There are a lot of components to planning a Disney World trip. First tip, you can book your dining reservations without having a trip booked. You can always change and cancel them prior to 24 hours before so it is best to book them and cancel if you decide to change things around later.We are doing the dining plan since it came free with the vacation. I highly recommend it. It makes the trip a memorable experience.
I always pre- purchase a photo pass because it is costs less than buying it after you get home. There are tons of photographers around that take professional pictures and for one price you can have all your pictures put on a CD and print them out yourself. This year I am pre- purchasing the photo pass plus. It allows you to put your photos from character meals and rides onto your CD. Here is the link to to the Photo Pass Plus that tells you which ones are part of the deal.You will receive your photo pass in the mail and I suggest taking a picture of the numbers on the back so if you loose it you can still gain access to your pictures.
I chose to stay at the Beach Club resort this year. We went to a breakfast at Cafe May which is located on this resort property and I fell in love with it. Madison LOVED the beach. I am SO excited that we are actually staying at this deluxe resort close to Epcot. Here are some pictures:
I am mostly excited about the pools. Here's what the Disney site says:
Catch currents in an expansive sand-bottomed pool. From atop the mast of a life-sized shipwreck replica, zip down a 230-foot-long waterslide, one of the highest hotel slides at Walt Disney World Resort. Float down the lazy river on a rented inner tube, unwind in one of 3 whirlpool spas or simply relax on the elevated tanning deck.
Children can wade into the main pool from the gently sloping, sandy beach and cool off in the kiddie pool—complete with a miniature waterslide.
With 795,000 gallons of water comprising an impressive complex of pools that range from swirling to placid, open to secluded and cool to warm, every member of your family can find a place to make a splash at Stormalong Bay.
I can't wait!
We are flying out early in the morning, catching the Magical Disney Express when we get to the airport. We absolutely love this because not only do they pick you up from the airport and take you to your hotel so you don't have to rent a car, they pick up your luggage as well and deliver it directly to your room so you don't have to worry about a thing. Even though our flight leaves at 7am, I realistically think we'll end up with the time difference at the hotel around noon. We are going to eat at the onsite quick service restaurant since we'll be starved. Then we are going to enjoy the pool. I know Madison won't want to do anything but swim as soon as we get there...and go down the pirate ship waterslide. :) (aka dad spends time with Madison in the pool and going down waterslides while mom sleeps in the sun) :)
After we are done having fun at the pool we will head over to Epcot which is just a short boat ride away. We will be eating at the Garden Grill, but first will go on the Living with the Land ride. This is a ride that shows how the food is grown that is used to make the food at the Garden Grill. Very educational AND cool! At the Garden Grill they have awesome food AND Micky, Pluto, Goofy, Chip and Dale!
From the Disney site: Each table enjoys an ever-changing view of Living with the Land at this slowly rotating restaurant. See such scenes as a rainforest,
farmhouse, thunderstorm, sandstorm and prairie as you feast on
all-you-care-to-enjoy, family-style fare.
Dinner includes platters of beef, turkey and sustainable fish, plus fresh salad, warm dinner rolls with maple butter, buttermilk mashed potatoes and more. Some of the veggies (like the cucumbers, Swiss chard, eggplant and sweet potatoes) may have even been grown in the Living with the Land greenhouses below! Polish off your meal with Harvest skillet cake.
Dinner includes platters of beef, turkey and sustainable fish, plus fresh salad, warm dinner rolls with maple butter, buttermilk mashed potatoes and more. Some of the veggies (like the cucumbers, Swiss chard, eggplant and sweet potatoes) may have even been grown in the Living with the Land greenhouses below! Polish off your meal with Harvest skillet cake.
Farmer’s Salad
We are HUGE hidden mickey fans. It's an obsession of Madison's so here are the Hidden Mickey's for the Land Pavilion, Living with the Land ride, and Garden Grill restaurant.
The Land Pavilion
HM: From the upper level railing, just to the
left as you walk in the main entrance, a classic Mickey is on the Earth above
the lobby. It’s in the water swirls, to
the left of the tip of South
America.
HM: A classic Mickey is in the mosaic mural on
the right wall outside the land Pavilion.
Find the word LAND on the mural and look slightly above and
to the right about six feet or so to a reddish plateau. Just above the left side of the flat upper
part of the plateau are three jewels, a green “head” and two reddish “ears.”
HM: The land pavilion sign outside the entrance
rests on two large stone-and tile-covered supports. On the end of the right-hand support,
embedded stones decorate the upper portion of the green-tiled area. A small classic Mickey, formed of three
stones, lies near the center of the stone decoration.
Living with the Land
HM: In the middle section of the giant wall mural
at the rear of the queue, bubbles align to form a classic Mickey, ears angled
to the left.
HM: A classic Mickey is formed by shrubs (the
head has yellow dots on it) to the right of the brim of the farmer’s hat near
the top of the loading dock mural.
HM: In the lower right area of the mural behind
the boat loading area, three circles form a small classic Mickey (a purple
circle forms the head and blue circles form the ears). The head is tilted slightly to the right.
HM: In the first part of the ride, a female Cast
Member on the last video screen on your left has a Mickey Mouse face hiding on
the upper left part of her nametag.
HM: A green garden hose is coiled into a classic
Mickey to the right of the boat about halfway through the fish farming section.
HM: A classic Mickey made of wire mesh can be
found in the aquaculture section, in the freshwater shrimp tube on the right
side of the boat.
Plants of different
colors are usually arranged to form classic Mickeys in the greenhouses. Often the plants are lettuces.
HM: Toward the end of the ride, a large circular
test tube holder on the right side of a “Biotechnology Lab” room has a green
classic Mickey head in the center.
HM: On a table toward the left side of this
biotech lab, a sign advertises the plant product, “Mickey’s Mini Gardens”.
Garden Grill Restaurant
HM: On the left side of the large wall mural of
vegetation is a Mickey hiding behind the most prominent fern that extends all
the way up to the top. Counting up
horizontally from the bottom of the fern, his face is mostly behind the fifth
through the eighth leaves on the fern’s right side. He’s looking slightly downward and to the e
right in a three-quarter profile. Two
black circles that form his eyes are visible above the sixth fern leaf on the
right, more than halfway to the end of the leaf. His face and ears are green, and his mouth is
slightly open. This Hidden Mickey is
real classic!
HM: In the restaurant, Chip ‘n’ Dale wear red
bandannas with small, dark classic Mickeys in the design.
After dinner I know that Soarin will be all out of Fast Passes so we are going to go enjoy Sea Base and go on the Nemo ride. :) We love Turtle Talk with Crush. It is an amazing interactive show where Crush can really hear and see you and interacts. I am not sure kids really appreciate the one of a kind technology in this show, but parents do and kids love talking to Crush. :)
Here are the hidden Mickey's for this two areas:
Nemo
HM: On the ride, a classic Mickey impression in
rock lies below the fifth video screen from the start. It’s slightly above and between two pink
clusters of standing corals, to the right of center in the rock ledge.
Nemo and Friends Pavilion
HM: A classic Mickey formed of rocks is at the
bottom of the aquarium. It’s best seen
from the fourth window on the right as you enter the corridor leading to the
circular viewing area upstairs. (may
change)
HM: In the manatee viewing room, lower level,
bubbles in a wall painting form two classic Mickeys. One is on the left wall (as you exit), in the
left middle square containing the words “manatee Zone…Slow Speed.” Another is on the right wall as you exit, in
the lower left square with the polar bear.
HM: As you enter Bruce’s room on the lower level,
an oyster containing three pearls arranged as a classic Mickey is at the lower
right of the second window on the right (labeled “did you know?”). A similar oyster with classic Mickey pearls
is in the second window on the left (labeled “Bruce’s Scrapbook”).
HM: Bubbles come together to form several classic
Mickeys on the garbage cans you see in the pavilion.
After that we'll head back to the hotel and probably skip the fireworks since we would have been up since 4am that day and will probably be VERY tired. :)
The next day we will be going to Epcot all day. That post will come soon. Why didn't I start out at Magic Kingdom? Because I go by the crowd calendar for my planning. You can find it HERE.
We'll also be there for the Flower and Garden Festival. Check out the pictures of the cool creations HERE.
I am going to post my itinerary for each day and what we plan on doing and then I'll let you know when we get back how it went and post pictures. ;)
For awesome Disney World tips and restaurant reviews check out the following posts from MilkandCuddles:
Disney World Vacation- Where we stayed
Dining at Disney World
Dining at Disney World - More Options
