The Stamms Take on Disney Dining! (Added 8/15 & 16)

[AStamm]

The happy (most of the time) travelers:

Amy (me—32), Rick (DH—40), AJ (DS—7)

This was our 6th trip as a family to WDW since we first got bit by the bug back in December 2003. We weren’t supposed to be taking trip #6 until this Christmas since we made the journey to the Disney mecca—Disneyland—back in mid-June, but with free dining we just couldn’t pass up the opportunity for one more trip before school started. Besides, DS and I were really missing WDW (DH went with his mom & extended family back in February) after being away from it for over 8 months.

So, in the midst of planning our Christmas trip, searching for vacation rentals for next summer, and dropping off and picking up our DS from his first ever camp experience (in NY—4+ hours from home!!!!), we planned an 8-night bonus trip to our favorite place on the earth.

 

[AStamm]

We left from Allentown, PA on a small lost-cost carrier, Allegiant, for a direct flight to the Sanford airport. If you’re around any airports that fly direct to Sanford, I’d definitely consider this option. The airport is VERY EASY to get around in, there are lots of rental companies to get a car from, and flights are generally on time coming and going. The downside of flying into Sanford is that you’re 50 miles away from WDW which means a very expensive taxi ride or renting a car. We rented—and scored an extra $20 discount on the car and an upgrade when arriving at the counter.

One word of caution for those of you driving on Rt. 417 (Florida’s Turnpike): Be sure you have lots of dollar bills and quarters for the tolls. It was something like $7 to get from the airport to the exit for WDW. The kicker is that many of the toll booths along the way don’t accept bills and don’t have any change machines at them. When we finally got to the WDW exit, my poor DH had to stand on the side of the road and wait for someone to come by with extra quarters. (The funny part is we returned the favor on the way back to the airport when a man was on the side of the road waiting for a car to drive by.)

Finally there, we checked into ASMo around 4 pm. I was really surprised at how short the check-in line was and how many workers they had on. Within 10 minutes we were at the counter. The CM placed us in the Mighty Ducks wing and after trying to get it changed to a movie our son had actually seen, we decided to try it—what a great decision! We were in building #2 on the back side away from the small pool there. It was really quiet, and having the pool and a pretty-deserted laundry so close was a major plus.

By 5 pm we were in our car headed to DTD and Earl of Sandwich for a counter service dinner. My DH ate here in February and raved about how delicious his sandwich was. We both agreed that our meals (Turkey & Cheddar, Chicken Caesar salad, and kids Turkey & Swiss) left a bit to be desired. DH did really enjoy his dessert, though.




We hit the stores for a little shopping and were back in the car by 7:30. I wanted to go to the Disney outlet at the Orlando Premium Outlets so we ventured off to find it and did so with little problem. They were having a great sale on sweatshirts—only $14.99 for most of them—but with it being so hot outside we couldn’t even think of getting one. Finding a grocery store was not quite as easy, but somehow we ended up back at the same Publix we shopped at in November. A case of water, a stryofoam cooler, and some snacks later, we were back on way to the hotel by 9:00 pm.

 

[AStamm]

DH and I both had a horrible night of sleep…our pillows were WAY too large and firm. DH likes a softer pillow and I like a flat one, so halfway through the night we switched over to beach towels. Neither pillows nor beach towels did the trick and we both had sore necks in the morning. Mousekeeping brought us other pillows shortly after we called that morning, and they were a little bit better, but I swear mine was in a smoking room at some point because my eyes were extremely itchy every morning thereafter.

We traditionally go to MK for our first day, and this trip was no exception. We planned on using the bus to get there, but after seeing one driving by as we left our room, instead headed to our car. As is custom, we were parked in Timbuktu—the 3rd spot from the end of the row. Still beats our last trip we drove since we were in the absolute last spot then. About a half-hour later we were finally at the gates and ready for a great day. I got to see the majority of the opening—I absolutely love hearing “good morning, good morning” being sung there.

My DS and I caught a ride on one of the Main Street vehicles while my DH ran for Space Mountain fastpasses. We met up in Fantasyland after my DS and I rode Dumbo. By lunch time we were over at Frontierland/Adventureland, so DS and I decided to get a taco salad at that Mexican place that is hardly ever open. DH had his mind set on the chicken & rib combo at Cosmic Ray’s so we schlepped across the park for his lunch and Tomorrowland.

DS decided he’d become frantic about some rides, so we had two little mini-meltdowns episodes over Space & Splash Mountains. (Note to self—he’s right when he says he doesn’t want to ride something. Splash Mountain is no fun when holding on to a child for dear life saying “I need to get off” in almost a trance-like manner.)

Around 2 pm we claimed our spot in the shade over in Frontierland to see the new parade--Disney Dreams Come True. DS and I waited in line for almost 1/2 an hour to see Woody & Jessie at the Golden Horseshoe, but at least it was air-conditioned. Poor DH got the raw end of the deal sitting outside in the heat the whole time. Have to say, I still prefer the old parade. As much as I love parades I couldn't wait for the parade to end so I wouldn't have to hear the same lyrics being sung over and over. Like I've seen in other posts, the princess float looked way too much like a wedding cake. I did like the Mickey float though.



I can't even remember what we did after the parade we were so hot. We had ADRs at Liberty Tree Tavern for 5:00, but being so hot and tired we headed there early. Within minutes we were seated and had drinks, salad, and rolls. I hate to confirm what many people are already saying, but I think this free dining thing is really the demise of some restaurants. We’re regulars at LTT and have never seen (or heard) behavior like what other patrons were exhibiting. There was a large group seated behind us with four rambunctious boys that had no idea what to do in a restaurant. At one point they were chanting “Goofy…Goofy…Goofy”. Talk about distracting. I felt so bad for their server. I said something to our server about the impact of free dining on the customers and she just smiled knowingly.

The heat was too brutal to consider staying for Spectro & Wishes, so DS and I headed back to the hotel early to enjoy some pool time and get ready for another great day while DH used our fastpasses to ride Space Mountain. Mickey and Minnie were in a room off Town Hall so we stopped for a quick picture. Wish this one was as cute as the one I used in our Christmas cards last year, but DS was looking at the Photopass photographer this time, I guess.

 

[jdtopgun71]

Sounds great so far!

 

[AStamm]

After a quick breakfast at the ASMo food court we headed to Epcot. Our parking adventure continued—we had a Diamond Parking pass from AAA and were given completely inaccurate information by the attendant, ending up having to exit the park and drive all over Disney property to get back. Twenty minutes later we were finally back and in the right spot (follow the green line for AAA parking at Epcot!!!!!). So much for Extra Magic Hours when you’re driving all around Disney and waiting a really long time for 2 people to check everyone’s bags.

Our DS is a fan of Soarin’, but neither DH nor I are in awe of the ride so we split from the masses (or so we thought) and headed to Test Track first. The wait was already ridiculously long—90 minutes and it was just after 8:45 am! We got fastpasses and headed over to Mission Space. After convincing DS he would be fine on the "Green Team” (less intense version) we headed in. The wait time was less than 10 minutes. DS absolutely LOVED this ride.



We hadn’t been on Universe of Energy in at least two years, so headed there next. Again, DS loved this ride. By the time Universe was over, it was time for Test Track. DS puts up with this ride just so he can play in the new cars at the exit (I’m not ready to tell him and he hasn’t figured out he doesn’t actually need to ride in order to get to these cars).

Character Connection wasn’t open on our last trip in November, so we wanted to stop by and see how it was. The wait was around 15 minutes, but once you were in, you could get pictures with each character one after the other. Of course, the Fab 5 were the characters inside (I really miss that old bus!) but Gideon was in the lobby area once you left. We also stopped by the Club Cool place since I was dying to get my DH to try some Beverly, but they only had three flavors on tap that day and it wasn’t one of them.

After Character Connection we headed across Future World to get fastpasses for Soarin’. By this point (11 am), the regular line was a 120-minute wait! We finally hit DSs favorite ride—Journey Into Imagination. Figment was out for pictures and not a sole was with him, so we stopped for a quick photo before lunch.



Lunch didn’t go too smoothly. By 11:30 we were at the Electric Umbrella for burgers and chicken strips, but so were what seemed to be hundreds of other people. DH stood in line for almost ½ an hour.

After lunch we headed off to the countries, starting in Mexico. DS waited to ride El Rio twice for some reason—the air conditioning was reason enough for DH and I to agree. Next door in Norway, people were waiting out the door for Maelstrom, so we grabbed fastpasses and continued on. Instead of doing the regular Kidcot stop thing, DS was busy searching for CMs with pins to trade. We found lots of great ones that day—many of which were CM-cast lanyard pins to boot. We spent quite a bit of time in America, listening to the Fife & Drum, the Voices of Liberty, and watching the American Adventure. The audio-animatronics are fantastic in that show!

We had 5:00 ADRs at Le Cellier in Canada and I was dying to try the cheddar soup. Last November we were at Epcot on the last day of the F & W fest, but I refused to stand in a line 30+ people deep for a miniature portion of soup. There were quite a few people waiting to be seated when we arrived 15 minutes early. Right about 5:00 we were seated. Our waitress was really friendly and explained all about the breadsticks and the house specialties. For appetizers DH had the beef kabob, I had the cheddar soup, and DS had a salad. All were really good. DH and I both chose the filet mignon for our entrées although DH asked for the roasted potatoes instead of the cream cheese potatoes. He was disappointed in his choice when he tried my potatoes. DS had MORE chicken fingers…this from the kid who hardly ever asks for them at home. He ended up eating quite a bit of our steaks though since they were so juicy and perfectly prepared. For dessert my DH tried the Whiskey Chocolate Cake which he loved, I had some sort of ice cream and berries creation, and DS had a “build your own sundae” which he devoured. The bill was $125—thank you free dining!!!!!

We ended up deciding not to ride Maelstrom and instead use our Soarin’ fastpasses before leaving. The regular line was still extremely long and as we handed our fastpasses to the CM at the front of the line, a very angry man on the regular wait side was yelling he wanted to see a manager. He was a happy camper, but that’s why we always use fastpass!

We all headed back the hotel early again so we could swim in the pool before bed—a great way to relax after a long, hot day.

 

[AStamm]

We finally made it to the parking lot on time this morning! Of course by the time we went through the bag check and stood in line behind a group whose tickets weren’t working properly, we got in just after rope drop. After catching the first car on the Great Movie Ride, DS started whining about wanting to see MuppetVision. DH was going on about Little Mermaid, and all I wanted to do was get into air conditioning. After a mini-family spat, we ended up at the Little Mermaid. Although it was nice and cool inside, half the show was spent listening to a crying baby. I wanted to scream “there are exits, you know!” After the show it wasn’t quite time for Animation to open, so DH ran off to get fastpasses for R&R Rollercoaster.

When he came back we got DS to agree to Millionaire—the last two trips I was on the audience board (last time #1 when the show ended) and really wanted to try again before the show closed for good. I completely screwed up the fastest finger question on ordering U.S. Presidents by dates they served and was no where on the board when they showed the ranking. The host failed to mention that scores are cleared and the next time they showed the audience rank, I was actually #1. My heart was beating so hard thinking that I might actually get on the stage. Two questions later, the high school senior playing was out, and I was still #1!!!!! I actually made it! The funniest part is once I was down in the seat, all my nervousness went away and all I could think about was whether my DH was getting the answer right (he likes to cheat a bit and see what I push first ). Our seats were only two away from the hot seat so I could hear my DS saying “yea, Mommy” when I got answers right. So adorable. I had to use my “Ask the Audience” and 50/50 on the definition of puerile and my “Phone a Complete Stranger” on the oldest golf course in Great Britain, but I made it through the 32,000 point question. My 64,000 point question was about the philosopher who said “that which does not kill me only makes me stronger”. Having never taken a philosophy class in college, I guessed incorrectly and the game ended, but I walked away with 10 pins, a lanyard to put them on, a baseball hat, and a nice embroidered shirt. So much fun!



From the show we headed over to our 12:00 ADRs at 50’s Prime Time Café. I was still in a bit of shock over winning but managed to still enjoy lunch. For appetizers DS had the kids salad, DH ordered the fried herb cheese (which he didn’t like so I ended up eating and absolutely loved it!), and I had the onion rings, which were too greasy. DH ordered the fried chicken with French fries and corn, DS went with even more chicken nuggets (which he didn’t even eat much of since he was busy eating my DHs fried chicken the whole time), and I had the chicken Caesar salad. For dessert I had the angel food cake with berries—delicious, DH had the brownie sundae, and DS had another build your own sundae thing. The bill for lunch was somewhere around $100—again free.

Next, we headed over to MuppetVision, stopping first to get fastpasses for Star Tours. We actually had to wait outside MuppetVision for a few minutes—only the second time in 6 trips. DS loves the old guys and their jokes and I suffer through Waldo each time just to hear my DSs belly laughs. I hope he never grows out of that (or at least not for a few more years!).

To escape the wait in the heat I went on Star Tours with DH & DS, but I am definitely not a fan of watching a screen and being jostled around. The guys had a great time though.

By this time (somewhere around 3:00 pm) the heat was downright brutal and the lines were ridiculous, so DS and I decided to go back to the hotel while DH rode R&R a few times. We originally had ADRs for Sci-Fi Dine-In that night, so I canceled them and we ate at the food court. Everything was actually really delicious. DS and I shared a penne pasta and salad, and DH had a personal pizza. After dinner we hopped in the car to check out Windsor Hills, a vacation rental a lot of people on this board are raving about. It was really easy to find and looked really nice. (We’re planning on staying there two weeks early next summer before going on our first ever Disney cruise!) That evening we all spent time in the hotel pool and I did a load of laundry—the not-so-fun side of vacations in the summer when you’re sweating all day.