Hello! My name is Dana and I've been a lurker on this site since... 2012 I believe. I finally signed up last year, but didn't post my first comment until a few days ago. I was apprehensive to post anything due to my husband's job, so I'm going to be a bit vague... but I love all things Disney and wanted to share my plans with everyone. My family has a VERY relaxed attitude when it comes to Disney- growing up, we came every Christmas for about 2 weeks and every Easter for a week. Due to my job and my husband's job, holidays are usually a no-go for us, but fall is where it's at! This will be our 3rd fall trip since we've been married (we've also done a late-August trip together- too hot!!). My husband has been to WDW just a few times, in addition to 2 DCL cruises with his family in the past. In addition to my WDW trips, I've been to DL once, and DLP about 5 times. As I stated before, my family takes a very relaxed approach when visiting Disney- we don't do the parks very much. I know that's crazy, but we love relaxing at the resort pools, enjoying other hotels, and spending some time at Downtown Disney. This year we booked free dining via a bounce back offer we'd found in our room at CBR- we'll be going in September and staying for a week. We fly from Indianapolis to MCO on a Friday afternoon (we can never take the early flights down, as we both work nights and our shifts don't end until sometime after 6am), and we will be the first in our family to arrive. My parents will be flying in from Chicago, and my aunt will be joining us from Buffalo, NY. Their flights get in early that evening. Here is a photo of my hubby and I at the Custom House checking in to CBR last October.
In this photo I am about 6 months pregnant... AKA we'll be brining our new little Mouseketeer along for his very first trip!!! This will definitely be a different kind of trip with an infant, but we couldn't be more excited!!
So back to the trip- Friday after we take the DME to Port Orleans Riverside (does anyone else still call it Dixie Landings? We do sometimes- old habits die hard!!)- this is my hubby's very favorite resort- we will get settled, and make sure the Pack & Play is provided for lil boy to sleep in, then probably make our way to the food court to pick up our mugs and begin using our free DDP. We then will wait for the rest of our gang, and after they get settled and fill their bellies, I imagine we'll sit and listen to Yee Haw Bob if lil boy allows us to (he has 2 big dogs at home, and he sleeps through their loud barking like it's his job, so I don't imagine this will be a problem). We're hoping to get adjoining rooms so anyone willing (e g. grandparents or great-aunt) can watch the baby sometimes!
Saturday we plan to just relax. Sleep in a bit, enjoy breakfast at the resort , walk around and enjoy the resort (we last stayed here in '09), walked over to Port Orleans French Quarter for beignets- whatever floats everyone's boats. We have a favorite first day lunch spot- I'll give you a hint-
Earl!! MMMMM!! Part of the reason we chose to stay at POR is because of the boat ride to DD- we just love it! I plan to do a little shopping (last year I treated myself to this beauty from Tren-D)-
-she might need some matching accessories!
We also have another first night tradition-
-Trail's End! (That's a bad photo from 2009, but it's all I could find!) We just adore it! We always follow dinner up with a stroll through the Fort Wilderness gift shop, and then a viewing of the electrical water parade and fireworks from the beach if they are showing that night. We used to take the bus to Fort Wilderness, but then we got smart and realized that it's SO much easier to take the boat from the MK, as it drops you off steps from the restaurant (as opposed to waiting for the internal bus at FW).
Sunday is another non-park day (I know- we're wild like that!). We have breakfast ADR's at Chef Mickey's! Nobody in my family is an early bird, so this is gonna be a bit rough! I've done dinner at Chef Mickey's, but never breakfast, so this will be a new experience for me (my hubby, on the other hand, has done several breakfasts here in the past with his family). We tend to take our time at meals- so I anticipate it will be between 11 and noon by the time we are finished. Not sure what'll be on the agenda. I know my dad will want to race on back to the pool (he's a sun worshiper!) but I'm not sure about the rest of us. I haven't been to Wilderness Lodge in ages, so a tour around the resort is always a possibility. That night my hubby asked nicely if we could do Grand Floridian Cafe. I had originally planned to do Cape May Cafe that night, but then I thought that 2 buffets in one day may be overkill . Even though I would prefer not to do 2 MK resorts in one day, that was our best bet. I do enjoy GF Cafe, too- I think it's pretty in there! Plus who doesn't enjoy exploring the resort?! It's so beautiful! If we have time, we may do Mai tai's on the Poly beach before walking over to the GF. I'm sure we'll follow this dinner up with a monorail ride around the loop- perhaps stopping at the Poly after dinner to hit up Tambu for a Lapu Lapu (I was pregnant last year, and the virgin piña colada in the pineapple was fun, but just not the same!).
Monday is finally a park day! We have hoppers, so we plan to utilize AK's EMH to safari and for my hubby and I to do Everest (my favorite!). I haven't seen the Lion King show in ages, so I think that'd be fun to see again (it'll still be there, right? For some reason I'm worried that it won't be). We'll probably hit up Dino Land for the lil guy. Now this is where I'm undecided. Do we stay at AK and do Flame Tree, which we've never done, but I've always wanted to do (hubby and I LOVE BBQ) or do we head to MK to get in line for Be Our Guest? We've done BOG before, and I did love it, but then a) We would be worried about the time since it closes after lunch hour (and we tend to eat late), and b) We wouldn't get to try a new place (Flame Tree). BUT if Flame Tree isn't very good, then we'll wish we had headed to BOG. Either way , we'll head to MK sometime today, where we'll use our FP+ reservations, and eat dinner at either Pecos (tried n true) or Cosmic Ray's (we haven't eaten here for years, but it's on my radar- while I do LOVE the ambiance at Pecos, it'd be fun to do Cosmic Ray's again- my only concern- if they don't have the melty cheese then it's an absolute no. I live for melty cheese). EMH are tonight, and we'll let lil guy sleep in his stroller while we close down the park. Gotta watch the Kiss Goodnight, and it's a long-standing tradition to get dessert on Main Street after the park closes. Last trip it was sad not to go into Main Street Bakery, but we found the cookie sandwiches at the ice cream parlor- which we brought outside and ate while watching the castle change colors- was a nice consolation prize for the bakery (as we knew it) being gone. We tend to linger, watch the guys 'sweep' faces on the cement, and slowly make our way out finally, typically catching one of the last busses. OH- I almost forgot- I need to make a reservation for lil guy to get his first haircut at the Harmony Barber Shop on this day! It's always been my dream to take my kid there for his or her first haircut- and now we finally get to do that!
Tuesday will be a day to sleep in a bit. Lunch will be at whatever quick service spot we all agree on- unless we decide to split up. I'm not sure what else will be on the agenda today- if it's nice out, thinking a pool day with lunch at the resort may be a relaxing day. Dinner will be at another one of our family favorites-
My dad and hubby will clear out those crab legs! My mouth is watering thinking of all the deliciousness of this place! After a loooong dinner (we like to eat!), we 'll head over to Boardwalk. Maybe grab a drink at ESPN. Maybe shop in the gift shop. Maybe grab some treats at Boardwalk Bakery to take back to the resort. The possibilities are endless! We then will try to take the boat to the Studios- last year we got the very last one back, and we're the only ones on the bus back to CBR. We're night owls like that.
Wednesday will finally be another park day. We'll do the Studios (we still frequently call it MGM)- Toy Story Midway Mania, Star Tours, Rock n Roller coaster, Tower of Terror, Great Movie Ride... Those are our must-do's. We also love grabbing breakfast at Starring Rolls!! Not sure if I should use my FP+ allotment for here of Epcot later- really the only thing at Epcot is Soarin'- we don't mind single rider at Test Track. Decisions, decisions. I know that they are changing FP+, but I'm thinking that day (if I waited til after I used our 3 at HS), they'll be out for Soarin'. We'll see, I guess. After spending the morning at the Studios, we'll head to Epcot for lunch at Sunshine Seasons. We just love it! Though as I think about it, it may be more fun to take the boat over- and in that case, it'd make more sense to eat lunch in WS. Maybe France? I guess we'll wait and see! We do have dinner reservations this evening at Le Cellier- we are technically going for my hubby's 30th birthday, and he reeeeally wanted to eat here- I see such mixed reviews, and this will he our first time here- I just hope it's good! My family loves France and all things French, so last year, we did Chefs de France , which my mom ADORED. She was SOOO happy here. I would have been happy eating here again, but hubby wanted to try someplace new. So... We shall see! EMH are tonight, so we'll hang out til the park closes at 11- probably linger after the park closes, which we typically do.
Thursday is our last full day. No set lunch plans- I wouldn't mind heading to AKL, as it's been a few since I've been here, and hubby has NEVER seen the place- but we'll see. Dinner tonight is at-
The food here is just magic.
After dinner, probably a stroll through GF, a monorail ride, who knows. Perhaps tonight I'll get a Lapu Lapu over at the Poly. We'll see!
Friday we'll check out , probably head back to DD via the boat, grab another lunch at Earl, and then hopefully get some dessert at Ghiradelli. We're not heading home yet, just to another hotel in Orlando, so we can take our time enjoying the day.
So there's my first PTR in a nutshell. Hopefully I did ok. It was fun! I will aim to post more photos next time, but it's kind of a pain, and with an infant sleeping in my arms, I just didn't get as many in as I would have liked. Hope you all have a Magical Day!
In this photo I am about 6 months pregnant... AKA we'll be brining our new little Mouseketeer along for his very first trip!!! This will definitely be a different kind of trip with an infant, but we couldn't be more excited!!
So back to the trip- Friday after we take the DME to Port Orleans Riverside (does anyone else still call it Dixie Landings? We do sometimes- old habits die hard!!)- this is my hubby's very favorite resort- we will get settled, and make sure the Pack & Play is provided for lil boy to sleep in, then probably make our way to the food court to pick up our mugs and begin using our free DDP. We then will wait for the rest of our gang, and after they get settled and fill their bellies, I imagine we'll sit and listen to Yee Haw Bob if lil boy allows us to (he has 2 big dogs at home, and he sleeps through their loud barking like it's his job, so I don't imagine this will be a problem). We're hoping to get adjoining rooms so anyone willing (e g. grandparents or great-aunt) can watch the baby sometimes!
Saturday we plan to just relax. Sleep in a bit, enjoy breakfast at the resort , walk around and enjoy the resort (we last stayed here in '09), walked over to Port Orleans French Quarter for beignets- whatever floats everyone's boats. We have a favorite first day lunch spot- I'll give you a hint-
Earl!! MMMMM!! Part of the reason we chose to stay at POR is because of the boat ride to DD- we just love it! I plan to do a little shopping (last year I treated myself to this beauty from Tren-D)-
-she might need some matching accessories!
We also have another first night tradition-
-Trail's End! (That's a bad photo from 2009, but it's all I could find!) We just adore it! We always follow dinner up with a stroll through the Fort Wilderness gift shop, and then a viewing of the electrical water parade and fireworks from the beach if they are showing that night. We used to take the bus to Fort Wilderness, but then we got smart and realized that it's SO much easier to take the boat from the MK, as it drops you off steps from the restaurant (as opposed to waiting for the internal bus at FW).
Sunday is another non-park day (I know- we're wild like that!). We have breakfast ADR's at Chef Mickey's! Nobody in my family is an early bird, so this is gonna be a bit rough! I've done dinner at Chef Mickey's, but never breakfast, so this will be a new experience for me (my hubby, on the other hand, has done several breakfasts here in the past with his family). We tend to take our time at meals- so I anticipate it will be between 11 and noon by the time we are finished. Not sure what'll be on the agenda. I know my dad will want to race on back to the pool (he's a sun worshiper!) but I'm not sure about the rest of us. I haven't been to Wilderness Lodge in ages, so a tour around the resort is always a possibility. That night my hubby asked nicely if we could do Grand Floridian Cafe. I had originally planned to do Cape May Cafe that night, but then I thought that 2 buffets in one day may be overkill . Even though I would prefer not to do 2 MK resorts in one day, that was our best bet. I do enjoy GF Cafe, too- I think it's pretty in there! Plus who doesn't enjoy exploring the resort?! It's so beautiful! If we have time, we may do Mai tai's on the Poly beach before walking over to the GF. I'm sure we'll follow this dinner up with a monorail ride around the loop- perhaps stopping at the Poly after dinner to hit up Tambu for a Lapu Lapu (I was pregnant last year, and the virgin piña colada in the pineapple was fun, but just not the same!).
Monday is finally a park day! We have hoppers, so we plan to utilize AK's EMH to safari and for my hubby and I to do Everest (my favorite!). I haven't seen the Lion King show in ages, so I think that'd be fun to see again (it'll still be there, right? For some reason I'm worried that it won't be). We'll probably hit up Dino Land for the lil guy. Now this is where I'm undecided. Do we stay at AK and do Flame Tree, which we've never done, but I've always wanted to do (hubby and I LOVE BBQ) or do we head to MK to get in line for Be Our Guest? We've done BOG before, and I did love it, but then a) We would be worried about the time since it closes after lunch hour (and we tend to eat late), and b) We wouldn't get to try a new place (Flame Tree). BUT if Flame Tree isn't very good, then we'll wish we had headed to BOG. Either way , we'll head to MK sometime today, where we'll use our FP+ reservations, and eat dinner at either Pecos (tried n true) or Cosmic Ray's (we haven't eaten here for years, but it's on my radar- while I do LOVE the ambiance at Pecos, it'd be fun to do Cosmic Ray's again- my only concern- if they don't have the melty cheese then it's an absolute no. I live for melty cheese). EMH are tonight, and we'll let lil guy sleep in his stroller while we close down the park. Gotta watch the Kiss Goodnight, and it's a long-standing tradition to get dessert on Main Street after the park closes. Last trip it was sad not to go into Main Street Bakery, but we found the cookie sandwiches at the ice cream parlor- which we brought outside and ate while watching the castle change colors- was a nice consolation prize for the bakery (as we knew it) being gone. We tend to linger, watch the guys 'sweep' faces on the cement, and slowly make our way out finally, typically catching one of the last busses. OH- I almost forgot- I need to make a reservation for lil guy to get his first haircut at the Harmony Barber Shop on this day! It's always been my dream to take my kid there for his or her first haircut- and now we finally get to do that!
Tuesday will be a day to sleep in a bit. Lunch will be at whatever quick service spot we all agree on- unless we decide to split up. I'm not sure what else will be on the agenda today- if it's nice out, thinking a pool day with lunch at the resort may be a relaxing day. Dinner will be at another one of our family favorites-
My dad and hubby will clear out those crab legs! My mouth is watering thinking of all the deliciousness of this place! After a loooong dinner (we like to eat!), we 'll head over to Boardwalk. Maybe grab a drink at ESPN. Maybe shop in the gift shop. Maybe grab some treats at Boardwalk Bakery to take back to the resort. The possibilities are endless! We then will try to take the boat to the Studios- last year we got the very last one back, and we're the only ones on the bus back to CBR. We're night owls like that.
Wednesday will finally be another park day. We'll do the Studios (we still frequently call it MGM)- Toy Story Midway Mania, Star Tours, Rock n Roller coaster, Tower of Terror, Great Movie Ride... Those are our must-do's. We also love grabbing breakfast at Starring Rolls!! Not sure if I should use my FP+ allotment for here of Epcot later- really the only thing at Epcot is Soarin'- we don't mind single rider at Test Track. Decisions, decisions. I know that they are changing FP+, but I'm thinking that day (if I waited til after I used our 3 at HS), they'll be out for Soarin'. We'll see, I guess. After spending the morning at the Studios, we'll head to Epcot for lunch at Sunshine Seasons. We just love it! Though as I think about it, it may be more fun to take the boat over- and in that case, it'd make more sense to eat lunch in WS. Maybe France? I guess we'll wait and see! We do have dinner reservations this evening at Le Cellier- we are technically going for my hubby's 30th birthday, and he reeeeally wanted to eat here- I see such mixed reviews, and this will he our first time here- I just hope it's good! My family loves France and all things French, so last year, we did Chefs de France , which my mom ADORED. She was SOOO happy here. I would have been happy eating here again, but hubby wanted to try someplace new. So... We shall see! EMH are tonight, so we'll hang out til the park closes at 11- probably linger after the park closes, which we typically do.
Thursday is our last full day. No set lunch plans- I wouldn't mind heading to AKL, as it's been a few since I've been here, and hubby has NEVER seen the place- but we'll see. Dinner tonight is at-
The food here is just magic.
After dinner, probably a stroll through GF, a monorail ride, who knows. Perhaps tonight I'll get a Lapu Lapu over at the Poly. We'll see!
Friday we'll check out , probably head back to DD via the boat, grab another lunch at Earl, and then hopefully get some dessert at Ghiradelli. We're not heading home yet, just to another hotel in Orlando, so we can take our time enjoying the day.
So there's my first PTR in a nutshell. Hopefully I did ok. It was fun! I will aim to post more photos next time, but it's kind of a pain, and with an infant sleeping in my arms, I just didn't get as many in as I would have liked. Hope you all have a Magical Day!
