Making the DVC Rounds...A March '11 PTR: TR link added p. 30

[wdwgirl03]

Hi everyone! Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I have a little bit of news...I finally came to a decision regarding our character breakfast. Neither one of us could decide which one we wanted to go to (both sound like a lot of fun!) so I finally went and cancelled one of them. So which one did I keep? The winner is...


































CHEF MICKEY'S!!!

I know a couple people said they would've chosen Crystal Palace over Chef Mickey's. Really the deciding factor was that we were talking about Chef Mickey's before Crystal Palace was even brought up. Plus, there will be other trips so we can always do it some other time. So here's what our plans look like now with our ADRs. Still not a whole lot decided but that's OK. I figure with 6 days we'll have plenty of time to do everything!

Saturday, March 26, 2011
-Flight out of Milwaukee…we don’t have a flight booked yet since our dates aren’t available yet but they should be coming out any day now.
-Magical Express to Old Key West
-TBD…what we do in the afternoon/evening will depend on what time our flight is. If it’s early enough maybe we could go to a park, otherwise we could just head over to DTD or resort hop.

Sunday, March 27, 2011
-Park day! Magic Kingdom in the morning???

Monday, March 28, 2011
-Park day!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011
-Park day!
-ADR at Via Napoli

Wednesday, March 30, 2011
-Park day!

Thursday, March 31, 2011
-Park day!
-breakfast at Chef Mickey's!

Friday, April 1, 2011
-Come home
-Begin planning next trip

I've also been thinking about my countdown I did on my August PTR that I never finished (my flashbacks to all of our past trips) and I kind of want to finish that...so stay tuned!!!

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Chef Mickey! I don't think I put my two cents forth between the two but it would have been a great choice either way. Twirling napkins, marching with Pooh Bear .... what's not to love?

Woot for more flashbacks too!

 

[tinkgurl]

Well..you know I'm glad you picked CM's.

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

You will enjoy Chef Mickeys! I did CP last month and well, the food was what I expected it to be and both my friend and I were glad that we didn't pay OOP for the meal. The characters were good and we saw them twice but we both enjoyed our meals at CM better. We also both said that if we had kids, it might have been different although the food wouldn't have changed. I haven't done breakfast at CP but from what we had at the dinner, I'd rather go to CM. Can't wait for more!

 

[RachelNinja]

Even though I get to go on my trip first since mine's in February, I know I'm going to come back and wish I still had mine to look forward to like you will at that point! Haha, I guess I should focus on wedding planning after the trip ...

 

[IheartDDuck]

Hi Sarah!

I'm joining!

I figured even though you decided, I would let you know my thoughts on breakfast.

I do like Chef Mickey's, but I have always found it to be a little overwhelming. It's crowded and can get noisy.

Crystal Palace I haven't been to in years, but it is my oldest brothers favorite breakfast.

I am an advocate of non-traditional breakfasts. Since you are staying at Old Key West, I would suggest trying Olivia's. It's very under-rated, but every meal that I've had there is very good. Breakfast is awesome. It's not a buffet, but it's a very reasonable and tasty solution IMO.

I only have Kidani Village, Bay Lake Tower, and Hilton Head (not in Disney, but still Disney, ha ha.) and I will have stayed at all resorts. Old Key West is awesome! I love the rooms the most there. They are the biggest DVC rooms, and their layout is different. Plus, you get two beds in a studio, not a bed and a pull out.

 

[cbg1027]

You'll have to let us all know how Chef Mickey's is. Hope it is an enjoyable meal for you!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Chef Mickey! I don't think I put my two cents forth between the two but it would have been a great choice either way. Twirling napkins, marching with Pooh Bear .... what's not to love?

Woot for more flashbacks too!

I agree, either one would've been a lot of fun. Hopefully we can try CP on another trip.

I'm hoping to start more flashbacks soon!

Well..you know I'm glad you picked CM's.

haha, of course.

You will enjoy Chef Mickeys! I did CP last month and well, the food was what I expected it to be and both my friend and I were glad that we didn't pay OOP for the meal. The characters were good and we saw them twice but we both enjoyed our meals at CM better. We also both said that if we had kids, it might have been different although the food wouldn't have changed. I haven't done breakfast at CP but from what we had at the dinner, I'd rather go to CM. Can't wait for more!

Glad to hear you had a good time at CM. We're both looking forward to it.

Even though I get to go on my trip first since mine's in February, I know I'm going to come back and wish I still had mine to look forward to like you will at that point! Haha, I guess I should focus on wedding planning after the trip ...

haha, isn't that how it always is? I'm hoping by the time we get back we'll already have our next trip booked, hopefully for next year after Christmas! I've decided it's been too long since we've seen the Christmas decorations.

Hi Sarah!

I'm joining!

I figured even though you decided, I would let you know my thoughts on breakfast.

I do like Chef Mickey's, but I have always found it to be a little overwhelming. It's crowded and can get noisy.

Crystal Palace I haven't been to in years, but it is my oldest brothers favorite breakfast.

I am an advocate of non-traditional breakfasts. Since you are staying at Old Key West, I would suggest trying Olivia's. It's very under-rated, but every meal that I've had there is very good. Breakfast is awesome. It's not a buffet, but it's a very reasonable and tasty solution IMO.

I only have Kidani Village, Bay Lake Tower, and Hilton Head (not in Disney, but still Disney, ha ha.) and I will have stayed at all resorts. Old Key West is awesome! I love the rooms the most there. They are the biggest DVC rooms, and their layout is different. Plus, you get two beds in a studio, not a bed and a pull out.

Yay, welcome!!!

Thanks for the suggestion about Olivia's! So what is it exactly like there? Dad and I visited OKW on our April trip and we saw Olivia's but didn't go in at all.

WOW, that is awesome you've stayed at almost all the resorts! That is lke my dream. I don't know if it'll ever happen now that we have DVC though. So right now I just want to stay at all the DVC resorts. Kidani was great (that's where we stayed in April) and BLT we haven't made it to yet but it seems nice. Hilton Head would be awesome too but isn't it really hard to get reservations there? I have heard that about the rooms at OKW. We'll have to see what they're like! Can't wait.

You'll have to let us all know how Chef Mickey's is. Hope it is an enjoyable meal for you!

I hope it is too! I'm excited to try it though.

 

[Cat0727]

Yay for Chef Mickeys! You guys will have fun What kind of room are you guys staying in at OKW again? Our studio was so nice and roomy! I loved it. Plus the buses were never packed and always coming back from the parks the line for OKW was the shortest. It was great

 

[IheartDDuck]

Yay, welcome!!!

Thanks for the suggestion about Olivia's! So what is it exactly like there? Dad and I visited OKW on our April trip and we saw Olivia's but didn't go in at all.

WOW, that is awesome you've stayed at almost all the resorts! That is lke my dream. I don't know if it'll ever happen now that we have DVC though. So right now I just want to stay at all the DVC resorts. Kidani was great (that's where we stayed in April) and BLT we haven't made it to yet but it seems nice. Hilton Head would be awesome too but isn't it really hard to get reservations there? I have heard that about the rooms at OKW. We'll have to see what they're like! Can't wait.

I consider Olivia's to be a little bit like Kona Cafe. It's a smaller restaurant, but the food is really good. The one benefit to is that it tends not to be that crowded (at least when I've gone there).

I didn't know Hilton Head was difficult to get into. It would figure though. It's golfing country out there, and we all know golfers are crazy! I know, I live with one!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Yay for Chef Mickeys! You guys will have fun What kind of room are you guys staying in at OKW again? Our studio was so nice and roomy! I loved it. Plus the buses were never packed and always coming back from the parks the line for OKW was the shortest. It was great

We are going to be in a studio. I don't think we'd need anything bigger since it's just going to be me and my sister! LOL. But I am glad to hear that you enjoyed it there and that the rooms are nice. Good to hear the bus service was pretty good too. Ahh I can't wait to stay there!

I consider Olivia's to be a little bit like Kona Cafe. It's a smaller restaurant, but the food is really good. The one benefit to is that it tends not to be that crowded (at least when I've gone there).

I didn't know Hilton Head was difficult to get into. It would figure though. It's golfing country out there, and we all know golfers are crazy! I know, I live with one!

Cool, thanks for the info. I'm sure we'll probably end up going there sometime.

I could be wrong about HH. I thought I've heard it's hard to get into. But maybe it's Vero Beach. Or both.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Hope everyone's having a nice weekend! It went by too fast even though it was three days (no school for me on Friday because of conferences!). If you're friends with me on facebook, you might've seen that I went to see the latest Harry Potter movie. I was one of the crazies who went at midnight (sounds, not surprisingly, like tons of people did...I saw that it made $24 million or something like that just from the midnight shows!). It was really good...definitely intense but that was to be expected. It was interesting though because some of the parts I didn't remember from the book which made it all the more intense. I won't go into specifics so I don't spoil it for anyone who wants to see it but it was probably one of the best movies yet. It's hard to believe it'll all be over in July. OK, just had to share that.

I thought it'd be time to do another flashback to one of my past trips! I started doing them on my August PTR but ran out of time to finish, so why not do the rest on this PTR? If you're really curious to see the other ones again, here's the link to the other PTR:

Trip flashbacks

All of the flashbacks are titled "Growing Up Disney."

So, based on where I left off on them, the next trip to report on was 2006! I think it's kind of fitting for this PTR since it's about trying out another new DVC resort. Any guesses as to when our first DVC trip was??? Yep, that's right, 2006!

Trip #11: October 2006

After Dad purchased DVC membership earlier in the year, we were obviously looking forward to our first visit "home." That opportunity came in 2006. Claire and I had our college fall break at the end of October so Dad thought that might be a good time to go. It was the week before WI's teachers' convention, so Dad actually ended up staying for almost a week and a half because the plan was that me, Claire, and Dad would go down for our fall break and then the following week, Mom, Emma, and our grandma would meet him down there. Kind of unfair if you ask me. hehe But I do know that while he was down there alone he was able to enjoy golfing on some of the Disney courses.

Anyway, because Fall Break was only a couple of days, we actually got to miss some of our classes to give us an extra day. That was one of maybe three times I skipped class in all four years of college. It was kind of exciting, actually. We left on a Wednesday afternoon, so we didn't get to Florida until early evening. And by the time we got to the WDW grounds, it was already dark! I do know that once we arrived at Saratoga Springs, we quickly dropped off our stuff (this was either before Magical Express or we just didn't use it) and headed over to DTD for a while. I should also mention that even though this trip was in October, it felt like it was the middle of summer. That night we got there was SO humid...it was a little preview of what the weather was going to be like for the rest of the trip (turns out FL had record highs for the time we were there).

Even though we only had three full days, we were still able to visit all four parks. Claire and I had one little visit to MGM by ourselves while Dad went to the PGA golf tournament since that was going on. Here's our TOT ride picture. Can you spot us? We're in the 2nd to last row on the right with our hands up in the air.

In addition to this being our first trip home, it was also a trip of other firsts:

Our first ride on Expedition Everest!

I have a neat story to go along with that. On our way to Animal Kingdom, we were literally the only 3 on the bus so our driver starts talking to us. Just as we get to the park, he starts telling us about EE and asked us if we had been on it yet. We said we hadn't since it wasn't open yet on our last trip. He told us it was a great ride and then wrote out "fastpasses" for us so we could go ride! Woo hoo! So we got to ride twice, once using our fastpasses and then again since the wait wasn't too long. Love stories like that. Great Disney magic.

Our first experience at one of the MK events! Since it was October and getting close to Halloween, we got to attend our first Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. We were amazed at how many attractions we got to do, in addition to experiencing the exclusive entertainment. Both the Boo to You parade and Hallowishes were amazing. I think my favorite thing though was the Headless Horseman. Soooo cool! And we got such a kick out of seeing everyone all dressed up. Some people really go all out!

(could it be any more obvious we are MU students?! )

So even though it was a short trip, it was definitely memorable. We loved Saratoga Springs and couldn't wait to go back and experience many more trips as DVC members!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

great update!! I forgot your DVC was at SSR, I was thinking it was somewhere else..maybe BWV is what I was thinking..I don't know haha.

So far..what is your fav DVC resort??

Love all the old school pictures!!

 

[IheartDDuck]

I love the idea of reliving and posting about your past trips. I don't know if my memory would be that good. I do write journals for all of my trips though. Love the old school pictures. (Is it odd that I'm saying something is old school when it was only 4 years ago? )

 

[dismagiclover]

Amazing you did so much in just 3 days! It does look hot in your pictures!

 

[Cat0727]

I'd love to go to WDW when it's decorated for Halloween- the decorations look so awesome. What a cool story for your first ride on EE. I didn't know the Disney bus drivers could do that! For our first ride we got the last row haha. I still want to ride EE in the front, it'd make for a great video and photos

 

[wdwgirl03]

great update!! I forgot your DVC was at SSR, I was thinking it was somewhere else..maybe BWV is what I was thinking..I don't know haha.

So far..what is your fav DVC resort??

Love all the old school pictures!!

Yes, our home resort is SSR. Love it!

Oh gosh, do I really have to answer that question?! Honestly we haven't come across one that we didn't like. Part of the fun in staying at all of them is because they're all so different. They all have their perks...like SSR is so close to DTD, BCV so close to Epcot/DHS/the Boardwalk, AKV is so neat for the savannas, VWL I liked the rustic feel and the boat rides to the MK. Sooo hard to choose! I don't know, but I guess if I had to choose maybe the Wilderness Lodge because I liked being in the MK resort area. It reminded me of our stays at the Poly. Honestly though I would stay at all of them again.

I love the idea of reliving and posting about your past trips. I don't know if my memory would be that good. I do write journals for all of my trips though. Love the old school pictures. (Is it odd that I'm saying something is old school when it was only 4 years ago? )

haha, my memory really isn't that great either. On my April trip report my dad kept correcting me on things we did/didn't do. LOL.

Amazing you did so much in just 3 days! It does look hot in your pictures!

Yep, it's easy when you've been so many times.

I'd love to go to WDW when it's decorated for Halloween- the decorations look so awesome. What a cool story for your first ride on EE. I didn't know the Disney bus drivers could do that! For our first ride we got the last row haha. I still want to ride EE in the front, it'd make for a great video and photos

Yeah, it was such a neat little "magical moment." It was during the Year of A Million Dreams celebration so I don't know if it was just for that but it was still cool.

 

[Caretames1]

I like all of your flashbacks I'm glad that my girls will have the memories like your to share.

Carey

 

[cbg1027]

Loving the flashbacks.

 

[Cat0727]

Sarah, I finally got to see Harry Potter! I loved it and cried like a baby at the end. I totally forgot about that scene from the book!