NOVEMBER 2012 Trip Planners Thread~ Everybody is Welcome~Part 3 already!

[kerplop]

Well looks like we have to skip upgrading to the regular dining plan this year because of the ole finances. Boo! I was looking forward to trying out some of the table services places this year. Oh well, at least we're going! Now to begin the official countdown.

 

[Smileybug]

We aren't huge AK lovers, and often skip the park completely, but we love animals. I was going to try and switch last couple nights to WL (we stayed there in jan and loved it), but of course it was not available. In fact, the only DVC resort that was available besides SSR was AKL. But I've been looking at pics and it looks amazing. We are actually starting out our trip this year by running the 5k at AK, so it seems fitting to end there as well.

That does seem fitting.

Am I the only one NOT doing a split stay??? Oh well maybe next trip!
I wanna do AKL! SOOOOO I looked at the difference in prices and its only $150 more to stay at AKL! But Id have to drop the DxDP UGH!

What we are thinking about doing isn't a split stay persay. Instead of leaving on Sunday morning we would just move to the AKL for one night. Then leave on Monday morning. But right now it is very much in the talking stage.

 

[Smileybug]

Well looks like we have to skip upgrading to the regular dining plan this year because of the ole finances. Boo! I was looking forward to trying out some of the table services places this year. Oh well, at least we're going! Now to begin the official countdown.

Maybe free dining is in your future when its released to the general public.

 

[mommyof3princess27]

That does seem fitting.




What we are thinking about doing isn't a split stay persay. Instead of leaving on Sunday morning we would just move to the AKL for one night. Then leave on Monday morning. But right now it is very much in the talking stage.

I was just talking about switching there for the week not a split stay. I was looking at upgrading to Deluxe and leaving POR even though I love it. I want to stay Deluxe. I think Id rather have the DxDP.... Im starting to wonder though....Do I have TOO many ADR's I know we want to eat 3x a day and I am thinking that we should cancel some and just switch them to CS I dont want to take too much time away from parks

 

[mommyof3princess27]

The only ones I can even think about taking away is RFC( our lunch at AK) we were going to do this OOP maybe an appi or something.... should I just cancel it and change to FlameTree? : Its hard because the CS places arent enough of a rest in the middle of the day and the TS might be too long. How long is the typical meal at a TS place? An hour?

 

[mommyof3princess27]

I asked this on FB group but I want to ask it here too:
DH and I are stuck on something and are disagreeing because we dont know which to do. I want to eat at Crystal Palace, its already on our list to do. Problem is its a breakfast(only available place to put it) and its on a EMH morning day. SO I have 2 options (note we have never done EMH so we dont know if they are good or not)
Crystal Palace @ 815 then MK
OR
MK at 8am and Crystal Palace at 9:30
The problem with both of these is that we have a 2:05 CRT ADR that we can not change. Im not worried about not being hungry at 2, my mom just wants the experience but I know we will eat something. Its not the time spent at ADR's (we have plenty of MK time) all the things aside, would you go for the morning EMH and do the later breakfast or go for the early breakfast? DH says early Breakfast... I disagree

 

[TinkPirateMom]

The only ones I can even think about taking away is RFC( our lunch at AK) we were going to do this OOP maybe an appi or something.... should I just cancel it and change to FlameTree? : Its hard because the CS places arent enough of a rest in the middle of the day and the TS might be too long. How long is the typical meal at a TS place? An hour?

I would dump RFC for Flame Tree BBQ. Everyone seems to love that place and AK does not seem to be a "strenuous" park in which you would need a long break in the middle of the day. Are you doing TH that morning? If so, you guys can fill up at the buffet for sure.

From what I have read I would say a typical TS meal will take about an hour but maybe longer for a larger group and for places that tend to run behind schedule such as O'hana.

I asked this on FB group but I want to ask it here too:
DH and I are stuck on something and are disagreeing beuse we dont know which to do. I want to eat at Crystal Palace, its already on our list to do. Problem is its a breakfast(only available place to put it) and its on a EMH morning day. SO I have 2 options (note we have never done EMH so we dont know if they are good or not)
Crystal Palace @ 815 then MK
OR
MK at 8am and Crystal Palace at 9:30
The problem with both of these is that we have a 2:05 CRT ADR that we can not change. Im not worried about not being hungry at 2, my mom just wants the experience but I know we will eat something. Its not the time spent at ADR's (we have plenty of MK time) all the things aside, would you go for the morning EMH and do the later breakfast or go for the early breakfast? DH says early Breakfast... I disagree

Given your choices, I agree with you.

 

[mommyof3princess27]

I would dump RFC for Flame Tree BBQ. Everyone seems to love that place and AK does not seem to be a "strenuous" park in which you would need a long break in the middle of the day. Are you doing TH that morning? If so, you guys can fill up at the buffet for sure.

From what I have read I would say a typical TS meal will take about an hour but maybe longer for a larger group and for places that tend to run behind schedule such as O'hana.



Given your choices, I agree with you.

CP is a MUST do for me since I eeyore!!!!

 

[Tulles]

Okay I've pretty much set my 3 ADRs that I want. Got SciFi Cafe and Coral Reef booked but can't get T-Rex. All they have is 9:30pm and that's out of the question. Booked Boatwright's as an alternative for now. Its for our arrival day and we'll be at POR anyways. Should I just keep checking for T-Rex? Booked Rain Forest Cafe at first but cancelled it because we have 2 within an hour of us.

 

[princesshope1982]

I asked this on FB group but I want to ask it here too:
DH and I are stuck on something and are disagreeing because we dont know which to do. I want to eat at Crystal Palace, its already on our list to do. Problem is its a breakfast(only available place to put it) and its on a EMH morning day. SO I have 2 options (note we have never done EMH so we dont know if they are good or not)
Crystal Palace @ 815 then MK
OR
MK at 8am and Crystal Palace at 9:30
The problem with both of these is that we have a 2:05 CRT ADR that we can not change. Im not worried about not being hungry at 2, my mom just wants the experience but I know we will eat something. Its not the time spent at ADR's (we have plenty of MK time) all the things aside, would you go for the morning EMH and do the later breakfast or go for the early breakfast? DH says early Breakfast... I disagree

id say do the early ones to take advantage of emh.

 

[sjs314]

Okay I've pretty much set my 3 ADRs that I want. Got SciFi Cafe and Coral Reef booked but can't get T-Rex. All they have is 9:30pm and that's out of the question. Booked Boatwright's as an alternative for now. Its for our arrival day and we'll be at POR anyways. Should I just keep checking for T-Rex? Booked Rain Forest Cafe at first but cancelled it because we have 2 within an hour of us.

Did you try calling T-Rex directly? 1-407-828-8739

 

[atksn]

Did you try calling T-Rex directly? 1-407-828-8739

I second calling directly. Our last trip we couldn't book ADRs, and I called directly and they asked me; "what time do you want, we are totally open". I was in shock! Then she went on to say that "even if you are early or late, it's fine, we will be able to get you in". That night the place was *maybe* 1/3 full!

 

[mamamini]

I asked this on FB group but I want to ask it here too:
DH and I are stuck on something and are disagreeing because we dont know which to do. I want to eat at Crystal Palace, its already on our list to do. Problem is its a breakfast(only available place to put it) and its on a EMH morning day. SO I have 2 options (note we have never done EMH so we dont know if they are good or not)
Crystal Palace @ 815 then MK
OR
MK at 8am and Crystal Palace at 9:30
The problem with both of these is that we have a 2:05 CRT ADR that we can not change. Im not worried about not being hungry at 2, my mom just wants the experience but I know we will eat something. Its not the time spent at ADR's (we have plenty of MK time) all the things aside, would you go for the morning EMH and do the later breakfast or go for the early breakfast? DH says early Breakfast... I disagree

I would definitely take advantage of EMH and do breakfast at 9:30. It's really quite lovely to be on Dumbo with no lines and no one around!

 

[momto2inKC]

Hope everyone had a good 4th today! Thanks for the anniversary wishes! It was SO hot today, I think they said the hottest 4th since 1954? It was 103 outside.
I enjoyed the day off from 'Disney planning' but ready to jump back in tomorrow

 

[disneychic2]

I think she got it from Mickey Path dot com

Thanks!

I was sitting there dying when I listened to her tell me about her trip. She was there with her parents once maybe 15 years ago. But I don't think she had any idea at all where she was going!

They spent their first day at MK wandering around and had an "okay time", they had free dining but made no ADR's and were shocked that they couldn't just walk in and eat at TS places. The next day they went to Epcot in the morning and by noon were "so bored that the kids and her husband were begging to leave" so they went back to ASMu and swam. Then they went to HS in the afternoon and stayed for 3 hours before her family again begged to go back to the hotel. Their 3rd day was at Legoland and they loved it b/c there were "no lines for anything". They then went on a cruise to the Bahamas and loved it because they could swim all day.

Was it rude that I told her that she should use her vacation money and just buy a pool?

Great advise! Their experience just proves Disney isn't for everyone. Can't imagine spending that much money for vacation and not doing any research or planning. Well, one less family competing for ADR's!

The only ones I can even think about taking away is RFC( our lunch at AK) we were going to do this OOP maybe an appi or something.... should I just cancel it and change to FlameTree? : Its hard because the CS places arent enough of a rest in the middle of the day and the TS might be too long. How long is the typical meal at a TS place? An hour?

DH and I love Flame Tree! If you walk behind the building on the left as you face FT, you can go down steps and get to a place close to the water. It is sometimes a bit quieter and more relaxing due to people not realizing it's there. That may give you the rest you need.

I think the typical amount of time spent on TS is an hour or less since they try to turn the tables fairly quickly. But of course there are some that take longer. Liberty Tree Tavern took more like 90 minutes. It also depends how many people in your group and the wait staff. Mama Melrose's always seem slow to us. Great food, but slow service!

I would definitely take advantage of EMH and do breakfast at 9:30. It's really quite lovely to be on Dumbo with no lines and no one around!

I agree. If your family can wait to eat, the morning EMH are, well, magic! You can get so much done in such a short time. But if the family will be cranky if they don't eat, keep your ADR and enjoy the harmony!

 

[mommyof3princess27]

so i *might* have an idea..... If I take MM out of our DHS day and put in Sci-fi(maybe just wait for F!) that will free up a night (we can do CP that night so leaving our MK morning open)

 

[Smileybug]

The only ones I can even think about taking away is RFC( our lunch at AK) we were going to do this OOP maybe an appi or something.... should I just cancel it and change to FlameTree? : Its hard because the CS places arent enough of a rest in the middle of the day and the TS might be too long. How long is the typical meal at a TS place? An hour?

For us it typically isn't an hour. But there is just 2 of us.

 

[cyndiloveswalt]

I also think you should do EMH and then a later breakfast. Our last trip we got to MK at RP and got on every long line ride in about an hour, maybe an hour and a half and actually rode the astro orbiter for the first time because there was no line and typically it takes forever.

 

[mommyof3princess27]

I feel like Im cutting everything out... NO HDDR, NO Fantasmic! I realized we arent gonna have enough time to do F! and see the Osbourne lights before dinner

 

[mommyof3princess27]

I also think you should do EMH and then a later breakfast. Our last trip we got to MK at RP and got on every long line ride in about an hour, maybe an hour and a half and actually rode the astro orbiter for the first time because there was no line and typically it takes forever.

I am thinking of cutting F! If I do that, I can free up a evening (for MK and Crystal Palace) that way we can just have a free morning