Mardi Gras 2017: Evie's 6th Birthday at WDW*updated with Mardi Gras pics*

[dglilbit]

Hi, I'm Dayna (37), DH is Rob (35) and DD is Evie, who will be turning 6 on our trip in 2017. It will be my first real trip to WDW. I did go for 2 days once but it was a blur. My DH went when he was 8 or 9 and it will be his first trip since then. Evie has been to multiple Disney Live and Disney on Ice shows and most recently went on a Disney cruise (pre-trip report and trip report link in signature). This trip will be her first trip to WDW.

I saw this great checklist by Elevationist in her thread Adulting is Hard, So I'm Running Away and decided to use it as well! Also a link to the page with her planning spreadsheet.

Trip Dates? Saturday, February 25th - Saturday, March 4th
Mardi Gras is 2/28 and school is out 2/27-3/1 so Evie will miss minimal school days for this trip.

Resort? Currently researching. DH stayed in the Contemporary back in the 80s and that has been thrown about as an option. I think if we can get convenience some way that might suit our traveling style better, as in being close to Magic Kingdom, or even closer to one of the other parks. We aren't quite sure what is important to us yet in regards to value, moderate or deluxe so keeping all options open.

• Bay Lake Tower? Magic View?
• Boardwalk is out because of the creepy clown pool. If we can stay away from that pool, it might be a choice. I HATE clowns.
• Pros and Cons of Every Disney Resort
  • Contemporary or Polynesian seem to fit our needs best

Park Tickets?

• Looking at 5 day base tickets to be able to visit each park once and the Magic Kingdom twice; not doing hoppers since it is our first trip

Disney Dining Plan?

• side note: can order snacks through Garden Grocer and Amazon Prime
• to help calculate out of pocket versus dining plan

Memory Maker?

Booked Flights or Package?

Package Payment Progress?

Additional Savings Progress?

Itinerary? Currently researching the boards and reading The Easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit.

• The parks with EMH are usually the busiest from 10 AM to 7 PM because they attract so many extra people. Simply choosing a different park avoids these resort guests.
• Link to Planning Book post in Steppesister's October 2016 thread
• Kenny the Pirate
• Festival of Fantasy Parade FP+
• Mr. Incredible dance party?
• Epcot Character Spot
• Touringplans.com?

ADRs? On 08/29/16. Below are options to research later and record notes from others' trip reports.

• Perfectly Princess Tea (w/doll) at the Grand Floridian for birthday?
• Cinderella's Royal Table at the Magic Kingdom (better seating)
• Be Our Guest at Beast's Castle at the Magic Kingdom
• Crystal Palace at the Magic Kingdom (Tigger, Pooh and friends), breakfast casserole, good breakfast
• Akershus Royal Banquet Hall at Epcot (less expensive)
• 50's Prime Time Cafe at Hollywood Studios
• Chef Mickey's at Contemporary Resort (Mickey and friends)
• Ohana breakfast at Polynesian Village Resort
• Whispering Canyon Cafe at Wilderness Lodge
• Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue at Fort Wilderness Resort
• Yachtsman for a dinner?
• Liberty Tree Tavern at the Magic Kingdom for a lunch?
• Tuto Italia at Epcot for a dinner?
• Via Napoli
• Saana (Fastpassminus' favorite restaurant on EARTH)
• Morimoto (DS) - great Asian food variety, DH would love

FastPasses? On 12/27/16.


Packing?

• DH mentioned we needed to get new luggage before this trip
• Celebration Buttons? Are they still available, if not, bring our own?

Followed Pre Trip Reports?

• February 2017: What to do with my Disnenergy until then?
• Even Miracles Take a Little Time -A March 2017 PTR-
• March 2016 - 2 week - Once in a lifetime - holding nothing back - trip
• March 2016 PTR - How do we keep this a secret?
  
• Mickey vs Harry Potter! A March Break TR 02/14: better late than never!
  
• "I almost peed my pants.. and fell out!" March 2015 TR
• We're not going to the dentist?? A HOT March Break surprise!
• I DON'T Walk. A kids rule May 2015 TR *Updated 1/16*
• I made up the plan. It is MY plan! - A March 2015 TR - update 6/30 Epcot morning

Other tips?

• Dole Whip!
  • Aloha Isle in Adventureland of Magic Kingdom
    
  • Pineapple Lanai at the Polynesian
  • Tamu Tamu in Animal Kingdom
• Hollywood and Vine best buffet
• Rice Cream in Norway
• Schoolbread in Norway
• Yeehaw Bob Show
• Train Tour

 

[dglilbit]

Posting a map for reference purposes



And a little Disney Mardi Gras since it is Mardi Gras season right now and we are going over Mardi Gras next year!

A little-known event on Mardi Gras (which in 2016 will be February 9) is the mini-parade through Disney’s Port Orleans Resort. Several departments of the resort build floats on golf carts. The floats are judged and then parade through the grounds. During the parade they throw New Orleans-style trinkets (beads, candy, doubloons) to the guests who line up to watch. If you will be at Port Orleans on Mardi Gras, be sure to ask at the front desk when this event will take place.

 

[jmccoy18]

Following!

We are going at the beginning of March or beginning of April 2017, so it wil be nice to be on the same time table as you! Looking forward to seeing how your planning goes! Birthdays at Disney are the best!!! I have had 5 birthdays there and DD1 celebrated her 2nd bday there and DD2 will also celebrate her 2nd birthday there!

 

[dglilbit]

Following!

We are going at the beginning of March or beginning of April 2017, so it wil be nice to be on the same time table as you! Looking forward to seeing how your planning goes! Birthdays at Disney are the best!!! I have had 5 birthdays there and DD1 celebrated her 2nd bday there and DD2 will also celebrate her 2nd birthday there!

and thanks for following! If you have any tips or must dos, etc., please feel free to request. I'm in the early stages of research and reading other trip reports.

 

[dglilbit]

In Evie's preschool class, the parents are assigned days to bring snacks. Since we are in full swing for Mardi Gras season, we decided to send make-your-own king cakes for the snack at school earlier this week. We bought cinnamon rolls and then yellow, green and purple sprinkles. I put the sprinkles in little packets for the kids to use individually. The teacher heated the cinnamon rolls in the microwave and then the kids put the sprinkles on them. We also sent Mardi Gras-themed napkins and plates. Her teacher texted me a picture of Evie with hers. She was proud of her yellow sprinkle mustache, lol.

 

[amberdc1987]

Love this. I'm coming over from the other Feb 2017 board. I can't wait to read more. We have the same dats scheduled. We will also be celebrating our youngest 6th bday while we are down there.

That's awesome about the parade I never knew that. I'll have to remember that.

 

[dglilbit]

Love this. I'm coming over from the other Feb 2017 board. I can't wait to read more. We have the same dats scheduled. We will also be celebrating our youngest 6th bday while we are down there.

That's awesome about the parade I never knew that. I'll have to remember that.

That's awesome! Welcome to the thread and if you have any suggestions, feel free to comment! Do you know where y'all are staying, etc.?

 

[dglilbit]

I've been doing a lot of trip report reading and have come across an interesting bit of information about not-to-miss...bathrooms.

• Tangled (Whimsical)
• Pirates
• American Adventure (HUGE)

I'm always up for knowing about a good bathroom!

 

[dglilbit]

Another suggestion I need to check out is d-cot to listen to park music!

 

[jmccoy18]

I've been doing a lot of trip report reading and have come across an interesting bit of information about not-to-miss...bathrooms.

• Tangled (Whimsical)
• Pirates
• American Adventure (HUGE)

I'm always up for knowing about a good bathroom!

It is always good to know about great bathrooms! Especially with little ones!!!!

 

[dglilbit]

It is always good to know about great bathrooms! Especially with little ones!!!!

IKR?! I want to research this topic further, lol. Little ones usually pick the most inopportune moments to have to go and now we can look forward to going to the bathroom at WDW...maybe stretching it a bit?

 

[Steppesister]

Well, hello there.

I will sub in, and be back tomorrow to catch up. Glad I found ya!

 

[dglilbit]

Well, hello there.

I will sub in, and be back tomorrow to catch up. Glad I found ya!

Woohoo! Hi! to my pre-trip report!

 

[dglilbit]

I just read a great plan for Animal Kingdom in Steppesisiters thread here. Lots of good pickings from her ideas that will apply to our trip as well.

"I'd like to say we'll be at Rope Drop at Animal Kingdom for the early EMH, but you know what they say about the best laid plans.... We'll do our best, but having been out and in party mode until pretty late the night before, it'll be a tough go. Luckily for me, AK is a pretty laid back park and there isn't a ton of MUST-DOs other than EE right off the bat, a jalepeno cream cheese pretzel for breakfast, a Safari ride (a very maybe), and the Nemo Show. The rest of the morning I can easily see us just slowing WAY down to walk the trails, many of which none of my kids have ever seen. Can I just say I'm beyond excited to show them this park??

I know they will LOVE the Rafiki's Area where I hope we can catch some action in the Procedures Room, and they will equally adore the Trails with the gorillas and tigers. I have already mentioned that I am one of those who can spend an entire day in the parks and sit and listen to the music street performers for hours, and I fully intend to do this here as in my opinion AK offers the best lineup. So then, how about a mid-morning Dawa Bloody Mary while a group plays there?? Of course, that may lower my chances of spotting DeVine, but by then I won't even really care.

The plan is to leave at 1:00 to catch a 1:30 ADR at Sanaa. I gave the kids a choice of staying in the park for a meal at either Y&Y or Flame Tree, but because of the animals at the windows at Sanaa, they chose that. I agree, given the food offerings and the view, it was an easy winner. I ate there on my last trip with Mary and LeeAnn, and it was quite good. I remember getting the naan service and a couple of curries with rice that was pretty darn great. And I also got that phenomenal photo of the bird with a bad hair day. Which still makes me laugh every time I see it."

 

[dglilbit]

@Steppesister, did you end up going with a travel agent? If so, can you PM me a recommendation?
We used one for our cruise but I wouldn't say she was overly involved so I'm open to others.

 

[dglilbit]

You can call the phone booths at Epcot and see who picks up!

U.K. Phone Booths

• Right Booth: 407 827-9861
• Left Booth: 407 827-9862
• Center Booth: 407 827-9863

Canada Phone Booth

• 407-827-9884

 

[dglilbit]

I really like Jennifer's January Jaunt and her list of fast passes, ADRs and disbounding outfits!

 

[Steppesister]

Link to Planning Book post in Steppesister's October 2016 thread

AWWW! You sweet thing! A shout out. One of the first things I can't wait to do after graduation is assemble my little Books- Always named, "The Mickey" and "The Mini" I will explain that further after this hellacious term is over. (6 weeks left!- WOOT!)

Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue at Fort Wilderness Resort

BEST show EVER! You will LOVE it!

Saana (Fastpassminus' favorite restaurant on EARTH)

A perfect mix of great food and animals to watch!

Celebration Buttons? Are they still available, if not, bring our own?

Still have mine and HECK yes I'm bringing it! And my tiara....

Yeehaw Bob Show

2nd best show on property. I almost leaked a little having so much fun!

Does it get ANY cuter than that??

@Steppesister, did you end up going with a travel agent? If so, can you PM me a recommendation?
We used one for our cruise but I wouldn't say she was overly involved so I'm open to others.

Yes! I did use this one this trip because SO much has changed since 2010. But the even bigger reason was I just don't have time during school to keep watching for discounts, doing the payments, checking for openings at the resort I Really wanted, etc.... Brook is amazing!!! I will PM you her information- she will give you LOADS of great stuff as far as info goes!

 

[dglilbit]

AWWW! You sweet thing! A shout out. One of the first things I can't wait to do after graduation is assemble my little Books- Always named, "The Mickey" and "The Mini" I will explain that further after this hellacious term is over. (6 weeks left!- WOOT!)



BEST show EVER! You will LOVE it!



A perfect mix of great food and animals to watch!



Still have mine and HECK yes I'm bringing it! And my tiara....



2nd best show on property. I almost leaked a little having so much fun!



Does it get ANY cuter than that??



Yes! I did use this one this trip because SO much has changed since 2010. But the even bigger reason was I just don't have time during school to keep watching for discounts, doing the payments, checking for openings at the resort I Really wanted, etc.... Brook is amazing!!! I will PM you her information- she will give you LOADS of great stuff as far as info goes!

Thanks for all the tips and tricks! And thanks for the compliment for crazy sweet pea, Evie!

Thanks, I would LOVE Brook's contact info!

 

[dglilbit]

We spent part of yesterday working on Evie's float for her pre-k class! I was informed by one of my co-workers that parents go all out for this so I've recruited a team for Evie's float.
The team is me, DH, my mom and my dad.


Here are some examples of the kind of float we are making:


It's a Princess and the Frog themed float and so far has gold glitter paper and green fringe with green ribbons going over her shoulders. My dad ended up making cypress trees to put on it and we plan on having branches sticking out with moss. I've got Louis, Ray and Tiana and Naveen as frogs printed out so far to put on the float and right now plan on putting moss at the corners. We also bought glitter today and will put some on the characters for more sparkle. I also bought some lightning bug 3-D stickers that will be whimsical around the float.









We plan on finishing the float this weekend and I will take plenty of pictures of her in it. We aren't allowed to be at this event at school and the teachers have promised to take pictures as well. The pre-k and 1st graders will be throwing beads and candy to the 2nd and 3rd graders. So fun!