An Amazing August Adventure - PTR

[Windsor Princesses]

Greetings to all DISers and Wilderness Explorers!!!

Adventure is out there and we are going to find it on our Amazing August Adventure trip coming up at the end of this summer.

Jambo everyone! For those of you who have been through one of our trips with us before Thanks for coming back! We missed ya! For those of you who are new to our trip reports WELCOME and thanks for stopping by, we love to hear all of your comments as it certainly makes writing these TRs more fun getting to hear from our readers.
You can read our past two TRs here Two Girls in the World, No Parents Allowed and here Ringing in the New Year, Disney Style
If you havent read our past TRs then youll need a cast introduction; and for those of you who have there will be at least one new face during this trip so some introductions are in order

The Cast:

Your Ghost Host ...............Danielle

I have been going to Disney World since I was only 6 months old, my parents started my obsession very young. I love all things Disney, so much so that some might say I am obsessed. If youd like to hear about my Disney obsession on a daily basis then you can follow me on both Twitter and Instagram; my account is d__clark (thats 2 underscores) for both and I'd love to have you!

As of June 13th I will be a University graduate with my Bachelors of Social Work and a minor in Womans Studies! For next year I have some things on the back burner that I am waiting to hear about (all Ill say right now is that it could possibly result in a 12 month long TR if everything works out). And, if I dont hear back about that super way more important thing Ive been accepted to the Bachelor of Education program at my University which will be my backup plan before entering the dreaded real world.

Now for some of my Disney Favourites
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Magic Kingdom Rides: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Haunted Mansion & the PeopleMover
Favorite Epcot Ride: Test Track Baby!
Favorite Hollywood Studios Rides: Toy Story Mania & Rock n Roller Coaster
Favorite Animal Kingdom Rides: Dinosaur & Expedition Everest
Favorite Disney Princess: Rapunzel & Ariel
Favorite Quick Service: Caseys Corner
Favorite Table Service: Kona mmmmm the bread
Favorite Disney Movie: Tangled, Aladdin & Tarzan
Favorite Pixar Movie: Every Toy Story & Brave
Favorite Disney Songs: When Will My Life Begin & Youll Be in My Heart

The Nani to my Lilo............... Lauren

*note* Please ignore that runny nosed kid in her picture, she is the adorable blonde in the super cool socks and the Minnie dress*

Lauren has been your storyteller for out pervious TRs and because of her now very busy work schedule by being hired by our towns EMS (which in Canada and especially our county is a very very difficult thing to do). It is because of this new job that I must extend our apologies about our previous trip report. We were both so busy that by the time we went back to finish up our final days the TR had been moved over to the completed section and would no longer let us finish it!! I know; we were just as surprised as you are!

Anyhoo, now a bit about Lauren.
Lauren has been going to Disney World since she was 5 years old and is just as obsessed as I am. She doesn`t have a twitter or an instagram, but if she gets on when trip time rolls around well be sure to share them with you so you can follow our trip from her point of view.
Now for Laurens Disney Favourites:
Favorite Park: Animal Kingdom
Favorite Magic Kingdom Rides: Haunted Mansion & The PeopleMover
Favorite Epcot Rides: Spaceship Earth & Soarin
Favorite Hollywood Studios Rides: Muppet Vision 3D & Honey I Shrunk the Kids Adventure
Favorite Animal Kingdom Ride: Dinosaur
Favorite Disney Characters: Alice, White Rabbit, and Pluto
Favorite Quick Service: Pizzafari & The Lunching Pad
Favorite Table Service: Crystal Palace Breakfast
Favorite Disney Movie: The Aristocats & The Emperors New School
Favorite Pixar Movie: UP
Favorite Disney Songs: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, Everybody Wants to be a Cat & When You Wish Upon a Star

The fabulous............... Aunt Heddy

Our Aunt Heather was our Disney partner in crime while we were growing up, she came with us every year and we always had so much fun. She got busy with work and stuff and hadnt been able to join us on our trips for the last 10 years or so; so this spring when we mentioned it to her she was so excited that she happened to have that week off and jumped at the chance to visit the most magical place on Earth with us again. (Thats the reason I went old school with our introduction photos, because I didnt have a recent Disney one of her). Although her name is Heather she is known to us as Heddy (or Hed) and always will be, so thats what well be calling her in this TR.

Side note, does anyone remember that character buffet that is in her picture? It had everyone at it, like Aladdin characters, Hunchback of ND characters, and Poca characters, but it was just this shady looking warehouse! We cant remember for the life of us where it was, just that it was a buffet with oodles of awesome characters.

Heddy is such a busy lady and is always travelling that it's really hard to get a hold of her so I haven't been able to ask her all her WDW favourites yet; but if I get the chance to talk with her before the trip I will make sure to ask her all the Disney details!

And maybe............... Brendan

(I know I know, I need to find a Disney related picture of this kid)

We've mentioned Brendan in the intros to our last TRs but this is the first time he is actually being introduced. Brendan is my boyfriend and has NEVER been to any Disney park!! I know I know, Danielle what are you doing with such a fool?! Growing up his family always travelled to Ireland to visit family instead of to the glorious Disney World; which I mean is cool but Disney always takes priority in my heart. Anyway, he hasnt been able to join us on any of our trips in the last eight years because hes a musician and he can never commit to plane tickets and such due to his unpredictable schedule.

*Cue shameless band promotion*

If you like really good music and want to find a new amazing band to listen to you should check this out!

Since Brendan has never been before he gets a little different All about Brendan Disney list

Park Im Most Excited to See: Magic Kingdom
Attraction I am Most Excited to Ride: Haunted Mansion!!
Favorite Disney Characters: Pascal
Quick Service I am Most Excited About: Pizza Planet
Table Service I am Most Excited About: Ohana
Favorite Disney Movie: The Lion King, Aladdin & Princess and the Frog
Favorite Pixar Movie: Toy Story (All of them), A Bugs Life, The Incredibles & Brave
Favorite Disney Songs: When Somebody Loved Me (Who doesnt love this song, really?!)​

 

[Windsor Princesses]

Table Of Contents

When? Why? Where?
The Dining Plan So Far....
The ADR Hunt Begins
More Dining Deliciousness
The Final Food Decision

​

 

[Windsor Princesses]

The When
We originally were going from Sunday August 25 – 31 until we looked at flight prices and found that there was a flight out on Saturday the 24 that was less money than the Sunday flight, it was an afternoon flight and when we thought about it we would end up saving way more money and time than we would flying out on the 25. After much himming and hawing we decided that since we would have to book a hotel in Detroit to stay the night before our early Sunday flight it wouldn’t make a difference to fly out a day earlier and just begin our vacation a day earlier!
It didn’t take much to persuade me but we had to get a hold of Heddy somehow to make sure she was able to leave a day earlier; which she was, so YAY! Then we went to book the flight and of course that rate was sold out... wahhh wahhh wahhhhhhh
But that’s okay, because we were still spending less money and time travelling and starting a day earlier, so we just went with the more expensive (and more reliable) Delta flights and booked our trip.
Side Note* We book with CAA (the Canadian version of AAA) when we go to Disney because you get a cheaper rate for park tickets and the Diamond card which lets you get discounts and some extra park activities that we wouldn’t get otherwise.

The Why
Why are we going to Disney World?
Well besides the obvious fact that it is the happiest most magical place on earth there are a few very exciting things going on in our lives that we all want to celebrate.
For Lauren she is celebrating her new job, I am celebrating my graduation from university, Heddy is celebrating the fact that she has some time off from work to spend with us, and Brendan will be celebrating that this is his first time EVER in the magical world of Disney (plus we will be celebrating his birthday during this trip as well).
We also got a free dining PIN, so I mean who doesn’t like free food.

The Where
When we first started planning this trip we had our hearts set on a Cars suite at AoA. My friend from school was considering joining us if she could get the time off (she started the Masters programs this summer and it is super demanding). When we realized that she wasn’t going to be able to join us we had to rethink everything. Basically it boiled down to did we want to spend an extra $80 a night for a second bathroom – the answer... no.
Then we were going to just stay at the POP or a Little Mermaid room at AoA instead but we would still have to pay an extra $100 to upgrade our free dining plan from a quick service because we would be at a value. Eventually we realized that it would cost less money to stay at a moderate resort and just get the regular dining plan for free ; so that is what we did. We wanted to stay at the Coronado because it is the only moderate that we have not stayed at yet but it was booked solid (I’m assuming some giant convention is coming in) so we settled for POR – French Quarter! I have never stayed here before, but Lauren has; it is the resort her and John stayed at on their trip last September. Let me tell you I am so excited to stay here!! I hear nothing but good things about it and I love the idea of a Mardi Gras theme throughout the resort, not to mention the small size of it.

​

 

[DisFan89]

Another TR from you guys! I'm so excited to get to read along with you again. I was wondering what happened to the last one; congrats to Lauren on her big job!

 

[Windsor Princesses]

Another TR from you guys! I'm so excited to get to read along with you again. I was wondering what happened to the last one; congrats to Lauren on her big job!

Thanks DisFan89! We are happy to see you're back to join us on our August Adventure! I'm in charge this time so I'll be sure to make enough time to keep the updates coming​

 

[happybelle]

Joining in!

 

[Windsor Princesses]

Joining in!

Glad to have you happybelle! We've got some delicious dining plans coming up!​

 

[Windsor Princesses]

The Dining Plan – So Far....

Our dining plan has been changing constantly due to ADRs that we have slowly been accumulating by some miracle.
You see originally this trip was supposed to be at the beginning of June; however, when my mom found out that I was going to skip out of my University graduation ceremony to go to Disney World she “suggested” that the trip be moved to another time.
Really we only decided to follow her advice when we got a free dining pin for the end of August – and I mean who doesn’t love free food. Being the expert nommers that we are we could not turn down the option to have all of our food be free. So the trip was moved, Heddy could join us, and my mom was happy to see me cross the stage in my gorgeous gown.
When we were going in June we were on the Disney website at 180 days for each day of our trip and were able to get all of the ADRs that we wanted, however now that we pushed everything back we had missed out on the 180 days and everything was booked solid!

The Horror!!! I know...

This is usually our issue, we don’t have our trip confirmed far enough in advance and it is because of this that we have never been able to eat dinner at magical food places such as ‘Ohana or Chef Mickey (and this trip the coveted Be Our Guest).
And yes I know you can get a 9:30 dinner reservation at these places generally, but one time we had a Kona reservation at 7 and I thought I was going to die of starvation so the thought of waiting an extra two or three hours for delicious noms made my tummy hungry all ready.

Once we had settled on our dates we began booking and this is what our initial dining plans looked like:
August 25 - Garden Grill 7:05 Dinner
August 26 – Liberty Tree Tavern 6:30 Dinner
August 27 – Akershus 9:20 Breakfast
August 28 – Cape May Cafe 5:00 Dinner
August 29 – 50’s Prime Time Cafe 1:30 Lunch
August 30 – Crystal Palace 10:30 Breakfast

We still had some pretty delicious places to eat; sure the times weren’t exactly perfect for our schedule, and there weren’t any of the places that I had always wanted to eat at, but at least we were eating delicious Disney food so that was the important thing to focus on.

However I was not going to give up the dream!
Will we get our choice ADRs? ​

 

[Windsor Princesses]

The ADR Hunt Begins

When we last left off I had some okay ADRs but I had a dream and I was not going to rest until it came true!

I called the reservation line where a lovely lady informed me of something that no one else ever has.
Get ready for it......................

It is easier to modify an existing reservation than to book a new reservation.

Now I'm sure there are many of you who are sitting there reading and being like “Doi, obviously how did this avid DISer not know this.” But ladies and gents I am here to tell you that in all the years I have been doing this no one has ever told me this; in fact people on the phone have told me the exact opposite! So had it not been for this wonderful magical woman on the phone I would have continued to be fibbed to about my Disney dining dreams.

Apparently (and this is just what the lady on the phone told me so correct me if I am wrong) when someone cancels their reservation there is a short period of time where the reservations are only available for those who are modifying their reservations to a different date or time. Because of this the reservations are not yet out for everyone to get and thus, if you call at the opportune moment then a ridiculously difficult reservation becomes yours just like that (go on, snap your fingers to get the full effect).

I had originally just called to cancel all of my June reservations as their dates were fast approaching, and I did not want to pay copious amounts of money for not attending said reservations, when the lovely lady mentioned this to me and said she would check for all of my reservations that I was cancelling to see if there was anything possibly available in the modified section.
After a few anxiety filled minutes she came back with fabulous news! There was a Chef Mickey reservation that had just moved into the modified reservation section for 5:20! After squealing like a giddy schoolgirl she booked it for us and we had successfully landed an appropriately timed dinner reservation for one of my wish list restaurants!
Sadly nothing else was open for modifying and since the dates were only a few days away I just cancelled then to ensure that I wouldn’t forget to, because that would not have been good.​

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Ah I followed you over from my PTR! i love love the old school Disney photos!

I have no idea where that old character meal was but it sound amazing and I think they should bring it back!!

I didn't know it works that way with modified an existing reservation. That's pretty awesome and I'm glad you were able to get into Chef Mickeys!

 

[Windsor Princesses]

Ah I followed you over from my PTR! i love love the old school Disney photos!

I have no idea where that old character meal was but it sound amazing and I think they should bring it back!!

I didn't know it works that way with modified an existing reservation. That's pretty awesome and I'm glad you were able to get into Chef Mickeys!

Welcome welcome!!! We're happy to have you here!

The character meal rocked, there was absolutely no theming whatsoever but the characters were amazing, we loved it.

I didn't know you could modify either, but that's what the lady on the phone said, and it seemed to work. We are so excited to finally be able to go to Check Mickeys, it's been on our Disney bucket list for quite some time.​

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Welcome welcome!!! We're happy to have you here!

The character meal rocked, there was absolutely no theming whatsoever but the characters were amazing, we loved it.

I didn't know you could modify either, but that's what the lady on the phone said, and it seemed to work. We are so excited to finally be able to go to Check Mickeys, it's been on our Disney bucket list for quite some time.​

A no themed character meal would be so cool to have back! Like, to just have a meal where there's no set characters, just whatever random ones show up would be so exciting!

It's awesome that the CM was able to make it work for you!

 

[Windsor Princesses]

More Dining Deliciousness

Days of searching for ADRs and I had come up with nothing until one afternoon when I had just a few minutes before I had to head out the door to work.
I decided that since I had a minute or two to kill I should just go on the Disney website and look at the reservations that are available during out trip. I didn’t see much until I saw a 5:15 ‘Ohana reservation for Wednesday night of our trip! It was kismet! Thank goodness I felt the need to check before heading out the door or it would have been lost forever. I am so excited for meat on a stick!!! Ask anyone who knows me; that is all I ever talk about when Disney food becomes a topic of discussion.
Oh who am I kidding when any type of food in general becomes a topic; or shoes, flowers, water... You get the jist, I talk about it to anyone and everyone just because I can, and because I have an epic love for this meat on a stick that I have yet been given the honour to enjoy.
Days went by and still no Be Our Guest reservation was available. I would call the reservation line and the people would laugh at me when I asked them to check (I suppose they get hundreds of calls a day asking for BOG so I can see why my disappointment would be comical for them).
Then last week just before Lauren got home from work I felt the need to check for yet another time that day to see if there were any special ADRs available. I almost didn’t notice when I saw one for Monday night at 9:10 during our trip.
Like I almost clicked away from the page before I did a double take, had a mini heart attack, and then booked the ADR. Lauren walked in the house as I was doing a happy dance, and when I explained why she joined right in.

Now comes the dilemma that I need all you fellow Disers to help with. Currently our ADRs look like this:
Sunday August 25 5:15 pm - Cape May Cafe
Monday August 26 5:25 pm - Garden Grill
Monday August 26 9:10 pm - Be Our Guest
Tuesday August 27 5:20 pm - Chef Mickey
Wednesday August 28 5:15 pm - ‘Ohana
Thursday August 29 12:05 pm - Prime Time
Friday August 30 9:30 am - Crystal Palace

We know that we have to switch some restaurants and times up but we are not willing to give up our BOG, CM, CP, or ‘Ohana reservations.

With that said what do all of you think we should do. If it was you would you get rid of Cape May, Garden Grill, or Prime Time?
Our other option is to pay OOP for Prime Time since the portions are rather large and the desserts are not a must have for us. We think we would be able to share a couple entrees between the four of us and then we wouldn’t have to give up any restaurants at all; we would just have to make some adjustments to the dates and times.
Let me know what you think, since I`m planning this for one person who has never been to WDW and another who hasn’t been in 10 years I want everything to be perfect. ​

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Yay Ohana AND Be our Guest!! It's like you hit the ADR jackpot! Congrats!

It's hard for me to offer an opinion since I've never eaten at any of them.
Do you have your park days/plans done for the trip yet? I guess my best advice would be to figure out what your plans are for each day and then maybe revise the ADRs around your plans. That way, instead of having to decide which one to get rid of, you can just see which of those work best in your plans.

 

[Windsor Princesses]

Yay Ohana AND Be our Guest!! It's like you hit the ADR jackpot! Congrats!

It's hard for me to offer an opinion since I've never eaten at any of them.
Do you have your park days/plans done for the trip yet? I guess my best advice would be to figure out what your plans are for each day and then maybe revise the ADRs around your plans. That way, instead of having to decide which one to get rid of, you can just see which of those work best in your plans.

Normally that is how we would plan our meals, but we decided that this trip we would just plan our days around the ADRs that we have. Haha we would do that to ourselves!
I'm really hoping for someone to be like "oh my goodness, you can't not eat at _____!" That would just be the bees knees.
But on any other trip your advice would have been splendidly perfect; if only we weren't all about the food this time. Thanks!​

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Normally that is how we would plan our meals, but we decided that this trip we would just plan our days around the ADRs that we have. Haha we would do that to ourselves!
I'm really hoping for someone to be like "oh my goodness, you can't not eat at _____!" That would just be the bees knees.
But on any other trip your advice would have been splendidly perfect; if only we weren't all about the food this time. Thanks!

That makes sense! A trip all about food sounds excellent. I hope someone with more experience will chime in with their opinions!

 

[Windsor Princesses]

The Final Food Decision

Hello everyone! Only 44 days until I am back home!!!!!
After much deliberation (and some decisions made due to a lack of ADRs left) we have finally come to a decision about our reservations. So here we go!
Sunday August 25 9:45 am - Crystal Palace
Monday August 26 9:10 pm - Be Our Guest
Tuesday August 27 5:20 pm - Chef Mickey
Wednesday August 28 5:15 pm - ‘Ohana
Thursday August 29 7:40 pm - Prime Time
Friday August 30 5:45 pm – Cape May Cafe

Much to my sadness there weren’t any Garden Grill reservations at a normal dinner time open anymore during our trip; I guess that will just have to wait until our next trip. I was pretty bummed out about it, but it did make our decision much easier because we didn’t have to make a choice.
I’m going to call it kismet.

Now it just comes to our quick service credits, not that we’re planning those in advance or anything, just thinking about them. We have our favourites and always end up going back to them so if anyone has any suggestions of their favourites we would love to hear them!
I was also considering trying BOG at lunch time, but I didn’t know if it would be as fun and amazing to anyone else but me. Is there anyone who has done both a lunch and a dinner here (on different days of course)? I guess I'm just wondering if it is worth the wait in line for lunch.

Okay my crazy ramblings about food are done!​

 

[lvcourtneyy]

We have a lot of the same ADRs for our trips-- I guess great minds think alike. Garden Grill does sound amazing but I couldn't fit it into our trip either. The way I figure, it's an excuse to plan another trip!

I've heard of a lot of people doing BOG for lunch and dinner on different days! I want to do the same but I'm not sure if DBF will agree or just think I've lost my mind!

As far as other QS places, I've heard great things about Sunshine Seasons in Epcot and the Moroccan CS was our favorite place in the WS!

For AK, we have reservations at Tusker House so I'm not sure if we'll need a CS place but I really want to try Flametree BBQ- I've heard amazing things!

In DTD, I'm really excited to try WPE for CS. Everyone tells me it's delicious and a great value for a QS credit!

 

[Windsor Princesses]

We have a lot of the same ADRs for our trips-- I guess great minds think alike. Garden Grill does sound amazing but I couldn't fit it into our trip either. The way I figure, it's an excuse to plan another trip!

I've heard of a lot of people doing BOG for lunch and dinner on different days! I want to do the same but I'm not sure if DBF will agree or just think I've lost my mind!

As far as other QS places, I've heard great things about Sunshine Seasons in Epcot and the Moroccan CS was our favorite place in the WS!

For AK, we have reservations at Tusker House so I'm not sure if we'll need a CS place but I really want to try Flametree BBQ- I've heard amazing things!

In DTD, I'm really excited to try WPE for CS. Everyone tells me it's delicious and a great value for a QS credit!

Haha I'm the same way with BOG for lunch, I don't want my Aunt to think I've gone completely insane!
I've always wanted to try the Moroccan CS but I've been nervous about it, maybe we'll give it a try this go around, thanks! We're going to try EOS this time at DTD, but only because WPE is always our go to and we wanted to try something different; plus we're paying OOP that night because our DP doesn't start until the next day, and EOS is just a smidge less money.​