2 DIS Princesses are Taking on the World-and They Don't Even Know It Yet! 2 New TR Links! 4/5!!
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Dugette
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Okay, I am finally officially here and subscribing (or, uh, watching, according to the new DIS 
).
I love that you two formed a DIS-friendship like that. As someone who has taken a trip with another DIS-er, I can relate to that somewhat (though we are not as close as you two, but do message back and forth sometimes). How exciting that you finally get to meet up in person and do Disney together!
And the videos are precious!
).I love that you two formed a DIS-friendship like that. As someone who has taken a trip with another DIS-er, I can relate to that somewhat (though we are not as close as you two, but do message back and forth sometimes). How exciting that you finally get to meet up in person and do Disney together!
And the videos are precious!
MiaBella05
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joining in!!
MEK
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Jealous of the POR rooms. I would love to stay there someday, but being DVC I pretty much never stay anywhere else. Which is not a bad thing because it means I have enough points for what I want to do, but still....
I have points at VWL and I think its a wonderful choice. It's definitely very different from all the other resorts. I hope you both LOVE it!
I have points at VWL and I think its a wonderful choice. It's definitely very different from all the other resorts. I hope you both LOVE it!
shan23877
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When we last left you we had told the girls about the trip and finally settled on our resorts!
To recap: The girls were VERY excited, and we chose a split stay at POR in a Royal Guest Room and WL!
Having made those decisions it was time to have general ADR talks. General because at that time ADR day was 3-4 months away, and talks because I’m REALLY into Disney Dining.
And, of course, I don't care about it AT ALL, so I just let her talk and talk and talk and talk. Oh, wait, that's not how it happened, at all! I have quite a few opinions myself, so there was a LOT of talking. All very civil, I might add.
Very civil! We're too excited about this trip to argue!
And then we started discussing how our first few days might go and the logistics of moving to a new resort.
Yeah, we only talked about the first few days. You know, we're practically a year away from the vacation. We wouldn't be talking about every day and every ride and every meal or anything at this point. That would be INSANE.....
Totally insane. We would never do that.
I know that lots of people do split stays and love it. They seem to hit up the new resort pre-rope drop and check in anxiety free before going on with their day-not a care in the world.
How do they do that???????
I’m not sure that Roni and I are built for that (well at least I’m not LOL). The idea of traveling to WL at 8 am with 2 little girls fills me with dread. What if we miss rope drop, miss a FP window, are late for an ADR? How will we get there that early? Will the boat be running? Do we take a cab? Does WDW have Uber? So many concerns!!!
This would be us
And the girls would be all
Yeah, I hate the idea. I don't even know how we ended up planning it. Oh, yeah, because we were going to do ONE WEEK at WDW. And then Shannon started yapping about how maybe she and Maddie would add on a few days. And I couldn't let that happen without us! So the only way to justify adding on to an already-big vacation was to stay at a non-deluxe resort on those extra days. DUH!
Haha! OOPS!
So after MUCH debate we adjusted our plans.
Of course, we did!
We’re now booked at WL for all 10 days -drumroll please- with 10 days of DELUXE DINING!
Yep, we are! And I am so happy - I HATED the idea of switching resorts; it just seems like a logistical nightmare to me. You read TRs where people stay at 3 or more resorts in one trip, and they do it without fuss at all. I just can't imagine!!!
The great thing about making changes to this trip? The girls don’t even care! They’re too excited about going to WDW with each other! I think we could tell them that we’re staying in a cardboard box by the freeway, and as long as there was a large puddle to swim in together they’d be okay with it!
Of course, we haven't even told the girls. Why? Because we had never told them about POR in the first place! HAHAHA That said, I am sure that Shannon is correct - they are pretty much focused on each other, the pool, dressing alike, meeting characters. Not so much the resort.... Box, puddle, comes with each other, princess hair and gowns? They're in!
So having settled that it was time to decide just how we’d use 120 TS credits…
There is just something horrifying about adding them all up like that.
Roni and I spent many a night excitedly talking about the restaurants we’d like to try on this trip, but as ADR day loomed closer we still hadn’t made any decisions.
That makes me chuckle. We talked about dining for MONTHS. And then ADR was a few days away, and we realized that we hadn't actually decided anything!
We are seriously such dorks
At some point we agreed to do 2 ADR per day trying to zero in on one character meal and one signature.
Willow and I did this for the most part the one time we did the DxDDP, and it worked very well - the one or two days that we had three meals were intense!
To give the illusion that the trip planning was a democracy, we asked the girls where they might like to eat. Maddie’s initial list was a bit all over the place:
Princess Breakfast (Akershus)
Cinderella Dining
Animal Kingdom Breakfast (Tusker House)
Hoop D Doo (Hoop Dee Doo Revue)
Be Our Guest
Willow and I did not start our lists until The Rules were in place....
We were meant to be friends, Roni and I. It seems perfectly natural to both of us to have Rules for making dining choices.
Eventually we laid the ground rules and let each girl choose her top 5 most wanted character and signature meals, allowing that CRT was a guarantee and they didn’t have to include it in their lists. The mommies also made lists, but just of signature restaurants.
What? Really??? I totally made a list of my character meals AND signatures. BTW, my character meal list was, I believe, identical to Willow's.
Haha! I guess I was supposed to and didn't??
With 10 days we knew that we could fit in almost all of them without worry. Once the dust settled Maddie and Willow had chosen the exact same character meals and Willow and I had chosen almost the same signatures!
Willow was beside herself when she realized that she and Shannon had chosen almost all the same restaurants. Somehow that was WAY more thrilling than having picked the same character meals and all but one of the same signatures as her own mother....
That's because Willow and I are kindred bacon loving spirits.
Willow and Maddie’s um, and Roni's, I think Character Meal Choices
Tusker House
Garden Grill
Akershus
Crystal Palace
Ohana
Maddie’s Signature Choices
Hoop Dee Doo Revue
California Grill
Jiko (this from a child who won't eat such exotic foods as sauce)
Flying Fish
Le Cellier
Roni’s Signature Choices
Hollywood Brown Derby
Jiko
California Grill
Morimoto
Hoop Dee Doo Revue
Willow’s Signature Choices
Hollywood Brown Derby
California Grill
Morimoto
Yachtsman Steakhouse
Hoop Dee Doo Revue
Shannon’s Signature Choices
Narcoossees
California Grill
Morimoto
Yachtsman Steakhouse
Hoop Dee Doo Revue
We all have great taste, don't we?
Stay tuned because next time we'll tell you what ADRs we actually booked and start laying out our park days!
And I bet you can't wait to hear about that! Maybe we'll actually get another update done in a reasonable period of time this time!
To recap: The girls were VERY excited, and we chose a split stay at POR in a Royal Guest Room and WL!
Having made those decisions it was time to have general ADR talks. General because at that time ADR day was 3-4 months away, and talks because I’m REALLY into Disney Dining.
And, of course, I don't care about it AT ALL, so I just let her talk and talk and talk and talk. Oh, wait, that's not how it happened, at all! I have quite a few opinions myself, so there was a LOT of talking. All very civil, I might add.
Very civil! We're too excited about this trip to argue!
And then we started discussing how our first few days might go and the logistics of moving to a new resort.
Yeah, we only talked about the first few days. You know, we're practically a year away from the vacation. We wouldn't be talking about every day and every ride and every meal or anything at this point. That would be INSANE.....
Totally insane. We would never do that.
I know that lots of people do split stays and love it. They seem to hit up the new resort pre-rope drop and check in anxiety free before going on with their day-not a care in the world.
How do they do that???????
I’m not sure that Roni and I are built for that (well at least I’m not LOL). The idea of traveling to WL at 8 am with 2 little girls fills me with dread. What if we miss rope drop, miss a FP window, are late for an ADR? How will we get there that early? Will the boat be running? Do we take a cab? Does WDW have Uber? So many concerns!!!
This would be us
And the girls would be all
Yeah, I hate the idea. I don't even know how we ended up planning it. Oh, yeah, because we were going to do ONE WEEK at WDW. And then Shannon started yapping about how maybe she and Maddie would add on a few days. And I couldn't let that happen without us! So the only way to justify adding on to an already-big vacation was to stay at a non-deluxe resort on those extra days. DUH!
Haha! OOPS!
So after MUCH debate we adjusted our plans.
Of course, we did!
We’re now booked at WL for all 10 days -drumroll please- with 10 days of DELUXE DINING!
Yep, we are! And I am so happy - I HATED the idea of switching resorts; it just seems like a logistical nightmare to me. You read TRs where people stay at 3 or more resorts in one trip, and they do it without fuss at all. I just can't imagine!!!
The great thing about making changes to this trip? The girls don’t even care! They’re too excited about going to WDW with each other! I think we could tell them that we’re staying in a cardboard box by the freeway, and as long as there was a large puddle to swim in together they’d be okay with it!
Of course, we haven't even told the girls. Why? Because we had never told them about POR in the first place! HAHAHA That said, I am sure that Shannon is correct - they are pretty much focused on each other, the pool, dressing alike, meeting characters. Not so much the resort.... Box, puddle, comes with each other, princess hair and gowns? They're in!
So having settled that it was time to decide just how we’d use 120 TS credits…
There is just something horrifying about adding them all up like that.
Roni and I spent many a night excitedly talking about the restaurants we’d like to try on this trip, but as ADR day loomed closer we still hadn’t made any decisions.
That makes me chuckle. We talked about dining for MONTHS. And then ADR was a few days away, and we realized that we hadn't actually decided anything!
We are seriously such dorks
At some point we agreed to do 2 ADR per day trying to zero in on one character meal and one signature.
Willow and I did this for the most part the one time we did the DxDDP, and it worked very well - the one or two days that we had three meals were intense!
To give the illusion that the trip planning was a democracy, we asked the girls where they might like to eat. Maddie’s initial list was a bit all over the place:
Princess Breakfast (Akershus)
Cinderella Dining
Animal Kingdom Breakfast (Tusker House)
Hoop D Doo (Hoop Dee Doo Revue)
Be Our Guest
Willow and I did not start our lists until The Rules were in place....
We were meant to be friends, Roni and I. It seems perfectly natural to both of us to have Rules for making dining choices.
Eventually we laid the ground rules and let each girl choose her top 5 most wanted character and signature meals, allowing that CRT was a guarantee and they didn’t have to include it in their lists. The mommies also made lists, but just of signature restaurants.
What? Really??? I totally made a list of my character meals AND signatures.
BTW, my character meal list was, I believe, identical to Willow's.Haha! I guess I was supposed to and didn't??
With 10 days we knew that we could fit in almost all of them without worry. Once the dust settled Maddie and Willow had chosen the exact same character meals and Willow and I had chosen almost the same signatures!
Willow was beside herself when she realized that she and Shannon had chosen almost all the same restaurants. Somehow that was WAY more thrilling than having picked the same character meals and all but one of the same signatures as her own mother....
That's because Willow and I are kindred bacon loving spirits.
Willow and Maddie’s um, and Roni's, I think Character Meal Choices
Tusker House
Garden Grill
Akershus
Crystal Palace
Ohana
Maddie’s Signature Choices
Hoop Dee Doo Revue
California Grill
Jiko (this from a child who won't eat such exotic foods as sauce)
Flying Fish
Le Cellier
Roni’s Signature Choices
Hollywood Brown Derby
Jiko
California Grill
Morimoto
Hoop Dee Doo Revue
Willow’s Signature Choices
Hollywood Brown Derby
California Grill
Morimoto
Yachtsman Steakhouse
Hoop Dee Doo Revue
Shannon’s Signature Choices
Narcoossees
California Grill
Morimoto
Yachtsman Steakhouse
Hoop Dee Doo Revue
We all have great taste, don't we?
Stay tuned because next time we'll tell you what ADRs we actually booked and start laying out our park days!
And I bet you can't wait to hear about that! Maybe we'll actually get another update done in a reasonable period of time this time!
Last edited:
pkondz
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So.... you talked about it at length, right?
ooohhhh.... nice.
KatMark
DIS Legend
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You girls have me 
. I can see that this is going to be an epic trip. I've never head of Morimoto, What/where is this? As Shannon knows, I love Yachstman. And we really enjoyed Jiko when we went. I can't wait to hear what you four gals finally decide on.
. I can see that this is going to be an epic trip. I've never head of Morimoto, What/where is this? As Shannon knows, I love Yachstman. And we really enjoyed Jiko when we went. I can't wait to hear what you four gals finally decide on.
DisneyKid4Life
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YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY 10 days at Wilderness Lodge. As a recent guest of this fine establishment I will only say, OMG I AM SO JEALOUS!!!! I loved every single second of this place and I am confident you will as well.
I will say my resort swap was pretty painless as I just used a cab. SO much easier. But you don't need to worry about that.
I can't even imagine how awesome this trip is going to be. Seriously, this one is going to be epic.
I will say my resort swap was pretty painless as I just used a cab. SO much easier. But you don't need to worry about that.
I can't even imagine how awesome this trip is going to be. Seriously, this one is going to be epic.
courtneybelle
What foolishness would you like to see?
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Hi guys!!!
As much as I love POR, I agree that split stays sound kind of terrifying. We always say we'd like to try doing a deluxe for a night or two and then a mod/value for the rest of the trip…but it seems like a lot of work to transfer and ain't nobody got time for that when there are parks to go to and food to eat!
All of your restaurant choices look fab. I had to look up Morimoto and now I REALLY want to try it!!! And Hoop De Doo has been on my list forever, so I'll be excited to see what you think!
As much as I love POR, I agree that split stays sound kind of terrifying. We always say we'd like to try doing a deluxe for a night or two and then a mod/value for the rest of the trip…but it seems like a lot of work to transfer and ain't nobody got time for that when there are parks to go to and food to eat!
All of your restaurant choices look fab. I had to look up Morimoto and now I REALLY want to try it!!! And Hoop De Doo has been on my list forever, so I'll be excited to see what you think!
afwdwfan
DIS Dad #460
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What??? You??? Really???
This is why I just don't know about doing the split stay thing. Seems like it would be hard to do without wasted time.
Ok... you identified a problem and looked for a solution. Your solution is great!!!! I love WL!!!! I hope you all enjoy it!!!
That's a lot of food. And I mean that in the greatest, most amazingly delicious way possible.Rules usually work better when everybody plays by the SAME rules...Eventually we laid the ground rules and let each girl choose her top 5 most wanted character and signature meals, allowing that CRT was a guarantee and they didn’t have to include it in their lists. The mommies also made lists, but just of signature restaurants.
What? Really??? I totally made a list of my character meals AND signatures.
Haha! I guess I was supposed to and didn't??
Dugette
DIS Veteran
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As someone who has done split stays pretty painlessly, I have to say that I don't understand how/why some people do it the way you described - with the early-morning check in and all. We just leave our stuff either in the room or with bell services - whichever the desk tells us to - and then Disney magically transports them to our new resort, so they are waiting for us. However, we just go to a park and go about our normal business for the day. Then we just go to our new resort when we're ready to go back to the room. Check in and our luggage is waiting. No big deal. Works especially well if you do it early in your trip (within the first couple days), so that you don't feel the need to unpack and re-pack at the first resort. But you don't have to worry about any of that!
Sounds like quite the epic trip! Can't wait to see which ADRs you go with! 
RGirl
Change Is Good
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And Kathy, you are finally going to hear about that TONIGHT!!!!!!
Thank you for your patience......
Psst - don't you just hate PTRs?
It's great to meet you two! Thanks for joining in here.
It is amazing to be as close as we are having met on the DIS - it is impossible to explain to anyone who hasn't experienced it.
RGirl
Change Is Good
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Thank you!!! You can totally do it. Surprising the kiddos is one of the greatest things about being a parent!I loved the videos!!! I hope to do that for my little oneA girl can dream right!!
Thank you SO MUCH for joining in!Okay, I am finally officially here and subscribing (or, uh, watching, according to the new DIS
It is really exciting. I know from your TR that you have made a great DIS friend as well - it's incredible, isn't it?I love that you two formed a DIS-friendship like that. As someone who has taken a trip with another DIS-er, I can relate to that somewhat (though we are not as close as you two, but do message back and forth sometimes). How exciting that you finally get to meet up in person and do Disney together!
Thanks! That plan worked out so well thanks to Courtney's brilliant reveal idea.And the videos are precious!
Thanks for joining! We are so excited for the trip and can't believe how close it is getting now. We have been talking about this for a LONG time.Subbing in! Yay for two great trips in the works!
Welcome! Thanks so much for joining in!
Well, no need to be jealous now since we changed it to 100% WL!
However, I will still be jealous of your DVC. 
We are really looking forward to it. I never had any real interest in it because I am from and currently live in the Pacific Northwest. However, after visiting it for our dinner at AP in 2013, I was sold - it is a beautiful resort and seems so relaxing.
RGirl
Change Is Good
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What? No, never. We certainly didn't stay up until the wee hours of the morning night after night for months talking about this stuff. NEVER!!!!
Right??? So great!
You girls have me
I have to believe it is going to be a pretty great trip!Morimoto - it's coming to DTD soon. It is a new restaurant from Iron Chef Morimoto. Willow and I are HUGE fans of his; I think Shannon (and maybe Maddie????) is too.
I am finally going to let you in on our ADRs - hoping I'll get the update posted tonight!!!!
I can't tell you how relieved I am to avoid the split resort thing. And I am really looking forward to staying at WL. I a SO GLAD to hear that you enjoyed it as much as you did - makes me even more confident that we made the right resort decision.
I have to believe that if I as traveling by myself, a resort swap really wouldn't be a big deal. I cannot imagine it with any degree of joy when I think of Shannon and myself trying to figure it all out with two little girls who talk (and I am NOT kidding) nonstop and have entire suitcases full of princess dresses. Yeesh - it doesn't sound fun!I will say my resort swap was pretty painless as I just used a cab. SO much easier. But you don't need to worry about that.
I really think it is. I'm so excited about it! We all are!!! Willow and I discuss it all the time!I can't even imagine how awesome this trip is going to be. Seriously, this one is going to be epic.
Hey there, my favorite DCP'er!!!!! BTW - can't wait to hang out with you at, oh, you know, WDW!!!!!!
Right???? It just seems crazy. I'm so blown away by all these people who seem to just breezily fit it into their day. That would NOT be me.
I cannot wait to do HDDR - it's one I have wanted to do for a long time too but never manage to make time for. Hmmm - can we somehow add you to that one???????
RGirl
Change Is Good
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Yeah, I don't remember her trying to strong-arm everyone she met into DxDDP at all....
Of course, I was totally convinced. The whole idea gives me anxiety - I'm so glad we switched!
We are all really excited about staying there. I think it will be great!
It scares me.....
Actually, we were not DIS-acquainted when I did my 2013 TR. Willow and I had the DxDDP (because of character meals, it actually saved us money over a VERY budget dining trip with a few character meals) for the first time - we ended up trashing a lot of snack credits at the end of the trip because we were just never hungry (I now know to use them for frozen drinks to cool us down). Despite that, it was a great deal for us - we got to experience a lot of places we otherwise would't have done, I felt very free from the whole "don't order that, you'll never eat it, and I'm spending money on it" thing that sometimes happens to me on vacation - having it prepaid was very freeing for me.
Nonetheless, the actual number of credits is just overwhelming! The key is signatures and character meals and almost nothing else.
Yeah, I'm not sure what happened there.Rules usually work better when everybody plays by the SAME rules...
Yep - that's my kid. And my friend Shannon.....
Um, sort of wishing we had talked to you earlier.As someone who has done split stays pretty painlessly, I have to say that I don't understand how/why some people do it the way you described - with the early-morning check in and all. We just leave our stuff either in the room or with bell services - whichever the desk tells us to - and then Disney magically transports them to our new resort, so they are waiting for us. However, we just go to a park and go about our normal business for the day. Then we just go to our new resort when we're ready to go back to the room. Check in and our luggage is waiting. No big deal. Works especially well if you do it early in your trip (within the first couple days), so that you don't feel the need to unpack and re-pack at the first resort. But you don't have to worry about any of that!
The next time I consider a split stay, I'm totally messaging you about how to do it!!!!
RGirl
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Hello!!! Wow - long time no update from us!
Why? Why haven't we updated? Why have we just left you hanging wondering what delicious delights we'll be eating in four months??? WHY?
Tell me! Tell me!
Calm down - I'll tell you why.
Excellent!
Because I, Roni, was responsible for writing this update.
Yes, we all know that I, Shannon, am much better about updates (insert eye roll here)
Not enough?
Okay, because I, Roni, was responsible for writing this update, and I have not been able to figure out a single way to make this update interesting or amusing.
Our last update involved ADR-making too, but it was all about the brilliant system we came up with to choose our ADRs. FASCINATING! And ENTERTAINING!
Yes, yes it was.
You know what this update is about? It's about getting on the phone and computer and making the ADRs we decided to make. Yawn.......
What??? Am I the only one who finds Disney Dining fascinating? I LOVE this crap!
Not at all, Shannon - I think lots of us LOVE Disney Dining and planning. I just couldn’t figure out a way to make updating about it entertaining. I still can’t, by the way……
But I'm going to write it and post it anyway, so put on your sleeping caps.... No, wait, you don't wear sleeping caps, do you? Get a strong cup of coffee and some tooth picks to prop open your eyelids, and then hang on to your (non-sleeping) hats!
Ponzi does. He wears sleeping caps. *whispering* he’s Canadian, they’re ….different
Oh, good point! Duh!
So, we made our ADRs!!!
Yay!!! APPLAUSE!
Thank you very much.
The End.
Drop the mic Roni
Okay, there's more. As you may recall from the last update, we had been talking ADRs for months, and the four of us really had a lot of fun ranking our restaurants and coming up with our top choices. And then we just stopped thinking about it.
It was strange. We LOVE talking about this stuff! Maybe we were worried that it would be hard or there would be issues?
Or maybe we had talked about it every day for almost 6 months already and had nothing left to say?
One day one of us (I say this because I can't actually remember which one) (It was Roni) realized that our long-awaited ADR-making day was coming up in a few days and that we hadn't actually bothered to finalize which ADRs we were making or for what days. Luckily, as usual, we were pretty much on the same wave length, and it didn't take us long to nail everything down. There was some momentary angst as we tried to figure out how to actually USE all of those crazy Deluxe Dining credits, but we made it work with some mad messaging and emailing back and forth. And there was the sad day that I discovered that Morimoto will not be on the DP - neither of us was surprised, but we were both very sad about it.
It was a sad, sad day when we realized that Morimoto was excluded. I’m actually a little worried that this is a sign that most DTD restaurants will follow suit. Not cool DTD, not cool
And then we made The Plan. Shannon would call or click for all breakfast/lunch ADRs, and I would call or click for all dinner ADRs. During all this crazy planning, we also managed to link our MDE accounts so that Shannon and Maddie show up on mine, and Willow and I show up on Shannon's. Actually, for a while, I think Bryan, Maddie and I showed up on Shannon's, with Willow left at home. But that was soon fixed, and all was right for the ADR-making world.
Since Bryan already has about a million rounds of golf scheduled for this time period, not one single person wanted to take Bryan and leave Willow LOL
Did we get what we wanted at the times we wanted?????
Pshaw! Of course we did! We are old hands at this by now and have no problem getting up at the crack of dawn to talk to Disney CMs about where we want to eat 6 months in advance!
Not our first rodeo friends. There was a brief moment of panic when we realized that no one had scheduled BBB, but Roni quickly make that reservation. Crisis averted.
That’s right - I did do that. I deserve a medal or something. But on with the end of the update.
Did you want to actually hear where we will be dining??? I think I'll just save that for the next update.
She’s very cruel.
True story.
I kid! I joke! This is one of the most boring updates to any TR or PTR in the history of TRs/PTRs - the least I can do is tell you what we managed to set in place. And, of course, from the dining decisions revealed below, you will have a good idea of where we plan to go each day as well. So with no further ado (because, let's face it, there has been a LOT of "ado" to date in this pseudo-update), here is where we will be eating!
Seriously, am I the only one who loves this stuff?? It’s incredibly exciting!
It is! It really is! To plan and to do. Hmm, I’m thinking maybe I’m not a PTR person. Oh, wait, I already knew that!
Wednesday, Arrival Day:
Dinner at Artist Point (Wilderness Lodge) - We have all dined here before and loved it; the location for us on our first night at the WL can't be beat either!
Should be a perfect way to start the trip!
This update needs pictures, so here’s one from our last meal there:
Mmmmmm
Thursday
Breakfast with Lilo and Stitch at 'Ohana - We have all done this character breakfast before and loved it.
Fun!
Dinner at Fulton's Crab House (Downtown Disney) - This is a new one for me and Willow; Maddie and Shannon are both big fans.
This is the night we were hoping to do Morimoto, or even The Boathouse. Neither accepts DxDP credits though. We haven’t ruled out paying OOP to have lunch at Morimoto, but we aren’t going so far as to make an ADR. Nothing at all wrong with Fulton’s though. LOBSTER CORN DOGS
BTW, I’m still thinking that a break from shopping (people, I HATE shopping, and I am traveling with THREE major shoppers - I may collapse) at Morimoto’s with a few sushi appetizers OOP could be perfection. Or I could just go there and eat sushi while the three of them shop…….
Friday
Lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table - I know you know that we have ALL done this one before, although I think Maddie and Shannon have usually eaten here for dinner on their prior trips.
We have done breakfast once, lunch once, and dinner twice. The lunch menu seems largely untouched after the refurb, but I’m sure it will be as good as we remember (from the TR that was never finished: we enjoyed our lunch there, and the service was lovely)
Princesses!
Dinner at California Grill - This is a new one for me and Willow; old hat for Maddie and Shannon.
Mmmmm California Grill. (From the TR that was never finished: best all- around meal of the trip)
And Shannon was so kind as to supply this pic to tease all of us with the deliciousness.
Saturday
Breakfast at Tusker House - This is a must-do repeat for all four of us.
Yup, love it.
Plus, there are characters!!!
Dinner at the Hoop-Dee-Doo-Revue - New one for me and Willow; much enjoyed by Maddie and Shannon on their last trip (right, Shannon?)
You are correct Roni! Bry and I did this on our honeymoon trip, but we hadn’t been back until last year (From the TR that was never finished: WE LOVE THE HDDR! Maddie put it high on her Must Do list)
Hey, I got something right! And Shannon supplied a picture for us.
Sunday
Breakfast at Akershus - Again, anyone reading this who knows us at all knows that we have all dined here before - every trip for some of us.
Yes, princesses.
Awwwwww
Dinner at Jiko (AKL) - New one for Shannon and Maddie; Willow and I really enjoyed our meal here last trip (we are big fans of AKL and can't wait to show it to Maddie and Shannon; it's going to be nice for Shannon to realize that it's not a tent with a campfire).
Not fair. I am eager to see that WL is not a tent with campfire. I assume that AKL is a tent, campfire, and animals.
My bad. But hey - look at this, tasty food!
Monday
Lunch at Hollywood Brown Derby - Willow and I eat here every trip for a "fancy" lunch; Maddie and Shannon didn't have their best meal ever here on their last trip, but it wasn't a bad meal, and they were quite happy to try it again.
(from the TR that was never finished: HBD was not our favorite, but we are eager to try it again!)
I am nervous - I hope they end up enjoying it as much as we do. Well, I know I’ll enjoy it either way…
Dinner at the Yachtsman Steakhouse - We have all dined here before and are looking forward to doing so again.
Very much so. Is it wrong that I’m trying to rope Roni into sharing the “Porterhouse for 2” with me?
Um, I thought we were EACH getting the Porterhouse for 2!
Anyway, check it out: STEAK (albeit not the Porterhouse)!
Tuesday
Lunch at Crystal Palace - We all enjoy dining with Winnie the Pooh and friends!
We haven’t done this one for 2 years. It’s time to see Eeyore again.
Dinner at Narcoosee's - I think this is new to all of us???
Not true. We’ve dined at Narcoosee’s twice. (From the TR that was never finished: Whole lobster with fallen sweet corn soufflé is TO DIE FOR. I plan to have that again)
And here’s the proof of Shannon’s enjoyable meal there.
Confession: I always mix up Narcoosee’s and Citricos. Dang the Grand Floridian and its TWO signature dining places - how am I supposed to keep that straight???
Wednesday
Lunch at Le Cellier - This one will be new to Shannon and Maddie; Willow and I have enjoyed lunch here before.
We’re excited to try this one!
Yep - we are totally doing another steakhouse. But they have dessert too!
Dinner at Garden Grill - New for Shannon and Maddie; Willow and I had one of our best character meals ever here during our last trip in 2013.
Maddie is PUMPED to try this one!
Can’t wait for this one!!! Very animated characters!
Thursday
Lunch at Mama Melrose with Fantasmic! package or at Sci-Fi - We can't decide! We have all done MM before and enjoyed it; and we think we will probably go with that for the Fantasmic! seating. But none of us has tried Sci-Fi, and it does sound appealing with all the fancy food we are eating at our other meals.
Sci-Fi seems very cool, but not waiting in line and fighting for a seat for Fantasmic! seems cooler…
Yeah, I’m guessing this one will be MM. And I can't complain. Our one experience there was very pleasant.
Dinner at Citricos - New to me and Willow; Shannon and Maddie are big fans.
Nope, this one always gets left on the ADR cutting room floor for us. It will be a first for all of us!
Again, Grand Floridian, you confusing place!
Friday
Lunch at Be Our Guest - Willow and I have only had dinner here; Shannon and Maddie tell us that lunch will be great.
I hope so! LOL! We all appreciate the décor and ambiance at Be Our Guest, but only Maddie put it on her Must Do list. The lunch ADR was made in the spirit of democracy.
Dinner at Chef Mickey's - Shannon and Maddie's traditional "last dinner" at WDW; Willow and I love coming here too.
We are super excited to share our “Last Night” tradition with Willow and Roni! One of the first things Bryan asked me about this trip was if we’d be doing Chef Mickey for our last meal.
We have actually managed to combine our families’ traditions quite well during our planning. We are doing Shannon and Maddie’s traditional last dinner - Chef Mickey’s. And we are doing Willow’s and my traditional first-park meal - CRT. Perfect!
Saturday
Possibly breakfast at WCC, but we may nix that and use our credits for the BoG QS lunch the day before.
I haven’t booked our flights yet, so we aren’t even sure if this is feasible for us.
And I have NO idea what time the DCL transfer will pick us up, although I'm assuming late morning based on prior experience....
Lunch will be either Cabanas or DCL Room Service and dinner will be at one of the three rotational Fantasy restaurants. Oh, wait..... This is about WDW ADRs. Oops!
And we’ll be enjoying haute cuisine at MCO…. She’s cruel.
It’s true. I just couldn’t help myself. My natural instincts are just cruel……
So that's that! You now know every meal we will be eating during our WDW vacation this summer. I know you are relieved.
Seriously, am I the only one who loves this???
If by “this,” you mean reporting about planned eating establishments months in advance, I think you may be.
Up Next: I have absolutely no idea......
Up Next: Our Park Days!
Park days? That sounds even more boring than reporting ADR plans!
Why? Why haven't we updated? Why have we just left you hanging wondering what delicious delights we'll be eating in four months??? WHY?
Tell me! Tell me!
Calm down - I'll tell you why.
Excellent!
Because I, Roni, was responsible for writing this update.
Yes, we all know that I, Shannon, am much better about updates (insert eye roll here)
Not enough?
Okay, because I, Roni, was responsible for writing this update, and I have not been able to figure out a single way to make this update interesting or amusing.
Our last update involved ADR-making too, but it was all about the brilliant system we came up with to choose our ADRs. FASCINATING! And ENTERTAINING!
Yes, yes it was.
You know what this update is about? It's about getting on the phone and computer and making the ADRs we decided to make. Yawn.......
What??? Am I the only one who finds Disney Dining fascinating? I LOVE this crap!
Not at all, Shannon - I think lots of us LOVE Disney Dining and planning. I just couldn’t figure out a way to make updating about it entertaining. I still can’t, by the way……
But I'm going to write it and post it anyway, so put on your sleeping caps.... No, wait, you don't wear sleeping caps, do you? Get a strong cup of coffee and some tooth picks to prop open your eyelids, and then hang on to your (non-sleeping) hats!
Ponzi does. He wears sleeping caps. *whispering* he’s Canadian, they’re ….different
Oh, good point! Duh!
So, we made our ADRs!!!
Yay!!! APPLAUSE!
Thank you very much.
The End.
Drop the mic Roni
Okay, there's more. As you may recall from the last update, we had been talking ADRs for months, and the four of us really had a lot of fun ranking our restaurants and coming up with our top choices. And then we just stopped thinking about it.
It was strange. We LOVE talking about this stuff! Maybe we were worried that it would be hard or there would be issues?
Or maybe we had talked about it every day for almost 6 months already and had nothing left to say?
One day one of us (I say this because I can't actually remember which one) (It was Roni) realized that our long-awaited ADR-making day was coming up in a few days and that we hadn't actually bothered to finalize which ADRs we were making or for what days. Luckily, as usual, we were pretty much on the same wave length, and it didn't take us long to nail everything down. There was some momentary angst as we tried to figure out how to actually USE all of those crazy Deluxe Dining credits, but we made it work with some mad messaging and emailing back and forth. And there was the sad day that I discovered that Morimoto will not be on the DP - neither of us was surprised, but we were both very sad about it.
It was a sad, sad day when we realized that Morimoto was excluded. I’m actually a little worried that this is a sign that most DTD restaurants will follow suit. Not cool DTD, not cool
And then we made The Plan. Shannon would call or click for all breakfast/lunch ADRs, and I would call or click for all dinner ADRs. During all this crazy planning, we also managed to link our MDE accounts so that Shannon and Maddie show up on mine, and Willow and I show up on Shannon's. Actually, for a while, I think Bryan, Maddie and I showed up on Shannon's, with Willow left at home. But that was soon fixed, and all was right for the ADR-making world.
Since Bryan already has about a million rounds of golf scheduled for this time period, not one single person wanted to take Bryan and leave Willow LOL
Did we get what we wanted at the times we wanted?????
Pshaw! Of course we did! We are old hands at this by now and have no problem getting up at the crack of dawn to talk to Disney CMs about where we want to eat 6 months in advance!
Not our first rodeo friends. There was a brief moment of panic when we realized that no one had scheduled BBB, but Roni quickly make that reservation. Crisis averted.
That’s right - I did do that. I deserve a medal or something. But on with the end of the update.
Did you want to actually hear where we will be dining??? I think I'll just save that for the next update.
She’s very cruel.
True story.
I kid! I joke! This is one of the most boring updates to any TR or PTR in the history of TRs/PTRs - the least I can do is tell you what we managed to set in place. And, of course, from the dining decisions revealed below, you will have a good idea of where we plan to go each day as well. So with no further ado (because, let's face it, there has been a LOT of "ado" to date in this pseudo-update), here is where we will be eating!
Seriously, am I the only one who loves this stuff?? It’s incredibly exciting!
It is! It really is! To plan and to do. Hmm, I’m thinking maybe I’m not a PTR person. Oh, wait, I already knew that!
Wednesday, Arrival Day:
Dinner at Artist Point (Wilderness Lodge) - We have all dined here before and loved it; the location for us on our first night at the WL can't be beat either!
Should be a perfect way to start the trip!
This update needs pictures, so here’s one from our last meal there:
Mmmmmm
Thursday
Breakfast with Lilo and Stitch at 'Ohana - We have all done this character breakfast before and loved it.
Fun!
Dinner at Fulton's Crab House (Downtown Disney) - This is a new one for me and Willow; Maddie and Shannon are both big fans.
This is the night we were hoping to do Morimoto, or even The Boathouse. Neither accepts DxDP credits though. We haven’t ruled out paying OOP to have lunch at Morimoto, but we aren’t going so far as to make an ADR. Nothing at all wrong with Fulton’s though. LOBSTER CORN DOGS
BTW, I’m still thinking that a break from shopping (people, I HATE shopping, and I am traveling with THREE major shoppers - I may collapse) at Morimoto’s with a few sushi appetizers OOP could be perfection. Or I could just go there and eat sushi while the three of them shop…….
Friday
Lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table - I know you know that we have ALL done this one before, although I think Maddie and Shannon have usually eaten here for dinner on their prior trips.
We have done breakfast once, lunch once, and dinner twice. The lunch menu seems largely untouched after the refurb, but I’m sure it will be as good as we remember (from the TR that was never finished: we enjoyed our lunch there, and the service was lovely)
Princesses!
Dinner at California Grill - This is a new one for me and Willow; old hat for Maddie and Shannon.
Mmmmm California Grill. (From the TR that was never finished: best all- around meal of the trip)
And Shannon was so kind as to supply this pic to tease all of us with the deliciousness.
Saturday
Breakfast at Tusker House - This is a must-do repeat for all four of us.
Yup, love it.
Plus, there are characters!!!
Dinner at the Hoop-Dee-Doo-Revue - New one for me and Willow; much enjoyed by Maddie and Shannon on their last trip (right, Shannon?)
You are correct Roni! Bry and I did this on our honeymoon trip, but we hadn’t been back until last year (From the TR that was never finished: WE LOVE THE HDDR! Maddie put it high on her Must Do list)
Hey, I got something right! And Shannon supplied a picture for us.
Sunday
Breakfast at Akershus - Again, anyone reading this who knows us at all knows that we have all dined here before - every trip for some of us.
Yes, princesses.
Dinner at Jiko (AKL) - New one for Shannon and Maddie; Willow and I really enjoyed our meal here last trip (we are big fans of AKL and can't wait to show it to Maddie and Shannon; it's going to be nice for Shannon to realize that it's not a tent with a campfire).
Not fair. I am eager to see that WL is not a tent with campfire. I assume that AKL is a tent, campfire, and animals.
My bad. But hey - look at this, tasty food!
Monday
Lunch at Hollywood Brown Derby - Willow and I eat here every trip for a "fancy" lunch; Maddie and Shannon didn't have their best meal ever here on their last trip, but it wasn't a bad meal, and they were quite happy to try it again.
(from the TR that was never finished: HBD was not our favorite, but we are eager to try it again!)
I am nervous - I hope they end up enjoying it as much as we do. Well, I know I’ll enjoy it either way…
Dinner at the Yachtsman Steakhouse - We have all dined here before and are looking forward to doing so again.
Very much so. Is it wrong that I’m trying to rope Roni into sharing the “Porterhouse for 2” with me?
Um, I thought we were EACH getting the Porterhouse for 2!
Anyway, check it out: STEAK (albeit not the Porterhouse)!
Tuesday
Lunch at Crystal Palace - We all enjoy dining with Winnie the Pooh and friends!
We haven’t done this one for 2 years. It’s time to see Eeyore again.
Dinner at Narcoosee's - I think this is new to all of us???
Not true. We’ve dined at Narcoosee’s twice. (From the TR that was never finished: Whole lobster with fallen sweet corn soufflé is TO DIE FOR. I plan to have that again)
And here’s the proof of Shannon’s enjoyable meal there.
Confession: I always mix up Narcoosee’s and Citricos. Dang the Grand Floridian and its TWO signature dining places - how am I supposed to keep that straight???
Wednesday
Lunch at Le Cellier - This one will be new to Shannon and Maddie; Willow and I have enjoyed lunch here before.
We’re excited to try this one!
Yep - we are totally doing another steakhouse. But they have dessert too!
Dinner at Garden Grill - New for Shannon and Maddie; Willow and I had one of our best character meals ever here during our last trip in 2013.
Maddie is PUMPED to try this one!
Can’t wait for this one!!! Very animated characters!
Thursday
Lunch at Mama Melrose with Fantasmic! package or at Sci-Fi - We can't decide! We have all done MM before and enjoyed it; and we think we will probably go with that for the Fantasmic! seating. But none of us has tried Sci-Fi, and it does sound appealing with all the fancy food we are eating at our other meals.
Sci-Fi seems very cool, but not waiting in line and fighting for a seat for Fantasmic! seems cooler…
Yeah, I’m guessing this one will be MM. And I can't complain. Our one experience there was very pleasant.
Dinner at Citricos - New to me and Willow; Shannon and Maddie are big fans.
Nope, this one always gets left on the ADR cutting room floor for us. It will be a first for all of us!
Again, Grand Floridian, you confusing place!
Friday
Lunch at Be Our Guest - Willow and I have only had dinner here; Shannon and Maddie tell us that lunch will be great.
I hope so! LOL! We all appreciate the décor and ambiance at Be Our Guest, but only Maddie put it on her Must Do list. The lunch ADR was made in the spirit of democracy.
Dinner at Chef Mickey's - Shannon and Maddie's traditional "last dinner" at WDW; Willow and I love coming here too.
We are super excited to share our “Last Night” tradition with Willow and Roni! One of the first things Bryan asked me about this trip was if we’d be doing Chef Mickey for our last meal.
We have actually managed to combine our families’ traditions quite well during our planning. We are doing Shannon and Maddie’s traditional last dinner - Chef Mickey’s. And we are doing Willow’s and my traditional first-park meal - CRT. Perfect!
Saturday
Possibly breakfast at WCC, but we may nix that and use our credits for the BoG QS lunch the day before.
I haven’t booked our flights yet, so we aren’t even sure if this is feasible for us.
And I have NO idea what time the DCL transfer will pick us up, although I'm assuming late morning based on prior experience....
Lunch will be either Cabanas or DCL Room Service and dinner will be at one of the three rotational Fantasy restaurants. Oh, wait..... This is about WDW ADRs. Oops!
And we’ll be enjoying haute cuisine at MCO…. She’s cruel.
It’s true. I just couldn’t help myself. My natural instincts are just cruel……
So that's that! You now know every meal we will be eating during our WDW vacation this summer. I know you are relieved.
Seriously, am I the only one who loves this???
If by “this,” you mean reporting about planned eating establishments months in advance, I think you may be.
Up Next: I have absolutely no idea......
Up Next: Our Park Days!
Park days? That sounds even more boring than reporting ADR plans!
Last edited:
SimplyGoofy
"You are not Mickey Mouse... you are a rat!"
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2011
- Messages
- 2,409
Officially joining in!
I adore Shannon's trip reports so I'm looking forward to another one! Roni, it's very nice to meet you!
How fabulous that you made such a great friend on the DIS! Your trip plans look fabulous and I can't wait to see how they continue to unfold.
Your trip reveal was phenomenal!!!
(And bravo, Courtney, for the excellent idea! )
I'm one of the crazy people that will be doing a split stay on her next trip (I'm actually COMPLETELY crazy and we're staying at four resorts during our two week vacation...). I totally understand why you decided to pick a single resort, though, as it should be easier for me since I'm traveling with another adult that can schlep her own luggage. The WL is one of the few resorts I've never seen, but I love it's sister resort, the AKL!
A big hooray for your dinner plans! I love the way you determined your must-dos for dining.
I'm still laughing about Maddie's choice of Jiko, and Shannon's comment of "this from a child who won't eat such exotic foods as sauce." That aside, Jiko is an excellent restaurant and I'm sure you'll love your food!
I adore Shannon's trip reports so I'm looking forward to another one! Roni, it's very nice to meet you!
How fabulous that you made such a great friend on the DIS! Your trip plans look fabulous and I can't wait to see how they continue to unfold.
Your trip reveal was phenomenal!!!
(And bravo, Courtney, for the excellent idea! )I'm one of the crazy people that will be doing a split stay on her next trip (I'm actually COMPLETELY crazy and we're staying at four resorts during our two week vacation...
). I totally understand why you decided to pick a single resort, though, as it should be easier for me since I'm traveling with another adult that can schlep her own luggage. The WL is one of the few resorts I've never seen, but I love it's sister resort, the AKL!A big hooray for your dinner plans! I love the way you determined your must-dos for dining.
I'm still laughing about Maddie's choice of Jiko, and Shannon's comment of "this from a child who won't eat such exotic foods as sauce."
That aside, Jiko is an excellent restaurant and I'm sure you'll love your food!
afwdwfan
DIS Dad #460
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2010
- Messages
- 14,164
Oh... that's just mean. Funny. But mean.
I can so see this being a mess if going with a different travel party from one trip to the next.
Well when you put it that way, it doesn't sound the least bit crazy.Pshaw! Of course we did! We are old hands at this by now and have no problem getting up at the crack of dawn to talk to Disney CMs about where we want to eat 6 months in advance!
That should seriously be your TR title.
That's the attitude!!!!
Yeah... I like Sci-Fi. But probably more so for lunch. I'd definitely go there for a Fantasmic! package if it were offered there. But the prime seating and easy arrival make the Fantasmic! package so appealing. For as horrible as our experience was at MM, I can't fault you a bit. As frustrating as it was, we'd probably still have a tough call to make next time.
I just hope you can at least get out of there in under 2 hours.
I like that! You really did a great job of involving everyone and hitting everybody's preferences.
Yeah, yeah, yeah... Going from DxDP to more endless food on the cruise. Just rub it in.
She is. That's just wrong.
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