Lidian
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2010
- Messages
- 3,450
Okay, let me refresh... The original plans had us driving MOST of the way down on the 3rd and staying an hour or two outside of WDW for the night, getting up early and then driving over to CBR for early check-in (room won't be ready) and then starting our day.
WRONG!
So last night, I was talking to DH. I asked him how close he could get us to DTD on the 3rd and if he would get us there around dinner time. I was thinking of dinner at T-Rex on the 3rd ... or even something like EoS! I mentioned this to him, and he was all for T-Rex and if the wait was bad, EoS for dinner. (It would be OOP.) He said that he planned on having us at WDW area before dinner time, so I started pricing out hotels in the area.
I got a list of hotels (a WDW value with room discount and other area hotels). When I showed him the list, he asked why we weren't staying at CBR.
So I priced out CBR for the night, with a room discount, and he says ... get this ... "That's too expensive. Who would pay that for a night?" 
Uhm... dear ... we are. We're actually paying more than that for the room, but we're getting FD. (Okay, so really I know that it's just a discounted package, and the food is not really free, but I'm saving a ton and that's all I care about.) I reminded DH that we were supposed to be stopping in northern FL for the night ... not near property, otherwise, I would have added on another day. (Then I pointed out that it would have been expensive to add the day, since the room would be "rack rate".)
Anyway ... yeah, it would more cost effective since we'll be eating dinner Saturday night, and we have a breakfast ADR on check out day ... so we'd get to use our FD for "arrival" day. However, I'm not sure if I can add an extra day to our package now that the discount has passed. I'll have to wait and call my TA and see if it's possible. I think it can go either way, but not holding my breath on adding another day to our package.
So anyway, DH hasn't yet decided what he wants to do ... stay off-site or on-site. He's adamant that we'd save money on future trips staying off-site. I pointed out that we wouldn't have access to dining, we'd have to pay for parking, and the price they show isn't always the "final price". There's usually taxes, fees, and resort fees on top of it, and when added all together, it's not much of a savings (and the hotels I priced out, wasn't saving us anything!). Plus, I just can't imagine NOT being on property.
However, in the future, if it gets me to WDW, then I'll take it. But I know DH will make me price out local hotels (especially since one website has a "Mystery hotel" and it's super cheap!).
Oh.... right ... I lost track of what I was talking about.
Saturday, March 3rd
So Saturday AM, we'll pile into the car and drive down to WDW! Still not sure where we are staying Saturday night, but DH has promised me DTD time. Kouga is asking to work the AM shift so he can come hang out with us. I hated not getting any DTD time, but I was willing to give it up for park time.
So depending on the time, we'll either do shopping then dinner, or dinner then shopping. Regardless, food and shopping will happen! Plus, Kouga will hang out with us (not sure about Akki). After we're done at DTD, we'll head to our hotel -- wherever it may be.
After resting, we'll get up early and head over to CBR.
Sunday, March 4th
Get up, and if we aren't at CBR, we'll drive over to CBR and check-in for our package. If we're already there, we'll go "start" our package and head to EP for the morning. I'm expecting to stay off-site, so I expect to check-in and room not be ready.
Anyway, off to EP for some good times! We have decided that we'll be taking our school mascot (Flat Stanley style) around the world, so once WSC opens, we'll get started on it. EP opens at 9, so we'll spend at least a few hours here. We'll either have an early lunch at EP or back at CBR.
If the weather is super nice, we may go to a BB or just back to the pool for some down time. If weather is just "okay", then we'll just head back for a rest. I'll explore the resort and DH will hang out with the kids in the room. We'll head back to EP around 3, and depending on what time we actually arrive, we may take our mascot to another country. Or we may just stay in FW. We have dinner ADRs at GG for 4:15. After dinner, we'll probably hit another country, and then back to the resort.
If weather is nice, we may take a swim (again). If not, then DH and and DS will hang out in the room (or playground) and DD and I will hop over to MK! We'll have some girl time (and much needed mommy-daughter time) and do some things we want to do. We may or may not see the night shows, we'll probably just focus on attractions. MK is open until 1am!
I promised DH we'll be quiet when we sneak in. We'll have our PJs ready so we won't have to turn on many lights. We'll crawl into bed quietly and sleep off our partying!
Monday, March 5th
So while DH and DS will be well-rested, DD and I will have to force ourselves out of bed. We have AM EMH at AK to get to! I don't expect to ever make RD this week, but I do want to be in the park within the first 15 minutes of opening each day!
Anyway ... we'll do AK stuff and maybe take our mascot to see some animals! That'll be fun! We'll have lunch with Donald and friends (and think about D the entire time) at 11:15 at Tusker House. I'm still nervous about the food, but I keep telling myself that trying new things is healthy. And since it's buffet, I feel a little better, because then I won't be stuck with a horrible dish!
After we finish our AK stuff, we'll head back to the resort. If it's nice, we'll swim. If not, who knows what DH and DS will do ... because DD and I are hopping to DHS! We'll grab dinner either at the resort with the boys, or something at DHS. DHS is open until 10pm, so we promise DH we will quietly come back.
Tuesday, March 6th
We'll wake up early to make it to RD for MK. This is the only park I really want to try to hit RD for ... but all within the first 15 minutes, regardless. We'll send DH to grab FPs for ... something. Jungle Cruise maybe? I'll have to plan out a bit better since we aren't getting 1.5 days here as a family.
Anyway ... we'll do family stuff, CS lunch, and dinner will be at Crystal Palace at 6:20! I'm excited for this ADR, I am such an Eeyore fan! (Okay, so I haven't mentioned it yet, but I buy new Eeyore PJs for each trip! I found some really cute ones at Walmart the other day! So ... all of my PJs, but one nightgown (Mickey Mouse), is Eeyore.)
Anyway ... we won't be watching Wishes this night. And not sure what we'll do after dinner. We may do more MK stuff, or we may head back to the resort. Who knows.
Wednesday, March 7th
After sleeps, we'll wake up early and head over to DHS. We'll meet Kouga and Akki at the gate and then have a super awesome day at DHS! DH will make the TSM dash while I take the kids over to JTA. My guess is Kouga and Akki will go with me, they aren't "dashing" people. Once we can get another FP, we'll grab RnRC or ToT (and then the other).
Lunch will be CS ... somewhere. I hope to ride ST at least twice ... hopefully more! Fingers are crossed that we'll get something new! We rode it twice in May ... both times it was exactly the same. EXACTLY! (Well, of course the spy was different, but that was it.)
Anyway ... DH, DS, and Kouga won't do thrill rides ... so Akki and us girls will do RnRC and ToT ourselves. Oh... I just realized, we can get RnRC and ToT FPs at the same time. I can use ours on RnRC and we can use the non-riders for ToT! I'm so smart.
Anyway ... dinner will be 6:50 at 50s Prime Time Cafe! There will be 6 of us, and I'll be asking for a "playful" server upon check-in. Someone better get in trouble this year! We'll take our time with dinner, and then head back to the resort. If there's time, DD and I may hop over to EP or MK for a quick ride, otherwise, it's off to sleeps!
Thursday, March 8th
Another early AM, we'll meet Kouga and Akki at the gate of Epcot! We'll do the Soarin' dash and explore FW while we wait for WSC to open. D will text me at some point in the day and we'll meet up with her! (Anyone else up for a meet at EP?)
We'll have lunch at Mexico. Then hang out with D for awhile.
Okay, so we'll have lunch at D's choice and go from there. We will need to make sure we visit the remaining countries with our mascot. Dinner will be for 6 of us at Akershus at 4:55pm!
We'll have to leave before park closing to make it to the Yeeha Bob meetup! Still not sure if DH and DS will go, but DD is looking forward to it! She's hoping for other girls her age to talk to! (She'll be 10 at the time.)
After the DISmeet, we'll head back to the resort, pack up, and get ready for an early check-out.
Friday, March 9th
We'll wake up and load up the vehicle and drive over to the Poly where we will enjoy breakfast at Kona Cafe at 8:15am. It will be OOP. After a yummy breakfast, we'll head back to TN.
And that concludes the final plans. Once we get closer to time, and can see how the weather will be, we'll make our final plans and adjustments as needed.
So the biggest change is DD and I hopping, arriving at the WDW area on the 3rd, and spending time at DTD.
WRONG!
So last night, I was talking to DH. I asked him how close he could get us to DTD on the 3rd and if he would get us there around dinner time. I was thinking of dinner at T-Rex on the 3rd ... or even something like EoS! I mentioned this to him, and he was all for T-Rex and if the wait was bad, EoS for dinner. (It would be OOP.) He said that he planned on having us at WDW area before dinner time, so I started pricing out hotels in the area.
I got a list of hotels (a WDW value with room discount and other area hotels). When I showed him the list, he asked why we weren't staying at CBR.


Uhm... dear ... we are. We're actually paying more than that for the room, but we're getting FD. (Okay, so really I know that it's just a discounted package, and the food is not really free, but I'm saving a ton and that's all I care about.) I reminded DH that we were supposed to be stopping in northern FL for the night ... not near property, otherwise, I would have added on another day. (Then I pointed out that it would have been expensive to add the day, since the room would be "rack rate".)
Anyway ... yeah, it would more cost effective since we'll be eating dinner Saturday night, and we have a breakfast ADR on check out day ... so we'd get to use our FD for "arrival" day. However, I'm not sure if I can add an extra day to our package now that the discount has passed. I'll have to wait and call my TA and see if it's possible. I think it can go either way, but not holding my breath on adding another day to our package.
So anyway, DH hasn't yet decided what he wants to do ... stay off-site or on-site. He's adamant that we'd save money on future trips staying off-site. I pointed out that we wouldn't have access to dining, we'd have to pay for parking, and the price they show isn't always the "final price". There's usually taxes, fees, and resort fees on top of it, and when added all together, it's not much of a savings (and the hotels I priced out, wasn't saving us anything!). Plus, I just can't imagine NOT being on property.

Oh.... right ... I lost track of what I was talking about.

Saturday, March 3rd
So Saturday AM, we'll pile into the car and drive down to WDW! Still not sure where we are staying Saturday night, but DH has promised me DTD time. Kouga is asking to work the AM shift so he can come hang out with us. I hated not getting any DTD time, but I was willing to give it up for park time.

So depending on the time, we'll either do shopping then dinner, or dinner then shopping. Regardless, food and shopping will happen! Plus, Kouga will hang out with us (not sure about Akki). After we're done at DTD, we'll head to our hotel -- wherever it may be.
After resting, we'll get up early and head over to CBR.
Sunday, March 4th
Get up, and if we aren't at CBR, we'll drive over to CBR and check-in for our package. If we're already there, we'll go "start" our package and head to EP for the morning. I'm expecting to stay off-site, so I expect to check-in and room not be ready.

Anyway, off to EP for some good times! We have decided that we'll be taking our school mascot (Flat Stanley style) around the world, so once WSC opens, we'll get started on it. EP opens at 9, so we'll spend at least a few hours here. We'll either have an early lunch at EP or back at CBR.
If the weather is super nice, we may go to a BB or just back to the pool for some down time. If weather is just "okay", then we'll just head back for a rest. I'll explore the resort and DH will hang out with the kids in the room. We'll head back to EP around 3, and depending on what time we actually arrive, we may take our mascot to another country. Or we may just stay in FW. We have dinner ADRs at GG for 4:15. After dinner, we'll probably hit another country, and then back to the resort.
If weather is nice, we may take a swim (again). If not, then DH and and DS will hang out in the room (or playground) and DD and I will hop over to MK! We'll have some girl time (and much needed mommy-daughter time) and do some things we want to do. We may or may not see the night shows, we'll probably just focus on attractions. MK is open until 1am!
I promised DH we'll be quiet when we sneak in. We'll have our PJs ready so we won't have to turn on many lights. We'll crawl into bed quietly and sleep off our partying!

Monday, March 5th
So while DH and DS will be well-rested, DD and I will have to force ourselves out of bed. We have AM EMH at AK to get to! I don't expect to ever make RD this week, but I do want to be in the park within the first 15 minutes of opening each day!
Anyway ... we'll do AK stuff and maybe take our mascot to see some animals! That'll be fun! We'll have lunch with Donald and friends (and think about D the entire time) at 11:15 at Tusker House. I'm still nervous about the food, but I keep telling myself that trying new things is healthy. And since it's buffet, I feel a little better, because then I won't be stuck with a horrible dish!

After we finish our AK stuff, we'll head back to the resort. If it's nice, we'll swim. If not, who knows what DH and DS will do ... because DD and I are hopping to DHS! We'll grab dinner either at the resort with the boys, or something at DHS. DHS is open until 10pm, so we promise DH we will quietly come back.
Tuesday, March 6th
We'll wake up early to make it to RD for MK. This is the only park I really want to try to hit RD for ... but all within the first 15 minutes, regardless. We'll send DH to grab FPs for ... something. Jungle Cruise maybe? I'll have to plan out a bit better since we aren't getting 1.5 days here as a family.
Anyway ... we'll do family stuff, CS lunch, and dinner will be at Crystal Palace at 6:20! I'm excited for this ADR, I am such an Eeyore fan! (Okay, so I haven't mentioned it yet, but I buy new Eeyore PJs for each trip! I found some really cute ones at Walmart the other day! So ... all of my PJs, but one nightgown (Mickey Mouse), is Eeyore.)
Anyway ... we won't be watching Wishes this night. And not sure what we'll do after dinner. We may do more MK stuff, or we may head back to the resort. Who knows.

Wednesday, March 7th
After sleeps, we'll wake up early and head over to DHS. We'll meet Kouga and Akki at the gate and then have a super awesome day at DHS! DH will make the TSM dash while I take the kids over to JTA. My guess is Kouga and Akki will go with me, they aren't "dashing" people. Once we can get another FP, we'll grab RnRC or ToT (and then the other).
Lunch will be CS ... somewhere. I hope to ride ST at least twice ... hopefully more! Fingers are crossed that we'll get something new! We rode it twice in May ... both times it was exactly the same. EXACTLY! (Well, of course the spy was different, but that was it.)
Anyway ... DH, DS, and Kouga won't do thrill rides ... so Akki and us girls will do RnRC and ToT ourselves. Oh... I just realized, we can get RnRC and ToT FPs at the same time. I can use ours on RnRC and we can use the non-riders for ToT! I'm so smart.

Anyway ... dinner will be 6:50 at 50s Prime Time Cafe! There will be 6 of us, and I'll be asking for a "playful" server upon check-in. Someone better get in trouble this year! We'll take our time with dinner, and then head back to the resort. If there's time, DD and I may hop over to EP or MK for a quick ride, otherwise, it's off to sleeps!
Thursday, March 8th
Another early AM, we'll meet Kouga and Akki at the gate of Epcot! We'll do the Soarin' dash and explore FW while we wait for WSC to open. D will text me at some point in the day and we'll meet up with her! (Anyone else up for a meet at EP?)
We'll have lunch at Mexico. Then hang out with D for awhile.
Okay, so we'll have lunch at D's choice and go from there. We will need to make sure we visit the remaining countries with our mascot. Dinner will be for 6 of us at Akershus at 4:55pm!
We'll have to leave before park closing to make it to the Yeeha Bob meetup! Still not sure if DH and DS will go, but DD is looking forward to it! She's hoping for other girls her age to talk to! (She'll be 10 at the time.)
After the DISmeet, we'll head back to the resort, pack up, and get ready for an early check-out.

Friday, March 9th
We'll wake up and load up the vehicle and drive over to the Poly where we will enjoy breakfast at Kona Cafe at 8:15am. It will be OOP. After a yummy breakfast, we'll head back to TN.

And that concludes the final plans. Once we get closer to time, and can see how the weather will be, we'll make our final plans and adjustments as needed.

So the biggest change is DD and I hopping, arriving at the WDW area on the 3rd, and spending time at DTD.
