Celebrating my Un-Birthday Disney Style-April 2010-New 5/3 - The TR has started!

[Charleston Princess]

Cute pics! Did Tinker Bell help the Tooth Fairy with those lost teeth?

Seems like so long ago, but the pictures make it seem like yesterday! I can't believe I'm planning my 4th trip since discovering the DIS! This place is such a bad influence! It's killing my bank account!

Since discovering the DIS, we have been to Disney four times as well -- very bad for the bank account.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Very cool pics, Amy..it was neat looking at your last two updates and comparing I LOVE the Leo costume..both the boys looked so cute! I really like the one of all three of you on Dumbo also, that was a great picture!

Thanks! The Halloween party was a ton of fun - a great memory for all of us!

Quick question with all these picture updates...how much do the kids remember about their trips? How far back do they remember?

I would say they remember a lot about the most recent trip (2009) and parts from 2007 - like MNSSHP. Zach may not remember much from the 2007 trip. Alex might remember things from 2006, but probably not a lot. My guess is that it all blends together for them.

I think they would remember more from the 2007 trip if we hadn't gone in 2009 - does that make sense?? When they think of Disney they remember the most recent trip.

Cute pics! Did Tinker Bell help the Tooth Fairy with those lost teeth?

Since discovering the DIS, we have been to Disney four times as well -- very bad for the bank account.

Fortunately the teeth were loose before we left for Florida so the Tooth Fairy could plan ahead. She & Tink definitely teamed up during that trip! I made shirts (thanks to the Creative DISigns thread) with Chip & Dale on them that said "I lost my tooth at WDW" and "My brother lost his tooth at WDW".

We're all just a big group of enablers!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Fortunately the teeth were loose before we left for Florida so the Tooth Fairy could plan ahead. She & Tink definitely teamed up during that trip! I made shirts (thanks to the Creative DISigns thread) with Chip & Dale on them that said "I lost my tooth at WDW" and "My brother lost his tooth at WDW".

We're all just a big group of enablers!

CUTE!!!

Enablers is right!

 

[DisMomAmy]

CUTE!!!

Enablers is right!

Unfortunately the shirts I made didn't hold up after one washing!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Today I finally got some answers from Jeff & Karen about their plans for April!

I got an email from Karen saying that they (with the kids) are going to plan to come to Orlando on Thursday and leave with us on Sunday morning when we check out. However, they aren't going to do Disney... they want to relax, enjoy the pool, enjoy some good food and maybe spend some time at Universal.

The only question that remains unanswered is whether J's senior class will participate in Grad Nights... the first is the weekend we arrive and are planning to stay at Jeff's house, the second is the weekend we are at Disney.

So that brought up another round of questions... Would they be interested in going to a waterpark with us? They mention good food - would they like to eat at a Disney restaurant - either at a resort or DTD?

I already heard back with a "whatever you want is great with us" answer about the restaurant, but haven't heard about the water park. Depending on what they say about the waterpark, we'll either go Wednesday as planned, or switch it to Friday so they can join us. We'll see...

This also means that DMIL will be with us for the whole week. She'll visit her mother (Great Gramma - GG) for a week, then come to Orlando with us when we visit her on Sunday 4/25. She'll hang out with us on our first few park days, then she'll hang out with Jeff & the gang at the end of the week. She'll fly home with us.

So what's next?

I am going to come up with two itineraries - one for each of the waterpark options - and try to build in as much flexibility as possible on Thursday - Saturday... which may mean canceling CRT! I can't imagine the kids will be too happy to leave the condo early in the morning, while their cousins are still there. I suspect our last two days will involve later starts in the morning. I'll see if I can move CRT, but I doubt it at this point. If I didn't have to pre-pay I would just leave it for now and decide at last minute, but I don't want to forget to cancel it 48 hours ahead of time & get stuck with the bill or going if we don't want to. If I have to cancel, I'll get over it... I'll just have to get there the next time I'm at WDW with or without the kids.

I also need your HELP... what is a good restaurant for nine people ranging in age from 6 to 66? It can't be in a park. Probably not a character meal - we have two teenagers involved. And we have at least two picky eaters in the mix - me & Alex. Alex will eat anywhere with chicken... I'm a pretty bland eater so exotic flavors aren't my thing. I'm open to exotic as long as their are more basic/bland options available. Suggestions?? I'll probably pick a couple, see what I can do about ADRs - then send them some menus to make the final choice, unless I decide on one that I love. (And WCC is out - we went last year without them and didn't love it.)

Suggestions??

 

[Charleston Princess]

My vote is for Boma at AKL. Since it is a buffet with lots of options everyone would be able to find something to eat. There are chicken tenders, fries, mac n' cheese, and spaghetti along with amazing cuts of meat (you pick the sauces you want to dip them in so if you want it plain, you can). There are salads and soups -- again everything from "normal" to "different," and amazing desserts. Really I just love it there.

Or what about O'Hana's? That might be fun.

 

[pipersmom]

I can't help with the restaurant question, Amy, but I am so glad you got some answers so you know better how to plan! I don't blame you for not wanting to risk your pre-pay at CRT, but I can't help but hope you still get to go!

 

[Happydog]

I agree that Ohanas would be fun, something for everyone!

Maybe Chef Mickey's?

 

[DisMomAmy]

My vote is for Boma at AKL. Since it is a buffet with lots of options everyone would be able to find something to eat. There are chicken tenders, fries, mac n' cheese, and spaghetti along with amazing cuts of meat (you pick the sauces you want to dip them in so if you want it plain, you can). There are salads and soups -- again everything from "normal" to "different," and amazing desserts. Really I just love it there.

Or what about O'Hana's? That might be fun.

I checked out the menus and I booked Boma!! J has a peanut allergy so I think we'll avoid O'Hana - they seem to cook a lot of stuff in peanut oil there.

I can't help with the restaurant question, Amy, but I am so glad you got some answers so you know better how to plan! I don't blame you for not wanting to risk your pre-pay at CRT, but I can't help but hope you still get to go!

I'm glad to have some answers too!! I feel like I can finalize some of our plans and move on to the next phase of planning.

I agree that Ohanas would be fun, something for everyone!

Maybe Chef Mickey's?

We are going to Chef Mickey's earlier in the week - I can't be flexible with that one - it's Alex's must visit restaurant for the trip. Plus I'm sure J & K aren't dying to meet characters. Everyone wants a great meal - while CM is known as one of the better dinner buffets, as far as chracter meals go, I'm sure they would like something like Boma better.

 

[Charleston Princess]

I checked out the menus and I booked Boma!! J has a peanut allergy so I think we'll avoid O'Hana - they seem to cook a lot of stuff in peanut oil there.

Hurray!!! I really think Boma is the best buffet on property. We have eaten there three times.

What time is your ADR? Don't forget to go visit all the animals in the viewing areas, and at 7:30 they do African folktales around the firepit if you are there that long.

 

[DisMomAmy]

OK - I'm feeling as thought I've redeemed myself with the ADR Gods... This morning I cancelled a bunch of the extra ADRs I had made.

I also changed a couple ADRs - H&V was only for 4, now it's for 5 people. Sci Fi was for 8, not it's for 5. I did end up cancelling HDDR. I'm OK with that. It could have gone either way with the kids & it's awfully expensive. I'm sure we'll go someday, we'll just have to pay more to do it.

Plus I added Boma - on both Friday night and Saturday night. I'll cancel one when Jeff & family finalize their plans. It will probably depend which day they go to Universal - I don't want to sound like a crazy woman & make them decide now if they don't want to. I'm pretty open about which night we go... I'm still open to other options, but Boma seemed like a good choice so I decided to grab what I could for now. So please continue to offer any suggestions you might have.

Here is what I have now:

April/May 2010 ADRs

Monday, April 26th:
• Hollywood & Vine (Play & Dine) – 11:15am breakfast (for 5)
• Teppan Edo – 5:10pm (for 5)

Tuesday, April 27th:
• Chef Mickey’s – 5pm (only for 4 - I'll cancel once DMIL actually has airline tickets)

Wednesday, April 28th:
• Chef Mickey’s – 5:35pm (for 5)

Thursday, April 29th:
• Sci Fi Dine at 4:45pm (for 5)

Friday, April 30th:
• Le Cellier for 2 at 7:10pm (just in case date night ADR)
• Boma for 9 at 6:20pm

Saturday, May 1st:
• Crystal Palace at 8:05am
• CRT at 8:05am (I'll cancel one or both of these breakfast ADRs once we know plans better)
• Boma for 9 at 5:05pm

So now I only have a couple duplicates that I feel OK about. It had gotten a bit out of control before.

And can I just say how much I LOVE the online ADR system!!

Next I'll share my Plan A (waterpark Wednesday) & Plan B (waterpark Friday) itineraries. Plus, Magic Kingdom 2008 & 2009!
 

 

[DisMomAmy]

Hurray!!! I really think Boma is the best buffet on property. We have eaten there three times.

What time is your ADR? Don't forget to go visit all the animals in the viewing areas, and at 7:30 they do African folktales around the firepit if you are there that long.

I totally forgot about the animals! I mean I knew they were there, but I hadn't thought about getting there early to look at them. I guess I just hadn't thought that far yet. The kids will love it!! Friday's ADR is at 6:20, Saturday is at 5:05. The folktales sounds fun too!

Thanks for the tip!!

Boma looks great - plus I've been dying to get over to AK to check it out. All of the pictures I've seen are gorgeous!

 

[Native NYer]

Your ADR choices look great. I hope you don't have to cancel CRT.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Your ADR choices look great. I hope you don't have to cancel CRT.

Thanks!!

We'll see about CRT...

 

[MRYPPNS]

Good for you for being able to plan your vacation around other people, I couldn't do it.

I think Boma is a great choice because you can totally hang out looking at the animals and stuff while you are there. If some reason Boma doesn't work out I would suggest one of the restaurants in the Boardwalk area. That way you have an little entainerments there too.

 

[jordanyosh]

Nice that you can begin narrowing down your ADRs and also have a bit more clarity in your itinerary planning. I like what you said about building in flexibility into the itineraries. It's allows for changes to be made and gives you breathing room.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Good for you for being able to plan your vacation around other people, I couldn't do it.

I think Boma is a great choice because you can totally hang out looking at the animals and stuff while you are there. If some reason Boma doesn't work out I would suggest one of the restaurants in the Boardwalk area. That way you have an little entainerments there too.

Thanks!! We really enjoy spending time with Jeff & his family so we'll do what we need to do to accomodate them. As you know, some people just don't get the whole Disney planning thing so I'm not going to force it on them.

The Boardwalk is a good suggestion!

Nice that you can begin narrowing down your ADRs and also have a bit more clarity in your itinerary planning. I like what you said about building in flexibility into the itineraries. It's allows for changes to be made and gives you breathing room.

We'll do all of our major touring early in the week so we can use the end of the week to go back and hit our favorites. I'm afraid that if I plan a "must do" for the end of the week we'll feel pressure to follow through with our plans even if we change our mind. Someone would probably end up disappointed... I think flexibility for the last few days makes sense for us, for them and for all the kids.

Zach absolutely adores his cousins. I'd be in trouble if I scheduled Kim Possible at the end of the week then he decided to stay back at the condo to swim with his cousins. It just wouldn't be a nice decision for him to make on vacation.

 

[eandesmom]

The updated ADR"s look great and I'm glad you have a date night built in just in case

I think you'll like Boma. It is fabulous for adventurous eaters but our picky ones liked it too and it's sooooo pretty in there!

I'd sugggest HDDR as an option if you need to change for some reason, our teens loved it, both the food and the menu!

Bummer that the cousins won't hit Disney at all but it will be great to see them since it didn't work out last time.

 

[DisMomAmy]

The updated ADR"s look great and I'm glad you have a date night built in just in case

I think you'll like Boma. It is fabulous for adventurous eaters but our picky ones liked it too and it's sooooo pretty in there!

I'd sugggest HDDR as an option if you need to change for some reason, our teens loved it, both the food and the menu!

Bummer that the cousins won't hit Disney at all but it will be great to see them since it didn't work out last time.

I'm optimistic about Boma! I think there will be a little something for everyone. I'm a bit concerned about the crowds & noise level, but we've dealt with that before.

I really want to go to HDDR but I just cancelled our ADR because the rest of the family isn't as excited about it as I am. Plus it will take a big chunk of time to eat there since it's so much more than a meal. I like the idea of going there with everyone, but Jeff & the family are too unpredictable for a pre-pay meal.

 

[Cory's Gal]

Hi Amy! LOVE the picture updates especially the adorable Nemo and Leo costumes!!! Also, the picture of you and Alex on BTMRR, didn't look too crowded that day!!

Your ADR itinerary looks great! None of our meals overlap but all of yours look like fantastic choices!! Boma sounds like a great fit for your large group!! I need to start my more detailed park itineraries now that I have figured out our ADR's and which parks on which days! Almost under 100 days!!!!

Looking forward to more past trip photos!!!! Happy Monday!