****I intended to post this before I left, but here it is now, anyway. Will post the rest when I return****
When
May 25-31, 2001
Where
Grand Floridian
Who
Joe--that's me; 44 years old, lawyer, dad, WDW fan and, of course, author of this report. This makes trip #9 and my 5th in the last year or so.
Helen--my wife; 57 years old, judge, and recent Disney convert. This is her 5th trip.
Keelie--my daughter; a 15 year old high school student, lifelong Disney fan, and on her 6th trip to the World.
Claire--Helen's daughter; 30 years old, a speech therapist, and also a recent convert. This trip is her 2nd. (She is joining us from the 25th-28th to scope out the possibility of holding her March wedding at WDW. Then she has to return home, since she could only get 2 days off from her job as it's the Memorial Day weekend.)
Julia--Helen's other daughter; 23, grad student, has never been to WDW. (She will be with us on the 25th and 26th. She's visiting her boyfriend at school in Gainesville the week before and is driving down for those two days before returning to NYC for summer classes).
The Plan
Day 1 (May 25): Claire, Keelie, Helen and I take a morning flight to Orlando. We will rent a car and drive to WDW. Julia's boyfriend is driving her down, and they hope to arrive between 4:30-5. In the meantime, Helen and Claire are going to talk to the wedding people. Keelie and I will hit a park or find a resort activity. Lunch will definitely figure in, but no specific plan. In the evening, we might catch the MK fireworks after eating at California Grill.
Day 2 (May 26): This will probably be a rapid fire day of each park's hot spots for Julia, so it will most likely begin early and end late. Breakfast is at Crystal Palace, lunch is whatever we find, and dinner is at Chefs des France.
Day 3 (May 27): Helen or Claire will drive Julia to the airport for her 8 am flight home. Then, we think we'll spend the morning at the Studios, take an afternoon pool break, then go to PI in the evening. Keelie will be visiting DQ rather than PI. Helen and Claire have a 6 pm PS at Citrico's and Keelie and I have one at the same time at Flying Fish.
Day 4 (May 28): We want to be at AK when it opens, do our favorite attractions there for a few hours before going to Epcot to eat lunch at San Angel Inn and browsing in the WS after. Our plan at that point is to either do Future World next or, if not, do resort activities. Then, we'll grab a quick dinner offsite (if anybody has any suggestions, I'll have the laptop with me and will check in) before we take Claire to the airport for her 7:45 flight. When we get back, Helen and I might go to PI or the Boardwalk. Depending on our decision, Keelie will either go to DQ or come with us.
Day 5 (May 29): Helen and I are golfing early. Keelie will probably sleep in. Then, we'll eat late breakfast/early lunch and do some resort activities. In the evening, we'll go to either MK or Epcot. No PS that day, so we'll fly by the seat of our pants for food.
Day 6 (May 30): We have no specific plans for this day other than a 5:30 PS at Le Cellier. Fantasmic may come in somwhere.
Day 7 (May 31): Again, no specific plans except breakfast PS at 1900 Park Faire, which will be a new experience. We'll have to check out in the morning, and our flight home is at 7:45.
This trip came about because we can't seem to stay away from WDW, no matter how good our intentions (maybe we should invest in DVC?). Since Claire was considering getting married there and Julia was going to be in Gainesville around the same time, it seemed like a good excuse to go. Keelie is out of school and isn't playing softball this summer, so she was ready to go herself. I have never stayed at GF, and Helen had wanted to, so this trip seemed like a good time to time to try it, as it would be convenient for the wedding thing. The only drawback is the holiday weekend, of course.
To put things nicely, Julia is rather difficult, so hopefully she'll be on her good behavior. Fortunately, she's with us less than 48 hours. Claire is a great person and both Keelie and I get along with her extremely well, so the rest should not be a problem.
When
May 25-31, 2001
Where
Grand Floridian
Who
Joe--that's me; 44 years old, lawyer, dad, WDW fan and, of course, author of this report. This makes trip #9 and my 5th in the last year or so.
Helen--my wife; 57 years old, judge, and recent Disney convert. This is her 5th trip.
Keelie--my daughter; a 15 year old high school student, lifelong Disney fan, and on her 6th trip to the World.
Claire--Helen's daughter; 30 years old, a speech therapist, and also a recent convert. This trip is her 2nd. (She is joining us from the 25th-28th to scope out the possibility of holding her March wedding at WDW. Then she has to return home, since she could only get 2 days off from her job as it's the Memorial Day weekend.)
Julia--Helen's other daughter; 23, grad student, has never been to WDW. (She will be with us on the 25th and 26th. She's visiting her boyfriend at school in Gainesville the week before and is driving down for those two days before returning to NYC for summer classes).
The Plan
Day 1 (May 25): Claire, Keelie, Helen and I take a morning flight to Orlando. We will rent a car and drive to WDW. Julia's boyfriend is driving her down, and they hope to arrive between 4:30-5. In the meantime, Helen and Claire are going to talk to the wedding people. Keelie and I will hit a park or find a resort activity. Lunch will definitely figure in, but no specific plan. In the evening, we might catch the MK fireworks after eating at California Grill.
Day 2 (May 26): This will probably be a rapid fire day of each park's hot spots for Julia, so it will most likely begin early and end late. Breakfast is at Crystal Palace, lunch is whatever we find, and dinner is at Chefs des France.
Day 3 (May 27): Helen or Claire will drive Julia to the airport for her 8 am flight home. Then, we think we'll spend the morning at the Studios, take an afternoon pool break, then go to PI in the evening. Keelie will be visiting DQ rather than PI. Helen and Claire have a 6 pm PS at Citrico's and Keelie and I have one at the same time at Flying Fish.
Day 4 (May 28): We want to be at AK when it opens, do our favorite attractions there for a few hours before going to Epcot to eat lunch at San Angel Inn and browsing in the WS after. Our plan at that point is to either do Future World next or, if not, do resort activities. Then, we'll grab a quick dinner offsite (if anybody has any suggestions, I'll have the laptop with me and will check in) before we take Claire to the airport for her 7:45 flight. When we get back, Helen and I might go to PI or the Boardwalk. Depending on our decision, Keelie will either go to DQ or come with us.
Day 5 (May 29): Helen and I are golfing early. Keelie will probably sleep in. Then, we'll eat late breakfast/early lunch and do some resort activities. In the evening, we'll go to either MK or Epcot. No PS that day, so we'll fly by the seat of our pants for food.
Day 6 (May 30): We have no specific plans for this day other than a 5:30 PS at Le Cellier. Fantasmic may come in somwhere.
Day 7 (May 31): Again, no specific plans except breakfast PS at 1900 Park Faire, which will be a new experience. We'll have to check out in the morning, and our flight home is at 7:45.
This trip came about because we can't seem to stay away from WDW, no matter how good our intentions (maybe we should invest in DVC?). Since Claire was considering getting married there and Julia was going to be in Gainesville around the same time, it seemed like a good excuse to go. Keelie is out of school and isn't playing softball this summer, so she was ready to go herself. I have never stayed at GF, and Helen had wanted to, so this trip seemed like a good time to time to try it, as it would be convenient for the wedding thing. The only drawback is the holiday weekend, of course.
To put things nicely, Julia is rather difficult, so hopefully she'll be on her good behavior. Fortunately, she's with us less than 48 hours. Claire is a great person and both Keelie and I get along with her extremely well, so the rest should not be a problem.
