Is it June Yet?

[bweagle]

A little background about the family: We're 4 nuts (Buckeyes to be exact) from Ohio.....

Me (Disney-lover extraordinaire) - My parents introduced me to WDW when I was 7 and found that after that introduction I would need to return often. We took trips every 2-3 years growing up to feed my addiction

DH (Just doesn't "get" it) - Despite the 10 years seniority he has over me in this world, DH had never been to WDW until I introduced him in 2001. I didn't think he found the magic during that trip, so we returned in 2002. He still didn't "get it". Decided to wait until we had kids to return. First trip with kids was last year. I loved to see the magic through their eyes. DH kept his eyes closed and "napped" through many of the attractions. I'll give him another chance to find the magic this year. If he still doesn't get it, I vow to return until he does.

DS: 5 (Like Mommy - Like Son) - His first trip was last year.....he can't wait to return this summer and already has a list going of attractions he needs to ride again this year!

DD: 3 (A princess in training) - Although she's young, she remembers bits and pieces of last year's trip and is waiting ever so impatiently to meet back up with her fellow princesses.


I've vowed to take my kids on vacations to expose them to all parts of the country. We've headed to the east coast and out to the western regions. Last year we decided to head to WDW, while we could still get DD in for free. This year we tossed around a number of locations including Cape Cod, the Southwest, and Southeast, but when the Buy 4 Get 3 deal came along, I couldn't pass it up. DH didn't argue (We've been married for 10 years now and he knows better), so I booked the trip.

Next: Let the Compulsive Planning Begin!

 

[Desiree430]

Hello! I look forward to reading your ptr! We are going in May. My children are also 5(ds) and 3(dd). Last year was our first family trip to Disney. I had been waiting since the day I found out I was pregnant with my first to go to Disney and last year it finally happened! It was magical seeing their excitement and we have decided to make this a yearly trip!

 

[H20DogsNDisney]

can't wait to read more

 

[bweagle]

Compulsive Planning – 101

I’m a planner…..ok, I’ll admit it, I’m an over planner , but I think planning vacations is so much fun. I get a great deal of joy out of planning the details of our trips. My DH thinks I’m nuts when it comes to how detailed I am with my planning, but I can live with that.

So now that the 4/3 deal was extended and could be booked in the summer months, we (I) decided this family of 4 was in. I’m a teacher and so we take our family vacations in the summer. I like to head out on our vacations, shortly after that last dismissal bell rings.

DH and I talked about this trip and I had checked for availability online, but hadn’t solidified any dates. Despite this, I had dates in my head and had begun to develop our itinerary. In late Feb / early March, we (I) decided to book our trip and found availability for our preferred dates in June were gone. We prefer to stay at the value resorts so that we can stretch our budget and stay in WDW longer, so I was limited in what I was looking for. I finally found availability at POP by adjusting our stay back just a couple of days. We stayed at POP last year and enjoyed it, so decided to take the plunge their again this year. We will be staying 9 nights, and so will be paying rack rate for our final two nights as well. (Ssshhhhh…DH doesn’t know this, I only mentioned to him the deal we were getting on the first 7 nights)

While it didn’t seem like a big deal initially to move our stay back a couple of days, it played havoc on my initial itinerary, so I found myself adjusting and readjusting the plans….to the point I was obsessing over it. In the past I’ve always tried to schedule one or two down days where we enjoy the resorts, etc. Last year, with the kids, we found that on our “down day” we had the most fun by taking an impromptu (GASP!) trip to DHS, so I decided to plan park days on each day this year with the understanding that we won’t always stay in the parks from rope drop to close (which has been our pattern in the past trips) The plan looks good on paper (it should, it's been written and rewritten at least two dozen times ). I can't wait to see how the new strategy plays out in the parks.

Next up: DDP or OOP ?- That is the question

 

[sneadae]

Hi! Ohioan here too...what part are you from? Looking forward to reading your trip report!!

 

[bweagle]

Hi! Ohioan here too...what part are you from? Looking forward to reading your trip report!!

We're currently living in the Central Ohio area, what about yourself?

 

[bweagle]

So, I tossed around the idea of DDP a lot when planning our trip last year. In fact, I even thought about DxDDP, but decided it was just too costly for us. So when we finally settled on returning this year, DDP came to the forefront of my plans again. But was it worth it? I'm a details type gal and I needed to know it was worth it before committing.

Our meals this trip will be character buffet oriented. I know that some people would think its character meal overkill after seeing my meal plans, but the way I look at it, my mouskateers-in-training are only going to be young once, and we'll have plenty of time to experience some of the other dining options on future trips as they grow older.

When I told DS we were returning and asked if he could remember any places from last year's trip that he would like to return to, 1900 PF supper and Chef Mickey's were on the top of his list. They kids just had so much fun at these meals that they became a priority for this year's trip as well.

So, back to the budget. Was DDP worth it? I've read a lot of posts stating that DDP wasn't as worthwhile if you were opting for a large number of buffet meals, but after Disney declared the month of June a "holiday" and subsequently raised the prices of their buffets, it seemed that DDP would be a much better option.

We will be staying onsite for 9 nights, leaving us with 9 TS, 9 CS and 9 Snack credits if we chose to use DDP. This meal plan would cost us roughly $918. After running the numbers, with price increases reflecting the holiday "June", I have estimated that the costs of the 9TS alone would be $830 (not including tax, which DDP covers). My prices reflect a $6.00 increase in Dinner buffets and a $4.00 increase in lunch and breakfast buffets, which seems to be the pattern shown in information found on Deb's site. This means as a family, we would only have to spend $88 over the course of 9 days (using our CS and snack credits) to break even on the cost of DDP.

With those kind of numbers, it seems like a no brainer.....sign me up

Next up: The ADR dilemma

 

[bweagle]

So, after convincing myself that DDP was worthwhile and adding it to my MYW package, it was now time to plan what restaurants we would be settling on before my 90 day window was upon me.

I knew character meals were going to be a major focus, but I wasn't sure if I wanted only character meals. We've eaten at LeCellier before and I would like to return someday, and I've always wanted to head to Coral Reef, despite the mixed reviews. Ohana's for supper is great and you can't beat Tonga Toast at Kona's. I've also enjoyed my meals at San Angel Inn. I spent many evenings before my 90 day mark thinking and rethinking my restaurant choices. I decided that I was fortunate enough to have experienced all of these great establishments in my "pre-mommy" life and there will be a time, when the kids are older, that we'll have the opportunity to head back and enjoy them again.

Ultimately, this trip is about the kids and what they remember most about last year where the character meals. In fact DS, even remembers on our arrival night last year we ate at 1900 PF with Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine, Drizella and Anastasia and thought it was absurd when I mentioned going to Chef Mickey's on our first night this year. I guess I'm raising a creature of habit, so we'll be returning to 1900 PF on arrival night this year as well.

By the time my 90 day window had rolled around, I felt confident in our choices. It may not be the best food WDW has to offer, but in my opinion, it's some of the best atmosphere for young kids. After all, who among you wouldn't like to be eating supper and have Mickey Mouse stop by to visit you?

My 90 day mark was March 21st. I felt fortunate to have it fall on a Saturday. If it would have fallen on a weekday, I'm not sure what I would have done, as my work day starts at 7:15 am. I got through right at 7:00 am and was put in the queue for about 20 minutes. I'd never had to wait that long before, but with the new system in place, I had expected worse. After 20 minutes or so, I was fortunate to be greeted by a fantastic CM. She had my 8 TS completed and confirmation numbers returned to me in about 15 minutes. I was able to get all of the meals on the days I wanted. The only major sacrifice I had to make was with Akershus.....I would have preferred supper, but it was filled, so I had to take a late lunch. I'm not as crazy about the lunch menu, but I'll survive. Oh, and I wanted an earlier time for Ohana, but 8:45 was the earliest time they had available. The plan is to arrive early, and hope someone has cancelled and they are able to get us in. If not, we'll wait for our scheduled time. Our ADR's are as follows:

Friday, June 19 - 1900 Park Faire 5:50 pm
Saturday, June 20 - Akershus 2:05 pm
Sunday, June 21 - Ohana 8:45 am
Tuesday, June 23 - Crystal Palace 5:55 pm
Wednesday, June 24 - Tusker House 10:15 am
Thursday, June 25 - 1900 Park Faire 8:15 am
Friday, June 26 - CRT 12:00 pm
Saturday, June 27 - Chef Mickey's 6:45 pm

So, I don't have a TS meal planned for Monday, June 22nd. We'll be at DHS that day. If I went the character buffet route, we'd head to the Playhouse Disney meal at Hollywood and Vine. We did it last year. I didn't mind it, but truthfully, feel JoJo and Goliath are a little outdated to include in the meal, since they haven't appeared on Playhouse Disney for quite some time now. The characters were good. They dancing with the kids was great. Food was ok. Server was lousy, but I truly just think it was him.

Opinions please, should I pay OOP for an extra TS meal on this day or just go for CS? If we go CS this day, as I have planned, we'll be heaidng to Starring Rolls Cafe for lunch and Pizza Planet for Supper. I know CS options at DHS aren't great, but I think those two options are pretty decent.

Next Up: Day 1 - Arrive Day!

 

[bweagle]

Anyone have any thoughts about the dining question posed above? Anyone?

I had mentioned in an earlier post that we are going to attack this trip differently and see how it goes. We've never gone into a park on arrival day, but because we have opted for the MYW package this year (we've never gone with the package before) we have 9 days in the park and figure we might as well use it.

So, here's the plan for our arrival day

We will be spending the previous evening somewhere along the Space Coast, location yet to be determined. If anyone has any budget friendly accomodation suggestions for that region....I'm all ears. We stayed at the LaQuinta in Cocoa Beach last year, and may be considering it again this year, unless a better option comes along.

At any rate, we'll be leaving there sometime between 10 and 11 in the morning, which should put us in WDW right around lunch time. The plan is to head to DTD and have lunch at Earl of Sandwich (OOP) and then do a little shopping. There are some potato head pieces I have been kicking myself for not getting last year that are on the must get list, and DS has a gift card for the Lego store. World of Disney and the Christmas Shoppe are also on the must hit list.....we'll play it by ear on the other shops. I have a feeling with DS sees the new balloon attraction, he'll be drawn with an unseen magnetic force directly to it.

Around 3:00 we plan on heading over to Pop Century to check in and drop off our luggage in our room.

From there we will be heading over the MK area, where we have a 5:50 ADR at 1900 Park Faire. We can't think of a better way to begin our trip than dining with Cinderella. This was one of our favorite meals last year. The characters were fantastic. We will likely get there early, so we'll enjoy a ride on the monorail, and we're big fans of the boats that taxi you from MK to the MK resorts. I also love the gift shop at GF and would like to get some pictures of the kids on the GF beach, so we'll have no problem finding things to do while waiting for our ADR to roll around.

After supper, we plan on heading over to MK and staking out a spot for SpectroMagic. DS and DD were mesmerized by it last year, and I thought it would be a great way to start our trip. This is an EMH night and the park is open until 2 am. While I'd love to stay that long, in my heart I know my kids won't be able to make it. What I do think we'll do though is head over to Adventureland, or maybe Tomorrowland, after Spectro to hit some of the EMH attractions during Wishes. My DS is supersenitive to loud sounds, so viewing from Main Street isn't a must for us. We tried it last year and ended up moving all the way down to the entrance of the park while he watched with his ears covered.

After Wishes, we're hoping to hit a few of the EMH attractions in Fantasyland before the kids are done for the evening and we head back to the resort.

Next up: Day 2 - World Showcase

 

[sneadae]

[/QUOTE]

Opinions please, should I pay OOP for an extra TS meal on this day or just go for CS? If we go CS this day, as I have planned, we'll be heaidng to Starring Rolls Cafe for lunch and Pizza Planet for Supper. I know CS options at DHS aren't great, but I think those two options are pretty decent.

[/QUOTE]

I would just go with the Counter Service options. Both of those places have decent food and the kids love Pizza Planet!

We are from the Cincinnati area...not too far from you. Your ressies sound great! We have alot of the same ones.

 

[H20DogsNDisney]

What about 50s' Prime Time? for 22 But since your going to CRT you won't need any thing on the 22 for TS. Unless you want to payout of Pocket. CRT is 2 TS.