AKL- Club Level : Itinerary Help!!

Love your plan. AND love AKL...it's one of our "home" resorts. Although relaxing at the Lodge sounds wonderful for your first night, we're usually too excited to sit there....we want to GOOOOOO.. So Raglan is a great choice for dinner. You get in the Disney spirit without actually hitting the parks.
Love the fact that you're taking the Sunrise Safari. That is amazing in itself. Don't second guess yourself. You've done an amazing job planning this trip. You're getting ENGAGED!!! You can count on the fact you'll be back. In fact, just for fun, check out the Disney Vacation Club. If you both love Disney, it's the only way to go!

Congratulations on your upcoming engagement. Your girlfriend is getting a wonderful partner in you!

great plans for the week. if you are planning on getting to disney early enough the first day it is a great idea to spend your first night downtown, i love just walking around at night there when it is cooler, grab a margarita at the outside margarita bar near the water and just sit there and relax. it is a great first night after the flight to just relax downtown.

we got dvc on our honeymoon in 2005 before we had a kid just for the fact that we new once we had that no matter what was going on we could always take a family vacation every year. it is awesome and the best decision we ever made. my only suggestion is look and see what dvc locations are available if you have any options, sometimes there are openings at older dvc resorts. we are in ssr and love the resort just wish it was located closer to a park like epcot or mk and not dtd

I think that you plan sound fantastic, and I don't think it would be too much trouble to head to DTD on your first night at all. Besides, you can always change your mind at the last minute and hang out at the hotel if you want. It's a beautiful hotel to hang out at, and the concierge lobby serves cordials and desserts in the late evening.

My only question is that I'm not sure Hollywood Stuidos is a 2 day park. At least I know it's not for my family. I would spend the extra Park day at Epcot, but that might just be me. I get a little bored at Hollywood Studios.

I'm a DVC Member and we own at Animal Kingdom Lodge, it's the best purchase that we've ever made.

Cant agree more!

LOL!! She'll be blown away!

I love all of these, and I'm fond of how relaxing it can be just eating at the hotel.
However, I would not miss California Grill for anything and I love Ohana, so I would keep them.

Agreed. California Grill has given me the best 2 meals I've ever eaten in my life. I mean, I am only 23, but they were AMAZING! and I've never eaten at Ohana, but its planned for my next trip, just based on the reviews people around here and DFB give it!

I just wanna know when you're doing the proposal and if you've decided how you're going to do it yet!

I too was going to ask when/where you planned on popping the question?

Yes! inquiring minds want to know.

Wow!! You're girlfriend is a lucky girl!! She really has met Prince Charming!!

Before I do away with Ohana, I would do Jiko on the first night instead of Raglan Road (like you considered in the first place.) I just think on your first trip, you should definitely do Ohana and California Grill if you can. Having said that, they are ALL wonderful places (I love Raglan Road.) And if you are going to DTD, doing it on a weeknight is definitely a good thing.

So, here is my thought: Pens down. You are very excited - with awesome reason! - but there is NO way that you can do everything on this trip. It sounds like there will definitely be others! You have planned an awesome trip with lots of varied experiences. Go with what you've got and book that flight!

I can't wait to hear about it. Your strategies for beating the heat are sound, too. I hope you do a trip report!

dont throw away O'Hana.. just stick with what you have and it will be perfect!!!

My vote for the proposal is either the Hot Air Balloon ride the first night!!! =) If you dont do it at the beginning and wait a day or two, you will probably be a nervous wreck and she will catch on that something isn't right.. just do it! =)

I was going to say the same thing Emmanne said. On a vacation you should be relaxed and trust me you will be nervous. you will catch on. I knew my now husband was going to propose because of these very reasons. He brought flowers to my mom when he picked me up for dinner, he took the wrong way to our favorite restaurant, he got up to go to the bathroom like 3x during dinner (i now know it was because he kept checking on the ring), he didn't finish his meal, and he barely spoke. All those combined in a 2.5 hour dinner (with our wait and drinks at the bar) made me guess about half way through dinner what was going on. You should do it on the plane! or in the airport in Orlando. So that when you get to disney you can spend the whole trip as newly engaged!

So she knows, huh? But she doesn't know the BIG part!

Okay, quick personal story. For a million reasons that would make this a long story if I explained them, my then-boyfriend and I had been apart for a year (with the exception of one week). I was living in England at the time. He came to visit. We ended up in Paris together. He had a ring with him. I had no clue. When we each tell others the story of our engagement at THE Eiffel Tower, his version is completely woven around the fact that he wanted to get that ring on my finger as fast as possible so he did not have to worry about losing it or me accidentally finding it. He de-railed our Paris Day 1 plans to get us to the Eiffel Tower as soon as possible so he could find a way to focus on ANYTHING except, "Where's the ring? Where's the ring? Where's the ring?"

I think you might end up being the same way. And you don't want to have to be worrying about that. Plus, he wanted us to spend as much of our short time together as --- engaged --- and not boyfriend/girlfriend. Same might be true with you, not sure. So... why not do it the first night during the "relax and explore Animal Kingdom Lodge" part of your arrival plan above? There is a great spot at AKL, outside, where you can view the animals. You could be there, viewing animals, asking someone to take a picture of the two of you, hand them your camera, and - boom - (if you're planning of getting on one knee) - down on your knee, and .

That's my thought. Do with it what you wish.

Here's a side thought on the photo part for you to consider. The ONE thing we do not have from our engagement is a photo of THE moment. He just couldn't figure out how to swing that part in the midst of busy Paris. It is the one thing I wish we had. He, however, LOVES that there is not a photo of the actual moment. He says that moment was just for us and will always be only ours, which is sort of sweet when you thing about it. The photo from about one minute AFTER sits on our mantel. Almost 14 years later, do I wish we had that picture? Yeah, probably. Is he happy we don't? Yeah, he holds tight to the fact that no one else gets to share that moment except us. And in the end... it's one of the few times that HE gets to actually make all the decisions, so, there's no photo, just about 20 of the next five minutes.

Hope that helps,
Dreams

I f you do it on the Characters in Flight balloon the Capt. would be happy to take photos just ask.