Well, with just a few days to go, I thought I should come back and update this with our final plans, in preparation for writing the trip report!
When I wrote this last Easter, we had only booked the cruise - knowing we wanted a four-day cruise towards the end of August meant we were limited to the dates around it. When free dining was announced, we ummed and aahed about which hotel to go for - we had been looking at OKW and POR and then decided life was too short and booked the Beach Club for five days! Eek! Oh well, Nigel's only 50 once, right?
We've never stayed on site for more than a night or had any kind of dining plan, so very excited.
We will be using Magical Express for the first time from the airport and I know that Nigel is looking forward to having a drink on the plane and then not having to battle car hire at the airport. We have booked a car to be collected from the Disney Car Centre the next day.
The usual flight dilemma hung over us for ages as we investigated all the different options available. Three adults in August is never going to be cheap and we spent ages looking at indirect options but decided, in the end, to suck up the difference and fly direct with BA from Gatwick.
We then began the hunt for a villa for the rest of our trip. We managed to find a lovely 2 bedroom villa in Indian Ridge Oaks - we have stayed in this area before and like how close it is to everything. We also decided to add on a night at RPR to get front of the line passes - another new experience.
We ummed and aahed for ages about our ADRs but, in the end, decided to go for a couple of old favourites - Crystal Palace and Ohana - and Hoop de Doo Revue; who doesn't love an evening of chicken and ribs and cheesy song and dance?!
We also wanted to try Teppan Edo so booked that, too - but the CM wasn't letting us get away that easily! "You haven't booked Be Our Guest and I have a slot available for dinner during your dates - would you like it?" How could we resist?! Later on, as we saw posts saying how tricky people were finding it to get ADRs, we felt very grateful to that CM!
We have booked a whole range of Fastpasses but still plan to make rope drop to, hopefully, get some of the other rides under our belt. We managed to get everything we wanted although Wishes was a bit of a struggle but managed it for our very last day, which should be nice.
And that's where we're up to now! We're not getting stressed about trying to do everything - we have been a few times and are looking forward to a more relaxing holiday. I got a new camera for my birthday (yay!) and Nigel got a GoPro so planning on lots of photography and hanging about at Stormalong Bay (if the weather is kind - eek!)
See you on the other side!