Im planning on making my daughters birthday cake for this weekend. This is a big deal to me as Im somewhat of a perfectionist! Ive been reading here alot but basically the cake is going to be a castle of some sort. 3 stacked 8 x 8 on the bottom and 2 layer 4 x 4 on the top. Im planning on baking the cakes on Wednesday and freezing then decorating on Friday for a Saturday party at 1:30. As far as freezing goes, would it be easier to freeze all layers separate or stack them and ice in between and then freeze them? This is only the 3rd cake Ive done and this is really what she wants. Ive read a little about dowel rods to support a stacked cake. Can someone elaborate on this? I attached (i think) a picture of the cake Im copying. Thanks in advance!! 
Okay, as far as making the cakes ahead of time. IMO, you don't need to freeze them unless you don't have room to refrigerate them. If you freeze I wouldn't ice first. Just make sure your cake is allowed to come to room temperature. There are varying opinions here on CC about the method of thawing a frozen cake so I will not presume to know what is best for your situation. What I always do if I have a frozen cake is place it directly in the refrigerator to let it thaw slowly for 24 hrs at least and then I take it out and unwrap it but like I said there are different opinions on how this should be done. If you are just making the cakes a few days ahead of time just wrap them well and place them in your refrigerator.
Dowel rods whether plastic straws, hidden plastic pillars, or wooden dowels are a must for a stacked cake. Not sure if there is a "how to" on doweling your cakes here on CC but I'm sure Wilton has one on their site.
Good luck with your cake and WELCOME to Cake Central!!! I hope you enjoy it as we all do all hours of the day!!! 
Amy
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