Official September 2012 planning thread! List on page 30!

[anjalee6]

The more I look at it, the more confused I get. But thanks for the Tuesday/Friday tip. I think the Tuesday will be less crowded, so I'll aim for that.

I'm currently booked 9/15 - 9/23, though I can't book my flights yet, so I may have to add or subtract a day here or there. The girls love Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Toy Story, Nemo and Monsters Inc, so they will have a blast I think. We're booked at Pop, so they'll have fun in the pool, and can get their pictures taken with statues of Goofy (one of my girl's favs) and Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head!

Yay! That sounds fantastic. I added your information to the list on page one.

So haven't had the opportunity to get on here in a while and then around Christmas we didn't think our trip was gonna happen after all - hubby had been promised a job but then they had to lay off people so he didn't get hired.

Well a couple days ago he got called for an interview at another business and then the next day heard from a company he worked for before to come work for them. Had his interview today and is on to the second round - have had some MAJOR pixie dust spread over us - our trip is SO back on - so excited - its one just for our little family and we are over the moon - DD is going to be 9 so she wants to do ALL the rides - such an awesome age... I'm just bouncing!

Now to just wait to start booking our ADRs - planning on upgrading our dining probably from quick service to one with table once a day - how many days before can you book them again?

That is great news. I am glad that everything worked out for you. I will add you to the list if you want. Just let me know.

You can start calling for your ADRs at 180 days plus 10 days. That means on your 180th day out from your arrival date (mine is March 26th for September 22nd), you can book for the next 10 days of your vacation so you don't have to call every day.

That is my favorite part. (180 + 10) Five more days until I can book ADRs for my July trip! So excited!

 

[Montana Minnies]

Sept 5-9th at BWV, another adult-only sept bday trip for me!! I already know where I want to make my adr's for, just have to wait til March!!

Our adr wish list:

day 1 - DHS- Capt Grill lunch/Kouzinna dinner (or qs lunch & FFC dinner)
day 2 - EPCOT- Le Cellier lunch /California Grill dinner
day 3 - me am MK/dbf sleep (EPCOT emh) - Big River brewing/ Jiko dinner
day 4 - AK - Tusker House (either late bf or early lunch)/Yachtmans dinner
day 5 - Cape May late bf, relax at hotel/pool, til they kick us out.

We may get dxdp or we may just pay oop, we have TIW, will have to do cost difference.

This of course is all dependent on schedules and such, but I worked this out based on Sept 2011 schedule. We do almost all our park time during the day, we leave around 2-3pm. Then pool/relax time, followed by dinner and relax.

How much time do you allow between your meals? We just got back and there were 10 of us together for 5 days with the dxdp. We ended up canceling a couple of our restaurants and mainly ate either breakfast or dinner together. Most felt as if we were eating all the time. The last 2 days it was just myself & my sister and we just paid OOP using a discount from our annual pass if we could.

 

[JewelsG]

You can start calling for your ADRs at 180 days plus 10 days. That means on your 180th day out from your arrival date (mine is March 26th for September 22nd), you can book for the next 10 days of your vacation so you don't have to call every day.

awesome - we were working on our list of restaurants last night - are there any that you wouldn't miss - we definitely are doing Akershus and Tusker House...

 

[mom_of_3_mousketeers]

awesome - we were working on our list of restaurants last night - are there any that you wouldn't miss - we definitely are doing Akershus and Tusker House...

We love Chef Mickey's and will be doing that one again. Our list consists of Akershus, 1900 Park Fare, Kona Cafe, 'Ohana, San Angel Inn in Epcot, 50's Prime Time Cafe, and Chef Mickey's.

 

[Jay2009]

I'll be heading down on the 23rd.

My friend and I are both turning 30 this year and we're going down for Epcot's 30th birthday on October 1st!

we're at Saratoga Springs right now and hoping to switch to Bay Lake Tower in a one bedroom, maybe theme park view if it's available.

now to pick where to eat!

 

[janabananas]

How much time do you allow between your meals? We just got back and there were 10 of us together for 5 days with the dxdp. We ended up canceling a couple of our restaurants and mainly ate either breakfast or dinner together. Most felt as if we were eating all the time. The last 2 days it was just myself & my sister and we just paid OOP using a discount from our annual pass if we could.

We try to do earliest possible lunch, for more of a brunch time, around 11am.
Then we try to schedule the latest possible dinner, around 9pm.

Dbf got laid off last week, so it looks like that list is getting scrapped & we will limit our dining to maybe 1 or 2 sit down's & the rest qs. Our room is already paid for, we rented DVC point, and we have AP's, so our only expense will be food & gas to get there, which isn't much considering we live 70 miles from WDW.

 

[anjalee6]

I'll be heading down on the 23rd.

My friend and I are both turning 30 this year and we're going down for Epcot's 30th birthday on October 1st!

we're at Saratoga Springs right now and hoping to switch to Bay Lake Tower in a one bedroom, maybe theme park view if it's available.

now to pick where to eat!

I added you to our list. I didn't realize that this year was Epcot's 30th. Wonder if they will do anything like this year at MK for the 40th?

 

[DisneyFleet]

We are booked at Pop for September 23 to October 1st with DD who will be 4, DS(6), my DH, MIL, FIL and I.
This will be our immediate family's second trip. Our first trip was May 2011 at ASMo for 5 nights so this will be a little longer.
We are planning on driving from Southern Ontario, Canada which will be different than last time was we were lucky enough to fly.
Hoping to get some advice on which attractions do make sure we do this time around along with dining reservations. We too have the free dining but upgraded to the Plus (1 TS and 1 Qs meal). We are all very excited to visit Disney again and can hardly wait.

 

[anjalee6]

We are booked at Pop for September 23 to October 1st with DD who will be 4, DS(6), my DH, MIL, FIL and I.
This will be our immediate family's second trip. Our first trip was May 2011 at ASMo for 5 nights so this will be a little longer.
We are planning on driving from Southern Ontario, Canada which will be different than last time was we were lucky enough to fly.
Hoping to get some advice on which attractions do make sure we do this time around along with dining reservations. We too have the free dining but upgraded to the Plus (1 TS and 1 Qs meal). We are all very excited to visit Disney again and can hardly wait.

I added you to our group list on page one.

 

[DonnaBoo]

We are booked at Pop for September 23 to October 1st with DD who will be 4, DS(6), my DH, MIL, FIL and I.
This will be our immediate family's second trip. Our first trip was May 2011 at ASMo for 5 nights so this will be a little longer.
We are planning on driving from Southern Ontario, Canada which will be different than last time was we were lucky enough to fly.
Hoping to get some advice on which attractions do make sure we do this time around along with dining reservations. We too have the free dining but upgraded to the Plus (1 TS and 1 Qs meal). We are all very excited to visit Disney again and can hardly wait.

How much does it cost to upgrade from qs to ts.? thanks
We've driven from the Maritimes to Florida in Janaury, about 6 years ago. It took about 4 days. We took our time and made lots of stops. Would I do it again? No way. Get me to Mickey's as quick as you can.

 

[ARAITHEL]

It's OFFICIAL! Booked our reservations today for POR Sept 19-24, 2012. It can't get here soon enough!

 

[ARAITHEL]

How much does it cost to upgrade from qs to ts.?

It's not that much. $11 per adult per night of your stay. Kids are no upgrade cost. However...when you figure in your upgrade (if you get free dining) from qs to ts, you can almost merit staying at a Moderate resort because with a Moderate reservation, you get the regular dining plan for free instead of the qs. I would definitely suggest upgrading to ts though. We love the ts restaurants. In addition, in 2012, you get the resort refillable mug with the regular dining, which is a savings for me! I always bought that cup! You get those free with qs.

TOTALLY HOPING FOR FREE DINING!

 

[DisneyFleet]

How much does it cost to upgrade from qs to ts.? thanks
We've driven from the Maritimes to Florida in Janaury, about 6 years ago. It took about 4 days. We took our time and made lots of stops. Would I do it again? No way. Get me to Mickey's as quick as you can.

I am not too sure how much to upgrade, but it will totally be worth it. Sitting down once a day even if just for the break will be nice. We have a few restaurants we want to visit again including Crystal palace for breakfast, Tonys town square for dinner and Yak and Yeti in AK. We are hoping to do Hollywood and Vine for lunch or dinner this year. We did 50's last year and weren't overly impressed. The atmosphere was good but food overall not so much. Anyone else recommend Hollywood and Vine?
Also, looking at another TS in HS, any other suggestions?
Also, for MK, any other TS meals anyone can suggest?
As for the trip down, I would prefer to fly to get there in 2 1/2 hours compared to driving. We plan on heading out Friday night late and driving all day Saturday to hopefully arrive at Disney early Sunday. We figure it takes 22 hours driving time in total so hoping to do most overnight while the kids (and me) sleep We will see if we can score a cheap flight closer to the date but we will see.

 

[ARAITHEL]

Also, looking at another TS in HS, any other suggestions?
Also, for MK, any other TS meals anyone can suggest?

We love Sci-Fi dine in in HS. I am in agreement with the Chrystal Palace ts at MK. We generally go for lunch or dinner. My DD (11) loves that restaurant, but we are fans of cheesy science fiction.

Consider adding 'Ohanas if you like meat. The wings are divine. Book the 'Ohana dinner asap 180 days out as the restaurant fills up fast. You can sometimes see the fireworks at MK if you get seated by a window and your kiddos can stay up that late!


I thought that Coral Reef in Epcot was a really nice place to eat. We are beef producers and raise our own Angus beef. I generally don't care for the steak in restaurants (yes, I am spoiled) and I loved the steak there. Can't say if it's still good, but mine was excellent. The atmosphere is great for kids, as they can watch the fish in the big aquarium while they eat.

Hope this helps!

-Mandy

 

[DisneyFleet]

We love Sci-Fi dine in in HS. I am in agreement with the Chrystal Palace ts at MK. We generally go for lunch or dinner. My DD (11) loves that restaurant, but we are fans of cheesy science fiction.

Consider adding 'Ohanas if you like meat. The wings are divine. Book the 'Ohana dinner asap 180 days out as the restaurant fills up fast. You can sometimes see the fireworks at MK if you get seated by a window and your kiddos can stay up that late!


I thought that Coral Reef in Epcot was a really nice place to eat. We are beef producers and raise our own Angus beef. I generally don't care for the steak in restaurants (yes, I am spoiled) and I loved the steak there. Can't say if it's still good, but mine was excellent. The atmosphere is great for kids, as they can watch the fish in the big aquarium while they eat.

Hope this helps!

-Mandy

Thank you Mandy, I think we will try the Sci-Fi diner in HS. As for Coral Reef, I thought about that one last time but there seemed to be a ton of seafood on the menu and we don't particularly like it. If the atmosphere is worth it, I might consider. Also, is Ohana at another resort? How would one get there?

Thanks again

 

[ARAITHEL]

Also, is Ohana at another resort? How would one get there?

'Ohana is at the Poly. If you are at Epcot, You can take the Monorail there. If you are at MK, you can take the monorail or you can walk to the Poly. If you are at your resort take a bus to DTD and then to the Poly. You can also take the bus from any Park to the Poly.

If you have guys that like RED MEAT...this is the place. Character dining in the morning with Lilo and Stitch (I have not been there.) I recommend dinner. They serve you an all-you-can eat dinner with skewered meat. And there's a program with hula dancing and music. Coconut races, etc. We've been known to eat there twice in one trip!

 

[Montana Minnies]

We had a great time for our Jan. trip and created so many wonderful memories. Now we start getting serious about planning for our September one. This will be the first time we have ever done 2 trips the same year and will be spending 12 days for our trip in September. (Just us 2 MT Minnie Sisters) and possibly one of our nieces will be meeting us there for a few days.
The last trip was for a week and did it ever go fast. I was so sad to leave, but so excited to be going again.
So the countdown begins again.......235 days and counting....................

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

'Ohana is at the Poly. If you are at Epcot, You can take the Monorail there. If you are at MK, you can take the monorail or you can walk to the Poly. If you are at your resort take a bus to DTD and then to the Poly. You can also take the bus from any Park to the Poly.

If you have guys that like RED MEAT...this is the place. Character dining in the morning with Lilo and Stitch (I have not been there.) I recommend dinner. They serve you an all-you-can eat dinner with skewered meat. And there's a program with hula dancing and music. Coconut races, etc. We've been known to eat there twice in one trip!

I would not recommend going anywhere by taking the bus to DTD. We have never had good bus service to/from DTD. To get to the Poly from another hotel using Disney transportation, I would either go to MK or Epcot and take the monorail. (You can easily walk to the Poly from the TTC.)

 

[anjalee6]

I would not recommend going anywhere by taking the bus to DTD. We have never had good bus service to/from DTD. To get to the Poly from another hotel using Disney transportation, I would either go to MK or Epcot and take the monorail. (You can easily walk to the Poly from the TTC.)

We always find the DTD buses to be some of the longest bus rides also.

 

[Love Pooh Bear]

Hi all.....We went this past Sept and like some of you we booked the bounce back offer with free dining and we're going this Sept too!!!! We are going from Sept 15th thru Sept 22nd and we're staying at POP! Can't wait!
This is really the 1st time I've been able to get onto the Boards since we got back! I never got a chance to do a trip report or catch up with anyone on the Sept 2011 thread! Life just got in the way!!!! Hopefully things will settle down now!!!!
It's nice to see some familiar names from the last Sept thread and I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone else! Now to get the plans started!!!!