Finally our long overdue FANTASTIC trip to
Walt Disney World May 1st thru 9th! During our trip we introduced the family to two new resorts...well new to them at least.
We stayed one night at the Beach Club Resort (2 connecting rooms) and then the next day we checked into the ALL NEW Kidani
Village Villas in a 2BR unit for the week. The weather in Florida was HOT HOT HOT...especially for May! To our shock, we did
not experience ONE SINGLE FLORIDA RAINSTORM during our nine days there. UNBELIEVABLE!
I'm using links from the DISBOARDS here since the photos
are already in there so you'll have to pardon me if some of the language is confusing as it was written with true Disney fans
in mind. Feel free to ask me any questions though!
So did we stick to the schedule or not? Did
Frank's mom (MIL for short) use the wheelchair we rented for her or did we end up convincing her to rent a power operated
scooter instead? Read more to find out!
Ok, so here is the PLAN followed by WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED each day:
Day 1 - The Original Plan
Arrive at airport, pick up rental minivan, drive to Beach
Club Resort for check-in. Our DVC room has never EVER been ready before 4pm but we have 2 different regular rooms this time
so maybe we'll get lucky. Since we arrive around lunchtime, I'm thinking of hitting Beaches and Cream for lunch...how I'd
LOVE to try a kitchen sink! Then we'll hang out at the pool for the rest of the day, have dinner that evening at Spoodles
around 7pm, then if we are up for it maybe we can hit EPCOT in the evening, even if only to catch Illuminations.
What actually happened:
Day 2 - The Original Plan:
Early morning checkout of our room, see if our rental
stroller is ready for pickup. It's early entry for Hollywood Studios so we'll hop the boat over there and hit Toy Story Mania
at rope drop. Lunch that day is at the Brown Derby. We'll catch the 3pm Block Party Bash because the kids want to see it even
though DH does not enjoy parades. We'll also try to get in line for photos with the Cars characters as my youngest LOVES them
(anyone know if you still have to line up a good 30 minutes for that?) We'll leave around 4pm, boat back to Beach Club, drive
over to Animal Kingdom to check into Kidani Villas. Boma for dinner that night.
What Actually Happened:
Day 3 - The Original Plan
Leave hotel bright and early for breakfast at Chef
Mickey's and spend the morning at the Magic Kingdom, hopefully getting there close to opening and heading to Tom Sawyer's
Island first thing. Spend most of the morning there, back to the hotel for a light lunch and rest if we need it. If we can
withstand, we can stay all day and go right from there to the CA Grill for dinner if we don't feel a need to clean up first.
After dinner, catch Wishes from the CA Grill. If we are up for it, MK is open until 1am so we could head there for a little
bit.
What Actually Happened:
Day 4 - The Original Plan
If we aren't out too late the previous night, we
can plan to hit Animal Kingdom by 8am for EMH and do the Safari first thing. Ride all we want to do here, catch Flights of
Wonder and maybe Nemo; kids to the playground there if they are up for it (we never miss it). Back to the room in the early
afternoon for some pool time and cleanup before dinner that evening at the Kona Cafe. Catch monorail over to MK after dinner
for 9pm viewing of Spectromagic.
What Actually Happened:
Day 5 - The Original Plan Drive
to the TTC, park and monorail over to the Poly to hit Capt Cooks and get some Tonga Toast for breakfast! I just didn't want
to schedule another Kona Cafe meal for the sake of saving time. Monorail over to EPCOT afterwards and spend some time there,
try the Kim Possible Mission with the kids. Leave EPCOT and back to the hotel for rest and cleanup before our dinner at 1900
Park Fare that night. I'm still worried about this one. Never done it for dinner, but reading increasingly bad reviews about
it. Maybe some mini-golf this evening?
What
Actually Happened:
Day 6 - The Original Plan Weather
permitting, this will be a water park day for all. We'll spend most of the day at the water park, return to the hotel for
rest, and then dinner that night at Captain's Grill. We'll drive over to the Y&BC or Boardwalk. After dinner, either walk
around Boardwalk or head to EPCOT. Mini-golf if we haven't squeezed it in yet.
What
Actually Happened:
Day 7 - The Original Plan Alternate
water park day if the previous day was not a good one. Otherwise, return to Hollywood Studios or maybe Magic Kingdom for the
morning. If choice is MK, we'll do another early entry day there and do Tom Sawyer's Island if we didn't do it before. Sometime
late afternoon we'll head over to EPCOT and remain there until dinner at Tutto Italia.
What Actually Happened:
Day 8 - The Original Plan Our
last full day. Our stroller will be returned this morning. We have our choice of parks or shopping or whatever we want to
do with this day. This is the day I have Garden Grill for dinner. We'll see if that sticks.
COMING SOON: WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED
Day 9 - The Original Plan Our
last official day. Check out of our villa, drive to either EPCOT or Hollywood Studios since both parks make for an easy and
quick exit. Leave park by 3pm at latest, drive to airport for flight back home!
COMING SOON: WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED
