DL Vet goes to WDW ~ F&W, ToT 10 Miler, & more! *Updated 5/25: Egg Hunting in DCA*

[tdashgirl]

Let's get this pre-trip (party) report going!

I'm Tania. I grew up in Northern California. I went to Disneyland a few times growing up -- twice with my family when I was 5 and 9, then Grad Night my senior year of high school, then a few times during/after college with friends. I liked Disneyland a lot -- enough that when I got married in 2002 and we had our honeymoon in French Polynesia, I convinced my husband to do an add-on -- when we flew back into LAX, we did a stopover in LA, where we checked out the newly opened DCA, went to Universal Studios Hollywood, cruised around Newport Beach. FF a few years ... we had our 1st child together in 2004 ... all the way to Father's Day 2006. Some other families we knew suggested a group trip to Disneyland.

Having totally enjoyed our trips to DL before, I was totally down with it. So off we went to DL with my husband, stepson and stepson's step brother from his mom's re-marriage, stepdaughter, daughter and mother-in-law. Yeah, we had a full crew

Our youngest daughter was 2.5years old at the time. Something about seeing DL through her eyes ... everything being so spruced up and magical for the 50th anniversary ... being with such good friends and family ... I just fell in love.

Here's our crew:



One of the other families we were there with were BIG Disney fans. While there, they told us about this magical thing called Annual Passes. Even more magical, you could upgrade your previously purchased tickets to Annual Passes and just pay the difference. And go to Disneyland more times for less than the cost of another trip! (This is back when annual passes truly were a steal -- they cost about 1.5 times the amount of a 3 day park hopper ticket).

With stars in my eyes, I happily upgraded our tix to APs. And we've been APers ever since.

Here's a photo of our family on our 1st trip with our new APs. Oh my gosh they were babies!!!!



Many, many, many trips to DL have taken place since then. As our two older kids started high school, they didn't want to go to DL that often, so it was usually just me, DH and our youngest with APs (we bought them hoppers when they wanted to come). And as a side note -- our middle daughter attends school down in Orange County and one of the first things she asked for was an AP She goes there lots of times with her friends now.

Since DL is very easy for us to get to either by plane or car, and we already have our park admission taken care of, up until the last few months WDW wasn't even on my radar much. But my Disney nerd self couldn't resist lurking around the WDW side and seeing all that is WDW.

My youngest daughter and I are the big Disney freaks in our family, my DH likes it but he doesn't love it. Thanks to Downtown Disney, DL Hotel and DCA fun restaurants/bars, he more than tolerates it Which got me thinking about a WDW trip. I think he will love all the places to drink and dine, Epcot in particular which we don't have here in California!

Another big hang up for me other than the travel, is the Florida weather. I know some of y'all love it, but I gotta say - Cali beats FL Plus the crowds at WDW scare me a bit...not that DL doesn't have crowds, but since we go so often we have our tried and true tricks, plus we also don't feel any pressure to see or do pretty anything -- we can skip and save "for the next trip".

So now that I've given you my reasons for not visiting WDW --- here's why I'm finally biting the bullet

1) DD10 has fall break at the end of September/early October -- which means we can book a trip during (relative) lower crowds and semi-decent (relative) weather, without taking her out of school

2) EPCOT FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL. DH and I love to eat and drink. What else is there to say.

3) Unique Disney immersion. This is something that DD10 and I are looking forward to. I love Disneyland, I truly do -- but even staying at DL Hotels still doesn't completely block out Anaheim -- in the way that WDW seems to be able to

4) Two unique parks to us -- AK and Epcot. I think I will love MK and DHS too, but these stand out to me the most as a "different" Disney experience.

OK -- up next -- Table of Contents and placeholders!

 

[tdashgirl]

Table of Contents

* Cast of Characters
* Dates and Transportation!
* Resorts
* ADRs
* Sucker for the hype? Tomorrowland Terrace Fireworks Dessert Party
* Spring Break Disneyland Mini Trip Report - Arrival Day
* Spring Break DL Mini Trip Report -- 2nd Day
* Spring Break DL Mini Trip Report -- Egg Hunting in Disneyland
* Spring Break DL Mini Trip Report -- Egg Hunting in DCA

​

 

[tdashgirl]

Me!



I'm the big Disney freak and planner. Married mama to 3 kids, 20SS, 18SD and 10DD. I work as a Public Safety Radio Dispatcher, which means I do 9-1-1 Some days I answer 911 calls for fire and medical emergencies, some days I manage the 1st responders on the radio. It's a crazy job and it has it's downsides but overall I love it.

DH!



FYI, the moustache is for Mo-vember. UGH, I'm so happy when November is over every year He's a Fire Engineer and support Paramedic. He has fun at Disney but doesn't obsess over it like I do.

DD10


My disney nerd partner in crime! She loves everything about Disney, including the food. One of her top concerns at DL trips is that she gets her favorite snacks and meals in. She's looking forward to finding new favorites at WDW.

 

[tdashgirl]

Saturday, September 27th - Sunday, October 5th​

We are taking a red-eye flight from the west coast on Friday, September 26th, so we'll be arriving in Orlando in the wee hours Saturday morning.

We are going to rent a car, so no Magical Express. The rental car is mostly to make DH happy. Being Californian we are car people and he likes the "control" of having a car. I think we will use a mix of the car and the bus and see how it all works for our family. I know there are people that love the buses and people who hate the buses. This being our 1st trip, I'm not sure what camp we'll fall in.

Our flight leaves at 2pm on Sunday, October 5th.

 

[tdashgirl]

I'll start this off by mentioning that our original plan was Art of Animation for the entire trip. It was affordable, I liked the theme-ing, DD and I love Ariel, I read good things about their bus system for when we choose to use it.

I was thinking that this being our 1st visit, we would do a lot of park time. But we are not exactly park commandos at DL. We do hit rides hard in the morning, but we tend to take afternoon breaks and then spend evenings cruising, wine-ing and dining. The fact that the values do not have hot tubs was a bit of a bummer. DD and I love us some hot tub time. Then I thought back to our February Aulani trip. For those that haven't been to Aulani, it's like a Deluxe DVC resort. On the shores of Oahu. With a mini waterpark in the middle. I ain't gonna lie, it's pretty amazing. The hotel was one of the best parts of being in Hawaii.

I was messaging a local friend of mine who loves DL and went to WDW in January about our trip, and hearing our plans, she decided to do another trip for almost the same dates with just her DH to take advantage of their WDW APs. They rented DVC points at AKL. Disney fans are such enablers even when they don't mean to be -- her plans got me thinking!!! I had looked into points but I didn't need nor did I want to spend more than a studio room, and with the F&W those book up quickly, especially those in the Epcot area. I was originally thinking that if I was going to splurge, it would be nice to be in the Epcot area -- and no surprise given the lateness of my request (mid-March) -- they were all booked up.

Now, AKL has always intrigued me. We are big animal lovers and an African safari would be a dream trip for me. It looks so pretty in all the photos and videos. I was worried about the distance from everything though -- but I did some more research and asked some questions -- and felt like AKL could actually be a good fit for us. A nice place to relax/unwind from the parks. Beautiful views, nice pool and a hot tub! We have the aforementioned rental car.

So, here we are mid-March -- let me ask the nice lady at DVC Rental Store if there's a studio available at AKL. She gets back to me quickly. All the value views are sold out (of course, I heard those book at the 11 month mark)There is a standard view available for all but the last 2 nights, and a Kidani Savanna view for all but our last night. Our last full day is a non-park day -- we're doing the 5K in the morning and then open plans until the ToT at night. Not a bad day for a resort switch.

Without further ado, here's what we ended up with!

Animal Kingdom Lodge, Kidani Savanna view Studio Room September 27th - October 4th.

Saratoga Springs Deluxe Studio Room October 4th.​

Saratoga Springs had availability and I think it will work out nicely to be near DtD for our non-park / move resorts day. Plus it also has a hot tub so we can soak away our ToT festivities when we wake up ... before checking out and leaving

This has been booked and deposit has been made, reservations linked in My Disney Experience. DVC Rental Store has you pay $8/per point as a deposit, with the remainder due within 45 days of arrival. It's no small change, but not that bad. And certainly more affordable than booking a deluxe stay through WDW direct.

 

[tdashgirl]

I didn't like this post

 

[tdashgirl]

I didn't like this post either

 

[wiigirl]

Following along!

 

[tdashgirl]

Following along!

Welcome!

 

[karaokevixen]

Following as well! (Wish I would have thought of placeholders for my PTR. lol Oh well) We're going late September as well! Like you, our children have a fall break from school, but here it's due to the local fair. We're using that built in week off to get out of town. My DD is also 10, so I'm looking forward to seeing how someone else plans a trip with an older girl.

 

[smile4stamps]

Hi Tania!! Excited to see your plans!! I don't have our fall dates figured out yet but they MAY overlap.

I'm busy working out everything for my April/May trip first and then will begin dealing with that one!

I am definitely the Disney person. My husband could care less about going so the fact that he is going 4 times in a year is unheard of! He definitely goes for the Food aspect so if you have any questions about that let me know!!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Looks like we'll be at Disney the same time also doing some of the same things. There are a few of us running the ToT with pre trips around.

I'll be following along as you plan!

 

[tdashgirl]

Whew, meant to spend some time yesterday filling in the blanks -- but logging into work yesterday they sprung a trainee on me. It was a phone trainee, and that means everybody logs in so the trainee is first up for all 911 calls (rather than calls being rotated among the team). So I had to listen to a lot of 911 calls, and you have to really, really concentrate when you're not the one taking the call, just listening

I'm in super early to cover half a co-workers shift, so hopefully I can get going on this thing I have my first shot at ADRs in about 24 hours and part of the reason I started this trip report was to organize my thoughts. I do have my super nerdy Disney binder and a few spreadsheets going, but this place is good for my random thought process.

-------------------------------------------

Following as well! (Wish I would have thought of placeholders for my PTR. lol Oh well) We're going late September as well! Like you, our children have a fall break from school, but here it's due to the local fair. We're using that built in week off to get out of town. My DD is also 10, so I'm looking forward to seeing how someone else plans a trip with an older girl.

Thanks for following along! Isn't 10 a great age? My DD is old enough that she's pretty self-sufficient, but still loves to hang out with her mama.

I am definitely the Disney person. My husband could care less about going so the fact that he is going 4 times in a year is unheard of! He definitely goes for the Food aspect so if you have any questions about that let me know!!

I think that is amazing that Hunter is willing to go 4 times!!!!! Just WDW though (the food aspect) not DL, right? I think we are going to head down to DL in a couple of weeks. I haven't been there in Spring in forever ... but we have some extra staffing and I was able to get a random bid off for DD's spring break ... and hey our APs are still good

Looks like we'll be at Disney the same time also doing some of the same things. There are a few of us running the ToT with pre trips around.

Cool! I'll have to look around for those PTRs. The ToT was another thing that convinced my husband. He is really looking forward to running it. I won't be running that -- we're doing the 5K together, but for the ToT my DD and I are going to hang at the Villians after-party and meet him after the race.

 

[smile4stamps]

Yes he is only willing to go to WDW and it is mostly for the food. I think he would prefer less trips but he ended up with an AP by default because it was only $10 or so more than the passes he would need for going in October and December... and since we went for our 5year anniversary,.. why not the 10! And since we love F&W that will round out the year of our AP's... Of course if I am not able to get a DVC/RCI exchange for the fall than that one does have the possibility of being cancelled.

 

[tdashgirl]

Of course if I am not able to get a DVC/RCI exchange for the fall than that one does have the possibility of being cancelled.

Oh that would be a bummer! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!!!

 

[smile4stamps]

Oh that would be a bummer! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!!!

Thanks.. unfortunately I may have missed my window as it appears the dates I need dropped last week and I wasn't able to snag anything.

I see you have posted some plans. Have you decided to pay OOP for meals? Or going to get a dining plan?

Good choice on the DVC rentals! I've looked into that but we REALLY like having a King bed and that means a 1-bedroom... and points wise those are pretty spendy!

 

[tdashgirl]

I see you have posted some plans. Have you decided to pay OOP for meals? Or going to get a dining plan?

Good choice on the DVC rentals! I've looked into that but we REALLY like having a King bed and that means a 1-bedroom... and points wise those are pretty spendy!

I'm pretty sure we're going to pay OOP. I made some ADRs yesterday -- that was ....ummm...interesting.

Yes -- the bigger DVC rentals are very spendy! I could see it making sense if you are splitting the cost with someone or if it saves you from having to book multiple rooms...

 

[tdashgirl]

So -- ADRs when you live on the west coast and are no longer on graveyard shift -- are no bueno

I really wanted a CRT before park opening for one of our MK days, so there I was, up at 2:45am, to make it. The disney website was funky -- if I wanted to make reservations for my entire stay, past the 180 day mark, I couldn't make them by pressing the make dining reservations link ... even though I was logged on to MDE. I had to go into my itinerary, hit "make plans for this day" link for each day. It was a pain in the butt!

Success though! I got an early CRT reservation for my 2nd MK day, so we'll be dining in the castle before park opening The fact that you have to pre-pay and my DD is now DD10 -- whew, that's expensive. I'm just not gonna think about it too much

Other ADRs which are semi random I think .. just a hodge podge of things I was interested in, plus convenience for our plans.

Sanaa
Date: Saturday, September 27, 2014
Time: 5:30 PM

Liberty Tree Tavern
Date: Sunday, September 28, 2014
Time: 11:55 AM

Pioneer Hall
Date: Sunday, September 28, 2014
Time: 8:30 PM

Yachtsman Steakhouse
Date: Monday, September 29, 2014
Time: 5:10 PM

Kona Cafe
Date: Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Time: 7:30 AM

California Grill
Date: Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Time: 7:00 PM

Cinderella's Royal Table
Date: Wednesday, October 01, 2014
Time: 8:05 AM

Tomorrowland Terrace Fireworks Dessert Party
Date: Wednesday, October 01, 2014
Time: 8:15 PM

Beaches & Cream Soda Shop
Date: Thursday, October 02, 2014
Time: 5:10 PM

50's Prime Time Cafe
Date: Friday, October 03, 2014
Time: 11:00 AM

Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant
Date: Saturday, October 04, 2014
Time: 5:15 PM

 

[smile4stamps]

So THAT is what you meant by interesting!!! I understand the time difference and ADR challenge!! Except for me the time is while I am AT work and unable to make phone calls or be online!! Summer of 2012 I actually called in sick so I could call at 7am EST to make my F&W reservations!!

Looks like you got some wonderful meals!! We are not Kona fans... but everything else we love except for Beaches and Cream and CRT which we haven't been to and Sanaa which we are trying for the first time this month.

 

[tdashgirl]

So THAT is what you meant by interesting!!! I understand the time difference and ADR challenge!! Except for me the time is while I am AT work and unable to make phone calls or be online!! Summer of 2012 I actually called in sick so I could call at 7am EST to make my F&W reservations!!

Looks like you got some wonderful meals!! We are not Kona fans... but everything else we love except for Beaches and Cream and CRT which we haven't been to and Sanaa which we are trying for the first time this month.

Right! I totally get what you're saying. Luckily at work we can be on the internet so it actually would have easier if I was still on graveyard -- I would have been wide awake! But I just did a long-term shift trade and I'll be on dayshift for the rest of the year. That shift starts at 6:30am so I was super tired when my alarm went off!

Kona's breakfast sounded yummy so that's why I went with that. I think DD10 will really like Beaches and Cream. It will also be kind of a break from the "fancier" food. I can't wait to hear what you think of Sanaa! I admit I'm on the fence a bit about that one even with the great reviews and since I'm staying at Kidani Village, it's a chance for me to conveniently try a restaurant that's inconvenient for most WDW guests.