Our trip has been canceled so many times that I am not sure what year we will get there, but I know at some point it will happen so here are my planning notes:
Update : This trip will be planned completely by my daughters. I told them to have fun, I will go along with whatever they decide. Of course you know this would never happen with a Disney trip. Better get cracking girls !!!
Universal Studios December 2009 (or 2010)
Pre-Trip Report
Cast of Characters : Disney Veterans
Marc ( AKADisney Dad ) 46 year old Baptist pastor and trip financier.
Cyndi ( AKADisneyqueen ) 45 year old SAHM - trip planner extradinaire
TJ ( AKA Disney Prince ) 25 year old , Epcot lover
Quisha ( AKA Sleeping Beauty ) 24 year old college graduate, Winnie the Pooh lover
Nicki ( AKADisney Princess ) 23 year old college student, Eeyore lover
Trice ( our cousin ) 24 year old college graduate, thrill rider
New : Mimi ( grandmother extraordinaire ) this will be my moms second trip to Orlando, and her first US/IOA visit. I am looking forward to having her travel with us on vacation. She will probably fly, along with the kids and meet Marc and I in Orlando ( we will probably drive the van so we can have transportation for everyone).
New: not flying this trip, and our trusty van caught on fire a while back, so we will be renting this year. Should make for an interesting ride with 7 passengers.
Also New: While adding to my planning sheet Disney announced the opening of Value Family Suites at the Music resort. This may be a perfect plan for us. Especially now that my mom is tagging along. TJ will still be able to get his own room at the same resort, and we will be able to afford to stay at Disney with a mini kitchen and suite. I'm hoping that they will have additional suites built at Pop Century next year so that we can stay at our fav. value resort. If not the music resort will be ok also, since we have stayed there before. Here is a peak at a model of the suites that will open this year Disney Value Resorts Family Suites.
Update: After a lot of back and forth we have decided to stay offsite this trip. Quisha and I found a great place to stay though (of course this could change again so stay tuned).
We are giving the Universal Studios/Island of Adventure parks one more chance. As much as we love Florida, the best part of the journey is our visit to the WDW resorts ( hey, they don't call me the Disneyqueen for Nothin ! ). But lately we have been talking about giving Disney a rest and trying new places ( not my idea by the way ). Originally we planned to give the guys a break and hit US/IOA during the summer with other female members of my family . But after our last visit in May in really hot weather we thought better of this decision. My family is in a unique situation due to the fact the children are all in college and its just more fun for us to vacation in the winter because we can. Knowing I could not stay away from Disney completely I compromised hence the planning stage we are now in for a different Florida experience. So despite my feelings about US ( we have been before and not being thrill ride folks we had a hard time adapting to the "edgy" park ). The good news is that we get a second chance at Seaworld and the cost for staying on Disney property is actually cheaper for this family of five versus staying at a US/IOA hotel. As usual it will be interesting to see how much our plans in the next few years. So here goes - something !
Tickets will either be annual passes or 4 park flex-ticket which gives you access to 4 parks ( including Seaworld for 14 consecutive days ). Hopefully the second option will still be available next year because this seems to be the best choice for my family.
I'm hoping to try some new places and take the girls back to Boma's for dinner since they missed it in May. I'm leaning towards Ohana's breakfast meal with Lilo and Stitch ( who I have yet to meet ) and thanks to some great food threads on the wdwinfo board I may finally give Whispering Canyon a try for lunch ( hopefully giving us a chance to enjoy the meal without all of the ruckus usually associated with the dinner meal ).
Beyond those choices I am not sure. I have created a loose week of events which include : 2 trips to Seaworld, 2 trips to Universal Studios and 2 Trips to Island of Adventure.
