PTR/TR Spring Break 2014

[momjeeps]

Who are we? A Disney loving family of 6. I'll list ages at time of travel.

DH (47) - Dopey (everyone is in the morning)
ME (43) - Grumpy (I hate mornings)
DS (15) - Pikachu (gamer, smart guy)
DD (14) - Doolittle (animal lover)
DD (12) - Tink (fashionista artist)
DS (9) - Mater (mechanical car lover)

Here we are November 2012 at WDW.


Family at Magic Kingdom by momjeeps, on Flickr

If we are being completely honest, I'm the Disney planning nut of the family. They all enjoy the trip. DH gives a little input here and there. But doesn't really get excited until the week or so ahead of time.

We both grew up in California, so have been to Disneyland, and now DLR many times. We were even AP holders when DCA first opened and got to go to the AP preview. November 2012, we finally got our dream trip to WDW. I had been for one day with a friend when I was maybe 20. But that was more than 20 years ago and I remembered very little about it. It was a day at Epcot and it poured most of the day. So this trip was essentially a first for all of us. We stayed offsite for two nights and Lake Buena Vista Resort Villages and Spa and loved it. Then we stayed 5 nights with Free Dining Upgraded to Regular Dining at AoA Cars.

This trip is a late change in plans from a trip we originally planned for July of this year. We have moved our dates up to Spring Break 2014 for a number of reasons. And now we will be travelling with my brothers and their families. It will be great fun!

The PTR portion of this will be mostly for my own note taking and info gathering spot. But follow along and give input if you'd like! I'd greatly appreciate it!

 

[momjeeps]

Our Group Has Grown
Plan Update
Food Ideas
Photopass+ Arrived!
Tentative Schedule

 

[momjeeps]

Our group has grown quite significantly! My brothers and their families will be joining us. And then I called mom to do the right thing and invite her and dad even though they always say no to Disney and Surprise! they are going too! So our group size is up to 14 with a slight possibility of two more if my nephew (22) and his GF decide to join the fun.

We've all decided on a group meal at BTRBBQ so I will be trying to book a late lunch for that when we reach the 60 day mark day after tomorrow!

My budget keeps getting blown, but I think my SIL may have talked me into 3 Day PH tickets.

I am on my iPhone now so I can't post pics very easily but I'll come back and add some tonight.

 

[mom2kandj]

We've got a spring break trip planned for 5 families - a total of 18. We're doing the Disney youth education series which gets us a group rate on tickets with a docent led class on one of our days. Our 3 day PH rate is $164pp and $191 for a 4 day PH. The only bummer is no early entry, but not that big a deal. HTH!

 

[momjeeps]

We've got a spring break trip planned for 5 families - a total of 18. We're doing the Disney youth education series which gets us a group rate on tickets with a docent led class on one of our days. Our 3 day PH rate is $164pp and $191 for a 4 day PH. The only bummer is no early entry, but not that big a deal. HTH!

That sounds like fun! And a good rate to boot!

 

[momjeeps]

The kids with their cousins on our last Spring Break trip in 2011.



They have grown so much since then! Wow!

My older brother, SIL and their 13 year old daughter and my parents are all staying at the same hotel/motel that we are, BWPPI. We are really excited to be walking distance. Mom will be renting an ECV from Deckerts, so it will work really well to just across the street from Disneyland.

My younger brother, SIL and their 8 year old daughter will be staying at GCH. My little brother may have to work some during their stay and so they want him to have easy access to the parks and wifi.

Current plan is to get three day, one park per day tickets. If possible we are going to have my brother that lives in So. Cal. get our tickets at the So. Cal. rate. We did this three years ago and it worked fine. There are now mixed reviews on whether this will work. The T&Cs say proof of residency is needed for purchase and admittance. But it also says that each resident can purchase five tickets. Another term says that they are not to be transferred for "commercial" purposes. So that tells me, my brother could "legally" buy our tickets. But I'm budgeting for worse case scenario. Still $65/pp savings would be awesome and be more money they would get from us in souvenirs and food LOL. They'll get it either way. Ha.

Getting really excited! Next post will have a list of food options that I made to reference in the park. We did get our reservation for the BTMBBQ for 14 people on Wednesday. I was so happy that I did that because when I was at mom and dad's last weekend mom mentioned that as the one place she wanted to be sure and go. She had heard about it from one of my SILs. I was quite proud to say I had already secured our ressie.

Oh and I prepurchased our PP+ yesterday! Woo Hoo!

 

[momjeeps]

DCA Food Ideas Location Base Price Descrip
Pacific Wharf Café pacific wharf $10/pp Sandwiches, Salads, Soups in bread bowl
Flo's V8 Café carsland $12/pp diner food and shakes ($4.29/ea)
Paradise Garden Grill paradise pier $12/pp mediteranean

Dland Food Ideas Location Base Price Descrip
Royal Street Veranda NO Square $10/ea Chowder/Gumbo
Bengal BBQ Advland $4/skewer Snack, meat skewers, veggie option
Corn Dog Wagon Main St $7/ea incl chips
Holly Jolly Café Main St $7-10/pp quiche, roast beef, turkey, salads

DTD Food Ideas Location Base Price Descrip
Naples $20/pp $45 "family size" pizzas
Earl of Sandwich $10/pp

Well I dropped that in from an excel spreadsheet and it doesn't keep the formatting. But you get the idea...

I'd be welcome to ideas for good eats at DLR on a budget. I'm always looking to save so I can afford more trips!

 

[momjeeps]

Our PP+ Arrived in the mail today! Yay!

The stock photos that came with it are amazing. They make me want to be there now! Radiator Springs looks so real. It was not opened yet when we were there last time. So it is top priority this trip. Very special to our family.

We are doing the wide right very first thing on our first morning! And if it doesn't work for us we are still waiting in whatever line needed! And then hopefully getting a FP right after that for later in the day.

If we accomplish nothing else on this trip, we WILL ride RSR more than once!

This is going to be the longest month ever!!!!

 

[disneycraz]

My DH and I just returned from DLR. we spent 5 days between DL and CA. We had a great week, perfect weather. This was our second time to DL, first time being 16 years ago, and only for one day. Cars Land is amazing, and RSR was so awesome! Suggestion, get your FP for this first thing in the morning. They go really fast. We rode it three times during the week, with a FP each time. The stand by line was usually between 1-2 hrs. The FP machine is not where the ride is. It's near Bugslife. We go to DW about once a year, and we do prefer it over California, but we did love the different attractions that are not in Florida. Have a Great time!

 

[momjeeps]

My DH and I just returned from DLR. we spent 5 days between DL and CA. We had a great week, perfect weather. This was our second time to DL, first time being 16 years ago, and only for one day. Cars Land is amazing, and RSR was so awesome! Suggestion, get your FP for this first thing in the morning. They go really fast. We rode it three times during the week, with a FP each time. The stand by line was usually between 1-2 hrs. The FP machine is not where the ride is. It's near Bugslife. We go to DW about once a year, and we do prefer it over California, but we did love the different attractions that are not in Florida. Have a Great time!

Glad you had a great time! We have done DLR quite a bit when we livee closer. But it's been three years now and we just missed Cars Land last time by a few months. We did get to stay in the Cars Suites at AoA on our first (and only so far) trip to WDW in Nov 2012. We liked lots of things at WDW but I think there is just something about the Disney you grow up with thats special no matter which one it is. I like the closeness of DLR and the fact that its the original. But I think the dining options are better for the most part at WDW. And I love love love Expedition Everest!

We definitely plan to do FPs for RSR and maybe some single rider too! So excited! Cant wait!

I hope we have good weather too. In 2011 it rained in the afternoon and evening on our DL. We are hoping for no rain this time. But rainy Disney is better than no Disney! We have our Mickey ponchos just in case!

 

[BeautyAndTheBeast22]

How exciting! I love the breakdown of the reasonably priced meals. We will also be there the same week so your posts are helpful! Let's hope for NO RAIN Looks like it should be 70* and sunny out but I'd hate to jinx us all!

Can't wait to read your report.. Hope your trip is amazing!

 

[momjeeps]

How exciting! I love the breakdown of the reasonably priced meals. We will also be there the same week so your posts are helpful! Let's hope for NO RAIN Looks like it should be 70* and sunny out but I'd hate to jinx us all!

Can't wait to read your report.. Hope your trip is amazing!

You must be obsessing over the accuweather for our trip like me! LOL I know its too far out to get excited. But I'm good with mid-70s weather!

I'm getting so excited!

 

[momjeeps]

OK, I'm crazy! I know!

I have been playing with RideMax and Touring Plans and customized my own little "plan" of sorts. We never end up with exactly what I plan. But we like to go in with a plan and then wing it as we go and circumstances arise, whether they be weather, ride closures, or just family desires.

So here is a link to the first draft of my plan. I'm still working on my boss and trying to get him to take my place on the Sunday before our trip. I hope he softens and says I can have that day off too. I don't usually work weekends, but the girl that will be covering for me during the week does. So he wants me to take her place on Sunday because its his day off and there are only three of us. But we were talking about the schedule today and I mentioned my having to drive over night and sob sob sob story stuff and he said we'd talk about it again tomorrow. I hope he has a great night! LOL He is going on vacation on Friday. So hopefully he will be in a good mood tomorrow. Other wise it will be all night!

Anyway, back to my original reason to post... here's the link to our schedule.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2OLbXBt5hVddklPYVNLUTdJNG8/edit?usp=sharing

 

[momjeeps]

First of all... Dance!

Second of all, I think my family lives too close to Disneyland to get as excited as me. I talked to each family that we are joining at the parks today and it was like, yep see ya there.

I'm dying with excitement! Very happy that BTMRR is now going to be opened during our trip.

I also got other great news today. My boss' training got cancelled for the week I am scheduled to be out, so he can cover for the desk clerks days off and I don't have to work the weekend that begins our trip! Woo Hoo! No driving through the night like crazy people to get to Disneyland. Now we are leaving Friday night or Saturday morning and driving as far as Amarillo. Then driving to mom and dad's in Arizona on Sunday. On Monday we will probably caravan with them to California.

It will be nice to arrive earlier in the day on Monday and get some beach and/or Downtown Disney time.

Now the packing shall commence! I've been watching the weather. It's still two weeks out, so hopefully things will change. Currently some chance of showers while we are there and temps in the 60s. Praying that changes to warmer and no rain!

 

[momjeeps]

Well, if we can get our act together, today may be the day this PTR becomes a TR! And I promise it will get more exciting!

I'm planning to leave work about 2pm today and do the last minute packing that needs to be done. My goal is to drive away after the kids get home at 4:00pm, but in reality if we get out by 6, I'll be surprised. I don't feel quite as organized and ready to go this time around.

If we leave tonight we plan to drive through the night and be at my parents house in Arizona tomorrow afternoon/evening. Then we are spending Saturday and Sunday night with them. We will all drive over to California on Monday whenever we are up and around and ready to go.

My younger brother and his family will be there Sunday night and we will meet up with them for dinner at DTD or something Monday after we arrive. My older brother and his family will drive up from Murrieta Monday night and meet us sometime that evening as well.

Tuesday! It's PARK day! California and RSR here we come!

 

[momjeeps]

Home from work. Packing is going well. Just down to the girls stuff and they don't want me to pack without their input. I guess a moms fashion sense can't be trusted when your 12 and 14.

Going to try and nap for the next hour or so until they get home. Might be too excited though!

 

[momjeeps]

We finally did make it out on the road Friday night. Posting pics here from my iPhone is too cumbersome. Here is a link to my blog post for our travel.

http://blog.vonavie.com/2014/03/another-journey-west.html?m=0

 

[momjeeps]

And here is the blog post for Sunday. Still no Disney, but we head to DLR today! So stay tuned!

http://blog.vonavie.com/2014/03/az-family-day.html?m=0

 

[momjeeps]

Monday blog

http://blog.vonavie.com/2014/03/headed-to-disney.html?m=1

 

[momjeeps]

Trip summary copied from the DL board. I'll post more blog posts with pics later.

First of all it was BUSY! Especially DCA was crowded both days we were there, Tues & Thurs. But we were able to do everything we wanted in the two days and most things multiple times. We did early arrival for rope drop. The first day we arrived at the gates at 8:03 for a 9:00 am park opening. We were pretty far back at rope drop. Just about to the beginning of the circle. But we stuck with the plan and stayed right. It was 47 minutes from RD to climbing into the car for the ride. Not bad considering some waited three hours that day. (Who would do that?) After we rode RSR I went and got FPs for later in the day. Line was extremely long. Went past Animation bldg and through all the switch backs for Disney Jr. But only took about 20 mins. Got 7:05pm FPs.

The longest line we waited in the entire three days of our visit was TSMM. I didn't time it, but I would guess almost an hour. That is mainly because we slept in and had a leisurely breakfast our last day.

Even with our very slow moving group of 14 people we accomplished everything we wanted to in the three days. FPs and rope drop were key with the crowds that were there.

The highlight for us was on Wednesday. We arrived at the gates at 7:45 for a 9:00 am DL park opening. DSIL complained about how early we were there. But just before they opened the gates our family was selected as the Honorary Family! We got to count down to the park opening and have a nice family pic taken in front of the big Mickey head by Main Street Station. The family no longer bugs me about early arrival!

In DCA I got to try a couple of things I missed last trip. Finally saw Aladdin - fantastic show, I highly recommend. Also went to the Animation Academy for the first time. I enjoyed that too.

Favorite meal was probably the bread bowls at Pacific Wharf. Our big family meal was at BTMBBQ, overall we loved it. Service was very slow. But the food was good. Dessert is enough for four people after all that food. We ordered too many desserts. But they were good! Finally had my funnel cake this trip, it was on the greasy side but still tasty. Oh and I followed some DIS advice and had a corn dog! Those things are amazing! Out of park we enjoyed a nice relaxing breakfast (with mimosas!) at Mimi's Cafe our last park day. We had enough of the blah breakfast buffet at BWPPI.

Loved the location of BWPPI, breakfast was OK, nothing special. If you are go back and use the pool type people this one may be disappointing. But for our purposes it was a great place. Can't get closer to the parks!

For those still headed for a Spring Break trip (or any crowded time) just be sure to arrive very early and use FPs as much as possible! Most of our waits were about 10-15 mins with FP. I think ToT was the longest with FP. Probably at least 20 mins.

On our DL day DH and I went straight for the BTMRR FPs for the group while they rode Buzz. Then we met up and did SM and grabbed a FP for ST because the line had already grown. This worked well.

POTC line was the longest I remember seeing it. But it moved fast and I'd say we were in it about 30 mins.

Kids did water rides at night when the lines were short. Wore their ponchos and had a ball! Our last night they rose GRR 5 times in a row with my Bro and SIL!

Had so much fun with the family. It was nice to take my parents who hadn't been in 30 years. At the last minute mom was wanting to back out. But we were barely across the street on the first day and she had a huge grin and was bragging to my kids about going to DL in 1955 about one month after it opened! Mom and dad especially liked Soarin.

I better get some sleep. Another full day of driving tomorrow before we get back to the real world. Boo!