Hello everybody. Since I am giddy over just booking our December trip, I thought I would channel some of that energy into a pre-trip report.
THE DATES:
December 4- December 9, 2011
THE LOCATION:
Disney's Port Orleans Riverside Resort. We have never stayed here. My beautiful wife is super-duper excited about this location.
THE REASON:
This is going to be a trip of celebration. My beautiful wife and I will be celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary in mid-November. And, December 5th will be our two boys' 8th and 4th birthdays (no, before anyone asks, we did not plan for two of our children to be born on the same day, that's just the way God worked it out for us).
THE ADRs:
While my beautiful wife is overjoyed about staying at Riverside, I am just super excited about all the awesome food I shall be shoveling down my gullet on this trip. They include:
12/4- O'Hana
12/5- Sci-Fi Diner Theater
12/6- The Crystal Palace
12/7- 1900 Park Fare
12/8- Biergarten
This will be our first time on the dining plan. I can't wait!
THE ITINERARY:
We shall arrive on the 4th of December. Our plan is to get up that Sunday morning, go to morning church services and then head out for Disney. Of course, it is only a 45-minute drive from our house to Disney property.
After checking in at Riverside, I am sure the kids will want to hit the pool (crossing our fingers it is not freezing cold for this trip). We will probably just relax until our 8:05 ADR at O'Hana. Maybe take a stroll around DTD. Who knows. We are not some of those ridiculous people who militantly plan our trips down to every thirty-second interval.
Anywho, day one in the parks (the boys' birthday) is going to be spent in DHS. Our only real plan of the day is to head for Star Tours (or "Tar Was Da Clone Was wide" as our littlest one calls it) at rope drop. After that we plan to split up, me with the big two for Tower and the wife & little one heading to get fastpasses for TSMM and then reuniting and switching off kids for RR. The only other concrete plan for the day is catching the Osborn Lights that evening which I cannot wait for! Never seen them, but they look so awesome in the videos I've watched.
Day Two in the parks is Magic Kingdom day. We are pumped for the Magic Kingdom this year. It will be our first trip to the MK in which all the little ones will be tall enough to ride everything in the park! No real definite plans for that day. We'll just see where the day takes us. We are going to have tickets for the Christmas party that evening. We've never been to one of the hard-ticketed parties, so we're looking forward to that new experience.
Day Three is the parks is still kind of up in the air. Originally, we had planned to sleep in, let the kids do some swimming and then head back to the Magic Kingdom until our 7 o'clock ADRs at 1900 Park Fare. Now, we're thinking of still sleeping-in, but then hitting Animal Kingdom. We figure we can do what we want to accomplish in AK in the shortened day. The older kids are begging to go on EE (GASP! Someone actually enjoys the ride, even with the broken Yeti! HERESY!!!!). The little one said he wants to see some "elphants" and ride the "dinasaw wide". So, as of now, it's looking like an Animal Kingdom day.
And, finally, day four in the parks is reserved for my personal favorite park, EPCOT. Yay! Another exciting first, the little one is tall enough (barring a sudden growth spurt between now & December) to ride everything here except for Mission: Space. So, we're going to do the Soarin' thing at rope drop and then probably Test Track and then see where the day takes us. We originally had made an ADR for Cape May, figuring on just strolling out of the back of the park and over to the Beach Club. But, we ate at Cape May in March for my birthday, so we decided to stay in park and try somewhere we've never been before, the Biergarten. I've heard good things, so I hope they're true. After eating, we'll hopefully be able to last until Illuminations.
The plans for departure day are simple: me take the kiddos swimming while the wife packs up and probably weeps alone the whole time. But it's okay. As General MacArthur said, We "shall return!"
THE CAST:
And now, finally, our introductions.....
First we have the princess, Sadie Ophelia:
Next is birthday boy #1, Donovan Dakota:
Birthday boy #2 now, Elijah McCartney:
Finally, the 'rents, me (Zachary) and my beautiful wife (Annie):
Sadly, family member #6 will not be joining us on this trip:
Yoda, the dog
Well, that's our PTR. Hope you have enjoyed my sharing of enthusiasm. Stay tuned for any updates. Thanks!
THE DATES:
December 4- December 9, 2011
THE LOCATION:
Disney's Port Orleans Riverside Resort. We have never stayed here. My beautiful wife is super-duper excited about this location.
THE REASON:
This is going to be a trip of celebration. My beautiful wife and I will be celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary in mid-November. And, December 5th will be our two boys' 8th and 4th birthdays (no, before anyone asks, we did not plan for two of our children to be born on the same day, that's just the way God worked it out for us).
THE ADRs:
While my beautiful wife is overjoyed about staying at Riverside, I am just super excited about all the awesome food I shall be shoveling down my gullet on this trip. They include:
12/4- O'Hana
12/5- Sci-Fi Diner Theater
12/6- The Crystal Palace
12/7- 1900 Park Fare
12/8- Biergarten
This will be our first time on the dining plan. I can't wait!
THE ITINERARY:
We shall arrive on the 4th of December. Our plan is to get up that Sunday morning, go to morning church services and then head out for Disney. Of course, it is only a 45-minute drive from our house to Disney property.
After checking in at Riverside, I am sure the kids will want to hit the pool (crossing our fingers it is not freezing cold for this trip). We will probably just relax until our 8:05 ADR at O'Hana. Maybe take a stroll around DTD. Who knows. We are not some of those ridiculous people who militantly plan our trips down to every thirty-second interval.
Anywho, day one in the parks (the boys' birthday) is going to be spent in DHS. Our only real plan of the day is to head for Star Tours (or "Tar Was Da Clone Was wide" as our littlest one calls it) at rope drop. After that we plan to split up, me with the big two for Tower and the wife & little one heading to get fastpasses for TSMM and then reuniting and switching off kids for RR. The only other concrete plan for the day is catching the Osborn Lights that evening which I cannot wait for! Never seen them, but they look so awesome in the videos I've watched.
Day Two in the parks is Magic Kingdom day. We are pumped for the Magic Kingdom this year. It will be our first trip to the MK in which all the little ones will be tall enough to ride everything in the park! No real definite plans for that day. We'll just see where the day takes us. We are going to have tickets for the Christmas party that evening. We've never been to one of the hard-ticketed parties, so we're looking forward to that new experience.
Day Three is the parks is still kind of up in the air. Originally, we had planned to sleep in, let the kids do some swimming and then head back to the Magic Kingdom until our 7 o'clock ADRs at 1900 Park Fare. Now, we're thinking of still sleeping-in, but then hitting Animal Kingdom. We figure we can do what we want to accomplish in AK in the shortened day. The older kids are begging to go on EE (GASP! Someone actually enjoys the ride, even with the broken Yeti! HERESY!!!!). The little one said he wants to see some "elphants" and ride the "dinasaw wide". So, as of now, it's looking like an Animal Kingdom day.
And, finally, day four in the parks is reserved for my personal favorite park, EPCOT. Yay! Another exciting first, the little one is tall enough (barring a sudden growth spurt between now & December) to ride everything here except for Mission: Space. So, we're going to do the Soarin' thing at rope drop and then probably Test Track and then see where the day takes us. We originally had made an ADR for Cape May, figuring on just strolling out of the back of the park and over to the Beach Club. But, we ate at Cape May in March for my birthday, so we decided to stay in park and try somewhere we've never been before, the Biergarten. I've heard good things, so I hope they're true. After eating, we'll hopefully be able to last until Illuminations.
The plans for departure day are simple: me take the kiddos swimming while the wife packs up and probably weeps alone the whole time. But it's okay. As General MacArthur said, We "shall return!"
THE CAST:
And now, finally, our introductions.....
First we have the princess, Sadie Ophelia:
Next is birthday boy #1, Donovan Dakota:
Birthday boy #2 now, Elijah McCartney:
Finally, the 'rents, me (Zachary) and my beautiful wife (Annie):
Sadly, family member #6 will not be joining us on this trip:
Yoda, the dog
Well, that's our PTR. Hope you have enjoyed my sharing of enthusiasm. Stay tuned for any updates. Thanks!
