Can I Survive another 11 days in WDW w/ Disney-Resistant Husband? *11/25 SURPRISE!!**

[Queenofallthings]

That is the best news I heard in a while! I can't wait to see your pics of her sitting in the harbour!!!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

That's a very neat update!! Does this mean a cruise is possibly in the works?

 

[LilAnn]

I did hear about the new Disney Cruise ports! I was excited to see it sail out of NY as that is closer to us than Florida. And I have always wanted to visit Nova Scotia, so I am hoping to add that to a future trip.

Sad to hear that I missed out on your ebay auction. I totally would have looked into the girl clothing for my DD for later on. Your kids have such cute clothing!

Good luck with the ADRs and all of the dining planning.

 

[eandesmom]

I'm having a reverse reaction to the new itineraries. Now that we are booked on the Wonder in August out of Vancouver, sure enough it will be out of Seattle next year! Grr.

Oh well. It's not that far of a drive but...I'd have saved some money if it was out of here as I think I could have avoided passports for the kids (not positive about that though).

I'd love to visit Nova Scotia, that could be a really fun cruise!

I can't wait to see what you ended up with for ADR's. I agree, the DVC option is wonderful but does complicate things! We are doing it for 2 of the nights on our May trip and OOP for the rest as some in the group have TIW. I think it will work out well but we will see.

 

[MeMom]

Exciting Disney News....

This week, I was completely surprised with some terribly exciting Disney News.

The Disney Magic is coming to my City!!!!

Very cool!
I don't think we'll ever be able to say that here in Nashville.
I think they should put a mini-Disney park here, though.

 

[25eels]

Hi Tricia!

I just wanted to let you know that I've read through and very much enjoyed your TRs and they were so helpful -- we went to WDW with family last year and weren't involved in any of the planning, but we're returning this summer and your restaurant reviews and photos are the reason for probably 75% of our ADRs! (Oh, and we're also staying at BC; you sold me on that too.) I really like that your reviews take your overall enjoyment of each restaurant into account as much as the food. So thank you! And I am enjoying reading about your current planning.

--Nancy

 

[brookelizabeth]

We almost booked that cruise to Canada, we could have had a DIS meet! Maybe, just maybe we'll swing it in 2013 though... I'd like to dream that we can!

 

[Cinderella16]

Hi! I have just finished reading your May 2010 Trip Report and I loved every minute of it! We were actually at WDW the same time as you...it sure was HOT wasn't it???

I am so glad you have a new PTR that I can follow along with from the beginning.

 

[smillerguy]

Just returned from a week at BC 1 bedroom. Best trip and weather ever. Very low crowds. Loved the Beach Club. Wasn't there a post about the scent that they use in the Beach club? Would love to get that for out beach house so it doesn't get stale while we are away.

 

[cdotla]

Good luck with your ADRs!

And what great news about the Magic! I've always wanted to head to Nova Scotia and skirt around the Bay of Fundy. Are you tempted to book yourself on the cruise?

To be honest, although I am terribly excited to get to see the Magic sailing into the Halifax Harbour, I have no desire to actually be on that cruise! When I finally take my 1st Disney cruise, I plan to be somewhere other than my own backyard!

How neat that you will be able to see the Disney Magic pulling into your city!!!

I know!!! I am totally psyched!

How cool that the Magic will be in your own backyard!!

I agree! It's awesome...can't wait!

Thanks for the link and suggestions.

I do have CG on another night and FF but can not get it for the 25th so I may try Jiko. My kids love BOma though. That is our arrival day. Staying split GF and BCV 1 BR. I was thinking it would be less hectic not to have to get back in the car to get to dinner again. Maybe we will just eat by the pool.

I did see Citrico's and Artist Pallette last I checked.

I think my DD is about the same size as yours. She just turned 7. I love your daughters clothes. My DS is 9 now so into tshirts and shorts.

Good luck with the dining plans. I find that it is the hardest part of the trip to try and work in all the places I want to dine at!

We're excited about DCL coming to NY!!!

Amanda

I completely share your enthusiasm!

How exciting that you will see the Magic sail into your city!
I'm pretty excited about its NYC arrival.

Yes, New Yorkers and Nova Scotians can both get excited over this, can't we?

We're so thrilled that they're finally sailing out of NY!! The 5-night Canadian cruise is right up our alley!

If you book it, be sure to let me know! Maybe we can hook up while you are on your Halifax stop!

how cool that DCL will be sailing from so near where you live!!

I know!!!

That is the best news I heard in a while! I can't wait to see your pics of her sitting in the harbour!!!

And I can't wait to share them with you Queen! You know I will be taking a bunch!

 

[Dizney73]

I followed your May Trip report forever but got sidetracked with my own trip for awhile and just finished reading your TR about 30 minutes ago. I had to follow your link over here to join in on your perfectly presented Disney experiences once again!!!

 

[cdotla]

That's a very neat update!! Does this mean a cruise is possibly in the works?

For me.....no. Although I am terribly excited about the Magic sailing into my city, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, New England and even New York are too close to home and familiar for me. When I finally go on my 1st cruise I want to go somewhere new.

If the ship was actually sailing *out* of Halifax, that might be a different story. Then the convenience may win me over. But to sail out of NY, we wld still have to fly there first. If I am going to have to fly to pick up a cruise, I wld just as soon fly to Florida and sail to the Carribean!

 

[cdotla]

I did hear about the new Disney Cruise ports! I was excited to see it sail out of NY as that is closer to us than Florida. And I have always wanted to visit Nova Scotia, so I am hoping to add that to a future trip.

Sad to hear that I missed out on your ebay auction. I totally would have looked into the girl clothing for my DD for later on. Your kids have such cute clothing!

Good luck with the ADRs and all of the dining planning.

You will have to be sure and let me know if you end up booking one of those NS sailings!

Yes, I am sad to say that all of the very cute Disney customs from the kiddos early childhood years are all gone. But hopefully they will now be joining some other folks on other magical trips to the world! However, there are a LOT more talented folks crafting customs now than 6-7 years ago when I first started buying them. So hopefully you can find some great outfits for your little cutie!

Sadly our days of Disney customs are quickly coming to an end. I have a couple more for the kiddos for our Oct trip, but I suspect that after this trip they will have outgrown that type of clothing in the parks. Enjoy it while you can...I tended to go overboard and spent a fair chunk of change on Disney customs when the kids were young. But my only regret is not buying even more...they are only young once, and sadly it passes by so quickly!

I'm having a reverse reaction to the new itineraries. Now that we are booked on the Wonder in August out of Vancouver, sure enough it will be out of Seattle next year! Grr.

Oh well. It's not that far of a drive but...I'd have saved some money if it was out of here as I think I could have avoided passports for the kids (not positive about that though).

I'd love to visit Nova Scotia, that could be a really fun cruise!

I can't wait to see what you ended up with for ADR's. I agree, the DVC option is wonderful but does complicate things! We are doing it for 2 of the nights on our May trip and OOP for the rest as some in the group have TIW. I think it will work out well but we will see.

Too bad you were 1 year late for the Seattle iterneraries Cynthia!

As for our ADRs...for the 1st time ever, I have not been completely on top of things in this department. I have to get things fixed up and finalized over the next week...about 1 month late!

Can't wait to hear all about your trip THIS MONTH!!!! Can't wait to hear about all your dining adventures too!

Very cool!
I don't think we'll ever be able to say that here in Nashville.
I think they should put a mini-Disney park here, though.

Yes, I suspect sailing out of Nashville might present some problems wouldn't it?

I guess there is always hope for a park though, right? Move over Dollywood!

 

[cdotla]

Hi Tricia!

I just wanted to let you know that I've read through and very much enjoyed your TRs and they were so helpful -- we went to WDW with family last year and weren't involved in any of the planning, but we're returning this summer and your restaurant reviews and photos are the reason for probably 75% of our ADRs! (Oh, and we're also staying at BC; you sold me on that too.) I really like that your reviews take your overall enjoyment of each restaurant into account as much as the food. So thank you! And I am enjoying reading about your current planning.

--Nancy

Awww....thank you so much! I really appreciate hearing that!

I hope you have a fantastic trip!!! (And I hope our tastes end up matching on the restaurant choices!) I am sure you will LOVE the BC! Be sure to report back on how everything goes!

We almost booked that cruise to Canada, we could have had a DIS meet! Maybe, just maybe we'll swing it in 2013 though... I'd like to dream that we can!

That would be so fun if you end up sailing to NS in 2013! We are actually planning our first Disney cruise in 2013 as well to celebrate my 40th, Katie's 10th, and my parents' 65th birthdays. We are definitely going on the Dream though! That AquaDuck and the plussed up kids' areas are the deal-makers!

Hi! I have just finished reading your May 2010 Trip Report and I loved every minute of it! We were actually at WDW the same time as you...it sure was HOT wasn't it???

I am so glad you have a new PTR that I can follow along with from the beginning.

Thank you so much, and Welcome to the PTR! So glad to have you along, and thanks for your comments on my earlier TR!

Just returned from a week at BC 1 bedroom. Best trip and weather ever. Very low crowds. Loved the Beach Club. Wasn't there a post about the scent that they use in the Beach club? Would love to get that for out beach house so it doesn't get stale while we are away.

Wow! So glad you had a fantastic trip! Isn't the BC the best???!!!

As for that lobby scent...it might just be me, but it used to drive me crazy when Chris wld purchase Febreeze, which I viewed as yet another unnecessary chemical to bring into our house. However, ever since he brought home one that reminded me of the Beach Club, I stopped complaining about it!

I followed your May Trip report forever but got sidetracked with my own trip for awhile and just finished reading your TR about 30 minutes ago. I had to follow your link over here to join in on your perfectly presented Disney experiences once again!!!

Thank you so much, and great to have you along for the PTR!

 

[cdotla]

Apologies....

First off, I have to apologize for somewhat abandoning this PTR. (And I appreciate so much that no one has made me feel guity about that!) Life really has once again gotten in the way of being here on the Disboards. The bad news is, I can't really promise it will get much better until things calm down when school comes to an end and some of the endless kids' activities stop for the summer. By then our trip will be fast approaching, so I expect I will have more to post about anyway. In the meantime, as always, I will just keep trying to post as much as I can.

 

[cdotla]

ADR & Dining Plan Update

Without exception, on each and every major family trip we have taken with the kids to WDW, I have ALWAYS had our desired dining plans finalized well before the 180 day window for making ADRs. Always.

While I may have changed things around after park hours were released (or modified), for the most part the plans were formulated, and the ADRs were plotted and planned months out.

This trip....not so much.

In January I spent a few hours coming up with a list of "Must-Do's" and "Wish List" restaurants. The challenge, as always, was to fit everything in. After plotting a very rough plan based on anticipated park hours from October 2010 and 2009 data, I put the plans on the backburner, and really didn't look at them again until about 12midnight, a couple hours before our ADR window opened up. I then spent the next 2 hours trying to finalize our plans before crawling into bed for a few hours sleep before our ADR window opened the next morning.

Bright and early on ADR morning I went online and managed to book about 75% of our desired ADRs, with a few adjustments here and there as it can sometimes be a challenge to get in everywhere you want with a party of 8.

Knowing that I still had more ADRs to book in some of the less popular places, and perhaps a few key and popular ADRs to shift around after I had more time to review and scrutinize the schedule, I set things aside for the day, and started getting the kids ready for their swim lessons. Unfortunately, it is now several weeks later, and I still haven't been back to finalize the plans and secure the last of the ADRs!!!

I am bound and determined to do that tonite. There is a deep feeling in my gut that I might have really messed things up this trip by not being on top of the ADR planning this trip, which is completely unlike me, but at this point we will just have to go with whatever we can get.

I do have most of the key reservations booked at this point, including 1 LeCellier lunch ADR, 1 Cinderella's Royal Table breakfast, as well as Jiko, O'Hana, Chef Mickey's and California Grill, so I wasn't *that* lax about things. However, I still need to secure Coral Reef, and may have a couple other ADRs to shift around after I finalize the park touring plans.

Wish me luck!!!

 

[cdotla]

Other News

While I was away from the Boards these last few weeks, just thought I would post one of the things that has kept us busy.

The weekend before Easter, we travelled to Toronto for Chris' brother's wedding. For years Katie has wanted to be a flowergirl, and this time she finally got her chance. At almost 8 years old, I would say she just squeezed in under the wire! Declan also had the honour of being ringbearer.

(Katie was supposed to have a headpiece in her hair, but it ended up getting forgotten in the bride's room.)

Here are some people who may be familiar to those who read my last TR:

Katie and her aunt:

We had a great time at the wedding, and a great little quick trip to Toronto. (And anytime someone complains about the cost of a trip to Disney, they should check out the cost of a weekend trip to Toronto! Amazes me everytime!)


Talk about last-minute ADRs!!!

While we were up in Toronto, I ran into a childhood friend from way, way back. He and his wife, and their 3 children were scheduled to make their first trip to WDW with both sets of grandparents less than one week later, just in time for the Easter rush!

Their unhelpful travel agent booked them into the 2 Storey Grand Villa at Bay Lake Tower for 5 days, but apparently didn't advise them that Easter is the 2nd busiest time of year to travel. She also didn't give them a "heads-up" on their 180 day dining reservation window. As a result, when I spoke with them, they had next to no reservations secured for their trip and weren't able to get their 2 most wanted reservations - Cinderella's Royal Table and California Grill.

I tried to help as much as I could, and gave them plenty of other dining suggestions. They were hoping that the concierge service would be able to help them get into both CRT and California Grill at some point during their stay. They just returned this week, and I can't wait to find out how their trip went!


My Upcoming Trip

In just 10 days, I am off again for Toronto, on my way to Muskoka, where I am scheduled to speak at a conference. Muskoka is a beautiful area of lakes about 2 1/2 hours north of Toronto, and was just named #1 Summer Vacation Destination in the World for 2011 by National Geographic. http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/best-trips-summer-2011-photos/ The conference is being held at the same resort which hosted the G8 Summit last June, so I am very much looking forward to it.

A few months ago, once my travel plans to the conference were finalized, Carrie (lurkyloo) and I came up with a plan to travel to the Destination D Walt Disney World 40th Anniversary festivities right after my conference. Given the fact that I was half-way there already, I figured, why not, and changed my airfare to fly direct from Toronto to Orlando Friday morning right after my conference.

We will be staying Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the conference at the Contemporary (in a Tower Magic Kingdom view room...my favourite room in all of WDW), and will then be transferring over to the GF for our last nite. Although I have spent a fair bit of time at the GF, I have never actually stayed here as a guest, so I am quite excited about that!

This will actually be the 3rd trip I have done with Carrie (I first spent time with her in Los Angeles a few years ago, and then spent time with her and Patrick for a couple days over the D23 Sip N Stroll events in October 2010). However, this is the 1st trip where we will actually be roomies. I am already looking forward to our evening pajama party out on our balcony at the Contemporary late at nite, watching the Magic Kingdom and eating CAKE! Yes, we both have severe addictions to it!!!

So I probably won't have much by way of further updates on here until I return, but I plan on providing a full report on the Destination D festivities when I get back!

 

[SoonerGirl]

It sounds like you were able to book some really great ADRs, so even you don't get everything on your wish list you shouldn't be too disappointed I don't think you'll have any trouble booking Coral Reef, I was able to move that ADR just a few weeks before our trip last May and the time before when I ate there I made the ressie just about a month ahead of time. It's not nearly as popular as some of the other places that you already have secured.

Katie and Declan look adorable all dressed up for the wedding

I bet you'll have a great time with lurkyloo, sounds like a fun trip!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Trish - hope you have a fabulous time in WDW with lurkyloo.

Your ADRs sound like its on a solid foundation and I wish you luck with the others. I can't wait to see your food porn this time round.

Your kids look lovely, as always. Everyone's kids are growing up.

 

[TanzUnited99]

Sounds like you have the reservations that are hard to get such as CRT, Le Cellier and Chef Mickey's! Good luck with getting the others - am sure you will easily get Coral Reef and any others you want.

Lovely pictures of Katie and Declan! Yay on them getting to be flowergirl and ringbearer.

Your friend's agent does not sound good at all - hope she did manage to secure a reservation at CRT and CG.

The picture of Muskoka looks great - hope you enjoy your trip and yay on getting to go to Disney World as well! Looking forward to reading all about your stay at The Contemporary!