Pre-Trip The Wait is Over...We're Finally Coming Back!

After a three year absence, The Matty30 clan is making the long trip from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and finally heading back to WDW! Our last trip to the world took place in September 2011, just before all the major work on the New Fantasyland took place. Keeping close tabs on the progress and now seeing the results thanks to this great site has me very excited to return and see things for myself.

Anyways, here are all the details for the big trip!
Cast of Characters
Wise or not, likely not, we've made this trip into a big family event which will see 10 of us taking part in this trip. That said, the crew consists of Me and my wife, Kelly (Pic of from our 2011 WDW trip).
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Our oldest daughter Ella, whose first Disney parks trip was WDW in 2011 when she was just under a year.
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She is now a seasoned Disney veteran with an additional 3 trips to Disneyland under her belt, this from 2013.
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And our youngest, Lennon, who had her first taste of Disneyland last year. Here in one of the rare moments she wasn't asleep!
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She's gotten a little bigger since then and is quite excited to be headed to WDW!
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We will also have the pleasure of enjoying this trip (or regretting the decision...could go either way!) with my in-laws Mindy (Kelly's sister), her husband Jason and their two daughters Hayden and Kendall. All four kids are very close in age so they should have a good time together. If not, I'm sure I will be more than sampling a few of the beers at Epcot throughout the week! I'd post pics of this group but there are already too many pics of the dwarfs floating around on this site, no need to add anymore.

My mom, Ally, and my mother in-law, Deb, are also making the trip to soak in all the Disney memories that are sure to be made while we are there. They also accompanied us on our 2011 trip and are very much looking forward to seeing the changes as well.

Travel Dates
September 12-21. This was originally slated for September 13-21 but the wife got an extra day off work so we decided to add an extra day to the trip. The rest of the group is still travelling down on the 13th together so we get an extra day in the park to ourselves while they are flying in. By the time we leave Edmonton at 6:00am, we finally land in Orlando after a quick layover in Houston around 4:00pm. Long day...better have the iPad's fully charged for the kids.

Resorts
When we first started planning this trip back in January, the idea was to book a few Suites in one of the DVC resorts to make things easier with the kids. We ended up using a site called dvc-rental.com to rent points for the trip. It took quite a while and eventually Mindy decided it wasn't worth the wait and told our rep to stop looking for her. Two days later he called to inform me that our suite had been secured and we were all set at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge in a one-bedroom.

Bitter that things worked out for us, Mindy tried again, but Scott at DVC-Rental was unable to find accommodation that would work for them so they settled on booking standard room with bunk beds at the Wilderness Lodge. Can't wait to get back to this resort...we stayed there in 2011 and I feel in love with the place.

Because we added an additional day some time after we had already secured our suite, we will be spending our first night at Port Orleans French Quarter before making the move to the Villa the next day.

Below is our running itinerary if you are so inclined to continue reading. I thank all of you for taking the time to read about our upcoming trip and am certainly excited to report back when all is said and done!
 
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DisneyPrincess5

Well-Known Member
Wow I haven't seen you on here in a bit! How exciting to go back after so long. And you have another daughter now!! Congrats. Your kiddos will love it all. Have a wonderful trip back to The World!!!
 

Matt and Kelly

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Obviously not being to WDW since 2011, Fantasyland isn't going to be the only new experience for us. We have been trying to get up to speed on all things MagicBand, MDE and FastPass+ to make sure we know what to expect when we get there.

I'm kinda looking forward to FP+ just because it allowed us to kinda map out the trip, which I like, but I guess we will have to wait and see how things work when we actually get there and see it in action.

Here is our itinerary for the trip!

September 13 - Magic Kingdom
This day is just for my family as everyone else will be travelling to meet us. We will be up early to ensure we get the girls fed, the bags down to the front desk to head over the the villa later that afternoon and catch the bus to make it to MK in time to see the opening show.

FastPass + for Winnie the Pooh (9am), Splash Mountain (10:05am) and Seven Dwarfs (11:25am). What really has me excited for this trip is the fact that Ella is tall enough for a lot of the bigger rides now like Splash, Big Thunder, Soarin', etc. and so far she seems pretty dead set on riding these with us. Whether she actually does or not is yet to be seen but you better believe I am making sure she is on Splash that first day!

I also have a haircut at the Main Street Barbershop set up just before lunch. Had a great experience there last trip and will make sure it is part of every WDW trip we take from now on.

We would like to eat at Be our Guest for lunch but I guess don't have the option for FP+ until closer to the actual trip dates. Fingers crossed. We do have dinner at the Crystal Palace booked at 4:45pm which the kids should love! After dinner we will head back to meet the rest of the group at Wilderness Lodge. We will be using Garden Grocer to stock up for the trip, beer definitely included! I know MK is open till 1:00am that night so I may end up taking advantage of some alone time at the park while everyone else gets some rest after what should be a long day.

September 14 - Magic Kingdom
First day with the entire group. Not sure we get there at park opening, but that's gonna be the plan.

FastPass+ for Seven Dwarfs (9:20am), Peter Pan (10:30am) and Big Thunder (11:35am).

No real dining plans set for this day so we will likely figure things out as we go. I would think the plan is to spend the morning enjoying the park, finding some characters and getting on as many rides as we can before heading back to WL mid-afternoon to give the young ones a nap. Two toddlers are going to require some sleep or the trip will turn in a bad direction pretty quickly! After some rest we will likely head back to MK and hang out until the girls can't take it anymore!

September 15 - Hollywood Studios
FastPass + for Disney Junior on Stage (9:20am), Toy Story (10:15am) and Tower of Terror (11:20am). No doubt we will ensure we ride Rockin Roller Coaster and I am sure the little ones will want to check out Voyage of the Little Mermaid and meet whatever characters are scattered throughout the park. Mike and Sulley will be a must as Lennon is beyond obsessed with Sulley. I think that was likely her first word and now she doesn't go anywhere without her big Sulley stuffy. I've bet my wife that she freaks out crying once she actually sees how large he is so fingers crossed she pays up with a frosty beverage.

We have dinner reservations for the group at 50's Prime Time Cafe. We've eaten here the last two trips and I absolutely love it! Both times we had our "Uncle Tim" serve us and he was brilliant. Really made for an enjoyable experience, even if he did break character on our last trip and show us pics of his grand kid on his phone. Such a sweet guy. No clue if he is still there but if he is I would not be opposed to having him look after us yet again!

September 16 - Magic Kingdom
MK will certainly be our park of choice this trip for obvious reason. We start the day with breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table bright and early at 8:10am. Ella is a type one diabetic so you'll notice that all of our meal times will be at relatively typical times with little variation to ensure we can best keep her sugar levels where they need to be.

FastPass+ for Seven Dwarfs (9:55am), Barnstormer (10:55am) and finally Elsa and Anna at (4:25pm). Like pretty much everyone with little ones in the world, Elsa and Anna have taken over our house so this should be worth the wait.

We have been trying to add a dining reservation on this evening since we also have tickets for Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween Party but it appears we are too late. None the less we will find something after our Frozen greeting and prepare for the party! The big debate over what the girls will dress up like has been a hot topic among everyone but I don't think anything has been decided on yet. Loved the Halloween party last time we were there and very much looking forward to the trick or treating, Boo to You Parade and rarely seen characters.

September 17 - Animal Kingdom
I think Mindy and Jason may be going to Universal on this day which could make for a very interesting day for the rest of us should they leave Hayden and Kendall back in Disney with the G-ma's. At any rate we will be heading to AK this morning and have FastPass+ for Safari (9:05am), Everest (10:20am) and Dinosaur (11:20am).

No doubt we will take in a couple shows and likely watch the parade as well. One thing is for sure, I know I will be feasting on a couple of jalapeno cheddar pretzels! My favourite treat to indulge on!

September 18 - Epcot
Jason and I have a 7:00am tee time booked at Disney Magnolia so we will be up early headed to the course. I played the Palm course last trip. It was actually the 10 year anniversary of 9-11 and I ended up being paired with three US army soldiers which made for a very cool experience. Looking forward to swinging the sticks and hopefully taking some of his money in the process.

Not sure what the rest of the group is planning while we are on the links but perhaps some time by the pool or heading to one of the parks until we are done.

We do have plans for Epcot that evening which include FastPass+ for Nemo (5:30pm), Soarin' (6:30pm) and Mickey and Friends (7:30pm). Depending on the kids we will try to take in the fireworks and certainly will enjoy some spirits from around the world.

September 19 - Blizzard Beach/Hollywood Studios
The day starts with the meal I am looking forward to the most. Breakfast at Kona! Cannot wait for some Tonga Toast! After breakfast we plan on heading to Blizzard Beach for the rest of the morning. I love the waterparks at Disney and my girls quite enjoy being in the water as well so they should get a kick out this. We take them to the indoor waterpark here in Edmonton at West Edmonton Mall and they always have fun there.

After spending time in the water and likely enjoying some downtime at the hotel, we will be heading to DHS in the evening for our FastPass+ for Tower of Terror (3:50pm), Voyage of the Little Mermaid (4:55pm) and Toy Story (5:45pm).

September 20 - Magic Kingdom
Our last day in the parks :(

We kick off the day with Dumbo (9:00am), Splash (10:10am) and Princess meet and greet (11:10am). We do have lunch ressies for Liberty Tree at 11:50 as well. I'm sure we are going to push through and try to do as much as we can before we either have no choice to take the girls back for a nap or, should they sleep while in the stroller, when we finally decide to call it a day.

Having the ability to book FastPass in advance is kinda cool in my eyes but it does seemingly make the trip look a lot shorter than it is. Sure we could use another day or two but there is no doubt we are going to have a blast and really enjoy ourselves.

We have plans to watch a bunch of parades, take in shows and do pretty much everything we can while we are there but with young kids you can only plan so far in advance. Fingers crossed we work everything we want to do into the mix throughout the week.
 

Matt and Kelly

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Wow I haven't seen you on here in a bit! How exciting to go back after so long. And you have another daughter now!! Congrats. Your kiddos will love it all. Have a wonderful trip back to The World!!!

Thanks very much for taking the time to read...we really can't wait to get down there!

I've been lurking around the last few months, mostly posting in the countdown section but definitely reading many posts throughout the board. Good to be back on the pages and great to be making the trip back.
 

stefan74

Well-Known Member
We'll be there at the same time. 6 of us staying at Wilderness Lodge 2 bedroom Villa. 2 of us have been there over 10 times, 2 others have been there about 5 times and 2 have only been there once before. I am a little nervous about one of us, but he wanted to come since it was my 40th Birthday Celebration. I am sure we all will have a Magical Time!
 

Matt and Kelly

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
That golf grouping from 2011 sounds awesome! Must have been great.

It was pretty special. They were really good guys and one was a pretty good player so we had a pretty solid battle going on! Some of their stories where mind blowing. Hats off to all the men and women who serve to protect our freedoms and allow desk jockeys like me to enjoy playing golf without having to worry about some of the ugliness in the world.
 

Matt and Kelly

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We'll be there at the same time. 6 of us staying at Wilderness Lodge 2 bedroom Villa. 2 of us have been there over 10 times, 2 others have been there about 5 times and 2 have only been there once before. I am a little nervous about one of us, but he wanted to come since it was my 40th Birthday Celebration. I am sure we all will have a Magical Time!

Enjoy the trip! Hopefully we run into each other while at the Villas!
 

Matt and Kelly

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Quick update/Addition to our plans. My wife just booked reservations to Teppan Edo in Epcot on September 18th. The whole reason for this trip,other than to get back to WDW, was to celebrate my Mother in-law's 60th with the family. She thought it would be great to spend it with her granddaughters in Disney.

Well the 18th is her birthday so this will be a night for her! She knows we have dinner plans, but doesn't know that my wife is planning on ordering a cake and making it a little more special.

Looking forward to this meal as I have not dined at Teppan yet. I've heard good things, anyone have any experiences there they are willing to share?
 

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