Steve's got his Supply-Chain 50 summit in November and it's at Walt Disney World! An email was sent out yesterday with the dates and information that made it a possibility for Gus and I to join him on this very special trip!
The summit is being held at The Grand Floridian Resort INSIDE the park. Of course it is right??? Apparently, the Grand Floridian is one of the best resorts that you can stay at inside the Magic Kingdom. It's a top-notch hotel. Steve will be staying in the hotel for free during his summit. Then... to make things even more enticing, the resort has offered the summit guests, additional nights (before or after the summit) for $200 a night. The rooms for this resort are usually $600-$800 a night... so this is an INCREDIBLE savings!
So we talked about it and I posted something on FB about Disney and my very good friend Krissy (she's my sorority sister) messaged me about Disney. She LOVES Disney (always has) and has gone with her baby (yes, baby) four times this year already. She goes all the time and knows the ins and outs of the Magic Kingdom.
Krissy said that The Grand Floridian is the nicest resort at Walt Disney World. She said it doesn't get any better than that. :-)
She offered to help me plan our trip! I gave her our dates (November 13-18) and told her that I'll be with Gus on the 14 and 15 and then Steve will be with us on the 16 and 17. There are two things that I REALLY want to do while we're there.
1) Character Dinner (or breakfast if I have to) at Chef Mickey's
Chef Mickey's
I think Gus would LOVE this!! He absolutely LOVES Mickey Mouse and I think the food looks incredible on their dinner menu (it's a buffet). Because Gus is under three, he's free at just about everything (not sure yet if we have to pay for him at the buffet).
Cinderella's Castle with Christmas lights
This party is epic. There's snow on Main Street USA when you enter the park, it's a special event that requires tickets and it's from 7pm-12am. The park is open the whole time and there are rides open and it's pure magic with all the parades and characters and even Santa. I think Gus would love it, but I KNOW I would love it!!
I'm so excited that we'll be at WDW before Thanksgiving, but we'll still get to experience the holiday decorations and beauty. According to everything that I've read, September through the week before Thanksgiving is considered the BEST time to visit WDW. After Thanksgiving and into Christmas and New Year's is the busiest time to visit- so we'll miss all the crowds.
The plan is to drive down on the 13th and then spend the night in the hotel. Depending on what time we arrive, we could head into one of the parks, or even just go swimming at one of the two pools at the resort (the temps in November are usually around 80).
Krissy is planning out a schedule for me so I can see what options I have. I'd LOVE to have family join us on this trip. My mom is going to be at WDW from November 27-December 4th and so we'll just miss seeing her. My dad maybe would have come if my mom was there at the same time, but since she's not, he's not going to come for this.
I'm hoping that maybe Steve's dad and Sue Ann would want to come down. Steve's Uncle Randy lives in Orlando and I'm sure Steve's dad and Sue Ann could stay with him if they wanted and then come meet us at the hotel. We'll see. I'm obviously able to take Gus by myself each day, but it'll be so much more fun with Steve and if others were with us.
It's been 25 years since I was last at WDW. I had not planned on going to the park until Gus was at least five, but being under three is perfect. He'll have just turned 2.5 and I think will have a good time AND he's free! We won't have to pay for him to get in at all, and food is free at buffets. I think there's a reason this presented itself to us like it did and I can't wait!!!
There's a monorail that runs right to our hotel!
Krissy was saying that Hollywood Studios has a Disney Jr. attraction that her daughter loves. I think Gus would love it too, and I've never been to HS, so I think we'll do that on one of the days that Steve is with us. Krissy also said that there's a bus that runs from the GF to Hollywood Studios and usually the people who stay at the GF don't have to wait very long, because Disney likes to keep those guests quite happy. :-)
As if it wasn't already an awesome opportunity, I found out that you can bring in your own snacks and water to the park. We can bring in food to our hotel too, so we'll probably get some breakfast stuff for me and Gus to have instead of eating out. Neither of us eats much for breakfast anyway.
There's also something called Extra Magic Hours and because we'll be staying at the Grand Floridian, we'll get into the park an hour before everyone else! So we can get in at 8am and from 8am-9am it's reserved only for guests staying at selected hotels! How cool is that!!!
In case you can't tell, I'm super excited about this!!! I'll keep everyone posted as we get closer to November, but I am stoked and so thankful that Krissy is helping me with the planning!!!
:-)
