1 Child and 10 Adults--A GG to Celebrate DD's 4th Bday :) TR Link is Posted

[Charlefours]

I am no help yet....we didn't eat anywhere fancy on our last trip. But wait until I come back in December and I will have loads of info for you!!!!

I agree Buffets seem to be the best bet...then you will have loads for everyone to choose from.

I have also heard that Boma at AKL is great....we plan on doing a breakfast but they say dinner is good too. That way you get to see the great splendor of the lodge!!!

BTW--the pictures of your daughter in your signature are too cute!! She makes an adorable Tinkerbell.

I will definitely be watching out for your TR to see what you think overall, how DD does and what you think of the food.

I would love to visit other resorts but I do not think it is going to work this time around unfortunately. Other than GF because of wanting to do dinner there on DD's birthday I do not think I will convince the others to take a side trip to another resort. Unless at night...

 

[leamom2princesses]

With all that build up, without further ado, here is the tentative list we are considering:

Character Meals:

*Crystal Palace (I really like the idea of trying for a before-the-park-opens breakfast ADR so we can almost empty Main Street shots. We loved our breakfast at CP. Characters weren't rushed and the food was good.
:
*Tusker House has crept up on my radar after reading several TRs’ glowing review, specifically Donald’s Safari Breakfast. Can't help with this one.
*Akershus--breakfast with the princesses, DD will be in heaven! Princess interaction was really rushed here both times we went. Breakfast is much better than lunch IMO. We had trouble finding something really good on the lunch menu but really enjoyed our breakfast.
*1900 Park Fare--dinner on DD’s birthday in which we will have a cake delivered there for us all to enjoy. [dancing icon] I definitely want everyone to come to this since it is her official birthday dinner of the trip. We loved this in May 09. The characters (especially the step-sisters) were outstanding.
*Hollywood and Vine, the Play N Dine seems like it would be a good choice. I am thinking an early lunch for this place. Can't help on this one either.
**All the above are new places for us. I think our first trip we ate at LTT and it was a character meal still then—but I do not really remember interacting with the characters during it.**

TS Meals:

*Coral Reef—DH’s request b/ we love it the first go around.
*Rose N Crown another favorite from our first trip. We are thinking perhaps to consider the pub for lunch since it is a CS.

*Le Cellier: side note is my dad loves steak so we thought we would really appreciate this place. We have been here before.
*Tony’s because we might need another TS at MK. We have not eaten here.

*Liberty Tree Tavern again, mainly because we might need another TS in MK. We enjoyed our meal at LTT in May 08. It was character dining then but the food was good and service was awesome.
*Tutto Italia: we are intrigued by this new restaurant. Me too! It's definitely on our list.
Obviously we have WAY too many choices for TS restaurants. How many character meals should we do too? This trip is for DD so this one time I am willing to go a bit crazy on character meals. Who knows, if we do try many of them perhaps we will find a favorite one in which we could do on future trips. However, I do not want to go crazy during the process.

Up Next: Part three, CS and Snacks along with questions/criticisms/concerns.

We enjoy character meals. The sacrifice is that the food isn't the greatest and there is much more noise at the character meals. After a long day in the parks a nice quiet, cool restaurant can be just what the doctor ordered. I say go for as many as you think you and DD can tolerate. If she gets over-stimulated easy 4 or 5 may be too much.
My girls would prefer character meals for every meal but it's vacation for Mom and Dad too so we do two or three. If you do breakfast do try to get in before the park opens. Some of our best shots were taken before opening. It's so beautiful without 4000 people in the background.

 

[leamom2princesses]

So we move onto CS and Snacks in part three:

CS Meals:

*Pizzafari or Pizza Planet—which one is better? Pizza Planet is crazy crowded and hard to find tables at most of the time so my vote is for Pizzafari.
*Flame Tree BBQ, though I am not a big BBQ fan.

*Earl of Sandwich I hear this place is great! This place is great!

*Backlot Express Food here is okay but it's really hard in DHS to find good quick service food.
*Sunshine Season, I believe we ate here last time but I think they have redesigned it since. We ate here in May and it was probably the best CS meal we had. Everything was fresh and delicious.
Snacks:

*Goofy’s Candy Company—I hear the fudge is fabulous!! This place is a great place to use some Snack credits. My girls love it and everything is really tasty.
*Mickey Head Ice Cream Sandwiches, I believe these are available all over the place? You betcha! If DD drops hers on accident be sure to tell the CM. They will replace it at no charge. A CM saw my little one drop hers at DHS in May and she told us this little tip. In hot weather they melt really fast. You have to have just one though.

*Main Street Bakery Great use of snack credits as well. The cinnamon rolls are to die for and make for a great breakfast.
*Boulangerie Patisserie, yummy treats and croissants (need I say more?)

*Dole Whips, where do we get them and are they really that good? You can get them at Aloha Isle in Adventureland within MK. I haven't tried one yet but they look really, really good. I was late to the Dole Whip meet I signed up for in May.

I would love feedback/suggestions/criticisms over all these places. Is there someplace on the list that you would definitely NOT eat at? What CS do you just love and have to eat at when you go to Disney? Lastly, snacks—what do you like? Our favorite CS MK-Pecos Bill's, AK-Pizzafari, EPCOT-Sunshine Seasons, DHS-Backlot (although out of these my least favorite). We usually have lots of snack credits left for some reason. I usually stock up on Mickey Rice Krispy treats. I bring them home to friends as souvies. My favorite snack consumed on property was cookies from Goofy's last trip.
Last time, we always went to EP for meals because we did not mind hopping around. I am not so sure I want to do this time. In fact, we are considering dropping park hoppers off our tickets because we are not sure we will use them but we will not be making that decision until closer to leaving.

Up Next: SHOPPING!!! It helps to spread out the cost.

Hope that helps...

 

[jenny105]

Why did it take me so long to realize you have a PTR???

"What's in Disney, do they have rides?" She's in for quite an awakening!

I'm glad you're thinking about Tusker House. It's so much fun and the food is really good. Try to get an ADR on the earlier side though because otherwise, it gets very crowded.

Dole Whips are PHENOMENAL! You can get them in Adventureland, near POTC. Get the float. It's pineapple juice with your choice of the dole whip (pineapple, vanilla, or orange ice cream) on top. So good!

 

[Charlefours]

Why did it take me so long to realize you have a PTR???

"What's in Disney, do they have rides?" She's in for quite an awakening!

I'm glad you're thinking about Tusker House. It's so much fun and the food is really good. Try to get an ADR on the earlier side though because otherwise, it gets very crowded.

Dole Whips are PHENOMENAL! You can get them in Adventureland, near POTC. Get the float. It's pineapple juice with your choice of the dole whip (pineapple, vanilla, or orange ice cream) on top. So good!

to my PTR!! I am so happy you decided to take a venture over to here. MIL, she will be shocked to realize what Disney is all about. I just hope she is not so jaded she misses the magic too!

TH--I am hoping we can get this for a before Animal Kingdom opens up ADR. Or as early as possible so we can get in without too much waiting!!

Dole Whips--I will DH know about them. He would love them I think.

 

[Charlefours]

Hello to my few readers!!

Happy belated Halloween to you all. Whatever you did, I hope you had a grand time doing it. So it is not completely OT per say because I wanted to share a Halloween photo of my DD, Lilian. She was Minnie Mouse this year!!

The first two photos are actually from her dance class party Monday night--the kids were allowed to dress in their costumes and ate yummy treats afterwards. (Please excuse the poor lighting in the hallway)

The last two are actually from Halloween night:

all ready to go

She took a break halfway through for a treat!

Thanks for indulging me.

 

[Charlefours]

Have you all seen or done the customizable maps yet? I did a set and they came in yesterday. They are amazing!! The color is just gorgeous on them and they are large and you can really get an idea of the park layouts on them.

I am saving them for a bit than I will give them to DD to look at with me. I may order a second set closer to our trip (next summer) since Fantasyland will be under construction so we can see where they move Mickey and Minnie's homes and Goofy's Barnstormer. You can order a set once every six months.

Oh and they are FREE!!!!

 

[jenny105]

She is the cutest Minnie Mouse ever!

I have a set of maps somewhere (we moved and I don't know where I put them! ). They are really nice!

 

[leamom2princesses]

Lilian is too cute in her Minnie dress. We love the maps too. I have a set of both styles. I put them up for our photoalbum/scrapbook. It's fun to see how our favorite attractions have changed over the years.

 

[longing2Batdisney]

she is the cutest Minnie Mouse...she looks so happy!!
I love my maps I want to order another set; I plan to make my countdown calendar with them I plan to do this in Jan after I book my dates!!

 

[leamom2princesses]

Hi Stephanie! How's the trip planning coming along?

 

[Charlefours]

Thanks everyone for the compliments on Lilian's costume I think she looks adorable but then again, I am biased.

I have not been able to be on DIS much lately because Lilian has come down with croup--not fun!! At least it is not the flu that has been running rampant everywhere. Its hard to say if she is doing better but she definitely is not acting like herself.

I hope to be back soon with our shopping update. I managed to get a few pictures taken of things last week. I hope you all are doing well.

 

[Charlefours]

Hi Stephanie! How's the trip planning coming along?

The planning has taken a backseat to my daughter being sick. Also, my classes are in the last rush of projects and research papers due in the next few weeks. I have been crazy busy and not been able to think too much about Disney. But I lay in bed as I am trying to fall asleep and let my wonder over Disney things.

I am also trying to work on my first and only trip to Disney scrapbook. I have not done it yet but I am in planning and prepping mold for it. Of course I will post pictures if you all think you would be interested in seeing them once they are finished. I think it will be a fun way to talk to Lilian about Disney because she is so curious and loves looking at the pictures here on DIS and the ones I have shown her from our last trip.

 

[longing2Batdisney]

Sorry to hear the Lillian is not feeling well! I hope she starts to feel better soon and that the craizness starts to fade and you can devote time to your scrapebook... what a great way to introduce Lillian to Disney!

 

[Charlefours]

Thanks Connie! She is starting to feel better but still not there all the way. Its been a learning experience, she has never had anything like this before. Overall, she is a healthy child. Before this time, she has only been sick two other times and both of those were a stomach bug/flu. We are very fortunate in that regard.

I think she will love flipping through it and talking about what she sees on the scrapbook pages. Should be lots of fun and I am hoping it proves to be a great way to introduce her to Disney.

 

[leamom2princesses]

Hi Stephanie! I'm so sorry that Lilian has been sick. Is she feeling better yet? I'd love to see pics of your scrapbook when you get done and I too think it will be a great way to introduce Lilian to Disney! Take care of yourself and that sweet little girl.

 

[Charlefours]

Lilian is on the upswing thankfully! Of course, I had to catch a cold now too Just the way it has to happen of course! I am trying to find time for DIS but it has not been happening the last few weeks. Life is getting in the way! I will hopefully be able to write an update tomorrow though we have been fairly quiet on the planning front. I want to catch up on all the TR and PTR I have not been able to read. Hopefully soon!

I hope you are well and are willing to stick it out with me.

 

[Charlefours]

Anyone care to do a little jig with me--my countdown ticker has entered the 9 month countdown!! Out of the double digits!!

 

[longing2Batdisney]

 

[Charlefours]

Thanks Connie!!