I have to wait HOW LONG to go back to Disney?!!!!

[Brave teacher]

There's a few on there that my boys love. My kids love Innoventions, Figment, Maharajah Jungle Trek, pixar characters, Indiana Jones, Stunt Show, etc. They just would be upset if we skipped those, especially Illuminations.

 

[elizablake]

There's a few on there that my boys love. My kids love Innoventions, Figment, Maharajah Jungle Trek, pixar characters, Indiana Jones, Stunt Show, etc. They just would be upset if we skipped those, especially Illuminations.

Thank you! I think we have really missed out on Illuminations. I think DD would really love the Kim Possible thing too. There is so much we haven't done at EPCOT!

Fitting in the Pixar characters shouldn't be a problem. If you had to pick one, either Indiana Jones or Light, Motors, Action Stunt Show, what would you choose? Is the seating more comfortable in one of them? Are either air conditioned?

We might have to choose between the Maharajah Jungle Trek and Rafaki's Planet Watch.

Maybe we should just extend our trip a week or two. Then we could do it all!

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

Hello,

I followed you from the June 2010 thread. We are also going in June. We are staying at CSR from the 17-22.

I'm in. I'd like to read more and maybe get some ideas from you. My DDs are older, but I like the way you write.

Looking forward to hearing more. In just a few weeks we'll be able to make our ADRs.

 

[elizablake]

Hello,

I followed you from the June 2010 thread. We are also going in June. We are staying at CSR from the 17-22.

I'm in. I'd like to read more and maybe get some ideas from you. My DDs are older, but I like the way you write.

Looking forward to hearing more. In just a few weeks we'll be able to make our ADRs.

Hi Planning Fanatic Mom!!!!

I know, ADRs are right around the corner. I must admit, I like this 180 thing. Have you made any ADR decisions yet?

Do you have a PTR? I'm off to check out your trip report from this summer.

 

[elizablake]

7 months, 1 week, 2 days, 12 hours, 39 minutes and 12 seconds.....

But more importanatly..

1 month, 1 week, 3 days, 7 hours, 38 minutes and 45 seconds.....

Till I start making ADRs!! Planning Fanatic Mom has got me thinking!

Last weekend when my parents visited, I casually mentioned that we needed to start thinking about ADRs.

Dad responded, “I don’t know what I want to eat tonight, how do I know what I want to eat in a year?”

Me: “Um…actually the trip is only 7 months, 2 weeks, 3 days, 15 hours, 45 minutes and 9 seconds away.”

So I try my Mom who responds,”Honey, we have 2 months to decide.”

DH continues to pretend he didn’t hear me.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE!!!! I’m not going to wait till December to start considering our ADRs. I plan to just decide and fill them in after I make the reservations.

The only places we have eaten before are 1900 Park Faire and Hollywood and Vine. We LOVED 1900 Park Faire. Hollywood and Vine was also a good experience. We want to try something new this time.

Here are some of the places I think we should consider:

CTR for breakfast of lunch – Princesses! Plus DD has never eaten in the castle. If we did breakfast I would want 8:00AM. We would try for a 1:00 PM lunch with a BBB appt at 8:00AM. Or possibly a 1:00PM lunch without a BBB appt. We want to do breakfast or lunch rather that dinner. I think it would be a fun experience to eat in the castle and I like that it is not a buffet but I’m still not sure it would be worth the money. For the five of us, I believe it will cost between $200-$225.

Crystal palace 8:00AM – Mostly to get in the park early and to break up the walk to Fantasyland for my father’s sake. Everyone likes Winnie the Pooh and the gang but they are not DD’s favorite characters. I hear the breakfast buffet is decent. For the five or us, it would cost around $110.

Chef Mickey on the first night of our trip. Preferably the earliest ADR (5:00 I believe). If we can’t do Chef Mickey’s the first night, then we will probably skip it. It will cost around $170.

Sci-fi Lunch– DD would get a kick out of the big movie screen and me and DH can make out in the back seat. Also, I think it would be a nice break from the heat.

Akershus Lunch or Dinner– More Princesses! Breakfast is out because dragging my parents aaaaaalllllllllllll the way back to Norway at 7:45 in the AM is out of the question. I’m not sure we would like the food but we would really be going to meet the Princesses. It will cost around $180.

Donald’s Safari Breakfast 8:00AM – Again, mostly to get in the park early and not put my Father through the rope drop mob. Plus, we would be by Safari which is a must do. Another added bonus is Daisy, who DD has never met. I think it would cost about $110.

Here’s the catch. We are not really restaurant people. My father and I both like to cook and we prefer to eat at home. So, I’m not sure how many of these we should do. I don’t want to hold reservations when I know there is a darn good chance we will cancel them. So, I’m thinking we should plan on Sci-Fi, one princess meal and one with Mickey and the gang. We should do one lunch or dinner and one breakfast before the park opens. So here are the possible combinations. I included the most likely day of our trip but that could easily change when the calendar is posted.

Sci-Fi lunch (Day 6)
Donald’s Safari Breakfast at 8:00AM (Day 2)
Lunch with Cinderella about 1:00 PM (Day 3)

Sci-Fi lunch (Day 6)
Donald’s Safari Breakfast at 8:00AM (Day 2)
Lunch at Akershus about 1:00 PM (Day 5)

Sci-Fi lunch (Day 6)
Chef Mickey’s on the first night at 5:00 (Day 1)
Lunch with Cinderella about 1:00 PM (Day 3)

Sci-Fi lunch (Day 6)
Chef Mickey’s on the first night at 5:00 (Day 1)
Lunch at Akershus about 1:00 PM (Day 5)

Sci-Fi lunch (Day 6)
Breakfast at 8:00 AM at the Crystal Palace (Day 3)
Lunch with Cinderella about 1:00 PM (Day 7)

Sci-Fi lunch (Day 6)
Breakfast at 8:00 AM at the Crystal Palace (Day 3)
Lunch at Akershus about 1:00 PM (Day 5)

I would love any input.

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

Hi Planning Fanatic Mom!!!!

I know, ADRs are right around the corner. I must admit, I like this 180 thing. Have you made any ADR decisions yet?

Do you have a PTR? I'm off to check out your trip report from this summer.

No PTR yet. Maybe after the new year. I'm pretty set on our ADRs. We are on the DP, so we have 5 TS.

Here's what I'm thinking;
Chefs de France: Dinner
Boma: Dinner
Crystal Palace: Probably Dinner: maybe Breakfast
Mama Melrose's: Dinner
Le Cellier: Dinner

DH has always wanted to go to chefs de France and Le Cellier. And since I picked all of the meals in June, I thought it would OK for him to pick a couple this trip. JUST 2 Mind you.

I'm looking forward to doing them on-line this time.

Your ADRs look good. We really liked Chef Mickeys in June. We've never tried Sci Fi. I will have to give that one some thought. My DDs are much older than your DD, so they aren't into the princesses.

Keep us updated.

 

[elizablake]

DH has always wanted to go to chefs de France and Le Cellier. And since I picked all of the meals in June, I thought it would OK for him to pick a couple this trip. JUST 2 Mind you.

Sounds like your DH has good taste. I wish I had my ADRs determined like you.

I look forward to your PTR.

 

[tinkerbell3747]

Love your take on the ADRs thus far.....I have a List for sure (check out the PTR in about 2-3 days) just wanted to chim in on the Sci Fi - we went during our 08 trip and it was SOOOO cold in there almost made it difficult to enjoy but it was a neat experience the staff was great and food pretty good.....

I think the temp in there felt so cold after being out in the 90 degree heat all morning.....give it a shot....my kids loved it....

 

[Brave teacher]

Sci-Fi lunch (Day 6)
Donald’s Safari Breakfast at 8:00AM (Day 2)
Lunch with Cinderella about 1:00 PM (Day 3)

Sci-Fi lunch (Day 6)
Donald’s Safari Breakfast at 8:00AM (Day 2)
Lunch at Akershus about 1:00 PM (Day 5)

Sci-Fi lunch (Day 6)
Chef Mickey’s on the first night at 5:00 (Day 1)
Lunch with Cinderella about 1:00 PM (Day 3)

Sci-Fi lunch (Day 6)
Chef Mickey’s on the first night at 5:00 (Day 1)
Lunch at Akershus about 1:00 PM (Day 5)

Sci-Fi lunch (Day 6)
Breakfast at 8:00 AM at the Crystal Palace (Day 3)
Lunch with Cinderella about 1:00 PM (Day 7)

Sci-Fi lunch (Day 6)
Breakfast at 8:00 AM at the Crystal Palace (Day 3)
Lunch at Akershus about 1:00 PM (Day 5)

I would love any input.

I bolded my pick for you. I think that if you are not a person who like to eat out much, it would probably be best to space them out a bit. This way you don't have teo days in a row with ADRs. Plus going to dinner at CM on the first night goves a great start to the vacation.

 

[Bridora]

Hi! Someone else who is planning their vacation as far ahead as I am!

We are end of May, you are beginning of June--we can count down the hours together!

I have just just just finished up my Trip Report from this past May & I must say I had a hard time keeping up with it, so....no PTR for me just yet!

Oh, eating 'in the castle' is wonderful! We were fortunate enough to have eaten there before you had to pay an arm & a leg for the package deal. We haven't been back since.

That rental house looks superb! You guys sound like me. If I had that full kitchen I would be doing breakfast there, for sure. I would want to cook other meals there (to save $) (I like to save $) But I would probably in reality not cook much else there...

I know there was more I was going to comment on...

I'll be back!

 

[Bridora]

Me again!

I have taken the liberty of selecting one thing from each park off your things we haven't done but would like to do list that I think you should do! (didja get all that?) (I had myself a grande nonfat vanilla latte 5 min ago...it's gone now...I just finished off all the foam)


Anyway--

1. Swiss Family Treehouse. You go in, walk up & down stairs (how are your parents + stairs?--maybe not such a great idea after all?). BUT--it's really neat to see the "rooms" and there are some great views from up there!

2. Lights, Motors, Action. If you can, get a FastPass for this one. It's a really high energy, fun show...you should all enjoy. The seating is on bleachers, though.

3. Kim Possible Mission. Do it, do it, do it! At least one. Very very mucho fun. And, if you are like us & hadn't been really into any countries, you'll get to see a lot of things you didn't even know were in there along the way!

4. Rafiki's Planet Watch. For your DD. Short little train ride, but there are characters there to meet. And a petting area. Not so much for the big people, though...

 

[elizablake]

Love your take on the ADRs thus far.....I have a List for sure (check out the PTR in about 2-3 days) just wanted to chim in on the Sci Fi - we went during our 08 trip and it was SOOOO cold in there almost made it difficult to enjoy but it was a neat experience the staff was great and food pretty good.....

I think the temp in there felt so cold after being out in the 90 degree heat all morning.....give it a shot....my kids loved it....

It seems like it would have felt good after the heat outside. I'll keep the temperature in mind. Thanks for the info. Does your 180 day window open in December?

I bolded my pick for you. I think that if you are not a person who like to eat out much, it would probably be best to space them out a bit. This way you don't have teo days in a row with ADRs. Plus going to dinner at CM on the first night goves a great start to the vacation.

Great point about spacing out the ADRs. I agree about Chef Mickey's. I think we should do it either the first night or not at all. At least I still have a month to figure it all out. I'm still hoping for the input from my fellow travelers. Maybe they will want to eat-out more than 3 times.

Hi! Someone else who is planning their vacation as far ahead as I am!

We are end of May, you are beginning of June--we can count down the hours together!

I have just just just finished up my Trip Report from this past May & I must say I had a hard time keeping up with it, so....no PTR for me just yet!

Oh, eating 'in the castle' is wonderful! We were fortunate enough to have eaten there before you had to pay an arm & a leg for the package deal. We haven't been back since.

That rental house looks superb! You guys sound like me. If I had that full kitchen I would be doing breakfast there, for sure. I would want to cook other meals there (to save $) (I like to save $) But I would probably in reality not cook much else there...

I know there was more I was going to comment on...

I'll be back!

It's never too early. Let me know when you get around to your PTR. I'll be sure to check it out.

CRT is crazy expensive. It's hard to put a price tag on your little princesses happiness (and Disney knows it). I wish we could leave the photo out. I'm usually happier with my own photos anyway.

The kitchen is the best part of the rental house! I love the idea of DD being about to swim while dinner is prepared. We took the RV on our other trips so we have never experienced Disney without a kitchen and have no plans to try it.

I'll can't wait to check out your May trip report.

 

[elizablake]

me again!

I have taken the liberty of selecting one thing from each park off your things we haven't done but would like to do list that i think you should do! (didja get all that?) (i had myself a grande nonfat vanilla latte 5 min ago...it's gone now...i just finished off all the foam)

1. Swiss family treehouse. You go in, walk up & down stairs (how are your parents + stairs?--maybe not such a great idea after all?). But--it's really neat to see the "rooms" and there are some great views from up there!

Mom is good with stairs...Dad, not so much. I actually thought the Swiss Family Treehouse would be a good time to drop off Dad and DH in an air conditioned gift shop while the girls take on the stairs. From what i understand it's not really busy so we can squeeze it in during the afternoon or evening. Do you need to see the movie to "get" the treehouse?

2. Lights, motors, action. If you can, get a fastpass for this one. It's a really high energy, fun show...you should all enjoy. The seating is on bleachers, though.

Any chance the seating area is covered like the Beauty and the Beast show or Fantasmic? Bleachers are not a problem, sitting out in the blazing sun would be.

3. Kim possible mission. Do it, do it, do it! At least one. Very very mucho fun. And, if you are like us & hadn't been really into any countries, you'll get to see a lot of things you didn't even know were in there along the way!

I think we are going to need to add this to our must do list! I know DD would love it! We may leave the parents at home though.

4. Rafiki's planet watch. For your dd. Short little train ride, but there are characters there to meet. And a petting area. Not so much for the big people, though...

Sounds OK. We would be doing it for the characters and air conditioning. It seems like it would be easier than walking one of the trails for my parents.


Thanks so much for the info.

 

[elizablake]

Hope everyone had a....
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

It was rainy here in the South. We went trick-or-treating anyway. There were still a lot of kids out. Here's my little Cinderella:

After she tried to bow and fell in the bushes:

We also went to a festival the weekend before which was nice. We had my niece for the weekend. DD wore here Belle dress since only the Cinderella dress fit DN.

Both girls had fun. Here they are on the car ride there:

And the car ride back:

And here's what they looked like later in the evening after eating some serious candy:

 

[elizablake]

I forgot to mention that my parents went trick-or-treating with us. We walked at least a mile. We stopped to chat with neighbors, egg peoples houses , etc. so my Dad was on his feet for about 2 hours. He didn't pass out from exhaustion or even complain. So maybe there is hope for Disney!

 

[elizablake]

7 months, 0 weeks, 1 day, 19 hours and 5 minutes....

I got some halloween costumes on sale for my little princess. Of course I'm going to save them for Disney. They are all from the Disney Store. Here's what I got:

I went back and forth on the Jasmine one since it looked hot. But she can always wear it around the house or for Halloween next year.

I really, really wanted Pocahontas, but they were out of her size.

Here's some of the one's I didn't get:

I still want to get one of the really pretty dresses for CRT. Most likely one of these:

I them all but I'm leaning towards the burgandy Belle dress. Any opinions? I'm just waiting for them to go on sale.

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

Your daughter and niece looked beautiful. I really liked the picture AFTER the candy.

I like the burgundy Belle Dress, but then again, I am a huge Belle fan. She is my favorite.

Swiss Family Robinson would be a good idea to watch before going into the tree house. My DDs went for the first time in June. We decided to go because we had never been in it before. Now they are surly teenagers, but they did not get it. They still talk about it today and say, "It is like a long line for a ride with no ride at the end." The say it mostly to get me riled because I liked it. But then again I have seen the movie. So, maybe watching it before you go, might help.

Can't wait to see pics of your princess in her new dresses.

 

[elizablake]

I like the burgundy Belle Dress, but then again, I am a huge Belle fan. She is my favorite.

Yeah! Two votes for the burgundy dress! My mom liked the 2nd yellow dress. Hopefully, DD will want to be Belle. If we do CRT, will it be OK if DD is dressed like Belle? Seems kinda rude since it Cindy's castle.

Swiss Family Robinson would be a good idea to watch before going into the tree house. My DDs went for the first time in June. We decided to go because we had never been in it before. Now they are surly teenagers, but they did not get it. They still talk about it today and say, "It is like a long line for a ride with no ride at the end." The say it mostly to get me riled because I liked it. But then again I have seen the movie. So, maybe watching it before you go, might help.

I'm going to rent the movie. We'll see if DD is interested.

 

[Bridora]

I saw the movie as a kid, and so did my DH. That's why we went through it the first time. If you or your parents have never seen it and aren't interested it the movie, then the Treehouse may not be that big of a deal to you guys. The kids (9 & 7) have now seen the movie, too...so it makes more sense to them now. They actually like going up & down all the stairs, but we always have to tell them to slow down and look at the stuff!

I can't answer 100% positively, but I think at least part of the Stunt Show is covered.

And Rafiki's Planet Watch is good for both air conditioning & characters!

for Kim Possible!


And add another vote for the burgundy Belle dress.


Good Halloween pictures! I love the one of you DH after she has just fallen in the bushes!

Cute dresses you ordered, too!

 

[elizablake]

.............6 months, 0 weeks, 0 days, 21 hours, 25 minutes, and 5 seconds.

I haven’t posted in a while since life has been so busy. That doesn’t mean I’m not still planning though!

Right now we are focusing on our schedule and ADRs. My 180 day mark is quickly approaching. Everyone seems to disagree about how many times we want to eat out on our trip. DM says 4 or 5. DH has no opinion as usual. DF says 2 but is notorious for changing his mind. I’m not really concerned with the number of times as much as picking the right restaurants. I admit I’m tempted to make 4 or 5 ADRs like my Mom wants and them cancel them closer to the trip if Dad continues to gripe. But I feel a little guilty about holding the reservations that some other family could have.

At least I have two days to figure it out!

I could really use any input or comments about ADR choices!!!!

The big question is CRT (lunch) vs Akershus (lunch or dinner). I’m leaning toward CRT because I think DD would love the experience of eating inside the castle. But I have heard the food is not great and the Princesses are a little rushed. I’ve heard the food at Akershus is not that great either but the Princess experience is a better. Akershus is a little cheaper.

I think we all agree to on eating Donald’s Safari Breakfast at 8:05 AM (hopefully) on our AK day.

So, if we book Donald’s breakfast, do we still plan on Chef Mickey dinner?

Everyone agrees to try Sci-Fi for lunch on our HS day. So that’s settled.

The schedule is still a work in progress. But if we plan to go to EPCOT one evening what restaurant would be best?????????

Last but not least, what about an 8:05 AM ADR for Crystal Palace? I love the idea of getting into the park early and not putting my father through rope drop madness.

Ahhh…..so many decisions and so little time!