The 'Remember You Can't Do Everything' PTR

[beautifullily]

I am so excited to be planning our first ever trip to WDW. I was given some inheritance at Xmas from my grandma and so we have decided to celebrate her life with having lots of fun!

We are:
Fay (41) Steve (41), Lily (9) and Mia (7)

Going:
30th May to 11th June 2012 staying at POFQ on DDP.

My brother and his family are also going around the same time and we have a one week overlap with each other which will be great.

We've been to DLP once as a family nearly 5 years ago and I've been on my own with a friend but that was more a work thing.

To be honest I'm not sure what to expect from the Disney experience but I am learning lots through planning the trip. We booked the trip about 3 weeks ago and so it's all systems go! I think I'm at the risk of trying to cram in too much and am worried we'll all come back exhausted!

Done:
Travel Insurance
Booked dog into kennels
ESTAs (didn't think to leave these til later to make the most of the 2 years)
Car parking
Magic Express

To Do:
Photopass
Credit card for overseas spending
Finish ADRs

Our plans so far:

Day 1 - arrive late afternoon
Day 2 - MK
Day 3 - Blizzard Beach
Day 4 - Epcot
Day 5 - DHS
Day 6 - AK

My brother is coming to visit next week so that we can plan our week together. I want another day at each of the parks/waterparks plus a day at Seaworld.

ADRs booked already

CRT
'Ohana
Akershus Breakfast
Mama Melrose Fantasmic Package
California Grill

ADRs I'd like to book

Raglan Road
Chef Mickeys
Hoop Dee Doo
Sanaa or Boma

We're considering whether to do Cirque du Soleil or not. Any thoughts?

Think that's it for now, will have more to report at the end of next week.

Thanks for reading.

 

[irongirlof12]

Welcome to the dis

Your plans sound great, i would not do cirque if this is your first trip as you will have so much to do anyway. Build in some time for afternoons off ...girl talk for shopping and some evening events on site as the nighttime entertainment is not to be missed.

You will have a fab time, i do recommend getting a good guide book a it is quite easy to get overwhelmed. POFQ is a really relaxing resort, we love it there, takes ome time to do the movies under the stars, heavenly stuff that we dont do in the uk.

I am so hapy for you and what a fab use of inheritance

 

[Linda67]

I totally agree with irongirlof12, I would give Cirque a miss as this is your first trip and you will have so many other great things to do
Your ADRs sound great; if you want to go to Chef Mickey's and especially Hoop Dee Doo (which is fab) you should get them booked as soon as possible as they tend to fill up quickly
Happy planning

 

[princess_ariel_85]

I agree with Linda67 and Irongirlof12, I'd give Cirque a miss.

The ADRs you've booked so far look good, but yeah Chef Mickeys and Hoop Dee Doo do go quickly.

so welcome to the DIS and have fun planning x

 

[beautifullily]

Thanks for the feedback on Cirque.

I've been keeping my eye on Chef Mickeys and currently there's slots everyday for breakfast so hopefully I'll be OK at the end of next week when I book. Haven't checked Hoop Dee Doo though.

 

[Tinkerbell1989]

Very excited for you Fay! Just wanted to pop in and look forward to seeing your plans

Steffi xx

 

[joolz1910]

Looking forward to updates and a trip report as you are going for the first time like us! I will be interested to hear your opinions on the restaurants you have chosen.

 

[beautifullily]

Had a great planning trip with my brother last week, so here's it is:

Day 1 - arrive early pm, hang out at hotel
Day 2 - MK EMH
Day 3 - Blizzard Beach
Day 4 - Epcot
Day 5 - DHS inc Fantasmic
Day 6 - Brother arrives - AK EMH
Day 7 - Typhoon Lagoon
Day 8 - DHS EMH
Day 9 - MK EMH
Day 10 - Blizzard Beach
Day 11 - Seaworld
Day 12 - Epcot inc Illuminations
Day 13 - Home early evening

Days are based on toruingplans.com recommendations (including EMH). We didn't have any problems securing the ADHs we wanted apart from T-Rex although they've been open for a couple of months now. So we have:

CRT
Akershus Breakfast
Mama Melrose (OOP)
Boma
Raglan Road
50's Prime Time
Hoop Dee Do
Biergarten
California Grill
Chef Mickey's Breakfast

Feel like I'm twiddling my thumbs now - need something else to keep me occupied for 3 months!

Haven't booked Photopass yet but I will. Spoke to my brother about sharing which he seemed interested in however neither of his two really like have their photo taken, so shall probably just do it on our own.

The only other thing then is to book the Seaworld tickets.

 

[Tinkerbell1989]

You seem to have everything under control and in plan! Plans look great!

xxx

 

[princess_ariel_85]

Pleased you had fun planning with your brother,

yours plans and ADRs looks great, going to be a fun trip xx

 

[VailaTigger]

Your plans sound great! How nice to have your brother and family out there too.

 

[queendisney]

Loving your plans and can really feel your excitment. The first time me and the hubby went we also stayed at POFQ..I can see one HUGE problem with all this though and that is you are going to LOVE it so much you won't want to go home

Maybe the day you arrive, if your are not too tired you could think about taking a nice leisurely boat ride up the river from POFQ to Downtown Disney instead of just hanging about the resort, have a quick look in the Christmas store or grab a quick bite to eat at the Earl of Sandwich or Wolfgang Puck (on the DDP) then catching the boat back again. Once you have done that you will well and truly be ready for bed and it just sort of helps (well it does us) to get into the time zone...You'll still be up at the crack of dawn though

Oh and I am with the others before, give the cirque a miss..


Nearly time to get those suitcases out..

 

[wilma-bride]

Sounds like you've got a great trip planned. Shame you couldn't get the T-Rex reservation you wanted. Have you thought about (or did you try) phoning them direct? We always book direct with T-Rex and have never had a problem getting a reservation there.

 

[beautifullily]

Loving your plans and can really feel your excitment. The first time me and the hubby went we also stayed at POFQ..I can see one HUGE problem with all this though and that is you are going to LOVE it so much you won't want to go home

Maybe the day you arrive, if your are not too tired you could think about taking a nice leisurely boat ride up the river from POFQ to Downtown Disney instead of just hanging about the resort, have a quick look in the Christmas store or grab a quick bite to eat at the Earl of Sandwich or Wolfgang Puck (on the DDP) then catching the boat back again. Once you have done that you will well and truly be ready for bed and it just sort of helps (well it does us) to get into the time zone...You'll still be up at the crack of dawn though

Oh and I am with the others before, give the cirque a miss..


Nearly time to get those suitcases out..

I've heard such great things about POFQ, I can't wait. We may go to DTD when we arrive, depending on how long it takes to get through immigration: The girls want to hit the pool first though.

 

[beautifullily]

Sounds like you've got a great trip planned. Shame you couldn't get the T-Rex reservation you wanted. Have you thought about (or did you try) phoning them direct? We always book direct with T-Rex and have never had a problem getting a reservation there.

Saw that on another thread today, so might well try that. Thanks for the tip.

 

[beautifullily]

So next on the list is a dress for Mia for CRT and Akershus. Lily (9) doesn't want to wear a princess dress, but Mia (7) is up for it. However she's getting past the dress up stage so am keeping an eye out on eBay for a cheapy - she's requested a gold Belle dress (having dark brown hair herself). I need an age 9-10 though as she's really tall and there's not many about, missed a beautiful Disney Store one the other day

 

[Chilly]

Sounds like a great trip.

 

[queendisney]

So next on the list is a dress for Mia for CRT and Akershus. Lily (9) doesn't want to wear a princess dress, but Mia (7) is up for it. However she's getting past the dress up stage so am keeping an eye out on eBay for a cheapy - she's requested a gold Belle dress (having dark brown hair herself). I need an age 9-10 though as she's really tall and there's not many about, missed a beautiful Disney Store one the other day

If you don't find one before you go, you might be able to find one in the Disney Store at Premium Outlets (each end of I-Drive). You can find some bargins but obviously its hit or miss as to what has arrived but you just never know. Have picked up a few wonderful bargins before, my last one was a set of 4 A4 size prints of the parks in a gift envelope for $1 !! (DH bought a fair few of them!!!!)

 

[westgrove]

Sounds fab, not long to go at all! I've never been to WDW yet either, though I've been to the DL California, I'm expecting it to be a hundred times bigger and better, and ofcourse your PTR title says it all , I cant stop thinking of new things I want to see/do in Orlando but I doubt I'll go again for a very long time after this so I'll be cramming it in
Look forward to reading more

 

[beautifullily]

Am watching a lovely Belle dress on ebay now, fingers crossed we get it.

Am also in the process of buying as all Crocs, the girls already wear them and I figured it might be the best shoe option for the adults also.

Next I'm going to start a packing list (anyone have any must haves???) and also a rough sketch of what we want to do each day in the parks.

Think am going to start Slimming World next week. Had great success with Weightwatchers a few years ago, but have put a bit back on and unfortunately the WW meeting I went to is no longer operating, so going try SW for a change and hoping it will give me a kick up the bum.