Can We Ride the Boat 1st? A first timer's Jan 2015 PTR - link to TR

[ach222]

Hi guys!

We ventured out to the mall today for some Labor Day shopping! We don't have a real Disney store but we do have a small version in our JC Penny store. They had some character tshirts for $8 which is better than I've seen online so I grabbed a few of those. I also got G a pair of Lightning slip on sneakers (he LOVES Lightening - he had a Cars 4th bday, I'll post pics if I think about it/anyone's interested) - they are a little big so hopefully they'll still fit in Jan!

There was also one lone Crocky plush (from the Pirate Fairy - if you haven't seen it, Crocky is a baby croc in the movie and becomes the tic-toc croc towards the end). I LOVE Crocky - I think he's adorable. He was on sale and after seeing me gush over him, G suddenly though it was a great idea to take him home (he'd been eyeing a Buzz Lightyear before that)

In non - Disney news - this guy turned 5 months old!

Also, my dad finished building G his own Lego table - I've ordered some Lego chairs from an Etsy seller as well but for now this is his set up - hoping it will be hours of fun!

Side note, if you are on IG and want to exchange user names send me a PM, I'd love to follow you guys!

Hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend!!!!!

 

[SarahDisney]

I love all of your Disney purchases! And Crocky is cute, I guess I have to see The Pirate Fairy now to see him in action.

I love that Lego table - I'm sure he'll have tons of fun with it!

 

[jesemeca]

Hi there!

I see that you will be eating at Via Napoli on the same night that we will be! It's our first time there also. I've always heard such great reviews. Maybe we will bump into each other at dinner!

 

[ach222]

I love all of your Disney purchases! And Crocky is cute, I guess I have to see The Pirate Fairy now to see him in action.

I love that Lego table - I'm sure he'll have tons of fun with it!

Oh gosh, I'm a little jealous that you haven't seen The Pirate Fairy - DS is just obsessed with the entire Disney Fairies line - at least the movies are quick and cute!

Hi there!

I see that you will be eating at Via Napoli on the same night that we will be! It's our first time there also. I've always heard such great reviews. Maybe we will bump into each other at dinner!

So cool! I just subscribed to your PTR so I can get caught up on your plans - our reservations are at 7 so we might cross paths if yours are at 6:10 - I'll be on the lookout!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

great Disney finds! and on sale is even better! crocky is so cute. we love that movie too.

 

[annegirl]

OH! Crocky is so cute! I have been keeping an eye out for a Crocky plush. My girls LOVE him in that movie. Very cute.
It looks like you got a lot of great stuff!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Just found this PTR after seeing it in your link after you posted on my TR ... you know I have some experience going to Disney with a 5-year old

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I think you will love POFC - my family stayed there a few times when I was younger. It's very nice and is compact like you say - and the food court is pretty good too! We had originally planned to stay this trip at POR and we were there instead of FC largely because FC wasn't eligible for the room only discounts this August

We like having a car - especially for going to like Animal Kingdom - just made that so much easier and then we decided to hop over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge to eat lunch at Sanaa instead of in the park which was so much easier with a car

We haven't eaten at T-Rex but did check out the gift shop - I do remember my daughter being a little scared of the animatronic T-Rex near the front and also have heard from some people that it gets a bit loud at times - so something to consider. They do have a "bone yard" in front of the store where kids can dig for fosils and stuff which was a lot of fun

We didn't make it to DTD this past trip but almost always go and when we go we always go to Raglan Road - one of our favorites. Love most of the appetizers and the bread pudding is amazing! Not sure if you are into it but they have a rather good beer list too (particularly the bottles)

That's great that you got a BOG dinner ADR - we weren't able to get one. We have done lunch there twice though and it really is amazingly themed. Hoping one day to get to do dinner there.

I know you are worried about having picked some days that are "no recommended" but I tihnk that time of the year it shouldn't be too bad anyway - maybe MLK day will be a bit higher crowds

I would try to kepe 50's Prime Time - the food is really pretty good (great fried chicken) and it is just such a prime (pun intended) example of a restaurant you would only have at Disney

We did pick-a-pearl this last trip for the first time (I know, spioler alert for my TR) and it was great! (we did it at EPCOT though so not sure if experience is same at DTD) ... it didn't take too, too long (they give you a number for when you go) though the group in front of us was picking 4 so that took a little longer than expected. It did take us a little while to pick out settings, etc. Either way you definitely will want to budget a bit of time (probabl took close to an hour from when we walked in to after we paid for the settings, etc.) but was totally worth it!

BTW - seeing that your son loves cars so much - make sure you allow time for the meet&greet with he and Mater at DHS - my son absolutely loved it!

 

[ChgoMusicGirl]

Your kids are so cute! And my DS would be so super jealous of that awesome Lego table.
I also picked up a Mickey shirt at JCP, they had so many cute ones and $8 is pretty cheap in Dis-speak!

If your son is still really into cars, and since you'll have your own vehicle, it may be worth your while to stop by Art of Animation at some point. We walked over one night from POP and wandered around the Cars section and it was sooooo cute. You feel like you're in Radiator Springs. Not a make or break thing for sure, but if you're looking for something low key to do. And I hear Landscape of Flavors (the food court at AoA) is pretty good. It was packed the night we were over there, so we chose to go back to POP, but the selection looked good.

 

[ach222]

great Disney finds! and on sale is even better! crocky is so cute. we love that movie too.

It's G's go-to film at the moment, I think Disney has done a really good job with that little series - especially with Pirate Fairy being a sort of prequel

OH! Crocky is so cute! I have been keeping an eye out for a Crocky plush. My girls LOVE him in that movie. Very cute.
It looks like you got a lot of great stuff!

There was only one Crocky at our little store, so they are either really popular or they aren't making many at all!

Just found this PTR after seeing it in your link after you posted on my TR ... you know I have some experience going to Disney with a 5-year old

Welcome - I really enjoyed your report, your writing style is very entertaining

****************

I think you will love POFC - my family stayed there a few times when I was younger. It's very nice and is compact like you say - and the food court is pretty good too! We had originally planned to stay this trip at POR and we were there instead of FC largely because FC wasn't eligible for the room only discounts this August

We will be switching if POFQ isn't included in the traditional room only discounts for Jan :/

We like having a car - especially for going to like Animal Kingdom - just made that so much easier and then we decided to hop over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge to eat lunch at Sanaa instead of in the park which was so much easier with a car

We haven't eaten at T-Rex but did check out the gift shop - I do remember my daughter being a little scared of the animatronic T-Rex near the front and also have heard from some people that it gets a bit loud at times - so something to consider. They do have a "bone yard" in front of the store where kids can dig for fosils and stuff which was a lot of fun

I think I am for sure going to have to show him the youtube walk through video to prepare him!

We didn't make it to DTD this past trip but almost always go and when we go we always go to Raglan Road - one of our favorites. Love most of the appetizers and the bread pudding is amazing! Not sure if you are into it but they have a rather good beer list too (particularly the bottles)

I've been reading multiple TRs but I think it was yours that showed one of their flights that looked really good - thinking DH and I will be trying some of those (We are beer and wine fans)

That's great that you got a BOG dinner ADR - we weren't able to get one. We have done lunch there twice though and it really is amazingly themed. Hoping one day to get to do dinner there.

bummer about not getting an ADR - hopefully the madness dies down - the only reason I got one was because I stumbled on the DIS

I know you are worried about having picked some days that are "no recommended" but I tihnk that time of the year it shouldn't be too bad anyway - maybe MLK day will be a bit higher crowds

fingers crossed!

I would try to kepe 50's Prime Time - the food is really pretty good (great fried chicken) and it is just such a prime (pun intended) example of a restaurant you would only have at Disney

My parent's have fond memories of this place, I'm leaning towards keeping it

We did pick-a-pearl this last trip for the first time (I know, spioler alert for my TR) and it was great! (we did it at EPCOT though so not sure if experience is same at DTD) ... it didn't take too, too long (they give you a number for when you go) though the group in front of us was picking 4 so that took a little longer than expected. It did take us a little while to pick out settings, etc. Either way you definitely will want to budget a bit of time (probabl took close to an hour from when we walked in to after we paid for the settings, etc.) but was totally worth it!

BTW - seeing that your son loves cars so much - make sure you allow time for the meet&greet with he and Mater at DHS - my son absolutely loved it!

Your kids are so cute! And my DS would be so super jealous of that awesome Lego table.
I also picked up a Mickey shirt at JCP, they had so many cute ones and $8 is pretty cheap in Dis-speak!

The Lego table was so simple - just purchased those large building plates at Toys R Us and then my dad built a simple small wooden table - you could event get a table and glue them on (or repurpose a train table or something)

If your son is still really into cars, and since you'll have your own vehicle, it may be worth your while to stop by Art of Animation at some point. We walked over one night from POP and wandered around the Cars section and it was sooooo cute. You feel like you're in Radiator Springs. Not a make or break thing for sure, but if you're looking for something low key to do. And I hear Landscape of Flavors (the food court at AoA) is pretty good. It was packed the night we were over there, so we chose to go back to POP, but the selection looked good.
I am for sure planning on this! It looks adorable, when we go with a bigger group I think a Cars suite would be a great room to get!

 

[ach222]

When I booked this trip, I picked the 3rd week of January pretty arbitrarily. I looked at times when crowds were low and then weeks my parents could keep the baby. It never occurred to me that Monday, our first park day was MLK day. This is good in terms of DS only missing 4 days of school vs 5, but bad in terms of Monday's plan - we're gonna roll with it anyways

We will have hopefully had a relaxing (and early!) evening the night before so that we can be up bright and early for ...

pic from trip advisor

My plan as of now, thanks to the responses here, is to take an early bus to MK (will check with POFQ upon check in to see when buses start) and ride the monorail over to CM. Our ADR is at 7:30, hoping to get checked in early and then done in time for rope drop at MK.

My plan is to get all of my MK FP+ for the morning so that if the crowds are awful in MK, we can head over to one of the less crowded parks for the afternoon.

FP's I'm considering:

- Tales with Belle
- PP Flight
- Fairy Meet
- Anna & Elsa (may save this for Fri)

We will be starting out with rides like IASW and gauging Grant's tolerance of rides gradually. My guess is we will try the barnstormer or something similar before any of the popular 'big' rides and if he doesn't want to do them, it's not worth spending a FP on 7DMT or something like that.

Hopefully we will get him to ride
- IASW
- VOLM
- Pirate's
- Dumbo
- Peter Pan
- Barnstormer (?)
- the train
- jungle cruise (?)
-Buzz

Also might do Laugh Floor, and any shows/parades that we happen upon.

Def want to meet the fairies and I'd love to do tales with Belle

Depending on the crowd level, a lot of this may be done Friday when I'm planning on coming back to MK

Grant does not nap (hasn't in years) and hasn't ridden in a stroller since he was 3. We don't currently have a stroller that would accommodate his size/weight. So my plan is not to take one and if that turns out to be a mistake, rent one on day 2.

We don't have lunch plans, so I would guess that will be about the time we evaluate the crowd level and decide what to do. If we stay in MK, I have heard good things about CHH so I'm guessing we would swing by there. We will for sure need some down time, I don't see us convincing Grant to go back to the room to rest (and honestly, as few days as we are there, I'd love to just stay in the parks). So maybe a few lazy rides on the people mover and we'll hopefully be back at it. I'm totally up for going back to the room if needed!

We have a 6:45 ADR for ...

photo from disney and more

I'm hoping to catch MSEP and Wishes after - MSEP is only scheduled for this night while we are there so really hope that happens.

I know this is a long day so I'm open to changing it as it goes along, I think each day I will plan on morning FPs to allow for afternoon downtime as needed.

 

[STLMickeyMom]

Sounds like a good plan! Very smart to start with some slow rides and see how DS does. Just a heads up on barnstormer--we've always seen it with a LONG wait, it's super short and sort of jerky. Our kids liked it ok, but unless it was a walk on, we probably won't bother with it again. Not worth the forever long wait. Just thinking if the park is crowded, I probably wouldn't take the time for that ride, IMO.

If I remember correctly from our stay at POR, the buses start about 6:30am. You should have plenty of time to get to MK/CM. I also think tinkerbell meets alone now. She moved over to town square by Mickey and I think it's just her now. Someone correct me if that's wrong. Just didn't want you to be disappointed if you didn't know that before the trip.

 

[ach222]

Sounds like a good plan! Very smart to start with some slow rides and see how DS does. Just a heads up on barnstormer--we've always seen it with a LONG wait, it's super short and sort of jerky. Our kids liked it ok, but unless it was a walk on, we probably won't bother with it again. Not worth the forever long wait. Just thinking if the park is crowded, I probably wouldn't take the time for that ride, IMO.

If I remember correctly from our stay at POR, the buses start about 6:30am. You should have plenty of time to get to MK/CM. I also think tinkerbell meets alone now. She moved over to town square by Mickey and I think it's just her now. Someone correct me if that's wrong. Just didn't want you to be disappointed if you didn't know that before the trip.

Great tips! I'm going back and reading old TRs and so I had the fairy meet in my head not thinking that is probably from a while back!

 

[annegirl]

Kind of sad that Tink meets alone now. But I know we will be doing a FP for her anyway. Last time she was our longest line.
I also had long lines on Barnstormer. I think those two things were our only long lines in Dec 2010.
I think the day sounds great. We like long days.

 

[SarahDisney]

MLK day will be crowded, but may not be as crowded as some other holidays because schools don't have days off around then, only on the day itself. Hopefully it won't be too bad!

I think starting off with the "easier" rides is a good idea - hopefully Grant will enjoy all of the rides, but even if he doesn't, I'm sure you'll find a lot of rides that he does love.

We like to do the parks all day, and when we get tired, we either stop for lunch or go on one of the more relaxing rides (PeopleMover is a good choice for that, or we do the carousel).

I really hope you get to see MSEP - it's probably my favorite parade, it really is something special.

Overall, sounds like a good plan for day 1!

 

[Denovagirl]

Plans look good! Yay for BOG for dinner and CM for breakfast! What a fun day!

 

[ach222]

Kind of sad that Tink meets alone now. But I know we will be doing a FP for her anyway. Last time she was our longest line.
I also had long lines on Barnstormer. I think those two things were our only long lines in Dec 2010.
I think the day sounds great. We like long days.

I think I will keep a FP for Tink as well!

MLK day will be crowded, but may not be as crowded as some other holidays because schools don't have days off around then, only on the day itself. Hopefully it won't be too bad!

I think starting off with the "easier" rides is a good idea - hopefully Grant will enjoy all of the rides, but even if he doesn't, I'm sure you'll find a lot of rides that he does love.

We like to do the parks all day, and when we get tired, we either stop for lunch or go on one of the more relaxing rides (PeopleMover is a good choice for that, or we do the carousel).

I really hope you get to see MSEP - it's probably my favorite parade, it really is something special.

Overall, sounds like a good plan for day 1!

I am hoping we see the parade too, in my mind the timing will work out, but of course you never know!

Plans look good! Yay for BOG for dinner and CM for breakfast! What a fun day!

Thanks! I think this will be the most magical day for DS

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I think your plans look good! And definitely good to build in some flexibility so you can take a break in the afternoon if you need to - good thing is that time of year shouldn't be too hot

One thing to note, as of now the monorails are running on an adjusted schedule to add in some automation and b/c of that are not starting to run until 8:30am. I fully assume that they will be done way before your trip, but just something to monitor. Worse case scenario it is an easy <10min walk from the MK to the Contemporary

Oh, and I can fully confirm that it is Tink by herself that meets in Town Square - we just did it last week. It was still good and a very cute set up, but definitely just her

Definitely think getting a FP+ for PP is a good idea - that line always seems to be pretty long. Also, the later in your trip (so the further into your 60+ FP+ window) you can plan it the easier to get A&E FP+. Also, seems the easiest way to get them is to look for only 1 or 2 people at a time and try to get them with overlapping times (yes, I spent way, way too much time securing these at a desirable time for our entire group for our recent trip).

You might also want to get FP+ for the Mine Train. It is a "bigger" coaster than Barnstormer, but much, much smoother so in some ways it is an "easier" ride. My daughter absolutely loved it!

 

[ach222]

I think your plans look good! And definitely good to build in some flexibility so you can take a break in the afternoon if you need to - good thing is that time of year shouldn't be too hot

One thing to note, as of now the monorails are running on an adjusted schedule to add in some automation and b/c of that are not starting to run until 8:30am. I fully assume that they will be done way before your trip, but just something to monitor. Worse case scenario it is an easy <10min walk from the MK to the Contemporary

Oh, and I can fully confirm that it is Tink by herself that meets in Town Square - we just did it last week. It was still good and a very cute set up, but definitely just her

Definitely think getting a FP+ for PP is a good idea - that line always seems to be pretty long. Also, the later in your trip (so the further into your 60+ FP+ window) you can plan it the easier to get A&E FP+. Also, seems the easiest way to get them is to look for only 1 or 2 people at a time and try to get them with overlapping times (yes, I spent way, way too much time securing these at a desirable time for our entire group for our recent trip).

You might also want to get FP+ for the Mine Train. It is a "bigger" coaster than Barnstormer, but much, much smoother so in some ways it is an "easier" ride. My daughter absolutely loved it!

Good call about checking on the monorail - I plan to ask someone at POFQ about the morning transportation when we check in as Monday is the only day I'm really worried about it and if needed we can drive.

Bummer that they aren't going to have an additional fairy, I saw some cute meets with Periwinkle and others and was hoping to get to do that. (minor complaint though, G could be totally over the fairies by then, at the moment he's not phased by girl/boy stuff but having just started school that could change)

I was wondering if mine train might be a good kid coaster, thanks for the feedback.

 

[ach222]

Tuesday is our Epcot day (again not a suggested park crowd wise but I'm not too worried since the MLK holiday is usually just Monday off of school/work)

I plan on having breakfast in the room and heading out around 8 - 8:30. I'm not concerned about making rope drop.

Again, I want to do my FP+ selections for the morning. FP's I want are :

Soarin
Test Track
Nemo and Friends?

Would like to also do:
turtle talk with crush
journey into imagination with figment (I loved him when I was a kid)
spaceship earth

I want to walk around the World Showcase as well. I'm hoping to do as many rides before lunch as we can. We have a 12pm ADR at Coral Reef.

After lunch, finish up rides and re ride what Grant would like and then head to the World Showcase to explore before our 6:15 dinner ADR at Biergarten.

I'd like to stay in the park for illuminations also, but am flexible on that especially if we saw wishes and MSEP the night before. (we also have other dinners in Epcot so we could try for it then)

 

[STLMickeyMom]

Epcot plans sound good!