Yep, MORE Disney!

So, in some 'last minute' planning (for ME anyway) we decided to take advantage of the girls 'new' Fall Break and plan a trip to Disney World!

I booked our resort, got our tickets, and even made a whole bunch of ADR's (Advance Dining Reservations - but that's a mouthful) . . . all in the hopes that Disney would offer up their "free dining" promo again, as they have for the past 5 years now (late August/September are a 'slow' period, as all the kiddos head back to school). And I waited . . . and I waited . . . and I began to get just a little nervous that they might not offer it this year (and we'd have a decision to make).

Then, late last week, they FINALLY offered it up again! A few tweaks for this year, but since we always stay at a Mod (their "moderate" level resort - specifically Coronado Springs is my fave) it didn't change at all for us . . . or did it? In a bit of what we may look back on as insanity - we decided to go big this year and upgrade (paying only the difference from the regular Disney Dining Plan) to the Deluxe Dining Plan. Heaven help us, that's gonna be a LOT of food!

But, we didn't really do it for "more" food. We've done the "regular" dining plan a couple of times now, and have always found it to be plenty (and we've always had several snack credits leftover that we had to figure out how to 'burn' at the end of the trip). Rather, we opted to go for it this time and do some of the meals/shows that take *2* "table service" credits that we've steered clear of in the past (lest we have to figure out how to cover that other meal on another day).

So, this trip we'll be doing LOTS of character meals:
Chef Mickey's (x2, 1 dinner and 1 breakfast, bookending our trip with the Fab 5)
The Crystal Palace (Pooh & Friends)
1900 Park Fare (Cinderella & Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine and the Stepsisters)
Donald's Safari Breakfast at Tusker House (Donald, obviously, and Mickey & Friends)
Princess Storybook Breakfast at Akershus (Belle, Ariel, Snow White, Aurora, Cinderella, etc)
Play & Dine at Hollywood & Vine (some of the Playhouse Disney friends - June & Leo from Little Einsteins, and Handy Manny, etc)

As well as a show:
Hoop Dee Doo Revue (I was about the girls' age when *I* last went to the HDDR!)

And, the crowning event . . . dining inside the castle itself!
Cinderella's Royal Table

All those dining credits and ADR's mean another 'plus' for this trip - we'll be having breakfast inside the parks BEFORE rope-drop every day. That's a huge deal for a planner like me! We're not out to hit everything - we've been several times before and we know we'll be back - but, there are still some highlights that get backed up very quickly (yeah, I'm talking about you, Toy Story Mania!). Every time we go, I plan around making it into the parks AT rope drop. So far, that's served us quite well - we get to do a lot before the crowds build and then take a rest in the heat of the afternoon (nap, swim, shower, whatever). But, this will be a whole new animal - INSIDE the parks before rope drop! Pictures of a virtually empty Main Street USA?!? Posing alone with the friends statue?!? Already 3/4ths the way to our favorite attractions before the masses even cross the threshold?!?

I hardly know what to do with myself!!! I'll figure it out in 4 months and 13 days though!