly, we're pretty much restricted to going in the summer. It's gonna be hot! Well, we decide that if we GOTTA go in the summer, we might as well go during DD's birthday. I mean, how cool is that? 5th birthday at WDW? SWEET! We really wanted to have a meal at the castle. But we're well within the 180 days, so what the heck. I give a call to dining. As luck would have it, they had one opening for lunch at CRT on my daughter's birthday. SCORE! Now... where to stay.... I really wanted to stay at the Poly, but that's just outta financial reach this year. Sooo... a moderate... which one? We like the idea of of CBR, but ultimately decide on POFQ with the Dining Plan. So we're set!
Being obsessed with the trip, I get right on the planning. And here I present: Da Plan!
Day 1: We arrive about noon at Orlando. Magical Express from Orlando to POFQ. Based on advice, we'll take a carry-on with what we need and then head out for some fun! We'll head to the MK for DD's first glimse of the Castle. We plan on this being a casual first visit, a look around, and hit a ride or two. We'll have a character dinner at the Liberty Tree Tavern. We'll see how tired we are, and then head back when we've had enough.
Day 2: We'll hit Animal Kingdom today. Not sure how much we'll do here, but we plan at least till late afternoon. We'll hit Festival of the Lion King for sure, and we'll see if DD is up to EE. She likes roller coasters, but the Yeti looks a bit scary to her. We'll head to Chef Mickey's for a late-ish dinner, and back to MK for the evening. I think we'll spend a LOT of time in MK.
Day 3: OFFICIAL MAGIC KINGDOM DAY/DD's Birthday. We'll spend all day in MK. WE'll have lunch at CRT. Since it's DD's birthday, I'm hoping for some magical moments, but I'm avoiding trying to build it up too much. I know these things can be hectic, and a bit hit or miss. Frankly, just being there will be a thrill for DD. We'll do more rides in MK and have dinner at Crystal Palace. Hopefully we'll see Spectromagic and Wishes.
Day 4: MGM. Basic have fun day at MGM. We'll see the shows, and MAYBE ride RnR (if DD is up to it). Sadly, I think ToT is too much for DD just yet, so we'll give it a miss. We'll have dinner at Hollywood and Vine and see Fantasmic.
Day 5: Water Park day. We'll decide which one on the fly. We'll spend a few hours there and head back to POFQ. We'll then go to Epcot for dinner at Marakesh. Probably make an early night of it to rest up a bit.
Day 6: Epcot. We'll do Epcot today. My wife wasn't thrilled with Epcot the last time we were there, but it's changed a lot since then. We'll have dinner at Chefs de France, and watch Illuminations.
Day 7: Open day. No plans for today. We may just relax at POFQ, or head to wherever we want. Fast and loose today!
Day 9: Home again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig. We'll have a leasurely breakfast and then head to the airport. Vacation over :-(.
Can't wait!!!!!
It looks like a great plan. My DH has never been and thinks I'm crazy with all the planning I've been doing. He has no idea what to expect.
She says she is riding everything. That remains to be seen!
