After 3 years, we went for a visit! Updated 5-27 -It's a Wrap

[eyor44]

Dates: November 22-29, 2008
Location: Wilderness Lodge

Actors: Me, the organizer of the trip – I love Disney but life keeps getting in the way of my making very many trips. I am going to try to make up for it a little bit in the next year.
DH, just along for the ride – He likes Disney, but also likes sit down meals and lots of rest and relaxation at the hotel.
DS13, a roller coaster fanatic – Loves Disney almost as much as me. Within a month of our last trip (Oct 2005) he was asking when we were going back.
DD6, a true princess – She doesn’t remember much of Disney as she was just shy of turning 3 the last time we were there. But she loves Princesses (you should see her room) and she loves HSM. DS says she acts like Sharpay quite a bit. Not a good thing in his opinion.
Gram (my Mother). Gram has not been to Disney in about 15 years and has only stayed onsite one time at the FW camping. She likes to travel, but has mobility issues.

We will actually leave from our home in MS on Friday, Nov 21. Our oldest DS’ birthday, but he will be turning 23 so he can handle it. I mean, he would only be home for dinner, collect his gifts and leave to be with his friends anyway. This will be the first time taking Gram with us on a vacation. Not quite sure what possessed me to do this, but she is excited. She doesn’t know what she is letting herself in for, but I am getting her an ECV, so she will be able to keep up. We are trying to convince FIL to go, but he hasn’t committed yet. I think he wants to, but MIL is in a home and not going to get better. FIL, understandably, doesn’t want to leave the area. IF he does decide to join us, we will have plenty of room as we have two rooms, but I don’t know how that will affect all of the ADRs I have planned.

Some of the questions that need to be answered are: where are we staying: can I leave the reservation alone? where are we eating? will DH make it home in time or will we go without him?
I began writing this in June 2008 and will add installments each day as the internet allows. Despite the advertising, our internet is not the greatest.

 

[mdsouth]

Hi! I just wanted to let you know that I will be following your pre-trip and trip reports. I became interested because of the title. The last time I was at WDW with my family was in 2005. We hope to go back in 2009. I like to read reports from those of us that do not get the chance to go to WDW often. I wish we could go each year but real life has a way of getting in the way of my WDW dreams!

I am now hooked since you and I have children around the same ages. My DS is 12 and my DD is 5. So, if we do go in 2009 as I hope, my kids will be DS13 and DD6 the same as the two of your kids that are going on this trip!

So, have fun planning. Just remember to post a new entry every once in a while for those of us reading.

 

[eyor44]

Hi! I just wanted to let you know that I will be following your pre-trip and trip reports. I became interested because of the title. The last time I was at WDW with my family was in 2005. We hope to go back in 2009. I like to read reports from those of us that do not get the chance to go to WDW often. I wish we could go each year but real life has a way of getting in the way of my WDW dreams!

I am now hooked since you and I have children around the same ages. My DS is 12 and my DD is 5. So, if we do go in 2009 as I hope, my kids will be DS13 and DD6 the same as the two of your kids that are going on this trip!

So, have fun planning. Just remember to post a new entry every once in a while for those of us reading.

Wow! A reader. Thanks for coming along. I just hope we aren't too boring. We are just your average family, although trouble usually finds us (me) where ever I go.

 

[Kalamazoo Dutchman]

Hi, just letting you know that we'll be following along. Like your family, we will be about 3 years between our trips to WDW. Our family made our first trip in Jan 07 and DW and I went again in Sept 07 for an early anniversary. We plan on returning in 2010. Our family moved last November to CA from MI so we have one advantage in that we live an hour away from DL. We went to DL on New Years Eve Dec 07. What a zoo! DL is great but it's not the World! I'm sure we'll go to DL to get a quick fix!

 

[eyor44]

Hi, just letting you know that we'll be following along. Like your family, we will be about 3 years between our trips to WDW. Our family made our first trip in Jan 07 and DW and I went again in Sept 07 for an early anniversary. We plan on returning in 2010. Our family moved last November to CA from MI so we have one advantage in that we live an hour away from DL. We went to DL on New Years Eve Dec 07. What a zoo! DL is great but it's not the World! I'm sure we'll go to DL to get a quick fix!

Welcome aboard! Looking forward to having you along for the ride.

 

[eyor44]

I began planning this trip in Dec 07, but didn’t make the reservations until Feb 08. We had a huge discussion on when to go and where to stay. I prefer the end of Oct, but with second DS in Jr. High now and with Honors classes he doesn’t really need to miss a week of school any more. I know there is a lot of controversy with that practice, but it worked for us during elementary and his school work never suffered. We always took it with us and he would study each evening. Plus Epcot and AK are so educational he always learns something new. After much discussion we decided to go Thanksgiving week. I have always heard that this week is one of those that is packed solid, and I don’t care for crowds, but we are going to try it. If it works out, I am thinking of maybe starting a new family tradition.

Now that we have decided when to go, we needed to decide where to stay. I have always dreamed of staying at the Wilderness Lodge when it was decorated for Christmas, but the price makes me cringe. I have a hard time paying so much for a room I am just going to sleep and shower in. Now, I like Pop Century. We had a great time when we stayed there and I like the price. DD loved the kiddie pool there, one of the few things she remembers, and keeps asking to go play in it again. She has a small wading pool here at home and would be in it year round if we would let her. We live in the South, but it does get cold here occasionally. DH and DS are begging to stay at WL. We ate dinner at the Whispering Canyon Café during our last visit in October 2005 and they both fell in love with the place. I researched all of the resorts and I finally caved. So…….. we are staying at the…… Wilderness Lodge.

I am a bit apprehensive, but trying to be optimistic. I mean, the $$$$$$. Hopefully it will be worth it.

 

[eyor44]

I have done a lot of research for this trip, more than any other. I have read five books so far (4 Disney, 1 Universal) and have three more I want to get. I have researched restaurants a lot on the web, different reviews and such, to decide which to try. We have only done 3 TS in the past, WCC and Rain Forest(2). I am so excited to be going (I love Disney), the kids are too and with Gram along I want it to be really special. With that in mind I got the DxDP and have set up a lot of TS meals. DH likes his sit down meals, so he’ll get them this week.

When my 180 day mark came up the November calendar were not out yet. I followed the guidelines that a particular web site has for choosing parks each day. Since I don’t like crowds, I prefer to not attend a park with EMH in the AM. Evenings don’t seem to be as bad, except for eating, hence TS each night. I hate standing in line for CS worse than standing in line for a ride.

I have stressed about getting the ADRs I wanted, as I have heard of the competition that goes into it. I followed said guide book’s advice on practicing ahead of time and yes, on the prescribed day, I got up early (6:00am for me to call), had the atomic clock on the CPU and started dialing at 15 seconds before 6:00 (my time).

I connected at 7 seconds til the top of the hour. I rudely interrupted the CM who answered, with ‘Cindy’s Table, breakfast, Nov 23 early as possible….please”. After a few questions, which were driving me nuts, the CM said, “How’s 8:05am?” Perfect. Then I quickly went on to the next, Le Cellier. (I did apologize later for my rudeness when she answered. The CM just laughed, said no problem, it happens every morning. They understand)

After making a total of 13 ADRs, I asked to be transferred to make a reservation for DD at the Castle BBB. The CM said she could do it and when she heard I wanted the visit for after breakfast at the Castle, she said “Oh no, your DD must be in proper princess attire before breakfast.” I asked how that would be possible since we had an 8:05 breakfast ressie and the boutique doesn’t open until 8:00. She asked if we could eat a bit later, made breakfast for 8:55 and the boutique for 8:00.

Now, I had heard that the castle sells out in minutes each morning, so I don’t know how she did it, but I was ecstatic. She also asked if it would be a problem for us to arrive at 7:45am to have plenty of time to make our way to the castle in time for the appointment. 7:45 no problem, I can be there for 7:00 if you want. And as a bonus, I get to be on Main Street before it opens for the day. I have never been there at that time of day, but always wanted to. To have a picture made on Main Street with out a huge crowd around and to be able to see all of the shops. I’m sure there are lots of things I have missed. How’s that for Disney magic?

I wrote a letter to the Executive office about this particular CM who so graciously helped me make all of the ADRs. I know it was her job to do, but I have also heard of so many CMs who are not helpful. Would you believe someone actually called me to thank me for writing and said that the letter would be passed along to the CM and her supervisor?

 

[eyor44]

After I decided to do the DxDP, I did a lot of research of all of the restaurants to decide which ones we would like to try. I have printed off all of the menus and have them in my Disney folder.

Breakfast
Hollywood and Vine
Akershus for DD, Gram and myself
CRT for DD, Gram and myself
Crystal Palace for DH and DS
Whispering Canyon Cafe

Lunch
Le Cellier
Tusker House
Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville

Dinner
Garden Grill
Liberty Tree Tavern
Beirgarten
Boma
Brown Derby Fantasmic Package
Crystal Palace

All of these are new to us with the exception of WCC. We have eaten there for dinner, but never breakfast.
I am not making DS suffer through princess breakfasts although I am sure he would enjoy to have the princess’ fawning over him. It would be just too much of a temptation for DH with a camera around. DS did approve the meals at CP but he doesn’t know they are Pooh and friends character meals. He knows how to have a good time though.

We are eating table service for all three meals on Thursday, but it Thanksgiving Day and what are you suppose to do on Thanksgiving Day? Give thanks and EAT! That is what we will be doing. When Gram realized that we would be at Disney for Thanksgiving she started asking would we be able to have Thanksgiving Dinner. She actually worried about it.
I feel bad about others having to work on a holiday, so I plan to tip well.

I have heard that Epcot is the best park to visit on super crowded days and there is always plenty to see there without ever having to stand in a line. Would you believe that last time we were there was the first time I ever knew there were “rides and attractions” in The World? I never knew. DS and I found the one in Mexico quite by accident and loved it. Then we found Norway. We also did the movie in Canada, but it made me dizzy. I won’t go back to that one. I can handle IMAX, but not 180 degrees.

 

[llurgy]

I've not read all of this yet, I am just starting to read the beginning chapters of your planning.
I luuurrvvve trip reports and pre-trip reports and am looking forward to avidly being a "Fly on the Wall" in Disney World by reading yours.

Mandy

 

[llurgy]

You made me really with your story of your ADR 's phonecall.

She answers the phone all nice and friendly and I can just imagine you thinking "We don't have time to be nice, other people are on other lines STEALING my ressies"

I am so jealous......when we first started our plans for Disney we were going without the help of MAW (they came along later). We too wanted to stay in the Wilderness Lodge, Becca loves the pictures of it and the animal aspect. We were trying to work out whether or not we could afford Wilderness Lodge when our pockets were only full enough to get us into Pop Century.
But.......We are lucky because we get to stay at the GKTW village and that looks fantastic!!

I have to ask??
How are you ever gonna have time to do anything else after all that time spent eating?? Are you one of those sergeant Major type mothers that frog marches her family down the street and times them to the second??
Only joking But you must be having to make up a pretty tight schedule to get some entertainment in.....you are gonna be so tired at the end of each day, but at least you'll feel good

Mandy

 

[eyor44]

You made me really with your story of your ADR 's phonecall.

She answers the phone all nice and friendly and I can just imagine you thinking "We don't have time to be nice, other people are on other lines STEALING my ressies"

I am so jealous......when we first started our plans for Disney we were going without the help of MAW (they came along later). We too wanted to stay in the Wilderness Lodge, Becca loves the pictures of it and the animal aspect. We were trying to work out whether or not we could afford Wilderness Lodge when our pockets were only full enough to get us into Pop Century.
But.......We are lucky because we get to stay at the GKTW village and that looks fantastic!!

I have to ask??
How are you ever gonna have time to do anything else after all that time spent eating?? Are you one of those sergeant Major type mothers that frog marches her family down the street and times them to the second??
Only joking But you must be having to make up a pretty tight schedule to get some entertainment in.....you are gonna be so tired at the end of each day, but at least you'll feel good

Mandy

Thanks for stopping by Mandy. I read all of your pre-report this afternoon. Sounds like Becca had a wonderful time with the Wish people.
But hey! This is my trip report!
That is exactly what I was thinking. The clock was ticking and I just knew it was going to sell out. I was in major stress mode.
Yeah, WL. It is really beautiful, at least try to visit or even eat there. WCC is really fast paced though, but fun. I love POP. It's a great place to stay and doesn't "feel" like a value resort.
I have seen pics of the GKTW and it looks great. The whole place looks like so much fun. I think you all will really enjoy staying there, but hey, Maroo and her family stayed at the Comtemporary, so you never know.

Time. Time is always against me. There is always so much I want to do, plan to do and don't get to do. I like to plan (as you will read later on), but my plans rarely work out. I am really a laid back, go with the flow kind of person. Rarely is there something I absolutely must do that I refuse to change. I just like to have some kind of plan. I am printing out some touring plans that supposedly help you see your must-dos in a timely fashion.

Military Mom? Definitely not, but a couple of things are in our favor. It doesn't take us long to eat and I have been reading up on tips, like at a buffet ask for your check when you first arrive. It's pay one price so you can take care of that up front. I always tip in cash, so I can still determine that when I am ready to leave. With the wide age range of our kids, DH and I split up with them occasionally. This allows us to do things each child wants to do, that the other might not. Last thing, I got Gram an ECV and DD a stroller, so they can keep up with me. I do walk really fast......

 

[llurgy]

Thanks for stopping by Mandy. I read all of your pre-report this afternoon. Sounds like Becca had a wonderful time with the Wish people.
But hey! This is my trip report!
That is exactly what I was thinking. The clock was ticking and I just knew it was going to sell out. I was in major stress mode.
Yeah, WL. It is really beautiful, at least try to visit or even eat there. WCC is really fast paced though, but fun. I love POP. It's a great place to stay and doesn't "feel" like a value resort.
I have seen pics of the GKTW and it looks great. The whole place looks like so much fun. I think you all will really enjoy staying there, but hey, Maroo and her family stayed at the Comtemporary, so you never know.

Time. Time is always against me. There is always so much I want to do, plan to do and don't get to do. I like to plan (as you will read later on), but my plans rarely work out. I am really a laid back, go with the flow kind of person. Rarely is there something I absolutely must do that I refuse to change. I just like to have some kind of plan. I am printing out some touring plans that supposedly help you see your must-dos in a timely fashion.

Military Mom? Definitely not, but a couple of things are in our favor. It doesn't take us long to eat and I have been reading up on tips, like at a buffet ask for your check when you first arrive. It's pay one price so you can take care of that up front. I always tip in cash, so I can still determine that when I am ready to leave. With the wide age range of our kids, DH and I split up with them occasionally. This allows us to do things each child wants to do, that the other might not. Last thing, I got Gram an ECV and DD a stroller, so they can keep up with me. I do walk really fast......

It sounds like you know exactly what you want to do but you are not bothered if it doesnt work out.....That is GOOD!! At least you know that if you do stray off the plan you wont be stood there twiddling your thumbs wondering where to go next when the straying is done with.

I myself am in cloud cuckoo land. WDW is just so overwhelming and I have yet to figure out how to even start the planning

Mandy

 

[eyor44]

I am going to PM you of where I started and with what. Some specific things I know are frowned upon if mentioned on the thread. So, I'll be good....

 

[Kalamazoo Dutchman]

I'm jealous of your choice of WL. When we ate at WC we also fell in love with the place. Unfortunately, our family of five prices WL out of our range.
We did the princess breakfast at Akershus and I’m not sure who enjoyed it more, the girls or 13 YO DS.
We also did LeCellier, Liberty Tree Taven, and Brown Derby Fantasmic Package – excellent choices!

 

[eyor44]

I'm jealous of your choice of WL. When we ate at WC we also fell in love with the place. Unfortunately, our family of five prices WL out of our range.
We did the princess breakfast at Akershus and I’m not sure who enjoyed it more, the girls or 13 YO DS.
We also did LeCellier, Liberty Tree Taven, and Brown Derby Fantasmic Package – excellent choices!

I have been saving for a long time to be able to stay at the WL. It is a real splurge for us.

This is wonderful to hear about the restaurants. I agonized over menus before I made our choices. I'm sure my DS would secretly love the princess meals also, but then DH would end up with blackmail pics, so I am saving him from his Dad.

 

[eyor44]

August 20, 2008
Financing the trip.
In January I worked up a budget to include regular payments to pay for Disney and our yearly trek to NY to visit the in-laws. I planned out all the extras that would happen through out the year and also included the bit Gram was giving me towards her part, DH’s raise that would happen in April and the extra $$ when we were through paying daycare (YES!!!! DD is in Kindergarten) in August. Now I know better than to do this much planning. Any time I make any kind of plan, it doesn’t happen. If I plan to get up early to go into work early, either I suffer from insomnia that night or the alarm for some reason doesn’t go off. If I make plans to go shopping after work, DH suddenly has a meeting with the Fire Department (volunteer). If I say I am taking the dog for a walk after dinner, it rains. You get the picture. So what made me think I could make a plan of this magnitude, I have no idea. Yes, it completely fell apart.

Different things came up I didn’t plan for, the main being all three lawn mowers (2 riding and 1 push) and both weed eaters stopped working. You have to have lawn care equipment in the summer in the South, especially when you have two very large yards to care for. DH and DS take care of Gram’s yard also. Both riding mowers went to the shop, along with the weed eaters. Weed eaters were a loss, so had to buy a new one of those. One mower stayed working and the other died again. Still dead, sitting in my spot in the garage. Luckily we haven’t had too many rainy mornings. Not sure what ever happened to the push mower. Then there were summer camps and extra stuff for DS to do. Needless to say, I had to re-evaluate the entire financial situation. I haven’t made the “If we were staying at Pop” statement yet. But it is there….in the back of my mind….every time something else breaks.

I did participate in the Fall/November code watch. I have tried every which way I could to get some kind of discount. I have a Disney Visa, I belong to AAA, and I have watched all of the web sites, nothing. Then a trip for June 2009 became available. A week in November and a week in June = annual pass. So I thought, finally, a discount. Happily, I called Disney and patiently waited on hold, explained my situation and guess what? Yes, they can give me a discount, an annual pass holders discount …if I upgrade. I don’t want to upgrade. I am very happy in a standard room. I want my cost to go down, not up. Finally I take it. For $94 more (total) I can up grade to courtyard view for both rooms. DH is very happy now. He really likes his views. Remember he likes plenty of relaxation time in the room and a view is even better.

So, in the evenings I am very busy now. I visit various web sites to earn points and hopefully gift cards or $$. It has paid off some, and hopefully a bit more before we go. I also eat a lot of peanut butter for lunch, recycle cans, save pennies and collect coke caps.
I have gotten several people on board with me at work with saving cans. I tell them I am saving the earth one can at a time. It just helps that the money I get back goes into the Disney fund.
We will also be doing a yard sale in October. I usually just give stuff to the local thrift store, but decided to hold things (and a friend is cleaning out her attic to help with the cause) and sell it myself. What ever is left will go to the thrift store. And any shopping I can do on-line, is done through whichever site can give me the greatest deal back. Plus I use the Disney card to get the credit there also. Won’t pay for the trip, but it will help. I have also joined a stroller swap. I only need a single stroller, but could only find double strollers available. One day I happened upon a single stroller swap, but my dates were taken. I asked to be placed on a waiting list and thankfully it worked out. The other mother decided she really needed a double and joined one of those. I am so grateful she made the decision so early. If you are looking for a single stroller, visit this thread. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1895635 There are many dates still open. It’s a great stroller; I tried DD out in it at Target. Works great for older children also, which is what I needed. I was ready to buy one, until I saw this thread. Email me if you would like to join the swap. The OP is unable to maintain the list, so I offered.

 

[eyor44]

August 28, 2008
We live in the South near the MS Gulf Coast, so we are vigilant each year of the weather systems that come off of the coast of Africa (and the few that pop up on their own in the Caribbean). TS Fay missed us. Oddest thing, it went right over us, or around us might be more accurate, but we got very little weather from it. And along comes Gustav. The very early reports were not good. The very early predictions had Gustav to a Cat 4 or 5 and headed straight for New Orleans, LA. We live 45 minutes North of New Orleans. So we started making preliminary evacuation plans.
Katrina literally rocked our world and we learned a lot from that one. I was a child when Camille hit and like everyone else, thought nothing could ever be that bad again. Boy, were we wrong. Now we have a new bench mark, one we thought would be hard to surpass. But I am not taking any chances. We built a new house right after Katrina and one thing we added was a full size generator for the house. People thought we were nuts at first, but now several others have added them. (I spent 4 weeks in NY with my children after Katrina, due to the fact that we did not have water or power at our house.)
This storm is predicted to head Northwest, so I have reservations to the Northeast. I will take items I wouldn’t have taken before and have a new respectful attitude towards storms. Now we play the watching game. And a game it is.
Yesterday, August 27, it was headed right for us. Now this morning, August 28, it has jogged a bit and is headed to our West and it looks like we will be okay. I would not wish one of these storms on anyone, but I don’t want it either. I will not cancel my reservations yet though, as once the storm actually enters the Gulf, who knows what it could do. Fortunately I found a hotel that will allow me to cancel on the scheduled day of arrival without a penalty. Gotta love those Choice Hotel people.
My DSIL in NY called last night to check in with us. She said the one thing I have been hoping no one would realize. “Hey, didn’t you have a big Disney trip planned when Katrina hit?” Shhhhh! Don’t say it out loud. There is absolutely no connection with my planning a Disney vacation and hurricanes coming straight for us. None! Zilch! Nada!

 

[eyor44]

September 2008
We were lucky, very lucky. Gustav barely effective us in the least. The children and I along with Gram and some friends had a nice mini vacation in Birmingham. They have a great zoo. We found a nice area to stay and the people there were great. Dealt with traffic on the way there and back, but I have been in worse. Could some one please explain to me why some people think they don’t have to wait in line? At one point on the interstate we were down to a crawl. Not sure why, but there we were. Cars started going up the shoulder of the road and when they would come to a bridge, expect to be let in line and then off they would go again. A truck tried to block the shoulder so no one else could get around him, but then people started going in the ditch. I normally don’t wish bad things on people, but I was kind of hoping someone would get stuck. Never happened though. I am just fortunate that I can read a map and figure out back roads around the interstate. Got us around a good bit of it, although we did get stopped by an accident later on. One of the big things I don’t like about evacuating is the traffic and the way people act.

 

[eyor44]

September 12, 2008
Now Ike is coming, straight for my brothers in Texas. The one in Beaumont is evacuating with his family, but the one in Houston is staying with his. My niece works in a pet store and always works weekends and holidays. She takes all the shifts no one else wants because she wants to make sure the animals are always properly cared for. She is refusing to leave the area so she can be there for the animals. I am very proud of her dedication. They are in an area where the streets flood, but they have never worried about their house flooding.

September 15, 2008
My brother in Houston is okay. They even have power back on, enough he could send us pictures of his house. He just had some tree damage and his privacy fence in the back is pretty much gone. Other than that they are okay.
Not sure about the brother in Beaumont. They evactuated to Jackson, MS.

 

[eyor44]

Okay, back to Disney.
I have discovered the Disboutique thread. These Dissers are awesome in their abilities and creativity. They do the most beautiful work and share it with others. Check out their Big Gives. I am just totally amazed at what they have done and given to others. Their giving renews my faith in mankind a little. Oh, how I wish I were even half as talented so I could at least make head or tails out of a pattern. I am so inspired that I am going to try to make a simple dress for DD. Let’s hope I don’t waste the material. I can make quilts and throw pillows for the children, but that’s the extent of my “talent”.

September 18, 2008
Have you been seeing these shirts that people where with the Mickey head and their names and sometimes different characters with them? Well, I have been wondering about them myself. After a reference to them and how wonderful and sharing the Creative Disigners are, I had to do some investigative work. And I found them! Did you know that there is a Creative Design thread on here? I didn’t, but I do now. Oh my, the graphics! The multitude of graphics available to use! I am in heaven. I have been searching and searching for stuff like this. And do you know what? If you ask nicely, they will even modify their stuff for you. Once again, how I wish I were so talented. I would love to be able to do some of the stuff they do. I’m just very grateful they are willing to share. The T-shirts I can make for the family. And then I realized I have 59 days until we leave. 59 days! That doesn’t give me much time for all I want to do. Plus I have a Navy Ball to finish up and attend. A yard sale to prepare for and hold. DD is playing soccer and takes dancing. DS is on the school swim team and a bowling team. And DH is a volunteer firefighter, soon to be EMT and on a bowling team. DD’s birthday is in November, the week before we leave. And I have all this stuff I want to make. Oh yeah, I work full time outside of the home also.
I know, projects at lunch time. I normally just eat at my desk and read or whatever any way. I’ll just take over whomever’s desk is empty due to traveling. Someone is always traveling.