The End is... NOWHERE in sight! - Sept/Oct 2016 PTR *Update 9/14*

[vrajewski10513]

I'm joining in Tori. Nice to meet you. And that is one BIG group you are planning for. But you are young and I have faith in you.

And thanks for following along! It sure is a big task, but I’m up for it. It’ll be totally worth it to have everyone there together Thank you for the encouragement!

I have never stayed at Caribbean Beach (although I've stayed at Coronado ten times...and it's only 10 minutes to the MK), but I have a friend who has stayed there more times than I've stayed at Coronado and she loves it.

You know, before Caribbean did the big overhaul on their rooms I hands down would have stayed at Coronado, the rooms are gorgeous and seem so peaceful (which is a great thing after a long day in the parks!) and the pool is nothing to scoff at either. But now IMO the rooms at Caribbean are equally as ni now and I think my nephew will really get a kick out of the pirate-esque main pool

We have a lot of the same favorites: Magic Kingdom followed by Animal Kingdom (AK does NOT get enough love); Beauty and the Beast is my favorite movie too.

Agreed! I love AK, we usually try to get there first thing in the morning and are usually out of there by 12-1pm, but we usually do that 2-3 days each trip!

As for restaurants, we've never done HDDR or Tutto Italia. I tried Via Napoli for the first time two weeks ago (spoiler alert: LOVED it). We were not fans of Hana and Biergarten was a huge disappointment the last time for us. We love Raglan Road, Chefs de France and we always have a good meal at Coral Reef. Cape May we only will do breakfast. I would suggest one character meal for the child and would pick early entry into the Magic Kingdom at Crystal Palace...by far my favorite character meal. We also really LOVE Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch, Rose & Crown for lunch or dinner and Kona for breakfast and dinner...Kona is a must do breakfast every trip for us. We also love the Plaza.

You should definitely make it over to HDDR! The atmosphere is so much fun, and the food is really good too, good ol’ down home cookin’! We LOVE Ohana! I’ve heard some horror stories in the past, but they seem to have been getting better reviews as of lately, and we had a great experience just last September. I’m starting to think maybe we will pass on Biergarten, especially since a previous poster informed me that you can only sit 8 people together at once. The only reason I’m considering Cape May is for the endless Crab legs! I definitely like the idea of an early entry into the MK. I think our choice for a character meal will really depend on how the next year goes and my nephews interests. As of right now, we’re probably going to get stuck going to H&V for breakfast I usually finangle my way into Kona for breakfast every trip, I NEED MY TONGA TOAST FIX!

Hi Tori! I'm Rebecca, and just realized I forgot to say hello.

Hi Rebecca!

We do the same. QS for all but maybe 1 lunch and we don't eat a lot for breakfast. We love a TS at night though.

Its definitely nice to get a break and relax after a long day in the park!

That picture was hilarious and he seems to have good spirit.

He does! He’s always trying to make light of any situation and that’s why I love him

I stole these from my own PTR as I wrote them out recently.
Favorite Park: I DON'T KNOW! used to be EPCOT, but now I want to see all the things!!!
Favorite Rides: Star Tours, Pirates of the Caribbean, Kali River Rapids, ToT, Indiana Jones (DL), and Soarin' excited to try EE, and Dwarven mines!
Favorite Princess: RAPUNZEL! Mulan, Merida, Ariel, Anna, and Belle
Favorite Characters: STITCH!!! Lilo, Baymax, Sally, Flynn Ryder, Christof, and Pascal
Favorite Disney Films: Lilo & Stitch, Tangled, Brave, Nightmare Before Christmas, Into the Woods, Avengers
Favorite Cuisines: SEAFOOD! & Japanese

You could have just wrote "Every and all things Disney"

 

[CQuinn]

Hello! Following along we were planning to go around the same time as you, but our plans keep changing too haha. I've still got my fingers crossed!

 

[vrajewski10513]

Hello! Following along we were planning to go around the same time as you, but our plans keep changing too haha. I've still got my fingers crossed!

I feel like its so far away so its really hard to nail down any type of plans, but that doesn't stop me from trying! Who am I kidding... I've been planning since my last Disney trip in Sept. 2014

 

[Glittercat]

You could have just wrote "Every and all things Disney"

Hehe! Good point there!

 

[lilpixiebabe101]

Joining in! We may be going at same time as y'all. Pending those pesky free dining dates, school breaks, and RunDisney events.

CBR was beautiful when we stayed fall of 2013. If you have anyone with stair issues, I would recommend putting in a request for bottom floors as there are no elevators. We has no idea... We had a lot of crap to haul from our car upstairs haha!

Favorite Park?
Favorite Ride?
Favorite Disney movie?
Favorite Disney Character?
Favorite Disney Restaurant?

Park: Magic Kingdom.. It's not a Disney trip to me till I have set foot on Main Street and seen the castle. But I do love Epcots WS as well )
Ride: (shhhh don't tell @pkondz ) IASW.. My mother and best friend actually played a joke on me. Back in idk 2003-2004 whenever they did the redo of the facade to be more like DL, my best friend had gone and told me how amazing the new ride was. My mother knew it was still closed and so did my friend. We got to MK that morning, IASW was on the first to do list after our CP breakfast... My mom took pictures and was laughing as I came to a dead stop looking at the construction gates still up... It was not nice.
Movie: there are so many. I love Brave, Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp.. I'll stop cause this could stretch on for a while.
Character: Peter Pan... I always had a crush on him growing up.
Restaurant: have to be a toss up between CP, The Wave, Boma, and Ohana. All have fantastic food and great atmospheres!

 

[pkondz]

Hi! I got tagged and came over to see what was going on.
Wanted to mention a couple of things.
1. Biergarten. Great idea for a rambunctious family.
And if you get two tables that are close together, you're practically sitting touching each other.

2. Haven't read all the replies, but 50s Prime Time would be another good family choice. Lots of fun.
Oh! Same goes for Whispering Canyon.

So lets start with our travel partners....

Myself
Jeremy (Husband)
Livi (Sister)
Josh (Sister’s Boyfriend)
John (Brother)
Cortney (Sister-in-Law)
Wayne (Father-in-Law)
Penny (FiL Wife)
Mark (Brother-in-Law)
Amanda (BiL Wife)
Connor (Nephew)
and Amanda’s parents Brian & Cindy.
This is the list for now but it may lose or add some more along the way..

Holy! That's a ton of folks!

Favorite Park? MK
Favorite Ride? That's a tough one. I can't narrow it down from RNR/PP/BTMRR
Favorite Disney movie? Don't think I really have one. Probably Mary Poppins.
Favorite Disney Character? Ariel... for no particular reason...
Favorite Disney Restaurant? Probably 50s Prime Time.

Ride: (shhhh don't tell @pkondz ) IASW..

Good Lord, woman!!!

My mom took pictures and was laughing as I came to a dead stop looking at the construction gates still up...

A closed IASW... brings a tear to my eye.... so... so... beautiful!!!

 

[vrajewski10513]

Joining in! We may be going at same time as y'all. Pending those pesky free dining dates, school breaks, and RunDisney events.

CBR was beautiful when we stayed fall of 2013. If you have anyone with stair issues, I would recommend putting in a request for bottom floors as there are no elevators. We has no idea... We had a lot of crap to haul from our car upstairs haha!



Park: Magic Kingdom.. It's not a Disney trip to me till I have set foot on Main Street and seen the castle. But I do love Epcots WS as well )
Ride: (shhhh don't tell @pkondz ) IASW.. My mother and best friend actually played a joke on me. Back in idk 2003-2004 whenever they did the redo of the facade to be more like DL, my best friend had gone and told me how amazing the new ride was. My mother knew it was still closed and so did my friend. We got to MK that morning, IASW was on the first to do list after our CP breakfast... My mom took pictures and was laughing as I came to a dead stop looking at the construction gates still up... It was not nice.
Movie: there are so many. I love Brave, Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp.. I'll stop cause this could stretch on for a while.
Character: Peter Pan... I always had a crush on him growing up.
Restaurant: have to be a toss up between CP, The Wave, Boma, and Ohana. All have fantastic food and great atmospheres!

and thanks for joining in! Thats awesome, I love going in the fall, theres just so much going on. If only it were easier to coordinate around all of those different factors! I really cant wait to stay at CBR especially with the renovations completed, I hope it works out with the free dining. We're going to be flying in, so we will definitely have to keep it light with the packing and there are no mobility issues within our group. Since were trying to get 4 rooms all in the same building in the same section, I'm hoping that linking our reservations and all making the same request for a specific section our only request will make that work out. If not, no biggie, we're all grown ups and we can manage with whatever we can get

I'm sorry, but I have to agree with @pkondz on this one... if IASW was under constant construction it'd be a beautiful thing I've been on it once, and have no desire to go back. Although, this upcoming trip will be a first for my little sister, so I'm sure I will suck it up and go on so she can experience it... and hope she hates it so we dont have to go on it again lol

Hi! I got tagged and came over to see what was going on.
Wanted to mention a couple of things.
1. Biergarten. Great idea for a rambunctious family.
And if you get two tables that are close together, you're practically sitting touching each other.

2. Haven't read all the replies, but 50s Prime Time would be another good family choice. Lots of fun.
Oh! Same goes for Whispering Canyon.



Holy! That's a ton of folks!





Good Lord, woman!!!



A closed IASW... brings a tear to my eye.... so... so... beautiful!!!

Thanks for the suggestions! I'd really like to try Biergarten so hopefully I can make a reservation for 13 and they can sit us at two tables close together, or maybe I can make two reservations and request they be seated close together. Who knows, i still have time to figure out logistics, but it'd definitely be great if we could work this one out.
I've been to 50's Prime Time Cafe before and while the food was good, he had a less tha enthusiastic waitress and the service took FOREVER. I thought the food was great, and my Apple pie milkshake was to DIE for. So maybe just based on that i should give it another go and hope we get a better experience.

I think I've decided that I will coordinate any reservations we want to eat as a big group, and make a loose schedule of what parks on what days we will visit and leave everyone to themselves as far as extras and scheduleing their own fast passes. I'll be there for guidance because we do have a bunch of Disney newbies, but to be able to schedule what 13 different people with different interests want to do and see all together will be almost impossible and probably a waste of alot of time. It will probably work out best to go our separate ways and reconvene when necessary. Here's to hoping it works out!

 

[lilpixiebabe101]

Good Lord, woman!!!

Trip record is 13 times. Can you say "grandpa's favorite grandkid" haha!

and thanks for joining in! Thats awesome, I love going in the fall, theres just so much going on. If only it were easier to coordinate around all of those different factors! I really cant wait to stay at CBR especially with the renovations completed, I hope it works out with the free dining. We're going to be flying in, so we will definitely have to keep it light with the packing and there are no mobility issues within our group. Since were trying to get 4 rooms all in the same building in the same section, I'm hoping that linking our reservations and all making the same request for a specific section our only request will make that work out. If not, no biggie, we're all grown ups and we can manage with whatever we can get

I'm sorry, but I have to agree with @pkondz on this one... if IASW was under constant construction it'd be a beautiful thing I've been on it once, and have no desire to go back. Although, this upcoming trip will be a first for my little sister, so I'm sure I will suck it up and go on so she can experience it... and hope she hates it so we dont have to go on it again lol

Yeah if no mobility issues no worries. I was used to the values and wilderness lodge. Never occurred to me to not have elevators!

I have a feeling it will be a one time only for DF!

 

[pkondz]

I'd really like to try Biergarten so hopefully I can make a reservation for 13

In Biergarten, I can't see why you couldn't.

and my Apple pie milkshake was to DIE for.

Oooohhhh... didn't know about that one. I had the PB&J shake and it was amazing.

Trip record is 13 times. Can you say "grandpa's favorite grandkid" haha!

 

[vrajewski10513]

Hello everyone following along!

Sorry I haven't really had anything to update on lately... I'm kinda in the waiting period phase of trip planning.. or lack there of trip planning...

Since I'm sure you've caught on by now, I'm not good at just waiting around.

Soooooo... I've made a loose plan of our itinerary!! Even though I have no idea if the park and special event schedules next year will mirror the schedule this year...

Also, keep in mind that I am completely indecisive when it comes to.. well.. everything. So this itinerary will be completely changed by the time our trip rolls around. I honestly just needed something to keep busy, and its really hard for me to not have some sort of planning to do. So, here it is!

I also had a good day at Hot Topic! I picked up a few things that I'll probably save to wear when we take our trip!

I can honestly say that Hot Topic is my go-to for anything Disney, Marvel, or Harry Potter related... I'm never disappointed

Well, thats all I've got for now ​

 

[KatMark]

It never hurts to have an outline early...then you have plenty of time to change it.

I LOVE Hot Topic. A DIS friend introduced me to it and I was hooked.

 

[vrajewski10513]

It never hurts to have an outline early...then you have plenty of time to change it.

Lord knows that'll happen.. a couple hundred times

 

[jandlinz]

Joining in! We'll be there in November 2016! I'm super excited and planning in my head. No where near as good as your color coded spreadsheet!I'll have to show my DH it. He's a spreadsheet type of man, yep I married an engineer. I love your plans so far. We've done the Halloween party twice and it was awesome. You'll love it. We decided to try the Christmas Party this coming trip, although I wanted to try and do both! My DH being a numbers guy was like . So there went that plan, but I'm just thankful he's agreed on the trip. Can't wait to see what's in store for you with lots of family in the mix. I hope everyone is agreeable.
-Lindsey

 

[vrajewski10513]

Joining in! We'll be there in November 2016! I'm super excited and planning in my head. No where near as good as your color coded spreadsheet!I'll have to show my DH it. He's a spreadsheet type of man, yep I married an engineer. I love your plans so far. We've done the Halloween party twice and it was awesome. You'll love it. We decided to try the Christmas Party this coming trip, although I wanted to try and do both! My DH being a numbers guy was like . So there went that plan, but I'm just thankful he's agreed on the trip. Can't wait to see what's in store for you with lots of family in the mix. I hope everyone is agreeable.
-Lindsey

Thanks for joining in! I cant help but start planning at a ridiculously early date. Ever since planning my wedding I've turned into a spreadsheet type of gal lol I literally get hives when I think about people that go on such an expensive vacation with no plan. Eh, to each their own I guess. Spur of the moment works for some peoople, just not for me. Our original plan was to go October into November because my husband and I have been to MNSSHP a few times and wanted to check everything out all decorated for Christmas this time (and still catch the last party for MNSSHP). But, with so many people going it was really hard to coordinate around everyones schedules so close to the holidays. But, I'm ok with that because out of our whole group Jeremy and I are the only ones who have been to MNSSHP so itll be a new experience for everyone else And we dont mind because we LOVE it! One day I'd love to go to both parties in one trip though!

 

[MidnightParade]

I'm joining in! Nice to see someone PTRing so far in advance! I was hoping we would be going November 2016 as well but reality will be 2017 which is okay considering its cause we are trying to buy our first home next year. Also if I have to wait till 2017 I'm going to try and get DFi to agree to 12 days!

Applause to you for getting a second job for Disney spending! I thought about trying to find a "home assembly" job but they all seem to be sketchy. Although I may not beable to resist the froyo!! lol

Sooo, question. Have you considered staying at Universal for your 3 days there? That's what we did last year, we started our trip at Universal and stayed 2 nights at Cabana Bay resort, which was awesomely themed, and that way you are just a hop skip and a jump from the parks. Although if you have your own car I suppose its not a big deal going from your Disney resort to Universal. I will say while it was amazing to see all the Harry Potter areas, there was a part of me after that was *almost* wishing we had had more Disney time(which is why we decided next trip to skip Universal, although with King Kong coming that will be a little hard to do! lol). But I don't regret getting to see Universal and finally having a Krusty Burger and Butter Beer! And the resort was pretty awesome.

Looking forward to see how it all turns out and where to you end up staying!

Favorite Park? Magic Kingdom, although I love Animal Kingdom as well
Favorite Ride? Splash Mountain
Favorite Disney movie? Robin Hood , Sword in the Stone, Little Mermaid, Lilo and Stitch.....(it hard to pick just one)
Favorite Disney Character? Chip and Dale!!
Favorite Disney Restaurant? Ohana, only ate there once but it was great!

 

[vrajewski10513]

I'm joining in! Nice to see someone PTRing so far in advance! I was hoping we would be going November 2016 as well but reality will be 2017 which is okay considering its cause we are trying to buy our first home next year. Also if I have to wait till 2017 I'm going to try and get DFi to agree to 12 days!

to the party! Adulting is no fun sometimes, but alas priorities need to be met before Disney I know how you feel, we are planning on buying a home in 2017 so we probably ownt be going on another Disney trip for some time after that

Applause to you for getting a second job for Disney spending! I thought about trying to find a "home assembly" job but they all seem to be sketchy. Although I may not beable to resist the froyo!! lol

Thanks! I've actually been enjoying it. Its only 2-3 days a week, and its a nice change of pace from my full time job where i sit at a desk all day

Sooo, question. Have you considered staying at Universal for your 3 days there? That's what we did last year, we started our trip at Universal and stayed 2 nights at Cabana Bay resort, which was awesomely themed, and that way you are just a hop skip and a jump from the parks. Although if you have your own car I suppose its not a big deal going from your Disney resort to Universal. I will say while it was amazing to see all the Harry Potter areas, there was a part of me after that was *almost* wishing we had had more Disney time(which is why we decided next trip to skip Universal, although with King Kong coming that will be a little hard to do! lol). But I don't regret getting to see Universal and finally having a Krusty Burger and Butter Beer! And the resort was pretty awesome.

This was actually talked about quite extensively. Not only staying onsite at Universal, but Cabana Bay specifically. The resort does look awesome, and wonderfully themed. In the end we decided to stay the whole time at a Disney resort because:
1. We like having the ME to and from the airport
2. In September/October Universal closes fairly early, some nights only staying open until 7pm. We thought that if we stayed at Disney then we could possibly hit up some Disney parks at night after UOR.
3. Since we will hopefully get Free Dining for our trip, the plan on our universal days is to to eat breakfast at our hotel before we go, buy lunch at Universal, then use some dining credits once were back on Disney property at night for dinner. If we stayed at Universal we would have to pay OOP for all of our meals for those 3 days.

Favorite Park? Magic Kingdom, although I love Animal Kingdom as well
Favorite Ride? Splash Mountain
Favorite Disney movie? Robin Hood , Sword in the Stone, Little Mermaid, Lilo and Stitch.....(it hard to pick just one)
Favorite Disney Character? Chip and Dale!!
Favorite Disney Restaurant? Ohana, only ate there once but it was great!

I LOVE OHANA! I think it may have to become a staple for us on future trips.

 

[lilpixiebabe101]

Love love love your spreadsheet! I may have to do that with all the waiting as well. Did you base off 2015 park hours?

And I'm thinking kind of along those lines for US. We will be driving in from La. So I think we may do an offsite hotel Friday night just so we can snooze a bit, then hit US and then on to Disney for Saturday Evening/Night.

 

[maryandtyson]

Hello!
Just started reading your PTR and am enjoying it so far. Thinking about starting a PTR soon, so I was curious to read some others. I love your animal cracker jar! What a great way to save!

I see you are from Buffalo. I grew up in Orchard Park. Haven't been back in years and years. We live in North Carolina and love it here!!
Favorite Park: Magic, followed closely by Animal!
Favorite Ride: Big Thunder, Mad Tea Party a close second
Favorite Movie: Today it's Tangled
Favorite Character: Goofy or Pluto
Favorite Disney Restaurant: BOMA, it never disappoints!

We also love Crystal Palace and Tusker House early breakfasts. I think you should definitely try Biergarten! It's a great atmosphere and a lot of fun. The food is really good too!! WE loved Sanaa, but I hope your family likes Indian type cuisine. Otherwise they may not enjoy it as much.

Happy Planning!!
Mary

 

[vrajewski10513]

Love love love your spreadsheet! I may have to do that with all the waiting as well. Did you base off 2015 park hours?

And I'm thinking kind of along those lines for US. We will be driving in from La. So I think we may do an offsite hotel Friday night just so we can snooze a bit, then hit US and then on to Disney for Saturday Evening/Night.

Thanks! I used to do all my planning in a notebook by hand.. but then I realized that halfway through most of the pages were scribbled or ripped out. Now if something changes I just delete it from my spreadsheet. I dont bother printing it off until the day before we leave because itll probably be changed everyday up until then lol I also keep a master word document with all of my confirmation numbers and reservations (TS and FP+). That also doesnt get printed out until the day before I leave.

I did base it off of the 2015 hours. We're hoping that our trip next year will be from Wed, Sept 28 - Sat, Oct 8... So i based if off of Wed, Sept 30 - Sat, Oct 10 of this year... The only thing I kind of got hung up on were the days for our trip (Sept 29-30) that are actually October 1-2 of this year.. I'm not sure if the change of month will mean a change for the hours.. ah well, I will have plenty of time to change it if it does.

Its definitely easier to decide where and when to stay when you have your own car. It gives you a little more freedom.

 

[vrajewski10513]

Hello!
Just started reading your PTR and am enjoying it so far. Thinking about starting a PTR soon, so I was curious to read some others. I love your animal cracker jar! What a great way to save!

I see you are from Buffalo. I grew up in Orchard Park. Haven't been back in years and years. We live in North Carolina and love it here!!
Favorite Park: Magic, followed closely by Animal!
Favorite Ride: Big Thunder, Mad Tea Party a close second
Favorite Movie: Today it's Tangled
Favorite Character: Goofy or Pluto
Favorite Disney Restaurant: BOMA, it never disappoints!

We also love Crystal Palace and Tusker House early breakfasts. I think you should definitely try Biergarten! It's a great atmosphere and a lot of fun. The food is really good too!! WE loved Sanaa, but I hope your family likes Indian type cuisine. Otherwise they may not enjoy it as much.

Happy Planning!!
Mary

Thanks for joining in! I've lived in WNY my whole life. Right now were in the South Cheektowaga/West Seneca area. Our whole family lives here so it'd definitely be tough to move out of state. I think a promise of being close to Orlando may be the only way we'd leave I bet you guys enjoy the much milder weather down in NC than what we get up here!

I'm not much for buffets, thats why I was leaning towards Sanaa.. but idk how my husband would feel about Indian food.. I may have to re-think that one. I've heard good things about Boma, maybe we will have to give it a shot.