KigerKat Takes on The World! My First WDW Experience!! 10/29 - 11/04 PTR

[KigerKat]

Well, since this is my first WDW Experience, this would be my first ever PTR. So I'm counting on you guys to ask plenty of questions, give me tons of advice, and let me know if I'm starting to sound like a fool. Let's begin!!

First off, there is me, Carrie - 32 yr old working wife. I have ALWAYS wanted to go to Disney World, ever since I was a child. My older sister got to go before I was born, but my parents never took the both of us. That never stopped my wanting to go or my love for all things Disney. I grew up on classics such as Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Mary Poppins, and Sleeping Beauty. (Is it just me, or does anyone else miss the musicals?)

Funny story...I remember getting a box set of Disney CDs when I was 17 that had all of the great classics, as well as music from some of the more recent movies at that time. I was taking the mandatory speech class in high school, and we had to do an informative speech with props, so my speech was about the history of Disney music and I had a tape playing in the background with the different styles of music that changed as the time period I was talking about changed. I recylced the same speech in my college public speaking class. A+ in both!!

Next in attendance is my DH, Brett. He has been fortunate enough to have visited DisneyLand, DisneyWorld, and Hong Kong Disney. He visted the US Disneys with his family either as a child or as a graduation gift from HS or College. He works as a mechanical engineer, which has him travelling to Asia at least once a year. On a trip a couple of years ago, there was a huge delay with whatever it was he was working on over there and he had to wait for over a week for one single part to arrive. He passed the time by doing some sight seeing in Hong Kong, which including a day at Hong Kong Disney. I wish I could have been there with him, but I'm happy he wasn't bored. He brought back a ton of really cool pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/brettkiger/2006_12_10HongKongDisneyland#

Along with the two of us:

Are my MIL and FIL:

as well as my SIL with her husband and 2 boys:

My parents will also be tagging along for the first 2 days. (I'll have to find a good pic of the two of them and post it later.)

For DH and I, this trip is for us to celebrate our first wedding anniversay. We were married on 9/02/07:

(Awwww........!!!!!!!!!)

We had been debating if we should go on a cruise or take a trip to Disney for our first anniversary. The in-laws had been discussing a trip for a while now, and we had decided if they wanted to go this year that we would go with them. We didn't want to go in the summer with the excessive crowds and heat, so we decided to wait until the older nephew had his fall break at the end of October to book the trip.

Once we had our dates set, it was time to decide on where to stay. The in-laws are trying to make the trip more affordable, so they will be staying at POP. DH and I wanted something a little more romantic, so we went with POR. I requested a King bed with a water view in the mansion section. I don't know if I'll get it, but my fingers are crossed!!!! I noticed in our reservation, they have notes stating it is our anniversary trip. I'm not sure if that's a good sign and we might get some extra perks out of it, maybe some advice from other couples that have celebrated anniversaries there?

My parents are FL residents, living in Ocala. Typical northerners that decided Florida was the state to retire in. My dad definitely doesn't miss all the Chicago snow he had to put up with for decades, and he LOVES the fact that he can play golf year round. They will also be staying at POR, but I'm not sure if they have made any special room requests.

Even though we don't check in until 10/29, DH and I will be driving down from Atlanta on 10/28 and staying with my parents for the night. DH thinks that I'm just anxious to get a full day in at the parks and get an early start. He's half right: My anniversary gift to him is a Rookie Experience at the Richard Petty Driving Experience!!! He is booked on the 29th at 8AM, so we'll have to get up pretty early to get him over there in time. I don't plan on telling him until the night before, and it's been so hard keeping it from him! To be honest, he's not a very big Nascar Fan, but they don't have Formula One Experience, so this is the closest thing. We were watching the Season of Disney shows on the travel channel a few months ago, and he commented about how cool that would be.

Disclaimer: DH thinks I'm wierd and crazy for spending so much time on the DIS and I seriously doubt he will read any of this and spoil his surprise.

Alright, let's talk about food!!

 

[KigerKat]

The In-Laws will be on the basic dining plan, while DH and I are splurging for the deluxe. I know, I know...it's a TON of food. I realized this when going through and booking our ADRs and getting full just looking at where we are eating. So far, this is what we've got booked:

Wednesday, 10/29:
8PM - Dinner - Jiko

Thursday, 10/20:
9:05AM - Breakfast - Crystal Palace
6PM - Dinner - Mickey's Backyard BBQ

Friday, 10/31:
7:50AM - Breakfast - Boatright's
12:15PM - Lunch - Le Cellier
7:55PM - Dinner - Shutters

Saturday, 11/01:
11AM - Lunch - 50's Prime Time Cafe
4:30PM - Dinner - Fantasmic Dinner Package @ Hollywood & Vine

Sunday, 11/02:
9:20AM - Breakfast - 1900 Park Fair
5:00PM - Dinner - Hoop De Doo Musical Review

Monday, 11/03:
8:30AM - Breakfast - Donald's Safari Breakfast @ The Tusker House
7:45PM - Dinner - Tony's Town Square

Tuesday, 11/04:
9:20AM - Breakfast - Chef Mickey's

My goal was to start the day with a good (and fun) breakfast, and then a good dinner each evening. Right now, we've got 2 TS credit each for us to use and 24 total snack credits. I figure we can try to and get a walk up table or counter service in the parks for lunch or even use our snack credits to fill in the gaps. Either way, we will be a couple of stuffed people when it's time to go home!!

 

[KigerKat]

As of today, we are just over 7 weeks away from driving down there. I love the fact that I can say our trip is "next month!"

Alrighty, folks! That's what I've got so far! I appreciate any thoughts or suggestions from you guys!!

 

[swwake]

I'm here! And First?

Happy Anniversary last week!

I love the pics. Y'all are a beautiful family.

We did the same ADRs as you on the Fantasmic day (but with Brown Derby instead). I will tell you that it was hard to eat much for dinner at 4:30 after filling up at 50's for lunch (we were there at 11:15). So you may want to move 50's PTC to another day and use those snack credits for lunch on the Fantasmic day. You are spending like 39/pp for dinner at H&V so you need to make it worth it! And you don't want to short-change yourself at 50s. There is such good food there and you NEED a shake! Just my opinon - you don't have to change.

I would also recommend Boma. We didn't ADR it but we ate there and it was one of our faves (Shh..don't tell anyone - it will spoil my TR!)

I am so excited for you! Your first trip! Will y'all get mouse ears?

Oh -the anniversary - our reservation was marked too. They will make a big deal about it at check-in, and you will get buttons to wear. If you wear them, people will comment all week and you might get free/special desserts at many restaurants. We didn't wear ours, but I could see that maybe you could get other cool treatment too. If nothing else, other park guests will congratulate you - and that always feels good!

 

[dustyraye]

The In-Laws will be on the basic dining plan, while DH and I are splurging for the deluxe. I know, I know...it's a TON of food. I realized this when going through and booking our ADRs and getting full just looking at where we are eating.

Wow!! This is really impressive!! How early did you book your ADRs to get all of the ones that you wanted?

 

[Marshay]

I'm here!!

First -- you and your family are very photogenic!! I loved your wedding dress! Care to post a full dress pic??

Second -- definitely make sure you put on EVERY ADR that you are celebrating your anniversary! You never know what you'll get. When DH and I did that, we got personalized menus, dessert (when we weren't on the plan), a Mickey card with all the waiters/waitresses signing it, etc.

If you're into scrapping at all, these are great keepsakes!

Now some folks say you should only choose one day -- I say celebrate them all! Your choice.

I definitely agree to add BOMA (oh, Susan, so THAT'S where you go???!!!). We actually like their breakfast better than the dinner but both are really good! We make an evening (or day) of it and walk around AK, watch the animals, stay for the fireside chat thing, etc.

I will say that Boma is probably one of the most "authentic" places to eat -- they actually label everything b/c most people have no idea what it is.

My parents (very meat and potatoes) actually didn't like it since it was a bit too 'out of their taste palettes' but my DH and I loved it.

OK -- sorry to hog your TR, but you did ask for comments (and I'll give them to ya!)

Oh, and the RPDE -- AWESOME!!! Your DH is a lucky man! I would love to do this myself!

 

[KigerKat]

Wow!! This is really impressive!! How early did you book your ADRs to get all of the ones that you wanted?

On the advice from everyone here at the DIS, I booked most of them about 5 months in advance. I've made a few changes this past weekend, but it looks like this is the final plan.

And it looks like I'll have to check out Boma, although DH and I are definitely meat and potatoes kind of people!!

 

[KigerKat]

First -- you and your family are very photogenic!! I loved your wedding dress! Care to post a full dress pic??

What girl doesn't like to show off her wedding dress:

And here is a shot of the back as I was being laced up:

Thank you guys soooo much for the compliments!!

And Marshay, you can never comment too much in my book!

 

[Marshay]

What girl doesn't like to show off her wedding dress:

And here is a shot of the back as I was being laced up:

Thank you guys soooo much for the compliments!!

And Marshay, you can never comment too much in my book!

OMG!!! The back of that dress is simply gorgeous!! The front is great too, but I'm so glad you showed off the detail in the back!!! Considering that everyone stares at your back for about 20-30 minutes or more, it makes a lot of sense to have such detail there!!

 

[Marshay]

So far, this is what we've got booked:

Wednesday, 10/29:
8PM - Dinner - Jiko Our meal was just after they opened and I think they were still working out the kinks. We had a good meal -- not great. Ask to be seated by the window overlooking the water. We were given our "surprise" dessert of a pistachio brulee. We never had one (creme brulee) before and this was good. My monkfish was a bit underdone but I guess that's the way they intended??

Thursday, 10/20:
9:05AM - Breakfast - Crystal Palace I haven't been but only heard GREAT news about this one!
6PM - Dinner - Mickey's Backyard BBQ yee haw!!

Friday, 10/31:
7:50AM - Breakfast - Boatright's I'm sad to say that of all the restaurants we've ever gone to (and it's almost all of them), this is the only place we won't go back to again. Boring food. Bad service. Just eck.

However, my FL ex-co-worker raves about the steak here and says it beats Le Cellier hands down. And of course, I think just the opposite. So you'll find out for yourselves!
12:15PM - Lunch - Le Cellier I can't say enough good things about this place! We've had 4 meals (2 lunch and 2 dinners). The filet mignon is to die for but one time I <gasp> got the fish instead and it was heavenly!! A great choice if you don't want another meat meal. The chocolate mouse (actually shaped like a mousse, I have a pic if you want) is the perfect ending!
7:55PM - Dinner - Shutters Another one I haven't gone to

Saturday, 11/01:
11AM - Lunch - 50's Prime Time Cafe Fun and good down home cooking. I got the meatloaf! Yum!
4:30PM - Dinner - Fantasmic Dinner Package @ Hollywood & Vine I really like this restaurant!! Cobb salad is one of it's specialities

Sunday, 11/02:
9:20AM - Breakfast - 1900 Park Fair On my to-do list!
5:00PM - Dinner - Hoop De Doo Musical Review Yee HAw!!! Great food, it keeps coming! Just dorky, fun, toe-tapping entertainment!

Monday, 11/03:
8:30AM - Breakfast - Donald's Safari Breakfast @ The Tusker House We loved the Tusker House! I haven't been to this yet since it changed names. We went to the attached counter-service in May and liked our asian-style food
7:45PM - Dinner - Tony's Town Square Another on my to-do list!! I can't wait to hear what you think of this!

Tuesday, 11/04:
9:20AM - Breakfast - Chef Mickey's This is just fun! VERY loud and the characters are great but super busy!

I added my comments above in blue for each restaurant. Obviously, you'll make your own decisions.

The restaurant that surprised us the most this past trip was Coral Reef at the Seas (Nemo and Friends) building in Epcot -- great food and you just can't beat the view!

 

[KigerKat]

We leave for WDW SEVEN WEEKS FROM TODAY!!
​

I can't tell you how excited I am!! I just realized last night that I need to start deciding what I'm going to wear each day. I've read other posts that talk about the weather that time of year, and I can see that it's mostly warm and not hot, with some cooler evenings.

Another thing I've thought about (and this is really odd), is how I'm going to do my hair each day. I used to have really long hair, until earlier this year when I chopped off over a foot and donated it to Locks for Love. Now that my hair is shorter, I don't have any way to put it up. This concern was brought to my attention this past weekend when DH and I went to the Yellow Daisy Festival at Stone Mountain Park and the back of my neck was honestly dripping. I can't stand sweating, and this really grosses me out!! When I had longer hair, I would put it up in a ponytail and forget about it. Can't do that anymore!! Looks like I'm going to have to do some experimenting. I last cut my hair at the end of July, so maybe if I don't cut it again I can do the little pigtail thing. Oh - the difficulties in planning!! ​

 

[Marshay]

We leave for WDW SEVEN WEEKS FROM TODAY!!
​

I can't tell you how excited I am!! I just realized last night that I need to start deciding what I'm going to wear each day. I've read other posts that talk about the weather that time of year, and I can see that it's mostly warm and not hot, with some cooler evenings.

Another thing I've thought about (and this is really odd), is how I'm going to do my hair each day. I used to have really long hair, until earlier this year when I chopped off over a foot and donated it to Locks for Love. Now that my hair is shorter, I don't have any way to put it up. This concern was brought to my attention this past weekend when DH and I went to the Yellow Daisy Festival at Stone Mountain Park and the back of my neck was honestly dripping. I can't stand sweating, and this really grosses me out!! When I had longer hair, I would put it up in a ponytail and forget about it. Can't do that anymore!! Looks like I'm going to have to do some experimenting. I last cut my hair at the end of July, so maybe if I don't cut it again I can do the little pigtail thing. Oh - the difficulties in planning!! ​

ah, you've got plenty of time!!

I actually did color coordinate our outfits for both day and evening (yeah, I'm a Disdork!) but it really did help us out in finding each other, esp if DD would get separated from us...at least we could say --she's wearing blue. It also made each day a little easier since we knew what to wear.

Hmm, the hair...do you wear barrettes at all? If the ponytail won't do, they might!

 

[KigerKat]

Alrighty! The final payment has been made. I kept putting it off, just in case we changed our mind about the deluxe dining plan. I kept going back and forth, thinking it was going to be so much food and I didn't want to waste valuable park time in sit down restaurants. But we looked at where we were dining and remembered that this was a special trip for us, so we decided to stick with our original plan.

I can't say that we will do the deluxe plan in the future, but since we are celebrating this trip we decided to splurge. I suppose we could have splurged on a deluxe resort, but I think trying out so many different restaurants would have been more worth the extra money. DH would absolutely LOVE to stay at WLR, so I can see us booking that one next time.

Since next week hits the 6 week mark, I better start getting things organized for the trip. DH is going to Asia early Monday morning for 10 days, so I'll have plenty of time around the house to work on some projects.

We've got our 2 nephews travelling with us and this is their first trip as well. I need to think of something I can do for them to make their trip more special, and maybe work on that while DH is gone.

 

[KigerKat]

Today marks 6 WEEKK TO GO!!​

And after looking at our calendar, it seems as though we've got a lot to keep us busy over the next few weeks. DH got sent off to Asia again this week for work, and he should be back next Friday. I've got some projects planned to keep myself busy while he's gone. ​

When he gets back, we'll be off to North Carolina to watch NC State play some other team (shows you how much I know about football!) with some friends of ours and the in-laws. ​

The weekend after that is Petite Le Mans down here in GA, which means DH will come home smelling like motor fuel. I'll have that weekend to finish up whatever I can't get done while he's gone to Asia this week. ​

That next weekend is our neighborhood garage sale - just in time for some extra Disney $$$!! One big project I need to do is visit our storage unit and see if there is anything in there worth selling. I'm sure we could live without most of that crap (we have for 2 years! ), but I've just been too lazy to go down there and actually go through it. But this time, I have extra motivation!!​

Then the weekend after that is our neighborhood Fall Festival. This is a pretty big deal in our neighborhood. We have games, a DJ, Chili Cook-Off, bake sale, raffles, face painting, big bouncy things, petting zoo - all kinds of stuff!! I'm entering the Chili Cookoff again this year to try to redeem myself!! Last year, I decided at the last minute to make Paula Deen's green chili corn muffins to serve as a side dish and I didn't take enough time to heat up my chili. When the judges came around, it was too cold. This year, I'll be sure to have everything made and ready, so all I have to do is heat it up and go! Wish me luck!!​

After that weekend, we have one last weekend to get prepared - doing laundry, cleaning, shopping, car maintenance, yada...yada...yada... AND THEN WE'RE OFF!​

With so much to do, these last 6 weeks should just fly by!!! Right???​

 

[xoktenox]

just joining in and I'm loving your report! your wedding dress and pictures are gorgeous and so is your family. All your ADR's sound great, I've never actually eaten at any of the restaurants you chose but I've been doing lots of reading and can't say I've heard many bad things about any of them. I also want to try Tusker House and Le Cellier when my boyfriend and I go in April. We're staying at Pop like your family is. The DDP is alot of food but I think with all your TS meals you made the right decision. Plus its good to have everything pre paid in advance, its a weight off of your shoulders! I really wanted to get the RPDE for my boyfriend but it just came out to be too expensive for me He LOVES cars and would just love to do it...maybe i can save by the time we go lol And good luck with your chili too, that festival sounds like lots of fun!

Those are just my opinions, hope you enjoy them and I cant wait to read more!

 

[KigerKat]

just joining in and I'm loving your report! your wedding dress and pictures are gorgeous and so is your family. All your ADR's sound great, I've never actually eaten at any of the restaurants you chose but I've been doing lots of reading and can't say I've heard many bad things about any of them. I also want to try Tusker House and Le Cellier when my boyfriend and I go in April. We're staying at Pop like your family is. The DDP is alot of food but I think with all your TS meals you made the right decision. Plus its good to have everything pre paid in advance, its a weight off of your shoulders! I really wanted to get the RPDE for my boyfriend but it just came out to be too expensive for me He LOVES cars and would just love to do it...maybe i can save by the time we go lol And good luck with your chili too, that festival sounds like lots of fun!

Those are just my opinions, hope you enjoy them and I cant wait to read more!

Thank you so much for chiming in!! I pretty much did all of the restaurant picking since I've been doing so much research. In fact, I think I've done so much research that if someone starts talking to me about WDW, they would swear I've lived there. These boards have sure helped me out a lot with all of my planning.

The DDDP was a tough decision, and we kept going back and forth between DDDP and DDP. I think we've done pretty well, and this is probably the only time we'll do it. I'm hoping by the time our next trip rolls around, we might have a little one of our own with us and perhaps so many sit down places might be a little more difficult to pull off.

As for the RPDE, I saved about $80 on it with AAA. I actually ended up joining AAA just for the discount. The membership cost was $64 for one person, and it saves you 20% at RPDE. In all, I only ended up saving $16, but now I get an entire year of other discounts PLUS AAA member services, so I thought it was worth it. DH and I are kinda/sorta planning a trip to Vegas in the spring and I've been looking at hotel rates with the AAA discount, but I can't tell him that I joined AAA or he'll want to know why!! He would never believe that I joined just because. At any rate, I don't think we will book anything until after we get back from Disney and he'll know by then. His birthday was also a couple of weeks ago, so this is sort of a birthday/anniversary combo gift.

Our neighborhood is really into being an active community. We even have a full time activities director to make sure everything goes smoothly. The Fall Festival is our biggest event each year. Last year, I spent so much time volunteering at different activites that I didn't really get to enjoy the festival on my own. I'm hoping I can take an hour or two and explore it a little more this year.

Thanks again for your comments!! I love hearing other people's thoughts!! Keep 'em coming!!

 

[Marshay]

These final 6 weeks will go by quickly!!

I love your neighborhood events -- that sounds great!

So how are the clothes going?

 

[KigerKat]

As of today, we're down to 5 weeks!!!

DH will be back from his business trip this Thursday (yay!). I hate it when he has to leave, and I hate it more when it's so far away. He's 12 hours ahead of where I am, so he's probably winding down his day right now and should be calling me soon.

This past weekend, I hit the stores for some new clothes to take with me next month. First (of course!) was the Disney Store where I found graphic t-shirts on sale for $5.99!! I got one Winnie the Pooh and one Tinkerbell (my fav). Then I hit Kohl's were all of their summer clothes are on clearance - shorts for $4.80!!! What a deal!! This weekend, I bought 3 shirts and 2 pairs of shorts for less than $30!! I just love a good bargain...

I went by Archiver's to see what kind of Disney stuff they had and see if there was anything I could use. A long time ago, I started making some autograph cards to take along with us and I wanted to see if they had any cute stickers I could use. Surprisingly, they didn't have as much as I thought they would. I have a good friend that sells Creative Memories, so I might check with her also. I haven't printed out my autograph cards yet, so I'm not sure how they are going to look. I'll get them posted on here in a bit!

My other project is to get everyone a lanyard for their resort ids and fastpasses, and I'm trying to get a lanyard with everyone's favorite Disney character. So far, I need one Tinkerbell (me), 2 Tiggers (DH & MIL), 3 Goofys (FIL, 2 nephews), and 1 Donald Duck (stepmom). I still need to find out what SIL, her husband and my father like. And I thought this would be a fairly simple thing, just google "Tigger Lanyard" and I should have a ton to choose from - OHHHHH, NOOOOOOO...... The only Tigger lanyard I can find is from the UK, and I think it's for cell phones and not for what I need them to be. I might just have to get generic Disney lanyards and put a couple of pins of their favorite characters on it. I've even tried Ebay, but when I do a search for "Disney Lanyard" I also get results for all the pins - which are thousands!! Any suggestions on where I can find lanyards of different characters would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[KigerKat]

Here's the Tigger Lanyard I found this weekend - Isn't it perfect???

Now if only I can find it in the US and know for sure that it's the kind of lanyard I need.....

 

[KigerKat]

Here's what I've made so far - let me know if you think I need to make any others!! (These may look a little fuzzy after I converted them to jpg files)