Have pity on us, Elsa!! An August 2016 PTR - Poly, Preschoolers, & DxDP! (UPDATED 7/28!)

[nimbuscat]

Hi! This is my first PTR (I think...I miiiiight have started one back in 2013 for my '14 trip...but it certainly never got off the ground if I did.)

Anyway, here are the basics:
- This is a mom, grandma, and 2 girls trip (I'm "mom"...more on that later)
- August 15-22, 2016
- Renting points to stay in a Deluxe Studio at the Poly!!
- Deluxe Dining Plan because, well, we like to eat. More on that later, too...

Cast of Characters:​

ME!​

I'm Jimmie, I'm in my early 30s, and married to a wonderful and patient husband who doesn't mind that I sometimes run off with our kiddos and my mother to faraway and magical places. We live in North Dakota, and this will be my fourth trip to WDW. My last trip was in January 2014 with hubby and our oldest daughter (little one wasn't even on the way yet!)...while the trip was great, our August trip is somewhat of a "do-over" for me, as I came down with the flu and pneumonia partway into our last trip and was hospitalized for a week upon returning home. No bueno!! Let's see, what else...I work FT in higher education, and I am in the middle of a serious weight loss journey. I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in 2010, and carried along just fine with minimal symptoms until my last pregnancy. For the last two years, I haven't been able to keep my flares and symptoms under control, and my "last ditch effort" (that frankly, I should have tried years ago) is getting this excess weight off and eating a generally paleo/clean diet. (I really only include that tidbit of info in case anyone else is wondering about navigating Disney with rotten joints and chronic pain...I'll try to add some info from that perspective.) That said, we LOOOOOOVE our food, especially Disney food, and I fully intend for my week there in August to be a reward, of sorts, for sticking to my new, healthy lifestyle for the preceding eight months. So no, I will not be looking for gluten-free or paleo-friendly items at Disney--sorry, guys! (we really need more food emojis!) My favorite character is Stitch, and my favorite movie is probably Frozen or Maleficent...or Lion King if we're throwing back to my childhood.

Gammy​

This is my wonderful mother, who will be celebrating her birthday at Disney during our August trip! I just realized that other than my January 2014 trip to WDW with my husband and kiddo, my mom has been to Disney (and Disneyland) with me on all previous trips. Cool! This is Gammy's first trip to WDW since 1997--my, how things have changed! She will be in for a treat. I haven't asked her what her favorite Disney character or movie is, but I happen to KNOW she loves Figment! We'll be paying good ol' Figment a visit in Epcot, for sure...

(This is us in Vegas last fall--see, I told you we like to travel together!)

Z-Zah​

My firstborn, my pride and joy, my spirited, spunky daughter who loves dinosaurs and aliens (and Star Wars!) just as much as she loves princesses and makeup. She will be 5 on our trip, and just two weeks away from starting kindergarten. She is a pretty well-traveled little preschooler, and her last big trip was with Gammy and Mommy to Akumal, Mexico, last September. Her favorite character is Stitch (girl after my own heart!), but her favorite princess is Elsa. Cinderella is a close second, and we met all eleven "official" Disney princesses on our 1/14 trip. Elsa and Anna were added later, I believe, and we are excited to meet them this time! This girl is also a villain-lover!

(Sporting her Elsa face paint at the resort in Mexico...)

And, last, but not least...

CarterBear​

She's pictured below at her first birthday last month. See, I told you we like to eat in this family!! Anyway, CarterBear will be 20 months old for our August trip, and this will be my first time traveling with a tot this young to Disney. (Z-Zah was only one month shy of turning 3 on our last trip...) We take full advantage of "free before three", and I'm just hoping she is half the contented traveler her sister always has been... No, really. This child makes her older sister look like an angel, and we joke that her mantra is "I do what I want!" I'm just crossing my fingers she loves Disney like the rest of us, or we could be in for a looooooong week!

Well, how's that for an intro? Don't worry, I will be back with more, but just wanted to get things started. Please chime in, I'd love to hear from you!!

 

[nimbuscat]

Okay, moving along... so WHAT is with the title of this PTR, anyway? Why do you want Elsa to have pity on you???

Because we are from North Dakota and are traveling to Florida in AUGUST, duh!! If Elsa could just hear our prayers and turn the Magic Kingdom into a frosty Arendelle for the week we are there, that'd be great. Fine with everyone else? We may well melt into the Main Street pavement, otherwise...

What the heck were we thinking??? Well, a couple of things...

• We like to travel for my mom's birthday, and this is during her birthday week.
• We thought it would be a fun "last hurrah" before Z-Zah started kindergarten.
• CarterBear would still be free, and it's a good time for us to get away and leave DH at home, so he can prepare for the next semester's classes (he's a college professor)

The three of us "big people" can handle it (and yes, I'm considering my 5-year-old a "big person" for the purposes of this conversation)... Gammy actually lives in Oklahoma, and that is where I grew up, so I'm not a stranger to the heat. My only real concern is my little fair-skinned and fair-haired munchkin. We'll be using lots of sunscreen, sun hats, and sunglasses. I've already planned to get a stroller fan and one of those water mister fan bottle thingies, as well. We'll stay cool one way or another!

My initial touring plans (coming up later) don't really have us spending the heat of the day back at the resort, but maybe they should...I will definitely be seeking some input from you seasoned veterans on this part!

 

[BellaSoleil]

I am so, so, so excited to follow along! We are also taking and Grandma and the girls trip (plus my 3 year old nephew) this year. Your girls sound very similar in personality to my younger two. Heaven help us with those baby girls!!! Poly will be amazing for you guys!

 

[nimbuscat]

Getting There & Other Details...

It just so happens that you can fly direct to only a handful of destinations from lovely North Dakota (really, it is lovely here--but sometimes it feels quite remote!)...and Orlando is one of them!! Wooot!

Here's the unfortunate part--to fly direct, we have to fly Allegiant Airlines, which flies into...wait for it....Sanford airport, not MCO. Booooooooo. No Magical Express bus for us! The cost savings is so great, though, that it's totally worth it. Plus, the convenience of being able to fly direct with two littles in tow...

So anyway, long story short, we currently have one-way tickets booked on Allegiant into Sanford on August 15. They haven't released their schedule for beyond August 16 yet...ha! You get no savings with them by buying roundtrip versus one-way tickets, so I went ahead and snagged the one-ways for a good price. Gammy was also able to be booked on Allegiant direct out of Oklahoma City. Fortunately for us, our flights arrive at Sanford within 20 minutes of each other...and should the schedule for the rest of August remain as it should, we'll also be departing within minutes of each other on August 22. Talk about perfect timing! No one has to wait around the airport for very long, if all goes as planned! The Allegiant schedules for the remainder of the summer should come out in February, so we will have our flights nailed down sooner than later!

But how will you get all four of you and all your stuff to Disney, then, if no Magical Express bus will be waiting for you??

Ahh, young Padawan, you clearly don't know me that well yet. I am a serious, Type A, organizational planning FREAK. If being a travel agent was a financially viable occupation anymore (at least in my area, it's not...), I'd be all over it. I live for this!! I did my research and found a towncar service that had reasonable RT rates from Sanford, that let me reserve online (big, in my book, so I can see the details in writing!), and also provided car seats for my littles. If anyone needs the info, I'm glad to share--I just am not sure about the "rules" of sharing other vendor links here, so I'll leave it out for now.

What about CarterBear? Doesn't she need a stroller?

Oh yes. Yes, indeed...in fact, I'm pretty sure Z-Zah will need a stroller after long Disney days, as well. Since we don't currently own a double stroller, I went ahead and rented through Apple Strollers. The price was reasonable, and it's all taken care of and should be at bell services when we arrive at the Poly on 8/15. Note: I do love babywearing, and will be wearing CarterBear in our Kinderpack all through the airports, but it will be TOO DANG HOT (I'm pretty sure, at least...) to wear her for all (or even part!) of Disney. I'm sweating just thinking about it...

And all the other "stuff" you'll need, traveling with 2 kids??

One thing I forgot to mention above was that my goal is to travel with only backpacks for the girls and I! (It may prove to be impossible with their princess costumes, but I'm going to give it my best shot...I hate, hate, hate paying Allegiant's luggage fee when I get free checked bags on Delta!) So yes, there is no way I could possibly pack everything I would need, especially for CarterBear, into a backpack. Walmart.com to the rescue! About a week before we arrive, I plan to place an order for diapers, wipes, fans, batteries, sunscreen, ponchos, and anything else we can think of, and have it shipped directly to the resort. I'm normally a huge Amazon fan, but they don't sell boxes of diapers small enough for what I need for the week. I don't need 90 diapers, because I won't have room to take home the remaining 50 she won't use! So, Walmart it is! (Or Target, whoever has a better sale on diapers that week...)

Up Next: Calling Poly our "home away from home" for the week!

 

[nimbuscat]

I am so, so, so excited to follow along! We are also taking and Grandma and the girls trip (plus my 3 year old nephew) this year. Your girls sound very similar in personality to my younger two. Heaven help us with those baby girls!!! Poly will be amazing for you guys!

Yay! Thanks for joining in! Will you be doing a TR for your May trip? I'd love to hear how the littles handled it!

 

[BellaSoleil]

Yay! Thanks for joining in! Will you be doing a TR for your May trip? I'd love to hear how the littles handled it!

Yes and I've got a PTR going now. I accidentally posted it on the Trip Repot page. Whoops!!! It's called Six girls and a Little Guy. It will be so fun to plan together! Did you guys book a meal with Stitch?

 

[nimbuscat]

Yes and I've got a PTR going now. I accidentally posted it on the Trip Repot page. Whoops!!! It's called Six girls and a Little Guy. It will be so fun to plan together! Did you guys book a meal with Stitch?

I will have to check out your PTR for sure!! Our 180-day window doesn't open until next month, so I technically haven't booked any meals yet. BUT...Stitch is not on the list this time. We did the Ohana breakfast last trip, and it was lovely, but I'm not sure we can fit it in the plans this time. I'm still thinking about it, though--it is a struggle, because we have a serious love affair with the little blue alien!

 

[nimbuscat]

Our home away from home!

That's right, we are staying at the Poly this time! How in the world did this happen?!? If you had asked me a month ago if we would ever stay there, I would have laughed and told you MAYBE if we won the lottery! We stayed at Wilderness Lodge last time, but had a fantastic package deal in the off-season. This time, peak summer month travel, we could not expect the same, so we were tentatively planning on AoA in a Little Mermaid room.

And then...THEN...a friend of mine told me about DVC point rental. Say what??? I think I'd heard it mentioned here on the DIS once or twice, but never really investigated it or knew what it really was. I'll be honest--I was blown. away. by the affordability of staying in a deluxe resort this way. I had originally asked the rental agency to check for availability at Boardwalk--I thought BW always looked so fun, and the points needed for our stay were definitely reasonable--then I saw that we could stay at the Poly for just a little bit more. (You see how Disney math works here?? Just a little bit is what gets you into trouble!) Plus, during my first visit to WDW back in 1992 with my parents, we rode the monorail over to the Poly every day to have lunch in what I *think* was the Coral Isle Cafe (now Kona). Fond memories, indeed, and I can remember even as a 10-year-old back then thinking THIS was the Disney resort I really wanted to stay at someday!

So, the Polynesian was decided upon, and we are excited about our studio room!

You know what I'm kind of secretly most excited about??
http://**************.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Murphy-Bed-Studio-Polynesian-Villas-and-Bungalows-from-**************.net_.jpg

Yes, the little Lilo and Stitch fold-down bed for Z-Zah! She will just love it!

Mom and I will either share the queen, or I'll relegate myself to the sofa bed. CarterBear will likely be in the provided pack-n-play, and I'm already scheming about how we can use the second bathroom area as a little bedroom of sorts for her, if she needs to go to bed before the rest of us do. (Z-Zah and I are night owls...now, Gammy, on the other hand...I wonder if we can fit them both in the bathroom/bedroom?)

 

[nimbuscat]

On to the good stuff....that's right, the food!

I might have mentioned once or ten times that we love to eat! Total foodie family...I love to cook, create, read recipes and food blogs, plan meals/menus, you name it. Planning our meals (and of course, then enjoying them once there!) is a huge part of the fun of Disney for me. It's probably another reason why I like Vegas so much--I'm not a huge gambler, but I do love all the restaurants!

We added the Deluxe Dining Plan to our DVC rental reservation...and I know that on here, people seem to either love or hate even the idea of DxDP. "It's so much food!" "It's so expensive!" "We don't want to spend our entire vacation eating!" Well, back to my Type A, obsessive travel planning and research...I priced out every meal we would possibly have while at WDW, and we were within $100 of the total price of the DxDP, and that was BEFORE I accounted for any snacks. (We will have 42 snack credits, by the way...at ~$5 a pop, that's $210...) Now, would I have necessarily bought 42 snacks without the plan? Of course not...but this way, I won't feel pangs of guilt over buying 3 bottles of water at a time (yes, I know you can get free cups of water, but you get the idea...), frozen lemonades out the wazoo, or ice cream/gelato/Dole Whip whenever we feel like it. I know we aren't necessarily getting a bargain with the plan, but we're coming out about even and have the "bonus" of all the snack credits to beat the heat. Like I read in someone else's TR, it's not so much about the cost savings, as it is about the convenience and the knowledge that everything is all taken care of and paid for in advance, rather than being "nickel and dimed" every time you want to eat or drink.

We actually did the DxDP on our January 2014 trip. We only had the plan for 5 days for 2 people (Z-Zah was still a Disney infant then), so it wasn't quite so over-the-top...plus we did just about every character meal there was, so we definitely got our money's worth then! This time, I actually have a fair number of QS meals planned, and no signatures (unless you count CRT, which I really don't...)...but those were the numbers I used in my earlier calculations, so I'm still confident that we aren't losing money here.

Enjoying some ice cream on Main Street on a 40-degree day in January 2014!

So, how DO you plan to use all those DxDP credits???

I have this really annoying (read: nerdy) spreadsheet, but I don't think it will paste well in here at all, so I'll just have to turn it into a list. Please note that this is about the fifteen-hundredth iteration, and is subject to change before (and after!) our 180-day reservation window opens on February 17.

Monday, August 15 (travel day)
Should all travel go as planned, we'll arrive at the Poly around 4:00-5:00 p.m. If we're feeling up to it, we'll hop a bus to Disney Springs and do a QS at Earl of Sandwich. (The holiday turkey is calling my name already!!) If we're zonked from traveling, we'll just hop the monorail over to the Contemporary and do QS at Contempo Cafe.

Tuesday, August 16 - Magic Kingdom
Breakfast: pre-park opening ADR at Crystal Palace
Lunch: QS at Columbia Harbour House
Dinner: 1900 Park Fare

Wednesday, August 17 - Hollywood Studios
Breakfast: pre-park opening ADR at Hollywood & Vine
Lunch: QS at Starring Rolls (hoping to get Z-Zah the special edition Han Solo kid's meal from Min & Bill's!)
Dinner: I currently have Ohana dinner planned on this night, back at our resort. However, I'm not 100% sold on it yet. Definitely open to other ideas for this night!

Thursday, August 18 - Epcot
Breakfast: ADR at Garden Grill (while it's technically pre-park opening, there are morning EMH that day, so I am planning to rush in to ride Test Track, then hop on Living with the Land before about an 8:45 or so ADR.)
Lunch: Akershus
Dinner: Mickey's Backyard BBQ @ Ft. Wilderness

Friday, August 19 - Animal Kingdom
Breakfast: pre-park opening ADR at Rainforest Cafe (we did Tusker House last time, and while I LOVED it, I just want something different this time, and I know my girls love Rainforest, even if the food is just "meh").
Lunch: QS at Flame Tree BBQ or Restaurantosaurus or Y&Y Local Foods
Dinner: Raglan Road

Saturday, August 20 - Blizzard Beach
Breakfast: Kona...or Ohana...depends on if I want pineapple macadamia pancakes more than I want to see Stitch. I know Ohana is the harder ADR to get, so I may book that one and then think on it some more...
Lunch: QS at Blizzard Beach
Dinner: Probably QS again, possibly Captain Cook's or Gasparilla Island Grill over at GF

Sunday, August 21 - Magic Kingdom
Breakfast: pre-park opening ADR at Be Our Guest
Lunch: Cinderella's Royal Table
Dinner: Liberty Tree Tavern (which is becoming a last-night-at-WDW tradition!)

My girl chowing down on breakfast pastries at CRT on our last trip...

Up next:
Must-have snacks and touring plans!
(This will probably wait another day or so before I have time to post all that...happy reading in the meantime, and HAPPY FRIDAY!!)

 

[nimbuscat]

A quick weekend update while I have a few kid-free moments!

I've been thinking a bit about our dining plans, and I have a couple of changes (yes, already!)...

On the night we arrive, I think I am just going to plan on us eating at Contempo Cafe, and not even attempt to go to Disney Springs that night. My youngest is such an early-to-bed kid, that I don't want to risk starting off vacation on an overtired foot with her. I think we'll plan to just head over to Contempo, and then put her to bed. Z-Zah and I may check out the Poly pool that evening, since it's open until 11 pm in the summer!

On the night (the 20th, I think? Whatever day we are going to Blizzard Beach...) that I had penciled in Contempo, I think we will head to Disney Springs and do Earl of Sandwich then...with Gasparilla Island Grill as our back-up in case we don't feel like going. EoS is REALLY speaking to me, especially those brownie sandwich bites. Nom nom nom!

That night, I am thinking about letting Z-Zah go to Lilo's Playhouse. Not necessarily to get a break from her (haha!), because I'll still have CarterBear with me, but just because I think she might enjoy the crafts and dress-up and whatever else they have going. However...I don't want to spend the $$ and the time apart from her if they're just going to plop her in front of a movie all night. Who has done the kids' clubhouses before? Are they worth the $55??

And the only other dining thing up in the air now would be the night we have Ohana dinner planned. I don't know why, but something about it just doesn't appeal to me all that much! The menu sounds fine, and the family-style set-up means that CarterBear gets plenty to eat for free, but mehh...I don't know! Other options could be Kona, Chef Mickey's, Whispering Canyon...or back to HS for 50s Prime Time? We are not doing park hoppers, so it would have to be in the same park we visited earlier that day. I'd also like Beaches & Cream...but getting to Beach Club and back seems like such a hassle! (Thinking on that more, the only way it might work is if we left DHS and went straight to BC for dinner...then caught a bus to Magic Kingdom and monorailed it back "home.") I will ponder that a bit more...good thing I still have ~2 weeks before my dining reservation window opens!

This right here, though, THIS is calling my name at Beaches & Cream... (it's their grilled banana bread with peanut butter sauce and ice cream and caramelized bananas....) ::drool::

 

[nimbuscat]

And the other thing on my mind tonight... MAGICBANDS!

We had Magicbands on our last trip in 2014, and we were lucky--they worked FLAWLESSLY, and made our vacation that much more magical. (This was when they were first being rolled out and we were hearing horror stories from travelers who had glitches with theirs...ooof!) I know there is no sane reason to pay an extra $20+ per person to get fancy Magicbands...but...but...

'

It's BB-8!!! Z-Zah would DIE! Homegirl loves her some BB-8. I would get the Figment one for Gammy, and I haven't quite decided which one I would get--Stitch or the villains, maybe, or I also like the 2016 one. CarterBear, sorry kiddo, but you probably won't even wear your generic pink one, let alone a fancy one, so maybe next time.

I haven't talked myself into buying them yet...but I haven't talked myself out of it, either. I am not crafty AT ALL, so homemade decorations probably aren't going to fly around here. Has anyone used the little MagicBandits or the MagicSliders? They are certainly more cost-effective, but it seems to me like they would just catch on everything and fall off? Maybe I'm wrong...please let me know your experience!

 

[nimbuscat]

Day 1 Plans - Monday, August 15 - Travel Time!

*tap, tap* Is this thing on? I think I'm talking to myself here, but that's okay.

I know I mentioned in a previous update, my next big post would be on must-have snacks, but I think I want to get into our daily plans before I hit that little detail. Here we go!

Getting to Orlando...well, anywhere, from North Dakota is usually quite the endeavor. Thankful for our Allegiant non-stop flight! Z-Zah, CarterBear, and I will leave our home at about 8:30 a.m. for a 10:30 a.m. flight. We live about an hour from the airport--and our airport is really small, so no worries about long lines...and hopefully we will not have any baggage to check, so we will just get to walk right up to security and get ready to board! I think the flight is about 3 hours, so I will have to bring snacks and movies on the iPad or something to entertain the girls. Z-Zah is a champion flyer--she either sleeps or entertains herself pretty well with electronics. CarterBear, well, as long as she has food, she's happy, so I will have a plethora of snacks ready!

We are supposed to land at Sanford at 2:49 p.m. Gammy's flight is supposed to land at 2:25, so we will be right there about the same time! We will plan to meet up in baggage claim, where hopefully, our towncar driver will be waiting with a sign with my name on it! (The company is Orlando Airport Towncars...I am really impressed with our communications so far!) They are supposed to provide a booster seat for Z-Zah and a car seat for CarterBear. I will be sure and call them that morning to verify, because we won't get very far without them.

Assuming we are able to leave Sanford by about 3:30 p.m., that should put as at the Poly around 4:30, but that doesn't really account for Monday evening traffic. Hopefully we are traveling in the opposite direction of the rush hour flow? I have no idea - it is about a 50-55 minute drive in "normal" traffic.

Well, let's pretend that we are checked in by 5:00 p.m. Then what? If we didn't have CarterBear with us, I'd absolutely say yes, let's hop a bus to Disney Springs and explore around there for the evening. Buuuuuut, CarterBear goes to bed so early (seriously, 6:30 pm at home...I don't intend to let her crash on us that early on our trip, but I also don't want to tire her out too bad the first night!)...so I am thinking we will just monorail it over to the Contemporary and have a QS dinner at Contempo Cafe. I chose Contempo instead of other monorail resort QS (including Captain Cook's) because I just have a love affair with the atrium of the Contemporary (it feels so classically "Disney World" to me!), and because they tend to have a better cupcake selection. Mmm, cupcakes...

After our quick dinner, we'll go back to the room and get unpacked and settled, and if CarterBear is still going strong, I think we will go swimming in the Poly pool! (Assuming it's not storming or anything...) We'll go to bed with visions of the Magic Kingdom dancing in our heads for tomorrow!

 

[nimbuscat]

Day 2 Plans - Tuesday, August 16 - Magic Kingdom, Here We Come!!!

Finally, after nearly 7 months of planning, it will be time to set foot in the Magic Kingdom once again! We plan to start the day with an 8:00 (or so) ADR at Be Our Guest. It will be our first time there for breakfast, though we had lunch there during our January '14 trip. SO good!

I try not to pre-plan what I'm going to order at Disney restaurants too much, because I don't want to be disappointed if they don't have it or if I'm feeling something else that day, but that open-faced breakfast sandwich at BOG is looking REALLY good! (And don't get me wrong, I clearly read menus like it's my job--I just try not to narrow it down to my final choice until I get there!)

After breakfast, we plan to book it over to Tomorrowland for rope drop. First up: Buzz Lightyear, and then Astro Orbiters. We love both of those, and we can all ride them together!

After Buzz and Astro Orbiters, we are going to Tomorrowland Speedway. If CarterBear is 32", we are golden! If not, poor bear will have to sit on the sidelines with Gammy while Z-Zah and I cruise around the track--the Speedway was down for a refurb on our last visit, so Z-Zah's never ridden it! (Thankfully, both of my kiddos have at least one well-check between now and our trip--two for CarterBear--so we'll get an official height update as the months go on.)

IF the standby line for Space Mountain isn't long at that point (and depending on the time), Z and I may do a quick ride of Space. I believe she will be just over 44" by our trip, so I am super excited to take her on all the "big" rides she was too short for last time! She is my thrill-seeking kid, so she can't wait, either!

After Space (or not, depending on time), we will trek over to Adventureland. I plan to have a reservation for Z-Zah at Pirate's League at about 11 or 11:30, but before we go there, we'd like to get in Aladdin's Carpets and Pirates of the Caribbean on standby. (And a Dole Whip or a citrus swirl, of course!) While I am with Z in Pirate's League (I think she'd really like the mermaid look, though she may surprise me and choose a zombie pirate, you never know!), Gammy and CarterBear might do the Enchanted Tiki Room, or just stroll around and find a shady spot for a snack.

I intend to make an ADR for lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern (gooey butter toffee cake, yes???) for around 12:30. After that, it will be time to knock off 2 FPs: Big Thunder Mtn Railroad and Splash Mountain (alternate choices for Gammy & Carter Bear). That way, if we get wet and uncomfortable on Splash, we're more or less on our way out of the park at that point. My next idea is to ride the railroad around to the Main Street station, and get off there to find a spot for the 3:00 Festival of Fantasy parade, where we will also plan to have a FP+ so we have a reserved spot (although I'm iffy on this--we may use a FP for Haunted Mansion instead on this day). After the parade, we'll head back to the Poly for some downtime before a roughly 6:30 ADR at 1900 Park Fare. I have Cinderella dresses for the girls--they will be so excited!

I may let Z-Zah wind down again with a swim in the resort pool, maybe this time with Gammy if she wants to, and I'll stay back with CarterBear. We'll see! Believe it or not, I am cool with playing it by ear and seeing what we feel like doing!

 

[nimbuscat]

Day 3 - Wednesday, August 17 - Hollywood Studios! (Or, all the Star Wars you can handle!!)

I will be a little bit of a sad panda, because we will no longer see this:

upon our entrance to DHS, but life goes on...

Sooooo, the last time we visited DHS, I was basically the walking dead with what we later found out was two strains of the flu plus pnuemonia (yay, germs!), and Z barfed up her breakfast on the bus to the park.

(Aforementioned breakfast at Roaring Forks before it made a reappearance...haha...)

Fortunately, Z-Zah's puking was a one-time occurrence, and she was okay for the rest of the day. This was our last day in the parks, and we were flying home later that night. You know how you just plan to hit the last park on the last day for a couple of hours, so you don't bring your backpack full of necessities? Yeeeeah. Traipsing through DHS with a puke-covered kid (all over her Star Wars shirt!!) when you don't feel so awesome yourself was just all kinds of fun. She ended up with a new Disney World 2014 t-shirt, and all was well...but definitely an experience we do not want to repeat!

Okay, so back to our day at DHS this time. I am willing us all to BE WELL. No whammies!

We will have a pre-park opening ADR at Hollywood & Vine for the Disney Junior breakfast. We had dinner at H&V (no characters) last time--it was pretty uninspiring, but we did so for the Fantasmic dinner package. I figure it is a lot harder to mess up breakfast, plus the girls will like seeing Doc, Sofia, Jake, etc.

First order of business after breakfast? Getting my little padawan signed up for Jedi Academy! She doesn't know much about it yet, but she will be SO excited!

I'm doing a lot of assuming here, but I am assuming we will be able to be one of the first to sign up, so we *should* have our pick of times. I'm going to aim for approximately the 10:40 show.

After signing up, we'll book it over to the Launch Bay to meet Chewie and Kylo Ren, do some trading with the Jawas, and look around. I'm hoping we will get in a standby of Voyage of the Little Mermaid (next door to Launch Bay) before having to get Z back to Jedi Academy. I believe the show is 20 minutes long...so if we get the 10:40 show, we will be finished by 11:00.

That leaves us in perfect position to do our first FP, which is the Disney Jr. show at 11:20. At least, for CarterBear and I. I think I will send Gammy and Z-Zah over to Star Tours at that time. I love Star Wars, too, but virtual reality/motion rides like that make me SO sick. Ain't no way! At the same time, I can't deny my Z-Zah her love affair with Star Wars, so I'm hoping Gammy is up for the challenge.

This is what happened the last time we tried to see the Disney Junior show...

After our FPs, we'll meet back up and have lunch at Starring Rolls. This is somewhere I really wanted to go last trip, but we never made it. Those turkey or ham focaccia sandwiches look SO delicious, plus...cupcakes. You cannot go wrong with cupcakes at Starring Rolls! I may run over to Min & Bill's if they still have the Han Solo kid's meals for Z-Zah. They are listed at $13.99, so I am assuming they are not on the dining plan, but one can hope! I'm not sure I would pay OOP for one unless it just looks really super cool. I guess we will see...

Also, I haven't talked much about what we are feeding CarterBear, since she doesn't have her own dining plan credits. I figure it will be kind of like it is now when we go out to eat - a mixture of sharing some off of just about everyone's plate, or maybe occasionally using a snack credit for some extra fruit or a side of veggies for her or something. She eats more than Z-Zah most days, so I figure she will get more use out of the kid's dining credits than Z will.

Okay, back to our day...after lunch, I plan to have FPs for Toy Story and the Frozen Sing-a-Long. I'm not sure what time that will put us in the day, but I am figuring still fairly early in the afternoon. We'll plan to head back to the resort for swimming and/or downtime in the nice, cool A/C. Dinner ADR that night at Kona (I changed my mind over Ohana)! I am looking forward to possibly the steak with maple bacon butter (um, that sounds delicious!).

You'll also notice I didn't say anything about the big headliners, ToT and RnR at DHS. Well, Z-Zah isn't big enough to ride RnR, and although I *love* that one, I don't want to wait in a standby line for it, and I don't want to "waste" a FP when none of us could ride it together. ToT, I admit, I sort of hate it. I don't know why, but I do! That said, if I can pull a FP for it before we leave the park, I will take Z on it, or maybe I will see if Gammy wants to. Z-Zah loves all things creepy and spooky, so it's right up her alley...

Also, I suppose Z and I could also come back over to the park after dinner and ride ToT and catch Fantasmic. I dunno, we shall see. I'm not trying to run us ragged on this trip!

Edit: I forgot to add that we might try to work in a ride on The Great Movie Ride if we are in dire need of some shade and a/c!

 

[nimbuscat]

Day 4 - Thursday, August 18 - EPCOT!

Churning through my park days here! Epcot is where it gets a little sticky planning this early--the new Frozen Ever After ride and the Anna/Elsa meet & greet in Norway not being open yet are putting kinks in my plans! I have to assume (there I go again...) that the ride will be a Tier 1 FP choice, and I am HOPING that the meet and greet is not. Surely Disney realizes that most little princesses who want to ride the ride also want to meet Anna & Elsa! Who knows, though...such a wild card until they open and we get more information!

Anyway, I am making my tentative plans now, banking on the ride being Tier 1 and the m&g being Tier 2. Subject to change, of course!

Epcot has morning EMH that day. We plan to get there for 8:00 am EMH opening, and rush over to Test Track, since I won't be able to get a Tier 1 fastpass for it. Frozen is so much more important to my girlies (and me, if we're being honest...)! After a quick spin on TT (Gammy and Carter will have to sit it out, unfortunately...), we'll head over to Living with the Land and ride that. I'm hoping that puts us just about in time for an 8:45 or so ADR at Garden Grill for breakfast. GG was another restaurant I went back and forth on last time, but just couldn't pull the trigger when there were so many other Epcot dinner options. Luckily, they offer breakfast now, and the menu looks fantastic!

After breakfast, we'll go into The Seas pavilion, ride the Nemo ride, and wander around. We might do Turtle Talk with Crush if the wait isn't very long. This is another crowd favorite that I don't care for a whole lot, but if it works out for us to do it, that's okay, too! We'll make our way over to the Figment ride and Club Cool, and whatever else there is to see in that area.

I am kind of hoping that the new Inside Out meet and greet (along with Baymax) becomes an option for a Character Spot FP, because I would totally do that for a late morning time slot. We'll do that, then head into the World Showcase and ride Three Caballeros in Mexico. By then, it should be about time for a late lunch ADR at Akershus. Princess time! Z-Zah has an Elsa Frozen Fever dress to wear, and CarterBear has a little Anna-inspired tutu. Hopefully she'll wear it. I loved our experience at Akershus breakfast last time...the parade was great, and the princesses were so personable and interactive!

I wouldn't be able to handle Mission:Space or Soarin', and I don't think Gammy is very interested in them, so we will be skipping those! After lunch, I am hoping for FPs for the Anna/Elsa M&G and Frozen Ever After ride. We'll then take a stroll through the WS and have a couple of snacks/beverages, then head back to the Poly on the monorail around mid-afternoon.

That night, we are planning on heading over to Ft. Wilderness (monorail to Contemporary, then boat to Ft. W) for Mickey's Backyard BBQ! I am hoping we get our stuff together in time to get to Ft. W early enough so that the girls can play on the playground and we can explore a bit. We had such a good time doing this last trip before a dinner ADR at Trail's End.

This should be fun for all of us, and the food doesn't look half-bad, either!

 

[nimbuscat]

Day 5 - Friday, August 19 - Animal Kingdom

I really love Animal Kingdom. It was the very first park we visited on our last trip, and I thought it was fantastic! I have some friends who have been to Disney many times and still not visited DAK. I couldn't imagine going and not visiting this park!

We have another little bit of an "unknown" with the River of Light nighttime show (and nighttime attraction/dining options in the park) not being open yet. While the show sounds amazing, and I would totally use a FP+ for it, I'm going to plan right now like it doesn't exist, because I kind of want to sneak in an evening at Disney Springs, and this would be the perfect night for it.

We'll start out with an 8:30 ADR at Rainforest Cafe. (I can hear the groans now!) I know, I know, Rainforest is not exactly known for its amazing food, amiright? However...we went to Tusker House for breakfast last trip, and while awesome, I just don't want to repeat it this time. Rainforest is something different, plus I know the girls will love it. And on top of that, the breakfast menu doesn't look or sound too shabby! I'm sure we will find something we will enjoy. They don't open until 8:30, so I'll plan to get an early ressie and finish as quickly as possible so we can be in the park very soon after rope drop.

We'll head right over to my favorite part of the park, Dinoland. We'll take a whirl on Triceratop Spin, then Z-Zah and I will ride Dinosaur (hopefully as quick standbys), then send Gammy over to ride Everest while the girls play in the Boneyard. When Gammy comes back, Z-Zah and I will go ride Everest, while she takes CarterBear to see the Finding Nemo musical. We'll meet up in the middle somewhere and walk around the Maharajah Jungle Trek or some of the trails to see the animals, and try to catch It's Tough to Be a Bug. I hear it's a little scary...but I think my girls are up for it. If not, we can leave, right??

When we are ready for lunch, we'll either hit Restaurantosaurus, Flame Tree BBQ, or Pizzafari for a QS meal. Restaurantosaurus is my first choice, for the theming and the fact that I saw someone call it "the coldest restaurant in Disney World." I'm sure it will be hot as blazes out, and the A/C will feel nice! Flame Tree would be my first choice for the food, but I think the seating is all outdoors? Pizzafari is another option if we're up for pizza--the new, handmade-in-the-restaurant pizzas (not the frozen ones they used to serve) look amazing!

After lunch, we'll use a FP for the Kilimanjaro Safaris, ride the train out to Rafiki's Planet Watch, and try to catch Festival of the Lion King, before we head to Disney Springs. Depending on time, we will either take a bus over to Saratoga Springs and walk, or we will head back to our resort for a little while before heading back out. I am currently torn between another QS at Earl of Sandwich (Seriously! That holiday turkey sandwich and the brownie cream sandwich bites are calling my name!!), or going back to my favorite restaurant of the 2014 trip, Raglan Road. I'm so torn! I will probably make the Raglan Road ADR so we have it, and then make sure to cancel it before the deadline if we are not feeling another sit-down that night. Either way, after we eat, we'll do a little shopping before returning to the Poly. I had the biggest blast last time taking Z-Zah into World of Disney and telling her she could pick *one* thing for her souvenir. She went back and forth over a few items, but ultimately ended up with a stuffed Stitch. It was love at first sight!

I'd like to catch the outdoor movie at the Poly one of these nights, and possibly watch Wishes from the beach. This might be a good night for that!

 

[nimbuscat]

Believe it or not, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth!

I have been busy making plans (180 ADR date is next week!!!), and will update very soon.

I do have to say that our "new" DHS plans now are banking on the hope that Frozen Summer Fun will return to the Studios this summer. Friends who are pretty "in tune" to all things WDW think there is a high possibility, because it will bring guests into a park where so many attractions are closing. Crossing my fingers!!!

 

[nimbuscat]

Quick Rundown of our Dining Plans--ch, ch, ch, chaaaaanges!

Monday, August 15 (travel day):
Contempo Cafe (dinner)

Tuesday, August 16 - Magic Kingdom:
Pre-park opening ADR at Crystal Palace
QS lunch at Pecos Bill's or Columbia Harbour House
Dinner at 1900 Park Fare

Wednesday, August 17 - Hollywood Studios
(Banking on Frozen Summer Fun so we can buy the Frozen Premium Package, which includes a "free" FP-style entry to the Frozen Sing-A-Long and the dessert party before the fireworks.)
Pre-park opening ADR at Hollywood & Vine
Lunch at 50s Prime Time
QS Dinner at ABC Commissary (light dinner before the dessert party!)

Thursday, August 18 - Epcot
Pre-park opening ADR at Garden Grill
Late lunch at Akershus
Dinner at Beaches & Cream, then an evening at Disney Springs doing some shopping

Friday, August 19 - Animal Kingdom
Pre-park opening ADR at Rainforest Cafe (8:30 is the earliest they take)
QS lunch at Restaurantosaurus or Pizzafari
Dinner at Mickey's Backyard BBQ at Ft. Wilderness (switch of nights from previous plans)

Saturday, August 20 - Typhoon Lagoon
(Switched from Blizzard Beach to Typhoon Lagoon for a couple of reasons - one, we will possibly get to see Stitch there--our favorite!! Two, the kiddie area looks more contained/manageable for a teeny one...and three, there are more "big" things that Z-Zah can ride at her age/height. And, if truth be told, it looks to be a more manageable stair climbing experience for my RA-ridden knees. Whew!)
Breakfast at Kona
QS lunch or snacks at the water park
Citricos (!!) dinner while Z-Zah is in Lilo's Playhouse. We'll still have CarterBear with us, but that's okay. I wasn't going to do any signatures this time, but I figured it was a good opportunity, and the menu sounds ahhhmazing!

Sunday, August 21 - Magic Kingdom
Pre-park opening ADR at Be Our Guest
Lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table
Dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern ("tradition" from our last trip to eat here on our last night!)

Our dining plan credits will cover everything, unless we want a meal instead of snacks at Typhoon Lagoon. Honestly, though, with 42!! snack credits, I think we will be more than fine.

There are still a few places I would really like to try, that we won't make this time:
Earl of Sandwich (which I will make it a point to eat at next trip to Vegas!)
Splitsville
The Wave
Whispering Canyon dinner
The Plaza
Hollywood Brown Derby

Next time...right?

 

[nimbuscat]

Update time!!

Life has...happened...in the last 15 or so days since I posted. My girls and I traveled to Oklahoma to spend some time with my parents, but also ended up attending a funeral for my young cousin who took his own life. I cannot explain how hard that has been on all of us...but life does go on.

Anyway, here I am! My 180-day ADR date was last week, and I was online and on the phone pretty quickly that morning so I could get everything we wanted. I'll update that below.

Probably the biggest change is that Allegiant finally released their fares for dates beyond August 15...and, wait for it...they are not flying to Orlando from OKC or Fargo from mid-August until late October!!! Totally foiled my plans! Sooooo....we have nonstop 1-way tickets on Allegiant on 8/15 to Orlando Sanford. Then I used Delta miles to get the girls and I back to Fargo from MCO on 8/22, and found Gammy a great fare on Southwest. At least we'll save money by being able to use Magical Express on the return trip, but I am so bummed about not having a nonstop flight home! Ohhh well...the other positive out of this situation is that our flights leave around noon now, instead of the crack of dawn, so we will get to experience one more Disney breakfast and get up at a "normal" time before we leave.

The other "big" thing is that Disney had a press release this week about Star Wars fireworks starting up again this summer at DHS. While that is super exciting, I am bummed, because it likely means no Frozen Summer Fun.

Reserved ADRs/Dining Plans/Other Reservations:

August 15:
Arrival day; QS dinner at Contempo Cafe

August 16--Magic Kingdom:
Crystal Palace - 8:10 am
Pirate's League for Z-Zah - 11:00 am
QS lunch in the park (probably Pecos Bill's or Columbia Harbour House)
1900 Park Fare - 6:45 pm

August 17--DHS:
Hollywood & Vine - 8:00 am
50s Prime Time - 1:15 pm
QS dinner in the park
Hoping to get a Star Wars fireworks dessert party on this evening (8:30 pm)

August 18--Epcot:
Garden Grill - 8:30 am
Akershus - 1:20 pm
Dinner at Disney Springs TBD--will play it by ear, and possibly just do Earl of Sandwich or something QS

August 19--Animal Kingdom:
Rainforest Cafe - 8:30 am
QS lunch in the park (probably Restaurantosaurus)
Mickey's Backyard BBQ - 5:30 pm

August 20--Typhoon Lagoon:
Kona - 8:30 am
QS lunch in the water park
Lilo's Playhouse reservation for Z-Zah - must check in by 5:30 pm to have dinner
Dinner TBD. Either Gasparilla Island Grill at GF, or maybe The Wave. Not making reservations until the day of...it's like dining roulette...whatever we can find that sounds good!

August 21--Magic Kingdom:
Be Our Guest - 8:00 am
Cinderella's Royal Table - 1:00 pm
Liberty Tree Tavern - 6:45 pm

August 22--Travel Home Day:
Ohana - 7:45 am

 

[nimbuscat]

I've been doing some more thinking...dangerous, I know!!

For one, we are leaving on a Monday--doing a Monday-Monday trip. Well, why don't we leave the previous Friday night or Saturday morning and maximize our time away without me having to take more time off work? I'm still considering it. Since I'm doing DVC point rental for our Poly stay, we'd either do a different Disney resort, or (more likely) stay near Sea World and do a day there. I'm still pondering that...

The other thing I am thinking about is not doing a Disney water park at all. This would be especially true if we came early, as we'd stay somewhere (Nickelodeon Suites, maybe) that has a nice water park/fancy pool area at the hotel...plus, the Poly pool is pretty darn cool for preschool age kids! This would give us a true rest/resort day on August 20, and I would probably try to get Mickey's Backyard BBQ moved to that day instead, so we won't have to rush around from Animal Kingdom on the 19th.

Here is a pic of the Nickelodeon Resort we are thinking about for a pre-Disney stay. My girls would love this!