Conquering the World as a Family of Four 3/28 UPDATE!

[ariel1025]

I warned everyone reading my Cruise Pre-Trippy so I figured it was only fair to warn you fine folks too I'm starting this pre-trip report early. Really early. Over a year early. 435 days early to be exact! That's just how I do things and the Hubs has already made me promise I will keep the "Disney chatter" to a minimum with him until it gets closer. Funny, seeing as how he is the one who generally starts the conversation Anywho, I figured that in order to uphold my promise to him, I would bring all my exciting planning to the ones who understand it best. My dear Dis Friends!

Ok, fair warnings done let's get to the good stuff..

Who: My Sweet Family of Four

From left to right: Shannon (that's me!). I'm the planner, Mom, Wife and all around Disney freak I pretty much eat, sleep and dream Disney. And, since it's my job to plan Disney trips for people I reckon that's a good thing James aka Cinco (he's fifth generation) aka Cinc (shortened version of Cinco). He's our 2 year old Son (will be 3.5 at the time of the trip) he went on his first Disney vacation last May. We spent one day at MK and 5 days aboard the Disney Magic. People told us we were crazy to pay so much money since he will never remember. Well, every single time we get out the suitcases he looks at us with a big smile on his face and says "Mickey agua. We go. Peeeeseee." Nope, he doesn't remember a thing Candido aka Candi aka Hubs he is a closet Disney freak that he slowly started to be more vocal about his love for all things Disney. Ok, that might be a stretch. But definitely a love for all destinations Disney. I'll take it!

There you have it. My beautiful (if I may say so myself) family.

Wait a second ... didn't I say this was a family of four? Who are we missing?

This sweet little bean who will be joining our family around August 31 This will make the baby 8ish months at the time of the trip. I should note, this will be a first for us - traveling with a baby so young! I am now requesting and accepting all forms of advice for doing a WDW trip with such a young one. Unless your advice is not to do it, then I will pretend I don't hear you

What: A trip to Walt Disney World of course!

Where: Bay Lake Towers, 1 bedroom, hopefully theme park view (depends on our DVC points situation at that time).

We made this choice solely for use of the monorail. In reality, BLT isn't very appealing to the Hubs. But, we both want to stay at all the DVC resorts eventually and this is a new one. Plus with two kiddos, a double stroller and multiple trips to Magic Kingdom in the works it just made sense for this trip.

When: May 2014 - so, so far away!

Why: Does this category really need an explanation

And, there you have it, our plans in a nutshell. I hope you join along as we hash out the details and watch this trip come to life...

 

[floydfamily4]

Congrats on the new peanut and your upcoming trip!! I read your other report but might have just lurked and not commented Now that I am writing a PTR and feel like I'm talking to myself I want to make sure I stop lurking and start commenting

 

[ariel1025]

Congrats on the new peanut and your upcoming trip!! I read your other report but might have just lurked and not commented Now that I am writing a PTR and feel like I'm talking to myself I want to make sure I stop lurking and start commenting

Thank you so very much

I must admit that I am too often guilty of being an unintentional lurker

 

[ariel1025]

Alright, so the plan right now is to fly in on May 1. Depending on how the Hub's PTO falls this might need to change, but I'm hopeful it will not.

When it comes to flying into Orlando there are basically three options for us:

1. Get up at the crack of dawn and arrive late afternoon (around 2:30 p.m.)

2. Get up at the crack of dawn and arrive in early evening (around 5:30 p.m.)
3. Sleep in a tad and arrive in the later evening (around 7:30 p.m.)

Of course all these times are subjective as flights are not even released this far out yet. Trust me. I checked But, based off our travel past this is pretty much what we can expect.

Right off the bat option two is out. If I'm going to get up before the sun then I darn well want to arrive in Orlando as early as possible! So, that leaves us with option one or three. The common sense side of me says go for option three. Everybody will be happier if they are better rested and their schedule isn't completely shot before day one of vacation even ends. However, the Disney obsessed side of me says, it won't be that bad. You've done it many times before and you always end up being fine. I refer to this as the Angel and devil sitting on my shoulders. Of course, the Hubs and I would disagree on which was which

In reality, I think there are a few factors that will contribute to our chosen flight more than our arrival time.

1. The cost. The toddler is no longer a free flyer which makes a considerable change in the overall budget.

2. Which options are non-stop flights. We have learned that James is a terrific flyer - as long as there isn't a layover. His poor little mind doesn't grasp the concept that getting off the plane doesn't mean that the travel day is over. It is easier on everyone to go non-stop. And, by that I mean, me, Candi, flight passengers on the second leg and most importantly, him!

3. What kind of schedule the kiddos are on sleep wise at that point. If the second baby is anything like James a super early wake-up call won't be out of the ordinary at 8(ish) months old. So, if that's still the case and James does well with early mornings we may take advantage of the earlier arrival time.

Of course, we still have plenty of time to make our decision on this. Like I said, booking flights isn't even an option yet. But, it's nice to know what our options are. However, since this factor is unknown it makes it slightly difficult to make a plan for this day. Overall, it will look something like this.

If we take the super early flight we will all grab breakfast in the airport to either take on the plane with us or eat while waiting to board the plane. If we take the later flight we will either eat at home or at a McD's on the way to the airport. We will make sure to give ourselves ample time to park off-site (cheaper and we know the owner and know it is safe), shuttle to the airport and check luggage. Although I will try my darndest to pack light I am thinking it might be near impossible with 4 people. I'm hoping to have no more than 3 suitcases, but we will also have the double-stroller to check.

*** I think we are leaning towards the Britax B-Agile double stroller. Anybody have feedback on this model? Something different we should consider? ***

The most important part of the cushion time scheduled will be for security. Chances are both Candi and I will have a carry on, I will be carrying the baby in a carrier, plus my purse and the diaper bag. The diaper bag will contain the baby's food for the flight and formula. From experience I know this takes a lot of extra security time as they have to test both the food and the formula. In addition, this generally scores us the "extra" pat down security search. Good times So, you bet your bottom I will ensure we have enough time that this does not threaten to make us late and miss our flight!

Once we land at MCO I can see two potential plans playing out. If we are on the flight that lands earlier we will do our typical potty stop and Crocs store visit. However, if we are on the later flight I'm guessing we will need to stop and eat at the airport followed by our traditional stop at the Crocs store. Although Candi and I could wait until we arrive at the resort to eat I can't do that to James.

With business out of the way we will finally head over to board the Magical Express. For me, this is when vacation truly begins!

Although it has yet to happen I will cross my fingers for a front row seat to (finally!) get a great shot of the WDW arch as we enter property. But, it won't ruin anything if we don't.

From this point on it's all Disney magic, all the time for us! We will sit back and enjoy the ride until we reach our resort, Bay Lake Towers.

At this point we will check-in where I have no doubt our room will be ready as most likely it will be either very close to, or already after, 4:00. If we ate at the airport we will leisurely make our way to our room, a studio for the first 2 nights, and I will take the time to unpack the small suitcase that will have been packed specifically for these first couple days.

If we haven't had lunch yet we will hightail it to the room, drop off our stuff, then head over to Contempo Cafe for a quick bite to eat to hold everyone over until dinner time. After which, we will then go back to explore the room and do the unpacking I discussed previously.

The rest of the night we have no plans. Say what? I know, I know! But, with a Hubs who hates travel days, a 3.5 year old and an 8 month old I figured it was best to play it by ear the rest of the night. I think everyone will need that opportunity to get acclimated, burn off some energy and just unwind from the day.

I'm thinking some time at the pool might be nice or perhaps taking a spin around the monorail loop just because we can Regardless of what we do, dinner must be consumed at some point. Currently, the plan is to order pizza to the room. The ultimate in relaxation as far as Candi is concerned. I've agreed. But between you and me, I think it's going to be very hard for me to avoid the desire to go out somewhere instead...

 

[ariel1025]

A couple of Pre-TR's ago I started logging writing a separate post for our budget each day. I've found this is really helpful for me. Of course, being the good little planner I am, I already have a spreadsheet formatted budget. But, writing it out and breaking it down by day this way has really helped me to look at what we are spending and why. It's also made it easier for me to make decisions if/when cuts in the funds need to be made. Please feel free to ignore these posts if they are of no interest to you Of course, I would love to have you read and make suggestions for changes or adjustments to save money

Day One (Travel Day): Original Budget

Flights to Orlando: $156.80 x 3 people = $470.40 (this price is based on the flight cost for the same dates this year)

Photopass Plus: $199.95 x 1 = $199.95 (I know right now it's discounted if you pre-purchase, but I don't want to rely on that being available next year so, for now, I've budgeted at full price)

I am super obsessed with pictures. Sure, I know the Photopass Photogs will almost always take a picture with your camera without complaint. But, I love having the options for the special effect pictures, the inclusion of the restaurant pictures and ride pictures; and I never take my camera to the water parks so it's nice to have this option there too

Breakfast in Airport: $10.00 x 3 = $30.00 (this definitely makes eating at home, or even McD's beforehand sound much more appealing)

2 nights in a studio at Bay Lake: DVC points = $0.00 (yes, I'm pretending it is free )

Lunch @ Contempo Cafe: $27.98

Pizza Delivery Dinner: $48.56 (delivery fee and gratuity included)

Spending Money: $100.00 (This is the standard we always use. It is used for things like snacks, tips, souvenirs etc)

Day One Total: $876.89

As an aside, last trip we started implementing an "envelope system" and really like how well it worked out for us. What we did is made an envelope for each day of the trip that included our funds for that day. This was generally a combination of gift cards (Disney, VISA etc) and cash. Once we were out of funds, we were out. If anything was left at the end of the day it went into the next day's envelope. We really liked this method and anticipate using it again.

In addition, James has really shown interest in helping out around the house (his favorite is to unload the silverware from the dishwasher and put laundry in the washer). We never pushed him to do these things, he just watched us and wanted to help so we have continued to encourage this behavior. And each day that he does it we give him "gold dubloons" (change) to feed his piggy. This makes him beyond excited and for only being 2 he grasps the concept very well. We are thinking in 6 months or so when he is a bit older to understand we will start him a jar of Disney Money for this. Of course, we will buy him things with our money, but he loves taking money out of his pocket to pay for his little choo's choo's and such. So, I think this would be a great thing to implement for him.

Just to note, we did carry a credit or debit card with us in case of emergency when using the "envelope system".

 

[ariel1025]

Our first full day at Disney is going to be different than any before. We are not planning on visiting any parks this day I know this is basically unheard of and probably considered sacrilege. But, as discussed in our day one plans - getting to Disney is an all day affair for us. It requires us either being up very early in the morning or staying up until pretty late at night. Sometimes both! So, we decided that planning our first day to be a sleep in and chill kind of day would get the trip started on the right foot. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love walking down Main Street on my first day. But, I will admit, we are always tired that first day. Generally we are running on a combination of adrenaline and a Disney high, which is great. But, by night's end we are exhausted and it just gets worse throughout the week. So, my hope is that by planning a down day we will have time to rejuvenate and be ready to hit the parks hard the rest of the week

Day Two: Original Plan - Down Day

Although it is a down day we are planning on making a breakfast reservation at 1900 Park Fare. I know that seems counterintuitive to what we are hoping to accomplish. But, the plan is to make it more of a brunch time than a breakfast time. I'm thinking 10:30ish, maybe 11:00. Since this is at Grand Floridian it should be easy to hop on the monorail and get there quickly, so it should still give us plenty of time to seep in. I think it will be fun to kick-off our first day at Disney mingling with characters and we have to eat right? Plus, James currently loves the Mad Hatter. Thinks he is just hilarious. So, that should be fun as well!

With breakfast complete, we will head back to Bay Lake to get cleaned up and change. Then we will either grab the boat to Wilderness Lodge or the monorail to Polynesian for family pictures. Right now I'm really torn on which resort to take them at. WL holds a very special place in our hearts. It is so rustic and homey and breathtaking.

But, I love the idea of the beach with the castle in the background. Hmmmm...decisions, decisions.

***What are your thoughts on Disney Events Photography? Anybody used them? Feedback? Any outside photographer recommendations?***

With pictures complete, we will head back to our room and play the rest of the afternoon by ear. I'm thinking the two possibilities are either pool time or Downtown Disney. Either one preceded by a nap

Regardless of what we choose to do, we will have to leave plenty of time to get all fancy for dinner. Tonight we will be dining at California Grill for my birthday! So excited! I'm still debating if I want to try and time it to be eating during Wishes or not. I think it would make it extra special. But, I also think with two little ones it might be better to eat earlier. More likely for other families to be dining at an earlier time as well.

Since we will be staying at Bay Lake we will have access to the Top of the World lounge so all is not lost for ending my birthday watching my favorite fireworks show

Wherever we decide to watch Wishes, we will definitely be calling it a night when it's over because the next day is an early wake-up call for us...

 

[Alysa]

We haven't stayed at Bay Lake yet - looking forward to reading more! Your son is adorable, congrats on your new little one!

 

[ariel1025]

We haven't stayed at Bay Lake yet - looking forward to reading more! Your son is adorable, congrats on your new little one!

This will be our first time at Bay Lake too. Gotta admit, we are slightly nervous over how small we've heard the studios are.

Thank you so much for reading along

 

[ariel1025]

Day Two (Down Day): Original Budget

Breakfast @ 1900 Park Fare: $57.49

Family Photo Session: $250.00

I'm actually not sure how much I should budget for this. I think, based on how expensive Disney Event Photography is and how little it includes, that we are going to look into an outside photographer. Since it's so far out I haven't started calling around for prices yet. For now, we will go with this number.

Lunch at a QS somewhere (Earl, Contempo, Cook's?): $23.48

Dinner @ California Grill: $119.82

Birthday shopping: $100.00

It's kind of become the norm that for my birthday Candi just takes me shopping. Pretty excited that next year that will be in Disney

Spending Money: $100.00

Day Two Total: $650.79

After discussing our costs for the first two days it became clear that this is our "dream" budget. There will definitely be some changes made down the line to make it more cost effective.

Before we start making cuts, we will first look into if it's cost effective to utilize the dining plan for this trip ...

 

[ariel1025]

As, I think, I've mentioned, we are staying the first two nights in a studio and then switching rooms after that. This is based on our DVC points availability. Since it's a DVC stay we still have the option to purchase the dining plan for the first portion of our stay, even though it's only for 2 nights. Being the number lover that I am, I decided to break down if it's actually worth it in value and not just convenience.

100% Out of Pocket:

* Lunch @ Contempo Cafe (May 1): $27.98
* Dinner as Pizza Delivery (May 1): $48.56
* Breakfast @ 1900 Park Fare (May 2): $57.49
* Lunch @ QS Option (May 2): $23.48ish
* Dinner @ California Grill (May 2): $119.82

Total: $277.33

Standard Dining Plan:

* 2 adults x $55.59 x 2 nights: $222.36
* 1 child x $17.16 x 2 nights: $34.32
* Dinner as Pizza Delivery (May 1): $48.56
* Breakfast @ 1900 Park Fare (May 2): $57.49

Total: $362.73

That's a total of $85.40 more! Let's subtract the "extras" you get on the dining plan from that amount...

* Refillable mug x $15.49 x 3: $46.47
* 1 snack credit x 3 people x 2 nights @ approximately $5 per snack: $30.00


When you subtract the "free" refillable mugs and the snack credits it comes out to costing $8.93 more for the dining plan. The hubs says he wants to do it for the convenience of it already being paid for. I'm, however, not completely sold. Although I know for a fact we would use the snack credits, we very rarely use the refillable mugs so I don't see any value in them. To me we are really paying $55.40 more for the dining plan because we are being forced to use the mugs

Then I remembered that as DVC members we are eligible for the Tables in Wonderland card and got to thinking. Is that more beneficial from a cost stand point...

Tables in Wonderland:

* Cost of card: $100.00

That brings our OOP cost to $377.33. Let's take a look at the discounts we would receive by purchasing that card and subtract...

* Discount (20%) @ 1900 Park Fare: $11.50
* Discount (20%) @ California Grill: $23.79

That brings the total to $342.04 - still $64.71 more than paying OOP and not getting the TiW card. So, I had pretty much accepted Candi's request of doing the dining plan.

But, then, I remembered that DVC is now offering discounts at several dining locations throughout the World and was, once again, convinced that going OOP was the best option ... except it's not offered at any of the places we are planning to dine at

So, where does that leave us? For now, we are going to go ahead and plan to pay OOP. Like I said, the mugs have absolutely no value to me and therefore I just cannot justify paying the additional money on the plan for them

 

[ariel1025]

Today is packed full of places to be and things to do. I definitely think this will be in the top running as a day to change some things around somehow to make it less chaotic...

Day Three: Original Plan - Magic Kingdom Day

As I mentioned before, today will have us up bright and early, which makes me think I most definitely need to lean towards making CG an earlier reservation and let go of wanting to dine there during Wishes.

With any hope we will be able to snag a before-park-opening reservation at Cinderella's Castle. Hopefully the first seating of the day, which I'm thinking will be 8:00 a.m. I know a lot of people don't think it's worth the money to dine at CRT and, although I'm not happy with the menu changes made, we love this tradition we've created. It started on our honeymoon and we've fallen in love with being in the Castle watching the park "wake up" for the day! Plus, it just puts us in that ultimate "I'm on vacation and in Disney" mood.

So, for us, it's completely worth it! Although, I do have to admit, I'm crossing all my fingers that this is not an Morning EMH day at Magic Kingdom. If it is, we will seriously have to think about how important it is for us to be there before the park opens. 8:00 is early enough, there is no way I will ask my family to be at a breakfast at 7!

But, I'm getting ahead of myself a little bit. Before we can head over to the park for our reservation we have to take care of a few things at the hotel front desk. The first, we need to check-out of our studio and check-in to our 1 bedroom, where we will remain for the rest of our stay. While one of us is doing that, the other will head to the CS desk to purchase our park tickets and have our bags checked with the bellmen until our new room is ready.

Once those tasks are out of the way we will head over to the park, I'm thinking just using the walkway over to MK, so that we can get through the turnstiles and check-in for our reservation.

After an amazing breakfast with good food and our favorite Princess friends, we will venture out into the park to enjoy some family fun! Now, as much of a planner as I am, I do not plan my park days What I mean by this is, I do not create a touring plan. No first we go here and then here and then there type of plans. I pick our park days based on expected crowd levels, combined with a few family preferences, and we play it by ear from there. If we are feeling like some Pirates are in need, then off to POTC we go. Prefer some good 'ol family competition? Space Ranger Spin, here we come! Know what I mean?

Now with that said, I always have some "must do's" on the agenda, but we just hit them as they come along. And, yes, sometimes, they never actually happen So, really, I guess they should be called "must attempts"

At some point in the day we will have reservations for Harmony Barber Shop. We did this last year and, although it wasn't Cinco's first haircut, I still love the memories it created for us. So, it's on the agenda for this day.

And, of course, somewhere among on the rides and character meets we will need to eat lunch. This day is planned to be a quick-service meal, that way we can eat whenever we are hungry after such a large breakfast. We will likely just eat at whichever QS is closest, but I'm really hoping to branch out and try new ones this trip and so I'm hoping we stop at Columbia Harbour House. I know Candi would enjoy some fried shrimp as a change of pace, Cinc is a big fan of chicken fingers and I love fish and chips. Seems like a win to me!

If the need hasn't already arisen, and our room is ready, we will head back to the resort after lunch for some much needed down time. I'm hopeful that everyone will get a nap in, but will be happy with some relaxing on the beds watching TV as well. Just some time to get everybody off their feet, in some air conditioning, and conserving energy to head back to the parks that evening.

The plan is to make a grocery order as well, so I will also use this time to unpack those items. We are ordering a few small breakfast items (bagels, juice, bacon and eggs) as well as a case of waters and some things for the baby (formula, baby food and diapers). I do not want to deal with packing enough of that stuff for 10 days (formula and baby food), so I will pack (slightly more than) what is needed for our first two days and order the rest from an ordering service.

*** Anybody have recommendations on this? I'm thinking Garden Grocer since they seem the most popular, but am open to other suggestions. Also, will the front desk still accept the orders for you? ***

Since I will need to pack away the items from the pick-up, I will also go ahead and unpack our luggage during this time as well. I just feel better when everything is in a place and organized!

Once we are all good and rested we will head back over to Magic Kingdom for the rest of the evening. Since I don't anticipate us being in a rush I'm sure we will just use the monorail this time.

If there is plenty of time before our dinner reservation, we will venture out for a few more rides or meets. If not, we will just roam around main street until it's time to check-in at Tony's Town Square.

This is a restaurant we have often discussed, but it has always gotten cut at the last minute. I've allowed myself to be deterred from all the reviews stating it isn't 'authentic Italian'. But, my Cinc loves, loves, loves Lady and the Tramp (and pasta!) so it just seems the perfect fit. Plus, who am I kidding? I love me some commercialized Italian food

With dinner complete we will explore the shops along Main Street for a bit before grabbing a spot for the Parade and Wishes ... my favorite part of the night!

And with Jiminey Cricket's fond farewell we will call it a night, head out with the masses and use the walkway back to the room. Another major reason I'm excited to be staying at BLT - no waiting on transportation!

 

[ariel1025]

Today is another day filled with big expenses needed for the remainder of the trip. Luckily, after this it starts to mellow out!

Day Three (Magic Kingdom Day): Original Budget

* Bay Lake Tower 1 Bedroom: $0.00 (yep, I'm still hanging on to the fantasy that this is free )

* Full Service Cleaning x $30.00 x 2 days: $60.00

Since we are staying DVC we only get one day of full cleaning and then one day of trash and towel exchange. Like most people, I enjoy coming back to a bed that's made a room that has been vacuumed and cleaned up. So, we are planning on paying for 2 additional days of full service cleaning. I'm thinking on May 5 and 7. This way there is some sort of Mousekeeping service every other day

* Garden Grocer Order: $185.00 (this includes tax and delivery fee)

Yes, I'm insane and I created a false order to get an idea of how much I can expect to pay for this service. Again, trying to pack 10 days of baby food and formula without it getting damaged and spilling is not high on my list of fun times. So, to me this is worth every penny. Like mentioned, we are also planning on ordering some breakfast items and a case of waters.

* 7 day adult park tickets $306.72 x 2: $613.44

* 7 day park child tickets $287.55 x 1: $287.55

* Park hopper option $57.00 x 3: $171.00

* Water Park Fun 'n More option $22.00 x 3: $66.00

* Breakfast @ CRT: $137.61

* Harmony Barber Shop $16.00 x 3 people = $48.00

* Lunch @ Columbia Harbour House: $33.12

* Dinner @ Tony's Town Square: $66.92

* Spending Money: $100.00

Day Three Total: $1,768.64

Holy moly, that's a lot of money in one day. I don't even want to sit and think about how many hours my poor Hubs has to work to pay for all of that. To help soften the blow a little bit, I think later I will go back and break down how much is going to be pre-paid and not actually paid on that day. And, we will also determine if it is necessary/worth it to get park hoppers and/or WPFM tickets. And, again, there are some areas that I should qualify to get a discount on, but I'm not taking into consideration any discounts at this time in case they are different or unavailable when it comes time to pay for things.

 

[ariel1025]

Today will be our second day in the parks. My favorite park. Epcot. Eeeep, I cannot wait. I'm also super excited because Flower and Garden Festival should be going on during our vacation. The first time we got to experience this was on our honeymoon. We didn't even know it was there and we absolutely fell in love. I'm so excited that both my babies' first visit to Epcot will be during this festival as well

Day Four: Original Plan - Epcot Day

We will be using an alarm clock this morning, but nothing super early like the day before. If we are up, ready and out the door by 9:30 I will be more than pleased!

The first order of business will be to hop on the monorail over to the Polynesian for breakfast. I absolutely love the Poly, the ambiance, the waterfall, the greetings. Everything. Candi, on the other hand, does not. He thinks it's too chaotic in there I'm convinced if we keep having reasons to go over there he will fall in love and ask to stay there, ha! Our reason for heading there on this particular day is for breakfast. But, not at 'Ohana or even Kona. At Captain Cooks. I fell in love with tonga toast a few trips back and since they have it available at CC's I want to take a trip over there to enjoy it.

I know we could make a reservation for a sit-down breakfast at Kona, but I'm trying to keep mornings as laid back as possible for us. When we have somewhere to be first thing, it makes Candi feel rushed and like we aren't really on vacation. So, our compromise is to have one or two breakfast reservations and go at our own pace the rest of the mornings

With breakfast out of the way we will jump back on the monorail to head over to Epcot. I cannot wait to see my favorite "golf ball" or what topiary will be at the entrance this year, or to stroll through the World Showcase, or to taste all the food. Ok, basically I just can't wait to be there!

As with the prior day at Magic Kingdom, we do not have any concrete plans for what we will accomplish this day. Since I have no idea how tall James will be at this point I'm not sure if he will be able to ride on Test Track or Soarin'. I really hope so because I am positive he will love them. But, we will have to figure that out when the time comes.

I know for sure that at some point in our trip we will take him to the Seas Pavilion, as he absolutely loves aquariums. So, I'm sure we will spend plenty of time in there. I have no doubt he will enjoy both Nemo and Turtle Talk with Crush as well as walking around the pavilion to see all the fish.

I imagine we will spend plenty of our Epcot time in the World Showcase, as we usually do. I'm thinking about getting James one of those WS passports I've heard about as I think he would have fun with that. Or, perhaps, I will make him one. I think I read that there are some pre-made layouts on the creative boards. Can anybody point me in the right direction for that?

Lunch today is planned to be a quick service meal. Again, I'm sure we will just stop wherever we are closest, but I would like to try La Cantina de San Angel. We may be in the minority but we love San Angel Inn, so I would be interested to see how the QS compares. And, even though we can get it whenever we want, we all three love Mexican food!

With lunch complete we will most likely head back to the hotel for our afternoon nap/relaxation time. Like the day prior, I want everyone to feel rejuvenated enough to make it through the fireworks display. Candi actually prefers Illuminations to Wishes so I want to make sure he gets the chance to see it.

If I'm not in need of a nap, or wake before everyone else, I'm hoping to take the time to wash all the laundry we've accumulated thus far in the trip. One of my favorite perks of the one bedroom villas is having the washers and dryers in the room. This allows me to be able to pack less clothing and since we will be packing for four people this will be much appreciated!

Once everyone is rested and ready to go, we will head back to Epcot via monorail, making sure to leave plenty of time to get to our dinner destination. Our meal this night will be enjoyed at Teppan Edo. I know so many people say it is just normal hibachi that you can get in almost any local city. But, it's another favorite of ours, and one meal type we can always guarantee Cinc will eat all his food. Plus, Candi loves sushi so he is able to enjoy that here as well. So, for us, this is a must do!

Depending on the time, we will either head to find a viewing spot for Illuminations or stroll around World Showcase after dinner. I would also like to spend some time in the Japan gift shop as there are so many beautiful things I always talk myself out of buying. I'm determined this time to pick a few things up. Including doing a pick a pearl for myself and the baby (if it's a girl).

Whenever it's time to grab a spot for Illuminations we will do so, and one of us will probably run off for some drinks and maybe a snack (depending on how long ago dinner was). Since these fireworks are projected over a lake, I have a feeling that James will enjoy them as much as his Daddy!

Once fireworks are complete we will slowly make our way out of the park, no need to rush just to run into the crowds. Then it's back to our resort for another night of sweet Disney Dreams

 

[Alysa]

This will be our first time at Bay Lake too. Gotta admit, we are slightly nervous over how small we've heard the studios are.

Are they small? I had not heard that!

So, where does that leave us? For now, we are going to go ahead and plan to pay OOP. Like I said, the mugs have absolutely no value to me and therefore I just cannot justify paying the additional money on the plan for them

I agree - we are going to go back to OOP - it used to be a great deal but now that my daughter is 10, the prices are crazy!

*** Anybody have recommendations on this? I'm thinking Garden Grocer since they seem the most popular, but am open to other suggestions. Also, will the front desk still accept the orders for you? ***
…
This is a restaurant we have often discussed, but it has always gotten cut at the last minute. I've allowed myself to be deterred from all the reviews stating it isn't 'authentic Italian'. But, my Cinc loves, loves, loves Lady and the Tramp (and pasta!) so it just seems the perfect fit. Plus, who am I kidding? I love me some commercialized Italian food

I can highly recommend Garden Grocer - they were great when we used them! And Tony's was wonderful too!

The first order of business will be to hop on the monorail over to the Polynesian for breakfast. I absolutely love the Poly, the ambiance, the waterfall, the greetings. Everything. Candi, on the other hand, does not. He thinks it's too chaotic in there I'm convinced if we keep having reasons to go over there he will fall in love and ask to stay there, ha! Our reason for heading there on this particular day is for breakfast. But, not at 'Ohana or even Kona. At Captain Cooks. I fell in love with tonga toast a few trips back and since they have it available at CC's I want to take a trip over there to enjoy it.

Wow!

 

[ariel1025]

Are they small? I had not heard that!


I agree - we are going to go back to OOP - it used to be a great deal but now that my daughter is 10, the prices are crazy!


I can highly recommend Garden Grocer - they were great when we used them! And Tony's was wonderful too!


Wow!

My understanding is that the Bay Lake Studio's are pretty equivalent in size to other studios. However, I have read several reports that the layout is quite different - they have allotted extra space for the kitchenette area and made the living space smaller, thus making the bed/living area feel more cramped. With 4 of us and all of our stuff I'm worried about feeling overly cramped

Yeah, I have to say, it makes me sad to admit but the dining plan just doesn't hold the same value as it used to

I'm so glad to hear positive things for both Garden Grocer and Tony's

 

[ariel1025]

Today we are celebrating 1-1-1 - that's 1 year, 1 month and 1 week until our vacation! That totally counts as a milestone right

Day Five: Original Plan - Down(ish) Day

Today we will be sleeping without any worries of an alarm clock. Well, besides the kiddos As we talked about this day I think both, Candi and myself, are excited about the possibility of sleeping late(ish) on vacation!

Upon waking we will grab breakfast in the room. If it's early enough I will probably make up some bacon and eggs with toast. However, if it's closer to lunch time we will grab some bagels and cream cheese or something similar just to hold us over until the afternoon.

With food out of the way we will make our way out of the resort for the afternoon. Right now we are thinking we will head over to Blizzard Beach. We know this won't be an all day option with two little ones, but we also know that James will absolutely love it. Last summer we took him to Aquatica and he had the time of his life!

The plan for this park will be to spend the afternoon letting the kiddos enjoy the Tike's Peak and, if he is tall enough, we will take turns taking James on the family raft slide. When all is said and done I'm thinking we will be here 3 hours max.

Depending on what time we arrive at Blizzard Beach we will stop to enjoy lunch here. Most likely at Lottawatta Lodge. In fact, I believe that James gets his meal served in a pail with a shovel, so it might be a great idea to arrive right at lunch time so he has that to play with in the sand areas throughout the day

Once we have had our share of fun at Blizzard Beach we will do our normal return to the room, nap, relax, possible laundry, laze around until dinner time routine.

Dinner tonight will require us to allow a little bit of extra travel time as we will need to head over to Magic Kingdom and then transfer to a bus to get to our restaurant. We were hoping to avoid any double transfer situations for meals this time, but this is a restaurant Candi has been hoping to dine at for our last several trips - Cape May's Clam Bake Buffet!

I think this has been in Candi's top three since our first vacation, but something has always happened that caused us to cancel. Either we weren't hungry enough for buffet that night, became too limited on time, thought something else seemed more convenient ... the list goes on and on. This year I am making it a priority to make it to this meal for him!

In addition to requiring some extra transfer time, we will also be having an early dinner this night because of the big plans we have for the evening. In fact, this dinner will need to be at the earliest possible seating which I believe is around 5:30 and I'm hoping against all hope that we can finish eating within an hour.

After dinner we will grab a bus back to Magic Kingdom and make a mad dash through the park to Adventureland as James will have an appointment at the Pirate's League.

I will, once again, be hoping with all my might that he gets taken back for her appointment on time as we will most definitely be cutting it close to getting out on time. After James gets his piratey makeover, costume and photo shoot complete we will then make a mad dash back to our hotel. I'm thinking the walkway will most definitely be the method of choice to get us back to BLT the quickest.

Once back at the resort we will head up to the room, do any necessary clothing/diaper changes and then head over to the Contemporary to check-in for our last reservation of the day - Pirates and Pals Fireworks Cruise! I believe check-in starts at 8:30, which is the reason for all my worry about getting through dinner and Pirate's League so quickly.

This is probably the event I am most excited for. James is absolutely in love with Peter Pan. Well, the movie anyway, he is actually a big fan of Captain Hook Combine that with his love of the water and my love of Wishes and I think this will be the most amazing way to wrap up the night!

Once we dock back at the Contemporary we will head back up to the room and most likely easily fall into quick slumber after such a fun-filled evening.

After typing all this out I realize that we are cramming way too much into too short of time. I will most definitely be talking to Candi about how to better plan this night.

 

[ariel1025]

As I was reviewing my previous posts to see about changing some things around, I realized I forgot to log in my budget for day four.

Day Four (Epcot Day): Original Budget

* Breakfast @ Captain Cooks x 3: $27.77

* Lunch @ La Cantina de San Angel Inn x 3: $39.56

* Dinner @ Teppan Edo x 3: $83.25

* Spending Money x 1: $100.00

Day Four Total: $250.58

Now, that's a much better total to deal with than previous days

 

[ariel1025]

As I was writing up our plans for this day I realized that we weren't purchasing enough days on our park tickets. In my Excel budget I had created I have us buying 7 day park tickets; however, I didn't account for needing the park day to get into Magic Kingdom for our Pirate's League reservation. That's exactly why I love typing all these things up - it helps me find things I have missed previously

Day Five (Downish Day): Original Budget

* Breakfast in Room x 4: $0.00 (this will have already been paid for with the grocery order on day three)

* Lunch @ Lottawatta Lodge x 3: $31.83

* Dinner @ Cape May Cafe x 3: $94.76

* Extra day on park ticket (adult) x 2: $21.30

* Extra day on park ticket (child) x 1: $10.65

* Pirate's League make-over x 1: $29.95

* Pirate's League costume x 1: $65.00

* Pirates and Pals Cruise x 3: $169.96

* Spending money x 1: $100.00

Day Five Total: $523.45

 

[ariel1025]

Day Six: Original Plan - Animal Kingdom Day

Today has us up and at 'em pretty early. Which after writing up yesterday's plans, I'm thinking is not the greatest idea. Definitely in need of another Disney Talk night with the Hubs on this one. But, as of now, we will have the alarm clock set as we are anticipating a before-the-park-opens reservation at Tusker House!

This is another place we always talk about eating but always end up cutting at the last minute. I think part of that is because we are not the biggest fans of Animal Kingdom so we always leave that day open for the possibility of skipping it in lieu of another park However, I think the kids will really enjoy time at Animal Kingdom so we are making it a must on this trip.

After breakfast we will do our typical park touring plan - no plan at all! I most definitely want to see Festival of the Lion King. That is, unless the rumors are true that it will be coming to an end this year to make way for Avatar Land Ugh, don't even get me started on my feelings for that!

Ok, moving on.

I think, for the most part, this will be a pretty slow paced day. Candi and I aren't so in love with Everest that we see it completely necessary to take turns riding solo and we aren't really fans of the raft ride either. Of course, if James is tall enough to ride the water raft, then we will do it for him. Anybody know the height requirement for this?

Lunch today is planned to be another quick service and I'm really hoping for Flame Tree BBQ.

I always hear such great things about this place and we both love ribs so it seems like a no brainer.

With lunch complete I'm thinking it will most definitely be time to head back to the resort for our normal nap routine. And, this will be the only day where we don't have plans to head back to the park that evening. Since Animal Kingdom closes up so early we just decided to make it a half day touring event for us. There aren't a lot of rides that the kids can go on and, like I mentioned, this is our least favorite park. Even when it was just the two of us, it never usually got more than one day on our itinerary.

Once naps are finished up, we will all get cleaned up into something a little nicer than park clothes and head over to Magic Kingdom. If time is on our side I would like to take the monorail just because we can From the Magic Kingdom we will then transfer to an Animal Kingdom Lodge bus. Yep, I know we said we wanted to avoid the double transfers. But, tonight is for a dinner reservation we are both super excited for. Sanaa!

I have been reading such amazing things about this restaurant lately and Candi absolutely loves trying out new foods. So, Sanaa quickly made it to the top of our must try list for this trip. My only concern is if we are packing too much food into this day. Even though Flame Tree is a QS it is still a lot of food and we actually have a breakfast reservation this day too. Hmmm...something to consider.

After dinner we would like to take time to stroll around the savannah for a while and let the kids enjoy the animals and the outdoors for a while. Then it's back to Bay Lake for a good night's rest after such an early start to our day.

 

[ariel1025]

Day Seven: Original Plan - Hollywood Studios

Today is another day planned around sleeping in without a super early alarm clock. This is going to be so different for me and how I'm used to doing WDW, but with two young ones I just think it's necessary. I'm hopeful that we will all be up and ready for breakfast by 9:00 at the very latest.

The plan is to, once again, enjoy breakfast with items purchased with our grocery order.

Due to our afternoon plans, breakfast will most definitely be on the light side - cereal, bagels etc.

Once we all have decently filled bellies we will head out to the bus stop for one of the first times this trip and head over to Hollywood Studios. And, as with all other parks, our plan is to not have a plan. When it comes to rides and shows at least.

However, the reason for the light breakfast is because I'm hoping to have an early lunch reservation at Hollywood and Vine.

Now, if you read my previous trip reports (specifically from our Disneymoon) you know I vowed to never, ever eat here again. But, then I had a baby boy named James, and that baby grew into a little toddler who is obsessed with Jake and the Neverland Pirates. And, well, Jake is available at the character lunch. So, I guess it's true what they say - you really will do anything for your kids Now, if Jake (and Oso) leave the character line-up you can bet your bottom dollar this will be the first meal I am replacing

Since we are planning an earlier lunch I doubt it will be necessary to head back to the resort for nap time already. So, we will venture back out into the park and grab some more rides or shows until the sleepys start to kick in for two little kiddos.

Nap time will of course consist of the usual - TV time, relaxing, laundry, snacks, baths if needed etc. Whatever is needed to help everybody unwind, rejuvenate and be ready to hit the parks until closing.

When it gets close to dinner time we will grab the monorail over to Magic Kingdom and then grab a bus to the Beach Club. The agenda for dinner tonight is Beaches 'n Cream.

I'm hopeful that the wait won't be too ridiculous and, also, that James won't throw a fit when he sees the pool that is unavoidable to get over there

And, this is the reason for an earlier lunch - because it is impossible to eat at Beaches without consuming a ridiculously over sized dessert after your meal!

With dinner complete we will be heading back to Hollywood Studios for the evening. I'm thinking I would love to take the walking path over there, since we've never done it before, but if aching feet are an issue we will take the boat instead. I know the boat isn't exactly quick, but we aren't in any rush, as long as we aren't pushing it for it being time for Fantasmic to start.

If there is time, we will grab another couple of rides and then head into line to see Fantasmic. This will be the first time Candi and I have seen it since our honeymoon. To be honest, we weren't blown away (of course our awful H&V dinner directly beforehand may have played a part); but, we figured having James with us would be the perfect opportunity to give it another shot!

After Fantasmic we will slowly make our way out of the theater and, most likely, towards the buses where we will head back to the hotel for the night.