Our Spring Break starts tomorrow and we're headed to Orlando! Driving. You read correctly. We. Are. Gluttons. For. Punishment.
I'm confident it's going to be a great trip, though, because I now have my new Garmin! I won a Garmin in a random drawing at a local electronics store. Yay!
We'll be staying at the Disney Vacation Club Villas at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I highly recommend joining the Disney Vacation Club if you are able. It's a great way to do Disney. Big rooms, a kitchen, a washer/dryer, etc. You can trade for all sorts of other time shares (which we've done and truly enjoyed). If you plan to go to Disney fairly often (every other year or so) then it works out to be a really good deal...
The Animal Kingdom Lodge
We've been to Disney many times and over the years I've learned some tips and tricks and also have been able to "taste test" a lot of the restaurants. I'm also lucky enough to have a friend who is a Disney freak. Oops, sorry. I meant to say EXPERT. She lurks in Disney chat rooms and gets really great info. I also highly recommend the website Tour Guide Mike. There is a small fee associated with the site, but it's totally worth it. Especially if you're going to be visiting during a crowded time. He tells you which parks to go to on which days and gives detailed info on which rides to go to first, etc. It can be VERY overwhelming. I pretty much use it as a guide and know that we'll be back so I don't need to cram everything in each time.
Here's our itinerary:
Friday: Drive to Columbia, SC.
Saturday: Wake up early and hit the road. Disney or bust! We'll probably hit the pool once we arrive and possibly head over to Downtown Disney for the evening (after eating dinner in our villa).
Sunday: Animal Kingdom in the morning. Yak & Yeti for lunch. Jiko at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner (kids in Simba's Clubhouse Childcare).
Jiko is FABULOUS. My all time favorite restaurant at Disney. Fantastic African food.
Monday: Epcot in the morning. Restaurant Marrakesh for lunch. Yummy moroccan food and we get at 20% discount for being DVC members. Pool in the afternoon. Le Cellier steakhouse in Canada section of Epcot for dinner. Excellent restaurant. Then we'll head over to the Illuminations show.
Tuesday: Magic Kingdom in morning. Cinderella's Table character lunch for lunch. (it's BabyGirl's birthday week and this was her request).
Artist's Point restaurant at Wilderness Lodge for dinner (kids in Simba's Clubhouse childcare).
Wednesday: Hollywood Studios in morning. 50's primetime cafe for lunch. This place is hilarious. Old school food and your waitress puts you in the corner if you don't eat your greens!
Coral Reef restaurant for dinner. We've never eaten here and I've heard mixed reviews so I'll be interested to see what we think.
Thursday: Sea World
Friday: Hang out at hotel pool in the morning. Magic Kingdom in the afternoon. Tony's Town Square for early dinner and Spectromagic parade in evening.
Saturday: Head home!
What does everyone else have planned for Spring Break?
21 comments:
oh i am so jealous! have a wonderful trip!!!
oh i had almost forgotten about the primetime diner! i LOVED it when i was little! it had just opened!
if you dont like cold meatloaf, i suggest being careful of the coral river, its a fun experience for kids, but every time ive gone, and especially with kids they wouldnt actually eat their food, haha...
have a blast in the happiest place on earth!!!
I live in Columbia, SC, where are you staying I can recommend a restaurant or 2 for you all.. Have a great time. Happy Birthday Baby Girl, my Baby girl will be 6 on the 11th!
I've always wanted to stay at the Animal Kingdom- you have to share with us how it was!
Cheddar Cheese soup at Le Cellier is to DIE for!
And at Jiko in AKL, see if you can get the chef's special. Sometimes the chef will come to our table and give us desserts of cheesecake or fried oreos. Delish!
We're also DVC members and my father's license plate says "Mr. Diz" LOL! Didn't know I had a fellow Diz fan in blogworld! :) Enjoy the vaycay!
Have a great week! We drove down from DC in January; surprisingly, the drive was not bad. We drove to Savannah, then on to Disney the next day.
What a plan! I can't wait to take my kids to DW. We went to DL last year but it is so small in comparison.
We're going to Scottsdale in April!
Have a great trip! If you need any restaurant suggestions for your stop-over in Columbia, let me know! I'll provide you with the best restaurant in the vicinity of your hotel that meets your needs. I'm a bit of a food junkie and know all the places in Cola.
aaah i LOVE 50's prime time cafe!! the smores dessert is amazing. we've eaten there sooo many times, and the last time i was there, my entire family was interviewed for the DVD they send out with the disney vacay info packets. we were on the 2003-2004 dvd. hilarious.
Have a great time!!! We took our boys for fall break and were able to do the Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween! It was so much fun. We are interested in maybe doing the vacation club...it's great to get a positive recommendation!
We'll be there tomorrow morning! We are just going for the weekend since we live close to Disney! Have fUN
Check out VIP Disney. The only way to go. Valet parking right in front and a concierge meets you with a stroller or whatever you need for the day. They walk you to the front of every line and into the front row of any show that you want to see It is the best!
We're going at the end of May for our honeymoon and have reservations at Marrakesh, Coral Reef, and Le Cellier. I'm looking forward to hearing your reviews about them! I hope your drive goes smoothly.
You and I have the same life! Last year took 5 year old daughter to Castle for her bday..., this year took her to Animal Kingdom, because she "didn't want to do the same thing..."
Then she wondered where the castle was on her bday. Can't win.
I also, need to be Martha and Ina Garten. (I live on Long Island near East Hampton where they both reside... and am totally jealous)
Hope you have/had a great trip!
My fiance and I typically go to Disney during the March break, but we are waiting till July this year so we can go there on our Honeymoon! I'm so excited!
Let me know what you think of the Yak and Yeti. We want to go there, and I'd love someone's opinion! We also plan on doing the Cinderella character breakfast (my request!)
Have a wonderful time on your trip! I hope you post pictures when you get back!
I'm heading to Englewood, Fl on the 5th of April. My dad and my sister and her family live there. My oldest granddaughter is in the high school orchestra, here and they are going to Orlando. My dad and I will head up to Orlando to watch them play at Sea World and Universal. I can't wait for some warm weather.
I hope you all have a wonderful trip.
Denise
You've officially gave me EXTREME anxiety for whenever we will take our Disney Vacation!!
Ha Ha! Our only child is 11 mo. I have some time to plan!! :>)
fun fun...enjoy...love me some Jiko and Marakesh!
agree..we love the Disney Vacation Club!
Glad to find this post...we are headed to Disney next Friday! yeah! Hopefully I can try out some of the restaurants suggested. Let me know if you find any other cool info/tips/etc during your trip!! Can't wait to hear about it! Have fun!!
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