I didn't know the baby's powers so I covered the basics: An Oct. '11/March ‘12 PTR

[Missyrose]

DOH!!! Forgot that! Should have known that you knew what you were talking about!

Got my Plaza ADR (6 people at noon ), which I wasn't losing too much sleep over. Now the tough one will be 'Ohana. Which I can get at 6 a.m. Saturday. Only problem is I'm stuck at work until 2:30 a.m., and then I have to pick up my little sister who's getting into Union Station from NYC at 2:15. 6 a.m. is going to come mighty fast.

 

[PrincessAmongPrinces]

Got my Plaza ADR (6 people at noon ), which I wasn't losing too much sleep over. Now the tough one will be 'Ohana. Which I can get at 6 a.m. Saturday. Only problem is I'm stuck at work until 2:30 a.m., and then I have to pick up my little sister who's getting into Union Station from NYC at 2:15. 6 a.m. is going to come mighty fast.

Did you get 'Ohana?? I had my fingers crossed for you

 

[Missyrose]

Did you get 'Ohana?? I had my fingers crossed for you

I got it! Apparently, there are plenty of 'Ohana ADRs if you wake up at the crack of dawn six months ahead to get them.

 

[natebenma]

I got it! Apparently, there are plenty of 'Ohana ADRs if you wake up at the crack of dawn six months ahead to get them.

WOO-HOO!!! Congrats!

 

[PirateKate]

I'm excited for you all staying at the Contemporary. I've always wanted to stay at a Monorail resort, but haven't had a chance to yet. Someday.

The deluxe dining plan sounds fun, too. It'll be nice to have the extra credits for Food and Wine samples. I love how you keep adding more luxurious components to your trip, while still saving money somehow.

 

[Missyrose]

WOO-HOO!!! Congrats!

The Plaza, Sci-Fi Dine-In, 'Ohana and Cape May Clambake down, just a Chefy Mickey's breakfast to go!

I'm excited for you all staying at the Contemporary. I've always wanted to stay at a Monorail resort, but haven't had a chance to yet. Someday.

The deluxe dining plan sounds fun, too. It'll be nice to have the extra credits for Food and Wine samples. I love how you keep adding more luxurious components to your trip, while still saving money somehow.

When I originally looked to see if the regular DDP would save us any money, I wasn't that shocked to find that it would be more expensive than just buying everything OOP. But when I ran the same numbers, I found we'd actually save a decent chunk of change by using the DxDP (and that was BEFORE I even factored in all those extra snack credits the DxDP gives us!).

The Food and Wine gift cards weren't even part of my food calculations, so saving money on that is just a HUGE bonus!

I'm sooooo excited to stay at CR, the monorail (and being able to walk to and from MK) makes getting around so easy! I just hope the monorail is up and running fairly well while we're there.

You'll stay at a monorail resort someday, I just know it!

 

[Missyrose]

I made my last ADR for March early, early this morning. Here's my lineup for the week:

March 7th:
Lunch -- Plaza at noon

March 8th:
Lunch -- Sci-Fi Dine-In at 12:10 p.m.
Dinner -- 'Ohana at 7:05 p.m.

March 9th:
Dinner -- Cape May Clambake at 5:30 p.m.

March 10th:
Breakfast -- Chef Mickey's at 7:30 a.m.

I'm pretty happy with everything. I was a little worried about getting the ADRs I wanted at the times I wanted after reading so many threads from people who struggled to put their ADRs together.

I see both sides of the story since I've planned both short-term and long-term trips (both at once, no less! ).

Moral of this story? Make your ADRs 180 days out and you have no problems. You'll have your pick of restaurants and times, with little to no flexibility needed. Plan a trip less than six months out and you have to be a little flexible with times, but eventually you'll nab the ADRs you want!

So readers, how do you think I did for my first 180-day ADR dash?

 

[dismagiclover]

for getting your ADRs! Now the hard part begins: waiting to use them At least you have the October trip to distract you.

 

[Missyrose]

for getting your ADRs! Now the hard part begins: waiting to use them At least you have the October trip to distract you.

That is going to be a mighty long wait. ... You're right, thank goodness for October.

 

[Missyrose]

Here we are folks, a month away from my trip to Disney World! Squeal! I can barely contain my excitement!

For the next few days, I’ll update you on the plans I have for a month from now. And to count down these last 30 days, I’m going to count down my top 30 Disney attractions! This is going to be so much fun.

First up, my plans for arrival day: Thursday October 13.

We arrive at MCO at 10:20 a.m. and will take our first Magical Express ride to the Contemporary Resort.

From there, we’ll hop on the monorail over to Epcot.

Where, after a ride or two on Test Track

and/or Mission Space,

we have a 1:55 p.m. lunch reservation at Le Cellier. Now, we’re not planning on a big lunch because we want to taste a few things at the Food and Wine Festival.

We’ll probably just split a steak and a soup at Le Cellier (because how could you go to Le Cellier and NOT try the world famous cheddar cheese soup?!?!).

We’ll then monorail it back to the resort to change for our very first Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party!

Before we head to Magic Kingdom though, we’ll jump in a cab over to All-Star Movies to check Kelley, Mike and the boys into their room (it’s booked under a pin code attached to my name). From there, we’ll go to MK and ride a few rides and grab a quick CS dinner before the party gets under way.

Our must-dos for the party include a photo with the dwarves, Mickey and Minnie, Daisy and Donald and Aladdin, Jasmine, Genie and Abu. Woody’s dance party. Villain Mix-N-Mingle (and get photos with a few baddies). Ride Big Thunder Mountain at night. And, of course, the parade and HalloWishes!

Adventurous plans, I know. But whatever we accomplish will be plenty for us. I’ve heard nothing but raves about the party and I can’t wait to join in the fun!

Onto the top-30 attractions countdown!

No. 30 -- Fantasmic
We saw this back on our trip in February ‘09.

It was a really cool show, I especially liked the movie clips on the sprays of water.

And the parade of characters was neat to see, especially some of the more rare ones. (I’m looking at you Steamboat Willie! )

When we went back in Oct./Nov. 2010, our schedule was so all over the place because of the space shuttle launch (the actual reason why we were in Florida in the first place) that we didn’t get to plan very well which parks on which days. So our DHS day wasn’t a Fantasmic day. With two trips coming up, I don’t think we’re planning to see it again these trips either. In October, we’re not planning to stay at DHS into the evening and in March we’ll have Tanner, who is a little to young for the dragon.

But for anyone who hasn't seen it, this is a show I highly recommend!

 

[teekathepony]

Looks like a good ADR list to me! Glad it worked out for you!!
Loving the to-do list too.

 

[natebenma]

on the ADRs! Just fantastic!

My favorite ADR quote:

"I don't know what I'm having for dinner tonight, but I know what I'm having 180 days from now!!!"

Love your 30 day countdown idea!

 

[Missyrose]

Looks like a good ADR list to me! Glad it worked out for you!!
Loving the to-do list too.

Thanks!

on the ADRs! Just fantastic!

My favorite ADR quote:

"I don't know what I'm having for dinner tonight, but I know what I'm having 180 days from now!!!"

Love your 30 day countdown idea!

Great quote and soooooo true! Thanks for the countdown love.

 

[Missyrose]

After what I’m sure will be an awesome Halloween party, we’ll wake up bright and early Friday morning and head to the Atrium Club for breakfast and to arrange switching to our second room. If a room is ready we’ll stop in before leaving for the park. If not, we’ll leave our stuff with the CL CMs and head out to DHS to meet Kelley, Mike and the boys for rope drop.

Clearly, we’ll run (well, walk at a brisk pace) with the masses to Toy Story Mania. The plan will be for Mike and Franklin to get as close to the front of the FP line as possible and Kelley, me and the boys will move toward the standby line. Once the big boys are done, we’ll hop in standby for our first ride of the day.

Next we’ll head to Rockin Roller Coaster, where I’m contemplating giving the ride a try for the first time. Hey, I conquered my fear of Space Mountain on my last trip, so maybe I can conquer this fear on this trip!

We also are hoping to get to Tower of Terror and the new version of Star Tours before heading to Sci-Fi Dine-In for our 11:05 a.m. ADR. Whatever we have for lunch, I know my meal there will end with a hot fudge sundae (thanks Natebenma!).

Our only other must-do at the park is Lights, Action, Motor Stunt Show, which is at 1:20 p.m. Franklin and I will probably bid the Rodgers family good-bye for the day and take the boat to Epcot for a few quick noshes at the Food and Wine Festival

before heading back to our hotel for a swim and some down time.

We plan to watch Wishes at 9 from the Atrium Club balcony, then scooting to the Poly for a 9:55 p.m. ‘Ohana ADR.

Yes, we’re crazy people to attempt a rope drop to 10 p.m. dinner schedule, but with no kids I’m hopeful we’ll pull it off because it sounds like such a fun day!

What do you guys think, are we totally nuts?

Top-30 Attraction Countdown
29. Turtle Talk
I don’t even have a kid and I love watching this show. Seeing the kids’ reactions to Crush is so adorable. I love how many of them inch closer to the screen as the show goes on. Plus, who doesn’t love Crush? Totally Dude!

 

[Missyrose]

It’s our Magic Kingdom day!

We have a breakfast ADR at the Wave at CR. Our ADR is at 7:30, Mike, Kelley and the boys have a 7:10 ADR at Chef Mickey’s, so we’ll hook up after that to head over to MK. We could walk, but I’m sure the boys are going to want a ride on the monorail (it does feel like a ride for little kids doesn’t it?).

I think the plan will be doing Dumbo dash at rope drop.

It’s one of Franklin’s favorite rides and I know Kelley’s twins, Ryan and Jack , are REALLY looking forward to that ride. The rest of the day will be (hopefully) touring at a leisurely pace. I’m hoping the fact that Franklin and I will be back less than six months later will help us to slow down and really enjoy the Magic Kingdom. We’ll collect FastPasses all morning to use later that afternoon and evening.

Lunch will probably be at Columbia Harbor House. Originally it was a toss-up between CHH and Cosmic Ray’s, but I keep reading all the horrible experiences from Dis-ers about Cosmic Ray’s recently , so I think we may skip it this time.

Sometime in the afternoon, we WILL be getting one of these babies.

There’s been some debate on the boards recently about whether you can still get one with a snack credit. Whether we can use a credit or not, we’re getting one!


Dinner will be at Citricos at the Grand Floridian. Originally, we had an ADR at Grand Floridian Cafe for dinner. But when we added the DxDP, we had an extra TS credit to use. At first, I thought to add the Plaza for lunch this day. But I really didn’t want three sit-down meals in one day and I thought the extra credit might be better served to add another signature restaurant instead. So the choice came down to Narcoose’s and Citricos. Both looked great and got very good reviews. Narcoose’s, though, had fewer options for non-seafood lovers (like myself). So I chose Citricos instead! I don’t think we could make a bad decision in this instance.

We’ll head back to the park to use our FP’s and maybe watch the Main Street Electrical Parade before Wishes at 9 p.m. After finishing up the last hour of attractions, including a ride on Big Thunder Mountain at night, we’ll take that lovely stroll back to our hotel. I mean, how cool is that? While everyone else is stuck in a crush trying to get on a monorail or bus back to their hotels, we can just walk! In the words of little orphan Annie, “I think I’m gonna like it here.”

Top-30 Attractions Countdown
28. The Seas with Nemo and Friends
Okay, okay, I know what you’re thinking...”They just jammed some Nemo videos into an existing ride.” Well, yes they did, but what can I say? I’m a sucker for anything Nemo.

And I totally made friends with this guy on the way out of the ride.

 

[Missyrose]

Hi all, hopefully ya'll are still with me.

We're moving onto Sunday of the trip, which is scheduled to be our Epcot day.

We'll start our day with a 7:30 breakfast at Kona Cafe so Franklin can try his very first Tonga Toast!

We'll then hop on the monorail over to Epcot. Originally, we were planning to be there at rope drop. But if you've been following this thread over on the Theme Parks board, you'll know they've eliminated RD at Epcot, and instead just hold everyone outside the turnstiles until park opening. That sounds like chaos to me, so we may take our time with breakfast and have our goal to be at Epcot by 9:30ish.
We'll spend the morning in Future World, hitting up some of our favorites:

Soarin'

Test Track

Mission Space

Captain EO

Our only plans for lunch is to nosh around the world at the World Showcase. I can't wait to do this!

Once we've had our fill of international cuisine, we'll head back to CR for a little swimming and relaxing. We have nowhere to be until 9:15, when we have a dinner ADR at California Grill.

The cool thing about our ADR time, is that we'll get to watch that night's HalloWishes from the Cali Grill observation deck.

I'm really excited about this dinner. Franklin LOVES sushi and we've heard such amazing things about the sushi there. Plus, I've rarely read a bad review of Cali Grill, so I have high hopes for our meal.

Sadly, when we return to our room we'll have to start packing because the next day is checkout day.

Top-30 Attractions
27. Journey into Imagination
I have so many happy memories of this ride when I was a kid. Mainly because I was such a ride chicken, I was always happy to find nice, easy rides I could enjoy. Figment was also one of my favorite Disney characters growing up.
Now, the ride has gone through many iterations at this point, but I’m partial to the original.

(Photos from LostEpcot.com)

I also remember spending hours in the area after the ride, playing with all the activities they had set up.

 

[CandleontheWater]

Howdy neighbor! I am checking in from Alexandria VA! The title of your report caught my eye because I have traveled with my son (more than once) as a baby, and I had to stick around when I read your awesome plans and saw you live close by!

You look like you are in for an awesome trip, all of your plans look spectacular! I can't wait to read more!

 

[Missyrose]

Howdy neighbor! I am checking in from Alexandria VA! The title of your report caught my eye because I have traveled with my son (more than once) as a baby, and I had to stick around when I read your awesome plans and saw you live close by!

You look like you are in for an awesome trip, all of your plans look spectacular! I can't wait to read more!

to the PTR! I've actually read your TR before, Everett is soooooo cute! Thanks for joining in neighbor.

 

[Missyrose]

Sorry for the late post today. Franklin and I went to see The Lion King in 3-D before I went to work today. It was SOOOOOOOOO GOOD! The cool thing about Disney's hand-drawn animation was always the multilayer approach they took to it. There was one layer of background, one layer of middle ground and another layer of foreground where most of the characters resided. By turning the film into 3-D, it gave those different layers added depth and the movie just popped off the screen. Highly recommend seeing it (though it's only supposed to bein theaters this week and next week!).

Onto the trip plans...

Today is the day no one likes on their trip... departure day.

But just because we’re leaving, doesn’t mean we don’t get to have a boatload of fun. We’ll be up early again today (that’s become a bit of a theme hasn’t it). We’ll check out of CR, sniff.

Then we’ll take a stroll over to MK, where we have an 8:20 a.m. ADR at Crystal Palace. Mike, Kelley and the boys have an 8:30 ADR there as well (because it is the boys' third birthday that day! ), so hopefully we’ll all get some nice early-morning pictures as we walk right down the middle of Main Street!

The rest of the day will be spent visiting the attractions at MK that we hadn’t gotten to yet on the trip or the ones we want to do one last time before we leave.

Franklin and I may or may not dart over to Epcot for another Food and Wine Festival lunch.

And sometime around 3-ish, we’ll head back to the hotel to wait for our 4 p.m. Magical Depress back to the airport.

I’m hoping the Disney blues will be lessened by the fact that Franklin and I will be returning a short five months later!

Top-30 Attractions
26. Pirates of the Caribbean
I know it’s almost blasphemous to have Pirates of the Caribbean this far down my list. I like this ride, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not someone who feels the need to ride it over and over again on each trip. Once or twice is usually enough for me.

It’s a fun ride, with that old-school feeling you don’t get on many other rides. And you can never beat that blast of cold, dank air you feel as you walk into the queue.

All in all, I’ve always been impressed by the details on the ride, like how as you sail under the bridge you can see hair on the leg that drops down above you.

Am I missing something with this ride? Any Pirates lovers out there want to help convince me how to like the ride more?

 

[wigdoutdismom]

I'm still here reading! Just fell a bit behind...

I'm a Nemo fan too! I would never have a bad word for that ride.

Have you been to Citrico's before? We've been once, I had the pork 3 ways. If you aren't a pork belly fan, I don't recommend it. Just trying to be helpful. This has been the only place on property that I really had no clue what to order...
I hope you have a wonderful experience!!!