Photo Book Shared!--"We go to Disney World in Two Minutes" -- a May 2014 PTR

[familyabgar]

Day 3!​

This was originally going to be our DHS day, but instead this was the only day we could get Be Our Guest reservations for the whole trip! So, since we had many things to do at DHS, we just knew it would not work on the BOG day. So, plans changed. Here's the itinerary:

We do not have a breakfast reservation today! I had considered Akerhaus as an option, but decided that CRT would be sufficient, plus I know we'll do princess M&G's as well. So, we will be eating breakfast in our villa this day.

Then, we are headed to Epcot! We'll likely head to the The Seas to see Nemo and his friends, including Turtle Talk with Crush. I remember this from our 2012 trip with DD and I loved the Nemo ride. I think DD will love it now, too! The Land will be next. I have always loved the ride through the greenhouse. During a trip while I was in middle school, I briefly considered a career as a botanist at WDW! That didn't last long! We'll probably also have a FP+ to use on Soarin'.

Another childhood favorite is Figment. We'll have to spend some time Journeying into our Imaginations! I wish the after-ride area was as cool as it was when I was kid, but oh well. Still fun for DD, I'm sure!

We will probably also check out Test Track, single rider?, and Mission:Space before heading into World Showcase.

I can't wait for "lunch" this day, because we will just be grabbing small plates and snacks around the world! I'm looking forward to trying treats from Norway, France, Germany, and who knows what else! A bellini or Grey Goose slushie is also a must!

After lunch, I want to make a quick trip back to the resort to get ready for our early dinner reservations at BOG.

Because of our large party (12 including children) we had to get 3 reservations of 4 people at 4:10, 4:15, and 4:20. I hope because we'll be there at opening we'll all be together. This is one thing I'm most worried about!

As for our food, I expect to order the pork or steak. My mom is looking forward to the shrimp and puff pastry, and plans to ask for extra shrimp in lieu of scallops. I'm dying to try the strawberry cupcake and the grey stuff dessert! DH also loves mussels, so he plans to order those, as well. This may actually end up being an OOP meal for us given our other ADRs.

After that early dinner, we will spend more time in MK. I'd like to hop on the train over to Frontierland! And also Adventureland.

Tonight watching the electrical parade is a must! In 2010, DH and I watched the late parade together, and it was magical! Snacks will likely be needed, considering our early dinner. What snacks, TBD.

Afterward, we may stick around to see the castle projection show and Wishes another time, or we may just call it a night!

Sorry for the lack of details (?!) and pictures in this post!

 

[KatMark]

Plans continue to sound great, and I love those t-shirts.

My mind is in a fog due to a problem causing my son to cancel his surgery.

You are celebrating something while there, right? They will NOT serve the grey stuff unless a celebration is noted.

 

[familyabgar]

Plans continue to sound great, and I love those t-shirts.

My mind is in a fog due to a problem causing my son to cancel his surgery.

You are celebrating something while there, right? They will NOT serve the grey stuff unless a celebration is noted.

I was just reading your TR! We'll be celebrating DD's birthday while we're there.

I hope the surgery works out for your son. I had just read about the out-of-network issue over on D's thread, too.

 

[familyabgar]

Day 4!​

I apologize in advance for what will be a boring update! Several in our group requested an "off" day from the parks to relax and be lazy. So Day 4 is that day for some of the group, after 3 full days in the parks. However, we plan to go into a park! In order to still have some meals together in case some don't have park tickets for this day, Day 4 seemed like the perfect day to try resort-area dining options, specifically a breakfast spot I have read so much about...

The Kona Cafe. We have a 9:35 a.m. ADR for breakfast. We'll be able to have a leisurely morning and a quick monorail ride to breakfast. This will be an OOP meal, and we intend to order: Tonga Toast, Fruit Plate, and the Samoan. My dad is leaning toward the Big Kahuna, with the sausage to go to DD. DH is really look forward to the French press coffee!

After breakfast, I'd like to explore the resort/beach and also check out GF. Then, we'll head into MK. I'm open on our MK plans thus far, but am thinking we'll use a FP+ to meet some princesses. I'm sure the carousel will be in our plans, as well, since DD loves them.

Lunch will be QS credit in the park, that we'll likely share. We have no idea where we'll go, yet!

At some point in the early afternoon, we'll head back to our villa to rest and get ready for our dinner. We will be headed to:

We love Greek food, so we're all looking forward to this dinner! Menu items we have our eyes on include, Spanakopita, Kouzzina Trio, Traditional Whole Fish, Pork Tenderloin, Lamb Shank, and Short Ribs. I think it'll be a hard choice! I really want to try the Loukoumades for dessert!

After dinner, we'll walk the Boardwalk area--it's somewhere I've never been! We'll have easy access into DHS (where Star Wars Weekend will be taking place) and Epcot, so perhaps we'll go check a park out. Maybe take in Fantasmic?

As a side note, several of our group are big Star Wars fans, as I've mentioned, so rather than use this as a day off, they may go check out DHS instead. I'm leaving that research and decision up to them.

 

[familyabgar]

Day 5!​

Almost finished with itinerary updates! Our second-to-last day, and final FULL day in WDW is Day 5. We will be headed to the 1 park we haven't hit yet...Animal Kingdom. We have a pre-park opening ADR planned at:

I've read some reviews that claim Tusker House is the best breakfast buffet in the parks! I also couldn't pass up the chance for DD to meet these fun characters in safari wear. Our ADR is at 8:30 a.m. After stuffing ourselves with the many offerings available, we'll head straight to the Safari. We always make it a point to go on Safari in the morning, and the past 2 trips we've been there nearly at rope drop.

Side story: DH and I went to AK by ourselves in 2010 and were there for rope drop. As soon as we could enter the park we booked it to the back of the park. Being that it was just the two of us, we could weave pretty easily through the throng of people doing the same thing. Well. One lady was not to happy with us maneuvering through the crowd (we were not being pushy, btw!!) and loudly proclaimed with a huff: "WELL, I guess SOMEONE is in a HURRY!" It just made us ! We still, to this day, say this one another.

Anyway, after a nice safari, we will take DD through the trails. She likes animals (what little kid doesn't?), so it should be really fun. I've only ever caught a little bit of FOTL, and I think DD would enjoy that, so we'll likely watch that show, as well as Nemo.

We'll be using FP+ for EE, and should be able to ride 2 or more times utilizing Rider Swap and FP+ windows. I absolutely LOVE this rollercoaster.

I'm on the fence about Dinoland. I'm not a huge fan of the thrill ride (I was freaking terrified back in 2003 [at age 19] the first time I rode it, and while that's funny now, I still don't love the ride), but DD may enjoy the activities there for kids. I'm also on the fence about Rafiki's area. I think DD would enjoy the train, but petting zoos haven't been her favorite in the past.

For lunch, we'll either be getting QS at Yak & Yeti or Flame Tree BBQ. We're leaning toward BBQ, and we could definitely share to make the most out of a credit.

After we hit all our musts at AK, we'll head back to the villa. We have an ADR in the evening at:

Most of us (all but one, really) are seafood fans and we all thought the atmosphere seems great at Coral Reef! Ideally, we were hoping to get BOG for our last night, but it wasn't in the cards. For menu options, we're considering: Flash Fried Nori Wrapped Tuna, Pan-seared Sustainable Seasonal Catch, Coral Reef Lobster Orecchiette Pasta, Seared Rainbow Trout, and Soy and Ginger Braised Beef Short Rib. None of the desserts really stand out, so I'll have to check out some more dining reviews to get an opinion on that!

After dinner, I'd really like us all to take the Monorail to the Poly to watch Wishes from the Beach. I think it'd be a wonderful last night in WDW!

 

[familyabgar]

Last Day in Disney​

Day 6 marks our final Day in WDW. As of right now, we only have 5 day tickets, so will not be headed to a park. However, DH and I (and my parents) are tempted to add a 6th day, just so the last thing DD sees is the castle up close. And we'd probably meet the princesses one last time.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. First things first, we do have a finale ADR planned. A 9:30 a.m. breakfast at:

We ate here in 2003 and it was so much fun! I think it's the perfect last day character meal, and it'll be so easy to get to! We'll be able to take it easy in the morning, probably packing up, before heading to breakfast. I'll need to do some research about the timing, b/c we may need to give Bell Services our luggage and officially check out of our room before we go to breakfast. If we go into the park, that's probably best anyway, as we can go straight from breakfast to MK.

We should have QS credits available to use for lunch, and depending on our plans, we may get lunch at one of the other resorts on our way out of Disney. I need to do some more research to see where we may want to go! We'll also make sure we use up all of our snack credits.

My brother and his gf will not be driving home with us, but will utilize Magical Express to fly back home. My dad, on the other hand, is going to ride back home with us. We hope to leave in the afternoon. The rest of the group will also be driving back to their homes in Florida (a much quicker trip!).

That wraps up the itinerary posts! I don't expect our ADRs to change, so our schedule of park days will likely stay just as I've described. However, the schedule of particular days of course will be subject to DD's stamina and attitude!

 

[familyabgar]

ADR List​

I thought it would be helpful to include our ADRs in one place! Here is the list. We are on the DDP and will have 24 TS, 24 QS, and 24 S credits. I will also include in the list what we *think* might be OOP and how many TS credits we'll need based on where we think meals may be shared.

Monday
6:30pm—BOMA
4 TS credits

Tuesday
8:25am—Cinderella’s Royal Table
OOP—TIW discount
1:30pm—Liberty Tree Tavern
OOP
9pm—Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Party
OOP—prepaid

Wednesday
8:50am—Hollywood & Vine
OOP
1:25pm—Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater
OOP
7pm—Rose & Crown
4 TS credits

Thursday
4:10, 4:15, 4:20pm—Be Our Guest
4 TS credits

Friday
9:35am—Kona Cafe
OOP
6:30pm—Kouzzina by Cat Cora
4 TS credits

Saturday
8:30am—Tusker House
OOP
7:10pm—Coral Reef
4 TS credits

Sunday
9:30am—Chef Mickey’s
4 TS credits

By my estimation, it doesn't make sense to use 8 TS on CRT, as that breaks down to approximately $30/credit. Since one of our party will have the TIW card, we will take advantage of that discount for this meal. We don't plan to use it at every OOP meal, as they won't always be dining with us, but also because it's a hassle to track and pay back while on vacation!

I'm very excited about this list! The only place we had originally wanted but are skipping is Tutto Italia. We have great memories from there, but they wouldn't accommodate a large party except at 4pm. That was a deal breaker! We'll do that for BOG, but that's about it.

 

[familyabgar]

Real Life Update​

First, I am so excited to say that we have under 100 days to go until our WDW vacation!

Second, today I went to the WDW website and noticed there is a new package available for tickets+hotel+free memory maker (formerly photopass+). Now since Disney is not running the Spring Offer on BLT villas (besides studios) and we couldn't get the free ticket deal, I emailed my TA to see if we could at least get a free memory maker. When I ran our dates under that package, it was available for a 1-bedroom villa, but 2 beds are sold out. I'm hoping we can still apply it to our existing reservation!

Third, my DD asked to see "Disney World on the TV" the other day. So, since we have a Sony Smart TV, I used the YouTube app to find a WDW video. I found a 15 minute "tour" video that is just someone walking around MK--no commentary, you just hear the sounds of the park. DD loved it! She was super excited to see the "choo choo train" and wants to ride that. Her second favorite thing was the Magic Carpet Ride. She said that Jasmine would ride those, and that we ride them to see "the world. A new world!" It was adorable. Last night I told her we'd be going to Disney World in 100 days and her response was, "choo choo train!" It's fun to see her so excited. I'm still trying to figure out a countdown method, but we likely won't start that until April.

Fourth, DD's dance recital is Disney-themed and I love it! Her actual recital is 2 weeks after we return from WDW. She started learning her routines recently. The ballet portion is Winnie the Pooh's story and DD is dancing to Luv-a-bye (Sp?), the Kanga and Roo song. The tap portion is a trip through the Magic Kingdom--so each number is based on a ride. DD's tap routine is "Never Smile at a Crocodile" and is adorable. So I thought I'd show her the song on YouTube from Peter Pan. Big Mistake!!! At dance class this past weekend, DD ran to me from the dance floor b/c she was scared of the song! I'm hoping to fix this!

Finally, I picked out the fabrics for DD's Rapunzel inspired dress! I got all the pieces cut out Saturday evening and will start sewing this weekend. Here are the fabrics:

The dark purple is sparkly. DD's favorite color is purple and she is so excited!

Thanks for reading and happy planning!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

Hi!
I just found your PTR, and I am really enjoying it. I also have a 2.5 DD who will be 3 in June. I also love to sew for her! We took her to the world last July and had such a fantastic time. We are heading back in Sept and DD is really excited! I love hearing all about your plans. I love the pattern ypu are going to use for the Rapunzel dress. I made one for my DD out of a simple peasant dress pattern but I may have to use that one and make another! It looks just like the dress in the movie. I also love your daisy dress pattern. I have seen that one before and thought it was so cute!

I also laughed at your title my DD always yells at us "two minutes!" When ever it is time to do something she doesn't want to do. She think two minutes buys her a lot of time. Silly toddlers!
I will be following along!

 

[stitchfan75]

Between you and Jackie my kids are hiding from me. They are 12 and 10...I have declared they will wear cute matching dresses our 1st day in the park!
Through Jackie's PTR I found that great site youcanmakethis.com and found a pattern that is cute but not to babyish. I'm doing it in a black, red, mickey pattern motif.
They both said they are two old for princess dresses...but they love Frozen so maybe I can get them to dress up just for CRT!
Following along because we are also do the whole family in June of next year (so glad I'm not the only one who plans so far ahead!)

 

[KatMark]

Sorry I'm so far behind again (my son ended up getting his surgery and we went to see him and our daughter-in-law this weekend).

We LOVE Kona for breakfast (in fact, will be there in three weeks). I wouldn't stay Tusker House is my favorite park breakfast; I prefer Crystal Palace but that is because Tusker House does NOT have puffed French toast.

I highly recommend the Chocolate Wave for dessert at Coral Reef; it's oe of my favorite Disney desserts.

Love the fabrics you picked out for your DD's dress.

 

[familyabgar]

Sorry I'm so far behind again (my son ended up getting his surgery and we went to see him and our daughter-in-law this weekend).

We LOVE Kona for breakfast (in fact, will be there in three weeks). I wouldn't stay Tusker House is my favorite park breakfast; I prefer Crystal Palace but that is because Tusker House does NOT have puffed French toast.

I highly recommend the Chocolate Wave for dessert at Coral Reef; it's oe of my favorite Disney desserts.

Love the fabrics you picked out for your DD's dress.

I hope his recovery is going better! That has to be hard.

My dad and I watched a demonstration video of Tonga Toast last spring and we were both like, "ummm, we must eat that!" That puffed french toast looks amazing, too! We aren't big Winnie the Pooh people, but maybe we'll try Crystal Palace someday.

Thanks for the tip on that dessert! We are definitely chocolate lovers.

Between you and Jackie my kids are hiding from me. They are 12 and 10...I have declared they will wear cute matching dresses our 1st day in the park!
Through Jackie's PTR I found that great site youcanmakethis.com and found a pattern that is cute but not to babyish. I'm doing it in a black, red, mickey pattern motif.
They both said they are two old for princess dresses...but they love Frozen so maybe I can get them to dress up just for CRT!
Following along because we are also do the whole family in June of next year (so glad I'm not the only one who plans so far ahead!)

Thanks for joining in! I love youcanmakethis! That's where I have purchased many patterns, including the peasant dress + cover dress for Rapunzel. Maybe you can get them in fun princess shirts if nothing else? Matching sounds like fun! I'll be sure to check out your PTR (though not tonight as I need to get to bed)!

Hi!
I just found your PTR, and I am really enjoying it. I also have a 2.5 DD who will be 3 in June. I also love to sew for her! We took her to the world last July and had such a fantastic time. We are heading back in Sept and DD is really excited! I love hearing all about your plans. I love the pattern ypu are going to use for the Rapunzel dress. I made one for my DD out of a simple peasant dress pattern but I may have to use that one and make another! It looks just like the dress in the movie. I also love your daisy dress pattern. I have seen that one before and thought it was so cute!

I also laughed at your title my DD always yells at us "two minutes!" When ever it is time to do something she doesn't want to do. She think two minutes buys her a lot of time. Silly toddlers!
I will be following along!

Thanks for the kind words! We have so much in common! This morning DD woke up and first things out of her mouth were about how I've made her a Cinderella dress and a Belle dress, so now I have to make a Rapunzel dress. She always has something new to say in the mornings!

I haven't found a lining fabric for the heart pattern--I just can't decide what to do, but will probably end up with solid purple. I want it to be a nice fabric since it's up against the skin, of course.

Thanks again

____________________________________________________

I may have some changes to report in coming days. My sister decided to break away from our travel agent so she could have direct access and control with Disney. In this process, she's been looking at the Boardwalk Villas, and our TA put a hold on one Boardwalk Studio for my brother and his gf, while my sister was going to book a 1 bedroom--all of this was much cheaper than their non-discounted GW rooms at the Contemporary.

My parents are here right now, and we were chatting about it--we'd really like them to be closer to us, but we'd deal with it if they weren't. I was browsing available rooms on the iPad and a 2-bed villa at BLT popped up and the price was just $100 more than what the cost of their 2 GW rooms are currently. So I called up my sister right away to discuss it. What if they shared a 2-bed villa at a very similar price. Well, then I realized it was only for 5 nights and not the 6th night--oops! BUT, a 2-bed standard view villa is available for the 6th night at a 5% discount (I'd read on here it would only ever apply to studios)! So, it really is a chunk more expensive than the current situation, but it might work out. Or it might not. We aren't sure yet, but my sister called and put a hold on those 2 rooms. They don't really want to switch rooms (one is lake view and the last night is standard view), but are willing to. We shall see!

Have a good night, everyone! I hope to start sewing some this weekend on the Rapunzel dress.

 

[familyabgar]

I forgot to update that we are definitely getting a free Memory Maker! Woo hoo! $149 savings isn't earth shattering, but when not a single other discount applies--that's pretty nice! Especially because we were 100% going to buy it regardless. Now we don't have to.

 

[KatMark]

I forgot to update that we are definitely getting a free Memory Maker! Woo hoo! $149 savings isn't earth shattering, but when not a single other discount applies--that's pretty nice! Especially because we were 100% going to buy it regardless. Now we don't have to.

That is good news.

 

[familyabgar]

Resort & Sewing Update​

We've had a big change for half of our group occur over the past couple weeks! Some random and mistaken searching resulted in my finding another lake view 2 bed villa at BLT--except I realized it was only available for 5 nights of our 6 night stay. Another quick search revealed a standard view 2 bed villa available for that 6th night! Even better, some of it was showing up as 5% off with the Spring Offer!! My sister called and immediately placed a hold. Just as quickly, the rooms vanished from the website. Soooooo, after much discussion and some debate we are currently ALL booked in 2 bed villas at BLT! How lucky was that?! Some of the group will have to switch rooms for the final night, but it won't be that big of a hassle considering they can stash any food/drinks in our villa's fridge and have bell services move their bags. This trip is turning into one for the family history books and I am getting more excited every day! I'm incredibly blessed that my parents value our time spent together as family.

I've also made progress on DD's Rapunzel dress! She posed herself this way to show Daddy her dress. And though her facial expression says otherwise, she actually loves it! I'm currently working on the overdress, but won't get back to it until the weekend.

 

[TruLovesKiss]

Hi Abby! I'm joining in!! I just read through your whole PTR so far and your trip plans sound fabulous! You have some awesome ADRs booked. So exciting! I can't wait to hear about BOMA... that's one that is definitely on our list for next trip.

WOW! I am so impressed with (and jealous of!) your sewing skills! Your DD's Rapunzel dress is looking great. I just love the fabrics that you chose for it.

 

[familyabgar]

Hi Abby! I'm joining in!! I just read through your whole PTR so far and your trip plans sound fabulous! You have some awesome ADRs booked. So exciting! I can't wait to hear about BOMA... that's one that is definitely on our list for next trip.

WOW! I am so impressed with (and jealous of!) your sewing skills! Your DD's Rapunzel dress is looking great. I just love the fabrics that you chose for it.

Aw, thank you! It's been a fun hobby.

I'm really excited for BOMA, not only for the food, but to check out the resort, too. I can't picture myself staying there, but don't mind hanging out for awhile.

 

[familyabgar]

Rapunzel: Finished!​

I put the finishing touches on DD's Rapunzel dress this evening. I'm very excited about this dress.

I have also recently purchased most of the fabric I'll need to make the rest of DD's outfits. She recently requested Snow White, which wasn't in my plans. But the peasant dress pattern I used for Rapunzel is perfect for Snow White and is simple to do.

I'm trying something new, as well, which is an "upcycle" dress. DD has a princess t-shirt that is almost too small. So I'm attempting to turn it into a dress by adding new sleeves, slide panels, and a skirt. Wish me luck!

Finally, I've veered slightly from my original Daisy-inspired look. I still plan on using the same pattern, but I couldn't find a fabric to line the top. I've seen the following Minnie Mouse print at the store several times, and last time I was there I just couldn't turn it down. So, given the colors, I think she's actually going to wear this to our Hollywood & Vine breakfast since Sofia is there and wears purple. I'll find an amulet necklace, too! I just love the combo of fabrics!

I have on order a black giraffe print to make a simple pillowcase dress for our Animal Kingdom day. I have also decided against using satin--even though I have 2 yards of a gorgeous crepe-backed sparkle satin--because it isn't as wearable in a park. So I ordered to colors from Michael Miller's fairy frost line (thanks TruLovesKiss!). I'll use CarlaC's Precious dress with modifications. I'm really torn about the satin though! I can return it, but may hang on to it because it's so pretty.

Finally, I still need to re-make a Belle gown for DD. This one will likely still be in satin so I can do the fancy ruffles again. I'll be busy over the next 2 months!!

Oh, and I can't leave out the Prince Charming and Beast baby outfits I hope to make for my precious nephew.

_________________________________

A couple quick trip updates, too! My sister has been regularly checking in with Disney, and was able to secure the same 2bed lake view villa for all 6 nights of our trip!

Also, Disney has announced this year's 24 hour event and it's during our trip! We are all pretty much agreed that we'll have to take part in dressing up that day, but I'm not sure what we'll do with the park hours. We'll be keeping an eye on the announcements for the event to help firm up plans.

Finally, I went ahead and finally purchased a TouringPlans subscription and started mapping out our park days. I'll share those in separate posts over the next days and weeks. It's tough!

Thanks for reading!

 

[anniebabymu]

Stumbled upon your PTR today!! Our dates overlap a bit, so it's nice to see other plans for days so close to ours! I must say, I'm loving all of your plans, ADR's and clothes your making for your DD! That Rapunzel dress is adorable! She is going to have the time of her life!

Our DD's are very close in age! We too are taking advantage of the "Free before they're three!" but we most definitely cut it close because we check-in May 22nd and her birthday is the 26th! Definitely just squeaked out another free trip for her! Ha ha!

We were lucky and were able to get BOG on the day we wanted, but like you, we too had to split our party up between 2 reservations. We managed to get a party of 5 and a party of 4 both for 6:45pm... so I'm hoping we can get there a bit early and request to be seated together and if not together, very close to each other! Fingers crossed for the both of us!

Can't wait to hear about your Touring Plans!! I too made personalized plans for our dates... but of course now the 24hr party is going to change them up a bit!

I'm so excited for all of you! How fun it would be to travel with my whole family!

 

[familyabgar]

Stumbled upon your PTR today!! Our dates overlap a bit, so it's nice to see other plans for days so close to ours! I must say, I'm loving all of your plans, ADR's and clothes your making for your DD! That Rapunzel dress is adorable! She is going to have the time of her life!

Our DD's are very close in age! We too are taking advantage of the "Free before they're three!" but we most definitely cut it close because we check-in May 22nd and her birthday is the 26th! Definitely just squeaked out another free trip for her! Ha ha!

We were lucky and were able to get BOG on the day we wanted, but like you, we too had to split our party up between 2 reservations. We managed to get a party of 5 and a party of 4 both for 6:45pm... so I'm hoping we can get there a bit early and request to be seated together and if not together, very close to each other! Fingers crossed for the both of us!

Can't wait to hear about your Touring Plans!! I too made personalized plans for our dates... but of course now the 24hr party is going to change them up a bit!

I'm so excited for all of you! How fun it would be to travel with my whole family!

Fun! That's great you could squeak in for her to be free. Thank you for your kind words about my sewing! It's been fun and I'm going to be busy the next 2 months!

Good luck with your BOG situation, too. It'd be a bummer to split up!

Thanks so much for reading!