I could get used to a view like this. Guys, I want a castle.–Oct TR ( I'm BACK!!!)

[jenneth79]

“I could get used to a view like this…Guys, I want a castle.” – An Oct 2012 PTR
(Musings and Commentary provided by Jen aka Evil Red)
Where: Disney’s Yacht Club, Grand Floridian, and Boardwalk Inn
When: October 13-22, 2012
Why the PTR: In order to save my DHs sanity, I have taken my trip planning out of the notebooks and onto the internet! I also need help.

Hello all, and dear friends to yet another glimpse into the insanity that is ME! Ahem, I mean, I’m really glad you could join us as we plan out what will hopefully be another amazing Disney vacation to try Food and Wine for the first time, “spook” up some scares at MNSSHP, and celebrate 4 years of marriage! Why Disney? Why not!?!

A quick background on the cast of characters in this trip:

We'll start with Yours Truly. My name is Jennifer (Jen for short, but don't call me Jenny!) and I'm 29 years old. Ok, so I lied, I'm 32. I'll start whining about 33 closer to November. I absolutely love Disney, grew up in the park every other year from the age of 3, and if you look closely under a microscope, my blood cells probably have Mickey Ears. You may not see it in this picture, but I assure you they are there:

Also joining me on this trip (though not on the DIS, I guess he hears quite enough of my Disney babble at home...he's totally missing out....) is the love of my life, Mike, my hubby. I never knew how much he really liked Disney until we went down in September 2011. He's just as hooked as I am! I really did end up with the perfect man. He's my hero:

A quick picture of us from our February 2012 trip:

I'm sure I'll go into a lot more about us in the coming days and months, so I'll leave the update brief. I hope you all decide to join me in this crazy planning adventure… did I mention we’re staying at THREE different resorts? Or that I need to lose 30 pounds?

So… are you in???

 

[jenneth79]

~*~*~*~*General Info*~*~*~*~
Why Three Resorts?
Our ADR List - Confirmed!
My Costume!
The Little Trip that *almost* Couldn't


~*~*~*~*Day-by-Day Plans*~*~*~*~
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four

 

[jedijill]

Am I first? I'm in!

I F&W!!!

Jill in CO

 

[Nermel9]

I'm here!

You know, I almost used "Guys, I want a castle" as my PTR title! Good thing I didn't!

I can't believe you're staying at 3 resorts!!! I want to stay at the GF SOOOO bad! The only way it will ever happen is if I do a half Pop-half GF split stay. Or 3/4 Pop-1/4 GF split stay.

 

[jenneth79]

Am I first? I'm in!

I F&W!!!

Jill in CO

You are!!

I'm so excited to try f&w this year! I'll have to get your advice on a few things!

I'm here!

You know, I almost used "Guys, I want a castle" as my PTR title! Good thing I didn't!

I can't believe you're staying at 3 resorts!!! I want to stay at the GF SOOOO bad! The only way it will ever happen is if I do a half Pop-half GF split stay. Or 3/4 Pop-1/4 GF split stay.

Hey girlie! As for the title....great minds!

 

[PixieMama]

Of course I'm in!


So. Tomorrow I'm going to call my friend, Kat, (she went on my Girl's Only trip last year, and she's now a Disney travel agent, woohoo!) to get a quote for October. Maybe once I have an estimate in hand, I can get hubby closer to agreeing to an anniversary trip


And I can't wait to hear more about your plans!

 

[jenneth79]

So, let’s start with the reason we have three different resorts planned for this trip. When Mike and I were in Disney in September for our 3rd anniversary, we stayed at the Yacht Club in a CL room. This room happened to have *really* bad plumbing and we found ourselves with a flooded room our first night. (You can read all about the drama here). Because of that, we were offered (well after our trip) two free nights at the Boardwalk Inn, Club Level. Such a nice gesture, but I was having a hard time planning a trip around it.

Initially we were going to use those two nights in February, but we wanted to stay for 3, and we were unable to add a night to the BW reservation as they were booked. So, we gave the Contemporary a shot and decided to go ahead and book the BWI nights on a weekend during F&W. I was able to book a Saturday and Sunday night during October, which meant we were going to get to try Food and Wine! This was going to be followed by a few nights either in the same hotel or different on either side of the weekend.

Once we came back from our February trip, however, we just knew we couldn’t get away with a short weekend only! The problem was that we were planning on a trip to Europe in August with Mike’s family, so we had really limited leave schedules. His parents made our troubles go away (I guess….) by postponing the Europe trip. I was super bummed about that as I’ve never been to UK or France, but excited as this opened up some possibilities for October!

I started by adding days in front and after the planned weekend. But that made no sense from a work perspective, so one day I called the lovely CMs at Disney Travel and made a few “adjustments”…..those enabling us to just take 6 days off work but spend 10 in the World!!!

Yacht Club was an obvious choice, with its location to Epcot and the view from the CL rooms. We were a bit hesitant to stay there the whole time, however, and in Feb my DH mentioned “well, what about the Grand?”

Was I hearing this correctly? Did he really want to stay at one of my dream hotels?

Before he could change his mind (or look at the room rates) I went ahead and booked 4 nights at Yacht Club, then 3 at Grand Floridian, followed by our 2 free nights at BWI. All Club Level too, which is super exciting yet again!

So now, there are a few things I need to figure out. I’ve never done a split stay – how do you handle moving luggage, checking in/out, dining plans, etc? Any tips or tricks from my fellow DIS’ers out there?

 

[jenneth79]

Of course I'm in!


So. Tomorrow I'm going to call my friend, Kat, (she went on my Girl's Only trip last year, and she's now a Disney travel agent, woohoo!) to get a quote for October. Maybe once I have an estimate in hand, I can get hubby closer to agreeing to an anniversary trip


And I can't wait to hear more about your plans!

Welcome! Glad you could join me over here.

Let me know how the chat goes w/ your friend!

 

[PixieMama]

Am jealous of your 10 days and resorts. And CL for all 3. That's so awesome! (But, still. Jealous.)

When I talk with Kat, I'll ask her about multiple check-ins/-outs and moving luggage... before I made it down on our girls trip, her and Angie stayed one night at WL and two nights at POR before going to Pop for the rest of their week. I'll let you know what she says!

 

[407-W-DISNEY]

I'm here!!

How awesome - 3 resorts! We have never moved resort to resort at Disney...I'm sure it will be so easy!
You are going to have the BEST time! I hope time speeds up for you!
We love the GF! our last trip was CL in the main building...let me tell you there is NOTHING like falling asleep to the sounds of the live orchestra!

 

[disneybarbie]

Subscribing!

A PTR with a Tangled quote for the title.. perfect

Our trips will just overlap! We are at the Boardwalk Villas October 7-14

Your three resorts sound amazing... will you be in the Sugar Loaf building or the Royal Palm Club (main building) at the Grand Floridian?
GF has always been my dream resort too, I think I decided about age 13 that I'd stay there on my honeymoon.. and luckily found a man that agreed to it! It's amazing place, I loved everything about staying there.. the Boardwalk will always be my (DVC) home, but special trips I think we'd stay at the GF again



Looking forward to counting down to October with you guys!


Emma x

 

[kimbo0569]

I'm in on this PTR - I've read all of your others so far and can't wait to read more.

 

[MiaBella05]

joining in

 

[jenneth79]

Am jealous of your 10 days and resorts. And CL for all 3. That's so awesome! (But, still. Jealous.)

When I talk with Kat, I'll ask her about multiple check-ins/-outs and moving luggage... before I made it down on our girls trip, her and Angie stayed one night at WL and two nights at POR before going to Pop for the rest of their week. I'll let you know what she says!

Don't be jealous... I'm going to be lousy with ramen noodles this summer just to pay for it!

I would love to hear any input Kat has...and I'm crossing my fingers about your fall trip!

I'm here!!

How awesome - 3 resorts! We have never moved resort to resort at Disney...I'm sure it will be so easy!
You are going to have the BEST time! I hope time speeds up for you!
We love the GF! our last trip was CL in the main building...let me tell you there is NOTHING like falling asleep to the sounds of the live orchestra!

I'm hoping it will be easy, we certainly couldn't afford the full trip at GF this time, and we'll get to experience two new resorts and give YC a second chance.... so I'm happy from that perspective. I am a bit leery of cutting down on our park time from all the check out / check in activity. Hey, I got two free nights at a high rated resort, I am SO not complaining!

I have to say the thought of falling asleep to music is WAY more appealing to falling asleep to "Now entering the Contemporary resort..." That's what I heard every night and every morning from our CL room there! (I still have that monorail voice stuck in my head!!!!)

Subscribing!

A PTR with a Tangled quote for the title.. perfect

Our trips will just overlap! We are at the Boardwalk Villas October 7-14

Your three resorts sound amazing... will you be in the Sugar Loaf building or the Royal Palm Club (main building) at the Grand Floridian?
GF has always been my dream resort too, I think I decided about age 13 that I'd stay there on my honeymoon.. and luckily found a man that agreed to it! It's amazing place, I loved everything about staying there.. the Boardwalk will always be my (DVC) home, but special trips I think we'd stay at the GF again



Looking forward to counting down to October with you guys!


Emma x

Hi Emma! I'm so glad you're here.

We watched Tangled again the other day and I just KNEW I had to make that my PTR title!

We're going to be in the main building, RPC. I have a king room booked, because it's just so hard to find one in Disney and I love that GF has it as a bookable category!

I'll be interested in getting your thoughts on some of the activities around the BWI, as we've never stayed there before and I know so little about it!

Great to hear that our trips will overlap, perhaps we will see each other in the park!

I'm in on this PTR - I've read all of your others so far and can't wait to read more.

Thanks so much, I'm glad you're joining in!!!

joining in

and thanks for joining!

 

[jenneth79]

Granted, I don’t really have any idea what the park hours are going to be yet (I’m watching Disney’s site like a hawk as the park hours creep closer and closer to October!) nor do I know which parks will have EMH, when the MNSSHP will be, or even what we’re going to feel like after testing all the Food and Wine selections. Does this mean I’m going to hold off on making a list of ADRs?

No, of course it doesn’t!!!

We’ve got a bit of a complicated setup here for our dining plan, as we’re doing the DxDP for both YC and GF, but no dining on our BWI stays. That adds a challenge in making sure credits are used within certain time periods, etc…but I think I’ve got it mostly figured out. Until the park hours change on me, of course.

So, here is what we’re thinking for breakfast and lunch… let me know your thoughts on these, as a few of them we haven’t tried before!!

Breakfast:
Most of these days we’ll take advantage of the Club Level lounges for our breakfast, with the exception of:

Cinderella’s Royal Table – I know, I’m going to brave the princess parade once again. Anyone know if you can request that they don’t visit your table?

Crystal Palace – Sure it’s buffet food. But I tried the stuffed French toast for the first time in February and I am HOOKED!

Lunch:

Again, we’re going to try a few new things here, and I’m giving one place another chance.

San Angel Inn – It was my dad’s favorite. Cava is just next door. We’re going to do a lunch here OOP so we don’t feel forced to try certain items. Anyone have a recommendation? I didn’t like the Mole, if that helps guiding your suggestions.

Fairfax Fare – Mike wants to try the “gourmet” hot dogs, though I have read some mixed reviews. Anyone have a favorite?

Liberty Tree Tavern – We had planned on going here during our September trip, but had to cancel the ADR. Going to try it again this time around.

Hollywood Brown Derby – We’re literally going here on a non-park day just for lunch… that’s how much I loved the food!

Kona – Another one we didn’t get to try, though I really wanted too. Hoping after a late lunch we might be able to head over to the bar to try one of those amazing drinks that come in a pineapple….

Yak and Yeti – We decided to give a sit down a try in AK this trip. I’ve heard good things for both Y&Y and Tusker House. Of course, I’ve heard bad things about both of them too! This is probably one of the options I’m most torn on.

Tokyo Dining – We’re dining here OOP on our departure day as it’s become something of a tradition for us both. I want to try some of the straight sushi options though, so it made sense to eat here one day when we’re not on DP.

So, what do you think? Should I consider other options? We're also going to have a day or two to try all the F&W selections as our "lunch"....any thing from last year that we HAVE to try?

Hope everyone is enjoying their day!



Jen

 

[407-W-DISNEY]

HI!
I agree with you being torn on Yak & Yeti...we have not eaten there....and I have not heard many good reviews...so maybe if park hours do not work that day you can loose this ADR...?????
BUT, you might have a good experience....Its a toss up on some restaurants I think...

Forgot to mention in my last post....I am soooo happy you got compensated for the 'toilet' incident! That's great customer service on Disney's part (however late)

 

[photographymom517]

I'm here & subscribed!

Ok, first of all, about the ADR's -- they all sound amazing!! I really want to try Kona next trip. I had it scheduled for last September and switched some things around & cancelled it.

About Yak & Yeti -- YES! Do it!!!

I believe my last post on my TR was about Yak & Yeti if you'd like to see pics of it or hear my review! My DH is a very picky eater -- he's pretty much a fries & hamburgers type of guy! My DS on the other hand will try ANYTHING (which I totally accredit to me allowing him to eat things as a baby that even I hated!) and I'm somewhere in between. I will try new things, but I'm also not that adventurous of an eater!

That being said, we LOVED Yak & Yeti! (I'll try to shorten the story & if you want more info, check out my TR post!) We were at AK trying to decide where to eat dinner & happened to walk by Y&Y. I never in a thousand years thought we'd get a walk-in, but the wait was barely 10 minutes. I got fish (I think Mahi Mahi), my DH got duck, and DS got something off the kids menu. I also got the fried wontons for dessert and they are a MUST!!! Seriously, get the wontons!!!

I think its GREEEEEAT that you're staying at three different Deluxe resorts!!! And CLUB level!!! Woohoo!!!!

I can't wait to read about your plans for the trip!!!

I know I had more comments to make, but I have one child crying to go outside (its an incredible 62 degrees here today!) and one crying for a bottle. So I'll post again later!

(Here's the link to my TR post on Yak & Yeti Yak & Yeti Post)

 

[photographymom517]

I remembered what I didn't comment on! Oops!

After becoming a Travel Agent, I learned about the process of checking in and out of multiple resorts & what happens with your luggage. I'm just double checking right now with another agent that nothing has changed! Then I'll get back to you on the step-by-step process!

 

[PixieMama]

RE: multiple check-ins/-outs

Kat said they used bell services to move their luggage from resort to resort. They checked out, gave the luggage to bell services, and went on to the parks. Then when they went to their new resort and checked in, their luggage was already there waiting! She did say they had to get new key cards for each resort... so yes, you'd have to be sure your dining credits are correct.

 

[PixieMama]

Yay, my favorite topic... FOOD!

Even though I've been to WDW during F&W twice, can you believe I have never tried any of the food vendors?

I've had lunch at Y&Y and LTT and thought both were really good.

On every trip since '07, I've had breakfast or lunch at CP... it's now become a sort of tradition. If Shane and I go for our anniversary, I figure we should stick to the more "adult" places... but then again, it's tradition! There's nothing wrong with 2 grown adults eating with Pooh & Friends, right?

And are you talking about the Lapu Lapu drink? In the pineapple? Those things are HUGE! I bet they're yummy... saw them during our dinner at 'Ohana. Debated on getting one, but no one would share with me and I figured that amount of alcohol would knock me flat, LOL! Ah, well.