Good morning to all my Disney friends! I have been patiently waiting for the right time to post our pre-trip report, and now with our trip 62 days out, I figured it was okay! This is my first attempt at writing one, so be kind!! 
THE STORY:
I am originally from San Diego, and have grown up going to Disneyland about once a year for as long as I can remember. I moved to Florida about 11 years ago, and have since grown to love WDW. My DH and I got married about 3 years ago, and a year into it, was blessed with twins!! I have always imagined taking my kids to Disney for their first trip, and how special and magical I wanted it to be. I want them to grow up loving it the way I did. My DH is in no way a Disney lover like me, but entertains the idea of going. I guess Im lucky in that respect! When I told him I wanted our trip to be 8 nights, he didn't understand why we needed so much time there..haha. He knows nothing. I have explained to him the reasonings of having extra time with 2 year olds and not wanting to rush, and now hes on board and is actually looking forward to it!!
Our trip will be November 1st-9th, 8 glorious nights! This is the longest we have ever stayed, as in the past, Im pretty sure it has not exceeded 4 nights. We will be staying for the first time at the Art of Animation in the Lion King Suites!! With the kids only be 2 years old, we decided that they really needed their own room, so that we could stay up later without disturbing them. We have only stayed twice at Pop Century (where my DH proposed!), and once at the Carribean Beach Resort, when I was pregnant with the twins. Our budget usually keeps us in the Value resorts, but we decided to splurge on their first trip and stay in the suites!! YAY!
THE CAST:
My DH and I
Our little boy
Our little girl
In addition to our family, my dad and step-mom will also be joining us in our suite for 5 of the nights..(we'll see how this goes...haha), and my aunt from San Diego will also be flying in for the whole 8 nights, and will be staying across the bridge at POP! Overall, Im guessing and hoping the extra help with the kids will outweigh the lack of privacy! lol
THE DETAILS:
Friday, November 1st: We will be driving to AOA from Tampa, and hope to arrive and meet my parents around 1:30pm. I know we cant check in until 3pm, so I am hoping to explore the resort and take some awesome pics of the kids in each theme! Other than that, the plans are to get settled in, and meet my aunt for dinner at Landscape of Flavors! Im hoping the kids will get a good nights sleep, so we can have a magical first day in the parks tomorrow!!
Saturday, November 2nd: MAGIC KINGDOM here we come!! We have reservations for The Crystal Palace at 8:20am, which I am so excited about! Im looking forward to being in the park before opening! Im hoping to get some good shots of the family before. The twins LOVE Pooh & Tigger!!! We definitely plan on taking a mid-day break at the hotel for naps, and we will be back in the evening to enjoy the park some more, have dinner at Peco's Bills, and watch the Electrical Parade!!
Sunday, November 3rd: FREE DAY! I plan on letting the kids sleep in, ourselves included, if possible, and spending the day relaxing and enjoying the Big Blue Pool!!!
Monday, November 4th: MAGIC KINGDOM again!! I am hoping for everyone to see the Opening Ceremony, and to enjoy attractions we missed on Saturday! I am planning on us eating at Be Our Guest for lunch!!I imagine that we will have to line up early so the kids don't have to wait so long! I am looking forward to those yummy cupcakes!! We will take a mid day break again for naps, and return to MK in the evening, with dinner at Cosmic Rays!
Tuesday, November 5th: EPCOT!! I am planning on us doing what we can in FW in the morning, having lunch at Sunshine Seasons, taking our mid day break, and returning in the evening to do WS. We have reservations at Akershus at 4:55pm for dinner! Watching Illuminations will depend on how the kids are doing!!
Wednesday, November 6th: FREE DAY!! My parents will be leaving this morning, and we will have the last 3 nights to ourselves. This will be another relaxing day, maybe some pool time, maybe a trip to DTD will be an order!! As of right now, we have reservations at Chef Mickey's tonight at 7:40pm, but I keep checking everyday for an earlier time!!
Thursday, November 7th: ANIMAL KINGDOM!! The plan is to spend all day at AK until we are done, lunch at Flame Tree BBQ, and without taking a mid day break this time. I am hoping the kids may doze a little in their strollers. With AK closing earlier than the other parks, I am anticipating dinner at AOA and an earlier bedtime than nights before.
Friday, November 8th: Our last park day, at HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS!! Of course we have to be there at rope drop to go get our TSMM FP's and ride!! We have reservations for lunch at Sci-Fi Dine In at 11:50am, and will be enjoying a mid day nap at the hotel afterwards! The plan is to return to HS in the evening, have dinner at Toy Story Pizza Planet, and catch the first showing of the Osbourne Lights!!
Saturday, November 9th: Check out day, and also MY BIRTHDAY! Kind of a sad day to have my birthday, but I know we will have had a magical week behind us, and I have planned a little fun before we head back home to Tampa. After check out, the plan is to head on over to DTD where the Festival of the Arts will be going on!! We also have reservations at T-Rex at 11:50am for lunch!!
I would love to hear any input, or advice from anybody, and especially parents who have taken their toddlers!! How does our plan look?? I am obviously beyond excited for this trip. It cant come fast enough!!
Thanks for reading everybody!!
THE STORY:
I am originally from San Diego, and have grown up going to Disneyland about once a year for as long as I can remember. I moved to Florida about 11 years ago, and have since grown to love WDW. My DH and I got married about 3 years ago, and a year into it, was blessed with twins!! I have always imagined taking my kids to Disney for their first trip, and how special and magical I wanted it to be. I want them to grow up loving it the way I did. My DH is in no way a Disney lover like me, but entertains the idea of going. I guess Im lucky in that respect! When I told him I wanted our trip to be 8 nights, he didn't understand why we needed so much time there..haha. He knows nothing.
I have explained to him the reasonings of having extra time with 2 year olds and not wanting to rush, and now hes on board and is actually looking forward to it!!Our trip will be November 1st-9th, 8 glorious nights! This is the longest we have ever stayed, as in the past, Im pretty sure it has not exceeded 4 nights. We will be staying for the first time at the Art of Animation in the Lion King Suites!! With the kids only be 2 years old, we decided that they really needed their own room, so that we could stay up later without disturbing them. We have only stayed twice at Pop Century (where my DH proposed!), and once at the Carribean Beach Resort, when I was pregnant with the twins. Our budget usually keeps us in the Value resorts, but we decided to splurge on their first trip and stay in the suites!! YAY!
THE CAST:
My DH and I
Our little boy
Our little girl
In addition to our family, my dad and step-mom will also be joining us in our suite for 5 of the nights..(we'll see how this goes...haha), and my aunt from San Diego will also be flying in for the whole 8 nights, and will be staying across the bridge at POP! Overall, Im guessing and hoping the extra help with the kids will outweigh the lack of privacy! lol
THE DETAILS:
Friday, November 1st: We will be driving to AOA from Tampa, and hope to arrive and meet my parents around 1:30pm. I know we cant check in until 3pm, so I am hoping to explore the resort and take some awesome pics of the kids in each theme! Other than that, the plans are to get settled in, and meet my aunt for dinner at Landscape of Flavors! Im hoping the kids will get a good nights sleep, so we can have a magical first day in the parks tomorrow!!
Saturday, November 2nd: MAGIC KINGDOM here we come!! We have reservations for The Crystal Palace at 8:20am, which I am so excited about! Im looking forward to being in the park before opening! Im hoping to get some good shots of the family before. The twins LOVE Pooh & Tigger!!!
We definitely plan on taking a mid-day break at the hotel for naps, and we will be back in the evening to enjoy the park some more, have dinner at Peco's Bills, and watch the Electrical Parade!!Sunday, November 3rd: FREE DAY! I plan on letting the kids sleep in, ourselves included, if possible, and spending the day relaxing and enjoying the Big Blue Pool!!!
Monday, November 4th: MAGIC KINGDOM again!! I am hoping for everyone to see the Opening Ceremony, and to enjoy attractions we missed on Saturday! I am planning on us eating at Be Our Guest for lunch!!I imagine that we will have to line up early so the kids don't have to wait so long!
I am looking forward to those yummy cupcakes!! We will take a mid day break again for naps, and return to MK in the evening, with dinner at Cosmic Rays!Tuesday, November 5th: EPCOT!! I am planning on us doing what we can in FW in the morning, having lunch at Sunshine Seasons, taking our mid day break, and returning in the evening to do WS. We have reservations at Akershus at 4:55pm for dinner! Watching Illuminations will depend on how the kids are doing!!
Wednesday, November 6th: FREE DAY!! My parents will be leaving this morning, and we will have the last 3 nights to ourselves.
This will be another relaxing day, maybe some pool time, maybe a trip to DTD will be an order!! As of right now, we have reservations at Chef Mickey's tonight at 7:40pm, but I keep checking everyday for an earlier time!!Thursday, November 7th: ANIMAL KINGDOM!! The plan is to spend all day at AK until we are done, lunch at Flame Tree BBQ, and without taking a mid day break this time. I am hoping the kids may doze a little in their strollers. With AK closing earlier than the other parks, I am anticipating dinner at AOA and an earlier bedtime than nights before.
Friday, November 8th: Our last park day, at HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS!! Of course we have to be there at rope drop to go get our TSMM FP's and ride!! We have reservations for lunch at Sci-Fi Dine In at 11:50am, and will be enjoying a mid day nap at the hotel afterwards! The plan is to return to HS in the evening, have dinner at Toy Story Pizza Planet, and catch the first showing of the Osbourne Lights!!
Saturday, November 9th: Check out day, and also MY BIRTHDAY! Kind of a sad day to have my birthday, but I know we will have had a magical week behind us, and I have planned a little fun before we head back home to Tampa. After check out, the plan is to head on over to DTD where the Festival of the Arts will be going on!! We also have reservations at T-Rex at 11:50am for lunch!!
I would love to hear any input, or advice from anybody, and especially parents who have taken their toddlers!! How does our plan look?? I am obviously beyond excited for this trip. It cant come fast enough!!
Thanks for reading everybody!!
enjoy the stay!!!!
I think we checked in around 12:30pm back in 2010 and checked in just after 7am in 2011. We arrived a little late last trip, but when I did online check in, I noted something like a 1pm arrival just in case we got there early. You have to figure that many people have their park tickets and dining tied into their reservation, so allowing people to check in early enables them to go off and play in the parks/eat/shop/etc.
