No Hurricanes Please- A Redemption Trip- November 2018 PTR-Updated 11/17/18 New TR Links

[SweetSerenity]

Yay for deciding to splurge for AKL! It is such a great resort!

I have heard of gastroparesis thanks to Raven on Big Brother this past summer, although, she was probably not the best spokesperson for the condition as the girl was crazy and you could never tell if she was lying or not. Glad you are able to maintain with medication and not needing a pacemaker!

The dining plan does work well to makes sure you feel like your food is prepaid. We haven't done a dining plan in years but we do TIW so I can get discounts that way.

Thank you. We watched Big Brother, too. Thankfully, I'm not to that point yet, but my doctor has mentioned it. I try to find the bright side as things could always be worse.

I think we will do better without the dining plan. I wish I could get TIW but we don't have the AP.

 

[SweetSerenity]

It's the Little Things

​

Gooooood morning! My 10 month old pup, Ellie, decided 6 a.m. was the perfect time to get up this bright and sunny morning so I thought I'd pop on and give a little update. I'm currently listening to my Disney station on Pandora, which I totally think is worth the $5.95 per month. Kiss the Girl is playing. Who doesn't love that song?

So, February is what I affectionately call Disney month. Not only is it Valentine's Day, but my birthday was the 25th, and my husband and family tend to go Disney themed for me.

For Valentine's Day, my husband added Robin Hood and Fox and the Hound to our DVD collection. Robin Hood has always been one of my favorites, but I don't think it gets the attention it deserves.

For my birthday, my husband typically takes me to the Disney store, which is about an hour away. However, this year, we went to the mountains for a night. Now, no Disney Haterade please, but it's one of our favorite places in the world. I've probably been there 35 times with every member of my family, many of which are no longer with us here. It was the first place my husband and I ever went together when we first started dating 12 years ago. So, it's very sentimental to me. Anyway, they have a Disney store. When we got home, my mom took me to the other store. So, it was a double Disney weekend!

*Insert Hakuna Matata here*

They had a great sale so I picked up a few items for our trip!

First, they had a full-sized Mickey and Minnie backpack for $15.00 with any purchase. We have been mulling over canceling the Dining plan and paying out of pocket for our meals, especially since I can't eat very much at a time. Since we drive to Disney World, we will have the advantage of loading up on water, sodas, etc. So, we needed a backpack to transport our drinks for the day to the parks instead of paying $3-4 every time we're thirsty. I wish I could find a picture, but it's a great purchase. It's pliable enough to be folded into the pockets for the rides and light enough to not weigh us down.

Next, I found a great purse option for me. I usually carry something small like a Vera Bradley mini hipster. I don't need much for the parks, but I have trouble going completely bag-less. Anyway, I stumbled upon this little gem for $11.99. It looks like it may be a tablet bag, but it's perfect.


Look! It features icons of the rides!

I also picked up a few mugs, but the backpack and purse were my best finds. Come on, November!

Have a lovely Sunday!

 

[MiracleCream]

Happy belated birthday! Sounds like you got awesome finds at the Disney store. The foldable bag sounds so interesting

 

[SweetSerenity]

Happy belated birthday! Sounds like you got awesome finds at the Disney store. The foldable bag sounds so interesting

Thank you! I'm always looking for a good Disney deal!

 

[CatNipRules]

Following along. I'm doing a solo trip from October 27 thru November 10th.

Love the purse. It's amazing. Looking forward to following along.

 

[SweetSerenity]

Following along. I'm doing a solo trip from October 27 thru November 10th.

Love the purse. It's amazing. Looking forward to following along.

Welcome! So glad to have you! That's very exciting. We may even bump into each other!

 

[SweetSerenity]

Star Wars Surprises
​

After reading some great trip reports, I'm leaning toward surprising my husband with the Star Wars Dessert Party. I like the idea of having a late lunch and snacking on the combination of sweet and savory treats from the party for our dinner. I will be fine with the selection, but if Jason gets hungry later we can find him something. Besides, the inclusion of drinks is very appealing. We don't usually do extra splurges, but my beloved is worth the expense. Besides, I'll include it in the food budget since we are canceling the dining plan anyway. I'm excited that I can order kids meals for myself for a better value since I eat smaller portions more frequently. This also gives us the opportunity to try more snacks without dining plan restrictions. I think this is definitely the better option!

Have a great week!​

 

[SweetSerenity]

Choices, Choices!​

Hi.

It's been a while! Work has been very busy--lots of overtime that I'm trying to put toward our trip in November. So, yay, money! Boo, time away!

Today's update is brought to you by my brand new fancy-smancy laptop! My computer is about 8 years old, and, bless it, running on its last little legs. It lagged so badly that it took hours to even write a single update on here unless I put it into a word document and copied it over. My precious husband surprised me last Friday. I came home, started unloading the groceries, and he presented me with a new computer. He knows how badly I dream of being a Disney travel agent, but I don't have a reliable computer to make that a reality. So, he told me it was an investment because he knew how much I loved Disney and how much I wanted to do this. He believes in me!



I'm getting to a point here.

So, we are about 6 months away. Our ADR day is this coming Tuesday, May 1st. I haven't even had much of a chance to process our reservations or park days. And it's Tuesday!



We are going away to the mountains this weekend for a mini vacation. I am so excited and ready for 4 days of pure relaxation, but I wasn't going to be home. Now, I'll be able to do my ADRs right from the hotel room. Yay!

As I mentioned previously, we are going to free style our dining. Part of me wants to take the risk of making no ADRs and just winging it throughout the whole trip, but I know we would miss out on some of our favorite restaurants. I still may only make a few must-have reservations and just pick same-day ressies when we get there. I know that's crazy! And so risky! I don't know if I can do it. . .

So, here's my list of potentials so far (including CS):
* denotes new place to us

Flame Tree Barbecue
Satu'li Canteen*
Sci-Fi Dine In
Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano
50's PrimeTime Café
Woody's Lunch Box*
Lotus Blossom Café*
Tutto Italia
Katsura Grill
Teppan Edo
Tokyo Dining
Rose and Crown
Be Our Guest
Columbia Harbor House
Crystal Palace (Breakfast)
Casey's Corner
Boma
Sanaa*
The Mara
The Wave (breakfast)*
California Grill (brunch)*
Shula's*
Trail's End (breakfast)*
Garden View Tea*
Whispering Canyon*
Yachtsman's Steakhouse
Cookes of Dublin
Homecomin*
Raglan Road
Frontera Cocina*
Polite Pig*
D-Luxe Burger*
The Daily Poutine
Food and Wine Festival
Star Wars Dessert Party

Okay! I think that about sums it up! Here's hoping I can get it all figured out soon! Thanks for stopping by.

 

[CatNipRules]

My ADR day is Monday. I have absolutely no idea where I want to eat. Mostly it's because I'm feeling weird about doing character meals alone. I'm going to probably just suck it up and do it.

There are a few new ones on your list that I've eaten at before and loved.

Can't wait to read more!!

 

[Raeven]

Today's update is brought to you by my brand new fancy-smancy laptop! My computer is about 8 years old, and, bless it, running on its last little legs. It lagged so badly that it took hours to even write a single update on here unless I put it into a word document and copied it over. My precious husband surprised me last Friday. I came home, started unloading the groceries, and he presented me with a new computer.

Omg, I'm in the exact same situation! My 8 year old Mac has been so slow for about a year now, Josh says I have the patience of a saint to wait a half hour just to scroll sometimes. I had that same trouble writing posts a lot of the time. Anyway I just updated it, and now it isn't loading anything at all. None of the ports work so I can't get anything off it. Luckily everything is in the cloud except the music so I just joined apple music. Josh told me after we get back he wants to buy me a new one so I'm on his until then!

So, we are about 6 months away. Our ADR day is this coming Tuesday, May 1st. I haven't even had much of a chance to process our reservations or park days. And it's Tuesday!

Yay!

Woody's Lunch Box*

I'm curious to try this too.

The Wave (breakfast)*

We're trying this in May!

California Grill (brunch)*

Shula's*

I fully endorse both of these! We're doing them in May.

Homecomin*

Frontera Cocina*
Polite Pig*
D-Luxe Burger*

Yes to all the DS choices too!

 

[bpx2]

Joining in! My husband and I will be going November 1st-8th staying at the Contemporary. I believe you have your ADR date mixed up (unless I misread your trip dates) - 180 days before November 1st is Saturday, May 5th. Just wanted to let you know in case you didn't figure that out already!

 

[SweetSerenity]

My ADR day is Monday. I have absolutely no idea where I want to eat. Mostly it's because I'm feeling weird about doing character meals alone. I'm going to probably just suck it up and do it.

There are a few new ones on your list that I've eaten at before and loved.

Can't wait to read more!!

You should totally do as many character meals as you want! It's your trip and your chance to have fun! Enjoy it!

Omg, I'm in the exact same situation! My 8 year old Mac has been so slow for about a year now, Josh says I have the patience of a saint to wait a half hour just to scroll sometimes. I had that same trouble writing posts a lot of the time. Anyway I just updated it, and now it isn't loading anything at all. None of the ports work so I can't get anything off it. Luckily everything is in the cloud except the music so I just joined apple music. Josh told me after we get back he wants to buy me a new one so I'm on his until then!



Yay!



I'm curious to try this too.



We're trying this in May!





I fully endorse both of these! We're doing them in May.




Yes to all the DS choices too!

You have to let me know how the Wave is!

Joining in! My husband and I will be going November 1st-8th staying at the Contemporary. I believe you have your ADR date mixed up (unless I misread your trip dates) - 180 days before November 1st is Saturday, May 5th. Just wanted to let you know in case you didn't figure that out already!

Welcome! Okay, I could kiss you. We just got back from a mini vacation this afternoon, and I'm not in the right frame of mind to do my ADRs. I've been sitting here for the pat few hours writing out options, and nothing is working. My husband told me I'm being scary because I usually have everything done by now. You are right, our date is May 5th. I had it written down correctly, but my brain had it mixed up. You just gave me so much relief! Thank you! I can breathe now!

 

[SweetSerenity]

Countin' down 'til ADR Day!​

So, I was wrong. My ADR day was not May 1st. It is this Saturday, the 5th. I was panicking for nothing. Or was I?



I only work a half day on Thursdays so I came straight home with the intention of sorting out the whole list of which restaurants go in which category of Breakfast, lunch, and dinner and on what days and how many days I want to do of each park and how to build in rest spots and fit in everything without knowing the park hours. One long run on sentence later I felt like this:



So, I put on Moana for a little Disney therapy, consulted with my notebook, the Disney app, and my husband. Hours later I sorted everything out!



Alright, so here goes! This is the final* list, and the ADRs I intend to book bright and early Saturday morning.

Disclaimer*: There is nothing "final" with me. I know it. Jason knows it. Disney knows it. You know it. I can almost guarantee that when my trip report is released after we return in November that our dining reservations will, in fact, be different. I'm just being real here.

Thursday, 11/1/18
This is our arrival day and our 3rd wedding anniversary. I was torn between a nice dinner and a restful night since we will leave around 3 a.m. to make the long drive to Orlando.
Lunch- We will just grab a CS meal. Likely, The Mara since we're staying at AKL.

Dinner- I didn't want to waste a park ticket since we have a built in rest day so I went with Tokyo Dining. We enjoy the food, love the Japan pavilion, and Mitsukoshi will have great anniversary gifts, hint hint to my husband.

Friday, 11/2/18
Sleep In, oh yes, there will be sleeping.
Lunch- Liberty Tree Tavern. So, I'm disappointed in the dining choices at MK, especially now that BOG is changing the menu. We decided we weren't bold enough to spend the money on Jungle Navigation and The Plaza just isn't worth it now that their dessert options are more limited. They used to have a killer banana split. Yum. We like LTT, so there you go.

Dinner- Shula's! We have never been and while we really enjoy Yachtsman's Steakhouse, I have heard wonderful things about Shula's. This is going to be our splurge for the trip.

Saturday, 11/3/18
Breakfast- Boma. If you have not tried Boma, you are missing out. This buffet, for both breakfast and dinner, is fabulous. There are so many choices for both the adventurous and tame tastes. We dined there twice on our honeymoon and loved it.

Lunch- This is an Animal Kingdom day so we will go to Yak & Yeti. It's not my favorite, but it's decent and there aren't many choices at AK. I plan on joining the Landry's Club soon.

Dinner- Il Mulino. Another first. As I was scouring all the menus and reading each one aloud to my beloved, he thought the choices here sounded tasty. We may try to fit in another park that evening somewhere but if not, that's okay, too.

Sunday, 11/4/18
Lunch- Mama Melrose. I know, Italian back to back. I didn't realize I did that, but that's fine with us. I may end up exchanging this for Woody's Lunchbox anyway, depending on our mood. Have you looked at the menu for that yet? It looks like it's worth a try. We'll see.

Dinner- Teppan Edo. Oh, Teppan Edo, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. The green iced tea, the rice, the noodles, the perfectly cooked vegetables. . . I could eat here twice and not feel guilty, nope not one bit.

Monday, 11/5/18
Breakfast- Crystal Palace. We enjoy CP for breakfast. The fare is decent for good old-fashioned breakfast, and I love getting to spend some time with Eeyore. True Blue and whatnot.

Lunch- Sanaa. This is a new one. My husband loves Indian food. I'm. . . skittish. I like trying new things, but I don't usually like Indian food enough to make a meal out of it. I tested out the menu, and I think I'll be okay. There's safety in Naan! Anyway, this is intended for some rest after MK and before heading back out to AK for the night. We'll likely grab Flame Tree Barbecue for dinner. I'm hoping for FOP FP and/or seeing ROL. I cannot wait to see Pandora at night! I really like Avatar, and I look forward to stepping foot in the new land.

Tuesday, 11/6/18
Lunch- Okay, don't laugh. If you've ever read my PTRs before, you may recall that Restaurant Marrakesh gets an ADR and then gets cut every. single. time. I've been trying to go there for 8 years, but still haven't made it. So, it's on the list yet again. We had a little laugh because it'll likely get cut in place for something from Food and Wine or a CS.

Dinner- 50's Prime Time Café. Nothing to really say about this. HS is my least favorite park, but I'm hoping for the Star Wars dessert party this night. It'll be a huge surprise for Jason. In fact, we may not even need much of a dinner if we attend the party, but the dates aren't posted yet. Come on Disney, help a girl out.

Wednesday, 11/7/18
Ah, rest day. No parks. I've never done this before, but we are always so exhausted by the end of the trip that we waste time. My hope for this day is spending time at AKL, lounging by the pool, hanging out with the giraffes, chilling in the rocking chairs, and doing a little shopping at DS.

Lunch- House of Blues. This was chosen by the menu. We've never been there, but Jason thought the Southern-Cajun selections sounded good. I hope I'm not disappointed because I gave up my second ADR at Homecomin' for this.

Afternoon tea at The Grand Floridian-- This is for my husband. He loves tea. In fact, he enjoys trying to make his own blends. I think he'll really enjoy trying this.

Dinner- Homecomin'. I cannot wait to try this.

Thursday, 11/8/18- Breakfast- The Wave. Also new. I've heard good reviews from The Wave. Since we will be headed to MK for the morning, I thought heading to The Contemporary for breakfast would be nice.

Lunch- this is debatable. I actually have this reserved for Homecomin' again because the menu options look so good that we thought we may want to eat there twice. I know, we're eating the same place back to back, but I couldn't find another logical spot for it. This may end up just being a CS in the end.

Dinner- Rose and Crown. This is tradition. I'm sorry to say the menu has changed and doesn't seem as appealing, but we just can't break tradition there. We love the ambience there so much, and UK is my favorite pavilion.

Friday, 11/9/18
Last full day.
Breakfast- 1900 Park Fare. Yep, it's a newbie for us.

Lunch- some delicious counter service somewhere at Epcot. Or Food and Wine. Or Katsura. Mmm, Katsura.

Dinner- Boma. We like to end our trip with dinner at whichever resort we're staying. We usually eat early and call it a night. Jason, to sleep. Me? To drown my tears in my pillow.

Saturday, 11/10/18
Good-bye Disney. I'm sad already, and I haven't been. We'll grab something on the way out, probably from The Mara again.

That's a wrap!

 

[Spencer Wright]

Following! I'm with your husband on the split stay!!

Seems like too much work.

 

[SweetSerenity]

Following! I'm with your husband on the split stay!!

Seems like too much work.

Welcome! I think it is, too, but many people seem to make it work for them.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Welcome! I think it is, too, but many people seem to make it work for them.

It is a pain and we always have our car. We’re splitting this time as it’s important to us to be at Boardwalk for Food And Wine but we have a good split point between the ‘race’ portion and the ‘vacation’ portion of our trip so its a good time to move that day. It’s also because I missed my 11 month window by a couple days and couldn’t get a Boardwalk View Studio for those nights.

The adrs look good! Shula’s is a great steakhouse! We skip it at Disney since we have one in our hometown.

 

[SweetSerenity]

It is a pain and we always have our car. We’re splitting this time as it’s important to us to be at Boardwalk for Food And Wine but we have a good split point between the ‘race’ portion and the ‘vacation’ portion of our trip so its a good time to move that day. It’s also because I missed my 11 month window by a couple days and couldn’t get a Boardwalk View Studio for those nights.

The adrs look good! Shula’s is a great steakhouse! We skip it at Disney since we have one in our hometown.

I think it also depends on how you do your reservations and dining plan. When we did a split stay, our reservations were all kinds of messed up because we were on free dining for part of the trip and deluxe dining on the rest. Some of the credits were applied to the wrong reservation so they didn't map out, we had to pay out of pocket, missed some FPs, and had to go through the process of being reimbursed. It's important to get what you want, though, and if that's how you make it work then I hope smooth sailing for your move!

I didn't realize Shula's was a chain. We don't have any great steakhouses here, really, unless you travel for a bit. I've heard great things about Shula's, though!

 

[SweetSerenity]

ADR Day is Upon Us!​

Much to the chagrin of my husband, I woke up at 6:00 this morning to do my ADRs. I'm sorry, honey, but I have reservations to book so that in 6 months we can both blissfully be like Remy.



I quietly get my notebook and my phone to start. The only problem is that it will only let me book one ADR and that's for 11/1/18. Huh? I remember being able to do the entire trip at once in the past. So, I try the website. Stitch ate the page. Well, that's no help, Stitch. Where else do I go for help? The Dis, of course! Thanks to a fellow Dis'er, I discovered my reservation hadn't linked to my account. Okay, so fixed that and voila! We have reservations!

I was able to get everything I wanted except House of Blues. I didn't know it was that popular, but I couldn't find anything during our dates. Oh, well, there is plenty of other food to be had in Disney!

So, here are the officials:

11/1/18
Tokyo Dining 7:00- D

11/2/18
Liberty Tree Tavern 12:35- L
Shula's 6:15- D

11/3/18
Boma 8:15- B
Yak & Yeti 12:45- L
Il Mulino 6:00- D

11/4/18
Mama Melrose 12:45- L
Rose and Crown 6:05- D

11/5/18
Crystal Palace 8:15- B
Sanaa 1:30- L

11/6/18
Restaurant Marrakesh 11:30- L
50's Prime Time Café 5:45- D

11/7/18
Chef Art Smith's Homecoming 7:05- D

11/8/18
The Wave 9:00- B
Chef Art Smith's Homecoming 2:30- L
Teppan Edo 7:20- D

11/9/18
1900 Park Fare 8:05- B
Boma 7:40- D

Hooray! They're done! Now to just wait the 6 months out until we get there. . .

 

[skier_pete]

Hey there - joining in after you stopped by our TR. That's a great set of ADRs. We don't like doing that much TS anymore, but that's just us. And especially going for Food and Wine, we simply don't even eat TS then! (Our weekend planned in October we are there for 5 days and only have one ADR, though we are going to try two more dining experiences. F&W have these wonderful special dining events. There's a list of them at this link:
http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2018-epcot-food-and-wine-festival-special-events/

We did the French Farm lunch in November last year and it was absolutely wonderful. (Check out our TR for Nov 2017 linked in my signature.) Sure expensive, but OMG the amount of alcohol that was consumed covered the cost! Next year we are going to probably try the Italian Wine lunch and I think I've convince DW to do the Mexican Tequila lunch. Of course none of these are available with the DDP, but we don't do that either.

BTW, WE love,love,love Sanaa! Maybe my favorite at WDW. Not everything there is "out there", but there really is some wonderful Indian inspired dishes. And don't miss out on the Naan bread service.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Glad you figured out why you couldn't do all your ADRs and got it fixed!

Looks like a good set.