September 2011 - The Planning Has Started!!!

[youcansmellit]

LOL, yes....the deluxe DP is a lot of food!! We love it though! Some of those restaurants are on your schedule a couple times. Are you planning to eat at some of them more than once, or you just aren't sure which day/time yet? Looks like some good food!

I wish Disney had a dining plan that included two QS meals and 1 TS, plus snack. That would be perfect for us!

Its a work in progress. I'm woking out the kinks. I have been working everything out with the crowd calendar for the best times. The ones that I have two times are the ones that we are going to, I'm just not sure what day we want to go.

 

[KellyWasHere]

I appreciate the responses I've gotten. It would make more sense, money wise, to stay in a value resort and use the money I would be saving on character dining/dining plan.

Now I'm wondering which value resort, is Pop the better choice? Is there really any difference in the room, bus service, and resort dining? All Star Movies seems to be priced just alittle higher and I didn't know why.

I'd love to stay at Coronado Springs some time! We just can't afford it right now. You could always do a split stay.

As far as difference in the values, all 3 All-Star resorts share the same bus line. ASMovies is the last on the line. So when you are picked up people from ASMusic and ASSports will already be on there. And on the way back you will be the last stop. I'd love to stay at Movies but won't until my youngest is out of a stroller because of this. Pop has it's own bus, but it is a larger resort. Still, I love the idea of only one stop. I've stayed at both ASMusic and Sports, they are both fun resorts. This will be our first stay at Pop, I've heard so many great things about it. Oh, also, Music and Sports have both been refurbed, I think, but Movies has not been yet.

to the new September travelers!

I have had several Dismeets at the bus stops in the mornings. They are just quick hi and how are you, but its fun! I saw on the TGM forums that they designed a pin for their vacation month to wear to the parks. It seemed like a fun idea, since only people from this thread would have them most likely.

I won $600 today! I ordered our Universal tickets and have enough left for lunch at Margaritaville while we are there too.

Yay on winning the money!!

Hey y'all!

Welcome to the new September travelers!

My whole family has been down and out this weekend with some sort of stomach virus. I hate being sick! Ugh! We are all pretty much on the mend now...I think.

We were well enough to go over ADRs today, so that was nice. DH brought up maybe doing the Fantasmic Dinner Package, but I don't know if I even want to try it.

Right now we have:

9/17 - breakfast at Boma
9/17 - dinner at Biergarten
9/18 - dinner at Boma
9/19 - breakfast at CRT
9/19 - dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe
9/21 - dinner at Via Napoli (meeting friends who really want to eat there)
9/22 - dinner at 1900 Park Fare
9/23 - possibly lunch at Chef Mickey's if they add it again this year

We have a nice mix of our favorites and new restaurants.

I can make my ADRs a week from today!!! Yay!!

We are also looking at doing a weekend trip in January and maybe a weekend in May.

Sorry you all have been sick! Those ADRs look great. And how exciting planning future trips. Are you AP holders? We're thinking of taking the plunge, then going next May and late August also (hoping to finally get my DH's family to come with us then).

Hello September travelers!

Just popping in to check the ticker before heading out to update the PreTrip. Here's a question... does anyone prefer touringplans, TGM, or Ridemax? I'm trying to decide which to try out.

I prefer TGM. The message boards are really good for getting feedback on your itinerary. I also like his articles and his explanation of which days are best. I don't think I'd ever renew my subscription, though, now that I've got the gist of his strategy. I had touringplans for last year's trip and just found it confusing. I do love the Lines app, though.

haha, yes it is rough!

I'm going to bed now. Have the alarm set for 2:35 so I can get ready lol.

Best of luck to you! Hope you get everything you want

2:35???? Yikes! I hope you got everything you wanted!

LOL, yes....the deluxe DP is a lot of food!! We love it though! Some of those restaurants are on your schedule a couple times. Are you planning to eat at some of them more than once, or you just aren't sure which day/time yet? Looks like some good food!

I wish Disney had a dining plan that included two QS meals and 1 TS, plus snack. That would be perfect for us!

This would be perfect for us too. And some option where you could get an app instead of a dessert. My ideal dining plan.

I love the pin idea for our group!

 

[MamaJessie]

This seems like way to much food. I'm thinking the deluxe dining plan might be crazy. The ones with an asterisk i have not decided on. My wife thinks its funny how stressed I get. Some of the times are going to change. I only have five days to get this all together. Let me know if I'm making a huge mistake with any of this.

You know your family best, but the only real problem I would have is my kids would never last that long until dinner. We tried pushing dinners back when we went in 06 and my son kept falling asleep during dinner.

Are the repeats your favorite restaurants?

Deluxe sounds fun. How much is the upgrade when you get free dining (if you don't mind me asking)

 

[skw444]

This seems like way to much food. I'm thinking the deluxe dining plan might be crazy. The ones with an asterisk i have not decided on. My wife thinks its funny how stressed I get. Some of the times are going to change. I only have five days to get this all together. Let me know if I'm making a huge mistake with any of this.

It is a lot of food but if you like to eat as much as our family does, your plan looks great! We're on the DxDP too and we have 2 days where we have 3 meals planned.

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

I know they've already offered free dining for our time frame, but do you think they'll offer it out again to the public like they normally do every year around this time?

 

[lesabrowning]

Got up early, used the online system and got everything I wanted! Yeah!

Ohana dinner
The Wave breakfast
California Grill dinner
1900 Park Fare breakfast
San Angel Inn lunch
Artist Point dinner
Kona breakfast
The Plaza lunch
Tonys dinner
Chef Mickey's breakfast
Tutto Italia dinner
Tuskar House breakfast
Yak N Yeti lunch
Yachtsman dinner
Ohana breakfast
Le Cellier dinner
Whispering Canyon breakfast
T-Rex lunch

 

[KELLY]

I appreciate the responses I've gotten. It would make more sense, money wise, to stay in a value resort and use the money I would be saving on character dining/dining plan.

Now I'm wondering which value resort, is Pop the better choice? Is there really any difference in the room, bus service, and resort dining? All Star Movies seems to be priced just alittle higher and I didn't know why.

Your not alone. We are booked at CBR. I'm going to call this morning and change us back to POP. Even if FD is released again we are going to take the savings. With the gas prices being as crazy as they are. We think this is the best. Plus I really want to stay at POP again. We love it there. My kids will be happy also.

We are already doing the QSDP since we pefer it. So we are just paying OP for a couple of meals. One being T-rex my youngest dd is a huge dino lover and the other either Tusker or Norway.

 

[sjs314]

I might be mistaken, but I don't think you can book an early lunch ADR for the Fantasmic Dinner package. I recall being told that it had to be AFTER 4pm when I booked ours last May. I won't be booking it again this year. We had to wait in a line just as long as the regular line for entry to Fantasmic. It's just a "different" long line. LOL! Then, they seated all of us way over on the right side of the theatre. There were actually BETTER seats available in the center section of the ampitheatre if we would've entered with the main crowd. We saw Fantasmic on the first Saturday of May last year. The DHS crowd was definitely hoppin' and the temp was in the 90's! Soooo glad we didn't plan to do much that day besides hit a couple rides/shows we didn't have time to do earlier in the week and then watch Fantasmic. We didn't get to DHS until about 2pm that day......FP's for Toy Story Mania?!? .....forget about it....they were LONG GONE! lol. ...and the wait time was 90 minutes! We rode it once earlier in the week, but my daughter really wanted to ride it again....however, she was 4 and not gonna tolerate a 90 min wait!

I am pretty sure towards fall of 2010 they added Lunch Fantasmic Packages, I will have to go look on the Disney Site to check for sure now.
All I know is I do not plan on touring DHS on a Fantasmic Day, we made the mistake of going to DHS on a Thursaday(Fantasmic Day) in 2009 and it was so crowded we did not stay long at all, we never even made it to TSM, DS and wife did do TOT and RNRC then we fled the Park as the Parade was going on. Wall to wall people is not my idea of a fun day in Disney.

This seems like way to much food. I'm thinking the deluxe dining plan might be crazy. The ones with an asterisk i have not decided on. My wife thinks its funny how stressed I get. Some of the times are going to change. I only have five days to get this all together. Let me know if I'm making a huge mistake with any of this.

We are doing the DxDP also and the F&W Festival and I told DH I thought maybe we should change to the DDP instead but it just will not work since DH wants to go to Breakfast (TS) each morning plus eat at quite a few of the Epcot Restaurants we have never tried plus a few favorites. We are not "Signature Restaurant" type people so right now I only have two planned - Brown Derby and Le Cellier

My perfect Dining Plan would be 2 TS with App or dessert & 2Snacks & refillable mug, but for now I have to settle for the DxDP

 

[MikellaCinderella]

Got up early, used the online system and got everything I wanted! Yeah!

Ohana dinner
The Wave breakfast
California Grill dinner
1900 Park Fare breakfast
San Angel Inn lunch
Artist Point dinner
Kona breakfast
The Plaza lunch
Tonys dinner
Chef Mickey's breakfast
Tutto Italia dinner
Tuskar House breakfast
Yak N Yeti lunch
Yachtsman dinner
Ohana breakfast
Le Cellier dinner
Whispering Canyon breakfast
T-Rex lunch

Yummy!! We booked some of those too! Yak N Yeti is always a MUST for lunch at AK!! LOVE it!!

 

[KellyWasHere]

I know they've already offered free dining for our time frame, but do you think they'll offer it out again to the public like they normally do every year around this time?

That's a good question and no one knows for sure. Someone on the Dining board who seems to be "in the know" says he would put money down that they will rerelease FD in April or May for later dates like ours. But it's all up in the air.

Got up early, used the online system and got everything I wanted! Yeah!

Ohana dinner
The Wave breakfast
California Grill dinner
1900 Park Fare breakfast
San Angel Inn lunch
Artist Point dinner
Kona breakfast
The Plaza lunch
Tonys dinner
Chef Mickey's breakfast
Tutto Italia dinner
Tuskar House breakfast
Yak N Yeti lunch
Yachtsman dinner
Ohana breakfast
Le Cellier dinner
Whispering Canyon breakfast
T-Rex lunch

I've been stalking this thread to see what everyone's getting for reservations! (Excited because my ADR date is tomorrow!) Those look yuuuumy.

 

[MikellaCinderella]

I am pretty sure towards fall of 2010 they added Lunch Fantasmic Packages, I will have to go look on the Disney Site to check for sure now.
All I know is I do not plan on touring DHS on a Fantasmic Day, we made the mistake of going to DHS on a Thursaday(Fantasmic Day) in 2009 and it was so crowded we did not stay long at all, we never even made it to TSM, DS and wife did do TOT and RNRC then we fled the Park as the Parade was going on. Wall to wall people is not my idea of a fun day in Disney.


That would be interesting to find out if they changed it to lunch times as well. I'm curious about that.....but still not booking the Fantasmic package this year. In fact, I looked at the schedule to make sure that Fantasmic was NOT scheduled on the day we are planning to be at DHS in Sept!


We are doing the DxDP also and the F&W Festival and I told DH I thought maybe we should change to the DDP instead but it just will not work since DH wants to go to Breakfast (TS) each morning plus eat at quite a few of the Epcot Restaurants we have never tried plus a few favorites. We are not "Signature Restaurant" type people so right now I only have two planned - Brown Derby and Le Cellier

My perfect Dining Plan would be 2 TS with App or dessert & 2Snacks & refillable mug, but for now I have to settle for the DxDP

I never even realized that an app wasn't included in the regular dining plan until I was planning this trip. We've always done the deluxe plan, but I was considering the regular plan this time. No refillable mug AND no app. WTH?! LOL! I'd much rather have the app than the dessert! Yeah, I'm weird...not much of a dessert person, except maybe a Dole Whip or Mickey bar on occasion

 

[MikellaCinderella]

Deluxe sounds fun. How much is the upgrade when you get free dining (if you don't mind me asking)[/QUOTE]

I was wondering the same thing....how much an upgrade to deluxe would be if you booked the free dining. If anyone knows, please share your knowledge!

 

[sjs314]

Deluxe sounds fun. How much is the upgrade when you get free dining (if you don't mind me asking)

I was wondering the same thing....how much an upgrade to deluxe would be if you booked the free dining. If anyone knows, please share your knowledge! [/QUOTE]

I know if you get DDP - FD offer at the Deluxe Resorts it costs $33 to upgrade an Adult, no idea about Child

 

[KELLY]

Got up early, used the online system and got everything I wanted! Yeah!

Ohana dinner
The Wave breakfast
California Grill dinner
1900 Park Fare breakfast
San Angel Inn lunch
Artist Point dinner
Kona breakfast
The Plaza lunch
Tonys dinner
Chef Mickey's breakfast
Tutto Italia dinner
Tuskar House breakfast
Yak N Yeti lunch
Yachtsman dinner
Ohana breakfast
Le Cellier dinner
Whispering Canyon breakfast
T-Rex lunch

Great job on the adr's. You got some great ones in there.

 

[skw444]

Deluxe sounds fun. How much is the upgrade when you get free dining (if you don't mind me asking)

I was wondering the same thing....how much an upgrade to deluxe would be if you booked the free dining. If anyone knows, please share your knowledge! [/QUOTE]

The cost is the difference per day between the DxDDP and the DDP. So, DDP is $45.99/adult and $11.99/child. DxDDP is $78.99/adult and $21.99/child. So, the difference is $33/adult and $10/child per day.

 

[L-Harper]

I love your idea!! We need something with our screen names on it so we can recognize each other. I bet we can find someone to do larger pins.

Ok, she's going to play around with some graphics to see if she can get it to work. I sent her my screen name and yours. I said a lime green Mickey head with a pink background since we do have a male in our group! I'll let you all know. If she can't, there are many other Etsy sellers that can make larger buttons. I'm so excited!

Got up early, used the online system and got everything I wanted! Yeah!

Ohana dinner
The Wave breakfast
California Grill dinner
1900 Park Fare breakfast
San Angel Inn lunch
Artist Point dinner
Kona breakfast
The Plaza lunch
Tonys dinner
Chef Mickey's breakfast
Tutto Italia dinner
Tuskar House breakfast
Yak N Yeti lunch
Yachtsman dinner
Ohana breakfast
Le Cellier dinner
Whispering Canyon breakfast
T-Rex lunch

YAY for getting everything you wanted! It looks like you have made some awesome choices!

 

[L-Harper]

Also it is official we are at POP. I'm actually more excited about this then CBR. For some reason POP has sort of become home for us.

I changed you on the first page! Too bad I'll miss you by 1 day.

 

[KELLY]

I changed you on the first page! Too bad I'll miss you by 1 day.

Thanks for doing that. I know looks like I miss a few of you. Does anyone know when the tickets for MNSSHP are going on sale?

 

[ForTheLoveOfDCL]

Ok, she's going to play around with some graphics to see if she can get it to work. I sent her my screen name and yours. I said a lime green Mickey head with a pink background since we do have a male in our group! I'll let you all know. If she can't, there are many other Etsy sellers that can make larger buttons. I'm so excited!



I like the button idea as well. Isn't it awesome how busy our thread is...Love it. Sure makes it m,ore exciting talking to all of you. Our friends we are traveling with live in NY(6hrs) from us and it's hard cause we cant shop together or amything unless we facetime or text...just not the same!

 

[valdis]

My family and I will be taking our first trip to WDW September 10-17. We were originally staying at CBR but changed to POP. We are staying under the kids stay and play free promotion (we had originally booked CBR under free dining) but after looking at price comparisons it made more since to get deluxe dining and stay at POP.

I called this morning and made my ADRs. Most of them are character dining since my DD will be 7 and DS is 5.