Tricks, Treats, Toddler, Food & Wine. An October 2011 Pre-Trip Report.

[exwdwcm]

It looks like you guys had a great time. I didn't realize the Disneyland Hotel was STILL under construction... It's been under construction off and on for probably 4 years now, lol. The last time I was there, the pool was Neverland themed, and the monorail slide wasn't there. Also I think the towers have been renamed, I don't remember there being a Frontier tower before. I love the Mickey ears on the toiletries, I managed to get a set the last time we were there.
You guys got a lot done in your Disneyland day, which gives me hope since we only have one day too. Plus ours is a Monday so hopefully it will be even less crowded! I have been debating Blue Bayou, I'm not sure if I want to take up a lot of time with a "sit down" meal, but it's always so awesome in there...
I'm glad you guys had a good time!

We did! yep, still under construction. The CM said it should be done by November and he was so excited it would be done soon. lol Yep, same for me- i was there in Sept 2009 and it was the Neverland pool when we visited. Oh, if you plan well, go early and use FP, you should be just fine. Having those 2 sets of magical FPs helped too. Since you are going Monday, it should be much better in terms of crowds. I think there were a lot of locals there they day we went since it was a weekend. We actually were in and out in under 45 minutes at Blue Bayou! We were seated by 11:15am and were out by noon!

Thanks for posting your Mini TR. Loved hearing about it all. That pic of Will with the messed up eyes freaks me out. It reminds me of the face paint at PL with all the eyes on the cheeks.

Thanks for reading! lol- i know, isn't that freaky? i was like, he's a little Boy George or something.

I love the little Disneyland TR!! It looks like y'all had a great time, despite the freak heat wave. That is exactly what happened to us when we went to D.C. last summer. It was pleasant weather all leading up to our trip, and as soon as we got there, unbearable heat for the week we were there! It really sucks when you are so looking forward to escaping the heat at home!

And sorry, but that pool & slide situation at the Disneyland Hotel is out of control! That sucks that William was never able to try to monorail slide. If they can tell you that the pool getting shut down "happens a lot," perhaps they need to be looking to see what they can do differently to prevent some of those shutdowns from happening, ya know?

DH said he enjoyed Pirates better at DL also, so I'm anxious to try that out and Space Mountain, because EVERYONE seems to prefer DL over WDW now. How did you like your meal at Blue Bayou? I was thinking of trying a meal there and mentioned it to DH, but then Kevin & John absolutely slammed it on the podcast and DH wasn't too interested in trying it then. We may have to give Goofy's Kitchen a try though, maybe for breakfast...

yeah, the monster heat wave was bummer, but it still wasn't as bad as at home, so we managed okay. lol- last december at WDW, we had the freak cold snap, in the 30s almost the whole trip- had to wear coats, gloves, hats all week except for 2 days. it was crazy. i think i am due some good weather karma come October!

The pool thing was so frustrating! HOpefully we will get to enjoy our pool at BLT this time- it was too cold last December. Will loves swimming and slides. We plan to do a morning at BB too this trip, so he should be a happy camper! I figured we could even pool hop since we are DVC, maybe check out the Poly pool.

We enjoyed Blue Bayou. I like the gumbo a lot since it doesn't have seafood in it (only chicken and sausage). lol. last time i had the beef short ribs and it was delicious. loved the potatoes with it. This time i had the monte cristo and it was just way too much food. It was good- greasy, but i knew that going in. DH has the cajun salmon and enjoyed it. William had the kids salmon and ate almost all of it as well! The ambiance is great in there. We enjoyed it. I haven't listened to the podcast in a while, i'll have to find that episode! lol

I've been MIA for over a week...I started a new job at work and I've just been exhausted when I get home.

It looks like you all had a wonderful time in SoCal. I have never been anywhere out west and would LOVE to visit California...especially Disneyland! That stinks that Will never got to go down the monorail slide at the pool. And boo for all the construction...I HATE construction.

I hope Will gets back on schedule soon. Gotta get ready for the WDW trip after all.

I hope the new job slows down- are you liking it so far? Cali is very nice to visit! I really hate construction too. I know it is a necessary evil, but it was sort of crazy at the hotel. I kept hearing how bad it was at DCA too. We never went over there, but I know they are re-doing the entrance and of course all the construction near CARSland etc. I heard people in the elevator commenting how awful the constructino was, that there were walls everywhere in DCA. Glad we didn't bother going over there. I do enjoy DCA, but we will save it for a future trip. I am sort of nervous about the construction at WDW, but at least it is more spread out than at DL, where it is more compact!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

great mini report!!!! I love that the random kid in your pic was smiling!!! You can tell he was taught well too haha. Looks like a fun trip! Is it sad that I want to stay there to get those bathroom products with Mickey ears?! lol

 

[exwdwcm]

UPDATE

Wow, we are finally UNDER 40 days! 39 DAYS!!! That makes it feel like it is only a month away, but it is really 6 weeks. I guess since it is almost Tuesday and we leave on a Friday, it is like 5.5 weeks, right?

So still a ton on the to-do list:

• Rent a car- checked prices, will check again this week with some new coupons, including a birthday one i got from alamo
• purchase our MNSSHP tickets
• finalize Garden grocer order
• buy a pair of athletic shorts
• plan meals for the next 5 weeks and try and minimize spending money at the grocery store! try some new crock pot/easy recipes from crock pot girls.com!
• get Will's special gift ready
• print up special invites and mousekeeping envelopes
• print up new LGM for backpack and stroller
• print itinerary and notecards

I think that is pretty much it- other than pack! I won't pack this early, but i have been sorting through my green DIS box every week or so and adding to it. I bought a few more dollar store glow in the dark necklaces!

I also broke out my halloween/fall decor today. I know, it's early, but we had this AWESOME break in the weather in TX today. It was actually 69 earlier and so beautiful out, i could just taste fall. After nearly breaking the record (came in second) for most days of 100 plus for the year, i am taking any break we can get! I know how busy the next few weeks will be, so i decorated today. I'll post some pics of some of my fun disney themed decor! I even found my halloween candy corn mickey ears, trick or treat mickey bag and a spinning/light up halloween toy from last year. All went in the disney box for the trip!

After having such a great trip last weekend, I was looking forward to this long weekend to relax and catch up on stuff at home. We had a FABULOUS weekend. Great weather, family and relaxing. On Saturday, I finally got to see my BF's new little boy and hold him. We celebrated DH's 40th birthday this weekend. We had a lovely dinner with family at Maggiano's on Sat night. Sunday we hit the waterpark for the last time this summer. It was almost chilly once you got out of the water! Then we hit up Gattitown, for my nephew's 5th birthday- so had a ball there.

Today, we ran errands, shopped a little, took a walk, played soccer outside and just enjoyed the weather. We also picked up DH's birthday gift, this HUGE gun safe he had been eyeing. It was 500lbs! You could fit a few small children in there. He likes guns but only has a few. He isn't a hunter, but likes to have a few and go to the range to shoot. I really wanted a nice SECURE safe to keep them locked up, so i am happy about this too. Put all our valuables in it as well since it is fire and waterproof- including our disney APs and money we've saved up.

Speaking of- i cashed in the coins we've been saving in our mickey piggy bank. $125! woo hoo.

My 38th bday is Saturday!! Mom already gave me a gift- a $200 disney gift card. yeah! I know she is also giving Will a $100 gift card and probably more in cash. So I will use that towards our MNSSHP tickets. Probably try and order those this week finally. DH actually asked what night we are going. He said if we have a good time and Will wants to go back, we could do a second party! So we will play that by ear! woo hoo!

Well that's all I got for now. I might attempt to do my LGMH's this week and the invites. I'd like to plan some disney movie nights, but we will see if i get around to it or not.

HAPPY LABOR DAY ALL!!! hope you enjoyed not laboring as much as I did!

 

[khertz]

The weather has been AMAZING!!! We are currently at 59 degrees with a high of 79! Looks like I'll be taking DS for a walk today. We usually stay locked up in the house on my days off to stay in the a/c.

 

[mommy2mrb]

Hi Michelle....will be back later to read all about your plans...boy you started early!

 

[MARsMama]

Sounds like you had a great time in DL Your room looked awesome, (I love the headboard) even if the pool experience wasn't up to par
My dd (16mos at the time) just loved Minnie's dishwasher!!
The waves were such a bit hit when we were in CA, even for us 'big kids'!! lol

 

[exwdwcm]

great mini report!!!! I love that the random kid in your pic was smiling!!! You can tell he was taught well too haha. Looks like a fun trip! Is it sad that I want to stay there to get those bathroom products with Mickey ears?! lol

I know, too funny. I sent that one to my mom and she is like, who is that kid?
nope, not sad at all. i brought them all back home!

The weather has been AMAZING!!! We are currently at 59 degrees with a high of 79! Looks like I'll be taking DS for a walk today. We usually stay locked up in the house on my days off to stay in the a/c.

woah, that sounds like amazing weather! enjoy the walk!

Hi Michelle....will be back later to read all about your plans...boy you started early!

Hi! come on back anytime!

Sounds like you had a great time in DL Your room looked awesome, (I love the headboard) even if the pool experience wasn't up to par
My dd (16mos at the time) just loved Minnie's dishwasher!!
The waves were such a bit hit when we were in CA, even for us 'big kids'!! lol

It was a wonderful time. I can't remember having such a nice weekend like that in years! lol- William loved that silly dishwasher too. I swear there were kids fighting to get over there and see it.

 

[mommy2mrb]

Michelle, I'm still here!
haven't had time to read through your PTR yet, hope to in the next couple of days!

 

[im4kycats]

I finally made my way over to your PTR!

I'm still very early in the reading, but I have decided that I may have been a bit ambitious in thinking I could get caught up in a single evening.

I'm sure I will have something constructive to add once I get caught up, but please be patient with me - I am only on page 7!

So far, I am loving it.

 

[exwdwcm]

Michelle, I'm still here!
haven't had time to read through your PTR yet, hope to in the next couple of days!

yeah! welcome back!

I finally made my way over to your PTR!

I'm still very early in the reading, but I have decided that I may have been a bit ambitious in thinking I could get caught up in a single evening.

I'm sure I will have something constructive to add once I get caught up, but please be patient with me - I am only on page 7!

So far, I am loving it.

Well I am long-winded! Thanks for reading!

 

[stephielela]

Sounds like you have been busy!! I am planning on breaking out my fall decor etc Monday! I wanted to do it this past weekend, but I got so busy. Last year I kept putting it off and our house barely got decorated for Halloween! This year I want to celebrate Halloween all of October!

 

[exwdwcm]

UPDATE

Hi guys- time for another update! Still been busy at work, which has dug into my DIS time! Stupid work. Okay, not so stupid, since it does pay for the trip. Okay, work, you are not so bad.

Will is also playing soccer now, so I am starting to slowly feel the pain of your parents that have kids in sports. I can't even imagine how much worse it will get as he gets older or if we have a second child. It's really hard working all day, trying to get off work in time to rush him around to his activities. Monday is swim class, Wednesday is soccer practice, Saturday is the games. Not too bad, but with working full-time too, it makes it hard to get home, feed us all, run around to the activities, bathe, clean, dishes etc. Add in trying to find time to go the gym for me and we are beat. Starting to understand what "hurried woman's syndrome" is.

I've actually checked a few things off the list this week though.

• Placed my GardenGrocer order
  
• Bought DH's sunglasses and both of us more shorts
• Ordered and received Will's birthday mickey t-shirt from etsy
• Rented a car with Alamo
• Found/bought the Mickey Trick or Treat shirt for me
• Ordered a possible Wendy nightgown costume

So what else is still on the to-do list?

• Order MVMCP tickets- need to call member services
• Buy Will's ticket
• Confirm ADRs
• Request room and do online check in at 10 days
• Figure out transportation to/from airport at home
• mousekeeping evenlope (as DVC, we only need like 1-2)
• Create Will's invites for special dinner, pirates cruise etc.
  

On purchasing Will's ticket........last year, DH and I got AP's. I had a few days worth of passes for Will to use last year, so we didn't get him an AP (and a CM friend to get in free if needed a few times for him!). Anyhow, so only DH and I had AP's. So we were going to get him an AP this year, but after talking to DH, we decided we aren't sure when we will go back next year, if at all. We might try and do Aulani next fall instead. So we have decided to forgo getting Will an AP and get him just an 8 day hopper instead. If Aulani doesn't work out, we would probably go back to WDW, but might try November next year. We will see. The good news is doing the PH instead of the AP means we save $100!

Good news budget wise though- I got a $200 disney gift card from my parents for my bday! So using that for our MVMCP tickets, which will run just over $150 probably with our discount. Will is getting a $100 gift card from her as well before the trip. I have over $100 in change I turned in that will be used for souvenirs! DH is using a $200 gift card he got for his bday towards Will's ticket. So that is good news! I will only have to pay like $100 out of pocket towards Will's ticket. Other than rental car, everything else is paid in full. Heck, even the groceries are ordered and paid now.

And I'll have $50 leftover on my giftcard, $100 cash from the change, Will's $100 gift card, plus we will have at least $50 in rewards dollars left (used most for meals in Disneyland last month). So at least $300 for souvies already. I plan to put anything else on the disney VISA to earn more points for next year and hopefully earn a discount at WOD. I have to get a few gifts for family and stuff, so we will spend a lot, I am sure. I plan to buy my nieces and nephew their Christmas gifts too.

GARDENGROCER
So that is some big stuff off my list! My GardenGrocer order was only like $60 total with tax/tip and delivery fee. I only ordered some bottled water (32 pack), diet coke, coke zero, apple juice boxes, milk, applesauce, fresh fruit, yogurt etc. Pretty minimal order. We are mostly eating out, but will have 3-4 breakfasts in the room. Breakfast for me is usually light- yogurt or granola bar. I'll bring some cereal with us in ziplocks too. Will loves applesauce in the am! Order is set for delivery by 5pm on our arrival day. We get into MCO at 6:35pm.

SHOPPING
So I did pick up a few other things. LIke someone else online said, it is hard to stop shopping for your trip! DH lost his really expensive nice sunglasses a long time ago- talking like over 6 months ago and has been without any since. Which is crazy in this ridiculous sunshine/drought in TX. So i finally got him to pick out some cheap ones at Target. I also got us both a few more pair of athletic shorts for the trip.

WILL's BDAY SHIRT
I ordered William this adorable t-shirt from Etsy. His 4th bday is October 30th, so it will actually be after our trip (we return on Oct 22). But I figured he can wear it as we will be celebrating on the trip. He knows this is his "birthday trip". I figure we will wash it mid trip so he can wear it at least twice.

CAR RENTAL
Car rental- well i've been stalking both Alamo and National. I like them both since i can just walk right out and get in a car, no waiting in a line at a counter. I know more of the rental companies offer that now. Plus with National, i still have an old company contract ID logged in my account, so I always get that discount with them. I still haven't found the perfect deal, but I did find a full size car (like an impala, which is what we usually pick) with Alamo for about $250. That is for 8 nights, 8 days. I think I can get it down closer to $200 or less. All the current Alamo coupons expire 9/26. So i have to wait for the latest batch of coupons that include our 10/14 travel dates. Then I'll try again. Plus I noticed the closer we get to the trip, the lower the rates go. So for now I am booked, but I will probably cancel and rebook at a cheaper rate.

MY SHIRT
Finally found the cute Trick or Treat shirt at Target!

COSTUME??
I also figured, since Will is going to be Peter Pan, maybe I'd try and mock up a Wendy costume. I didn't want to spend much money on this, and found a nightgown online that isn't perfect, but it might work. I couldn't find a cute satin blue puffy sleeve one, but found one that could pass. We will see- it should arrive this week and was only $10 online. I didn't want to spend more than $20 on something. We will see if it works or not. If it does, I'll buy some blue satin ribbon for my hair and to tie on the nightgown for an empire waist. Otherwise, i have a few cute disney halloween t-shirts I can wear instead.

What's next? Well stay tuned- i hope to get in another update on our daily plans soon and our MUST DO list at the parks!

 

[stephielela]

I got the same Trick or Treat Mickey//Minnie shirt!! Great minds!

 

[mommy2mrb]

looks like you have a lot checked off your to do list!
I'm starting to get things put aside and my list's are all made.

your right about mommies being tired running after our kiddos, I'm not working so can only do this for you working full time and running after Will has to be tough!

love your t-shirts and sounds like your Wendy costume will be cute....I posted mine and Megan's on my PTR.

need to decide if doing Garden Grocers this time, probably just water and breakfast items and a few snacks.

 

[exwdwcm]

Monday, October 17

So Monday is our third full day in the world! Time, please slow down! Today’s plans take us to Animal Kingdom. While many don’t care for AK, I actually really enjoy it. I found by about my third visit, I really loved it. When you take the time to appreciate all the nooks and crannies, you realize how great it is.

AK opens at 9am today, but we will be arriving earlier, because we have breakfast at 8:05am at Tusker House with Donald and his safari crew! Now this is a first time breakfast for DH and Will. I’ve done this one before, but it was almost 10 years ago with my sister when the meal was at the Restaurantsaurus location- so this is acutally quite different. We really enjoyed it and I know this breakfast gets pretty consistent good reviews, so can’t wait to try it. We will probably be up by about 6:30am, which won’t be too bad, since hopefully we will have been in bed by 10:30 or 11pm the night before (after a night at Epcot).

So we will be in the car to drive over by 7:30am to make our 8:05 breakfast. William has developed a love for Donald this year, so I know he is going to have a ball at this meal.

After enjoying a yummy breakfast, we will start tackling AK. This is our only planned day here. Many say it is a half day park, but I like to give it at least ¾ day or a full day. We will plan to stay until about 3pm probably today.

I hope to be done with breakfast at least by 9am. Since we are right by the safari, we will of course tackle that one first right after breakfast. Hoping we can be off of it by 10am.



Next up, we will probably walk over to Asia and either do child swap for EE standby if not too long or get a FP.

Will isn’t tall enough to ride, but I love it. DH might want to ride, but he is a take it or leave it type of guy on the thrill rides. He’ll do them once, but not twice, and if he has to do it solo, he might just pass on it. So I figure I can go ride by myself or get us Fastpasses for later while Alan takes Will ahead to Dinoland on the triceratops spin.



Then I’ll meet them in Dinoland. If I end up riding standby, i might grab us all a FP for Kali for later. So once we meet up- hopefully by 10:30ish or so, we will take a quick run on Dinosaur. I figure at this point, we will wrap up all of Dinoland- we will probably skip Primeval Whirl- Will isn't tall enough and Alan doesn't care for it. I love it, but it's not as fun riding alone! We will however, let William play in the boneyard for a bit. So you figure it is near noon probably by now.

If we are getting hungry, we might stop for a bite, otherwise, we will continue to the Lion King show and Camp Minnie Mickey. No firm location for lunch- although we do enjoy Flame Tree Barbeque. Whatever we are close to when we get hungry, we will do.
We will try and fit in the other things we want to do- one of them we missed last year- the Lion King show! With the movie debuting again this weekend, I know Will is going to enjoy this one. he hasn’t seen the movie yet, but I plan to take him this weekend or next and we already ordered the DVD. So that might be next on our list- a visit to Camp Minnie Mickey and the Lion King show.

We might skip Rafiki’s planet watch this time- we did it last year and while it is okay, not sure we want to waste the time this year. We did enjoy the characters there, but otherwise, we just checked out the exhibits and petting zoo. The petting zoo we can do at home. The exhibits are cool, but we might just pass this year.

We might pass on Kali River Rapids too, or save it for the last thing. If we do, we will try and get a FP earlier for it. DH doesn’t like walking around wet.

The only other thing we want to catch is the Bug’s Life 3D movie and exploring the tree of life. IT usually has no or little wait, so we won’t rush to do it. We would probably do this after Lion King. And then if we have time and want to explore one or both trails or do Kali, we will.


I know, I am missing something here…………..Nemo! DH isn’t a big “show” guy. So putting him through two shows there might be too much. We might save it for next trip. If we have time and feel like we want to do it, we will. But it isn’t on the must do list for this time.

So this plan might involve criss crossing the park a few times, but we don’t mind. When it is just the three of us, we can move fast and easily! I’d like to ideally leave the park by about 4pm. But if it is earlier, that is fine too.

After heading out of AK, we will head back to the room for a little rest and break. If I don’t want to rest, I might do laundry or take the monorail loop around and shop at the resort stores (something DH is NOT interested in doing), while Will naps. At 7:45pm, we are supposed to meet for our Pirates and Pals Cruise, so we will have some time to rest up before that. I figure we will just grab dinner in the Contempo Café that night before heading down to the cruise. Sort of a relaxing evening after a busy day.

I am so excited about our cruise. William is a huge fan of Jake and the Neverland Pirates. I am a HUGE Peter Pan fan. I can’t tell you how many versions/copies of the book I have and Will’s room is done in Peter Pan and Hook even (framed old lithos, pirate ships etc.). So this cruise is up our alley. I know we will meet Hook and Smee first in the room while we enjoy some snacks and character time.



Then cruise the Seven Seas Lagoon with our pirate friend to watch WISHES. WISHES is at 9pm this evening. It is NOT a party night, so we will see regular WISHES. Which is fine because we will have the opportunity to see the MNSSHP fireworks the next night. I know upon arriving back at the dock, you are greeting with a visit from Peter Pan. Will is going to be in heaven. So I am excited about trying out this experience, it is a new one for all of us! After our cruise, time for bed-

 

[Parla]

Woohoo on all the gift cards coming together! I'm going to buy a bunch of Disney gift cards at Target. I'll get 10% off (employee), 5% using a red card and another 5% with a pharmacy reward coupon. That's the best I can do since nobody ever gives me gifts, especially gift cards.

 

[MARsMama]

You are doing well getting things crossed off your to-do list!
Things have been crazy here with the kids back in school and their activities starting up. I don't work, but with all the volunteering I do, and three kids' schedules (hockey, figure skating, girl guides, piano, etc) I haven't had much time to keep things going with my PTR. I'd like to get some of my planned days put up, but time is getting short
Your AK day sounds great. We've only been there one day, and this trip we have two days scheduled, but thinking our second day will be more of a half day.

 

[exwdwcm]

Woohoo on all the gift cards coming together! I'm going to buy a bunch of Disney gift cards at Target. I'll get 10% off (employee), 5% using a red card and another 5% with a pharmacy reward coupon. That's the best I can do since nobody ever gives me gifts, especially gift cards.

I know, gotta love gift cards!!! I remember seeing you say you get the 5% and all- that is so awesome!!!! huge savings!!

You are doing well getting things crossed off your to-do list!
Things have been crazy here with the kids back in school and their activities starting up. I don't work, but with all the volunteering I do, and three kids' schedules (hockey, figure skating, girl guides, piano, etc) I haven't had much time to keep things going with my PTR. I'd like to get some of my planned days put up, but time is getting short
Your AK day sounds great. We've only been there one day, and this trip we have two days scheduled, but thinking our second day will be more of a half day.

I can't even imagine how busy it is with 3 kiddos. Just one is a lot, and I was thinking about that the other day! what would I do with 2, much less 3. We are possibly going to start seeking fertility treatments again in the new year, and so it has me thinking if we really want to do it or not and try for #2 (I am 38 and DH is 40 and DS is an IVF baby). I don't know how you guys manage the crazy schedules, so it really got me thinking!

i think you will love AK more by taking your time and spreading out the 2 days (even if just half days). I found the slower I went there, the more I enjoyed it. The beauty of AK is really in all in the little details you might miss rushing around.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

LOVE your plans so far! We take almost all day at AK as well, I think mostly b/c of the layout of the park. In fact, I think you will be hard-pressed to do two shows in one day, especially with the crisscrossing that has to be done, so I would do Lion King first so you make sure you see it!

 

[exwdwcm]

So i usually don't go back and rethink my plans much this close to the trip. But now I sort of am.....

Here is my question. What would you do?

Wednesday, 10/19
Original plan
-sleep in (MNSSHP night before)
-morning at Blizzard Beach (probably 10am-2pm)
-quick break to change in room
-arrive at DHS by 4pm, DHS closes at 7:30pm, QS dinner at DHS or DTD later
-8pm- head to DTD for shopping

So here's the thing.....we are doing the morning at DHS on our first day for morning EMH. We will have done a lot that morning at DHS, but there is still some stuff we want to finish up- so we need another half day (preferably night) to wrap up. I planned it this night, but they close so early! Plus, we usually take a 2 hour break for my son to nap and recharge. AFter a morning at the waterpark, he will be wiped out and yet we won't have time for a nap or a real break other than to change clothes and rest maybe an hour.

So the question becomes, do I skip DHS that night? There is another night we could move to. Here is the alternative plan. Let me know what you think.

Wednesday, 10/19
-Blizzard Beach 10am-2pm
-break in room for a few hours/nap for DS
-5pm- head to DTD, dinner at Earle (our favorite!!!)
-enjoy taking our time at DTD, shopping, strolling etc. Maybe even swim that night or enjoy the top of the world lounge (we are at BLT)

We would move DHS to Friday night.

So here would be the new Friday (no MK):
Friday, 10/21
-Epcot EMH
-break in room from 1pm-3pm
-head to DHS by 4pm, it is open until 8pm (previously would have done MK until 7pm)
-hit up the BW area or get ice cream at Beaches and Cream after DHS

Originally i was planning to visit MK on Friday night. The original plan has us doing Epcot EMH that Friday morning, taking a break and then hitting MK from 4pm-7pm. They close early for the party that night. So not like we would have much time there anyhow. Then I wanted to do beaches and cream or the BW area just for some fun.

The only reason I had MK for those few hours on Friday is because i like being able to walk down Main ST at night one last time........but heck, it might not even be that dark by 7pm when they kick us out.

We also are completely open on Saturday, 10/22, our departure day. We have 10:45am ressies for O'hana. We will check out just prior to heading over to the Poly. Then we are "homeless" until our flight at 8pm. I figure by the time we finish breakfast, it will be after 12pm noon. So we have about 5-6 hours to enjoy in a park. I don't have anything set in stone, i figured we would play it by ear or catch what we feel we missed. Of course it is always nice to end with MK too.

so what do you think? Should i still try and fit DHS in for a few hours after BB on WEdnesday and risk DS being grouchy and tired? or should I just plan to move it to Friday night instead and give ourselves a nice relaxing no park day on Wednesday- doing just the waterpark and DTD? Also- we do plan to do some major shopping.....i'll be buying some Christmas presents for Will and also my nephew and nieces. I do shop a lot when there, so I am sort of leaning towards just doing DTD and having more time to enjoy it!

What would you do? I can always play it by ear and change later if we feel we still want to do DHS. But just trying to get the plan in my head and we can be flexible from there.