dschmidt1007
Diane
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2013
- Messages
- 5
Precursor: 1st post in DisBoards & 1st attempt at a Trip Report.
While brainstorming for ideas for our next vacation with some close friends, Disney was tossed around as an option (as was a cruise to the Mediterranean, the Bahamas, Vegas, etc) and it was pretty much immediately decided that Disney was where we were going. After doing a bit of research I found out about the Food & Wine Festival at EPCOT (which somehow I never heard of – how? I don’t know!) and brought it up to the group. Done – we were going during the festival.
I started running numbers for the group (I work in a hotel, so I’m a little more familiar with travel planning than most of my friends) and it looked like our best bet was to again rent a house off property and rent a car. Since we are foodies, the Dining Plan doesn’t actually save us money since we’d have to pay extra at more than half the restaurants that we are interested in. Once factoring in discounts we could get via Undercover Tourist for tickets, it really sealed the deal.
We booked a 6 bedroom house in Davenport (we had previously stayed in the same development in 2009 – Solara) but pretty much as soon as I made the payment 2 couples dropped out of the plans. Now we had a 6 bedroom house & only 4 people. We canceled the booking & started looking again.
We have now downsized & rented a 4 bedroom townhouse (with hope that people would reevaluate their life goals & join us) in the Royal Palms Resort in Davenport as well as secured our rental car. We are totally fine with driving the 15 to 30 minutes daily to get to the parks. We have also purchased 7 day park hopper passes for Disney & are planning on purchasing a 3 day park to park pass from Universal, but I’m waiting to see if they offer another buy 2 days get a 3rd free, like they did in June.
The last Disney trip we took (3 of us that are going on this trip) was in January of 2009, and my dad did most of the planning, so I ran out & got the Unofficial Guide to Disney. I pretty much devoured that thing! I am completely prepared for this trip & utterly excited.
I also have to note, that I am totally excited about the new Lines app by the folks over at the Unofficial Guide to Disney & their site touringplans.com. Seriously impressed with it & my ability to plan out our days (which I won’t be posting down to the minute here). I can’t wait to try it out and I am really hoping that it works as well as it looks like it can!
My husband is also into Photography – well, it’s new to him but he’s loving it – so we will be spending a good amount of time on certain days just putzing around (more towards the end of our trip) so that he can mess around with the camera.
Who
Diane (me)
Walter (husband)
Danny (Walter’s BFF)
Rob (Danny’s cousin – only coming for the 2nd half of the trip)
When
9/27/13 – 10/8/13
Here’s my current itinerary, and I’m looking for some feedback & suggestions on stuff I may be overlooking, especially for the Food & Wine Festival. The days/parks were picked by utilizing the crowd calendars & avoiding parks with Extra Magic Hours, as we are not eligible for them.
9/27 - Friday
Flight from EWR to MCO (used Hubby's miles from being a Road Warrior to secure tickets) - Cost $10
Pick up rental car (used Hubby's discount from work) - saved $200
Check in at resort
Do a little food shopping for breakfast stuff, snacks, etc
Head to Downtown Disney (I’ve never really been to the shops, but have been to Cirque du Soleil & DisneyQuest)
Drinks @ the Octopus Bar
Dinner @ Raglan Road
9/28 – Saturday
AM @ Animal Kingdom (tour entire park)
Check out Dawa Bar & Flame Tree BBQ for lunch
PM – Magic Kingdom (tour Fantasyland)
ADR for Be Our Guest @ 8:25pm
9/29 – Sunday
AM – Islands of Adventure
Mythos for lunch
Three Broomsticks for Butterbeer
Dinner at house?
9/30 – Monday
AM – EPCOT Future World (all but Living Seas)
11am – Head to World Showcase for Food & Wine Fest
10/1 – Tuesday
AM – Universal Studios
Lunch @ Finnigan’s
PM – Floating Electrical Parade - haven’t decided where to view from – Grand Floridian or Polynesian – thoughts? Looking to grab a snack/dessert as well.
10/2 – Wednesday
AM – Magic Kingdom
Lunch @ Liberty Tavern
PM – Epcot for Food & Wine Fest
Stay for Illuminations – thinking about grabbing a spot by Mexico/Norway. We don’t really want to have to gather someplace more than 10 to 15 minutes before the show for a “great” space – just want a decent view. If you have other suggestions, I’d love to hear them
10/3 – Thursday
AM – Epcot for Food & Wine Fest
PM – Hollywood Studios
Dinner @ Sci-Fi Café?
Stay for Fantasmic
10/4 – Friday
AM – Islands of Adventure
Lunch – haven’t decided yet / may stay at IoA or head to Universal
PM – Universal
10/5 – Saturday
AM – Hollywood Studios
Lunch @ 50’s Prime Time Café
PM – Magic Kingdom
Stay for Wishes
10/6 – Sunday (Our Wedding Anniversary)
AM – Magic Kingdom
Lunch @ Peco’s Bill’s or Cosmic Rays
Dinner @ Christini’s
10/7 – Monday (LAST DAY AT PARKS)
Epcot for Food & Wine Fest
10/8 - Tuesday
Check out of resort
Return rental car
Flight from MCO to EWR
10/9 - Wednesday
Back to Reality =(
While brainstorming for ideas for our next vacation with some close friends, Disney was tossed around as an option (as was a cruise to the Mediterranean, the Bahamas, Vegas, etc) and it was pretty much immediately decided that Disney was where we were going. After doing a bit of research I found out about the Food & Wine Festival at EPCOT (which somehow I never heard of – how? I don’t know!) and brought it up to the group. Done – we were going during the festival.
I started running numbers for the group (I work in a hotel, so I’m a little more familiar with travel planning than most of my friends) and it looked like our best bet was to again rent a house off property and rent a car. Since we are foodies, the Dining Plan doesn’t actually save us money since we’d have to pay extra at more than half the restaurants that we are interested in. Once factoring in discounts we could get via Undercover Tourist for tickets, it really sealed the deal.
We booked a 6 bedroom house in Davenport (we had previously stayed in the same development in 2009 – Solara) but pretty much as soon as I made the payment 2 couples dropped out of the plans. Now we had a 6 bedroom house & only 4 people. We canceled the booking & started looking again.
We have now downsized & rented a 4 bedroom townhouse (with hope that people would reevaluate their life goals & join us) in the Royal Palms Resort in Davenport as well as secured our rental car. We are totally fine with driving the 15 to 30 minutes daily to get to the parks. We have also purchased 7 day park hopper passes for Disney & are planning on purchasing a 3 day park to park pass from Universal, but I’m waiting to see if they offer another buy 2 days get a 3rd free, like they did in June.
The last Disney trip we took (3 of us that are going on this trip) was in January of 2009, and my dad did most of the planning, so I ran out & got the Unofficial Guide to Disney. I pretty much devoured that thing! I am completely prepared for this trip & utterly excited.
I also have to note, that I am totally excited about the new Lines app by the folks over at the Unofficial Guide to Disney & their site touringplans.com. Seriously impressed with it & my ability to plan out our days (which I won’t be posting down to the minute here). I can’t wait to try it out and I am really hoping that it works as well as it looks like it can!
My husband is also into Photography – well, it’s new to him but he’s loving it – so we will be spending a good amount of time on certain days just putzing around (more towards the end of our trip) so that he can mess around with the camera.
Who
Diane (me)
Walter (husband)
Danny (Walter’s BFF)
Rob (Danny’s cousin – only coming for the 2nd half of the trip)
When
9/27/13 – 10/8/13
Here’s my current itinerary, and I’m looking for some feedback & suggestions on stuff I may be overlooking, especially for the Food & Wine Festival. The days/parks were picked by utilizing the crowd calendars & avoiding parks with Extra Magic Hours, as we are not eligible for them.
9/27 - Friday
Flight from EWR to MCO (used Hubby's miles from being a Road Warrior to secure tickets) - Cost $10
Pick up rental car (used Hubby's discount from work) - saved $200
Check in at resort
Do a little food shopping for breakfast stuff, snacks, etc
Head to Downtown Disney (I’ve never really been to the shops, but have been to Cirque du Soleil & DisneyQuest)
Drinks @ the Octopus Bar
Dinner @ Raglan Road
9/28 – Saturday
AM @ Animal Kingdom (tour entire park)
Check out Dawa Bar & Flame Tree BBQ for lunch
PM – Magic Kingdom (tour Fantasyland)
ADR for Be Our Guest @ 8:25pm
9/29 – Sunday
AM – Islands of Adventure
Mythos for lunch
Three Broomsticks for Butterbeer
Dinner at house?
9/30 – Monday
AM – EPCOT Future World (all but Living Seas)
11am – Head to World Showcase for Food & Wine Fest
10/1 – Tuesday
AM – Universal Studios
Lunch @ Finnigan’s
PM – Floating Electrical Parade - haven’t decided where to view from – Grand Floridian or Polynesian – thoughts? Looking to grab a snack/dessert as well.
10/2 – Wednesday
AM – Magic Kingdom
Lunch @ Liberty Tavern
PM – Epcot for Food & Wine Fest
Stay for Illuminations – thinking about grabbing a spot by Mexico/Norway. We don’t really want to have to gather someplace more than 10 to 15 minutes before the show for a “great” space – just want a decent view. If you have other suggestions, I’d love to hear them
10/3 – Thursday
AM – Epcot for Food & Wine Fest
PM – Hollywood Studios
Dinner @ Sci-Fi Café?
Stay for Fantasmic
10/4 – Friday
AM – Islands of Adventure
Lunch – haven’t decided yet / may stay at IoA or head to Universal
PM – Universal
10/5 – Saturday
AM – Hollywood Studios
Lunch @ 50’s Prime Time Café
PM – Magic Kingdom
Stay for Wishes
10/6 – Sunday (Our Wedding Anniversary)
AM – Magic Kingdom
Lunch @ Peco’s Bill’s or Cosmic Rays
Dinner @ Christini’s
10/7 – Monday (LAST DAY AT PARKS)
Epcot for Food & Wine Fest
10/8 - Tuesday
Check out of resort
Return rental car
Flight from MCO to EWR
10/9 - Wednesday
Back to Reality =(
