Free Dining With The Mouse - Pre-Trippie!!

[aepecoraro]

So let me give you the background details to how this trip came about..Originally the family was supposed to be going to Disneyland for two weeks in June. But that plan was later scraped and we were going to go to New York for a week...But one day, I was just browsing around and decided to see how much it would be to do the free dining..called my mother and the deal was set. We will be dining with the Mouse from 8/30 - 9/3! Now for the cast...

Amanda [Me] - WDW Fanatic. Grew up in South Florida so we had the Florida resident passes. Planning freak [I get it from my mother.] Can not wait to dine with the Mouse. Have wanted to try the DP but never wanted to pay the money for it..So what better way?

Zack - [DBF] - This will be his 3rd Disney trip and all of them have been with my family. We attend the same college in South Georgia. Have know each other for 5 years. Slowly becoming a WDW Fanatic!!

Nancy - [Mother] - WDW Planning Freak. For our past trips in Feb. she planned very early in advance. She even made a binder full of all of our information. Her two bosses went during this past Christmas and she prepared them for their trip.

Geoff - [Father] - Wonders why so much planning needs to go into a vacation..but doesnt complain when everything goes smoothly. He is more likely to just go save us seats for parades or fireworks. He saved us seats last Feb. in the Tomorrowland Terrance Noodle Station for 2 hours just so I could see Tinkerbell fly during Wishes, And I am very thankful for my dad.

Geoffrey - [Brother - 18] - We call him Buddy, But his friends need to call him Geoff or Geoffrey. One time his friend called and asked for Geoff and I told him he was in Africa [Because my dad was there] and his friend was like but I just saw him at school.... Way too funny!!

Christopher - [Brother - 16] - He is very daring!! Me and my mom were sitting on the beach at WL waiting for the Water parade and we could not find my brother, so we send my dad to find him..[Keep in mind that he was only 3]..My dad is talking to the lifeguard by the pool and the lifeguard finds him at the top of the slide. The lifeguard asks my dad if he wants him to go get him...My dad says in a very cool tone, "He had swimming lessons..Lets see if they worked"..Sure enough he came down the slide and swam right to the edge. Very nerve racking to my mother.

Samantha - [Sister - 15] - My mom is in the process of adopting Samantha and Alex. Very Quiet. Does not talk to me, or my other two brothers very much. But will talk up a storm to Alex, Mom, Dad....

Alexander - [Brother - 7] - Has ADHD. We were nervous how he would do with waiting in lines, but he was very good. He did get a little cranky but not that bad. Both Samantha and Alex had there first trip to Disney this past Feb. Alex loved getting all the autographs. We even got him to try ToT and he said it felt like 20 rhinos were jumping up and down.... ..This next trip will be a surprise to him. Also it will be his first time staying on-site. We always just rent a villa because it is cheaper and more room since we would need 2 -3 rooms.


We do know what places we will be eating.
Crystal Palace for Breakfast.
WCC
Teppanyaki [Hopefully it will be open]
California Grill [Timing right to see Wishes. My parents did this last time but Alex went to the Neverland Club so this will be a nice treat to him.]

We will be celebrating a bunch of birthdays this trip. Everyone except Myself and Christopher. [My birthday is in April and Chris' in December.]

We will be staying at ASMo. I am getting very excited for our trip. I plan on pulling a couple of surprises. I want to order everyone a welcome basket so they can each have a different one. Does anyone have any suggestions.
Also, My mom hates big rides but we managed to get her on Splash Mountain and Big Thunder in 2006. I am getting her a shirt that says Splash Mountain survivor from a fellow DISer [Thanks - mitushib]
I also want to decorate our windows. Any good ideas?? Im going to try and get some of the Mickey paint heads and I also found from a fellow DISer to transfer the paint chip to cling paper. [Thanks - disunc]
Any other ideas will be greatly appreciated!

I am getting together a spreadsheet..and I will post it once it is finished.
Till next time....Have fun reading!

 

[aepecoraro]

So I just got off the phone with 407-WDW-DINE..And I was able to get all of the restaurants that we wanted..

Table Service
August 31 - Teppanyaki - 8:15 PM.
Saturday 1 - WCC - 8:20 PM. I would really like to see Fantasmic so should I change to 50's Prime-Time? Or is WCC really worth it?
Sunday 2 - Crystal Palace - 8:05 AM and California Grill at 9:20 for Wishes.

Counter Service
Earl Of Sandwich on Thursday when we arrive around 6. That is the only place that I know for sure..
Any other good places? We were disappointed with Cosmic Ray's last Feb. That used to be our favorite CS. But they took away the cheese on the condiment bar and now you have to pay for it.

I also want to try Goofy's Candy Co. And I will definitely get a Dole Whip Float..Anything else we should try??

Does anyone know how I can post my work-in-progress spreadsheet?

More to come soon...

 

[OhMari]

I was a little disappointed with Earl of Sandwhich, but if you want to use your C.S. then go for it. Otherwise when you get to DD, take the boat to POR, the RiverMill Foodcourt is pretty decent.
I am going to move you over to our Pre-trip board. Let me know when you are back and I'll move you to this board again.

OhMari
Trip Report Moderator

 

[rentayenta]

Congrats on getting your ADRs! I think the baskets sound like a wonderful idea. Please share what info you find on them!

 

[aepecoraro]

I contacted Sarah with www.memoriesbysarah.com
I am ordering the simple welcome baskets.

My Simple Welcome is $35 for the first, and $25 for each additional, so,
we'd have a complete total of $185.00 (this includes everything)

Here's what you get with the simple welcome:

Your choice plush character (almost any character you can think of is
available in plush)
Your choice bag of something sweet from Goofy's..like character gummies,
character sweet & sour tarts, etc.
My choice (unless there are food allergies) two personal sized bags of a
non-Disney snack..like crackers, cookies, etc.
Welcome note from Mickey.

I dont know if I should order my dad a different one, because he is diabetic and doesnt like sweets. So I might just order him something that is something he would enjoy.

Also we have changed a couple of the dinner plans.
We still have Teppanyaki and California Grill.
But we now have Sci-Fi Dine In. We are also looking at eating at Rainforest Cafe at AK..Any experiences?

I cant really think of anything else to add. I have a little spreadsheet going..but nothing big. If you would like to see a copy, PM with your email address.

Thanks.

 

[roxannensteve]

Great report so far. We've eaten at Earl of Sandwich before & it was good. Another CS place I want to mention to you (since you asked about anything else to try) is Tusker House in AK. This place is great!!

 

[aepecoraro]

We have actually made an ADR for Rainforest Cafe in AK for our last day. We will be paying out of pocket. But we think it will be good to have a nice sit down meal before we need to head out of WDW. Thanks for the good suggestions!!

Also, What CS would you suggest for MK? Cosmic Ray used to be our favorite but on our last trip we were very disappointed. We LOVED the cheese that they had out on the condiment bar, but they took it away.
I heard that Peco's Bill is similar?? Or any other good ideas?
I have all the other CS's out in order. At MGM we will probably eat at Pizza Planet. And at EPCOT we will probably spilt up and eat probably in WS. But MK is the one that is confusing.

 

[aepecoraro]

So the ADR's have changed once again.
We now have 'Ohana for August 31st instead of Teppanyaki. Dinner will be at 9:10. I am hoping we can get sitting near the window so that we can watch Wishes. Has anyone done this? Also can you see the Water Parade from 'Ohana?

I was also able to head over to Home Deopt to swipe some LGMH. I also got one of each color to make a MH countdown, And I will be writing everyone's name on the LGMH and laminating them for our ASMo Doors!!

 

[Cinderella16]

Great start so far! I found your pre-trippie when you sent me a PM so I thought I would have a look at your plans. They look great so far!! We do Disney in a very similar way: with a BIG group and the only difference is that I tag along with my DBF's family. Cant wait to read more!!

 

[aepecoraro]

I have been getting in the Disney mood by listening to Disney Podcasts!! I downloaded about 70 to my iPod and I am just catching up with them and getting in the mood! I highly recommend you listen to some.

Also, I am in the process of making a countdown. I went to HD and got all the different Mickey Paint Heads. Well just wanted to give a quick update!!

 

[aepecoraro]

Just found out that will we have a total of 9 on our trip.. We will be fostering Felicia von Focker Crocker during our stay!! I am so excited!!