Itinerary ideas/advice please...
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| Tue, 08-21-2007 - 5:15pm |
Last time I didn't ask for input until AFTER I'd bought my park tickets. This time I'm smarter, LOL. We're headed back to Disney April 17-26. It will be me, DH, DS (8), DD (5), DD (almost 3), my parents, my ILs, my sister and BIL and my niece (age 2.5). We're staying off-site and will have at least 3 rental cars. I'm trying to stratagize a little before I get too deep into the planning and I'd love input on what days would work the best to do things. We're lucky because both my parents and ILs have already said that they would rather spend some pool time with the two toddlers vs. every waking hour at the park AND we're guaranteed a night out w/o the kids!! So, my family of 5 will be arriving on the 17th and spending the first 2 nights at a Universal Studios Hotel -- DH really wants to do Universal so this is my way of getting it over with so we can focus on Disney the rest of the week, LOL. We'll be meeting up with everyone at our vacation home on Saturday the 19th and plan to just relax by the pool that night. Our plans after that are open -- this is the third trip to Disney for my older kids, but the first for my youngest and my niece. Some things we DEFINITELY want to do this time are:
--breakfast at Cinderella's castle (we've never gone before)
--Bibbity Boppity Boutique and maybe dinner at Park Fare to show off their duds
--one other character meal that's appropriate for the young ones (I'd thought of CM or CP)
--Fantasmic (we've never seen it)
--my sister has never been to AK, so she wants some quality time there
--DH and I will both be celebrating b-days there (his 40th!!) so I'd like to do something special for that with or w/o the kids so I'd love suggestions
-- are there any special parties this time of year, like the pirate/princess party??
We have stayed at this resort before and it is close enough to come home for breaks and then return later in the day if we wish. In fact, I'm guessing we might do the parks in the morning come home to swim and then return later with the older kids and leave the babies at home some of the days. So I hope I've given enough info -- thanks in advance for any ideas you might have.



We did the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique when we went this summer, and our girls (5 and 8) loved it! Make sure you make appointments well before your trip...we witnessed a number of "walk-ins" get turned away. Also, leave plenty of time between your Boutique appointments and your dinner reservation. Our appointment was for 3:30 at the Boutique and dinner was 5:30 at Boma. We made it to Boma just in time. Even though we had appointments, we still had to wait a little while to get the princess makeovers (which take about 45 mins).
Enjoy planning!
Amy
Amy
--breakfast at Cinderella's castle (we've never gone before)
--Bibbity Boppity Boutique and maybe dinner at Park Fare to show off their duds
There's a boutique at Cinderella Castle. Why not do them both there?
--one other character meal that's appropriate for the young ones (I'd thought of CM or CP)
I thought about doing CM, but everywhere I went online I just saw rave reviews for CP.
--Fantasmic (we've never seen it)
Haven't been
--my sister has never been to AK, so she wants some quality time there
I really like Animal Kingdom. I always enjoy the Kilimanjaro Safari, The Festival of the Lion King is fantastic, and my favorite ride is the Kali River Rapids. The Jungle Jammin' parade is also a lot of fun. But remember, AK ALWAYS closes early so you have to be there early to get the most out of the park.
--DH and I will both be celebrating b-days there (his 40th!!) so I'd like to do something special for that with or w/o the kids so I'd love suggestions
Oohhhh, if I could go out to eat at WDW w/o the kids I would choose Victoria and Albert at the GF - http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/dining/diningDetail?id=VictoriaandAlbertsDiningPage
My second choice would be the California Grill at the Contemporary, which I have heard is also a great place from which to view the fireworks at the MK - http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/dining/diningDetail?id=CaliforniaGrillDiningPage
-- Are there any special parties this time of year, like the pirate/princess party??
I looked at the calendar and the only special event is the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival - http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/parks/specialEvents?id=EpcotInternationalFlowerandGardenFestivalSpecialEventPage
And last, but not least, the best advice I learned on this board is that when you stay off-site, you go to the park that is NOT having AM EMH. They still don't have the EMH April dates posted, but here's the link - http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/calendar/extraMagicHour?id=CalendarExtraMagicHoursPage
Have fun!
Ruth in FL