Pre-Trip WILL WE EAT TURKEY THIS YEAR OR NOT?

Decided to do another Thanksgiving at Walt Disney World this year since last year went so well...for the most part. Arriving a little earlier this year and leaving a little later, and splitting the trip between 2 resorts too just to keep things interesting. My travel partners for this trip include :

Myself: mom, nana self employed recent disney fanatic
DD32: Liza the park commando and mother to my absolutely awesome grandkids
DD29: Sarah Jane my baby who was the only one back in the 80's who didn't think the rides in Fantasyland at Disneyland were baby rides.
DGD8: Sierra (CiCi) Almost 9 and my Beauty
DGS7: Jayce our Beast
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DAY 1

Wednesday Nov 20
The tentative plan is for me and the kiddos to arrive the night of 11/20 via SW Airlines and check into the Wilderness Lodge. I am debating renting a car at the airport when we arrive...but this is the one part of magical express I like is the ride into the World...Plus a rental car for our entire trip is $300 dollars...that buys some nice souvenirs and a dinner or two.
Once we arrive on property and get settled in it will be so late we will just watch the disney channel of course and fall asleep. The following morning the FUN begins:

DAY 2

Thursday Nov 21
10:25 AM Breakfast with Lilo & Stitch at the POLY
We will probably arrive early so we can wander a bit around the lobby and grounds since this is a favorite resort of ours and we stayed at the POLY last Thanksgiving and for a week over this past summer.
Then on to MK for some rides, will probably focus on Tomorrowland rides and attractions, returning to our room late afternoon to prepare for MVMCP that evening!

DAY 3

Friday Nov 22
8:10 AM Breakfast at H&V
The entire purpose of this character dining is to get inside HS early and make a mad dash to TSMM before the FP are so late in the day I don't even use it or they run out. It worked this summer I hope it works this time.
Spend the morning at HS doing rides. DD32 should arrive to WL via magical express around noon so we will probably meet up with her for a very light lunch around 1 probably inside HS. We will all return to resort by 4 to get ready for dinner. Dinner at Ohana 6:25pm (Can't believe I got that ADR! Took 2 weeks of trying)
Maybe do movies on the beach or something after dinner and watch fireworks somewhere to end the evening ???

DAY 4

Saturday Nov 23
Grab QS breakfast at Roaring Forks and head to AK! Return to resort around 4 ish and clean up and head to AKL, leave kids in the babysitting place at AKL and have dinner at Saana with DD32. Try to get back to our resort and to bed before 11 so we aren't late for ADR early the next morning!

Pre Trip Planning report to be continued.......
 

jlsHouston

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
DAY 5
Sunday Nov 24
Breakfast at Chef Mickey 8:30 AMo_O Which is a huge reason why I will need a car, very difficult for us to rise and shine early and be somewhere on time:oops: However they love Chef Mickey but I would trade this ADR for one at CP....
Plan is to spend the day at MK and since the park commando has joined us...it will be difficult to get her to leave the park until it closes. Lunch we will skip but I am sure the kids will get a churro and I will get my dole whip to tide us over til the next ADR...at BOG!! Yes I managed to get ressies at BOG at 4:30
After dinner I will be ready to call it quits but I am going to try and hang to see Wishes and then make my way back to the resort and bed. Since this is EMH at MK, it won't surprise me if DD32 convinces one of her two babies to hang with her til park closing:eek:

Day 6
Monday Nov 25
Which is why the next ADR's for breakfast are for 11:15 AM at 1900 Park Fare. I just love Park Fare for breakfast or dinner. Have no idea what we will do today or if I will even hit a park. I will probably work and relax around our resort since it will our last day and night at WL. Relax at WDW is a foregn concept to DD32 although my grandkids do it quite well. Give them a few toys, and Itouch or an android phone, and turn on the disney channel and they are set for a few hours... If it isn't too cold I might venture to the hot tub at our resort too..if they have one ??? Might eat dinner by myself at Boatwrights or Olivias have wanted to try both places. Would like to have kiddos go to the Chip & Dale sing along too that is I think at the Campsites or the Cabins.

Day 7
Tuesday Nov 26
Absolutely nothing planned today, except I will take all our things and move us to the DOLPHIN. BYE BYE WL, I hope I will have loved you and be sad to go... This is another reason I need a car to make this move as easy as possible and not have to rely on disney or a cab. And late tonight DD29 arrives in and then my travel family will all be together!:joyfull:

Day 8
Wednesday Nov 27
This is the morning I would really love ressies at CP because I want us all to do MK for a while today. In the evening at 9 pm we will all be nicely dressed and have a wonderful meal at FLYING FISH! DD29 loves this restaurant if you asked her this is the best steak, the best bread, the best caesar salad Disney has to offer...but in all truth she doesn't have any other place at disney to compare it to because everytime she is at Disney with us for a few brief days, this is the restaurant she wants to eat at when given the choice.

Day 9
Thursday Nov 28 THANKSGIVING DAY:)

Today will also be a sad day since DD32 has to fly home since she works the 3 day weekend after Thanksgiving. So we eat at Cape May at 11:15. This is my absolute favorite character breakfast I think...Not sure if it will be breakfast or something special for Thanksgiving. I am still playing around on this day with ADR's which were limited when I started planning this trip October 1st and have only gotten more limited as we progress closer to the holiday. I would prefer to maybe have coffee and croissants for breakfast and then have a nice lunch straight up at noon at Biergarten or 50's Prime Cafe but so far haven't been able to snag anything:(. DD32 will have to catch the last flight out to Houston on Spirit at 5 pm which means by 2:30 she will be leaving the World:(:grumpy::mad::arghh: and we will probably head to Epcot/HS, because I would like to end the evening at one of those parks and then go back to our resort and lounge around in the lobby which last year had the most amazing blue Christmas Tree...
 
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TheMouseFan

Well-Known Member
My husband and I will also be at DHS on the 22nd!! That is my 40th and I wanted to celebrate it by riding TOT!! I will have to keep an eye out for you! Have a great trip!
 

jlsHouston

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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Besides the rate of the room, the other reason I am spending a week at the Dolphin this year...think they will have the same tree?????
 

jlsHouston

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
DAY 10
Friday November 29
Need to make some plans for this day, so far Its a late lunch at Sci-Fi 2:35 pm which we love because we just love the cars and the big screen....

Day 11
Saturday November 30

I am going to cancel this 8 am ressie at H&V because it is just too early. If we can't get a FP or FP+ early enough for TSMM this day so be it we won't ride it again. This is the last day DD29 will be with us at Disney as she has a paper due on Monday and thinks she needs Sunday to prepare for her return to UofH....
In the afternoon at 3:30 I have ADR's at Napoli which is a first and 3 of the 4 of us are major pizza lovers so excited for this dining experience. This ressie is part of the Candelight Processional which I am not sure what this is all about, a concert or a reading or what but I am excited to do this with the kids. We will end our night here watching illuminations.

Day 12
Sunday December 1

Take DD29 to airport by 6:45 am for her 8:45 am flight home...Back to resort to get ready since 3 of us will probably be in practically our pjs taking her to catch her plane, ( another reason car would be more cost effective than all these taxi rides ) then hit DTD and DisneyQuest , late lunch/early dinner ressies at TREX 3pm. Head back to resort at this point for a power nap before heading to MK where I have ADR's at the TOMORROWLAND TERRACE DESSERT PARTY. This is so worth the money for the seating and view alone of Wishes, cannot wait. Whatever time we leave the park tonite we leave, maybe when it closes maybe sooner.

DAY 13
Monday December 2

Well we started at Ohana's with friends Lilo & Stitch so unless I snap CP or Akerhaus as a replacement ADR this is where we will also have our last character dining event at 10:45am. Then we will do MK again because it is my favorite park. If there is movies by the pool or anything in the evening we will also do that. If I really need to chill a bit at this point in the trip, I may put the kiddos in the kid club things at 4 when it opens for a couple of hours and hit the Mandara Spa.
Last night at Disney, not sure what we will do but definitely we better be in bed no later than 10 pm...

Day 14
Tuesday December 3

Flight leaves at 6 am so I better be rolling out of the parking lot by 3:30 I am thinking...since I will need to turn the car in unless I do that on Sunday when I drop DD29 and cab it back to the resort...which means I might be able to leave at 4 if I get the right cabbie... I am actually feeling sad at this moment thinking of leaving WDW and my trip being over AND THE TRIP HASN"T EVEN STARTED YET!! I am nuts!:confused:
 
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jlsHouston

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Revision on my hotel, WL 11/20-11/24, the got a studio at BWV 11/24-11/30, then end at Dolphin 11/30-12/3. Pretty much packed the kiddos, waiting on new luggage for me....8 days away from my Thanksgiving at WDW and so excited and READY for the fun and relaxation!
 

MMDVC

Active Member
I just read your trip planning and notice the Magic Band is not mentioned. Are you familiar with the new concept? Honestly think you might want to register for the MDE (My Disney Experience). Your MBs will be waiting for you at each resort check-in. Anyway it will give you the chance to have a few FP+ reserved for your trip along with those dining reservations. I would reconsider the car rental also. Traffic on property and prob at airport will be very stressful due to holiday and construction.
Best wishes for a Happy turkey trip!
 

jlsHouston

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Yes I did get the magic bands ...I made a few FP+ reservations, the kids love them already...I didn't really like mine but I'm sure I will adjust. The colors are pretty. And I did end up deciding to go with the car...got a deal for 265.00 for the 12 days..I got to thinking with all the dining...and wanting to probably hit Walmart maybe for one of the Black Friday deals....and daughters coming and going....not wanting to wait on MDE, especially for the crack of dawn flight out for me and the grands...a car just made sense. SO EXCITED ONE MORE WEEK!!!:happy:
 

jlsHouston

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
4 more sleeps, 3 full days to finish my shopping, packing, cleaning....it's almost here Thanksgiving 2013 in WDW and I am sooooo ready and so are the grands. I love how the first thing they say to me when I see them is the number of days on our countdown to Disney. Amazes me how they barely have the concept of days, weeks, months figured out but they have been tracking our days to the World since we got into the 20's.

My pre tip planning has undergone some changes since I wrote all this down Oct 17th, which is not even 30 days ago! I love my ADR's but I have made no FP+ selections except for Fantasmic...Hopefully I won't be showing up to find I can't ride some of the premium attractions without an hour wait due to my inability to visualize what rides I want to go on each day..

Still undecided as to what the kids and I are doing the first two nights of the trip while we wait for my daughter to arrive on day 3. Maybe we will do the Chip & Dale campfire one night and Hoopdeedoo show then next. Or maybe we will do MVMCP the first night ...

Well I got to get some rest tonight...I started going on about 5 hours of sleep a night about a week ago..my pre-disney excitement has kicked in....makes me more excited than Christmas!
 

jlsHouston

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
SO....

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Ahhh, went to bed last night with 4 more things to place into suitcases and now about 18 hours later have 3 more things to place in suitcases...have 5 suitcases to check, and 3 backpacks and 2 carry on bags between me, DGD8 and DGS7.
Picking those two up from school at noon tomorrow, that way they still get counted for attendance and our flight leaves at 3:20, with a 1 hour layover/change planes in NOLA. We land at 1955 hours, then collect the bags and go get our rental car, and gps our way to WDW!!!
SO excited and tired...couple of more errands to run and then call it a night.
 

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