Just the 3 of us... A March 2016 pre-trip report- Opinions and suggestions welcomed!!!

[Jasperann]

Tuesday March 8

Bus to Epcot, monorail to Contemporary for a quick breakfast at Contempo Café at a look around

Back to Epcot around 9pm opening

It might save more time to Bus to MK and walk over to the Contemporary (or take the short Monorail from MK) than to go to Epcot only to get on the Monorail back to the MK area. Unless you are doing it for the ride...

 

[mdsouth]

It might save more time to Bus to MK and walk over to the Contemporary (or take the short Monorail from MK) than to go to Epcot only to get on the Monorail back to the MK area. Unless you are doing it for the ride...

I was thinking the same thing. I think taking a bus from PORFQ straight to MK and then catch the monorail or walk to Contemporary.

 

[mdsouth]

I wish I was only seven or eight hours away from WDW. I live in Central Illinois and so it is a 17 hour drive according to Mapquest and that does not count any stopping along the way.

 

[Gracefulskinny]

I figure we can make more fp+ picks after our originals are done.

Don't count on this being an option at Epcot or Studios.. It wasn't that busy when we were there but we were never able to find much of anything of worth in the afternoons at Epcot.

It might save more time to Bus to MK and walk over to the Contemporary (or take the short Monorail from MK) than to go to Epcot only to get on the Monorail back to the MK area. Unless you are doing it for the ride...

I second this!

 

[Sydney2977]

I was thinking the same thing. I think taking a bus from PORFQ straight to MK and then catch the monorail or walk to Contemporary.

Duh! That does make more sense. I think I was just thinking about having fun riding the monorail, but your suggestions make for less travel time. Of course, now I've gone through and changed up some of our dining so it's not even necessary now! But I will remember this in the future. Thanks!

 

[Sydney2977]

Apparently I can't make a plan and completely stick with it, or maybe I just overthink things, but I finally have our dining itinerary down where I don't think I will change. We are two weeks out, but there's so much going on between now and then- work projects, older DS moving out to his base in Florida, dr. visits and a vet visit, and younger DS activities- that I won't have time, so hopefully it flies by. Here's the finalized plans:

Sat. March 5
arrive at POFQ between 3-4pm
dinner at Boatwright's at POR at 6:30pm
activate military tickets at MK
Electric Water Pageant

Sun. March 6
breakfast at Riverside Mills
lunch grabbed at Good Food to Go on way to Astros game at 1:05pm
dinner at House of Blues at 6:45pm
Disney Quest

Mon. March 7
breakfast at Old Port Royale
Blizzard Beach
lunch at Lottawatta Lodge or Warming Hut
dinner at Maya Grill at 7:15pm

Tues. March 8
Epcot day
breakfast at Sunshine Seasons
lunch and dinner at Flower and Garden kiosks
snacks at various WS countries

Wed. March 9
MK day
breakfast at Capt. Cook's
lunch at Sleepy Hollow
dinner and the Lunching Pad
snacks at Gaston's Tavern, Cheshire Café, and/or Auntie Gravity's

Thur. March 10
breakfast at Trail's End
mini golf at Winter Summerland
lunch at Contempo Café
swimming at POFQ
shopping at DS
dinner at Paradiso 37 at 7:20pm
Disney Quest

Fri. March 11
DHS day
breakfast at Boardwalk Bakery
lunch at Hollywood Brown Derby at 1:15pm
dinner at Studio Catering Co.
snacks at Starring Rolls

Sat. March 12
AK day
breakfast at Donald's Safari at Tusker House at 9:10am
lunch at Flame Tree BBQ
hop to MK
dinner at Pinnochio's
snacks at Gaston's, Cheshire Café and/or Auntie Gravity's

Sun. March 13
departure day
breakfast at Sassagoula
lunch at ESPN Club on our way out of town

 

[Sydney2977]

I got our magic bands painted too! Warning: I'm not an artist! But I had a lot of fun doing these and I know we will have fun wearing them. DH has seen them and loves them. They are currently hiding in the garage. I plan to put DS's on his bed the day before we leave, along with his suitcase and lanyard, so when he comes home from school he'll see it and figure out we're going. He thought up the theme when we were trying to go in 2014 (his brother would have been Louis since he plays trumpet). Very appropriate since we're staying at POFQ.

DH's is Naveen as a frog, with his crown, "guitar", and Ray.







Mine is Tiana with a plate of her beignets and Mama Odie.







DS's is Dr. Facilier with his shadows, the amulet, and his cards.

 

[Sydney2977]

All three bands together:

 

[Gracefulskinny]

DH's is Naveen as a frog, with his crown, "guitar", and Ray.

Mine is Tiana with a plate of her beignets and Mama Odie.

DS's is Dr. Facilier with his shadows, the amulet, and his cards.

love these!!!!

 

[mdsouth]

Wow! And Triple WOW! You are a talented artist! I can't believe all the details and amazing artwork you did on such a small canvas. Not only is the canvas small in width but they are also curved. I can only imagine the patience and steady hand you must have to do this!

 

[NJlauren]

OH MY! Those bands are amazing!!

 

[Sydney2977]

Aww, thank you guys! You're so sweet!

So we're at 9 days out now! I'm soooo excited and can't wait for DS's reaction!

We do have a slight change in plans though, since DS fractured his ankle Tuesday night! He was running outside at Boy Scouts playing capture the flag, jumped over a curb and landed wrong. The ER dr. just put a temporary splint type cast on it and he has an appointment with an orthopedic dr. tomorrow. We'll see if he puts him in a cast (maybe it can be waterproof?) or a boot or whatever. At this point we're betting Blizzard Beach is out. As we were going to bed late that night, DH commented to me "You know, there's better ways to get to the front of the line..."

 

[mdsouth]

OH No! What a bummer and rotten timing to have an ankle injury. The cast will also leave out swimming in the resort pool.
I guess that just means you will have to plan a return trip someday to go to Blizzard Beach!

 

[Sydney2977]

One more day!!! I can't believe it's finally here! I'm glad things have been so busy though so I haven't been sitting around with time dragging, waiting to go.

Older DS left Monday to drive to his new duty station, and he's getting settled in now. We had a nice last weekend with him here, got him all packed up, and said our goodbyes. he's only an eight hour drive away so I know we'll be seeing him again soon.

Work has been crazy for me. We're changing some management responsibilities and creating some new leadership assisting positions, which means myself and my boss have been doing a lot of training to get others up to speed. It's been both challenging and rewarding at the same time, but let's face it- I am beyond ready for a real vacation!

DH has been busy doing stuff around the house. I think he must be trying to keep busy too anticipating our trip. Plumbing stuff, car stuff, yard stuff, etc. This will be his long overdue military retirement vacation- he was medically retired in 2014, but with getting another job the only vacation time he's been able to take off was for DS's basic training graduation and a long weekend to go see DS at tech school. He's beyond ready too!

DS's cast rules out the water park, so instead we decided we'll spend that day doing some shopping at DS, maybe go see Zootopia (we've never been to a movie at WDW), and do a little DQ before our dinner at Maya Grill. I did find a reusable cast cover at Walgreen's to make showering easier for him. At home we have a garden tub with a shower wand so it's easier. If it works ok we may let him get in the POFQ pool one day.

DH is off today and I get off at 1:00, but we have a little going away party for a co-worker so I'll stay around a bit for that. Then when I get home we'll take our dog Hannah to the boarder. We'll come home and start packing- fyi this is the latest I've ever waited to pack, but I do have some things we're taking stashed in a bag in my closet. The plan is to leave DS's magic band and a Kylo Ren & Storm Trooper shirt we got him on his bed so he see's it when he gets home at 4:20. I hope it's a great surprise for him!

 

[mdsouth]

Looking forward to reading all about your trip upon your return. Take lots of photos! Enjoy!

 

[Sydney2977]

I finally got pictures uploaded and started a trip report! You can find it here:

Sure he has his Disney driver's license... a March 2016 Trip Report