mouseketeer mom
04-04-2011, 08:01 PM
This trip began on Valentines Day, when DH surprised me with the gift of a trip to WDW for Easter break. He told me to begin planning, let's make it happen! I wasn't exactly an eager recipient...I was worried about Easter prices. I find it harder and harder to justify the big costs that come along with a holiday week. Especially since we have been staying at the Polynesian for many years, and consider it our home away from home, we really choose not to stay elsewhere. Some creativity was needed to make it happen and bring down the costs...
First in order..A split stay..a compromise was needed. We have decided to stay the first 3 nights at the CR, Garden wing, Garden View. Still a deluxe, still on the monorail line. We have stayed CR before, tower, MK view and enjoyed it. However, each and every trip we rent Sea Raycers. And each and every trip we drive past these rooms and think they look neat. We love that they are right on the water. We love that they are housed separately from the main bldg. We love that a decent view is had by most all of these rooms. The Garden view ensures that we are looking at the pool, water, or marina. Perfect by us. And, most importantly, DD Katie, turning 17 on this trip, has asked to stay here over and over. She loves, loves, loves the walk to the MK. She loves the classic feel of the CR. So decision was made!
Next in order..Polynesian club level. Our home away from home. With a twist. We become AP holders, we snag the discount. Woo Hoo! The AP discount starts on the day we move over to the Poly. Perfect!! And now our future trips this year have the tkts. taken care of. That worked out!!! We are back in July for a split Vero/WDW stay. We request ground floor at both resorts and hope we get it.
This is how we tell the kids....I tell them I picked up a special snack for school, I brought out a basket and had them reach in..they each pulled out a Disney Easter egg filled with candy. They all immediately know and are thrilled. Katie might have teared up a bit, and Kai was just so happy! Khloe insisted she already knew, that I can't pull anything over on her, and she's right! She eats her candy right away and says, now we can finally talk about it!!!
As for ADR's...All made just 2 months prior to the trip, and everything was obtainable. Including Ohana's, Le Cellier, and Chef Mickey's. Also, every tier is still available at the resorts..so I'm hoping that means lower crowds!
So here we go,
Myself, Lisa
DH Steven
DD Katie turning 17 on trip
DD Khloe 15
DS Kai 11
We leave the first day of the kids spring break, arriving a few days prior to Easter. Last year we were here at the same time, and did not have the insane crowds people warned us about. It was all manageable. Wishing for the same this trip. We will arrive at the CR, breathe in relaxation, joy and disbelief..we have pulled off another trip!!!! We will snag KT's BD button, we'll obtain our AP's, and then arrive at our traditional first park...Magic Kingdom!!! That is our plan!
As our trips become more frequent, the push to "get it all in" has diminished greatly. We've been there, done that, and know what we like, what we don't care so much about. And all of us luckily are on the same page with this. So this is what our trip looks like now...
We drink in the Magic Kingdom for the first day or day and a half. This is our favorite park, we haven't arrived until we have exhausted this park. This is where the magic begins and ends for us, each and every trip. We will stay in the MK area for meals the first three days, having ADR's for LTT, Whispering Canyon (we thought it would be fun to boat over from the CR), Chef Mickey's for Easter Brunch, and Ohana's for Easter dinner.
We are hoping for some AK time on Easter Sunday. Some of you know from other trip reports that I have bonded with a special sheep named Duncan over there, who is very old, and is blind. He is so special, the people at AK gave me a Duncan pin, lots of people have connected with this little guy. I thought it would be sweet to visit him on Easter. So we'll head over after Chef Mickey's and have a relaxing day before our dinner at Ohana's.
Then the big switch to the Polynesian! We will monorail over with our bags in the early am, and enjoy breakfast in the lounge after check in. We plan on an Epcot day and trying La Hacienda for the first time for an early dinner on our first Poly day.
The next day is a special BD morning for Katie and myself!! After breakfast in the lounge, Katie and I will head over to Fort Wilderness for the Wilderness Back Trail Adventure Segway tour! Katie and I have done the Epcot segway tour, back in August. It was a huge highlight, such a special experience for us, I think Katie and I laughed and smiled the entire 2 hours. It was a hoot, a blast, just a wonderful shared experience!! So we are very much looking forward to this tour together. Mom and Katie BD time. Afterwards, we'll meet the crew over at DHS for lunch at Sci Fi. We love it there, a must do lunch for us each trip. We'll spend the day there, and head back to the Poly for relaxation and hang out time until our 8 p.m. Luau! We are huge luau fans, loving the drums and dancing especially.
The remainder of our trip is for fun, relaxation and good ADR's...Cape May, Cali Grill, Kona's, and Le Cellier are some of our favorites. We will go to the parks that interest us, getting in lots of Epcot time as well at the Flower and Garden festival. We will spend these last few days just going with the flow. And..enjoying the Polynesian.
Once again, I'm grossly overpacked, so right now I'm trying to weed out my luggage as we finalize things these last few wks! I'm still looking at the window at snow on my deck, so the warm sun will feel amazing to all of us, I'm sure.
This is the first of three trips for us to a Disney Destination between now and August. July holds Vero Beach and WDW, and August is Disneyland. So taking our time and enjoying moments in WDW is what this trip is all about. And of course, celebrating Katie's 17th BD!!! She may, come along, and write her own version of this pre-trip report. KatieDuck22, are you out there??!!!!
Thanks for reading!
First in order..A split stay..a compromise was needed. We have decided to stay the first 3 nights at the CR, Garden wing, Garden View. Still a deluxe, still on the monorail line. We have stayed CR before, tower, MK view and enjoyed it. However, each and every trip we rent Sea Raycers. And each and every trip we drive past these rooms and think they look neat. We love that they are right on the water. We love that they are housed separately from the main bldg. We love that a decent view is had by most all of these rooms. The Garden view ensures that we are looking at the pool, water, or marina. Perfect by us. And, most importantly, DD Katie, turning 17 on this trip, has asked to stay here over and over. She loves, loves, loves the walk to the MK. She loves the classic feel of the CR. So decision was made!
Next in order..Polynesian club level. Our home away from home. With a twist. We become AP holders, we snag the discount. Woo Hoo! The AP discount starts on the day we move over to the Poly. Perfect!! And now our future trips this year have the tkts. taken care of. That worked out!!! We are back in July for a split Vero/WDW stay. We request ground floor at both resorts and hope we get it.
This is how we tell the kids....I tell them I picked up a special snack for school, I brought out a basket and had them reach in..they each pulled out a Disney Easter egg filled with candy. They all immediately know and are thrilled. Katie might have teared up a bit, and Kai was just so happy! Khloe insisted she already knew, that I can't pull anything over on her, and she's right! She eats her candy right away and says, now we can finally talk about it!!!
As for ADR's...All made just 2 months prior to the trip, and everything was obtainable. Including Ohana's, Le Cellier, and Chef Mickey's. Also, every tier is still available at the resorts..so I'm hoping that means lower crowds!
So here we go,
Myself, Lisa
DH Steven
DD Katie turning 17 on trip
DD Khloe 15
DS Kai 11
We leave the first day of the kids spring break, arriving a few days prior to Easter. Last year we were here at the same time, and did not have the insane crowds people warned us about. It was all manageable. Wishing for the same this trip. We will arrive at the CR, breathe in relaxation, joy and disbelief..we have pulled off another trip!!!! We will snag KT's BD button, we'll obtain our AP's, and then arrive at our traditional first park...Magic Kingdom!!! That is our plan!
As our trips become more frequent, the push to "get it all in" has diminished greatly. We've been there, done that, and know what we like, what we don't care so much about. And all of us luckily are on the same page with this. So this is what our trip looks like now...
We drink in the Magic Kingdom for the first day or day and a half. This is our favorite park, we haven't arrived until we have exhausted this park. This is where the magic begins and ends for us, each and every trip. We will stay in the MK area for meals the first three days, having ADR's for LTT, Whispering Canyon (we thought it would be fun to boat over from the CR), Chef Mickey's for Easter Brunch, and Ohana's for Easter dinner.
We are hoping for some AK time on Easter Sunday. Some of you know from other trip reports that I have bonded with a special sheep named Duncan over there, who is very old, and is blind. He is so special, the people at AK gave me a Duncan pin, lots of people have connected with this little guy. I thought it would be sweet to visit him on Easter. So we'll head over after Chef Mickey's and have a relaxing day before our dinner at Ohana's.
Then the big switch to the Polynesian! We will monorail over with our bags in the early am, and enjoy breakfast in the lounge after check in. We plan on an Epcot day and trying La Hacienda for the first time for an early dinner on our first Poly day.
The next day is a special BD morning for Katie and myself!! After breakfast in the lounge, Katie and I will head over to Fort Wilderness for the Wilderness Back Trail Adventure Segway tour! Katie and I have done the Epcot segway tour, back in August. It was a huge highlight, such a special experience for us, I think Katie and I laughed and smiled the entire 2 hours. It was a hoot, a blast, just a wonderful shared experience!! So we are very much looking forward to this tour together. Mom and Katie BD time. Afterwards, we'll meet the crew over at DHS for lunch at Sci Fi. We love it there, a must do lunch for us each trip. We'll spend the day there, and head back to the Poly for relaxation and hang out time until our 8 p.m. Luau! We are huge luau fans, loving the drums and dancing especially.
The remainder of our trip is for fun, relaxation and good ADR's...Cape May, Cali Grill, Kona's, and Le Cellier are some of our favorites. We will go to the parks that interest us, getting in lots of Epcot time as well at the Flower and Garden festival. We will spend these last few days just going with the flow. And..enjoying the Polynesian.
Once again, I'm grossly overpacked, so right now I'm trying to weed out my luggage as we finalize things these last few wks! I'm still looking at the window at snow on my deck, so the warm sun will feel amazing to all of us, I'm sure.
This is the first of three trips for us to a Disney Destination between now and August. July holds Vero Beach and WDW, and August is Disneyland. So taking our time and enjoying moments in WDW is what this trip is all about. And of course, celebrating Katie's 17th BD!!! She may, come along, and write her own version of this pre-trip report. KatieDuck22, are you out there??!!!!
Thanks for reading!