Newbie family ventures to WDW....

[jupers]

I wish I could comment, but I haven't even considered counter service. I think that's the one thing I haven't planned!

Your plans sound great. Just can't wait get there!

 

[Kim321]

Hi! Thanks again for keeping me company! Without you guys, I'd definately be writing all to myself! (Which would feel very silly!)

I picked out 2 counter services at MGM:
Starring Rolls Cafe and Studio Catering Co Flatbreak Grill.

I haven't looked up reviews of them yet....

There doesn't seem to be as much to select from at MGM relative to other parks. But we'll be flexible (I think!) when we get there; if we're on the wrong side of the park, and something else looks good, we'll go for it. (If only I'd have my laptop along to check reviews before we ate! )

Exciting piece of news: I've bought shoes! (like that's exciting). After reading how great Crocs are, I bought myself, DS, and DD all a pair. (DH says he won't wear them; he's OK on the shoe front.) Although they're a little strange to look at (or so I think) (I'm using a lot of paren's this morning...), they really are comfortable. So lightweight, I was really surprised. I'll wear them alot this long weekend and start trying to break them in to see if they cause me any blisters.

I changed my ADRs around for the 3rd time. On the 2 days we're planning the water parks in the afternoon, I moved them back to about 6:30. And I switched the days of a couple around to match the parks that we would be in. And I dumped Capt Jacks for the Sci Fi Dine In so we wouldn't have to leave Epcot -- OH NO that's in MGM! I goofed; I'll have to change that again. Oh dear; they're going to know me by first name soon!

 

[Kim321]

Well, I fixed that! (and they didn't know me by my first name yet! )

I switched the Sci Fi (wrong park) to Coral Reef. We like seafood, and the tanks should be fun and really entertain the kids.

If anybody wants to reassure me about these ADRs, feel free!!

Later!

 

[fizz13]

Hi Kim,
glad to see the plans are coming along so well. I have eaten at all of the CS you listed and my fav was Yakatori House, i really liked the sushi (although i was a sushi newbie) and their platters to try new stuff. I really did love evry mouthful there.
El Pirata is interesting in that they either give you a taco shell salad size or regular size and only put the meat in it, the rest is up to you to put in from the toppings and salad bars. Now I'm not complaining as i could have as much salsa or lettuce as i wanted but i was a bit suprised when i just received a shell and meat
Cosmic rays is cool because evry person can have something they like because of the different stations. I've never understood the hype about Peco Bills as once again its a basic burger that you make your own from the toppings bar!
Boulangerie Pattiserie is fantastic, and I highly recommend.....everything actually Seriuosly, i think my favs were the strawberry mousse and creme brulee (I'm not a big pastry eater). this is my kids fav World Showcase place.

Basically you can't go wrong, I'm always sad that i can't fit more disney food in actually, its all pretty good to me. How are you getting on with your guide books? Must be an eye-opener to a newbie, although a lot of stuff is on the DIS anyway.
Take care xx

 

[disneymoon_0307]

HI! I am just joining your pre-trip. I got the maps from disney (there's a pic of them on my pre trip report, link's in my siggie). I love them very much and hey...they are free. I think the FDP is a great idea. and I love Mama Melrose. I also agree w/ Fizz13. I love Cosmic Ray's. In my opinion you get the most CS food for your buck. They have a ribs/chicken (i think) combo and it's so much food 2 people can split it. But being y'all aren't very big meat eaters. They also have just hamburgers, chicken, and salads. I can't wait to here more.

 

[Kim321]

How are you getting on with your guide books? Must be an eye-opener to a newbie, although a lot of stuff is on the DIS anyway.
Take care xx

Hi Claire! I'm up to 3 guide books now. They all have slightly different information in them, so I don't regret buying them (although I probably didn't need all 3!). The PassPorter will be fun to take with us and fill out each day. The Unofficial Guide is nice and fat and has LOTS of information in it, and lots of reviews about absolutely everything. And Birnbaums has nice pictures in it and is easy, quick reading. (There, that's my first review of tour books!)

Hi DisneyMoon -- I ordered the maps too, but they haven't come in yet. I clicked over and saw your pictures of them; they look nice! I'm impressed for Disney for providing them for free. And thanks for the comments about the restaurants; that gives me some confidence that we'll really enjoy what I've tentatively picked out for us.

Now I need to find DD a one-piece swim suit for the waterparks. (I've heard the warnings about 2 pieces!) Do you know how hard it is to find a 1-piece?! Everything is bikinis in the stores! We'll have to go online, I suppose.

Later!

 

[Kim321]

Well, we're splurging, big time! I got us a town car transportation to and from WDW. (gulp!) The price makes me gulp a little, but we'll get a grocery stop on the way in to get breakfast goodies and water and other stuff, we won't have to wait for busses and bus stops, and for the first (and possibly only!) time in my life, a person with my name on a card will be waiting for me when I get off a plane. DH, bless his heart, said "if it'll make you smile, go ahead and do it." What a sweetheart!

I got an e-mail saying that my Disney maps are in the mail, heading this way. Cool. Can't wait to see them! The kids will be excited to look at them; it'll make the trip seem more real.

I don't think I'll explain to the kids about the town car until we get to the airport and I'll let them be surprised to see the sign with our name on it.

later!

 

[CantWaitToGo2007]

Coming over to check out your trip report. Thanks for checking out mine by the way

I'm so jealous that you are getting to go to WDW soon. I wish I could go this soon! I've waited 16 years, what's another couple months right

Your dining plans sound wonderful are you going to do a dining review when you get back? I would love to hear what you liked and didn't like.

I have the same guidebooks you do, but I think the Passporter is my favorite. I love the little pouches in the back.

Did you get the crocs with the mickey heads? They are so comfy. I wear mine with socks (I know some people might say I'm a dork, but I don't care) or the strap rubs the back of my heel.

I love your trip report so far and can't wait to hear more

Nanette

p.s. you mentioned something about putting pictures up on my trip report. I went to photobucket.com and uploaded my pictures. Then you just click on the bottom code (it starts with IMG) and paste it to your message.

 

[ktink]

Hey Kim, I'm really enjoying your pre trip report! All of your ADRs look great as well as the CS. Yall will have the best time. And it's great that your DH is so excited. This will be our third trip and I've bugged my DH so much about this trip that he wants to leave all the planning to me. He's looking forward to the trip but has had enough of my Dis talk.

I hope yall have a magical trip!

 

[Kim321]

Did you get the crocs with the mickey heads? They are so comfy. I wear mine with socks (I know some people might say I'm a dork, but I don't care) or the strap rubs the back of my heel.

Hi Nanette -- we got croc "look alikes." Not quite the croc brand, but they certainly feel good on the feet! (not to mention, were quite a bit cheaper, too; hopefully of similar quality!) I've been wearing them all about this weekend, and my feet seem to like them. And I wore mine with socks the first day! I was worried about blisters. But my feet did OK, so I was able to give up the socks.

Hi Ktink -- thanks for stopping over and sending your good wishes. I am glad that DH is about as excited as I am. He is still teasing me about thinking ahead and planning so much, but I think he understands that it'll be helpful.

We took the kids to a local (very local; about 15 minutes from our house) theme park yesterday. We've annual passes there and make good use of them because we live so close. I told them that this was WDW training. So we stood in a few lines, wore our croc-look alike shoes, and walked a lot for 3 or 4 hours. We had a nice time, but I expect WDW to be much different; much more magical!

And my maps came in! DS and DD enjoyed seeing the parks on the free WDW maps. They certainly are nice; printed on nice paper, good ink! All our "favorites" marked in a different color.... DD says that she's going to like Epcot best; DS is going to like just about everything.

I think I've figured out what parks we're going to do on what days, complete with park hopping. Maybe I'll post that next and get some advice.

Later! Have a happy holiday!

 

[Kim321]

Hello again,

I have finished my park itinerary (I think!). We hop most days, and have built in both water parks.... Any thoughts, criticisms, comments are welcomed!

Day one: arrive mid morning; town car (yippee), grocery stop, get to POR about noon-ish. Eat lunch from our grocery stop. Head to MK and sightsee for the (hot!) afternoon and experience the magic. ADR: Cali Grill. Make it a late night (yawn) with Wishes and the later (if we can do it) Spectromagic.

Day two: MGM, hop to AK. ADR: Boma

Day three: Epcot, hop to Typhoon Lagoon. ADR: Whispering Canyon. (ketchup)

Day four: MGM again, hop to Blizzard Beach. ADR: Kona

Day five: MK, hop to Epcot. ADR: Coral Reef. Illuminations.

Day six: Epcot all day. ADR: Le Cellier.

Day seven: AK, hop to MGM. ADR: Mama Melrose, FDP. Fantasmic.

Day eight: MK in the morning, late afternoon flight home.

We got so much advice on what parks to visit on what days that it became contradictory! So I'm just going on my intuition and all my guidebooks (!) and hoping things work out OK. Next up.... identifying 5 must-sees in each park and planning out how to best get to them.

I can see that my plan for CS lunches may not work at all. It'll be too easy to be in the wrong part of the park about 11:30 or so when we want to eat (we're early lunchers). I suspect we'll more often than not just end up eating at a CS that is close by to where we are at a given time. I'll be flexible.

So -- is this too much park hopping? What do you think?

And when you're going during a busy season (and it is hot and the lines are long), how many "must sees" do you put on your list? How much is it reasonable to do from rope drop through mid-afternoon? (When we hop to an afternoon/evening park, I assume it'll be more for sightseeing, than any major riding at that point, unless we catch some things during parades....)

later!

 

[disneymoon_0307]

I think that is a good itinerary. The only thing is make sure you give yourself enough time in the water parks. There's a lot more to do than you think. And they get very busy during the heat of the day (middle). As far as CS meals just know where you want to eat in each park. I wouldn't try to plan it to much...like saying "We are gonna eat here and this time". Have a little leeway in it. It is very reasonable to do a rope drop and then leave either right after lunch or right before. That's what I would recommend anyway. Because only as the day goes on will it be busier. I think you should put all your must sees on the list and just try to do as many as possible. I wouldn't give yourself a number. Obviously you want to do the main things in the parks so make sure you do those early.

I'm not a disney expert. I just know what works for us. I hope this helps you any.

 

[fizz13]

Hi Kim,
When i fist saw the itinerary I thought wow are you going to be tired! But really I guess if you are hopping to just enjoy the evening then its not so bad.
How many must-dos do i have? Too many really, I'm always trying to squeeze it all in. If you get to rope drop and use fastpass really well, then you should be able to get plenty in.
In a morning at MK, you can get in all of Fantasyland and Frontierland which should take you to lunch. use your other mk morning to start in tomorrowland, do toontown and adventure land, you'll have no problem seeing all of it over 2 mornings.
For Epcot, its future World one morning, and then World Showcase on another afternoon/evening, try to do it all and you will get blisters, it really is like 2 parks in one. you can get around Future World in a half day if you get fastpasses as soon as they are available to you.
For AK the deciding factor is shows and how many you want to do. Lion King was always the best one by far, but I haven't seen Nemo yet and its supposed to be brilliant. In one morning to get a taste, pick one animal trail, the safari, one show, kali rapids, Everest obviously, and Its Tough To Be A Bug.
Now the Studios is the hard one because there is so many shows. Ride the two biggies (rock n roller/ Tower of terror) definately, you could fit in 2 shows, one before and one after lunch, and two or three more rides are doable.

Don't know if I've helped but thats a rough time schedule for you. To get the most out of it, consider joining Tour Guide Mike, his touring plans are awesome and you will get tons done without waiting in lines, hes a genius
Great restaurants btw

 

[Kim321]

Ooh, another little piece of Disney excitement; I bought a batch of Disney pins on e-bay for DS to trade! I did my homework; I read a bunch of the threads about pins and e-bay and what to look for and what not to buy, and I think I did OK (although I won't know 100% for sure until they get here). But I bought a grouping of 20 at a fair (according to the threads) price and the pictures and description looked good, so.... ! DS will be excited when they get here.

I also went to the Disney store, and we are now the proud owners of a total of 7 t-shirts. At $5 each I couldn't resist. DD and I have 2 matching sets, and I got 3 more for DS. DH only wanted 1 design, which they didn't have in his size, so he'll go without.

So we now have pins and shirts, and our countdown is in the upper 40's somewhere!

 

[Kim321]

Thanks Claire & Disneymoon for your thoughts on my park-frenzy plan! Actually, we're taking several early evenings, so hopefully it won't be too bad. But I'm sure we'll be worn out by the end of the days!

We're giving ourselves about about 4 hours in each waterpark -- from early afternoon to early evening. The Unofficial Guide said Mondays and Tuesdays were the slowest days, so those are the days we picked. Hopefully we won't get there to find out that they are closed due to capacity! But each day we've ADRs about 6:30, so we'll go waterlogged to dinner.

Our "must-see" list for MK, in no particular order:

POTC
Splash mountain
BTMRR
Hall of Pres
Mickey's Philharmagic
Buzz Lightyear
Space Mountain
Spectro, Wishes of course
Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor (?)

I've read up on fast passes and think I have the general strategy.... Gravy would be IASW, Peter Pan, Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room, and several others.

Anything I'm missing or overlooking in MK? My DD isn't a roller coaster fan (she doesn't like drops), but she's said that she'll try Space and Splash Mountain.... DS is an adventurer and will try most anything!

later!

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Just found your report and got caught up- you don't have much longer to go- lucky!

I've been thinking about buying some pins on e-bay for my upcoming trip, too. I have a small collection that I've amassed over the years, but I've never traded- I just buy the ones I like. I'd like to give trading a try this time, though!

Looks like your plans are coming along really well! The only thing I'd do differently is to plan a "down day" around day 3 or 4 to sleep in, hang out at the pool, just relax, and then maybe hit a park in the evening. Day 4 always seems to be the day when I'm just ready for a break! It's amazing how much you do in a day there- two days feels like a week!

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your planning and your trip! I love hearing about people's first trips!!!

 

[Kim321]

Yea! And, for the most part, I'm very satisfied with them. Two are untradeable (but will look cute on a hat or backpack). The rest are legit and include a couple that I'd like us to keep. That leaves 16 for DS to trade, which seems like a good number.

Hi Poly Princess -- thanks for coming over to say hi! Buying the pins over e-bay seemed a little scarey to me (a nervous newbie pin purchaser), and indeed, we did get 2 untradeables (due to my inexperience). But it was still better than their full price, which we looked up on the internet after we got them.

I guess (maybe wrongly!) that I'm considering the water parks partially down-time; we've a few early evenings planned, and a few afternoons (most?) off. I'm hoping that will keep us relaxed enough to enjoy our busy mornings and the remainder of our busy evenings.... But we're not used to this type of heat!

 

[jupers]

Hi Kim,

Just letting you know I'm still reading, Our trips are getting closer. Must see list looks good!

 

[ThinkTink75]

Wow! Sorry I haven't been back to your TR for a while but I am now fully updated! Can you believe our trips are so close!??! I haven't been doing a very good job of updated my TR lately because I have just been so crazy busy with the end of the school year! I am getting so nervous for all my students! Their exam in on Wednesday! Ahhh! Anywho, you guys are all in order it seems. I wanted to ask you a quick question... what are you packing for yourself to wear??? I have bought a pair of shorts and a pair of light capris that I am saving for vacay, plus I have a couple tank tops... but I was thinking of going with tshirts mostly-- does that sound like a bad idea for July? lol. I noticed you mentioned you guys bought DisneyStore tees and I just have a couple of cute tees that I love and wanted to bring- not all disney- but nonetheless. Plus I wasn't sure if it was even worth bringing a pair of pants and like a hoodie or something? What are you planning to do for yourself and your DH? Just curious!

 

[moparop]

Our "must-see" list for MK, in no particular order:

POTC
Splash mountain
BTMRR
Hall of Pres
Mickey's Philharmagic
Buzz Lightyear
Space Mountain
Spectro, Wishes of course
Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor (?)

I've read up on fast passes and think I have the general strategy.... Gravy would be IASW, Peter Pan, Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room, and several others.

Anything I'm missing or overlooking in MK? My DD isn't a roller coaster fan (she doesn't like drops), but she's said that she'll try Space and Splash Mountain.... DS is an adventurer and will try most anything!

later!

Hi! I found your Pre TR this morning and have enjoyed reading about your plans. I did notice that you don't have Haunted Mansion listed for MK. This is one of my faves and one I like to do every time I go.

I'll keep popping in as I am enjoying hearing about all those great plans!