It's been a looong time since I did a PTR but I'm really excited about the plans we have in store for October of this year (2026) and wanted to share my pre-trip planning with you all lovely people! So here we go....!
Who's going:
me - married mom of soon-to-be 2 college kids (1 is finishing up senior year of high school)
my sister - she's a couple of yr younger than me. I'll refer to her as DSis. She's not a mega-Disney nerd like I am. CAN do rope drop, but would prefer not to if possible. Is a big time foodie person + would prefer shorter wait times for rides. Last time she went to WDW was when we were really young (she was in a stroller) and Epcot hadn't even opened yet...so it's been awhile and almost all of this trip will be totally new for her.
Bob (not his real name) - long time, very dear friend of my sister. One of her best BFFs in the entire world.
Dan (not his real name) - spouse to Bob, also very dear friend of my sister. He, too, is in the "best BFF in the entire world" category.
Bob & Dan have only been to Disneyland Paris. Never been to a Disney park in the US. They're from Europe, but currently live & work in the US. Dan is a big Disney nerd. DSis says that Bob & Dan are totally stoked for this trip. And I can't wait to experience WDW through the eyes of somebody who's never been there before!
WHEN ARE WE GOING?
Wed 10/28 - Sun 11/1
WHERE IS EVERYBODY FLYING IN FROM?
Bob & Dan live somewhere on the East Coast (purposely not being more specific in order to protect the innocent). So they'll fly in from their home base airport.
I'm in the Phoenix metro area, so will be flying to MCO from PHX. I usually fly on Southwest because they often have a few options of direct flights to/from MCO. BUT I noticed last night on the Southwest website when I checked flight options for Wed 10/28 that there's only 1 day-time direct flight PHX-->MCO. AND it lands later in the day (boo!). BUT there's an option to fly out Tues night at 11 pm and land in Orlando at 6:10 am. Thinking...thinking...I might go with that one so I can get extra park time before everybody else arrives.
DSis - will fly out of her home airport in the western US.
So this trip originated with the idea that I've always wanted to go with DSis to WDW during the Epcot Fall Food & Wine Festival. AND I've always wanted to do it without my DH in tow AND without my kids present. Don't get me wrong...I love them all very much, but sometimes, you just need a girls' trip, ya know?
Last fall, I pitched the idea to my sister and she said, "Totally!" Then a couple of months ago, DSis called me and asked if Bob & Dan could come, too. I've met Bob before and he's an awesome guy so I said, "Of course!" Thus, this makes us a merry band of 4. SO WHERE ARE WE STAYING?
AKL Kidani Village!
As of a year ago, our family are DVC-resale members. Our home resort is Aulani. But ironically, I have yet to actually use our DVC points for an Aulani stay! LOL!
The accommodations plan is DSis and I are going to stay in a studio villa while Bob & Dan book their own villa separately.
So in 2 days from now, I'll be able to reserve our DVC villa for our 4 nights (7 month booking window)!
I am SO SO EXCITED about staying at this resort. 8 years ago, our family of 4 went to WDW for the first time and on our last night, we spent 1 night at AKL Jambo House in a concierge level savannah view room. It was a magical stay. Just being able to sit on the balcony and look at the animals right there was so amazing. I've dreamt about staying at AKL again some day ever since.
Still figuring this one out. So I'm going to 'think out loud' here about it...
maybe just go with a 3-day park hopper ticket?
I really want us to go to the Halloween party at MK, too.
but if I take the red eye flight from PHX-->MCO, which would arrive early Wed 10/28, should I get a 4-day PH ticket instead? I think no.
...why not get a 4-day PH ticket? Hm...
might be too tired
kind of interested in laying around the AKL pool on Wed before everybody arrives
maybe if I'm lucky, I'll be able to get into our room early!
Interested in shopping/browsing at Disney Springs.
Or I could go on a monorail hotel crawl. I love visiting all of the resorts' gift shops.
Or take the boat from MK to WL and eat lunch at Geyser Point.
Browse in the awesome AKL gift shops.
Home & work life has been so totally busy this past year AND for, like, every Disney trip ever that's involved my kids, we are turbo ride-ride-ride people.
So I'm looking forward to this being a bit more leisurely of a trip! I'm looking forward to spending some time at the Kidani Village pool.
in terms of ticket prices, it looks like the cheapest option so far for a 3 day PH ticket would be through Unlocked Magic instead of Undercover Tourist. I'm hoping that maybe WDW might have some fall ticket deals.
and if memory serves me correctly, Halloween party tickets usually come out in the summer, so I'll keep an eye out for those! DSis & I already have costumes planned. DSis and I are going to go with a Finding Nemo theme.
ok, now the trip really feels real! Our AKL-Kidani Village reservation is all set as of 5:00 am local time this morning, thanks to the DVC 7 month non-home resort booking window. Was able to get the room category I wanted without any problems. Didn't have to create a waitlist or anything. We'll be staying in a savannah view room!
Let's talk airline stuff now...
I'd prefer to go on a direct flight from PHX-->MCO. Saves time, you don't have to change planes, total travel time is less, fewer odds of there being delays to due weather or other nonsense. Here's the options so far based on a few online searches:
American Airlines - 8:30 am-3:48 pm
American Airlines - 9:45 pm on Tues-4:47 am Wed (yuck)
United - all the options involve changing planes somewhere, so forget that
Delta - same as United, but the layovers are in Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, or Atlanta. Minneapolis is a no because of weather. Atlanta is a no because of flight delays
Southwest - 11:05 am-6:20 pm. Nope. I really REALLY want to arrive before 4 pm if possible.
Southwest - 5:40 am-2:30 pm w/55 min plane change in Houston. Never flown through Houston before. Looks like HOU (Hobby airport) isn't a huge layout, so a 55 min layover is definitely easier there than in Las Vegas.
Southwest - 6:00 am-3:50 pm w/2 hr plane change in Dallas Love Field. This is do-able. Have flown through DAL a few times. It's a big Southwest hub. All of the Southwest flights are in 1 terminal. Good airport layout, not enormous like DFW.
Southwest - departs 8:55 pm with a 45 min layover in Las Vegas, arriving Wed morning 6:15 am. Nope. 45 min will NOT be enough time changing planes in Las Vegas if there's a delay on the 1st leg of the journey.
Southwest - 11:50 pm Tues-9:20 am Wed w/1.5 hr plane change in Nashville. This might be ok.
Right now, I'm leaning toward the Southwest direct flight that arrives in MCO at 6:10 am OR the one that changes planes in HOU.
For the return flight home, when I look at Southwest, they don't have their flight schedule up yet for Sunday 11/1, so I'm using Sat 10/31 as a comparable example. But here's what the options look like:
Southwest - 9:30 am-11:10 am. Nope. leaves too early in morning.
Southwest - 2:10 pm-3:55 pm. Better. Would have to leave AKL at 11 am. Boo! BUT maybe we could do breakfast/brunch at Boma that morning before leaving for the airport?
Southwest - 7:05 pm-8:50 pm. Would have to leave AKL around 4 pm. But I could go to a theme park on departure day if I choose this option.
Well, give it a few hours and viola...our flights are now booked! DSis lives in another part of AZ than I do but we are going to fly out of PHX together the morning of 10/28. Woo!
We'll be flying direct on American Airlines arriving at MCO at 3:48 pm.
Since it's only a 5 day trip, I'm only going to bring carry on luggage with me, so I'm going to bring my 8 yr old trusty R2D2 suitcase...
Aly Smalls' Youtube channel did a review of this bag a few months ago and compared it to the Everywhere Bag, which is very similar but less expensive. Take a look! If I was doing it all over again, I'd probably buy an Everywhere Bag instead, but I love love love the Bento Bag.
Random things I love about the Bento Bag:
it's lightweight & comfortable to carry
has a trolley sleeve so it easily goes over a roll-aboard bag handle
has a lot of well-organized pockets to store things in.
I've traveled before on a 4-day trip with just this bag and had no problems fitting everything.
For the return flight home, looks like we'll be catching the 11:17 am flight on Sunday 11/1 back to PHX, so the sad ride back to the airport will be shortly after 8:00 am that day.
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She's not a mega-Disney nerd like I am. CAN do rope drop, but would prefer not to if possible. Is a big time foodie person + would prefer shorter wait times for rides. Last time she went to WDW was when we were really young (she was in a stroller) and Epcot hadn't even opened yet...so it's been awhile and almost all of this trip will be totally new for her.
