tyandskyesmom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2007
- Messages
- 2,812
And that was my initial plan...and it's a good jumping off point. However, since then I have made some changes. Actually I think I am on my 5th re-writing of the venue/ADR list.
So I changed my Ohana and Hollywood & Vine ADRs around for breakfasts...just made more sense for park touring. But now we have Ohana for breakfast and dinner on the same day. Which I am not too worried about since the food and experiences are both very different.
I added Be Our Guest for breakfast on the 23rd...but I am not thrilled by it. I think I just jumped on the bandwagon but I want to wait until it gets closer and I read more reviews and see if I keep it or not. DDDP values wise, it's great but I am not thrilled by the choices...and I'd NEVER pay that out of pocket for what they are offering! It's also an 8am ADR so it might have some advantages but I think the park will open at 7am or 8am everyday at the time so maybe not. This one may end up being cancelled since we have a dinner ADR already.
I added a Boma breakfast on the 27th...just because I had extra credits after cancelling Brown Derby...BOG would change that. But I think if it came down to one or the other I'd choose Boma...but that is the only ADR we've ever had a difficult time getting to for an early visit...so that might weigh on me.
I also added Garden Grill on the 29th for breakfast. We have never been to Garden Grill because the food has never sounded like things we (as a family, not me!) would get our money's worth out of. But, breakfast is another story. And Chip and Dale don't appeal anywhere else anymore (they ised to be at Cape May but I don't believe they are anymore) and they are always a lot of fun. Plus it is on an EMH day at Epcot so if we get to Epcot for rope drop we can ruin the race to Soarin' at rope drop and ride before our 9am ADR. I still have not cancelled my Grand Floridian Café ADR for this meal though because if I hear horrible things about breakfast once it starts, I can still have another option.
And I added Captains Grill on the 31st...just because I could. We're in Epcot that day so it worked best. Couldn't get Garden Grill for this day.
I think I might be a meal over now, as it stands but I haven't counted.
In regards to it being a lot of food...we know and we love it. We love to go out to eat but due to budget, we don't do it a lot and when we do it's not usually all of us together. And when we are able, we are always under price restraints and the kids are limited to ordering...as am I. I am usually the one to sacrifice the thing I really want so someone else can have what they want. And on vacation we don't want to have to do that! For two weeks we will stuff ourselves silly and order what we want and love every minute of it!
The plan I used is a basic idea of what we would order. Ideally, I'd like us to all order different appetizers and desserts so we can try many things. Cary and I intend to share entrees so we can try different things. Skye will only order separately if she is really hungry or doesn't like anything else others are getting. She sometimes eats a ton and other times her eyes are bigger than her stomach. So we may or may not use her extra OOP meal. Of course, if everyone is ion the mood for the same thing on the same day at the same meal, so be it. I would love to try different things because I am sure the chefs make other wonderful things to eat than my old standbys but I may find some things hard to resist (like the filet at Jiko) so I might not make that reality. And we do really tend to want to order from the higher end of the menu when we are dining out...we just usually don't...in the World in the Deluxe Dining Plan, we will!
I also don't think it's too much time out of our day. Dining is part of the trip. It's a time out of the crowds, to relax and regroup. Plus eat. I think, especially at this time of the year, we will spend a lot of time standing in line at a counter service venue and then finding a seat so by the time all is said and done, we probably will not spend too much more time dining at a table service venue unless we want to.
My biggest dilemma is dress. I do not want to attend a meal at a signature meal in our park clothes but I really don't want to carry them around all day or waste time looking for a locker. We are not usually "go back to the room in the middle of the day" kind of people but I am kind of re-thinking that this time around. I think early morning and late evening might be our best bet for being able to do as much as we want to. Plus we tend to have early morning breakfasts and late night dinners. So I am thinking head to park at opening, breakfast, fast pass pluses before lunch, lunch and then back to the room for a nap and/or swimming/hanging out. Then getting refreshed and heading back out either just before dinner (on those days we have an earlier one) or head back to near dinner and play for a while and then head to dinner...after dinner would be either back to bed or head to whatever park is open late. I think we might have to play it by ear though and that makes it hard to plan...what to do, what to do???
And in good news...I am planning on paying off the trip and dining before the end of the month!!!! That is when it will really seem real! I told Skyler I would not purchase anything for the trip until I knew it was paid off and I knew we were going!!! That will make is seem so much more real. I think I have had so much disappointment and changes lately that are so out of my control that I just won't believe it is happening until it is paid for...and even after that I will probably harbor a little concern that something will cause us not to be able to go. We all need this trip SO badly, I can't even stand it!
The boys got their schedules on Wednesday but I have yet to look at them with the last years testing schedule (they are usually the same) to see what classes each will be testing on the 18th (the day they will be missing)...I am hoping for gym and lunch but their lunches are 4th and 5th so I am betting at least one of them will not have lunch on the 18th. But if it were gym and lunch they would only have one class actually testing and often Tyler's classes have actually finished testing before test day or it was a project that needed to be done. Hoping there is not any problems with testing.
So, now I am onto day planning to make sure my ADRs will work with the evening shows/parades. I think they all will but I have not really sat down and put it all out there to make sure. And there will not be a lot of wiggle room with Main Street Electrical Parade and Illuminations so hoping we don't hit unusual weather on those days and things get cancelled. Wishes we should be good for (should get to see the MVMCP fireworks form California Grill on our first night) and usually there are two showings so we can catch the later one after dinner. But MSEP tends to be right at our dinner time...I actually changed the time of our Kona Café dinner on the 23rd to make sure we can see it that day. Fantasmic I have schedules twice (yes we like it that much). Illuminations we should be able to see on NY Eve if no where else but I have to look at that...it might be kind of a play it by ear when dinner is getting over right when it is starting on a few other nights.
I also think we will be spending New Years Day in the World because we have ADRs for that day and we don't have to be back until Monday. So that might be an option for Illuminations too. I think we will book a cheap motel somewhere in the area just to get a decent night's sleep in before we head home in the morning.
Well, that's where we stand right now. Things are changing around here all the time. Tyler now has a job at Little Caesars, football practice, and school starts in 12 more days (yes I am counting down and am excited about it! Don't worry, my kids are excited too!). Skye is scheduled for 11 dance classes this year (four days a week), tumbling twice a week (the other two week days), has Nutcracker auditions next weekend and is hoping to get 3 or 4 parts this year and that practices every Saturday and/or Sunday until the show the wee before we leave for vacation, and is starting junior high where she is hoping to be on student council, track, volleyball, ballroom dance, and choir (and she is in the magnet school part of the school so he has advanced classes too!). Dylan is seeing a therapist and going to see a doctor about possible meds next week. He had a horrible week last week where he expressed to his therapist that he did not want to live with us anymore. He tried to get his grandmother to take him but she refused...knowing he needs to deal with his issues and learn from them. After he got home, I'm not going to lie, all heck broke loose, but I think that was what he needed because through all the yelling and crying something clicked. Through it all, I think he was finally ready to hear, really hear, what we were saying, put the blame where it belonged, accept consequences, and realize that no one was against him. after our ordeal, he apologized to Cary and me for all he has been doing and said he is going to try to behave and earn his way out of being grounded and in trouble all the time. He told us he does not hate us and he does not want to leave. And proceeded to clean his room, wash his floor, shower, and do his laundry. And so far, life has been a bit less dim at home. He is excited about school starting and is determined to prove to his Algebra teacher that he does not need "support classes" (partially because he doesn't and partially because that means two hours of Algebra a day an no one except Tyler wants that!). He is also determined to do his time and get out of his room...early if possible. I don't know about that...we did have to put up with A LOT of issues and he broke a lot of trust that has to be rebuilt but we're not going to rule it out. Cary's store got bought by a franchise about a month ago and he was kept on but a week ago he was fired. Because they did not like him, his nationality, or his very old record. It's bull really but it's not a job worth going thru the hassle and expense to pursue litigation. And he called his old boss (the one from before he was bought ) who still runs many other stores and got hired back there the same day with the potential to actually make more money with less responsibility in a store where the employees actually do their job. He has been very happy for the past week. And I am trying to work as many hours as humanly possible while they are offering. In the 15 years I have worked here they have offered limited OT once for a day. I'm taking advantage of it while I can!
So off to plan more...park day are next I think. I generally don't plan ride-to-ride or hour-to-hour but fast pass plus coupled with the time of the year we are going is making me think I need to plan a bit more than I usually do...so here I go...
So I changed my Ohana and Hollywood & Vine ADRs around for breakfasts...just made more sense for park touring. But now we have Ohana for breakfast and dinner on the same day. Which I am not too worried about since the food and experiences are both very different.
I added Be Our Guest for breakfast on the 23rd...but I am not thrilled by it. I think I just jumped on the bandwagon but I want to wait until it gets closer and I read more reviews and see if I keep it or not. DDDP values wise, it's great but I am not thrilled by the choices...and I'd NEVER pay that out of pocket for what they are offering! It's also an 8am ADR so it might have some advantages but I think the park will open at 7am or 8am everyday at the time so maybe not. This one may end up being cancelled since we have a dinner ADR already.
I added a Boma breakfast on the 27th...just because I had extra credits after cancelling Brown Derby...BOG would change that. But I think if it came down to one or the other I'd choose Boma...but that is the only ADR we've ever had a difficult time getting to for an early visit...so that might weigh on me.
I also added Garden Grill on the 29th for breakfast. We have never been to Garden Grill because the food has never sounded like things we (as a family, not me!) would get our money's worth out of. But, breakfast is another story. And Chip and Dale don't appeal anywhere else anymore (they ised to be at Cape May but I don't believe they are anymore) and they are always a lot of fun. Plus it is on an EMH day at Epcot so if we get to Epcot for rope drop we can ruin the race to Soarin' at rope drop and ride before our 9am ADR. I still have not cancelled my Grand Floridian Café ADR for this meal though because if I hear horrible things about breakfast once it starts, I can still have another option.
And I added Captains Grill on the 31st...just because I could. We're in Epcot that day so it worked best. Couldn't get Garden Grill for this day.
I think I might be a meal over now, as it stands but I haven't counted.
In regards to it being a lot of food...we know and we love it. We love to go out to eat but due to budget, we don't do it a lot and when we do it's not usually all of us together. And when we are able, we are always under price restraints and the kids are limited to ordering...as am I. I am usually the one to sacrifice the thing I really want so someone else can have what they want. And on vacation we don't want to have to do that! For two weeks we will stuff ourselves silly and order what we want and love every minute of it!
The plan I used is a basic idea of what we would order. Ideally, I'd like us to all order different appetizers and desserts so we can try many things. Cary and I intend to share entrees so we can try different things. Skye will only order separately if she is really hungry or doesn't like anything else others are getting. She sometimes eats a ton and other times her eyes are bigger than her stomach. So we may or may not use her extra OOP meal. Of course, if everyone is ion the mood for the same thing on the same day at the same meal, so be it. I would love to try different things because I am sure the chefs make other wonderful things to eat than my old standbys but I may find some things hard to resist (like the filet at Jiko) so I might not make that reality. And we do really tend to want to order from the higher end of the menu when we are dining out...we just usually don't...in the World in the Deluxe Dining Plan, we will!
I also don't think it's too much time out of our day. Dining is part of the trip. It's a time out of the crowds, to relax and regroup. Plus eat. I think, especially at this time of the year, we will spend a lot of time standing in line at a counter service venue and then finding a seat so by the time all is said and done, we probably will not spend too much more time dining at a table service venue unless we want to.
My biggest dilemma is dress. I do not want to attend a meal at a signature meal in our park clothes but I really don't want to carry them around all day or waste time looking for a locker. We are not usually "go back to the room in the middle of the day" kind of people but I am kind of re-thinking that this time around. I think early morning and late evening might be our best bet for being able to do as much as we want to. Plus we tend to have early morning breakfasts and late night dinners. So I am thinking head to park at opening, breakfast, fast pass pluses before lunch, lunch and then back to the room for a nap and/or swimming/hanging out. Then getting refreshed and heading back out either just before dinner (on those days we have an earlier one) or head back to near dinner and play for a while and then head to dinner...after dinner would be either back to bed or head to whatever park is open late. I think we might have to play it by ear though and that makes it hard to plan...what to do, what to do???
And in good news...I am planning on paying off the trip and dining before the end of the month!!!! That is when it will really seem real! I told Skyler I would not purchase anything for the trip until I knew it was paid off and I knew we were going!!! That will make is seem so much more real. I think I have had so much disappointment and changes lately that are so out of my control that I just won't believe it is happening until it is paid for...and even after that I will probably harbor a little concern that something will cause us not to be able to go. We all need this trip SO badly, I can't even stand it!
The boys got their schedules on Wednesday but I have yet to look at them with the last years testing schedule (they are usually the same) to see what classes each will be testing on the 18th (the day they will be missing)...I am hoping for gym and lunch but their lunches are 4th and 5th so I am betting at least one of them will not have lunch on the 18th. But if it were gym and lunch they would only have one class actually testing and often Tyler's classes have actually finished testing before test day or it was a project that needed to be done. Hoping there is not any problems with testing.
So, now I am onto day planning to make sure my ADRs will work with the evening shows/parades. I think they all will but I have not really sat down and put it all out there to make sure. And there will not be a lot of wiggle room with Main Street Electrical Parade and Illuminations so hoping we don't hit unusual weather on those days and things get cancelled. Wishes we should be good for (should get to see the MVMCP fireworks form California Grill on our first night) and usually there are two showings so we can catch the later one after dinner. But MSEP tends to be right at our dinner time...I actually changed the time of our Kona Café dinner on the 23rd to make sure we can see it that day. Fantasmic I have schedules twice (yes we like it that much). Illuminations we should be able to see on NY Eve if no where else but I have to look at that...it might be kind of a play it by ear when dinner is getting over right when it is starting on a few other nights.
I also think we will be spending New Years Day in the World because we have ADRs for that day and we don't have to be back until Monday. So that might be an option for Illuminations too. I think we will book a cheap motel somewhere in the area just to get a decent night's sleep in before we head home in the morning.
Well, that's where we stand right now. Things are changing around here all the time. Tyler now has a job at Little Caesars, football practice, and school starts in 12 more days (yes I am counting down and am excited about it! Don't worry, my kids are excited too!). Skye is scheduled for 11 dance classes this year (four days a week), tumbling twice a week (the other two week days), has Nutcracker auditions next weekend and is hoping to get 3 or 4 parts this year and that practices every Saturday and/or Sunday until the show the wee before we leave for vacation, and is starting junior high where she is hoping to be on student council, track, volleyball, ballroom dance, and choir (and she is in the magnet school part of the school so he has advanced classes too!). Dylan is seeing a therapist and going to see a doctor about possible meds next week. He had a horrible week last week where he expressed to his therapist that he did not want to live with us anymore. He tried to get his grandmother to take him but she refused...knowing he needs to deal with his issues and learn from them. After he got home, I'm not going to lie, all heck broke loose, but I think that was what he needed because through all the yelling and crying something clicked. Through it all, I think he was finally ready to hear, really hear, what we were saying, put the blame where it belonged, accept consequences, and realize that no one was against him. after our ordeal, he apologized to Cary and me for all he has been doing and said he is going to try to behave and earn his way out of being grounded and in trouble all the time. He told us he does not hate us and he does not want to leave. And proceeded to clean his room, wash his floor, shower, and do his laundry. And so far, life has been a bit less dim at home. He is excited about school starting and is determined to prove to his Algebra teacher that he does not need "support classes" (partially because he doesn't and partially because that means two hours of Algebra a day an no one except Tyler wants that!). He is also determined to do his time and get out of his room...early if possible. I don't know about that...we did have to put up with A LOT of issues and he broke a lot of trust that has to be rebuilt but we're not going to rule it out. Cary's store got bought by a franchise about a month ago and he was kept on but a week ago he was fired. Because they did not like him, his nationality, or his very old record. It's bull really but it's not a job worth going thru the hassle and expense to pursue litigation. And he called his old boss (the one from before he was bought ) who still runs many other stores and got hired back there the same day with the potential to actually make more money with less responsibility in a store where the employees actually do their job. He has been very happy for the past week. And I am trying to work as many hours as humanly possible while they are offering. In the 15 years I have worked here they have offered limited OT once for a day. I'm taking advantage of it while I can!
So off to plan more...park day are next I think. I generally don't plan ride-to-ride or hour-to-hour but fast pass plus coupled with the time of the year we are going is making me think I need to plan a bit more than I usually do...so here I go...
) But all of your plans and ADRs sound great 
Disney World is going to be so beautiful at Christmas time, I'd love to see it one day. I'm excited to hear all about it 
