Nov 3, 2009

DisneyWatch 2010: It's on!


It's official! Following all of your encouragement about taking the kids to DisneyWorld next year, we decided to do it!

If you follow me on Twitter, I suppose that's not totally "news" to you, since I Tweeted last night that I was working on some Disney details. But it's all terribly exciting for US!

So here's the deal: I am going to be collecting a LOT of information over the next two months, before we travel to Orlando in January. I'm asking for your help -- on Disney Tips Tuesdays -- in a variety of ways, to help make my planning easier and ease my mind a little bit so I don't feel like I've bitten off more than I can chew in trying to plan it in such a short time with all the holidays falling between now and then.

Here's what I've done so far:

1. Book our hotel. Old Key West on Disney property, a two-bedroom condo for us and a studio condo next door for my parents ... who are generously footing the bill and creating all of these wonderful memories for our family!

2. Book our air travel. Thanks to my friend Lisa (a Disney pro, herself), who alerted me to the recent 72-hour fare sale, we were able to get "cheap" round-trip, direct tickets into Orlando at exactly the right time.

And if I were to now start typing the list of things that REMAIN to be done, I would just cry. So I'm not going to do that. I have many, many tabs left in my binder to fill. (And yes, I DO have a binder. If that surprises you in the least, you haven't been reading my blog long enough. WELCOME, NEW READER!)

Over the next many Tuesdays, I will be asking you for recommendations on the following things (so put your thinking caps on!):

Nov. 9:
Restaurants

Nov. 16:
Parks (even if they're not on Disney property)

Nov. 30:
Events

Dec. 1:
Air-travel tips (with kids)

Dec. 8:
Money-saving tips

Dec. 15:
What to carry into the park

Jan. 5:
Photography

Jan. 12:
Souvenirs & strollers

If you'll be thinking of all of that stuff (but save it until the day that makes sense), that would be GREAT. If I keep the Comments organized by Tip, it will be so easy to print them out and put them in my binder to pore over at my leisure. (CONTROL FREAK MUCH? Yes, thank you.)

I'm loving how helpful you've been already, since your Comments were weighted so heavily toward, "GO! You'll have a great time! You'll make forever memories and it will be the best trip ever!" I'm really hoping it doesn't end up like Spring Break in high school, where we anticipated it so much that it almost never lived up to the hype.

Somehow I just don't think that's going to be the case. :)

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary was great! You get to see all the fab 5 in their chef attire and the food was really good. The only other sit down meal we did was the Princess breakfast in Epcot but I doubt your boys will be into that!
One bit of advice. I would make up your mind about dining plans ASAP so that you can make reservations and have your best pick of times.

Anonymous said...

If u stay on a Disney property u can purchase their meal plan which I found is fabulous - more than enough food and dining options from character meals, on the go quick service choices and snacks - definitely worth it - and access to all restaurants on any Disney property. There are different configurations - I went with Deluxe which was way too much food for a family of 4 with 2 young boys since the portions are so huge.

Anonymous said...

Also, not necessarily food related but will make all of your planning easier. Join TourGuideMike.com. It is about $20, but he has a wealth of information and reviews of all the rides and restaurants. He will give you the best suggestions for which parks on which days which will go a long way in helping you make reservations since you can pick your restaurants based on which park you will be in that day.

AJ said...

Yikes! I like you lean a tad on the OCD side and would be having heart palpations at the thought of planning such a big trip in just two months. I'm sure you'll get it all together.

Mandy said...

check out 67daysofsmiles.com If you haven't heard of it, 2 people were chosen to spend 67 days in Orlando to experience all that the area has to offer, including all the Disney parks. They went everywhere so you might be able to find some good tips or other fun places to visit. Have a great time!

Sarah T. said...

You and I have to ride Space Mountain, or whatever the scariest thing there is now. I'm psyched!

Anonymous said...

Having taken two sets of grandchildren two years in a row, the best advice I can give is to make dinner reservations now to get the best times. There can be long waits with tired children if you don't. A favorite for us is the Hoopty Doo Revue at Ft. Wilderness. It's served family style with a really cute western show. I agree, the breakfast at the Contemporary was great fun and a wonderful place to get pictures with all their favorite characters. You're in for a great time!
Beverly

Anonymous said...

How exciting that you're going! I agree with one of your other posters - you may want to decide on a few places to eat asap. We went last January and I called 6 weeks in advance for reservations and couldn't get exactly what I wanted. But it wasn't a big deal b/c that was one of the first things we planned. The Chef Mickey b'fast is fun, and if you boys are like mine, they will love seeing the monorail thru the Contemporary Hotel. We were lucky to get in line for the monorail first, so my son and nephew got to sit with the driver and get special driver's licenses. Still the most talked about thing of our trip from them! : ) Kim

RLR said...

Have fun! I'm so excited for you!

Lisa said...

This is for Sarah. Rockin rollercoaster is the best ride ever, and expedition everest is cool. I believe space mountain is closed until April for an update/remodel, whatever you call it.

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