For the First Time in Forever...we finally get to go back!! a pre trip report

[AprilRenee]

Hi and welcome to my first pre trip report! We are so excited to take our first trip as a family of 3! DH and I have been to Disney World 3 times previously and LOVED it. We can't WAIT to take our little Disney loving toddler! He'll be 2 yrs and 9 months and we're thinking it'll be a perfect time to take him!


I'm April, I'm 27 and love all things Disney. My currently obsession is Frozen! Wow! Loved it!
I teach musical theater to kids ages 5-18 and direct 1-2 musicals a year. I adore my job and love that it's part time so I am able to still be a stay at home mommy to my favorite boy!

Some Disney Favorites:
Favorite character: Belle
Favorite movie: Beauty and the Beast (followed closely by Tangled and Frozen!)
Favorite rides: Soarin' and Mickey's Philharmagic



This is my husband Andrew
He also works in theater, but on the technical side. He is currently working at an event company but theater is where his heart is.

His favorite character: Genie
Favorite movie: Frozen
Favorite ride: Toy Story Mania



And this is our not-so-baby-anymore toddler, Caden. He's 21 months now (pic is from oct when he was 18 months) and will be 33 months (2yrs 9months) when we go.

His favorite character: Mickey Mouse
Favorite Disney Jr show: Special Agent Oso
Predicted favorite ride: Dumbo (he loves carousels and going around in circles and he LOVES buttons and levers so controlling the up and down motion will probably be a big hit!)

The Dates
We're planning on going Jan 5th thru 10th (2015). We've gone this week once before and it was our favorite time of year that we've tried yet. It also should overlap the end of my Christmas break at work so I won't need to find too many subs. Currently there's another life change in the air so depending on how things end up we may be limited on the dates we choose. But unless things change, Jan 5-10 is our plan!

Where We'll Stay
I keep pricing out Port Orleans Riverside...or Caribbean Beach Resort...(I would LOVE to stay somewhere with water) but every time I just keep coming back to Pop Century. We just love it there!! And I'm scared to try somewhere more expensive and different. We know we love POP and I'm nervous that I would pay the moderate rate and just wish we had stayed at POP. So unless we get some crazy deal that makes a moderate cheaper, I think POP shall be our home for a week.

Deals
Speaking of deals, I've gotten a pin code in the mail for Free Dining for this Jan (2014). I gotten several others as well throughout the year. (Apparently when you go 3 yrs in a row and then stop, they get desperate to get you back! lol) I'm hoping that this means we'll get a PIN code for next Jan too. So currently I'm kinda planning on Free Dining. We love the dining plan (even though I know it's probably not really that big of a savings) but when it's free it's better than nothing and we love trying out new restaurants and food. And we probably just wouldn't do it if we were paying out of pocket.

Dining
Currently we're thinking we'll have 5 days of DDP so that's 5 TS credits
Places on the wish list:
Chef Mickey's
Boma (our favorite!)
Cinderella's Royal Table (may pay OOP...not sure. We may just skip it. This one is more for me than for Caden...just thinking maybe I should get it in before he gets old enough to veto a princess meal)

On the maybe list:
Ohana
Tepan Edo
Whispering Canyon Cafe

We've done Boma and Whispering Canyon Cafe before but we really loved both and would like to share them with Caden. He's really good at restaurants and a pretty adventurous eater (right now at least) so we're feeling like he'd be fine at any of these restaurants especially with another year of maturity.

We also really want to check out BOG but we'll probably just hit it for lunch cause we don't really want to use a dining credit on it.
I'd also really like to try out Earl of Sandwich....but we love Wolfgang Puck Express and it always wins when we're at DTD. So we'll see!

 

[anniebabymu]

Following along! Excited to hear all about it!!

 

[Dugette]

Here! I'll come back to comment later when I have time...

 

[Dugette]

Okay, I'm back! So glad you started your PTR!

As far as resorts, I know what you mean about wanting to be near water, but also loving Pop. Maybe try to get a lake view room at Pop as a compromise? I remember walking around our building in 2011, I think, and there were some very nice lake views on the back side of it. Plus, you could walk across the bridge to check out/dine at Art of Animation too. And I'm thinking that Caden would get a kick out of the decor at Pop (and AoA) at that age!

So, this free dining code you got, does it include the quick-service or regular dining plan when staying at Pop? I'm thinking it's usually the quick-service. If so, you may need to pay the difference to upgrade (if it's worth it).

I'm thinking it's too early for this now, but sometimes the PINs include more dates than they list. When we booked our 2011 trip, I had a PIN that did not say it included the dates we wanted, but when we called, we found out that it did. So, keep that in mind, if needed.

Dining sounds good. Which meals (breakfast/lunch/dinner) are you thinking of at each place?

That's great that Caden is good at dining out...I hope it keeps up!

If they are still doing the Be Our Guest lunch Fast Pass+, make sure to do it. I never, ever would have waited in the line we saw there - and that was just the "early" people!

Maybe go to Wolfgang Puck's, but stop by Earl of Sandwich and grab one to go for a snack later?

 

[wiigirl]

Following along!

 

[AprilRenee]

Okay, I'm back! So glad you started your PTR!

As far as resorts, I know what you mean about wanting to be near water, but also loving Pop. Maybe try to get a lake view room at Pop as a compromise? I remember walking around our building in 2011, I think, and there were some very nice lake views on the back side of it. Plus, you could walk across the bridge to check out/dine at Art of Animation too. And I'm thinking that Caden would get a kick out of the decor at Pop (and AoA) at that age!

Yeah that's true...and we will DEFINITELY be going over to AoA to check it out!! I'm thinking our arrival day we will skip a park and just get settled (subject to change) and I think that's when we'll go check out AoA. I'm super excited to see it!

So, this free dining code you got, does it include the quick-service or regular dining plan when staying at Pop? I'm thinking it's usually the quick-service. If so, you may need to pay the difference to upgrade (if it's worth it).

Yes, it's quick service. I've already budgeted in the upgrade difference. It's about $190 to upgrade for 5 nights but it was going to be about $500 to move to a moderate instead. I'd rather save the $300...especially since I'm not totally sold on the moderate and just wanna go to Pop. LOL

I'm thinking it's too early for this now, but sometimes the PINs include more dates than they list. When we booked our 2011 trip, I had a PIN that did not say it included the dates we wanted, but when we called, we found out that it did. So, keep that in mind, if needed.

Oh! good to know! I'm planning on just calling once I'm ready to book and asking about a pin. I'm pretty confident I'll have one attached to my name. LOL (We've seriously gotten a mailing with a new pin code every 3-6 months for the last year and a half)

Dining sounds good. Which meals (breakfast/lunch/dinner) are you thinking of at each place?

I'm thinking probably most of them will be dinner. Just cause we liked that the best when we went on our babymoon (first time we did any sit down meals) The lunch meals we did left us feeling stuffed and groggy for the rest of the day. And honestly, Andrew and I both skip lunch often so eating a big meal in the middle of the day is out of our normal eating patterns.
And it's gonna be hard enough for us to make it to rope drop so I'm not even gonna pretend we can make it anywhere for breakfast beforehand LOL!

That's great that Caden is good at dining out...I hope it keeps up!

me too!!

If they are still doing the Be Our Guest lunch Fast Pass+, make sure to do it. I never, ever would have waited in the line we saw there - and that was just the "early" people!

DEFINITELY!!! If we don't get it my plan is to hit lunch toward the end of the time. I've heard the line isn't too terrible at that point?? It might be a lie though. haha

Maybe go to Wolfgang Puck's, but stop by Earl of Sandwich and grab one to go for a snack later?

 

[AprilRenee]

Following along! Excited to hear all about it!!

Welcome!!

Following along!

Welcome!!

 

[AprilRenee]

Some random thoughts...

I wonder if we should do the Hollywood and Vine breakfast/lunch...Caden LOVES Disney Jr. and would love to meet those characters I think (stinks that Special Agent Oso is gone..that's his favorite right now) But I wonder if he'll still be really into Disney Jr in another year. I'm guessing he will. hmmm....
But I think I might just rather wait in line to see Jake....

I'm also wondering if we'll change our park priorities...
I was originally thinking we'd do 1 day at each park and 1 day to hit some favorites...but I'm wondering how much time we'll actually want to spend at AK and HS.

At HS I think we'll hit
TSM (once at rope drop and once with FP+)
Disney Jr Show
Little Mermaid Show
Great Movie Ride
and meet some characters (buzz and woody, Jake, Sofia maybe)

If I'm not pregnant, I want to ride Star Tours, but DH is pretty sure it will make him sick. On that note...I might want to hit Rockin Roller Coaster too... but that DEFINITELY makes Andrew sick. We tried that...it was bad

At AK I think we'll do...
Safari
Festival of the Lion King
and
Rafiki's Planet Watch
Maybe Nemo?

I think Nemo might be too much for him to sit through but maybe not. And we can see all the animals at our local zoo. The STL zoo is one of the best zoos in the world so AK's zoo aspects aren't really a draw for us.

So I'm thinking HS will be a Rope drop til naptime park (9-1:30/2) and AK might just be an afternoon park. Maybe hit rope drop at MK and then hop to AK before dinner at Boma? I'd have to catch a late closing day at AK or skip Caden's nap that day for that to work Maybe I should re-think that plan...

 

[anniebabymu]

Some random thoughts...

I wonder if we should do the Hollywood and Vine breakfast/lunch...Caden LOVES Disney Jr. and would love to meet those characters I think (stinks that Special Agent Oso is gone..that's his favorite right now) But I wonder if he'll still be really into Disney Jr in another year. I'm guessing he will. hmmm....

My DD's both LOVE H&V! We did it our last trip and it quickly made our oldest's "must eat at" list!

I'm also wondering if we'll change our park priorities...
I was originally thinking we'd do 1 day at each park and 1 day to hit some favorites...but I'm wondering how much time we'll actually want to spend at AK and HS.

I think Nemo might be too much for him to sit through but maybe not. And we can see all the animals at our local zoo. The STL zoo is one of the best zoos in the world so AK's zoo aspects aren't really a draw for us.

I'm with ya! I think the reason I've found it hard to spend a full day at AK is because the STL zoo is so great! We're pretty spoiled there!

Great choices for AK and HS!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

I am so excited you started your PTR! I was hoping that meant your dates were more firm now, but I am still excited to hear all about your plans! I always think we are going to find "our" resort and just keep going back to the same one, but I love trying new ones so much I am not sure I will be satisfied repeating one until we have tried them all!

I used to think that I hated AK and we used to kind run through that park. When we went with Charlotte she loved it and had such a good time there. It totally became one of my favorite parks after that. I have to admit, MK is my favorite but the others are all tied just about even for me!


Caden will have so much fun! Charlotte still really loves the Disney Jr shows. She goes back and forth with her favorite is but she still likes them a lot!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

I'm following along!! I'll come back and comment for real when I'm not on my phone, but yay!!! for starting a PTR!!

 

[kP72]

Following along!

I've stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and loved it! Very relaxing area.

Keep us posted on your planning!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

first off----obsessed with frozen? me too!!! hello, new best friend!!

I'm so excited that you have a date set! you were so right--January is an AWESOME time to go! if we can swing a trip then again, i think we'll try to keep going then.

we've only stayed at ASMo and POR so I'm not much help, but i can say that we LOVED POR. and, while you can't get to the parks from them on the boat, you can go to DTD. it was really nice to take the boat and walk over the bridge to our room.

we did lunch at H&V on our last trip and the girls loved it, even though at the time they only really knew jake and june. they also loved the singing and getting up to dance the hot dog dance. i think if they're little, it's always fun.

we didn't do nemo this time (not a must do every time for us) but it is fun. i think caden would sit through it (or stand in front of his seat like our kids did). i think they get drawn in by all the colors and music. if you needed a break and some time to sit down, i think he'd be entertained while you were there.

can't wait to hear more!

 

[jc040404]

You started your PTR!! Hooray for Caden's first trip!! I (still) absolutely love the pic of him in his costume. He's too adorable.

As much as I love POR (POFQ is actually my current favorite!), I think you should stick with Pop! I wouldn't think about it and just go with what you know. If you get a great deal, even better! It will all be new and exciting just to have the little guy with you. You might as well save some money (or spend it on something else!) and let him check out Pop, too. It really is a cool place for little ones with so much to see.

Too bad that Oso is gone from H&V. We did have one of our better breakfasts there though. He should still be into Disney Junior by then, I'd think. I'm tempted to go back just to see Doc! (Love that show, even if my babies think they're too big for Dis Jr!) I think she's there now. Maybe not. I can't remember what I read.

Shows can be tough around that age, so I don't know if I'd bother with Nemo. If you have such an awesome zoo nearby, it might not be worth spending a ton of time with AK anyway. Excited to follow along as you work it out for the trip!

Adding - For the First Time in Forever is from Frozen!! I just got it when I started to close this. And I LOVE the music from that movie!! Do You Want to Build a Snowman has been playing in my head all morning. If we're going to have such cold weather down here, we should really have some snow to play in, too!

 

[AprilRenee]

I am so excited you started your PTR! I was hoping that meant your dates were more firm now, but I am still excited to hear all about your plans! I always think we are going to find "our" resort and just keep going back to the same one, but I love trying new ones so much I am not sure I will be satisfied repeating one until we have tried them all! I used to think that I hated AK and we used to kind run through that park. When we went with Charlotte she loved it and had such a good time there. It totally became one of my favorite parks after that. I have to admit, MK is my favorite but the others are all tied just about even for me! Caden will have so much fun! Charlotte still really loves the Disney Jr shows. She goes back and forth with her favorite is but she still likes them a lot!

I really want to try a new resort but I just can't talk myself into it. I'm so cheap! Lol we really like pop and we spend the majority of our time at the park. And right now it's just us 3 and we'll be ok with 1 small room. As our family grows we may have to branch out a bit.

Yeah, maybe I'll have a change of heart about AK. I really love the theming there. So beautiful. We'll see how things play out this trip.

 

[AprilRenee]

Following along! I've stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and loved it! Very relaxing area. Keep us posted on your planning!

Welcome!!

 

[AprilRenee]

first off----obsessed with frozen? me too!!! hello, new best friend!! I'm so excited that you have a date set! you were so right--January is an AWESOME time to go! if we can swing a trip then again, i think we'll try to keep going then. we've only stayed at ASMo and POR so I'm not much help, but i can say that we LOVED POR. and, while you can't get to the parks from them on the boat, you can go to DTD. it was really nice to take the boat and walk over the bridge to our room. we did lunch at H&V on our last trip and the girls loved it, even though at the time they only really knew jake and june. they also loved the singing and getting up to dance the hot dog dance. i think if they're little, it's always fun. we didn't do nemo this time (not a must do every time for us) but it is fun. i think caden would sit through it (or stand in front of his seat like our kids did). i think they get drawn in by all the colors and music. if you needed a break and some time to sit down, i think he'd be entertained while you were there. can't wait to hear more!

Oh man!! Frozen. I just wanna go see it again!! Its rapidly creeping up on my "Disney favorites" list. Currently only Beauty and the Beast and Tangled are ahead of it. But I think it might tie with Tangled! I can't stop listening to the sound track. Seriously. It's on repeat all day long.

They do the Hot Dog Dance at H&V? Awww!! Caden LOVES the hot dog dance! Lol he even tries to sing it in his little toddler voice "ha daa, ha daa" lol


And maybe we'll give Nemo a try. He already loves watching my students perform so he'd probably enjoy it.

 

[AprilRenee]

You started your PTR!! Hooray for Caden's first trip!! I (still) absolutely love the pic of him in his costume. He's too adorable. As much as I love POR (POFQ is actually my current favorite!), I think you should stick with Pop! I wouldn't think about it and just go with what you know. If you get a great deal, even better! It will all be new and exciting just to have the little guy with you. You might as well save some money (or spend it on something else!) and let him check out Pop, too. It really is a cool place for little ones with so much to see. Too bad that Oso is gone from H&V. We did have one of our better breakfasts there though. He should still be into Disney Junior by then, I'd think. I'm tempted to go back just to see Doc! (Love that show, even if my babies think they're too big for Dis Jr!) I think she's there now. Maybe not. I can't remember what I read. Shows can be tough around that age, so I don't know if I'd bother with Nemo. If you have such an awesome zoo nearby, it might not be worth spending a ton of time with AK anyway. Excited to follow along as you work it out for the trip! Adding - For the First Time in Forever is from Frozen!! I just got it when I started to close this. And I LOVE the music from that movie!! Do You Want to Build a Snowman has been playing in my head all morning. If we're going to have such cold weather down here, we should really have some snow to play in, too!

Hi!! I feel like I haven't heard from you in FOREVER!! nice to see you!! How are your boys? I think we need a real life update on your rather quiet trip report! with pictures!!

And yeah, I've pretty much decided Pop it is. Someone suggested requesting a lake view room and I've been looking at some pics and getting really excited about the idea. Pop AND water! Done!

And yes, so sad that Oso is gone even though I think my toddler may be the only one still watching it. He's obsessed. All day long I hear oso? Oso? As he brings me the iPad asking to watch it. Haha.
And yeah, I think it's doc, Sofia, Jake, and handy manny now. (I love doc too!! It's a fun show!)

Yes the title is from frozen. Every time I close out of this PTR I get it stuck in my head. Do you wanna build a snowman is my favorite one though!! "It doesn't have to be a snowman!" Is my favorite line. I sing it with my lips all squished up too. Lol

 

[AprilRenee]

Ugh!!! And I just lost a whole long update with Caden pictures and everything!!

I give up. Going to bed. I'll redo it tomorrow.

 

[AprilRenee]

k so I guess this is what I get for trying to do an update from my PHONE!! It was so long too!! Ugh! Lets see if I can remember what all I said....

Oh I said something about how much I'm enjoying doing a PTR. I never really had any desire to do one til I read Dugette's and enjoyed it so much. And now that I've started mine, I'm LOVING it. Andrew is perfectly happy to listen to me ramble on about my plans and thoughts but I don't think he ACTUALLY cares about it all that much. He loves Disney World and he always replies and acts interested...but i don't know...
Anyway, I love that I have a place now where I can get it all out and get feedback! So thanks guys!

Lodging:
I've decided we definitely want to stay at POP. I looked up some pics of "lake view" at POP (thanks Dugette!) and i LOVE it!! I can have Pop AND water!! DONE!! Bonus? "lake view" is considered a "standard" room at POP. I get my water AND I don't have to pay for it. Just have to request it...which I realize isn't guranteed but we're going in a low season...I think we'll probably be ok. So our requests will be "King bed and Lake view" (I read that you can put 2 requests into online check in). I'm super excited about it now!!

Sleeping situation:
I read on someone's trip report that they put their almost 3 yr old on an air mattress in the curtained off bathroom area. That way they didn't have to go to bed exactly when the kid did and the kid got their "own room" kind of. I think this is what we're going to do as well. However, the POP sink area is much smaller (she was at POR)...but I've been looking and found a small todder cot that will fold up and fit in a suitcase. So I think we will probably get that and just slot it in to the sink area under the closet rod. It can fold up during the day and only use the room at night. Caden sleeps SO much better when he has his own space and I've been a little worried about him being able to sleep in the same room as us. Granted in a year, he might be FINE sleeping in the same room. So this may end up being a moot point.
If he's still in a crib at that point we may have to use the pack n play in there...so we'll see if that will even fit. Anyone ever try that? Or have you seen any TR where they fit a pack n play in there? Maybe I need to go ask around on that giant POP faq thread...

Costumes:
Yes...I have a boy...but he was so darn cute in that peter pan costume!!! How can I NOT dress him up a few times?
So my plan is to bring along:
-his Peter Pan costume. I made it a little big hoping it might still fit him next year...we'll see. If not, I can make another one. He'll wear brown pants though, not the tights. I'm not THAT mean! LOL
-a mickey mouse costume. This should be easy, black turtle neck, black leggings, and red shorts with big buttons sewn on, and yellow shoes (maybe i'll get him little yellow chucks haha)
-a woody costume. I think this one will be pretty simple if I can find him a yellow checked shirt. Maybe even a yellow one and I can paint on the red checks. Then I'll make him a cow print vest and he can wear jeans and cowboy boots (or just his tennis shoes).

AND since we're going in Jan I'm assuming we'll probably end up in hoodies most of the trip. SO I found this person who sells disney themed hoodies. They are SO cool!
https://www.facebook.com/MagicPrincessWhitney?ref=br_tf

I HAPPEN to be pretty crafty though and I think I can make my own.
So I want to make Caden a Buzz Lightyear one. Mine won't be as awesome as hers (with the built out buttons and jetpack) but I can definitely sew on the correct colors in the right places. I'm kinda super excited about the idea!
Here is hers/my inspiration!


And if I get REALLY ambitious...I might just have to make myself a Rapunzel or Belle one...LOL