Our COMPLETELY New and TOTALLY Different 6th September Disney trip: A pre-trip report

[kokotg]

For me its the apple strudel! We are not beer drinkers even dh. I hope he enjoys it anyway!

I'll tell him about the apple strudel. He loves apple desserts almost as much as beer . Although now he informs me that he's going to try just cutting out wheat during the trip and not worrying about barley, so that he can still have beer. He's not quite as dedicated to figuring out this gluten thing as I am. ...but at least he's not prone to temper tantrums

ETA: oops. He reminds me that apple strudel has wheat in it. "This is terribly sad," says Dave, genuinely distressed.

 

[RooRach0906]

I'll tell him about the apple strudel. He loves apple desserts almost as much as beer . Although now he informs me that he's going to try just cutting out wheat during the trip and not worrying about barley, so that he can still have beer. He's not quite as dedicated to figuring out this gluten thing as I am. ...but at least he's not prone to temper tantrums

ETA: oops. He reminds me that apple strudel has wheat in it. "This is terribly sad," says Dave, genuinely distressed.

Awww, Im sad for him with the strudel. Ive never had it but saw it on Unwrapped.

 

[RooRach0906]

Ooops double post.

 

[TanzUnited99]

Hi! Followed you over and have to say that you have a beautiful family! Lol at being able to repeat trip details to DH many times!

Looks like we may be at MNSSHP on the same night - look forward to hearing more of the plans!

 

[kokotg]

Hi! Followed you over and have to say that you have a beautiful family! Lol at being able to repeat trip details to DH many times!

Looks like we may be at MNSSHP on the same night - look forward to hearing more of the plans!

Thank you!!

We'll look for you at the Halloween Party

 

[kokotg]

Awww, Im sad for him with the strudel. Ive never had it but saw it on Unwrapped.

He admitted last night that he's not even sure what an apple strudel IS; he just thinks it sounds really good I told him I'd try to make him a gluten free version sometime soon.

 

[kokotg]

Saturday: Animal Kingdom! I know not everyone feels this way, but we all really love Animal Kingdom. Despite all the “it's a half day park” talk, we always end up spending two days there. Usually the way it works is we have one day scheduled and then a day at the end of the trip where we don't decide where we're going to go until the day before...and the kids wind up picking going back to Animal Kingdom for that day.

The plan is to get there for rope drop on this day and probably stick pretty close to the Unofficial Guide/Lines touring plan for the day. We did this a couple of years ago, and the main problem with it is it has you doing all the shows (except Flights of Wonder, I guess) in a row at the end of the day. I don't think I'd want to see three shows in a row myself, and I'm really sure my kids don't want to. But since we have another day scheduled, we'll probably just save one or two of them for the other day.

Dave's lunch request is “not Pizzafari” (I think that's the only place we've eaten there since Tusker House stopped being a counter service), so...maybe Flame Tree Barbecue? Not sure yet.

Our dinner reservation that night is for Tusker House at 5:15. We haven't eaten there before (again, except for back when it was still a counter service). The reservation is for 15 minutes after the park closes (not sure how that works; I guess we'll get there a few minutes early). I thought it'd be really cool to get to leave the park after it's all shut down. And, of course, this way it doesn't cut into our touring time at all.

Let's see, here's all I had to say about Tusker House counter service back in my concise trip report writing days:

We went over to Tusker House for lunch; it was still only 11:45 or so, but it was already really crowded.

Yep. Last year, I took a picture of it:

So we'll be all finished with dinner by around 6:30. I haven't thought much past this point in the day. We'll probably go back to Pop and hang out, but if people are feeling up for it we might go to Downtown Disney. I'd like to go sometime during the week, but I don't have a specific time scheduled right now, so we'll just have to hope to fit it in.

 

[RooRach0906]

Sounds like a great plan! The last time I ate at Tusker House it was still a counter service too. It was my favorite at AK so I was sad when they changed it to TS. Our parents have ate at Flame tree and highly recommend it.
PS I read that they have a Gluten-Free beer at most Table Service locations, thought you might like to know.

 

[fallen_angel727]

O your restaurants I still need to try Kona, Biergarten, Boma, and Coral Reef...for some reason none of which are planned for my upcoming trip...maybe I'll have to look into it, but then what to switch out hmmm

 

[kokotg]

Sounds like a great plan! The last time I ate at Tusker House it was still a counter service too. It was my favorite at AK so I was sad when they changed it to TS. Our parents have ate at Flame tree and highly recommend it.
PS I read that they have a Gluten-Free beer at most Table Service locations, thought you might like to know.

Thanks...I think I read that, too. He's not a huge fan of the gluten free beers he's tried so far, but I'm sure there are still more out to there to taste!

O your restaurants I still need to try Kona, Biergarten, Boma, and Coral Reef...for some reason none of which are planned for my upcoming trip...maybe I'll have to look into it, but then what to switch out hmmm

We've done Boma every single trip; it's DH's favorite restaurant ANYWHERE (not just Disney). I'm actually not that excited about the Coral Reef, and we might well be canceling it (right now we have one too many reservations, unless we can add another night on at the end)

 

[kokotg]

They're here! They're here! Again!

These were all on sale on the Crocs website. The Mickey ones are a little...much, IMO, but Gus loves them. The furry brown Mammoth ones were really cheap ($10, I think), and Milo doesn't use the strap on his crocs anyway, so we took the liners out for the trip, and we can put them back in this winter. And the flip flops are mine. I'm wearing them right now. I went for a walk in them earlier. They are...good, I think. They weren't awesome on hills, but there aren't many hills at Disney World anyway.

Okay, so also? Today Gus informed me that he wants to be Mickey for MNSSHP. He acted like this was old news, but I'm pretty sure it's the first time I've heard it.

I started googling, but I couldn't find any pre-made Mickey costumes that I liked. But then I thought, "hey--really I just need ears, red shorts, and a black shirt, right?" I had surprisingly little luck finding reasonably priced red shorts. I did find a few cute pairs of Mickey shorts (complete with the buttons) on Etsy, but they were more than I really wanted to pay.

But then! While Gus was at drama class today, I went to Goodwill. And look what I found:

Do you know who Gus bears a striking resemblance to in this picture?

Mickey Mouse, that's who.

Now I just need to make some "buttons" out of felt (crafty!), and I did splurge and order a really cute crocheted mouse ear hat on Etsy (he has standard mouse ears from WDW, but I figure in those he'll look like a million other kids, not so much like someone wearing an actual costume). I probably should keep looking and try to find a short sleeved shirt, since it will be a thousand degrees out, but I think the long sleeves look better, so I probably won't. It will be nighttime; he'll be okay!

So NOW, Milo tells me that he wants to be Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Oswald is pretty much Mickey, only with blue shorts and rabbit ears. I think I can do that. I have a message in to someone on Etsy who is selling an almost perfect hat, asking if she can make a totally perfect hat. If that doesn't work out, though, I'm pretty sure I can kick my craftiness into its absolute highest gear and attach some felt ears to a plain black beanie type hat.

Ari refuses to wear a costume. But he has graciously consented to wear a Halloween-themed t-shirt for the party.

 

[kokotg]

Sunday: Epcot

We have two Epcot days planned this year, and the current idea is that this first one will focus on Future World and the other one on the World Showcase. Early night the day before, so we should be able to get here for rope drop no problem. Probably Sunshine Seasons for lunch. I think we'll wait to do Illuminations on our other Epcot day, so we'll probably stay in the park (likely with a long “break” hanging out in the air conditioning in Innoventions) until dinner.

Dinner Sunday is at Biergarten. We've never eaten here before. The kids are big fans of buffets, so we have quite a few buffet meals scheduled this trip.

 

[999ghostslover]

I agonize over my font choice too! Not only that but after taking the summer off from the Dis they no longer have my font but they have some other weird ones. I want my font back!! Anyway, I am proud of your bold purple choice. But Gus, seriously dude, I called green like forever ago on my TR. So there.
I can't wait to hear about your pop adventures. We are so excited to try there. I think your ADR's all sound good. We love Biergarten and Crystal Palace. The wine flight is really good at Biergarten. I love German wines though. I think the costume ideas sound great. And yeah, we have that app. Since our trip is a surprise there will be no countdowns and that is good. My last one was quite involved. Also, Home Depot has a sign at each register with my pictures and mickey heads on it. So there is that.
Oh and I'm subbing.

 

[TanzUnited99]

Love the AK plans - we are also spending two days there and am hoping we will enjoy it as much as you and your family do

Yay on getting the Mickey costume sorted - good luck with the Oswald one

 

[BerrysGirl]

How CUTE is that costume? I love that Milo wants to be Oswald too. Good luck!

 

[kokotg]

I agonize over my font choice too! Not only that but after taking the summer off from the Dis they no longer have my font but they have some other weird ones. I want my font back!! Anyway, I am proud of your bold purple choice. But Gus, seriously dude, I called green like forever ago on my TR. So there.
I can't wait to hear about your pop adventures. We are so excited to try there. I think your ADR's all sound good. We love Biergarten and Crystal Palace. The wine flight is really good at Biergarten. I love German wines though. I think the costume ideas sound great. And yeah, we have that app. Since our trip is a surprise there will be no countdowns and that is good. My last one was quite involved. Also, Home Depot has a sign at each register with my pictures and mickey heads on it. So there is that.
Oh and I'm subbing.

Ooh--good to know about wine at Biergarten. DH may be sad about the beer, but I'm good as long as I have my wine

Hmm...so surprising the kids with the trip sounds like a great way to avoid feeling guilty about not making a countdown calendar . Of course, since we always go the same week in September, it'd be hard to make it a surprise anyway. I could never pull it off!

Love the AK plans - we are also spending two days there and am hoping we will enjoy it as much as you and your family do

Yay on getting the Mickey costume sorted - good luck with the Oswald one

AK is low on rides, but there's so much to look at and linger over...I still feel like we always miss something, even spending two days there.

How CUTE is that costume? I love that Milo wants to be Oswald too. Good luck!

Thanks! So far I'm having no luck getting etsy sellers to respond to me, and time is getting short...I'm very worried I'm going to have to break out the scissors!

 

[kokotg]

Monday: Animal Kingdom again!

Our Animal Kingdom days are very close together. But this is okay. We may sleep in a bit this morning if we feel like, since it's our second day. We'll redo all the favorites (Everest, Safari, someone will probably want to go on Dinosaur and Primeval Whirl again) and then hit the stuff we missed on Saturday (a show or two, probably Conservation station).

You know, when I write it down like that, it really doesn't sound like it's going to take all that long. One thing I think I've tended to forget to factor in when planning this trip is how much faster and more efficient we're going to be on this, our first trip by ourselves with no baby or toddler. The last couple of years we've been part of a big group, and that just invariably slows you down. And before that, we always had a stroller to mess with and did a whole lot of baby-swapping. The couple of days when we were on our own last year, we were amazed by how much we did.

So maybe THIS would be a good day for Downtown Disney, after we spend a few hours at Animal Kingdom.

At any rate, we have reservations Monday night for Boma at 6:25. Boma! I think Boma might be the primary reason Dave lets me talk him into a Disney trip every year. He adores Boma, and he's passed his love on to the kids. I am not an especially adventurous eater, so my love of Boma is a little more...muted than his. I mostly love it on his behalf. Also because we can go look at giraffes before we eat.

We've eaten at Boma every year, so let's see what past trip reports and photo collections yield as far as memories go. First trip:

Reservations that night were at Boma; we checked in and then went outside and saw some giraffes for a few minutes before our pager went off.

(I forced the kids to wear long sleeves in Florida in September because these outfits (Ari had a coordinating one w/ a lion) were so perfect for Animal Kingdom. At least it was in the evening!).

I had originally scheduled several more buffets than we wound up with. We enjoyed Boma and will likely go back, but I’m glad I didn’t do too many buffets with 3 kids who can’t yet get their own food. By the time we get food for everyone and sit down to eat our own, the kids are finished with round one and ready to go back for more. Argh!

And then the next year:

Well, first we went to Animal Kingdom and Milo got to make the lion sound at the Lion King show, which might be the coolest thing that's ever happened to us:

Then, Boma:

We were very early, so we went out and looked at the animals for a little while, then hung out in the lobby after Dave checked in. We were seated before our res. time, within a few minutes of getting our pager. Boma is Dave’s favorite restaurant at WDW and, possibly, his favorite restaurant period. I like it fine (I’m ridiculously picky, but I don’t mind spices, so I do well with the meats and bread and the potatoes with Afritude). The kids are happy because there are chicken fingers. I took Ari and Milo through the line to get their food and mine, and Dave took Gus to do the same for the two of them. He came back with two plates of food for himself and sheepishly admitted he’d forgotten to get anything for Gus. It all worked out okay, though—we managed to feed Gus and Dave stuffed himself full of some of everything.

We've been there two other times, but I either didn't write or didn't finish a trip report those years.

 

[fallen_angel727]

LOVE LOVE LOVE the mickey costume...My mom has a pic somewhere of my brother and I dressd just like then some years back (15+ ).

Not sure about the 2 days at AK...I don't think I could do it. I love the park, but it's always a one day, with a single return trip for Dinosaur lol, However we ALWAYS do DTD after Animal Kingdom, it just makes sese to us lol

 

[princess&her4princes]

Hey there!
I found your link on my PTR, so followed you over!

Beautiful family! And we have more in common than you though! My DH is 2 years younger, too! My littlest had bad allergies to peanuts, we did all sorts of testing, but somehow, someway, he already outgrew it! I hope the same for Gus someday! AND I grew up on Cape Cod! I'm from Dennis!! It's a small world.....

Can't wait to read more!! Subbing!

 

[kokotg]

LOVE LOVE LOVE the mickey costume...My mom has a pic somewhere of my brother and I dressd just like then some years back (15+ ).

That sounds like a picture that needs to be found and posted in your PTR

Hey there!
I found your link on my PTR, so followed you over!

Beautiful family! And we have more in common than you though! My DH is 2 years younger, too! My littlest had bad allergies to peanuts, we did all sorts of testing, but somehow, someway, he already outgrew it! I hope the same for Gus someday! AND I grew up on Cape Cod! I'm from Dennis!! It's a small world.....

Can't wait to read more!! Subbing!

Yay--thanks for reading! Glad your little one outgrew the peanut allergy--it seems like that's one a lot of people get stuck with...and a scary one, too! I'm just worried Gus' allergies will get worse before they get better; he never had any symptoms until this past winter. But things are pretty well under control with meds anyway. And there are no dust mites at Disney anyway, I bet--too magical