The now Non-Turkey Day PTR. Bad news UPD: 11/16!

[NuttyDisneyMom]

Here we come...again! We are heading back to our home away from home for our 1st WDW Thanksgiving! We are leaving on 11/20 and will be in the World through 11/29. Here's our castmembers for this trip....

NuttyDisneyMom - that's me! And a perfect definition at that I was born an hour away from Mickey and lived there for 23 years! I remember WDW when it was just the Magic Kingdom. Ride tickets, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Mr. Toad....ahhh those were the days. I am a HUGE planner, organizer, and FOODIE!!! Just wait till you see how many times I cange our ADR's Also, I'm a lover of Classic Mickey, Alice in Wonderland, and Maleficent I am most looking forward to watching my children have a wonderful time and sharing it with my DM. I love Epcot, SpectroMagic, and Wishes.

DM - will be referred to as Nana throughout this report. My mother started my love affair with the mouse when I was just 2 years old and I couldn't thank her enough for doing so This is her 2nd trip with me and DD7 to WDW and her 1st with all 3 kiddos. She is most looking forward to watching the kids' face light up with Disney magic, especially MK at night, and the FOOD of course. She has never been to any other park then MK either I know, the horror! She'll be scootin' around the World, so if you see a mom and 3 kids screaming "NANA WAIT!!!" while chasing a scooter down Main Street...that's us!

DS18 - will be referred to as Charming this report. He just graduated from Army boot camp on 9/11/09 and started his senior year of high school this year. This will be his 3rd trip to WDW. He is a lover of....I hope you're sitting down....the PRINCESSES! I'm totally serious! He thinks they are all so hot and is determined to get a date with one this year, or at least some phone numbers Now you see why I am referring to him as Charming right? Now, when I say the boy loves food, I mean THE BOY LOVES FOOD! Just wait and you'll see when I do my dining report Hates roller coasters, but loved RnR...I know, go figure Can't get him on any of the mountains in MK or ToT, but he'll ride RnR all day! He's also a HUGE Star Wars nut Most looking forward to Epcot and O'Hana dinner!

DD14 - will be referred to as Alice throughout this report. She just started her freshman year of high school this year and is your typical teenage girl...with a twist...she's super-gifted (not to brag at all, but she's uber smart and attends a medically geared high school)...so everything is always interesting with her wherever we go This will be her 3rd trip to WDW. She is a lover of The Lion King and The Little Mermaid/Ariel, but her biggest "crush" is Jack Skellington She also loves food and won't hesitate to try new things She LOVES to ride the rides and is pretty easy going. She was just diagnosed this past month with a rhuematological disease, so this trip will be interesting and we are preparing accordingly She is most looking forward to Kilimanjaro Safari in AK (we have yet to do it, but are this trip) and just the whole trip really! She is defininately my girl, she's LOVES WDW

DD7 - will be referred to as Stitch throughout this report. She just started 2nd grade this year and is big into gymnastics. She's a tiny kid for her age, but has the attitude of a girl twice her age This will be her 4th trip to WDW. The child LOVES Stitch! So much so, she has the hat and claws/gloves and wears them ever since she got them this past April....and wears them EVERYWHERE we go! Even wears them in the car when I drive her to school so that people think Stitch is in the car(and it does look like it since she's so tiny you'd just see the antennae sticking up above the seat). She is also a huge Star Wars fan (we all are except for Alice really) and she loves Cinderella, Snow White, and Cars. She's our tomboy Her favorite ride is Test Track and BTMRR. She is counting down the days on her Mickey Ear calendar till the trip already!

DH will NOT be joining us on this trip as he is heading back to Afghanistan with his civilian job in October He retired in June from the Navy, but is still going to the desert. I think he's a glutton for punishment LOL! He will be with us in our hearts though

So that's us....accomodations and 1st round ADR's in the next post. Will we stay on site or won't we????

 

[NuttyDisneyMom]

When we took our trip in April this year, we had one day left on our ticket. We knew we had to use it before December 23rd of this year. So I proposed to DH that we go back for Thanksgiving and he said sure Ha Ha...sucker Well, back in April we didn't know he was going to be going back to Afghanistan. At least not so quickly with his new civilian job. So, DM had 3 weeks of vacation....she's in!

Tickets - We have 6 day park hoppers Thank you to the military salute tix!!! We also have a one day/one park ticket too! So that's 7 whole days of parkin' it We may not leave till 11/30 between all the tickets we need to use and eating we have to do, but who's complaining? Not me!!!

Accomodations, or lack there of thus far.....We have RCI and could use our timeshare, but we've NEVER stayed on WDW property Well, there are so many pros and cons to both and I'm STILL weighing them. I'm leaning much more towards onsite though. I really want to save our RCI for something other than...no flames please...WDW and I REALLY want to stay onsite and use a DDP. We're tossing around POR currently and I really think that's what we're going to do. We want to get on the DxDDP if we stay onsite. Like I said, we're MAJOR foodies I will be booked SOMEWHERE, onsite or off, by the middle of October. Am I worried about waiting so long to book, absolutely not So stay tuned to find out my resort dilemmas. If worse came to worse, I still have friends and family in the area that would welcome us with open arms

ADR's - I may not have accomodations, but I do have my ADR's and ALOT of them As I mentioned, if we stay onsite we are doing the DxDDP as a treat for all of us since DH is getting a nice bonus up front to go overseas and he wants us to indulge. I told him I'd at least have time to lose the weight I'll gain before he gets home Here's our ADR's thus far...

Day 1 (Arrival Day/no parks)
L - Beaches n' Cream ( I know it's not an ADR place, but we will still go)
D - Chef Mickey's

Day 2
B - 1900 Park Fare
D - O'Hana

Day 3
L - Sci Fi
D - California Grill

Day 4 (DTD day)
L - (more like a snack) Gardenview Tea (will be OOP since not on DDP)
D - Yachtsman OR Kona Cafe

Day 5
B - Kona Cafe
D - Yachtsman OR O'Hana(if we decide to do O'Hana twice, then Yachtsman will be on day 4 for dinner and we will cancel Kona and this days' Yachtsman)

Day 6 (Thanksgiving)
B - Tusker House
L - Yak n Yeti
D - Whispering Canyon (thanksgiving dinner)

Day 7
B - Akershus
L - Tutto Italia
D - Flying Fish

Day 8
B - Crystal Palace
L - Chefs de France
D - Narcoosee's

Day 9 (going home)
B - O'Hana

That's it thus far...and I still have 2 TS credits left on the DxDDP if we stay onsite! Now, I know I've said we're foodies, but I'm having trouble fitting all the dang meals in!!! We're eating at 4 signatures already! I don't have anywhere to fit HDDR, which I think the kids will love. Any other ideas are more than welcome!!! I am trying to get a CRT since that was the most magical experience ever with Stitch, when she was 4, and Alice wants to eat in the castle. We'd like to do that as a breakfast, as before. I got lucky when we went 3 years ago with Nana and Stitch, then 4 and her first trip. I called dining from our room the night before and got an 8am ressie the next morning. I am going to hold my breath and pray

I know alot of people will say that it looks like alot of time in restaurants, and it is....but only somewhat. We need LOTS of breaks in the parks with Nana, who is also diabetic so she has to eat her meals regularly, and with my Alice and her disorder that is going to cause her to need to get off her feet more often. So why not take the longer rests indoors, in AC, and with FOOD??? At least that's how we look at it

Non park plans - BBB for Stitch! It's a surprise for Alice. She said when we were there last time she'd love to do it, so....she's doing it Of course Stitch is already in the know about it. She will be bringing her Tink costume for this. I am also thinking of planning on taking everyone to La Nouba as another surprise on our DTD day! I'm the only one that has ever been and it was back in 99, so I think I'm overdue. I know everyone would just LOVE it. It is fantastic and I would think it could only be better now. I have also ordered the Glass Slipper dessert forAlice to be served to her at our Gardenview Tea. Her birthday is Christmas Eve, so we are celebrating on 11/24 at our tea. She is going to be so thrilled! Tea is her fave girlie thing to do and I can't wait to see her face!

So as you can tell, I've been BUSY planning our trip. I work on it a bit each night. Stay tuned to find out what I've been buying for the trip! Oh and did I mention that we're pin traders.....oh Ebay is dangerous for those!!!

 

[MomsOf2boys]

Hello Hello...Here I am!!!! I have so far NEVER been the first follower on a trippie report so count me in!

HDDR was SUPER FUN by the way. But i can see that you are filled up in the evenings. What about CRT for BREAKFAST before the park is opened. That could be a nice memory and the food is good and the boys will do fine.

 

[NuttyDisneyMom]

Hello Hello...Here I am!!!! I have so far NEVER been the first follower on a trippie report so count me in!

HDDR was SUPER FUN by the way. But i can see that you are filled up in the evenings. What about CRT for BREAKFAST before the park is opened. That could be a nice memory and the food is good and the boys will do fine.

Hey Susan! Glad you made it!!! Nana and I did CRT breakfast back in 07 with Stitch, who was then 4. It was her first trip to WDW and we got so lucky getting in by calling the night before!!! We got an 8am the next AM Best experience to date for me, Nana, and Stitch. I am going to try to get in again...I keep checking EVERYDAY online. I know Charming will enjoy the princesses, the big flirt

 

[NuttyDisneyMom]

So I've been to the Disney Store 3 times in the last week I got fleece hooded jackets for all of us, with the exception of Charming who can't make up his mind if he wants one or not Nana and I got the classic Mickey one...

Alice got the Jack one, of course...

and Stitch got Tink...

I also picked up Stitch's Tink costume. The sale was too good to pass up! She got the light up wings too, but I wouldn't let her wear them to Disney on Ice since they are big and we didn't want them to get ruined
Here she is at Disney on Ice last week. Please excuse the blue mouth from her cotton candy

I've also been on Ebay buying pins! When they come in, I'll post pics!

I've been rethinking some of our dining options this week too. Also been thinking about staying an extra day We'll see what happens...stay tuned

 

[shebaxric]

Hi there!
I found your PTR and am on board. You will actually be there when I'm going! Except, you'll be there a couple days longer than me.... I promise I'm not too jealous!

I hope you enjoy all of your ressies, I would be in heaven with those! We have one more thing in common, my father and my FIL were both in the navy and are now retired. We are also using the military salute tickets!! My DSIS is going and is staying at the RCI property down there, it looks pretty nice. DH and I are staying at SSR, have you considered trying to rent points from a DVC member? That's what we did and we have a one bedroom that is going to be plenty big! Hopefully, those accommodations work out for you!

 

[MomsOf2boys]

We are staying at AKV but we have stayed at SSR and LOVED it! We walked over to Downtown Disney every evening.

I love the Tink costume!!! Tink is my favorite as she is so sassy.

I love the hoodies... I might have to pop over there and take a look.

My DS18 says Narcooses is the best restaurant on the property and to make sure someone tries the swordfish and if they don't like it to box it up and call his cell phone as he would be more than happy to eat it. LOL

 

[MickeyisBeast]

Joining in!
Your DD14 is around my age, and sounds a lot like me :]
Can't wait to see the pins you bought!

 

[NuttyDisneyMom]

Hi there!
I found your PTR and am on board. You will actually be there when I'm going! Except, you'll be there a couple days longer than me.... I promise I'm not too jealous!

I hope you enjoy all of your ressies, I would be in heaven with those! We have one more thing in common, my father and my FIL were both in the navy and are now retired. We are also using the military salute tickets!! My DSIS is going and is staying at the RCI property down there, it looks pretty nice. DH and I are staying at SSR, have you considered trying to rent points from a DVC member? That's what we did and we have a one bedroom that is going to be plenty big! Hopefully, those accommodations work out for you!

I have thought about renting DVC points, but not sure where to start? I was going to look on Ebay for some and see what the procedure is like. Wish me luck!

We are staying at AKV but we have stayed at SSR and LOVED it! We walked over to Downtown Disney every evening.

I love the Tink costume!!! Tink is my favorite as she is so sassy.

I love the hoodies... I might have to pop over there and take a look.

My DS18 says Narcooses is the best restaurant on the property and to make sure someone tries the swordfish and if they don't like it to box it up and call his cell phone as he would be more than happy to eat it. LOL

Nana's hoodie came in the mail today. It's the Mickey one like mine, but I had to order hers because they didn't have the size she wanted. They are SOOO soft too and such a good deal. It's easier to justify my Disney Store jaunts to DH when there is a sale

Tell your DS that Charming, also, will most likely order the swordfish. He's usually my big steak eater, but I have turned him on to fish the last few years. He LOVES salmon, but my father has been rubbing off to him how good swordfish is and I think he's be game to try it at Narcoosees's.

Joining in!
Your DD14 is around my age, and sounds a lot like me :]
Can't wait to see the pins you bought!

Welcome!!! Thanks for joining in I will definitely post the pin pics. There are SOOO many on their way as my kiddos are BIG traders. I'm more of the hoarder

 

[shebaxric]

I have thought about renting DVC points, but not sure where to start? I was going to look on Ebay for some and see what the procedure is like. Wish me luck!

There is actually a thread dedicated to DVC Points Rentals. I've posted a link, I hope it works!!

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=29

 

[NuttyDisneyMom]

There is actually a thread dedicated to DVC Points Rentals. I've posted a link, I hope it works!!

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=29

Thank you! Wish me luck!!!

 

[NuttyDisneyMom]

Going shopping again today...with a purpose of course! I have to exchange a pair of Stitch's shoes at Stride Rite, which happens to be in my "home" mall with the Disney Store in it How convenient!!! Oh, what will I buy???? I'll let you know tonight!

Also, I had a HUGE blonde moment (and yes, I am blonde). My BFF is a DVC owner!!!!! I called her a few mins ago with my woes about trying to rent DVC points, what do I do, where do I stay...blah blah blah. She says to me..."Did you forget we're DVC members and I have points I can sell to you???" So as soon as I finish this, I'm on my way to her house to finalize my resort ressies...

I'll have a big update for you all tonight

 

[shebaxric]

Going shopping again today...with a purpose of course! I have to exchange a pair of Stitch's shoes at Stride Rite, which happens to be in my "home" mall with the Disney Store in it How convenient!!! Oh, what will I buy???? I'll let you know tonight!

Also, I had a HUGE blonde moment (and yes, I am blonde). My BFF is a DVC owner!!!!! I called her a few mins ago with my woes about trying to rent DVC points, what do I do, where do I stay...blah blah blah. She says to me..."Did you forget we're DVC members and I have points I can sell to you???" So as soon as I finish this, I'm on my way to her house to finalize my resort ressies...

I'll have a big update for you all tonight

That's fantastic!!! I'm so glad that you spoke to your friend and she was able to help you out! Now, I'm crossing my fingers and my toes that you can secure a ressie! I looked on the Resort Reservation Availability Board for November and it looks like SSR is available. Good luck and I'll be waiting for your update!

 

[MomsOf2boys]

Going shopping again today...with a purpose of course! I have to exchange a pair of Stitch's shoes at Stride Rite, which happens to be in my "home" mall with the Disney Store in it How convenient!!! Oh, what will I buy???? I'll let you know tonight!
Wooohooo! What will it be? Matching T's?

Also, I had a HUGE blonde moment (and yes, I am blonde). My BFF is a DVC owner!!!!! I called her a few mins ago with my woes about trying to rent DVC points, what do I do, where do I stay...blah blah blah. She says to me..."Did you forget we're DVC members and I have points I can sell to you???" So as soon as I finish this, I'm on my way to her house to finalize my resort ressies...

I'll have a big update for you all tonight

Woohoo! I really liked SSR. We stayed at Congress Park and we ended up being right next to the path for Downtown Disney! We so loved it there. I can't wait to hear your update.

 

[NuttyDisneyMom]

We have confirmed resort reservations!!! My BFF and I got on the phone with DVC this AM and we are staying the first four nights at SSR and the last 4 nights at OKW! She sold me her points at a VERY reasonalbe price, and I'd honestly much rather give her the money Both resorts are for 1bdr villas! I'm soooo excited! Can you believe that in ALL my 34 years, being born and raised an hour away from WDW for 23 of them, that I've NEVER stayed on property I can't wait to take advantage of EMH's too

So now that I have that HUGE weight off my shoulders, I have some dining to rearrange...at least I think so. We booked with the Basic DDP instead of the DxDDP, at least for now. I'm weighing my options to see how much of a savings it would be if we upgraded to DxDDP or not. My kiddos LOVE alot of the CS in most of the parks, it's DHS we loathe but would just jump over to Beaches n' Cream that day to avoid DHS CS. So I will let you know how that comes out over the next day or two.

I did go shopping today at the Disney Store I picked up the CUTEST velour tracksuit for Stitch. It's from the Cinderella collection and is Cindy pale blue and super sparkly! I bought the shirt to go underneath it. Coolest thing was it was already marked down to clearance and I got another 25% off that! Here are the 3 pieces that make up the outfit...

Stitch also got 2 more pairs of fall/winter jammies since the PJ pals were on sale 2 for $20. She got a pink Tink pair and a blue Tink pair. She's super happy

Coming up next....what to do about the dining!!!! Any ideas are welcome!

 

[NuttyDisneyMom]

Woohoo! I really liked SSR. We stayed at Congress Park and we ended up being right next to the path for Downtown Disney! We so loved it there. I can't wait to hear your update.

Hi Susan! No matching T's....yet, but you know they are coming soon! I am going to order them from Disney Outlet online since they have T's from $4 -$6 on clearance! And it's stuff we like too

That's fantastic!!! I'm so glad that you spoke to your friend and she was able to help you out! Now, I'm crossing my fingers and my toes that you can secure a ressie! I looked on the Resort Reservation Availability Board for November and it looks like SSR is available. Good luck and I'll be waiting for your update!

Thank you soooo much for your DVC idea to begin with! Without that, I would never have mentioned it to my BFF and wouldn't have gotten what I did today!!!

 

[NuttyDisneyMom]

So we have officially decided to do the basic DDP We are going to do the DxDP when we go "home" in April with DH when he returns from Afghanistan. The man will be pretty hungry after all We are still going to pay for some meals OOP, which is fine with us. When it was all figured out and said and done, I end up saving over $600 doing the dining this way So here is our new dining agenda...

Day 1 (arrival day/no parks)
L -CS @ WPE for 1 CS credit each
D - Chef Mickeys 1 TS credit each

Day 2
B - CS @ SSR, BW Bakery, or Norway Bakery OOP
L - Chefs de France OOP (we will do the chefs prixe fixe menu)
D - O'Hana 1 TS credit each

Day 3
B - CS @ SSR or BW Bakery OOP
L - Sci Fi OOP
D - CS @ SSR or BW for 1 CS credit

Day 4
B - CS @ Main Street Bakery 1 CS credit
L - Gardenview Tea Room for us 4 girls OOP and CS @ GF for DS18
D - Kona 1 TS credit

Day 5 (moving to OKW)
B - WPE @ DTD 1 CS credit
L - Earl of Sandwich @ DTD 1 CS credit
D - Yachtsman 2 TS credit

Day 6 (Thanksgiving)
B - Tusker House OOP
L - skipping it!
D - Whispering Canyon for 1 TS credit

Day 7
B - Sancks @ OKW
L - Tangerine Cafe 1 CS credit
D - Flying Fish 2 TS credits

Day 8
B - Crystal Palace OOP
L - Pecos Bills @ MK 1 CS credit
D - Columbia Harbour House @ MK for 1 CS credit or Plaza OOP

Day 9 (departure day)
B - O'Hana OOP

And I think we've sucessfully spent all our credits

 

[MomsOf2boys]

Sometimes when we switch resorts mid-stay, we switch dining plans as well. That makes life really confusing and fun to plan.

 

[cascarlet]

I'll be following your report!! I'm going same time 11/21-11/28. Looks like we are both planning on being at AK on TG! I think that's a great plan!

I have a DS18 as well, and I'm taking my mom for the first time.

Love the hoodies you got. I ordered some for the family too, they should be here on Monday! DS18 didn't want one either

Only 49 days!!! I hope October goes by as quickly as September did!!

 

[NuttyDisneyMom]

I'll be following your report!! I'm going same time 11/21-11/28. Looks like we are both planning on being at AK on TG! I think that's a great plan!

I have a DS18 as well, and I'm taking my mom for the first time.

Love the hoodies you got. I ordered some for the family too, they should be here on Monday! DS18 didn't want one either

Only 49 days!!! I hope October goes by as quickly as September did!!

Hi and welcome! You will LOVE the hoodies...they are SO soft and the perfect weight for FL evenings in November What's up with these boys not wanting Disney stuff He did get the pirate mickey ears tho when we went this past April....so I KNOW there's still kid in him no matter how grown he likes to act

I know October is going to FLY by!!!! November 20th will be here before we both know it!