Update

Countdown: 173 days

We now have our plane tickets for the beginning of the trip! I got nonstop one way tickets to Tampa, about $600 total. I was disappointed by the price but am hoping to get a Ding fare sometime in the next couple of months. It's early. In 2007 I was vigilant and got down to $475 (round trip) for the 4 of us!

I also talked to my husband and it looks like we'll be able to use my in-laws car, so we don't have to rent one. But that does mean that we will have to fly home from Tampa instead of Orlando as I planned. No big deal... in fact, that's how we've been doing it for the last bunch of years. Gives us a chance to see my in-laws one more time before we go home (and for the girls to swim in the pool... and for me to go to Rita's...) plus we get to fly out of Tampa Airport, which is much quieter than Orlando.

Can't do much more planning until April when we can start thinking about ADRs. Annette and Beci had asked me what we'd be interested in doing while we're there and I've been dreaming... Victoria and Albert's? Parasailing? We are hoping for at least one adult night out, as friends of Tim's will be there at the same time as us. He'd like to go to the California Grill with them, maybe do Jellyroll's after (my idea). And now it looks like Tim's mom, brother, other brother and family might be there too! I think we'll just end up planning some meals/activities and leaving the rest free so we can be flexible.

Enough rambling... time to go check out some menus on AllEars and dream...

The Countdown

Okay, the Disney ticker says we only have.... 252 days to go!

Us

Here we are -- me, Julianna, Katie, and Tim (his picture is on the boat going from WL to the Magic Kingdom -- boy, can't wait to do that again!!).

Resort is Chosen!

Picture from our 2007 trip -- our room is the balcony with the white towel

I finally heard from Beci today, and she gave us two choices based on our preferences and the prize budget:

Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge

So.... we chose both! Actually, the free 5 night stay will be at the WL concierge, and we're adding on 2 nights at the Animal Kingdom Lodge ourselves. I am perfectly happy. Sure it would have been nice to be on the monorail, but to be honest I think the Wilderness Lodge has the best theming and a very good location out of all the deluxe resorts. We stayed there for 3 nights in 2007 and just loved it. The parking, theming, restaurants, pool (pool slide!), and did I mention the theming? are just perfect for us.

We are very excited for our first concierge trip... not exactly sure what we're in for, but I'm counting down the days until I walk into the WL lobby and feel like I'm home!! (...yes, I'm actually counting.. it's 292 days....)

If anyone has stayed at Wilderness Lodge (regular or concierge), leave a comment and tell me how you liked it, any secrets, etc!

Dining Dreams

After I talked to Beci last week, she said that the next step for her was to look at what rooms were available. Then she'd get in touch with me and tell us our resort! Midweek I got an email from her saying the DCL 2010 cruise dates had been released and the week had been crazier than planned. No big rush for me, although I must admit to being very curious about where we're staying.

So now that I don't have to be writing emails begging people for votes, I've been using the time to think about the trip. Here's a list of the restaurants we're thinking of going to. We'll have 5 table service (and 5 counter service) with the dining plan. The last two days of our 7 nights we won't have the dining plan.

2 Table Service credits (or out-of-pocket):
Hoop De Doo Revue: This is one of Tim's choices and I agree with him. I think the kids will love the show!
Cinderella's Royal Table (breakfast or lunch): This is for Katie, our princess. Plus when else will be able to eat at the castle? :) I can't wait to see her face when she meets Cinderella...

1 Table Service credit:
Chef Mickey's or Tusker House breakfast: Gotta have a meal with the Mouse. We've been to Chef Mickey's a bunch of times, so perhaps we'll do the Tusker House breakfast before park opening one morning.

Le Cellier: Have never been, and hear that I really should. The menu over at allears looks fantastic.
Boma: Did this one last year, MUST go back. Can you say zebra dome?

We will also be going to the new T-Rex restaurant at Downtown Disney. Julie is THE dino girl.
Other options I've thought about... either Tokyo Dining or Teppan Edo, as the only food Tim and I eat when we go out is sushi usually. I'd love to try Jiko but I think Boma is a good compromise price and kid-friendly-wise. And of course any restaurant choices will probably be tied to what resort we're staying at... we're already planning two days at AKL at the end of the trip, thus Boma. If our long stay is at Wilderness Lodge, we'll probably end up at Whispering Canyon sometime.

Only 303 more days until we check in at.... (stay tuned to hear the answer!)

First Planning Session

I talked to Beci Mahnken and Annette Owens from Mousefan Travel today! It was weird hearing both of them on the phone, as I am so used to hearing them on the podcasts (WDW Radio and WDW Today, respectively). It's great knowing that my trip is in the hands of the best, most trusted travel agents around.

We talked a little about my family, what dates we were interested in, and what restaurants we were hoping to go to. Beci also asked me about 'magical moments' that I might have seen or been a part of... I wasn't sure how to answer that one but came up with a couple, like people getting upgrades at resorts, unexpected surprises, and anything that makes my girls smile. I have a feeling this trip is going to be sprinkled with some magic pixie dust... :)

We did get to talking about where we might be staying -- I asked if we had a choice of resort and Beci said, "No, not really." She went on to say that basically there is a certain budget for the trip that they have to work within, plus the availability of the concierge rooms at the deluxe resorts. Annette said we could by all means tell her what our preferences were, but there was no guarantee on anything. So I said 1. Grand Floridian 2. Polynesian 3. Beach Club.

Beci said she would be contacting me at the beginning of the week with some preliminary ideas, and we should have the resort and dates locked in by the end of the week. I'll keep you updated as things come together!

Resort Poll

Check out my poll on Intercot to vote for what resort we should stay at:

http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=143493

Thanks!
Kathy