Around WDW in 14 days - a pre-trip report

[MissStitch626]

Hello Disers! Welcome to my pre-trip report.

I’ve decided that today is as good a day as any to start my pre-trip report…the sun is shining, I have a three day weekend this week and. . .wait, there was something else. What was it? I’m sure there was another reason! Oh, that’s right. . .IT’S ADR DAY TOMORROW!!!

After a loooooooong wait, and a slightly embarrassing miscalculation on my part that had me trying to make ADRs last week, it’s finally here. More on that later.

First things first – trip details. We fly from Glasgow to Orlando on 24 September, staying at the wonderful Port Orleans Riverside for 14 nights. We booked this trip in February last year, so a lot of planning, changing minds and more planning have gone into this holiday – and the best part is it’s not over yet!

In this trip report I’ll be pondering such topics as ADRs, the endless search for the perfect pair of Skechers, the Itinerary, holiday shopping and the official longest debate in holiday planning history – are we going to Hogwarts or not?

If anyone’s interested you can also follow me on Twitter @MissElizabeth82. My tweets are rarely if ever exciting but you can count on at least one “why is this computer not working?!” meltdown tomorrow. . .though hopefully not when I’m just about to book Le Cellier!

I will attempt to post chapter links and photos - I am recovering technophobe so please be patient with me while I figure out how to do these things. Any hints and tips are gratefully accepted!

Chapter 1 - The Cast
Chapter 2 - ADR wishlist
Chapter 3 - ADR update
Chapter 4 - Random Pictures from previous adventures pt 1
Chapter 5 - The Itinerary Part 1
Chapter 6 - The Itinerary Part 2
Chapter 7 - ADR update 2
Chapter 8 - The Planning Binder
Chapter 9 - Out of all the places in all the World we picked this one. . .
Chapter 10 - The Junior Planning Book
Chapter 11 - Random Pictures from previous adventures pt 2
Chapter 12 - Just a little update. . .
Chapter 13 - The Great Harry Potter Debate Part 1
Chapter 14 - The Great Harry Potter Debate Part 2
Chapter 15 - An exciting development. . .
Chapter 16 - another exciting development
Chapter 17 - ADR update
Chapter 18 - Life versus Disney!
Chapter 19 - The Great Shopping Expedition
A minor bump in the road. . .
Chapter 20 - Planning Update, Costume Decisions and Shoe Question
Chapter 21 - Would anyone care to dance?

MNSSHP Costume Preview Pt 1
MNSSHP Costume Preview Pt 2
MNSSHP Costume Preview Pt 3
MNSSHP Costume Preview Pt 4
The Secret Is Out!

 

[MissStitch626]

Now, let me introduce the small but dedicated cast of this little adventure.

Me (Elizabeth), 28. This will be my third trip to WDW after first discovering that I’m actually a Disney addict on my honeymoon in March 2008. How I laugh now when I think back to a time when I told people I “wasn’t that bothered” about visiting WDW.

DH (Ross), 32. DH has been to WDW three times, but had never been on a rollercoaster till he met me! I have since converted him, and BTMRR and EE are now his favourite rides.

Next up, the ADR wishlist. . .

 

[MissStitch626]

Hopefully I'll have some readers soon who will notice that I have now figured out how to post links to chapters, add a link to my signature and post pictures (albeit teeny, tiny pictures but hey it's a start!)

Ok, so tomorrow is the long awaited, and I do mean long awaited, ADR day. You might recall I mentioned a rather embarrassing miscalculation regarding my 180 day window - well, I won't go into too much detail because it seriously makes me sound dumb, but basically I had two days off work about a week ago that I had planned to coincide with what I thought was my ADR day : So, unless I have made another catastrophic error in my mathematical skills (which is not beyond the realms of possibility) and I am 98% confident I will be able to make my ADRs tomorrow.

We are on QSDP but are planning a lot of table service restaurants too and will pay OOP for these. We are there for 14 days yet still can't find time for all the places we want to eat, so after the arduous task of narrowing the list down to only the most essential places, here is the list of restaurants I'll be hopefully making reservations for tomorrow:

Tony's Town Square Restaurant - tried to get this for MNSSHP last year but was booked solid.
Ohanas breakfast and dinner
Le Cellier
Teppan Edo
Via Napoli
Coral Reef
Crystal Palace breakfast
Cinderellas Royal Table breakfast
Rainforest Cafe (can't remeber if you can make ADRs for here but will take one if I can get it!)

All are new experiences for us apart from Coral Reef and Rainforest Cafe.

I won't be able to make all of them tomorrow as some of them are beyond the first ten days but can't wait to make a start! Wish me luck!

 

[MissStitch626]

ADRs are done. . .sort of.

I have now booked ADRs for Tonys, Ohanas breakfast, Via Napoli, Teppan Edo, Le Cellier (woo hoo), Crystal Palace and Rainforest Cafe.

Still need to book for Ohanas dinner and CRT, which I should be able to do today but technology has failed me and the server keeps crashing. Or I'm doing something wrong. Not entirely impossible. I'll keep trying for those two.

Also still need to book for Coral Reef but won't be able to do that today as it's beyond the first 10 days.

I'm so excited to try some of these restaurants for the first time. Tony's will be a big deal for me, I know it gets a lot of bad reviews but it's somewhere I really want to go and haven't been able to get a reservation in previous years. Le Cellier is also a source of major excitement for me, another place I've always wanted to try. DH is looking foward to Teppan Edo and Crystal Palace the most.

Coming soon. . .
Have I managed to make the rest of my ADRs?
Random photographs from previous adventures
The Planning Book (will include photos hopefully)
The Great Harry Potter Debate rages on. . .

(And by then I will hopefully have some readers )

 

[MissStitch626]

Ross chilling out at HS

Randomly exciting character find at AK

2009 MNSSHP loot

Best. Room service. Ever.

 

[MissStitch626]

Here is a run down of what I'm 98.7% sure is our final itinerary for the trip. We are both big planners but only as far as where we are going and where we want to eat each day - once we're actually in a park we tend to just go with where the crowd takes us

Day 1
Our flight times have been changed so we’ll be landing two hours earlier than expected at around 4pm. No firm plans for this day in case of flight delays but all going well will probably head to DTD to soak up some atmosphere and have some dinner either at Planet Hollywood (big favourite of mine) or the terrific Riverside Mill.

Day 2
Magic Kingdom, rope drop to closing including evening EMH!

I’m usually wide awake by 4.30am on my first day (trust me, this never happens at home), sitting on the edge of the bed staring at DH willing him to wake up

This will be the first full park day for us and I expect to be very tired, but very happy by the end of it. Dinner at Tony’s Town Square Restaurant.

Day 3
Starting the day with breakfast at Ohana. I have fond memories of this restaurant as it’s the first place I met Mickey Mouse and was so excited I couldn’t eat till he’d been to my table. I should mention that I was 26 at this point

This day is what I refer to as The Monorail Tour, ie we will be visiting some of the monorail resorts to check out some of their gift shops (I’m all about the merchandise) and then spending another couple of hours in the Magic Kingdom.

Planning on spending the evening at DTD, maybe dinner at WPE following by shopping, then some shopping, then some more shopping after that.

Day 4
Epcot, rope drop to closing including morning EMH. I LOVE Epcot. If it wasn’t for falling in love with WDW for the first time at Magic Kingdom this would possibly be my favourite park.

Early lunch at Via Napoli, dinner at Teppan Edo.

Day 5
Resort day/park hopping day – will probably check out Animal Kingdom for a couple of hours then spend some time relaxing at POR (stayed there on last visit and didn’t use the pool once! This is something I intend to rectify).

Evening EMH at Epcot and dinner at Le Cellier (have I mentioned how excited I am about Le Cellier?)

Day 6
Hollywood Studios, rope drop to closing.

No ADRs planned for this park. Neither DH or I are huge fans of the table service places on offer at HS, but we are huge fans of Toy Story Pizza Planet and Backlot Express so will probably eat at these throughout the day.

Day 7
Having a lie in today, then spending much of the day either at one of the water parks or at the pool.

Going to MNSSHP in the evening. And yes I plan on being on costume. More on that later. . .

 

[MissStitch626]

Day 8
Another full day at Magic Kingdom on the park’s 40th anniversary. Expecting crowds to be huge but where else would we want to be on 40th anniversary?

Breakfast at Crystal Palace and Dis Meet with the UK Disers today, can’t wait!

Day 9
The dreaded decision day. . .

Are we going to WWOHP or not? The debate rages on. . .

Day 10
Full day at Animal Kingdom today, dinner at Rainforest Café.

Evening EMH at Magic Kingdom.

Day 11
Breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table where I will hopefully be ready to overcome my fear of face characters

Another full day at Magic Kingdom followed by dinner at Ohana (assuming I ever manage to make my ADR!)

Day 12
Full day at Epcot, lunch at Coral Reef.

Day 13
Morning at Animal Kingdom, afternoon at Hollywood Studios, evening at DTD.

Day 14
Last full day at WDW!

Magic Kingdom up till lunch time, followed by Epcot till closing, last evening in DTD.

Day 15
The dreaded departure day Check in for flights at DTD then head to Magic Kingdom for a couple of hours before it’s time for the Magical Express.
(Flights were also changed for today – originally we would have had time to stay at Magic Kingdom long enough to see the parade one last time but think we will just miss it now – keeping my fingers crossed as it will depend on ME pick up time)

 

[MissStitch626]

Couple of days late in posting this but ADRs are done!

We didn't manage to get Cinderella's Royal Table but substituted it for Tusker House Breakfast on a different day. That one was a bit of an impulse ADR as we hadn't considered Tusker House before.

Also managed to get Ohanas booked for dinner, which will be another first though we've been there for breakfast before. I'm really looking forward to experiencing the different atmosphere in the evening.

I can't believe all the ADRs are booked after waiting what felt like forever for the window to open up! Whatever will I plan now?

 

[TanzUnited99]

Hi Elizabeth, I have just found your PTR and your plans sound great so far!

on getting your ADRs sorted! Just an idea but have you thought about upgrading from QSDP to the dining plan. We also wanted to make quite a few sit down reservations so decided to upgrade. You may have already looked into this but just thought I'd mention it.

I hope you manage to get to visit WWoHP - have heard many great reviews of the place!

 

[Corrine 1973]

Just read yur PTR and your plans sound great. I love all the ADR's, I wish I could have done more ADR's, but I am taking my son for his 9th birthday and don't think he wants to take that much time out of the parks for TS. Oh well, maybe when I take my DD in 2013. I'll be reading intently to see how the ADR's work out.

My family also went to MNSSHP in 2009. When did you go? We went on September 15th. We found out later that Captain Jack was played by Johnny Depp while we were there and the Friday before.

Can't wait to read more.

 

[MissStitch626]

Hi Elizabeth, I have just found your PTR and your plans sound great so far!

on getting your ADRs sorted! Just an idea but have you thought about upgrading from QSDP to the dining plan. We also wanted to make quite a few sit down reservations so decided to upgrade. You may have already looked into this but just thought I'd mention it.

I hope you manage to get to visit WWoHP - have heard many great reviews of the place!

Welcome Tanz - you're my first reader!

I hadn't even thought about upgrading dining plans. On previous trips we haven't used the dining plan at all but got free QSDP this time, I think I'll definitely look into it as we have an ADR almost every day so might be worthwhile! Thanks for the tip

I've also just found you pre-trip report so I've subscribed so I can catch up on your plans

 

[MissStitch626]

Just read yur PTR and your plans sound great. I love all the ADR's, I wish I could have done more ADR's, but I am taking my son for his 9th birthday and don't think he wants to take that much time out of the parks for TS. Oh well, maybe when I take my DD in 2013. I'll be reading intently to see how the ADR's work out.

My family also went to MNSSHP in 2009. When did you go? We went on September 15th. We found out later that Captain Jack was played by Johnny Depp while we were there and the Friday before.

Can't wait to read more.

Hi Corrine! We went to MNSSHP on 18th October. We had such a good time but felt we missed out on a few things because it was so cold that night The temperature just dropped out of nowhere. Looking forward to seeing the parade again, hopefully without freezing on the pavement! Also planning on dressing up this year so can't wait to start work on my costume.

Have you thought about any character meals with your son? I was a bit concerned last year about taking time out from the parks for TS but since we generally do rope drop to close (or at least try to!) it's nice to have a break in the middle and just relax while eating. Also found that the meals didn't take as long as I expected, but would probably seem longer to a 9 year old!

 

[jenneth79]

ADRs are done. . .sort of.

I have now booked ADRs for Tonys, Ohanas breakfast, Via Napoli, Teppan Edo, Le Cellier (woo hoo), Crystal Palace and Rainforest Cafe.

Lovely pre-trip report so far! I'm really jealous that you'll be there for two whole weeks. My DH and I are flying home on the 25th, so I can say you picked a great time to go! PORS is lovely as well, I've stayed there in the past.

Congrats on getting the Le Cellier ADR! It's one of the places I am most excited to try when we go!

 

[MissStitch626]

Did my first official holiday clothes shopping on Wednesday (after I couldn't resist looking at all the new summer clothes arriving in stores). I love buying new things and picturing which park you're going to where them to

Still to come on the pre-trip report. . .

The Planning Book - details and pics of the book that holds all the chaos together
The Other Planning Book - or rather the Junior Planning Book - the mini version that will accompany us on our journey around WDW
More random pics from previous adventures
To Hogwarts or Not?

 

[Corrine 1973]

Hi Corrine! We went to MNSSHP on 18th October. We had such a good time but felt we missed out on a few things because it was so cold that night The temperature just dropped out of nowhere. Looking forward to seeing the parade again, hopefully without freezing on the pavement! Also planning on dressing up this year so can't wait to start work on my costume.

Have you thought about any character meals with your son? I was a bit concerned last year about taking time out from the parks for TS but since we generally do rope drop to close (or at least try to!) it's nice to have a break in the middle and just relax while eating. Also found that the meals didn't take as long as I expected, but would probably seem longer to a 9 year old!

We went to two character meals for our last trip (Akursas and Chef Mickey's) but when I asked Liam if he wanted to do one he looked at me and said Nay. He is really getting past the age that he wants to hang out with characters. So I decided to do the QSDP to save a couple of bucks and not waste time in the parks (liam wants to go, go, go.) I started by planning one ADR at 50's for Liam's birthday celebration. Than I found out about the F! Dining package and was looking everyday to see if I could get one for lunch. Finally was able to book one, so now we have two ressies. Than I started reading about a lot of people going to T-Rex and asked Liam if he wanted to go. He was very excited so I called and made reservations for that. So now we have 3 reservations.

I am hoping that when I take my DD in 2013 that she will be more open to some diffrent ADR's. She is definalty more willing to try diffrent foods. And doing at least one character meal. (Maybe Akushas again, 1900, or CP)

 

[PixieMama]

I'd love to have a 2 week trip... my DH? Probably not, LOL! I'd go to WDW every year if I could. DH is under the impression that "there are other places than WDW to vacation at!" But what does he know?

My family ate at Tony's on our first trip (2007)... I booked it because we love Lady & Tramp and Italian food. It was... just ok. The food wasn't bad, but the only item from my meal I remember liking was the dressing on my salad, if that tells you anything! But the atmosphere of the restaurant is nice, and my girls got a kick out of learning Lady and Tramp were out back having lunch (like they do in the movie)... our waiter took their autograph books back to get Lady and Tramp's signatures!

Here's a pic of my DDs while at Tony's on our 2007 trip:

 

[MissStitch626]

Thanks for the pic Pixie Mama!

I'm going to Tony's mostly for the atmosphere. I'm also a huge Lady and the Tramp fan so it will be a treat just to be inside the restaurant. I've heard a lot of mixed reviews on the food so I'm going with the whole "low expectations" plan and am secretly hoping the food will exceed them

 

[MissStitch626]

Thought I would share a few pics of my planning binder - the book that holds it all together!

Standard 4-hole ringbinder/project folder purchased from Staples and decorated with 3d Disney stickers (though you might be able to see that some of my stickers are already falling off!) The folder came with a matching credit card holder which I have turned into my mini-planning book that I will carry along with me in the parks (pics of this to follow).

Countdown calendar

Title page

I plan on taking the book with me on the flight and the binder will be handy for holding things like park maps, which I like to bring home with me as a souvenir. As well as the pages shown it has sections for travel plans (flight information, airport parking etc), packing lists and the rarely used Disney Fit section, where I record my woeful attempts at getting into shape in time for WDW

 

[jenneth79]

I love love LOVE that binder! Mine is a pathetic little spiral notebook that I've been jotting things down in. (my favorite is the "how I'm going to lose 25 pounds in 25 weeks" list....which I am already 4 weeks into and I've lost a grand total of....nada.)

 

[MissStitch626]

I love love LOVE that binder! Mine is a pathetic little spiral notebook that I've been jotting things down in. (my favorite is the "how I'm going to lose 25 pounds in 25 weeks" list....which I am already 4 weeks into and I've lost a grand total of....nada.)

I feel your pain! I've been logging entries into my Disney Fit section (when I remember) for more than a year now and it's been two steps forward three steps back all the way! My downfall is the "I will stop eating junk food. . .on Monday!" motto.

The binder was actually fairly easy to put together (though DH had to make some of the tables for the countdown calendar - I have zero patience for formatting that kind of thing!) Most of it was either just put together on a word document using clip art pictures or created by the wonderfully creative people here on the DIS. I picked up a cheap laminator and have laminated all the title pages and use Disney stickers to mark of days on the countdown calendar. I love looking back through it to see how many months we've filled with stickers