A Secret Worth Keeping- December PTR! (Updated 6/16)

[TinkLovinMomma]

Confession: I am the worst at keeping secrets. Seriously. We booked our "surprise" WDW trip 2 weeks ago, and I have almost spilled the beans on multiple occasions already. Ah, before I get ahead of myself, I should probably introduce myself and my family huh? Lets do the who, what, where, when and why game!

Who:

Let's start out with mom and dad.
Mom: Thats me! I am the chick to the right. My name is Jessica, but everyone calls me Jess. I am a surgical coordinator/office manager for a surgeon's office, and I am currently going to school for Speech Pathology. I just turned the big 3-0 in May, and am still trying to come to terms with that... Heres some random info that you might want to know about me:
~My favorite Disney characters are Tink, Rapunzel and Alice, not necessarily in that order. I actually have a large Alice in Wonderland tattoo on my back!
~My favorite Disney movie is Tangled.
~ My favorite non-Disney things are the NY RANGERS (got a tattoo for them too), Doctor Who (note the shirt), Game of Thrones, reading books (mostly fantasy stuff), and running. I try to run as often as possible, because (for me at least) runner's high is a real thing, and I just love that feeling.
~My least favorite things are cotton balls, veal, my gluten allergy (more about that later) and closed-minded people.

Dad: My husband, John, is the fellow to the left. He is the love of my life, and we have been together since high school. He is a spring chicken at the ripe young age of 28. Some things you might want to know about him:
~His favorite Disney character is Jack Skellington
~His favorite Disney movie is Nightmare Before Christmas
~His favorite Non-Disney things are the NY Rangers, being at the beach, working (not really, but he is a workaholic) and animals of all sorts.. except cats.
~His least favorite things are cats, rare steak (I eat my steak medium rare, and he always makes comments about how it makes him sick to look at), and dancing.

Now lets meet the kiddos:


This is AJ. I know, he looks thrilled here right? AJ is our oldest child, 9 years old. As you can tell from the picture, he can be entirely stubborn when he is in a mood, but he is actually a really good kid. He is such a big help with his younger brothers, and is one of the most compassionate people that I know. He was granted a wish from the Make-A-Wish Foundation back when he was four years old because he was born with a complex heart defect. He chose a trip to Walt Disney World as his wish, and we had an amazing time. He has had 4 heart surgeries already, and will continue to need medical intervention for his defect for the rest of his life. However, due to the advances in medicine, he may not need to have full open heart surgery again, at least we hope not. Heres some funner info about AJ...
~His favorite Disney characters are Buzz Lightyear, Stitch, and Olaf.
~His favorite Disney movie is currently Frozen, but he also loves the Toy Story series
~His favorite non-Disney things are the NY Rangers, the NJ Devils (I know... don't get me started), the color purple, and salad. Seriously. This child would eat salad 3 meals a day if I allowed him to.
~His least favorite things are almost all meats, and people who chew with their mouth open.



This is Reid. He is 7 and our middle son. Reid is very straight forward, and has the best sense of humor. My hubby says that's because Reid thinks the same way that I do. We just get one another, and can have each other rolling on the floor laughing at times. Reid's info list is as follows:
~His favorite Disney Characters are Buzz Lightyear and Olaf. Used to be Tigger, but I guess he grew out of that.
~His favorite Disney movies are Wreck-It-Ralph, Tangled and Frozen
~His favorite non-Disney things are football, the color orange, and Minecraft
~His least favorite things are hockey (WHY Reid WHY), and surprises. He just needs to be informed about everything. Wait til he finds out about this trip!!



This is my Bennett baby! He is our youngest son and is about to be 10 months old!! He brings us all so much joy. He is just the funniest little creature, and he always knows how to put a smile on our faces. What does Bennett love and hate you ask?
~His favorite Disney character is Mickey Mouse.
~His favorite Disney movie is Frozen. (That might just be because it is on constant replay in our house lately, but no matter what he is doing he stops to listen to the songs)
~His favorite non-Disney things are his momma, avocado, and bath time
~His least favorite things are bedtime, and not getting his way.

Now on to the What:
A surprise 7 night/8 day trip to Walt Disney World with Free Dining! We are doing 5 days in the park (base tickets/no parkhopper) and will drive down to Tampa for 1 day to visit with my little brother and his family. We don't plan on telling the kids where we are headed until we are actually on our way down to Florida!

Where:
The Caribbean Beach Resort. This will be our first time in a Moderate which is really exciting.

When:
December 12-19 (Although we will begin our drive down on 12/11 and wont actually pull back into our driveway until 12/20)

Why:
Is this a real question? Because its Walt Disney World!! Also, it is going to be an early birthday gift for AJ & Reid who will turn 10 & 8 in January

 

[TinkLovinMomma]

What I Have Accomplished So Far
Itinerary and ADRs (Hopefully)
ADR TIME!!!
Less Than Five Months

 

[Mommy Poppins]

Adorable boys! Can't wait to read more!

 

[Alysa]

What a cute family! We have a big split between kids just like you. 11, 8 and 19 months. Plus I have to follow the trip report of a Whovian, just on principal! Looking forward to hearing more!

 

[Alysa]

Ack! Sorry, double post! Dumb ipad!

 

[TinkLovinMomma]

Adorable boys! Can't wait to read more!

Thank you and Welcome!! I am so happy to have you along for the ride!!!

What a cute family! We have a big split between kids just like you. 11, 8 and 19 months. Plus I have to follow the trip report of a Whovian, just on principal! Looking forward to hearing more!

A fellow Whovian!! I do not know a single person in real life that enjoys DW, so I always love meeting new virtual friends that will obsess with me. Is this hiatus killing you too? My hubby just doesn't get it at all haha!

I love having the big gap between my kids. The older two are so helpful with Ben. However, we would like one more child, and I would prefer to do that sooner rather than later if possible.

 

[TinkLovinMomma]

John and I have been talking about booking a vacation for the last few months, and had been going back and forth on what we wanted to do. Should we book a Disney Cruise, A Carnival Cruise piggybacked with a short stay at WDW, just a WDW trip, or something else entirely?? So when Disney announced Free Dining into December I ran some numbers and made the executive decision that a WDW trip was the answer!!

We are in the process of buying a house so a lot of our funds have been locked up, but when my boss handed me a nice little bonus check, I went ahead and booked our trip! I knew I wanted to stay in a Moderate, with the DDP. CBR was still available so I grabbed up a room! I just love the look of the rooms now with the Nemo bed runners! (Stock photo below)

I was a little worried about the double beds instead of Queens, but it wasn't a deal breaker, and now I hear that they are upgrading to Queen beds anyway! It would be nice if that is done by the time we get down there!!

I requested a room in Jamaica or Aruba (no specific building number) mostly because I think the boys will enjoy the walk over the bridge to get to OPR.

I originally booked us for 6 nights/7 days, from December 13-19, with 4 park days. Then my husband saw a commercial for the Diagon Alley opening at Universal, and mentioned that maybe we should add a day to the trip so that we could check it out... An extra day of vacation? You don't have to ask me twice! I was on the phone in minutes adding December 12 to our reservation. (I almost changed our resort too, to Coronado Springs, but then thought better of it at the last minute)

A couple of days later I was going over my loose itinerary for the trip and budget, I checked out the price for tickets at Universal. When I told John that it was going to cost $532 for the one day there, he decided that he isn't THAT interested in Harry Potter. I followed up that statement with "Well we can ad a DISNEY day to our trip for just $40..." So guess what?

We upgraded to 5 days in the parks!! YAY!!!

I know that we can easily spend 2 days in MK with the kids, so this gives us the ability to spend 1 day in each of the other parks and a 2nd day with Cindy's castle.

Okay I know this is basically a wall of text, so I will stop here and give you my loose itinerary and my ADR plans next...

 

[Alysa]

Thank you and Welcome!! I am so happy to have you along for the ride!!! A fellow Whovian!! I do not know a single person in real life that enjoys DW, so I always love meeting new virtual friends that will obsess with me. Is this hiatus killing you too? My hubby just doesn't get it at all haha! I love having the big gap between my kids. The older two are so helpful with Ben. However, we would like one more child, and I would prefer to do that sooner rather than later if possible.

Yes, the hiatus is killing me! Two more months. And I always worry I am not going to like the new doctor, and then I always do. I need to relax about it.
I know what you mean about the gap. My daughter is playing with the baby right now, they are both so good with him, but it wish he had a child closer to his age, and I'd love a sister for my daughter. I'm afraid that ship has sailed though. I think I'm too old. Recovering this time around was a nightmare compared to the other two. I still have 20 pounds to lose.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

You have adorable boys (even the stubborn one!). I'm also a huge Game of Thrones fan. Our trip isn't until January so you'll get your Disney "fix" before I get mine! I would love to be a Disney when the Christmas stuff is in full swing.

 

[TinkLovinMomma]

Yes, the hiatus is killing me! Two more months. And I always worry I am not going to like the new doctor, and then I always do. I need to relax about it.
I know what you mean about the gap. My daughter is playing with the baby right now, they are both so good with him, but it wish he had a child closer to his age, and I'd love a sister for my daughter. I'm afraid that ship has sailed though. I think I'm too old. Recovering this time around was a nightmare compared to the other two. I still have 20 pounds to lose.

I am worried about the new doctor too. Especially because I hear that he does not intend to speak with an English accent. That really bothers me for some reason, but maybe it won't really matter. When Nine regenerated into Ten I was soooo upset. It took me a long time to accept David Tennant, almost all of season 2, but now he is my absolute favorite Doctor of all time. I can watch his episodes over and over, especially the ones with Rose and Donna.

 

[TinkLovinMomma]

You have adorable boys (even the stubborn one!). I'm also a huge Game of Thrones fan. Our trip isn't until January so you'll get your Disney "fix" before I get mine! I would love to be a Disney when the Christmas stuff is in full swing.

Thank you!! I am so glad to have a GoT fan on-board! I am still in the process of reading the books, and since we have been staying with my mom while we are waiting to close on our new house (long story) and she doesn't have HBO, I am behind and having withdrawals haha!

We were originally going to go in January also because that is when AJ & Reid's birthdays both land, but with the free dining deal in December, we decided to soak in some Christmas lights instead!! Do you have a PTR going? I am going to have to look for it!

 

[TinkLovinMomma]

I've been staring at the crowd calculators for December until my eyes start to cross, trying to figure out which days to go where, and then trying to coordinate possible ADRs with the appropriate park days. It almost feels like a part time job! HAHA!

So here's what I am thinking so far:

December 12: Arrive in Walt Disney World. No parks today as we will likely get there right around check in time (3pm), then we will go out to dinner and either hit up DTD or the pool!

December 13: Animal Kingdom- hopefully for rope drop!

December 14: Epcot- again hoping for rope drop, but if we are already exhausted I am not going to push it

December 15: Hollywood Studios

December 16: This will be a rest day. We will either spend time by the pool, or take a ride over to Give Kids the World (where we stayed on AJ's wish trip) or maybe both!!

December 17: Magic Kingdom!! I know. I feel like it is so far into the trip, but this was the first "recommended" day that wasn't also a MVMCP day, plus why not save the best for last? I definetely want to get here for rope drop, and I am booking Bennett for the "My First Haircut" package at the barber for first thing in the morning! Ahh I am so excited for that. It is going to be so stinkin cute!

December 18: Driving down to Tampa to visit with my baby brother. (In actuality he will be 29 by then, but he is still a baby to me)

December 19: Magic Kingdom again. There is a MVMCP scheduled for this night, but since we will be driving home right after our park time, I figure it doesn't matter so much.

ADRs
We have 7 TS credits and 7 CS credits. I mentioned in my first post that I have a gluten allergy, so that has factored into the places that I have chosen for our meals. I do have to say though, I have NEVER experienced a place that is as accommodating to my allergies as Disney is, and it is so wonderful to be able to go on vacation and not have to worry about what I will or will not be able to eat!
Okay here is what I am thinking for Table Services:
Be Our Guest (Fingers Crossed!!!)
Cape May Cafe
The Wave
O'Hana breakfast (on our last day before we go to MK)
Whispering Canyon Cafe
Coral Reef
And then trying to decide between O'Hana dinner or Boma

For Counter Service I am planning on:
Flame Tree BBQ
La Cantina de San Angel or Sunshine Seasons
Toy Story Pizza Planet
Cap't Cooks
Be Our Guest (especially if I can't get an ADR for dinner)
Old Port Royale breakfast
And something else I have not decided on just yet

Comments? Suggestions?

I will say, I am not looking forward to waking up at 6am on my day off to solidify these ressies, but I know it will all be worth it!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Thank you!! I am so glad to have a GoT fan on-board! I am still in the process of reading the books, and since we have been staying with my mom while we are waiting to close on our new house (long story) and she doesn't have HBO, I am behind and having withdrawals haha!

We were originally going to go in January also because that is when AJ & Reid's birthdays both land, but with the free dining deal in December, we decided to soak in some Christmas lights instead!! Do you have a PTR going? I am going to have to look for it!

I'm only on the first book, but enjoying the fourth season on HBO. It amazes me how well the show follows the books!

We originally planned on December, but my cousin who was planning to go with us couldn't get off work. My PTR link is in my signature

I've been staring at the crowd calculators for December until my eyes start to cross, trying to figure out which days to go where, and then trying to coordinate possible ADRs with the appropriate park days. It almost feels like a part time job! HAHA!

So here's what I am thinking so far:

December 12: Arrive in Walt Disney World. No parks today as we will likely get there right around check in time (3pm), then we will go out to dinner and either hit up DTD or the pool!

December 13: Animal Kingdom- hopefully for rope drop!

December 14: Epcot- again hoping for rope drop, but if we are already exhausted I am not going to push it

December 15: Hollywood Studios

December 16: This will be a rest day. We will either spend time by the pool, or take a ride over to Give Kids the World (where we stayed on AJ's wish trip) or maybe both!!

December 17: Magic Kingdom!! I know. I feel like it is so far into the trip, but this was the first "recommended" day that wasn't also a MVMCP day, plus why not save the best for last? I definetely want to get here for rope drop, and I am booking Bennett for the "My First Haircut" package at the barber for first thing in the morning! Ahh I am so excited for that. It is going to be so stinkin cute!

December 18: Driving down to Tampa to visit with my baby brother. (In actuality he will be 29 by then, but he is still a baby to me)

December 19: Magic Kingdom again. There is a MVMCP scheduled for this night, but since we will be driving home right after our park time, I figure it doesn't matter so much.

ADRs
We have 7 TS credits and 7 CS credits. I mentioned in my first post that I have a gluten allergy, so that has factored into the places that I have chosen for our meals. I do have to say though, I have NEVER experienced a place that is as accommodating to my allergies as Disney is, and it is so wonderful to be able to go on vacation and not have to worry about what I will or will not be able to eat!
Okay here is what I am thinking for Table Services:
Be Our Guest (Fingers Crossed!!!)
Cape May Cafe
The Wave
O'Hana breakfast (on our last day before we go to MK)
Whispering Canyon Cafe
Coral Reef
And then trying to decide between O'Hana dinner or Boma

For Counter Service I am planning on:
Flame Tree BBQ
La Cantina de San Angel or Sunshine Seasons
Toy Story Pizza Planet
Cap't Cooks
Be Our Guest (especially if I can't get an ADR for dinner)
Old Port Royale breakfast
And something else I have not decided on just yet

Comments? Suggestions?

I will say, I am not looking forward to waking up at 6am on my day off to solidify these ressies, but I know it will all be worth it!

We love Coral Reef! I also love that the baby is getting his first haircut at. Disney!

 

[JPFamilyMom]

Fun, I've got our first December trip in the works too. Your boys are so handsome (I say handsome because my boys are 9 & 6 and they don't appreciate me saying cute anymore )

Loving your plans so far, we are going the first week in December, I haven't even looked at park ratings yet. Can't wait to see how your plans come together.

I'll be interested in seeing if you can keep the secret We weren't able to

 

[TinkLovinMomma]

I'm only on the first book, but enjoying the fourth season on HBO. It amazes me how well the show follows the books!

We originally planned on December, but my cousin who was planning to go with us couldn't get off work. My PTR link is in my signature



We love Coral Reef! I also love that the baby is getting his first haircut at. Disney!

I agree, HBO does a wonderful job of following the book, except a few minor things, but GRRM has had a hand in a few of those. (I don't want to give away too much since you are only on book one!) I am so glad they decided to make it into a tv series, rather than movies. They could have never fit all those details into feature length films!

I am glad to hear that you like Coral Reef! I am so excited to try it. I have wanted to eat there since that Full House episode where they all go to Walt Disney World! Danny & Vicky ate at the Coral Reef! lol

 

[TinkLovinMomma]

Fun, I've got our first December trip in the works too. Your boys are so handsome (I say handsome because my boys are 9 & 6 and they don't appreciate me saying cute anymore )

Loving your plans so far, we are going the first week in December, I haven't even looked at park ratings yet. Can't wait to see how your plans come together.

I'll be interested in seeing if you can keep the secret We weren't able to

Thank you! My boys think they are above the "cute" term too. Funny how grown up they think they are lol. Well except Bennett. He lets me call him whatever I want to. Half the time I call him "Stinky" and he thinks it's hysterical. LOL

I am so worried about whether or not I will be able to keep it a secret for 6 more months! I have a plan for the big reveal, and it doesn't even take place until we are halfway through our trip down to Florida. Gahh! I will post more about that later though.

Yay for Disney at Christmas time!!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

I agree, HBO does a wonderful job of following the book, except a few minor things, but GRRM has had a hand in a few of those. (I don't want to give away too much since you are only on book one!) I am so glad they decided to make it into a tv series, rather than movies. They could have never fit all those details into feature length films!

I am glad to hear that you like Coral Reef! I am so excited to try it. I have wanted to eat there since that Full House episode where they all go to Walt Disney World! Danny & Vicky ate at the Coral Reef! lol

I agree that too many details would have been left out had GoT been made into movies instead of a t.v. series!

I remember an episode of Full House where they were in Magic Kingdom. That was the first time I ever saw Disney World and I've wanted to go ever since! I don't remember them in Epcot at all But keep in mind that I'm about the same age as the Olsen twins

I think you'll really like Coral Reef!

 

[TinkLovinMomma]

Hey! Hi! I am back! And guess what? I have a big update! I did my ADR's yesterday morning!! I woke up at the crack of dawn, shaking with nerves about nailing down a ressie at Be Our Guest. So I logged on....

and the website wasn't working!! I couldn't bring up anything past 12/12 (our check in date)!!! Whaaaaat!! SO I was scrambling trying to figure it out.

Finally I had to log out and log back in and get back to the ADR page. SO I typed I scrolled down to Be Our Guest, found the date we were looking for And.....

BAM! 2 Time Slots Left!! We got a Be Our Guest ADR for 6:35 on the 17th!!

I really thought that it was going to be the one ressie I was going to have to give up!!

We are going to eat in the Beast's castle!!

Okay, enough celebration. You all need to CALM DOWN!



Okay maybe just me.

Sooo... here is my ADR list

12/12- Whispering Canyon Cafe
12/13- Cape May Cafe
12/14- Coral Reef
12/15- Kona Cafe
12/16- Raglan Road
12/17- Be Our Guest
12/18- (None. Eating dinner at my brother's house)
12/19- Breakfast at 'Ohana

My hubby's one request was a meal where he could order duck. I originally intended to change out Coral Reef for Chefs de France, but they only had 8pm available and I am not okay with making my kids eat that late. SO I kept Coral Reef, and switched out The Wave for Kona Cafe, and after checking out the menu a bit further, I am very happy with that decision!

Oh my gosh... I can't believe our trip is officially less than 6 months away!!

 

[JPFamilyMom]

for Be Our Guest

I've never done whispering Canyon Café. It's on our someday list.

We are doing Cape May Buffet dinner next month for a late anniversary dinner (we will be in Orlando on business trip, so figured we'd do a meal at Disney ) Have you eaten there before? It will be our first time eating there, it's been on my husbands wish list for a few years.

My boys and I did Coral Reef a couple years ago and scored a table right next to the tank, and had fun guys making faces at us and doing flips in the water. It was fun.

I've currently got a Kona lunch booked for December, which will also be new for us.

Raglan Road and Ohana Breakfast we've done before too. We had a lot of fun at both places and I believe everyone really enjoyed the food too.

You've got some great ADR's

Can't wait to see what else you've got planned

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

I love a good Disney surprise trip We are surprising my seven year old daughter this year too... I cannot wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!