Lets go to Disney #AGAIN! {and other annoying #Hashtags} A September 2016 Pre Trip Report

[VACamm]

Hello to you all and Welcome to my Pre Trip Report!

Please be patient with my pre trip report... I am not the most eloquent writer. I wanted to share with you our plans for our upcoming trip! #ICanDoThis. I hope that some of you will read my report and maybe even subscribe! If you do.... #ThankYou!

This September will be my 16th vacation to the Happiest Place On Earth and I'm so excited! We were very fortunate to be able to spend the week of Christmas at WDW this past December, and we had the absolute most MAGICAL Christmas I've ever experienced. However, 2 months after our Christmas trip, while still being deep in post Disney Blues, I asked my husband if we should book another trip for this September, he said "SURE, why not!!" #MatchMadeInHeaven

My name is Aimee, and I have a serious love for all things Disney. Seriously. I love all things Disney. If I could live / work / eat / sleep on Main Street USA, I would be the happiest person in the world. I have 2 sons who are ages 13 and 20. However, for this vacation in September, my oldest son will unfortunately not be joining us. Instead my traveling companions will be my husband, my 13 year old son, and my father who normally also joins us in WDW because he probably loves Disney as much as I do.

My husband and I are super dorks... like we love to act silly and we may or may not have tried to Drink Around The World at EPCOT more than once. #FailedMiserably #WeWontBeDefeated

Here is a photo of my husband and I at Halloween 2 years ago:



And..... this was us at Halloween last year:

As you can see... we are completely normal and very serious people. #WeAreSuperFun




These are my 2 boys Ethan and Zack with Drizella, who by the way was absolutely hilarious:

This is my youngest Ethan who will be joining us on this trip:

And... here is my super cool father Rob (our normal WDW trip companion) who was getting his birthday cupcake at Chef Mickey's!




My dad loves all WDW resorts, but especially Port Orleans French Quarter! #POFQLove

For this trip in September, we have lots of plans, and ADR's and we just booked our FP+ 2 days ago... so I have so much to tell you all!

If you are still reading this.... THANK YOU! I will hopefully be updating this frequently over the next 58 days until our trip. Oh... I forgot to tell you all the details!! #Ooooooops

When: September 3 thru 10, 2016
Where: Caribbean Beach Resort
Who: Myself (Aimee), my husband (Kevin), my 13 yr old son (Ethan), and my crazy father (Rob)
Why: Because we need to try to drink around the world again!
Another reason why: Because we LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Walt Disney World!

I hope to hear from some of you, and please ask any questions that you might have! #TillNextTime

Also.... Let me know if you are going to be in WDW while we are there!

 

[VACamm]

Soooo... I was just looking through the 2015 WDW Disney Vacation photos on my laptop, and I decided to post one more photo tonight. This was our first time meeting Chewbacca and we all about lost our minds from excitement. #MagicalMoment




Coming soon... ADRs that we have booked for September 3-10th.

 

[VACamm]

Chapters for this fabulous pre-trip report. #HashtagHeavy

Yep, we are going back to Walt Disney World.

Just a little Chewy.

So many restaurants, so little time.

King Louie Forever!!

Looking forward to lounging in a Hammock in the Caribbean!

Kevin love Disney!

Doing Disney Gluten Free.... #ImSad

Ethan's Disney favorites list!

Beachin' It !

Martinique Please.

 

[Raeven]

Following along! We're going the week after you get back and staying at CBR too!

 

[VACamm]

Following along! We're going the week after you get back and staying at CBR too!

Terrific, we will just be passing by each other. I'll be sure to leave you a good chair at the CBR pool!

 

[VACamm]

Hi again, and Happy Sunday!

I woke up today with my back hurting, so I'm kind of chilling this morning and being lazy while my husband is outside mowing the grass. I think we are going to go to the pool where we have a membership later around lunch time. I just seasoned a whole chicken with garlic, salt pepper, basil, oregano, and a bit of onion powder and stuck it in the crock pot to cook all day. This of course got me thinking about FOOD....

Our ADR's for our September trip were so much fun to make! #ImLying It was so stressful! We all have our favorites, and we can't eat at them all, so we had widdle down the list and then take a vote to decide where we were going to eat. However the big rule was that each one of us got to choose 1 'FAVORITE' Disney restaurant that was going to be a solid and set in stone ADR, and then we agreed to try several NEW ADR's. We made a spreadsheet and quickly filled in all of our picks....

I'm not sure how, but we literally were able to make EVERY SINGLE ADR that we wanted. #LuckyDay

Saturday September 3: Our arrival day, and my son Ethan's Choice because he said "Its Tradition To Eat Here" -
Crystal Palace Character Meal

Sunday September 4:
Tusker House Breakfast Character Meal and Jungle Book 1st Viewing ADR

Sunday September 4: My dad's choice because he absolutely LOVES the selection and atmosphere here -
Boma at AK Lodge

Monday September 5: My husband's choice because he dreams about the steak here -
Mama Melrose's Lunch and Fantasmic 1st showing ADR

Tuesday September 6:
Be Our Guest Lunch

Tuesday September 6:
1900 Park Fare Dinner - Character Meal

Wednesday September 7:
Ohana's Breakfast - Character Meal

Wednesday September 7:
Whispering Canyon Cafe @ Wilderness Lodge- this will be our first time trying this one.

Thursday September 8: This is my choice!
Chef's de France Dinner @ EPCOT in France - this will be our first time trying this one.

Friday September 9:
Be Our Guest Dinner

We currently have 10 ADR's for our 7 days in WDW and we are SO excited because we LOVE to eat. We have a bunch of our favorites, and 2 new restaurants that we are going to try.

Has anyone here eaten at Chef's de France? This is a very exciting one for me, as I've been wanting to eat here for years. #FeelingAdventurous

 

[VACamm]

On Friday we got a box in the mail with my husbands new Vans Jungle Book backpack that we ordered! He has the matching Vans slide on shoes in the same fabric, so he is super excited to trot around Walt Disney World to show the world his love of his favorite Disney movie. #KingLouieForever

 

[Rivergirl2005]

Hi again, and Happy Sunday!

I woke up today with my back hurting, so I'm kind of chilling this morning and being lazy while my husband is outside mowing the grass. I think we are going to go to the pool where we have a membership later around lunch time. I just seasoned a whole chicken with garlic, salt pepper, basil, oregano, and a bit of onion powder and stuck it in the crock pot to cook all day. This of course got me thinking about FOOD....



Our ADR's for our September trip were so much fun to make! #ImLying It was so stressful! We all have our favorites, and we can't eat at them all, so we had widdle down the list and then take a vote to decide where we were going to eat. However the big rule was that each one of us got to choose 1 'FAVORITE' Disney restaurant that was going to be a solid and set in stone ADR, and then we agreed to try several NEW ADR's. We made a spreadsheet and quickly filled in all of our picks....

I'm not sure how, but we literally were able to make EVERY SINGLE ADR that we wanted. #LuckyDay

Saturday September 3: Our arrival day, and my son Ethan's Choice because he said "Its Tradition To Eat Here" -
Crystal Palace Character Meal

Sunday September 4:
Tusker House Breakfast Character Meal and Jungle Book 1st Viewing ADR

Sunday September 4: My dad's choice because he absolutely LOVES the selection and atmosphere here -
Boma at AK Lodge

Monday September 5: My husband's choice because he dreams about the steak here -
Mama Melrose's Lunch and Fantasmic 1st showing ADR

Tuesday September 6:
Be Our Guest Lunch

Tuesday September 6:
1900 Park Fare Dinner - Character Meal

Wednesday September 7:
Ohana's Breakfast - Character Meal

Wednesday September 7:
Whispering Canyon Cafe @ Wilderness Lodge- this will be our first time trying this one.

Thursday September 8: This is my choice!
Chef's de France Dinner @ EPCOT in France - this will be our first time trying this one.

Friday September 9:
Be Our Guest Dinner

We currently have 10 ADR's for our 7 days in WDW and we are SO excited because we LOVE to eat. We have a bunch of our favorites, and 2 new restaurants that we are going to try.

Has anyone here eaten at Chef's de France? This is a very exciting one for me, as I've been wanting to eat here for years. #FeelingAdventurous

I love Chef's de France! There steak is so much better than Mama Melrose's, not as greasy. They have really fresh salads, creamy soups and there Mac and cheese is really good as well. Overall I love the atmosphere and its food has always been enjoyable!!!

 

[Raeven]

Never been there but the mac and cheese looks so good!

I love the backpack too, I have the Winnie the Pooh vans

 

[VACamm]

I love Chef's de France! There steak is so much better than Mama Melrose's, not as greasy. They have really fresh salads, creamy soups and there Mac and cheese is really good as well. Overall I love the atmosphere and its food has always been enjoyable!!!

Ooooh good to know and thank you for the advise! My husband is a HUGE steak lover, and for our past 5 trips to WDW we have eaten at Mama Melrose's simply because he loves the steak so much! I really do also look forward to the atmosphere for sure.

Never been there but the mac and cheese looks so good!

I love the backpack too, I have the Winnie the Pooh vans

I was eyeing those Winnie the Pooh Vans, they are so cute! I currently only have the Gray classic Mickeys. They are so comfortable aren't they?

Here is a pic of my Mickey Vans standing outside of our room at the Coronado Springs Resort.... I would also love the Minnie ones! #ShoeLove

 

[VACamm]

Hi Again!

So, we are booked at the Caribbean Beach Resort during FREE DINING! #WhoopWhoop



We love going during Free Dining when we can, because our family of 4 normally stays in a Moderate Resort and the cost savings is a lot more for us than a Room Only discount. I know that it doesn't always work out that way for some families, but in our particular case it is a nice bonus. If my husband and I were to go on a couples only trip, it would probably be a bigger savings for us NOT to do the free dining and to use a room only discount code. I've read a lot of opinions on the DisBoards, and I've learned a lot... particularly if we were to stay at a Deluxe Resort, so I'll definately have to check that out..... #FutureRomanticTrip

#KissinOnMainStreet



Caribbean Beach Resort is located close to Epcot and Hollywood Studios as shown here on this map:



We have a Standard Room currently booked, and I have already put in a room request to be located in the Martinique section. The Preferred Rooms are located in Martinique 24, 25, 26 & also in Trinidad North 31, 32, 33. The room request simply stated that I would like to be in the Martinique section and close to a bus stop as well as the Main Building / Main Pool / Food Court / Restaurant. #IsThatTooMuchToAsk? I let the Cast Member on the telephone know all of my wishes, but I am very much aware that we cannot be guaranteed which section that we will be given. We will be happy with any section actually, because CBR resort is so gorgeous to walk around!



We really are super excited to stay in the newly renovated rooms because the decor looks really relaxing and right up our ally. Our favorite Moderate Disney Resort is Coronado Springs Resort. This new decor at CBR reminds me of CSR a bit. So we are very much looking forward to our trip in 55 days! #HurryUpTime

 

[VACamm]

A Disney Interview with my husband Kevin:

Favorite Disney Movie: Jungle Book (animated AND live action) and Up
Favorite Disney Character: Carl Fredricksen
Favorite Disney Park: EPCOT
Favorite Disney Attraction: Living With The Land & Maelstrom
Favorite Disney Snack: The Giant M&M Cookies at Hollywood Studios
Favorite Disney Table Service Restaurant: Mama Melrose (just for the steak)
Favorite Disney Quick Service : Sunshine Seasons
Favorite Disney Song: Go The Distance - Hercules, and Wishes

 

[VACamm]

Happy Monday to you all!

2 months ago I was diagnosed with a Gluten Allergy (on top of my existing Dairy intolerance). This diagnose has completely changed my life because while I do feel 100% better physically, I have to be so super careful about every single food and drink item that I put into my mouth. #GlutenFreeProblems

I recently had to call Walt Disney World Dining to request that they add "Gluten Allergy" to all of our 10 ADR's. Since this is my first time visiting WDW while being Gluten Free, I have been a bit depressed thinking about all of my favorite food items that I will not be able to eat, including cupcakes. #CupcakeDepression I've been lucky to have found several bloggers online who regularly go to WDW and who eat a Gluten Free diet. #ThankYouBloggers

If any of you have any favorite Gluten Free Meals and especially Gluten Free DESSERTS that you can share with me.... please let me know! I'd love to get some good advice from some Gluten Free Dis veterans

 

[VACamm]

A Disney Interview with my son Ethan:

Favorite Disney Movie: Finding Dory (new) and Lion King (Classic)
Favorite Disney Character: Simba
Favorite Disney Park: EPCOT
Favorite Disney Attraction: Rock N' Roller Coaster
Favorite Disney Snack: Mickey Premium Bar
Favorite Disney Table Service Restaurant: Crystal Palace
Favorite Disney Quick Service: Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe
Favorite Disney Song: "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" - Lion King

Christmas 2015 in Hollywood Studios #HeWasntReallyDriving




Here is a younger Ethan in 2014... #LookHowCute




This is "little Ethan" from 2 years ago... look how cute!! #SquishyCheeks




Christmas 2015 at Hollywood Studios #CantinaFabulousness

 

[Raeven]

Don't be depressed Disney is literally the best place to eat gluten free! I have some reviews in my signature for restaurants last time, from a gluten free and regular perspective. My boyfriend Josh can't have gluten, and the food was one of his favorite parts about Disney. Also check out gfinorlando's blog that helped me a lot too.

At buffets they will walk you around and show you what you can eat, at Ohana they made waffles for Josh that he could eat, most places have at least gluten free brownies or cookies, some have flourless chocolate cake. I've heard Raglan Road has a lot of gluten free desserts. Be Our Guest has a lemon cream puff. If you go to Food and Wine the booths will have what's gluten free marked, and they do have desserts. They can make you you're own pizza and pasta. I've heard the Contempo Cafe has gluten free cupcakes, Sprinkles might have 1-2 flavors too, and Erin Mckennas Bakery is my boyfriend's favorite it's all gluten free. Most places will have at least one gluten free dessert and you'll have a lot of meal choices too!

 

[VACamm]

Don't be depressed Disney is literally the best place to eat gluten free! I have some reviews in my signature for restaurants last time, from a gluten free and regular perspective. My boyfriend Josh can't have gluten, and the food was one of his favorite parts about Disney. Also check out gfinorlando's blog that helped me a lot too.

At buffets they will walk you around and show you what you can eat, at Ohana they made waffles for Josh that he could eat, most places have at least gluten free brownies or cookies, some have flourless chocolate cake. I've heard Raglan Road has a lot of gluten free desserts. Be Our Guest has a lemon cream puff. If you go to Food and Wine the booths will have what's gluten free marked, and they do have desserts. They can make you you're own pizza and pasta. I've heard the Contempo Cafe has gluten free cupcakes, Sprinkles might have 1-2 flavors too, and Erin Mckennas Bakery is my boyfriend's favorite it's all gluten free. Most places will have at least one gluten free dessert and you'll have a lot of meal choices too!

#ThisIsAmazing Thank you so much! I'm super excited to experience WDW on this new Gluten Free diet. Its my MISSION to find amazing and flavorful food (especially Desserts!!) at Disney so that I don't feel like I'm missing out on too much.

I will be checking out your reviews in your signature right now... thank you so much for the advice!

 

[VACamm]

Happy Tuesday!

I love when its a good #MailDay !!!! We just got a box delivered from Amazon with some really cool items for our September Walt Disney World trip.

On our previous 2 Disney trips we have been sharing 1 portable external cell phone charger between us all. Luckily it's a really good one that can hold about 3 full cell phone charges and maybe a 1/2 of a 4th cell charge. The problem is that the My Disney Experience app seems to really suck our phone battery's down throughout the day in the parks, so I figured that it was time for us each to have our own portable charger. #ChristmasInJuly

I found some great deals on Amazon and they arrived today!

This one is called a 'lipstick' size and is 5000 Mah (MaH is a measurement to measure battery capacity). This model is available in several cute colors, but I chose black. This model was $9.99 on Amazon.



This portable charger is quite a bit larger, but it is 16,000 MAH. This is one powerful charger and will be super handy! #FeelThePowerrrrr This charger was $16.99 on Amazon.




Here the charger is with the box opened...



I will be charging these up to test them out and make sure they work. A trial run will be happening this weekend for sure.

 

[VACamm]

Happy Wednesday!

According to my countdown clock, we have 52 days until we leave for Walt Disney World! #ICanSmellTheChurros

Last week on July 12th I woke up at 5:30am and got ready for work early so that I could be sitting at my desk with my cup of coffee at 6:45am to make sure that my Fast Pass + were booked. As you all know, Frozen Ever After is the 'New Toy Story Midway Mania' in order of importance when it comes to FP+ bookings. So, armed with my Epcot coffee mug, FEA was my top FP+ priority on this morning.

Luckily, I was able to get every FP+ at my 60 days mark which made me SO HAPPY!

September 3:
Splash Mountain 2:05
Seven Dwarves Mine Train 3:10
Space Mountain 4:20

September 4:
Kilimanjaro Safari 9:55
Festival of the Lion King 11:30
Kali River Rapids 1:20

September 5:
Star Tours 9:40
Toy Story Mania: 10:40
Voyage of the Little Mermaid: 12:35

September 6:
Pirates of the Caribbean 9:40
Haunted Mansion 10:40
Seven Dwarves Mine Train 12:20

September 8:
Spaceship Earth 9:25
Mission Space 10:30
Frozen Ever After 11:55

September 9:
Character Spot 9:20
Soarin' 10:30
The Seas With Nemo 11:40

I know that it looks like we are 'missing' a lot of rides / attractions on this list, however we rope drop every single morning and that is when we normally ride the headliners in each park (multiple times if we can). #NoLines We have been known to rope drop and ride Test Track and Rock N Roller Coaster and Expedition Everest 3x in a row each! #WeAreManiacs!

 

[Raeven]

Yay for getting all your FP's!

Our Fp date is a week from tomorrow.

 

[VACamm]

Yay for getting all your FP's!

Our Fp date is a week from tomorrow.

Yay! I hope that you get everything that you want! I was worried only about my Frozen Ever After and Soarin' times.... but they were a piece of cake. I hope that yours go as smoothly as mine did!