Two Weeks until Two Weeks! - Update 3/22 - NEW TR LINK!

[Flossbolna]

I find this interesting Magadlene that you would think American don't have many veggies?? or is it just the Hess Station your referring to? I feel American stores have an over abundance of food. I found Germany stores different that American ones to. Well except Aldi! They were VERY simalar.

Hmmmm gets me thinking I need to take some pictures for you of our local grocery store. You know how I like to take pictures....

Yes, I meant the Hess station would not have a large selection of vegetables. I still remember how amazed I was about the selection of fruit and vegetables when I visited my aunt in California in 1986. At that time I had never seen an avocado nor seedless grapes and kiwi fruit were still a novelty in Europe.

My comment about the difference in grocery stores was meant that I am generally not expecting something to be available because I would not know what to expect! That's one thing why I don't think I will ever order groceries from Garden Grocer. The stuff I would buy here I can't get and I am not really sure how to replace it... And for one or two people paying Disney prices isn't too horrible and possibly I might get a rental car for a few days and could always go to a shop myself.

 

[manntra]

Okay....all caught up I was cracking up over all of the press I got for harassing ME and Michelle about FB!!! So glad to see it has worked on at least one of my subjects...now to just get Michelle to cave

Adorable "old school" pictures of Henry popping up in pictures

I agree on AIE....never thought it was something I would like but I checked it out last May...2 or 3x I think and then once last October...Very fun and entertaining I have even started watching it on tv....well really that is because Steven Tyler is now a judge and he is quite entertaining (and reminds me of RnRC )

I am going to miss Snow White....it was corny yes, and I will be anxiously awaiting what comes next

I am sure Henry will create a masterpiece at the AA I really enjoy doing it...and seeing how poorly I draw

ETA: Meant to tell you that I love Jet Blue.....they give you tasty blue potato chips there is lots of legroom.....important when you are 5'3 and the headrest screens were perfect! I am sure you will sit back and enjoy your flight with them

Tracy

 

[Jupiter&Wolfe]

Whew! Just finished your last TR and promptly headed over here! I can't believe you get ANOTHER vacation at my dream resort! I am green with envy. However, I know you won't regret staying at BLT. We stayed at the Contemporary this past August and fell in LOVE with the location, the monorail, the hotel, EVERYTHING. I would definitely recommend renting those little Sea Racers off the dock. One of my best memories from my last trip was taking those out and exploring Bay Lake. We got a great view of WL, then circled around to see the beach of FW, and the island in the center is where Discovery Island used to be, and you can still see evidence of what once was! Not to mention you can also see the now defunct River Country. if you're into the history of WDW and what once was it's definitely VERY cool to see. PLUS you can cross over to Seven Seas Lagoon and get a great view of GF, the Poly and the entrance to MK! Seriously, I cannot express how great it was, and Henry would have no problem sitting with you, they're very safe little boats. If you're interested.

Also need to mention that I'm SHOCKED that you haven't done HM! How does that happen?!?! Can't wait to see how this trip unfolds! Also, loved the picture of Henry with his little valentine's cookie....i think he's such a cutie with his scraggly hair!


By the way. I'm going into NYC this weekend from Friday night to Monday to visit my friend who just moved there. A nice little vacation for me too! We're doing Times Square and seeing The Little Mermaid on Broadway, but if you have any other suggestions for some good times to be had in your fair city, do let me know!

 

[Curiouser&curiouser!]

Finally made my way over here - I had to finish up your last trip report first (I was a couple of updates behind)!

Bring on a new trip of fun!!

 

[Gabrielsbigtrip]

Grrrrrr.....I used the subscription tool to subscribe after you started this report! It obviously didn't work since I missed multiple updates

Anyway - hopefully posting will solve that!

MMMMM Main Street Bakery Ice Cream Sandwich! You can keep your Dole Whips - these rule Other favorite snack is that bar called Magic Kingdom bar??? I got it in the CS at Wilderness Lodge on the way out to ME.....ate it on the plane and kicked myself for missing out on it the other 8 days we were there. And then there are the Pooh Bear puffs at Crystal Palace Breakfast...mmmmmmmmmmm.

I have read great things about the Plaza but we never tried it because we did the Dining Plan and I don't think they took it. It will be on our list if we can squeeze a trip out this year.

Gabriel will NOT do Splash Mountain - not that I am sad because I hate drops. He thinks we would be doomed because of the "prickers and thorns" at the end

He did Thunder Mountain twice with some bribery - he survived and kind of pretended to like it. I don't like roller coasters and I thought it was okay. I think your plan is good.....let him see it and then if he wants to ride he can sit between you both.

Gabriel loves Astro Orbiter (He calls this Purple Planet) and one year we rode and my mother in law ended up getting in the same ship with me....she crammed down behind me and we were like sardines....so much so that we COULDN'T GET OUT Then I was laughing so hard....then it went into utter shame as everyone was staring My husband had to literally pull his 70 year old Mom out and she was laughing so hard that she didn't have any strength. It was quite a site.....gosh I hope we aren't on Youtube or anything

 

[Moira222]

how is it that I don't know about the Animation academy? DD and I did the tour, and then hit the character greeting area. How did we miss that part? oh maybe because she was 5 1/2 and knew everything and didn't want to listen to me? yeah, that could be. but now its on my radar, thanks...it will be on my trip plans shortly because we are all artsy in my family so everyone will love it. thanks!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you, too! That picture of Henry is adorable. But, then again, aren't all of them?

Very sweet, thank you!

Sounds like a great plan for DHS! Have fun at the Animation Academy... we tried this for the first time in December and had a great time! We got to draw Rapunzel (which was sort of weird because we hadn't seen Tangled yet so I wasn't too sure what the final outcome was really suppose to look like!) N tried it, got frustrated right away and then he just doodled on his page for the rest of the class. A fun keepsake for all of us.

AIE is fun too. We never watch the show but I checked it out for the first time when I went down with a friend a year and a half ago. It was Sept, it was hot. Sitting down in A/C sounded divine so we gave it a try. It was fun, much more than I had thought it would be. I made a reluctant DH give it a try in December and he liked it okay. Once again, a good place to sit down for a bit and relax.

Happy Valentine's Day!

(Oh, so I ended up falling asleep last night before I could make it to the grocery store and fetch myself a bit o' heaven in the form of a Shamrock shake. So tonight after N's karate class, we ran over to McDonald's so I could get one. AND THEY DIDN'T HAVE THEM YET!!! Much sadness. Guess I'm glad I didn't go on a wild goose chase for one yesterday evening!)

I'd be totally cool if H just doodled...maybe I should just suggest that to begin with. And ya...to draw a character you've never seen would be HARD! I think Rapunzel in general would be. I'm hoping for something easier...like Mickey or Pooh!

That is great to hear about AIE. I've heard that many people who don't watch the show still find the AIE at least entertaining and interesting. I'm looking forward to giving it a try!

No Shamrock Shakes!!! UGH! I hope they get them soon! My sister left me a voicemail the other day saying she was sipping her first one of the season.

One trick for Astro Orbiter: you can adjust the height of your rocket. At first when you go up you will go faster because you are getting further away from the central core, but once you are getting higher than when the arm to the central core is horizontal you will slow down again since you get closer to the core again. So you can actually adjust the speed a bit!

I also thought that you might be interested in what I found recently: the Betamouse podcast. It's a podcast from Disney fans who are tech geeks (the host is Henry Works, the touringplans.com webmaster) and they recently had two podcasts (# 41 and # 42) about the science of touringplans where they talk with Len Testa. It is very nerdy (in another podcast they even discuss a patent in detail), so definitely not for everyone, but I though you might appreciate it! I really liked those episode and started to listen to a few more of their podcasts.

Ooooh, that Beatmouse podcast sounds VERY interesting!! I bet Joe would like them too!! Thanks for passing that on, I'm going to download some right now.

That is good to hear about the Astro Orbiter as well - I had forgotten you could adjust how far out your rocket goes, that will be helpful.

 

[brookelizabeth]

I find this interesting Magadlene that you would think American don't have many veggies?? or is it just the Hess Station your referring to? I feel American stores have an over abundance of food. I found Germany stores different that American ones to. Well except Aldi! They were VERY simalar.

Hmmmm gets me thinking I need to take some pictures for you of our local grocery store. You know how I like to take pictures....

Yes, I meant the Hess station would not have a large selection of vegetables. I still remember how amazed I was about the selection of fruit and vegetables when I visited my aunt in California in 1986. At that time I had never seen an avocado nor seedless grapes and kiwi fruit were still a novelty in Europe.

My comment about the difference in grocery stores was meant that I am generally not expecting something to be available because I would not know what to expect! That's one thing why I don't think I will ever order groceries from Garden Grocer. The stuff I would buy here I can't get and I am not really sure how to replace it... And for one or two people paying Disney prices isn't too horrible and possibly I might get a rental car for a few days and could always go to a shop myself.

That's what I had figured too - you were speaking of the Hess Station, which as far as I know is a typical gas station. I think the Hess Stations on property DO have a few more options than a typical American gas station because of where they are located though. At least I hope so.

I got several pages behind...and I admit, skimmed over the responses.
But I wanted to make sure you knew that the Barber shop now takes appointments. So you probably should make one if you don't want to wait in long lines. just in case you didn't know.

I like your leisurely approach

No worries about skimming! I rarely keep up with all the chatter on any thread, it's too hard!

THANK YOU for the reminder of the Barber Shop taking appointments now! I had completely forgotten about that! I am adding that to my To Do list right now!! Once we stood in line for 2 hours.

I'm off the DIS for the weekend and this is how you repay me? I'm 6 pages behind!

Your plans look awesome!!! I love the laid back approach.

The picture of Henry getting his haircut in MK is so cute!

Muahahaha! It was all a plan against you Tim! I have 11 days to figure out all my plans and get a To Do list of 50 items done, I gotta cruise!!!!

I am looking forward to the laid back approach as well - Joe is THRILLED we don't have assigned parks on certain days, that, for some reason, drives him bonkers. I just told him we must do MK the first full day, otherwise, whatever!

The experience in the Barber Shop for Henry's first haircut was completely magical. It was wonderful! We went back to get a hair cut when he was 2, and now we'll be back when he's 3. It's such a good bargain and they do a nice job!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Okay....all caught up I was cracking up over all of the press I got for harassing ME and Michelle about FB!!! So glad to see it has worked on at least one of my subjects...now to just get Michelle to cave

Adorable "old school" pictures of Henry popping up in pictures

I agree on AIE....never thought it was something I would like but I checked it out last May...2 or 3x I think and then once last October...Very fun and entertaining I have even started watching it on tv....well really that is because Steven Tyler is now a judge and he is quite entertaining (and reminds me of RnRC )

I am going to miss Snow White....it was corny yes, and I will be anxiously awaiting what comes next

I am sure Henry will create a masterpiece at the AA I really enjoy doing it...and seeing how poorly I draw

ETA: Meant to tell you that I love Jet Blue.....they give you tasty blue potato chips there is lots of legroom.....important when you are 5'3 and the headrest screens were perfect! I am sure you will sit back and enjoy your flight with them

Tracy

It sounds like Michelle might be caving soon - someone at her boys school is pressuring her too!!! Keep up your good work.

That is great to hear about AIE! I've read that from several DISers too - I'm really looking forward to it and the more I hear reviews from you guys, the more excited I get. I had forgotten they changed the judges on the TV show - I wonder if they adapted the AIE ones to reflect the same personalities?

I'm super excited about the future 7 Dwarfs ride!! I think it will be a fantastic addition! But, I must get it that Snow White ride in, just to experience it at least once.

You get free food on JetBlue?! That's amazing! Delta has gotten so stingy, it's a treat to actually get something free on a flight now!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Whew! Just finished your last TR and promptly headed over here! I can't believe you get ANOTHER vacation at my dream resort! I am green with envy. However, I know you won't regret staying at BLT. We stayed at the Contemporary this past August and fell in LOVE with the location, the monorail, the hotel, EVERYTHING. I would definitely recommend renting those little Sea Racers off the dock. One of my best memories from my last trip was taking those out and exploring Bay Lake. We got a great view of WL, then circled around to see the beach of FW, and the island in the center is where Discovery Island used to be, and you can still see evidence of what once was! Not to mention you can also see the now defunct River Country. if you're into the history of WDW and what once was it's definitely VERY cool to see. PLUS you can cross over to Seven Seas Lagoon and get a great view of GF, the Poly and the entrance to MK! Seriously, I cannot express how great it was, and Henry would have no problem sitting with you, they're very safe little boats. If you're interested.

Also need to mention that I'm SHOCKED that you haven't done HM! How does that happen?!?! Can't wait to see how this trip unfolds! Also, loved the picture of Henry with his little valentine's cookie....i think he's such a cutie with his scraggly hair!


By the way. I'm going into NYC this weekend from Friday night to Monday to visit my friend who just moved there. A nice little vacation for me too! We're doing Times Square and seeing The Little Mermaid on Broadway, but if you have any other suggestions for some good times to be had in your fair city, do let me know!

Joe would LOVE to rent those Sea Raycers! How many people can fit in one? I wonder if they wouldn't let him drive because of his eye sight? Do you have to have a Drivers License? He's looooooove to drive since he doesn't ever get to normally. He's big into any type of boat too. I am going to add that to my list of things to look into! #51 on my To Do list....

And about your NYC trip! The City is wonderful! It's supposed to be warmer this weekend too, 60 on Saturday I think! Broadway is a must! I haven't seen the Little Mermaid yet, but it's on my list. Definitely go to Central Park and enjoy it's beauty, Rockefeller is kinda neat to see too. If you want to spend the money you can go to the top of the Rock for great views of Central Park and the Empire State Building - or go to the top of the Empire State. I think both are around $20. Ground Zero and the Wall Street area is interesting too - lots of old buildings down there, tons of history! Eat a bagel and pizza! Does your friend live in Manhattan?

Finally made my way over here - I had to finish up your last trip report first (I was a couple of updates behind)!

Bring on a new trip of fun!!

Glad you made it over here! I need to get back to my TR and read the comments left there, but haven't yet!

Grrrrrr.....I used the subscription tool to subscribe after you started this report! It obviously didn't work since I missed multiple updates

Anyway - hopefully posting will solve that!

MMMMM Main Street Bakery Ice Cream Sandwich! You can keep your Dole Whips - these rule Other favorite snack is that bar called Magic Kingdom bar??? I got it in the CS at Wilderness Lodge on the way out to ME.....ate it on the plane and kicked myself for missing out on it the other 8 days we were there. And then there are the Pooh Bear puffs at Crystal Palace Breakfast...mmmmmmmmmmm.

I have read great things about the Plaza but we never tried it because we did the Dining Plan and I don't think they took it. It will be on our list if we can squeeze a trip out this year.

Gabriel will NOT do Splash Mountain - not that I am sad because I hate drops. He thinks we would be doomed because of the "prickers and thorns" at the end

He did Thunder Mountain twice with some bribery - he survived and kind of pretended to like it. I don't like roller coasters and I thought it was okay. I think your plan is good.....let him see it and then if he wants to ride he can sit between you both.

Gabriel loves Astro Orbiter (He calls this Purple Planet) and one year we rode and my mother in law ended up getting in the same ship with me....she crammed down behind me and we were like sardines....so much so that we COULDN'T GET OUT Then I was laughing so hard....then it went into utter shame as everyone was staring My husband had to literally pull his 70 year old Mom out and she was laughing so hard that she didn't have any strength. It was quite a site.....gosh I hope we aren't on Youtube or anything

I got the package today!! I haven't opened it yet because Henry was standing right there with me. I'll talk to Joe and see if we will hold onto it for a while, or if we will let him open it...or maybe we'll give it as a surprise in Disney. Not sure yet! I will send you the $$ today. THANK YOU!!!!

What is the Magic Kingdom bar? I don't think I've seen that one! Do you have a pic or description of what it is? We might make it over to the WL at least once, so I'll have to look for it too.

That is funny about Splash! Each time we watch the video Henry asks "What is that?" pointing to the "prickers and thorns". I think it scares him too that we might hit them!

Aren't those rockets TEENY?! Joe and I squeezed into one on our honeymoon and almost couldn't get out either! It was nuts! They should warn two adults! (but I bet they like to watch us...! LOL!)

 

[brookelizabeth]

how is it that I don't know about the Animation academy? DD and I did the tour, and then hit the character greeting area. How did we miss that part? oh maybe because she was 5 1/2 and knew everything and didn't want to listen to me? yeah, that could be. but now its on my radar, thanks...it will be on my trip plans shortly because we are all artsy in my family so everyone will love it. thanks!

about your 5 1/2 year old! Isn't that the truth?! And it only gets worse when they are teenagers!

I didn't know about the tour! I still don't know anything about it? I didn't even realize there was an actual tour. I have to look into it. I'm not sure where the class is held, but it's somewhere in there! With an artsy family, you guys will surely LOVE it!

 

[Gabrielsbigtrip]

Glad you got it! NO rush on the postage....it can wait until you open it

On the Magic Bar....I think it might be just called Magic Bar or Magic Cookie Bar.

We were using up our snack credits and I was just saying give me one of those and one of those and one of those.....I never saw what it was called ....I Googled it after the fact. I just thought it was a Blondie.

Didn't take a picture as it was our first trip and I was new to Food Porn Pics : )

Here is information on one although I don't know how similar it is to the one I had:

Magic Cookie Bars from EAGLE BRAND® By: EAGLE BRAND®
"This bar cookie is an old fashioned favorite. Chocolate chips, nuts and coconut are set in a caramelized layer on top of a graham cracker crust."

I dare not make the recipe as I will end up eating the whole batch since we are a family of three with only one (me) sweet tooth person!

If you happen over to the WL - stop in Roaring Forks and check it out. It was REALLY good!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Two Weeks from Today...March 1.

Today we will have an alarm set to wake us up. We need to be at the Magic Kingdom for a very important event....

The Very Big Small World DISMeet!!!



At 9:30 am DISers from all over will be filling up a Small World boat (or two!), singing along to all that song we secretly, or not so secretly, love , and laughing along together! So if you are going to be in the World at 9:30 am on March 1, make plans to join us!!!

After the awesome DISMeet our plans are completely open. We might stay in the MK, we might head out. We have plenty of items on our list for things outside the parks...so I'll take today to share those with you! And I highly doubt we'll accomplish all these things...and we have a whole separate list for things just at our resorts as well!

1) Resort Hop
We love to explore the other resorts! High on my list for this trip is Pop and the All Stars. I know Henry would enjoy seeing the large characters. Plus, the food courts there are amazing!

2) Yehaa Bob Show @ POR - 8:30 pm, Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat only

I have read quite a few reviews of this show and I know we'd have a great time! Being that it starts at 8:30 we'd probably only stay for a few songs or one set...unless Henry is really into it and being cooperative.

3) DTD - I'll have a whole separate post about this!

4) Mini-Golf
I have wanted to mini-golf at Disney World since our first trip...will we finally fit it in?

5) Campfire at Fort Wilderness with Chip & Dale
This is VERY HIGH on the list! We will be doing this while we are at BLT, taking the boat right over to Fort Wilderness, grabbing dinner at the CS, playing on the playground and wandering around the area until the campfire and sing-a-long starts. I haven't figured out what night we'll do this, but once I do, it will be going on the agenda as a solid plan, I really don't want to miss out on it!

6) Visit Tri-Circle-D Ranch & Farm / Stables

It will be fun to see the horses and maybe have Henry do a pony ride!

7) Pool Hop
I'm not certain we will do this at all, but I'll keep it on the list as an option since we have this perk as a DVC member and it might be fun should we have time. Perhaps while we are also resort hopping!

8) Monorail Dinner Tour

I saw this idea on another thread. Start with drinks at one resort, follow with appetizers, dinner and dessert. Time it to watch the fireworks from the Poly or CR. I am thinking a Dole Whip dessert would be mighty fine while enjoying the beautiful Wishes on the Poly beach!

9) Boat ride from DTD to POR
And then explore POR. I've heard, more than once, this is a wonderful boat ride.

So tell me, what are your favorite out-of-the-parks activities? Have you done anything on my list - what did you think of it? Any other ideas?

 

[brookelizabeth]

Glad you got it! NO rush on the postage....it can wait until you open it

On the Magic Bar....I think it might be just called Magic Bar or Magic Cookie Bar.

We were using up our snack credits and I was just saying give me one of those and one of those and one of those.....I never saw what it was called ....I Googled it after the fact. I just thought it was a Blondie.

Didn't take a picture as it was our first trip and I was new to Food Porn Pics : )

Here is information on one although I don't know how similar it is to the one I had:

Magic Cookie Bars from EAGLE BRAND® By: EAGLE BRAND®
"This bar cookie is an old fashioned favorite. Chocolate chips, nuts and coconut are set in a caramelized layer on top of a graham cracker crust."

I dare not make the recipe as I will end up eating the whole batch since we are a family of three with only one (me) sweet tooth person!

If you happen over to the WL - stop in Roaring Forks and check it out. It was REALLY good!

Those are what we call "7 Layer Bars"!!!!!! JOE'S FAVORITE! I'm sooooo going to surprise him somehow with one of these during the trip!!! How did I not realize these were at the WL?!?! Thank you! Thank you!

I think I might surprise him one day while we are at BLT with him and Henry being able to go out on the Sea Raycer, and while they are doing that I'll go get him a Magic Cookie Bar. I could easily sneak away quickly during that time....he he!

 

[IluvXU]

For American Idol we really enjoyed. I did not care if we saw it or not, but after going I am glad we did and would go again. Our good friends saw their "winner" from Hollywood Studios audition and get a golden ticket a few weeks ago, which is cool.

Pool hop wise my girls loved the Poly. The zero entry is fantastic, and the beach was fun to watch the water pageant at too! We have tried lots of pools at Disney and that might be #2 to Beach Club!

 

[Jupiter&Wolfe]

Joe would LOVE to rent those Sea Raycers! How many people can fit in one? I wonder if they wouldn't let him drive because of his eye sight? Do you have to have a Drivers License? He's looooooove to drive since he doesn't ever get to normally. He's big into any type of boat too. I am going to add that to my list of things to look into! #51 on my To Do list....

And about your NYC trip! The City is wonderful! It's supposed to be warmer this weekend too, 60 on Saturday I think! Broadway is a must! I haven't seen the Little Mermaid yet, but it's on my list. Definitely go to Central Park and enjoy it's beauty, Rockefeller is kinda neat to see too. If you want to spend the money you can go to the top of the Rock for great views of Central Park and the Empire State Building - or go to the top of the Empire State. I think both are around $20. Ground Zero and the Wall Street area is interesting too - lots of old buildings down there, tons of history! Eat a bagel and pizza! Does your friend live in Manhattan?

Up to 2 people can fit in one, so you would probably have to rent 2 so one would have their own boat and one would share with Henry.

I'm pretty positive Joe could drive one even without a license because the minimum age to drive one is 12 years old(though naturally at that age an adult would sign a release). He just needs to show an ID proving he's over 18. When we booked our vacation package we got a rental discount, don't know why or if that would apply to you. But honestly, I would go out of my way to do it and am considering making it a trip tradition regardless of where I stay. If you do it you MUST let me know how you and Joe liked it! They are lots of fun to drive, not the fastest but fast enough to enjoy. If he's really into that you could consider renting the jet skis too? We did that as well which was fun, but we were sectioned off to a small portion of the lake.


Thanks for the suggestions! Definitely going to try some pizza and I've never been to Central Park, so that'll be a must do! And I hadn't even THOUGHT of Ground Zero, never have been there! Would be really incredible to see that. And yes - she's in the upper East side!

 

[manntra]

I know that MEK...aka future FB participant has both pool hopped and yee hawed with Bob.
I would be very into pool hopping if staying at a monorail resort...otherwise it seems like too much of a hassle
The campfire and possible pony ride for Henry sounds like a lot of fun....it will be such a relaxed pace for you to be able to see all of these other sides of the resorts etc.
Yes Jet Blue offers Terra Blue (blue) potato chips. I really like them....the Terra brand also has other types of chips...I remember one having beet, parsnip, sweet potato in the bag. Some of them tasted really...ummm earthy

Tracy

 

[PirateKate]

DHS is always the worst park for restaurants. I bet Henry would like the Sci Fi, though. He would be cute sitting in the car.

At Magic Kingdom, I like the cookies from the Prairie Outpost and Supply. It's fun to get a cookie while waiting for the MSEP in Frontierland.

 

[loritemp]

OOooh a possible meet up on the 7th at DHS?! I could be down with that!!

I am soaking up all of your ideas!! Love them, especially things like watching Wishes from the Poly beach. We really want this trip to be slower paced and do things my dad and his SO will enjoy and I think resort hopping, ending on the beach for fireworks would be a big hit!

 

[chloe770]

Ahhh Mini Golf at Disney. This is definitely a family favorite. All 3 courses are so much fun but I think my personal favorite is Fantasia Gardens. The theming is so much fun with lots of little surprises. That said, it is also the hardest of the 3 golf courses. Henry might do much better at Winter/Summerland. Of those two I prefer the summer side.
Sounds like you have a great trip planned. The DIS meet should be fun for all.