One More Trip! Let's Do This! September '17 PTR Updated 7/11/17

[Sarahh1027]

Wow! Your plans are a lot like mine. Well, as far as the food goes. Lol.

1. I want to do Be Our Guest for dinner. We did breakfast last year, but I want to try dinner there.

2. Love Via Napoli. One of our faves.

3. Garden Grill is one of out other favorite places to eat. Make sure to ask for a seat on the bottom row. Better view and the seats are more comfortable. Lol.

4. Of the three listed here I would do Rose and Crown. Le Cellier is a bit rich for me.

5. Rainforest is fun. I've always loved it.

6. Tusker House is another one we love.

7. Sci-Fi is so much fun. I'm planning to eat there on our trip.

8. Mama Melrose is a fun place to eat at. Even my picky son loves the food there. Lol.

9. I would do Crystal Palace. I love the characters here and the food is pretty good.

Wow. Sorry that got a bit lon winded. Lol. I love your plans and I'm a coffee addict also. And the coffee just tastes better at Disney. Lol.

Oh you guys will love BOG for dinner!

Thank you for the Garden Grill seating suggestion! I'll be sure to ask for the bottom row

I'm thinking of doing Le Cellier on the night we just come to Epcot for a stroll around World Showcase. I know after dinner we will be stuffed and want to waddle back to the buses. But I have read many reviews calling the food rich so I don't doubt this!!

I love that you love all the same places to eat as me!! Once the park hours come out I can really buckle down and plan everything out!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

I loved Mama Melrose when we ate there a couple of years ago. And Be Our Guest, of course, is FABULOUS!

 

[Corrine 1973]

Hey there, Joining in with the PTR. My family is going toward the end of August so not to long before you. So glad that you booked your trip. It doesn't really seem to be real until the trip is officially booked. I was just able to book the day before Valentines day. I put down $1000 that I had been saving on gift cards and my vacation account (it really was easy to use) and pay off the rest when I get my taxes (hopefully next week sometime).
I have eaten at Mama Melrose several times and have always been happy with the food. Plus I was able to get a appetizer with the Fantasmic package that was still covered by the dining plan. Not sure if this is still the case. I have not been to a lot of different places at Epcot but I really enjoyed Rose and Crown when I was there. The beer was really good.
I have done a few pre opening breakfasts and they are definitely worth it. There is nothing like seeing the parks with little to no one around. And the photographers are already out to take your pics.

 

[Sarahh1027]

I loved Mama Melrose when we ate there a couple of years ago. And Be Our Guest, of course, is FABULOUS!

So many positive things I've been hearing about Mama Melrose! Decisions, decisions!!

Hey there, Joining in with the PTR. My family is going toward the end of August so not to long before you. So glad that you booked your trip. It doesn't really seem to be real until the trip is officially booked. I was just able to book the day before Valentines day. I put down $1000 that I had been saving on gift cards and my vacation account (it really was easy to use) and pay off the rest when I get my taxes (hopefully next week sometime).
I have eaten at Mama Melrose several times and have always been happy with the food. Plus I was able to get a appetizer with the Fantasmic package that was still covered by the dining plan. Not sure if this is still the case. I have not been to a lot of different places at Epcot but I really enjoyed Rose and Crown when I was there. The beer was really good.
I have done a few pre opening breakfasts and they are definitely worth it. There is nothing like seeing the parks with little to no one around. And the photographers are already out to take your pics.

Hello! Thanks for joining! That's awesome that you're going in August!! Isn't it awesome being able to pay off the entire trip so far in advance? I love it!
I'm definitely keeping Mama Melrose now...maybe I'll pay out of pocket for Crystal Palace instead of getting rid of it. With free dining I'm okay with paying for one table service! When we went last May we had a table service restaurant a day (no dining plan) and man was it pricey!
I would LOVE some near-empty Main Street pictures at Magic Kingdom! I think it's a keeper!
I will definitely book the dining package for Fantasmic...even if we don't get an appetizer the seating alone will make it worth it. Fantasmic is my favorite. and James and I love Italian food (he's Italian!) so I know we will love Mama Melrose! Thanks for the advice!

 

[missangelalexis]

Joining in! What a fun trip you 2 have planned so far!

I love having the Disney Visa! The redemption dollars really come in handy!

Picking restaurants is hard! I absolutely love Crystal Palace breakfast, I think the food is delicious. That meal isn't too bad price wise, so would be a good choice if you have to pay out of pocket for something!

Also I know you mentioned not really taking advantage of Food & Wine but I would say to reconsider that! It's definitely one of my favorite things Disney has to offer, SO many yummy foods. And I believe you can use snack credits towards a lot of the items!

 

[amazingact21]

I'm joining in! My husband is in the Air Force, as well, and we've stayed at pretty much the same resorts as you have. (Pop, Shades, All Star Sports...) Your trip sounds like a lot of fun! Plenty of time to explore and take your time and soak up the Disney magic.

 

[emma212010]

So I've been taking notes as I read...this may be all over the place!

I really enjoy Chef's de France. I think BOG has better entrees, but Chefs desserts are PHENOMENAL!!

Also, Yachtsman was the best meal I had ever had on property! It was amazing!!! I honestly think the steak was MUCH better than Le Cellier. I used to really love Le Cellier, but for some reason it hasn't seemed worth it to me lately. I think the choices at Yachtsman are better.

UGH I LOVE Tusker House breakfast!!!! We are eating there for dinner on our trip for the first time. I hope it's just as good!

The two times I ate at Mama Melrose, I had two very polar opposite experiences. The negative experience might have had to do with me being under the weather. I think it's a solid Italian restaurant. Nothing fancy. My favorite Table Service in DHS is 50s Prime Time, though! SOOO good!!

Those MK choices I love them both, and we are doing both in August too!!

UGH Troy and I are Starbucks/coffee OBSESSED too!!

I think you have some great choices!!!! I love this part of the planning. It is frustrating without park hours, and also knowing they will change is driving me crazy. I'm also dying to make FP+ reservations but I still have 3 months! I'm sure it will fly by, and like you said, I don't want to wish summer away! (Especially as a teacher )

 

[Sarahh1027]

Joining in! What a fun trip you 2 have planned so far!

I love having the Disney Visa! The redemption dollars really come in handy!

Picking restaurants is hard! I absolutely love Crystal Palace breakfast, I think the food is delicious. That meal isn't too bad price wise, so would be a good choice if you have to pay out of pocket for something!

Also I know you mentioned not really taking advantage of Food & Wine but I would say to reconsider that! It's definitely one of my favorite things Disney has to offer, SO many yummy foods. And I believe you can use snack credits towards a lot of the items!

Hey there! Welcome to my planning journey! We have decided to have breakfast at Crystal Palace (and pay out of pocket!!)
Also I have looked into saving a night in Epcot to eat throughout the Food and Wine festival! Consider me convinced! I'm super excited too

I'm joining in! My husband is in the Air Force, as well, and we've stayed at pretty much the same resorts as you have. (Pop, Shades, All Star Sports...) Your trip sounds like a lot of fun! Plenty of time to explore and take your time and soak up the Disney magic.

Awesome!! Welcome along! and a big strong thank you to your husband, yourself, and your family for all your sacrifices!
Don't you just love Shades of Green?? I miss it so much and can't wait for when I can stay there again!
This is the longest trip I've ever done- I'm beyond excited!

So I've been taking notes as I read...this may be all over the place!

I really enjoy Chef's de France. I think BOG has better entrees, but Chefs desserts are PHENOMENAL!!

Also, Yachtsman was the best meal I had ever had on property! It was amazing!!! I honestly think the steak was MUCH better than Le Cellier. I used to really love Le Cellier, but for some reason it hasn't seemed worth it to me lately. I think the choices at Yachtsman are better.

UGH I LOVE Tusker House breakfast!!!! We are eating there for dinner on our trip for the first time. I hope it's just as good!

The two times I ate at Mama Melrose, I had two very polar opposite experiences. The negative experience might have had to do with me being under the weather. I think it's a solid Italian restaurant. Nothing fancy. My favorite Table Service in DHS is 50s Prime Time, though! SOOO good!!

Those MK choices I love them both, and we are doing both in August too!!

UGH Troy and I are Starbucks/coffee OBSESSED too!!

I think you have some great choices!!!! I love this part of the planning. It is frustrating without park hours, and also knowing they will change is driving me crazy. I'm also dying to make FP+ reservations but I still have 3 months! I'm sure it will fly by, and like you said, I don't want to wish summer away! (Especially as a teacher )

Thank you for the feedback!!! I'm still not 100% sold on Le Cellier- Yachtsman is definitely still in the running! I have 5 days (including today!) to figure it out- eek!

I'm so excited to try Tusker House

That's a bummer that you had a bad experience at Mama Melrose. Getting sick on vacation is NOT fun!!

COFFEE FOR THE WIN!!

 

[Sarahh1027]

1 Day till Pi Day!
1 Day till Snow Day!
Most importantly…..

1 DAY TILL ADRS!!!!


It’s Monday- and I cannot wait until tomorrow.
(despite the huge snow storm we’re getting…)
(and no I'm not really excited about "Pi Day")

But rather because it’ll finally be our 180 mark!

So while I watch Aladdin and drink my coffee from my Snow White mug,
what better time to tell you all my plans for tomorrow morning?


Hey did you all know that Scott Weinger voices Aladdin?
He plays Steve in Full House (and Fuller House).

((D.J.’s boyfriend))

This update is super text heavy...so I’ll try my best to add pictures to liven the place up!

So here’s the plan guys. I’ll give you a basic outline of how our days are going to look (as of now). When I use the abbreviation CS it means Counter Service, and TS is Table Service. We are staying 9 nights, so we will have 9 of each.
I’ll keep the total count on the bottom of each day.
Ugh if free dining could just be released that’d be great!
I hate waiting!!

Time to eat!


Sunday, 9/10

This is the day we fly in. We don’t land in Orlando until 6:49pm so by the time we get settled in at All Star Sports it’ll be pretty late. We will have dinner at the End Zone food court. That’s one counter service meal out of nine, and no table service used yet.

Total:
1 CS/9 CS
0 TS/9 TS


Monday, 9/11

Our first park day! We want to start our vacation off by doing rope drop at Magic Kingdom. We will see the new Welcome Show (which I just found out about maybe a month ago...I don’t know how I missed the memo!) then it’s off to our favorite rides. I don’t know where we will start- but my fav is Splash Mountain so why not?

We will have an 11:30am reservation for lunch at Be Our Guest.

After lunch we will park hop to Hollywood Studios. We will use up our 3 fastpasses, see the Beauty and the Beast musical, and have dinner at 5:00 at Sci-Fi Dine-In. Our fastpasses will be 1-2, 2-3, and 3-4. We will do Rock n Roller Coaster first followed by hopefully a 2:00pm show of Beauty and the Beast. Then over to Tower of Terror to use our Fastpass. Our last fastpass will be for Star Tours!

Before and after dinner we will fit in other rides (4th FP?) maybe The Great Movie Ride or see Voyage of the Little Mermaid. I also plan to meet Sorcerer Mickey this trip- but we have a whole other day here so no rush to get things done! Then it’s Fantasmic time! What a perfect way to end our night.

Total:
2 CS/9 CS
1 TS/9 TS

Mickey gettin boosy at Fantasmic, what are we gonna do with him?

Tuesday, 9/12

Our second day we will sleep in a bit. We will be able to relax- if it’s sunny and we want to swim we’ll do that or if we’re eager to get back to Magic Kingdom we will go right there. Lunch today will be at Cosmic Ray’s.

We will have FP's set up for the afternoon. Probably for 1-2, 2-3, then 3-4. Magic Kingdom closes at 7 tonight, so around 5 we will head to Epcot. We will eat dinner at 6:30 at Via Napoli.

Tonight we will hopefully see Illuminations (which was rained out our last trip) then it's extra magic hours from 9-11. I'm hoping to get on Soarin and Test Track (among others like Spaceship Earth) but I've never done extra magic hours at Epcot so I have no idea what the lines will be like!

Total:
3 CS/9 CS
2 TS/9 TS


Wednesday, 9/13

I’m thinking we won’t have to rope drop today, and can have another slow morning (this is vacation after all!) and hopefully get some pool time in. Since this a long vacation I don’t want to get burnt out. Plenty of relax time is key!

We will head to Epcot probably around noon. Our Tier One FP will be for Frozen Ever After (a first for us!) and the other two will be for Spaceship Earth and Mission: Space. When it comes time to book these, I’ll probably make Spaceship Earth from 12-1 so we can catch the tail end of it, then Mission:Space will be 1-2. FEE will be 2-3 as we make our way around World Showcase.

Dinner tonight is at Tutto Italia at 4:30. I ate here my first trip but it’ll be a new experience for James. James loves lasagna and the one here looks delicious!

We will be in no rush to park hop today, but when we do it’s off to Magic Kingdom for extra magic hours from 9-11. Since the park closes at 9 and I’ve only ever been to Magic Kingdom when it’s open till 11 and Wishes was at 10, I’m not sure what time the new show will be at. 9:00 when the park closes or 8:00? Which would make the new Once Upon a time at 8:45 or 7:45? Either way, I can’t wait to see Happily Ever After and Once Upon a Time, so I’m thinking we will get there on time to see them!

Oh forgot to mention! If we’re hungry we will probably grab food at any counter service for a very late 2nd dinner. Maybe Columbian Harbour House or Pecos Bills. Depends on what we’re in the mood for.

Total:
4 CS/9 CS
3 TS/9 TS

Thursday, 9/14

Animal Kingdom rope drop this day! I’m thinking of trying for a pre-park opening breakfast at 8am since we have so much to do this day, but since we’re coming off of such a late night at MK I don’t know if this is wise. An extra hour of sleep can go a long way. I don’t want to give up MK extra magic hours either.

We are really planning on this being our only AK day, but if we feel as though we want to do anything we missed then we do have two other opportunities to return. Saturday and Monday mornings (both coincidently extra magic morning hours…) but hey if we hop in just to get specific rides done I’m sure it won’t be too bad...

After breakfast we will use up our fastpasses, which given the fact that Pandora will be open, these are still a mystery. Our must-do’s are Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, Kali River Rapids, the Safari which hopefully we rope drop, and Pandora. Ok that’s basically everything….We will also make sure to see the Festival of the Lion King, It’s Tough to be a Bug, and Flights of Wonder. I also want to meet Pocahontas.

We will be here till closing today so I’m hoping there’s enough time…. On past trips I am always able to do everything between 9 and 5...however we have an extra sit-down restaurant this time and ALL of Pandora to see. I just love all the details of AK, walking the trails that are often overlooked and sitting down with coffee and just enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells.

Dinner will be at Rainforest Cafe at 5. Right now it says that AK is open until 7pm, and I remember reading somewhere that Rivers of Light is at 7. However, if it’s earlier like at 6 then I’m hoping we can just push our dinner earlier (it will be considered lunch there since dinner doesn’t start until 5). I’m hoping to book the dining package for our Tusker House breakfast for Rivers of Light, but since it’s not showing on the schedule yet I doubt they’ll let me book the dining package.

Tonight will definitely be an early to bed night.

Total:
4 CS/9 CS
5 TS/9 TS


Friday, 9/15

Today we sleep in! But not too late! I’m thinking of a 10:00 reservation for breakfast at Kona Cafe. We will pay for this meal out of pocket. Then it’s off to Magic Kingdom!

Our FP’s will be for 11-12, 12-1, and 1-2. Then it’s back to our room to have a relaxing afternoon. If it’s nice out we can hang by the pool, maybe catch some extra Zzz’s, explore the resort some more, get some laundry done. We will probably have lunch at End Zone food court.

We won’t head out again until much later- maybe 7ish. Tonight is our Disney Springs night. No real plans- just shopping and enjoying. Maybe grab a drink somewhere, and/or try out the bowling place. I haven’t thought about dinner- maybe later I’ll book at House of Blues (one of my favs) and since the vacation package comes with a 20% off coupon it’s a good dinner to pay out of pocket.

Total:
5 CS/9 CS
5 TS/9 TS


Saturday, 9/16

Today we will sleep in, and head to Hollywood Studios whenever we’re ready.
Lunch will be at whatever CS we’re in the mood for.

We will probably see Indiana Jones, the Muppets, One Man’s Dream, use our 3 FP’s for Toy Story, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours. We will try for Rock n Roller Coaster for our 4th FP (which I’ve been able to get my last two trips on top of already having a FP for it to begin with-Score!)

Dinner is at 5 at Mama Melrose (another new one!) and we might as well book the Fantasmic seating for it.

Then we get to see Fantasmic again-yay!

Total:
6 CS/9 CS
6 TS/ 9 TS


Sunday, 9/17

Sunday will start with an 8am pre-park opening breakfast at Crystal Palace. James and I are both really pumped for this one. We’re going to pay out of pocket for this. We will spend all day at Magic Kingdom, maybe hop over to the Polynesian to get a Dole Whip, lunch will be counter service somewhere, have a 6:00 dinner at Be Our Guest, and see the nighttime shows. Then it’s time to say goodbye to the Magic Kingdom.

Total:
7 CS/9 CS
7 TS/9 TS


Monday, 9/18

On our last day we will sleep in, and head to Epcot. We will probably have a fastpass for Test Track as well as two others that we probably won’t need it for like Nemo and Figment (cause why not at this point!)

My main focus for today will be World Showcase. I want to color my Duffy and get him stamped at each country (per tradition, I have them on display in my room, oh how I miss the Perry the Platypus ones) and I want to meet a few Princesses. Mulan, Snow White, and Belle. I hope to meet Aladdin and Jasmine at Magic Kingdom since Aladdin no longer meets at Epcot.

Dinner tonight is at Le Cellier. I’m going to make this for 6:00pm. This as you all know is 2 table service credits. We will finish off the night with Illuminations.

Total:
8 CS/9 CS
9 TS/9 TS


Tuesday, 9/19

Sadly we go home today...and we may or may not have a counter service credit still left. Maybe we use it earlier in the trip for breakfast one day- but if we still have it (we plan to bring breakfast items from home for most mornings) then we can use it this morning for a hot breakfast before we head out to catch our flight.

It’s always sad being in the food court seeing everyone rushing off to the parks when you’re heading home. But we’ve had 9 long nights so I can’t complain!


That's the plans so far...of course they'll probably change but since I have to book dining tomorrow morning, those are the plans I've come up with so far!

Now I should probably get back to my May 2016 trip report...I've been slacking on that one big time!! I WILL FINISH IT THOUGH!!!

See you guys later!!​

 

[missangelalexis]

Your plans sound so great! I hope you are able to get all your ADRs tomorrow!

 

[Raeven]

Your plans sound great! We'll be there around the same time, but we'll be in different parks on our overlapping days. We also booked Mama Melrose for Sep though!

I'm not looking forward to the snow but yay your adr day!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Your plans sound great! Hope you get all the ADRs you want!

 

[kpearl]

We don't plan on doing Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party or really eating at the Food and Wine Festival but maybe that'll change! ​

​

I went to WDW this past Sept for 2 wks for my Disneymoon and believe me when I say it, you'll want to do MNSSHP. I would splurge on that. It's not very crowded, trick or treating!!!, special characters, Boo to You parade (aka my FAVORITE!), Hallo-wishes (although this might change since Wishes is leaving but I'm sure there will be an amazing Halloween firework show), and jumping on rides. This past trip was my 2nd MNSSHP. Plus you also get an exclusive SoTMK card!

F&W at Epcot was ah-may-zing. Probably one of our favorite parts of Epcot. All the different food and drink options. We didn't even eat at any CS locations because we kept going around to the booths. I highly recommend it. Especially if you go on the dining plan you can rack up your snack credits and get items with them. You can even share an item between two people just to get a sample.

​

Magic Kingdom~
We want to spend 3 days here like at Epcot.
1. Be Our Guest dinner
2. MAYBE Crystal Palace for breakfast (Pre-park opening)?!

I've done CP for dinner a few times (3/4 visits??) and it has gone completely down hill.. I would most likely never do their dinner again. But.. breakfast there was phenomenal. Pooh's Puffed French Toast. I died and went to heaven. The characters were so chipper and engaging. My DH even said he would go back because it was such an improvement.

As for other suggestions. I saw you like Sci-Fi - have you done 50's Prime Time? One of my all time favs! It's one we book almost every single trip but since we were there for so long in Sept (and also HS doesn't have THAT many options..) we did Sci Fi + 50's in one trip.

Also! Don't forget the new restaurant in AK in Pandora is opening up. Santu'li Canteen (I might be spelling that wrong..) and it'll be like a BOG dining experience from what I heard. It's considered a CS/QS but you need reservations for lunch and most likely a TS for dinner. Alas, the menu isn't out yet so it'll be one you'd need to wait on and book once it will be available (hopefully before 5/27/17). We're missing it with our trip this May and I'm bummed but there's always next time!

 

[Sarahboo]

Yay! What a fun plan! I'm really excited to take our 4 kids, but your PTR makes me excited for the day that Chris and I can go back by ourselves too. There's so much flexibility when you aren't lugging kids around and I'm jealous of all of the park-hopping you can plan on!

I haven't been to Le Cellier since they made it 2 TS credits, but I REALLY like it there. Maybe it doesn't compare to other signature dining restaurants, but I've never had any signature meals so I guess my ignorance is bliss. Though, I just looked at the menu for the YS when you mentioned it and HOLY CRIMENY. That looks delicious.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Hello! I am following along. I have been following your trip report. We are heading to Disny September 19th - the 24th. So, we can wave as we pass each other!

Does anyone have tips for adding free dining to an existing reservation?

Folks have already mentioned this, but we have done it once, and it wasn't hard. Other than waiting forever on hold.

I read that All Star Sports is always included but if for some reason it isn't or it's sold out for the promotion or if our dates don't work then we are flexible. We just want the free dining! It will save us so much money.

So, I assume you know this but I just wanted to point out, that I am pretty sure that free dining for a value is the quick service plan. You will still need to pay a fee to upgrade to the standard dining plan. Still a good deal! We just booked our package and waiting to see if we can switch to free dinning as well. But we aren't relying on it. Who knows with Disney anymore...

2. Cape May Cafe (on a fried clam strips night!)

Ohhh How do you know if it's fried clam Strip night?!? I want to do that?!?

Of course $20+ isn't a big dent in Disney spending money, but it goes in the same category as saving your pennies for Disney...every bit counts.

We have a Disney Visa card and it's great. Sadly DH insisted on the mickey one.. no fancy Elsa... We just took a short 2 day trip to Disney while visiting my grandparents and our points paid for 3 or the 4 of us for tickets. So, it is def worth it!

Last trip we almost booked dinner at Coral Reef, but decided on Via Napoli instead. Though I do want to try Coral Reef someday, I sort of want to try somewhere else in World Showcase. I need suggestions!

So, it sounds like you have most of your dining choosen, but I would throw out Nine Dragons in the world showcase. We went this past trip and it was really good! Not sure if you like chinese food. But DH and I got the Shrimp Typhoon: Golden fried shrimps with fried shallots, garlic spice and a touch of jalapeño. It was really good, and different than what we can get at our local Chinese restaurants.

That being said... We have eaten at Tutto Italia and it was good. We prefer Via napoli... The lasagna DOES look good from there. DH wished he had ordered that after a waiter walked by with it.

On past trips I am always able to do everything between 9 and 5...however we have an extra sit-down restaurant this time and ALL of Pandora to see. I just love all the details of AK, walking the trails that are often overlooked and sitting down with coffee and just enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells.

I am dying for Pandora to open just to see how Animal Kingdom will be once it all opens. At least we are going after a bit and things hopefully settle in a bit?!? Hopefully....

Look forward to hearing what you ended up getting for reservations...

 

[Sarahh1027]

I went to WDW this past Sept for 2 wks for my Disneymoon and believe me when I say it, you'll want to do MNSSHP. I would splurge on that. It's not very crowded, trick or treating!!!, special characters, Boo to You parade (aka my FAVORITE!), Hallo-wishes (although this might change since Wishes is leaving but I'm sure there will be an amazing Halloween firework show), and jumping on rides. This past trip was my 2nd MNSSHP. Plus you also get an exclusive SoTMK card!

F&W at Epcot was ah-may-zing. Probably one of our favorite parts of Epcot. All the different food and drink options. We didn't even eat at any CS locations because we kept going around to the booths. I highly recommend it. Especially if you go on the dining plan you can rack up your snack credits and get items with them. You can even share an item between two people just to get a sample.

So many people are suggesting I look into MNSSHP and taking advantage of F&W! Halloween is my favorite- which has me thinking I need to look into it! Also I have officially opening a night to just eat at F&W!!!

I've done CP for dinner a few times (3/4 visits??) and it has gone completely down hill.. I would most likely never do their dinner again. But.. breakfast there was phenomenal. Pooh's Puffed French Toast. I died and went to heaven. The characters were so chipper and engaging. My DH even said he would go back because it was such an improvement.

As for other suggestions. I saw you like Sci-Fi - have you done 50's Prime Time? One of my all time favs! It's one we book almost every single trip but since we were there for so long in Sept (and also HS doesn't have THAT many options..) we did Sci Fi + 50's in one trip.

Also! Don't forget the new restaurant in AK in Pandora is opening up. Santu'li Canteen (I might be spelling that wrong..) and it'll be like a BOG dining experience from what I heard. It's considered a CS/QS but you need reservations for lunch and most likely a TS for dinner. Alas, the menu isn't out yet so it'll be one you'd need to wait on and book once it will be available (hopefully before 5/27/17). We're missing it with our trip this May and I'm bummed but there's always next time!

I snagged a reservation for CP for breakfast and can't wait to try it out- I've heard so many good things!
I've never been to 50's...it does look good! I have NO idea why I haven't tried it!
As for the new place at Pandora- I'm thinking I need to add a second AK day onto my itinerary!!!

Thank you for all the suggestions!!! I loooveee feedback

Yay! What a fun plan! I'm really excited to take our 4 kids, but your PTR makes me excited for the day that Chris and I can go back by ourselves too. There's so much flexibility when you aren't lugging kids around and I'm jealous of all of the park-hopping you can plan on!

I haven't been to Le Cellier since they made it 2 TS credits, but I REALLY like it there. Maybe it doesn't compare to other signature dining restaurants, but I've never had any signature meals so I guess my ignorance is bliss. Though, I just looked at the menu for the YS when you mentioned it and HOLY CRIMENY. That looks delicious.

Yay! A fellow Sarah! What a great name! Going to Disney with kids sounds so much fun! Someday I'm sure I'll be missing these couples trips though when I'm lugging my own kids around!

As of right now we still plan to do all that park-hopping- but I bet when we're there and we get going after a few days we're not going to want to park hop anymore haha it's always so easy to plan on going non-stop, but come vacation time it will be too exhausting! I think I need to plan more down time- we shall see!

I have never been to a Signature- so I'll have nothing to compare it too either! I love the convenience of it being right in World Showcase. I can't wait to try it out

Hello! I am following along. I have been following your trip report. We are heading to Disny September 19th - the 24th. So, we can wave as we pass each other!

Thanks for reading and following along! I know I'm horrible at updating- but a TR update is coming soon!
As my vacation comes to an end, yours will just begin!

Folks have already mentioned this, but we have done it once, and it wasn't hard. Other than waiting forever on hold.

That's definitely what I'm most scared about- but as it gets closer instead of being more nervous I'm surprisingly more calm.

So, I assume you know this but I just wanted to point out, that I am pretty sure that free dining for a value is the quick service plan. You will still need to pay a fee to upgrade to the standard dining plan. Still a good deal! We just booked our package and waiting to see if we can switch to free dinning as well. But we aren't relying on it. Who knows with Disney anymore...

I totally agree that it's still a good deal! I think it's around $20 per person per night. Not too shabby!

Ohhh How do you know if it's fried clam Strip night?!? I want to do that?!?

Check out the menu online- different nights are different specialty dishes! We didn't end up booking here- but someday!

We have a Disney Visa card and it's great. Sadly DH insisted on the mickey one.. no fancy Elsa... We just took a short 2 day trip to Disney while visiting my grandparents and our points paid for 3 or the 4 of us for tickets. So, it is def worth it!

Hahaha your husband wasn't feeling like being seen with the Ice Queen on his credit card? Mickey's still great too!
I get soo many compliments on my card- so many Frozen lovers out there! But I will say- they're all girls, no guys.

So, it sounds like you have most of your dining choosen, but I would throw out Nine Dragons in the world showcase. We went this past trip and it was really good! Not sure if you like chinese food. But DH and I got the Shrimp Typhoon: Golden fried shrimps with fried shallots, garlic spice and a touch of jalapeño. It was really good, and different than what we can get at our local Chinese restaurants.

That being said... We have eaten at Tutto Italia and it was good. We prefer Via napoli... The lasagna DOES look good from there. DH wished he had ordered that after a waiter walked by with it.

Sadly Tutto Italia wasn't taking reservations on our ADR day- so I decided to do a night of Food and Wine booths!! We both loovee Chinese food and definitely must try Nine Dragons on a future trip! That meal sounds delish.

I am dying for Pandora to open just to see how Animal Kingdom will be once it all opens. At least we are going after a bit and things hopefully settle in a bit?!? Hopefully....

I'm so glad that come September we will have a good idea on how to tour Pandora (and come July when I have to book FP's hopefully there will be enough info out on those too!) I do love the idea of a new land to explore- but Disney has made me into such a psycho planner that I get overwhelmed trying to fit new attractions in!! Tough life, huh

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I totally agree that it's still a good deal! I think it's around $20 per person per night. Not too shabby!

Not Shabby at all! I was listening to the DreamsUnlimited Podcast on my way home from work and they were talking about how now you have to book with Park Hopper tickets to get the free dining. I forgot about that from last year. We aren't planning on doing park hoppers. I will have to see if it even makes sense to do free dinning. We may be better off with a room only discount.

We didn't end up booking here- but someday!

There is always next time! (Well, hopefully...)

Sadly Tutto Italia wasn't taking reservations on our ADR day- so I decided to do a night of Food and Wine booths!! We both loovee Chinese food and definitely must try Nine Dragons on a future trip! That meal sounds delish.

Food and Wine is def lots of fun. We have done it once, and it was delish and great fun! Make sure you share! You fill up surprisingly fast.

 

[Sarahh1027]

Hi fellow-Disney obsessers!​

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Get this- the past month since my ADR day has flown by. I haven’t been totally obsessed with planning the trip- I sorta just took a step back and figured I’d start back up soon. Well, “soon” is now because I’m back at it!

The thing is- I didn’t really like my plans. I feel like it was over-scheduled. I kind of made our plans based on where we want to eat and just park hopped accordingly. This method didn’t work out too well, and with some tweaking I now present to you all:

Sarah’s New and Improved September 2017 Walt Disney World Trip!!!​

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Let me also casually add..I LOVE THE LIVE ACTION BEAUTY AND THE BEAST!!!

I’ve seen in 4 times already. Thankfully this is a judgement-free zone, right?! I’M OBSESSED!

Now onto my trip... small update. Minor changed to the first few days. This is our first three full days.

Monday 9/11-

Be Our Guest @ 11:35am
Sci-Fi Dine-In @ 5:00pm

This day is good, since Hollywood Studios is recommended but we would love to start our vaca at Magic Kingdom. We will rope drop MK and see the stage Welcome Show, get on some of our favorite attractions (I’m dying to get on Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain RR!)

We will have lunch at our favorite- Be Our Guest- and park hop afterwards to Hollywood Studios.

We will use fastpasses for Rock-n-Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours. We will see if we can fit in Beauty and the Beast Live, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, maybe the Great Movie Ride. Anything and everything

There's more I'd like to do here- see Indiana Jones show (one of my favs), meet Sorcerer Mickey (never done), but we have another visit here so no rushing!

Dinner is at 5, and Fantasmic is scheduled for 8:30. Assuming dinner goes until about 6, we will still have an hour and a half before I’d want to head to Fantasmic.

Tuesday 9/12-

Kona Cafe @ 10:20am

So I cancelled our Via Napoli dinner reservation (snagged one for the next day instead). Originally I had planned to spend the day in Magic Kingdom then park hop for dinner and extra magic hours at Epcot.

After much research I decided to do Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party this night! I also want to change our 8 day park hopper tickets to a 7 day to help relieve some of the extra ticket cost for the party.

I got a breakfast reservation for Kona at 10:20 so we can sleep in and head over there. I’ve been wanting to go here for breakfast for awhile. We originally had a reservation for Kona booked for our last trip but it was cancelled over the course of planning.

After breakfast we will head to Disney Springs and get some shopping in!! Or have a pool day! Or go mini-golfing! Or just resort-hop! That’s the beauty of a partial rest day, we can do whatever we’d like!

Then around 4 it’s time to head to Magic Kingdom. I’m thinking first order it to get dinner at Cosmic Ray’s, catch a ride maybe. I want to be in line to meet the Seven Dwarfs early (only must-do character meet, though I do have some others I’ll add here too just in case we have extra time!) I don't mind waiting in a long line to meet them as long as we're lined up early so it doesn't take up party time (7pm and after)!

I’d love to trick-or-treat but not a ton. I’m thinking of seeing the later parade for Boo To You just so we can try to ride some of my favs in the dark inbetween possible trick-or-treating.

We will definitely see Hallowishes and the Hocus Pocus show too!

For anyone who doesn’t know, my sister and I are both born on Halloween, her name is Danielle (Dani for short like little Dani in the movie) and I’m Sarah born in 1993 the exact day and year that Hocus Pocus takes place. Plus I live in Massachusetts a little over an hour from Salem and have been to all the witch museums and attractions there. In my past life I was Sarah Sanderson.

Since the party is on a Tuesday and in early September, I’m thinking it won’t be too busy and we will probably get to ride all our favorites, but I just want to soak up the fun and not worry about checking things off a list.

Last year they had a Pumpkin Spice Cupcake that I’d love to try! We shall see if they offer it again.

Other potential characters (again other than 7 Dwarfs none of these are must-do’s)
-Jack Sparrow
-Jasmine, Genie, Aladdin, Abu

As for costumes, I have plenty of time to figure this out but I have a few ideas in mind! Some ideas are:
-James as Buzz Lightyear & me as green Pizza Planet alien
-James as Grumpy & me as Snow White

Well that’s a wrap for Tuesday. I’m soo excited for MNSSHP!!



Wednesday 9/13-

Via Napoli @ 5:50pm

Today is not 100% set….I know for a fact I want to spend most of this day in Epcot. I’m thinking this is how it’ll go since we just had such a late night at MK:

We will sleep in (yay for sleep on vacation!) and head to Epcot around late morning. We will focus on Future World at first. Our fastpasses will probably be 11-12 Spaceship Earth, 12-1 Soarin, and Mission:Space.

I haven’t quite figured out how to tackle all the rides here. We have two Epcot visits….this day and our last day. With FEE not open yet and Soarin being down during out last vaca, we got to rope drop and fastpass Test Track. It was easy, it was fun. This is more stressful. I’m thinking rope drop TT on our last day or just ride single rider or heck just wait in line for it and get a FP for FEE.

We will probably be able to catch the beginning of the Spaceship Earth FP window, so inbetween riding SE and Soarin we can fit in Living with the Land. After that and after Soarin we will probably ride Nemo and hang out at the Aquarium for a bit. Next is our Mission: Space fastpass before we head to World Showcase.

Then it’s off to decorate Duffy, ride The Three Caballeros, FEE and make our way around the world. We can explore the Pavilions, get Duffy stamped, and other fun shenanigans.

I’d love to meet Mulan, Snow White, Jasmine and Belle this trip. Not all on this day though and if we meet any of them at the Halloween party we can skip it.

We will probably see the American Adventure again either today or our next Epcot visit as well as the other Pavilion’s movies.

Lunch will be eating at the Food and Wine booths.

Dinner is at Via Napoli at 5:50pm.

We will see Illuminations this night (we missed this last trip due to rain so this will be another first for James along with Soarin!)

Now the original plan was to park hop later to MK for extra magic hours. Since we had a late night there already, we may not feel it’s necessary. But we do love nighttime, and doubt we rode enough at the Halloween party. So here’s where the plans get fuzzy, especially since we’re doing rope drop at AK the next day. So my guess is we will call it quits after Illuminations.

I think those plans are pretty set in stone so far!!! Small update but I like it a lot more than my old plans. I'm still working on the other days- most days are set as well but our animal kingdom day won't be planned too well until some more info comes out about Pandora.

Also free dining is right around the corner- I'm psyched! I hope everyone who is waiting for it gets it!

 

[missangelalexis]

Your plans sound great! I think you will love doing the Halloween party That is SO cool that both you and your sis have birthdays on Halloween!

 

[Sarahh1027]

Your plans sound great! I think you will love doing the Halloween party That is SO cool that both you and your sis have birthdays on Halloween!

Thanks!! and yesss it's such a fun birthday to begin with then you add that we share a birthday and it's awesome

I've actually changed basically MOST of our plans since Monday....which I'll let you know about soon!