"Don't Forget to Pack the Extra Stomachs!" - F&W, BCV Nov. 10-14 ~ Updated 11/17

[Dugette]

Well, we've gotten a couple of things accomplished:

*My dad and step-mom agreed to take our dog for this trip AND our December trip! You may remember me calling this "Puppy Wilderness Adventure Camp" when she stayed with them last time:

Super happy about this!


*Dug spent an entire hour on hold last night to put in our WDW room requests. But, he got it done. We requested:

Pop Century night: '80's building, King bed, higher floor

Beach Club Villas: Dedicated (non-connecting) Studio, 4th or 5th floor, facing towards Epcot, preferably rooms: 555, 561, 563, 455, & 461.

We'll see what happens!


*Dug said that tomorrow he will check with his sister about transportation, check with his friend about checking in on our cat, and we'll do online check-in for our resorts.


*I keep seeing all these posts over on the dining boards where people are saying that their ADRs are all back online again. Not for me! Nothing at all comes up when I log in. When I try to retrieve by confirmation code, I can now get most of them (couldn't get any before). Using the confirmation #s, I was able to pull up all but La Hacienda for this trip. For our December trip, I could pull up all but one also. Better than before!


I can't believe that we leave in 5 days!

 

[Nermel9]

Your dog is so cute! Glad you figured out who will watch her!

Good luck with your room requests! I hope I get mine too, I requested a mansion at POR, with a room on the top floor! I was going to call and have them take off the top floor request, but then I kept reading about snakes at POR and now I'm keeping it! I will flip if I see a snake!

My ADR's all came back, except Le Cellier! So I called and confirmed that one and it was still there, thankfully! My big surprise would have been ruined if that one was lost! Have you called to confirm any of your ADR's?

 

[Dugette]

Your dog is so cute! Glad you figured out who will watch her!

Thanks! She is a cutie and she knows how to use that to her advantage! I'm so glad my dad & step-mom can watch her. Their only issue is that they are out of town a lot, but otherwise they love having her. And they take her running with them, so she has a great time too!

Good luck with your room requests! I hope I get mine too, I requested a mansion at POR, with a room on the top floor! I was going to call and have them take off the top floor request, but then I kept reading about snakes at POR and now I'm keeping it! I will flip if I see a snake!

Snakes at POR?! I haven't heard about that! If it helps, we didn't see any during our stay there in January. I think we were on the top floor of our mansion (Parterre Place). It was nice! Good luck with your request!

My ADR's all came back, except Le Cellier! So I called and confirmed that one and it was still there, thankfully! My big surprise would have been ruined if that one was lost! Have you called to confirm any of your ADR's?

I'm glad yours are all there. I did call on our November ones awhile back and they were all there. Thank goodness we had all the confirmation numbers! It's nice to see most of them online now too. I'm not too concerned about the one that's not up there (La Hacienda), as that's the one that I called to change the time on the other day, so I know it's there. I didn't call on our December ones, but luckily all but one are showing up now (when I enter confirmation #s), so I think we'll be okay.

 

[Dugette]

Okay, a lotta sunshine, actually! That's how the forecast for our trip is looking right now! Weather.com is showing low to mid 80's and sunny. Accuweather.com is slightly more pessimistic, showing upper 70's to 80 and sunny. Either way, I'll take it! And I thought it was nice here this weekend in MN...supposed to be around 60 and sunny...not bad for this time of year. But I can't wait for WDW!

 

[Dugette]

Okay, so I finally did cross the border into Crazyville and make a Touring Plan for Food & Wine. I copied it out of my Excel file here, so hopefully it looks okay. A few things to know:

1.) This was created solely to see if it is possible to eat all of these things during the course of our trip, time-wise.

2.) We will not stick to this schedule, because we want to be at least somewhat spontaneous and I also made a lot of assumptions on this. I don't know when various entertainment will be going on, etc. However, I do think this is useful, as I made it while looking at a map, so I tried to keep us from running around more than necessary. And I tried to put various foods in context where it would be good to try them. Like, a Belgian Waffle in the morning, etc.

3.) I tried to get in our "must do"s and some "maybe"s. I also threw in some drinks that I've seen good reviews of, just for good measure.

4.) The color coding is as follows:

Primarily for me
Primarily for Dug
Plan to split this

5.) There are a couple of times where I have us each going to a different food booth at the same time. Just to save time. Those times will list a second food booth, but no separate time.

Enjoy:

Thurs. 11/11
6:45am bars/fruit snacks from home
7:00am on bus to MK
8:00am EMH in MK (Space, Thunder, Pan, Buzz, Pirates, etc.)
10:00am head out of MK for Epcot
10:40am Club Cool
10:50am Get F&W gift cards & passport
11:00am Appetizers from Greece

Greek Salad w/Pita Bread
Spanakopita
Chicken Souvlaki w/Tzatziki ​

Noon Lunch at Chefs de France
1:15pm Movie in France
1:45pm Snack from France

Escargots Persillade di Brioche
Short Ribs
Chocolate Crème Brulee
Parisian Cosmo Slush​

2:15pm Walk to BCV
2:30pm Check in at BCV
2:45pm Nap, explore, swim, etc.
4:30pm Walk to Epcot
4:50pm Snack from Morocco

Beef in a Pita Pocket
Drink from Morocco? ​

Snack from Spain

Ham, Chorizo, Manchego, Olives, etc.​

5:15pm Jessie's Girl
5:45pm Snack from Germany

Spaetzle Gratin w/Ham & Cheese
Nurnberger Sausage in Pretzel Roll
Apple Struedel​

6:10pm Explore Karamell Shop
6:40pm Ride Maelstrom
7:00pm Snack from Poland

Kielbasa & Potato Pierogies
Strawberry Basalmic Chiller​

7:30pm Ride Mexico boat ride
8:00pm Dinner at La Hacienda
9:00pm Illuminations
9:30pm Back to BCV
10:00pm Sleepytown

Fri. 11/12
7:30am Walk to Kouzzina
8:00am Breakfast at Kouzzina
9:00am Walk to Epcot
9:30am Get FP for Soarin'
9:45am Ride Test Track
10:30am Boat to Morocco
11:00am Snack from Belgium

Steamed Mussels w/Garlic Cream
Freshly Baked Belgian Waffles
Godiva Iced Coffee​

11:45am Snack from Ireland

Lobster & Scallop Fisherman's Pie
Kerrygold Cheese Selection
Chocolate Lava Cake w/Bailey's​

12:30pm Snack from Canada

Cheddar Cheese Soup
Nanaimo Bar
Icewine​

1:15pm Line up for Visa Photo
1:45pm Use Soarin' FP
2:15pm Misc. Future World
4:15pm Snack from Chile

Beef & Corn Pie ​

4:30pm Snack from Desserts & C

Pear Struessel Pudding Cake​

4:45pm Snack from Puerto Rico

Medianoche Sandwich
Frozen Torched Cherry Colada​

5:00pm Head towards the International Gateway
5:15pm Walk to BCV
5:30pm Nap, explore, swim, etc.
7:15pm Walk to Epcot
8:00pm Dinner at Le Cellier
9:30pm Explore the Boardwalk
10:30pm Back to BCV
11:00pm Sleepytown

Sat. 11/13
6:30am Yogurt Parfaits for breakfast
7:00am Boat or walk to DHS
8:00am EMH in DHS
8:00am Get TSM FPs/ride TSM
8:30am Ride RnRC
9:00am Ride ToT
9:30am Ride TSM w/FP
10:00am Head to Epcot via boat/walk
11:00am Snack from Brazil

Grilled Pork Skewer w/Farofa​

11:15am Snack from Argentina

Grilled Beef Skewer w/Chimichurri
Roasted Corn & Cheese Empanada​

11:45am Snack from Mexico

Churro
Passion Fruit Frozen Margarita​

12:15pm Snack from China

Pork Pot Stickers
Barbeque Chicken Stick​

12:45pm Snack from South Korea

Lettuce Wrap w/ Roast Pork & Kimchi
BBQ Short Rib w/Rice & Kimchi​

1:15pm Snack from South Africa

Flavors of Africa ​

1:45pm Snack from Singapore

Coconut-Braised Beef Rendang​

2:15pm Check out train village (mini F&W festival)
2:30pm See American Adventure (Hopefully Voices of Liberty)
3:30pm Snack from Italy

Meatball
Ravioli
Cannoli
Primavera Fruit Smoothie​

Snack from Hops & Barley

Crab Cake w/Cabbage Slaw
New England Lobster Roll​

4:00pm Boat to Future World
4:30pm Captain EO
5:00pm Snack from New Zealand

Seared Sea Scallop
Lamp Slider​

Snack from C & Cheese

Cheese Fondue
Smoked Beef, Duck, Ham ​

5:30pm Boat back to U.S.
6:00pm Snack from U.S.

Bison Chili w/Wild Mushrooms
Heirloom Tomatoes w/Blue Cheese​

6:30pm Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
7:00pm Snack from Austrailia

Grilled Lamb Chop​

7:15pm Snack from Japan

Tuna Sensation​

7:30pm Walk to BCV
7:45pm Brief nap at BCV / get ready
8:30pm Bus to MK
9:00pm Monorail to Contemporary
9:15pm Dinner at California Grill
10:00pm Wishes from CA Grill
11:30pm Walk to MK
Midnight MK EMH (TTA, Buzz, Haunted Mansion, Splash, etc.)
2:00am Picture on Goofy bench
2:15am Bus back to BCV
3:00am Sleepytown

Sun. 11/14
??? Flexible morning
11:30am Lunch at Beaches n Cream
12:30pm Magical Express

After making this, I am planning to pack several to-go containers in my luggage and bring them with to Food & Wine. If we can't finish something on the spot, we can bring it back to our Studio, since it has a fridge and microwave. Maybe eat it later that night or in the morning.

Dug just read this schedule. He is scared! Me too!

 

[jerseygirl16]

This touring plan for food has to be the single greatest thing I have ever seen on these boards.

By the way all that delicious food on your list is making me very very hungry.

 

[Dugette]

This touring plan for food has to be the single greatest thing I have ever seen on these boards.

By the way all that delicious food on your list is making me very very hungry.

Thanks!

Maybe I should put up a warning not to look at this on an empty stomach!

 

[jc040404]

Love the food plans! Color coded planning makes my heart smile. Awesome!

We saw sooo many billboards up around here about F&W today that we started talking about trying this weekend. Your list is tempting me again. We're so not though. We'll be going into MK about when you're leaving instead. Don't break anything!

I love the idea of bringing some containers with you. Super smart! Even though they're samples, I see you not finishing some of this.

I agree that you need a warning! I definitely won't be reading your TR before dinner!

 

[Nermel9]

Okay, a lotta sunshine, actually! That's how the forecast for our trip is looking right now! Weather.com is showing low to mid 80's and sunny. Accuweather.com is slightly more pessimistic, showing upper 70's to 80 and sunny. Either way, I'll take it! And I thought it was nice here this weekend in MN...supposed to be around 60 and sunny...not bad for this time of year. But I can't wait for WDW!

I'm actually hoping accuweather is right, I'm hoping for upper 70's-low 80's! And NO humidity! That's how the weather was for this week last year and it could not have been more perfect...warm during the day, warm enough to swim, and then a little cooler at night so you could wear pants if you wanted to (which I like to, since I hate shorts!) I can't wait to get there!

And your touring plan for F&W is insane!!!! Have you seen the thread in the Theme parks section about the last weekend of the F&W festival? About how crazy Saturday is supposed to be? I'm getting a little nervous, but at least I know it will be crazy and I will be prepared to deal with the crowds!

 

[A&Bmama]

Okay, a lotta sunshine, actually! That's how the forecast for our trip is looking right now! Weather.com is showing low to mid 80's and sunny. Accuweather.com is slightly more pessimistic, showing upper 70's to 80 and sunny. Either way, I'll take it! And I thought it was nice here this weekend in MN...supposed to be around 60 and sunny...not bad for this time of year. But I can't wait for WDW!

Looks good. I would be happy with just the sunshine! It has been raining for days here.

Okay, so I finally did cross the border into Crazyville and make a Touring Plan for Food & Wine. I copied it out of my Excel file here, so hopefully it looks okay.

@ crossing the border to Crazyville!

The plan looks awesome. You should be in logistics.

Like I said before, you better be good and hungry when you get there. I think you should just go to bed now and sleep until it is time to get on the plane. That way you will be really well rested and very hungry by the time you get to WDW.

Seriously though, it looks like a lot of fun. I am surprised that you managed to work in some time in MK and DHS too.

 

[Dugette]

Love the food plans! Color coded planning makes my heart smile. Awesome!

I love to color-code things. I work in accounting and often color-code my spreadsheets. I had to try to cut back, as our Controller is color-blind. So, I was very happy when I saw our current version of Excel at work lets you sort by colors! I'm such a geek!

We saw sooo many billboards up around here about F&W today that we started talking about trying this weekend. Your list is tempting me again. We're so not though. We'll be going into MK about when you're leaving instead. Don't break anything!

We'll try not to break too many rides for you! You could just stop out the weekend we're there and follow us around F&W...I'm sure we'll have plenty of leftovers to share, so you wouldn't have to wait in lines!

I love the idea of bringing some containers with you. Super smart! Even though they're samples, I see you not finishing some of this.

I agree that you need a warning! I definitely won't be reading your TR before dinner!

I am glad we get free checked bags (Delta AmEx perk), so I can pack away some containers and not worry about it.

I'm actually hoping accuweather is right, I'm hoping for upper 70's-low 80's! And NO humidity! That's how the weather was for this week last year and it could not have been more perfect...warm during the day, warm enough to swim, and then a little cooler at night so you could wear pants if you wanted to (which I like to, since I hate shorts!) I can't wait to get there!

We're with you...that weather would be great! I'm also with you on preferring pants to shorts.

And your touring plan for F&W is insane!!!! Have you seen the thread in the Theme parks section about the last weekend of the F&W festival? About how crazy Saturday is supposed to be? I'm getting a little nervous, but at least I know it will be crazy and I will be prepared to deal with the crowds!

Is that the thread you posted on? I had not seen it until today, but I have heard that weekends at F&W are crowded and the last weekend is especially crowded. I was hoping we could get more F&W in on Thurs/Fri, but it looks like a lot of it will have to fall onto Saturday. We'll see how it goes, I guess!

 

[Dugette]

Looks good. I would be happy with just the sunshine! It has been raining for days here.

Bummer about the rain! I can't wait for the beautiful weather!

@ crossing the border to Crazyville!

The plan looks awesome. You should be in logistics.

Like I said before, you better be good and hungry when you get there. I think you should just go to bed now and sleep until it is time to get on the plane. That way you will be really well rested and very hungry by the time you get to WDW.

Seriously though, it looks like a lot of fun. I am surprised that you managed to work in some time in MK and DHS too.

That would be a great plan if I only I didn't have to work the next three days! I'm starting to think that this eating around the world thing is kind-of the equivalent of 4 parks in 1 day...a difficult, but attainable goal.

By the way, somehow I ended up re-reading your entire TR this afternoon! It's that good! Still making me tear up the second time around! I look forward to hearing more about your upcoming trip!

 

[Dugette]

Well, we got a few things scratched off our list this weekend:

*Dug's sister agreed to provide our airport transportation. She and her DH live very close to the airport and allow Dug to leave his car in their driveway. As in the past, he will go to their house after work, leave his car there, and get a ride to the airport from his sister (with all of our luggage). I will take the lightrail from work (downtown Minneapolis) to the airport and meet him there.

*Dug's friend agreed to stop by our place mid-trip and feed our cat. Kitty is pretty independent and could probably be by herself the whole time (as long as we left her a big pile of food), but we feel better knowing that someone she likes will stop by and keep her company for a bit (sounds like he's going to just spend a night in our guest room).

*My dad just emailed to say that I can drop Bailey off at their place on Tuesday night.

*I did our online check-in tonight. Strange thing: when I did our BCV ressie, it showed that the room type was club level! Shouldn't it say Studio? We were baffled as to whether this was a glitch in the system or a sign of an upgrade. I posted on the resort board and someone got back to me right away saying that this is a glitch in the system. We're cool with that! Because, really, what do we need less on this trip than access to free food at the resort? Plus, we are excited about the studio and the kitchenette. So, all's well.

*I was going to start packing tonight, then just realized that there is not really much packing to be done right now. I already have all my travel-sized toiletries in a bag. I'm using everything else for the next few days. I could pack some clothes, but I'd rather wait a couple days to get a better handle on the forecast. Ah, I'll pack tomorrow and/or Tuesday night! I hate to freak out Kitty by pulling out a suitcase too early...she hates that!

I think that's about it for right now. Can't believe that we leave in 3 days!!!

 

[Dugette]

So, I've been thinking about how F&W is supposed to be so crazy busy on Saturday. And I was thinking that it would be nice to get more F&W booths in on Thursday so we didn't have so many to go to on Saturday. On a whim, I went to Disney's site and checked to see if we might be able to move our Chefs de France ADR from Thursday to Saturday. Exactly what we wanted came up: Saturday 11/13 at Noon (so still Remy-time). After a quick chat with Dug, we snatched it up and cancelled the other.

This is going to change my whole spreadsheet...

 

[A&Bmama]

I read this...

*I did our online check-in tonight. Strange thing: when I did our BCV ressie, it showed that the room type was club level! Shouldn't it say Studio?]

and got really excited that you might be getting club level!

Then I read this...

Because, really, what do we need less on this trip than access to free food at the resort? Plus, we are excited about the studio and the kitchenette. So, all's well.

and thought, you're right, it might be better if you weren't upgraded. That way you won't feel bad about being too full to properly enjoy your pixie dust.

I hate to freak out Kitty by pulling out a suitcase too early...she hates that!

I think my cat knows that when she sees those suitcases it means we are deserting her again. I feel so guilty for abandoning her for so long but but I think I would feel worse about never taking my family on a vacation because we have a pet, but still, the guilt persists.

 

[Dugette]

I think my cat knows that when she sees those suitcases it means we are deserting her again. I feel so guilty for abandoning her for so long but but I think I would feel worse about never taking my family on a vacation because we have a pet, but still, the guilt persists.

I would say that Kitty definitely knows what the suitcases mean. And she makes her opinion clear...she does not like it! She has been known to crawl into a suitcase and make herself comfy.

 

[jc040404]

This is going to change my whole spreadsheet...

I have a feeling you'll get it sorted out.

 

[A&Bmama]

Happy Disney Eve

I hope you were able to sort out that spreadsheet!

 

[Dugette]

I have a feeling you'll get it sorted out.

Happy Disney Eve

I hope you were able to sort out that spreadsheet!

Thanks! Surprisingly, I haven't had a chance to update the spreadsheet. We might have to wing it!

Small update coming up...

 

[Dugette]

We're partially packed. One more day of work. We leave tomorrow night!

The fluffiest member of our family already started her vacation tonight. Here's a video clip of the "big reveal":



Kitty saw Dug's giant pile of clothes and decided to make her displeasure known (by sitting on top of the pile):



Back to packing!