[kpgriffin]

Our Party:

Kim: me, 36 and forever a Disney fanatic
Chris: DH, 43 and after two trips and one Disney cruise, quickly becoming a Disney fan
LilliAnna: DD1, 7 and forever my little Snow White
Maggie: DD2, 20 months and excited about her first Mickey meeting. She knows all of the Disney characters but insists on referring to Mickey Mouse as “Hot Dog” (from the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse song).
Mylee: DD3, 6 months and already a fan of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

Our Journey:

We will be driving from Montgomery, Alabama to Orlando and spending 6 nights at WDW during the free Disney dining period (September 11- September 17)

Our Lodging:

We will be staying at the Pop Century.

Special Plans:

We will be trying several new restaurants (thanks to the FREE Disney dining). Since our three little ladies all have birthdays within a month of our trip, we plan to celebrate a 1st, 2nd, and 8th birthday. Also hope to get tickets to the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween party for our last night there.

Planning Phase 1:

Our last Disney experience was a three night cruise in April 2007. Prior to departure, I got a severe eye irritation from my contact lenses so I had to avoid the sun the entire trip. Needless to say, I spent a lot of time in the cabin with the curtains drawn (so much for the balcony room). I really enjoyed the trip but felt somewhat cheated from the Disney experience. I started thinking about our next trip as soon as we returned to dry land.

We added Mylee to our family in October and at the time we plan to travel the girls will be 7, 2, and 1…..Are we crazy? In the back of my mind, I know that we will more than likely leave Mylee with her grandparents but I hate the thought of our Disney photos not showing her smiling face. For now, she is included in our ressies and she is gearing (and growing) up to go. When I read on the Passporter boards that it was rumored that free dining would be offered again this year, it pretty much sealed the deal. I made the reservations before the free DDP announcement (and most of my ADRs) and then after 1 ½ hours on hold on the release date, we were set….the planning begins.

Have you ever stopped to add of the hours of planning that goes into a Disney trip? DH finds it quite amusing that I invest more hours in the planning and preparation of the trip than the number of hours we actually spend at Disney. There are times that he has to force me off the passporter boards. I really get caught up in the trip reports.

We did the DDP on our last trip and we really enjoyed it, even though it wasn’t free. It was great not having to worry about the cost of each meal and how much it was tapping into my DW spending money. Since we are getting the plan for free, I decided to try a few different restaurants this trip. After I booked our first round of ADRs, I decided that we should pay for meal at CRT, since it takes 2 tickets, and then we could add two other meals. After several writes and re-writes, here they are:

Day One:
Lunch with Playhouse Disney Characters at Hollywood and Vine

Day Two:
Cinderella’s Royal Table for Lunch
Ohana for Dinner

Day Three:
Chef Mickey’s for Dinner

Day Four:
Akershus royal banquet hall for breakfast with the Princesses
Teppanyaki for Dinner

Day Five:
The Crystal Palace for Dinner

I forgot to mention that my best friend and her family are planning a trip for December and our weekly lunch topies now revolve around everything DISNEY.

Next Time….Can you really overplan?