Well, here we go again! Our last trip was August 2011, and we were in Disneyland in December, but we booked our flight and room at Port Orleans French Quarter two nights ago!

June 17, 2012 - June 25, 2012

Cast: Mom and I are heading down June 17, 2012 (about a week after my graduation) and we'll meet up with my grandparents the next day. My aunt, uncle, and cousins will be at WDW around the same time, but I'm not sure we'll spend much time in the parks with them. I guess we'll see in a couple months!

Method: Our flight is from Raleigh to Orlando, around 2pm on Sunday June 17. We arrive in Orlando a little after 3pm. We're taking Magical Express from MCO to POFQ. We've only done Magical Express once, years ago, and it wasn't a great experience, due to the size of the group and the late hour that we arrived in Florida. Hopefully this time will be better!

Accommodations: We're staying from June 17 to June 25 in Port Orleans French Quarter. I love this resort! It's probably my favorite moderate. When we stayed here last summer, it was one of the most magical experiences of all our Disney trips. We met amazing cast members, got several free birthday treats, were honored to receive a ton of Mardi Gras beads from the sweetest cast member I've ever met, and enjoyed the pool and the grounds. I especially love the boat from POFQ to Downtown Disney!

Other: This will double as my birthday trip (I turn 18 in August) I think we'll only get park tickets for 5 or 6 days (the verdict is still out - if you have any suggestion, please post!), and spend the remaining 2/3 doing the Boardwalk, Downtown Disney, and enjoying our resort. We also love to go over to the Magic Kingdom resorts and walk around the shops and restaurants there (they serve the soft-serve pineapple ice cream from Aloha Isle in the Polynesian food court

So far we haven't really done a ton of planning. Mom and I do most of the official planning for our Disney trips, and Grandma and Grandpa just kind of come along and enjoy the ride. They come to WDW about twice a month for day trips, so they don't necessarily feel like they need to "run the show" and do all their favorites when they're here with us. My grandmother is so sweet. I know she always avoids going back to WDW when we leave for a month or two because it makes her sad to go without us.

The meals Mom and I have pretty much decided we want to make reservations for are Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch (I've never eaten here, but the rest of my party has and enjoyed it a good deal), Les Chefs de France for a late lunch/early dinner (although I'm not sure which meals this restaurant is a character meal and which it isn't - need to check AllEars), Hollywood Brown Derby for lunch (my favorite!), and possibly the Garden Grove Cafe at the Swan resort for lunch one of the days when we'll be out of the parks. As for counter-service, we have our favorites and we rarely deviate (even though variety IS the spice of life). We almost always do Columbia Harbour House and sit at the same table above Fantasyland/Liberty Square, Pecos Bills, the Sunshine Seasons at the Land, Kringla Bakeri in Norway, Backlot Express at DHS, and Flame Tree BBQ at Animal Kingdom. You never know though, we could still decide to be adventurous! There are always tons of other snacks scattered in, these are just the staples. And, of course, beignets at the POFQ food court. These should be sold some other places throughout Disney! My favorite thing to eat!!!

Anyway, I'll post soon on which days we plan to do which parks, etc based on Extra Magic Hours. Please feel free to let me know if you have other dining suggestions/comments! Also, if you have ideas for things we could do on our days outside of the parks (though I know there's TONS to do around the resort!), please leave a comment! I love to get ideas from the MousePlanet family!

Have a magical day!

67 days until we're THERE! and I'll be done with high school!!!!!