Well since my FP+ window opens up this week, to day was the day to finish up the plans for Birthday on the Boardwalk. Benn and I will be taking my parents for their first trip to WDW in 24 years. The last time they were there, Hollywood Studios was still called MGM and it was less than a year old and Animal Kingdom didn't exist. There was no Soarin, Test Track, or Mission Space. Horizons and Mickey's Birthday Land (later Toon Town Fair) were highlights for us. Beauty and the Beast had not been released yet and if Pixar technically existed, no one had ever heard of it. I've been sending them a little informational tidbit every day since September to prepare them for the trip and I think they're really starting to get excited. They're doing a cruise next week with a group of friends, so when they get back from the cruise they'll really be in Disney mode!
This will be their 4th trip in total and their first staying on property. We'll be traveling over my birthday and celebrating a birthday for everyone except Benn while we're there. Dad's is St. Patrick's Day (March 17), Mom's is April Fool's Day (April 1), and mine is April 7. Mom and Dad will both turn 59 this year and mom is in good health despite suffering from well-controlled epilepsy. The only impact it has on her is that she has to get adequate sleep and she can't do spinning actions or jolting rides or ride backwards for extended periods of time. Dad has had several corrective cardiac procedures that have been largely successful, but he has arthritis in his left knee from being hit by a car when he was a teenager. So this trip will entail a lot of rest breaks and progress may be slow at times. We offered to rent dad an ECV or a wheelchair, but that suggestion was just met with an icy stare, so slow but steady will be the way!
We depart on Saturday, April 5 from our home base at BWI on the 6:20am flight, so if everything is on time, we should be at Boardwalk around 9:30am or so. If the room is ready, we may let dad rest for a bit before we go to EPCOT. The plan is to do about half of EPCOT and IllumiNations on the first day and the second half of EPCOT on our last day. Depending on the time, we'll probably grab some counter service quick at Boardwalk or UK or worst case scenario, at Sunshine Seasons. This will be Future World West day, so we'll hit Journey into Imagination, Soarin, Living with the Land, and The Seas. On the way back, we'll stroll through Innoventions and Club Cool and browse Canada and the UK on the way back to the Boardwalk. Dinner will probably be counter service in Germany and then we'll work our way back toward International Gateway and watch IllumiNations from somewhere near that park exit. Dad doesn't do too well with late nights, so we'll want to get him back to the room ASAP after the show.
Sunday, April 6 is Hollywood Studios. Usually we hit Toy Story first, but usually because we do standby and save our FP for later in the day so we can go again. Since dad won't be able to do the morning rush very quickly, we'll probably just schedule our FP first thing. I think they'll enjoy the ride, but I doubt that they'll care about re-riding later in the day. The only thing I'm ambivalent about here is that they will miss most of the queue and it's so well done. Maybe I'll just make them stand in line! There'll be no need to worry about ToT or RnRC. We'll also hit Great Movie Ride and Voyage of the Little Mermaid--hopefully all before the first Indiana Jones show. Benn and I will take a quick spin on Star Tours. We might be able to get dad to go, but this is definitely a no-go for mom! I'm actually a little bit concerned about her on Toy Story, but I've described the ride to her in detail and she's pretty sure she'll be ok. We'll probably do ABC for lunch and then head over to Lights, Motors, Action. After naptime, we have our one ADR at 50's Prime Time Cafe. Dad used to have the rec room in our basement decorated like a 50's cafe, so this is a must-do for them. After dinner it's the backlot tour, One Man's Dream, and Fantasmic! After we all return to the room, I might take a little side trek over to MK to ride Big Thunder because after the 6th, it is scheduled to be closed for the rest of our trip. But, with EMH and my AP, MK will be open until 1am, so I should be able to ride my favorite ride on my actual birthday. I just have to wait for midnight and do it before I go to sleep. 
Monday, April 7--my actual birthday HAS to be at Magic Kingdom! To help dad out with walking, we're splitting MK into two days, so today will be Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. We'll hit Peter Pan first thing and FP Enchanted Tales with Belle and Under the Sea. I'm HOPING that Mine Train will be on soft opening and we'll be able to use our third FP there. If not, we'll probably do Barnstormer or Buzz Lightyear. Usually we lunch at Pinocchio's, but I don't think dad will like the flatbreads, so we'll either do Columbia Harbor House or Casey's Corner. This will be teacups day! As my dad is the one who fostered my love of all things spinning, I can't wait to do the teacups with him. Benn will keep mom company... After nap time, we'll have dinner at the Earl and explore DTD a bit. If it's a nice night and we have time, we might do Characters in Flight. Depending on time, we'll bus to the Contemporary to go to Top of the World for Wishes. If dad is tired, we'll probably send him back early tonight to rest up for the next two days.
Tuesday, April 8 is MK part 2: Liberty Square, Frontierland (sort of--we're not doing Splash & BTMR is closed, so basically Country Bear Jamboree :/), and Adventureland. We'll probably FP Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, and maybe Wishes? Can we do that now? Lunch will be at Pecos Bill's and if we don't see Festival of Fantasy on Monday, we'll stay for it today and do a late nap. We'll probably hit up the Earl again for dinner and then boat to POFQ and bus back to MK for evening entertainment.
Wednesday, April 9 will be our last day and we'll be back to EPCOT. This will be Future World East day (so basically, Test Track 
). We'll probably hit spaceship Earth, browse the topiaries, do the Great Piggy Bank Adventure and tour the eco house at Innoventions. Then we'll pick up Mexico, Norway and China (lunch at Kringla most likely), grab another caramel apple from Germany and head back to Boardwalk to await Magical Express (or Tragical Express..who gets credit for that? I forget who posted it.)
So that'll be it--this one is short and sweet. I am so super excited about the four of us spending this time together. We haven't vacationed together since we did a cruise to Bermuda in 2005. We all had a great time on that trip and we can't wait to do it again!!! Thanks for reading!
Be good at something. It makes you valuable. Have something to bring to the table because that will make you more welcome. --Randy Pausch
Trip Reports:
December 2013: 10th Anniversary, 1st DVC Stay | April 2014: Birthday on the Boardwalk | May 2014: Star Wars Weekend, Navigating WDW with a wheelchair | August 2014: Villains Unleashed | September/October 2014: MNSSHP, F&W, Tower of Terror 10-miler | March/April 2015: Disneyland and California Coastal Cruise | November 2015: Wine & Dine Half, Food & Wine, 1st Disney Cruise | February 2016: Presidential Classic Gymnastics Meet | March 2016: "Work" Trip, Tours, F&G Festival | April 2016: Conference at Disneyland | Fall 2016: Festive Fall Fun | January 2017: Festival of the Arts | May 2017: AbD Backstage Magic | July 2017: AbD San Francisco | Sorry I had to give up doing trip reports. Too many time commitments right now.
not sure how good an idea the rapids are the day you leave, unless you can get changed somewhere 
lol
