Just Booked Our Grand Gathering!!!

[kristenrice]

Wow! This sounds like a super fun trip that you are planning! No matter where you have dinner, you will still have a blast! Have you thought about Cape May for the buffet? It's kind of "off the beaten path" so that may be a good option for some great seafood. If Art was still there, it would be even more special.

Believe it or not, there is not a seafood fan amongst us! My mom will occasionally order salmon, but other than that, nobody likes it. We prefer the land animals. My dad loved LeCellier when we took him there, but I don't know if they would be willing to accommodate a party of 15.

What are your plans for what you are showing your SIL in October? Is she as excited as you are? It's always so much fun to take someone who has never been especially when they are excited!

OMG!! It is going to be a whirlwind! Since she has never been there and she is an uber-planner like myself, she needs to gather as much info as she can so that she can plan for her family. Their kids will be 10, 9, and 7 when we go and my brother hasn't been to WDW since 1988, so he will be of no planning help.

Right now, we have one day in each park. We are staying our first 2 nights in a lake view studio at Bay Lake Tower on the Deluxe Dining Plan. Then, we will move to a standard view 1BR at the Boardwalk Villas for the last three nights. I have never stayed at either of them so this will be new to me too! We only have 4 full days in the parks so my plan is to experience the "biggies" but just point out the other stuff. Here is my list of "must-dos"...

Arrival night: Heading straight to DHS upon arrival so we can catch the 8pm show of Fantasmic! Afterwards, we will probably order one meal from in-room dining and split it.

Day 1: Animal Kingdom
Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo: The Musical...after those are done/scheduled, I'll consider Dinosaur, Flights of Wonder and Kali River Rapids (weather-permitting). On our AK day, we are eating breakfast at Chef Mickey's at 7:30am (staying at BLT so transportation to breakfast is a non-issue) and the AK opens at 9. We have to be out of there by 4:30 since we have a 5:15pm dinner at Boma. After dinner, we're going to head back to BLT and go to the Top of the World Lounge, hopefully in time to catch the 8pm showing of Wishes.
**Update: Just read that Wishes will be at 9pm that night so we should have no problem making it!**

Day 2: Epcot
Breakfast is again at 7:30am at The Wave. Then, it's off to Epcot...Soarin', Test Track and Spaceship Earth ("the big ball", as the kids call it!); we also have a culinary demonstration at 3pm and a wine seminar at 4pm. Somewhere in there, we'll escape over to BWV where we'll check in to our 1BR villa that we'll have for the next 3 nights. Dinner is at the Polynesian for the 8pm luau.

Day3: MY BIRTHDAY!!!...and DHS
Breakfast will be something simple in the room. At DHS, I want to do Tower of Terror, Rock n Roller Coaster, Lights, Action, Motors (or whatever the car stunt show is called) and the Beauty and the Beast show (that is on DSiL's must-do list). I've never done Toy Story Midway Mania but I know it is a hugely popular ride. I don't think we are going to go out of our way for it, but we might try it. We'll need to leave DHS around 5pm to get to Epcot for dinner. I have a 5:50 dinner reservation for us at LeCellier! After dinner, we're going to wander around Epcot and take in some more of the F&W festival and then stay for Illuminations.

Day 4: Magic Kingdom...finally!
I'm planning on hitting the MK early and doing "the mountains", with the possible exception of Splash Mountain. Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, Buzz Lightyear and Mickey's Philharmagic are all on my "must-do" list. Around noon, we're going to take off for OKW resort for lunch at Olivia's. This isn't something I would normally do, but since it is a research trip, I want to show DSiL where we will all be staying in June. I have stayed at OKW twice, but I have never eaten at Olivia's. I figure this will be a nice break in our day. At some point, we will work our way back to the MK. It is EMH night and there is an 8pm Main St. Electrical Parade (MUST SEE!!!!) and the park is open until midnight.

Day 5: GO HOME!
Breakfast is at 10am at Kouzzina. Our flight leaves at 2:45pm so I am planning on a DME pickup around 11:30. This gives us an hour for breakfast so I hope that is enough. I am doing only carryons and DSiL will check her bag before breakfast. After breakfast, it will be one final stroll down the Boardwalk and then we will be headed home.

So, that's the long and not-so-short of it. When I made this plan, I tried to make sure that she could experience things that would appeal to her children (or not) and also a few things that are more adult-oriented. I have taken trips with and without my children and they are two completely different experiences. It is hard to combine them into only 4 days, but I think I did OK.