Is it March Yet?? March 3-9 Free Dining PTR!

[lilys.mom]

Hi all! This will be my first attempt at a PTR.

We are booked for March 3-9 at CBR with free dining. This will be our second trip to Disney our first was in Sept 2009..which honestly was still too hot for me. So we decided to try March before the spring break madness begins.

Our cast of charecters:

Me- 30 I work for the City I live in for the Parks and Recreation Department. I have a great job! This time of year does get boring at times but I am thankful to have a job and a pretty laid back on at that!

DH- 31 He works for CBL properties about 20 mins away from the town we live in. They own malls and outdoor shopping centers all over the world. His job is way more coroporate than mine..which took him some time to get used to


DD -4 She is a Halloween baby! Very, smart and bright little girl. She can be quite shy around new people and crowds. A lot like her daddy when it comes to that.

Here area few of my favorite pics from our 1st trip:

Neither DH or I grew up huge Disney people but when I had DD I knew that we would have to take her once she got big enough. So she was 2 and survived our first trip with a child. I loved it!!! And so did she!!! DH could live without but endures it for her. He does however like the food and all eating you do with free dining!

Now you know us!

 

[ChildAtHeart82]

Subscribing! I found your PTR from the March 2011 thread. I'm looking forward to hearing about your trip! It should help with the waiting.

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

I'm here too!! I'm on the Facebook thread as well!! It was so hot every time we have been as well...really looking forward to being able to tour without the sweat dripping EVERYWHERE!!!

Can't wait to read more!!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Hi!!! I popped over from the March thread as well. I think I am going to start my PTR this week, so I'll post a link over there too.
You have a lovely family!!

You're probably going to tell us soon, but are you driving from Tenn? How long a drive for you?

 

[lilandvisma]

Along for the TR We are going in March as well and I have only been in June/July/August and October (October being lovely!). I will NEVER go back in the Summer. My asthma was horrible the last time and the kids were miserable. We had a great time but never again with that heat and humidity

 

[lilys.mom]

Welcome everybody!!! Thanks for joining me!!!


I think someone asked if we will be driving from Tennessee. Yes we will be it takes about 10 hours from where we live. Which isnt too bad. Although I must say the older DD gets the more anxious and aware she is of being on the road and we have a lot more " How much longer" now days! But I just really cant justify flying.....I mean by the time we pay for all our bags..etc...it would just be too much. At least this way we can take anything we want and not worry about how much we end up bringing home!!!! Going anywhere with DD now is like packing for a vacay...she has to bring whatever stuffed animals or trinkets are her favorite for that day!


So here is the start of our plans:


Thursday 3/3 arrive probably around 4 pm...not sure if we will hit MK that evening or not. May just do downtown disney..

Friday 3/4 Epcot
8:30 Arksherus Breakfast (first for us)
5:40 Coral Reef Dinner (also first time)
If anyone has any tips of must sees at epcot with DD please let me know...we are epcot virgins this will be our first time at this park.

Saturday 3/5 Animal Kingdom
8:05 Tusker HOuse Breakfast (first for us)
This is the only adr we have planned this day. Probably hit Flame Tree or Pizzafari for a quick service. We are also virgins here so any advice is greatly welcomed. We already plan to hit Safari as soon as we get out of breakfast.

Sunday 3/6 DHS
8:00 Hollywood and Vine (First for us)
This place doesnt get great reviews but I have told myself to at least try it and I dont figure you can mess up breakfast too bad...
Now I am torn on what else to do about food this day.....I have heard there isnt really any good quick services in the park...any suggestions for this would be great! Also virgins here.

Monday 3/7 MK
6:25 Ohana dinner (first for us)
9:20 am BBB reservation
Visited Mk on our first trip...so kind of know the run down here. Will try to hit our faves and then hit some things we missed on first trip. Also would like to find Tiana and Rapunzel.

Tuesday 3/8 MK
6:15 Plaza dinner...not new to us ate here our first trip and we love it!!! Menu is nothing fancy but the food is great and light and a good change!


And I leave you with another favorite pic from our first trip! I think I am into the charecters more than DD!!!

 

[ChildAtHeart82]

Your plans look great so far! That's a cute picture of you and DD with Pinochio. I will do my best to give suggestions, but I haven't done Disney with a four year-old yet. I apologize if I give advice that doesn't quite fit.

For Epcot, if DD is tall enough, I'd suggest Soarin' and Test Track. The height requirement for both is 40". To make sure DD would enjoy them, I'd research the two attractions a little bit, but I don't think either one would be that scary for her. Club Cool is also a neat experience. It's sponsored by Coke and they have machines where you can get free samples of Coke products from other countries, Some of them are good and some of them are very different. If you plan on going and enjoy being surprised, don't research the options ahead of time. If you want to know what you're getting into, do a little research, especialy into the Beverly. When touring World Showcase, a Kim Possible adventure might be fun. We haven't done one so I can't tell you a whole lot about it, but it looks like fun. Also, there are KidCot stops at each country with activities for kids. I'm not sure what the age range they focus on is. I know our DD isn't there yet, but she's not even one.

I'd recommend Flame Tree over Pizzafari, but we like both. I'd also say the the Festival of the Lion King show is a must-do. It's our favorite show in Disney World. If you have time the Flights of Wonder bird show is kind of neat, but it's not a must. It's Tough to Be a Bug is the 4D show for AK, similar only in type of show to Philharmagic in the Magic Kingdom. It's a good show, but it definitely has some moments that can be startling and scary to young kids.

You won't find anything amazing for QS in Hollywood Studios, but Pizza Planet is okay. It's fast food pizza. Also, Rosie's All-American Cafe is a burger/chicken nuggets type QS. It's located near Tower of Terror and it was okay the last time we ate there, but it's been a few years. Based on all of the bad reviews, I'd avoid ABC Commissary.

I hope this helps!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

At AK you might take the train out to the conservation station - they have a petting zoo out there your DD might enjoy. We liked the Finding Nemo show as well as the Lion King. Between those things and the safari, walking the trails is it for us. Unless it's really warm, then we'll do the River rapids ride. We are planning to try Flame tree this time. We were only marginally impressed with Yak and Yeti CS and Pizzafari.
We have done and are doing again the same early breakfast at Tusker House. It's nice because when you're done you can head straight to the Safari. Sometimes the animals aren't all awake though!

At DHS - Starring Rolls CS has great sandwhiches and HUGE muffins/cupcakes too. Very yummy!

Epcot - for your DD - I agree she might like the Kidcot stops in WS. Soarin is my favorite. There are lots of characters too - around WS and then in the Innoventions building you can see the Fab 5. We have enjoyed both restaurants you're eating at!

I hear that Rapunzel is in the spot where Belle used to have storytime. Tiana is often in the gazebo at Liberty Square.

I'm the one who asked about driving. I assumed you probably were. I drive from MN, so 10 hours sounds FABULOUS!!! I'd want to go way more often too! I also appreciate being able to bring as much stuff as we can fit!

Cute Pinocchio picture!

 

[lilys.mom]

Fellow Marchers!! Help...I am about to have a meltdown!!! Dh needs to pump our dates back to end of Feb!!!! Free dining is offered FEb 25- Mar3....so that means I have to check in on Feb 25 to get for lenght of our stay????? Want to have everything straight before i call Disney and try to change things!!!!!! Please Help........want to keep free dining if possible.

 

[ChildAtHeart82]

The important date is your check-in date. If that's included in the dates for the offer than you would get free dining for your entire stay. I'm not sure how they'll handle it since the free dining offer is past its deadline. I hope you can still get free dining with your new dates!

 

[Colleen27]

Good luck with changing your dates! I'm not sure how they handle changes after the discount has expired, but I'm hoping you'll be able to get your new dates without any trouble.

I was going to pop in to make some suggests for Flower & Garden must-dos, but with your new dates that won't matter anyway. The other big "can't miss" that jumps out at me is Turtle Talk. That definitely ranks up there as one of the best ideas Disney Imagineering has ever come up with for an attraction. And be sure to keep your eyes open for characters around the World Showcase, because there are some fun/unusual ones available at times!

DHS doesn't really have a whole lot for younger kids. Toy Story Mania is great for all ages, but beyond that the shows are really the only things geared towards a younger audience and Playhouse Disney is going to be down for refurb/rebranding at the end of Feb/beginning of March. You've heard right about the lack of good QS choices, but of what's there I'd go with Starring Rolls - decent sandwiches and decadent desserts, better than anything else we've had at a Studios QS.

I second the idea of heading back to Conservation Station at AK. My kids loved the petting area when they were younger, and Jiminy Cricket is sometimes back there for meet & greets. And take your time on the animal trails. A lot of people talk about AK as a half day park but I think that pace overlooks a lot of the really cool animals and habitats Disney has on display.

 

[lilys.mom]

Hi friends!

Whew...I have been on a whirlwind since yesterday! I will skip all the drama just remind you that DH decided he couldnt be gone for our orginal dates because they do a huge update at his work during that time.


so............drum roll.....

We are now booked April 9-15th with kids stay and play free. Didnt get free dining obviously but we moved to All Star Movies and adding dining plan and ended up paying the same as we did for CBR with free dining on our orginal dates....

Ugh...April seems so far away now!!!! and I hope it isnt too hot already!!! and I hope it doesnt rain everyday...

Any input on April and All Stars are greatly appreciated. This will be our first stay at a Value.

Trying not to stress and realize we will still have a great trip!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

You will have a fabulous trip. We went at the end of April and they had a heat wave, we were very hot...but it was the END of April not the beginning and it was a-typical weather...so you should be great

Things happen for a reason and you are meant to go at this time..I remember our second trip we took, we changed our dates 3 times and ended up going in the hottest time ever at the end of August..I was worried, justifiably, but we had a wonderful vacation!!

 

[ChildAtHeart82]

I'm glad you were able to switch your dates and get some promotion. I think you'll have a great time. We stayed at All Star Movies for our honeymoon and really liked the theming. As a heads-up, when we were there all three All Stars resorts shared buses and Movies was last to be picked up and dropped off. We still never had any trouble getting on a bus or feeling that things were too crowded.

 

[lilys.mom]

Thanks for all the reassuring words!!!! I am feeling much better.

Childatheart: I was wondering about buses. If we have an early morning ADR about how far in advance should we be at stop waiting....at CBR we were late to early pre park opening ADR because we had to wait FOREVER on a bus.

 

[ChildAtHeart82]

Thanks for all the reassuring words!!!! I am feeling much better.

Childatheart: I was wondering about buses. If we have an early morning ADR about how far in advance should we be at stop waiting....at CBR we were late to early pre park opening ADR because we had to wait FOREVER on a bus.

I have a tendency to get to things way too early at Disney, but I think it's because I plan for worst case timing (i.e. we just miss a bus and then it take a long time for another bus to come). That said, for an ADR at a park, I'd say you'll probably be fine if you are at the bus stop 45 minutes to an hour before your ADR. I think the dining information after you make an ADR online says to allow for an hour and a half if using Disney transportation. I can see how you might need that but an hour has always worked for us. Most of our experience with buses to ADR's was traveling from Port Orleans French Quarter, which shares with the 3 stops at Port Orleans Riverside. An hour worked fine, but there were a couple times where we were showing up at our ADR time or a few minutes after. Other times we had twenty minutes to kill. I hope this helps!

 

[lilys.mom]

I am back! I hope everyone will continue to follow even though I am now going in April...

If you have seen the news you know the south got hit with a winter storm! It came in Sunday late night...we woke up MOnday to 8 inches!!! In tennessee where I live..in a valley that is huge! I work for the goverment and we just now got back to work today. They closed the city for 2 days...schools are still not in session. Icy roads are the concern now...roads got slushy from people driving and then froze over night.

I now have my new schedule figured out...I think. I will post it later today.


childatheart: Thanks I was thinking an Hour sounded about right.

 

[DISNEMOM]

hi lilysmom! liking following your tr! can i ask where your picture w/jesse and bullseye was taken at?

 

[lilys.mom]

hi lilysmom! liking following your tr! can i ask where your picture w/jesse and bullseye was taken at?

Thanks!
It was taken in Sept 09 at MNSSHP at the Diamond Horseshoe.

 

[lilys.mom]

Ok Life should be getting back to normal for us here in the south this week. DD went back to preschool today!

So here are my new plans:

All Star Movies April 9-15th w/ dining plan added


Sun Apr 10
DHS
9:30 am Hollywood and Vine Breakfast..I did have this as an early morning reservation but I will admit on our first trip it was kind of stressful getting up super early and getting to bus stop to see if we would make it on time so this time I have pushed a few back so we wont have to feel so rushed...plus at DHS I didnt think there was anything I needed to be there right at rope drop for...Toy Story Mania we will catch if we can but not a must do.
8:30 pm Fantasmic! only one showing..so hopefully we can catch it!


Mon Apr 11
Epcot
9:40 Askershus Breakfast
6:10 Coral Reef


Tue Apr 12
MK
8:10 BBB appt
5:00 Ohana


Wed Apr 13
MK
12:20 Plaza lunch
Hope to grab something for breakfast at Main st Bakery!


Thu Apr 14
AK
8:05 Tusker House



Now another pic from 09'