LittleBit's Pre-trip report

[LITTLEBIT]

This is the first pre-trip report I’ve ever written so I might forget some details. But I figure since I paid off the trip today, I’d leave my report.

Cast of Characters (# of previous trips): Me (24), DH (5), DS12 (3) and DS5 (0, yep this will be his first time and he is so excited) will be leaving Indy on October 22nd to drive over night and arrive in WDW on the 23rd. Grandparents who are resident AP holders and huge Disney fans (They’ve been too many times to count and my DH says they are totally responsible for my Disney obsession) are meeting us there on the 24th.

We are staying at Port Orleans French Quarter for 6 nights with 5 day parkhoppers and the DDP. The Grandparents are camping at Ft. Wilderness in their motor home. Originally we were going to do 3 days at Ft. Wilderness tent camping and 3 days at AKL but money and other things changed our plans.

It’s hard to believe we will be there 11 weeks from today; I’ve been planning it since my last trip in 2007 (A quick 2.5 days over Fall Break with DS12, Little brother and DH stayed home). Originally we were going to go over Christmas Break because at the time we were getting the first week of January off for vacation but that fell through and since we refuse to go in the summer, we decided to do Fall Break.

This trip we will be celebrating DS5s birthday (From February) and his first time. He went to DL when he was 5 months old but that doesn’t really count. He loves every Disney movie he’s ever seen, but his favorites are Dumbo and Brother Bear. But the big thing to know with my DS5 is he loves animals. Actually Loves doesn’t even accurately describe his affection for them. He is a walking encyclopedia of information on animals. It’s not just Oh, an elephant, a snake, a monkey; it’s an African Elephant, a green tree boa, and a spider monkey. His absolute favorite animal in the whole wide world is the Hippo. He’s never been able to see one despite numerous trips to a few different zoos and when we asked him what he wanted out of this trip the most he said, “To see a Hippo.” So you see, while DH, DS12 and I like AK, this trip we will be experiencing it in a whole new way.

Despite what DH thinks, I’m trying not to plan every minute of our trip. The only plans I have are as follows:

Friday 10/22- First day of my vacation time! Taking the kids to school, come home and make sure I have everything out of the bedroom that I could possibly need to finish packing and loading up the car so that DH can go to bed (He’s a cop who works 3rd shift, which is 11p-7a) and sleep all day. I’ll pack the remaining few things, clean the house, take the dog to the other set of grandparents and then pick the kids up at 2:30 from school. Then its home for quick showers and misc and plan to be on the road by 5. Plan to stop at a rest stop at around 7 for a prepared dinner (I have been trying to save money wherever I can on this trip) and some leg stretching. Then the kids will get comfortable and fall asleep while watching a movie. (This is how we always travel so they are good at sleeping in the car.) I’ll go to sleep a little later and DH will drive all night.

Saturday 10/23- Stop for Breakfast, hopefully at a Bob Evans since we have a gift card, told you I was thrifty), then relieve DH of driving if I haven’t already. Make a few hours stop in Debary to visit Great Aunt and then onto Disney! Check in and then the DH will be doing a hotel scavenger hunt with the DSs to keep them busy while I set up their Magical Greetings boxes to make it look like they were delivered there. Once that’s done, it’s off to the pool while DH takes a short nap. We have ADRs for Raglan Road at DTD so we’ll take the boat there and spend the evening there.

Sunday 10/24- First Park, Animal Kingdom. Grandparents won’t be there yet so we’ll probably get FP for Everest while we hit the Safari and Rafiki’s. Meet up with Grandparents at some point in the day. We’ll be there until the park closes at 5 and then head over to AKL for our ADR at Boma for 6:30. I forgot to mention that since resort guests get free parking, we will be driving to each park most days. I love the Disney bus system but DH would rather drive and avoid waiting for the buses. After dinner it’s back to the hotel and probably a swim.

Monday 10/25- Epcot Grandma is our fast pass retriever and she already plans to get ones for Soarin while we ride Test Track. After we do those two, we’ll hit the rest of Future World with lunch probably at Sunshine Seasons and then head back to WS. Our DS12 loves it back there but we’ll still be doing the Kidcots. We have ADRs at Biergarten that night and we’ll be at Epcot to see Illuminations before we head back to the hotel and into the pool (anyone see a pattern in how we end our nights?)

Tuesday 10/26-Magic Kingdom Don’t have many plans for our day there except I want to be at rope drop so we can get on Dumbo first thing. If DS5 doesn’t ride it, it will break his heart. Then after we finish with Fantasyland, we avoid that area for the rest of the day.  MNSSHP is that night but we aren’t going. Instead we’ll take the boat over to the Wilderness Lodge for our ADR at Whispering Canyon and then probably over to Ft. Wilderness for the Water Pageant and then you guessed it, head back to the hotel and into the pool.

Wednesday 10/27-Disney’s Hollywood Studios (MGM) We’ll head to RnRC and ToT while Grandma gets FP for Toy Story Mania or we might just try and ride it then and get Fast Passes for it to go again later. Explore the rest of the park, it’s the one DS12 has spent the least amount of time in, and then take the boat to Restaurant Marrakesh for Dinner ADRs. Then the Grandparents, bless their hearts, will be taking the DSs with them for the night and giving hubby and I a night alone which we will probably spend in WS.

Thursday 10/28- Last Day in the Parks/Parkhopping  Will spend most of the day at AK or MK but will go to Epcot for lunch at the Coral Reef.

Friday 10/29- Leave sometime around 9 and drive up to Atlanta. Stay the evening there and do the tour of the Coke Factory. Spend the night and leave early the next day.

Saturday 10/30- Arrive home late evening
Sunday 10/31-Will sleep in so I can be rested to take the kids trick or treating. Thankfully I’m not due back to work until 11/3!

Well that’s it. Any tips or suggestions are welcomed.

[Amy]

Wow, it sounds like you have a great plan. It includes downtime at the pool in the evenings. How late does the pool remain open? And I'm sure since you've been so many times you know that it could be a little chilly at night at that time of year. Sounds like you have some great ADR's as well.
Do you make up the Magical Greetings boxes beforehand to save money? What a cool idea to have your DH take the boys on a hotel scavenger hunt. They will remember that as they get older for sure.
And how exciting for your 5 year old DS to be celebrating his first trip and a birthday. Your other DS probably likes having had a few extra trips so he can be the big brother and help his little brother around the parks.
Awesome grandparents for taking the boys for a night so you and your husband can have an evening with just the two of you.
Looking forward to seeing the trip report with photos! Enjoy

[LITTLEBIT]

Wow, it sounds like you have a great plan. It includes downtime at the pool in the evenings. How late does the pool remain open? And I'm sure since you've been so many times you know that it could be a little chilly at night at that time of year. Sounds like you have some great ADR's as well.

The pool is opened until late but there aren't lifeguards on duty. Not a big deal because DH and I will be with the boys. We are both certified in First Aid and so is DS12. And yeah, it gets a little chilly at night in October but I think the boys would want to swim even if there was ice floating by them in the pools. I'm really looking forward to the ADRs. I picked the restaurants through reviews and then DH and I then looked over menus and decided from there. Our boys are used to eating all kinds of food so that's nice. Have you eaten at any of our ADRs?

Do you make up the Magical Greetings boxes beforehand to save money? What a cool idea to have your DH take the boys on a hotel scavenger hunt. They will remember that as they get older for sure.

Yes, I am making the boxes up beforehand. I found some perfect boxes at my work and I bought some red and yellow paper to cover them along with black ribbon for the bow. Each kid will get a personalized shirt for each park, DS12 is getting a Hidden Mickey book, DS5 is getting the AK Passport, Epcot Passports, Glow sticks, and other stuff. And yeah, I do it to save money. There is no way I could talk my DH into letting me order the Magic Gathering set from the hotel.

And how exciting for your 5 year old DS to be celebrating his first trip and a birthday. Your other DS probably likes having had a few extra trips so he can be the big brother and help his little brother around the parks.
Awesome grandparents for taking the boys for a night so you and your husband can have an evening with just the two of you.
Looking forward to seeing the trip report with photos! Enjoy

DS12 is definitely looking forward to playing tour guide but also knows that he'll get to do stuff like ride RnRC that his little brother can't do yet. And yes, my parents are very awesome for taking the kids. I hadn't even thought about it but my Dad mentioned it and I was just kind of like 'Okay' because I was so happy and surprised.

There will definitely be pictures. We will have two cameras and one video camera.

[Amy]

I would have swam in any conditions when I was little too!
Sorry, I haven't eaten at any of your planned ADR restaurants, although I know there are many people on the boards who have and can probably offer some insight.
Great thinking on the boxes. And including all those shirts are nice so they will have something to wear to each park!
Sounds like you are super prepared

[boilerbabe]

Sounds like you have an awesome trip planned!!! I'm so exctied for all of you! Very clever too how you're making the gift boxes for your boys while your DH take then on a scavenger hunt! How fun!

Then only ADR restaurant you have planned that we've eaten at is Coral Reef. We enjoyed it very much! Depending on what time you dine there, you can interact with the scbua divers in the tank!

Looking forward to a trip report and pictures from you!

[Len90]

Wow seems like a lot of planning has gone into this trip. I can see you have a lot of experience with Disney and seem to have a good grasp on everything. I will say that you have to be careful with the pools. I know that the main Stormalong Bay pool is closed once the lifeguards go off duty at 11PM. I think the quiet pools which have no lifeguards can be used until later. The only thing that I don't like is the driving to the parks. The most you will wait for a Disney bus is around 15 minutes and that is if you just miss one. Other than that it works out to be the same as you will usually have to take the tram to the car or in MK it is a tram and a monorail/ferry. The lines for those can get interesting. Also I notice you might be leaving too little time for MK. I don't see where you catch MSEP or Wishes during the stay.

As for your dining, we have eaten at Whispering Canyon (breakfast) and have loved it. The servers really are good if you show that you are willing to have a lot of fun. We ate at Coral Reef for dinner when we went last year and I was not wowed by the food. However, keep in mind this was on the last night and I also received an email (sent by error) from Rutgers that I had somehow lost my scholarship even though I still had a close to perfect GPA and had taken more than enough credits. Finally, we ate at Marrakesh for dinner this past year. We loved it, but you might want to be careful with the kids there. The food is all authentic Moroccan cooking so I would advise checking allears.net to make sure that the kids will have something to eat.

Other than that it sounds like it should be a great non relaxing trip (which any good Disney vacation should be). You will definitely have a blast!

[LITTLEBIT]

Wow seems like a lot of planning has gone into this trip. I can see you have a lot of experience with Disney and seem to have a good grasp on everything. I will say that you have to be careful with the pools. I know that the main Stormalong Bay pool is closed once the lifeguards go off duty at 11PM. I think the quiet pools which have no lifeguards can be used until later.

We're at French Quarter so we'd swimming in the Doubloon Lagoon most of the time. And thanks for the tip about the pool closing at 11 due to the lifeguards. I can't find anything about closing time online but that closing time is fine with me because I want the kids to get some sleep.

The only thing that I don't like is the driving to the parks. The most you will wait for a Disney bus is around 15 minutes and that is if you just miss one. Other than that it works out to be the same as you will usually have to take the tram to the car or in MK it is a tram and a monorail/ferry. The lines for those can get interesting. Also I notice you might be leaving too little time for MK. I don't see where you catch MSEP or Wishes during the stay.

The car vs buses issue is a sore spot for my husband because he does not like the buses. But I'm working on him. And it's funny that you mention MK because the DGrandparents were here last night for dinner and we talked more about the trip and decided that after lunch at Coral Reef we are going to head over to MK and stay there for the afternoon and evening so we can catch the MSEP and Wishes.

As for your dining, we have eaten at Whispering Canyon (breakfast) and have loved it. The servers really are good if you show that you are willing to have a lot of fun. We ate at Coral Reef for dinner when we went last year and I was not wowed by the food. However, keep in mind this was on the last night and I also received an email (sent by error) from Rutgers that I had somehow lost my scholarship even though I still had a close to perfect GPA and had taken more than enough credits. Finally, we ate at Marrakesh for dinner this past year. We loved it, but you might want to be careful with the kids there. The food is all authentic Moroccan cooking so I would advise checking allears.net to make sure that the kids will have something to eat.

When we were picking restaurants, we did check all ears.net to check their menus. I've heard similar reviews from Coral Reef so I'm hoping the food is good for us though we're mainly going for the aquarium. And we eat out at a lot of ethnic restaurants when we are at home so the boys are pretty familiar with different menus. DS12 is the pickier of the two and he already picked out the shish kabobs to eat while DS5 eats anything you put in front of him (One of his favorite foods is broccoli, yuck) but I'll still have some snack credits to back them up just in case.

Other than that it sounds like it should be a great non relaxing trip (which any good Disney vacation should be). You will definitely have a blast!

That's exactly what I'm wanting. After the Marathon trip I had last time, I want to see sit back and smell the roses a little on this trip.

[Amy]

Yay for planning catching the MSEP and Wishes one night. I think Coral Reef is more about the atmosphere and fishies than the food, although it would be nice if the food was tasty also!
Keep working on DH about the buses. It is so relaxing having someone else do the driving. Plus you get dropped off so close to the entrance of the parks! I actually wanted to ride the parking lot tram shuttle on one trip we were on since that was the one "ride" we didn't go on. I think the novelty would wear off though. Plus the buses are nice and cool right away, no waiting for the a/c to cool the car down Maybe you can drive sometimes and ride the bus other times...

[LITTLEBIT]

Yay for planning catching the MSEP and Wishes one night.

Just so you know, ever since I read your comment about making sure to see MSEP and Wishes, the song from Wishes keeps running through my head. And I'm at work and can't listen to Subsonic here!

[Amy]

Yay for planning catching the MSEP and Wishes one night.

Just so you know, ever since I read your comment about making sure to see MSEP and Wishes, the song from Wishes keeps running through my head. And I'm at work and can't listen to Subsonic here!

Make sure you blame Len...he brought it up first. I was just agreeing!!

[LITTLEBIT]

Make sure you blame Len...he brought it up first. I was just agreeing!!

You're right! I blame him then.

[MmeLeota]

Sounds like a great trip! I love the idea of making the boxes! (it sounds like something I would do too...I'm all about saving as much as possible too)

[disneylizzy]

Sounds like a really neat trip! I love your dining reservations.

We might be in wdw the same time as you guys, but we'd come in on Sunday and our park plans are completely different!
Also, I have to ask, is LittleBit a nickname for Elizabeth? My mom used to call me that when I was a kid.

[LITTLEBIT]

Sounds like a really neat trip! I love your dining reservations.

We might be in wdw the same time as you guys, but we'd come in on Sunday and our park plans are completely different!
Also, I have to ask, is LittleBit a nickname for Elizabeth? My mom used to call me that when I was a kid.

Nope, my name is Miranda. LittleBit is a nickname my dad gave me when I was young. I'm an only child but the youngest of 26 cousins who I always tagged after (A lot of time at Disney ) all of them so I guess that's why I'm called that. He (The grandpa who is going with us) still calls me that and I'm almost 31.

I hope we have some good weather when we're down there. Last time when I was there in Oct 07, it was warm but overcast the whole time. Good for the heat but bad for the pictures. What are your plans?

[boilerbabe]

Sounds like a really neat trip! I love your dining reservations.

We might be in wdw the same time as you guys, but we'd come in on Sunday and our park plans are completely different!
Also, I have to ask, is LittleBit a nickname for Elizabeth? My mom used to call me that when I was a kid.

Nope, my name is Miranda. LittleBit is a nickname my dad gave me when I was young. I'm an only child but the youngest of 26 cousins who I always tagged after (A lot of time at Disney ) all of them so I guess that's why I'm called that. He (The grandpa who is going with us) still calls me that and I'm almost 31.

I hope we have some good weather when we're down there. Last time when I was there in Oct 07, it was warm but overcast the whole time. Good for the heat but bad for the pictures. What are your plans?

HEY!!! Another only child in the house here!!!