Team GLAMED takes over the WORLD—09/21-09/29

[arrical8]

Hiya everyone!
After enjoying all the pre-trip and trip reports, I decided to try my hand at writing my own report for our September 2014 trip to Disney World!



This is my DH and kids first trip to Disney World! I have been to Disney World and Disneyland a few times and I LOVE DISNEY! I am so excited to share Disney with my family but I am really nervous about their reactions and our plans

WHO is Team GLAMED?
Team GLAMED is the acronym I came up with for our family of 6!

G: DS Garren—Age 2, ½ of our twinkle duo. He is our “bull in the china shop”! All boy but very sweet and everything excites him! His favorite characters are Jake, Elsa, Doc McStuffins, and Sofia.



L: Daddy Larry—Age 44, stay at home dad to our crazy kids! Loves all things sports related and is a huge fan of the STL Cardinals and STL Rams!

A: Mommy Arrica—Age 37, working mom and DISNEY vacation planner! Loves scrapbooking, reading, and obsessing about our vacation!

M: DS Maddox—Age 4, our comic relief who loves Superheroes, Legos, Imaginext, Pirates, Pokémon, and all things boy! He is so sweet and so silly, loves to snuggle and is the protector of his siblings! His favorite Disney characters are Jake, Mike, Sully, and Mickey Mouse!



E: DD Emersyn—Age 7, our diva who loves all things girly and is 100% boy crazy! She is Miss Independent and very opinionated! Her favorite Disney princess changes daily, but she always maintains her love of Minnie Mouse!



D: DD Delaney—Age 2, other ½ of our twinkle duo. We call her sweet Laney because she is such a sweetheart and a snuggle bunny. Her favorite characters are Izzy, Elsa, Doc McStuffins, and Sofia.

At 8 months, Laney was extremely developmentally behind and began therapy. She has since been diagnosed with a form of muscle stiffness called hypertonia and sensory processing disorder. Her determination and laugh are contagious!




Pre-Trip Report Links

WHEN are we going?
WHERE are we staying… for now?
HOW are we getting to Disney?
WHAT are we planning on doing… for now?
Update on life and a Resort Change...
ADRS are driving me BONKERS!
Made some ADR decisions (05/09/14)
Notes for the trip from our Roving Reporter
NEW Plans and Outfit Ideas--Days 1-4
NEW Plans and Outfit Ideas--Days 5-9
Autograph Books for 4?
Kids are EXPENSIVE and other NEWS​

 

[Jackiemarie21]

Yay! I am the first one here! I am so excited to "meet" your family! Your children are adorable!

 

[arrical8]

Yay! I am the first one here! I am so excited to "meet" your family! Your children are adorable!

Thank you!

 

[arrical8]

After much debate and determining our friends are going September 13-17th, we decided we wanted to have “our” own vacation and did not what anyone to feel like they had to hang out on our trips, so we decided to go September 21-28th.

Then we started talking about transportation and DH wanted to arrive on a Saturday, so then our trip was booked for September 20-28th.

Then my best friend called me and since she lives in Sarasota, wanted to drive up and meet us on the 27th at the Magic Kingdom??? So back to the drawing board on dates… because I wanted our last day to be just us. So new trip… September 20-29th, but that was very expensive

So I convinced my DH that arriving on a Sunday and leaving on a Monday would work better and so the vacation dates of September 21-29th were born!

 

[arrical8]

Our trip began with us staying at the Polynesian (my dream resort) but after finding out there was going to be major construction while we are there, we switched to the Yacht Club.

But the Yacht Club did not set well with me and 4 small kids… I LOVED the look of Stormalong Bay but not the idea of trying to keep tabs on everyone in such a big location that involved water.

So the idea to move to Art of Animation was born and we moved our reservation and booked a Cars suite but…

I was not satisfied. I love Disney but given my DD’s needs I felt we needed something a little less disney-fied, so we went back and forth between Fort Wilderness Cabins, Studio at Wilderness Lodge since they now sleep 5+1 under 3, Yacht Club again… and then my TA suggested Boardwalk Inn! After consulting with my DH and older 2 on the clown pool and my DD Emersyn saying “it looks like the clown is throwing up people” we made the switch to Boardwalk Inn!

But I am still not sure about our choice… I really wanted to be on the monorail. My DS Maddox is so excited to ride the big train! Right now we are contemplating doing a split stay between BWI and CR or GF, or switching to CR completely or maybe Fort Wilderness Lodge...

Only time and discounts can tell where we will end up staying

 

[STLMickeyMom]

saw your posts on jackiemarie's ptr and had to come join in! your kiddos are adorable! I'm excited to hear all the details of the trip. we're going to be there for a short trip at the same time! we're sept 24-28 and staying at....well, we're at all star movies right now, but may switch to Caribbean beach if free dining comes out.

when I read your DDs diagnosis, I wondered if you had read any of the TRs by Fantasyland Mom? her current one is here. her youngest daughter has the same hypertonia diagnosis and I believe maybe even the sensory processing disorder. I thought it might be interesting for you to see how they do Disney for any tips. and, she writes an awesome TR and her DH puts together make you cry videos of their trips!

anyway, can't wait to hear more!

 

[arrical8]

We live in St. Louis, Missouri. DH and I have driven to Florida many times so we are making the 1,006 miles, 14 hours 30 minute drive to Disney World. This is Maddox, Garren, and Delaney’s 1st long car ride, so we are both concerned, but I know it will be ok and we will have a good time.

Car ride items we would like to buy:

• 4 DVD players
• Coloring books and crayons
• Small toys
• Trays for the twins carseats

Any other items you can think of?

We are leaving the morning of Saturday, September 20th and stopping in Valdosta, GA for the night.

I want to leave at 8:00 am on Sunday so we are in Disney World by 12 or 1 but my DH wants to leave around lunch time… we will see who wins!

 

[arrical8]

I have a very hard time making up my mind, can’t you tell? These ADR’s have changed so many times! We are on the DDP and have alot more TS meals than alloted. I know we can pay OOP but I have to get rid of some of the table service meals since we have just a few too many

That is proving more difficult than I thought

Made some ADR changes on 05/01/14: Cancelled The Garden Grill and replaced 1900 Park Fare Breakfast with Chef Mickey's Breakfast

Sunday September 21, 2014: Arrival Day
• Dinner: Cape May Café
• Activities: Pool/Hotel/Exploring

Monday September 22, 2014: Animal Kingdom/DTD
• Lunch: Tusker House
• Dinner: Raglan Road Irish Pub & Restaurant

Tuesday September 23, 2014: Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party
• Breakfast: Ohana's Best Friends Breakfast with Lilo & Stitch
• Dinner: The Plaza Restaurant
• Activities: Pool/Exploring, MNSSHP

Wednesday September 24, 2014: Play Day/Epcot
• Lunch: Sanaa
• Dinner: Biergarten

Thursday September 25, 2014: Magic Kingdom
• Breakfast: A Buffet with Character
• Activities: Pirate League, Tomorrowland Terrace Fireworks Dessert Party

Friday September 26, 2014: Disney's Hollywood Studios
• Lunch: Play 'n Dine @ Hollywood & Vine
• Dinner: Kona Cafe
• Activities: DTD maybe?

Saturday September 27, 2014: Magic Kingdom
• Breakfast: Fairytale Dining @ Cinderella’s Castle
• Dinner: Ohana
• Activities: DTD maybe?

Sunday September 28, 2014: Epcot
• Lunch: Princess Storybook Dining @ Akershaus

Monday September 29, 2014: Departure Day
• Breakfast: Chef Mickey's @ The Contemporary

What would you get rid of? I LOVE the ADRs I have found, so I just do not know what to do????

 

[Jackiemarie21]

I kept meaning to come over here and comment on all the plans you posted, but real life got in the way!

Looks great! Someday I want to try the boardwalk, the clown side doesn't both me, in fact I think it's really nicely themed! I always change my mind a ton when we go to WDW, so I totally understand. In fact, this is the first time I haven't changed.

I always have a very hard time cutting out ADRs. I just love the TS meals and want to try all of them and include our old favorites! So I am afraid I am of no help to you there.

As far as driving from STL to WDW, we have done it several time with no kids. For the last few trips we have started out planning to drive and then change our minds and end up flying.

 

[arrical8]

Hi everyone,

It has been a while since my last post and since that time we have celebrated Easter and the twins 2nd birthday!

Easter

Our Easter was really low key... BBQ at the house with our family and my sister, Aunt Mere, egg hunting, some playground action, and a little playing in the baby pool!




A good day was had by all!

A Marathon

Emersyn's school has a running club and by the end of the school year each child will have completed 26 miles, equal to a marathon. The final mile was run as a group and it was so fun to see her and her friends complete the last mile! I was so PROUD!



A Birthday

The twins turned 2 at the beginning of May... where did the time go????
We went to the STL Zoo for the day and it was so BUSY! We really didn't get to do much due to the crowds but the kids had a lot of fun. Garren was mesmerized by all the animals!

Our NEW Resort

So as you all know, FD came out to the GP on May 7th and when our TA was finally able to get thru the phone lines, all the Garden View rooms at CR were booked We were able to get a FD package at BWI, but I had my set on being in a MK resort...

So we regrouped and after much deliberation between my DH and I, we decided that moving to
The Cabins at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort made the most financial and family sense. I am a little concerned because I am not a total wilderness girl but I think the space is what we need and I LOVE all the amenities the resort has. I also like the fact that we are a short boat ride away from MK, CR, and WL and we will be able to still ride the monorail

I continue to have visions of the movie The Great Outdoors with John Candy though... is that weird? wrong?

I reserved our golf cart this morning and I am ready to start planning our wilderness adventure!

 

[MarbleBob]

I another St. Louisan joining in. Looks like you're off to a great start, and it was fun reading through your resort decision process.

We usually drive from St. Louis to Valdosta, GA on our first day too. I guess great minds think alike. (The first day of the drive is hard, but I love that you can easily make it to Orlando in the early afternoon on the second day.)

I've always wanted to stay at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort. (There are companies that will rent you a camper/trailer and deliver it to your site. That sounds fun, but I'm sure staying in a cabin would be better. ) We've visited the grounds and went to the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue a couple of times before. Lots of fun!! I'm sure that you guys will have a blast staying there.

 

[MarbleBob]

Car ride items we would like to buy:

• 4 DVD players
• Coloring books and crayons
• Small toys
• Trays for the twins carseats

Any other items you can think of?

Here's a link to a list of items/activities for travelling with kids that was compiled by WebmasterLeah. It's one of the best I've seen

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?p=48813983#post48813983





.

 

[MarbleBob]

Sorry to spam your PTR with 3 posts in a row.

I had these two web pages in my bookmarks for driving activities.

Mom's Minivan: Some great games/activities to print out for the drive. I especially liked the car bingo (no reading required), scavenger hunt, and travel tickets. We've done some of these where I handed out some treats and cheap toys to the winners. (Had to rig some of the games to keep it fair though. )

http://www.momsminivan.com/printables.html

The other site isn't really for kids, but I liked her version of the license plate game.

http://www.thedatingdivas.com/tara/the-road-trip-date/

 

[arrical8]

The removal of ADRs is proving very difficult for me! I currently have 17 table service credits booked and I am supposed to have only 8???? I have no problem paying out of pocket for 3-5 TS credits...

Sunday September 21, 2014: Arrival Day
• Dinner: Trails End
• Activities: Pool/Hotel/Exploring/Campfire Sing-a-long

Monday September 22, 2014: Animal Kingdom/DTD
• Lunch: Tusker House
• Dinner: Raglan Road Irish Pub & Restaurant

Tuesday September 23, 2014: Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party
• Breakfast: Ohana's Best Friends Breakfast with Lilo & Stitch
• Dinner: The Plaza Restaurant
• Activities: Pool/Exploring, MNSSHP

Wednesday September 24, 2014: Play Day/Epcot
• Lunch: Sanaa
• Dinner: Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue

Thursday September 25, 2014: Magic Kingdom
• Breakfast: A Buffet with Character
• Activities: Pirate League, Tomorrowland Terrace Fireworks Dessert Party

Friday September 26, 2014: Disney's Hollywood Studios
• Lunch: Play 'n Dine @ Hollywood & Vine
• Dinner: Kona Cafe
• Activities: DTD maybe?

Saturday September 27, 2014: Magic Kingdom
• Breakfast: Fairytale Dining @ Cinderella’s Castle
• Dinner: Ohana
• Activities: DTD maybe?

Sunday September 28, 2014: Epcot
• Lunch: Princess Storybook Dining @ Akershaus
• Dinner: Biergarten

Monday September 29, 2014: Departure Day
• Breakfast: Trails End

Based on my list above I was thinking of making the following changes:
• Cancelling Princess Storybook Dining @ Akershaus because I already have Fairytale Dining @ Cinderella’s Castle booked.
• Cancelling The Plaza and eating counter service before the MNSSHP.
• Cancelling a combination of 'Ohana breakfast, Sanaa, ‘Ohana dinner, and Trails End breakfast and saving for our next trip.
• Cancelling Hoop De Do Revue.

What would you do? What CS meals would you do instead?

 

[arrical8]

Sorry to spam your PTR with 3 posts in a row.

I had these two web pages in my bookmarks for driving activities.

Mom's Minivan: Some great games/activities to print out for the drive. I especially liked the car bingo (no reading required), scavenger hunt, and travel tickets. We've done some of these where I handed out some treats and cheap toys to the winners. (Had to rig some of the games to keep it fair though. )

http://www.momsminivan.com/printables.html

The other site isn't really for kids, but I liked her version of the license plate game.

http://www.thedatingdivas.com/tara/the-road-trip-date/

Thank you so much for all your helpful tips! So nice to see another St. Louisian!

 

[MarbleBob]

The removal of ADRs is proving very difficult for me! I currently have 17 table service credits booked and I am supposed to have only 8???? I have no problem paying out of pocket for 3-5 TS credits...

Sunday September 21, 2014: Arrival Day
• Dinner: Trails End
• Activities: Pool/Hotel/Exploring/Campfire Sing-a-long

Monday September 22, 2014: Animal Kingdom/DTD
• Lunch: Tusker House
• Dinner: Raglan Road Irish Pub & Restaurant

Tuesday September 23, 2014: Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party
• Breakfast: Ohana's Best Friends Breakfast with Lilo & Stitch
• Dinner: The Plaza Restaurant
• Activities: Pool/Exploring, MNSSHP

Wednesday September 24, 2014: Play Day/Epcot
• Lunch: Sanaa
• Dinner: Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue

Thursday September 25, 2014: Magic Kingdom
• Breakfast: A Buffet with Character
• Activities: Pirate League, Tomorrowland Terrace Fireworks Dessert Party

Friday September 26, 2014: Disney's Hollywood Studios
• Lunch: Play 'n Dine @ Hollywood & Vine
• Dinner: Kona Cafe
• Activities: DTD maybe?

Saturday September 27, 2014: Magic Kingdom
• Breakfast: Fairytale Dining @ Cinderella’s Castle
• Dinner: Ohana
• Activities: DTD maybe?

Sunday September 28, 2014: Epcot
• Lunch: Princess Storybook Dining @ Akershaus
• Dinner: Biergarten

Monday September 29, 2014: Departure Day
• Breakfast: Trails End

Based on my list above I was thinking of making the following changes:
• Cancelling Princess Storybook Dining @ Akershaus because I already have Fairytale Dining @ Cinderella’s Castle booked.
• Cancelling The Plaza and eating counter service before the MNSSHP.
• Cancelling a combination of 'Ohana breakfast, Sanaa, ‘Ohana dinner, and Trails End breakfast and saving for our next trip.
• Cancelling Hoop De Do Revue.

What would you do? What CS meals would you do instead?

I'll throw my two cents in... A couple thoughts about our experience with TS meals at Disney with kids, especially buffets. Of course everyone has their own opinions, but I feel like the DP can be both a blessing and a curse.

The blessing, especially when it's part of the free dinning promotion, is you get the opportunity to enjoy a lot of amazing meals. We don't eat out a lot at home, so enjoying meals at WDW is a lot of fun.

The curse, is that they take a lot of time out of your day and you loose some flexibility.

Time: We found that when our kids were young, we liked to go back to the resort each afternoon and have them take a nap, and maybe swim in the pool for a little while. This really helped, otherwise they'd become fairly cranky. I've seen too many families at WDW not enjoying themselves because they obviously tried to cram too much into their vacation. Some TS meals can take a good chunk out of your day, especially if they require travelling between parks/resorts. This isn't a bad thing. But something to keep in mind.

Flexibility: If you get behind schedule on what you wanted to do on a certain day, you have to cut it short in order to make your reservation. This is hard to explain to the little ones when they are more interested in riding that ride or meeting that character than they are eating at some fancy restaurant. Also, we found eating at buffets a bit challenging when our kids were younger since they weren't able to go up and get their own food. Seems like one of us was always taking a kid back up to the buffet for something.

Finally, I don't know this to be true, because we haven't experienced FP+ yet. (We'll be trying it for the first time in June.) But at least planning out our FP+ for each day was a challenge. I'm concerned that having to plan out our day to take advantage of 3 FP+'s at certain times is going to make it harder to be spontaneous. Adding ADR's on top of that, might make it even more challenging. We are going for 8 days in June with only 3 ADR's planned. I guess I can chime in afterwards with an opinion on how it all worked out. Again, not a big deal, but something to consider.

So that's just my two cents in general. I'm sure there are a lot of other opinions and everyone is different.

So, all that being said, I think it's wise for you to cut back on the TS plans... but you have some tough choices indeed.

I like the idea of eating at Trails End when you arrive at the resort.

On your second day, with MNSSHP, I agree to cut the TS dinner. You'll want to maximize your time at the party itself!!!

We've done the princess breakfast twice each at Akershaus and Cindy's. The food is about the same, but Cindy's is way better, even if it does cost two TS credits.

I agree with cutting out Trails End breakfast on your last day.

A few other random thoughts. Kona Cafe is amazing, but 'Ohana for dinner with kids is fun. They'd probably love the coconut races and the more lively atmosphere.

We love the Biergarten.

Some of the CS meals that we like...

When you are at the Magic Kingdom, the Cosmic Ray's Starlight Café might be a good choice the night of MNSSHP. The rotisserie chicken is a nice change from the normal CS options. Or if you are in a hurry, our kids love the corn dog nuggets at Casey's Corner. (Great option for eating while waiting for a parade. Mom can stake out a spot on the curb with the kids and dad can grab some good finger food.) We don't get a lot of burgers at Disney, but when we do, we go to Pecos Bills. The "fixin' bar" is great with all the free mushrooms, onions, veggies, etc. We usually eat at Columbia Harbor House at least once on each trip too.

At Epcot, we like to eat at the Sunshine Season (just outside of Soarin') because there are a TON of options to make everyone happy and DW must have their strawberry shortcake AT LEAST ONCE per trip We also like to get the Fish & Chips in England, and eating next to the lake at La Cantina de San Angel is fun too.

If you are still looking to swap out more TS for CS, I might consider swapping lunch at Tusker House for Flame Tree BBQ. (The chicken and ribs are a great value for CS credits.)

I don't really have any favorite CS options at Hollywood Studios. (Except for Pizza Planet is better than you'd expect.)

When on the dinning plan, we try to hit Wolfgang Puck Express at least once or twice at Downtown Disney. Outstanding food and possibly the best value in all of the dinning plan options for counter service credits.

Oh well, I guess that's enough rambling. Looking forward to seeing what your final decisions are

 

[Jackiemarie21]

Wow! The cabins, I want to try them soooooo bad! We went to the hoop dee doo on our last trip and I feel in love with Fw! I think that is an excellent choice! I am not a camper, or a nature person at all and it would not hesitate to stay there!

Now I would most definitely keep the HDDMR! It was by far one of our best experiences last time! I highly recommend it!

Okay about your dining choices. I am going to offer you an conflicting opinion from my fellow St. Louisian! Sorry for our last trip we took our 2 year old last July, it was hot, and crowded! We did the deluxe dining plan, and two TS per day. It was a LOT of food! But, we loved having the break, it was nice to sit down in the A/C and just relax. We did also take a break in the day as well. But, the thing I hate most is to have a starving, hot toddler and to be carrying a tray full if food and not being able to find a place to sit! So in my experience, we really enjoyed multiple TS. But, we have never been during a lower crowd time, so, I am not sure how that changes things.
Also, my DD is used to eating out and does so very well! So, you know your family best, of you think they would enjoy the meals go for it!

 

[MarbleBob]

I am going to offer you an conflicting opinion from my fellow St. Louisian! Sorry

No worries here! Conflicting opinions are inevitable. That's the fun of disboards, right? Everyone has their own experiences and opinions. The more perspectives the better.

You make good points about carrying trays with toddlers. We've never visited in the busy season's before, so finding seating hasn't really been a problem. And the AC... we've never been in the heat of summer either. Good points! (Luckily, September shouldn't be so hot or crowded )

So many factors... the weather, the crowds, number of kids, number of grown ups (God bless visiting WDW with grandparets... that is, if your parents are cool ), age and nature of the kids, optimize time on rides/attractions vs. time to relax for a meal, etc.

I agree with you about your recommendation to keep HDDMR. We've done it twice before and it was a great experience both times. Seems like it would be extra special to do it on this trip, since they'll already be staying at the resort.

 

[arrical8]

Based on my previous list, I have made the following decisions...

• I decided to keep Princess Storybook Dining @ Akershaus because I really want to go... forget the kids ! 
• Cancelling The Plaza and eating counter service before the MNSSHP—Still a possibility.
• Cancelling a combination of Crystal Palace, ‘Ohana dinner, or Kona Café and saving for our next trip—DH gave me the OK to cancel Kona Café… but I have not pulled the trigger yet????
• I decided to keep the Hoop De Do Revue because I really want to go... and I know my kids will have a fantabulous time!

Tuesday September 23, 2014: Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party
CANCELLED • Breakfast: Ohana's Best Friends Breakfast with Lilo & Stitch
• Dinner: The Plaza Restaurant

Wednesday September 24, 2014: Play Day/Epcot
CANCELLED • Lunch: Sanaa
• Dinner: Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue

Monday September 29, 2014: Departure Day
CANCELLED • Breakfast: Trails End—This might still return since my DH really wants to go for breakfast

3 down, 2+ to go

 

[arrical8]

Hello everyone... I am up listening to the storms that are in our area bringing lots of hail, thunder, and lightning! They are very noisy!

Whoops, there went the power... back on now!

So my daughter decided to interview my DH and son Maddox about what they want to do at WDW and below is the list she made...



I thought the list was so cute, but I feel I must translate

Max:
Mack and Cheese = Mac & Cheese
Jake = Jake and the Neverland Pirates
Bus Light Yare = Buzz Light Year
Wotty = Woody
RideRoler Costers = Ride Roller Coasters

DaDDy:
Captin Hock = Captian Hook
Bot = Boat
Eat GGrmin and Irish Food = Eat German and Irish Food
Star Wars = Star Tours

Such simple lists and totally DONE in my book! Captian Hook is the only issue I see but since we are going to MNSSHP... maybe we will be able to find him????

On the planning front, I moved some ADRs, added a new one, and decided what to do about the few ADRs I can't seem to part with...

But that is an update for another day!