The Peterson's Nov/Dec Surprise Trip @ CSR -- UPDATE 11/21

[PetersonFamily]

Hello!
Welcome to the Peterson Family pre-trip report!​

I’ve been lurking on the boards for a few days now and become more and more obsessed with planning our trip. After reading other trip reports and different threads, I’m saying to myself “Why in the world has it been 8 years since I’ve been to Disneyworld?” Oh yeah…since our Disneymoon in 2002, we’ve been busy having and raising 3 kids! Well, now our oldest is almost 7 and our middle child is almost 3 and well, it’s time to introduce them to Disney with a surprise trip! We’re celebrating their 1st time at Disney and our 8th anniversary!

The Travelers:
Erin (Me) – Been to the DW 3 times - as a teen in ’92 and ’95 and then for our honeymoon. I love planning vacations and obsess over all the details with the idea of making our vacations magical wherever we go. I’m a dental hygienist 4 days a week and a SAHM on Fridays! Favorite parks: MK and World Showcase

Jeremy (DH) – Been to DW once (our honeymoon), He had a great time and loves the movies but is not a HUGE Disney fan. Lets me do all of the planning, which is a good thing. He is an 8th grade Amer. History teacher and football coach. LOVES the Packers!

Dillon (DS) – 6 yr. old who is very excited about going to DW in 5 years (or so he thinks)! He loves movies, video games, school and reading. Wants to be a scientist. I told him we will be able to go to DW when his 6 month old brother is 5. Haha! I love surprises.

Aubrie (DD) – 2 yr. old who thinks she is a princess and loves to dress up. A very independent and determined little girl… will more than likely be the CEO of her own company someday. Took her to Chuck E. Cheese to test the waters as far as large costumed characters… threw herself back and almost out of my arms screaming “I want to see Mickey Mouse!” So, she wasn’t impressed w/ Chuck E. but hopefully will love the Disney characters!

Not Traveling:

Lochlan (DS) – So sad! We decided not to take our 6 month old who will be 11 months come Nov. and I know one day, when he’s older, he will make me feel guilty about not taking him, BUT…when we do take him for his first Disney trip, it will be another reason to celebrate.

Our trip is scheduled for 11/28 – 12/4. We are staying at the CSR and have the DxDP!!

I’ll be back soon with how this trip came about! Also ahead…our resort, ADR’s (and times) and plans for each day.

 

[PetersonFamily]

We have the Visa Disney card and had to take a vacation at some point in the next year due to our reward dollars beginning to expire. A friend of mine went in mid Dec. 5 years ago and said it was the best vacation of their lives. So, when we received a code for 40% off the room, we decided the week after Thanksgiving sounded like the perfect time to go. Two months after booking, the free DP offer was extended into Dec, so I changed our reserv. and saved $245.

We orig. wanted to stay at Poly, but the rooms were sold out w/ the code I had, so the CM suggested CSR. I’ve read mixed reviews about CSR but I decided we could just try it this one time and always stay somewhere else if it’s not our style. I really think we will love it though, plus the pool looks awesome! We would love to stay at a MK resort but that can always wait until another trip. After this first trip w/ the kids, I know we will be going back at least every 2 years, so that will give us lots of time to plan and save!

Okay, I’m throwing in some pics from our Disneymoon in 2002 just for fun!Right after the Indiana Jones Stunt Spect. where we were chosen to be part of the show!

At the Sci-Fi Dine In Theater:

At the old Who Wants To Be A Millionaire:

We will be driving from Texas to Florida on Nov. 27. We’re leaving very early that morning and driving non-stop. We like road trips and drove to South Dakota last year non-stop and Wisconsin this year, stopping 2 nights (since we had the baby with us). So, fingers crossed, I’m hoping we can make it to Orlando at a pretty decent hour Sat. night. We’re staying right outside the park.


Sunday morning, we’re telling the kids where we are and what we’ll be doing. I am SO looking forward to that moment. Just picturing their faces…remember, Dillon doesn’t know anything about the trip and I have him convinced we can’t go to WDW until Lochlan is 5 yrs. old, so he thinks it will be YEARS until he gets to go. Aubrie can’t understand the concept at this point. She just likes the characters and movies and will be excited to see the sites when we get there!

Up next – my 2nd favorite moment to daydream about… entering MK before park opens and our itinerary w/ADR’s (there are LOTS of them!!)

 

[oregonmommyof2]

Signing on!! I arrive on the 28th for an adults only trip to celebrate my 30th birthday on Dec. 1st...

Your kids are adorable...

 

[moparop]

Jumping aboard!! We were also married in 2002 (December 28th to be exact) and had a Disneymoon and I am a mom of 3! We will be there Nov. 26th to Dec. 5th and doing a split stay between Pop and CR. I am a former teacher, and DH was a history major in college, my oldest son loves to read and is planning to be a scientist too -- so the parallels go on and on!!

Looking forward to reading more about your trip and learning more about those adorable kiddos!

 

[oregonmommyof2]

Jumping aboard!! We were also married in 2002 (December 28th to be exact) and had a Disneymoon and I am a mom of 3! We will be there Nov. 26th to Dec. 5th and doing a split stay between Pop and CR. I am a former teacher, and DH was a history major in college, my oldest son loves to read and is planning to be a scientist too -- so the parallels go on and on!!

Looking forward to reading more about your trip and learning more about those adorable kiddos!

Too funny... DH and I were also 2002... 02/02/02.... And we had a Disneymoon, but Disneyland...

 

[moparop]

Too funny... DH and I were also 2002... 02/02/02.... And we had a Disneymoon, but Disneyland...

It was a great year to get married!!

 

[KatMark]

I'm joining in to hear all of your plans.

 

[DISRY]

Joining! Cant wait to here more!! Love your family

 

[PetersonFamily]

Wow! Welcome to oregonmommyof2, moparop, KatMark and DISRY! I’m so glad that you’ve joined in on our PTR!

I guess I’ll start with the first day after we leave our “outside of WDW hotel”. First off, I am surprising Aubrie with a princess dress for her 1st day at MK and I’ll be doing her hair and makeup. (She has never worn makeup a day in her life but for Disney we’re going all out.) We are basically doing the BBB thing but at the hotel. I plan on checking into CSR early and then head over to MK. We have an ADR for Crystal Palace at 8:05! **OK, a litte bit of backstory on this** On our Disneymoon one night, we had a ressie for Tony’s and when we arrived, they said they were closed b/c of some sort of problem. We could choose b/w CRT and some other restaurants but I don’t remember which ones b/c I was flabbergasted (one of my favorite words!) I told them I guess if we HAVE to , we’ll take CRT!! Anyway, when we left we were the only ones on Main Street, which to me was romantic and just awesome. So, we walked VERY slowly to the front gate that night!! So…I wanted to try and recreate this scene on this trip w/ the kids, and on 12/1 we have a late ADR for CRT. While looking online for WDW tips, I learned you can create the same scenario by booking a morning ADR and enter before the park opens. I didn’t know that was possible. Finding that out just made my day and is another way of creating a little bit of extra magic for the kiddies. Their first taste of Disney will be walking into an almost empty park and spying the castle. I’m aware there will be other people arriving for their early ADR but in my daydreams (while I’m working) we have the place to ourselves. Anyway…

After breakfast, we will head to Fantasyland to ride Dumbo and Cindy’s Carousel. If we have to wait long, I will send my hubby to get FP’s for Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh. BTW, we are taking our time while on our trip. I don’t want to rush and with a 3 yr. old, I know we will need to take it easy. So, after leisurely riding/seeing everything at Fantasyland, we will head over to Liberty Square. Dillon and I are very excited to ride the HM. I love, love, love this ride! Dillon has always liked things like this. When he was 2 and 3, his favorite movie was Nightmare Before Christmas. So, he will also love this ride, no doubt! Frontierland next (maybe grab FP’s for these rides while waiting for Hall of Pres.?) If we have time, we will ride the train to the entrance, b/c …. WE HAVE an ADR for LE CELLIER for 1:25. That’s right…we have to leave the park for lunch. I started my ADR’s 175 days before the trip, so this was only time we could get for this restaurant and I HAVE to try it based on the reviews. After returning to MK, we will start at Adventureland and try the famous DOLE WHIP (maybe the float for me)! Then spend some time on Main Street and on to Tomorrowland. We have an ADR for Liberty Tree Tavern at 6:35. I understand we may not get to do all of this, but we will be at MK for one thing or another for 4 out of our 6 days. So, we will have plenty of time to explore my favorite park!

This night is also EMH at DHS, so we will bus over there and spend our time at GMR, Sunset Blvd., Animation Courtyard and Pixar Place. We have another whole day devoted to this park, so we can just take our time and relax. I will post all of our DxDP ADR’s another day since this is already so long. I guess I love talking about my favorite park!

Tips/Tricks for MK: 1.) Take Dillon to Main Street Barber Shop for glow in the dark streaks in his hair 2.) Dole Whip Float 3.) Have silhouettes of the kids made on Main St. 4.) Look for Tinker Bell in the drawer at the Treasue Shop 5.) Bring glow necklaces w/ us from the dollar store 6.) Start at Fantasyland

 

[KatMark]

Your Day 1 Plans sound great. You will LOVE getting into the MK before the rest of the crowds. We do this every year and have gotten some great pictures. Plus, we love our breakfast with Pooh and friends. I'm not sure when, but the Pooh ride is discontinuing Fast Passes (I'll try and see if I can find the date for that).

 

[moparop]

What a magical first day! There is nothing like walking down the empty Main Street first thing in the morning where it is all fresh and shiny. It really does feel like the park belongs to you! We ate LeCellier on our first trip and went nuts for the soup!

Can't wait to read about all those yummy ADRs!

 

[PetersonFamily]

Plus, we love our breakfast with Pooh and friends. I'm not sure when, but the Pooh ride is discontinuing Fast Passes (I'll try and see if I can find the date for that).

We are hoping that by seeing Pooh and Tigger first, Aubrie will be fine with the other Disney characters! Thanks for finding out about the Pooh FP. It would be helpful to know before we head out for the park that day! I really enjoyed reading your thread about CSR a few weeks ago. I loved seeing the rave reviews.

We ate LeCellier on our first trip and went nuts for the soup!

I am REALLY looking forward to trying the cheese soup. I LOVE soup!

 

[KatMark]

We are hoping that by seeing Pooh and Tigger first, Aubrie will be fine with the other Disney characters! Thanks for finding out about the Pooh FP. It would be helpful to know before we head out for the park that day! I really enjoyed reading your thread about CSR a few weeks ago. I loved seeing the rave reviews.

I think those are perfect "first" characters for Aubrie. If I can't find it before we leave for our trip, I'll check it out while there and report back to you. We'll be at CSR (our 9th time) five weeks from today. I'm glad the thread was helpful to you.

 

[PetersonFamily]

On Day 2, 11/29, we will take a bus over to AKL for b-fast at Boma. I can’t wait for this one! I love exploring other resorts and especially want to see all the different Christmas decorations. We will get a chance to see a lot of AKL on this day. After b-fast, we will head to AK, start at Kilim. Safari, and then ride the train to RPW. We have an earlier dinner ADR, so we may not have a sit down lunch, maybe just a snack. If we’re starving, which I doubt after eating at Boma, we may just pay OOP and eat at FTB. We’ll play it by ear.

After a snack/lunch, we will visit the Tree of Life. After that I’m not sure if we should visit Camp Minnie-Mickey first or start w/ Asia. I guess it depends on the Lion King show times and what times the characters will be at Greeting Trails. The decision will also depend on EE and Kali RR FP’s. I’m tempted to start in Asia so when we finish up in CM-M, we’ll be close to the entrance. Oh well…we’ll see what happens and again, we’ll have to play it by ear.

We have and ADR for Jiko at 5:30. This will be our only day at AK, so I hope we have a chance to fit everything in. After Jiko, we will bus over to MK for EMH and the WISHES DESSERT PARTY!! The party starts at 8:00 so we may not have time to ride much when we get to the park. Oh well, the park closes at 12:00, so after the fireworks, we will ride our favorites and whatever the kids want to do again. I LOVE the parks at night!

OKAY… Here are all of the ADR’s we have booked! I know this is a lot but we love to eat out, love appetizers, desserts, etc. I was determined to get my money's worth (we now have free dining...oh well, now it's a steal!) I told DH we will have to stop eating when we feel full!!

11/28: B - Crystal Palace 8:05, L - Le Cellier 1:25, D - LTT - 6:35

11/29 - B - Boma 7:30, D - Jiko 5:30, Dessert Party - 8:00

11/30 - B - Chef Mickey's 7:40, L- San Angel Inn 1:00, D - Tutto Italia 7:45

12/1 - L - 50's Prime 12:15 , D - CRT 7:10

12/2 - B - 1900 Park Fare 8:05, L - Plaza 2:00 , D - O'Hana's 8:25

12/3 - B - Maya Grill 7:45, L - Chefs de France 1:30, D - Akershus 8:00

Only 1 tip for this park: 1.) Ride Kilimanjaro Safari first thing
I’m open to more tips/suggestions!

Next up – Day 3 at Epcot and I will close w/ a pic of my macho man!

 

[KatMark]

First, love the pic of the Macho Man -- too cute. I would suggest at AK that if either of you are planning on doing EE that you go get a FP for that and then ride the safari and then go back to EE. It's Tough to Be A Bug can be scary for young children (although it never bothered ours) so be aware of that. Be sure to take the Trek so you see the gorillas and tigers.

 

[oregonmommyof2]

Days look really good!! We will be at MK on the 29th in the evening also!!

 

[PetersonFamily]

I would suggest at AK that if either of you are planning on doing EE that you go get a FP for that and then ride the safari and then go back to EE. It's Tough to Be A Bug can be scary for young children (although it never bothered ours) so be aware of that. Be sure to take the Trek so you see the gorillas and tigers.

Thanks for the tip! I am really excited about this ride, even though I get nervous about rollercoasters. I am telling myself "You're at Disney and you're riding eveything there is to ride!" Dillon may or may not want to ride this. He is slightly taller than the height requ. but we will leave it up to him. I am hoping to see everything at the park. Maybe I'm being too optimistic?

If I can't find it before we leave for our trip, I'll check it out while there and report back to you. We'll be at CSR (our 9th time) five weeks from today.

I really appreciate you! When I read "5 weeks from today" in your post, I got a little emotional. Kind of like when I see the statue of Walt and Mickey or the ads w/ Cinderella hugging a girl dressed up like her (and thinking of my little princess). I am so excited for you guys! I can only imagine being that close to our trip!

Days look really good!! We will be at MK on the 29th in the evening also!!

Awesome! I'm trying to keep a mental image of the families on the boards who will be there the same week as us, just in case we bump into somebody!!

 

[720L]

From what I've heard, you can't see Tinkerbell in the drawer anymore. The store "Tinkerbell's Treasures" isn't there anymore, it's called something else.

 

[PetersonFamily]

Moving right along to Day 3… but first this has been a busy week at our house! Aubrie started a Mother’s Day Out preschool at out church and I got a new phone, the Droid Incredible. Now, I’m addicted to the app called Ride Hopper. An app like this one was the main reason I wanted to get a smartphone - to look at Disney wait times while we’re on our trip and ok, ok I’ll admit to also looking at times while I’m sitting at work or at home! Does anybody else do this? I check it in the morning, afternoon and evening, and I think it makes me feel connected to WDW! Here’s a pic of Aubrie on her first day of preschool:

Onto Day 3, Nov. 30 – We will take the bus to the CR for our ADR at Chef Mickey’s and then hop on the monorail to Epcot. I plan on riding/getting a FP for Soarin’ and finishing up The Land, heading to The Seas and if we have time before lunch, visiting Imagination. We have an ADR for the San Angel Inn. This is the only restaurant I can say I’ve been to during every WDW trip. As a child, my family fell in love w/ the nighttime scene inside the temple and eating by the water was so cool. Jeremy and I went on our Disneymoon and I was orig. going to leave it off the to-do list this time, but the kids would love it! So, we will go back.

After lunch, we will work our way around the rest of Future World from Test Track, to Mission: Space and then Universe of Energy. Then we will head towards the middle of FW, ride Spaceship Earth and visit Innovations. At some point we will go to the Character M&G for Disney Visa holders, which closes at 4:30, so we may have to go there before finishing Mission: Space and Universe of Energy.

If we have time after finishing up FW, we will head to WS and start at Mexico. I absolutely love World Showcase and really enjoy “visiting” the different countries! We will work our way around until our 7:45 dinner ADR at Tutto Italia. After dinner, we will catch the Illuminations show at 9:30 (hopefully by the gondolas in Italy – a tip I picked up somewhere).

Tips for Epcot: 1.) Homeade passport book for kids to have signed and stamped in each country 2.) Pick a pearl in Japan 3.) Disney Visa Character Meet and Greet 4.) View Illum. from gondolas in Italy

 

[PetersonFamily]

From what I've heard, you can't see Tinkerbell in the drawer anymore. The store "Tinkerbell's Treasures" isn't there anymore, it's called something else.

Thanks! Good to know so I won't spend an hour looking for this store!