ª"˜˜ª¤.¸Official Team August 2013 Thread!¸.¤ª˜˜"ª&#9733

[pigletto]

Thank you guys! I am so bad for planning a trip one way and then letting it creep out of control. Even I am going to be more excited about eating at BOG and going to the Hoop Dee Doo in December if we just go really low key this summer

 

[DisMom1981]

That doesn't sound bad at all. That was what this trip was supposed to be since we had our last trip in November and have another one planned for June 2014. Then we thought we'd do Chef Mickey's on our arrival night. Figure we get the M&G with Mickey out of the way. Then we thought about princesses and did Akershus. So we figured if we're doing those we may as well get the full DP and add some more, so we filled up the week with some more.

Part of why we had planned on no ADRs was to be able to go with the flow. We had done the DxDP when DD1 was 5 and DD2 was 2 and we constantly had to plan around our ADRs. Not being familiar with the property as well we wound up having to leave parks to have meals at resorts, which took a chunk of time out of our planning. That can be stressful and annoying. We did Mickey's Backyard BBQ was fun for the kids but it was expensive and took a chunk of time out of our day. Not having ADRs means you can do what you want when you want.

Remember, nobody can do Disney like you can!

This is what I'm concerned about for ADR's.....being married to those times! But my kids are still so little and I think a lot of the magic is the character experiences so I planned two of them......then I actually got a BOG early dinner time so I couldn't pass it up and we selfishly also wanted Biergarten because along with the Mickey- DH and I love a little German beer! So much for being all about the kids lol!

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[Sp8s09]

Kinda late joining the crowd, but we will be staying at Caribbean Beach Aug 4-10! This will be our first time staying at a Mod resort! (We have always stayed in one of the values.) We didn't think we were going to get back until December 2014, but my aunt and uncle surprised us last week with the announcement that they would like to take us with them this summer! I'm kind of nervous about the heat and the crowds, but we are super excited!

 

[chuckinthechat]

This is what I'm concerned about for ADR's.....being married to those times! But my kids are still so little and I think a lot of the magic is the character experiences so I planned two of them......then I actually got a BOG early dinner time so I couldn't pass it up and we selfishly also wanted Biergarten because along with the Mickey- DH and I love a little German beer! So much for being all about the kids lol!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Well, at Disney, everyone is a kid... At least that is my excuse..... lol

 

[Loreli]

Kinda late joining the crowd, but we will be staying at Caribbean Beach Aug 4-10! This will be our first time staying at a Mod resort! (We have always stayed in one of the values.) We didn't think we were going to get back until December 2014, but my aunt and uncle surprised us last week with the announcement that they would like to take us with them this summer! I'm kind of nervous about the heat and the crowds, but we are super excited!

Sounds like a wonderful Aunt and Uncle! You will have a lovely time. Don't stress the heat, making it to Rope Drop and then taking a mid day break avoids most of the heat and stress. Some of us have been planning for a year and some have just begun, so Welcome!

 

[pigletto]

This is what I'm concerned about for ADR's.....being married to those times! But my kids are still so little and I think a lot of the magic is the character experiences so I planned two of them......then I actually got a BOG early dinner time so I couldn't pass it up and we selfishly also wanted Biergarten because along with the Mickey- DH and I love a little German beer! So much for being all about the kids lol!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

When my kids were little the character meals were perfect!!! It was so nice to meet the characters and have a chance to sit down and relax instead of standing in long lines
My kids are 9 and 16 and still love some of the character meals, it's just not the priority it once was.

 

[julieanddanny]

I have DD7 and DD who will be 10 by our trip. Many ppl have told me to rent a Disney double stroller. I honestly haven't used a stroller in a good 4+ years. However we never walk as much as we will be walking in WDW.
I found a largerer single stroller which holds up to 100lbs for rent from Orlando Stroller called the Liberty Push Chair. It would be $120 for the week. We are planning to take mid-day breaks and have 8:30 ADRs several mornings.
SO the question:
Is it a good $120 investment? Or is it a waste of $ as we are not going comando beyond our ADRs, so there's no rush to our TP?
(The $120 would bite a large hunk out of my $500 "spoil the kids cash")

I say skip it! last time we used a stroller was at 5 yo. And my kids are lazy! We had no problem. Break in the afternoon and keep it at a pace good for them and you'll be glad you don't have to haul around a big stroller

 

[Koh1977]

Ok I am making a declaration for this trip.

The pigletto family will not be making any ADR's. NONE. ZIP. ZERO. NADA.

We love our TS's. And we've always done the dining plan and I've been on the phone or at the computer finding the *perfect* places to eat at the *perfect* times. Well folks this was supposed to be a budget trip and by golly it will be!

Dh and I were making an Excel file and pouring over menus to try and find the best bang for our buck and we just decided to not bother with any TS this time.

If you recall, we have a big onsite surprise week before Christmas trip planned for the kids. That will be the trip where I want ADR's every day. That will be the onsite and parks every day trip. Not this one.
I think it will feel more special for the kids if they are looking forward to ADR's and their favourite places.
For this trip we'll cook in the condo (the whole point of the full kitchen) and have one CS or offsite meal per day. Period. End of Story. See how determined I am?

I know that sounds like no fun at all to many of you and I get that. But we were there in February and had ADR's every day, and are going for a Surprise trip in December. This August vacation needs to be low key, low schedule, and low cost. And I think it's going to be just fine. I have to resist the urge to turn it into an ADR filled, Disney park every day vacation. But that wasn't the point and I need to stop letting the budget creep up. I am not interested in making big extravagant meals but it's nothing for me to pop in a frozen pizza and make a salad after spending the day at the pool.

That sounds awesome!!

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[julieanddanny]

Ok I am making a declaration for this trip.

The pigletto family will not be making any ADR's. NONE. ZIP. ZERO. NADA.

We love our TS's. And we've always done the dining plan and I've been on the phone or at the computer finding the *perfect* places to eat at the *perfect* times. Well folks this was supposed to be a budget trip and by golly it will be!

Dh and I were making an Excel file and pouring over menus to try and find the best bang for our buck and we just decided to not bother with any TS this time.

If you recall, we have a big onsite surprise week before Christmas trip planned for the kids. That will be the trip where I want ADR's every day. That will be the onsite and parks every day trip. Not this one.
I think it will feel more special for the kids if they are looking forward to ADR's and their favourite places.
For this trip we'll cook in the condo (the whole point of the full kitchen) and have one CS or offsite meal per day. Period. End of Story. See how determined I am?

I know that sounds like no fun at all to many of you and I get that. But we were there in February and had ADR's every day, and are going for a Surprise trip in December. This August vacation needs to be low key, low schedule, and low cost. And I think it's going to be just fine. I have to resist the urge to turn it into an ADR filled, Disney park every day vacation. But that wasn't the point and I need to stop letting the budget creep up. I am not interested in making big extravagant meals but it's nothing for me to pop in a frozen pizza and make a salad after spending the day at the pool.

Sounds like a good plan to me! Especially if you've done it and plan to do it in Dec. You may find you even prefer not to be tied to plans!

 

[thetorit]

This is what I'm concerned about for ADR's.....being married to those times! But my kids are still so little and I think a lot of the magic is the character experiences so I planned two of them......then I actually got a BOG early dinner time so I couldn't pass it up and we selfishly also wanted Biergarten because along with the Mickey- DH and I love a little German beer! So much for being all about the kids lol!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

I was so not going to do ADRs so we could go 100% around my kids schedules, but then I planned a character meal for every single day.

 

[thetorit]

Finished making my kids autograph books today! (And a copy for my sister too ) Now on to find something else to occupy the next 119 days!

 

[krd315]

Finished making my kids autograph books today! (And a copy for my sister too ) Now on to find something else to occupy the next 119 days!

congrats! I need to do some for my dgd's. I did finish some decorations for our window. We are going with a princess theme this trip!

I am also working on some iron on shirts and need to make countdown calendars. I am trying to do one thing every few weeks to stretch it out.

The waiting is so hard

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Ok I am making a declaration for this trip.

The pigletto family will not be making any ADR's. NONE. ZIP. ZERO. NADA.

We love our TS's. And we've always done the dining plan and I've been on the phone or at the computer finding the *perfect* places to eat at the *perfect* times. Well folks this was supposed to be a budget trip and by golly it will be!

Dh and I were making an Excel file and pouring over menus to try and find the best bang for our buck and we just decided to not bother with any TS this time.

If you recall, we have a big onsite surprise week before Christmas trip planned for the kids. That will be the trip where I want ADR's every day. That will be the onsite and parks every day trip. Not this one.
I think it will feel more special for the kids if they are looking forward to ADR's and their favourite places.
For this trip we'll cook in the condo (the whole point of the full kitchen) and have one CS or offsite meal per day. Period. End of Story. See how determined I am?

I know that sounds like no fun at all to many of you and I get that. But we were there in February and had ADR's every day, and are going for a Surprise trip in December. This August vacation needs to be low key, low schedule, and low cost. And I think it's going to be just fine. I have to resist the urge to turn it into an ADR filled, Disney park every day vacation. But that wasn't the point and I need to stop letting the budget creep up. I am not interested in making big extravagant meals but it's nothing for me to pop in a frozen pizza and make a salad after spending the day at the pool.

I think your plan sounds awesome as well .

We will all be envying you when we gather here on the boards in September to commiserate about our trips. You will have the fattest wallet and the thinnest hips among us!!!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Finished making my kids autograph books today! (And a copy for my sister too ) Now on to find something else to occupy the next 119 days!

You should share some pics of your handiwork (hint, hint )

I got out our "vacation tote" today. Added a few items and took inventory of what we have stockpiled so far (note to self...no more ponchos needed...we can safely keep half of Orange County dry in the event of a rainy day ). There's just something about a Sunday afternoon that makes me do a little vacation dreamin'.

 

[DisMom1981]

I was so not going to do ADRs so we could go 100% around my kids schedules, but then I planned a character meal for every single day.

Haha That sounds about right!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[squirrel4569]

I was so not going to do ADRs so we could go 100% around my kids schedules, but then I planned a character meal for every single day.

We did the same. We were going to have the plan of start the trip at Magic Kingdom and then let the kids pick where we went. Then plan creep set in and now we've upgrade the dining plan and made ADRs for each day.

Here's our schedule now.

8/17 - Arrive at AoA
Chef Mickey's at 7:20pm

8/18 - MK
Crystal Palace at 8:25am

8/19 - DHS
Hollywood & Vine at 8:05am

8/20 - Water parks
1900 Park Fare at 6:55pm

8/21 - Epcot
Akershus at 8:15am

8/22 - MK
'Ohana at 8:40am

For our CS meals we're hoping to get into BOG at least once for lunch. We're hoping to hit Pizza Planet at DHS and Katsura Grill at Epcot. We may eat at the food court at AoA or Pop once or twice as well. We'll snack on a pork shank at Gaston's Tavern for a meal as well.

The rough plan is to get to the parks early, hit some attractions and take a break back at the hotel pool and/or water park during the heat of the day then return to the same park that night. We're not hopping and we're skipping AK this trip.

We added our friend to the trip and moved into a Nemo suite at AoA. It was either that or move to Pop and we'd have to have connecting rooms. The cost was about the same to have two preferred rooms at Pop vs a suite at AoA, plus you get the kitchenette at AoA.

I think the crowds will be reasonable. I was able to modify all of my dining reservations that we had and add a guest without any issue plus I have made reservations and changes up until moments before posting this, so there is plenty of availability with ADRs, something that isn't common in the busier times. The only one we couldn't get was dinner at BOG.

Hope to run into a few of you there!

 

[tap dancing mouse]

Sounds like there is no FD in August :-(
is it safe to assume that the park or restaurants will be less busy?
We will be there Aug 23-30
Trying to find a bright side...

 

[momto3gr8boys]

Ok I am making a declaration for this trip.

The pigletto family will not be making any ADR's. NONE. ZIP. ZERO. NADA.

We love our TS's. And we've always done the dining plan and I've been on the phone or at the computer finding the *perfect* places to eat at the *perfect* times. Well folks this was supposed to be a budget trip and by golly it will be!

Dh and I were making an Excel file and pouring over menus to try and find the best bang for our buck and we just decided to not bother with any TS this time.

If you recall, we have a big onsite surprise week before Christmas trip planned for the kids. That will be the trip where I want ADR's every day. That will be the onsite and parks every day trip. Not this one.
I think it will feel more special for the kids if they are looking forward to ADR's and their favourite places.
For this trip we'll cook in the condo (the whole point of the full kitchen) and have one CS or offsite meal per day. Period. End of Story. See how determined I am?

I know that sounds like no fun at all to many of you and I get that. But we were there in February and had ADR's every day, and are going for a Surprise trip in December. This August vacation needs to be low key, low schedule, and low cost. And I think it's going to be just fine. I have to resist the urge to turn it into an ADR filled, Disney park every day vacation. But that wasn't the point and I need to stop letting the budget creep up. I am not interested in making big extravagant meals but it's nothing for me to pop in a frozen pizza and make a salad after spending the day at the pool.

I think your plan makes total sense! We've done trips with no ADRs and it's a nice sense of freedom to do what you want when you want.

 

[momto3gr8boys]

Sounds like there is no FD in August :-(
is it safe to assume that the park or restaurants will be less busy?
We will be there Aug 23-30
Trying to find a bright side...

I was reading a thread this morning regarding wait times for ADRs. People were reporting that they've waited up to 90 minutes for an ADR. I haven't had that experience, although I've probably waited 20-30 minutes at one point. It was the first time I was actually glad that FD wasn't offered. The parks will still be crowded, but at least dining won't be insane..hopefully!

 

[momto3gr8boys]

QOTD time! Well, actually I am looking for suggestions on what you would do with one day at Disney with no resort and no park tickets. We are going on a 3 night Dream cruise next week, and will spend the day we disembark at WDW. We will arrive around 10 am and have to head back to the airport at 6:00. We have a few ideas, but I'm curious, what would you do?