A-Hoy Mateys, the Crew of the Black Pearl Heads to WDW!

[CapnJacksGirl]

We are the Crew of the Black Pearl, castaways from a forbidden land (aka the budget board), who have many a tale to tell about our voyage to Tortuga . . . er. . . Walt Disney World! Our hearty crew includes me, the captain, CapnJacksGirl, (that is until my long lost love Captain Jack returns), parkers*momma, smacky1, MrsKreamer, WalkingInTheFog, and a few other scalliwags who don't seem to like to talk as much as we do but who may return to tell their tales as we get closer to our voyage.

We all set sail to WDW in late September, in search of adventure, treasure, and awesome photos! I will be bringing along my captive DH who claims to not be a huge Disney fan but sure seems to have an awfully good time when he gets there, and my two little scalliwags DS4 Declan and DS2 Reese. We made this same voyage last year and couldn't resist doing it again this year - on exactly the same week!!

We'll be staying at BWV Sept 19-26, enjoying the pool and the boardwalk, and hitting the parks for six days. We love, love, love character breakfasts, so we'll be enjoying early days with Donald at AK, Pooh and Tigger at MK, and Stitch at Poly. We didn't meet Stitch last time, so this will be great fun for my boys! We also didn't stay up late for fireworks last time, so we're planning our days to accommodate that as a priority.

I'm one excited pirate's wench and don't know how I will keep myself occupied until September. I'm a serious over-planner so I'll be doing all things Disney until then. A little nice weather here in Minnesota would be nice too!!

I'm sure smacky1, parkers*momma, MrsKreamer, and WalkingInTheFog will be along soon to tell you their pirate tales as well. We all love to talk about Disney, so check back often and see what we're up to!

AHOY and ARRRRRGH!!

 

[jngwright]

Hi fellow Minnesotan Pirate lover!!! Looking forward to reading your trippie

We leave for a Pirate Room at CBR on Saturday

My DH is also a reluctant Disney traveller (and former race car driver!) so he is not going this trip-too bad for him! Missing all the adventure!

My PTR is in my siggie-it is short, but sweet!

Have so much fun planning!!!! You should check out this thread:
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1707141
It has tons of ideas to keep the Disney spirit going while planning a trip!

 

[MrsKreamer]

Ahoy Maties!

I am the lone Princess on my Pirate crew. We'll be going to WDW Sept 18-26th, 2009

My Pirates:

Kurt, my wonderful Dh, who loves Epcot, German beer, and

Kurt jr(turns 5 during our trip) loves Handy Manny, Imagination Movers, and is reluctant to meet the Disney Princesses because "They're girls..."

Aiden(makes 3 in June) loves "Mi-y Mouse", but acts like

And me Stephanie, I love , eating around the World, and can't wait to go back to WDW.

What we are Celebrating:

Kurt jr makes 5 on Sept 22nd

Aiden's first trip

Our first WDW trip since Katrina.



We have the Deluxe dining plan and I am still compiling a list of where we want to eat...

 

[CapnJacksGirl]

We have the Deluxe dining plan and I am still compiling a list of where we want to eat...

I'd love to see your list when you're finished! We had the regular DP last time and felt like we were eating all the time! I had to buy a bunch of snacks at the AKL gift shop before we left so we didn't leave food on the table, so to speak.

 

[MrsKreamer]

I was only going to get free dining at first but we want to do 2 dinner shows and at least 1 signature dinning. The only thing I was worried about was extra snacks but I can always get those for the last day/car ride home. We like to be able to just go and not worry about budgeting food, so this seems to work best for us. Plus, we love to eat!

This is what I have so far
Fri 9/18
T-rex(out of pocket)

Sat 9/19
Epcot day so
Breakfast at Coral Reef or Garden Grill
Lunch at Germany, Morocco, or China
nap/swim
Dinner at Germany, Morocco, or China(whatever we didn't do at lunch)

Sun 9/20
AK day
Breakfast at Donald's
Lunch at Pizzafari or Yak and Yeti(are they even on the plan?)
swim/nap
Dinner show(HDD or Luau)

Mon 9/21
DHS day
Breakfast at H&V
still undecided about whether to have lunch at Sci-Fi and Dinner at 50s and just wait in line for Fantasmic or do a quick lunch and early dinner at 50s Prime Time/Fan dinner package...
(Last time I did the Fantasmic Dinner package I thought it was unnecessary and we had to eat dinner at 3pm.)

Tues 9/22
Kurt's birthday/MK day
Breakfast at CP/CM/ or Ohana
Lunch at LTT or Pop
swim/nap
Early dinner at WCC
MNSSHP!!!

Wed 9/23
sleep in(somewhat )
breakfast at Pop or Ak
Back to AK to finish anything we missed or
back to DHS to finish anything we missed(kid's choice!)
Lunch wherever we happen to be
swim/nap
Dinner show(HDD or Luau-which ever we didn't do)

Thurs 9/24
Breakfast at Cape May or Garden Grill or Coral Reef
Epcot day
Lunch at WS
nap/swim
Dinner at WS/or maybe MK(California Grill maybe?)

Fri 9/25

Last day in parks
Breakfast at CM or Ohana
Finish anything else at MK
Lunch at LTT or Plaza
nap/swim
finish the day at Epcot(maybe?)
dinner at F&WF

Sat 9/26
sleep in(somewhat)
Breakfast at Pop
shopping at DTD(we have a rule no shopping until last day, unless it is something from the WS that we can't get at DTD)
Lunch and use up snack credits at DTD before heading home.


Any thoughts? I know it seems like we are always eating, but that is what we like to do.

 

[WalkingintheFog]

Avast ye scurvy wenches!

My crew is well seasoned and well rounded:
Pirate King (Queen): WalkingintheFog
1st Mate: WalkingintheFog
Ship's cook, Bosun: WalkingintheFog
.....a small ship, but a worthy ship methinks!
And like all good pirates and people that grow up in sight of the Ocean, I'm not a strong swimmer!

There's also the ship's mascot: Basil. A little "boy" that I rescued from the animal shelter 5 yrs ago. Near as I can figure, his family tree contains a beagle, a labrador retriever, a cheetah, a kangaroo, an anteater, a vacuum cleaner, and a couch potato. He can go from 0 kph to 100 kph in a flash, he can jump sideways up onto the table if there's a fly, and he can hoover his food. He's currently under the blanket on my bed. If I say W-A-L-K he'll be at the door before I finish the word (hmmm... food, bed, hyper... maybe he's a teenage boy...)

I'm also the Queen of Procrastination. But I do have my priorities, and one of those was getting my WDW Sept plans figured out so that at the 90day window I'd know where/when I'd be eating! Still fine tuning that!

My trip starts Sep 15 at 3:30 am in NL, which is really 2:00am in WDW. A few flights, a wing and a prayer, and I'll arrive at POP about 3:30 pm WDW time. With my luggage I'm hoping!
I'll be doing a split stay 8 nights at POP and 6 nights at YC (woo hoo! 40% off room rate pin code!). So on Sep 23 I move on up the resort ladder!
I fly out again midday on Sep 29 after 6 nights at YC (a wee bit concerned, as I just found out they will be undergoing renos starting Jul 2009 and likely stretching 5-6 months or more!)

Not doing free dining, as last year I calculated it didn't save me any money: still needed to buy salads/appetizers, and really would not have chosen dessert every meal.
This year I want to checkout 'Ohanas, BierGarten, Le Cellier, Brown Derby and I think I'd like to eat in the Castle. I ate breakfast in my room each day last year, and this year will have some extra food to do the occasional lunches and late supper as well.

I love good food and good food presentation. I love recipes! But I also recognize sometimes the atmosphere supercedes the food!

Any suggestions on which meal at Cinderella's Castle (my grandmother had a sister named Cinderella!) would be best for a solo female traveller (40+, but oh so young at heart!)

Last year I had such a blast at the waterparks, I was there 4 times! 3 solo days and 1 day with cousin & family. I plan to have 2-4 visits again this year.

I'm also interested in WDW's minigolf--played minigolf for 1st time ever last Sept (Pirate's Cove), and it was so much fun! Any comments on WDW's minigolf courses?

....
Eek! It's after midnight ! Shiver me timbers! I need to get up early to make cookies/treats to bring for a work meeting tomorrow! Time to set sail!

 

[MrsKreamer]

Time willing I want to do a round of minigolf(we get a game for free). I have only played at Fantasia Gardens(by DHS), and it was so much fun. They have two courses: One side is Fantasia themed, they other is a miniature of one of WDW real golf courses, with water and sand traps!

The other mini-golf location is at Blizzard Beach(or rather outside of BB) and it has 2 courses as well. One side is a winter wonderland that fits in well with the BB theme. The other course is "Santa on vacation" type theme with Santa et al playing in the sand.

Good for you Walking to take solo trips. I keep threatning my DH that I am going to go solo and shipwreck him and the little pirates here.

 

[ericm078]

Good Morning Everyone -

I am one of the pirates who dosn't talk much!

We will be arriving on Sept 18th for 8 nights 9 days of fun and excitement. We will be staying at CBR. It will be DD Payton's 4 trip to WDW and she is only 4. It will be DS Breadon's first trip as he is only 3 months old. Other then that we don't have a whole lot of the details worked out yet. I'm sure we will soon though!

 

[smacky1]

Arr Me Hearties! Looking forward to a swashbucklin' time in WDW this September!
Our crew includes myself, Lisa, my DH and our two kids. DD is 4 and our DS is 2. Our dates are 9/19-9/26 and we are staying our first night at BLT and the remaining nights at BCV. DH and I will be celebrating our 9th anniversary on the 23rd. We plan on doing 1/2 resort days and 1/2 park days including one night for MNSSHP....hopefully on the 22nd. We try to visit WDW once or twice a year and I never seem to stop disney planning. Once one trip is over, Im planning for the next! I just love it and so do our kids! I secretly hope that someday DD wants to get married in WDW, but dont tell DH! Here are our rough plans:
Saturday 9/19 arrival around noon. Spend time at the resort, swim, rest and have dinner at Chef Mickeys. Stay up to watch wishes from the hotel and get to bed for a busy Sunday.
Sunday 9/20 Arrive at AK for park opening. This is our kids first time in AK so Im not sure what they will be interested in. Im going to TRY REALLY HARD to let them pick the way we tour the park that way they can see the things they want and I wont be rushing them to the next attraction in order to get everything in! Hoping to get ressies for Donalds breakfast at 10:30. After breakfast spend a few more hours exploring and head to BCV to check in and take naps. Late afternoon we plan on walking to Epcot and having dinner at either the Coral Reef or the Garden Grill. Im a little hesitant with both of these restaurants because of some of the reviews Ive read on here. I also thought about doing the princess dinner.......I have until 6/21 to decide so if anyone has any recommendations let me know!
Monday 9/21 Resort Day
Tuesday 9/22 Resort day during the day and MNSSHP at night! We love this party. DH and I are going to dress up this year. We may be a pirate family but I will keep you posted on what we decide
Weds. 9/23 Resort day. This is our anniversary and I havent decided what to do to celebrate it yet. The best gift to me would be for our kids to sleep past 7am and to hang out together in our pj's in bed! BUT, they are usually up and full of energy by 6am so theres a good chance that wont happen. Again, any ideas for us to celebrate would be fun to hear. For now we are just planning a relaxing resort day and maybe heading to Poly to have late breakfast at Ohana and then tour the resort.
Thursday 9/24 Park Day. MK and one other. I will probably wait until we are there to decide this one. We will have to see what the kids want to do and what things we may have missed in the other parks
Friday 9/25 Last day to relax at the resort. We may go to FW to do the campfire and watch the electric water parade that night.
Sat 9/26. Flight leaves at noon.

Once the park hours for Sept are released I will probably change our park days around. I like to leave things somewhat flexible so we can change resort and park days based on weather. I used to use the nice days for park days but now I prefer to use the nice days for the resort and the rainier days for the parks.

Ok, so enough rambling from me for now. Thanks for checking in everyone!

 

[MrsKreamer]

Wow we should plan on some sort of meet for the MNSSHP on the 22nd...Most of us are going that night!

I am starting to think of costumes. There are 4 of us. I am thinking the 4 Imagination movers. Seems simple, we would only need 4 blue jumpsuits, one of us would need a red ballcap, another needs a cowboy hat, another needs "wobble" goggles, and the 4th would need drumsticks.
Hmmm...

Or we could just be pirates...lol

 

[smacky1]

Or we could just be pirates...lol

LOL! I feel like the pirates is an easy one because its comfy, and you could do shorts and short sleeves so it would be cool as well. I hope to come up with something more fun even if we dont end up in the same theme, but if I cant come up with anything better, theres always the pirates. We actually have the goofy and mickey pirate ears that we bought on our last trip.

 

[WalkingintheFog]

Smacky1

This sounds like a party challenge! (no, not a pantry challenge... nor.... (yeah, I read that thread! heehee!)

I never noticed the Goofy Pirate ears. But saw the Mickey Pirate Ears. Any other famous Pirate Ears? (Guess there wouldn't be a Donald.....)
That would be a neat slant on the pirate costume! Each one having the appropriate character shirt and/or pants (or shorts).

I went to MNNSHP last September, and am toying w/ the idea of going again (a cousin may or may not be joining me for part of my trip....so if she comes, it'll be up to her), but if so I'll definitely be dressing up! Going to have to start thinking it over.....At work last year I went as a convict. Even made jailcell bars (black shower rod covers and duct tape!). My pumpkin was one of the Beagle Boys (a la Scrooge McDuck)... that's the picture in my avatar!

Actually even tho' I'm saying to myself "no need to go this year, you went last year, you might be going in 2010 when you go with your sister(s)", I think I'm well aware that's a crock, and I'll be getting a ticket!

 

[smacky1]

WalkingintheFog
I really thought it said panty challenge and I thought......hmmmm that is interesting!
We have said twice that we would save money and NOT do MNSSHP and both times we ended up going! Everytime I justify it by saying, you never know when we will be here during a MNSSHP again! I actually really like it, especially the boo to you parade! My absolute favorite parade ever. The haunted mansion float and the pirates float are my favorite. I also like seeing all of the villains out and about. Oh, and eating candy the whole time is pretty fun too.
I have only seen mickey and goofy pirate ears. The goofy ones are cute because he has hoop earings in his ears! We could probably make a set of the mickey one into minnie ones by making our own bow for the top and sewing it on (or in my case glueing or duct taping it on)
Last year my mother sewed my ds a peter pan costume that was great. Little shorts and a little shirt. DD was tinkerbell.

Here's a question for you all. Has anyone been to the cirque de soleil? Im wondering how long the show is. Im thinking this might be something we could do on our anniversary night if its only about an hour. Anymore than that and I think the kids would get restless. DH and I saw one in Las Vegas but I cant remember how long the show was.

 

[CapnJacksGirl]

Good Morning Everyone -

I am one of the pirates who dosn't talk much!

We will be arriving on Sept 18th for 8 nights 9 days of fun and excitement. We will be staying at CBR. It will be DD Payton's 4 trip to WDW and she is only 4. It will be DS Breadon's first trip as he is only 3 months old. Other then that we don't have a whole lot of the details worked out yet. I'm sure we will soon though!

Eric - glad to hear from you! Don't worry about not talking too much. We're just glad to know you're still with us! Quiet pirates are just fine!

 

[WalkingintheFog]

Last year my mother sewed my ds a peter pan costume that was great. Little shorts and a little shirt. DD was tinkerbell.

Here's a question for you all. Has anyone been to the cirque de soleil? Im wondering how long the show is. Im thinking this might be something we could do on our anniversary night if its only about an hour. Anymore than that and I think the kids would get restless. DH and I saw one in Las Vegas but I cant remember how long the show was.

Awwww! Kids are always cute, but when they're dressed in costumes, they're even cuter!

I went to the Cirque Show last Sept, and it was close to 1.5 hrs, and there was no break or intermission.... they did have a concession stands where you could buy snacks like popcorn, and drinks to bring in to the show. When the show ended, there was a massive rush for the bathrooms... lineup worthy of SpaceMountain! Eek!
Didn't go with Kids, but lots of Kids around. I don't recall noticing that any were getting restless or acting up in anyway, but I don't remember noticing that there were many in the age range of your 2 (but think I saw that topic discussed in another thread back in Jan or Feb)

Originally Posted by ericm078
Good Morning Everyone -

I am one of the pirates who dosn't talk much!

But the darn parrot doesn't stop!

 

[MrsKreamer]

I went to Cirque years ago, like in 2001...I got free tickets for doing something extra special for a guest, my mnger noticed and gave me two free tickets Anywho, the show was close to 2 hours(give or take 15 mins) but it was so worth it. They don't give you a chance to get restless.

 

[smacky1]

I checked out the reviews for the show on tripadvisor and I think we will skip it for now. I do think 2 is a bit young for it and 2 hours is WAY to long for my restless DS.

 

[CapnJacksGirl]

Are any of you considering doing the new Pirate League for this trip? I'd love to have my DS4 do it and my usually-not-a-joiner DH said he'd do it too until he found out it would cost $100 for the two of them to do it! I'm having a little trouble digesting that number myself for something that will only last one day. I guess I'm looking for help in justifying the cost to DH so I can have them do it! Honestly, I'd like to have the whole family do it too, but I know I'll never convince him to spend $200!! Any ideas?

 

[MrsKreamer]

I didn't see the price tag....rats I was looking forward to this. Oh well maybe next trip. My Dh did bring up a good point....Anyone else think that this was ill timing for Disney to open a new pirate adventure...lol

 

[smacky1]

I didn't see the price tag....rats I was looking forward to this. Oh well maybe next trip. My Dh did bring up a good point....Anyone else think that this was ill timing for Disney to open a new pirate adventure...lol

YES! We thought the same thing. My ds loves pirates, but with all the turmoil surrounding pirates in Somalia it seems wrong to have fun with it. Why couldnt they call them something different like "sea terrorist"?
My ds would very much enjoy this and if he was 4 I would really consider it. But, b/c he is only 2 and still VERY temperamental, I think we will wait. Let us know how it goes if you decide to do it. Where did you see the pricing?