toodycat
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 4, 2008
Our last Disney vacation was in August 2018. After that, we did some travel to England and to visit family and friends in PA, FL and DE and then COVID-19 hit in early 2020 and we hunkered down in our home, reporting to work on Zoom or Google Meet, Pelotoning or playing video games in the basement, baking sourdough bread and fancy cakes, reading books and watching a whole lot of television. We are past due for a family vacation and all of us were missing Walt Disney World. We planned three trips to the World in the last two years and all of them were canceled—-twice because my doctor felt the risk was too great for someone with my medical history and once because I herniated a disk in my back.
About us: (Mike and Jane) We have been married for nearly 35 years and have a son (Jake) who just turned 28. Our little family of 3 has been visiting Walt Disney World, Disneyland or taking Disney cruises almost every year since 2001. You could say that Jake grew up a Disney kid. However, with circumstances as they were for the past two years, we have not ventured out of our home, except for necessary tasks, because of COVID. I am a teacher and retired in June after 32 years. (This was earlier than I wanted, but pandemic education was no fun for teachers or kids.) Jake was furloughed from his IT job in NYC during COVID and is now working in retail and contemplating a career change. Mike is an IT consultant and has spent the last three years working from his office in out basement.
Mike Jake and I each have a certain role in the Disney dynamic. I research and plan the vacation in terms of flights, resorts and dates. Mike is our logistics manager, keeping track of what time things need to get done, how far one attraction is from another, the best touring plan and anything else practical and efficient. Jake is our historian. He is full of Disney trivia and little known facts. He also has eyes like a hawk and can pick out Hidden Mickeys and Easter eggs better than anyone I know.
So, here we are vaxxed, boosted, masked and ready to do Disney for the first time since 2018.
(Please no negativity on our precautions. I have several health issues that are extremely serious.)
Everything was more or less paid for in advance because of credit from our previous cancellations. But one thing is so much better. Because I have retired, we don’t have to travel during school vacation. In fact, this is our first trip to WDW in May ever! I’ve never seen the Epcot Flower Show before and I’m really excited.
Lodging: We’ll be staying a two-bedroom savanna view at AKL Jambo House, one of my very favorite resorts. We like renting DVC points, so we can get a bigger space to spread out and because we prefer to make our own breakfast every morning.
Park Reservations/Dining:
Day 1: Hollywood Studios, QS Lunch, Dinner at Morimoto in Disney Springs
Day 2: Magic Kingdom, QS Lunch, Dinner at Grand Floridian Cafe, Fireworks Dessert Party
Day 3: Epcot, Lunch at the Flower show stands, Dinner at Tokyo Dining (We love Japanese food.)
Day 4: Magic Kingdom QS Lunch Dinner in Tampa before we catch our flight home from TPA.
“But wait, you’re going to be in Florida?”
Those of you with family in Florida have certainly heard those words. They are usually followed by “And while you’re in Central Florida, why not stop and see us? We only live X hours away.” So since Mike’s family lives in Clearwater and since we have not seen them since 2019, we decided to split the trip between Clearwater Beach and Disney World. We’ll be staying at an Airbnb in Clearwater Beach, trying out some restaurants in Clearwater Beach and Dunedin and visiting St. Pete and Fort De Soto. If you’re wondering why I’m including that part off our vacation, I often see people ask for recommendations about beaches close to Walt Disney World so, I thought: why don’t I report on Clearwater Beach too, so readers can see what it’s like. We just arrived in Clearwater and I’m writing this from our Airbnb. We were up at 4:00 a.m. to make a 7:00 a.m. flight, so I’m kind of tired and running out of things to say, but follow along if you our trip interests you. Here are some pictures of us. I don’t know why Mike and Jake keep coming out sideways.
Expect some Clearwater news tomorrow and Wednesday and then we’ll be at WDW Thursday-Friday.
About us: (Mike and Jane) We have been married for nearly 35 years and have a son (Jake) who just turned 28. Our little family of 3 has been visiting Walt Disney World, Disneyland or taking Disney cruises almost every year since 2001. You could say that Jake grew up a Disney kid. However, with circumstances as they were for the past two years, we have not ventured out of our home, except for necessary tasks, because of COVID. I am a teacher and retired in June after 32 years. (This was earlier than I wanted, but pandemic education was no fun for teachers or kids.) Jake was furloughed from his IT job in NYC during COVID and is now working in retail and contemplating a career change. Mike is an IT consultant and has spent the last three years working from his office in out basement.
Mike Jake and I each have a certain role in the Disney dynamic. I research and plan the vacation in terms of flights, resorts and dates. Mike is our logistics manager, keeping track of what time things need to get done, how far one attraction is from another, the best touring plan and anything else practical and efficient. Jake is our historian. He is full of Disney trivia and little known facts. He also has eyes like a hawk and can pick out Hidden Mickeys and Easter eggs better than anyone I know.
So, here we are vaxxed, boosted, masked and ready to do Disney for the first time since 2018.
(Please no negativity on our precautions. I have several health issues that are extremely serious.)
Everything was more or less paid for in advance because of credit from our previous cancellations. But one thing is so much better. Because I have retired, we don’t have to travel during school vacation. In fact, this is our first trip to WDW in May ever! I’ve never seen the Epcot Flower Show before and I’m really excited.
Lodging: We’ll be staying a two-bedroom savanna view at AKL Jambo House, one of my very favorite resorts. We like renting DVC points, so we can get a bigger space to spread out and because we prefer to make our own breakfast every morning.
Park Reservations/Dining:
Day 1: Hollywood Studios, QS Lunch, Dinner at Morimoto in Disney Springs
Day 2: Magic Kingdom, QS Lunch, Dinner at Grand Floridian Cafe, Fireworks Dessert Party
Day 3: Epcot, Lunch at the Flower show stands, Dinner at Tokyo Dining (We love Japanese food.)
Day 4: Magic Kingdom QS Lunch Dinner in Tampa before we catch our flight home from TPA.
“But wait, you’re going to be in Florida?”
Those of you with family in Florida have certainly heard those words. They are usually followed by “And while you’re in Central Florida, why not stop and see us? We only live X hours away.” So since Mike’s family lives in Clearwater and since we have not seen them since 2019, we decided to split the trip between Clearwater Beach and Disney World. We’ll be staying at an Airbnb in Clearwater Beach, trying out some restaurants in Clearwater Beach and Dunedin and visiting St. Pete and Fort De Soto. If you’re wondering why I’m including that part off our vacation, I often see people ask for recommendations about beaches close to Walt Disney World so, I thought: why don’t I report on Clearwater Beach too, so readers can see what it’s like. We just arrived in Clearwater and I’m writing this from our Airbnb. We were up at 4:00 a.m. to make a 7:00 a.m. flight, so I’m kind of tired and running out of things to say, but follow along if you our trip interests you. Here are some pictures of us. I don’t know why Mike and Jake keep coming out sideways.
Expect some Clearwater news tomorrow and Wednesday and then we’ll be at WDW Thursday-Friday.
