Panic mode

[Baptist]

TTC is the ticket and transportation center. It's like a hub for transportation.

 

[DebbieB]

This is my favorite lol - will the monorail be running that early? What time should I board the monorail if my breakfast res is at 7:10? What is TTC?

I have concerns about that. I think the monorail starts at 7:00 but will not make your 7:10 breakfast since the Contemporary is the last stop on the loop.

 

[Ronda93]

You'll need this. It covers the acronyms you'll see in the DIS and other forums.
TTC - Ticket and Transportation Center (essential the MK parking lot)
http://allears.net/tp/abrev.htm

As for riding the monorail to the Contemporary for breakfast, that won't work. The resort monorails are undergoing upgrades/maintenance and are not running until at least 8:30 a.m.

 

[Baptist]

My wife loves the 31 bags, but I hate to carry them. I think the straps are uncomfortable, especially for a full day at the parks. I prefer a small backpack.

Be sure to bring snacks and water. You mentioned that you are on a budget. Don't waste money on water (you will need plenty of it in August in Orlando).

The monorail normally starts at 6:30. There are a few stops, but it won't take long.

You have the perfect reservation time for Chef Mickey's! Enjoy your vacation.

 

[Baptist]

You'll need this. It covers the acronyms you'll see in the DIS and other forums.
TTC - Ticket and Transportation Center (essential the MK parking lot)
http://allears.net/tp/abrev.htm

As for riding the monorail to the Contemporary for breakfast, that won't work. The resort monorails are undergoing upgrades/maintenance and are not running until at least 8:30 a.m.

My bad, I did not think about the maintenance when I noted monorails can start as early as 6:30.

 

[yellobutterfly]

Thanks guys - back to the other plan - now that I am armed with all of the details, will consult the hubs on which option he prefers.

Someone asked I think - We have the dining plan, the one with one TS, one QS, and one snack per person per day (6 days...) so I reaaaaaalllly don't want to spend extra on snacks at the park, hoping to eat within our dining plan and supplement with extra snacks...anyone shop at any of the aldi locations in Orlando for snacks etc?

 

[ntink]

I just returned from WDW. There is absolutely no need to carry water in any of the parks. Any counter service restaurant will give you a cup of ice water for free, and it its the filtered water that is used for the fountain sodas so it tastes good. Avoid the drinking fountains, the water does not taste good and it is not cold.

 

[yellobutterfly]

I just returned from WDW. There is absolutely no need to carry water in any of the parks. Any counter service restaurant will give you a cup of ice water for free, and it its the filtered water that is used for the fountain sodas so it tastes good. Avoid the drinking fountains, the water does not taste good and it is not cold.

Thanks so much - great to know! My only concern regarding getting water from the cs locations is are there really long lines? Hate to waste Disney time in line for water...

 

[whiporee]

nm

 

[MKMomma]

This is my favorite lol - will the monorail be running that early? What time should I board the monorail if my breakfast res is at 7:10? What is TTC?

No, the monorail won't be running that early because of maintenance.

 

[o0quirkygirl0o]

Thanks so much - great to know! My only concern regarding getting water from the cs locations is are there really long lines? Hate to waste Disney time in line for water...

You do not need to wait in line to get water. Just walk up to the side of the counter and ask for it. On hot days they will likely already have some ready for thirsty guests.

 

[mjkacmom]

Thanks guys - back to the other plan - now that I am armed with all of the details, will consult the hubs on which option he prefers.

Someone asked I think - We have the dining plan, the one with one TS, one QS, and one snack per person per day (6 days...) so I reaaaaaalllly don't want to spend extra on snacks at the park, hoping to eat within our dining plan and supplement with extra snacks...anyone shop at any of the aldi locations in Orlando for snacks etc?

I assume you have all of your ADR's made? Just remember to factor in the tip. As for snacks, we had 13 snack credits left over on our last day - next time, we're going to use them earlier! Plenty of food on the DDP.

 

[quakechicago]

I assume you have all of your ADR's made? Just remember to factor in the tip. As for snacks, we had 13 snack credits left over on our last day - next time, we're going to use them earlier! Plenty of food on the DDP.

We brought 2 huge bags of snacks home. It was a great way to maintain the magic a bit longer.

 

[crazymomof4]

Thanks guys - back to the other plan - now that I am armed with all of the details, will consult the hubs on which option he prefers.

Someone asked I think - We have the dining plan, the one with one TS, one QS, and one snack per person per day (6 days...) so I reaaaaaalllly don't want to spend extra on snacks at the park, hoping to eat within our dining plan and supplement with extra snacks...anyone shop at any of the aldi locations in Orlando for snacks etc?

Wanted to post this bc some don't think about it their 1st time on the dining plan (I didn't)..... You don't have to use the snack credit on a "snack" (popcorn, ice cream bar, pretzel) There are lots of items that are covered by the snack credit that are breakfast items. There is a complete list somewhere on these boards (dining plan forum?) We use our snack credit for muffins, croissants, bagels and other similar items at breakfast time, so we make the dining plan cover lunch (QS), dinner (TS) and breakfast (snack)!

 

[crazymomof4]

You do not need to wait in line to get water. Just walk up to the side of the counter and ask for it. On hot days they will likely already have some ready for thirsty guests.

Word of advice for non-FL residents. Many find FL tap water to taste "odd". I've heard its the high sulpher. (??) Anyway, we bring along Brita bottles and dump the free tap water in those. They filter out all of the "odd" taste! Others bring along powdered things to mix into the free water and disquise the odd taste.

 

[crazymomof4]

If you have the time... do a search of this forum for "best tips". Over the years there have been some fantastic threads here with sooo much good advice/infromation. I remember coming here in 2003 and I couldn't believe how much I learned! I was copying and pasting like a mad woman! Even though I already had several wdw trips under my belt, I learned so much here! Ever grateful to DISboards for that "early education"!!!

 

[yellobutterfly]

I assume you have all of your ADR's made? Just remember to factor in the tip. As for snacks, we had 13 snack credits left over on our last day - next time, we're going to use them earlier! Plenty of food on the DDP.

Yes we have our adr's, but I'm always second guessing my choices on those...

We have:

1900 park fare dinner
Breakfast chef mickeys
Bog lunch FP
Hollywood and vine lunch
50's prime time dinner
Akershus dinner
T. Rex dinner

How does the tip factor in for the ddp? We are a fam of 7, will I get to choose how much to tip, or is it a set gratuity? And I assume that's only for table service meals? What about buffets? Is there a waiter assigned, so a tip as well?

 

[yellobutterfly]

Wanted to post this bc some don't think about it their 1st time on the dining plan (I didn't)..... You don't have to use the snack credit on a "snack" (popcorn, ice cream bar, pretzel) There are lots of items that are covered by the snack credit that are breakfast items. There is a complete list somewhere on these boards (dining plan forum?) We use our snack credit for muffins, croissants, bagels and other similar items at breakfast time, so we make the dining plan cover lunch (QS), dinner (TS) and breakfast (snack)!

Thanks that's a great point - I will look for that thread!!

 

[leebee]

Hi Yellobutterfly!

One thing I just thought of- you said you are a family of 7, right? I don't' think you can get a cab that will hold 7 people. You'd need 2 cabs. This makes it much more logical to drive to the Contemporary for your Chef Mickey ADR and either valet park for the day, or take your vehicle out to the Magic Kingdom parking lot, park, take the tram to the TTC, and then either take the monorail or ferry boat over to MK. If it's important to you to be at rope drop, you'll need to valet park- unless your DH is willing to leave breakfast a little bit early, go park at the TTC, and meet you at the MK for rope drop.

Breakfast will take at least an hour. Chef Mickey's is fun and full of excitement! The characters will come to your table in rotation, so they can sign your kids' autograph books (you can purchase Disney-themed autograph books in Publix grocery store far cheaper than buying them at WDW), take pictures, etc. My guess is you'll be at breakfast closer to 90 minutes than an hour.

Someone will correct me if I am wrong, but I believe Disney adds an automatic 18% gratuity for parties of 6 or more if you are doing a table service meal. That includes buffets. Sorry… 18% is a lot.

I know some people use their snack credits for breakfast, but that'd never work for us- there are too many wonderful snacks in Disney to use that credit for! We usually do breakfast in our room- as there's a fridge, we get yogurt, milk, cereal, bagels and cream cheese, and juice, and eat as we get dressed (or juice boxes and eat in the car on the way to the park- we drive even when staying onsite). This saves time- we can either get to the park earlier or sleep later if we aren't schlepping to a food court for breakfast! HOWEVER… another way we stretched the dining plan credits was to share meals in the food courts and qs sites. DD17 (then) and I could share a bounty breakfast platter in the morning ('her' qs credit) then share a double cheeseburger and fries (or the half chicken option at Cosmic Ray's or flame tree BBQ, for example) for lunch ('my' qs credit), then each have our own table service credit for dinner. That way, we'd have snack credits available for dole whip floats, sweet almond pretzels, chocolate covered frozen bananas, etc. Have you checked out the menus at all ears.net? You could find out where they have "big" lunch options for people to share.

We always bring our own drinks into the parks, and snacks, too. We either take water bottles (I'll fill them about 1/3 the night before and freeze them, then top up in the morning- they stay cold all day) or Capri sun pouches (these freeze nicely too, then make a slushy or icy cold drink mid-day). Our favorite snacks are crunchy or chewy granola bars and gummy things (fruit snacks and such). Just don't get anything chocolate, as it melts and makes a HUGE mess! Of course, these are just tide-us-over snacks, as we always get one park snack each day!

In my park bag (it's a backpack) I have a poncho for each person, snacks, water bottles, a medicine pouch (advil, immodium, tylenol, sinus meds, pepto pills) some moleskin and bandaids, SUNSCREEN, hand held fans during the summer, some ziplock baggies. Small towel (hand towel from hotel bathroom) to dry off seats in case of rain. Last trip I skipped the water bottles in favor of ice water from the cs locations, but they weren't happy to have me cut the lines to ask… especially other customers! Also, we like to have a sip of water at random times, not walk around with cups in hand- although you can pour the water into your own bottles! In my wallet (which is actually a fabric pouch that's a little bigger than a credit card, that zips shut, so I can pin it into my pocket and don't have to worry about losing it), I always bring my credit card, a little cash, my Disney rewards card, license… insurance card, just in case. We don't charge to the room or give kids charging privileges; it's too easy to lose track of what's being spent!

Post your questions, read the tip threads. You're gonna have a great time!!

 

[yellobutterfly]

Hi Yellobutterfly!

One thing I just thought of- you said you are a family of 7, right? I don't' think you can get a cab that will hold 7 people. You'd need 2 cabs. This makes it much more logical to drive to the Contemporary for your Chef Mickey ADR and either valet park for the day, or take your vehicle out to the Magic Kingdom parking lot, park, take the tram to the TTC, and then either take the monorail or ferry boat over to MK. If it's important to you to be at rope drop, you'll need to valet park- unless your DH is willing to leave breakfast a little bit early, go park at the TTC, and meet you at the MK for rope drop.

Breakfast will take at least an hour. Chef Mickey's is fun and full of excitement! The characters will come to your table in rotation, so they can sign your kids' autograph books (you can purchase Disney-themed autograph books in Publix grocery store far cheaper than buying them at WDW), take pictures, etc. My guess is you'll be at breakfast closer to 90 minutes than an hour.

Someone will correct me if I am wrong, but I believe Disney adds an automatic 18% gratuity for parties of 6 or more if you are doing a table service meal. That includes buffets. Sorry… 18% is a lot.

I know some people use their snack credits for breakfast, but that'd never work for us- there are too many wonderful snacks in Disney to use that credit for! We usually do breakfast in our room- as there's a fridge, we get yogurt, milk, cereal, bagels and cream cheese, and juice, and eat as we get dressed (or juice boxes and eat in the car on the way to the park- we drive even when staying onsite). This saves time- we can either get to the park earlier or sleep later if we aren't schlepping to a food court for breakfast! HOWEVER… another way we stretched the dining plan credits was to share meals in the food courts and qs sites. DD17 (then) and I could share a bounty breakfast platter in the morning ('her' qs credit) then share a double cheeseburger and fries (or the half chicken option at Cosmic Ray's or flame tree BBQ, for example) for lunch ('my' qs credit), then each have our own table service credit for dinner. That way, we'd have snack credits available for dole whip floats, sweet almond pretzels, chocolate covered frozen bananas, etc. Have you checked out the menus at all ears.net? You could find out where they have "big" lunch options for people to share.

We always bring our own drinks into the parks, and snacks, too. We either take water bottles (I'll fill them about 1/3 the night before and freeze them, then top up in the morning- they stay cold all day) or Capri sun pouches (these freeze nicely too, then make a slushy or icy cold drink mid-day). Our favorite snacks are crunchy or chewy granola bars and gummy things (fruit snacks and such). Just don't get anything chocolate, as it melts and makes a HUGE mess! Of course, these are just tide-us-over snacks, as we always get one park snack each day!

In my park bag (it's a backpack) I have a poncho for each person, snacks, water bottles, a medicine pouch (advil, immodium, tylenol, sinus meds, pepto pills) some moleskin and bandaids, SUNSCREEN, hand held fans during the summer, some ziplock baggies. Small towel (hand towel from hotel bathroom) to dry off seats in case of rain. Last trip I skipped the water bottles in favor of ice water from the cs locations, but they weren't happy to have me cut the lines to ask… especially other customers! Also, we like to have a sip of water at random times, not walk around with cups in hand- although you can pour the water into your own bottles! In my wallet (which is actually a fabric pouch that's a little bigger than a credit card, that zips shut, so I can pin it into my pocket and don't have to worry about losing it), I always bring my credit card, a little cash, my Disney rewards card, license… insurance card, just in case. We don't charge to the room or give kids charging privileges; it's too easy to lose track of what's being spent!

Post your questions, read the tip threads. You're gonna have a great time!!

Thanks so much for all of the info! Now I am really concerned about the gratuity because on all ears it says that for Chef Mickey's

"The general price ranges for this meal are as follows:

Adult price range: $33.01; Child (ages 3-9) price range: $18.10

Tax is included; gratuity is not included."

But on MDE, under Chef Mickey's it says "$30 to $59.99 per adult" - that's a biiiigggg variance, what determines whether the adult meal is $30 or $59.99, and suddenly the all ears price of $33.01 is looking much better :/

I'm finding these differences on most of the restaurants on MDE - can anyone shed some light? I'd like to be as prepared as possible, based on the quotes for chef mickey's our family tab would be:

$33.01 * 3 adults (11 year old + mom and dad) = $99.03
plus
$18.10 * 4 children 9 & under = $72.40

= $171.43 and that includes tax, but not gratuity according to all ears, so

$171.43 + 18% gratuity $30.86 , so we would pay the $30.86 out of cash or on our credit card, and the $171.43 would come out of our dining plan?

BUT if I go by MDE, that same meal could cost as much as $252.37, with gratuity being $45.43!

I'd just really like to know if there's any logic to how the meal will be priced so I can determine what our gratuity will be as closely as possible :/