Let's See How *Little* Planning I Can Do - Memorial Day at Beach Club, Day One *NEW* 6/18

[Elleshoodat]

Who am I kidding with the title of this trip report? …Anyone?

I’m going to plan, then change those plans, then change those plans, probably right up until we leave.

Hi, I’m Tiffany, and I’m an over-planner. (“Hi, Tiffany.”) I overplan everything, but planning for Disney brings me the most joy … and maybe the most stress, too.

I’ve been visiting Disney World since I was 7 or 8, first with my parents and brother, and now with my own little family!

This will be our first trip as a family of four, and the first for our younger son, Matthew. Also on the trip will be our older son, Andrew, and my husband, Nick. Here's our little family:



Our trip is Sept. 27-Oct. 2. We're staying at Port Orleans French Quarter for five nights with free dining, all thanks to a bounceback offer I booked last Labor Day. (More on that to come.)

Only 208 days to go!

Chapter Links
Background & Intros
ADRs - The Plan
ADRs - What I Actually Booked
Booked A Portrait Session!

Side Trip - Memorial Day Weekend at Beach Club
The Plan
Two Weeks to Go
Day One​

 

[Elleshoodat]

Background & Intros

First, some introductions and a bit about how this trip came to be:

Nick, my Disney Husband. (I know DH stands for Dear Husband, but for the longest time I thought it was Disney Husband so I’m sticking with that.) For a while, I thought Nick was just tolerating my Disney obsession, but he actually doesn’t mind it much at all, so long as I build rest days into our schedule and leave him alone for most of the planning. He’d rather be watching baseball … or playing fantasy baseball … or listening to a baseball podcast.

His first visit was in 2005 (with me!), and I’ve been dragging him back regularly since.



Andrew, our 4-year-old. Andrew loves Star Wars, superheroes and animals. He’d be happy spending our days at Animal Kingdom Lodge, watching the animals on the savanna, and checking out every playground on and off Disney property.



Matthew, our baby who turns 1 in March and will then technically be a toddler (how did that happen?!). Matthew’s first trip to the World was over Labor Day weekend last year, when we stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge for a couple of nights. Matthew is brave – scarily so – and I can’t wait to see his reactions to everything.



Our latest family trip was in May 2012, when it was just three of us and Andrew was 18 months old (you can read about that trip here). A few months after we got home, I was missing Disney, so Nick suggested we drive up for the night (we live an hour south of Tampa, so the drive takes us about two hours).

We spent a night and a couple of days at Animal Kingdom Lodge and Downtown Disney. We LOVED IT. Especially Andrew. If it were up to him, all of our vacations would be to AKL. We’d do nothing but visit the animals, swim in the pool and eat Zebra Domes.

In October 2013, Nick and I left Andrew home with my parents and spent a couple of days enjoying the Food & Wine Festival. It was our five-year anniversary and a nice little babymoon before Matthew joined our family.

Then last Labor Day, we went back to Animal Kingdom Lodge (all four of us this time) and spent the long weekend watching the animals, swimming and generally just relaxing. While we were there, I … booked a bounceback!



The promo was for free dining, and I booked us for five nights this coming September at Port Orleans French Quarter. Actually, our initial reservation was for four nights, but I bumped it up to five, and now I’m thinking about adding a sixth night. Funny how that happens, huh?

 

[amazingact21]

Hi Tiffany! I read your May TR and your recap about your weekend AKL visit. It's so good to see you writing another report! And look there! you have a new DS! Both your boys are adorable. I'll be following along. Looking forward to reading about your plans for 2nd baby's first trip.

 

[Elleshoodat]

Hi Tiffany! I read your May TR and your recap about your weekend AKL visit. It's so good to see you writing another report! And look there! you have a new DS! Both your boys are adorable. I'll be following along. Looking forward to reading about your plans for 2nd baby's first trip.

Hey, Alicia! Thanks for joining in!

I just commented on your TR, too -- Landon is a little boy now!

 

[lilmape]

Following Along

 

[Elleshoodat]

Following Along

Hi there! Thanks for joining in, and !!!

 

[Elleshoodat]

Our Planned ADRs

Only two more weeks until I can make ADRs…!!!

I have a few must-dos on my list (who here doesn’t, right?), all new to me, and -- gasp -- I've gotten input from my family, too.

About a month ago (I knew to start early, lol), I sent Nick links to about a dozen menus on AllEars to get his input (I pre-selected some I thought he would like). He asked for pictures of the restaurants and food, so I pulled those together … then we spent some time talking about each of them … and finally he gave me some feedback!

And I keep meaning to show Andrew YouTube videos of T-Rex and Rainforest Café to see if they would freak him out. He loves dinosaurs and LOVES animals, but loud noises sometimes upset him. But I keep forgetting!

Soooo, that brings us today...

I thought I'd fleshed out our “chosen ones” for dining in Disney and was done changing my plans.

And then the Be Our Guest breakfast announcement was made.

We aren't huge breakfast eaters, but the thought of getting into the Magic Kingdom before opening is tempting. (Maybe it's because "Beauty and the Beast" was one of my favorite movies growing up, but -- for me -- Crystal Palace and Cinderella's Royal Table don't have the same appeal as dining in the Beast's castle.)

So that's an added twist, but for now I'm sticking with the original plan.

We’ve got the Disney Dining Plan (yay for free-dining bouncebacks!), so for each of the five nights we’re staying at French Quarter, we receive: 1 table-service meal, 1 quick-service meal and 1 snack.

We’re going during Food & Wine, which I have a love-hate relationship with. I LOVE getting to snack our way around World Showcase and trying different foods we wouldn’t normally try … but I hate the fact that we won’t have a table-service meal in Epcot because we’re going to try ALL the different foods we wouldn’t normally try.

And I’d like to say we will save all of our snack credits for our day at Food & Wine, but I’m not going to stop Nick or Andrew from getting a snack anywhere else, and I’m not holding back, either. It’s vacation, after all!

I’m going to put these in the order in which I plan to book them. I’m going to try to secure the more popular spots first, as soon as I’m able to log in on our ADR date, March 31.

1. Be Our Guest lunch – This is a QS, but we can/should book an ADR for it. I chose lunch instead of dinner because of the menus, pure and simple; we have a better chance of finding something Nick and Andrew will eat at lunch. I’m trying for this on our first Magic Kingdom day.

2. ‘Ohana dinner – I think part of the reason I want to try ‘Ohana is too see what the hype is about. I know it gets mixed reviews, but I want to experience it for myself. The atmosphere looks fun, and any place that’s “loud” to begin with works well for my kids. I’m hoping to snag this on our “rest day” in the middle of the week.

3. Beaches & Cream dinner – Ok, so the food here doesn’t look great, but the sundaes look phenomenal and I adore the idea of an old-school ice cream parlor.

4. Maya Grill dinner – I was listening to the Be Our Guest Podcast not long ago, and Mike was talking about eating here on a recent trip. It’s been getting good reviews lately and we LOVE Mexican food, so why not?

5. The Plaza lunch – We’re visiting the Magic Kingdom on the morning of our last day, then driving home after lunch. (Our hope is the kids will nap for the two-hour drive). It’s simple food, but we’ve eaten at the Plaza before and enjoyed it, and this won’t sit too heavy in our stomachs. Plus, ice cream.

Other options on the table (haha) include Tusker House on our Animal Kingdom day. I'm on the fence about that one because the characters might scare the kids, plus coordinating runs to the buffet while keeping the kids occupied and happy doesn't sound very relaxing. (Ok, I think I just talked myself out of that one, lol.)

And we'll probably spend at least one evening at Downtown Disney. This is the day I can see us eating at T-Rex or Rainforest Cafe, or we could go back to Bongos, which is a family favorite and kind of a tradition...

 

[Elleshoodat]

Images are now in the above post!

As always, thanks for reading.

 

[amazingact21]

Be Our Guest is a great lunch choice. In my opinion, it's the best QS place in the MK. And I know my fairly picky eater of a son ate his meal there when we went, so hopefully your boys will too. I liked it, too, because it wasn't just chicken nuggets and pizzas. BoG recognized that some kids like real food.

O'hana's does get mixed reviews, but I know my family loves it. It's my husband's favorite restaurant. It does take a long time (an hour to 2 hours) but luckily there's enough activity going on to keep kids distracted. And, like, BoG, the kids get to eat from your plates so they get better food choices.

 

[Elleshoodat]

Be Our Guest is a great lunch choice. In my opinion, it's the best QS place in the MK. And I know my fairly picky eater of a son ate his meal there when we went, so hopefully your boys will too. I liked it, too, because it wasn't just chicken nuggets and pizzas. BoG recognized that some kids like real food.

O'hana's does get mixed reviews, but I know my family loves it. It's my husband's favorite restaurant. It does take a long time (an hour to 2 hours) but luckily there's enough activity going on to keep kids distracted. And, like, BoG, the kids get to eat from your plates so they get better food choices.

Yay! I'm glad to know I'm making some good picks.

Andrew was a much better eater when he was younger, but now he only wants a handful of things. So far Matthew is pretty adventurous, but I'm sure he will go through a picky phase, too. Oh, the joys of parenting.

 

[Lidian]

Mind if I join in? Our dates overlap! You'll be on the tail end of your vacation as I'm arriving. We're at CBR 9/30-10/10 with fingers crossed for FREE DINING! I love the FD meme you posted earlier! I swear, it's the only reason we go to WDW anymore.

Anyway, wanted to chime in about Tusker House with my pennies... It's a favorite of ours! My youngest (who was 14 months on his first trip) tolerated it real well. He's terrified of the characters. I MEAN TERRIFIED. (I totally have an adorable picture of him trying to get away from one of the chipmunks at Garden Grill from last October.) He did well with Tusker House -- but I think it was because he finally gave in to being around characters. He was fine as long as they kept their distance and didn't look at him.

Anyway, following along if you don't mind! Perhaps we'll bump into each other one afternoon.

 

[Elleshoodat]

Mind if I join in? Our dates overlap! You'll be on the tail end of your vacation as I'm arriving. We're at CBR 9/30-10/10 with fingers crossed for FREE DINING! I love the FD meme you posted earlier! I swear, it's the only reason we go to WDW anymore.

Anyway, wanted to chime in about Tusker House with my pennies... It's a favorite of ours! My youngest (who was 14 months on his first trip) tolerated it real well. He's terrified of the characters. I MEAN TERRIFIED. (I totally have an adorable picture of him trying to get away from one of the chipmunks at Garden Grill from last October.) He did well with Tusker House -- but I think it was because he finally gave in to being around characters. He was fine as long as they kept their distance and didn't look at him.

Anyway, following along if you don't mind! Perhaps we'll bump into each other one afternoon.

Absolutely, and

I've started "watching" your PTR, too -- not in a creepy way, just in a "I want to see your plans come together, too" way.

I think my boys would probably be ok with the characters as long as they keep their distance, too, so maybe we will keep Tusker House in the mix! Thanks for your encouragement.

And wow, 10 days?! That's awesome!

 

[Lidian]

Absolutely, and

I've started "watching" your PTR, too -- not in a creepy way, just in a "I want to see your plans come together, too" way.

I think my boys would probably be ok with the characters as long as they keep their distance, too, so maybe we will keep Tusker House in the mix! Thanks for your encouragement.

And wow, 10 days?! That's awesome!

Thanks! I love reading other's PTRs and seeing how they work their trips (I learn something new all the time from it), seeing things I never knew existed, and learning awesome tips! Totally feel free to chime in about the Cranky Pants Extinction!

If you find that characters are upsetting to your kids, put them on the inside of the seating (further away from the characters) and alert a CM. If you want them to skip your table, you can tell the CM (granted, the character may not get the message in time, or remember, but worth a shot!). We exposed our toddler to lots of characters, and as long as they didn't look at him or talk to him, he did pretty well. I have a pic of him blatantly ignoring Donald. We had to shoo a chipmunk away. It was early in our trip, and I really wanted DS to have the exposure, but the chipmunk (I'd have to check pics to see if it was Chip or Dale) really wanted to give baby a cuddle. We finally apologized to him and told him he might be better off finding another little one to hug.

 

[lilmape]

The ice cream picture cracked me up! I'm totally in agreement, Bring on the Ice Cream!

 

[Elleshoodat]

Thanks! I love reading other's PTRs and seeing how they work their trips (I learn something new all the time from it), seeing things I never knew existed, and learning awesome tips! Totally feel free to chime in about the Cranky Pants Extinction!

If you find that characters are upsetting to your kids, put them on the inside of the seating (further away from the characters) and alert a CM. If you want them to skip your table, you can tell the CM (granted, the character may not get the message in time, or remember, but worth a shot!). We exposed our toddler to lots of characters, and as long as they didn't look at him or talk to him, he did pretty well. I have a pic of him blatantly ignoring Donald. We had to shoo a chipmunk away. It was early in our trip, and I really wanted DS to have the exposure, but the chipmunk (I'd have to check pics to see if it was Chip or Dale) really wanted to give baby a cuddle. We finally apologized to him and told him he might be better off finding another little one to hug.

Great tips, thank you!

 

[Elleshoodat]

Side Trip to Beach Club!

Whoops … I did it again.

I’ve booked another trip to Disney World.

We’ll call this one a “side trip.” No parks, no schedule to keep (except for that one ADR I’ve already made). Just me and my family, relaxing at …

BEACH CLUUUUUB!!!

You see, I have to present at a conference in Central Florida in May. The conference ends on a Friday, so I was planning to stop at Downtown Disney on my way home to do some shopping, eating and sightseeing.

I threw out the idea of Nick and the boys driving up to meet me for a night, but that idea didn’t come to fruition until I got an email from Orbitz saying I had about $75 in Orbucks to use.

Hmm, I thought. I wonder if I can redeem those at a Disney resort.

I hopped onto Orbitz and saw that not only could I use them at a WDW resort, but that I could get the 30% spring discount Disney is running, PLUS use a promo code for another 15% off.

Hmm, I wonder what’s available.

I entered our dates, and up popped availability at several of the on-site resorts. Surprisingly, Beach Club was cheaper than Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge (maybe because of the refurbishment?), so after a quick call to Nick, I jumped on it. Then I did a little happy dance in my chair and immediately started making plans in my head.

I haven’t stayed at Beach Club since I was 11, but I love its location near Epcot (my favorite park) and think the boys will love Stormalong Bay. (And let’s be honest – so will we.)

We can play in the pool, relax around the resort, walk to the Boardwalk for some nighttime entertainment, swing by Animal Kingdom Lodge to “visit” the animals (and get some Zebra Domes, of course), go exploring at Fort Wilderness … the possibilities are endless.

It’s Memorial Day weekend, so we’re staying Friday and Saturday nights, and we’ll still have time once we get home to do laundry, go grocery shopping and all that not-so-fun-but-oh-so-necessary stuff.

I made an ADR for dinner on Saturday at Beaches & Cream. We’ll be right there, and that’s one less place we have to squeeze into our September plans.

 

[amazingact21]

Yay! Spur of the moment trips are the best, especially when you can score an awesome deal on them. The Beach Club seems like the perfect resort to stay at when you're not planning any park days. The pool just looks like it'd be hours of fun. And the ice cream available...yep, definitely worth a stay there!

 

[Elleshoodat]

Yay! Spur of the moment trips are the best, especially when you can score an awesome deal on them. The Beach Club seems like the perfect resort to stay at when you're not planning any park days. The pool just looks like it'd be hours of fun. And the ice cream available...yep, definitely worth a stay there!

I know, right?! I'm loving reading about yours, especially the surprise visit to MVMCP with your mom. I'm almost all caught up now.

 

[Elleshoodat]

Our Booked ADRs

After thinking them through for several weeks – and rethinking them a few times just for good measure – I had a plan going into our ADR Day.

So at 5:58 a.m. last Tuesday, I logged into MyDisneyExperience and started stalking the restaurants I wanted. I started with those I thought would be hardest to get (‘Ohana and Be Our Guest) right at 6 a.m., then worked my way down the list.

I got the days and – for the most part – the times I wanted. The only thing I couldn’t get was lunch at Tusker House. The site was showing availability, but when I tried to reserve a table, it would take me back to the list of all WDW restaurants. So frustrating, but I was hesitant about that one anyway so I figured there was a higher power at work and left it at that.

I booked Splitsville for that evening thinking we’ll make it a Downtown Disney night, and we’ll have Flame Tree or Yak & Yeti during the day while we're at Animal Kingdom (neither is a bad consolation prize!).

So as of Tuesday night, here’s what we had booked:

- Maya Grill dinner on our arrival night
- Splitsville dinner on our AK/DTD day
- Be Our Guest lunch on our first Magic Kingdom day
- ‘Ohana dinner on our rest day

That left us with two credits to spend. (Since BOG lunch is quick-service, we don’t have to spend table-service credits on it.)

At first I was set on using our table-service credits individually, but then I thought better of it. I’m excited to experience free dining, but we aren’t huge foodies and honestly our boys aren’t the most patient when it comes to restaurant meals. Andrew is fine – I’m not ashamed to admit we sometimes give him one of our phones if he’s getting restless – but we’re still teaching Matthew that we have to wait for our food and that the meal doesn’t end when he’s done eating.

So then I started looking at two-credit options, and it came to me – Cinderella’s Royal Table!

Andrew loves the princesses and shouldn’t freak out since they’re face characters (fingers crossed, lol), we get to eat in the castle, and ... WE GET TO ENTER THE MAGIC KINGDOM EARLY. Our reservation is for 8:05 a.m., and I can’t wait to walk down Main Street without that huge throng of rope-droppers. (Not that I have anything against them – we’re usually with them.)

We’re officially all set. At least for now.

 

[Lidian]

Ooooohhhhh! Sounds great!

Sorry you missed out on Tusker House. It's a must-do for us. Had that issue happened to us, I'd be checking different browsers and/or on the phone at 8AM with a CM to get it booked.

Love the pre-park CRT! That will be awesome!! The face characters weren't as scary to my DS, but he still didn't want to have anything to do with them. Granted, he cries when a stranger talks to him in the grocery store.

We've never done Maya Grill, Splitsville, or Ohana. I considered Ohana this trip, but the spice didn't appeal to me, so we have breakfast booked instead. I love BoG lunch (and dinner!).