$5 A Day Means Disney MY Way: 17 nights, 26 ADRs, 165 TS credits, 4 Disney events

[meggiebeth]

$5 A Day Means Disney MY Way: 17 nights, 26 ADRs, 165 TS credits, 4 Disney events

Hello and welcome to my trip report. My family and I have just returned from a fantastic 17 night trip to Walt Disney World and Orlando. We live in the UK and due to the long and expensive flight, stay for quite a while. Without further ado, here are the details of our truly memorable trip:

Trip Dates
30th October – 16th November

Accommodation
6 nights at Reunion Resort in Kissimmee
11 nights at Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa with the Deluxe Dining Plan

During this trip, we experienced many new things, and enjoyed:

• 165 table service credits
• 110 snack credits
• 4 special events
• Taking over 3000 photographs
• The Keys to the Kingdom Tour

We enjoyed the Food and Wine Festival, Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party... but unfortunately had to endure a not-so-nice experience at the Magic Kingdom, and had to make a complaint.

Although we made 26 ADRs, we had to cancel several due to several circumstances. These include:

The Plaza Restaurant
Beaches and Cream
Flying Fish Cafe
Akershus
Garden Grill
Planet Hollywood
The Turf Club Bar and Grill
Rainforest Cafe
Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue
Crystal Palace
Whispering Canyon Cafe
1900 Park Fare
Chef Mickey’s
Yachtsman Steakhouse
Captain’s Grille
50s Prime Time Cafe
Cape May Cafe
Biergarten Restaurant (CANCELLED)
Be Our Guest Restaurant
Grand Floridian Cafe
Narcoossee’s
Cinderella’s Royal Table
Liberty Tree Tavern
1900 Park Fare (CANCELLED)
Le Cellier Steakhouse
Olivia’s
T-REX Restaurant

As you can see, we enjoyed three signature restaurants along with nine character meals, and benefitted from some fantastic food. Along with reporting our fun in the parks and resorts I will be posting reviews on the restaurants we had the pleasure of eating at.

We also were lucky enough to visit:

The Kennedy Space Centre
Wekiwa Springs State Park

Introductions

Hello! I am Megan and am seventeen years old. I plan our trips to Disney, being the planner of the family, and decide on our itinerary, ADRs and the like. I love Disney, and America. Culturally, it is a lot more acceptable for adults to like Disney in the US- in the UK it is seen as far more for children. My love for all things Disney can irritate my family at times, but luckily my younger brother Rory is also happy to watch Disney movies and speak about Mickey and the parks.

Favourite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favourite Restaurant: 1900 Park Fare
Favourite Character: Belle, Rapunzel, Cinderella and Minnie Mouse
Favourite Ride: Splash Mountain

This is my mum, Tracey. She loves the food and hotels involved with a Disney trip, along with the first class rides and entertainment. She also loves to relax by the fantastic swimming pools at SSR. She is a speech and language therapist and works at a hospital which she finds very rewarding!

Favourite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favourite Restaurant: Flying Fish Cafe
Favourite Character: Mickey, Minnie and Anastasia and Drizella
Favourite Ride: Tower of Terror

This is my dad, Will. He loves the Disney shows like Dream Along with Mickey, and Pluto, Donald and Goofy hold a special place in his heart. He loves cars and enjoyed seeing all the American vehicles on the roads! He loved also the spaciousness of the villa we had in SSR and the DDP.

Favourite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favourite Restaurant: 1900 Park Fare and Yachtsman Steakhouse
Favourite Character: Pluto, Goofy, Donald
Favourite Ride: Tower of Terror and Rock n’ Roller Coaster

This is William, who we affectionately call Willum, aged 15. He supposedly dislikes Disney, and made certain to make a fuss whenever we watched a parade or fireworks. He loves the Disney rides and can’t understand why we’d want to do anything but...!

Favourite Park: Hollywood Studios
Favourite Restaurant: Chef Mickey’s
Favourite Character: Goofy
Favourite Ride: Rock n’ Roller Coaster

This is Rory who is a bright, clever little eight year old boy who loves Disney (although in Willum’s presence doesn’t like to admit it sometimes!) He loves to snuggle on the sofa with me and our lovely dog and watch a Disney movie. He was looking forward to riding Rock n’ Roller Coaster this trip as he did not make the height requirement on our last trip.

Favourite Park: Hollywood Studios
Favourite Restaurant: 1900 Park Fare
Favourite Character: Pluto, Ariel
Favourite Ride: Tower of Terror and Rock n’ Roller Coaster

Without further delay, let’s start this trip report! The title and more details will be explained in the next post!

 

[meggiebeth]

Table of Contents

Trip Report Updates
~Background of the Trip~

~The Journey and Reunion Resort~
~Adjusting to Floridian Life- 'To the Pool!'~
~Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party~
~The Kennedy Space Centre~
~The Town of Celebration~

~Check-In at Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa plus Our Villa~
~The Rush for FP+ at Hollywood Studios~
~Thrills, Grits and World Class Tricks at DHS~
~Noodles, Haggis and Exploring World Showcase~
~Downtown Disney and Pool-Time Fun at the Paddocks~
~Safaris Through Africa, Grumbles and Space for Suncream~
~Photos, Photos, Photos and a Jingle Parade at Animal Kingdom~

Dining Report Updates

~The Plaza Restaurant (Dinner)~
~The Hard Rock Café~ (A Brief Overview)
~Beaches and Cream Soda Shop (Lunch)~
~Flying Fish Café (Dinner)~
~Akershus (Breakfast)~
~Garden Grill (Dinner)~
~Planet Hollywood (Lunch)~
~Turf Club Bar & Grill (Dinner)~
~The Rainforest Café - Animal Kingdom (Lunch-for-Breakfast)~
~Hoop Dee Doo Revue (Dinner)~

 

[agavegirl1]

Hello Megan,

My name is Wendy and I will be following along with your trip report since I will be going to Orlando for two weeks next year. So far, I can tell you are an excellent writer and your choices for photos and your internet (DISboards savvy) are to be admired. You would be an excellent addition to the CM contingent in the UK Pavilion I am thinking.

 

[freckles04]

Hi! I remember reading your pre-trip report. I'm so excited to read all about how your trip went!

 

[meggiebeth]

Hello Megan,

My name is Wendy and I will be following along with your trip report since I will be going to Orlando for two weeks next year. So far, I can tell you are an excellent writer and your choices for photos and your internet (DISboards savvy) are to be admired. You would be an excellent addition to the CM contingent in the UK Pavilion I am thinking.

Hi Wendy!

Thanks for following along! How exciting that you are visiting Orlando! Where are you planning to stay? Thanks so much for the compliments, that's very kind of you to say. I've been thinking about the Disney College Program, especially since I leave school next year, so it's nice of you to say that.

Hi! I remember reading your pre-trip report. I'm so excited to read all about how your trip went!

Hi there! Lovely to see you and thanks for reading along!

 

[IheartDDuck]

I'm joining. I can't wait to hear all about your trip.

 

[JessM]

Joining in! Can't wait to hear all about your trip

 

[lisatav]

Subbing in! Can't wait to hear more! It looks like you had a great time!

 

[familyabgar]

What a great start! I can tell this will be a wonderful report.

 

[ougrad86]

I'm here - very excited to hear all about your trip !

 

[chiefdragon]

I am very excited to ready your report. 17 days, how lucky you are.

 

[WildGinger]

Joining in! Wow, you did a lot!

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Signing on and so jealous! 17 days and both special parties at MK- WOW!

 

[meggiebeth]

Background of Trip

This trip was not our first to Walt Disney World- we had the pleasure of visiting in August 2011 for two weeks; one in Reunion and one in Saratoga Springs with the Deluxe Dining Plan. It was very hot, very humid, and quite busy but we had a fantastic time. It was incredibly busy itinerary-wise, but a great taster of all Disney had to offer. Here we are below in 2011 enjoying breakfast at Chef Mickey's.

After a great deal of saving we booked to return in October/ November 2013. Initially, upgrading from the free regular dining plan seemed too expensive at around £1200 for the 11 nights (about $1800) but I decided to start saving up on my own. Putting away around £3 (or $5) a day meant that in a year, I had saved enough for the upgrade!

The point of going at this time of year was the cooler weather (whilst still being warm), the supposedly lighter crowds and the special events! Staying at Reunion gave us the chance to visit attractions unrelated to Disney around the central Florida area, so that we could truly immerse ourselves in Disney when we moved on to Saratoga Springs.

Coming up- let the trip report start!

 

[meggiebeth]

I'm joining. I can't wait to hear all about your trip.

Joining in! Can't wait to hear all about your trip

Subbing in! Can't wait to hear more! It looks like you had a great time!

What a great start! I can tell this will be a wonderful report.

I'm here - very excited to hear all about your trip !

I am very excited to ready your report. 17 days, how lucky you are.

Joining in! Wow, you did a lot!

Signing on and so jealous! 17 days and both special parties at MK- WOW!

Thanks all for joining in! Welcome and do tag along!

 

[rachel09985]

Joining in! This sounds fun, I can't wait to read about your trip!

 

[B&WMickey]

Signing on. We were at WDW the second half of your trip so I'm interested to get your perspective on things.

 

[Imbri]

Saw the last bit of your pre-trip report.

Can't wait to hear about your trip!

 

[Riles_and_Gabe]

Joining in!! Can't wait to hear about your trip!!

 

[deedee2177]

Joining in as well!! I love the $5 a day savings plan!