"Our TR - Now with 100 % less POFQ!" - Nov 10th-20th(3/5-Last Day & Final Thoughts!)

[PrincessInOz]

Yeah, we've eaten at CRT three times, but all 3 were with Free Dining. It's a lot easier to justify the stupid price tag when its "free".

The DP prices are pretty bad, but compared to actual restaurant costs its still a big savings. We sort of plan our trips around free dining, because that's still the biggest discount you can get, at least for values/mods. It usually works well for us: In this case, the 8 days of DDP would've cost us $1200 for 3 adults and a child. The actual amount of food we got out of it was $1478, so about a 23 % benefit. In additon, we spent another $573 OOP - though more than $300 of that was on the two days before we were on the DDP ($225 at California Grill alone) and another $75 spent at Food and Wine.

I didn't think you could get TiW without being an AP holder? Can just anyone buy it? We looked at it back in 2009-2010, and it may have marginally been worth it as we had two trips without free DDP - but the one thing I noticed is it doesn't work at a lot of CS in the parks, so didn't think it would've been a good investment. We stuck with OOP for one, and the DDP for the other.

Thanks. I don't know if you can get TiW without AP but it is something to look into.

I have done the comparison of DP vs no DP and if we total up the cost of the food we are provided on the DP as a means of OOP $, the DP does stack up.

HOWEVER, we would never eat that amount of food if we weren't on the DP or would probably buy two entrees to share between 3 etc. DH eats far less food than what the DP provides and I eat less for breakfast and lunch.
So, I would need to compare where we would eat and WHAT we would actually eat to how much the DP would cost. I think I did this for the trip in May 2010 and decided that the savings was less than 5% but we did go the way of the DP in that trip.
For this one next year, we would definitely need to work it out. We will be staying in a DVC and would probably have breakfast in the room at least 3 or 4 times; and then there is probably two dinners planned where we would 'home cook'. I also think that one of the other dissers has a TiW card. And we'll be there during F&W....so the number crunching will be rather different.

 

[khertz]

Great update! CRT is soooo expensive, but it does look like a LOT of fun to eat in the Castle. Your beef dish does look delicious, but $53?!

So sad your TR is almost to an end!

 

[skier_pete]

Great update! CRT is soooo expensive, but it does look like a LOT of fun to eat in the Castle. Your beef dish does look delicious, but $53?!

So sad your TR is almost to an end!

One thing with CRT - that $53 is all included, app, entre, dessert, tax, and tip. Still an stupid high price, but not quite as bad when you factor in all those other things. It really is on par with other Signature Dining experience for pricing, though I am not sure the food quality level is quite there, it was actually very good. (I am not recommending it at all...I don't think we will likely ever go back, but it's possible.)

 

[danielle79]

Hello Fellow WNYorker! Great TR, Love, Love, Love all the pics! I was last at The World last February and cant wait to go back! Trying to convince my hubby to go Feb 2013! I must say that you have great ADRs and I might ask for some pointers the next time I plan, I have never used free dining and would like to next time we go!

 

[skier_pete]

Hello Fellow WNYorker! Great TR, Love, Love, Love all the pics! I was last at The World last February and cant wait to go back! Trying to convince my hubby to go Feb 2013! I must say that you have great ADRs and I might ask for some pointers the next time I plan, I have never used free dining and would like to next time we go!

Welcome! Your coming in very near the end...but hopefully you'll join me on the NEXT TR, which will be very exciting and exotic. Nice to hear from local DIS'ers! I don't get down that way too often as we live in Wheatfield...but are down to KB every Sunday in the winter.

Good luck getting free dining next February. I know in the past you can sometimes get free dining during February (Presidents Day) break if you get down there the Friday before. It's a huge savings if you want to eat in the TS restaurants. I am always happy to share my opinions/advice!

 

[skier_pete]

By the time we got out of the restaurant it was after 8 PM, and the crowds were starting to form for the MSEP at 9 PM. I had left this evening plans optional for a late night, but by day 10 no one was really interested. We really just wanted to finish off our FP and head out.

So first we headed into MK for our Peter Pan FP – our 4th ride of the trip…but the first one after dark. I really enjoy doing some of these rides at night, because your eyes are so much better adjusted to the “dark ride” at night.

From there we decided to go to Tomorrowland and ride the Peoplemover/TTA one time, as well as Buzz Lightyear. Another hidden Mickey that DD spotted:

Our redneck ride photos:

DD finally took my advice and rode with DM…I told her she would be Grandma pretty easy.

At this point it was close to nine o’clock, and DD was beat. DW and I still wanted to ride Splash Mountain, so directed DM to take DD back to the hotel and we made our way around the outside of the park. (MSEP was on Main Street by this point, and we didn’t want to take getting stuck in the crowds.) We got around to Splash Mountain and there was almost no wait. We offered our two extra FP to someone waiting in the standby line, but it couldn’t have saved them more than 1 or 2 minutes if that. We were a bit worried about getting wet, but they must’ve had the water effects dialed down as it was nighttime, and while a pleasant evening it wouldn’t have been a great one for being wet. We got to see the MSEP floats coming through Frontierland from the ride, so that was kind of neat as well.

We got through to the end of the ride and were hoping the train was running, but it wasn’t (Thanks MSEP!) so we started heading back to the front of the park. As we reached Main Street, Wishes began, but we didn’t want to fight that crowd, so we just headed out. We got to see the finale of the fireworks, sort of, from our bus stop.

That was it, though for the day. To bed and time to get ready to leave.

Day 9:
Characters Met: 6
Rides/Attractions seen: 13
Waits of > 5 minutes: 2

Totals:
Characters Met: 27
Rides/Attractions seen: 87
Waits of > 5 minutes: 4

Next up - the final day.

 

[FosterA]

Wow, you guys really had a great and LONG trip. I bet by this time everybody was pretty much beat.
Pretty fantastic to do Peter Pan 4x considering I have yet to get on that thing once!

So...was Splash your final final ride of the trip? That's my second favorite after Mansion.

Such a long trip and a great, very detailed trip report too. Thanks! I know you need to start focusing on your new trip though which sounds super exciting! I am tempted to start following along on it but I'm afraid I'll get addicted and I have flat out spent way too many hours on the Dis and have neglected the rest of my life so I'm afraid to start reading

 

[khertz]

I love riding Splash Mountain at night! I remember doing that a few times on our honeymoon trip, and it was such a great experience! How nice that you and DW got a little adult time to do your own thing on your last MK night. I can't believe you are down to your last day already!

 

[DisMomAmy]

I'm still here... mostly been reading on my phone while I sit at swim practice. So sad it's your last day but it's been a great trip!!

 

[skier_pete]

Wow, you guys really had a great and LONG trip. I bet by this time everybody was pretty much beat.
Pretty fantastic to do Peter Pan 4x considering I have yet to get on that thing once!

So...was Splash your final final ride of the trip? That's my second favorite after Mansion.

Such a long trip and a great, very detailed trip report too. Thanks! I know you need to start focusing on your new trip though which sounds super exciting! I am tempted to start following along on it but I'm afraid I'll get addicted and I have flat out spent way too many hours on the Dis and have neglected the rest of my life so I'm afraid to start reading

Oh, please, please stick around! I won't be posting updates very much, just come by every few weeks! There's no place better on the internet than the DIS. I am sure I will have some amazing pictures.

One previous trip we did Peter Pan's Flight SEVEN times, and never waited more than about 5 minutes. Gotta love FP - going to miss those "use em late" rules, but I'm sure we'll still ride it 4 times a trip.

I love riding Splash Mountain at night! I remember doing that a few times on our honeymoon trip, and it was such a great experience! How nice that you and DW got a little adult time to do your own thing on your last MK night. I can't believe you are down to your last day already!

I know, it's sad. Especially with having no real Disney Trip in the plan. I saw free dining come out and I'm like, "oh Boy! Wait, we're not going this fall..."

I'm still here... mostly been reading on my phone while I sit at swim practice. So sad it's your last day but it's been a great trip!!

Coming up on the end...

 

[PrincessInOz]

Nice to finish with Peter Pan and Splash.

Final day coming up....

 

[skier_pete]

Day 10

Our last day.  So sad. In our mind’s eye while the trip was being planned, we were going to make sure my DM got on the magical express and then head to a park. After careful consideration we chose the park we wanted to go to…none of them! We decided to sign up DD for a Pirate’s Cruise that was held on Sunday’s at the resort from 10 AM to Noon. Our flight was around 6 PM, so we didn’t need to get out until 3PM. We could pack our bags at leisure while DD was on the Cruise and then have a few hours to enjoy the pool and lunch before having to head out. So that’s exactly what we did.

I have to say, it was a pretty awesome way to end the trip! After 9 days of ripping around WDW to have a day where you really just spent it “hanging out” and enjoying the sunshine was a nice change of pace. It would be almost 9 months before we get another vacation under our belts, so this was a perfect end to a fantastic week.

We had about 6 QS credits left, which allowed us to pick up both breakfast and lunch today, so we got breakfast in our room while packing. DM had to take off pretty early, with a 9 AM ME bus. We rode over to the Custom House to bring her bags, but then had a little time so walked back to the room. It was yet another lovely day.

Have to say, the trip weather really couldn’t have been much better. While didn’t quite hit the near perfection of the previous trip (October 2010 we had not a drop of rain for the first time ever) the more moderate temperatures of this trip were probably more welcome.

DM and I talked while waiting for the bus, and she again declared what a wonderful time we have. I always feel extra pressure when we bring someone else along. I know DW and I will have a good time, because we know exactly what to expect and generally will not be disappointed. I was glad I was able to pace things to not exhaust my DM too much, and so she was still able to have a fun and memorable time, and hopefully give her some good memories with DD as well.

After that, I walked back and helped her pack. We got that done and had a few minutes to walk around the restort and Carribean Cay. While doing so, we stumbled on DD in her pirate cruise as they were hunting for treasure. We really tried not to distrupt, but I snuck a few pictures:

DD came off the boat with a packet of loot (plastic gems and candy). After we picked up DD, we went to the pool for a while, got some lunch, and hung by the pool a little more. We had a 3PM ME pick-up, so about 2:30 PM we left the pool to change into our clothes, and picked up our bags from the front area to do air-line check in.

The trip home was uneventful, even though we got in pretty darn late.

Next post - the TR post-mortem

 

[skier_pete]

Summing up the trip:

Another amazing trip. Very little went wrong, and we all had a great time. Again, all the CM were great, and ran into very few rude guests. The weather was about 95 % awesome, and the crowds were quite manageable, even on that last day in MK.

Highlights of the trip:
- Getting upgrade to preferred room for the entire trip…Yeah Disney!
- The Illuminations cruise: This was really a great experience. I would never ever pay full price, but for the trip of $35 a person when sharing, it was a wonderful time.
- The empty water park – just a rare case of feeling like you have a place to yourself. Rarely happens at Disney.
- DD getting to throw the grape at Flights of Wonder. Brief but she really loved it.
- Dinner at Sanaa, again a fantastic
- The return of the Enchanted Tiki Room – enough to make me tear up.
- The Carribean burger at the food court @ CBR.
- The pool/entertainment at Carribean Beach. Nice job again Disney.
- Osborne Lights – Quite possibly the best Christmas
- Food and Wine & Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.
- Jellyrolls’ Dueling Pianos. Could’ve stayed all night – and we sort of did.
- All the CM were fantastic. I don’t get the problems some people have, but I think a lot of it is the attitude you go to them. Regardless of what our issue was, I was always pleasant and friendly too them, and when you do that, they give you back that in return.

Lowlights:
- California Grill: Not the restaurants fault, but the late hour, whiny daughter, and cold weather mixed to be a poor experience for $225.
- Last Saturday @ MK….just not a good day for this, its always tough hitting big crowds at the end of your trip.

DM gave me a list of her favorites of the trip – I guess I know where I get it from:
Ride: It’s a Small World (still)
Animated Show: Enchanted Tiki Room (still)
Live Show: Flights of Wonder & Festival of the Lion King (tie)
Multimedia show (Movie/Ride): Ellen’s Energy Adventure
TS Meal: Sanaa (menu) and Tusker House (Buffet)
CS Meal: Wolfgang Puck’s and Columbia Harbor House
Theme Park: Animal Kingdom

I think my mom was expecting me to match this, so here we go:
Ride (top 3): Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror, Haunted Mansion
Animated Show: Enchanted Tiki Room (they’re back!)
Live Show: Festival of the Lion King & Jellyrolls (tie)
Multimedia show (Movie/Ride): Gonna throw Soarin’ in this category.
TS Meal: Totally agree: Sanaa (menu) and Tusker House (Buffet)
CS Meal: Port Royale (burger only), Sunshine Seasons (epcot)
Theme Park: Magic Kingdom remains #1 for me, but AK has a chance to overtake someday.

That’s it everyone! Thanks for reading along, especially those that comment frequently and have become my DIS friends over the years. When you write anything on the internet, it’s kind of like you are sending it off into the ether unless you get feedback, so all your responses are greatly appreciated and the fact that you take time out of your life to read about mine is also as well!

I’d really love to have you all follow along with our next TR, which will probably be starting up in late August. I think I am going to try and write it as we go, because there is just going to be too much to remember. I am very excited for the idea of the whole trip, and extra excited for a “throwaway” stop that allows us to go to Disneyland. It’s very rare in life that one gets to experience a whole “new” Disney Theme park, and so I am glad we are going to be able to squeeze it in. But anyways, please subscribe to my PTR if you want, even if you don’t follow along with IT, you at least see the link there for the TR when it comes out.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Great wrap-up to a great trip!! Thanks for sharing your trip with all of us!

I haven't had much to offer on your new PTR but your plans sound amazing & I can't wait to read all about it.

 

[skier_pete]

Great wrap-up to a great trip!! Thanks for sharing your trip with all of us!

I haven't had much to offer on your new PTR but your plans sound amazing & I can't wait to read all about it.

Thanks for sticking with me...I'm not Mr. Fast with these things...busy life.

I am glad to hear you following along with the PTR. I know it might be kind of boring if you've never been - but I do appreciate any feedback, as simple as if I am mentioning something I might do saying "Oh Pete - you better do that or you'll regret it!"

I have also been stopping over at your PTR as well...and also haven't had too much to say. I will undoubtably contribute a little more when it turns into a TR. So lucky you are going back so soon. The upcoming trip to Australia has I think staved off any WDW withdrawal, but I think come fall, when we have now been every fall for 6 years, I will be having a case of the WDW-DTs.

 

[Moodyzblu]

Great TR .. I really enjoyed it !

You did a great job with pics and description, I only hope I can do the same with mine when the time comes.

Thank you for sharing your trip with us !

 

[skier_pete]

Great TR .. I really enjoyed it !

You did a great job with pics and description, I only hope I can do the same with mine when the time comes.

Thank you for sharing your trip with us !

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Nice wrap-up, Pete.


And now on to the next trip!

 

[FosterA]

awwwww, sad it's over.
I just love how you spent your last day...sort of a no theme park day with time to relax and get packed and organized.
Also pretty cool to run into the pirates!

I liked how you did a little summary of favorite rides and such and "interviewed" your mom to get her faves too.

well....it's been fun following along!!!
I'll have to pop in every so often and check on your other trip which sounds AMAZING.

 

[skier_pete]

Nice wrap-up, Pete.


And now on to the next trip!

Yes ma'am! As you know, the planning (and spending ) is going hot and heavy. It doesn't feel like it can only be 4.5 months away, but it is.
Still gotta get some hotels and rental cars booked, and then start thinking about the details.

awwwww, sad it's over.
I just love how you spent your last day...sort of a no theme park day with time to relax and get packed and organized.
Also pretty cool to run into the pirates!

I liked how you did a little summary of favorite rides and such and "interviewed" your mom to get her faves too.

well....it's been fun following along!!!
I'll have to pop in every so often and check on your other trip which sounds AMAZING.

My mom actually wrote that out on the last day without any prodding. As I said, I definitely know where I inherited that "organization" side of my personality from. Seeing the pirates was cool, but I quickly realized it was a bit of a disruption, so I scooted out of there PDQ. The kids were having a lot of fun, and she's asked to do it again if we got back.

We usually have a "down" day in the middle of our trips, but I have so say this day made me feel like we should not only have that day, but we should do it late in the trip, or even the same "last day" type thing. I was really, really nice, and allowed us to have some real "relax time" before returning to work the next day. Hard to believe that this was the last warm day we've had between then and now.

And I hope you do make it over...