[dznygrl]

I'll admit that I love to slave for long hours over planning a WDW trip. That's half the fun!! But I really need to enlist some help from DC friends to help me make a couple of decisions. Planning our 1-year anniversary trip to WDW...Ryan's first trip...and I want it to be really special. But budget, as always, is an issue. *sigh* How I wait for the day when budget is NOT an issue...

Decision 1: Package or no package?
The Silver Plan looks rather appealing for our trip, because we want to experience a lot of things...restaurants, water rentals, tours, etc. But is it really worth the cost? I can't decide whether or not we would be able to use all of our features. Can't figure out whether or not it would be worth it to book the package, or just go at it all seperately.

Decision 2: Splurge resort or cheap resort?
Ryan doesn't care. He's just as fine with a Value resort as with a Moderate or a Deluxe. But I can't make up my darn mind. I've stayed at both a Value and a Deluxe, and both of them were great. I thought about staying at a Value for most of the trip, but spending 1 or 2 nights at a nicer resort for our anniversary. But then that kind of messes up the whole package thing, doesn't it?

Decision 3: What kind of surprises can I plan?
I'm trying to plan lots of little surprises to make Ryan's first trip to WDW as magical as possible. But my creativity seems to have flown out the window. And I SUCK at keeping secrets. So if we come up with ideas, they're gonna hafta stay right here in this thread! LOL. It's hard enough just keeping this planning secret from him. He thinks we've decided to stay at a Value the entire time, and that's that. But I want at least *something* to surprise him with. Anything.

I really work too hard at this. It could be simple, but I refuse to let it be. I want everything to be perfect! Well, as perfect as is possible...LOL. With my crazy life, you never know how things are going to go!

I appreciate ANY input whatsoever. Thanx!

[cinderbella]

As far as romantic dining places...some will say victoria and alberts..others will say someother god awful expensive restaurant...i will say...the rose and crown...right around the time of illuminations..you get to eat on the porch and watch fireworks and have a waiter or waitress with a pretty cool accent..and my god the steak is yummy...as far as value vs. deluxe...stay at the value and spend your money in the parks....you basically just sleep there...it is NICE to be on the monorail yaddy yady yaddy...but do what the dave and i did...go visit one and then pinky swear that youll stay there one day...

[dznygrl]

Originally Posted by cinderbella

do what the dave and i did...go visit one and then pinky swear that youll stay there one day...

Good idea! Thanks for the suggestions. I had never even thought of the Rose and Crown. What is pricing like there?

[tiggerfan74]

I can not offer any help with the package thing cause I live in Florida and have never done one. However, as far as the hotel goes, I would base my decision on how much time you plan on spending in the hotel. If you are only using it for a place to rst your head in between all you activities, I would say go Value. But, if you want the hotel to be part of the experience, go moderate or deluxe. I will admit the deluxe are all romantic, but CBR and PO-RS can be as well. That way you are not spending a fortune on the room, but still getting atmosphere. The San Angel Inn in Mexico at Epcot is very romantic as far as restaurants go and I would agree with Cinderbella on the ones she mentioned as well.As for the surprises, what does he like? Dose he have a favorite character? You order almost anything and have it the room. If he golfs Disney has golf packages.Does he like video games? DisneyQuest might be the way to go there. Anyway, I hope I have been a little help to you. Have fun. Planning is half the fun of the trip !

[dznygrl]

Mmm...you guys are helping me a lot already! Ryan's favorite character (by far) is Goofy. He's also a BIG pin collector, mostly of Goofy pins & Splash Mountain pins. I suppose I could always have something in the room for him...that would be way cool.

Thanks for suggestions! I'm always open to more...keep 'em coming!

[tiggerfan74]

Maybe you could make one of your meals a character meal with Goofy there. I think he at Chef Mickey's! That might be fun !

[dznygrl]

Originally Posted by tiggerfan74

Maybe you could make one of your meals a character meal with Goofy there. I think he at Chef Mickey's! That might be fun !

Great idea! I know Ryan is already expecting certain things...like renting WaterMice and eating dinner at 'Ohana...because I blab about how awesome they are, but I hadn't even thought of planning other meals without him knowing. :) He wants me to be in charge of planning the whole thing anyway, so I guess I will take the liberty I'm being given and pick out some extra-special things to do.

[tiggerfan74]

Thats' right ! Just make sure you don't tell him ! I toally sympathize you, I too, am a very bad secret keeper , I just love to tell people good things !!

[dznygrl]

Hey! I was just looking at disneydirect.com and thought of something I could do...I could pick out some special clothes for our trip, and pack them in his suitcase right before we leave so he won't find them until we get there! What do you think of that?

[tiggerfan74]

That's a great idea!! The he'll be surprised when you get there!

[dznygrl]

I think I will do that. I wish I had a bunch of money to splurge on it right now, because they have some *perfect* items on sale...including Goofy pajamas that he would love! Keeping them hidden would be the problem. Maybe I can have them sent to my father-in-law's workplace, and then he can keep them hidden at his house. Yeah...

[Storm59]

Originally Posted by dznygrl

I think I will do that. I wish I had a bunch of money to splurge on it right now, because they have some *perfect* items on sale...including Goofy pajamas that he would love! Keeping them hidden would be the problem. Maybe I can have them sent to my father-in-law's workplace, and then he can keep them hidden at his house. Yeah...

Goofy jammies sound great Good luck with the secret keeping! I haven't told my kids yet that we're going, I'd like to totally surprise them, but this is the first trip we've done as pet owners, and they're going to wonder why daddy is taking the rabbit to Uncle Alan's the day before the flight. I have to think up a story for that!

Le Cellier is another great restaurant to look into. It can be loud during the day with kids, but at night it's a bit more sedate, and the filet mignon is to die for! But I have a secret (well, not so secret) fondness for the Rose and Crown as well.

If you book half your vacation at a Value, and half at a Deluxe, that might work. You'd have two separate reservations, and have to book two package deals if you're going with a package, but they do it all the time. What deluxe were you thinking about? I always thought the Wilderness Lodge would be romantic!!


Good luck, and I say go for the Goofy jammies.

[boucher0911]

Originally Posted by Storm59

Goofy jammies sound great Good luck with the secret keeping! I haven't told my kids yet that we're going, I'd like to totally surprise them, but this is the first trip we've done as pet owners, and they're going to wonder why daddy is taking the rabbit to Uncle Alan's the day before the flight. I have to think up a story for that!

Le Cellier is another great restaurant to look into. It can be loud during the day with kids, but at night it's a bit more sedate, and the filet mignon is to die for! But I have a secret (well, not so secret) fondness for the Rose and Crown as well.

If you book half your vacation at a Value, and half at a Deluxe, that might work. You'd have two separate reservations, and have to book two package deals if you're going with a package, but they do it all the time. What deluxe were you thinking about? I always thought the Wilderness Lodge would be romantic!!


Good luck, and I say go for the Goofy jammies.

I have to agree - Dh and I love Le Cellier for a romantic dinner as well. If you go there, request a quiet corner though, because it can be a little hectic if you are sitting right out in the middle of everything. Food is wonderful and reasonable (Dh likes the steaks, and I got the chops and they were awesome, too).

As far as romantic encounters he might not expect - try booking a cruise around the lagoon at night. We never actually got to do this (even though I wanted to), but for our honeymoon we stayed at WL and were able to ride the boat back from MK one night with only a few others on the boat with us. It was really magical being out on the water looking back at the castle all lit up. Plus if you time it right, there is the light parade on the lagoon (if they still do that?).

Also, DH had flowers waiting in the room when we arrived at the resort and that was a nice surprise for me. Shortly after we arrived, the hotel sent us champagne and glasses with chocolates. So make sure to tell EVERYONE at Disney it is your anniversary - they really went out of their way to make it special for our honeymoon (and I've seen them do it for anniversaries as well). Right down to one of the bus drivers singing to us... That was a bit embarassing, but definitely memorable!

[karliebug]

How about the illuminations cruise? You should look at giftofalifetime.com (I hope that's the right address). They have pixies that will decorate your room for you or help you plan surprises. You can get "rehitched" at the garden grill in Epcot for lunch or dinner. That is cute.

[Dana]

You can still book a package with a value and a deluxe. You can have two reservations is all. Honestly, go with the value. It's only the two of you and if Ryna doesn't mind, go to a value. You two like to run the parks all day right? so a deluxe is kinda wasting money. Book a night on your special day at one of the deluxes and end your trip there. I will have more experience after my trip about switching and would be happy to let you knwo how it goes.