*** The Official August 2018 Thread*** - let's have some fun....

[jeff_h]

August 4 - 11, another trip to SOG -- we generally don't make ADRs but will make one for BOG for lunch as we will have a few first-timers in our group.

 

[pens4821]

We will be there the 25th and leave the 1st. Not looking forward to the heat. Hoping that getting to the parks early, and either leaving or planning an ADR we will be ok. Then plan our FP's for starting at 5/6 PM and stay until close.

We haven't booked yet, going to wait until the discounts come out. We are hoping they offer free dining, but it's not really a must. We will stay in a value and upgrade to the regular dining plan. Even without FD, we will most likely stay at a value. We don't like how spread out most of the moderates are, and even with a discount the deluxe resorts are too much for us. We've stayed at CR before, but we don't think we want to spend that much again. We have been kicking the tires on staying at WL, but probably won't. Also thought about BC/YC for the pool, but when we saw that it closed at 10 this past August we don't think it's worth it for us. Our last trip last February we loved going back to the resort (sports) and taking an hour or so swim. We thought we'd do that again, but the pools were open until 11 then. Not going to happen this time as by the time you get back from the parks it's going to be near 10. We figured why stay there for the pool when we won't really enjoy it that much.

As of now we have some restaurants we will do for sure:
Chef mickeys- we usually do dinner, but we are going to try lunch if they offer it while we're there. Figure it'll be a good way to get out of the parks in the heat of day.
Trex- my nephew said this is a must do. We have done this and rainforest, but he likes this more.
HDDR- did this as a kid, want to try it again. In preliminary planning now, and it's hard to fit in somewhere. Best time would be our first night, but we plan on taking the earliest flight (they aren't out yet, but I assume we'll be getting up between 3/4) and don't know how tired we'll be going to the 615.
San angel inn- we've never been, but we really like the setting of it.
Diamond horseshoe- if it's open we want to try it. If not maybe whispering canyon. We like the idea of all you can eat BBQ.

If FD:
Boma- always wanted to try it, but most likely won't pay oop for it.
mama melrose- we pretty much just chose this because it'll fit into plans on our HS day, and it's the option that looks the best.
crystal palace lunch/chefs de France/marrakesh- haven't decided yet. CP fits into our plans better, but the other two look more intriguing.

I've been planning on an off for a few months. I change my mind way too often. Just trying to make sure we don't push ourselves too much with the heat, but also don't want to not plan enough time in the parks. The ADR's are actually whats throwing me off the most now. We are used to going in the winter when you can be in the parks all day. My family won't be able to do that with the heat.

 

[Tomh]

We go every August, and are in the parks all day.

We try not to do more then 3 or 4 days in a row though, so that we have a day to rest in between.

We always do Rope Drop, hit what we can standby for the first hour or so. Our FP+ generally either start at 9:30, or 10:00 so we can ride standby until either 10:00, or 10:30 before getting online for our first FP+ attraction. We will try to bump up later FP+ if possible. By 1:00 in the afternoon at the latest, we have finished our 3 pre-booked FP+, and then are eligible for a 4th.

We always have an ADR either for lunch, or supper, and we take our time with that meal. That is our version of a mid-day break. It gives us an opportunity to sit down, rehydrate, cool off, relax, and gets us ready for the rest of the evening in the park.

We ate at the Diamond Horseshoe the year before last. It was a kind of spur of the moment sort of thing. We were walking by, kind of talking amongst ourselves, and there just happened to be a CM or two in front of the Diamond Horseshoe with menus. I had never seen it open before, and so we decided to give it a try. To be honest, we weren't really impressed. We felt the food at the Liberty Tree Tavern was better for the same price. However, we only ate there one time, so that may not be a fair review by any means. It is a restaurant that we will have to try again in the future.

Mama Melrose we actually enjoy quite a bit. I wish the food at Tony's Town Square was as good as what I've had at Mama Melrose!

Marrakesh we've only dined at once, and I was completely underwhelmed with it. Nice setting, but I didn't care for the food at all. Love Crystal Palace though

 

[Tallent]

Please add me! Traveling back home July 31-Aug 5---staying at WL with DS (13) and taking his friend. Can't wait!!

 

[hsmamainva]

Moving my dates back to earlier in August -- was hoping we could do the end of the month for the low crowds, but oldest daughter has a microbiology class she needs to take for graduate school so must be back by mid-August!

So August 5-18 -- Port Orleans Riverside

 

[Mom2DisneyKids]

YAY! We are officially going home in August! This trip will be just DH and I to celebrate our birthdays!

We will be staying off-site August 3-8.

We are looking forward to doing a Keys to the Kingdom Tour, dinner at Ohana and hopefully the new Toy Story attractions!

 

[Mousemommy1]

Hey All! Hope you all had an awesome holiday season!!

I think I just got the biggest gift of all - I just booked our airfare for August and it was only $983 for the 5 of us!!! Round trip, non stop with decent flight times!!! I can't believe it!!!

I did have to move our dates by a day on both sides so we are now the 20th - 29th, but our package price went down by $75 for the same amount of nights as well!!

I am so happy!!!

 

[Disneylover99]

Hey All! Hope you all had an awesome holiday season!!

I think I just got the biggest gift of all - I just booked our airfare for August and it was only $983 for the 5 of us!!! Round trip, non stop with decent flight times!!! I can't believe it!!!

I did have to move our dates by a day on both sides so we are now the 20th - 29th, but our package price went down by $75 for the same amount of nights as well!!

I am so happy!!!

Wow!! Awesome!!
It's so amazing when it all comes together so perfectly like that.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Wow!! Awesome!!
It's so amazing when it all comes together so perfectly like that.

I literally can't stop smiling right now.

 

[ColonelHathi]

Second, the question . . . what ADR's are you all most looking forward to getting? Old favorites? New places that you are looking forward to trying?

We’re planning on cutting back on ADRs this time - previous trips we had FD with a few busts, but this time we are going with something more magical, ordering a few groceries, and doing more QS. Nothing too exciting, we’re not feeling as adventurous since it will be out of pocket.

Tried and true (all breakfasts!):
‘Ohana breakfast on our Typhoon Lagoon day
Crystal Palace pre-park (though much of the empty benefit Main Street is now lost, still optimizes our park time)
Be Our Guest breakfast pre-park (maybe)

New:
Tusker House breakfast or lunch
Spice Road Table - late dinner
Beaches & Cream
Skipper Canteen (maybe)
‘Ohana late dinner (maybe)

 

[hsmamainva]

Love talking about ADRs! LOL

We have our "favorite must dos" Crystal Palace Breakfast, BOG Lunch, Ohana Dinner, Rose & Crown Dinner, 50's Prime Time Dinner, Hollywood & Vine Breakfast, Tusker House Breakfast

Looking forward to trying some new spots: Skipper Canteen Dinner & T-Rex Dinner

Once the park hours are out, plans will firm up a little more. Should be just a few more weeks until that happens!

 

[ColonelHathi]

Love talking about ADRs! LOL

We have our "favorite must dos" Crystal Palace Breakfast, BOG Lunch, Ohana Dinner, Rose & Crown Dinner, 50's Prime Time Dinner, Hollywood & Vine Breakfast, Tusker House Breakfast

Looking forward to trying some new spots: Skipper Canteen Dinner & T-Rex Dinner

Once the park hours are out, plans will firm up a little more. Should be just a few more weeks until that happens!

We LOVE T-Rex, but sadly aren't planning to go to Disney Springs this trip and instead planning to check out the Boardwalk. It was enjoyable taking the boat ferry to/from DS/POR. We might still get out to POR for a night with YeeHaw Bob Jackson, fries and a Pina Colava at River Roost (depending on Bob's schedule) - which might be also worth a quick stop at Riverside Mill for an Apple Blossom...

So excited about Skipper Canteen too, it wasn't open yet last trip.

Our plans are up in the air depending on if they have early MNNSHP this year again. Sadly we'll have to strategically "double book" a couple of ADRs and then drop a few once the schedule firms up. I hate doing that, but Disney created this ADR/schedule mahem.

 

[Mousemommy1]

We have free dining for this trip because we booked a bounceback. We haven't had a dining plan in years, but now that we are a family of 5, we are realizing that it may work better for us this way.

We have a working list of where we want to go this time around. We always try to balance some new places with old favorites. We are definitely planning on hitting up Trattoria al Forno for dinner one night since we are staying at Boardwalk.

 

[KM82]

So excited to join this thread!!! Aug 8-16 (BLT)

 

[Tomh]

We’re planning on cutting back on ADRs this time - previous trips we had FD with a few busts, but this time we are going with something more magical, ordering a few groceries, and doing more QS. Nothing too exciting, we’re not feeling as adventurous since it will be out of pocket.

Tried and true (all breakfasts!):
‘Ohana breakfast on our Typhoon Lagoon day
Crystal Palace pre-park (though much of the empty benefit Main Street is now lost, still optimizes our park time)
Be Our Guest breakfast pre-park (maybe)

New:
Tusker House breakfast or lunch
Spice Road Table - late dinner
Beaches & Cream
Skipper Canteen (maybe)
‘Ohana late dinner (maybe)

We used to get the dining plan, usually as ther FD promotion, however, the truth of the matter is that when free dining is on, there is usually a room only discount at the same time, and it is almost always cheaper to get the room with the room only discount, then pay for free dining separately. We stay off site now, so dining is out of pocket, and I find we can actually do more, because we don't buy as many snacks as the dining plan allots, and we don't always have dessert, especially at lunch, and counter service locations. We buy Disney gift cards at Sams club, where we save $20 for each $500 card we buy, and pay for all of our dining, and other onsite costs with those cards, which saves us some more.

We too love Crystal Palace for PPO breakfast, even with the now more crowded Main Street. It is just nice to sit down to breakfast, kind of get into the Disney mood, and walk out of breakfast into a park that is just opening up.

We did Tusker House for lunch last summer for our first time, and loved it!
Ohana for supper . . . yup. The last couple of years, we have don that on an MK day, ride the boat, or monorail over, have supper, and then back to the park to finish the night.

Love talking about ADRs! LOL

We have our "favorite must dos" Crystal Palace Breakfast, BOG Lunch, Ohana Dinner, Rose & Crown Dinner, 50's Prime Time Dinner, Hollywood & Vine Breakfast, Tusker House Breakfast

Looking forward to trying some new spots: Skipper Canteen Dinner & T-Rex Dinner

Once the park hours are out, plans will firm up a little more. Should be just a few more weeks until that happens!

So much of your favorite list is the same as ours! CP, Ohana, Rose and Crown, 50's Prime Time.

T-Rex is very much the same food wise as Rainforest Cafe' The food is pretty much average chain restaurant food. Not amazing, but not bad, and the atmosphere . . . well, if you have kids they will be in heaven!

We LOVE T-Rex, but sadly aren't planning to go to Disney Springs this trip and instead planning to check out the Boardwalk. It was enjoyable taking the boat ferry to/from DS/POR. We might still get out to POR for a night with YeeHaw Bob Jackson, fries and a Pina Colava at River Roost (depending on Bob's schedule) - which might be also worth a quick stop at Riverside Mill for an Apple Blossom...

So excited about Skipper Canteen too, it wasn't open yet last trip.

Our plans are up in the air depending on if they have early MNNSHP this year again. Sadly we'll have to strategically "double book" a couple of ADRs and then drop a few once the schedule firms up. I hate doing that, but Disney created this ADR/schedule mahem.

Rainforest Cafe' at AK has much the same food as T-Rex, not sure if that is an option for you.

We have been going to Disney yearly for the past 10 years. All but one of those years, our trip was in late August. Twice, we've been able to go to the first MNSSHP of the season. This year, we will be there towards the end of August again, and are also hoping for the first party to be early like last year, so that we can go. We missed last years first party by just 2 days

So excited to join this thread!!! Aug 8-16 (BLT)

 

[Tomh]

So, for this year, loose plans, but some of the places we intend to get ADR's for:

Crystal Palace breakfast . . this is pretty much a must do every year
1800 Park Fare breakfast Because DD23 is absolutely Mad for the Mad Hatter
'Ohana supper
Biergarten . . did this a few years ago, and really enjoyed it
Tusker House . . . had lunch there last year, and really enjoyed it

Disney Springs . . . haven't decided exactly what one yet, but very much want to try one of the new places, quite possibly the Edison

 

[sullivan.kscott]

We'll be in The World for the second time 8/13-8/19, in POFQ! We've cruised multiple times but caught the park bug last October.
Let's see how long I can keep this surprise from my wife and 2 boys!

 

[ColonelHathi]

We buy Disney gift cards at Sams club, where we save $20 for each $500 card we buy, and pay for all of our dining, and other onsite costs with those cards, which saves us some more.

I know, right? I found out this trick too, and you can buy them online one per day per membership. So I am planning to use my Disney Visa to buy the $500 gift cards to both pay off our ‘magical’ reservation and also for some food expenses. So we’ll get another $25 back in points too!

We have been going to Disney yearly for the past 10 years. All but one of those years, our trip was in late August. Twice, we've been able to go to the first MNSSHP of the season. This year, we will be there towards the end of August again, and are also hoping for the first party to be early like last year, so that we can go. We missed last years first party by just 2 days

I am now hoping they do have it early too. It started mid-Sept when we went late August/Sept 2015 (and Labor Day was like Sept 5 or something close, so super late) so we didn’t catch it then. We went in Oct 2013, and the highlight was MNSSHP, but much closer to Halloween too.

 

[Tomh]

I know, right? I found out this trick too, and you can buy them online one per day per membership. So I am planning to use my Disney Visa to buy the $500 gift cards to both pay off our ‘magical’ reservation and also for some food expenses. So we’ll get another $25 back in points too!



I am now hoping they do have it early too. It started mid-Sept when we went late August/Sept 2015 (and Labor Day was like Sept 5 or something close, so super late) so we didn’t catch it then. We went in Oct 2013, and the highlight was MNSSHP, but much closer to Halloween too.

Last year, I was able to buy more than 1 per day per membership online. It just had to be one per transaction, but as soon as I finished one purchase, I was able to buy another one.

I don't know if it will continue, or if other clubs do as well, but the last time I checked, my local Sam's had the $500 cards in stock, which will then save the $1 shipping cost

We've done MNSSP two times, both were very early in September, like the 1st or 2nd. Last year, the first party was in the end of August, we just missed it. We are planning on being there a bit later in August this year, so fingers crossed

 

[Aladora]

Even though we are DL pros, I find WDW planning to be a bit stressful! This is our 2nd trip and we will likely make a few ADRs at a few places we don't want to miss out on. Last trip we did BOG dinner, Sanaa dinner (DS went to the kids club but he is old enough now to enjoy this), LTT lunch, Nine Dragons lunch, Rose & Crown lunch and Y&Y lunch.

So far we are planning:
BOG dinner
Sanaa dinner
California Grill (so we can also watch the fireworks from there)

We are debating Chef de France and Le Cellier, although being Canadian we may be leaning more towards CdF. DH wants to do Sci-Fi but I'm on the fence. We are not big on either buffets or Character meals so that cuts a bunch out of the list of possibilities.