*Leaving Tomorrow!!* October Family Fun for Food and Wine

[Gondingl]

This is a very last minute Pre-Trip report but where else can I throw my ideas at people who understand the madness that is Disney Planning?! Plus my family is pretty sick of hearing about it and there is still more than a month to go!

We are visiting the world from Oct. 24-29th.

This year the attendees include:
My boyfriend (29) and myself (30).

Last time I went to WDW was last year for F&W, stayed at All Star Movies. Last time DBF went to WDW was over 10 years ago!!

My DMom (60), my DDad (61) and my DSis (26 turning 27 in the WDW!!).

Last time they went was 2 years ago. Stayed at the Swan. Mom prefers to be in walking distance to Epcot, the park of choice for my family.

Also going is Dis, boyfriend (26).


Also going is my DBesties (31) and (30) and a husband. AND!! the baby, who is due in November. So this is my first Disney trip with someone who is pregnant, so all advice is welcome as to that

​

!


Coming up next: Where we are staying and the itinerary for the trip! ​

 

[Gondingl]

For our Oct. 24 - 29th stay we are staying at BWV! We got a previous visitor discount sent to us in May that included free dining, so naturally I jumped all over it. The only catch was: We would have to stay in a villa. Oh the horror!!! I kid, I kid.

This is two new "firsts" for me: using the Disney Dining Plan AND staying at the Boardwalk Villas. I am excited to stay at BWV because I've always wanted to stay at BWI and now I get too! Equally exciting is BWI was DBF's first request for hotel choice so I'm glad I could help in that area for him.

As for the Disney Dining plan I'm happy it is free because the last trip we went on my DDad couldn't get over how expensive the food at Disney is… granted he does only eat at table service restaurants. So this time he will have to venture into the world of counter-service! So any advice/tips as to how it works will be great!

So far I have these ADRs. And boy have these been a pain! Only because one of my DBesties decided last minute she was going to come, so naturally all of my ADRs were one person short. I've been trying to fix them but some are still missing a seat

Friday 24th:

• Dinner at Flying Fish Cafe. Everyone has a seat but had to make 2 ressies.

Saturday:

• Breakfast at Captain's Grille. I need Mickey Waffles to start every Disney trip off and this is the ONLY place on the BW that I could find that serves them. Any other suggestions on where to go because we are missing a seat…
  
• Dinner is at San Angel Inn for DDad. Everyone has a seat!

Sunday:

• Dinner at California Grill. Everyone has a seat!

Monday:

• Breakfast at Tusker House! This is for DBF whom loves Donald!
• Dinner at CP. Missing a seat

Tuesday:

• Dinner at Teppan Edo for DSis birthday "dinner" (her birthday isn't until Wednesday. Everyone has a seat!

Wednesday:

• Lunch at Chefs de France! My request. Everyone has a seat!

Any advice on what to order at these places, what not to order or if there ADRs that I should change (IYO) - please let me know!

Up next: Parks and FastPass+ Selections!

 

[Gondingl]

So I think I've mapped out what park we will be going to each day of our visit. I'm hesitant to change anything now because i've already made our FastPass Selections.

But there is a catch - I could only make them for 6 of our group - 2 of our members are AP holders so they have a different time frame for FP+ picks. This has been the biggest frustration so far. Hopefully they will be able to join in on what the rest of us already have. If not looks like we may have to switch some things up a bit. Anyone ever dealt with this before? That also means I'll have to redo this if we can't get the same times:



I've made one for every day that we are on our trip so that the rest of the family knows what is going on - what time the parks open each day; when each park closes; what time the fireworks are in each park (if applicable); and most importantly - the stuff I've planned for us! HA!

I plan on printing that out and making each person/couple a Disney "Get Excited!" bag. More on that later but its going to include their magic bands, hotel info, magic band info, and Disney stuff that I can find for CHEAP!

So back to your scheduled program: Our Plans and FP+ plans!

Friday!

• We all arrive at different times. Myself, DBF, DBestie1 get there before noon DMom and DDad get there at 6. DBestie2 and Hubby get there around 8. DSis and her bf get there around 9:20.
• So the plan for myself, DBF, DBestie1 is to go to DOWNTOWN DISNEY!! and get some shopping done, lucky DBF. Also going to have lunch a DD if we aren't too hungry by the time we get to the hotel after a DME ride.
• Return to hotel, freshen up for ADR at FFC. Meet DMom, DDad, DBestie2 and her hubby at the hotel bar for meet up and some cocktails!
• Go to dinner.
• Go to bed early!
• Unpack the suitcases somewhere. I can't stand living out of a suitcase!

Saturday:

• First morning of the trip means DISNEY WAFFLES! Must. Have. Them. From my research, I've only found Captains Grille in the BW area has them so we have 8:05 ressies, missing a seat. (I explained earlier that some of my ADRs are short a seat bc DBestie1 decided ‘last minute’ - aka only on Disney Time - to join us).
• Then off to EPCOT!!!
• FP+ for: Spaceship Earth, The Seas with Nemo , Soarin'. (DDad always calls it SOARING. nope. No G. I actually got him a T-Shirt for his bday this weekend to prove him wrong I'll let you know how it goes over.)
  
• Then off to Food & Wine fun!
• Dinner ADRs: San Angel Inn per DDad's request.

Sunday:

• Magic Kingdom Day!
• FP+ for: Pirates! 7DMT!!! and BTMRR!!
• Try and get a lunch ADR for BoG.
• Leave when MK closes for MNSSHP, go to DHS to watch Fantasmic! Use bus service to Contemp.
• ADR Dinner: CG at 9:20 so we will get our seats just in time for the 9:30 HalloWishes showing!!
• Before or after ADR: "Monorail bar crawl." Main goal: show family the new Poly and GF. ** Need to make sure we will get back to hotel with free transportation however.
• This is the last day with DBestie2 and her hubby. Sad.

Monday:

• Animal Kingdom Day!
• Breakfast ADRs at Tusker House at 8:25! This one is for the DBF as he LOVES Donald . I’m excited for him and because I’ve never been to anything before park hours – even if it is open for EMHs this day… Still counts!
• FP+ for: KS, EE, DINO!
• Magic Kingdom Night!! Using our park hopper tickets to go to MK after AK closes.
• Dinner ADR at CP! Missing a seat however…
• Stay until park closes EMH open til 10 and watch Wishes – no trip to WDW is complete without a viewing of Wishes.

Tuesday:

• DHS Day!!! This day is the day for DBF .
• FP+ for: ToT, ST (DBF is SUPER excited about this!) and TSM.
• Leave when we are done and head over to EPCOT for more F&W fun.
• Dinner ADR at Teppan Edo. This is to celebrate DSis birthday (Wednesday but we leave that night) and she loves, loves, loves all things Japanese. So her birthday dinner will be a day early.
• One more viewing of Illuminations.
• Walk home!

Wednesday:

• DSis birthday!!!!
• Wake up and Pack. Try not to cry.
• Head to MK when done for FP+ at: 7DMT, BTMRR, and HM.
• Head over to EPCOT
• Lunch ADR at Chefs de France.
• Walk back to hotel and get on DME.
• Seriously, try not and cry.

Thursday:

• Start planning next WDW trip!

Until Next time...

 

[Gondingl]

Good morning and happy Friday folks! Its almost the weekend! And what a weekend it is! My best friend, I've known her since we were in preschool, is getting married!! And DisBestie1 and DBestie2 and her husband are all coming into Cincinnati for the wedding! To summarize: I'm excited that 1) Good friend is getting married and 2) I get to the other other best friends so close to our big trip to WDW together! Plus Sunday is celebrate DDad's birthday where I'm giving him his Soarin' t-shirt. This all means lots of photos for Monday's post!


So the "get excited" bags I'm putting together are for DBF, DDad and Mom, DSis and her bf and for the DBestie1. I'm putting these together to mainly give everyone what they need for the trip (i.e. their Magic Bands and DME luggage tags) along with some super useful info (since it will be everyone but mine and DBestie's first trip using the Magic Band) to help make their trip more smoothy along with some cool Disney stuff to get them excited. I want everyone to be as excited as I am, I know its probably not possible but it is worth a try right?

DBF's Get Excited Bag

• Star wars pajama pants!
• Star Wars reusable bag
• Mickey Cup
• Magic Band (not pictured)
• Magic Band Info (not pictured)
• Candy
• DME luggage tags and info (not pictured because they didn't send any for him…)

I'm also thinking of getting him some granola and other snacky things for him to have on the plane, in the hotel room, etc. besides candy.

DDad and DMom's Get Excited Bag

• Magic Band (not pictured)
• Magic Band Info (not pictured)
• WDW Themed Reusable bag
• Disney Stickers
• Disney Side sticker of the family
• DME info

I'm thinking I'll also add some snacks for DDad and a bottle of wine for them as well to pack.

DSis and her BF's Get Excited Bag

• Magic Band (not pictured)
• Magic Band Info (not pictured)
• Candy
• Disney Cup
• Lilo and Stitch Tank
• Disney side sticker, character stickers
• Winnie the Pooh Coloring book and crayons
• Olaf Cards
• DME info and luggage tags
• Magic Band info booklet

Their bag is a bit nuts but its also part of DSis's birthday present.. Anywho their bag is complete besides adding the itinerary I've made and the info about our hotel - BWV.

DBestie's Get Excited Packet Please tilt your head as I can't get it to go the right way…

• Magic Band (not pictured)
• Magic Band Info (not pictured)
• Candy
• Disney Cup
• DME info and luggage tags

That is all she is getting because she is already excited!

Off to get ready for the weekend! Have a great one yourself!!!

 

[Gondingl]

Well, back at Monday again.. And a Monday after spending a weekend with my sister and best girlfriends and their significant others who don't live in the same place as me - always super rough

But in happier news: only 31 days until DBF and I are on a plane heading to WDW!!! (If we want to get technical, we will be ON THE PLANE AT THIS TIME!!)

My good friend (since pre-school) got married and DBestie 1 (and her bf), DBestie2 (and her husband) and DSis (and her boyfriend) all came to Cincinnati to celebrate! Here we all are:



And with the bride and groom (minus DSis and her boyfriend don't know where they went…)



And of course the night was spent taking lots of pictures. Got a few good ones of the DBF and I


And me and the girls


Sunday was Dad's birthday day and he got his Soarin' t-shirt! And finally admitted he was wrong, that it isn't Soaring it is just Soarin'!! We went to dinner - that my family was over an hour late for our reservations… Super annoyed that happened. Makes me question all this work I'm doing for dinner plans for Disney.. After super had cake and ice cream at DDad's and DMom's house. Mom showed me this that she found cleaning her closet out!


Wonder if WDW will accept it?

Either way, even if my family is perpetually late for everything, I think I'm going to get DBF and DSis mini cakes for their birthdays on our California Grill night. Just need to figure out what that will be exactly… Until then!

 

[Gondingl]

I woke up this morning to this email!!


I also received our DME booklet in the mail last week and just got around to looking at it last night - I know, I know, shame on me but I was so busying helping out my friend with all her wedding stuff that I had no time.

So I open it up, read it and they only sent me two tags for myself and DSis… odd. Get to reading further that only DSis and myself have DME reservations!! So that prompted a call to DME. The man I spoke with seemed almost annoyed that I was calling to make reservations for the other 7 members of my party and ask for tags for them as well… This is the second time i've had to call them. The first time was because I couldn't find any DME ressies noted in any email or on my MDE page so I called and spoke with another gent who said he'd take care of it. Well, apparently, he did not and thus got me on the phone with grumpy-gills that I spoke to last night. Lets hope I don't have to call them again...

In other news: 29 days till I'm on a plane heading for WDW!!! Needless to say, I'm excited.

In other, other news: I got my new gym shoes I bought from Kohls for my Disney trip! Every year I normally wear flip flop or sandals. However, last year my feet were so achy that I told myself it would be gym shoes for the next trip. Well, my gym shoes I already had are so HEAVY (I weighed them, 5lbs each shoe!!! I know I have big feet but geez!). So this is what I tell myself so that it is okay for new gym shoes: "Its been a few years since I got a new pair, lets get a light fun pair for Disney." Done! And this is what I picked!


And now they are on sale! Well, $5 cheaper than when I bought them, and now I have a $20 in Kohls cash… wonder if I can find any Disney shirts there too…

I'll let ya know what I decide!

 

[ZehnJahren]

Nice that you're staying at BWV! I stayed in a one-bedroom there back in November and it was great to just stroll (or boat!) over to Epcot or HS any time I pleased!

Sorry to hear about Mr. Grumpy Pants at DME. Sometimes you get the very best, happiest, most informative and helpful CMs on the phone, and sometimes you get... him. What makes it more irritating is that you had to call twice. Hopefully they've gotten it right this time!

 

[Gondingl]

Nice that you're staying at BWV! I stayed in a one-bedroom there back in November and it was great to just stroll (or boat!) over to Epcot or HS any time I pleased!

Sorry to hear about Mr. Grumpy Pants at DME. Sometimes you get the very best, happiest, most informative and helpful CMs on the phone, and sometimes you get... him. What makes it more irritating is that you had to call twice. Hopefully they've gotten it right this time!

I'm really excited to be staying at BWV! I always stare dreamily at it while walking to the Swan.

This is true, 9 times out of 10 I am lucky enough to get a fantastic CM!

 

[Gondingl]

This weekend was the weekend I was blessed by the ADR Gods. I got the CP ressie I have been hunting for - for 7 people instead of 6 - for weeks! I was beginning to wonder if Disney thew out all their tables for a parties bigger than 4! But Sunday morning I got it! And at a better time than my original 6 person ressie!


This morning I was able to snag this ressie too!


Yay happy dance! I have been wanting to eat at BoG ever since it opened! Now I finally get to!

There is catch. (isn't there always..)

DBestie2 and her husband don't have hotel reservations yet - being that she will be 3 weeks from her due date they don't want to make any commitments until the week of. They have tickets because they are AP holders. So that means no BoG ressies for her… do I

• 
  1. Keep my existing BoG lunch ressies and eat with out them?
  2. Eat lunch somewhere everyone can eat?
  3. Sneak them into BoG?

This isn't the only issue we've had with the FP+ system being that they are AP holders. She was able to get our rides that we reserved for EPCOT on Saturday but the times are way, way off. Esp on Soarin'. Their FP+ times don't even start until after noon! Our last FP+ ressie is for 11:55 am… It might be one of those "we do ours, you do yours and meet up at Food and Wine when it is over?" Ugh I feel rude doing that but she doesn't' quite seem to care either… Decisions decisions…

 

[Gondingl]

It is official - I have hit the month of my WDW trip!!!!

And to top it off - It is the Pearl Jam concert tonight here in Cincinnati!!

The boyfriend and I are one very, very happy couple! Yay for October!

In other pre-trip planning news: I got our Magic Bands in the mail yesterday!!!




Now if you've been following along - you know there are 7 of us going who need Magic Bands. And if you observe, I only have 4 Magic Bands. The rest: "Act quickly! Your order may ship at any moment." Uhhh what does that mean?! Anyone know?

I want them to ship now cause I'm want to get everyone their "get excited bags" with all of our trip info...

 

[Gondingl]

9 days to go!!! Insert my happy dance!

Everything is coming together!

I got all of our Magic Bands - after having to call Disney, the nice man on the phone told me "they were stuck in processing" so I guess he got them 'unstuck' for me because I got them shortly after.

I officially ordered the two birthday cakes for the two birthdays happening on our trip. I orded (2) 6" cakes. One is a Star Wars themed with vanilla cake and chocolate mouse icing. The other is a Lilo & Stitch themed with chocolate cake and peanut butter cup icing. I was quoted $80 a piece for each. They will be delivered to our ADR dinner Sunday the 26th at the California Grill. I originally wanted mini-cakes but when I was quoted $50 a piece I thought that was absurd amount of money to spend on 4 bites of cake. After emailing the Contemporary email given in the cake thread and getting little to no feedback I'm not really sure what will show up on the table but fingers crossed it is fabulous as I've heard great things about what Chef Brian produces.

I also gave my DSis and her boyfriend their get excited bags, which they loved! Also mailed my DBestie her little "get excited bag" which she loved and was excited about as well. DMom and DDad are getting their bags this weekend. DBF isn't getting his bag until right before we leave. He is however, getting his early birthday present this weekend - new gym shoes for in the park! He has been hinting at new shoes for a bit now…. I just hope he likes them.

In other news, DBF and I celebrated our 6 month anniversary the other day (doesn't sound like a big deal but being 30 and in the 'single girls club' -its a big deal! ) and I came home to this surprise!

The card was super, super sweet and caused lots of happy tears.


The most gorgeous roses ever and they smell wonderful too!


And the man knows the way to my heart - DISNEY!! All in all it was a very sweet gesture. I however, failed to get him anything. Whoops.

All I have to do now is pack! Well that and check the weather constantly to see what Florida has in store for us!

 

[Gondingl]

It is finally here!!!! And by "it" I mean our long awaited, highly anticipated trip to ….

Walt Disney World!!!

Only have a few things left to do, like:

• PACK!!!
• Get Sophie the pup's food and etc. all ready to go to my friend's house for her week at "Pup Camp"
• Clean the house (hate coming home to a dirty house)
• Laundry - so I can pack
• Wake up at 6:00AM to get on plane! Well to get ready, then get in the car, travel to airport, THEN get on the pane. After I pass security.

I can do it!! Until then, have a great day and week!!

And to leave this on a cute note, Sophie the pup says adios!