Planning our Wilderness Lodge Adventure! Nov 8-15 ~ We are back!

[CJsMom]

Your plans look perfect - and it's great that your DH is on board!

BTW - I decided to check out Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover book and after reading a couple of chapters I bought it. It sounds really good, and now I am determined to get us debt-free asap! Thanks so much for posting about it!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Your plans look perfect - and it's great that your DH is on board!

BTW - I decided to check out Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover book and after reading a couple of chapters I bought it. It sounds really good, and now I am determined to get us debt-free asap! Thanks so much for posting about it!

Awesome!!! It has TOTALLY transformed our lives. I cannot believe how much money we were wasting before.... We pay cash for everything now, and "Is it in the budget?" is our mantra!

 

[DisneyBride'03]

Hi Brook
Please be on the look out for a package for Henry

There might be a few other goodies in there for him....and something for you...of course all Disney related

There is one tiny stain then isnt too noticeable sorry Maybe you can work with it, I was too afraid of ruining the shirt.....

Cant wait to see a pic of him in it

 

[brookelizabeth]

Hi Brook
Please be on the look out for a package for Henry

There might be a few other goodies in there for him....and something for you...of course all Disney related

There is one tiny stain then isnt too noticeable sorry Maybe you can work with it, I was too afraid of ruining the shirt.....

Cant wait to see a pic of him in it

You are so sweet!! Thank you!! I can't wait!!!!!

No worries on the stain - it goes with 'kid territory'!

 

[stepdisney]

Brookelizabeth,

I love your pre-trip report. Your thought process in choosing the places to dine was so much like my own on our last trip. I did eat at Mama Melrose with the fantasmic package. While we enjoyed entering early and assigned seating, the food was "eh" which in my case means good but not spectacular. If you like spaghetti, all covered with cheese, then you'll live Mama Melrose....(I am singing this as I'm typing). The menu is basic and the food was, as I say, "eh." Think someones house for dinner who cooks basic but good.

I must say, Wolfgang Pucks express cafe is our favorite CS. The food there is ummm ummm good. The plates are large and it is the same food that they serve over on the TS side with the exception of one or two items. The mac & cheese and the ribs are very, very good and tell you DH that the pizza is worthy of praise from a loyal pizza expert.

Can't wait to read more.

 

[DisneyBride'03]

Stepdisney, fancy meeting you here!!

brook, her and I go way back...lol....

 

[stepdisney]

Busted.

My DS (7) is home and very sick. He has a slight case of pneumonia. I've been on the DIS to keep my thoughts happy. He is doing much better than he was this past week-end.

Hi Brookelizabeth, she's right, we go way back.

 

[DisneyBride'03]

Well, sending some to your little guy
Hope he feels better soon!! Its geat to see you around...sorry Brook....dont want to hijack YOUR pre trippie

Gosh I cannot type today.....

 

[stepdisney]

Brookelizabeth, meanwhile, back to the planning board. I'm waiting anxiously for the next entry. .

(thanks DB)

 

[brookelizabeth]

Brookelizabeth,

I love your pre-trip report. Your thought process in choosing the places to dine was so much like my own on our last trip. I did eat at Mama Melrose with the fantasmic package. While we enjoyed entering early and assigned seating, the food was "eh" which in my case means good but not spectacular. If you like spaghetti, all covered with cheese, then you'll live Mama Melrose....(I am singing this as I'm typing). The menu is basic and the food was, as I say, "eh." Think someones house for dinner who cooks basic but good.

I must say, Wolfgang Pucks express cafe is our favorite CS. The food there is ummm ummm good. The plates are large and it is the same food that they serve over on the TS side with the exception of one or two items. The mac & cheese and the ribs are very, very good and tell you DH that the pizza is worthy of praise from a loyal pizza expert.

Can't wait to read more.

I was wondering about the Fantasmic package with Mama Melrose-and what the fixed meal was. Did you have an option other than spaghetti? I think my DH will like the basic type meal...I am more adventurous, but he is all about home-cookin' type stuff.

Thank you for your reviews of both MM and Wolfgang Puck! I had heard that about the CS versus the TS, so we are down for a CS there! DH looked at the menu and knew he would love it. I will also pass on the note you made about the pizza!

Stepdisney, fancy meeting you here!!

brook, her and I go way back...lol....

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back! Which reminds me...I gotta check the mail tomorrow!!!!!

Busted.

My DS (7) is home and very sick. He has a slight case of pneumonia. I've been on the DIS to keep my thoughts happy. He is doing much better than he was this past week-end.

Hi Brookelizabeth, she's right, we go way back.

Hugs to you and your DS....I hope he feels better soon.

Well, sending some to your little guy
Hope he feels better soon!! Its geat to see you around...sorry Brook....dont want to hijack YOUR pre trippie

Gosh I cannot type today.....

No worries...feel free to hijack. I'll just hijack it back!

Brookelizabeth, meanwhile, back to the planning board. I'm waiting anxiously for the next entry. .

(thanks DB)

Sorry I've been away - real life got in the way - and then a really long TR I read...researchin' all that baby stuff and not finding a whole lot of advice, so I'm thinkin' it'll be easier than I imagine! My biggest questions that remain are how babies react to the 3D shows, and if they generally stick to their schedule, or if they seem to be fairly flexiable. I would LOVE to see Wishes, while I don't know what time the show is at, I am wonderin' if DS will be tired and cranky by then-his bedtime is at 8:30.

Did I type out this question previously on my trippee? Either that, or I think I'm having deja vu or somethin'! (or I'm just really, really tired!)

 

[DisneyBride'03]

i am so sorry... i keep forgetting to come here..i wanted to share how Ava did at 14 mths!!

we did not do any 3d shows.....she loved dumbo..peter pan, its a small world...didnt do Snow White...its suppose to be scary for real! lol

Her first ride ever was nemo at EpcoT!
also, any boat ride at any park she did great!

we ended up getting a crib at YC....we moved some things around in the room..however she recently did great in the pack n play on the cruise...and she was 19 mths....
As far as dinners....great at coral reef....getting great servers help!

california grill...what WERE we thinking?! lol....She did ok....but our experience wasnt great due to other factors...but i got the best photos!

I think the best character meal was breakfast at cape may....Quiet....not crazy....and she loved it....well. we think she did...lol


Naps....we came back every day in the afternoon...and went back out later....she was a trooper....henry will let you know when he has had enough i am sure

Wl will be great for you guys!!!1 So excited for you....So we had 4 sit down meals....she didnt make it through one and we went back to our room and ate ...enjoyed the balcony and then she was fine...she did not want to sit anymore!! She slept a few times in the stroller, not for long....

oh....she got her first haircut at the barbershop on main st in MK.... You get a certificate...special mickey ears....worth the wait!

i have some photos if you want to see them...i just dont want to impose on your thread! lol

 

[stepdisney]

If you go to allears site, you can see the exact fantasmic package offerings. This is what we did. The are very current with updating the menus. The menu is a bit more than spaghetti but of course this is what my DS's chose. I, of course, had pizza. We always put Pucks on for the first night since it doesn't require ADR's and it also gives us a 2 TS choice later on. This year we may use the TS for breakfast at Boma's. Did you eat breakfast at Boma's when you were at AKL?

 

[RachelTori]

If you go to allears site, you can see the exact fantasmic package offerings. This is what we did. The are very current with updating the menus. The menu is a bit more than spaghetti but of course this is what my DS's chose. I, of course, had pizza. We always put Pucks on for the first night since it doesn't require ADR's and it also gives us a 2 TS choice later on. This year we may use the TS for breakfast at Boma's. Did you eat breakfast at Boma's when you were at AKL?

I see us early birds are up!! AKL breakfast is wonderful! A bit of advice: it's really a waste of a TS to use it for breakfast. Most of us pay OOP for TS @ breakfast or lunch. Of course if it would go to waste otherwise, by all means use it (but I'd opt for a 2TS restaurant before I'd let one my precious TS's go to waste!)

 

[Charleston Princess]

I see us early birds are up!! AKL breakfast is wonderful! A bit of advice: it's really a waste of a TS to use it for breakfast. Most of us pay OOP for TS @ breakfast or lunch. Of course if it would go to waste otherwise, by all means use it (but I'd opt for a 2TS restaurant before I'd let one my precious TS's go to waste!)

I agree! We are planning on paying OOP for our Boma breakfast -- it just makes more sense!

 

[brookelizabeth]

03-12-2008 - The Training has Begun

I have a confession.

DS' room is NOT Disney. I specifically asked for no Pooh. Knowing that if I still asked for no Pooh, I would get Pooh. Because honestly, who can resist Pooh? Espeically Pooh for babies. But if I had asked for Pooh, I would have been overwhelmed with Pooh (which in hindsight, might not have been so bad...)

Along with Pooh, we also got Tigger. And a few other friends....and about 10 Disney books. One of these is Finding Nemo. And wow-it's a long book. But, I decided to dive in and start the Disney Training. Here is Henry enjoying his first training course of Finding Nemo:

He aced it.

The second course involved a Pooh bib. I don't have that pic off the camera yet, but will soon! He also aced this one. (I have a feeling he'll ace all the courses, as I am the designer of the courses and also the teacher who gives the grades. He's too cute to not give an A to! )

Course three consists of channel 42. Disney channel. He has very little exposure to TV in general, but tomorrow morning while Mommy gets in a bit of work, I think we'll begin this course. I'll letcha all know how he does.

(posted a day later due to errors on the DIS )

 

[brookelizabeth]

i am so sorry... i keep forgetting to come here..i wanted to share how Ava did at 14 mths!!

we did not do any 3d shows.....she loved dumbo..peter pan, its a small world...didnt do Snow White...its suppose to be scary for real! lol

Her first ride ever was nemo at EpcoT!
also, any boat ride at any park she did great!

we ended up getting a crib at YC....we moved some things around in the room..however she recently did great in the pack n play on the cruise...and she was 19 mths....
As far as dinners....great at coral reef....getting great servers help!

california grill...what WERE we thinking?! lol....She did ok....but our experience wasnt great due to other factors...but i got the best photos!

I think the best character meal was breakfast at cape may....Quiet....not crazy....and she loved it....well. we think she did...lol


Naps....we came back every day in the afternoon...and went back out later....she was a trooper....henry will let you know when he has had enough i am sure

Wl will be great for you guys!!!1 So excited for you....So we had 4 sit down meals....she didnt make it through one and we went back to our room and ate ...enjoyed the balcony and then she was fine...she did not want to sit anymore!! She slept a few times in the stroller, not for long....

oh....she got her first haircut at the barbershop on main st in MK.... You get a certificate...special mickey ears....worth the wait!

i have some photos if you want to see them...i just dont want to impose on your thread! lol

Good to hear on the rides! I was thinking the Dumbo-esque rides will be a big hit.

I think we will follow your plan and come back to take a nap in the afternoon, so he gets a real nap in....unless he seems to do well in the stroller. I think if we take our current stroller he would do fine because it reclines all the way back and he CRASHED in it for quite a long time at the Mall of America, but if we are going to get a new stroller, and it doesn't recline all the way, I'm not sure how he'll do....I guess NYC will be a good testing ground for that. We have to get a new stroller for NYC, no way am I lugging a Graco up and down those stairs!

Good idea about taking the food back to the room if he doesn't make it through a sit-down meal. What time did you guys do your ADRs for?

Feel free to post pics!!! I love seeing and hearing from the experienced! Plus, Ava is so stinkin' cute, share, share away!

If you go to allears site, you can see the exact fantasmic package offerings. This is what we did. The are very current with updating the menus. The menu is a bit more than spaghetti but of course this is what my DS's chose. I, of course, had pizza. We always put Pucks on for the first night since it doesn't require ADR's and it also gives us a 2 TS choice later on. This year we may use the TS for breakfast at Boma's. Did you eat breakfast at Boma's when you were at AKL?

Ah! Allears! I didn't even think about looking there for the package!

We did eat a Boma, but we ate dinner there. DH isn't much of a breakfast person, but I am a HUGE breakfast person. I talked him into Kona this time around by flashing the pictures of Tonga Toast.

I see us early birds are up!! AKL breakfast is wonderful! A bit of advice: it's really a waste of a TS to use it for breakfast. Most of us pay OOP for TS @ breakfast or lunch. Of course if it would go to waste otherwise, by all means use it (but I'd opt for a 2TS restaurant before I'd let one my precious TS's go to waste!)

I agree! We are planning on paying OOP for our Boma breakfast -- it just makes more sense!

Yep - I agree, we do this too. We are paying OOP for Kona breakfast, it's so much cheaper than dinner, and we can save that TS for a nice dinner. In 2006 we didn't really think about this sort of thing and ended up paying OOP for a more expensive meal - this year, I have a tad more time to plan so I picked up this tip along the way! How much is the Boma breakfast? Well, I suppose I'm headed over to allears, I can look it up myself! (maybe I can talk DH into TWO breakfasts...plus I'd have an excellent excuse to see the lodge again!!)

 

[DisneyBride'03]

we did "disney training" too!!! lol it helped really!

we got a deal on a peg perego aria stroller at albeebaby.com.....$100 w/free shipping...lightweight, reclines and travels well, she has been in it since 6 mths...her first trip to California..it was an older model..lol..like 2005 so it was cheaper!

our dinner adr's were later in the evening....after nap time.....7 or so....but she was taking later naps....it seemed to take her awhile to wind down in the room after returning...luckily it always rained a bit when we returned!!
ok..just a few pics.....

 

[brookelizabeth]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Fantasmic Dinner Package:[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Mama Melrose $32.99 adult/$11.99 child[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] (3-9) (plus tax and gratuity). [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Adult meal includes appetizer, entree, dessert and non-specialty, non-alcoholic beverage[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]. Children must order from Children's Menu, and have a choice of soup or salad, entree, dessert and child's beverage.[/FONT]

Ah-ha! I thought it included only a couple options for the entree, but looks like you can order what ever you would like off the menu, and it's still only 1 TS!

Now, the question is....will we like Fantasmic? I've heard mixed reviews about it - and we aren't big on the witches/"evil" characters, but I'm going to take a look at it all before I make any judgement calls.

Off to research...


Hmmmm....read the description off allears and I'm just not sure. DH and I are what most folks call "religious" - and I don't know how I feel about projecting all the dark/evil characters to DS. Plus, how Mickey overcomes evil, that sorta sits in me funny. I'm gonna send the link to DH and see what he says. I would like to see it, just to see it, but maybe it would be something better for the future when DH and I take a 'no kids' trip. (yes, I'm thinking that far in advance for Disney trips! Can you blame me?! )

Now I gotta check Boma for breakfast....​

 

[brookelizabeth]

Boma baby! Man, does that sound YUMMY!

And yes, I realize they have good coffee for breakfast here... Makes it all the more appealing!!!!!

I'm such an addict!

I think I'll bring this up to DH - see what he thinks. Maybe we'll play it by ear, while we are there, if we get up early one morning and want a good breakfast, I'll suggest it. Does anyone know how 'in demand' it is for breakfast? Could we even do a walk-up?

 

[DisneyBride'03]

Cape May cafe character breakfast...........

at MK....

at california grill...