I am pleased to present to you my friend Laura, who makes her blogging debut talking about the special Walt Disney World family trip she will be making in November of 2012! I hope you like it, give Laura a big My Dreams of Disney welcome! Thanks for doing this, Laura!
November 10-16 2012
My husband and I have been to WDW seven times in the fifteen years we’ve been married. That equates to almost one time for every year we’ve been together.
Why Disney so many times:
To be overstated by many before me, we find that WD is the best place to vacation as it offers: magic in the parks, friendly cast members, better than average food and, for me, terrific shopping opportunities.
Here is what will make this the most magical and special trip we’ve ever taken: Samantha. Our daughter will be 2 ½ when we go next year. I am super excited and anxious to make this trip as outstanding as possible because I know I will always have the memory with Randy, my husband, of the first time she’s been to Disney. Getting to see her smiles and laughter as we walk down Main Street at Magic Kingdom is almost the pinnacle of my vacation dreams. We can’t wait to see the parks decorated for Christmas that will be a personal first. My countdown continues…
So as I’ve said, I really want everything to be as right as I can make it. Therefore, from the place to stay to the miniscule details I want to get things the way I think will enhance all of our comfort and enjoyment of the trip.
Our plan is to fly to Disney from RDU Saturday morning, November 10. Driving a twelve-hour drive with a 2 year old is not my idea of a fun or enjoyable time. We’ve taken her now on some five hour drives in my car and let’s just say, having your ear drums pierced with shrill screams from an impatient child needs to be over as fast as possible. So the $200 per ticket for three people is a fair exchange for reducing a twelve hour trip to a two hour at most flight.
Once we are there, we plan on renting a car. We will than head to Wally world or Target for some essentials before a quick trip to I-drive for me to go to Orlando Premium Outlets. Thus we will head to the resort for check in.
We have stayed mostly off site but are currently planning our future trip to stay at either Port Orleans Riverside or Port Orleans French Quarter. We really like the moderate resorts, as they are quieter, smaller and less crowded. This time, we are leaning heavily on staying at POFQ as it is first on the bus route, and should be the same price per night as staying at POR. We are still close enough to Port Orleans Riverside to use their larger food court for breakfast as well. Or beignets for breakfast aren’t a bad idea either.
We are taking a BOB Revolution stroller. This baby folds easy, rolls over everything, has a parent console for drinks, storage underneath for the inevitable junk/souvenirs, and has the advantage of being the only stroller we’ve found that Samantha will sit in for more than an hour without wanting to be carried. Hopefully, this will change and next year she will be more afoot. However, she will still need a place to rest.
Sunday-we plan on heading to Epcot or Hollywood studios. We plan on incorporating a rest break from about 12:30-2:30, which is the other reason for the car. We can load up, Samantha, the BOB and us and use our AAA parking pass to go from park to room and all of us (except BOB) can unwind before heading back out. We hope to catch a parade that night but if there isn’t one scheduled will go to Downtown Disney.
Monday-either head to Epcot or the great Magic Kingdom. I will have my SLR camera ready to go for those unforgettable moments that happen in an instant. My plan is to take loads of pictures and get there at rope drop. I want to go to the new Fantasyland area first and then visit Mickey and Minnie for my first ever pictures of Samantha with the mouse duo. Just writing this makes me wish this would be happening now.
Favorite things at MK include: Emporium, Dole Whip, Crystal Palace, Space Mountain, the hokey Carousel of Progress, Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Main St. Electrical parade and the carousel.
Favorite things at Epcot include: Spaceship Earth, Test Track (will parent swap), The Seas, Universe of Energy (may pass as may be to scary or loud), Coral Reef restaurant, and my husband’s favorite-Rose & Crown for fish and chips.
Tuesday-Animal Kingdom and animals. I’ve never been a big AK nut so hopefully this will change for all of us when we have Samantha along.
Wednesday-More Hollywood Studios and more rides on Rock’N Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror for me. My husband is not big on rides so he will graciously sit and wait. Isn’t that terrific? Can’t wait for Samantha to be able to ride with me when she’s older. Anyway, all the rides she can ride and see and than, of course, a nap for her (us).
Thursday-Forgive me but this may be a ME day. That means-no DW parks but shopping. I like one day to hit all the outlets, Mall at Millenia, etc. However, I’m not really forgoing all things Disney as we still plan on trying to get to either Epcot or MK for that evening to see a parade or fireworks. At least, that’s the plan.
Friday-One last trip around the world. Hopefully we will be able to get moving early enough to go to Magic Kingdom again in the morning and for lunch. Then a nap and back that night to either Epcot or MK for parade and fireworks.
Saturday-Pack up and leave to go back to NC with the pleasant dreams of future trips to Disney.
Laura
[…] friend Laura gave us a special guest post, Walt Disney World trip planning! She is about a year away from her trip, but the excitement is already building for […]