I made up the plan. It is MY plan! - A March 2015 TR - update 6/30 Epcot morning

[ariane37]

I say I want a Disney trip without my kids, but I don't know if I can actually do it. Congrats to you! I have to say that cupcake didn't really appeal to me - I am glad I skipped it.

I don't think I could have done it either when mine were as young as yours. Wasn't too hard now at 9.5 and almost 13.....but I admit, the couple days before we left I had some 2nd thoughts and was giving them a few extra hugs!

 

[SarahDisney]

Yay! Behind the Seeds! I've thought about doing it, but just never really had the time for it. Hopefully I'll get to it eventually, but I'm not rushing to do it.

The tour sounds really interesting. I love that lettuce! I really hope that if I do eventually do it, I have a great tour guide like you guys did!

I hate the procedure of getting from the parks to DTD ... I understand why they do it, but it's such a hastle when you're in a time crunch and you just want to get there!

 

[KathyM2]

I would love to do that tour!! Looks interesting and fun!! That is a bit of an ordeal getting to DTD...glad you made it though!

 

[StephanieE]

I just booked the Behind the Seeds tour! I've always wanted more information after the ride and I've been considering it for a while for our trip in May. Your review was the final push! It looks like so much fun!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Joining in!

We spent some time walking around AoA and really loved the theming - sorry about the vomit incident

Glad you both enjoyed the f&g festival so much and planted the "seed" for f&we

Speaking of "seeds" glad you enjoyed the tour. I skipped over reading it as we definitely want to do it some day - living with the Land is one of our favorites!

 

[TinksThree]

What did DH choose? He chose the Behind the Seeds tour!

Finishing our tour at 3:45 meant we needed to hurry a little for our 5 PM ADR in Downtown Disney. We headed for the buses, but I had forgotten to tell DH that we couldn't go directly. We quickly discussed the need to take a bus to any resort and then transfer, but we probably should have given that a little more thought. DH jumped on a bus that was about to leave. Which resort did we get? Caribbean Beach! Here is the problem with that - neither of us had ever been there before and being a moderate, it has about 6 bus stops. I assumed (wrongly) that one of them would be in front of the lobby like at POR. We rode all the way around CBR before we realized we just needed to get off. Luckily, a Downtown Disney bus arrived about 2 minutes after we got off our Epcot bus. Sadly, we were at the first stop it was making in CBR so we got to ride all the way around again before heading to DTD. Ugh! We finally made it to the DTD bus stop at 4:40 PM for our 5 PM Reservation!

I LOVE the Behind the Seeds tour!! I think it is probably one of the best bargains at Disney!

We did the same thing on a bus once but we chose Coronado Springs...and they have 5-6 stops. It felt like forever on that bus!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

I can not believe I did not realize you started your PTR!

But I am here now! Sounds like an interesting start, I hate when I forget important things, but I always do!
I hope you all start feeling better. I know all about the pollen allergies! We all have them too! Even our poor dog who is pretty much allergic to the outside in the summer It really stinks!

Love the behind the seeds tour pics and info! My DH would really love that one, its on the someday when we have bigger kids list!

 

[ursalita]

Hi! Enjoying your review so far. So sorry you forgot your camera. Poor DS, hope he felt better the rest of the trip.

It's great that you and DH were able to enjoy some free time in Epcot. I really enjoyed reading your reviews of the F&G booths. I'm sure it will help make my decisions easier.

Also, I'm so glad to read the details of the Behind the Seeds tour. We are considering doing it but like you didn't think the kids would enjoy it. I actually think at least my older DS would enjoy. I think if we have the time we'll try to see it. Thanks!

 

[irene_dsc]

Tuning in! I'm another GS leader, and your oldest sounds a bit like my daughter! We were there about the same time as you, too! I'm just starting my trip report...

 

[ksl5f123]

That tour looks interesting. I'll have to keep it in mind when Little Miss gets to homeschooling age.

Huh I thought that to. Oh well I'm glad I switched back to POR.

Well at least you got a good taste for what the resort looks like.

It was a really interesting tour! I enjoyed it so much. I was really surprised by the bus not stopping at the lobby building. It was so confusing. The resort is pretty, but still not really on my list of places I want to try.

I think DH would really enjoy the Behind the Seeds tour! Did your kids like it? Since younger DS is only 9 that is one of the few tours he can do.

We didn't take the kids. My girls *might* have been OK with it, but the boys would have been bored stiff. I think if there were more kids on our tour, they might have focused it differently, but it was pretty much all adults and all experienced gardeners.

I had to laugh about your CBR bus experience, sorry! Yes, going to an ADR at any resort besides your own isn't easy--I hear taxis are the way to go, tho never tried it--but grabbing the bus to CBR must've made for some seriously anxiety-inducing minutes... a *lot* of them, LOL!

Always wanted to do the Behind the Seeds tour! We go in less than two weeks, and the Keys to the Kingdom is sold out, so maybe we can do that one instead. It looks fascinating. Overall, great TR, even without the camera!

I laughed too - after it was over. I generally don't care for taxis. If I had it to do over, we would have gone out the international gateway and gotten on a bus to Downtown Disney from the Beach Club. Hindsight 20/20 and all... Have a great trip! You are so close!!!

 

[ksl5f123]

Hi! Enjoying your review so far. So sorry you forgot your camera. Poor DS, hope he felt better the rest of the trip.

It's great that you and DH were able to enjoy some free time in Epcot. I really enjoyed reading your reviews of the F&G booths. I'm sure it will help make my decisions easier.

Also, I'm so glad to read the details of the Behind the Seeds tour. We are considering doing it but like you didn't think the kids would enjoy it. I actually think at least my older DS would enjoy. I think if we have the time we'll try to see it. Thanks!

Thanks for coming over! Luckily, that was our only vomiting episode. F&G is really fun, but certainly more adult oriented. I do hope the reviews help a little, some of the food was quite yummy!

Tuning in! I'm another GS leader, and your oldest sounds a bit like my daughter! We were there about the same time as you, too! I'm just starting my trip report...

Hi! I will have to look for your TR!

 

[ksl5f123]

I don't think I could have done it either when mine were as young as yours. Wasn't too hard now at 9.5 and almost 13.....but I admit, the couple days before we left I had some 2nd thoughts and was giving them a few extra hugs!

I actually took just by girls when T was 2. He went to the beach with daddy. He doesn't remember at all. Now, the kids would be mad at me.

Yay! Behind the Seeds! I've thought about doing it, but just never really had the time for it. Hopefully I'll get to it eventually, but I'm not rushing to do it.

The tour sounds really interesting. I love that lettuce! I really hope that if I do eventually do it, I have a great tour guide like you guys did!

I hate the procedure of getting from the parks to DTD ... I understand why they do it, but it's such a hastle when you're in a time crunch and you just want to get there!

I have always loved the lettuce too! It was interesting to learn more about it. I enjoy trying to garden, so any additional idea for making it go smoother are really useful. Our summer heat often fries my plants.

I would love to do that tour!! Looks interesting and fun!! That is a bit of an ordeal getting to DTD...glad you made it though!

It is a great tour! I learned so much!

I just booked the Behind the Seeds tour! I've always wanted more information after the ride and I've been considering it for a while for our trip in May. Your review was the final push! It looks like so much fun!

Hooray!!! Glad I could give you the nudge.

 

[ksl5f123]

Joining in!

We spent some time walking around AoA and really loved the theming - sorry about the vomit incident

Glad you both enjoyed the f&g festival so much and planted the "seed" for f&we

Speaking of "seeds" glad you enjoyed the tour. I skipped over reading it as we definitely want to do it some day - living with the Land is one of our favorites!

I think AoA is a very fun resort. I strongly recommend the Behind the Seeds tour!

I LOVE the Behind the Seeds tour!! I think it is probably one of the best bargains at Disney!

We did the same thing on a bus once but we chose Coronado Springs...and they have 5-6 stops. It felt like forever on that bus!

It was a pretty good price. We even got a discount for paying with our Disney Visa. I think it was about $35 for both of us. I felt so silly on that bus. I should have known better.

I can not believe I did not realize you started your PTR!

But I am here now! Sounds like an interesting start, I hate when I forget important things, but I always do!
I hope you all start feeling better. I know all about the pollen allergies! We all have them too! Even our poor dog who is pretty much allergic to the outside in the summer It really stinks!

Love the behind the seeds tour pics and info! My DH would really love that one, its on the someday when we have bigger kids list!

So glad you made it over! The pollen is CRAZY hear right now! We had a rain shower late last week and the roads just ran yellow. Ick!

 

[ksl5f123]

It has been a busy couple of days! It was Girl Scout camp weekend. WE had about 130 girls from our Service Unit (Girl Scout code for our county) from 5 to 13 years old. I think they had a great time and we were lucky to have sunny weather in the 70s! I only got about 2 hours of sleep, but that is why there are Sunday afternoon naps.

Back to the TR, we had just arrived at Downtown Disney. MIL and FIL had taken the bus from AoA with the kids and arrived about 15 minutes before us. They were browsing in the Lego store. We met up with them and checked in at T-Rex. After checking in, we were put into a little holding area until our table was ready. It took about 10-15 minutes between checking in and getting to go to our table. Not too bad, but the kids were getting restless.

We were finally seated in a room with a big fish tank and giant jellyfish hanging from the ceiling. The kids got these cute hats

After we ordered, we were told that we could walk around and see the other rooms and that there was a play area in the front for kids. The kids really enjoyed that!

I had the rotisserie chicken with the mashed potatoes and cole slaw. It was WAY too much food! The boys each had corn dogs and the girls had lasagna. Unfortunately, my girls are getting too big for kids meals and were still hungry. It was good that I couldn't eat all of my chicken because the girls happily finished it! Each of the kids got a dessert. We got two of the chocolate pudding (for J and T) and two of the sundaes (for C and D). After the pudding incident Saturday night, I didn't want D to have the ice cream, so I stole that and just left him the chocolate chip cookie. He was pretty happy with that.

After eating, we decided to just go back to AoA and enjoy walking around the resort and taking pictures. We started down at the Cars section. This is so cute. The sidewalks look like roads. You really feel like you are entering Radiator Springs.

Then we headed into the Nemo section. D had just learned the word "mine" about a week before the the trip. He was using it just about as much as the seagulls in Nemo, so I had to have this picture

At this point, the kids spotted the playground behind the pool. We let them play until they started fighting at which point we decided we needed to end our tour and get back to the room. And so ends our first full day!

 

[irene_dsc]

Lol, our Service Unit is only 4 towns.I have no idea how many we have in our county!
I'd love to do the Behind the Seeds tour sometime...

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Love the seagull picture. Glad you had a great dinner.

 

[KathyM2]

T-Rex sounds like a lot of fun - I've never ventured in there because when my kids were little even Rainforest Cafe freaked them out...maybe now they could handle it lol. The whole cars area at your hotel looks so awesome. My son was such a huge cars fan I think he would get a kick out of this even though he has grown out of his obsession! I love the "mine" picture! So cute!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

We've never eaten at T-Rex though the kids have played in the "sand" pit out front.

Since you were seated near the big fish tank I am glad that this wasn't your view:

We walked through the cars area of AoA when checking out the report and my kids had to get their picture with every. single. Cars. Car there was. Really cute theming though

 

[SarahDisney]

The kids look like they're having fun at T-Rex!

I love the AOA pictures - the Cars section is my favorite part of the hotel, I think they really did an amazing job with the theming there.

 

[KatMark]

I've been off the DIS all weekend (major headache which I still have) and missed two updates.

I skipped the description of the Behind the Seeds tour as we may do that this October or next year. I looked at the pictures...just didn't read.

We've never done T-Rex. Love DS in his dinosaur hat.

Great pictures around AOA...I love that cars section.