A May 2010 PTR: I Got A Job....Let's Go See Mickey!*Update 4/15!!

[MHTeacher]

It's a sickness. A disease, really. I think I may need professional help. I just can't stop...

CHANGING MY ADR'S!!!

After reading a few birthday TR's (I'm talking about you, MHTeacher I decided that I wanted to do a character dinner on DS's birthday.




Since I couldn't find any solid info on what characters appear at GG, I decided to go with CM's. I'm really not a huge fan of buffet food (unless it's breakfast), but DS eats well at them, so I'll suck it up. I'll just have to have a snack before we go. Or eat a lot of dessert. I'm going to have a cake delivered, too. Hopefully I can find a cute one that won't cost me an arm and a leg. It's Disney, though, so good luck, right?



You may recall that we were scheduled to have breakfast at CM's on 6/4. Since we were going to be there on Sunday night, I decided to switch that ressie to somewhere we hadn't been before. I've heard good things about the character breakfast at 'Ohana, so I booked us for there.



So here is the new (and improved?) ADR list:

5/30 Tusker House 8:00 am
5/30 Chef Mickey's 7:35 pm
5/31 The Crystal Palace 8:10 am
6/1 Hollywood & Vine 8:00 am
6/2 Akershus 8:00 am
6/2 Teppan Edo 1:00 pm
6/4 'Ohana 7:40 am

.........Who, Me????

I think a character dinner is a great idea for a child's birthday dinner! Chef Mickey's will be a great choice for your little boy! (+ CakeMan Brian is at the Contemporary, and he makes some amazing looking cakes! ) AND, you'll love 'Ohana!

 

[elizablake]

Never been but I hear great things about Chef Mickey's. We just added Ohana as well but for dinner.

Mickey and cake, what more could a kid want for their birthday.

 

[Mommy2LittleVols]

.........Who, Me????

I think a character dinner is a great idea for a child's birthday dinner! Chef Mickey's will be a great choice for your little boy! (+ CakeMan Brian is at the Contemporary, and he makes some amazing looking cakes! ) AND, you'll love 'Ohana!

CakeMan Brian - will have to remember him! Is he the one that made your DD's beautiful cake?

Never been but I hear great things about Chef Mickey's. We just added Ohana as well but for dinner.

Mickey and cake, what more could a kid want for their birthday.

We loved our CM breakfast last year. I'm hoping dinner will be just as good. I'm dying to try 'Ohana for dinner, but DH wants to wait till the kids are a little older so they can participate in the activities.

Mickey and cake, indeed!

 

[MickeyisBeast]

We had Chef Mickey's for dinner two years ago. It was cute, and I enjoyed it, the food was good too

 

[racefanof88]

Julia, you know that here, on the Disboard, you can NEVER be Disney obsessed. It is a life style.....NOT an obsession .

I love the new ADRs . I so want to eat at Tusker House, but I just don't think they will have much DH will eat. We have never done CM for dinner, just breakfast. I have ordered two birthday cakes while at Disney. The one I ordered in May 2008 was HORRIBLE it went in the garbage after one bite, the one I special ordered in May of 2009 was GREAT. It was $85, but it was still great. I think the difference was the special order part. I called the cake line in April of '08 and just ordered a cake, in April of '09 I had specifics that I wanted and they had to special make it so it wasn't a refrigerator cake.

 

[Mommy2LittleVols]

We had Chef Mickey's for dinner two years ago. It was cute, and I enjoyed it, the food was good too

Good to know! Thanks!

Julia, you know that here, on the Disboard, you can NEVER be Disney obsessed. It is a life style.....NOT an obsession .

I love the new ADRs . I so want to eat at Tusker House, but I just don't think they will have much DH will eat. We have never done CM for dinner, just breakfast. I have ordered two birthday cakes while at Disney. The one I ordered in May 2008 was HORRIBLE it went in the garbage after one bite, the one I special ordered in May of 2009 was GREAT. It was $85, but it was still great. I think the difference was the special order part. I called the cake line in April of '08 and just ordered a cake, in April of '09 I had specifics that I wanted and they had to special make it so it wasn't a refrigerator cake.

I'm not sure about the TH dinner menu, but the breakfast food was just normal breakfast fare. So maybe you could do a morning ADR?

Thanks for the cake advice! I've been perusing the Cake Chatter thread and getting some ideas from there. I know it's really not unusual for cakes to be pricey. I priced one here for DD's bday this month and it was going to be $95 for a two-layer round cake and a smash cake. DH vetoed that. So we're going with cupcakes from a local bakery instead. Still very yummy, but much less $$!

 

[disneylovin24]

About Chef Mickey's, it's great if you want to see the characters. But, the last few times we have dined there the food has been bad. The selections have been very limited (only 3-4 kids items, and 5-6 adult items) and some of what was there was cold. We may have cought them on bad nights But, I've actually heard bad things from a few other people on here too. I think if you want to go and see the characters do breakfast because you can't go wrong making breakfast

 

[Mommy2LittleVols]

About Chef Mickey's, it's great if you want to see the characters. But, the last few times we have dined there the food has been bad. The selections have been very limited (only 3-4 kids items, and 5-6 adult items) and some of what was there was cold. We may have cought them on bad nights But, I've actually heard bad things from a few other people on here too. I think if you want to go and see the characters do breakfast because you can't go wrong making breakfast

See, that is what I've heard/read a lot lately. I guess we're really just going for the characters. DS will be A-OK with the food as long as there is some form of chicken nugget. And DH will eat just about anything. Me, I'll just have to fill up on cake. You know I hate that!

 

[ladybugmom]

So here is the new (and improved?) ADR list:

5/30 Tusker House 8:00 am
5/30 Chef Mickey's 7:35 pm
5/31 The Crystal Palace 8:10 am
6/1 Hollywood & Vine 8:00 am
6/2 Akershus 8:00 am
6/2 Teppan Edo 1:00 pm
6/4 'Ohana 7:40 am

NICE!! You have some good looking ADRs!!!!

 

[MHTeacher]

CakeMan Brian - will have to remember him! Is he the one that made your DD's beautiful cake?

No, We had Elizabeth's birthday dinner at 1900 Park Faire, in the Grand Floridian, so the GF's bakery made her cake. But I have seen some pictuers of CakeManBrian's cakes on the cake chatter thread, and it looks like he makes some awesome looking cakes.

As far as Chef Mickey's being hit-or-miss on the dinner menu, sometimes we have to sacrifice one thing for another. The food may or may not be wonderful (haven't eaten dinner there in 7 years!), but I know in making the decision for DD's BD dinner, the atmosphere, the characters, and having the custom cake was most important to me---not necessarily the food!

 

[Mommy2LittleVols]

NICE!! You have some good looking ADRs!!!!

Thanks! I noticed they're very similar to yours.

As far as Chef Mickey's being hit-or-miss on the dinner menu, sometimes we have to sacrifice one thing for another. The food may or may not be wonderful (haven't eaten dinner there in 7 years!), but I know in making the decision for DD's BD dinner, the atmosphere, the characters, and having the custom cake was most important to me---not necessarily the food!

Exactly!


So...I just realized that the last couple of days of our trip are going to be during GayDays. Does anyone know anything about that? I've heard of it, but I don't know exactly what it entails.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Hello! Just joining in on your party! We have a spring trip planned too - April 25 - May 2. I'm also a "Spectrum Mom" - DS9 was diagnosed with PDD-NOS at 2. DS6 is currently undiagnosed but most likely will end up with a diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome. And we love Disney too!!

Great ADRs! We love those character meals too - a great way to meet the characters without the lines. We are also huge fans of Teppan Edo since our trip last April. It was one of our best Disney meals ever!

Looking forward to following along.

 

[Mommy2LittleVols]

Hello! Just joining in on your party! We have a spring trip planned too - April 25 - May 2. I'm also a "Spectrum Mom" - DS9 was diagnosed with PDD-NOS at 2. DS6 is currently undiagnosed but most likely will end up with a diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome. And we love Disney too!!

Great ADRs! We love those character meals too - a great way to meet the characters without the lines. We are also huge fans of Teppan Edo since our trip last April. It was one of our best Disney meals ever!

Looking forward to following along.

Thanks for joining!! I'll have to hop on over to your PTR and check out your past PTRs/TRs, too. I always like reading about fellow Spectrum families Disney experiences.

 

[MHTeacher]

So...I just realized that the last couple of days of our trip are going to be during GayDays. Does anyone know anything about that? I've heard of it, but I don't know exactly what it entails.

Last year, we were there at the same time. We had arrived on a Sunday, and GayDays began that Thursday. I believe they have a park they choose for each day (TH, FR, SAT, SUN), but of course they may visit other parks that day. I found the schedule of which park they had chosen for each day on their website....Just google GayDays.

We did see a few small groups (maybe 4-5 people) in a park (which was not the one on their website), but there was nothing too flamboyant going on.

 

[Mommy2LittleVols]

Last year, we were there at the same time. We had arrived on a Sunday, and GayDays began that Thursday. I believe they have a park they choose for each day (TH, FR, SAT, SUN), but of course they may visit other parks that day. I found the schedule of which park they had chosen for each day on their website....Just google GayDays.

We did see a few small groups (maybe 4-5 people) in a park (which was not the one on their website), but there was nothing too flamboyant going on.

I checked out their website after I posted earlier and it looks like "their" park on 6/3 is going to be AK, which we were planning on attending that day. But given that we will have already spent one day there at the beginning of the trip, I was already thinking of just having a "free" day that day. AK has EMH that morning, so we may go to that, then head over to DTD for some shopping, and then wrap up the day by the pool. It really doesn't bother me (I mean, my SILs are lesbians after all ); I just like knowing what to expect.

 

[DisMomAmy]

I checked out their website after I posted earlier and it looks like "their" park on 6/3 is going to be AK, which we were planning on attending that day. But given that we will have already spent one day there at the beginning of the trip, I was already thinking of just having a "free" day that day. AK has EMH that morning, so we may go to that, then head over to DTD for some shopping, and then wrap up the day by the pool. It really doesn't bother me (I mean, my SILs are lesbians after all ); I just like knowing what to expect.

I think it's a good idea to stay away from parks that have any type of group event going on. AK for a few hours early on, followed by DTD sounds perfect to me.

 

[Mommy2LittleVols]

I think it's a good idea to stay away from parks that have any type of group event going on. AK for a few hours early on, followed by DTD sounds perfect to me.

That was my thinking as well. We didn't get in very much DTD time last year, so it is quite high on my priority list this time. Even if I have to go alone. (Actually, that might be preferable. )

 

[Mommy2LittleVols]

Must Do's, Maybe's, and Not This Time's

This afternoon while the kids were napping, I decided to take the day off from cleaning and do some Disney planning instead. I got out my trusty Unofficial Guide ('09 edition) and my Disney notebook, settled in on the couch, and proceeded to have the most relaxing 60 minutes of my week. It was wonderful!

Until the darn dog barked and woke the kids up.

Luckily (for the dog), I had already finished what I'd set out to do - my list of "Must Do's, Maybe's, and Not This Time's" for each park. It was a tough decision on some things, but I really want to focus on Dakoda this trip since it's his birthday. And there will be other trips.


(* indicates that it will be new to us)


Magic Kingdom

Must Do
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
The Hall of Presidents*
The Haunted Mansion
Jungle Cruise
Mad Tea Party
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin*
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Mickey's and Minnie's Country Houses* (will these two be open?)
Mickey's PhilharMagic
Peter Pan's Flight
Pirates of the Caribbean
Space Mountain*
The Swiss Family Treehouse*
Tom Sawyer's Island*
Tomorrowland Transit Authority*
Pooh's Playfull Spot*
Donald's Boat*
Toontown Hall of Fame*
Floating Electrical Pageant
Wishes
Afternoon Parade* (cannot remember what this is called)
Spectromagic
Dream Along with Mickey

Maybe
The Carousel of Progress*
WDW Railroad*
The Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacre Farm* (will this be open?)
Cinderella's Golden Carrousel*
Country Bear's Jamboree
The Enchanted Tiki Room*
Monsters, Inc Comedy Club*
The Liberty Belle Riverboat*
Snow White's Scary Adventures
Splash Mountain
Tomorrowland Speedway
Ariel's Grotto*
Astro Orbiter*

Not This Time
it's a small world (I really hate this ride; please don't throw things! )
Stitch's Great Escape*
Storytime with Belle*


Epcot

Must Do
Club Cool* (I must get a "Beverly" pic of DH )
Spaceship Earth
The Seas with Nemo and Friends
Turtle Talk with Crush
Living with the Land*
Soarin'
Test Track
Mission: Space
Ellen's Energy Adventure*
Illuminations*

Maybe
Innoventions*
Honey I Shrunk the Audience*
Gran Fiesta Tour
The Circle of Life*
Journey Into Imagination with Figment*
Maelstrom
American Adventure*
Live entertainment (Chinese acrobats and such - I'd like to catch as much of that as possible)

Not This Time
Reflections of China*
Impressions de France*
O Canada!*


Hollywood Studios

Must Do
American Idol Experience*
Fantasmic!
Honey I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure*
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular*
Playhouse Disney Live!
Rock n Roller Coaster
Star Tours
Toy Story Mania!
Tower of Terror
Block Party Bash*
High School Musical*
Street Entertainment*

Maybe
Lights! Motor! Action! Extreme Stunt Show*
The Great Movie Ride
Muppet Vision 3D*
One Man's Dream*
The Magic of Disney Animation*
Studios Backlot Tour*
Beauty and the Beast
Journey into Narnia*

Not This Time
Sounds Dangerous*
Voyage of the Little Mermaid (Ursula was a bit intense last time )


Animal Kingdom

Must Do
Tree of Life
It's Tough to Be a Bug!
Camp Minnie Mickey Character Trails
Festival of the Lion King
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Conservation Station & Affection Section*
Wildlife Express Train*
Expedition Everest
Kali River Rapids
Maharaja Jungle Trek*
The Boneyard*
Dinosaur
Finding Nemo - The Musical
Mickey's Jammin Jungle Parade
DeVine & other live entertainment*

Maybe
Flights of Wonder
Triceratop Spin

Not This Time
Pangani Forest
Primeval Whirl*

Next: Let's go shopping!

 

[DisMomAmy]

That's quite a list! My only concern is that you have a lot of early morning ADRs (from what I remember reading) & a lot of late night entertainment on your wish list. Will the kids fall asleep in the evening at the parks?

And I think Toon Town is going to be closed by May. I'm not positive, but I'm expecting it to be closed by our trip in late April.

 

[MHTeacher]

Wow...that's quite the list. Would you believe that in 8 trips, we've never seen the Jammin' Jungle Parade at AK?