Welcome Foolish Mortals - I am your host, Your ghost host: Going to WDW in Oct '15 PTR-Updated 10/26

[totebagg]

Welcome to my first PTR! I love to read everyone's trip reports and my husband suggested that I do a dining trip report this trip. So I thought I might do a PTR do get started and also get some suggestions for those who have more experience than me! Also this is a great outlet to get my thoughts down and help me not bug my family so much....

So let's get started with some information about our upcoming trip:

Dates: October 1 - October 11 (our longest trip yet - every year they get a little longer)
Resort: Right now we are at Caribbean Beach Resort standard room - it has gone back and forth between here and POR.
Celebrations: Daughter's 8th birthday and our first trip with our son in law!
Who:
Tammy (Me): I work full time in the medical field which is stressful and am the planner of the family. I have always loved Disney and made trips to WDW as a child and once as a teenager. My first time back as an adult was just recent (2013), but not for the lack of trying. When I finally convinced my husband we should go, life got in the way...disney funds go towards a new fridge and stove (ugh), next was a baby and then the excuse of she is too little and won't remember! We thought the trip in 2013 would be a one and only trip, but my husband was hooked and now it is our annual family vacation! My Disney favorites: princess as a child was Snow White, WDW park is Magic Kingdom, favorite disney snack is a dole whip swirl float and favorite ride is Tower of Terror.

Lane (the husband): He is self employed and he remodels kitchens and baths, so this makes it convenient for travel during non peak times since he makes his own schedule. He had never been to Florida much less Disney. When he relented to going, he didn't think he would have fun at all, but boy was he wrong! He literally smiled the whole time he was there and now he wants to go back every year (so I will milk it for all it's worth)! His Disney favorites: Gaston and Jack Skellington are his favorite characters, Magic Kingdom is his favorite park, favorite snack is the sweet cream cheese pretzel and Big Thunder Mtn and Haunted Mansion are his favorite rides, but what he loves most about WDW is the dining - a way to a man's Disney heart is his stomach.

Bella (7 yr old princess loving daughter): Our little 1st grader and loves all things Disney. She loves to play outside and loves to swim. She could stay in a pool all day and loves the pools at Disney. Her Disney favorites: Princess Jasmine is her all time favorite princess, Magic Kingdom is her fav park, Mickey Bars are her snack of choice and Rock 'n Roller coaster is her favorite ride. She was tall enough to ride last year and loved it!

Tori (23 yr old daughter): My oldest daughter who is married and is my helper when it comes to planning this year's Disney trip. She currently a server and finishing college (getting married threw her off track). She loves fashion and shopping (she has more clothes/shoes than one closet can hold). She loves to read, write/blog and play video games. Her Disney favorites: Mulan is her favorite princess, Epcot is her park and she could spend an entire afternoon at Mitsukoshi in Japan, Mickey pretzels are the snack and Tower of Terror and EE are tied for her favorite rides. She went with us on our 2013 trip but didn't make it last year due to finances. So excited that she is coming along this year!

Lawrence (23 yr old son-in-law): My only son and love having him in our family. He has a great sense of humor and loves to laugh. He is in sales at a local Toyota dealership (he is not your typical car salesman). This will be his second trip to WDW (first when he was eight), so we are very excited that he will be along for the party! He loves to eat and cook, so he helped with our ADR choices. Even though he has fond memories of Disney as a child, he is a little apprehensive that he may not have that much fun but he is willing to give it a try! So he is my planning challenge! His favorite Disney character is Aladdin and I'll have to wait until after the trip to find out his other favorites.

So that is the gang - the only one missing is our other daughter Ali (21) who has not been able to attend due to either work or moving. So I am keeping my fingers crossed that she'll join us next year.

Here is a picture of us (minus Lawrence on our trip in 2013):


Lane, Tammy, Tori and Bella

Here is a picture of Tori and Lawrence last summer:



So this is who we are and up next preliminary plans and ADRs.

 

[AshBriSmi]

I'm in and following on! Excited to hear more!

 

[totebagg]

I'm in and following on! Excited to hear more!

Welcome along and thanks for joining! You have a trip coming soon...so exciting!

 

[totebagg]

So I thought I would give you some insight on why I picked the title...Lane and I both love Haunted Mansion and ride it as much as possible when we are there. Every time we ride it we find something new! Also it was a childhood favorite of mine, I remember my first visit to WDW was a family affair - aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. I was seven and loved the ride until the end where the hitchhikers are shown above the doom buggy and it says they will haunt you until you return. Later that night, we were all staying with our grandparents while the adults went out for the night and I am sure we were being perfect angels.... My grandfather, who we called Big Dad, discreetly knock on the wall and said, "Listen fellers, I hear a hant a knockin'. They have come to get you if you don't be quiet!" We settled down real quick so the ghost would not hear us. (For those of you that didn't grow up in the mountains of Virginia - a hant is a ghost! Loved my grandparents and all their sayings!) This is forever a favorite childhood memory!
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Here is Bella who sits on the fence when it comes to HM...



Up Next our Preliminary Plans...

 

[Cambribec]

We are going to WDW in October as well (although at the end, not beginning). Looking forward to reading along!!

 

[totebagg]

Welcome and glad you joined! I see you are from North Carolina as well. I grew up in Virginia near the TN and NC mtns and now live close to Charlotte (married a Charlottean). We would really like to go closer to the end of October as it does have much better weather!

 

[totebagg]

Preliminary Plans - {Part 1}

As I said in my first post, we are staying at CBR for this trip. I was going to post a picture but realized that out of the 2,000+ pictures that we took, I don't have one single picture of the resort. I do have a couple of the pirate rooms which we were "upgraded" to on our first trip to CBR. As a sidebar, the rooms are really themed well and Bella loved the beds and the feel of the rooms. I have read several concerns over the location and it may not be as close as some would like to the main pool and OPR, but the walk is beautiful and we didn't mind it at all. So if you have a pirate enthusiast in your party then you should really check them out!

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Last year we stayed at POR and I loved all the trees, the river and the relaxing feel of the resort. So when we booked a BB on our last trip (which is for free dining and is sweet music to my husband's ears & belly), we needed to choose where to stay. Lane liked the tropical feel and the food court better at CBR and I like them both equally, so CBR won. This year, we are hoping to stay in either Jamaica or Aruba, but will be happy wherever we are placed!​

We originally booked our trip for the last week of September which is the same time we went last year and it rained a lot...I am not talking about normal FL showers but drenching, bone soaking downpours for several hours on many of our days. On the plus side, it did make the lines go down but Lane doesn't do well once his feet get wet! I am like ...

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Okay I am not that mean, but I thought he was being a little crazy when he asked if we could push our dates back as far as we could within the BB dates. So being the sweet, kind, understanding wife that I am, I did push our dates back one week and added two days since we had only planned on going for nine days!! He didn't blink an eye so I was happy and was glad that he doesn't like wet feet!!!

So our resort and dates are chosen, so now to the parks and food - my favorite part of planning. As you can tell from my ticker, we are less than 6 months away from our trip so ADRs are booked..This is not to say that I don't already have some changes I would like to make! Over our 11 days, we will spend multiple full day and a couple of evenings at Magic Kingdom, then two days each at Epcot and HS and one day at AK. We also have planned one resort/fun day outside of the parks. When trying to determine what park to visit on which day, I do use a few crowd prediction tools that I found when I first started using these boards...Josh's Crowd Calendar, Touring Plans and Undercover Tourist. We do a mix of RD and late arrival - I would do all rope drop but the minions get cranky after not enough rest. My motto is you can rest when you are not at Disney. The only place I can truly do nothing is when I am on the beach reading a book otherwise it's go, go, go - too many things to do and see.

So for our plans, I'll list the day, park(s) visiting, current ADRs and will list if this is a first time ADR & who picked it. I will have questions along the way and would love any advice given!​

Day 1 - Travel: ​

Hope to leave around 5 am and arrive around 3 pm give or take. This will all depend on if we stop for a sit down meal or eat snacks/drive thru. Once we get settled, we will need substance. I don't want to do an ADR on this day because last year we had one at 6:30 pm for 1900 Park Fare and barely made it since it took us over two hours for check in (can you say MB drama!). So question for you guys, should we:​

1. Go to DTD for dinner and shopping or something fun and if so what??? ​
2. Go to DTD for dinner then to Fantasia Gardens for Putt-Putt (family really wants to do Putt-Putt) - not sure how DTD traffic/parking will be since we will be driving. In the past, it has been CRAZY, but I understand the new parking garage is open!​
3. Have dinner somewhere at the Boardwalk that is a QS then Putt-Putt. We've never eaten anywhere on the boardwalk and it really needs to be a QS (I have way too many TS planned already).​
4. Go to bed and let them all starve! ​

Day 2 - Magic Kingdom:
Arrive at 8:20 for Rope drop but our ultimate goal is to secure an pre-opening ADR for BOG breakfast at the request of Tori. The menu looked good to her and it is only a QS credit - did I mention I need to use those credits. If we do not get an ADR then I guess we will have to choke down a cinnamon roll from Gaston's Tavern - tee hee! We plan on touring Fantasyland and Tomorrowland then have lunch at either CHH or Pinocchio. We have eaten at CHH but not at Pinocchio. Depending on afternoon crowds we may leave a little early or stay and head straight to our dinner ADR which is HDDR. This is a first time for us and I have been wanting to try it for a while. Of course on the dining plan, it is 2 TS credits and you can only get Category 1 seating for the 8:30 show. Another question: If you have been, do you prefer one seating category over the other? And if you have been to the 8:30 show, what time did you get finished with the show?

Day 3 - Hollywood Studios:
This is an EMH day and we have never been on a morning EMH, so I hope the crowds aren't too bad! We plan on arriving at 7:30 am for the 8:00 rope drop. We will either eat breakfast in our room or pick up something at Fairfax Fare or Starring Rolls - this would be a first for us but the picture of the pastries at Starring Rolls look fab! We will need something light as we have an semi-early ADR at 11:30 at 50's Prime Time Cafe - 1st time and a Bella pick. Then we hope to take the boat to Boardwalk area for our 6:30 ADR at Cape May - another 1st and a Tori pick as she loves crab legs!

As I am typing this I realize there is a lot of food in just 3 days, but it is better than last year. I booked us 3 buffets in a 24 hour period - No lie...1900 Park Fair for dinner, CP breakfast the next morning and CM for dinner that night! Never again - it was over whelming to say the least. Lane asked me to limit the true buffets this year! If you have ever seen Spirited Away where the parents turn into pigs after eating so much, this is exactly how we felt!


Thoughts, concerns...any feedback is mucho appreciated!

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Up Next our Preliminary Plans - {Part 2}...

 

[Tracy161]

Joining in! Woohoo for a 10 day trip!!!!!!! You have a beautiful family!!!

 

[Glittercat]

Love your title and what a great family! Eager to read along as you plan your trip!

 

[DonnaBeeGood]

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[totebagg]

Joining in! Woohoo for a 10 day trip!!!!!!! You have a beautiful family!!!

Thanks for joining in and loving your PTR! Also thank you for the compliment! I know I have been MIA but I'll update soon!

Love your title and what a great family! Eager to read along as you plan your trip!

So are you a haunted mansions fan as well! Love that ride. Glad you are reading along - my goal is to post another update today!

So excited for you - looks like fun and I will enjoy living vicariously through you and your planning! Wish my DH would catch the DIS Magic!

Thanks for coming along and I am so happy that my DH caught the bug! It took me several years to even get him to agree to book so I am going to milk it while I can!

 

[totebagg]

Life Update

So I know I said that the next post would be Preliminary Plans - Part 2, but that was over 2 weeks ago! So where have I been - hiding under a rock? That may have been better, but I wasn't I was in bed with the flu then had bronchitis! Normally I am a healthy person and rarely get sick. I have only had the flu once in my life - it kicked my butt then and it kicked my butt this time! So after plenty of rest and some antibiotics I starting feeling better, then the April birthdays hit. We have four in a span of a week - My husband, my middle daughter, the MIL and the SIL, so not only was I playing catch up at work and home from being sick I also have had to get together gifts and the such for the birthdays. Now all that is over and I am feeling caught up - if you can ever feel caught up.

I haven't spent a lot of time planning of late, but we did have a bit of news last week that will make us look at our plans to see if we need to change anything....
So last week, my oldest daughter, Tori, who is going on the trip with us came by the house. She was acting strange and asking weird questions such as are you stressed? how are you doing? Of course I answered, I'm fine and no more stressed than usual - why do you ask??? She then asked if it would be okay to bring someone else to Disney but we wouldn't need tickets or dining plan for them. I looked at her like she was crazy then it hit me...She is PREGNANT! Yep I was right, my first little baby is going to have a baby! I hugged her and squealed and jumped around, but then I thought to ask if she is okay with this since this is completely unplanned and they were hoping to wait a few more years. She said that it was a shock, but they are very excited. Now you know my next question was are you guys still going to Disney? She said her and Lawrence had discussed it and they definitely want to go since this may be the last getaway for awhile and they were so excited to be going. We know that this will change how we tour since we are a go, go, go family when we are at Disney, so will slow down and enjoy things more.

Have any of you gone to Disney pregnant or know someone who has? Any tips? She will be around 31 weeks when we go.

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[Glittercat]

@totebagg CONGRATULATIONS to you and yours on your upcoming Mouseketeer!!!

 

[bunnyboo]

CONGRATULATIONS on the awesome news!!!

 

[DonnaBeeGood]

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[totebagg]

@totebagg CONGRATULATIONS to you and yours on your upcoming Mouseketeer!!!

Thank you for the congratulations. We are excited and this will give me one more reason to shop!!!

CONGRATULATIONS on the awesome news!!!

and thank you for congrats! Glad you joined in.

Congratulations! I expect that the new momma will be the best judge of pace depending on how she is feeling each day. I would make the usual plans, and then play it by ear each day myself.

You are absolutely right, she will let us know how she is doing and she already said that while we are riding things she can't then she will rest, shop and snack. Sounds pretty good to me. She also said that she would head back to the room for a nap if she gets too tired. But she is very excited to go and I am so glad they are still going!

 

[Tracy161]

A HUGE congrats!!!!!!!!!!! How very exciting!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[totebagg]

Preliminary Plans - {Part 2}... Updates and Days 4 & 5​

Hello Again! Ok so I am back and I will admit with this being my first PTR, I stink at this and probably do not have anyone who is still following along but just in case you have been perched on the edge of your chairs for the last 10 weeks waiting...I'm back! Unfortunately these last couple of months have been crazy with work and family. During this time, my daughter Ali moved to Oklahoma and I will miss her terribly plus I had surgery to remove my appendix (crazy time), traveled to Wisconsin for work and went to the beach for my birthday. We also found out that Tori is have a BOY!! So Excited...

Anywho...onward with the planning! I wanted to share a funny story about making my ADRs...I totally got the booking times for ADRs and FPs mixed. So I stayed up till midnight to book then realized that was for FPs, so I was up again at 5:45 am to book the ADRs. I was so glad that my ADR date was on a Saturday!

Preliminary Plans - {Part 2}...
So in the last real Disney planning update, I had shared plans for our first 3 days, but I already have a change to Day 2!​

• Day 2: Magic Kingdom - we got a 8:20am ADR for breakfast at BOG which Tori really wanted to try! So we will definitely Fantasyland and Tomorrowland on this day.

Day 4 (Sunday) - Magic Kingdom:​

• This is another MK day and is a MNSSHP day so the park will close at 7 pm. ​
• 8:05 am ADR at Crystal Palace. This is a family favorite and we love getting into the park early. We have met the mayor and each year, we take a picture in front of the castle without the crowds! Here is our picture from last year.​

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• We will tour Adventureland and Frontierland and will probably either grab lunch at either Pinocchio or CHH.
• Dinner at Ohana @ 6:30 pm. Would have liked it a little later so I will continue to look for something to open around 7:30 pm. We have done breakfast but not dinner so this is a first! Really looking forward to this one.

Day 5 (Monday) - Epcot:

• Our first Epcot day (9a - 9p). Since we have had early mornings for the last 3 days, I thought I would be nice and let the family sleep in! Of course I will still be up early and may take advantage of the hammocks on the CBR beach!
• Breakfast in the room and hope to arrive by 9:30 am. Spend the morning in Future World then head to World Showcase for F&WF! We usually start on one side and go halfway. I am excited to learn about the new booths and see the menus. I really hope that we can swap QS for extra snack credits at the booths.
• We love F&WF and scour the menus before the trip to plan out what we will get. Then when we are there, we get our books stamped and rate the entrees! This keeps Bella involved and she loves getting the stamps. WE LOVE IT!!
• Dinner ADR at Le Cellier for 6:15 pm which is Lane's favorite. I may try and push back a little but we are planning on catching Illuminations and I want to make sure we finish dinner in time. We have yet to see Illuminations all the way through.
• Does anyone have any suggestions on where to watch Illuminations?

Well I will wrap up this post and hope that I will be back soon!

And to those of you who have continue to follow - THANKS!
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[mickeystoontown]

Popping in to let you know that I'm here and that I'll come back to read. Trying to get an update done on the trip report this morning. Oh and I have your message, I'm gonna reply to that too.

 

[deedee2177]

Following along! Congrats to the new addition to your family...how exciting!! I'm glad your daughter and her husband decided to still go on the trip and it sounds like she has a good plan to take it easy when she can. Baby Boy will let her know when it's time to rest.

Your plans look great so far, CBR looks beautiful I was going back and forth between there and CSR but we ultimately decided on CSR.

I'm so jealous you got an 'Ohana dinner ADR, I was hoping to get one for our 2nd night of the trip, but no such luck (yet)!