From the World of Adults to the World of Kids, Fifth Birthday Trip is Over!!

[kmedina]

It is weird that both rides are similar and use the same vehicles for the ride. So it doesn't make sense why the height requirements is 6 inches apart from Dinosaur and Indy. I always thought that Dinosaur is more intense then Indy, but after riding Dinosaur on my last trip and Indy all the time at DL, I would say that Indy is a little bit more tense then Dinosaur.

It will be very nice to ride the Matterhorn this summer. But I might not be able to ride the Matterhorn if we do the sneak peek on Monday and skip the opening day trip. I am hoping that we can get both the sneak peek and go to the media day party which I told you about that contest. I am still wondering what the new height requirement for the Matterhorn is now that you have to have your own seat instead of sharing with another person like the old bobsleds. Some people say that the new height requirement is close to Space Mountain & BTMRR, so that would be around 40".

Glad to hear that Xander is looking forward to Connor's birthday next month. I'm sorry to hear that you aren't going to eat at Club 33 for Connor's birthday. I was really looking forward to hear from your experience at Club 33. Those memberships to that club are very expensive. So I am not planning on getting a membership for Club 33. I would like to, but I have a small budget to spend when I go to the Disney parks.

Remember that Ariel's Grotto is not having the WoC dining package after June 15th. Only WCT will be the only place to get the WoC dining FP. It was a bummer that AG is not having the WoC dining package anymore, but you can still have breakfast, lunch or dinner and of course to meet the characters at AG. Here is the link about it. http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/04/dinner-with-ariel-and-her-princess-friends-coming-soon-to-ariels-grotto-at-disney-california-adventure-park/

You should think about making reservations at the Carthay Circle restaurant. Reservations are not available right now, but I am planning on getting a reservation at the restaurant.

I think Indy is a little more intense too.

An increased height on Matterhorn makes sense. We'll have to see what it is next time. I hope you get to go to the sneak peak as well. If you do get the preview tickets, you can always ride Matterhorn on your next trip. It would be worth waiting to avoid those 06-15-12 crowds.

I am more bummed than you know that we will most likely miss Club 33. Crap is still scrambling hoping to find someone who can get us in. We would not have the money for a Club 33 membership now. The waitlist is 14 years. Hopefully, we will have the money when our name pops up on the list. If I went as often as you do, I would have a smaller budget too. I would rather go more with less than less with more. After this Disneyland trip, my next five trips are all going to be to different Disney destinations. It may be a while before we get back to Disneyland.

You're right. Thanks for the heads up. I love the food at Ariel's Grotto. That's a bummer. We will probably do WCT then. I want to eat at some of the new restaurants but probably not for the birthday dinner. I am waiting a while to get the final guest list together before I decide on my plans. The hopeless Disney freak in me is also still hoping to stay at a Disney Hotel. We have not even booked the room yet.

 

[kmedina]

After Xander’s photo shoot, we headed over to Jiko for our 7pm reservation. We were still a bit early, so we waited for a table. It was right around 7pm when we were taken back. I asked our server as soon as she came over if Xander’s cake was there. The cake was ordered very far in advance. No one ever gave me a reference number, an email or a phone call, so I just wanted to ensure it was there. She disappeared for a while. Her manager returned to apologize stating they did not have his cake. He asked me for the details of the cake, and I explained it to him.

The server took our order and told me she would let us know the moment they either find the cake or confirm that it cannot be found. Xander noticed the missing cake conversation and mentioned that he wanted his birthday cake. Other than that snafu, Xander seemed to be in a great mood. He really liked the Mac and Cheese here. I had some as well with my filet, and it was very good. Crap rarely took pictures of our food, but he did seem to take a picture of whatever he was drinking this night. I loathe the taste of alcohol, so I really have no idea what it is. Connor started nursing as soon as we sat down, and slept through most of the meal. This was the quietest meal we had the whole trip. It was really nice and only got better when the manager arrived during the main course to tell me that they found the cake.

I looked at the different cakes on the DIS thread and ultimately asked if they could make a slightly larger version of the Mickey cake we had at the Boardwalk Bakery on our previous trip. Xander loved the way that cake looked and tasted. He loved the cake and remembered that it looked like the one we had last time. It was a hit, and I am so glad they found it. They even brought it out with five lit candles on it, so we could finally sing Happy Birthday to our baby. Connor was still asleep, but it was my favorite moment of the whole trip. We were all so happy. This cake tasted good as well.

After dinner, I decided once again to get a taxi rather than rely on Disney transportation to get us back to our hotel. It was the third and final taxi this trip. I was very nervous about our stroller the whole ride back, because the trunk did not close and the driver did not tie it down. The trunk was literally opening and closing the whole way back. Luckily, we all made it safely back to the hotel, and the stroller did as well. It was the earliest we made it back to the room the whole trip. It was just early enough to watch the Electrical Water Pageant from our hotel room.

Shortly after that, we got to watch Wishes from our balcony. While a different experience than the private cruise and the Dessert Party, it was pretty awesome too. It was the third and final time we watched “Wishes” that trip. Before the show was over, we went back inside and watched the show from the bed. That was the best possible way we could have ended the night. Xander’s birthday was an amazing day, and I am pretty sure he felt the same way. At the end of the day, I do not think he was overly concerned with the minor things that went wrong like only completing one of four shows that day. He was overly happy with all the things that went right and went to bed in a wonderful mood.

Some have expressed interest in seeing some nursing photos. The ones I saw and promised to add were from the cruise. Per Shannon’s request, I am going to do a trip report on the cruise as well, but I am only going to include a link to it in this report. That way, those pictures and that trip report go into the proper place. I am going to add the WDW nursing pictures I found here.

The first is from dinner our first night at Citricos. I did not include it when I first did the report, because we forgot the nursing blanket in the hotel room. We made do with a dinner napkin. Since I am completely covered, I will share it. It is not often that we forget the blanket, but we always find a way to make do. In the past, I have also used disposable changing liners and even used a large bib once.

The second photo is from Teppan Edo at Epcot on our second night. I think I already posted this in the trip report but forgot about it when I promised to post nursing photos. Here it is again for those who have not seen it. I try to leave a portion open, so he can breathe better. There are rare times that the blanket completely covers him, but it is a breathable blanket.

 

[shan23877]

What a cute birthday cake! The pictures of Xander blowing out his candles are adorable. Sounds like a fantastic way to spend a birthday!

Watching Wishes from the balcony and from bed? Sounds heavenly!

I know nothing about DLR, but I did read about them opening up the Club 33 memberships. Is that what you said there's a 14 year wait list for? That's nuts! Does that mean that they're just announcing that you can put your name on the list? Imagine if they did that at WDW, the list would probably be 25 years long!

YAY! for a cruise TR!!! I'm so excited to hear about it. I love cruising, so I'm really interested to hear about the Disney Cruise! (plus I've never done it with kids, so it'll help for when we eventually go!) Can't wait!!

 

[dara00]

I'm excited for the cruise tr too! I'm dying to go on a disney cruise. I also love how you ended Xander's bday and I'm so jealous we won't be at Disney (baring a miracle) for Zachary's 5th!

 

[kmedina]

What a cute birthday cake! The pictures of Xander blowing out his candles are adorable. Sounds like a fantastic way to spend a birthday!

Watching Wishes from the balcony and from bed? Sounds heavenly!

I know nothing about DLR, but I did read about them opening up the Club 33 memberships. Is that what you said there's a 14 year wait list for? That's nuts! Does that mean that they're just announcing that you can put your name on the list? Imagine if they did that at WDW, the list would probably be 25 years long!

YAY! for a cruise TR!!! I'm so excited to hear about it. I love cruising, so I'm really interested to hear about the Disney Cruise! (plus I've never done it with kids, so it'll help for when we eventually go!) Can't wait!!

Thanks. I loved the cake too. They sale small versions at the Boardwalk Bakery, and they allow you to use a snack credit for it. Xander does not know how to blow (still now). His attempts are always funny.

It was nice to watch Wishes from the room. I am so grateful for the upgrade we were given.

You're right about Club 33. Until recently, they were not accepting new members or applications. When they opened up more memberships, they started accepting applications again. The waitlist was about 14 years before the new club at DCA, so people filling out applications now and not likely to become members anytime soon. It probably would be longer at WDW unless they had one at each park as they now do for Disneyland.

The decision to do a full trip report rather than just a quick one is the reason I am getting updates out a little faster. I know you wanted to read about it, so I figured I would do it up right. As long as I update freuently, I should still have both of them done before we leave for Disneyland. Our next four trips are pre-planned, but we will cruise again on the Fantasy on trip 5. I cannot wait. Cruising is awesome.

 

[kmedina]

I'm excited for the cruise tr too! I'm dying to go on a disney cruise. I also love how you ended Xander's bday and I'm so jealous we won't be at Disney (baring a miracle) for Zachary's 5th!

I fell in love with Disney cruising. You will love it when you go. Hopefully, your miracle happens. Xander keeps telling me he wants to go back for his 6th birthday, but that would also take a miracle.

 

[mvf-m11c]

I think Indy is a little more intense too.

An increased height on Matterhorn makes sense. We'll have to see what it is next time. I hope you get to go to the sneak peak as well. If you do get the preview tickets, you can always ride Matterhorn on your next trip. It would be worth waiting to avoid those 06-15-12 crowds.

I am more bummed than you know that we will most likely miss Club 33. Crap is still scrambling hoping to find someone who can get us in. We would not have the money for a Club 33 membership now. The waitlist is 14 years. Hopefully, we will have the money when our name pops up on the list. If I went as often as you do, I would have a smaller budget too. I would rather go more with less than less with more. After this Disneyland trip, my next five trips are all going to be to different Disney destinations. It may be a while before we get back to Disneyland.

You're right. Thanks for the heads up. I love the food at Ariel's Grotto. That's a bummer. We will probably do WCT then. I want to eat at some of the new restaurants but probably not for the birthday dinner. I am waiting a while to get the final guest list together before I decide on my plans. The hopeless Disney freak in me is also still hoping to stay at a Disney Hotel. We have not even booked the room yet.

There are certain parts of the ride on Indy which are very intense.

We are all waiting to hear what the official height requirement for the Matterhorn is before our trips. If we do get the preview tickets, there could be a possibility that there could be a soft opening for the Matterhorn during the sneak peek. I remember when I did the ST sneak peek last year in May, the Little Mermaid ride was doing a soft opening that trip and was lucky to get to ride it before it opened in June.

I have hope that Crap will find someone who is a Club 33 member and get you and your family in. 14 years is a long time just to get a membership to Club 33. I know that I can't wait that long if I apply for a membership. Just as you said that I would try to save as much money on the hotel, restaurants, etc. to keep on going back to the DLR as long as I have an AP. It does really kill me when I go back to the DLR, I reall want to try all these different sit down restaurants. For all those times I go to the DLR, I mostly eat at the quick counter restaurants and barely do one sit down restaurant. But driving from NorCal to SoCal & back is so expensive so I have to keep track on how much I spend. When you go down to DL next month for Connor's birthday trip, I hope that you and your family get to do everything you want to do down there.

Your welcome. It would be really nice that AG would still have WoC dining package during your trip. What other sit down restaurants are you planning on eating during your trip? You did post a thread on the DL thread of what hotels to select for your trip. Have you decided on what hotel you plan on staying for your vacation?


That is a very nice birthday cake for Xander. Your pics showed that he was so happy that night.

What a wonderful day for Xander birthday and end it watching Wishes fireworks from the balcony of your hotel room.

Great update to your TR.

 

[kmedina]

There are certain parts of the ride on Indy which are very intense.

We are all waiting to hear what the official height requirement for the Matterhorn is before our trips. If we do get the preview tickets, there could be a possibility that there could be a soft opening for the Matterhorn during the sneak peek. I remember when I did the ST sneak peek last year in May, the Little Mermaid ride was doing a soft opening that trip and was lucky to get to ride it before it opened in June.

I have hope that Crap will find someone who is a Club 33 member and get you and your family in. 14 years is a long time just to get a membership to Club 33. I know that I can't wait that long if I apply for a membership. Just as you said that I would try to save as much money on the hotel, restaurants, etc. to keep on going back to the DLR as long as I have an AP. It does really kill me when I go back to the DLR, I reall want to try all these different sit down restaurants. For all those times I go to the DLR, I mostly eat at the quick counter restaurants and barely do one sit down restaurant. But driving from NorCal to SoCal & back is so expensive so I have to keep track on how much I spend. When you go down to DL next month for Connor's birthday trip, I hope that you and your family get to do everything you want to do down there.

Your welcome. It would be really nice that AG would still have WoC dining package during your trip. What other sit down restaurants are you planning on eating during your trip? You did post a thread on the DL thread of what hotels to select for your trip. Have you decided on what hotel you plan on staying for your vacation?


That is a very nice birthday cake for Xander. Your pics showed that he was so happy that night.

What a wonderful day for Xander birthday and end it watching Wishes fireworks from the balcony of your hotel room.

Great update to your TR.

I still need to ride The Little Mermaid. It looks similar to Nemo at Epcot, but I still want to try it. Hopefully, they do the soft opening of the Matterhorn at the same time as The Carsland preview, so you can do it all at once. I am still hoping you are selected for that.

Alison actually advised me to look into the new rules for Club 33. After doing that earlier tonight, I no longer desire membership there. It seems like the money can be invested better into DVC or education. We'll see. If Crap does not find someone, we will not likely dine there. That's okay though, because I did not even know it existed until recently. I've loved Disney without it and continue without it. We still have a lot of sit downs to try at Dl and WDW too for that matter. Thanks to the deluxe plan at WDW, we mostly do TS there. At Disneyland, we mostly do QS.

That is sweet off you to wish we get everything we want. It is not likely to happen though. Club 33 looks like it will fall through, and it is unlikely we will stay at a Disney Hotel either. I am not willing to pay the prices they want, which has risen to $400 a night at PP and remains at $400 for DH and $485 for the GC. Since I have yet to make any dining reservations, I am not even certain we will get all of the restaurants we want either. I am still waiting for everyone on the guest list to get back with me.

We always eat at Minnie's Breakfast and Friends every trip (just like we always do Chef Mickey's at WDW). That is our tradition. The other sit restaurants change each time. Most trips, we will try to eat at one or two others. This trip, it will probably be WC for Connor's party and one of the new ones. I read that the Carthway Club may have dining for mere mortals without Club 33 access, but it is not up on the DCA site yet. I know it is just a QS, but I am really looking forward to eating at Flo's. Xander will love that.

That thread was very helpful, and I have looked into some of the suggestions. Crap wanted to look at them before I booked anything, so I am waiting on him to get back with me. I've told him to take his time, because I am secretly hoping Disney will realease a discount that makes room rates reasonable soon. At the same time, I am nervous we could wait too long and limit our choices of where to stay. I thought about doing a Disneyland trip report too, but think I may not. If I do not, I promise to at least tell you where we end up.

He was so happy and loved the cake.

I loved watching the fireworks from our room. We were so grateful for that.

 

[MrsTeddy]

Aww the cake photos look wonderful I'm so glad they found it! I am debating between doing cake one night or a balloon delivery to our room one day. Because we are doing buffets and he will likely get cupcakes at each meal I am leaning towards the balloon with a stuffed mickey.

I am really looking forward to your cruise trip report as well. We really want to do a Disney cruise but thought it would be better to wait until the kids are bigger, perhaps you will convince us otherwise!

Thank you for sharing the nursing photos. Is your nursing blanket a aden&anais muslin swaddler? I'm considering ordering a pack of those for that purpose, they look light weight enough for our summer trip. RIght now we have a bebe au lait nursing apron that Ellie doesn't really like, its hot and I find its awkward. I also feel like it draws more attention where just a blanket may be less obvious and more discrete. I think its almost time to start practicing!

What a great way to end the trip with wishes from the blacony!

 

[CandleontheWater]

I know I'm a little late to the game, but I'm really enjoying reading about your family's trip! Its bringing back wonderful memories of my DS's first trip when he was 4 months, and nursing around the world. I agree with you that WDW is a very nursing-friendly place!

You guys look like you are having so much fun and I'm so happy that your trip was so wonderful. I'm also really jealous at the photos of wishes taken from your room in the last update! Laying in bed and watching fireworks sounds like just about the best thing ever!

 

[kmedina]

Aww the cake photos look wonderful I'm so glad they found it! I am debating between doing cake one night or a balloon delivery to our room one day. Because we are doing buffets and he will likely get cupcakes at each meal I am leaning towards the balloon with a stuffed mickey.

I am really looking forward to your cruise trip report as well. We really want to do a Disney cruise but thought it would be better to wait until the kids are bigger, perhaps you will convince us otherwise!

Thank you for sharing the nursing photos. Is your nursing blanket a aden&anais muslin swaddler? I'm considering ordering a pack of those for that purpose, they look light weight enough for our summer trip. RIght now we have a bebe au lait nursing apron that Ellie doesn't really like, its hot and I find its awkward. I also feel like it draws more attention where just a blanket may be less obvious and more discrete. I think its almost time to start practicing!

What a great way to end the trip with wishes from the blacony!

Thanks. I am glad they found it too. Growing up, my Dad always made such a big deal about having a birthday cake, and that has always stuck with me. As long as my boys (kids and DH) are are with me for their birthdays, they will always have a cake. My husband says his family did not care as much about a birthday cake, so he does not always remember to get me one. If an actual cake is not important, I would go with the balloons. You're right about all of the cupcakes. Xander never even ate his cupcakes all week long. They just kept bringing them.

Logan will probably love the balloons with the Mickey in it. We did not even pay for our cake. Since we were on the dining plan and did not order our dessert allotment that night, the cake counted as our dessert. I brought the lack of charge up to the waitress, because I thought it was a mistake. When I ordered the cake, I was told it would be around $48 plus tax. They cannot give an exact price when you order for some reason but do tell you what it should be around. The waitress went back and double checked it. She came back and said that the dining plan covered it. There must be some kind of price limit to what desserts can be included with the plan or something.

Anyone who reads how amazing the cruise was will most likely change their minds about cruising. It is the easiest vacation I've ever taken with or without kids. I cannot wait to write about it and am even more anxious to do it again. Xander said he enjoyed the cruise more than he enjoyed WDW.

Crap got the blankets at Sears. I honestly do not know what type of nursing blanket it is. They have been washed so many times that the tags are illegible. Sears.com has so many blankets to sift through, so I did not find it. It is not an aden&anais blanket for sure, because I googled that. These blankets were $20 for two and the brand you mentioned is quite a bit more. This is a very lightweight blanket. The picture does not even do it justice, because you can see with the naked eye just how porous the blanket really is.

I agree that the blankets are more discreet than nursing aprons. When babies are smaller like Ellie, the blankets work very well. It gets a little harder when they get older, because they can pull the blanket down and expose you. The nursing covers are just not for me though, so I try to be careful when he tugs at the blanket. I use his tugging as a hint that he needs me to adjust it and try to make him more comfortable.

The trip is not quite over yet. Watching Wishes from the balcony was a great way to end his birthday though.

 

[kmedina]

I know I'm a little late to the game, but I'm really enjoying reading about your family's trip! Its bringing back wonderful memories of my DS's first trip when he was 4 months, and nursing around the world. I agree with you that WDW is a very nursing-friendly place!

You guys look like you are having so much fun and I'm so happy that your trip was so wonderful. I'm also really jealous at the photos of wishes taken from your room in the last update! Laying in bed and watching fireworks sounds like just about the best thing ever!

I am glad you are here. Nursing through the World was wonderful, since the weather was lovely. It would have been a little harder in warm weather. Babies are so easy to please. You just stop to feed them, and the adults usually enjoy the break as well. I love travelling with babies.

It was a wonderfully fun trip. We were very fortunate to get the upgrade that allowed us to watch fireworks from bed.

 

[kmedina]

We had another 8am breakfast scheduled, but this one was at our hotel. Connor had been awake in the room for a while and fell asleep after we walked through the hotel to the restaurant. The lady who checked us in at 1900 Park Fare said we could bring the stroller in, since he was sleeping. There was a little bit of a wait. When it was our turn to sit down, the hostess said we could not bring the stroller in. Even though we were very careful getting him out of the stroller, he still woke up. Luckily, he woke up in a good mood. They took our photos on the way in, which of course we bought later.

Xander is a carb lover who is allergic to eggs and does not like meat. Here is a peek of what his breakfast plate usually looks like.

The characters started making their way around. Tigger came first. Xander was hungry, so he did not pay much attention to him. Connor had been up for a while, so he already had his breakfast. It was time for him to really visit the characters. Of course, he was just staring at them again trying to figure out who or what they were.

Pooh came around next. Xander was still eating thus did not have much time for Pooh. As usual, Connor was trying to figure him out.

Xander had some food in his tummy by this point, so he was warmed up. When the Mad Hatter came around, he was really happy to see him. As usual, this character did not disappoint. His stories intrigue Xander. Connor again was just trying to figure him out.

Connor was feeling chatty, so he was telling us a story.

His story was interrupted by a pretty girl named Alice. Of course, he tried to figure her out at first.

Then, she gave him a tickle to warm him up to her.

It worked. Then, he started talking to her.

Then, she walked out of his line of sight, but he did not fret. He found her. Xander was happy to see her too.

She noticed that Connor missed her and decided to rectify that.

He proceeded to tell her the story from before.

She was really into the story.

It made her very happy.

So, he asked for her hand. Not for marriage. He is five months old.

He just wanted to stick her fingers in his mouth. For a second, it looked like she was going to let him.

Connor had a lot of fun with her, and I think she enjoyed him as well. It was time for Xander’s fun. They brought him another birthday cupcake and even lit it. He was happy and even took a bite this time even though he told me his birthday was over.

Just before we were about to leave, Mary Poppins came by.

 

[dara00]

so fun! I really want to go to 1900 park fair for my b.day breakfast! but it's going to be the day after the wine and dine marathon and we want to sleep late, we're staying at the dolphin, and getting to the grand floridian in the AM might not be the best plan.

 

[kmedina]

so fun! I really want to go to 1900 park fair for my b.day breakfast! but it's going to be the day after the wine and dine marathon and we want to sleep late, we're staying at the dolphin, and getting to the grand floridian in the AM might not be the best plan.

It was a lot of fun. I was surprised at how busy it was considering it was outside a park and not even 8am. People were probably trying to eat and get to MK before it opened at 9am. Although I cannot be sure, I think it may slow down later in the morning. Hopefully, you can have a late, quiet breakfast there on your birthday.

 

[mvf-m11c]

I still need to ride The Little Mermaid. It looks similar to Nemo at Epcot, but I still want to try it. Hopefully, they do the soft opening of the Matterhorn at the same time as The Carsland preview, so you can do it all at once. I am still hoping you are selected for that.

Alison actually advised me to look into the new rules for Club 33. After doing that earlier tonight, I no longer desire membership there. It seems like the money can be invested better into DVC or education. We'll see. If Crap does not find someone, we will not likely dine there. That's okay though, because I did not even know it existed until recently. I've loved Disney without it and continue without it. We still have a lot of sit downs to try at Dl and WDW too for that matter. Thanks to the deluxe plan at WDW, we mostly do TS there. At Disneyland, we mostly do QS.

That is sweet off you to wish we get everything we want. It is not likely to happen though. Club 33 looks like it will fall through, and it is unlikely we will stay at a Disney Hotel either. I am not willing to pay the prices they want, which has risen to $400 a night at PP and remains at $400 for DH and $485 for the GC. Since I have yet to make any dining reservations, I am not even certain we will get all of the restaurants we want either. I am still waiting for everyone on the guest list to get back with me.

We always eat at Minnie's Breakfast and Friends every trip (just like we always do Chef Mickey's at WDW). That is our tradition. The other sit restaurants change each time. Most trips, we will try to eat at one or two others. This trip, it will probably be WC for Connor's party and one of the new ones. I read that the Carthway Club may have dining for mere mortals without Club 33 access, but it is not up on the DCA site yet. I know it is just a QS, but I am really looking forward to eating at Flo's. Xander will love that.

That thread was very helpful, and I have looked into some of the suggestions. Crap wanted to look at them before I booked anything, so I am waiting on him to get back with me. I've told him to take his time, because I am secretly hoping Disney will realease a discount that makes room rates reasonable soon. At the same time, I am nervous we could wait too long and limit our choices of where to stay. I thought about doing a Disneyland trip report too, but think I may not. If I do not, I promise to at least tell you where we end up.

He was so happy and loved the cake.

I loved watching the fireworks from our room. We were so grateful for that.

The clam mobiles at the Little Mermaid are almost the same as The Seas with Nemo and Friends. Have you heard that the Little Mermaid ride have upgraded the ride after the flood on the ride a few months ago. You will like the ride a lot and it feel like you are under the seas with Ariel and her friends. Thank you Kim. It would be nice if the Matterhorn has a soft opening during the sneak peek of Cars Land.

We are all hurt by the economy today and the money could be used for something more important then by using it for Club 33. That's why I like about DL quick counter restaurants because they are very nice and they also have the AP discount which WDW have a selected few counter restaurants where you can quite some money.

I always hope for the best of the families to do all the things that they want to do on their vacation. I have friends and family come up to me and ask what they should do and ask for a plan to get as much done while they are at the park. Some families will be here just this one time and try to get as much out of it as possible. I am looking at the AP prices for the hotels at the DLR and they are quite high which is $275 at PP, $360 at DLH, & $437 at the GCH and these are the standards. Those are very expensive just to stay at the Disney hotels during the summertime. Even with an AP, the rooms are so expensive.

I would think about calling the DLR and get the reservation for WCT since that is the only restaurant to get WoC dining FP. I know that when I try to make a reservation for the WoC dining package back in the summer of 2011 which is only 5 days to our trip and they couldn't accompany us. This was when AG & WCT was doing the WoC dining package.

Breakfast with Minnie and Friends is a nice place to have breakfast in the morning at DL. What times are you thinking of making a reservation at the Plaza Inn. I have a suggestion, I would make a reservation at the Plaza Inn during Magic Morning at DL. Even if you don't have a MM, you can go to the Plaza Inn and have breakfast while the park is open for MM. I have tried it and it was a fast way to get in the park before the park officially opens at it's schedule time.

Hopefully the DLR will have the hotels cheaper if they don't sell all the rooms when the dates get closer. But mostly, they always keep the price at what it is when it get closer. I would just make a reservation and if you get a better deal on another room, you can always can cancel the room.

You wrote a great TR during your WDW trip and I can tell that you will write up a great TR at the DL thread if you do one. I do appreciate that you will tell me what happen during your TR. I will give much detail about my TR next month for the sneak peek or opening day.


Did you get to watch Modern Family tonight?

You all look so happy and it must have been fun to have a character breakfast at 1900 Park Fare. Got to see Tigger, Pooh, Alice, Mad Hatter and Mary Poppins.

 

[shan23877]

Fun update! I love how chatty Connor was with Alice! That's adorable.

The pictures of him looking at Pooh are priceless though. So sweet.

That's funny that Xander wondered why he was still getting cupcakes. Maddie would probably say the same thing.

You guys got another really nice picture!

 

[kmedina]

The clam mobiles at the Little Mermaid are almost the same as The Seas with Nemo and Friends. Have you heard that the Little Mermaid ride have upgraded the ride after the flood on the ride a few months ago. You will like the ride a lot and it feel like you are under the seas with Ariel and her friends. Thank you Kim. It would be nice if the Matterhorn has a soft opening during the sneak peek of Cars Land.

We are all hurt by the economy today and the money could be used for something more important then by using it for Club 33. That's why I like about DL quick counter restaurants because they are very nice and they also have the AP discount which WDW have a selected few counter restaurants where you can quite some money.

I always hope for the best of the families to do all the things that they want to do on their vacation. I have friends and family come up to me and ask what they should do and ask for a plan to get as much done while they are at the park. Some families will be here just this one time and try to get as much out of it as possible. I am looking at the AP prices for the hotels at the DLR and they are quite high which is $275 at PP, $360 at DLH, & $437 at the GCH and these are the standards. Those are very expensive just to stay at the Disney hotels during the summertime. Even with an AP, the rooms are so expensive.

I would think about calling the DLR and get the reservation for WCT since that is the only restaurant to get WoC dining FP. I know that when I try to make a reservation for the WoC dining package back in the summer of 2011 which is only 5 days to our trip and they couldn't accompany us. This was when AG & WCT was doing the WoC dining package.

Breakfast with Minnie and Friends is a nice place to have breakfast in the morning at DL. What times are you thinking of making a reservation at the Plaza Inn. I have a suggestion, I would make a reservation at the Plaza Inn during Magic Morning at DL. Even if you don't have a MM, you can go to the Plaza Inn and have breakfast while the park is open for MM. I have tried it and it was a fast way to get in the park before the park officially opens at it's schedule time.

Hopefully the DLR will have the hotels cheaper if they don't sell all the rooms when the dates get closer. But mostly, they always keep the price at what it is when it get closer. I would just make a reservation and if you get a better deal on another room, you can always can cancel the room.

You wrote a great TR during your WDW trip and I can tell that you will write up a great TR at the DL thread if you do one. I do appreciate that you will tell me what happen during your TR. I will give much detail about my TR next month for the sneak peek or opening day.


Did you get to watch Modern Family tonight?

You all look so happy and it must have been fun to have a character breakfast at 1900 Park Fare. Got to see Tigger, Pooh, Alice, Mad Hatter and Mary Poppins.

I was not even aware the Little Mermaid flooded, but I am excited to ride it.

Crap prefers QS at WDW, but I prefer it at Dl. For TS, I think it is the other way around. I still hope to dine at Club 33 some day but am over being a member and eating there on our next trip. Neither are likely to happen.

I always hope people get eveything they want on their trips too. People approach me for Disney help quite often too. You go more than I do, so your help is probably more valuable. The PP is out of rooms at the $305 level for our four night stay, so I wonder if that $275 would be for all four nights. I would not pay that for that room anyway. If I am spending $275, I want a nicer hotel than that. Most of the ones I am looking into are over $200 a night. We need to book before the prices rise again. If Crap does not get back to me by this weekend, I will ask him to make a decision.

People still need to get back with me on who is going. At this point, I really do not even have a clue. We took a last minute trip the month WoC opened and got a reservation for four. Sounds like it has gotten harder. This time, we need a reservation for a much larger party size, so I need about a month to book it. If they do not get back with me on time, I will try to book with an educated guess.

Thanks. We mostly book our reservation for Minnie and Friends for pre-park opening and usually pull off exiting the restaurant at park opening a lot better than we did at WDW this past trip. They offer early reservations even on non Magic Mornings. I usually prefer that. We are not rope drop people.

The deposit to book the four night stay is over $500 right now. I do not want to tie those funds up if we only cancel later. If they do not offer a discount soon, we are going to book somewhere else and just live with the decision.

Thanks for saying I wrote the report well. I am very left brained thus not a great writer. Crap always makes fun of my writing, so it is nice to hear someone likes it. His latest criticism was that I wrote mistakingly instead of mistakenly. When I asked him where he said, "I don't know. Your writing is so bad. It would take a long time to take notes about all of your mistakes."

I was really thinking about doing the TR for Dl, because then I would have one for each of the three things I've done WDW, Dl and DCL). It is a lot of work, so I keep debating back and forth. Hopefully, Crap will not find the link to that one. His criticism is the hardest part of the reports. He is not a DIS member, so at least he does not criticize me publicly. I really cannot wait to read your report about Carsland. Thanks again for doing it.

I have it on DVR. We went to the San Gennaro Feast tonight, so I have not watched Modern Family yet. Crap is watching American Idol right now, so I will have to watch it tomorrow while he is at work. It looks really good.

Fun update! I love how chatty Connor was with Alice! That's adorable.

The pictures of him looking at Pooh are priceless though. So sweet.

That's funny that Xander wondered why he was still getting cupcakes. Maddie would probably say the same thing.

You guys got another really nice picture!

Alice was by far my favorite character for Connor this trip, and the Mad Hatter was my favorite for Xander. Crap did not even want to dine there at first, because he thought it was too girly. I am so glad we did. It was our best overall meal.

I love those Pooh pictures. It is just too bad that I have no pictures of his face with Pooh as I did with Xander as a baby.

Xander is a pretty matter of fact kid as most are. I can picture Maddie saying that as well. It was the only one I remember him taking a bite out of, which is the funniest thing of all.

I love the pictures from 1900 park Fare. Than you.

 

[kmedina]

After breakfast, we finally decided to get our pictures taken in front of the big Christmas tree in our lobby. All week, we had passed by it too early in the morning or too late at night to see the Photopass photographers.

There was something I had been waiting to do since we checked in. Some of you may remember that the lady who walked us to our room that night mentioned that we had concierge club access. We did not pay for that and up until this day, our plans kept us out all day. I wanted to see if she mentioned it in error or if we got additional pixie dust with a concierge upgrade. Crap had noticed all week that most other people had blue key to the world cards while ours were gold. We boarded the elevator and were required to stick our key in the elevator for club access. Believe it or not, it worked. For some magical reason, we were upgraded to the concierge club.

Some of you may be thinking I am crazy for waiting seven days to check but as you can see from the report, we had all of our days planned so well. We were not anticipating club level, and I did not want to alter any of our plans to get back to the hotel just to see. The view from up there was pretty neat, so naturally we took some pictures. We were even able to get a picture of the full tree from up here. Crap liked the chandelier a lot. From the ground level, I never even noticed it. Even though I was not hungry, I got a drink and a scone. It was my first and probably last time in that concierge building. I wanted to enjoy something. Sadly, I was only able to eat one bite of the scone, but I did finish the coke.

Some of you may have also wondered why Xander is dressed in warm clothes while the rest of us were in summer clothing. Xander had an appointment with the sea, well kind of. I knew that he would likely get cold on the water and wanted to make sure he would not be cold. He was booked for the pirate cruise. This was for kids only, so Crap walked him over there. They gave him another tattoo and a bandana, which Crap helped him put on. It would be two full hours before we saw him again, so Crap said his goodbyes. The cruise was mostly full of boys but there were a few girls too for those with daughters who may want to do this.

Xander showed the other kids that he loves to dance. He busted out some of his best moves.

Then, Xander got back in line. Crap waited for him to board and left once they were sailing away. While Xander was headed out to sea to find treasure, Crap was headed to the front desk to take back something that was rightfully ours.

Meanwhile, I was at Gasparilla Games. Neither of us had the energy to get there any sooner during our trip. We were entitled to free mugs with the deluxe plan, and it was about time we claimed them. Xander only drinks milk and bottled water, so his was just an empty souvenir. I filled mine with coke, but I still had the open can of coke I was drinking from the concierge club. Maybe, it would come in handy later I thought. Crap’s cup was still empty at this point too, because I did not know what he wanted to drink. As I sit there with two unused cups and one full cup that I had yet to drink anything out of, Connor decided it was nursing time.

Crap is now at the front desk. He approached the cast member and explained that two of our dining plan credits were missing. We were told he needed to show up in person to correct the issue. She asked for the receipt from the meal to which Crap explained we did not have it. Mickey’s backyard Barbeque was the only restaurant that never gave us a receipt. Crap told her that they most likely charged two credits for Connor, since it was just the four of us at dinner. While Crap does not remember the exact questions she asked, it was no big deal. She gave us our missing dining plan credits. Now that our credits were back in order, he met me at Gasparilla Games.

He chose his drink and waited with me for Connor to finish nursing. Connor nursed until he fell asleep. We decided to check out the other concierge area. The first one was on the fourth floor (I think) of the main building. This one was in the entry way of the sixth building. You put your key in the door and enter the building. It was way busier than the first one. There were two concierge desks both of which had lines to speak to a CM. All of the tables were full, so we found a seat on a sofa. Once a table opened up, we moved over there.

We were still full from breakfast and our mugs were full, so we did not partake in any of the food. After sitting there for a small amount of time, we got very bored. Since I doubted we would ever go back, we took a few pictures before we left. I love the look on the face of the lady behind me in the picture. Maybe, we bothered her by taking pictures. For those wondering, we did not use the flash. Crap does not use our flash indoors, which is why our pictures never come out great. Overall, it was cool that we were upgraded to concierge so we can cross that off our list. As far as the actual experience, Crap and I agreed that we would never pay for that. A cool view from the first club and being utterly bored in the second did not need to be repeated. We had our concierge fix and were ready to go chill in the room.

This was the first time all week that we chilled in the room. It was really nice! Before long, the two hours were up, and it was time to pick up Xander. Crap volunteered to go get Xander. That gave Connor some extra time to sleep. He actually woke up naturally while Crap was getting Xander.

It looks like they were successful in their pursuit of treasure, because Crap saw the captain unloading a treasure chest. Stay tuned to see how Xander thinks it went.

 

[MinnieLovesMickey]

Looks like Connor has his first girlfriend! Those pictures are so cute.

I'm so glad to see that I'm not missing anything by not staying Club Level.

Sorry you're having such a hard time trying to get people to commit to Connor's party so you can book stuff. Do people not realize that there are some things that need to be booked ahead, you know, like a room!