I am NOT a control freak!! 6/24-7/1 CSR, DDP +allergy eating! Updated 8/24

[joannem]

Hi, my name is Joanne and I'm a control freak. I'm a software engineer by trade and I love to plan and make lists. I started planning this trip in November when the 4/3 deal tempted me. Immediately after making the reservations I had a color coded Excel spreadsheet with my preliminary park schedule. Yes, I'm THAT type of person. I called at 7:00 am sharp on my 90 day mark and got all the ADRs I wanted (with a little rearranging). But, I was worried about driving my family nuts with my schedule. We'll see how that worked out!

So, I booked 7 days at Coronado Springs Resort, 8 day park hopper + water parks and more, and basic dining.

Cast of Characters:
Mom: Joanne, my last trip to WDW was in 1979 and I was in the 2nd grade! It was only the MK then and we stayed at the Contemporary.
Dad: Adam, his last trip was in the early 80's. It was a day trip the MK. And, I found out during our trip, was NOT a very good one for him. LOTS of lines and he only got to ride 1 or 2 things.
DS6: Nathan, my outgoing, adventerous, roller coaster and Star Wars loving son. His very first trip to WDW.
DS3: Jeremy, my shyer, hates dark rides, a little more timid son with multiple food allergies. We're dealing with milk, egg, peanut and tree nut allergies right now. (He's outgrown wheat and soy thank goodness!) Also his first trip to WDW.

With Jeremy's allergies, I've NEVER had a vacation from cooking. We usually rent a beach house and I cook all week. So, needless to say I was excited and nervous at the same time to be able to eat out for an entire week! I had contacted Special Diets ahead of time, gave them our allergen list and all of our ADR numbers. Each time we checked in at a restaurant, they knew about the allergies and chef met with us. Awesome.

Here we are:

Since I love when people write their trip reports in other colors, I'll do that AND post a list of post links as I write the separate sections! If I can figure out how to do that the right way! Here go!!!

Post #2 - A fever of 102? You've GOT to be kidding me!!
Post #4 - I don't like "Fresh" Mickey
Post #10 - That's not the right stroller!
Post #11 - Disney World is AWESOME!
Post #14 - An ice cream cone makes me cry
Post #21 - "Mickey is nicer!"
Post #29 - "Oh good, we're finally going to do something fun!

 

[joannem]

6/22/09 - Yes, it's before the trip, but it was the start of my anxiety. My son had a t-ball game on Monday night. We got home and he was bright red and complaining that his eyes hurt. I took his temperature and it was 102.3!! Yes, with 1.5 days to go, my son has a huge fever.

6/23/09 - I took him to the doctor the next day an he said he didn't think it was the flu, just a virus. When I dosed him with Tylenol he was acting just fine. The fever continued the entire next day. I wanted to cry. I hadn't bought trip insurance I could just see the airline not letting us on the plane. Having to take the day off from work ended up being a blessing though. I got to pack and finish up some last minute laundry.

6/24/09 - We had asked a good friend to take us to the airport. He was at our house at 6:00am. I had set the alarm for 5:00 and got ready. I went into my son's room and he was absolutely fine!!! No fever, hadn't had a dose of Advil in 12 hours and was excited to go to Disney! Everyone got ready and we got to the airport. We got through security and grabbed something to eat at McDonald's. I really didn't want to eat. I had a raging headache that I tend to get when a large amount of stress is relieved. I found myself welling up with tears sitting there drinking my coffee. I was just SOOO happy that everyone was healthy and this trip was going to happen!

We got on an 8:00 flight to Atlanta that connected with our flight to Orlando. Everything went really smoothly and the boys enjoyed their very FIRST plane ride. Allowing them to chew gum helped with that...what a treat! The connection in Atlanta went well and we grabbed quick lunch. Our plane landed in MCO at around 1:20. We got in line for the Magical Express and within 15 minutes or so were on the bus to Coronado Springs! There was only one other party on the bus for CSR. So the checkin line was non-existent. I wasn't able to do online checkin, but had requested a room in Cabanas when I made the reservation. I asked very nicely for a renovated room in Cabanas 8B if possible. It took a while of looking at the computer for her to say that 8B wasn't possible, but she had a room in 9A. I said that was my second choice anyway! BUT, it wasn't ready yet. We walked around a bit, got a drink of water (it was HOT!). Then we decided to try to catch a bus to Pop Century to pick up the stroller we had gotten into a swap for. I asked at the front desk the best way to get there. She said take a bus to Typhoon Lagoon - oh er uh, Blizzard Beach and then get the Pop Century bus from there. I know now that she mis-spoke when she said Typhoon Lagoon and really mean Blizzard Beach since it's so close to CSR. BUT, of course the first bus that showed up was a Typhoon Lagoon/DTD bus and we hopped on. UGGGG...what a long ride. I looked at my watch and realized that we wouldn't make our 5:00 reservation at Chef Mickey's if we stayed on the bus. So, we got off and immediately got on another bus for CSR. Because of course the autograph books and camera were in luggage services at CSR, so we couldn't just go from POP to Chef Mickey's. We just rode the BUS ride for an hour! Needless to say, my boys were unimpressed with their first impression of Disney World. But that will all change.......

 

[goofy's_gurl]

glad your son felt better right in time for the trip!!!

 

[joannem]

6/24/09 continued - We head to Chef Mickey's! We took the bus to MK and then walked over to the Contemporary. The line was enourmous, and they were turning away people without reservations. We got our picture taken and were immediately seated. THe Chef Alfonso came over to talk to us about Jeremy's allergies. We walked the buffet with me and bascially told me the only safe things on the buffet were the carved pork and beef. Everything else had too much risk of cross contamination. But, he had allergy free chicken tenders and asked if he liked french fries. I said yes and he told me he would make them for me even though they're not on the menu. I wanted to kiss him!! He asked about vegetables and we decided on broccoli. (corn isn't a favorite of his) And he made him a fruit cup. He told me to get him some meat since the line was short and he would bring out the plate soon.

We all got our dinners and then the trauma began. We had prepped Jeremy about the characters being BIG. Bigger than Daddy. He saw Goofy first and clapped his hands and then clung to my leg like velcro. He was NOT happy with the characters. We got back to the table and he was quivering and shaking. The waitress came over and we explained that he was scared. She suggested that he hide under the table so the characters couldn't see him. She then proceeded to climb under our table to SHOW him. It was SOOO nice of her to try to comfort him. His plate of food came out and he wasn't eating a BITE. He just wanted to cover his face with his napkin and hold onto my arm. We were NOT hopeful for the rest of the week. We had a LOT of character dining planned!

Finally, in a stroke of genius, I decided to hold the napkin up like a curtain. That allowed him to eat without anyone seeing him! Slowly, we progressed to him waving good bye to the characters. That progressed to waving Hello to the characters. These were all followed by copious amounts of high fives and cheering for him being so brave. The waitress got in on it too! Finally, he had his picture taken with Donald!!! More cheering and high fives. He had Daddy hold him for the pictures with Goofy and Pluto. Mickey however, not so much. We ended up getting a picture with ME and a napkin clad Jeremy with Mickey.

Dessert for Jeremy was vanilla Tofutti ice cream. Yummy. Our desserts were awesome. I loved the cheesecake and the Mickey Domes. Overall it was a great dinner. It started out stressful, but we had a great time. We rode the monorail to the MK and hopped a bus back to CSR. Next up, picking up the stroller!

 

[NWOhioAngela]

I'm in! Your son hiding behind the napkin will end up being one of those stories you remember forever!

 

[jenbear123]

I'm on for the ride! Looking forward to your dining reviews and perhaps more info on your CSR stay. I'll be down there coming up on July 18th so any info is appreciated. What were your ADRs for this trip? Only curious!

 

[stace208]

I'm joining in! Your boys are adorable!! We ate at Chef Mickey's and Garden Grill too during our trip..our trips overlapped by a few days. Can't wait to read more!

 

[joannem]

I'm on for the ride! Looking forward to your dining reviews and perhaps more info on your CSR stay. I'll be down there coming up on July 18th so any info is appreciated. What were your ADRs for this trip? Only curious!

Well I COULD make you wait and read the trip report, but that would be too much pressure to get it written before your trip!

So here they are:
Chef Mickey's Dinner first night
The Plaza dinner at MK
Garden Grill dinner at Epcot
Crystal Palace breakfast at MK
Hoop De Doo Musical Review dinner
Mama Melrose dinner Fantasmic Package at DHS
Cape May breakfast at Beach Club
Ohana breakfast at Poly

We liked CSR. Our room number was 9101 and was RIGHT outside the quiet pool in Cabanas 9A. A short walk to bus stop #4. Also a short walk to the Dig site. We got a renovated room. Some people don't like the lack of Disney theming at CSR, but we thought it was nice. The mousekeeper we got was awesome. We never made it to Pepper Market, I hear it's a love/hate thing. We just didn't get a chance to get there.

Oh, one tip on the buses that isn't immediately obvious. The bus stops are numbered:
#1 - El Centro - front desk
#2 - Casitas
#3 - Ranchos
#4 - Cabanas

All theme park buses pick up/drop off at 2, 3, 4 then 1. So El Centro is LAST. Lots of angry people there when the Epcot bus was full by the time we got there. Epcot buses seem to run less frequently or something. Maybe it was my imagination. You can also use the theme park buses to get to El Centro without walking.

However, Downtown Disney/Typhoon Lagoon buses pick up at 1, 2, 3, 4. So don't use a DTD bus if you want to get to El Centro! We saw people learn this the hard way!

Have a great trip!

 

[MJAJmom]

Can't wait to hear more CSR!! I'm a mega planner too, so I would just love your spreadsheet!!! I have them too. Our boys are almost the same age and we just got back on 6/14.

I would have freaked out if my son had a high fever like that so close to departure! Glad to know that DS3 started to like to characters more. Chef Mickey's is wonderful, one of our favorites!

 

[joannem]

6/24/09- final installment - So, we head back to CSR and our luggage is in the room. We got room 9101. We had booked a waterview room and the room we got was STEPS away from the quiet pool in Cabanas 9A. Awesome. So, I sent my husband off to Pop Century to pick up the stroller that we had arranged to pick up as part of the Royal Carriage Stroller Swap. I proceeded to unpack and the boys colored. I had heard of everyone using shoe organizers to organize toiletries and things. Then, I found THIS on clearance at a local supermarket for $1.00...yes _one_ dollar. It's canvas and it worked awesome! I loved it.

Two hours later he comes back to the room. He walks in and I look at him and tell him, "That's not the right stroller." The look on his face was priceless!! It was an Evenflo "MyStep" double stroller, front to back. I then told him it was an Instep Safari Double, side by side jogging stroller. "That would have been good information to have!", was his reply. I had told him a blue, Instep double stroller, I thought that plus the luggage tag would have been enough info! His next thought was, "Well I didn't think luggage services would give me someone ELSE's stroller." Yeah, me neither, this one didn't even have the tag on it. Clearly, they aren't that detail oriented there.

So, off he goes to get the right stroller. Here's where serendipity comes in. While he was waiting at one of the bus stops, he was talking to a woman who was checking out of CSR the next day, had bought one of the umbrella strollers they sell in the park and wanted to see someone get some use out of it. So, she gave us her room number and left the stroller and some pool toys outside her door for us!!! THAT was the stroller we used all week. My older one did fine walking. Even if he did get a bit cranky.

So, he gets to Pop Century (and I had called them to give them a heads up to start looking). They find the right stroller WITH the luggage tag attached and he heads back to CSR. Over the course of the trip he realized just how HUGE the InStep stroller was. It just would have been miserable to deal with on the buses with how crowded everything was. So, that's why we used the single all week. So, after a total of almost 5 hours of travel time, we had a stroller we wouldn't use. Thankfully hubby took it in stride, we got to bed and ready for EMH at MK the next morning!

 

[joannem]

6/25/09 - MK EMH
So, we were up early and had breakfast in the room. I had packed cereal, pop tarts and cereal bars, plus bowls and plastic cutlery and soymilk. That doesn't count as cooking, so I still maintain I had a week without cooking for Jeremy! We bought a half gallon of of milk in Panchitos the night before. We got on a MK bus and made it through bag check and ticketing just in time to see the opening show. We made a bee-line for Dumbo. I was following Unofficial Guide touring plans. But, because of how ADRs worked out, I had to ignore their advice to avoid EMH parks. Since we had hoppers, I decided that if the lines were unbearable, I would hop to a recommended park. We rode Dumbo and I made my husband not ride and take pictures...bad, bad wife. But, the pictures are worth it!!

Then we headed to Peter Pan's Flight. Here's where we learned that Jeremy doesn't like dark rides. He rode with the hubby and CLUNG to his arm. My 6 year old, LOVED it. This picture tells the whole story..heee heee heee

Next was Pooh. Jeremy was nervous, but he did ok. Still not impressed. By then, the park was open, and we had made it through a BUNCH of our daily touring plan. Here's where I turned into NOT a control freak. We deviated from the plan! We walked over to Tomorrowland Speedway, the kids wanted to ride, the line was short, so we did. I was so proud of myself!

Next we stopped for a snack. I had forgotten Jeremy safe cereal bars, so I went to a gift shop and got some pretzels for him. We walked by Buzz Lightyear's SpaceRange Spin and the boys wanted to ride. That wasn't on the plan until Day 2. The line was short...guess what...we rode it!! Ha! In your face touring plan!! Buzz was outside signing autographs and the line was short, so we stopped to see him. Jeremy wouldn't go so see him. But, Nathan and I did. It was fun!

We sat for a little while and watched the Stitch stage show. It started getting pretty hot, so we went to see Monster's Laugh Floor. That was a lot of fun and the kids loved it. By then we were hungry and headed to Cosmic Ray's for lunch. I spoke with a manager about Jeremy and he got a hot dog on a gluten, milk and egg free bun, french fries and grapes. My husband and I both ordered the chicken and ribs combo. What a LOT of food. We should have only ordered one and split it. It was a HALF chicken, quarter rack of ribs, mashed potatoes, green beans, a LARGE drink and dessert (chocolate cake for hubby, brownie for me) The brownie was no sugar added and was delicious! The dining room was really cold too! Jeremy ended up going outside with hubby while Nathan and I finished lunch. We decided to go get fastpasses for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad before we went back to the room for a break. It was getting really hot and the crowds seemed to be increasing. We napped for a little bit and then were up and refreshed at 4:00. We were back at MK by 5:00. We had 6:35 ADRs at the Plaza for dinner. So we went and used the BTMRR fastpasses. Nathan LOVED it. We used the rider switch pass and Nathan and I got to ride. That left us with two extra fastpasses. I miscalculated and thought it was only one extra. So, I gave it away to a couple standing near the entrance to the ride. We checked in at 6:15 for our ADR and weren't seated until 6:50! But, we just hung out outside the restaurant.

Next up...an ice cream cone makes me cry....

 

[Janet B]

Hi Joanne!
I'm along for the ride. Love your TR so far. BTW, small world, I'm originally from Rochester, NY (grew up in Greece!). I now live in PA (Harleysville - great name, huh?) I still miss Rah-chester!

Totally can relate to the character thing with your Jeremy, my son was very much like him at that age, but your little guy adapted so well!

Hey, this is my second TR I have subscribed to!!! Ya-hoo!

Janet

 

[joannem]

Hi Joanne!
I'm along for the ride. Love your TR so far. BTW, small world, I'm originally from Rochester, NY (grew up in Greece!). I now live in PA (Harleysville - great name, huh?) I still miss Rah-chester!

Totally can relate to the character thing with your Jeremy, my son was very much like him at that age, but your little guy adapted so well!

Hey, this is my second TR I have subscribed to!!! Ya-hoo!

Janet

Welcome aboard Janet! Small world, eh? I bet you still miss Wegmans! Seems like everyone who leaves does. That's where I bought the super cool organizer.

 

[joannem]

6/25/09- continued - So, we get seated at the Plaza and the Chef Constance comes out to see us. She was able to do a hamburger on a sub roll cut down since it was milk/egg free, french fries and a salad with no dressing. (Jeremy doesn't really like salad dressing). Nathan had the grilled chicken strips with rice and apple slices. Hubby and I had yummy hamburgers. Mine was bacon, mushrooms and cheddar. YUM! Dessert was enourmous! I decided on the banana split. Hubby had the brownie sundae. Something about the heat made me not want chocolate, which is TOTALLY out of character for me! Jeremy was able to get tofutti chocolate ice cream. When she delivered it, I was so excited. It was a dish of ice cream, with Enjoy Life Foods Chocolate Chip cookies for the Mickey Ears and an ice cream cone hat. He started eating and wanted me to put some ice cream in the cone. I did and suddenly realized it was his VERY FIRST ever ice cream cone! I've bought and made safe ice cream for him lots of times, but I just never had bought ice cream cones. I made my husband take pictures!

I found myself starting to cry. His VERY FIRST ice cream cone at Disney World...how cool is that?!?! Later on Chef Constance came out to check on us. I thanked her again for everything they do to accomodate food allergies and told her about it being his first ice cream cone. And I started to cry again. I told her that it was like MY first vacation. She gave me hug and told me how she really enjoyed coming out of the back and getting to interact with the guests.

As we left, it started to rain. Jeremy wanted to ride Goofy's Barnstormers (aka Jeremy's rollercoaster). But it started to pour and Goofy's was closed. So, we were able to walk right into Mickey's Philharmagic. Nathan loved it and Jeremy wasn't so sure. He covered his mouth and grabbed my arm, but told me he loved it?? It was still POURING, and we donned ponchos and walked to Buzz Lightyear. It was almost a walkon, so we rode it again. By then it was 9:30 and it was just sprinkling, so we waited to see Wishes. We had a great view on Main St., the crowd was pretty small. After Wishes we went to the bus stop. There was a CSR bus waiting for us and we got seats. We were back to the room before 11:00. It was a GREAT first day at the Magic Kingdom!

 

[Janet B]

Joanne,
Yes, I love Wegmans ... they have opened up in PA just not that close to me. Little things like your Jeremy's first ice cream cone .... that stuff just gets to me too. I'm a very emotional person - I so glad that Disney helps makes your stay extra magical.

My Plaza story - we ate there in 2006 (back when appetizers were included in the meal plan) and my kids were full from lunch and they weren't sure if they wanted dessert - but I told them, "you're eating it, cause its on the Plan"! So we laugh about that today - that I "made" them eat dessert (the sundaes were great!). Looking forward to your next segment! Happy 4th!

 

[stace208]

Awww, what a magical first full day! I just love the Magic Kingdom, it really is what Disney is all about. It's wonderful how much they are helping with you son's food allergies.

 

[Angies1274]

Hi I'm joining--your boys are so cute!!! I am a planner also and list maker--I admit it..I love to make lists I'm so glad that your son felt better in time for your trip!!

We love Chef Mickey's!-What a good idea to hold a napkin up like a curtain. Such a cute picture of your boys with Donald.

Looks like a great day at Magic Kingdom--and your son's first ice cream at Disney--so sweet!!

Okay, I think I am all caught up and waiting for more....

 

[mdsouth]

Hi,

We were staying at CSR the same time as you - June 26-July 4th. We were on the first floor of 9A too! We were on the back side of the building facing the parking lot.

My mother is on a gluten free diet so it is interesting to read about how accommodating the chefs at WDW were with you.

I think I might have seen you and your boys once on the walkway to El Centre. I am working on my Trip Report too. I don't have any photos posted yet, but hope to get them upload and posted over the next couple of days.

 

[tinkgurl]

We were at WDW during the same time! We got there the 22nd and left July 1st as well! Only, we stayed at OKW.

 

[joannem]

Hi,

We were staying at CSR the same time as you - June 26-July 4th. We were on the first floor of 9A too! We were on the back side of the building facing the parking lot.

My mother is on a gluten free diet so it is interesting to read about how accommodating the chefs at WDW were with you.

I think I might have seen you and your boys once on the walkway to El Centre. I am working on my Trip Report too. I don't have any photos posted yet, but hope to get them upload and posted over the next couple of days.

OMG that's so cool! I hope I wasn't yelling at them at the time!!
Welcome!

I haven't abandoned the trip report...it's just I went back to work on Monday! I also found out that I have to go on a business trip tomorrow, so I'll have plenty of time to write while I'm on the plane! YAY! Then I can update when I check in to the hotel with FREE wi-fi. Did you hear that Disney??? FREE wi-fi?!?! hee hee hee I crack myself up!