Orlando 2017 Planning Our Vacation

It is only just over 8 months since we returned from Orlando but we will shortly be returning. It felt like we had unfinished business following our last vacation. We hardly explored Disney Springs, Hogwarts Express broke down plus Fantasmic got cancelled mid performance.  Our Orlando 2017 Planning will try to complete these gaps.

So quick is our return the vlogs from our last trip are not even complete. This time we will be staying in Loews Royal Pacific and Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside. In total we will be staying for 16 nights.

Initial Orlando 2017 Planning.

Like last year our planning process started early to make sure we got those key Disney Booking windows as soon as they opened. We also have a Disney Dining Plan and we made sure we booked as soon as possible to get all our first choice restaurants.  Throughout all our  planning we made sure we avoided those dreaded Disney World mistakes. 

Transportation

We are on vacation so why drive?

Yet again we will not be hiring a car and instead using the excellent resort transport options.

This time we may even experience Uber!

Universal Resort Orlando 2017 Planning.

Yet again we are staying at Loews Royal Pacific. The hotel was lovely when we last stayed.

Again we will make good use of the free Universal Express Pass which I understand now includes all attractions….even Harry Potter!

On our arrival day we will head to the park if not too tired but will aim to have an early night.

Our first day will be at Universal Studios and second will be at Islands of Adventure.

Have a look at our Must-Do list for Universal Orlando 2017.

Walt Disney World 2017 Planning

On this vacation we are staying at Riverside. It was a late booking but we purchased the Disney Dining Plan as it seems better value for UK bookings.

We have secured Fastpass Reservations for all our top attractions and got all our dining reservations.

Since our last trip plenty has changed. New evening shows, alcohol in the Magic Kingdom & Pandora- The World of Avatar for a start.

Our time will be spent across all 4 parks plus we will also visit a water-park. In addition we plan to have a day in Disney Springs, visit the Character Warehouse and do some Resort Hopping…..Not any Resort Hopping BUT Extreme Resort Hopping.

We also have a birthday to celebrate whilst we are away and a special treat the kids don’t know about yet.

Due to it being summer we intend to have plenty of breaks and take advantage of cooler less busy periods.

Have a look at our Must-Do list for Orlando 2017.

Dining Reservations

We always love Disney Dining and have spent sometime planning new dining experiences as well as visiting old favourites. Like ever visit deciding on our dining venues has been one of the best bits of our Orlando 2017 planning. Our reservations this year are:-

• Princess Storybook Dining

• Jungle Skipper Canteen which we loved on our last trip.

• Yak & Yeti
• Boma
• Coral Reef
• Mama Melrose Fantasmic Dining Package

• Kona Cafe 1st visit
• Chef de France which we were disappointed in last time we visited
• T-Rex

• Sanaa which was a big favourite from our last trip
• The Wave
• Le Cellier 1st visit & costs 2 credits.
• 50’s Prime Time Cafe

Our reservations include 3 restaurants we visited in October and 2 first time visits. We feel it is quite a varied and exciting collection.

In addition we have made a reservation for Breakfast at Be Our Guest. However; perhaps our most exciting booking is Brunch at California Grill whilst we are birthday celebrating.

Live Blogging

Just the packing to complete and we will be off to Orlando. Keep checking on the Blog as I will attempt to bring daily updates.

Why not have a look at our Guide to Walt Disney World & our Introduction to Universal Orlando Resort?