Just Got Home...Let the Planning Begin!

[kristenrice]

I've been home all of 3 days and I am ready to start planning my next trip. We just had a fabulous 5-night stay at Disney's HHI resort. Now, I am ready to plan my birthday trip.

I am going with my DSiL from October 13-18. My birthday is the 16th and DSiL has NEVER been to WDW so we will be doing a lot of "celebrating"....

I booked us in a savanna-view studio at AKV-Kidani for our first two nights. I LOVE this resort! We stayed in a standard 2BR the last time so I am looking forward to the savanna view. I've requested "close to the lobby" since we won't have a car. I have a waitlist for either a LV studio or a MK studio at BLT. If either of them come through, we are definitely going to TOTWL. If not, I will be completely happy at AKV.

The next three nights, we will be in a 1BR standard at BWV. I've never stayed at BWV before. In fact, I haven't even been to the Boardwalk since 2001 when we first did the DVC tour. I am very excited to try it! I'm hoping to get some pixie dust and score one of the "special" 1BR's that I've read about. When the CM took my reservation, she noted that it is my birthday and my DSiL's first visit. I hope that the room assigners see that too.

We booked our flights already. We got round-trip, non-stop out of Grand Rapids for $200. That's pretty good considering the normal cost from GR runs about $300 or more. We leave at 12:30 and arrive at 3:30...roughly. Our return flight is at 2:45 and lands at 5:30. If I could have picked the perfect times, these would have been what I chose! Luckily, these were my only options for non-stop AND they were the cheapest. I fully expect AirTran to fiddle around with the schedule. I'm not terribly concerned with the outbound flight. I just don't want our return flight to be at 9am.

I booked our DME yesterday. When that arrives, I know that it is time to start packing.

So, I have started my planning. My 180-day ADR window opens on Friday. I want to book Akershus, Boma, Olivia's, LeCellier and Sanaa. We're also planning on doing the luau but I can't book that until 90 days.

This is my "pseudo-pre-trip-report...stay tuned for more updates!

[kristenrice]

I called today and added the DxDDP for our first two nights.

I have to make my ADR's on Saturday morning...what a great reason to get up early on a weekend. Here's my plan so far...

Arrival night, we'll "waste" a meal credit on a quick CS meal either at DHS or, depending on when we arrive at the resort, the Mara. Then, we're going to DHS for the 8pm showing of Fantasmic.

Friday morning: Breakfast at Boma...7:45am before heading to AK which opens at 9am. After AK, we're going to have dinner at Olivia's at OKW. The main reason I want to eat here is because our "family reunion" trip in 2012 will be at OKW resort and I want to give my DSiL a "sneak peek".

Saturday morning: A late "breakfast", hopefully around 11am, at Akershus in Epcot. This will be DSiL's introduction to a character meal. At some point in the afternoon, we will leave Epcot and head over to BWV to check in to our standard 1BR. Then, we'll walk back through Epcot and take the monorail to the TTC and walk over to the Poly for the luau at 8pm. After the luau, I *think* we will still be able to take the monorail to the MK and catch the bus to BWV from there. The MK closes at 10pm that night and the luau should end around 10. We'll be the salmon swimming upstream, but that's OK.

So, that's the plan for our 6 credits. There are a few other options I'm considering since DSiL says she's not a big breakfast eater. One thing I am considering is just using a snack credit when we arrive (before Fantasmic) and then, if we get back to the AKV in time, maybe trying to snag a walk-up seating at Jiko around 9:30pm. If we did that, I'd cancel our Akershus breakfast. I've also considered doing in-room dining on our arrival night if we couldn't get in to Jiko.

These are the ADR's I'm planning on making on Saturday. The only other thing I have to come up with is where to eat dinner on my birthday??? I was planning on Sunday (my birthday) and/or Monday to be our F&W day. As much as I want to eat at LeCellier, it is so hard to keep an empty stomach during F&W. I'd like a more "grown up" meal, but probably not a signature meal. I also want to eat somewhere that is relatively accessible and NOT seafood! Right now, I am considering Sanaa, Artist's Point, Yachtsman Steakhouse, LeCellier and maybe one of the Italian TS meals in Epcot (Via Napoli, is it?). I have a few days to think about it still. Although we will not have the DxDDP that day, I will have the TiW card to help offset the expense.

That's all for this update....

[kristenrice]

Oh, the best laid plans....and the joys of Disney planning.

So here it is...the ADR's that I made online at 6am today...

Arrival night: Jiko 9:45pm (We'll sit near the back and bust out of Fantasmic ASAP! If we don't make it, we'll order in-room dining)

Friday: Boma at 7:45am, followed by a day at the AK; back to the AKV for a 5:20pm dinner at Sanaa. Then, it's off to the Boardwalk for a little night life...if we are still awake!

Saturday: Epcot in the morning, with a stop sometime at BWV to check in to our 1BR, and then monorail over to TTS and a walk to the Poly for the 8pm luau.

That concludes the DxDDP portion of our stay...

On Sunday (my birthday), I got us LeCellier for dinner at 5:50pm.

Monday: Lunch at Olivia's at 1pm...this will give DSiL a sneak peek at OKW which is where our family reunion trip will take place in 2012.

Tuesday: Breakfast at 10am at Kouzzina. Our return flight is at 2:30pm so I am planning on a DME pickup time around 11:30am. I think that 10am is the latest time that will still work.

That's it for now...I'm sure this will change at some time between now and the next 6 months.

[dwkay8]

Yay! Dining reservations are always a good milestone to hit. It always makes my trips seem real! I also have chronic change-dining-reservations-itis, so I know how that goes

[kristenrice]

Oh, the best laid plans....and the joys of Disney planning.

So here it is...the ADR's that I made online at 6am today...

Arrival night: Jiko 9:45pm (We'll sit near the back and bust out of Fantasmic ASAP! If we don't make it, we'll order in-room dining)

Friday: Boma at 7:45am, followed by a day at the AK; back to the AKV for a 5:20pm dinner at Sanaa. Then, it's off to the Boardwalk for a little night life...if we are still awake!

Saturday: Epcot in the morning, with a stop sometime at BWV to check in to our 1BR, and then monorail over to TTS and a walk to the Poly for the 8pm luau.

That concludes the DxDDP portion of our stay...

On Sunday (my birthday), I got us LeCellier for dinner at 5:50pm.

Monday: Lunch at Olivia's at 1pm...this will give DSiL a sneak peek at OKW which is where our family reunion trip will take place in 2012.

Tuesday: Breakfast at 10am at Kouzzina. Our return flight is at 2:30pm so I am planning on a DME pickup time around 11:30am. I think that 10am is the latest time that will still work.

That's it for now...I'm sure this will change at some time between now and the next 6 months.

Oh, here I go again....

Got an e-mail today...OUR BLT WAITLIST CAME THROUGH! Now, our first two nights will be in a LV studio. This means that my dining plans needed a little adjusting.

Here's my new plan...

When we arrive, we'll head to DHS. We'll grab a quick snack before Fantasmic. After the show, we'll head back to BLT and use a meal credit at the Contempo Cafe.

Friday morning: I cancelled Boma and booked a 7:30am breakfast at Chef Mickey's instead. Then, we'll head to AK and spend the day there. I changed dinner from Sanaa to a 5:15pm at Boma. I LOVE Boma and I must eat at least one meal there each trip. At least this way, I get my zebra domes! After dinner, we'll head back to BLT and I'm planning on drinks and Wishes at the Top of the World Lounge at 9pm. THIS was THE reason I wanted to try out BLT. I wish that we'd get to see Hallowishes too, but that would mean missing out on Fantasmic.

Saturday morning: Since this is our Epcot day, I booked a 9:50am breakfast at Akershus. I kept the luau at 8pm in the plan.

[dwkay8]

Got an e-mail today...OUR BLT WAITLIST CAME THROUGH! Now, our first two nights will be in a LV studio.

Yay! That's great! I'm sure you're going to enjoy it.

[poshpartymommy]

Oh that sounds like so much fun. I hope you have a magical trip and happy planning

[kristenrice]

Only 12 more days!!!

I haven't updated my "trip report" in a while so here's where I'm at...

On Thursday, October 13, my mom is going to pick up DSiL around 9:30-10am and then heading to my house to pick up me. I live about 15 minutes from the airport so we should be there by about 10:30 or so. We are flying AirTran (planning on getting the business class upgrade at the 24-hour check-in) and our flight leaves at 12:35pm. It's non-stop to Orlando and arrives at 3:10pm. Using DME (and assuming a worst-case scenario), I'm hoping to be checking in to BLT by 5:30pm.

After a quick run up to the room to make sure everything is in order, we'll head over to DHS. We already have our AP vouchers so we will need to stop at guest services to get the passes. I'll also be buying a TiW card at that time. The only thing planned for DHS is the 8pm showing of Fantasmic. It is the ONLY night of our trip that we will be able to see it. I'm hoping to be in line by 6:45pm at the latest.

After Fantasmic, it's back to BLT. Here's where my plan and DSiL's plans are a little different.

We are doing the DxDDP for our first two nights. Between the two of us, we have 12 dining credits available. I have 10 of those accounted for with ADR's, leaving 2 credits for our arrival night. *My* thought was to take the bus to the Poly and eat at Kona Cafe (I booked a 9:45pm ADR in case we decide to do this). Since we get an app/entree/dessert/beverage, I thought that we would just order *1* meal and share it. Then, the next day, since we have breakfast at 7:30 (Chef Mickey's) and dinner not until 5:15pm (Boma), we could use the remaining credit to split a CS meal at the AK park. *DSiL* believes that we'll probably be exhausted and she would prefer to order one meal from in-room dining and share that instead. I'm OK with that plan since the TiW card can be used at the CS locations at AK so a light lunch wouldn't set us back too much. Besides, we'd need a gratuity if we eat at Kona, whereas it is included if we order in-room dining.

What do you think?

The rest of the trip is laid out like this...

Friday: Breakfast at Chef Mickey's....AK park...Dinner at Boma...TOTWL for Wishes at 9pm
Saturday: Breakfast at The Wave...Epcot...culinary demo at 3pm, wine demo at 4pm...luau at 8pm...somewhere in there, we'll need to hop over to the BWV and check in.
Sunday: DHS during the day....LeCellier at 5:50pm for dinner...Epcot for the rest of the evening, including Illuminations.
Monday: MK at last!...lunch at 1pm at Olivia's (*since we are staying at OKW in June, and this is a "research" trip, I thought we'd make a trip over to let DSiL check it out. I've stayed there twice and I love it!)...back to MK for the evening activities like the MSEP and EMH until midnight!
Tuesday: Breakfast at 10:00am at Kouzzina...DME to MCO around 11:45am...flight leaves at 2:46pm and arrives back home at 5:10pm. My DH and kiddos are planning on picking me up at the airport.

So that is our trip in a nutshell. I know it will fly by so fast! It seems to me that it is a "bare-bones" itinerary. I know that there is so many things we will need to skip, simply do to time constraints. I'd love to spend an afternoon lounging by the pool with my Kindle and a few drinks, but there is too much to do!

We're going back in June for our family reunion and that will be a 7-night stay at OKW...I will be able to relax then!

[dwkay8]

Love Airtran business class! We're spoiled, and I'm really going to miss it when SW takes over (yes, I'm still bitter...)

After many times of doing too much on our arrival day and paying for it the next day, I'm in the less is better camp. But, you're not flying out really early in the morning, so hopefully you get a normal night's sleep before your flight. You'll probably be able to make it to the Poly before 9:45, so you might be there and done before it's too late.

One tip - the Poly bus shares with the Contemporary, and stops at the Poly second. The TTC bus stop is right next to the Poly/Contemporary stop, and it's line might be shorter. Keep that option in mind, even if you don't go to the Poly for dinner. Going to the TTC and monorailing to your destination can actually be a shorter route if the line is super long.

(Maybe scratch everything I just said...it's a MNSSHP night and who knows how long the monorail will actually run that night. You may want to skip Kona just for sake of a transportation nightmare.)

[kristenrice]

One tip - the Poly bus shares with the Contemporary, and stops at the Poly second. The TTC bus stop is right next to the Poly/Contemporary stop, and it's line might be shorter.

This is good to know! It is a quick walk from the TTC to the Poly so that might also be quicker. Thanks for the tip!

You may want to skip Kona just for sake of a transportation nightmare.)

Even though the monorail isn't running, aren't there boats running? I would think either a direct boat from the Poly to the MK or the ferry from the TTC to the MK would end up with a short walk over to BLT, right?