Family Vacation at the Contemporary - PreTrip Report

51 days to go and this trip is going to be epic! It will be myself, Jon (DH), Penny (DD - 5), Jimm (FIL), Karen (MIL), and Tom (BIL) and we will be staying in a 2 bedroom at BLT and I'm STOKED! I went on a girls trip to Disney in April and then Jon and I just took a trip together in July, but Penny hasn't been since January (I know...so deprived ) and Jimm, Karen, and Tom haven't been since we took Penny on her first trip in December 2015. The in-laws are very picky eaters and are quite weary of rides, so it will be an interesting trip. I thought I dumbed down the food last time, but apparently the meals I picked were "too fancy" so I'm being even more cautious to fit their tastes this time around It was also pretty easy ride-wise last time because Penny was so little, but now she's 42 inches and likes all the rides she's tall enough for (except TOT) so we'll have to see how adventurous they try and get. Either way, we will be there over both Karen's birthday and Jimm and Karen's anniversary so we have a couple of fun surprises in store!

Everything bolded/underlined is a new experience for us!

Wednesday, October 10th
We'll be driving down to the twin cities this night to stay in a hotel near the airport so that we're ready for our flight bright and early the next morning!

Thursday, October 11th
We've got a 6:40am flight out of MSP this morning and should be landing by around 10:50am. I don't think I've ever been at MCO so early before! We're going straight to BLT and plan on relaxing at the pool until our room is ready. We'll probably do the pool bar or Contempo Cafe for lunch. We're going to boat over to Fort Wilderness to explore Tri-Circle D Ranch and let Penny ride the ponies, then Trail's End for dinner and the Chip'n'Dale Campfire later that evening.

Friday, October 12th
Animal Kingdom
Rope dropping Kilimanjaro Safaris and then we have the Caring for Giants Tour setup as a surprise at 10am. We've got reservations for Rainforest Cafe for lunch (not super thrilled about this one but should appeal to the in-laws' Applebees style palette ) and have prioritized shows (FOL, Nemo, and Up! Bird Adventure) and meeting Scrooge and Launchpad that afternoon/evening. FastPasses are for Na'vi River at 4:15pm, Festival of the Lion King at 5:30pm, and Kilimanjaro at 6:40pm. We'll probably do dinner at Flame Tree since that's one of the few places we ate last trip that my in-laws liked.

Saturday, October 13th
Hollywood Studios
Rope dropping Toy Story Land, obviously! Penny is SUPER excited to ride Slinky Dog Dash and to meet Jessie! FastPasses are for Alien Swirling Saucers at 10:10am, Rock'n'Roller Coaster at 2:15pm (FIL doesn't like rides but does like upside down roller coasters, go figure), and Tower of Terror at 3:25pm (will probably just end up being Jon and I). Lunch reservations are at Mama Melrose and we'll be doing counter service for dinner.

Sunday, October 14th
Magic Kingdom
We're staying at BLT and we'll have been here 3 days before we go to Magic Kingdom! That might be painful, folks! Penny has a Pirates League appointment at 9:20am and then we'll likely do Pirates of the Caribbean and/or Captain Jack Pirate Tutorial right after. FastPasses today are for Big Thunder Mountain at 9:50am, Enchanted Tales with Belle at 10:50am, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at 11:50am. Lunch will likely be at Pecos Bills because Jon, Penny, and I love it and tacos are a crowd pleaser. We have Chef Mickey's dinner reservations at 6:30pm after we get kicked out for MNSSHP that night.

Monday, October 15th
Epcot
Rope dropping Soarin' (Penny's favorite but I'm not sure if we'll get the in-laws on or not), then FastPasses for Living With the Land at 9:00am, Journey Into Imagination at 10:05am, and Test Track at 11:05am (another one my FIL likes). Lunch is at Biergarten at 12:05 (YAY for giant grapefruit beers!) and dinner will be counter service for the in-laws and Food & Wine for Jon and I. 98 Degrees is playing at Eat to the Beat this night so I'd like to catch some of the show if we have time, but this is also our night we're going to go see Happily Ever After fireworks (new to in-laws and my favorite fireworks) so we'll have to see how timing works out.

Tuesday, October 16th
MNSSHP
Today we're sleeping in! Only plans for the morning/afternoon is swimming at the pool and lunch at either the pool bar or Contempo Cafe. The in-laws don't have park tickets for the day, so Jon will be staying with to help them get into the park at 4pm while I go in a bit early to get in line for Jack and Sally. I'm SO excited to finally see the Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular since Jon and I haven't been to the party since 2012. I also NEED to get the Hocus Pocus spirit jersey. We've got FastPasses for it's a small world at 3:30pm, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at 4:30pm, and Peter Pan's Flight at 5:30pm and we'll probably do Columbia Harbor House for dinner (one of my favorites that I haven't had the past several trips). Party priorities include Jack and Sally, Queen of Hearts & Tweedles, Tarzan and Jane, Jafar, and Lotso, plus Boo to You and the interactive Pirates ride...and trick or treating of course! So we'll have a pretty packed evening.

Wednesday, October 17th
Disney Springs
It's my MIL's birthday and she loves shopping so what a perfect place to celebrate! We'll be sleeping in today after the party the night before, then the first plan of the day is Homecomin' at 12:20pm (FIL's one request to try and I love it so yay!). Jon, Tom, and I are hoping to do the VR experience at some point this afternoon, dinner will be counter service, then we have an Illuminations Cruise setup as a surprise for Karen's birthday that evening. We have a cake set to be delivered on board and we are very excited!

Thursday, October 18th
Epcot
FastPasses today for Frozen Ever After at 9:05am, Seas with Nemo at 10:05am, and Spaceship Earth at 11:05am. The in-laws love our local hibachi restaurant, so lunch reservations are for Teppan Edo at 12:00pm. Dinner will be counter service for the in-laws and Food & Wine for Jon and I.

Friday, October 19th
Magic Kingdom
FastPasses today for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at 9:05am, Big Thunder Mountain at 10:05am, and Splash Mountain at 11:10am. Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern at 11:40am and then Jon and I will be having a date night this evening at Narcoossee's and then we'll see where the night takes us.

Saturday, October 20th
Check Out Day
Breakfast is at Kona Cafe at 10am and then we're kind of leaving our plans up in the air. Currently we have FastPasses for Slinky Dog Dash at 11:05am, Tower of Terror at 12:05pm, and Rock'n'Rollercoaster at 1:05pm, but we're just going to go to whatever park we're aching to hit again. Our flight is at 8pm so we'll be leaving BLT around 5pm. Wah wah. Then back to reality