Couple's Trip Turned Family Trip (pre-trip report)
(procrastinating getting some work done this morning so figured it was a good time to write up this little pre-trip report as it is now only 2 weeks away-yikes!)
Cast-
Me-40 Long time WDW lover, passholder for a couple more weeks
DH-54 Learning to enjoy WDW (but not as much as me)
Supporting cast-
Brother and his wife and their kids 9 and 5 (or something like that)
My parents-Both 65
Hotel for everyone-Wilderness Lodge
We planned this trip as a bounceback almost a year ago when I got my annual pass to time it with the last few days on the pass. It was a trip for just us and we picked up other family members along the way.
Day 1-Sept 13th (Wednesday)-Leave before 6am driving from north of Atlanta and check into WL around 1pm or so, we added the dining plan at the last minute so we will probably grab QS lunch at either Roaring Fork or the spot on the water and just hang out for the rest of the afternoon by the pool. DH only has a 4 day hopper so no park time on Day 1. We will bring our own cocktails and cooler and hope to have a quiet afternoon at the new quiet pool. We have a 7pm ADR for Cape May Cafe (hoping the character meal won't be too much for DH on Day 1 before he's sick of all of the kids and craziness :) ) We plan on consuming a LOT of crab legs before strolling around that hotel area and maybe catching Illuminations from that side of the bridge. Planning on Ubering both directions to and from Beach Club.
Day 2-Sept. 14th (Thursday)-We are early risers so I'm sure we will be up bright and early for our Epcot morning. Plan on hitting Soarin first thing at rope drop and then we have FP for Test Track, SE and the Seas. Hope to do some snacking around the world and just generally exploring Epcot. We like an afternoon break so we are headed back to the hotel by usually 2-3pm, depending on heat. Cocktail and pool time until heading back out for our 7:15 ADR at Yak and Yeti. It was the only time available and no Rivers of Light dinner packages were available either but I will keep trying as we would like to enjoy Rivers of Light and I'm unsure we can get seats (might try to FP them after we are done at Epcot.) The best thing would be if we can also somehow get in line before closing for FOP (as I was unable to get FP for it for our entire trip) but who knows.
Day 3-Sept. 15th (Friday)-Back to AK first thing (we are rope drop people) and maybe we can squeeze in FOP at rope drop before our FP at NRJ. Also have FP for Safari and Everest and will hop on Dinosaur as well. DH isn't as much of a show person but I'd love to get him into the Lion King if possible. We are always up for a burger from Restrauntosaurus or maybe some Flame Tree BBQ and will probably head back to the hotel after lunch for Pool/Cocktail time. Epcot this evening for dinner at Chefs de France and staying for Illuminations is a must as we missed it last trip. (My parents arrive this evening but are staying offsite and visiting Disney Springs so we won't catch up with them until morning.
Day 4-Sept. 16th (Saturday)-Mom and Dad check into WL early this morning and we will all head over to the Studios for rope drop rides on RnRC and FP for ToT, Toy Story and Star Tours. Not much else over there to do so we plan on hopping over to Epcot for the rest of the late morning/early afternoon. I think my brother arrives this day mid-day and might meet up with us in Epcot but looking at the hotel reservations it appears they are staying offsite that night and are not joining us for dinner. I'm sure there will be an afternoon break for DH and I at WL but my guess is parents will stay strong at Epcot until meeting back up with us for a LATE dinner (9:15) at Ohana. DH and I will probably do a little hotel hopping before dinner and hopefully mom and dad won't be too worn out to eat that late.
Day 5-Sept. 17th (Sunday)-This is our only day where we plan to ALL be together for most of the day at MK. We booked FP at all different times since our windows all opened up at different times and so we ended up with a total hodge podge of FP that don't really match up or make sense. I know we will be there at rope drop, not sure of the rest of the crew. The goal will be to spend as much time together without anyone going crazy. This will be DH first time at WDW with anyone other than me so I'm sure the length of time we all spend together will depend on how it goes :) I know we'll come back for a break and also to pack up as it is our last day. We all have dinner at Whispering Canyon, which should be fun and we love eating at our own hotel on our last night. It's an early dinner so some folks might head back to MK for the new evening show/fireworks. Will depend on tiredness I'm sure.
Day 6-Sept. 18th (Monday)-Get on the road before 7am and head back home (and probably to the office.)
Thanks for riding along, I hope to post reports as I go.
