Making Up Words Like Epcot-tacular! Jan 2016 PTR

[specialk2ca]

DW and I are going back to the World for the 4th time this January! Last year we took some time off to visit Crystal River and the Universal parks. To recap our Disney experiences:
- February 2008 at Port Orleans Riverside for our honeymoon
- January 2012 at Animal Kingdom Lodge
- November 2013 at Port Orleans Riverside with DMIL

First some complications before we get to the good news:
- DMIL is scheduled to be joining us but it may not happen, driving up hotel costs for us
- The Canadian dollar exchange rate is terrible right now
- No cheap flights are available to Orlando out of Winnipeg at current

This could be expensive...

Now the good stuff:
- We're booked at Boardwalk Villas for 6 nights at the end of January. I'll be honest, I don't know the exact dates. DW is a planner of the best kind. She diligently researched and researched and researched options for DVC Rental. In the end we rented through a points renal board and everything has gone well so far.
- ADRs are already made for several restaurants: Kona Cafe, Ohana, Rose & Crown (pre-Illuminations), Boma, and Liberty Tree Tavern. We may end up cancelling more than one of these; the original plan was for everyone to choose one sit down and we'd eat counter service the rest of the time.

While we're on the subject of original plans, we were considering the quick service dining plan. DW likes the idea of everything being paid for in advance and having the convenience of Magicbands to 'pay' for our food. But me, being an economist and statistician by nature, I ran some numbers and came to the conclusion that it's not worth it unless we hit some specific conditions:
- Be Our Guest breakfast is one choice
- We REALLY want dessert at every meal
- We choose the most expensive entree every time

That doesn't sound optimal.

Here's what it boils down to:
- Dine counter service as much as possible and do 3-4 sit down meals. Since we're staying at Boardwalk, we'll add Park Hoppers and eat a lot at Epcot. DW said I have to do a week long drink around the world. Reasonable. She doesn't drink so her mission is to snack around the world. Awesooooome
- Pay out of pocket
- Rent a car to get groceries and water. Even for one day, the cost is worth it to do a few other things and dine offsite compared to delivery charges from a grocer. We may end up getting a car for the whole week if it's worth the price. We discovered a plethora of great offsite restaurants in our times going there: Keke's, Giordano's, and Sweet Tomatoes and would love to hit each of those once while we're there this time

Still need to get that flight, get tickets and start working on Fastpasses...

 

[specialk2ca]

Call me nostalgic but I'm listening to the Animal Kingdom Lodge music loop and I'm hearkening back to the trip DW and I took in 2012. So I thought, why not revisit our past. Here's where we stayed and what we ate on our three previous Disney trips.

January 2008 - Honeymoon (see link to TR in my sig)...we were such n00bs
Port Orleans Riverside
Restaurant List: California Grill (starting things off proper), Flame Tree BBQ, Riverside Mill (one breakfast and one dinner), Pecos Bill's, Kona Cafe dinner, Boulangerie Patisserie, Chefs de France, Earl of Sandwich, Tangierine Cafe, Le Cellier, Crystal Palace dinner, 1900 Park Fare breakfast

January 2012 - 4 year anniversary trip...we're getting bolder but only a bit smarter
Animal Kingdom Lodge - Kidani Village
Restaurant List: Columbia Harbor House, Boulangerie Patisserie, Ohana, Blondie's (Islands of Adventure), Wolfgang Puck Express, Earl of Sandwich, Sanaa, Sweet Tomatoes, Tangierine Cafe, Beaches and Cream, Casey's Corner, Artist Point, Mara breakfast...I thought we ate at the Three Broomsticks at Islands of Adventure as well but that's not in my notes...or I'm skimming too fast

November 2013 - DMIL's first trip with us, first time back to WDW since the 70s
Port Orleans Riverside (for 4 nights only...offsite for the remainder)
Restaurant List (free dining while onsite): Be Our Guest lunch (x3), Ohana, Pepper Market breakfast, 50's Prime Time Cafe, Wolfgang Puck Express, Les Halles Boulangerie, Boma, Narcoosee's, Flame Tree BBQ, Sweet Tomatoes (x2)

I keep a detailed trip journal for every trip I take. I religiously take about an hour each night to meticulously write down what I can remember from the day - events, meals, emotions. I also create a spreadsheet for each trip's expenses. Both are very nerdy and the former was a bit of a reach for DW at first but she's seen the merits of it over time. Let that be a lesson to you kids. But yes, as I was saying, the journal has helped us immensely in the, even for something as simple as identifying where a random picture was taken.

I'll find some pictures from our other trips but one thing is noticeable...my beard and my hair are both getting longer over time.

Other random notes:
- The first time we went to the Boardwalk (2012) it felt stuck up to me, although I didn't get that impression this past January
- We've been to Paris together and you'll see the pattern reflected in our lunch choices
- DMIL is already talking about having a Grey Goose slushie
- We've had multiple Dole Whips, Butterbeers, frozen bananas, and Mickey waffles
- We tend to get groceries one way or another; other than the first trip we've had a car, so we go to the grocery store ourselves. This provides bottled water for the parks and breakfast for most of the time we're there

 

[specialk2ca]

Dropped Liberty Tree Tavern and replaced with Be Our Guest dinner. Sounds like a wise choice to me.