It's a Gluten Free World After All...PTR (3 Jen's Go to WDW) March 2011

[tink519]

My DH and his two best friends from high school all married Jen's....and now we are going to Disney together! Yep, I'm in the middle of planning another Grand Gathering....although not nearly as big as the last and this is with friends rather than our family.

The cast:

Me: 35, the mom and one of the Jen's....I work part-time and I sooooo excited my boss actually agreed to let me go during our busy time of work in March. This will be my 4th trip in 5 years. My husband thinks I have turned into a Disneyaholic. I blame him for being the DVC member before I met him. I was the last Jen to get married, when DH met me they knew I must be the right one for him because I was a Jen....

DH: 42, the dad. This will be his 7th trip, I think....he did 2 as a kid, one in college and then 3 with me so far....he let's me obsess about things, and has only told me we can't do nearly as many dining ressies as we did last time

DD: 4, loves all things Disney, princesses, Toy Story, Mickey and friends....you get the idea She is also very brave, loves rides and can't wait to go back on Pirates and the Haunted Mansion. She has been asking to go back to see the castle since we left last Thanksgiving. She is very excited to be going with friends.

DS: He will be 2 by the time we go. He also loves Buzz, Mickey, and pretty much any sort of singing and dancing. He was only 10 months last time so he doesn't really remember much so this will sort of be like his first trip.

The friends:

DH's two best friends from high school and their wives, both named Jen. One couple has an 11 year old son and 8 year old daugher, the other couple has a 3 year old daughter. The 11 and 8 year old have been a few times already, this will be the 3 year olds first visit.

The couple with the 11 and 8 year old will also have other family there. His sister and her family will be there, as well as his parents. They go at the same time every year and stay at the Beach Club.

My family and I will be staying at the Boardwalk Villas, which I am excited about. We have been at SSR for every other trip, so it will be nice to experience something different. The other families haven't decided yet where they are staying, hoping for some discounts to come out for that week but nothing yet.

Next up will be booking the airfare. We just opened the Disney Debit Card so we'll buy them with that to earn some points and also figuring out some ADR's. Which should be interesting....with my last trip no one else was really a planner but my friends are so....let the fun begin!

 

[tink519]

I can't believe we are already in our 180 window and I have no ADR's made! Trying to firm up with the other people in our group where and when we want to go....so far these are a few of the ADR's I hope to make:

CRT for either breakfast or lunch: DD can't wait to eat in the Castle
La Hacienda: I love the idea of watching Illuminations right on the lagoon, but I have also read this is a great place for people who have a gluten free diet...which is me.
Biergarten: DH has been wanting to eat there so I think we'll do a dinner there
T-Rex: this is a maybe...but I think my son would love it, he has a very ferocious roar No on the DDP though so we would have to pay OOP

We are seriously considering doing the DDP. I think it make sense for us since we do like to go out to dinner. So I'm looking at making ADR's with the plan in mind that we are going to be on it since we can make the decision just before we get there.

What restaurants are we interested in? I wouldn't mind trying out Kouzzina, and if the rest of the group is interested in O'Hana we might do that if we are on the DDP.

Up next....booking the airfare tomorrow! and some that the price doesn't go up before then!

 

[tink519]

Wow, people have been busy with their PTR's today! I love reading about everyone's plans. There aren't too many for March yet though....where is everyone?

So the big news of the day is WE BOOKED OUR AIRFARE! Our friends should be booking today too, they are going an extra day. Saturday to Saturday, but we don't want to use the points for the Saturday stay. We also did 7 nights last time and we were exhausted...but we also had an early morning arrival and late departure so we had a lot of time.

Here is my basic plan:

Day 1:
Arrive MCO 4:50
Probably head to Magic Kingdom since there are EMH's and the park is open until 2 am! We definitely won't be there that late, but we can head over, grab some dinner and watch the parade and Wishes.

Day 2: Thinking Hollywood Studios, there are evening EMH's so we could go back there at night but might head over to Epcot.

Day 3: Probably AK....then to Epcot for dinner at the Biergarten.

Day 4: Magic Kingdom Day including CRT. Should we do BBB before that? Or maybe do I do BBB/CRT on our off day with just DD so we can enjoy MK without taking up time for that

Day 5: Off Day, probably dinner at DTD

Day 6: Full Day of Epcot

Then we go home

 

[tink519]

We got confirmation this morning that one of the other families booked their airfare today! They are holding off on hotel to see if any discounts come out. From reading the Discount board, it looks like something maybe coming out in November. I think they would really like to stay at the Boardwalk with us, but it is double the price so they will likely stay at the Swan with the other couple. She can get a Friends & Family discount I think, but even without that it is still so much less expensive.

I definitely think we are going to do the DDP. Working on a plan with that in mind. My problem is I can keep adding meals....so I'm hoping this will keep us in check.

 

[tink519]

All three families have airfare booked! I can't believe this is really happening. We have been talking for years about how much fun it would be to all go together...and now it is becoming a reality...!

So I changed the title of my PTR to It's a Gluten Free World After All...since a lot of my planning is going to be about how to do prepare for a trip going gluten free. I decided to go gluten free about 7 weeks ago....my doctor hasn't diagnosed me with Celiac or gluten intolerance, but said "if it makes you feel better, then stick with it.." Thanks Doc. I cheated the other day and ate a pb&j and my belly was gurgley and soooo tender the next day, which I haven't had since I stopped eating it.....so from that experience alone I fully expect to still be gluten free in 5 months, probably forever.

From everything I've read, the restaurants and chefs are fantastic. Which is actually exciting. But it is the little things....we usually buy a box of donuts and cereal at the hotel shop to have something quick before heading out on our way. I'm already thinking about getting some silicone reusable muffin baking cups and a mix to bring with me....or maybe just checking out Whole Foods and trader joe's to see if there is anything decent I could bring that is prepackaged. I had some snickerdoodle cookies that were quite tasty, but they were a gift so I'll have to track them down.

So I'd love any advice from anyone out there....and of course I'll still be updating on how the plans go for trying to pin down 3 busy families all wanting to go in a different direction

 

[wdwgirl03]

Saw your post on my PTR and decided to come on over to yours. You're right, there don't seem to be too many March PTRs yet! I have been totally slacking on mine since I'm still working on my August TR.

Can't wait to hear more of your plans!

 

[francis6306]

We are going with two other families in Dec. I am excited! None of us feel any pressure to be together 100% of the time, so that helps I think when planning a large group trip!

I actually have a sensitivity to Pork, of all things. Trust me, that's all you want to know about that. I was getting sick a lot in high school and my mom thought I was making myself sick to stay thin, but then we decided to do the elimination diet, after a few bland weeks, when I added pork back in- instant sickness. Soooo... its been a hard thing to deal with seeing as though I am from the south. EVERYTHING has fatback and ham in it! Usually, its not a huge deal, but we booked a lot of breakfasts for our trip... I'm excited to try the veggie sausage. haha. Okay, enough about me!

 

[akadada]

We just saw your post. We"re going in March as well - end of the month. We're staying at the same area as well.

 

[tink519]

Saw your post on my PTR and decided to come on over to yours. You're right, there don't seem to be too many March PTRs yet! I have been totally slacking on mine since I'm still working on my August TR.

Can't wait to hear more of your plans!

Thanks for coming over! I have much more of a slacker than you....I have no idea where November went but it wasn't on DIS....how is that possible?? I got my ADR's done and then I checked out for a while.

So yes, the ADR's....I can't believe we booked our trip within the 180 days so I was itching to get some made. Since we are going with 3 families, I knew it would be a little more difficult but after talking to one of them he gave me to go ahead to make some reservations for everyone so at least we would have something. So far no one has complained about my choices

Here is our schedule and ADR's:

Day 1: Arrive MCO 4:49, hopefully to BWV by 6 pm. Probably heading to the MK for extra magic hours and to see the Electrical Parade and Wishes. Great way to start off the trip!
Day 2: DHS, lunch at Hollywood & Vine. DS is a big fan of Handy Manny and Oso so that should be fun. I think this will be just our family since the others don't seem too interested. Enjoy the pool and Boardwalk in the evening.
Day 3: AK for the day, Biergarten at night for dinner
Day 4: Magic Kingdom day, with a possible adult night at Kouzzina
Day 5: CRT for Breakfast. MK has morning EMH's so we might head in early to get to whatever we didn't the day before and then back to the pool for the afternoon. Over to Downtown Disney for shopping and dinner at Raglan Road.
Day 6: Epcot Day with La Hacienda for dinner/Illuminations.
Day 7: Early flight home

Kind of bummed we have such an early flight home, I'm expecting ME will pick us up at 8 am. Usually we have a full day for our last day.

So what's on my to do list? Save some $$....eek! DH and I went to Barbados for 4 nights a few weeks ago so all of the $$ I've saved went there. But working on it . Also, buy tickets and book Magical Express. Decide whether or not we are doing the dining plan....I am leaning towards it. I don't think we'll lose money, if anything it might help us not spend. We'll see.

Ok, that's it for now!

 

[tink519]

We are going with two other families in Dec. I am excited! None of us feel any pressure to be together 100% of the time, so that helps I think when planning a large group trip!

I actually have a sensitivity to Pork, of all things. Trust me, that's all you want to know about that. I was getting sick a lot in high school and my mom thought I was making myself sick to stay thin, but then we decided to do the elimination diet, after a few bland weeks, when I added pork back in- instant sickness. Soooo... its been a hard thing to deal with seeing as though I am from the south. EVERYTHING has fatback and ham in it! Usually, its not a huge deal, but we booked a lot of breakfasts for our trip... I'm excited to try the veggie sausage. haha. Okay, enough about me!

Hi there, I've actually heard of people having sensitivity to pork....hope that isn't my problem. I looooove bacon! Hope you are ready for your trip

 

[tink519]

Is my ticker for real??? Only 2 months, 3 weeks and 5 days from today! This time is going by so fast. I can't wait to be there!

I have failed miserably in updating my PTR. But there hasn't been a whole lot of planning going on. We were all together last night for NYE so we chatted some, and now I am so confused about my tentative touring plan. Other changes is that the couple who has family also going down at the same time, now has even more family going! When his other brother and sister heard they were going, they jumped on the bandwagon. So that adds another 9 people to the extended group.

Back to my touring plan....I am a big fan of touringplans.com and while I realize the Crowd Calendar isn't everything, it definitely helps and made a big difference for us during Thanksgiving week. I like picking a lower crowd level than EMH, unless the crowd level is low enough that it doesn't matter. But one of the families LOVES the Extra Morning hours, but I don't think they knew about the Crowd Calendar before. So I'm working on them but trying to also compromise. The good thing is that we will all have park hoppers, and their kids are 11 and 8 so they can bounce around a little bit easier than us with the little ones. But it has made me rethink the plan. Also wondering if now that we have more people coming down we'll need to revise ADR's....

Also wondering if the boss I talked to about booking the trip actually told the other bosses about it. I have a fantastic feeling that she didn't, so that will be a fun conversation but it is what it is. They will live without me....or I'll get a new job

 

[ksl5f123]

Hi! I just found your PTR. I agree that there don't seem to be a lot of March ones on the board right now.

We went with our DS last June when he was 23 months and it was a really wonderful age!

One of my cousins has an allergy to wheat (his mom is allergic to corn) so I have a little understanding about the challenges of finding easy breakfast food. Hopefully you can find something good and quick.

Looking forward to hearing more about your plans.

 

[OhMari]

Hi
Isn't it hard planning for so many people.
Don't take it personally, but there will always be someone unhappy.

I was diagnosed to being almost having celiac's disease. Something with percentages, I am at 22% of something and celiac's are 26% of something. Shame on me for not knowing more. I know I feel my best when I eat fruit and vegetables, but I do eat bread, but really try to stay away from wheat products. Love milk-but it is not my friend either. Did you see the new study in which you may not have Celiac's disease, but can have symptoms but not the disease-that is how I am classified.


I have to look at my ADR's, I made a ton of them, and I have to weed some out. I kept getting warnings, that I made ADR's for the same dates and times. I just have to decide what I want and my sisters want.

 

[tink519]

Hi! I just found your PTR. I agree that there don't seem to be a lot of March ones on the board right now.

We went with our DS last June when he was 23 months and it was a really wonderful age!

One of my cousins has an allergy to wheat (his mom is allergic to corn) so I have a little understanding about the challenges of finding easy breakfast food. Hopefully you can find something good and quick.

Looking forward to hearing more about your plans.

Hi and welcome! I have to admit now that I've been gluten free for 4 months, I'm not quite as worried about it as I was. I've learned what's good, what's easy....and while it isn't quite as convenient all the time, I'm not quite as nervous about it. Thanks for reading!

 

[tink519]

Hi
Isn't it hard planning for so many people.
Don't take it personally, but there will always be someone unhappy.

I was diagnosed to being almost having celiac's disease. Something with percentages, I am at 22% of something and celiac's are 26% of something. Shame on me for not knowing more. I know I feel my best when I eat fruit and vegetables, but I do eat bread, but really try to stay away from wheat products. Love milk-but it is not my friend either. Did you see the new study in which you may not have Celiac's disease, but can have symptoms but not the disease-that is how I am classified.


I have to look at my ADR's, I made a ton of them, and I have to weed some out. I kept getting warnings, that I made ADR's for the same dates and times. I just have to decide what I want and my sisters want.

Yeah, I know we have to just go our own ways sometimes, but also want to try to compromise . It wouldn't be a big change really, just switching our AK and HS days, and possibly switching from Hollywood & Vine lunch to a Donald Safari Breakfast. I was torn between the two anyway.

Now I'm looking at the Disney Dining Plan....

 

[DVCWDWMEMBER]

Just found your thread. Sounds like you will have an awesome time coming up soon. It can be hard to plan a vacation for a whole group of people. We went on a family trip with 9 of us in 2003. It was a lot of fun. It is nice to hear you don't need to be together the whole time. We did the same thing and it worked out really well.We are taking our adult children and grandchildren in July to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. we are looking forward to it. Can't wait to read more of your TR.

 

[tink519]

Just realized I had an email from Air Tran that came in over a month ago that said our flight times changed. We now get in at 4:22, but our flight home also leaves earlier. Bummer, it was already early enough. But love getting in 30 minutes earlier!

 

[davebon23]

All three families have airfare booked! I can't believe this is really happening. We have been talking for years about how much fun it would be to all go together...and now it is becoming a reality...!

So I changed the title of my PTR to It's a Gluten Free World After All...since a lot of my planning is going to be about how to do prepare for a trip going gluten free. I decided to go gluten free about 7 weeks ago....my doctor hasn't diagnosed me with Celiac or gluten intolerance, but said "if it makes you feel better, then stick with it.." Thanks Doc. I cheated the other day and ate a pb&j and my belly was gurgley and soooo tender the next day, which I haven't had since I stopped eating it.....so from that experience alone I fully expect to still be gluten free in 5 months, probably forever.

From everything I've read, the restaurants and chefs are fantastic. Which is actually exciting. But it is the little things....we usually buy a box of donuts and cereal at the hotel shop to have something quick before heading out on our way. I'm already thinking about getting some silicone reusable muffin baking cups and a mix to bring with me....or maybe just checking out Whole Foods and trader joe's to see if there is anything decent I could bring that is prepackaged. I had some snickerdoodle cookies that were quite tasty, but they were a gift so I'll have to track them down.

So I'd love any advice from anyone out there....and of course I'll still be updating on how the plans go for trying to pin down 3 busy families all wanting to go in a different direction

I just found your PTR. I didn't even finish reading yet, but wanted to let you know that this will be my first trip Gluten free. I was diagnosed almost 3 years ago. I will finish reading, but I can try to give you some ideas for food and snacks to try, the best that I can. I look forward to hearing how it went after your trip with your gluten free experiences. We are going after you in August. I hear many positive things about how Disney is with GF, that's why we decided to go again. My DD was an easy sell, but my DS agreed because it will be good for me. Good for a teenager, right! Good luck and I will finish reading and see if I can add anything for you. Thanks for the report!

 

[davebon23]

Your doctor didn't do any bloodwork for you to test for Celiac? How about an endoscopy? That is the true way to know if you have Celiac, because sometimes the bloodwork is part positive and part negative. I was positive with both.

As for snacks, they opened Babycakes Bakery in DTD that carries gluten free baked goods. They are also in NYC. I hear they are good. They are in the building where Mcdonalds used to be, that has Pollo chicken (sp?) Also Nature Valley makes one of their granola bars that is GF it is the Roasted Nut Crunch. And Glutenfreeda makes GF Oatmeal that I just found that I like. You may be able to find it in the store, depending where you live, But I ordered it from Amazon for a decent price.

All of the above ideas you can use for snacks or quick breakfast, possibly.
Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[tink519]

Your doctor didn't do any bloodwork for you to test for Celiac? How about an endoscopy? That is the true way to know if you have Celiac, because sometimes the bloodwork is part positive and part negative. I was positive with both.

As for snacks, they opened Babycakes Bakery in DTD that carries gluten free baked goods. They are also in NYC. I hear they are good. They are in the building where Mcdonalds used to be, that has Pollo chicken (sp?) Also Nature Valley makes one of their granola bars that is GF it is the Roasted Nut Crunch. And Glutenfreeda makes GF Oatmeal that I just found that I like. You may be able to find it in the store, depending where you live, But I ordered it from Amazon for a decent price.

All of the above ideas you can use for snacks or quick breakfast, possibly.
Let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks for the suggestions! Excited to hear about Babycakes. I'll have to look them up. I think in one of my lasts posts I said I wasn't as nervous about it as I was at first because I'm learning more about it and getting used to what to eat.

As for the testing, they did do the Celiac Panel for bloodwork which came back negative. When I met with the GI she asked why I thought I had to give up gluten and why not try something else. I told her that my APRN suggested cutting out either gluten or dairy to see if it made a difference. Since my uncle and and his daughter/my cousin are both Celiac, as well as my mom's other cousin and one of her grandchildren, I thought it made sense to go with gluten first. The GI then told me that my blood tests show that I am not Celiac so just to get that out of my head. My cousin, who is VERY much Celiac, to the point that she is vomiting almost immediately after consuming it, had negative blood tests and even a negaitve endoscopy before finally being diagnosed. My uncle's blood tests were border line. He never went with the endoscopy because he knows when he he eats it he breaks out in a rash.

So long story short, I just don't eat it. I have been really good lately and I can't even tell you how good my belly feels. When I eat it now my stomach gets really sore if I touch it, and sometimes pains like I did about 100 crunches, or someone is stabbling me....in addition to the digestion issues.

Yes it is frustrating and I am sure that I could find another doctor who would be more supportive but I'm fine for now. And at this point I've been gluten free for 4 months so not sure what the endoscopy would show.

I'm going to start doing some reading about when I should contact restaurants with my needs. I did flag that I was gluten free on all of my reservations so we'll see what happens with that.