TAKE ME BACK!!!**Coronado Springs**10/28/14-11/04/14 *FREE DINING*

[TinkerbellM6]

"They say if you dream a thing more than once, it's sure to come true." -Princess Aurora


​

Welcome, welcome! My name is Megan Gentile and this is my 2nd attempt at a PTR here on the boards. My last PTR kind of didn't make it....although I did try! (I have left it up for your reading pleasure, if you like reading half finished PTR's that is.)

Our trip will be from October 28th thru November 4th. We were originally slated to stay in the Princess room at Port Orleans Riverside but that quickly changed when Free Dining rolled out for the dates that we are traveling. So we are now staying at Coronado Springs with a HUGE amount of $$ saved! (Thanks to my amazing and relentless travel agent who endured the HOURS and hours spent on the phone lines trying to get through to Disney to switch our reservation.) I am ridiculously excited for several reasons...1) I have never been to Florida during this time and I hear people rave about it being an EXCELLENT time to go. 2) Food & Wine Festival and 3) Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party!

Some more background info: I am a freelance Makeup Artist specializing in Weddings, and DH is a project manager for a telecommunications company near NYC. I also work in a local restaurant waitressing and bartending for extra cash (AKA DISNEY TRIP FUND $$). We live in PA just over the NY/NJ borders (where taxes are CHEAP ) so essentially we live in the "Tri-State Area."

I grew up visiting Disney every year when we would take our annual family vacation to visit family members living on the Space Coast of FL. We would always do the standard day trips...Sea World, Wet n Wild, Arabian Nights, Universal Studios, and DISNEY! I have countless MAGICAL memories with my parents, 3 brothers, and 1 sister. You can say the MAGIC was instilled in me at a very young age. I treasure the vague memory of when my parents bought me my very first Mickey ears. Fast forward to now, I have continued to vacation there, however now I have been spoiled with staying onsite and there is absolutely NOTHING that tops it. My DH and I honeymooned there in 2008 and it will forever be in my heart, absolutely sublime !!! My daughter took her first trip with us when she was 1 so she was at a PERFECT age to absorb the MAGIC. Last year we went back with the addition of our son, Noah, (16 months at the time) for his 1st trip and it was absolutely perfect! However since I was sooo absorbed in the pixie dust of that trip, I didn't document it all properly and didn't have enough material for a TR. I could have easily worded it but it would have been boring without pictures. For this trip, I am not taking any chances...I have purchased the Memory Maker package so that we will have lots of fun photos to share!

Allow me to just preface this PTR with the fact that Disney for me is not just a place to vacation...it is my lifestyle, I am head over heels and irrevocably in love with ALL things Disney. I am totally opening myself up to look nerdy here but life is meant to lived to the fullest and for "finding" yourself. I have found myself in Disney. From watching the movies, to listening to the music, wearing and collecting fun Dis merch...but also in a deeper sense as well. I like to prescribe to a lot of Walt Disney's philosophies on life and he is sincerely my true idol. I think that my quality of life is so rich and full due to my outlook on life in the "Disney" way. Walt Disney was a true family man who believed in Dreams, Hard Work, Imagination, Curiosity...the list goes on and on. He was truly an inspiration!

I will be so happy if you join in the fun with me!
Here we goooooo.....Off to Neverland!​

 

[TinkerbellM6]

It's Intro Time My Friends!

Up first....

Me!



My name is Megan Gentile, as previously stated. I am 30 years old and will be 31 by the time we travel. This year is my "Golden" birthday, as I will be 31 on the 31st of August. So supposedly this is MY YEAR. I am very much liking the sound of that. I can't complain about this past year however...it was pretty epic. My husband and I have worked very hard to get where we are and life is really really good right now! Speaking of my hubby, we have been married for almost 6 years and have been together for 10. He is my absolute best friend and soul mate. He is the Mickey to my Minnie. I am also the proud Momma of two amazing little kiddies who I will introduce momentarily. They are my absolute everything and reason for being. I simply cannot get enough of my babies. They make my heart so happy.


"Disney On Ice" @ The Izod Center, November 2013


I already stated my occupational facts in the first post but I will share a fun photo of me "doing what I do"....



I very much enjoy what I do. I get to put makeup on people. And they payyyy me! Woot Woot!

I am a member of the Disney Movie Club, collect Disney "Jim Shore" pieces, Disney Dooney & Bourke purses, Disney Vera Wang bags, Disney Alex & Ani bracelets, and basically anything Disney. My hubby helps to keep me in check from spending all of our $$ on Disney merchandise lol.

Some other interests that are non-Disney related (Gasp!) include Les Miserables and Game of Thrones. I am a major fangirl. Big time. I am also an avid foodie and an "entertainment junkie" (I stole that title from my friend Sue aka "Khaleesi" on here). I have a thirst for life that cannot be quenched and I ALWAYS see the glass as half full.



If you wish to follow me on Instagram please feel free to do so! I love making new Disney buddies!!! My user name is LaDolceVitaM6.

http://instagram.com/ladolcevitam6

I also have a Pinterest board labeled "Magic" for Disney related stuff.

http://www.pinterest.com/ladolcevitam6/magic/​

 

[khaleesi]

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So excited for you!!!!!

[Allow me to just preface this PTR with the fact that Disney for me is not just a place to vacation...it is my lifestyle, I am head over heels and irrevocably in love with ALL things Disney. I am totally opening myself up to look nerdy here but life is meant to lived to the fullest and for "finding" yourself. I have found myself in Disney. From watching the movies, to listening to the music, wearing and collecting fun Dis merch...but also in a deeper sense as well. I like to prescribe to a lot of Walt Disney's philosophies on life and he is sincerely my true idol. I think that my quality of life is so rich and full due to my outlook on life in the "Disney" way. Walt Disney was a true family man who believed in Dreams, Hard Work, Imagination, Curiosity...the list goes on and on. He was truly an inspiration!

What an amazing way to put that into words!! Love it!

Some other interests that are non-Disney related (Gasp!) include Les Miserables and Game of Thrones. I am a major fangirl. Big time. I am also an avid foodie and an "entertainment junkie" (I stole that title from my friend Sue aka "Khaleesi" on here). I have a thirst for life that cannot be quenched and I ALWAYS see the glass as half full.

Being a makeup artist sounds AWESOME. I love makeup... it's my grown-up art set.

And I love the idea of a "golden birthday"... although I had mine 32 years ago and don't really remember it. LOL.

Off to check out your Pinterest! And grrrr... I need to remember to get the movie reward codes each day and I keep forgetting. Maybe I should change my homepage for the month.

 

[Hardheadedwoman]

Fellow makeup and Disney junkie following along! Love your outlook on life!

Lissette

 

[TinkerbellM6]

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So excited for you!!!!!



What an amazing way to put that into words!! Love it!





Being a makeup artist sounds AWESOME. I love makeup... it's my grown-up art set.

And I love the idea of a "golden birthday"... although I had mine 32 years ago and don't really remember it. LOL.

Off to check out your Pinterest! And grrrr... I need to remember to get the movie reward codes each day and I keep forgetting. Maybe I should change my homepage for the month.

Hi Sue! So glad to see you checked out my PTR. I am desperatley trying to stick to it, I really want the fun documentation to look back on one day.

Definitely try to get those reward codes in! I have gotten a ton of awesome stuff through my rewards points! Right now they are doing a summer promotion through their pinterest page where you can earn bonus points each day. Its not much but they add up to a lot if you stick with it everyday.

Fellow makeup and Disney junkie following along! Love your outlook on life!

Lissette

Welcome Lissette! Thank you so much for checking out this report and for also checking out my instagram! I am so glad you found me! Makeup and Disney Junkies unite!!!

 

[TinkerbellM6]

Sorry for taking so long to carry on with the Introductions! We are in the final days of Sophia's school year (last day is 6/13) so life has been busy....

~Anywho~
It is time to meet my amazing DH...Anthony!


"You're the best thing I never knew I needed." -The Princess and The Frog




Anthony is currently 28 but will be 29 at the time of travel. His Bday is 10/18 and Noah's Bday is 10/21....we are traveling on 10/28 so we will sort of be celebrating both of my boy's special days.



Anthony is a Project Manager for a very well known telecommunications company based out of Massachusetts, he has an office in NJ that is right outside of NYC so he commutes everyday with the fun commuter traffic. Poor guy. But it is a phenomenal job so there are ZERO complaints about the drive. He is a good sport.



Anthony is the Ultimate "Guy's Guy." He loves sports (specifically football and the NY Jets) and playing poker and blackjack. He likes beer. He likes meat and potatoes. He likes to golf. He likes Harleys and classic cars.

Howeverrrrrr.....

He is an AMAZING supporter of all of my interests, basically making him the best hubby ever. He never complains about me being so Disney crazy. He has traveled to Disney "Pre-Megan" but only with family and only a couple of times. I don't think he quite knew what he was marrying into when he met me...sometimes I think he may be wondering if he is married to me AND Disney. He graciously agreed to honeymoon there in 2008 (although we had just been 4 months prior) and has agreed to vacation there with our children for the last 2 years in a row. I think he just knows that this is my thing and it makes me happy. Happy wife...happy life. Haha.

Basically Anthony is my slave.



Ok I am totally kidding, although it does sound that way a bit. But really, he is an amazing hubby, stupendous father, and extremely hard worker so that we can all live a good life. But even if we were stripped of everything, we would still have love, our family, and all of the morals/values that we so strongly believe in. I can't say enough good things about this man of mine.



Anthony's favorite Disney ride is Rock n Roller coaster, his favorite restaurant is O'Hana, favorite Disney drink is a margarita from "Cava Del Tequila", and favorite WDW show is Fantasmic.

Say hello to Anthony!​

 

[TinkerbellM6]

Meet Sophia!

"From the moment they placed you into my arms, you snuggled right into my heart."



Sophia is 7 years old and has been to the World twice. Her first time was for a single day trip to Magic Kingdom when she was 12 months old (we were in the area for a family wedding). Last year was her first "Big" trip and she loved every second of it!



Her favorite rides included Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Test Track. She also loves the Agent P challenge at Epcot and is a big parade and show enthusiast. Her favorite character is Belle but Ariel, Mulan, and Elsa come in not far behind on her favorites list.



She is a big animal lover and is the little performer of the family-singing, dancing, playing her guitar...you name it, she does it. She is also an active Girl Scout and just graduated from a Daisy to a Brownie. Life with Sophia is truly a blessing, she lights up every single day with her sweet and bubbly personality and her incredible enthusiasm for any activity that she is engaged in at the moment. Her non-Disney interests include ballet, My Little Pony, The Bronx Zoo, and getting manicures/pedicures. She is a true girly girl just like her Momma!







I love having a daughter, she is truly an huge extension of my heart and soul!​

 

[khaleesi]

Definitely try to get those reward codes in! I have gotten a ton of awesome stuff through my rewards points! Right now they are doing a summer promotion through their pinterest page where you can earn bonus points each day. Its not much but they add up to a lot if you stick with it everyday.

It's really funny, because I JUST discovered DMR a month or so ago, and went through every single movie I had to see if they had points and dumped out my jar of ticket stubs to enter those, too!! I switched my homepage to Pinterest for the month to make sure I get the codes


Hi Anthony!!!!

Hi Pretty Sophia!!!!

It's funny about the driving and commuting traffic. I hate driving, I hate being in a car. We don't generally have bad traffic problems in Buffalo, and whenever I get stuck in the car longer than I think I should be, I get crabby and wonder how anyone deals with that in large cities! LOL.

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

I'm here!

Love the intro! All the pics are too cute!

Your hubby sounds a lot like mine. Football, beer, poker, golf, and getting sucked into a Disney vacation every single year. They secretly love it just as much as us though I think.

 

[TinkerbellM6]

I'm here!

Love the intro! All the pics are too cute!

Your hubby sounds a lot like mine. Football, beer, poker, golf, and getting sucked into a Disney vacation every single year. They secretly love it just as much as us though I think.

They would probably get along great! And yes, I am highly convinced that they love it just as much. They are prob afraid of handing in their "man-card" if they admit it however. I am always amazed at how we just keep booking trips to go back....I am NOT mad one bit!

 

[TinkerbellM6]

Meet Noah!

"Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart."
-Winnie The Pooh



Noah is currently 2 years old and this will be his 2nd trip to WDW. He will be turning 3 just 1 week before our trip. Noah is a pretty big Disney enthusiast for a toddler. His favorite characters would have to be Woody & Buzz, Mickey, Goofy, and Mike & Sully. His favorite movies include Toy Story (1-3), Monsters University, A Goofy Movie, and Wreck It Ralph. Both of my kids are also very big into Teen Beach Movie (Noah is actually watching it as I type this out so naturally I am singing along b/c I know all of the songs ).

​

Some of the highlights with Noah on the last trip included character meals (his first official "Mickey Meet" was priceless and I definitely welled up with huge emotional Mommy tears), the Tomorrowland dance party with Goofy and Stitch, taking him on his first rides, and watching Wishes for the first time holding this baby that my husband and I tried so hard for (conceiving Noah was a long and emotional process).

​

Noah is that perfect puzzle piece that just completes our family in every way. Taking our first official family vacation in the most magical place on Earth was so full of special memories and moments forever emblazoned in my heart!



I am so looking forward to his reactions to EVERYTHING on this trip! He has grown up so much since our last trip so I know he is just going to be a blast to observe and share the magic with!​

 

[JoeyEmmaMomma]

Following along!
What a sweet family you have.

 

[TinkerbellM6]

Itinerary!


I am a Virgo. Therefore I LOVE organized itineraries. It's just very true to my nature, in fact I literally need them to feel normal/balanced.

I am sharing my itinerary with you all via Google Docs b/c that is where mine is edited through and I can't figure out for the life of me how to get the image onto this page. So I am sharing the direct link to check it out. Feel free to use the layout to make your own, I have no qualms with anyone using my ideas or how I've set it all up.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1r1Vgyfmkb4_nHJeVAbFQ_C_6zeOfu26ZIZgvshz2of4/edit?usp=sharing

*There is a 2nd blank page for the use of adding in my fastpass and ADR reservations in addition to anything else that I may need to add in there.*

TRAVEL PLANS!​

For our travel plans, we are going to be flying round-trip with Jet Blue, well, b/c they ROCK! You can't beat the extra leg room and TV's when flying with kids!

The only little "problem" that we encountered was when Jet Blue changed their schedule from a morning flight to an evening flight...the solution? Fly down the night before!!! (Clearly not a problem at all, get me to Disney sooner woo-hoo!!!) This way I did not have to sacrifice an entire day of our vacation that I had already planned out.

Now, since we are going to be arriving pretty late, we will be staying at the All Star Movies for the night to avoid paying the higher cost of Coronado Springs when we essentially just need a bed and a shower. I didn't include all of this on the itinerary b/c it was pretty basic: pick up Sophia from school, drive to airport, fly to Disney, eat at food court, sleep, wake up, and OFFICIALLY start our vacation! Then in the morning we can hit Magic Kingdom and let the resort handle transferring our luggage. When our room at CS is ready, we can go back to rest and get ready for dinner and MNSSHP that night. I also did not include November 4th b/c that is the day we leave, A.K.A "the saddest day in the world." No one needs to see that on a beautiful fun filled itinerary.

My hubby doesn't like to be so "scheduled" on vacation so I tried to compromise by throwing in a lot of "To Be Determined" time so that we can just do whatever we feel like at the moment. I tried to let those days fall on the busier times and also nearing the end of our trip when chances are we will be tired and already have a lot accomplished at that point. This way if we want to sleep in or just hang at the pool, we can. I also like to follow Easy WDW's crowd calendar suggestions so I included the best and worst parks for crowds at the bottom of the chart.

I am feeling pretty good about our itinerary, its not too rigid but still enough so that I think we can get our main priorities done. In two days I can schedule our Fastpasses and then I can add those in there as well.​

 

[TinkerbellM6]

Following along!
What a sweet family you have.

Thank you so much and WELCOME!!! I am so happy that you are going to be following along!!!

 

[jenninaustin]

Yea! Following along and enjoying your narration! You're going to have a blast! I'm such a huge Disney nerd that it ended up spawning my new passion (Bleach art shirts) - great things come from trips to WDW!

 

[frzndaqiri]

I love Coronado - bummed I won't be there this trip but any visit to WDW is great right?

I'm in my 30's but only just started getting into makeup. I'm in awe of someone who does it well enough to make it their job. I'm happy if I don't look like Mimi or stab myself in the eye.

 

[TinkerbellM6]

Yea! Following along and enjoying your narration! You're going to have a blast! I'm such a huge Disney nerd that it ended up spawning my new passion (Bleach art shirts) - great things come from trips to WDW!

Welcome! Thank you so much for following along! I LOVE Disney crafty hobbies! Do you have an Etsy shop or something where you sell your shirts? I would love to check them out. I also started reading your TR. I love the fact that you stayed at CS, I never stayed there before so I love reading about people's experiences there.

I love Coronado - bummed I won't be there this trip but any visit to WDW is great right?

I'm in my 30's but only just started getting into makeup. I'm in awe of someone who does it well enough to make it their job. I'm happy if I don't look like Mimi or stab myself in the eye.

Hello and Welcome! This is my first time staying at CS and I am PUMPED about it! I can't stop staring at pictures of it all!!! The pool looks soooo fun.

My only makeup advice is practice, practice, practice!!! I went to an Esthetics school but all of the skills that I have learned have been through hands on training. I used to make YouTube vids but stopped after I had my son. I have recently been toying with the idea of starting my channel up again. We shall see.....

Thank you so much for joining in! I LOVE making new Disney buddies!!!

 

[jenninaustin]

Aren't Disney crafts the best?? Yup my shop name (but not link) is in my sig bc I found out that was allowed. you will love csr! We did!!

 

[TinkerbellM6]

Fooooood!!!!!​

I am going to let you in a a little known fact about meeeee....I LURVE me some Dis-Food. I don't know why but it just does something to me. I get so excited about planning where we will eat and what I will order. I spend hours perusing the menus on All Ears, drooling over food pics and dining reports here on The Dis, and reading The Disney Food Blog. The food, for me, is all part of the experience as a whole and I take it quite serious. My hubby and I also like to indulge in some alcoholic enjoyment whilst in The World. Therefore, there is a ton of careful consideration that goes into choosing our table service ADR's, b/c I want the entire vacation to be enjoyable, and our dining experiences closely tie in to all that.

I love the convenience of the Dining Plan, and for us, right now the regular plan works out just fine. One day I would love to splurge on the Deluxe plan, but I think it would just be too much for my little guy. And who can hate on the fact that the plan is FREE this time??? I am definitely not mad at that, not one bit.

Here is a little rundown of what we will be chowing down on during our trip:

Monday October 27th
This is the day that we will be flying into Orlando. Our flight lands at 9:20 so my guess is that we will be arriving at ASM pretty late. I am pretty sure the food court is open until Midnight so we shouldn't have a problem grabbing a late bite here. Then its off to bed for a fun filled day at Magic Kingdom on Tuesday!!!

Tuesday October 28th
We will be rising pretty early to get everything squared away with the resort to transfer our luggage over to Coronado. Thus we will most likely be using a snack credit at the ASM food court to grab a bagel or something before heading over to Magic Kingdom to start our day.

We have early dinner reservations on this day so I would like to have an early-ish counter service lunch in MK on this day. I usually like to eat at the counter service places during the less popular hours to avoid the crowds. My first choice would be Columbia Harbor House but I am sure we will just eat where it is most convenient on this day.

Dinner reservations are at Chef Mickey's at 5:05 pm. I can't wait to spend some time with the FAB 5! I wanted an early time b/c this is the day that we are most likely going to at MNSSHP (I say "most likely" b/c I haven't purchased the tickets for the party yet so it is not set in stone). This will be our 2nd time eating here and we had a fantastic experience the first time. We were given a table in the back corner with a perfect Castle view and the character interaction was awesome! The food was also great, there were chilled crab claws on the buffet and I think I ate my $$ worth in those alone. I am very much looking forward to this dinner and am super happy to be having our first table service meal here!

Wednesday October 29th
Breakfast will be at CS, most likely a snack credit for a bagel or danish. We aren't huge breakfast people so this is usually how we spend our credits. Then we will head over to Hollywood Studios by late morning.

I have a 12:35 ADR at Hollywood & Vine for the Disney Jr. Play-n-Dine lunch. The characters are Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Princess Sophia, and Doc McStuffins. My husband and I randomly ate here once before on our Honeymoon and the food was quite good. The main reason I booked was for our kids who are going to flip over the character line up. I am super excited about this meal.

We are going to be spending the remainder of the day at Hollywood Studios until Fantasmic, which is showing at 7:30. Dinner will be at a counter service, which I honestly have no preference for in this park. Last time we ate at ABC Commissary which was ok. I am sure we will just end up where it is convenient to us at that time. Pizza Planet is an option for my little guy who is a Toy Story fanatic.

Thursday October 30th
This is an Epcot day so breakfast will either be at the Resort or somewhere in the park.

I am planning to walk around the Food & Wine festival, I know we won't be eating a ton from here but I at least want to try a few things that I have been eyeballing online. I am also excited to try Canada's cheddar cheese soup without having to use 2 credits on Le Cellier.

Lunch will be up in the air depending on how much we consume at Food & Wine. The World Showcase is one of my favorite places to eat in all of WDW so I know its a win/win situation in whatever we choose to do. I just do not want to overdo it so that we have plenty of room for our dinner that evening....

Dinner will be at one of our Holy Grail fav's....O'Hana! We are obsessed with this place. Give me a lapu-lapu and a vat of the peanut sauce and I'm a happy gal. I also love the fun activities that they do with the kids, my daughter still chatters about how fun that meal was. My Hubby's only request for this whole vacation was a meal at O'Hana. He graciously allows me to take 100% control of the planning but this is his only stipulation...and no one's mad. Give me a meal at O'Hana any day of the year!!!!

Friday October 31st
HALLOWEEN!!!
This is a no park day for us since we will be going off property for Trick R Treating at a nearby relative's house. Therefore I will be using our Table Service credit for lunch that day. For breakfast, we will have the option to use the counter service credit for a bigger breakfast or stick with using our snack credits for this meal.

Lunch will be at T-Rex Cafe at 12:30. I tried to eat here on our last trip but I couldn't get an early enough spot that would be fun for my kids. I don't care how good a place is, nobody wants to eat dinner at 9:30 at night with two cranky little ones! Since we do not have park admission for this day, it just made sense to eat at Downtown Disney. Also, the lunch and dinner menu are the same at T-Rex so I did not feel like I was giving up a better value by dining here at lunch. Securing a lunch ADR was A LOT easier and less stressful than trying to get in for dinner. We are big fans of Rainforest Cafe (which we have been to a TON at the Atlantic City location), so I am excited for us all to try a restaurant owned by the same company. I have no clue what I will order here but the Shrimp Tacos look very appealing.

Dinner will be at my cousin's house where we will be spending the remainder of the day.


Time for me to run, my friends! I shall continue with the remainder of our dining plans in the next post. In the meantime, enjoy this photo of me and my love...the lapu-lapu!!


It ain't a vacation until someone drinks out of a pineapple!​

 

[JoeyEmmaMomma]

Yummy! Planning meals at Disney is fun!!