Pre-Trip So...I guess I booked a Spring Break trip? UPDATING LIVE-ish

Hello my Disney friends!

I'm Ali (rhymes with Sally)
Here I am with my husband Jim, our daughter Gwen, and our son Ethan at Disneyland back in June 2019

Nobody needs me to tell them what 2020 was like.
We all lived it.

My family and I have been among the lucky ones. We've endured disappointments, cabin fever and cancelled plans, but nothing more serious than that.
Lucky. Seriously.

Among the many things that were cancelled was our Disney vacation. We were planning to spend nine days at WDW and the beach with our two kids and my mother. Obviously, we had to "float" those plans.

When the parks reopened, we were still thinking optimistically, hoping COVID numbers would improve, and tentatively booked Park Pass reservations for the first week of December.
As the months passed, we felt it was more important to enjoy the holiday season with family (we have kept our parents and siblings "in the bubble") than to go on vacation, so once again, we "floated" our plans.
I rebooked our Park Passes for early May, fully prepared to keep floating

Once the holidays were behind us, we decided to get serious about our Disney plans and started looking at flights. Jim quickly nixed my May dates, as he is not in favor of pulling the kids out of school. We are lucky enough to have full-time in person learning available in our school district, so I had to agree with him. One last float.

We decided on March 17 - 25 off-site at Blue Heron Beach Resort

So...I guess I booked a Spring Break trip!

 

[Darstarr]

We are lucky enough to have full-time in person learning available in our school district,

Yes you are very lucky!!!

at Blue Heroin Beach Resort

Heroin??? Hmmmm. I will definitely read this!!!

 

[MerMom1981]

Yes you are very lucky!!!

Heroin??? Hmmmm. I will definitely read this!!!

Hahahahahahahaha hahahahaha!!!
Thanks for catching that! Autocorrect is a troublemaker

 

[Darstarr]

 

[TheMouseFan]

Yay! I'm in! Can't wait to hear all about your plans!!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I'm in sounds like fun!

 

[Back!Elbow!Shoulders!]

Sign me up!

 

[MerMom1981]

I forgot to mention that we will be celebrating Gwen's birthday on this trip!
We were under a shelter in place order for her last one, so I'm really excited to celebrate big this year!

Itinerary:

Day 1 - Travel Day
Originally, we booked a non-stop evening flight so the kids could attend school, and my mother could work a nearly full day, but United cancelled our flight. They attempted to put us on a later flight connecting through Houston with a 2 hour layover. Um, no.
I'm very uninterested in that option.

Jim called and got us on another non-stop, but it's an afternoon departure. Half day of school it is!

We should be landing around 6:30pm local time, which is preferable to our original time anyway.

We have N95 masks for the flight, and I'm also just going to hold my breath for 2 1/2 hours. It's fine
But seriously, flying gives me anxiety in normal life, so if anyone wants to share their totally relaxed pandemic flying experience where they did not contract Covid, that would be most welcome.

We'll pick up our rental car at the airport and head to the Blue Heron (like the bird. Not illegal drugs)
We have a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom suite with a full kitchen, living and dining area, and 2 balconies for about $145/night.
Hopefully, we'll have the time and energy to head to Disney Springs for dinner.

Day 2 - Epcot (11am - 7pm)
The late park opening is a bit of a bummer, but we can use the morning to pick up our grocery order for the week.
I absolutely do not cook on vacation, but I can make some sandwiches. We bring a picnic lunch to save money and stress.

I know there are lots and lots of walls, but mom and I LOVE the Flower & Garden Festival. Even a taste.
Hoping we all love the festival food options, because ADRs are HARD.
I was up bright and early 60 days out and there was nothing in the park. I'm ok with our backup plan.

6:10 dinner ADR @Trattoria al Forma

Day 3 - Animal Kingdom (9am - 5pm)
I'm sad about no live entertainment, but I'm looking forward to the Animation Academy class and Fight of Passage.

No ADR. We'll probably get takeout and enjoy the view from our balcony.

Day 3 - Beach day!!!
The beach is Jim's happy place. The man deserves at least a day.

Day 4 - Magic Kingdom (9am - 6pm)
We're celebrating Gwen's birthday, and MK was her park of choice. I thought it would be fun to do a scavenger hunt to add something special to the day. Not sure about that yet.

ADRs for this day have caused me no small amount of stress.
She never asks for anything. When pressed, she said she'd like to have her birthday dinner at Cindarella's Royal Table, or Be Our Guest, or California Grill. "Or really anywhere is fine. I'm just happy to be going"
I really want to make this girl happy

Jim and I both were up at 6am, and ADRs were GONE!
Jim found 12:30pm lunch at BOG for a party of 4 and 5:15pm dinner at Cali Grill for a party of 4, except we are a party of 5.
I have been checking every morning for an opening for 5. My hope is that there will be a cancellation, or they'll extend park hours, which would open up more seatings at CRT.
I am not above crawling to the podium on my knees and begging the host.

 

[Tuvalu]

When you check in online for table service dining (required now) you are able to add one additional person to your party. So no problem with your current reservations ~ Mom can join you!

Keep checking back for dining on your Epcot day. Don’t use the app, use the website. Dining can be very glitchy. I had the issue of “no restaurants available” twice on my last trip and after logging in again a few minutes later found plenty of availability.

Also, you may get lucky 24 hours in advance or even same-day for snagging CRT, as people cancel. We got two same-day ADRs for Beaches and Cream (don’t judge ) last week.

Keeping my fingers crossed for CRT for Gwen. We had a very nice dinner on Saturday. Cinderella greets from a distance and the rich chocolate mousse is to die for!

 

[MerMom1981]

Yay! I'm in! Can't wait to hear all about your plans!!

Glad to have you here!

 

[MerMom1981]

I'm in sounds like fun!

Thanks for joining in!

 

[KellBelle]

Tagging along!

 

[MerMom1981]

Sign me up!

Thanks for joining in!

 

[MerMom1981]

When you check in online for table service dining (required now) you are able to add one additional person to your party. So no problem with your current reservations ~ Mom can join you!

Keep checking back for dining on your Epcot day. Don’t use the app, use the website. Dining can be very glitchy. I had the issue of “no restaurants available” twice on my last trip and after logging in again a few minutes later found plenty of availability.

Also, you may get lucky 24 hours in advance or even same-day for snagging CRT, as people cancel. We got two same-day ADRs for Beaches and Cream (don’t judge ) last week.

Keeping my fingers crossed for CRT for Gwen. We had a very nice dinner on Saturday. Cinderella greets from a distance and the rich chocolate mousse is to die for!

View attachment 530898View attachment 530899View attachment 530900

Tuvalu to the rescue! That is great news about dining party size!
I am still hoping to score CRT, since that was her first choice, and we have never been.
I have been using the mobile website, not the app. Good to know I'm on the right track!

I could never judge you for Beaches & Cream! We are an ice cream every vacation day family
Thank you for your wisdom!

 

[MerMom1981]

Tagging along!

Welcome! Glad to have you!

 

[BigDis]

Following and looking forward to reading all about your trip. It's great that your mom can join you. Some of our best memories of Disney World was when my father-in-law came with us. He thoroughly enjoyed the trips and made us all laugh with his antics. He rode every ride and stayed with us even when the parks stayed open late, even after he turned 80 years old! Now that's Disney magic!

 

[RememberWhen]

You could also try touring plans ADR finder. And bump up the party size to 6. Sometimes we’ve had better luck booking too big a table than too small. Good luck!

 

[Zipadeelady]

A 2 bedroom for $145/night! Sounds like a great deal. I'm very interested on hearing about your experience. I just may have to give it a try unless there is some unfavorable patrons that also had problems with spellcheck.

 

[cgersic]

Oh my gosh you slay me!!!! I'm seriously crying right now. Can't wait for this trip too!

 

[MerMom1981]

Following and looking forward to reading all about your trip. It's great that your mom can join you. Some of our best memories of Disney World was when my father-in-law came with us. He thoroughly enjoyed the trips and made us all laugh with his antics. He rode every ride and stayed with us even when the parks stayed open late, even after he turned 80 years old! Now that's Disney magic!

Yes! Grandparents add to the magic! My mom is a kid at heart, and I have never seen her happier than she is at Disney with her grandkids