Disney Withdrawal Survival Guide: An Oct 2013 PTR - Soundtrack Included- NEW 08/27

[Sam33]

Haha, we are kinda front loading our trip with ADRs. Once we get to the Beach Club we are mostly going to eat at the World Showcase Food & Wine kiosk.

Sounds like an awesome plan. Food and Wine booths are fabulous

 

[teekathepony]

Yummy yummy Kona!!

Great day at MK!mi can't wait to see all of New Fantasyland <3 it's so pretty. Great plan for a MK day and a party night, spying from the Poly beach!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[OrangeJuice]

Yummy yummy Kona!!

Great day at MK!mi can't wait to see all of New Fantasyland <3 it's so pretty. Great plan for a MK day and a party night, spying from the Poly beach!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

I can almost taste the pineapple pancake!

 

[SAT887]

What a great first day!! We plan on our first full day at MK too - how can you not?! 3 ADRs in one day.... Impressive! I can't wait to hear how the lunch is at WCC.... And the Kona breakfast.... :drooling: We are actually doing our Poly eats in reverse Kona Dinner and 'Ohana breakfast.

I too can not wait for Poly to have DVC, although being a member I am betting I will need to rent points to stay there as well!! Although, I am seriously contemplating that if we add on direct, The poly would be be the place.....

 

[OrangeJuice]

What a great first day!! We plan on our first full day at MK too - how can you not?! 3 ADRs in one day.... Impressive! I can't wait to hear how the lunch is at WCC.... And the Kona breakfast.... :drooling: We are actually doing our Poly eats in reverse Kona Dinner and 'Ohana breakfast.

I too can not wait for Poly to have DVC, although being a member I am betting I will need to rent points to stay there as well!! Although, I am seriously contemplating that if we add on direct, The poly would be be the place.....

I love our MK days, I think it's the best way to start off a vacation. Some day I'll have to try the reverse dining order too. We did lunch at Kona once; the wings where delicious.

I agree that Poly would probably be the only deluxe that I would pay rack rate for. It has it all, good restaurants, great view of the MK and a beautiful pool...Oh! and the Lapu Lapu.

 

[SAT887]

I agree that Poly would probably be the only deluxe that I would pay rack rate for. It has it all, good restaurants, great view of the MK and a beautiful pool...Oh! and the Lapu Lapu.

There is just something about the poly that is so awesome... Truly I really hope to get there before DVC is built - I was thinking of adding a night before or after a trip but decided I can't do it that way I am going to need a good 3-4 nights

 

[CallieS]

Wow, I'm more than fashionably late to this party, but better late than never, right?

Me, my husband, and my mom will be at the F&W Oct. 24 & 25, so we will cross paths slightly! We're staying at Coronado Springs. The main reason for us going is so my mom can see Survivor at the Eat to the Beat concerts. We went last year for their concerts also and did the whole food thing. This year we will hit our favorite booths, and relax a lot more.

Anyway, here is my very late intro:

Name: CallieS (Karen)
Number of visits to WDW: hmm, around 50??
If you could only visit one attraction: Tower of Terror
If you could only visit one restaurant: Columbia Harbour House - love the atmosphere!
If you could only meet one character: Mickey Mouse
If you could stay at any resort: Contemporary - we'll be there in May for the first time!!
If you could only eat one snack: Pineapple Float
If you could only have one drink: Coca Cola - Disney Coke is the best on the planet. They've mastered the syrup/carbonation ratio
I know I'm a Disney addict because: I've been to Disney every year of my life that I can remember, and then some.

 

[OrangeJuice]

Wow, I'm more than fashionably late to this party, but better late than never, right?

Me, my husband, and my mom will be at the F&W Oct. 24 & 25, so we will cross paths slightly! We're staying at Coronado Springs. The main reason for us going is so my mom can see Survivor at the Eat to the Beat concerts. We went last year for their concerts also and did the whole food thing. This year we will hit our favorite booths, and relax a lot more.

Anyway, here is my very late intro:

Name: CallieS (Karen)
Number of visits to WDW: hmm, around 50??
If you could only visit one attraction: Tower of Terror
If you could only visit one restaurant: Columbia Harbour House - love the atmosphere!
If you could only meet one character: Mickey Mouse
If you could stay at any resort: Contemporary - we'll be there in May for the first time!!
If you could only eat one snack: Pineapple Float
If you could only have one drink: Coca Cola - Disney Coke is the best on the planet. They've mastered the syrup/carbonation ratio
I know I'm a Disney addict because: I've been to Disney every year of my life that I can remember, and then some.

It's never too late to join this party Especially since we'll be in the World at the same time. Gotta agree with you about the diet coke, it is the perfect ratio.

I've wanted to stay at the contemporary since we passed through it in the monorail as a kid. I was lovestruck. It looked so luxurious and it had a MONORAIL!

Since you've been to F&W before, any recommendation for can't miss items?

 

[OrangeJuice]

Soundtrack:Oasis

Next Disney lesson.

Learn to make compromises.

Our October trip is really about Food and Wine; which is why we are staying at the Beach Club and not making many dining reservations. That being said we can't just ignore the other parks. We knew that Sundays would be really busy in Epcot so we planned a Magic Kingdom day and that Wednesday had Extra Magic Hours at Epcot so we are going to Hollywood Studios on that day. That being said, we can't just ignore Animal Kingdom. I know some people say that AK is a half day park, but Jess and I are not part of those people. We can easily spend 2 days there. Yes, there aren't many rides but the rides that they do have are great. Plus, we end up spending lots of times watching animals, searching for Divine or at the shows. Our last trip, we spent maybe 30 minutes just sitting across from the tree of life. Needless to say we can't tour AK in the same fashion this year so we need to make some compromise.








Animal Kingdom plan.

Monday Oct 21



Get up, check out of AoA, drop bags with bag check and jump onto the first bus to Animal Kingdom for Extra Magic Hour. We have from 8-10 to get as much done in AK as possible.

Here are our Must-Do's in order.

1. Expedition Everest










2. Dinosaur







3. Kilimanjaro Safari










4. Maharaja Jungle Trek


Maharajah Jungle Trek by afagen, on Flickr

I think we can get those 4 attractions done between 8 and 10. Especially since it's early EMH. Touringplans seems to agree with us too!





What do you guys think? What are your Animal Kingdom must dos?

Oh and
62 days

 

[katiee37]

I honestly could never go to AK and not see Festival of the Lion King. I'm not sure what the times are for your AK day though to know if you could fit it in

 

[CallieS]

Yes, ever since going through the Contemporary on the monorail as a kid, I've wanted to stay there, too. It's always been on my to-do list, so now we're doing it. Actually since the time I posted my last response and now, I changed our reservations to the end of January. Look at that, I instantly made our trip that much closer. Haha.

As for F&W recommendations, my husband and mom LOVED the Mongolian beef on a steamed bun from the China booth. They had it multiple times and are talking about it again this year. I loved the escargot en brioche from France, the spanikopita from Greece, and the paneer cheese from Africa. That one surprised me. I'd never heard of paneer cheese before, and some cheeses I love and some I hate, so it was a risk, but it paid off. Most everything else was good, but not overly memorable. I'd like to try the kimchee dog this year.

 

[CallieS]

At AK, our must do's are Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, and Primeval Whirl. I get the impression Primeval Whirl is overlooked by many and underrated, but it's actually a lot of fun. It's good for a laugh!

 

[OrangeJuice]

Yes, ever since going through the Contemporary on the monorail as a kid, I've wanted to stay there, too. It's always been on my to-do list, so now we're doing it. Actually since the time I posted my last response and now, I changed our reservations to the end of January. Look at that, I instantly made our trip that much closer. Haha.

As for F&W recommendations, my husband and mom LOVED the Mongolian beef on a steamed bun from the China booth. They had it multiple times and are talking about it again this year. I loved the escargot en brioche from France, the spanikopita from Greece, and the paneer cheese from Africa. That one surprised me. I'd never heard of paneer cheese before, and some cheeses I love and some I hate, so it was a risk, but it paid off. Most everything else was good, but not overly memorable. I'd like to try the kimchee dog this year.

That's a great way of making time go by faster, make your trip closer haha!
I planned on trying the bun and the escargot but I was undecided on the paneer. With your vote I think it just made it onto our list

At AK, our must do's are Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, and Primeval Whirl. I get the impression Primeval Whirl is overlooked by many and underrated, but it's actually a lot of fun. It's good for a laugh!

Primeval whirl is fun but I get too motion sick on it so it didn't make our short list. EE makes my head spin too but I can't resist the call of the yeti!

 

[OrangeJuice]

I honestly could never go to AK and not see Festival of the Lion King. I'm not sure what the times are for your AK day though to know if you could fit it in

I know I shouldn't say this out loud but ...I'm not a fan of Festival of the Lion King I love the movie and so does my wife but the show just didn't live up to the hype. Not enough Simba and too much Timon maybe. I LOVE the Nemo show though.

 

[SAT887]

Animal Kingdom is usually a two morning park for us. We haven't gone to the shows, so we want to try those this year... However, I love the tropical lush feel it has, and while many say its just like a Zoo, ehh, I've been to quite a few and it's better than that! I also feel like the animals are humanely treated there..... Our must do is the safari... And this year Kali River Rapids because my oldest can ride it...

 

[CallieS]

Primeval whirl is fun but I get too motion sick on it so it didn't make our short list. EE makes my head spin too but I can't resist the call of the yeti!

Bummer. Does the motion sickness affect you on other rides too? What I love about Disney is that it can be so much more than "just" the rides. The rides are awesome, but Disney is a complete sensory experience.

 

[tiggerfan77]

We LOVE Animal Kingdom! We are definite fans of that park especially my son. Our must-dos are Kilimanjaro, Dinosaur, Lion King and all the great character meets they have there. I love this park because it is a stop and smell the roses kind of place and you need that when all the other parks can be overstimulating.

 

[abbybeth]

I know I shouldn't say this out loud but ...I'm not a fan of Festival of the Lion King I love the movie and so does my wife but the show just didn't live up to the hype. Not enough Simba and too much Timon maybe. I LOVE the Nemo show though.

That's funny! I adore FOTLK and the Nemo show kind of annoys me.
A little something for everyone!

 

[glaserjm]

Those pics of the food are killing my 3 PM resolve not to snack! We are doing Kona for breakfast for the first time on this trip and I am SO excited for the pineapple pancakes. Yesterday we went to the Original Pancake House for breakfast b/c I was craving pancakes, but I wouldn't get the pineapple ones because I am saving that experience for Kona!

You are going to absolutely love F&W. I thought Joe and I would just have a nice Disney trip with a little F&W thrown in, but we ended up going almost every day. It was just so nice and I found that people seemed really friendly and happy (probably the booze!). Also the weather was just so lovely it was great to be able to spend time in the WS without baking on the pavement.

We are at 74 days...so jealous of your 62!

 

[OrangeJuice]

Bummer. Does the motion sickness affect you on other rides too? What I love about Disney is that it can be so much more than "just" the rides. The rides are awesome, but Disney is a complete sensory experience.

The only other rides that really get to me are Star Tours, Captain Eo and Rock n Roller coaster. I totally agree that Disney about so much more than the rides. What I like about it too is the fact that none of the rides rely only on "thrill" they are so multidimensional. I find that at Universal most of the rides just make me sick but don't give me much other than that (except for Harry Potter world). TOT is the perfect example, yes it's a thrill ride but the experience is multiplied a million times by the theming and soundtrack.

We LOVE Animal Kingdom! We are definite fans of that park especially my son. Our must-dos are Kilimanjaro, Dinosaur, Lion King and all the great character meets they have there. I love this park because it is a stop and smell the roses kind of place and you need that when all the other parks can be overstimulating.

We adore it too, just can't bring ourselves to give up more Food and Wine time since that's the reason we are visiting. We LOVE going to the zoo here so AK is like a zoo on steroids! Def one of the best places to hang out.

That's funny! I adore FOTLK and the Nemo show kind of annoys me.
A little something for everyone!

I think it's the puppets that I find fascinating in Nemo, that and the original soundtrack, I always find myself singing along.

Those pics of the food are killing my 3 PM resolve not to snack! We are doing Kona for breakfast for the first time on this trip and I am SO excited for the pineapple pancakes. Yesterday we went to the Original Pancake House for breakfast b/c I was craving pancakes, but I wouldn't get the pineapple ones because I am saving that experience for Kona!

You are going to absolutely love F&W. I thought Joe and I would just have a nice Disney trip with a little F&W thrown in, but we ended up going almost every day. It was just so nice and I found that people seemed really friendly and happy (probably the booze!). Also the weather was just so lovely it was great to be able to spend time in the WS without baking on the pavement.

We are at 74 days...so jealous of your 62!

A visit to the Dis is always sure to ruin my healthy eating streak. I can't stop myself from dreaming about all the Disney food. That pancake is my downfall though cause it's part of the rotation of pictures that appear on my computer wallpaper. It always gets me snacking.

I can't wait to get to F&W. Considering I am bonafide addicted to food, it should make for a great week. 61 days today