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

[brookelizabeth]

for getting a good deal on flights!!!

And $0.40?! That's craZy! How nice it would be if they honored that though. Have you heard back from Budget yet on it?

Thanks for joining in Brook! I can't believe you'll be leaving for Disney in less than two weeks! I know you're excited, is Henry as excited as you are?
Speaking of planning for next time, I found myself on my computer pricing out a long-weekend trip (and AP's to use on both trips) in October for the F&W Festival. How sick is that? Alas, after using two weeks of vacation time and a considerable chunk of our savings to go to Europe in June, I think I'm gonna have to just be satisfied with JUST the March trip, for now.

But yes, next time, I WILL be staying onsite.

Yes, Henry is pretty stinkin' excited! He has no concept of time still though, so we just tell him it's soon and he wants to go RIGHT NOW every time.

I cannot tell you how many trips I have priced out - especially since I'm in the booking system every day. Today I was checking out cruises.

 

[Missyrose]

for getting a good deal on flights!!!

And $0.40?! That's craZy! How nice it would be if they honored that though. Have you heard back from Budget yet on it?

Nope, haven't heard anything back yet...that reminds me, I need to call them tomorrow and find out what's going on!

Yes, Henry is pretty stinkin' excited! He has no concept of time still though, so we just tell him it's soon and he wants to go RIGHT NOW every time.

You guys always have so much fun, I can't wait to follow along again on FB!

 

[natebenma]

I'm in!

Absolutely love your title, and I'll be interested in seeing how your commando ways mesh with Toddler Travel.

Tanner is WAY cute!

Unfortunately, I can't help you with travel with little ones. Our first trip with the boys was when they were 3 and 6 and it was a quickie. On that trip, we stayed offsite in a 2 BR condo and it was great! Nice and quiet. We had a shared pool- how nice that you will have your own to enjoy!

It is really nice to be able to fix your own breakfast- that was the main meal we had at the condo.

Who/when will you have a grocery stop? Do places like Garden Grocer or WeGoShop do offisite homes?

I'll have to think about what I would recommend for dining for you. Offsite, so no dining plan- does your crew prefer sitdown meals, buffets, counter service?

You should plan at least one character meal.

For counter service, our faves are Columbia Harbor House at MK, Tamu Tamu (the restaurants that guests forgot) at Animal Kingdom, don't know at HS but lots of people recommend Starring Roles (that's the one with sandwiches, right?) and lots at EPCOT, with particular favorites being Sunshine Season, Tangierine Cafe and the sandwiches at the Boulangerie in France.

I think your flight times are great!

 

[Missyrose]

I'm in!

Absolutely love your title, and I'll be interested in seeing how your commando ways mesh with Toddler Travel.

My first adult trip was totally commando (with down-to-the-minute Ridemax plans ). It was Franklin's first trip to WDW ever(!), so I felt like I needed to cram as much in as I could.

Our next trip was a little more laid-back. We went fairly commando in the mornings (we try to get to rope drop as much as we can, it's just so awesome when you feel like you have the park to yourself!) but the afternoons we just wandered around an toured more slowly, stopping to do things that caught our eye.

Touring with the baby, I think, will be more like our last trip (getting stuff done at RD and then slowing down the rest of the day). Though with him, our list of what we do early in the morning will shift to more kid-friendly things (Dumbo Dash , Peter Pan , Winnie the Pooh ). We'll grab Mountain FP's as we go, but the focus probably won't be on the adult rides as much.

Tanner is WAY cute!
Unfortunately, I can't help you with travel with little ones. Our first trip with the boys was when they were 3 and 6 and it was a quickie. On that trip, we stayed offsite in a 2 BR condo and it was great! Nice and quiet. We had a shared pool- how nice that you will have your own to enjoy!

It is really nice to be able to fix your own breakfast- that was the main meal we had at the condo.

Who/when will you have a grocery stop? Do places like Garden Grocer or WeGoShop do offisite homes?

I think our tentative plan will be to stop at Publix on the way from the airport to the townhouse. We'll have a rental minivan and it will be easy enough to just pop into the store for what we need.
I said to Franklin after our last trip that we need to do a better job of making ourselves eat breakfast in the morning before we leave for the parks. I would bring dry cereal or cereal bars to parks for breakfast, but I hardly ever ate them. And we'd be starving for lunch by 11!

I'll have to think about what I would recommend for dining for you. Offsite, so no dining plan- does your crew prefer sitdown meals, buffets, counter service?

You should plan at least one character meal.

For counter service, our faves are Columbia Harbor House at MK, Tamu Tamu (the restaurants that guests forgot) at Animal Kingdom, don't know at HS but lots of people recommend Starring Roles (that's the one with sandwiches, right?) and lots at EPCOT, with particular favorites being Sunshine Season, Tangierine Cafe and the sandwiches at the Boulangerie in France.

I think your flight times are great!

We're planning for a mix of onsite dining and offsite. I have a couple of restaurants in mind (I'll save those for a post I'm currently working on), but I'm gonna need some suggestions from my awesome PTR readers!

Tanner has been a really good baby when we've gone out to eat with him. So, we're planning to do some sit-down meals (and Lala even said we'd be okay doing a couple of late(ish) dinners and Tanner will just sleep in his stroller.

Franklin and I became CHH converts on our last trip and have it on the list for one of our Magic Kingdom days.

There are so many good CS places in Epcot! We want to try many of the ones you named, plus I think I want to try Lotus Blossom and Franklin wants to try La Cantina de San Angel. So many CS places, so little time!

 

[Missyrose]

Okay, so the plan for the next chapters were supposed to be about our dining plans and prospects. But then I happened upon a Dis posting that the Disney Store was having a sale last week and who can resist a sale? Not me!

I knew there were a few things I wanted to get for Tanner’s goody bags and I was also starting to put together birthday/WDW trip goody bags for my friend Kelley’s ADORABLE twins, Ryan and Jack . If you want to hear more about her upcoming trip, check out her PTR: “You’ve got serious thrill issues, dude!”

If I was being I good little budget shopper, I would have put the things I needed in my cart, and clicked through to check out. Don’t pass go, don’t collect $200. But where’s the fun in that? As I was shopping, I remembered how much I loved a T-shirt DWGal210 bought from the DS and posted on her trip report: "This trip will be a perfect 10!", so I moseyed over to the clothing section. And not only did I pick up the shirt I loved from DWGal210’s PTR:

I also found two more T-shirts that would be perfect for my trip :

Aren’t they adorable?!?!?! Between those and the two really cute T-shirts I bought at Disney last year:

I’ve got five shirts for our five days at WDW! That will make packing easier.

What do you guys think, am I totally nuts? What are some of your favorite pre-trip purchases? Do any of you do goody bags for the kids in your family? What do you put in them?

 

[PrincessAmongPrinces]

Thank you for the shameless plug for my PTR!
And, I am excited to see what you're getting for my boys! Today I took a slight, and I truly mean slight, break from my Disney planning obsession and instead planned their Cars themed birthday party- which I have just emailed you about!
I *love* the shirts that you bought! They're super cute!! I think its awesome that you have a Disney shirt for each day of your trip
I definitely need to do some shopping for us. Although, I doubt I can get Mike into a Disney shirt willingly But I definitely think the shirts will help get you in the "Disney spirit" each morning! And I can't wait to see pictures of you and Tanner all decked out in Disney each day!

 

[cam&phoebsmom]

I love the shirts you bought last year-I think they are super cute and along with the new ones you bought you will be perfectly decked out!

The nice thing about having the baby with you is that if 4 adults are traveling you will be able to get FP for 2 "thrill" ride attractions at the same time and all 4 of you will be able to ride. So let's say you and your DH get them for Splash-you go and present the FP and (along with Tanner) show the CM at the FP entrance that you need a rider swap and you will get one for the other 2 adults to ride after you.

So when we go we will get FP for Space for 3 of the 7, and at the same time can get FP for Splash but 6 of us will be able to ride ( i know it soumds confusing right now, but once it starts being used it will be a nice added benefit!)

 

[teekathepony]

I JUST posted in my PTR about how I have all kinds of Mickey t-shirts and will not wear any of them at Disney because they're too hot (I prefer tank tops!) Too funny.
Having said that, I do adore your shirts, they're so cute! I really love that first one.
You're definitely not nuts. I shop early too. Funny enough, my favourite purchases are always the toiletries. I don't know why but it always feels very satisfying when I zip shampoo into a baggie and pack it away.
Never traveled with kids so I can't help with the goody bags.

 

[brookelizabeth]

I love your new shirts! I have the gray Mickey one and wear it all the time! It's super comfy, and I love the faded look of it.

As for pre-trip shopping, yes! I always do some. I haven't bought many Disney shirts prior to our trips lately because I already have about 7 of them, but I did see one at Old Navy last week that I caved and purchased. It was too cute not to get! Other than that, this trip has required Joe to get new sandals and Henry sunglasses.

As for goody bags, yes, I do them too! One time, when Henry was very young, I went to the Dollar store and purchased cheap Disney-themed trinkets (and other stuff) and wrapped each one. Anytime he got antsy on the plane, or while we were waiting for something, during our travel time, I would pull out a gift. It took him a while to unwrap it and then he'd be entertained for a good 10 minutes per toy. Worked awesome.

Since he has gotten older now and can rip off paper much more quickly, I do little surprises here and there. I packed his monorail toy in his own suitcase last time, so when he opened the suitcase after we got to Disney, he had a surprise. This time I have a bunch of things - a Star Wars Lego t-shirt, some Matchbox cars, green army men....I think I will just randomly have them waiting for him on the bed when he wakes up in the morning, or pull stuff out at various times. I'll also bring a brand new coloring book and crayons for the plane. He usually just watches the iPad, but between when we board and when we can turn on electronic devices he sometimes gets antsy. I don't do all the gifts at once so the surprises last the whole trip long!

 

[Missyrose]

Thank you for the shameless plug for my PTR!
And, I am excited to see what you're getting for my boys! Today I took a slight, and I truly mean slight, break from my Disney planning obsession and instead planned their Cars themed birthday party- which I have just emailed you about!
I *love* the shirts that you bought! They're super cute!! I think its awesome that you have a Disney shirt for each day of your trip
I definitely need to do some shopping for us. Although, I doubt I can get Mike into a Disney shirt willingly But I definitely think the shirts will help get you in the "Disney spirit" each morning! And I can't wait to see pictures of you and Tanner all decked out in Disney each day!

Cars-themed party?!?! Sounds perfect!

I love the shirts you bought last year-I think they are super cute and along with the new ones you bought you will be perfectly decked out!

The nice thing about having the baby with you is that if 4 adults are traveling you will be able to get FP for 2 "thrill" ride attractions at the same time and all 4 of you will be able to ride. So let's say you and your DH get them for Splash-you go and present the FP and (along with Tanner) show the CM at the FP entrance that you need a rider swap and you will get one for the other 2 adults to ride after you.

So when we go we will get FP for Space for 3 of the 7, and at the same time can get FP for Splash but 6 of us will be able to ride ( i know it soumds confusing right now, but once it starts being used it will be a nice added benefit!)

Ooooooo! I never thought of using the baby swap like that. Kind of like divide and conquer! Thanks for the awesome tip!

 

[Missyrose]

I JUST posted in my PTR about how I have all kinds of Mickey t-shirts and will not wear any of them at Disney because they're too hot (I prefer tank tops!) Too funny.
Having said that, I do adore your shirts, they're so cute! I really love that first one.
You're definitely not nuts. I shop early too. Funny enough, my favourite purchases are always the toiletries. I don't know why but it always feels very satisfying when I zip shampoo into a baggie and pack it away.
Never traveled with kids so I can't help with the goody bags.

That's funny that you can't wear your Mickey shirts at Disney because it's too hot, that's precisely WHY I bought the first two T-shirts.

We went in late October/early November last year and I had packed for the upper 70s-low 80s temps that were forecasted. Except I forgot that 80 degrees here at home is NOTHING like 80 degrees in the hot Florida sun ! About 10 minutes into walking around our first park, I knew most of what I brought to wear wasn't going to be cool enough, so I ducked into a store and bought the two new T-shirts! At least now I'm a little more prepared.

I love your new shirts! I have the gray Mickey one and wear it all the time! It's super comfy, and I love the faded look of it.

As for pre-trip shopping, yes! I always do some. I haven't bought many Disney shirts prior to our trips lately because I already have about 7 of them, but I did see one at Old Navy last week that I caved and purchased. It was too cute not to get! Other than that, this trip has required Joe to get new sandals and Henry sunglasses.

As for goody bags, yes, I do them too! One time, when Henry was very young, I went to the Dollar store and purchased cheap Disney-themed trinkets (and other stuff) and wrapped each one. Anytime he got antsy on the plane, or while we were waiting for something, during our travel time, I would pull out a gift. It took him a while to unwrap it and then he'd be entertained for a good 10 minutes per toy. Worked awesome.

Since he has gotten older now and can rip off paper much more quickly, I do little surprises here and there. I packed his monorail toy in his own suitcase last time, so when he opened the suitcase after we got to Disney, he had a surprise. This time I have a bunch of things - a Star Wars Lego t-shirt, some Matchbox cars, green army men....I think I will just randomly have them waiting for him on the bed when he wakes up in the morning, or pull stuff out at various times. I'll also bring a brand new coloring book and crayons for the plane. He usually just watches the iPad, but between when we board and when we can turn on electronic devices he sometimes gets antsy. I don't do all the gifts at once so the surprises last the whole trip long!

Thanks for the goody bag ideas!

That video of Henry opening the monorail set was soooooo cute.

I've started to buy little things as I find them (like in the bargain bins at Target). And I also ordered a bean-bag Mickey and Donald for him. I figure that size plush would be perfect for him to carry around in the stroller while we're there.

If I don't talk to you before you leave this week, have a blast! Can't wait to hear all about your adventures!

 

[Missyrose]

I read on all these other PTR's about these really cute, fairly elaborate Disney theme nights that people do in the months, weeks leading up to their trip. I'm envious of their effort. Theme nights are something I would love to do, but my work schedule seemingly works against me.

You see, as a copy editor at a newspaper, I work in the evenings. Most days I go into work at 5 p.m. and work until sometime between 12 and 2 a.m. And because a I work in the sports department, the weekends mean game time for our section, so we all have our individual "weekends" during the week. For me, that means by two nights off are Tuesday and Wednesday. That's right, I get two nights at home per week.

So imagine my surprise when a Disney movie night just happened to come together last night. Now, it wasn't a theme night:, just greasy, takeout Chinese food and "The Little Mermaid" (which had arrived yesterday from Netflix).

But it ended up being such a lovely evening. As we were watching the movie, I caught Franklin singing a couple of times.

When I asked him, "I thought you didn't want to watch this movie?" He replied, "I never said that."

Could it be? Could my reluctant Disney lover be becoming a little less reluctant?!?!?

Next up in our Netflix queue? Ratatouille... which we realized neither of us has ever seen!

What are some of your favorite movies to get you ready for your Disney trips? Do you do theme nights? Do you have a favorite theme that you'd like to share?

 

[natebenma]

I read on all these other PTR's about these really cute, fairly elaborate Disney theme nights that people do in the months, weeks leading up to their trip. I'm envious of their effort. Theme nights are something I would love to do, but my work schedule seemingly works against me.

You see, as a copy editor at a newspaper, I work in the evenings. Most days I go into work at 5 p.m. and work until sometime between 12 and 2 a.m. And because a I work in the sports department, the weekends mean game time for our section, so we all have our individual "weekends" during the week. For me, that means by two nights off are Tuesday and Wednesday. That's right, I get two nights at home per week.

So imagine my surprise when a Disney movie night just happened to come together last night. Now, it wasn't a theme night:, just greasy, takeout Chinese food and "The Little Mermaid" (which had arrived yesterday from Netflix).

But it ended up being such a lovely evening. As we were watching the movie, I caught Franklin singing a couple of times.

When I asked him, "I thought you didn't want to watch this movie?" He replied, "I never said that."

Could it be? Could my reluctant Disney lover be becoming a little less reluctant?!?!?

Next up in our Netflix queue? Ratatouille... which we realized neither of us has ever seen!

What are some of your favorite movies to get you ready for your Disney trips? Do you do theme nights? Do you have a favorite theme that you'd like to share?

Alas, no theme nights or Disney movies in our house. We have teenaged and preteen boys who are at a stage where they won't watch the classic Disney movies with us

What we do watch sometimes, though, is one of our collection of the Disney vacation planning videos. We don't enjoy the newer ones as much as some that came out several years ago.

And I cook. A few nights ago, I made the Cinnamon Stewed Chicken from Kouzzina. We haven't even been to Kouzzina, but someone mentioned it in her trip report and it sounded really good.

I took a picture while it was cooking. I wish I had taken a picture when it was plated with orzo and sauteed zucchini (from my garden), but my husband thinks am weird enough taking pictures of food at restaurants.

I think taking pictures of our dinner would send him over the edge.

But I took this before he got home from work!

Here's a repost of the recipe link: http://www.magicalmountain.net/WDWDining/disney-recipes-detail.aspx?RecipeID=292

 

[teekathepony]

Next up in our Netflix queue? Ratatouille... which we realized neither of us has ever seen!

What are some of your favorite movies to get you ready for your Disney trips? Do you do theme nights? Do you have a favorite theme that you'd like to share?

I liked Ratatouille

We don't really do theme nights per se, we will sometimes have movie marathons where we get several like-themed movies lined up and have junk food and watch them. We did do a Harry Potter theme week where we ate chocolate frogs!
Mostly we just watch the movies.
My favourites go between the classics -- Mermaid, Cinderella, Aladdin, The Lion King -- and the Pixar movies, Monsters Inc. being my absolute favourite. If I had to pick one must watch, it's Cinderella. Bibbidy-bobbidy-boo gets me teary eyed, I think of the castle lighting at Christmas.

 

[Missyrose]

Alas, no theme nights or Disney movies in our house. We have teenaged and preteen boys who are at a stage where they won't watch the classic Disney movies with us

What we do watch sometimes, though, is one of our collection of the Disney vacation planning videos. We don't enjoy the newer ones as much as some that came out several years ago.

And I cook. A few nights ago, I made the Cinnamon Stewed Chicken from Kouzzina. We haven't even been to Kouzzina, but someone mentioned it in her trip report and it sounded really good.

I took a picture while it was cooking. I wish I had taken a picture when it was plated with orzo and sauteed zucchini (from my garden), but my husband thinks am weird enough taking pictures of food at restaurants.

I think taking pictures of our dinner would send him over the edge.

But I took this before he got home from work!

Here's a repost of the recipe link: http://www.magicalmountain.net/WDWDining/disney-recipes-detail.aspx?RecipeID=292

That looks yummy! I might have to try that recipe

I liked Ratatouille

We don't really do theme nights per se, we will sometimes have movie marathons where we get several like-themed movies lined up and have junk food and watch them. We did do a Harry Potter theme week where we ate chocolate frogs!
Mostly we just watch the movies.
My favourites go between the classics -- Mermaid, Cinderella, Aladdin, The Lion King -- and the Pixar movies, Monsters Inc. being my absolute favourite. If I had to pick one must watch, it's Cinderella. Bibbidy-bobbidy-boo gets me teary eyed, I think of the castle lighting at Christmas.

The chocolate frogs from Wizarding World of Harry Potter were SO GOOD!

I love the 90's hand-drawn cartoons the best (Little Mermaid, Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin), though the Pixar movies rank pretty high on my list, too.

I'll keep this post quick because I'm working on a big surprise for the next post!

 

[Missyrose]

So, some of you may or may not remember, but a few posts ago, I wrote about how I was daydreaming about an October trip. I even priced things out but ultimately decided that the March trip would have to suffice.

Well, cut to yesterday afternoon. I had gotten home from a random day shift at work and Franklin had gotten the mail. I plopped on the couch, utterly exhausted (when you’re used to not getting home from work until 2 a.m., getting TO work at 7 a.m. can be pretty draining). Franklin has this look on his face like the cat that ate the canary.

“You have some mail,” he said. Tossing it to me.

And what is it? It’s just the holy grail. A DISNEY PIN CODE!!!!!

I literally squealed with delight! It was for 25 percent off Values and Mods and 35 percent off Deluxe and Villas any time through December.

My first thought was “Oh geez, Kelley’s been hoping for a pin code for her October trip and I somehow snag one that I can’t use, thanks universe.”

Then my mind starts to spin. What if we went at the same time as them, could we put her room under my name and she could get the discount? But before I got thoughts of discounts dancing in Kelley’s head, I wanted to be sure we could actually do this.

So I called Disney to find out if we could book two rooms at two different resorts under the same code. They said yes (though I would have to go physically check them in) and I wanted to see what was Deluxes or Villas were available.

My choices came down to Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, Wilderness Lodge or a 1-bedroom villa at Animal Kingdom Lodge.

OKW and SSR just aren’t very high on my priority list. So it came down to WL or AKL. But I still didn’t think I could afford another trip this year, especially not Deluxe, right?

The CM was ready to talk numbers:

The 1BR villa at AKL would be $1,500 for four nights

WL was $1034 for four nights

A THOUSAND DOLLARS for a stay at a Disney Deluxe Resort? Are you kidding me? How can I pass that up? Well, for starters, there was someone else (Franklin) who would have to sign off on this trip. Plus, I needed to see if Kelley would even want us to be there at the same time as her family (it's her first trip with her adorable twin boys!).

I thanked the CM and said I’d call back.

I hung up the phone, grinning. Franklin wanted to know what they said. So I recounted the choices that had been laid out for me.

I looked up flights to see if they’d be outrageous this close to the trip and they weren’t much more than what we paid for the March trip.

“Can we actually do this?” I asked.
“It would be fun to go to the Food and Wine Festival again,” Franklin replied.

Okay, one person down, one more to go.

I called Kelley and relayed the good news about being able to get her the discount if I planned a trip at the same time. She had to run everything by her husband (but we immediately started planning what we were going to do together at the World! ). She said she’d call me back once she’d talked to Mike. A few minutes later she called and said we were good to go!

I immediately felt a little intimidated at the idea of booking both rooms so I decided to turn to Brook, the Disney Travel Agent extraordinaire! Sure enough, she could help us book the rooms at different resorts and called Disney to put holds on the rooms we wanted.

She then emailed me the official quotes for how much the rooms would be, as well as the ticket’s we’d need. I got on the computer to book the airline tickets (which by that time, we’d remembered we both had a $65 JetBlue credits that were set to expire in October). And then I called Brook back to officially book the room.

In a matter of hours I’d gotten the pin code, booked airline tickets, booked a room and made plans to go to my very first Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party!

Whew.

The final details on this newly formed October trip:

Arrive at MCO at 10:20 a.m. on Oct. 13, leave MCO at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 17
Five days/four nights at Wilderness Lodge (Courtyard Room)
MNSSHP on Oct. 13

This PTR just got super-sized people, we’ve got TWO(!) trips to plan now! I’m going to need all the help I can get, I’ve only got 62 days to plan!

 

[teekathepony]

Holy fantastic news!! That's so exciting! Congratulations in the PIN and the new trip!

 

[Missyrose]

Oh my gosh, you guys. It’s been a whirlwind few days! So to recap, I got a PIN code on Thursday and within a few hours had booked my hotel (Wilderness Lodge) and airline tickets. I’ve spent the weekend furiously planning, trying to decipher crowd calendars and desperately looking for ADR’s since we’re only 59 days from arrival.

So let’s start with the ADR’s I’ve been able to book. I have to say, I’m pretty pleased with myself, so far.

My arrival day ADR has been my biggest coup, so far: a lunch ADR at Le Cellier! Someone posted on the October cancellation thread, so we coordinated a time for her to cancel the ADR and for me to try and pick it up. I sat on my computer refreshing the online search, while also waiting on hold on the phone reservations line.

The phone CM answered and I blurted out that someone had just canceled an ADR and I wanted to try to grab it. I gave her all the info and in approximately 0.2 seconds she’d run the search. The awesome CM’s name was Katherine and said she knew how serious this was when I’d said Le Cellier. Surprisingly enough, she found the recently canceled ADR in the system and I jumped on it!

We get into Orlando at 10 a.m. and were planning to spend the afternoon at Epcot before heading to MK for MNSSHP. So this worked out perfectly. I was hoping to find a nice TS ADR for lunch because we were planning to grab a quick CS dinner either before we get to the party or at MK if we manage to get there before the party officially starts. I have visions of the yummy food at Le Cellier dancing in my head!

Oh, who am I kidding? I already have our whole lunch planned. We’ll split a cheddar soup appetizer and split the fillet and a Cesar salad. And given Franklin’s love of creme brulee, we’ll definitely sample the Maple creme brulee for dessert!

The next day, we’ll meet up with Kelley and her family at DHS for a lunch ADR at Sci-Fi Dine-In. Franklin and I have never eaten there before, and we figure you can never go wrong with burgers and milkshakes!

Saturday the 15th is scheduled to be a full day at MK, so my plan was to schedule a nice sit-down dinner at one of the monorail resorts as a break from the park. My first choice is ‘Ohana, but have yet to snag that ADR. So, for now, I have a 5:30 ADR at Grand Floridian Cafe.

I’ve never been to GF, so I’m excited to see the resort. I didn’t want to do a dinner buffet, so that ruled out 1900 Park Fare, and we didn’t really want to pay signature prices for Citricos. So, Grand Floridian Cafe seemed like a good compromise (and I’ve read lots of reviews that said it’s a beautiful, low-key place with yummy food).

Sunday the 16th is scheduled to be spent at Epcot (with plenty of noshing around the Food and Wine festival in the afternoon), so we thought a late dinner would be good. And imagine my surprise when I found a 9:15 p.m. ADR at California Grill. There’s a MNSSHP at MK that night, so HalloWishes will start at 9:30, which we’ll get to see from the restaurant!

On Monday, our last day in the World, I snagged an 8:20 a.m. ADR at Crystal Palace. MK doesn’t open until 9, so I’m hoping Franklin and I will get some awesome empty(ish) park photos on Main Street!

So that’s what I’ve come up with so far, what do you think? Got any food recommendations at any of the places we’re going? And feel free to send some Pixie Dust my way as I continue to try to find an ‘Ohana ADR.

 

[natebenma]

*jealous*

*extremely jealous!*

Congrats!!!

 

[Missyrose]

*jealous*

*extremely jealous!*

Congrats!!!

Thanks! I can't believe how well this trip is working out. And so last minute, too!