It wouldn't be spring without an Epcot F&G Festival! New pg 35

[MEK]

I really think your boys are going to love DQ. They are the perfect age. POC is the best ride. Get in line early. space mountain is fun but POC is like nothing you've ever done. It's really cool!

 

[MEK]

Raglan Road. Yum! Good choice!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Just wanted to let you know they opened Wishes booking yesterday

 

[DisMomAmy]

Hey Amy Sorry I'm late to the party. I didn't realize you had started a PTR.

Your plans look great! I think the BC will be a wonderful start to your vacation. And taking the whole trip at a slower pace is always good.

It looks like we will be getting the BC noodles next after you! Too bad you are checking out before we get there though, we could have met up. Maybe we'll see you sometime though, since you will still be at WDW until the 29th.

I have thought about Disney Quest too. Several times, but we just don't even seem to make it happen. It seems to get mixed reviews. Maybe I should consider adding it to this trip. I think the boys would really like it. We'll see...


Looking forward to reading more.

I'm glad you found me! I hope you keep your trip dates the way they are & we overlap! I'm really looking forward to the Beach Club... reading about your trip really inspired me to take some time to just enjoy the resort.

We're still on the fence about IoA or DisneyQuest... We need to decide soon!

Amy, the plans sound great.

We did Disney Quest when it first opened ONLY because we got free passes for the games (and there weren't many at that time). Truthfully, I was a bad momma and told my kids it didn't go over well and that it wasn't open on future visits. I just couldn't see spending the money and I was bored out of my mind.

You'll have to let me know how NBA City is. We've though of trying that on our next visit to CityWalk.

You're so funny! Luckily it isn't going to cost us any "extra" money (using fuzzy Disney math) since we have the waterpark & more option.

I'll definitely let you know how NBA City is, if we go.

We have always had a lot of fun at Disney Quest but we are also big video games people. I don't think it's an all day place tho.

We are a big video game household so I think all of the boys (including DH) will like it. I'll just tag along.

So sad about the Pats!!! I really thought they were gonna win- before it started.
My DS10 started crying w/ 1 min. left he kept asking are they gonna lose?! There was no consoling him even when we told him he won the pool for the 4th qtr.
Disney Quest does look a lot better than I thought. My kids would LOVE that place but since my oldest DS lives for video games I try to stay away from them on vacation .
Looking forward to more plans- all these plans make me think I need to look at mine again I feel like after a made my ADRs and picked park days I haven't looked at them in a while.

The Pats game was so sad! I really thought they were going to win too... Oh well... I guess there's next year to look forward to.

We'll see about Disney Quest - it's not the kind of thing we usually do on vacation but since the boys only have 6 park days left on their tickets & we will have already had 2 resort days, I think we might mix it up a little.

I'd love to hear your plans! Feel free to post them here. Are we planning to be in any parks on the same days?

I was also throwing around the DisneyQuest idea for our upcoming trip, my kids are just too young. Yours however I think will have a GREAT time, it seems like a perfect place to take your boys if you decide not to do IOA. Plus a morning to sleep in is always great too. Excited to see how you'll be telling the boys this time

I agree that your kiddos are too young for DQ. I think mine are just right. I'm really liking the idea of a lazy morning after Wishes!

Disney Quest looks like fun.

And you'll love the Marriott Marquis. The location is AMAZING!

We are all really excited for the NY trip!!

I really think your boys are going to love DQ. They are the perfect age. POC is the best ride. Get in line early. space mountain is fun but POC is like nothing you've ever done. It's really cool!

Thanks for the advice MEK! I know nothing about DQ so I wouldn't know where to begin. I guess now we'll start at POC!

Raglan Road. Yum! Good choice!

We had it on our list for last year but ended up canceling it. I've only heard good things.

Just wanted to let you know they opened Wishes booking yesterday

I know! I made three different ADRs last night! We really need to solidify our plans so I can pick which one to keep.

Which night are you going?

 

[ddluvsdisney]

I'd love to hear your plans! Feel free to post them here. Are we planning to be in any parks on the same days?

Which night are you going?

I'll check my plans to see if there are any the same days.
I haven't picked the night yet. I'm going to figure it out tonight.
My boys were really bummed we weren't going to WWoHP this year. I was talking with my mom today and she decided that she was going to get them the tickets for an early b-day gift! ( their b-days are a day apart in June) I'm excited about this b/c my mom was hoping we were going this year b/c she hasn't been yet. When I told her we weren't she was disappointed. So now I'm thinking of surprising them
I surprises!

Deb

 

[irish dancer]

I like your plans too. Daniel really likes Sci-Fi, those movies are right up his alley. He has asked for our past few trips to go to DQ, we've always brushed it off and the addition of SoaT to Epcot helped since that was his main focus. I don't think he knows all that is there, if he did I'm sure he'd still be bugging us since he is a huge video game fan. Might look into it, only problem is I doubt the girls would be all that interested. I'll be interested in your review if you end up going there.

 

[ddluvsdisney]

I booked the Wishes party for our last night 4/21 I thought it would be a good day b/c we won't have to get up early the next day.
Normally we have 2 resort days but w/ going to WWoHP again there go the resort days. Not sure how I feel about that We're so used to relaxing a couple of days in between.
I think we did decide on going 2 days instead of getting park to park tix. We'll do IOA 1 day and Uni the other- This way we're not doing 2 parks commando style and when we're done with one park the boys can go back and swim.

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Amy, I am finally getting all caught up. I love your plans. The Beach Club looks so nice and club level at that. Way to go!

I also like the look of the other resort you are staying at. It looks like lots of fun for the boys.

We have never done Disney Quest so I will be anxious to hear all about it if you go that route.

Yay for a trip to NYC! That will be lots of fun. I want to go there someday to see the Thanksgiving Day parade.

Yay for a girls trip! I can't wait to read that report.

I just booked the dessert party for us on April 10th. I haven't told Tom so I am hoping to keep it a surprise until that day! Wish me luck as I can never keep a secret like that.

 

[DisMomAmy]

I'll check my plans to see if there are any the same days.
I haven't picked the night yet. I'm going to figure it out tonight.
My boys were really bummed we weren't going to WWoHP this year. I was talking with my mom today and she decided that she was going to get them the tickets for an early b-day gift! ( their b-days are a day apart in June) I'm excited about this b/c my mom was hoping we were going this year b/c she hasn't been yet. When I told her we weren't she was disappointed. So now I'm thinking of surprising them
I surprises!

Deb

Yay for a surprise!! We had lots of fun surprising the boys about our November trip. I'm so bad at keeping surprises a secret though! So far we haven't told the boys anything about this trip.

So what exactly are your dates?

I like your plans too. Daniel really likes Sci-Fi, those movies are right up his alley. He has asked for our past few trips to go to DQ, we've always brushed it off and the addition of SoaT to Epcot helped since that was his main focus. I don't think he knows all that is there, if he did I'm sure he'd still be bugging us since he is a huge video game fan. Might look into it, only problem is I doubt the girls would be all that interested. I'll be interested in your review if you end up going there.

I can see how DQ could be tough if everyone isn't on board with the plan. Have you thought about splitting up? Boys to DQ & girls shopping? Sounds like fun to me.

I booked the Wishes party for our last night 4/21 I thought it would be a good day b/c we won't have to get up early the next day.
Normally we have 2 resort days but w/ going to WWoHP again there go the resort days. Not sure how I feel about that We're so used to relaxing a couple of days in between.
I think we did decide on going 2 days instead of getting park to park tix. We'll do IOA 1 day and Uni the other- This way we're not doing 2 parks commando style and when we're done with one park the boys can go back and swim.

Looks like we only overlap by a few days. We arrive the 19th & sounds like you leave the 22nd. We'll be at DHS on the 20th and Epcot the 22nd. The 19th & 20th are resort days. I'm excited for the Wishes party. The 21st isn't one of the dates I reserved. I think I've nailed down our plan B so I can at least cancel one of the extra ADRs I made. Still on the fence about DQ vs. IoA.

How are the crowds if you don't stay onsite at Universal?

Amy, I am finally getting all caught up. I love your plans. The Beach Club looks so nice and club level at that. Way to go!

I also like the look of the other resort you are staying at. It looks like lots of fun for the boys.

We have never done Disney Quest so I will be anxious to hear all about it if you go that route.

Yay for a trip to NYC! That will be lots of fun. I want to go there someday to see the Thanksgiving Day parade.

Yay for a girls trip! I can't wait to read that report.

I just booked the dessert party for us on April 10th. I haven't told Tom so I am hoping to keep it a surprise until that day! Wish me luck as I can never keep a secret like that.

I'm super excited for the Beach Club & staying club level!!

We missed out on a family trip to see the Macy's parade one of the years we lived in CT. It was before we had kids & it was a year we were going to NH to spend Thanksgiving with my family. All of Tim's family, including aunts, uncles & cousins, went into the city for the parade. I still regret not going!

Good luck keeping the surprise a secret!

 

[DisMomAmy]

This morning I was finally able to get a Chef Mickey's ADR for Wednesday night 4/25. Of course I already have two Chef Mickey's ADRs but neither are for that night. I've been trying since we started thinking about dropping Universal with zero availability. Finally this morning they had a 5:15, which is perfect for us! I always go for the earliest possible.

Why did I want to move our MK day? Ideally I wanted to split up the two non-park days (4/25 & 4/26) but originally we chose IoA for 4/25 because it closes early for a Grad Night event. I figured the crowds would be lowest that day. And the waterpark just worked out best on 4/26 based on park crowd calendars & not wanting to go to a waterpark right after spending a bunch of days at BC. These changes, while not necessary, will make things flow better. We break up the park days better & spread out the R&R.

So with that said, the plans are tweeked a little bit. This is the original itinerary, with changes indicated in red.

Thursday, 4/19: Arrival, hang out at BC (dinner at ‘Ohana) SAME
Friday, 4/20: Hollywood Studios (lunch at 50s) I think we might try to go to MK for a few hours in the evening. We don't have MK scheduled until Wednesday - almost a week into our trip! We have a lazy day before & after this so we can pack it in today.
Saturday, 4/21: Hang out at BC/Boardwalk area (lunch at ESPN & dinner at Cape May) SAME
Sunday, 4/22: Epcot (lunch at Teppan Edo with Heidi)/move from BC to Vistana Villages SAME
Monday, 4/23: Animal Kingdom & HDDR - SAME - I think I've convinced DH that we should do HDDR!
Tuesday 4/24: Magic Kingdom - This will now be Typhoon Lagoon
Wednesday 4/25: Islands of Adventure (lunch at NBA City) - This is now our MK day with Chef Mickey's at 5:15 and the Wishes party at 9:00.
Thursday 4/26: Typhoon Lagoon - This is now our sleep late & Disney Quest day. Probably Raglan Road for dinner.
Friday 4/27: DHS (Sci Fi lunch), MK (dinner at Chef Mickeys) & Wishes dessert party - SAME
Saturday 4/28: Epcot (Le Cellier) & AK - SAME
Sunday 4/29: Early flight home

We also have the option of flip flopping our Monday & Tuesday morning plans. If the weather isn't cooperating or if we just feel like it, we can make the decision last minute since there aren't any ADRs involved. I'm not sure which one makes more sense with the timing of HDDR...

I'm pretty sure we are going with this plan (rather than Islands of Adventure). I want to make sure DH isn't going to be disappointed that we are skipping it. So far he seems to be on board with a lazy morning & a few hours at DQ.

In other news, Tim got his quarterly bonus today so I tried to pay our Beach Club balance. I couldn't get it to work online so I tried to call. After 20 minutes of Disney music, I gave up. I'm sure I wouldn't have made it 20 minutes without that music. So it's not paid, but the money is here to do so. At this point our flights are paid, our timeshare is paid and our park tickets are paid. HDDR & the Wishes party are paid. The only things left to pay are the rental car, my tickets to Typhoon Lagoon & DQ, food & souvenirs!

 

[KatMark]

I like the new plans...they flow a lot better as you said.

And for the quarterly bonus and being able to pay off more of the trip.

 

[mommytothreeboys]

The newly tweaked plans look great. I think the sleep in day is perfectly timed.

Raglan Road is a great choice. I've never eaten there, but we have done the adjoining counter service a number of times and it never disappoints!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Amy,
Our exact dates are the 14-22. I'm still tweaking our plans a little but from looking at yours I don't think we have any same park days.

I am worried about the crowds at Universal with not staying on property. The early entry for HP was key the last 2 years that's exactly why we stayed at HRH.
The mini side trip this year makes me nervous. DS10 asked last night why we couldn't go the WWoHP? Can't wait to surprise him just hope it goes smoother than I think.

I noticed in your plans that you had Wishes and CM for 2 nights- are you still undecided?

You are gonna CL! I didn't realize you were doing that. We loved all the offerings in the lounge. I think the best thing was b-fast every morning. It was so conveniant and we were able to eat and go early.

Deb

 

[DisMomAmy]

I like the new plans...they flow a lot better as you said.

And for the quarterly bonus and being able to pay off more of the trip.

Thanks Kathy - I feel good about the new plan.

I'm a big fan of the quarterly bonus!

The newly tweaked plans look great. I think the sleep in day is perfectly timed.

Raglan Road is a great choice. I've never eaten there, but we have done the adjoining counter service a number of times and it never disappoints!

I think the lazy morning/DQ day following a long MK day will be perfect. If we weren't limited to 6 park days, we'd probably do more but I'm actually glad it's working out this way. It'll be a good mix of busy fun & relaxing fun!

Amy,
Our exact dates are the 14-22. I'm still tweaking our plans a little but from looking at yours I don't think we have any same park days.

I am worried about the crowds at Universal with not staying on property. The early entry for HP was key the last 2 years that's exactly why we stayed at HRH.
The mini side trip this year makes me nervous. DS10 asked last night why we couldn't go the WWoHP? Can't wait to surprise him just hope it goes smoother than I think.

I noticed in your plans that you had Wishes and CM for 2 nights- are you still undecided?

You are gonna CL! I didn't realize you were doing that. We loved all the offerings in the lounge. I think the best thing was b-fast every morning. It was so conveniant and we were able to eat and go early.

Deb

At the moment I still have ADRs for Plan A (in purple in my post) which is if we go to IoA on 4/25 and Plan B (in red) if we skip IoA & do DisneyQuest on the 26th instead. Once we are 100% sure we are skipping IoA we'll cancel the Chef Mickey's/Wishes on Friday 4/27. I think we're about 80% sure we're skipping it this time.

Do you write trip reports? If not, be sure to report back here on how it goes at Universal. I'm sure we'll be there soon enough!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

I never wrote a trip report, but I will definately let you know how it went

Deb

 

[JPFamilyMom]

I love the flow of the new plan. It has a nice balance to it.

And for practically having everything paid for already, that is always exciting Hooray for that bonus

Can't wait to read whats next

 

[irish dancer]

I'm partial to your Plan B, I like the balance and relaxation in there. I always find it hard to figure in time for another park. Yay for keeping HDDR!

Great news on the quarterly bonus, wish DH's company did that. He's lucky to get an annual one, has only gotten one once in the past 3 yrs. It used to be yearly and bigger too.

 

[MRYPPNS]

Well you're new plan is good and all but it doesn't match up as much with mine now....BOOOOO!!!

But I might try to steal you away Tuesday night to go shopping with me at DTD.....I'll even drive

 

[DisMomAmy]

I never wrote a trip report, but I will definately let you know how it went

Deb

I can't wait to hear!

I love the flow of the new plan. It has a nice balance to it.

And for practically having everything paid for already, that is always exciting Hooray for that bonus

Can't wait to read whats next

Thanks Jess - I like the new plan a lot too.

Having the trip mostly paid for before leaving is a good feeling!!

I'm partial to your Plan B, I like the balance and relaxation in there. I always find it hard to figure in time for another park. Yay for keeping HDDR!

Great news on the quarterly bonus, wish DH's company did that. He's lucky to get an annual one, has only gotten one once in the past 3 yrs. It used to be yearly and bigger too.

I definitely feel lucky every time Tim still gets his bonuses. They are becoming more & more scarce!

Well you're new plan is good and all but it doesn't match up as much with mine now....BOOOOO!!!

But I might try to steal you away Tuesday night to go shopping with me at DTD.....I'll even drive

As far as I can tell, we still overlap at Epcot on Sunday and possibly MK on Friday 27th (depending how early we arrive & how late you are there). But now we also overlap at MK Friday pm 20th & MK Wednesday pm. Plus we'll be neighbors! And don't forget we get to hang out at the airport & hopefully sit near each other on the flight down!!

Shopping... Maybe...

 

[Idontwanttogrowup]

I love reading everyones stories on here including yours, Amy.

My husband & I are going to be in Disney around the same time you guys will be except we arrive on the 16th of April which will be our 11th anniversary. Maybe we could meet up or something.

We will be riding in ECVs & Im trying to get my Mom and someone else to go but my Mom is stubborn. Shes never been before but has been to Disneyland & thinks Disney World is the same thing. We are trying to convince her its not.

We are from NYC & live in Queens. You & the family will love NYC especially Times Square.