2011 MNSSHP trip! Need help figuring out DD's costume!

[Parla]

hi there- i am subscribed too! So sorry on your son's diagnosis and also managing your daughter's diabetes. A friend of mine (adult) recently got the pump and he said it is the best thing he's ever done (he's been diabetic for over 20 years I think).

Love all the restaurant choices.

If you plan to do 2-3 sit down meals a day, i would recommend doing breakfast early if you can before the parks open (at resort or in park) and then doing dinner late too. We are going to do that, try and get our CRT dinner scheduled for 6:45pm on a MNSSHP night, that way we can enjoy MK up until closing time (7pm for non-party guests) and then eat after, so we aren't really losing any park time.

Can't wait to hear your flights! hopefully you get a great deal!

Thanks so much for joining in! Fingers crossed that DD's a1c is much lower this summer. We've got the numbers more in control than we did before our last visit. Growth spurts are killer when it comes to controlling blood sugar.

We are planning lots of 2 TS credit meals so I'm thinking we'll be doing most of our breakfasts as quick snacks and also I want to do a grocery order and have some milk, cereal and other breakfast stuff in our room as well as bottled water. Just gotta figure out which place to order from. I've never done that. Our first trip we drove so I bought it all here. Last trip we had a car rental and stopped at Walmart. It's good to try new things, right?

 

[Parla]

I did it! The AAA travel agent called yesterday to tell me that AirTran had released their flight times for the week we are going. The prices were cheaper than SouthWest and they have more direct flights from Indy. After looking at the times and prices I decided to go ahead and book them. It’s about $260 RT. Plus $25 per bag. DH insists I could fit all four of us in one bag. I don’t think so. I hate doing laundry on vacation. I was looking at the flight this morning and realized that we must be traveling with several people going on the same trip. We were able to get the block of four seats in rows 12 and 14 for all three legs of the trip. When I looked at the seat availability all three flights had the exact same seats booked already. Part of our last trip being a total disaster is that I didn’t know I had to go online and choose our seats before hand. So it was stressful trying to get our seats once we got to the airport. Traveling with two kids it’s not like we could have just taken four random single seats around the plane. I’m really looking forward to a positive flying experience with the kids and our first taste of magical express.

We had the choice to leave Orlando at 5:30 PM, 6:40 PM or 7:56 PM. All of those flights would have hit Atlanta and waited for the same connecting flight at 10:15 PM. We chose the middle one to give ourselves a little cushion of a delayed flight not screwing us out of our connecting flight.

As my husband was leaving this morning and I was looking at the seating chart he started in on how I was going to stress myself out before the trip. I had to remind him that on our first trip that I had made all the ADRs and had pretty much planned out our days the parts of the days when I didn’t have a plan (quick service meals and ride what we wanted) he would get upset and ask where we were supposed to go and didn’t I have it all planned out and he didn’t know what we should ride next). So complain as he might (he’s good at it so I’m sure he will) I know that the trip will go smoother if I plan as much as possible. I’m using Touring Plans and looking into RideMax (although I don’t see a droid app for RideMax) and will tell that man where to go, what to eat and when to use the bathroom.

This coming week is Spring Break and I will hopefully have a tentative plan of park days and ADR's by the end of the week. I would like to get input from the family before just dragging them wherever I want to go. The kids and I did discuss what rides we would be okay with missing last night. I'm okay with missing the Jungle Cruise and Astro Orbiter. My son wants to ride Astro Orbiter but doesn't want to ride Snow White or Winnie the Pooh. He's got it in his head that it's not a ride if you just move around looking at stuff. He had the nerve to try to tell me he didn't want to ride Haunted Mansion because it was just sitting there and looking at stuff! He's going to be on that a lot this trip. We didn't ride it his first trip because he was too scared (same with Dinosaur) and the second one it was being refurbished. I'm dragging him on it non stop this time! Hmph!

 

[Trentmom]

glad your flights were released

Still waiting for my days...

Airtran is good..just keep an eye on flight times

They do change them a lot, but normally just by a few mins here or there. It normally takes them forever to email you

I was a nut when I flew them and checked like 2-3 times a week

Not trying to scare you, just want to be make you aware so you are prepared


Trent and I went on astro orbiter on a whim last year and it was so fun

Can't wait to hear all your plans

 

[kaoden39]

Hi Parla!

I don't know if you remember me from Kelly's thread in 2007, but I decided to follow in on your planning.

 

[Marshay]

Hey Parla!!

Glad to hear you have both your son and daughter diagnosed so you can treat them as they need.

I've heard nothing but wonderful things about how Disney and the restaurants will totally work with you.

We are staying at AKV-Kidani in May 2011 (see link in siggie)...previously stayed at AKV-Jambo and AKL. We love them too!

Looking forward to your PTR. I'm hoping to do MNSSHP one day!

 

[disneyaddicted]

Hi Parla, wow God Bless your family. I hope everything works out great for you and your little ones on this trip.

I would love to go to Disney in October, Bo and I have a tentative plan for that in 2 years, we want to do MNSSHP I have heard great things about that.
We are already planning our costumes even though we don't know for sure if we can go.LOL

Congrats on booking your airfare. I have flown airtran a few times. My Dec 09 trip I used airtran, my flight got delyaed coming home by like 4 hours so they gave me a free meal and a free ticket to anywhere in the US. When I used that ticket to go visit my brother in Texas they lost my luggage so they gave me another free ticket, I just used it to go visit my sister Bo. No mishaps on this trip though, smooth sailing all the way. I like them and will probably fly them on my December trip.

Anyway I will follow along on your PTR, I am excited for you.

 

[mousescrapper]

Hi Parla...

I am so glad I stumbled across your PTR...I am going in Oct too...so that is why it first intrigued...but here is a great big hug for you from one Mom of an Autistic son to another...

My oldest children (twins) both are on the Spectrum, and my son (Nathan) willing be turning 12 in 2 months has Aspergers too.

You have a lot on your plate to manage w/ just that and then your DD diabetes too. On my last trip this past Jan w/ a group of 6 other Spectrum Mom's we met a wonderful family w/ 2 DD w/ type 1 and both had pumps...they shared a lot about their story and how Disney makes it so easy for them.

I'd be happy to share any tips of managing Aspergers if you need them too

going to PM you one thing now and for your air travel...SWA does this so I assume AT should too, but you should be able to pre board for you son and maybe even your daughter. we have done this the past two times we have flown. My DH takes our son on first saves our seats and he is all settled well before take off.

staying tuned to see what else yoiu have in store...

Julie

 

[therussells08]

Hi Parla! I've finally made it over to your PTR, and I'm so glad I did! You have a beautiful family. I am keeping my fingers crossed that y'all will have a perfect vacation- you deserve it! I can't wait to read about more plans!

We're so lucky to live only 10 hours away. We can make the drive in one day pretty easily, so I don't have to stress about flying. I'm not a big fan of flying, especially since the last two times we've flown we got stuck in the Atlanta airport for 6+ hours!

 

[Parla]

glad your flights were released

Airtran is good..just keep an eye on flight times

They do change them a lot, but normally just by a few mins here or there. It normally takes them forever to email you

I was a nut when I flew them and checked like 2-3 times a week

Since I booked them through AAA (I know she had my email and such) will they send me an email if there is a change or will they let the agent know? I haven't even got the paperwork from her yet. Once I have it though I'm sure I will be checking often.

Hi Parla!

I don't know if you remember me from Kelly's thread in 2007, but I decided to follow in on your planning.

Of course I remember you Michelle. Steph and I are friends on facebook.

Hey Parla!!

We are staying at AKV-Kidani in May 2011 (see link in siggie)...previously stayed at AKV-Jambo and AKL. We love them too!

Looking forward to your PTR. I'm hoping to do MNSSHP one day!

I'm so envious of your ownership in AKL DVC. We looked into it but decided we just couldn't afford it. Everything I read said not to buy it if you can't buy it straight out. We would have been on a huge payment plan. I still consider AKL our home though.

I never thought we would do MNSSHP while the kids were young (thought it would be more like when they were full grown and out of college).

I would love to go to Disney in October, Bo and I have a tentative plan for that in 2 years, we want to do MNSSHP I have heard great things about that.
We are already planning our costumes even though we don't know for sure if we can go.LOL

Congrats on booking your airfare. I have flown airtran a few times. My Dec 09 trip I used airtran, my flight got delyaed coming home by like 4 hours so they gave me a free meal and a free ticket to anywhere in the US. When I used that ticket to go visit my brother in Texas they lost my luggage so they gave me another free ticket, I just used it to go visit my sister Bo. No mishaps on this trip though, smooth sailing all the way. I like them and will probably fly them on my December trip.

Haha! Well, I think that's a positive report on AirTran.

We have a two year plan for a Christmas trip so I'm all for dreaming big.

I am so glad I stumbled across your PTR...I am going in Oct too...so that is why it first intrigued...but here is a great big hug for you from one Mom of an Autistic son to another...

I'd be happy to share any tips of managing Aspergers if you need them too

Hi Julie, nice to meet you. We don't have any plans for a GAC at the moment. DS actually does really well in lines, it's at the hotel before hand not knowing exactly what the plans are for the day. I'm going to try and print out an outline for each day so he can have a book with the plan written down. That's not to say I won't change my mind when we're down there. I really want them both to just learn to deal with life along with everybody else though. Especially DD, people with diabetes run triathlons and win Olympic medals so I want her to feel as normal as possible (as normal as you can feel having to carry a bag of medical supplies with you everywhere you go).

Hi Parla! I've finally made it over to your PTR, and I'm so glad I did! You have a beautiful family. I am keeping my fingers crossed that y'all will have a perfect vacation- you deserve it! I can't wait to read about more plans!

We're so lucky to live only 10 hours away. We can make the drive in one day pretty easily, so I don't have to stress about flying. I'm not a big fan of flying, especially since the last two times we've flown we got stuck in the Atlanta airport for 6+ hours!

I wish we lived 10 hours away. I can't remember the math but I think with potty breaks and such it's a 20 hour drive from here. We did it in 2006 and it was awful. DD stayed awake the whole time and talked which made DS scream because he was trying to sleep. That kept me up the whole time so I got zero sleep. The plan was for me to sleep the first half of the drive and switch places halfway there. It didn't work so well. I drove through Atlanta so DH could grab a nap and that was it. The only time the kids were quiet that whole drive was when DH was napping. It was very hard for me to keep my eyes open though. Not cool.

 

[mousescrapper]

Hi Julie, nice to meet you. We don't have any plans for a GAC at the moment. DS actually does really well in lines, it's at the hotel before hand not knowing exactly what the plans are for the day. I'm going to try and print out an outline for each day so he can have a book with the plan written down. That's not to say I won't change my mind when we're down there. I really want them both to just learn to deal with life along with everybody else though. Especially DD, people with diabetes run triathlons and win Olympic medals so I want her to feel as normal as possible (as normal as you can feel having to carry a bag of medical supplies with you everywhere you go).

thanks...my son needs those plans too, epescially in the beginning of the trip I am an obessive planner and love to map it all out...so we sort of do keep to a pretty good schedule and not change things up to much, which really helps him along the way. I have created various schedules and guidebooks if you call them, plus social stories when he was little younger and have a thread about them...if you need any inspiration. the link is in my siggie.

sounds like a great plan!

 

[kaoden39]

You know I had no idea you and Stephanie were friends on Facebook. I was going to tell her about your trip report next time we talked. I was so thrilled to see you on that other thread. Long time no see!!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Hi Parla!! I heard about your PTR from mousescrapper so I had to come over & get caught up. I'm another spectrum mom here... I have a DS10 with PDD-NOS & a DS7 with Aspergers. We just got back from a family trip over our February vacation & are planning a fall trip to celebrate my DH's & my 15th anniversary. Nothing like taking the kids to Disney for a romantic anniversary getaway! I'm nervous about pulling them out of school too but as your kids have in October, my kids have a short week due to Veteran's Day & a teacher in-service day so I figured if I wanted to finally see the Osborne Lights & attend MVMCP, this would be the time to do it! I'm excited to follow along as you plan & am happy to answer any autism related questions you have!

I was with Julie (mousescrapper) when she met the family with 2 DDs with diabetes - it was impressive how they managed with their pumps & they had nothing but good things to say about Disney - they spend TONS of time there!!

 

[Trentmom]

Since I booked them through AAA (I know she had my email and such) will they send me an email if there is a change or will they let the agent know? I haven't even got the paperwork from her yet. Once I have it though I'm sure I will be checking often.



Of course I remember you Michelle. Steph and I are friends on facebook.



I'm so envious of your ownership in AKL DVC. We looked into it but decided we just couldn't afford it. Everything I read said not to buy it if you can't buy it straight out. We would have been on a huge payment plan. I still consider AKL our home though.

I never thought we would do MNSSHP while the kids were young (thought it would be more like when they were full grown and out of college).



Haha! Well, I think that's a positive report on AirTran.

We have a two year plan for a Christmas trip so I'm all for dreaming big.



Hi Julie, nice to meet you. We don't have any plans for a GAC at the moment. DS actually does really well in lines, it's at the hotel before hand not knowing exactly what the plans are for the day. I'm going to try and print out an outline for each day so he can have a book with the plan written down. That's not to say I won't change my mind when we're down there. I really want them both to just learn to deal with life along with everybody else though. Especially DD, people with diabetes run triathlons and win Olympic medals so I want her to feel as normal as possible (as normal as you can feel having to carry a bag of medical supplies with you everywhere you go).



I wish we lived 10 hours away. I can't remember the math but I think with potty breaks and such it's a 20 hour drive from here. We did it in 2006 and it was awful. DD stayed awake the whole time and talked which made DS scream because he was trying to sleep. That kept me up the whole time so I got zero sleep. The plan was for me to sleep the first half of the drive and switch places halfway there. It didn't work so well. I drove through Atlanta so DH could grab a nap and that was it. The only time the kids were quiet that whole drive was when DH was napping. It was very hard for me to keep my eyes open though. Not cool.

I am not really sure

But like you said, once you have the paperwork, just keep an eye on it as it gets closer

Sure you will be fine

 

[Parla]

thanks...my son needs those plans too, epescially in the beginning of the trip I am an obessive planner and love to map it all out...so we sort of do keep to a pretty good schedule and not change things up to much, which really helps him along the way. I have created various schedules and guidebooks if you call them, plus social stories when he was little younger and have a thread about them...if you need any inspiration. the link is in my siggie.

sounds like a great plan!

You'll have to tell me about the social stories. That is a phrase his elementary school tossed around but they never did it. Loved the school until we had issues with our children. Now I realize the principal is a really nice guy but quite ignorant when it comes to anything difficult.

You know I had no idea you and Stephanie were friends on Facebook. I was going to tell her about your trip report next time we talked. I was so thrilled to see you on that other thread. Long time no see!!

Isn't it so funny after all these years if you see someone posting from the longest thread it's like seeing an old friend on the street. You gotta stop and chat for a bit.

Hi Parla!! I heard about your PTR from mousescrapper so I had to come over & get caught up. I'm another spectrum mom here... I have a DS10 with PDD-NOS & a DS7 with Aspergers. We just got back from a family trip over our February vacation & are planning a fall trip to celebrate my DH's & my 15th anniversary. Nothing like taking the kids to Disney for a romantic anniversary getaway! I'm nervous about pulling them out of school too but as your kids have in October, my kids have a short week due to Veteran's Day & a teacher in-service day so I figured if I wanted to finally see the Osborne Lights & attend MVMCP, this would be the time to do it! I'm excited to follow along as you plan & am happy to answer any autism related questions you have!

I was with Julie (mousescrapper) when she met the family with 2 DDs with diabetes - it was impressive how they managed with their pumps & they had nothing but good things to say about Disney - they spend TONS of time there!!

So funny! Will you be using any of the childcare facilities to have a real anniversary night out? After reading the children with diabetes website it seems that diabetic children aren't welcome in the clubhouse. They just don't have anyone trained to deal with it.

I love your plan for going in November. We don't get Veteran's Day off. Just the two days for Thanksgiving. My plan for our Christmas trip in 2013 is to be nuts and spend our entire Christmas vacation driving to Florida, visiting Universal for WWOHP, staying at AKL and then taking a relaxing three day cruise to finish it up. The problem is the cruises at that time usually involve New Years and are super expensive. I've got to at least see the Osborne Lights. DH actually mentioned adding the cruise which would be really nice.

I am not really sure

But like you said, once you have the paperwork, just keep an eye on it as it gets closer

Sure you will be fine

Got the paperwork. It's got a confirmation number but lists the AAA agent as contact person. I think I will email her and make sure she is on top of it while I continue to check on the flights every week and then call her if anything changes. I wonder how much craziness those agents have to put up with.

 

[Parla]

Just wanted to post about Spring Break Break before continuing on with my ADR plans. We bought several t-shirts at Target the other day. Some Muppets and DS insisted on a Donald Duck shirt that said, "I'm on a boat" which DH and I really didn't care for but DS was apparently going to die if he didn't get it. They're all in different laundry baskets at the moment. I should totally take pictures and add them to the post tomorrow.

On Friday we drove to the nearest Disney Store which is about 40 minutes away. It's still so disappointing to think about our local one shutting down. The one in Castleton really sucks in my opinion. They made such a big deal about making these stores more interactive but this one is about half the size of our old one (with no interactive decor like they showed on their website) and since there aren't other Disney Stores for hundreds of miles around they are always sold out of all but one size of tons of stuff. From now on I will just order online. However, we went there several months ago to make a Perry the Platypus inaction figure and I thought it would be fun to go again. I got a couple of black shirts. One with the shadow of Mickey and Minnie and the other with the shadow of Tinker Bell. Everyone else got some shirts and I got DD a couple of night gowns. I had to ask the CM to get the only Rapunzel one in her size off the wall. I totally remember having to do that last time too. I let each of the kids pick out some toys and made DH get a Grumpy shirt because we needed one more to get the two fer offer. And I got a cool keychain. Seriously, I will try to add pictures tomorrow. I have a lot of laundry to do and phone calls to make so we'll see.

Then we went to see Hop which I really could have missed. It was alright but the ending was just eh, I want to say stupid here but that's probably harsh. The guys relationship with his father just doesn't come close to any... I'll stop in case you want to see it but I'll let DD's response to me asking if she enjoyed the movie sum it up, "It was alright but I don't really remember any of it." She's a regular Gene Shalit.

Oh, and a funny thing happened at work tonight. Some little girl underwear that was out of the package came up to guest service. One pair had a little handwritten note that said, "One pair girls size 8 Hello Kitty underwear." The other pair had a note that said, "One pair girls size 8 Tinkle Bell underwear."

 

[Parla]

Alrighty, here we go. I spent a good two hours (at least) trying to figure out a schedule so I will be prepared to make our ADRs when the time comes. I’m hoping you guys have lots of input. I love input.

Saturday 10/15
Our flight is scheduled to leave Indy at 7 AM and arrive in Orlando by 9:13. I’m nervous about planning anything because this is the first time we will be using Magical Express and the Unofficial Guide said it could take three hours to get to your resort. Really it says 45 minutes to three hours, but I’m a worst case scenario kind of girl. Do you think I would be pushing it if I made a reservation for Rose and Crown for around 3 PM? Would really rather have 2 but don’t want to miss out on it entirely.

Then I want to do Disney’s Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show at 8 PM. Kind of sad that we’ll be so close to the Polynesian’s beach and not get to watch the fireworks from there.

Sunday 10/16 Magic Kingdom
Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, I never thought about eating breakfast here but the kids saw Mary Poppins on the list and asked if they could.

Then I thought we would try to do dinner at CRT but I’m looking at menus and liking CRT’s lunch a little better than dinner and now I’m all confused. I just want to be sitting down somewhere between 3 and 5:30 because we will be doing MNSSHP this night. Plus, don't we all want the most expensive meal we can get for those dining plan credits? I also have to try and get DD into BBB earlier in the day so she’ll be ready to party that night. I’m a little worried about that since I’m sure lots of other people have the same idea. OK, so that day isn’t as planned as I thought it was.

Monday 10/17 Epcot!
We’ll eat a quick bite in the room and head over to Epcot for rope drop (hopefully, depending on how late we were at MNSSHP and how long it took us to get back). Planning on using lots of snacks at F&W.

Also want to do the Behind the Seeds Tour. We talk about it every time and I really want to have it in place and ready to go.

Lunch will be at Tutto Italia. This could change to La Hacienda depending on what kind of mood I’m in when calling to make reservations.

Dinner will be at the Garden Grill. Mostly because I remember them saying that so much of the produce from the Living with the Land ride gets used there. Just thought it would be cool to have dinner there after having done the tour.

Tuesday 10/18 Animal Kingdom
Breakfast at Tusker House as early as we can get. I’m torn between asking for this first or CRT. Do I make BBB reservations with the same number or call someplace else? Those are the three most important things to me (Tusker House mostly because of timing).

Lunch at Yak & Yeti

Dinner will be a showing of the Hoop Dee Doo revue. Can’t wait to see it again. Only this time I won’t have just ridden Mission Space and be having gastrointestinal problems.

Wednesday 10/19 DHS
Quick breakfast in the room and head to rope drop at DHS.

Lunch at Sci-Fi.

Dinner at 50's Prime Time Café.

Thursday 10/20 Epcot/swimming
This will technically be the third trip to Epcot. Plan on hitting Soarin’ again and catching anything we missed the first time since we’ll be doing the seeds tour and I’ll personally be pigging out around the world.

Plus we want to have lunch at Biergarten.

Then it’s back to AKL and letting the kids swim for Pete’s sake.

Plus it will be easier to meet the dress code for Jiko after a swim and change back in the room.

Friday 10/21 Magic Kingdom
Since we’ll have spent a good portion of our first Magic Kingdom day eating at 1900 Park Fare and getting all gussied up for the party I thought we would have another Magic Kingdom day. Plus, if the kids loved the first MNSSHP and we feel like we would get something out of it maybe another party tonight?

We'll have one TS credit to use today that I'm not sure about. I think we'll eat a QS at CHH with it.

Then an early dinner at CP.

I’m actually hoping that we don’t feel the need for a second party and can just head back to AKL for more swimming and a trip to Boma.

Saturday 10/22 Check out and DHS
Our flight doesn’t leave until 6:40 PM. Does that mean we should catch ME from AKL at about 3:40? I’m assuming I check out first thing in the morning and they go ahead and take our luggage to the front desk? I’ll be glad to have some ME experience under my belt to help me decide whether we should drive or fly our next trip.

DHS has AM extra magic hours this day. I’m not a fan of EMH (except for other people since it draws them away from me) and try to avoid them but this is a park I would like a little extra time at and Touring Plans really doesn’t give good crowd level numbers to Epcot or Magic Kingdom on a Saturday so switching it with either of those for my Thursday or Friday days didn’t seem like a good idea. This is also why I’m hoping we don’t feel a strong need to hit the party again Friday night. That would make it a bit harder to get up and get moving for EMH and make sure we get another shot at TSM. I think we would need to leave the park by 2:30PM to give us plenty of time to get back to AKL and head to the airport.

I also plan on surprising DS with a trip to Pizza Planet to use our last meal credit. I hate using a TS credit for QS but unless we end up eating another meal to use it earlier in the trip I will use it. If we do use it earlier then this will obviously be the best meal of the trip to pay OOP for.

Oh, and we’ll eat up whatever cold food we have left for breakfast.

 

[Pixiedust530]

WOW! It looks like you guys are going to be eating good! I must have missed it in an earlier post... I am guessing you guys are doing the DxDP?

I love all the restaurants you have chosen. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

I think for arrival day that you would be safe to do a 2pm reservation...that's 5 hours after you land. Even with your worst case scenario, you would be at your resort by 12:15ish. If you check-in online at home before leaving, your arrival at your resort should be quick & easy and you could head straight out for you ADR. (Disclaimer: I don't have any experience with ME, but I have friends who loved it and say they average an hour to hour & a half to get to their resort after landing)

I have only one suggestion. 3 TS meals on Sunday seems like a lot, especially with trying to squeeze in BBB and MNSSHP. I know you have another MK day planned, but it just seems like so much of your day will be spent in other activities that you might not have the chance to ride many rides. I would do CRT for a late lunch...maybe 1 or 1:30ish and then just have a light dinner so you can get started with MNSSHP. I've read that even though the party doesn't start until 7 that if you want to mee the 7 Dwarves & a few others you need to start lining up around 6 or 6:30. I'm not sure if that's important to you or not, but it's definitely something to consider.

Good luck with all your ADR's and the decisions you have to make!

P.S. - Even though we have the same travel dates it looks like the only day we have the same park planned is Monday at EPCOT, and we are planning to do Akershus and Teppan Edo that day, so it looks like I won't have to fight you for ADRs on April 18!

 

[Parla]

WOW! It looks like you guys are going to be eating good! I must have missed it in an earlier post... I am guessing you guys are doing the DxDP?

I love all the restaurants you have chosen. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

I think for arrival day that you would be safe to do a 2pm reservation...that's 5 hours after you land. Even with your worst case scenario, you would be at your resort by 12:15ish. If you check-in online at home before leaving, your arrival at your resort should be quick & easy and you could head straight out for you ADR. (Disclaimer: I don't have any experience with ME, but I have friends who loved it and say they average an hour to hour & a half to get to their resort after landing)

I have only one suggestion. 3 TS meals on Sunday seems like a lot, especially with trying to squeeze in BBB and MNSSHP. I know you have another MK day planned, but it just seems like so much of your day will be spent in other activities that you might not have the chance to ride many rides. I would do CRT for a late lunch...maybe 1 or 1:30ish and then just have a light dinner so you can get started with MNSSHP. I've read that even though the party doesn't start until 7 that if you want to mee the 7 Dwarves & a few others you need to start lining up around 6 or 6:30. I'm not sure if that's important to you or not, but it's definitely something to consider.

Good luck with all your ADR's and the decisions you have to make!

P.S. - Even though we have the same travel dates it looks like the only day we have the same park planned is Monday at EPCOT, and we are planning to do Akershus and Teppan Edo that day, so it looks like I won't have to fight you for ADRs on April 18!

Yes, we are doing the DxDP. We absolutely love taking the time out to sit and relax. Love the character meals. And we especially love not fighting for a table at QS. Did DDP on our first trip and really enjoyed it. Our last trip was won from Alamo car rental. Disney said we couldn't add the DDP because of the way the system recognized the prize. We missed it so much. Paid OOP for a one or two things but nothing like we enjoyed the first time. Anyway, loving DxDP. DDP wasn't enough TS for us.

Thanks, if just one more person says go for 2PM then that's what I'll aim for. We're not planning on watching Illuminations, Wishes or Fantasmic this trip. It's more about rides and food. Our Christmas trip in a couple of years will be all about shows and touring resorts (which will make the food thing come easily ).

I totally agree that Sunday would be too packed with LTT. Was just trying to fit that TS credit somewhere that would work. Most likely that will turn into something else at MK on Friday. Wish I could see the future and know for sure if we will want to do a second night of MNSSHP. We will each have 14 snack credits for a whopping total of 56 snacks. F&W will be so enjoyable but I'm just not sure how fast we'll use them. They could be gone by midweek or we could be stocking up on snacks for the flight home.

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

Hi Parla!

We've used DME several times and have been at our resort within 90 mins from landing at MCO. I think you'll be fine booking lunch at 2pm. One time we landed at 4:15pm and made our dinner ressie at 6:15pm at LeCellier.

Your plans sound great! A few days before you leave, you'll get an envelope on your door telling you your DME departure time. You can leave your bags with bell services and enjoy your day and then pul them before you get in line for DME. Pick up time is generally 2 1/2 - 3 hours before your flight.

 

[Trentmom]

I agree with PP on Sunday, I Think 3 TS and BBB and party are too much. Don't want you to be running around and all stressed out


But the rest looks great

I think 2pm ressie would be find on our arrival day.

We love the garden grill. I am not a big fan of vegetables, but they are so fresh and are so delicious. I like that the character interaction is quiet and not too intense.

Your trip looks like it is going to be a blast