Life’s too short...to never sleep in a treehouse! 8/27 TR is up! Link in siggie

[glennbo123]

All I can say is "Wow". At least it's good to read that Assimilation has Begun! That's a big step in the right direction.

I'll let others comment on the specifics (I tried thinking about your Tutto to Yacht Club boat question and I'm torn on that one alone! It could be done...but 8 people, probably longer to get served, different paces/styles, tired at the end of the day....???). I'm confident the details will fall into place.

 

[eandesmom]

I'll highlight in RED what I'd do...


Hope that offers some help, probably not much though, cuz i went off of well-cemented opinions.

It all helps at this point (though you did nix Tusker entirely lol!)

Interesting that I'm seeing a recurring theme of a sit down bfast and dinner on the 13th.

Now, I've noted the EMH hours as in the evenings, knowing us, it's likely where we will be especially the early part of the trip but it doesn't mean we will be there all day.

Although we could

 

[All7OfUs]

I did nix it entirely. I don't know why that place just doesnt' appeal to me AT ALL. Maybe cuz I've never really read any reviews on it, nor ever poked my head in.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

i still really want to eat at tappen edu, but have not yet, could not convice the parents to go this trip, one time my dad went to one and the guy flicked rice and it stained his shorts with the soy sauce on it, so now he stays out of them

 

[eandesmom]

I hope this helps!

It does!

We do split, occasionally but honestly we are kind of a 2 meal a day family, we don't really snack and as a result, they are bigger meals. So the E's might split an adult portion and that's only if we force them to do it lol!

I also went back online this morning and I'm not sure if it's a fresher brain or things really opened up but I found some good options...I think!

 

[eandesmom]

Oh Drat Cynthia. I am reading this before work and there is NO WAY I can assimilate it now. I'm not completely sure how you ended up at the WL, but I am curious to see what you think about it and if your impression is the same as mine. Note: I have not shared my full impression of the WL in my TR. I plan to do that at the end.

But - PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make sure you take the guided tour of the WL when you are there. I don't want to reveal the spoiler to this, because I want to reveal it in my own TR, so I will probably need to pm you. But this is not to be missed. Really worth taking the extra hour before you hit the parks.

As far as your first night - let me tell you that TH is REALLY, REALLY good. Do not hesitate if that ADR works best. You will love the food!

OK - gotta go....will read this in detail later.

I don't want to give up TH at all, it came in really high on the kids list and am leaning towards it the first night now. Going to AK for dinner on night one from POP sounded like too much work, not sure why but it's seeming more doable from WL. Which makes absolutely no sense! But I love the idea of going there on a later EMH night, means we will get some park after dinner as well!

WL, a wild card huh. Didn't see it coming until I really paid attention to Jeff's reaction to the idea of POP for 3 nights. He has always wanted to stay there. We did spend one day at the pool last year when we were at FW since their pool was closed for remodel and all the kids fell in love with it. It will be a nice contrast to the YC for sure! I am looking forward to it (though would have preferred AKL) but I do struggle with the food options that are there. That said, things online dining wise seemed to open up a little this morning and I'm feeling better about the line up.

Though will have a lot to cancel once I finalize it!

Great input on the tour, need to factor that in!

All I can say is "Wow". At least it's good to read that Assimilation has Begun! That's a big step in the right direction.

I'll let others comment on the specifics (I tried thinking about your Tutto to Yacht Club boat question and I'm torn on that one alone! It could be done...but 8 people, probably longer to get served, different paces/styles, tired at the end of the day....???). I'm confident the details will fall into place.

Right, possible but not probable! And likely to induce stress. I think that is the one that stressed me out the most as I really didn't want to give it up!

Assimilation made me SOOO happy! And Jeff totally got how cool it was that she paid enough attention, went back and looked at the dates they were giving up and realized the impact.

I had some major ADR karma this morning that I think has resolved things.

 

[eandesmom]

I did nix it entirely. I don't know why that place just doesnt' appeal to me AT ALL. Maybe cuz I've never really read any reviews on it, nor ever poked my head in.

Well those are 2 very valid reasons!

I know Mary Ellen loves it! And I've read some other good reviews. Mixed on the breakfast (good food but really rushed character interaction or spotty interaction) so I've never considered it for breakfast. I was surprised it made the dinner cut and ranked so high, but excited as well.

i still really want to eat at tappen edu, but have not yet, could not convice the parents to go this trip, one time my dad went to one and the guy flicked rice and it stained his shorts with the soy sauce on it, so now he stays out of them

Oh no! I could see where that would create a permanent grudge. The kids LOVE Teppan, it was by far their favorite place last year. I like it but as much for the interaction as for the food. I just hope our CM is as fabulous as last time.

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Wow!


That all made my brain itch! You've had some good suggestions though. I don't even know where to begin. So I'll just say Good Luck and God Speed!

 

[eandesmom]

Wow!


That all made my brain itch! You've had some good suggestions though. I don't even know where to begin. So I'll just say Good Luck and God Speed!

Doesn't it though? Made mine hurt. A night of sleep helped quite a bit. So did some good online ADR booking karma.

 

[mickeysmyboy]

Oh my! I'm not even sure what to say! I'm also not really sure I have any advice at all except to take a deep breath and do what you think is best! Good luck!

 

[MaryAz]

Yummy dinner from Knott's. Congrats on the upgrade. Can't wait for CA-going next week. I think WL looks nice-was going in Sep but used my points for AKL at Christmas. On the dining, in May we liked Teppan Edo and Cape May!

 

[glennbo123]

Cynthia, the TR is up and there's still room on page 1!

The Moist Exhausting Free Trip Ever

I'm holding off on commenting until we hit page 2 to save room for people who like to make it onto the first page.

 

[jordanyosh]

Sandie decided.

So did we.

Holy Cats do I need some touring plan and ADR help now!

The best part of this whole 11th hour shuffle?

I had (respectfully) suggested (strongly) that arriving on the 14th and staying through the 21st would be best for everyone for a variety of reasons.

Got a PANICKED email from Sandie a couple of day’s later.
“OH NO! I’ll miss the Fireworks Cruise and the Garden View Tea if we don’t arrive till the 14th!”
YES!

Assimilation has begun!

She IS paying attention!

Ok. Now to get to brass tacks.

Bottom line is, after talking about it, sleeping on it, thinking about it we had a bit of a reality check.

We (I, the E’s to be specific) were excited to stay at POP for a night. 2 even, in some ways, would be better from a “feeling settled” standpoint.

3? Put Jeff over the edge. Double beds for 3 nights. He couldn’t do it. POP for 3 nights. Loud, bright, crazy, fun but….not the relaxing he was looking for. He couldn’t do it.

Mod. Would have been great. Still double beds, CSR was sold out.

I REALLY REALLY wanted to do AKL, but no availability with our PIN code for pool view. And that extra 10% we have over the public code is kind of key...otherwise at a certain point I could just pay for both rooms at the YC.

There were pool view bunk rooms avail with the public code, they called my name but I had to walk away from their siren song. Must.Use.PIN.Code.

Sigh.

And so it is.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

WILDERNESS LODGE WOODS VIEW for 3 nights before Sandie and Paul arrive and then YC for 5.

Rough I know. With Sandie and Paul now chipping in for part of the HRH stay, it’s about a wash on the $$. I tried to do one bunk bed, one 2 queen room but apparently we can’t do that and have a chance at connecting rooms. Bummer.

I need HELP. And HELP ASAP!

When we first landed on the AKL idea, I made some additional ressies that would have worked well. Were we staying there. WL was our backup plan (and truth be told Jeff and probably the kids first choice but I was pulling rank and overriding if we could have gotten AKL) and while I am SUPER excited to stay there, it really mucks things up reservation wise! I just don’t know what to do, at all, based on what is available. Part of the complication is that we had to rebook the Illuminations cruise and the tea. Both of which, thankfully, we could do.
Here is our original ADR list.

1. Raglan Road (an add on with the extra night)
2. Kouzzina
3. Big River Grill. I nixed that in favor of Captains Grille
4. Ohana
5. Sanaa
6. Teppan Edo
7. Tutto Italia
8. Tusker House
9. Cape May Breakfast (also an add on)

So, 8 nights, 9 ressies, all based on one POP night (Raglan Road) and the rest from YC.

Now it’s a train wreck!

I had beautifully timed the dinner reservation with the Illuminations cruise. Thankfully we can rebook the cruise. And also thankfully, the fireworks times have slid an hour later but…can we make it from a 7:20 reservation at Tutto back to the YC to board a boat that leaves at 9? With 8 people?

Help!

I feel like I’ve turned into this monster, booking reservations like a madwoman and not really knowing what I am doing. I don’t like feeling this scattered. So, here is what I have and I welcome any and ALL suggestions. A couple things of note.

I really didn’t put many monorail/MK restaurants in the original list given where we were staying. CP was on the list and almost made the cut, Wave came in really low on the rankings. I’m personally not excited about CP, too many mixed reviews on the food and the characters are a bit young for my crew. The rest of the MK TS options are kind of meh for dinner, for me. WCC would be ok BUT, to me, that kind of food sounds just wrong in the august heat. But the kids all like that kind of food so I am torn. Again, I didn’t even show it to them. So factor all that in. Sandie is “least thrilled” about Teppan Edo. I’ve also been thinking of adding a breakfast and removing a sit down dinner. We have a bfast on the last day but 8 days of sit down dinners in a row does sound like a lot. We will be dealing with a 3 hour time difference and while we are trying to acclimate quickly, we eat late regardless so some of those times are a bit deliberate.

So here is my list of a bazillion reservations, All those 8/11-8/13 are for 6 people, 8/14 and later are for 8 or 9 people.

Wednesday August 11, 2010 – AK evening EMH till 10
Raglan Road 6:40 Seemed fun to go to DTD if we were at POP but now…?
OR
Tusker House 7:35 Liked this if we were at AKL especially since it is a later EMH than the next one
OR
Chef Mickeys 9:00 CP, Plaza, Tonys have availability, as does the Wave. Have not checked WCC. If we don’t nap, this is out, if we do, could be good.

Thursday, August 12, 2010 – Epcot WS EMH till midnight, F! at 9 Will likely be a Typhoon Lagoon Day
Kouzzina 8:25 Made sense from the YC but from WL?
OR
Mama Melrose 6:50 no F! packages avail. Made this in hopes of hitting F!. After missing out on World of Color, everyone wanted to try and see it, not sure if this makes sense to give other things up, or not
OR
Teppan Edo 8:40

Friday, August 13, 2010- MK Evening EMH till 2am
1900 Park Fare Breakfast 10:30 an add on, would possibly skip a sit down dinner entirely to do this. I’m liking this idea a lot but if we do CM the first night, is it too much character?
OR
Sanaa 7:30
OR
Raglan Road 7:15
OR
Teppan Edo 7:50

Saturday, August 14, 2010 – NO evening EMH, move to the YC
Sanaa 8:15 Not sure I love dealing with eating here first night at the YC but am struggling to find other open nights there and want to eat there!
OR
Kouzzina 8:00 Like the idea of walking to dinner night one st the YC

Sunday, August 15, 2010 – Last night of Nightastic at 10, MK EMH till 1
Ohana 7:20
YAY! This one still works!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, August 16, 2010 – AK EMH till 9
Tusker House 7:20
OR
Captain's Grille 8:15
Garden View Tea Lounge 2:20 would have preferred the 18th but that was at 3:20 which is late for us with a sit down dinner.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010 – Epcot EMH till midnight
Tutto 7:20 Can we make it back to the YC by 9? That’s the question!
OR
Brown Derby 7:05 Would be OOP since 2 TS, just trying to find places that get us back to the YC by 9 that are reasonably close and appealed to me.
OR
Captain's Grille 8:05 Cutting it too close I think, even though we are right there
OR
Yachtsman 7:30 Would also be OOP as it’s a 2TS. Would be yummy, right there but $$$
Illuminations cruise 9:00 board, sails at 9:30, Illuminations at 10

Wednesday, August 18, 2010 – DHS EMH till 10pm
Teppan Edo 8:40
OR
Captain's Grille 8:20

Thursday, August 19, 2010 – check out and move to HRH!
Cape May Breakfast 9:10

HELP! I am officially overwhelmed and at a loss on the best course of action here.

Once we get the dinner nightmare figured out I’m going to be asking for some touring plan help. I don’t think, given the changes and S&P only there 4 full days that my laid back garanimal approach will work as well and need to really plan at least AM and PM park times. I’m thinking there might be some commando touring before they get there so we can not stress about what we don’t see once they do get there.

Oh and by the way? The kids don’t have a clue. They think we are at POP for the 3 nights instead. Well Evan and Eric do, K&T still think we are at POP for just one night. We plan to keep it that way. Deliberately silent. WL was VERY high on everyone want list (except Sandies lol) so they will be stoked. Of course, on the 30th when we pony up I'll have her do one last check on AKL....

then again, maybe not.

I'll keep it short.

tusker house
mama melroses-earlier dinner time means more time for EMH at Epcot.
park fare--if you must do a character breakfast
kouzzina-your thoughts match mine
ohana--cuz it still works
capt grille
if you want to make it to the cruise by 9. I would suggest trying to find something available at 6:00-6:30pm. remember, sometimes you are not seated at your exact time..If you are paying OOP, maybe something like ESPN Club would work.
teppan edo
cape may breakfast

 

[eandesmom]

Oh my! I'm not even sure what to say! I'm also not really sure I have any advice at all except to take a deep breath and do what you think is best! Good luck!

breathing is good!

Yummy dinner from Knott's. Congrats on the upgrade. Can't wait for CA-going next week. I think WL looks nice-was going in Sep but used my points for AKL at Christmas. On the dining, in May we liked Teppan Edo and Cape May!

Where are you staying? You will have a great time! The kids LOVE Teppan. I'm definitely keeping the Cape May Breakfast.

 

[eandesmom]

Cynthia, the TR is up and there's still room on page 1!

The Moist Exhausting Free Trip Ever

I'm holding off on commenting until we hit page 2 to save room for people who like to make it onto the first page.

Wah! As you know, I didn't make it over at all! Until the next morning. We ended up going out for dinner and my evening got entirely away from me with last minute stuff for the wedding and house guests, didn't go online at all.

I'll keep it short.

tusker house
mama melroses-earlier dinner time means more time for EMH at Epcot.
park fare--if you must do a character breakfast
kouzzina-your thoughts match mine
ohana--cuz it still works
capt grille
if you want to make it to the cruise by 9. I would suggest trying to find something available at 6:00-6:30pm. remember, sometimes you are not seated at your exact time..If you are paying OOP, maybe something like ESPN Club would work.
teppan edo
cape may breakfast

thanks! Good input!

 

[eandesmom]

Ok, right now, here is what I'm leaning towards, let me know what you guys think!

8/11 WL-WCC Breakfast (OOP) @ 9:25 Tusker House Dinner @ 7:35. AK EMH till 10

8/12 WL-Raglan Road @ 8:00. Epcot EMH till 12, likely Typhoon Lagoon day. Probably OOP.

8/13 WL-1900 Park Fare breakfast @ 10:30/ Teppan Edo @7:50 MK EMH till 2

8/14 YC-Tutto Italia @ 7:10

8/15 YC-Ohana @ 7:20 MK EMH till 1. Last night of "Nightastic"

8/16 YC-Captain’s Grille @ 8:15 AK EMH till 9

8/17 YC-Kouzzina @ 7 and then the Illuminations cruise @9 Epcot EMH till 12

8/18 YC-Garden Tea for the girls (OOP)@ 2:20 and then dinner at Sanaa @8:15 DHS EMH till 10.

8/19 YC-Cape May Breakfast (OOP) @9:10

Pros and Cons to this plan.

Pros. Got all the must do’s back in the line up! Added WCC OOP breakfast for arrival which will be perfect I think. We land at 7:15 so a 9:25 should be very doable. With any luck we can eat and then go nap if our rooms are ready. LOL!. I was excited about the POP food court upon arrival, Roaring Forks (though fine for lunch) doesn’t have the same appeal to me!

Cons. No F!, no evening EMH@ DHS. There is only ONE DHS evening EMH during our dates (which is just wrong!)

Have 3 OOP meals assuming we do full DDP. Since our credits will be separate and tied to the 2 different room ressies, we have to have 2 of those OOP the first 3 days. I really like the idea of the Park Fare Breakfast, and doing it from WL, but having it does add a pricey meal as an OOP to the lineup. I think Raglan will be the least expensive of those hence it’s noted as OOP.

I have a lot to cancel but am going to sit on this for a few days first. Funny thing about ADR’s. It’s still too early to make them over at Universal, they are 30 days out! I was able to make one for Mythos but that’s it.

Thoughts?

 

[winkers]

ADR's look good!

Have you done Raglan Rd before? We tried it in feb and it's one of my new favorites!....get the bread pudding!

 

[Native NYer]

Wow I missed a lot while I was involved with end of the school year stuff.
Great ADRs.
I need to go back and catch up.

 

[jordanyosh]

It all looks good.....

 

[eandesmom]

ADR's look good!

Have you done Raglan Rd before? We tried it in feb and it's one of my new favorites!....get the bread pudding!

I haven't and your review is one of the main reasons I added it! the kids haven't seen the menu but Jeff will love it and I think they will too. I didn't want to give that one up and we've never eaten in DTD so I'm glad I could make it work after all.

Wow I missed a lot while I was involved with end of the school year stuff.
Great ADRs.
I need to go back and catch up.

I hear you, I am SOOO behind between work and the wedding and all the family events that have gone along with the wedding!

And I have a ton of ADR's to cancel.

It all looks good.....

Thanks! Once I was able to get a Tutto reservation on a different night it all fell into place. Thank heavens!