Oh man I can see why you are holding on to 17 ADRs, it's so hard to know what is going to work until you are there! I had a similar predicament for our December trip. I spent so much time planning, stalking & changing ADRs before we went just not knowing what was going to work for us.
It really is so hard to plan when there are so many unknown variables. Ugh, I really don't like this uncertainty. Not even knowing what our park days are is crazy to me.
This probably won't work for you but we did Garden Grove at the Swan in December on a Friday night and it was AWESOME. It's not hard to get an ADR as far as I have seen. Chip, Dale, Pluto and Goofy. Seafood buffet was absolutely amazing and it's not crowded and tons and tons of attention with the characters. We have it booked again in July. It was probably our best meal of the trip in December (and we were there 11 nights) for food and characters. The menu is different other nights of the week and the characters are different. I'm not sure if Chip and Dale are there other nights and I think Friday might be the only night there are 4 characters but of course... subject to change
Thank you for mentioning this!
I need to look into it, as I really don't know anything about it, but it's in the area we'll be in and could be a viable option. Thanks!
I hope you are able to get your wait list for BCV. Not that it would be awful to spend both legs of the trip at BWV but getting to try out BCV would be awesome! Once you know for sure where you are staying it might make a few of those ADRs easier to decide on. We booked Cape May Cafe for breakfast for Gavin's birthday in July. Daniel and I ate dinner there in 2009 but we've never done breakfast. Trying to squeeze in a few more character meals before we have to start paying for him after he's 3
Hoping for BCV still, but our DVC person checked the other day and none of the other nights is available. So, we'll see. And, ugh, I'm not looking forward to paying for buffets and admission once Izzy turns 3! It's coming up too fast! Unless something changes, this will be our last trip before that happens.
Once you narrow down your schedule and know which duplicates to cancel You'll feel better.
Absolutely! Here's hoping the Star Wars Weekend celebrity guests are announced soon! We're less than 3 months out now, so this is driving me crazy!
Wow - lot coming up for you. I don't have a ton of thoughts for the fish extender. I would think that a family gift along with maybe some candy would work well. Especially if you haven't really gotten to know them much beforehand (not sure how much communication happens before the event)
Yeah, the thread isn't very active, so I really don't know them very well. I found a thread about the "best FE gifts you've received" and got some ideas from there to consider. Just need to finalize the group and then figure out what we want to go with, I guess.
BTW - did hear one tip with the Disney Vacation Account and that was to make sure you keep your gift cards even after you deposit the amount because if you ever need to take your money out they can only return it in the form you deposited from and if you got rid of the card you would be out of luck
Yeah, I keep big stacks of Disney gift cards! I actually just finally tossed a bunch of used ones we had from past trips. Still have a stack of the more recent ones.
As for your ADRs - first, at this point having extra before you know the final SWW plans, etc. makes total sense and I know you will cancel the ones you won't use etc.
Thanks! I just hate hogging so many for so long. But I did just see on the SWW thread that someone has to cancel their trip and listed all the ADRs they were canceling and it was at least as many SWW meals as me, probably several more. So, I'm surely not the only one. I think, once more info is released, there will be a second wave of open ADRs hitting the market.
For the specific ones. That is great you got the SWW breakfast - I am sure that will be fun and I saw reviews where you can trade with the jawas that I bet will be cool
That's right, I saw the thing about trading too. I'll have to make sure Dug knows about that!
(Okay, just did and he thought that was cool!)
We've done Akershus a few times (both breakfast and lunch) and enjoyed it. The breakfast was pretty darn good (they have great cheesy potatoes as part of it) and you get to knock out a bunch of princesses at once and we've had pretty good interaction in the past. So if Izzy is (getting) into princesses I would lean towards keeping it (at least for you and Izzy)
Mmmm, cheesy potatoes! She is really into princesses lately. And I've always been interested in trying Akershus. I think it will likely stay in our lineup.
One good thing is I think the Cape May Cafe isn't that hard to get ADRs for so shouldn't be too bad to move that breakfast up on the 26th Assuming keeping the other SWW breakfast works out
That's true. But it was tricky finding early ones in June. Hoping we can get what we want/need once we finalize our plans.
One thing to watch with the Fantasmic! package is I don't know what time show that package is for and then what time the SW fireworks are. I know we had the package during the Frozen summer fun last year and it was tight to get out of Fantasmic! and to an area we could watch the fireworks from. So, depending on timing of things you might want to plan one night to have the fireworks be the priority and not do Fantasmic! that evening
Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. The package is for the first show and that's right before the fireworks. My thinking is that, if it's not terribly crowded, we might be able to get out of the show and see them from somewhere a bit off the beaten path (maybe even outside the gates? - I think it was Rob that did that?) Then plan another night to get a better view. We should have plenty of nights to do that. And I don't want to do the late Fantasmic with Izzy. In fact, Fantasmic isn't really a necessity either, but it's been a long time since we've seen it and I hear the package seating is better now, so why not? Hoping Izzy would be okay for it, since I know it can scare some kids.
As a side note, we thought doing the Fantasmic! package at the Brown Derby was a pretty decent deal as, even though it didn't indicate as such on the website, it including appetizer, entree, and dessert
That's a good reminder. If we need to cancel the SWW meal that has Fantasmic attached, this might be another chance to get the package.
I saw one review of Trattoria al Forno and it sounded good but no "amazeballs" (by the way, a local brewery near me makes an IPA called "Amazeballs" and it is pretty amazeballs)
I think we'll likely let that ADR go. I've seen others saying the reviews aren't great. And it's just not at the top of our list. And we need to shorten the list.
Hope things work out getitng the Palo brunch - I've literally only read great things about that (some mixed things for dinner - but only positives for the brunch)
Good luck!
The brunch sounds pretty amazing! Super excited for that!
I mean, Star Wars and bacon all at once?!
So many of them depend upon other ones and they ultimately can’t be decided until Dug knows which Star Wars celebs will be there and on which days, so he knows when he wants to be at DHS early. Ugh.
Again, this meal is a must-do for us. I like having the Fantasmic package this day, as 1.) We have not seen Fantasmic in forever (since 2010, I think?) 2.) Friday is supposed to be the least crowded day of SWW and 3.) That might give us a chance of leaving Fantasmic and finding a spot to watch the Star Wars fireworks right after. And, if not, we have plenty of other nights to do so. I hope to keep this ADR. But, if we have a SWW planning conflict, I have a few alternatives…(this is the point where any ADR police lurking should close their browsers and forget they ever saw this
That's so awesome, excited to hear about those!
Especially because I actually do have a ton that I want to write about. Between being sick, putting in long hours at work for our year-end close, and the DIS conversion throwing me off, I’ve been in a holding pattern. 
Time to break that, though!
. Because we need to buy a ticket for Dug, I think I am going to do that very soon. I had wanted to wait ($$$), but I don’t want to miss the cut-off and overpay. So, I guess that is where some of the money in our Disney Vacation Account is going. (For those that don’t know, the DVA is a real thing run by Disney – basically a "savings account" that you can use to make payments on your trip. For me, it’s handy because I pay in Disney Gift Cards (discounted 5% from Target) and it allows you to deposit those. Therefore, I only have to make one payment versus reading off 8 or 9 gift card numbers to buy a ticket. Plus, they give you bonuses for spending certain amounts, so that will be nice too).
, then make sure we get our Palo reservation and nursery time and port arrival time squared away. I know that I saw a great what-to-expect-at-check-in primer with screenshots, so I need to study up on that come March! 
There will be a max of 15 families in our group and they are a mixed bag of adults w/o kids, parents and toddlers, parents and older kids, and more. Oh, and dogs at home – someone wanted that info for gifts too 
. I don’t want to go too crazy, as getting something for each member of 15 families can add up fast, but I also want to give something nice. I thought of maybe decorating picture frames with cruise-related stuff. But I don’t know how that would work, as each person has their own pocket on a Fish Extender (I think), so I don’t know how I’d give a “family” gift. I also had thought of picking up some things in WDW - maybe some snacks from Goofy's Candy Company or small things from Downtown Disney? I’m sure there are TONS of great ideas out there, though, so you pinteresting folks feel free to brainstorm for me! 
She knows all the names of the Disney princesses in her storybooks now! I think she’d get a kick out of this! Again, Dug may want to be at DHS early if there are celebrities he wants to meet for SWW. So maybe just Izzy and I will go to this. Or there’s still the possibility of cancelling it. But I think it might just be a keeper, at least for two of us.
But Izzy also loves Chip and Dale (and Mickey and Pluto), so what a perfect way to start our trip (arrival night). And it’s the only day that I can confidently say we’ll be in Epcot. Of course, the timing isn’t great, because we’ll have been munching from the F&G Booths that afternoon, so may not be hungry for a family-style meal. 
).
. We will be there at the same time for our first F&G and SWW. I am with you on the ADR hoarding
Wow, good to know I'm not the only one dealing with this. Good luck with yours too! We'll have to see if we're crossing paths during our trips! 
I'm really excited to eat there - it was on Anika's short list of "must-do's" as it's always fallen off the list. We'll likely be leaving for the dark side shortly after we finish our meal, but perhaps if you have a mid-day break at the Boardwalk (or even better, the Beach Club if you waitlist comes through!) we should see if our paths can cross.
)
? 
It's the one big seasonal event that we did not make it to back in our Year of Disney (2010). Back then, the idea of extra flowers was cool, but not THAT exciting. However, they now have food booths and we LOVE Food & Wine! 
The food and drink booths (I mean, "outdoor kitchens")! Full information is not available yet, but the Disney Food Blog just posted a bit of a preview the other day and I think there will be a lot of items we are interested in! Can't wait to make up a list of all the things to try!
Dug is especially excited about this. I was hoping for the Gin Blossoms, but they are in March. Oh, well.
And the playgrounds/play areas should be a blast!
(I'm having a good time using new-to-me smilies here! 
I didn't ride it in June or August, so it's been too long. I'm not sure when this will happen. Maybe we will switch off single rider (or FP+) if Izzy is napping shortly after we arrive? The other possibility is late at night. We will be walking distance from Epcot at our resort, so I want to go over there one night after Izzy goes to bed (and Dug stays with her). Extra Magic Hours are until 11pm on both Fridays of our trip, so hoping we can each take one of them.
(It's kinda pricey, though).
So, same game plan as Test Track - either FP+ with Rider Swap or go late at night.
And we always love boat rides. 
Maybe Izzy would be interested in the Kidcot stops now too. 
Disney Visa meet - and maybe we'll even have time to collect our free print on this trip! 
No Duffy Bear smilie, but the Ewok will have to do. 
I have never done the Pooh and Tigger meet in Christopher Robin's room and it always looks so darn adorable! Hoping we can make it to the UK pavilion to do this.
We have a dinner at Garden Grill and I know we'd enjoy it. However, it's expensive and fairly early on the day we'll be grazing for a late lunch. So, I'm considering other options. Not sure on this yet. But Mickey, Pluto, Chip, and Dale are all great meets. Not to mention the cool spinning restaurant.
