Kind of a Last Minute Trip Pre-trip Report

[Mom to a Princess and a Prince]

CAST: Me - Amy, the planner, 46
DH - Gene, the all around good sport who pretty much just wants everyone to be happy, 48
DD - Sam, loves Disney as much as her mom, 13
DS - Chris, loves rides and pasta, 11
SETTING: POFQ October 29 - November 4

As much as we love Disney World, we decided we wanted a beachy, fancy, all-inclusive vacation. Over the summer, friends of ours were planning a trip to Mexico and it seemed liked a good idea to join them. We priced some stuff, researched different resorts, got excited about it, but then decided that their dates wouldn't really work for us, and our dates wouldn't really work for them. We went back and forth about what to do. And then it happened. An ad popped up on Facebook about Art of Animation and DD fell in love and promptly announced that she no longer wanted that dream beach vacation - she wanted DISNEY! One of my prouder moments as a mom! DH and I talked about it for about 30 seconds and we agreed that while the kids still want to hang out with us, we might as well enjoy the family time!

So, of course, I contacted Debbie at MJ! Thankfully I had received PIN #s a few months back and held onto the post card, because, well, just because! And those PINs sure did come in handy! Sadly we weren't able to get anything at AOA, but FQ was available with free dining and we jumped on it. We originally wanted to arrive on the 30th, but airfare was just too much. I played around with dates and airfare was A LOT cheaper on the 29th, so I contacted Debbie AGAIN and was able to use the room only pin for the 29th which turns out to be a win-win for us.

So we will fly out of Philadelphia on the 29th arriving at MCO around 10:30 PM. It's a late arrival, but I am pretty happy to have a full day in the World on Thursday! Plus, the kids won't have to miss school on Wednesday. They are only missing 3 school days for this trip and one of those days is a half day on Halloween. We have off for Election Day on the 4th which is why I picked these dates.

So, this trip will have a lot of firsts for us. This is our first stay at the French Quarter. This is our first time using the dining plan. And this is our first time using magic bands and FP+. Because I started planning so late, I couldn't get the ADRs we wanted, but that only made us excited about trying some new places. We have ADRs for Cape May Cafe dinner, Mama Melrose lunch with the Fantasmic package, Trails End dinner, Boatwrights and DTD Rainforest. I was able to get the FP that we wanted, but I am so nervous that DH and DS won't be able to ride everything they want. My fingers are crossed! My kids can't believe they are considered adults and they are anxious to order from the adult menu, which is funny since they are both super picky eaters (like their mom) but they sure love steak! And pasta!

My cousin is a CM and she will hopefully be able to join us for some of our adventures. She is going to drop off some water, adult beverages and snacks for us at FQ before we arrive. She has done this for us on our last few trips and it is such a nice treat!

Well, that's my pre-trip report. Wish us luck, please!

[k10]

sounds like a fun trip. Mama Melrose is really good. have fun!

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Cool that's our exact same dates and we are also trying Cape May Buffet for the first time. Have a great trip

[disneymom15]

I love last minute trips. Yours sounds like lots of fun. Have a great time.

[Kairi_7378]

Hope that you have a Magical time at POFQ! Make sure to try the beignets!

[mgmnut]

Sounds like a good Plan!

-We Loved POFQ back in 2006, when our twins were 8.

-Trails End is a great buffet, we ate there last trip, we will definitively eat there again.

Have a Great Trip!!!

[princessgirls]

Have a wonderful time!!!

Julie

[KylesMom]

It sounds like everything fell into place perfectly for you. We love both Mama Melrose (great steaks) and Cape May dinner!

Have a wonderful trip and be sure to post reports upon your return!

[faline]

Seems like it all worked out for you!! Hope the trip was wonderful!!