Hello all, I'm back for a trip report. Maybe I'll finish this one. I ran into a whole bunch of work related emergencies last time that took up all of my free time, and by the time I was done fixing everyone's mistakes, I just forgot about my TR. But it was fun reliving everything we had done for the short time I was able to. If you want to go back and see what all the hub-bub was about, I'm sure you could just do a search for my name and it'll pop up somewhere. Well, onto the pre-trip pleasantries!
So, after my DW and I returned from our secret trip last year, we decided to start saving up for a trip this year where we could bring the kids along with us. One is 13 and the other is 4. So we saved and saved, and here we are. The plan is to go at the end of May for a week. We've already booked the resort, purchased tickets and a dining plan and I've been setting up ADR's for the last week.
It'll only be me, my DW and our 4 year old son on this trip, because I just got done with sending my 13 year old down there for a week and a half with my parents and youngest sister (also 13). He just got back and had a blast, but trying to get everything that he did out of him is like trying to wring water out of a stone. He's officially a teenager.
Anyway.... Here's the itinerary thus far.
We will fly from Syracuse to Clearwater, FL on May 20th and we should land there around 10:00 am, pick up our rental car and head for the condo on the beach, where we will stay for two nights. I'm sure my DW has everything planned out for this part of the trip. She's a huge beach bum and our 4 year old is a water baby. I'll just be happy to not be standing in a snow bank for 10 hrs. a day. For a little reference, the snow banks at my house are taller than me, and I'm 6'1". I work on a environmental cleanup site, where there is so much snow that if you don't have 4 wheel drive on your car, you're walking everywhere. It's not pleasant! Today it's a balmy 48 F, and I've never seen so many people with shorts on before. Yesterday was the first day in 8 weeks that the temperature was above freezing, which is the longest in written history for Central New York. For all of February, the highest it got was 7 F, another crumby record we broke. If you hadn't noticed, I'm done with this winter!!!!!
Rant over... So, on the 22nd, we will leave Clearwater and head to the World. We will be staying at the Port Orleans - French Quarter for the next 5 nights. We will check-in and hit the pool for a bit, and then I got a surprise dinner for us at the Hoop-dee-doo review at fort wilderness. I've never been to this, but I hear it's the one MUST SEE show at WDW. I think me and the DW will like it, I just hope the 4YO will as well. After dinner, it's open game. With my DW a few months pregnant, Her and our 4YO will probably be pretty tired, so I'll most likely find a bar to sit at for a while as I bask in the "I'm not in NY anymore" air.
The next day, we are going to MK for a magical day, of course. We would like to hit rope drop if at all possible, and I won't allow us to leave the park until, at the very least, I ride the mine train. This will be the first time I'm here while the ride is actually open. It has always been under construction when I'm there. Last year they were doing the super secret soft opening, where you had to be walking by at just the right moment to get on for a test run. The 4YO should be able to ride it, I haven't checked yet, but the DW sadly cannot. Maybe next year, baby cakes!
I set up an ADR at the Crystal Palace for lunch, because one of my sisters will be friends with Pooh that day, which the 4YO always gets a kick out of. He never knows what to do when she's friends with Tink though, and it always makes for a cute confrontation between them. After lunch it'll be a roam around the park day, and try to hit all the FP's. We had to buy tickets in a weird way because of a cast member setting up our reservation, so we will only be able to have FP+ already set up for us on this day. All of the other days, we will enter the parks as a guest of a CM, so we'll have to set up FP if we can while in the park. A minor inconvenience considering this trip is more for the 4YO as a last hurrah. He doesn't realize it yet, but he'll be a middle child soon. That poor kid!
The next day will be EPCOT day. The 4YO loves fish, so I'm sure we'll be spending a lot of time at the Nemo ride and the aquarium. The we'll head through the world showcase and spoil him and his dinner while I try to drink around the world. I came close last time. I think my down fall was that I ate too much....JK. Our ADR will be at 9 Dragons, which I'm sure will change to something better. The reservations for all the restaurants are kind of slim during dinner time already, but I'll keep looking. Then the fireworks and back to the resort.
The next day will be memorial day, and we've decided to use this opportunity to take a pool day and go resort hopping. We'll hit up DTD as well, and then I got us a table at Boma at the AKL for dinner. I hope they like it. All of us like spicy food, yes the 4YO too. We eat a lot of ethnically influenced meals at our house, and he can put down his fair share of a chicken vindaloo. He loves is Indian cuisine. But, they have enough to choose from where it shouldn't matter anyway.
On Tuesday, we will first go into AK and do as much as we can. We will have a late lunch / very early dinner at the Yak and Yeti and hang out around the park for the rest of the time. Hopefully get to watch the Nemo show. Last time, I absolutely loved it, but the 4YO fell asleep before the lights even turned down. Here's to hoping he makes it this time. We will be with a cast member as well as my father who will happen to be in the area for work that day, so we are going to try to leave the park and head over to HS around 6:30 or so, and try to get our fill before the show. Then it's bed time.
Our last day is Wednesday, but we're not leaving until 5:30 or so. So, we'll try to hit up a few resorts we haven't seen yet, and try to plan where we'll stay next trip.
If anyone has any suggestions on a good ADR for dinner in EPCOT other than 9 Dragons, let me know. I've only ever eaten at the Mexico pavilion restaurants, which were great, I think. I don't really remember 
. We always love to try new things.
) We found both Rose & Crown and Chefs de France to be delicious, but very overfilling. Teppan Edo is good, but I like the food at our local Hibachi restaurant better and Biergarten used to be a favorite of mine, but our meal was a little bit lackluster last time--maybe an off night. We did Akershus for lunch one time and I thought the food was great. Not one I'd do frequently because the high price tag reflects the attendance of the royal dinner guests, but I really enjoyed the food.
