Is 304 Days Too Soon to Start Planning??? (with chapter links!!!)

[tyandskyesmom]

And then there's me...

Sherry...just turned 40...the mommy and wife...

I am an insurance collector for a large hospital system in the area. I am recently a cheer coach and my kid's biggest fan.

I am a planner and live for those times when we can arrange vacation or other times when my family can just be together...without hassles or house hold work or school or work...those are the times we have the best memories from.

I love everything about Disney. At this point in time, my favorite hotel is Animal Kingdom Lodge but I would love to stay at the Grand Floridian or in the tower at Contemporary with a Magic Kingdom view. My favorite character is the Cheshire Cat but I love a lot of them....my favotire move is Nightmare Before Christmas and Emperor's New Groove but I love them all! I guess if I had to pick a favorite park it would be Magic Kingdom but only if I had to. If we have limited time to spend and I had to pick only one of two of them, I'd have a really hard time. I like Rockin' Rollercoaster and Everest but again, I like it all...except Tower of Terror and I have yet to ride Mission : Space on the real side. My favorite restaurant is Narcoossees but I do like restaurant Marrakesh too.

I love the freedom the deluxe dining plan brings my family and while we normally would not eat that way, it is vacation and that just makes got a great trip. So by eating that way we actually do save a lot of money. I am not much of a drinker anymore so adult beverages most likely will not come into the picture for me.


There generally are not a lot of pictures of me becasue I am the one with the camera but I will see what I can find!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

And this is what we did this afternoon...

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Ok since introductions are out of the way and you know when we are going and where we are staying and what kind of tickets and dining plans we have I guess the next thing in line it the plans for dining!!!!

I just love thinking about dining in the world. I plan and re-plan dining all the time. I have spreadsheets and I go over menus and dining reviews again and again.

A little background though. Until the kids and I took our first two week trip in January 2007 (I think) that we actually dove into Disney Dining. Before that we'd do a table servie meal here and there but nothing that would lead to a Dining Review or anything like that. We had been to the Coral Reef, Le Cellier, Biergarten, Artist Point, Hollywood & Vine, Sci-Fi, Mama Melrose, Crystal Palace (dinner), Akershus, Boma, and ESPN. But that was spread out over our many trips (Tyler has been to the World about 14 times in his almost 12 years of life). When the kids and I went in 2007 we got an offer of free dining and then upgraded as the last minute to Deluxe Dining....and loved it! At the time though, they were both Disney Children and one of them was too little to ride the big kid things and the other was too chicken to ride them. SO we did not spend time waiting ion lines for things like that. We also have been in the off-peak times for the most part so park hour we shorter which made for late dinners.

The next time the kids and I went back was November 2008 for two weeks. We got a ticket upgrade on this trip and bought the Deluxe Dining plan...it was so much easier. And we still loved it! We tried a few different places and a lot of venues we had loved before...and a few we were on the fence about that we just had to figure out.

Then this past April 2010 the kids, my mom, and I went back for an 8 day trip with the Quick Service Dining plan. And I have to say, we loved it too. But we did miss the sit down dining. And the kids asked about a couple of places while we were there.

So we have done the QSDP and the DDDP but never the DDP. And I don't think we will ever to the DDP. And here's why...we always purchase mugs so that is a huge savings for us. Granted, we probably would not get four of them but then we would have to deal with the kids fighting about sharing and what to get in them and so on...four just makes it easier! And we also like the two snacks per person per day as opposed to the one snack per person per day on the DDP. Now, when we used to go, there would be a lot of whining about wanting ice cream or a pretzel or a slushie or whatever...with two snack per person per day...I don't have to tell them no. And we usually end up with extras at the end of the trip and we take home fun Mickey snacks...which is always a bonus! And this is even more important this trip becasue we are going when I am expecting it to be very hot. So extra hydration will be needed...although we did discover free ice water at any food service venue...which is another place those refillable mugs come in handy! And when it comes right down to it, we, the kids and I, loved the aspect of dining! And we want to share that with Lou. I was somewhat surprised that the kids actually loved it as much as they did. I mean, we used to dine out a lot at home but I was not sure how they would react being taken away from the kid's Disney into maybe a less "fun" Disney...but I needn't have worried...they loved everything about it. Not once did I hear a complaint about stopping what we were doing to get to a reservation...in fact, they started asking. They loved taking pictures of our food. The loved seeing what the insides of the venues looked like and even trying a few new things. And the loved having dessert with every meal.

So yesterday I got Lou to go through a few menus with me. I say a few becasue his lack of interest was driving me crazy! His reply was "how am I supposed to know what I might want to eat in eight months???" uuuggghhh!!!! He just does not get it. So he gets no opinion then. I am sure he'll love it once it is happening. And if he doesn't he will have no room to complain becasue I gave ample opportunity to give his thoughts.

As far as our eating style goes, we're not gourmet at all but we like things to taste good. Skye is a bit more adventurous than Tyler but he is coming around and lately has found he likes steak and talapia (and other fish like that) and chicken snack wraps at Mc Donalds (but with no sauce) and meximelts at Taco Bell. Neither one of them has been willing to try a hamburger yet...god, what I'd give for a kid to eat a hamburger! Skye eats more veggies (broccoli, snap peas, green beans, potatoes) than Tyler (he loves fries but will not eat potatoes cooked any other way and nothing green). They will both eat salads but no dressing. And then Lou is anti sauce generally. No mac & cheese or sour cream. No creamy soups. But he will douse a good steak with A-1 which I cannot stand even the smell of (and on our cruise for our homeymoon 15 years ago the other people at our table who owned a steakhouse gave him hell for!) and catsup is a common condiment for fries and fried fish. But he loves to cook and even thought about going to culinary school when the economy crashed and carpentry was not fluent anymore. But we told him he would have to taste things to cook and that, he is not so willing to do! I, on the other hand, have very little eating issues. I mean there are things I love and things I dislike but I am usually game to try anything. In fact, I'd love to try sushi (have never had it before) but am scared and no one I know eats it so as to guide me in the right direction for starters. I like my meat medium rare (Lou says just club it!) so I have found that most chicken at The World is too dry for me. I don't know if they cook it too long to make sure no one gets sick or if it sits too long waiting to be picked up but each time I have ordered it at table service venues it is awefully dry. We tend to not need a lot of care at meals and prefer a waiter take the order, bring the food, keep the glasses full, check back here and there to see if we need anything and bring the bill. I am a hard tipper. A waiter starts chipping away at their tip from the moment I sit down. I think I am pretty easy in what I want/need from the wait staff so if I sit too long with an empty glass, I am not happy. Our meals have seemed to average somewhere between 45 minutes to 90 minutes. We do not mind dressing it up a little for our signature meals (although I don't know how Lou is going to take it) so we do bring a change of clothes with us in the morning to change into before dinner and freshen up.

My approach to the dining plan is very different this time around and I do not hear many people talking about it this way but here I go. Since Tyler is now almost 12 (in 16 more days my baby will be 12!!!) he is considered a Disney Adult. But he does not generally eat enough food to be an adult or the kinds of foods to be an adult. So I plan on using the dining plan creatively. We will have a total of 81 adult meal credits and 27 child credits and we are looking at them that way. We will be paying out of pocket for a lot of Tyler's kid's meals and some of Skye's meals. This way, we have covered most of our food on the dining plan. This gets us more meals and a higher out of pocket cost between paying for the meals and the tips and maybe an adult beverage here and there. But the way I have figured it (and believe me, I have figured it!) we will still come out about $2200.00 ahead.

And I have also split the trip into two parts...the first part with just me and the kids without a dining plan and then part 2 once Lou arrives and we have the dining plan.

Let me see if I can break this down so someone other than me understands my way of thinking...

I figure we are paying to upgrade to the deluxe dining plan from the regular dining plan (staying at Caribbean Beach for that portion of the trip) which cost us $747.00 for nine nights. We will be eating about $3356.49 in dining plan meals, $216.00 in snacks, and $60.00 in mugs (well we won't be eating those!). I figure we will spend about $578.00 on dining for part 1 and out of pocket (meals and tips) will be about $677.49. Which puts us at a DDDP value of approximately $2200.00!!!! Now would we normally eat this way? No...no way...but most of that would be becasue we would not be willing to spend the money. And even if we did do three sit downs a day, we would be watching prices and not ordering the most expensive things on the menu (which is seems are usually what we really want) and we probably would not order three or four desserts, we would share one and probably share one appetizer...but not becasue we would not want to each order our own! So the dining plan allows us to make even meal a vacation. Could we dine in the world for less? I'm sure we could but not for much less and it would certainly bring more stress and thought into eating. The deluxe dining plan just makes the vacation more vacation-y!!!

So where are we planning to dine? Well I still have 60 more days until I can make ADRs but here is what I have planned...we should arrive around 11am hopefully...

Arrival Day Saturday 8-13-11

(L) World Premiere @ ASMo after check in
(D) Planet Hollywood @ DD with coupon from package

Sunday 8-14-11

(B) Kona Cafe @ Polynesian
(L) Golden Oak Outpost and Columbia Harbor House @ Magic Kingdom
(D) Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe @ Magic Kingdom

Monday 8-15-11

(B) World Premiere @ ASMo
(L) Pizzafari @ Animal Kingdom
(D) World Premiere @ ASMo

Tuesday 8-16-11

(B) Main Street Bakery @ Magic Kingdom
(L) Chefs de France @ Epcot
(D) Seasons @ Epcot

Wednesday 8-17-11

(B) World Premiere @ ASMo
(L) Pizza Planet, Min & Bill's Dockside Diner, and Staring Rolls @ Disney's Hollywook Studios
(D) Cape May Cafe @ Beach Club

Thursday 8-18-11

(B) Captain Cook's @ Polynesian
(L/D) T-Rex @ Downtown Disney


Then Part 2 starts and Lou arrives hopefully around 11am...

Friday 8-19-11

(B) Old Port Royale @ Caribbean Beach (OOP)
(L) Whispering Canyon @ WIlderness Lodge (3A/1C)
(D) La Hacienda de San Angel @ Epcot (2A/1C/1OOP)

Saturday 8-20-11

(B) Tuskerhouse @ Aminal Kingdom (3A/1C)
(L) Yak & Yeti @ Animal Kingdom (2A/1C/1OOP)
(D) Jiko @ Aniaml Kingdom Lodge (4A/2OOP)


Sunday 8-21-11

(B) Akershus @ Epcot (3A/1C)
(L) Le Cellier @ Epcot (2A/1C/1OOP)
(D) California Grill @ Comtemporary (4A/2C/1OOP)


Monday 8-22-11

(B) Hollywood & Vine @ Disney's Hollywood Studios (3A/1C)
(L) Brown Derby @ Disney's Hollywood Studios(4A/2OOP)
(D) Boma @ Animal Kingdom Lodge (3A/1C)


Tuesday 8-23-11

(B) 1900 Park Fare @ Grand Floridian (3A/1C)
(L) Mama Melrose Fantasmic Package @ Disney's Hollywood Studios (3A/1C)
(D) Flying Fish @ Disney's Hollywood Studios (4A/2C/1OOP)

Wednesday 8-24-11

(B) Cape May Cafe @ Beach Club (3A/1C)
(L) Via Napoli @ Epcot (2A/1C)
(D) Yachtsman Steakhouse @ Epcot (4A/2OOP)


Thursday 8-25-11

(B) Ohana @ Polynesian (3A/1C)
(L) Restaurant MArrakesh @ Epcot (2A/1C)
(D) Narcoossees @ Grand Floridian (4A/2C/1OOP)


Friday 8-26-11

(B) Crystal Palace @ Magic Kingdom (3A/1C)
(L) The Wave @ (2A/1C/1OOP)
(D) Citricos @ grand Floridian (4A/2C/1OOP)


Saturday 8-27-11

(B) Chef Mickey's @ Contemporary (3A/1C)
(L) Teppan Edo @ Epcot (2A/1C)
(D) Artist Point @ Wilderness Lodge (4A/2OOP)


Departure day - Sunday 8-28-11

(B) Old Port Royale @ Caribbean Beach (OOP or snack credits)
(L) Grand Floridian Cafe @ Grand Floridian (2A/1C/1OOP)


...hopefully we will have a late flight out so I am hoping for Magical Express to pick us up no earlier than 5pm-ish.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

I know, I know...it's a lot of eating. But let me tell you my thoughts on it.

It is going to be hot...so sitting down three times a day will be forced inside in air conditioning.

It is probably going to rain more than we are used to...so hopefully, we can plan accordingly and nave a lot of it during our meals.

We do not have to eat everything we order. We can taste and eat what we want. Leave what we don't want.

We can see a lot of characters without waiting in lines...yes, there will still be some we will have to wait in lines for but a lot of them will already be done.

And if planned right, and spaced out well, we will get full benefit from eating three meals a day.

And basically with the ADRs I am hoping to snag, we will be at the break even point really early on so even if we do not make all of them, we will still have benefitted from the deluxe dining plan!!!!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

So some of these are new for us...but most we have been to in some way, shape, or form.

Have not been to before...
Kona Cafe for breakfast (we have been for dinner)
Cape May Cafe for dinner (we have been for breakfast)
Captain Cook's
Whispering Canyon
La Hacienda de San Angel
Jiko
Akershus for breakfast (we have been for lunch and dinner)
Via Napoli
Yachtsman Steakhouse
The Wave
Teppan Edo

Places the kids and I have been to but not Lou...


Tuskerhouse
Yak & Yeti
California Grill
Brown Derby
Flying Fish
Cape May Cafe
Ohana
Restaurant Marrakesh
Narcoossees
Crystal Palace for breakfast (he has been for dinner)
Citricos
Granf Floridian Cafe

Everywhere else we have been before (after Lou arrives).

The kids and I will be experiencing Cape May for dinner for the first time, Kona Cafe for breakfast for the first time, and Captain Cooks for the first time too...and the kids will be doing Planet Hollywood for the first time too.

I think we have a pretty good line-up now all I have to do is figure out times and cross my fingers that I can get those times when it comes time to make my ADRs!!!!

 

[TeaForTulips]

Sherry, I will be your DIS friend too!

I've enjoyed reading your posts! Your kids are too cute!

We recently moved 30 minutes away from Disney and now go all teh time, but I am planning a big trip for the whole family (still in Louisiana) to come to Disney in September, so I know what you mean about planning early! We will be a party of 9. Yikes! My mom, sister, and I have books, spreadsheets, and daily conversations about the trip! We are the Disney crazed ones... I think my sister and I are gonna start a PTR in January. I am officially booking free dining rooms this weekend.

I like your ADRs so far. I am too nervous to do the deluxe dining plan. We are gonna upgrade to the regular plan and see how it goes.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Sherry, I will be your DIS friend too!

I've enjoyed reading your posts! Your kids are too cute!

We recently moved 30 minutes away from Disney and now go all teh time, but I am planning a big trip for the whole family (still in Louisiana) to come to Disney in September, so I know what you mean about planning early! We will be a party of 9. Yikes! My mom, sister, and I have books, spreadsheets, and daily conversations about the trip! We are the Disney crazed ones... I think my sister and I are gonna start a PTR in January. I am officially booking free dining rooms this weekend.

I like your ADRs so far. I am too nervous to do the deluxe dining plan. We are gonna upgrade to the regular plan and see how it goes.

Yea!!!! I have another friend!

You're lucky! I have been trying to convinde Lou to move to Florida for years...my company's corporate offices are down there...in Orlando actually! I know a lot of them live in Winter Park...but he's not convinced yet. The kids are on board with it too! I don't know if I am truely serious or not but I'd sure like the opportunity to figure it out!

9...wow...I don't know that I could do it. But maybe that's just me...pleaseing the four of us takes some work...I cannot imagine adding another 5 to the picture!

Why are you nervous about the Deluxe Dining Plan? At first I did not think I woudl like it...being tied to ADRs and worrying that I'd be left with credits unused but after that first trip, I have a hard time thinking about a trip without it...in fact, doing the QSDP on our last trip mostly came bbout becasue my mom was along and she was not into all that dining.

Never too early to start planning I say! You just never know what life is going to throw you so o harm in being prepared...except that you eventually run out of things to plan!!!!

 

[justakrazymom]

LOVING this!! We will overlap. We are there 8/19-29 ( may add more days ).. Your son and my almost 9 year old have the same hair..lol

 

[tyandskyesmom]

So I'm not the only one crazy enough to plan this far out! Yea!!!

So are you guys planned as much as I am? What do you have planned? Is it crazy that just the thought of a trip in the works, even if it is 214 days from now, makes every day easier to get through?

Thanx for reading along guys...and posting...makes me feel like I am not just talking to myself!

Gotta think of something else to plan out...I'll be back!

 

[justakrazymom]

I hear ya on talking to yourself..so far no one has posted to my PTR..LOL...

I have Hoop Dee Doo on the 23rd planned.. it's my oldest son's 17th b-day and that's where he wants to go.. I am thinking Le Cellier on the 28th ( my birthday) without the kids..my mom is coming.

We are a grand gathering..my friend her Dh and their 7 kids plus another set of friends and 2 teens.. We will do some ADR's with them and some without. I don't plan on touring with them much at all just because of the sheer size of the group. We will likely all be at the same parks on the same days...I am really hoping to be able to add hoppers to our passes but we shall see...

 

[tyandskyesmom]

I hear ya on talking to yourself..so far no one has posted to my PTR..LOL...

I have Hoop Dee Doo on the 23rd planned.. it's my oldest son's 17th b-day and that's where he wants to go.. I am thinking Le Cellier on the 28th ( my birthday) without the kids..my mom is coming.

We are a grand gathering..my friend her Dh and their 7 kids plus another set of friends and 2 teens.. We will do some ADR's with them and some without. I don't plan on touring with them much at all just because of the sheer size of the group. We will likely all be at the same parks on the same days...I am really hoping to be able to add hoppers to our passes but we shall see...

WOW!!!! SO what's that? 20? WOW!!!! And I though 9 was a lot for TeaForTulips!!! I definatelty could not do 20...maybe I'm too selfish??? But if you're just mainly meeting for meals, maybe I could do that...

Or maybe it's just me and my family and the rest of the potental travelers...I definately do not travel well with my mom...we did ok on the last trip in April but it was just me, the kids and her...no dads/husbands...but by the end of the trip I think we needed to be apart. I cannot even handle my SIL for a weekend so a whole trip woudl be horrible! Maybe some friends but then again, I am too concerned with doing what we want to do and the fact that we worked too hard to get there to do what someone else wants to do. But we did go on one trip with all of us and my parents but we all stayed in seperate places and just met up periodically and that worked out pretty well so maybe that woudl work for us and 20 of our closest friends...

Does your son get called "Princess" a lot or when it is him and other girls do people refer to you collectively as "ladies"? Tyler gets that all the time...he hates it! He thought it was just about over but then wheil visiting Santa the other day the lady said "Santa will be with you ladies in just a second." And really, if you saw Skye and him standing together and even thought for a minute that he had hair like a girl, just the way they are so completely dressed to their gender should give it away!

 

[justakrazymom]

yep 20 as of now..with the potential for 2 more teens. The main reason we are all going at the same time is my best friends own the club I work at..so it will be closed while they are gone, and this way I don't lose like 4 weeks of work between them gone and then me gone..kwim?

It won't be easy..but luckily my mother and I have done with twice before.. and another adult with 3 smallish kids will be great. I am certain my Dh and oldest will take off often and that still leaves me help with the younger kids. My mother is super go with the flow and is just really glad to be going. With 10 days there we will get to see everything we want to I am sure!

I have zero problems going our own way. We will likely only do the Grand Gathering meal ( that's 2 credits) and 1-2 other meals WITH the whole group..the rest of the time it will be passing each other at the resort and or the parks..lol.. I am hoping to save enough to add hoppers.. they won't have em and I would really like to..lol

Actually Declan has only been called a girl two or three times..and its been just older people. For awhile my oldest had really long hair, and it's very wavy and gorgeous..lol.. now he has a mohawk...lol..

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Ok, so some of you may have figured out our park plan from our dining plans but let me spell it out...

Day #1 - Aug 13, 2011 (Saturday):

*arrive by 11am (hopefully)
*check - in and have lunch at the food court and hopefully get into our
room
*go to Blizzard Beach for the evening
*dinner at Planet Hollywood

Day #2 - Aug. 14, 2011 (Sunday):

*head to the Poly for breakfast then hop a monorail to...
*Magic Kingdom (9am - 1am with 10pm - 1am being EMH)
* lunch and dinner are counter service in the park

Day #3 - Aug. 15, 2011 (Monday):

*we'll grab breakfast in the food court then head to...
*Animal Kingdom (9am - 9pm with 6pm - 9pm being EMH)
*we'll have lunch in the park and then whenever we're hungry again we will
grab counter service...I suspect back at the food court

Day #4 - Aug. 16, 2011 (Tuesday):

*on our food schedule I have Main Street Bakery listed but the only
reason I can think of why we'd be going back to Magic Kingdom this
morining would be becasue there are EMH hours from 8am - 9am...but
then I don't knwo why we'd waste time heading to Magic Kingdom only
for that...so I think my original thinking is wrong...so I am officially
changing that to grabbing breakfast in the food court before heading
out to...
*Epcot (9am - 12am with 9pm - 12am being EMH)
*I'll try to snag an ADR for Chefs de France as soon as they open (we like
that because then we get to see the restaurant empty and also
becasue there is no waitign for someone to finish their meal to get a
seat) and dinner will just be whenever we're hungry, probably at
Seasons.

Day #5 - Aug. 17, 2011 (Wednesday):

*initially I have us grabbing breakfast at the food court but maybe we'll
wait until after getting to...
*Disney's Hollywood Studios (9am - 10pm with 7pm - 10pm being EMH)
*so maybe we'll grab fast passes for Toy Story and ride and then grab
breakfast at Staring Rolls, lunch will be at Pizza Planet and Min & Bills
Dockside Diner, and then I will try to get an ADR for Cape May Cafe
around 6pm
*and then maybe we'll head back to the Studios for EMH

Day #6 - Aug. 18, 2011 (Thursday):

*I have us heading to Captain Cook's for a quick breakfast whenever we
wake-up and head out
*then we are heading to Typhoon Lagoon for the day
*a late lunch/early dinner at T-Rex (but I need to decide on the best time
to schedule an ADR)
*then Disney Quest till we cannot handle it anymore...which shouldn't be
long for me!

Day #7 - Aug. 19, 2011 (Friday):

*we'll get up whenever we want (probably around 8am), get ready for the
day, pack up the rest of our things, take them to storage for transfer,
and head to Epcot to transfer to a Caribbean Beach Bus to check in
*hopefully our room will be ready and we can head there to check it out.
*we'll grab breakfast at Old Port Royale (OOP) and hang out at the pool
waiting for Lou to arrive hopefully around 11am
*we'll head to Wilderness Lodge for lunch at Whispering Canyon Cafe for an
ADR around 1pm
*then we'll head to Magic Kingdom for the afternoon (9am - 2am with 11
pm - 2am being EMH)
*and then we'll head to Epcot (9am - 9pm) for dinner at 8pm at La
Hacienda De San Angel
*then we'll head back to Magic Kingdom if we feel like it for EMH

Day #8 - Aug. 20, 2011 (Saturday):

*Breakfast at Tuskerhouse (ADR timing will depend on if they have seating
before EMH or not...if they seat at 7am then that is what I want...if
not, then I want an ADR around 9am)
*Animal Kingdom (8am - 5pm with 8am - 9am being EMH)
*lunch will be at Yak & Yeti around 1pm if we have breakfast early and
3pm if we eat breakfast late
*dinner is at Jiko at 8pm

Day #9 - Aug. 21, 2011 (Sunday):

*Breakfast at Akershus (again ADR timimg will depend on if they have early
seating for EMH or not...if the do, I want 7am if not, around 9am will be
good
*Epcot (8am - 9pm with 8am - 9am being EMH)
*lunch will be at Le Cellier at 1pm if eating breakfast early or 3pm if late
*dinner at California Grill around 8pm
*after dinner we can head to Magic Kingdom if we want to (9am - 12am
with 9pm - 12am being EMH)

Day #10 - Aug. 22, 2011 (Monday):

*Breakfast at Hollywood & Vine (with the EMH ADR schedule depending on
when they start seating)
*Disney Hollywood Studios (8am - 7pm with 8am - 9am being EMH)
*lunch is at Brown Derby around 2pm
*after lunch we will probably head to Animal Kingdom (9am - 8pm with
5pm - 8pm being EMH)
*dinner is at Boma around 8:30pm

Day #11 - Aug. 23, 2011 (Tuesday):

*hop a bus to Magic Kingdom and then monorail to the Grand Floridian for
breakfast at 1900 Park Fare at their earliest seating (we have had
horrors waiting here if we do not have the first seating!)
*hop a monorail to Epcot (9am - 12am with 9pm - 12am being EMH)
*boat to Disney Hollywood Studios (9am - 8:30pm)
*lunch at Mama Melrose for Fantasmic! package around 1pm
*Fantasmic! at 8:30pm
*boat or walk to Flying Fish for a 9:30pm ADR

continued in the next post...

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Ok...so writing that all out that way has mad me realize we are doing a lot of hopping and travelling.

Which is not necessarily a bad thing considering it is going to be hot and being inside a bus, monorail, or boat might be a not so bad thing.

But it is a lot of moving around.

I don't know that I like that. But I don't know that I don't like it either.

My goals are to make sure we get to eat at all the venues we want to. It is also to allow us to see all the night time shows we love so much. It is also to be able to utilize those morning EMH hours to get in those rides on Toy Story Mania and Rockin' Roller Coaster, Everest and the Safari, Soarin' and Test Track, and Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, and various Fantasyland attractions as much as possible with as little wait as possible.

That may be the most difficult part of this trip for us. We are used to going to The World in off-peak times (November, January mostly) when the weather is cooler and it is generally less crowded. These two things will probably be the most difficult for us to get a hold of. Normally, we do not wait in a line for anything more than 30 minutes and that would be pushing it! We are not dealing with the lines while standing in the blistering heat either.

So, I think maybe I need to re-think my ADRs and come up with a way to hop less...I just think I will be settling for less than stellar meals from the get go if I do that.


And this is why we plan!!!!

What do you guys think?????

 

[justakrazymom]

Looks great!

 

[justakrazymom]

We did a LOT of hopping when we went in Dec but less when we went in April ( it was 105 most days..)... this trip..no hoppers..LOL

 

[tyandskyesmom]

I don't know...I just re-read through the schedule picturing the timing and such in my head while I did it and it doesn't sound all that crazy...so let me continue on with what I have originally planned and then you guys (YES ALL YOU LURKERS OUT THERE I NEED YOUR ADVICE TOO!!!) can help me think about it.


Day #12 - Aug. 24, 2011 (Wednesday):

*Breakfast is at Cape May this morning around 8am so we'll hop a bus to
Disney Hollywood Studios and walk over to The Beach Club for
breakfast.
*We'll spend the day at Epcot (9am - 9pm)
*lunch will be at Via Napoli around 2pm
*dinner will be at Yachtsman Steakhouse around 8pm

Day #13 - Aug. 25, 2011 (Thursday):

*Ohana is our breakfast destination around 7am if possible
*we'll head to Magic Kingdom (8am - 10pm with 8am - 9am being EMH)
*lunch is back at Epcot (9am - 12am with 9pm - 12am being EMH)so we'll
monorail over there to arrive at...
*Restaurant Marrakesh for our 1pm ADR
*we'll head back via monorail to Magic Kingdom
*then we can either hang out until we have to leave to catch a boat to...
*Narcoossees at around 8pm
*after dinner we can head back to Epcot for EMH if we want to.

Day #14 - Aug. 26, 2011 (Friday):

*I'll try for an 8am ADR at Crystal Palace
*then we'll hang out in Magic Kingdom (9am - 1am with 10pm - 1am being
EMH hours)
*we'll leave the Magic Kingdom to make our lunch ADR at 1pm for The
Wave
* we'll go back to Magic Kingdom after lunch for the evening until time to
head off for dinner at...
*Citricos at around 8pm
*we can head back to the Magic Kingdom after dinner if we feel like it

Day #15 - Aug. 27, 2011 (Saturday):

*We intend to hit Chef Mickey's for an 8am ADR
*then we'll monorail it over to Epcot (9am - 12am with 9pm - 12am being
EMH)
* Lunch will be at Teppan Edo at around 1pm
*dinner will be at Artist Point around 6pm so we'll catch a monorail to the
Contemporary and then a boat over to Wilderness Lodge
*Then we'll head back for Illuminations and as much of our last full Disney
day as we can stand!

Day #15 - Aug. 28, 2011 (Sunday):

*We'll pack up and check -in our luggage for the airlines and store our
carry-ons for later then grab breakfast (OOP) at Old Port Royale
*Then we will head off to Magic Kingdom (9am - 12am with 9pm - 12am
being EMH)
*we'll hang out there until time for lunch at the Grand Floridian Cafe at
around 1pm
*then we'll head back to Caribbean Beach to hang out and swim and
whatever else we need/want to until the Magical Express comes to
pick us up to go back to the airport.
*I am hoping to get a flight out of Orland around 8pm so that would put
DME pick-up at about 5pm and put us getting back to Chicago at
about 9:30pm

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Ok...after doing this I also did a time tally...basically of how many hours spent in each park becasue I just feel really lop-sided...

MK = 35
E = 42.5
AK = 12
DHS = 17

And a lot of the Magic Kingdom is broken down into small segments...not how we like to tour.

I am definately going to have to re-think this...

 

[tyandskyesmom]

And this is also not leaving room to use our last plus option off of our part one tickets...we were going to save one and then pay for Lou OOP at Disney Quest.

Nor does it leave room for going back to Caribbean Beach to swim or nap mid-day if the weather is just beyond our coping abilities. Plus, we are going to have a pretty cool pool this time around!

And I do want to leave those options open since I do not know how we will react to the heat or crowds.

Does it get less crowded starting on August 19th since that is the day value season comes into effect and the free dining offer began?

 

[justakrazymom]

I would assume it would be quieter what with most college kids needing to be back to school and lots of school districts back in school. Our local schools don't go back til Sept 1st ish.. If it wasn;t for my job being closed for this time frame I'd wait another week or so since we don't have to worry about school calendars..lol