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[dizneeat]

So, its pretty much official...Max hates the beach! Guess that means future summer vacations might have to be to Disneyworld!

What a shame!

 

[dizneeat]

I am still trying to catch up, but I LOVE your decision of staying at the Contemporary! Do you need visitors during your stay? I'll volunteer!

So you are booked? I still need to do it and Tom was not a happy bunny when I said that I want to book a room before we leave for our summer vacation.
They will have some changes at work and he does not even know for sure if he can get the week off, so I promised to book Pop and as soon as he knows he can get off and we'll be able to get an AP discount we'll upgrade to a moderate (tied between CSR and POR).

Did you see the concept art for the doom buggy rooms and princess rooms? I hope they will pull through with them - they look great!

 

[tinacaplan]

I am still trying to catch up, but I LOVE your decision of staying at the Contemporary! Do you need visitors during your stay? I'll volunteer!

So you are booked? I still need to do it and Tom was not a happy bunny when I said that I want to book a room before we leave for our summer vacation.
They will have some changes at work and he does not even know for sure if he can get the week off, so I promised to book Pop and as soon as he knows he can get off and we'll be able to get an AP discount we'll upgrade to a moderate (tied between CSR and POR).

Did you see the concept art for the doom buggy rooms and princess rooms? I hope they will pull through with them - they look great!

We are booked. Have a confirmation number and everything! I was worried that the garden wing rooms would disappear and then we wouldn't be able to stay at the CR at all, as the difference between a garden view room and a tower room is HUGE!

I haven't seen any concept art for new rooms, though I've heard some rumors.

 

[chunkymonkey]

We are officially booked at the Contemporary for the week of February 20!!!!

Wow! Sounds like an amaaaaazing time is coming in Feb for you! Yay on the CR!!!

 

[tinacaplan]

So, we'll be on our way home tomorrow, after some basic cleaning up and packing. Despite trying just about everything five adults could think of, we couldn't get Max to really like the beach. Its weird. He'll stay at a playground for hours! Its been very hot up here, and humid, and we have all been very spoiled by central air. Suffice it to say, we are very happy to be going home, even though it means that my summer is over and I'm back to work on Friday.

 

[tinacaplan]

Wow! Sounds like an amaaaaazing time is coming in Feb for you! Yay on the CR!!!

I think so. Can you come with us to take pictures? And your amazing time is coming up pretty soon! You must be getting very excited.

 

[tinacaplan]

Another day, another set of trip changes... Will it never end? Actually, I am hoping to have this all settled before I start school again and have a lot less time for trip planning and the Dis, in general. Plus, my ADR window opens in a week!

And now we are day three....our day at Animal Kingdom. I will not bore you again, but we're sticking to plans that are more or less the same as the ones I had previously posted for AK...Tusker House...safari...more animals....counter service lunch/snacks at Flametree or Yak and Yeti (did you know you can get two pretty decent egg rolls there for the price of a single snack credit??) Hopefully, I'll be able to brave the single rider line and get on Expedition Everest again. Loved that coaster last time!

When Max seems like he's ready to go, we'll head back to our resort (did I mention we're staying at the Contemporary??? ) and chill out for awhile. I am really hoping and praying for some pool weather. I'm hoping that because our trip is an entire week later this year, that might help! But I saw some pretty low temps in FL last year well into March. Not that fifty-sixty degree weather can keep this New England girl out of a heated pool!

Later on that afternoon, we will head back over to EPCOT for some more laid back touring...Spaceship Earth again, perhaps...the Seas with Nemo... we'll see and then head to an ADR at Beirgarten! To me, the place just screams DISNEY! Plus, the food is pretty good, its loud, and there's entertainment for Max.

I am hopeful that with the help of ice cream and some WS boat rides (Mexico, Norway) we might be able to keep Max awake for Illuminations, which is my personal favorite. I find it so exciting, like somehow, that show is going to really change the world. Corny and impossible, I know...but that's the Disney magic!

Then its back to the monorail to go home...I mean back to our resort!

 

[KatMark]

Another day, another set of trip changes... Will it never end? Actually, I am hoping to have this all settled before I start school again and have a lot less time for trip planning and the Dis, in general. Plus, my ADR window opens in a week!

And now we are day three....our day at Animal Kingdom. I will not bore you again, but we're sticking to plans that are more or less the same as the ones I had previously posted for AK...Tusker House...safari...more animals....counter service lunch/snacks at Flametree or Yak and Yeti (did you know you can get two pretty decent egg rolls there for the price of a single snack credit??) Hopefully, I'll be able to brave the single rider line and get on Expedition Everest again. Loved that coaster last time!

When Max seems like he's ready to go, we'll head back to our resort (did I mention we're staying at the Contemporary??? ) and chill out for awhile. I am really hoping and praying for some pool weather. I'm hoping that because our trip is an entire week later this year, that might help! But I saw some pretty low temps in FL last year well into March. Not that fifty-sixty degree weather can keep this New England girl out of a heated pool!

Later on that afternoon, we will head back over to EPCOT for some more laid back touring...Spaceship Earth again, perhaps...the Seas with Nemo... we'll see and then head to an ADR at Beirgarten! To me, the place just screams DISNEY! Plus, the food is pretty good, its loud, and there's entertainment for Max.

I am hopeful that with the help of ice cream and some WS boat rides (Mexico, Norway) we might be able to keep Max awake for Illuminations, which is my personal favorite. I find it so exciting, like somehow, that show is going to really change the world. Corny and impossible, I know...but that's the Disney magic!

Then its back to the monorail to go home...I mean back to our resort!

Great plans. I love Biergarten--Max is going to love this place. Illuminations is my 3rd favorite (Wishes and Fantasmic ranke above it), but still very enjoyable.

 

[MommaMouse411]

tina...i was in disney world in december when it was raining and freezing...i'm talkin 50degrees...lol...yes that's freezing to me now...and people were in the pool!!!

 

[tinacaplan]

tina...i was in disney world in december when it was raining and freezing...i'm talkin 50degrees...lol...yes that's freezing to me now...and people were in the pool!!!

Of course...and I'm sure that that all the crazy people you saw were from up North! Trust me, in the middle of a bad Northern winter, even fifty-five degrees can feel wonderful!

Great plans. I love Biergarten--Max is going to love this place. Illuminations is my 3rd favorite (Wishes and Fantasmic ranke above it), but still very enjoyable.

Can you believe we haven't seen Fantasmic? And knowing the difficultly surrounding getting in, etc, we're going to wait for awhile.

 

[annmarieda]

Can you believe we haven't seen Fantasmic? And knowing the difficultly surrounding getting in, etc, we're going to wait for awhile.

It is kinda a pain..you have to be there early to get seats..and they are not all that comfy. The show itself is outstanding. This time we booked a fantasmic dinner package. My hope is that we can arrive a bit later since we have seats in the reserved seating area. I need to read more on this though...I might be wrong.

 

[tinacaplan]

It is kinda a pain..you have to be there early to get seats..and they are not all that comfy. The show itself is outstanding. This time we booked a fantasmic dinner package. My hope is that we can arrive a bit later since we have seats in the reserved seating area. I need to read more on this though...I might be wrong.

I'm thinking its something that we'll wait on 'till he's a big older. In the meantime, we don't know what we're missing.

 

[tinacaplan]

So this will be the morning we have our early ADR at Crystal Palace. After we eat our french toast, have our omlettes (thanks for the tip, Katmark!), and get our pictures with Tigger, Pooh, and Eyeore, we'll be off to conquer Fantastyland. Again, I have to confess that Mark and I didn't see MK during daylight hours last time. It will be a whole new world this time!
So, we also don't have good pictures of MK, either.

I'll be sure and fix this next time!

We can either do CS in MK at Pecos Bill or Columbia Harbor House, or we'll head bck to the CR for lunch at the Contempo Cafe. It is quite likely that Mark and I won't be hungry, so splitting some CS might be the way to go.

And that evening we'll do our ADR at California Grill. Can't wait for this food again! Seriously. Xould be a horrible failure, but I'm hoping it won't be. We'll see. We'll watch Wishes either during our dinner, or from the observation deck shortly thereafter, then its off to bed!

 

[KatMark]

Great Day 4 plans. You will find MK totally different from the nightime. I would have DH get fast passes for Peter Pan while you and Max wait in line for Dumbo to start off.

 

[tinacaplan]

Great Day 4 plans. You will find MK totally different from the nightime. I would have DH get fast passes for Peter Pan while you and Max wait in line for Dumbo to start off.

Thanks for the tip, Kathy.

 

[tinacaplan]

We all had a great time listening to the Disney kids station on Pandora on the way home today. They played several Mary Poppins songs, which made me very happy.

 

[tinacaplan]

Like a lot of you out there, I am anxiously waiting to see what discounts Disney produces tomorrow, if any. That could mean our trip is a bit longer than I've currently planned. Southwest is also supposed to release their February fares tomorrow...fingers crossed. They were showing some excellent fares from Hartford to Orlando right now...we'll see if that trend continues!

Onto day five..we'll be at Hollywood Studios. I really did love this park, even if I was a little surprised at how little there is to do here. And there will be even less with Star Tours closed. My husband is a HUGE Star Wars fan so he's going to be a tad dissapointed about this particular closure.

And I'm sure he isn't going to like the changes, either, as he did not like the newest three movies...

But enough about my husband's love of Star Wars... The plan is to get there for rope drop and run immediately to Toy Story Mania. On the way in, we'll grab fastpasses and, on the way out, depending on how long the line is, perhaps we'll ride it again!

I don't know what it is about this ride...but I LOVE IT!! I bought the at-home version for our Wii, but haven't gotten into yet. That might have more to do with my general dislike for video games, but my living room is not Hollywood Studios.

I know we'll have to wait in line to meet Buzz and Woody. We'll also have to find Lightening McQueen. Now, this is where I have a minor bone to pick with Disney . My three year old son LOVES and I mean LOVES nearly every Pixar movie he's ever seen. He is particularly obssessed with Cars, all three installments of Toy Story, and Up! Why Disney doesn't do more with its Pixar movies is just beyond me. I know that we'll go regardless, but some more rides based on Pixar movies would be wonderful.

OK...done with that now... back to my plans. We'll walk around, ride the Great Movie Ride, see the Muppet show (which I love, being part of the generation of kids who watched the Muppet show every Sunday like it was part of my religion), etc. If I can swing the single rider line somehow, I'll ride the Rock and Roller Coaster. While I did love it, I don't love it enough to stop our plans entirely.

Oh, yes, and we'll have lunch at Sci-Fi! My husband and I loved it here last time.

Personally, I think its one of the best themed restaurants at Disney. We loved the cars and the movies. And our cheeseburgers and shakes were pretty yummy, too! I think Max will love it!

Then we'll be back to the Contemporary for some rest. That evening, I'm going to make an ADR for the Garden Grill, for our last night at EPCOT.
This is the evening we are going to make it to Illuminations, NO MATTER WHAT!

I am encouraged, however. We went to an informal, backyard wedding last night and Max was great until after nine at night! So perhaps the evenings will work out, after all!

 

[KatMark]

Love your day 5 plans. We love SciFi too (if you didn't try the onion rings you just must). I'm with you...there is just something about TSM--it's great.l

 

[MommaMouse411]

It is kinda a pain..you have to be there early to get seats..and they are not all that comfy. The show itself is outstanding. This time we booked a fantasmic dinner package. My hope is that we can arrive a bit later since we have seats in the reserved seating area. I need to read more on this though...I might be wrong.

i did dinner package and I still had to get there an hour before show time...the amphitheatre was packed. I got there early and sat and like 30minutes to the show it was packed house. crazy.

and fantasmic is awesome..

 

[MommaMouse411]

tina..I'm with you on DHS and lack of Pixar rides & theming...My son loves Lightning McQueen (not the movie) but the actual toys and TOY STORY and MONSTERS...there's a little room you go in to take pics with Sully/MIke boring,lame...and McQueen and Mater are just parked off in this corner...I know DIsney gotta do what they gotta do..but man a Pixar park would be awesome...

also Sci Fi, when I went for christmas didn't have the cheeseburger on the menu? and i was like WHAT? and they cooked it for me anyways..but the food was good. i thought it was a cool restaurant.

as for garden grill..it was my least favorite...the steak was really good but I don't know I don't like family style dining..so it was kind of boring food...but the characters were cute...Mickey in his farm outfit...and the restaurant turns, I'm sure you know..but its not real noticeable..until you look up and you are in the jungle part of the ride below you. Gosh what is the name of that ride...I'm not a huge FW fan..I like hanging out in the WS. anyways, it did seem that the characters had more time at this location to take pics and play with the kids.chip and dale being the most fun of the bunch.