Idle planning for next fall (2017)

[pooch]

Too early for any real planning yet so I am ruminating on TS meals. Taking DH, DS, DDIL, 3 DGSs (9,8,6) DD for a 7n/8d trip next sept and hoping for FREE DDP (the only way to get DH to go!). The oldest & youngest have not had much exposure to sit down restaurants. For those familiar, they can handle Friendly's most of the time. We will probably only do MK and DHS 1 day each and no Epcot or AK. DD works for Universal and Sea World so will be off property for those days.
So far I have in mind Trex at DS, Ohana for breakfast, LTT for DH cuz he loves it and I think the boys will like the food enough to behave. Scifi depends on how they would seat a party of 8, I'd want to be in cars.
That's 4, where else should I look?

 

[DrunkJam]

I'm doing the same thing for Christmas 2017!
I really don't like the ADR booking anxiety, but, I DO love planning the meal choices...
We are thinking, thus far, of doing, CRT dinner (DDs first trip, and she wants to be a princess in a castle, so...) Tusker House breakfast (it's my favourite breakfast, and quite a relaxed character meet, AND has Daisy), Ohana dinner, Kona Breakfast (we're booked in at the Poly, and we LOVE Ohana) Tokyo (DS is a japan fan) Le cellier (we enjoyed it last time, although it was only one TS credit then) WCC Dinner and Boatwrights Dinner.
We might change our minds a million times before we actually go though...

 

[pooch]

With three grandsons, I am happy to be able to avoid all the princess stuff. I am afraid to admit here that my favorite commercial of all time is the Universal Studios one from about 10 years ago. "If I have to hug another princess, I'm gonna hurl!!!"

Anyway I can pass on CRT and any other princess related TS or activity. But I was thinking WCC. We went there about 10 years ago and it was a hoot !

 

[DrunkJam]

With three grandsons, I am happy to be able to avoid all the princess stuff. I am afraid to admit here that my favorite commercial of all time is the Universal Studios one from about 10 years ago. "If I have to hug another princess, I'm gonna hurl!!!"

Anyway I can pass on CRT and any other princess related TS or activity. But I was thinking WCC. We went there about 10 years ago and it was a hoot !

I totally get you with that. You will spot that we have limited the princess stuff to 1 meal, and it does have the plus of meaning we can at least say we have seen the inside of the castle.

In 2010, on our first trip, with a then 4 yr old SON, we did 1900 park fayre cinderella and Akershus AND Alice at the crystal Palace (I was a bit of a noob, and he liked the sparkliness and meeting characters at meals was easier for him than standing in line, as he has ASD)

I was full on DONE with the princess thing after all of that. But, I have relented to make her trip (she will also be 4)

 

[pooch]

Oldest has ADHD and although youngest does not, the behaviors sometimes rub off. I think something to keep their interest along with meals that are AYCTE or buffet types will make it easier on them (and me!)

 

[fauntleroy1953]

I have 10 grand kiddos and although we've never taken all of them to WDW,I can put myself in your place.
I would do chef Mickeys for breakfast. The food is average, but decent and there's plenty and a variety. You get the Fab Five,the main Disney characters,which is always a thrill,no matter what age,and it's cool to watch the Monorail coming and going while you eat.
For dinner,I would take the boat from MK over to Fort Wilderness and go to Trails End for dinner. It's a buffet and the food has always been consistently good. It's very laid back,casual and kid friendly. There are hula hoops and checkers for the kiddos to play with outside before or after dinner. No characters,just nice family dinner time.

 

[pooch]

Thanks, I have been pondering Mickeys Backyard BBQ at Fort Wilderness. But Trails End does look good.

Thanks for any and all input. I have no one to bounce ideas off of around here!

 

[fauntleroy1953]

Although our youngest is 25 now and no longer comes with us to WDW,he does have ADD. I found that sometimes the more structured the situation,the better his behavior was.......he knew what to expect,so his anxiety was lower. At Trails End,he could get up and down and pick out his own food,which he liked. The atmosphere is relaxed,but not chaotic. There is also a tiny game room in the back,which we let him check out when he finished before we did. We avoided less structured situations towards the end of the day,such as the BBQ,as his tolerance for activity was less as the day wore on, thus,less self control.

 

[pooch]

Thank you for that. You are right in that I find he is better at my house where we have clearly defined expectations of his behavior. And, the later in the day, the harder it is for him. I will keep that in mind.

 

[fauntleroy1953]

Glad I could help. Always go with your gut- your parental instincts are real and the best guide. As much as I wanted our son to have a good time,I had to re- define good time- what that is in his world as opposed to my definition. It helped to head back to the resort around 3 or 4 for downtime,whether that was pool time or a nap( sometimes family nap time). Then going back out for dinner. If that's not possible,downtime can be a rocking chair on Tom Sawyer Island or some quiet spot in the park.....

 

[pooch]

I don't want to push him beyond his ability to keep it together, no fun for the rest of us and not fair to him. I am really gonna have to rein in my go-go-go mentality!! Break time is going to be essential I think.

 

[fauntleroy1953]

Oh sorry,one more thing. I don't know how it's dealt with now,because I can only speak to 15 years ago. But..
We showed up in MK Guest Services with a note from our son's doctor stating he had ADD. They gave us an index card with an orange stripe across the top. We were told that if we showed that card to a CM at a ride entrance,they would walk us around to the exit and we could get on the ride as others were getting off,so our son didn't have to wait on loooooong lines,testing his patience. Those were the days of waist packs,so I placed the card in mine,so all I would have to do is pull the card out enough to show the orange line and not call attention to ourselves and get people upset that we were " cutting the line". DH and I wanted to use it sparingly,as we also wanted DS to work on his coping skills. But not to the point of making all of us miserable. Disney is famous for its magical lines- just when you think you've reached the end,there's a whole new queue to deal with. Disney has caught on NOW,with interactive fun things along the lines,but back then,nothing but waiting. So I would send DH ahead to check out the true length of the line and then decide what to do. We ended up not using it that much,but it felt good having that back up with us. Just once did DS totally freak out. It was the Dinosaur ride. We didn't know about the ride except it had dinosaur robots. There was no line, so we walked right into a room that turned out to be a pre show. Once the room filled up,the room went dark and a deep voice started talking in a way that wasn't scary to us,but DS put the voice together with the dark room and started screaming. People immediately started yelling how horrible DH and I were subjecting our son to this just so we could go on a ride. They were hurling all sorts of insults while not parting so we could get out. They wouldn't move. A CM eventually stopped the pre show,fought his way through the crowd and lead us to an emergency exit. It was right to the pool for the rest of the day.........
I doubt they still use an index card,but it might be worth looking into,to see what accommodations they provide for ADD children. You may end up not using/ doing that accommodation,but it might take away some stress just knowing you have options if you need them.

 

[pooch]

Aiden is very familiar with amusement parks & lines. They have season passes to our local 6 flags and go a lot. He's fine with that. Really it's the end of day melt downs we will have to manage. MK and, to a lesser extent, DHS will be our only 2 late nights and I think maybe back to the resort for a swim then, for anyone who wants to, back to the park for fireworks.

 

[fauntleroy1953]

Have fun making those memories!!!!!!!!!

 

[pooch]

Thank you for your input. Greatly appreciated.

 

[AshleeH]

It's never too early to start planning! I just made a resort reservation for November 2017 - so relieved to have the resort locked in before F&W crowds start filling them up. And I have a list of restaurants I want to try - I'll narrow it down a bit by the time I make reservations next Spring, but it's so much fun to plan, even when it's early.