A Very Dapper Itinerary

Let's talk about our Very Dapper Girls Getaway itinerary. We don't create a detailed daily itinerary but we do like to know what park(s) we will go to each day. To come up with our itinerary we consider a number of things: 

*Predicted crowd levels

*Extra magic hours

*Special events

*Do we want to park hop

Once we decide where we will be each day we can choose our restaurants. We don't want to be spending a lot of our time getting to dinner each day so knowing where we will be helps us narrow down our dining choices to nearby locations. 

Day 1 (Arrival Day/EPCOT)

Amanda arrives about an hour earlier than I do so she will pick up the rental car and then come get me and then we are off to Disney World! Once we check into the Boardwalk, we plan to go to EPCOT for the afternoon and evening. Since Food & Wine Festival will be going on, we will likely eat from the booths for lunch. For dinner we plan to try out the Tutto Gusto Wine Bar. Neither of us have been here so we are excited for this. Tutto Gusto is not on the dining plan, so we are paying out of pocket for this meal, and it doesn't take reservations so we are playing it by ear.

Day 2 (Hollywood Studios)

This morning we are not planning on being at the park at opening - which is honestly out of character for us! We have breakfast reservations at Trail's End at Fort Wilderness Resort. After breakfast we will spend the day at Hollywood Studios. We have afternoon FastPass+ reservations so we won't feel like we missed out by not getting to the park early. Dinner tonight will be Kona Cafe at the Polynesian Village Resort. We also plan to get drinks at Trader Sam's (I might be looking forward to this a little too much!). Depending on how we feel after dinner we might also go to Disney Springs (aka Downtown Disney) and check out the new Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar! 

Day 3 (Magic Kingdom)

Today we will get to the park for Extra Magic Hour at 8am. We always like to get there a little early so we can watch the rope drop ceremony. It's one of my favorite things! Once we get in some early morning rides, we have breakfast reservations at Be Our Guest. Can you say Croissant Doughnut??? After more time in the park, we have lunch reservations at Tony's Town Square Restaurant before we head back to our room for a break and to change into our costumes for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party that night! That night we will be back at the Magic Kingdom for the party. 

Day 4 (EPCOT) 

This will be another get up and go early day. One of the best parts of staying at the Boardwalk is we are able to walk or take a boat to EPCOT. It's seriously great. Also makes it easy for us to take a break in the middle of the day if we want. So we will spend the morning in Future World and then once the World Showcase opens up it's Food & Wine Festival time! We do not have a dining reservation today. We bought the Food & Wine Festival sampler package and will be using that plus our snack credits to peruse the various booths. It's going to be a good day! 

Day 5 (Hollywood Studios/Magic Kingdom)

We are probably looking forward to this day the most. It's Dapper Day! I'm pretty sure we are going to have to get up at like 4am to start getting ready but that's ok - we probably will be too excited to sleep. As Dapper Day is technically being held at Hollywood Studios we plan to start our day there. We have lunch reservations at 50's Prime Time Cafe (because...duh) and then at some point we plan to go to the Magic Kingdom. 

Day 6 (Animal Kingdom)

Today we will be checking out of the Boardwalk. We will be spending one night at Cabana Bay Beach Resort at Universal. But, before we move over there, we have one last fun day at Disney left! Since we have not been to Animal Kingdom yet this trip (which feels a little weird for us) we will obviously be going there in the morning. Dinner tonight is pretty exciting. We will be going to Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue at Fort Wilderness Resort. We chose the 4pm show so we can possibly go to EPCOT afterward before we drive over to Cabana Bay Beach Resort. 

Day 7(Universal Studios/Departure Day)

I am so glad we decided to add this onto our trip. Today we are going to Universal, mainly to check out the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Amanda has never been and the one time I went I knew I needed to get back ASAP. It's such a wonderful place. I can't wait for some butter beer!! After a fun day walking around Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley we sadly must head to the airport. I am always sad when a trip comes to an end but I am especially sad when a trip with Amanda comes to an end. We live across the country from each other so we see each other once a year if we are lucky. Luckily next year we will be bringing our hubbies and heading to Disneyland - so we have that to look forward to! 

A Very Dapper Girls Getaway {Overview}

In just three weeks, I will be at Walt Disney World for another amazing girls trip with Amanda! I thought it was about time I started blogging about our plans. 

We debated for a while about when we should go. The end of 2015 was sort of a given because of our other travel plans for the year, but do we go early September to take advantage of the super low crowds, or go in November or December once Christmas celebrations are in full swing at Disney? Our decision was made quickly for us when we realized that Dapper Day is October 3! What is Dapper Day? I'll get to that in a little bit, but it is something Amanda and I have been wanting to go to since pretty much the day we met 9 years ago. We could not pass up the opportunity to finally go. So we decided on September 29 - October 4!

After deciding on dates we had to choose a resort. For our last trip we stayed at a moderate resort - Port Orleans Riverside - so after discussing our options we decided this time we were going Deluxe. We thought about the Contemporary because it is on both of our Disney bucket lists but since the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival will be going on we quickly knew we were going to stay at The Boardwalk. It just happens to be both of our favorite resort! 

Once our reservation was made, we immediately started planning. We knew we were going to do three very awesome events while were are there so that was the starting point of our planning process. 

Dapper Day

Started in February 2011, DAPPER DAY® Events organizes fashionable outings to Disney Parks twice a year (spring and fall) in LA, Orlando, and Paris. These events include a "DAPPER DAY at the Parks" with informal in-park meetups, plus other happenings outside the parks such as our DAPPER DAY Expo (in the Disneyland Hotel® Exhibit Hall), DAPPER DAY Car Show, and our official after party FOLLY in Downtown Disney Anaheim. We sometimes organize other non-Disney-related events at various other locations throughout the year.

DAPPER DAY Events celebrates the tradition of "stepping out in style" and are meant to showcase you at your best. We do not aim to recreate a specific period. All sophisticated attire is encouraged from vintage-inspired classics to chic contemporary looks. Active and retired military are encouraged to wear your dress blues or service uniforms if you like. (Please note costumes or cosplay are better suited for other events.)

For much more info on what Dapper Day is as well as upcoming dates visit www.dapperday.com. Sounds like fun, right?? It's a super fun reason to get all dressed up and head to the parks. Though the event this year is mainly at Hollywood Studios, we will be spending the second half of our day at Magic Kingdom. We have our dresses all ready to go and can't wait to get all dolled up! 

EPCOT Food & Wine Festival 

The EPCOT Food & Wine Festival is an annual event inside the World Showcase at EPCOT. Over 25 special kiosks are set up throughout the park with food and drink from various countries. There are also a number of special events, food and drink demonstrations, celebrity chefs and the "Eat to the Beat" concert series! We have 2 days planned at EPCOT, so we can sample as much food and drinks as possible. Last year I went with family and I think we went to EPCOT about 4 times over 9 days and we still felt like there was so much we wanted to try and didn't have time for. I am so glad to see my favorite drink on the menu again for this year - La Passion Martini Slush from the France booth! 

Since this year is the 20th anniversary of the festival, Disney has some special add-ons available including one that we are taking advantage of our second day at EPCOT - the Tasting Sampler Package. For just $59 we get the following: 

• Custom credential with 8 entitlement tabs for food or beverage items of your choice at over 30 Food & Wine Festival Global Marketplaces (some exclusions may apply and will be listed on the credential)

• Priority seating at the 6:45 pm Eat to the Beat concert at America Gardens Theater on the day of package purchase

• Limited-release 20th Epcot International Food & Wine Festival trading pin

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

From www.waltdisneyworld.com

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is a special ticket event held at the Magic Kingdom. On select nights the park closes at 7pm to only guests with party tickets and then let the trick-or-treating, yummy cupcake eating, character meet-and-greets, parade and fireworks begin! I am super excited about this one. Neither of us have been to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party before so it will be fun to experience it together for the first time! I am especially excited to see the new Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular! This is a new show held on the stage in front of the castle featuring the Sanderson sisters - Winifred, Mary and Sarah! There will have to be at least one viewing of Hocus Pocus before the party. We are not ready to reveal what our costumes will be but stay tuned! 

So that is an overview of our Very Dapper Girls Getaway. Over the next couple weeks I will be blogging about our itinerary plans, dining choices, halloween costumes (in good time), etc. Plus, once we are at Disney you can follow my Facebook and Instagram pages (links to the right) for live posts!