A Gloriously Gluttonous Grand Gathering -- October 2015 *Complete

[Marnm02]

DAY 2

Parks: MK
Fastpass+ Wishlist: Enchanted Tales with Belle, Anna and Elsa Meet and Greet, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Welcome to our Day 2 plans!

This will be our earliest morning of the trip. I plan on setting the wakeup call for 6 AM. We'll catch the MK bus at around 7, then monorail it over to the Poly for our 7:40 breakfast ADR at...

I'm a weirdo who doesn't really like breakfast food much. But I do like pineapple, and I really want to try the pineapple macadamia nut pancakes. Just a taste will probably be fine though, so we will likely pay OOP and Ryan and I will share it. Maddie will have extra TS credits due to not joining us at Narcoossee's, so we'll get her whatever she wants off the kids menu. She will most likely not eat it all, so that will be more food for Ryan.

We'll head back over to MK as quickly as we can, and have that be our only park for the day. I'd like to focus primarily on Tomorrowland and Fantasyland on this day. My FP+ wishlist attractions are all in Fantasyland, so we'll schedule those a bit later, and start off in Tomorrowland while it's still early enough not to be too crowded yet.

I'd really like Maddie to try Space Mountain if she's tall enough, but I'm also nervous about her sitting alone on a rollercoaster. I thought I was just being a paranoid mom, but when I mentioned this fear to Ryan, he said that maybe she shouldn't do SM this year, even if she is tall enough. She just still seems too "little" to sit by herself on a thrill ride. He's never paranoid about anything, so maybe my hesitation has some validity. I guess we will play it by ear.

We will have QS lunch at MK...perhaps at Pinocchio Village Haus for some yummy flatbread. I may actually just have a Dole Whip for lunch and save my appetite for dinner.

This is a MNSSHP day at MK, so we will plan to leave the park shortly after the FOF parade, when the crowds start coming in.

Then it will be time to monorail or boat over to the Grand Floridian for our dinner ADR at...

We will likely have at least an hour to kill before our ADR times, so we will hang out in one of the lounges or the lobby and unwind for a bit.

Our first ADR time is at 6:35, for 7 people, who will be split among two tables. We will ask if we can combine tables if possible, but last year we were not able to do so at this restaurant, so I'm planning on our split up seating arrangements remaining split.

Our second ADR time is for 8 people at 6:55.

This meal had me SO full last year. I never even saw half of the buffet because I was so full from the first half. I'll be starting at the opposite end this time! I also think that all our first-timers and kids will love the characters.

Once everyone's finished eating, I plan on heading back to MK to catch the bus back to POFQ. Then it will be party room time, followed by bed. I'm sure we'll be tired from the 6 AM wakeup, so I'm glad this will end up being an early night!

 

[xorubyred]

ADRS (Part 1)

Here's where the Gloriously Gluttonous part of the TR comes in. I don't think we've ever done a TS meal every day before...but we will on this trip!

Like a good Dis'er, I was up at 5AM on One-eighty Day to make ADRs. After only a little bit of extended ADR stalking, I'm proud to say I got everything we wanted. This was no easy task for a group of 15! We're not always going to be eating together -- some restaurants can't accommodate a group of our size at one table, and in a few cases we voluntarily decided to dine at separate restaurants. I'm very excited that we did get 3 dining experiences with the whole fam damily at one big table!

I LOVE your PTR title!!
OMG, ADRs for a party of 15! I was stressed about ADRs for my party of 2, I can't imagine how complicated and stressful planning for a party of 15 was! So happy it all worked out and you got everything you wanted though!

My Disney Girl's Perfectly Princess Tea Party (Lunch): Only Princess Maddie and I are doing this one. The price tag shocked me and just about sent DH to the hospital, but DD has decided that this is what she wants to spend her birthday money on. She is an only grandchild on two sides and one of two grandchildren on the other, so she gets SPOILED on her birthday. If she is voluntarily choosing to spend her money on something that doesn't clutter up my house or yard, I'm 100% supportive. Plus, she and I are in need of some girl time! And I was able to actually obtain a reservation, so I'm taking that as a sign that we must attend!

Aww that sounds like the perfect way to celebrate! I've seen some pictures and it looks like SUCH a sweet and special experience. Can't wait to hear what you think of it and see your pics!

I'm full just from proofreading this!

And now I'm hungry from reading about all that delicious food!

It became known as The Party Room. We need a Party Room this year too!

Party Room?!

 

[bunnyboo]

Oops, that last post was from me. I accidentally logged in with the wrong account.

 

[MagicNight]

Oh wow, this had me laughing and calling over DH to see this.

As food is one of the main focuses of our upcoming trip, I can relate to detail meal planning. I am stressing over planning for 6. I can not imagine planning for 13-15.

I can't wait to see the rest of your PTR.

 

[Marnm02]

I LOVE your PTR title!!
OMG, ADRs for a party of 15! I was stressed about ADRs for my party of 2, I can't imagine how complicated and stressful planning for a party of 15 was! So happy it all worked out and you got everything you wanted though!

It is complicated, but fun too! With more people comes more help and ideas, which make planning even better. Small groups have their advantages too though. The thing that makes me the most nervous is trying to keep track of where everyone is when we're actually there, and making sure some people don't get left behind or lost.

Aww that sounds like the perfect way to celebrate! I've seen some pictures and it looks like SUCH a sweet and special experience. Can't wait to hear what you think of it and see your pics!

I can't wait for this!!
I think I may be more excited than my DD!



Party Room?!

I highly recommend that ALL Disney vacations have a party room

Oh wow, this had me laughing and calling over DH to see this.

As food is one of the main focuses of our upcoming trip, I can relate to detail meal planning. I am stressing over planning for 6. I can not imagine planning for 13-15.

I can't wait to see the rest of your PTR.

This will definitely be the most food we've ever eaten in one trip! It is so fun to plan, and really exciting to try lots of new restaurants. Planning for 13-15 is not really much harder than planning for 6, I just have to snag those tables for 4-6 multiple time, since there aren't many restaurants with tables for 15 . I'm glad to have some other good Disney planners coming along with me to help scoop up those ADRs! Thanks for following along!!

 

[Lidian]

but I'm also nervous about her sitting alone on a rollercoaster. I thought I was just being a paranoid mom

This is the same reason why I haven't let DS9 ride Space Mtn.

Pinocchio Village Haus for some yummy flatbread

YUM!!!! My mouth is watering just thinking about this!

 

[Marnm02]

This is the same reason why I haven't let DS9 ride Space Mtn.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who just doesn't feel quite right about that! Thrill rides are fine, but I really prefer to be able to hang on to her!

 

[Marnm02]

DAY 3

Parks: DHS and AK
FP+ Wishlist: Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania, Frozen Singalong

We usually tend to wake up around 6:30-7 while on vacation at WDW (it's just too exciting to sleep!). We have no specific breakfast plans for this day. Last year, on days like this, we all met at

The thing I LOVE most about this food court is how peaceful and empty it is in the mornings. Last year, we had "our table," one big enough for all 12 of us, that we sat at every morning. Anyone ever watch old Friends episodes and wonder how that whole group magically got the obviously prime seats at the coffee shop to themselves EVERY. SINGLE. TIME....? Well, that's us at POFQ! It's a great meeting place for a large group, and SO much less crowded and chaotic than any other resort food court I've ever seen at WDW.

Maddie and Pasquale approve! Can't you just SEE the peacefulness?? It was like this every single morning!!


I don't usually eat any breakfast at WDW, and the rest of the group often had bagels from Costco last year. Nothing too exciting.

Once we've had coffee and food, it'll be time to head to...

for Extra Magic Hours (8 AM opening!)

This is where we will make our FP+ reservations for the day. I will try to make them between 9 and 11, since the EMH hour usually tends to have short lines.

Maddie's favorite ride is Tower of Terror, so we'll have to get her on that at least once this visit! I'd also like to snag FP+ for the Frozen Singalong (we LOVED this last year!!) and Toy Story Mania. Besides those, we'll do as much as we can fit into a few hours.

We'll head back to POFQ for a resort break at about 11.

I'm planning on having lunch at POFQ, or possibly heading to DTD to eat at Wolfgang Puck, Earl of Sandwich, or Bongos Quick Service. Then we'll rest and/or swim until around 2 when it will be time to head over to...

We'll likely spend the bus ride there checking out wait times and trying to secure a Fastpass for something. We should be able to fit in at least a couple attractions once we've arrived, although I can't say exactly what those will end up being at this point.

Then it will be time for our 4:35 dinner ADR at...

which will hopefully be amazing, with lots of good food and character interaction!

Once we're done eating, we'll head back to POFQ for an early night. Pool and/or outdoor movie may be a possibility. Party room time will definitely be happening. We'll be able to stay up nice and late, because tomorrow is... NO-PARK DAY!

 

[Lidian]

Anyone ever watch old Friends episodes and wonder how that whole group magically got the obviously prime seats at the coffee shop to themselves EVERY. SINGLE. TIME....? Well, that's us at POFQ!

You mark the table as "reserved" for your entire vacation?

(Because that's what they did in F·R·I·E·N·D·S)

Sounds like a great plan! You can have all the ToT FPs. You can't pay me enough to get me back on that ride. Guess I'll have to mark my calendar for your no park day so I can hit up the party room.

 

[Lidian]

Oh... and Tusker House... One of my favorites! I was distracted by thoughts of the party room. Sorry.

 

[Marnm02]

You mark the table as "reserved" for your entire vacation?

(Because that's what they did in F·R·I·E·N·D·S)

Sounds like a great plan! You can have all the ToT FPs. You can't pay me enough to get me back on that ride. Guess I'll have to mark my calendar for your no park day so I can hit up the party room.

It was either reserved or people were so intimidated by our big, loud party room group that they cleared out of the food court as soon as they saw us coming!

 

[Marnm02]

DAY 4

This will be the morning we get to sleep in! Although with a baby and a 6-year-old I'm not sure if that will actually happen, but we will try!

I should note that I'm not really sure what most of our group has planned for this day. Me, Ryan, Maddie, Rachelle, and Amelia do not have park tickets for this day. Everyone else does. Beyond that, I don't know what everyone's plans are besides my immediate family.

As for us, we'll get up and ready, maybe linger around the resort for a bit. Around 9, Maddie and I will catch the bus to MK, and then monorail or boat over to the Grand Floridian. We'll leave the others to hang at the resort, swim, got to DTD, or do whatever else they feel like doing. We have a 10:30 reservation for...

Now, I gotta say that this is a HUGE splurge for us. But I know that Maddie's at the perfect age to enjoy it now, and next time we come back she may very well not even like princesses anymore . It's a rare opportunity for us to do something special together while she is still in this wonderful stage where she truly believes in magic. She is very excited, and we scored a brand new Aurora dress when Disney Store was having its 40% off costume sale. I'm hopeful it will be worth the cost, and be a nice way for us to have some bonding time. I'm also excited for the souvenirs Maddie will score. With so many of the shops starting to carry a lot of the same things, I love that this experience will provide a few things she can take home that are unique.

I believe my mom will be meeting us at the Grand Floridian to try to get some nice shots of Maddie while she's in the Princess parade.

We don't have any solid plans for what to do after the tea party, but I think the most likely scenario will be us taking the bus from GF to DTD where we'll meet up with the rest of the group, stroll a bit, and grab lunch at one of our favorite DTD Quick Service establishments: Earl of Sandwich, Wolfgang Puck, or Bongos. Then we'll take the boat back to POFQ for a little pool time, and to change into our evening attire.

Speaking of evening attire, I'm not really sure how we're gonna figure that one out. Because, we have Signature dining on the agenda for the night, but right before that we will be watching...

and cheering for the Green and Gold! So we will need Packers gear that is still elegant... hmmm....

We will head over the MK and then monorail to the Poly to watch the game, which starts at 4:25. I've heard that Tambu lounge is a good location. GO PACK GO!

We'll watch the game up until 7 when it will be time for Maddie to check into...

She spent a couple hours at the Sandcastle Club last year and LOVED it. Came out with some adorable crafts and had a great time hanging with her peeps. I'm excited for her to try out Lilo's Playhouse, and for a nice adult dinner.

Speaking of dinner, once Maddie's been dropped off we will need to take the the monorail over to the Grand Floridian. Our 7:30 dinner ADR is at...

I'm very excited to try the Surf and Turf here! I've also heard that it's an excellent fireworks viewing location. HalloWishes will be going on this night, so I think we will stay for that.

After dinner we'll monorail back to the Poly, pick up Maddie, monorail to MK, and catch the bus back to POFQ. Then it will be party room time, followed by bed time!

 

[Marnm02]

DAY 5

Fastpass+ Wishlist: Splash Mountain, Tinkerbell Meet and Greet, BTTM

This will be another early-ish morning, as we'll probably set our alarms for about 6ish, grab some quick breakfast either in rooms or at the food court, and then head to The Magic Kingdom for 8 AM Extra Magic Hours.

Since our previous MK day focused on Tomorrowland and Fantasyland, I'd like to start in Adventureland this time, and then work our way around clockwise through Frontierland and Liberty Square. We will try to time our arrival in Fantasyland to coincide with our 12:20 PM lunch ADR at...

I think I'll have the carved turkey sandwich here, but I have no idea which cupcake I'll choose. I probably won't decide until I'm there and know what kind of mood I'm in.

Once we've finished lunch (probably around 2ish) we will leave MK and take the monorail over to Epcot. We'll try to get through as many of the rest of the Future World attractions as possible. We may grab additional Fastpasses if needed and available.

Around 6 PM we'll have to start making our way over to The World Showcase for our 6:30 PM dinner ADR at...

We've enjoyed coming here for breakfast on our past three trips, and I hope we will also like dinner!

My aunts and uncles will not be joining us at Akershus. They are going to Rose and Crown instead, and they plan on staying there to watch Illuminations.

Once our group at Akershus finishes eating we'll stroll the World Showcase for a bit, checking out all the various sites and staking out a good Illuminations viewing spot.

Once Illuminations wraps up at around 9:30, we'll try our best to make a quick getaway to the POFQ bus. Then I imagine we'll hit the hay pretty early, since this will have been a very long and active park day!

 

[mom2cgj]

I think I'll have the carved turkey sandwich here, but I have no idea which cupcake I'll choose. I probably won't decide until I'm there and know what kind of mood I'm in.

The turkey sandwich looks the best to me, too. I think the lunch menu here looks much better than the dinner menu. But DD wants to meet Beast so badly, so we are stuck with dinner if I can get it.

We've enjoyed coming here for breakfast on our past three trips, and I hope we will also like dinner!

We are looking at doing dinner here, too. I'm hoping the kids will like it!

 

[Marnm02]

The turkey sandwich looks the best to me, too. I think the lunch menu here looks much better than the dinner menu. But DD wants to meet Beast so badly, so we are stuck with dinner if I can get it.



We are looking at doing dinner here, too. I'm hoping the kids will like it!

We did both lunch and dinner at BOG last year. I personally preferred lunch. The lunch food and atmosphere were very good for Quick Service. Some people I was traveling with really loved the dinner. I personally was disappointed with my meal (although, the item I ordered has since been taken off the menu, so this could have just been one "dud" entree.) We also did not have great service, and I didn't think the space transitioned well from Quick Service to Table Service. It was kind of cafeteria-like and cramped, which is fine for QS, but not what I'd expect for TS. I will say that meeting the Beast was very cool, and if that's important to your DD, then it's definitely worth doing the dinner. The TS experience wasn't horrible, just not something I'd want to do again with so many other options out there. Part of our group completely disagrees, and they'll be doing the dinner later on during this trip. We also have fingers crossed to get a breakfast ADR once they become available for our dates.

Have you done breakfast at Akershus before? We always really love that one, and are hopeful that dinner will be equally enjoyable.

 

[mom2cgj]

Have you done breakfast at Akershus before? We always really love that one, and are hopeful that dinner will be equally enjoyable.

We haven't done breakfast either, and I thought about doing it, but DH liked the dinner menu better. This is a new place for us entirely! We've done CRT, but DD LOVES Belle, so I think she'll really enjoy this one. I'm hoping for an early-ish dinner since we plan to just snack our way around the world that day and try a bunch of new foods, but not really eat any meals other than Akershus.

 

[Marnm02]

We haven't done breakfast either, and I thought about doing it, but DH liked the dinner menu better. This is a new place for us entirely! We've done CRT, but DD LOVES Belle, so I think she'll really enjoy this one. I'm hoping for an early-ish dinner since we plan to just snack our way around the world that day and try a bunch of new foods, but not really eat any meals other than Akershus.

There seemed to be a lot of availability for dinner, so hopefully you'll get the early ADR time you want.

 

[KathyM2]

Wow! I'm loving reading about your plans!! I can't imagine the logistics of planning for a group so big!! But it will be a lot of fun always having friends and family around!! Also, I'm so thrilled about how much you loved POFQ...we will be there from Oct 8-14 but I've never stayed there before so I'm glad to see you giving it such great reviews!! You have so many good ADR's...it must have taken a lot of planning to get everyone on board ...or did they just agree to leave it up to you?

 

[Marnm02]

DAY 6

Update: I decided to completely removed DHS from my plans this day (although my aunts and uncles will still be going there for Fantasmic), and shuffle Fastpass+ plans accordingly

This is our most unstable day right now, as far as planning goes. My apologies in advance that it's kind of a hot mess day at this point, and probably hard to follow.

FP+ Wishlist: Soarin', Turtle Talk with Crush, Character Spot

We will wake up at our usual time of 6 AM, and some of us may have a little breakfast in the room or the food court. Then it will be off to Epcot for Extra Magic hours at 8 AM. We will have 3 hours to finish up anything in Future World that we didn't get to the night before.

Around 11 we'll head into the World Showcase. We have lunch ADRs at...

Eight of us have an 11:30 time and everyone else has 12:30. If we can't get things changed to the same times before we leave, we'll try to arrive early for check-in to see if they can do anything to help us stay together. Depending on how this goes, we may end up eating any time between 11:30 and 12:30, and if we remain in split up groups, those who aren't eating can stroll the World Showcase, and/or get a head start on our afternoon plans.


Once everyone's face has been sufficiently stuffed with pizza, we're going to head to the boat that goes to the Swan/Dolphin. Our dessert plan is that we want something made by Chef Laurant Branlard. My stepdad, Alvin, is kind of a chef groupie. He heard that all desserts made at the Swan and Dolphin are made by Chef Branlard, so he would like to try something there. I've never been to the Swan/Dolphin and am not sure if we just show up and say "we're looking for yummy desserts" they will have a place to direct us. We won't want to do a whole sit down meal, and I'm having trouble finding menus at QS locations and lounges that have much of any dessert offerings listed, so... . I have no idea if we'll actually end up with gourmet dessert, but we will definitely get a look at the Swan and Dolphin, and I've always wanted to check them out. I have a feeling we may end up with a cranky Alvin if we don't hit the dessert jackpot though, as this is the part of the trip he's very excited about. So, if anyone has any tips or suggestions on where to find the best dessert at Swan and Dolphin, I'd love some intel!

Once the dessert adventure has come to an end, we're going to take the boat over to DHS. I'm planning to time our FP+ for right around the time we'll arrive, so I will have them start at 3 and try to get them consecutive -- one right after another. That will be all most of us do at DHS this day. Once the FPs are done we're going to take the boat back to Epcot. My reason for doing this is that there isn't much else worth getting a FP+ for at Epcot that we wouldn't have already done, and I think our FP+s for this day would be better utilized at DHS. HOWEVER, if we end up running behind schedule (like if we all have to wait until 12:30 to eat at Via Napoli, or if the dessert adventure takes longer than expected) we may skip the DHS detour and just head straight to Epcot. We don't want to arrive at Epcot any later than 7:30.

NOTE: My aunts and uncles will be going to DHS after the Swan/Dolphin and staying there, as this is the night that works best for them to see Fantasmic.

We'll arrive back at Epcot at around 7-7:30. We plan to spend the evening snacking on Food and Wine offerings. I don't think booth menus have been released for 2015 yet (I haven't seen them at least,) but based on the 2014 list, this is what I have my sights set on (I'll revise once 2015 is released):

“Le Cellier” Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon with Truffle Butter Sauce
Beijing Roasted Duck in Hoisin Sauce
Gratin de crozet de savoie: Wheat pasta gratin with mushrooms and Gruyere cheese
Maui Splash Sweet Pineapple Wine
Artisan cheese plate featuring Cabot Cloth wrapped cheddar, Purple Haze chèvre goat cheese and Cave Man blue cheese
Rib eye taco: Marinated rib eye, roasted chipotle salsa and grilled scallions on a corn tortilla
Mango-strawberry margarita
Spicy shrimp roll with cilantro and mint sauce
Mimosa Royale: Sparkling wine and orange juice topped with orange liqueur
Dole Whip Soft-serve with Crème de Cacao White

I'll never be able to actually eat all of these, or get to all of these booths in the short time we'll have. I plan to put the list in priority order once I have it edited for the 2015 offerings. I'm open to any suggestions on which are "must eat" items, and which aren't so exciting.

Once Illuminations begins we'll beat the crowd over to the POFQ bus, since we will have already seen it the night before. Then it will be time to let our food comas kick in until morning!

 

[Marnm02]

Wow! I'm loving reading about your plans!! I can't imagine the logistics of planning for a group so big!! But it will be a lot of fun always having friends and family around!! Also, I'm so thrilled about how much you loved POFQ...we will be there from Oct 8-14 but I've never stayed there before so I'm glad to see you giving it such great reviews!! You have so many good ADR's...it must have taken a lot of planning to get everyone on board ...or did they just agree to leave it up to you?

You'll be arriving just as we're getting ready to leave. If we have any party room leftovers we will have to send them your way!

I know you'll love it, it's so beautiful and CALM!

Planning is a little unique for this trip. Most of my group are seasoned Disney people who already have a pretty good idea of what they want to do. Their plans don't always sync with mine, so I've tried to mention when I can in the TR when they will be doing something else. I think, in general, my mom and stepdad have said they'll pretty much stick with me, DH, and DD, because spending time with DD is the big allure of the Disney trip for them. My aunts and uncles, however, will often look for more "adult" alternatives to some of the things we do, and they'll make their own alternative plans. My in-laws are total Disney newbies, so I suspect they will be with DH, DD, and I pretty much the whole time. Rachelle isn't a Disney newbie, but she will be solo with the baby, so I think she will stick with us pretty much all the time as well. This part of the group has pretty much left all the planning up to me. .

Last year and this year I used a Facebook group to communicate and discuss plans, and that has worked out very well. I definitely recommend it to anyone traveling with a large group, especially when you don't all live in the same place or see each other regularly.