I'm a firm believer in learning from my experiences...so I made a few notes of some things I would do differently on future trips:
1. Stay 7 nights instead of 6. We've done both and this time 6 nights seemed to be too short. In the future I would do an 8-day park pass with hopper and stay on property for 7 nights.
2. No dining plan. Dine out of pocket for the entire trip. Deluxe Dining is waaayyyy too much food and it is expensive. Regular dining doesn't include appetizers and is somewhat restrictive. I believe we would come out much better to just order what we want and pay out of pocket than to be restricted by a dining plan.
3. Not as many ADRs. Make reservations for the most coveted meals then wait until closer to time for others. Plan to do more QS meals so that we aren't constantly watching the clock until time for our next meal. Make a list of the best out of pocket values. (Ohana, Kona, Be Our Guest lunch, Yak & Yeti quick service, etc.)
4. Get park hopper instead of water parks option. They are the same price. We LOVE the water parks but I now think park hopper would be more desirable. Park hopper will allow us to go back to Magic Kingdom late every night after dinner. AND with no dining plan each family member can go wherever he or she wants each day.
5. New touring plans: rope drop some days, sleep in some days. Use FP+ during the most busy times. Plan to tour more at night when it is cooler and the crowds aren't so bad.
6. Relax a little. Plan to spend some time at the resort pool, have a drink at the pool bar, etc. We loved Port Orleans! In the future I hope to just kick back and enjoy all the resort has to offer a little more.
7. Restaurant notes: (a) Must Do = California Grill, Be Our Guest, Flying Fish, Yak & Yeti, Tony's (for tradition). (b) great values out of pocket = Kona, Sanaa, Ohana, Earl of Sandwich. (c) may want to go to some restaurants just for specific dishes only. I'd go to Raglan Road just for the bread pudding for dessert! or go to Sci-Fi for dessert only. (d) not a must do = Boma, Cape May Cafe. (e) Good value on deluxe dining plan, but not out of pocket = Tutto Italia, Narcoossees
Thank you ALL for reading along with this trip report! It has been a pleasure! I wish you all safe travels and lots of fun at Disney World! Hopefully we will be going back sooner rather than later. One of my favorite Walt Disney quotes is, "keep moving forward." And that's exactly what we will do!
Have a wonderful day!