**A YEAR in the Making of a Disney Trip-Sept. 2011**9/28 TR Link Added!**

[onescgirl]

I think that sounds great. Make all the dining reservations you think you need because you can cancel later. I would look at the menus & prices on Allears.com & see out of all the restaurants your reserving which meal will be the cheapest to pay OOP for.

That is also a great trade! Painting is hard work & now you don't have to do it!

 

[999ghostslover]

I think it is better to overbook ADRs. You can always cancel them later.

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

I am here! I will be back to catch up, but I just have to say, your three children are adorable!!!

Great! And thanks for joining in with us!

I would look at the menus & prices on Allears.com & see out of all the restaurants your reserving which meal will be the cheapest to pay OOP for.

That is also a great trade! Painting is hard work & now you don't have to do it!

I will definitely be doing that! I love that they have such a comprehensive list of menus. Great site! And, yes, we're pretty excited about getting this painted. The builders used a really cheap, flat, ugly paint throughout the house, so I'm so happy to be able to pick something that can wipe down easier (kid handprints are gross!) and that looks better.

I think it is better to overbook ADRs. You can always cancel them later.

Is it only the signature restaurants/dinner shows that charge a fee if you cancel, or do all TS?

 

[999ghostslover]

Is it only the signature restaurants/dinner shows that charge a fee if you cancel, or do all TS?

Yeah, on bartering. That is awesome. Don't get me started on contractor grade taupe paint.

I believe that it is only the meals that require a credit card on file with the restaurant like CRT, fantasmic package, luau etc. And even then you have 48 hours to cancel. I'm 90% sure that is the deal. We had reservations for dinner at tusker house last time and I walked up to the podium at like 9am to cancel and it was not a problem.

 

[twinsluvdis2]

Hi! I am subscribing to your PTR! We'll be in "The World" in Sept. 2011 too. Our trip is booked for 9/3 - 9/10 at the All Star Movies! Can't wait. It will be my boys 4th trip and my 10th. We are all Disney Addicts too.
Can't wait to follow along with your PTR as I plan mine too.

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Hi! I am subscribing to your PTR! We'll be in "The World" in Sept. 2011 too. Our trip is booked for 9/3 - 9/10 at the All Star Movies! Can't wait. It will be my boys 4th trip and my 10th. We are all Disney Addicts too.
Can't wait to follow along with your PTR as I plan mine too.

Awesome! It'll be so much fun to plan together!

 

[Beka]

I'm reading! Getting caught up on the updates, but I must say, you look GREAT for having had a baby in your 1st post! Holy cow! I looked like a HOT MESS after I had Conner! LOL! And I have no idea how you do it with 3, so you (and Jenn) are my go-to people for Disney & coping with more than 1 kid!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

I'm reading! Getting caught up on the updates, but I must say, you look GREAT for having had a baby in your 1st post! Holy cow! I looked like a HOT MESS after I had Conner! LOL! And I have no idea how you do it with 3, so you (and Jenn) are my go-to people for Disney & coping with more than 1 kid!

THANKS (for reading and for the compliment!)!! The birth was so quick that I didn't have time to look exhausted, and I seem to always be able to go back to my original weight after a baby, but it just seems to be distributed differently! And I think I do it with 3 because I'm insane!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Sorry it's been so long! I haven't forgotten you! Things have just been crazy around here (what? 3 kids and things are crazy??). Let's get on with it!

When we left off, I had sort of worked out my dilemma about Tusker House/ 50's Prime Time. I guess you could say I plan and worry a little far in advance, especially since I can't even make ADRs til March 21.

Instead of worrying too much with that right now, I thought we could discuss my counter service options. First, let me explain how we do this: I make a schedule of days complete with ADRs, and I just fill in the rest with "counter service." Then when it's time to eat, we just go to the closest pre-approved CS restaurant. I don't get into planning exactly which CS we will eat on exactly which day...tried that on our first trip, and it was way too much hassle! No sense in trekking across the park if you made it further on your itenerary than you thought, or if you got caught up in a whim along the way and are taking longer! Just eat what's nearby!
Here are our choices, and feel free to weigh in with your opinion!

Magic Kingdom
One guess as to our favorite:

That's right, it's Cosmic Ray's! This was in 2009, when Juju was still in her "I hate loud noises, including Sonny Eclipse" phase. Yay for earmuffs! We all love the 1/2 chicken and ribs plate, as well as the Bacon Double Cheeseburger. Juju gets her own burger, and in the past we've split things with Bebo and added on a yogurt. By next September, she'll be 3 and will get her own meals for the first time! We all know the best part of Cosmic Ray's, right?? THE TOPPINGS BAR!! Yummy cheese fries!

Columbia Harbour House-This place is not only yummy, but nostalgic. It's the first place we ever ate at Magic Kingdom. They were ringing the bell outside trying to get people to eat there just as we passed by. I always get the Fried Fish Basket, and Brandon and Mamie always get the Fried Shrimp basket (a side note--shrimp is the only seafood those two will eat. Like mother like son?). The girls go for the chicken nuggets. Shocker! I keep swearing that I'm going to try the Anchors Aweigh Sandwich, but the fish is so good that I'm scared to try anything new! Maybe next trip.

Pecos Bill's- I've never had bad food here. I mean, it's staple counter service food, but it's never been bad. I've tried all forms of burgers and the chicken wrap. I liked it all, but I will stick with burgers from now on because of the...you guessed it...TOPPINGS BAR!! Are we seeing a trend here? Momma likes her cheese! This is the first place Bebo ever tried pickles, and she loves them. We kept going back to get more little cups of pickles for her, which made for a very happy (and stinky!) baby!

Epcot
We're going to be having lunch and dinner at TS places here, but can you guess where we'll have breakfast/morning snack??

Sunshine Seasons!! Gotta have the strawberry shortcake! This is our snack from last year. Originally, Brandon and I were going to split the cake and coffee and the girls were going to have bananas. Turns out that Juju ate almost the entire strawberry shortcake by herself. She has already declared that next time she will have her own cake AND a banana!

I am also hoping that Brandon and I have some time to go back by ourselves one night so I can try Tangierine Cafe. Never been there, but we'll see. Any opinions??

Animal Kingdom
Okay, okay...we all know that AK does not have the best food in the World. We might not even eat CS here. Last year, we just had a late lunch back at the hotel. This year, it's possible I'll book at Rainforest Cafe. But if we have CS, there is only one that's acceptable to us.

Pizzafari-Their pizza is...well...pizza. But I do like their Hot Italian Sandwich. And the other reason it's the only acceptable one? Air conditioning!!

Hollywood Studios
Again, this is a place that isn't famous for its food. We tend to not stay long at this park, and we tend to go for TS meals. Last year we at a late morning snack at Starring Rolls (Turkey Focaccia, split between all of us) then went back to the hotel for lunch. I really don't think we'll even bother with CS at all here, unless you can convince me there's something good.

And our other favorite CS place is...POP CENTURY FOOD COURT! What's not to love? You've got just about everything here, and it's all pretty good. You can eat it inside, outside, or in your room. The flatbreads and Moms Night Out meals are delicious, and we love refilling our mugs here with the white tea. If we're not feeling it at the parks, we'll be back here. In fact, we'll probably be here for many snacks, as well!

But more on snacks later...

So, opinions? Suggestions? I'd love to hear about your favorite CS restaurants!

 

[2princesses2princes]

'm here, reading, and laughing and enjoying every minute of it. You have a beautiful family. Your little girls are adorable with their curls. My youngest has the wild crazy curly hair thing going on.

I am so with you on your love for Pop Century. We love Pop, but unfortunately cannot go there this time around See our family kind of grew, and with 4 kiddos it's not happening. We thought about doing 2 rooms but decided this is the chance to check out a moderate, because once our Alli turns 3 next march that one is out too.

50s primetime is on the first timer list for us. I like your plan though, paying oop for breakfast at AK isn't so bad, actually we are considering that as well. It seems to be the least expensive out of all our options.

So Cosmic Rays is good? We have never been we have done Pecos Bills, so which is better in your opinion?

I envy your extra hand. We took our inlaws with us in 07 and paid there way, we just can't swing it this time. Although it would be nice to have some help with the kiddos. But I am thinking since our oldest will be 11.5 and 9 at the time and our youngest 5.5 and almost 3, we should be ok.

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

'm here, reading, and laughing and enjoying every minute of it. You have a beautiful family. Your little girls are adorable with their curls. My youngest has the wild crazy curly hair thing going on.

I am so with you on your love for Pop Century. We love Pop, but unfortunately cannot go there this time around See our family kind of grew, and with 4 kiddos it's not happening. We thought about doing 2 rooms but decided this is the chance to check out a moderate, because once our Alli turns 3 next march that one is out too.

50s primetime is on the first timer list for us. I like your plan though, paying oop for breakfast at AK isn't so bad, actually we are considering that as well. It seems to be the least expensive out of all our options.

So Cosmic Rays is good? We have never been we have done Pecos Bills, so which is better in your opinion?

I envy your extra hand. We took our inlaws with us in 07 and paid there way, we just can't swing it this time. Although it would be nice to have some help with the kiddos. But I am thinking since our oldest will be 11.5 and 9 at the time and our youngest 5.5 and almost 3, we should be ok.

Thanks for joining in! I feel ya on the big family thing--but we are lucky to have two rooms to split them in because we had to get one for MIL. And the extra hand will be nice, but you know how having extra people around can get frustrating, too...

Yes, we love Cosmic Ray's. I think it's better than Pecos Bill's. The burgers are about the same, but the chicken and ribs option at Cosmic Ray's is much better than any of the other offerings at Pecos Bill's, IMO.

 

[999ghostslover]

I think they are all great choices. I'm pretty easy with counter service. I don't go in expecting the best and usually leave more than satisfied. I love Columbia Harbor House too. I remember way back to the 90s when they had clam chowder bread bowls. So good. We love Pizzafari and I think we may try Restrauntasaurus this trip. Flame Tree is out of this world but I know we need air conditioning to eat CS at AK. The only truly bad CS experiences we have had have been Lotus Blossum. Can't believe they could pass health codes for that stuff. Bleck! And Casey's in MK. DH wanted to eat there (mosty for convenience) and it was the worst service we have ever gotten. The cash register broke and the guy walked away in the middle of DH ordering without saying a word and was gone for like 10 minutes. We didn't know what to do. Someone finally came back and told us the register was broken and when DH tried to go to the next one. They shook their heads at him and told him he had to wait in line again. And the poor schmuck did! It was just him eating too. A and I had CRT ADRS later. We were just hanging out and waiting for him to eat and hold Brady so he could eat in relative peace. So as good as corn dog nuggets sound I think we will likely pass there. I would also love to eat at Pinocchio's. I remember eating there as a kid and looking down on Small World. But I am so confused as to what will be open at MK in Fantasy Land and Toon Town that I can't even think about that part of the park until we get closer.

Hope life settles down for you guys. For us it just gets busier and busier!

 

[inkedupmomma]

Idk if you have a DTD day planned, but please try Earl of Sandwich! You will thank me later..like really really thank me..unless you have already eaten there, then you know already! SO NOMS!

Other wise I do not have much input.. I hate counter service I can say this, DO NOT eat at El Pirate Y El Piriocho! YUCK!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

The only truly bad CS experiences we have had have been Lotus Blossum. Can't believe they could pass health codes for that stuff. Bleck! And Casey's in MK. DH wanted to eat there (mosty for convenience) and it was the worst service we have ever gotten. ........ I would also love to eat at Pinocchio's.

Thanks for advising against these! I've never tried either, but was considering Casey's (corn nuggets DO sound good!), but I don't have time to waste! What kind of nastiness was happening at Lotus Blossom? And as for Pinocchio's, it's an okay CS, but it gets BUSY, even at 11:30! We enjoyed our meal there--pizza is pizza at the parks--but it took forever to get our food and we didn't get one of the coveted seats even though we were super early.

Idk if you have a DTD day planned, but please try Earl of Sandwich! You will thank me later..like really really thank me..unless you have already eaten there, then you know already! SO NOMS!

Other wise I do not have much input.. I hate counter service I can say this, DO NOT eat at El Pirate Y El Piriocho! YUCK!

We will go to DTD for at least one night, but I haven't even begun to think about where we'll eat. I've heard good things about EOS, but I am intrigued by Cookes of Dublin. We did Rainforest Cafe the last time we were there. As for El Pirate Y El Pericho, I've never even seen it open!!! And I agree, the CS meals are not the ones that I get excited about!

 

[999ghostslover]

I got a salad at Lotus Blossum, like a typical Asian style salad with the crunchy noodles and chicken. It had a layer of congealed chicken fat on top of it and it was frozen in the middle. And the dessert was red bean ice cream and that was all they had. The other stuff we got was subpar to Mall Food Court Chinese food. I was really kicking myself because I was so looking forward to a good WS CS place. There are so many.
That is good to know about Pinnochios. I think we will just do Columbia Harbor House. Maybe twice!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

I got a salad at Lotus Blossum, like a typical Asian style salad with the crunchy noodles and chicken. It had a layer of congealed chicken fat on top of it and it was frozen in the middle. And the dessert was red bean ice cream and that was all they had. The other stuff we got was subpar to Mall Food Court Chinese food. I was really kicking myself because I was so looking forward to a good WS CS place. There are so many.
That is good to know about Pinnochios. I think we will just do Columbia Harbor House. Maybe twice!

That is DISGUSTING! I'm not big on Asian food anyway, but DH is, so I'm glad I know this so I can tell him to stay away!

 

[inkedupmomma]

I'm reading! Getting caught up on the updates, but I must say, you look GREAT for having had a baby in your 1st post! Holy cow! I looked like a HOT MESS after I had Conner! LOL! And I have no idea how you do it with 3, so you (and Jenn) are my go-to people for Disney & coping with more than 1 kid!

i loves you!

We will go to DTD for at least one night, but I haven't even begun to think about where we'll eat. I've heard good things about EOS, but I am intrigued by Cookes of Dublin. We did Rainforest Cafe the last time we were there. As for El Pirate Y El Pericho, I've never even seen it open!!! And I agree, the CS meals are not the ones that I get excited about!

I am not a fan of rainforest cafe :/ do eos!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

What's your favorite thing to eat at EOS? And has anyone tried Cookes of Dublin?

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Whoa, it's been a while since I updated!! There's a reason for that--we've been REALLY busy these days! Thought I'd share just what we've been up to, as it relates to Disney stuff and not-very-Disney stuff! Lately we have...

decorated for fall/Halloween!
Here's my personal favorite Halloween decoration:

These are our "Country Bumpkin' Pumpkins," as I like to call them. My mom's co-worker makes them...just use your imagination!

Welcome to our house! This is our front door:

And all the decorations out front...

About those orange spider webs...I HATE THEM!!! But Juju saw our neighbors had some and she absolutely insisted we get some, too. How can you turn down a 4 year old who just wants to celebrate? I know I can't! So we are tacky this year and loving it! As for Halloween costumes, all my kids are going as Tigger! Yep, all 3! (So much for Tigger being the "only one!" ) I originally bought Bubba a baby tiger outfit that looks a lot like Tigger but it's a sleeper with a hat and booties. Then I found a 2t-3t Tigger outfit in our garage when we were having a garage sale (oh, yeah, we did that for the Disney fund and got $154 in a couple of hours for junk!), so I said that Bebo could also be Tigger. Well, Juju was not going to be left out, so she insisted I find her one. If you've ever tried to find a size 5 Tigger outfit, you know it's hard! Thank goodness for ebay! Can't wait to show you pictures of them all dressed up!

We went to the zoo recently, as well. Our memberships run out on Halloween, so we decided to squeeze in another trip. The weather was perfect! It was cool in the morning and warm, not hot, in the afternoon. I've gotta say, Atlanta has a great zoo as far as zoos are concerned, but after you've been to Animal Kingdom, nothing compares. I realize that Animal Kingdom is not a zoo, but it's the closest comparison you can make. The kiddos didn't really mind, though. They had a great time.
Here's the girls with a statue of Willie B. (I think...could be some other random gorilla...)

And here they are in a nest.

Brandon and Bubba at the petting zoo...they might look a little bit alike.

The girls fell in love with the sheep at the petting zoo area. Yuck. Sure am happy they have hand-washing stations!

Bubba decided to take a little rest on his mommy.

We ended the day with some rides. Here's the carousel. Juju said, "Let's pretend this is Disney World!" So every time we rode (three times!), they sang Disney songs. At this point, Bebo was mid-"It's a Small World!"

And the biggest, best thing that's happened since the last update...BEBO IS USING THE POTTY!!!! If you don't have kids, you don't know how very cool this is. Trust me, having only one kid in diapers instead of two is spectacular!! I've got a cute picture of her using the potty, but I am not going to post that here, of course! I mean, I don't even reveal my kids' real names, much less put potty pictures up for all to see! You'll just have to trust me, it's the cutest, most wonderful thing ever.

On a Disney note, I got to buy the UG Color Compantion to Disney World last week! I would say that I love it, but Juju has commandeered it. I never even get a chance to look! Hopefully soon.

So that's what we've been doing the past few weeks...what about you? What's going on in your neck of the woods, as we say around here??

 

[999ghostslover]

Why did I not know you live in Atlanta? Why did I think you were in the midwest? Well, we are practically neighbors. Well, not really. I used to live in Atlanta. We lived in Midtown right between Piedmont Park and Flying Biscuit. Loved it but we were broke newlyweds.
Yeah, yeah, yeah on pottytraining!!! Will you come over here and PT my Brady? He turned 2 in June and I really really want him out of dipes by the trip and his third birthday. He is so stubborn. Potty training with another baby is tough. Abby was out of diapers completely by 2 and a half and it was so easy without any other babies in the house.

The zoo looked fun. We had a great fall zoo day as well. I think we will make a tradition of that. The summer is just too hot.