The "Disney Freak" & her "Freak in Training!" A Nov. 2012 1st ever Pre-Trip

[JessiMommy]

Time to finish this PTR off and edit all of the changes we've made! All revisions will be shown in red. I've made lots of them since starting this report. Can't believe we leave in 7 days! SOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!

Welcome to my first ever pre-trip report! After 10 years of mostly lurking on the DIS, the decision was made to finally tell my story. Ok, so I live a mere three and a half hours from WDW and yes I’ve been to Disney a lot in my lifetime but this November will be our first “REAL” vacation to Disney. What does that even mean? We’ve been on so many Disney trips… Well, to me it means going for longer than just 3-4 days of rushing around. It means booking our stay almost a year in advance, making ADR’s 180 days out and really planning everything. This is a much needed get away for my family and we are all counting the days until it’s finally time to leave!

Update: Added a day! When: November 10-17, 2012
WHEN: November 11-17, 2012
WHERE: Port Orleans Riverside
WHO: Me, DH, DD

Let me introduce my little family. This is Chris (40), my husband of almost 13 years and my soul mate. We met when we were 14 and dated on and off throughout our teens and early adult life and then lost touch for several years. We reconnected in our late twenties and have been together ever since. Chris has been visiting WDW since 1971 when they opened. (He was an infant!) Chris is my husband and best friend. He would literally do anything for me and I have no idea what I ever did to deserve him! Awwww…. OK ENOUGH MUSH!

Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Ride: Pirates of the Caribbean
Favorite Character: Mr. Smee

This is our 12 year old daughter Jessica, our only child. Jessica calls me “The Disney Freak” and she calls herself my “Disney Freak in Training!” LOL! She visited WDW for the first time when she was almost 6 months old and has been back more times than she can probably count. It never gets old though, she loves it as much as me!

Favorite Park: EPCOT
Favorite Ride: Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
Favorite Character: Pluto & Shenzi

I am Candi, (40) and according to everyone who knows me I am the Ultimate Disney Book of Knowledge. I’m the one all of my family and friends call for their Disney needs. Some people have lifelong hobbies… I have Disney! I’ve been visiting Disney since I was 5 years old! I’m fortunate enough to work from home and this will be our second year of home schooling Jessica who starts seventh grade next week.

Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Ride: Big Thunder Mountain but Tower of Terror is a very close second!
Favorite Character: Tinkerbell

A little background to get us started… My DH who works freelance in television production lost his job two years ago. He had a long standing contract on two local television shows and he, along with everyone else on his crew were suddenly let go. He has since managed to scrounge up enough freelance work in both television and anything and everything else to keep us afloat. We are another casualty of the horrible economy. Needless to say we have both been through almost every phase of depression on record but have managed to hold it together. DH has had very little time off in the past 2 years, pretty much working 7 days a week. We miss a lot of the family time we used to share more often. We haven’t been to Disney in two years which for us is unheard of. We used to go at least twice a year if not more. So…. with all of that being said I’ve been having serious Disney withdrawals!! I started plotting in January to figure out a way to get us back to the world and to make it happen big! I was determined to give us a full week of fun and relaxation and much needed time together. I figured I had nothing to lose if I started socking money away little by little and in a year’s time I should be able to make it happen!

Since we started planning this trip we have been able to add a second trip with my parents for for January 2013!! More about that to come...

 

[JessiMommy]

Table of Contents
(I figured out how to make one! SWEET!)

Where will we sleep?

I DID IT! 1 day down...89 more to go!

Room Requests!

We have TICKETS!

So Much Food, So Little Time...

The ADR's

Arrival Day - Sunday, November 11

Day 2 - November 12

So SAD

Day 3 - November 13

Day 4 - November 14

Day 5 - November 15

Countdown Chains

Another Trip??

Day 6 - November 16

Day 7 - November 17

 

[JessiMommy]

So in our many trips to WDW we have stayed at Pop, all of the All Stars, CSR, POR, FW, WL, and GF. Our longest trip was probably all of 4 days. Our philosophy has usually been…”It’s a clean room with a bed and a shower, what more do we need?” We are usually go, go, go in the parks for 3 days and we never spend too much time in the room anyway. My number 1 rule is: I must stay on property! For me there is just something about staying within the magic 24/7…We usually choose the cheapest option, so the majority of our trips have been at the value resorts.

Yes, I have even slept in a TENT at FW!!! That is saying a lot because I am sooooo not an outdoorsy kinda girl! I sucked it up for DH and DD and it actually ended up being enough fun that I did it twice!

WL and GF were always dreams of mine which I eventually got to live out. One year we got a FL resident rate at WL that was so close to a moderate rate that we couldn’t pass up.

More recently, through my job I was able to score the GF (Magic Kingdom view!! ) for a rate so low I should have been at a value! That was a dream come true that I will always cherish but probably never see again, LOL!

OK, so what does any of this have to do with this trip? Well…. DH & I spent our Disneymoon at POR and when we took our DD on her first trip, we stayed at POR. It was our first trip there together as a family but I have stayed there many times in my youth when it was Dixie Landings. I’ve always loved POR best! Yes… even more than the GF. There is just something about the beauty of this resort that mesmerizes me. Since taking DD at 6 months we haven’t been back, not to stay anyway. So I decided if I have to work extra hours, search for more coins in the sofa cushions, whatever… We are staying at POR this trip! So I booked it, November 11-17 in a Garden View Room!!! We are all so EXCITED about our choice! I will force myself to slow down on this trip and really enjoy this resort! I am waiting NOT very patiently to see if there will be a FL resident or Passholder rate for our dates... Trying to be positive but I'm not encouraged by recent discount trends.

 

[JessiMommy]

I'm having such fun with this Pre-Trip Report so far! Even if no one is reading but me... hee heee

It seems the older I get, the more out of shape I feel... ugh so I've been trying to add more exercise into my day for the past few months. Going pretty good so far, the treadmill is my new friend... I think.... However... I still feel like I'm just not going to have enough steam for all the walking in November. As I watch my trip countdown on Disney's home page I realized yesterday I hit the 90 day mark! Three months?! Only three months left?? It's time to kick it up a notch! So my personal goal has been reset! No more processed food for the next 3 months and more treadmill and swimming for me! Can I do it? Survive on chicken, fish , fruits and veggies only for the next 3 months?? Well I did it yesterday and it felt GREAT! Here's to day two... wish me LUCK!

 

[JessiMommy]

Yes, I am planner and borderline type A personality! I can't really go anywhere without knowing the who, what, why. Don't even bother trying to surprise me with something... I have to know about it and help plan it / take over!

Now when it comes to WDW I am a planner but not a park commando. I will plan our resort stay down to the last detail, I will have packing lists and shopping lists all over the place before the trip, I will run around like a crazy person so that everything leading up to the trip is done just right. Before we arrive I will pick our best parks of the day and I will use common sense when touring the parks but we usually just go with the flow once we get in "the park of the day".

So.... since I am still in planner commando mode I am thinking about room requests. I have already requested the Magnolia Bend/Mansion section of Riverside. Hubby would prefer Alligator Bayou but since it really doesn't matter to him one way or the other, I WIN!

We have reserved a Garden View room because the only thing I didn't want was a parking lot view. My question now is... just where will this Garden View room be? If I get my mansion request will it be on the river side of the buildings or the parking lot side? Hmmmm... are there even Garden View rooms on the riverside of the buildings or are they all considered river views? Looking at map scratching head...

I also know there are corner rooms available.... wondering if this is something to consider? Two windows in the room? More light? I like this idea!

Hmmmm.... Is 89 days out too soon to compose a fax request? LOL!!

In all honesty I don't really care where we end up at POR... I'm just so happy to be staying there. Can't wait to get there and enjoy the beauty! But what else will I do to pass the time if I don't contemplate all these options???

 

[JessiMommy]

Although I just decided to start this Pre-Trip Report I have been planning this trip since January of this year. I started socking money away immediately knowing that I want us to be able to do everything we want without feeling like we shouldn't. This money is extra, free and clear, and available for any and all things Disney in November!

I knew Disney was likely to raise ticket prices sometime in the summer, probably early June so I started watching the Dis like crazy for news of a price increase. Sure enough I found out on a Saturday that ticket prices would go up the very next day! EEEK! Time to JUMP on this! We usually keep FL resident Seasonal Passes but had let them expire two years ago. I try to buy them from our AAA store to save a few dollars. Well lo and behold the AAA store is not open on Saturday and their online feature wasn't working! GRRR! I decided to call them and thankfully was able to purchase over the phone. I managed to save us $118, not a ton, but that will pay for a couple meals! Woo Hoo! I love to save! Suddenly the envelope where I had been saving money looked pretty empty! But... we have our tickets! One step closer!

 

[JessiMommy]

As I mentioned before we usually plan our Disney trips kind of last minute and don't do a whole lot of table service dining. I wanted this trip to be different and there are so many places I want to try and favorites I want to return to. Stay away from the dining board here on the Dis...especially the threads with food pics! OMG! Those kill me! I want to try it all!!! DH is a very simple eater. His philosophy on food is "Eat to live"... My philosophy is completely the opposite "Live to eat!" LOL!! Needless to say these two don't mix very well when it comes time to eat. DH could care less if it is a t-bone steak or a can of Chef-Boyardee! GROSS! Then throw DD in the mix who is 12 but eats like she is 2... like a little bird... and soooooo PICKY! GRRR! Well, I DON'T CARE! I will pick where we eat and you can both pick at it like little birds and I will enjoy myself thoroughly!!! I do hate that Disney considers DD and everyone else 10 or over adults. It's not even the cost for her to eat only a quarter of what she is served that bothers me. She is so picky that kid's menu stuff just works best for her. She has promised to be more adventurous this time and try some new stuff. We will see... She helped me compose a list of all the places we might like to try. We put anything and everything of remote interest on our list and then narrowed it down from there. So what did we put on our list? Here it is...

'Ohana (D).........................................Been twice before, LOVE IT!
Grand Floridian Cafe (L,D).................Looks so pretty, never tried.
Cape May Cafe (D)..........................DD & I love seafood, DH NOT! Never tried.
Kona Cafe (B,D)..............................Love the dinner here, want to try Tonga Toast!
Garden Grill (D)...............................Always wanted to try.
Via Napoli (D).................................DH loves Italian and this place gets great reviews.
Rose & Crown (D)............................I love it here! Thinking a ADR around Illum. time.
Liberty Tree Tavern (L)....................We like dinner here, want to try lunch.
Whispering Canyon Cafe' (D).............Thought DD would like antics.
Paradisio 37 (D)..............................Menu looked interesting.
Wolfgang Puck Express (L, D)............Seen good reviews.
Boatwrights (D)..............................In our resort, always wanted to try.
Boma (B, D) ..................................DH has never seen lodge, always wanted to try.

So what are your thoughts on our list? we've already made some ADR's, I'll get to that update next. Anything on this list you wouldn't miss, or would take off? I love to hear opinions!

 

[vleeth]

I'm first??? I don't know if thats ever happened before! We too are going in November. We'll be going the week after Thanksgiving.

Your plans look great so far!

 

[JessiMommy]

I'm first??? I don't know if thats ever happened before! We too are going in November. We'll be going the week after Thanksgiving.

Your plans look great so far!

Yea! You win! You're first! LOL!!

 

[vleeth]

Yea! You win! You're first! LOL!!

Yay! I love winning! Can't wait to read more about your plans!

 

[JessiMommy]

So what did we choose from our dining list? What did we book? I was so excited on my 180 day... not that many of my ADR's even needed to be booked that far out, I was just excited to be booking on the 180 day. I'd never done that before with all of our last minute trips. I see everyone on the Dis excitedly awaiting their 180 day and I wanted to join the ranks! Tee hee!

So my 180 day was fast approaching and I realized it was going to fall on May 15. May 15? Oh no! That was the first night of DD's play. She is in a homeschool theater group and this was her first year. She auditioned for and got the part of Shenzi from The Lion King. I knew this was going to be a long day made even longer since I wanted to get up at 6 AM and book all my stuff online! Oh well... I'll do anything for Disney! Here is Jessica in her Shenzi mask... (The kids helped to make all of their masks, and show sets.)

Funny thing is the theater group didn't even consult me when choosing that year's production and it still wound up being a Disney show! SWEET! Here's the cast after one of their shows.

OK enough DD gushing let's get back to those ADR's! So what did we reserve? Well.... here is the reserved, for now, tentative list....

Arrival day Sunday November 11... Ohana 5:00 PM
We've been here twice before and we all think it is so YUMMY! But it is pricey...
Update: Changed arrival date to Saturday November 10. Still have the Ohana ADR but thinking that we are probably going to cancel it. We also moved our Boma breakfast from the last day to this day. Ohana we have done before and will do again. Most likely going to drop it.

Monday, November 12... Rose & Crown 7:45 PM
We've eaten here once before. I loved it! Thought a later ADR and requesting an outdoor table may result in an Illuminations view. I know there is no way to guarantee this so I'm asking myself now if I'm going for that reason only and is it worth it?
Update: Canceled this ADR. Moved our Garden Grill to this day.

Tuesday November 13... Whispering Canyon 5:05 PM
I'm the only one in my family who has eaten here. Thought DD might enjoy the antics and we all love the ambiance of the WL. Not sure the food is worthy of a visit. This is the one ADR I am most on the fence about.
Update: Canceled this one too. They have recently changed the menu and we are no longer interested.

Wednesday November 14... Cape May 5:30 PM
DD and I love seafood, DH hates it! I've always wanted to try Cape May. There seemd to be enough landlubber grub for DH but I've noticed people here talking lately of some changes to the menu. This one is still high on the list to keep.

Thursday November 15... Garden Grill 5:30 PM
Another place we've all really wanted to try. We are mostly out of the character stage with DD but she LOVES Pluto and I love Chip & Dale. I'm concerned again about the food. Not sure DH will have much to eat since he doesn't eat fish and really could take or leave turkey. DD concerns me the most though. Wondering if even though I have to pay the adult price for her if we can still get the kid's platter here as well.
Update: Moved this one to Monday November 12 at 4:30 PM.

Friday November 16... Via Napoli 5:45 PM
YUMMM! This is a must try for us all! I've heard great things and we all love this kind of pizza!

Saturday November 17... Boma 8:30 AM
Always wanted to go to Boma. I would prefer dinner but I think DH & DD will do better with breakfast. Want DH to see the Lodge. DD & I already have.
Update: Moved this to Sunday November 11 at 8:30 AM.

I say "tentative" and "for now" on all of these ADR's because I'm still stressing a bit over a few things...
1) Will picky DD eat from the adult menu at all of these places?
2) Will I have saved enough money to do all of this?
3) Do I really want a TS meal every day?

Hmmmm........ I just don't know..... Up next is my day to day plans so maybe as I type it out I'll decide if I want to make these all fit, or not... Ohana, Whispering Canyon and Rose & Crown are repeat choices. The others are new. I think the only must do's for us right now are Via Napoli and probably Cape May. I'm not convinced I'll be heartbroken if I miss any of the others...Opinions on my choices so far??

 

[vleeth]

Cape May is the only one that is new to you that I have been to. We enjoyed it. Probably wouldn't go back. I don't know what I was expecting, but it just seemed like a regular old buffet to me. But it does get good reviews and I think there will be enough for your DH and DD to find some things they like.

We're doing the quick-service plan this go round. Sometimes I think we should do Chef Mickey or 1900 Park Fair while DD7 is still into it, but then I change my mind. We did Cindy's Castle & Ohanas and enjoyed doing it. I guess I just feel like if we do TS meals, we miss out on park time.

 

[JessiMommy]

Cape May is the only one that is new to you that I have been to. We enjoyed it. Probably wouldn't go back. I don't know what I was expecting, but it just seemed like a regular old buffet to me. But it does get good reviews and I think there will be enough for your DH and DD to find some things they like.

We're doing the quick-service plan this go round. Sometimes I think we should do Chef Mickey or 1900 Park Fair while DD7 is still into it, but then I change my mind. We did Cindy's Castle & Ohanas and enjoyed doing it. I guess I just feel like if we do TS meals, we miss out on park time.

Yes, I agree about the missing park time. I know I'm not keeping all of those ADR's. Trying this week to decide what to go ahead and cancel. 1900 Park Fair is cute if you decide to add a TS meal. Cinderella's step family steal the show! You can always see characters in the parks though to maximize your time.

 

[JessiMommy]

Arrival Day - Sunday, November 11

The big question I'm asking myself today is.... maybe we should arrive on Saturday the 10th! We are only a three and a half to four hour drive away. We could always leave home late afternoon and stay offsite for one night to be up and ready to go for our first full day. There is really nothing stopping us from doing this.... hmmmm.....

Update: Hooray! We moved the arrival day to Saturday the 10th! We will leave home around 8:30 AM and arrive around noon. We decided to just stay off property tonight and I scored an awesome FL resident rate at The Galleria Palms Resort just outside of Animal Kingdom. It looks like a converted Hampton Inn and gets decent reviews both on The Dis and Trip Advisor. Hey, it's a clean bed and shower for one night.

The plan is to head right to Animal Kingdom, covert our Annual Pass Vouchers to tickets and spend a few hours in the park. No rush to do anything in particular, we have a full day here at the end of our trip. When we finish we will check in at Galleria Palms. I am packing an overnight bag so we won't have to empty the car that night. After we check in we plan to have dinner at The Contempo Cafe at The Contemporary. Love this place!! Then we will probably resort hop the MK resorts. Might even take the monorail to EPCOT and back. Slim chance we may go in to MK just to browse the shops on Main Street.

But for now the original plan is to leave home around 6-7 AM on Sunday the 11th. We plan to go right to POR to check in. I do have a few room requests so I'm wondering if it is better to not do the online check in?? Has anyone had experience with getting or not getting requests when you use online check in? The plan this day is to explore our resort, maybe swim, maybe take the boat to DTD. We are very open to anything this day. There is a slight chance we may even head over to AK for a few hours in the afternoon. My goal on this trip is to not be commando!
Update: Since we changed our arrival date to the day before we will wake up at our offsite resort and then head to Animal Kingdom Lodge for our 8:30 AM breakfast at Boma. After breakfast we will check in at POR, unpack, explore and then head to HS for a few hours. This evening we plan to either enjoy the resort or go into MK just for MSEP and Wishes. Won't be going to DTD since it will probably be crowded due to Festival of the Masters. This is the night we have Ohana booked but I really feel like we are going to cancel it.

I had originally wanted to have an ADR at Cape May on this night and then hang out in the Beach Club or Boardwalk Resort area and maybe if we were feeling up to it head into EPCOT at the International Gateway entrance and take in a little F&W festival. I know this is the last weekend night before a holiday and it will be nuts so that's why it was ify. After realizing there are no fried shrimp at Cape May on Sunday's I had to swap two ADR's. This is the night we now have 'Ohana booked. It's a 5PM ADR and if we decide to keep it we may brave the crowds at MK for their EMH night until midnight. If we decide against that we will probably resort hop on the monorail and then ride over to EPCOT and back. I love the monorail!!! "por favor mantengase alejado de las puertas!"
Update: Obviously this has all been changed a bit due to the change in arrival dates. MK is now open to 1 AM. No, we will not be partaking in that! Have to be up early tomorrow!!!!

I'm really wanting to take time to be slow on this vacation. Smell the roses, take it all in, etc. So if I seem wishy washy this is why. I do have all 4 parks planned out for the rest of our stay with our must do's worked in though. So Sunday is going to be one of two very laid back days.

 

[vleeth]

I don't know if we'll have any laid back days this trip. Glad to see someone is scheduling them!

 

[JessiMommy]

Day 2 plan - Magic Kingdom

Today is a holiday, Veteran's Day. We have decided to make today a Magic Kingdom day since this is also a MVMCP night and the park will close at 7. I am thinking a lot of people may chose another park for this reason. The last time we were here in November was in 2010 and we did the MVMCP. It was a lot of fun, crowds were non existent but it was soooo cold! Well... cold to us South Floridians anyway. We decided against the party this year though.

Update: Because of the passholder preview for FLE debacle we now have a Passholder Preview of FLE scheduled for this morning at 9 AM. We have to pick up wristbands at TTC, then be at FLE a half hour prior to our start time of 9. Guess we will be up really early today!!! This is proabably the only way we will see FLE this week due to the previews so we will have to endure. Hopefully it won't be too crowded.

We are rope drop people... we find we are able to get so much done before lunch when we do this. Magic Kingdom is the one park we almost always do at rope drop. Since yesterday was a laid back day we should be ready to go early. We either do a quick in room breakfast from goodies I bring or if we are up early enough and feel hungry we may grab something at the Riverside Mill Food Court. We are all typically not big breakfast eaters. I will be bringing my own coffee pot from home and will be avoiding that Nescafe Disney tries to pass off as coffee! LOL!! I have not heard good things about the new pod coffee pots that Disney has put in at all the resorts. I need my DD coffee in the morning!!! We will most likely take the bus this morning since it is usually easier than driving to this park. The plan is to attack Fantasyland first (you never know if the expansion may be doing soft openings!) We are really hoping that passholder previews end up being this week but we will happily take a soft opening as well! We are very excited to try Dumbo in it's new location and this is usually our first ride of the day.

We are so sad that we will no longer have Cinderella castle as our view but are still happy about the expansion overall. After Dumbo we usually hit Pooh, Peter Pan, Small World and Snow White. Guess we will be skipping Snow White this time.

We will however, accept wait times that look like this all day today!!!!

After Fantasyland we usually tend to wing it from here on out. Sometimes we hed into Tomorrowland, sometimes Frontierland, who knows. All 3 of us ride everything on property so nothing is off limits. We will go where the wind takes us this day. We really are determined to just enjoy everything, take in the small things and just enjoy being together! For lunch we may try some of the new offerings at Pinocchio Village Haus or our usual favorite the Columbia Harbor House. Love this pic from 2010 of DD. Maybe we should recreate it if the sleigh is in place...

Tonight's plan is EPCOT. Not sure if we will go back to POR for a while first. We'll see what time it is when we are ready to leave MK. We have an ADR tonight for The Rose & Crown at 7:30. I've always liked this location but booked this mainly because I thought it would be fun to try and see Illuminations from the patio. I know there is no way to guarantee we'll be seated out there so I don't even know if it's worth keeping the ADR. We haven't seen Illuminations in many years. Probably only 1 time since they made the change to Reflections of Earth. We just loved the former version so much that this one never quite did it for us. Maybe we should give it another shot. If we cancel the ADR we may still try and catch it. If not we may just stroll around a bit. We plan to be back here two more times this trip. This is DD's favorite and my 2nd favorite park.

Update: We canceled the ADR at Rose & Crown and moved our Garden Grill ADR to tonight at 4:30 PM. We still plan to catch Illuminations tonight.

Back to POR to soak up some more beauty before getting some beauty rest.

 

[PoppyGirl]

I love this photo! I actually copied it onto my computer for later. By the way, HI! Just followed you over here from my PTR. I'm really enjoying reading....more more more!

'Ohana (D).........................................Been twice before, LOVE IT!
Grand Floridian Cafe (L,D).................Looks so pretty, never tried.
Cape May Cafe (D)..........................DD & I love seafood, DH NOT! Never tried.
Kona Cafe (B,D)..............................Love the dinner here, want to try Tonga Toast!
Garden Grill (D)...............................Always wanted to try.
Via Napoli (D).................................DH loves Italian and this place gets great reviews.
Rose & Crown (D)............................I love it here! Thinking a ADR around Illum. time.
Liberty Tree Tavern (L)....................We like dinner here, want to try lunch.
Whispering Canyon Cafe' (D).............Thought DD would like antics.
Paradisio 37 (D)..............................Menu looked interesting.
Wolfgang Puck Express (L, D)............Seen good reviews.
Boatwrights (D)..............................In our resort, always wanted to try.
Boma (B, D) ..................................DH has never seen lodge, always wanted to try.

So what are your thoughts on our list? we've already made some ADR's, I'll get to that update next. Anything on this list you wouldn't miss, or would take off? I love to hear opinions!

I realize that you didn't book all of these (after I read a little more on your posts), but I'll share a couple of thoughts. We had breakfast at Kona once when we were there with some friends--there were 9 of us--we all loved it! The tonga toast was to die for....and you cannot beat french press coffee. *sigh*

DD and I ate at Rose and Crown last year during Illuminations and it was wonderful. We sat out on the patio (score!) and thoroughly enjoyed the meal and the fireworks. We both liked the sticky toffee pudding. DD had the bangers and mash....I'll be getting it next time. Yum!

And Boma is my favorite place EVER, ANYWHERE. I've eaten there for dinner every single trip and have never been disappointed.

We ate at Whispering Canyon once too--there was SO much food! It was all good and our waiter was a hoot. Made it super fun for the whole family.

I'm' like you....live to eat!

 

[JessiMommy]

I love this photo! I actually copied it onto my computer for later. By the way, HI! Just followed you over here from my PTR. I'm really enjoying reading....more more more!

Hi! Welcome! Isn't that pic great???! I use it as my screen saver!

I realize that you didn't book all of these (after I read a little more on your posts), but I'll share a couple of thoughts. We had breakfast at Kona once when we were there with some friends--there were 9 of us--we all loved it! The tonga toast was to die for....and you cannot beat french press coffee. *sigh*

Oh no! Now I'm re-thinking our last day breakfast. I chose Boma over Kona...hmmm..... I heard you can get the Tonga Toast at Captain Cooks the quick service place at the Poly but I wonder if it's the same??

DD and I ate at Rose and Crown last year during Illuminations and it was wonderful. We sat out on the patio (score!) and thoroughly enjoyed the meal and the fireworks. We both liked the sticky toffee pudding. DD had the bangers and mash....I'll be getting it next time. Yum!

And Boma is my favorite place EVER, ANYWHERE. I've eaten there for dinner every single trip and have never been disappointed.

This one scared me for dinner because DH & DD can be so picky. I did however book it for dinner for a trip we are taking in January with my parents! Whoo hoo!

We ate at Whispering Canyon once too--there was SO much food! It was all good and our waiter was a hoot. Made it super fun for the whole family.

I'm' like you....live to eat!

I'm feeling so stress free over all of my planning with the exception of dining! I just can't decide what to keep and what to let go.

 

[PoppyGirl]

Oh no! Don't stress over dining! That's the fun part! Although I play around with my ADR's over and over and over before my trips. I'll think I have them all set and then change my mind! Online booking has been very, very bad for me!

 

[JessiMommy]

I'm so sad today!!! Called yesterday to try and get a General Public room only discount... nothing available....

Called this morning at 7AM on the dot to try an Annual Pass discount and while they were offering my dates and resort, they were sold out already!!!



I remember a time not so long ago when Annual Pass discounts were good and plentiful. I really don't like when Disney makes me sad! I don't want to be mad at the mouse!

I'm going to keep calling and trying but I am so discouraged today! Really need that discount.... UGH!