Always Let Your (Preschooler) Be Your Guide. My First Trip Report! COMPLETE

[shan23877]

What an adorable TR; thanks for sharing! I hope everything works out for your upcoming trip and can't wait to hear how the surprise goes.

Thank you so much!

Ok first off, I just have to say that I'm excited for the PTR, secondly, I'm loving the new clothes for Maddie! Those skirts are too cute, I wish they made them in adult size!! The Rapunzel dress is totally adorable as well!! Love it!!

The skirts would actually be pretty easy to make if you know anyone who sews, maybe they could whip you up some! They'd probably look really cute on you though, being that you're a dancer and all.

The Rapunzel dress came today, and it's gorgeous. Maddie is going to be over the moon. It may be a little long though. Looks like Mommy might be hauling the sewing machine out to make it short enough to wear at the parks too.

Off the the Disney site! Thanks!

* Ok, I went online and got her the I heart Perry shirt and then let DH pick out the other one so I could get 2 for 20. He picked the muppets shirt. (it looks like litle buttons with thier picture all over it.) He and Kadence are really into muppets right now.

Next...Target on Thursday : )

Yay!!! I'm so glad you got the shirt, and I've seen the Muppets one, it's adorable. (I spend an inordinate amount of time on that web site). I hope you had good luck at Target! If not, try Children's place, they usually only have pastel type colors though.

Hey there! Just spent awhile reading your TR! Great job!!!

We are going to be at WDW Apr 28th-May 5th...the first night at Beach Club because my DD4 keeps saying she wants to go to the beach, then the rest of the time at our home resort Bay Lake Tower.

We haven't told the girls about the trip yet. Did you do the big reveal to your DD yet? we can't decide how we want to do it! DH wants to wait till we're going to the airport.... I'd like to do it on Thursday after school because I think DD8 would like to tell her friends on Friday that she'll be gone all week. Still gotta figure that all out!

I do have to say, you are troopers for waiting through all that character greeting time!! Where is the fairies greeting at? I don't think it was there the last time we were. We are hoping to NOT do a lot of character greetings..we've gotten spoiled by the ease of character greetings on the Disney Cruises that we hate to mess with them at the park. We did see Tink on the Dream last year.... but you do have a few characters on here we have yet to meet anywhere so may have to try a few (Monsters, Rapunzel, Prince Eric). We are doing Chef mickey's (we always do) and 1900 Park Fare (though, I didn't mind the food last time) for our character meals!

Great reading up on your trip! 60 days out and I'm getting a little excited

where are you guys moving to?

First of all, Thanks! and Welcome!

Beach Club is beautiful, DH really wants to stay there soon. Lucky you!

We haven't told DD yet, we aren't planning to until the day before we leave. She'll be so excited that she might drive us crazy if we tell her sooner. Last trip she knew what was going on, and she made us watch the planning DVD bi-weekly

Characters were really a big deal to DD, so we toughed it out. We figured that she'll only be this into them once so.... in line we stood. The fairies are in the Adventureland Veranda, right as you cross into Adventureland on the right. Arial and Eric do their M&G right next to the fairies area outdoors. I'm not sure if Eric is always out, but I've seen him in more than one TR, so I assume that he is out often. Monsters Inc guys are kind of hard to find. Look for them on the map, and then when you get to the gift shop that is where the M&G should be, take the little path to the right of the shop and go behind it. Didn't seem to ever be a line because it's so hard to find! If your DD is into Phineus and Ferb, they are over by Muppet Vision, and every time we walked by the line was mobbed, so make that one a priority in the morning. (I know we'll be in that line this trip) Rapunzel is to the right of the castle, right before you get to the teacups. Her line can get pretty bad too.

We're doing Chef Mickey and 1900 again too. The characters were so good, we'll deal with the food

Sounds like we'll be there around the same time! It's so exciting to have a trip so close!!!

 

[shan23877]

It's been another eventful week around here. We've had some issues with our realtor, so we're we have a new one who's either taking over or co-opting the listing with the old guy. We'll meet with the new guy on Sunday, and hopefully he'll want us to keep the listing price in the same ball park. We're counting on the profit to put down on the new house. If he wants to lower it dramatically, the Disney trip may be off. I'm trying to stay positive though, because we seem to be in line with the comps. So, for now the trip is on, and so is this PTR!!

I noticed that the spring room discounts had been extended so I called yesterday to see if they'd also added discounted rooms. Last time they only had discounted pirate rooms, and this time only King rooms. It was worth a try, and next time I call, I'll ask again.

I've had some additional worry with the trip because we won't be paying it off until one week after the deadline. (another long story, but we're using DHs bonus check which we won't get until the 15th) I've called a few times to ask about it. My specific worry is not really the room since we aren't getting the discount anyway. My worry is that I have CRT and SOA linked with the reservation. I'm concerned that if the resort ressie gets cancelled, the dining ones will too. The first CM that I spoke to told me that our reservation should be safe, but if it gets cancelled, CRT will too. The second CM that I spoke with told me that the reservation may get cancelled, but CRT won't since I put down the credit card guarantee. The second CM also told me that since it's a unique circumstance, I should ask for Guest Services from now on because they have more pull than the CMs on the "floor" of the call center. Does anyone have any experience with any of this? It's very confusing.


Some good news-the package from Disney Store arrived today! The swimsuit and sunglasses are adorable, as is the Jasmine doll. But, the Rapunzel dress is absolutely gorgeous. It seems to be really nice quality as well. I do worry that it might be a bit too long for DD though, so if it is, I'll hem it up to calf length so that she can wear it to the parks on the trip too.


We plan to pre-order the PhotoPass CD again. We certainly got our money's worth last trip, and I can't imagine that DD will want to meet fewer characters this time around, so it should be a good value for us again.

Anywho.... On to Day One!

The plan is to book the first flight of the day out of Chicago on Southwest. It leaves at 6:30 am, and arrives in Orlando at 9:30 am local time. Southwest is pretty no-frills, but we all have our electronics to keep us busy, and on Southwest bags fly free!! That alone saves us $200

We'll catch the Magical Express and head to CBR! We might stow the Rapunzel dress or the Ariel dress in the carry on so that if DD wants to be a princess on the first day, she has the option. I think she might want to if I tell her where we're going to dinner. I plan to have our park bag packed and in a carry on as well, so if the room isn't ready we'll leave our stuff with bell services and move on.

I imagine that we'll all be starving, so the plan is to hit Old Port Royal for a quick lunch. We'll pay out of pocket for this one.

After lunch it's off to MK!! I'd like to say that we'll immediately knock out some rides, but let's be honest. We'll likely make a beeline for some characters. If there's time in between Meet and Greets, I'd like us to focus on TomorrowLand and AdventureLand on the first day. I believe that BTMRR will be down for refurb while we're there and DD refuses to ever ride Splash again, so we won't be giving FrontierLand much attention at all this trip.

And for our first Deluxe Dining Meal?


1900 Park Fare. I know, I know, I said that the food is terrible so why are we going back? Those characters are AMAZING!!! I think that I had as much fun with them as DD did, so we're doing it again. I figure that it's better to have some disappointing food on the first day because things can only go up from there! I plan to take the boat to GF and the monorail back to MK. Does this sound like the quickest route? Where does the boat let off at the resort? Is lobby easy to find from the dock?

Once dinner is over it's back to MK. Hopefully we'll get some more rides in, and we'll stay for M,M,& Y and Wishes.

After that I'm sure that we'll all be exhausted from the obscenely early morning, so we won't take advantage of evening EMH. We'll be back at CBR unpacking and getting to sleep ASAP!

I must spend the next 52 days learning how to use the new camera we got ourselves for Christmas. It's a pretty nice DSLR, and so far I've only used the automatic setting Disney will be my first chance to really use it much outdoors, and I'm excited to try to get some good pictures!

 

[kmedina]

Hope everything works out with the realtor. I also hope you get a nice discount on a regular room. The CBR really is beautiful. You'll love it. We are always going to pre-order photopass too. My sister paid 4 days late on her last trip and it all worked out. I am sure it will work out for you too. Sounds like a great first day. I do think you will be seeing a lot of characters too. We only went for breakfast to Park Fare (dinner is too girly for "Crapbag"), but I loved it there too. The food was all right, but it is easier to mess up dinner than breakfast. I never learned how to use my DLSR, so I take the majority of my photos on auto. Hopefully, you have more luck.

 

[merbobear]

I hope that the new realtor gets you some fast results and gets the current asking price on the house!
Your day 1 sounds awesome, almost like what I have planned for my family's day one. We are taking the first flight out of Albany, NY on SW and arriving at MCO at approx 10:30, head straight to our resort-OKW-, bring park bag packed just in case but hoping to see the room first. THen we will head to MK and have lunch there (at Columbia Harbour House) and spend the rest of the afternoon meeting and greeting and riding. We are also going to be missing BTMRR But I am sure the other attractions will still fill our time. I'm the one that has sworn off Splash for the rest of time, and dinner will be at Chef Mickey's. We will spend the rest of the evening back at MK, enjoying Wishes

FWIW, we ate at 1900PF last year and I really enjoyed the food! I mean, it was standard Disney buffet food, so I wouldn't say it was better or worse than other character buffets, but it was decent, and I had mentioned that I would go back for the strawberry soup alone! In fact, we are going to be doing a breakfast and a dinner at 1900PF this year (officially because we want to do the dinner characters again and can't resist meeting Alice as well, unofficially because I am looking forward to 2 rounds of the soup! lol). So...to make a long story short, there is hope that maybe you just ate there on an off night and you will enjoy the buffet more this time around. Even if you don't, though, I do agree that it's worth a visit back for the character interaction. 1900 offered the best character experience of our vacation, hands down.

 

[Caretames1]

Sounds like a full first day! I love to get in early, from noon on you can get lots done!

I just heard that the monorail will be not doing transport for the Grand Floridian at certain times due the construction that will take place for the DVC. I saw that on my facebook feed from the DIS.

We thought the food was good/ok but the characters are sooo worth it! We had a ball. I want to do breakfast there next trip, and I hope the character then are just as good!

If you just take your camera out and shoot, you should start to get the hang of it. The Photography boards here are awesome too!

Good Luck with your new realtor!

 

[denvergirl]

Sounds like an awesome first day! I always have to go to MK first

I'm trying to take up photography (before our next trip in Nov) and found a few good threads, and even an e-book on how to shoot fireworks (with tons of setting info, etc). IMO, it was well worth the $15! Also, check out the blog on Disney Photography. . .

http://www.disneyphotographyblog.com/

It has tons of great information! I sound like I'm making a ton of progress. . .now I just need the camera!!! Here's hoping the tax return comes sooner than later!!!

Good luck with the new realtor on Sunday!

P.S. When I suggested we have another child my only (DD6) said she'd "spank me 146 times!" I guess she's happy having a 14 year old lab for a sister!

 

[ronnmel]

I'm one of those rare people who prefer to take the boat than the monorail at Disney. Don't get me wrong, I love the monorail, but I LOVE the boat. So I think it's a great idea. The boat lets you off at the dock near Narcoossee's. I don't remember getting lost getting to the lobby when we walk from there, and i was at night, so you should be fine. It's a lovely walk.

 

[Queenofallthings]

Will be keeping my fingers crossed that everything works out with the realtor and the house....why can't things just go smoothly when we have a vacation planned?

Your first day plans sound great and the $200 savings on Southwest can be added to your Disney money

 

[shan23877]

Hello everyone! I'm back with good news!

We really like our new realtor, and he agreed that the house was pretty much priced correctly, so the trip is ON! However, we've had so many ups and downs getting to this point that I probably won't feel 100% confident until we're actually on the plane!

I called Disney again today about the whole paying 7 days late issue as I was instructed to by the last CM I spoke to. Today I got a really awesome gal on the phone (Essie you rock!) and she was much, much more helpful than the last 3 CMs I've discussed the same issue with. As soon as Essie answered, I asked to speak with Guest Services (last gal told me to do that). Essie very politely asked why I needed to speak to them. She said she totally understood why I was getting frustrated with all of the different info I was receiving from all of the different CMs. She also told me that she has worked in the call center for almost 20 years, and assured me that I was in good hands. Essie explained that it's Disney's policy to tell me that my ressie might be cancelled, but she said that with as many times as I've called that it's unlikely that mine will be. She also said that there is no way my dining ressies will be cancelled if the resort one is. I explained that he CRT and SOA reservations were my biggest concern since I'm not getting any room discount any way. She was shocked that no one had been able to apply any discount to the room, and checked herself. While no more standard rooms were available at the discounted rate, she did find some sort of discount for me. We are now booked in a water view room, and it's about $100 cheaper than the standard room that we had. It's not much, but I'll take it. I did stay on the line and give my BFF Essie very high reviews on the survey ..

I tend to get very OCD about my Disney vacations, dining reservations in particular. Since Disney is "updating" the dining portion of their website, I haven't been able to partake in my favorite planning past time-- looking at all of ADRs lined up all nice and neat in order. So, I called Disney Dining today and had the nice lady confirm each and every ADR for me. They were all there safe and sound, so I felt better.

I may have mentioned before, but my MiL is a HUGE Disney nut as well. She often stays on property when she's in Orlando for business just so that she can soak up some of the magic even if she can't go to the parks. She visits WDW alone a couple of times a year, and last year she went to DL as well. She also doesn't have a ton of boundries when it comes to WDW. When DH and I booked our honeymoon, she decided it would be lots of fun to "surprise" us by going at the same time herself! We dined at the Hoop De Doo together, we toured Epcot together, she even made us all do single rider on Test Track (we were newlyweds, we would have waited to sit together.) She means well, and it's 100% her happy place, but she really oversteps sometimes. That is why we made a point of not inviting her for Maddie's first trip. It may be mean, but we really wanted to go just the 3 of us with out MiL trying to tell everyone what to do.

Back in early February we told her about the potential trip in April and asked if she'd like to join us. She told us that she might go for a couple of days because she's already going with my BiL's family this summer. That kind of hurt my feelings since she lives much closer to BiLs family and already spends much more time with his kids, but I decided not to make an issue of it. A few days later, at Maddie's birthday party, she informed the whole family that she was terribly behind at work, and no one should attempt to contact her until early March (she's also a bit of a drama queen and martyr ) So, still trying to be a good DiL, I called and texted her today asking if she'd still like to join us. She said she might be able to swing a couple of days, and I responded that I would email her our plans. I tried to keep the tone of the email very welcoming-insisting that we'd love for her to join us while making it clear that we have a very set touring plan. I did offer to try to add a 4th person to any of our ADRs that she'd like, and listed what attractions we'd be hitting at each park each day. We'll see what she decides to do, I feel like I've done more than enough to try to encourage her to take the opportunity to spend time in her happy place with the oldest granddaughter. Should she come, the TR should be fabulous!!!!

On to the plans for Day 2!

Animal Kingdom! We usually leave AK for the end of a trip, and by the time we get to that point we either skip it all together, or don't give it as much attention as we could. It's our least favorite park (please don't throw things) but I'm hoping that by doing it early in the trip, we'll enjoy it much more than we usually do.

Breakfast is at Tusker House with Donald and Friends. I though I was being so smart booking an 8:05 ADR, but AK has EMH that morning. Drat!

Lunch is Yak and Yeti at 11:30. I almost cancelled it in favor of RFC again, but DH seems excited to try something new.

We hope to accomplish KS, EE single rider, FotLK, TS, and Rafiki's. We'd like to get up close to the Tree of Life as well. Can anyone tell me where to pick up the path that runs along side it? We'll obviously spend some time at Camp Minnie Mickey as well. Lately DD has been talking a lot about "if" we ever get to go back to WDW and what she'd like to do. (so fun) One of the her highest priorities is meeting Pocahontas since she's the last princess DD needs to meet, so we'll try to find her too. We'll be skipping KRR this time, I don't really want to get soaked to the bone again. We'll also pass by Dinosaur and ITTBaB because DD would likely find them scary.

I think this will take us just a bit past lunch time, so after we're done we'll go back to CBR for a swim.

Dinner on Day 2 is 'Ohana!!! This is the ADR that eluded me last trip, so I was really excited to get it for this trip. None of us have ever been there, and I think we'll love it. The ADR is at 6:40 so with any luck we'll be done in time to hop over to Epcot for Illuminations. Then it'll be back to CBR to pass out.

45 days! I'm getting so excited!

 

[shan23877]

Hope everything works out with the realtor. I also hope you get a nice discount on a regular room. The CBR really is beautiful. You'll love it. We are always going to pre-order photopass too. My sister paid 4 days late on her last trip and it all worked out. I am sure it will work out for you too. Sounds like a great first day. I do think you will be seeing a lot of characters too. We only went for breakfast to Park Fare (dinner is too girly for "Crapbag"), but I loved it there too. The food was all right, but it is easier to mess up dinner than breakfast. I never learned how to use my DLSR, so I take the majority of my photos on auto. Hopefully, you have more luck.

Thanks for the well wishes! We are really excited to try out CBR, it looks so pretty. DH and I went to the Bahamas when we got married, so it reminds me of that too.

I have DSLR for Dummies, and I really need to start reading it. Those cameras are so nice that the pics are great on auto anyway.

I hope that the new realtor gets you some fast results and gets the current asking price on the house!
Your day 1 sounds awesome, almost like what I have planned for my family's day one. We are taking the first flight out of Albany, NY on SW and arriving at MCO at approx 10:30, head straight to our resort-OKW-, bring park bag packed just in case but hoping to see the room first. THen we will head to MK and have lunch there (at Columbia Harbour House) and spend the rest of the afternoon meeting and greeting and riding. We are also going to be missing BTMRR But I am sure the other attractions will still fill our time. I'm the one that has sworn off Splash for the rest of time, and dinner will be at Chef Mickey's. We will spend the rest of the evening back at MK, enjoying Wishes

FWIW, we ate at 1900PF last year and I really enjoyed the food! I mean, it was standard Disney buffet food, so I wouldn't say it was better or worse than other character buffets, but it was decent, and I had mentioned that I would go back for the strawberry soup alone! In fact, we are going to be doing a breakfast and a dinner at 1900PF this year (officially because we want to do the dinner characters again and can't resist meeting Alice as well, unofficially because I am looking forward to 2 rounds of the soup! lol). So...to make a long story short, there is hope that maybe you just ate there on an off night and you will enjoy the buffet more this time around. Even if you don't, though, I do agree that it's worth a visit back for the character interaction. 1900 offered the best character experience of our vacation, hands down.

Great minds think alike! I don't think I'll ever be a person who can skip a park on arrival day. I get too excited.

I hope that the food will be better, but to be honest we enjoy the characters so much that the food doesn't really matter. I really like the strawberry soup too, but DD thought it was melted yogurt, and DH didn't even try it!

Sounds like a full first day! I love to get in early, from noon on you can get lots done!

I just heard that the monorail will be not doing transport for the Grand Floridian at certain times due the construction that will take place for the DVC. I saw that on my facebook feed from the DIS.

We thought the food was good/ok but the characters are sooo worth it! We had a ball. I want to do breakfast there next trip, and I hope the character then are just as good!

If you just take your camera out and shoot, you should start to get the hang of it. The Photography boards here are awesome too!

Good Luck with your new realtor!

Thanks! I read up on the monorail situation, and it seems that they won't be running from 9am to 6pm. I'd be really steamed if I'd booked a monorail resort at that time! Do you now how early the resort monorails and boats start running? I'm still trying to figure out the best route for a couple of breakfast ressies at GF and Poly.

I need to get the camera out more (right now it's locked up because we're showing the house so much ) I'll check out the photography boards though, thanks for the tip!

How did the skirt hunting go? Did you find any for Kadence?

Sounds like an awesome first day! I always have to go to MK first

I'm trying to take up photography (before our next trip in Nov) and found a few good threads, and even an e-book on how to shoot fireworks (with tons of setting info, etc). IMO, it was well worth the $15! Also, check out the blog on Disney Photography. . .

http://www.disneyphotographyblog.com/

It has tons of great information! I sound like I'm making a ton of progress. . .now I just need the camera!!! Here's hoping the tax return comes sooner than later!!!

Good luck with the new realtor on Sunday!

P.S. When I suggested we have another child my only (DD6) said she'd "spank me 146 times!" I guess she's happy having a 14 year old lab for a sister!

146 spankings? Wow, she meant business! We will always have to go to MK first, crowd levels be damned. It just means WDW to us.

I hope that you're able to get the camera that you want! Thanks a lot for the link to the Photo boards, I'll definately check them out.

We really liked the new realtor, and are feeling good about things!

I'm one of those rare people who prefer to take the boat than the monorail at Disney. Don't get me wrong, I love the monorail, but I LOVE the boat. So I think it's a great idea. The boat lets you off at the dock near Narcoossee's. I don't remember getting lost getting to the lobby when we walk from there, and i was at night, so you should be fine. It's a lovely walk.

Thanks! DD is a lot like you--she LOVES the boats. Monorail--Meh. It's a nice break, I just find myself getting anxious wanting to arrive somewhere.

Will be keeping my fingers crossed that everything works out with the realtor and the house....why can't things just go smoothly when we have a vacation planned?

Your first day plans sound great and the $200 savings on Southwest can be added to your Disney money

Thank you so much!! I don't know why the universe can't pick up on the fact that I'm planning a vacation and leave me the heck alone!!!

I'm sure that DD and I will have no problem spending that extra $200.

 

[kmedina]

That is awesome. I was tempted to ask you on my report but decided to be patient and wait. Yay. It looks like we both may get our next trips! Good for Essie, and $100 savings is awesome, especially with a better room. I have OCD too and always double checked everything. By trip time, everything was seared in, so I did not even need to refer to my paperwork. It sounds like you have gone above and beyond with you MIL. The ball is in her court now. My MIL wanted to go to Connor's first WDW trip but has to settle for his first Dl trip.

I agree with you on KRR. Xander was so soaked afterward that he did not want to ride it again, so we did not ride it last trip at all. I love the noodles at Yak and Yeti, even though I do love the Rainforest Cafe. I'd keep your ADR. They take the dining plan there too, which is a big deal when you're on the deluxe plan. There are so many credits. Sounds like a great day at AK. Hope Maddie gets to meet Pocahontas. She is going to be so excited that there are only 45 more days before she gets to cross more off her WDW to do list. It's so cute that she has been thinking about it.

 

[shan23877]

That is awesome. I was tempted to ask you on my report but decided to be patient and wait. Yay. It looks like we both may get our next trips! Good for Essie, and $100 savings is awesome, especially with a better room. I have OCD too and always double checked everything. By trip time, everything was seared in, so I did not even need to refer to my paperwork. It sounds like you have gone above and beyond with you MIL. The ball is in her court now. My MIL wanted to go to Connor's first WDW trip but has to settle for his first Dl trip.

I agree with you on KRR. Xander was so soaked afterward that he did not want to ride it again, so we did not ride it last trip at all. I love the noodles at Yak and Yeti, even though I do love the Rainforest Cafe. I'd keep your ADR. They take the dining plan there too, which is a big deal when you're on the deluxe plan. There are so many credits. Sounds like a great day at AK. Hope Maddie gets to meet Pocahontas. She is going to be so excited that there are only 45 more days before she gets to cross more off her WDW to do list. It's so cute that she has been thinking about it.

We're both getting lucky on the trip front! Now if we could only keep our kids healthy. Mine's been nursing a cough for a couple of weeks, and is currently in my bed crying because she had an accident and the cough is bugging her. Correction, now she's on the couch coughing and crying. Awesome.

We like RFC, but we can go there in Chicago too, so DH wants me to keep Y&Y as well. I think he'll end up enjoying it if the Kobe burger is still available, and I've been eyeing those noodles!

You're not kidding about using all the credits. I am having a mild panic about what to do if SoA gets rained out. We'll be stuck trying to use 2 credits at the last minute! We really do want to do the luau, so my back up plan is if the early show (which we're booked at) gets rained out, I'll try to get us into the late show at the Hoop de Doo.

Maddie has been talking about Disney non-stop lately. I don't know if she's picking up on conversations that DH and I have been having or if she's just that excited to go back "someday". She told us that she thinks we should go back for my birthday in July. Little does she know....

My MiL goes through phases. Sometimes she's amazing, and sometimes she's a nightmare. I'm sure you can figure which one she's being now. I can only hope that she'll be in a good phase during the trip (if she chooses to join us of course)

 

[kmedina]

Thanks for the well wishes! We are really excited to try out CBR, it looks so pretty. DH and I went to the Bahamas when we got married, so it reminds me of that too.

Great minds think alike! I don't think I'll ever be a person who can skip a park on arrival day. I get too excited.

Thanks! I read up on the monorail situation, and it seems that they won't be running from 9am to 6pm. I'd be really steamed if I'd booked a monorail resort at that time! Do you now how early the resort monorails and boats start running? I'm still trying to figure out the best route for a couple of breakfast ressies at GF and Poly.

We really liked the new realtor, and are feeling good about things!

We spent our honeymoon at CBR, lol. Not quite the Bahamas, but we loved it there.

Coming from the West Coast, it is always so late by the time we reach Florida. It is hard for us. We did the red eye once, but ended up sleeping the whole day when we arrived, so that backfired.

Wait until you see how many times we got to ride the monrail last trip. You will be surprised. You already know what happened the first morning, but there are more instances to come. I would have been more angry, but I kept thinking about how we were upgraded to a Magic Kingdom View. The boats do not start running as early as the monorail. I do not know the exact times. The boat dock was just a few feet from our room, so that would have made our early ADR in MK a little easier.

I am glad you like the realtor and you got lots of good news.

 

[kmedina]

I hope Maddie feels better. Kids are intuitive. Maybe she is just hoping that all of her talk will get her a trip soon. Little does she know! We have a Rainforest Cafe here too at The MGM. I actually ate there on my birthday last year. Xander loved it.

 

[shan23877]

I hope Maddie feels better. Kids are intuitive. Maybe she is just hoping that all of her talk will get her a trip soon. Little does she know! We have a Rainforest Cafe here too at The MGM. I actually ate there on my birthday last year. Xander loved it.

Thanks, she's currently asleep in the couch, and only occasionally whining in her sleep.

I like RFC a lot-the have a great burger. Maddie loves it, but we are doing so many character meals, this one'll be for us

 

[merbobear]

Has your dd seen It's Tough to be a Bug before? I have been noticing that people say it's scary a lot lately, but we went last year and dd (3 at the time) loved it! I didn't really notice anything frightening about it..though obviously that is different for everyone. We went on everything and saw everything that we could for her height (which was 40.5 inches last year) and the only thing that scared her was Stitch's Great Escape. I guess Dinosaur scared her a little, but when we got off the ride she insisted on buying a dino which became her new bff, and later in the day we did ride it a second time. I guess my dd is just a thrill chaser! lol

 

[abcangie87]

For the life of me, RFC and SofA is not ringing a bell to me as to what they are? I keep reading SofA as Sons of Anarchy which I'm pretty sure is not at Disney

So it looks like our trips are overlapping a day or so. I need to go back and do the math on yours lol. We are arriving April 28th.

And i have to say....time has seemed to hit a standstill now that I am in mega-trip-thinking mode!

 

[ronnmel]

I'm glad you guys are giving AK another chance. Though it's not our favorite part, we enjoy it a lot. And for some reason Ron loves starting our trip there. He looked at me all crazy last night when I mentioned possibly starting with another park next trip. He's a man of habit, what can I say.

I believe there are more than one path going around the Tree of Life. The one I know you can take right before the bridge to Africa. It's often deserted, so it almost looks like you're going backstage, but it's a real path.

 

[CandleontheWater]

I must have missed that you started a PTR here! I'm all caught up and I'm really excited for you about your new house, move, and WDW trip!

I think you will really enjoy CBR, DH and I stayed there in 2006, and we really loved it! It is such a pretty resort and I think it has the very best moderate resort pool (and better than some of the deluxes!).

I really hope you do a TR when you get back, because I'd love to hear about all your dining experiences. Doing the deluxe plan is one of my Disney dreams, so I could live vicariously through you!

 

[katt789]

Yay for updates!! It so exciting that your (and our) trip is so cloooseee!!!! EEEK!!

I still can't get over how similar our plans are! I've totally forgotten, have you guys eaten at Tusker House already? It's one of my favorite places to get breakfast! I love the pre park opening breakfasts, so much awesomeness!! If we manage to not run into each other at some point it will be crazy!!f

No splash mountain!! As if!!?? Haha, definitely myhfavorite ride....although I might have some hard feelings after DLR...booo Sooo excited!!