Planning once-in-a-lifetime DLR trip...what would you do?

[TechGuy]

Good idea...I'll see if they can do anything for my BiL since he'll be in a wheelchair quite a bit of the time.

By the way, have a GREAT trip! I saw your ticker says only 4 days to go!

I am excited to be going. My DD7 doesn't know we are going... on Monday at 04:00. She has a GirlScout camp this weekend with mommy and we didn't want the anticipation to override the joy of GS camp. Today was the last day of school for her.

As for the park visit. Plan a multiple day trip, include some tours but don't structure the whole trip. Plan time to break the group into smaller more focused groups to give everyone time to be together and apart. It will foster communications, especially if you break up family units for allow chats with people you don't spend as much time with. Also, make time to send the kids off to Bug's Life or some other kid focused place and let the adults and teens do their own thing.... without kids.

It may be better if you did join DVC and enjoy the benefits or use points from another member. I don't know but it's worth investigating. Work with a good Disney-focused travel agent. You will never learn as much as someone focused on this part of the travel market.

Good luck, I am sure you will have a memorable time.

 

[Melpuff]

Make sure you take a stop at the musical chairs game at 2:30 at coke corner. Mad Hatter and Alice are there with friends and I had one of the best times ever there cracking up at them!

Your daughters will love to play and trust me it's great to watch too!

 

[sierranevada]

I think everyone has posted some great suggestions. Another tour you might look into is a VIP tour - it can be customized just for you. I know some of the things that they can do is reserved seating for Fireworks (at train station), reserved seating for F! (without dessert), riding the Lilly Belle, getting into the wheelhouse of the Mark Twain, priority seating for Aladdin and they will run ahead and get your fastpasses for you.

As far as getting the Grand Villa, when you get the go ahead, call and see if it is even available. You may have to rent the points to book it - I am not sure if they book it on a cash basis. If you can't get the Grand Villa, you can do suites at the GCH and add concierge - their concierge lounge is great!

 

[CrazyDuck]

You know the rack rate for the grand villa is $3700/night last I saw! 5 nights would put you over $18,000! No worry though, no one ever pays rack rate. Prices are normally 20%-50% off the rack. You should get a big discount since August is the slow season.... Oh wait.... That's ok... Your brother is paying! BTW, Your brother is very generous! I wish I had one like that...

 

[nunzia]

Great ideas! I really appreciate your comments.

I totally forgot about the gift baskets - what a great idea! They'd LOVE that as a surprise. The tour ideas are great too...I've always wanted to do the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour. I'm just not sure how much I want to book extra yet...I want them to get the Disney experience without feeling like they're running from place to place. I know the young adults will be able to run from opening to closing, but my BiL and my little ones certainly won't.

If this goes off (we're waiting for one family member to adjust a summer school schedule), we'll definitely be finished with our trip before August 22 to miss the AP resurgence.

Thank you for the warnings about the villas. My BiL saw the Grand Villa on the Disney website and absolutely wanted it even though I told him it might not be available as villas could be booked by DVC members up to 11 months in advance (and we're not DVC). We'll see - I think we'll have a great time no matter what room we're in.

My BiL has told me I have carte blanche as he's paying for the entire thing, so I want to make sure he and his family have an absolutely spectacular time!

There are some suites at the Grand you may want to check out that, while not DVC, are large and beautiful. Concierge at the Grand is wonderful too. Lots of great food and drink options for free in the lounge. ABD Backstage Magic is WONDERFUL, but not focused just on DLR, and I think a tour would be a great idea too. You might be able to talk to a CM and see if your family could ride in the Lily Belle. Be sure and take full advantage of all the PhotoPass people and when you get home you could make everyone photo or scrapbooks of the trip. Nothing better than getting those great memories in a book.