The Itinerary
It’s funny, but I thought that we’d have a hard time filling a full two weeks when we first booked this trip
. I truly expected we would have an itinerary with large pockets of nothingness in which to relax and do nothing at all.
LOL, you would think I would know better by now
. We’re just not idle people by nature. These two weeks have filled up quite nicely: though not, in my humble opinion, to the point of being “too much”. I am hoping we have devised a rather balanced plan that allows for lots to do without
over-doing it
.
Here’s what our two weeks look like so far…….
Thursday, October 13th: both Steve and I have booked the day off. We will clean the house, finish the final packing, and head to
Buffalo as early in the day as possible. Dinner will be in Buffalo at a restaurant we don’t have here at home. The
Anchor Bar (never been) and
Famous Dave’s (have only ever been to one in Wisconsin Dells) are both on the short list but neither are confirmed. Our park and fly is already booked and paid for at the Day’s Hotel.
Friday, October 14th: we have an early flight to Orlando, so we’ll be on Florida soil by 10 am. We plan to pick up the rental car and have lunch at
Sweet Tomatoes before heading to Wyndham Cypress Palms. Fingers crossed we will be able to check in early. We hope to get settled in, explore the resort (since its new to us), and maybe catch a nap before heading to
Fort Wilderness. We have an ADR for
Trails End (a new experience) at 6:50 pm and reservations for a
carriage ride at 8:30.
Saturday, October 15th: today we will spend at
SeaWorld and take in their
Halloween Spooktacular events for the first time. Dining plans call for lunch at SeaWorld
(perhaps in the passholder lounge? Maybe at Mama’s Pretzel Kitchen? Or possibly we’ll give Terrace BBQ a try….we still haven’t dined there since they switched from the pizza buffet) and
Longhorns (a new one for us) for dinner.
Sunday, October 16th: tonight we will enjoy our first
MNSSHP, complete with reservations for the
Hallowishes Dessert Party. We have
IHOP tentatively scheduled for breakfast and
Cici’s planned for a late lunch (maybe mid-afternoonish?). With a late lunch and the dessert party, we’ll forego dinner and just grab hotdogs or something at the park if we are hungry.
Monday, October 17th: we will probably want to sleep in after a late night at MNSSHP. Lunch has us trying out
Sonny’s BBQ for the first time (highly recommended to us by dear friends, so we KNOW that one will not disappoint!), and we have evening reservations for
Pirates Dinner Adventure. Between lunch and dinner, we have reservations for a flight on the
Orlando Eye (we have the 3-attraction passes for I-Drive 360).
Tuesday, October 18th: another lazy, unscheduled morning is on deck. We’ll have lunch at
Steak & Shake and head back to I-Drive 360 for
Sea Life Aquarium and Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. Our second dinner show of the trip is booked for that night:
Capone’s Dinner Show has been on Steve’s wish list FOREVER. We may Uber there and back so he can enjoy some beverages with his meal. We may also dress up.
Wednesday, October 19th: another day devoted to
SeaWorld. Lunch will be at the park, dinner at
Texas de Brazil (another new experience). Steve is simply beside himself for the latter….that’s another that’s been on his Orlando Dining Bucket list for eons.
Thursday, October 20th: this is a dedicated
resort day. I am sure 90% of it will be spent by the pool if the weather co-operates. We do have tickets to the
Museum of Military History in Kissimmee (which is within walking distance of the resort) so we might venture there if we get feeling waterlogged. Dining plans call for lunch at
Chili’s and dinner for the first time at
Maggiano’s (I am super, SUPER excited about that one!).
Friday, October 21st: we check out of Wyndham Cypress Palms and check into the Vistana. We plan to try
4 Rivers in Kissimmee for lunch (first time!) and then get settled in to our villa. Late that afternoon, we plan to head to Celebration for
Oktoberfest and spend the evening enjoying the German food, special events and entertainment.
Saturday, October 22nd: this is the first of our
Discovery Cove days. Eat, drink, swim, relax, repeat. If we’re even hungry for any dinner later that night, we’ll grab something from the
Tacky Tiki Bar & Grill at the Vistana.
Sunday, October 23rd: our second
MNSSHP day. We have no firm plans but to have a late breakfast or early lunch at
Steak & Shake, then maybe grab a nap or some pool time before the party. We have an ADR for
Crystal Palace at 4:45 pm, then it’s party time!
Monday, October 24th: it’s a
resort and recuperation day. I am sure we will sleep late after the party the night before. Brunch is planned for
Hash House A Go Go and dinner at
Bahama Breeze (yet another new dining experience which we are so excited to try).
Tuesday, October 25th: a full day at
Aquatica, with a cabana rental. We will eat lunch at the park and dinner at
Cracker Barrel.
Wednesday, October 26th: this will be our second
Discovery Cove day. As with the Saturday DC day, if we even feel like an evening meal at this point in our trip, we will grab
subs from Publix or something from the Tacky Tiki Bar & Grill.
Thursday, October 27th: our second
Aquatica day, again with a cabana rental. Lunch at the park and our final dinner in Orlando at
Hash House A Go Go (what’s that old saying? “If you’re gonna go, go big”).
Friday, October 28th: today we head home. We will check out of the villa before the 10 am requirement and perhaps spend a few final hours at
SeaWorld before making the pilgrimage to the airport. We will drop the car rental off by 2 and our flight leaves at 4 pm. We’re still undecided if we will spend the night in Niagara Falls or just drive straight home that evening.
Writing it all out, I think it looks busier than it is. Days like Discovery Cove and Aquatica can actually be quite relaxing, and don’t take the same toll as trudging around a theme park in the heat and humidity from open to close. We have tried to schedule all of our planned activities so that we have mornings to sleep in after any late nights, which should help us avoid exhausting ourselves as the days tick by. SeaWorld closes at 6 pm and 7 pm on the two dates we have scheduled for that park, so even those days will wrap up early enough for us to enjoy a leisurely dinner and time by the pool.
100 days to go 
…….tomorrow I will be doing the double digit dance!
Of course there were quite a few people trying to influence your decision...
dalmation7! Do you have dates picked out, or are they still variable as well?
Another autumn traveler who can share in my countdown excitement!
Southwest doesn't charge change fees, after all 
. We'd have a heck of a good time at a Dismeet.
.
.
So glad you've joined in, too!
.
Great start to your report!
