Okay, so after lurking the Trip Report forums for years I am going to attempt my first ever trip report (please be gentle). I guess this would be a bit of a pre-trip report since we don’t leave until this Friday (that would be 2days 23hours and 55 minutes according to my trip countdown clock on my computer). Just a warning before you go on… I tend to ramble.
The team: Me (39), DH (42), DS (15), DD (12) (That’s all of us in my Avatar)
This will be our 11th trip to Disney and the first time we will be staying off-site which has me just a little nervous. We’ve always been soooo lucky with our trips and staying on property. We always seem to have something magical happen each trip. There was the free limo ride to the airport one trip and being the only people in the Judge’s Tent in Toon Town dancing with the Characters at midnight at New Years and so many more. I keep telling myself this trip will be just as magical but in different ways.
Because of my job and the kids’ busy schedules over the summer we are relegated to Spring Break trips. We are used to the crowds by now and have been enough times we don’t feel the need to accomplish every little thing. We have our favorites and are very happy with doing just those.
We always drive. I am definitely NOT a fan of flying. I’m the female equivalent to John Madden I guess. So we have a 16 hour drive ahead of us from Central Illinois. We’ve rented a 5br/4ba house outside of Disney. I do have to say it will be nice to have separate bedrooms and bathrooms. When we originally rented the 5br we thought we were going to have another family with us but they have since back out. I’m not sweating it too much. More room for us to spread out.
Here is the itinerary:
Saturday 3/8-Check in after 4, unpack and hang at the house. We have our own pool and hot tub and I’ve paid the extra to have it heated (we are wimps). If I get too antsy to get to “Disney” I’ll talk everyone into going Downtown. DS and I want to hit the Virgin Record store. I usually save my money up to buy old Disney movies. I have my list ready! I’m sure I can get them cheaper somewhere else but it’s just the thought of being at Disney and buying Disney movies. I know I’m a nerd.
Sunday 3/9-Magic Kingdom Day…we always have to do MK first. My husband has to get his Casey’s fix then we have to ride HM. That is a tradition I won’t let change! We have done this since trip #1. We haven’t been on HM since the refurb. I can’t wait! We have ADR’s for Tony’s that evening (my pick). We’ve never eaten at Tony’s so I’m hoping we catch it on a good day. I’ve seen such mixed reviews on it.
Monday 3/10-DHS Day…This is one of our favorite parks. The whole family loves RNR. We used to be really big fans of the Backlot Tour until they ruined it. We have a lunch ADR at Sci-Fi (DS’s pick).
Tuesday 3/11-Veg day….We are just going to hang out at the house and veg this day. We have to save our energy up ‘cause I talked the DH into THE PIRATE AND PRINCESS PARTY that night. YIPEEE!!! I couldn’t believe I talked him into it. But when I told him it was kind of like MVMCP he was sold. We did the Christmas party one year and loved it. If you are going too we’ll be the ones not dressed up. DH has already requested to eat at Cosmic Ray’s that night
Wednesday 3/12-We are driving over to Tampa. DD’s request was to hit a beach and DS wants to see Tampa Stadium. Before my grandparents passed away they lived in Port Richey, FL and we would always go to Tampa when we came to visit so it will be nice to get back there. We aren’t going to do Busch Gardens. Nobody seemed interested.
Thursday 3/13-Another Disney day. Not sure if it will be Epcot or AK.
Friday 3/14-Last full day in Florida and our last Disney day. Again either Epcot or AK depending on what we do Thursday.
Saturday 3/15-We have to check out by 11 and if we haven’t gotten our fill of Downtown Disney yet I’m sure we’ll stop here before we head out of Orlando. DD has requested to eat at Rainforest Café so if we don’t do that while we are at AK I guess we’ll be eating at DD.
Well that's the plan. The only other thing we might throw in is that Pirates Dinner Show. Not sure when we will fit that in though. I'll be sure to update everyone and share pics when we get back!
The team: Me (39), DH (42), DS (15), DD (12) (That’s all of us in my Avatar)
This will be our 11th trip to Disney and the first time we will be staying off-site which has me just a little nervous. We’ve always been soooo lucky with our trips and staying on property. We always seem to have something magical happen each trip. There was the free limo ride to the airport one trip and being the only people in the Judge’s Tent in Toon Town dancing with the Characters at midnight at New Years and so many more. I keep telling myself this trip will be just as magical but in different ways.
Because of my job and the kids’ busy schedules over the summer we are relegated to Spring Break trips. We are used to the crowds by now and have been enough times we don’t feel the need to accomplish every little thing. We have our favorites and are very happy with doing just those.
We always drive. I am definitely NOT a fan of flying. I’m the female equivalent to John Madden I guess. So we have a 16 hour drive ahead of us from Central Illinois. We’ve rented a 5br/4ba house outside of Disney. I do have to say it will be nice to have separate bedrooms and bathrooms. When we originally rented the 5br we thought we were going to have another family with us but they have since back out. I’m not sweating it too much. More room for us to spread out.
Here is the itinerary:
Saturday 3/8-Check in after 4, unpack and hang at the house. We have our own pool and hot tub and I’ve paid the extra to have it heated (we are wimps). If I get too antsy to get to “Disney” I’ll talk everyone into going Downtown. DS and I want to hit the Virgin Record store. I usually save my money up to buy old Disney movies. I have my list ready! I’m sure I can get them cheaper somewhere else but it’s just the thought of being at Disney and buying Disney movies. I know I’m a nerd.
Sunday 3/9-Magic Kingdom Day…we always have to do MK first. My husband has to get his Casey’s fix then we have to ride HM. That is a tradition I won’t let change! We have done this since trip #1. We haven’t been on HM since the refurb. I can’t wait! We have ADR’s for Tony’s that evening (my pick). We’ve never eaten at Tony’s so I’m hoping we catch it on a good day. I’ve seen such mixed reviews on it.
Monday 3/10-DHS Day…This is one of our favorite parks. The whole family loves RNR. We used to be really big fans of the Backlot Tour until they ruined it. We have a lunch ADR at Sci-Fi (DS’s pick).
Tuesday 3/11-Veg day….We are just going to hang out at the house and veg this day. We have to save our energy up ‘cause I talked the DH into THE PIRATE AND PRINCESS PARTY that night. YIPEEE!!! I couldn’t believe I talked him into it. But when I told him it was kind of like MVMCP he was sold. We did the Christmas party one year and loved it. If you are going too we’ll be the ones not dressed up. DH has already requested to eat at Cosmic Ray’s that night
Wednesday 3/12-We are driving over to Tampa. DD’s request was to hit a beach and DS wants to see Tampa Stadium. Before my grandparents passed away they lived in Port Richey, FL and we would always go to Tampa when we came to visit so it will be nice to get back there. We aren’t going to do Busch Gardens. Nobody seemed interested.
Thursday 3/13-Another Disney day. Not sure if it will be Epcot or AK.
Friday 3/14-Last full day in Florida and our last Disney day. Again either Epcot or AK depending on what we do Thursday.
Saturday 3/15-We have to check out by 11 and if we haven’t gotten our fill of Downtown Disney yet I’m sure we’ll stop here before we head out of Orlando. DD has requested to eat at Rainforest Café so if we don’t do that while we are at AK I guess we’ll be eating at DD.
Well that's the plan. The only other thing we might throw in is that Pirates Dinner Show. Not sure when we will fit that in though. I'll be sure to update everyone and share pics when we get back!
Man time flew fast! We did so many different things this trip we hadn’t in the past. I am now torn between staying on property vs. off. It was soooo nice for everyone to have their own bedroom and bathroom. The private pool thing was also a definite plus. We really didn’t utilize the kitchen very much. I made it know I was on vacation and didn’t plan on doing any cooking! It was nice to have the full size fridge though. Our house was right next to the community Clubhouse so it was a very short walk to use the computer and the clubhouse facilities.
