"No, I Will Not Eat A Turkeys Leg!" -! UPDATED 8/5

[iheartbelle87]

Welcome to my September 2016 PTR!

I was initially very skeptical about starting a PTR as it seems
every time I started getting serious about a trip, it kept getting cancelled or pushed back

But.. let's not dwell on the past, because.... WE'RE OFFICIALLY GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!


CHARACTERS

I’m Ashlee, 28 years old, registered nurse.
After six years of being a nurse I decided to go to graduate school to become a Family Nurse Practitioner and will (hopefully!) be graduating in May 2017. In the meantime, I work full time at a family medicine office on the North Shore of Boston and love my job. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve been to WDW, close to 20… or more. Here are my favorites:​

Character: Marie from the Aristocats
Park: Epcot
Rollar Coaster: BTMRR
TS dining: Le Chefs de France (but honestly, I love food, so difficult to choose a fav!)
QS dining: Sunshine Seasons

Misc Fun Fact: I’ve never had a dole whip, but hoping to change that this trip!

DH! Jon, 30 years old
(he’ll be 31 on 9/14.... so right after we return!). Works full time as a scientisT. Growing up his family went to WDW once for the obligatory American child right of passage trip. DH was about 10 (ish) during this trip and was with his mom, dad, brother and maternal grandparents. More to come about this, as over the last two years we’ve lost three out of four of his grandparents. Despite not growing up loving Disney like my family did, I got him hooked on the world during our honeymoon in 2011, a surprise stay at AKL for one night after a cruise we took in 2012, and then again in 2015 when we took a short three night stay to get away from the horrible winter in Boston. I’m so glad he’s been bitten by the Disney bug and now refuses to go anywhere else on vacation!​

Character: Grumpy!
Park: Animal Kingdom
Rollar Coaster: NONE! DH isn’t a huge ride fan… he gets nervous they’re going to break 
and we’ll die.
TS dining: Liberty Tree Tavern… he’s obsessed and would eat there every meal if I didn’t 
insist otherwise!

 Misc Fun Fact: He has a ‘turkey leg’ shirt that I bought for him during a girls only trip because I thought
he loved turkey legs but turns out he actually hates 
 them and can’t imagine eating one! haha! But its his go to shirt for 
lounging and when missing Disney… and he always has to announce he’s 
wearing his ‘turkey leg’ shirt!

 

[iheartbelle87]

CHAPTERS

"The One Where We Booked Our Trip" - a Sept 2016 PTR!"The One Where We Booked Our Trip" - a Sept 2016 PTR!

"ADRs... and I need your help!

"ADRs... Part II

ADRS, again. But this is the last time, I promise!

ARRIVAL DAY PLANS!

"First full Disney day

Slight change to 9/5 bc I got a BOG dinner res!

9/6 plans

Room Change!

PICTURES! REAL LIFE UPDATE! 9/7 PLANS!

9/8 Plans

FP+ Selections

QS Fantasies!

Room Requests, etc 7/5 updated

FP+ selections COMPLETED

Dining and FP+ updates!!

53 Days Out!

OT- Real Life Update

Confession: Reservation Hoarder

Food Fantasies: Snack Edition

Must Dos: Disney Springs Edition

Packing List

Good News/Bad News

Until next time

 

[iheartbelle87]

Trip is booked! ​

Now we have gotten to know each other, it's time for the important stuff!

In order to meet DH's request for POR we cut our trip by one day

What: Um... a Disney Vacation, obviously!

When: 9/4/16-9/9/16

Where: Port Orleans Riverside- Royal Room! A Royal Room wasn't something we were seeking out, DH just wanted to stay at POR and I haven't been there for about 17 years, so I was more than happy to oblige to his request! Turns out the only room category left at POR for our dates was a Royal Room- Garden View so we booked it! Initially we wanted to stay until 9/10, but there is no room availability that day with the free dining promotion, and it would cost us an extra $298 to book a room only, and they can't guarantee won't have to change rooms. We agreed five nights was a good amount of time, and although I was a little disappointed, I'm ok with it now!

Why: Because we need it! Once I return from this trip, I will be working 40 hours a week as usual but also having to do 20 hours a week of clinical for my nurse practitioner program, as well as attend seminars every other Thursday from 5-9, after working 8-4:30. This schedule will go on until May 2017. So yeah... I'd like to get a little R&R before this craziness starts!

 

[Ndusmama]

I've only been to WDW once. My childhood was spent at DL. I went in Jan and stayed at POR in the royal room. You will love all the princess touches. Try to find time to get a carriage ride for the two of you.

 

[iheartbelle87]

I've only been to WDW once. My childhood was spent at DL. I went in Jan and stayed at POR in the royal room. You will love all the princess touches. Try to find time to get a carriage ride for the two of you.

Awesome, so glad to hear that you liked it! The carriage ride sounds very romantic, I'll have to look into it!
PS- WDW once?! You need to change this!

 

[Ndusmama]

Awesome, so glad to hear that you liked it! The carriage ride sounds very romantic, I'll have to look into it!
PS- WDW once?! You need to change this!

Yup only once to WDW for my sisters 40th. I'm planning my second trip now. DL though I have been over 500 in just the last 3 years. Love that my annual pass tells me how many days I've gone. I grew up near DL and used to get in free as a kid. So I'd say at least 1000 times there.

 

[iheartbelle87]

The One Where I Hem & Haw About ADRs

Thanks for sticking around! Now that I FINALLY finalized (does that make sense....?) our dates and resort, the next thing to do is to tackle ADRs.

To be honest, I've been making dining reservations since the end of April when DH and I began seriously putting this trip into action

9/4/2016 ARRIVAL DAY! TBD. Since our flight lands at 4:35pm, we will likely use a QS at the Riverside Food Mill before settling in for the night. However, we currently have an 8:15pm Grand Floridian Cafe reservation which I need to discuss with DH and see if we want to keep this or not.

9/5/2016 Fantastic Dining Package, Mama Melrose 6:50pm. DH and I haven't seen Fantasmic since 2011, and neither of us have ever done the dining package with VIP tickets!

9/6/2016 Chefs de France 8pm. We both love this TS, but its not a 'must do' necessarily. Hoping we can get a table near a window and maybe see some Illuminations?

9/7/2016 Liberty Tree Tavern 7pm. DH's absolute favorite TS. Now that I've written these down, I think this needs to be in the beginning of our trip... maybe I'll see if I can switch the Fantasmic DP and this reservation.

9/8/2016 Cafe May Buffet. This is a new TS for both of us, looks delicious, can't wait to try it!

9/9/2016 Departure Day Our flight leaves MCO at 11:25am, likely just use a snack credit for a bagel so we have something to munch on.

Now my sweet DIS friends, I know what you are all thinking, and this is where I need YOUR help. We have an 'extra' TS! Given the fact that there is an 90% chance we will not do a TS on arrival day, what do you suggest? A signature experience or two separate TS?

 

[iheartbelle87]

Yup only once to WDW for my sisters 40th. I'm planning my second trip now. DL though I have been over 500 in just the last 3 years. Love that my annual pass tells me how many days I've gone. I grew up near DL and used to get in free as a kid. So I'd say at least 1000 times there.

Thats amazing, I've never been to DL, definitely on our bucket list though! Can't wait to read about your WDW trip as well!

 

[iheartbelle87]

ARDS... PART II.

What PTR would be complete if one didn't change their entire trip itinerary 098238293 times, right?

Updated ADRs...
9/4/16 Arrival Day. Either GF Cafe, or quick a QS for dinner we'll be arriving later that evening and will likely just want to relax and be in bed by 10pm.

9/5/16 Liberty Tree Tavern 7:30pm

9/6/16 Chefs de France 8pm (this unchanged)

9/7/16 Mama Melrose 6:55pm, Fantasmic Dining Package

9/8/15 either a Signature Meal or Boma? Right now we have Cafe May Buffet, which I really want to figure out a way to incorporate into our plans. But I also like Boma. But I want to try something new, like Cafe May Buffet. But, we have an 'extra' TS since we are not going to use on 9/4/16... HELP! SOS!

 

[Ndusmama]

Thats amazing, I've never been to DL, definitely on our bucket list though! Can't wait to read about your WDW trip as well!

I'll actually be in WDW the day before you leave. I started reading your ptr to get ideas of what to do my first night. For you, did you know POR has a TS restaurant? Or when I went we took the ferry to Disney springs and grabbed dinner there. The Irish restaurant (sorry can't remember it's name) had great food and we just walked up to them, it was TS. I think I got in around 6 or 7 pm.

 

[KnK]

Tough one. We love our signature meals, our favorites are California Grill and Narcoossee's. We are trying Cape May for this first time this coming trip. We are both seafood lovers and looking forward to a few crab legs (or many. )

 

[PrincessAshlee]

Hi!!! My name is Ashlee and I am 28 too!! (Although I’ll be 29 this Thursday)

DF and I are going to WDW for our honeymoon in October. I am hoping to get him hooked, as he is not currently a big Disney fan.

What PTR would be complete if one didn't change their entire trip itinerary 098238293 times, right?

I change my itinerary all the time! I am constantly reading about new restaurants or activities on other PTRs/TRs and then I have to rearrange our schedule to make room for them. Then, I decide that I’ve planned too much for our “supposed to be relaxing” honeymoon and I have to rearrange the schedule again.

Now my sweet DIS friends, I know what you are all thinking, and this is where I need YOUR help. We have an 'extra' TS! Given the fact that there is an 90% chance we will not do a TS on arrival day, what do you suggest? A signature experience or two separate TS?

I don’t have a lot of advice on TS meals, sorry. On my last trip, I went to Chef Mickeys Dinner, Crystal Palace Breakfast, and Ohana Breakfast. All of the meals were good, especially since I went with kids, but it does not seem as though you are a fan of character dining.

This will be my first adults only trip and we will be dining at almost all new-to-me restaurants. (We will be returning to Ohana, but for dinner this time). We are especially excited to try Raglan Road in DS, Beaches & Cream Soda Shop at BC, and breakfast at Kona Café at Poly.

We were planning to eat at the Yachtsman Steakhouse, but then decided to try the new STK Orlando instead. I've read mixed reviews on this, but the food looks so good that we are hoping for the best. STK wouldn't really work for you though, since I've heard that it is 2 TS credits just for the meat, not including sides; not a good use of TS credits IMO. We are not on the DDP, so that was not a concern for us.


Good Luck on your continued planning!

 

[iheartbelle87]

Hi!!! My name is Ashlee and I am 28 too!! (Although I’ll be 29 this Thursday)

DF and I are going to WDW for our honeymoon in October. I am hoping to get him hooked, as he is not currently a big Disney fan.



I change my itinerary all the time! I am constantly reading about new restaurants or activities on other PTRs/TRs and then I have to rearrange our schedule to make room for them. Then, I decide that I’ve planned too much for our “supposed to be relaxing” honeymoon and I have to rearrange the schedule again.



I don’t have a lot of advice on TS meals, sorry. On my last trip, I went to Chef Mickeys Dinner, Crystal Palace Breakfast, and Ohana Breakfast. All of the meals were good, especially since I went with kids, but it does not seem as though you are a fan of character dining.

This will be my first adults only trip and we will be dining at almost all new-to-me restaurants. (We will be returning to Ohana, but for dinner this time). We are especially excited to try Raglan Road in DS, Beaches & Cream Soda Shop at BC, and breakfast at Kona Café at Poly.

We were planning to eat at the Yachtsman Steakhouse, but then decided to try the new STK Orlando instead. I've read mixed reviews on this, but the food looks so good that we are hoping for the best. STK wouldn't really work for you though, since I've heard that it is 2 TS credits just for the meat, not including sides; not a good use of TS credits IMO. We are not on the DDP, so that was not a concern for us.


Good Luck on your continued planning!

Wow! DH and I also went on a Disneymoon! #ashleesunites and PS- Happy Early Birthday!

You're right, we aren't into character meals. DH is the one that is really against it now- but he will totally be willing to go to them when we bring babies with us!

We did Kona Cafe for dinner last year and we loved it, definitely a great choice!

 

[iheartbelle87]

ADR Update!

Sorry for the lack of photos folks, they are coming soon, I promise!

This just in: I scored a BOG breakfast ADR for 9/7 at 9:45am!

My first choice was to get dinner at BOG, and I'm going to keep (obsessively) checking but I'm just so thankful to have this experience!

When I first started booking ADRs (about the 100 day mark, due to not knowing for sure if this trip would happen) I got a BOG 7pm ADR! I was beside myself!! Unfortunately, this is a MNSSHP night and even though the park closes at 7, I confirmed with a cast member we would need tickets to this event to dine. Not wanting to spend the extra money on these tickets, I was forced to cancel this. Super sad face.

Here is our updated ADR situation! Stay tuned for how I want to use our QS and snack options

9/4 No ADR, arriving at MCO at 4:35pm, so we'll grab QS at the resort

9/5 Liberty Tree Tavern 7:30pm DH's favorite meal! I like it here too, but not a must do for me like it is for him.

9/6 The Wave breakfast buffet 10:30am. First time here for both us! Chefs de France 8pm- a return for us, and SO looking forward to it! Since we won't be using a TS on arrival day, we are using it this day. #givemeallthefoods

9/7 9:45 BOG QS! First time here for both of us

️
6:55pm Mama Melrose Fantasmic Dining Package. I'm excited for some Disney Italian, but mostly we are eating here for the "vip" tickets to Fantasmic.

9/8 Cape May Cafe seafood buffet 7:20pm. First time here for us. DH isn't as big of a seafood fan as I am, but I checked the menu and he can have chicken and mashed potatoes if all else fails, haha!

Disclaimer! Random rambling thought, feel free to not read!
To help eliminate as much travel time between resorts for dining (we will rely on Disney transportation)I tried to pick restaurants in resorts are accessed a little easier than the rest.
For example, we can take the MK bus from POR and then walk to the CR for The Wave. For Cape May Cafe, we can either walk from Epcot if we find ourselves there, or take a bus from POR to DHS and take the boat. It's unlikely we'll find ourselves at another park that day, but if it occurs we can just take the bus to BC.

 

[iheartbelle87]

Now that I've bored you with my obsessive ADR planning shenanigans, we're moving on! That's right, it's time to talk about what the heck my actual plans are besides eating (and yes, I plan on doing more than eating).

ARRIVAL DAY 9/4
This day will be here before I know it!

Our plans for our travel/arrival day start off with us leaving our house around 8am (with the dog in tow!) and heading north from the north shore of Boston to Plymouth, NH.

Why are we driving an hour past MHT, you ask? Well, because that is where my mother in law is meeting us to exchange our dog. Lucky for us, DH's mom is willing to take a week off of work to stay home and care for our pup while we are away. However, she lives three hours north of us, so we meet her half way. Our dog is a mini husky and quite high maintenance- my MIL is the only person allowed to watch him. Ever. He gets a great deal out of this as well- non stop attention, a fenced in back yard, and he gets to play with his 'uncle' (aka: my in laws dog). In fact, now that I think of it, he may not want to come home !

After the dog drop off, we're turning the car around heading southbound to MHT.

Not only is it easier to do the dog drop off when we fly out of MHT (both to and from WDW), the parking is much more reasonable than Logan and Southwest has direct flights MHT to MCO!

So overall, its a win win. Now, when DH and I travel without each other, we fly out of Logan as it makes it easier for the one who is doing the airport drop off/pick ups. Plus, there is no doggie exchange.

Our flight leaves MHT at 1:15pm, so I want to be there by 11/11:30. We'll likely grab something quick for lunch after security.

We land at 4:25pm and will head straight to baggage claim. Even tho we're taking ME, we prefer to get our own luggage. Call us crazy, it's ok.

I'm hoping we can bypass the front desk once we arrive at POR by doing online check in. We don't have any room requests- I would love a king bed, but that is not offered in the Royal Rooms.

No parks today, just plan on face planting into a QS option at the Riverside Mill Food Court, potentially walking around the resort and admiring it before hitting the sack!

 

[iheartbelle87]

9/5/16 aka our first full day!

I'm sure I'll be awake by 7, filled with excitement, but I agreed to let DH sleep until 8.

Our morning is planned to be full of relaxation- snack credit for breakfast, lounging by one of the pools near the Royal Room buildings. Lots of coffee. Maybe some ice cream. Or a frozen beverage. Overall, just bliss.

Not sure what our lunch plans will be, probably QS at the resort or maybe even walk over to the French Quarter for a QS lunch.

Sometime around 4pm we'll head over to MK. I want to get FP+ for the Haunted Mansion, POTC and PhilharMagic.

7:30pm LTT dinner

We might stick around for Wishes if we find a quiet spot. I really anxious with the mass exit of people afterward, so I'm not sure.

Depending how much energy we have, we could head to Disney Springs after this or head back to the resort.

Not too much planned this day, except some relaxation, I can't wait!

 

[iheartbelle87]

A slight change in 9/5... because we got BOG!

You read that right! I managed to get a BOG dinner reservation for 9/5! I had no idea that touring plans.com had a reservation finder until this morning. Naturally, I went ahead and signed up for text notifications incase a BOG reservation came up. Four hours later, I got a text saying there was a spot open. Luckily I was already on my laptop, and I secured this.

Now I need to go look at the menu re plan 9/5...

 

[iheartbelle87]

9/6 Plans and some dining changes... again

Thanks for sticking around and reading my pre trip shenanigans!

Our plans for this day are AAHHHHmazing. Why you ask? Let me enlighten you...

Well, first of all I finally got a BOG dinner reservation for 4:50pm! This works perfectly by allowing us to go to LTT on the previous day, DH's favorite and getting the trip off on the right foot! It's a little early for dinner, but it's totally fine with us!

Secondly... I have an 80 minute Balinese massage scheduled at the Mandara spas from 11:30-12:50. Ahhh. I'm not sure if DH will accompany me to the Dolphin and hang out by the pool or something, or if he'll just stay at POR. Either way, it doesn't matter to me.

My morning plans are a quick bagel or yogurt parfait from the Riverside Mill Food Court per usual, then hang by the pool until its time for me to head to the Dolphin. I'm going to hop on a DHS bus and then take water taxi over to the Dolphin and dont want to feel rushed, so I'm hoping to leave the hotel by 10.

After my morning of relaxation, I'm sure I will be STARVING. However, I do not want to spoil my BOG dinner! If DH is with me, I think we may wonder off to the Boardwalk and use a QS credit there for something not too filling. If DH isn't with me, I'll head back to POR to meet up with him getting food at the resort somewhere.

We will need to head to the bus station by 3:30/3:45 for our 4:50 BOG ressie if I end up going back to POR. Otherwise, we may just stay at Dolphin and relax and then take their bus to MK.

Once we're done with dinner, we'll tour around MK, do things we didn't get a chance to do the day before before we call it a night. If DH rested all day and is up for it, we may end up taking the monorail to Epcot, as it's open til 11.

 

[iheartbelle87]

Same Resort, New Room!

If anyone remembers my teeny tiny post where I blurted out how excited I was that the trip was FINALLY booked, you'll also remember we ended up in a Royal Room because DH really wanted to stay at POR and that was the only room category available using the free dining promotion.

I was excited to see what this Royal Room situation was all about and DH was just excited to being staying at POR (and I was too!). We don't have any little Mickeys or Minnies (yet!) so the princess room idea was fun, but not a must have. It just was all that was available, and we weren't complaining! Plus, who knows, maybe we'll only have boy children and this could be my only chance to stay in one of these rooms

BUT....

I was looking on the WDW website today and found out that there was now availability for a king room AND it would save us $197! For anyone that doesn't know (but I'm sure you do...) Royal Rooms don't have king sized beds. We have a queen size at home, that our 15 lb dog shares with us and I swear we need a California king. So, I took advantage of this and called to switch our rooms! Again, this may be our last time going where we won't need a second bed in the room (and I'm SO excited for these days, but for now, give me the KING bed!). We had a king size at CSR in 2011 on our Disneymoon and both remember how great this was.

After I made the switch I bounced outside to find DH mowing our lawn and interrupted him to tell him the news. The sweat pouring off of him, he looked up at me and said, "ok cool. How is that different from what we had before?". Seriously, who IS this guy?!

I love that he lets me just plan our trips and he's always happy with what I have planned, but I swear he knew about the royal room!

Overall I'm really looking forward to this change and saving money.

Does anyone have any recommendations I should make for a room request? We like to be close to a quiet pool, that's pretty much our only request.

 

[saratriceratops]

A slight change in 9/5... because we got BOG!

You read that right! I managed to get a BOG dinner reservation for 9/5! I had no idea that touring plans.com had a reservation finder until this morning. Naturally, I went ahead and signed up for text notifications incase a BOG reservation came up. Four hours later, I got a text saying there was a spot open. Luckily I was already on my laptop, and I secured this.

Now I need to go look at the menu re plan 9/5...

WOW thanks for this, great tip! I've been stalking the My Disney Experience for 'Ohana but would so prefer to just get a text!