SURPRISE! (I Hope He Didn't Want to go to Chattanooga)-Dec. 2012 PTR-MEGA UPDATEx3

[CDolacki2003]

Originally Posted by sunnysideup3

Day 2: Let the Memories Begin!


So we left off with our arrival to the magic and our evening at DTD! We will waste no time diving right into our vacation. We'll get up and head to MK to catch the monorail to Poly for this:



Breakfast at Ohana!
(Okay, so I couldn't find any good photos on the internet with characters in them that didn't have random children in them, and I wouldn't want my kid to end up in some random trip report, so you get a picture of Eli and Stitch!) As this trip is a surprise, he won't know about anything, so we'll keep the characters of this breakfast a surprise until he sees them. He's become obsessed with Lilo and Stitch this past year. We went to the Disney Store on Tuesday and he chose a bit Stitch as his present.....

Anywho, we'll dine and character-ize there and pop over on the monorail to a fun day at Magic Kingdom. Now, apparently there will be parade taping that day, so I hope our arrival shortly after rope drop avoids the chaos of that. If I remember right, once you get past the madness of that, the rest of the park is pretty quiet, and we care nothing about being on TV, so....

I have to digress for a second. I'm sure you've all heard me talk about how un-planned our 2009 trip with my in-laws was. It was still great, but very ...disorganized. We arrived at 11:30am to MK on parade taping day...with the Jonas Brothers performing....talk about CHAOS. I don't know if it was fate or the grace of god, but we were able to get a walk up lunch reservation at Tony's and my MIL being herself, asked for a window seat, and we got it. We watched a bunch of the taping from there. It was crazy! We did depart MK and went to EPCOT after that, however

I will probably cry the first time I see the castle again. I always do. It's just so magical!!



Anyway, back to present day....We will be hitting up our favorites, and some newbies at MK this day. I really want to try to do the MK rides I haven't done this trip... COP, Astro Orbiter, Hall of President's, Tom Sawyer's Island, New Fantasyland, Tiki Room.. WOW, there's a lot we HAVEN'T done! I'm sure there will be old favorites like Pirates, Splash, BTMRR, Haunted Mansion, PPF, Tea Cups, Monsters Inc, etc.

If we are hungry after our big breakfast, I have Pecos Bills down as our preferred CS lunch spot. Has anyone eaten there before? Thoughts? Other recommendations? We really loved Casey's and CHH last time, so I'm sure there are no shortage of options.

We will return to POR late afternoon for some down time, swimming, Stacey-watching, all that fun Disney stuff. We will then head back to MK for the ride over to Poly (AGAIN--I KNOW!) for dinner at 'Ohana. I know what you're thinking? Twice? In one day???? We're crazy... but in our defense, breakfast and dinner are totally different.. and eating here was a must for DH. (We will have our final dinner here, too...don't judge). I really love the meal here.. it's a meat-fest. And who can resist that ooey-gooey bread pudding...



Our original plans were to have CRT this morning, but I couldn't justify the $137 cost for breakfast for three people who aren't princess obsessed.

So, after our filling dinner, we'll roll out of there and depending on how full we are... we'll head to EPCOT for EMH. Eli is obsessed with Spaceship Earth, so I'm sure I'll watch that man paint the ceiling and thank the Phoenicians multiple times that night...



That should conclude Day 2!

As always, thoughts and opinions are always welcome!

We did Peco's Bills our last trip and thought it was good. The burger topping bar was my hubbies favorite part since he could load up on his own.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

[sunnysideup3]

MINI UPDATE: PAID IN FULL!!!


Those have to be the best three words in the Disney language (at least in pre-planning). I hit the button yesterday and there's no turning back. We're in for the ride now. It feels so good to go back to that Disney page and see a zero balance. To know our flights and trip are paid in full! RELIEF!!


59 days!!!!


Coming Soon: Day 3

[Caretames1]

Nothing better than paid off!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

[marDgreen88]

Congrats!!!

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

I just found your PTR! Excellent fun!

[sunnysideup3]

Originally Posted by Caretames1

Nothing better than paid off!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Thanks! It's a great feeling!!!!

Originally Posted by marDgreen88

Congrats!!!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by NoOrdinaryPrincess

I just found your PTR! Excellent fun!

Thank you!

[sunnysideup3]

Day 3: Around the World, Around the World..

Off we go on our Day 3 adventures. So far, we've visited the Magic Kingdom. Day 3 will take us to EPCOT. We love this park (we love all of them, let's be real! ). One of Eli's favorite rides is the "Space Ride". No, it's not Mission: SPACE like you're imagining, but Spaceship Earth.

(Sidebar about Mission: SPACE. On our 2009 trip we were wandering around Future World trying to find something to do when we stumbled up this ride with no line...awesome score, right?? We went Orange side (whatever the more intense one is) and I don't think I felt right for 2 days.... just nauseous and off balance. So, I might have unfairly written this ride off forever. Only time will tell....)

We will grab breakfast at the POR Food Court (the Mickey Waffles are big hit with this family ) and head out to EPCOT.

I'm sure we'll do the standard go for Soarin FP and ride right away, even though Nate swears he'll only do it once this trip since he didn't like the sensation of flying. We'll do things on that side of the park, definitely Nemo. I enjoy that whole area. The aquariums are well done and there's a lot to explore in The Seas section. This is one of my favorite pictures from 2009.



He looks so tiny here!!!

I do want to check out Figment (our first time!!) and the EPCOT Character Spot, too.

Regardless, we'll make our way around Future World into World Showcase for lunch. . .

Where is our 1:00pm ADR????


Picture borrowed from disneyworld.com





YUM. Le Cellier. YUM.

Now, I've known what I want to eat here for the past 2 years. The Wild Mushroom Filet Mignon. But now, after seeing several Yummy Dining Reviews, I'm debating switching out the Risotto for the Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes. As much as I love Risotto, I am a potatoes girl. (These are such First World problems, huh? ) Anyone have feedback on this?

We will hang around for a little bit after lunch, definitely walk off the lunch and then head back to POR to relax/swim/etc.

Later that night, we'll take the boats to DTD and do something we'd wanted to do in 2011, but just didn't have the time or energy:

Picture borrowed from yelp.com:



T-Rex! We'll be joined by our friends the J's for this reservation! We all think the boys will love the Dino-environment and I've heard great things about the T-Rexadillas (from Princess_Jess508's TR). It will be a great night for all of us to recap our trip so far. I'm really looking forward to having another family around but not HAVING to spend time with them like we would if we were on the trip together.

MK is open until 10pm, so if we really feel like hauling butt all the way over there, we'll take a Contemporary bus and walk or monorail it over. I'm guessing we'll go back and relax for our next full day. I'd contemplated doing the Wishes! Dessert Party this night (only because I'm having a hard time fitting it in anywhere else. The date I wanted is blacked out for some reason). Nate and I both agreed that would be way too much food, though. So, hopefully it ends up working out!

Thanks for reading, we've reached the end of Day 3!

[marDgreen88]

Sounds like such a great day! I would definitely suggest getting the potatoes at Le Cellier if you're a potatoes girl! I'm one myself, and I really enjoyed those.

T-Rex is SO MUCH FUN! Yall will have a blast there!

Ugh, see that's what I'm worried about if I ever do Mission: Space. I really want to, because it's a Disney attraction... but I get SO motion sick. Although not on roller coasters? Who knows really. Whatever. Anyways, I don't blame you for not doing that one again!

[mnmrmustard]

Congrats on getting everything paid in full

Funny about your experience with Mission: Space. I rode it twice in a row with the kids – I was okay after the first “trip” but after getting off the second time I couldn’t even walk straight. Don’t know if I’ll ride it again or not. I think we’re taking similar routes through Futureworld. Nice job catching the lunch reses at Le Cellier! And following that with T-Rex for dinner? Very cool

The trip is coming up FAST!!!!

[DisneyDreamerMN]

Hi! Joining in late. I will be going Dec 1st-8th leaving from Minnepolis. I started following you on Twitter. I plan to do a lot of tweeting on this trip. If you want to follow me I am JameJame81.

[sunnysideup3]

Originally Posted by marDgreen88

Sounds like such a great day! I would definitely suggest getting the potatoes at Le Cellier if you're a potatoes girl! I'm one myself, and I really enjoyed those.

T-Rex is SO MUCH FUN! Yall will have a blast there!

Ugh, see that's what I'm worried about if I ever do Mission: Space. I really want to, because it's a Disney attraction... but I get SO motion sick. Although not on roller coasters? Who knows really. Whatever. Anyways, I don't blame you for not doing that one again!

Okay, I think I'm in with the potatoes. Nate has a mushroom allergy, so he'll probably avoid this dish altogether, I'm guessing he'll go NY Strip anyway.

I usually never get motion sick, but since I had Eli, it's been crazy. He wanted to ride the Tilt-a-Whirl at the fair 2x in a row and I about checked in to the hospital, I couldn't walk/eat/etc for a day. I love my kid, but he's messed with my super-rider ability and my hair texture.

Can't wait for T-Rex!

Originally Posted by mnmrmustard

Congrats on getting everything paid in full

Funny about your experience with Mission: Space. I rode it twice in a row with the kids – I was okay after the first “trip” but after getting off the second time I couldn’t even walk straight. Don’t know if I’ll ride it again or not. I think we’re taking similar routes through Futureworld. Nice job catching the lunch reses at Le Cellier! And following that with T-Rex for dinner? Very cool

The trip is coming up FAST!!!!

I was so happy to see you over on the December 2012 thread! I don't get to hang out there as much as I'd like, but it's a great one-stop resource. They've done a great job building a community there and have bled into Facebook as well...

I love Future World. As much as it isn't a marquee ride, I could do Spaceship Earth over and over again, if just to hear "Remember how easy it was to learn your ABC's? Thank a Phoenician!"

Originally Posted by DisneyDreamerMN

Hi! Joining in late. I will be going Dec 1st-8th leaving from Minnepolis. I started following you on Twitter. I plan to do a lot of tweeting on this trip. If you want to follow me I am JameJame81.

Thanks for coming over. Glad to see a fellow Midwesterner on here Thanks for the Twitter follow. I get myself pumped up for Disney over there and try out my dry...dry..wit I followed back, so we will have to Tweet our vacation while we're there at the same time!

[sunnysideup3]

DAMN YOU, DISNEY!!!


They just sent me a really nice PIN for next year, I could book with a discount through September. I think a short late-August trip next year could a ton of fun!! It's convincing DH that it's a good idea to spend $$ again on Disney so soon.... I want one more trip as a family of 3!

I have until 2/16/13 to decide....or sway....

[marDgreen88]

I say...


GO FOR IT!!!!


Edited to say: Family of three... did I miss something? Are you soon to potentially become a family of four?

[DisneyDreamerMN]

Originally Posted by sunnysideup3

DAMN YOU, DISNEY!!!


They just sent me a really nice PIN for next year, I could book with a discount through September. I think a short late-August trip next year could a ton of fun!! It's convincing DH that it's a good idea to spend $$ again on Disney so soon.... I want one more trip as a family of 3!

I have until 2/16/13 to decide....or sway....

Lucky! I never get a pin, I am not sure how they decide on who to send those too. I suppose you could pick a week or a long weekend and just book it. You would only have to put down a depost and could cancel if DH decides it's a no go.

[sunnysideup3]

Originally Posted by marDgreen88

I say...


GO FOR IT!!!!


Edited to say: Family of three... did I miss something? Are you soon to potentially become a family of four?

Nate and I talked about it more when I came home...he's warming to the idea....he said we have time to think about it...so there's hope!

We're going to start trying after Disney this year, because if we keep putting off having #2 to go to Disney (which is what keeps happening), we will never have another and I'm not getting any younger. So, that's the "plan"...