The Waffles do Disneyworld! (14 nights, 6 people, a million memories 9/2017) updated: 4/24

[Sarahboo]

Oooh, your trip sounds like fun!! Joining in We're going just a bit before you in August and I'm not looking forward to Florida summer heat. Gah! I loved Teppan Edo when we went for our first time on our last trip! I got the cut NY strip, and DFi got the nicer cut of steak (what is it? Maybe a filet? Not sure. We were on the dining plan so we didn't worry about price! ) But everyone at our table seemed to like what they had and between them all they covered most of the menu. And T-Rex is a lot of fun (we thought the food was fine, and the dinosaurs/atmosphere are super!)

Yay! Thanks for coming to play along!

 

[Sarahboo]

So, because I can't seem to make a decision and stick with it, we changed our reservations yet again.

1. Animal Kingdom updated their hours, and luckily I never cancelled our original reservations. We added Teppan Edo and Boma when we thought AK was closing at 7. We didn't want to sit in a restaurant from 5:30-park close so we were going to wait until after closing to go to dinner. Now they changed hours to 9pm, so we're canceling Teppan Edo and Boma and going with dinner at Tusker House (which will be our only character dining of the trip - but I think our kids will still get a kick out of it), and dinner at Tiffins (which is a signature dining replacing a single TS credit, so now we're over by a credit but I think we'll just pay OOP for one meal and not cancel a meal).

2. Chris admitted that he only chose Spirit of Aloha over Hoop Dee Do because of the ease of getting to the location. I was surprised when he wanted to see SoA because he's ALWAYS wanted to see HDD. Anyway, we read some comparisons online and decided to see HDDR instead. It'll be a pain to get to and from the Pioneer Pavillion, but HDDR is a classic, so its worth it.

3. We added 50's Prime Time cafe. We cancelled Whispering Canyon Cafe for the night we get in. I've always wanted to do the 50s Prime Time, and after watching some DisUnplugged YouTube videos we decided to give it a go. A lot of the places we're going are restaurants I've been to before and I think Chris felt bad that so few were new to me even though he doesn't care that much for the 50sPT menu. I really always thought the experience and CM interaction seemed fun.

Now our ADRs look like this:

Tusker House
Tiffins
Sci-Fi Dine In
50s Prime Time
Hoop Dee-Do Revue
OHana
T-Rex
Be Our Guest
Skipper Canteen
San Angel Inn
Biergarten
Le Celllier


Whew! That's a lot of eatin'!



Life update:

Chris and I didn't have the kids this weekend. Friday we went to the club for drinks. My go-to when I'm being healthy is what I call a Skinny Girl vodka Cran - vodka, soda water, splash of can, fresh lime wedge. But the bartender talked me into trying a vodka, diet tonic, fresh lime wedge and it was delightful without the added sugar/calories in cranberry juice.

Saturday I already forget what we did - oh yeah, netflix, taxes, and chill. So unlike us - we're usually going 8 million miles a minute, but I've been so burnt out lately, the break was nice.

Sunday we got up bright and early and went on a hike. It was just under 6 miles down into a canyon and back out and you pass 7 waterfalls in that time. It was beautiful and you get to walk behind some of the falls!

This is what most of the trail looked like, right along the river. Gorgeous.

All of that is just 30 miles from where I live. How lucky are we?



In other news, it's Hufflepuff Pride Day, and us Slytherins think Hufflepuffs are just so dang cute, like puppies. Here's a link to my Husband's band's song about being a Hufflepuff in honor of Hufflepuff pride day (Chris is the lead singer, plays bass and writes all of the songs):

https://megathruster.bandcamp.com/track/its-rough-to-be-a-hufflepuff

 

[Raeven]

2. Chris admitted that he only chose Spirit of Aloha over Hoop Dee Do because of the ease of getting to the location. I was surprised when he wanted to see SoA because he's ALWAYS wanted to see HDD. Anyway, we read some comparisons online and decided to see HDDR instead. It'll be a pain to get to and from the Pioneer Pavillion, but HDDR is a classic, so its worth it.

I gurantee HDDR will be more fun! We went there and it wasn't too bad to get to.

Sunday we got up bright and early and went on a hike. It was just under 6 miles down into a canyon and back out and you pass 7 waterfalls in that time. It was beautiful and you get to walk behind some of the falls!

This is what most of the trail looked like, right along the river. Gorgeous.

All of that is just 30 miles from where I live. How lucky are we?

So pretty!

 

[waffleking]

I should have just gone with my gut to do HDDR in the first place. I'm really looking forward to it. YEE HAW!!!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Such a beautiful hike! I'm totally jealous!

Didn't realize today was Hufflepuff pride. I'll have to wish the boy well today.

 

[Sarahboo]

I gurantee HDDR will be more fun! We went there and it wasn't too bad to get to.

Good to know! We might park hop that day since there's not as much going on at DHS. So, we'd start the day at DHS, have a late lunch at Sci-Fi, then hop over to MK so we could take the boat to FW. I'm just not sure how the heck we get back to whatever resort we end up at!

Such a beautiful hike! I'm totally jealous!

Didn't realize today was Hufflepuff pride. I'll have to wish the boy well today.

Yes! It was gorgeous! I was sore for two days as though winter had turned my body into a big 'old pile of mush. Not cool, body. Not. Cool.

 

[Sarahboo]

I feel like I'm a little bit all over the place with our plans. I realized that flights were CREEPING up, but they're still less expensive on Alaska than SW right now and whichever one has better prices when we go to book is what we'll go with. Then, we'll probably get a mileage CC with that airline because if we put the whole dang trip AND the airfare on the card and then just pay it off, Chris and I should get cheap or free flights for a trip next year. I'm secretly hoping for Alaskan because they fly to Hawaii.

THEN! We realized there was a bunch we wanted to do at the parks that just doesn't make sense with a family of 6 (dining with an Imagineer, and Victoria and Alberts, for example). Chris and I are thinking about upgrading our tickets to APs (but not the kids, because we're horrible parents), and then going back next year just the two of us. We could finally stay somewhere like the Boardwalk, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Contemporary, etc. etc. It's just unaffordable for a family of 6 to stay in a deluxe resort, but I've always wanted to. We could do a 5-7 night cruise (not a Disney cruise) after. But I'm just not sure if it's worth the expense for only a second trip in one year. We would buy TiW instead of the Memory Maker (same price but AP includes MM anyway). We wouldn't really need TiW on this trip if we have free dining unless it includes a discount on alcohol, but we would use it on the second trip because the DDP doesn't make much sense for just Chris and I. We'd mostly want to eat at signature restaurants and neither of us eat a ton of food so we'd be more likely to purchase an app, an entree, and a dessert and split everything. Plus, with only 2 of us going back - a room discount at a deluxe would likely be a better value.

As an AP holder, do you think it's financially worth it for only one other trip in a year? What kind of room discounts do you get as an AP?

I think we'll probably go ahead and do it because it's a relatively inexpensive vacation if we have miles for the flight and APs. Chris has a million vacation days and I'm self-employed so I do what I want. (In my head I said that like Cartman).

 

[Raeven]

I feel like I'm a little bit all over the place with our plans. I realized that flights were CREEPING up, but they're still less expensive on Alaska than SW right now and whichever one has better prices when we go to book is what we'll go with. Then, we'll probably get a mileage CC with that airline because if we put the whole dang trip AND the airfare on the card and then just pay it off, Chris and I should get cheap or free flights for a trip next year. I'm secretly hoping for Alaskan because they fly to Hawaii.

THEN! We realized there was a bunch we wanted to do at the parks that just doesn't make sense with a family of 6 (dining with an Imagineer, and Victoria and Alberts, for example). Chris and I are thinking about upgrading our tickets to APs (but not the kids, because we're horrible parents), and then going back next year just the two of us. We could finally stay somewhere like the Boardwalk, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Contemporary, etc. etc. It's just unaffordable for a family of 6 to stay in a deluxe resort, but I've always wanted to. We could do a 5-7 night cruise (not a Disney cruise) after. But I'm just not sure if it's worth the expense for only a second trip in one year. We would buy TiW instead of the Memory Maker (same price but AP includes MM anyway). We wouldn't really need TiW on this trip if we have free dining unless it includes a discount on alcohol, but we would use it on the second trip because the DDP doesn't make much sense for just Chris and I. We'd mostly want to eat at signature restaurants and neither of us eat a ton of food so we'd be more likely to purchase an app, an entree, and a dessert and split everything. Plus, with only 2 of us going back - a room discount at a deluxe would likely be a better value.

As an AP holder, do you think it's financially worth it for only one other trip in a year? What kind of room discounts do you get as an AP?

I think we'll probably go ahead and do it because it's a relatively inexpensive vacation if we have miles for the flight and APs. Chris has a million vacation days and I'm self-employed so I do what I want. (In my head I said that like Cartman).

I think you breakeven if you spend around 10 days at the parks with AP so technically we got that out of 2 trips. Plus MM, plus the room discounts (I'd say they're usually about 5-10% better than regular), and until Sep 2017 AP holders get between 10-20% off some food places and merchandise so some places will have 20% off (just not on alcohol).

 

[Sarahboo]

I think you breakeven if you spend around 10 days at the parks with AP so technically we got that out of 2 trips. Plus MM, plus the room discounts (I'd say they're usually about 5-10% better than regular), and until Sep 2017 AP holders get between 10-20% off some food places and merchandise so some places will have 20% off (just not on alcohol).

We would save ALL OF THE MONEY if it worked on alcohol.

I think it still might work for us, but we don't have to make that decision for awhile. Who knows! Maybe I'll sell 8 million houses this summer and I'll just be like "Let's buy ALL OF FLORIDA!" or maybe we'll buy DVC. Or maybe we'll feel like going to an adults only all-inclusive so we don't have to look at a child for 10 days straight. Anything is possible. But I've never been to WDW without kids and I have to admit that it's incredibly tempting, especially if we tack a cruise on the end.

 

[waffleking]

I feel like I'm a little bit all over the place with our plans.

QUOTE OF THE YEAR!

Seriously, though. I really appreciate all of the planning work. There's just so many choices and options and things we want to do!!!

 

[Sarahboo]

QUOTE OF THE YEAR!

Seriously, though. I really appreciate all of the planning work. There's just so many choices and options and things we want to do!!!

You sir! I'm booking you a campsite at FW and the kids and I will be staying club level at the Grand Floridian! Enjoy!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Hello! I am joining in! We overlap by a couple days of trip!

board games (we have over 200 now I think),

Ohhh, we are a big board game family. What are your favorites? My DD's both mostly younger than most of your brood, love Charades and a Disney Apples to Apples game right now!

I love the hat! Are you guys excited for Nintendo world? I am!

We haven't booked our flights yet because if we need to jump around a few days to make sure we get FD, we want that flexibility. Hopefully we'll be able to book the fight that gets in around 4:30 PM.

Dining Reservations: Whispering Canyon Cafe' - 7:30 PM (Do you think that's enough time to get from MCO to ASMu, check-in, and get to WL?)

We're thinking about switching this to Boathouse, but I'm also overthinking every little thing, so.

So, I think you are past this, but you should plan for 3 hours from landing at MCO, getting off the plan, walking to ME, waiting to get on a bus, the drive and possibly a stop or two before your resort. That being said it may NOT take that long, but it is a good rule of thumb, especially if you are booking dining!

Boma - 7:50 PM - That seems so late to eat but I worry about how long it will take us to get on a bus at park closing, over to the resort, and into the restaurant. The two oldest kids have never been to WDW and the younger two haven't been in 6 years, so if we get to AKL early we'll have plenty to look at.

I think BOMA is out as of your last update? correct? We love Boma. It is so good. But my girlfriend said Tusker House is just as good. And I think that is where you ended up at this point?!?

Sci-Fi Dine In - 5:40 PM

This one is a leap of faith for me. I got food poisoning last time I went to WDW and I have good suspicion that it was Sci-Fi that did me in. I don't remember what I ate, but I was the only one who ate it. The next day was our only Animal Kingdom Day and I threw up on our way to Tusker House Breakfast, nearly got sick again on the Safari, and then I went home to sleep the rest of the day while my ex-husband and kids all enjoyed the park without me. I was heartbroken. No Expedition Everest, no Dinosaur, no nothing for the whole trip. Chris really wants to go to Sci-Fi and I figure it won't happen again, but if I get sick, I swear to god.

We did Sci-Fi on our last Feb trip. And no one got sick. In fact, I just posted that I might add it back in.

Skipper Canteen - 5:15 (New to me)

Chris - This is where you chime in on how you've geeked out about the Society of Explorers and Adventurers.

SOOOOOO Good! Possibly one of our favorite restaurants in MK! We like it better than BOG!

September 22 - Magic Kingdom

(Hoping for BoG for Dinner but I can't make that reservation until tomorrow)

We will be there that day! But I am guessing this is the day you switched as it will more than likely be a MNSSHP night.

I also noticed that I only planned for 13 TS credits. For all of the thinking and overthinking, moving and changing, I couldn't even count to 14.

I call it "Disney Math"!

I wasn't too stoked about San Angel Inn because we get RAD Mexican food here in Oregon.

My SIL loves it there... So, maybe you will be surprised! We went to Nine Dragons this last trip, and it ended up being really good. We really enjoyed it. We have not been, so I don't know.

It wouldn't be a PTR if we didn't change one billion things, would it? We're now staying at CBR in two pirate rooms (enjoy sharing those full sized beds, kids!). I'm hoping we'll be able to switch to preferred rooms, but if we can't, I'm totally okay with the pirate rooms in Trinidad South.

That is the fun of these, isn't? A million changes!

We stayed at CBR for 3 nights. It is big but really nice resort! I think the room we are in are ones being torn down. RIP.

With 2 rooms, and 14 nights, that's $2100 in gift cards which should mean that WDW becomes all inclusive (tips, alcohol and souvenirs covered! Yay!),

I can't image Disney will offer Free Dinning AND the gift cards. I would think if you rebook to get free dinning they won't offer the gift cards with it. Not sure that helps any. Again, who knows... They seem to not be doing well these days.

Yay about SAI! I mean, it'll be fun no matter what. Chris and I are people that have fun doing anything and everything and I don't get all wrapped up in things being perfect. I make my plans, and then roll with it because hey, how lucky are we to be going to WDW?

EXACTLY!!!! We have a rule, if you are so tired that you are that crabby we go back to the hotel to rest!

2. Chris admitted that he only chose Spirit of Aloha over Hoop Dee Do because of the ease of getting to the location. I was surprised when he wanted to see SoA because he's ALWAYS wanted to see HDD. Anyway, we read some comparisons online and decided to see HDDR instead. It'll be a pain to get to and from the Pioneer Pavillion, but HDDR is a classic, so its worth it.

We have not done SOA, but we have done HDD review. And it was sooooo fun! WE loved it. DH didn't really know what to expect and he I think he liked it the most! Def a bit of work to get over there, but I think worth it. Do the boat there and back. You can get resort busses then from MK on the way home. That is my vote. Otherwise, you will take the shuttle bus from HDD review to the front of the resort and then possibly need to take another bus to MK and then a bus to the resort that you end up at.

We added 50's Prime Time cafe. We cancelled Whispering Canyon Cafe for the night we get in. I've always wanted to do the 50s Prime Time, and after watching some DisUnplugged YouTube videos we decided to give it a go.

Fun! WCC will be similar food to HDD review, as well. So probably a good switch!

Chris and I are thinking about upgrading our tickets to APs (but not the kids, because we're horrible parents), and then going back next year just the two of us.

DH and I have been talking about this for awhile now. I want to go to Trader Sam's, which is a hard sell for the girls.

Can't wait to hear what other changes come your way!

 

[waffleking]

I just wanted to give a huge thanks and show my appreciation to my wife who got up at 1am PST and made sure our family got FD and locked down our vacation. She even let me go back to sleep! I think we got rooms at POP? I can't remember...it all seems like a dream...

 

[LilTinkFan]

I was reading along and wondering if you got FD? Yay!

 

[Sarahboo]

Aww! How sweet are you.

Yes! With no trouble I had our choice of staying with CBR, moving to ASMu in a family suite, AoA, or POP! with 2 rooms.

Moderates ended up only getting the QSDP, which made it MUCH more expensive to get 2 rooms at CBR and upgrade dining even with the GC promotion.

Then I had to make an executive decision about ASMu in a suite or 2 rooms at POP!

I liked that ASMu would have separate twin beds for our oldest kids, and I like the idea of having a fridge. BUT, it would be less space overall and a few hundred dollars more than POP!. I've stayed at ASMo before (which I really enjoyed!), but the theming at ASMu doesn't appeal to me as much (though everyone else is a musician). I also didn't really want to deal with having to open and close pullouts just to move around the room. I was trying to imagine functioning in the suite if the kids were still asleep or if one kid was still asleep but we had to move around the pullouts.

AoA seems awesome and was my first choice, but I couldn't justify $1200 more just because the resort is newer and the theming in the rooms is better. I probably would have done up to $500 more, but $1200 is a almost the cost of our UO tickets.

So, POP! I've never been there before, but I'm really looking forward to it. I need to call in a few days (after the madness dies down) and make sure the two rooms are noted to be connecting since we're immediate family - also, hopefully we can get one king room and one with 2 doubles.

Most of all, it was exhausting. I've been working non-stop lately with our crazy real estate market and I showed property/wrote offers for 10 straight hours yesterday. Came home, fell asleep, set my alarm for 12:45 am, and FD dropped about 2:30 am with me trying to stay awake and watching the Great British Bake-off. Last year it dropped at 1:00 am, so I was starting to lose hope! Then, when it finally showed up on the website, it led to an error for 10-15 minutes. In fact, I was initially going to just book ASMu because I was worried about successfully booking two rooms. I didn't want to get one room and then Disney not have more rooms when I went back to book the second one. But, I think there was a glitch because when I would select ASMu it would say one price, and then when I got to checkout it was $3000 more (as though I didn't have FD even though the checkout said the offer was applied). So, that's when I started checking other rooms out and I wasn't having the same problem booking other resorts - so I decided to just go for it and try to get POP!

I feel really lucky that we were able to get 2 standard rooms at POP! for 2 whole weeks!

Now I'm off to try to get airfare! Prices have gone up $600 since I started this PTR but FD still way offsets the price jump!


SOOOO SLEEEEEEEPY.

 

[Sarahboo]

Yowza! Now we also have plane tickets! It's like OFFICIAL OFFICIAL!

We managed to get direct flights on Alaska Air! Getting a direct flight from Portland out east is really uncommon unless you're going to Chicago, NYC, DC, or ATL. I've NEVER had a direct flight to MCO and I'm so happy. Those are going to be long days with 4 kids (we've actually never flown as a family of 6 so I have some anxiety about it anyway) and flying direct (even though it cost us a couple hundred more dollars) is going to shave so much time off of travel and save some hassle. Maybe a kid or two will just fall asleep and wake up at MCO!

 

[Raeven]

So, POP! I've never been there before, but I'm really looking forward to it. I need to call in a few days (after the madness dies down) and make sure the two rooms are noted to be connecting since we're immediate family - also, hopefully we can get one king room and one with 2 doubles.

We stayed at Pop our first trip and liked it.

Yowza! Now we also have plane tickets! It's like OFFICIAL OFFICIAL!

Yes!

 

[Flippinurfins]

Small world! I *also* was up at 1am, booking free dining in September. And we *also* got a room at the POP. And we are *ALSO* flying out of Portland! But we are arriving the day you are heading home. Have a great trip!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Free dining! That's exciting!! And we really like Pop! It is what it is, but it's fun, clean, good bus service, and the pools and food court are good. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time! Booking those things really makes it feel real.

 

[Sarahboo]

We stayed at Pop our first trip and liked it.



Yes!

Yay yay yay! It would have been fun to stay at the same resort and wave at each other, but this saves us a ton of money.

Small world! I *also* was up at 1am, booking free dining in September. And we *also* got a room at the POP. And we are *ALSO* flying out of Portland! But we are arriving the day you are heading home. Have a great trip!

Yay! I looked at Chris and said "Is this what my life has become? When I'm up at 2:30 am, it's not because I'm at a party, it's because I'm hitting refresh at disneyworld.com. Motherhood, am i right?" Are you also as exhausted as I am? Do you have a trip report?

Free dining! That's exciting!! And we really like Pop! It is what it is, but it's fun, clean, good bus service, and the pools and food court are good. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time! Booking those things really makes it feel real.

I hope so! We're the type of people who will be happy wherever we are. I'm not even worried about it. We are so lucky to have the resources to go on a trip to Disneyworld, I'd be happy sleeping in my car!