Just the 2 of us - A Mommy and Me trip 9/25 - 10/1 - Update 7/2

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I had to break down and pay photobucket for more space too.

Kouzzina was fantastic, we really enjoyed it. We had dinner there and I would love to try their breakfast!

Raglan Road is on my list as well!

I seriously do not know how you are going to eat that many meals! Oh it will be such fun to try though!

MNSSHP is FANTASTIC. We loved it and have gone twice.

 

[Riles_and_Gabe]

I had to break down and pay photobucket for more space too.

Kouzzina was fantastic, we really enjoyed it. We had dinner there and I would love to try their breakfast!

Raglan Road is on my list as well!

I seriously do not know how you are going to eat that many meals! Oh it will be such fun to try though!

MNSSHP is FANTASTIC. We loved it and have gone twice.

You and me both! I have no idea how we will eat that much food but we are going to give it a good college try!!

 

[Riles_and_Gabe]

I forgot to post it...but as of yesterday, we are down to 190 Days!!!!!!!!


My other big news is that I changed my flights again!! I think I have now officially tried out every possible flight option. Thank Goodness for Southwest and no change fee. We are now going to fly out of Boston at 6:50 AM and will arrive in Orlando at 12:40. We will still keep our original evening flight on Friday the 25th and fly to Providence. My very nice Mom has offered to come to RI to pick us up. I love that Woman!!!! I can't believe how amazing she is.

I am excited to get the extra time in Disney on Saturday. I think we will spend that evening in Epcot or Magic Kingdom. I am leaning towards Epcot though, because I would like to eat at San Angel Inn that night.

 

[indimom]

I forgot to post it...but as of yesterday, we are down to 190 Days!!!!!!!!


My other big news is that I changed my flights again!! I think I have now officially tried out every possible flight option. Thank Goodness for Southwest and no change fee. We are now going to fly out of Boston at 6:50 AM and will arrive in Orlando at 12:40. We will still keep our original evening flight on Friday the 25th and fly to Providence. My very nice Mom has offered to come to RI to pick us up. I love that Woman!!!! I can't believe how amazing she is.

I am excited to get the extra time in Disney on Saturday. I think we will spend that evening in Epcot or Magic Kingdom. I am leaning towards Epcot though, because I would like to eat at San Angel Inn that night.

Sounds like a great plan!
Aren't parents great, always seem to come through in a pinch!!

 

[Riles_and_Gabe]

I am now down to 2 more nights until I can make my ADR's. I can barely contain my excitement!!!! I seriously could care less what I am eating tonight or next week but for 6 nights in October, that is all I can think about. I have spent hours pouring over pictures, menus, and reports of Disney Restaurants. I think I have my list pretty narrowed down and will do my last few tweaks this weekend. The one request Gabrian has is to eat with the Princesses. So my #1 priority is to get a reservation at Akerhuse. I was so surprised that is what he asked for. I also want to do Hollywood & Vine because he loves Disney Jr. On Monday, I will post the reservations we have made.

My other big news is..........wait for it.......................................














wait for it.....................................................................................




















I changed our flights again

I am so going to make Southwest regret that they gave me no change fee's on flights. We are now going to fly in and out of Manchester, NH. We will arrive now at MCO at 2:00 PM which is about an hour later than originally scheduled but now we don't need to leave our house at 2:15 AM to get to Boston. We won't have to leave until about 7:00 AM, which means I won't be nearly as exhausted.

It is exciting times in our house!!!!

 

[Riles_and_Gabe]

ALERT......ALERT................ALERT.................ALERT......................ALERT

BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!









We changed our flights again since the last time I updated a couple of hours ago.................

The flights going into Portland, ME from Orlando just went down in price. So at least when I fly home, I will only be a couple of minutes from home. Now I am going to stalk Southwest (as if I wasn't already doing that ) to see if I can get our initial flights out of there as well. Fingers crossed!!

 

[indimom]

ALERT......ALERT................ALERT.................ALERT......................ALERT

BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!









We changed our flights again since the last time I updated a couple of hours ago.................

The flights going into Portland, ME from Orlando just went down in price. So at least when I fly home, I will only be a couple of minutes from home. Now I am going to stalk Southwest (as if I wasn't already doing that ) to see if I can get our initial flights out of there as well. Fingers crossed!!

Your flight changes are like my resort changes. I rebooked our last trip to Universal about six times before settling on the cheapest deal I could locate.
This time I changed dates and had to change our resort reservations twice.

But, I think you've officially got me beat! Good Luck Stalking an even Better Deal!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I have never heard of so many flight changes. You are the reason that most airlines don't do flight changes, I bet!

 

[Riles_and_Gabe]

Your flight changes are like my resort changes. I rebooked our last trip to Universal about six times before settling on the cheapest deal I could locate.
This time I changed dates and had to change our resort reservations twice.

But, I think you've officially got me beat! Good Luck Stalking an even Better Deal!

I have never heard of so many flight changes. You are the reason that most airlines don't do flight changes, I bet!

I know!!! I swear Southwest is going to start blocking me from their website soon. They are going to be like geez...that girl Megan the changer is back

 

[Riles_and_Gabe]

Today was my 180 day mark!!!! Which means I got up at 5:45 AM this morning to make my reservations!!!! I got everything I was really hoping for and even surprised myself with some!!

Saturday: Magic Kingdom
Lunch: Paradiso 37 - 11:45 AM
Dinner: 'Ohana - 8:05 PM

Sunday: Hollywood Studios
Breakfast: Hollywood & Vine - 8:05 AM
Lunch: Sci-Fi - 12:45 PM
Dinner: Wolfgang Puck - 6:00 PM

Monday: Epcot
Breakfast: Akershus - 8:30 AM (this is the one Gabrian wanted. He wants to eat with the Princesses)
Lunch: Food & Wine Festival
Dinner: Raglan Road - 7:00 PM

Tuesday: Disney Quest
Breakfast: 'Ohana - 8:30 AM
Lunch: T-Rex - 1:00 PM
Dinner: Bongo's Cuban Café - 6:25 PM

Wednesday: Magic Kingdom
Breakfast: Crystal Palace - 8:05 AM
Lunch: Trail's End - 12:35 PM
Dinner: Be Our Guest - 6:35 PM (this is the one I was surprised about. I was pretty sure I didn't want to go here but I couldn't resist when I found a spot available. Even if we don't love the food, I think we will love the atmosphere).

Thursday: Animal Kingdom
Breakfast: Tusker House - 8:00 AM
Lunch: Sanaa - 12:00 PM
Dinner: Boma - 6:30 PM

Friday: Epcot/Departure Day
Breakfast: Kona Café - 8:00 AM
Lunch: San Angel Inn - 12:50 PM

What do you guys think? I am really pleased with my reservations. I am sure I will do lots of re-thinking before the trip but over-all I am really pleased. I am thinking about leaving on Friday (I know shocker...changing flights again). I would either stay off-site or at one of the All Star's. Just so we can get the whole day there on Saturday.

 

[Riles_and_Gabe]

So yesterday after viewing all my reservations, I finally decided to heed your advice and decide that the deluxe was way too much for me. I didn't mind going to all the restaurants but it seemed like we would constantly be heading to our next reservation and all the travel time that would be involved. I called reservations last night and switched to the regular dining plan. Here is my new plan:

Saturday - October 19th
Dinner: Planet Hollywood (we will use the $15 voucher for this one and pay OOP for anything we go over)

Sunday: October 20th - Hollywood Studios
Breakfast: Hollywood & Vine
Lunch: Counter Service
Dinner: Counter Service

Monday - October 21st - Epcot
Breakfast: Akershus
Lunch: Food & Wine Festival
Dinner: Counter Service

Tuesday - October 22nd - Disney Quest
Breakfast: Wolfgang Puck Express (OOP)
Lunch: T-Rex Café (OOP - we will most likely just get the appetizer sampler to share)
Dinner: Bongo's Cuban Café

Wednesday - October 23rd - Magic Kingdom
Breakfast: Resort
Lunch: Counter Service
Dinner: 'Ohana

Thursday - October 24th - Animal Kingdom
Breakfast: Tusker House
Lunch: Counter Service
Dinner: Boma

Friday - October 25th - Open Park Day/Departure Day
Breakfast: Kona Café (OOP)
Lunch: Counter Service
Dinner: Airport

I feel like I have so much more freedom now. I think it is a nice mix of counter service and sit down and we won't be rushing off to the next reservation. The best part was seeing my balance go down so much!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Looks great! I agree that you have more freedom now, I think by the time you got each sit down meal finished, you would have very little park time before the next meal. Glad you got it figured out!

 

[Riles_and_Gabe]

Looks great! I agree that you have more freedom now, I think by the time you got each sit down meal finished, you would have very little park time before the next meal. Glad you got it figured out!

It's funny because I didn't realize how much it was stressing me out until I finally called yesterday and downgraded the plan and than canceled some reservations. It was like this big weight was lifted from my shoulders that I didn't even know was there. I guess I was constantly trying to juggle getting the most value out of the plan versus actually getting to enjoy the parks. It was also starting to sound so tiring trying to get to so many reservations. I feel like I have a great balance now.

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Hi Megan!!! I'm coming in for the planning! So excited to meet another Mainer on the boards. You sound like me with stalking Southwest, but I've only changed 3 times so far and all flying out of Portland. We used to fly out of Manchester, but the 3 hour drive home was just too much. I can't wait to continue reading about your plans!!!

 

[Riles_and_Gabe]

Hi Megan!!! I'm coming in for the planning! So excited to meet another Mainer on the boards. You sound like me with stalking Southwest, but I've only changed 3 times so far and all flying out of Portland. We used to fly out of Manchester, but the 3 hour drive home was just too much. I can't wait to continue reading about your plans!!!

Hi Ann!!! I am so glad to hear from another Mainer Stalking southwest is my new obsession...it replaced planning my ADR's

 

[Riles_and_Gabe]

Hope you guys don't mind but I have a real life update. I wanted to share with you how Riley's birthday went. He turned 15 on 4/16. He was fortunate enough to be on school vacation so he had a nice day at home. My Mom came down to Portland from Dexter (about a 2 hour drive).

First they went to the mall to buy Riley an alarm clock. Riley has had issues getting up lately. In fact recently I had to leave him in the morning and he has had to walk to school. He was depending way too much on me to wake him up in the morning and he needs to learn what to do when he is in College. I have told him if he isn't upstairs and ready to go by 7:05, he is going to have to walk to school. This new alarm seems to be doing the trick.

Than they went to Olive Garden for lunch. They both love the all you can eat soup for lunch. It is a great bargain at only $4.99/person. I think Riley put away 3 bowls plus garlic bread....he really got his money's worth.

When I got home it was present time!!!!



Riley considers himself a "Bronie"...it is a group of high school/college age kids that like My Little Pony. I don't get it, but to be fair I am sure there tons of things my parents didn't get about me. Anyway, he wanted to open this one first (It was from Gabrian). He got a t-shirt and socks (I couldn't believe they make men's t-shirts and socks for My Little Pony )



This is Riley barely containing his excitement about his major present!!



I love Riley's polite about confused expression in this photo...it was like "um...thanks for a cork board for my birthday present"



This is him showing off his awesome board.



On the note it says "please flip over for your next clue". It was so funny because he kept flipping over the board to look for the clue. Finally Gabrian says "it's on the paper". Which is really funny because he didn't actually know that was what the clue meant.



Riley finally figured it out and read the next clue. Which was "please see 6-26-13 for the second part of your present". This is Gabrian trying to help him figure it out.



It took Riley about 2 seconds to figure it out...so much for me being so brilliant with the clues. Riley went right to the calendar.



This is Riley when he figured out we were going to see Bruno Mars in Boston on 6-26-13!!



When I got this present for Riley, I thought it would come completely out of left field and he would never even come close to guessing it. I am apparently a horrible secret keeper and give unintentional clues. Riley loves Dane Cook and will often work quotes from his performances into conversation (which is actually really funny and he does it really well. He is so funny watching you to see if you caught on to the reference). Anyway, the day before his birthday and the actual day I was listening to Dane Cook on my iPod at work and I was texting Riley random quotes from the different performances. He thought he was going to get tickets to see Dane Cook (sorry buddy...you are a little young for that ). So long story short, I felt bad that I unintentionally ruined the surprise.

Since I don't want to leave Gabrian out, I will leave you with a couple pictures of him. Here is enjoying some chocolate pudding.



This is Gabrian helping me shop for my birthday present. My mom bought me a gas grill on Saturday for my birthday. I was beyond excited....I have been wanting one for over 2 years now. These tractors were outside on our way into Lowes.

 

[Riles_and_Gabe]

So just for the fun of it I made some changes tonight...actually I had been debating it for the last couple of days. I have switched resorts. We are now staying at All Stars Resorts Movies in a preferred room. The walk with the Little Mermaid Rooms was just seeming to be too much and for the same price I could get a preferred room. I requested a Fantasia room poolside. Fingers crossed we will get it. I think Gabrian will like the theming of this hotel as well.

The other big change is that I cancelled our dining plan. The cost of paying off the package was getting to be too much for me. I may decide to add it back on later but for now this brings down the balance to a more manageable amount. My other thought is after I pay off the package, I can start putting aside money for each meal and if it is too much, I can cancel some of my reservations. The positive side of this is I can have complete freedom to eat whatever and wherever we want (well at least the places we have reservations too ).

So overall I am very pleased with my changes. What do you guys think?

 

[Riles_and_Gabe]

I am down to 169 Days to go!!!!!!

I had a brief moment of insanity where I decided we were going to do a Disney cruise instead of going to Disney World. I know....pure craziness. I had actually called an cancelled the trip. I panicked when I got home that night and spent about 1 hour on the phone with Guest Services rebuilding my reservation. The good news is that they were able to save it. I am back at the Movie Resort in a preferred room....and we are back to the Deluxe Plan. I think I have all our reservations lined up. I will post tomorrow with the current line up.

 

[indimom]

Wow!! Where have I been? I missed a lot!

Birthdays, resort changes, pudding, dining changes, tractors, more dining changes, Bronies, vacation flip-flops, gas grills, and resort reinstatement.

Did I get it all???? What do I win??

 

[Riles_and_Gabe]

Wow!! Where have I been? I missed a lot!

Birthdays, resort changes, pudding, dining changes, tractors, more dining changes, Bronies, vacation flip-flops, gas grills, and resort reinstatement.

Did I get it all???? What do I win??

Ding Ding Ding You are the Winner!!!!