Walt Disney World September 2016 - Adults Only (Planning)

It's time for vacation again.  I can't wait.  It's been almost a year and it feels like 10.  We are getting ready to head to Orlando again and visit one of my favorite places, Walt Disney World.  I know, I know.....we were just there last year.  If I could, I would go every year.  This trip will be different than last year though.  Last year, we went with my whole family and it was our first vacation/trip with our daughter.  This time it will be my wife and I and 2 of our friends.  Adults only.  Yippee!  Not that we didn't really love taking our daughter and all of the new experiences with her, but it is a very different experience.

This all came about right after we got back from our trip last year.  We went to a Sporting KC game with some friends and were talking about our trip. Several of them really wanted to go.  I thought they were just blowing smoke at the time.  Shortly after that, the conversation became much more serious and we booked the trip in February.  It will be the first time the four of us have travelled together, but I am expecting it to be a smooth, fun experience.

To setup the trip, I'll do a quick discussion of our planning process as I did with the last trip.  We leave this Sunday so the planning is pretty much complete.  Here we go:

When:  We are leaving this Sunday and come back Friday.  It again will be during Food & Wine Festival so we are excited to enjoy that again.  When we got back from our trip last year, my wife and I were talking about the trip and comparing it to previous trips.  Her reaction to Food & Wine was she felt "gipped" because we didn't get to do too much Food & Wine as Ellie was not eating that type of food and she would go to bed early each night.  This was actually one of the big factors that made us decide to go back this year.  We wanted to have more time to enjoy and explore Food & Wine at EPCOT.

I am a little worried about the weather though.  From what I can tell it has been hot and humid in Orlando lately.  This does not go well with my wife and I.  We both melt in those circumstances.  We'll see how it goes.

Hotel:  We are staying at the Boardwalk again this year.  We LOVED this resort.  The location is fantastic and the villas are great.  The one we stayed in last year was a studio and it had been recently renovated.  It was great.  A very nice room with plenty of room.  We'll have even more room this year as it is just the 2 of us in the room.  This is also the ultimate location for EPCOT and the Food & Wine Festival.  I would also like to do some bar exploring in the EPCOT resort area.  There are some great bars and lounges at the Boardwalk, Swan and Dolphin.  We couldn't do that with kids (not easily anyway).

Airfare & Tickets:  We are flying Southwest again and have some pretty good flights.  The rates are not great, but not bad either.  We bought out tickets through the same site as last year.  We are actually using a ticket from a previous trip for my wife, so we'll see how that goes with the new system.

Dining:  Dining is going to be a little different this time.  The four of us going would probably consider ourselves foodies.  We love food and all kinds of food.  We have allotted plenty of time to explore the Food & Wine Festivals for several meals.  We also have several reservations.  They are:

• Rose & Crown at EPCOT
• Be Our Guest for lunch at the Magic Kingdom
• The Hollywood Brown Derby at Hollywood Studios
• Flying Fish at the Boardwalk
• California Grill at the Contemporary

They are all going to be great, but I am really looking forward to Flying Fish and the California Grill.  We have eaten at Flying Fish before and it was great.  The restaurant has gone through a renovation so it is not exactly the same as before and it is getting great reviews.  We did not get to eat there last time, so that will be nice.  I have never eaten at the California Grill and I am really looking forward to it.  This restaurant is located at the top of the Contemporary hotel and has a great view from there.  The food sounds amazing and it has a spectacular wine list.  The best part is our reservations are at 9:00pm (kind of late) and we'll be able to watch the fireworks for the Halloween party at the Magic Kingdom from the restaurant or out on a rooftop area outside.  That will be great.  

Check out our custom Magic Bands

Fast Passes & Magic Bands:  The Magic Bands were probably the biggest surprise from our last trip.  They were great (as long as you don't lose yours).  My wife won't go without one at this point.  It is great because your ticket, room key, credit card, Fast Passes and more are all linked to the Magic Band.  We have even decorated our Magic Bands this year (wow, we are dorks).

The Fast Passes will also be a little different than our last trip.  We have tried to book all of the E-ticket rides, and were pretty much able to do so.  My wife and I are even going to be able to ride the new Frozen ride in EPCOT.  I should have also mentioned that one of our travel companions has not been to Disney World since she was a little girl.  She is really looking forward to it and we are trying to get as many of the big rides in as possible.

Well, I don't know about you, but I'm ready to go.  This is going to be great.  Hopefully there will be some relaxation, but it is going to be commando most of the trip.  We still need to pack, but that shouldn't be too bad.  See you when we get back.