Who/When/Where:

Who: Sue (63), DVC Member
SB (64), husband
Pete & Judy (60’s), DVC friends
Bonnie (60’s), Judy’s friend since kindergarten
Tiana & Jonell (50’s & 60’s), Gainesville friends
Chris (35), son
Amanda (33), daughter-in-law
Ari (5), grandson
Dates: November 6 – 15, 2021
Resort: Disney’s Beach Club Villas 11/6-11/8, Disney’s Boardwalk Villas Resort 11/9-11/15
Experience: Very Experienced – 55th stay at BCV, 30th stay at BWV

INTRODUCTION:
This is the main Food & Wine Festival trip for this year, so it will be longer than most of my trips. It’s also the first trip in a long time where the weather should be comfortable, and it’s the trip with the most people involved. It’ll be somewhat busy/hectic but should be a lot of fun too! The trip begins with the arrival of a cold front, which includes the probability of rain at the front end and then a couple days of cooler than normal temperatures. The timing really sucks, as I would love for my solo days to be the warm ones – I’m free to just lay by the pool or on the beach, while later in the week I’ll be in the parks with family/friends. But, I have to admit it’s better than having a trip full of 90+ degree days!

I’m starting out with a few solo nights in a Beach Club Villas studio. I just couldn’t resist getting a little more Food & Wine time for me, before spending the extra points for a 1-bedroom villa to include SB. As luck would have it my cruise buddy Fran will be at BCV November 3-6 along with her daughter & son-in-law from NJ. She, Holli & I embark on an 11-night HAL cruise December 1st! For years as Fran & I were cruising together (after her husband passed away) Lauren (daughter) assumed that “Sue” was a fake name for some guy her mom had met <g>. Finally one year we took a selfie in Bonaire and Fran sent it to her – she was surprised, lol! Their last night is the night I arrive, so we made plans to meet for drinks at Martha’s Vineyard. When I arrive earlier that day I’ll head to Disney Springs and use my Landry’s birthday credit for lunch at Lava Lounge if they’ll take it there. If not, it’ll be Rainforest Café or T-Rex. I’ll also do the virtual queue at Gideon’s for a cookie. The special cookie this month is something I’m not sure I’ll try. It’s chocolate but has a touch of cayenne pepper & cinnamon – being a non-adventurous eater I may stick with something more traditional. Too bad they don’t give out tiny samples – I don’t want to risk $6 on a cookie I don’t like.

The next day (Sunday) Pete & Judy (& probably Bonnie) arrive, staying across Crescent Lake at Boardwalk Villas. Pete & Judy don’t have an annual pass so they’ll be using 6-day park hopper tickets they have. Their trip is longer than that, so they’ve planned for “no park” days to relax in between the park visits. I believe Bonnie has the weekday pass, and she’s here until the 11th of November. Pete & Judy haven’t been here in a couple of years, so of course they’re interested in all the parks – and the stuff that’s new to them.

Tuesday I check out of Beach Club Villas and move over to a 1-bedroom at Boardwalk Villas. Along with Pete & Judy we planned this as an off day, just planning to enjoy the pool & relax. I’ll probably make a run to Publix to get what we’ll need for the rest of the week, and I’ll be able to stash my stuff & the groceries in Pete & Judy’s villa until ours is ready. SB will arrive this day – hopefully he can arrive just after I get into the villa. Pete & Judy can’t go into Epcot today, but SB & I can run over there for a bit – it’ll be his first Food & Wine experience this year.

Our friends Tiana & Jonell will join us for a day of Food & Wine, so we agreed on Thursday. Weekends may be too unpleasant, as we’d like to enjoy it without huge crowds. Pete, Judy & Bonnie will probably head elsewhere that day, but we can all meet up at Epcot after 2 when park hopping starts. The trip concludes with Chris, Amanda & Ari arriving for the final weekend, staying in a studio at Boardwalk Villas. We were all together in Hilton Head last May, so Ari should remember Pete & Judy from that trip. Chris’ family heads home sometime Sunday, and SB & I go home Monday morning to get back to work. Pete & Judy stay a few days longer.

Pete’s birthday is late October and mine is early November (Amanda’s is early November as well) so we may need to plan to use our birthday credits from Levy Restaurants and Landry. I know Pete & Judy can use the Landry credit near home but we don’t have anything Landry in Gainesville. The Levy Restaurants credit is only at Terralina or Paddlefish, and between us each couple has a $25 credit.

The plans so far are:
Saturday 11/6: Drive to WDW, Gideon’s, Lava Lounge, Martha’s Vineyard
Sunday 11/7: Food & Wine, Pool, Pete & Judy arrive
Monday 11/8: Magic Kingdom, Pool, Food & Wine
Tuesday 11/9: Move to Boardwalk, Pool, SB arrives, Food & Wine
Wednesday 11/10: Animal Kingdom, Pool, Food & Wine
Thursday 11/11: Food & Wine w/Tiana & Jonell
Friday 11/12: Pool, Food & Wine
Saturday 11/13: Magic Kingdom, Pool, Food & Wine
Sunday 11/14: Hollywood Studios, Pool, Food & Wine
Monday 11/15: Drive to Gainesville

Sue/WDW1972