I am a first time poster and now that things have settled down a bit I just wanted to put together a post to thank everyone for their posts that assisted me in putting together a trip that was memorable for everyone in our group. Of course a chance to talk about the trip is not to be missed either.
To all those that post to the DISabilities forum, thank you. Because of you, everyone in our group was able to enjoy the entire trip. We had my Dad in a scooter and thanks to it, he didnt miss out on a single thing his grandkids did. Normally, within a half hour, he needs to sit down for a rest. Also my wife and oldest son are allergic to mango. Disney noted the allergy when we made our dining reservations and we had no problems avoiding it. One chef even brought out the recipe binder because they thought one of the sauces might have mango in it (it did.) The chefs and waiters never made us feel uncomfortable about it. The comment from the waiters was usually There was no mango, but lets confirm that with the chef anyway.
To all those who posted information on crowd levels and where to find levels, thank you. We never had to wait long in line and for the few rides we did, we knew to get fast passes early.
To all of those who posted restaurant information thank you. We ate like royalty and none of the table service meals was a disappointment.
We had a group of nine. My wife and myself, our two sons and infant daughter as well as both sets of grandparents. This was the kids first visit to any Disney park.
We spent a total of nine days in the park. I am not entirely sure how we ended up choosing the nine days, it just sort of worked out that way. However, all the adults agreed that it was a good number of days in the park allowing us to see the bulk of things in each park without being rushed and not endlessly going on the same rides. We cycled through the parks so we were not at the same park any two days in a row. Three in Magic Kingdom gave us two days to do all the attractions plus a third to go back and do some of the things the boys really liked. Two days in Hollywood Studios gave us one and a half days to do the park and half a day to do some of the things the boys really liked. Epcot took two days to do the park. Animal Kingdom was really only a day and a half as we left the park at lunch the final day. With one day to do the park and a morning to visit some of the favorites, it worked out well. We avoided days with extra Magic hours (the kids where toast after 9 anyways so there was no real point .)
We upgraded to the deluxe dining plan so I made sure to book all my meals ahead like everyone suggested. Even with all that food (Breakfast lunch and dinner, Appetizer, Main course, dessert and snacks through the day) I still managed to lose weight.
With two exceptions we were happy with all of the meals. Our first disappointment (and only food disappointment) was our second quick service meal (Restaurantosaurus) however I just chalked that up to being spoiled by the great quality of the meals at all of the table service locations. Our second disappointment was with the Anandapur Yak and Yeti Restaurant. The meals where incredible but our entire group found our server (Captain) lacking compared to the other locations. They seemed to rely too much on the other staff (the front waiter/busboy) to do even the simplest tasks like getting a soda refill from a bar ten feet away.
While the meals did take a good chunk out of our day (at least an hour for each meal) it didnt seem to detract from our days. Our Breakfasts were booked for 8 am and the parks didnt open until 9 am so no loss there. Everyone wanted to take a break about lunchtime and everyone was glad when dinnertime rolled around as well. We have some allergies in our group so we did feel more comfortable with a restaurant where we could talk with the person preparing the meal to be more certain we werent going to have any problems.
The Character breakfasts where one of the highlights of the trip for the boys. Meeting with some of the characters they have seen on TV and in movies was wonderful and they really got into the spirit of things once Daddy got a hug from Tigger and they knew it was ok. I think in total we met about 25 different characters during out trip and once my boys got started they were intent on making sure that every character knew that their little sister was there especially the princesses (we have more than one picture with lipstick on her forehead.)
We did eat a lot of frozen snacks and were very grateful that there where pineapple and strawberry frozen treats to be had in addition to the chocolate and ice cream. Yes we tried the dole whip. Yes it is probably the best thing I have ever eaten with pineapple in it. If you dont try it while you are in the Magic Kingdom you are really missing something. Strangely the one time I got the boys an ice cream Mickey Mouse bar they tried it and wanted to trade Daddy for his strawberry bar.
Their little sister managed to learn how to wave during the trip. I suspect it was just coincidence that she learned to wave as she saw a lot of princesses waving in her direction, but hey.
The old rides where everything we remembered (and more thanks to some of the refurbishments) and the new rides where among the boys favourites (Toy Story Midway Mania got 40 thumbs up and 100 awesomes from my oldest) and they both loved the Carousel of Progress if you can figure that out. Its one of my personal favorites so I am not complaining.
Both boys got drivers licences from the Tommorrowland Speedway. They also managed to get a complementary ice cream from a cast member when they assisted in cleaning up a spill of 3D glasses while waiting for one of the shows to start. Not that it was necessary, but its nice to see that the cast members appreciate helpful guests.
Despite the timing of our trip, the weather was not really a problem. We had 20-30min of rain at some point on most days which was no problem and only one morning where it rained for about three hours. We did a few of the indoor shows things cleared up and we continued our day.
Between my wife and my mother they managed to take about 3500 photos during the trip (thank god for digital) and add another 300 photos on the Photopass+ and we had some serious pruning and editing of photos to do when we got home. As well as I shot nearly 5 hours of video that I am somehow going to have to edit down.
Now that everyone is back we have started the long term planning for when our infant daughter is old enough to enjoy the parks herself in a few years. I suspect we will be spending even more time with princesses and a lot more time on the thrill rides with the boys.
Again thank you to everyone who posts you helped make our trip a memorable one.
Now counting down till little sister turns 5.
To all those that post to the DISabilities forum, thank you. Because of you, everyone in our group was able to enjoy the entire trip. We had my Dad in a scooter and thanks to it, he didnt miss out on a single thing his grandkids did. Normally, within a half hour, he needs to sit down for a rest. Also my wife and oldest son are allergic to mango. Disney noted the allergy when we made our dining reservations and we had no problems avoiding it. One chef even brought out the recipe binder because they thought one of the sauces might have mango in it (it did.) The chefs and waiters never made us feel uncomfortable about it. The comment from the waiters was usually There was no mango, but lets confirm that with the chef anyway.
To all those who posted information on crowd levels and where to find levels, thank you. We never had to wait long in line and for the few rides we did, we knew to get fast passes early.
To all of those who posted restaurant information thank you. We ate like royalty and none of the table service meals was a disappointment.
We had a group of nine. My wife and myself, our two sons and infant daughter as well as both sets of grandparents. This was the kids first visit to any Disney park.
We spent a total of nine days in the park. I am not entirely sure how we ended up choosing the nine days, it just sort of worked out that way. However, all the adults agreed that it was a good number of days in the park allowing us to see the bulk of things in each park without being rushed and not endlessly going on the same rides. We cycled through the parks so we were not at the same park any two days in a row. Three in Magic Kingdom gave us two days to do all the attractions plus a third to go back and do some of the things the boys really liked. Two days in Hollywood Studios gave us one and a half days to do the park and half a day to do some of the things the boys really liked. Epcot took two days to do the park. Animal Kingdom was really only a day and a half as we left the park at lunch the final day. With one day to do the park and a morning to visit some of the favorites, it worked out well. We avoided days with extra Magic hours (the kids where toast after 9 anyways so there was no real point .)
We upgraded to the deluxe dining plan so I made sure to book all my meals ahead like everyone suggested. Even with all that food (Breakfast lunch and dinner, Appetizer, Main course, dessert and snacks through the day) I still managed to lose weight.
With two exceptions we were happy with all of the meals. Our first disappointment (and only food disappointment) was our second quick service meal (Restaurantosaurus) however I just chalked that up to being spoiled by the great quality of the meals at all of the table service locations. Our second disappointment was with the Anandapur Yak and Yeti Restaurant. The meals where incredible but our entire group found our server (Captain) lacking compared to the other locations. They seemed to rely too much on the other staff (the front waiter/busboy) to do even the simplest tasks like getting a soda refill from a bar ten feet away.
While the meals did take a good chunk out of our day (at least an hour for each meal) it didnt seem to detract from our days. Our Breakfasts were booked for 8 am and the parks didnt open until 9 am so no loss there. Everyone wanted to take a break about lunchtime and everyone was glad when dinnertime rolled around as well. We have some allergies in our group so we did feel more comfortable with a restaurant where we could talk with the person preparing the meal to be more certain we werent going to have any problems.
The Character breakfasts where one of the highlights of the trip for the boys. Meeting with some of the characters they have seen on TV and in movies was wonderful and they really got into the spirit of things once Daddy got a hug from Tigger and they knew it was ok. I think in total we met about 25 different characters during out trip and once my boys got started they were intent on making sure that every character knew that their little sister was there especially the princesses (we have more than one picture with lipstick on her forehead.)
We did eat a lot of frozen snacks and were very grateful that there where pineapple and strawberry frozen treats to be had in addition to the chocolate and ice cream. Yes we tried the dole whip. Yes it is probably the best thing I have ever eaten with pineapple in it. If you dont try it while you are in the Magic Kingdom you are really missing something. Strangely the one time I got the boys an ice cream Mickey Mouse bar they tried it and wanted to trade Daddy for his strawberry bar.
Their little sister managed to learn how to wave during the trip. I suspect it was just coincidence that she learned to wave as she saw a lot of princesses waving in her direction, but hey.
The old rides where everything we remembered (and more thanks to some of the refurbishments) and the new rides where among the boys favourites (Toy Story Midway Mania got 40 thumbs up and 100 awesomes from my oldest) and they both loved the Carousel of Progress if you can figure that out. Its one of my personal favorites so I am not complaining.
Both boys got drivers licences from the Tommorrowland Speedway. They also managed to get a complementary ice cream from a cast member when they assisted in cleaning up a spill of 3D glasses while waiting for one of the shows to start. Not that it was necessary, but its nice to see that the cast members appreciate helpful guests.
Despite the timing of our trip, the weather was not really a problem. We had 20-30min of rain at some point on most days which was no problem and only one morning where it rained for about three hours. We did a few of the indoor shows things cleared up and we continued our day.
Between my wife and my mother they managed to take about 3500 photos during the trip (thank god for digital) and add another 300 photos on the Photopass+ and we had some serious pruning and editing of photos to do when we got home. As well as I shot nearly 5 hours of video that I am somehow going to have to edit down.
Now that everyone is back we have started the long term planning for when our infant daughter is old enough to enjoy the parks herself in a few years. I suspect we will be spending even more time with princesses and a lot more time on the thrill rides with the boys.
Again thank you to everyone who posts you helped make our trip a memorable one.
Now counting down till little sister turns 5.
