Pre-Trip Because I'm Driving Myself Crazy...

... and, because I'm chomping at the bit to fast forward to June already, I figured I would post what I have so far for our plans and welcome feedback. DH just isn't as into planning all of this as I am (which annoys me even more, since the trip was actually HIS idea lol) so I feel like I need someone to help me hash out my thoughts so I don't make any newbie mistakes or focus on the wrong things, etc.

Background:
DH and I have been married for 7 years (will be 8 years when we get to WDW, with an arrival right after our anniversary). These last few years have been VERY tough. We've both undergone several changes, including weight loss surgery (between the two of us we have lost about 350 pounds and kept it off), me losing my job and finally finding another one in January, family issues on my side of the family... you get the idea. Nothing so traumatic that we couldn't survive as a couple, but definitely a challenge.

When I found out that I was going to have a full-time job again, we decided that this summer would be a good time to begin trying to start our family. This thought process led my husband to decide that this summer would be a good time to get out and enjoy Disney together, since it would be our last opportunity to do so without kids in the picture (yes, I know WDW is a lot of fun for families with kids, but I also know it's a different experience when it's just two adults in your party).

Plan Basics:
We decided to book for the end of the spring discounts at Pop Century. Cost is still a huge factor here since my pay is being prorated until September... I'm a teacher, so the good news is I now will get paid during the summer, but since I'm working less than half of the year, my monthly pay isn't much more than it was when I was subbing in the fall. We opted to NOT do a dining plan because we figure we won't be eating enough to be worth it... we will probably be bringing protein bars, baggies of almonds, etc with us each day and maybe eating at one or two QS places while in the parks. Breakfast every day will be at the Pop, except for a day when I booked breakfast at 1900 PF on a whim in case we decide we want a character meal. Knowing DH, we will probably end up cancelling that and using that money towards drinks at Epcot or souvenirs, but we'll see!

Rough Sketch:
Here's what I have so far for that week. Eek!

Sunday:
Check in at Pop around lunchtime and head to MK since they have EMH late that night. Trying to decide if we should relax by the pool for a little while before heading that way, or if we need to get to the park as quickly as possible. Thoughts?

Monday:
Planning to sleep in after being at MK until 2 am, so I figured we would probably end up at HS so we can use their evening EMH as well.

Tuesday:
Hopefully we will be at AK by about ten am. Based on suggestions from friends who know my food tastes, we have lunch ressies at Rainforest Café for 2pm. I figure we will probably finish up at AK around 4 and head back to the room to relax for a while before meeting local friends at DTD for a late dinner.

Wednesday:
Epcot, perhaps? And maybe get back to the hotel for the movie under the stars?

Thursday:
As of now, breakfast at 1900 PF. After that, no clue... I figured Thursday and Friday would be our chance to try and revisit some of our faves before we leave.

Friday:
Some local friends are joining us at Epcot in the evening. They have AP's, though, and don't care which park we visit together... I just figured DH and I would want to stay late and enjoy the EMH after they leave... but maybe MK would be a better choice?

Saturday:
Check out and head home.

Feedback is much appreciated! I'm planning to put this all into my account on touringplans to determine which rides to FP+. Our trip is the first week of June and I get to start FP+ this coming Wednesday.

 

[SarahBella82]

Thank you for sharing your weight loss pictures. You both look vibrant and happy. Congrats!

 

[cw1982]

Wow! Thanks, everyone, for the support! Glad to have you along for the ride

I've made lots of progress in the last couple of days with our plans, which excites me a little too much LOL. DH is finally starting to come around in terms of participating in discussions about a few things, and I really feel like it's all coming together.

Given the current situation with FP+ and the fact that Disney may or may not add the extra FP+ options and/or park hopping in time for our trip, my strategy for now is to book my FP+ times for around lunch time each day and be finished with my first three by mid afternoon. I figure, if we are allowed to add to them by then, maybe we will still be early enough to get FP+ for some of our faves, even if they're not the obvious headliners... but if not, it seems silly to book them for earlier than that anyway, since (from what I'm reading) you really don't need them before then anyway, and we aren't likely to be in the parks at RD much anyway since we like to sleep in. Having said that, here's where I'm at:

Sunday:
MK (after checking in at Pop at lunch time)
FP+: Space, Peter Pan, BTMRR... finished with FP+ by 6:45. We'll do a QS dinner and, maybe, some of the lines will be down by the time we wrap up dinner as people start trying to wind down and look for places to watch fireworks. We definitely plan to stay as late as we can for EMH

Monday:
DHS
FP+: ToT, RnRC, and Star Tours
Lunch at SciFi at 2:40
EMH that night at HS, so hopefully we'll get to ride at least one or two things more than once out of our faves. If not, that's what Thursday and Friday are for!

Tuesday:
AK
*I have talked DH into being there as close to RD as possible for this one day, since so much of what we will want to do there involves walking the paths and such, and I have heard that the Safari ride is better before 11 am.*
FP+: Safari,and EE before lunch, Kali after lunch (since I haven't changed our lunch ADR's yet, and may not... I'm a bit curious about a drink I saw on the menu at Rainforest )
As of right now, dinner is still at DTD around 8 ish, but that may change.

Wednesday:
Epcot
FP+: Soarin, Mission Space, and Journey w/ Figment (I know, but I couldn't come up with anything else LOL... didn't want to not have anything in place in case we have to use all three to be able to get a 4th one!)

Thursday:
Revisit AK and HS to redo faves; as of right now, I have FP+ in HS, but we very well may end up changing those to MK if we decide that's what we'd rather do.

Friday:
Revisit MK and Epcot
We have BoG FP+ for lunch from 1:35-2:05! I'm a bit excited about that... the lunch portions will be so much better for us anyway, and we still get to eat in the castle lol.

Thanks again for all the support! Feel free to chime in if you have any suggestions or ideas to improve what I have here so far.

 

[morningstar]

Check in at Pop around lunchtime and head to MK since they have EMH late that night. Trying to decide if we should relax by the pool for a little while before heading that way, or if we need to get to the park as quickly as possible. Thoughts?

If you're chomping at the bit now, you will be going straight to the park as soon as you drop your luggage off in the room.

Some local friends are joining us at Epcot in the evening. They have AP's, though, and don't care which park we visit together... I just figured DH and I would want to stay late and enjoy the EMH after they leave... but maybe MK would be a better choice?

I found Epcot EMH kind of lame. There are already not that many attractions in Epcot, and several were closed. And with not many attractions open, the lines weren't even short. I think all I did between regular closing and EMH closing is ride Test Track once, and that was in single rider even. My wife had the smarter idea of hanging out at The Seas and staring at the manatees. No line for that.

On the other hand Magic Kingdom has many rides that are better at night. Test Track is mildly interesting at night, but that's the only outdoor ride at Epcot.

Remember to ride the monorail. If you eat at 1900 Park Fare it will probably make sense, assuming your next stop is MK or Epcot. Or actually on your way there. Since you can't take a bus direction from POP to GF, take the bus to Magic Kingdom and the monorail to GF.

 

[cw1982]

If you're chomping at the bit now, you will be going straight to the park as soon as you drop your luggage off in the room.



I found Epcot EMH kind of lame. There are already not that many attractions in Epcot, and several were closed. And with not many attractions open, the lines weren't even short. I think all I did between regular closing and EMH closing is ride Test Track once, and that was in single rider even. My wife had the smarter idea of hanging out at The Seas and staring at the manatees. No line for that.

On the other hand Magic Kingdom has many rides that are better at night. Test Track is mildly interesting at night, but that's the only outdoor ride at Epcot.

Remember to ride the monorail. If you eat at 1900 Park Fare it will probably make sense, assuming your next stop is MK or Epcot. Or actually on your way there. Since you can't take a bus direction from POP to GF, take the bus to Magic Kingdom and the monorail to GF.

1: Hah! You're exactly right... I'm sure we will be at the MK well before the 3 pm "standard" check in time!

2: As far as Epcot, I was going to discuss this in my update that I was about to post, but I think what we're going to end up doing (if I don't change my mind 50 times between now and then, which I very well may), is going there Wednesday morning to try and do Test Track before the crowds get too bad, then get in our FP+ choices by mid afternoon while working in whatever else we have time for in between FP+ times, and then leaving to get ready for a nice relaxing dinner. Then we will probably go back to Epcot on Friday after we do our faves at MK one last time... if our local friends get to come up and meet us, I think touring the World Showcase and snacking/drinking the evening away will be more fun than just doing those rides again. Soarin' and Test Track are cool, but I don't think we're going to feel like we have to ride them again or anything in the same way we might for some of the headliners at MK.

3: I've already told DH that we're going to find time to ride the monorail, even if it's just for the nostalgia of me showing him the Contemporary and us getting right back on lol. I have so many great memories of that place!

Awesome tips/suggestions... thanks!

 

[cw1982]

Update:

I just updated my dining plans for the week! I'm a little too excited about these new developments, especially since they somewhat justify our park hoppers a little more than we had originally hoped, lol.


Sunday: QS at MK, since we'll be hitting the park hard and trying to get so much done, I would rather be able to eat on the fly there (I kinda have my eye on Pinocchio's Haus or whatever it's called... I've seen decent reviews about it).

Monday: Lunch at Scifi for the experience, and probably QS dinner at HS, unless we decide to hop back to MK.

Tuesday: Lunch at Flame Tree at AK (yes, I know, no ADR, but we changed our Rainforest for this one because so many raved about it); dinner at DTD (DH requested that we change to Rainforest at DTD and nix Planet Hollywood because he liked the menu better at Rainforest; this will be a casual meal anyway, hopefully with friends, so no qualms there for me).

Wednesday: Epcot during the day, but then I managed to snag ADR's for BoG for dinner!!! So we will probably ditch Epcot around 3 or 3:30 to head back to the hotel and get ready. I originally thought we would just hop on the monorail and go straight there from Epcot, but DH wants to take the time to get freshened up first, which is fine. We will then either hang out at MK for a while or go back to the room and relax at the pool.

Thursday: Revisit HS during the day to do some of our faves one more time, then ADR's at Coral Reef. Our ADR's are 7:35, so by the time we get finished there, Epcot will probably be about closed up for the night, so another relaxing evening at the pool it is!

Friday: As of right now, I have FP+ for BoG lunch, but I did that before I knew we were going to get ADR's for dinner Wednesday night. So I'll probably end up cancelling that so that someone else can enjoy it (no need to eat in the castle twice LOL). I have my FP+ choices booked for MK from about 11:30ish to 2:00ish... then, at some point between 2 and later that afternoon, we'll head over to Epcot to meet some local friends and tour the World Showcase. One of the two of them has had weight loss surgery as well, so we'll be able to share snacks and enjoy a drink or two while we enjoy each other's company and take in a few shows and the fireworks. I figured this would be the most hassle-free way to be spontaneous, since we don't know for sure that we will have extra FP+ choices to use.

A few thoughts:

1) The more I look at Touringplans, posts on other threads here, and other websites, the more I think that MK and HS are really the only two parks that DH and I are going to want to revisit for the purpose of experiencing rides a second time. Touringplans has the estimated waits at AK so low that riding things again doesn't seem like such a big deal... does that park typically not see as many people as the other ones do? Or maybe it's more kid-geared, with its zoo-like attractions. Epcot just doesn't strike me as having anything that two adults will care about doing multiple times on the same trip... am I missing something here?

2) I'm so glad that DH is finally starting to give me feedback beyond eye rolling and the standard "whatever you think would be best" responses! I never would have known that he wanted to build in some pool time in the evenings if he hadn't started to talk to me. Sigh... men!

3) It'll be interesting to see what is happening with FP+ by the time we get there! I've made my FP+ choices for each day as early as I can expect DH and I to make it out there by the time we have our rush-free mornings lol.

4) I'm starting to think that, with the exception of AK (since we are only planning to be there one day) and HS (since we will probably be there almost open to close on Monday), any character M&G's that I get a hankering to do might be best done on our second day at each park, since the other main focus on those days will be using our FP+. I have zero interest in waiting four hours to meet A&E or using a FP+ to meet any of them, but I do think we're more likely to find the time for it on those last two days than at the start of the trip.

That's about it for now, I think lol... as always, feedback away, friends!

 

[MOXOMUMD]

The article that came out this morning about the changing rules to FP+ has the potential to change a lot of my plans for the trip! The really bad part, though, is that I can't really make any of those changes until I know exactly what the details are of the changes and when they will be implemented. For now, I've tried to book all of my FP+ times to be right around lunchtime, since I figure 1) we're not likely to go to any of the parks much earlier than that and 2) if we do, the lines shouldn't be that bad before lunch anyway, for the most part, so no need to waste FP+ on those times. Right now, I have FP+ options booked for Sunday through Wednesday. I figure we will wait until a little closer to time to head down there to decide about those last two days, since that partly depends on what days our local friends end up deciding to come out to meet for dinner, etc.

Anyway, as promised, here are some pre-trip pictures

Our wedding in 2006:
View attachment 50665


And, a year ago, when we chaperoned at the prom for the school where I was teaching at the time. I still weigh about what I did in this picture, give or take 5 pounds, and DH has maintained his loss as well.

Fun fact: this is the same dress I wore to homecoming as a student when I was 16! My parents had kept it this whole time, so it kept me from having to buy a new dress and was symbolic in many ways as well... sort of having come full circle.
View attachment 50667

This thread is not supposed to be about my weight loss, but since it's such a huge part of why my life is so different now and why we are to the point where we have so much to celebrate, I thought these were appropriate for the thread.

That's about all I have for now, other than the fact that I went ahead and started my online check in today... kinda crazy that you can do that two months in advance! I requested a super early check in time, though I don't expect the room to be ready by then... someone else here advised me that putting a time earlier than we plan to arrive may maximize the potential of having a room when we finally do get there.

Oh, and we're still debating whether or not to buy the Memory Maker. On one hand, since there's only two of us, it'll be much easier for us to get plenty of pictures together if we shell out the MM money (and this may make my phone battery last a little longer since I wouldn't be constantly taking pics with it). On the other hand, I have heard that the pictures they take aren't the best... and I'll probably be taking a million pictures no matter what lol.

You two look great!

 

[cw1982]

You two look great!

Thanks I'm so proud of my husband... they say after year two, it gets harder and harder to keep the weight off, and he's really blown that out of the water. I'm so lucky to have him!

 

[mcurtiss]

Wow! Thanks, everyone, for the support! Glad to have you along for the ride

I've made lots of progress in the last couple of days with our plans, which excites me a little too much LOL. DH is finally starting to come around in terms of participating in discussions about a few things, and I really feel like it's all coming together.

Given the current situation with FP+ and the fact that Disney may or may not add the extra FP+ options and/or park hopping in time for our trip, my strategy for now is to book my FP+ times for around lunch time each day and be finished with my first three by mid afternoon. I figure, if we are allowed to add to them by then, maybe we will still be early enough to get FP+ for some of our faves, even if they're not the obvious headliners... but if not, it seems silly to book them for earlier than that anyway, since (from what I'm reading) you really don't need them before then anyway, and we aren't likely to be in the parks at RD much anyway since we like to sleep in. Having said that, here's where I'm at:

Sunday:
MK (after checking in at Pop at lunch time)
FP+: Space, Peter Pan, BTMRR... finished with FP+ by 6:45. We'll do a QS dinner and, maybe, some of the lines will be down by the time we wrap up dinner as people start trying to wind down and look for places to watch fireworks. We definitely plan to stay as late as we can for EMH

Monday:
DHS
FP+: ToT, RnRC, and Star Tours
Lunch at SciFi at 2:40
EMH that night at HS, so hopefully we'll get to ride at least one or two things more than once out of our faves. If not, that's what Thursday and Friday are for!

Tuesday:
AK
*I have talked DH into being there as close to RD as possible for this one day, since so much of what we will want to do there involves walking the paths and such, and I have heard that the Safari ride is better before 11 am.*
FP+: Safari,and EE before lunch, Kali after lunch (since I haven't changed our lunch ADR's yet, and may not... I'm a bit curious about a drink I saw on the menu at Rainforest )
As of right now, dinner is still at DTD around 8 ish, but that may change.

Wednesday:
Epcot
FP+: Soarin, Mission Space, and Journey w/ Figment (I know, but I couldn't come up with anything else LOL... didn't want to not have anything in place in case we have to use all three to be able to get a 4th one!)

Thursday:
Revisit AK and HS to redo faves; as of right now, I have FP+ in HS, but we very well may end up changing those to MK if we decide that's what we'd rather do.

Friday:
Revisit MK and Epcot
We have BoG FP+ for lunch from 1:35-2:05! I'm a bit excited about that... the lunch portions will be so much better for us anyway, and we still get to eat in the castle lol.

Thanks again for all the support! Feel free to chime in if you have any suggestions or ideas to improve what I have here so far.

I really like your plan, though for me a full second day in the MK is a must.

 

[mcurtiss]

and great pics! congrats on healthy living!

 

[cw1982]

I really like your plan, though for me a full second day in the MK is a must.

Yeah... honestly, right now I do wish I had more time built in at MK. I may end up tweaking things a bit to make that happen I thought about doing World Showcase a different day and making Friday a full MK day, but part of me really thinks that World Showcase would be a better set up to be able to spend time with friends that we never see... otherwise, we'd be obsessed with hopping from ride to ride and not get to enjoy each other's company as much. Good thing I still have plenty of time to think about all of this

ETA: I really would love, in a way, for our trip to end with MK lol. So if anyone sees an easy way to switch things up and make that happen (or disagrees with my thoughts about WS being the best place for hanging out with long-time, distant friends) feel fee to speak up... won't hurt my feelings one bit.

 

[mcurtiss]

yeah, i hear that. last year, we skimped on time at EPCOT and I regret it now. but that was also our 19,000 step day (using a pedometer app on my iPhone) so its no surprise we all wanted to leave before dinner

 

[mcurtiss]

2) I'm so glad that DH is finally starting to give me feedback beyond eye rolling and the standard "whatever you think would be best" responses! I never would have known that he wanted to build in some pool time in the evenings if he hadn't started to talk to me. Sigh... men!

oh, man, I pulled this last year too. My wife did 99% of the planning and did a GREAT job. Not sure I'd do anything differently, but maybe push more for BOG or a TS meal in EPCOT

 

[cw1982]

yeah, i hear that. last year, we skimped on time at EPCOT and I regret it now. but that was also our 19,000 step day (using a pedometer app on my iPhone) so its no surprise we all wanted to leave before dinner

Lol! Yeah, that's part of the reason I'm a little relieved that we're building in time for refreshing in the late afternoons, doing dinner ADR's a few nights, and then relaxing by the pool.

Honestly, if it wasn't for the stupid tiers on FP+ at HS, I'd nix my second day at HS and make that our time at WS or do more MK time... but honestly, I think WS would be more fun at night, and I think MK will be more fun at night too, especially when it gets closer to fireworks times and families with little ones start to clear out, so that won't help much either lol.

ETA: moving AK and HS to one full day together won't work either, because we will be at MK until closing on Sunday night and wanted to do HS Monday night for EMH... that would make too much going on in those two days if we did AK at RD and then stayed at HS until close, IMO.

 

[cw1982]

oh, man, I pulled this last year too. My wife did 99% of the planning and did a GREAT job. Not sure I'd do anything differently, but maybe push more for BOG or a TS meal in EPCOT

See, that's so funny! Until two nights ago, I had no clue that DH even cared about doing TS. It's a good thing he finally spoke up... and he only did that because I got all excited about that time opening up at BoG! Only then did he finally say, "yeah, we should do a couple of nights where we do ADR's and then head to the hotel to relax at the pool." NOW ya tell me... lol!

 

[cw1982]

One other reason that I just thought of for why it's best to do WS on Friday: the EMH means that we will get to enjoy more time there (although we'll have to be sure that we do any rides before Illuminations so that our friends who have AP's don't get left out... but by then I think we'll be into more walking around with drinks in our hands and munching on snacks than anything LOL... not like they clear the park of anyone who isn't a hotel guest; you just can't do ride anything at that point if you're not a hotel guest is my understanding). I heard that Sun-Thurs they will start doing ADR's for late night drinks and appetizers at select restaurants, but why would I want to pay $35/person for that when I can have more selection and get to walk around instead of being tied to one restaurant for just the cost of a drink? Calling me a lightweight is an understatement... I'll probably do two drinks the whole evening and be feeling good lol.

 

[BigTxEars]

Sweet will be there the same week as you, except we get there Saturday not Sunday so I added that in

There five of us, me my wife of 22 years, my 16 year old daughter and 11 year old son. Also a friend of my daughter who is 15 year old. She was a late addition but is certainly a welcomed add on.

Here is you plan compared to ours, we do have the DDP as well. Staying at the Boardwalk.

Saturday:
Land at MCO at 3pm on Southwest, catch the DME to the BW. We have a 9pm ADR at Sci Fi at DHS that night. We also have a FP+ of Tower Of Terror at 6:15p, not sure if we will make that one. And a FP+ at 7:30p for RnR coaster, that one we will make.

Sunday:
Check in at Pop around lunchtime and head to MK since they have EMH late that night. Trying to decide if we should relax by the pool for a little while before heading that way, or if we need to get to the park as quickly as possible. Thoughts?

We are hitting Epcot during the day, FP+ at Crush, TT and Mission Space, ADR at Wave Of American Flavor at 6:25pm then off to the MK till 2am just like you


Monday:
Planning to sleep in after being at MK until 2 am, so I figured we would probably end up at HS so we can use their evening EMH as well.

Sleeping in as well today. Then off to DHS and FP+ at TSM, Tower and Star Tours. ADR at Akershus at 6:25p then Illuminations that night to wrap it up

Tuesday:
Hopefully we will be at AK by about ten am. Based on suggestions from friends who know my food tastes, we have lunch ressies at Rainforest Café for 2pm. I figure we will probably finish up at AK around 4 and head back to the room to relax for a while before meeting local friends at DTD for a late dinner.

MK day, all day FP+ at Frozen M&G, Space Mt, and Splash Mt. ADR at Liberty Tree that evening and then Wishes to close it out!

Wednesday:
Epcot, perhaps? And maybe get back to the hotel for the movie under the stars?

Off day, well kinda. No park in the morning. We bought into DVC this year, some at SSR and some at OKW so we want to see both resorts. We have never been to either. We have a ADR at Olivias for breakfast. So we will go there and check out OKW, then to SSR to check that out. Then off to DTD for some bowling. My oldest son is driving from Tampa Bay where he is stationed with the USAF and meeting us for an early dinner at Ragland Road, our favorite WDW grub so far! Kid is not one to miss a free meal Then we have FP+ for Fantasmic that night back at DHS

Thursday:
As of now, breakfast at 1900 PF. After that, no clue... I figured Thursday and Friday would be our chance to try and revisit some of our faves before we leave.

Animal Kingdom day! FP+ at Everest, Safari and Dino that day. ADR in the evening at 50s Primetime at DHS where we will close out the night. Maybe some pool time at BW as well.

Friday:
Some local friends are joining us at Epcot in the evening. They have AP's, though, and don't care which park we visit together... I just figured DH and I would want to stay late and enjoy the EMH after they leave... but maybe MK would be a better choice?

Back to MK in the morning we will go, FP+ at Rapunzel M&G, Belle Enchanted and BTR. ADRs at La Hacienda at 7:45p where we hope to catch Illuminations again at dinner There shall be some tequila flowing that night!

Saturday:
Check out and head home.

Same thing, back on the sad bus (DME leaving to MOC) where we fly out at 11am for Texas.

We will mix in some pool time at BW and maybe a movie under the stars (love those, saw Beauty and the Beast last time at POR, awesome) and a liberal mix of adult beverages.

Seems our weeks are a lot alike overall Who knows we might run into each other.

 

[cw1982]

Sweet will be there the same week as you, except we get there Saturday not Sunday so I added that in

There five of us, me my wife of 22 years, my 16 year old daughter and 11 year old son. Also a friend of my daughter who is 15 year old. She was a late addition but is certainly a welcomed add on.

Here is you plan compared to ours, we do have the DDP as well. Staying at the Boardwalk.

Saturday:
Land at MCO at 3pm on Southwest, catch the DME to the BW. We have a 9pm ADR at Sci Fi at DHS that night. We also have a FP+ of Tower Of Terror at 6:15p, not sure if we will make that one. And a FP+ at 7:30p for RnR coaster, that one we will make.

Sunday:
Check in at Pop around lunchtime and head to MK since they have EMH late that night. Trying to decide if we should relax by the pool for a little while before heading that way, or if we need to get to the park as quickly as possible. Thoughts?

We are hitting Epcot during the day, FP+ at Crush, TT and Mission Space, ADR at Wave Of American Flavor at 6:25pm then off to the MK till 2am just like you


Monday:
Planning to sleep in after being at MK until 2 am, so I figured we would probably end up at HS so we can use their evening EMH as well.

Sleeping in as well today. Then off to DHS and FP+ at TSM, Tower and Star Tours. ADR at Akershus at 6:25p then Illuminations that night to wrap it up

Tuesday:
Hopefully we will be at AK by about ten am. Based on suggestions from friends who know my food tastes, we have lunch ressies at Rainforest Café for 2pm. I figure we will probably finish up at AK around 4 and head back to the room to relax for a while before meeting local friends at DTD for a late dinner.

MK day, all day FP+ at Frozen M&G, Space Mt, and Splash Mt. ADR at Liberty Tree that evening and then Wishes to close it out!

Wednesday:
Epcot, perhaps? And maybe get back to the hotel for the movie under the stars?

Off day, well kinda. No park in the morning. We bought into DVC this year, some at SSR and some at OKW so we want to see both resorts. We have never been to either. We have a ADR at Olivias for breakfast. So we will go there and check out OKW, then to SSR to check that out. Then off to DTD for some bowling. My oldest son is driving from Tampa Bay where he is stationed with the USAF and meeting us for an early dinner at Ragland Road, our favorite WDW grub so far! Kid is not one to miss a free meal Then we have FP+ for Fantasmic that night back at DHS

Thursday:
As of now, breakfast at 1900 PF. After that, no clue... I figured Thursday and Friday would be our chance to try and revisit some of our faves before we leave.

Animal Kingdom day! FP+ at Everest, Safari and Dino that day. ADR in the evening at 50s Primetime at DHS where we will close out the night. Maybe some pool time at BW as well.

Friday:
Some local friends are joining us at Epcot in the evening. They have AP's, though, and don't care which park we visit together... I just figured DH and I would want to stay late and enjoy the EMH after they leave... but maybe MK would be a better choice?

Back to MK in the morning we will go, FP+ at Rapunzel M&G, Belle Enchanted and BTR. ADRs at La Hacienda at 7:45p where we hope to catch Illuminations again at dinner There shall be some tequila flowing that night!

Saturday:
Check out and head home.

Same thing, back on the sad bus (DME leaving to MOC) where we fly out at 11am for Texas.

We will mix in some pool time at BW and maybe a movie under the stars (love those, saw Beauty and the Beast last time at POR, awesome) and a liberal mix of adult beverages.

Seems our weeks are a lot alike overall Who knows we might run into each other.

Hah! Wow... we do have a lot of similarities in schedule. Maybe we will run into each other. Would be fun to put a face with a name from here. I was actually thinking about doing La Hacienda Friday night too, but DH would rather just snack and drink around WS since we'll have friends meeting us. You won't be the only ones enjoying some kind of alcohol that night... lol!

 

[cw1982]

@BigTxEars I forgot to mention that we will also be at MK on Friday morning. The plan is to start that day at MK, revisiting our favorites from that park, and then hop on the monorail and head to Epcot for our evening fun! So, there's at least three days in there that we have a decent chance of running into each other lol. In fact, our HS FP+ on Monday are almost identical choicewise... I wonder if the times are similar?

ETA: seeing your plans makes me really wish I had more MK time built in (yet again), but I also don't want to give up any of our built-in relaxing time to make that happen. I guess we can always spontaneously head back to MK one night after dinner, since they are open until midnight most nights of our trip (or we could just stay there after our BoG dinner, if I can talk DH into it lol)

 

[HouCuseChickie]

What a great way to celebrate so many positive changes in your lives!!! Definitely a well deserved trip I plan all of the trips in our house, so I can completely relate to having all of the decisions falling on me and getting little to no input. Also no harm in starting a PTR on the early side. It's a very good way to have your own little dedicated spot to vent all of your little things- including that excited anticipation - over your upcoming trip. Plus, it lays a nice foundation for an actual trip report when you get back...which is a great way to deal with the post trip blues.

You may also want to look at the calendar over on Easy WDW. I like their crowd projections and park recommendations more than Touring Plans. We've just found them to be more accurate.

Beyond that- it sounds like a really fun trip. We're planning our first kid free visit since 1998, so I can very much relate (at least this time around) to trying to plan for a more "grown up kid" experience at WDW. And honestly, don't worry too much if your DH doesn't get too into the planning. In some ways, it's kind of fun to arrive and have them marvel at the amazing trip you've put together to celebrate with them!

 

[cw1982]

What a great way to celebrate so many positive changes in your lives!!! Definitely a well deserved trip I plan all of the trips in our house, so I can completely relate to having all of the decisions falling on me and getting little to no input. Also no harm in starting a PTR on the early side. It's a very good way to have your own little dedicated spot to vent all of your little things- including that excited anticipation - over your upcoming trip. Plus, it lays a nice foundation for an actual trip report when you get back...which is a great way to deal with the post trip blues.

You may also want to look at the calendar over on Easy WDW. I like their crowd projections and park recommendations more than Touring Plans. We've just found them to be more accurate.

Beyond that- it sounds like a really fun trip. We're planning our first kid free visit since 1998, so I can very much relate (at least this time around) to trying to plan for a more "grown up kid" experience at WDW. And honestly, don't worry too much if your DH doesn't get too into the planning. In some ways, it's kind of fun to arrive and have them marvel at the amazing trip you've put together to celebrate with them!

Thanks!

Yeah, I was actually looking at a calendar on Undercover Tourist last night... I'll check Easy WDW too. What I did find interesting was that, for the most part, there are days when the two sites agree completely, and there are days when they completely disagree... very little in the way of middle ground there lol.

I'll definitely be doing a trip report when we get home!

Also, glad you can relate about having little to no help/input in the planning LOL. DH would just show up and not plan anything if he had his way, but that just won't work at WDW from what I've been reading on other threads. I don't want him being disappointed, so I'm at least trying to make sure we get everything in that I know he'll want to do lol.