Star Wars Weekend - A Suitable Gift for the Boys Who Have Everything - May 29-31

[lauren5406]

I am writing this when I should be working; story of my life. But I am so excited about this trip I decided to share.

The Cast Of Characters

Me 26 year old Disney Fanatic with a passion for animal rescue (please spay and neuter) and music.

DBro J 10 year old sister's boy (kind of like mommas boy) with a love of Star Wars and his Nintendo DS. Was 18 months when he came to be a foster child in my parents home. His crib was placed in my bedroom and we've been inseprable ever since. He came from severe neglect but has turned out otherwise fantastic. His adoption was final in 2001.

DBro C 8 year old wild man obsessed with dinosaurs and pirates. He is a Stitch - his baddness level is unusually high for someone his size. That is a joke of course, but he is autistic and has ADHD which requires medication. He cannot talk properly but does speak his own language that his family understands well. He is J's biological brother (same mother at least) and has lived with my parents his entire life. His adoption was final in 2002.

I have never been on a trip alone with both of them. DBro J and I have been on several trips together but DBro C does not like to be away from home without our mother. I am hoping that since this trip will be so short and we'll be seeing and doing some things he'll love that we won't have any major meltdowns.

The Location

We will be having our first stay at CBR. The boys do not know that they will be staying in a Pirate Room We will be staying for two nights and I have purchased the DDP for us.

The Schedule of Events

Friday May, 29:

I typically work until noon on Friday and the boys don't get home from school until 4:00pm. However, I have been given permission from our mother to pick them up from school whenever I want. And basically I will arrive at work at my normal 8am but I am out of here the moment I am allowed and we are on our way. Five hours later we are going to be checking into CBR. I will be utilizing online check-in so I plan for a smooth process. I am hoping we are in Disney by supper time for a liesurely dinner at T-Rex

We do not have a reservation because I do not know when we'll be there. We are just going to hope for the best, at the very least we will spend some time in the store.

I hope we'll have some time to explore our resort and I can't wait to see their faces when we enter the Pirate Room for the first time.

If we're feeling very adventerous we may go to MK for extra magic hours. It will be open until 1:00am. But, they will need decent sleep I am going to be draging them out of the bed at 7:00am the next morning.

Saturday May, 30:



The whole point of this trip and specifically this day is to enjoy SWW for the first time ever. I have seen all of the movies and enjoyed them, but I am not a fanatic by any means. DBro J on the other hand thinks this alternate world is the end all be all. He knows more on the subject than I do about....I can't even compare his SW love to anything.

This trip was for his birthday. Instead of the normal present he received a singing card with Yoda on it and a certificate for "one free SWW".

So, there's not much to report for this day. We will be arriving 30 minutes prior to rope drop and partaking in whatever Star Wars events they have planned at HS. We will not be worrying with autographs and we will make sure to make time for TSM and ToT.

I asked DBro J if he was willing to go on RnR alone but I don't think he is too keen on the idea. DBro C is about 1 inch too short so I would have to wait with him while DBro J proceeded alone. I don't see that happening so we won't get to rock this trip. Maybe we'll get lucky and DBro C will grow an inch in the next two weeks.

After HS we're going to use Disney transportation and make our way to the Poly for dinner at Ohana's we have a 5:00pm ADR. This will be our first ever trip here and I'm sure excited. I have heard mostly good things about it.

After dinner it's back to CBR to enjoy the pool. What good would a trip be if we couldn't enjoy the new pool area.

Sunday May 31:

This is the day we will be going home but that won't stop us from having some fun.

I asked DBro if he would rather go to AK and ride EE or go to Epcot for TT. He chose Epcot. So we'll be there at rope drop to head over to TT and maybe Soarin. I do not think DBro C is tall enough for MS. We have a 12:05 lunch reservation at Biergarten.

That is going to change though. I have a list of alternate lunch options I was suggested on the Dis and I'm going to try and change that reservation this evening. I'm hoping for Coral Reef or Chefs De France; we'll see.

We may try to go to AK after lunch to ride EE and Dinosaur but we will be heading home early afternoon. It is impossible for me to drive home after a full day in the parks. I'm exhausted and the drive isn't particularly fascinating It becomes dangerous.

Well, I have reached the end of this report. It isn't particulary detailed but this trip is soooo short. I would have liked to stay a little longer but I need to save the vacation days for Free Dining

Wish us luck.

 

[lauren5406]

Since I wrote this A LOT has changed

Last Friday my boss and I were talking about the Holiday this past Monday and he said (joke) that I had to come in. I said that I would if I could have Friday off. He said okay! Now, we can leave a day earlier without me having to take any vacation time.

So instead of leaving Friday at lunch time we are out of here tomorrow after work.

Our NEW Schedule of Events

Thursday May, 28th:

I get off work at 5pm and the car will already be packed and waiting. We are taking my parents mini-van. It does not get the gas mileage of my Focus but it has cruise control and a dvd player. However, we will not be watching any TV because per DBro J we will be listening to an audio Star Wars book.

I was able to book a room this morning on Hotwire. Before I booked I was getting a 3* in Kissimee for $25. It turned out being Clarion Resort & Waterpark. After the fees it cost me around $35. I'm a little concerned about the distance away from Disney. I've booked Hotwire for the night before before and never ended up quite so far away. It's basically just a bed for the night and it's not in a scary place for that rate.

Friday May, 29th:

SWW begins at 9am and we want to be there (and by be there I mean at the ropes) by 8:30. So in the morning I have to get to Disney from our hotel, check-in at CBR so we can get our key cards, and get to HS (I don't want to have to take the car but may be forced to). No matter how much it will pain me to be up that early we will be on the road by 7am. And I'm still concerned as to whether this will be enough time.

I am hoping that this switch to SWW on Friday will help with some of the crowd issues. After reading some info on the boards about last weekend it seemed very busy. I am hoping that this weekend will be slower because it is not opening weekend and not quite June. I mean, I am taking the kids out of school and I'm hoping others will be responsible enough not to.

We are on the dining plan so I am thinking a quick breakfast in the car on the way to Disney, a later CS lunch in HS, and we have dinner reservations at Cape May Cafe.

The Hoopla is at 7pm. I am hoping after that we can get out of HS and catch the boat to BC for our 8:20 dinner reservation. After that it will be totally up to the boys as to whether they want to go back to the room (hoping so) or go to EMH at MK.

Saturday May, 30th:

Epcot at rope drop. Head over to Soarin' for a FP and then cut back over to the other side to ride TT and MS. I am not sure if DBro C is tall enough for MS so that may actually get cut from the list. We will do whatever attractions they want for the day and maybe get another FP to ride TT a second time later in the day.

We will have a light breakfast and an early CS lunch. I'm thinking either Seasons in the land or Tangerine in Moracco.

After Epcot we will take the monorail over to the Poly for a 5:00pm dinner reservation at Ohanas. After dinner it is back to the resort to enjoy some pool time.

Sunday May, 31:

AK at rope drop. Head back to EE for a ride, MAYBE a try on Kali RR, and then Dinosaur before heading out. I'm thinking I can get all this done by noon and then have lunch at T-Rex (are they open for lunch) before hitting the road to head home.