Potential Anniversary Trip 5 Days Over Labor Day

[FeistyDisneyMom]

I'm tentatively planning a surprise trip for my 19th anniversary next year. DH has already determined we will do something big and spectacular for our 20th, but I thought it would be fun to surprise him with a smaller trip next year. I'm debating between Las Vegas or WDW for Labor Day weekend, 5-6 nights.

If we do WDW, I have my eye on GF, but unsure how quickly those dates will book up, and if there might be any discounts if I wait on booking. We'd do 5-day hoppers I think, for 4 full days in the park with breaks in the afternoon, and one partial day for our arrival day. I'd like to do quite a few TS options - at least one each day, either lunch or dinner. We don't need a lot of character experiences (I am used to planning trips to DLR with my kids so it'll be weird not to have a character breakfast!), but we'll probably try to use G+ and buy the ILL$ so we can for sure do the rides that aren't in DLR. I'm used to PhotoPass being included with Genie+, so we'll probably pay for Memory Maker.

A few things I am worried about - weather (we are coming from the Dallas area, so will have some tolerance for heat/humidity but understand Orlando is more intense but not sure about the rain situation), underestimating budget - primarily food costs and potential dining packages we might want to get seating for nighttime shows, figuring out what TS I want on which days and getting the reservations, and potentially missing my kids/wishing they were there instead of focusing on DH.

I want it to be a special trip, but I have to keep in mind we'll be doing a more expensive trip somewhere else for the 20th and I don't want to ruin that budget by going overboard next year.

Any advice or recommendations will be much appreciated!

 

[loves to dive]

Staying at GF is magical but it will be expensive. There is currently a discount for that time frame for APs and Florida residents so it's up in the air as to whether there will be a general discount. Historically there has been one but as we know, history has been thrown out the window right now. I would go ahead and book now before it gets all booked up then if a discount comes out you can always rebook. I just did that for an upcoming trip the week before yours. I had a split stay 2 nights at Swan and 4 nights at YC. I'm an AP holder so when the discount came out, I was able to get BW for the entire 6 nights for $500 less than the split stay. I really wanted YC but there were no rooms available at the discount for the time frame I wanted.

TS can get expensive but there are some restaurants that are less than others, you will just have to do your research.

I was there in April and didn't get Genie+ and probably won't get it when I'm back in August so can't help you there.

The weather. It will be hot, like walking on the sun hot. And it will rain, some days it might be just a short 1/2 hour afternoon shower and other days it might be a steady rain all day. That is hurricane season so the weather is always fun. Just keep in mind it will be hot and it will rain. Did I mention it will hot and it will rain? I'm from Georgia so heat and rain are pretty much our summers as well but even I get a tad overheated at WDW. Make sure you take some afternoon breaks, GF has a great pool area, cause you know - it will be hot (and it will rain).

Just an aside, F&W will be going on at Epcot so you might want to schedule some time for snacking at the booths. PHs make that easy since after 2 you can just hop over there, snack (or drink) at a few booths then hop somewhere else if you want. I spend a portion of every day at Epcot but that's easy for me since I always stay in an Epcot resort.

Have fun, don't over schedule, pack rain gear.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

Thank you for the tips! Maybe I should check other deluxes and allocate more for dinners. DH and I love to do an occasional fine dining experience, so doing some of the higher end TS might be more special for him. But I just love the look of GF! We both also enjoy sampling speciality cocktails and/or tasting wine flights, so I know that is also a really big expense to take into account. Maybe I should focus in on just a few TS, like one very fancy dinner and some lunches at more affordable places? If I do that, is there any TS that really stands out?

How were standby lines? I really spoiled DH and the rest of my family this last DLR trip with a lot of research and strategic use of LL to minimize waits, and now I don't think he'd be able to do anything longer than 30 minutes, and even that would be a stretch. It is funny because our first family trip we spent about 2 hours in a line for Rapunzel and Flynn Rider and now 30 minutes is too long for him, even for an e-ticket ride!

I'm feeling fairly confident about our preparation for the heat, it is the rain I am worried about. DH likes to wear flip-flops everywhere, but I must wear actual shoes to wander parks, or I have to seriously adjust how much walking I'm doing. Not quite sure how I'll manage keeping my feet dry and blister free. I'm wondering for rain gear if I should back my light-weight overshoes. They look dorky, but maybe worth it to keep my feet dry. Maybe hurricane season is a bad time for the visit, but the alternative is July/August and those don't seem like good ideas either.

DH loved our afternoon breaks this past trip, which we had never really done before. Even without the kids, I plan on spending some quality time at the resort in the afternoons, napping so we can stay late and catch the nighttime entertainment without feeling overly tired. I am assuming the heat will also sap our energy too - we do go outside and do things in our 90-100 degrees here in Dallas, but I know the humidity is even worse, and even here we make sure to hydrate and pace ourselves and seek shade when possible.

I hadn't even thought about F&W! I've heard sometimes the adult guests at Epcot get a little rowdy there in the evenings; is this more urban legend or is that something to avoid? We definitely plan on spending quite a bit of time at Epcot, and that's the reason I want hoppers. Mornings in start park, lunch/afternoon at resort, late afternoon/evening at Epcot, and whatever park to do nighttime entertainment that day. Not sure 3 hops logistically makes sense, but that would be my starting idea. I am worried about over scheduling the park hopping - in theory I understand it is a much bigger logistical challenge than at DLR where you walk across the Esplanade and are there, but in practice I struggle with how long interpark transportation takes.