The Year of Disney is Over...But We're Going Back Anyway! (Oct. 2011) ~ Updated 10/20

[Dugette]

I am so sorry to hear about your Grandpa. But know that he has been reunited with your Grandma and they are probably waltzing around Heaven now. What a glorious day!

Thank you! I like that thought as well!

Congratulations on all the savings. That is incredible! We used gift cards last time and it was a lot easier to keep track of our spending.

Yes, I think the gift cards will really help with sticking to our budget. It's funny to think that we've pre-paid our entire trip, including the OOP misc. things!

I'm very sorry to hear about your Grandpa. It's good to know that he went in his sleep though.

Thanks. My dad had said, when he first met with the hospice person, that it would be a blessing if Grandpa went in his sleep. So, we are glad that it was peaceful.

I am very impressed with your discount craftiness. That's great to save that much money.

I still can't believe it actually worked! A little awkwardness (buying giant stacks of gift cards, then having to read all of them over the phone) sure pays off!

Awww, I am so sorry to hear about your grandpa. I am also very lucky to have 3 of my grandparents alive and they are in the 87 - 93 range. What a blessing to get so much time with him before he passed. I am also glad he passed in his sleep so that it was peaceful.

Thank you. That is really incredible to still have three of your grandparents in that age range! Wow! My Grandma (dad's mom) made it to 87, my other Grandpa (mom's dad) was 83, now this Grandpa 94. My remaining Grandma (mom's mom) is still in her early/mid 80's (84, I think?) I feel so lucky that I've had such a long time and so many memories with all of them. I feel bad for my youngest cousins (16 & 18), since they are down to only one Grandma at their age. That would be very hard, I think.

As for your Target cards, I can not believe that it actually worked out! That is amazing that they let you buy so many cards at a discount. Woohooo for a cheaper trip and woohoo that you get to go to Artists Point now!!

I can't believe it either! I am so excited, though! We'll have a little bit more flexibility in our budget and I'm really looking forward to our anniversary dinner at AP!

So sorry for your loss. The old pictures were great! Love the pp, thinking he is now waltzing in heaven with his true love!

Thanks, I'm glad you liked the pics. I took those from the pics we had of their 60th anniversary party. I love seeing the young versions of them...people have been telling me I look a lot like my Grandma, which I can see in some of those. I'm glad that Grandma and Grandpa are together again.

I'm so curious how you got the target discount, please share!!

The general public discounts used are:

5% all purchases for using a RedCard (I have/use the Target Check Card)

5% off all day coupon for every 5 pharmacy prescriptions filled at Target Pharmacy and paid using a Red Card (I had to wait until I got that certificate in the mail before making these purchases)

Not everyone can get this, but working for a subsidiary of Target gets me:

10% off all purchases team member discount

All told, when you do the math, just shy of a 20% discount. And anyone can get a RedCard, fill some prescriptions, and get the nearly 10% off.

I do have to thank the DIS, though. There's another thread I found in my research where other Target team members reported having all of their discounts work on Disney gift cards. That was good to know going into this! (of course, nobody made as large of a purchase as mine!)

 

[jc040404]

So sorry for your loss. I'm glad he was able to go peacefully in his sleep though. The pictures were wonderful, especially the waving one.

Glad your gift card deal worked out as planned! You've got some awesome savings on this trip.

 

[Dugette]

So sorry for your loss. I'm glad he was able to go peacefully in his sleep though. The pictures were wonderful, especially the waving one.

Thanks. I love that waving pic too. The rest of the family also did (I brought it to the funeral and added it to the display). I just wish it weren't so old and fuzzy. No digital in the '80's!

Glad your gift card deal worked out as planned! You've got some awesome savings on this trip.

So awesome!

 

[Dugette]

Just a quick update tonight before bed. We finished driving back from Kansas today. The funeral was on Tuesday. Bailey has become a much better traveller, after logging over 2200 miles with me in the last week and a half! Dug returned from his conference on Saturday, so he was able to join us on this trip too.

Anyway, all went well and it was nice to see some extended family. I spent quite awhile at the luncheon talking to one of my Grandpa's younger brothers about his parents, etc. Very nice.

Anyway, we had been told to take a look around Grandma and Grandpa's house to see if there was anything that we really wanted. And guess what we found? Some Disney things! To my knowledge, although they travelled a lot, they never went to a Disney park. But that didn't stop them from having these in their kitchen:

We asked for these and were given them, no problem. There was one other Disney thing we asked for, but don't know if we'll get. Because they think it might be worth something. Very old. My dad thinks it may have been his, but not sure. So, we'll see what happens. But, it's a Mickey piggybank:

How cool!

The other interesting thing was a conversation we had with family. Since we usually only see our uncles/aunts/cousins at Grandpa & Grandma's house in Kansas, we had to figure out how we would see each other in the future. We will need to get together in different places to visit. And one of the suggestions was WDW! My aunt and cousin (from TX) are planning to run the half marathon in January 2013. They'd love others to come with them. We'd be up for that (not the running, just the Disney)! Not sure if it will happen, but love the idea!

Last sorta-Disney bit: on the drive home, we stopped at a regional chain called Runza. In addition to their featured item (a Runza), we got some things that may remind you of Casey's Corner and Le Cellier:

Mmmmm, corn dog nuggets and cheddar cheese soup!

Oh, and only 2 weeks (less than!) left until our trip! I hope that from here on out it will be happy and exciting updates! We did try to fine-tune our schedule while we were driving home today. I'll get the details up when I have a chance.

 

[reelmom]

Very cool Disney finds and what a great way to remember your grandparents by. You are getting so close to your trip.!

 

[TheThomsLuvDisney]

WDW is the perfect location for a family reunion! Our family is pretty small, but Disney is one of our favorite gathering places. This past trip in February, we did the World and Dream Cruise with my sister in law, her husband, their son, my father in law, his wife and my mother in law (sounds strange but my inlaws are really good friends!!).

 

[Dugette]

Very cool Disney finds and what a great way to remember your grandparents by. You are getting so close to your trip.!

Every time we drink juice we can think of Disney and Grandma & Grandpa!

WDW is the perfect location for a family reunion! Our family is pretty small, but Disney is one of our favorite gathering places. This past trip in February, we did the World and Dream Cruise with my sister in law, her husband, their son, my father in law, his wife and my mother in law (sounds strange but my inlaws are really good friends!!).

Gosh, that was like trying to figure out a brain-teaser with those relationships and that picture! I think I got it, though!

We had been talking for awhile about doing a WDW trip someday with Dug's family and they are all quite receptive to it. I never would have thought my family would want to do that, though. The aunt who suggested this and her family have never been to WDW (but they have been to DL). I know my dad took us twice as kids, but I'm not sure if he'd be enthused to go again. My other uncle/cousins (from Oregon) might enjoy it, since one of my cousins has three kids. We'll see what happens. If nothing else, maybe just Dug and I will go along to cheer on my aunt and cousin in the half marathon.

 

[Dugette]

I've just cut and pasted this from our word doc, so sorry about the formatting. Since putting this together, we've decided to change it up a bit, which I'll explain after. The (#) are for Dining Plan CS and/or Snack Credits used. Our general rule of thumb is that items under $4 we pay OOP and save the Snack Credits for the pricier ones. And all alcoholic drinks are OOP.

6:30 a.m. Flight departs MSP
10:13 a.m. Flight lands in ATL
Popeye’s? Chick-fil-A?
12:00 p.m. Flight departs ATL
1:23 p.m. Flight arrives at MCO
3:00 p.m. Check-in at Pop
3:45 p.m. Head to Magic Kingdom
4:15 p.m. Boat to Poly
4:45 p.m. Captain Cook’s (1)
Grown-up grilled cheese, Dole Whip
Nap in hammocks
6:30 p.m. Walk to TTC
6:45 p.m. Monorail to Epcot
7:15 p.m. Walking into Epcot
Grab Fastpasses
Head to Food and Wine
Dessert and champagne (1)
Take boat to Morocco
7:45 p.m. Eat to the Beat: 38 Special
Hops and Barley
- Lobster Claw (1)
- Lobster Roll (1)
- Pumpkin Mousse (Cash)
8:30 p.m. Germany boat back
Caribbean Booth
- Ropa Vieja (1)
- Jerk-spiced chicken (1)
- Dragon Berry Colada (cash)
9:00 p.m. Future World fun: Space at end!
12:00 p.m. Return to Pop

First off, we satisfied our Popeye's craving a couple days ago on the way back from Kansas. So, between that and the gift card I bought, we'll make every effort to get to Chick-Fil-A in the Atlanta airport. I had been thinking that it would be on the early side for lunch (10:13 ATL time is only 9:13 our time), so I am excited to hear that Chick-Fil-A has good breakfast options too!

Our Food & Wine plan for the evening has changed. We need to revise the eating schedule. Dug originally planned it (I should mention, Dug is very into the scheduling and put all this together!) to try to catch the Eat to the Beat concert that night (38 Special). However, it's just too much time in transport to see a band where I only know one of their songs. Maybe we will hear them from a distance and that will be fine. We want more time to enjoy the food booths. So, expect changes there. One thing listed, Dug had last year too--the Lobster Roll:

Also, all of our food/wine selections are subject to change. Last year, we went towards the end of F&W, so there were plenty of reviews/pictures available to base our selections on. But there is nothing out yet for this year, since F&W starts 9/30. Once the reviews start surfacing, I'm likely to be modifying my list.

I am really hoping that the Dragon Berry Colada in the new Caribbean Islands booth is good. Last year, I fell in love with a Cherry Colada from Puerto Rico, but the booth is no longer there. I think this is the replacement. I guess it's strawberry instead of cherry. Hope it's yummy. If not, maybe they could make me a special cherry one??? Ok, probably not. Here is a pic of one from last year:

My understanding is that, even though there are EMH until midnight at Epcot, the food booths close down at 9pm. So, our plan is to hit the Future World rides at that time. Dug really enjoys the orange side of Mission Space, but I have been hesitant to go on it. I did the green side once, though. I am not fond of spinning and am worried about it giving me a headache. So, we thought we'd save it (the orange side) for the last thing that night. That way, even if it messes me up, I can just go to bed and it doesn't ruin my day. I hope, at least.

Any feedback on our first day plans? First time that we've travelled in the morning, so this will be different for us!

 

[TheThomsLuvDisney]

38 Special.... I saw them back in the day, great band! I bet you know more of their songs than you think. Okay, maybe I'm just that much older than you!!!!!

 

[Dugette]

38 Special.... I saw them back in the day, great band! I bet you know more of their songs than you think. Okay, maybe I'm just that much older than you!!!!!

Maybe if I heard more, I'd recognize more? Right now, I only know "Hold on Loosely" because it was on the old Monsters of Rock CDs I had. I liked that song, though!

ETA: I just noticed you're going to Aulani! Nice!

 

[Dugette]

On to our first full day! After our late Epcot night, we basically take a nice nap and are back at it early in the a.m. EMH at MK has always been very worth it to us for hitting Fantasyland. Notes after the schedule:

5:30 a.m. Get up and have snack in room
7:00 a.m. Leave Pop Century
7:30 a.m. Arrive at Magic Kingdom
8:00 a.m. Early Magic at Magic Kingdom
Fantasyland
Peter Pan Fast Pass
Dumbo - > Pooh -> Snow White
8:50 a.m. Bakery: beat the 9 a.m. rush
- Croissanwich and Juice (1 counter)
- Cinnamon roll (cash)
9:15 a.m. Pirate’s -> Jungle Boat -> Aladdin?
Dole Whip Float (1)
10:00 a.m. Tiki -> Tom Sawyer quest
Big Thunder? Splash?
Haunted Mansion
Small World -> Use Peter Pan FP
12:30 p.m. Columbia Harbor House (upstairs)
- Tuna sandwich w/apple crisp (1)
- Lobster roll w/apple crisp (1)
- Clam chowder (cash)
1:15 p.m. Mickey’s Philharmagic
1:45 p.m. Depart MK for Pop
2:15 p.m. Arrive at Pop
Nap/swim
4:30 p.m. Bus from Pop to Epcot
5:00 p.m. Arrive at Epcot
Club Cool
Hawaii
- Pork Slider (1)
- Seven Tiki Mai Tai (cash)
Canada
- Cheddar Cheese Soup (cash)
- Salmon (1)
6:30 p.m. Off Kilter
Greece
- Greek Cheese with Pistachios & Honey (1)
7:45 p.m. Leave Epcot
8:30 p.m. Yehaa Bob
9:30 p.m. Pasta Bar at Riverside (1)
10:15 p.m. Boat to Downtown Disney
10:45 p.m. Goofy’s Candy Company (cash)
11:30 p.m. Bus back
12:00 p.m. Arrive at Pop: Sleep!!!

So, we're munching on snack-y things brought from home in the room this morning, as we want to have breakfast at the Main Street Bakery, but will have to wait a little bit. We'll enjoy the MK opening ceremony:

Then, we'll do the Dumbo dash! (with a pit stop for me at the Peter Pan FP machines) We want to get a good look at the FL Expansion progress. Then we'll hit up Pooh and Snow White (that's still open, right?) and anything else we have time for. We want to make it to the Bakery before regular park open, hoping that we'll beat those crowds.

After breakfast, we'll make our way over to Adventureland for some boat rides and a Dole Whip Float:

On one of our trips, we went over to Tom Sawyer Island when it opened at 10am and found one of the hidden paintbrushes:

Our prize was Fast Passes for BTMRR. So, we're going to try that again and see if we can get any useful Fast Passes (it's not always the same prize). Also, we need to make sure to stop into the newly renovated Tiki Room to see the original show. Then, we'll hit up some more favorite rides before having lunch at a new venue to us: Columbia Harbour House!

After lunch, we'll take in Mickey's Philharmagic, then get a bus back to Pop for a much-needed nap. After we are (hopefully) feeling refreshed, we'll go over to Epcot for more Food & Wine. Of course, we'll start with Club Cool, though:

We're excited to try out the new Hawaii booth. We'll also grab some Cheddar Cheese Soup from Canada:

Then, we'll settle in to watch one of our favorites: Off Kilter!

Also looking forward to the new cheese item in the Greece booth:

We are debating this next thing still. We have yet to see Yehaa Bob perform over at Port Orleans Riverside. And there's a great make-your-own pasta station in the food court there. It sounds like a good plan, but will it be worthwhile and will we have the stamina? Plus, to get back to Pop, we'll have to go through Downtown Disney. Of course, we can procure some Goofy's Candy to make it worthwhile, but it's a lot of transportation time. Guess we'll see what we're feeling up to that night. Then, back to this:

Any feedback on Day 2? Anyone who's seen Yehaa Bob...is this schedule realistic for that?

 

[MeMom]

Sorry that you have to feel the loss of your granddad, but I bet thinking of your grandparents together again makes you smile. How nice that you have the Disney things as part of your memory of them. I love the old picture of them waving.

Disney trip plans, even when they belong to others, are fun to think about.

Greek cheese with pistachios and honey? That sounds interesting. Do you happen to have a picture or know the price?

 

[reelmom]

Chick-fil-A will allow you to order a chicken sandwich at breakfast if you do not want a chicken biscuit. It is a smaller piece or sometimes two smaller pieces of chicken but still taste the same. The chicken minis are awesome.

That is so cool that you were able to find a paintbrush on TSI. We have only been over there once when the kids were younger and they had a blast.

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

I will try to remember all of my comments from your last 2 posts.

First, I think you will like flying in the morning. It will make the trip feel like you are doing something new & different. I am a little worried about you having a long first day and then getting up at 5:30 the next morning! I understand the reason, but hopefully you can drag yourselves out of bed.

The Greek food station sounds amazing. I can't wait to hear what you think of it!

It's fun to read your plan for MK. I can picture your route all over the park as you were writing it. You are eating at some good places too. We have never eaten at CHH, so I would like to try that as well.

It seems like your 2nd day is a marathon too. I think it sounds great, but the last part at POR might push you to your limits. The pasta bar is really good there, and I have never seen Yeehaa Bob, so I don't know how worth it it will be to go.

Sounds like a lot of fun so far!!

 

[TheThomsLuvDisney]

Hidden Paintbrushes on Tom Sawyer Island.....what? Please tell me more, I have never heard about this. See, my husband thinks I'm rediculous for reading TR but this is the reason, I'm always find new and exciting things about the parks.

I know this sounds silly, but I'm excited about your trip to Chick-fil-a. We do not have any here in WA state and on one of our earlier trips to WDW in 2001 with my husbands side of the family (his mom's side), we had seen signs for the restaurant and one of the kids had called it Chick fill ah. Then that became the silly family joke. That Christmas, without telling other family members, everyone ended up buying Chick-fil-a merchandise for gifts (t-shirts, calendars etc.), it was hilarious!

This picture (Christmas 2001) is of my daughter (then 5, now almost 15) is one of the gifts exchanged that year! And now 10 years later, we all still joke about chick-fill-ah and still have never eaten there!!

And Aulani, yes we are sooooo excited, we are going for spring break with some friends who just recently joined in on the Disney obsession and bought into DVC with us!!!

 

[Dugette]

Sorry that you have to feel the loss of your granddad, but I bet thinking of your grandparents together again makes you smile. How nice that you have the Disney things as part of your memory of them. I love the old picture of them waving.

Thank you!

Disney trip plans, even when they belong to others, are fun to think about.

Greek cheese with pistachios and honey? That sounds interesting. Do you happen to have a picture or know the price?

Since it's a new one this year, I don't know the price or have a pic yet. Disneyfoodblog.com is starting to get some menu pics, though, so hopefully soon! It sounds yummy!

Chick-fil-A will allow you to order a chicken sandwich at breakfast if you do not want a chicken biscuit. It is a smaller piece or sometimes two smaller pieces of chicken but still taste the same. The chicken minis are awesome.

Thanks for the info. So, are the chicken biscuit and chicken minis both good breakfast options? Looking forward to trying this place!

That is so cool that you were able to find a paintbrush on TSI. We have only been over there once when the kids were younger and they had a blast.

It's such a fun place! So peaceful and removed from the rest of the MK.

I will try to remember all of my comments from your last 2 posts.

First, I think you will like flying in the morning. It will make the trip feel like you are doing something new & different. I am a little worried about you having a long first day and then getting up at 5:30 the next morning! I understand the reason, but hopefully you can drag yourselves out of bed.

I'm a little bit worried about us too! As long as I can get some decent sleep on the plane, though, I think we'll be okay. You're right, this travel day feels very new and different!

The Greek food station sounds amazing. I can't wait to hear what you think of it!

We enjoyed what we had there last year, but I'm very intrigued by this new addition. Of course, I find pretty much all cheese intriguing!

It's fun to read your plan for MK. I can picture your route all over the park as you were writing it. You are eating at some good places too. We have never eaten at CHH, so I would like to try that as well.

I am really excited to try CHH. We've never been, but jc040404 goes pretty much every day of her Year of Disney TR, so I must now go! Dug's excited for the new menu changes there too...he can get a lobster roll now!

It seems like your 2nd day is a marathon too. I think it sounds great, but the last part at POR might push you to your limits. The pasta bar is really good there, and I have never seen Yeehaa Bob, so I don't know how worth it it will be to go.

Sounds like a lot of fun so far!!

News on this coming up. We loved the pasta bar when we stayed at POR (January 2010), so Dug was hoping to use a CS credit on that. And we keep hearing great things about Yehaa Bob. Guess we didn't know about him when we stayed at POR. Bummer!

Thanks for all your feeback!

Hidden Paintbrushes on Tom Sawyer Island.....what? Please tell me more, I have never heard about this. See, my husband thinks I'm rediculous for reading TR but this is the reason, I'm always find new and exciting things about the parks.

Here's the link to the post in the January 2010 TR where we did it (partway down the post):
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36653426&postcount=207

And I totally agree about learning from TRs...there's so much I know just from reading about other people's trips and planning!

I know this sounds silly, but I'm excited about your trip to Chick-fil-a. We do not have any here in WA state and on one of our earlier trips to WDW in 2001 with my husbands side of the family (his mom's side), we had seen signs for the restaurant and one of the kids had called it Chick fill ah. Then that became the silly family joke. That Christmas, without telling other family members, everyone ended up buying Chick-fil-a merchandise for gifts (t-shirts, calendars etc.), it was hilarious!

This picture (Christmas 2001) is of my daughter (then 5, now almost 15) is one of the gifts exchanged that year! And now 10 years later, we all still joke about chick-fill-ah and still have never eaten there!!

That's pretty funny! Now, I'll see it and think of Chick fill uh! I'm excited to try it too. New things are good!

And Aulani, yes we are sooooo excited, we are going for spring break with some friends who just recently joined in on the Disney obsession and bought into DVC with us!!!

That sounds awesome! How cool that you got friends to buy into DVC with you! We still need to get to Hawaii someday...

 

[Dugette]

So, after some thought and discussion, we've made a few schedule adjustments. After looking at our whole schedule and seeing constant late nights followed by super early mornings, we had to give up on Yehaa Bob yet again! I hope he's got a few more years of performing planned. Someday we really want to stay at POFQ, so it would be perfect to see him whenever that happens. That frees up our day 2 schedule to spend a bit more time at Food & Wine, then still get to bed at a reasonable hour.

Day 1, we've removed the Eat to the Beat concert transportation stuff and replaced it with a more leisurely Food & Wine experience, as I had talked about before. Also changed out a booth, due to our planned location change.

So, here are the revised plans:

Day 1:
6:30 a.m. Flight departs MSP
10:13 a.m. Flight lands in ATL
Chick-fil-A brunch
12:00 p.m. Flight departs ATL
1:23 p.m. Flight arrives at MCO
3:00 p.m. Check-in at Pop
3:45 p.m. Head to Magic Kingdom
4:15 p.m. Boat to Poly
4:45 p.m. Captain Cook’s (1)
Grown-up grilled cheese, Dole Whip
Nap in hammocks
6:30 p.m. Walk to TTC
6:45 p.m. Monorail to Epcot
7:15 p.m. Walking into Epcot
Grab Fastpasses
Club Cool
Festival Center for Passport
Head to Food and Wine
Brazil Booth
- Feijoada (1)
- Mahi Mahi (1)
- Frozen Caprinha (cash)
Caribbean Booth
- Ropa Vieja (1)
- Jerk-spiced chicken (1)
- Dragon Berry Colada (cash)
Dessert and champagne (1)
9:00 p.m. Future World fun: Space at end!
12:00 p.m. Return to Pop

I wanted to test out the Dragonberry Colada early on to see if it can compare to my beloved Cherry Colada from last year. Because I could have had one of those every day! We've also added in a stop at the Festival Center to get our F&W passport that they stamp at the booths. And I just threw in Club Cool, because knowing us, we'll be there.

Day 2:
5:30 a.m. Get up and have snack in room
7:00 a.m. Leave Pop Century
7:30 a.m. Arrive at Magic Kingdom
8:00 a.m. Early Magic at Magic Kingdom
Fantasyland
Peter Pan Fast Pass
Dumbo - > Pooh -> Snow White
8:50 a.m. Bakery: beat the 9 a.m. rush
- Croissanwich and Juice (1 counter)
- Cinnamon roll (cash)
9:15 a.m. Pirate’s -> Jungle Boat -> Aladdin?
Dole Whip Float (1)
10:00 a.m. Tiki -> Tom Sawyer quest
Big Thunder? Splash? Haunted Mansion
Small World -> Use Peter Pan FP
12:30 p.m. Columbia Harbor House (upstairs)
- Tuna sandwich w/apple crisp (1)
- Lobster roll w/apple crisp (1)
- Clam chowder (cash)
1:15 p.m. Mickey’s Philharmagic
1:45 p.m. Depart MK for Pop
2:15 p.m. Arrive at Pop
Nap/swim
4:30 p.m. Bus from Pop to Epcot
5:00 p.m. Arrive at Epcot
Get Kim Possible
Club Cool
Hawaii
- Pork Slider (1) and Seven Tiki Mai Tai (cash)
Canada
- Cheddar Cheese Soup (cash) and Salmon (1)
Greece
- Greek Cheese with Pistachios & Honey (1)
6:30 p.m. Off Kilter
France (watch movie)
- Escargots (1) and Coq au vin (1)
- Kir and Cosmo Slush (cash)
8:20 p.m. Mo’ Roccan
9:00 p.m. Illuminations: find good spot to sit
9:30 p.m. Bus to Pop
10:00 p.m. Arrive at Pop
Videogames and Dinner (2) at Pop
11:00 p.m. Sleep!!!

You can see that there is more time to do stuff in Epcot now. We added in Kim Possible (we did one mission once and had a good time). We have time to watch the movie in France and also enjoy the delicious goodies at the France Booth. I can show you some from last year.

Escargot (Dug only):

Pomegranite Kir (yum!):

Parisian Cosmo Slush (yum!):

We also threw Mo' Roccan in there as a possible time-filler before Illuminations. We've never seen them, other than walking by once.

So, since Dug's back doesn't love standing for long periods, anybody have any suggestions on a good place to SIT for Illuminations? I heard something on a few-year-old podcast about a corner table in Kringla Bakery being good...not sure if that's still valid? Any other suggestions for a seat with a view? Preferably in the part of WS we're in?

We decided to put in dinner at Pop here (unless we eat at Kringla or something?). Only some of their food stations will be open by the time we get back, but there's still plenty of options. Since we got a package, we thought maybe we'd use the video game token coupon that comes with it (have never tried before). Anybody know how much this will get us? A game? More? I have no clue what it's worth. We just figured that Pop has some fun games, so it might be a nice way to wind down.

Any other thoughts on the revised schedules? Are we somewhat less insane now?

 

[TheThomsLuvDisney]

I agree, the less crazy the better! Sometimes I feel our trips are soooo busy (which I love in the moment), I need a couple of days just to sleep when we get home!

 

[Dugette]

I agree, the less crazy the better! Sometimes I feel our trips are soooo busy (which I love in the moment), I need a couple of days just to sleep when we get home!

I agree! It's very hard to get sufficient sleep at WDW when there are so many better things to do! Especially when it's right back to work afterwards, we've got to get some sleep. We can do some late night/early morning combos, but every day was just too much!

 

[Dugette]

We got a few more pre-trip items checked off our agenda recently. We stopped by the Disney Store at the Mall of America and returned my Mickey Vampire shirt. I decided to stick with the Target (Mickey/Minnie trick-or-treating) shirt and hope I still fit into it after several days at Food & Wine! The return went just fine and, ironically, the store had the shirt we'd ordered (yet not received) for Dug on their shelves! But he's sticking with the Pirates one they "chose" for him! So, our MNSSHP "costumes" are set!

We were at Target yesterday and happened to see trick-or-treat bags for sale. And there was a Star Wars one that caught Dug's eye. And a Toy Story one right next to it...they were just begging to be brought to a MNSSHP. Especially since I'd promised my co-workers that I'd bring home as much candy as possible to share with them. So, we got these:

They are the pillowcase style, which is good, as I've heard that the bags they give out at WDW are pretty small. And that the candy is pretty yummy. We haven't actually bought tickets for MNSSHP yet, but I confirmed with WDW that I will get the advanced purchase price if I buy them once we arrive, as long as it's not the day of the party. No problem. I'll use my discount gift cards to buy them. We're planning to go on the Tuesday the 11th, so I'm not too worried about it selling out.

We've been reading the latest "Kingdom Keepers" book in preparation for our trip. (If you're not familiar, it's a kids series that takes place at WDW). It's neat, because F&W is taking place in this book!

And, speaking of F&W, it's started! And can I just say how much I love the disneyfoodblog website? Love it, especially for Food & Wine. They have pictures and menus and prices for all the booths. I'm just waiting for more reviews to roll in, so we can fine-tune our choices. (Side note: I hear that the Griddled Greek Cheese is excellent!) I'm also relieved that, once again, snack credits can be used on all non-alcoholic things at the booths!

This weekend will be full of trip prep. We need to pack (not much time for that during the week for me), we need to inventory our travel-sized toiletries and make a Target run, we need to get Bailey groomed for her "vacation" (she's a fluffy mess right now), we need to fine-tune our food choices and check price totals, we should probably do online check-in, and most likely some other stuff. As of today, the forecast for our trip is looking beautiful! Hope that keeps up!

Anyway, on to Day 3's agenda:

6:00 a.m. Get up
7:30 a.m. Bus from Pop to Poly
8:00 a.m. Arrive at Poly
Captain Cook’s
- Tonga Toast and juice (1)
8:45 a.m. Boat from Poly
9:00 a.m. Magic Kingdom
Space Mountain: Grab FP?
Buzz - > Laugh Floor - > TTA
11:00 a.m. Lunch at Cosmic Ray’s
- Chicken & Ribs (1)
12:00 p.m. Monorail to Epcot
12:30 p.m. Arrive at Epcot
Australia
- Shrimp on the Barbie (1)
- Lamb Chop (1)
Argentina
- Beef Skewer (1)
- Beef Empanada (1)
Ireland
- Fisherman’s Pie (1)
- Lava Cake (cash)
2:30 p.m. Walk to Beach Club
Break at Solarium
3:30 p.m. Bus to Downtown Disney
4:00 p.m. Arrive at Downtown Disney
Shopping
- Basin
- Christmas Store
6:00 p.m. Dinner at Earl of Sandwich
- Sandwiches and Brownies (2)
7:30 p.m. Bus from Downtown Disney
8:15 p.m. Arrive at Poly
Walk grounds
Sushi & Island Sunset (cash)
9:05 p.m. Find spot on beach
9:30 p.m. Watch Hallowishes on Poly beach
10:00 p.m. Boat to Magic Kingdom
10:30 p.m. Bus back to Pop
11:00 p.m. Arrive at Pop: sleep

One week from now, we'll be enjoying this day of our trip!

As far as breakfast, my research is telling me that there are buses running from Pop to the Poly early in the morning to accommodate those who have 'Ohana ADRs. So, even though we're going to Captain Cook's, we should be able to take that bus over.

We'll get to MK around rope drop and hit up Tomorrowland. And try Cosmic Ray's for the first time ever!

We'll hop to Epcot to enjoy some delicious Food & Wine stuff. The lamb chop from last year:

And Ireland's fisherman's pie and lava cake (so good!):

Then, rather than taking a real break, we'll take a "relax-break" over at the Beach Club. When we stayed there during F&W last year, we never really had a chance to just enjoy the sitting area. So, why not do it now? And it's closer than going back to Pop to rest!

From there, we'll catch a bus to Downtown Disney to do some shopping and eating. On a side note with that, I read in a TR recently about bath bombs from Basin that have Mickey heads that come out when you use them. Do all of them do this or just certain ones? They got much more interesting to me when I read that.

After that, we'll head back to the Poly to enjoy all of its wonderfulness! And Hallowishes from the beach.

I think it sounds like a reasonable day. It's long, but fairly relaxed (I hope!)

Can't wait! Only two more work days!