Adventure is Out There!! A February 2015 Pre-Trip Report

[mindylee847]

Hello! Welcome to my first ever, pre-trip report! I am not usually one to do these things. I love reading everyone's PTRs and TRs and I just follow along in the shadows like a creeper. I did do a food report for my last trip in July of 2013, but life got in the way and I never finished it. I feel awful about it. I'm a disgrace! This PTR and TR will be different though! I am bound and determined regardless of how many people follow along!

So let's get to the who/what/when/where/why of this trip!

The Who

My name is Mindy. I've been going to Disney since I was 17 and over the last ten years, I've gone 9 times to Disney World, 1 time to Disneyland, and I've been on 1 Disney Cruise. I've always loved Disney. It's my happiest place. When I'm not there, I'm thinking about my next trip!



Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom (both WDW and DL), but I also love Hollywood Studios
Favorite Attraction: Mickey's Philharmagic, Dinosaur!, The Seas with Nemo and Friends
Favorite Character: Stitch, Minnie, Nemo, Merida, and Ariel
Favorite Snack: Dole Whip, Lemonade with Wild Berry Foam

My husband, Mike, will be coming along too! (See image above for visual.) He loves Disney almost as much as I do. I'm so glad to have found someone who can share in my joy of Disney magic. He proposed to me on our trip in Disneyland and we've been together for almost 12 years now - even though we're both only 27.

Favorite Park: Disneyland (He likes the rides there more - specifically Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion Holiday, and Pirates)
Favorite Attraction: Haunted Mansion
Favorite Character: Mike Wazowski
Favorite Snack: Dole Whip (pineapple with orange swirl)

One of my very best friends, Renee, is joining us on our adventure this time. She's not one for taking many pictures, so we'll see if we get her in any. For now, she will remain faceless to you readers. We've been to Disney once together back in August 2011 with a few other friends as well. That time was a much more rush and get everything in type of trip, whereas this one is hopefully more relaxing! I'd tell you her favorites, but she barely knows. She's been to Disney two times - once when she was little and in that blur of August.

While down there, we will be meeting up with one of my other great friends, Jamie, and her family (which includes my god daughter!). I'm thrilled to be experiencing bits and pieces of our trip through the eyes of a child. I've already picked up the cutest Sleeping Beauty dress for Peyton from the Disney Store. My fingers are crossed that she falls asleep while in the park in her dress so that we can take the cutest pictures, but you never know what kids will do! Jamie, her two kids, her husband, and her brother-in-law will all be in parts of my report.

The When

Our trip is set to being at 10:00 PM on February 19th. Mike, Renee, and I are driving down after Renee is out of band rehearsal. We will be leaving from Milwaukee, WI with a good 19 hour drive ahead of us. The plan on this first night is to make it to Indianapolis. We will take a quick nap and then head as far as we possibly can down then on February 20th. Our Disney reservation is set for Saturday, February 21st through February 28th. I've never driven down before, so this will be an interesting portion of the trip for me.

My brother will be staying at our place watching our two wonderful, naughty cats. We have a black cat named Binx (Hocus Pocus) and an orange and white cat named Yoshi Bean (Mario AND Muppets - I absolutely adore Bean Bunny).

The Where

Normally we stay at a Value Resort. I've stayed at all now except for Art of Animation. THIS trip is different. We will be staying at Port Orleans - Riverside. I thought it would be important for us to be near a lounge and have access to the ferry to go to Downtown Disney! This may change depending on if any discounts are announced and if Port Orleans is excluded... we shall see!

The Why

For Disney of course! But also, we will be going to Universal for one day to check out Diagon Alley. We're all pretty big HP nerds and are just dying to swing by to check out the new area!

Another main point of this trip is to seriously enjoy the adult side that Disney has to offer - we will call this FOODENBOOZEN. This will probably be our second to last adult trip before the inevitable - kids. (We will be planning a trip for November/December 2015 as well. Which means we are considering Annual Passes for next year!!) (This will be done without children involved. Jamie and her crew will be doing their own thing a lot of the time and we will be meeting up most mornings for a few rides.)

That about sums up my first post! Looking forward to getting into more of the planning details!
​

 

[mindylee847]

Advanced Dining Reservations

Where in the World?

To Annual Pass or Not To Annual Pass...

Disney Visa Dining Discounts

Tables in Wonderland Discounts

Stay, Play, and Dine Announced

Sit Down Meal Credits

An In Depth Look at Sit Down Meals

Magic Band Color Selection

 

[mindylee847]

As you can probably tell, I've already passed my 180 day mark.

No need to fret though, I was very much on top of making my Advanced Dining Reservations for this trip. Wining and Dining has been an essential topic to planning our trip. We were talking about dining probably about 250 days in advance. So here is our dining schedule and what we were able to snag for reservations! I've noted which restaurants are new to us (my husband and I, Renee hasn't been to any of them) on this trip.

Saturday, February 21st:
Dinner at California Grill - 8:50 PM *NEW*

Notes:

Now, this is clearly a late time. I made sure to check with Magic Kingdom's schedule to see what time Wishes would be going - 10 PM. I think that this dining reservation should be a decent time so that we can get in, order appetizers, dinner, desserts, and a night cap to drink while watching the fireworks.

Before we eat, we plan on doing the "Monorail Crawl" and hitting Tambu Lounge and Mizner's before heading into the Contemporary.

A worry I have is the fact that I can get vertigo, so looking up in the Contemporary always messes with my mind a bit.

Sunday, February 22nd:
Breakfast at Boma - 8:30 AM *NEW*
Dinner at Boatwrights - 6:30 PM *NEW*

Notes:

I am very much looking forward to Boma. I have heard so many wonderful things about this breakfast buffet.

Jamie and her family will be coming in on Sunday. This is the only dinner we have all planned together. We are all staying at Port Orleans Riverside so we figured this would be a great place to try.

Tuesday, February 24th:
Breakfast at 'Ohana for Jamie, her family, and myself - 8:30 AM *NEW*
Breakfast at The Wave for Mike and Renee - 8:35 AM *NEW*
Dinner at Paradisso 37 - 8:35 PM *NEW*

Notes:

Renee is not down with character meals which is why Mike and her are going their seperate way for breakfast on this morning. This is a meal I'm really looking forward to! I get to meet Stitch and enjoy a character meal with kids. I can't wait to see their faces! (They've been once before and deal well with characters so we aren't worried about a meltdown.)

Wednesday, February 25th:
Dinner at Teppan Edo - 8:00 PM

Notes:

This was a reservation that my husband HAD to have - no exceptions. We went here in July 2013 and he had the filet mignon. He still talks about it. He's not generally a meat eater, but I seriously do not hear the end of how amazing this place was. I enjoyed the vegetarian option so I agreed to go again.

As you will see throughout most of our adventure, I will be choosing the vegetarian option. I'm not particularly fond of the textures of most meats - except for sausage.

Thursday, February 26th:
Breakfast at Grand Floridian Cafe - 8:30 AM *NEW*
Dinner at Be Our Guest - 7:25 PM *NEW*

Notes:

I was torn between going to Grand Floridian Cafe and The Wave for breakfast. I eventually chose to go with Mike and Renee to GFC because of the atmosphere. Food options looked great at both, but I'll already be visiting The Contemporary for dining earlier in the trip.

Let me tell you how scared I was to not get this BOG ADR. I was horrified. I use a TA (a cousin of Jamie's) who specifically would not log online for me the moment reservations opened so I took matters into my own hands with this. My husband and I both woke up at 4:50 AM and logged on to MDE via the computer and the app on my phone. We began to hit refresh repeatedly beginning at 4:55 AM to get a reservation. Three times we selected a time, and each time it errored out. We did eventually snag one but I was freaking out as I was trying! We had a reservation for this restaurant back in July 2013, but like a fool - I cancelled it and tried to look for another time later in our trip... rather than saving it and looking AND THEN going back to cancel if I found something. I'm still kicking myself over this mistake.

Friday, February 27th:
Breakfast at Captain's Grille - 8:00 AM
Dinner at Il Mulino - 7:30 PM *NEW*

Notes:

We dined at Captain's Grille last time we went. I was very reluctant in making this reservation. We had gone to Kouzzina last time and absolutely loved it and this day would have been for that breakfast... but now it is sadly gone. I would have considered doing Cape May for breakfast this morning, but alas, it's a character meal so that was a no go. It's not that I hated Captain's or anything... but it was just so plain. The service was fine, the food was fine... but nothing stood out. I did LOVE going to the Beach and Yacht club especially in the early morning... so at least I have that to look forward to again. Anyone have any great experiences there? We did not do the buffet, so perhaps that's what our downfall was.

This night we plan on doing a "Boardwalk Crawl" before or after Il Mulino. I've heard some great things about the lounges available at Swan and Dolphin and I'm looking forward to experiencing this area at night.

Saturday, February 28th:
Breakfast at Olivia's - 8:45 AM

Notes:

Departure day. Never fun... but we decided to book our second favorite breakfast spot (after Kouzzina, so I guess our favorite now) on this last day so that we have something great to look forward to. We dined here last time and wow. The breakfast potatoes. I'm still talking about them! Great service. Great food. Great atmosphere. I just absolutely loved this place and I am most looking forward to heading back here for breakfast.

There ya have it, readers. Our ADRs, all in place and ready for the taking.

Feel free to share your thoughts or opinions on these places! Or if you have any tips about the crawls, that would be immensely appreciated! There is so little to find on the internet in regards to doing these types of things so if you have a favorite drink along the monorail line, please feel free to share!

I am clearly a breakfast person. Please know though, we tried Kona Cafe last time. I was immensely disappointed. The Tonga Toast was too sweet for me and the service was an abomination. For instance:

Me: "Did you have any vegetarian options for the sides instead of the sausage or other meats?"
Server: "We have turkey bacon."
Me: "Uhmm.. okay I guess I'll have the sausage..."

And then he brought our food and we didn't see him for AGES again. No refills on water or asking how the food was. There was no one there so I don't know where he went especially since it had to be near the beginning of his shift.

The Kona coffee press pot though - to die for.

It's not that I wouldn't try to eat there again... but I'm in no rush to return.

 

[mindylee847]

So for you smart Disney folks, you may have figured out what parks we will be at which days... but I think you probably are wrong at least on one of the days since we are not going to go to Animal Kingdom on this trip.

Or at least, that is currently not in the plans at all. It's a bit upsetting because I love Dinosaur and could ride it repeatedly and then get off and have a jalapeno cheese filled pretzel and frozen coke for lunch - but really, that's the ONLY thing I'd want to do with a day in AK. So we'll see if we end up there or not, but currently - it's not in the cards.

Saturday, February 21st - This day we primarily plan on just arriving at our resort, taking a nap, adjusting, and then heading out for the Monorail Crawl promptly at 3:30 since I have read that the lounges open at 4 PM. I didn't want to make any big plans for this day because of the travel the day before. Who knows if Atlanta will be hit with another ice storm?? I mean, I live in WI so snow is no big deal - but the people who are not used to driving in it or the cities that are not prepared with salt... yikes. So we're giving ourselves some extra time if need be.

Sunday, February 22nd - EPCOT! The hours of operation didn't matter so much on this day as we have breakfast a bit later in the day and we need to leave early enough to meet up with Jamie. Mike made the call on choosing EPCOT because we hope to have a relaxing day just taking in the sites and strolling through the countries.

Monday, February 23rd - Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure. HARRY POTTER DAYYYY!! Hours are still not posted on their site - c'mon, Universal. Get with the program. There's less than 180 days until we're there and I don't know when the parks are even open!!

Tuesday, February 24th - Magic Kingdom. We couldn't possibly go any longer without seeing the castle of course! The park hours say that MK will be closing at 8 PM which is why I scheduled a dinner for us in DTD that night.

Wednesday, February 25th - EPCOT, Day 2.

Thursday, February 26th - Magic Kingdom, Day 2. It again closes at 8. Fingers crossed that the park is open later that night! I made sure to schedule BOG pretty late because I didn't want to lose too much valuable park time for eating.

Friday, February 27th - Hollywood Studios. Oh, my love. I love HS and I don't even know why. I just LOVE being there. It's not the same as MK of course, but I'm always excited about HS. I've just had such great experiences in this park. It closes at 7 PM that day. Kind of sad, but we planned on heading out to do our Boardwalk Crawl this night anyways.

Saturday, February 28th - Departure day. We will be heading to DTD before we head out this morning to pick up any last minute souvenirs.

 

[mindylee847]

The plan next year is to go in February and also the end of November/first week of December. My husband and I are thinking that getting annual passes might be worth it this time around. We are spending 5 days in the parks in February and at least another 5 days on our second round. From what I've read, it really only makes sense as far as just park tickets go, to get an annual pass when we are going 11 days or more. We would be just short of that, but perhaps with the discounts you can get with AP and the Tables in Wonderland card... it might be better for us.

On the other hand, if there are already room discounts offered or free dining offered... then it may not be worth it at all. The times we are going though, there doesn't seem to be many discounts worth it... but hopefully they'll be announcing the offers at the end of October or early November.

In the mean time, I'm going to try and think realistically about the food we'll be ordering on our trip in February to try and get an idea of the money we'd be spending.

The dining plan isn't worth it for us basically... ever - unless it's free. We usually don't order dessert with dinner and we never drink soda. It's always water and maybe an alcoholic beverage. We like to eat the main courses and then have a desserty snack at one of the many bakeries or other areas around the parks to try more things. But who really knows? Maybe this time around, it may be? So this will also be on my mind.

I'll try and work through this process on here - but if any of you DISers have any advice, I would truly appreciate it! There's a lot to think about.

Also - we do have the Disney Visa Premier which we do receive certain discounts for food at places like Boma already. Another thing to keep in my head!!

 

[mindylee847]

I'm not sure if these will remain the same through February. But I just wanted to get an idea of what we would currently qualify for. It looks like a fairly good amount of restaurants that we would be going to would qualify for the 10% off. I couldn't find information on the site stating that alcohol is not included in this. It's also important to note that we would get 2% back in Disney Dream Dollars along with the 10% off received. Our plan of course, would be to pay off anything in full upon return of our trip to not accrue the interest.


10% Off Select Dining Locations
Receive 10% off select dining locations below when you use your
Disney Visa Card:

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge and Villas
Boma
Jiko (see restrictions*)
Sanaa

Disney’s BoardWalk Inn Resort
ESPN Sports Club
Flying Fish Cafe (see restrictions*)

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
Shutters at Old Port Royale

Disney’s Contemporary Resort
The Wave...of American Flavors
Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
Trail’s End Restaurant

Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Citricos (see restrictions*)
Grand Floridian Cafe

Disney’s Old Key West Resort
Olivia’s Café

Disney’s Port Orleans Resort
Boatwright’s Dining Hall

Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
The Turf Club Bar and Grill

Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Artist Point (see restrictions*)
Whispering Canyon Cafe

Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
Captain’s Grille

Disney’s Hollywood Studios®
The Hollywood Brown Derby (see restrictions*)
Hollywood & Vine (see restrictions*)

Epcot®
Biergarten Restaurant (see restrictions*)

 

[mindylee847]

Below are the locations we would be able to receive 20% off with the TIW card.

Boma
California Grill
The Wave
Grand Floridian Cafe
Olivia's Cafe
'Ohana
Boatwright's
Il Mulino
Captain's Grille
Be Our Guest
Paradiso 37

Outer Rim
Mizner's Lounge
Tambu Lounge
River Roost
Crew Cup Lounge

 

[mindylee847]

My TA called with the news early this morning that a discount was announced for our travel dates - the Stay, Play, and Dine. She has currently upgraded us to have dining and we are now set up with a garden room at POR with five day tickets. I didn't want to miss out on the opportunity, knowing that we should be able to switch back if need be.

Teppan Edo is still not listed on the dining plan for 2015 in the information that I have looked at. This would mean that we could pay OOP for Teppan and for the restaurants that do qualify for 10% off with the Disney Visa. I'm hoping that this is added and we can pay OOP full price for a breakfast, rather than a dinner. (Il Mulino will also be out of pocket.) I know that Mike will be ordering the steak here so this would be the most valuable for us to be added.

We can also consider the fact that all OTCs will be covered, as well as our snacks. HOWEVER - any tips, appetizers, and drinks we would have would not be covered. With Tables In Wonderland, we would be able to get 20% off of all these items.

It may still be worth a look see as adding the dining plan does cost us each an additional $235 or so. More to come!...

 

[mindylee847]

I want to begin by looking at my options at the sit down meal locations that we will be dining at.

We get seven sit down credits and we currently have a total of 10 places that would require a credit. (I will be separating from Mike and Renee for Ohana... so the two restaurants really only count as 1 dining credit.) I feel it best to try and pay out of pocket for any breakfasts we have planned as those will most likely be cheaper and would essentially be wasting that credit.

That all being said... let's begin by looking at where I plan to spend the credits we have.

California Grill (2 credits)
Boatwright's (1 credit)
'Ohana (1 credit)
The Wave (1 credit)
Paradiso 37 (1 credit)
Teppan Edo (1 credit)
Be Our Guest (1 credit)

We will utilize our Disney Visa with 10% discount at the following locations:
Boma
Grand Floridian Cafe
Olivia's Cafe
Captain's Grille

Notes:
Il Mulino does not count on the plan nor do we get 10% off with the Visa. We will put this one on the Visa for the 2% Disney Reward Dollars back.
Also - Teppan Edo and Paradiso aren't on the list yet for sit down dining locations. I'm hoping that this changes.

 

[mindylee847]

Some things to note:
Desserts would have been split two ways without the dining plan (if not three ways). We aren’t big on desserts at sit downs, but love to try new things.
Appetizers will be split three ways in most cases – where they can be split.
Normally I would not order a non-alcoholic beverage. I will be ordering lemonade, juice, etc. on the dining plan.
I’m practically vegetarian, so all of my options for the most part will be cheaper than anything else at the restaurant. It’s important that I see a value in the dining plan for the way I dine.
Jeremy is joining us for a few of the breakfasts and Il Mulino which is why some things are split four ways – just know that I have my reasons.

California Grill – 2 credits on DDP
Appetizer: Three-Meat Signature Meatballs $5.34 ($16 split three ways)
Entrée: Sweet Potato Gnocchi $34
Dessert: Warm Homemade Fritters or Sundae Sampler $12
Non-Alcoholic Drink: Lemonade $4.19

Boma – 10% Disney Visa
Buffet $25
Press Pot of Coffee $6?

Boatwright’s – 1 credit on DDP
Entrée: Vegetarian Jambalaya $15.99
Dessert: Bread Pudding $5.49
Non-Alcoholic Drink: Lemonade $4.19

‘Ohana – 1 credit on DDP
All You Can Eat $27

Paradiso 37 – 1 credit on DDP
Appetizer: Mexican Dipping Trio $4.34 ($12.99 split three ways)
Entrée: Jalapeño Burger (substitute black bean patty for meat patty) $16.99
Ask for Truffle Fries (additional cost) $0.99
Dessert: Tres Leches $7.99
Non-Alcoholic Drink: Lemonade $4.19

Teppan Edo – 1 credit on DDP
Entrée: Yasai (Vegetable Option) $17.95
Dessert: Chocolate Ginger Cake $6.95
Non-Alcoholic Drink: Lemonade $4.19

Grand Floridian Café – 10% Disney Visa
Entrée: Frittata $9.99
Non-Alcoholic Beverage: Grand Blend Press Pot Coffee $3.40 ($6.79 split two ways)

Be Our Guest – 1 credit on DDP
Appetizer: Seasonal Salad Trio $7.99
Entrée: Layered Ratatouille $17.49
Dessert: The “Grey Stuff” $4.19
Non-Alcoholic Beverage: Lemonade $4.19

Captain’s Grille – 10% off Disney Visa
Appetizer: Seasonal Fruit Arrangement $2.25 ($8.99 split four ways)
Entrée: Tailored Omelet $11.49
Non-Alcoholic Beverage: Press Pot of Coffee $3.50 ($6.99 split two ways)

Il Mulino
Appetizer: Insalata Caprese $14
Entrée: Penne Rigate $20
Dessert: Le Tre Sorbetti $4 ($8 split two ways)

Olivia’s Café – 10% off Disney Visa
Appetizer: Fresh Strawberries and Cream $1.43 ($4.29 split three ways)
Entrée: Sombrero Beach Omelet $11.49
* I will need to order a side of breakfast potatoes if they do not come with this option.
Non-Alcoholic Beverage: Coffee $2.79

Dining Plan Value: $187.98
Out of Pocket Sit Down Expense (not including tips or alcohol): $125.28

It’s important to note that I would not order lemonade (a value of $20.95) and I would most likely be splitting the dessert or not getting one all together. So I’ll subtract $30 from the actual value of the plan, making the Dining Plan a value of $158 to me.

I am still $77 in the red. $235 (Payment for Dining Plan) minus $158 = $77. This will most likely be made up by the seven over the counters and the seven snacks I will be getting.

*All prices based off of All Ears menus.
** These really are all guesstimations... I just want to get an idea of what type of savings I'm looking at with the plan.

 

[mindylee847]

Hello to those who are following along!

I decided to log in and update our magic band colors as I've been told what both Renee and Mike want. I don't want us to end up getting gray ones!

Well, unfortunately. There's no need to update Mike's. For some reason he wants the gray one. I don't really understand why. Oh well...

Renee is now set up to receive the green one.

I, currently, am set up to get the pink one. I feel like it's too obvious of a choice though and I kind of want to switch to yellow. We'll see if I stay with pink...