Double Double Disney Trouble - Two Moms of Multiples Makin' Magical Memories

[Kaykool101]

INTRODUCTIONS

Hello, this is my first ever attempt at a PTR or TR. In fact, I only recently discovered there was such a thing as a Trip Report. So I beg your patience with me and any faux pas I may make along the way.

I guess I will start by introducing myself. My name is Kristin and I am the Disney Trip Planner of the group. In fact, I am pretty much the only Disney obsessed member of the group. Not that my family isnt supportive, but I really have no one with whom to share my passion for planning Disney trips.

I love Disney Trips for several reasons. First, I think vacations are the best thing in the world. Even a bad vacation or a cheap vacation is better than none at all. At the end of my life, I am going to look back and remember the memories I made not the hours I worked. So I am a big one for vacations to start with. Then I am a strict Type A personality. So I need planning and structure like some people need air. I also do not believe a vacation where I go and sleep or sit around and read is a vacation. If I want to catch up on sleep or relax I can do that at home without spending money on a vacation. I believe a vacation should have entertainment, food, and experiences. Disney has all of this. And with a healthy (or not so healthy at times) dose of planning, I get to fantasize about the trip for months (and sometimes years) before I actually go. Not that seeing the Grand Canyon wouldnt be cool and all, but I just cant say the same thing about any other vacation. So I love Disney.

Heres a little about my love affair with Disney. When I was a kid, my dad traveled alot of the Southeast for work. For several years of my young life (5ish to 10ish) he traveled to Florida regularly. We would all pack up and go with him sometimes. We would get day passes from friends or relatives that worked at Disney or occasionally we would buy them. But we never really vacationed at Disney. We just visited the parks. And for several years we were Sea World season pass holders, so my young memories of Disney are really limited. And we pretty much only went to Epcot (I have no memories of Magic Kingdom).

After about 10, my dad changed territories and trips to Florida stopped. I never went back to Disney. I consider this one of the great sadnesses of my life, because I did not know about Disney, I missed discovering my passion until I was basically an adult. My next visit to Walt Disney World would not happen until 2008 for my first wedding anniversary. This was probably my first real trip to Walt Disney World. Sure I had visited the parks as a child. But this was a trip dedicated to going to Walt Disney World. Not a business trip with a day at the parks thrown in. It was all things Disney. And I had a blast. So much so, I then made it my mission to get my whole family back down to Disney World. My dream came true in September of 2011 and that is when I slowly started becoming obsessed with Disney World.

As you can see, being obsessed with Disney, does not get you there any more often. Our next trip is planned for September 14 -22, 2013.

My favorite Disney character is probably Belle, but I like any of the golden era princesses (Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Mulan) as well as Nala and Simba too (he is cutest as a cub). Also Lady and the Tramp. And I love elephants so Dumbo is up there too.
My favorite Disney attraction is Dinosaur. No really, I love the ride, I love the land. But I love anything with Dinosaurs.
My favorite Disney restaurant is Garden Grill.

So now that you know a little about me, it is time to meet my family. This photo is from our last trip in 2011. From left to right: Me, My Husband (Aaron), My mom (Nana), My dad (will not be on this trip), My grandma (will not be on this trip), My sister (Keara), and on the bottom you have my nephews Adam and Ben (a good bit older and bigger now).

First, I will introduce you to my DH, Aaron. Hes the tall one.

He is not so into Disney. In fact, he is not so into vacations. Sure, he enjoys them when he is on them, but getting him to agree to take one is no small feat. He is a brilliant farmer (yes farmer, but think more like farming management rather than working in the dirt) and he loves his job. Me? I am a typical office worker with a 9 to 5 and a commute. It isnt hard to pull me away from work, for him it is an act of congress.

I dont know his favorite Disney character, but I know his favorite movie is Beauty and the Beast, so just pick any character from that.
His favorite Disney attraction is Rock n Rollercoaster or Sum of All Thrills.
His favorite Disney restaurant is Jiko.

Together we live in Atlanta, Ga. Not so far from Disney, right? It might as well be a million miles for how often we go. But, as my mother says, that just makes it more special when we do get to go.

I guess I will introduce her next.

She is probably my best friend. I could not manage my life without her. She is currently residing with us and watching the kids while we are at work. So of course she will be going on the trip. She is the one who will humor me when I am dragging on for the 100th time about whether we should eat at Liberty Tree Tavern or Tonys Town Square.

Her favorite Disney character is Peter Pan, she fell in love when she was only 4.
Her favorite Disney attraction is Sum of All Thrills or Its a Small World
Her favorite Disney restaurant is: Le Chefs de France or Liberty Tree Tavern (Pot Roast at Lunch)

We got her to ride Tower of Terror last time and she screamed so loud and so long that at least 3 different people from the ride came up to her afterwards and told her that she was so funny and that they enjoyed the ride all that much more because she was there. Seriously, she screamed so loud she was the only one on the ride screaming, everyone else was just looking at her. A similar experience occurred on Expedition Everest. Oddly enough she enjoyed Rock n Roller Coaster (she still screamed). I wont make her go on any thrill rides this time, but if Disney ever gets those rumored ride videos going the I will have to get her on them a second time so everyone can see.

Next, I will introduce my sister. Probably the biggest ham of the group, definitely the wittiest.

She lives across the street with her two children. We are a pretty close family.

Her favorite Disney characters (I couldnt get her to pick just one) are Merida, Woody, Mulan, and Rapunzel.
Her favorite Disney ride is Sum of All Thrills (noticing a pattern?)
Her favorite Disney restaurant is Ohana.

And that is it for the adults. Now on to the Guests of Honor&

The Kids and the reason for my title.

My sister has one set of identical twin boys, age 4 when we go on the trip. And I have a set of fraternal twin boys, they will turn 1 about a week after we get back.

Here are my nephews, Adam and Ben&
Adam

Ben

They love Toy Story, Cars, and Disney Junior, in particular Jake, Doc McStuffins, Chuggington, Little Einsteins, and even Sophia. In fact, when they were in the Disney Store recently they asked their mom to buy them the Sophia dress for dress up (she would have done it, but that thing was like $40.00 and trust me you do not spend $40 on toys for twin preschool boys. They will break it, rip it, or shatter it within the hour). They love to play dress up. They have lots of different costumes like Peter Pan and Captain Hook or Buzz and Woody or even Iron Man. They like Marval a lot which we all just find weird. The cartoons and movies are too mature for them and they are not allowed to watch them. So all they know about them is whatever toys and marketing they see in stores really. But still, boys love their super heroes. (They also love Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but they arent Disney, so mom and Auntie Kris dont like them as much).

As I post pictures, I will try to do my best to tell you which one is which. But to be honest, I wont always know. Their mother swears up and down that she can tell them apart with just a glance (their Nana makes the same claim), I, however, cannot. If they are doing something that is classically one child vs. the other then I can tell them apart. For example, Adam hates wearing shoes, so if one is shoeless or taking his shoes off there is a good bet it is Adam. However, if that fails they have two physical differences. First, Ben has two crowns on his head, so if you are looking from behind you can use that. Also, the competing crowns make his hair more unruly, so if the hair is kind of sticking out or not laying right you can tell (when their hair is really short this doesnt help). Second, Ben fell down a single step as very small toddler. He was fine, but it knocked out his two bottom baby teeth and gave his mother a heart attack. So the missing teeth is the biggest give away.

Last but definitely not least are my two amazing and wonderful angels, Alex (left) and Bryan (right).

My boys are fraternal. And to me they look completely different. But because they are so little, a lot of people still confuse them and cant tell the difference. So, the biggest difference is their eye color. Alex has brown, and Bryan has blue. Next, is their size. Alex is a good bit bigger than Bryan.

Once people realize we have two sets of twins, the first thing they ask is if twins run in the family. The answer we give most people is, They do now. But the real answer is, no, they do not. Identical Twins, like my nephews, are a genuine fluke of nature that occurs fairly consistently across populations, ethnicities, and geographical locations. Fraternal twins run in families and occur more frequently within certain populations and ethnicities. However, fraternal twins are also more common with fertility treatments. And that is where I got mine. My nephews happened and were a COMPLETE surprise. My husband and I had IVF and went in knowing we had a better chance of having twins than a single baby.

My boys are IVF miracles. My husband had testicular cancer in 2008. We beat it and started trying to have a family. It took us 4 years, 1 ectopic pregnancy, 1 miscarriage, and 2 IVFs to get them here. They mean the world to me/us.

I cannot wait to get us all back to Disney. It is going to be my boys first visit and I am excited and scared to be taking to 1 year olds. I do not believe they will be too young, but I am concerned about naps. So we will see how it goes&

Table of Contents

Introductions
The Plan
The Itinerary
Some PreTrip Shopping
The Food! (YUM)
Table Service
The OoP Experiences
The Quick Service
Jake Update
Disney Store Shopping, Again
Too Much Italian???
Snack Time!!!
The Transportation
The Groceries
Packing
AK Touring Help Needed
Touring Plans
Arrival Day
Real Life Update
Day 1: Epcot
Day 2: Animal Kingdom
The Photopass Question
Disney Store Shopping Part 3?!?
Day 3: Magic KingdomFastpass+
Fastpass+ So Far
Day 1: Epcot w/ FP+

 

[Kaykool101]

THE PLAN
Are you still with me??? I tend to ramble so I really appreciate you sticking around. Now it is time for the fun stuff, the plan.

I have been working on this plan since June of 2012. My planning picked up speed in March when we confirmed our tax refund could cover the bulk of the expense.

The Dates: September 14 to 22
The dates for us were easy to pick. My sister works for the school and just randomly the school system has a unique “Fall Break” mid September every year. Since it is unusual, it is an off-peak season that she doesn’t have to take off work for. Also, Disney offers Free Dining in September.

The Resort: Art of Animation, Cars Suite
This was a lot harder to pick. In the past, we have stayed off site at vacation homes. We are a large group and Disney is expensive for large groups. So this is going to be our very first, on property, Disney Vacation.

We considered 2 rooms at the All Star, which was cheaper (~$600 cheaper). But I just couldn’t miss staying at the new resort when it was so close to our price range. I was watching and waiting for the free dining announcement. I emailed Dreams Unlimited the morning it was announced, and thank goodness I did. By that evening all the Cars Suites with Free Dining were booked. But we got one! After that I just couldn’t let the resort go. Yeah, it is out of budget. I am saving every penny to expand the budget. I have a plan and I think I am going to make it. My payment in full deadline is July 30th. If I am a couple hundred short going in to that week I think I will cry. I am hoping if we fall short that there will still be some Free Dining All Star rooms left to fall back on. But my saving plan is really good, so I think we are going to make it.

The Tickets: 8 Day Magic Your Way Base Tickets
I am not made of money or time. Getting two 4 year olds and two babies to one park is going to be a big enough challenge. I am not about to try my hand at Park Hopping.

I would have considered the water parks, but my kids are babies and my sister wasn’t comfortable with taking the 4 year olds to a water park yet. My husband and I have talked to Adam and Ben about doing it next time. So hopefully we will convince her to give in for the next trip. We are buying the exact days we need so there is no need to get No expiration.

I am getting 8 days instead of 9 because we have never stayed at a Disney resort before. So I figure exploring the resort will be entertainment enough the first day.

 

[DisMomJill]

Joining in

 

[Kaykool101]

Joining in

So glad to have you on board. I hope to make this a fun trip for everyone!

 

[Kaykool101]

Arrival Day: Resort Check-in, exploration, and pooltime
Day 1: Epcot
Day 2: Animal Kingdom
Day 3: Magic Kingdom
Day 4: Hollywood Studios
Day 5: Magic Kingdom
Day 6: Epcot
Day 7: Hollywood Studios
Departure Day: Wildcard – we will revisit the park of our choosing to ride anything we missed or need to ride again.

It looks so simple and unassuming. Like it just makes sense. When really that simple little itinerary is a labor of more than a year of love. Looks perfect, right?

As I mentioned before, we are only doing the base tickets, so no park hopping for us. I do have a scheduled naptime most days (all except two). We will see how that goes. Last time I had a hard time convincing everyone to pack up and leave the park only to return a few hours later.

Has anyone done this? I am budgeting 3 hours before returning to the parks. Is that enough time to get a 2 hour nap?

 

[DisMomJill]

As I mentioned before, we are only doing the base tickets, so no park hopping for us. I do have a scheduled naptime most days (all except two). We will see how that goes. Last time I had a hard time convincing everyone to pack up and leave the park only to return a few hours later.

Has anyone done this? I am budgeting 3 hours before returning to the parks. Is that enough time to get a 2 hour nap?

We attempted taking a nap break in the afternoon when we went two years ago. But DD takes FOREVER to settle down to go to sleep, so it didn't work for us. The only nap she took during our week-long stay was in the stroller. I'm not planning to do take resort breaks this time, but hopefully DD will take at least a couple of naps in the stroller. So I think it depends on the kids. If they settle quickly, they might get a decent nap in.

 

[indimom]

Oh, I am soooo in. This looks like a fun trip report! I can't wait to read about your vacation with all those adorable little guys! I bet your mother just loves living that close to her grandbabies. And, I bet you get a ton of attention/pixie dust from characters and cast members with all those cuties.

I couldn't tell the difference between your sister's boys, but you chose a good picture of your little ones, I caught the eye color difference right away. (Make sure every picture in your trip report highlights their eye color so we can tell them apart, ok? That won't be hard, will it? )

I think you made a great resort choice. Sometimes it's worth spending a little more, and that resort will be so fun for a group of little guys! We've stayed at Pop Century on our last two trips, and they had just started construction on AoA during our last trip in 2010 (we're another family who doesn't get to Disney as often as we would like). It looks like a fabulous resort, and I hope we can visit on our arrival day. The Cars section looks so cool!

We did naps on our first trip to Disney and stayed at Pop Century (which is right next door to AoA). We also took time to swim and I would guess we were out of the parks 4 hours. So, 3 hours without a swim sounds about right. We had no issues getting our two to settle down. They were tired, one. But, they were also a bit older and could understand when we told them "If you don't lay quietly and rest, we aren't going back to the parks this afternoon." ha ha. We are such mean parents. It certainly helped our little group get along well during the trip. But, if it doesn't work with your little ones after the first day or so, don't hesitate to try the "nap in a stroller" idea. It seems to work for a lot of parents of the Dis.

Good Luck with your plans!

Can't wait to hear more between now and September. The planning is half the fun! (I have to include two, ya know?)

 

[Mommy2BnB]

Joining in! I can't wait to read all about your trip. Wow, 2 sets of twins under the age of 5! Good thing your mother is going with you. I think if you take things slowly and don't expect to see and do everything you will have a great trip. I would think 3-4 hours out of the park to rest is about right, too.

 

[Kaykool101]

We attempted taking a nap break in the afternoon when we went two years ago. But DD takes FOREVER to settle down to go to sleep, so it didn't work for us. The only nap she took during our week-long stay was in the stroller. I'm not planning to do take resort breaks this time, but hopefully DD will take at least a couple of naps in the stroller. So I think it depends on the kids. If they settle quickly, they might get a decent nap in.

And I guess this is one of the drawbacks of having two. Alex is my trooper. He will sleep anywhere when he gets tired. And he stays pretty happy until he falls asleep. Bryan on the other hand is much more particular. He gets tired quicker and gets fussy. We had them out at the fair the other day and Bryan would not sleep in his stroller. My husband had to sway him to sleep. Then, when he tried to put him down he woke up and fussed. So we had to repeat the whole settling him down and putting him to sleep process a few times. If it was just Alex, I think we would just push on through. But Bryan likes his bed.

We use a noise maker in their bedroom, so I am thinking about bringing a battery powered one to put in the stroller. If that works we might be able to stay out all day. I don't know if it is the bed or the soothing sounds. Maybe I should experiment next time I am out.

Oh, I am soooo in. This looks like a fun trip report! I can't wait to read about your vacation with all those adorable little guys! I bet your mother just loves living that close to her grandbabies. And, I bet you get a ton of attention/pixie dust from characters and cast members with all those cuties.

I couldn't tell the difference between your sister's boys, but you chose a good picture of your little ones, I caught the eye color difference right away. (Make sure every picture in your trip report highlights their eye color so we can tell them apart, ok? That won't be hard, will it? )

I think you made a great resort choice. Sometimes it's worth spending a little more, and that resort will be so fun for a group of little guys! We've stayed at Pop Century on our last two trips, and they had just started construction on AoA during our last trip in 2010 (we're another family who doesn't get to Disney as often as we would like). It looks like a fabulous resort, and I hope we can visit on our arrival day. The Cars section looks so cool!

We did naps on our first trip to Disney and stayed at Pop Century (which is right next door to AoA). We also took time to swim and I would guess we were out of the parks 4 hours. So, 3 hours without a swim sounds about right. We had no issues getting our two to settle down. They were tired, one. But, they were also a bit older and could understand when we told them "If you don't lay quietly and rest, we aren't going back to the parks this afternoon." ha ha. We are such mean parents. It certainly helped our little group get along well during the trip. But, if it doesn't work with your little ones after the first day or so, don't hesitate to try the "nap in a stroller" idea. It seems to work for a lot of parents of the Dis.

Good Luck with your plans!

Can't wait to hear more between now and September. The planning is half the fun! (I have to include two, ya know?)

Thanks so much for joining in!

My mom is crazy about her grandkids! But there are drawbacks too. She watches both of my boys and both of my sister's kids too. So it is a handful. Originally, we had a Nanny watching our 2, but my mom got real frustrated with her and so we let her go and now she watches all four. So it isn't like we just dumped all the grand babies on her or anything. lol

The boys LOVE cars. So I think they will flip over the resort. We were going to go walk around regardless of where we stayed but I really wanted to do this for them.

Thanks for letting me know about the time you allotted for naps. I think I might need to expand it to 4 hour hours. Because I figure the 4 year olds will want to swim some. hmm.

Joining in! I can't wait to read all about your trip. Wow, 2 sets of twins under the age of 5! Good thing your mother is going with you. I think if you take things slowly and don't expect to see and do everything you will have a great trip. I would think 3-4 hours out of the park to rest is about right, too.

Thanks for joining. "Wow, 2 sets of twins under the age of 5!" <--When I read that I died laughing, when you say it like that we sound insane!

I tend to be a bit of a commando when it comes to the parks. And when it was just my nephews last time (2 years old) we still got a good bit done. I do not think I have appropriately adjusted my expectations for this trip though. So, sincerely, thank you for reminding me to take it slow, I will need to be reminded alot. I will be working on my touring plans in the near future and I think I might need to cut back on the number of attractions.

 

[Kaykool101]

I couldn't tell the difference between your sister's boys,

Oh, I wasn't 100% certain I had them right either. I had to double check with my mom. When they were babies, my sister generally dressed Ben in Blue. So based on the blue jacket and the slightly messed up hair, I labeled the first one Ben. Mom later confirmed I was correct.

I will try to do my best to let you know who is who when I post pics.

 

[Kaykool101]

I had a very busy weekend...spending money.

Pay day is a double edged sword. I pay all my bills and then there is that little bit left over. And I know I should save it for a rainy day, but I just never seem to be able to help myself.

Vinylmation was on sale for 3.00/ea. at the Disney store, so really it wasn't my fault, right?

Here's what I got:

I have never bought vinylmation before. At 12.00 each it is too rich for me to have a collection, but at 3.00 that is much more reasonable. I don't care for the ones I got, but I figure that isn't the point. I will just trade them for ones I like better when we go to Disney.

We do pin trading and those are expensive too. My sister talked me into it last trip. It was so much fun. And several hundreds of dollars later we have a nice collection. But the problem is, you buy stuff you like, then you don't have anything to trade. So we have been keeping a sharp eye out for deals on pins and pick up reasonably priced ones. I bought a Jungle Book set of 3 at a thrift store the other day. I will update with a pic when I get home.

I figure why not do the same with vinylmation.

I also talked myself into some clearance items at the Disney Store.

The clearance items coordinate with the swim trunks, rash guards, and hats I bought my boys earlier this year.

Since we have twins, we buy most of their stuff second hand. So I can honestly say, even though the swim outfits were on sale, they are the single most expensive thing I have ever bought them to wear. And somehow the outfits just keep costing me money.

They were the reason I was in the Disney Store this weekend to begin with. I originally bought Bryan a smaller swim trunk than Alex. But after having it on him, I was worried he would out grow it by September. I didn't spend all this money so he couldn't wear them at Disney World. So we went there to exchange them for a larger size.

I also talked myself into these Mickey Mouse shirt and short sets for the older boys.

Quick someone get me out of here!

The next thing I bought was Jake and the Neverland Pirate shirts for all four boys.

Here I got Alex to model for me

They were on clearance at Target (thank goodness, we left the Disney Store). At 5.00/each they weren't a run away steal or anything, but you would be amazed how hard it is to get the same shirt in the same size for just 2 of the boys. So for them to have two 12 months and two 4Ts was just amazing. (Also, I think anything everything seemed more reasonable after the bill I racked up at the Disney Store).

In my dreams, they will all four match every day, and the shirts will coordinate with the plans for the day. For example, they will wear the Jake shirts to Hollywood and Vine character breakfast. In reality I doubt I will make that goal. But I figure it is worth a try.

 

[Mommy2BnB]

Cute clothes! I like all of the outfits you bought. Yes in my dreams, my children would be appropriately and expensively attired for every park and event also, but ..... Maybe one day.

 

[indimom]

Just remember, someday those four boys probably will balk at dressing alike confused3 I don't pretend to understand that stubborn teenage mind set, but it happens), so you really HAVE TO invest in all the cute matching Disney gear while you can, right??

Why, yes, you do.

 

[Kaykool101]

Cute clothes! I like all of the outfits you bought. Yes in my dreams, my children would be appropriately and expensively attired for every park and event also, but ..... Maybe one day.

Yeah, I frequently love to think about what my Disney trip would be like if I won the lottery. Grand villa here we come! Now that would be an interesting trip report.

Just remember, someday those four boys probably will balk at dressing alike confused3 I don't pretend to understand that stubborn teenage mind set, but it happens), so you really HAVE TO invest in all the cute matching Disney gear while you can, right??

Why, yes, you do.

Yeah, my nephews are just starting to pick out their own clothes, and Keara does everything she can to encourage them to wear things that at least coordinate.

Keara made sure her boys always matched or coordinated. When I found out I was pregnant with fraternal twins, I was like, "Oh, they don't need to match." Well, it turns out I am mildly OCD. And putting them in things that are completely different just drove me nuts. So we pretty much buy everything in sets of two. I think the most frustrating thing is when I see something cute that I want that there is only one of. I have a friend and I keep buying her kid clothes and she tells me to stop. But I am like, "I just can't pass up on it and my kids can't wear it."

 

[Kaykool101]

Now comes the best part. The food plan. That’s right, where and what are we eating.

The Disney Dining Plan: 1TS, 1QS, and 1 snack per person per day

On our last trip we did this weird thing where 4 of the 6 adults had a DxDP. (It was all on the up and up, just a little odd and long and complicated to explain.) And boy did I try to get us the DxDP this time. I really did. I had 24 credits worth of TS picked out and ready to go. So when 2013 Dining Prices came out last year and I saw the price tag, I was a little disappointed. But I couldn’t show it. I kind of have to sell Disney Trips to my family. And I had to get them happy with a regular dining plan or they would just put it off another year and hope we have more money.

So after a big song and dance about how awesome QS restaurants are, my family bought into a regular dining plan. Thank goodness BOG has QS lunch. I just kept hammering in that point to make sound all fun and exciting. Other selling points included:

1. We would have more time for attractions. Last trip our quickest TS was 1.5 hours, most were about 2 hours, and some as long as 2.5. When you do that 3 times a day, pretty much all you are doing is eating. Which made us happy, but I kept pointing out the boys weren’t going to sit so nicely through 2 hour meals now that they are 4.

2. Less money in tips. Seriously, if you are thinking about a DxDP, be sure to budget for gratuity. As a party of 8, it was automatically added at every restaurant we went to. And 18% of drinks, appetizers, entrees, and desserts at Disney prices really adds up. Especially, when you are doing it 3 times a day. I can remember at one meal signing the credit card slip for the meal and my mom looking over my shoulder and saying, “I thought the plan covered the meal.” I said, “It does, this is just the tip.” Her jaw dropped. She thought the tip alone was the cost of the meal.

3. The children’s Quick Service meals are more flexible than Table Service meals. So basically, the 4 year olds were only 2 years old last trip, so they didn’t have a plan and just ate off our plates. This time, we would have to pay for them to have a DxDP, but they aren’t really going to eat anything different at a TS restaurant than they would at a QS. So it is just a waste of money. I don’t fully believe this, but it is true enough. They eat chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese. They will eat that at a TS or a QS it makes no difference to them. The other part of this is that they still frequently split meals. So they can share kid’s meals. What does this mean for us? Well, it means we can take that unused QS credit and go get a Turkey Leg to split between us. A treat we enjoy but would never pay for.

So here we are. On the DDP for the first time. Even when we were little, we did not eat at the QS restaurants. My parents firmly believed it was better just to go to a sit-down place and be waited on and that the sit down meals were larger so we could share and basically get the same amount of food for the same price. It was probably true back then, but I don’t think it is now. I think TS has gotten so expensive, that QS is genuinely cheaper.

Next post I will talk about the Table Service Selections.

 

[Kaykool101]

My original list of restaurants included 6 signature dining locations. So when we pared back to the DDP those were the first to be chopped off the list. Then I went to work trying to balance a selection of old favorites and new experiences. After many months, I have distilled the group down to the following TS locations:

Garden Grill
Ben (I think) kissing Pluto at Garden Grill

Adam (I think) and Chip at Garden Grill

For our family this one is kind of a “duh”. When we were little, we did day trips. And we almost always went to Epcot, and we almost always went to “The Land” as my dad called it. Seriously, he did not realize that “The Land” was the name of the pavilion and that the restaurant had a different name. He thought the sign out front was for the restaurant. This is really the only restaurant I remember from my childhood at Disney. I vaguely recall eating at Sci Fi Dine in and 50s Prime Time. But I think we only did each of those once. We got pictures in front of the “restaurant’s sign” every time we went and he always made such a big deal out of it. Keara and I were just enchanted with the fact the restaurant rotated and we could see the Listen to the Land attraction below. There weren’t characters, and truthfully, it would still be a must do for us if there weren’t characters there today, but they are a welcomed bonus.

Ohana – I think I will call this one the “New” family favorite. My sister use to live in Orlando. As I mentioned in a previous post, as children we were season pass holders for Sea World. And Keara loved the whales. She loved them so much, she wanted to grow up and become a trainer. This career goal lasted all through college and after graduation, she moved to Orlando and interned at Sea World. She worked in Education and was on a very long and difficult track to become a whale trainer. After about 18 months, becoming a whale trainer was no longer a career goal. After her time in Orlando, I seriously have new respect for those animal trainers. They work really hard. It takes a long time to get there. And this was the clincher, once they reach the height of their career, they make very little money. The people that actually make it to trainer are incredibly dedicated and amazing people. But it is not a job that is for everyone. And so my sister decided it wasn’t for her, moved home, and went back to school. What does this have to do with Ohana?

When I started planning our last Disney Trip, Keara just kept telling me, she wanted to go back to the restaurant where she could eat with the animals. To which I would respond, “Keara, the only restaurant with animals was not there when you were there (Saana). Keara: “And they put on a Hawaiian show.” Me: “You mean the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show”, Keara: “Does that have animals?” Me: “I don’t think so.” Keara: “No there were animals outside the big windows.” Me: “You mean you saw them outside the resort on your way to the buffet (Boma).” Keara: “No, I could sit at my table and see the animals.” Well, not to bore you further, but we had numerous conversations, and ultimately I think she mentioned the food came around on skewers and so I researched until I found Ohana. I booked a reservation because the food was Hawaiian and served on skewers and I figured this was close enough. Turns out I got it right. It was the right restaurant. Unfortunately, our reservations were for after dark and we couldn’t see outside. So I wasn’t able to prove to her there are no animals.

Everyone, except my DH, loved it. It wasn’t that Aaron didn’t like it. But he doesn’t eat pork or shellfish so there were a few too many items that he couldn’t have.

Tusker House Lunch – This is a first for Mom, Keara, and the Boys. My husband and I went here on our anniversary trip, before it was a character meal. We just weren’t impressed, so we didn’t do it on our last trip. I am not a big buffet person. We are pretty much going to this meal for the characters.

When I started looking at Animal Kingdom TS, there is basically only Yak & Yeti and Tusker House. We all loved Yak & Yeti. And every now and then I can’t help but wonder why we are going to Tusker House instead. But ultimately it comes down to the kids. Yak & Yeti is great for the adults, but the kids won’t have any entertainment. Whereas, Tusker House has Daisy.

Hollywood and Vine Breakfast –
Adam making sure Minnie gives herself a kiss at Hollywood & Vine

Ben hugging Agent Oso at Hollywood & Vine

On our last trip, Hollywood & Vine was how I earned my Disney Trip Planning SuperStar award. So prior to going, I asked Keara if the boys wanted to Dine with the Little Einsteins or Agent Oso etc. Keara insisted they weren’t that into those characters, and that we should just give it a miss. After all the reviews are terrible. Despite her telling me to drop it, I kept the reservation. Then we had our first day at Hollywood Studios and the boys went crazy over the Little Einsteins meet n greet. So Keara went to get reservations to eat at Hollywood & Vine on our next day at the Studios. To her surprise, there were none available. So when she found out I still had reservations for it, she nearly cried. Yep, the boys LOVED Hollywood and Vine.

I should also mention last trip we did at least 4 breakfast buffets and of all of them, Hollywood and Vine was my favorite. They were all very similar in the type of food they served, but the food was freshest and hottest at Hollywood and Vine. Maybe we just got them on a good day. But this was the only buffet I didn’t hate the entire trip.

The Crystal Palace Lunch –
Adam (I think) checking out Pooh at Crystal Palace

Ben giving Tigger an Eskimo kiss at Crystal Palace

Last trip this was one of the breakfast buffets we did and our first dining experience on our first day. So we have an insane number of pictures and video from this restaurant, because we were all full of energy and ready to go with our cameras. These are some of my favorite pictures. So despite the fact I was not a fan of the food, we are going here again.

This was the last restaurant to get added to the list. Originally, we were going to go to Liberty Tree Tavern which was a favorite from the last trip. Or should I say, a favorite for everyone but me. I hated it. Based entirely on the food, it was probably my least favorite. As much as I try to plan these trips so that everyone gets to do what they want. I really try to be democratic about things like rides and meal selections. My DH is, after all, going back to Ohana. I just couldn’t bring myself to go back there. I am justifying the change by telling myself the kids will like Crystal Palace better because it has characters. Also, my boy’s play room is done in a Winnie the Pooh theme, so I have all these Winnie the Pooh frames begging for pictures of my boys with the bear himself.

Tony’s Town Square - In hind sight, I shouldn’t have listed this one right after the Crystal Palace. This is my other selfish one. Hey, doing all this work planning has to have a few perks. I scarified Biergarten for this. We have never been to Biergarten. Everyone wants to try it (except my DH, he is worried about it being pork heavy). But when we were doing cost break downs, it kept bothering me that it was only 20.99 for lunch. I don’t want to spend a 30.00+ credit on and 21.00 lunch. Now granted, we are getting free dining, so it really isn’t a 30.00 credit, but I just couldn’t get there. Meanwhile, I was having trouble getting Tony’s Town Square into the 8 TS credits.

For whatever reason, my family was just “meh” with Tony’s Town Square. My husband liked it pretty well, but I think that is because I LOVE it. I don’t know why, but this place just enchants me. Mom says it is because I like Lady and the Tramp. But it isn’t like that is my favorite Disney movie of all time or anything. And it isn’t like they have a cocker spaniel and terrier out front doing meet and greets. (Incidentally, I would love for Disney to do a Lady and the Tramp meet n greet with real dogs. I know, I know, the liability would be insane, but getting my picture with Lady and the Tramp would be the treat of a lifetime.) But its just charming and romantic and feels so different from any other restaurant on property. Both times I have been there it felt like I had left the theme park crowds and really entered the story. But that might just be me.

So, since I couldn’t cancel this reservation, no matter how hard I tried, I cancelled Biergarten instead. And before you think I am just awful for picking my restaurant over the majority vote I want to point out that our two days in Epcot only really allows for 4 meals in Epcot. So by cancelling Biergarten we were able to pick up a QS in the World Showcase that my husband wants to try. And if you have noticed how many times I have mentioned he doesn’t care for the restaurants we have picked, you will agree it was his turn to get to try something he wants.

Chefs de France –
Ben (left) and Adam (right) meeting Remy at Le Chefs de France

When I was planning the last trip. I would sit and read menus to my mom. I think I have read her every menu on property. She likes all of them and generally says nice things and that she would give it a try, etc. However, when I read her Le Chefs de France, she said, “I want to eat there.” She picked this restaurant last trip and it did not disappoint. Well, it did me. This is another one I am not so crazy about. I just don’t like French food. But everyone else, even my husband loved it. So its on the list. We are doing and early dinner, so we can order off the dinner menu and still see Remy. He was cute last time. I couldn’t really hear the handler or anything, but still it is a cute show. The boys knew who he was last trip, but they were too tired to get really excited.

Mama Melrose (Fantasmic Dinner Package) – Remember those “new” experiences I mentioned. Yeah, we had a list of them, Biergarten, Olivia’s, Boatwrights, Via Napolie, Citricos, Il Mulinos, Turf Club Bar and Grill, Ragland Road, and more. That we wanted to try. But with so many favorites, our New Experiences have been distilled down to Mama Melrose. I tried for a long time to manage a 50/50 split of new and favs, but… I don’t have a good excuse, this is just what we ended up with.

I am not crazy about Italian. And of the Italian restaurants I wanted to try, this wasn’t on the top of my list. But in an effort to force ourselves to try new places, we ruled out 50s Prime Time early on. It was TS we enjoyed, but we didn’t feel the need to do it every trip. And Aaron and I have done Sci Fi Dine on both of our last 2 trips and neither wanted to do that again. Brown Derby was too expensive at two TS credits. So that leaves Mama Melrose for TS in HS. Yeah, we could cancel it and do another TS somewhere else. But I try to schedule TS meals so that we get off our feet and get some air conditioning. And this fills a need. I made it a Fantasmic Dinner Package because that way we get appetizers for the same TS credit. Win-Win, right?

Those are the locations we are using our 8 TS credits on. But since we have done all of them before, except for Mama Melrose, I have worked in some Out of Pocket (OoP) experiences. I will cover the OoP experiences in another post.

Until next time…

 

[Mommy2BnB]

Your dining plan sounds great. You seem to have a good mix of restaurants. Unfortunately we didn't do the dining plan on our first/only trip (lesson learned) and so I can't wait to read about your experiences and impressions of each one.

 

[Kaykool101]

Your dining plan sounds great. You seem to have a good mix of restaurants. Unfortunately we didn't do the dining plan on our first/only trip (lesson learned) and so I can't wait to read about your experiences and impressions of each one.

Personally, I recommend a Dining Plan. I know it gets alot of mixed reviews, and from a value standpoint it is so close to break even that it is a savings for some and not for others. But for us, it really isn't about the money, it is more the experience.

Even at home, we like to go out to eat (probably more than we should), so we are always conscious of the cost. We drink water, share entrees, skip appetizers and desserts, etc. And could we go to Disney World, follow the same guidelines and spend less money than we do with the Dining Plan, yeah we could. But that is what we do at home. So we don't want to do it at Disney World too. It is part of our vacation that we get to eat without worrying about the price tag.

With how expensive the AYCE experiences and the price of an entree have gotten in Disney World. If we had to pay with cash or even a gift card. No one in my group could stomach doing more than ordering water, splitting an appetizer and maybe 1 entree or dessert to share too. I don't think we could stomach going to a single buffet. I would make the reservation, we would budget the money, but when it came time to part with it, we wouldn't be able to do it. Not and enjoy our meal. My mom can literally get sick if we go eat somewhere expensive. We are kind of deal seekers. So by burring the dining cost in the overall trip expense, we have a better time.

 

[Mommy2BnB]

It is part of our vacation that we get to eat without worrying about the price tag.

So by burring the dining cost in the overall trip expense, we have a better time.

Exactly. This was our problem. I knew going in the food costs would be higher at DW, but it was still sticker shock for us. And we LOVE to eat out. It is a treat for us, but the cost made is soooo less enjoyable, and we even skipped a few meals and went off property to offset the cost. But by doing that we missed out on the great character meal experiences. So, as I said, lesson learned.

 

[indimom]

Personally, I recommend a Dining Plan. I know it gets alot of mixed reviews, and from a value standpoint it is so close to break even that it is a savings for some and not for others. But for us, it really isn't about the money, it is more the experience.

Even at home, we like to go out to eat (probably more than we should), so we are always conscious of the cost. We drink water, share entrees, skip appetizers and desserts, etc. And could we go to Disney World, follow the same guidelines and spend less money than we do with the Dining Plan, yeah we could. But that is what we do at home. So we don't want to do it at Disney World too. It is part of our vacation that we get to eat without worrying about the price tag.

With how expensive the AYCE experiences and the price of an entree have gotten in Disney World. If we had to pay with cash or even a gift card. No one in my group could stomach doing more than ordering water, splitting an appetizer and maybe 1 entree or dessert to share too. I don't think we could stomach going to a single buffet. I would make the reservation, we would budget the money, but when it came time to part with it, we wouldn't be able to do it. Not and enjoy our meal. My mom can literally get sick if we go eat somewhere expensive. We are kind of deal seekers. So by burring the dining cost in the overall trip expense, we have a better time.

That's a good way to describe it. We did the dining plan on our first trip and it was an amazing experience and we never grumped or grumbled over a penny of the "package price." But if we had been looking at meal prices, one at a time, day after day, for ten days, I know it would have gotten to us. And we would have ended up sharing meals or skipping apps we wanted to try or desserts for the kids, just so it wouldn't feel so painful. When it's one lump sum, paid for in advance, it just didn't feel that painful. Then we could enjoy our food, guilt free.
On our second trip, we didn't feel like we could budget for that over a two week trip with four Disney adults, so we paid OOP, and did exactly what I predicted. Nickle and dimed ourselves. It wasn't a bad time, but it just wasn't the same as that first trip.