[IlluminatEpcot]

Hey all-- next summer when were in the World, my wife and I will have our 5th anniversary.. so after some thoughts and research, I've got a couple ideas for what I want to do and I'd very much appreciate any input, or thoughts anyone may have on the following...

A) We will have our son with us, and he will be 5, almost 6 when we go, so we are looking at dropping him at one of the kids clubs for the evening... does anyone have thoughts or experiences they can share about which club to use?

B ) Dining --- both the wife and I have gone over some menu's on allears.net, to see which place we may want to go with for dinner, somewhere that has good food, a somewhat romantic atmosphere and one that wont break the bank to enjoy the evening. (No V&A Chef's Table this time...haha) And we came to an agreement on Le Cellier in Epcot...I've been there before and love the food, and the wife is totally new to WDW...does anyone think this is a good idea or have suggestions on elsewhere to dine?

C) After dinner --- I was trying to come up with something that would make the rest of the evening memorable.. Im sure even though this is her 1st time, the whole week will be memorable, but I wanted to do something with a little extra punch.. the Illumination Cruises are really sticking out to me.. however so is the pricetag ($275 correct?) is as well.. This is something I dont have alot of experience with at WDW as the last time I Was there, I was 16 and with my mom, so any thoughts on this would be extremely helpful and appreciated.

Thanks all!

Mark

[QuickGold]

The kids clubs are all great and I've heard nothing but good things about them. The Neverland club at the Poly is one I've heard the most good about. Haven't used it personally but for what it's worth, it sounds good.

Le cellier is great, if you can get an ADR. Yachtsman Steakhouse is another good backup option. I'd also toss in Artist's Point (WL) or Citricos (GF) as alternatives for good romantic atmospheres and decent food.

Have you considered a carriage ride at either Ft. Wilderness or Port Orleans? They are relatively cheap to start ($45) and you can add in some options from the Disney Florist to surprise her.

[IlluminatEpcot]

Matt, thanks for the suggestions. Do you happen to know how late you can do a carriage ride? Also, another question that popped into my mind, how late do the busses run between resorts and the ttc? I was thinking incase we were doing something like the carriage ride, how to get to the kids club to get said kid (we will be flying down so we wont have a car) Thanks again for all the info

[Figaro]

The buses don't go to the TTC & resorts anymore. You would have to transfer at one of the parks or DTD. If you do the carriage ride at Ft Wilderness you can take a boat to the Contemporary or MK and take the monorail from there. (Not sure if they still have a boat from FW to Poly anymore?)

If you were going to do that, I would suggest the California Grill for dinner. If you time it for sunset or the MK's fireworks, the view is great. I've heard great things about Citricos too but haven't been there yet. Honestly, I love LeCellier but don't think of it as a romantic place. But then again, my husband's idea of romance is dinner at McDonalds :ermm:

The Illumination cruise is amazing...but you pay alot for it! The MK resorts also have fireworks cruises too now. Not sure how much they costs these days though.

Good luck!

[QuickGold]

Not sure when the last one is, but you can call 407 WDW PLAY and they can give you that information as well as book you one. I did a carriage ride at FW this past weekend and it was a very fun and romantic time.

[squishybear]

When you are going, be sure to call your hotel (if you are staying on property).
I was my parents anniversary, and I called ahead of time.
When we arrived, we got a free upgrade to concierge level!!

I'm not saying that this will neccesarily happen, but you never know.
I think they also give out balloons when you check in.

[HDLady]

I also LOVE California Grill. The glass wall and location of the restaurant enables you to watch the fireworks over Cinderella's castle from your table! It's a bit pricey but worth every penny because the food, service & view are fantastic! A free and very cool thing to do is one night take the wife to either the beach at the Grand Floridian or Polynesian (maybe with a bottle of champagne) and watch the Electric Water Pageant. While it's not Illuminations, Fantasmic! or Wishes, it's till very magical for me!